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#and i’m so happy for everyone who now gets to travel in the tardis like they couldn’t before
ninemelodies · 6 months
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this is so so sweet and i love that ruth got to talk about it :’)
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pia-nor481 · 6 months
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Sick Day
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Daniel Ricciardo x reader smut 18+
Season two spoilers for doctor who. This may or may not be based off of how I spent my time while unwell
1.8k words
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“I’m back” Daniel yelled through the house as he closed the door. He was so excited to be back with his girlfriend, he was gone for three weeks now and just really needed to see her. he rushed through the hallway and his excitement dialled down as he noticed the silence. Normally she would have some form of music playing rather loud, wanting to drown out the silence of being alone in their shared home.
The sneezing caught him off guard and so he picked up his pace and saw her sat on the sofa; drowning in blankets with her eyes focused on the television. The volume was no higher than ten so he could only hear the mumbling of the actors voices. “What happened to you? baby, you must be so unwell to be watching tv without me.” He walked closer and saw her drained eyes and slightly reddened nose. “Danny, I’m so happy your back, I missed you so much.” Her voice came out strained and nasally. “Oh look at you, you’re so sick. What happened?” He said reaching out to her as she spoke again. “I didn’t wear a jumper when I went out. But I had a scarf on, I promise.” Daniel shook his head at the statement and walked towards the kitchen, turning the kettle on a reaching for the tea. He then poured an unnecessary amount of honey in the mug and placed it on the table.
Daniel finally pulled his hat off of his head and placed it on hers, knowing she was still feeling the chill. He moved the covers slightly to slip under them, and to touch her, knowing it would comfort her. “No, don’t. I’ll get you sick.” She was so happy he was back in a formula one car, she was so stressed for him upon hearing that he had broken his hand during the free practice at zanvoort, then the engine issues at Austin and now, he needed to keep well to ensure he would have a seat next year. “No you won’t.” He almost whispered out leaning closer to her, pulling her body towards him, resting her head against his chest, wrapping his hands over her waist. “Oh right, you’ve got your vitamins.” He laughed out lightly upon hearing her reply.
“So what are we watching?” He said, diverting his eyes towards the screen. “Doctor who.” She whispered, trying not to hurt her voice further, just as the TARDIS came on screen. A smile creeped a way on to his face, he had no idea what was going on as Cathrin Tate appeared on the screen. “So what’s happening?” She leaned further into him and pulled the blankets higher for extra warmth. “Well, the Doctor is really upset about Rose, who’s in an alternate universe with her mum, Jackie, and her alternate universe dad, who saved her life twice, I think. And some how Donna played by Cathrin Tate, has ended up in the TARDIS while getting married.” She explained like it was super simple and he was already aware. Daniel smiled, knowing this was something she enjoyed and so wanted to hear more. “Babe, Who’s Rose?”
“She was in season one with the Ninth Doctor, then he saved her life and became the Tenth doctor. In season two she employed her boyfriend Ricky or Micky, something like that, to help her and The doctor. So they went to a school when the teachers were evolved bat-vampires who were brainwashing and killing students. They also meet the girl that the Doctor originally traveled with and Rose got pretty jealous. But I would be too, David Tennant is pretty hot.” She laughed out lightly, shifting in Daniel’s lap. “Hey, I’m right here…At least he got dark hair, I’ll take that.” A grin covered her face, ear to ear.
“Anyway, they all then go the alternate universe because something happened with the TARDIS, and lots of people have been disappearing and alternate universe Micky or Ricky and his friends are trying to find out what had been happening . They then find out that the people are being turned into cybermen and then alternate Ricky or Micky dies saving everyone, Alternate Jackie also dies at some point, then Rose’s boyfriend Micky or Ricky stays to replace him and be good or something. So her and the doctor travel back to normal earth.” She said, having to pause every now and then to catch her breath. As much as Daniel felt sorry for her he didn’t want her to stop. “So Micky or Ricky and Rose are still dating, even though they are in a different universes?” He said, passing her the tea to sip on, hoping it would ease her throat.
“I can’t really remember but she kissed him before she left so probably. Anyway, some other stuff happens and they end in a Torchwood building because of some random ghosts appearing all over London. Then the find out it’s actually the cybermen slipping through the void and into their universe. And obviously they are trying to kill everyone because reasons, then a metal circle thing opens revealing the last four daleks, they are robots that started a war against the time lords, including the Doctor. At this point I started to hate Mickey or Ricky, because he touched the metal and released a lot of imprisoned daleks who want to kill everyone as they think they’re superior. So the Daleks and Cybermen try and kill each other.” She paused for a quick cough and another sip of tea. “Here, Love” Daniel said, handing her a throat sweet. “Continue.”
“So the Doctor sends everyone back to the alternate universe as they would be sucked into the void because of the travelling, apart form Jackie obviously, but Rose stayed. They have these massive magnets… Don’t laugh at that, I can’t believe you are laughing at the word massive. To continue, the lever moves so rose let’s go of the magnet to fix it and almost falls into the void but Pete, her alternate universe dad, jumps through the universe and saves her, taking her back with him. Then the void closes and she starts crying hysterically because she can’t ever see the doctor again.” She could feel Daniel nod, he truly loved to hear her talk, he wanted to make her feel listened to. “But she’s dating Micky or Ricky, right?” She shifted slightly before speaking again. “Yes, it’s bad right? But they get led to some beach where a hologram of the Doctor appears and she all crying again. Then she’s says ‘I love you’ and he just stares at her for a second, her family are all there by the way, and the Doctor says ‘Rose Tyler, I’ and the hologram fades.”
Daniel gasps, “Right in front of Ricky-Micky. What a hoe.” She laughs a bit louder than expected. “I know, it’s unbelievable.” Daniel always loved gossip, no matter where it was from. “You are such an nerd baby… Oh don’t make that face, I still love you.” He dropped his head into her neck as she spoke, “I still don’t feel any better.” He let her comment sit in the air for a minute, not sure if his idea was a good one, he needed to debate it before making a decision. “I know what will make you feel better.” She looked up at him, still unable to see his face, “What?”
“An orgasm.” He mumbled against her neck with a smile. “Is that so? She replied, trying to move to face him, but his hands were firm, ensuring she wasn’t moving anywhere by keeping them on her hips. “Yeah, I heard it’s really good.” His hand slipped up her top and began to slide down her abdomen and into her underwear. She let a high sigh, just at the feeling of him touching her skin, he’d been away for far too long. “That’s it, Love, relax for me.” As soon as his fingers made contact with her clit she miss out, loud. Daniel began to run slow and teasing circles into her skin, not wanting to build her up too quick. She could feel his touch all over her body, and it just felt so good to be back in his arms, the smallest touch was euphoric. She hummed when he applied more pressure, and he pulled her flush against his chest again, needing to have full control of her body. She pushed her hip against Daniel’s hand as she began to kiss and suck on her neck. He knew this was a massive turn on for her, and so, it would heighten her pleasure. “Uh, Daniel, please” she moaned out, almost over the edge. “Go on babe, you can cum for me.” He climax was so overwhelming that her whole body was shaking, she shook her head side to side involuntarily, and pushed her hands deep into the cushions of the sofa, it felt so phenomenal that she had no control.
“Good girl.” He whisper in her ear, making her whine and squirm in his lap again. They sat there for a while, enjoying each others company. Daniel moved to kiss her lips softly, kissing always felt more intimate than sex, it was one way of showing her that he truly and deeply loved her. She shifted slightly, laying on her side, so her ear was pressed up against his chest, hearing his heart beating. It was relaxing, peaceful even. Daniel rubbed his hands up and down the side of her torso and down her thigh, making sure she felt loved during haze of her climax. “I love you.” She whispered, knowing that he would want to hear it back. It wasn’t as if he was insecure, he just like to hear how much she loved him, it made him feel appreciated.
“Come on, let me up.” He lightly smacked her thigh to move her. He felt a chill run through his body after leaving the warmth of the blankets, and her body. “Hot lemonade and paracetamol, that’s what you need.” He said, noticing her yawning. So he reached in the cupboard for another mug. “Or do you want some nightnurse? it will make you sleep better babe.” He looked back to the sofa, seeing his girlfriend smile sent a feeling of joy through his body. “Hot lemonade and nightnurse it is.”
Daniel picked her up from the sofa and brought her to the bedroom, she was exhausted, anyone could tell that. Once he got her placed on the soft mattress, he tucked her body tightly with the quilt, ensuring she stayed warm. “Danny, you’re so sweet.” He smiled, before reaching for a t-shirt to sleep in. “It’s because I love you.” He turned around to see her fast asleep, all cozied up on his side of the bed and he chuckled. She was perfect, no matter what. “Good night love.” He said as soft a possible as he got under the covers with her, pulling her body against his.
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prettyevermores · 5 months
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tolerate it (part two)
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( fourteenth doctor x reader )
a/n: i’m back again, i think this ending can been seen as a loophole for a pt3 but i’m not so sure if i’m gonna do one just yet.
part one
🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️
Your Doctor pulled away from the long fifteen minutes of pure passion and emotion you two had been sharing. His hand snakes around your waist, holding you at the small of your back; he smiled down at you. He was happy to be home, back to be with you. You placed a hand on his chest, feeling his dual heartbeat letting you know that he was truly there and most definitely real. He was real and not just some severe delusion you had been trapped in. A weight had been lifted off your shoulder, a weight that was holding you down for those five years. 
Breaking the loving and comforting silence, you begun laughing and he looked at you with a puzzled expression. “Sweetheart? What’s the matter?” he asked softly, caressing his hand down your arm and an eyebrow raised.
“It’s just, I thought- I was closer and closer to loosing my mind each day you weren’t with me” You said through your joyous laughter. Despite you nearly loosing your mind and that being a serious matter.
“I’m here now, so you don’t have to loose your mind anymore” He whispered, pressing his lips against yours in a brief kiss before continuing speaking “I have someone you’ll want to see”
He dragged you out your house as you wore your usual clothes but donning your beloved bunny slippers that have seen better days. 
He was taking you across the road, to a house. But not to any house. The house of Donna Noble, one of your best friends. He knocked on her door, his hand intertwined with yours, to say you were nervous and excited to see Donna again was an understatement. You can hear her before you even see her reach the door.
“How many times do I have to bloody tell you! You don’t need to knock!” The voice of Donna Noble booming down the hallway as she walks to the door. “Just come in!” She says as she locks eyes with you. Her face turns into a big grin and you smile back widely.
“Donna Noble” You giggle as she brings you into a tight hug, the older woman holding onto you tightly as The Doctor slips past you both and heads into the kitchen. “I never thought I’d see you again Don!” You sigh happily, you have both your people again. 
After catching up with Donna again, chatting and gossiping over coffee like you two always used to do in The TARDIS kitchen. The Doctor pops his head in from Donna’s Garden and smiles at you both before talking “Are you two coming outside or what? You can’t gossip all day” He chuckles, knowing exactly what you two were doing 
“Yeah we’re coming spaceman” She waves her hand for him to go away and turns back to you with a cheeky smile. “It’s like nothing’s changed but it has. hasn’t it?” She asks you.
“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean Don” You smile softly at her.
“Now help me get all this food outside you!” She laughs, handing you with a tray of food Sylvia has cooked for everyone. You follow her lead and take the last bits outside. Then finding your place next to The Doctor on the outdoor couch at the table. He puts his arm around your shoulder to pull you close to him as he mid telling a story to Mel, Rose, Sylvia and Shaun. You notice there is a spot missing at the table, another one occupied for Wilf, Donna’s beloved grandfather. You wonder who it is. Then someone makes there way through the kitchen and into the backyard.
It’s Dr Martha Jones. The other doctor you had befriended a long time ago on your travels with The Doctor. “Sorry I’m late everyone! The traffic was awful” She spoke rushing in to give everyone a hug, The smile already on your face grew more and she hugged you and sat down opposite you.
Your sunny afternoon was filled with joy and happy memories of everyone together. You and Martha reminiscing about the time you got separated from Donna and The Doctor, nearly ending up in a war with The Hath but instead befriending an injured Hath then loosing them. 
After a while, The Doctor whisked you away back to your house, it wasn’t long before he pushed you up against your front door and smashing his lips onto yours. Your arms at the back of his neck, tangling in his hair. You swear, every time you kiss The Doctor, it gets better than the last time. This time it was magic. However, the stolen kisses you had in Donna’s kitchen were something that is told in history books. 
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beelmons · 1 year
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If every book is a world, an Amazon Kindle is an entire galaxy
Genre: Fluff Pairing: Spencer Reid x BAU!Fem!Reader CW: Pre-established relationship Summary: Your boyfriend, Spencer, is a self-proclaimed technophobe. You offer a solution to all the books he often carries on his back during trips, an Amazon Kindle, perhaps you can make him grow fond of it?
—This is from all of us. Happy Birthday, Reid. —Hotch said as he handed him a medium-sized, rectangular box.
Spencer was happily, although a bit uncomfortably, sitting on his desk, recently blown candles on top of a chocolate cake, mind you with sprinkles on it. He was not big on birthdays, but ever since you joined the BAU you made sure no one would ever forget the special day again, a couple decades ago this world was blessed with the kind and loving existence of Spencer Reid, that was something worth celebrating in your books.
He took a second to thank everyone with a hug. For someone afraid of germs, he tended to get pretty touchy when he was feeling sentimental. The people around him cheered for the box to be opened, and with shyness in his eyes he complied to their desires.
—No way! —he excitedly let out—First edition “The Adventures of Tom Swayer”? Where did you even find this?
—The internet can be your friend, my friend. —Penelope palmed at his shoulder affectionately.
—Thank you, thank you so much, all of you, I know for a fact this couldn’t have been cheap. —his voice seemed to tremble a little.
—I did have to tap into my retirement account, but that smile was worth it, kid. —Rossi took a second to pat Spencer’s face, in that very Italian-dad-way that he always did.
—Yeah, my kids didn’t need college anyway, they have a very smart godfather. —JJ contributed.
There was an exchange of glances between the two older men in the office, shortly they excused themselves and wished for the party to continue merrily; in a blink they were shunned inside the Unit Chief’s office. The rest of the team remained by Reid’s desk; chatting, laughing, and eating the cake you had ordered earlier in the morning. As the piles of pending paperwork for past cases stared back at the cheery group, the people slowly began to scatter back to their desks, until it was only Garcia, Reid, and you cleaning up the desk area. Spencer didn’t like messy work spaces after all.
—I really hope you enjoyed your little party, boy genius. —Penelope said as she threw away the last of the disposable plates.
—I did, and thank you, once again, for everything. —he answered as his sight travelled from Penelope to you repeatedly.
—Don’t even mention it. —you said, your arms crossing over your chest. For a second, your eyes met, and you felt your heart skip a bit at the way they shined when you were reflected in them.
—So…—the blonde once again interrupted with a suggestive tone in her voice— I want to see the gift your girlfriend is gonna give you.
—Penelope, once again, I think it’s weird when you talk about me in third person while I’m standing right here. —you reproached her, and you saw Spencer chuckle shyly.
—Please, please, I just love couple gifts, they are always so intimate and personal, and you guys know I feed from your happiness, it’s like it recharges me.
—She gave me my gift last night when the clock struck midnight. She wanted to be the very first to congratulate me. —Spencer said in attempt to diffuse her interest.
—Ooh, spicy, I like your style.
—Not that! —you yelled with a laugh— I got him a night lamp in the shape of a Tardis, like the one from Dr. Who.
—It was a great gift. I really love it. —he kept his eyes fixed on you, a small smile drawn on his face.
—Really? —Penelope cocked an eyebrow—I mean, I don’t mean to pry, and that’s an awesome gift, but you guys have been together for a year, I would have expected whips or cuffs to be given away by now.
Spencer broke into an awkward laugh, and you mimicked him. It’s not like those things hadn’t been given as presents before, but it was more of a valentine’s day or anniversary type of gifts. For birthdays, you had always liked to do simple but meaningful things, to buy that one product that’s constantly in your cart, but you never buy because “it’s too silly”, or that useless kitchenware that will only take up space, but it’s so cute it would make you insanely happy, or that book that you know is going to be tacky and doesn’t feel “worth the money” but you still so desperately want, those are the kinds of gifts you liked giving each other, something that reminded you that you paid attention to even the smallest things, that you loved even the smallest things.
—Actually, —you began to explain— I do have a little extra something.
Both of your friends’ eyes opened in surprise as they looked at you expectantly. You took a moment to go through your bag and pulled a rectangular, slim black object. You let out a “Ta-dah!” sound as you showed the little gadget to them. It lingered on Spencer’s fingers for a second as he inspected it, but the moment Penelope realized what it was, her hands quickly snatched it away.
—You got an Amazon Kindle?! —she exclaimed with excitement.
—What’s an Amazon Kindle? —Reid asked in confusion.
—Oh, boy wonder, it’s only the future of reading, you see, in this tiny rectangle you can have millions of books altogether, and the screen even looks like real paper, but it’s all digital. This is a super cool and great gift! —she answered as she began to explore the interface of the tablet.
You watched with a smile at the glowing woman in front of you, she looked like a child being handed a new toy. The candid moment, however, did not last very long, couple of minutes later everyone was gathered in the briefing room with a new case in hand. As you broke up the gathering you had, Spencer took the reading gadget and slid it inside his leather bag for safekeeping.
Once the overall details of the case were explained by the round table, the team picked the “wheels up in 30” routine, grabbing go-bags, calling loved ones to announce that they were going away, and picking their favorite spot on the plane. The case took you all the way to the west coast, which was always one of the most difficult trips to take, long and paralyzing, since there was not much you could do before arriving at the hosting precinct. The second briefing, and a small exchange of theories and ideas, took place during the first hour of the trip, but with plenty to go, everyone decided to scatter once again.
Ever since the two of you started dating, you would often sit together during flights, whether it was on the couch or by the table, and when you wanted to talk more privately you would choose the dual seats that were facing each other. Spencer immediately took one of the individual face-to-face chairs, and you went over to discuss a couple topics with Morgan before you headed to make your boyfriend some company. You caught a glimpse of him at the end of the jet with a book in his hand, which reminded you that you had a fair amount of time to kill, and no entertainment in hand.
—Hey. —you said as you took the seat in front of him.
—Hey. —he replied, his book being lowered to pay you the corresponding attention.
—Where’s the Kindle tablet?
There was a small trace of sadness on your boyfriend’s face as you asked that question, and it took you aback. He reached for his bag and pulled out the digital reader, laying it on the table that was across him.
—Hey, uhm, I don’t want to seem ungrateful… —he started to explain and earned a confused expression from you—It’s a very thoughtful gift, and I appreciate it, but I really prefer reading in an analog format. I can pay you back for it, if you want.
You let out a quiet laugh at how cute he was being, and quickly your hand darted out to grab his.
—Spence, babe, relax. You truly are adorable. —you never used pet names when the team was around, but in that moment, everyone else had disappeared from the phase of the earth.
—I am? —even though he reciprocated the grasp, his face showed pure confusion.
—I know you, Spencer. You only have an iPhone because the bureau forced you to. With all the ruckus of the new case I didn’t have time to explain. I got the Kindle for myself, and a subscription to Kindle Unlimited, the real surprise was that I also took the time to look up some of your favorite authors, and I got their e-books downloaded to the Kindle reader. I know you always have a stash of books for trips, this is just in case you run out. I got your back, library rat.
You saw as his face lit up, his lips drew into a crescent, and his hand offered a reassuring squeeze on yours.
—I love you. —he muttered.
—Love you too, Dr. Reid. —you replied with a smile of your own and settled back for a comfy ride with your trustworthy digital reader.
The case had dragged itself long, almost a week you spent in California until you could apprehend the UnSub, and needless to say you were getting tired of not sleeping on your own bed. By the time the case was wrapped up, you couldn’t wait to get home, take a hot bath, and sleep for hopefully three days straight, although in your line of work you knew it wasn’t possible.
On the plane back, you took the couch and Spencer came along. He had devoured his current stash of books through out the week, and now was left with nothing but his own mind to distract himself from the never ending flight. He was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with you, and you could see the way he kept peeking at the paper-like screen on your hands.
—What are you reading? —he asked curiously.
—The hunger games: Catching fire.
—I thought you had that in your apartment.
—I do, but I randomly felt like reading it again, and I happen to have it on here.
He let out a hum in agreement and you felt him slouch next to you, his head landing on your shoulder almost immediately. A few minutes went by, he continued to shuffle every once in a while, and you could tell, you could tell he was unable to fall asleep. His eyes continued to open from time to time, taking in glances of whatever page you were reading.
—So, she is trying to overthrow the government alone? —he asks quietly, his head still on your shoulder.
—Not really, the rebellion was just waiting for a token hero to serve as emblem of faith, but it had existed long before that. —you answered, your eyes still glued to the small tablet.
—It doesn’t make sense, her acts of defiance would have been put down faster by such an efficient government. Can you move to the next page?
At his request, you turned your head down to questioningly cock an eyebrow at him, a little bit of offense written on your face.
—Do you want to read it instead?
—No, it’s alright. —he said with a bit of embarrassment as he straightened himself instead—I would have to read the first book to make sense of it all.
—Oh, you mean… —as if you had magically snapped your fingers, you clicked your way through the interface of the tablet to land on the book you had just mentioned and, in a blink, you had the prologue already open; your hand held the device loosely before Spencer, offering for him to grab it —this one?
—The digital versions kind of slow me... —he began to exclaim in attempt to excuse himself.
—Slow you down? —you interrupted—Come on, genius, it’s the hunger games, not everything has to be read at a 20,000 words per minute speed. Just enjoy it, or mock its inaccuracies, or even laugh at its ridiculousness, but entertain yourself. When you get home, you wash your hands from the filthy metadata, and go back to your beloved physical books.
With a light huff he took the digital reader from your hands and began to read through the words on it. You took advantage of his focus to slide yourself beneath the arm next to yours, allowing it to rest on your shoulders, and let your head fall against the side of his chest; if you weren’t going to read about some silly divergent romance, might as well take a nap until you got home. He didn’t impose any resistance, JJ had mentioned once how he went to his own little world when he read, and apparently that fact wasn’t affected by the genre of the book he was reading. Your free arm took the liberty to dart across his stomach, and you were all set to fall into a slumber.
Three hours went by, and there were still a couple more to go, when Spencer finished the first book. To his surprise, his sight wasn’t strained, and even if, certainly, the read was slower than his usual speed, due to having to change the page more often since there were less words per page, it wasn’t that much different from reading a common book.
—Well, well, so all it took was a girl to turn you into inspector gadget, huh? —Morgan teased as he was making his way towards the bathroom.
—I still prefer holding actual pages, but it does come in pretty handy. —he turned quickly to catch a glimpse of your sleeping figure and a dumbfounded smile appeared on his face, one that Derek recognized right away—It amazes me how she knows I’ll like things before I even know I’ll like them.
—Yeah, man, that’s what girlfriends do. —he chuckled in an almost mutter— I take it it’s going well between you two?
—Yeah. It’s going really well. —he felt you slightly shudder beneath his limb—Hey, Morgan, can you hand me one of the blankets? I think she’s cold and I don’t want to wake her.
His friend complied to the instruction as he pulled the fabric from one of the random empty seats behind him. He stayed to admire the way Spencer would use his only free hand to cover you up, part of the blanket landing on his lap as well. Morgan didn’t tell him about the way his eyes sparkled, or the content sigh that he let out as he admired your sleeping face, or the fool-in-love smile that he carried on that moment.
—Man, don’t let Hotch see you like this, he will write you up for inappropriate workplace behavior. Trust me. —Derek said as he got up to go back to his seat.
—Noted. Oh, and Derek, do you know how to change books on this thing? —he said in a rush as he noticed his friend’s intention, showing the kindle that was still in his hands—I kind of, uhm, want to know what happens in Catching Fire.
The muscular man couldn’t help but to laugh out of adoration, the boy genius had that effect in almost anyone who he met, it was what caught your attention in the first place; Morgan tapped on the screen a couple of times and opened the prologue to the second book, handing it to Spencer right after.
When you were alone yet again, and as he skimmed through the pages of the introduction, he felt something in his chest, like a glowing light that both pressed it down and made it feel like levitating at the same time. The hand that was around you travelled to your head, and in your sleep you couldn’t feel the way his lips pressed against the top of your hair in a chaste kiss. The love of his life in one hand, and a good book in the other, or well, a good book-ish, that’s all he needed to feel whole. If it helped him hold you as he read, perhaps this gadget wasn’t that bad.
After that day, you bought him his own Kindle, and he never left home without it.
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fancoloredglasses · 3 months
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The Day of the Doctor (They couldn't convince Paul McGann to return?), Part 1
[All images are owned by the BBC. Please don’t sue or EXTERMINATE! me]
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(Thanks to BBC)
Now, I’m not saying the only reason I reviewed New Who was so I could review Day of the Doctor. After all, there are a LOT of “iconic” episodes. I could rattle off a half dozen between the ninth and eleventh Doctors’ tenures alone! (The introductions of the Weeping Angels, the Silence, Jack Harkness, and River Song, the re-introductions of the Daleks and the Master, the regeneration episodes…) However, getting a chance to revisit this milestone event during the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who is a pretty big incentive!
The original plan was to get the three Doctors from the current series together for this historic event. There was only one small issue: Christopher Eccelston’s departure was due to tensions between Eccelston and then-showrunner Russel T. Davies, and the BBC announcing his departure before the season ended, claiming he was “tired” rather than the actual reason. While Davies was replaced by Steven Moffat, the BBC would not apologize for the way his departure was handled (additionally, he’s not a fan of stories that feature multiple Doctors, as he sees them as nothing more than ratings grabs (he’s not wrong, since everyone tunes in to see their “favorite” Doctor again)) Therefore, he refused to return. This necessitated making a slight retcon in the Doctor’s history.
Now, a bit of history…
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The Doctor is in his eleventh incarnation (played by Matt Smith) and carries the weight of the universe on his shoulders, often coming across as weary of his 1200 year journey.
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His companion is Clara Oswald, a former nanny who appeared in multiple time periods. She began traveling with the Doctor to unravel how this was possible. Following these events, she has (for now) returned to Earth.
Now, on with the show! If you would like to watch the episode, it’s available through your favorite paywall.
We open with Clara teaching a class when one of the staff comes in and says she has a phone call from her Doctor. With that, Clara climbs on her motorcycle and rushes off.
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…and makes a hell of an entrance into the TARDIS. However, her happy reunion with the Doctor is short-lived as the TARDIS suddenly takes off!
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…though not under its own power. A helicopter has TARDIS-jacked the Doctor and Clara!
Meanwhile at the Tower of London (the current HQ for UNIT)…
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The commander of UNIT, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and her aide Petronella Osgood (two callbacks in one shot! Kate is the Brigadier’s daughter, and…well, Osgood’s scarf could only be inspired by one person!) get a phone call from the Doctor. She had ordered the retrieval of the TARDIS, but didn’t know he was inside (so she was planning on hijacking the TARDIS and making him come to her then?)
The Doctor then falls from the TARDIS and is hanging on for dear life as the opening credits roll! He eventually finds his way to solid ground.
It turns out Kate was acting on orders from Queen Elizabeth…the First! The Doctor and Clara enter the National Gallery to get to the bottom of this as the credits wrap up.
After a brief explanation of UNIT (and the fact that the Doctor technically is still their Chief Scientific Advisor), the Doctor and Clara are brought to…
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…a painting of Gallifrey during the last days of the Time War (known as “No More” or “Gallifrey Falls”). Now how did that get there? And how did Queen Elizabeth I know about it? And how is an oil painting in 3D?! (For that last question: “Because Time Lords”, naturally) This gives the Doctor a flashback about the one incarnation he’s tried to forget…
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(Thanks to Sub2RichieReviews)
And with the Time Lord version of Skynet, the Doctor set out to destroy the Daleks, the Time Lords, and Gallifrey.
[A quick note on the new ninth incarnation of the Doctor (what is now known as the “War Doctor”), played by John Hurt (who is best known for having a xenomorph burst from his chest): when Eccelston refused to return, the writers had to make a quick rewrite to the script and Who lore. Eccelston has since said he thinks the finisjed product works better than the script he was originally presented with…so there’s that at least. However, that technically means that Eccelston’s, Tennant’s, and Smith’s Doctors should be one higher in the count, though fans retain the original numberings. Isn’t retconning fun?]
However, once the Doctor found a suitable location to commit two counts of genocide…
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…he hears a noise outside and goes to investigate (why? There might be a Dalek out there!) when he returns, he finds…
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The Moment has awakened and has a holographic interface only he can interact with (played by Billie Piper, who was also Rose Tyler) and calls itself…
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[FUN FACT: At the end of the ninth Doctor’s tenure, Rose was possessed by the spirit of the TARDIS and referred to herself as “Bad Wolf”]
The Moment (sorry, not calling her Rose or Bad Wolf) tries to talk the Doctor out of using her to end the Time War with finality, saying that there will be consequences. The Doctor is not expecting to live past this act.
The Moment tells him he would have to live with what he had done. One day he will count the innocent children who will burn alongside the Daleks and the Time Lords. The Moment wants the Doctor to see what that will turn him into.
So, the Moment opened a portal and what should come through?
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Yep, a fez. Isn’t that cool?
With that, the flashback ends and we’re back in the National Gallery. The Doctor reads the letter from over five centuries ago, that names him curator of the gallery under the National Archives, which holds a great danger to England. Kate brings them to the “Under-Gallery”.
As they leave, one of the UNIT soldiers gets a phone call. He looks confused at who’s on the other side and the orders he’s given.
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Meanwhile, in the Under-Gallery, the Doctor sees a painting of Elizabeth I and a familiar-looking man next to her.
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This triggers another flashback…
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…in which he romanced Queen Elizabeth. Careful Doctor, “Mad Queen Bess” was known to decapitate those who fell out of favor with her!
As it turns out, the proposal was a ploy by the Doctor, who believed “Elizabeth” wasn’t who she said she was, accusing her of being a Zygon!
 [FUN FACT: Zygons made their debut in the fourth Doctor’s tenure, never to be seen again until now.]
The Doctor then insulted “Elizabeth” about how ugly the Zygons are. Just one issue…
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Elizabeth wasn’t the Zygon. Her horse was! Oops…
The Doctor tells his new fiancée (apparently) to run while he deals with the Zygon. Unfortunately…
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Hooboy…
Then a portal similar to the one the Moment created opened above the trio and what should pop out?
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Okay then…
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With that, the flashback ends and they enter the Under-Gallery proper, where Elizabeth I kept art she deemed dangerous. As they walk, the Doctor sees they’re walking through “stone dust” (most would call that “sand”) He then tells Osgood to analyze it, since why would there be sand stone dust on a gallery floor? As they walk through the displays, the Doctor sees a fez on display and takes it (after all, fezzes are cool!)
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With that, we get to the crux of why UNIT hijacked the TARDIS to summon the Doctor (remember that?)
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(Thanks to Doctor Who)
Kate calls one of her subordinates to look up some report from the Brigadier’s era
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…as an oddly shaped shadow looms.
Meanwhile, the Doctor argues with himself about what to do about the portal when…
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The Doctors are NOT happy to see the Doctor’s appearance. The Doctor tells the other two he’s looking for the Doctor, as these two goofs couldn’t possibly be him!
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Well, this is awkward…
Even more awkward, several royal guards surround the Doctors and demand to know which is the Doctor, as the Queen is not herself.
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Back at the National Galley, Clara figures out that there are 3 Doctors on the other side of the portal.
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Indeed there is!
The Doctor claims Clara is a witch and tells them to leave before she gets angry.
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Then Elizabeth (or is it “Elizabeth”?) shows up.
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Whoops! The Doctor (the current one) demands to be locked in the Tower along with the other Doctors. In the present, Kate drags Clara away upon hearing that.
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Once the Doctors are locked in a single cell in the Tower, the Doctor (the current one) begins carving something into a column while the War Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to scan the door. Then the Tenth (no, I’m not calling him the “eleventh”, deal!) Doctor asks the important question about their “reunion”…
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Meanwhile back at the National Gallery, Osgood finds of the “stone dust” was ordinary marble and granite; the type of stone used in statues. Suddenly, she realizes the figures in the paintings smashed the statues.
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With that, the tarps covering the “statues” are pulled aside and the Zygons beneath attack! Osgood’s aide is killed as she cowers in the corner. Then a Zygon approaches and changes form into…
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However, Osgood manages to trip “Osgood” on “her” scarf and escapes.
Meanwhile, in the Tower of London, home to UNIT’s Black Archive (a vault that’s so secure it’s TARDIS-proofed and the staff have their memories erased daily. That’s some MIB-level shit right there!), Kate reveals to Clara a time vortex manipulator.
The Doctor, naturally, knows UNIT has it, but kept the activation code to himself to keep it from being misused (that explains what he’s inscribing on that column) One of Kate’s people finds the inscription and sends it, allowing Kate to activate the device (you of course know he’s going to change the code when he returns, right?)
Then Osgood and her assistant enter the Black Archive, which raises a few questions from Clara. Kate decides to answer them.
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…or should I say “Kate”.
Unfortunately for the Zygons, Clara grabs the device and inputs the code from Kate’s phone, escaping into the past.
WILL Clara save the Doctor from the Zygons?
WILL the Doctor save the Earth from the Zygons?
WILL The War Doctor die by a Xenomorph to the chest?
These questions and more will be answered in the conclusion of this review!
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multifandomfanficss · 3 years
Text
Perfect
Doctor x Reader (Platonic!Jack x Reader)
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Prompt: When on an adventure with the Doctor and Jack the reader is attacked by an alien called a Psyfon, a race with psychic abilities who feed off of emotions. The reader gets stuck in their perfect dream realm and the Doctor has to save them before they die in there.
Warnings: Dead family members.
A/N: Pretty much any Doctor can be used, but I mostly thought of 10 and 11 while writing it. The aliens were inspired by the Djinn from Supernatural. I was also inspired by Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest a little bit so if you’re a fan of the main series you should totally check that out. Also please let me know if I made an error in pronouns. I tried to make the reader gender neutral so everyone could relate. 
You had been traveling with the Doctor for a while now and had run into Jack not long after you met him. When you first met Jack, an old friend of the Doctor’s, you didn’t believe him when he said he had known the Doctor for over a century. Judging by his earthly appearance and his age there was no way this could be true, but after watching him die you quickly learned of his immortality. 
You met the Doctor when he saved you from the Cybermen. Sadly he couldn’t save your family from such a terrible fate, but he got you out just in time. Ever since then they had been your biggest fear. Jack and the Doctor had lived for so long they both knew what it was like to lose the people they cared for most...nobody knew better than the Doctor. They helped you get through the pain that came after such a big loss. The Doctor would often hear crying coming from your room during your early nights on the TARDIS when he sat up late in the console room and he would be at your side in seconds to comfort you. He was always there for you no matter what. You wouldn’t have gotten to this point without him. By now the nightmares had gone away, mostly, and the scars had stopped bleeding, but they were still there. They would always be there. This history was a part of you forever, your history, and you were just lucky enough to have the Doctor in it. If you’re being completely honest with yourself you had grown a little bit of a crush on the Doctor. I mean who wouldn’t? He’s the Doctor. You loved him, but you would never tell him. You were happy living with his ignorance. Life was better in the bliss of your friendship. 
It had been just a normal adventure with your two best friends, Jack and the Doctor, but then again nothing was ever really normal with them. You were separated from your boys as your ran down a long dark corridor. Your shoes slapped against the cold, hard pavement as you rounded the corner. When you looked behind you there seemed to be nothing chasing you anymore. You stopped to catch your breath. 
The three of you had been investigating a series of psychic attacks that were leaving people brain dead and full of a strange blue goo. You weren’t sure what kind of alien could do such a thing, but you knew you had to find out. 
“(Y/N)?!” I hear Jack yell in a hushed tone. His voice echos throughout the empty building. You turn to look for him when you start to hear ringing in your ears and a giant pounding in your head. You feel your eyes close as your body hits the ground. 
THIRD PERSON POV
Jack stood next to (Y/N)’s body with his gun aimed at the monster while the Doctor crouched down to check their pulse. 
“You better hope they’re still alive!” Jack said as he shoved his big gun in the monster’s face. Usually the Doctor would object to pointing guns at people, but he was so worried about (Y/N) he didn’t have time to care about Jack’s manners. 
“What did you do to them?!” The Doctor asks standing up to look at the alien. They were from a species called Psyfons, a group of aliens who feed off the emotions of other people. 
“Don’t worry, they’re only sleeping,” the alien slurred. 
“For now,” they added. Jack hit the alien with the butt of his gun and knocked them out. The Doctor gave him a disapproving look.
“You should be happy. Knocking them out was the least I could do” Jack joked. The Doctor rolled his eyes and dropped down to (Y/N)‘s body again. Jack joined him this time. They were sweating. He placed his hand over their forehead.
“They’re burning up” Jack stated the obvious. 
“Yes, I know I-I I have to do-do this thing-“ The Doctor starts stuttering. 
“Then do it!” Jack cuts him. 
“But I can’t! I swore I’d never do it again! Not since-“ He started to get a little choked up.
“Since what?!” Jack questioned. 
“Not since Donna” The Doctor finished sadly. Jack put a hand on the Doctor’s shoulder. 
“It’s the only way to save them” Jack told him.
“It was the only way to save her too” The Doctor says sadly.
“Maybe it’ll be different this time” Jack suggests.
“We don’t know that” The Doctor says coldly as he puts his hands to (Y/N)’s head and enter’s their mind. 
(Y/N)’S POV
You wake up laying in the grass in front of your old house. You hear the sound of birds and the sun is just a little too bright for comfort, but it’s home. You take a deep breath of the fresh air. You smile, but you’re confused. You look over to see the Doctor standing in the TARDIS door. Jack is nowhere to be seen. 
“Where’s Jack?” You ask. 
“Oh, popped off to see his friends at Torchwood, I suppose” The Doctor tells you. You nod as you look back to your house. 
“And we’re home because...” You wonder.
“The Psyfon knocked you out. I figured this would be a nice, safe place to rest for a while” He reminds you. 
“And I couldn’t just rest in the TARDIS?” You ask.
“I thought this would be a nice surprise” He says. 
“What year is it?” You ask. You doubt he would be able to bring you to a time period where your family is alive, but it never hurts to ask. 
“2021” He answers.
“So they’re not here” you say sadly.
“Who’s not here?” He asks.
“My family” You say becoming more sad, but more confused by the second. How could he just forget like that? You know he’s lived for a long time, but surely he wouldn’t forget something this important to you. Would he? He gives you a confused look.
“Doctor, my family is d-“ You’re cut off by the sound of a door opening. 
“You didn’t tell us you were coming!” You hear a voice say. You stop dead in your tracks and you go white. It can’t be. 
“Mom?” You say as you turn around to see her. You run to her and engulf her in a giant hug. 
“Woah, what’s that for?” Your mother asks delighted, as you practically knock her down. 
“I just missed you. That’s all” You say as you try to hold back your tears. 
“Where is everybody?” You ask, as it suddenly dawns on you that your family is alive. 
“Your father went to go pick up your brother and sister from school” She informs you. The Doctor comes up behind you and takes your hand. He squeezes it, giving you a big smile. He is an impossible man, but you never knew he could do something like this for you. 
“Why don’t you two come in? It’s almost time for tea” Your mother invites you in. You gladly accept, of course. You watch your mother go into the kitchen as you pull the Doctor aside into the living room and hug him tightly. 
“Thank you” You tell him. That’s when you start to let go of a few tears. 
“I figured it was time to go home” He says happily. The hug lingers a little longer than usual. He just holds you. Then he places a quick kiss to your cheek, just missing your lips. Your face goes red. This is completely out of character for your relationship with the Doctor. Sure you had always wanted to be something more, but he didn’t need to know that. You didn’t want your relationship with him to change. You figure it’s best to just dance around the subject. You pull away and clear your throat. 
“So, um...how did you do it?” You ask.
“Do what?” He asks looking lovingly into your eyes. 
“Bring my family back?” You ask with a slight chuckle.
“I didn’t” He says simply. That’s when your head begins to ring again. 
“Let me in, (Y/N). That’s it.” You hear the Doctor’s voice, but his lips aren’t moving. Suddenly there is a light and the Doctor shifts uncomfortably. He cracks his neck and stretches out his arms. 
“Good thing there was a body here for me to jump into or else that could have been disastrous” He comments. You give him a confused look. 
“Oh, yes! I’m sorry (Y/N), but none of this is real” He says plainly. 
“What?” You ask. This all certainly looks and feels real. The sound of a kettle whistle comes from the kitchen. The Doctor sniffs the air. 
“Is that tea?” He asks. 
“Tea’s ready!” Your mom calls from the kitchen. 
“Doctor, you need to tell me what’s going on right now” You demand. He looks into the kitchen and makes a face.
“The Psyfon. It put you in a dream state so it could feed off your energy and emotions. You’re dying in the real world. Turning to goo” He held out the last word as he made a face of disgust and interest. He gave you a sad look as he started to put the pieces together, of where you were and who you were with. You started to feel your legs give out from underneath you. The Doctor guided you to a chair. 
“I want to stay” You say numbly. 
“(Y/N), none of this is real” He starts.
“I don’t care. I want to stay” You repeat. 
“You’ll die in here” He begins. 
“Time works differently in dreams. I could easily spend my whole life here-“ You try to rationalize it.
“You’ll never see me again” The Doctor tries. 
“There’s a version of you here-“ You try, but are cut off again. He crouches down to your level and takes hold of your hands. 
“(Y/N), none of this is real. It will never be real. Your pain balances out your beauty. There wouldn’t be one without the other and that’s what makes you human and you are SO human. This is all in your head. You will be alone in here forever. Please just come home with me. There are people there who will miss you. Come back with me, back to the TARDIS, please!” He results to begging as a last ditch effort. 
“How can I go back when everything is so perfect here? I’m perfect here. I’m not a mess. I can just be me” You start to cry. 
“You’re always perfect to me and that little bit of mess makes you human. It doesn’t lessen your beauty or your creativity or your kindness. It just adds to who you are as a person” He says, wiping away a tear.
“Please. Come home with me” He begs. You nod in response as he gives your hands a squeeze. He gives you a sad smile. You stand together and you hear the doorbell ring. 
“That must be your father. He forgot his keys again” Your mother laughs as she walks to the door. The door opens and the Doctor pushes himself in front of your as three Cybermen crash through the door. 
“DELETE” One yells, as it kills your mother. 
“NO” You scream, as the Doctor tries to keep you from running towards her.
“She isn’t real! Come on!” He yells over the sound of pounding Cybermen feet as he pulls you out the back way to the garden.
“Where’s the TARDIS?” He asks. 
“It’s on the other side of the house!” You say as you pull him around the building. You lay your eyes on the beautiful blue box as the Doctor shoves his key inside. 
“YOU WILL BE UPGRADED” The Cybermen shout. Once unlocked, you push your way through the doors to find a hollow Police Box. 
“Why is this happening?!” You cry. The Doctor places his hands on your shoulders. 
“The dream is turning into a nightmare to try to keep you here. (Y/N), come on. You have to think. What’s keeping you here?” He asks.
“My family is dead!” You cry.
“Yes, something else” He tries to think. You look at his thinking face. His beautiful thinking face and it strikes you. 
“I’m in love with you” You blurt out.
“What?!” He looks back at you with a confused look. 
“The version of you here. I think he felt the same way” You give him an embarrassed look. He lets go of a big breath. 
“Well...” He starts as he tilts his head. 
“I suppose if admitting the way I feel gets us out of here then the real me doesn’t feel very different” He finishes quickly. 
“Wait, what?!” You respond. He gives you his classic Doctor smile before the Cybermen fade. Everything fades. The world goes black. 
You wake up crying with a pounding headache in your bed in the TARDIS. The Doctor rushes in just like old times. 
“It’s okay. I’m here” The Doctor tells you as he sits on your bed and wraps his arms around you. 
“I just had the most insane dream” You start to tell him. 
“Well...” His voice fades. 
“Doctor, was that real?” You ask him. He pulls back to look at you. 
“In a sense, yes” He goes on to explain the effects the Psyfon had on you and how he went into your mind to save you. He explains how you were unconscious when you came out of the dream state and that he brought you back to your room on the TARDIS to rest.
“Where’s Jack?” You ask.
“He’s bringing the Psyfon to the Shadow Proclamation for me where they will be tried for their psychological attacks. They won’t hurt anyone anymore” He promises. After you’ve calmed down somewhat he gets up to leave the room. 
“You should get some rest” He says opening the door. 
“Wait! Doctor, do you think maybe you could stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?” You ask. 
“Of course” He responds as he awkwardly climbs into your bed and wraps his arms around you. You almost forget about your confessions until he kisses you on the cheek. 
“Goodnight, (Y/N)” He says sweetly.
“Goodnight, Doctor” You say as you drift off to sleep to the sound of his dual heartbeats. 
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isagrimorie · 3 years
Text
[initial reactions] Doctor Who 13x05 - Chapter 5: Survivors of the Flux
In bullet form now since this is very much set-up:
We’re right about the old lady being Tecteun, everyone give yourselves high fives! Also a lot of it is down to how the actress portrayed the kind of dismissive Mom Energy at Thirteen. What a bitch.
I still think the Doctor is from Gallifrey, formed in a bootstrap paradox. A modern Gallifreyan meeting past!Gallifreyan.
Everyone who thought that Division grew more from Time Lord purview (also confirming Tecteun is the Third Founder), give yourselves a pat on the back. Everyone who thought that Division meant the division between Space Time. ANOTHER ROUND!
THAT HOLO WITH YAZ. (Seriously, Chibnall is an EU Star Wars fan, like its not even speculation at this point). BUT ALSO I MISS YOU.
Also, there’s always been a streak of hardlined pragmatism running through Yaz, ever since Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos. She was prepared to sacrifice one of the Ux to save the Earth, in Haunting of Villa Diodati she was also conspicuously silent when Ryan gently broached letting that, Shelley die.
KATE STEWART. I knew, I knew Chibnall writes the Best Kate Stewart. Of course she would be leading the Human Resistance. OF COURSE SHE WOULD GO UNDERGROUND TO RUN A TEAM. I AM VINDICATED.
Look, I’m just gonna call the Grand Serpent as Brax. He clearly recognized the TARDIS. Also, no wonder the Brigadier was unfazed about the Third Doctor’s TARDIS, because they already have one in Storage. LOL.
It seems the TARDIS is still rebooting, when the Doctor says it takes awhile... she meant it takes awhile. But also, I suspect we might get the hearing TARDIS engines means Hope Moment.
DI! I love her and she’s gonna punch Azure when she meets Azure again, I’m so happy she’s not just gonna be a damsel but actively looking for a way to escape and fight back.
INDIANA JONES!YAZ. Also, I love that she’s unsure about taking the Pot.
FETCH YOUR HUMAN.
See, this is what happens if you blow up Sontaran fleet, they’re gonna be sure to come back even more petty and attack Earth.
THIRTEEN AND THE ANGEL FIELD. I love her.
THE HOUSE.
Tecteun being an absolute bastard, and my GOD the entitlement she really does think she transcends Time Lords now but she comes from that society. Tecteun and Rassilon are really a match made in BASTARDY and there’s poor Omega in the corner.
And once again, my theory about the Chameleon arc made for the Doctor is bearing fruit. Tecteun and Rassilon definitely invented that to control the Doctor because the Doctor keeps running away, keeps trying to do good. Keeps making a choice to be better than the life they were given, better than the society they were raised in.
I loved how angry and defiant Thirteen was with Tecteun. Thirteen expecting her ‘mother’ to kill her in the end even as Tecteun is supposedly offering her the universe. People keep offering the Doctor the universe/s but all they ever want is to travel and experience its wonders.
Swarm killing Tecteun in revenge to what happened to him and Azure. That was effectively fast, I have to think how I feel about that.
Tecteun focusing on Earth because she knew the Doctor loved her Earth a lot. An asshole from start to finish, just because the Doctor kept choosing Earth over her, over the Time Lords, over everything.
The Doctor was a foundling used and abused over and over again, but the Doctor chose in every life. And this started in this life with two teachers they kidnapped and found courage again to be better through the actions of the Humans they’ve associated with.
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swcetnight · 3 years
Text
It’s Definitely You || kth (m.) 1
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synopsis:
Working as a barista in NYC has its perks, but when your ultimate dream of being on the Broadway stage tends to come crumbling down, the only thing that raises your spirits is the comfort of a complete stranger… who seems to have known you for far longer than you thought.
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masterlist here
→ pairing: taehyung x barista!reader (also musical theatre performer cause I had to)
→ genre: fluff, angst, future smut | strangers(ish) to lovers… i won’t give the truth away... gonna have to read and find out for yourself ;))
-> warnings: self doubt, adorable plant names... there's really not many warnings for this chapter!
→ word count: 7,973
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authors note:
alrighty everyone... here we go! (i’m so nervous) this is the first chapter of this series (which it took me 50 years to figure out whether I wanted this to be a series or a two shot... lets just say that it's gonna be a long one, so I think that a series is the best way to go)! this story is really near and dear to my heart, so 1. I really hope you enjoy it and 2. I hope all of you know how hard it was to write this into words... my goodness. now, make sure you look for clues throughout this series... there's a secret in here that won't be revealed for a while ;)) but if any of you have ideas, please be sure to send an ask while we wait to find out together! anyways, I hope you enjoy !!
authors thanks:
a HUGE thank you to @hantaev and @monvante for beta-reading and being so so supportive of me and this little (but not so little) story... y'all truly have no idea how helpful you've been and how thankful I am to be friends with both of you! forreal, y'all are the greatest and I'm sending you all my love!!
also, if you are enjoying this story, please don’t hesitate to send me an ask (on or off anon) and let me know your thoughts, feelings, theories, etc!! i would love to hear from all of you 🤍
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If time-travel existed, you would be on the first time machine and head back to 2 years ago. A time when you had a free schedule and were able to go out on Friday nights. A time when you felt confident in yourself and were raring to pursue theatre. A time when you didn't have this job (cause apparently, theatre is impossible to get into) that forces you awake at 4 in the morning for the opening shift.
You can't say you don't love your Barista job because you do. Still, when your alarm wakes you from the beautiful dream of performing on the big stage, you have to use everything within yourself to crawl out of your sheet cocoon… and that is unacceptable.
What's even more unacceptable is the fact that your co-worker, Jimin, hasn't arrived at the Academia Cafe yet. You have about 30 minutes to prepare for the morning peak; brew coffees, set up the bakery items, clear the boards "coffee of the day," etc. The problem is, it takes up all of the 30 allotted minutes— and you can't start prepping early because Jimin has the keys to the cafe.
You’ve worked at the Academia Cafe for about a year now, taking a break from your endless theatre audition schedule— since that was getting you absolutely nowhere. No matter how badly you want it, nothing seems to work. No matter how many times you practice, it never seems to be good enough. Let’s just say, you took this job at the cafe because you were over the repetitive let downs.
… But here you are, with a “Jimin being late” let down.
[To: Jimin ☕️] hey, you almost here? times ticking, keys!
You stuff your phone into your winter coat pocket, the brown material catching snowflakes as they fall gently from the cloudy sky. You love this weather; it's always been your favorite. When you were little, you used to pretend to be a dragon; running all over your front yard and releasing heavy breaths that chilled in the air and spread like smoke. You don't enjoy the cold, but the entire feel of winter has you cozying up in a blanket with hot cocoa and a good book… nothing could beat that.
A buzz in your pocket catches your attention.
[From: Jimin ☕️] Hey! Look up.
Your eyes immediately lift to see Jimin smiling a few feet away, shuffling through the snow as he drags the keys out of his pocket. He's sporting a heavy blue coat that reaches down to his knees — making his short stature appear even smaller — topped with a matching blue beanie. Despite his tardiness today, you’ve always been fond of Jimin. He's like a ray of sunshine, beaming through the skyscrapers of the city and making everyone around him happy just by flashing a single smile. Honestly, you wish you could sneak some of that happiness from him and lock it somewhere safe... so you can save it for a time when you need it most.
"Your timing is impeccable." He laughs, gently placing the keys into the front door lock. "You texted me right as I was rounding the corner."
"I'm telling you, Jimin; we're always on the same wavelength."  Smirking, you make your way through the doors of the cafe, greeted by the warmth that surrounds you like your sheet cocoon did this morning, but accompanied by the smell of fresh coffee. "Except for the fact that you, my friend, are late, so now we only have twenty-eight minutes until opening."
Old, rustic book pages litter the cafe's dark walls, executing the dark academia theme flawlessly. You have to give the interior designers a hand, what with the black stools and high dark wood counters etched with different story pages. You wonder if anyone took the time to read the stories that covered the cafe; maybe the stories moved them in a personal way. Maybe there was a reason why they read them, a part of the butterfly effect of their life.
With a quick survey of the main room, you shuffle into the back to put your belongings away. "You would think it would be less busy on the streets because of the snow," Jimin calls, already working on the first batch of light roast coffee. "But unfortunately for me, that was not the case, and I nearly lost my life multiple times on the way here because of how slick it is."
A laugh emits from your lips, echoing in the backroom as you throw your apron over your head.
You begin with date labeling all of the pastry items, placing them accordingly onto the pastry cart; croissants, muffins, scones, etc. Then, you move onto organizing syrups and setting toppings along the bar where drinks are made. Bar is your personal favorite position-- since you're able to make the drinks… Plus, you're so busy that your shift goes by way faster. The sooner you're done, the sooner you get to go home and sleep.
“All set?” Jimin questions when you finish setting the steaming pitchers next to the espresso machine, tossing the rag he used to wipe down tables into the sanitizer bin. You give him a nod, taking a quick once over of the bar. “Alright,” he claps, “let's do this.”
This morning runs like every Friday morning, busy and fast. The sounds of coffee glasses clinking and the calling of customer names at the hand-off station echoes through the air.
Ahhhh, the scenery in coffee shops; the quiet hush over the room as soft jazz plays over the speakers. It’s soothing, all encompassing, and extremely helpful for motivation… You used to go to a local cafe for homework when you were still in school.
You take a breath, relaxing against the back counter as you overhear a conversation a group of regulars are having. It’s the usual small talk: the weather, families, sharing pictures of recent events. Coming up with questions of the day for customers becomes easier after knowing their stories, so you subconsciously listen in often.
Because of this, you almost don't notice the man waiting at the register, wholly delved into the neighboring conversation— only looking over when you hear your name called.
"Y/n?"
You turn your head, catching eyes with the stranger behind the counter who holds his credit card ready. The first thing you notice is that he's young, probably around your age, wearing a brown turtleneck and white slacks. His eyes are dark, standing above his perfectly sculpted nose and lips. His hair is dark as well, forehead drowning within the wavy bangs that fall over his eyebrows as he takes you in. To be completely honest, he's probably the most handsome man you've had the pleasure of seeing… is that weird? You don’t know him… maybe that is weird.
The second thing you notice is that he looks completely anxious, hands grasping the edge of the counter like there's a thousand-foot drop below him. Why is he looking straight at you while doing that? Maybe you should call Jimin to take ove-
“Is it really you?” He questions, taking you aback.
"I-" You clear your throat, walking forward to meet him at the register, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
With an intake of breath, he releases the counter as he studies you. Was he… crying? You swear his eyes were not this bloodshot three seconds ago.
"You-" He pauses, taking another sharp breath and running a hand through his hair. If you thought he couldn't get more attractive, you were wrong. "Do you know me?"
Attractive? Yes. Psycho?...possibly.
You shake your head slightly, “I… I’m sorry. I don't-"
Wait… is he a regular? You swear you haven't seen him come into the cafe before. Shoot.. What if he is? The number one thing your boss has made perfectly clear: remember the regulars, so they come back and feel at home; recognized. Customer connection was the most important thing at the Academia Cafe… He's probably a regular.
“I’m so sorry, there're so many people that come to visit us and sometimes I forget the regulars!” You apologize. “That’s my fault… remind me of your name again?”
He's staring at you. Full-on staring, jaw slacked. Shifting uncomfortably in your keds, you eye beside you to see Jimin working away at a macchiato. You consider changing places, nearly walking over to him before the customer speaks again.
"It's- It's Taehyung."
You force a smile, nodding while he continues to stare at you. He seems a bit more hesitant, his eyes looking in different directions but ultimately falling back onto your own. Even if he tried, he couldn't hide the rosy color that spreads onto his cheeks. What was this guy's problem?
"Taehyung! Awesome, well, what can I get for you today?" You chirp, attempting to brighten up your increasing discomfort. He might have mistook you for someone else, you decide, jumping back into your customer service personality: kind and quick to the point.
Taehyung doesn't move, training his eyes on you. You've never had a man's undivided attention before, since boyfriends were never an option. When you were a teenager, you stayed home most of the time in your hometown, and the boys there were all just in it to take your pants off. You avoided them and never really caught their attention, so you can't help the uncomfortable blush that grows on your cheeks. It’s short lived though, your nerves dissolving as soon as you notice a single tear fall onto the front of his shirt.
Oh. Okay, he’s definitely crying.
"Sir..." You begin, leaning in closer to avoid drawing attention. "Is everything alright?"
"I…" The shake in his voice is evident as he puts his credit card back into his wallet, still refusing to break eye contact. “Excuse me." Without another word, he turns on his heel and rushes towards the exit, clocking a customer in the shoulder in his rush. He apologizes quickly, bowing to them before glancing behind to make eye contact with you once more.
You wish you could read minds, wondering what the hell is going through his brain… but you notice the tiniest gleam of a hopeful smile that hides on his lips.
And then he’s gone.
“I swear it was the strangest thing, Jimin.” You speak nervously, tugging at the strings of your apron and lifting it over your head. It had been busy all day, despite a quick thirty minute break when everyone had left and the cafe was suddenly a deserted island. You appreciated the busyness, it made your shift go by faster. Right now, all you wanted to do was go home, eat a fat bowl of icecream and distract yourself from the events of today with a movie. Thank God your shift was over.
“Maybe he thought you were someone else?” Jimin insists, taking a bite into the extra Blueberry Muffin you’d accidentally heated when you were distracted by the events that occurred earlier.
“Yeah? Well, I must be the spitting image because he was totally freaked out.”
“You never know, y/n. Or, maybe he just used that as an excuse to talk to you.” You could hear the smirk in his voice, throwing your rolled up apron at him harshly before you grab your belongings.
“Ha, ha, you’re hilarious. This guy looked like he had seen his ex… He was crying. I don’t think he was into me.”
“Maybe his eyes were watering from the cold wind?” He offers.
“Enough to cry actual tears?” You scoffed, “C’mon Jimin.”
He shrugs defensively, picking up his things so the two of you can head out a few minutes earlier than usual. Whenever the baristas have a chance to leave early, they take it. “If he comes back, then ask him: hey, dude, what’s your deal?”Jimin works his way through the cafe, throwing an excess chair upside down onto the table with the rest of them.
You hold your hand above your heart, which is still beating at a faster pace due to this discussion. Can hearts even beat this fast? This can’t be healthy… “Oh wow, you have such a way with words. That definitely won’t make him feel uncomfortable!”
Yes. Sarcasm coping mechanism.
“Y/n.” Jimin meets you at the door and puts his hands on your shoulders, making extra sure he has your attention. “Go home. Don’t think too much into it… He was probably high or something and mistook you for his ex that dumped him and now he’s moping through the city and getting into all sorts of trouble and he’ll forget that he even came here tomorrow morning. Okay?”
You nod slowly, exiting the cafe with Jimin on your tail. "Don't worry, y/n." Jimin adds, "He probably won't even come back." He locks the door and gives you one last thumbs up before heading in the opposite direction, calling out at the last second. “See you tomorrow!”
The forced smile on your face appears again (looks like this was a regular occurrence today), waving him goodbye.
Yeah… tomorrow.
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Jimin was right. The handsome crying stranger was probably never coming back.
It has been a few weeks since you met him for the first time. Now, it feels like a distant memory. He hadn’t shown up to the cafe the day after the encounter, or the day after that, or the day after that, and eventually you’d come to the conclusion that he was probably never going to show his face again out of pure embarrassment. You can’t say you blame him. You’d be embarrassed too if you stared at and cried over a random stranger.
Still, you couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment... You'd kind of hoped you could figure out what his problem was, maybe ease his mind a little if you really did look like a past lover. You would make sure he knew that it wasn't you. What if he was avoiding the cafe because he literally thought you were someone else? Great… now you just feel bad.
"Y/n? Are you listening?" Jimin beckons over the phone.
"Huh? What?" You bounce back to reality, the soft comforter of your bed lying beneath you as you stare out the window. Thanks to your wonderful apartment search, you have a beautiful view of the city. Jimin had helped you find a place when you first moved here. The two of you had met when you visited to check out the first apartment options; he even took you out for a drink afterward to celebrate the first days' completion. Jimin had immediately clicked with you, as he does with everyone-- he was the kind of person to make friends insanely quickly. He must've been super popular in high school... unlike you.
"Y/n Y/l/n. I am giving you a chance to meet more people, and you're not even listening to me!" He cries, a light smack coming from the other end (probably from him slamming his hand on the table).
"Okay, okay-- I'm sorry. I'm listening now; what's up?"
With a deep sigh, he speaks again. "Party. My house. Tonight. It's not gonna be wild, don't worry... it's just a get-together with some of my friends, and you can have a few drinks if you would like to."
Gnawing at your bottom lip, you look over towards the clock on your nightstand. 5:00. "I don't know..." You begin, the bed shifting as you raise into a seated position. "I have to work tomorrow morn-"
"Already got your shift covered." He deadpans.
"What??"
"I already got your shift covered, so you have no excuse."
This sly guy.
"Who covered it?" You question, setting the audio to speaker-phone as you rummage through old text messages you haven't gone through (to prep for your "thank you for covering my shift" text message).
“Jin.” Noted.
“So…” Jimin continues, “are you coming?”
You can't even remember the last time you met new people, let alone gone to a party. Parties weren't necessarily your thing, especially with your busy schedule of workdays and auditions-- you just never had the time. You should be excited, right?
Well, you aren't.
"Jimin, I don't know… I'm not really a huge fan of parties." You mumble over the phone, picking at the lone string that popped out of its stitch on your comforter.
"Y/n, it's a small get-together, and it's not gonna be that kind of party. Believe me; it'll be really chill. It's just me, you, a few other coworkers, and some friends from my journalism class."
You chew at your bottom lip, looking over at your closet to see a single green cocktail dress that you hadn't worn in years. The memory of the dress was a good one… you had just finished up curtain call for The Addams Family and wore that dress to the after-party. It's a short sleeve, layered green dress that flows just over your knees, the same color sash tying the waist in a floppy bow. You blush at the memory of winning best dressed.
A pause, “Okay.” You conclude. “I’ll go.”
Jimin was honest about how chill it would be; soft music plays in the background as the group sits around the table playing cards. A basketball game is playing on the TV, desperate for attention as a player scores a 3-pointer, but no one is watching. Shuffling of cards is the only sound heard in the room as the game continues.
The atmosphere is calm… quiet…
“BULLSHIT.”
The immediate crumble of everyone’s mood causes the loud “HELL YEAH” that makes you jump in your seat.
"And that is how it's done, Ladies and Gentlemen." Jungkook (your fellow coworker) claps, his smile brighter than the sunset that seeps through the curtains on the opposite side of the room.
"And that's on cheating!" Jimin picks up the cards in the center of the table, gathering them clumsily back into a pile.
"It's called having skill," Jungkook replies, holding his hands up as he smirks at his opponents.
"No, it's called luck." Yoongi finalizes as he puts his hand of cards down on the table with a roll of his eyes. You haven’t met Yoongi before until tonight. He’s one of Jimin's friends from Journalism Class.
When you arrived, you decided to sit out of this round and learn to play before joining the game-- knowing you; you would've been crushed within the first minutes of playing. Card games weren’t exactly a skill of yours— board games on the other hand were where it’s at! That, and charades. For the sake of the party, a card game didn’t sound too bad this time around— so you poke at Jimin to give you the hand as he serves cards for everyone else.
“Wait, wait, wait—“ Jimin pauses, his hand disappearing beneath the table to grab his phone. “Hello?”
“I’m not Irish, so does luck really count?” Jungkook questions in a hushed whisper, nudging Yoongi in the side.
“Oh hey...yeah... it’s apartment 205.” Jimin continues.
“You’re so funny, Jk. Maybe you’ll actually become successful if you choose stand-up comedy rather than becoming a musician.” Yoongi replies nonchalantly, his cat-like eyes staring at the abandoned pile of cards before he seems to come to the decision to shuffle them himself. He gives you a small smile when you hold your hand out to signal that you’re joining in this round.
“Mhm, you can just walk on in! Doors unlocked… okay.. alright, see ya in a minute.” When Jimin's phone is down, Yoongi passes a hand of cards to him.
“Think you can beat me, Y/n?” Jungkook asks,”Since apparently these four can’t?” He motions to Yoongi and Jimin, glancing at the other two players of the game: Hoseok (Jimins other classmate) and his girlfriend, Faith.
“I think I can.” You say, smirking at the determined expression on Jungkooks face. Even if you weren’t very fond of card games, there was one thing you were even less fond of: losing.
“Mmm, might want to rethink that, but okay.” Jungkook replies. The two of you are death staring when the sound of the front door creaking open catches the attention of everyone else at the table. Jimin shoots out of his chair.
“Taehyung!”
You freeze.
"You-" He pauses, taking another sharp breath and running a hand through his hair. If you thought he couldn't get more attractive, you were wrong. "Do you know me?"
Attractive? Yes. Psycho?... possibly.
“I’m so sorry, there're so many people that come to visit us and sometimes I forget the regulars!” You apologize. “That’s my fault… remind me of your name again?”
"It's- It's-."
“Taehyung, you just missed me creaming everyone in bullshit.” Jungkook boasts. Your eyes are glued to the side of Jungkook's head, not daring to make eye contact with the source of your nerves the past few weeks.
“Oh did I?” The familiar, deep voice utters.
Okay.. you can’t help but look…
Holy—it’s actually him.
Immediate regret sinks into your soul when you see him. God, he’s even handsomer than you remember. A white woolen sweater hangs over a pair of his black pants, matched with white sneakers and accenting the head of dark wavy hair you’d been thinking about since you last saw him.
“Yep!” Jungkook continues. “And now Y/n’s about to get shitfaced too.”
The moment his eyes swiftly glance your way is the moment you crumble and turn your head back to Jungkook. You had hoped to make a sly remark, something along the lines of “in your dreams,” but you’re caught breathless from the tension in the room. The tension only the two of you are aware of. He must be tense too, right?
“I wouldn’t underestimate her.” You hear out of Taehyung's mouth, stealing a look at his face once more. He’s smirking at Jungkook, hanging his coat on the hook beside yours, oblivious of the way you’re basically dissecting his every move.
“Have you met Y/n?” Jimin questions, provoking Taehyung's eyes to fall back onto yours. This time, you don’t look away.
He doesn’t answer right away, making you more nervous than you should be— the silence deafening as you make to explain, “We-“
“No.” He states plainly, cutting you off. An innocent smile plays on his lips as he looks at Jimin and places his messenger bag beside the door.
No? Uhhh, was he not the guy who pretended to know who you were and cried in front of you without even explaining why? Nope, it’s definitely him.
“I’m Taehyung.” He calls in your direction, offering you a boxy smile and a small nod, “Don’t let Jungkook fool you. A girl pinched him when we were in grade school. He barely lasted five seconds before running away screaming.” Taehyung moved to the table, sitting beside the man he just brutally embarrassed.
“That girl was terrifying. She was way taller than all the other sixth graders. It was an unfair situation.” Jungkook protested, sinking in his chair as he shuffled the cards he held in his hand.
You couldn’t help but stare dumbly at Taehyung. Was he embarrassed of his outburst at the cafe that he just hopes you forgot about him? You guess you didn’t exactly meet each other, other than a few words exchanged before he disappeared out the door. He probably doesn’t want his friends to know about what happened. Or did he not recognize you and completely forgot about the whole ordeal?
Okay, it’s fine… totally fine.
“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” you laugh, “no more coming in late, Jk. Or I’ll have to pinch you.”
Jungkook merely rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his beer. You see the crinkle in Taehyung's eyes as he laughs, the boxy smile taking root on his face again… a smile you’ve begun to enjoy the look of.
Hey. Snap out of it. This guy is so confusing. That’s a red card.
You straighten up in your seat, catching Jimin's attention when you move towards the kitchen, motioning with your hand to signal that you’re getting another drink. You have a feeling you’re gonna need some more alcohol to get through the evening.
Jimins place is clean, every knick knack placed neatly where it belongs; accompanied by the smell of potted plants that he keeps by his windows. Little name tags are attached to the plant stems: Flo, Sprout, Bob. He names his plants. Sweet.
He, like you, has a great view of the city too, a mid-size window perched above his breakfast nook where a small potted plant (quotabley named “bean”) grows. The city is bustling below as you reach for a beer, shrugging off the fact that you hate beer, but at least the taste will distract you from Tae-
“Hey.” You hear a soft voice call from the kitchen archway. When you turn you nearly drop the bottle out of your hand. Taehyung gives you a soft smile.
“Hey! Uh.. did you want a beer, or are you a wine guy?” You question, cringing at how much higher your voice sounds at his close proximity.
“I— Sorry, neither.” He starts, shoving his hands into his pockets as he makes his way around the island. “I uh- I just wanted to talk to you about something.”
You nod slightly, “Yeah of course… what’s up?”
“Um,” he’s nervous, you notice. “I just wanted to apologize about the whole thing at the cafe a few weeks ago.. I was— not in the right state of mind.” He meets your eyes hesitantly, “you just look like someone I know from a long time ago and it kind of.. took me by surprise, I guess.”
Jimin was right. You offer him a smile, shaking your head in disbelief, “You know what, I truly thought that was the reason… It’s totally fine. I’m not who you think I am, by the way.”
A flicker of something crosses his features at your comment, something you can’t quite pick up, but he changes it quickly to a smirk. “Obviously.” He laughs, “I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable.. I’m not weird, I swear.”
“Mmm, that’s what they all say.” You tease.
He laughs, a soft sound that you want to hear over and over again. “You’ve got me there.” He takes a pause, placing his hands on the island countertop. “Let’s start over? If that’s okay? I didn’t want to mention it when I came in because I wanted us to have a fresh start.”
You push down the questioning thought of who this woman he mistook you for was, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. “That’s totally okay.. clean slate?”
“Clean slate.” He finalizes.
“Straightforward,” You add, “I like it.”
He gives you a warm smile, the same edge in the way he looks at you dances in his eyes before he breaks it off, sliding the bottle of beer out of your own hand. “Actually, I think I will have a beer. You don’t seem like a beer drinker, anyway.” He turns quickly, smirking at you before striding out of the room. “Thanks, Y/n!”
Protestations die on your lips as he disappears from the room, your beer along with him. How rude. You can’t help the smile tugging at the corners of your lips as you turn back to the cupboard, skipping the beer and pouring yourself a second glass of wine. You weren’t a beer drinker, after all.
Although you weren’t one for parties, you couldn’t help but admit the fact that you were having a good time. No, a great time. All of you are seated in Jimins living room; a plate of chips sits on the coffee table, which was the hot spot of the night (considering there’s hardly any remaining). Others in the group still have a glass of alcohol in their hands, the tipsiness evident by the slurring of their words. You had stopped yourself after half of your second glass, playing it safe since you still have to walk home after the party. You weren’t much of a drinker anyway-- your family history being the root of this decision.
It isn’t the games that made the night this enjoyable, or the food, or the movie that is currently playing over Jimin's television (which, by the way, is Moulin Rouge, because half of the room enjoys musicals, and the other half enjoys regular movies. So, you decided to settle on a movie musical). None of that matters, except the fact that you’ve never felt this carefree in a long time.
For one night, you can put aside your cafe job, auditions, and never-ending to-do lists and just have fun. Real fun. Even in the audition rooms, it has never been fun for you. It’s been nerve-wracking to a fault and always ends with a “thank you for taking the time, but we’ve decided not to accept you this time around,” or a callback, which ultimately concludes with the same grueling fate.
But this is different.
This is a group of people who genuinely want to spend time with you and get to know you… with no “not this time’s” or open-ended questions.
Especially with Taehyung. You’re surprised at how quickly the two of you seemed to hit it off, despite the awkward introduction. Now, it feels like he’s known you for years… in the best way. You’re comfortable talking to him, chatting together during the movie about the plot points or songs you find specifically endearing. You had initially planned to sit next to Jimin… but ended up next to Taehyung on the couch.
It just happened.
He enjoys musicals as well, you learn. Maybe not as much as you do, but at least he doesn’t despise them. He’s one of Jimin’s friends from their shared art class. He loves the color brown. His favorite food is watermelon. He does illustrations for Jimins journalism projects (which, in your opinion, are exceptional from the photos he showed you during the movie while the others were engulfed in the film). He wishes to pursue traveling journalism, where he draws what he sees rather than taking pictures. His whole aura is warm… like a heated blanket that envelopes you whole when you feel him shift beside you on the sofa. A small reminder that he’s still there.
Okay, you’re liking his presence way too much.
He finds romance movies corny but a guilty pleasure nonetheless. This, the reason why he agreed to watch Moulin Rouge despite the cheesiness in the beginning. In the end, it was anything but cheesy.
"Well, that was stupid." Jungkook scoffs, slamming the remote onto the neighboring loveseats' armrest. The once loud room filled with music is now quiet from the after-effects of the movie.
“I told you it was sad!” Jimin exclaims. The two of you had seen this movie before in theatres… and this was nothing compared to how the ending hit the first time. “Y/N was nearly choking. She was crying so hard when we saw it.”
An immediate blush rises onto your cheeks as you shake your head in defiance, trying to hide the tears that had been stinging your eyes for the last thirty minutes. “Who wouldn’t cry at that??”
“Taehyung probably didn’t. He never cries.” Hoseok deadpans. Ha. You can’t help but remember the tear that ran down his face in the cafe… He never cries?
With a quick look over your shoulder, you find that Taehyung is no longer seated on the couch. When did he get up? You attempt to shrug off your curiosity, pivoting back towards the chip table where only sad little crumbs remain. You were worrying way too much over a man you quite literally just met tonight… even if it felt like you’ve known him for much longer.
Taehyung eventually reappeared, stating that he had to use the bathroom— you ignored the fact that it took him a solid 30 minutes to get back to the party. It wasn’t your place to ask any questions, especially since he lifted a smile onto his face the second he reentered the room. See, y/n… nothing to worry about.
It wasn’t long before you insisted you head home, knowing that you’d curse yourself in the morning if you stayed out past the sunrise. If you did, you’d sleep through tomorrow, and that would be awful. You’ve done this a few times… and every time, you felt like you had wasted an entire year of your life.
You move to grab your purse and jacket, which are hanging comfortably on the hook beside the front door. With a small smile, you bid everyone goodnight— smiling as they resume a card game around the table at one o’clock in the morning. It’s nice to know that the group of you hit it off… now; you can look forward to plenty of get-togethers in the future.
Your mind is bustling with all kinds of ideas: picnics in central park, late-night broadway shows, hangouts at the caf-
“Y/n!” The soft calling of Taehyung's voice causes you to halt near the exit, turning on your heel to see him jogging towards you. He had haphazardly thrown his jacket over him since it’s still being tugged onto his body as he runs. His hair becomes even more chaotic in his haste… Why do you want to run your hands through it?
“Hey!” You squeak, interrupting your thoughts before they trudged down a guilty road. “What are you doing? Weren’t you going to play another round?”
He gives you a smirk, catching his breath as he holds out your house keys. “You forgot these! You were really moving fast… sick of us already?”
“Wh— oh my god, thank you!” With a quick swipe of your hand, you’re stuffing your keys into your pocket with a grateful smile. “Also, hardly.”
You admire the way his eyes light up at your confession. “Well.. since you don’t want to leave us so quickly.. how about I walk you home?” He seems almost hesitant asking, but you can’t help but applaud him for actually taking the initiative to inquire.
You shake your head, pulling the strap of your purse farther up your shoulder. “You don’t have t-“
“I want to!” He cuts you off quickly, catching you by surprise as he moves past you to open the door. He glances back, taking in your reluctant expression, “It’s not safe this time of night Y/n… You shouldn’t be alone.“
You know he didn't mean anything by that statement… But the idea of someone genuinely caring and not wanting you to be alone makes your heart swell. Jimin cares about your safety of course, but this feels… Different.
This is the reason why you allow him to walk you home.
The snow crunches beneath your feet, like a symphony that beckons you home. You’ve been feeling exhaustion seeping into your bones for the last ten minutes, but Taehyung's occasional brush of his arm as he walks beside you keeps you wide awake. He doesn’t think to apologize for accidentally touching you, but you blame it on the time of night. Delusion.
“How long have you lived in New York?” You question, wrapping your coat tighter around you to kick out the nipping air.
“About a year now,” He responds, shuffling his feet, “though it feels like way longer. You?”
“Three years.”
Taehyung turns his head towards you, eyes wide. “Wow, way to one up me.” With a teasing smile he continues, “You must know this city like the back of your hand.”
The truth is… you don’t. You came here for the sole purpose of making it on Broadway... you never really took the time to focus on anything else. Part of you wishes you had learned more, craved more, wanted more with your life—then you wouldn’t be so miserable when the one thing you do want doesn’t work out. “Yeah… kind of.”
If he hears the somber tone of your voice, he ignores it, turning against the wind as he walks backwards down the sidewalk. “It’s overrated in my opinion.”
You raise your head at this, “Why is that?”
“Everyone here has dreams… and those dreams get crushed more often than not.” He shrugs, “No one cares if you want to succeed, only if you already have.”
You stare at him for a moment, awestruck by the weight of his words. “But,” he adds, turning back towards the wind, “the ones who never give up and continue to chase that dream can become successful. Despite all of the no’s they might face, they always hold on till they hear a yes. That sounds like true success to me.”
Turning your head, you stare at the side of his face— admiring the way his hair tosses back a bit against the harsh winter winds. His words hit you way deeper than he probably realized, sinking into your chest with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. You’ve been contemplating recently on whether or not to give up on your dream… that maybe it just wasn’t going to work out for you. You have been trying for so long, and have repeatedly been let down. There was no way Taehyung could have known, which is why his words hit you as hard as they did. Despite the hardships, you’ve been here for three years and you’ve never given up or stopped trying to chase your dream.
That was an achievement, right?
“To be honest… I've heard a lot of no’s in my three years of being here.” You speak softly, tucking a fallen strand of hair behind your ear. “Sometimes it feels like there will never be a yes… but here I am. At least I'm still working— at a coffee shop, not on the stage.”
“It’s admirable that you keep going.” Taehyung glances at you over his shoulder. “It makes you different from a lot of people who have left the city when they faced failure. It’s something to be proud of. Plus, coffee shop or big stage, you’re in New York City and pursuing your gift. It’s special.”
When your eyes meet, you smile at him, feeling a sense of victory the longer you hold his gaze.
“Don’t give up, Y/n. No matter what.” He speaks genuinely, leaning towards you to nudge you gently on your shoulder. You can’t help but laugh at his playfulness, giving him a nudge in return before your eyes downcast to your winter boots. The snow on the ground is fresh, powdery and sticking to the toes of your shoes. “Plus,” He adds, sucking in the chilly air, “you've got what others don’t have…”
This time when you meet his eye he has a serious expression, making sure he has your full attention as you round the corner towards your apartment building. His gaze is genuine, captivating… and a part of you hopes that the close proximity of your apartment wouldn’t cut this moment short. Finally, he speaks.
“You have passion.”
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Taehyung's words weigh on you for the rest of your night. It started off as something simple, looking up audition songs for an upcoming off-broadway show your agent was telling you about. Then, you went to learning it. After that, putting on makeup. And finally, completely forgetting about your sleep schedule and filming an entire audition tape in your room at 2 in the morning (and you were belting… your poor neighbors). It wasn’t until four that you finally turned in for the night, not bothering to take off your makeup or get changed-- simply falling onto your pillow and blacking out the moment you hit it. You were definitely sleeping the next day away… but at that moment, you didn’t mind. Having a day off from your busy schedule wouldn’t be so bad.
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“I sent in an audition tape two nights ago.” You speak confidently, wiping down the back counter that’s littered with coffee grounds. They stick to the rag like glue, tiny dots scattered along its white surface. If it weren’t for your apron,
and your expertly rolled up white turtleneck sweater, you would look alot like this rag right now.
“Did you?” Jimin questions from the bar, sleeving the cup before placing it on the handoff counter.
“Christopher! Medium cappuccino!” He calls, multitasking while he cranes his neck to still hear you.
“I did. I feel really good about this one..” You add, meeting him beside the bar as he lifts the pitcher up and down to create the latte-art of a flower in the center of the mug. You have tried sooooo many times to make latte art… and every time it ended up looking like a glob. A big, distorted snowball. Jimin was the master of latte art, always finishing it off beautifully with a whip of his wrist. The foam atop telling a story. “It was so late-- I was totally out of it… and yet I actually enjoyed myself while filming it. I just imagined being there.. In center stage.”
“I’m happy for you, Y/n!” He smiles, turning to place the hot mug next to the cappuccino.
“Caleb! Medium caramel latte!”
He was only half listening to you. The cafe was bustling, so it truly wasn’t Jimin's fault that he was sidetracked— but nothing could hold back the small smile that played at the edge of your lips. You had actually enjoyed singing for the first time in a while.. all because of Taehyung's Academy Award winning pep talk. Who knew that all you needed was for someone to tell you like it is. With a minuscule smile, you turn back towards the counter and lift the latte you’d whipped up this morning to your lips. Your distorted snowball is fully on display at the top.
Despite the busyness, the front register is deserted, giving you time to think for a moment about the pep talk... or rather, the person who gave you it.
“I think Taehyung likes you.” Jimin deadpans.
Uhhh… You nearly spit out your snowball at that— clearing your throat as you set it down slowly onto the wooden countertop. He speaks as if this is a natural conversation starter… it’s not.
“I’m sorry?” You croak.
“Taehyung.” He repeats, turning his head in your direction with a knowing smirk. “I think he likes you.”
You give him a scoff of disbelief, watching as yet another group of regulars enter through the door. “That’s not true, he just doesn’t know me… so he made an effort to talk to me.” If you weren’t studying the group, you would've seen Jimin giving you a scrutinized look.
So, now you have his attention.
“Y/n. It’s so obvious… He spent the entire night talking to you, he left moments after you did to give you your keys and he never came back. If that isn’t someone who’s interested, I don’t know what is.” Jimin is an expert at multitasking, finishing off two drinks at the same time and calling them out.
“Well, Jimin, when people don’t know each other, they get to know each other. It’s this thing called talking and becoming friends.” The sentence hangs in the air as the doorbell chimes, signaling that yet another customer has entered the cafe and into the swarm of regulars, but the two of you disregard the sound and continue on through your bickering.
“I’m just saying, Taehyung doesn’t usually talk to girls.” Jimin adds, wiping his hands off on the white rag seated beneath his espresso machine. “Even if they wanted his attention, he didn’t give it to them. I mean— he’s nice to girls, don’t get me wrong.. but he’s never talked to them like he did with you on game night. I don’t think he’s dated anyone since he got here.”
“He’s career driven.” You say quickly.
If you thought his smirk couldn’t get any wider, you were wrong. “Yeah, girls don’t know that about him— meaning he told you, and not other girls.” Jimin deadpans.
You stare blankly at him. There’s no way. No way that a guy as attractive as Taehyung would even think about looking at you like that. There’s just no way. You’ve never had a boyfriend... or even a guy friend, until Jimin. Eventually, you’d accepted the fact that maybe you just weren’t that interesting. Maybe you weren’t pretty enough. Maybe you couldn’t flirt…. okay, you definitely couldn’t flirt— but that’s besides the point.
“He’s not interested in me.” You conclude.
“He is.” Jimin counters.
“He’s not.”
“He so is.”
“He’s so not.”
“Y/n. I swear to you. He’s interested and you need to shoot your shot.” He whisper-screams, throwing the rag in his hand onto the bar.
“Taehyung is not-“
A clearing of someone’s throat from beyond the register cuts your argument short, nearly making you lose your balance when you see who the source was.
You’re fairly certain you’ve turned pale.
Taehyung stands in front of you, eyeing between the two of you with an awkward expression. God, how long has he been standing there? “I figured I should step in before the two of you start fist fighting.”
“Hey!” The shrill of your voice causes you to wince.
“Hey.” He says with a smile, folding his arms in front of him and raising his eyes to the menu above your head. You can’t help the glare you send towards Jimin, who's notably holding back his laughter as he moves to the blender, the station farthest from the register. Ridiculous.
“What can we get for you?” You ask routinely, trying not to make it obvious that you were just talking about him… and praying that he wasn’t there to hear what the two of you were talking about.
“Hmm…” He looks especially good today, wearing a brown, long coat and a brown plaid scarf around his neck. He wasn’t kidding when he said his favorite color was brown, that’s for sure. It suits him. His hair is wavy, flowing to a point just under his eyebrows with a split off center, giving you the tiniest glimpse of his forehead. “How about an americano with hazelnut, and some cream?”
“We can do that for ya!” You have to force yourself to stop looking at him, pressing the buttons to ring up his order before you forget. You nearly overlook ringing up the hazelnut syrup. Why were you so dazed? He’s already placed his credit card into the chip reader, but your foggy brain asks anyway. “Anything else?”
“Yes, actually.” He speaks as you move towards the bar beside the register. Grabbing an empty pitcher, you pour the milk inside and reach for the steamer. He drops a dollar into the tip jar, not giving you enough time to thank him for the unnecessary effort before he speaks again. “Are you free later?”
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NEXT CHAPTER
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To Survive this Pain, Part 1 - 11th Doctor x Reader
A/n: I'm not dead, I promise! I've just been struggling to finish off fics. If this seems slightly rushed it's because I just needed to finish something. It's exam season (it's extra-long now due to a certain virus), but they're over in a few weeks. I've been trying to stretch into writing for different Doctors, and in my new formats, but good old Eleven is easiest to write. Inbox is still open :)
Word Count: 2596
Summary: After the "death" of Amy and Rory, the Doctor is devastated. After deciding to isolate himself on a cloud, he leaves you with the Paternoster Gang till Strax informs you the Doctor wants to see you.
Warnings: Angst, Cold Doctor, Doctor is slightly ooc due to guilt, mild self-inflicted Injury, Bouts of Rage.
I should try to post part two as soon as possible.
This is my first ever Full Story (GIF isn't mine).
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Your shoes splashed through puddles on the cobblestone road, on your way down to the park of which you knew he would be.
You hadn't heard from him in a short while now, but Jenny and Vastra frequently advising you to pay him a visit had been getting to you. That's why, when Strax brought you the news that the Doctor wanted to see you, you leapt at the opportunity.
You were worried, you'll admit. It was clear as day that losing Amy and Rory had him tearing himself to pieces. It was only a matter of time before he sent you off, too. Before he abandoned you.
Weaving around the quiet Victorian streets, the sun still yet to grace the sky, you had arrived at the park. Looking around the odd trees that decorated the perimeter, you picked out the tree that you knew had the elusive ladder directly above it. You stepped over the beds of wilting flowers that lined the pathways into the overgrown grass.
After completing the feat of reaching the ladders, consisting of either jumping or using your umbrella handle, you had successfully pulled the ladder down far enough to climb onto.
Making your way up the ice-cold rungs, you take a moment to consider why the Doctor called for you in the first place.
It made little sense to you. After all, the Doctor had been avoiding you for the better part of two months now; what had changed?
The Doctor planning on taking you home became all the more likely in your mind as you began to climb the spiral staircase, shivering as the late-autumn air nipped at your skin. Winter was slowly breaking through the remaining life.
If you weren't so hung up on adjusting to the less-than-ideal state of Victorian England, you would've had more time to worry about the Doctor. However, he was so hung up with his own issues, and you with yours, that he only crossed your mind when you were settling down for the night.
Of course, it hurt that you too. Never seeing Amy and Rory again. You did your best to hold onto the fact that they lived a happy life together.
A life that you knew could never have. You wish you could say goodbye to them, but you chose to carry the loss with you.
You were exhausted, it was safe to say. Spending your days helping out the Paternoster Gang with new cases that come in was certainly frustrating, especially when you had to avoid so much. Milk, green dyes, dodgy stairs, aliens and gas leaks. Nothing was safe in Victorian times.
Not that you didn't enjoy the company, mind you. Jenny always provided conversation, and paired with Vastra, there were plenty of investigations to be had. You just missed them all, sometimes.
The Doctor had become such a vital figure in your life that it didn't seem right for him to not be there. When you had both lost Donna, you were there for each other, and even then, he was a wreck. You had spent those first two months together, and you had never felt closer to someone before. At first, you couldn't admit it to yourself, but after six years, you knew that was when you started falling for him.
There was so much you didn't understand about him, yet so much he had begun to explain. You had seen and done so much together, places that surprised and scared the both of you. In distant worlds and ancient times, there lay so many memories that you had forgotten. Just another thing consumed by time.
A simple flip through your diaries would confirm that through all that, you admired him: mattering not which of his faces. You had accepted from the start that he was an unobtainable desire, no matter how you looked at it.
He was old, alien and a danger-magnet. Many considered the Doctor to be a God.
It upset you to know that the Doctor could never love you, not in the way you love him. Not in the way that he had shown you what love could be, what it should be. But that was what you had to expect from the Doctor.
You assumed that consistently losing those he loved must hurt immensely. You also imagine losing someone he could spend the rest of his lives with would leave another unfixable hole in his heart.
So it made sense to you that the Doctor would never willingly fall for a human. Your short life-spans and weak bodies meant that so much as a single bullet could rob you of your life.
The thought of what a state he must've been in at that very moment was disturbing, to say the least. You had seen the Doctor angry before, and it was not an easy sight.
His heart held so much pain, so much guilt.
After what felt like a good three minutes, you stepped off the staircase. Your shoes now emerged in a cloud, which could somehow keep you from plummeting into the streets below. You felt surprisingly light, almost like you were standing in a pit of feathers, yet some odd force kept you from losing your balance. Plucking your key out of your pocket, you press your hand against the door of the TARDIS. You unlock the door, pulling the key from the lock and stepping into the Console room.
You called out for him. After listening for a moment, you concluded that the Doctor must've been elsewhere.
The TARDIS was a glum sight. Most of the orange lights were dimmed: if functioning at all. A few even had fist-holes in them. There were what looked like hundreds of books cluttering the console, all of varying topics: The Time War, Time Lord Psychology, the History of the Universe, Earth History, Greatest War Losses. Some had bookmarks; others he had clearly tabbed.
Paper littered the glass flooring, each scribbled in several handwritings. They all clearly varied in ages and sizes, some a muddy brown, others a vivid white. Quite a lot were in small clusters of pages, as though they were ripped from a book. You picked up one of the sheets to inspect closer, and your heart nearly broke.
Each page had a sort of date in the corner, which you quickly realised must've been an approximation of the Doctor's age at the time. They were diary entries, ripped out and thrown in what you assumed to be a fit of rage.
The Doctors' tweed jacket had slipped off the console and onto the floor. The contents of his pockets spilt out onto the floor.
You leant to pick it up, grimacing at just how much he was carrying around. Throwing the jacket over the railing, you avoided stepping on any more pieces of paper.
"Tidy some of this, will you?" You addressed the TARDIS, a hand on the edge of the controls, "I'll go talk to him, where is he?" The TARDIS clicked and hummed in response, showing you a blueprint on the monitor, "The Library? Okay then."
Darting out of the Console Room, you attempt to discover the library as soon as possible. You vaguely remembered the three places the library is most likely to crop up. You went from there. Fortunately for you, you didn't have to go far before the library appeared.
You had always felt as though the library was too empty. Four stories of shelves filled with books, all visible from the ground floor, the rows of shelves created a sort of maze of titles and colours. The Doctor must've owned every single book in the galaxy, judging by the sheer size. Not to mention the several dozen or so empty seats. The library could easily hold thousands of people at once, yet there is rarely ever so much as a whisper.
You had a fair clue as to why the Doctor would be hiding away in there.
There the Doctor was, turned away from the door, in an intricately decorated armchair. You could just about make out the top of his head. You loomed behind him awkwardly, unsure or not if he was aware of your presence.
"Doctor?" You faltered. His head perked up slightly, and the Doctor strained out a hum. He stood up, his arms tiredly hanging at his sides after he stretched. It checked out with your fit of rage theory. The Doctor walked up to you, and you only then noticed how fraught he was.
His expression was tired, eyes sunken and lips pressed into a thin line. His shirt was unkempt: the sleeves were torn slightly. It also appeared burnt or covered in dust. His hands were covered in dust too.
However, you noticed that his right hand had quite a few cuts and gashes, which all seeped out orange-tinted blood.
His greenish-brown eyes search yours for a moment as a tear rolls down his cheek. He inhales deeply, nodding to himself.
"Look, I..." The Doctor paused, again glancing over into your eyes, "I'm sorry- I can't, I can't do this," He took in a trembling gasp for air, "I don't want to, but I can't keep doing this. I'm sick of it. I can't keep losing people. I'm so sick of saving the universe." Unsure of what to you, you reach a hand out to the Doctors. He puts a hand on top of yours, keeping the other, bloodier fist at his side. You brush your thumb over his knuckles, his hand hot against yours. The Doctor continues, "Everyone, everyone who travels with me leaves, or dies, and I'm always alone again. Alone and in pain. I can't keep doing this..."
Smiling sadly, you nod, "I understand," You looked back up at the Doctor, "If you called me here to convince me to go home-"
"Take you home?" The Doctor's voice cracked, "I could never. That'd be just as bad as losing you. I need you."
Oh, the Doctor have his way of making you feel important at the worst moments. Your insides bubbled giddily, but you refused to show it. Instead, you ignored it to the best of your ability; what he was saying was important.
Your attention had fallen back down to his hand, and it looked considerably worse than you initially thought. Pieces of glass dug into his knuckles, the skin seeming gnarled by the force of the oncoming storm, "Doctor, your hand,"
"It's fine." The Doctor seethed, staring numbly at you, "I'm not human, it's not going to kill me."
You wanted to protest. However, given the Doctor's already fragile temperament, you weren't going to push it. Instead, after an instant of silence, you asked a simple question, "How have you been, then?"
The Doctor blinked, giving an answer careful thought. He had an earnest grimace as he finally spoke, "Furious."
"I can see, that" You hum, putting equal thought into how you should approach your response, "What do you think you're going to do, now?"
"Stay here. I'm not getting involved anymore." The Doctor spat, pulling his hand away from yours, turning to sit down, "I don't want to care."
"That's fair enough." You reassure. You didn't like the sound of the Doctor retiring too much, but you respected his choice. If he didn't want to save the world, he doesn't have to. You hoped that, in his chosen conditions, he would heal.
You vowed to yourself at that moment that you'd do everything you could to help him. Starting with his physical injuries.
You heard the armchair squeak softly as the Doctor flopped back against it, picking up a book from the coffee table and beginning to read. You headed back over to the door and grabbed the small medkit from the bracket on the wall. You paced back to the Doctor, pulling a pouffe from a few feet away to sit on. The Doctor glared daggers at you, exhaling sharply and holding his arm out in your general direction. You thanked him meekly, beginning to remove the sharp, reinforced glass shards from his knuckles.
If you were new to travelling with the Doctor, you thought that seeing this might hurt you more. However, six years of travelling was more than enough for the two of you to be used to this sort of treatment. He never seemed to care much about his physical health, more about yours. That often ended up in you worrying about the Doctor, not that you minded. You supposed it worked out, as you both fussed over each other. If the Doctor's previous face saw how he was acting, you were sure he'd have a fit. Not that he mattered, as he was still a part of the man in front of you.
You could tell by the downtrodden way he pretended to read his book, staring a hole through it, that something was bothering him.
"Are you scared of me?" The Doctor halted, voice brittle. He had taken note of how delicate you were and had drawn it up to a fear that the Doctor would lash out at you.
"No," You shushed, focusing on removing the glass from his hands.
"You don't sound sure,"
"I am." You reassured bluntly, "I'm just being careful. I don't want to hurt you more."
"I'm not hurt! You don't need to fuss over me,"
You lifted your eyebrows slightly, "There's nothing wrong with feeling, Doctor. As you said yourself, feelings enhance life." The Doctor exhaled petulantly, eyes back on his book. "But not even you can be in pain forever."
"What is my alternative?" The Doctor strangled out, "I forget? I do something selfish?"
You grimace as you remove the last small shard from his pinky. You take out a clean cloth and some water, dampening the rag as you speak, "You're forced to survive this pain, this guilt, but you will grow from it. You make mistakes so that you learn from them."
You gently clear the blood from his hands and start to apply mild pressure to the deeper wounds. The two of you continued in silence, the Doctor only occasionally removing his hand to turn the page.
He was such a different person to the goofball front you were used to. He was melancholic. However, you would see a small amount of your Doctor bubbling to the surface. He would occasionally chuckle at the book he was reading or draw circles on your palm as you held his hand still. It provided you with enough comfort to know that you weren't wasting your time.
You finished up your last-minute medical care with a bandage around his hand. You closed the medkit.
"Alright, I'm just going to go restock this, then I'll go tidy up the paper in the console room,"
"Oh- right that... Must've been a mess. I'm sorry,"
"It's okay." You smiled pleasantly, "Come find me if you need me, okay? I won't be far,"
The Doctor caught your hand in his, just as you were about to leave, he tugged at your arm. You leant down, and the Doctor pressed a short kiss to your cheek. You countered with a kiss of your own on the middle of his forehead. Just like you used to, back with his previous incarnation.
As you wandered off, you were oblivious as to what that gesture meant. Was it a thank you? Another apology? Was it even platonic?
From behind you, you swore that he said something you thought you'd never hear the Doctor say.
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fanmoose12 · 3 years
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imagine if levi and hange and the rest of their kiddos survive the rumbling 🤧🤧 hange would prolly retire as commander so she can travel more to develop marleyan and paradis technology and their name would go down in the history books 😩😩 by this time, levi's building their dream cottage and a tea shop as well. then eventually hange returns and the house levi built finally turns into a home 🥺🥺 god not me CRYING OVER THIS!? HELP
His first stop was the bathroom.
Levi entered the small, confined space and inspected it meticulously. The tiles were spotless, the bathtub and washbasin were clean and shining. The towels were ironed and fresh, lying beside the bathtub and waiting to be used. On the bureau next to it, Levi put a bottle of strawberry shampoo and a bar of soap.
Everything’s ready here, he concluded and exited the room, closing the door.
Next was the study room. He walked inside and went straight to the window, opening it and letting in a smell of apples and flowers that grew right outside. He ran his fingertips along the smooth surface of a mahogany desk.
Carving it was such a hustle. Levi winced, as he remembered the ache in his hands that refused to leave a whole week after he was done making that desk.
The desk was dustless, the only thing lying on it was a book, a gift Levi received a couple of days prior.
Peculiar properties of Eldian technology by Hange Zoe
A brief smile crossed Levi’s features as he glanced at it.
You’ve come a long way, four-eyes, he thought, moving further. He turned to the bookshelf and checked the order of books, standing on it. The tomes and volumes were lined up strictly in the alphabetical order, it took Levi four days to organize all of it, but he knew – the annoying weirdo would arrive and would reorganize it all to her heart’s desire, in a system only she could understand.
But it’s the thought that counts, Levi had to remind himself. Besides, he just couldn’t leave all these books in boxes in the attic.
The last room he visited on the second floor was the bedroom. The bed was meticulously made, not a single crease on blue colored, soft sheets. On the bedside table, Levi put a fresh bouquet – chamomiles and sunflowers, her favorite.
Satisfied with inspection, he moved downstairs. As he descended, he did so with a slight, but excited spring in his step.
Only one hour left and there was still so much he needed to do and prepare, but he was eager and giddy.
After months of being apart, one hour seemed like ridiculously small amount of time. And, considering they had a whole life ahead of them, a life without danger and tragedy, one hour was nothing.
Still, it felt like time was flowing too slowly, the pointers of his wrist watch dragged forward in a sluggish, tardy manner.
Once he was downstairs, he headed to the living room. The room was illuminated by a warm, afternoon sunlight. The slight breeze was ruffling green curtains, making Levi think if he should light up a fire. It was only early hours of afternoon and evenings in the summer were warm enough, so he decided against it.
Still, as he walked around the room, he couldn’t help but picture himself, sitting on the sofa in the center. He could almost hear the soft cracking of fire inside the fireplace and feel a warm blanket on his knees. The image of a person, enjoying this peace and quiet beside him, was so vivid Levi had to shake his head to get rid of it.
His thoughts were merely a fantasy anyway. Peace and quiet existing in their house? No way that would ever happen.
Levi glanced down and found a small pile of gifts on the coffee table. There was a basket of pears from Connie’s garden, a pair of socks, knitted by Historia, a blanket, made by Mikasa and Armin, a picture, drawn by Jean.
Someone’s very popular, he couldn’t help but scoff at the notion. So many gifts just for her, when the only thing he had ever received from the loudmouthed brats was a splintering headache.
The kitchen, when he entered, was in chaos, as Connie, Jean and Mikasa frantically moved around, busy with last preparations.
“I thought you were done with this shit,” Levi grumbled, leaning against the doorway and crossing hands on his chest. “If I knew you would take so long, I would have done it myself.”
“But who would have inspected the whole house for a dozen of times then?” Jean asked, turning to Levi with a cocky grin on his face.
Levi felt annoyance bubble inside him at the sight of that smug expression. And to think the brat was tall enough that he couldn’t give him a smack on a head.
“Hurry up,” Levi urged. “They’re going to be here any minute.”
“We still have half an hour, before Armin brings Hange-san here,” Mikasa scoffed. “You can go and check if the house is clean enough once more.”
Years passed, and yet Mikasa remained as irritating as ever. Levi was thinking of vicious enough retort, when Historia chimed in.
“You shouldn’t worry too much about the house! I’m sure Hange-san would love it!”
“I think you could have built her a barn, and she would be ecstatic all the same.” Connie added with a cheerful grin.
“Knowing her pig-like tendencies…” Levi scowled. “Of course, she wouldn’t mind living in a barn.”
“But you want the very best for her, right?” Historia guessed with a warm smile.
“Something like that, yes,” Levi mumbled, his face heating up under the fond looks of his former squad. “Now hurry up and start serving a table. I’ll finish here myself.”
 ***
Levi liked giving the brat shit for being slow idiots, but he had to admit – when put up to a task, they were the best of the best. Ten minutes later, and a table that stood in the middle of a garden behind the newly build house was overflowing with food and wine. Levi made sure that most of the table’s contents were Hange’s favorites. 
Everything should be perfect. He missed her too much for prepare a welcome party that was anything less.
When everything was served and brought out of the house, there was nothing left to do, but sit together around the table and stare intensely at the narrow trail that led up to the house, waiting to see a black car on it.
Levi was living in a small cabin near the woods, Connie and Jean were working on a farm outside of town and Historia was too busy with her royal and maternal duties to learn how to drive a car. That’s why Armin was the one tasked with bringing Hange back home after a trip overseas.
She was gone for almost a year, and everyone couldn’t wait to see her again. And, of course, no one was missing her more than Levi.
When the car finally showed up, Levi was the first one to stand up. His heart was hammering loudly as a smile broke across his face.
He hid it behind his usual scowl. He missed Hange, missed her like crazy. She didn’t have to know about it, though.
The kids rushed to the entrance, all of them wearing almost identical happy expressions. As soon as the car stopped, Jean hurried to it, opening the door for Hange.
She walked out of the car, and everyone cheered, running to embrace her.
Hange laughed and cooed, marveling at how the kids have grown up.
Levi stood a little distance away, unable to take his eyes off her smiling face. She didn’t age a day, he realized, as his heart continued to beat with twice its usual speed.
Finally, after seemed like an eternity to Levi, Hange patted Connie’s head one last time and raised her eyes. Her smile became even wider as their gazes met.
“Hey,” she murmured as she approached him.
“Hey,” he echoed, unable to fight the smile anymore.
“Nice house,” Hange commented, as she reached out and took his hand in hers.
“It’s not a house,” Levi said, intertwining their fingers. “Now that you’re here, it’s a home.”
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awindylife-writes · 3 years
Text
S3e3 Gridlock
Relationships: 10th Doctor x reader, Martha x reader (platonic), Martha x Doctor (platonic)
Summary: s3e3 Gridlock rewrite. The Doctor, Martha and you find yourselves in New New York. When Martha is kidnapped, the Doctor and you have to find out what's wrong with the city's motorway.
Warning: description of a panic attack
When Martha asked about the Doctor's home planet, you had to admit you tensed up. You remembered what it was like with Rose and you; he hadn't exactly been polite at the beginning. He had come a long way since then and you liked to think you had helped with that. It was still a dangerous topic to broach though, and you didn't know how he'd react.
To your surprise he smiled, and to your even bigger surprise he started to describe it.
Then Martha asked if you could go there. His voice and the image of Galiffrey he'd painted faded away as silence took over the room. He simply looked at the console for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face.
But you knew him. You knew he was facing a decision - tell her the truth, ignore the question or lie. All of those things would hurt, just not in the same way. You took his hand into both of yours and prayed he would choose right.
"No. We can't go there," the Doctor answered, his voice so much duller than it had been before.
You knew Martha had noticed something was wrong and she knew this was important. "Why?" she asked quietly, instinctively trying to be gentle. 
"Because it's gone." His voice was distant. You knew he was there now, so far away and alone, drowning in the grief that had followed his decision. The unspeakable decision no one should ever have had to make. You knew he was very close to crying.
You sqeezed his hand. You knew this kind of emotional honesty was hard for him and you were so, so proud.
"I'm so sorry," Martha told him. It was soft and it was true and you were so glad she was there.
"Yeah," he said with a voice so quiet it was almost unheard. He caught Martha's gaze and they shared a look. You didn't know how to describe it, but there was a connection, and there was deep understanding.
The Doctor pressed his lips together, nodded and looked away. Martha held his arm and caressed it in a comforting gesture. For a moment you both just held onto him, tethered him to now.
Then the weight passed, and the joyful energy was back. "Right then, off we go!" he loudly proclaimed and started running around the console as usual.
"Where are we going?" you carefully asked as the TARDIS shook.
"Onwards," he answered with a smile.
~
"Wait, this isn't Corellia," the Doctor remarked in confusion as you three stepped out of the TARDIS in a dingy alley.
"Did you miss where we were going, again?" you tried not to laugh.
You also failed, and Martha joined you.
"But- But- But- I did it right! I swear I did it right this time!" he tried to defend himself. Then it started raining and that just made Martha and you laugh harder.
"Okay, alright," you tried to be serious when you felt the cold. "Let's go find out where we are."
You three walked out of the alley into what looked like a small square. It was also muddy, dirty and there wasn't much in it except trash. Martha noticed a computer interface in the corner and waved you over. The Doctor made quick work of it with his sonic.
"We're in New New York!" he gasped in surprise. "But we've been here before, about twenty years ago by the planets time! Why would the TARDIS bring us here?" he frowned in confusion as he looked around. Even though you were worried about the situation, you had to admit he was adorable.
"Maybe there's trouble?" Martha suggested and then smiled. "I mean, I haven't known you two for that long, but l know whererever you go, there's a ruckus."
"Well, she certainly has a point," you turned to the Doctor.
He grinned. "Then let's go find trouble," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
Suddenly there were stands opening and people shouting like you were in a market.
"Hello! Why didn't you say you were waiting? Buy some Happy Happy!"
~
"MARTHA!!" the Doctor screamed in desparation as the car lifted off. You just stared powerless as it flew away with your friend inside.
How did you let this happen? You had sworn to yourself you wouldn't let any harm come to Martha. You had sworn. She was your friend. She had become incredibly important to you, and to have her ripped away? You couldn't lose her. Not now, not like this. You knew the Doctor and you, you wouldn't be able to take it. You could not lose her.
You became aware the Doctor was gasping for breath. He was pacing in the small space, looking around with wide eyes with hands in his hair and muttering, "Nonononono-" under his breath.
You had spoken about Rose's loss, but you knew the wound was deep for both of you. His denial of it and it's surrounding issues was backfiring now.
You stepped in front of him and gently put your hands on his trembling shoulders. You looked into his brown eyes which were full of fear. "Breathe, Doctor. Breathe with me," you told him calmly and began to count. "In, one, two, three. Out, one, two three..."
He tried to follow, and after about ten minutes his breathing stabilized. He was still trembling though.
"Martha," he said helplessly and you tried for a smile.
"We'll find her. Doctor, we'll find her," you assured him and he hung his head with a shaky breath. He slowly composed himself. When he looked back up at you, his eyes were determined and he nodded in gratitude.
"We need information," you went on and he proposed, "The Mood Stands." Now the smile on your face was real.
"Come on." You took his hand and off you went.
~
Standing in the smoke, listening to the endless lines of cars honking, was one of the worst experiences you had had while travelling with the Doctor, and that was saying something.
The air burned as it entered you, your eyes watered and your throat felt like sandpaper. You tasted something like blood when you started coughing and it rattled in your chest. You could barely see and the air itself had turned against you, but the worst thing was the infinite sight of car lines, the obvious pointlessnesss of it all. It struck something deep in you and it hurt. You were lost, completely lost, but here, everyone was.
Then there was someone at the door of the car in front of you, yelling, "Hey!!! You daft little street struts, what are you doing standing there??? Either you get out or get in, come on!!!"
You got in. The Doctor immediately put the oxygen mask on you, coughing still.
"Are you alright?" he wheezed, voice hoarse. His eyes were red and watery as he stared at you in worry. You nodded, still dazed.
As soon as the pain in your throat subsided a little, you forced the mask on him. He didn't want to take it, not yet at least, but you insisted.
Then you were moving.
"Twenty yards, we're having a good day," the man, or the cat, proclaimed. He turned around, "And who might you two be?" His curious eyes shifted between the pair of you.
When the introductions were over, he pointed at the curtain, "And that's the rest of the family back there."
You thought it was worth it when you saw the kittens.
~
You smiled as a way of saying goodbye to the lovely couple who had helped you.
Brannigan said, "This Martha, she must mean an awful lot to you."
"She does," you confirmed in all serousness.
"And we're gonna find her," the Doctor swore. Then, before you could say anything else, he yelled, "Bye then!" over the noise of the motorway and was gone.
You grinned at the confused woman and cat, and jumped after him through the hatch.
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khaleesiofalicante · 3 years
Text
MALEC WEEK - PRIDE
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Butterflies.
There were butterflies in her stomach.
She had always found that expression to be odd. How does anyone know how  butterflies feel inside your stomach?
But now she knew.
It felt like this. It felt like if she opened her mouth, they would just fly out.
So, she kept her mouth shut and nodded as the meeting proceeded. Luckily no one asked for her opinion. She was just there to observe after all.
She promised herself that she would go up there after the meeting ended.
But now that it was over, her legs felt like bread pudding.
She was good with swords – not metaphors.
Now or never, she muttered to herself and put one foot in front of the other.
She walked up to the front of the briefing room and cleared her throat.
“Excuse me,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “Consul Lightwood-Bane?”
The man turned around. The grin he gave her was almost blinding. He was smiling – a little too hard. As if he someone had told him that he had won the lottery.
Her eyes moved to the man next to the Consul – six feet of magic and perfection.
Maybe the Consul had won the lottery.
“Do stop grinning,” the warlock swatted his husband on the arm. “You’re scaring the poor girl.”
The Consul stopped grinning then, suddenly aware of her presence.
“Excuse my husband,” the warlock smiled kindly. “He gets like that whenever someone calls him Consul Lightwood-Bane.”
“Am I not allowed to enjoy my own name?” the Consul demanded; his tone playful.
“You are,” the warlock grinned and kissed his husband on the cheek. “You earned it.”
“I’m Ella,” the girl introduced herself awkwardly. “I’m here for my travel year.”
“Nice to meet you, Ella,” the Consul said. “How are you liking the New York institute?”
“It’s really cool,” she replied.
Really cool?
She wanted to smack herself on the head.
She could write a five page essay on how amazing the New York institute was but alas, her nerves could only come up with “really cool”.
“How did you manage to secure a spot?” the warlock asked. “Clary told me the competition was really tough.”
It was an understatement.
The New York institute was the most popular institute in the world. It was run by Jace Herondale and Clary Fairchild – heroes of the mortal war. It was the home of the Alliance.
They also had really good pizza. It wasn’t much healthy. But it was really good.
“I was just honest in my application,” Ella answered. “I told them my vision as a shadowhunter and how I can contribute to the operations here.”
The warlock, who looked he was used to hearing a lot of bullshit, raised an eyebrow.
“I may have shared some of my anti-cucumber sentiments,” she added lamely.
The Consul laughed. A hearty, loud laugh that made the warlock’s face warm with love.
“Well played,” the Consul patted her on the shoulder.
Consul Lightwood-Bane just patted her on the shoulder and said ‘well played’. This was all the validation she needed. Jace Herondale who? For all she cared, she was the best shadowhunter in the world.
Get yourself together, she chided herself. Get on with it.
“I,” she started then hesitated.
Her hand moved to her sword. She often held them for comfort.
Shadowhunters were weird like that.
“What is it?” the warlock asked, his eyes concerned.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” the words fly out of her mouth. Like the butterflies.
“For what?” 
How would she even begin to answer that question?
Thank you for being there for me when I wasn’t there for myself.
Thank you for teaching me that I deserve love no matter what.
Thank you for helping me be who I am – unabashedly and unrestrictedly.
Thank you for showing me that fighting for love is more important than fighting any demon.
Thank you for making me believe in a better world.
Thank you for being you.
“Thank you for everything,” she said simply.
Their eyes softened in understanding – and she realized she wasn’t the first person to do this.
It should have made her angry. It should have made her feel less special.
But it didn’t.
And only it made her happier.
It made her inexplicably happy to know these two souls had saved so many like her all over the world.
She didn’t feel special. But she felt blessed.
“In times of war and hatred,” the Consul said. “All we can do is give each other hope.”
Ella had never had to hide. She didn’t have to be afraid. 
Because she knew who she was and she knew that was okay. 
She had told her parents and they hadn't protested against her or dismissed her feelings like she had expected. 
Because it was okay now. It was all okay. 
Ella had never had to fight - because they had fought for her. 
They had fought for themselves and everyone like her. 
They had not only given her hope. They given her a future. 
“Thank you, Ella,” the high warlock of brooklyn said. “We are glad to meet you.”
“You are so shiny and pretty,” the words slipped out.
Stupid butterflies!
The Consul laughed again.
“You’re prettier,” the warlock replied. 
He said so smoothly and genuinely - she had no choice but to believe it. 
“I’m not exactly shiny,” she pointed out with a nervous laugh.
His fingers moved in an elegant pattern in front of her face. Ella pulled out her sword and checked the reflection – another odd shadowhunter habit.
There was a tiny glittery rainbow on her cheek.
“There you go,” the warlock winked. “Keep shining.”
“I will,” she replied.
It was a promise.
“I will see you around,” she nodded to both of them and dismissed herself.
She would probably never see them again. They were the high warlock of Brooklyn and the Consul after all.
But this was enough.
She had told them. She had thanked them. Her heart felt somehow felt full and free at the same time.
She ran towards the institute door, knowing what was waiting for her on the other side.
“You shadowhunters are so tardy,” the girl grumbled.
“And badass,” Ella added.
“And arrogant,” the girl pointed out.
“And cool,” Ella countered.
“And pretty,” the girl said in a soft whisper, her fingers caressing the rainbow on Ella’s cheek.
“You’re prettier.”
She might not be as smooth as Magnus Bane. But she could always try.
The girl rolled her eyes. Ella reached out and pushed a strand of hair behind the girl’s pointed ear.
“You’re prettier,” she whispered again.
“I guess you people are okay,” the girl conceded.
“Liar,” Ella chuckled as she moved closer and kissed the girl behind her ear. “You are probably in love with me.”
“Probably?” the girl looked offended.
“Wait,” Ella said, grinning exactly the way the Consul had moments ago. “You actually love me?”
“You stupid Nephilim,” the girl muttered and crashed their lips together.
120 notes · View notes
ssscentral · 3 years
Text
Traveller
Summary : Jung Hoseok loves you, regardless of what universe you’re in and he’s going to make sure to find you no matter what. Good thing you feel the same.
Pairing : Dimension Traveller!Jung Hoseok x Dimension Traveller!Reader
Genre : Fluff, Established Relationship!Au, Sci-Fi, Fantasy!Au, College!Au
Rating : PG13
Warnings : Swearing
Wc : 4.7k
Member : Hoebii || @hoebii
A/N : First of all, thank you @eatjeanjin and @kerikaaria for being my amazing betas! You’re what made this story even readable ukfhgj Second, HAPPY BIRTHDAY @moccahobi!!! ILYSM HOPE YOU HAVE A BLAST TODAY BB <3 I hope you like this fic, I literally crammed 12 prompts into this fic and made this hot mess in a few hours lmao so hope this isn’t too hard to read sksksksk. Love you lots Lil bean, happy birthday and thank you for existing, you’re such a precious bb, always there for everyone. You deserve the world, love <33 Also the time stamp for the text isn’t canon, so ignore the time!
-----------------
“You will be transported to a new dimension after spending one month in each of them for this experiment,” the animated voice crackled from the speakers. “The inhabitants in those universes will already have memories of you to help you blend in easily. You are to live a normal life during these experiments while making sure not to disclose your true identities for that may cause unnecessary complications.”
The voice kept going on about the experiment that you no longer had any interest in after the first few minutes. You fiddled with the necklace around your neck in boredom while you waited for the meeting to be adjourned. This wasn’t the first time you were going to travel between dimensions and you were sure it wouldn’t be the last, so having to sit through the same briefing over and over again felt completely useless and a waste of time. 
The only reason you even attended these were to get your files for the potential dimensions you may get sent to. The management really needed to get their shit in control and stop sending you to these places with little to no information. 
You understood that these experiments were to test out the stability and how each universe was doing after being created but it made no sense for the management to send out travellers blindly like they do, they could at least provide you with a little backstory for your character rather than a list of ’potential’ places. Even those weren’t certain and that made no sense! For an organisation that thrived to keep peace and regulation of all dimensions, their system was chaotic as fuck.
You only came out of your thoughts when you felt someone nudge your leg under the table. Glancing up from your necklace, your eyes met that of a cheeky looking Hoseok who was now pushing a little harder against your leg, now that he had your attention. 
‘Hi,’ he mouthed happily only for you to answer with a raised eyebrow. ‘I miss you,’ he mouthed again, jutting his lower lip out in a pout. You snorted at his antics, coughing to hide your smile when the sound caught the attention of those around you. 
It was only when they shifted their attention back to the screen at the end of the room to continue with the briefing that was ongoing, did you finally look back at Hoseok. Rolling your eyes, you grabbed a pen and tore a paper from the diary they provided for the meeting before hastily scribbling down something and sliding it to the man sitting in front of you.
‘We’re literally sitting in front of each other.’
Hoseok picked up the paper and quickly read the content on it before grabbing his own pen to write his answer down and passing it back to you.
‘But I can’t hold your hand right now :(‘
You bit your lip to stop the smile that was fighting to shine through when you saw his adorable handwriting under yours. How someone could be as endearing as Hoseok was beyond you, but you loved that about him.
Wordlessly, you pretended to pay attention to the briefing once more while you slid your hand towards Hoseok to let him hold your hand. You could feel the way his smile brightened when his fingers intertwined with yours, squeezing it gently.
You shook your head as you bit your lips harder to fight the smile that was now on your face when you squeezed his hand back.
-----------------
Walking out of the conference room, your hand was still engulfed by Hoseok’s bigger one. Your face was flushed in embarrassment as you walked out. It wasn’t because you were holding his hand, but rather the fact that he never let go after the meeting was over. So you had to walk from your seat to the end of the table with the said furniture in the middle of you as you walked. 
“If I didn’t love you as much as I do, I would’ve kicked your ass by now, just so you know,” you grumbled as you walked down the corridor towards your shared room. 
Hoseok laughed, his grip around your hand tightening as he bumped his shoulder with yours. “Good thing you love me then! It would be a nightmare to jump between dimensions with you otherwise.”
“Who said it’s still not a nightmare to have you as my partner?”
“Don’t be rude.”
“Make me,” you teased before quickly freeing your hand from his and running towards your destination.
“Come back here!”
-----------------
It was the day of action, as you liked to call it, the day when you were supposed to start experiments. 
“You ready?” Hoseok asked as he came to join you in the transport chamber.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Promise to find each other no matter what?” he asked while putting his pinky finger out, smiling at you.
You laughed as you wrapped yours around his. “Of course.”  
“I’ll see you around then.”
You only hummed in agreement before pressing the power button on the transport bracelet and the world went dark.
-----------------
You woke up to the blaring alarm of your phone, blindly looking for the device to turn the godforsaken sound off. When you failed to find it, you pushed yourself up from your bed to scan the area, getting more irked the longer the sound went on. 
Finally, your eyes landed on the black vibrating phone on the ground and you had half a mind to just stomp on the damn thing and break it. Picking it up, you harshly tapped on the stop button and sighed when the apartment went quiet, closing your eyes to bask in the peace. 
Wait. Apartment? 
Your eyes shot open again as you examined your surroundings, trying to decipher which universe you were in currently. The place seemed like any other average looking apartment in a bustling city. You unlocked your phone when you felt it vibrate in your hand, realising it was a text from someone saved as ‘Chicky Chimmy’. 
Opening the conversation, your confusion only grew at the text.
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“I’m a student, huh?” You pondered as you grabbed a random outfit for the day along with what you assumed to be your books on the reading table in your room. You then proceeded to head down and out of your apartment. “Could’ve been worse.”
-----------------
Stepping out of the elevator, you saw your… friend impatiently leaning against his car looking at you with displeasure all over his face. You gave him a sheepish smile as you approached him, praying to whatever higher power that he says his name for one reason or another. From the previous conversations you had after taking some time to go through your phone, the two of you were supposed to be best friends so you weren’t in a position to ask his name.
“Y/N our class starts in 30 minutes and it takes 30 minutes to get there!”
“Hehe?”
He faced palm, moving to go around to the driver's seat. “Just get your cute butt inside.”
----------------
The moment Chimmy parked his car inside the university, he dashed out of the car with you close behind, panicking about how mad the professor was going to be for being late.
You almost bumped into him when he stopped in front of a classroom, shooting you a nervous glance before slowly stepping inside the class. The two of you couldn’t even get two steps in before the voice of the man teaching the class boomed across the room.
“Y/L/N Y/N and Park Jimin. Late again, I see?”
Again? How many times have we been late before? Jimin’s a cute name though, perfect for him. You smiled slightly at your thoughts before fixing your expression to be neutral before the professor could catch you. 
“We’re so sorry professor! This will be the last time!” Jimin pleaded, fidgeting on his spot.
“That’s what you said last time, Mr. Park,” the professor replied, looking unamused.
“Pro-”
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” A new voice joins, the person who barged in after the two of you hunched over and panting from surely having run to class.
“Mr. Jung Hoseok, I did not expect such tardiness from you.”
Hoseok! You felt your heart rate kick up just at the mention of his name. It’s not often the higher ups make it easy to find your partner but it seemed that they were feeling courteous this time.
Hoseok’s eyes met yours and he flashed you a giant smile, one that had his eyes turning into crescents before looking back at the professor with a dashin smile. “I’m sorry sir, it surely won’t happen again.”
The professor sighed, rolling his eyes when he looked back at Jimin and you before muttering, “That’s what they always say.” Shaking his head, the professor gave a small nod. “Go to your seats and don’t be late again. Especially the two of you, Miss Y/L/N and Mr. Park.”
Jimin bowed before grabbing your hand and dragging you to the back of the room, taking a seat and patting the one beside him urgently. Glancing at Hoseok one last time, you sat beside Jimin. 
You couldn’t help but pout at the sight of Hoseok sitting somewhere else and already interacting with the strangers around him as if he knew them for a long time. He was always a social butterfly but it was always shocking to see him get accustomed to new universes so easily.
“You look amazing today, just so you know,” Jimin whispered in your ear, his eyes trained on the board even as he spoke.
“Thanks.”
-----------------
It was lunch time and Jimin had basically dragged you to the cafe near the university, claiming that cheap and instant coffee was the only thing his body needed to go through the day. 
“Coffee is great and all but you need actual food too, you know,” you nagged Jimin as he downed his second cup of coffee in one sitting.
Placing the brown coffee cup down, Jimin raised his index finger as if giving a speech. “People need a lot of things, doesn’t mean they have it though.”
You gave Jimin an unimpressed look. “Stop trying to be a philosopher and get some food in you, tiny.”
“I’m literally taller than you.”
“I will fight you, Park Jimin.”
----------------
“I still don’t get why we need to do this,” you grumbled as you stretched your hands and legs.
“Because,” Jimin said, dribbling the orange basketball as he waited for you to finish. “Warming up is important before starting any exercise to decrease the chances of pulling a muscle or something.”
You snort at that, stretching one last time before dropping your hands. “You make it sound like I’m going to exercise.”
“Y/N we’re literally in PE class.”
“And?”
Jimin could only give you an unamused look before shaking his head in defeat, his newly dyed pink hair bouncing from his movement. 
-----------------
You were sitting in the library surrounded by textbooks for the upcoming exam when you felt someone pull out the chair in front of you and take a seat. Paying them no mind, you continued drowning yourself with new information from the book when you felt someone nudge your leg under the table.
You glanced up from the textbook in front of you to see none other than Jung Hoseok sitting in front of you with a smile. Just before you could shoot him a smile and delve into a conversation, your brain reminded you of the fact that it had been a week since you came to this dimension and this the first time he tried to come talk to you after seeing each other in that one class on day one. 
Scoffing, you looked back down at your book, ignoring the way he nudged your leg again to get your attention.
“Are you mad at me?” He finally asked when he realised that you were ignoring him.
“What do you think?”
“What did I dooooo?”
You slammed the pink covered book in your hand shut, looking him in the eye. “What did you do? Oh I don’t know, maybe because you basically ignored me for a week? Acted as if I don’t exist?”
Hoseok frowned, trying to take your hand in his but you moved away from him. “I’m sorry baby. I’ve just been so swamped with work. Did you know I’m the dance club leader and a part of the student council in this universe? I swear I would’ve come up to you earlier if I had the time!”
“I tried talking to you a few days back, you acted as if you didn’t even know me,” you replied, not being able to hide the hurt from your tone. “You didn’t seem busy then, you were just having lunch and laughing with your friends.” 
“Baby…”
You sighed, pushing away the chair and standing up. “Forget it, I’ll see you around, Hoseok.” Collecting your books, you gave Hoseok one last look before walking away.
-----------------
You were currently playing with the dog Jimin recently adopted on his couch when he plopped down beside you with snacks. You had come over for movie night but now you were more interested in playing with his dog than the movie.
“So you going to tell me why the Jung Hoseok has been following you around like a lovesick puppy for the past week?”
“No, because there’s nothing to say,” you replied, not paying much attention due to the energetic puppy that was jumping about on your lap.
Jimin groaned, placing the bowl of snack down on the coffee table and then taking the chocolate coloured labrador puppy away from you - much to your protest. “Stop playing with Doggo and give me the tea!”
“I still can’t believe you named your dog Doggo.”
“That is not the main topic of this conversation and you know it!”
You sighed, rolling your eyes so hard that your head hurt a little. “There’s nothing to say, Hoseok and I talked in the library when I was studying for the test and then had a little argument and I left.”
Jimin scoffed, his lips pulling into a pout as he crossed his arms. “That’s the weakest tea I’ve ever gotten. Give me the details! Since when do you two know each other enough to be having ‘fights’?”
“I-” you stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse. “We don’t! He just approached me in the library and I found him really annoying.”
Jimin gave you a skeptical look. “Y/N… You’ve had a crush on him for like a year now. You find him annoying?”
“Yes?” You answered, though it sounded more like a question. “What do you want me to say something like ‘Oh we’re actually dimension travellers and know each other from before and this is all just an experiment? Don’t be ridiculous!” You rambled, laughing nervously when you realised that you had basically just exposed yourself.
“Huh?”
“Listen! I liked him but he’s actually annoying, so that’s over.”  
“If you say so…” Jimin conceded hesitantly, still looking at you skeptically which now looked more concerned.
-----------------
You had successfully avoided Hoseok like the plague for almost the remainder of the time you had in this dimension. You knew what you were doing was petty and it really wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t come talk to you at first, but now you were in too deep to stop being petty. Not that it stopped Hoseok from trailing after you anytime he could, trying to get you to talk to him.
“Y/N, please stop!” You heard Hoseok call from behind you but you kept walking, ignoring him like you usually did. “Oh for fuck sake,” you heard him grumble before you felt someone grab you by your wrist and twirling you around for their lips to press against yours.
You were about to push them off when you realised that it was Hoseok who had kissed you, not a random person and you unconsciously melted into it. Your arms slithered around his neck to pull him closer as his hands wrapped around your waist to move closer to you too.
Breaking the kiss, Hoseok pressed his forehead against yours while looking you in the eyes. “It’s the last day here before we move on and who knows how long it’s going to take us to find each other there. Stop being mad, please?”
Not being able to help yourself, you placed a kiss on his nose, stepping away from him and smiling cheekily. “I’ll see you around, Hoseok.”
-----------------
“YOU KISSED HOSEOK IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE CORRIDOR! OH MY GOD I NEED THE DETAILS!” Jimin exclaimed when you met up with him after school. He was your ride home after all. 
You only laughed, your face flushed in embarrassment. “Uh huh, how about I tell you all about it tomorrow?”
“Promise?” He asked, looking at you in disappointment that he couldn’t get you to tell him everything right then.
You shook your head, looking away from him. “We’ll see.” 
No point in making a promise that you knew you couldn’t keep it. You were going to leave tonight, who knows if you’ll ever come back here or if he would ever remember you once you left.
-----------------
The next time you opened your eyes, you were underwater. At first, panic took over you from the possibility of you drowning. But when you opened your mouth, rather than feeling the water rushing in and suffocating you, you found out that you were completely fine.
“Huh?” You blurted out Your eyes widened when you realised that you could hear yourself clearly underwater too. Looking around, your eyes zeroed in on the shimmering tail that began from your waist down. “HUH?!”
You looked around only to see nothing but water, a few fish swam by you but that was about it. It wasn’t your first time in a fairytale universe but it was your first time being a mermaid. You wondered if Hoseok got transformed into some sort of mythical creature like you too. 
“Oh well, I hope he’s safe.”
-----------------
You didn’t know how much time passed but you were still blindly swimming around trying to find out where to go. You had breached the water at one point and sat on some rocks by a beach in true fairytale mermaid fashion but even then you found nothing of interest. You did get to sit and watch the clear blue waves peacefully for a while but that got boring after some time, too.
“I never thought I’d miss wearing sandals but here I am,” you sighed to yourself before jumping back into the water.
You were just about ready to give up and just sit on the sea bed when you saw a cave underwater. You couldn’t help but snort at how similar this felt to the fairytale ‘Little Mermaid’ you used to read when you were younger. All you needed was some evil old witch to be residing in there and a prince charming to drown some time soon so you could save him and lose your voice.
Having nothing better to do, you began swimming down to the cave to explore it when you felt someone grab you and drag you away from the cave entrance urgently. 
“What the fuck? What are you doing, let me go!” You exclaimed as you tried to wiggle free from your captor.
“Stop struggling, you’re going to get us caught by the hag!” A deep voice harshly whispered in your ear. 
The mention of a hag had you stop struggling. “Caught by the what now?”
You felt your captor loosen their grip around you, giving you the perfect chance to move away from them. You turned to come face to face with a beautiful man… er merman? 
“The hag? Evil sea witch out to get merfolks?” the man asked, looking at you incredulously at the fact that you seemingly had no idea as to who the hag was. “Are you new here? I haven’t seen you before.”
“I guess you could say that. I’ve been swimming for ages now and you’re the first creature I found,” you explained.
The man hummed, tapping his lips as he scanned you over before breaking out into a large boxy smile. “Well then, nice to meet you! I’m Taehyung, what’s your name?”
“Y/N.”
Taehyung gasped when he heard your name. “Y/N? As in Y/L/N Y/N?”
“Why do you know my name?” You asked cautiously. Fuck, were you supposed to know who he was? If that was the case then why were you transported away from them, also he didn’t seem to know you before you introduced yourself.
“Princess! Welcome!”
Excuse me, WHAT?! You choked on nothing. “Who?”
“You! Princess! Welcome!”
When you were thinking about this universe being a knock-off ‘Little Mermaid’ universe, you didn’t think that would be the right assumption. 
Not knowing how to act, you shot Taehyung an awkward smile, waving a little. “Thank you?”
“You have to meet the others! Let’s go, princess!” Taehyung exclaimed excitedly before grabbing your hand and swimming away from the cave.
-----------------
After Taehyung had brought you to others, you met 5 other mermen - each almost unimaginably beautiful. It was a pleasant surprise to see this dimension’s Jimin, he was just as sweet and excitable as the one before.
After the initial meet-up, you got to know that you were indeed the daughter of Triton - something that had you laughing at the absurdity for a good five minutes much to the confusion of others - and you were supposed to be visiting ‘your kingdom’ to get acquainted with everyone before your coronation and living here.
As Taehyung had escorted you to your room, you had joked that all you needed was a handsome man to drown so you could save him. Which, in hindsight may have been a very weird thing to say from the look Taehyung gave you. 
Currently, you were exploring the kingdom, asking people if they knew of anyone by the name Hoseok, only to end up with no clue as to where he might be. No one had any idea about Jung Hoseok and you were getting worried about not managing to find him.
Lost in your thoughts, you didn’t realise that you had left the premises of the city and wandered away. You stopped in your tracks when a giant shadow moved above you, completely leaving you in the dark. 
You looked up to see what blocked the sun when you realised you were directly underneath two ships, the sound of fighting barely audible under the water but present nevertheless. Curiosity getting the best of you, you cautiously swam up to peak above at what was going on, only to find that a full on war was ongoing between the two ships. 
“Damn, am I in a Grimm Brothers Fairytale or the Pirates of The Caribbean movie right now?”
You didn’t have much time to ponder, however, because you noticed someone eerily similar to Hoseok going overboard and you dove underwater for him.
“I swear if that’s actually Hoseok, I’m going to lose my mind.”
Catching the sinking body, you almost wanted to let him go so you could swim over and slam your head against a rock when you realised, it was indeed Hoseok. 
Muttering a few curses under your breath, you proceeded to drag Hoseok towards the beach close by to make sure he didn’t drown before you could give him a piece of your mind.
-----------------
Hoseok sat up abruptly, his nose, throat and eyes burning as he coughed violently. “Mother of bitch, that’s salty,” he spoke, his voice hoarse from almost drowning.
“Of course it is! What were you doing on a pirate ship?!” You exclaimed, hitting his thigh with your palm.
“Y/N?” He asked, his eyes widening when he realised that it was you in front of him.
“The one and only.”
“Oh thank goodness you’re alright!” Hoseok exclaimed, pulling you to his chest and resting his head on top of yours after placing a kiss there.
“You didn’t answer my question,” you said, your voice muffled by his chest from the way he held you close.
“Hm? What was your question?” He asked, letting you go to face you properly. 
“What were you doing on a pirate ship?” 
“Ah! I’m the captain!”
“What? Why don’t I get to be badass characters like you,” you whined looking away from him petulantly. 
“You don’t need a character to be badass, you’re a natural one!” He happily answered, grabbing your chin to make you face him. “You look beautiful baby, but how’d you find me?”
“Are you telling me that you didn’t notice this huge ass tail I have?”
Looking down at your words, his eyes widened, voice rising in pitch with his excitement. “Oh my god you have a tail! You’re a mermaid!”
“Gee? Am I?! Wow Hoseok, thank you for enlightening me!” You mocked his excitement. You didn’t want to act so short with him but the adrenaline running through your body after basically finding the one you love drowning had your brain going haywire.
“Are you mad at me again?”
“I don’t know, Hoseok. Am I?”
“You know I don’t choose the roles I get!”
You sighed, feeling guilty for the way you acted towards him. “I know, it’s just. At first I couldn’t find you anywhere and when I did, you were drowning and it just fucked me up. I know I was joking about how I’m Ariel from Little Mermaid and I need to save a drowning prince but this was not what I was expecting.”
Understanding as ever, Hoseok gave you a sad smile before pulling you back into his embrace again, running his hand through your hair in the way he knew you loved. “It’s okay, I understand. I’d be worried too if I were you, just don’t be mad at me, you know I hate it when you’re mad at me.”
“‘M sorry.”
“Can I have a kiss?” he asked after the two of you basked in each other’s warmth for a moment. 
You pulled back from him, scrunching your nose at him, feeling shy when you noticed how intensely he was looking at you. Grabbing the collar of the shirt he was wearing, you pulled him down for a kiss, pouring out all your emotions into it - from how much you cared for him to how sorry you were for the way you acted. You hoped that he would understand. 
Hoseok kissed you back with just as much emotion, pulling you close and smiling into the kiss. Breaking away from it, he gave you a blinding smile, one that had your heart melting like butter. 
“I love you,” you whispered, afraid that speaking any louder would make you break from all the emotions that were rushing through your heart.
“I love you too. I need to go now, can see my ship coming towards us.”
You nodded, not really processing his words, too busy staring at his gorgeous face. Hoseok realised the fact you didn’t pay attention to his words, making him smile wider. Waving a hand in front of your face, Hoseok chuckled when you seemed as if just coming out of a trance.
“Did you hear anything I just said?”
“Not really,” you shrugged.
Hoseok threw his head back in laughter. “I said, I can see my ship coming towards us as we speak so I reckon it’s time to leave, baby. I’ll make sure to come visit you here as much as I can in the time we’re here.”
“Promise?” You asked, offering your pinky to him as you looked at him through your lashes.
“Promise,” Hoseok answered, wrapping his finger around yours, giving you one last smile as he stood back up. 
“I’ll see you around, alright?”
“I’ll see you around.”
With that you swam back to the sea, waiting just out of sight to make sure that Hoseok was okay before actually leaving. 
You might travel to various places with no certainty of what you may face but one thing was for sure, you’d always find your way to Hoseok.
43 notes · View notes
riversofmars · 3 years
Note
OMG Vastra and Jenny's wedding! Please write that! Maybe they 'never' got around to it because multiple Doctors and multiple Rivers showed up and therefore don't remember. Haha. Pretty please?
OMG I love this! Yes, of course I will! It's utter chaos, I hope you like it. I was having a good laugh while writing :D
Rating: G
Word Count: 2200
Read on AO3 or blow
The Big Day
“Strax!“ Madame Vastra’s voice carried through the corridors of 13 Paternoster Row.
“Yes, Ma’am?“ Strax stuck his head into Vastra’s study, and the lady of the house looked around.
“There you are. I need you to get Jenny as well,“ she instructed.
“Now, Ma’am?“ Strax frowned.
“Yes, Strax right now,“ she retorted with a sigh.
“You do realise what day it is?“ The butler prompted. It had taken him a while to find her as the study was not where she was supposed to be.
“Yes, Strax I am fully aware what day it is. But the fate of London, planet Earth and, frankly, Time itself makes no exceptions, not even for one’s wedding day,“ Vastra groaned in annoyance. She had been in her bed chambers getting ready for the big day when her advanced hearing had picked up on a series of alarms sounding from the study. She had considered ignoring them, this was meant to be the happiest day of her life after all, but her sense of duty had gotten the better of her.
“Very good, Ma’am…“ Strax nodded. “But perhaps we might try to… solve the problem by ourselves? I’m afraid Miss Jenny might be awfully disappointed if she were to see you before the ceremony,“ the commander pointed out. While he couldn’t pretend to understand the meaning behind all these seemingly random Earth traditions, he appreciated that they bore some significance to Jenny.
“Strax…“ Vastra sighed, she didn’t need him making her feel any more guilty than she already did. All she wanted was for this to be the perfect day for Jenny and already things were going wrong.
“Earlier she threw a shoe at me when I requested her help in serving tea,“ Strax explained.
“Do you think maybe that has something to do with the fact that you asked her to work on her wedding day?“ Vastra couldn’t help a smirk of amusement, she would have enjoyed seeing Strax trying to duck a shoe flying his way.
“I hadn’t considered it, Ma’am,“ the Sontaran mused. “I shall file that under human mating rituals: no work on the wedding day.“
“Right, okay, I suppose I should apply the same principle to fighting alien incursions. Let’s see if we can deal with this discreetly, without Jenny…“ Vastra decided, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“Perhaps I might be of some assistance!“ Strax and Vastra whirled around to see Professor River Song flash a stunning smile at them. She shook out her hair that fizzed with the energy of vortex manipulator travel.
“Professor Song!“ Vastra took a moment to recover from the shock. She stared in surprise at the archaeologist who smoothed down a beautiful navy gown. Guests weren’t meant to arrive for another few hours. Vastra herself hadn’t even changed yet.
“Sorry, I am a bit early but I was in need of a quick getaway and set the coordinates in a hurry… but sounds like I might have been just in time?“ River grinned.
“Well, uh…“ the lady of the house struggled for words.
“So what seems to be the problem, I’m happy to help,“ the professor carried on pleasantly as she looked around the study. “I’m sure there are things you’d rather be doing right now.“
“How about some tea?“ Strax interjected.
“Champagne if you don’t mind. Or is it a bit early for that too?“ River retorted.“What time is it anyway?“
“You see, that seems to be the problem,“ Vastra said, pointing to a clock on the mantelpiece. It had stopped.
“I thought something didn’t feel quite right,“ River checked the time on her vortex manipulator as well.
“It’s not just the one clock, I have checked them all, they’ve just stopped,“ the Silurian carried on.
“Well then, there is nothing for it, we must locate the source of the time distortion so we can get on with this lovely day. You’re only meant to get married once. Getting caught in an alternate reality or a time loop or something to that effect would be awfully inconvenient,“ River clapped her hands together with enthusiasm. As someone with first-hand experience of weddings outside the fabric of time, she felt best equipped to deal with things.
“And how would you suggest we start?“ Vastra asked.
“Well, there really only is one question we need to ask ourselves… where is my plus one? I am fairly certain one of them is responsible for this,“ River put her hands on her hips. “He’s not arrived yet, has he?“
“Which one of them did you bring?“ Vastra questioned, and the professor ran her hand through her hair.
“Ah well, I thought I would see whichever one of them turns up…“
“Oh…“ Realisation dawned on Vastra what sort of temporal disturbance they might be dealing with.
“Was I supposed to bring one in particular?“ River asked, and the Silurian shook her head.
“Well, no. No, it’s just…“
“Ah…“ River came to the same conclusion as the detective. “Yes, I see what you mean…“
“It would make sense…“ Vastra crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Could you please stop communicating telepathically?“ Strax intervened, and the two women looked around to him.
“More than one Doctor in the same place and time,“ Vastra explained while River produced a scanner from the small clutch bag she was holding.
“Dimensional engineering isn’t just useful for TARDISes, you know,“ she smirked in response to their confused expressions and started running a scan. “The disturbance isn’t far from here, in fact… just…“ She pointed to the ground beneath their feet. “Below us.“
“The Siluritum,“ Vastra sighed. Of course. The cavern below 13 Paternoster Row was where they would be having the ceremony and reception.
“Come on!“ River grinned, heading towards the door. “Or would you rather stay and continue getting ready…?“ She turned back to Vastra, looking her up and down.
“I would rather make sure my wedding does not equate to the end of the universe,“ the detective retorted as she followed.
“What should I do, Ma’am?“ Strax piped up.
“Reassure Jenny that everything is absolutely fine and that everything is going off without a hitch,“ Vastra decided it was best to keep her bride in the dark for as long as possible. Surely, the situation would be easy enough to rectify and with any luck, she would never need to know. “Do NOT let her venture downstairs.“
“But what if she…“ Strax carried on, and Vastra interrupted him:
“Use your initiative Strax: lie.“
“This way…“ Vastra indicated, and River followed. As they descended the stairs to what any ordinary visitor would have presumed the basement, the air was not only getting hot and moist as Silurians preferred it, it also seemed to be fizzing with energy. Reality was slightly out of whack, and the first TARDIS came into view at the bottom of the stairs.
“Now this is going to be fun,“ River commented as they stepped into the impressive cave - decorated for the occasion with the most luscious flowers - and they spotted another dozen TARDISes. There was room enough but evidently not time and reality enough to accommodate them or their numerous owners.
“Alright, can everyone just calm down so we can work this out?!“ One of the Doctors shouted in a thick Scottish accent. “As the oldest one here, I can assure you, none of you are meant to be here, I’d remember!“
“If our time streams are crossed, you wouldn’t remember, actually!“ Another Doctor shot back, who River liked to refer to as Pretty Boy.
“I think this is all some big misunderstanding,“ yet another Doctor - donning particularly well-grown celery for the occasion - pointed out.
“You’re gonna have to help me here…“ Vastra mumbled to River as they hovered in the doorway.
“Who are all these people?“ A young girl enquired of the Doctor next to her.
“Susan Foreman, Doctor’s granddaughter…“ River whispered to Vastra who looked back at her bemused.
“Does that make you a step-grandmother?“
“Shut up…“ River elbowed the Silurian who smirked but then she pointed out all the companions' names to her as they watched them bicker.
“Doctor, you didn’t mention you used to be so handsome…“ Amy Pond was currently in the process of eyeing up several of the Doctor’s previous incarnations while their Doctor just groaned in annoyance, and Rory Williams tried his best to keep her from making acquaintances.
“Handsome? Really?“ Donna Noble shot back, obviously disgusted at the very thought while Pretty Boy smugly straightened his tie.
“So they’re all you?“ Sarah Jane Smith asked, bewildered.
“It would appear so…“ her Doctor retorted, tangling his long scarf around him, while soothing down a suit. To their credit, everyone had dressed up for the occasion.
“Doctor, what are we doing here?“ Liv Chenka threw her hands up in the air, fed up with the bickering.
“We’ve been invited to a wedding,“ her Doctor replied with a wide grin.
“Who’s wedding?“ Ace McShane interjected.
“I don’t know but I love a good wedding, don’t you?“ her Doctor grinned, straightening his hat.
“You don’t even know Vastra and Jenny yet!“ The Doctor that River liked to nickname “Eyebrows“ shot back.
“Is that who’s getting married? Lovely, best put that on the card…“ Pretty Boy instructed Donna who rolled her eyes at him.
“Do you think perhaps it’s time to…“ Vastra looked at River.
“What?“ The professor had been engrossed in watching the spectacle in front of them but the detective certainly had a point. “Oh yeah, yes, let's!“
“Excuse me, everyone!“ Vastra called out and everyone looked around. Before the Silurian could carry on, however, there was an energy discharge, knocking everyone off their feet. Suddenly, another TARDIS appeared in their midst.
“Sorry, sorry! Are we late?“ Another Doctor, northern with blond bobbed hair, stuck her head out.
“Now, this is getting more interesting by the minute!“ River raised her eyebrows intrigued, as she clambered back to her feet.
“River!“ the blond Doctor exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across her face. The other Doctors - surprisingly even the ones that didn’t really know who she was - mirrored the expression upon lying eyes on their wife..
“Professor!“ Vastra elbowed River who took delight in the attention suddenly devoted to her. The air was humming with energy, if another TARDIS decided to pop up now, things would surely go very wrong indeed.
“Right, everyone, this is getting a tiny bit complicated…“ River announced, though somewhat half-heartedly as she made eyes at her numerous husbands and wife, so Vastra decided it best to take things in her own hands:
“And by tiny bit complicated the professor means to say you are disrupting the very fabric of time.“ She put her hands on her hips, her voice stern. “In my house. On my wedding day. And as I would like to actually get married later today, it would be nice if time could carry on and not break, not today.“
“Oh right.“ The Doctors exchanged concerned glances.
“Yeah, I suppose that wouldn’t be very good, would it…“
“So if you wouldn’t mind parking your TARDISes elsewhere,“ Vastra carried on and there were more nods from various Doctors:
“Right.“
“Sure.“
“Naturally.“
“But… which one of us gets to stay? We’re all invited,“ it was the oldest Doctor that spoke up. She was looking at River with stars in her eyes, and it melted the professor’s heart. She evidently hadn’t seen her in a long time and was keen to stay.
“Ah yes, that may have been an oversight on my part…“ River admitted sheepishly as she had sent a message on the psychic paper. One that had clearly reached all of them.
“Well, I think there’s only one thing for it,“ a voice sounded from the doorway, and everyone whirled around. Jenny crossed her arms in front of her chest in amusement as she watched the peculiar scene in front of her.
Everyone was at a loss for words but Vastra in particular. Jenny was wearing a stunning wedding dress of white lace, her hair was pinned up with white flowers and her bright smile was the most dazzling thing of all.
“Darling, it’s…“ Vastra was going to say that everything was alright and dealt with. She was going to say that it was far too early for her to be down here. She was going to say that they shouldn’t be seeing each other yet, but all she could manage was: “You look beautiful.“
“And you’re not changed yet,“ Jenny smirked. “You better, as soon as time carries on.“
“We will have this sorted in a minute, Jenny, I’m so sorry about this.“ River said but the bride just laughed.
“I should have expected today wouldn’t go off without a hitch,“ she commented. “Just as… extraordinary as the rest of our life.“ She smiled at Vastra who gave a soft chuckle as well.
“You said there was one thing for it? What solution did you have in mind, my love?“
“Well I suppose, to keep things fair, we will have to repeat the ceremony a few times, won’t we. So everyone can attend.“ Jenny grinned as Vastra’s face fell.
“Are you serious?“
“Well, it’s only fair. Don’t tell me it’s such a hardship to keep kissing me,“ Jenny winked to a chorus of cheers. She wrapped her arms around her wife-to-be who allowed herself to be pulled into a hug.
Suddenly there was another discharge of energy.
“Alright everyone, move your TARDISes!“ Vastra exclaimed, and the Doctors jumped into action. “It’s gonna be a long and beautiful day.“ She smiled at Jenny and pressed a loving kiss to her lips. The first of many they would share that day.
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lexosaurus · 3 years
Text
Pink Astronaut
This is my secret santa gift for Anectoplasm on discord! Happy holidays, and I hope you enjoy!
Characters: Danny/Paulina Genre: Fluff Word Count: 4549 Summary: To Paulina's dismay, she and Danny Fenton must work together on their English final project.
Read on [ao3] [ffn]
---
It was Lancer’s fault, really. 
He assigned the class a partner-project for their final presentation, but being the annoying teacher he was, he had decided it was imperative that the students  were assigned to pairs of his choosing. Aka, no working with friends.
Paulina tried her best. Truly, she did. She batted her eyelashes and put on her most polite tone when she said, “Pretty please with extra whipped cream and a cherry on top, can I work with Star instead of Loser Fenton?” 
But, to her utter dismay, Mr. Lancer was a brick wall. No amount of wit nor charm could change his rubric, and so Paulina relented in a very much not dramatic final sigh as she resigned herself to be Danny Fenton’s English partner for the coming weeks.
Fenton was...well, he was weird. His parents hunted ghosts, he always slept through class, he was clumsy, and Paulina knew that in middle school Fenton was just like all the other boys who saw her as nothing more than a pretty face.
And that annoyed her to her core. She was a human, damn it! She had her own wishes and dreams and goals in life. Although she wasn’t vocal about it, she wanted to be a journalist when she was older. The kind that made it to shows like 60 Minutes, reporting on amazing stories from all around the world. She wanted to travel, she wanted to meet people, and she wanted to be the best at it. 
She was still a long way off from that now though. First, she needed to survive through this stupid English project with that weird nerd who had gone through a not-so-secret crush on her before.
Though, when she looked his way now, Fenton didn’t look all too thrilled to be partnered with her either.
She would have called it odd, but that had been their dynamic for a little over a year now. She guessed that Fenton finally got the hint and dropped his love struck puppy act. Maybe he and Sam had finally confessed their undying love to each other. 
It was probably for the best.
Fenton made no move towards her, instead choosing to stare dully into his notebook.
Paulina rolled her eyes and slid from her chair. She strode over to his desk, throwing a hand on her waist and looking down at him with an expression she knew would yield no arguments. “Alright, my house or yours?” 
“Huh?” Fenton said, recognizing a little too late that she was there.
“For the project? The one we were just assigned? Hello, Earth to Commander Fenton! My house or yours today?”
“Today?” Fenton blinked. “You wanna start today?”
Paulina narrowed her eyes. “Why, got something better to do?”
“Well—it’s just—”
“I’ll come over at four. I’ll be at cheer practice till then. If you want anything from Starbucks, just text me before then. I know Manson has my number, you can get it from her.”
She left him sitting dumbly in his chair. No one was getting in the way of her and that A, especially not some nerd who couldn’t even bother to care about school.
But, to Paulina’s surprise, Fenton actually opened the door for her when she showed up to his house that afternoon. Half of her expected him to blow her off, just ghost her and leave her to do all the work. And yet, he brought her into his kitchen, got out his notebook, and got right to work.
It was unnerving to see him so studious. She remembered Fenton as a nerd in middle school, but everyone knew about the absolute nose-dive his grades took once he got to high school. It wasn’t exactly a secret, what with him skipping class every other day.
The duo parted ways with a promise to meet up again over the weekend. Again, to Paulina’s pleasant surprise, he actually texted her to confirm their plans. And when Paulina stepped into the Starbucks that Saturday afternoon, Danny was already sitting at a table waiting for her, his notebook out and the project rubric between his fingers.
This much good luck was sure to run out, but Paulina just hoped that Fenton could last another few weeks before he inevitably dropped the ball.
Except, that never happened. Each time they set up plans to work on their presentation, Fenton would show up, he would focus on the work, and they’d part ways with plans to reconvene later. It was uncanny. It was so unlike everything Paulina had come to know of Fenton through these months.
And Paulina wondered if maybe, just maybe, this was who Fenton really was. 
Under all those disciplinary actions, the dropped beakers, the tardies, the unfinished assignments and failed grades, if this was hidden underneath.
So then that begged the question: why didn’t he show this side of himself more? Why was he failing if he was clearly capable of doing the work?
And so Paulina sat there, just a week before they were set to give their presentation, scrutinizing Fenton’s features as he recited a passage from the book they were analyzing. She noted the bags under his eyes, the bruise on his cheek, the way his face seemed to tighten every time he coughed.
He had arrived a few minutes late that day, and she remembered how he entered the classroom, his gate just a little too stiff to be natural.
Someone had hurt Fenton, Paulina realized. Someone had beat him up.
For reasons she didn’t know, hot anger flashed over her. Someone beat up Danny, a kid who was clumsy and could be a bit slow on the uptake, but someone who Paulina had come to understand was a rather kind and gentle classmate.
Yet someone didn’t care.
So the next day, maybe she stormed up to Dash a little too aggressively to demand, “What the hell did you do to Fenton?”
There was Dash, right on queue with his cocky laugh and a, “That nerd had it coming to him!”
“Are you kidding me?” Paulina yelled. “A week before our English final presentation and you punch Fenton across the face? Are you stupid?”
Dash’s smile dropped instantly, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Paulina, I didn’t—”
“You know how much this class matters to me, Dash! You know I wanna move up to honors next year! I can’t do that if you’re giving my English partner a goddamn concussion while we’re preparing to present!”
“Paulina!” Dash grabbed her arm.
“No!” Paulina ripped her arm away. “Don’t touch me, and don’t fucking sabotage—”
“I didn’t beat Fenton up!” Dash shouted. 
Paulina’s eyes narrowed. 
Dash held his hands up in a surrender. “I swear I didn’t beat him up. Ask Kwan if you don’t believe me. Honestly, I haven’t touched him in months. The—the coach told me that if I did well in school this year, I’d probably get recruited to college. I didn’t want to risk Fenton messing that up. I swear!”
Paulina stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to crack. But Dash’s panicked face held.
“Whatever.” She whipped around. “Tell your stupid friends to keep their hands off my project partner.”
“Consider it done!”
Paulina stormed off, ignoring the wide stares from her peers and the whispers of, “Did she just defend Fenton?”
She tried to block them out. They weren’t important. Her grades were important, her future was important, but those idiots? No, they meant nothing to her.
That afternoon, Danny was early. He was sitting there in the empty classroom when Paulina walked in, his head down to his paper, and didn’t even look up when Paulina gave her cheerful, “Hello!”
Well...that was weird. Sure, a few weeks ago, Danny mostly ignored her cheerful greetings in favor of getting ahead on the project, but Paulina liked to think that a mutual respect, or—god forbid—a friendship had been forming between the duo.
“Oof, cold shoulder? So not your speed, Danny,” Paulina said, plopping down to her seat.
Danny tensed, “I...uh, sorry. I’m tired.”
“Sheesh, alright.” Paulina slid her notebook out. “So we were working on the symbolism slide of the powerpoint, right?”
“Yeah,” Danny passed his notebook over to her. “I started parsing through the book at lunch today and found some good passages. Take a look.”
Paulina went to study the paper, but something else caught her eye.
Something on his arm.
Something that looked like a burn.
“Danny?” Paulina stared wide-eyed at the space of molten skin between his sleeve and hand. “What the hell happened to your arm?”
“Oh, I—” Danny slipped his arm under the desk. “I, uh, sorry. You see—”
“Whoa!” Paulina only caught a glance of his face before he ducked down again, but that split-second was enough. “What the hell? What happened to you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Paulina saw red. “Oh, that idiot! I’m gonna kill him!”
Danny looked up, the multicolored patchwork of skin on his face finally fully visible to Paulina. “Kill who?”
“Oh, look at you! That asshole!”
Fenton winced. “Am I...am I missing something here?”
“I’m gonna kill Dash!”
“...Dash?” 
“I told him this morning to keep his hands off you! I made that asshole promise to me, and I told him to pass the message along to his stupid friends too!”
Something in Danny’s expression softened. “You told off Dash?”
“Well of course I did!” Paulina said hotily. “You’re my project partner! What kind of person would I be if I let you get hurt?”
“Oh well…” A smile quirked on Danny’s lips. “Thanks for that, but it wasn’t Dash.”
“Well then who was it? I’ll kill them.”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
“You’re right, death would be too generous. I’ll just destroy their reputation instead!”
A bemused look overtook Danny’s face. “Yeah, I have no doubt you would.”
“Tell me right now, Fenton. Tell me who did this and I’ll make them pay. You won’t have to worry about them ever again once I’m finished with them.”
“Oh, I…” The smile fell from Danny’s lips. “It wasn’t anyone. I just...fell.”
“You what?” Paulina’s voice rose in disbelief.
“Yeah, you know how clumsy I am.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He laughed awkwardly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I just—you know. I was walking in the hall, fell down some stairs, hit the stair rail at the bottom. Just typical weirdo Fenton stuff! Nothing you need to destroy anyone over.”
“Don’t play with me. You didn’t fall.”
“I did fall though! It was...yeah, you know how it is. I was walking and talking at the same time and just slipped and fell! Ah, stupid Fenton, am I right? Just always...falling.”
Paulina’s glare was hollow. “How dumb do you think I am, Danny?”
Danny froze, his rambling stuttering off into a tense silence. “What?”
“I said—” Paulina rose from her chair. “—just how dumb do you think I am?”
“Uh, sorry. I’m sorry. Look, I think we may have gotten on the wrong topic here.”
“No!” Paulina slammed her hand down on Fenton’s notebook. “This little tirade? This sham you’ve been pulling for the past two years? It’s bullshit, Danny, and you know it.”
“I don’t—I don’t know—”
“Yes, you do know! You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Paulina hissed. “We’ve been working together for weeks now, and you think you can just sit here and say you fell? To me?” 
“Well, sue me, Paulina!” Danny snapped. “Why do you even care, anyways? We’re not exactly friends.”
“Because you’re my project partner! Your grade is my grade, idiot!”
“Gee, I’m glad you only care about people when it affects your grade.” Danny shoved his notebook into his bag. “What an amazing quality to have.”
Paulina stepped back as if she’d been slapped. “That’s not true!”
Danny ignored her reaction, instead choosing to angrily zip up his backpack. “In case you haven’t noticed, your boyfriend’s been beating me up since we were five. I’m not sure why you’ve decided to care now, but if you want something to be mad at, maybe try being mad at the years of shit I’ve taken from you and your friends.” 
Paulina stood there seething as Danny pushed past her and stocked off into the hallway, slamming the classroom door shut behind him.
There was the Fenton she’d come to know in high school, this was the Fenton she remembered. The one who avoided questions, who put himself down to avoid suspicion, who left in the middle of class without saying anything, who no one could rely on.
But, perhaps more now than ever, Paulina could see just how much of a sham this whole act was.
Just how much he was using this face to protect himself.
But from what? From who?
Paulina tried not to dwell too much on the bruises, especially since they were gone the next day and didn’t reappear for the rest of the week. Of course, Dash swore up and down that he had nothing to do with Fenton’s appearance, and Paulina believed him. Dash could be a bit bullheaded, but he was still one of her closest friends.
For the remaining week they had to put their presentation together, Danny kept to himself, and so did Paulina. Whatever semblance of a friendship they’d built had disintegrated, and both parties seemed content to let it fall.
It made sense, logically speaking. Paulina was popular, Fenton wasn’t. Paulina was an extrovert, Fenton was an introvert. Paulina thrived in attention, Fenton shied away from it. They were like oil and water, a friendship just wasn’t possible.
The presentation day came, and the two spoke with confidence that could only have come from weeks of preparation. Paulina couldn’t help but glow under Mr. Lancer’s impressed nod. Their high marks from the project were enough to fulfill Paulina’s recommendation to the honors English course for the next fall.
And then the school year came to a close and finally, after months of hard work, they could finally relax.
But not before they celebrated first.
One of Dash’s good friends, Dale, had taken it upon himself to host the massive end of the school year party for the rising junior class at Casper High that year. His parents, being the weird sort of chill parents they were, offered up their lake house with the promise that there would be no drinking and driving.
The teens were ecstatic. 
Everyone—everyone—went to the party. Jocks, nerds, band geeks, theatre kids, every clique was represented at the lake house. And why wouldn’t they come? It was the end of the school year celebration! A time to rejoice in having survived another round of homework, tests, quizzes, and essays.
It was also a time where Paulina was once again reminded that yes, the theatre kids could in fact go shot-to-shot with the football team.
Fenton was there with his little group, but Paulina paid them no mind. This wasn’t the time to be worried about him, nor was it the time to feel any sort of guilt at the way their budding friendship just collapsed. She had her friends, why add another?
And it was just preposterous to imply that she missed Fenton.
Because she didn’t.
And yet, when the night was drawing to a close, Paulina somehow managed to find herself down by the lake where a skinny, black haired teen was sitting alone.
She stood behind him, unsure if she wanted to initiate contact. He’d made it clear from their last argument that he still held years of resentment towards her and her friends, and Paulina knew from experience that all that resentment couldn’t go away in one alcohol-filled night.
She turned to walk away, but something stopped her. Before she could question what she was doing or why, she found herself sitting down on the damp grass next to him.
“What are you doing out here?” Paulina asked.
“Oh, uh, hey Paulina! Fancy seeing you here.” Danny gave her a small wave.
“You too.” Paulina stretched her legs out in front of her, leaning back on her hands. “Some party, right?”
“Yeah, Dale was really nice to host this.”
“He’s a great guy. His parents too.”
“I bet.” Danny said. “How are your friends holding up?”
“Well, let’s see. Star just spent a half hour trying to convince me that aliens exist, and Dale’s currently comforting Kwan who saw a video of a puppy rescue on the side of the road and started crying, so I’d say they’re holding up pretty well.”
Danny guffawed. “No way!”
“I swear!” Paulina laughed. “This isn’t even the first time something like this has happened either. I swear, every other time we drink, Kwan always ends up in a corner somewhere watching animal videos on his phone and crying at how precious the animals are and ‘please, Paulina, can’t we just adopt one?’ He’s gonna be the death of me one of these days.”
Danny giggled, his laugh light and airy. Paulina watched him, amazed that they were able to just start talking again as if their fight had never happened.
“So what about you?” she asked. “What happened to your clan?”
“Sam had to drive Tucker home. He got too overconfident in pong.”
She snorted. “Dash is the same. He’s always like, ‘one more round, I’m gonna crush it this time’ and then twenty minutes later I find him asleep in a bathtub or something.”
“Dash drunk sleeping in a bathtub? Oh, that’s a sight I’d like to see.”
“I can assure you that photos exist.”
“The perfect blackmail.” Fenton shot her a grin. “Remind me to get one of Tucker next time he does something stupid.”
“And what makes you think you won’t be right there on the floor with him?” Paulina sassed.
“Hah! You’re probably right!” His smile fell, and he looked at her questioningly. “Hey, will your boyfriend be okay with you out here with me?”
“Oh, Dash? He’s...actually not my boyfriend.”
“Wait, what?” Danny jolted upright. He spun around to face her. “But I thought—”
“Yeah, everyone does. But we’re not dating.”
“Then why don’t you say something? Squash all the rumors?”
Paulina averted her gaze back onto the lake. It was a gorgeous night. Stars speckled the sky in a spectacular display, illuminating the Milky Way behind them. Amity Park was too industrious to see the galaxy, and Paulina couldn’t help but marvel at its sight. 
It was gorgeous. Vast. It seemed to never end. She remembered reading somewhere that the Milky Way could only be seen if there was no moon out.
Luck must have been on her side that night.
“Unless...you don’t want to.” Danny’s voice dawned a tone of realization. “But why?”
“I got tired of it all,” she admitted, her honesty surprising herself. “Guys only wanted to talk to me because they thought if they were nice enough, I would get in their pants or something. I got accused of friendzoning more people than not. Honestly, it was so annoying. I felt everyone saw me as some stupid object. So when the rumors started going around this year that Dash and I were dating, and a lot of guys in our grade started backing off, I just...didn’t fight it. I thought maybe finally everyone would see me as a person. Maybe people would take me seriously.” Her gaze dropped. “I don’t know if it worked, but at least now people don’t see me as some sort of prize so much anymore.”
Danny was silent for a moment, and Paulina immediately regretted her admission. Maybe it was the alcohol loosening her lips, but she doubted Fenton of all people cared. They weren’t even friends.
One side of her wanted to get up and leave, go back to her friends inside the house, but the other side of her was too embarrassed to move.
“That makes sense, honestly,” Danny finally responded.
A wave of relief washed over her.
“And I’m sorry that there was a time where I couldn’t see past your looks too. I was young, but that’s still not an excuse.” He shifted. “I’ve had some...things happen the past year, and they’ve really taught me a lot about judging a book by its cover.”
“What kinds of things?” Paulina said, hoping her voice didn’t betray too much curiosity.
There went that hand behind his neck again. He was nervous, Paulina noted.
“Oh! Uh...it’s a long story, but I just wanted to say that I understand. I get what it feels like to be judged based on surface-level stuff. I mean, Paulina, you’re really smart. I don’t know if I told you this, but I’m really glad we ended up partners on that English project. I would have been so screwed with anyone else.”
“Thanks, Danny,” she said, trying to fight the blush that she knew was tinting her cheeks. “I’m sorry for being nosy at the end there. I didn’t mean to corner you like that. It was really stupid of me to pry when you obviously didn’t feel like talking.”
“No!” he exclaimed “No, don’t apologize! I was just being sensitive. Honestly, I knew I looked like shit.” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Look, I didn’t fall obviously. I wasn’t trying to play you, I just panicked. But...I’m okay now, really.”
He looked at her, and Paulina noted how his blue eyes seemed to dance under the light of the stars. How he sat up straighter, his shoulders rolled back and head held high. How yes he was thin, but not scrawny like he was back in freshman year of high school. He seemed toned, lithe, almost like a gymnast. 
Danny had definitely grown up in the past two years, but then again, so had she.
“I’m glad you’re okay, and I’m also glad I got to be your English partner too,” she said.
They sat by the lake watching the stars until the chill of the crisp spring air began to set in Paulina’s bones. She left Danny in favor of the warm house, but not without saying, “I’ll text you sometime.”
The summer came, and the ever so slightly intoxicated promise to hang out slipped Paulina’s mind. After all, she had months of sleep to catch up on. 
Fortunately for her, Danny remembered. 
It was a silly text, a meme about Shakespear. Paulina responded with the appropriate emojis, and tried to convince herself that the smile she wore was due to the funny image, and had nothing to do with the boy who sent it.
And a week later, he sent another one. This time, Paulina asked to grab a coffee with him. Catch up.
To her surprise, Danny agreed. They met up at the Starbucks and what Paulina thought would only be a quick catch-up session turned into a three hour long hangout. 
Despite his awkward demeanor, Danny was rather talkative. Especially when the topic revolved around space. Apparently, he wanted to work for NASA someday. He said it came from a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, but overtime his interests shifted into rocket design and engineering. It helped that—according to Danny—his dad had built the equivalent of an ecto-rocket in his basement.
Paulina confessed that she wanted to work for 60 Minutes someday as a journalist. She dreamed of traveling around the world, collecting stories and meeting people. She explained that as a kid, she used to have to travel around the world for her dad’s work before he finally settled in Amity Park. And although she’d been living in Amity for years now, a part of her still missed those days where she was constantly exposed to new countries, languages, and cultures.
Danny listened attentively, reacting at the appropriate times and pressing for questions whenever she would trail off. Even though he had a reputation of never paying attention to teachers, he seemed to genuinely enjoy listening to her.
Eventually they parted ways, but they promised to hang out again. 
And again they did.
And again.
Again.
There were some topics that Danny seemed to skirt around, such as why he sometimes would show up bruised, or why he seemed to struggle to stay in class despite his dreams of working for a prestigious agency like NASA.
But Paulina was willing to ignore those demons because she liked Danny, and she didn’t want to say anything that would push him away. And, despite their differences, he seemed to like her back.
Summer drifted to fall, the leaves started to turn, and soon it was too cold to hangout outside. 
Which was how they found themselves here, in Danny’s room, laying on Danny’s floor watching Youtube videos, their math homework long since abandoned beside them.
It was a nerdy video, one about bizarre planets that existed in space. One that Paulina would never have watched on her own, but Danny seemed positively riveted at. 
His eyes were bright and attentive, and every so often he’d point to the screen and go, “Look!” as if Paulina wasn’t watching the same video.
It was...adorable.
His excitement rivaled a child on Christmas. And as interesting as the video was to watch, Danny was even more so.
The video ended, but Paulina hardly noticed. All she could see was the grin on Danny’s lips, the freckles dotting his cheeks, the way his hair sat on his head like a soft cloud.
“So? What did you think?” Danny asked.
“Cute,” Paulina responded. “You’re cute.”
Danny blinked, his mouth turning to a little “o” shape as red tinged his cheeks. He started to stutter, to try to brush Paulina off, but she held onto his shoulder and said, “Danny, I think you’re cute.”
“Oh,” he said, his eyes wide. “I think you’re cute too.”
Paulina closed the gap between them, closing her eyes. His lips felt soft against hers, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Her hands trailed up to his hair, and she curled her fingers through his soft hair.
He was gentle, as if he were afraid to hurt her, and his skin felt cool against her own. Secretly, Paulina had always loved that about Danny, the fact that his body temperature seemed to run lower than normal. And now she could cherish this all to herself.
Danny’s hand wrapped around her back, gently pressing her closer. His touch was electric, and Paulina could have melted right there. She pressed further against him, deepening the kiss.
They stayed in each other’s arms, enjoying the moment for just a few moments longer before Danny pulled back. He looked at her, his eyes sparkling, and said, “You’re beautiful.”
There were some things Paulina didn’t understand about Danny. There were some things he was still closed off about, things he didn’t want to speak about. And eventually, Paulina would bring those things up, she would get answers. Eventually, she would uncover all the secrets, all the layers to the enigma that made up Danny Fenton.
But right now?
Right now she was just going to enjoy the moment.
187 notes · View notes
ggukcangetit · 4 years
Text
If The Bra Fits - JJK Fic
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Final part of The Unbearable Lightness of Being... Something More series
Part 1 | Part 2 | 
Pairing: Jungkook x reader
Genre: ex-roommate au, f2l, fluff, smut, low-key crack
Rating: 18+
Summary: Jungkook knows you hate it when he pops into your apartment to borrow something, but in the 2 years that you’ve known each other, that hasn’t deterred him much. But one day when he manages to (accidentally) ruin your favorite bra while raiding through your emergency snack supply, he knows that he’s fucked. With only a brand name to help him on his search, Jungkook spends the next 48 hours buying all the bras that look even remotely like the one he ruined. The only problem is - how would he figure out which was the correct size without asking you?
Warnings: a lot of talk of breasts and the trials and tribulations of finding a good bra, oral sex (f receiving), masturbation, kissing, grinding, nipple play
Word count: 3.8k
a/n: thanks a ton to @hesperantha​ for beta-ing this! i was super nervous about writing proper smut >.< anywho, hope y’all enjoy this!
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Jungkook knew he was fucked. Worse than when Jimin had walked in on Yoongi doing the do with his girlfriend. Worse than when Taehyung had lost his pet frog in Seokjin’s spice drawer. Worse than-
“Fuck.”
He would probably have to leave the country. Maybe he could move to Canada? Or New Zealand? Anywhere that wasn’t here. Or he could change his name! That might work…
“H-hello?” 
“What the hell, Jungkook? You were supposed to meet me for lunch 40 minutes ago! This is rude and, frankly, inexcusable behavior on your part.” Seokjin’s annoyed voice, talking at 300 words a minute, rang through the phone’s speaker. “And why the hell do you sound like that? Did you walk in on Yoongi and Soya this time? I swear, that guy needs to learn to lock his door. Or maybe just change his locks. I mean this is probably-”
“Seokjin!” Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose as his friend slowed his word flow. “I’ll be there in 10 and explain everything.”
Hanging up the phone, he surveyed the site of the massacre once more before stuffing the offending object into his backpack and rushing out. True to his word, he was at the hole-in-the-wall dumpling place in 10 minutes, attempting to explain to an irate Seokjin, the reason behind his tardiness. 
“No! You did not do that!” Seokjin yelled, nearly choking on the hot soup dumpling that was hanging - half eaten - from his chopsticks.
Jungkook had, in fact, done that. That being the most cardinal offense his frazzled brain could think of at this point. That being sneaking into your apartment when you were at work, hoping to swipe some of your favorite shrimp puffs, placing his cup of steaming hot mocha on your study table, rummaging through your emergency snack supply but somehow inadvertently knocking over the coffee on the table, and cleaning it up with the nearest article available, which tragically, happened to be your mint green bra. 
“She’s going to kill you. No” - Seokjin picked up a egg cream bun and popped the whole thing into his mouth - “she’s going to whip your ass and then hang you upside down from that metal pole on Hobi’s balcony.”
Jungkook stared at the way the cream bun smoothly travelled down Seokjin’s throat after a couple of chews, and shivered. “What do I do??”
“Why do you have to do anything? She won’t know it was you who spilled coffee on her table and then wiped it with her bra. Unless...” 
Jungkook stared at his fingers guiltily. 
“You took the bra with you, didn’t you?” Seokjin sighed, lightly smacking his friend on the back of the head for good measure. “Well, you could always blame it on Namjoon. That’s what I would do. Heck, that’s what I did when I accidentally broke Hobi’s favorite figurine.”
“I don’t know…”
“You have to commit to something, Jaykay.” Every time Seokjin used his nickname for Jungkook, it meant there was some kind of terrible scheme being cooked up. “Either be a complete little shit and blame it on Namjoon, or just go and own up to y/n. You can’t teeter on the edge like this.”
“I could always just sneak back in and leave her bra where I found it.” Jungkook felt better already. This was it. This was the middle ground he was aspiring towards - the sacred path between Seokjin and Hobi, the Yoongi of all decisions. 
“You might not have to sneak in” - Seokjin held up his smartphone where the group chat was open to a bunch of notifications - “Tae said we’re meeting at y/n’s place for tacos and UNO.”
“Why is Tae so invested in our UNO games? He gets confused every time we play it.” 
“Because” - Seokjin swiped his credit card at the counter and thanked the cashier with a quick wink - “like every good strategist, he plans to improve by observing everyone else’s style of play. He definitely knows how to play by now. He’s just giving us the confused puppy look so that we underestimate him and he can learn all our little tricks. Just you wait - a few more games and that sneaky shit will be handing our asses back to us.”
Jungkook, while mildly interested in Taehyung’s card game antics, was more concerned about returning your bra without arousing any suspicion. The perfect moment presented itself when Seokjin, Namjoon, Yoongi, Taehyung and Hobi were immersed in a game of UNO, while you and Soya were munching on tacos - because let’s face it, food trumps just about everything else. Coming up with a half-convincing bathroom excuse, he snuck off towards your room, hoping to finally rid himself of the mint green burden.
Seconds before he pushed your door open, a snippet of conversation floated towards him and made his heart stop beating.
“I can’t find it anywhere.” You were complaining to Soya about something, loud enough for him to hear. “I must’ve turned my room upside down looking for it.”
Soya didn’t seem too perturbed. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a bra. Yoongi regularly loses my underwear after we have sex in new locations.”
Jungkook chuckled because he could almost see the look of horror on your face at receiving this piece of information. 
“Ignoring that TMI,” you continued. “That’s my favorite bra, Soya! You know how our sizes keep fluctuating - well, this was the first bra I bought after getting measured at a proper place. It literally changed my life. Do you know how fabulous it feels to have your boobs at normal chest level - neither squished up towards your collarbones nor jiggling like that everlasting jello Seokjin keeps buying? I’m tellin-”
Jungkook stopped listening at this point. If he didn’t, there was little chance that he’d be able to think of anything other than that. As it was, the mere sight of you these days, was enough to get blood flowing to certain parts of his body. 
There was clearly only one thing to do.
“You want me to help you do WHAT?” Once again, it was Seokjin who barely managed to stop himself from choking on yet another scrumptious food item on yet another lunch date with Jungkook. 
“I’m going to replace her bra.” The resolute expression on Jungkook’s face crumbled ever so slowly under the scrutiny of Seokjin’s pure, unadulterated skepticism. “It’ll be easy. I-I already know what it looks like, and all the information I need is on the itchy tag she always complains about.”
Seokjin’s thick brow remained masterfully arched. 
“Are you going to help me or not?” Jungkook whined in frustration.
“What do I get in return?”
“Why would you want anything in return? Why can’t you just help me out this time??”
The masterfully arched eyebrow did it’s trick once again.
“Fine. You can borrow all my gaming equipment for a week.”
“A month.”
“No way!”
“Good luck shopping for y/n’s favorite bra.”
“Fine! A month! Now can we get a move on please?”
Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult to find the particular store that you had bought your favorite bra from. It was a niche boutique on the third floor of the mall, full of politely judgmental staff members and pointedly supercilious patrons, all of whom were highly skeptical of Jungkook’s grey and black hoodie-sweatpants combo. 
“Guess they didn’t really get on board with the whole athleisure concept,” Seokjin whispered, earning a hard elbowing from Jungkook.
The looks of skepticism were further enhanced when Jungkook produced the ruined bra, asking one of the assistants where he could find the same one. Jungkook hadn’t received such a disapproving look since his junior year of college when he had eaten 8 cups of instant ramen on a dare, done a celebratory jig, thrown up all over Yoongi and Hobi’s sofa, and promptly passed out. 
“Er… I, uhm, need something!” The exclamation from Jungkook was received by a few expertly raised eyebrows. One assistant, in particular, narrowed their eyes at him and walked over.
“This is a lingerie store” - they scanned him up and down a couple of times - “sir. If you’re here to buy any lingerie, I’d be happy to assist you.”
Jungkook gulped at the expensive clothes and flawless complexion of the shop assistant. So far, things were not really going according to plan. 
“Ow!” He felt a bony elbow dig into his ribs and glared at Seokjin, who was glancing between him and the assistant so rapidly, Jungkook was surprised he hadn’t gotten dizzy and passed out already.
“Right. Umm, I’m actually looking for this particular one” - he produced the once-pristine, but now covered in ugly brown splotches, bra from his backpack - “in this exact same size. Do you have it?”
If the shop assistant didn’t look particularly eager to be breathing the same air as him before, they now looked like they’d rather choke on month old guacamole than be near him.
“Our products are made for exclusivity. We do not carry the same sizes as the general marketplace. There are 4 basic sizes with 4 variations to each size. And this particular product” - they held the ruined bra delicately between two fingers and examined the tag - “is now only available in 3 particular size variations. You are free to choose whichever one you think is the closest fit.”
Jungkook’s doe eyes widened as he realized the itchy tag that you always complained about, truly had no other purpose but to inconvenience you. His panicked stare fell on Seokjin who had busied himself examining a very interesting leaf on the potted plant near the entrance.
It was up to him now, Jungkook realized. His fate was in his own hands. Walking over to the shelf carrying the mint green bras identical to the one he was holding, he inspected the 3 options carefully. 
“I think I’ll take this one.” Was what he said out loud. Inwardly, however, he was screaming a very different tune.
“HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DECIDE?? I’VE NEVER BOUGHT A BRA BEFORE! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SIZE WOULD BE APPROPRIATE! IT’S NOT LIKE I SPEND ALL MY TIME SCRUTINIZING Y/N’S BREASTS!”
Thankfully, no one was privy to his internal screams except for himself.
“Thank you, sir. That will be $89.99.” Jungkook took out his debit card as the song playing over the system changed to No Tears Left To Cry.
Once out of the store, Seokjin let out a low whistle. “Wow… that was, undoubtedly, one of the most awkward situations I’ve ever been in. And I wasn’t even really in it.”
“At least the toughest part is over.” Jungkook felt like he had been running a 50 mile marathon while simultaneously figuring out the square roots of 5 digit numbers. In short, he was exhausted.
“Depends on what you think of that…” Seokjin pointed at a familiar figure, slowly walking towards them - someone Jungkook hadn’t expected to bump into in any of his worst case scenarios. You.
Confronted with an exceedingly dire situation with a bleak set of options, Jungkook vaulted into the nearest store, his entire being on high alert as it entered survival mode. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been paying attention to where he rushed into because-
“Congratulations! You’re our 100th customer this week! You get a complimentary hair spa and perm!” Five extremely eager faces stared back at him as he realized he had walked into some sort of hair salon. 
Whoever was writing the script for this day was definitely high on something because Jungkook walked out of the salon 3 hours later, slightly traumatized, with a head full of small curls, clutching onto the cursed purchase with every fibre of his being.
Seokjin had left hours ago, dropping a text to Jungkook which read something along the lines of catch ya later sucker - but that was the least of his problems right now.
It was nearly midnight when he finally entered his apartment after managing to sneak in the new bra into your apartment. Thankfully, you lived two floors above him, so the trek back to his place wasn’t too long. The stress from the past couple of days was finally catching up to him and Jungkook would give anything for a nice long massage and a bowl of steaming hot ramen. 
Unfortunately, all that he had at home was a few leftover containers Taehyung had left behind on his last visit a couple of days ago. There was also bread, eggs, and milk, but he didn’t feel up to making anything at this point. So dinner ended up being heated, two-day old dumplings. 
Just as he was about to head to sleep, a loud pounding started on his front door. It was well past midnight at this point and Jungkook wondered if he should be carrying some sort of weapon with him while answering the door.
There really wasn’t any need for worry because on the other side of the door stood a very angry, very disgruntled, very flimsily dressed-
“Y/n?! What’re you doing here?” 
“You!” Jungkook stepped back as you poked him in the chest. “What the heck is your problem?” Many more pokes followed, which Jungkook barely registered but which left your index finger increasingly bruised. 
“I- uh, I guess you found the parcel I left for you.” He scratched the back of his head, looking everywhere but at you.
“I CANNOT believe you!” You were fuming and Jungkook was contemplating calling someone for backup. Maybe Namjoon? Or Yoongi? Mayb- “First, you ruin my favorite bra! What were you doing in my apartment anyway? Trying to steal more stuff from my emergency snack supply?! Why can’t you just buy your own s-”
You definitely had a point about the snack stealing. But Jungkook couldn’t stop himself from going over and taking something that would undoubtedly attract your attention, because the last time that had happened, you both had ended up making out aggressively against the wall. 
“-and not just that!” You were clearly not done with being mad at him. “You go ahead and try to replace my favorite bra? With this???” You held up Jungkook’s purchase from earlier during the day.
“What’s wrong with this? It’s the same one, isn’t it? I went to the shop to make sure it was the same.” He didn’t really understand why this particular fact was making you so upset.
“You think this is the same?” You were standing very close to him and Jungkook gulped as he caught a whiff of your lavender body lotion.
“Yes?”
“You think my boobs are this small?? After the way you basically kneaded them with your hands last time??” 
Jungkook’s eyes widened, his face growing hotter with every word you were speaking.
“Why the fuck do you look like that?” you muttered, crossing your arms over your chest. 
“L-like what?” His voice came out sort of strangled as he tried to make sense of the situation.
“Like you’ve been caught eating the last cookie.”
Jungkook didn’t know how to respond to this. He was very aware of the fact that you were wearing a flimsy grey t-shirt and very old, very small, sleeping shorts. He gulped and wondered if this was some kind of dream that he’d suddenly wake up from.
“I’ve been waiting for you to make a move since you stuck your tongue down my throat last time. But nope! Nothing.” Now he knew that there was something wrong. This didn’t seem like the rational next line in a dialogue between real people who had just been in a, slightly one-sided, fight. “So, are you gonna kiss me or not?”
“W-what?” His voice was barely louder than a whisper at this point and you scoffed loudly before fisting your hands in his t-shirt and crashing your lips to his.
It took him a few seconds to get his bearings, but Jungkook was soon responding with impressive enthusiasm. His lips glided over yours with a desperation borne out of nearly two years of attraction and chemistry. He groaned in pleasure as your hands travelled into his hair, your fingers running through his freshly done curls. His hands travelled down your back before cupping your butt-cheeks and squeezing them until you moaned into his mouth. The feel of your body against his was enough to make him slowly lose his mind - but your tongue swiping into his mouth brought out a strangled noise from deep inside him. This was so much better than the first time you had both made out - there was more experience and knowledge of each other, and you seemed much more determined than the last time.
“Tell me what you want,” Jungkook’s voice came out huskier than you had ever heard, sending a surge of electricity to your core. “Tell me what makes you feel good, y/n.”
His voice was sultry and his body rock-hard at the perfect places - his breath falling in harsh pants as he recovered from the intensity of the kisses. But his eyes held the soft sincerity you had grown to lov-
“Against the wall,” you breathed, your face flushing as you verbalised your request. “And then on your bed.” You took one of his hands and placed it on your breast, firm with arousal, and guided his other hand to the waistband of your shorts. 
A beautiful pink blush dusted his cheeks as he captured your lips once again. He had you against the wall in seconds, his lips leaving a trail of devastation from your lips to your throat to your breasts. You moaned loudly as you felt his fingers rub against your clothed core while his tongue flicked over your nipples at a deliciously slow pace. 
“Gguk…” God he loved to hear that name coming from your lips. He loved it even more now that it was in the midst of him pleasuring you to the best of his ability. 
“Bed. I can’t… stand...” You managed to say. He obliged, placing his hands below your knees and scooping you up with ease, all while his lips kept pressing soft kisses to yours. 
Once on the bed, you removed your t-shirt and shorts, instructing him to do the same. Jungkook stared at your bare body for a moment, his eyes glazed with lust before he stripped himself of his clothes and continued kissing every part of your body he could find. 
Your insides were coiling, the heat growing at your core as you watched Jungkook’s magnificent, completely naked, body move over yours. Your hands itched to run over his abs but your eyes were fixed on his throbbing dick, your core growing wetter by the moment. 
“Can I?” Jungkook’s hoarse voice broke you out of your dilemma, his face hovering over your thighs. “Only if you want it, y/n.” You were pretty sure his soft, caring words would be enough for your undoing, but you nodded your head anyway.
The first swipe of his tongue against your core had you arching yourself off the mattress, your legs kicking up involuntarily. This was definitely where his gym prowess came in handy, as he held your thighs down with enough force for the feeling to be unbelievably pleasurable. Your hands found themselves in his curls once more, as his mouth alternated between dropping feather light kisses on your core and swiping along the wetness with a swipe of his tongue. 
“I-I’m not…” You didn’t have to complete the sentence as stars exploded in your vision, the high hitting you with more force than you had ever experienced. 
Something inside you tightened as you watched Jungkook emerge from between your thighs, his curls sweaty, and his mouth slick with your arousal. He smiled at you, dropping a light kiss on your lips, even as his dick stood red hot and angry with arousal.
“Can I help?” You asked, although your voice was hardly above a whisper, the tiredness seeping in, as you came down from the orgasm.
“Next time?” His voice was soft as he gave himself a few strong pumps before spilling onto his stomach. 
He grinned at you sheepishly. “I’m also kind of exhausted today.” Getting up quickly, he went into the bathroom and cleaned himself off, before coming back with a wet towel for you as well. 
You smiled shyly as you took the towel from him, wiping between your thighs quickly. 
Jungkook was beside you in a few moments, cuddling you from behind as sleep slowly overtook you both.
“Jungkook!” 
You cracked your eyes open slowly, wondering why someone was yelling at the crack of dawn. You were still pretty much wrapped up in Jungkook, both your legs entangled as your head rested on his chest while he snored softly.
“JUNGKOOK!”
A second, much louder, yell, woke Jungkook up as well. His eyes widening in alarm as he realised what was going on.
“It’s Tae! What’s he doing here?!” He whispered, his voice still thick with sleep.
“Umm what?” You were panicking now. As much as you had been wanting things with Jungkook to pick up, you did not want Taehyung to find you both wonderfully naked after a night of wonderfulness. “He cannot see us like this! Not yet! I refuse to let this be how everyone finds out about us!”
“Jungkook, I’m coming in!”
Jungkook quickly pushed you below the covers, fluffing it up sufficiently to hide the fact that you were under it. He barely managed to close his eyes before Taehyung walked in, much too sprightly for this early in the morning.
“Aww!” His deep voice sounded through the room. “Jungkookie, are you still sleeping?”
Much to his horror, Taehyung made his way over to the bed, his long fingers smooshing Jungkook’s cheeks together as the poor boy tried to feign sleep.
“Did you sleep late last night?”
“Mph.”
“Jungkookie’s still sleepy? Aww!” The cheek smooshing continued, and Jungkook wondered how much longer you could stay hidden without Taehyung’s perceptiveness deducing that you were there.
“Hmmmm.” Jungkook managed to grunt out, tossing over to trap you underneath him.
“Okay, go back to sleep.” With one last cheek smoosh, Taehyung got up and left the room.
“Thank god!” Jungkook whispered in relief, pulling the covers off your face.
“I’m so glad he didn’t figure out I was here,” you sighed in relief. 
Jungkook grinned at you, his bunny teeth poking out adorably as he pulled you closer to him. You giggled, reaching up to place small kisses on each of his moles - there were 5 according to your last examination. 
“The curls are cute,” you said between kisses, running your fingers through his hair. He sighed contentedly, resting his forehead on yours. If it were up to him, he’d stay here forever.
“Oh and y/n-” You both stiffened as you heard Taehyung’s voice from the living room. Apparently, he hadn’t left yet. “-thanks a lot! Seokjin now owes me 50 bucks!”
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