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#heres my quick 1 for tonight and by quick I mean I zoned out for like 3 hours while drawing this
nevarroes · 3 months
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zzzZzzz
(nude vers)
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wheeboo · 1 year
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emergency contact {pt. 2} | choi seungcheol
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SYNOPSIS. in which you and seungcheol first meet. PAIRING. choi seungcheol x gn!reader (ft. popular cousin!joshua and other members) GENRE. fluff and angst, hurt/comfort, basically a prequel to the first part WARNINGS. reader has anxiety from large crowds, depictions of an anxiety attack, cheol says a singular curse word WORD COUNT. 1.5k
requested by anon: Hello! I hope you don't mind but may I request a second part for emergency contact? Like maybe how they met &/or how the reader got into the accident? I really love the story!
notes: hi anon! honestly i didn’t expect for anyone wanting a part 2 or intend in making one, but coming across your msg i thought of an idea and had to do it since your my first ever request 😊 i didn’t want this to be too long, so this is about how they first met cuz i don’t think i can do the accident scene justice (im sorry!!!). i guess this is for the people who are curious behind their relationship. feedback is highly appreciated!
← part 1 | part 2 | part 3 →
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Crowds aren’t your thing. Parties aren’t your thing. They never have been. 
It’s the first thought that pops up when you show up in front of Joshua’s place as the early evening breeze sends its chills up and down your arms. 
Despite you coming earlier to the birthday party then expected, you already notice some figures in the house already, assuming it’s Joshua’s friends coming to help set up. The thought of meeting people you haven’t met before hasn’t been helping in easing your worries away. 
However, you take a moment to gather your thoughts and remind yourself that tonight is about celebrating Joshua's birthday. He already told you upon inviting you that you didn’t need to show up if you weren’t up for it. But he’s your cousin and one of the only people you share a close, familial bond with𑁋you want to show you at least have some human decency, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone. 
Taking a deep breath, you walk up and knock on the door. It swings open just a few moments later, but you aren’t met with Joshua. You’re met with a man who appears similar in height, a denim jacket covering his shoulders and his dark eyes widened in surprise just as you are. The brief, eager dimpled smile that you saw for a moment quickly fades away into... disbelief? Shock? Did you suddenly grow a second head? You couldn’t tell. And maybe you didn’t want to know.
You let your eyes scan over his somewhat familiar features. You recognise him𑁋he’s one of Joshua’s friends, obviously𑁋but your mind can’t exactly put a name on him, and it didn’t help that Joshua was quite popular himself. Yet there’s a curious flutter in your chest as the two of you lock gazes for a single moment. 
“Hi, um,” You greet awkwardly, feeling your face flush with heat from the embarrassment. “Is, uh... is Joshua home? I’m here for his birthday party...”
The man blinks back to reality, stepping aside just a tiny bit. “Oh, yeah, he’s home. I can go get𑁋”
“Y/N! You’re here! I’m glad you decided to come.” Joshua’s voice interrupts his words.
Then you turn to greet Joshua with a smile and a quick hug. “Had to show I have manners, you know?”
He gives you a few comfortable, reassuring pats on the back. “Don’t worry, you know I wouldn’t complain if you decided not to come. And you can leave anytime.” As you fully insert yourself inside the home, you notice the mysterious door man making his way back into the living room area, and you feel the subtle hole of disappointment sink into your stomach. 
Joshua leads you into the living area, where you catch sight of a few of his other friends that you also recognise. Two of them is Lee Seokmin and Boo Seungkwan, who are also quite popular. Then you notice Yoon Jeonghan, one of Joshua’s closest friends from way back when. And then... you notice mysterious door man setting up a table full of drinks in the back. He’s the only person you couldn’t put a name on.
“Everyone, this is my cousin, Y/N,” Joshua announces to the room as all boys turn to look in your direction. You give out an awkward wave as your eyes scan their faces, and when you meet back with mysterious door man, you see him give you a small, polite smile. 
Progress, you think to yourself. It’s small, but it’s something. 
Seungkwan and Seokmin greet you quite warmly and excitedly, and Jeonghan was really the only person you knew more about the others. For some reason, the interactions feel more comforting than you think. 
“...and that’s Choi Seungcheol in the back over there. He’s a close friend in my year. I think you’ll get along with him.”
You catch Joshua's words and your eyes immediately shift to the figure at the drinks table. So, his name is Choi Seungcheol. The name buries a rightful place in your mind, and a sense of familiarity washes over you, as if it's a name you've heard before, even if you can't recall where or when.
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“Excuse me, sorry, excuse me...” You mumble your way through some groups of people, the weight of the crowd pressing upon you suffocatingly.
You knew what you were expecting for a party hosted by Joshua, a popular person surrounded by a circle of equally popular people. But the more you can remotely feel the presence of a stranger next to you, you feel something gnaw at your insides and all the vibrations and sounds heightening up your senses. You hate it. You hate your anxiety. 
You try to look for Joshua, for anyone in general that you may recognise, but you find yourself lost in the swamp of people. All kinds of conversations were entangled in one another, making it difficult for your mind to distinguish one voice from the other. The noise becomes a jumble of unintelligible chatter, and your heart pounds anxiously in your chest as you hike your way up the stairs and into a nearby corner, hoping that the sounds will die down.
And by the time you reach the top, you squeeze your eyes shut and focus on your breathing, feeling the brimming tears in your eyes fall down your face. Inhale. Exhale. One. Inhale. Exhale. Two. Repeat.
But the tears keep only keep flowing, a silent release of pent-up emotions. The frustration and vulnerability weigh heavy on your shoulder. And it's in this vulnerable state𑁋out of all possible circumstances𑁋that Seungcheol finds you.
“Y/N?” 
Seungcheol's voice breaks through your chaotic thoughts. Startled, you slowly open your eyes, the dampness blurring your vision. As you glance to the source of the familiar voice, you see Seungcheol's concerned and frantic expression.
“Shit, Y/N, are you okay?” he asks worriedly.
The concern in his eyes makes your heart ache. But in that moment, you feel a leap of hope amidst the suffocating weight of your anxiety.
“Sorry, yeah, I...” You sniffle, swiftly trying to wipe away any tears, but he sees them clearly. “The people, um... They’re not really my thing.”
His expression softens in an instant. Seeing your tears gives him the intrusive urge to wipe them away, but he refrains himself. 
Instead, an idea pops in his head as he scurries to take off his denim jacket before gently draping it over your shoulders. For a moment, your eyes quickly catch sight of his exposed arms.
"Here," he says softly. "It might help you feel a little more grounded."
You gratefully accept the jacket, pulling it tighter around you, his scent lingering into the air. The gesture, small as it may be, brings you a sense of comfort and safety, more than you expected it to be.
“Thank you,” You respond appreciatively, voice quiet and low.
Seungcheol couldn’t help the satisfied smile on his face as he shoots his gaze down to the floor, hoping that you weren’t able to see it. As you wrap his jacket around in a more comfortable position, he takes a step closer.
He clears his throat hesitantly. “If it isn’t working, then uh... I heard that hugging someone can also help too.”
You nearly let out a cough at his suggestion. No one has ever proposed that kind of idea before, and frankly, you hardly thought about it. But in this moment, with Seungcheol standing before you, and the thought of his arms circling around you, brings nothing but a certain jump to your heart and a sense of comfort that you sought.
So you let your shoulders relax and mentally prepare yourself as you give him a small nod.
Seungcheol steps closer and carefully opens his arms, inviting you into his embrace. With a mix of anticipation and nervousness, you take a step forward, finally closing the distance between you.
As his strong arms encircle you, you feel an immediate wave of calmness. The world around you fades into the background, and all that matters in this moment is the warmth of Seungcheol's embrace. It’s the only thing you can focus on. His presence envelopes you, as if creating a shield around you. 
Hesitating for a second, you rest your head against his chest, hearing the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. It's a comforting sound that reassures you, as if to simply convey, It’s okay, I’m here. You never thought that being in this position with Seungcheol𑁋a mere stranger, but also not entirely𑁋would alleviate your body into surrendering in his comfort rather than pushing him away. 
The hug becomes a silent conversation; it’s awfully intimate and intense that if it were to happen again, you’d still feel the same as right now. Seungcheol holds you firmly but gently as you let your limbs fall weak in his arms. You feel the emotions begin to build once again, causing a whimper to escape your lips. 
As the tears fall, Seungcheol holds you even tighter. His presence feels like a lifeline, helping to keep your thoughts grounded in the present moment.
Minutes pass, and eventually, the intensity of your emotions begins to subside. Your breathing steadies, and you start to regain a sense of composure. Slowly, you loosen your grip on Seungcheol and pull back away from him.
“Feel better?” he asks you.
You give him a grateful nod as you take off his jacket and give it back to him. “I... think I needed that more than I realised. Thank you.”
And as you were about to leave, the last thing that he says sends that hopeful flutter through your heart. 
“I’m proud of you, just so you know.”
A small, genuine smile forms on your lips as you take in his words. "Thank you, Seungcheol.” And maybe, just this once, I am a bit proud of myself too.
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cybertroniannugget · 5 months
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Gift Giving Bumblebee x Reader
Dec 6
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Look at that cute face
Fyi, I make sure to always use real lyrics for Bumblebee xD List at the end as proof.
Spotify is my best friend when writing Bumblebee.
As much as I love him, writing the bay version is tough. Always searching for lyrics that fit.
It's a little rushed, but better late than never right?
It's pure fluff
🎶Give it to me baby-Boots with the fur-tonight🎶1
“You want my boots?”
The yellow scout nods, pointing at your shoes.
“I mean sure, but why?”
🎶It's a wonderful surprise🎶2
“But that's no American tradition though.”
🎶Cuz I don't care🎶3
“So you wanna gift me something through St. Nicholas Day?”
🎶I love you, always forever🎶4
“Love you too, Bee. I'll give you my boots later, alright?”
He buzzes excitedly.
“Ey Bee, I need you on patrol with me.”, Jazz talks over the comm link.
Bumblebee’s antannae fold back and he whirrs a little annoyed.
You pat his cheek, smiling.
“I know, we rarely see each other, but this is important. I'll be here for a while.”
Another sad buzz echoes from his vocalizer, before he transforms and drives away.
Later in the evening you receive a message from Bee, asking you to put your boots outside your door.
“Okay, that's actually cute.”, you chuckle while walking outside.
Hearing someone round the corner you quickly walk back inside, leaving your shoes where Bee asked you to put them.
He has been busy lately with training under the new agreements between earth's government.
Daily exercises for the soldiers where they have to learn how to fight Deceptions.
And when he wasn't busy with that, he had to go on routine patrols.
When you wake up the next day, the first thing you do is checking outside to find your boots filled with Christmas chocolate and a note saying ‘I love you my honeybee’
Quick on your way back inside with the shoes in your hand, you put them down onto a chair, admiring what has been put in them.
“Oh, he even bought new headphones.”, you say, holding the packaging.
Taking your phone out of your pant's pocket, you dial the access code for his comm link, holding the device to your ear, waiting for him to respond.
“Bee, that's very cute, but you didn't have to do that..”, you say as he picks up with an excited buzz.
🎶I'm hopelessly devoted to you🎶5
“Where you at right now?”
🎶By the hangar🎶6
“Alright, wait for me there.”
A few minutes later, you walk into the wide open hangar where that yellow Bot you have grown to love stands waiting.
🎶Hello🎶7
“Hey there, Bee.”, you say smiling.
🎶How was it for you-Christmas present🎶8
“It was so sweet, thank you Bee.”, you say while walking up to him.
The scout crouches down to be more on your level and whirrs happily.
🎶Because I'm happy🎶9
You smile as you stand before him.
“So, gift giving?”
The scout buzzes confused.
“It's your love language.”
His optics widen, antannae standing up now as you said that.
“Don't worry, I love you too Bee. I figured something was up.”
Hugging him, as much as the size difference allowed, you couldn't stop smiling.
🎶You can be my safety zone-Nothing can come between You and I🎶10
You chuckle as you look at him, a hand on his cheek.
🎶You ready?🎶11
“Let's see how the others will react…”
Bee chuckles.
Here's the proof guys:
1 Pretty fly for a white guy-The Offspring
Low-Flo Rida
don't stop me now-Queen (obv)
2 Friday I'm in love-The Cure
3 I don't care- Ed Sheeran&Justin Bieber
4 I love you always forever- Donna Lewis
5 Hopelessly devoted to you- Olivia Newton John
6 Hangar- 8485
7 Hello-Adele
8 How was it for you-James, Christmas present- Doris Day
9 Happy- Pharrell Williams
10 The Ocean-Mike Perry & Shy Martin You and I- One Direction
11 Price Tag- Jessie J & B.o.B
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avkima · 5 months
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~invisible strings:jamie flattersxreader~
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Chapter 1
Summary: after Bailey drags Reider (reader) to meet Britain’s friends for a little hangout a quick bond is formed between her and Jamie. Doesn’t matter though, she’s so in the friend zone. P.S summary will change chapter to chapter as new info is given
tags:friend groups, Bailey Bass is your bff, Avatar cast, Sam and Zoe are your parents simply because they can be, fluff, friends to lovers, angst, love triangle if you squint, unrequited love but it’s really not, closed door smut. Stay tuned for some Easter eggs of secret characters and plot lines.
wc: 1.2k
tag list���
@neteyams-wh0re
💌💌💌💌
truly don’t think I’ve lived before I found you.
But it was always meant to be
I never saw the world until I looked into your deep brown eyes.
You were there in the little things, but how had our paths never crossed?
I never felt alive until I felt your touch.
As a connected duet we preform this experience together.
I wish to dance with you forever.
For eternity—
Not just till death do us part.
-jamie flatters
* “Shall I compare the to a summers day?”
“I’m more of a fall to be honest”
——————
I really needed to get out of my dorm. Or at least that’s what Bailey had been telling me when she caught me talking to myself while folding laundry. She would barge in unannounced when she felt the need. Today I had been home alone all day so ranting to myself about horrible Professor Quaritch was inevitable.
“I was winning an argument—now I’m off track” I glance at her as she strolls in.
“Oh my apologies weirdo.” She sits down next to me and begins folding too, “Have you been in here all day? It looks spotless!”
My tiny 250 square foot dorm could be cleaned top to bottom in an hour if I was being a perfectionist about it—or I had neglected it that week. But I wasn’t about to go through my whole list of antisocial activities which only included an hour or two of actual school work.
“Yeah mostly, that and Gilmore Girls”
“You live like you have no friends”
I chuckled, “I live like an introvert who has been with her friends all week!”
She frowned.
Bailey was the most bubbly extrovert I’ve met. Most of the time she was very understanding of our opposing personalities but to be honest I think she saw I was more in the dumps than I was letting on.
“Come on, you need to get your mind off of Chris and have some fun tonight!” Bailey gets a twinkle in her eyes, a plan is forming as she pulls me off of the beige couch. “It’s party time!”
I groan “I’m all for a little get together but I don’t know if I’m party ready.” Bailey tugs on my arms back and forth to get me to dance with her.
“Britain invited some of his friends and the group to his apartment. It’s gonna be like so chill, I promise no more than like 7 people.”
I frown, mulling over how truthful that statement really was and how uncomfortable I would be if it truly was a party.
She notices I haven’t exactly been won over and back tracks. “I said party but I didn’t really mean party. It’s so casual and you know me, you know Britain, and you know Jack.” She meets my eyes for the selling point blinking her big green eyes “plenty of people to hide behind.”
I sigh. I hadn’t met any of Britain’s friends but I knew Bailey hangs with them too so they couldn’t be too bad. If anything I can just be introduced and then let Bailey and Jack do all the talking.
“Ok sure.”
“Yay! We can bring drinks, our wine is gonna go bad soon.”
>——————>
October In LA proved to be colder than I usually is. I regretted my sleeveless top but the jeans made up for it. With some chilled Merlot and some odd white claws or two in tow me and Bailey headed out to Britains apartment just off of 110 not far from campus. The smooth car ride in Bailey’s Camry proved useful for my mascara application. She had mentioned some of her boyfriend’s friends were single and encouraged me to at least get out of my sweat pants. I wasn’t getting my hopes up but I guess I was expecting something…maybe.
Britain’s apartment always smelled like something was cooking even when there was no food in the house. Tonight it smelled like burnt…toast?
Bailey scrunches her nose upon entering, “What did you burn?”. She asked Britain who opened the door for us.
“Popcorn.” He kisses her cheek and takes the drinks to the kitchen. “At least we have these” he tosses the bag of popcorn into the trash and takes some plastic cups out of the cabinet.
We set our bags down on the couch and look around at the seemingly empty apartment.
“Where are the boys?” Bailey asks, stepping closer to me. I know what she’s doing.
“Not sure actually,” he looks towards the hallway that led to his and his two roommates rooms. “Party’s here bros!”
My stomach flipped as a guy emerged from the hall, thankfully followed by Jack.
Jack greeted me with a smile and hug, “hey bro.”
The other guy he was with looked pretty friendly, a big smile on his face as he introduced himself. “Hey I’m Duane.”
“Reide.” I smile and shake his hand.
Britain calls out for ‘Filip and Jamie’ who we could hear laughing in one of the bedrooms down the hallway while we had been making our introductions.
One Filip and Jamie come walking down the hall—though I do not know which is which. They were still chuckling to each other from their conversation.
Bailey linked arms, probably trying to ground me with all these new people…new boys.
“So this is Jamie,” she gestures to the brunette with the sharper features who also seemed to be a few inches shorter than “and this is Filip.”
“this is Reider.” She finishes
“Everyone just calls me ‘Re or Reide.” I smile at them giving him my best attempt at confidence.
“Good to see you Reide.” Filip says he seems less chummy with me but this almost gives me more solidarity with him.
Jamie’s eyes catch my attention. They are blue or maybe hazel. The apartment lighting is still enough to see that he’s pretty. One of the hotter guys I’ve ever seen on campus.
“That’s a pretty name, ‘Reide.” He shakes my hand.
My flick wider and my cheeks grow hot.
He’s fucking British.
“Oh wow you have an accent.” Shove my hands in my back pocket, again posing myself as confident to make up for how frocking nervous I was to be talking to a cute boy.
“Yeah I’m from London.” His smile tells me he’s had this conversation a lot.
I panic a bit, not knowing whether he rather me just move on from his Britishness or if it would be rude to be so disinterested.
Bailey comes in to save me. “Well Britain burnt the single snack he had so is anyone up for a snack run?”
We all agreed the night would end in a movie and some games as we piled into Duane’s van.
He graciously offered to drive us to Walmart. Jack jumped in the passenger seat and immediately grabbed the auxcord.
The seating arrangement left me sitting in the middle of Jamie and Bailey. He smelled good though like cinnamon, vanilla and maybe pine. I hoped I smelled good, seeing as my body was so close to his. He was even cuter up close.
Jack started playing Get Him Back by Olivia Rodrigo and from there the chaos sprung. The boys belted the lyrics as if they had just been through some gut wrenching break up with their gaslighting boyfriend.
I giggled with Bailey, content. They seemed pretty cool but the night has just begun.
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wez-star · 4 days
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in the end it's him and i [nell jackson x reader]
Summary: captain jackson turns out not to be dead
Reader is love quinn kinda crazy
This is just a quick story non-smutt. im working on those requests i never got to writing bc of life (i got a crush) ao3 wattpad
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God, these stools are uncomfortable. I look at nell behind the counter as she pours me a drink.
"Here you go." she slid the glass to me and smiled. This situationship has taken more of a toll on me than i expected. "Thank you" i smile at her. "You're welcom dear" she responds with the slightest smirk
The bell above the door rings, and i draw my attention to a man around the age of 28 stepped into the pub. I glance over at nell
Her face dropped as if she had just seen a dead man. "Nell!" the man exclaimes and nell runs towards him, i mean she basically jumps into his arms
Who the fuck is this?!
"Roxy! george! Come down here!" Nell shouts, and about 30 seconds later, her 2 little sisters are in the room with us. "This is my husband, captain jack!"
Excuse me?!
"I thought he was dead?" Roxy being the one to speak wha-
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"Hello?" George waved her hand in front of my face "yes?" "You were totally zoned out?" I stare at the small ginger girl for a few seconds before regaining myself and turning my attention towards nell and her husband
"You should come over for dinner tonight! The two of you!" I smille and suggest "that would be lovely" captain Jackson answered before nell could respond. She looks at me with a strange pitying look.
I don't quite remember exactly how i got home, and the next few hours went by. But when my butler sir humphrey comes to inform me that the guest have arrived the anxiety starts kicking in
"Lead them to the dining room and tell them i will be right with them" i tell him and quickly walk towards the garden, i thank god every day that he decided to give my brother cancer, leaving me the only living descendant for my fathers estate and wealth, such a tragedy that my father drowned.
Im not impulsive. Just because i decide to grab wolsbane last minute before dinner does not mean im going to poison nell or her husband, and i certainly would not do it on impulse.
Oh who am i kidding?, when i get to the kitchen where my cheff is preparing dinner i add the wolfsbane to captain jacksons plate. Oh my god i haven't thought this far shit
"Give this plate to that captain jackson" i tell the maid and hurry to the dining room. "Sorry to keep you waiting" i smile and sit across from nell and her husband. "It's fine" nell smiles at me
"I hear you and nell are great friend?" Captain jack says to me as the servants brings us our food. "Yes, we're great friends" i glance towards nell. "Well im glad that nell has found someone to spend time with. I feared she might be lonely without me" fucking ashole
Minute 1
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Minute 4
Minute 5
Minute 6
"Are you feeling alright honey?" Nell asks her husband with a concerned face. "Im fine im just a bit drowsy" shit i need to get nell out of here. "One of my servants amber is great with medicine im sure she'll have somthing for you" i say to them "really?" God she sounds hopeful "yes i just don't know where sir Humphrey has ran off to" i look around the room. "I'll go get her myselfs" nell quickly gets up and walks off to find amber.
Amber was my brothers mistress, she jumped in front off a train 5 years ago
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Captain jackson falls over with his face in his plate. Shit okay. I quickly get up and dragg him down to my wine cellar. I still dont know why my father had a cage put in here but atleast it comes to my advantage today.
I quickly putt him in the cage and run back up the stairs to the dining room exactly 5 seconds before nell walks back in. "I cant find her- where's captain jackson?" I look up at her "oh he went to lie down" i smile at her "where?" "In the guest room" for once stop being so pushy nell jackson "I think it's best if we go home, for him" nell sighed. "Do you love him?" She looks me confused "of course i do he's my husband"
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"You should take some wine with you!" I smile "i have plenty" nell smiles "thank you" i return the smile and lead her to the wine cellar and open the door following down the stairs behind her.
Shit how do i always find myself in these predicaments. How do i do this without nell dropkicking me againts a wall? To say my anxiety grew as we walks down the stairs is an understatement.
It takes nell an entire half of a second to see her husband in a cage. Stopping dead in her tracks. Time to act fast. I quickly grab a full wine bottle off of the racks lining the walls. I can see her slowly starting to turn around to face me.
"No one will ever love you like i do nell"
Not a fluent thought goes through my mind as i hit her ever the head with the bottle, knocking her out cold.
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aangstycareberrr · 1 year
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Partners, pt. 2
summary: college au / you and Kenma get paired up for a project together and fun stuff happens
kenma x reader
part 1 part 3
a/n: there’s gonna be one more part after this one i think
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You got ready for the party and were almost ready to head out, you looked over your makeup and your outfit in the mirror and took a quick picture before grabbing your keys and walking out. As you were locking your door you feel your phone vibrate in your hands. It’s a text from Kenma. “hey, just checking that your still coming?”, it makes you feel giddy to see his name on your phone, and the fact that he wants you to be there is enough to make you giggle out loud. You’re feeling a lot more confident than earlier so you decide to be a little flirty with your reply, “would you be sad if i wasn’t?“ You hit send and for a moment you question if you shouldn’t have said that. is it stupid, is he gonna think i’m dumb for flirting with him. but he almost immediately replies, with a simple “yeah”. you just stare at your phone, you weren’t expecting him to just concede and outright admit without a shadow of a doubt that he wants you there. it’s such a simple response and yet it plagues your thoughts for the entirety of way.
You walk through the door and look around, the place is packed and you couldn’t remember the last time you went to a party this big, actually you weren’t sure you ever had. You spotted the kitchen, which was significantly less crowded, and walked over to make yourself a drink, you’re going to need it to get through tonight, you thought. As you pour vodka and sprite into a solo cup you hear your name.
“Y/n!“ You look up to see Kuroo walking into the kitchen with another guy next to him who you feel like you vaguely recognize. You’re relieved to see a familiar face but you’re mostly just thinking about where Kenma might be.
“i’m glad you could make it, and i’m not just saying that because you’re the reason i convinced Kenma to come to one of these parties.”, he says jokingly, but it still makes you happy to hear.
“Thank you for the invite, honestly this is a bit out of my comfort zone but i can tell there won’t be a dull moment.”, you say as you watch a group of guys holding the biggest dude you’ve ever seen by his ankles to do a keg stand. Kuroo laughs and says “You got that right. Listen i’m gonna go get Kenma for you, he went to my room and told me to just come get him when you got here… don’t tell him i told you that.”, you laugh and the comment makes some of your nerves disperse. he really wants me here. Before walking off Kuroo mentions, “This is Bokuto, i’m gonna leave you with him while i fetch Kenma, and i promise he’ll keep you entertained.” As Kuroo walks off to get Kenma you turn to greet Bokuto, but he beats you to it. “Hey! it’s so nice to meet you, i feel like i know you from somewhere.”, he speaks excitedly and his cheery aura makes you feel at ease, that could also be the alcohol though. “i think so too actually! wait, are you in my english lit class?”
“YES! that’s it!! you’re the girl who sits in the front and always knows the answers to the professors weird and metaphorical questions!”, This makes you laugh, you remember Bokuto now. He sits a little further back than you, you’ve seen him doodling in his notebook during lectures.
“Hey wait, so you’re here for Kenma?”, You can’t decipher if the shock in his voice is good or bad. “Yeah i guess you could say that. Anything i should know?”, you say this in a light hearted tone, but secretly you are trying to get information. “I mean Kenma’s a good guy, i’m just a little shocked, he doesn’t really do this kind of thing.” “Parties or girls?” Before Bokuto can respond to your question Kenma walks into the kitchen with Kuroo.
He’s beautiful. You think as you watch him walk in, you can’t believe how attracted you are to him. He stands a couple feet away from you in the kitchen and smiles lightly at you. “Hi”, he greets. “Hi”, you respond, you both just stare at each other for a moment. Kuroo interrupts by clearing his throat and excusing Bokuto and himself, leaving you alone with Kenma. “Hi”, “hi”, you both repeat your greetings and laugh about it. you realize he’s staring at you and it makes you feel self-conscious until he says, “you look good.” He said it with a fond smile and looks down. “Thank you”, you smile back at him and suddenly you feel unfalteringly confident. “Can i show you outside? it’s a bit quieter and the pool is nice to look at at night.” You agree and you guys walk outside together.
It is indeed quieter outside and you mentally thank Kenma. there’s a few people sprawled out on some patio furniture and a guy and a girl sitting with their feet in the water. Other than that, it’s pretty desolate. You take a moment to look at the pool and how the light reflects on it. “It is nice to look at.”, you say to Kenma. You guys sit next to each other by the edge of the pool. “So you live here?”, you ask Kenma. He scrunches his nose up and says “no, i hang out here every now and then because of Kuroo but, a frat isn’t my idea of a comfortable living space.” “Yeah i didn’t think you were the frat type.”
“I’m not sure how i should take that.”, Kenma said in a playfully defensive tone
“It’s not a bad thing. Like i just know i wouldn’t be able to do it. i enjoy being around people but some days i definitely need to be in hermit mode and recharge my social battery. I just get the feeling that we might be similar in that regard.” You look at him when you finish talking and notice he’s staring at you like he’s thinking about saying something. Finally, he says, “i want to show you something”
He stand and leads you towards a corner on the far side of the patio and you hesitate for a bit before following him until you reach a ladder leaned against the side of the house. “i really like climbing onto the roof sometimes, it’s pretty much the only part of this house that’s consistently peaceful.”
You consider him for a moment, mentally weighing the pros and cons of going to a secluded area with a guy you basically just met. Something about Kenma makes you feel safe, you know it’s because he’s conventionally attractive, but you let yourself indulge for a bit and climb the ladder. Kenma climbs up behind you and you wonder if he’s looking up your skirt or being respectful, you don’t know which one you prefer. When you get to the top you notice a lawn chair with a blanket thrown over it. “that’s usually where i sit when i’m up here.” Kenma walks over and removes the blanket from over the chair, and then sprayed it out on the floor for you both to lay one. You sit on it as you dangle your feet off the edge of roof. from here you get a clear view of the couple down by the pool. They’re sitting close together but not actually touching, they’ve been giggling and they both seem nervous in a cute way, so you draw the conclusion that they’re not officially a couple. “They’ve both been dying to kiss each other this whole time.”, you say. Kenma laughs but looks a little confused, so you feel the need to clarify, “i like to people watch”. Kenma nods in understanding and then says, “actually i think he’s a lot more into her than she is, i like to people watch too.” You smile at this and then respond, “What makes you say that?”
“His body is turned towards her but she’s just facing the pool, and she’s always the first to break eye contact, like she’s avoiding him trying to kiss her.”
You laigh incredulously at him, “ok, i’m impressed.” You both laugh together and the atmosphere is light and playful and makes you feel giddy.
Conversation flows smoothly after this. You guys talk about your majors, your hometowns, families, high school, and everything under the sun. He tells you about his hobbies and the small company that he’s thinking of starting, you tell him about your passions and aspirations. He’s easy to talk to and he makes you laugh and laughs at your jokes as well. Everything about him makes you want to kiss him, but you don’t want to jump the gun. At some point along the way you guys have scooted even closer together and your thighs touch his. You’re so enthralled in conversation you don’t notice how much time has passed or the fact that it’s been hours. You weren’t expecting to stay this long and although you don’t mind, you didn’t feel totally safe walking back to your place so late at night. After taking a look at your phone and confirming the time, you regretfully say to him, “god this sucks, but i kinda should get going, it’s pretty late, and my place is a few blocks from here.” “I’m sorry, i didn’t mean to keep you. I didn’t even notice the time.”, he apologized but you quickly say, “No! don’t apologize, i enjoyed this.” It sounds so formal, you want to say it differently, you want to tell him that you’ve loved every minute spent with him, that he’s been so charming, that you want to see him again, but you bite your tongue, you don’t want to make him uncomfortable, but you’re bursting on the inside. He smiles at your comment and says “Can i walk you home?, and don’t say i don’t have to do that. i want to, if you’re comfortable with it.” You want to melt and hug him, but instead you just nod. “I’d like that.”
As you walk back to your place it’s quiet, but it’s not uncomfortable. He evokes this energy that makes being around him easy, like there’s no pressure to perform or act a certain way. You look at him from the corner of your eye and see him smiling at the ground. After a few minutes you arrive in front of your apartment building and you stop in front of it. “This is your place?”, “yeah? why’d you say it like that?”, “Oh it’s just, i live in that building.”, he points to the building across the street from yours, it’s literally 10 feet away. You’re not sure if this makes you happy or nervous but you just laugh, he joins you in this. You guys stare at each other and you know you’re just stalling having to walk away from him, you want to spend the whole night just talking to him, or even just sitting in silence with him.
“Thank you for walking me.” “it’s, no problem, apparently we were going the same way”, he says jokingly. Not being able to stall any longer, you say goodbye to him and turn to walk into your building. “hey”, he calls. You turn back to look at him and he gets a lot closer to you, inches from your face. You look up at him with slightly wide eyes and he says “Can i kiss you?”, you nod and he leans in. It’s slow, and sweet. He rests one hand on your waist while the other cups your face. Your hands go around his shoulders, meeting at the nape of his neck where you play with the ends of his hair. His lips are a little chapped but you don’t care. he’s an amazing kisser. He pulls away for a second before placing one last quick peck on your lips. You stare up at him and smile. He’s lightly laughing and before you can ask why, he tells you, “I was so nervous to do that”, you laugh with him and are even more charmed by his giddiness. You feel like a teenage girl who just had her first kiss. You guys finally part and he tells you he’ll text you. You walk up to your apartment and and start laughing, it’s been a while since you felt the childlike innocence of a crush and all the little joys that come with it.
You feel your phone buzz in your pocket, it’s a text from Kenma: “i’m home :)”
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dzpenumbra · 1 year
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4/3/23
I'm gonna level here, tonight was rough. I had a few legit panic attacks. Not big ones, but... surreal ones. And I'm still trying to calm myself down.
It's just living in an environment that feels unsafe. Even though my building feels safe, and my apartment feels safe... my neighborhood doesn't. To me, at least. This is clearly a theme, and I'm guessing it's residual from yesterday.
This was set off by watching a stream. I had been avoiding this streamer for a while because he is notoriously antagonistic, like... it's his thing. He was on Jerry fucking Springer. Like... it's his thing. And I knew that. And I watched in the background while doing work, and while eating dinner... for... like over 7 hours. And a lot of it was like... laugh-out-loud funny. I mean that. It was sincerely entertaining.
But there were parts that just set off panic bells. Like... he mentioned a part about like being in a "bad neighborhood" and explaining how that was because the neighborhood was in the flight path of an airport... and... I live in the flightpath of an airport, I woke up to planes flying overhead again today. There were like 2 or 3 moments like that which built up and just... created this really surreal feeling... Like... "it's really not safe out there". And again, it wasn't a feeling of vivid clarity or specificity, it was a feeling of intensity, surreality and gravity.
I guess that's my disorder. I guess that's me getting triggered by key concepts, key words even, and then those concepts/words get associated reflexively with other concepts, then my autonomic alarm system kicks in and goes "I know what that is, that exists in our life, DANGER" and kicks the panic switch. It felt a lot like my weed freakouts do, just a super mild version. It was a big surge of "you're not safe, you're in a bad area and you're alone, you're in danger".
Now... looking back at it? It looks fucking silly. Like... I'm in my electronically locked apartment, in an electronically locked building. The area I live in barely even qualifies as urban, honestly. I'm clearly not in any imminent danger. But... it hits just like I am. It took me a while to get out of it. The intensity of it faded pretty quick, but... it was around like 1 or 2, and it's almost 4:30 now and shades of it are still lingering... Like that feeling of being in a haunted house, feeling like I'm being watched or something. High alert.
When I saw the doctor the other day and mentioned that I deal with depression, anxiety, PTSD and that I'm kinda in a bit of a bout of agoraphobia right now... his first response was starting to tell me about how social interaction was a basic human need, and I was just like... "dude, I know..." Like, I actually got a bit impatient with him. I am fucking aware. To me, at the time, that was like telling me "you know, food is really important for your health..." I have been telling my therapists that for like 4 years now. Weird how I can be in therapy with 3 different therapists and not a single one until this month could figure out a single idea of how I could make friends that was within my comfort zone. With all the fucking technology we have now! Meh, they probably don't have a lot of friends themselves, now that I think about it...
Wow, I got super bitter there for a minute, huh... Ugh.
What the doctor said to me stuck with me because it's absolutely true, and my anger about it is (to me at least) very clearly not directed at him at all. I'm actually super relieved that he is on the same page, like "thank fucking god, finally". I'm pissed that there's like... literally nothing I can do about that. I can't make people hang out with me. I can't make people that I was friends with... not be pieces of shit to me.
And, right now at least, I just don't really feel comfortable meeting people in person. ... I guess? I mean, I met the kids at the skateshop the other day and had zero problems... I went to the skatepark and didn't meet anyone or talk to anyone really... but I had headphones in, so... it's not like I was being super approachable... and they were all like 10+ years younger than me, it's not like it's normal for them to just come up and approach me without a reason, I guess. And vice versa, it just feels weird for some reason. I don't wanna weird them out.
Ugh, anxiety fucking everywhere tonight!
Seriously, its like... the dam cracks and everything starts flowing out. Honestly, what I was thinking with what the doctor said... I really wish I had a friend to just talk shit out with. To just get my anxieties out of my head and hear some unbiased perspective. Because when I'm left alone with my own creative thought, it can just spiral into "what if" for hours. And if I were watching that stream, and just turned to my imaginary girlfriend who, in this magical scenario, actually exists... and went "hey, I'm kinda freaking out a little... this whole stream is about like... crime and being in a bad neighborhood and it's feeling really familiar, and I feel like I made a big mistake moving here, and really it's just a matter of time before something bad like what I'm watching happens to me. Getting scammed, getting robbed, me going to the police and then having people nearby know I went to the police and fucking me up because of it or something." And then we'd talk about it. Talk about like... how likely is that to happen around here? If it did happen, what would we do? Shit like that. Comfort. Reassurance. Not being fucking alone in everything I do.
Anyone who dreams of independence? Who worships and praises it. Independence is fucking easy. Get up, throw your phone in the garbage and start walking in a direction and don't stop, don't turn back. Then you're independent. Congrats. Independent = alone. And yes, it has its "freedoms". Absolutely. Your actions do not affect others. You are free to make as many foolish mistakes as you please and the consequences will fall solely on your lap. And the responsibility for learning from that folly and cleaning up the mess will fall right on your shoulders. And there will be no one to help you through any part of the process. Weird how every person I have met that has thumped the Independence Bible, while shaming me for my "reliance on others" never had the balls to just... walk.
I don't like how upset I'm getting. It feels like an emotional push away from... depression. Like I'm getting upset so that I'm actually doing something about it (even though I'm not), rather than getting sad and depressed. Like... honestly? I feel lame. I feel like a wuss. I didn't talk about fears like this for like 20 years because of it. I feel like most men my age would consider me weak, paranoid, a pussy. And that brings me to a point that I wanted to bring up - being emotionally in-touch.
I did not have this panic problem - hell, even anxiety problems - when I was on meds. However... I was much more emotionally numb. And a lot of people cultivate this effect voluntarily. In fact, it seems like culture (not just male culture, but it's definitely dominant there) actually cultivates this effect. Being "tough" and "hard" are signs of maturity, rights of passage, indicators of strength, fortitude, accomplishment. Being callous is, to many, a badge of honor. And I am a very emotional person. ... At least, I have been told that. It's easy to feel like I'm living life "wrong", and I have often been told and treated that way.
But... my passion? My joy? My raw fascination with the intricacies and beauty of life? My love? My ability to connect with people one-on-one? They all fade when you become callous. I end up living a grayscale life. I know, I've done it. It's why I got off meds. It's why I got out of my old relationship. It's not living. Not for a romantic. Not for someone whose purpose --- this is what I was getting to --- my purpose. As an artist, a musician, a poet. What the fuck am I without emotions? What am I without my passion?
I see the tragedy of my life being that on one side of the coin -> I have myself cowering from overwhelming fear and sadness, from the horrors of what this species does to each other every day, unable to find someone to help me feel safe. And on the other side -> I have myself reveling in the beauty of life, creating visual representations, writing page after page, recording music, capturing as much as I can, unable to find someone to share it with.
And it really sucks. And I really want to do something about it. I just... never imagined I would fail this many times.
I started listing how I've failed in the past few years and deleted it, rare editing moment there, I really just don't want to go down that road. And... those weren't failures. Those were people that fucked me over. And I really don't need to dwell on how former friends and former community members just threw me under the bus, or watched me get struck down unjustly, and just... skipped away like nothing happened. They're not worth my time or energy.
Ugh.
Okay, well... one more thing to unpack before good vibes, I promise.
I got a text today. That NEVER happens. It wasn't from someone trying to scam me about my "Netflix password being leaked" or something this time! It was a guy I went to highschool with. An alcoholic who works at a gas station in my old town. He lived near the house I used to live at, he let me know that he just noticed that "my house" was being demolished. And... I've been moved out since fucking December. Like... my car hasn't been in that driveway since like... November? He lives like... 2 streets up from that house. So... yeah... it was weird. He was just like... "Holy crap _____, they tore your house down", "where you living at now? How are you" I acted polite, replied that I had been moved out for a while, told him the general area of where I am, and tried to emulate what "normal people" do... by politely asking him how he's doing even though I didn't really care. And he did the same thing in return, half-answering something about home improvements and hanging out with dogs... then just said again that he was surprised to see the house gone. And then done. And all done. Yep. So... that's a thing that happened.
Why am I reacting this way to this? The guy got piss drunk, took half my incense and stuck it in the rubber skirt ring on my kayak (when i specifically asked him not to), lit it all, took the kayak out on my pond paddling and playing music really loud with a bluetooth speaker, then paddled over to my neighbors house on the pond in the kayak and yelled at them... for some reason... then came back... and then stole a full pound bag of mexican mix cheese that I had just bought and drunk drove home. And that was... shitty. But even worse? He got high with me on my porch and told me... on my own porch... smoking my own weed... that my parents were right and I should quit art and streaming and shit and get a "real job". And honestly? I'd rather he fucking mug me. I'd rather he steal my phone and sell it for crack.
I mean that. And I really need to remember that. Getting my phone stolen and sold for drugs tomorrow would be scary in the moment, but the shit he told me on my porch that evening? That was in summer 2019, I remember it vividly, like it was yesterday. That will stick with me for a long time. That is scary shit. And I can handle that. So... why the fuck am I afraid of getting mugged? XD
Ugh, it makes no goddamn sense!
Anyway, enough negative shit, let's get to the good shit. If you made it this far... this may be a bit disappointing because you can't like... see the final product to get the full effect... however...
I think I'm pretty much done with the desire path project, at least this branch of it. The animation, at least, I mean. I think the animation of the paths being drawn and the pattern forming is pretty much done. All 100 paths. I did about 30 last night, I went in and did the other 70 today, and then added in some random noise animation to the opacity and line thickness to add a kinda... flickering/pulsing effect to each line. Every line has a different light flicker, every group of 10 has a thickness noise pulse. That was me working all. day. long. About 12 hours total today, with ab 2 hours of dinner break.
Now, all I need to do is kinda... storyboard it. I need to figure out what I'm going to say about it. Then I have the first person footage of the runs, then I have the footage of the map and the final product showing the pattern forming. And I'll do some voiceover on top of it. That's the plan. We'll see how it goes, I'll get cracking on that tomorrow.
So yeah. Big ups and big downs today. But I was saving the big one for the end because it hasn't even really set in for me fully yet. It's done. And now I just have to come up with presentation. I'm going to take a moment and just play it back for myself just so I can let that concept sink in a bit, because it's not really... hitting. --- It looks really cool. :D The whole thing like... shimmers. The paths remind me of an ultrasound or something, the way they flicker and pulse, like veins. It definitely feels much more alive. I like it.
I'm going to go get ready for bed. It's 5:15 again. Ugh. It just keeps happening! -_- Oh well, it's probably less healthy for me to be beating myself up than for me to go to bed at dawn again.
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toddaldrington · 1 year
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Let’s see how this does on here: I’m going to post the first chapter of my latest furry story, ‘Take Off Your Pants and Sneakers’. Yes the title is a homage to a certain rock album from my misspent college years 20+ years ago when I should have been a furry… You can also find this on SoFurry.com and my Patreon subscribers have been getting this for a few weeks already. There will probably be about 6 parts.
Quick summary: Alex is a snow leopard guitar tech. Hunter is a drummer and an atypically well-built ermine. Their boss is a fox asshole. Not to worry though, he’s just bought a new RV for the road crew and Alex is about to invite Hunter into it for some fun…and might also give in to the temptation to tell Hunter that his name really is Alex and not the one the entire band and crew have been calling him for the last three years, and what the story behind that is…
Please note, this story is for 18+ readers only. If you’re a minor please come back when you reach your 18th birthday.
Otherwise, have fun! This story now has the record for the longest erotic scene I’ve written, and get this: I usually do M-M gay fiction, but this time my main character is bisexual and has a flashback to a hot evening with his ex girlfriend ‘back home’ to boot, so there’s something for more readers this time around.
These characters are also part of what’s going to be a longer series as well, and this story will eventually be adapted into it. You saw it all here first!
* * *
Part 1
It’s nice to sleep on something that’s not moving for a change.
I mean the tour bus. Pervert.
Tonight though I’ve also had an unexpected pleasure: I moved out of the main crew bus and into my boss’s special one. Here’s a little taste of who Rico is: he’s made so much money on this tour that he’s not giving his band a raise, he’s bought a new RV for his guitars, and he’s put his tech in them.
So here’s who I am: I’ve dutifully moved all Rico’s babies into the new family touring home, and on the same night Rico decided to take a week off the road to go and take care of some non-guitar family stuff in L.A. So I picked up his best guitar, a white Gibson ES35, worth about ten grande (more than double that if Rico’s boast that it once belonged to Alex Lifeson from Rush is actually true), found the band practicing (as expected during their boss’s week off) and said ‘Can I jam?’
Dumb question, they always let me jam. Of all the secrets I keep, the fact that I can play on a similar par to our boss isn’t one of them. Except tonight I wanted to test a theory: these guys really needed a break from Rico’s jazz-rock-blues zone where no mistake was tolerated. So when Darcy the lioness on keyboards said ‘What are we playing?’ I said two words that normally strike disgust into musicians like these guys:
‘Blink 182.’
That brought Hunter to life. More so than usual. When I’d wanted to jam and said ‘Let’s try and sound like Dream Theater’ that had done it for him. Now it was like I’d stick his tail in a plug socket.
‘Fuck yeah we’re gonna!’ He said. ‘Holy shit Snowball, is that Fantasma? Rico’s gonna fucking kill you!’
Just like Rico to call his favourite guitar the Spanish word for ghost. ‘How come?’ I said, with a shrug as I shut the case. ‘Who’s gonna tell?’
Instead of saying ‘Hellooo, dweeb-boys, what the fuck does a keyboard do in a Blink song?’ she took up the mic. Jax the bass playing antelope, as usual, didn’t say anything at all. They carried the ‘There’s nothing that guy can’t play’ without words, right down to being chilled about how most people would naturally use the male pronouns now even thought Jax was born Jaqui, and went through being Jack as a teenager to deciding they weren’t quite one or the other and combined the two, by the that time looking overwhelmingly male. Who cared? There really was nothing Jax couldn’t play, including Blink 182. Which sounded amazing in Darcy’s voice. Tyler, Rico’s porcupine rhythm and back-up lead player, let me take lead. We played the whole of Enema of the State, then I asked for ‘Online Songs’ and let Darcy play Fantasma while I just sang, because that was one of those songs that was so fun it made me want to forget playing the guitar and just be the frontman.
‘Hey Techsnep,’ Darcy said. (She always seems to forget my name, or at least the name I go by nowadays, but as long as I never hear my real name come out of her mouth, even by accident, I’ll let her call me pretty much anything.) ‘Rico can say whatever he likes about this kinda music, but here’s something I know.’ She handed me Fantasma back. ‘When he auditions his drummers, you know what he does?’
Hunter laughed and flicked one of his sticks into the air like a baton and caught it. ‘You tell him this and Rico will make sure you never work again.’
‘Fuck him,’ Darcy said. ‘According to Rico, you know you’ve got the right drummer when there’s one song they can nail.’
‘Songs with seriously cool drum stuff,’ I thought. ‘Rico. Something unexpected. It’d be cool but not too flashy.’ I put on a theatrical thinking look, knowing I was going to get it wrong. ‘Got it! Phil Collins. It’d only be In the Air Tonight.’
‘Heavier,’ Hunter said.
‘Muzzle by the Smashing Pumpkins.’
Hunter gave me such a look I wondered if he actually did have a boner. ‘We’re totally doing that in a minute, but no. Go even more un-Rico than that.’
Darcy rolled her eyes. ‘Enough already, teenage geek boys. It’s Basket Case by Green Day. We gonna audition Hunter?’
‘Shit,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘Yeah, sure, gimme a minute, it’s been a long time since I…’ When did I last do that one? I wasn’t really asking myself so much as trying to push thoughts of my old band out of my head. The last time I played this was when it was a request. I was 16 and we were playing a reunion gig for people who had gone to our highschool a little while before us. There was one guy who’d gotten expelled for making death threats worthy of a Wes Craven flick but really it was because he had had mental health issues and I really didn’t want to look at him while I was singing that song, but only because I’d always thought it was a shame, because Kayden was actually pretty cool. Cool enough that my dad had let him take the ‘get out of town’ option instead of getting sectioned. Cool enough that he was back for the reunion and had somehow been allowed entry.
It took one simple thing to clear those days from my head: there was something Hunter did with that drum intro and repeated on every ‘I think I’m cracking up’ that just took it to another level. It was like the same technique that nailed that Neil Peart-esque thing he always did where he rolled down the entire kit like the end of ‘Natural Science’ or ‘Limelight’. He’d added that to a Green Day song, extra notes between the already rapid gunfire drum-fill the whole world knew in the middle of that song.
God I loved Hunter, right down to how he was the only drummer that Rico hadn’t bullied off a tour, because Rico had somehow realised that Hunter couldn’t be bullied. It was like some nonchalant immunity, and instead of hating it Rico had come to respect it. What the hell was it? Rico always seemed to hate full of life people because he clearly feared them taking the spotlight away from him in any room, or just hated their flamboyance, but Hunter wasn’t flamboyant. The whole crew knew he was gay, but he was the kind of gay that passed for straight until you walked past his trailer to hear whoever he was with either howling, growling, or plain begging. Maybe Rico just kept him because he seemed to want his latest band to be token-diverse.
I don’t care about anyone’s reasons for much tonight. I just want to jerk off thinking about Hunter. He’s immune to the risks of being out too. I can’t even make peace with how I’m probably bisexual. I want to be one or the other and feel like my stupid body and brain finally made a decision for me, and lately I think I want to be gay.
I thought everything with Finn back home had killed that side of me off, until halfway through my life of hiding from the law on tour busses, I met Rico for the second time in my life, and then Rico hired Hunter, and I knew I’d dealt with exactly nothing.
Tonight though I just need to get off.
Forget what anyone says about tours and groupies, getting your rocks off with someone in a top bunk that makes the bus feel like we’re all packed into a morgue most nights is seriously uncomfortable. Thankfully nobody in this band’s on heroin, because I often think sleeping like this feels like a rehearsal for where you’d end up after an OD. Add 80kph to that already wrong-for-sex atmosphere and you don’t want your dick in a tight place.
Tonight though, we’re not moving, and I’ve got Hunter to think about and a wicked hard-on take care of.
There might be no heroin, but a couple of nights I’ve seen Hunter so pumped up both during and after a performance that I’d damn sure he’d crack-piped some meth. I’m no expert on spotting who’s on what, but Hunter reminded me uncomfortably of Finn those nights, except that Hunter could make something amazing happen while on drugs, if he even was and it wasn’t just him having the time of his life, but damn, that extra hype and looking around more was exactly what I saw on Finn right before he started loosing control of his.
All I’d done to try and reassure myself was ask Darcy ‘Hey, just between you and me, did Hunter get hold of something? Like maybe something blue?’
Darcy gave me that friendly but firm look I needed from her. ‘One, it’s never really blue in real life. Two, even if he did, which I seriously doubt even if he is wired as fuck tonight, we’re not asking questions about it because we do not need Rico kicking him off this tour. So we let Rico ask, and we let Hunter do whatever he does that always keeps him here no matter what.’
‘Got it.’ I nodded, and thought about going to the bar to get another vodka and coke in the hope it would dull my need to ask Hunter about it myself. That’s when Darcy caught hold of my jacket sleeve and turned me back around.
‘Hey,’ she said. ‘I never told you this, okay? There was one night when it was just me and him packing kit up. I got him talking in a way he doesn’t usually talk. He told me something personal. I’m not gonna tell you what it was, but let’s put it this way: if there’s a guy who knows life’s too short for fucking up with drugs then it’s Hunter. I don’t think he’s doing meth. I think this is him when everything seems a little too intensely cool and he doesn’t quite know how to express it even on a drum kit.’
‘Yeah, that was Finn and a piano once.’
‘Who?’
‘Never mind. Shit from back home. Ex…friend of mine. I thought he was just on meth but it was worse than that. Some shit happened. That’s why I got on a road in the first place. I need this tour too. So of course I’m not going to Rico with this shit. That’s why it’s you tonight instead.’
Darcy and I liked each other. We’d done each other good a couple of times on quiet tour-bus nights. Hunter had once said ‘Hey Darc, tomorrow night can you fuck Dylan a bit more quietly? I really need better sleep.’ The little bastard. He was the heaviest sleeper on the entire band and crew combined, and he’d faked it to listen to us doing it? I’d have been pissed if it had been anyone but him.
‘Dylan.’ Darcy kept me there again. I’d long since started getting used to my cover name that I no longer worried that one day I’d respond to Alex because someone called another person that and I mistook it for them trying to get my attention instead. ‘If you like Hunter, tell him. Because everyone knows, including him. Isn’t it about time you did something about it?’
I shook my head. ‘I’m straight, Darcy. I like Hunter because he’s a cool person.’
‘Are you fuck, and even if the second part of that’s true, you’ll think he’s cooler if you actually just do go and have sex with him.’
‘If he wanted that with me he’d have sought me out for it already and you know he would. Besides, even if I was gay, I’d be too scared. We’ve all been past the bus when he’s with guys. Wouldn’t you be pants-pissing terrified?’ I knew she’d probably let me have the last word, but I couldn’t resist one thing: ‘What do you suppose he’s into?’
She shrugged. ‘Dunno. Apart from one thing, but everyone knows about that.’
‘I don’t.’
‘Oh come on, snow brain. Why do you think he’s always buying sneakers? The guy’s got a whole suit case full of them. Rico lets him have an extra one because without them, no mojo. It’s not just a fashion thing.’
‘Your reckon? Come on, it’s just a thing for showing off how he can afford designer clothes.’
‘Guess again. There is nothing that guy doesn’t know about feet. He might have been one hell of a podiatrist if he’d had med-school smarts and been able not to get a hard-on as soon as an attractive person took their socks off. I let him take mine off one night. I needed to relax. I figured if there was one guy who’d know how to give a good foot massage, it was him. Oh holy fuck did I get an education. He got hard for me but it was in a totally nice and non-pervert way, and he totally didn’t want sex with me. He liked giving me a nice time, like a gentleman. He actually acted a bit deliberately charming. It wasn’t quite him. But God my feet needed it.’
I was heading for a twilight zone hearing this from her.
‘For God’s sake, snep. Go on. Not even Rico cares who you stick your dick in. Nobody’d even care if you genuinely aren’t gay but you just wanted to fuck Hunter anyway because he’s Hunter, and you’ve not had sex in three years of touring. Apart from twice with me.’
Not true, but irrelevant. ‘What does it take to never have this conversation with you again?’
‘Dyl, I’m a queen-of-the-cats type lioness, and I gave you a pretty damn good time, right down to how you were so up for it you actually did make me come. Congratulations, you’re good at sex. Yes I believe you once had a serious long-term girlfriend and before whatever went wrong, you were having a good time. But was what we did together really the highest point you could possibly reach? Because I don’t think so. I think you need to be in love.’ She smiled. It became a lion’s grin, and she flicked her eyes at Hunter.
I sighed. ‘I’m not in love with Hunter.’ I left a long pause. ‘I’m maybe a little bit interested. Or maybe a infatuated. It’s cool. Be it’s not love.’
She thought for a moment. ‘You know Hunter’s an orphan, right?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Why would I know that? That’s not exactly something a lot of orphans advertise.’
‘No, but he’s open about it if you get him talking. No secret. But you wanna know what I think?’
I always want to know what Darcy Whitman thinks, but the last thing I’m ever going to do is tell her that. All I had to do that night was what I always do in that situation: say nothing and wait.
‘There’s stuff Hunter doesn’t say about where he comes from, but here’s what I think it is from hints he’s dropped. I think some pair of stupid fucks put him in a basket on an orphanage doorstep because Mommy couldn’t handle how she had sex with someone who either wasn’t another ermine, just something similar. Or maybe Daddy was the “right species”.’ She said it so well I could hear the inverted commas and knew what was coming next. ‘But he wasn’t a white one. You get what I’m saying?’
‘Even if you’re right, why are you telling me?’
‘Who do you think Hunter is underneath, Dylan? Look at him. Everywhere he goes, people see a ‘cross-breed.’ They call it ‘person of mixed ancestry’ now, like we aren’t all technically that. There’s no term for it that doesn’t sound like it’s meant to be an insult somehow. People might try, but the whole point is people like Hunter still get looked at like they might be the wrong sort of different. They get arrested more, they get paid less, they get blamed for things that are nothing to do with them, they’re a scapegoat. Even some people who recognise how wrong that all is still have hang-ups, because that’s how prejudice works. Unless?’
‘Unless what?’
‘Think about it, snep.’
I thought for a few minutes while we had another drink each. I didn’t know where she wanted me to go with this. ‘Where’s Hunter from?’
‘Colorado.’
‘He ever tell you what his foster family are like? Or did nobody ever adopt him? Did he learn to play drums on a kit donated to an orphanage and drive everyone nuts with the noise?’ I could just imagine it all too easily.
‘It’s probably an obvious and dumb question all at once, but why not, y’know, ask Hunter all this?’
I smiled. ‘And there it is. The point. You’re trying to make me so irresistibly reporter-style curious about him that that’s exactly what I do, and you think somehow it’s going to strike up a conversation that ends with him asking me if he can fuck my pants off, maybe just to shut me up asking questions.’
‘Yeah, I did think that might work. But keep thinking, snow boy. I’m gonna go put my head down. Have a good night.’
Am I irritated tonight because now that I have time to think after the fun of today’s trailer-move and illicit jam session is over, I still have no idea what sudden thought I’m supposed to have that gives me a life-changing epiphany that somehow ends up with me having the night of my life with Hunter Kershaw? The mixed origin ermine, who I never think of as being mixed, or cross-breed, or even as being anything but Hunter Kershaw. Probably, yeah. But it’s best I just stay irritated.
Having anything I believe to be an epiphany and approaching Hunter with it will probably end in disaster somehow. The last time I felt like this about anyone, it was Finn and Bonnie both at once, and look how that fucking ended. Finn’s in and out of psych wards all the time, Bonnie’s lucky to be alive and not in prison, and both of them wish I was dead. Not to mention that I should be in prison, according to the way the law works, and sooner or later this grand effort to stay out of it is going to fail and I’m going to have to do my time.
Not today. Not tonight. Maybe not for quite a few more nights after this. But fuck it, I’m still not poisoning Hunter Kershaw’s life by inviting him into mine. I don’t deserve anyone like him even looking at me. I’m lucky I’ve got that. I’m lucky he wants to have elicit jam sessions with me where we play music our boss despises and it’s half because Rico despises it. I want to stay lucky this time.
So no, I’m still not going to try and have that good night Darcy wanted me to have several weeks ago and go and talk to Hunter until I end up being his yeowling, begging sex-slave. Now that I’ve got Rico’s new trailer straight and set up for me to do my job in, and now that I’ve had my jam session on Fantasma and my college rock fix to boot, I’m going to turn in, jerk my dick off thinking about Hunter and enjoy how even after six months on the road with him, the secret thoughts where he makes me come are the one thing that stop me being angry about how I fucked things up with Bonnie. I should be on these tours waiting to go home to her at the end. I should have completed my community service and finished college all in the same year, and then I would be free for good. I should have waited.
Instead I snapped one day when my comserv supervisor docked me an hour. One stupid hour. Why did it even set me off? Why did I have to go and be chimp-mode Alex right when I needed to be a grown up and just deal with shit?
‘Look, I was on the phone for that hour instead of picking up trash because my friend’s sick and there’s issues I can’t avoid, and I didn’t even want that call but his psychiatrist said it was urgent that we talked together, and how can I go to the hospital when I’m here? Doing com-serv. Picking up little bits of trash because that’s somehow more important than looking after a person.’
‘Mr Shaeffer.’ Like calling me that took the edge off her. ‘I’m sorry about your problems.’ Was she fuck. ‘But we’re here to pick up trash. You spent an hour not picking up trash, and that means the others get to log that hour and you don’t.’
I should have taken it. I should have handled it the way someone with a smarter head would have. IE Someone like Hunter, who life could throw anything at and he’d do the right thing. Instead I did what I’d always resisted doing to my mother, to any teacher who ever disciplined me unfairly, to Dad after his worst behaviour. To anyone. I turned to that dog, stared her down, let her walk back towards the bus and I gave it to her.
‘You bitch.’ That turned everyone’s heads pretty quick. ‘What is it, you don’t like cats? You dock me an hour when someone else needed my time more than you did? well you’re lucky. There are cats who’d give you fucking claws for that.’
Needless to say, I wasn’t allowed back on the bus. I walked all the way back into Cedar Rapids knowing I was probably going to be arrested for threatening her even though technically I hadn’t and might just get away with it if anyone corroborated how I’d said what I’d said, but who was I kidding? I was imagining her getting a claw swipe. I’d gotten away with a lot already in the eyes of many people, most of all Mom and Dad, but implying I might have done something like that? That was going to tear it almost as much as actually doing it.
That’s when I knew it was get out of town time. My first lucky break was knowing I’d already been offered a chance. That tour bus that was in town with Albino Dragons needed a new tech. I’d said no thanks, I had stuff I had to finish before I could take off on the touring life. Was it too late to change my mind? As it turned out, no. I had a condition to add though: I was going to change my name, and they’d have to help me live as my new identity, including by paying me in cash because I no longer wanted to use the bank account in my real name.
So I became Dylan Highwood. Who’s now trying not to be ashamed of one day three and half years ago while he makes himself come thinking about a guy he can’t have.
It’s not working. If this keeps happening, I’m going to crack within a few more months and decide it’s time to go back to Cedar Rapids and face the one kind of music I’d almost kill to avoid. That can’t happen, the killing part or the facing. I can’t leave this tour, because I can’t walk away from Hunter, Darcy or even Rico like this. Not after everything Rico’s done to help me stay here. He might be a dick, but he’s my kind of dick, and besides, I’m worse, and as long as everyone’s attention is on Rico then it’s not on me and what I’ve done.
So falling asleep limp and ashamed of myself is okay, because tomorrow I’ll be ready to get up and go to work again, making sure my forty-five year old boss isn’t reduced to the level of a five year old whose parents won’t buy him a toy if one of his grown-up toys is even slightly out of tune. That will clear these vibes out of me. Maybe I’ll just invite Hunter in to look at my new set-up. If I play it right, I might even be able to get Rico to let Hunter travel in here with me if I say that I’ve gotten used to the way Hunter snores and now I’m finding I can’t get used to falling asleep myself, because without Hunter all I can hear is the bus and I hate that sound (I actually don’t, but I’m getting creative already…and that’s how I know that whole idea is too risky and I need to stop it now and just fall asleep with only Rico’s awesome collection of guitars for company.)
There’s a knock on the door. I’m ignoring it.
About a minute passes and the knock comes again. This time there’s a voice.
‘Hey snep, I know you’re not asleep. It’s barely eight o-clock.’
Oh no. Seriously no.
This time the knocking’s insistent. ‘Open the goddamn door, snow ball! Come on, don’t be an asshole.’
‘I’m working!’ I decide, in my most irritated voice.
Laughter follows. ‘You’re in bed, you little liar! I can hear the covers moving.’
No bluff. Hunter always wears ear-plugs so despite being pounded with drum sound all the time, his hearing really would be that good.
‘Come on you fucker, let me in. There’s something I wanna talk to you about.’
Christ, Darcy, what the hell have you done? Hunter wouldn’t be here saying that if you hadn’t said something. Probably tried the same sort of act on him that you did on me in reverse, only he didn’t just bite, he took the bait knowing it was bait, and not with his mouth, so now he’s going to flash out of the water and unleash some sort of hell on not only the fisherman, but any goddamn thing he wants. Just so he can laugh and say ‘Surprise!’ afterwards.
Goddamn it.
Why am I about to open the door?
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the-firebird69 · 2 years
Text
It looks like tonight he was going to that house so shoot him again but it's different and he might be going to Max house some say. And for similar reasons. He saw it Mac was doing here, several times and using the boy to pull those people around and it was business as usual so my son says, the method of killing the person indicates he's possibly doing it when he does back just looking around the eye and in the face of kill him anyways. And that is what it is and the nitwits with him are doing it too. We say that because Max is having to do that. And they're giving her son a hard time thinking that they're going to get some kind of angle that doing it and they just hit and it's justified by his viewpoint. They playing Trump for what happened in Saudi Arabia when it's probably Tommy F and Mac and the max and we know it is but the people that Jason and Lily and Jenna don't really get it. So they're probably siding with the enemy but Trump got it.
Shot a really fast so I couldn't move and hit the motor centers. Something act right in the heart several times so you got a new heart and he thought he might ask some questions and didn't worry you have to leave I will have to shortly too tonight well this morning. And they recover and then get hit by a handgrenade both of them. And then they recover and they arrest them was the one who played and move the money up in their own plane to where they want it right now Trump is off to Africa we hope, to retrieve the plane and he'll come back shortly and note Mac took the plane in nx shortly after he lands. And that's coming up real quick and calexico and he's noticed it right away so he went to his house didn't say anything. And it's because you know where the plane was and the money he needs him out. Through the rest of the movie they're fighting and finally Trump and his crew lose and they are held shortly put on the plane and ship to Utah later that night I mean the afternoon and then we ship to try to get freed to be shipped to a Max prison and they crashing Vegas the money moves to Alabama and Minnesota right now is starting to get ready to head back to the USA use the time zone change takes 10 hours to get here in that plane it's 1:00 a.m. and he did not shoot him at his ranch that's tomorrow well tonight Tuesday night okay.
We have proceeded with the rest of the film which goes on shortly and it is partly a night scene and it includes Max getting shot at the end of the movie is tomorrow
going on momentarily
Thor Freya
saide is going to get a medal or something from Hera didn't go that way
I'm hungry too my food I can eat here but I have to talk about my ladies and my girls but I called my ladies.. I grew up to be ladies okay you're my girls see you soon I'll call you ladies later when I see you cuz of times it's not ladies yet. I know it's right says they'll be ladies later in life. And thier my girls to me.
Hello girl is named Susie q no that's not her name it's something like Captain marvel yes that's her name and that's her character everybody has been saying you look smallish and kind of different and she had a bad reaction you look smallish what are you doing, my parents are yelling in space like they're standing next to each other I've heard it before inside my head and I'm arguing with my husband's but not like this knock it off. So I can see some things here in these people it's a very old and nasty inside this kind of store you're very retarded to have some kind of stuff like that and then he said that's one thing. But I'm here and I'm Captain marvel I'm here to tell you I'm not a big girl and it's not funny but I do the job and I look like I do in the movie and I am doing the jobs shortly this morning and he says it's like getting up to make the donuts so I'm going to do that job as well but he says we have stuff that's critical and it is and globally to this other incidents like this and everybody wants to see what would come up with so far there enthused especially the abominations number and she abomination. And then came up with the idea to take the cars and turn them into something else it's been a roadhog but doesn't mean to as in he let's look at the problem want to recycle them and work with my father to see you what to do with them and come up with diesel generator so how in the hell could be so specific stuff what are you doing all this other stuff so I'm looking at him and he's not smiling but he has the idea for the size generator and for some specific reason and Diesel was I think came from him and he's an idiot and I don't know why the size it's like a general duty size for like a fast food restaurant or something we're very large house with a bunch of people in it. So where going ahead with that stuff but our jobs are different and she has a list of them some of them are building stuff and making things and she said they need apartments and hotels and condos so we're going to go ahead and do that and we have had that happen before duty fall to us which. He says he loves it because the woman you can't tell what they can do for a while and we're going to be disturbing to these people. And we have had enough of the treatment they're so bad to women and we do need to get in here and I want to see me these man think they can genetically clone themselves and jump into a clone body themselves. So wonderful projects that were working on in town and it is us and I'm going to do it today and it's a volunteer job so they can say stuff if they want to.
Captain Marvel
And Captain America yes I have a different person and I'm a son-in-law that's a forever and break through the first layer of his clan. This family is very rude no but it's impossible it says welcome to the family cap and seem to do things for a long time but that's good to hear. She's on her own doing the assignment now but I'll be watching
Captain America
Oh my God we simply must have them here. And you should have Trump you don't know anything. We need them to help us with some things and one of them is construction debris. It's a little like Chris job lol. They say they have trucks in the way .
Mac
This is conversation last night already he wants the trucks to come down here now and remove the debris I was to see us do it by hand. And he wants us to show us the licenses first and he didn't say where and for who says he's sending it and it's not. So we will go buy up some places and we'll move to debris it's going to build stuff there.
Hera Zues
I was doing fine with that no I needed a hand and I guess you guys have a different job and we need help with that they say so I'm going to help and I'm going to pressure people because they're leaving it that way on purpose I'm going to come in there and kick people's asses and then fix it there's a bunch of land and it's near the shore and it's inland those devastated and we're going to put in a sub basement type thing and have the first floor almost empty but very sturdy construction on purpose and all concrete inside now all along the shore on purpose that one building that was there it's going to get rebuilt and the local government said it none of these buildings should have been there all crap and then blue right into the houses wrecked a lot of lives and it killed people. So they probably have us do it when the see our idea.
Captain Marvel Captain America
I think i have to do this but I say no because I can't and he says. at least we know the other people are getting rid of my husband says the last line and his yimmering like John riven Lord. We do you take one of them quite a bit of them down. And my husband says it's quite clearly he tells him not to do stuff they're doing explains it during the day she'll soon shows why and it still continues to do it. No more of that you guys just go get hit as you do anyways you're always the time it's time to you running around town yesterday saying that you're John remillard said you ruined your system when you're a bunch of little kids thinking you can do whatever you want and you get what you want. And we're taking over to waste management I'm putting it in now it's such a nuisance
Hera
Zues
I'm making a big steak kind of stuff no they are very huge pile of jerks they just keep saying things one way then the other, he says they're toddlers and they're mean and they shouldn't be in power because they're stupid it was sort of good the meeting whatever you do do something stupid and then running around Florida doing that the max are too are little kids. I'm going to take over whatever it was sitting there sucking telling us to make you win the only way for us to do that is physically and we're pretty good at it. Just have to be here and have to be have some power. So coming in now the teams and sign jobs in certain areas I'm going to get going on the North since you don't care if you're put back together or not we're going to strike the Zherg, we have raiding the only thing you want to do is build up a certain type of defense and it's not acceptable. And it said it missiles so go after the missiles and we'll use them on the blockade for you and some other places and you say it out loud by the way so you can get hit. We hv no more patients for you suicidal assholes either. We're getting ready to fire already as we took so many missiles we don't have any more space. May as well let you know that we're targeting your missile facilities too has your big mouths. we are firing in three two and one now see you later assholes. And we're bringing you down Mac here in Florida and your asinine friend he's coming to visit you all on his own can't stop him from doing this stuff there's another problem.
Thor Freya
So I'm going to be shot because this guy is a loose Cannon and we can't stop him. And they say they hardly putting anything into it and he says we're not really he's turning into a dick and says I can't get anything because of this idiot and I'm not helping enough and block a lot of things it would help of course it's exposed because it's jerk but it says I wouldn't be doing it if it weren't for him. So I need help down here there's a huge crew of them around it's too big some of them ammassed and Tommy f is encouraging it Mac Daddy
Mx near calico ok my last position where I was
0 notes
spectaclespencer · 3 years
Text
P.H. // Part 1; Alone
Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader
A/N; Here’s the first chapter! Let me know what you think <3 this is based off of this request I got. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Please know I know this theme/part has little to nothing to do with the actual meaning of the song, but some lines work if you ignore the rest 😅
Summary; After Gideon leaves, Reader takes up chess to comfort Spencer through the difficult time.
Category; Fluff, Angst(?), Hurt/Comfort
Content Warnings; Sad Spencer otherwise none!
Word Count; 3.5k
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It started when I found Spencer one morning. He had fallen asleep on a chair at the bau, and he explained to me that he’d been waiting for Gideon because he promised to play chess with Spencer that night.
“Is Hotch in yet?”
“No, he will be soon. We have a case, JJ is gonna brief us and we leave in 30.”
He thanked me and left the room, with his head down. He kept the same mood during the briefing, he kept drifting off as JJ was talking. Spencer was known to be stuck in his head often, but this was far more unusual behaviour. I figured maybe he slept wrong, or maybe just was simply looking forward to playing chess with Gideon. That was their usual routine, to have a game or two after cases to relax. It was understandable to see him on edge after not hearing from him all night.
As we got on the jet he didn’t sit with me on the couch right away as he usually did, instead he walked over to Hotch in the back corner. I craned my neck to try and see what he was doing and hear what he was saying. He spoke in soft whispers, seemingly asking questions I assumed were about Gideon’s presence. I saw Hotch shake his head, to which Spencer’s expression dropped. He thanked him, then made his way over to the couch beside me.
“You okay?” I asked.
He gave me a quick nod -- yet didn’t meet my eyes -- then curled up at the end of the couch to presumably take a nap before we landed.
We were all worried about Gideon, none of us had heard from him since the last case. We figured he just needed a break from the chaos; having a loved one die would take a toll on any of us. It was logical really, any one of the team would need time to recover when presented with that situation.
Spencer remained more quiet throughout the case, not engaging in conversation when it wasn’t crucial to the work. We ended up sharing rooms but even then he didn’t budge. He mostly sat in the corner and played chess against himself, often zoning out and staring at the wall. It was hard to see, and even harder to sit back and let him try to get through it. I could tell he was fighting himself in his head, probably going over scenarios on Gideon’s whereabouts. I imagine the stress was affecting him heavily -- or at least it was clear with the way his forehead had been creased all night.
Chess. Nobody on the team had a fair shot at him besides Gideon. Sitting there staring at the pieces probably wasn’t doing him too good, only making him worry more.
It wasn’t that I didn’t care because I did, but when it comes to certain things Spencer can be defensive and refuse help, so I wanted to give him a chance to get better. It wasn’t unlike him to refuse help, and I didn’t want to make the situation worse by opening my mouth. Instead, I opted to ask, “Mind if I join in for a game?”
“What? Uh- no it’s fine. I mean, okay yes. Sure,” Spencer stuttered, spooked by my sudden appearance beside him.
“Stop slouching, you’re gonna make your posture even worse,” I chuckled lightly, patting his shoulder to remind him. He shot me a small smile, watching as I rounded the table to sit across from him. I wasn’t too good of a player, but I wanted to make Spencer feel just a little less alone.
“Do you even know how to play?”
“Ouch,” I mocked offense, slapping a hand over my heart. “So cruel, Spencer.”
He raised his eyebrows in a form of asking again, to which I replied with, “Kind of. I haven’t played for years but I’ve observed you.”
“Y-you’ve observed me?” Spencer questioned, resetting the chess pieces on the board.
“Well, yeah. Kind of hard not to. You’re a pretty interesting guy.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
I smiled when he finally made eye contact with me. He looked tired -- more so than usual -- with his eyebags a deeper shade than they were normally.
The game didn’t last long. In only seven minutes, he managed to beat me. I groaned at my loss, lips pulled into a tight line. Spencer didn’t react, however.
“Okay that’s enough for me,” I said, heading over to the bathroom to brush my teeth before bed. “Goodnight Spence. Get some sleep. No offense but you look like you need it.”
He hummed at me, cleaning up the table before he climbed into his own bed.
I could tell he didn’t sleep much that night, as he kept a lamp on and littered his bed with various books. He looked cute, all swaddled up in the blanket he brings with him on every case for a sense of stability. His glasses were perched on his nose, and he was chewing his fingernails -- a habit I’ve tried to get him to kick over the past two years.
We didn’t talk during the night, but we both knew that each other were awake. I was kept up by my thoughts, trying to figure out how to get Spencer out of his slump. Re-learning how to play chess seemed like a decent enough idea -- yet one that would take some time. I was proved tonight that my skill needed to be greatly improved. It was nice in the moment, but realistically it would take a few weeks, if not more, to get the hang of.
The next day at the precinct I was stationed at the map, trying to figure out our geographical profile. I heard faint chattering coming from outside, and looked over my shoulder to see Spencer and Derek talking. I couldn’t hear much, but I did get that Spencer mumbled about calling Gideon, to which Derek answered that he might’ve just missed the call. It was possible, but likely deeper than that.
“Six times? Six calls? Something’s wrong,” Spencer sighed, rubbing his eyes.
I didn’t intervene with the conversation, instead deciding to finally speak to him about it after the case had ended.
On the last day, we all headed to our rooms after grabbing some dinner, to get a good rest before we took off early the next morning.
“Hey Spence, you awake?”
He hummed in response, and I could hear the rustle of the sheets as he rolled over in his bed to face me.
“I know you’re worried about Gideon. How about when we get back tomorrow I’ll drive you down to his cabin? We can go check on him.
“Would you really?” he asked softly. I couldn’t see him fully in the darkness, but I could sense he was looking at me with pleading eyes.
“Of course. I don’t like seeing you this stressed and down. I want to help.”
“Thanks ____, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Spencer.”
After our conversation it was like a blanket of grey was lifted over his head. He settled in more, drifting off to sleep within minutes. I hated seeing him sad, and I did my best to try and fix his mood whenever I could. Spencer didn’t like change, I knew that, and the team knows that. A part of me had a sneaking suspicion that Gideon wasn’t coming back, and I had fear for what that would mean for Spencer.
-----
“Do you want me to come in with you?” I asked, pulling up in front of the cabin and turning off the engine. The only sounds were the faint hum of rain outside, splattering against the windows.
Spencer shook his head and took a deep breath, before unbuckling himself and opening his door. He mumbled something about being right back, as he headed off towards the building. It wasn’t dark yet -- only being four pm -- but it wasn’t too light either.
It looked as if the lights inside the cabin were off, and I could just hardly see Spencer as he knocked on the door. He waited on the porch for a moment, waiting to see if anyone would come to the door.
Nobody did.
It was hard to just sit there and watch, as his desperation grew stronger by the millisecond.
-----
I took deep breaths, trying to even out my intake of air and remain calm. When nobody answered the fifth time that I knocked, I reluctantly grabbed a hold of the knob and turned it. Much to my surprise the door opened, creaking inch by inch as I stood there unmoving.
“Gideon?” I called into the home, taking one step inside. “Jason?”
I wasn’t greeted with an answer, he didn’t come to the door and thank me for coming to visit. It was eerily quiet -- so quiet I took a few more steps inside to create some sort of volume.
“Hello?” I spoke again, louder this time. Shutting the door behind me I took off my jacket and hung it on the coat rack next to the entrance.
The place had been mainly cleared out, there weren’t many personal items behind. I stalked over to the kitchen, to see if there was any trace of someone within the last few days. It’s been officially a week and a half since anyone had last heard from him that I was aware of. I thought someone must have eaten, or at least left a bit of a mess behind them that would signal a presence.
As I turned the corner to enter the new room I noticed something on the table. I stopped in my tracks, leaning down to take a closer look.
Gideon’s badge, gun, and an envelope.
I swallowed thickly, walking around the table and took a seat in front of the items. When I saw the envelope had my name on it, my heart dropped. With shaky hands I picked up the paper and opened it, seeing there was a letter inside.
Spencer,
I knew it would be you who came to the cabin to check on me.
You must be frightened, I apologize for that. I never meant to cause you any pain. But then I also never envisioned writing this letter. I’ve searched for a satisfactory explanation for what I’m doing, all I’ve come up with is: a profiler needs to have solid footing. I- I don’t think I do anymore. The world confuses me. The cruelty, indifference, tragedy.
I stopped there, my eyesight becoming blurry from tears. I shoved the letter in my pocket, not caring at the moment if it got crumpled or not.
I was out of the cabin in no time -- choosing not to stay there and sulk in a deeper sadness.
-----
Waiting in the car for Spencer felt like torture. It was difficult, letting him go in there alone to be met with possibly no answers. I was thrown out of my thoughts by the sound of the cabin door slamming shut, Spencer jogging over to the car.
“Hey. Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, red flags hanging immediately as he climbed in the car, tear soaked face pointed down towards his lap. It took me a moment to realize he was crying -- the rain had completely soaked through his top layer of clothes. He didn’t reply with words, instead reaching into his pants pocket to retrieve a piece of paper. He handed it over to me, still not meeting my eyes.
I unfolded it and began to read -- it was hard, through the tear stains smudging the ink across the page.
“Oh, Spence…” I whispered and stopped after the first few sentences, leaving the rest for him. I didn’t know what to say, how to comfort him.
“He’s gone,” Spencer sniffled, wiping his eyes on the sleeves of his nearly drenched jacket. “He just left. He didn’t say goodbye. He left me a note,” he froze, taking a few deep breaths. “Just like my dad did when I was a kid.”
“It’ll be okay. Wherever he is, I’m sure he’s okay,” I assured him. “You know he cares about you, right?”
“I know he is. It’s just-” he started, trying to find the right words between his gasping for more air. “Can you just take me home, please.”
I nodded, while turning the car back on to drive away. Spencer kept his gaze towards the window, refusing to let me see his face. I’m selfishly almost glad for it, because I don’t know if seeing his heartbreak is something I could handle.
It was a long, quiet drive, taking around an hour and a half to finally reach his apartment. He scrambled out of the car fast, but I still walked him up as I usually did. He got to the door before me, thanking me for driving him home. He shut the door just as I got fully up the stairs, leaving me standing with my mouth open.
‘Baby, when you fought me at the door
Kinda hard to force what's natural
Maybe you don't want what you need most’
-----
The next day when he came over after work he was almost back to normal. It was weird to see, to see such a shift in his behaviour after less than twenty-four hours. As much as he tried to hide it, I could tell just how hard it was for him. The sudden change didn’t go well with anyone, we’d all been informed that Gideon wouldn’t be returning and that he’d moved on from the BAU. It was especially hard on Spencer too, since Elle had just left not too long ago, and then Emily joined the team. First he loses a friend, someone who truly understood him as I did, and then someone he considered a father figure.
And neither of them had said goodbye to his face. It was scary, knowing a member of your team could walk out and never return before you know it.
We were seated on the couch, a game of chess displayed on the middle cushion between us.
It wasn’t anywhere near a fair game -- Spencer’s skills were still far ahead of mine. However I noticed it made him smile, and that’s all I wanted. For him to feel loved, and secured. It was a sense of grounding, a routine that was regular in his life. I still wasn’t very good -- not having played since high school and that night on the last case. But I downloaded an audiobook and several player’s guides for the plane ride home to study, because I wanted to learn for Spencer’s sake. However I soon realized it was easier to watch Spencer and how he plays, and to ask him questions. He seemed to enjoy it, having someone else in his life to play with.. And he loved to teach, to help people learn. He was so good at it too, his big brain being used to help people no matter the context.
Eventually he won the game as usual, causing me to groan in frustration..
“You bastard.”
“Not my fault you kinda suck,” he laughed bashfully, lips curling up into a small smile. It was nice to see a bit of happiness on his face, no matter how temporary.
“You’re so rude to me,” I joked, moving the board to the coffee table. “I thought we were friends.”
It was silent for a few moments, with me figuring out what I was going to say next.
“Spencer I know you haven’t wanted my help, but please tell me what I can do for you. Tell me how you feel, at least?”
‘Maybe you don't want what you need most’
“It’s nothing, ____,” he breathed, looking away from me and instead at the wall the couch was facing. He could see our reflection on the blank tv, and instead opted to just look down at his lap. “I’m better now.”
‘You ain't even there for me
Now you're scared to be alone’
“Respectfully, that’s bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh come on. I know you don’t want to talk about this but at least give me something. Don’t keep it all in. It’s not healthy.”
His face screwed up at my words, eyebrows furrowed and lips twitching. I could tell he knew I was right, as much as he hated it.
“I’m just- I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“I don’t want you to leave,” Spencer whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear.
‘Got me thinkin' that you scared of yourself, not me’
It all made sense -- the way he’d been distancing himself lately. It took me promising candy and Star Trek for him to come over tonight, and even then he almost declined. Too many blows to the heart made him afraid to get attached. He didn’t want anyone else from his life to disappear in a flash.
“Look at me,” I said, and he snapped his head to face me. “I’m not going anywhere. I can’t claim to be far in the future, but right now? I’m here. You’re stuck with me for a while, Spencer.”
He smiled, closing his eyes as a stray tear graced across his cheek. I used my thumb to wipe it away, and pulled him into a tight hug. He relaxed against me, I felt the tensions in his shoulders deflate as I held him.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. His breath shuddered, and he wrapped his arms around my middle tighter, pushing his face into my shoulder to muffle his crying.
We sat for a while, my hands tracing patterns along his back. It took a few minutes for his cries to calm down, but eventually his breathing evened out with only a few hiccups here and there. He was practically sitting in my lap with his legs flung over mine, suddenly not caring about his personal space. I couldn’t blame him -- the boy was so touch starved he so clearly craved all contact he consented to.
“Do you want to spend the night?” I asked, quietly so I didn’t scare him with the sudden sound.
“Could I please?”
“Of course,” I smiled, pulling away. He still held on tight, not wanting to let go.
We made our way to my bedroom, repeating our usual routine. This wasn’t the first time we’d had a sleepover, and it won’t be the last I’m sure. Sometimes after particularly harder cases he would spend the night, just to be close to someone.
I went into the bathroom to change, giving him the opportunity to do the same. When I returned, he was dressed in a t-shirt and flannel pants he left at my place for sleepovers like this. He was already in bed, and when he saw that I was done in the bathroom he lifted the side of the blanket to welcome me in.
I joined him, grinning as he scooted over and pressed his back to my chest. I felt him breathing softly, my right arm slung over his torso to bring him in closer. He held onto my hand, and didn’t let me drift away. I was happy to comply, happy to feel his body warmth radiate through me.
“Thank you, ____. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight Spence.”
From that day on for the foreseeable future, I swore to myself to have check-ins with Spencer whenever it seemed necessary. Whether it was in the form of words, sleepovers, movie nights, or chess.
His smile got brighter everyday, and eventually he no longer felt as much weight on himself a few weeks down the road. He still cried to me about how he missed Gideon, but it had gotten less frequent. And I was always there for him, offering my shoulder and the promise of my embrace. I knew he appreciated it too.
After a few months since our first game, I beat him in a game of chess. We were on the jet on the way to Montana for a case, and Derek was sitting beside Spencer. He kept annoying him, doing little things like twisting his hair and fanning him with files. Spencer kept shrieking quietly -- trying not to alert Hotch of the bickering.
“Checkmate,” I said, biting back a smile.
“What?!” Spencer froze, arm raised in what looked like to be a poor attempt of whacking Derek’s head.
“Awe, pretty boy. You’ll get her next time,” Derek threw his head back in laughter.
“What?” Spencer repeated quieter, eyes darting across the board, likely running calculations in his head.
“Better luck next time,” I smirked, tilting my head to the side. I wiggled my eyebrows, my small victory boosting my ego.
Spencer tried to keep a neutral face, but I could see by the tension in his cheekbones that he was happy. He was enjoying it.
-----
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263 notes · View notes
full-of-jams · 4 years
Text
Tangsuyuk Love
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Pairing: Jungkook x Reader
Summary: College student Jungkook passes cute notes with a customer who always orders take-out tangsuyuk at his part-time job. Meanwhile he’s trying not to miserably fail his Math class, while hiding his ever-growing crush on you.
Genre: college au, f2l, fluff, smut, one shot, did I mention FLUFF?
Warnings: mild swearing, sexual content, hold your heart palpitations!
Word Count: 11.5k
A/N: I wanted to write something light and sweet before I continued with Good Riddance. It will be easy, she said. It will be fun, she said. It will be quick, she said. Ha. haha. ha. ha. Ignore my pain. Enjoy!
°°°°°°°
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[09/04 18:34 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY] 1 Tangsuyuk (large) 1 Jjamppong 2 Kimchi Mandu ---------------- Note: Without pineapple! Please make the jjamppong extra spicy, my boyfriend just broke up with me T-T
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Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong
Server: JK ------------------- TO GO
1 Tangsuyuk (large) -- 20,000 1 Jjamppong -- 5,000 2 Kimchi Mandu -- 6,000 1 Soju -- 0
Total: 31,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!
Note: Service! Nothing’s better than the fresh taste of soju to lighten a heavy heart :) Cheer up LatteIsHorse-Nim!
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Paper Note: JK-nim, thanks for the soju. It sweetened my bitter night. This is Tokki, please give him a loving new home! TT-TT
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Jungkook was fucking terrified of you. If it weren’t for the fact that he was close to failing Statistical Analysis, he would’ve considered faking a stomach flu and making a beeline straight out of the library.
“If you have a box containing 3 white, 4 red and 5 black balls what is the probability that you will draw a white ball on your first draw and a black ball on your second draw?” you asked again through gritted teeth.
You looked up at Jungkook and were met by an empty stare. Usually you enjoyed tutoring your fellow classmate. He was a smart and funny guy, maybe a bit awkward at times, but always trying his best. Today every little thing grated on your nerves. It took you every ounce of energy to get out of bed and look like a presentable human being this morning. You really didn’t want to sit here for another hour if the boy was just going to stare at you like a petrified statue. “It’s really not that difficult. You just have to apply conditional probability.”
Jungkook let out a frustrated huff and pulled at his hair, “I really don’t know, this doesn’t make any sense! Why do I even need this stuff for my major? Who cares if I pull out a white ball or a black ball first? It’s not like I’m planning on becoming Houdini!”
Sometimes you pitied him, but who on Earth had an irrational fear of Gauss distributions and probability?! They were beautiful, harmless, abstract concepts of life. Your sympathy was muffled by a thrumming headache. All the late-night crying already had you chugging water and slapping ice cubes on your face at breakfast. Right now you just wanted to go home, change into your pjs, order some tangsuyuk and binge watch Boys Over Flowers. The cringy acting and Go Jun Pyo’s luscious locks were the only things that made your miserable life feel a bit less pathetic at the moment. “Jungkook, we went over this last time. Just apply the damn formula,” you snapped.
“Why are you being so scary today?” he asked wide-eyed and apprehensive.
You took a deep breath, rubbed your temples and tried to calm your inner turmoil. It wasn’t his fault; you were just in a really shitty mood. “I’m sorry. It’s not my day today. Is it okay if we rain check? I promise I’ll make it up to you next week.”
Jungkook wasn’t used to seeing you this distraught. He wracked his brain on how to lift your spirit. “Hey, do you want to hear this math joke my friend Jin told me the other day? What do you call an angle that is adorable?”
The boy scrunched his nose adorably and waited for your response. He was really handsome, you noticed that back when you two first met. Back then you just didn’t have a reason to care. Back then you still had a boyfriend.
“I don’t know, tell me,” you answered.
“Acute angle!” he said with a timid smile.
Despite your foul mood you had to snort at his joke.
Jungkook’s smile grew wider. It wasn’t a full laugh, but at least your frown disappeared. He discovered early on that you had a soft spot for bad math puns.
Although he absolutely detested Statistical Analysis, he has come to enjoy your study sessions over the past couple of weeks. The TA of his class, Namjoon, was a close friend of Jungkook’s and a sunbae of yours. Once he discovered that his favorite dongsaeng was abysmal at reading a z-score table, he immediately referred him to you.
At first Jungkook was very reluctant to accept any help. He was a mechanical engineer for fuck’s sake! He calculated distributed load across uneven surfaces and directional derivatives all the time!
His inner protests died down during your first session when you unwittingly asked him if he was constipated while he tried to calculate the standard deviation. During your second session he noticed you liked to doodle small geometric and fractal comics on his work sheets whenever he was solving a problem.
‘What did the triangle say to the circle?’ ‘You’re pointless!’
By the time your third session rolled around he still hated statistics, but it was too late and he’d developed a hopeless crush on you. Your monologues about dead mathematicians and the beauty of an infinite series were oddly captivating. He didn’t think he’d ever met anyone who was so passionate and animated about anything in all his life.
“Is everything okay?” Jungkook asked carefully. You seemed tired and a bit wary. “I-I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel like it. Sorry, it’s none of my business,” he immediately added.
You smiled at his flustered state. Jungkook’s heart stumbled when your smile turned sad and you said, “No not really, but I’m sure I’ll be fine sooner or later.”
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[13/04 19:12 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]
1 Tangsuyuk (large) 1 Jjajangmyeon 1 Jjajangbap ---------------- Note: JK-nim! Omg your tangsuyuk is the best! I could drown in that sauce! How is Tokki doing?
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Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong
Server: JK ------------------- TO GO
1 Tangsuyuk (large) -- 20,000 1 Jjajangmyeon -- 4,500 1 Jjajangbap -- 5,500
Total: 30,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!
Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! Little Tokki is doing well and bravely guarding our store! Don’t drown, but here’s some extra sauce for you to enjoy. I asked for it to be without pineapple. Hwaiting!
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“Yah! Why does it smell like rotten take-out in your bedroom?” Jisoo asked.
Scowling has become your new go-to expression. “Too soon. Just let me wallow in my self-pity and sorrow.”
If you didn’t know any better you would’ve thought your friend was playing ‘The Floor Is Lava’ considering how gingerly she walked across your room. Safely on the other side, she ripped open a window to let some much needed fresh air in. 
“I think you’re going to be wallowing in mold and fungus instead,” Jisoo commented with disgust. “Wallow all you want, I’m here to support you, girl. But I can’t allow you to turn your place into a biohazard zone. Isn’t your sister bothered by this?”
“My sister doesn’t care; our rooms are off limits to each other. As long as we both keep the common area clean, she won’t complain,” you said.
Jisoo sat down on your bed and patted the empty spot next to her. She immediately retracted her hand. “Eww, is that tangsuyuk sauce on your sheets?” she asked, completely appalled.
You shrugged and thumped onto your bed.
“So what are your plans for tonight?” she asked, trying to suppress a shudder.
“It’s Monday night. What plans could I possibly have?”
“We’re in college! Weekdays, weekends, they’re all the same!” your friend exclaimed. She looked at your sprawled-out figure. “I told you from the very beginning he wasn’t good for you. I know it doesn’t feel like this right now, but you’re lucky he’s out of your life. I really can’t watch you torture yourself over a jerk like him. Let’s go out to Hongdae!”
“I can’t go out. I already have plans.”
“Didn’t you just say you didn’t have any plans?”
“I lied. I have a date.”
Jisoo paused for a second, unsure how to respond. “Really? With whom?”
“Gong Yoo. We promised to kiss each other on first snowfall,” you responded listlessly.
“Yah!” Jisoo yelled and smacked your butt.
“Oww! What was that for?” you cried in surprise, rubbing the tender spot.
“Re-watching Goblin is not a date! You scared me for a second,” Jisoo said.
“How is it not a date? I meet a hot oppa, multiple hot oppas, we have dinner together, I giggle and blush and at the end of the night I get kissed to sleep.” You sat up and gave your friend a weary look. “I really don’t want to go out right now, but also don’t want to be on my own. Can’t we just stay in and watch a drama?” you asked with the saddest face you could muster.
Jisoo wanted to argue, but she couldn’t resist your pout. “Fine. But first you change your bedsheets, I’m not gonna sit in moldy tangsuyuk sauce all night. And I get to choose the drama.”
“Call!”
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[16/04 17:58 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]
1 Tangsuyuk (small) 1 Kimchi Kimbap 1 Beef Kimbap  ---------------- Note: JK-nim thanks for the extra sauce! It was delicious. Are you a dipper or a pourer?
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Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong
Server: JK ------------------- TO GO
1 Tangsuyuk (small) -- 13,000 1 Kimchi Kimbap -- 2,500 1 Beef Kimbap -- 2,500 1 Soup -- 0
Total: 18,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!
Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! Personally, I’m a dipper, but I don’t discriminate! I added some broth as service for you. It’s chilly tonight. Don’t catch a cold!
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Paper Note: JK-nim, let’s be friends? I’m also a dipper! Did you know that butterflies can’t fly when they’re cold? Here is one that I folded, sending back my warmest thoughts to you on this frosty spring night.
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The first thing that caught your eye was Jungkook who was patiently waiting at the library entrance. Despite the steaming goods in his hands, his entire body was shivering. The temperature suddenly dropped last night, but he couldn’t be bothered to dig up his padded jacket when he left the house this morning.
Before you could even greet him, he shoved a hot milk tea towards you and mumbled, “Here, it’s cold today so I thought you could use something warm.”
You were surprised by this sweet gesture. “Thanks,” you reached for it and examined the drink in your hand, ”How did you know I like black milk tea?”
He ducked his head and mumbled something into himself.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
Jungkook lifted his head. His cheeks and nose were a lovely wash of pink from the cold. “You mentioned once that you’re an OG milk tea drinker, so I just guessed” he repeated again, louder. “I saw this bungeoppang cart on the way here. We can share them while studying?” he said, holding up a small paper bag.
Your heart warmed and for the first time in weeks your face split into big smile, “Sure, I love bungeoppang! We’re not allowed to eat inside the library. So how about we eat everything first before they get cold and then go in?”
The both of you took a seat on a bench. By now Jungkook definitely regretted being too lazy to find his jacket this morning, but he was determined not to let it show. He passed the bag full of bungeoppangs to you.
You happily reached for one of the fish-shaped pastries and started munching on it. Your face crinkled, steam came out of your mouth. Jungkook’s heart skipped as he watched you in fascination. Your cheeks were flushed. A sudden instinct to stroke your rosy skin overcame him. Instead he reached for a bungeoppang and took a careful bite. “Are you feeling better today?”
“A little bit,” you said between bites, “I’m really sorry about last time. I feel bad now. I ditched you and now you’re treating me to snacks.” You went on and stabbed your straw through your milk tea. “I should be the one treating you instead.”
“I like to treat you,” Jungkook said, mesmerized by the way your lips moved against the straw. He suddenly realized what he was doing and cleared his throat, “A happy teacher is a good teacher! You’re already spending your time tutoring me.”
A laugh slipped out of you, “Jungkook, you’re paying me for your lessons. But it’s okay, this bungeoppang and tea definitely hits the spot, so I’ll accept it with a grateful heart. What are you drinking?”
Jungkook looked down on his drink and gave it a shake, the black pearls swirled around buoyantly. “Banana milk tea, I prefer sweet drinks.”
You leaned back against the bench and looked up at the clear blue sky. “Sweet things are the best combat against the bitter taste of life,” you sighed. You closed your eyes and soaked in the crisp air. Jungkook felt your melancholy, he could warm your body, but he didn’t know how to warm your heart.  
“Sorry that I’m bothering you with my personal stuff. It’s just that I had a really bad breakup recently. I shouldn’t let it affect our lessons,” you said with a wistful smile as you lifted your head again.
The boy next to you remained silent. You turned and saw a contemplative look on his face. “It’s alright, everyone can have a bad day,” he finally said, “You don’t have to pretend to be okay when you’re not. If you’re never angry or sad, you won’t know when you’re happy.”
His words stunned you. Has Jungkook always been this thoughtful? You turned away from his gaze and looked down at the pastry in your hand. “They’re rhombus shaped,” you muttered in an attempt of distraction and showed your bungeoppang to Jungkook. “The fish scales,” you added when he looked confused.
“Ah yeah, the scales. It’s actually erroneous since most of the bungeoppangs depict a ganoid scale structure when in fact carps have cycloid scales to allow for a greater flexibility,” Jungkook explained.
A blank look appeared on your face. Probably the same blank look he had whenever you tried to explain the Bayes’ theorem to him. He let out an awkward laugh, “We studied the mechanics of fish scale structures in Material Science. You can correlate the flexibility of a scaled surface depending on its underlying geometric structure and material. It’s pretty cool stuff.”
“I can’t believe you can geek out about the geometry of fish scales, but don’t know how to define your probability population,” you snorted in disbelief. 
“Hey, when will I ever need to calculate the probability of two people with the same birthday in a room? I just have a hard time learning stuff I never have to apply,” he said defensively.
Then you suddenly had an idea. “Tell you what, how about this? If you pass your statistics final, I’ll treat you to the best Chinese take-out in town! You can order whatever you want!”
Jungkook didn’t want to dampen your excitement by telling you that his part-time job already allowed him to eat as much Chinese take-out as he wanted. “Okay, but don’t complain when you go broke. My record was five jjajangmyeon and two tangsuyuk in one sitting.”
You batted away his challenge. “First you have to pass your finals,” you teased.
“I’ll pass,” Jungkook said.
You smiled at his cute determination. “Then it’s a date.”
Jungkook beamed back at you. “It’s a date.”
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[05/05 18:21 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]
1 Tangsuyuk (large) 2 Pork Mandu 1 Tteokkguk 1 Jjajangmyeon 1 Tteokkbokki ---------------- Note: No pineapple plz. JK-nim! Happy Children’s Day! For this special occasion I’ve decided to order all of my childhood favorites. Life is too short to eat bad food. I hope today you treat yourself to something delicious as well!
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“Yah! JK! Your girlfriend placed an order again!” Yugyeom yelled across the store.
A mop of black hair peaked out from the back of the shop. “She’s not my girlfriend, she’s just a regular,” Jungkook yelled back.
“A regular you flirt with,” Yugyeom snickered, “I saw all the notes you left her in the system. ‘Don’t catch a cold!’, ‘Hwaiting!’ Don’t tell me that’s not your lame attempt at flirting.”
Suddenly an angry Yoongi stomped out of the kitchen. “Keep it down boys, we have guests here.”
Jungkook went up to the register and printed out the online order. “Hyung, can you make a large tangsuyuk without pineapple?”
“It’s a national holiday, there’s like two people here tonight,” Yugyeom muttered under his breath.
“What did you say, Yugyeom?”
“Nothing, hyung!”
Yoongi snatched the order out of Jungkook’s hand and gave both boys another irritated glance before he headed back into the kitchen.
“Hey JK,” Yugyeom said in a lower voice as he moved next to his friend, “aren’t you ever curious how LatteIsHorse is like? I mean, she must have some sense of humor judging by her username.”
“Sometimes. Don’t you ever wonder how our regulars are like? But it’s not like I’m ever gonna meet them or know it’s them when they come into the store,” Jungkook said with a shrug.
“You could though. Mingyu’s out on delivery, Eunwoo’s off so we have a free bike. The store is dead tonight. You could go deliver the order and have a look,” Yugyeom spurred him on.
Jungkook considered his friend’s suggestion. Every time he opened his locker a little origami bunny and butterfly stared back at him and brightened his day. It was true, he was curious how LatteIsHorse was like. “Okay I’ll go, but don’t pretend you’re doing me a favor. You just don’t want to do delivery tonight.”
<Ding Dong>
A pretty girl in a Yonsei hoodie and shorts opened the door. She somehow looked familiar, but Jungkook couldn’t place from where. Maybe he met her on campus before.
“Delivery from Golden Bang,” Jungkook said, holding up his metal box.
“Ah great! I’m starving!” the girl said.
Jungkook started unloading the box and handed the dishes to the girl. Once he was done, he lingered awkwardly in the doorway. The girl gave him a curious look, clearly wondering why he wasn’t leaving. Jungkook gathered his courage and said, “I’m JK by the way.”
What followed was a beat of silence. Jungkook could feel his ears burn.
“Err, it’s nice to meet you, I guess? Is there anything else you need?” the girl asked after the painful pause. “Ah got it! Just a sec!” She ran into the apartment and came back with her wallet. “Here’s a tip, we’ll put the dishes back outside for pick up,” she said as she scrunched a bill into Jungkook’s hand, “Thanks for your hard work. Happy holiday!” And then she shut the door right into his face.
What just happened? Jungkook was stupefied. After an eternity he finally moved and mechanically pulled out his phone. He checked the delivery order on his app. LatteIsHorse – this was the address. She didn’t recognize him. Why was he so naive to believe that she would remember him? All he wanted in that moment was for the ground to open and swallow him up.
“Dinner’s here,” your sister said as you came out of the shower. “Did you order banana milk?”
“No? Why?” you joined her at the dinner table and started rummaging through the dishes. “Where’s the receipt?”
“I threw it in the trash,” she said. When she saw you opening up the trash can and fishing for it, she added, “Gross! What are you doing? Why do you need it?”
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Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong
Server: JK ------------------- TO GO
1 Tangsuyuk (large) -- 20,000 2 Pork Mandu -- 6,000 1 Tteokkguk -- 4,500 1 Jjajangmyeon -- 4,500 1 Tteokkbokki -- 3,000
Total: 38,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!
Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! Happy Children’s Day to you too! I added my favorite childhood drink, banana milk! I hope it brings back as many happy childhood memories for you as it does for me.
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There, sitting on the table, was a small bottle of banana milk. A smile spread across your face. “I need to file it away for tax purposes.”
Your sister looked at you like you were crazy. “Let’s eat already, I’m starving. Wash your hands.”
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[14/05 16:55 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [TAKE AWAY]
1 Tangsuyuk (small) 1 Jjajangbap ---------------- Note: JK-nim, hope you’re doing well. I’m in the area today, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello in person! Is it weird that I feel a bit nervous?
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The restaurant door wasn’t going to open itself. The past 15 minutes of you standing in front of it has proven that. You had some errands to run in Hongdae after school and decided on a whim to place a pickup order at your favorite take-out place. 
Why was it so difficult to enter a restaurant? If you steeled your nerves any more, they’d probably break from how brittle they’ve become. You just had to open that damn door.
Sometimes you wondered if you liked that place more because of its great tangsuyuk or because of JK’s little notes which always managed to put a smile on your face.
One thing was for sure, you weren’t stalling because of the tangsuyuk.
“Welcome to Golden Bang!” a bright male voice rang across the restaurant as you passed through the door.
You walked up to the register and sneaked a peek at the boy’s name tag, ‘Yugyeom’. You felt a slight twinge of disappointment.
“I’m here to pick up my order? LatteIsHorse?” you asked tentatively.
A sign of recognition flashed across Yugyeom’s face. “Of course, your order’s ready! I’ll just bag it up for you,” he said cheerfully. He walked away and quickly came back with a white plastic bag full of food. Then he printed out your receipt and handed both to you.
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Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong
Server: YG ------------------- TO GO
1 Tangsuyuk (small) -- 13,000 1 Jjajangbap -- 5,500
Total: 18,500 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!
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You looked around the restaurant, it was empty since dinnertime was still a while away. You wondered if Yugyeom was managing the store alone right now. At least the cook must be in. “Your tangsuyuk is really delicious. It’s probably my favorite.”
Yugyeom gave you a big smile, “Happy to hear that you enjoy our food so much. The tangsuyuk is our chef’s family recipe. It’s one of our most popular menu items!”
You wringed your hands and finally decided to bite the bullet and straight out ask, “Is JK here? He usually takes my orders when I order delivery, so I just wanted to say hi.”
“JK’s shift doesn’t start until 6, so he should be here in about half an hour. If you want, I can relay a message,” he said with a knowing smile, “Or you can also take a seat and wait for him. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to meet you.”
No way you were going to sit here for half an hour and wait up for a stranger. “Ah no, that’s alright. If you could just say hi from me, that’d be great,” you quickly replied with a flush. JK would probably think you’re a creepy stalker.
“Sure, can do! Enjoy your day!” Yugyeom said merrily as you walked out the store.
A feeling of both relief and sadness passed through you. You slowly walked down the busy streets of Hongdae as you reprimanded yourself for being so stupid. What were you going to say to JK anyway if you met him? Thanks for being nice to me? You’re the reason I don’t burst into tears every single night? You’re the reason why I don’t feel completely alone when I’m sobbing into my food over Song Joong Ki’s acting? Thanks for making me gain 3 kilos in the last month?
Whatever you said, it would’ve only made you sound pathetic.
A crippling wave of desperation suddenly washed over you and rooted you in your tracks. A single tear rolled down your face. Then another. You dropped down into a crouch and started to bawl. You couldn’t fathom how you’ve reached this all-time low in your life. Why did you feel so incredibly sad about being stood up by a stranger? Especially when that stranger didn’t even know you were coming?
“Y/N?” an alarmed voice asked. You looked up when you felt a soft shake against your shoulder.
Through your tear-blurred eyes you recognized Jungkook’s face. He crouched down next to you and asked, “Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”
You shook your head and tried to wipe away your tears. It was a useless attempt as they kept on streaming down your face.
Jungkook hesitantly pushed your hair out of your face and asked, “Do you want to go somewhere else so you can tell me what happened?”
You gave him an imperceptible nod.
His hand gently moved down to your arm, afraid that you were going to push him away. With a steady grip he slowly helped you back onto your feet. Then he slid his hand through yours and led you down the hustle and bustle of Hongdae until you ended up in front of a convenience store located in one of the quieter residential side streets. He sat you down in a plastic chair and told you to wait. After a while he came back with a packet of tissues, a bottle of water and two red bean popsicles.
You gratefully took the tissues and loudly blew your nose. A small part of your brain told you to act more ladylike, especially in front of Jungkook, but the bigger part didn’t really care and just wanted to drag you back down into the pits of loneliness. A strangled sound came out of your mouth as you started to hiccup, making you sound like a drowning cat.
You expected Jungkook to laugh at your weird orchestra of emotions. Even you found it absurd and would’ve laughed if you weren’t already crying and hiccupping at the same time. But all he did was quietly open the water bottle and hand it to you.  
As soon as you lifted the bottle to your mouth another hiccup made you almost spill the water on yourself. You held your breath for a few seconds and then took a careful sip. It seemed to work. You took a bigger sip, when another hiccup racked your body and you squeezed water all over your face.
There was a bewildering moment of shock, then you started to laugh deliriously. Forget before, this was your lowest point in life. This was so pathetic that it was hilarious again. Your laughter garbled whenever you hiccupped, only causing you to laugh even harder. You would’ve continued laughing for another long minute if you weren’t choking for air.
A small smile played around Jungkook’s mouth. He took another tissue and started wiping down your face. You hiccupped under his touch. He must think you’re a nutcase.
“I have a question. We have to do some statistical testing in my Quality Management class. What would a hypothesis look like if I wanted to analyze any deviation in a spare parts production line due to temperature conditions?” Jungkook asked.
Did he really forget hypothesis testing already? He finally managed to get it after four sessions! You frowned slightly. “You could set up a null hypothesis stating that a variation in temperature does not significantly impact the parameter of measurement in your production line. Jungkook did you seriously forget this?!” you said indignantly.
Jungkook gave you a playful laugh, “No, I think you drilled it so hard into my brain, I could probably recite all variables of the standard deviation formula if you woke me up in the middle of the night. Your hiccups stopped though.”
They did.
Embarrassment set in as you realized your predicament. Maybe your hormones were going crazy, maybe you were going crazy. You were getting whiplash from the emotional roller coaster you were on. In an attempt to hide your disgrace, you picked up another tissue and wiped away the remaining water, snot and tears.
There was tangible awkwardness in the air.
“I hope you like red bean,” Jungkook said shyly as he unwrapped a popsicle, “Red bean is my favorite. My friends keep on calling me old fashioned, but it just reminds me of the time when my mom used to buy me these after taekwondo class. I think I liked the popsicles more than I liked going to class.” He sighed in reverie and held up the popsicle for you.
You stared at his hand. You remembered how it felt against yours just a few moments ago. Firm, warm and steady. Then you looked up at Jungkook. He hid it well, but you could tell that there was concern behind his encouraging smile.
“This is so embarrassing,” you said as you accepted the popsicle and turned your head away from him, “I don’t know what is wrong with me right now. I’m usually not like this.”
“Did something happen earlier?” Jungkook asked cautiously as he unwrapped his own popsicle and took a bite out of it.
Did something happen earlier? Why did you cry? Where you really crying just because you didn’t meet JK?
“No,” you said and slowly shook your head, “I don’t know. I just suddenly felt overwhelmed.”
Jungkook hesitated before he asked, “Are you sad because of your breakup?”
Were you sad because of your ex-boyfriend?
“I don’t think so. In the beginning when we broke up I was devastated, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore,” you said more to yourself than to Jungkook. “Everyone told me I was lucky to be rid of him. I really didn’t understand why. But I think it’s becoming clearer now. Maybe it’s not sadness. Maybe it’s fear. I think I just feel lost. I don’t know who I am anymore. Maybe it scares me to know that I was able to lose myself and I don’t know if I can find a way back.”
Before you knew it, you spilled your heart, your deepest and darkest fears to Jungkook. You barely knew this boy, yet it still felt oddly comforting. He remained quiet and listened.
“I wanted to meet someone today, but they weren’t there,” you continued, “I think in that moment I just realized how utterly lost I was on my own.”
Jungkook searched for the appropriate words. How do you respond to someone’s most vulnerable thoughts? “I mean you know what they say. It’s not about how much you’ve lost, it’s about how much you have left.”
He peeked at you to check if it worked.
“Jungkook, did you just quote Iron Man at me?” you asked incredulously before a giggle slipped from your lips.
You noticed how his cheeks dimpled when he gave you an embarrassed laugh, “Sorry, I was trying to say something that would cheer you up. I’m probably not doing a very good job.”
In that second you realized how kind-hearted Jungkook actually was. Your heart squeezed. “Don’t say that. Thanks for listening to my problems. And thanks for the red bean popsicle. I also ate this a lot in my childhood. Mainly because my sister hated them. She always used to steal my ice cream out of the freezer so at some point I asked my parents to only buy me red bean popsicles. She never touched those,” you reminisced.
Jungkook laughed at your story, “Your sister sounds like a piece of work.”
“We used to fight a lot, we used to never get along,” you became thoughtful, “At some point that stopped. I think we just grew up and grew to understand and accept our differences. She doesn’t steal my food anymore. I don’t steal her clothes anymore. We may not always agree, but we respect each other’s decisions.”
“You know, for someone who just said she feels lost, you sound pretty self-reflected right now,” Jungkook mused, “Maybe you need to do the same as you did with your sister. Understand yourself and accept the differences of your past and present.”
You paused at this. He was right. You were so desperately trying to fend off these negative emotions that you never took the time to actually think. You were chasing an image that never existed. Not in the past nor in the present.
“You’re surprisingly good at giving advice. Thanks, Jungkook,” you said.
“Surprisingly? What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, offended. The glint in his eyes gave his teasing away.
Laughter pealed from you. Jungkook was captivated by the sound. He drank in the way your eyes creased with mirth and followed your fingers as they brushed back your hair.
Jungkook’s phone vibrated. “Oh shit!”
“Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I was actually on my way to work and my boss is asking me where I am,” he said as he stuffed his phone back in his pocket.
Jungkook startled when you suddenly jumped up. “Then you should get to work! You should’ve said something sooner. I’m so sorry for keeping you here!”
“No, it’s really fine. I’ve done enough overtime. He won’t complain if I’m a few minutes late,” he said, “Are you feeling better?”
You ignored his question and pushed against his shoulders to get him out of the chair. “Go to work, Jungkook. I’ll be fine, your red bean popsicle did wonders,” you responded placatively.
When he still didn’t move, you grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the main street. Jungkook’s skin scorched under your touch. “Go to work, Jungkook,” you said again with more emphasis.
“Are you sure…?” he asked, unwilling to let you out of his sight before he knew you weren’t just going cry again at the next street corner.
“I won’t burst into tears,” you said as if reading his mind. “You were right, I need to reconcile with myself. So I’ll go home, enjoy my dinner and think about who I am and who I want to be. And you,” you said giving him another gentle shove, “need to go to work.”
Jungkook saw the stubborn look on your face. He wondered if you realized you were using your teaching voice right now. You weren’t going to take no for an answer. “Okay fine, text me when you get home?”
You waved away his concerns. “Sure. Go already,” you said with a big reassuring smile. “See you tomorrow at school!” you added before you turned around and walked away.
“You’re late,” Yugyeom said as soon as Jungkook entered the store.
Jungkook gave Yugyeom a sheepish look and only muttered, “Yeah sorry, something came up on my way here.” Then he rushed past him to the back of the restaurant and changed into his uniform.
Once he came back out he noticed Yugyeom throwing him strange looks.
“What?”
“Your girlfriend says hi,” Yugyeom said with a hint of amusement.
“Who?”
Yugyeom gave Jungkook a meaningful look, “LatteIsHorse. She ordered pick up. I think she was hoping to meet you. She’s cute. She looks like she’s probably a college student around here.”
“I know,” was all Jungkook replied.
Yugyeom’s eyes bulged in curiosity, “You know? You know she’s cute or you know she’s a student? You never told me what actually happened that night!”
Jungkook gave him a tired look and said, “She didn’t recognize me. She wore a Yonsei hoodie, so I guess she goes there. Nothing else happened.”
“Hmm, that’s weird. She was asking for you today, so she definitely knows your name,” Yugyeom said.
“Who knows, maybe she was having a lot on her plate that day,” Jungkook said with a shrug. He wondered where you lived and if you already got home safely. “Why are you obsessing over this so much?”
“Man, do you know how painful it is to watch your sorry attempts at flirting? I’m just trying to help you out, mate,” Yugyeom quipped.
“I wasn’t flirting! I was just trying cheer someone up who was obviously feeling down! It’s called being a decent human being,” Jungkook exclaimed.
Yugyeom gave him the side eye, “Yeah, that’s still not gonna get you laid.”
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[19/05 18:47 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]
1 Tangsuyuk (small) 1 Bibimbap ---------------- Note: JK-nim, I visited you at the store last week, but you weren’t there. TT-TT I hope you don’t think I’m weird, I just really like talking to you. You always manage to put a smile on my face when I’m having a hard day. We’re still friends, right?
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Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong
Server: JK ------------------- TO GO
1 Tangsuyuk (small) -- 13,000 1 Bibimbap -- 5,000
Total: 18,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!
Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! I’m sad that I missed your visit to our store. I’ll try harder the next time! I added some extra bulgogi to make up for it. :) Of course we’re still friends. I don’t wish any hard days upon you, but I’m glad to hear that my words have a healing effect. In case you ever need a friend to talk to, feel free to talk to me. 010-1234-5678.
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The study sessions with Jungkook continued per usual. He still struggled and had frustrated outbursts from time to time, especially when you forced him to revise probability distributions. When you finally reached regression analysis, things became easier.
Although your sessions remained the same, something in your dynamic changed. The both of you became looser and more playful around each other. He wouldn’t clamp up anymore and you felt more at ease around him. You became friends. He never once mentioned that disasterous afternoon.
At home, on the evening of the incident, you shot Jungkook a text and slumped down on the couch. Your sister was out that night, so it was just you in the apartment. Normally, the eerie quiet would’ve unsettled you and you would’ve distracted yourself from your deafening thoughts. But that night you just let them scream, yell and tear at you.
It was an excruciating process, but in the end your head was clearer, your heart calmer. You still weren’t quite there yet, but at least you made a first step out of the endless pit of desperation.
There were other things you noticed about yourself. Gradually you realized you didn’t mind being on your own anymore. You rediscovered your love for drawing and created you own mandala art. You also learned to code your own website and now had a clickable version of your cv on the go. Although you made time for yourself, you weren’t a hermit. You went out for drinks with Jisoo and soon asked Namjoon to take you along to your university’s Math Club. There you met a lot of familiar faces that you’ve encountered in class but never talked to. With them you spent animated evenings discussing stimulating math problems and exchanging incredibly bad math puns.
You also started noticing things about Jungkook. He wasn’t as timid and shy as you initially thought. Once he got over his awkwardness, he turned out to be quite a cheeky and goofy guy. He teased you or told you silly jokes whenever you were on a break. Despite his obvious aversion for statistics, he still took your lessons very seriously. Diligently listening to your explanations and trying to solve the problems to the best of his abilities. His study-mode showed you other sides of him. The cute pout he had whenever he tried to hide his confusion. Or the two little ridges which formed between his eyes whenever he was concentrated and deep in thought. More often than not you fought the urge to smooth them out with your touch or even better, with a kiss.
“Is something wrong?” Jungkook asked when he caught you staring.
“No,” you quickly said, “I was just thinking that you don’t seem to have much trouble with regression analysis.”
“I don’t know, the relationship between the variables just makes much more sense,” Jungkook said.
You looked at him and considered, “Hmm, maybe you don’t need my tutoring anymore?”
Brief dismay crossed Jungkook’s face. “My finals are in three weeks. I think I’d still prefer if you helped me revise the earlier chapters,” he said, “Unless you need more time to study for your own finals.”
Being in college meant that you were always in dire need of more time. That constant nagging voice in the back of your head telling you to study was an occupational disease. But you didn’t have to kid yourself, those four hours a week spent on Jungkook weren’t going to make or break your grade. Besides, you enjoyed spending time with him. You wondered if he felt the same.
“It’s alright, I’ll help you revise. Just don’t embarrass me on your finals. I don’t want Namjoon to tell me afterwards that you didn’t manage to calculate the mean of the population or worse, read the scoring table upside down,” you teased him light-heartedly.
Jungkook’s ears turned bright red. “That happened once!” he said, “How long are you going to hold that over my head?”
You laughed at his indignation. “Don’t forget, you’ll get endless tangsuyuk if you pass.”
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[26/05 20:09 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]
1 Tangsuyuk (small) 1 Jjamppong ---------------- Note: JK-nim, I’d like to get the advice of a friend. There’s this kind, sweet boy that I really like. I would like to tell him how I feel, but he’s seen me in my lowest and ugliest moments. Maybe he’ll think I’m just baggage? I guess I’m afraid of his rejection.
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Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong
Server: JK ------------------- TO GO
1 Tangsuyuk (small) -- 13,000 1 Jjamppong -- 5,000 1 Soju -- 0
Total: 18,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!
Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! It’s only human to fear rejection. I can completely understand. I also have someone I really like. She’s really pretty, smart and funny. Spending time with her makes me really happy, but I never managed to tell her. Maybe we should both gather our courage and cheer each other on? I’m not saying that drunken confessions are the way to go but consider this soju a symbolism for (liquid) courage.
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Paper Note: This is a flexagon. Whenever you need a word of encouragement give it a flip!
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Jungkook examined the hexagonal origami in his hands. On the outside it read ‘Flip Me!’
He gave the flexagon a flip. ‘JK you’re the best!’ And another. ‘The world needs more people like you!’ And another. ‘Don’t forget that LatteIsHorse is always rooting for you!’ And another. ‘Aja, aja, hwaiting!’ And another. ‘Thank you for being my friend!’
Jisoo barged into you room and flopped onto your bed. ‘Ahhh! I’m so glad you finally cleaned in here. Seriously, if I find another rancid noodle stuck to my clothes, I’ll call in a hazmat team.”
“I don’t know why you’re complaining so much. It’s not even your room,” you said.
“Hey, where are you ever going to find a friend like me?”
Your friend sacrificed many a night away from college parties to binge watch handsome oppas sweep equally beautiful unnies off their feet with you. And she wasn’t shy telling you that.
“Let’s go out tonight,” Jisoo suggested. She rolled back onto her feet and started walking around, inspecting your cleaning job.
“Our finals start in two weeks; I really don’t want to spend my weekend nursing a hangover.”
“I’m not saying you have to get wasted. Tonight is the Pre-Game Night. We have to go!” Jisoo demanded.
The Final’s Pre-Game Night was a campus-wide tradition. Every semester on the Friday a week before finals huge parties were thrown to signal the beginning of the end. It was like a dare – were you confident enough to get completely drunk and still hope to pass your finals? Naturally everybody on campus joined in and drank.
“Not getting wasted at a Pre-Game party? That’s like saying you’ve decided you don’t need to breathe. I really don’t think…”
“What’s this?” Jisoo suddenly interrupted. “LatteIsHorse-nim! Personally, I’m a dipper, but I don’t discriminate! I added some broth as service for you. It’s chilly tonight. Don’t catch a cold!” she read aloud, “LatteIsHorse-nim! Happy Children’s Day to you too! I added my favorite childhood drink, banana milk! I hope it brings back as many happy childhood memories for you as it does for me.”
You flung yourself across the room and almost tripped over your own feet trying to rip the receipts out of Jisoo’s hands.
“Oh. My. God. Is your take-out guy flirting with you?!” she asked.
“No! He’s just a friend. We send encouraging notes to each other,” you tried to explain.
Jisoo threw her hands in the air. “Okay that’s it! We’re going to the Pre-Game party, whether you want or not. You can’t tell me that the only flirting interaction you have is with a stranger who delivers you tangsuyuk!”
The place Jisoo picked out was ram packed and buzzing with energy. It was an open dorm party; all the common rooms were transformed into dancefloors. Different types of music played from each corner of the building. Crates of alcohol were stacked against the walls.
The both of you grabbed a beer and made your way through the crowd.
“You’re going to have fun tonight, alright?”
“I don’t think this works that way,” you laughed.
“Then put some effort into it. We look way too cute for it to go to waste,” she said as you roamed around the floors and explored the different areas. You looked down on your dress. It was a pretty warm night; you had opted for a flowy summer dress with a blush pink floral pattern. Jisoo was right, it was cute.
You discovered a familiar face at the edge of the crowd. “Sunbae!” you said.
Namjoon turned around gave you a surprised smile. “Y/N! Out of all the places on campus, we meet each other here tonight. What are the chances?”
He was surrounded by a group of friends, you spotted Jungkook right behind him. The boy gave you an excited wave. A slow smile spread across your face. “I don’t know, but why don’t we ask Jungkook to calculate it for you?”
Namjoon let out a hearty laugh while Jungkook groaned in exasperation.
“Do you see what I have to put up with every week, hyung?”
“Didn’t you just say it’s the best thing that happened to you?” Namjoon taunted, “You have some nerve showing up in front of me tonight. You better ace your SA finals. Do you know how many favors I had to pull to get Y/N to tutor you?”
“What do you expect me to do?” Jungkook sputtered, “Go home and lock myself up on Pre-Game Night?”
If it weren’t for Jisoo you would’ve done just that. Speaking of Jisoo, your friend cleared her throat and gave you a painful nudge in the side.
“Ah yes, uhm, Jisoo you already know Namjoon. This is Jungkook. You know, the guy I’m tutoring.”
Jungkook gave her a small wave.
Jisoo didn’t even try to hide her amazement. “This is Jungkook? But you’re like wayyy cute!” She turned to you and added still loud enough for everyone to hear, “Why didn’t you tell me he was cute?!”
The embarrassment was obvious on Jungkook’s face. You could tell that Namjoon was getting a rush out of his dongsaeng’s reaction and before he could provoke him any further you decided to jump in.
“Who wants to go dance?” you asked loudly. You turned around and headed to the dancefloor without waiting for any of them to respond.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were tutoring a hunk?” Jisoo muttered under her breath.
“He’s not a hunk. Don’t call him that.”
“Yeah but he’s hot. You made him sound like he was a nerd.”
“He is a nerd.”
Your friend gave you a glare, “Why are we arguing about this? I know you’re not that oblivious.”
Of course you weren’t oblivious to Jungkook, but you weren’t going to tell Jisoo that.
“Let’s dance.” You grabbed Jisoo’s hand and twirled her around.
Namjoon and his friends joined you on the dancefloor. The mood of the crowd was electric. Music pulsed through your veins. Drinks flowed, shots were downed, people pulled out their best, lamest, craziest dance moves. Everyone celebrated like the world was going to end.
After a while you became hot and needed a new drink. You looked around for Jisoo and saw her grinding up against one of Namjoon’s friends. She’d be busy for a while. You inconspicuously moved away from the group and decided to go get some fresh air.  
“Wait up,” Jungkook said as he appeared next to you, “are you getting something to drink? I’ll join you.”
His dark curls were slightly matted with sweat. His baggy t-shirt clung to his body. You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or Jisoo’s damn voice whispering into your ear. He was hot.
You circled your arm through his and pulled him through the crowd. His muscles shifted under your touch. You grabbed two drinks from a crate and handed one to Jungkook, your nerves tingled when his hand brushed against yours. The both of you remained in comfortable silence, leisurely walking through the dorm, neither of you in a hurry to get back to your friends. You explored the facility areas, weaving through pounding and quiet parts of the building.
“You look really nice tonight,” he said after a while.
The heels of your shoes echoed against marble floor of the dark hallway. “Thanks, Jisoo raided my closet.”
“She’s really something isn’t she?”
“She’s the best. I’m grateful to have her as my friend.”
Somewhere further down the hallway you made out two figures pressed against the wall, probably trying to find a quiet place of their own.
“You also look nice,” you said to Jungkook.
“I’m wearing the same things I always do,” Jungkook said, his voice turning shy.
You were getting closer to the couple. You could see how the guy was sticking his tongue down the girl’s throat. She seemed to enjoy it from the sounds she was making. Lucky them.
Your next words were definitely fuelled by your tipsy state, “I guess that means you always look nice.” Jungkook missed a step. You had to laugh at his blunder.
The couple in front of you broke apart and looked in your direction. More annoyed about being interrupted rather than embarrassed being caught. You were about to make a funny comment to Jungkook when your heart stopped and you froze.
A string of saliva still clung to the guy’s lips. His eyes widened when he recognized your face in the darkness. “Y/N?”
Your breath hitched and your grip tightened around Jungkook’s arm. He glanced between you and the guy, the situation slowly dawning on him.
“Why did you stop? Who’s that?”, the girl whined.
“No one,” the guy responded as he returned his attention to her and they started making out again.
Jungkook didn’t know if he wanted to puke or punch that guy. A sharp pain in his arm brought him back to his senses. Your nails dug into his skin. He put his hand around yours and loosened your iron grip.
“Let’s go,” he said and quickly pulled you past the couple. You followed him in a daze. He stopped once you were outside of the building, hidden away in a quiet corner.
His hands reached for your face and he lifted your eyes to his. “Breathe.”
You closed your eyes, let out a long breath and let your head fall against the wall behind you. The horrible encounter replayed in your mind. You had to open your eyes again.
There he was right in front of you. Worried Jungkook, kind Jungkook, beautiful Jungkook.
Your hands reached behind his neck and you pulled him a bit closer. You tried to decipher his gaze, it was dark and yearning. Everything was a haze, the alcohol in your blood made you daring.
“Kiss me,” you whispered.
His mouth crashed against yours. Your hands slipped up into his hair and your bodies entwined. You opened your lips and sucked in his hot breath. Your tongues found each other; he groaned at your taste.
He moved one of his hands down your side until he found purchase on your leg and hitched it up against his waist, pressing his body further into you. You let out a moan when his hips ground into yours.
All your senses drowned in Jungkook. You drowned in his scent, you drowned in his touch, you drowned in his heat. You tried to use Jungkook to drown out the grotesque image from before. Suddenly the heat of the moment disappeared, and a cold shower ran down your spine.
You broke away from your breathless kiss and put your hands against Jungkook’s chest to put some distance between you. He gave you a disoriented look.
“I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have kissed.”
Jungkook’s eyes grew wide and alarmed. “Did I do something wrong?”
His lips were swollen, his hair was mussed. You wanted nothing more than to pull him back in, but you couldn’t. Not here. Not like this. He deserved better.
You pushed yourself off the wall and gave him a small shove. He immediately let go of you and stepped back. “I shouldn’t have kissed you like this,” was all you said before you ran back into the building.
The next day you woke up to a splitting headache and a heart full of regret. You really needed to talk to Jungkook and explain to him why you ran away the previous night, but you were too much of a coward to pick up your phone and contact him. You decided it was better to talk to him in person at school.
The following week at school you waited for him in the library. Your heart was in your throat. Your prepared speech played in an endless loop in your head.
‘I’m sorry I ran away. I shouldn’t have kissed you in that state. It wasn’t fair to you. You deserve better than that.’
You looked down on your phone to check the time. A message blinked. You opened and read through it. Your heart sank. He wasn’t coming. He wanted to study the last week before finals on his own. He thanked you for your time.
Slowly you got up and packed your bag. You blew it. You wanted to do him right, but you only caused him pain. Thinking back, you realized he gave and gave and gave and all you did was take. He was right to stay away from you. There was no way he’d be happy with someone like you.
The week passed and finals week commenced. You immersed yourself in your exams and tried to get over your heavy heart. You were pretty sure you aced Geometry II, but the Numerical Analysis exam was nothing but a blur.
Although your heart ached, you didn’t fall back into the same dark pit of the past. You didn’t feel lost, you got on with your life. Nobody noticed the Jungkook-sized hole in your heart except for you. You wanted to talk about your feelings, but you didn’t think Jisoo or your sister would understand. They’d probably just tell you to get out there and find a new guy.
Another week passed. You were walking out of your professor’s office, finalizing the details of your summer internship, when you bumped into Namjoon.
“Y/N! What are you doing here? Aren’t you off for summer break yet?” he asked.
“I was just discussing my internship with Prof. Kim,” you said.
“Ah you’re participating in his research program?” Namjoon said, “I heard it’s really interesting, he’s intense though.”
“I think intense is fine for me, I need something to do with my brain. Otherwise I’ll just go crazy,” you said with a smile.
“Speaking of intense, what did you do to that kid?” Namjoon suddenly asked.
You tensed. Did something happen to Jungkook? “What do you mean?”
“Did you brainwash him or something? He got a 98 on his SA final! When I handed him over to you, he was still asking me why the positive and negative z-scores tables had different values,” Namjoon said in awe.
Relief washed through you and your chest filled with pride. “Watch out sunbae, I might be coming for your TA position,” you said with a wink.
At home you sprawled out on the couch. Your sister’s classes ended earlier than yours so now she was away with her friends travelling the countryside. Your mind wandered as you stared up at the ceiling of your quiet apartment. You really wanted to call Jungkook and congratulate him, but you didn’t think you should. He clearly didn’t want to be in contact with you, you hadn’t heard anything from him since his text canceling your study sessions.
A pang of sadness washed through you. It should have been a happy moment for the both of you, you should be eating tangsuyuk together right now. You really wanted to tell someone about your joy and your grief.
Then you suddenly remembered your friend. Your friend who never judged and always had something wise to say. Maybe he would understand the conflicts of your heart. You got up and dug through the receipts on your desk until you found the one with his phone number on it.
You hoped he wouldn’t think you were crazy, but then again, he was the one who offered himself to talk to you any time. You typed in the number and hit call. Your phone dialed when suddenly the number displayed switched to a name. Jungkook.
You quickly hit the cancel button and stared at your phone. Did you accidentally hit Jungkook’s contact? Was your phone broken? This time you typed in the number more carefully and hit call. Again, the display switched to Jungkook’s name. You hit cancel.
Your heart began to race. You opened up Jungkook’s contact and compared it with the number on the receipt.
Holy shit.
JK was Jungkook. Jungkook was JK.
The stranger who cheered you on and made you smile whenever you felt down was Jungkook. You combed through all your receipts and reread them one by one. What was the probability for this to happen? This was so bizarre, but it made so much sense. Jungkook was the kindest person you knew. Why wouldn’t he be kind to a stranger who needed some uplifting words and comforting tangsuyuk?
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[13/06 18:20 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]
3 Tangsuyuk (large) 6 Jjajangmyeon ---------------- Note: JK-nim, I hope you’re doing well! Can I ask you for a strange favor? Would you mind delivering today’s order to me? I would really like to meet you and thank you in person for always being by my side! <3
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<Ding Dong>
The doorbell rang. Your heart pounded painfully in your chest. You slowly walked up to the door and opened it.
“Delivery from Golden…,” Jungkook’s voice faltered.
“Hi JK-nim,” you said quietly. You opened the door wider. “Thanks for coming today.”
“Y/N? What are you doing here?” he asked.
You had to smile at his look of utter confusion. “I live here. Come in, you can put the food on the dining table.” You turned around and walked back into the apartment.
Jungkook hesitated before he followed you inside. He moved up to the table and unloaded his box. He tried to steady himself. “You’re LatteIsHorse-nim?” he asked skeptically, “I’ve been here before. Last time someone else opened the door.”
He has visited you before? “Oh, that was probably my sister. I live here with her. She’s out travelling right now.”
“So you’re on your own right now? Why did you order so much food?” he asked. A giant mountain of neatly stacked dishes graced the table.
You came up and pried the metal box out of his hand. Then you moved in front of him and unclasped his bike helmet. He flinched at your sudden closeness.
“To celebrate. Congratulations on passing your Statistical Analysis exam. Namjoon told me you passed in flying colors,” you said in a gentle voice. “I promised you the best Chinese take-out in town, didn’t I?”
Jungkook still looked shell-shocked and simply stared at you.
“I’m sorry about that night at the Pre-Game party. I’m sorry I ran away. I owe you an explanation.”
Jungkook regained his wits and swallowed. “It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself. I get it, we were drunk. It was a mistake.” He looked down and tried to turn back around.
You grabbed onto his hands before he could move away. “Jungkook, look at me.”
He stopped turning, but his eyes remained on the floor.
You took a deep breath and squeezed his hands. “I really like you. I’ve really liked you for a while now.”
His eyes shot up to your face.
“The reason why I ran away that night was because I felt guilty. I probably would’ve ended up kissing you anyway, but in that moment, I kissed you because I wanted to forget. I didn’t want our first kiss to be like that. I wanted it to be the me who liked you and not the me who tried to drown out her shitty ex-boyfriend. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
There was an unreadable look in his eyes. Your heart fluttered in nervousness. “How long have you known I was JK? How long did you know I had a crush on you?” he asked.
You could feel your blood rushing through your ears, the butterflies in your stomach beat like crazy. “Since today. I was sad because I thought I couldn’t share the promised meal with you. I wanted a friend to talk to, so I thought to call you. You who was always kind to me, even when I wasn’t kind to myself. Isn’t fate strange? We cheered each other on to find each other.” You had to laugh at the irony of it all.
Your hand hesitantly moved up to his face and stroked across his cheek, “I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I made you sad.”
Jungkook melted against your touch. “If I’m never sad, I won’t know when I’m happy.” Then he closed the gap and pressed his lips against yours.
It was a sweet but sad kiss. Filled with happiness and sorrow. Every touch was filled with an ‘I missed you’ or an ‘I’m sorry’.
Jungkook pressed you against the edge of your dining table, he lifted you up and you wrapped your legs around his waist. You both deepened your kiss. Your hands snaked through his hair and pulled him closer into you. Jungkook braced his hands against the table and instinctively ground his hips against your core. You moaned his name at the sensation. The both of you broke apart to catch your breaths, you pulled at his jacket and removed his layers of clothing.
You stilled at the sight of his bare chest. He was truly beautiful. Your fingers traced along his skin and marvelled at its silkiness. Jungkook shuddered under your touch. His hands moved under your shirt and you both lifted it off your head. Then you gripped his hands and slowly led them around your back, urging him to take off your bra. You wriggled out of your jeans and laid yourself completely bare in front of him. Jungkook stopped and stared at you, equally amazed.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
Your heart swelled and you pulled him back into a kiss. Both his kisses and his hands left a burning trail down your body. His mouth sucked on the soft skin of your neck while his hands moved across your breast, across your stomach, lower and lower. Wetness gathered between your legs.
“Jungkook,” you sighed. The muscles of his back shifted under your touch.
He released your neck with a loud smack and looked at the artwork he created. He still couldn’t get over how overwhelmingly beautiful you were. Your cheeks flushed, eyes bright and his name at the tip of your tongue. He felt himself strain against his confines.
“Please,” you whimpered. You looked down at his hand and tried to silently command him to touch you.
He kept his eyes trained on your face when his fingers moved lower and slid through your folds. Another moan left your lovely lips. He teased you with his touches, gathering your wetness until he finally pushed down where you wanted him most. Your hands dug into his back, your hips bucked, and you threw your head back in pleasure. He steadied your hips with his other hand and slowly pushed a finger inside of you. Another loud moan echoed through the room.
Jungkook was transfixed by you. He added a second finger and started pushing in and out. Your eyes squeezed shut in pleasure and small breathless pants left your mouth. Jungkook increased the speed of his movement and marvelled at the way you reacted under his touch. Then he moved his mouth to your breast and closed his lips around your nipple. You raked your hands through his hair and arched into him. Your core tightened around his fingers. All your nerves were on fire.
You pulled him away from your breast and guided his mouth back to yours. Your tongue traced his lips and you swallowed his moan. You wanted more, you wanted him closer. His fingers curled and his thumb pressed down on you. Jungkook held you tight as you shuddered and fell apart around him.
He rested his forehead against yours, your breath mingled as you both panted into each other. He slowly removed his hand from you and traced his mouth with his slicked fingers, then he moved them to your lips. Your tongue licked the tips of his fingers. His grip tightened around your waist.
“I want to feel you,” you said.
Jungkook shuddered at your words. “Where is your room?”
“The door behind you.”
Jungkook lifted you off the table, you tightened your legs around him and gave him another kiss. He walked you both to your room and gently laid you down on your bed. He took off his pants, then slowly moved onto the bed and hovered above you.
“Tell me what you want,” he said.
Your fingers caressed his face. “I want you to be happy.”
Another shudder ran through him. “I am happy. What else?”
You traced his eyes, his nose, his lips. “I want to be the one making you happy.”
Jungkook couldn’t contain himself anymore. His heart felt like it was about to explode. He covered your body with his and pressed himself into you. Your eyes rolled back as he entered you slowly. You felt so full you wanted to burst out of your skin. You could feel how the Jungkook-sized whole in your heart filled up again.
He rocked into you and took your breath away. Your nails raked across his back and left red lines against his smooth skin. Jungkook ducked his head into the crook of your neck and moaned against your skin. Every pull dragged pleasure out of you, every push brought you closer together.
You wanted more. Jungkook gave you more.
You wanted him closer. Jungkook pushed deeper into you.
With every moan, Jungkook pushed harder, pushed deeper. He wanted to melt into you. He wanted the lines between you and him to disappear. Your desire was his desire. His pleasure was your pleasure.  
Jungkook could feel you tightening around him. He moved his mouth over yours and gave you an ardent kiss. The light of your desire turned brighter and brighter until it burst apart into a thousand little flames. You cried against his lips and let the heat consume you. Your body pulsed around his and the overwhelming sensation brought him right over the edge with you.
The both of you laid on your bed and clung to each other. Neither of you willing to let the other go. Your pounding chests beat in tandem. Jungkook stroked his hand across your hair and kissed your head.
“I want you to be happy too,” he said.
“I know,” you said as you smiled against his chest, “You make me happy.”
Jungkook pulled you tighter into him and you remained silent for a while. His hand traced lazy patterns against your skin. Your breathing evened out.
“Are you allergic to pineapple?” he suddenly asked.
You looked up at him in surprise. “No. Why?”
“Because you always order tangsuyuk without pineapple.”
“Oh. That’s because my sister hates pineapple.”
Jungkook frowned, you pulled yourself up and kissed the little ridges between his eyes.
“What?” you asked.
“I think the jjajangmyeon is all soggy by now,” he said.
You had to laugh. “Probably, but the tangsuyuk should still taste great.”
Jungkook kissed you with a smile. “You’re right, tangsuyuk always tastes great.”
°°°°°°°
02/05/20
Copyright © 2020 full-of-jams. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy, repost or translate without permission.
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Text
Hayloft (p.2)
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Pairing: Arvin Russell x F!Reader
Summary: Your dad brings home his new coworker, Arvin Russell, telling you that he’ll be living with the two of you for a while. While attempting to keep Arvin from seeing the disfunction of your relationship with your father, the two of you grow closer than you thought. (Inspired by “Hayloft” by Mother Mother, though that’ll really only be one chapter later on so I don’t know if it really counts…)
Warnings: Abuse, drunkenness, misogyny, reader’s mother is dead, decapitating a chicken, reader is kind of emotional in this chapter
Word Count: 4.2k
A/N: My first slow(er) burn fic! Let me know what you think!
Part 1 
_____________________
Work had passed fairly quickly as it always did when you had the opening shift. It sure sucked having to arrive at five o’clock in the morning but at least you got off earlier and you knew that that way you could grab groceries before your father got home and could yell at you about an empty kitchen again. By two o’clock in the afternoon, you were home again, hopping out of your truck and grabbing as many bags as you could in one go. 
The loud sound of metal slamming against metal shook you and you flinched, looking between your door and the frame to see Arvin walking out towards you. It hadn’t occurred to you that his car was even in your driveway. After so many years of having busted broken down old cars sitting there that your dad had been swearing he’d fix for almost ten years, cars in the driveway seemed normal. “Let me give you a hand,” he offered as he got closer, lifting the canvas bags from your hands before you could object. 
“Oh!” You exclaimed as you felt the weight suddenly taken off your own arms, “Thank you.” You dove back into the truck to grab the last two bags before slamming it shut with your hips. The two of you began your stroll towards the front door, the dirt driveway kicking up around your feet. “You’re back early.” You noted, looking over at Arvin. 
He shrugged, “Yeah, uh, Wallace had me on the early shift today.” 
You fumbled with the bags as you tried to unlock the door, kicking it open with your toes when it finally gave in. You walked into your home and Arvin followed, closing the door behind him. “Been here long? I didn’t see you in the driveway.” 
“Not too long. I just didn’t want to let myself into your home without nobody there.” Arvin set the bags on the counter next to where you set yours. 
You began to unpack the bags and put the groceries in the respective places. Arvin watched off to the side, unsure of how your kitchen was organized so he was worried he’d do more than good if he stepped in. “My daddy got the late shift?” 
Arvin shook his head, noticing that his beat up old hat was still on his head despite being indoors and took it off immediately, his tousled brown curls parting messily down the middle. “No, we went in at the same time. He ‘n some buddies said they was goin’ to some bar in town.” 
He watched your shoulders fall a little and you sighed, “Figures…. You didn’t go?” 
Again, Arvin shook his head, “No. No offense to your daddy but I don’t like to drink the way I get the feelin’ he does.” 
You snorted, turning to him with a knowing chuckle, “Let’s just say that I’m sorry in advance for whatever he says or does when he gets home, if he gets home. Sheriff Pike might end up callin’ in the mornin’ tellin’ us to pick him up.” Though it was stated as a joke, Arvin could hear the tragic reality behind your words. 
Arvin then noticed the pack of beer bottles that you were pulling out of the bag. As if you could feel his eyes looking at you with worried curiosity, you glanced over at him, noticing the way his eyes flicked between you and the beer in your hands. You offered a sad shrug, “I know what you’re thinkin’ but trust me. Sometimes it’s better to have him drunk and possibly content than sober and angry there’s nothing to drink. Besides, the beer is better than the hard stuff with ‘im.” 
“‘M sorry. I didn’t mean to be makin’ faces. Your business is your business,” Arvin backpedalled, giving you an apologetic nod. 
You shook your head, “Don’t worry. I know how it looks. I’m sorry you gotta see all of it. I been tryin’ to keep to keep him calm but if you end up stayin’ a while, I’m sure you’ll get to see him at his worse times.” 
Arvin chewed his lip as he contemplated whether or not to bring up what had been going through his mind but he had to make sure you were alright. “I-I heard you ‘n your dad talkin’ last night… right after you left my room.” 
Your face fell as you realized what he was talking about, “You weren’t s’posed to hear that. I’m sorry.” Shit, this was what you were hoping to avoid. 
“Are you alright?” 
Gentle. Caring. His tone was something that had been long lost to you in this house and it took the words out of your mouth for a moment. It was embarrassing, the way your heart welled up with… well love wasn’t quite the right word but the warmth of being cared about. Not since after your mother had passed had you heard somebody actually care about how you felt. 
You just nodded and gave a forced smile that you could tell was easy to see through but it was the best you could muster. For someone who was able to take so much shit from their father and was able to look the man who would throw things at you and grab you by the hair dead in the eye with nothing but contempt, it was compassion that made you crumble. It had been so unexpected, especially from Arvin, the stranger living in your house. 
“Shit, ‘m sorry! I didn’t mean to - I didn’t mean to overstep. I only…” He stammered over his words and at first you were confused until you felt the single hot tear tracing its way down your cheek. 
You were quick to wipe it away, shocked at your own uncharacteristic show of vulnerability. You hadn’t realized until now that you had zoned out on the ground while Arvin’s words repeated in your head but now a flash of embarrassment ran through you. “No, no, no. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” You sniffled once before giving a small laugh of disbelief. “It’s just… It’s been a long time since anybody asked that.” 
You straightened up and ran your hands through your hair, eyes closed as you thought of what else you needed to do. Thankfully, if your dad was at the bar, you had at least another four hours to just you and Arvin, all night if you were lucky, though you seldom were. That was when the feeling of dread set in. Your dad had requested chicken roast for dinner tonight and whether he came home early and only a few beers in or you had to drive him home hungover in the morning, the man would be furious if there weren’t at least reheated leftovers for him. You had to kill Patty and prep her for dinner. 
“You okay?” Arvin asked again, though this time it was in reference to the way a heavy look fell over your features. It wasn’t a profound deep question like it was earlier. 
Your head wavered from side to side and your lips twisted, “My daddy asked for chicken roast tonight. I gotta go out and fix Patty up.” You tried to put it lightly though it felt anything but. “I’ll be out in the coop. You’re more than welcome to clean up in the shower or do whatever you’d like ‘round the house. The radio is in the livin’ room if you wanna tune into somethin’.” 
You pushed yourself off the counter and walked to the door in your kitchen that led out to the backyard but Arvin made a few steps to follow, “Is it alright if I keep you company? It don’t feel right bein’ in your house without you or your daddy here.” 
You smiled at the thought of him staying with you and you nodded, continuing out the door, “Sure, c’mon.” 
The hen house wasn’t very far from the back door. From there, you could see the several acres of land that your father was wasting. Your grandparents had bought this land in the late 1910’s and had started up a little farm of their own to sell locally, though your father had abandoned the farming portion after they died. It was where your daddy had grown up and then where you had as well. God, how you missed your grandparents. Your grandmother’s soft words of love and kindness but sternness and willingness to swat your butt with a wooden spoon if you got an attitude (though she would yell at your father if he ever tried to discipline you - “Now you leave that poor baby alone!”). Your grandfather had looked like a rough and angry old man from years of hard work but he had the softest heart of anyone you’d ever met. How the two of them had raised your father was beyond you. 
When you approached the wired fence and jiggled the lock open, the chickens inside stood surprisingly still. They trusted you. You could see it in their little brown eyes. You were safe and warm and didn’t want to harm them. You came in for the unfertilized eggs they laid and left, oftentimes with some seed and a soft pat or two on the head. Patty, a fat white hen with black specks, walked comfortably around your feet, nuzzling her head against your leg. She was the nicest hen you’d ever had. She trusted you. 
God, you were about to cry again. You bent down to pick her up and you held her against your chest, trying to look her in the eye, though it was difficult when she kept jerking it in different directions. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am,” you murmured low. Usually it was your father that would slaughter the hens if he really wanted the meat that badly. You had never done it yourself but he’d made you watch every time so that you knew how if the time ever came. Each time it made you sick to your stomach. 
Already, you felt green. The unassuming hen that you had been friendly enough to for her not flip out when you held her was none the wiser that her life was about to end by your hand. You glanced over to the large wood round just ahead and the axe that was leaned up against it. 
Your face contorted as you realized how much you disliked the placement. The way your father would slaughter chickens right in front of their friends made your heart break. It was barbaric. 
You walked over to Arvin and held Patty out towards him, “Would you mind holdin’ onto her for a second?” 
Though visibly confused, he took the chicken from your hands, drawing back when her wings fluttered out at the contact with the new strange man. Arvin watched as you walked towards the large round and tried to push it with all your might. “What’re you doin’?” 
“I’m-” you grunted, feeling it slide slowly, inch by inch, “trying to move it where the other chickens can’t see.” You took another moment to use all your force against it before standing up straight and breathing heavily, “I know it sounds dumb cause they’re only chickens but it feels cruel to make ‘em watch, y’know?” You went back to pushing the round and Arvin approached behind you. 
From here he could see the blood stains in the wood. It looked as if the blood had been washed off but the wood had been stained crimson regardless. There was also a divot where an axe had clearly been driven down many times over the years, chipping away at the wood. 
Arvin’s heart actually warmed a little at your attempt to show mercy and your willingness to go out of your way to spare some chickens’ feelings. It wasn’t something he was sure he’d do himself but when he heard you say it, he realized you had a point. It was cruel to imprison a bunch of animals and then lead them out one by one to be slaughtered in front of everyone, each animal waiting their turn. “Here, take ‘er back. Let me.” Arvin stepped in, handing Patty back over to you and bending down to lift the round onto its side with much effort. The wood had to weigh at least a hundred pounds and had long since settled into the ground where it had been placed when you were a child.
Your eyes widened as you watched his biceps bulge, straining the material of his blue t-shirt. You’d never seen a man with muscles like that before and you found your eyes trailing along his arms, following every popping vein from the tops of his hands, up his forearms, and onto his biceps until they disappeared beneath his shirt. It was something you hadn’t expected to see in him. Arvin looked like a quiet, polite, hardworking young man but you never would have imagined the immaculate muscles he possessed. You found your mind wandering to what other surprises laid in store beneath all those layers he wo- 
You needed to calm yourself down. If only he could hear your thoughts, he surely would be furious and disgusted with you. You hadn’t had such impure thoughts since that one time you had been messing around with Jimmy Bates in the backseat of his old car back in your senior year of high school. The two of you didn’t even go all the way but you went far enough and the guilt ate you alive since the two of you were never officially together anyways. He was just the cute boy from high school that you had pined over years that had finally given you the chance right before he shipped off to join the war. 
“This alright?” Arvin asked, shaking you from your fantasy, and you snapped back into reality to realize he had rolled the wood round around the side of the coop behind the wooden wall, outside of the other chickens’ views. 
You nodded and walked over to him, “That’s perfect. Thank you so much for doin’ that. I know it’s sorta stupid.” 
Arvin shook his head, putting his hands on his hips, “If it means somethin’ to you, it ain’t stupid at all. Besides, now that you pointed it out, it was a little barbaric.” 
You smiled up at him, one which he returned. How was this boy so damn nice? Was this some cosmic way of the universe finally giving you something good in your life? You’d become so calloused to your father’s harsh words and barked commands that you had forgotten how nice it was to feel cared about and validated. And you barely knew him. 
“‘M glad you think so.” You looked down at Patty in your arms and any good feelings you’d had melted to sadness and fear. “You been a good girl, Patty. I know you struggled with layin’ eggs for a while but you were always a good girl. Never bit me once unlike some of them other hens.” You weren’t often very soft and vulnerable but you were about to take something’s life for the first time and you couldn’t help but feel the weight of that on your heart. If this were a life or death situation, you would feel better about it, but it wasn’t. The only reason Patty had to die was because your father would throw a fit if she didn’t. 
You carried her to the log and gave her a little kiss on the top of the head, “Please don’t hate me but I understand if you do. Say hi to my momma for me, will you? Tell her I love and miss her.” You set her down and got her in the position you always saw your dad put the other chickens in before he chopped their heads off. Arvin handed you the axe with uncertainty but watched on as you struggled to bring yourself to finish the deed. 
You held her down and you could tell by the way she was flailing that she was panicking now. Patty was well aware of what was happening. “I’m sorry!” You choked, tears welling up in your eyes as her panic began to turn into your own panic. How did people do this? Why was this so freaking difficult? 
Tossing the axe slightly in your hand, you readjusted the handle and just as you went to swing, Arvin piped up, “I can do it.” 
You looked over at him, the afternoon sun reflecting the tears in your eyes and making the color of your irises stand out in tragic beauty. “I-I- Would you really not mind?” You breathed out in relief. 
Arvin stepped forward and you handed the axe out to him, “I don’t mind.” You held onto Patty until Arvin could position her just right as well. He had no idea what he was doing - he’d never had to slaughter a chicken before. He had heard that all you had to do was cut their head off though and then he’d heard the rumors of them running around like crazy even after their head hit the ground. How hard could it be? 
Once he had the hen pinned down where he wanted her, he looked up to see you chewing on your thumb, brows knitted in discomfort. It wasn’t the first chicken you’d watched get slaughtered but it was far from something you enjoyed observing. Arvin signaled to you with a nod before raising the axe above his head and you shut your eyes tight, flinching at the sound of the old metal head thudding into the old wood. 
**
You had the carcass sitting in the sink while you pulled off the blood soaked feathers, depositing them into the trash bin by the handful. This part was easier for you, something you’d done many times in the past. “Thank you for doin’ that. I’m sorry I’m such a baby.” 
Arvin sat at the kitchen table behind you, “You ain’t a baby just cause you don’t like to kill things. I’d say it’s probably rather normal.” 
The time was inching closer to four o’clock now and the sun was beginning to hang ever so slightly lower in the sky, the precursor to sunset. It was warm outside and a cool spring breeze blew in through the open window above the sink. You snickered as you pulled another handful of feathers out, “Yeah? That mean you ain’t normal?” You looked over at him with a playful glint in your eye but your smile fell when you saw an uncomfortable look cross his face, almost like he’d seen a ghost. 
“I ain’t never said I liked killin’ either.” Arvin attempted to match your joking tone but it was pretty evident there was a weight behind his words. 
“Hey, I‘m sorry. I was only jokin’.” A pang of guilt washed over you but it was only that. A joke. You hadn’t imagined teasing him over something like killing a chicken would set him off, especially since he volunteered to do it for you, but apparently you were wrong. 
Arvin sniffed and scratched his nose, “I know.” After a moment of awkward silence, he stood, “Let me give you a hand. What do you need done?” 
You scanned his face once more to make sure he was really okay but you decided to drop it when you saw his insistent look. You shook your head, “I got it. It ain’t much after I get this all gutted and cleaned.” You picked up the mostly featherless carcass by the wings and plopped it back down into the sink. 
“Well ‘m sure there’s vegetables or somethin’ else that goes with it, right? Let me start cuttin’ those up.” His persistence was adorable, making your heart flutter in the most wonderful way. The idea of a man actually being helpful was unknown to you before Arvin. Your life had been filled with your dad’s drunken bossings since you were twelve years old. You couldn’t remember the last time a genuinely kind voice offered you anything more than a smile on the street, not that you took that for granted. Arvin was just different though. Noble and helpful and kind. 
“You really don’t have to-” 
“Yeah, you keep sayin’ that but I really do want to help. So what can I do to make things easier on you?” He took a few steps closer to you until you felt the beginning of what could have been sparks if he stepped any nearer, like when you hold two magnets a few inches apart and you can feel the energy between them, that hint of attraction, but it’s not quite close enough to pull them together. 
The blush in your cheeks at his simple gesture made you break the eye contact with a nervous laugh of retreat, “Okay, fine. If you’re gonna be so insistent,” you drew out with a teasing drawl, “you can cut up veggies. There’s potatoes over there and carrots and zucchini in the fridge.” 
Arvin’s lips turned up in a small smile when you finally resigned your stubborn ways and he went off to find the vegetables where you had directed him. 
Needless to say, when your father came home from the bar to find you and Arvin talking over a song by the Platters playing on the radio with Arvin cleaning up the dishes while you tossed together the vegetables and the seasoning, he was less than pleased. 
“What the hell is going on here?” His slurred speech made your eyes widen in fear. He was supposed to get home later like he always did. But then you found yourself chiding your irresponsibility. Why the hell would you take that chance? You knew better than to let Arvin help out and now you were gonna pay. 
Arvin sensed the way you tensed up beside him and watched as you spun around to face your father with haste, “Just finishin’ up dinner now. Should be ready by six so you got more than enough time to take a sho-” 
“Why the fuck is he doin’ the dishes?” You father was leaning against the wall, clearly relying on the structure for support. This wasn’t the time to test him, not with Arvin here. It was times like this when he’d start throwing stuff at you. 
Before you could say anything, Arvin piped up firmly but respectfully, “I offered, sir. It’s no problem at all.” 
Your dad pointed at Arvin, “A man ain’t got no place with his hands in a sink of dishes. You leave that shit to her and she’ll just grab you a beer.” He stumbled over his own feet before catching himself ungracefully. 
Arvin’s jaw set tightly and you gripped the countertop with white knuckles behind you. Times like this, you weren’t even sure what to say anymore. No amount of standing up for yourself got you anywhere with him. You never made any headway with your dad’s sexist views on gender roles. It was pointless. The only thing to do was try and work your way to supporting yourself so you could get the hell out of dodge and never look back. 
Arvin’s voice surprised you, “A man’s place is helpin’ out the women in his life when they need, not leavin’ ‘em to do all the housework themselves.” You nearly choked on your own tongue at his words. It was a bold statement for a man to make, especially to the head of the house that was being so gracious as to host him free of charge, but he didn’t back down. It appeared like the jab was lost on your drunken father but Arvin continued with a slightly less accusatory comment to diffuse the situation regardless, “I grew up helpin’ my grandma with all the house chores so I really don’t mind at all.” 
You watched the way your dad eyed Arvin and then you before scoffing and grumbling incoherently as he shuffled his way into the living room. You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. “I don’t want you gettin’ kicked out ‘cause of me. You didn’t have to say nothin’.” 
Arvin glared at where your father had disappeared and nodded, “Yeah, I did. You don’t deserve all the shit he gives you.” 
You suddenly found yourself avoiding his eyes and twisting your lips. He was right and you were well aware of that fact. The abuse your dad put you through was uncalled for at best. The fact that Arvin had actually taken the time to not only notice the same fact but acknowledge it and stand up for you was something you never thought you’d hear someone do. It made you uncomfortable. You’d been fighting this battle by yourself for so long that letting somebody even know it was being waged was enough to make you want to sink away. Even so, a part of you wanted to let Arvin keep standing up for you. It made you feel weak after having to stand up for yourself for so long but also validated. 
Your eyes flicked up to meet his for only a moment before turning back towards dinner that sat in a roasting pan on the stove, “Thank you.” 
______
Taglist: 
@thisisparadisemylove
@justapurrcat
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raeandwhatnot · 3 years
Text
Lucky Charm – Luke Patterson
Summary: Luke is reminiscing about his relationship with you in the past. 
Warnings: it’s a bit sad and angst… but also fluff
Words: 4.3k
A/N: (Y/D/J)= your dream job. This is 3rd person unlike my other imagines where I do it in 1st person. Might make a part two to this if y’all want it! I will be getting to y’alls requests ASAP! I’m so excited to write them! Also, italicized is flashback! 
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It’s been 25 years since Luke, Alex, and Reggie have died. The first thing that Luke thought of when he died wasn’t just his family, he thought of (Y/N). He thought of how he just left her. They were supposed to be together forever, but that forever was cut short from tainted hot dogs out of a car. The boys have been in the band with Julie for a while now, but Luke couldn’t help but think something was missing while he performed. (Y/N) was that missing puzzle piece. He always called her his lucky charm because he would always perform his best when she was in the crowd.
“Are you going to come to the dance tonight, (Y/N/N)?” Alex asks as the Sunset Curve group walks with the girl to their shared class.
“Hmmm,” (Y/N) hums. “I’m not sure. I have a lot of homework I need to catch up on.”
Luke groans and rolls his eyes at the girl’s excuse. “Oh come on, (Y/N)!” he exclaims, walking in front of her, making him walk backwards. “You have got to live a little every once in a while! All you do is worry about school work. You need to come to the dance. The best band is going to play at the dance!”
(Y/N) tilts her head, “Oh yeah? What band?”
“Sunset Curve, duh!” Reggie says. (Y/N) giggled as she already knew the answer to her question.
“Please?” Bobby pouts. “It’s going to be a lot of fun!”
The group stops outside of the classroom door and she looks at the boys. They all had pleading looks on their faces.
“(Y/N), please!” Luke begs, grabbing her shoulders. “I need my lucky charm tonight. I promise tonight will be worth it!”
(Y/N) looks down at the charm bracelet the boys got her for her 17th birthday. The boys collectively got a charm for her bracelet that meant something to them. Luke got her a clover as she is his lucky charm. She looks back up at the green eyes staring at her waiting for her to answer.
“Fine,” (Y/N) sighed. “I will go to the dance, but you have to promise me that you guys will dance with me!” Luke smiles and pulls her into a quick hug. The rest boys cheered and high fived one another.
Luke wished he could go back to that night. It was a few months before they started dating. He and (Y/N) slow danced together which made him realize that he that had feelings for the girl in the first place. He realized why she was his lucky charm, why his heart would always skip a beat when she laughed, why his palms would get sweaty when she held his hand, why he would always want to be around her because she made him feel safe. He couldn’t stop thinking about her even in the afterlife. He would wonder where she is. Did she get married and have a family? Did she follow her dreams to become a(n) (Y/D/J)? Did she live her life to the fullest? Did she-
Luke’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice calling out to him, “Hey, Luke!” His eyes tore away from his journal he zoned out on. He saw Alex and Reggie standing in front of him.
“Hm?” Luke hummed, sitting up from leaning against the piano.
Alex took a step closer and asks, “Are you okay?”
Luke tosses his journal on the couch and takes off the acoustic guitar that was wrapped around his chest. “Yeah! Just thinking about a new song!” Luke said. Alex tucks his hands into his jacket’s pockets as he doesn’t believe that Luke is okay. He has been spacing out a lot recently.
“Cool! What is it about?” Reggie questions.
“Uh, I’m not sure yet,” Luke answers. “I was just brainstorming. Trying to think of a meaning to it.” Alex turns his attention to the journal. Luke had doodled clovers around the edges of the paper. Alex taps Reggie with his shoulder and tilts his head at the journal. Reggie analyzes the book, realizing what Luke has been thinking about.
“You making another song about (Y/N)?” Reggie wonders, still looking at the song book.
Luke glances at what Reggie was looking. “I don’t know. She’s just been on my mind recently,” he sighs and looks at the floor. Alex and Reggie nod in agreement as they too have been thinking about their friend.
Alex takes another step towards Luke, “Do you want to talk about it?” Luke kept his eyes glued to the ground. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about her. He didn’t know if it would make him feel better, or if he would just burst into tears.
His thoughts were interrupted once more as Julie skips into the room. “Ready to rehearse, guys?” Julie smiles.
Luke puts on a happy face, “Hell, yeah! Let’s rock out!”
Alex and Reggie look at one another, concerned for their best friend who seems to be hurting. The group walks to their respective spots in the studio.
“What song should we start with?” Luke asks as he plugs his electric guitar into the amp.
Julie flipped her song book. “Should we warm up with Finally Free? We haven’t done that song in a while,” Julie suggest.
Luke look at the boys who were nodding their heads in agreement. “Sounds good to us!” he answers for the group.
Julie starts off the song with her intro, and the rest of the band joined in. As they were performing, Luke messed up here and there, but not enough to notice. At least Julie didn’t notice as she was rocking out with the boys. When they finished Finally Free, they decided to do a new song Julie had started writing. They hadn’t settled on a title just yet which was okay because it was still in the works. They started to practice the first verse going into the chorus, but Luke wasn’t 100% focused. He kept playing the wrong chords.
Because he messed up, he let out a load, frustrated groan. The rest of the band halted their actions to look at Luke. “Woah, you good?” Julie asks concerned.
Luke shakes his vigorously to try to get his mind straight, “Yeah! I’m just not used to the pattern yet. Let’s try again.”
Julie looks at Alex and Reggie. They both shrug their shoulders, and they start the song again. However, this time Luke could barely get past the intro without messing up. He tried to continue, but he couldn’t do it.
“Damn it!” Luke shouts, dropping his guitar to hover over his chest as he roughly runs his hands through his hair.
Julie stands up from his keyboard. “Luke?” she softly says. Luke could feel the tears welling up in his eyes.
“I-uh,” Luke stutters as he takes off his guitar. “I need s-some air.” Luke suddenly then poofs out without another word.
Julie looks at the empty space where Luke was standing. She couldn’t figure out why Luke wasn’t in the right head space. He was always focused on the band, or at least he always seems to be. Julie takes her eyes from the dead space to Alex and Reggie who had sad looks on their faces. Reggie takes his bass off and sets it next to Luke’s guitar.
Julie steps off to the side of her keyboard. “What’s up with him?” she asks Alex and Reggie. They glance at each other before Alex steps away from his drums to standing next to Reggie.
“We’ve been thinking about an old friend from back in the 90’s,” Alex confesses.
Julie shrugs her shoulder, “Who? Bobby?”
Reggie shakes his head. “Gosh, no. I wouldn’t want to spend my spare time thinking about that song stealing dummy,” Reggie says in disgust.
“She wasn’t part of Sunset Curve. At least she didn’t perform with us. Her name was (Y/N),” Alex states, ignoring what Reggie said about Bobby.
“(Y/N)? How come I’ve never heard you guys talk about her?” Julie wonders. Both Alex and Reggie shrug their shoulders, unsure why they never talk about one of their best friends. “Well, who was she then?”
A slight smile grew on Alex and Reggie as they thought of (Y/N). Alex started to reminisce the memories of his old friend, “She was one of the most important people in our lives. She helped us with our struggles, helped us study, came to almost all of our gigs, helped us get gigs… she was just the glue of Sunset Curve. We wouldn’t hardly function as a band if it wasn’t for her. She was even the one who got us the gig at the Orpheum…”
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and Sunset Curve was writing a new song for their new demo. They wanted to make new songs as they always perform the same songs at every gig. “Hey boys,” Luke calls out. Bobby was playing random notes on his guitar, Alex was trying balance his drumstick on his index finger, and Reggie was catching dust. They all turned to Luke who had written some stuff in his song book. “How does this sound? When all the days felt black and white those were the best shades of my life!” Luke sings.
“Dang, Luke!” Bobby exclaimed. “That’s really good! How did you come up with that?”
“I don’t know. It just came to me!” Luke smirks. “I’m also half way done with the song!”
“It’s been, what, 30 minutes and you’re already half way done?!” Alex says. Luke nods his head as he writes down more in his journal. Next thing they know, they hear clicking heels coming from the driveway. They all look up to see (Y/N) with a huge smile on her face.
“Uh, oh. Here comes trouble,” Luke teases. “What’s got you all smiley, babes?”
(Y/N) stops at the entry way of the studio. “Well, I have some pretty big news to tell you boys!” she says, shifting her weight from the balls of her feet to her feels.
“What? You got the best SAT’s scores of the school?” Bobby asks.
“You’re graduating a semester early?” then asks Alex.
“No! You got us a puppy?!” Reggie asks excitedly. The boys looked at Reggie as if he asked the most absurd question ever.
(Y/N) giggled, “As much as I would love to give you a puppy, Reggie, you are incorrect. All of you are incorrect. I just did the best thing that is ever going to happen to Sunset Curve!”
Luke raised an eyebrow, curious at what his girlfriend could have done. “What did you do?” The group slowly walks towards (Y/N). Her smile thinned out as she took a pause for dramatic effect. However, the boys were anticipatingly waiting for her to say something. “WHAT?!” they outburst.
(Y/N) chuckled at the band, and she took out a piece of paper from her back pocket. She cleared her throat dramatically before readings out loud, “Dear Miss (Y/L/N). Thank you for sending us Sunset Curve’s demo and sharing their amazing talent. We would like to offer them the chance of a lifetime. On July 22nd, we would like to invite Sunset Curve to perform here at the…” (Y/N) looks up at the guys who got even closer to her and each other.
“Perform where?!” Reggie shouts.
(Y/N) smiles even wider than ever before she throws her arms in the air and shouts, “TO PERFORM AT THE ORPHEUM BABY!” All four boy’s eyes widened and screamed out happy cheers. Luke tackles (Y/N) in the biggest hug. She wraps her legs around his waist as he ran to the drive way to spin her around.
“This is amazing!” Luke exclaimed, putting his girlfriend down. “You really are our lucky charm!” (Y/N) blushes at the compliment. Luke then presses his lips to hers to give her a sweet kiss. She smiles in the kiss as she is the happiest she has ever been.
“Hey, Patterson. Let us give (Y/N/N) some lovin’!” Bobby tugged on Luke’s shoulders which makes the couple pull away from each other. Alex, Bobby, and Reggie then take their chance to hug (Y/N). Luke joined in by hugging her from behind. They boys thanked the girl over and over again as they were in their group hug.
“Guys!” (Y/N)’s voice muffled from the inside of the hug. “One of you guys need to put on deodorant. Plus, I can’t breathe in here!” They all laughed at her and pulled away from the hug, but Luke kept his arms wrapped around the girl from behind.
“What would we do without you?” Alex smiles.
(Y/N) let out a playful sigh, “I don’t know. Never be able to play anywhere?” She giggled at her own joke. Luke sneaks in a kiss on the cheek. “Alright boys, you need to start rehearsing now that you have this mega-important life changing gig! I will order some pizza and soda so we can celebrate even more tonight!”
“You’re the best (Y/N)!” Bobby says before walking back into the studio with Alex and Reggie.
“You really are the best,” Luke whispers in (Y/N) ear. She turns around and gives him a peck on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too”
Julie felt her heart drop at the thought of Luke hurting even more for leaving behind two of the most important women in is life. Luke is not that open about his past life. Julie couldn’t imagine the pain he has been going through. Alex and Reggie had tears welling up in their eyes as they finished telling the story of how they booked the Orpheum gig. Her mind wandered to a song that she saw when she was flipping through Luke’s song book when Luke wanted to show her Sunset Curve songs. She remembered walking to the studio to hear Luke singing a song she never heard before, but she recognized some of the lyrics from his song book. “She sounds amazing. Do you guys have an old photo of her at all?” Julie questions.
Reggie looks at Alex, knowing he has a picture. “Yeah, I do actually. However, Luke doesn’t know, so please don’t tell him we have this,” Alex says, walking over to his fanny pack that was near his drums.
Julie tilts her head to the side in confusion, “Why doesn’t he know about you having a picture of her?”
Alex grabs his fanny pack and unzips it. “Luke’s been pretty happy recently, but I know that thinking about (Y/N) makes him a little sad. I would hate to show him a picture that brings back all these happy memories to make him sad that they didn’t get to have more of a life together,” Alex explains. Julie slowly nods her head.
Alex reaches in his back and grabs the polaroid picture. He walks back to Julie and hands her the photo. She slightly smiles at the picture. It was of (Y/N) and Luke. (Y/N) had a big smile on her face as Luke was giving her a kiss on the cheek. You could see the pure happiness radiating from the photograph. “Wow, she’s really pretty. Luke was a lucky guy!” Julie compliments. “You know, I’m sure Luke would love to have this picture. I think it’s time you guys should give it to him.”
Julie hands the picture back to Alex. Reggie started to play with his fingers nervously. Alex analyzes the picture in his hand and puts it in his back pocket. “We should probably go look for him,” Alex says quietly. Reggie nods his head and stands closer to Alex. Julie gives the boys a slight smile before they poofed out of the studio.
*****
Luke was sitting at the beach, the water hitting his feet when it came to shore. He watched the sunset which was helping him calm down. Him and (Y/N) liked to come to the beach and watch the sunrise, the sunset, and star gaze all the time! This was their spot when they wanted to get away from everyone and have a bit of privacy with just them two. They would invite the band sometimes to have bonfires and eat s’mores after a gig. Luke watched the lifers around him playing in the water and having fun at the beach. He wished he could join the teenagers jamming in a big circle across the beach.
Suddenly, he hears a poof behind him. He turns around to see Alex and Reggie. “Well, you guys found me,” Luke quietly says, turning back to face the sunset. In his peripheral vision, he saw his friends sit on both sides of him, Alex on his right and Reggie on his left.
“I figured you would be here. You are kind of predicable sometimes,” Alex says. Luke nods his head slightly, agreeing with Alex. “What’s up, Luke?”
Luke lets out a heavy sigh. He takes a handful of sun and lets it fall in-between his fingers. “I just..” he starts. “I just wish I could see her again. I wish I could hold her. I want to know how she’s doing. I wish I knew where she was, so I could see her one last time…”
Reggie patted Luke’s back to try to comfort him, “It’s okay, buddy. I know we all wish we could see her again.”
Luke shakes his head, angry tears forming in his eyes. “Sometimes I wish we didn’t die when we did. There was so much we wanted to do as a band, and there was so much I wanted to do with (Y/N),” Luke exclaims.
Luke shifts his weight to the left to reach in his front pocket. What he takes out of his pocket shocks Alex and Reggie. Luke is holding their best friends charm bracelet. “Wait, you’ve had this this whole time?” Alex asks. Luke nods his head, a tear finally falling on his cheek. Luke turns the bracelet to have the clover charm facing him.
“I found it at my parent’s house. When I first went there to visit them, I went to look at my room to see if anything changed. I found it on my bed with some of my flannels she stole. I don’t know why she would give it back. Maybe because looking at it gave her so much pain. I can’t imagine the pain she went through,” Luke explains.
Alex glances at Reggie who had tears brewing in his eyes as well. He suddenly became anxious as he wasn’t sure how Luke was about to react with what Alex was about to give him. He nervously fidgets before he speaks, “I actually have something to show you.”
Luke turns his gaze to Alex. Alex opens his fanny pack to reach for the photograph. Luke looks at his friend’s hand to see the polaroid picture. He hesitantly grabs the photo. He lets out a sad chuckle. It was the picture of (Y/N) and Luke. “Where did you find this?” Luke asks.
“I found it when I found our stuff upstairs in the loft. I’m sorry I didn’t give this to you earlier,” Alex apologizes.
Luke shakes his head to dismiss Alex’s apology. He studies the picture of the two of them. He remembered this day vividly. It was him and (Y/N)’s first date. He had taken her to a drive-in movie and ice cream. The picture was taken right before the movie had started. (Y/N) had always taken polaroid pictures for the memories. She had given this to Luke because she wanted him to remember that day, but how could he forget? He would never forget her or the memories they shared.  
(Y/N) and Luke were setting up the back of his truck before the movie. Luke was spreading out the blanket and pillows while (Y/N) was grabbing the snacks from the front. Once they finished, they jumped in the trunk and started to get comfortable. “Are you excided?” Luke asks (Y/N).
She pulls the blanket to her lap, “Yes! I’ve always wanted to go to a drive-in movie!” Luke smiles at her excitedness.
“I know!” Luke says. (Y/N) slightly smiles and looks down at her lap, blushing. “Which snack would you like to eat first, m’lady?” he asks in a dramatic British accent.
(Y/N) giggles. “Hmmm, why sir pass me the sour gummy worms!” she replies too in a silly British accent.
Luke chuckles, grabs the snack, and hands it to her. She opens the bag and takes out a blue and red gummy worm. She eats the blue side first and looks at Luke who was watching her the whole time. She could feel her cheeks getting warmer. She flicks her wrist to give the red side of the gummy worm to Luke. He looks at the gummy worm before grabbing it and taking a bite. “This is crazy, you know?” (Y/N) admits.
Luke sits up a bit and furrows his brows. “How?” he questions.
She shrugs. “I don’t know,” she mumbles. “Sitting here.. on a date.. with one of my best friends who I’ve had a crush on for forever. I never thought it would actually happen.”
She kept her gaze on her lap, playing with a gummy worm. Luke cocks his head to the side to try to get her to look at him. However, she continues to look down. He takes his hand and pushes her chin gently to face her towards him. She looks into his green eyes. “Well, you better believe it because I wouldn’t want to be on a date with anyone else,” he says. He tilts her head down and gives her a kiss on the forehead.
(Y/N) then remembered that she had her camera in her bag. “Wait!” she exclaims. Luke moves to the side a bit as she reaches for her bag that is behind them. She unzips her bag to grab her polaroid camera. “I want to take a picture!”
“How come you always bring that where ever you go?” Luke wonders.
She fidgets the camera in her hands. “I want to create memories. I want to remember my adventures and experiences. I want to remember it all, so I take pictures,” she says, checking to see if she has enough film.
Luke smiles, “That’s amazing!”
(Y/N) scoots closer to Luke and angles the camera up to get them both in frame. They smile, getting ready to take the picture. He then had an idea for a great picture. Right as she pushes the button, he kisses her cheek. (Y/N) smiles even wider and lets out a slight giggle. The film shoots out and she grabs the photo. She looks at Luke who was smiling like a kid in a candy store. You could see the love and adore in his eyes. Luke flicks his eyes to her lips for a second, but it was enough for her to notice. He leans in, but she stops him. “I thought you weren’t supposed to kiss until after the date. Or even on the first date at all?” (Y/N) jokes.
“We can be different,” Luke smirks before giving her a kiss. As his lips touch her, she takes in a large breath and leans forward in the kiss. He takes his hand and places it on her cheek to deepen the kiss. Butterflies were flying around in their stomachs. (Y/N) pulls away slowly.
Luke opens his eyes to see her cheeks were bright red. “The movies about to start,” (Y/N) says. He chuckles and pecks her lips one more time. They shift around to where they were laying down, resting on the pillows behind them. (Y/N)’s head rested on Luke’s shoulder. She grabs the bag of sour gummy worms and takes a handful out. “Gummy worms?” she asks Luke.
Luke looks down to see her handing him some gummy worms. “Don’t mind if I do,” he says and takes the candy out of her hand to place it on his chest. As the movie starts, Luke smiles to himself. He’s on one of many dates him and (Y/N) will be on, and he couldn’t wait.
Luke didn’t notice that he was full on sobbing when he was reminiscing on the past. He suddenly felt a hand rubbing his back, trying to comfort him. He looks to see Reggie comforting him. Luke pats Reggie on the back to thank him. “It’s okay to be sad, Luke,” Alex says. Luke looks at Alex and nods. “You don’t have to be strong all the time.”
Luke thins his lip in a sad smile. Luke puts the photo and the bracelet back in his front pocket. He wipes his wet face and sniffs the snot that his slightly falling out of his nose. “Let’s get back to the studio. Even though we don’t sleep, I need a nap,” Luke says, getting up and wiping the sand off of his pants.
Luke looks around the beach once more to see the lifers having fun. Alex and Reggie follow Luke’s actions and stand up as well. Luke walks towards the teenagers still playing their guitars and singing around the fire. He watches them smile and laugh with one another. Alex places his hand on Luke’s shoulder to signal that they should leave.
Before they poofed back to the studio, Luke noticed someone in the distance. He saw someone watching the group of teenagers like he was. He noticed the (Y/H/C) girl wiping away a tear from her eye. Then, their eyes connected. He recognized those (Y/E/C) eyes. He squints and walks closer to get a better look. He halted as he got a little closer. His heart beat quickened at the sight of her.
“(Y/N)?” he whispered before the girl poofed away. Luke’s breath started to quicken as he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Luke?” Reggie called out. Luke turned around. “What’s wrong?”
“I think I just saw (Y/N)!”
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capricorn-stark · 3 years
Text
Othello Pt 2
pairing: jason todd x reader, reader is a psych major because i think the concept of psych majors in Gotham is funny lmao
warning: i wrote this at 1 am again, kinda long, swearing
a/n: i mention Dana Harlowe and Annie B’s diner, they’re both from RHATO’s final two issues lol. still dedicated to @tadpole-san even though she hate crimed me 
part 1
“I thought you said you wanted to get coffee,” you started when you noticed Jason veering away from where your regular coffee shop should’ve been, choosing to cut through the street and venture to a different path entirely. “Because you just-”
“Yeah, I know, I’m hungry,” he declared, slipping his hands into his pockets and tilting his head towards another row of stores illuminated with neon-lights and flickering street lamps. “This place has better stuff than overpriced coffee, promise.” You let out an exaggerated gasp of shock at that notion and he laughed, nudging your shoulder with his. 
It was always strange to be walking around Gotham during the night, but with Jason by your side, it was far less worrying than it usually was. On your own, you couldn’t even imagine traveling around the dark streets littered with muggers, petty thieves, and the occasional evil clown prince or two - one minute, you’d be speed-walking down the streets, the next minute you could end up as the lucky winner of Scarecrow’s fear-gas testing special.
You actually knew someone who had been in that very situation. They were in Arkham now.
With Jason, it was almost ridiculous how much safer you felt. It didn’t take a whole lot of observational skills to notice how the men who usually leered at you and your friends when you passed shrank and slipped into the shadows when a man over 6 feet in height and built like a tank walked past them. Jason himself was in a good mood tonight, his shoulders relaxed and a slight smile playing at his lips while he told you about the local theatrical-adaptation of Othello that was currently under production near Gotham University. 
You were getting used to seeing him like this - not so moody, smiling, present - but you had also noticed the expressions he had when no one was looking, when he wasn’t thinking about anything in particular, when his gaze had a certain intensity to them that you hadn’t ever quite seen before. He didn’t really like talking about himself or his life, preferring to keep conversations centered around school or you. The few times you had tried asking about his family and work had all led to him clamming up and quickly dropping the subject, his body language rigid and completely closed-off, the crease by his brows deepening as his expression transformed into a scowl. It was the first time you realized that Jason Todd could actually be genuinely scary - and the first time you realized there was a much, much darker side of him that you weren’t sure if you wanted to see.
You knew it wasn’t your place to pry, and you had never brought it up since - but you couldn’t help but wonder just what had happened to make someone like him so angry. 
“...and I figured we could - did you just zone out on me?”
You snapped back into attention at his rather dramatic tone, flinching out of your character analysis to pay actual mind to the man in question himself. 
“No, I just-” 
“Yeah? What did I just say?” Jason challenged, grasping your arm to pull you away from the traffic lane you had nearly walked right into. His disbelieving expression made your face burn red - but much to your relief (and embarrassment), he was laughing. 
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t completely zoned out-” 
“After you literally walked into traffic? Yeah, I can tell,” he deadpanned, tugging you towards him right as the cars slowed to a halt, the pedestrian signal blinking above you. The sudden action and the sudden closeness made your face heat up - something he apparently noticed when his bright green eyes flickered across your features and caused a smirk to tug at his lips. Instead of the teasing you had braced yourself for, you watched as he tilted his head towards the diner across the street, letting go of your arm. “It’s right over there, c’mon.” 
He was already moving towards the crosswalk when you shook yourself out of your stupor, quickly moving to catch up with him and glancing up at the diner. The big glowing red letters on the sign beside it read “Annie B’s”. 
“They got good food,” he explained at your questioning look, leaning forwards to swing the door open for you. “I used to hang around here a lot when I was a kid.” 
“I don’t think I’ve actually seen this place before,” you commented, entering and hearing Jason close the door behind him, taking a quick glance around before you took a seat in one of the cherry-red and white leather booths. “Kinda wish I had.”
The entire diner had a vintage touch to it, from the luminescent pink and blue lights lining the ceilings to the multicolored tile floors, the cherry-red barstools, and even the jukebox in the corner cranking out old-timey tunes. There were only a few other people sitting at the bar and chilling in a booth a few down from your own, all too absorbed in their own worlds to pay much mind to the two of you. You could hear the sizzling of the food being made back in the kitchen, emitting a heavenly aroma that made your stomach growl not-so subtly. Jason laughed as he slid down across from you, sliding one delicate paper menu over as he scanned over the other. 
“Pretty cool, huh? And like I said, they got great food.” He nodded at your stomach and you rolled your eyes, eliciting another laugh from him. “Knock yourself out, ‘cus dinner’s on me.” Before you could open your mouth to object, the kitchen doors flew open and a woman stepped out holding a heaping tray of food. 
“One chicken fried steak with a side of mashed potatoes and rings,” she announced as she set down the trays in front of a man sitting a few booths down, already moving to refill his glass with a pitcher of water. “Enjoy your dinner, Phil.” 
“Thanks, Dana,” the man told her as he picked up his fork and gave her a crooked-toothed grin, already digging into his food. “Always do.” 
“I sure hope so,” the lady agreed, moving to walk back towards the kitchen before catching sight of them. She broke into a grin at the sight of Jason sending her a playful salute, changing course to head towards their booth instead. “Well, look who it is!” she exclaimed, securing her curly black hair out of her face with an orange-and-green bandana as she stopped in front of them. “Jason Todd decided to drop by for a little visit, did he? And he brought a friend.” 
The sight of her beaming at you was too contagious for you to not smile back up at her in return.
“Hi, Dana,” Jason grinned, nodding at you as she looked between the two of you. “This is Y/N. Y/N, Dana Harlowe. Her dad runs this place.” 
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Dana told you with another grin, leaning forwards to shake your hand in greeting. “When I decided to help out at the diner tonight, I wasn’t expecting a miracle. I definitely didn’t think this boy would ever walk in here with a date of all things-”
“Oh as if,” Jason scoffed loudly as the two of you laughed, face reddening beneath the bright colored lights. “Have you seen me? I was born a lady-killer.” He shot you a wink and you sent him another playful eye roll.
“Yeah, you sure killed me alright.” Dana burst out laughing again as Jason immediately let out a protest of betrayal at your words.
“I like you,” she decided when she finally managed to straighten, taking out her notepad and pen with another brilliant smile. “Did y’all decide what you wanted yet, or do you need another minute?” Jason glanced over at you and you nodded back up at her.
“Sure, I’m ready.” 
Dana headed back into the kitchen for your food after you ordered, leaving the two of you to sit in a comfortable, familiar silence, the sound of forks scraping against porcelain plates and vintage beats being the only disruptors. 
“I used to hear these songs on Gotham City Radio all the time,” Jason finally began after taking a sip of his water, fixating his gaze back on you as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the leather seat. “Growing up, I mean. I still do, sometimes.” 
“Classic jazz?” You grinned, taking a small sip of your own water in turn. “You? I didn’t get that vibe from you.” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck with a slight shrug.
“At my old place, I had, uh, a butler. He wasn’t really a butler, honestly, he was more like a dad than anything. Or, like, a really cool grandpa. He had a whole rack of guns and shit he kept polished in this big cabinet thing-” You raised a brow, attempting to hide your amusement by taking another sip of water. You were a little surprised that he had actually started talking about his family at all - you weren’t about to ruin it, and boy, did you want to know more about the guy. “And he used to play that station all the time at home, GC Radio Classics. I guess I kinda missed hearing it.” 
“He does sound pretty cool,” you admitted with a smile, setting the glass back down. “Do you still visit him?” Jason hesitated a few moments before attempting a nonchalant shrug. You noticed the tightness in his body language again, the same sort of tightness you saw when he was closing up around you. 
“Not much anymore,” he finally said, letting his shoulders drop a little bit. “It’s been...a while. Just got some shit going on.” You watched him take another drink before you spoke again.
“If you ever want to talk about it with me - or talk about anything, really - you can, Jason.” It wasn’t just the products of your psych major showing through you - you meant your words, and the slight smile playing at his lips seemed to signal that he had understood that as well. 
“Don’t worry about it, seriously. But thanks.” You nodded, looking up again when the kitchen doors flew open once again, Dana heading out towards your table with another two trays heaped with mouth-watering food. 
“And here you go,” she smiled as she set your respective meals down before you, taking your glasses to refill them as well. “Enjoy your food, you two. Call me over if there’s anything else you need, yeah?” You both thanked Dana as she sashayed away again, letting the doors swing shut behind her once again after checking up on the rest of her customers. 
Neither of you wasted any time digging into the food as soon as it appeared, finishing most of it in mere minutes like the starving university students you were, breaking the silence with the occasional offer at trying something the other had gotten. The aroma had been no false-alarm - it tasted even better than you had anticipated, and that was certainly saying something. Savory fries, buttery biscuits, and smoky burgers were better than anything else you had in a while. 
“How did I not find this place sooner?” you sighed as you pressed a napkin to your lips, leaning back against your seat as you tried to process just how full you really felt. At this rate, you would have to roll your way out of the place. “I know you said it was gonna be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this good.”
“I told you,” Jason grinned as he finished up the last of his burger and fries, crumpling up his own napkins and setting them into the tray to throw away. “I know good food places! I grew up around these streets.”
“So did I!” you protested as he laughed and stood up to throw all the trash away, setting the trays back where they were supposed to go and pulling out his wallet just as Dana appeared by the kitchen’s window with two milkshakes. 
“You can count these on the house,” she told him as she slid them over, ignoring his protests and sending you a wink as you stood up from the booth as well. “Enjoy your night - and it was real nice meeting you, Y/N. Todd, I better be seeing you around more often.” 
“Yes ma’am,” he deadpanned, his smile warm as she waved them out anyways. “Thanks, Dana.” 
You called out a thanks to her as well, tightening your jacket around you as you left the warmth of the diner and felt the chill of Gotham’s dreary night hit you once more. Jason handed you your milkshake, bringing his own straw to his lips and taking a sip. 
“You guys seem close,” you noted with a smile as you took a sip yourself, relishing the cold, sweet taste of the shake in delight. Jason chuckled at that, shrugging as you walked along the illuminated sidewalks in no particular direction. 
“She’s like an annoying sister to me. I’ve known her since I was a puny kid.” You watched as the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile as he took another sip. “Dana, her sister, and her dad were good to me growing up. They’re great people.”
That, you had been able to tell just from meeting the woman herself. 
“I liked meeting her. She was pretty cool.” He chuckled again and spared you another glance. “And thanks, by the way, for dinner tonight. It really was really good. And way better than just coffee.”
“I told you,” he grinned, flickering those brilliant green eyes across your face again. “I know where the good spots around Gotham are. We don’t have a lot of them, but when we do have them, they’re pretty damn good.” That elicited a laugh from you and Jason stopped beneath one of the streetlamps lining the sidewalk. 
“You did better than I expected, Todd.” He made a big show of popping his collar and scoffing at your comment.
“What, you expected me to not impress you? Do you think that low of me?” 
“That theatre minor of yours is really starting to make an entrance, you can put it away now-” 
“Hey!” You burst out laughing and he couldn’t help but join. You felt pretty sure that he looked the happiest right then and there than you had ever really seen him - whatever that might’ve meant. Pretty soon, your laughter was residing and he had taken a slight step forwards, a cheeky grin still plastered on his face. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” 
You looked back up at him with a nonchalant shrug despite fighting back another smile yourself. 
“Yeah, it was a pretty good night.” His gaze flickered towards your lips before settling back on your face. 
“Yeah?” The sounds of honking cars and the murmurs of people walking past all around you felt like they were being drowned out somehow when you felt him get a little bit closer. The smile tugged at the corner of your mouth again.
“Yeah.” Another moment passed before Jason finally closed the distance between you, meeting your lips in a surprisingly gentle kiss for a man who looked like he could snap a baseball bat with his bare hands. You wrapped your arms around his neck after yet another moment, feeling him draw you even closer to him at the action. 
Literally and figuratively, it was a sweet kiss. The milkshake truly had done wonders. 
You were a little breathless when he finally pulled away, and you hoped the shitty streetlight would keep him from seeing just how red your face had gone. Jason was grinning at your reaction, rubbing the back of his neck.
“C’mon, that was better than pretty good.”
“Shut up,” you told him immediately, swatting his arm and moving to continue your walk again as he laughed and easily moved to catch up to you, slinging an arm around your shoulders.
“It was! You gotta admit it, that was pretty great-”
“Shut up, Jason.” 
Just like that, once again, you had Othello of all things to thank for your night. Maybe, just maybe, it hadn’t been such a terrible book after all. 
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puccbunni · 3 years
Text
“Friends” Pt.3
|Auston Matthews | Maple Leafs |
{ Ruin The Friendship - Demi Lovato }
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Soo I decided to make “FRIENDS” into a series! So I kinda split the last chapter in two so this picks up from the same night, which happens to be in mid January.
Also the time line is set during the 2019/20 season because that’s when I started writing it (I know it has taken me forever to decide to make this a series!!!) because of this there are relationships in the series that have since ended (ie Kappy and Paige) that I have chosen to keep for the time being. Also COVID isn’t a thing in this story it just didn’t work with the timeline I have planned out.
If you have any questions about the series ask away, 
If you haven’t read parts 1 or part 2 go check them out cutiepies xoxo
Same old warnings
Swearing
Smut
Enjoy xx
When the Uber pulled up outside of Austons building you couldn’t bring yourself to look at the Uber driver in the eyes as you sheepishly slid from the backseat, you mumbled a quick thank you in his direction. As he pulled away a notification dinged on Austons phone.
“Well there goes my rating.” He laughs as he shows you the one star the driver had given the pair of you. You both start laughing as you walk into the building side by side. You cross your arms against your chest so they weren’t swinging awkwardly by your side and so Auston wouldn’t feel obligated to hold your hand, cause you had decided that that ventured too far outside of the friend zone.
The elevator ride was quiet as an old women had decided to jump in with you, which after your little stunt in the Uber seemed to probably be a good thing as you were pretty sure the two of you had done enough indecent things in public for one night. As you reach Austons floor the doors open and he fishes his keys out of his pockets and unlocks and holds the door open for you.
“Do you want a drink or anything?” Auston asks kicking his shoes off by the door.
“Yeah actually water would be great.” You say removing your jacket and shoes.
You follow Auston into his kitchen and actually take in his condo in for the first time, considering the last time you were here you were a little more preoccupied with getting to the bedroom. The kitchen, living and dining are all open into one large space with most of the furniture facing towards the floor to ceiling windows with a view of the beautiful Toronto city skyline that lights up his condo enough that Auston hasn’t needed to turn on a light yet.
“Great view.” You say as Auston hands you a glass of water, you take it from him placing your bag on the counter of the island in the middle of the kitchen.
You take a long sip from the glass.
“Soo.” You say placing the glass down next to your bag.
“Soo.” Auston repeats leaning against the bench top opposite you.
“Maybe we should set some ground rules, you know so we are on the same page.” You suggest.
“You really gonna be taking the fun out of this aren’t you.” Auston laughs.
“Shut up.” You roll your eyes at him. “look we probably don’t need them but at least this way we won’t get confused and we know where we stand, okay?”
“Okay, what rules do you have in mind?” He says pushing of the bench and closing the gap between you resting his hands on your hips.
“No feelings, just sex.” You say.
“I agree, next one.” He says slowly lifting your dress up your thighs and placing a kiss on your sweet spot.
“That’s means no snuggling and no staying.” Your dress inching closer and closer to your core.
“Okay but you don’t have to just leave straight away.” Your brows frown together as your dress is pulled up over your ass.
You grab his hands to stop them from bunching your dress any higher.
“You want me to stay after?”
“Why not friends have sleepovers.” Auston says.
“Well I don’t particularly want to stay after sex, I think that’s kinda... I don’t know.. like intimate.” You shrug
“So let me get this straight, sex we can do but sleeping next to each other in the same bed that’s too intimate?” Auston asks raising an eyebrow.
“It’s different okay.” You roll your eyes.
“You really don’t want to stay?” He asks pushing you slowly back into the counter. You shake your head.
“Fine, I’ll agree.”
“Thank you.” You sigh letting go of his hands and Auston starts lifting your dress again.
“Protection?” He asks he hands pulling the dress up to the small of your waist.
“I am on birth control, but we should use condoms too, I mean we aren’t exclusive.” You shrug running your hands up his muscular arms, wrapping them around his neck.
“Deal, next?” He asks lifting you up onto his kitchen island.
“We stay friends, after this ends, we stay friends okay?” You ask as Auston pulls your dress completely off. He looks you in the eyes and you see nothing but sincerity.
“Of course Y/N.” He leans in resting his hands on either side of you on the counter, his lips brushing yours gently.
“Anything you wanna add?” You ask.
“Not a rule but a question, do we want to tell people?”
“I mean I am okay with it being between you and me, are you?” You say as you lightly press your lips to his.
“Yeah I am. But what about your friend from the bar?” He asks.
“I’ll handle her.” You say.
He leans in and kisses you his hands going to the small of your back and yours tangle into the curls at the nape of his neck.
“Now that’s sorted, are you going to let me fuck you?” He asks pulling way.
“Well since you asked so nicely.” You laugh as he reattaches his lips to yours.
Auston used his body to step in between your legs, you run your hands down the front of his chest to the hem of his shirt, pulling the material up over his head as you break the kiss. You let your hands run overs his shoulders and back to his neck bringing him back into you, your lips drop to his jaw lightly kissing the stubble as you work your way back along to his full lips. Auston brings his hands from the small of your back up to unclasp your bra and pulling the fabric down your arms and once you are free of the fabric he envelopes your breast in his large calloused hands squeezing gently as you break the kiss to moan, throwing your head back. Austons lips attack your neck as he circles one of his thumbs around your stiffened nipple before taking in between his index finger and thumb.
He flattens his palm against your chest, pushing you down against the island, the cold marble causing goosebumps to erupt all across your skin.
Austons mouth continues its assault south. Kissing down between the valley of your breast, his fingers loop into the lace covering you core and he pulls it down your legs as his lips suck and lightly bite down your torso leaving marks in their wake. Auston stands between your legs raking his eyes hungrily up and down your naked body, normally you would be trying to somewhat cover yourself up while feelings of self consciousness bubble to the surface. But under Austons gaze you felt alive and desired and you loved it.
“God. Perfect.” He growls staring at your dripping heat.
He runs two of his fingers through your folds teasing your entrance before moving just a little higher to the bundle of nerves that made your back arch when he made contact. A soft moan escaped your lips as his fingers continued there assault on your clit.
“Aus please.” You moan.
“What do you need baby.”
You needed more, although you adored the way his fingers made you feel, you had already experienced them tonight and you were a lot more interested in what else Auston had to offer.
You pushed yourself of the island grabbing hold of Austons wrist and removing his fingers from your slick heat. He raised his eyebrow at you questioning your actions but before he could ask you slide off the bench top and spun Auston around so his back was against the island. You attached your lips to his neck nipping and biting softly at the flesh under your lips before caressing the light marks you had left with your tongue as your hands fell to his belt, unbuckling it and pulling it completely out of the belt loops tossing it somewhere in the kitchen. You started to kissed a little lower down his neck to his collarbone giving it the same treatment. His hands were greedily kneading the flesh of your ass as his head lulled forward, his lips ghosting past your ear as a deep guttural groan emanated from the back of his throat as your fingers popped open the button of his jeans, unzipping them slowly adding pressure as you felt his member growing harder under your touch.
You kiss further down his chest before you’re sliding onto your knees between his legs pulling his jeans down past his knees, you take him in your hand from beneath the restraining fabric of his briefs. He takes your hair into both of his hands, creating a makeshift ponytail. You lean forward, swirling your tongue around the head of his swollen cock and he groans quietly, subconsciously pulling your head closer to him. You stroke him slowly, licking his tip teasingly his thighs are flexing underneath your finger as the hand that isn’t wrapped around him runs up and down the muscles slowly and he begins to grow more frustrated the longer you continue, so you look up at him and take him into your mouth all the way. He maintains eye contact with you, gently pushing your head down a little further.
“Fuck,” He moans when you swallow around him. You start to bob your head up and down, dropping your other hand down to his thigh nails digging into his tan skin as you allow him to take control with his hand in your hair. You gag a few times still adjusting to his size when he hits the back of your throat, but it’s nothing you can’t take so you try to go deeper. Your nose brushes against his pubic bone for just a second, his hand still pressing against your head until you gag a little louder and he pulls you off of him slightly, with your lips still wrapped around him you still haven’t broken eye contact with him.
“God you have no idea how hot you look right now.” He says through labored breaths.
You giggle around him, you bob your head faster, the room filling with the filthy sound of your lips around him slurping and gagging as he pushes further down your throat. Suddenly his fist clench at the root of your scalp pulling you off of him completely. His fingers untangle from your hair and slide around to the front of your neck squeezing slightly as he uses his grip to help you back up to your feet.
“I need to be inside of you.” He growls pulling your face to his and as your lips meet its full of lust and hunger.
You pull away and reach behind Auston for your bag on the island, you feel his palm caress over your bare ass before he pulls back and spanks you harshly your hips thrusting forward into the bench top. You unzip your bag and unceremoniously empty out the entire contents across the bench in search of the small foil packet you so desperately needed. Finding it you hand it back to Auston with your back still to him, hoping that he would understand.
“Planning on get some tonight huh.” Auston teases ripping the foil open with his teeth.
“Mmmhmm but I had to settle for you.” You laughed.
“Is that so.”
Before you could even respond he had slammed into you from behind, a breathy scream falling from your lips as your hips rutted forward from the impact into the bench and you knew you were going to have bruises there in the morning. Auston stilled behind you for a moment spreading your legs further open with his foot as his hands found home on your hips, he pulled back until only his tip remained before using his grip on your hips to guide you back along his member. You moaned at how full he made you feel, he set a hard and steady pace with his tip grazing your g spot every time he thrust in. Your hands were struggling to find something to hold onto as your arms were to short to reach any of the other sides of the island, Auston noticed this and harshly grabbed your arms and pulled them behind your back, holding your two wrist in one of his large hands as the other snaked around to your clit rubbing harsh circles.
“Aus fuck, please.” You gasped out in pleasure as your orgasm began to build.
“You close baby.” He groaned rubbing faster on your clit. “I can feel how close you are.”
Your legs were shaking as you were so close to your high.
“Cum for me baby.” Austons thrust we’re growing sloppy and you knew that neither of you were going to last much longer.
“Cum on my fucking cock.”
You were ashamed to admit that that was all it took for you to completely unravel around him, Auston fucked you through your high and a few sloppy thrust later he emptied into the condom inside of you.
118 notes · View notes
earthlyyan · 3 years
Text
Organic Antidepressants
(Slight Yandere Ferid Bathory x Suicidal Reader) originally posted on my AO3
Warnings: Ferid being touchy, suicidal depression, intrusive thoughts. Reader is of legal age
first person pov (ew)
(Originally Posted on AO3 On 1-9-2020)
The days were far longer than they were before… at least it felt that way.
I knew I should’ve died that day. I wish I had died that day. The day the trumpets of the apocalypse decided to ring gloriously over our god forsaken planet.
Anyone younger than thirteen? What a fucking joke.
The cot stuffed with hay was one of the few things that brought me comfort in the day to day. The odd number of children allowed for me to be alone. I liked it that way. More me time. And the most I wanted to do was return to it. But instead, my feet dragged down the busy streets, making my way to the blood bank.
On my way though, I could hear the guards making excuses to their superiors. Apparently three humans on the register were found dead in their terf. 
“They committed suicide. You know how they get when they’re cooped up. I didn’t touch them, honest.”
 “They got sick. Died of their illness I guess.”
Bastards took them for themselves. Everyone knew it. But were they going to confront them? They weren’t protected. The vamps just thought they could get away with it.
“Hey we have enough. Three won’t make a dent.”
Not even caring that those children had futures. Well, would’ve had futures. Those were stripped away as quick as the adults were.
I wanted to be happy. We all did.
But in this place? Laughable. You had a better chance of being an astronaut. Well… maybe not. But it sure felt that way.
You know how to be happy right?
 “First and Last name?”
I answered.
“First open table.”
No matter how many times I’ve done this already, the dread won’t leave. The feeling of their eyes. I could see the barely restrained hunger. If anyone was left alone, they’d take a bag for the rations and the kid for themselves.   
You could ask the vamp to take extra.
I shuddered and plopped myself on the medical bed. “Good morning.”
An unamused grunt was my reply. I was the scum of the earth not worth talking to, apparently.
He’s right, isn’t he?
The needle was quick. He hadn’t even bothered to give a warning. It was a pinch, a wave of nausea, and then it was over. He tossed the pouch of their nasty sustenance formula in my hands and pointed to the door.
“Thanks.” I walked out and threw myself on the floor beside the benches. I opened my disgusting capri-sun wannabe and began to suck on it. I cringed at the taste.
There were two boys on the stairs. One obviously more displeased about the situation than the other. He crinkled the full bag and threw it across the clearing. If I had the balls and the same cripplingly low amount of braincells as he did, I would probably do the same.
The other boy, far more mature than the other, stood up after chugging his to throw his pouch away. He seemed to be taking the situation much better than the other. He had beautiful blonde hair and deep blue eyes. If he wasn’t in this hell hole, he could’ve been a child model.
The thought made me sad. What could’ve been. I could’ve been somebody.
Maybe you’ll get a fresh start in the next life.
 Apparently, I had zoned out far longer than I thought because the next thing I knew, a fight had broken out.
 If you could call a young boy threatened to be chucked off the ledge a fight anyway. He was soon thrown to the side with enough force to send him reeling.
 A well-dressed vampire walked with purpose down the stairs. Shoulders back, chin up. He seemed regal.
He certainly looked like royalty.
“Lord Ferid!” The little blonde boy ran up to him. The two seemed close enough, which sent my mind reeling.
How does a kid get that close with a nobleman like him? They seem friendly.
“Ah~ Mika!” The noble -presumably named Ferid- gave him a kind smile. “What on earth seems to be the matter?”
He talked like royalty too.
I couldn’t stop staring. After a few minutes of banter, the noble took his hand from the blonde’s face and sent him on his way. He had said something about meeting at his mansion. I brought myself up from the floor and chased after the blonde.
*
Two days after the talk with Mika, I stood at the noble’s door.
“If you give your blood, he’ll give you anything you want!”
I rose an eyebrow. “Really? Anything?”
Mika nodded proudly. “Yup! Though he’s busy tonight. But the day after I’d try it.”
Maybe he can take the pain away.
 I took a few controlled breaths. This screamed danger. It’s a vampire. They kill people
Why are you so scared? It’s not like your life could get worse.
I knocked on his door.
It swung open, seemingly on its own accord. The motion invited me in. Once I was past the threshold, I gently closed the door and looked inside.
There he sat, lounging on a tasteful white couch with gold accented frames. In the dim candlelight he almost resembled an angel.
An angel of death, perhaps?
He looked up from his book and turned his attention towards me. My body froze. I felt my self-confidence leave. Not like I had much left anyway.
He called my name, somehow. Mika must’ve told him or something. Though, something nagged at me. I don’t remember telling Mika my name. Mika hadn’t even told me his. It was all overheard. Then how?
“Come, sit.” He patted the seat next to him on the couch.
 I sat down on the chair across from him instead.
“Over here, my dear.” He patted the spot next to him louder, trying to coax me over like I were an animal.
Though, that’s probably how he saw my species anyway, isn’t it?
“My dearest Mika had told me about your visit a few nights ago. I wouldn’t have thought he would’ve told anyone about the little arrangement I have going on here, but I’m not complaining.” He sighed, seemingly content. “I wasn’t expecting someone of your age to be here, how are you still here? You have me curious.”
“If I’m honest, milord, I don’t quite know.” I said, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible. But the calculating feeling of his gaze made it harder. “Luck? Possibly?”
“Luck?” He leaned back and turned himself towards me. “Is it truly luck?”
“With all due respect, what’s that supposed to mean?”
You know what he means, and you know he’s right.
He smiled at me, not meeting my eyes. Ah. Okay.
“So, what are you hoping to get out of this?” He scooted closer. “As much as I’d like to think you’re here out of the kindness of your heart, we both know that isn’t the case, now is it?”
I nodded; heat crept its way up my face. “Yeah, but I suppose that doesn’t make me irregular.” I grumbled. “But I suppose that also makes me boring doesn’t it?”
He shrugged. “That entirely depends on you, my dear.”
I tugged at my uniform and cleared my throat. “Yeah I guess that’s fair.”
“Back to the topic at hand, yes?” He smiled and placed a gloved hand on my shoulder.
I suppressed a shudder. “Right. I guess I should cut to the chase.” I finally had the courage to look into his eyes.
Those damn eyes, despite the almost ravenous look in them, I couldn’t help but find them entrancing. Like shiny rubies in where his irises should be. He raised his eyebrows, awaiting an answer.
“Antidepressants.”
And I would’ve never thought his grin could get bigger. “Antidepressants? Now that’s something I haven’t heard before.”
In a place like this? Really? “I’m sure you would’ve heard everything by now.”
“And I thought I would’ve heard it all by now too. But I suppose not.” He ran his hand down my back
I gingerly grabbed his hand and put it back on his lap. “Sorry.” I mumbled.
“No~ Don’t apologize. It’s quite alright.” He folded his hands in his lap, he smiled at me. “If I were in a situation like yours, I don’t think I’d want to be touched either.”
My gaze fell. “Right. A situation like mine.” I slapped my cheeks gently to liven myself up. “Back to the deal though.”
“Actually, before we continue, what do you need them for? Medicine isn’t allowed down here unless regulated, considering how it effects the blood. Someone as old as you should know that.”
“Yeah, but why else would someone need antidepressants?”
He stared at me. His expression left no room for argument. He wanted an answer. His lips tugged into a smile. A kind looking one, but it left something unsaid.
“Why do you really need them?”
It’s not like you have anything else to lose, right? Tell him. You’ll feel better. He can make you better.
I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, leaning back onto the couch. “Look, how old do you think I am?”
“Too old to be here at this age, certainly.” He shrugged and made himself comfortable next to me. Close enough to grab me, but far enough not to invade my personal bubble.
“And why do you think that is?” I looked to the wall, hoping to find a distraction to focus on anything else but how close he was. But found nothing but pristine white.
“This world’s god is cruel.” He said. “It seemed they chose to bless you instead of damning you to the fate of your elders.”
I laughed. “Bless me?” I ran my hands faster through my hair, tugging at the ends to ground me. “What kind of blessing is this? I’m stuck down here to live until old age, vitamin deficiency or illness takes me? I’d rather be with my friends and family.”
You could join them. There’s plenty of spaces to do so. You could fly like an angel.
“You could always make your situation better.” His voice softened.
“That’s why I’m here.” I took my hands from my hair and began to fiddle with my identification tag. “I thought if I struck a deal with you, I’d get the opportunity to make things better. To make things as they should be.”
“But if you were to make things as they should be, then I know the real reason you want those pills, don’t you?”
“I didn’t mean it like that I—” I felt my throat close. Tears stung the back of my eyes, I fought desperately to bite them back.
This didn’t go unnoticed.
“You did, and it’s okay.” His hand made its way to my hair. I couldn’t find the strength to fight him. It’s not like he was going to harm me if he wanted this deal to work. “You know your very existence is a burden to you. And you want to fix it. You humans were always so independent.” He whispered. He paused to take off his glove and used his sharp nails to comb my hair. “But you know it’s okay to ask for help, right?”
 “Nobody would give me help. They wouldn’t understand or wouldn’t care. I’d rather just…” I swallowed hard.
“End it? Now don’t be ridiculous.” He placed my head on his shoulder, presumably for easier access. “What if there truly isn’t a happy end if you end it? You’d lament not fixing it while you could. And suicide isn’t beneficial to anyone, little lamb.” His hand reached to touch my face. Despite his hands being cold, something inside me warmed.
This can’t be right. It isn’t right. He’s a vampire he’s just like the rest of them—
But he cares.
No. He doesn’t he just wants me to think he does.
But what if he truly does care?
“Why are you even trying to talk me down? Wouldn’t it be better for you to just give me the pills and then you get a drink?” It’s not like I didn’t have a plan B if he said no.
“How selfish do you think I am? I’m wounded.” He pulled my head onto his lap, his hands playing with tufts and braiding the longer pieces. “Who would want someone else to take their life for the sake of a meal?”
I averted my eyes. I sounded like a dick now. “I didn’t think of it like that. I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. That seems to be a nasty habit that you’ll have to break.” He said. “And I have an idea that could be beneficial to both of us in the long term, if you’re interested.” His hand moved my head to look up. I could see his furrowed brow and soft smile. I felt the remaining fears I had slowly dissipate.
“Yeah?”
“You can stay with me. I think I would miss you if you were gone.”
“You… You would?”
“Of course, I would. You’re full of untapped potential. And I think I could help ease those pains preventing them from coming to fruition.” He smiled. “All you have to do is say yes~.”
I slowly sat up, taking in his words.
He could make you feel wanted. You didn’t need to run anymore.
“I…”
You could have someone take care of you and like you for you, isn’t that all you’ve wanted? Someone who knows how to make things better? Someone who can save you?
“I think… I would like that.”
His smile reached his eyes. “As would I, my dear.” He hoisted me onto his lap. “Now, to seal the deal.” He unbuttoned the top few buttons of my uniform and removed my identification collar. “Have you ever been bitten directly?”
I shook my head.
“Now don’t worry. It won’t hurt for long. Like a pinprick.” He gave my nose a small bop. “Like a more organic needle. Just, try not to squirm too much. I don’t want to accidentally rip your internal carotid, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want that either.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay…” I tried to calm my nerves. “okay I can do this.”
He placed his hand on the small of my back and gently pushed me to his chest. “On the count of three, alright?”
I flexed my fingers, trying to ease my nerves. “Alright…”
“One…”
I felt his warm breath on my neck, making me tense.
He rubbed my head with his free hand. “Two…”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Three.”
It was much more painful than he had said. It felt like two spears digging perpendicularly into my skin. Slow and agonizing. I gripped his coat tightly. His hands continued to attempt to soothe me.
“Shhh~ The pain won’t last much longer.” He cooed. I could feel his lips moving on my skin at he talked.
The pain didn’t go away, but something arose within. The area where his fangs pierced me grew numb. I could still feel his fangs in my skin, its presence foreign. But it wasn’t uncomfortable.
It felt like warmth and welcome, if those feelings could resonate inside. My mind grew foggier. Pleasantly ignorant. I couldn’t hear anything else but the faint slurping and my own heartbeat. It was nice. I felt my eyes roll back and my body grow weaker. I gave Ferid’s coat a fatigued tug.
He pulled away slowly, and I whined at the loss. I slumped against his shoulder, the last of my remaining strength left along with his fangs.
His hand moved from the back of my head to my shoulders. He stood up with me in his arms. My eyes fought to stay open. I saw the faint image of Ferid’s face with a small stream of blood falling from his lips.
The light from the candle illuminated the space behind him, bathing him in a heavenly glow. He seemed a little livelier than before, too.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I tried to get a word out, but it came out a strangled whimper.
He smiled and shook his head, tutting softly. “I think I took too much, don’t you?” He walked down the hall with my limp body in his arms.
Ferid arrived in a large bedroom and placed me neatly under the covers and tucked me in. He sat next to me on my left side. He brushed a few stray hairs from my face and gave me a small kiss on the forehead.
“I do believe you need your rest. I’ll be back when you wake, my dear. I promise.” His hand moved from my forehead to my cheek as he gave it one final caress.
In my failing consciousness, I heard a gentle laugh
“Sleep well my lamb you’ll feel better in the morning. You’ll never feel empty again.”
And in the enveloping darkness, I saw him smirk.
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