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wangxiangiftexchange · 3 years

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Winter Solstice Gift for saya1984

This story is for @saya1984.

I admit that this is the first time I write a story for this fandom, so this might be a hit or miss. I hope that it's to the liking of my giftee.

Read on AO3

*****

There are a few class subjects that are famous and others that are infamous at college. One of these famous subjects belongs to History and Culture professor Lan Wangji. His class has a set of rules that need to be followed almost religiously by all students that attend, or the consequences will be different options; from a cramped hand thanks to a copious amount of writing, or hurting limbs from standing in one corner of the classroom holding a set of heavy books about world history and other subjects.

The way professor Lan Wangji would stoically look at a misbehaving student as the first warning for almost breaking a rule is said to send shivers down people’s spines.

There’s a structure to follow during class; a lecture section for note-taking, and an inquiry section for question-asking, a short discussion section for orderly dialogues of the class topics, and a silent section for essay-writing and book-reading. This last section is the one that many are afraid of and call ‘the trap’, and there’s a twice a week reason for that name.

That said reason is also infamous around campus make many students quake in their seats with mixed feelings about it.

It’s Monday, the start of the week. After a peaceful class about historical musical instruments and philosophy from professor Lan Xichen, who creates disbelief over the fact that said professor is known as professor Lan Wangji’s older brother. Many can’s associate the mild-mannered professor with a kind smile, and the aloofness of the other until someone makes a rude comment about Lan Wangji or goof around in class; then the kind smile on Lan Xichen’s face turns sharper than a blade, his reprimanding words and disappointed gaze become painful bullets that put the most arrogant student into a most repentant of moods.

The second class of the day is History and Culture; professor Lan Wangji waits by the door and locks it on the dot, any latecomers have to wait outside until the discussion section and write down a series of words reflecting on the ramifications of their actions.

The door is locked once again and the silent section of the class starts.

Ten minutes, sometimes fifteen, into the section and the following happens like clockwork.

The door opens with a bang, a handsome man strides in like he owns the place, a mischievous smile on his face, and a traditional Chinese bamboo flute moving idly from hand to hand. He walks towards the sitting professor and sits on his desk.

Students observe this with their jaws dropped, older students look up from their writing for a moment, and their eyes widen, then they go back to their essay, a silent prayer running like a loop in their minds.

‘Please don’t be…’

“Lan Zhan, I’m bored. What topic are you teaching today?” The man asks lazily, his flute moving seamlessly between his fingers.

The older students fight the urge to hit themselves with the table and put away their notebooks, the younger students follow their lead with a perplexed look on their faces.

The flute owner is no other than professor Wei Wuxian, his classes are famous for their infamy. He’s known as a first-class rule-breaker, an eccentric, but at the same time quite charismatic. Many sing his praises, others curse him constantly. All these rumors are because of the contradictions that the professor presents most days.

He’s an art professor, but also can lecture you about history, philosophy, and a large number of complex topics. He’s also a calligraphy professor, known and admired for his easy-going way of teaching but also feared in equal measure when rules that he creates on the fly, are broken. However, the scariest aspect of professor Wei Wuxian is his interactions with Lan Wangji.

“Wei Wuxian” Lan Wangji says coolly, “go back to your classroom” he commands, turning around to focus on the papers he’s currently correcting.

“I’m done teaching for a couple of hours, so I decided to give you a hand” Wei Wuxian comments off-handedly, taking one of the papers on the desk, giving it a quick look, and moments later the essay is full of corrections and comments on the margin. The students sitting closest to the duo wince when they see that.

“No need” Lan Wangji states, moving the papers out of the other man’s reach.

“Well then, I know when to give up,” Wei Wuxian says with a sigh, “I should probably go a accept that coffee date with that other professor” he checks the clock on the classroom wall, “He’s probably still at the faculty’s office, so I can catch up to him in no time” Wei Wuxian expresses calmly, standing from the desk, “have a nice day Lan Wangji,” he says with a one-handed wave, taking a couple of steps towards the door.

Only to be stopped by the iron grip on his arm, “Wei Ying” Lan Wangji whispers, his eyes intense, “Who is it?” He asks with a calmness that contradicts the way he’s not letting the other go.

“Oh, you might not know him, he’s new and wanted me to give him a tour around campus and have some coffee during free hours�� Wei Wuxian informs with a careless shrug, “Now, as I have some free time, and you don’t need assistance in class, I can take on the offer” he explains cheerfully, freeing himself from the other’s grasp.

Wei Wuxian hasn’t taken more than one step when Lan Wangji surrounds his waist and lifts him over his shoulder, “Class dismissed” Lan Wangji declares icily, starting to walk to the door on the other side of the classroom that leads to his office.

The older students follow the professor’s command like loyal soldiers, helping the younger students and guiding them outside just when a moan sounds from the closed office.

The students still present blush deeply and hurry to leave as quickly as possible.

“Does this always happen?” one student asks uncertainly.

“It depends on the week, I like Thursdays best” another student answers.

“What happens on Thursdays?”

“What doesn’t?”

With that cryptic answer, the students scatter.

Later on, some of them see professor Wei Wuxian skipping happily around, small kiss marks around his neck, and his customary high ponytail now is half one, sporting a well-known white ribbon with cloud designs.

After all, the worst keep secret around campus is that the most eccentric professor and the most stoic one, have actually been married for years, and it’s seems that is some kind of tradition for Wei Wuxian to flaunt that fact at the start of term or a few times a month, causing an immense amount of exasperation and stress to his best friend, and fond amusement to professor Lan Xichen.

Other times, Wei Wuxian would waltz in and challenge Lan Wangji to spoken debates or martial fights that would leave students starry-eyed and having mixed feelings over the eccentric professor’s next visit.

Those visits also leave a great number of admirers broken-hearted, something that Wei Wuxian observes while holding Lan Wangji possessively with absolute glee. That his dear Lan Zhan makes sure to leave him completely exhausted as a reprimand for his rule-breaking actions, is totally worth it.

The End

#saya1984 #wangxiansolstice20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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authorized-trash · 4 years

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To Tie a Knot: Chapter Three: Virgil’s Verdict

Ao3

Chapter One , Chapter Two

Trigger Warnings:

Sympathetic Deceit, self hate, mild language, hospital mention, panic

Chapter Summary:

Fate works in mysterious ways (in the dead of night, apparently.)

Word Count:

2,400+

Note:

This is where things get tricky, as the story on Ao3 has Deceit’s name down as Ethel, while here it is Damian. And since im copying and pasting from where i posted it to ao3, i gotta change his name over to here haha. If you see a mistake where i called him the wrong thing, yell at me

Anyways, we’re just going to ignore the fact that im pretty sure its nearly been a year since last time i updated, shhh

reblogs and comments are so greatly appreciated!

Damian was getting real sick of this stupid hospital room.

The walls were a obnoxiously bright gray, and the curtains did little to block out the pale sun of winter. There was this stupid little picture across from his bed, with a cute silhouette couple holding hands, a small loopy string dangling from their fingers.

Damian rolled over onto his side, picking at the slightly peeling paint. He’d been in here for days, and still had an hours wait before he was discharged.

His spine hurt from being in this position for so long, but he’d already explored the hospital five times now.

He didn’t understand what was so important about him being here so long. They already told him the bad news. He’d already passed the mark for another soulmate. He had already come to terms wi-

A lump raised into Damian’s throat, but he swallowed it down. He hadn’t cried yet. He wouldn’t now.

Perhaps the hardest part about this whole ordeal was the pitying looks. The nurses telling him it was alright to cry. The therapist that had stopped by to tell him it wasn’t healthy to act like everything was fine.

Everything was fine though, right? It wasn’t like Damian lost something important. He didn’t lose his job, didn’t lose his house. No, he lost someone he hadn’t even met yet. Surely it wasn’t that important.

Yeah, he’d be a bit lonely, but was that really important? No. It wasn’t, not really.

His stomach twisted into knots. It didn’t bother him, it didn’t. The feeling of nothing he found didn’t mean anything. The complete lack of movement from his fatestring meant nothing.

He ran a hand through his hair, and even after all this time, was a bit disappointed when he didn’t feel the string pull against his finger.

With a sigh, he sat up, reaching for his phone. He had gotten a notification from Remy, five minutes ago. He opened it. They’d be here soon.

His phone buzzed in his hand as he got a message from Emile. Sometime this week they’d swapped numbers, the therapy student wanting to be nice and keep him some kind of company.

-Hey were heading there now, you ready to leave

Damian rolled his eyes.

-no, i really do enjoy it here

-Thought so see you soon

Damian put his phone into his pocket as he stood. Stretching. He stretched out the soreness in his arms and headed out of his room. HE was given some paperwork, which he finished quick enough.

The hospital was on campus of the town university he attended. He would’ve normally just walked to his dorm, but Remy had insisted he drive Damian.

He spotted Remy’s car, recognizing the sunglasses clad male as he opened the side door.

“What, no Emile today?” Damian asked as he buckled in.

“He had work. Where do you wanna go babes? We can go out to eat or-“

“I think I’d just like to go home. Today is just such a lovely day.”

Remy looked out the window to see the thunder clouds rolling up over the hills in the distance. He rolled his eyes as he turned out of the parking lot.

“Yeah well, I’m not leaving you alone all evening, get that into that pretty little head of your’s Dee. We’re goin’ to your apartment if you are, hon.”

“Figured as much,” Damian said as he pulled his hat over his eyes and laid his head back against the head rest. That feeling of emptiness was present again. ‘We’ Remy had said. He was most likely bringing Emile along. It just reminded Damian about how he wasn’t going to get another soulmate. Another fatestring. Another chance. He didn’t do anything wrong to deserve this, did he? Sure he took that pack of gum from the store without paying, but that was years ago. And yeah maybe he was a bit sarcastic and stand offish, but surely-

“Hon I can hear those gears turning in your head.”

Damian flushed. He looked at the frayed end of his fatestring again, messing with it with his other hand. Remy’s eyes caught the movement as they pulled up to a stop light.

“You’re looking at it again, aren’t you.”

“No.” Remy sighed, “Damian, sweetheart, platonic love of my life,” Damian grumbled at that one, “It will be fine. The reassigning is just a little late is all. Perhaps its finding the perfect match to tag you onto right now. It’s rare not to get reassigned babe, there’s no way you won’t be.”

Damian shrugged.

“Okay. That’s it babes. We’re getting some coffee. I ain’t goin’ into some sappy ass monologue just for you to shrug me off. I’m going to cheer you up with chocolate and sparkles. Buckle up.”

“I am.”

“Shuthu’ fuck up.”

Damian hid a smirk as he lifted his hat from his eyes and looked up to see Remy’s irritated driving. They pulled into the starbucks, and Damian attempted to forget the whole soulmate thing for the time being.

Easier said than done.

Two Months Later

“You are being ridiculous.”

“Oh, am I? I’m being ridiculous? You, sir, are ridiculous. I am simply trying to get my work done, now if you’d simply leave me alone,” Roman huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in indignation.

“Ro, honey, you were shouting lyrics to beauty and the beast at nine in the afternoon, people are sleepy.”

Roman gave an outraged cry, he was being ganged up on by the glasses gays! He would not stand for this! “It was not shouting, I was belting! I was singing as loud as my heart desires, I simply wish to follow my heart!”

“More like belching them out,” Virgil snickered into his hoodie sleeve from his seat on the counter. Roman gave a few offended noises that sounded suspiciously like squawking.

“How dare! I am simply trying to memorize my lyrics-“

“And why don’t you,” Logan came up behind him, placing his hands on his shoulders lightly, “Memorize them in your room, and not off the balcony.”

“But there’s no romanticism in that.”

“Baby, I’m sure that nice imagination of yours can think of a nice audience to listen to you,” Patton said, kissing Roman on the forehead as the redhead fell to the couch.

“A more willing audience then our neighbors,” Virgil grumbled, “I don’t want another sound complaint.”

“Better yet,” Patton said, pulling Roman right back to his feet, why don’t we go to your room, and I’ll listen to you..”

Roman perked up like a puppy, nodding and already pulling Patton into his room. Logan and Virgil watched them leave, both with love stricken looks.

“This happens every night,” Logan said, walking to the coffee pot to poor him another cup.

“Yeah well, it’s a routine at this point,” Virgil said, eyeing the new cup in Logan’s hands, “You’re not planning on staying up all night with that, are you?”

Logan sighed, running a hand through his hair, “I do need to stay up late, yes. I have an essay that needs edited.”

“Logan you are going to work yourself to death one of these days.”

“And you plan on sleeping soon?”

Virgil grumbled some excuses, just as Logan thought he would. The bespectacled male smiled into his mug as he brought it to his lips to drink.

“Whatever idiot, I’m going to bed. And yes, whatever, by bed I mean I’m going to be on my phone for another hour or two. Sushi. I- I mean- damnit, sue me.”

Logan laughed, setting his drink down and pulling Virgil into his arms and off the table. The emo grumbled but returned the embrace anyways. Logan gave him a peck to his lips, brushing the hair from his eyes.

“Goodnight Virgil, please attempt to get some sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Virgil said, pushing away from Logan. He was sure his face was a deep red, but he didn’t expect Logan to notice as he rushed away down the hall.

Logan smiled again. He wasn’t normally the one to be all lovey-dovey, but it was late and he was in a good mood. A great mood actually. Life was good, stable, had a rhythm to it. Logan liked to keep things organized, liked to have a schedule, a routine.

There had been no outside factors messing up this schedule for a few years now, and he planned on keeping it that way.

He finished is coffee and work sometime in the early hours. He couldn’t tell when, as he had immediately curled into the bed next to his soulmates minutes after. Sleep made his eyelids heavy as he drifted off to sleep, completely unaware of the faint numbing feeling in his fingers.

Morning came with a buzz of an alarm clock. It was annoying, and loud, but it did its job well.

Logan woke up the same way every day. He’d carefully untangle himself from his fiances, wincing as his bare feet hit the cold ground. He’d yawn as he exited their shared room and entered the bathroom. He’d brush his teeth, shower, and leave. He’d start the coffee and solve a word-cross puzzle. He’d make himself a Crofter’s covered piece of toast, leave a small note for his partners, and depart for work.

This morning shouldn’t have been any different. He woke up, untangled himself, stretched and yawned. He left the room and entered the one across the hall. He was too tired to notice when he reached for his toothbrush. Didn’t notice as he rinsed his mouth out. He noticed as he patted his mouth dry with a hand towel.

He dropped the cloth into the sink and shouted, stumbling back until he hit the wall. He shoved his hand into his pajama pockets, trembling all over. A feeling of dread filled him, the feeling he got when something major messed with his schedule. An unknown constant added to his perfectly mapped out life.

Logan heard his fiances start to stir and get up. He took his hands out of his pockets. They trembled violently, bringing them in front of him, praying that he was wrong, he hadn’t seen what he thought he did.

With a shaky intake of breath, he confirmed the impossible.

There was a thin yellow string attached to his pinky finger where there hadn’t been last night.

“Logan?! Logan are you alright?” Patton was the first to round the corner. He had shot up when he heard the scream and thump. His breath caught in his throat. Roman and Virgil were next, damn near getting wedged in the door with how fast they both rammed into it. Logan was shaking his head in disbelief, staring at his hands, at the four strings that were connected to each finger. The others looked down as well, at the string that had connected itself to their pinky fingers.

“How is that possible?” Roman asked in disbelief, messing with the string. Logan just shrugged, exhaling shakily.

“It shouldn’t be- you are born with strings, you shouldn’t be able to gain them.”

“Who are they?” Patton asked as they all looked up at each other. They had five soulmates. Five. That was a ridiculous number, absolutely unheard of.

“I guess,” Virgil swallowed, “I guess we’ll find out when we find them.”

Damian woke up with the feeling that he’d been hit by a truck. Everything was sore, and his hand hurt to move. Maybe he slept on it weird.

He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, wincing as his fingers tugged weirdly. They felt like the circulation had been cut off, they were all sleepy and heavy.

He got up, shivering as his toes touched the freezing floor of his apartment. He could see his breath in front of him.

He really needed to fix that heater.

Walking into his kitchen, he made himself a cup of coffee, his eyes barely open. His fingers gave another uncomfortable tug. Weird.

Slugging into the bathroom, he took a shower, running his hands of his face. Perhaps it was a good thing he was never reassigned a soulmate. The ugly scar on half his face would scare them off.

He dried off afterwards, brushing his teeth. He looked at himself long and hard in the mirror, scrutinizing every inch. He had school and practice today, enough people would see him to need makeup, and he applied the simple face he wore with practiced ease.

It didn’t do much to cover up the scars, but it was something.

He left the house with his coffee in hand and backpack slung over his shoulder, wearing a black long coat and a scarf. It was beginning to feel a lot like winter, and Damian wasn’t one to like the cold.

The walk to campus wasn’t horribly long. Just a walk through the park and up the block. He was pretty fit and in shape, both from the walk and practice, so it no longer bothered him any.

Damian ignored the few looks he got from passerby. There seemed to be a lot of them today. Odd. He had lived here for a while now, surely most these people who were routinely out at this time had gotten over their staring phase.

He spotted Remy waiting at the fence as always, speeding up slightly to catch up with him. The glasses clad male waved without looking up from his phone.

“Hey hot stuff, how’s your morning been?” Remy asked, still texting. Probably Damian if one was going off the fond look on his face.

“Dreadful,” Damian grumbled, leaning against the fence, “I must have pulled a muscle in my arm or something, it hurts something awful.”

“Uh huh. Well, I wish the best for you babes. Maybe take some meds or somethin’ before class?” Remy looked up at him over his glasses. Damian nodded, running a hand through his hair, missing how Remy followed them movement.

“Yes well that’s a giv-“

“Holy shit babe,” Remy exclaimed suddenly, grabbing a hold of Damianl’s wrist.

He moved out of the way of the street light, holding Damial’s wrist out, staring at the shadows on the ground in absolute disbelief.

“You have four and you didn’t tell me?!” He have shrieked in excitement, looking up at Damian in surprised. The other man raised a concerned eyebrow.

“Four wh-“ His throat closed in on itself, and the world around him seemed to melt away as he stared at his hand. Four- four strings. There were four fatestrings connected to his fingers. Four-

Four soulmates?

Taglist:

To be added later

#sanders sides #ts fandom'ts sides #soulmate au #soulmates #remy sanders #emile sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #deceit sanders #damian sanders #sympathetic deceit #to tie a knot #ttak #sanders sides soulmate au #fatestring #holy shit this took forever

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lala-pipo · 3 years

Note

(1/18) *peeks from behind the wall* I hope I am still welcomed here hahaha cricket anon is here! <3 I am very sorry for making you worry last time O.O, for sure no matter what happens to the story, I'm going to be right there to read it! Huehuehue, I literally was not lying when I mentioned that this story is bringing me lots of joy this year :3 Cricket anon is fine now! hahaha my last work place was really bad, kind of black-company-level-bad, and it really took a toll on my mental health…

Dear cricket nony, I already answered one of your non-anonymous asks privately because I was so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of email notifications I got from tumblr and Ao3 that I had to thank you right away, but I still want to do it publically because even after days I’m still overwhelmed that you took so much time to write me a whole essay. I’m still all soft and wobbly and squishy on the inside. Your notifications really made my day, week, probably month – so thanks so much again. It really means so much T___T

(2) so, I kind of took two months? break from social media and just literally try and figure out my life lol basically quarter-life crisis also happening, but yeah slowly getting better now! I hope you are doing fine as well, sending you lots of hugs and love ~^^~ Firstly though!! I wanted to say sorry too that it took a while for me to reply hahaha… BUT!! Let me tell you omg during my rest of 8 weeks, I have managed to re-read ALL. SEVEN. CHAPTERS!! So many things to share!!

I’m so sorry to hear that your last workplace took such a toll on your mental health and I really hope that you are going to get better. I cross all my fingers for you and send you good vibes only. Please don’t feel pressured to comment at all. I mean everyone loves receiving comments, but it shouldn’t feel like a chore. So if you feel like sharing your thoughts I’m always glad to read them, but if you don’t feel like sharing them, please don’t feel bad about it. <3

(3) However, since my comments were a grand total of 4,000 words lol, I inserted them in AO3 under "cricket anon" in every chapter! :3 You might get confused as you read them because I take notes as I read the chapter lol hahaha I hope my comments might bring some joy <3 Ahh! By the way! These anon messages are partly not anon since anon asks are limited to 10 per hour? I didn’t know that! :( But since I accidentally have revealed myself to you lol I think it should be okay!

I’ll also try to answer your comments on Ao3 in the upcoming days because (if I remember correctly) you had some questions and I hope I can answer some of them. ^^ But I’m impressed that you went through all the chapters again. We’ve reached 150k now, which is quite fascinating to me because there are still quite a few chapters left. I wonder how long the story will be in the end *hides* I didn’t know that either! I’ve been on tumblr for so long and yet this 10 ask limit is new information for me, but it makes sense in some way – if I think about spam accounts or people going around spreading hate or something.

(4) Also, I think I’m going to make my snorts reactions straight onto AO3 from now on, rather than spamming your ask box with 10+ anon messages hahaha but I’ll still come here to share you my overall reactions and analyzations huehuehue and also to possibly warn you about the length of the comment lol something I noticed, from chapter 1 to chapter 7, the comment got longer lol more things to discuss about, I guess!? But yeah!! Let me reply to your reply to my previous ask here!!

LMAO I admire your dedication. Do whatever is most comfortable to you, I will be happy either way ^^ I think it makes sense that someone can comment more on later chapters because the painted picture gets fuller and fuller with details, there is more information about the different characters, the storyline is more developed and so on… ^^

(5) Is the sad scene in chapter 6, you were referring to the conversation that Jong-Taem were having, and then Jong tried to diffuse it into another lighthearted banter, and Taem is just. tired. of. Jong avoiding the conversation? and despite all that, Taem still let Jong come into his room and cuddle to sleep? idk... I find that scene really heartbreaking :( or maybe it was another scene?

For me it was the shower scene tbh. I don’t know, but it always struck something inside of me (is it weird that I’m saying this although I’ve written it?) There is something very fragile about Jonghyun in that scene and Taemin does feel a little helpless and is so caught up in his own thoughts, in his own needs, what he wants (and doesn’t get from Jonghyun) and yeah – it always makes me go :( but yes, the follow up scene is sad as well because you sit there and think – you two are just so damn dumb, which is something most people, who read this story so far – seem to think constantly, because yeah, they are very dumb – each in their own way. ^^

(6) I think I mentioned in the AO3 comment somewhere that even I started to feel like Taem can just leave Jong because Jong is not trying to understand Taem, I mean, nothing to do with his mood swings or his claim that Taem will get bored of him, just that he isn't trying to see things from Taem's perspective whereas Taem is trying! so! hard! and he even tried to ignore the fact that Jong avoid the vital conversations for like the 10th time already :(

Feelings are a very difficult topic – and while chapters 1-9 are very focused on what Taemin does, thinks, wants, needs, wishes etc. the focus does shift a little over to Jonghyun starting from chapter 10. So the reader does get an inside of why Jonghyun might have acted the way he did. If his behavior makes sense is up to the reader (and Taemin as well) to decide – but I think it shines a little more light onto Jonghyun, who the reader doesn’t know much about – feeling wise –, although he’s one of the main characters of the story. ^^ It’s the onion layers that get peeled one by one. ^^

(7) Yeah, re-reading this definitely showed me muCH MORE parallelism in Jong-Key and Taem-Jong dynamics. Even with Taem's mood in a sense? Like how Jong used to be really upset when Key has a new friend, and then suddenly okay when they do sexy times. Before, I only noticed the puppy-love-ness parallel, but then there is more to it, like I said, Taem's mood affected by Jong a lot, just like Jong's by Key, and also the way Jong claims that Key doesn't understand his feelings,

(8) well, it applies to Jong not really wanting to understand Taem's feeling? by just brushing it off as Taem will get bored of him or Taem doesn't know what he is talking about. I mean as a reader, I am also not sure, if it’s either Jong doesn't care or he is scared to show himself or both or maybe there is another reason? Hahaha ^^;;

This is true and done on purpose. ^^ This knowledge doesn’t play a key (haha) part in the storyline, but it is there to show how blinded one can get by one’s own feelings. After adapting to his new life in a dorm Taemin sees through Jonghyun and Kibum’s relationship quite well, but later when it’s about his own relation to Jonghyun he’s completely blindsided and doesn’t see how unhealthy it is at first – him going back and back and back over and over again in the hope that Jonghyun’s behavior towards him might change.

(9) You mentioned that there will be more Jongtae drought, and honestly, I think they need it? I think some space for them to think about things and you know do other things and talk to other people about other things lol maybe it will clear up their heads hopefully? Ahh!! You said the beginning of chapter 5 is for your own sanity lol I totally understand ;), it was a very sweet scene, soft, and kind of endearing compared to what is coming in the next chapters TnT

It depends on how we describe the drought. The hard cut was done in chapter 8. I went in like a warrior and just cut all the strings, not showing any mercy. ^^” I don’t want to spoiler anything, but yeah – the hard drought will continue throughout chapter 9 – soft drought from chapter 10 …… till ….. *closes mouth* 6v6

Working on chapter 8 made me write two lovey-dovey JongTae oneshots because I couldn’t stand seeing them fight in my own fanfic, in front of my salad. T_T so yeah, the beginning of chapter 5 was for my sanity. While writing chapter 8 I also realized again while I never really write angst, fights – anything dramatic really, because I’m a very chill person in real life, and I like my fanfics to be very chill as well – so writing this was completely out of my comfort zone. For others it’s writing smut for me it’s writing angst lmao. I usually want to wrap up all the characters in fluffy blankets and make them tea, and yet here I am – letting Taemin suffer for so many chapters. I’m a monster T_T

(10) Yeahhh, about the fact that we don't see Key so much since it is in Taemin's point of view, and also the fact that our (the audience)'s perception of Key is very much influenced by how Taem sees Key, right? I think I even mentioned somewhere in the comments, that in a way, a Rashomon effect is present as the readers read the story right, since they are all on accounts of Taem's witnessing, but then also maybe I am just reading too much into this lol

It would be the Rashomon effect if I wrote the same fic out of Jonghyun’s perspective and Minho’s as well for example. In this case Taemin is just a very unreliable narrator and we don’t (well I do :’D) but the reader doesn’t know what’s really going on, if everything Taemin is experiencing is true or if it should be taken with a grain of salt. Considering that everyone in the dorm, except for Taemin, gets along well with Kibum, we might want to believe that Kibum isn’t the bad guy Taemin wants to make him out to be. ^^

(11) Honestly, I could hear my English Lit teacher saying "maybe that is not the author's intention" hahaha xD Yes yes yes!! more chapters for Taem's development!! I am ready for it!! I mean the end of chapter 7 marked the sign of the broken vase, and paired with the JongTae drought, I am looking forward to the next part of the story!! Some character development at this point is perfect I think!! And also!! About the advices, I think I commented a few times on some of the chapters.

(12) I didn't notice that before! And after you pointed it out, I think I made some comments on Minho's, Key's, and Onew's advices to Taem and definitely, based on how the events unfolded, we could argue that the advice was bad - in a way though, I can't seem to tell (yet, maybe?) if the advice giver was genuinely trying to help or do they have ulterior motives? hmmm but either way, I like how you placed a lot of thoughts in the story, even on things such as advice.

(13) Because for sure, in reality, people tend to give bad advices, and act on bad advices. It is true that most fics tend to focus only on the good advice and then the story ends happily ever after. Real life is most definitely not like that :3 your "slice of life" tag is holding up to its name ;) Thank you so much for your hard work!! You added 10,000 words for chapter 7?? omg… huhuhu (insert a bowing LINE sticker)... yeah, for sure, the way the story unfolds in my head,

(14) probably is different to other readers, right? And for sure, very different to you, the author! There are probably a lot more instances, scenes, implications, interpretations? that we as readers are unaware of! Thank you so much for all your hard work TnT, as readers, having more context into the story does give much more clarity on the flow of the story and the feelings of the characters, etc. Thank you for all your hard work! (bow bow bow)

That was something @hwarang-number commented on as well while betaing the story. What if Minho has ulterior motives?!?!?!?!? In Minho’s case it does make sense to give out bad advice to lure in the innocent lamb haha but for example what would Jinki’s or Kibum’s ulterior motives be? Sometimes people want to give out good advice, but in the end it just turns out to be bad advice – unintentionally – humans are just humans after all – and none of us is all knowing, we all perceive things differently, and what might work for one person might not work for the other. I did add 10k to chapter 7 and 25k to chapter 8 – because chapter 8 felt like the most incomplete out of all the chapters in this story.

I think I’ve mentioned it before but hwarang_number is super attentive while reading and figured most things out that I’ve implied – even smaller details which I thought might get lost in the chapters – which I’m still impressed by, but I also said before that everyone reads stories differently, and some aspects that might not be important to me as the author of the story might be important for the readers and the other way around. For the past chapters I just tried to fill in the gaps that might confuse readers unnecessarily. In the original draft of chapter 8 Taemin is doing the deeds with Minho far more spontaneously because he’s so frustrated with Jonghyun – it made sense like that as well – but I think his frustration got more depth through the added scenes. :)

(15) Ah!! By the way!! Please don't feel like you are forced to reply to all of my messages! Having you read them already makes me happy! I don't want to make it feel like an obligation to you because... well omg my comments like super loooooong hahaha ^^;; And yeah!! Take your time with the next chapter by the way!! I am rooting for the development of the story no matter how it will go :3 I will be waiting for the next update (though no pressure, just want to put it there haha)

Dear cricket nony, if you write me 50 message I will still try to answer all of them ㅎㅅㅎ I might just take a little longer. I hope you will like chapter 8 as well, despite the drought ^^

(16) Next time, this cricket anon will bring some more noise ~ I hope your real-life stuff works out well too :D Once again, thank you for answering all of my messages, and for writing this awesomely written fanfiction! While I wait for the next chapter, I think I'm going to re-read songs of siren hehehe :3 Please stay safe!

Please do! Song of Sirens is definitely a story I would have loved to treat like “Dorm Life” in a sense that it would have turned out better if I had worked on it longer, but I’m still a fan of the big brain energy I had running through my veins when I came up with the mythological aspect of the story…lmao So I hope you will enjoy re-reading it. ^^ Chapter 8 is longer than Song of Sirens (just as a side note haha)

(17) Ah!! I forgot to mention!! After I re-read it, my most favorite literary device that you used in this fanfiction (lol this commentary is beginning to sound like a Literature essay) is the Biblical Allusions? I am not sure if this was your intention, but the juxtapositions of Bible verses or reference to God, in Taemin’s thought reminds me heavily of Taemin’s songs, particularly Heaven? It be a sexy time song if you look at the lyrics, but the composition is that of a choir church song

(18) I find the contrast chilling, and maybe you were trying to invoke that feeling to the readers? Orrr maybe I am perhaps, indeed, reading too much into this hahaha ^^;; but really! I really enjoy reading your fanfictions and coming up with analyzations, it’s very fun, and the fact that I can discuss or ask you questions about it is just makes it even more fun – since in Literature classes we can’t actually ask the author of their true intentions right hahaha okay!! I am done :3 Thank you!! <3

It was my intention and still is, so I’m glad you picked up on that. ^^ I always wanted to write a fanfic in which Taemin’s religion plays a role – even if it’s just on the side – I always make some references to Dante’s circles of Hell (when Taemin is being dramatic again) or I also made a reference to Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things in chapter 8. (I’m a big fan of his work – that dude was wild – the way he painted blows my mind every time I look at one of his paintings). So yes, dramatic Taemin talking about religion and throwing around with biblical references is my brain being wild. ^^

I would say that ‘Dorm Life’ is not a really deep story, but I did put a lot of thought into it to not make it your regular smut/romance fanfic. I mean it took time, still does – but I’m glad when people, like you dear cricket nony, appreciate it. So thank you so much for your kind words and sending me all your thoughts and interpretations. <3 I hope you will have a lovely December – please stay healthy and please take good care of yourself. <3

#cricket nony #non-fic post #dorm life #Anonymous

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knuffled · 5 years

Text

Just Practice - Chapter 2

chapter 2 is out! reblog and like if you enjoyed the chapter! comments/asks are especially welcome!

here in the ao3 link in case anyone prefers that!

The following Monday, when Annabeth walked into first hour English and made her way to her seat by the window, her eyes still burning from lack of sleep, she remained woefully unaware of the fact that news that Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson were finally going out had spread through Westwood High like proverbial wildfire. It didn’t take long, however, for that to be rectified. Piper accosted her the second that she sat down, grinning like the cat that got the canary, which should have been enough to arouse some modicum of suspicion in Annabeth, but she was still far too caffeine deprived to realize what was going on.

It was therefore altogether understandable that she felt completely discombobulated when Piper said the following: “So word around the block is that a certain someone is finally going out with the captain of the swim team.”

Annabeth, who had been in the process of rummaging in her backpack for her english essay, froze and turned to her friend. “What?” she asked.

Piper scooted her chair closer to Annabeth’s desk and threw her arm around Annabeth’s neck. “C’mon, you honestly thought I wouldn’t know?” Piper asked.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and said, “Obviously, I knew you’d find out. Just not so soon.”

There was a twinkle in Piper’s eyes as she said, “Well, I do have my sources.”

“That sure is a roundabout way of saying Percy told you.”

Piper leaned back in her chair, shrugging. “We are best friends after all.”

Before Annabeth could do more than roll her eyes, Percy walked into the classroom, a cup of coffee in hand. He took his seat in front of Annabeth’s desk, but not before wordlessly passing Annabeth the cup. Annabeth felt the tips of her ears burn, aware of Piper watching her like a hawk, that shit-eating grin still stubbornly on her face. Percy stifled a yawn and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before he turned and gave them an oblivious smile.

“It’s my two favorite girls,” he said.

“Don’t let your mom or Estelle hear you say that,” Annabeth said, giving him a pointed look.

Piper laughed and said, “She’s right you know.”

There was an undeniable fondness in the way he rolled his eyes and said, “She’s always right.”

Annabeth shrugged and took a hasty sip, which made her hiss in pain when she burnt her tongue. “Fuck,” she muttered.

“You okay?” Percy asked, frowning.

“Burnt my tongue,” Annabeth said.

When Percy’s frown deepened, Piper rolled her eyes and said, “She’ll live, Percy.”

Percy shot her a nasty look that only made Piper laugh and tousle his already messy hair. Percy scowled and swatted her hand away, grumbling to himself as Piper leaned forward in her seat. “Anyhow, on to more pressing matters,” Piper said. “Which of you two idiots asked?”

Percy gave Annabeth a sidelong glance, a smirk sliding on his face. “Yeah, who asked, Annabeth?” he asked liltingly.

Annabeth stared at her coffee as her face grew warm. “I did,” she mumbled.

“Hah! Vindication!” Piper cheered, pulling out her phone.

“You watch way too much Brooklyn 99,” Percy said.

“I had a lot of money riding on this, fucko, so excuse me if I celebrate a little,” Piper said, texting furiously. “Man, Jason and Leo are going to be so pissed I was right.”

It was hard to mask the exasperation in her voice when Annabeth said, “You bet on whether we would go out with each other?”

“We bet on whether you’d ask him out before we graduated,” Piper clarified. “I knew my trust in you wasn’t misplaced, Annabae.”

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that,” Annabeth said, a low growl in her voice.

“Well mark me down as scared and horny, babe,” Piper said, not even sparing a glance as she pocketed her phone. “Oh wait, I can’t say shit like that anymore now that you and Percy are finally a thing, huh? What a bummer.”

“You’re actually intolerable.”

That was when the bell rang and their teacher, Mr. Edmonds, walked into the classroom with a stack of papers tucked under his arm. Piper reluctantly scooted her chair back to her desk next to Percy’s desk, and Annabeth was thankful that her interrogation had been brought to an abrupt halt. Percy turned around when the teacher asked everyone to pass up their essays and held his hand out to her. His hair was as messy as ever, black waves crashing into each other haphazardly. The ratty, orange camp t-shirt he was wearing had begun to fray at the edges of the collars, leading her eyes to linger on the shark tooth necklace hanging from his neck, the bone white jarring against the tanned skin beneath.

“Do I have something on my face?” Percy asked, disrupting her observation.

“No?” Annabeth said.

Percy raised an eyebrow and said, “Well, you were staring pretty hard, so I thought.”

When Annabeth didn’t respond, Percy laughed and said, “You wanna turn in your essay? I’m getting tired holding my hand out like this.”

Annabeth felt her face burn as she handed him her paper. “My bad,” she muttered.

Percy rolled his eyes and said, “Make sure you finish your coffee. You look like you need it.”

Annabeth told him to shut up under her breath but reached for the coffee anyways, which was now thankfully not as hot, and took a sip. Thankfully, the rest of class passed by without any further shenanigans, and it didn’t take long for the bell to ring again. Percy was gone by the time Annabeth finished packing her belongings in her backpack, but before she could leave her desk, Piper stopped her, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face.

“So what brought this on?” Piper asked.

“What do you mean?” Annabeth said, putting her folder in her backpack.

“Like why’d you ask him out now? What changed?”

For a second, Annabeth considered telling Piper the truth about the whole “practice dating” thing but something gave her pause. There was the fact that even though she’d known her for a long time, Piper had always been closer to Percy than to her, but there was also something in the way that she was looking at her that unsettled her.

“I’m not sure,” Annabeth said, shrugging.

Piper stared at her for a few seconds before a smile blossomed across her face. “Well, that doesn’t matter now anyways. I’m rooting for you two lovebirds,” she said.

Piper slung her backpack across her shoulder and make her way to the classroom entrance, but before she stepped outside, she paused and turned to look at Annabeth. “He sounded really happy, you know?” Piper said.

Annabeth wasn’t really sure how to respond to that, so she just plastered an uneasy smile onto her face. Piper stared at her again for another second or two with that same intense emotion in her eyes before she finally stepped outside. Once she was gone, Annabeth let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

Percy was waiting for her outside the classroom, falling into step with her as she walked to her next class. “Why’d you wait? I thought your class was on the other side of school,” Annabeth said, frowning.

“Isn’t it normal to walk my girlfriend to class?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

For the umpteenth time that day, Annabeth felt herself flush with embarrassment. “I guess,” she said, squeezing her backpack strap tighter.

“So what did Piper wanna talk to you about?” he asked.

For some reason, she couldn’t tell him the truth — there was something about her interaction with Piper that just felt weird. “Nothing much. Just girl talk,” Annabeth lied.

When Percy hummed in response, Annabeth added, “She did say that you seemed, and I quote, ‘really happy’ that we were dating.”

A dumbfounded look crossed his face as he said, “Well, would you rather I had sounded miserable?”

“That’s not what meant, and you know it,” Annabeth said, stepping in front of him to stop him.

Percy sighed and said, “It would be really weird if I didn’t sound happy about it.”

“But we’re not really—”

“I know we’re not,” Percy interrupted. There was a harshness in his voice that made Annabeth frown, but before she could press him on it, it melted back into that same effortless kindness that she had always associated with him.

“I know we’re not actually a couple, but think about it: we have to act like we are, otherwise there’s no point to this. If we’re not going to go at this seriously, like it’s real, then it’s not really practice, is it? If this was real, wouldn’t I immediately gush to Piper about it? Wouldn’t I sound really happy?”

She couldn’t deny the truth in his words so she nodded. “Well, as long as you know.”

“I know,” Percy promised. “I’m not getting carried away. This is ‘just practice’, right?”

There was something about the way that he said that that rubbed Annabeth the wrong way, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was. “Right,” Annabeth said slowly.

Percy’s answering smile dispelled any tension that might have formed in the air. They spent the rest of the way walking to Annabeth’s class in silence, and once they got there, they both stood outside the classroom for a while.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later?” Percy said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Annabeth nodded and made her way into the classroom. She walked to her desk and sat down before it occurred to her that she should probably thank Percy for walking her to class. That seemed like the sort of thing a girlfriend would do, right? She put her backpack in her chair and walked back outside the classroom, hoping Percy wasn’t gone. Thankfully, he hadn’t went too far when she stepped outside.

When she called out to him, he turned around, a curious look on his face. “Thanks for walking me!” Annabeth said before adding, “To class I mean!”

A grin broke across Percy’s face just as the bell rang, prompting him to give her one final wave before he turned and ran to make it in time for his next class. As she watched him go, Annabeth balled her hands into fists by her side and felt a rush confidence wash over her. Maybe she could do this whole girlfriend thing after all.

~oOo~

The heat was particularly sweltering during track practice later that day. Annabeth found herself incessantly wiping sweat off her brow with the back of her hand over the course of the run. The coaches had settled on a six mile run following the trail that circled the lake behind the high school. After the day’s events, going for a run was exactly the thing that Annabeth needed to settle her thoughts. The familiar burning in her lungs and the sound of her own ragged breathing calmed her down like nothing else. It was only when she ran that the chaos in her ADHD brain ever calmed down.

She forced herself to run a more strenuous pace that she was used to, making her way out of the woods only a half-hour into the run. The lake sat placidly to her right, and the reflected light of the slowly setting sun cast an orange-bronze hue to the water. Annabeth stirred when she heard the sound of someone running behind her. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Jason only a foot or two behind her, his face screwed in concentration.

“Your pace is way too fast, Annabeth,” he protested breathlessly.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and said, “No one’s asking you to keep up with me.”

“I’m not talking about myself — I’m talking about the rest of the team,” Jason said. “I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, but now that you’re captain, you can’t just jet ahead of everyone else like always.”

“Being captain is a real pain sometimes,” Annabeth muttered. “Maybe they should’ve made you captain instead.”

“You and I both know they chose the right person for the job,” Jason said.

“Well, thanks for letting me know,” Annabeth said, sighing as she slowed her pace significantly to something more akin to a brisk walk than to actual running.

Jason sped ahead of her but not before shooting her an apologetic smile. It only took a few seconds for the other seniors on the team to pass her as well. Before long the juniors came and went, nodding when they noticed her, but it took quite a bit longer before the sophomores and the freshman came into view. Annabeth shouted words of encouragement and broke into an easy jog herself as she mingled with them. She kept an eye out for any stragglers or people struggling, stopping now and then to attend to them.

By the time she finished the run, the sun had begun melting into the horizon. Annabeth made her way to the track and finished a final lap for her cool down run before she found Jason, who was in the middle of his stretches.

When she sat down alongside him and settled into her own stretches, he turned to her and said, “Piper tells me you and Percy are going out now?”

Annabeth nodded and said, “Yeah, I asked him out on Friday.”

“After the meet?” Jason asked, bending to touch his toes.

“Yeah, we went to Martha’s after,” Annabeth said. “I couldn’t find you after the meet or I would’ve asked if you wanted to come.”

“Piper wanted to go to Taco Bell,” Jason said, shrugging.

“She’s fucking obsessed with Taco Bell.”

Jason rolled his eyes and said, “Tell me about it. I get PTSD every time I drive past the one near school.”

When Annabeth laughed, Jason smiled and said, “I’m happy for you though. I’m sure things will go well for you and Percy.”

“Thanks,” Annabeth said.

“I do want to say that you lost me fifty bucks, though,” Jason muttered.

“Well, maybe that’ll teach you not to bet on other people’s relationships, ya dork,” Annabeth said.

Jason huffed and laid down on the grass, done with his stretches, and threw an arm over his eyes. Annabeth sighed and said, “What do people even do in relationships?”

“I dunno,” Jason said. “Whatever they want, I guess.”

“What about you and Piper? You guys have been going out since forever,” Annabeth said.

“Well, at first we went on dates and stuff, like everyone else. We went out for dinner and a movie,” Jason said.

“Yeah? Which one?”

“Inside Out.”

Annabeth gave him a look and said, “That’s a pretty bad movie for a first date.”

“Yeah, I cried like seven times. It wasn’t exactly ideal,” Jason said, laughing. “We didn’t have the first clue about dating either back then. Now, it’s a lot easier. We just hang out. Go to Taco Bell. You know, the usual.”

“How romantic,” Annabeth said, smiling. “Doesn’t sound that different from being friends.”

“Well, you don’t usually kiss your friends,” Jason said cheekily.

“Gross, I don’t want to hear about you and Piper kissing,” Annabeth said.

“God, you’re such a prude, Chase,” Jason said. “You want to kiss Percy, right? That’s why you’re going out after all.”

Blood rushed to Annabeth’s face. “I-I do not!” Annabeth squeaked.

Jason raised his arm and looked at her. “You’re so full of shit. Why else are you guys going out? Isn’t it because you finally wanna bone him?”

“Shut up, oh my god!” Annabeth groaned. “You spend way too much time with that horny girlfriend of yours. You used to be a prude back then too.”

Jason sat up and wiped the grass off the back of his shirt. “Well, yeah, but then I got laid,” he said. “You should try it some time.”

“Maybe I will!”

He held his palms up in surrender, but the gesture was undercut by the fact that he was laughing. “It’s weird to see you like this,” he mused.

“Like what?” Annabeth muttered.

“I dunno, flustered, I guess? You’re always so put together and stuff. But even the great Annabeth Chase gets bent out of shape about something like dating, huh?” Jason said.

“I don’t have any clue what I’m supposed to do. I don’t like not knowing what to do.”

Jason shrugged and said, “That’s part of the fun. You just learn things as you go. Besides, Percy’s a great guy. I’m sure you��ll work things out together.”

Annabeth sighed. “I hope so.”

“I know so,” Jason said. “You got this, ABC. And if you ever wanna talk, I’m here for you.”

“I know,” Annabeth said. “Thanks. I appreciate it. Like a lot.”

Jason laughed and said, “Okay, good to know. I’m gonna head back and hit the showers. See you at practice tomorrow.”

Annabeth offered him a smile and said, “Yeah, see you.”

Once he left, Annabeth sighed and laid down on the grass, thinking about what he said. It hadn’t occurred to her before Jason had said it, but if she was going to be practice dating Percy or whatever, that would mean that she would end up kissing him at some point, right? That just felt… weird. Kissing Percy was weird. She’d known him since they were kids. It would be like kissing her brother or something. Obviously, Percy was attractive. Anyone with eyeballs could see that. That wasn’t the problem though. The problem was that she’d never seen Percy in a romantic light, like ever. There was a reason she’d never asked him out before, even though everyone in school seemed to think they were destined for one another. Percy was just her best friend. Someone who had been there for her through everything. And she’d been there for him through everything too. Romance had never really been in the picture before. There had never been space or need for it.

But now, they were dating. Dating meant kissing. And other stuff. Fuck, maybe she hadn’t thought this through. She knew that Percy would never do anything that she wasn’t comfortable with, so she wasn’t worried about that. What if she didn’t want to kiss Percy? Wasn’t that a problem? Didn’t that make the whole practice dating thing pointless? Practice dating sort of necessitated that sort of thing, right? Wow, she really hadn’t thought this through at all.

Annabeth sat up with a sigh, resolved to table the problem for another day, and made her way back to the school. Once she showered and changed, she made her way over to the school pool. There was only one person still in the water, but Annabeth knew without looking who it was. She made her way over the water’s edge and waited for Percy to finish his lap. His head popped out of the water once he noticed her standing there.

“Annabeth, hey!” he said. “Ready to go?”

When she nodded, he hauled himself out of the pool and said, “Just let me shower and get changed, yeah?”

“I’ll be waiting by your car,” Annabeth said.

Percy nodded and said, “Yeah, sounds good.”

It took about fifteen minutes for Percy to meet her outside — his hair was still wet from the shower and the scent of his body wash clung to his skin. Once he unlocked the doors to his car, they both sat down. As they drove out of the parking lot, Percy turned the radio on and began humming along to the song that was playing. His fingers drummed against the steering wheel, off-time like always. There was something so familiar about the situation that it made Annabeth smile despite herself.

Percy must have noticed because he raised an eyebrow and said, “What?”

“Nothing,” Annabeth said. “Just glad practice is over.”

“Ugh, you and me both,” Percy said. “Coach has been making me do extra laps after practice to help our chances at winning state.”

Annabeth winced and said, “That’s brutal.”

After Percy nodded, a comfortable silence settled between them, but it wasn’t long before Percy spoke again. “So, since we’re doing this whole practice dating thing and all, shouldn’t we be going on dates and stuff?”

“What did you have in mind?” Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Is that a yes?”

She rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah, Seaweed Brain, that was a yes.”

Percy grinned and said, “It’s going to be a surprise.”

“Better be the good kind,” Annabeth warned.

“When have my surprises ever been anything but good?” Percy asked indignantly.

Annabeth hummed and said, “Hmm, I can think of a few. Remember the chocolate chip cookie debacle of ’09?”

When Percy winced, she pressed further and said, “Or the Last Day of Camp prank on Mr. Brunner when we were in 8th grade? Or Piper’s surprise birthday party last year?”

“Okay, okay, you made your point. It’s a good surprise, I promise,” Percy said, laughing.

“I should hope so. I’ve heard it’s very important to make a good impression on the first date.”

“Did you now?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mhmm, so I expect to be wowed.”

“You’re awfully demanding for someone who’s never been on a date,” Percy said, shaking his head.

“Mhm, I’m free this Saturday, by the way,” Annabeth said casually.

Percy parked outside Annabeth’s house and laughed. “That was smooth,” he said.

Annabeth opened the door and grabbed her backpack from the back seat and slung it over her shoulder. “So Saturday?” she asked.

“Saturday,” Percy confirmed, nodding.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

There was an uncharacteristic tremor in his voice when he said, “I-I hope I don’t let you down.”

Annabeth scoffed and said, “You’ve never let me down, like ever. I’m sure we’ll have a blast, Seaweed Brain. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Percy said.

With that, Annabeth walked to her house, giving Percy a final wave before she went inside. She slipped her backpack off and rested the back of her head against the front door and shut her eyes. She’d never seen Percy’s nervousness directed towards her like that before. They’d always been so comfortable around each other. She didn’t know how she felt about that. Maybe it was a sign that he was taking this seriously, in which case it wasn’t that big a deal. She just didn’t want things to be weird between them because of the whole practice dating thing. Still, she felt a rush of nervous anticipation herself too — for the first time in her seventeen years of existence, she would be going on a date.

#knuffled fic #percabeth fic #percabeth fanfic #percabeth fake dating au #fake dating au #percabeth #percy and annabeth #percy/annabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #percyxannabeth

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katrinawritesthings · 7 years

Text

Jonghyun/Taemin; Fernando; PG

listen high school au where taem chose to raise a plant from a lil seed for his senior project and like that was too simple so he Also chose to carry her with him to school every day

He nods and Taemin smiles, reaching up to pat the tops of the plant’s leaves gently. With her on the floor and them in their desks, she comes up to around head height.

ao3

“I swear by the sun… no, by the moon… the sun is a star, though….” Jonghyun nibbles on the plastic rim around the eraser of his pencil, furrowing his eyes at the lyrics he’s writing. He’s talking about stars, which the sun is, and about orbiting a star, which makes more sense, but honestly. He kind of hates the sun. He doesn’t want to swear by the giant yellow floating dudebro in the sky. The moon is much nicer and fits much better with the gay space aesthetic, and also matches much more with the babe he’s writing this for. “I swear by the moon,” he mouths to himself, underlining the word twice after he writes it. “It’s you only… only you for me, only you for me….” He bites his lip and makes a little note to figure out if he likes that line repeated or not later.

That universe line from before, though, he really does like twice. He thinks. He puts another tally mark in the little scoreboard he’s keeping with himself for every time he goes back and forth on that. Reading over what he has down for this song so far, he’s stopped from writing any more by the sound of the door being pushed open.

He looks up from the corner desk he’s tucked himself into, watching the other side of the classroom for whoever else it was that managed to get sent to the SRC first period. He’s heard that it’s become a lot more rare, now that the school stopped letting teachers send kids here for tardiness. People don’t normally fuck up so early in the day. He’s honestly only here because he didn’t want to watch some gorey movie in history class.

The first thing to enter the room isn’t a student; it’s a plant. A bamboo plant, tall and leafy, in a dark green pot. A moment later, the person carrying the plant slips inside with it and Jonghyun feels himself automatically smiling at him. There he is. In the flesh. The Plant Kid. Jonghyun feels blessed to be in the presence of their school cryptid.

Taemin grins shamelessly at the supervising teacher, lifting his plant an inch instead of waving with his free hand.

“Hey, Jeffrey,” he says. Jonghyun muffles a snort badly into the back of his hand, turning even more to watch Taemin walk casually up to Mr. S like it’s no big deal. Mr. S sighs, closing his book and looking Taemin up and down.

“You again?” he asks. His stern voice is betrayed by fondness and a hint of a smile and Jonghyun vaguely wonders how often it is that Taemin gets sent here. “Was it you or Fernando this time?”

“Jeff, is it ever me?” Taemin asks. “You know she’s the real troublemaker here.” He hikes his bamboo pot up to be more snug against his hip and Jonghyun watches Mr. S shake his head with another sigh. He hands Taemin the sign in clipboard without comment, then takes his referral and shoos him away to find a seat for himself. Jonghyun raises his brows, impressed. That’s a fond friendship if he ever saw one. When Taemin scans the room, his eyes land on Jonghyun in the corner; Jonghyun waves simply instead of trying to pretend like he wasn’t staring. It earns him a smile and Taemin heading his way, stepping expertly through the desks until he’s sitting himself down in the one in front of Jonghyun.

“Hey,” he says easily. Jonghyun notes the flex of the muscles in his right arm as he sets the plant down on the floor. That can’t be light.

“Hi,” he replies, propping his hand up in his chin. “I thought her name was Francesco?” he asks, pointing at the bamboo. He knows that the names Taemin and Francesco are both linked together in his brain. Taemin glances at her, then shakes his head with a little laugh.

“No, that’s my Catholic name,” he says. Jonghyun gasps softly at the information. Right, yeah, that’s right. He remembers Kibum telling him about the whole confirmation thing a while back. He nods and Taemin smiles, reaching up to pat the tops of the plant’s leaves gently. With her on the floor and them in their desks, she comes up to around head height. It’s pretty wild. Jonghyun remembers the beginning of the year when she was just a tiny little pot of dirt that Taemin could carry in one hand. “She’s lovely Fernando,” Taemin smiles, petting a leaf fondly. Jonghyun chuckles softly as he watches Taemin fluff up his plant. Fernando.

“Like,” he says. “There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, Fernando.” He sings the line softly, tapping his pencil with each note, waving his other hand for dramatic effect. Taemin smiles wide and nods eagerly.

“Yep,” he says. “If I have to have that song stuck in my head every day, then so does everyone else.” His little smirk is almost wicked and Jonghyun snorts, breathing out a soft laugh towards his desk. Shit. Taemin is right; that’s gonna be in his brain for at least a week. Like he didn’t already have enough intrusive thoughts already.

“So what–”

“No fraternizing, you two.” Mr. S interrupts their conversation with a stern frown from his desk. Jonghyun glances at him, then looks away in shame, pink blushing his cheeks. Frick. He almost forgot that this is technically a during-class detention room.

“Jeffrey, do you even care?” Taemin asks flatly. Jonghyun sneaks a peak up to see him giving Mr. S this expectant look that no student should be giving a teacher, especially the one in charge of discipline, but after a few seconds of staring each other down, Mr. S shrugs with a shake of his head.

“Not really,” he says, and turns back to his book. Taemin turns back to Jonghyun with a smug little grin and an eyebrow twitch. Jonghyun takes in his expression and exhales shortly, running his fingers through his hair. Holy shit. How the fuck.

“How many times have you even been sent here?” he asks. He is way too casual. Taemin shrugs, still petting his bamboo tree.

“Every time I have a substitute teacher in one of my classes, basically,” he says. “None of them ever like Fernando.” He pouts, rubbing one leaf between his fingers gently. “At least I’ll have an extra paragraph or two to add to my essay about her at the end of the year,” he mumbles. Jonghyun tsks too, reaching out to pat her as gently as possible. Even with the extra content to add to his senior final project, that’s not fair at all.

“She’s so cute, though,” he says. Every time he sees Taemin carrying her around the school he has to smile. They make his day brighter every day. They don’t deserve to be sent out of class just for existing.

“Yeah, well,” Taemin sighs. He reaches down, pokes a stray leaf under the soil in the pot, and sits up straight. He turns even more in his chair to rest his elbows on the front of Jonghyun’s desk. “What are you working on?” he asks. He nods curiously at the notebook Jonghyun was writing in before he came in. Jonghyun looks at it, reads over his lyrics, shrugs a little bit.

“Love song,” he says. He finds the part he’s most confident in and sings a little bit of it: “Please look back at me often, check to see if I’m revolving around you, to see if this orbit is right….” He hums the next part, the “ooh baby”s that he thinks he might just keep there instead of writing actual words to replace. Taemin listens with little bobs of his head, staring at his lyrics with a squint that Jonghyun knows means he’s struggling to read them upside-down. He doesn’t really mind; he turns his book so Taemin can read them easier.

“Mmm,” Taemin hums when he’s done. “Yeah, but, do you really think writing a song about how much you want Minho to notice you will actually make him notice you?” he asks. His voice was so matter-of-fact and the look he gives Jonghyun is innocent curiosity; Jonghyun feels his cheeks heating up under it. He snatches his notebook away even though Taemin’s already read it all and huffs at his slowly growing grin. God. Fuck.

“How come fucking everyone except that tall asshole knows that I have a fucking crush on him,” he hisses. This is so garbage. He’s never even fucking spoken to Taemin until today and somehow he knows. Why the fuck can’t Minho be that perceptive in one of the four fucking classes that they share. Jonghyun hates him so much. Taemin’s muffled laughter brings him out of his grumbling, but only enough to frown at the amused little crescents of his eyes. “It’s fucking ridiculous, right?” he asks. Sometimes he thinks Minho is just being obtuse on purpose. Taemin shrugs instead of answering, pulling his bag from his shoulder to use as a pillow.

“He still doesn’t have a date to that track meet next week,” he says. Jonghyun snorts, dropping his notebook back onto the table and smoothing out the paper.

“Do people regularly take dates to track meets?” he asks. He’s been to a few of Minho’s practises, but never with any real romantic intent. Just to chill with some friends after school. He’s seen Taemin at them a couple of times too, but never guessed that he knew Minho that much too. Taemin shrugs, a playful little grin on his lips.

“You and him can be the first,” he says. He wiggles his eyebrows too and Jonghyun chuckles softly. Somehow he doesn’t think that that would work as a pickup line.

“Nah,” he says. “I’m gonna finish this song and then sing it to him while we’re just chilling at my place one day,” he shrugs. He gets song advice from Minho all the time. It’ll be smooth as fuck. “And then if he still doesn’t get it after me singing about his eyes to him for three minutes then I’m gonna kinda just. Go for it, you know?” he makes a little pushing gesture with his hands for emphasis. He’s thinking like, just, a grabbed collar and a deep, desperate kiss. Jinki says he’s good at those. Taemin laughs softly into the bed of his arms, shoulders shrugging tiredly.

“Good luck,” he hums. Jonghyun smiles back.

“Thanks,” he says.”You too,” he adds, gesturing at Taemin’s bamboo plant. He still has a few more months of carrying her around and he’s bound to have a few more subs in that time. Jonghyun wishes the both of them the very best. Taemin smiles back at him, flattered and grateful.

“Thanks,” he says.

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