#I spent some time on the video game cabinets too but they were more in demand & I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way

[inga-don-studio]

Hello old friend 🖤

#🎃 cryptid sighting #Adventures around Portland #Okay I’m (predictably) in love with Ground Kontrol #It wasn’t the vapor wave paradise arcade I kinda hoped it would be -definitely more of a utilitarian vibe #-but that wasn’t a detraction because it was still fabulous #SO MANY PINBALL MACHINES! #Tbh that was the main draw for me- I’m not very good but I love weird/gimmicky pinball and they had more than I’ve seen 1 place in eons #And THIS! This machine! The Bally Addams Family machine holds a special place in my heart as the one that got me into pinball as a kid #I killed many hours and what little allowance I got on the one at our local theater. Never got gud but that never mattered much to me #I spent some time on the video game cabinets too but they were more in demand & I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way #So glad I finally went! #Now I’m going to hide in my nice quiet apartment for the next few days hdhdhdh #Alas no Polybius cabinet- I half expected one of the ‘recreations’ to be tucked in a dark corner in one of the side rooms somewhere #- what with it being a local conspiracy theory/legend and all

[vshushmshu]

moonkissed

the sun set on a peaceful day, and the moon made itself known. for some reason though, it decided to do so while you were in the bathroom, “friend.”

you pursed your lips at the tapping on the closed door, “moon, i’m literally taking a shit. give me a minute.”

“language.”

“whatever, then i’m taking a little booty-pooty, okay?”

“actually, might be worse. nevermind.”

“that’s what i thought. away with thee.”

“mean.”

you hadn’t really taken longer than two minutes after that, but you opened the door to find your robot keeling over dramatically in the hallway, as if dying from the agonizing wait he had to endure. you kicked at his leg lightly, snickering when he exaggeratedly jolted and writhed in pain, “oh, come on, dude. really?”

he didn’t move after that, dead still, with not even a claw at the air surrounding you, “how could you. too long. killed me. dead.”

a sigh, and you promptly turned around, headed for the kitchen, “tragic.”

not even five steps away, and the moon was by your side once more, “it’s late.”

you raised a brow at him, gently punching his arm from where he shuffled beside you, which earned you one back, “the sun just set, big guy. i’m pretty sure there’s still some light left, actually.”

a peek out the blinds confirmed it to be true, the sky still a mix of light pinks and purples that slowly were dissolving to the dark blues of night, and maybe you stood observing for too long. moon tugged at your shirt collar, lightly so as not to choke you, and you took the cue to step away, “never too early for sleep.”

you squinted at him, batting away his hand, to which he complied, and then made your way towards the kitchen again, “you’re just saying that cause you have an agenda. what if i wanted to hang out with you?”

he stayed silent for a moment, watching you look for some candy in the lower cabinets to snack on, “you hang out with us every day, star. not going anywhere. sleep.”

everything was in the upper cabinets, and you didn’t feel like getting a stool to give you the couple inches of height you needed to be able to reach. you turned to him, making a face while raising your arms in request, while he almost seemed to laugh in amusement, “i will sleep, just later. i wanna get some gummies now, though.”

his faceplate clicked as he rotated it to the side, hands reaching out to hover at your sides, “hm, magic word?”

you deadpanned at him, “seriously?”

“seriously.”

you pressed your hands together as if praying to some benevolent god, when really the animatronic bordered on the chaotic evil spectrum, “pretty pleaaseee? with a cherry on top??”

there was a low laugh from him, and he rested his palms on your hips, “and extra whipped cream? with the promise you will sleep at decent time, for once?”

rubbing at your forehead, you nodded along, “yeah, yeah, extra whipped cream, and i promise. can i get the gummies now?”

“of course.”

and with that, the moon lifted you into the air with no effort at all, holding you in place at his mid-torso while you wrapped your legs around him to stay secure, and rummaged through the cabinet until you found the gummies you wanted. you cracked the suckers open, and moon didn’t bother to put you down for a minute, supporting you with one arm and flicking your forehead playfully with a free hand, his faceplate slowly ticking back into place, “happy?”

you gave him a scowl as you popped a gummy into your mouth, rubbing at your forehead before flicking his in return, to which he gave you a less than impressed look that you pretended not to acknowledge with a laugh, “happy.”

“don’t understand why you love sugar so much.”

“put me down, you heathen.”

the next couple hours were spent playing video games, catching up on any work and the like, with the moon peering over your shoulder to mock you when you died or quietly redirect to the correct answer. you were torn on punching him in his flat face or giving him a fat hug, though you considered the former hurt way more, so a hug was chosen; he was confused, but let it happen, soothingly rubbing circles into your back. the pair of you were laying on the couch now, you being on your phone, almost doomscrolling, if not for the fact that moon pointed out something he found funny in the show he was watching every once in a while. the celestial animatronics were always very interested in any form of media, be it reality tv shows to puppet plays.

they must be glad to have the entertainment, a thought. you had looked up once more to catch a glimpse of moon staring at the television with rapt interest, only to find him looking right back at you silently. you raised a brow, “moon?”

he tapped his finger on one of your legs idly, that you had spread out onto him with little to no grumbling from the robot, and hummed to himself, “you promised.”

you checked the time on your phone again, groaning a little, “wh- really? it’s not even that late!”

moon narrowed his eyes, “promised.”

huffing, you shoved your cellular device into a pocket haphazardly, hauling yourself off the couch, “whatever, i regret it.”

with that, you started walking towards the bathroom, but not before yet again witnessing a contortionist trick that the robot did to flip off the couch and onto the floor beside you to follow along. you cringed at the fact that several bones would be broken if a human ever tried to even attempt that, while the moon held up it’s index and thumb in the shape of an L in your face, grin cheeky, “offended gasp.”

“apathetic scoff,” you didn’t laugh, not even a huff of air, but his smile still seemed to stretch at the edges as if placid while you opened the door, moon flicking on the dimmest of nightlights you could find at the store.

you thus began the tedious task of brushing your teeth, the animatronic placing floss and mouthwash on the sink from behind the mirror, while you squeezed out a bead of toothpaste on your brush. you gave him a grateful look, and moon simply ruffled your hair a little, smoothing it back into place when your expression fell into a scowl, chuckling. after the whole shebang was done, you presented an exaggerated smile to your animatronic roommate to show off the now cleaned teeth, which prompted a congratulatory thumbs up from said animatronic accompanied with a gentle push out the door. the door clicked behind you as you complained, trying to give him your best stink eye, “do i have to sleep? now?? it’s barely 11 o’clock!”

he didn’t have to push you anymore though, you trudged your way down the hall by your own accord, moon in tow, “yes.”

a high pitched, mocking “yEs” left you at his response, moon snickering at the stupid face you made to accompany it. you laughed at it yourself a bit, even if not at all thrilled to be laying in bed so soon.

you stared at the ceiling, not even able to count the popcorns due to the darkness. the only light source was the moon’s eyes, led’s sometimes flicking to you to check if you were still conscious, before going back to whatever they did in their computer head. it was maybe the eighth time when he decided to speak up, “can’t?”

a sigh, “what time is it?”

there was a pause, and you traced out the outline of stars you could barely see on their dumb jester pants, the bot patting your head in an attempt to soothe, “1:37.”

you groaned in annoyance, gripping the blanket tighter around you as you curled into him a bit more, arms meeting you half-way, “man.. at least i tried? ‘m sorry.”

he leaned down a little, the bottom of their faceplate bonking the top of your head, and it made you smile a little despite how your eyes burned when you closed them, “no apologizing, it’s okay.”

“okay,” you wrapped your arms around him, the latter reciprocating a light squeeze with arms that were already holding you prior, and you hummed, “need to get more melatonin.”

the animatronic traced the same star shapes into your back, “we will remind you to call. gummies do not work.”

you made a face at him, but didn’t move in the slightest, “i don’t like calling the doctor’s.. and the gummies taste good!! leave me alone!”

eyes looked at you for a minute, before hands began to push you off and untangle the animatronic out from under you, but you held on, “PFFT- wait, not literally!”

there were lilting chuckles, patting your back as hands pulled you back to rest against him, an amused moon relaxing back into his position to now rub at the skin under your eyes, “in the morning.”

you deadpanned, “evil.”

there were a couple more bonks pressed to your hair, which elicited a couple smiley grumbles from you, “the most.”

[ sunkissed ]

#i’m #moondrop x reader #fnaf dca x reader #i’m writhing on the floor #thought i’d share #moon x reader #moon x y/n

[omegaremix]

April 3, 2022.

It takes a good two months before a year starts to pick up for me. The first big win was in the final frigid day of February when I decided to take the train to Greenpoint’s Academy Annex for some records; the first stop of what would be an amazing record-store victory tour. Then arrived March. I drove four miles to the shopping mall to look for leather jackets when I discovered a new retro- video arcade opened up. Within a few days I walk in and spent the entire day re-living my Atari / Nintendo / SNES youth. Those eight hours were a thoroughly exhaustive one. I saw games which I threw many rolls of quarters into, to others I only read about and fantasized even seeing up until then. The original Super Mario Bros. cabinet, The Neo Geo MVS, Outrun, R-Type, Taito’s Superman, Atari’s Star Wars. Most of every great moment of my youth spent in delis, card stores, ice cream parlors, long-gone restaurants, and amusement parks were now all in one room.

Good thing I went because my all-time favorite ginger April* made a rare appearance in my store and I had to tell her about it. She came in to buy some A/V components like she always does and we spent a good ten minutes catching up on everything. April was a fangirl and a hardcore gamer of all formats so I had to share the wealth of news with her. Too late. She already went. Still, every visit from her counted as she was the cutest thing of pale skin, glasses, and Irish ancestry I ever seen.

I had another holiday spent with my Coney Island family. My aunt invited me to her daughter’s house in East Meadow for Easter where they, her aggressive right-wing country-music loving Trump supporter sons, her sister, and all the offspring you could think of would be there. A great four hours were had coloring eggs, watching Disney’s Encanto on the big screen, and an endless feast of Italian food were laid out for all to gorge ourselves to death. Blessings were counted and they were enough to cash them in for a bright sunny Sunday. I also enjoyed the hour-long drive from East Meadow through Rt. 27 all the way home.

In between all this was a major event I was chasing for a while. It would be nice to attend a Boy Harsher show and they’ve been making the rounds in New York City quite often. I jumped at the opportunity to purchase tickets after their Halloween show and ultimately got them - only for January show to be postponed. Blame the COVID- omicron for it. But Jae & Augustus pushed it back to April and this time nothing was stopping them from performing nor anyone attending The Music Hall Of Williamsburg.

I learned that it was a two-hour ride each way from my line to Penn Station and back due to transfers at the Jamaica Station. Not good as I had to work a 10AM shift. This time, I opted to drive out to the Babylon stop for a direct line to Manhattan and back for fifty-five minutes each. I went up the stairs and waited only a few minutes before the train arrived on an elevated platform. Nothing special about the train ride on a cloudy mid-50* weather. The show, however, was a whole other story. Everyone enjoyed the opener Twin Tribes and the headlining Boy Harsher hands-down to great fanfare. I couldn’t have waited in line to get some merch- as, once again, someone had to ride home for tomorrow’s payday.

I reversed the path from The Music Hall- by taking the L and ½/3 line back to Penn Station. It just so happened that I missed my train home by three minutes and it cost me an hour more before the next one came in. As I mentioned before, no transfers. Just a direct line from Penn Station back to Babylon where the double-decker cars awaited us. A nice surprise for me sitting in the seats above to contemplate my next major win: Sacred Bones’ 15th anniversary show. It could only get better.

Fifteen years ago from this month, a new concept was born. I purchased a 30GB iPod Classic through a ‘friend’ of mine at WUSB. Since then, I loaded all of my music into it and took it through many train rides. The iPod Classic has retired in favor of my iPhone SE. What once became a distraction has now been an auditioning process for future Omega WUSB shows and seasonal personal playlists. Nothing is off limits. Noise, backpacker, jazz, fusion, shoegaze, noise rock, post-punk, electronics, hardcore - everything. Everything I discover gets played in hopes of either being featured or forever a part of me. With a near endless plethora of outlets, mutuals, and other ways of obtaining music, there’s almost never a moment of silence outside of work or sleep.

Congotronics International: “Where’s The One”

MoE: “Beautiful Stranger”

Silent Servant: “Slasher”

Doc Hammer: “Commanche Crew Cut”

Visit0r: “God Of All Flesh”

People’s Choice, The: “Here We Go Again”

Ride: “1,000 Miles”

Thurston Moore: “The Station”

Sunrot: 21%

Joucous: “Rivers Pt. 1”

Exek: “ID’ed”

Legss: “Hyde Park Coroner”

Alice Glass: “Suffer And Swallow”

Totally Unicorn: “Daddy’s Stabby Surprise”

Aeges: “Who Are You”

Benny The Butcher & J. Cole: “Johnny P.’s Caddy”

Maneskin: “Moriro Da Re” 

Broken Vow: “Expiation”

Exek: “(I’m After) Your Best Interest”

Smash Your Enemies: “Faithless”

Death Strider: “Cardinal Sin”

Letting Up Despite Great Faults: “Gemini”

Dead Leaf Echo: “Milk.Blue.Kisses (Foil In Motion)”

Offset: Spectacles, The: “Stomp”

Caparezza: “Eyes Wide Shut”

#omega #music #playlists #mixtapes #personal #BK #Brooklyn #NYC #New York City #Congotronics #Silent Servant #Doc Hammer #Ride #Thurston Moore #Exek #Alice Glass #Totally Unicorn #Benny The Butcher #J. Cole #Maneskin #Letting Up Despite Great Faults #Offset: Spectacles #Caparezza #Dead Leaf Echo

[simandthedimbulbv2-0]

Mmperhaps blips lore if you haven't done that? Been thinking of them nonstop .. your design for them is so fun!!<3

You got it, pal 👉👉

Lore: Was originally an overweight arcade employee and maintenance man named Bil Soupy. Often teased and dismissed for his physique and fascination with electronics, Bil spent his life as an outcast and became more than a little misanthropic. His few sources of joy were the upkeep and programming of the machines at the arcade where he worked. Over time, the cabinets consumed his life; not only did he adore them, but he also took note of the attention they received from the customers at the arcade which he saw as a kind of affection. Eventually ‘unraveling’, Bil somehow transplanted himself into a cabinet he’d been working on and left it behind for his boss to put into the arcade. The media eventually reported him missing and presumed dead, but as we know, he was doing perfectly well inside the box.  Assorted info under the cut

The ‘Blips You!’ game is almost never the same twice, but always extremely engaging, to the point of being addictive. Both infuriating and hypnotic, it has a tendency to drive people with certain dispositions to madness.

It is somehow possible to cheat, but nobody has ever been able to ‘win’ the game.

Speaking of, although he’s unwinnable, Blips likes to reward worthy opponents for their hard work with little ‘prizes’ like bonus stages, cutscenes and unique music. 

While his mechanics are pretty much those of a classic 80’s cabinet, Blips’ processor being a human brain allows him a lot more leeway when it comes to the game’s actual content. For example, he can display a tonne of colours and sprites at the same time without flickering, as well as produce more fluid animation, complicated gameplay and long running storylines. He can even ‘save’ the games of particular players if he wants, and pick back up with them when they visit the arcade again. 

Blips aspirates coins to improve his conductivity. 

Despite rarely moving, the near constant flow of electricity prevents his muscles from atrophying. He’s unnervingly strong, though not at all speedy.

His metabolism is extremely slow so he only really gets ‘hungry’ when he’s been injured in some way and requires more biomass to heal himself. Anything he can’t ‘digest’ (clothes and plastic, usually) he coughs up in a sort of owl-pellet-like clump. 

Smells fucking awful but nobody really seems to notice.

Bil’s body initially retained a human shape inside the cabinet, but over time it deformed and mutated into the disturbing flesh blob he is today. He doesn’t particularly care though; as far as he’s concerned, his looks haven’t changed much, and it’s not like they matter anymore anyway. 

(My initial concept for him was an actual man who was half living in and half fused to his arcade cabinet; he had the appearance of a partially flayed corpse with wires mimicking muscles under tattered skin. This was, however, a little too gruesome (and beyond my artistic abilities) so I turned to the secondary concept of the arcade machine being completely full of flesh and organs like a living creature. With a little extra inspiration from Migi (of Parasyte fame) I ended up with the flabby goofball you see here)

While usually surprisingly level-headed, Blips can go a little crazy when his game is involved. He also tends to be rather petty and jealous when it comes to attention from the arcade-goers. Hand-held devices drive him nuts. 

It sort of goes without saying, but his moral compass has become a little warped since becoming a flesh eating video game hybrid. Even so, his main interests are simply having fun and being adored.

Though initially not particularly interested in romance, he eventually meets and falls head over heels (er, screen over coin drawer?) for a certain Sexy DVD who ends up at his arcade by chance. 

and here are some of the concept sketches and later silly doodles of him outside his box

(tungl may have murdered the quality)

#Blipsyou #Ask #i will try to get to prof callenbach tomorrow #body horror

[knightyoomyoui]

Jeongyeon x M Reader- “The Joker And The Queen”

Happy 26th Birthday to our master prankster, beloved ostrich, mint green love, "mother" of her 8 daughters, Nayeon's husband and my angelic bias in TWICE, Yoo Jeongyeon! As one of my ways to celebrate her birthday, here is the one-shot I've written for her and to us readers that I originally finished writing this last Saturday. I just waited for a couple more days to publish this exactly in her special day. Also, for my female readers there; I'm sorry if i haven't got to write your own one-shot with Jeongie before her birthday comes so that I could publish it along with this male reader featured one. I still have other important things to do that prevented me from crossing on immediately making one right after finishing the draft of this. I already have a plan prepared for its plot so again I apologize and promise to catch it up soon. Hope yall enjoy.

----------START----------

You are cleaning the house right now because you are alone in the house. You'd played enough rounds of video games and attempted a short nap, but it didn't work because you weren't even tired.

So you decided to be a little productive in order to make your rest more meaningful. You entered your bedroom and began sweeping the floor.

Successfully collected the fine dusts and some little pieces of trash onto the dust pan, you went on to rearrange your things.

As you dug through your cabinet for some personal accessories, you grabbed a very familiar object in your hands.

It was a pair of high-index eyeglasses of yours. You used to wear this when you were in college. Staring into it, you started to recall everything that this simple important thing used to hold many memories years ago. But the one that made you reminisce the most was the probably the most special of them all.

A smile formed on your lips as flashbacks started to run and play in your mind the firmer you took your grasped onto every temple of the eyeglasses while you deepened the stare within its each lenses, synchronized with your thoughts.

10 YEARS AGO

You just walked out of your classroom after your adviser announced to every one of you that the class is already over.

All prepared to go home, you maintained your direction from walking in the hallway through the near end main door of the building.

Your steps were abruptly halted when you noticed something that piqued your interest.

Yoo Jeongyeon, your classmate, was talking and laughing with other female students you assumed were her friends, except for the two you didn't guessed anymore because they were Jeongyeon's classmates.

Why is this the case? Jeongyeon is also a classmate of yours. She was the class muse due to her popularity not only in your section but throughout the entire class level. She is known as the "queen" because you learned that she is the daughter of a wealthy family, she has a bright personality, and her main feature is her beauty.

To be honest, you concur. Jeongyeon is unquestionably attractive. It didn't surprise you when she kept getting invitations to do modeling, enter a student pageant contest at school (which she always wins), and the last heavy proof you had was that many men and even women too on this campus are head over heels for her.

That wasn't the reason your attention was drawn to her group. It was mostly because you thought you'd never have the opportunity to hang out with others as friends, especially someone like Jeongyeon, who has a higher profile alike her friends compared to you.

You are nothing, you reasoned. You don't deserve these things. You had no idea that your time spent looking at them had drawn their attention to you, including Jeongyeon. They glared at you with confusion, cringiness and disgust. "What are you looking at, creep?" one of the girls asked who is the smallest out of them, her long black hair tied into a pigtail. Her mole on the lower lip was noticeable too.

Her words got you back and cut your thoughts away, conscience now cooperating with you once again. You just realized that all the 8 girls except Jeongyeon were looking at you with different feelings, possibly negative, as you awkwardly received their venomous glare.

"I'm s-sorry. My mind just went black.", you pardoned to the group as you quickly rushed your walk to escape them and leave the school building.

The girls just stood there watching your back as you slowly faded away from them, their eyes filled with awful look.

"Weirdo.", the tallest girl among them said, scoffing in the air. The rest chuckled, agreeing to what she said.

Except Jeongyeon who just shrugged.

THE NEXT DAY

The bell rang to alert everyone that it was now lunchtime. You entered the cafeteria, joined the line, and waited patiently for your turn just like any other human being until you reached your turn and asked what you shall receive.

Based on your preferences, a tray of kimchi, tteobeokki, and fishcakes has been served to you. Instead of eating in the cafeteria, you went to your favorite secret spot where you could be separated from the students and enjoy your food in peace.

To be honest, you didn't care for it at all. You may grow accustomed to it, but it occasionally makes you wonder how it will feel if this becomes... the opposite? For instance, instead of being alone, you have someone who can join you and do what every friend does when they are together.

As you were about to turn and walk to the back of one of the school buildings where your spot is, you were startled to hear someone crying nearby.

You took a gentle step and hid behind the wall, then slowly peered over the edge to see who it was, and to your surprise, it was someone you didn't expect to see here... and to be in this state at all.

Jeongyeon is crying beneath the tree, with her body curled like a ball.

You sat your tray on the nearest available bench and walked towards Jeongyeon. The latter sensed that someone was nearby and could hear footsteps going nearer to her.

When she saw you standing in front of her, she raised her head and her eyes widened. Your usual innocent and nerdy stance appeared completely in front of her sight.

"Jeongyeon, what are you doing here?" you queried, intrigued.

"I should ask you the same thing to you. What are you doing in here as well?" Jeongyeon retorted, her voice was raspy due to the effects of her sobs but it didn't sound as if it has any emotions to it including her messy face other than... sadness and devastation.

"This is my spot whenever break comes; I eat my lunch in here," you replied, moving your hands around the room.

"Now, could you tell me yours?" you patiently waited for her response, but she doesn't seem to want to. You sighed at the attempt, but it has come to this that both of you have been put in this situation where she has a problem and you...

... although you are not her friend, you felt obligated to act as one for her. She is still your classmate and one of the people you see every day. It doesn't feel right to see them bothered by something you don't understand. Even you receive dislike to them, it wasn't effective enough still to prevent you from helping them once they had some trouble. You still have faith in them, knowing that not all of them were evil when it came to you.They were either manipulated or made negative assumptions about you. Returning to the situation, you preceded the flow of your choice. Jeongyeon turns her head to see if you're doing anything other than standing next to her. She expected you to stop asking her questions, but what she saw pointing near her face surprised her. You extended your free hand to her. Jeongyeon furrowed her brows as she looked at you. You just mentally sent her a message to accept it as your genuine offer of assistance, nodding your head with a thin smile. She just stared at you for a few seconds before giving up and reaching for your hand, which you gently grabbed and helped her stand up from the grassy ground.

"Mind if we take a seat?" you asked, referring to the bench next to another tree in this area. She only nodded slightly, her head slightly lowered as she followed you from behind.

You let her sit first before you joined. Jeongyeon noticed your lunch tray, which is now on your lap. "You were telling the truth," she thought.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you envious or hungry; as I said, I always take my lunch here," you said shyly after scooping up one rice cake. She remained deafeningly silent. What you're doing has no effect on her, actually.

She's not that hungry anyway, and she suspects she can't feel it because her mind is too preoccupied right now that distracts her irritatingly.

"I know we're not close enough for you to share what's gotten into you that made you do this... and I respect that," you began. Jeongyeon wasn't looking at you, but her ears were trained on you as you began speaking again, this time with words that are meant for her.

"But I just want to say that whatever it is, don't let it consume you; heavy or not, it deserves to vanish... and one way to do so is to ask for anyone's help," you continued as kept listening to you.

"It doesn't mean it's your problem, you have to face it alone. No, you deserve help. It could be a friend or a stranger, as long as it has good intentions. There, you can easily solve it with that someone." Jeongyeon finally looked at you after you finished speaking.

It truly impressed her and made her think twice about how you tried to comfort her without knowing any hints about her problem. She strongly agreed with what you said.

You were right, everyone deserves a help...and right now, the only person she can search for and trust to share her problem is none other than her classmate which is you with whom she just had her first conversation, currently sitting beside her and eating his lunch.

She heaved out a sigh before beginning to spill her troubles to you as what she decided to.

"Fine, I'll tell you, but this better should only be between us, you understand?" she finally said. You shifted your gaze to see her solemn expression as she awaited your confirmation.

"You have my word," you assuredly nodded. Jeongyeon felt at ease. She looked down at her hands, which were clenched around the hem of her dress, as she began to tell you about her problem.

"Earlier, I... I went to the third stairway, which is where I'm supposed to meet the g-guy who's courting me," she said.. You let out a silent "oh" as she revealed that it was about love, as you had predicted immediately based on your probabilities. Perks of being a math genius, you kidding to yourself.

"He's from another section. I'm not in love with him so far it's just... he made me interested for him so I agreed to his request for us to meet.", she continued. "When I arrived there after the bell rang, I didn't expected that I'll see him..", she paused for a moment.

".... I'll see him kissing another schoolgirl at the locker.", she started sniffing and hiccuping at her tears as she covered her face with her hands. "Based o-on his m-moves... he-he does look l-like he's having f-fun."

"I-I mean... you weren't g-going to pin s-someone you're k-kissing and m-mirror her if y-you weren't feeling it," Jeongyeon said in a muffled tone. You agreed to her, but she's making a point. It does justify what caused her to react in this like this.

"I get it, you're right.", you said. "I'm sorry to hear that. Being played and fooled truly does suck, isn't it.", Jeongyeon nodded aggressively. You got exactly what she felt when she saw that horrible sight.

"I suggest you just move on quickly like he does. Remember, you didn't like him yet, and his love for you isn't real at all. Why waste your tears for someone who's just deceiving you? Most importantly, why let your entire mood be ruined by someone who doesn't even care at all for you?" you advised her. Jeongyeon paid close attention to you as you consoled her.

Not only she can audibly hear it, but she also felt it when you slowly patted her back.

"Let it all out, Jeongyeon. I know it hurts, but it can't go on any longer. You don't deserve this. Every woman in the world doesn't deserve to have their hearts played and brag about their beauty as if they won a trophy for their collection of achievements." Jeongyeon's sobs became lower as she slowed down her cries.

You were a good companion, she thought.

She did needed this. It felt like as if she felt lighter once you started giving her advices regarding to her problem.

What she liked the most at what you've done for her today was that, everything you just said was very touching and uplifting. You said nothing but facts.

She guessed that she had made the wise choice not to judge and speculate unfavorably about you, unlike everyone else on campus. You weren't as bad as everyone expected you to be.

Your choice of words made Jeongyeon assured that if there's a girl that you successfully stole her heart someday, she will be so lucky to have you.

"We use love to make someone feel respected and important, compatible to get attached with another person. If their intentions weren't dedicated and serious like these, then it's not love at all, Jeongyeon.", you faintly smiled at her, ending your comforting speech.

You stood up from your seat and left your tray laying beside her. "You must eat, just use my fork.", you said as you pointed at your lunch that still has some amount enough for Jeongyeon to intake. Good thing you used your personal chopstick with you because you are much experienced and comfortable using this. She looked at your lunch, following your gesture. Before you walk back to the classroom, you rotated your body around. "Oh and one last thing...", Jeongyeon looked at you with curiousity.

"... hope you'll be okay.", you smiled sweetly. You walked away, leaving Jeongyeon alone without minding whether she'll accept your food or not. All you care about was that you've fulfilled your role to be her acquaintance for today and you helped her.

Meanwhile, Jeongyeon remained speechless as she watched you leave. She was undoubtedly taken aback by your warm and friendly personality. She looked at your lunch beside her that you reserved for her. A smile appeared on her face as she reached for your tray and started eating the rest of it while wiping her tear stained face with a towel.

THE NEXT DAY

You are reading a book in the library to do some advance learning for your Gender and Society subject tomorrow since you don't have anything else to do so far and you feel energized to study.

You were taking notes in your notebook when you noticed a vacant chair in front of you being pulled. You looked up, and to your surprise, it was Jeongyeon smiling placidly, who had brought her own chosen books, and placed them on your table.

She sat down and leaned her bag against the foot of the table. You both noticed that every student in the library gathered their attention to you and Jeongyeon.

You gulped nervously and you looked at Jeongyeon. "Uhh, why did you sat here Jeongyeon?"

"You were intimated by them?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at you and showing it to the others, allowing them to witness Jeongyeon's sassiness unbothered by their presence. "Forget them, I don't care and you should too.", she scoffed.

"Anyway, hello." She narrowed the gap between her arms, her head pursing slightly forward to you. Her expression softened from sharp to pleasant. You were taken aback by how swiftly she changed her demeanor.

"Uhh... hello?" you awkwardly greeted her before returning to your book. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"There is, yes," she said, nodding. She tapped the table with her fingers at the same time. "We have this particular Calculus lesson that I couldn't understand at all no matter how many times I tried to review it on my own; I even watched tutorials on YouTube and searched it on Google but none of it worked," she sighed tiredly.

"So... I was thinking if... you could uhh help me?", she shyly requested. You pulled back your head upwards, meeting her looking at you with her teeth clenching sheepishly. She was absolutely adorable, you thought.

"You're the best in math in our class. Our professor likes your intelligence. You're our section's secret weapon in academic competitions," she enumerated her reasons why she chose to approach you with her concern. "In short, you are a genius, YN, so yeah... that's why," you remained quiet as you kept on flipping the page of the book while searching for the next topic you had to take note.

"By the way... it worked," she added. You looked at her, pausing what you were doing as she got your attention back to her.

"It did?" you asked surprisingly.

"Yeah. I stopped giving a damn about him after processing it throughly what you said to me yesterday. Earlier, when we met at the hallway... I just ignored him.", she shrugged. "You were right. He doesn't care. He didn't even called my name back and find it suspicious that I'm distancing myself away from him", she sighed.

You were relieved that you had completed your task for her. That is what is important to you.

"Thank you, YN," she said gratefully. "For being by my side yesterday." You returned her polite expression, appreciating her remark as well.

"No worries, Jeongyeon.", you assured.

"Can we be friends, YN?", she asked you which made you bewildered. Did you just saw and heard the most famous female student of the entire year level in this campus offer her friendship to a... nobody like you?

"Excuse me?"

"You must be shocked, I see.", she chuckled. "It was too sudden. Sorry. But as what I mentioned earlier, if you may be aware and concerned about everyone looking at you differently, just ignore them YN."

"For me, you are just the same as us... and you proved that to me when you chose to help me even though I didn't asked for it, because you knew it clearly that even if I didn't... I still needed it.", she said.

Her wise words to you made you happy and touched you. It was very rare of you to hear this from someone and you never thought you'll receive like this ever.

But Jeongyeon appeared to have accomplished the impossible.

"What is it gonna be, YN?", she waited for your response anticipatingly. You scratched your nape and chuckled at how unbelievable that this is happening.

"Yes, Jeongyeon. I want to be your friend.", you smiled, accepting it unhesitatingly. "And also, yes. I can help you in math.", you smirked. Both of you laughed as each other exchanged thank you's before moving on to start a new conversation with her as you first and new found true friend in college.

2 DAYS LATER

The exam was administered to the class today. You spent the rest of those time tutoring Jeongyeon in that specific lesson she's struggling to intepret. But, being the generous guy you are; you decided to just include the rest of the other lessons and review it with her.

Following the formation of your friendship bond with Jeongyeon, both of you began to meet frequently every day everyday in and out of the school.

In your perspective, Jeongyeon is excellent. She's nice, easy to get along with, and her sense of humor was... witty, which is fine with you because you don't think you're that fun either but Jeongyeon was surprisingly laughing at your jokes too.

Overall, her personality is superb and that flawlessly adds to her admirable features. It's difficult for you to get astounded anymore that she's being setting everyone's eyes on her.

However, your friendship with Jeongyeon had a downside. Since she had to join you to teach her and review with her for the exams, she lost time with her friends who she had planned to spend with when the teachers informed the students to prepare for the exams.

And, yes, they did find another reason to despise you. Fortunately, Jeongyeon was by your side to defend you, but you didn't let her do all the work; you tried to stand up for yourself.

As of now, the only thing you know so far was that Jeongyeon's friends were sulking and disappointed that she was spending more time with you than with them. But you can't blame them.

The results were already distributed and it's just a typical moment for you to achieve a high score. It's not that you're bragging about it but even you also knows clearly to yourself that you are smart to deserve getting these grades.

What took you aback was the fact that Jeongyeon was included among the students who received a passing grade. When your classmates, including some of her friends, cheered when your professor called her name, she immediately looked at you with that lively smile, a sign that she thanked you for helping her in obtaining this.

She did shared it out loud to you more when she planned that as an exchange, she'll treat you everywhere after the class.

You tried to decline as a cause of your shyness but Jeongyeon will not accept a no answer from you. Retreating, you just followed her and let her walk it like she talk it.

Before you and her were about to head outside the gate of the school, a group of girls shouted Jeongyeon's name from behind. That made both of you turn your attention to whoever owned that voices.

There, you viewed Jeongyeon's friends from their group. If you are not mistaken, they are Minatozaki Sana and Park Jihyo from Class B and Chou Tzuyu, your fellow classmate too from Class A like Jeongyeon.

"Oh girls. Hey!", Jeongyeon greeted her friends.

"You're with him again?" Sana asked, disbelievingly pointing at you.

"We were about to invite you to join us today for a visit to the newly opened fashion store in Jung-gu," Jihyo followed.

"But it looks like you are going out with him unnie. What is it now this time?", Tzuyu irritatingly asked as she gave you a spiteful glare that had you stare away from the evil maknae.

"Girls, can all of you calm down? What did I told you all last time. YN is now my friend too.", Jeongyeon replied, her voice raised a bit.

You just looked aside at her while she's focused arguing at her friends.

"So I hope this is the last time we have to deal with this; now, if you'll excuse and do us a favor, can you three tell the rest that I promise I'll join you guys next time to catch up with all of you?" begged Jeongyeon. Tzuyu, Sana, and Jihyo exchanged glances, amazed at how good-hearted their friend is.

"Get used to the fact that YN will always be around me or maybe us soon, trust me; if I hadn't discovered how great he is... then why would I choose to stood confidently right next to him, facing you guys today and engaged to accompany him?" she finished before pulling your hand with her as you both ran outside the school and rode her family car.

Jeongyeon instructed her driver to transport you and her to the nearest mall in Seoul. Her personal driver complied and 20 minutes later, he dropped both of you at the rendezvous.

She allowed the driver to tour around by himself to spend his time while waiting which she'll just contact him if you and her would need him back again. The driver thanked Jeongyeon before leaving away, leaving both of you to enter the mall.

Jeongyeon started to take the lead on shopping for you where she lived up to what she sweared, she gave you appreciation gifts which was for you... it's overwhelming.

Visiting a clothing store, she bought you new pair of clothes and shorts, two of each. You spent more time with Jeongyeon exploring the massive mall, such as playing in the arcade where both of you are somewhat skilled at every game, watching the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie with her after discovering that both of you are Marvel fans, and eating at various restaurants and food booths.

At the roof garden of the mall where both decided to rest, you and her were sitting in one of the stone chairs. The perfect view of Seoul, the dazzling nightsky and cold breeze of air splashing onto your skins.

Both were silent, too much concentrated on the magnificent nightview until something came up in your mind that you can't help but to slide it out from your mouth.

"Your friends were right a while ago," you said out of nowhere. Jeongyeon examined you, perplexed by what you had just said out of the blue.

"I still don't quite understand why do you need to give such effort repaying me although you know that doing my responsibility for you as a friend was fine to me.", you said while eyes still fixed forward as you speak out your thoughts.

"Because I wanted it, okay?" insisted Jeongyeon. "This is one of the better ways I can think of to express myself that I want to strengthen our connection and that I'm not just the receiver here and you as the giver," she said, pointing to you and herself with her hand.

"Just... accept it and don't overthink about it, please YN. Don't you want to be with me today?" she asked you quzzically. You transitioned your gaze to Jeongyeon and noticed her small frown, which made you nervous.

"Because I do," she pouted. You smiled cheekily, pleased that she does.

"N-no... of course, Jeongyeon, I want to be with you," you said. Jeongyeon's frown effectively curled back up into a smile. "You're my friend, and what better way to spend the weekend than having fun with you?"

"I've never experienced anything like this before... that's why I can't say no," you painfully smiled. Jeongyeon looked at you worriedly, feeling pity once more because she can't imagine how bland and boring of a childhood you have if you never had any friends nor siblings to treat like one.

"Thank you for all of these, Jeongyeon."

"You're welcome.", she grinned.

The two were interrupted when fireworks began to explode in the sky, creating a rainbow of colors that catches the attention of the public, including you and Jeongyeon.

The fountain behind you two also contributed the display as it blew and splashed out huge amount of water combined by multiple lightning struck withing it to add design and colors.

Now everyone were watching either the fireworks and the fountain show.

As you kept on watching with a wide grin in your face, Jeongyeon unconsciously turned her head to you and her lips narrowed their gaps together as it formed a long smile when she saw your attractive side-profile.

Then she felt this again that had her wondering about since days ago when you kept on praising her for doing a great job answering all of your made-up tests for her perfectly during your review with her for the exams.

Her heart beat started banging directly in her rib cage and her chest intensely as she became speechless and stunned.

Back at the clothing store where you basically tried on the clothes you chose for Jeongyeon to pay for, you exit the fitting room and let her judge how you look.

And boy oh boy Jeongyeon didn't said it out right away but she was undoubtedly complimenting you on how handsome you really are, especially when you removed your glasses.

She removed her gaze away from you and lowered her head as she gulped, unknowingly large red tints in her cheeks were forming mainly due to the effects of your image roaming in her mind.

1 MONTH LATER

It was graduation day, and you were in your fourth year of college, just like Jeongyeon. Both you and her passed and received an award, with you being in the spotlight as a Magna Cum Laude achiever that have every crowd applauded for you.

After the event ended, you tried to find Jeongyeon inside the auditorium to congratulate her but to no avail. Puzzled, you continued searching for her until you found her talking with... a guy.

Jeongyeon doesn't seemed to be entertained at all while the guy seems like they're serious at their conversation.

She started shaking her head as if she's declining something and the more she does it, the guy becoming infuriated at how Jeongyeon is acting towards him.

In a matter of seconds, what happened next had your fists clenched and and blood boil.

The guy completely went over the limit as he grabbed Jeongyeon's arm forcefully and pulled her with him aggressively, with her wincing in pain and attempting to escape but she kept on failing.

"No, wh-who was he to do this...", you murmured to yourself as you horribly watched the sight of Jeongyeon being abused by this mysterious person.

You saw her 8 other girls appearing at the scene shouting her name and this dude who revealed to be Cheongsan as they plead for him to stop hurting her. It all fell into deaf ears as he still dragged Jeongyeon with her outside the campus.

The guards intervened to block him, but Cheongsan pulled out a gun pointing at them to scare them off. People began panicking and yelling in fear. You knew it already that he's gonna do something bad to Jeongyeon and as her friend, you can't just let it happen no matter what circumstances it might be.

Right now, Jeongyeon needs help... and it has to be you that you think the only one around here that has the guts to confront and save Jeongyeon from this maniac.

You ran quickly and everyone saw you, surprised that someone is about to risk it all and face the dangerous consequence as when they were about to cross the road, Cheongsan rotates his head after he got confused why is everyone screaming once again.

He then realised you charging at him, sending your bodies crashing to the road. The guards acted quickly, kicking the gun away just as Cheongsan was about to reach for it. He then tried to grab Jeongyeon again, but due to his slightly damaged state, she was able to break free, only to be met with a massive backslap to the face just as you were about to execute a spear straight to his stomach, his back landed first onto the cemented ground. The guards apprehended Cheongsan and called the cops to arrest him, but first they had him arrested and kept in their guardhouse. You immediately led Jeongyeon who fell to the ground due to the impact of Cheongsam's offense to the other sidewalk and checked her immediately.

"Are you okay?", you asked concerningly as you started searching around the exposed skin of her arms and knees if there may be a glimpse of wounds and bruises. There was a red mark imprinted from Cheongsan's tight grip in her wrist though.

"Does it hurt?", you asked. Jeongyeon shook her head. "A little. It stings.", she said as she blew some air to ease the effect after you gently touched it.

"Who was he?"

"Some asshole who tried to take advantage of me before," she spit nastily. "One of the guys I rejected became obsessed with me and forced me to accept his feelings for me, and when I did it again for the second time, he didn't allow it anymore and just forced me to come with him," she explained.

"Thank you for saving me, YN," she said as she hugged you, tears welling up in her eyes. "I was afraid..."

"Don't worry, Jeongyeon. I have to do it. Nobody must hurt you and if they attempt to, you have me here to protect just like what I did.", you said as you comforted and ease off her frightened state.

Jeongyeon saw her parents and friends through the other sidewalk in front of the campus gate, relieved and happy that their daughter was safe.

She was about to ran and cross the road when you noticed that a speeding car was about to head towards her. Her reaction time was late for her to be aware unlike you.

"JEONGYEON, MOVE!!!", you rushed through her and pushed her away to the sidewalk where her parents and friends standing and waiting for her as they were also got terrified that Jeongyeon was about to get crashed by the car.

But instead, it got you.

The only thing you remember after that is blacking out and waking up in a hospital room wearing a white gown with your left arm and leg bandaged and supported by a brace.

Your head and vision felt like the entire room was spinning as you became dizzy for a brief seconds before it slowly faded away, just as a womanly figure appeared in front of your face.

She enclosed her upper body around yours in preparation for a hug. You could feel her tears on your sleeve. You can now see Jeongyeon crying in your arms as your eyesight has enhanced.

"You're finally awake, YN!", she said. "God, I was so worried of you. I thought that accident could take your life away."

She removed herself away from you as she looked at you nervously. "D-do you still remember me... YN?"

"As far as I know, Yoo Jeongyeon, I could still recognize you." you said, faintly smiling. Jeongyeon exhaled a sigh of relief. "But what happened to me was totally blank to me."

"You got bumped into a car, YN.", she said. "You had to be taken here in the hospital because that bump you took was very critical. All of us screamed in terror when we watched you flew away from the impact.", she stated as she began to summarize what brought you here hospitalized in a broken condition.

"The doctors informed us that you had bruised ribs and fractured arm and leg," she said as she examined your sealed damaged body parts. "I know dealing with it will be difficult, but YN... we'd rather do it for you than witness you-"

"Enough of it, Jeongyeon.", you said, cutting her off. She shut her mouth instantly, nervous that you might became angry but when you spoke next made her thoughts false.

"When am I getting out of here?"

"I suppose one and a half to two months?" she answered. It was pretty long but you knew time just runs fast you won't even gonna notice that soon it will be over so you just became fine with it.

"How long have you been here?"

"Three days," she said, bowing her head. "Every day, I come to see you and wait for you to wake up. The guilt was attacking me, YN. I know I'm to blame for you being involved in an accident, and I shouldn't have r-"

"Jeongyeon, please. Calm down.", you said as you signalled her. She broke down again into tears and you motioned her to come near at you and she did. You gently rubbed her shoulders to comfort her.

"Why are you blaming yourself? Stop it, it wasn't your fault; the driver of that car knows it's a school zone, and whoever he is didn't follow the street rules that he shouldn't drive that fast,"

"I just lured you away from it and I'm glad that I did. I saved you and you're still here breathing alive and well.", you smiled. Jeongyeon just looked at you unbelievably at how selfless you were. "That's what matters to me and now I that knew about it, I can use it for a speedy recovery, you know?, you chuckled.

Jeongyeon amusingly slapped your arm whuch you whimpered in a slight prick of pain you felt. She apologized immediately but you just disregarded it, since it wasn't that serious.

"I missed you.", she softly said. You grinned from ear to ear. "

"I missed you too, Jeongyeon.

1 MONTH AND 3 WEEKS LATER

Jeongyeon assisted you to stand up from the hospital bed as you decided to stand at the window and feel the cold air fron the outside. It's been pretty exhausting and unsatisfying to have yourself confined in here for that span of time because of your injuries.

The recovery began after you woke up and Jeongyeon was mostly there to support you as she guarded you 24/7 to ensure that you're doing well.

During your healing process, you also received some visits from your parents which was shocking to you because you thought they never cared for you at all.

Jeongyeon's parents also came to convey their heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for saving Jeongyeon not once, but twice in the same morning.

Even her eight other friends came to see you and sent their best wishes and warm messages for what you've done for Jeongyeon and for your current rest.

They apologized for being harsh towards you and expressed their regrets and anger for theirselves on being too much blinded by hate on you.

You just simply accepted them and made official peace with them because both sides desired it.

Leaning at the window with curtains tied up to avoid being swayed too much by the wind, you and Jeongyeon standing side by side as the structures and bright afternoon skylight presented in front of you two.

"Thank you for taking care of me and assisting me in overcoming these hardships I had to face during my recovery, Jeongyeon," you said.

"For you, I had to. It wasn't a burden to me.,", Jeongyeon said, smiling at your touching comment. Both went silent as you continued to look afar outside.

Jeongyeon on the other hand, was preparing herself to do what she planned in mind since she had to guard you for the first day.

She sighed as she aligned her face straight and leveled to your view direction. "YN, do you believe in miracles?", she asked.

"I do... even if I haven't experienced one.", you

"What would you feel if you had it today?"

"Surreal.", you simply replied. "How about you?"

"Same as you too.", she agreed. "And I just had a recent one."

"Really?"

"Yeah.", she nodded. "Since you're involved with this, should I tell you about it?"

"Feel free", you granted her permission.

"Mine's the one you created, YN.", she said.

"Me? What is it that I created?", you were baffled about it.

"The feelings inside my heart I can't explain.", she revealed. You turned your head at her as you heard those words that it sounded as if it meant something more.

"And you did it by yourself. I am not that easy to get but with you... you did the unimaginable.", she said. "You made me fell in love for you.", she confessed. Your eyes widened in disbelief, jaw dropped in shock at what you just learned from Jeongyeon.

You were immensely mindblown at the sudden confession from your friend whom you never thought that she'll turn out once a moment into a forever.

"What?", you were out of words already. You don't even know what to say next even though there's so many questions running through your mind.

"W-why me? Jeongyeon? Out of everyone else out there, why me?", you confusingly asked the girl who is just watching you as you tried to process everything. Breaths running in your throat became shaky along with your mind. "Why would you let yourself fall for a weirdo like me? A joke and a nobody compared to other men out there who could be suitable for you?"

"Whatever qualifications you could find and believe in, do you think that what makes a man?", she asked. "No. It's not. You are the prime example of what kind of a man I prefer, YN.", she pointed at you. She grabbed both of your hands and both watched her fingers caressing the softness of your skin and her touch.

"All of their priorities when it comes to me was nothing but my background and my outside features. Yet you focused right ahead more through my heart and how vulnerable I am. You treated me good as a pure woman who deserves to experience it especially when she's searching for the rightful man to love.", she locked both pair of your hands as squeezed it together with her own.

"When we first met at the back of the building, you don't know how highly impressed I am when you called my bluff and saw through all my tells. Then you went all in and you started unhesistantly helped me which made us left together all too well."

She swayed your hair blocking off those eyes that she always loved to get hypnotized with. "It all started there, YN. Those golden traits and personality of yours that you kept on showing to me the more time has passed leveled up how exactly you look for me.", her hand went lower, now in front of your cheek as she cupped it.

You gulped nervously as you just followed her movements and continued listening to her.

"I've been played before, went through men who tried to steal my heart but nobody took it all seriously. I wasn't supposed to give chances anymore but... I fear that right now, you happened to be someone I'm about to risk it all again."

"I think it's safe to say and to top it all off that I love you, YN.", she said to you wholeheartedly, smiling sweetly at you. Your tears started to form in your eyes and she noticed.

She nodded understandably at you because she knew that you would feel emotional about it knowing that this might be the first time that someone opened up how they cherish you in their life.

She rubbed your shoulder while holding your waist when she saw you starting to stumble and hop a little in your position, getting unbalanced at your stance.

"Let it all out, YN. I'll listen to you, just say what you want to say.", she encouraged. You nodded while she's comforting you.

"I was scared, Jeongyeon.", you started. "I have this fears that became a blockage for me on so many reasons. One of them was to love."

"My self-esteem was very low since when I was a child. Everyone bullies me, bravely reminding how pathetic I am. I wished that atleast my parents could help me but they didn't. All I got from them was verbal abuse.", you shared as you gained some flashbacks of your mother and father always jokingly telling you how ugly you are in every angle which they don't realize already that they're getting very offensive at their words.

You hated it at first but you didn't have the courage to tell them how it affects you because you are scared that they'll just scold you instead for being disrespectful. Now... you are completely numb at it.

Nothing serves as a knife that pierces in your heart for you to feel pain because they made you insecure and despise yourself the same as them.

You took it as a truth and lived up with it.

"I'm bringing it with me up to this day. It did served as a barrier for many reasons. One of it was to love... and I'm currently struggling with it."

"Despite of that, I still feel and develop deep strong feelings of admiration for anyone and as far as I could tell... it's you Jeongyeon I'm capable into these days gone coming by.", you said. Jeongyeon was bewildered and froze at your own confession too. Mixed of emotions full of positivity filling up inside her.

She didn't know that you were also starting to adore her silently the more times you spent being near with her. She's just irresistable not to fell in love with.

Everything she does were shots fired through your heart and it suffered enough to the point that it conceded defeat and chose that Jeongyeon had to make you feel this way.

The only problem here is your fears that's preventing you to look at the bright side and stuck you onto the same old usual opposite.

"But I kept it a secret because, like I said, I just thought you wouldn't like somebody like me ever," you sniffed through your tears as you started to bawl your eyes out in sobs as teardrops raced pouring down in your cheeks.

Jeongyeon encircled her arms around your neck and locked her gaze on you. "I'm sorry that you had to go through every of this in a rough way.", she apologetically said.

She can't imagine how worst your entire childhood where your long time trauma kept on haunting you and started to disillusion you and make convince you of a lie.

"Rest assured, YN. My love for you was true and I trust you with all my heart. All I ask for you is to do the same thing for me and I will do anything to loosen your insecurities and shed a light on your darkness.", she assured you. Both you and her were still crying at this scenario.

"Don't make it hard for yourself when it comes to me anymore, YN. We both now know that we love each other mutually,  there's only one thing we need to do about it."

She leaned her face close to you, placing her lips to connect at your to elicit a soft, delightful and delicate kiss with each other. You joined her rhythm as you went all subdued and enchanted already by her luscious contact of a love gesture to you.

Separating each other from that fluffy, magnificent and romantic moment you two shared, both exchanged I love yous to each other and engulfed again to another warm embrace, feeling thankful and happy with this new established relationship together.

BACK TO PRESENT DAY / 10 YEARS LATER

After you've done reminiscing those memories with Jeongyeon you made while having this glasses with you before, you looked next to your hand you're using to hold.

A perfect small shining wedding ring inserted in your finger.

You smiled broadly when you realized that the same woman you once loved was also wearing this.

Your relationship with Jeongyeon prompted your parents to apologize for the mistake they made with you, which skewed your perspective on yourself.

Jeongyeon planned this, and while you were surprised, you chose to forgive your parents because it's never too late to let anyone realize their wrongdoings and solemnly beg forgiveness.

Both you and Jeongyeon's parents also gave their blessings for your relationship with her. That was where you discovered why Jeongyeon has this such awesome personality, and that was all came from her parents.

Having Jeongyeon as your girlfriend lasted for 3 years until you finally decided to propose to her which... she answered yes straIght away. You had your wedding together after, and there was many people who visited to witness the newlyweds get married; including Jeongyeon's friends which became yours too.

You glanced at the individual photo of Jeongyeon at the top of your desk and smiled blissfully at how beautiful she is here in this picture. She looked just like an angel who came to your life and changed everything for the better.

Your thoughts ended when you heard the door of your house opened. Couple of footsteps can be heard from outside so you got out quickly from the bedroom to see them.

You stood and looked at your small lovely family as the hardworking father who works as a licensed architect these days. Your lovely wife, Jeongyeon, is dressed casually, and your daughter, Gaeul, is dressed in her school uniform and has just gotten freshly out of class. "Good afternoon, dad!" exclaimed your eight-year-old daughter, engulfing you in a hug.

"Good afternoon too! How's class sweetie?"

"We had a lot of fun; we played instruments at school during our music class!" she exclaimed. Your gaze moved to Jeongyeon, who was stunned and staring at you when she saw something noticeable with you.

"I was cleaning in our room and yeah... I accidentally found this," you said, pinching the temple of your old glasses, which you only realized you wore instead of your new and improved ones after looking at your wife's wedding photo.

You were about to remove it when Jeongyeon stepped in front of you and grabbed your hand. Your wife smiled brightly as she assisted you in bringing it back up to your eyes and rearranged some strands of your hair before pinching your cheek.

"No. Keep it.", she said as she observed this familiar appearance that started all all of this journey you had with her. "Even after all these years, it still looks so good on you.", she muttered, tracing your face admiringly.

You grabbed Jeongyeon's hand touching your face and kissed the sides of it. "It's a crazy thing that I didn't know back then when I showed you my hand and you still let me win after being too arrogant just to help you which would turn out to that it was meant to be for us."

"You've fallen for a genius yet a joke and an odd guy like me when I knew you could fall for a thousand men who depicts like a king more than me.", you said as you stared at Jeongyeon.

"Hey, are you thinking down of yourself again?", her forehead crumpled and lips pursed in a pout as she sulked. You chuckled and quickly swayed your head in denial. "I don't care at any of them, YN. Okay? Neither do I wished to live like that in the future."

"What I wanted is this... and you showed and provided me everything I desired for. Sure, you may be a joke unlike every men out there but you did it effortlessly to replace them and steal my heart away in one take.", she said.

"When you were folded, I instead see the best of you, YN.", she raised your hand where she interconnected each other's wedding rings to one another's fingers, you cracked a forced smile as you fight your emotions not to overflow but they were too strong just like how Jeongyeon's words of affections giving you.

"Now look at us, it's the joker and the queen living happily ever after who both found their worths and you won the place not even intended for you but proved that not just a king would be rightful for a throne with me.", she finished her heartwarming message to you foowed up by the usual passionate kiss you two give to each other as one of the signs to show how much you love one another. "I will never ever regret that decision, YN."

"Thank you for loving me, Jeongyeon. I love you and for my queen, I'll be there to serve, protect and lay all on the line for you."

"I love you too, YN and for my joker, I'll be there on your side to share laughters and spread happiness with you."

You each gave another peck of a kiss and just about the same time, you both heard your daughter being frantic and panicking that raised your curiousity.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?", Jeongyeon asked Gaeul who is walking back and forth in the living room.

"Mom, I-I think I left my ukelele at the school...", she said with a horrified expression. Both you and Jeongyeon had each other's mouth agaped.

"Oh no. Wait, don't worry dear. We will find-", before you were about to finish your words all three of you directed their sight at the door whereas the doorbell rang because of some unknown person outside of it.

You opened it and to your surprise, it was a little boy with large eyeglasses, hair perfectly fixed, his collar also buttoned together as he still wearing a school uniform that looks the same like your daughters.

He reminded you of your past self so much. His style was almost as accurate like what you used to be before.

"May I help you kid?"

"Hi Mr. LN, is Gaeul arrived home already?", the little boy asked you who seemed to be your daughter's classmate or friend. You inspected that he was bringing something with him other than his bag.

"I was about to give this ukelele back to her after I noticed she left it in the class, Mr. YN. I chased but she and Mrs. LN already left.", he explained. You smiled at how kind and honest of a kid he is.

Unbeknownst to you, Gaeul was peeking to the door beside you. She saw her classmate standing and talking with you while bringing her personalized ukelele with him.

"SUNGHOON!", she yelled in glee. The boy's smile widened to see your daughter.

"You found my ukelele?"

"Yes. I was the last one who left the classroom after I helped our teacher bring her things to her office then I saw your ukelele under your chair.", he narrated. "So... here, you can have it now."

Jeongyeon stood behind you and both witnessed your daughter rushed to hug this kid named Sunghoon in front of you.

After they bid goodbyes to each other and Gaeul looking flushed as she cuddle her favorite instrument with her, Jeongyeon giggled and whispered "They're cute." to your ear before she thanked Sunghoon.

As they returned inside, you saw Sunghoon also clenching his lips tightly to form a smile while his face blushing hard mainly because of his interaction and contact with your little girl.

You smirked as you already had it guessed the possibility of them acting like this because you knew you've been there before.

"Hey kid.", you called him. He raised his head back up to look at you.

"Y-yes sir?"

"Continue what you're doing.", you winked ans clicked your tongue before you thanked him too and wished Sunghoon a safe way home.

You closed the door and reconcile with your small happy family at the couch together to take arest with your arms spread apart, one to your beautiful wife Jeongyeon and one to your adorable and bright daughter Gaeul.

----------END----------

-🐶-

#twicejeongyeon #twiceau #twiceoneshots #kpopau #jeongyeonxmreader #jeongyeononeshot #kpoponeshots

[nicsalazar]

Language of loss || Nicole & Milo

TIMING: Back when Milo was staying with Nicole and Leah. LOCATION: Ramirez Residence PARTIES: @escudofracturado & @nicsalazar SUMMARY: Milo and Nicole spend a little time together, realize they have some similar wounds. CONTENT WARNING: Heavy sibling death tw. Self harm tw

As soon as Nicole crossed the threshold of her apartment, she dropped her gym bag on the floor. Leah would be mad, but she was still working downstairs. What she didn’t know, didn't hurt her. She’d pick it up before she came up. Or maybe, depending on how the evening unfolded, Nicole might join her for a bit. Help around the store. 

Her keys flew to the kitchen counter, and she made her way to the refrigerator, pulling a bottle of sparkling water from inside. Just in time, she heard the bell on Jane’s collar and Nacho’s messy steps coming to greet her. Well, Nacho at least did. Jane kept her distance, one dignified glance of acknowledgment and she rushed back to their room. Nicole understood, she was equally as disappointed when it wasn’t Leah opening the door. She reached down to give her dog a few scratches when the door of the guest room clicked. 

“Oh— Uh, hey” she smiled at the figure coming out. Nicole hadn’t spent too much time with Milo. Work and all it entailed. But she was happy to see him get comfortable around their home. She wasn’t sure how it worked, she had spent countless introspective nights going over it, but housing people always turned her into a different person. Truth was, there wasn’t a moment to be herself around this boy, she had to be better. Grown up. He had to know he was welcome and safe and— it was the whole reason Leah had adapted that extra room for visitors. 

Had she had someone like Leah on her side when she woke up from her five year jaguar slumber, her journey would’ve been a lot different. Might have gotten her shit together a lot faster. 

Nicole opened one of the cabinets, pulling up different takeout menus and beckoning Milo to approach. “You eat already? Was thinking of ordering something for dinner. Too tired to cook”.

Milo was eternally grateful to Nicole and Leah for letting him stay with them. The Bearcliff wasn’t the worst place to be stuck, but being there for over a month had taken a chunk out of his savings. He wasn’t even sure how long he would be in Wicked’s Rest, honestly. He didn’t hate it here, but he was fairly sure the town was cursed or something. 

He had been off that day, and he had spent a lot of the day in bed, trying to find the energy to do something other than listen to music, play video games, and doze off. However, it had been one of those days where everything seemed to require more effort than usual, as if someone had turned up the gravity. Blinking, he awoke to a darkened room, and with a sigh he got up to turn on the guest room lights. 

The sound of the door startled him, helping to shake the haze of sleep from his mind. Grabbing his water bottle, Milo opened the door to find Nicole in the kitchen. “Hey,” he greeted. “Just getting in?” he asked as he drank the last of his water and refilled the bottle. He still felt a little awkward in the home, hyperaware of the fact that he was invading on Leah and Nicole’s space. He knew this was something they did, that they had literally offered to him, and he had gotten much more comfortable, but…

He blinked, catching half of Nicole’s question. “Sorry, what did you–” Mind finally processing the words, he cut himself off. “Oh! No, I haven’t, actually.” Milo frowned, trying to remember if he had eaten today. PopTarts. He’d had PopTarts at some point, but he was pretty sure that was it. He had slept a lot, though. 

Running a hand through his undoubtedly messy hair, he joined Nicole at the counter.“That sounds good. What were you thinking?”

A half grin curved Nicole’s lips, amusement evident in the eyebrow she raised. “Good nap? A comfortable bed changes your life,” she hummed absently, opening her drink. She chugged in silence, letting Milo wake up enough before continuing the conversation. “This is actually…” she tilted her head, as if she was trying to recall something hard. But it wasn’t hard at all, “the first good bed I’ve slept on in— six and a half? Seven years?” she had meant it, the first time they met, when she said she understood what he was going through. Leaving home, for whatever reason, was always a painful experience. And maybe —hopefully— depending on how the evening unfolded, they could touch on some difficult conversations, which have had a pin on it since he moved in.  

“No thoughts” she quipped, and she actually intended it as a joke. Nicole hated how true it was that exercise made someone happier, considering how much she hated the gym. She leaned forward, sharing the menus with Milo. “I think Leah might want something that gives us bread on the side” by now, he must’ve picked up on her girlfriend’s obsession with bread. “Italian maybe…” she mumbled to herself, switching the Italian restaurant on top. “But…I passed by that Chinese place around the corner? and it’s been a while since I had their orange chicken,” her brows knitted together. Decisions. “What do you feel like eating, you’re— Not a picky eater are you?” she wondered, no judgment in her tone. Unfortunately, she had her own food intolerances, so she knew what that was like. She encouraged him to take a look at the menus, pulling out her phone. “Can buy whatever you want. You’re the guest”.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he flashed her a sheepish smile. Did a depression nap count as a real nap? He had woken up still feeling endlessly tired, but it did have the word nap right there in its name. “Guess you could say that, yeah,” Milo shrugged.  “It is a really comfortable bed.” Probably the most comfortable mattress he’d ever slept on, especially after several weeks on a motel bed. 

Listening to Nicole drop that little tidbit, it made him even more curious about her. “That so?” She seemed nice and cool; plus, she was a firefighter, which was super badass. It was a job that took her away for unknown stretches of time, though, which meant that they hadn’t been able to spend as much time together as him and Leah. “You must be in heaven these days, then.”

Milo grinned. “Head empty,” he added. He could relate. His head had been so foggy lately, thoughts all muddled and chaotic. It had become a little overwhelming, if he were being honest. But they were talking dinner. Right. He flipped through some of the menus, though his empty, still a little sleep addled head was making it difficult to actually look through them. “Yeah, she likes bread, huh?” He laughed. “I mean, I get it– bread is great.” Unfortunately, one could not live off of bread alone. 

“Ooh,” Milo perked up at the suggestion, “Chinese does sound good. I don’t think I’ve had any since I got here, actually.” He remembered getting some right before leaving New York; he had ordered from one of Gen’s go-to spots. An ache ran through him at the thought of her, but it was nowhere near as bad as it usually was. He shook his head as if it would rid him of the memory. “I’m not picky, though– the opposite, really. I’d try most things at least once.” He wasn’t Anthony Bourdain, but he liked trying new things. 

“You really don’t have to give me the special guest treatment, you know.” He knew arguing was pointless by now, but it’s not like he was really a guest. More of a temporary roommate or something. Milo didn’t deserve all the kindness Leah and Nicole had been showing him, anyway. He was eternally grateful for it, though. 

Nicole took another sip of her water, mostly to hide the proud smile on her face. It was a little embarrassing to be constantly swooning over Leah, wasn’t it? But it was true. The whole idea of a guest room had been hers to begin with, and though Nicole helped build things, the mastermind was all Leah. “Mm, that’s good. Should be”. 

She breathed out a laugh at the heaven comparison, glancing down at the island. Again, it felt too mushy of a concept, but she found it impossible to find a closer analogy. Granted, she was never a wordsmith to begin with. “Something like that, very close to— I think” Nicole replied idly, still flipping through menus. “Bread’s great,” she echoed, darting her eyes around the room, almost as if she expected Leah to poof in front of them if she heard them even attempting to diss her favorite food. “Between us, glad you picked Chinese though,” she scrolled down her phone, searching for those delivery apps Leah downloaded for her. She wasn’t too adept to all the new technology that dropped in the midst of her human hiatus, but delivery apps? Her favorite. If it were up to her, she’d never make a phone call in her life ever again.

Once she finished placing the order, Nicole looked up from her phone, eyes narrowed. Leah had mentioned this happening before. “I think someone who's been shacking up in shitty motels for mysterious reasons deserves special treatment” she rounded the island, picked up her bottle and walked towards the couch. “No. No pressure,” she assured him quickly. It hadn’t been an attempt to dig for the truth. That would happen when he felt like it. Maybe even after he was gone, having found a definitive place to stay. Maybe never. Some people, like she had in the past, needed a lot more reassurance to allow those walls to come down. Tender treatment. 

“But— I meant it. Before Leah, I was staying in a shitty cabin. Middle of the woods. Before that— didn’t even have a roof over my head. I pay it forward. You will too. Special treatment it is,” she knew Leah had been rubbing off on her when the end of her sentence left little to no room for argument. But in this case, she kinda needed it.  

Nicole watched Milo for a moment, wondering if he’d join her on the couch. If he’d keep to himself in the kitchen. If he’d go back to his room until the delivery rang. She found herself surprised to find the uncertainty less unnerving than usual. Maybe it was because he reminded her of Yadiel. She couldn’t stop her mind from making that connection. The longer he stayed, the more she wondered if her heart would make it too. But something about bringing up her —assumed— dead brother felt manipulative. “Wanna put something on TV while we wait? Don’t know what’s popular these days. Leah’s uh— she’s making me watch The L word. First time. I’m a little traumatized”.

Nicole and Leah were a sweet couple. It was obvious that they really loved each other from the way they talked about one another, and it made Milo smile, even if it did stir up memories of his ex that made his stomach drop. He quickly shoved those back down, though, because no thanks. He didn’t need to think about that right now, certainly not while he was in the middle of talking to Nicole. 

There was an amused grin on his face as the woman looked around them as if Leah was going to appear just at the mention of bread. “Good to switch things up sometimes,” he nodded. However, his smile dropped as she looked up at him with narrowed eyes and brought up his reason for staying at the motel and the town in general. The couple hadn’t exactly prodded into his past, and he had greatly appreciated that fact, but it made sense they would be curious. Nicole quickly reassured him, and he offered her a smile, but it didn’t quite feel right on his face. 

It was both saddening and reassuring to hear her talk about her past. Milo had seen a lot of down on their luck teens and young adults at his previous job, people who had been kicked out for who they were, who they loved, people who had to flee from dangerous situations, people who needed the assistance and community the organization offered in order to stay alive. He wondered if Nicole had dealt with something similar, or if it were some other terrible situation that had left her alone with nowhere to stay. Either way, it hurt his heart to think about, made his throat tighten as he thought about her and Leah paying it forward. Swallowing thickly, he nodded, “Yeah.” Honestly, he wasn’t sure he’d even make it to a point where he could do anything close to what Leah and Nicole were doing here. 

He forced himself to drink some water before following her over to the couch. Leaving  a bit of space between them, Milo curled up, one leg underneath him as he pulled the other to his chest. “Oh, uh, sure,” he shrugged, chuckling as she mentioned the show. “It’s been on my list of things to watch, but I’ve never actually seen it,” he admitted. “I can have a hard time getting myself to concentrate on new shows, so I have, like, a million things on my watch list and usually end up rewatching the same few shows.” 

Nicole would never claim to be an advocate for change or switching things up. If anything, there was a certain comfort in something consistent and predictable. Especially after almost a decade of unpredictability. But right, she could grant this one to Milo. It was good to switch things up when it came to food. Plus, Leah enjoyed Chinese too, despite her sometimes one-track mind. So she’d have something for her when she closed the store. It wasn’t bread, but delicious orange chicken would do. Win some, lose some. 

Though he had initially reminded her of Yadiel, it was his inability to say much despite the evident signs of emotion written all over his face that made Nicole realize she was comparing him to the wrong Salazar. The corners of her mouth tensed up slightly, regarding him with a nod when all he managed out was an affirmative. She understood painfully well what that was like. Emotions usually caught in her throat too. She wondered what sort of pain a twenty-something kid could endure to have him so tongue-tied. It felt unimaginable. He should’ve been worrying about dumb shit, making stupid mistakes, or whatever the early twenties were supposed to be. She didn’t know, she didn’t live them. Ironically, she had forgotten how young she had been when her own suffering began. No, age had nothing to do with being deserving of trauma. Sometimes life was fucked up from the beginning. 

“We don’t have to watch that, really” it came out too much like a plea, so Nicole cleared her throat, rubbing her jawline as she thought of a reasonable excuse. “She might be mad if I go ahead without her”. Right. That was logical. And in all honesty, hating the show with her girlfriend was a pretty fun activity all things considered. It was their own little thing at the moment. “Was thinking you should pick up something instead,” she said, taking no offense on the fact Milo had left some space between them. If anything, she was relieved to have her own bubble intact. She offered the remote. She wasn’t sure how Leah did it, or how it worked, but somehow that tiny gadget had every app stuffed in it. Milo would be able to find something, right?  

“Don’t really watch TV myself, unless she’s making me,” the affection in Nicole’s voice made it clear there was no one making her do anything. It was something she’d gladly do to spend time with someone she cared about. She did, however, relate to Milo’s struggle with television. “Right. I don’t— spending all that time…sitting, feels— Uh, unproductive”. A waste of time. Time she had already wasted being stuck as a jaguar for five years. Then wasted by being wasted. Time she was never getting back. She looked down to her phone when it vibrated, the notification that the restaurant was preparing their food popped on the screen. “Should pick up one of those you’ve been meaning to watch” she encouraged, “Leah’s got all of those—streamings. Don’t know if you’ve had the money to pay for…” she trailed off, because she wasn’t sure how the whole thing worked, but mostly in case she was venturing into an emotional landmine for Milo. “If you pick something short we can finish it together”. 

Milo could feel her eyes on him as he processed everything she’d said. The wave of sadness that had washed over him at her words, at his musing, seemed to have taken all his energy, left him feeling hollow. When he spoke again, his voice was still rough, but was more subdued, more dead, than it had been. “I’m sorry… that you were dealing with that– before, Leah, I mean. ’S’not a situation anyone should have to be in.” 

He wanted to be honest with her. He liked Nicole, and he liked Leah, and they had welcomed him into their home out of the kindness of their hearts. Milo wanted to tell her something true, at least, but he didn’t especially know what to say. It’s not like he could tell her everything, even if he wanted to, which he did not. He simply couldn’t. And, he didn’t know if she, or Leah for that matter, knew anything about the supernatural, about magic. He didn’t want them to think he was crazy, that they brought some unstable kid into their home– even if it was kinda true. Jesus, they had kinda brought an unstable killer in their home, hadn’t they? It was everyone’s nightmare scenario; he could almost laugh if it weren’t so fucked. 

Gael, what had he told Gael? That partial truth that had all but fallen out of him the moment he was around the kind man? He had managed to tell him without entirely falling apart, he could give Nicole that much. “...My, uh–” Despite the void inside of him, his throat still felt incredibly raw as he spoke. He cleared it, eyes glued to the ground immediately in front of the couch. “My older sister died.” 

His voice cracked a little on the final word. Died. It felt like a lie. Genevieve hadn’t just died, after all. There had been nothing natural about her death. She had been killed, and it was his fucking fault. Milo shoved a hand in his pocket, dug his fingers into the fabric, pressing into the skin of his thigh, covered in scars old and new. It sent a small shock of pain through him that barely did anything, but it was better than nothing. Focusing on the physical pain helped pull his attention away from the ache in his chest. 

”I was–“ with her. Nope, he couldn't go there. “I just... I couldn't stay in New York after.” She was everywhere and nowhere all at once. Everywhere he looked was another memory, another moment he would never be able to have with his sister. “So, after a while, I gave my roommates a heads-up, and then I packed my shit up, and I quit my job and I left.”

Milo looked up at Nicole, not quite seeing her, as his mind was somewhere else entirely– somewhere up and a little to the right. The smile he gave her was pathetic, hollow. She had unlocked part of his tragic backstory, and he had absolutely fucking destroyed the mood. “Sorry, that's kind of a bummer story,” he joked. 

He smiled faintly as Nicole practically begged to watch something other than The L Word. “Not enjoying it?” Grabbing the remote, he pulled up their Netflix account. A trailer began to play quietly as he turned to her.  ”Maybe a movie, then?“ Preferably something lighthearted to help clear out the intense, heavy mood he had brought over the interaction. Maybe Glass Onion or Nimona? Those were definitely on his watch list.

The corners of her mouth curved, albeit slightly, when Milo managed to find his sentence along the way. Right— Sympathy. Nicole could never quite grasp what to do when she was granted some. And she had, of course, received plenty. Any time she was brave enough to be vulnerable. Still, it left her feeling incompetent. Not yet equipped to be a real human. How could she ever become the kind of guidance Milo and others needed when she felt so uncomfortable with something so simple? She could tell his words were much more honest too, given the few things she knew about him. She settled for a curt nod, simply agreeing with the fact that. No. No one should have to witness their life end at fifteen. 

Having passed that moment, that small window that could’ve offered the possibility of a real, deep talk, Nicole hadn’t seen his admission coming. She glanced at him quickly, forcing her wide-eyed expression of surprise into something neutral before dropping her gaze to her lap. She was waiting, listening, if Milo wished to elaborate. And talking was so much harder with eyes on you, she thought. Though the silence allowed for her to interject, she chose not to. She wanted him to get the truth out, every bit he was capable of sharing in this moment, with her. Her heart plummeted to her stomach, pieces connecting. A story too familiar for Nicole to pretend it didn’t strike a chord with her. She frowned as the apology came, even if it was poorly disguised as a joke. It wasn’t as if they had been throwing a party seconds before. They were both pretty fucking depressed, anyway. He shouldn’t have to apologize. Sorry for what? He had no fault in this. 

She allowed herself a moment of silence to process the information Milo had unloaded on her. “Put on… Glass Onion” Nicole requested, before anything else, pointing to the screen. It was bound to become background noise at least for a moment. Alright, she supposed, understanding was a good place to start. Because she sure as hell fucking understood. She could offer that.

“Lost my siblings too” she sighed, when the screen went black and the Netflix logo flashed big and bright. “Younger— Both of them” She blinked slowly, as if she were reminiscing it all over again. “About… thirteen years ago”. There was nothing vague about the time. 13 years on October 31st. But Nicole sure liked how it sounded coming from her lips with a little less certainty. More detached. As if she didn't wake up every single day to two seconds of blissful unawareness, only to remember everyone she’d lost in the following breath. ‘About’ made it easier to get it out. ‘About’ kept her from falling apart. “Yadiel. And… uh, Nayeli”. She had uttered their names so rarely in all those years, that they almost sounded foreign in her tongue, strangers in her ears. Wasn’t that a horrible thing to realize? 

Nicole could’ve lied to him, fed him the same bullshit she’d heard before. It gets better. AA meetings, friends, and colleagues who had been lucky enough to get one small tidbit of her past, everyone had parroted the same. Grief made people uncomfortable, turned them into liars and everyone was fine with it. It made her uncomfortable. She had no magic cure to offer Milo, but she could be honest. “Some days… the good ones— It’s… it’s just static. Annoying, impossible to fix. Gets in the way of… Uh, it never— doesn’t go away, not really. Not— But— you can get by. It still lets you…you— You get to feel and see and— and live around it” she breathed out, uncertain if he was old enough to remember that feeling. “I’ll have to… Uh, get back to you on whether you ever breathe properly again, though. Still— still waiting on that one” It wasn’t comfort, but it was her truth. There was an emptiness to his gaze that wouldn’t have taken to soothing words anyway. He was beyond pain, she understood. Walking around as if everything had been taken from him, because it had. She supposed she would’ve recognized that expression a few years ago, had she been looking in a mirror. “But, I’m— I’m so, so sorry, Milo”. She felt the tears in her words, though nothing had spilled yet. She reached for him, not quite making it to his shoulder, but grazed his shirt. “What was her name?” That was all she needed, all she wanted to know before moving on. 

The silence stretched on for a moment, his throat seeming to constrict more and more with every second. He shouldn't have said anything. He was stupid, he could've left it alone, but no. Something about Nicole's honesty, the way she was willing to let him off the hook, had allowed him to find his stupid voice and– Glass Onion. Right. That would hopefully help lighten the mood. Not that he would be able to pay it much attention now. Following Nicole’s request, he turned it on, though he left the volume at its low level. From the way she was looking at him, it seemed like she was trying to find the words to respond. And when she did…

Milo's jaw clenched as he fought against the prickles of tears behind his eyes. Even while overwhelmed by the numbness, that emptiness still managed to ache somehow. His heart still managed to break for Nicole, despite how distant the pain of it actually felt. It was just another drop into the void, an echo of the real emotion, bouncing off and back around against the jagged edges of his being– a ghost, an approximation of a feeling. 

Thirteen years. Thirteen years without her siblings. It felt impossible to imagine, but that was the future he and Luci were facing, if he managed to survive that long. That seemed rather unlikely at the moment, but… Thirteen years. It didn’t feel real, nothing did. The last several months had felt like an awful fucking nightmare that he just wanted to wake up from. But his sister was gone, would continue to be gone no matter what he did. His eyes began to water slightly, though no tears fell. “I–” he swallowed, trying to clear up some of the tightness in his throat. “I’m really sorry.” Yadiel and Nayeli. He wondered what had happened to them, if it had been as awful and sudden as Gen, if Nicole had gotten the chance to say goodbye. 

Listening to her speak, he couldn’t– he couldn’t do it, do this. He couldn’t breathe. The air felt heavy with their emotions and that buzzing magical energy that seemed to taunt him. Milo couldn’t fuck up again, he needed to stay in control. He was scared of what might happen otherwise. Holding his breath, he gritted his teeth trying to hold himself together, only taking in small, shaky, measured breaths when his lungs felt as if they might cave in. It made his lips twitch in slight amusement as he heard Nicole mention not being able to breathe properly. 

Her apology nearly broke him, eyes welling with tears that threatened to spill over at any moment. He felt a slight crackle of energy spark across his fingertips that had him balling up his fists, nails digging into the skin of his palms. His lungs burned. Control yourself. 

It took him several moments to pull himself together enough to answer her question, a tear or two managing to slip out before he could blink them away entirely. He stared through the TV screen, just barely processing the images he was seeing. Was Benoit Blanc sitting in a bathtub and playing Among Us with Natasha Lyonne? “Genevieve.” His voice was low, thick with emotion. “Her name… was Genevieve.” 

Was. Everything within him tensed up at the utterance of that single word, and he was positive he’d managed to break skin. He was getting a little lightheaded from holding his breath so much. But after a moment he was able to take in one breath, and then another, his body beginning to relax ever so slowly as another wave of emptiness washed over him. There was a slight sting on his palms, a bit of an ache in his jaw, but he hadn’t exploded, and that was all that mattered. 

Her cheeks strained as her lips stretched into a bittersweet smile, the muscles atrophied from the years without use. The words had rarely felt as honest as they did now, coming from Milo’s mouth. It made it even harder to retort with a bleak ‘thanks’. “I know,” Nicole nodded, her fingers still awkwardly patting the air. It is what it is, she thought for a moment, deciding against speaking out loud. That was more somber than either of them needed. There was a time for that, and it wasn’t now. Her forehead creased, watched him restrain himself from showing how he truly felt. Her stomach sank with guilt. Guilt she knew, didn’t belong in this conversation. She respected Milo’s wish to share or not, and she knew he would have avoided the topic if he didn’t want to engage. It didn’t mean Nicole couldn’t feel terribly uncomfortable for prompting his reaction. 

Nicole never liked her ability to hear other people’s heartbeats —and she would’ve been able to tell Milo was distressed even without enhanced hearing— but picking up his rapid beat sure fucked her up more than she wanted. She wished to offer some encouraging words, or something to mitigate whatever he was feeling. But she came up empty and before she could get any words out, something crackled in his hand. Nicole’s gaze snapped down. It was gone by the time she blinked, but she knew she hadn’t imagined it. What was— Was he…like Leah? 

She stopped herself from going down the supernatural spiral, because despite Milo’s reaction, he had offered a name: Genevieve. The name hung between them, as quietly as the loud pounding from his heart allowed. Nicole’s expression softened. She knew what followed too. This was the part where someone would try to speak on behalf of the deceased. Offer one of those vague or empty affirmations. Stupid, empty words. They wouldn’t want you suffering. You have to live for them. They’re with you somehow. Nicole was a rational woman, she knew that to be true. If she could distance herself enough, if she decentered herself from the pain. If she looked at it like some disembodied entity, she knew that. Obviously. She felt her family with her every single day. They would want her happy. Milo’s sister would want him happy. But she’d never found much comfort in that, not when they weren’t there to see it. 

She knew better than to keep pushing, though. She’d seen what intense emotions could do to Leah’s abilities. Though, Nicole didn’t think what she’d seen from Milo was fire, but something else. It must work the same, right? Similar principle. Emotions triggered many things in supernatural beings.  Fuck, fear triggered her first shift, for example. And— She couldn’t be sure if Milo wanted to talk about it. If he wanted her to acknowledge it. If he even knew what he had done. She wouldn’t care if his power were to blow up and break a few things in the house, she didn’t want him to break any further. “Genevieve. She— that’s a beautiful name,” was the only thing she muttered, breath shaky, eyes stinging. “Thank you, for sharing” her gentle gaze was on him for a second, her brain connecting his name to his sister in her head. Curiosity sparked, but she was considerate enough not to let it show. “Any time you wanna talk about her— Know that I’ll listen,” it was one thing she felt confident to offer. Maybe talking about her would be easier than talking about how her absence made him feel. Only then, she realized how true the statement felt for her as well. Why didn’t speak more about her siblings? What was she gaining by keeping them locked in her memory? Memories that might fade with the passing of time. And then what? Would anyone remember Yadiel and Nayeli? 

Nicole turned her head toward the television, an assortment of people she’d never seen before walking around in very fancy attires. Shit she’d clearly never wear. The fuck was this all about? She looked, but didn’t really see. The movie was just a distraction while she let the minutes pass. While Milo’s breathing slowed down, and his heart stopped jamming against his chest and Nicole’s eardrums. It wasn’t awkward, or rather, she didn’t have enough mental capacity to analyze whether it felt awkward or not. Eventually, when his tension was less palpable, she clicked her tongue. “Fuck. Not picking up anything. Are you?” She breathed out, failing to inject some humor into her words. 

Her phone vibrated not long after, saving her from her poor attempt at lightening the mood. “Oh. Uh, food’s ready for pickup”. Nicole hesitated, jaw clenched as she took Milo in. What if he locked himself in the room and didn’t want to hang out after she came back? What if he didn’t want to speak? No, that was— She could almost hear Leah’s voice in her head. None of that mattered, this wasn’t about her. What mattered was that he was comfortable and he had food for the evening. And she could help with both those things. “Maybe… we can— Uh, start from the beginning… when I’m back,” she gave a non-committal shrug, leaving the suggestion hanging in the air, letting him know it wouldn’t feel awkward on her end.  

He could register Nicole's hand, hovering awkwardly over his shoulder, the desire to comfort him, the hesitation. And he felt some distant appreciation over it. Mostly, though, he appreciated the fact that she hadn't laid a hand on his shoulder. Because maybe if it had been anyone else, it wouldn't have mattered as much, but knowing that she understood at least some of the pain, some of the raging inferno of devastation that he tried so hard to keep at bay, Milo was fairly certain it would've broken him. And breaking was not a luxury that could be afforded to someone like him, even before his powers had been ruined.

So, he sat and clung desperately onto the barrier that had formed between him and his emotions, tensing his body, holding his breath, digging his nails into his palm– anything to maintain the last shred of control he had left.

He managed a slight nod, a twitch of his lips, in response to Nicole's words, her thanks, her offer to listen. It took him a few moments of sitting in that feeling of emptiness, letting it wash over him, allowing the barrier to stabilize before he could actually get himself to speak without fear of cracking. Still, he couldn't quite look at her yet, couldn't bear to see whatever somber, pitying expression was likely on her face. ”Thanks,“ he said quietly, voice raspy. ”And, uh, I'll– I’ll listen, too.“

Clearing his throat, Milo reached for his water bottle, taking a long chug and shaking his head as Nicole asked about the movie. “Yeah, no,” he confirmed just as her phone began to buzz. Food. Right. ”Yeah, sounds good.“ There was a piss poor attempt at a smile before the woman got up to head to the door, and he scurried to the bathroom for a minute. He allowed himself a few moments by himself to breathe and splash some water on his face, as well as clean up the shallow semicircle cuts on his palms. And if a few of those moments were spent staring blankly at his reflection, he certainly wasn't going to tell anyone. However, when he made his way back out, Nicole was setting bags down onto the kitchen counter.

He made sure to rewind the movie before making his way over to her, Kida and Nacho already lingering nearby, beckoned over the smell of food. “Should I tell Leah the foods here?”

Nicole found herself surprised by the realization that she would be taking Milo up on his offer. Or wished to, if that made any difference. Not now certainly, maybe not consistently either, there were hang ups, mental barriers she could never quite get rid off, but the possibility was there for her to take. Other than Leah, who already knew all she was capable of sharing about her family and Andy, whom Nicole had thought on more than one occasion to share her truth with, there was no one else she felt ready to burden with the heavy weight of her grief. She appreciated the idea of discussing all of it with someone who understood what loss like that did to a person. “Will keep it in mind,” her gaze was nowhere near Milo’s face, too vulnerable to even try eye contact, but her words were as honest as the tears stinging her eyes.

She nodded curtly, rising from the couch, though she lingered by the door for a second. Something about leaving the people she cared about, even for a few minutes, fucked her up. Nicole had no way of knowing if things would be as she left them before going. A ridiculous, anxious thought. She knew of course, she was quicker than anybody to apply logic to her musings. Knowing had never been much of a solution. Knowing didn’t erase the sense of dread, sinking bitterly in her stomach, nor the tightness in her chest. This was a quick run to the restaurant, it should be fine. It would be fine. Logically. “Back soon” she whispered, lips pressed into a line before picking up her keys from the counter and walking out. 

A slight mishap with the order aside, Nicole was back in their apartment a few minutes after. The empty apartment sent both her heart and her mind running, but a few seconds later, Milo emerged from the bathroom, looking in far better shape than Nicole had left him. Nerves fluttered in her stomach. Alright, he still wanted to hang out. Even if— yeah, probably for the food, if nothing else. But— as Leah would’ve reminded her, again— there were things more important than her own comfort. Or the traps her mind wanted to set up for her. When her eyes flickered to Milo, her smile was tight, as much as she would’ve liked for it to read gentle or reassuring. She glanced down quickly, with the excuse of setting up everything for dinner. Right. Plates, in case he didn’t want to eat straight from the container. Chopsticks and napkins. “Uh—” She peered inside the bag, checking all the identical looking boxes. “This one’s yours,” she corrected, swapping the one closest to him for the one still inside the bag. “And mine,” she pulled out the rest of their things, leaving only what she’d specifically ordered for Leah.  

Nicole smiled at the animals rushing to sniff the food, shaking her head at his question. “Can text her later, it’s— She won’t be done with work for an hour or so,” she rounded the counter, moving toward the couch. Giving Milo similar space for him to sit as they had before. She let out a huff, channeling some of her tension out with that breath. Casual dinner. Right, she could do it. They could do it. Normal and not at all painful.

“Alright. Attempt number two. Whenever you’re ready…”

#sibling death tw #self harm tw #wickedswriting #w #w: milo #w: language of loss #hurt a little (a lot)

[dragonmuse]

Could we maybe get more of Jim with Pickle and/or Sweeney? I think they're so fun!!

(month and a half later, coming in with some Jim, Pickle and a little Oluwande )

Oluwande opened the door and Pickle sprinted in, yelling hello as they dashed up to Jim, 

“Are we really going?” she demanded. 

Jim dropped their breakfast plate into the sink. “We’re going.” 

“YES!” Pickle punched the air. 

“It’s a big birthday present,” Delly was saying as she stepped inside. “Are you sure...” 

“Jim was going to go on their own,” Oluwande assured her. “I’m not sure which of them is more excited.” 

“ME!” Pickle bounced. 

“Definitely the kid,” Jim affirmed.  

“Sure,” Oluwande grinned. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll have fun,” Delly looked between them all. “I’ll be back at five to pick her up. Try to get some video for us.” 

“Can I do chin ups?” Pickle asked. 

Obligingly, Jim stuck out their arm, anchoring their elbow to their hip so Pickle could use it as a pull up bar. Delly hid a smile, 

“Have fun, sweetheart.” 

“I will! Love you, mom!” 

“Love you too.” 

Pickle managed a handful of chinups, then spent a few minutes admiring the duck collection (which these days had its own small set of wooden shelves hung next to the kitchen cabinets). She deemed her favorite as the one who had a jaunty top hat on. 

By then it was time to go, Jim jamming their things into their pockets and Oluwande taking whatever else he thought they’d need in the patchwork bag John had made him ages ago. It’s patches were starting to need patches, but it did make him easy to spot in crowd. 

“Ready?” Jim asked Pickle. 

“Yes, let’s goooooo!” 

They took the train up. Oluwande produced a little magnetic travel version of Sorry! From his bad and they played it with Pickle mostly charmed by the miniatureness of the pieces more than the game.  The station was wooded, everything lush and green when they got out. Jim shed their coat, pleased with the air on their skin. 

“Supposed to be a pickup,” Jim told Oluwande as they came out of the station. 

“Looks like some people are waiting over there,” he pointed and before either of them could look further, Pickle dashed over to the group and asked one of the other kids, 

“Are you going to the airfield?” 

“Yeah!” the kid grinned. “Are you?” 

“Uh huh!” 

The two of them were already in deep conversation within the minute it took Jim and Oluwande to catch up. A woman standing with the boy smiled at them, 

“She’s a friendly one, huh?” 

“Yeah,” Oluwande laughed. “No idea where she gets it from.”

“Thomas.” It certainly wasn’t from Delly, who could be warmed up over time, but otherwise looked disturbingly like her brother and just as barbed. Jim liked her a lot.  

“How old? The woman asked. 

“Eight,” Oluwande provided. 

“Milo is nine. He’s been excited about this for weeks.” 

“Should be fun. I’ll be staying on the ground though.” 

“Oh me too!” 

Jim let Oluwande and the woman chatter on. Pickle and the kid had run out of conversation, but Pickle didn’t seem to mind, looking upwards, 

“That cloud looks like a deer,” she said confidently. 

“Yeah?” Jim searched and found no such thing. “Cool.” 

A small bus pulled up and then it was ride into a world of open fields. Jim leaned forward in their seat to look out the window, Pickle practically climbing over them to see too. The planes gleamed, sleek, small and poised as if hungry to take to the air. Above them, a flight had just taken off, the hum of engines filling the air. 

“They’re small,” Oluwande said, a pinch to his lips. 

“We’ll be fine,” they kept their eyes on the window. 

“I know, but still.” 

When they arrived, a perky squad of teenagers started giving them a long spiel about safety and proper etiquette. Jim listened with one ear and had their eyes on the sky the rest of the time. Planes took off, soaring easy as breathing overhead.  The clouds Pickle had spotted before had mostly traveled away, an expanse of endless blue before them. 

“All right, let’s get our wings!” One of the teens said, clapping their hands together. “Our pilots are waiting for you.” 

Waiting was extremely irritating and Pickle apparently agreed, getting increasingly fidget-y in the hanger until Jim decided they should just poke around until told to stop. Oluwande didn’t even try to stop them. 

“I’ll hold your spot and text you when we get closer,” he decided, already taking out the book he’d brought for himself. 

“Love you,” they said and kissed his cheek, pleased by how it made him smile before they wandered off. 

The look confident and walk fast trick somehow still worked with a seven-year-old glued to your side which was pretty cool if you wanted to see the inside of a maintenance hanger.  No one else was inside, so they were able to investigate. 

“Look at all this!” Pickle pointed to a workbench, laden with what looked like engine parts. “What do you think it all does?” 

“That’s a piston,” Jim gestured to it, not touching. There were limits. “Know what that does?” 

“No?” 

So Jim explained that parts of the engine that they understood (enough to keep their motorcycle running) as they did a lap around the enormous space and it’s sleeping wounded giants. At point point they stood right under a little jet and Jim lifted Pickle up so she could see inside the plate someone had removed to get at engine bits. 

Oluwande: Almost up!  

It took a second to reorient themselves, but they got them back in time with no one the wiser.

“Hi,” a gruff looking older man with a bristly mustache approached. “Are you Dylan?” 

“Um yeah,” Pickle didn’t move from Jim’s side. 

“I’m Captain Jeff and  I’m looking forward to you co-piloting with me today. Are you taking anyone up with us today?” 

Pickle just nodded, and Jim resigned themselves to having to being an adult for a bit. Traitor. 

“I’m Jim,” they held out their hand and were pleased to find a solid shake. 

“Looks like we got all the paperwork set, so! Dylan, are you ready to go over our flight plan?” 

“We have a plan?” She asked, eyes wide. 

“Always have to have  a flight plan.” 

Jim stepped back to let Pickle get first look at everything, but they were zeroed in on Jeff’s words too. Unlike the initial safety talk, this stuff was interesting, concentrating on the nuts and bolts of flight. Jeff was good at explaining without oversimplifying.  Pickle quickly warmed up to him and happily gave him a good luck fist bump before they finally got onto the plan. 

“Ready, co-pilot?” Jeff asked Pickle. 

“Ready!” 

Jim strapped into the little seat behind them, The world was a little curved with the glass and the engine rumbled into their bones. 

“Let’s do our pre-flight check,” Jeff went through gauges and toggles. 

And then it was time. They radioed the tower and got clearance for take off. It was nothing like a commercial flight. Everything felt immediate and vibrant, as if there was barely anything separating them from the sky. Jim laughed gidily, unable to stop themselves and Jeff gave them a thumb’s up. 

“You okay, Co-captain?” 

Pickle was silent, and then nodded, 

“It’s amazing!” she shouted over the engine noise.  

The flight was short, just a loop around the fields, but Jim relished every second. Pickle’s vibrating excitement, Jeff’s calm competence and explanations, the wide green fields and bright blue sky. It was beautiful. It was only by chance that their phone dug into their thigh so they remember their promise and did actually get some video of Pickle seriously checking dials under Jeff’s guidance. 

The landing was smooth as butter. 

“I wish we could go again,” Pickle said as soon as their feet were back on the ground. 

“Me too,” Jim shoved their hand into their pocket, fingering the brochure they’d snatched from the front desk. 

It was never too late to learn to fly, they figured.

#leda house and the kraken verse #ficlet #paint me orange and teal #oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #in a pickle

[coralinehecc]

Corals Monthly Update #3

HOHOHO!! FIRST BLOG POST OF 2023 AND I’M NEARLY 2 WEEKS LATE!!! Super sorry about the long wait! I’ve had tests recently and only got off of school like a few days ago haha! So! Welcome back to my monthly update on what I get up to in my life! Now, before we get into January, I, for the final time, have to tap back into the previous month. Curse past me for thinking the 21st was a good day to start doing these!!! ANYHOW! The rest of December and early January were a BLAST! But lemmie talk about what happened after I made the last update. CHRISTMAS!! I had a great time with my family and I got a bunch of fluffy things cuz that’s apparently the easiest thing to get me now. We also had dinner on Christmas day with my Grandparents like every year. Over-all that day was very fun! I even got drunk playing Minecraft which was funny for everyone in VC. The next few days weren’t anything exciting, however my brother Finn had a bunch of his friends over for his birthday which was chaotic. But the excitement picks back up on the 28th! BECAUSE SKYE AND VI CAME OVER FOR NEW YEARS!! We’ve been planning this since like, June, so it was awesome seeing them again! We did all kinds of stuff from shopping to playing some awesome games! (I am now chronically addicted to Ultra Kill thanks guys)

We even did some baking! Here is our glorious creation I dubbed, “The Jimothy”. 

Overall the rest of December was awesome! I’m glad I got to celebrate New Years with my besties! Overall, I’ll give it a 10/10! Best way to end 2022 >:D Here’s a few more misc photos hehehhehe

NOW! FOR JANUARY!! January started off still vibing with the guys. However they would then go home on the 4th which sucks. But before that, both Skye and I spent a lot of money on consoles that are almost as old as ourselves. They bought a fucking PS Vita and I got a motherfucking Wii. We both had fun with em and I even helped Skye homebrew their Vita since I wanted to put PebbleCD on it (I failed but shut uuup) But yea, sadly the guys had to go and it sucked! But I still had a great time. There’s a bit of a gap here right up until the 12th, where finally, the big event happened. CAREY IN THE HOUSE WENT LIVE!! I had finished it a few days prior but figured I’d build up hype by posting it on that Friday. AND IT SURE WORKED! The video blew up faster than any of my videos before it! I am so happy the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I also love how the only main complaint that was common amongst people was that Careys exaggerated accent was annoying which, yea can’t argue against. For anyone wishing for more CITH content, I did a behind the scenes mega thread over on my twitter if you wanna have a deeper look into the production! I’ll even link it here:  https://twitter.com/Carey_Black_/status/1619731723352444928 Now, to move onto why it took me forever to make an update. My mock exams.. BUT BEFORE THAT!! THERE’S ALSO THE FACT THAT MR WULF AND I WERE ABLE TO ARCHIVE THE ORIGINAL EDDSWORLD BANG BOOM SPLAT PROJECT FILE!!

This all started because Wulf wanted to edit the credits for his arcade BBS build since I was helping him out and since I said SWF modding is hard he just casually asked Psycosis and after seeing his WIP cabinet, gave Wulf the FLA! So a current “BBS arcade version” is in the works by yours truly thanks to both the generosity of Psycosis and the fact that Mr Wulf is a fucking mad man who could stop global warming in a month if he wanted to LOL! Here’s Wulfs finished Cabinet btw!:  https://twitter.com/MrWulfOfficial/status/1622295302685315073 But yea, for real. My mock exams were a pain! For those outside of Ireland or have a different name for em, Mock exams are, well, exams that act like a practice run for your finals. They’re always harder than the actual finals and are usually graded stricter too! Why? Who knows! The Irish education system is a joke. I feel like I did somewhat ok in them anyway? Some were definitely worse than others but overall it was more of an inconvenience. I did get this really cool art piece out of it however.

Exams would later spill over into February and like I said at the start, I finished and got off school a few days ago. Overall, this month was about a 7/10. It was pretty good, especially in the Eddsworld department, but mocks and other personal tid bits I didn’t mention here dragged it down for me. Since February seems to be mostly me being off school, I hope this month will be better haha! Only time will tell! Thank you for reading! And I hope to see you next month!! (Hopefully on time too haha!) 

[oh-yes-i-did-not]

Okay so the move went relatively well. I did end up having to take way too much ibuprofen so my knees would keep bending and working while going up and down the stairs way too many times so I developed in inflamed esophagus, one of the greatest joys of having GERD. All the anti-inflammatory painkillers are real bad for heartburn tendency, GERD, ulcers etc but also, sometimes the only thing that works. Luckily pantoprazol still works super well for me so it only knocked me down for two days. Which was actually super okay because my knees were also super wrecked and needed that time spent mostly in bed, doing nothing but reading. I read Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao and the entirety of Mars by Fuyumi Soryo.

I’ve been slowly unpacking the boxes and just did the last rented box from the moving company today, so yay~ I still have most of the cardboard boxes to unpack but those can wait, the I needed the ones on running tariff out of here asap.

I still only have a mobile internet since the new computer doesn’t have a wireless adapter and I don’t have an ethernet cable long enough to set up my router through the modem, which is solidly located on the wall, near the ceiling of the entrance. I am not about to put my computer desk next the front door, thank you very much. I’m probably just gonna get that wi-fi adapter anyways, since there really is no good setup for a long cable in this apartment. It will end up passing through some bad places, no matter what way, so I would prefer not to.

Without Internet the new computer is pretty much useless, since I still plan to downgrade it to Win10 so I haven’t installed anything except Firefox and Steam. So in the meantime, I’m on the ancient office laptop I borrowed from partner. It may choke if I have more than 2 video tabs open and more than 10 tabs in general, but it runs the new Glass Masquerade game that was just released (if nothing more than that) so I’m good for now.

It currently looks like this:

I have an air mattress since I need to buy a new bed and it’s trickier than you would expect when you move to a tiny town and you don’t have a car. It’s really comfy though, I was surprised! Also, I got the expensive armchair in the separation so it’s now my one true luxury :D It was going to be a nice console gaming chair but now it will be more properly used as a reading chair.

The kitchen/living room windows are really big and let in a lot of light so it’s a good crafting space. You can actually see a line on the entrance cabinets on the opposite wall, where the light has hit for years. The lower portion of the doors is more yellow, thanks to the sun.

I also have a third desk that I was going to set up in front of the window but... I think no. It’s an old Ikea Vika Blecket drawing table with light box window, and now has new Vika Artur legs. The original leg were also Vika Artur and my late cat destroyed them with pee while they were lying dismantled on the floor. That model still exist, tho the design has changed and they’re not exactly compatible with old Vika desks anymore so I can’t change the angle of desk anymore since the pegs that are supposed to support the desk do not match anymore, which sucks. That, along with the light box glass was one of the things that made this desk super good for it’s cheap price tag back then. Anyways, I think I’m just gonna keep the desk and the legs hanging around for when I need extra table space, like cutting large fabrics, but I’m not gonna keep it set up. It would make things just too cramped in here.

Anyways, I still have so many boxes to unpack and I still need to hang curtains to the living room, or should I say crafts room, and what even are carpets, but it’s going well.

#personal #moving #new place #new apartment #new life

[3wizemen]

Rapture - Chapter 2

word count: 2597

rating: mature

read on ao3

previous chapter

- ☉ -

The rest of the weekend passed easily, moved along by beer and TV. Miami Vice had come to the Family Video on VHS, and Robin and Steve had spent the better part of the weekend watching it. Robin loved the way the characters dressed in that show. If only she could get her hands on some of their colorful suits.

Sadly, instead, she was now donning the new uniform required of them at the Party Palace. A polo shirt covered in baby pinks and blues, the back boasting the place's logo. It was cute, Robin supposed—a big silvery castle with the dragon, unicorn, and lion mascots smiling big in front of it. The same logo was advertised on the breast of the shirt. Robin turned around in the mirror and grimaced. Do it for the two bucks, Robin.

"Breakfast's ready, Rob!" Steve's voice came from the kitchen, gliding along on the rich smell of some good cookin'. "Hurry up, I don't want you eating in the car again and getting syrup everywhere!"

"That was one time, Harrington!" Robin gave herself one more rushed look in the beat-up vanity she'd found sat out on the side of the road weeks prior. Mascara's fine, eyeliner's fine. The rest? Eh. There was no use fretting over trivial things like appearance when she was clad in the Party Palace's finest, anyway. The act of putting on makeup was a feat for Robin.

Steve was sitting in the armchair, poking at a plain pancake without much interest. A plate was already set out for her, two pancakes and a bunch of scrambled eggs piled together and covered in syrup. After moving in together, her best friend quickly learned what Robin's favorite breakfast was and made it whenever he felt it essential enough to or felt like practicing his pancake shapes. Today, they were almost hearts. Almost. "Thanks, Stevie," She said as she picked up the plate and went to sit on the couch. They really needed to get some stools for the kitchen island, small as it was.

"Ready for work?" Steve asked as Robin began cutting up her food, swirling his pancake around on his plate.

"I dunno," shrugged the other. "I mean, look at these uniforms," She motioned to herself, then to Steve, who was dressed in the same getup as her. He was rocking it ever so slightly more than her; a common problem.

"I know," Steve laughed. "And I mean…those robots, man. I don't know how long I'm gonna last."

"Gross."

"Eugh, not that way, weirdo," Steve scrunched up his face. "I mean, like, they're creepy as shit."

"Whatever you say," Robin shoveled some pancake into her mouth, then waved her fork at him. "I mean, we've faced down literal wizard Satan, Steve. You can put your big boy pants on for some robots."

"You can't tell me those animatronic things aren't freaky," Steve huffed. 

"Okay, sure, I'll admit that wittle Stevie thinks the wobots are scawy."

He wasn't wrong , but boy, did Robin love giving Steve shit for stupid things. The Party Palace had somehow thought it a great idea to bring in three show animatronics to fit its new fantasy theme, which was a bold choice in itself after the whole Hellfire scandal just a few months ago. The robots were the mascots; a big red dragon, a crowned lion, and a near-sickeningly feminine unicorn. They weren't pleasant to look at—Robin had gotten a good look at them when she and Steve went in for their interviews, and she really couldn't wrap her head around why any kid would enjoy them. Their plastic faces, pelt-over-skeleton bodies, and sightless eyes weren't too appealing. Maybe they reminded kids of Disneyland or something. Robin had never been.

The haven for Robin and Steve's kids had been turned into some Medieval Times/Showbiz hybrid—some of the arcade machines and cabinets had been cleared to make room for tables suited for big parties, even a few booths for smaller groups. The arcade games themselves had mostly been replaced with more kiddie-style ones, and a big stage had been constructed to house the three big robots. Said robots watched over all patrons of the fine establishment, their blank faces seeing all. The decor had become that of a fairy tale castle, with big murals depicting shiny castles with princesses and knights fighting dragons, all with weird arcade motifs intertwined. Robin found herself staring at these murals half an hour after breakfast as she and Steve waited for their boss to come and tell them what to do.

"You think we're just supposed to figure it out for ourselves?" Robin leaned in and muttered to her best friend.

Before Steve could respond, a tall, skinny man strolled in from the back. He looked kind of like a Hawkins Brian May—he had big, black, curly hair tumbling down to his shoulders, framing a gruff face with kind brown eyes, and was dressed in similar garb as them. The only real difference was the name tag fastened to his shirt that read Derek Quest - Owner . "Hey, dudes!" said the man, a big grin flashing across his face. "Welcome to your first day at the Party Palace."

"Thanks," Steve said, and Robin nodded in agreement. 

"No problemo," Derek reached into his pocket and then retrieved a name tag with a flourish. He slid it in between his fingers to reveal that it was actually two, each one bearing one of their names with the subtitle Party Person printed in an ostentatious old-timey font. "Welcome to the team, Party People. I'll be doing your tour, since no one else is gonna be here for another hour and a half when we actually begin opening."

Derek let the pair follow him to the market stall-esque register and prize counter, where he enthusiastically explained the ticket prices for various shit-quality toys and candy along with the dollar-to-token ratio. Manning the counter would be the majority of their job, he said. However, they still had to see the whole deal, so he then led them to the show stage, as he called it, where he discussed the animatronics with even more enthusiasm.

"These here, they're the main attraction, my friends," Derek said, wonder seeping into his voice as he approached the show stage, leading them up a short, roped-off stairway and through drawn curtains to stand level with the robots.

The robots were a lot taller than Robin thought they'd be—they were partially obscured by the tacky castle-y decor cluttering the stage, so it was hard to make out their true size. The things stood at least five and three-quarters feet. It was kind of freaky to stand next to such large, humanoid things that were just…standing there lifelessly, but they seemed kind of cool, in a fucked up way. It was strange to see something like this in Hawkins. It piqued Robin's curiosity for sure.

"So, this is King the Lion, Diana the Unicorn, and Rex the Dragon," Derek motioned to each as he fondly introduced them like he'd introduce a close friend. The machines were set up in a triangle formation, with the lion in the center flanked by the dragon on its left and the unicorn on its right. Each held a prop—the lion held an ornate scepter, the unicorn a lute, and the dragon a horn. "They're great, right?" He said, grinning.

"They're really something," Steve said, obviously unnerved, but Robin was already taking a few steps around the animatronics to survey them.

Upon initial inspection, it seemed like the robots were just fur suits draped over some kind of machinery, judging by their skin-and-bones appearance up close. Their feet didn't appear to be mechanized, but it looked like their torsos, arms, and head could move around. It was interesting to look at—it was like a big Halloween costume, but stranger, with more pieces hiding beneath the disguise. "Did you build these yourself?"

Robin was still inspecting the animatronics, but she could practically hear Derek light up when asked. "I did! It took years to finalize their designs, but I think I finally got it down…they look good, don't they? I wanted to make them look like the mascot costumes kids like, but able to operate on their own, and perform a pre-recorded number. And you wanna know the best part?" 

She turned to him and nodded, withholding a smirk as Steve shook his head at her behind the other man, who was oblivious to his discomfort. She found the man's excitement almost endearing, in a weird way. She often got excited about things people weren't very interested in or thought were odd, as did a lot of her kids. There were stranger things going on than a man who spent his life trying to build the ultimate children's entertainment robot, after all. At least he had a somewhat wholesome goal.

Derek's grin widened and he took a step toward the closest machine, the unicorn, Diana. "I named her after the princess, you know. Thought it was a royal name, and Princess Diana's kind of hot," He commented with a chuckle as he pulled apart the back of the unicorn's fur coating, tearing apart metal button clasps to reveal the mess of wires and metal rods within it. It felt wrong; like he was disrobing it. "This here's the endoskeleton. It's what gives her structure and lets her move. It's like our bones, hence the name," He said happily, pulling at parts of the thing's inner workings. Robin and Steve watched as the unicorn's arms fell slack and loose, as did its neck, its heavy head lolling to its chest. Derek withdrew two mechanical bone arms and what looked a little like a spine. "All three of the animatronics have removable spines and arms so that they can be operated as puppets. I want to eventually make them wearable, you know, like full suits that can have their whole skeletons taken out and put back in whenever," As an example, he stuck his own arms into the now empty suit arms, moving its hands to wave and give an energetic thumbs up.

"Oh, jeez, that's really cool," Robin said, and she kind of meant it. It was cool to see the crazy things other people got up to, and it was nice to know her now-boss seemed to be passionate about the whole deal instead of just being in it for the money. Unlike her and Steve, who was looking rather disgusted at the sight of this man ripping the bones out of the fuzzy mascots.

"Isn't it?" Derek smiled. "I feel like it's such a cool concept that places like Showbiz haven't really explored. I mean, the suits and the animatronics are just always separate. It's a waste of material and money, really."

Robin nodded along as the man continued enthusing about his creations, but Steve eventually butted in, "So, are we going to have to…operate the puppet parts? Or even do repairs on these things?"

"Oh, no, no, no," Derek shook his head with an entertained smile. "I'm the only one I trust to work on these machines right now. And until the place gets more attention and I can afford to hire more folks, you'll have to be on the floor, not up here. I may eventually need you to do some maintenance, but that won't be for a while, and you'll need some extensive training beforehand."

Steve deflated with relief and Robin chuckled. Derek motioned for them to follow once more and led them to the back, where they were shown the snack bar-turned-kitchen (of course, they wouldn't be cooking, but it was good to see the lay of the land), the break room, and, lastly, the storage room.

The storage room was a weird place—it seemingly doubled as Derek's workshop, with a few folding tables full of toolboxes and animatronic parts hidden within a maze of boxes, extra chairs, and retired arcade cabinets. "I know it's a bit messy, but I sadly don't have room in my apartment for all my tinkering, so I've set up shop here, for now," The older man shrugged. "Those boxes over there labeled ‘STUFF' are all the extra merchandise, and these ones called ‘FLOOR STUFF' are things for the floor area, like tablecloths and napkin replacements and stuff like that. The ones labeled ‘SHIT' are actually cleaning supplies."

"Good system," Robin remarked, and Derek laughed. 

"Oh, before I forget!" The older man went and reached into one of the ‘STUFF' boxes and withdrew two paper crowns, the laminate made shiny to take on the appearance of gold. They were kind of like Burger King crowns but instead bore the castle logo of the Party Palace. "The last part of your uniform."

"Oh, man," Steve said with false excitement, and Robin almost snorted. No, no, she had to be the good one, as she always was in every job she worked with Steve. Always the straight man, ironic as that was.

- ↻ ⧖ ↺ -

After receiving their crowns, the brand-new employees of the Party Palace Pizza Place were dropped by the counter by Derek and left to their own devices to figure out the registers and read through the prize catalog for the last fifteen minutes before the place opened right at 11:30.

Robin was pressing buttons on the register and making receipts just to see how fast it would take to print them (the Family Video register took way too long to print receipts) as Steve got the lay of all the prizes set out above and beneath the counter. Derek had retreated to the back, saying he needed to unlock it to let the kitchen staff in, so they were on their own in the empty arcade.

She could see Steve scan the large room for him before leaning over and incredulously whispering, "Were you really interested in those crazy robots, or just humoring him?" 

"Is it so bad that I admire a man with hobbies?" Robin didn't look up from the register, typing BOOBS out with 8s and 0s.

"Bullshit. You admire no man, Buckley."

She turned to glare at him. He'd been good about not telling anyone about her little secret, but boy, did he make her nervous when he commented on it, even when no one was around. Habit, she guessed. "I mean, I just think it's fun for people to have weird hobbies, you know? Just like the kids and their D&D."

"I guess, but that's just a board game. This is like, this guy's making whole robot things," Steve said conspiratorially. 

"Oh, come on, if you hated it so much, why'd you decide to work here?"

"It's two more bucks an hour," Steve replied quickly. "And once you left, Keith would have had my ass anyway."

"True," Robin nodded, then bumped her friend with her shoulder. "But come on, get over yourself, Harrington. They're just a bunch of machines, just like cars and toasters are."

"Cars and toasters don't have blank, unseeing eyes," Steve said lightly.

"I think they're kind of cute, in a fucked up way," Robin shrugged. "Kind of like Gremlins."

"Not at all like Gremlins," Steve said, and the clock reached 11:30. Open time. 

Robin watched him switch on the open sign and gave him a two-finger salute. "To our first day in the Robot Gremlin Kingdom."

"To our first day in the Crazy Robot Place," Steve rolled his eyes, moving back behind the counter, where they stood at attention, heralds of Party Palace fun!

#ronance #stranger things #fanfiction #read on ao3 #animatronics #fnaf #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #post s4 #3wizemenrapture

[xhopelesslyromanticx]

Tik Toks and Fights - Jadon Sancho x Reader

Masterlist

summary: In which Jadon hates Tik Tok but also doesn’t want the reader to make them with Jude.

Jadon hated Tik Tok with all his heart. It was partly because you’d send him at least a million videos from the app per day that he rarely found funny. It wasn’t that you two didn’t have the same sense of humor, he just hated people trying to hard to be funny.

He also didn’t like the dance videos or thirst traps but the thing he hated most were the stupid pranks and challenges. That was mostly because you’d always try to pull them on him but nine out of ten times you just failed miserably anyways.

For example when you tried the whole I paid 500 pounds for windshield wiper fluid he just laughed at you and hit you with a „First of all woman; you don’t even know how to drive and you sure as hell do not own a car. And if you paid 500 pounds on my car, well thank you very much. That be some luxury wiper fluid you go there.“

Or when you put down the passenger seat in his car, like you had fooled around with someone in there, he just got in and chuckled as he wiggled his eyebrows „Well is that and invitation?“

All you could do is hit his shoulder playfully before bursting out into laughter. You started posting these failed Tik Tok pranks calling them „Trying to prank my smartass boyfriend chronicles.“

Jadons fans obviously thought the videos where hilarious, they always loved seeing more content of him as he hadn’t been that active on social media as of lately. And with you using your platform to embarrass him, people at least got to see some of him.

„She brought a buddy in…What you studying?" you sang along to the sound playing over the speakers from the living room as you prepared yourself some dinner in Jadons kitchen while he was playing some games with his football friends in the living room. "Education, that’s where the money is... You think you funny huh?"

„Yeah, I’m the funniest.“ you heard a voice appear as you looked up to see Jude walk into the kitchen also vibing along to the song.

„You know this song?“ you giggled, holding up your carrot as you tried to find some sort of peeler in Jadons cabinets.

„Of course. It’s like all over Tik Tok.“ Jude chuckled, leaning himself over the black marble kitchen counter as he watched you prepare your salad, playing with the sleeves of his hoodie.

„You have Tik Tok?“ you looked at Jude with wide eyes, your heart fluttering. Finally someone who got what you were talking about.

You could hear Jadon yell at someone in the living room making you chuckle, he really loved gaming a little too much.

„Yes.“ Jude shrugged, never would having admitted it to his friends „But don’t tell Jadon and the lads.“

„I won’t.“ you smiled, pressing your lips together as you continued to chop your vegetables. Feeling Judes eyes still on you, you squinted your eyes together „You know what? I have a really funny idea.“

You were laying on the floor of Jadons bathroom, holding your stomach that was hurting from laughing too hard while Jude laid next to you, tears falling down his cheeks as he rewatched the video of the two of you over and over again.

„This is so embarassing.“ he chocked out, seeing the video was already accumulating quite the views.

You two had just spent half an hour in the bathroom making a Tik Tok. After a while you had agreed on one specific challenge that seemed to be possible and funny to do together and the result was just hilarious.

„No! What are you talking about? This is great, you should be an actor.“ you chuckled, wiping the corner of your eyes „The way you deliver that; you’ve been shaking your ass for like half of the heights, is just spot on.“

Jude chuckled, keeping on watching your rendition of the whole „In the heights“ - musical sound. The one were they argue, in the most hilarious way. You had to admit you truly smashed it.

„You’re not so bad yourself.“ Jude laughed, watching you act super dramatic in the video.

You two were ripped out of your day dreaming by the bathroom door being bursted open. In entered your boyfriend, his sweatpants almost falling down as he had his gaming headset hanging around his neck losely. He was followed by Marcus and Reiss, all of thena looking confused. You proped your head up to lookat the guys, still laying on the floor.

Jadon looked at Jude and you with furrowed eyebrows, the controller still in his hand „What the fuck are you guys doing?“

„Yes we have been calling for you since like twenty minutes Bellingham.“ Reiss added, obviously just wanting to continue gaming.

You looked at Jude, who was trying his hardest not to laugh as he pressed your phone against his chest. Marcus raised his eyebrows, slightly smirking as he saw you guys were internally dying.

„We just…“ you chuckled, sitting up as Jude got up from the ground uncomfortable by Jadons stare on him „Recorded a Tik Tok.“

„What?“ Jadon hissed, completely lost as Marcus behind him also started laughing while covering his mouth with his hand. He knew exactly what was going on in Jadons mind right now.

„I wanna see.“ Reiss squealed, pushing past his friend as he tried to grab Judes phone but the guy defended it with all his life.

„No!“ you laughed, running your hands through your hair as you looked at Jadon, who looked kind of pissed „It’s just a Tik Tok chill.“

„Show me.“ you boyfriend sternly stated, making you roll your eyes. He could be so overdramatic sometimes.

„Not with that attitude.“ you crossed your arms, rolling your eyes at Jadons childish behavior.

Jude had his eyes wide open, not knowing why Jadon was this pressed about this but also understanding this didn’t look good for him. It didn’t take long for Marcus to pull out his own phone and the sound from the video you had just recoreded appearing. Marcus looked kind of hesistant but obviously thought it was funny before Jadon snatched the phone out of his hand. Reiss jumping to his friends side as they watched the video over and over again.

At first they both looked confused but soon Reiss started chuickling, agreeing it was funny but Jadons expression didn’t change. He just looked at the video unimpressed while you and Jude stood there awkwardly waiting for him to say something.

„Wait a minute.“ Jadon hissed, when realization hit him „You actually posted this?“

It got dead silent in the room as you hesitantly nodded „Yeah it’s just a funny video Jadon. You need to calm down.“

Jadon clenched his jaw, looking at Jude as he handed over the phone to Reiss again. Basically shoving it in his face. He walked up to the two of you and what he did next kind of surprised you. Out of nothing he just pushed Jude back. The guy obviously stumbled back, not having exected the sudden violent outburst. Which was totally unnecessary in your opinion.

„Yo Jadon chill!“ Marcus and Reiss now rushed, to hold Jadon back while you just watched the whole thing confused. Your boyfriend was acting like a literal five year old, throwing a tantrum. What did he lose in his game or something?

„What the fuck is your problem Jadon?“ you now yelled, not recognizing your otherwise loving boyfriend „It’s literally just a fucking video!“

Jadon just glared at Jude, shaking his head „Don’t you even dare to touch her like that again, she’s my fucking girlfriend Bellingham.“

Seriously? His problem was the slight body contact the two of you had in the video. God, this was hopeless. You were humiliated by your boyfriends embarassing behavior, just standing there with crossed arms.

„Now delete the fucking video.“ Jadon spat at you as you gasped and took a step back.

„Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?“

„Just delete it Y/n.“ Jude sighed, wanting to disappear from the surface from the earth just about now.

„Don’t you talk to her Bellingham.“ Jadon spat at Jude, making Marcus who was still holding him by his shoulders shake his head. At least someone saw how immature Jadon was acting.

„Honestly fuck off Jadon.“ you spat at your boyfriend, grabbing your phone from Jude. You deleted the video with your jaw clenched, shaking your head before pushing past your boyfriend and his friends and walking out the bathroom. And it was safe say: you were freaking pissed off.

You scrolled through your hundreds of Tik Tok comments of people asking why you had delted the video with Jude. But the video had already been copied and uploaded all over the app and people loved it. You were sitting on the couch, cozied up in your blanket as the house was dead silent.

After the guys left Jadon immediately hopped in the shower while you just sat there thinking bout all the ways he had pissed you off tonight. His overdramatic and overprotective ass robbing your last nerves.

„No honestly.“ you groaned into your phone, talking to your best friend „He was such an asshole. It was just a funny video.“

„He was just jealous silly.“ Lauren chuckled on the other end of the line „I think it’s quite endearing to be honest.“

You fake gagged, never having found a guy getting angry for no reason endearing in your life. What was wrong with women sometimes?

„Now come on Y/n.“ she laughed, as you sighed „At least you finally got a reaction out of him.“

„Well. I guess.“ you muttered, furrowing your eyebrows knowing she was onto something.

„Maybe you could actually use this to your advantage.“

You pretended to watch TV, hearing Jadon make himself dinner in the kitchen. Both of you not saying a word as you watched „Too hot to handle“ with crossed arms and a frown. After a while a freshly showered Jadon entered the living room, wearing nothing but a pair of grey sweatpants, making it hard to be mad at him when he looked like that.

You tried not to stare at his abs as he held out a plate towards you, seeing he had finished making the salad you had prepared earlier. You looked up at him with pursed lips before shrugging „Not hungry.“

Jadon sighed, putting your plate down on the already messy coffee-table. Bags of chips and empty cans being spread out all over it. Your boyfriend sat down next to you so closely that you were suprised he didn’t just sit on top of you. The touch of his bare arm against yours triggering you unbelievably as he started eating his own salad, eyes glued on the television.

„Seriously Jadon.“ you rolled your eyes, trying to ignore the fact that he smelled like literal heaven „Can you breath any louder?“

Jadon chuckled, shaking his head at the weird attack coming from his girlfirend „Sorry I’m trying to live.“

„Well-“ you tried not to start laughing, crossing your arms in a petty manner „Do it a little more quiet, I’m trying to watch this show.“

„What you watching that for anyways?“ he groaned, looking at the TV „It sucks.“

„Whatever.“ you rolled your eyes once again, at his smartass behavior. This was typical Jadon, just always knowing everything better.

You tried to focus on the television again, feeling Jadons eyes glued on you from the side. It didn’t take long for him to place his plate down on the table before turning towards you. Wrapping his arm around your body as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

„Okay. Fine.“ Jadon sighed as you felt his lips against your neck making you shiver slightly „I apologize baby. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.“

You didn’t say anything as Jadon started kissing your neck, playing with your hair as you just sat there smirking. Not believing you were really about to do what you had been planning.

You moaned slightly as Jadon found that soft spot, throwing your head to the side a little. His hand wandering under your sweater as he roamed your body.

„Don’t stop Jude.“ you whimpered, trying your hardest to make it sound as natural as possible without immediately starting to laugh.

Jadon immediately froze as you continued to act completely oblivious. He pulled away from you with furrowed eyebrows, looking unsure if he had just heard you right.

„Why did you stop?“ you asked, innocently biting your lips as your boyfriend looked like he was about to lose his mind.

„I know you didn’t just call me by that little wastemans name.“ your boyfriend muttered and god was he making it hard not to laugh. Wasteman? Seriously Jadon.

„What?“ you awkwardly laughed, shaking your head and scratching your neck „I said Jadon.“

Jadon raised his eyebrows, shaking his head and scrunching his nose „No you just moaned Judes name.“

„I didn’t.“ you lied, looking at your boyfriend who sat there with crossed arms.

„You did!“ he hissed, trying to read your face „It was as clear as day. You said; don’t stop Jude.“

„I-I…“ you stuttered, truly not knowing what to say but glad he was actually falling for this.

„Not got anything to say?“ Jadon asked, sassily tilting his head.

„No. I don’t know.“ you nervously fumbled with your sleeves „Maybe I said it because he has just been on my mind.“

Jadon ripped open his eyes, not believing what you were saying and that you actuallyjust admited to it „So little wasteman is on your mind while I kiss you?“

„No!“ you squealed, shaking your head and throwing up your hands in a defensive manner „Because of what happened this afternoon.“

„That isn’t an excuse.“ Jadon propped himself up, angrily grabbing his plate again. Starting to dig into his salad „Tell you, I’m glad I made you delete that video. After all, turns out you fully thinking about him and stuff.“

„Jadon.“ you chuckled, not being able to keep it in any longer. He was just naturally funny.

„Nah honestly.“ he shook his head, chewing on his salad „My girlfriend has fallen in love with Mr. Elevator boy.“

That made you laugh even more which made Jadon furrow his eyebrows „What’s so funny?“

You covered your face with your hand as you pointed at the coffee table with the other one „I actually got you this time.“

„You didn’t!“ Jadon ripped his eyes wide open, looking at the phone propped up and neatly hidden under all the mess on the table.

„Yes!“ you clapped your hands together before grabbing your phone and poninting it at a speechless Jadon „Say it! Say that I got you this time!“

„Fine!“ Jadon chuckled, rolling his eyes „You got me but this isn’t going anywhere. Trying to keep it PG 13 aren’t we?“

You giggle stopping the recording as you turned of the phone. You knew you couldn’t post the videos but were still glad you finally had pranked Jadon.

„So was Jude acting all thirsty also part of the prank?“ Jadon asked as you rolled your eyes.

„No sorry, unfortunately that one was real.“ you shrugged your shoulders, looking at your boyfriend „But you know my boyfriend doesn’t wanna make Tik Toks with me, so I had to come up with something.“

„Alright.“ Jadon sighed, placing down his plate again before pulling you in towards him like you were a teddy bear. He attacked your face with kisses, making you giggle „That tickles.“

„I don’t care.“ Jadon continued kissing you, his arms wrapped around you „All though I hate to admit it, I don’t want you to make Tik toks with other guys. Especially Jude Wasteman Bellingham.“

„Jeez Jadon.“ you laughed, looking up at him „I promise I won’t ever do it again.

#jadon sancho imagine #jadon sancho #Imagine #football imagines #Jadon sancho x Reader #mason mount imagine #jadon sancho fluff #jadon sancho imagines #mason mount #mason mount imagines #mason mount x reader #Mason #Mount #Masonmount #imagines #Football #mason #footballimagine #euros #champions league #premier league #masonmountimagine #soccer #footballer #chelsea #england #jesse lingard #jude bellingham #oneshot #fanfiction

[simeonisalesbian]

Hello Shannen! Hey, I was curious, What do you think the Obey Me Boys would do in this scenario: They enter a room after being busy for the whole day, they hear a soft intake of breath and then Their name in a very soft and adoring voice, as if to just themselves, the MC being surprised that they got to see them and it just gives them all the fuzzies 💕💖 (I find myself doing this sometimes when I haven’t seen my loved ones in like a day and I didn’t expect to see them for longer 💗)

Oi that is so frickin cute anon. I fuckin melt for soft stuff like this it's so cute and wholesome 🥺

Lucifer:

he's busy most of the time honestly

It's just something that you have to become accustomed too

He usually just holes himself up in his office to finish his work up in peace

so you usually don't see him unless you go to check in on him yourself

However, he had to meet up with Diavolo earlier so he ended up missing dinner.

The plan was to eat when he got home but he was given a pile of papers the prince insisted were urgent

so now that those were finished he was starving

When he stepped into the kitchen though he heard a gasp followed by his name whispered in an all too familiar voice

He glanced over to see you over by one of the cabinets with an expression somewhere between excitement and surprise

His heart practically melted and he smiled softly.

"Hello Mc. I was about to grab something to eat. Would you mind joining me?"

Mammon:

He's practically glued to your side 24/7 so it's odd not having him around for a while

But he caught a molding gig that pays well despite the fact that it was planned to run all day long

and of course the Avatar of Greed couldn't turn down a job to earn a bit of extra cash

And sure enough he didn't get finished with the shoot until a bit after dinner.

He walked into the house, planning to go look for you

but as soon as he got through the door he heard a small gasp and his name mumbled from the stairs

His heart skipped several beats seeing you sitting on the steps staring at the door waiting up for him

"We're ya waiting on me? Of course you'd be waitin' on the Great Mammon! Come on I'll tell ya all about the shoot!"

Leviathan:

- It's rare that the otaku snake boy ever left his room

but unfortunately when you're Grand Admiral of Hell's Navy, you have to actually do official Navy business or whatever

So Leviathan was actually out of the house for once

He got back pretty Late but Luckily he was back before the newest episode of the latest anime he was watching aired.

He had it set to record just in case but it's always so much better to watch it as soon as it airs

But he didn't expect to hear your voice softly muttering his name when he opened the door to his room.

he forgot he said you could play some of his video games while he was gone

"Oh Mc! I didn't expect to see you today. Not-- Not that I mind! It just started me. Did you want to watch the newest Ruri-chan episode with me?"

Satan:

You actually aren't entirely certain where Satan went.

You saw him earlier that morning and it looked like he might have been plotting something with Belphie but you didn't bother to ask not wanting to get mixed up in whatever prank they were plotting.

Sure enough the Anti-Lucifer duo did plan a prank earlier that day and since Lucifer was at a meeting it was the perfect time to execute it

He and belphie had spent most of the day taping and gluing everything directly to Lucifer's desk

now all that was left was to avoid punishment from the eldest who would no doubt be pissed.

His plan was to grab a few books then head out to a cafe or something

but when he hear you gasp slight and whisper his name he got butterflies in his stomach

"Ah hello Mc. I haven't seen you all day. I was just about to head out actually would you like to come along?"

Asmodeus:

The ever so popular avatar of Lust is constantly out and about

whether it be shopping or meeting his fans or just straight-up partying all night

today was no different he had texted earlier asking if you wanted to go out shopping with him

but you had an important test coming up and if you didn't want Lucifer to skin you alive you have to study

Of course Asmo was out late though. He just gets distracted by succubi who want a picture with him and there are so many different outfits to try on

shopping is an entire event for Asmo

He did manage to make it home before dinner for once though

So after dropping his many shopping bags off at his room he heads over to your room

He practically beams when he hears your voice softly speaking his name

"Mc Darling! Did you miss me? You'll never guess who I ran into earlier today!"

Beelzebub:

He is pretty good at letting you know where he'll be for the day if he's going somewhere

So you were well aware you wouldn't see Beel for quite a while because of his sports practice and the game he had later

However a bit over halfway through his game it started to storm pretty badly.

so the game ended up getting postponed due to dangerous weather

So he stopped by Madam Scream's on the way home picking up something for you too

When he got home he found you sitting in the common area.

Before he could call out to you he heard you softly say his name leading him to widely smile at you

"Hey Mc. The game got called off. But I got us some cookies! I only ate one of yours sorry..."

Belphegor:

the most mysterious thing about Belphie was where he would disappear to for half of the day

You could never find him no matter how much you looked for him

at this point it was just easier to wait for him to show up whenever he feels like it

Of course the fact that you can't find Belphie is because he simply doesn't want to be found by anyone

Sometimes it's just better to hide and have guaranteed peaceful naps rather than having to deal with someone waking you up

so after hiding under the kitchen sink for hours on end Belphie decided it was time to find a more comfortable spot

when he went up to lie in the attic though he heard you say his name so softly he thought he imagined it at first

"Hi there Mc. I was just about to take another nap. You're going to join me right?"

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me headcanons

[bffhreprise]

Best Friend For Hire Reprise, 382

 “Slow down!” exclaimed Iris.  “Turn left just up ahead.”

 I nodded and complied.  She knew where her boss lived better than any of us, having never visited this suburb befored.  I probably would have missed the break in the endless fence had she not warned me, especially when I was trying to guess the cost of having a large amount of land next to a park in a pricey suburb.  To my surprise, the gate opened for us immediately.

 “He doesn’t care much for security, does he?” I teased, looking around to see if there was some sort of guard who would have opened the gate for us.

 “Mila watches everything, so there’s no need.  There are sensors and cameras all over the yard that let her know if anything is disturbed.” explained Iris matter-of-factly.

 I nodded, but my eyes were locked on our destination in the distance, barely visible through all of the rain.  I had considerably underestimated the size of this place.  I very much doubted that I could even afford to maintain the yard for very many years and could only guess that the property tax had to be immense.

 As my sons grew excited about the bushes, I looked over and stared for several seconds.  Every single bush along the long driveway had been carefully sculpted into characters that I recognized from video games my kids enjoyed.  I could only imagine the amount of time and number of people involved in such artwork, leading me to believe James spent even more on his yard annually than I originally had guessed.  Even the fountain—an immense, two-story affair that was very elaborately sculpted—was immaculate, showing no signs of wear or neglect.  James certainly knew how to make an impression.

 When we stepped inside, passing past two sets of double doors that opened for us, James was descending down one of the staircases which curved up to a balcony on the second floor.  “James!  Thank you for having us.  This is quite a place you’ve got here.  Sorry if we brought the storm.” I told him, gesturing to the weather outside.

 “There’s plenty to see.” he politely agreed.  “Thank you for accepting the invitation.  I thought you might be interested in seeing a little more about my company than most, since you seemed curious during the game.  Mick was supposed to stop by a while ago but apparently didn’t get the time.”

 “This place is awesome!” exclaimed Matt.

 “Sorry, James.” muttered Mick.

 “No need to apologize.  We’ll just review with your family today what I wanted to tell you before.” replied James, smiling at us.

 I suddenly found myself floating as a soft breeze blew at me from inside the mansion.  Looking to my sides, I saw that my family, save for my daughter, were also floating.

 Before I could do more than exclaim in surprise, James spoke up, telling us, “Magic is real, and your family can use it.”

 I stared at them, my mind trying to figure out how he was doing this.  Was this some elaborate prank using a new technology?  “Wh-What…” was all I managed to say before we were gently lowered to the ground.

 “You wanted to know what I was feeding my employees.  I train them physically, mentally, and in magical arts.  We didn’t use spells at the baseball game, but we have numerous advantages that are completely unfair.” explained James.  “For example, I can physically lift your family’s van, though using spells is easier to ensure I don’t compromise the frame.”

 I swore, feeling like I had been had, before my better judgement kicked in.  My family was currently at this boy’s mercy.

 James’ smile broadened as he said, “If you don’t mind coming out back, I’ll ask the wonderful gardener to demonstrate something people tend to grasp more easily.”  Not hearing any argument from us, he motioned for us to follow him and started telling us  “Mirabella and Mike can’t create the electrical discharges like the rest of you.  She has a different heritage, and Mike took after his mother.”

 “How could you possibly know that?” asked Mike in surprise.

 “My secretary ran a background check on Iris prior to her being hired, and she’s so thorough that I feel like she knows everything.  You wouldn’t believe how long she takes to brief me on things.” explained James as he glanced back at my son.  “My concern with Mick is that he and Iris tended to play games with their ability, which caught enough notice for my secretary to file it in the report.  There are some out there who prey on those with abilities such as yours, so being a little more cautious tends to be wise.”

 That sounded far too believable.  I probably should have chewed those two out more often, but I had never believed anyone would have noticed their antics.  “You claim you can lift cars, and you can obviously lift us.  What else can you do, James?” I asked, wanting a firmer handle on whom I was dealing with.

 “So many things, Dad.  James is like a wizard combined with an overly strong fighter from some fantasy novel.” insisted Iris from behind me.

 I glanced back at her, surprised at how serious she looked.

 “I’ve also learned to make a great cup of tea.  My wife can be picky.” insisted James.

 “What’s that smell..?” questioned Mike longingly.

 Now that he mentioned it, I didn’t recognize the smell either, though I was certain it was food.  My mouth was already watering.

 “We’re almost to the kitchen, and Marco’s making you quite the treat.  I’m sure he won’t mind us passing through.  Just be prepared for a few samples.” encouraged James.

 The kitchen was as large as was fitting a house this size, and even there the fanciful engravings didn’t yield.  Every cabinet was beautifully carved, as were the very large table and chairs.

 Marco, the chef, was extraordinarily eager for us to sample “a few things” before we moved onward, despite assuring us that dinner would be ready soon.  Only when James pointed out there was more for us to see before dinner did Marco give way, giving us permission to pass through his kitchen into the garden beyond.

 The rain didn’t reach us as we followed James outside, hitting some invisible barrier and sliding away.

 “I don’t suppose you worry about getting struck by lightning.” I commented as I watched the sky.

 “Worried, no, but I didn’t find that to be pleasant either.” he told me sincerely.

 I stared at him, my eyes searching for any sign that he had ever been struck, but I found nothing, save for how confident he seemed.  

 “If your magic were stronger, you’d actually be able to guide a lightning bolt around you.  Iris has practiced enough that she could knock an assailant down with just the shock.” he commented, making me glance back at my daughter.

 “You can?” questioned Mick excitedly.

 She nodded, grinned, and said, “Yep, though I could take you in a fight without one.”  

 “All trained up now, are you?” questioned Mark, my eldest son.

 Iris laughed, shaking her head.  “You wouldn’t believe the standards here.”

 “I take it that James is the strongest, being the boss.” suggested Mike.

 James shook his head and said, “Not even close.”  Then he pointed to a fortress in the distance and asked “Do you see the keep over there?”

 I nodded along with a couple of my sons.

 “The strongest best friend created that with a stray thought.” claimed James.

 “What!?  No way!” exclaimed Mike.

 Nodding, James said, “She showed up in my office to tell me that she ‘oopsed’ a second after.  She’s been training recently to avoid that type of mistake.  I imagine she’ll be capable of creating a large city in a day on a whim within a few years.  I’d probably spend at least a week on a small town, and that’s if I collected the resources ahead of time.”

 I found the idea mind-boggling.  James seemed humble as he claimed that he could create a small town in a week.

 “You’d take at least a month, man-sla-... er… boss?” announced Emma, turning the statement into a question at the end.  “You get too distracted.  I could handle a village in an hour!”  She was soaked, but grinning.

 Before my eyes, the water soaking her clothes drifted away to join the rain outside.

 “Emma, I’m sure you remember Iris’ father, Grayson.  This is her mother, Mirabella.  From oldest to youngest, her brothers are Mark, Mick, Mike, and Matt.  Everyone, this is my gardener, Emma.”

 “Shouldn’t I be your favorite gardener?” she asked teasingly.

 “Sure.” he conceded.

 “Hear that?  I’m his favorite!” she exclaimed proudly.

 “Do you create villages with a stray thought?” questioned Mike.

 “Nah.  I do this.” she replied, watching us all.  After a couple seconds, wooden buildings rose out of the ground between the garden and the keep.

 “Mine would have functional electricity, plumbing, and the other luxuries people expect these days.” argued James with a smile.

 She stuck her tongue out at him.  Then she said, “My plumbing would work if I created a water tower.  Plants can be very good at guiding water.  As for electricity, I’ve been talking with Jarod about ways to generate a current with plants.  We have plans and stuff!”

 “You mean he had a crazy idea and chatted your ear off.” suggested James.

 “I thought the idea was cool and agreed to try eventually!” she insisted.

 “The idea was actually Maxine’s.  She has some experience with bioengineering from when she considered creating a cyborg army.” corrected Mila, who had discretely joined us without me noticing.

 “You can create cyborgs!?’ questioned Matt excitedly.

 “There has been some tech created here which could be used toward that end, but we’re not experimenting on people.” explained James.

 “I didn’t know you were in the tech industry.” commented my wife.

 James smiled at her and diplomatically told her “My company dabbles in many things to help prepare our best friends for a very large variety of jobs.”

 Grinning, Emma said, “He means to say ‘Yes.  Yes, we are.’  Mua ha ha ha ha!”  She drummed her fingers together while obviously attempting to look like some comic book villain.

James sighed and said, “Emma, mind getting rid of your starter village and showing the Storms how you help the kitchen?”

 “Fiiiine,” she begrudgingly told him, “but I might use some buildings to compliment the topiary when I change things up again.”

 “Sounds fun.” he agreed.

 From there, she started demonstrating how she could make the plants grow, revert to seeds, or provide as much food as she wanted.  She could also force plants to grow beyond their normal proportions and control them as easily as she controlled her own limbs, which led her into demonstrating how she had produced the bats her team had used for our baseball game.  Before she seemed remotely ready to quit demonstrating her abilities, Mila announced that food was ready.

 Instead of eating at the long table in the kitchen, we were taken to a large dining hall with an even more elaborate table.  There were already carts of food waiting nearby, and Mila urged us to help ourselves, since no one here would hesitate when they arrived.

 As we ate, we were entertained with more demonstrations of magic from those who had joined us.  James’ wife, Alma, created elaborate displays of fire and ice.  Ai and Mai created a sort of play with tiny figures made of water acting out their parts just above the table.  Jemal fetched more food for the particularly hungry using nothing but his magic, causing whatever was requested to float through the air.  James himself demonstrated illusions, making us see whatever he wanted while assuring us the magic the others had used was real.  Whether because I had felt myself being lifted earlier or because he had no reason to lie, I believed him.  Iris’ boss was the most interesting, and perhaps the most dangerous, man I had ever met.

#Best Friend For Hire Reprise #Best #Friend #For #Hire #Reprise #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[kyuuppi]

vegetable stew

Pairing: Kenma x Reader (f)

Contents: hurt/comfort; angst and fluff; body dysmorphia; eating disorder (negative thoughts, fat shaming, insecurity, mentions of starvation)

Word Count: 2.1k

Kenma has always been observant.

It was a large part of his success as a setter and even now his keen observational skills contribute to his career as a professional gamer. He tends to notice things others don’t and lately that means noticing how you’ve changed.

The more he thinks about it the more difficult it is to pinpoint the exact starting point of your behavior. Haven’t you always preferred baggy clothing?

He remembers the pretty blue sweater you used to treasure back in high school, wearing it every chance you got as soon as the weather report hinted at anything lower than 10°C. He loved that sweater too—not just because of the cute sweater paws it gave you or how it almost completely covered the shorts you wore beneath, offering an unobstructed view of your shapely thighs—but instead he relished in the way it seemed to make you feel. The confidence and joy in your expression was clear as day when you wore your favorite outfits and early on in your relationship he had quickly learned that somehow your happiness was synonymous to his own.

Hence Kenma’s current frustrations in seeing that spark of joy and self-confidence gradually diminishing in the past several weeks.

Although that particular sweater had long since left your wardrobe within the first few years of university, as well-loved and worn out as it was, the more recent favorites of yours have also seemed to have gone lately. It had been a while since you had worn the short yellow polka dot dress you had been so eager to show Kenma the first day you got back from the mall with your roommates. Every pair of shorts and colorful tennis skirts had also left your weekly rotation, leaving behind only dull sweatshirts with childhood cartoon characters and baggy joggers.

Objectively, Kenma hardly cared about what you wore. If fastening a potato sack around your form made you happy, Kenma wouldn’t bat an eye—the problem stemmed from the fact these clothes didn’t make you happy. Moreover, the bland clothing brought with them their own slew of behavioral changes.

You no longer wished to go out and you avoided taking pictures of yourself, your social media suffering from an obvious lack of cheeky selfies or “outfit of the day” posts as of late. However, the most concerning change of all was your refusal to eat.

Kenma had a habit of forgetting to eat himself. He rarely felt the mild twinges of hunger, his attention generally hyper-focused on something else whether it was a game, a video needing editing, or a class project he had pushed off for far too long. It was only when his own stomach growling would startle him or the hunger pains got unbearable that he would acknowledge the human requirement of sustenance (not that the instant ramen in his cabinets provided much nutrients anyhow).

You were much more in tune with your body and, unlike him, you looked forward to eating; scheduled your days around it, even.

Your mornings began with a balanced breakfast—a meal Kenma was rarely even awake in time for—followed by a generous lunch break in which you would intentionally put everything on pause. Regardless of how much work you had to do you always made time to put everything down and have a decent lunch. It was good for your soul, you would say. A time to live in the moment and relieve yourself of stress.

For dinner you often made it a point to eat with others, whether it was going to a rowdy Korean BBQ with some friends or a dinner date at home with just him, you enjoyed sharing a meal surrounded by the people you love. On top of it all, you frequently had snacks: small bags of crackers, slices of fruit, or a few cookies you made yourself.

You loved cooking almost as much as you loved eating; most of the times he invited you over you brought a large bag with you filled to the brim with ingredients he wouldn’t have a clue what to do with. You would chastise him about his awful eating habits, grimacing at the ramen and chip wrappers overflowing in the kitchen trash can before you diligently prepare a meal for you both, healthy and flavorful, full of the vegetables he hadn’t had since the last time he went home to visit his mom.

You made him look forward to meal times too, if only to see the way you light up when he compliments your cooking or the pure bliss when you take the first bite of your favorite side dish. Eating with you became one of his favorite parts of the day.

And so that last time you made him dinner—a steaming plate of curry with shrimp tempura—the normally delicious food suddenly turned sour on his tongue when he realized you had only made him dinner.

“I’m just not very hungry today,” you had assured him with a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes.

Foolishly, he hadn’t said anything at the time.

Maybe you had a large lunch, maybe you had a stomach ache, maybe you just didn’t want curry today—at that point in time he had no reason to think there was something seriously wrong. He had no reason to think you were starving yourself.

It wasn’t until weeks later when all the evidence stacked up, the many different signs piecing themselves together like a puzzle until it was impossible not to see the picture, even if a few were still missing.

Your baggy clothing, your refusal to eat anything, your off-handed comments about how the female characters in whatever fighting game he was playing had such nice figures—it became crystal clear what you were doing and it made him feel sick.

Kenma doesn’t generally care about others’ looks; he tends to worry more on how he is perceived than how he perceives others but he is confident that he rather likes your body as it is. He would rather die than admit how often he finds his gaze wandering when your legs are bare or how his eyes naturally trace the curve of your waist down to the width of your hips his fingers twitch to touch—he has had many thoughts about your body, none of which have ever been negative.

Even so, he doesn’t mind if you want to change yourself. He isn’t foolish enough to think he has the right to dictate how you decide to present yourself to this world, but he refuses to allow the reason for your change to be one that stems from low self-esteem or insecurity.

When you step into Kenma’s apartment, weary from a long day of classes and the extra hours spent at the gym, the last thing you expect is to be greeted by the scent of some type of stew, warm and hearty. Your stomach clenches longingly but you quickly reprimand yourself—you already reached your tiny caloric limit for the day.

You have hardly made it into the living room when Kenma comes out from the kitchen, dyed hair tied in a low bun but messy, several strands poking out and sticking across his sweaty forehead. A dark blue apron is tied around his waist and his right hand holds a ladle, the perfect image of a frazzled housewife. If you weren’t so shocked by the scene you would have laughed.

“Welcome back,” he greets softly.

“Are you...cooking something?”

Kenma looks slightly embarrassed by your incredulous tone but not offended. In all the years you have known Kenma you have never seen him in the kitchen for longer than the three minutes required to heat up a bowl of noodles. Him slaving away in front of the stove for a bowl of homemade soup is nearly unfathomable to you.

“Vegetable stew...it’s my mom’s recipe,” your boyfriend explains sheepishly.

The mental image of Kenma shyly FaceTiming his mother as she patiently walks him through chopping up carrots and mixing spices makes your lips twitch upwards and you make your way past him to curiously survey his work.

“You didn’t have to go through the effort, I could have cooked you something, y’know,” you comment as you lean over the large pot on the stove.

The contents are a rich brown color with hints of potatoes, carrots, and onions peaking out. You’re gifted another pang of hunger and you quickly step back as if it would prevent you from falling into temptation.

Kenma quietly slips into the kitchen directly behind you, his chest nearly brushing your arm as he speaks.

“It's okay, I wanted to cook for us this time.”

You freeze.

Immediately, you break into a cold sweat, the prospect of eating sending you into a state of anxiety. You can’t eat—you don’t deserve to eat. Not when your arms are so flabby, your waist so undefined, your inner thighs so close to each other—

“I appreciate it,” you start.

Your voice sounds unnaturally high even to your own ears.

“But I’m not hungry—I had a really big lunch.”

Turning, you try to offer him an apologetic smile but his face looks off. His lips are pulled into a slight frown and his eyes seem to be looking through you, as if he knows you’re lying.

“Y/n...I don’t like what you’re doing.”

You attempt to laugh but it comes out hollow.

“I’m not doing anything bad, just dieting a bit.”

“I think you’re being a little extreme.”

You huff, starting to feel defensive. You don’t want to have this conversation, not now, not ever.

“Kenma, I’m totally fine, I promise.”

“I’m worried about you,” he insists.

“I’m telling you there’s nothing to worry about, I’m being safe.”

“Skipping meals isn’t healthy.”

“Kenma, being this fat isn’t healthy!”

The words escape before you can think to stop them and you can already feel the shame pricking at your eyes as you turn away. You don’t want to see your boyfriend’s look of disgust once he realizes you’re right, once he realizes how fat and unattractive his girlfriend is. Kenma is skinny, he deserves a petite girlfriend who is just as tiny, a girl with slender legs that look cute in shorts and a stomach that lays flat regardless of the time of day. He deserves the sexy girls in his video games, in shape from years of training and perfected suited for tight leather bikini tops.

You don’t realize you’re shaking until Kenma wraps his arms around your shoulders, burying his face into the side of your neck. He lets out a shuttered sigh and if you didn’t know any better you’d think he’s crying as well.

“I love you,” he murmurs against your skin, “and I don’t like seeing you hurting yourself. If you want to lose weight, I’ll help you. We can make healthy foods together and eat them together and exercise together—just please stop skipping meals.”

Your throat feels like it's stuffed with cotton so you can only nod in agreement, raising one hand to weakly wipe at the hot tears staining your cheeks.

The two of you stand like that, huddled in the middle of the kitchen, for several long minutes until the last of your tears have gone before Kenma gently pushes you to sit down at the coffee table. He prepares two steaming bowls full of vegetable stew for you both and you silently eat as Kenma tells you how low calorie the broth is and how many nutrients his mom said were in the vegetables he used. He tells you about a new fitness game on the Nintendo Switch that you two can play together. By the time you finish your meals, Kenma has already promised to wake up early to go jogging around the neighborhood together even though you know he absolutely hates waking up early and exercising when he doesn’t have to.

Your chest aches with how much he loves you, how far he’s willing to go just if he thinks it will help you and make you happy.

A small part of your mind begs you not to listen. It insists you’ll be fat forever if you don’t starve yourself; no pain, no gain. But the more rational part of you gazes into those soft golden eyes, filled with concern and love as he rambles on about the best sources of protein—all stuff he had learned from his professional volleyball player friend Hinata—and you know your answer.

Kenma loves you, he would do anything to see you happy and healthy and you would do anything to please him.

You love him more than you hate yourself.

#kozume kenma #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #kenma x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #kenma imagine #kenma scenario #kenma x chubby reader #haikyuu x chubby reader

[timbertumbr]

Average (Ninjago Zane X Reader)

No spoilers. Just something I wrote. :)

Believe it or not, you’re the only average person aboard the bounty. No elemental powers, no crazy super intelligence, you’re just a normal human being that happens to know the Ninja. How you met is also pretty normal, you just came across the dojo in search of directions and now you live on the bounty. Sensei Wu was intrigued by you, even if you were normal and kept insisting as such. 

“Normal comes in different shapes and sizes, but it’s always based on interpretation. You may find yourself to be normal, but others may think differently,” That’s what he said which convinced you to join, that and the fact he muttered under his breath that the Ninja need more social interactions besides their own tight knit group.

The Ninja were a little wary at first, which is understandable after all they’ve been through. But they came around eventually. You help them out whenever and however you can. Usually it’s small things like doing a chore or making sure the equipment was cleaned and safe for the Ninja. 

And it hasn’t gone unnoticed, after you’re done with a chore or whatever you’re doing to help out, one of the Ninja comes up to you and asks if you want to watch them train or want to play video games with them. Ah, bonding experiences.

While you were reminiscing on how close you’ve gotten to the Ninja, you walked to the kitchen to see if you could find something to eat when you noticed the fridge and cabinets were practically bare. 

Taking out your phone, you begin writing a list of things you need before texting Jay that you’ll be going to the store. He sends you a thumbs up emoji in response. You pocket your phone and walk out onto the deck, hop over the side and tumble onto the top of a building. Just because you live with the ninja, doesn’t mean you are one. 

You get up, dust yourself off, open the roof top and walk down the stairs until you’re on the busy streets of Ninjago city. You open Google Maps and begin walking to the closest store. 

________

After around an hour and a half, you walked out of the store with a cartful of bags. You pull out your phone and begin texting Jay to come pick you up with the groceries when someone grabs you from behind, a hand covering your mouth. 

Fear flooded your system and you grabbed a hold of the assailants finger before pulling back on it HARD. A male scream rang through the parking lot as you slipped from his grasp and started running. You didn’t make it far before another person jumped out from the corner and swiftly punched you in the face. You stagger for a bit before your body hits the pavement and you soon lose consciousness. 

_________

You groan when you open your eyes and realize your body is stiff. You try to stretch but realize you're tied up. Great. And on top of that, a stinging pain is erupting from where you got punched. 

You look around and see that there’s a lot of people around. They’re all looking at you, so you can’t exactly try and figure out how to escape even if you wanted to. But you’re too terrified and shocked to be even thinking about escaping. 

In a matter of moments, a person emerges from the shadows of the dark room and approaches you with a grin. You could only stare in fear.

“Comfortable? I’d hope so since you’re our money bargain,” He taunted, so clearly he's the leader. Or maybe the right hand man? Again, you couldn’t tell. You swallow as best as you can and open your mouth to speak.

“Wh-What do you want?” You curse under your breath, stuttering and showing fear is what they want… But you can’t exactly help it. The people in the room begin cackling. 

“Sounds like someone’s not paying attention, ey gang? You’re a money ticket, and you’re also going to help us prove that we’re the only thing the ninja should care about,” He sneers while poking your forehead. Oh. OH. They’re THOSE kinds of bad guys, the overconfident ones. He backs away from you and looks to the others in the room. 

“Be on your guard, they ARE Ninja after all,” And with that he takes his leave. Okay, so this is good. It’s only a matter of time before the ninja find you. Either before or after the ransom call, it wouldn’t matter anyway. But… a small part of you worried they wouldn’t notice. 

You shake your head gently to get rid of those thoughts. They’d come. They always do. Your shaking slightly irritated your now bruising cheek which made you inhale sharply. A chorus of quiet chuckles scattered throughout the room.

Seconds pass, them minutes. You waited and waited… until you heard a wonderful sound. Something hitting one of the many gang members and them groaning in pain. You look around in hope.

“It’s the Ni- AGH!” They got kicked into the wall and got knocked out instantly. The entire room was filled with the sounds of fighting while you watched blurs fly around the room. In a matter of minutes, everyone was on the ground either groaning in pain or just flat out unconscious. 

“Y/N! Are you alright?!” Cole asks, taking off his hood and coming around to untie you while Zane looks around the room scanning their vitals to ensure no one was faking. 

“I’m alright, just glad you’re here,” You stretched after being released from your bonds. You meant what you said, you just wish you could’ve done more. 

“It seems everyone is down for the count. I have contacted the authorities to deal with them and their leader,” Zane approaches you two as he speaks and stares at you.

“You are injured,” Cole furrows his brows in slight confusion before checking and gasps.

“What the- You said you were alright!” Cole panicked a little (a lot), you smile sheepishly.

“I am, it just stings a bit is all,” Zane silently looks between you and Cole before speaking.

“We should return to the bounty. The others are worried for your safety,” He turns on his heel and begins to walk out despite Cole trying to protest. You awkwardly follow the two back to the bounty.

___________

When you return to the bounty, you receive a lot of worried yelling from mostly everyone on the ship. Wu and Zane were able to quiet them before things got out of hand. 

“Zane, can you take care of Y/N’s injuries?” Wu asks, Zane opens his mouth to answer.

“Y/N WAS INJURED?!” Jay screeched.

“Who was it?! Let me at ‘em!” Nya yelled afterwards.

“Hey, at least leave some for me sis,” Kai adds. Zane sighs and gently takes your hand. He starts to slightly drag you away from the worried chaos that was the Ninja. You walk past the kitchen to see Lloyd was making dinner. He sees you both and waves before returning back to his task.

“How-” 

“It was the cart that led us to your location. I asked Jay, Kai and Lloyd to put away the groceries while Cole and I searched for you,” Zane explains as you enter the bathroom. He asks you to sit on the toilet and you do. Zane takes out the first aid kit and grabs the necessary supplies. He pours some hydrogen peroxide onto some cotton pads, turns to you and kneels. 

“This may sting,” He mutters before gently patting your bruised cheek, causing you to inhale sharply until the stinging stops. 

“Apologies,” He gets up and throws away the cotton pad, returning to the first aid kit and fishing out the appropriate bandaid and ointment. He applies the ointment on the bandaid before gently putting it on your cheek.

“Thank you Zane,” He nods as he puts away the first aid kit. 

“In the future, when you’re running errands please take one of us with you,” Zane comments politely.

“Oh. Yeah, I can understand why but…” You trail off, Zane raises a brow in confusion.

“But…?” 

“It feels like I’m wasting your time. I’m not like any of you and was only able to live on the ship because Wu thought it would be for the best. You all have big responsibilities to shoulder and I don’t want to make things more difficult for you,” Zane stares at you unsure of how to respond. You start to get uncomfortable and get up.

“S-Sorry, forget I said anything, yeah?” 

“No,” 

“Huh?” You look at Zane confused.

“No, I will not be simply forgetting something that you’ve seemed to be harboring for quite some time now. I do not believe you are wasting anyone’s time, in fact, time spent with you always makes the others and myself quite happy. You’re always making sure we’re alright and do what you think are the simplest of chores that we simply do not have time for. You brighten our world, Y/N. You always have and always will,” 

Zane smiles at you while you stare at him shocked but also happy. He opens his arms offering a hug and you take it, wrapping your arms around the robo boi. 

“Thank you Zane,” You mutter. He gently pats your head.

“It is no problem, Y/N,” You both separate and FINALLY exit the bathroom. The scent of Lloyd’s cooking enters your nose as soon as you leave the room.

“Looks like Lloyd’s done! Let’s go before Cole and Kai eat it all,” You joke, speed walking to the dining room. Zane follows with a confused smile, but a smile nonetheless.

Want to Request? Please Read this before you do so.

#Ninjago #Zane #Ninjago Zane X Reader #X Reader

[chrisevansgoodgirl]

"it’s dark but just a game”, that’s what he would say to me

summary: sugar daddy series: ransom. some spoiling, some fighting, some drunk ransom.

warnings: ransom. mentions of edging. mentions of piercings. mentions of literally every other kind of sex. very slight public sex. i mean, i guess angst, but like not. drunk ransom being a danger to everyone, but especially himself.

word count: around 8,400

relationships: ransom drysdale x reader

a/n: did i need to write this? no. does anyone actually like ransom? also no... i just sincerely couldn’t be stopped. for the record, no cheating is in this fic. also, why do lana songs work so well for ransom? bc he’s a glamourous bitch.

a/n 2: @donutloverxo my last fic starring your fav. just kidding. but really, this is my last sugar daddy fic. i had two others planned that are partially written but will not be done and a bitch does need to start taking her final projects seriously.

Send me a picture.

You begrudgingly climbed out of bed to make your way downstairs. Your father was in the living room, sitting on the very edge of the couch with his hands pressed to his face, his elbows digging into his knees as he watched the news and acting like he had any idea what a difficult life was like. Your mother was in the dining room, magazines, laptop, her purse, and a cocktail surrounded her. She was laughing and talking loudly into her phone, meaning she was drunk.

Both were sufficiently distracted.

You went to the kitchen and grabbed a chair to put in front of the refrigerator. In the cabinet above, that was where the alcohol was. You were playing a drinking game with yourself. The text, send me a picture, was not a rarity and on the bad days, you received it so many times it could get you drunk.

After one shot, you decided a second was a great idea. That was the only reason you decided to be difficult, it just went straight to your head. It gave you the crazy idea that being a problem would get you anything. (Other than a sore ass.)

Why?

It took two entire minutes for the short response to come through—but you knew he had been struggling for those two minutes to come up with even that. Why?

Yes, why? You were not going to back down from the question. You wanted to know, if not just because you were simply a curious person. Why a picture, why not a video? Why now, why not earlier or later? Why am I your preferred coping mechanism?

The next response was much quicker. You’re not.

That simply had to be untrue. He texted you once a day at least, several dozen times when he spent time with his family. Well, ask nicely.

Instead, you received a Venmo notification. Three hundred dollars was gifted to you from the ever-so-kind HRDT-1988—okay, noted; apparently, being mouthy did pay off sometimes.

What do you say?

Well, after last week, and how sweet you had been simply because it was the anniversary of his grandfather’s death, you’d made some good money. You didn’t need to be any more of a brat.

Thank you, daddy. Give me just a sec.

And I want to see your face this time.

Of course. Ransom owned you, basically. It happened three months into this…thing. You didn’t care at the moment. You didn’t mind that he asked for a nude picture with your face in the shot. You didn’t even feel that twisting sensation in your stomach after you had sent it.

Because you trusted Ransom to be Ransom. No, you didn’t think he was too good to show off your pictures, it was that you knew he was too possessive. If he had his way, no other man would ever see you naked.

You peeled your clothing off and climbed back into bed. You weren’t teasing because you knew it would just put him in a mood. There was a signal he gave when he was okay with you teasing, but you had yet to receive it. Ransom appreciated obedience above all else.

You had to be prompt as well. You took only a few pictures and chose the best.

It was around three minutes later that your phone alerted you with another Venmo notification. You never checked how much he sent you, you just knew it was always way too much.

Now I want a video.

Typically. Of what?

Remember the present I gave you yesterday? You can open it now. Put it on and I’ll call you soon.

Ransom enjoyed giving you presents that you weren’t allowed to open immediately. It used to drive you mad but now you were used to it. After three hours of edging one time because he thought you were flirting with a bartender at some gross bar that he took you to, the rest of his tricks paled in comparison.

Inside the box that you stashed away in your closet lay a thin, slinky black romper. It barely covered your ass and the cut down the front was so low that you would fall out of it if you leaned over. You hurried to the bathroom to brush your hair and put on just a little bit of red lipstick.

You patiently sat on the bed in front of your laptop waiting for his call. You were nervous. Kind of. Excited, also. Ransom was cruel and you worried sometimes how much you liked that about him.

He rarely told you to wear black, so you weren’t sure what to expect from him. At parties, he liked black dresses. For dinners, tiny black skirts. Never here. But in the bedroom, he preferred different colors to match the ways he wanted you.

In pink, he liked to bend you over his knee and spank your ass and bury his fingers in you until you were sobbing for his cock.

Red, he would tie you up, knowing it frustrated you immensely when you couldn’t touch him. The things he would say, the way he would tease you. It brought tears to your eyes and your face always felt impossibly hot even hours later.

Purple had him ordering you on your hands and knees so he could fuck you into the mattress until your whole body was nearly numb, until your arms and legs gave out and you were flat against the bed. Until you were both covered in sweat and exhausted.

Light blue made him leave bite marks all over your skin, particularly your ass and inner thighs. He’d never drawn blood, but sometimes he threatened to. You tried not to respond to those.

Dark blue inspired the use of some props, the paddle, the riding crop—you had been worried the first time he used both, but he was good at always making sure he wasn’t too rough with you.

In white, he wanted you on your knees while he was sitting on the edge of his bed or a chair, choking on his cock until he was sure you were on the verge of passing out.

Green was for the money play, making you “earn” your allowance, fake angry accusations that you were just with him for the money—you had used the safe word a couple of times that first time he suggested it, but he was so perfect with aftercare that it was one of your favorites now.

But black? You weren’t sure yet. You had never explored the color black.

You didn’t have more time to dwell because your laptop was sounding off with his call. You answered it immediately.

“Hey, baby.”

He was in his bedroom, the one at his parents’ house. That meant that he was close to you. He lived halfway across town, so it was often that he would spend time at their house. You weren’t allowed to point that out. Any time you pointed out that Ransom might be attached to you, he always tried to dissuade you from those beliefs.

The laptop was on his lap, meaning he could pull himself out of his pants if he wanted. If you asked.

“Hi, daddy,” you returned. “How are you today?”

“Better now. Get up and let me see you.”

You excitedly got back onto your feet and twirled slowly for him. “I love it, daddy, thank you.”

He hummed. “Points for manners, I suppose.”

You sat down. “Did I do something wrong?” An act, he was in a mood. He’d trained you well to his vocabulary, his tone, his schedule. Right now, the noncommittal “I suppose”, the passive voice, and that he’d been at lunch with his parents were all pointing to one thing: you were in for it.

“You took a little long to reply.”

Purposefully. “I’m sorry, daddy.”

“I know, baby, but I have to teach you a lesson, don’t I?”

You nodded. You would have it no other way.

“What do you think I should do?”

You hesitated, despaired at the idea that was about to come out of your mouth. But if you didn’t say it, he was just going to be harsher in his punishment. “Well…maybe you shouldn’t let me come.”

He thought it over. “That sounds tempting… I’m not sure it’s enough. What are you willing to do for me?”

“Anything,” you promised and immediately regretted it.

He smirked. “That was what I wanted to hear.”

“Well, I—”

“You would get the tattoo for me?”

The tattoo. The tattoo… The tattoo. But saying no was against the rules. At least unless you used your safe word. Not that you weren’t currently debating. “Daddy—”

He scoffed. “I’m going to get you to say yes one day.”

You weren’t so sure about that. When he first brought it up, you didn’t want to do it. A year later, you still didn’t want to do it. At first, it was the fear of him basically wanting to brand you. You liked him leaving marks on you now, but you were not deluded enough to think that Ransom Drysdale was going to keep you as his sugar baby forever. A tattoo was forever, it just wasn’t the smartest idea.

“You know what else I want, let me see them.”

You slipped down the straps of your romper and pulled the material down until your breasts were exposed. You knew the direction that this was about to take, and sadly, you weren’t feeling as opposed as you once were.

“Want to make me happy, baby?”

The answer was always yes. Ransom, when he was happy, was perfect. Not that you disliked him when he was in his moods. It was just that your favorite Ransom was sweet Ransom—as rarely as you got to see that.

You nodded.

“Daddy wants you to pierce them.”

You had originally said no to that, too. It had never been something you were interested in. Now, you were only worried about one thing. “You won’t be able to touch them while they’re healing.”

“And that will be fucking torture. But after they heal—fuck.”

Fuck, he was right. “Will you come with me?”

He smiled. “Of course.”

“Okay, then yes.”

“Such a good girl. I might have to let you come just once as a reward.”

He didn’t. After that agreement, he told you to go get your favorite vibrator. You sat before the computer with your legs spread, leaning on the headboard. He watched you for an hour, an entire 60 minutes. He told you to set the vibrator to your clit, but that you’d better pull it away if you were going to come.

So, black was that.

It wasn’t as if you had never said yes to Ransom before without fully considering the situation, but this had to take the cake. He wanted to do it the very next day. So, you were frustrated because he didn’t let you come and now nervous because you heard that this particular piercing hurt. Like, a lot. But you would never say that. Ransom’s favorite hobby, so it seemed was to tease you.

You were lying table, the plastic sticking to your skin every time you moved, top pulled down just under your breasts, in a freezing room. Ransom was next to you, and you knew that his restraint was quickly slipping. Your piercer, Moira, had gone to get the jewelry you selected.

“Daddy,” you scolded gently, pushing his hand away as it moved toward one of your breasts.

“Baby,” he warned. Your body was his and it seemed like you needed the reminder. He would gladly provide that.

“I just meant…not here.”

He glanced at the door before taking backward steps toward it, smirking at you.

“Wait, don’t—”

“She won’t mind. I come here often; she’s known me for too long to give a fuck about anything I do.”

“You come here often?” Ransom Drysdale frequents a tattoo and piercing place? For what? “With other women?”

His hand was on the doorknob, but he froze at your words. “Come on, we don’t talk about things like that.”

“Right, sorry,” you sighed. But no, you weren’t sorry. You had every right to ask that question, especially considering what he had originally asked you to do. “But I think I should know. How many of them have you had branded?”

He turned the lock and walked closer to you again. “Don’t do this, you know I don’t like fighting with you.”

“I don’t want to fight,” you pointed out, “I just want to talk.”

He was at the edge of the table, staring over you. “I don’t want to talk. Not when we could occupy our time with much more pleasant activities.”

He’d seen you naked hundreds of times by now, but it suddenly felt different. You felt like he was staring at you like a mad surgeon would, like he just wanted to take you apart slowly.

He climbed onto the table.

“Wait—”

He continued to move up your body, pushing at your shirt and mouth pressing to the skin just under your navel.

“Please, wait—”

But he didn’t, he kissed up your torso over your shirt and between your breasts as he settled most of his weight on you. He successfully pinned you down, there was no way you could move away from him.

“Daddy, please—”

“Please?” he repeated against your collarbone. He dragged his lips down to your breasts and you shuddered. “Please, what?”

His tongue flicked over your nipple and if not for his body on top of yours, you would have arched your back. Your eyes rolled back, and your hands came up to the back of his head, fingers tangling in his hair.

It took some getting used to when you first started seeing him. Ransom was always handsy in public and too rich that no one was going to tell him shit. Sometimes, he would drag you into bathrooms, empty rooms, and he would do whatever he pleased with you. Afterward, no one made eye contact with you and they pretended they hadn’t just heard Ransom ruin you.

However, the last thing you wanted to be was just a number. You had never thought this was permanent, but it could be special. You wanted to be special to Ransom because he was special to you. You wanted him to remember you because you had made different memories with him.

You hated when he took you to his favorite restaurants because at first, everyone looked at you in pity. They knew it was just a matter of time before he got rid of you. After a year, now it just looked like they were taking bets. But also critiquing the hell out of you. They wanted to know what made you so significant. And you knew it was nothing. You knew he had gone on dates with prettier, smarter, funnier, more interesting, but for some reason, you’d lasted longer.

Probably your unwavering submission.

There was an abrupt pounding on the door. “Ransom, don’t be a dick. I’m getting off early today and I need to finish this appointment before my next tattoo session.”

He groaned as he climbed off you, taking his sweet ass time walking to the door to let her in. She was tall, with porcelain skin, icy blue eyes, purple hair, and at least a dozen tattoos that you could see. You saw her and immediately wondered, she was pretty…but the way she looked at Ransom, you figured she had a lot more self-respect than you.

She glared at him as she moved to your side and took a seat, he closed the door before he came to your opposite side. “He tells me you’ve been with him for a year…”

“Uh, yeah…a year, a few months now.”

“Why?”

He scowled at her. “Because I can fuck her better than anyone else.”

She rolled her eyes and then glanced at you, identifying immediately that even you couldn’t come up with a reason. It was a mystery at times, but he was sweet. Sweet enough to keep you around, at least.

“You partially blind?” she teased.

You scoffed. “No.”

“Huh…think it’s a brain thing?”

“Maybe,” you admitted.

“Okay,” Ransom cut in, “Can we get this done? Thought you were in a hurry.”

She moved around in silence and he started touching you again. First, it was just your face, small strokes against your cheekbone as he told you about the dinner that he was taking you to that night. Originally, he was going to take you to his place and watch movies with you, but his family had roped him into something or other. You were used to that by now.

Then he moved down and started tracing your lips, all while staring into your eyes. He started to recap all the drama from the night before. Of course, Joni had started picking at him immediately upon his arrival. You didn’t blame her; he was such an ass to his family. Then Linda, as he was now calling her and would until he stopped being so angry at her, was saying he needed to get serious about his life. He needed to settle down, get a job, think about his future.

“Settle down…” you muttered. “Maybe you could hire someone for that.”

“Ha, ha,” he leaned over you and gave you a rough, quick kiss. “Very clever.”

You smiled. “Then what?”

“Oh, the usual…” Richard was agreeing with her, Walt was making his unwarranted comments. That eventually drew Richard’s irritation toward Jacob, and the two men then started comparing sons. You wouldn’t tell Ransom, but you were pretty sure he still held the crown until Jacob had access to a gun.

“Okay,” Moira began, and Ransom fell silent. “Ransom, get out of the way, you’re in the light.”

With a noticeable pout, he stepped back.

“I’m just going to clean your skin,” she sneered at Ransom, “then we’ll mark where I’m going to pierce you.” She did so quickly and directed you to stand. She used her pen to make the marks on your nipples and stepped back. “That look right?”

“Yep,” Ransom claimed.

She made a face at him. “Like you would know.”

He rolled his eyes as soon as she turned around.

“Okay, babe, back up on the table.”

You climbed up and laid down once again.

“Okay, I just need you to breathe the entire time, okay? People try to hold their breath and they think it will help, but it will not. Breathe through it.”

“Okay.”

She glanced at Ransom and arched an eyebrow. “Well?”

He sent her a bitter smile and then moved closer to you again. “Nervous?”

“No.”

“A little?”

“No, not at all.” You just didn’t want him to know, honestly.

“Okay, well, you were supposed to say yes, and I was then going to offer a solution. Let’s pretend that you did say yes, because see, I do have a solution.”

“And what would that be?”

“An orgasm.”

You narrowed your eyes.

“Yeah, he has this theory,” Moira informed. “He thinks it won’t hurt if he makes you come.”

“Okay, cool, test it out on someone else,” you snapped.

“Come on, don’t be like that. Just open your legs for me and let me try it out. It’s a theory, okay? Don’t you want to be part of the initial experiment? You like science and all that shit, right?”

“Telling you to not drink with your prescription painkillers after you broke your ankle last summer is not liking science, it’s being smart enough to listen to professionals.”

“Don’t you want to help people? You’re into that shit, aren’t you?”

You narrowed your eyes. “Helping people, how?”

“Imagine, all the sad people who can’t get piercings because they are terrified it’s going to hurt—”

“I’m one of those people,” you hissed. “Now, shut up, you’re not helping!”

He just stared at you for a moment, you never spoke to him that way. He knew then that you had to be nervous since you, possibly the smartest woman he knew, damn well knew that taking that tone would normally get you bent over his knee.

“Okay, I understand you’re tense—”

You cut him off with a glare.

“Just let me try it,” he pleaded. “If it doesn’t work, I’ll buy you something stupid and expensive.”

You rolled your eyes, turning to Moira. “He told you that he wanted to try this?”

“He’s been talking about it for a few months. Told me that he was so close to getting his girl to agree to get a piercing or tattoo. I applaud you for holding out this long and I hope you get everything you want in life for having told him no for an entire year. He deserves much worse.”

Ransom glared at her again.

Okay, now, maybe you were a small and petty person…but you had been convinced that Ransom had to have been seeing other women the entire time you were seeing him. It just didn’t make sense that he wouldn’t be. This did not disprove that, however, it did provide evidence that you were getting exactly what you wanted. Special, unique memories. He hadn’t done this with anyone else and maybe this was weird, but now you were on board.

“Okay, fine. Just do this, I want to go home.”

He excitedly climbed onto the table and lifted your hips over his lap, separating your legs but holding onto your skirt. You liked that about Ransom, he wasn’t some idiotic man who could not conceive the idea that a woman would steal you away from him. He was serious about no one else seeing any part of your body that he felt ownership over—that meant anything covered by your underwear. Not that he didn’t enjoy dressing you in barely-there clothing and showing you off to his friends.

He started first, hand sliding up your thigh until he reached your pussy. You shifted a little, eyes closing as you breathed.

“Okay, like that,” Moira instructed. “Just please remember to keep breathing.”

Long story short, you did breathe. Ransom did make you come, once just seconds before the first one, and because he knew it didn’t work the first time, he told Moira to wait until you were finishing the second time to proceed with the final piercing.

You were panting, arm pressed to your forehead, and they were both watching you curiously. Moira knew, by the tension in your hand that was gripping Ransom’s forearm, his theory had not worked as far as you were concerned.

“Well?” Ransom prompted.

“No,” you snapped. “Ass.”

He gave Moira a look. “Give us a moment.”

“This is my room.”

“Well, get a different one.”

“My god,” she muttered, tapping your arm on the way out. “Okay, honey, left you all the pamphlets on the counter. Call me if you have any questions. Ransom, don’t touch them.”

When the door shut, you finally opened your eyes to glare at him.

He frowned. “I’m sorry, I thought it would work.”

“You just made me come twice in front of a fucking stranger because you thought it would work?”

“Don’t be a prude. She pierces and tattoos all kinds of body parts, she was fine.”

“You are such an ass, and I am not going to dinner with you tonight.”

“Look, I get that you are upset because you’re in pain, but enough with the attitude. Also, yes, you are going to dinner with me. You can’t let me deal with those people alone.”

“These really hurt, Hugh.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

He wasn’t going to do shit to you today, and you felt okay in taking advantage of that. You were not allowed to call him Hugh, ever. The only other time you tried it was in the middle of an argument and he had you choking on his cock before you had even fully understood what a huge mistake you had made.

You shoved at his forearm. “Hugh.”

“Stop it,” he warned.

“Why, Hugh?”

“I’m going to have to punish you if you don’t stop. And trust me, the headache Joni is going to give you with all that bullshit essential oils talk will dull this pain.”

“No, I am not going with you.”

“Yes, you are. And if you tell me no one more time, tonight is not going to be as fun as it could be.”

“Oh my god,” you groaned. “I am not having sex with you tonight. I am in pain, Hugh!”

“Okay, okay,” he sighed. “We’ll go to dinner, then we can watch the scary movies.”

You laid there, glaring up at the ceiling. “You don’t care about me.”

“Yes, I do,” he argued.

“Or my feelings, or the fact that I am in a lot of pain right—”

He cut you off by shoving two of his fingers inside your pussy, your words stopping immediately just so you could moan. He leaned over you, careful not to touch your chest as he kissed you. He curled his fingers up hard, slowly, each time getting your body to jerk forward, desperate for more, desperate to be filled with his cock.

Your hands came up to his face and you pushed his away. As he sat down, you climbed on top of him and wrestled his pants out of your way. The entire time, he never stopped fucking you with his fingers and you were seeing stars, either from the pain or from your impending orgasm.

You didn’t stop until his cock was out and you were situated over his lap. He moved his fingers so you could slide down on his length. You wrapped your arms around his neck, rolling your hips against him, taking his cock deeper each time.

“Come on, baby, leave some marks.”

He loved letting you leave marks, scratches, bites, hickeys, because Linda fucking hated it. Linda, more accurately, hated you, and that was probably another reason Ransom had kept you around this long.

You kissed him, catching his bottom lip between your teeth. You had bitten him hard enough before that you left a bruise once. It hadn’t been intentional, but it wasn’t like he was wrong when he said that he fucked you better than anyone else. Ever since then, Ransom did whatever he could to get you to leave behind all types of marks.

Ransom had you in the thinnest black dress without a bra. Why? Because it was very clear that your nipples were now pierced. As soon as Linda saw you, she was already downing her glass of wine, but when she saw that, she started to choke.

Ransom smiled at you and then kissed you until his family was complaining. Joni swooped in the second he pulled away from you.

“Oh dear,” she sighed, “we don’t blame you. He’s just such a beast, isn’t he?”

Yes. You were trapped in a conversation with Richard, Joni, and Meg when you realized it had been a long time since Ransom annoyed you. Searching the room for him, you found that his mother had taken him aside and was hissing things at him as she tried to adjust his shirt to hide all the marks you’d made on his neck. He looked immeasurably pleased with himself.

You were free of him until dinner started, the rest of his family members taking up all your time so Linda could continue to harass him. But as soon as the family had gathered around the table, he was already shamelessly touching you. It started with his arm around your shoulders, then his opposite hand in your lap where you were toying with his fingers and tracing the lines of his palms.

Comparatively, it was tame for you and Ransom, but Linda still glared the entire time regardless. As everyone engaged in their typical conversations, more bickering and thinly-veiled provocation, Ransom relayed his conversation with his mother to you.

“See?” he pressed. “Harlot has a nice ring to it.”

You rolled your eyes.

“I’m not asking you to get my fucking name on your ass or something.”

You snorted. “What tattoo do you even want me to get?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet.”

“Well, don’t waste your time because it’s never going to happen.”

“We will see,” he insisted.

You shook your head at him. “Ransom, after today, never.”

“Never say never.”

“Don’t, you know I hate that saying. You just said never. You had to say ‘never’ to say, ‘never say never’, you are saying that you should ‘never’ say never, it’s hypocritical and stupid.”

He scoffed. “I’m just saying, eventually, I convince you to do everything I want. Like, today, for example.”

“I wanted to do that, you didn’t convince me to do anything.”

“Oh, please.”

“How about we get matching ones?”

His eyebrows shot up. “I’m sorry?”

“Yeah, if I’m going to permanently disfigure my body, you should have to do the same.”

“Tattoos are a disfiguration?” he challenged.

“They are if you’re the reason behind them.”

“Don’t be complicated, baby. Tattoos on men look different.”

You made a face. “Don’t even try that.”

“I don’t want tattoos.”

“I don’t want a tattoo.”

“It would look hot on you, it just wouldn’t make sense on me.”

“Well, baby, if you’re not going to compromise, neither am I.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

“Y/N,” Linda called out, gaining your attention. “What have you been up to lately? Are you still unemployed?”

Her son paid you for pictures of your pussy. Though you couldn’t put that on a job application, it was hardly unemployed. So, you simply smiled and nodded. “Mhm, still looking for the perfect fit.”

“Is Dad still unemployed?” Ransom shot back.

Richard hardly did anything when it came down to it, not that Linda would ever let him. She had no faith in him, and you didn’t think she was being unreasonable. He’d tried to flirt with you at least 7 times over the past year, obviously, the man wasn’t all that intelligent.

His parents glared at him.

“Ransom, don’t be a dick,” Joni scolded. “Everyone here works hard.”

“Right,” he scoffed. “How are those lawsuits coming along, Joni? Get anyone to settle yet?”

You pinched his thigh and leaned close to whisper. “Calm down, no one has even started eating yet. We have at least two more hours here.”

“I’m just wondering what your plans are,” Linda explained.

You set your hand to Ransom’s thigh to communicate that he better at least remain on his best behavior. It shouldn’t be too hard since his best behavior was anyone else’s worst behavior. “Honestly, I have none. At all. Not a single thing planned out.”

She gripped the wine glass in her hand tighter. “I need you to understand, this is a family of excellence.”

Ransom snorted.

“My son, though he makes mistake after fucking mistake, is supposed to be doing something with his life right now. You are younger than him, you are simply not in the same stage of life as him. He needs to start getting serious—”

“Linda,” Harlan cut in. “We don’t need to have this conversation in front of guests.”

“No, we do because this guest is ruining my son’s life,” she barked back. “My son should be married right now, or at least seriously committed to someone. He should not be wasting his time with you, who, let’s just be honest, will leave him as soon as someone with more money comes along.”

You looked at Ransom. “Does anyone have more money than you people?”

He considered that. “No one as attractive as me.”

“Point,” you admitted. “But are they better in bed?”

He gave you a flat look. “No. No one else is into the weird shit you’re into—”

“Okay,” Linda snapped, “I was talking, and I’m not finished. I will not be finished until you realize that this relationship is pointless and is making everyone miserable.”

“I kinda like it,” Meg claimed. “If they break up, can we swap her out for Ransom?”

“I would second that,” Harlan echoed. “If we wanted to vote on the matter, or something.”

Meg smiled at you and nodded. “Marry him and then kill him. You can stay in the family like my mom and me.”

“That does sound pretty tempting,” you said.

“Okay,” Ransom cut in before Linda could say anything else. “I actually have a surprise. I was going to wait until after dinner, but since some people insist on people in my business, why not now?”

“I swear, if it’s an engagement ring,” Linda muttered, turning to Richard.

He placed his hand on her shoulder and started shaking his head.

You turned to him. “Obviously not a ring, but is it jewelry? I’ve been wanting a new necklace for a while.”

“Not quite.” He reached across the table and Meg tossed him a set of keys. He held them out to you.

“Your…keys?”

“Your keys,” he corrected.

“My keys? What do you…?” You trailed off one second, then you were on your feet the next second. “You got me a car?!”

“He got her a car!” Linda screeched to Richard.

“Parked it out front,” Meg informed.

You grabbed Ransom’s hand and dragged him through the house. Even in your skin-tight dress and stiletto heels, you were on a mission that no one could stop. You shoved the door open and rushed outside.

Ransom was following only to catch you if those heels decided to give out on you.

You stopped dead in your tracks when you saw the tiny sleek, baby pink sports car. “Oh my god!” You turned back to him. “You bought me a car?!”

“Yeah.”

“You bought me a pink car?!”

“It appears so.”

You ran back to him, throwing yourself into his arms. “Daddy, I love it so much! Thank you, thank you.” You pulled back just to grab his face with both hands and kiss him. This. This was what Ransom did. Not just spend money on you, though that was enjoyable every time, but it was always so personal. He knew what you liked, and he paid attention to the smallest details that most people wouldn’t even remember.

“So…tattoo?”

“I don’t know,” you huffed. “Maybe.” How could you say no after this?

“I’ll ask again after you see inside.”

“Inside?” you repeated, pulling out of the hug to hurry back to your car. You eagerly unlocked it and tore open the door. “Holy shit!” Inside was the same color, only everything was sparkly or furry. And whatever couldn’t be pink was either silver or black.

That was around the time that the rest of the family had gathered outside.

“Oh, god,” Donna breathed, sneering at the car.

“What an interesting color choice,” Joni started, unsure of how to proceed because clearly, she was not a fan.

“Enough, enough of this madness!” Linda yelled. “He is cheating on you!”

Almost everyone groaned. Seriously, what an unoriginal way to get a couple to break up? You expected much more from a woman as rich and dramatic as Linda.

“He went on a date with Cassidy last Friday!” she insisted.

Last Friday. Ransom had planned to take you out to dinner, but he canceled last minute. You knew Cassidy, she had stalked you on social media for months before you and Ransom were even officially…whatever it was that you two were. As far as you knew, she was Ransom’s only serious relationship, in fact, she had ended it. But no, he would not do that.

Yet, he remained silent. His entire family was staring at the two of you and he said nothing. You turned back to him expectantly and he looked very much like a puppy that had just been kicked. He had long ago perfected that look because he knew it always worked with you.

Not this time. “Did you go out with Cassidy?”

“Baby,” he started, “Listen—”

“Are you fucking serious?!” you demanded.

“No, listen to me—”

“You are unbelievable! After today, and you’re still fucking trying to talk me into the tattoo? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you a fucking sociopath!?”

“No, you need to calm down—”

“I don’t have to do anything! You went out with her; I should fucking kill you!”

At that time, most of the family had the decency to start heading back inside. Meg and Jacob first, pretending that they had a truly riveting conversation with Harlan that needed to be finished back in the house. Donna, Walt, and Joni were relieved that they didn’t have to be the firsts to move and quickly followed the children.

Linda stayed until Ransom shot her a glare. “Ugh, fine. I’m going to be watching from the window anyway.”

You didn’t care what he said, nothing was ever going to make this situation okay or even somewhat forgivable, but you had a right to know why.

He stepped closer once his mother was gone, but you stepped back. “Stop, are you seriously going to let her get under your skin like that?”

“It’s not your mother that did this, Ransom. You lied to me. You went on a date with Cassidy.”

He was stunned that you used his name. Sure, you had called him Hugh earlier and that always annoyed the fuck out of him coming from you, but it wasn’t the same. Ransom. He hadn’t heard you say his name in so long. “Jealousy is not a good look on you, baby.”

Nope, you were done with him. You were more than just done, you were never going to speak to him ever again. Literally, not another word. The keys in your hands felt heavy enough to get your attention. Right. Car. You now owned a car. You did what any other furious, petty person would have.

You jumped into the car and locked it. It only took you a few seconds to figure out how to get everything started, and Ransom was already yanking on the door handle to try to get it open. Because that was logical, your mother was right, he was an idiot.

Without even a glance in his direction, you were speeding off in your brand new pink car. And yes, you angry cried the entire way home. What should have been a beautiful moment where you celebrated your new car and Ransom was marred because he was a complete dick.

So, no one could ever accuse you of making fully thought-out, well-planned decisions, but this was something else entirely. You’d left your purse at the Thrombeys’ mansion, and well, it wasn’t like you could go get it. You were sure that Ransom had taken it anyway and was surely holding it hostage.

Problem was, inside your purse was your god damn phone. However, you were an optimist. At least Ransom could phone-stalk you, right? Speaking of holding things hostage, your car was currently locked up in the garage and your keys were stashed under your bed. He would get that car back over your dead body.

At the end of the day, you were in love with it.

It had been four days and you were still moping around in your bedroom, refusing to tell your parents why. Your cynical—but correct—mother assumed that it was about Ransom. It annoyed her to no end that you would be wasting time feeling anything for that man, at least that was what you heard her tell your father when you tried to sneak downstairs for food.

It was four nights later that you were innocently in your room, just watching a movie when you heard knocking at your window. Rightfully so, it scared the hell out of you since you were on the second floor of the house.

You tiptoed to the window, carefully pushing the blinds aside to see if you could see whoever was out there before they saw you. Why you hadn’t thought it was Ransom was more of wishful thinking. Why couldn’t he just leave you alone? Why couldn’t he just let this entire fake relationship die with dignity?

But seriously, how the hell was he at your window? You tore your curtains aside and shoved your window open. “What the hell? What are you doing up here?”

He leaned away from the window a little and stumbled back a few steps, and that was when you realized he was drunk.

You grabbed onto his arm. “Ransom! How the hell did you even get up here?!”

“I had help.”

“Help!? Who would help you?!”

He thrust his arm back dramatically and you leaned around him to see a snickering Meg and Jacob in the front seat of Meg’s Jeep.

“Oh my god, you could have died. Get inside, right now.”

“Okay,” was all he said.

You kept a tight hold on him as he struggled to climb into your window, and only let him go when you had seated him on the floor. You shut your window, pulled the curtains down, and then faced him again. “Okay, you have to be very quiet. My parents are home and if they know that you are in here, they are going to freak out.”

“You weren’t answering my calls.”

“I don’t have my phone.”

“Oh, right… I have your phone. At my house. That’s why Meg and Jacob were laughing so much.”

“You being here is not okay. And being at my window instead of the front door is super not okay. You could have really been hurt, you could have hurt Meg or Jacob.”

“They just held the ladder—”

“You climbed a ladder drunk?!”

He nodded.

“That’s not okay, Ransom!”

He put his finger to his lips and shushed you.

Your eyes widened at him. “Excuse me?”

“You just told me to be quiet, but I’m pretty sure everyone in the world heard you because you are yelling really loud right now.”

“I’m calling your parents to come get you.”

“No, wait—”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“But I have something to say.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“But it’s really, super important.”

You huffed and sat on your bed, facing him. “Fine, you should just say it. Not that it matters because you lying to me is never going to be okay. I trusted you and you lied to me, and why? It wasn’t like I thought you weren’t screwing other women. But why the fuck would you buy me a car then?”

“Because I’m not fucking anyone else.”

“Except Cassidy.”

“No, not even her.”

“Then why did you go out with her?”

“You have to promise you’re not going to get mad.”

“I’m already mad and nothing is going to change that.”

“She was pregnant.”

Your eyes widened. Pregnant. Even if she was just about due, that would be 9 months. You had been seeing him longer than 9 months. “How is that supposed to help anything?!”

“Not Friday. She wasn’t pregnant then, she was pregnant about two years ago. And…she thinks it was mine.”

“It?” you snapped. “Ransom, what the fuck? You know how I feel about useless fathers—”

“She got an abortion.”

“Wait, wait…she thinks it was yours?”

“Yeah, she was cheating on me.”

“Then why did you go out with her?!”

“It was…it would have been her due date on Friday. She gets weird around that date sometimes… It didn’t feel right telling her that I couldn’t see her, and it didn’t feel right explaining this all to you over the phone.”

“So, you decided to do it drunk? Much better, great idea.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If you had told me this the other day—”

“You wouldn’t listen.”

Okay, he had a point there, but no. He was still totally at fault here, you were not going to apologize for reacting the way you did. “Because you lied to me, and you didn’t tell me about it after. Your mom had to tell me.”

“I’m sorry, things were going so well with us. I didn’t want you to worry about nothing.”

“That’s not nothing.”

“It is nothing because I don’t even have feelings for her anymore.”

You rolled your eyes. “I really doubt that.”

“No, I have feelings for you.”

“Don’t, okay? You were my sugar daddy, we weren’t even really dating.”

“Yes, we were,” he argued. “You know we were, you’re just trying to make it seem like it wasn’t that serious. But it was. It was really serious.”

“We shouldn’t even be having this conversation while you’re drunk, okay?”

“You’re still mad.”

“Yes, I’m still mad. I’m mad that you got me the most perfect car, that you made me get these fucking piercings, which still hurt, by the way, that you were trying to talk me into the tattoo, and you had lied to me not even a week before.”

“But I have feelings for you.”

“That doesn’t fix everything.”

“Does this?” he quickly sat up and started pulling his shirt over his head.

You stood up, turning your head and throwing your hands out in front of you. “Are you serious?! You’re trying to have sex with me right now?”

“Nooo,” he sighed, and you heard him noisily sit back down on the floor.

You turned to him cautiously, letting your hands fall as soon as you saw black ink standing out harshly against his pale skin. Your name. The blank ink on Ransom’s chest, on the left side no less, was your name.

Your mouth dropped.

“I got it done tonight.”

“While you were drunk!?”

“No, I wasn’t this drunk a few hours ago.”

“Oh my god, Ransom. You are going to regret that in the morning.”

He shook his head. “Nope. Not ever.”

You rolled your eyes. “I cannot believe you did this. All of this. I cannot believe the lying, the car, and now this fucking tattoo.”

“Well, I wanted this fucking tattoo.”

You glared. “No, you didn’t. You just don’t like being dumped.”

“Ha!” He pointed at you. “So, you admit this was a real relationship?”

“Was,” you relented. “Not anymore.”

Huffing again, he rolled over so he was on his hands and knees.

“What the hell are you doing?”

He was quickly crawling toward you and you were so caught off guard that you didn’t start moving until it was too late. He wrapped his arms around your legs and sat down next to your feet.

“Are you crazy?! Let me go.”

“No. Not until you forgive me.”

“I will never forgive you.”

“Then I’m never letting go.”

You rolled your eyes. “Ransom…”

He turned up to you. “Please? I’ll buy you another car. Two more cars. A car and a house. A car, a house, and a puppy—”

“Stop, you don’t have to buy me things—”

“I like buying you things.” When you said nothing, he started to reach upward, until he had his hand in the pocket of your jeans, then he was tugging you down.

“Stop it,” you scolded, but he didn’t. “Ransom, stop it.”

“Stop calling me Ransom.” He continued until your hands were in his reach and then he tugged you down and practically tackled you onto the floor. “I’m not letting go until you forgive me.”

“Get off me!”

“No.”

“You’re insane!”

“That is probably true.”

“Ugh!” You finally stopped struggling in his arms and just laid there, letting him crush you to the floor. “You’re such a jerk.”

“I know, but I’m really sorry about it.”

“Yeah, until you’re sober.”

He leaned up so he could stare down at you. “No, I’ll be sorry then, too. I was sorry since the second you drove off.”

You were less interested in what he was saying at that moment and more interested in your name over his fucking chest. “Did it hurt?”

“Kind of.”

You huffed. “Ransom…”

He sighed, exasperated. “I don’t like it when you call me that.”

“That’s your name. Are you seriously so drunk you don’t remember your name?”

“If you give me another chance, I will never lie to you again. I will never go on a date with anyone else, not just Cassidy, but everyone else that I know. Man or woman, they can call fuck off.”

You snorted. “Okay, that’s a little dramatic.”

“I really like you, baby. I was lost these past few days not being able to see you or talk to you.”

“Okay, if I agree to give you one more chance, will you get the fuck off me?”

He nodded, smiling. “But you have to pinky promise.”

“Okay, but for the record, if you ever do anything like this again, I’m going to tell your family about everything that has happened since you stepped into this room. You’re like a five-year-old, Ransom.”

“Deal.” He sat up and held his hand out to you.

It took you a moment to help him figure out which finger was his pinky, but he seemed satisfied with your promise, nonetheless. “Also, I am not getting a tattoo for you.”

“That’s okay. I’m going to convince you too when we’re married.”

Your eyebrows shot up. “Oh, now I’m marrying you?”

He nodded. “Mhm.”

You snorted, the thought of him recalling this conversation in the morning was hilarious. He would be terrified that he was showing even an ounce of commitment. “Great.”

“You’re really pretty in white.”

You rolled your eyes. “Are you tired yet? Can we just,” you gestured to your bed, “Sleep?”

He considered it for a moment. “Only if you stop calling me Ransom.”

“Fine.” Getting him off the floor and onto the bed was another grand task. And when you decided to get him a glass of water and aspirin, he freaked out and accused you of trying to leave him. Once you reminded him that this was your bedroom, he seemed calm enough that you could escape to your bathroom for ten seconds.

Thankfully, he was unconscious the second you had settled onto the bed next to him. He just rolled over, laid his head on your stomach, and then he was out like a light.

Fuck.

chris tags:

@onetwo3000 @chris-evans-indian-fanfic​ @kleohoneyao3​ @cevans-fics​ @gotnofucks​ @sweet-pieces-of-nothing @dbnightingale24​ @first-jumper-tris46

ransom tags:

@la-cey​

#sugary4kchallenge #side note when i wrote that reader called ransom a five year old #it took everything in me to not write atually 'you're like a big dirty raccoon ransom' #ransom drysdale x reader #my writing