#is that he puts himself last and is a workaholic so lol

[fox-mulder-gets-pegged]

Been spending my time lately thinking of a House MD au where, through a series of accidents and lies and a bet he didn't rly intend to win, House ends up as a registered foster parent (he's still addicted to Vicodin and his normal dickish workaholic self but for some reason he cleared the requirements and trust me he's as stunned and mildly concerned as everyone else is).

Through further Shenanigans™, he ends up accidentally getting handed fostership of not one, not two, but three hellish but brilliant kids:

1. This total smartass 16 year old named Robert Chase who yeah he's a bitchy teenaged boy and a former rich kid and Australian with enough mommy and daddy issues to reawaken Freud after his dad dipped and absconded all parental rights and his mom drank herself to death, but he's also got a nice car left over from his rich kid days and an eye for detail and weirdly enough his best friend/mortal enemy (some other teen named Eric Foreman) and his on again off again girlfriend (Allison Cameron, totally won't last if u ask House) both work at the hospital as a candy striper and after school in the cafeteria respectively so House can get all the inside gossip from Chase. Plus Chase has no problems breaking and entering into patient's homes which helps bc since he's not employed by the hospital Cuddy can't complain as far as House is concerned.

2. A 14 year old girl who only answers to Thirteen (House knows he could look her name up in her file but honestly it drives Chase nuts that she won't tell him her real name and that's good enough for him) and who's dad was declared unfit after the death of his wife to Huntington's devastated him. She's a total nightmare, snarky and quick witted and freakishly smart even tho she puts most of those smarts towards things like shaving Chase's entire head (eyebrows included) bc he's trying to grow a sucky teenage mustache, and trying to take House's wallet bc she keeps calling him Old Man and he informed her he's actually only 25 but the stress of fostering has aged him prematurely and she's like 95% sure that's a lie but she wants to check his license and make sure bc everyone lies. She loves tormenting Chase by telling him his best friend and/or his girlfriend is hot and asking if they're single.

And 3. This 6 year old boy named Lawrence Kutner who's weirdly cheerful considering his parents got killed in front of him. He's way too chatty and excellent at puzzles and the only morning person in the entire house and therefore frequently tries to make breakfast (he likes to be helpful and he hasn't burned the place down yet so House doesn't feel the need to stop him). Once he told House he was gonna build a Death Star in the living room and House said lol sure go ahead whatever, only to return home from work to discover Kutner called himself out from school and has a huge wooden frame made of broken furniture in the living room. House rly can't argue since he did say go ahead. Benefits of fostering a 6 year old are 1. The babes love it, 2. Free excuse to leave work early/come in late/not show up at all, and 3. Justification for buying juice boxes and Ritz crackers. The neighbor kid Taub is his go to babysitter bc his mom volunteered him forcibly and Taub is lowkey praying that babysitting Kutner could lead to an in at Princeton Plainsboro once he graduates high-school and finishes medical school (it won't, House doesn't believe in nepotism unless it benefits him).

The adventures of House and his Foster Ducklings mostly revolve around being a Found Family, but do involve frequent plots such as:

House fired his brand new fellows again (he tosses em every three or so months, he hasn't found The Right Team yet) and will sometimes bring his foster kids in, hand em doctors coats, and tell patients that they're just a bunch of medical savants here to consult yes even the 6 year old he's actually Harvard's youngest graduate ever.

House sends the kids to break into a patient's home. They refuse. House tells them the first one to find black mold or lead paint or a dead animal or whatever gets $20. They agree. Chase drops Thirteen and Kutner off at a bus stop across town and drives over himself so he can get an hour and a half head start (ultimate fuck them kids moment, however Thirteen did steal his wallet so guess who's paying for lunch and their taxi ride to the patient's house? Net loss.)

Cuddy demands House does his clinic hours. House sends his foster kids to do his clinic hours for him. Tfw you go to the free walk in clinic for a sore throat and a cough and your doctor is a 6 year old boy who keeps asking for help with spelling whilst filling out your chart.

Wilson babysits them one (1) time since House doesn't trust Chase not to throw a party or sell his foster siblings on eBay if left as the one in charge. He wakes up with a big strip of hair poorly bleached right down the middle. Chase crushed up stolen sleeping pills and mixed them into a juice box, which Kutner 'innocently' offered to Wilson. Thirteen was going to bleach and dye his whole head blue (for practice, she wants to dye her hair but she's certainly not gonna fuck up her own hair until she has the method down) but Wilson woke up pretty quickly due to years of House drugging him. Wilson has not offered to babysit again.

Anyways this is my House Foster Ducklings au which I'm thinking about actually writing. Thank u 🫡

#house md #greg house #robert chase #remy hadley #lawrence kutner #i just think Chase and Thirteen and Kutner are the most House's Actual Kids out of all the fellows #give that man three incredibly smart self reliant kids with issues™ #i do imagine a plot where House does overdose of vicodin #and the kids find him #and they're in the hospital #and House has to contend with the fact that he either has to give the kids up to better homes #or make smarter choices bc it's unfair of him to be overdosing and almost dying when he has three traumatized kids relying on him #love when there's some middle aged guy whos like 'no im not a dad' but has a gaggle of kids following him around #feel free to message me about this au

[bettathanyou]

Cedric with an S/O whose love-language is food/cooking for him???

Anon YOU READ MY MIND. I LOVE COOKING SO THIS FEELS SO INDULGENT TO WRITEEEEEE TYSM FOR THE ASK!!!!

Enjoy ❣️🐟

Cedric The Sorcerer And S/O With Cooking Love Language!

Cedric and food have a... Complicated Relationship

I have a damn good hunch that man is autistic, so texture/sensory issues, lack of hunger cues, and just Not Wanting To Eat because he's doing something he thinks is too important is a prevalent issue

Of course, you couldn't just NOT do something about it. You loved to cook! You love most of all to cook FOR people

So you ask him about food during your long talks together. Cedric mentions a few basic things he likes, like turkey, stew, potatoes etc but he keeps it irritatingly vague

You try to ask Sofia and even the royal cooks about cedrics favorite meals

All you gleaned from Sofia was his love of sweets and the royal cooks were clueless

Great.

Back to square one!

So with your limited knowledge, you decide to start off by surprising him with breakfast. Using Sofias information, you make him really fluffy pancakes with a dusting of powdered sugar! (Think Japanese style)

To keep things suited to his liking, you put all extras on the side; maple syrup, cut up strawberries (you made them heart shaped) blueberries, melted chocolate, and whipped cream. With some orange juice to wash it all down!

Can't forget some edible flower garnish!

You walked to his door, knocking with your foot (your hands were too full lol)

Cedric thought it was someone else, and he was cranky at first about being disturbed so early in the morning. He opens his door with a scowl, brows knitted in the way you know meant annoyance

But when his eyes rest on you, carrying a huge platter of fresh food and drink, he had to do a double take

Just. Cedric with wide eyes, his jaw about to hit the floor, tripping over his words like. "Wh- what's all th-this for, then...?"

You just give him a big cheeky grin and reply, "For my favorite person <3"

Cedric ushered you into his tower, asking you what the occasion was for, and you could tell he was anxious and worried- so you give him a kiss on the cheek, and tell Cedric that you just wanted to do something nice, and make sure he was fed! You know how busy he can get, so you wanted the sorcerer to start his day with the most important meal of the day

Cedric doesn't know whether to thank you, kiss you, or cry

He kinda does all three 😭

After thanking you profusely, he insisted you share the food with him. He said that you made enough for TWO small armies and he won't be able to eat everything

You try to insist that it was made for *him*, but in the middle of your argument your stomach started growling

Cedric gives you a shit eating grin that screams "I win" and you just sit down with a huff and a (fake) pout

You both enjoy breakfast together, and Cedric literally doesn't shut up about how good everything is

He noticed the heart strawberries and you swear it was the softest smile you've ever seen

He finished his plate and it made your entire day

From that day on, you asked Cedric if you can make him a meal once or twice a week- just to get him accustomed to it

You grow to learn more about food he enjoys, from breakfast to lunch to dinner

Cedric really enjoys sweets for breakfast

A light lunch, because the last time you made something heavy the man slipped into a food coma for three hours

And dinner is your favorite time to cook for him, because you can show off your cooking skills and eat it with Cedric together and make it SUPER romantic

Most of all though, you just love making sure Cedric is fed and taking care of himself. The man is a workaholic to a fault, and you both know it! Which is why he always says thank you and make sure you know how much this means to him

Speaking of, Cedric would try to return the favor in little ways- giving you magic flowers that never wilt, a magic show after a meal, small little animal wind up toys he cobbles together in his spare time (can u guess what his love language is? Lol)

Since he is a picky eater, it's been trial and error to figure out what he likes and doesn't- lots of veggies are a no no, and you respect it and don't push the issue. But the veggies he does like, you use as much as you can! After a while, I could see Cedric trying to branch out a little bit and getting slightly more comfortable with food he previously disliked because you make it taste good (you want to believe he can taste the love)

You try to stick within his comfort zone for food, but sometimes you'll bring something for him to try to gauge where you can cook him new food

Regardless, Cedric adores the effort and care you put into making him food! He offers to even cook for you sometimes! (He conjures it lmao)

Which leads to him talking about food magic! It's quite interesting stuff

But no matter what, Cedric always feels smitten every time he has the pleasure of eating whatever you make for him

Seeing an empty plate from Cedric will always be the highest compliment to you :)

Alright, that's about all I got! I honestly want to expand on this more, maybe make some Cedric inspired recipes???? Would y'all be into that????

#cedric the sensational #cedricthesorceror #bettathanyou answers #cedric x reader #maybe... cedric recipes???? #like. merlins mushroom soup??? #merlins bread #but like an actual bread #cedric the sorcerer mixed drink 👀‼️ #he seems like a whiskey guy if we're talking liquor #or rum #hes a brown liquor guy im calling it #however he usually would stick to wine #anyways lmk about the recipe thing cuz i love cooking and WOULD MAKE RECIPES FOR YALL DEADASS

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Dad Squad Brain Rot is back, have a character reference

@nancyheart11 @silvercaptain24 @ajscico @skyward-floored help this is becoming more coherent in my brain and it's scaring me lol

The Dads!

The Cinnamon Roll with Hidden Skills (Rusl) - A farmer and blacksmith, Rusl is used to the quiet and simple things in life except for all those times he goes on secret undercover missions and has years of fighting experience under his belt and is like a Hero of Hyrule in his own right. Gentle, definitely the most emotionally intelligent of the bunch, with just enough touch of chaos to be able to put up with the other two and simultaneously throw them both for a loop sometimes.

The Tired and Paranoid One (Abel) - This man needs that 100 year sleep almost as much as his son. Was definitely a Workaholic in his glory days, put duty before everything, kind of hates himself sometimes for it and other times just... doesn't have faith in himself anymore. Or anything. But he's a hell of a fighter, very protective and tries to be honorable... most of the time. He will slit someone's throat if he has to, and he more often than not thinks that he has to. He's a survivalist, not a knight. Not anymore. But he tries to still have a soft heart and help others.

The Otherworldly Bizarro Mildly Terrifying but Soft One (FD) - Nobody knows a lot about him except that he can kill an army with one hand and has no idea how social situations (or people in general) work. Sees everything tactically because that's all he's ever been used for. Softie at heart but do not make yourself a threat. Ever.

The Sons!

Brother Wolf (TP Link) - Absolutely will protect the hell out of the other two. Unfortunately stuck in wolf form for a long while because he doesn't want to transform in front of anyone, so kind of has to deal with that. Very worried about his Dad, last time he saw him he was unconscious!

Coma Boy (BotW Link) - So much personality. Sleep. More sleep? Some more sleep. Maybe he can moan sometimes! Kind of dying, actually. Maybe Fairy Boy and Brother Wolf can help somehow.

Fairy Boy (Hero of Time) - Quiet, sweet, reserved, cold all at once. Nice to Wolf because he's a wolf. Nice to Coma Boy because he's in a coma. Cold as ice to literally everyone else. Will help someone but never get close to them. Knows how to kill way too freaking well for his age. Kind of bitter but doesn't bring it up much. Has no clue that Fierce Dadity is on the hunt, thinks they're on their own.

Honorary Dads!

Mr Upstanding Citizen (FSA Dad) - Everybody loves the manga, apparently lol, but also he seems like a cool character. So he's like... there? Sometimes? I guess?? Abel is in awe of him. He doesn't know how to take it.

Linebeck. Just... Linebeck - I don't know what he's doing here, and he doesn't either tbh, but I just love his character so much even if I know next to nothing about him, the game he's in, or the Hero of the Winds. This is @smilesrobotlover's fault, I don't make the rules. He just comes and goes as my brain pleases.

Honorary Sons!

The Captain (HW Link) - Technically is the one wearing FD's mask, so in Fierce's eyes he's already protected and safe. Except for all the PTSD he's been dealing with up until this point and the now nearly fatal magical fatigue he's building up from being Fierce's host for so long. But he was in trouble, needed help, and kind of sort of vaguely recognizes that Mask is in trouble too and isn't bucking against the possession. What little of his consciousness registers it, at least.

The Pirate (Hero of the Winds) - I don't even know, guys, if Linebeck is here I guess Windy Boy is too. He's somewhere out at sea blowing things up and the Yiga have no freaking clue how he got there or how to get to him. Oh, and he found FSA Link and they're bffs.

The Boys (FSA Link) - I know nothing about this little quartered muffin, he's just vibing with his Pirate Friend, I guess, but if his Dad's an honorary member who comes and goes as people please then I guess FSA Link is too. OR or he actually fought off the Yiga and he's fine at home and is now freaking out because Dad's Missing Oh No

#Dad Squad #someone smack me and tell me to go to bed I need to reset ugh #the honorary members are just there when anyone wants them to be there #at least in my mind #the main six are the actual plot characters lol #for the purposes of my writing; anyone else can do what they want

[whumpshaped]

accountability bulletpoint list from my docs. i wrote out this plan based on my write me a novel challenge that's linked in my pinned. and then i could never sit down and write it. i had a plan to condense it into a miniseries with about 10 chapters and then i never did that either. meh

exposition

chapter 1: friends (craven doesn’t have any. lol. loser.)

chapter 2: kidnapping (craven gets kidnapped and brought to the facility)

rising action

chapter 3: tied up, darkness (craven wakes up restrained, in the dark)

chapter 4: hostility, locked away (what use was hostility? and also, he’s locked away)

chapter 5: misfortune (or is it? that’s definitely the central theme. was it actually fortunate that he got kidnapped? or is that messed up to think?)

chapter 6: outside (how the outside world reacts to his disappearance)

chapter 7: fawn (craven is desperate for approval and affection, and god, praise)

chapter 8: someone new (is craven himself someone new? or does he see a new face inside the facility? maybe someone new to torture as part of his new job)

chapter 9: branding AND fresh air (craven gets branded and his training is officially done, and he also gets to go outside for the first time in so long…)

chapter 10: scream and gunshot (craven intimidates someone into obedience successfully. he feels awful after.)

chapter 11: collared (craven collars someone… it’s a big thing. craven doesn’t wear his collar anymore since he has the brand)

chapter 12: forced feeding (craven force feeds someone who went on a hunger strike)

chapter 13: distance (distance from the outside world, distance from his family, distance from his past self, distance from the tortures he carries out)

chapter 14: muzzled (craven gets muzzled and sent to torture someone like that, he gets laughed at by a defiant whumpee, he goes to town)

chapter 15: morally grey (that’s craven’s entire being, isn’t it? no, he’s morally very dark at this point, especially after the last chapter)

chapter 16: shock value (we learn smth abt ray… smth shocking, smth that absolutely shocks craven. it’s probably a fatal illness or wound or smth… and ray doesn’t plan on putting him in charge after. in fact they plan on putting someone in charge who would Not treat craven well)

chapter 17: breaking point (he’s done everything, been obedient, been respectful, and yet this is how he gets treated? he tries to kill ray probably… fails)

chapter 18: punishment (the punishment for the last chapter. rights probably revoked)

chapter 19: resignation (craven tries to make peace with the fact that he blew it all and now he’s going to be sold off)

chapter 20: shown off (craven is shown off to customers)

chapter 21:

chapter 22: opportunity (in a last show of trust, ray gives craven a careless chance to free himself of his own misery and kill them, taking over the facility)

climax

chapter 23: betrayal (craven betrays them and kills them)

chapter 24: death (...ray dies. a piece of craven’s soul dies along with them, just like the first time he’d ever killed someone)

falling action

chapter 25: apathy (what else is there for him now? he takes over the facility but he’s very robotic and practical about it, becomes a workaholic all the same as before, now also without friends)

chapter 26: hospital (turns out ray is alive… not well, but alive, so craven goes and… kills him a second time bc he now can’t let go of his power fantasy…)

chapter 27: revenge (craven kidnaps ppl from his old life who caused him to be miserable and turns them into pets)

chapter 28: rebirth (craven completely settles into his new life and completely rebrands during the very therapeutic hobby of torturing past bullies)

chapter 29: conditioned response (smth sets off a conditioned response he had and he gets really angy abt it)

resolution

chapter 30: introspection (craven changed a lot… he looks back… and looks inward…)

chapter 31: ambiguous end

#accountability

[fandomfluffandfuck]

Another lil thought from 🍒anon because my mind belongs to evanstan lol (also sorry if my english isn’t perfect, it’s not my first language 😅)

Seb gets really into his projects. And it shows, of course. He puts so much hard work and dedication into them and they end up being amazing. But once he and Chris start dating, Chris starts to notice how sometimes Seb will be so wrapped up in his work that maybe he’ll forget to sleep, or eat. At first, he’s got no idea how to talk to Sebastian about it. He knows it’s a tricky subject, and he doesn’t want to get in a fight with his angel. But eventually, he finds Sebastian sleeping at his desk and decides that he’s had enough.

So he picks up his boyfriend and carries him over to their room, laying him down on the bed and staying with him, holding him, until he wakes up. There are protests, sure, but Chris stays calm and sure throughout all of them.

“but Chrisssss, I got work!” Sebastian whines

“Work can wait. I’m not letting you go until I see you healthy again. Okay, Bambi?” Chis states, and Seb blushes and buries his head in his chest, half hearted protests muffled by Chris’s sweater.

Eventually, the project is finished, and the two figure up a way to make sure that Sebastian stays in a good mindset and doesn’t burn out again.

Sorry again if there’s any bad english, I had my american friend read over my last ask but she’s not here today haha. Bonne journée, S!

(No worries! I'm impressed enough when people know multiple languages, even if they're not the "best" at one, lol.)

This. is. perfect.

I could've sworn I've had this exact thought before and/or I've read fics like this before, but I can't find any evidence of it right now, lmao. So, whatever. That being said-!

Y-e-s.

I love.

Sebastian is a workaholic, 100%, and Chris is much more of a homebody, so it only makes sense that Chris would end up taking care of his busy little bee every now and again. (By the way, I love the pet name Bambi! I've never heard that before, but it's so adorable.) There's something so precious about Chris taking him to bed to sleep and lying next to him until he wakes up, watching him sleep, trying to figure out the best way to help Sebastian do his magic without burning himself out.

Your idea is fucking precious, thank you for sharing!

(Your English was great, by the way!)

#asks #🍒 anon #chris evans #sebastian stan #evanstan #rpf #real person fanfiction #anon provided writing

[cinamun]

I don't think either of them are ready. If Jayce's easy button answer to "I'm scared" is basically "there, there" and not an attempt to get Hope to articulate her fear so they can work through it without her throwing herself at him, then he's not taking her recovery seriously enough. No matter what she's ultimately scared about, its hard enough for "well-adjusted" folks to even speak those words, but for someone working through what she is, saying such a thing can sometimes feel like they aren't making progress. I know he wasn't intentionally being dismissive. I don't doubt that cares and wants the best for her, for himself, and for them, but maybe he's assuming too much about the pace of her recovery. And considering everything, I think he needs to live a little longer as a legally bound partner before taking on fatherhood.

Hope still has a lot of healing to do. She has a lot going on. Workaholic/Perfectionist--She was forced to dial back on work. Guilt-ridden--Though misplaced, it still dwells in her. Newlywed--Life-affirming exercises aside, she still doesn't know Jayce that well as a legally bound partner. Consider that by the time she advances to one session every two weeks, the baby will be singing I'm Coming Out. Will she actually have had enough time to stabilize a new normal? Will she have had enough time to feel like the self she wants to be? Will she have had enough time to fully honor her responsibility to herself before taking on the responsibility of someone else?

But as Dr. Ian Malcolm says, life finds a way. So ready or not, if there is a baby on the way and she chooses to carry to term, then this is where my greatest concern lies. Hope has to be fully conscious of that fact that she is in a position to be the first to break the cycle of less than ideal parenting circumstances. If she still has things that have not been resolved, then, try as she might, those issues will continue to manifest until dealt with. And I think that she would set her recovery aside or significantly slow the pace--basically, grin and bear it, maybe actually believing that she'll dust off that work at the first opportunity--so that in the present she can be the best parent and partner in parenting she could be, though doing so may unfortunately bring about the opposite results.

My other concern is that if she happens to miscarry while early in her recovery, it may set them both back a great deal.

There are so many possibilities that come with an untimely period! I suppose my question would be, and you bring up great points, how long should they wait and how ready *IS* ready, anyway? Their plan was to get married, travel for their honeymoon, come home and have babies and love on each other. Elliot snatched all of that away so imagine Jay (I would say he wasn't dismissive, moreso, that's kinda their communication style. Remember when he had to be super direct with her during the whole Kenji Debachle™?), continuing to put his brand new life on hold for the actions of a man who almost killed his wife and ultimately any future children he'd have with her.

So how long should they wait?

Jay said at the cathedral that they were leaving to finish what they started across the street at the chapel and Hope (after some hesitation) got in that limo and dipped out. We know Hope, she's strong willed. She would have told him about himself if she didn't also want to leave.

Another example:

Jay also said "All I've ever BEEN is patient" during that argument about her "college friends". And he wasn't wrong, right? He's always very patient with her. So the nudging he's doing is how he helps her along. Hope, as an overachiever, needs a lot of reassurance. Jay comes in clutch with that and that is what we see him doing.

Last thing because I realize I'm writing a novel here lol

Hope is acutely aware of where she stands in the line to break generational curses. She was aware of it when she ran away as a teenager and even before that when she honored her grandmother by teaching her auntie to respect sex work. One thing we don't have to worry about with Hope is her repeating anything her grandmother did as a mother. Indya and Darren's parenting broke an entire generation of curses because look at how they are raising/ed their children! Hope is 2nd in line to break curses, not the first and its a beautiful thing to have witnessed.

Yes everyone is still in therapy after a major traumatic event a couple months ago. Yes they just became legally bound but I fear they'll be waiting forever if they wait for simulated life to give them perfection.

#story stuff #we're on it y'all! #babygate is upon us

[august-anon]

On a Scale From One to Ten

This has been finished in my backlog since November of 2021 it's time for it to be free lol. Also, I barely edited this. I edited certain sections of it, but it is SO long and i am tired lol, so it is going out into the world as-is.

----

Fandom: Shadowhunters

Ship(s): Malec

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Magnus/Ler!Alec

Word Count: 6880 words

Summary: Magnus can't recall where he's ticklish, or if he even is at all. Alec is more than happy to help him rediscover.

[ao3 link]

--------------------------------------------

Alec was left panting for breath on the training room floor, grin still plastered in place. Tear tracks were streaming down his cheeks, but he made no effort to wipe them away just yet, instead basking in the loose-limbed, forced-relaxation of a tickle fight well-lost.

Not that he would’ve lost, if his siblings had played fair. Izzy and Jace would be on the floor in his place right now if they hadn’t planned a surprise attack, cheating by activating their runes. He was absolutely getting them back for that, but revenge could wait for now. If Alec remembered correctly—

“Well well, I see you’re all working very hard.”

—Magnus was picking him up from the Institute that night, to ensure he actually left on time for once. Alec’s workaholic tendencies may or may not have been getting the better of him lately. Maybe that was why his siblings had planned such a seemingly-random attack. It certainly got him to relax, after all. He didn’t feel like trying to go back to work, at least.

He heard Izzy and Jace’s laughter as they greeted Magnus and fled the training room, probably fearing revenge. And while Alec’s revenge would certainly be unforgiving, it could wait until he got to spend an uninterrupted evening with his boyfriend.

Alec finally sat up and brushed away the lingering tear tracks as he heard Magnus approaching. Once his feet entered Alec’s line of sight, he glanced up and gave Magnus a tired grin. Magnus smiled back, offering him a hand up.

“I see your siblings are keeping you in your proper place.”

Alec snorted, pulling himself to his feet with Magnus’s help. “Please, they’ll be sleeping with one eye open until I put them out of their misery and get them back.”

Magnus smiled again, leaning up to press a chaste kiss to his lips. “I was going to ask if you wanted to walk home, but after that display I think I’ll take pity.”

Before Alec could protest that he was fine, Magnus had already created a portal right there in the training room. Alec rolled his eyes, but shot a fond look at Magnus nonetheless. He allowed Magnus to lead him through the portal, suddenly finding himself in the living area of the loft, and pulled Magnus close. He leaned down and pressed a much less innocent kiss to Magnus’s lips now that they were alone.

“I have to say,” Magnus said when they pulled back, a mischievous tilt to his lips, “I never would’ve guessed that the great Alexander Lightwood is ticklish.” He tweaked Alec’s side for emphasis.

Alec jerked away with a small yelp, a smile fighting onto his lips once more. He held up his hands, prepared to defend himself, but Magnus made no move to attack again. Alec eyed him warily.

“Don’t worry,” Magnus said, even as he eyed Alec predatorily. “I wouldn’t attack you so soon after your last defeat. You’d tire out far too quickly for my taste.”

He patted Alec on the cheek before starting to make his way toward the kitchen. Alec snorted and followed behind.

“How kind of you.”

Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus’s waist, nuzzling his nose behind Magnus’s ear. Magnus hummed and leaned back into him, and Alec saw his eyelashes flutter shut.

“What about you?” Alec asked.

Magnus tilted his head just enough for Alec to catch his expression: a bemused frown. “What about me?”

Alec grinned and tightened his grip on Magnus’s waist. “Is the great High Warlock of Brooklyn ticklish?”

Alec expected bravado. He expected a scoff, good natured teasing, and a coy invitation for Alec to find out for himself. He expected a quick laugh before a swift and magical revenge.

What he didn’t expect was for Magnus’s frown to deepen as he laced his fingers with Alec’s own, still resting on his stomach. Magnus’s eyes flitted around the kitchen, searching for something he couldn’t quite seem to grasp, though their gaze was far too distant to be looking for anything actually in the loft.

“I… can’t actually recall,” Magnus said eventually, his brows furrowing. “I suppose it’s been a long time since anyone’s tried.”

Alec frowned. “I guess immortality would lead to some memories being lost to time.”

They were quiet for a few moments more, until Magnus spoke up again, his voice soft. “I wouldn’t mind rediscovering that,” he said. “So long as it’s with you.”

Alec pressed a lingering kiss to Magnus’s temple, pulling away despite how much he wished he could remain wrapped around Magnus for the rest of their lives. Magnus pressed a kiss to the back of his hand before Alec could move away completely.

“Maybe after dinner?” Alec offered. He smirked and added, “You’ll need your energy to make it through one of my attacks.”

“Ah, yes, the famed Older Brother Tickle Attacks. I’ve heard many rumors about such a thing.”

Magnus grinned, but there was definitely an edge of embarrassment to his smile. Alec kissed the corner of that grin and moved further into the kitchen, starting to pull ingredients out of the fridge. It took a few moments before Magnus followed behind and started helping with dinner.

There was an odd tension in the air the rest of the night. It wasn’t necessarily a bad sort of tension, but the two of them certainly felt the threats and promises just made looming over them. Alec couldn’t help but rake his eyes over Magnus’s figure multiple times over the course of the night, which he usually did anyway, but now with completely different intentions. Magnus clearly sensed it, because he was fidgeting and fumbling all night.

It was kind of cute. And definitely a nice change of pace, considering Alec was the one used to being flustered and fumbling in their relationship.

They both hesitated once their plates were cleared. Though Alec usually cleaned up himself, finding the actions of cleaning soothing and calming (well, so long as it wasn’t a huge mess), Magnus snapped the plates clean and back into the cupboard. Magnus twisted the rings on his fingers.

“So,” Alec said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Do you still wanna do this? Or was it just… playful joking around, earlier.”

It was certainly a new experience for Alec. He had never planned to tickle someone before. It had always just happened in the heat of the moment. Whether it was Jace being obnoxious and needing to be taken down a peg, or Izzy being too nosy for her own good and needing a warning, or Max just being annoying and needing to be kept busy, he had never negotiated the situation beforehand.

“We can still do this,” Magnus said, spinning his rings a little faster. “If you want to.”

“Yeah! Uh, yeah. How do we do this?”

Magnus shrugged. “Bedroom?”

Alec shrugged back and nodded. “Bedroom.”

As they walked there, Magnus habitually snapped them into lounge clothes. Alec suddenly found himself in a comfortably worn t-shirt and sweatpants. Glancing at Magnus, he saw that he was in a pair of loose lounge pants and one of his ornate robes. Based off Magnus’s usual habits, Alec was betting he wasn’t wearing a shirt under it.

Alec swallowed, taking a deep breath.

Magnus spread his arms as they walked into the room. “Where do you want me?”

Alec gestured awkwardly with his hand. “On--on the bed? Just, lay down?”

Magnus started toward the bed, but Alec caught him by the arm before he could get very far. He pulled Magnus back in and picked at the knot in the robe’s belt around Magnus’s waist, smirking when their eyes met. Magnus still had a smirk on his own face, but Alec could see his throat bob as he swallowed. Alec’s smirk widened into a teasing grin as he finished untying the robe, pushing it off Magnus’s shoulders. Magnus magicked it away into the closet before it hit the ground.

“Now get on the bed,” Alec murmured, skimming a hand up Magnus’s stomach and chest.

Magnus didn’t break eye contact as he sat on the edge of the bed, slowly crawling backwards until he could rest against the pillows. Alec raised an eyebrow and stalked toward the bed, cracking his knuckles.

“What do you say?” He asked Magnus. “Should we go from the top down? Or start at the bottom?”

Magnus toyed with the cuff on his ear, watching Alec’s every move like a hawk. “You’re the one in charge, darling. You tell me.”

Alec brushed his fingers across the top of Magnus’s foot. “Well, since I’m already down here.”

“Efficient as always, Alexander.”

Alec cocked his head. “How ticklish do you think your feet are gonna be?”

Magnus raised his eyebrows. “Are you asking me to rate how ticklish you think I am?”

“Yeah. How ticklish do you think your feet are?”

Magnus scoffed. “I don’t know, a three? How ticklish can feet be?”

Alec chuckled a little under his breath. “I didn’t tell you this, but touch Jace’s feet and he’ll scream.”

“Noted.”

Alec didn’t waste anymore time, touching his fingertips down to the arches of Magnus’s feet. Magnus jumped, his feet jerking away a little before he quickly moved them back into place. A small grin tugged at his lips.

“Better stay still,” Alec teased, bringing his dull nails into the equation. “You don’t want me to have to pin you.”

Magnus hummed, though the noise was a bit wobbly. “Careful,” he said. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Alec rolled his eyes, but kept his fingers moving. Moving down toward Magnus’s heels made his twitching almost-squirms stop nearly completely, while moving up to the balls of his feet got both his toes and his nose to go all scrunchy. Alec knew better than to say so out loud, but it was incredibly adorable.

Magnus still wasn’t laughing, however. There were little huffs of breath, and sometimes a poorly-hidden gasp, and while his squirming clearly showed that it tickled somewhat, it didn’t seem to tickle enough to make him laugh. Maybe Magnus was right when he guessed that his feet would only be a three. 

But then Alec peeled back his scrunching toes and tickled the skin under them. Magnus gasped loudly and jerked forward into a sitting position, one hand flying up over his mouth and the other gripping his thigh tightly. His feet jumped again, but Magnus couldn’t pull them away while Alec had such a strong grip on his toes.

Alec grinned. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

Magnus reached a hand out toward Alec, nervousness and excitement warring on his face. “Now, Alexander, let’s talk about this--”

Alec raised an eyebrow. “We did talk about this.”

Magnus opened his mouth, probably to try and bargain with Alec again, but all that came tumbling out were frantic giggles as Alec scratched at the stems of his toes. Magnus tilted his head back and thrashed on the bed, fighting to get his feet out of Alec’s grip without success.

“It tickles!” Magnus cried through his giggling.

“Well I would hope so,” Alec said. “That is the whole point of this.”

A sound that could nearly be described as a squeal escaped Magnus’s mouth when Alec managed to wiggle a finger into the space between two of his toes. Alec made sure to do it again and again and again, just to hear that adorable sound over and over. Eventually, though, Magnus managed to free one of his feet from Alec’s grip, flailing it wildly in Alec’s direction as he kept tickling at the toes of the other foot. Alec had mercy on Magnus then, if only for his own safety. Magnus immediately drew both his feet back and bent his legs to place his soles safely against the bed.

“How would you rank them now?” Alec asked cheekily, reaching up to skitter his fingers briefly over the tops of Magnus’s feet before grabbing his ankles and stretching his legs back out again.

“A fifteen,” Magnus grumbled, throwing an arm over his face.

Alec laughed. “If you think that’s as ticklish as you’re gonna get, you’re in for a rude surprise.”

“Fine. My feet were about a three, I was right. But my toes,” Magnus paused and hummed in thought. “From what I’ve heard described about the sensation, I’d say perhaps a four or five.”

Alec nodded climbing onto the bed to settle next to Magnus’s legs. He toyed with the cuff of Magnus’s lounge pants, fingers just barely brushing Magnus’s ankles and calves in the process.

“Rate your calves,” Alec said.

Magnus shot Alec a bewildered look. “My calves? Alexander, I know I couldn’t recall if I was ticklish, but my calves certainly aren’t.”

Alec raised his eyebrows. “I used to think that too, and then I found out that Clary has ticklish elbows. Now I’m pretty convinced that you can be ticklish anywhere.”

Magnus grinned. “Well well, you’re just giving away all sorts of information today, aren’t you?”

Alec pointed a finger at him. “If anyone asks, it wasn’t me. Now rate your calves.”

Magnus rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling. “A zero.”

Alec then pushed up Magnus’s lounge pants until they were bunched up just above his knees. He carefully dragged his fingers back down Magnus’s shins, watching his face carefully for any reactions. Magnus just closed his eyes. When he lifted Magnus’s legs up slightly to try and tickle at the backs of his calves, Magnus only sighed, relaxing deeper into the bed. A smile was twitching at his lips, but there wasn’t much more of that.

“Probably a one, if even that,” Magnus said when Alec pulled his hands away. “It was more relaxing than anything.”

Alec hummed. “Knees?”

Magnus stretched, then snapped his fingers. His lounge pants were suddenly gone, replaced by a pair of very short, very tight shorts. Alec swallowed.

“Those pants were going to get uncomfortable if you kept shoving them up my thighs,” Magnus said with a wink. “As for my knees, my guess is maybe a four?”

Alec wasted no time, latching his hands onto the pressure points above each kneecap and squeezing. Magnus immediately burst into wild giggles, tugging his legs up. It was probably instinctual, but Alec gave him a warning tut before pulling Magnus’s legs back down and settling over his calves, not even pausing before latching his fingers back onto that spot.

“Alexander!” Magnus shrieked.

“What?” Alec asked, a teasing grin tugging at his lips. “You were getting in the way of the experiment.”

Alec kept squeezing away for a few moments longer, listening to Magnus’s hiccuping giggles with a bright smile, before placing all his fingers together in the center of Magnus’s kneecap, blossoming them outward and inward. Magnus squealed again, wordlessly this time, and darted forward, reaching for Alec’s hands. Alec tossed Magnus’s hands off his wrists and gave his kneecaps a warning squeeze, grinning when Magnus jolted.

“Hands to yourself,” Alec said in warning.

“Alexa--ah!”

Magnus cut his own protest off with a gasp as Alec’s fingers found their way behind his knees. His bright giggles finally started bordering on real, loud laughter and his legs frantically bounced under Alec’s weight as best they could. Alec chuckled and skittered his nails on the thin skin behind Magnus’s knees. Magnus clutched the golden sheets desperately in his fists as he tossed his head back against the pillows.

“What would you rate it, now?” Alec asked, not stopping his tickling this time.

“Alexander!”

“How ticklish are your knees, Magnus?”

“A-Alec!”

“Hm? How ticklish are they, Magnus? More than you thought?”

“I don’t know!”

Alec laughed and had mercy, pulling his hands away from Magnus’s knees and running them comfortingly up and down Magnus’s thighs. Magnus watched his hands warily, clearly waiting for the next attack. This was a lot more fun than Alec had been expecting, and he was already expecting it to be fun.

“Rating?” Alec asked, the very picture of innocence.

Magnus tried to glare at him, but it was rather ineffective with how he was panting for breath and still smiling slightly. “Six.”

Alec dug his thumbs into Magnus’s thighs, trying to massage more than tickle, but Magnus still jolted. Alec grinned, leaning forward.

“Tiring out on me already?”

Magnus narrowed his eyes. “Bring your worst, Lightwood.”

Alec raised his eyebrows. “You’re gonna regret that.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Big talk. Rate your thighs.”

Magnus squirmed under his gaze. “Five?”

Alec nodded and began his attack. He started with soft little pinches on the outside of Magnus’s thighs, watching intently as Magnus’s nose scrunched up with giggles. He was barely even squirming, so Alec swiftly moved onto the tops of his thighs, dragging his nails and wiggling his fingers against the skin. Magnus giggled a little louder, his legs starting to bounce a little under Alec’s weight again, so Alec stayed there a little longer than he had on the outsides.

And then Alec moved onto the insides of Magnus’s thighs, digging his fingers in to search out the ticklish spots. Magnus’s eyes went wide as he burst into cackles, suddenly sitting bolt upright. His hands flailed, moving to stop Alec’s devious fingers before he remembered Alec’s warning and twisted his fingers back into the sheets.

“I think this might be a little more than five,” Alec said.

“Alec, please!”

Alec raised his eyebrows. “Damn, I just got ‘Alec’d for the second time, this must tickle pretty bad.”

“No!”

Alec squeezed Magnus’s thighs, grinning as they bounced frantically under his fingers. “No? It doesn’t? Then why can’t you say my name?”

“Al--”

“Tell you what,” Alec said, switching between scratching, squeezing, and digging his fingers into the sensitive skin, “if you can say my name, I’ll stop.”

Magnus clearly wanted to protest his perceived unfairness, but wisely chose to save his breath. “Alexan--ah, no!”

Magnus cut himself off with a squeal. Alec had managed to find an especially sweet spot high up on Magnus’s inner thigh, digging into the little patch of skin with fervor. His hands flew up and attached themselves to Alec’s wrists, but Alec decided to let it slide. This time.

“Ooh, so close!” Alec said. “You wanna try again?”

“Al-Ale--”

“Come on,” Alec said, probably getting far too much joy out of this. “You can do it, Magnus.”

“Alexander!”

The word was practically a wail, and Alec decided to have mercy. Magnus collapsed back into the bed, going boneless as he panted for breath. Residual giggles bubbled out of his lips at random intervals, and Alec just grinned down at him as he watched Magnus recover.

“You,” Magnus said between deep breaths., “are so getting it later.”

Alec smirked. “If you can catch me before I get you.”

Magnus raised his eyebrows and his hand, his fingers twisting in a complicated motion as a blue light weaved them. Before Alec had even processed that, there was an unbearably tingling, tickling feeling spreading up his sides and into his ribs, getting dangerously close to his armpits. Alec wrapped his arms around himself and cackled, doubling over with the force of it. He nearly squirmed himself right off of Magnus’s legs.

“You forget, my darling,” Magnus said, his voice far too smug for someone who was supposed to be getting tickled into oblivion. “I have magic. You only have power over me because I let you.”

“Okay!” Alec cried, trying desperately to block the tickles with his arms (and failing because it felt like they were coming from inside him). “Okay, I’m sorry!”

Another twist of Magnus’s fingers had the tickling buzzes that had filled his body slowly tapering off. Alec rubbed at his ribcage, trying to get rid of the lingering tingles that kept him in light giggles. He glanced up at Magnus’s smirking face.

“Would you like to rank your experience?” He asked. “Actually, no, why don’t you save it? We can have a repeat performance later, with you as the victim.”

Alec squeezed his knee in warning, smiling a little at the squawk it elicited. “Shut up. Rate your thighs.”

Magnus sighed. “That was by far the worst one yet, but I refuse to go about handing out tens willy-nilly.”

“And so the consensus is?”

Magnus hummed. “Probably an eight.” 

“Damn,” Alec said. “All that screaming and you’re saying eight?” A slow grin spread over Alec’s face. “I can’t wait to see what your ten is.”

Magnus raised his hand again. “Shall we see what your ten is?”

Alec held his hands up in a placating motion, but the grin on his face didn’t budge. Magnus rolled his eyes and settled back against the bed, folding his arms comfortably behind his head. Alec scooted up his legs so he was sitting on Magnus’s thighs.

“What’s next?” Magnus asked.

Alec tapped his fingers teasingly against the muscle between Magnus’s hips and thighs. A wobbly smile forced its way onto Magnus’s face as his hips wiggled.

“Guess on your hips.”

“Well, I was outrageously low on my thighs,” Magnus mused, tilting his head back. “I should guess higher this time. Perhaps an eight as well?”

Alec hummed. “It would make sense.” He suddenly dug into the muscle between Magnus’s hips and thighs for a brief moment, making Magnus bark out a quick laugh. “They are rather close together.”

Magnus huffed, waving a hand through the air. “Get on with it already.”

Alec’s hands skittered up to Magnus’s hips. Along with being short and tight, the shorts Magnus had conjured were also low-rise, leaving his hip bones perfectly exposed. He had clearly thought the clothing choice through. Alec was able to scratch all around the bones and Magnus’s pantline without any hindrance. Magnus howled, bucking his hips in an attempt to throw Alec off.

“Well?” Alec asked, watching Magnus squeeze his eyes shut in laughter. “How’s it ranking so far?”

Magnus slapped his hands against the mattress, twisting his fingers into the sheets again. He seemed to be taking Alec’s warnings to not interfere to heart, again, which made Alec grin. He started squeezing at Magnus’s hips instead, and Magnus shot up into a sitting position, grabbing at Alec’s hands.

Or maybe he didn’t take them to heart.

“Better get those hands back, Magnus,” Alec warned with a grin, shaking the hands off his wrists once more. “I don’t think you want to know what’ll happen if you can’t listen.”

Magnus seemed to almost whine through his laughter. Alec pulled his hands back instantly, worried he had gone too far. Magnus looked up, his brow furrowed.

“Are you okay?” Alec was quick to ask.

Magnus smiled and propped himself up on his elbows. “I’m fine, that was just…”

Alec cocked his head to the side. “Just what? Did I go too far?”

Magnus bit his lip. “No. Actually, it was kind of hot.”

Alec couldn’t help but laugh. “Really?”

“Hey, you’ve got your hands all over my hips and then you come in with that take-charge attitude. You expect that not to be hot?”

Alec laughed again, shaking his head. “We’ll come back to that later.”

Magnus wiggled his hips and raised an eyebrow. “You promise?”

“Let’s finish this game and then we’ll see if you still have the energy,” Alec said, grabbing Magnus’s hips to hold them still.

Magnus groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’d say my hips are about a seven.”

Alec hummed. “What about your stomach? Should we lump stomach and sides together?”

Magnus waved his hand, laying back on the bed. “Keep them separate. Sides I’d guess maybe… five? Stomach maybe a six.”

Alec nodded, touching his fingers down on Magnus’s sides, just below his ribs. He dragged his nails down until he reached the very top of Magnus’s hips, then dragged them back up again. Magnus gasped loudly and did a full-body squirm, his eyes crinkling with how hard he was giggling.

“You’re so cute,” Alec murmured, barely even aware he was speaking aloud.

“Shut up,” Magnus managed through his giggling.

Alec started squeezing his sides in retaliation and Magnus arched his back for a moment before crashing back to the bed. His giggling quickly turned into full-blown laughter as he continued to wiggle back and forth, trying to dislodge Alec’s hands. Alec decided to play with the sensations, squishing Magnus’s flesh with his fingers on one side and scratching and skittering his fingers across the skin on the other. Magnus started snorting in laughter, going so far as to roll back and forth as much as he could with Alec sitting on his thighs.

“Keep still!” Alec laughed, grabbing Magnus’s sides and trying to hold him still.

Instead, it just made Magnus yelp and squirm more as Alec’s grip accidentally squeezed him in a too-ticklish way. Magnus shook his head, burying one hand in his hair while the other gripped at the sheets again. Alec chuckled and pulled back, having mercy.

“You’re so mean,” Magnus panted. “I can’t wait until it’s my turn.”

“Don’t get so cocky,” Alec said, squeezing his sides once in retaliation.

Magnus jumped and yelped, wrapping his arms around his middle. “Alright, alright!”

“Rank your sides, before I decide you need more data to help you decide.”

Magnus threw his head back on the pillow. “Who knew my boyfriend was so evil?”

Alec twitched his fingers against Magnus’s sides in warning.

“Okay!” Magnus said, slapping at Alec’s hands. “I think I was right, about a five. Maybe a six if I’m feeling generous.”

Alec nodded. “And you said you thought your stomach was a six?”

Magnus nodded, opening his mouth to reply, but Alec struck before he could. He started light, skittering his fingernails across the skin. Magnus burst into giggles immediately, bouncy and light and Alec could hear Magnus’s feet bouncing on the bed behind him. He put a little more pressure behind the touch, and even that small change sent Magnus from giggles straight into belly laughter.

“How’s that feel?” Alec asked, a cheeky grin on his face. “Tickle a little bit?”

Magnus shouted something that Alec couldn’t quite make out, his flailing hands landing on Alec’s knees and squeezing intermittently. Alec could tell it wasn’t intentional, just one of Magnus’s reactions to being tickled, but shit if they didn’t tickle like hell. Alec bit his lip and resisted the urge to squeeze his eyes shut and squirm. He didn’t need Magnus picking up on what he was doing, Alec knew the teasing would switch to him unfairly quickly.

Instead, Alec dug into Magnus’s stomach with his fingertips, vibrating and shaking and massaging into the skin. Magnus shrieked and cackled loudly. His hands flew away from Alec’s knees and toward Alec’s hands, and Alec quickly twisted his hands around to grab Magnus’s wrists. He quickly pinned Magnus’s wrists to the bed leaning forward with a raised eyebrow.

“Someone didn’t listen to the rules,” Alec said.

Magnus’s eyes went wide. “No, wait--”

Alec shook his head. “I warned you, Magnus.”

Then, Alec took a deep breath and leaned the rest of the way down. He planted his lips over Magnus’s belly button and blew a long, loud raspberry. Magnus’s laughter went silent as he squirmed under Alec, but being weakened with laughter, he wasn’t able to free his wrists. Alec blew a few more shorter raspberries, over his belly button and dotted around the rest of his stomach, and Magnus reacted the same every time. Eventually, Alec stopped, resting his chin on Magnus’s stomach as he looked up at Magnus’s gorgeous, grinning face. Magnus ran his fingers through Alec’s hair once his wrists were released.

“Well?” Alec asked, making his voice as innocent as possible.

“Let a guy catch his breath first,” Magnus said between his panting and residual giggles.

Alec sat up and tried to run his hands firmly over Magnus’s stomach to help rub away the lingering tingles, but Magnus gasped and grabbed onto his fingers as tightly as she could. Alec chuckled, but took his hands away from Magnus’s skin, instead choosing to lace his fingers with Magnus’s while he came down from his laughter. He pressed a kiss on the back of one of Magnus’s hands, and Magnus gave him a smile.

“A seven again, I think,” Magnus told him. “Though having my hands trapped certainly didn’t help.”

Alec grinned at him. “This is your last warning,” he said. “Keep it up and I’m going to have to do something about these pesky hands.”

Magnus bit his lip, raking his eyes up and down Alec’s form settled atop him. “Such a shame you can’t pin them down and tickle all at once.”

Alec rolled his eyes. “I could kneel on them, but I don’t want to hurt you.” He smirked and leaned forward to pin their laced hands on either side of Magnus’s head. “Plus, then they’d be in the way when we get to some pretty important places.”

Lip still stuck between his teeth, Magnus shot a wary look toward his own underarms. He squirmed a little under Alec, probably thinking of all the dastardly things Alec could do to him, before looking back up to meet Alec’s eyes again. He twisted his hands a little, and Alec let go easily, sitting back to give Magnus his space. Magnus didn’t bother moving himself from the pillows, simply snapping his fingers and, in a flash of blue light, one of their silk rope ties from the box underneath their bed was fastened to the slats in the headboard.

“Just in case I become a hindrance,” Magnus said with a sneaky grin. “Or maybe for after we’re done with our little experiment here. Either way.”

Alec swallowed, but allowed a grin to slip back onto his lips. “Those hands better behave, then.” He leaned in again, so he and Magnus were nose-to-nose. “It gets so much worse when you can’t even pretend you’re trying to stop it.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow at him. “And you’re speaking from experience?”

Alec chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to Magnus’s lips. “Quit digging.”

Magnus hummed. “I’ll find out one way or another eventually, darling.”

Alec kissed him again. “Eventually can wait until later.”

“Are we going to kiss and make good use of these ropes, or are you going to finish your experiment first?”

Alec sat back on Magnus’s hips so they were both breathing their own air once more. “Our experiment, and yes. We only have a few spots left. Ribs?”

Magnus tilted his head, looking down at his own bare torso. “They’re rather close to the sides, aren’t they? Perhaps a five or six as well.”

Alec nodded and cracked his fingers. Then, he reached down and started kneading between the bones of Magnus’s ribs. His lips tilted up in a smile and he squirmed a little, but it certainly wasn’t the reaction Alec was expecting with how ticklish the rest of Magnus’s torso had been. He massaged up and down Magnus’s ribs, looking for any weak points, but Magnus just kept grinning and letting out the occasional giggle like nothing was bothering him. Alec sighed and stopped, curling his fingers so he could tap them impatiently against the bone to ask Magnus his number. Except that’s when Magnus finally jolted, squeaking a little. Alec froze, then a bright grin spread across his face.

“I see,” Alec said.

“You don’t see a damn thing,” Magnus said, giggles already invading his voice.

Instead of responding with his words, Alec started scratching at Magnus’s ribcage. Magnus burst into laughter, squeezing his arms to his sides before suddenly remembering himself and pulling them away again, clutching at the pillow behind his head.

“Good boy,” Alec said, just loud enough to be heard over Magnus’s laughter, grinning at the flush that spread down Magnus’s neck.

Alec only kept up his gentle scratching for a few moments longer before granting Magnus mercy. The second Alec was finished, Magnus slammed his arms down to his sides, trapping the hands that Alec still had pressed against his ribs. Alec decided not to be mean, and left them there instead of trying to wiggle them free and risk tickling Magnus more.

“Six,” Magnus said without prompting.

Alec reached up to run a hand through his hair. “Tiring out?”

Magnus leaned into his touch. “If we want to have a different kind of fun tonight, then yes.”

Alec chuckled. “Lightning round? Unless you want to stop altogether.”

Magnus sighed, but he was smiling. He raised his arms above his head again, twisting his fingers into the pillow again. “No, no. Can’t leave an experiment unfinished.”

“You sure?” Alec asked. “We can stop, have that other fun of yours. Or even just go to bed.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “Are you giving up?”

“No!”

“Then get back over here and tickle me.”

“Fine.”

Alec scooted up Magnus’s body so he was sitting along his waist instead, his legs tucked up against Magnus’s ribcage. That way, even if Magnus’s arms came crashing down, he would still have access to his weak spots. Magnus must have realized what he was doing, too, because a nervous grin graced his lips and his arms twitched where they were bent up next to his head.

“Ready?”

Magnus nodded.

“You don’t have to rank the spots beforehand, but you do have to tell me before I move on.”

Magnus chuckled. “You’re really determined to map this all out, aren’t you?”

Alec shrugged. “You wanted to finish this.”

Magnus huffed and readjusted his position to be a little more comfortable, ignoring Alec’s statement. Then, he nodded down at himself, gesturing for Alec to go ahead.

Alec didn’t need to be prodded further. He started his tickling fingers at Magnus’s upper ribs before skittering up into his underarms. Magnus flinched and immediately toppled into giggles. Alec grinned down at him.

“Alright?”

Magnus nodded, but Alec could feel Magnus’s legs kicking out behind him. Alec chuckled, switching tactics to dig a little deeper into Magnus’s skin. Magnus squealed and fell into louder laughter, his arms trembling where he gripped the pillow.

“You know, you do have to tell me a number before we move on.”

“Five,” Magnus said, shrugging his shoulders a little since he couldn’t squirm much.

Alec took a brief detour to Magnu’s neck and ears, fluttering his fingers around. Magnus giggled and scrunched his neck up (and his nose again -- undeniably adorable), but for the most part he just relaxed into the bed. Alec kept it up for only a couple minutes before Magnus answered.

“Three,” he giggled out. “Maybe four around my ears.”

Alec paused his fingers and leaned down to kiss Magnus on the nose, hardly able to do so through his own grin.

“We’re done?”

Alec laughed. “Don’t you remember Clary’s elbows?”

Magnus groaned, but he was still smiling and his arms stayed above his head, so Alec figured he was just being dramatic. He pressed another kiss to the apple of Magnus’s cheek.

“Don’t worry, we’ll just finish with your arms. I’ll spare your back, for now.”

Magnus scoffed. “There is one part of my backside that I wouldn’t mind you tickling.”

Alec threw his head back with a laugh. “Shut up. And like you’ve minded me tickling the rest of you, either.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Get it over with so I can get you in these ropes.”

Alec raised his eyebrows. “I’m the one in the ropes?”

Magnus smirked. “Your turn to be at my mercy.” He tilted his head. “Though a much different kind.”

Alec rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

And he started tickling before Magnus could reply. He started his scratching at the tops of Magnus’s armpits before slowly following his arms upward, tickling along his triceps. Magnus near-screamed, cackling the loudest Alec had ever heard, and flinching so hard that he pulled the pillow he was clutching out from under his own head. Alec laughed, pausing long enough for Magnus to get it back behind his head.

“Nine,” Magnus panted.

“See, you telling me that just makes me want to stay there,” Alec said.

Magnus eyed him warily, but lifted his arms back up nonetheless. Instead of gripping the pillow again, he gripped the slats between the headboard, near where the silk ropes were tied as well. The second Magnus had his grip, Alec mustered up the most evil grin he could manage and reached back up to wiggle his fingertips against Magnus’s triceps, right where his underarm ended. Magnus threw his head back with a howl, shaking his head.

“I have to get the whole arm,” Alec said. “And you interrupted!”

“Cheater!” Magnus shouted, and though he seemed like he wanted to say more, he didn’t seem able to get it out.

Alec had mercy and skittered up the rest of Magnus’s arms quicker, tickling around the pits and points of Magnus’s elbow. Clary would’ve been screaming her head off if she was in Magnus’s position, but Magnus just relaxed back into the bed. A stray giggle tumbled out here or there, but Alec wasn’t sure if it was because it actually tickled or because Magnus was still recovering from his triceps.

“One,” Magnus said. “Maybe a two.”

Alec nodded and moved up, stretching over Magnus to reach where his forearms rested above his head. He trailed his fingers up the skin, watching as Magnus closed his eyes and relaxed even further into the bed with a soft smile. Alec couldn’t help but press their lips together as he leaned over Magnus.

“The same,” Magnus said when Alec pulled his lips away. “One or two.”

Alec hummed and sat up, holding Magnus’s wrists gently in his hands to bring them down with him. Magnus settled back into the pillows, watching him with a languid, half-lidded expression. It made Alec’s insides feel like they were melting in the best of ways, all warm and oozing. He shifted his grip so he was just holding one of Magnus’s wrists with Magnus’s palm facing up. He had intended to just drag his fingers over Magnus’s hand and be done with it all, ready to spend the rest of the night doing whatever Magnus wished.

Except when he started dragging his fingers along Magnus’s palm, Magnus shot upright and tore his hand out of Alec’s, gasping so loud and hard that it almost sounded like it hurt. Alec sat frozen on Magnus’s thighs, watching as Magnus furiously rubbed his palm against the bedspread.

“Magnus?” He asked hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

“That was the worst,” he said.

Alec frowned, making sure to keep his hands to himself just in case. “Are you okay, did I hurt you?”

Magnus shook his head, finally looking up at Alec. “Alexander, no. It just-- that was the most ticklish thing I have ever felt.”

Alec stared at him for a moment, then burst into laughter. “Your hands, Magnus? It tickles and you act like that?”

Magnus glared at him, the most adorable pout on his lips. “Ten, Alexander.”

Alec blinked, staring at Magnus for a moment. Then, his eyes shot toward Magnus’s hands, where they were clenched together over his stomach for protection.

“Don’t you dare, Alexander.”

Alec dared. He launched forward, knocking Magnus over onto his back once more, and did his best to wrestle Magnus’s hands away from his torso. Once he got one hand in his grip, he quickly twisted to lay his torso over Magnus’s arm to prevent him from pulling it away.

“Darling, no!” Magnus cried.

Alec didn’t take him very seriously, both because of the laughter clear in his voice and the fact that he was still using pet names. So instead of stopping, he pried open Magnus’s hand and wiggled his fingertips as lightly as he could over Magnus’s palm. Magnus borderline screamed, rolling over so his chest was flush with Alec’s back and desperately clutching at Alec’s shirt with his free hand, not trying to actually stop him in the slightest. He didn’t last very long though before he was tapping furiously at Alec’s back.

“Please!” He wailed.

Alec immediately stopped, letting Magnus’s hand go. Magnus rubbed it furiously against the sheets again to rid himself of the ticklish feeling. Alec laughed and rolled over again so he could climb atop Magnus’s thighs again, pulling himself up into a sitting position. He rubbed at Magnus’s chest as he caught his breath, then gasped in surprise when Magnus suddenly grabbed him by the shirt collar and yanked him down. Before he could process anything, he was melting into Magnus’s fiery kiss. They broke away only so Magnus could pull off his shirt and toss it aside, then reconnected.

“That was a quick recovery,” Alec said between kisses.

“I was promised some  fun of my own,” Magnus replied, and suddenly rolled them over so Alec was underneath him.

“That you were.”

Alec raised his arms as Magnus reached up to the silk ties still attached to the headboard, letting Magnus take his lips in another kiss. It was going to be a much longer night. He was glad he managed to get out of the office so early to be able to enjoy it.

#tickle fic #My writing #shadowhunters tickling #lee!magnus bane #ler!alec #ticklish!magnus bane #shadowhunters #Magnus Bane #Alec Lightwood #malec

[the-pale-goddess]

🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻

What do you HC was the first couple costume Ethan & Tiffany wore and how many Halloweens did it take to convince Ethan to wear one?

If they have to choose, which one would be their favorite costume they have worn?

What’s the most ridiculous costume Ethan has worn just because his kid asked him to?

🖤🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡

Anon, dear 🧡🧡🧡 Thank you so much for sending this wonderful ask, it was amazing to come up with a Halloween HC and reunite with my babies! Sorry if it’s too long lol

Before kids

Ethan Ramsey doesn’t do Halloween, it’s as plain as the nose on your face and Tiffany doesn’t poach on that territory—she respects his boundaries immensely and would never try to breach his comfort zone for the sake of her own enjoyment. Tiff usually gets her Halloween fix on the peds ward where she dresses up for the kids and does a hospital version of trick-or-treating 🧡

My two workaholic doctors rarely get a night off for Halloween, so they usually decline all invitations to costume parties, much to Ethan’s huge relief.

The one time they didn’t decline happened right after Tiffany’s residency. The gang made it very clear that every guest must be wearing a costume, but Tiffany didn’t expect Ethan to entertain this silly idea (or feel threatened by The Organizer, Double-Oh-Tiny Trinh). She had to pick her jaw up off the floor when Ethan asked her what’s their plan. He offered to go as “that unsettling Addams couple” (as a little nod to Tiffany and her surname, obviously). He figured that the costume is pretty undemanding and, more importantly, he gets to look human. Besides, he cannot keep his eyes and hands off his Morticia, so he makes a perfect Gomez 🥰 That was their first and last costume party before kids—a glorious exception to the unspoken rule.

After kids

The Ethan Ramsey doesn’t do Halloween rule changes when NJ (5) and Letty (2) are about to experience their first trick-or-treating while visiting their great grandparents in New York. NJ chose to be Captain America, Tiffany picked Black Widow, and Letty was given a tiny Scarlet Witch costume. Ethan is obviously sticking out, wearing some fancy black suit and his unwillingness to be a part of the Marvel universe. However, he would never ruin his son’s excitement and the event his loved ones were eagerly waiting for…So he agrees on T’s last-minute idea and decides to put the Iron Man mask on, along with the brave face that would help him survive the evening. In the surprising end, Ethan finds himself deeply moved; the sight of his family—the family he thought he’d never have—wandering around the neighborhood in ridiculous outfits and having fun together, filled his heart with great sense of accomplishment and belonging. Plus his smoking hot wife wearing a skintight black jumpsuit and red wig was an absolute vision...But let’s keep it PG jkdjgkdgdj

Halloween costumes became a tradition (only for a few years though; when The Ramdams enter their teenage years, they lose interest in dressing up completely and Grumpsey is relieved of his clown duty lol), but Ethan tries to play it safe whenever possible and chooses costumes that aren’t really costumes as they require zero effort, allowing him to maintain his dignity. Tiffany always finds a clever way to match his choice (or lack of thereof) and comes up with a couple costume anyway. However, sometimes the kids would insist on going all the way, and Ethan is consistently helpless in the face of the power they hold over him...

Some of E&T’s couple costumes over the years:

Peanut Butter for T and Jelly for E

Doctor Strange and Clea - Tiffany’s favorite, Ethan looked so hot he should be illegal

The Addams Family 2.0 feat. The Kids

Cardiac Arrest for T and Medical Record for E (it’s all about the puns)

Pumpkin Pi(e) for T and Dark Matter for E - Ethan’s favorite, guess why 😂

Sexy costumes not included, they don’t need Halloween for that 🖤

Ethan’s most ridiculous costume? Letty’s unicorn.

Before you ask—shockingly, Tiffany had nothing to do with this, but she made sure to get everything on tape and teased him mercilessly (those riding jokes are too tempting, you know). He absolutely hated every second of engaging in this buffoonery, but he would do it again just to see pure, unadulterated joy on Letty’s face. Growing up, it’s one of her most cherished memories (and the reason why Letty claims she’s daddy’s favorite kshkshdkbdkb)

_____

I sincerely apologize for the late reply, but you have probably noticed that I’m rarely here these days…Once again, thank you so much for still caring about E&T and my nonsense, it means a lot! 🫶🏻

#all hallows queue 🎃🔮👻 #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #ethan ramsey x mc #sorry for any errors i had no time for proofreading #ethan x tiffany

[laikuh]

No pressure to answer, but how long have you been a teacher? What would you say the positives/negatives are?

i don't mind! i'm going into my fifth year teaching elementary.

positives:

kids are amazing. like. amazing. today one of my students apologized for drawing a picture that was too scary bc he drew himself as a blood-covered zombie child, and then made a scary face and was like, "i'm not a normal kid, i just wanna be a zombie when i grow up" like fuck yeah, i love you, zombie dude.

summers off are sort of overstated (i had 6 weeks vs 3 months) BUT i will take 6 guaranteed weeks off every year, plus 5 assorted other weeks throughout the school year, over an office job where getting time off is a lot more difficult

depending on what you do with the job, there can be a lot of rewarding meaning in what a teacher does. this is, to be completely blunt, depending on your skill and patience with kids that challenge you. are you willing to work with the kid who tries to kill himself and climb the fence and screams bloody murder multiple times a week? what about the kid who has to be locked out of your room after tearing it apart and bangs on the door repeatedly while you have to sit with your class and comfort them and tell them that student is having a hard time and still deserves kindness? obvi these are extreme scenarios, but i had 3 kids like this my very first year, and knowing they left my classroom every day feeling loved and seen by me does mean a lot to me. im still their favorite teacher three years later for a reason, and so getting into teaching means being ready to be responsible for children like that, and the benefit is you can genuinely make a difference and be their safe space if you have the capacity.

cons:

you will not be paid a living wage if you work for a public school. you won't. if you're responsible for your own bills, you very likely won't have enough to live comfortably. you will likely be paycheck to paycheck.

the last point above also goes here. my first year with that group was incredibly depleting. it was also a smack in the face when they went to new teachers who did not give them the care i did, and a lot of the work i put in was undone or underminded by teachers who believed them to be "bad kids" instead of victims of cptsd and mental instability.

this job will eat you alive if you let it, and you will have coworkers who think less of your ability to teach if you don't succumb to the workaholism. this was a hard lesson to learn that im still dealing with. my work day ends at 4, and i don't work from home or on the weekends. you'll hear people talk about not working outside your "contract hours" bc that's unpaid labor, and there is a divide between teachers who refuse to be exploited and the teachers who believe you're only worthy of the job if you exploit yourself. basically, people who see teaching as what you do vs. people who see it as who you are. you're more likely to burn out, and quick, if you side with the latter.

there's probably more of both, but that's what comes to mind now! thanks for asking...it's kinda nice to be given a chance to talk a little more about my job lol.

[tropicalfreckles]

*unmasks myself Lupin style* it was me! >:)

I saw Ace attorney trending and I knew that I had to do something for this. Sooo.... here's a interesting question: what would the Lupin and Conan gang opinion on the whole Christmas thing? Which ones would agree with Phoenix? Which ones wouldn't? And would there be some people who are in the middle/ have a completely different opinion? What a complex subject 🤔

OH HEY, been a while. Yeah, I totally blanked on how close to christmas it was and remembering the last non dlc case for the first game lol. It's been a hot minute since I've seen Case Closed so I do no recall the earlier seasons or if there are any films I had watched that touched up on the christmas subject tbh. I could see Ran/Rachel celebrating it, unsure on Shinichi himself, since those two like FINALLY hooked up, and since christmas is seen in Japan as a couple's holiday as well, I can see if he can manage being unshrunk for a day that the pair would spend it together just because. Actually didn't he make a love confession in the anime and manga in the snow. I forget. I am like SURE the anime has touched up on the holidays at least a few times, I just never got to see it. Kogoro/Richard I see probably going either or, either being BLEH about the holidays cause he's Very Divorced or being in a drunken haze of enjoying himself.

Phoenix, oh I think he would get into the holiday for Maya and Pearl. Seeing how much he fell into a big brother esque role for the both and especially loves looking over Pearl with how much he goes out of his way to do stuff for her, he would want her to celebrate her first christmas outside of the secluded Fey family village. Sometimes he probably would remember that awkward ass case with Edgeworth and how he got tased trying to clear his name, but I think he would be okay with celebrating it.

Gumshoe would 100% get a gift for Edgeworth he begrudgingly accepts while telling him this better not be a bribe or something lol. I think despite how much of a dick Edgeworth can be he would appreciate it. Phoenix and Miles would also get each other gifts, Maya finds a silver samurai figure or keycharm and pushes it in Phoenix's face to gift him as a fellow fan. Miles might get Phoenix a more practical gift. (Franziska gets a gift from Miles but she doesn't get a gift for him probably LOL)

Lupin gang, oh Lupin would be all about Christmas. That man's love language is gift giving, he would be SPOILING the others. Fujiko would be all about Christmas too, my greedy queen would be like HAHA YES give me everything. <3 I think Goemon would be neutral about it and would typically just go train during the holidays but I also think he would quietly enjoy just being with the others around that time. Jigen I'm unsure, I mean I'm thinking back to that part 2 episode where they accidentally stole children's toys too now lol.

I could see Jigen enjoying it if he's spending it with Lupin.

Zenigata treats it like any other day even tho one of his two semi-canon birthdays is on Christmas. I'm guessing partially due to being a workaholic, another part of his just plain obsession has made it hard for him to really enjoy himself in others company since he has a hard time holding outside relationships cause of his own fault. I like to think Lupin starts leaving him gifts over the years, but gifts he knows Zenigata wouldn't reject or put into evidence cause his first thought is this is stolen. Zenigata's big emotional heart is touched by it for sure.

#i know that sounds mean towards zenigata but im not wrong #i say this as someone who loves him #lupin makes that observation himself more that once in the series #whenever zenigata starts blaming lupin for his own problems #while lupin is the cause of some problems most of that is all zengiata #asks #whoa this was longer than I meant for it #this is just my thoughts on it for fun

[browniefox]

do you have any submas fic recs?

You know, you'd think I would, right? I just don't have a lot of time to read these days between work, school, and writing (and also playing white but shhh). But I do have some! Uh, I'm taking submas to mean 'any fic that has ingo and/or emmet', so some of these don't have emmet. I hope that's okay.

Also uh I'm going to be honest with my recs, so I might say a few things that might seem a little mean, but I swear they're good fics! I'm just picky!

Reverie by Firelight

On the night of the festival, Ingo takes his leave. Instead of the loud streets of Jubilife, he finds himself in the Coronet Highlands.

A really good oneshot! It's just sort of a moment out of Ingo's life, and also I think the first Ingo fic I read lol.

(grabs the funny subway man) YOURE GOING BACK HOME FUCKER

In which Nimbasa City's most prominent figures find themselves in grief, a man and a child emerge from the mountains, and Ingo grapples with a world he would swear he knows, but cannot recognize.

This fic was probably the first one I read about Ingo coming back! It does a lot of things I like, like showing how much Ingo's disappearance has affected people. It goes the 'emmet becoming a mess of a workaholic' route for Emmet, and this one actually does it pretty good because somebody notices and tries to help! Uh, I don't really like how (spoilers!!!) the reunion is put off so that the author can show us how Ingo got home, and I'd much rather have it left to the imagination.

Misery Loves Company

Dawn was convinced she was alone in Hisui, going under a false name and pretending to have lost her memories in order to squeak by and survive. But she's not alone in her misfortunes. And she's not going to leave him behind.

A pretty good one! Dawn and Ingo bonding, and we know I'm a fan of that! It's a little more 'episodic' that I'd like, but it's still really fun and some really nice chracterization and relationships :D

Not Meant For This World

They found him on a mountain.

Unconscious and tattered, lips blue from lying face down in powder snow, the man was delivered to the Pearl Clan in the arms of a beast with no warden.

- - -

Ingo adapts. He has no choice but to adapt to this life he's been handed, even if he knows there's a great deal missing from himself.

I really like this one. The ending especially is a gut punch, like oof yessss hell yessss. It's mostly just Ingo and his time in Hisui, learning how he fits into it all.

We Will Always Have Each Other

Subway Boss Ingo has been missing for over three years. Not that the local Gym Leader or the Pokemon Rangers accompanying her have any idea who that is. All they care about is whether anyone was hurt in the avalanche caused by that sudden, odd swirling storm, and why all the wild Sneasel are acting so strangely now.

The journey may be long, but Ingo and Emmet will be reunited at last.

I really really liked the beginning of this one! I thought it had a lot of fun things going on! I wasn't as happy with how the rest of it has been going with the characters it cuts between and some of what they had happen with Ingo. I'm also picky about how the reunion actually goes - I mean, I'm sure when I have it happen somebody will say of mine 'i dont' like that' so karma and stuff - so I have mixed feelings.

Lucifer, Your Horns Are Showing

Volo and Ingo exchange myths, and Ingo regains a memory.

A neato fic about Volo and Ingo, uh, 'bonding'? Volo's mostly a little shit, but what do you expect. I like the characterization of both of them, though, and it feels like something that could've happened in the game.

#browniefox speaks #ask #asks #anon #submas #namjin fic #emmet #ingo #pla #pokemon legends arceus

[larrietalk]

About this, the situation with Harry's team is so disappointing tbh, leaving aside all the stunts, how they are handling tour is honestly insulting, also they haven't given him a break since 2019 when FL dropped he's done Grammys, tour, Pleasing and now Coachella. There's an argument to be done here that maybe is Harry's choice, cause he's a workaholic or whatever, but his team should know anyways that overexposure is never a good thing and that he should lay low for at least a year, if the rumors are true and he's gonna drop an album next month I fear gp is gonna get tired of him and find the littlest thing to cancel him. And going back to the tour situation they are not gonna need to dig deep cause honestly holding your fans money for 2 years and never mention it again is good reason to cancel him, God knows others have been canceled for less lol. As a last thought, I wouldn't put it past Full Stop to want Harry to be canceled as some sick and twisted PR strategy honestly

Oh, are we going to talk hshq? Because we can go all day lmao.

Harry's team is a bunch of nepo kids who got everything handed to them on a silver plate and rely on their connections, Harry's name and bare minimum to get by. They created the illusion of being Harry's saviors, when in reality, they would be nothing without him. Their laziness and conceit have been more visible in the past year especially and I don't think they expected the harries to start turning on them too. Glenne literally deleted her twitter account after she got ratioed one (!) time and Jeff only updated on the tour for America after people called him out in the replies.

The tour situation has been insulting to every fan and when it comes to merch, it's not better. They have been keeping their fans' money hostage for MONTHS or in tour's case YEARS, lowkey bordering on theft now, considering fans cannot get any update on what's happening to their money despite begging for it. They don't know any other way to promote Harry if they're not unnecessarily pushing his het image and I can already feel hs3 promo will be a mess. And the worst thing is, they know that in press, it will all fall down on Harry's back, as nobody cares about Jeff the manager, despite him desperately trying to make himself relevant.

As for the workaholic argument, see, in my eyes, Harry is doing exactly what he was doing in One Direction - working constantly and never having a break, but back then no one was calling him a workaholic and they were 5 boys. Now he is one person who didn't get to have a break since 2019 and I'm not sure hshq ever wanted to assure his longevity - they are 1dhq on steroids, milking Harry dry while they still can (can we talk about how they dropped Pleasing and just expected people to buy it? Their accounts haven't posted since December) and I don't expect them to manage any crisis since those geniuses were all in for holivia and we all know what that trash is doing to Harry's image right now.

I wish he could just disappear for a year but with what we already know 2022 has in store, welp, good luck to us and him.

#harry discussion #management #hshq #jeff azoff #i mean have we seen how tired harry was on tour #how he was openly saying he is tired #and what he pointed at singing medicine in LA during the adrenaline part? #yeah

[aphrodite-would-be-proud]

Anon said: I hope I'm not too late to slip in a request! I was actually hoping for a more platonic request with Miche? Just how he would help out a new cadet on his squad or something... Maybe there having a hard time fitting in now that there on a section commander squad or even worried about an upcoming expedition. Miche is one of my biggest comfort Characters and I'm such a shy person lol...I love you blog by the way, it's such a comforting place...🥺

Miche reassuring you that you're enough.

{Miche & reader | tw:none | platonic, comfort | canonverse}

{ "The Interior of the Palm House on the Pfaueninsel Near Potsdam" 1834 by Carl Blechen 1798 - 1840 }

No one can deny that the survey corps had a...certain reputation between the people, for being ruthless, unhinged and not a place for someone hoping for a future.

Their leader is known for gambling with human lives, their strongest has a criminal history record and their most intelligent, does experiments that would put medical student dropout Frankenstein himself to shame.

In short, you'd be crazy for walking there with your own two feet and expecting a crumb of compassion.

You don't go looking for fish in the desert.

You've heard it all, those sayings people keep reciting like a broken record whenever you'd bring up joining the survey corps.

"You'll just end up titan food"

"Why do you want to throw away your life?"

"God your poor family…"

And despite all of that, you still marched on, despite everyone who told you to quit.

Not only did you join and stayed alive for so long, you've even managed to climb the ranks in record time.

So fast in fact that you were assigned to join a section commander's squad after a very successful titan capture mission that earned you a pat on the back from Erwin.

Being pulled from your friends and moved to a new place where you were surrounded by veterans who've been in their positions for 10 years or more, was quite sudden and shocking.

One thing that should've eased your nerves, was the fact it was squad Miche you're being put into.

Anyone in the survey corps can tell you that in comparison to other squads, this was the most...friendly per say, since they prioritised teamwork and coming back alive over everything else, knowing together they're much stronger and willing to protect each other no matter what.

While yes they did have their quirks, it was almost nothing in comparison to Levi's strict hygiene rules and Hange's workaholic routine or Erwin's unreadable intentions.

And yet, you felt unease at the whole situation.

You were clearly "that new cadet" in this old group of close-knit people, almost standing out even.

You wanted to prove yourself, you've done it before to all those people so why is it any different now.

Maybe...because they are actually experienced soldiers this time, and not strangers living in blissful ignorance inside the walls.

Maybe because you feel the growing burden of expectations set on you for being the newest person in the squad, and being put there by none other than the commander himself which would raise some eyebrows if you couldn't deliver.

Uncertainty and doubt began pooling up inside your mind, making you second guess decisions and overthink actions.

And it's not like the squad members were leaving you out, no in fact they were doing their best to include you.

….maybe even too much actually, it didn't help that all of them were outgoing people, it was overwhelming.

Nanaba was an unofficial stand in caption when Miche wasn't around. Having a confident yet compassionate personality made her protective of her teammates, almost like a big sister, earning her a lot of respect.

So much in fact that it would unintentionally intimidate people out of approaching her

Gelgar was a strong believer in Miche, loyal to a fault almost. Yet he wouldn't say no for a chance to relax and grab a couple drinks, being friends with so many people came naturally to him with his mellow personality and overall friendliness.

Maybe a bit much too friendly? That personal boundaries were often crossed without him realising it. 

Lynne was a good balance between the two, she was considerate of others feelings...even so much in fact that she tended to sugar-coat almost everything.

Thomas and Henning were close with each other, both serious and determined. But maybe because they were so used to each other that dealing with new people became...strange, for conversations with them resembled an awkward dad attempting to check on you but not actually putting much effort to understand.

Meanwhile, you were a reserved and shy person.

It was a miracle that you managed to get a group of friends in cadet training that stayed with you throughout the years, but now after being transferred it was all turned to dust.

You have to start again, meet people again and talk to them while wondering if they actually like you or are pretending to be nice because they don't wanna come off as rude-

On top of that, Erwin seemed to keep an eye on you after your last mission, silently conveying the trust and expectations he's putting your way, to not fail him and show you're worthy of this special treatment.

It was too much, too overwhelming and draining.

Dread and uncertainty loomed in the corners of your mind, only metastating in size as the date for the new expedition was announced.

To add fuel to the fire, apparently everyone seemed almost...excited or nonchalant for going out there again, like this is a mere walk in the park as they began making preparations and training.

Were you the only one that felt nervous? Oh god.

Your legs felt like they were weighted down by stones as you stared at the large board in front of you, a white sheet signed by the commander announcing next week to be the date of the expedition, several names listed below for who'd be required for service.

Your name was at the top, even with a line underneath it. The fact it was in cursive didn't make it any less gut-wrenching.

The chatter of people around you, discussing the plans and joking with each other, began blurring out at the back of your mind.

The weather seemed colder as shivers ran down your neck. A rolling feeling in your stomach making your throat tighten, your own voice inside your head was the only noise you could hear.

All those thoughts and worries creeping from underneath the dark corners that you've been pushing them into all this time, like a swarm drowning you in their "what if" and skepticism, full of doubt and illogical pessimism for worst case scenarios.

Thoughts that aren't even your own joined them, ones you never had and knew weren't true and yet amidst the storm it was hard to tell the real from the ones passing through.

You know you're capable, so why…

Are you capable?

Yes…

but are you really?

...

And how are you even sure?

Before it could pull you deeper into that hole of despair, something snapped your attention back to reality, a hand nudging your shoulder. 

"You really didn't hear me huh." The voice came from behind you, a tall figure stepping closer till you were in his shadow.

Miche looked at you with a tilted head, his lips pressed into a thin line as his eyes bore into you like he's attempting to guess what's going inside your brain.

You've been too lost inside your mind you didn't notice that you were the only one left standing in front of the board.

From the way Miche's shoulders fell after reading your expression, eyes softening after glancing at your name on the sheet, he was quick to catch on.

Before you could say something to save your face after being caught in this state by none other than your new captain, Miche just told you to come with him, making sure to walk beside you، protectively staying close that no one on your way would interrupt.

Passing the corridor leading to his office, you gave him an uncertain glance as he simply gestured for you to continue walking for whatever unknown place you're headed to.

Soon enough the buildings and stone streets faded the further you went on, grass and dirt roads taking its place.

It wasn't a long walk per say, but more of a secluded area that took both of you some turns in seemingly shady alleyways to reach.

You couldn't hear the horses or soldiers walking anymore, only the soft flowing of the nearby river.

The tall grass barely reaching below your knees, some ladybugs crawling on top of the scattered daffodils in-between, the closer to the river cliff you got the taller it became.

The first thing Miche did, wasn't explaining to you why you're here, or what exactly he was after.

No, he barely said a word even, only taking in a deep breath as the wind had the courtesy of pushing his bangs back, eyes finally in clear view now.

Gaze meeting yours, he gave you a nod, a gesture to do the same thing.

You reluctantly took a deep breath.

He smiled.

Both of you sat by the river, he gave you his jacket to sit on.

As the silence grew between you, even while it wasn't the uncomfortable kind, it was clear he was struggling to phrase something, the right words just not coming to mind.

Turning his body towards you, he finally said, "how about i just..listen, let it out.".

It wasn't easy, you can't just pour out your heart to your superior.

Not to mention the military wasn't a place for weakness, could you really openly admit to your worries?

Well, yes you could, because it isn't weak, it takes great strength to face something scary and admit to it.

It's strength that got you this far.

How could you ever mistake vulnerability for weakness?

Keeping true to his words, Miche didn't interrupt you as you slowly opened up about what's been troubling you.

He patiently listened, occasionally humming for you to go on whenever you'd lose track.

And by the end of it, after you poured out all your frustration, sadness and worries, it felt...like a weight lifted off your shoulders.

Miche looked at you with understanding in his eyes, as if he himself has been in this exact same position years ago.

...and maybe he was, considering his behaviour wasn't what's socially common, he would've definitely stood out back before he had the respect of being a captain.

He isn't a man of words, for actions spoke much louder.

That's why he became more attentive from that day on, offering to help you train, giving you a smile whenever you passed by and sitting near you whenever his squad were gathered so he'd ask for your opinion on plans or simply share looks whenever they began joking with each other.

He didn't attempt to make you change, instead he made changes to accommodate you.

You're part of the team and he made it clear.

And while he couldn't give reassuring words, he certainly gave his time and energy, paying attention to you, reading your moods and listening whenever life becomes too much.

Maybe he saw his past self in you, and wanted to give you all the comfort, attention and care he wished for back then.

Even if it was mere hugs and shoulder pats that he could offer, he knew small things can make changes overtime.

For him, it's not getting rid of your stress that he was attempting to achieve, no, for life is full of stress.

Instead, he wanted to offer you ways to deal with the stress, to acknowledge it as it is and be heard, to be understood.

Because while stress will pass either way, it didn't mean it had to pass painfully.

You weren't alone, he made sure of that.

Maybe he got too attached, maybe someone might say he's giving you special treatment, maybe Erwin would give him a backhanded comment every now and then.

But since when did Miche pay attention to these things? 

Well...he can't deny he might be giving you more break days than the other Cadets, larger food portions and even most of his time.

But he won't justify himself to anyone either, he doesn't have to.

Because after all, there really isn't any ulterior motives behind his actions, they were as simple as they came.

It was pure genuine care, the type that makes someone want to protect a person and watch them grow healthy.

The type that made him offer you a thumbs up after each training session, a proud smile on his face for how much you're learning.

Maybe some slight teasing about how if you keep this up, you might even replace him as the second strongest one day.

And while he said it with a joking tone, the hopeful pride-filled look on his face told a whole nother story.

you're not sure if it was a joke or a promise.

#miche🕯 #Platonic🕯 #comfort🕯 #aot Canonverse🕯 #miche zacharias #miche & reader #aot miche #mike zacharias #mike zacharias & reader #platonic #fluff #comfort #aot #snk #y/n #reader #aot & you #snk & you #miche x reader #mike zacharias x reader #mike zacharias reader #aot x reader #aot x y/n #snk x reader

[tinyboxxtink]

"Not My Yacht" *Chapter 2*

Yes, for two days this is a semi short chapter, but I had another long today and have one more tomorrow and I wanted you to have SOMETHING. Weirdly though I had an entire different chapter written in my head, but when I started typing this came out instead. My original idea is still coming, this just added a fun little bonus getting there. I promise, tomorrow you will get a longer chapter.

Thank you loves for sticking by me through everything! I love you all.

Also, I'm finally using CHAPTER. I kept wanting to use it instead of PART but I just kept writing PART and was like WELP. But they're chapters, right?!

Ok I'll shut up.

Part 1 Here

Part 3

Tag List

@madamsnape921

@lolliepopsicle

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@gibbs274

@sassyada

@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

And @storiesofsvu for Rita check. lol.

----------------------------------------

When five o’clock rolled around, Rita came walking out of her office with a stack of papers and her briefcase, balancing her purse on her barely free arm.

“Y/N, Why are you still here? Did I not unlock your chains?” She laughed.

“Haha….no, ma’am” You nervously laughed. “I um, I think I’m waiting for someone,”

“You think?” She raised a curious eyebrow. “If you’re waiting on Barba, you’re going to waiting a long time, sweetie,”

“Wha-? How--? Why, exactly?” You asked her totally flabbergasted by the insinuation that not only had Rafael asked you out, but was bailing already.

“He tends to get a little...involved, in his cases. Poor man is a workaholic,” She feigned pity for him.

“Right,” You nodded to her comically overflowing briefcase and papers. “Something you know nothing about,”

“Touché,” She winked. “I’d give him a call, make sure he hasn’t forgotten about you, dear. Before the cleaning staff shows up,” She laughed and sauntered out of her office, leaving you alone in the dark.

You glanced down at your phone. He hadn’t really specified a time, just-- “Tonight”. What did that even mean? Tonight. Like early evening dinner, or a midnight snack after he was done with his cases? You should probably text him. Or call him. Or text him.

TO BARBA: Heyyy….

Wait. Was three y’s too many? Wasn’t that a rule? You show affection by how many y’s you use? Is that a thing kids do these days? Wait, no you’re not a kid. And he certainly was NOT a kid. No. Be a grown up about this.

TO BARBA: Hi I’m just...checking in.

Checking in? What did that even mean? And why the ellipsis? There doesn’t need to be a pause in a text. That’s why it’s a text. You pause in your mind before typing. Idiot.

TO BARBA: What’s up?

Ok. Short and simple. To the point. No pressure, no demanding. Just... ‘checking in’. You hated yourself. Alright fine, good enough send it. SEND IT. HIT SEND NOW.

MESSAGE SENT.

Your phone shook in your trembling hand as you waited for the ellipsis of him writing back. That was too much, no no just put it back in your pocket and he’ll text you when he--

BARBA CALLING

Oh god, a phone call? Who calls people anymore? Grown ups, that’s who. Answer the phone like an adult.

“H-Hello?” You answered it as if he had the wrong number.

“Hey, Cinderella,” His smooth voice came through your earpiece. “I’m so sorry, I should have been more specific about the time,”

“Oh, yeah no-- no big deal, I’m just here at work….alone, in the dark…” You muttered the last words to yourself as you looked around the dark office.

“Right. Well, I’m kind of wrapped up in this case right now--” He started, making your heart drop. Well, Rita called it. He’s just married to his job, no time for women, let alone you. Time to just--

“....Would you hate me if I asked you to come help me?”

“...I’m sorry, what?” You blinked in confusion at your phone. So, was he actually asking you out or trying to snake you as an assistant from Rita? Is that what he meant by ‘dinner’? “Hey come bring me food and help me file these cases, because I’m so sexy and cocky and--”

“You know what, I’m so sorry I just heard how that sounded. You’ve been doing this all day, the last thing you wanna do is come--”

“Sure!” You cut him off a little loudly. What were you doing?! You’re just going to lay down and let him use your services for free? Well, when you put it that way it sounded pretty skeezy about yourself.

“....Are you sure? Because we can just have dinner another night--”

“....Yeah I have a feeling that will never happen,” You cut him off with a laugh.

“Wha--no, it will! I just--”

“Your wife comes first, I get it,” You cut him off again.

“My wife?”

“Yeah you’re married to your work,” You smirked into the phone.

“Wow, quippy Cinderella. Guess you’re more confident on the phone without my gorgeous face tripping you up now, aren’t you?”

“Do you want my help or not, Casanova?” He was totally right; without those green emeralds staring into your soul you were actually a pretty funny and smart person. Maybe it would be better to just have this date on the phone.

"Yes, absolutely," He sighed with a smile.

“Did you want me to bring food, or am I just supposed to eat paperclips and vending machine leftovers??”

“I’ll order some pizza, do you like pizza?”

“....I live in New York Barba. Obviously I like pizza,” You teased.

“Right,” He chuckled. “Well I’ll be here--”

“I know where your office is,” You cut him off for the third time.

“Oh, do you?” He asked in a sneaky tone, as if he thought you’d been googling him or something.

“Um, yeah,” Your voice fell an octave softer. “Actually I’ve been there several times, dropping off stuff from Rita for you,” Of course he wouldn’t remember that. Why would he remember that? You weren’t anything special.

“Shit,” He muttered as if chastising himself. “Y/N I’m so sorry, I--”

“It’s fine,” You assured him as you headed down to the subway. “I’m uh, I’m getting on the train so I’ll see you soon,” You hung before he could reply.

--------------

It wasn’t that far to Rafael’s office from Rita’s, just a few stops away. You quickly hurried up the stairs back into the Manhattan air as you swiftly walked through the sea of people leaving corporate America to go home to Suburbia. Finally you reached the building, went for the door and-- it was locked.

Well of course it was locked, nobody else in their right mind would be here this late-- so clearly you and Rafael were out of your minds. Shit. Should you call him? Was there a buzzer? Before you could think of another solution a pizza delivery man was walking up to you. Maybe ‘man’ was too generous, he was probably around 16 or 17.

“Delivery for Mr. Barba,” He handed you the pizza. Did you look like a “Mr. Barba” to him?!

“I um,” You stammered as the hot pizza burned the sides of your arms you were holding it on. “I’m not Mr. Barba,”

“Are you taking it to him?” He asked you with a slight attitude.

“I um,” You thought a moment. Well you were going to see him, so yes theoretically you would be taking the pizza with you to him. “...Yes,”

“That’ll be 46.57.” He whipped out a credit card scanner on his phone.

“E-Excuse me?” You were taken aback. Now Barba had you buying him dinner? And what kind of pizza costs basically 50 bucks?!

“2 Large pizzas, an order of cheesy bread, a dessert pizza and delivery fee,” The kid read off the receipt from his phone. “I only accept credit or debit cards, and please tip generously,”

“Yeah right,” You muttered with a roll of your eyes as you pulled out your credit card and swiped it across his phone. The light turned green and a receipt printed off an attachment to his phone. He ripped it off and handed it to you, then nonchalantly walked back down the stairs to wherever he was parked.

“Awesome,” You sighed. You still didn’t know how to get inside, and now you were carrying all this hot food. All of this for a pair of green eyes?!

To make matters worse, your phone started going off in your purse. You groaned and tried to put all of the boxes down softly, but the night wind blew them onto the pavement, HARD.

“Shit!” You groaned louder as you tried to salvage the food while pulling your phone from your purse. Of COURSE.

BARBA CALLING

“I can’t get in,” You simply stated as a greeting on the phone.

“What?”

“I can’t get in the building, Barba,” You grumbled, now on a 8 on the annoyance scale.

“Oh! Oh God,” The line went dead. Awesome.

After a few minutes while you were trying to rebalance all of the boxes in your arms, one of the big glass doors swung open right into you. The boxes all pressed against you, their hot, saucy, cheesy and chocolatey goodness smearing all over your work outfit.

“SHIT!!!!!!” You screamed in horror.

“Oh my god, Oh god Y/N I am SO--” Rafael started to apologize profusely, but you noticed he was trying his best not to burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry, do you think this is funny?!” You asked angrily while you peeled a pepperoni from your hair.

“No, not at all,” He shook his head vigorously, but kept giggling behind his eyes.

“You do!” You stomped your heel, causing marinara to roll down your legs. “You are absolutely laughing at me being covered in all of your stupid food that I had to pay for by the way--”

“Oh no, really?” He suddenly turned sincere.

“No, Rafael,” You scoffed as you tried pulling cheese from your skirt. “I just had sex with him in the parking lot and we called it square,”

“Really--?!”

“NO NOT REALLY!”

“Okay! Okay I’m sorry, really I am,” Rafael tried to show you sympathy, but you looked so damn cute covered in a tasty meal.

“Yeah I can see that, you’re grinning like a five year old,” You rolled your eyes.

“I’m sorry, Y/N I really am,” He gave up trying to hide a laugh. “But you have to admit it’s pretty funny--”

“I DON’T THINK--” You started to scream at him again, but his smile made these cute little crinkles in his eyes, and his laugh was like an angel’s chorus. You might have been covered in food, but you would be covered in manure if it made him laugh like that.

“For what it’s worth, you look delicious,” He teased you, pulling an actual full piece of pizza from your chest and biting it.

“Oh my god, you’re so gross,” You did your best not to laugh, you were still supposed to be angry.

“Yum, Y/N flavor, my favorite,” He laughed for a moment just as you both realized what he had said. “Uh, I mean--” He looked away in embarrassment, and you swear you saw his face flush red.

“Um no counselor,” You bit your lip with a smile. “I’m pretty sure I taste better than a mix of pizza sauce and chocolate,”

“I’m sure you do,” Rafael bravely retorted, now that he knew you were in the playing mood.

“....But seriously, now I have to go home and get this shit off--”

“I have a shower in my office,” He blurted out.

“....Excuse me?” You blinked, not believing you heard him right.

“I...I have a shower in my office,”

“Oh my god, Rafael Barba are you that addicted to work that you live here?”

“No!” He rolled his eyes. “It’s for emergencies,”

“Emergencies? Like what?”

“Like a beautiful woman covered in pizza toppings and chocolate,” He smirked. “Now come on, I don’t want anyone around here thinking I’m dating a crazy person,” He opened the glass doors again and escorted you into the lobby of the building.

Your mind didn’t know what to focus on first; the fact that he had this mysterious office shower, that he had offered for you to use said shower, or the fact that he just referred to you as a ‘woman he was dating’. You just followed him silently into his office with a smitten grin on your face.

He wasn’t lying when he was in the ‘middle’ of something. Papers were strewn all about his desk, a white board with bullet points for arguments and cross examinations scribbled on it. You finally got a good look at him without the anger of having food all over your judgement. He looked tired, not the usual smooth and pristine Rafael Barba you were used to. But when he looked back at you to show you where his shower was, his green eyes sparkled gazing into yours.

“So, I have some spare suits in a closet here, would you mind hanging out in one of my dress shirts while I wash...these?” He gestured to your dirty clothes. Wait, wash?

You suddenly realized he had led you into a secret room to the side of his office, behind a bookcase.

“Wha…” You looked around the room. There was a shower, a wardrobe, a washer/dryer combo, and a suit steamer. “Jesus Barba, are you sure you don’t live here?”

“No I promise I don’t,” He shook his head with a laugh. “...But I may have on occasion fallen asleep here enough to invest in this,”

“And what happens when this office is passed on to a new ADA?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Then I’m sealing this place off like a mausoleum,” He stated very seriously, causing you to giggle. He loved your giggle, it was so small and soft, just like you.

“Anyway,” He shook off his momentary daze at your giggle hoping you didn’t notice. “Like I said-- Shower, dress shirt. Just put your dirty clothes in the washer and we’ll pop them in the dryer later,”

“Right,” You nodded, definitely having noticed his dreamy stare at your giggle. How had you gone from completely under his radar to making him giddy like a school boy in two days?

“Right,” He nodded back. “I’ll just be out here...ordering another pizza,” He smirked. “By the way, I’ll totally reimburse you for the one you’re wearing,” He stuck his tongue out at you with a huge grin.

“Oh you better,” You gave him the same face back. “Or I’ll cover you in it,” You lightly pressed a marinara sauce covered finger into his perfectly white dress shirt. He glanced down at it in horror.

“Oh that was so--” He started to tickle and attack you, but realized that would only make his outfit dirtier. “This isn’t over,” He wagged a finger at you as he pointed you to the shower. You gave him one last cheeky smile as he walked out and shut the door to his secret room.

What was happening? Why were you getting to him so easily, so fast? How could he have not even remembered that he had ‘met’ you several times? Well, one thing was for sure. He was never going to forget this night.

#rafael barba #rafael barba imagine #rafael barba fanfiction #rafael barba x you #rafael barba x reader #law and order svu #law and order svu fanfiction #not my yacht

[taelme]

Enemies-to-lovers!Bang Chan

request: Hey! Can i request and enemies to lovers slow burn with bang chan where they dont like each other but theres undeniable chemistry

genre: enemies-to-lovers!au, workplace/office!au, (fluff, slow burn, lots of denial of feelings lol) 

pairing/s: Chan / Reader (ft Seungmin and some ocs!) 

word count: 21k rip I got pretty carried away 

tw: not any prominent ones that I can think of, kind of hints of the whole misogyny in the workplace kind of thing 

a/n: I got super carried away writing this I hope you guys like it haha im currently working on the other requests so do look forward to those!! ill try to put them out as soon as I can~~ all this staying at home is really giving me time to write... ( I HAD TO use this gif I just HAD TO) but yes this was a little hard to find reasons why y/n wld hate chan bc im for the chan is an angel agenda but I ended up having so much fun ok BYE 

“Hey, you free to get lunch later?” You’d bumped into your friend who worked in the company’s legal department, Seungmin, on a Thursday morning while you were in the pantry preparing coffee and tidbits for your boss. 

You nodded, “uh-huh,” mixing the coffee absently, “what are you doing here?” 

Seungmin shrugged, leaning against the counter as he munched on a cookie, “felt like taking a walk. Things have been pretty busy in the legal department lately.” 

“Why?” 

Seungmin gave you a cheeky smile, shrugging, “can’t say, but you’ll find out soon enough.” 

You rolled your eyes, gritting your teeth with feigned menace towards him (his smile stayed unwavering, even sticking his tongue out at you to mock you).

“Who’s that for?” Seungmin gestured to the coffee mugs on the tray. 

“Mr Bang’s supposed to be meeting his nephew or something, he made it seem really important but all he told me was that it’s for his nephew,” you shrugged, glancing down at your two cups of coffee, realisation hitting you. 

“Shit, that just reminded me. He said his nephew doesn’t drink coffee. Do you want this?” You shot Seungmin a pleading look, holding up your now unneeded cup of coffee. 

Seungmin scoffed, taking the mug from you wordlessly, “how exciting your job is, huh,” he deadpanned, sipping the coffee, “wanna reconsider joining the legal department now?” 

You rolled your eyes. 

“I’m perfectly satisfied with my job now, thank you very much.” 

You’d prepared a pot of tea, careful not to spill the water onto the counter as you did so, transferring the pot onto your tray, “and plus, considering the amount of money I get paid for the amount of work I do, I’m more than happy.” 

Seungmin scoffed, “should’ve known it was because of the money.” 

“Alright, I’ve gotta go, see you later,” you said, picking up your tray as Seungmin waved his hand with cookie crumbs on his fingers, the clicking of your heels growing softer as you walked further away. 

Reaching the door of your boss’ office, you’d been able to faintly make out 2 silhouettes through the window from where you stood, composing yourself to make a good impression as you knocked on the door. Hearing your boss grunt, you’d pushed the door open with your shoulder, your gaze focused on the coffee table as you greeted your boss.

Setting the pot of tea on the table, you’d cast a glance at the recipient, your eyes widening when you’d spotted the boy with dyed hair sitting on the plush leather sofa facing your boss, dressed in a clean white button-down and tie, an equally well-ironed pair of pants, his posture relaxed with his legs spread casually. 

His gaze was on you, as if analysing your movements, making you direct your gaze back to your task at hand, setting the saucer with the cup of coffee onto the coffee table, placing the small biscuits your boss liked in the middle of the two. 

Holding the tray close to your chest, you cast a glance at your boss, about to bow in greeting and head back out when his voice had stopped you. 

“Y/N, please, stay here. I’d like to discuss something with you and my nephew.” 

Your eyebrows raised, lips pressed tightly together as you nodded, “oh…cool, alright.” 

“Please, take a seat,” Mr Bang gestured to the space on the sofa next to his nephew, making you seat yourself awkwardly on the other side of the sofa, your body pressing against the armrest as if trying to create as much distance as you could between him and you. 

“So, Chan, this is my secretary, Y/N,” Mr Bang gestured to you, “Y/N, this is my nephew, uh… Chris,” he spoke, the name sounding fairly familiar to you. Chris Bang? You sounded the name over in your head, not being able to connect the dots as to why it was so familiar at this point of time. 

“So, sweetheart, because I’ve been planning on resigning for a while now, I thought I should let you know that I’m planning on handing my position over to Chris.” 

Maybe this was what Seungmin was so busy with. 

You nodded slowly, trying to understand the implications this decision meant for you, “will my contract be terminated, then?” 

Chris glanced at you, as if searching your expression. He found you fairly younger than he’d expected, since his uncle had mentioned earlier that you’d already been working for him for quite some time, going onto 2 years already.

Of course, he didn’t want to underestimate you, but knowing the directors’ reputations regarding secretaries, he wasn’t sure if he could put a label on your abilities without seeing them for himself, first. And to him, he wasn’t quite understanding of why his uncle was so insistent that he needed a secretary, his past experiences with secretaries all being quite unimpressive. 

“That… is unfortunately up to Chris, but ideally your contract will resume as per normal.” 

You glanced back at the boy, who looked at you with an unreadable expression, something about his stare successfully unnerving you, the way he looked at you almost with a certain level of contempt. 

“We’ll be having a company dinner tonight to welcome Chris to the team, it would do the both of you well to get acquainted with each other before the board meeting for ceo elections.” 

You nodded slowly, still clutching the tray close to your chest as you wondered how old he was, the whole ordeal seeming as though it were something out of a movie: a young apathetic heir getting authority over a large corporation at such a young age. Was he even qualified for this position? The rest of the directors were nowhere near his age, well, appearance wise. 

As if having read your mind, your boss spoke, “I’m sure you two will get along just fine, considering you two are so close in age.” 

Your eyes narrowed, something in you not feeling comfortable with this arrangement. Dismissing the thought quickly, you shrugged, figuring it would be a change of scenery from being around the old directors all the time. 

You watched as Chris shrugged.

“We’ll see.” 

=== 

“Who?” Seungmin dabbed at his lips with his towel, picking up his glass of water to take a sip, making you frown, still trying to do your research on Chris Bang as far as your browser app would take you. 

“Chris Bang. He’s gonna take over the company from President Bang.” 

Your words seemed to have elicited a giggle from Seungmin, “doesn’t that make them both ‘President Bang’?”

Seungmin ignored your eye roll, continuing, “this was what I was referring to just now, you know. I thought you would’ve known who he was by now,” he told you, making you set your phone down on the table, open on his LinkedIn page that frankly wasn’t giving you much other than stating how very qualified he was for the job. 

“You know, Bang Chan? Ring a bell? That guy that’s been switching departments for God-knows-how-long since last year. The one that got all of us donuts one time,” Seungmin gave you a ‘duh’ look, considerably unamused. 

“Oh,” only then were you realising just who that was. You knew exactly who he was. You’d heard many rumours from the other secretaries on how he was impossibly good at anything he’d set his mind to, his work ethic and standard incomparable to anyone else in the company they’d ever seen. 

Which was why all that switching departments start to make sense to you, since it could’ve been his way of making sure he learnt the ins-and-outs of every department by the time he took over. If that wasn’t just more evidence that he was definitely a crazy workaholic.

At the time, you’d made a passing comment on how you hoped you would never have to be his subordinate, after having heard stories on how intimidating he was whenever it came to work (especially work that was improperly done). Little did you know that your comment would come back to bite you in the ass so soon. 

“Yeah, ‘oh,” Seungmin mimicked you, taking another bite out of his burger, “why d’you seem so…,” Seungmin made a pained groaning sound as he gestured to you for lack of a better word, “about it, anyway? Shouldn’t you be happy? He’s super nice!” 

You scrunched your nose up, locking your phone in your dismay, not wanting to see his face on his stupid profile mocking you with all his stupid qualifications anyway.

“I don’t know, just kind of feels a little sudden. And I hate the feeling of not knowing if I’m gonna be fired since it’s not up to Mr Bang anymore.” 

“Which one?” Seungmin joked, making you scoff, finding it just a little funny. Only a little. 

Seungmin continued, “you’re just mad because him taking over means you actually have to do work.” 

You shot him a glare, your silence being an acknowledgement that he wasn’t entirely wrong. 

“And because I love Mr Bang! He was such a nice old man that checked in on me and gave me life advice. I’m not gonna get any life advice from someone that’s basically my age.” 

Seungmin huffed in amusement, bringing his hand up to cup his mouth as if to divulge a secret, dropping his voice to a strained whisper, “transfer to the legal department.” 

You sighed, “no, I still love my pay.” 

“Then stop sulking! Chris is the nicest guy I’ve met, you’ll be fine. Just show up to the company dinner tonight and fluff him up a bit,” Seungmin shrugged, “it’ll be smooth sailing from then on.” 

=== 

You figured you should’ve tried to do a lot better to fluff Chris up during the company dinner, instead of just going over to grill the meat for the directors, under the instruction of President Bang. 

The action itself didn’t sit right with Chris, who didn’t understand why it was so imperative to the directors that you be the one to grill the meat until he realised just why they were keeping you there. 

His own uncle was oblivious of course, simply obliging at any chance he got to show off how capable you were (even if it was just grilling meat), however Chris was quick to notice the way they stared at you as you reached between them to grill the meat, your face feeling hot with the steam from the grill. 

“Y/N is very hardworking, graduated at the top of her class in college,” Mr Bang mentioned pointedly, making Chris’ eyebrows raise in surprise. 

“Really? What did you study?” He spoke, knowing very well you were listening, the other directors not paying any attention to learning your background as they prompted you to pour them a drink. You didn’t miss the way his words were accented, remembering hearing from Seungmin that he’d spent a large chunk of his life in Australia. 

Tipping the bottle, you’d answered (albeit a little preoccupied). 

“Law,” you sat back on your heels, “minored in journalism.” 

Chris frowned, not being able to understand why you would’ve chosen to work here as his uncle’s secretary of all things if you had pretty good prospects on your own. 

“How’d you end up working for my uncle, then?” He voiced, your attention diverted when you’d been prompted by a director to take a shot of your own, clinking your glass obnoxiously and leaving you with no choice, an embarrassed flush on your face. 

Taking the shot, you winced at the burn of the drink, glancing back at Chris, who was still looking at you curiously, wondering how you’d felt under the attention of the directors.  

“Did it as a temp job at first,” you told him, “but I guess I realised halfway that I don’t mind it so much, and it paid me pretty well.” 

Chris hummed, you ‘don’t mind’ this? 

One of the directors let out a grunt of distaste, “you shouldn’t worry about that, doll. The job of a secretary is to look pretty, the pride of the company is in its secretaries,” he said, clearly having already had one-too-many drinks, his words leaving an awful aftertaste on your tongue, his hand going over to grasp your shoulder, his hand going down to your arm and squeezing. 

“I always told her she’d do well as a housewife. That way she wouldn’t have to work and just mooch off her husband.” 

You mustered a smile, setting the bottle of drink down and bowing to them, Chris having lost his appetite at the way you’d just let their comments slide. 

“Maybe she prefers mooching off of the directors, instead,” Chris murmured, his sharp tongue getting the better of him, catching your attention as you were walking past him, making you stop in your tracks.  

Chris’ uncle tut his tongue, nudging the boy harshly, making him raise his hands in surrender. 

“What? Just speaking off of observation.” 

You turned around, a surge of confidence arising in you (from where? You weren’t sure, maybe it was the fact that in your eyes he was still what was standing in between you and your possible severance pay), “excuse me?” 

“I’m sorry, was there any untruth in what I said?” Chris turned, his gaze almost challenging you to speak out against the directors, not knowing that it was only serving to spur you on to speak out against him instead. 

 You scoffed, Chris standing up and awaiting your answer, a voice in you screaming at you not to be intimidated by him, especially with the way his head tilted down ever so slightly, his eyebrows raising expectantly. 

“Didn’t know they would just let any rude petty kid run any company these days,” you narrowed your eyes at him, folding your arms and straightening your posture. 

Seungmin, who was watching from his table with the legal team, grimaced, deeming Chris’ expression to be anything but friendly at the moment. 

“I don’t know, maybe it’s just a little unbelievable to me that I’m supposed to be answering to someone who just got the company handed to him,” your words were coming out faster than you could help it. I mean, you were probably going to get fired anyway, right? Might as well go down with a fight. 

“You don’t know anything about me,” Chris muttered, his voice firm, annoyance laced in his tone. Your words seemed to have triggered a spark in him, annoyed that you were doubting his abilities, blatantly disrespecting him even after knowing he could be your superior. 

Mr Bang had tapped Chris’ calf harshly, “enough, don’t keep y/n from eating.” 

Ignoring his words, Chris had stepped forward, staring you down as the tension had only thickened between the both of you. 

“But then, what would you know, right? What was that again? Right. What are you here for other than to look pretty, hmm?” He tilted his head at you, flashing you a smile that was practically dripping with sarcasm. 

You practically seethed with anger, your fists clenching as you unfolded your arms, your finger coming up to point at him, “you know what? I’d rather eat beansprouts for the rest of my life than work for you.” You scoffed. 

Chris' amused lilt to his smile was only serving to annoy you even more, making you storm over to your table with the other secretaries, all of them casting you looks of concern or shock that you would have confronted him like that. Picking up your jacket, you’d scoffed, casting him one last look before you left, not expecting to see him again afterwards. 

Well, that was the part you were very very wrong about. 

That night, you’d called your boyfriend over to submit him to a seemingly never-ending rant about Chris, getting a text from Seungmin halfway. 

“I mean, isn’t it good, then? That you can find another job?” Your boyfriend tried to reason, pressing a kiss to your neck as you straddled him where he was sitting leaning against your headboard. 

“That’s not the point,” you insisted, pausing to read the text that Seungmin had sent, oblivious to his urgent kisses trailing up to your jaw. 

seungmin (personal)  2:12am -consider yourself lucky. Spoke to Chan just now, make sure you show up to work tomorrow.- 

“The point is that, he’s arrogant. What? Telling me that I’m only here to look pretty?—“ 

“In his defence, you insulted him first.” 

You glared at your boyfriend, “Yeah, fine. But he provoked me first. And I don’t know, something about him just pisses me off,” you tried to reason, your boyfriend’s kisses beginning to distract you from your anger. 

“You know what, maybe you should just give him a shot. Maybe he’s not as bad as he seems?” 

And so you did as Seungmin had instructed, doing what you would’ve always done, grabbing your boss’ morning coffee before going to the office, ‘leisurely’ making your way upstairs as you tried to avoid any possible suit-clad blond-haired man. 

Upon reaching your desk, you’d set your things under your desk, opening your scheduler and doing a quick run through of Mr Bang’s schedule for the day, grabbing the coffee and knocking on the glass doors before entering. 

“Y/N! Just the person I wanted to see.” You nodded, walking over to place his coffee onto his table.

“You have the board meeting in half an hour, sir,” you informed him.  

“Right, thank you. Would you be a dear and be there to serve the refreshments?” 

You nodded, “yeah, sure.” 

“If all goes as planned, Chan- I mean, Chris, will be taking over from next week onwards. So this week will be the last week i’m here.” 

You frowned, “it’s a shame you’re retiring, you know,” your disappointment was evident in your tone.  

Mr Bang simply waved you off, “it’s about time, I’m sure little Chris will do a good job.” 

You’d kept your mouth shut, nodding as he stood up with his coffee cup in hand, looking at you with a smile, “shall we head down a little earlier, then?” 

You nodded, opening the door for him to exit and following him silently to the venue of the board meeting. You were surprised, to say the least, when you’d reached only to find Chris there already, currently in an animated conversation with one of the directors, smiling like you’d never seen before, dimples showing on his cheeks. 

Excusing yourself quickly, you’d gone to the pantry to prepare the drinks, your time here having made you familiar with the respective directors drink preferences. Carrying your tray carefully, you’d pushed the door open with your hip, seeing all the directors seated already, all seeming fairly comfortable around Chris, only serving to make the feeling of dread build in the pit of your stomach. 

Making your way around the table, you’d distributed the drinks to the directors personally, refusing to make eye contact with Chris as you gave him his stupid cup of tea. 

Once the meeting had started, you’d dismissed yourself outside the room, a part of you trying to listen in on the board meeting but not being able to hear much through the thick panelled glass. You were surprised when barely half an hour had passed and you’d heard applause in the room, peeping through the window to see Mr Bang give you a signal that you could come in. 

Pushing the door open carefully, you saw the directors practically lining up to congratulate Chris, leaving promptly after looking all-too satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. 

Mr Bang was speaking to Chris as the rest of the directors were leaving, “well, I guess this means my work here is as good as done. I’m sure your parents will be thrilled to hear the news,” he pat Chris on the back. 

You were about to head out with Mr Bang, eager to avoid Chris when you’d heard him speak, “Y/N, I’d like to speak with you for a moment. Is that alright?” He cast a look at his uncle, who waved him off. 

“Of course, she’s not my secretary anymore, remember?” You cast Mr Bang a look of distress, seeing him chuckle before giving you a thumbs up, exiting the room happily.  

You winced, turning around so you were facing Chris, seeing him walk over to where you were, holding out a thick bound stack of papers for you to take. 

“What’s this?” 

"A contract. You can pass it to me by the end of the day once you've made your decision. I trust that you're familiar with reading contracts?" he asked as you stared at the papers, flipping and scanning through the print, realising that his terms were considerably more demanding than his uncle. 

"You'll be able to find an additional attachment where I list what I would expect in a secretary. Feel free to consult me if you're unclear about any of them, though I don't think you would need to." 

Your eyes lingered on the section of the contract, stating that you would be on a year of probation, but that the contract could be terminated whenever he felt appropriate. 

"Whenever you deem appropriate?" you scoffed, looking up at him in disbelief. 

He smiled, "very pretty wording, don't you think?" 

"That's all I wanted to say. Remember, I'll expect your response by the end of the day." 

You stared blankly as he shrugged his jacket off, draping it on one arm. 

"Go ahead, what are you waiting for? You can go for your lunch break now," he urged, before his features pulled into a look of realisation, "oh, forgot. That is, unless you would rather eat...what was that again? Beansprouts?" 

Your mouth opened, making as if to retort before you shut your mouth quickly, your eyes widening as he walked over to you, his gaze intense and serious, a contrast to the demeanour he wore while chatting up the director previously. 

"I can handle myself, you know," you attempted to defend yourself, watching as Chris had shrugged. 

"You have one whole year to prove that to me." 

In that one year of working for Chris, you'd learnt a lot of things. Not only about your position as a secretary, but about Chris, ( not to mention, just exactly how spiteful he could be ).  

1. Sleep was a luxury. 

In your first week as his secretary, Chris had surprised you with the sheer rate of progress he was aiming, and moving at. It was as if all the rumours you'd heard before about his work ethic were a gross understatement of his tenacity. 

You'd been having trouble adjusting to his deadlines, especially since he had entrusted more tasks to you. From surprise presentations, to drafting up proposals and reports, not to mention submitting research to him. To you, it felt as if you were doing half the job for him. 

In short, you had never missed Mr Bang more than you did then. 

Of course, Seungmin being your voice of reason, would shut your rants down, claiming it was ‘about time you do your job’, but of course, you loved to complain. Especially since it was someone you didn't have very fond feelings for that was assigning you the work. You grew increasingly irritated in the time you were adjusting to your sleep schedule, which Chris, and your boyfriend had definitely noticed. 

Because of your changes in brain activity levels, you assumed (google could only diagnose so much), whenever sleep came to you, you welcomed it with open arms.  Since waking up had become even more of a chore to run over to the coffee shop and squeeze yourself between the crowd of working adults and panda-eyed college students to get his very specific breakfast order. 

You'd gone home from a birthday party of your boyfriend and your mutual friend, things having gotten a little...out of hand at your boyfriend's apartment since it'd been so long since you'd been able to spend time together, not with you always falling asleep during video calls or refusing them altogether for the sake of getting your work done. You'd missed him, and something about being apart made you miss his touch. 

Jolting awake, (as if your body had been able to tell that your sleep was too smooth), you'd instantly sensed that something was wrong when you saw the light streaming in from behind the curtains, knowing for a fact that you usually woke up when it was still a little dark out. 

Turning around, you'd fumbled for your phone on the bedside table, letting out a loud gasp when you saw the time. You were already a whole half-hour late. 

"Shit!" 

Your boyfriend startled, letting out a groan, his arm still lazily draped over your stomach. 

"Did my alarm ring?" you asked, shoving his hand off of you and groaning, slipping out of bed quickly as you put on your clothes from the day before, not having any more time to go back to your apartment and get a fresh change of clothes. 

"I don't know, I didn't hear anything," you heard your boyfriend mumble from where he lay. 

Cursing, you'd ran over to his bathroom, washing your face quickly, a gasp leaving your mouth as you inspected the angry marks on your neck through the mirror. 

"I hate you so much," you tugged up the collar of your turtleneck, successfully hiding the marks when you’d let your hair down. 

Grabbing your things, you'd sprinted downstairs, hailing the first cab you could see and heading to your office. 

Was he going to fire me? You were still on probation, so there was no reason he couldn't, right? 

You'd fixed your hair anxiously as you jogged into the lobby, your shoes clacking noisily against the floor as you ran into the lift, even debating on whether taking the stairs would have been a better idea as the lift went up at an achingly slow pace. 

Finally reaching your floor, you’d made your way to the meeting room, tossing your bags outside the door and entering with your laptop, notebook and pen, keeping your head down and avoiding Chris’ gaze as he was presenting to the room. 

Taking your seat at the only empty seat left, (unfortunately, closer to the front of the room), you’d let out a small sigh. Expecting to hear Chris comment on your tardiness or whatnot, you opened your laptop, picking up on the minutes where you could. 

Keeping your head down, you’d felt your colleague from the marketing team lean over to you as Chris had given everyone some time to analyse what he was showing on the screen, his lack of a comment making you even more anxious. 

“Your hair’s a mess,” she whispered, making you wince, your hand going up to comb your hair into a ponytail in your attempt to look neater, hearing your colleague gasp. 

“Dude! Put your hair back down, your neck,” she whispered, your eyes immediately darting to Chris’ direction, seeing that he was in fact staring at your jaw and neck as well, turning away quickly, the reddening of his ears giving him away.

Your hands let go of your hair as though you were burned, hearing your colleague snicker beside you, “I see someone had fun last night. Was that why you were late, too?” 

You shushed her as Chris cleared his throat, embarrassment flooding your senses as you continued to take minutes, hoping that he wouldn’t be as mad at you if you showed that you were trying your best. Fat chance, but hey, you could dream. 

Chris had started to assign things that he’d wanted the different departments to focus on for the project at hand, flashing a slide of deadlines that you watched people scramble to confirm with their existing information. You were secretly hoping someone would hold him back with a question so that he was too busy to confront you. 

Unfortunately for you, that wasn’t the case today. The meeting ended promptly, Chris leaving you in relative silence as you packed up your things, your colleagues giving you a look of sympathy as you followed him silently out of the room back to your desk. 

“In my office, please,” he murmured. 

You fiddled with your fingers, already anticipating for him to fire you. 

“Can you explain to me what happened this morning?” 

Your eyes widened, not daring to meet his gaze as it flickered between anything in the room other than him, “I uh..I didn’t um…I didn’t hear my alarm ring and nobody woke me up so I overslept.” 

Chris’ stare was unwavering, leaning against his desk and folding his arms, “so is it not your responsibility to make sure you show up to work on time?” 

“No, yeah of course it is—“ 

“Then I would like to see you be accountable for your mistakes,” he continued, “I’m not saying you can’t make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. But if your mistake is what puts an entire room of people at an inconvenience, I would prefer if you were a little more apologetic about it.” 

You’d let a short period of silence fall between the both of you, “I’m sorry,” you mumbled, your gaze fixed firmly on his shoelace, “am I fired?” 

Chris let out a small sigh, shaking his head. “No, but, you know, if you ever let anything like this happen again, I won’t hesitate to fire you,” his voice was stern, annoyed almost. 

“And Y/N, if this,” you looked up at him watching him gesture to his neck with his hand before gesturing back to you, making you cower, tugging your collar further up your neck, “is what’s the issue here. I’d suggest you start prioritising.” 

“Sorry. It won’t happen again, I swear,” you rushed to speak, bowing quickly before exiting the room as fast as you could, wanting to tear your hair out in both annoyance and embarrassment. 

You’d jumped when you heard the sound of your desk speaker, Chris’ voice sounding through the phone, “Is there a problem, Y/N?” 

Your eyes widened, rushing over to your desk phone, shaking your head as you pressed the button to reply, “no, no! Not at all. There was just a… a bug here.” 

Chris huffed, bringing his hand up to hide his amusement, watching you scramble to regain your composure. 

2. Chris was a workaholic 

It was seeing (and experiencing) all the late nights in the office and the erratic pattern of his emails on weekends that drew you to this conclusion. His routine of sleeping late and then proceeding to get up at ungodly hours to either get work done or give up on the idea of a smooth sleep, since you were aware that he tended to have trouble sleeping. Not to mention the way it seemed to you as if the top priority in his life was his work, wanting to do his best to get the company to where he wanted it to be. 

After a few months of working for him, it was very clear to you that your job entailed not only taking care of his work, but taking care of him. 

You were going over to the legal team's office to collect the binders Chan had left to them, seemingly needing one of them now, thankful to have spotted Seungmin along the way as he was leaving his desk. 

Shooting you a look of sympathy, he'd peeked his head out to glance at your area, noticing everyone else in your team had gone home already. 

"Working late again?" 

You were sure you looked horrible, with bags under your eyes and your complexion looking dull from lack of sleep, but well, you had to earn a living, right? 

You shot him a pointed look, "you know the rules, can't go home until the boss goes home," you heaved a pained sigh. 

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if he even has a social life," you thought out loud, earning an amused grunt from Seungmin. 

"I could say the same about you." You ignored his comment. 

"What d'you need?" he asked, though you were already making your way to his superior's desk, grabbing the file and leaving a post-it to say it was with Chris. 

"Nothing, just this." You let out a small grunt at the weight of the binder, your wrists aching from all the filing you'd done that morning and afternoon (you never did notice until now how inefficient Chris' uncle's document organization system was). 

"All the best," he gave you a thumbs up, earning a pitiful pout from you before you'd headed back to Chris' office. 

Knocking on his door, you'd heard him murmur for you to come in, pushing the heavy doors open with your shoulder as you shoved your way through the doors,  placing the binder onto the coffee table where he'd had his documents and laptop laid out haphazardly. 

Chan's hair was a mess, likely from running his hands through it as he worked, his tie discarded and the top few buttons of his shirt undone, looking at you with tired eyes. 

He was about to ask you for some water, but you'd seemed to have read his mind, walking over to the table near his desk and pouring him a glass of warm water from the flask. 

"I'm almost done with the filing, but I'll be outside so you can let me know if you need anything." 

You'd felt your pocket buzz with a notification, momentarily taking your attention away from Chris. 

Chris glanced at the files before looking back at you in thought, stopping you before you could exit the room, "actually, can you help me to write a report on this, I'll need this by tomorrow afternoon." 

Knowing Chris' deadlines, that meant he would've needed it by tomorrow morning, which left you no choice other than to start working on it now. 

Chris picked up a small file with a post-it note stuck onto the file, handing it to you. 

"The points are all there. I would've done it myself but by the looks of it this is gonna take a while more than I expected," he sighed, his hands on his hips as he stared at the pile of papers in front of him in disdain. 

Chris never would've admitted that he'd started preparing the post-it notes for you in case he wasn't able to complete his work in time, since he usually opted to write from his head, but he knew you worked better with structure. He'd only realised after starting to do it that it helped him draft the write-ups more concisely, so of course, the reason was always 'for his own convenience', never creating opportunities for you to think he actually tried accommodating to you. 

"This current arrangement is very un-environmentally friendly," you mumbled, staring at the papers as well. 

"I'll go get this done now," you gave him a nod, exiting his office as you pulled your phone from your pocket, the text from your boyfriend practically glaring at you, asking if you were able to meet that night. 

10:47pm - sorry, working late :( gotta work on a report due tomorrow morning - 

Biting back your disappointment at having to bail on your boyfriend again, you'd nodded resolutely, pulling up your delivery app to order food for Chris before you started on the report lest he start to get irritable because he was hungry. 

And lastly, the point you couldn't quite seem to wrap your head around, was that 

3. He was very nice, just...not so much to you. 

After the oversleeping incident from before, it was safe to say you'd never let a similar mistake repeat itself. You were constantly making sure you were alert and responsive to anything Chris could possibly throw to you (and he knew this too). 

The only downside Chris saw to this, was that it seemed as though your attitude towards the directors hadn't changed. Still swallowing their disgusting comments and serving them with a smile, even if they were looking everywhere but your face. It irked Chris. And it irked him even more that the only one you seemed to serve without a smile, was him. 

Unbeknownst to him, you'd shared the same sentiments. 

"Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on in their head?" you spoke. 

Seungmin snorted, "wait, are you talking about the meme or..." your lack of a response made Seungmin follow your gaze (or glare) to where Chris was seated at the other end of the table, giggling and smiling as he spoke with the other secretaries. 

"Ah," Seungmin nodded, understanding now why your spoon hadn't moved an inch from your bowl, your grip around it almost death-like. 

"What are you so mad about? He's not doing anything?" 

You shot Seungmin a pointed look, your voice lowering to a murmur, "can't you see it? With them he's all rainbows and unicorn shit but with me it's like just smiling would kill him." 

You heard the secretaries letting out giggles and impressed sounds at something Chris had just said, the sound itself enough to make you annoyed. 

Seungmin's eyebrows furrowed, looking at you in scepticism, "you know the secretaries are only being nice because they're interns, right? I heard from one of them that they're actually really scared of him." 

Seungmin brought his chopsticks to his mouth, taking a piece of food from your bowl that he knew you weren't going to eat anyway, "especially after they saw how he spoke to you during the meeting the other day,"

You scoffed, "good to know that I was the warning." 

Your phone buzzed, signalling a text from your boyfriend. Strangely enough, it'd been a while since you'd texted him, since you were busy with work and he was busy with school. 

Ignoring it initially, too distracted by Chris, it wasn't long before you saw his caller ID show up on the screen, getting Seungmin's attention. 

"I think you should answer that," he gestured, making you glance around the table in your hesitance, not knowing if it would be rude to just exit halfway. 

Picking up the phone-call, you'd turned your head, lowering your volume to a murmur, "hello?" 

"Hey, can we talk? I really need to tell you something." 

You winced, "is it urgent? I'm at a team dinner right now." 

Your boyfriend sighed, scoffing, "it really is always work with you, huh." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

You glanced at the table, standing up to excuse yourself. Chris's expression read confusion, eavesdropping on a secretary asking what happened, Seungmin replying that it was your boyfriend calling. 

You'd made your way outside the restaurant, Chris glancing in your direction and spotting you walk past the restaurant's windows, a part of him shaking off whatever curiosity that lingered in him as he focused on his conversation. After all, you did tell him you could handle yourself, right? 

Where you were, you'd moved to a quieter spot outside the restaurant, "okay, I can talk now. What's up?" 

You kicked at the ground absently as you awaited his reply. 

"Look, are you free to meet tonight? There's something I need to tell you." 

"Uh..." you glanced into the restaurant, making eye contact with Chris before looking away, "I've got to work later, though. I need to get some research done for this review that i'm behind on, I don't wanna meet you if i'm just gonna end up on my computer while you're there, you know?" 

Your boyfriend nodded, "you know, that's kind of what i wanted to talk to you about." 

"Oh," a feeling of dread was building in your stomach, recognising your boyfriend's tone to be the one he used whenever he was talking about something serious. 

The first time you heard it was when you witnessed him on a work phone-call, the second being how he spoke to your parents the first time they'd met, but this time, you had a feeling you knew what was coming. 

"Let's break up." 

You fell silent, not knowing how to respond to his words. 

"Is it, um.... is it because of my work?" You asked, a part of you not being able to come to terms with the fact that it could have been your fault, "because you know I can't do anything about that." 

Your boyfriend sighed, "I know. I'm just talking about how you've been so emotionally invested in your work you don't even have the energy to maintain this relationship." 

You frowned, "what, what do you want me to do, quit my job? Will that be better for you?" 

"Look, i've been seeing someone," he began. Your heart sank. 

"And i'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of the reason. But... it was only when I started seeing her that I realised... things between us just weren't the same as before." 

Your heart felt heavy, a part of you knowing that he was making it a lot easier to be mad at him by confessing what he did, but another part of you couldn't help but prompt him further. 

"When did it start?" 

"That doesn't matter-" 

You sighed, taking your lower lip between your teeth, "it's fine, I just wanna know." 

"Fine, it was about a month in from you working for your new boss." 

You nodded slowly, still trying to process his words. You weren't quite sure what came over you when you saw Chris exiting the restaurant, turning to face your direction and spotting you in the alley. But it was as if you were so mad at yourself, mad at him, mad at your boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend now), that you'd ended the call, shoving your phone into the pocket of your blazer before heading over to where Chris was. 

"You guys aren't going home?" you heard one of the secretaries ask as you and Chris had approached his car, his driver already sitting in the car and waiting. 

Chris shook his head with a smile, "nope, we're heading back to the office." 

You mustered a smile as you bid them goodbye, you guessed this was probably the best time to bury yourself in your work as a poor coping mechanism after a breakup, as far as movie breakups went.  

The car-ride was silent, despite the pinging of your phone, making you switch it to silent mode halfway, earning a curious look from Chris, though he didn't make to ask you about it. 

Upon reaching the office, the both of you had gone back into your clockwork routine, as you sat in his office working on your computer and scribbling down on your notebook the important details you wanted him to check. Chris found that your background in law and journalism made it a lot easier whenever it came to reading and condensing information, which had only allowed him to trust you more when it came to getting tasks like that done, saving him precious time he could spend working on other things. 

The buzzing of your phone was growing more frequent, though it was as if you were oblivious to it now as you typed away at your computer. 

"Right, can you help to postpone tomorrow afternoon's meeting, and help me to make a reservation at the steak place, 2 people." 

You hadn't made to move, pulling your phone out but having gotten distracted at the multitude of missed calls and texts just because your boyfriend wanted to 'make sure you were okay'. Please. 

"Hello? Can you hear me?" you heard Chris call, snapping you out of your daze as his gaze searched your expression, trying to read your emotions. 

"Sorry, can you repeat that? I didn't hear you." 

Chris sighed, his annoyance at your phone that had lit up with a call again getting the better of him, "you know I don't ask you to stay later just for you to waste my time, you know." 

Your gaze hardened. There it was, the side of Chris that you had the 'privilege' of being at the brunt of, nowhere near the smiley giggly Chris you witnessed at the restaurant just now. 

"I said I was sorry. What do you want me to do?" 

Chris huffed, his gaze darting to your phone as he spoke, "reservation for 2 people tomorrow afternoon, the steak place my mom likes. Postpone tomorrow afternoon's appointment with Director Lee." He told you slowly, his tone as if speaking to a young child, which only served to piss you off even more. 

"Who's calling you?" he asked. 

You shook your head in dismissal, "my...uh..." you weren't sure how to respond, watching dumbly as he made his way to where you were, lifting your phone to read the contact before letting out a huff. 

"Okay, well you can tell your boyfriend that if you're gonna be this distracted at work, you can kiss your night goodbye." 

You inhaled deeply, absolutely upset but knowing there wasn't much you could do about it. You loved your job, even though you hated to admit it. Ever since Chris came in, you were getting a lot more work experience and exposure, especially with how he would make it mandatory for you to attend certain language courses that would help him whenever you accompanied him on networking events or business galas. 

And in that moment, you couldn't help but think back to what he'd said the first time he'd scolded you when he'd told you to figure out your priorities. Maybe your boyfriend called you at the right time, maybe you just weren't ready to focus on things other than your career at this point of time. 

Turning your phone off, you'd made sure Chris saw that it was off, raising your hands up in surrender, "done. I'll book your stupid reservation now." You stalked out before Chris could chime in with a 'watch your tone'. 

=== 

You'd been working for Chris for what was coming to 2 years now. The company had been reaping the results of their hard work for a while now, and you were thankful that even though you weren't as busy as before, you still managed to keep your job. Other than the fact that Chris’ hair was now back to dark brown, not much else had changed. 

Although, one tiny change you were starting to wish for was that Chris would at least try to make things a little more bearable for you. 

You were currently at a meeting with the directors where Chris was presenting the overview of the company's performance in the past month. You would have to say you were pretty satisfied with the work you'd both done on that, working a lot more efficiently now compared to when you'd first started out. 

Your silent admiration of the presentation was interrupted when one of the directors summoned you over to ask for a cup of coffee.

Doing as you were told ( much to Chris' dismay ), you'd gone and come back in record time with his hot cup of coffee, bending down and making your way to where the director sat, not wanting to prevent any of them from seeing what Chris was presenting. 

While he was presenting, it didn't take Chris very long to realise why the director had kept asking you for things, your position from where you were squatting next to him making it all-too-easy for him to ogle at you without you noticing. 

For some reason, this seemed to have gotten on Chris' nerves, especially because that director's secretary was simply minding her own business at the back of the room. 

Did Chris think what you were wearing that day was nice? He'd say he didn't but of course he did. But unlike the director, he preferred not to be so blatant about it, especially because you were always so rude towards him. 

You'd tensed momentarily when the director had grabbed your arm, about to get up when you heard Chris' voice get louder. 

"Y/N, I'd appreciate if you would stop distracting the directors and go back to your seat." 

(Later on, Seungmin would be struggling to hold back his laughter in the printing room when Chan told him to tell you to button up your blouse a little more. 

“Why can’t you just tell her yourself?” 

Chan scoffed, “knowing her, she’s just gonna think I was looking at her… chest or something.” 

Seungmin narrowed his eyes at Chan teasingly, “well, were you?” 

Chan waved him off with a groan, “just tell her, okay? The directors are having a field day with her looking like that.”)

You'd almost scoffed at the way the director had immediately let go of you, and you straightened up quickly, heading back to sit with the other secretaries. 

"That was harsh," you heard one of the secretaries murmur to you, making you shrug. 

"Whatever, not like I expected more from him anyway." 

(You did, you totally did. You'd kill for him to be less grating with his words). 

After the meeting, you'd felt a phone ring in your bag, pulling it out to see that Chris' mom was calling, obviously not having been able to reach him. Making your way to where he was, you'd interrupted his packing of his things. 

"Your mom is calling you," you'd told him out of habit, holding his phone out for him to take, jumping slightly when you'd heard one of the directors let out a dismayed grunt. 

"Is that any way to talk to your boss?" 

Your eyes widened, Chris seeming to be enjoying the situation play out before him as you regained your composure, looking back at Chris with a sickly sweet smile on your face. In front of the directors, you couldn't act up like how you usually did when it was just the both of you, so you had no choice but to be all smiles

"President Bang, your mother is calling you," you told him, and if you were annoyed, you didn't show it, having years of practice from dealing with the directors. 

"uh-huh," Chris smirked, taking the phone from your hands and answering it as he gestured for you to help him gather his papers. 

"No, mom. I’ve told you already, i’m really fine with how things are now. I'm not going on another one." 

Not that you cared, but you had to admit you were kind of curious as to what he was so insistently refusing.

"Yes, okay, bye," he hung up, handing the phone back to you. 

You'd tried your best to suppress your curiosity, seeing as he was about to be late for his next meeting with one of his friends if he hadn't hurried. 

Fixing your blouse, you'd carried your laptop in your arm as you walked with him back to his office, with you going into the lift first, Chris having chosen the wrong time to step in as a girl you recognised as one of the interns had done so too, the number of people squeezing into the lift causing her to jerk her arm, her coffee landing unceremoniously on Chris’ tie and shirt. 

Chris let out a hiss at the temperature of the liquid, eliciting a long string of apologies from the girl. You knew that if it was you that had spilled the coffee, he would be going on and on about carelessness now, but the intern obviously wasn’t you, and so you watched in envy as Chris had given her a smile, dismissing her apologies quickly. 

“It’s fine, really. I just hope you still have some coffee left to drink,” he laughed. 

Not only was he not upset, but he was joking with her too? 

You scoffed, rolling your shoulders back as you’d watched the numbers on the elevator rise till it reached your floor, the girl looking scared for her life when you’d cast her a look, bowing to you apologetically. 

“Where did you keep the spare change of clothes?” Chris asked as he’d begun loosening his tie. 

You hadn’t responded as he let you walk before him into his office, making your way over to one of the cupboards at the side of the room and opening it, pulling out a hanger with a nicely ironed set of work clothes. 

“You can go and get changed, I’ll wait here,” you murmured, Chris walking over to where you were and giving you his stained tie. 

God, you hoped his dry-cleaning run wouldn’t make you late for your lunch appointment. 

Looking at his tie, you brought it up closer to your face to inspect the material, it was a well-made tie, you had to say. Not too skinny, the material feeling almost luxurious in your hold, tempting you to put it on in your boredom. 

Hanging it round your neck, you mustered your best ‘Chris accent’.

“You should be accountable for your mistakes! Don’t you know how many people you’re inconveniencing? Now I have a tie that reeks of coffee, look,” you held up the tie with a gasp, “and my secretary’s gonna be late for her lunch meeting!” You pointed accusatorially at the small black penholder that sat on his desk. 

“Yeah! Do you know how much you’re inconveniencing me? I don’t ask you to show up to work to waste my time—“ 

You’d stopped in your tracks when you heard Chris clearing his throat, grimacing as you tried to regain your composure, taking off the tie as quickly as you could, holding it tightly in your palm as you turned to face him. 

“Having fun?” 

“No,” you shot back quickly, not even wanting to ask how long he’d been standing there. 

Walking over to you, he’d handed you his stained shirt, his expression like that of a parent that had caught their kid doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing. 

“You know, sometimes I wish you’d talk back to the directors like how you talk back to me.” 

Your eyes widened, confused at his sudden comment, but not having the time to respond as Chris continued. 

“Get these dry-cleaned over lunch. The stain’ll be harder to get out the longer you wait.” 

You huffed, already walking away from him, “well, when you say it like that I’d might as well go do it now.” 

You'd been keeping yourself busy with replying emails when you heard the elevator ding, the sound of footsteps getting louder before you saw a considerably young, suit-clad man walking towards your desk. 

"I'm here to see Chris? I'm Director Kang," he told you, though you didn't need him to introduce himself, knowing very well who he was. 

"He's in there," you held a finger up to signal him to wait as you picked up your desk telephone, pressing a button to page Chris. 

"Director Kang's here to see you." 

"Okay, send him in."

Chris closed the work he was doing on his desktop, making his way over to the leather couches as he saw his friend enter the room. 

"Yo, when were you planning on telling me about your hot secretary?" 

Chris' eyebrows raised, "didn't think that was something worth mentioning."

"Well, why not?" his friend frowned, his features pulling into one of shock, "wait, don't tell me... you guys are dating?" 

Chris rolled his eyes, "no, we're not. And please, for both our sakes, don't try anything funny with her." 

The director was about to respond, interrupted by your knocking on the door, the door opening slightly so you could enter. 

"Can I get you anything? Like a drink? Coffee? Tea?" you asked. 

The director simply looked at you curiously, sitting with his ankle resting on his other knee, "only if you'd care to join me." 

Chris glared at his friend, shutting him up quickly before he could say anything more, "coffee for him, I don't want a drink."

You nodded, exiting quickly.

"What did you come to tell me about?" 

"Must I have a reason to come and visit my beloved friend?" 

Chris rolled his eyes, "my time is precious." 

This made the director scoff, "is that your excuse now? Anyway, I came to ask if you were going for Brian's wedding next weekend." 

"Oh, yeah, right. He asked me about it last night and I said I would go, you?" 

Director Kang rolled his eyes, "can't, I've got a business trip that weekend." 

Chris hummed in acknowledgement, "that reminds me. I should get a gift for them soon. Who'd he say he was marrying again?" 

"This girl he met at work, she's nice. But, you know, not my type." 

As if that wasn't enough, Director Kang continued, "anyway, are you bringing a date?" 

He was interrupted once again by the sound of your knocking, the door opening as you made your way over to them, bending to place the cup of coffee down onto the table, making Director Kang gesture to you with his head, mouthing 'you should bring her'. 

Waving him off, Chris was eager to get Director Kang’s attention away from you, almost as if wanting to protect you from getting swayed by him, knowing the outcome was never too bright. 

"Y/N, you can go for an early lunch break today." 

Your eyebrows raised, the prospect seeming almost too good to be true. Since when was he so nice? 

"Huh? But I still have some stuff to hand the legal team..." you sounded unsure, though you did consider this to be luck since you were supposed to meet one of your friends from college for lunch today. 

Chris gave you a stern look, waving you off, making you raise your hands in surrender. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll go.” 

On your way out, you’d texted your friend that you were gonna be able to meet earlier, pleasantly surprised when she’d told you she was already in the area and that she was able to head over now. 

You’d managed to drop off Chris’ clothes for dry-cleaning before heading to the restaurant, spotting your friend already seated at your table. 

“Hey! Wow, you look great!” She told you, giving you a hug in greeting. 

“Feel a lot better compared to last year,” you joked, making her frown. 

“Your boss still giving you trouble?” 

Shrugging, you’d taken a seat, “nothing out of the ordinary. Seems like it’s part of his daily routine to annoy me.” 

She laughed, “I ordered our food already, if you don’t mind.” 

Shaking your head, you waved in dismissal, “no, yeah, I don’t mind. Thanks. Anyway, you look pretty good yourself, how’ve you been?” 

You didn’t miss the way she’d leaned closer to you, tucking her hair behind her ear in a pointed gesture, drawing your attention to the large gemstone on her ring. 

Your eyes widened, “no way.” 

She nodded, “I wanted to tell you sooner but you were so busy! I was glad enough I managed to squeeze in this lunch with you,” she told you, making you pout. 

“When’s the wedding?” You asked. 

“Next week. We’re going to have it in this beautiful church out of town, really really nice place,” she told you, “really romantic, too,” she added as an afterthought. 

You let out a deep sigh, “I hope you’re not going where I think you’re going with this.” 

She gave you a scandalised look, pausing as the waiter had come to deliver your food, “first of all, Brian has a lot of good-looking friends!” 

You gave her a look, prompting her to continue, “well, not that I’ve seen all of them but he tells me that a lot of them are single! And you know who else is single…” she pointed her finger towards you with an overly excited glint to her grin. 

“We’ve been through this a million times, Eujin. I’ve tried but it’s really hard to find a guy that’s willing to cope with… you know, my kind of schedule,” you gave her a tired (wistful) sigh, “and with my schedule, I doubt I have the time, not to mention the energy to date.” 

Eujin’s lips twisted into a frown, “but it’s been so long! Don’t you want to get back in the dating scene?” 

You scoffed, cutting into your food harshly before taking a bite. 

“Of course I do. But the last time I went on a date the guy basically shat on me for being a workaholic,” you huffed, “I mean, my boss’ working hours means my working hours, shouldn’t they just shit on him instead? Why is it my fault that he’s basically destroyed what I have left of a social life.” 

Eujin shot you a look of sympathy, “I’d say I pitied you, but it’s not like you can’t get a job anywhere else, you know?” 

You’d kept your mouth shut at that, “I know… it just… I can’t just leave when I’ve already gotten so used to how things work here.” 

Of course that was one reason, but you would never admit that there was a nagging inside of you that didn't trust Chris to look after himself if you weren't here, remembering how he'd overworked himself during a crucial period after he took over the company, and you'd found him passed out on his desk when you showed up to work that day. 

You'd sort of made a silent promise that as much as you didn't like him, you still cared for him in a way. In the way a secretary would care for her boss, totally. 

You decided to change the topic, not wishing to talk about your hopeless love life at the moment. 

“What’s the program gonna be like?” 

Eujin’s eyes lit up, setting her cutlery down as she clasped her hands together, “Okay, so. The plan is for it to be a sort of weekend-long thing,” she told you, holding her finger up. 

“Firstly, on Thursday night we’ll have a little girls night type thing, and then Friday is the rehearsal dinner, Saturday will kind of be a little rest day and then Sunday is the actual wedding,” she said, now holding up four fingers to you. 

Your head was spinning at the (rather enticing) thought of taking basically 4 days off of work, before the dread settled in that you had to ask Chris for permission to take those days off. 

“I hope my boss will let me take time off…” you murmured, already rehearsing in your head possible ways on how you could tell him. 

Eujin gave you a resolute look, “you can do it! If he says no just let me know, I’ll go over to your fancy office and fight whoever he is myself.” 

=== 

“How many days?” 

Chris had asked at your desk as he prepared to leave to meet his mom for lunch since she’d happened to be in the business district. 

You fiddled with your pen anxiously, “uh..4 days? Technically 3 and a half. But 2 of those are weekends I just need you to make sure you just don’t bother me on that weekend it’s a really important weekend.” 

Chris narrowed his eyes at you, unsure why you were so insistent on him leaving that weekend alone, nodding slowly. 

Whatever, he figured, she’s just lucky I’m busy that weekend too. 

“Okay.” 

“I swear I’ll—wait, you’re okay with it?” 

Chris shrugged, straightening his tie, “yeah. I’ve got something on that weekend too.” 

You let out a surprised hum, “oh… cool. Thanks…Mr Bang,” you added as a force of habit, not wanting to risk getting scolded for ‘insubordination’ again just because you didn’t call him by his honorific. 

Chris huffed, leaving before you could see his ears reddening. 

Over lunch, Chris’ mom had been inspecting him carefully as he ate, as if the answer to her worries lay in every piece of sushi he ate. 

“Is there something you’re not telling me? Are you… gay?” She asked, continuing, “because if you are you know you can just tell me, instead of constantly upsetting the girls I try to set you up with.” 

Chris gave her a unamused look, “mom, I’ve told you a thousand times. I would really love to date, but it’s hard to find someone with a similar work ethic as myself, that can keep up with my… lifestyle and who really understands my needs, you know?” 

This made Chris’ mom perk up, “that’s it! Why don’t you just date your secretary!” 

Chris almost choked on his sushi, fumbling to grab his glass of water to calm himself down and compose himself. 

“What,” he spoke between coughs, “gave you that idea?” 

His mom looked at him in disbelief, “whatever you just said, you were basically describing her, no? And plus, we’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about her from your uncle.”

Chris couldn’t help but entertain the possibility in his head. It was true, you did work at a very efficient pace with him, not to mention how spending almost everyday in such close contact with him made you understand his own needs and wants even better than he did on occasions. Chris shook his head, that wasn’t possible, right? You looked as though you’d absolutely hated him half the time, he’d be expecting too much from you if he’d expected you to fall for him. 

Chris shook his head, dismissing the thought from both him and his mom’s minds quickly, “no, mom. I’m fine with how things are between us right now.” 

Chris had let you leave the office earlier on Thursday, (much to your surprise) allowing you to have ample time to pack your bags and get a cab to the destination, Eujin having taken the liberty and helped you book your hotel beforehand. 

Upon reaching, you’d texted Eujin saying you’d reached. 

eujin 6:54pm -yay!! Lets just chill in one of our rooms, we can discuss it in the chatgroup!!- 

Trust her to be excitable even about the smallest things. 

You saw an incoming text from Seungmin. 

seungmin (personal)  6:54pm -what where r u I went over to find u but both u and Chris weren’t here- 

6:55pm -im at a friends wedding, took the weekend off-

seungmin (personal)  6:55pm -wow finally using your employee perks nvm then have fun- 

You’d checked in, marvelling at the cozy yet elegant look of the hotel as you made your way through the lobby, letting the lift take you up to your hotel room floor. 

Changing into more comfortable clothes, you’d seen the group chat saying to gather in Eujin’s room, with mentions of ordering pizza. Considering this was your first weekend away from work in a very, long while, you were determined to make the most of it, heading over to Eujin’s room. 

You hadn’t expected to be welcomed as warmly as you were, hearing comments of ‘we were so happy you could make it!’ Or ‘thank God you could take time off!’, sharing the same sentiments as them as you’d let Eujin pull you onto the bed, the softness of the sheets and pillows instantly making a content sigh leave you. 

“I ordered room service,” Eujin sing-songed, gesturing to the Champagne bottles and whatnot on the tray next to the bed. 

“I’ll have one,” you raised your hand, earning a laugh from one of your friends. 

“Tired from work?”  

You let out a loud groan, nodding. This made Eujin nod gravely, “I swear, if I ever see your boss in real life, I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind.” 

You scoffed, “you don’t even know what he looks like.” You’d gratefully accepted the glass of champagne that was handed to you. "and plus, he's not that bad, other than the fact that he finds joy in pissing me off. He just works too hard in my opinion." 

You’d spent your time enjoying the once chance you could relax to your heart’s content without feeling dread at having to wake up early the following day, enjoying yourself as you leant against the headboard of the bed, listening to stories about how they’ve been and how all of them were either planning on getting engaged soon, were in long-term relationships or already married. 

“You guys make me wanna get married too,” you pouted, earning bouts of laughter from them. 

“You’d have to actually date to do that, you know,” they told you pointedly, making you sigh. 

“You’re basically married to your job, already,” your friend chimed in, making you laugh. 

“Seems like that, doesn’t it? I was super shocked he’d let me have the weekend off, usually he’d be swarming me with emails about now.” 

“I’m excited to see Brian’s friends tomorrow, maybe there’ll be someone that catches your eye,” Eujin told you, making you shrug. 

“Just out of curiosity, though, what are you looking for in a guy? You know, we could help you keep an eye out too.” 

You hummed, shrugging. 

“I’ve never really thought of a specific…criteria I guess. I guess I’d just like someone that’s kind, looks out for me, doesn't underestimate me...sort of has the same lifestyle as me? Since it’s honestly been really hard to find someone that doesn’t hate my schedule.” 

You'd almost scoffed at the way your brain had refused to picture anyone else other than Chris while you thought about it, figuring it was probably because he was the only guy you were in constant contact with. 

Eujin looked at you resolutely, “we’ll do our best,” she held up a fist in an action to cheer you on. 

You shrugged, You figured maybe going into this with an open mind would do you some good. 

You changed the topic, directing the focus back to Eujin, “whatever, let’s just have fun, it’s your big day soon, let’s just celebrate!”

===

At the rehearsal dinner, you had yet to arrive, since you’d spent a little longer getting ready, choosing to use your opportunity to dress up a little more, not having the luxury to do so during your usual work days. 

You had texted Eujin that you were on the way with some of the other bridesmaids, her attention directed elsewhere when her fiancé had called her over. 

“Hey, wanted you to meet some of my friends from law school.” 

While being introduced, Eujin couldn’t help but wonder if they were single, remembering your mentioned criteria from the night before. 

“Oh, so are you guys all working in the law sector now?” 

Her husband shook his head, “All of them, except Chan here. He’s the ceo of Bang Mobile Media company.” 

Eujin’s eyes widened, glancing at the brown-haired boy cautiously, as if sizing him up. Y/N worked in a mobile company too, right? If she was remembering this correctly. Was it mobile or broadcasting? 

“Oh, wow. That’s impressive.” 

Eujin had let them introduce themselves more, not being able to help but think that Chan was nice, friendly, and rich on top of that? 

“I don’t get it, how are you single? You’re basically the whole package!” She wondered out loud, making Chan flush, giggling as he shook his head. 

Her husband seemed to have begged to differ, “Chan is incorrigible when it comes to his love life.” 

Eujin raised her eyebrows in surprise, not having expected someone so good-looking to have such a fate, “really? Is there a reason behind that?” 

“He’d never dated much, even back when he was in Australia. He was always super dedicated to his work,” this had served to make Eujin even more positive about this guy’s prospects as a suitor for you. 

“Oh my god, you’re exactly like one of my friends, I should totally introduce her to you when she comes later.” 

“Hey, cut him some slack,” one of his friends had spoken up, “Chan can’t cheat on his job.” 

Eujin felt her phone vibrate signalling a notification, pulling it out to see that you’d arrived already, excusing herself and practically running over to the entrance of the venue. “Chan, you stay put, I have just the perfect girl to introduce you to!” 

“Y/N! You have to come quick, I think I found the perfect guy for you.” 

Your eyes widened, clutching onto the chain of your bag as you followed her into the room. 

“He’s really nice, and friendly, and he’s good-looking! Really cute dimples! And on top of that he’s loaded. I’m so excited for you to meet him.” 

Letting her drag you along, you’d distracted yourself with the atmosphere of the area, wondering just how much it would cost to book a venue like this, tugging down your dress that was hiking up from practically running after Eujin. 

“Hey, I have someone I’d like you to meet. Chan, this is Y/N,” Eujin chirped, the names causing the both of your heads to shoot up, locking eyes with each other as a feeling of doom built in the pit of your stomach. 

Your eyes widened in panic, glancing down at your attire, back to him, who was dressed in a flowy black shirt that you were sure cost more than your one week’s pay, the top few buttons of his shirt undone to reveal a simple silver necklace, and fitted black pants, your gaze landing on the small silver rings on his ears, almost feeling as though you were looking at a different person. 

Chris thought so too, seeming to have the same panic as you as he tried not to let his gaze linger too long on your dress, nodding his head at you in greeting, “nice to uh…meet you.” 

His ears had felt hot as you nodded back at him, almost startling when Eujin had cheered, leaning over to whisper to you, “I’ll make sure you guys get to sit next to each other.” 

You were about to protest when she’d left, leaving you standing at the bar with Chris. 

“So, Y/N, how do you know the bride to be?” 

You gulped, wanting to slap yourself for how your gaze had kept returning to Chris, unable to shake the feeling of needing to be in work-mode now with his presence before you. 

“Oh, uh, we were friends since college,” you answered simply. 

“Cool, did you guys have the same major?” Chris had to stop himself from glaring at his friend, a strange feeling inside of him as he recognised the look on his friend’s face and his posture to be that which he used whenever he was interested in a girl. 

You shook your head, “uh, not quite. I majored in law but she majored in journalism.” You tried to respond as calmly as you could, not being able to shake Chris’ gaze off of you, feeling as though at any moment he was going to call you out for something you weren’t even aware of.

You saw the guy practically light up at the mention of law. 

“Woah, that’s really coincidental. All of us met in law school,” he gestured to the group of them, making you laugh nervously. 

“Where are you guys um… dates?” You asked, immediately regretting the question when you saw the way Chris was practically glaring at you. 

You didn’t understand why he was glaring at you, wasn’t it a valid question? 

“We didn’t bring dates, unfortunately. Did you?” 

You shook your head, making Chris snort. “Does it look like she brought a date? She literally came in alone.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him, unsure where his spitefulness was coming from, especially when his friend was just trying to make conversation with you. 

You scoffed, folding your arms. “Yeah, pity. Maybe I’d have time to date if I wasn’t always so busy running around doing shit for my boss,” you cast a pointed glance at him, bringing a hand up to nonchalantly run it through your hair. 

Chris smirked, two could play at this game.

“Same here, I’d probably have the time to date too if my secretary wasn’t always causing trouble.” 

“Your secretary?” His friend spoke up, “I heard from someone she was pretty cute, and nice too.” 

You’d almost wanted to agree, realising that if you did it would put you in a pretty compromising position, simply acting surprised. 

“If I had a secretary like that, I’d just date her,” one of his friends had spoken up, making your eyes widen, wracking your brain for possible responses. 

“Who knows, are you a workaholic?” You asked pointedly, earning amused grunts and laughs from his friends, “ah… it’d be too bad if I was your secretary, then. I absolutely can’t stand dating workaholics.” 

Chris narrowed his eyes at you, the both of you knowing you were just as bad at him, replying calmly, “oh, you can’t stand dating workaholics? Me neither.” 

You were thankful that Eujin had given you a small break when she'd invited everyone to take their seats so dinner could be served, wincing when you'd ended up sitting next to Chris out of habit, momentarily forgetting that you weren't attending a networking session. 

You'd hoped and prayed that you wouldn't slip up more than you already did. As much as you'd wanted to spite him, he was still your boss, and you knew he'd give you an earful for even the slightest hint of disrespect ( which you were sure you'd surpassed already ). 

Focusing on the gorgeous food they'd served you, you saw the waiter pick up the bottle of wine, pouring it for you. 

Having been oblivious, the waiter was about to pour a glass for Chris as well, making your secretary-instincts kick in, your arm darting across Chris to stop the waiter in time. 

"No, Mr Bang, you shouldn't drink that." 

Chris would have looked fairly amused if he wasn't stressed out by your proximity, with you practically leaning over him to speak to the waiter. 

You'd cursed internally, wincing at the way Chan's friend had looked at you, tilting his head in confusion. 

"Mr Bang? And how do you know his alcohol preference?" 

Chris let out a nervous giggle as you straightened up, "uh...well um like...you know it's a really funny story actually... we're um..." 

Not being able to bear his awkward fumbling any longer, you'd butt in, "We work in the same company. Yeah." 

You were lucky his friend had bought it, simply nodding in understanding, "no wonder, you guys were being so weird just now." 

Chris scoffed, "what weird?" 

You turned around in your chair, pretending to pick up your bag, "stop, you're making it worse," you murmured so he could hear you, making him bring his glass of water to his lips. 

One of your girl friends had spoken up, halfway through the meal, "wait, i just realised. If you guys work in the same office, then you must know her boss right? That dude is crazy. We all thought it was a miracle that she could take time off for the wedding," 

You glared at your friend, trying to subtly shake your head in your attempt to stop her, but she was oblivious, "she doesn't like it when we badmouth him but it's true! Ever since she started working for him it's like her social life just disappeared. Her boss is always her first priority." 

You'd never related more to how people said they wished the ground would swallow you whole. Looking down at your food, you'd tried to remain nonchalant about it, but Chris who was next to you was looking at your friend with wide eyes. 

"Oh, really? What else does she say about him?" 

You laughed nervously, waving your hands in dismissal, "nothing that concerns you."

Chris turned to you, dropping his volume to a murmur, "is that so? because i'm hearing all this and i'm getting the feeling it definitely concerns me." 

You let out a huff of anxious laughter, bringing your glass to your lips, consuming your drink in sips because your boss was sitting next to you, but secretly wishing you could down it all in one go. 

Soon enough, all your anxious sipping had made you reach an empty glass, the waiter coming over to refill it for you, earning an eyebrow raise from Chris. 

"Leave me alone," you huffed. 

Chris simply laughed, "what? I didn't say anything." 

You'd tried to pay attention to the proceedings of the wedding rehearsal, and after dessert was served people had started to mingle around more, the drinks having started to kick in as you'd felt a lot more relaxed. 

It was safe to say Eujin was as well, going around to talk to the guests and thank them for coming out of town for the celebrations. 

Soon enough, you were almost done with your fourth glass, oblivious to the way Chris was looking at you, impressed yet concerned. Feeling skinny arms drape over your shoulders, you turned your head to see none other than Eujin, cooing at you affectionately. 

"Tell your boss a huge thank you for letting you have this weekend. I couldn't even get to see you on my birthday or for the engagement party, but i'm so so glad you're here now." 

You couldn't help but glance at Chris, knowing that you'd missed both of those events because you were helping him with something. The first being when he'd almost overworked himself enough to warrant a visit to the hospital since he hadn't been sleeping or eating well (after that, you swore you'd make sure this man was getting his three meals if you could help it), and the second time being when you had to accompany him to a keynote session out of town. 

You were starting to think maybe there was a little more to unpack behind your reasons why you stayed working for Chris Bang. Your only consolation at this point of time being that the rehearsal dinner was ending soon, meaning that you could finally escape the suffocating tension you were feeling. 

"Wanna hitch a ride back together? I drove here." 

You'd almost declined, feeling as if you didn't have a right to be in his car if it wasn't work-related. Chris had seemed to sense your hesitation, simply not waiting for a reply and walking off, hoping his smile wasn't too obvious when he'd heard you jogging to meet his pace. 

He'd surprised you even more when he'd opened the passenger door for you, shutting it gently after you'd gotten in. 

You'd given in to the comfort of his car almost immediately, more-so when Chris had gone to take something from the boot of his car, getting into the driver's seat and draping the soft blanket over your lap. 

"The drive back's pretty long, might wanna make yourself comfortable." 

And you were comfortable, very comfortable. Chris had started to play some music from his playlist, something about his behaviour almost making you forget that he was the same boss that had worked you to the bone for over a year. 

"I'm sorry," you suddenly spoke, once you were in the city, "about what my friends said," you weren't sure where all your courage was coming from, maybe it was the many glasses of wine, but whatever it was, it was putting Chris in an awfully reflective mood. 

"And what I said," you added as an afterthought. 

Chris took his lower lip between his teeth, shaking his head, “nah, don’t worry about it.”

Obviously, that seemed too good to be true, and you’d looked over at his expression in your attempt to figure out if he was being sincere. He was definitely gonna fire you. 

“I’m not gonna fire you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m just kind of…like, you know, wondering,” he began, “the uh… engagement party and the birthday party that you um… you know, that you missed. Were they both because of me?” 

You pursed your lips, nodding, “but it wasn’t your fault, you know. The first one was when you’d passed out… you know, at the office, remember?” 

He nodded, prompting you to continue, “the next one was a keynote session that I had to follow you to.” 

Chris gulped, his throat feeling dry all of a sudden. This whole time he wouldn’t have guessed you’d been giving up these things for him from how willing you’d seemed to work. Was this considered neglecting the needs of my employee? Probably. But whatever it was, Chris knew that he was being harsh on you more for his own sake than yours, but he was only starting to realise now that that might not have been such a good tactic.

Chris was already pulling into the hotel, stopping at the valet services as you’d slung your bag over your shoulder, Chris coming out to open your door for you, making you grimace, feeling as though you should've been the one to open it for him. 

Walking into the hotel lobby, you'd glanced at your phone, seeing as Eujin had texted you tomorrow's plans, "did you get the schedule for tomorrow? I can forward it to you-" 

Chris let a giggle escape him, nodding, "you know they would've sent it to me too, right?" 

Your lips parted in realisation, nodding as you went over to press the lift button before he could even reach over to do so, "right, forgot." 

You were sure it was something about your intoxicated state that was making you instinctively go into work mode, whatever relaxation you thought you would be getting on this weekend now seeming all too far from reach. 

"Uh... I can check what time the hotel serves breakfast and arrange for something to be sent to your room if you want-" 

"Y/N," his tone was enough to make you straighten up, goosebumps rising on your skin for some reason. 

Chris was looking at you in amusement, one hand shoved into his pocket, "you're not working, remember? This is your rest weekend." 

Your eyebrows knit in a frown, chewing on your lip as you averted your gaze, "I know but it's just... like I didn't expect to see you here and now that you are I can't help but feel like I'm at work or something," you'd turned to wonder what was taking the elevator so long, watching as the numbers had gone lower and lower, completely skipping your floor and heading to the carpark. 

"You know what? How about this," he began, pausing momentarily when you heard the elevator ding, stepping inside the empty elevator and pushing your floor button, your heart almost stopping when he hadn't made to press any button. 

"You're on the 14th floor too?" He nodded. 

"Anyway, as I was saying. To make things easier for you, let's just pretend we don't know each other, that i'm not your boss, you're not my secretary. We're just... two people that met at a wedding? You don't have to do anything for me as long as we're here, hmm?" he offered, seeming to sense your hesitance 

"Look, I'll go first," he stretched his hand out as if to ask for a handshake, "hello, nice to meet you, i'm Chan." 

"Chan?" 

He nodded, "my friends call me Chan. People only call me Chris at work." 

You'd brought your hand up slowly, grasping his in yours, the cold metal of his rings against your skin more obvious when he'd given your hand a small squeeze. 

"Nice to meet you, Chan. I'm Y/N?" you tried, looking at him for approval and earning a nod from him, trying your best to ignore the way he was smiling. 

"Yes, that's your name," he laughed. 

Letting go of his hand, you were thankful the elevator had reached your floor without any interruptions, realising just how lucky you were to have not bumped into him earlier on as he'd continued walking with you to your room, gesturing to the door opposite your room with wide eyes. 

"My room's here." 

You made to take out your hotel room key, hearing him clear his throat, and you'd turned around rapidly to face him, strangely eager to know what he was about to say. 

"Say, Y/N, I'd love to, you know, get to know you more. What do you think about getting brunch with me tomorrow?” 

You opened and closed your mouth for lack of a response. This was inappropriate, right? But then again, you weren’t working this weekend. And technically, in this situation, Chan wasn’t your boss. So, there was nothing to lose. 

You nodded, “Yeah. That sounds…nice.” 

=== 

“Sounds kind of suspicious if you asked me,” you heard Seungmin’s voice over the speaker, making you sigh. You were already ready, lounging on your bed as if to mentally prepare yourself for a stupid lunch. 

“Right? I don’t know what he’s trying to get out of this.” 

Seungmin knew. But it’s not as if he was going to tell you, no, that was Chan’s job not his. Frankly, he’d had enough of listening to the both of you whine about your apparent personal vendetta against each other. He watched his fair share of movies, Seungmin knew how these things worked. 

“Maybe it’ll give you a chance to actually talk to each other like normal human beings instead of just bickering all the time for no reason.” 

“I have a reason, I’ll have you know.” 

Seungmin scoffed, “really? Enlighten me, then.”

You’d fumbled for a reason, stuttering in your failure to find something that validated your annoyance towards Chan. 

“I don’t know, his dimples are stupid.” 

Seungmin wanted to laugh, “so you’re telling me, you just can’t stand him because of his stupid dimples?” 

Your attention was diverted when you’d felt your phone vibrate, signalling an incoming text from Chan. 

boss  11:20am -meet u outside your hotel room in 10?- 

“Shit, he wants to meet me in 10 minutes.” 

Seungmin shrugged, “10 minutes is more than enough time for you to come up with a less shitty reason why you don’t like him. Or for you to realise that you don’t actually hate him.” 

You scoffed, burying your face into your sheets as you thought of a reason. 

“Okay, I’ve got it. I just don’t like how he treats everyone so nicely and then treats me like I’m some incompetent kid.” 

“You know for a fact he doesn’t think you’re incompetent. He literally trusts you more than he does the other staff.” 

You scoffed, “yeah, whatever. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s so condescending about it, he thinks of me i’m some kid that doesn’t know anything.” 

Seungmin snorted, remembering the incident where Chan had asked him to tell you to button up your blouse after the directors behaviour during a meeting. 

“Oh, he definitely doesn’t see you as a kid,” Seungmin cackled, earning an eye roll from you.

Glancing at the time, you saw how it was almost 11:30, “okay, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” 

Ending the call, you’d slung your small bag around your shoulder, giving one last glance at your appearance in the mirror in the bathroom before leaving your hotel room, startling when you’d spotted Chan there. 

Dressed in a black pullover and jeans, Chan smiled at you, bringing a hand up to touch his ear, “morning,” he greeted. 

“Good morning,” you huffed nervously.

He’d already begun walking, making you follow beside him, “did you get a good sleep?” 

His eyebrows raised at your question, nodding at you. His hair was curlier than usual, not styled up like you usually saw. “you?” 

You nodded, following him in silence as you’d gone down the list, realising he’d pressed the ground floor instead of where they were serving food on the 3rd floor. 

“You pressed the wrong floor,” you began, not expecting to see the pleading smile on his face.

“Actually, I was thinking of bringing you to this place nearby, I’ve been there before and it’s pretty good.” 

Your first thought was to wonder if it was expensive, knowing that this time you didn’t have the company card to fall back on. 

“Is it expensive?” You asked, seeing him shrug. 

“Not really.” 

Only when you’d reached the area did you realise how much of an understatement Chan made. The restaurant was a small cozy-looking place that served food that you’d only heard of up till now, located along a line of boutiques selling unusual trinkets and handmade items. 

Upon reaching, you and Chan had been led up upstairs to an outdoor seating area of the restaurant, the view of the scenery accompanied with the breeze instantly putting you in a relaxed mood. 

“Do you like it?” He asked, almost sounding nervous. 

Nodding reassuringly, you’d wanted to run away when you saw the way he’d walked over to where you were, pulling your chair out for you to sit on, making you flush. Never in your life would you have thought your boss would be pulling out your chair for you.

“You know, you don’t have to do that,” you told him, using the menu to hide your face from view, pulling it down slightly to watch how he’d rest his forearm on the table, scanning through the menu with a smirk on his face, his (stupid) dimples appearing on his cheeks. 

“I wanted to. You’d never let me do it for you on any other occasion.” 

You had to admit that there was some truth to what you were saying, choosing to change the subject by telling him you’d decided on what you wanted to eat, choosing something that was still within your budget for the weekend. 

Beckoning the waiter over, Chan pushed his sleeves up to his elbows as he ordered for the both of you, the waiter asking what drinks you would want, a teasing smile on Chan’s face when you’d insisted on water.

“What?” You scoffed, earning a shake of the head from him. 

“Nothing.” 

You’d leant back in your seat, about to tie your hair up into a ponytail, hearing the buzzing of your phone, reading the caller id to see that it was your mom trying to video call you. 

Sitting up quickly, you were about to excuse yourself when Chan had reached over, swiping to answer the call as he lifted the phone, pointing it towards you, his other hand beckoning for you to continue. 

“Hey, mom,” you spoke through gritted teeth, your rubber band between your teeth as you worked quickly to bunch your hair into a ponytail, Chan wanting to slap himself with how his ears had started to feel hot. 

“Hey, honey. Where are you? I called the office but they said you were on leave?” 

You secured your hair, taking the phone from Chan with a grateful murmur of ‘thanks’, making your mother’s eyes narrow, “who are you with?” 

“I’m attending Eujin’s wedding this weekend. I’m just uh…with a friend.” 

Chan looked away to clear his throat, catching your mom’s attention, “guy? I thought you told me you weren’t dating anyone.” 

This had caught Chan’s attention, having remembered Seungmin telling him that you’d broken up with your boyfriend. 

“No, yeah, mom it’s just a friend. Can I call you later?” 

Your mom’s eyebrows lifted, looking at you with a cheeky smile on her face, “oh, oh. Yes, of course you can. Have fun, baby.” 

You hung up quickly, shoving your phone back into your bag, looking up at Chan in question as to why he looked so surprised. 

“Your mom doesn’t know you have a boyfriend?” He asked, as if wanting that confirmation for himself, not feeling comfortable with pursuing his feelings if you were still in a relationship. 

You shook your head, “no uh…I broke up with my boyfriend a long time ago.” 

Chan’s lips pursed, nodding, “oh… sorry.” 

You shook your head, not being able to help a breathy laugh from leaving you, “don’t be. He was…it was for the best.” 

“D’you mind if I ask why? You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, I’m just kind of…curious.” 

You shrugged, not feeling as inclined to hide the information, since it was in the past now. 

“Nah he just… our schedules always clashed and I was always too tired by the end of the day to go out to find him and I guess it like, you know, sort of reached a point where I started prioritising my work and it didn’t work out.” 

Chan nodded slowly, the waiter coming over to serve you your food, “go ahead, you can start eating first.” 

You shook your head, insisting on waiting for his food to arrive before starting. “But I’m honestly fine now, it’s been more than a year since we broke up.” 

Chan huffed in amusement, “is that why you said you can’t stand dating workaholics?” 

Your giggles bubbled out of you, “honestly, I only said that to spite you. I’d much rather date someone that understands my schedule and reaches a compromise with me instead of just always expecting me to drop everything at their beck and call.” 

Chan nodded, “I get that. Yeah, work is important and all but… I feel like if you really loved someone you’d find any moment you could to be with them. Well, for me at least.” 

You laughed, “kind of hard, when we spend almost every waking moment with each other.” 

You’d looked up from your food when Chan hadn’t responded, the waiter finally coming over to serve his food, though his expression remained, looking at you as though he’d wanted to say something. 

“yeah,” he huffed eventually, starting to eat his food. 

You’d shocked yourself with how comfortable you were in his presence with the knowledge that you weren’t working. This was what you wanted, wasn’t it? To have Chris treat you nicely like how he did the other employees. Only now you were realising how easy it was to catch feelings for him just from this one change. 

Maybe you were kind of thankful he made it easier for you to hate him previously. 

It was true that you understood him better than most, and that he understood you as well, knowing what got on your nerves and what didn’t, how you worked and how you responded to things. Albeit there were a few things he still didn’t understand, you couldn’t deny that Chan was well-liked in the office for a reason, and you were beginning to experience that reason for yourself. 

Chris had been mulling over what his mother had told him about you, wondering if you were feeling the same tension that he was even as you talked about pointless things that made you wonder why you hadn’t talked about them sooner. 

Not that it was a bad kind of tension (or maybe it was), but it was akin to the feeling of knowing that you would both have to confront a realisation soon. 

“Are you doing anything tonight?” He asked as you were heading back to the car, earning a shrug from you. 

“My friends wanted to have some kind of girls night thing, you?” 

He sighed, nodding, “same, the guys and I are going out for drinks.” 

You shot him a look, “drinks?” 

He laughed, shaking his head, “I can hold my alcohol, I just choose not to drink.” 

Your eyes widened, “and I’m only finding this out now because? Do you remember when I had to drink your drinks for you during the first networking session because you lied to me and told me you couldn’t drink that!”

Chan flushed, “I wasn’t lying, technically. I really couldn’t drink that, I don’t like white wine.” 

You shot him a harmless glare, this time, letting him open the door for you as you got into the passenger’s seat. 

“Don’t drink too much tonight, yeah?” He gave you an amused huff as he started the engine of the car. 

“You too,” you held your pinky out for him to make a promise. 

Chan nodded, linking his pinky with yours as he leaned closer to you, “deal.” 

=== 

You’d heard the sound of beeping at your door that night, wondering what all the ruckus was all about, getting out of bed, taking your hotel room key and pausing the show you were watching on your phone, making your way over to your door carefully. 

“Why isn’t the card working?” You heard a tell-tale Australian accent muffled through the door, looking through the peephole to see a head of messy brown hair, looking as though Chan was leaning against the door. 

Opening the door slowly, you’d acted quickly to grab Chan by the shoulders to steady him before he could stumble forward, the confused boy holding up his hotel key and looking at you in confusion. 

“This isn’t my room?” 

You couldn’t help but laugh, turning him around as you’d ushered him a few steps forward to his hotel room door, “this,” you pointed at the door, “is your room, Chan.” 

He giggled, “you called me ‘Chan’.” 

Taking his hand, you scanned his hotel key, bringing him into his room, finding it awfully neat (unlike yours), smoothly guiding him to his bed and letting him flop onto it. 

Letting out a sigh, you couldn’t help but to feel rather endeared, seeing him open his eyes slowly to look at you, tilting his head. 

“Sorry, I promised I wouldn’t drink so much.” 

You shook your head, reaching over him to grab at his blanket, your movements ceasing abruptly when you’d felt his hand on your back as you hovered over him, his hand moving from your back to your head, patting it gently. 

Pulling the blanket up harshly in your panic to cover him, straightening up as quickly as you could. 

“Shut up, go to sleep. Goodnight,” you said, hurriedly exiting the hotel room and going back to your room, closing the door behind you and trying to calm your rapid heartbeat. 

The next time you’d seen him was at the hotel lobby, where you’d agreed to meet him so you could head to the wedding venue together. Chan had come down wearing a nice suit, something you were more used to seeing him in, his hair styled up in a familiar manner. 

Greeting each other, you’d both decided to pretend the night before hadn’t occurred. With you being one of the bridesmaids and Chan being one of the groomsmen, you were separated almost immediately upon reaching the venue, with him having to help his friend while you helped Eujin. 

“A little birdie told me you came together with Chan,” she sing-songed. 

You scoffed, “aren’t brides usually supposed to be freaking out by now?” 

“Don’t change the topic! So, did you guys hang out yesterday?” 

You shrugged, “yeah, I guess we did.” 

She narrowed her eyes at you, “so? Is there a verdict?” 

You went behind her to take her bouquet, handing it to her as you waved her off in dismissal. 

“Too early to tell,” you lied. 

“Stop avoiding the question! Or else I’ll just have to ask Chan myself,” she huffed sulkily, making your eyes widen. 

“No, don’t do that! Okay, fine. It’s good. He’s nice.” 

Even Eujin’s makeup artist was giving you a knowing look now, making you cower under their gaze. 

“Shut up, focus on your wedding, please.” 

You wished you could’ve done some focusing for yourself, with Chan’s friends nudging him when you’d gone to the back of the church to line up with the groomsmen, all of them seeming to have conspired to let you walk with Chan. 

“Why do you look more nervous than the bride?” He teased, holding his arm out for you to take, making you roll your eyes, bringing your hand up to grasp his arm. 

“You’re delusional.” 

Okay, maybe he wasn’t. You wished you could’ve taken your advice, having been distracted throughout almost the entire ceremony, your gaze constantly flickering over to Chan, and you were sure he’d noticed too, with the way he would smirk and avert his gaze to the floor in his attempt to stop himself from laughing. 

Shouldn’t he be the one that was nervous? He was the one that had shown up drunk at your hotel room. 

After the ceremony had ended and you were all done taking photos with the bride and groom, Chan had offered you a ride to the reception venue, and you’d accepted, not knowing that you would’ve had to squeeze in a car full of his friends too. 

Sitting at the passenger’s seat (thankfully), you’d prayed for the ride to be shorter as his friends had started to question you and Chan. 

“Is there something going on with you two?” 

“None of your business,” Chan sing-songed, only serving to spur his friends on even more, your eyes widening when you’d heard one of his friends murmur.

“Wait, but didn’t he say he had a thing for his secretary?” 

Your hand went up to cover your mouth as discreetly as you could, clutching the bag of your wedding gift for Eujin and her husband and looking out of the window in your attempt to keep your composure. 

Chan had seemed to share your sentiments, his eyes widening as he panicked behind the steering wheel, his mind racing with things he could possibly do to prevent you from hearing what his friends were so freely spouting.

“Oh, did he? Then there can’t be anything going on with her, right?” 

Chan had reached over to turn the volume of the music up, much to your fortune, not knowing if you would’ve been able to handle hearing them talk more about Chan’s love life. 

Eujin wasn’t kidding when she said that she’d make you and Chan sit next to each other, and you’d ended up at a table with Chan nearer to the front, with a few of your friends and their partners. Watching Eujin and her husband enter the hall, you’d been filled with excitement at how happy she had looked, clapping and cheering for them along with the rest of the guests. 

Once they were seated, Eujin and her husband had begun to make their own speeches, thanking the respective groups of people for coming, and you didn’t miss her pointed mention of how she hoped the guests would use this time to get to know each other as well. 

The way Eujin had done things was that dinner was served so that the guests could listen to the speeches and enjoy their meals at the same time, which you didn’t mind since you were absolutely starving. 

You didn’t miss the way Chan had been subtly looking out for you during the dinner, like how he would casually ask if you needed anything whenever he would get up to go to the bar, or how he’d brushed your hair behind your ear so it wouldn’t get into your food (not without a tut of his tongue), earning many surprised looks from your friends which he was oblivious to. 

You figured he was really making use of the ‘let’s pretend we don’t know each other’ thing as an excuse to be nice to you, not that you were complaining.  

You glanced at your phone, skimming over the texts that one of the intern secretaries had sent you to ask you for help, making your friend curious. 

“Is that your boss?” 

You shook your head, “nah it’s just one of the interns asking me for help with something,” you shrugged, setting your utensils down as you swiped into your email app, ready to clarify the problem for her, making Chan furrow his eyebrows in annoyance. 

Reaching over, he’d taken your phone from you, locking it and dropping it back into your bag, ignoring your look of confusion. 

“Hey, I was just gonna email her!” 

“They’re not supposed to be asking you to do things for them while you’re on leave. No working, this is your rest weekend.” 

You’d shut your mouth at that, deciding that it wouldn’t do you any well to go against him, wanting to pull your phone out to just read the emails but dropping your phone back when you saw the look he gave you daring you to continue. 

Your friend had seemed to be fairly amused by your exchange, shooting a look at Chan, “wow, now I’m really glad you’re here. You’re the only one so far that’s managed to stop her from checking on her work when she’s supposed to be resting.” 

You scoffed. Yeah, because the source of your work was sitting right next to you in a stupid suit. 

“Good to know,” he gave you a knowing smile, making you direct your attention back the waiters, seeing that they were serving desserts now. 

“Your friends make me sound like i’m a hard-ass,” he leaned closer to you to murmur, making you smile, nodding. 

“Well, they’re not entirely wrong,” you drawled, making Chan scoff, though not being able to help the laugh from leaving him. 

He nodded slowly, his expression looking fairly amused, “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

You wondered just for a moment if he was only being nice to you for the sake of his own conscience (though Seungmin would beg to differ). And by the late afternoon, you were already starting to feel drowsy from the afternoon weather, the skies darkening as though it were about to rain. Chan had figured it would be good to start heading back. 

After you’d bid goodbye to Eujin, who seemed more than eager for you to leave together with Chan, Chan had offered to drive a few of his friends back to the hotel together with you, and thankfully this time they hadn’t mentioned anything about his love life. 

“Tired?” Chan huffed with a smile, glancing at you momentarily before fixing his gaze back on the road. 

“Yeah,” you murmured, yawning. 

“You should get some sleep when you get back to the hotel.” 

You nodded, “you too.” 

Chan nodded patronisingly, earning a huff from you, too tired to bicker with him. something in him stirring at how he could’ve been acting like this with you a lot earlier if he wasn’t always masking his concern with rude phrasing. 

His mom sure was gonna be excited the next time he updates her. 

=== 

You hadn’t gotten as much of a rejuvenating sleep as you would’ve liked, reality having kicked in that you were back to work tomorrow, the feeling lingering unsettlingly in your chest as you tried to make the most of the rest of your night. Somehow, you’d found your way to the lounge in the hotel, though that didn’t help much in lessening your dread for tomorrow seeing as the only other people here were people working on their laptops.

You figured it was not so much of dreading work than dreading Chan’s change in personality once he went back to being your boss. 

Letting your head rest on the stiff cushion of the chair you were sitting on, you’d fiddled with your phone, texting Seungmin about what had happened today. 

You’d almost startled in your seat when you saw someone take a seat next to you, turning to see Chan, his tie long gone as his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his hair already falling out of place as he simply looked at you. 

Raising your eyebrows in a silent question as to ask why he was here, he scoffed, looking away from you but failing to hide the reddening of his ears, “shut up, I just didn’t feel like sitting with a stranger.” 

You huffed in amusement, “did you take a nap?” 

Chan shook his head, “nah, just finished a conference call.” 

Your eyes widened, “wait, why didn’t you tell me? I was doing nothing this whole time—“ 

Chan shook his head in dismissal, “you were tired. I told you, this is your rest time, I’m not allowed to touch it.” 

You frowned, your mind racing with thoughts on how tomorrow could possibly go, looking at the carpet with a hint of a pout on your face, “yeah, and then tomorrow, everything goes back to normal.” 

Chan inhaled deeply, leaning back in his seat as he turned his head to look at you, his hands clasped and resting on his lap. 

“It doesn’t have to, you know… like…” he shrugged, “if you don’t want it to.” 

Your lips parted, unsure how to respond to the implications of his words, unsure how to even process his words. 

“It’d be… unprofessional for me to continue to act like… this towards my boss.” 

Chan raised an eyebrow at you, shrugging, looking at you with an unreadable expression. 

“I think I’m way past being professional already when it comes to you.” 

You’d sworn the air had felt thicker, something about the way the night mood had felt, or how the music in the lounge had succeeded in relaxing you, but something inside of you was telling you to just do it, to lean forward and kiss him. And probably promptly resign the next day out of embarrassment. 

You stood up quickly, “oh, I think my cab’s here, I have to go,” you lied blatantly, Chan not making any move to stop you, simply lifting a hand to wave you off with a tired smile on his face. 

“Go, go. See you at work tomorrow.” 

===

“Can’t we ask Y/N to ask him?” The secretaries and interns were currently huddled in the pantry, having gathered to discuss how great it would be to have a field day soon.

“But Y/N’s equally as scary as him!” One of the interns spoke up, making the secretaries hum thoughtfully. 

You’d stepped into the pantry, walking through the secretaries to retrieve a juice packet for Chan. 

“Hey, what’s up?” You asked, one of the secretaries turning to you with a resolute look on her face. 

“Y/N, do you think you could um… like, you know, ask President Bang if we could arrange for a team outing soon? Like a field day or something, just as a break for the staff. We haven’t had one in so long!” 

You tilted your head at them in amusement, “why don’t you guys just ask him? He’s in his office now, I can go tell him you guys wan—“ 

“No, no! It’s different, you’re the only one that can convince him. We tried last month but he’d just told us he’d think about it.” 

You shrugged, nodding, “alright, sure. I’ll go and ask him.” 

Making your way back to his office, you’d tried to ignore your nerves as you knocked on the door, opening it to reveal Chan who was on the phone, holding up a finger to you to signal you to wait. 

Walking over to him, you’d placed the juice packet on his desk in front of him, earning a smile and a grateful nod from him, before he’d switched back to a serious expression. 

“No, yes, of course. We would want nothing more than to ensure a… mutually beneficial agreement between our companies.” 

You didn’t have to ask to know who he was talking to. Chan had been trying to negotiate a deal with one of the shareholders, since they had been trying to propose to get Chan to merge with another prominent electronics company in the industry. 

You knew Chan was more than annoyed, but he had no choice but to be civil with the president of the company since they did have many shares in the company from the time his uncle was in charge. 

“Yes, we can discuss this more in person over lunch, how does that sound? Yep. Alright, bye.” Chan sighed, setting the phone down and leaning his palms on the table, supporting himself with a pained look on his face, looking up at you with a pout. 

“I really don’t like him.” 

Chan sighed, “same here.” 

“Anyway, I’m glad you came here, I kind of wanted to talk to you about something.” 

“What?” You asked, watching as he’d fiddled with the papers on his desk. 

“Uh… I won’t ask you to handle things outside of work for me anymore.” 

Your eyes widened, “is this because of what my friends said? Because I’m honestly fine it doesn’t matter,” you shook your head, seeing him scrunch his nose. 

“It may not matter to you but I’m personally not fine with it,” he pressed his lips together. “Really, I mean it. Whatever I ask you to help me with from here on is only gonna be work-related.” 

You nodded. Was he trying to distance himself from me? Was it because of the trip? 

Your lips pulled into a frown, nodding more to yourself than to him, “okay…uh anyway I wanted to ask you um… the secretaries were wondering if we could have like a field day or something soon? Like just as a small break for the staff?” 

Chan shot you a look, knowing they’d asked you to ask him. 

“Do you want that?” He asked, earning a nod from you. 

“Yeah, I guess. It’d be fun to just have a day for staff bonding and all…” 

Chan shrugged, “alright, tell them to go ahead and arrange it.” 

Your eyes widened, finding the exchange to have went a lot more smoother than expected. 

“Will you be needing me for anything else?” 

He looked at you as if in thought, taking his lower lip between his teeth and letting it go, shaking his head, “other than to help me book an appointment with President Kim, nothing else.” 

You nodded slowly, exiting the room. 

By only asking you for work-related things, you’d expected your work-load to decrease, but it seemed as though you were currently having the most uneventful day you’d ever had. Other than drafting proposals for the President of the electronics company, there wasn’t much on your plate. 

You’d figured you would’ve been a lot busier tending to Chan’s requests but the boy had barely come out of his office, the only times he did being to head to the washroom, barely casting a glance in your direction when he walked past you. 

As if that wasn’t strange enough, he’d even let you have a longer lunch break, much to Seungmin’s amusement. 

“Doesn’t being in the legal team sound a lot more enticing now? At least you’d be doing something there.” 

You rolled your eyes, “I still have quite a bit of research to do, so no thank you.” 

“Admit it, you’re only staying because you can’t bear to leave Chan.” 

You’d almost choked on your drink, patting your chest to regain your composure, “where the hell did you get that idea from?” 

Seungmin scoffed, “you act like you didn’t call me a thousand times during the trip to tell me about things he did.” 

You’d fallen silent at that, averting your gaze. 

“Whatever,” you scoffed. 

“Isn’t it misconduct, though? If I were to date him.” 

Seungmin shook his head with an amused snort leaving him, “what are we in, the stone ages? Go wild, literally nobody cares. They’ll probably be happy if you manage to get him to be less of a hard-ass,” Seungmin told you, glancing into his cup to see how much drink he had left, “god knows when was the last time he got laid.” 

You flushed, shoving Seungmin, “how can you say that?” 

“What? It’s true!” 

You gave him a dismayed glare, standing up with a sigh as you straightened out your skirt, glancing at the time on your phone. 

“I should probably be heading back now, I’ve got work to do,” you gave Seungmin a pointed look, pulling him up from the bench. 

“I don’t wanna go back to work,” Seungmin let out a loud strangled sound of protest, his shoes stomping on the wooden panelled floor of the rooftop. 

You giggled, a teasing smile on your face, “weren’t you the one saying the legal team was what again? Enticing?” 

Seungmin pouted, pressing the elevator button, abruptly flailing his limbs in a mini outburst before straightening up and composing himself. 

“Fine, I’m fine. Enjoy your stupid office romance with Chan.” 

You rolled your eyes. 

Chan had a consultation with the legal team later that afternoon regarding the issue with the shareholder, and you’d been all-too-distracted during the meeting as you thought about what your possible ‘action-plan’ regarding your situation with Chan was. 

Taking down notes during the meeting, you’d let your train of thought wander, almost doodling onto your notebook, with one hand supporting your head on the table before you heard the legal advisor from the shareholder’s side speak up, a guttural groan leaving him. 

Looking up with an annoyed furrow of your eyebrows, you heard him lean back in his chair, “what does a man need to do to get a drink around here?” 

“You,” the man pointed a finger at you, “go and make yourself useful, sweetheart. Get me a cup of coffee.” 

Chan’s eyebrows knit into a frown, looking at the legal consultant with clear disdain on his face, looking at you to gauge your reaction. Already expecting you to do what you always did, get up with a smile and come back with the man’s coffee, Chan figured he was too annoyed by it to let you do just that. 

About to speak up to the man, you'd shocked Chan when you narrowed your eyes at him, giving him a sweet smile, "sorry, that's not my job here. Since you're not contributing much to the discussion, why don't you make your legs useful and head right over there and get yourself some water." 

You huffed, staring him down as he glared at you, directing his gaze to Chan. "Are you just gonna let her talk to me like that? I'd fire such a rude brat if I were you. Who's your supervisor, I'm gonna make sure he hears of this." 

Chan did his best to conceal his smile, simply turning his chair ever so slightly to give you a small smile, "that would be me, and I heard it loud and clear. Now, shall we continue with the meeting?" 

=== 

You’d been spending hours at your desk, distractedly doing research as you’d kept trying to peep into Chan’s office to figure out what he was doing, to no avail. (Chan had put the blinds down halfway through the day since he couldn’t stop staring outside at your desk either). 

You were technically done with your work, and Chan did mention that you were free to go home once you were done. On any other occasion this would have been considered a miracle, and you wouldn’t have hesitated to go home. But now, there was a nagging feeling in your heart that you couldn’t just leave him here, especially with how stressed out he was because of the business with the shareholder. You didn’t trust him not to spend the whole night here. 

Glancing at the time, you saw that it was already past 10, deciding that you would give him some time to make an appearance before you left, just to make sure he was alive and breathing inside his office. 

Distracting yourself with replying emails, even playing more than a few rounds of a word-search game on your phone, you figured he would’ve come out by now, but there was still not a sound coming from inside the room. 

Once the clock had almost struck 11, you figured you’d might as well go in and check on him for yourself. Going over to the pantry to make a hot drink, you’d walked back to his office, your grip tight on the saucer in your anxiousness. 

Inhaling deeply and breathing out with a resolute nod, you knocked on the door of his office, waiting a while only to be met with silence. 

Pushing open the door slightly, you’d tried again. 

“Mr Bang, is it okay if I come in?”

Upon receiving no response yet again, you’d pushed open the door fully, your eyes widening in realisation when you saw him seated at his desk, fast asleep on the chair. 

Walking over to the leather sofa as quietly as you could, you’d picked up the blanket from the sofa, making your way over to where he was, setting the hot drink onto his desk and making to drape the blanket over him. 

Only when you were adjusting the blanket did he stir awake, making your fight-or-flight instincts kick in, strangely embarrassed if he were to catch you doing such a gesture for him. 

Blinking slowly, his eyebrows furrowed before his gaze had landed on you. 

“I thought you’d gone home already?” He pouted, making you fumble to find an excuse why you’d stayed behind. 

“Sorry, Mr Bang, I was—”

He gave you a lazy smile, shaking his head, “none of that ‘Mr Bang’, nonsense. How come you haven’t left yet?” 

You pressed your lips together firmly, pulling your hands away from the blanket as you tried to straighten up, sighing softly. 

“I couldn’t leave… for some reason. I kind of wanted to make sure you were okay, since I barely saw you the whole day.” 

Chan’s satisfied smile had grew, nodding at you as if prompting you to continue. 

“but I’ll go soon. I guess,” you blurted, “unless like you know, you need me for something, then I’m fine with staying.” You stopped yourself, nodding before you could embarrass yourself any further. 

You couldn’t help but let your breath hitch when he’d reached out to grab your hand. 

“Thank you, for checking up on me,” he murmured, his close proximity making your gaze dart to his lips, averting your gaze quickly. 

“Did you not come out of your office on purpose?” You narrowed your eyes at him, hating the way your heart was doing flips at the way he grinned, his dimples showing cutely. 

You were about to pull back out of your own internal panic, but Chan’s grip on your hand was firm. 

“I’m sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t ask you for anything that wasn’t work related from now on. But It’s killing me, because you were sitting outside the whole day and I couldn’t do anything about it…” he paused, tilting his head as he searched your expression. 

“You can refuse, but I just need you to do one little thing for me,” he murmured,  pulling you forward so you’d ended up seated on his lap, your arms going out to grasp his shoulders to steady yourself. 

“What do you need me to do?” You asked, your voice a mere murmur with how the tension was absolutely suffocating you, wanting nothing more than to just close the gap between the both of you. 

Chan’s hand went up to your chin, running his thumb over your lower lip as they unconsciously parted, “close your eyes.” 

Chan couldn’t help but smirk at the way you’d done so obediently, his hand going to where your neck met your jaw, leaning closer to press his lips against yours. 

Almost as if it was second nature, he’d let his other hand grasp your hip, his thumb rubbing the area soothingly. Tilting his head to kiss you deeper, you’d practically sighed into the kiss, your hands wrapping around his neck loosely as you felt him smile into the kiss. 

“I’m glad it’s you,” he murmured against your lips, his tongue swiping against your lower lip making you let out a surprised hum, not being able to help your smile as well. 

“We should stop,” you pulled away, breathless. 

“Why?” 

You shook your head, “I could kiss you for hours. It’s already so close to midnight.” 

Chan glanced at the clock apathetically, looking at you and shrugging, his hand running up and down your side. 

“So be it, then,” he said, pulling you back to meet his lips. 

===

“Is it just me, or has President Bang been a lot less moody these days,” Seungmin heard one of his colleagues in the legal team asking her desk-mate, making her colleague nod gravely. 

The mention of President Bang had him glancing towards his office, spotting your desk empty and figuring you were inside his office. 

“Definitely. At first I thought it was just me, but he’s been a lot less harsh to Y/N as well,” she agreed. 

“Don’t you think so, Seungmin?” 

And almost as if on cue, you’d exited his office, pulling your hair out of your ponytail to readjust it, looking around as if scanning the area to see if anyone had seen you. 

Locking eyes with Seungmin, you shot him a wink, straightening out your blouse as you’d gone back to sit down at your desk. 

Seungmin scoffed, not being able to help the smile on his face as he rolled his eyes, “yeah, I think I know why.” 

#chris bang #bang chan #christopher bang #bang chan fluff #bang chan scenarios #bang chan au #stray kids #stray kids bang chan #stray kids chan #skz #skz au #skz fluff #skz scenarios #stray kids seungmin #skz seungmin #kim seungmin #enemies-to-lovers!bang chan #workplace!au #enemies to lovers #skz imagines

[jeonwonhi]

Give a seventeen member to your favourite mutuals

Hello anon! I've been waiting for someone to give me a SVT mutual ask game <3

Here goes nothing!

@heephoria - Joshua. Pretty self-explanatory, they are vibe-mates, gentle sexy people, point blank periodt

@oifelixcmerebrou - Dokyeom, aka sunshine, a literal angel, softie, one of the prettiest smiles in the world, MUST PROTECT>:(

@rr0zu - The8. Sam has a very artistic nature and her sense of fashion is top tier, just like Minghao's. She's also a Scorpio rising and Minghao is a Scorpio himself😌

@jaeminpeachy - Jeonghan. There's literally no more suitable SVT member than Yoon Jeonghan himself for Meri, his nickname is angel yet he becomes the spawn of devil during games and so does Meri sjdhdhks

@bluejaem - Seungkwan. Aditi has a great sense of humor and she never fails to make me happy when I see her in my dash/inbox. Just like Seungkwan, they were born to be entertainers✨

@intokook - Hoshi. Ah, my no.1 hypewoman, she's literally wilding in my dash every time and she's also bickering with Aditi 24/7, hence why I put Seungkwan with Aditi lol. Also, she's extremely creative and fast in the process, just like Hoshi when he makes a new choreography :D

@deobis-moon - Dino. Yuki may not be the youngest but is definitely cheeky, like Dino. He's also extremely charming and Yuki is a very charming person too. They are also hot af and Aquarius😩

@jenossslut - Vernon. They are both straight up living on vibes only and I 100% RESPECT THAT. They both have a very unique way of thinking and are occasional savages, we stan <3

@morkiest - Jun. Not only her alias is the same, but they are quite similar to my eyes too. Jun is one of the members who usually lays low, but once he speaks up, the rest of SVT are 100% Wen Junhui simps. Same goes for me being a simp for my sis😩👌

@delicatewerewolfsoul - Wonwoo. If Wonwoo had a female counterpart, it would be Vicky hands down. They are MBTI twins and a bit intimidating at first, but total sweethearts once you get to know them❤ I'm stopping here cuz I could go on for hours since Wonwoo is my svt bias and Vicky has a special place in my heart hhhhhhhh

@sleepylixie - Woozi. Elliana is a writing genius and sort of a workaholic, you'll always find her working on a new fic or collab, just like Woozi being locked up in his studio. She's also short, but radiates tall bitch energy. She could probably smash your head with a guitar too Carats know the reference lol

@jaemotel - S.Coups. LISTEN. Abhie may be a Cancer, but she radiates HUGE LEO vibes. She's extremely passionate when it comes to her writing and she strikes me as a competitive person too. Seungcheol is a hella competitive person too, even if he doesn't always win lol

@moonshineboyz - Mingyu. THIS BITCH IS HOT. She also has a sexy brain like our puppy boi Gyu. She's also very social and a bright person. Last but not least, she's the one who gets bullied the most in the deobis squad, just like Mingyu in SVT sksjsjkssjs

#thanxx anon✨ #anon asks #cute anons💖 #ask games