#like in college i had like. two sets of utensils. three bowls. one plate. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bangtan-madi · 4 years

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Year of the Rabbit — Four: Resolutions

Pairing — Jungkook x Reader, Hoseok x Yoongi, Taehyung x Jimin

Tags — best friend!Jungkook, non-idol au, flower shop au, gym au, florist!MC, gym owner!Jungkook, brother!Namjoon, friends to lovers, slow burn, mutual pining

Genre — fluff, slight angst

Word Count — 3.9k

Summary — Blame it on the storm or the secret feelings or the snow-in, but one thing is for sure: a lot can happen to two best friends when they're confined to their stores overnight.

Warnings — language

Part — 4 / 7

Previous — Next

When you've gathered a couple pans and utensils, you scurry back to the baker. The moment to yourself made things a bit easier to hide. But the thought of Jungkook's closeness still presses against your mind's backdoor. When you return, it's even harder to ignore. He's meticulously counting ingredients, lips pursed in an adorable manner. He's organized the containers around him, with the portable stovetop in front. In the makeshift kitchen, he's completely at home as he chops protein for the Tteokguk. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the beautiful array of ink is on display. He sits cross-legged, oddly domestic in front of the bakery.

"You just gonna stand there, or are you going to get down here and help me?"

You shake your head and walk towards the dimly-lit space. On the way, you admire the colorful array of rainbow lights around you. "They really went all-out with the Lunar New Year decor, didn't they?"

Jungkook takes the pans and utensils you offer him, muttering a swift thank you. "They're pretty. I think they give the space a nice ambiance."

As he measures ingredients, you remove the blanket from your shoulders, fold it several times over, and use it as a cushion. Jungkook's skilled hands work on measuring the oils and spices, along with a healthy dose of soy sauce. He places each ingredient in small bowls and sets them off to the side.

"How'd you get the power for the stovetops?"

"The generator's through the door behind the bakery," he replies. "I plugged it in and borrowed some from that." He nods to the bottled water at his side. "Can you get some water going on the stove? Fill it up halfway. That should be enough."

"Then we add the brisket, right?" It takes four or five bottles before the pot on the largest of the three burners is to your liking. "I barely remember this from when Mom used to make it."

Jungkook smiles up at you as he offers a smaller dish of protein. His arm maneuvers around the burner, avoiding the heat source to not risk any burns. "And the garlic."

You shake your head, and after the water begins to boil, you add both ingredients. "It's a good thing you remember this, Gym Bunny. Otherwise, we'd both starve."

"No need to thank me for that," he snickers. "What you should be thanking me for is coming back for you at all. I could've stayed at your nice, warm apartment with the damn cat, but no. I braved the winter storm—"

"—Like an idiot—"

"—To save your ass. You're welcome."

"Maybe you should've stayed with Elizabeth the 3rd, then! I could've made it out on my own, or found this place, and would've had some nice peace and quiet."

Jungkook rolls his eyes. As he reaches for a knife, placing the edge of the sharp blade against the green onion, he winces. The painful twitch of both his expression and his fingers isn't lost on you. He tries to grip the knife again, and when you glance down, you see his fingers are still tinged red from the cold. That hour he spent trekking from your apartment to the flower shop took a toll on him. It's one that he's refused to acknowledge.

"Dumbass," you mutter under your breath. Reaching across, you take the utensil from his tattooed hands. You slide the makeshift cutting board (an upside-down plate) over to your side of the little kitchen. "Stop trying to grip things. Your fingers are still half-frozen."

Jungkook relents, which surprises you in and of itself. He doesn't comment on the state of his hands. He only moves onto the next task of separating the egg yolks from the whites.

Your attention shifts from the green onions up to your best friend. It's difficult not to be caught off-guard by his silence. "You okay, Kookie?"

The brunet's dark eyes move up to yours, and he gives a soft smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry, didn't realize they were still hurt...and you know how I feel about not being able to do things."

You finish the chopping and set the greens aside. "Don't beat yourself up about it. You need to learn to lean on others from time to time. A little teamwork won't kill you."

"It won't?"

A loud laugh slips out at his snide comment, which brings back Jungkook's adorable smile. He continues to tell you what to prep next, and as the minutes pass, you find yourself slipping into a rhythm with him. It's not the first time you've cooked together; far from it. Between after-school study sessions in high school, midnight mental health breakdowns in college, and post-education hangouts, the two of you have made a mess plenty of times. Much to Yoongi's dismay.

A chuckle slips out at the sudden resurgence of those college-era memories. "What do you think Yoongi would say if he saw us here right now, trying to make Tteokguk in the middle of a supermarket?"

Jungkook giggles as he adds the rice cakes to the boiling brisket and water, along with most of the spices and oils. "He'd probably just roll his eyes and warn us to clean up or he'd bury our bodies in the woods. His reaction doesn't scare me as much as Seokjin's."

The mention of your mutual friend causes you to double-over in laughter. Seokjin, the most traditional Korean man you know, would be horrified. "He'd probably just...die."

"But not before he'd scream at us," Jungkook adds, raising the large wooden spoon and gesturing to you. His eyes widen and he changes his voice to mimic Seokjin's satoori. "You can't just cook Tteokguk like that! What are you thinking? You're lucky you're not my son or I would have disowned you if I saw you using pre-made, frozen rice cakes! Hey! Stop it! I raised you better than this!"

The impression is spot-on, so much so that it has you gasping for air and red in the face from laughing. Tears burn your eyes, and you wave your hand at Jungkook, a silent plead for him to stop. You're unlucky enough that your best friend is a slight sadist and enjoys seeing you lose your mind.

"If you think it's so funny to cheat out on a thousand years of Korean cuisine history, then go ahead! But not in my house, and you have to be obedient to me because I'm an older person!"

"Stop, stop, stop," you gasp, curling in on yourself as you fall over onto the soft blanket. "It. Hurts."

Jungkook continues his impression. His expression and voice grow more dramatic as time goes on. "Is this the thanks I get for buying your meals, huh? Do you know how many times I did that when you were a broke college freshman? I can't even count on my fingers! I don't have enough! I can't calculate! Because I secretly can't count!"

"Jeon Jungkook!" you rasp, smiling so wide your face hurts. "Please, god, stop."

Finally, he relents, voice shifting to a collection of giggles. Your breathing returns to normal, and your facial redness subsides. "You okay there, Flower Child?"

"I will kill you."

Jungkook smirks as he begins to add the final ingredients to the Tteokguk. "Highly doubt that. Especially with the Tteokguk almost done!"

Pulling yourself back into a seated position, you give Jungkook a pouty expression. "You promised me Hwajeon." You hold up a container of edible flowers.

The brunet chuckles at your childish expression. He rolls his sleeves up a little farther, showing more of his tattoo sleeve in the process. He pushes the bag of flour to your side of the burners. "Have at it then. I'll finish up the Teokguk while you fry the cakes."

Your smile widens and you take the ingredients with eager hands. As you measure, Jungkook begins final preparations for the meal. He adds nori and strips of fried egg yolks. The smells that fill the supermarket are divine. For a moment, you forget the situation that brought you here. The blizzard outside. The lack of power. The fact that you're trapped in the store until morning. None of it matters anymore. Jeon Jungkook has always had that effect on you; he excels at making people forget their problems and sadness. It's one of the reasons you missed him more than life while spending time as an exchange student.

"What're you thinking about?" he asks, after a moment of silence.

Shrugging your shoulders, you begin to roll the ball of warm dough into smaller balls and prep them for frying. "Just about the past year. A lot's happened." You take a few of the edible flowers and press one into the flattened face of each bough ball. "A lot's changed."

Jungkook nods his agreement, once again stirring the pot. When he speaks again, his voice is softer. "How do you feel about your last semester at university?"

"Glad it's finally almost done," you scoff. "Been a long time coming. I loved traveling abroad, but it made me realize that what I have here with my friends, with the shop...this is home. Once the three of us graduate, I bet business will pick up."

Jungkook's shoulders relax, and he sighs in a way that almost sounds relieved. "So you think you're with those two idiots for the long-haul, huh?"

Thinking of Hoseok and Yoongi brings a sentimental smile to your face. You toss the first round of flattened dough into the oiled skillet. "I think so. We all work together well, and I love Seoul. I don't see myself living anywhere else, really. As a small business owner, you know what I mean when I say you're kinda anchored to your business."

"At least you have an online aspect," he snickers. Reaching for the serving bowls, he nods his chin towards the front of the store, as if to his gym across the street. "Can't exactly work out virtually."

"Ha! I wish."

"But I get what you mean, and honestly? I'm glad to hear it. I was kinda worried you'd end up loving the U.S. and...I don't know, want to move out of Korea or something."

As you flip the Hwajeon over, your gaze drifts upward. Jungkook's hair hangs over his eyes, but under that, you can see a rosy blush spread across his cheeks. His lip is between his teeth as he focuses on pouring the soup without spilling. If you didn't know better, you'd say he was embarrassed.

"Would you miss me if I did?"

The question comes out without you thinking too hard about it. From the way Jungkook keeps his eyes away from yours, you second-guess if it was the right thing to ask. God knows it could be read into pretty easily. But the little feeling in the back of your mind, the one you'd locked away, has found a lock-pick. It's desperately trying to free itself. It wants to know the answer. For that reason, you wait with bated breath for a response.

"Like hell," he admits. "You're my best friend. I go to you about everything. I...don't know what my life would be like if I didn't have you in it, to be honest."

His words are sentimental, filled with truth, and drag out a complex array of feelings. You're both elated and terrified. Mostly the former, but the tiny prick of dread in your chest won't go away. Your realization from earlier in the evening is accompanied by these intense feelings.

And since you have no idea what to do with them, you answer the best way you can, through a clouded mind. "Well, you don't need to worry, Bunny. I'm not going anywhere."

Jungkook's eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles. Finishing with the plating, he nods to the Hwajeon. "About done?”

"What? Oh—yeah. Just about."

He passes you a plate and turns off both burners. "Then let's eat. Put them on the plate and follow me. I found the perfect place for a Lunar New Year meal."

After the Hwajeon is plated and the dual bowls of Tteokguk are on a platter, Jungkook leads you towards the front area of the supermarket. It's farther down than you previously ventured. It's past the food and drink to the small home goods, clothing, and electronics section. He must've come across it when he was looking for the burners.

In the corner, next to the large windows at the front, there's a window display similar the one at the flower shop. It's a cubby of sorts, where the bay windows extended into the sidewalk. There used to be mannequins displayed with a variety of winter clothing. Jungkook's shoved them aside. In their place, he's arranged several blankets and pillows around a low table. He's even pushed one of the storage bins up behind the pillows to have something to lean back against.

"You did all this by yourself?" you ask.

Jungkook nods, sets the food onto the low table, and settles onto one of the cushions with a sigh. "You took forever getting the utensils, so I came over here and messed with some stuff." He pats the spot beside him. "The snow's lightening a bit. It looks so pretty from inside. Maybe we'll even see some fireworks in a little while."

You take your seat beside him, trying to ignore the fact that his thigh presses against yours and his arm brushes your shoulder when he offers you your bowl. For a moment, your eyes lock. Jungkook averts his attention, his dimple popping out as he purses his lips.

Taking it with a small "thank you" and slight bow of your head, you turn your gaze from the awkward boy down to the meal. Inhaling the aroma, you let a lazy smile spread across your face.

"Holy shit, this smells amazing."

"Just like Mom's," he breathes. Turning to the side, he holds up his glass bowl towards yours. "Cheers?"

"To a Happy New Year." You tap your bowl against his, giggling at the soft clink that it makes.

After digging in and continuing to praise yourselves on a job well done, you change the topic of conversation. "So, you have any New Year's resolutions?"

"Isn't that an American thing?"

"It never hurts to look forward," you say in a snide tone, rolling your eyes at Jungkook's grin. "Fess up. What are you looking forward to in the Year of the Rabbit?"

Jungkook settles back against the pillows, taking another sip from the broth. "You first."

"Well..." you trail off, watching the blizzard slow to a soft fluttering of snowflakes outside the neon-lit window. "Kinda already told you mine, to be honest. Graduate. Grow the shop. Expand the business. Things of that nature."

"What about in your personal life?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I wanna get back to Ilsan to visit Mom and Dad more. I should also probably track down Joon and spend more time with h—"

"—Not what I meant, [Y/n]," Jungkook interrupts.

You tilt your head when you glance at him out of the corner of your eye. "What did you mean then?"

The brunet shrugs and grabs a piece of Hwajeon. "You've been single ever since you dated that douche in high school. What was his name?"

"Ugh, Hae-song," you groan, not at all enjoying the resurgence of your exes name.

"Yeah! That one," Jungkook chuckles. "I get best friend rights to know if you're seeing anyone lately."

"Awfully brave of you to assume that Hae-song was my last boyfriend."

Jungkook's eyes widen. "Did I miss something—Wait, when you were in the States?"

You nod once and set your finished bowl aside, glancing over your shoulder at the drink aisle a few meters away. Hopping up, you scurry over and grab a couple of bottles of you and Jungkook's favorites. "This conversation's going to need some soju," you murmur under your breath. "I can feel it."

Settling back down at his side, you offer one of the bottles to Jungkook with a tired smile. Cracking yours open with ease, you take a long sip before settling back against the cushions. Jungkook opens his in silence and allows you to collect your thoughts.

"Yeah, I met a guy," you admit. "He was another exchange student from Daegu. Whatever the odds, he ended up in the same group as me. We studied together a lot, and then we started dating a few weeks in."

"Are you still together?"

"God no," you reply, shaking your head fervently. "I would've told you if I was by now. We broke up a little before I left. He wanted to stay in the States long-term, as in, like, get a work Visa and move there. I'm not about a long-distance relationship. So we both thought it best to go our separate ways."

Jungkook nods along to your story, doing his best to understand where you're coming from. "Do you miss him?"

"Not really. He was nice and all, but we weren't all that close. I knew what I wanted out of life; so did he. Neither of us was gonna change, so it was easier to let go."

"Oh..." he breathes, then takes another gulp of the alcoholic beverage.

"Sounds horrible when I say it like that." You laugh it off, then bump your shoulder against Jungkook's. His silence makes you a tiny bit smug, and his intense focus on the soju bottle invites a little giggle to escape. "Is someone jealous?"

Through flustered words, Jungkook manages to sputter, "Yeah, you wish. I...again, would've missed the hell out of you if you'd stayed. For a second, you scared me."

In a burst of bravery, aided by the alcohol in your system, you reach for Jungkook's free hand. Your fingers brush against his tattooed knuckles as you hold it between your own. Your touch is gentle. Even more so when you notice the slight scarlet hue that still ruminates on his fingertips.

You smile, softly running a forefinger across the ink on the back of his hand. "I hope you believe me when I say I'm not leaving."

Jungkook doesn't move an inch as your hands rest on his. He barely even breathes, afraid to move or speak or exhale. If it means running the risk of pushing you away by accident, he'd rather stay frozen for the rest of the night.

"Promise, jagiya?"

Emphasis is given to your words as you hook your smaller pinky around his. Despite the cold outside, his skin is warm, and the touch sends sparks through your body. It doesn't help that he's close enough to hear your breathing. Close enough to rest his head on yours if he wanted to. Close enough kiss if you wanted to.

You shove that thought away, squeezing your pinky to mask your true feelings. "I promise." Embarrassed, you let his hand drop to his thigh and cross your arms over your chest. The action readjusts you to put a little more space between you both, much to Jungkook's dismay. "Your turn, Gym Bunny. What are your resolutions?"

"You never answered my question, though."

Rolling your eyes, you retort, "Fine. No, I'm not seeing anyone, nor do I have anyone in mind. Happy? Now, your turn."

Though taken back by your sudden withdrawal from him, Jungkook tries to focus on the question instead of the way the ghost of your touch lingers on his tattooed knuckles. "Well, like you, I wanna grow the business. Jimin and I are planning to look at some locations in Gangnam later this spring. If all goes well until then, we're going to open a second location before the year's up."

"That's great, Kookie!"

Your best friend chuckles at your enthusiasm. "We're excited. Feels like a step in the right direction. Growth, y'know?"

"What about personal life?" you inquire. "Don't think you're getting out of that one either. You broke up with your girlfriend before the holidays. Interested in anyone else lately?"

"Actually...there is someone," Jungkook admits. He reaches for another bite of Hwajeon and offers you a second piece. "I'm not sure they see me the same way as I see them, though."

"How do you know?"

He shrugs again. "A feeling. I realized how I felt about them last fall, which is why I broke up with my ex. We weren't in love, and we both knew that."

"All this while I was gone?" you ask, feeling a sense of dread wash over you. Maybe he was lying before when he said he hadn't met anyone new in the time you were gone. From the way he's talking now, it sounds like he's interested in someone else.

"Yeah. It's been building for a while, I think, but it only hit me right before the holidays."

Popping the cap off the second bottle of soju, you take a long swig before adding, "Sounds like you got it bad, Bunny. Why haven't you said anything to them?"

"Scared of messing up?" he replies, answering it more like a question than a statement, as if he's unsure himself. "Scared of what they'd do. Scared of ruining our relationship now. Scared that it'll end up being one-sided." The brunet finishes his bottle and places it on the table. "I was lucky with my ex; both of us realized that we weren't right for the other. What if, this time, I let myself fall, only to have the rug ripped out from under me?"

If you're honest, hearing his concerns about the person he's falling for gives you a plethora of mixed feelings. Half of you desperately wants to believe he's talking about you. The other half is terrified that he's thinking of someone else. His words could lend themselves either way. You've only ever been best friends. And you realize how long it took you to finally realize your true feelings. You doubt that he's come to the same conclusion, at the same time.

No one is that lucky.

Even as your chest aches, the wish for him to be happy—no matter what—forces you to put your own emotions aside. "Do you trust this person?"

"Yes."

"Okay. And do they trust you?"

"I think so. I hope so."

You offer your companion a second bottle, which he gladly takes. "Do you think you could truly be happy if you kept your feelings to yourself? If you never told them?"

"Probably not," he sighs, forcing a smile. "I don't see this feeling going away anytime soon."

"Then, in my humble opinion, you gotta tell them. Even if it's scary, even if it ends up being awkward, even if you feel like it might be one-sided. You're not going to rest easy until it's out in the open." Your blatant hypocrisy is not lost on you, even as you speak. "If you really feel this way about this person, I don't think there's another option."

"And if they reject me?"

"'Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all'?"

Taglist — @kooala

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tenderlyrenjun · 3 years

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away we happened

summary: leaving jaemin to deal with math problems and renjun’s problems, jeno accompanies his parents to a gala in japan, and he gets the rare opportunity to see a ghost. ↛ ↛ ↛ rich boy!jeno x rich kid!reader ↛ ↛ college au, rich kids au, mentions of food, secret rendevous, might do another part for jaemin but idk yet ↛ word count: 1.8k

spin off from the rich truth: part four

"You’re not supposed to be back here.”

Jeno slowly sets down his phone, starting with the speakers then gently cupping his fingertips behind, on the camera. He looks at the second intruder, his now accomplice, and his jaw starts to close again, preventing the half-chewed gyoza from falling off his tongue. His other hand, which hid under the small, square bamboo plate, moves every non-essential item from his person so that he can adjust his tie and re-button his suit jacket. Jeno returns his glasses on the bridge of his nose, now needing to aid his vision for the far away beauty at the secret entrance of the kitchen. Well, this place is not really a secret, but he likes to think it is, otherwise his parents would find him ditching their colleagues at yet another vaguely important. And it is not like he has no reason to ditch - Jaemin, notoriously bad at math, is working, back in Korea, on their physics worksheet, alone; his parents stole him away at a bad time. Though, as he takes a look at you, dressed in some well-known designer evening wear, he knows that coming to Japan was not a mistake.

“You’re not supposed to be here either,” Jeno tells you, straightening up. His toes tap inside his black oxfords, hesitating to take the first step forward. And he does not, instead choosing to challenge the situation, as if you would betray him again and expose this place, this rendezvous, to his parents.

You roll your eyes, gliding further into the kitchen, now that the penultimate appetizer tray has left with the last of the champagne. Taking note of Jeno’s cutlery, you assume that he sequestered the remaining bits of food so that he could hide away back here until the announcements began. After all, it is a ritual you two share, no matter the continent. And consequently, you relax into your shoes, heel clicks translating into acoustic waves; Jeno thinks, probably still caught up by his international texts to Jaemin. You mute every sound, turning off his phone ringer first then slide onto the counter, face-to-face: an effective way to provoke his attention. The little paper bowl of soba noodles look the most delicious, you deem, and they make their way into a neat pile around Jeno’s remaining gyoza pieces, accompanied by a few extra cucumbers from the other dishes.

“The speeches are going to start in twenty minutes,” you reveal, passing the plate back into his hands. You pick up some utensils and dip it shallowly into the mini-mountain, then feed yourself a bite and pass it onto Jeno. “You ... We should leave here soon.”

Your torso turns away from him, allowing you to grab a nearby by napkin. It feels soft between your fingers and you yield back to Jeno while staring at the little paper cloth. Do you wipe his mouth too? Or have you lost that privilege, from all the distance that has separated you two? That distance seems so small now, as he watches you and you refuse to look into his eye, despite all the intimate acts you keep initiating.

Once your body feels too warm, burning bluer than his suit, your leg shakes toward the ground, foot dipping below your outfit’s lowest hem. And even though he duplicated your introductory accusation, Jeno does not want you to leave. He brings his palm up your thigh, onto your waist, repositioning you chest to chest, face to face, still on the counter (where appetizers belong). You ball the napkin into your hands before discarding it to the side, where your gaze follows, but he brings you to look at him with three little words:

“Don’t go yet,” he asks of you, eyes downcast at his fingers toying with your satin material, suddenly losing all of his confidence. He can feel your stare bouncing trough to crest to trough, your hands and his acting as pivotal nodes. His eyes though stand an amplitude taller, right under yours, at an origin neither of you can muster the courage to wave through.

"Why?” you copy his tone. He peeks up, shoulders tugged forward by your disposition as a smile tugs towards him. You keep in a personal bubble, but not annoyed when he breaks it, hands coming up your arms until you whisper a little taunt: “Scared that I’ll snitch?”

“Like you did last time?” he mimics you.

And you roll your eyes again, hand grazing his chest as you push him away. The second you detach from him, he grabs your wrist, staying true to his request. His grip is loose enough for you to truly leave if you want, but small enough to make an impact. So you indulge him, slipping your fingers between his, pulling his hand into your lap.

“Last time,” you reminisce out loud, “you almost got me in trouble with my parents.”

Jeno’s head falls, dangling chin against chest. His hair looks overly gelled, you notice then scan down his face. Something you will never forget, and particularly fall in love with over and over, is his smile - it sneaks into all the corners of his profile, across his eyes, raising his cheekbones, freeing his lips. And ever so enamored with bringing that beam, or at least some variation of it, back into his face, you stroke his bangs away, like opening curtains to the sunshine. Jeno perks up, his eyes finding yours then closing as he leans into your hand.

“But seriously,” you alert him, almost reminding him of Renjun’s soft voice when he is annoyed - it essentially tells him that you have spent too much time apart. When he opens his eyes again, the warmth of your palm unmasking his face, he sees you staring out the circular window on the kitchen’s main entrance. “We should get going.” You turn back to Jeno, retreating your hand and jumping off the counter, standing closer than the width of a magazine. “Remember the charity gala? Christmas 2018?”

Jeno trails your fingertips, nodding his head back into your palm. “Of course. You threw me under the bus because your parents hadn’t found us yet.”

“Yeah,” you confirm, trailing off.

A few social events ago, when you were addicted to your phone and lavish trysts, consumed by fighting for popularity at an international school in Germany that Jeno had never heard about until then, you wandered into the back room as it functioned like a closet for the toy donation and attendee’s coats. You kept staring at your phone and it only riled Jeno up, having met up with him earlier than usual. It felt weird, he recalls, because he gets to know you through all your social media updates and the infrequent FaceTime calls from a different timezone. He wanted your attention - handing you champagne glasses filled with cider, doing dumb dances to make you laugh, pulling out toys from the bins so that you would at least look at him instead of whoever the fuck Yangyang was. All his tactics were so effective, even the one where he poured his beverage into a water gun and stained your trousers, just under the knee; that you literally lost your phone that night. The two of you ended up giggling loudly until someone leaned in; Jeno thinks it was you and you think it was him, and the only thing either of you can implicitly agree upon is the illustrative glow on each other’s faces. Then his mom came knocking around and stumbled on the two of you before dragging Jeno, mouth stained red and jacket around your shoulders, out by the ear. His mom was going to tell your parents about how you were a bad influence on her son, but you told her that it was his idea to wander about prior to the actual start of the gala, even citing one of secret rendezvous points that you knew she was aware of.

“Can’t believe you ratted me out,” Jeno marvels, his tone light, without malice as he stands more upright. “You know that she capped my bank account and sent me to Kumon?”

Ah, of course you know that. It was the first reason he mentioned when he finally caught the time to talk to you, just before this semester started. You never forget a detail about him.

“Hey,” Jeno calls at you, his hand drifting toward your cheek now, repeating your actions onto you. His opposite hand braces against the counter thickness, almost to keep balance before you two head out into separate worlds again. He smiles though when you lean into his touch, clasping your hands at his lower back. His grip loosens as you tilt your head back, shaking your hair free, but ultimately, you return to his embrace. “You’re like a ghost most of the time.”

“How can I be?” you implore him, staring up in his eyes. Your hands travel up his chest, smoothing over the lapels, until you wrap around his neck. The urge to taunt him again goes suppressed as you focus on how handsome he is in this moment. And with the way he guides you, guides your conversation, you feel comfortable and curious, bouncing to the tips of your toes to meet him closer. “You see me online all the time.”

Jeno’s hand raises outside your arms, and his finger draws on your hair strand, springing it playfully a few times instead of answering you, almost like giving himself time to respond. Usually he would do this at the gala with some sparkling wine or at a dinner with a glass of water, and like you, he tries not to forget the little illustrations about your life, but then again ...

“It’s not the same,” he answers you, “and you know it.” By now the first announcer can be heard outside, which means the silver platters will interrupt their brief tête-à-tête - god, does it always need to be so short, because ... “I miss you.”

Your eyes glisten at him apologetically, and he tells you that it is okay, holding your face intimately in his hands. You bend into his embrace, wrapping your fingers around his. He continues soothing you, as if taking turns with you in a silent conversation, rubbing at your cheeks with his lone thumb, the only appendage free from your grip. It seems symbolic, since the two of you always have one foot out the door - almost literally in this case. You turn your head, looking out the window one more time before referring into Jeno one last time.

“I’m sorry.”

#the rich truth.

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yunhosthetic · 3 years

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INSECURE: Minsang

this one shot is based on some my personal experiences with body image.

pairing: mingi x yeosang

top: mingi

bottom: yeosang

word count: 1320

genre: slight angst, romance, fluff.

this is my first one shot, so i am very sorry if it's weird and there are grammatical errors. enjoy~!

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Yeosang looked himself in the mirror, pointing out all of the insecurities he would hide all the time around Mingi and the others. His eyes were puffy and red from crying for two hours.

Yeosang could not stand the man he was looking at. He wanted to change everything about him. His body, his face, his personality. Everything that Mingi shouldn't deal with. At least that is what his mind tell him all the time.

When he heard the car pull up, Yeosang quickly cleaned his face with a tissue and put on light makeup. The front door opened and closed, indicating that Mingi came home from work. He glanced at himself in the mirror one last time.

"I'll be okay. He won't notice. I know he won't," he mumbled to himself and walked out of the bathroom with a forced smile on his face.

'I just have to lie to Mingi and pretend I'm fine when I'm not.'

Mingi was setting up the kitchen table with food, plates, and kitchen utensils. The food was most likely bought from a local restaurant he and Yeosang always go to. His back was turned, and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed when concentrating. Even though he could not see it, Yeosang smiled fondly and walked over to Mingi. He wrapped his arms on his boyfriend's torso and nuzzled his head on his shoulder.

"Welcome home, Mingi," he softly spoke. "How was work?"

"Long and boring. A bit too long, but I'm happy to see you," Mingi replied, turning around and kissing Yeosang's forehead and lips. "I bought us dinner tonight. We have chicken, japchae, gimbap, mandu..."

Yeosang's mind went blank while Mingi pointed out the foods he bought. His stomach growled from the sweet and sour smell of the chicken, but his mind told him otherwise.

"Sounds delicious. I'm not hungry though. You can eat without me tonight, babe. I'm feeling a little tired," Yeosang excused, forgetting half of what Mingi had said. He secretly held his pants up to his waist as if he were adjusting them.

Not letting the excuse fly, Mingi gently grabbed Yeosang's hand and gazed into his eyes. Yeosang felt his stomach dropped. His hands were shaky and cold, and he knew he was going to be in trouble for not eating a lot today. But, summer was coming up, and he wanted that summer body Mingi would be proud to have. Yeosang just needed to drop a few more pounds, and he'll be a whole new man.

"Sangie, you haven't eaten anything since this morning and last night," Mingi stated. "Are you sick?"

"No. No, Mingi. I'm not sick."

"Well, if you're not sick, then take a bite of this chicken. I know you love chicken," Mingi offered, holding a piece in front of Yeosang.

His mouth watered from the smell of it, and his stomach growled louder. He chewed on his bottom lip, trying to maintain his composer. Yeosang gently shook his head and murmured, "No thank you."

Mingi quirked an eyebrow.

"That's not what you're stomach is telling me," he chuckled, inching the food closer to Yeosang's mouth. "Eat this, and I'll leave you alone."

Sighing in defeat, Yeosang swallowed hard and parted his lips open. He felt Mingi's thumb press his chin, and he dropped his jaw open for him. Yeosang bit down on the fried chicken, chewed it, and swallowed it.

"You want another bite, baby," Mingi asked. Yeosang nodded his head and repeated the process again and again till he was left with two chicken leg bones, an empty bowl from the japchae, and ate three mandus just from Mingi feeding him.

"Must've been that hungry, huh," Mingi said while Yeosang nodded and looked down at the floor ashamed of himself to starve and let his boyfriend worry about him all because of his insecurities.

'I shouldn't have ate that much. Mingi is going to think I'm fat and ugly. I didn't want him to know about this shit.'

The couple sat down on the couch after cleaning up the dishes and packing up the leftovers. Yeosang was sitting on Mingi's lap, his head resting on his shoulder while watching a movie. He was currently thinking if he should speak about how and why he has been himself. The confident and happy Yeosang Mingi has known since they first met.

He grabbed the remote and paused the movie.

"Aw man, this is our favorite part. We've always laughed on this part, Yeosang," Mingi complained then felt Yeosang's hands on his cheeks and turned his head to look at him.

"Mingi..."

"Yes, Yeosang?"

"D-Do... Do you think I'm... I-I'm..."

Yeosang sniffled quietly, tears threatening to spill from his eyes again. He smiled to not show any pain, but it was too late when he finally asked, "Do you think I'm ugly?"

Mingi's heart broke when he saw his boyfriend sobbing on his shoulder. He wiped his tears with his thumbs and shook his head.

"No, Yeosang. No, no, no. I don't think you're ugly at all. You're beautiful just the way you are," Mingi assured, noticing the makeup on his fingers and Yeosang's face. "Who told you were ugly, baby?"

Yeosang pouted and lowered his head in shame.

"I did. I thought you wanted someone thinner, taller, and prettier, so I started eating less and working out more to make you happy and achieve those things," he confessed, wiping his tears with the bottom of his shirt. "A-And I still end up looking the same with the awkward personality and body, and I don't —"

Mingi placed a finger on Yeosang's lips and shushed him.

"You don't need to change anything for me, Yeosang. I love you just the way you are," he soothed, opening the coffee table dresser and taking out makeup wipes in case Yeosang decides to sleep on the couch if he didn't feel like sleeping in the bedroom.

"Bubby, no. I don't wanna do this again," Yeosang whined, covering his face with his hands. "You know how I feel when you do that love yourself makeup thingie."

"Angel, we've been married for three years. I'll keep reminding you to love yourself like this even if you don't wanna hear it," Mingi reminded, causing a blush to appear on Yeosang's face and stop hiding his face.

Mingi took out a wipe and began wiping off the eyeliner and eyeshadow.

"First and foremost, I love your pretty brown eyes. They were the first thing I noticed when we met in college," Mingi complimented. "They always shine when you smile, you get excited over a date, or you just see me when coming home from work or waking up with you."

"Mingi, my eyes aren't —"

Yeosang stop and thought for a moment. He tuck a loose hair behind his ear and smiled shyly.

"Okay, I take that back. Maybe they are pretty, but you have pretty eyes too," he replied. "Are we done now?"

"Nope. We've just started. Let me see your forehead."

Yeosang pouted and pushed his bangs back. Mingi gently wiped his husband's forehead.

"Sometimes I can't help but give you forehead kisses everyday. You always liked them, so I won't stop kissing your forehead anytime soon."

He then kissed Yeosang's forehead and grabbed another wiped to clean his nose and cheeks. He made sure to boop his nose and softly pinch his cheeks before kissing his lips. Soon after, there was no sign of make up left on Yeosang's skin.

"Thanks for taking off my makeup, Mingi,"Yeosang spoke, handing his husband the remote. "You always know how to make me smile and feel confident about myself. I love you."

"Anything for you, baby. I love you too."

#ateez #ateez mingi #ateez yeosang #ateez fic #kpop #oneshot #kpop fic #ateez ships #boy love

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animeniacss · 4 years

Text

6 Years - Hoseok x Reader - Chapter 27 - A System of Support

Synopsis: 6 years. That’s all it can take to take another look at someone and see that they have completely changed. You were once an eager 20-year-old, with your dreams all in view, and Jung Hoseok at your side to view them with you. However, after a break up the end of your junior year of college, everything seemed different. Now, you’re a recently divorced single mother of two, and your life is nowhere near what you thought it would be. However, after reuniting with Jung Hoseok, you may just be able to capture a little bit of that exciting youth you once knew so long ago.

Feat. BTS Members, Nayeon (TWICE), and Yuna (itzy)

Genre: Romance, SingleMother!AU, Past Relationship, Drama, Some Depictions of Violence/Domestic Abuse

Length: approx. 5.8k words

Chapter 27 - A System of Support

“Mr. Hobi, I want to mix the pancakes!” Min Ja shouted, bouncing up and down on her step stool. “Mr. Hooobiii!”

“Okay, okay.” Hoseok grinned. “But you need to be quiet, we don’t want to wake up Mommy, do we?”

“No…” she frowned.

“Then shhh.” He giggled. She nodded as Hoseok pushed the bowl over to her, handing her the spatula. “Okay, you can mix it, but don’t spill it, okay?” Min Ja nodded, grasping the spatula as tightly in her hand, her other hand holding the bowl tightly as she tried to mix the pancake mix on her own. Hoseok turned to Hyo Bin, who was sitting in one of the chairs at the table, drinking some milk, happily kicking her legs as they dangled below her. “Hyo Bin, should we use strawberries or blueberries in the pancakes?” Hyo Bin looked up, a hint of a milk mustache on her upper lip.

“Blueberries.” She said. Hoseok knelt down, grabbing a tissue and handing it to her. She took it into her little hands and wiped her upper lip after Hoseok pointed to his own upper lip. “Wipe your face.” As he stood back up, he turned to Min Ja, who was still working hard at mixing the pancakes. “Ready to add the blueberries in the mix?”

“Yeah.” She said. Hoseok grabbed some blueberries, running them under water to clean them, before taking a handful in his hand, and putting some in hers.

“Me too!” He heard Hyo Bin shout, turning to see her hop off of the chair and hurry up to the step stool, lifting her hands up as high as she could. Hoseok set a few blueberries in her hands as well. He set in his small handful, then took his phone out, pointing it towards the girls as Min Ja allowed Hyo Bin to join her on the step stool. He smiled as he recorded the two of them, counting down to 1 as they tossed the blueberries in.

“Okay, mix it up a little bit more and then I’ll start cooking them, okay?” Min Ja nodded as she continued to mix, Hyo Bin watching in awe as her sister worked. “Looking great.” He smiled. Once the girls were done mixing, Hoseok took the bowl and grab a small spoon. “Okay, let’s do this then.” Carefully, he made sure to create decent-sized pancakes for everyone, not too big, but not too small, and he tried to make them as round as he could. It wasn’t really working.

“That pancake looks bumpy…” Hyo Bin said softly.

“Mhm…” Min Ja said. Hoseok laughed a bit.

“Well I’m sure Mommy will like it if it tastes good, and it’s going to taste great. Now, you girls go get out the tray and be careful bringing the juice to the table.” As he watched the girls get down from the step stool, Hoseok turned back to create the pancakes. One by one, he cooked them and then set them on a plate to cool. Behind him he heard the girls go from the fridge to the table, setting different breakfast items on the table for Hoseok to arrange into a wonderful breakfast for you. “These pancakes are looking really good~.” He cooed. As the final pancake hit the plate, Hoseok looked the stack over. There was enough for all of them on there. The pancakes, despite what Hyo Bin said, looked pretty round and general. However, Hoseok was not ready to present just general blueberry pancakes. “Hmmmm….” As he turned to the drawer, he opened it and pulled out a knife. A grin formed on his face as he began cutting up the pancakes into fun shapes. Sure, there were a few circles, but they were only going to decorate with the whipped cream that was chilling in the fridge. Hearts, flowers, swirls, whatever he could think of. It made the pancakes look worse because damn it, Hoseok wasn’t an artist, but he was grinning ear to ear at the thought of your face when he handed you a heart-shaped pancake. Just thinking about it made him excited.

“Alright girls, is everything else ready?” he asked, turning around to face the girls. The sight of the table that stood before him was not what he expected. The table was filled with juice, water, milk, fruits, and vegetables, anything that the girls could find was taken out and placed on the table. “Uh…girls? Didn’t I just ask you to get the juice out?”

“But Mommy likes milk and water too. And apples, and bananas.” Min Ja said.

“And carrots!” Hyo Bin held up the large orange vegetables with a grin on her face.

“Well maybe so, but this all won’t be eaten. We have pancakes.” Min Ja looked at the food and drinks on the table, and then back to Hoseok. He saw her attempt to help make the breakfast better, and he sighed. “Alright, how about we keep the bananas out and cut them up?” The girls cheered happily, but Hoseok quickly put a finger to his lips, and the girls quickly stopped, doing the same and covering their mouths. Walking over, Hoseok took the bananas off of the table, and the juice. “Can you girls carefully put everything else back in the fridge for me, please?”

“Okay…” the girls got on their tiptoes and began to put away everything that they had taken out. Hoseok chuckled as he grabbed the metal tray from under the counter, and finally began to set everything up. He stacked the plates from him and the girls, but he set up your plate front and center, putting two heart-shaped pancakes and some cut bananas on top. He poured the juice into the cup for you, and stack the other cups as well. “Min Ja, hold the juice for me, okay?” He handed her the closed bottle, and she clutched it tightly in her hands. “I think we’re ready.” He said happily. Min Ja and Hyo Bin nodded, and Hoseok lifted up the tray. The three of them headed from the kitchen into your bedroom, where you had been sleeping soundly since Hoseok woke up the girls to do this little project. The girls were skipping beside him, happily waiting to give you their special present. “Okay, stay silent until I say go, okay?” He asked softly, and the girls eagerly nodded, wanting to please him by doing this right. As they walked in, you were just barely ready to get up, but still curled up comfortably under your covers, your head nuzzled softly into a pillow.

“Mmm?” You let out a soft groan, the sound of the door creaking open being the noise that began to drag you out of your sleep. “What time is it?” You grumbled; eyes cracking open slightly. You didn’t hear anything, and you rolled onto your back. Just as you did, you heard something be set on the floor before tiny footsteps came charging towards you. You sat up, seeing your girls standing beside your bed, wide smiles on their faces. “What are you two doing up?”

“Surprise!” They shouted. As you were finally getting your bearing and taking in the room, you saw Hoseok standing at the end of your bed; heart smile wide as he held up the tray.

“What’s all this?” you asked curiously. Hoseok walked to the side of the bed and set the tray beside you.

“You’ve been doing really well preparing for this trial the past few days, so I wanted to do something nice for you to get your spirits back up.” He said happily. A smile formed on your face as you looked down. “I chose to make them shaped like a heart. Cute right? Some of the ones inside are flowers and smiles.”

“That’s so cute…thank you.” You said happily. “This is really sweet.” Hoseok smiled proudly as he saw you reach for your utensils. “Alright, then, let’s eat. Everyone, take a plate.” The girls took their plates, and Hoseok went back into the kitchen to grab the plate of other pancakes for him and the girls. When he walked back in, he saw you cutting up your pancakes, allowing the girls to use their utensils to take some of yours and eat it. Hoseok couldn’t help but smile. “Aren’t they good?” You asked them, and they could only nod in excitement, their cheeks filled with a blueberry pancake. “Mr. Hobi is a really good cook~.”

“Aaaa, come on now, I’m not that good.” Hoseok said, his cheeks tinting red in embarrassment. “I’m glad you like them, though.”

The four of you sat together on the bed, eating the pancakes and sliced up bananas happily. Min Ja and Hyo Bin were telling you all of the things that they did to help, such as mixing and putting blueberries in. Hoseok showed you the video he took, and your heart swelled. It all felt so natural like this was how it was supposed to be all along. Min Ja crawled into Hoseok’s lap, offering him a forkful of chopped banana, which he happily took into his mouth, nodding as he playfully complimented his cutting skills, stating they were the cause of the bananas being so tasty. As Min Ja giggled, you couldn’t help but giggle as well. This was the best morning you had in a while.

Once breakfast came to an end, Hoseok had gotten off the bed and began to collect all of the dirtied utensils and stack them onto the tray. You were quick to stop him, tossing the blanket off of you and allowing it to fall on top of the girls, which caused them to giggle in delight as they squirmed for freedom. You took the plates from his hands, and the confusion on his face was noticed.

“Let me.” You said, smiling happily. Hoseok wasn’t able to put up a reply even if he wanted to, because you were on your way out the door with the utensils before he could. Sighing, he turned to the bed, seeing the girls still giggling, childish squeals scattered around the bed as little figures moved under it. Hoseok chuckled, grabbing the blanket and quickly tugging it off the bed, exposing the grinning children as she looked up at him.

“Go help Mommy clean the dishes, okay?” He cooed, quickly scooping them out of the bed. “We can play when you’re done.” As he watched the girls scurry out of the room, screaming for their mother, Hoseok’s eyes quickly fell to the drawer attached to his end table. Sitting at the end of the bed, he pulled the drawer open. Normally he didn’t keep too much inside this drawer, because he was likely to forget it was there. He liked to keep important things inside his waist pouches. However, there was no way what he kept in here was something he would risk bringing outside until he absolutely had to. Inside the drawer was one black box; velvet, about the size of a tiny square. Picking it up, he opened it up and starred at what was inside. It took a while, but he managed to find a perfect ring, with the help of his wingman, Hyo Bin, of course. As he stared at it, the moment he paid the money for it came flooding back.

“Which one looks the prettiest, Hyo Bin?” he asked curiously, scanning the see-through glass that was filled wall to wall with spectacular rings. The three-year-old looked around as well, her eyes sparkling at all the beauty that was hitting her smack in the face at that very moment. Every princess game she had ever played was not preparing her for this, that was for sure! She reached her hand out towards the glass, pressing a finger against it.

“That one.” She said. She was pointing at a silver ring, one that was braided slightly to lead to a single diamond sitting right in the middle of it. Hoseok blinked, his eyes fixated on the ring for a few moments. He had never seen the ring that Weong-Bin had given to you, and he wasn’t too sure if he wanted to. It was probably expensive, gaudy, something that only aided in his narrative of a charming businessman who lived to please his wife. Hoseok did not want to get something like that, he knew he wouldn’t!

“You think so?” he asked curiously.

“Mhm.” She nodded, though her eyes were still wandering as if she wasn’t really too sure herself, being overwhelmed by the selection. Hoseok, however, after starring at the ring, made his eyes glance down just a bit farther to look at the price. When he saw it, it took everything in his power not to drop Hyo Bin on the floor.

“How on earth is a ring with one diamond worth 986.500 won (~800 U.S. dollars)?!” He whispered to himself. “That diamond must be able to multiple or something, my goodness.” Disappointment ran through him. It was a lovely ring, and he could see it sitting perfectly on your ring finger. He could see it sparkle at your side, matching every outfit that you wore, and he could see it as you lifted your hands to your face to brush a strand of hair away. It looked very much like you, and that made him want it even more….

…But almost 1 million won? Hoseok had a lot saved up from competitions that he won back in college, along with savings from his paychecks, but still…

“Auuugh.” He groaned, running a hand through his hair. “What should I do Hyo Bin? Do you have any birthday money you can spot me?” Hyo Bin glanced at him, not too sure what he was saying.

“I have 2 Barbies.” She said simply, and Hoseok couldn’t help but grin. “You can have them.”

“Thanks, honey.” He said, kissing her hair. “But we’ll have to find a cheaper one. I don’t know if I can afford the one that you like.” He and Hyo Bin let out a simultaneous sigh, and Hoseok was hesitant to move away, scared that if he did, someone would swoop right past him and purchase it for himself. After a few minutes of silently starring, he finally made his way to a different display. He silently continued his search, thinking maybe he could find a similar ring for much cheaper at a different jewelry store. However, he kept just finding himself looking back in the direction of that one. People were passing by, glancing but not stopping. Was that a sign? After a moment of thinking about it, he turned back towards the display, just as a middle-aged woman was opening it up to clean and organize some of the displays. “Miss. Could you please help me?” She looked up at him as he approached and immediately pointed towards this one. She could see his eyes trembling. This was the most money he had ever spent in his life. “…I can get an installment plan on this right? I might not be able to pay for the wedding if I can’t.”

Hoseok clutched the ring tightly in his hands. He was so excited after making that purchase that he not only took Hyo Bin to the park for a while, but he bought her big ice cream, thanking her for being such a wonderful helper. He was excited just thinking about holding it in his grasps, and he stuffed it in the drawer as soon as he got home, making sure that you didn’t open it. You never did, he never had anything in there worth checking on. It was the perfect hiding spot! Just as he continued to eye the perfect diamond sitting in the box, he heard a noise, making him lookup.

“Mr. Hobi! Can we play now? Mommy finished the dishes?” Hoseok stuffed the box back in the drawer and closed it, standing up and nodding happily to the little girls who were waiting anxiously.

“Of course! What’s today’s game?” he asked, following the girls out of his room. The best part about being able to marry you was the idea of being able to bring the girls even closer into his world as well.

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

“You want me to take the girls to your shoot?” You asked curiously, pacing the living room. You had the phone pressed to your ear, and Taehyung was talking to you on the other end.

“Yeah! I’m finally doing a magazine shoot pretty close by. Mom and Dad are coming by soon too, so I figured if you brought the girls and Hyung, I would buy every one lunch!”

“Tae that’s sweet, but I don’t know…”

“It’ll be fun! Maybe you’ll eve make your modeling debut! Or get scouted by an idol agency!”

“Yeah, because the 27-year-old with no dance or singing experience will be scouted.”

“It’s happened, I’m sure. You can be the visual.” Taehyung said. That made you chuckle. “Pleeeeease. I wanna see the girls!”

“Alright….” You said. “Text me the address, I’ll be there in a little while.” The sound of Taehyung cheering, only to be scolded by his make-up artist, was heard and that made a grin form on your face. “Get back to work, idiot.” You said, before hanging upon him. “Alright, then, guess I have this afternoon’s meal taken care of. What should I do for dinner?” Pressing a finger to your lips, you figured that was something you could worry about later. For now, you needed to get the girls ready. As you made your way into the bedroom, you saw Hoseok sitting in there, typing away on his phone as the TV played silently. “Hey. Want to go see Taehyung at his shoot today? He invited us all for lunch since it’s close by.” Hoseok glanced up.

“Sorry, I can’t.” He said, getting up. “Sang-Chol and his crew just called me. They asked if they can meet at the studio. Apparently, they’re in a slump and it’s creating tension. I said I’d lend an ear.”

“Awww, well, that’s nice.” You said, kissing his cheek as you went to the closet.

“I won’t know if I’m back for dinner. Sang-Chol can be pretty stubborn. I’ll keep you updated but don’t be surprised if I don’t respond for a bit.”

“That’s a clever way to tell me you’re seeing another girl.” Both of you laughed a bit, and you grabbed a new tee shirt and jeans. “Alright then, I’ll put your dinner in the microwave if you miss it.” You watched Hoseok stand up and grab his duffle bag of dance supplies from the closet. Giving you a quick kiss, you watched him head out the door, a faint good-bye being heard to the girls. As he headed out the door, you were headed to get the girls ready so that you could do the same.

The journey from your apartment to the shoot wasn’t too long, it was only a 20-minute walk. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day. Also, the copious amounts of cameras and staff crowding one specific area helped you find your brother much quicker. That, and the groups of fans crowding the area. You had to show your ID to three guards before being allowed past with the girls, the angry groans of teenage youth filling your ears as you simply passed them by. You could see him sitting in a fold-out chair, eyes closed as the make-up artist continued to paint his face so that it was flawless. A few other models were around as well, trying on new outfits or looking over different photos with the cameraman to determine if they needed to be reshot. There was a lot of controlled chaos going on right now, so you held your girl’s hands tightly.

“Stay close.” You said to them as you approached Taehyung. He was finished up with his hair and make-up looking in a mirror to give a final decision. He nodded, smiling a bit as he got up, dusting off his black khaki pants and beige button-up that was tucked into the waistband of his pants. You always knew your brother was an attractive person, model material without any effort needed. He always hates when you boast about being right, and you do it often. “Looking good.” You said. “Effortless as always.” Taehyung looked over to you and grinned, kneeling down as you finally released the girl’s hands. They ran towards your brother in glee, jumping into his arms.

“You look like a movie star, Uncle Tae!” Min Ja shouted in awe.

“Awwww, I’ve taught you so well.” He said happily, standing up. You both hugged tightly for a moment, and Taehyung put his hands in his pockets. “Mom and Dad will be here in a bit. Hungry? There’s a whole buffet of stuff. And I told them you were coming, so don’t feel out of place going to grab anything.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind…” you said softly, eyeing the spread of snacks and loaves of bread that filled an entire plastic table. You saw some well-known models standing around, chatting with one another as they happily picked at the snacks. They and Taehyung alike were why so many fans were crowding around the park, disturbing whatever peace was left once the crew and staff arrived. “I’m just about to go start my shoot. It’s been a while since you’ve seen me, model. I’ve gotten a lot better.”

“I know.” You smiled, before the sound of a shouting woman alerted both your attention towards the big tree that was acting as a background, along with some flower props and of course, enough lighting and photo manipulation to make anyone look like a chiseled Greek god. Taehyung hurried to the set, and you found a nice spot near the food to watch, handing each girl one baked good each.

You and the girls watched Taehyung model for a few minutes, receiving endless praise from the director and the cameraman, as well as the female staff who were absolutely swooning over the handsome man. The last time you had seen him model was when he was first starting out. He was only about 17, still in high school, and was scouted by not only modeling companies, but talent agencies to try and promote him as an actor or an idol. Maybe in another life, but here, he chose to be a model. You could just barely remember the first time you went with him to a shoot.

“Noona, I’m scared.” Taehyung said, rubbing his arm. You both were inside the studio, looking around at the staff getting ready. “What if I’m not as good as they think?”

“Well, then they’ll be blown away because you’re going to be even better.” You said, offering him a tight hug. He was slightly shorter than you then. “I’ll be here, so if you get nervous, just ask me to come into some shot. I’ll make my modeling debut with you!”

“You should!” His eyes went wide, and you laughed.

“No way, I’m already getting my hands full of college work. I can’t juggle calculus classes and modeling. I was never a good multi-tasker.” Taehyung grinned before his name was called by the man who scouted him. He gulped one last time, and you smiled. “Think about the hamburgers we’re going to get after this.” You said simply, and the fire immediately lit up in his eyes as he hurried onto the set with the scouter, getting himself ready for hair and make-up.

Taehyung was so nervous that day, stumbling, shaking, and constantly apologizing. However, when he got comfortable, he was an absolute natural, offering the camera stares that probably made the cameraman himself turn a bit pink. That was a memory you wouldn’t soon forget, one that only encouraged you to want to be there for Taehyung even more. At that point, he had just begun to come around to you in regards to a relationship, and your support as he stepped foot into the world of modeling was just the thing, he needed to care for you the way he does now. It was nice to see how much he had grown in his career since then. As you were coming back to the present, you noticed your mother hand step-father step beside you, greeting your daughters as they greedily stuffed their faces with more goodies that staff had handed them when you were walking down memory lane.

“Mom. You’re here.” You sighed, hugging both of them. “I was just thinking about the first time I took Tae to a modeling gig.”

“Yeah, and did you remember when you were grounded for not telling us?” She smirked playfully, and you let out a shy chuckle. “The both of you were such troublemakers. Still are.” As you watched your step-father head to his son, the girls in tow as the clung to his large hands, you looked at your mom. You still hadn’t told her about the baby from 6 years ago, every time you even thought about it, you would chicken out and come up with some kind of excuse. However, you immediately felt guilty afterward. The trial was coming up any day now, and the last thing that you wanted was to go into that courtroom with secrets from anyone, especially your parents and Tae. But was now a good time? At Tae’s job? Your mother must have noticed you beginning to space out because she nudged you.

“Something on your mind, honey?” she asked curiously. You were still silent, glancing back to Taehyung. He had the girls above his head, grinning at the sound of their excitable laughter. The cameraman offered to take a few pictures with them in the frame, much to their delight. Your step-father was encouraging them from the sidelines, clapping as the cameraman gave them simple poses and funny faces to make at the camera. “Honey?” she hummed again.

“Mom, I-.” you bit your lip, just thinking about what finally admitting this would lead to. You knew they would hug you and sob with you, saying you should have told them sooner, that they would have helped. Everything that you knew was true and even knew back then, however, those waves of support alone were no match for the tsunami of guilt Weong-Bin made sure to flush over you back then. Every possible “I’m sorry for your loss” washed over by a constant “Well maybe if you listened to me and fucking aborted it-.” Your hand clutched your stomach, gripping at your shirt tightly. Despite the fabric, you could feel your nails digging into your skin slightly. Your breath hitched, and you slowly lowered yourself to your knees, holding your stomach tighter. It was happening now, even. Before you had even said anything, before your mother could even hear you speak, before she could process what you wanted to say and give a response, Weong-Bin’s voice was already flooding your ears.

It’s your fault it died.

You should’ve have aborted it. It would’ve hurt less.

They won’t understand. If you told them you only would’ve shamed them as an unwed mother.

Once we’re married and have a family, you’ll forget all about this.

I know it hurts, but you did this to yourself.

“Hey.” Your mother gasped, kneeling down beside you. “Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?” Quickly, you began to return to reality once again, looking up to see people staring at you in curiosity and concern. “Can we get my daughter a chair please?” Your mother shouted into the crowd, and one of the mother models hurried to do just that. It wasn’t long before she helped you to your feet, and you saw Taehyung hurrying towards you.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, eyes wide. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Waving a dismissive hand, the model returned with a spare chair and your brother and mother helped you sit down. Your head was still pounding, and while you were looking at Taehyung, you felt as if you were in a dream, and nothing was real right now. You were waiting to wake up on the couch or something, or even under a park tree. But you knew this was real when you felt the pounding of your heart in your chest, wanting so badly to rip out itself free of its prison and show itself in all it’s pain, hoping someone would offer comfort. “I think I just got a bit dizzy with the heat and the sun.” Taehyung didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue either. “Just get me water and something to eat. It’ll hold me over until lunch.”

“I can take you home, you know.” He said.

“No, no.” you scoffed. “I’m just fine. Nothing serious….” A staff member approached, offering you cool water and a napkin that held a pastry. “Thank you…” You gasped, taking them into your arms. “Go back to work, Tae. I’m just fine. Mom’s here.” Your mother rubbed your back gently. Taehyung checked the time. It was almost one, and he would need another half an hour to finish up before you all headed out to eat. He didn’t want you to wait too long.

“I’ll see if I can take an earlier lunch.” He said. You tried to stop him, but he was already rushing towards his manager, shouting. You watched as he spoke to him, arms crossed as he tried to plead with his manager. You couldn’t tell if it was working or not, so you just took a sip of your water and waited to see the results.

Well, it seemed like now it would be an even worse time to mention anything else to your family. The tide wave had once again overpowered the tidal waves.

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

“You promise you’ll do it?” Weong-Bin asked curiously, ear pressed tightly against the jail phone. He had spent the past few days trying to think of a person that perfectly matched description In-Ho had given him; a man down on his luck who seemed like he would kill if it meant getting money. He knew a few people that seemed a bit weird, people who confessed things they probably shouldn’t when they were drunk after work. He spent hours thinking, analyzing, deciding, until today, when he finally made the call.

“Yeah, I’ll do it.” The man said. “But…but I need to be promised I’ll be compensated for this. It’s not…it’s, not something I’d do under normal circumstances.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t. You’re just a man who wants to provide for his family. I respect that, I want to do the same thing. I promise, once I get proof, I’ll give you a nice thank you present.” It was silent on the other end of the phone for a moment. “You still there?”

“How will you contact me from now on in prison? It must be hard.”

“I have my ways. You’d be surprised how many cops I’ve worked with whose wives just think I’m an angel on earth. It leads to a lot of beneficial friendships.” Weong-Bin glanced at the cop who stood only feet away, keeping people from coming in or out. He was a nice man with a beautiful wife and a cop son who idolized him, he would never let a man talk about committing murder on a prison cell phone even if his wife thought that Weong-Bin was eye candy.

Good thing the cop didn’t know.

“Just stay around. I’ll be in touch. Trust me, I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t desperate. This guy has ruined my life for long enough…and I’m tired of it.” Weong-Bin said in a whisper loud enough to be heard on the phone, yet silent enough that the cop was still oblivious. “Just promise me, that you will kill. Jung. Hoseok.” Once again there was silence on the other end and Weong-Bin smirked. “It’ll probably get your family a nice Christmas this year.”

“….I promise.”

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

Lunch was quick, just something to fill your stomach. Your parents and Taehyung were constantly checking on you, however, absolutely paranoid that you would collapse again. The girls, not really knowing what happened, were bummed that they had to stop their modeling early, but Taehyung assured them that they would get another chance really soon, his manager promised. After that whole event, you were absolutely embarrassed and just ready to go back home and crash. While your heart had slowed down to a reasonable pace and your head wasn’t pounding like a million drums anymore, you still felt like you were out of place at lunch. It was as if you were going through the motions, like nothing that you were seeing was happening to you. Hopefully, you could sleep it off.

“Call me if you need anything, okay?” Taehyung ordered. Your parents had begun to walk home after lunch, but only because Taehyung wouldn’t leave until you gave him permission to take you and the girls back to the apartment. It was a long, drawn-out argument in front of the restaurant, but inevitably, Taehyung won and shoved the three of you in his car, speeding down the street after a hug and kiss from your parents. “I’ll be over in a jiffy.”

“Just go finish your shoot. The food made me feel a lot better, and I think we’re just going to go to sleep until Hoseok comes home.” Taehyung pouted, but you smiled. “Thank you, Tae. Guess you won’t be retiring from your position as my personal bodyguard for a while, hm?”

“No, of course not. Everything I said was because I was tired. Tired, I say. I’m not going to stop protecting you ever, Noona.”

“Thank you.” You said again, your smile widening. “Let me know when you and Mom and Dad are all home, okay?” He nodded, leaning forward to give the girls a tight hug as well.

“Bye, Uncle Tae!” The girls said.

“Bye, my little models.” He chuckled, before sliding back into his car. “Remember, call me.” He said to you. Offering him an assuring nod, Taehyung finally turned on his car and sped off. Once he was gone, you took the girl's hands and headed into the apartment, making your way towards the elevator. It was a silent trip up, the girls seemingly tired from overeating as well as burning energy in the sun, and you just trying to make it through the next few seconds while you dragged them into the apartment.

As you headed off the elevator platform and turned towards the apartment, you saw two figures standing in front of your door.

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creativeskullcreations · 4 years

Text

Outside chapter 7: Article Delivery

Ugh, this one took forever to write. Not because it was hard to do, but I think I burnt myself out a little bit. So! For anyone who doesn't already know, chapters will now be uploaded every two weeks. So two(2) weeks from now, on Monday, chapter 8 should go up! As for this chapter, it's more of a transitional chapter than anything. Although there is a few important details in here. Maybe you can notice, maybe it'll be more obvious later.

When Stacy woke up next, it was to Scout once again sleeping on her chest. With some maneuvering she managed to get up without waking the Puppet, leaving her laying in the middle of the bed. She then went in to the bathroom, where she changed her bandages and got ready for the day. By the time she came back out, Scout had woken up herself and moved back to the living room.

Feeling bad about the night before, Stacy went to the kitchen and got out some ingredients. Bread was set on the counter. A pan went on the stove. Milk, eggs, and a little bit of cinnamon were mixed into a bowl. She soaked the bread in the mixture, then put it in the pan. Quickly, the smell of french toast filled the apartment, and she heard the TV pause. Seconds later Scout was on the counter, looking at the pan from behind the still mostly full loaf of bread.

"What's that?" She asked, leaning as close as she dared. She could feel the heat coming from the stove, and was wary of getting closer. Stacy grinned, checking the bottom of the bread.

"French toast. It's a breakfast food, commonly eaten with peanut butter and maple syrup. And it's delicious!" She flipped it, then set the spatula down to grab a couple of plates from the cupboard. "How much do you think you'll eat? This is all we'll be getting until lunch."

If Scout could salivate, she would be drooling all over the counter. "Twenty!" She told her Host seriously. Stacy paused, looking her up and down.

"How about two." She said. "They're kinda big and you're kinda... not."

"Fiiiiiine." The Puppet groaned, watching as she placed two pieces of toast on one plate, and the last piece on the other. She put them on the table, then got out the peanut butter and syrup while Scout Jumped to her plate.

Stacy showed her how to spread the peanut butter, which Scout copied with some difficulty. The second piece looked better than the first, but it still wasn't as good as Stacy's. The knife was too big and unwieldy for the Puppet to use properly, though her pride kept her from asking her Host for help.

Though her Host did have to help with the syrup, the bottle being far too heavy for her to lift by herself. Though, once she saw how liquid it was, she didn't let Stacy put much on either piece, with the second one getting absolutely none on it.

She had to use two forks to keep her hands clean, but Scout found herself loving the french toast. She wasn't entirely sure what made it different from regular toast, but it was the tastiest thing she'd eaten so far. Even the one with the syrup wasn't so bad, even though she could feel it soaking into her fabric as she ate it.

"This is fucking good!" She told Stacy around a mouthful of tasty bread. The Host just grinned, sticking another small bite in her own mouth.

"Glad you like it. It's one of my favorite breakfast foods." She told her, poking at her slice with her fork. Scout thought she looked a bit distracted, but ignored it to eat her own toast. By the time she'd finished her two slices, Stacy hadn't even gotten through half of hers. When she saw Scout staring at it, she willingly gave it up to the Puppet, taking the empty plate to the sink.

"So, I gotta go take the article to Carol today." The Host said as she washed Scout's plate. "But I'm gonna give her the fake one I wrote up yesterday. It should be enough to keep people out of that place, without drawing too much attention to it."

"Sounds good. When do we leave?" Scout asked, pushing the last plate over towards Stacy, who hesitated before picking it up.

"I mean, if you want to stay here, you can." She told her quietly, turning and putting the plate in the sink. "You don't have to go just because I do."

Scout frowned. "Yeah, but I want to come." She insisted, finding it odd. Just a couple days ago Stacy seemed upset that she wouldn't go with to wash some rugs, but now she wanted to be alone. It was just confusing to the Hand Puppet.

"If that's what you want to do..." Stacy didn't sound sure, and it was starting to annoy the Puppet with how inconsistent she was being.

"Yeah, it's what I want to fucking do." She said angrily, and felt a little smug at the wince Stacy gave in response. Other than that, the Host ignored the outburst and finished washing the dishes, only to pause when she picked up a fork. She glanced between the Puppet and utensil, frowning, and Scout felt her stuffing go cold.

'Oh shit! She's gonna stab me!' The Puppet panicked, looking for a hiding place. But, other than deepening her frown, Stacy did nothing and just put the fork to dry with the rest of the dishes. She then drained the sink, drying her hands, and heading to the living room.

As she passed the table, she picked Scout up, almost cradling her as she grabbed something off of the TV table. She settled on to the couch, placing the Puppet in her lap and leaning back.

"What are you doing?" She asked while the Host turned on the TV and changed the channel. It looked similar to Netflix, but there was just one row of pictures, rather than several. She watched as Stacy did something with the large, square-ish remote in her hands.

"I'm making you a profile on my Switch so you can play games." She told the Puppets, choosing a little pink round thing for an icon. "And then I'm gonna teach you how to play. We'll start with something simple, like Kirby."

"Kirby?" That wasn't something Scout had ever heard of before. But she didn't have much time to think it over as soon Stacy had taken the controller apart and handed her the blue half. She was then given a quick rundown of how to work it, and and told to select the first game on the list.

They watched the cut-scene, then got right into the game. Scout was playing the pink thing, who was apparently supposed to be Kirby. Stacy was playing... something else. It changed a lot and Scout couldn't really keep up. Still, with the Host guiding her they managed to get through the first few levels without dying. The Puppet was actually getting into it when Stacy suddenly quit the game, leaving her alone.

"Hey!" Scout yelled as she stood and left the room. "Where are you going?"

"I gotta go get dressed, it's almost time to go." Stacy told her. "Don't worry, we can bring the Switch and you can play it while I talk to Carol."

"But-" Scout went unheard as Stacy went into her bedroom, leaving the Puppet alone with the game. She let out a small growl, then picked up her controller again. When Stacy came back out, dressed up in nice jeans and a light yellow collared shirt, it was to Scout beating up Wispy with Fire Kirby and three Burning Leos. She watched and, when the boss fight was finished, clicked the Switch into sleep mode.

"Hey! I was still playing!" Scout protested, but Stacy ignored her and took the switch out of it's stand. She took apart the remote, snapping the colored parts onto the small screen.

"I know." She said, slipping it into her backpack. "That's why it's going with us, so you can keep playing."

Scout stared, looking between Stacy and the TV. "... We can do that?!"

Stacy just sighed, having to fight off a small smile of amusement. "Yeah. We can do that." She finished packing up her stuff and pulled on her hoodie, then held out her open bag to the Puppet. "Want me to carry you, or do you wanna ride in the bag?"

"Like I would ever ride in that thing." Scout scoffed, and the Host hid a smile at that. She slung her bag onto her back and picked up the Puppet, who then climbed up her arm to hide in her hood.

'Adorable...' Stacy thought as she felt Scout settle in to the lowered hood. Hopefully she'd be out of view of any passerby, at least until Stacy got to the truck. If not, they could always go with the toy story again, it worked last time.

The Host made her way out of the apartment, locking up as she went. She didn't meet anyone on the way, and they made it to the truck without incident. Stacy climbed inside, putting her bag on the floorboard in front of the passenger seat. She then dug Scout out of her hood and dropped her in said seat. While she considered if it was worth it to make her buckle up, the Puppet went straight for the bag, prompting Stacy to grab her by the back of her "shirt".

"You can't play the Switch while the car's moving, I don't want to find out if you can get carsick. You can play when we get to the college." Stacy told her, pulling her against the back of the seat.

"I won't get car sick!" Not that Scout knew what that was, of course. But it had the word sick, and she wasn't sick. She wasn't even sure she could get sick, for that matter.

"Not that you know of." The Host countered, pulling out from the parking lot. "And, frankly, I don't really want to find that out right now."

Scout pouted, but let it go, instead watching out the window as they drove the short distance to Stacy's college. It was a nice looking building, different to what the apartment buildings were like. It was made of red brick, with a green slanted roof, and was much wider and even a bit taller than Stacy or Sammy's apartment buildings.

Stacy parked in the mostly empty lot, then grabbed her bag and pulled the Switch out of it, which she handed to the Puppet. She then made sure the windows were rolled down just enough to let some fresh air in and keep the cab from being too hot.

"Okay, so I'm going to go talk to Carol about the article. You stay here and play Kirby. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Scout answered, already distracted with loading the game back up. Stacy just smiled a little and got out of the truck. She locked both doors, then pocketed the keys and made her way into the building.

Being close to the end of Spring Break, there were more people around than she would've liked. But, it made sense that the students were starting to come back. It was Thursday, after all, and classes started up next week.

'Ah geez, what am I gonna do with Scout? She can't come to class with me, it'd be a disaster! Either the others would freak out, or she would.' She clutched the strap of her bag tighter as she approached the new office. 'Maybe she can stay with Will sometimes? Or I could get her a cellphone? I don't know if I can let her be alone at the house without a way to contact me. What if she turns the stove on and hurts herself? Or gets stuck somewhere?'

She paused and pulled a small note book and pen out of her bag, on which was already a short list. She quickly scribbled cellphone/flip phone at the bottom, then put it back. She was already planning a trip to Walmart when she was done here, so she could pick one up during that.

She entered the office, nodding to Adam as she passed his desk. To her relief, he seemed like the only one there other than Carol, which would make talking to her boss a lot easier.

Carol herself was currently hunched over two separate laptops, typing furiously with one hand on each. Stacy wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but somehow she managed to keep her focus equal between them.

Truly, she was a wonder of an editor, and it almost made Stacy sad she'd have to disrupt her.

"Boss!" Didn't stop her from shouting her name and smacking the desk, though. And, to her credit, Carol didn't even flinch as she kept typing. only briefly glancing up at the reporter.

"Are you finally here with your article?" She spoke quickly, but was obviously very annoyed. Stacy just gave her the most shit eating grin she could as she dropped the USB on the desk.

"Sure have!" And here it was, moment of truth. Time to see just how good at lying she really was. "It was pretty boring, actually. Most interesting thing was the big hole in the floor from the fire way back when." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Send me somewhere cool next time, mkay?" 'Nailed it.'

Carol glanced from USB to Host, brow furrowing. "And the missing homeless people? Those were supposed to be a big draw in the article."

"Probably fell down the hole or something. I don't know, it was pretty dangerous in there so I couldn't get too far in." She leaned against the desk, looking at a framed issue of their paper on the wall.

"Hmm..." It was clear Carol wasn't fully buying the lie, and Stacy was glad she'd put on extra deodorant. "Did you at least make it sound interesting enough? There's no time for you to find somewhere better."

"Do you really doubt me on that, Boss?" She asked. "And here I thought you knew me better than that."

"Ugh, fine. I'll put your story in." The editor sighed, but couldn't keep a small smile off her face. "You gonna stick around for a while?"

"Nope! I got some shopping to do." Stacy informed her. "I'll see ya on Monday, though." She gave a wave as she turned and left. As she passed Adam's desk she tipped over the cup holding his pencils, giving a quiet cackle when he jumped at the clatter.

As she walked back the way she came, she reached up to grab at her bag strap with her left hand, only to pause as she realized it had gone numb. She rubbed it vigorously with her other hand, wincing when the pins and needles started. 'Ugh! Is my hoodie too tight or something?' She stretched the cuff of her sleeve a little bit, then shoved her hands in her pockets as she finally left the building.

She blinked as she came out into the sun, making her way across the lot to her truck, where she spotted a cat on the hood. As she approached it ran off, and a quick glance in the window showed Scout staring after the cat with her tongue sticking out.

Biting back a laugh at the frankly adorable sight, she climbed into the drivers seat, almost losing it when Scout turned towards her, tongue still out. She managed to keep her composure, but only barely, and hoped the Puppet hadn't noticed.

"So are we going home now?" She asked, finally putting her tongue back where it belonged. Stacy shook her head, starting the truck.

"Nope, gotta go to Walmart now." She told her "I've got some stuff to pick up. And put the Switch down, I need to start driving."

"No. I'm not carsick." Scout told her, already turning back to the screen. The Host frowned, but didn't say anything more. If she wanted to learn this the hard way, then she could.

Sure enough, not five minutes she was yanking the Switch out of Scout's hands, dropping it into her lap as the tell tale gagging sounds started. She pulled over with a sigh. Once parked she grabbed a roll of paper towels and a half used water bottle from the floor board, ready to start the clean up process.

At least her seats were easy to clean.

#outside #hello puppets #scout #stacy stein #carol fitzgerald

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novaislost · 5 years

Text

The Neo

Group: Block B

Genre: College!au

Word Count: 3630

The air was crisp, and the sun shone brightly when Dahye and Jisoo walked out of the building and made their way towards the park. They had a lot of things to set up and were on a tight schedule—things would have to move fast.

“Do you know where the others are?” Jisoo asked when they arrived at their assigned spot for the day, a large box in her arms. The plan was to meet at 9 am to start setting up, but it was 9 and the others were nowhere to be seen. So typical of them.

“We’re both here together aren’t we?”

Dahye’s answer came out a lot more aggressively than she’d intended it to be, but she was irritated that her sorors would just casually not show up on time. There were a lot of things to do before the barbecue began and she and Jisoo couldn’t do it all. The poor girl had just crossed too.

All around them, other greek organizations had begun setting up, each aware of the urgency. There were coolers everywhere, and grills were being assembled as the DJ for the day began installing his equipment. Just a few meters over stood a blue tent under which the boys of Kappa Mu were busy setting up for the big day. They had come on time at least.

“I’m gonna go get the meat from the boys,” Dahye called to Jisoo, who was attempting to set up their tent. She would make one of the boys take care of that.

Jaehyo, one of the seniors, was seated at the picnic table they had placed under their tent when Dahye arrived, a smile on her face.

“Well if it isn’t Dahye the friendly ghost, you’re alive?” he asked with a chuckle, in response to which she giggled.

“Wow Jae, it’s like that huh?”

“The last time I saw you was at Yukwon’s party—two months ago.”

She thought back to the party with a smile as she took a seat, trying to remember how long it had been since. “Damn, was it really that long ago? I really have gone MIA,” she sighed. “Anyway, where is the meat? It’s almost grilling time.”

He pointed to the red cooler that sat right next to their own and Dahye walked towards it with a thank you, but stopped in her tracks when she remembered her other reason for coming.

“Oh right, can one of you guys come help us with our tent? I’ll make a special cocktail for you.”

He would have helped either way, but the promise of a cocktail was far too good to pass up. “I’ll send someone over” Jaehyo replied with a chuckle, waving to her as she walked away.

When she made it back to the Beta Rho tent pulling the cooler behind her, Jisoo had made quite a dent in the tent set up, actually. She was a lot more savvy than Dahye would have thought.

”I come with meat,” she said with a smile, pointing to the cooler . “And help.”

As if by magic, a man appeared behind her, smiling and ready to help.

“Oh, hi,” Jisoo said with a quick bow, tucking her short black hair behind her ear. She seemed surprised and when Dahye turned around, she saw it was none other than Yukwon, the man whose smile had turned her into a puddle so many months ago.

“Oh Hi Kwon,” she hugged him before turning back to Jisoo. “Jisoo, this is Yukwon. Kappa Mu. Yukwon this Jisoo. She’s Yerim’s neo.”

“Hey Jisoo, nice to meet you,” he bowed to her before turning toward Dahye. “So what do you need me for?”

“Actually I need you.” Jisoo interjected quietly, holding her hand up. “To set up the tent.” She nodded toward the pile of tent parts next to her foot.

“I can do that. Do you need help with anything else?”

“No we’re good. Thanks.”

Yukwon was Jaehyo’s neo, and for the better part of the year, had been the object of Dahye’s crush. She’d told her sisters about her crush, which resulted in a giggle fit every time he so much as breathed around her, and it made her want to crawl into a hole. As he began working on the tent and her on putting the grill together, she thought back to the last time she saw him, at his party. It had been on that night that she’d confessed her feelings, and while he didn’t quite feel the same way, he had wanted to stay friends. He’d really meant it too. She wasn’t hurt that he didn’t reciprocate her feelings, in fact she was happy he’d been honest.

Yukwon was just about done when Yubin arrived, wearing shorts into which she had tucked her favorite Beta Rho shirt. Her long blonde hair had been put into a ponytail for the day—it was gonna be hot.

“Hey guys, whats happening here?”

“Wow, 9 looks really different on you” Dahye said, looking at her wrist as if a watch sat there. “Nice of you to join us.”

Yubin rolled her eyes with a chuckle. “At least I came within the hour of nine. Hyunah’s not gonna get here until like 11.”

The worst part about it was, she was right. Hyunah didn’t come late to events because she enjoyed it, it was just that as one of the three seniors (The other two were Yubin and Yeeun) and in the nursing program, she had a lot more things to deal with than everyone else.

“She has a reason.” Dahye winked, turning to the grill, where she was attempting to turn the fire on. The bi annual greek barbecue was mainly for new members to meet their sorors/frats, and to mingle with other greek students, but also for non-greek members to have fun and learn more about the orgs. This was Dahye’s third since she’d crossed in the fall of her sophomore year. It was always a pleasure to hang out with the new girls and introduce them to the other orgs.

“Hey y’all!” Yerim arrived, pushing a cart full of supplies. She and Sunmi had been charged with purchasing supplies for the barbecue, and they as usual, they had gone above and beyond. They were both wearing Beta Rho shorts, and while Yerim’s hair sat on her head in a messy bun, Sunmi’s brown locks had been pulled into a high ponytail.

“Where do you guys always find these cute plates?” Yubin asked as she took the plates out of the boxes they came in.

“We order them,” was Sunmi’s answer. She really thought the others knew by now that all the utensils and cutlery used at organization events were ordered online. It was so much easier than getting them in store.

The next hour and a half was a busy one: Yerim and Sunmi attended to nicely arranging the plates and cutlery onto the picnic table—they were the queens of dining arrangements at Beta Rho. Dahye on the other side, got Jisoo to help her marinate the meat in preparation for grilling. Upon her arrival, shortly after Yubin’s, Yeeun tended to starting the grill up, and by the time it was noon, Hyunah arrived with the neos of the semester. “I’d given up on seeing you today,” Yeeun chuckled when she saw her friend, who hugged her.

“A million things invented themselves this morning, I’m so sorry. But I do bring our new sorors!”

There were four girls total, coming from various majors and years, sporting the shining eyes all neos seemed to wear. Jisoo was a second semester freshman, Haein and Sojung were both sophomores, and Jihyo was a junior. The four of them had made a spot for themselves in the sorority over the months, and finally they were officially a Beta Rho, it was cause for celebration and this was only the beginning.

“Do you guys need any help?” Haein asked Dahye, whose hands were busy taking bowls wrapped with saran out of the cooler that had just arrived.

“Yeah that would be great. Can you help me get these out of here?”

The girl moved quickly to get the bowls onto the table. The older girls had spent the week making side dishes for the barbecue: they’d made kimchi, kkadugi, and Hyunah had insisted on making japchae that morning. She was phenomenal, that woman.

“Wow, you guys made so much.” Jihyo was genuinely surprised at the amount of food there was, she didn’t think it was all that big of a deal.

The park was bustling with greeks and non-greeks alike, all talking and eating as they danced to the music blaring from the speakers. It was a sunny day, so those who had been unable to find a space to call their own under the tents moved to the grass to sit with friends. A few of the boys had started an intense game of soccer and had forgotten all about the food around them.

“We wanted to welcome you as best as we could!” Yerim answered with a grin, always the most sociable one. No wonder she was the chapter’s spokesperson.

“Okay girls, it’s time to eat!” Yubin, who had been assigned grill duty, called out. She wasn’t the youngest, but no one trusted anyone else with grilling, so she always ended up grilling the meat.

The girls sat around the table, passing the side dishes around and engaging in multiple conversations at once as was the case when many people ate together.

“Thank you for the food,” Sojung said, picking her chopsticks in one hand and the bowl of kimchi in the other. When she began serving the girls around her, a cloud of protest rose from the older girls.

“Oh don’t worry about us,” Sunmi took the bowl away from her.

“You just make sure you eat as much as you want okay?” Yeeun said as she handed Sojung a can of coke.

The girls of Beta Rho were always excited to welcome new members, and they loved taking care of each other. It was a sisterhood of support and love, and they were the prime examples of that.

Once the first round of meat had been grilled, some of the prophytes took the new girls to meet the other organizations while Dahye and Yerim stayed behind, sipping their drink around the table. They were line sisters, which meant they spent a lot of time together in general. Not very far from them and in their line of sight, stood Yukwon and few other boys that Dahye did not recognize, but were probably Kappa Mu if the blue shirts were anything to go by.

“How did everything go with Yukwon, by the way? You never told us how that ended,” Yerim said, taking a sip from her can of soda.

“We decided to be friends…” right next to Yukwon was perhaps the most beautiful man she’d ever seen—and that was saying something, considering he was standing next to Yukwon. “Wait who’s that?”

Yerim’s who was answered by a nod in the boys’ general direction, which really wasn’t a good answer, but words came soon after.

“In the grey shorts. Dark hair, brushed back,”

“Oh him? Yeah, he just crossed. I don’t remember his name though.” A pause ensued as Yerim took time to really look at the guy. He was pretty tall, but the most attractive thing was his face: small but intense eyes, high cheekbones and thick, full, pink lips. He was a good looking man, she had to admit it. “He’s cute. Go talk to him.”

She would have, except at that very moment, a group of freshmen girls walked over to them, asking for more information about the organization. What great timing they had. Dahye would just have to wait.

When four pm rolled around, everyone began cleaning. It had been a long day and despite the fun they’d had all were more than excited to head back home. They put the leftovers into their coolers and tossed the trash around them in the bin the school had provided for the day. Cleaning wasn’t difficult, considering they’d eaten in the same plates all day, but a ridiculous amount of people had come under their tent that day, and not all of them had cleaned after themselves.

Once all the coolers had been loaded into Hyunah’s car and all the girls had made their way home, Dahye, Sunmi and Yerim walked over to the Kappa tent to bother them as they often did.

“Hey Kyung!” Sunmi called out with a wave, taking his attention away from the trash bag he was holding.

Kyung was Yukwon’s line brother, but the two couldn’t be any more different. The former was a fool at all times, although a loveable one, while the latter was reserved and collected. How they managed to become friends was beyond everyone.

“Hey girls, madam Kim,” he greeted the other two with a nod, but winked at Dahye, getting an eye roll form her.

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that” Dahye replied before turning to Jihoon and hugging him

The sophomore was currently the youngest member of the chapter and was hands down the sweetest, most wholesome person Dahye had ever met. She really just wanted to put him in her pocket.

Kyung placed his hand on his chest, feigning offence, “that hurt my feelings, Dahye. I’m out here rooting for you and him and I’m constantly attacked.”

“Park Kyung, college student by obligation, matchmaker by calling,” Sunmi said with a snicker, and everyone laughed.

The funny thing about it all, was that Kyung didn’t know that Dahye had had a crush on the man and that she’d told him about it. He didn’t know that she’d told him and that he’d said that he didn’t quite feel the same way and that he would rather to be friends with her. Kyung just openly shipped them because of the amount of time the two spent together, that was all, but to say it amused the girls, who knew what had happened, was an understatement.

“Where is he anyway?”

“He’s dropping some stuff off at the house” Jihoon answered Yerim’s question and she nodded, picking up whatever trash she found around her.

Around them, the boys were tying up trash bags and loading things into cars nearby, talking as they worked. Among them was the man she had seen earlier in the day. Now that she was closer to him, she could read what his t shirt said. It didn’t make sense to her at first but when she nudged Yerim with her elbow, asking what two seater could possibly mean. She realized.

Her friend looked at her suggestively and Dahye felt stupid for even asking. She knew exactly what it meant and instead of disgusting her as it would have, had he been anyone else, she all but cackled at the hilarity of it all. This guy was a character, and she wanted to know more about him. Except he was surrounded by the other boys and as confident as Dahye was in herself, these boys ran in packs and entering them to talk to one of them was terrifying. Knowing some of them made no difference.

“You guys look just about done, so we’re gonna head out.” Sunmi said, waving her sorors along with her. The girls had made plans to hangout at Dahye’s dorm for a night of netflix, ice cream, and gossip. They couldn’t miss it.

Finally back at the dorms, the girls took a shower and made their way to Dahye’s room, where they put in a movie and sat on the bed, each with her pint of ice cream. The movie of the night was The Princess Diaries, and Mia’s private jet plane had just flown into the small European country of Genovia when Dahye put her spoon into the half empty pint of Haagen Dazs dulce de leche flavored ice cream.

“I’m gonna ask Yukwon who that guy was.”

The words ‘Are you crazy?’ and ‘What guy?’ came simultaneously from Yerim and Sunmi respectively, who looked at her from their spots on either side of her.

“A guy I saw at the park today.” She answered Sunmi’s question before turning to Yerim “and why would you say that?”

“You were trying to jump on the man’s dick literally last semester!”

“She’s right, you know.”

Dahye rolled her eyes at her friends’ response. Things changed! It was time for something new! “Well it’s now fall semester, and I no longer want to do that. Besides he’s the one who wanted to be friends. Don’t blame me for moving on.” she shrugged, putting a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

“Okay yeah, but going through him to get to your next hookup? I don’t think that’s the kind of friendship he signed up for.”

“Hah!” Dahye cackled at Sunmi, who had since paused the movie and was currently retying her ponytail. “Well that’s the kind of friendship he’s gonna get!”

Her friends sighed in resignation. If the three semesters they’d spent with Dahye had taught them anything, it was that the girl was going to do what she wanted to do regardless.

She wasted no time in texting the man, who up until then had been focused on a very heated game of cards. Jaehyo had invited all the boys over to his place for beer, chicken and cards, claiming he couldn’t really claim to know anyone unless he’d seen them drunk. It was really just an excuse to drink, but he wasn’t complaining.

Yukwon had just opened a can of beer when his phone buzzed and he checked it to see a text from Dahye.

[ 8:34 p.m. ] Dahye: hey Kwon!

He put the can down and leaned on the counter behind to answer.

[ 8:34 p.m. ] Yukwon: What’s up?

Sunmi had unpaused the movie by then and her and Yerim were focused on the adventures of Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, but Dahye was immersed in her phone. She had to figure out who that guy was.

On his side, Yukwon had yet to join the game that had just started, having missed the roll call because he was getting a beer in the kitchen. When he made his way back to the living room, a text came in from Dahye, making him chuckle.

[ 8:36 p.m. ] Dahye: Nothing much, I was wondering, one of the Kappa neos, what’s his name?

“Who’s got you smiling like that?” Jaehyo asked with a smirk.

“Damn, can’t a guy smile at his phone in peace?”

“We all know it’s Dahye, man.” Kyung answered with a shrug before turning back to the cards. It was evident the neos wanted to know who this Dahye girl was, considering the boys spent all their waking hours making fun of his friendship with her. He never got offended though, he often did the same to them.

[ 8:39 p.m. ] Yukwon: Well we have five, so you’re gonna have to be specific lol

[ 8:40 p.m. ] Dahye: Grey sweats, black hair, combed back you were talking to him. He was wearing a shirt that said two seater.

Yukwon chuckled again because not only did he know exactly who she was talking about, Jiho was also sitting right in front him.

[ 8:40 p.m. ] Yukwon: Well damn, detailed much. Yeah I know who you’re talking about. His name’s Jiho. Why?

There was no way he had just asked that. Yukwon could be stupid sometimes but this was too much. What did he think she was going to do with his name? Write it in her notebook? She wanted to shoot her shot! Her friends noticed the change in her face and although they wanted to say something, Mia’s adventures in Genovia were much more riveting in that very moment. She was going to tell them all about it later anyway.

[8:42 p.m. ] Dahye: Are you seriously asking this question right now Yukwon? Do you even want my happiness?

[ 8:43 p.m. ]Yukwon: I’m just asking, sorry lol. I’ll introduce you guys next time!

At that, Dahye’s face lit up. Finally he was telling her what she wanted to hear.

[8:43 p.m. ] Dahye: Thanks. You’re the best.

[8:43 p.m. ] Yukwon: Anytime lmao

He slipped his phone back into his pocket with a chuckle, taking the cards Jaehyo was handing him.

“What’s up?”

“Oh you know, Dahye doing Dahye things. Nothing new,” he replied, and although Jaehyo didn’t know exactly what was happening, he nodded with a chuckle because Dahye was always up to something, and it was always entertaining to watch.

Back in Dahye’s dorm room, she turned to her friends with a triumphant grin, “He says he’ll introduce us. Told you.”

“Did you ever actually like the guy?” Yerim asked with a smile, still in awe that she had just done all of that, but Dahye was not moved. She did what she had to do.

“Shut up Yerim,”

Dahye’s answer had the girls laughing, mostly at how crazy the situation was, but also at how determined their friend was. There truly was never a dull day with her.

“Don’t you think it’s weird? You were literally in love with him six months ago.”

“Like I said, that was then, this is now, Sunmi.” Dahye shrugged. “Now, we worry about Jiho,” the name rolled off her tongue so beautifully. She was excited to see what the future held.

It was going to be an adventure—all three of them knew it—and no one was more excited to begin it than Dahye.

#block b scenario #kpop fanfiction #zico fanfiction #kpop scenario #The Neo

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ellipsesarefun · 6 years

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A/N: for @cosmicdusttrails!!!!!!!! hope you enjoy this piece!!!! :D

It's ten minutes to four in the afternoon and the classroom is already empty when Lance finishes his advice (if you call his stupid goofy face and being in too close to someone else's space the summary of his own guide to charming people). Goofball and all that she adores about him, Pidge should have bought those cheap earplugs during her and Lance’s grocery day the week before.

"And that concludes my TED Talk. Thank you for listening." Lance says as the four of them saunter through the hallway, giving an overly dramatic bow for effect. Pidge glances up to the two of them and then turns to share her exasperation with Keith. They both shake their heads and sigh before Keith chiming in with a, "You do know that being yourself is important, right? Hunk can say to Shay whatever he wants." Pidge nods along to his words and darts her gaze back at Lance. The said person narrows his cerulean eyes at them.

"And what do you know about romance, hm, Keith?" Lance retorts as he crosses his arms over his chest and careens his head away from them. Pidge barely stops herself from rolling her eyes. She hopes her boyfriend doesn’t instigate any further argument from mullet of a loner, lest they’ll be standing around for the rest of the day.

"Obviously more than you, seeing as he's in a blooming romantic relationship with a wonderful charming guy." Her lips curve into a smirk when his nonchalant bravado falters with a mocking gasp. They pass through the school gates and they pick up the conversation once more.

"Shiro doesn't count!" Lance says, waving his arms around, "Shiro's Shiro!" The other three all grace him with deadpanned expressions and he ignores them, adding with his ridiculous puppy pout, "And what about me? Back me up Pidge! You’re my girlfriend!" He exclaims. He keeps that utterly stupid puppy pout with added emphasis. Both of them know by now her weakness to it (and she absolutely hates it).

“Boyfriend or no, Lance, you’re a goofball.” She says, laughing, “You can’t even stay put during that one TED Talk seminar a month ago and you couldn't keep your eyes open through the second one!”

"But you love me anyway." He teases, his capricious gaze unrelenting. She doesn't fight the roll in her eyes but the growing smile on her face tells them all that she's smitten.

"Goofball." Not even a comeback but a reply no less. He only laughs.

"But I'm your Goofball." He bumps his elbow against hers and she does the same with unwavering euphoria.

"That doesn't make any sense at all." Keith says and she suddenly she regrets forgetting that he and Hunk are still with them. If she could just drench those beautiful ocean eyes and goofy grin in acid rain, then maybe Lance wouldn't be this distracting.

"And also, it's obvious that Shay likes Hunk too." Pidge remarks, making sure Lance hangs on to her every word, "So even if he were to say something as disgusting as those rare and wild arthropods in some unknown island or talk science then yes. She'll like him anyway." And that is the inevitable, undeniable, and absolute truth. Hunk and Shay are lucky to have each other.

She glances off to the impending sunset, of watercolor-like sky fading from blue to still light scattered blots of red and orange. She immerses herself in the swirl of vorfreude of a certain tall, lanky someone with a wonderful handsome grin and cuddle sessions while playing video games until the dreadful 4am hour. She looks back at the road ahead of them and saves the thought for later.

They finally met an intersecting road and they all bid each other goodbyes. Both Hunk and Keith part ways, Keith at the apartment building at the end of the intersection and Hunk at the far left. Lance and Pidge link arms with laced hands as they cross the pedestrian lane of an empty street.

Two years ago, at the start of their college freshman term, she would have blanched at the mere notion of them sharing the same apartment unit. They were mutual friends of Hunk and Allura. They had not been around the other in their high school years as much as they do right now, not to mention that awkward crush she had on Lance then.

It took a momentum of switching chores here and there; study sessions with a break hour of video games, squabbling over what to buy for their weekly grocery shopping to become more than acquainted to their living arrangements. A confession and three dates later, Pidge realized that nothing much has changed. Sure, they’ve developed new set of habits, such as lounging around in only their shorts and underwear (sometimes it’s either of them and sometimes it’s both), have become familiar with each other’s random likes and dislikes, but there didn’t seem like some exponential difference, as though this has been designed long ago. As sappy it may seem (and she will never admit this out loud any time in five years), she and Lance seem to fit...

"Hey," Lance voice breaks her away from her reverie after a minute of walking , "How about for our anniversary dinner, I make some pasta and beer tonight?"

Pidge grins. "Sure, and I'll pick a series marathon?"

Lance flippantly waves a hand, "Psh, only if it's Voltron!" Their fingers tighten their hold and then the whole conversation shifts back to their own mundanity of homework, lab class gossip, and their friends. By the time they arrive at their apartment, she makes her way to her room while Lance heads to the kitchen to prepare their dinner.

From out her window, she lingers at the gleaming sunset, nostalgia creeping into her train of thought. She kneels beside her bed and slides out from under it a worn out shoe box tied in green ribbon and a lock. It's been quite a long time since she's added another missive. Just how many sunsets she's contemplated while writing one? Too many to count from the emotion it emanates. She had stopped on their first date, as they intended to be as a coven of clandestine confessions before they started out a romantic relationship. Still, it is strange to give them all to him at once and even stranger that she never did.

Pidge pulls out a key from her pillow and unlocks it. She reaches a hand to unwrap but hovers the moment she touches the fabric. It's already old and worn from the creases and not a single dust or cobweb in sight.

Maybe... It wouldn't be so bad to show him this. It's their anniversary after all.

She goes back out with the box in one arm and slowly saunters over to their small round dining table, where two sets of empty plates and utensils arranged parallel to each other along with a platter of rigatoni with sausage and fennel, and a small bowl of cheese sticks at the center. She finds him with two bottles of beer as she places the box on the table. His eyes flick towards the object in an unspoken question.

“Happy 2nd Anniversary, I guess?” She flashes a sheepish smile and a shrug. With the tip of her fingers, she slides it to his side of the table and watches as he takes a seat and unwraps the present slowly and delicately. He pulls the lid off, revealing several colorful stationary envelopes, each in meticulously tied in string and with his name written in neat cursive. He takes one with a trembling hand, shock eminent in his features.

“This is…” He trails off, noting the dates on each envelope “Were these…?”

“They were meant for you, before we got together, actually… At this hour or so, I’d take the time to write you a little something. I don’t do them every day, but it’s… a lot.” She looks down at her fiddling fingers, staring at the lines on her hand, “I never really gave them to you, did I?”

“You’re giving all to me now, that’s important.” He reaches for her hand and she follows with hers, lacing their fingers, “Thank you, Pidge.”

“No problem, Lance.” She says.

This is probably the sappiest she’ll ever get today but she doesn’t care. Seeing him like this is worth it.

[EXTRA]

“Wow… I had no idea you’re this sappy, Pidge. Where’d you get all these lines?”

“My brain, you goofball.”

“And you just had to write a letter in an old receipt? And your old notes? Really?”

“What? I thought it was an aesthetic thing or something?”

“….you were just lazy, weren’t you?”

“Yea… ran out of fancy stationary so I had to make do.”

“yea, but you could’ve chosen something that doesn’t have numbers in it…”

“Like I said, aesthetic.”

#plance #pidge #lance #katie holt #voltron #ellipsesarefun writes

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rosywrites · 7 years

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After the Party

Title: Reunited Chapter: After the Party [College AU] By: ArisuChanSenpai (Visit my blog for AO3 link!) Fandom: League of Legends Ship: Jhin x Sona

A ringing urged Sona to wake up as she opened her eyes to the blinding sunlight flooding in from the closed blinds. Ow, her head. Her hand found her throbbing temples as she blinked the blurriness away. Her fingers brushed against the cool, grey blanket wrapped around her body. She froze.

This wasn’t her room.

Sona quickly sat up, much to her dizzying regret, only to grab the covers that slipped off her bare chest and hold it over her body. A whistling sound sounded from her throat as her face turned red at the realization that she was naked—except for her underwear—under the blanket. Her eyes moved to the foot of the bed, where her clothes laid folded in a neat pile while her bra sat next to her head.

Her eyes quickly darted around the room, Sona dashing out of the bed with her clothes and heading into the bathroom. She dropped her clothes by her feet and inspected her body in the mirror. There were no bruises, cuts, or any sign indicating she might have been violated. There was no pain or blood from her privates either.

She leaned against the door to let out a breath of relief and changed into her clothes with a lighter weight on her shoulders. She poked her head out from the door to find any of her other belongings. Her phone was plugged into a charger on the dresser next to the bed with a cup of water next to it.

No one was in the bedroom at least. Tucking her phone into her pocket, she left the glass untouched and cautiously opened the bedroom door.

Outside was a living room separated by a counter that lead to the kitchen behind it. Lines of canvases and papers of fine arts cluttered the walls, boxes of art supplies stacked on top of each other. An arts major student. She spotted a bowl of rice and soup with small plates of side dishes under a white mesh food cover.

Strange. Was this for her? She opened the cover to see a folded note next to the utensils. She immediately grabbed it and read the neat writing.

Please don’t hesitate to make yourself at home. If you need to talk to me about what happened last night, I wrote my number below. I will try to respond when I’m on break from class, it read. She covered her face in shame. This person was at the party last night.

Sona had gone to a party Draven was hosting to celebrate the end of midterms, and she had a little too many drinks to remember anything before she passed out. Something must have happened since she ended up in someone else’s apartment. Her phone must have ran out of battery at the party. Opening her messaging app, she was greeted by several texts asking about her whereabouts.

Oh no, her housemates must have been worried sick about her after not hearing from her. She’ll text them after she gets everything dealt with.

With a sigh, she dialed the writer’s number and sent them a text.

“Care to fill me in on what happened?”

She waited a minute, hoping for a reply, but sat down by the table when there was no response or a Read receipt. She was so hungry. So ready to eat. But not before dragging her chopsticks through the food for anything suspicious. She picked up the bowl of soup and took a noticeable gulp. The soup was delicious, and her headache was beginning to dull. Her eyes kept glancing at the screen of her phone for the anticipated reply of whoever this apartment belonged to.

Thank goodness she didn’t have classes today. She wouldn’t have gone to the party otherwise.

The clack of chopsticks and the bowl followed the vibrating of her phone as a text finally appeared on her phone. She unlocked the phone to the conversation, hoping that it was the art major.

“Sona! Where were you last night? I thought you went back early, but you weren’t home!” Ah, it was one of her housemates, Lux. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt? Where are you?” Her texts kept flooding in with questions asking about her well-being. Lux was a bright and optimistic sweetheart who looked out for her and her friends.

Sona smiled and texted her back. “I’m at someone else’s apartment. I must have passed out last night and was brought to their home.” She watched the loading bubble pop up as Lux was texting something.

“But you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t seem like I was taken advantage of.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. I was so worried about you all night! You wouldn’t get my calls or my texts!”

“I’m sorry, my phone ran out of battery during the party.”

“Well, I’m more than happy that you’re safe. When will you be back?”

“Probably after I meet this person. They even made me breakfast.”

“Oh shit, no way. Are they a student?”

Sona picked up her chopsticks and resumed eating again. “They must be. They have artworks and art supplies in the apartment.”

“Hm, an art major, huh? Kinda quirky, those people.”

She snorted, holding her chopsticks between her teeth as she texted a cheeky response to Lux—until a text from an unknown number caught her attention to the notification. It was the art major. She switched out of the conversation to read the text.

“Hey. How are you feeling? I apologize if you woke up in a panic thinking something happened. I want to assure you that I only brought you to my apartment because I found you passed out with your phone out of battery, and I didn’t want anyone to do something inappropriate to you.”

They sure were eloquent for an arts major. She started typing back.

“I believe you. Thank you for taking me to your apartment after the party. And the breakfast. It’s very delicious.”

“I’m happy to hear that. You can leave the dishes where they are. I can wash them when I return home.”

“When will you be coming home? I would like to meet you, if possible.”

Another loading bubble. “Unfortunately, I won’t be coming home until late tonight. I will be at the studios to finish an assignment, but we can schedule a meeting for another time.”

Sona paused to think. She checked her location on the maps, seeing that she wasn’t too far from the arts building. “Are you free after your current class?”

“No, I have classes all day.”

This was a little troubling. “Can you let me know when you’re free? I would like to thank you in person.”

A pause. “I believe I am free tomorrow afternoon from one to three. Would that work?”

Damn. She had a composition class that day. She couldn’t skip that class when there was going to be a critique next week. She tapped the chopsticks on her lip. “Would the weekend work for you?”

“Yes, I should be free for most of the weekend.”

“That’s good! Perhaps we can meet over some coffee?”

“That’d be nice. Does Saturday at one sound alright to you?”

“I’m fine with that. I’ll see you then.” She was about to put the phone down until a thought bubbled up. “I’m so sorry, I don’t think I introduced myself. My name is Sona Buvelle from the school of music.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sona. My name is Khada Jhin. I usually go by Jhin.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Jhin. Your break is probably almost over, so I’ll let you get back to class.”

“Oh, it’s been over about five minutes ago, but I wanted to make sure you were feeling better than how you probably were feeling when you woke up.”

Sona smiled at his message. “Aw, that’s sweet! I am feeling better now that we were able to talk.”

“Fantastic. I’ll be going back to class. Feel free to stay as long as you’d like. The door is set to automatically lock when it closes.”

“Thank you, Jhin. I’ll see you on Saturday.” Sona put her phone down and finished the rest of her breakfast. She brought them all to the sink and washed them spotless. After all the trouble Jhin went through for her, she couldn’t just leave without cleaning her mess. She fixed his bed and set the phone charger in a coil on his dresser. After making sure she didn’t leave anything behind, she left a note on the dresser and left.

“I’m on my way back, Lux!”

“Okay! See you soon!”

It was eleven at night. Jhin was walking under the streetlights with a drag in his steps. He was exhausted. He rubbed his eyes as he dug into his bag for his keys and unlocked the door. He entered the hallway to see his dining table clean and the dishes washed and dried on the rack. He trudged to his bedroom and collapsed into his bed to enjoy the cool feel of the blanket on his skin.

He sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing for a moment. He reopened them and turned to his dresser, where Sona’s note sat on top of it. His brows furrowed as he picked it up.

I’m so sorry for the trouble you went through because of me. Thank you so much for your help, it read. A little insignia of a treble and bass clef was followed by Sona’s signature. He felt the corners of his lips twitch into a smile.

The night of the party rushed back to him as he laid his head back against his pillow and closed his eyes again.

Shen and Zed had dragged him to the party to let loose after midterms were finally over, but he wasn’t much of a party person to begin with. He stayed closer to the walls while the other two went to party. Besides, they were probably going to have some fun of their own once they were drunk enough.

He did remember passing Sona a few times throughout the party. She seemed to be having fun with her friends and her cup of alcohol every time he saw her. But towards midnight, he found Sona asleep on Draven’s couch in a farther corner of his house, where there were less people. Her phone was flashing a ‘low battery’ screen in her hands. He nervously looked around, hoping her friends may have been around. He had stayed in her vicinity for the time being to make sure no one tried to do anything inappropriate to her.

But despite the wait, her friends didn’t show up. He tried to wake her up himself, but she was out like a light. He stood by the couch for a few minutes, at a loss at what to do. Jhin decided to take her to his apartment, so she can at least have somewhere proper to sleep. He carried her on his back out of Draven’s house.

When he reached his apartment, he took her to his bed and managed to get her under the covers. He plugged her phone into a spare phone charger and slipped the blanket over her torso.

He sighed. Was this illegal? Was he being the kind of person they were warned about in the online sexual harassment courses they had to take? Was she going to sue him when she woke up tomorrow morning?

Suddenly, he felt a hand pulling him to his bed. He caught himself by leaning his arm on the mattress over Sona’s body, his face dangerously close to hers. “Uh, hey, are you awake?”

Sona didn’t say anything. Her eyes just barely opened before they closed again while her arms tried to snake around his neck to drag him down again. He mustered as much strength as possible to prevent her from weighing him down. It took a few pulls for her to release him from her grip, which caused him to stumble into the wall. He wanted to wake her up, but he didn’t want to risk the same thing happening again.

Jhin gave up. He took his nightwear into his bathroom and changed after washing up. What a mess this was. He threw his clothes into the hamper and stepped back into his bedroom. He grabbed a pillow and the fleece throw from the foot of his bed along with an extra change of clothes and his bag. Hearing the rustle of his blanket, he turned.

Sona’s arms were moving out of the covers and started raising the hem of her shirt up…

Oh no. Oh god. “I’m going to, I’m going to go.” Why was he even talking to her as if she was awake? It didn’t matter. He ran out of his room, his face red. He shut the door behind him and crouched. This wasn’t supposed to happen. “Calm down, Jhin. You have class in the morning.”

For now, he slept on his couch. He wasn’t sure if he could handle any more chaos for the rest of the night. He had to get up early tomorrow.

The next morning, he woke up earlier than planned and decided to make use of the extra time by fixing up a meal for her to eat once she wakes up. He paused in front of his bedroom door with a glass of water in hand. Taking a deep breath, he covered his eyes so that he only saw the floor and made his way to the dresser.

Sona’s clothes were scattered beside his bed, and his blanket was pushed down halfway. He almost felt thankful it was nothing more than this. After he set the glass down, he focused on the wall away from his bed to fold her clothes and place them by the foot of his bed and then to the ceiling to grab the corner of the blanket and cover her body with it again.

God, this was embarrassing.

He snuck into the bathroom to wash up and dashed out of his bedroom with a red face. At least his art supplies were in the living room. After writing a note and placing it under the food cover, he left his apartment with a hope that the young lady would understand the situation once he explained it.

And here he was now. His eyes snapped open at the sound of his phone vibrating next to his ear. He checked his phone to see an unknown number—ah, wait, it was… Sona Buvelle, was it? He opened the message.

“Quick question. Did you… see? Everything?”

See? See what… oh. A blush colored his cheeks as he nervously typed back, “No, I promise I haven’t seen anything. I looked away the entire time, if that helps any.” He felt anxious seeing the loading bubble last for a minute while Sona was typing another message.

“I am so sorry,” her message read with a crying emoticon at the end.

“Don’t be sorry. If anything, I’m the one who’s sorry to have made you feel self-conscious.”

“No, no, you’ve been very respectful and polite about this so far. I can’t imagine how embarrassed you must have been last night.” There was a pause before another message popped up. “Just to make this conversation less awkward, how was your day?”

Jhin huffed in laughter as he replied to her about this work in the smithing studio. He somehow ended up messaging her late into the night getting to know each other better. Oh well. At least he had a gen ed class in the morning. Before heading to sleep, he registered her number in his phone under her name.

Sona looked at her watch. It was a little past three in the afternoon. She sat by the grassy area by the art department after her private piano lesson, a cup of tea in her hands as she waited for anyone who might have looked like a ‘Khada Jhin’. It was a difficult feat to pull off, considering she didn’t even know how he looked like. But damn it all if she didn’t give it a try.

She approached a few students asking if they knew a ‘Khada Jhin’. Most have heard of him and his work, paintings that seemed to portray beauty in the little things around them. But no one seemed to know his schedule.

This was impossible.

A sigh left her lips as she took another sip of her tea. There were only two days left until Saturday, but she had been wanting to meet him since they began texting each other more often. But it seemed their schedules wouldn’t match up.

She even rushed out of class once it was over to see if she can catch him.

If he had class at three, anyways.

Looking at her watch again, she saw it was fifteen minutes past three. Her lips jutted into a pout in disappointment. At least their meeting on Saturday wasn’t cancelled. She dusted her skirt as she stood up and walked down the stairs to the sidewalk, her fingers typing something on her phone as she returned home.

She went past a young man who looked back with recognition on his face. Jhin watched her walk away and throw her finished cup of tea into the recycling bin.

“Huh…” he muttered. Did she come to see him? He would have loved to catch up to her to talk, but his smithing assignment needed to be done. He hesitantly turned around and accessed the door to the art building, a small pang of regret in his heart.

“I think I saw you walking away from the art building earlier today,” he texted her after he got back home. “Were you waiting for me, by any chance?”

Seeing there was no response yet, he went to the kitchen to make himself dinner. As rice and vegetables sizzled in a pan, his ringtone sounded from his pocket. Oh, it was Shen. He pursed his lips before answering the call. “Hello?”

“Hey Jhin, what happened to that girl you were with the other day? At Draven’s party? Zed told me you were walking out with some girl on your back.”

Great. He suppressed a tired sigh before answering, “Her friends didn’t seem to be around, so I let her sleep at my apartment. I didn’t want anything happening to her while she was passed out.” There was a pause on the other line. “If you’re thinking what I think you’re assuming, nothing happened. I’m meeting with her later on Saturday to talk about what happened.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I know you’re not that kind of guy, but you know. Just wanted to make sure.” At least Shen sounded apologetic. He was certainly more tolerable than Zed, who was wilder and jumped to conclusions all the time. He wondered how they even became friends in the first place.

“Yeah, I know. But really. Nothing happened. I let her take my bed while I slept on the couch.”

“Zed, I can’t believe you made me think something happened,” Shen muttered.

“What? All I said was that I hoped she’ll be okay.” Zed’s voice faintly drawled in the background.

“That is not what you said!”

“How do you remember? You were as drunk as I was!”

Jhin shook his head with a smirk on his face. “Bye, Shen.” He hung up before they got into another one of their arguments. He placed his phone on the counter before pouring his food into a bowl and bringing them to the dining table. He scrolled through his phone as he ate, enjoying a few videos here and there.

His phone suddenly dinged with a text message from Sona. He immediately tapped it to take him to his messaging app.

“Oh my god. I hope that wasn’t weird. I just got really curious…”

He chuckled. “Not at all. I wanted to call out to you, but you were too far by the time I wanted to. I had to finish the last of my smithing assignment anyways.”

“Aw, that’s a shame. I would’ve liked to talk to you in person, even if the conversation was short.” A pause before another message popped up. “Well, it’d be more you talking and me texting.”

He tilted in head in curiosity. “Why is that?”

“I’m mute.”

Oh. He started typing. “Do you sign? Or do you use texts to convey your words?”

“Mostly texting. I only sign when people can sign back.”

“Interesting.”

“I hope that doesn’t deter you from meeting me this Saturday. I promise I’m a fast typer.”

“It’s fine. I would still like to meet you over coffee. I don’t have many assignments over the weekend, so we can take our time.”

“That’s a relief, thank you so much.”

He wondered what kind of life she had lead, unable to convey her words through voice but signs and texts that most people probably didn’t have time for. “No problem. If there’s anything that will make it easier for you to talk, let me know. I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“No need! I’m planning on bringing my laptop so I can write down my thoughts for you to see the screen clearly without having to look at my phone.”

“That’ll be perfect.” His thumb suddenly stopped over the keyboard. He had an idea, but was it too bold of him? He was in the middle of a mental debate until Sona sent him a text again.

“Hey, I was wondering if you’d like to meet over lunch instead?” She sent a shy emoticon. “Weird question, I know. But I felt like coffee might be a bit short, you know what I mean?”

His lips curled into a smile. “Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Hahaha! What a coincidence!” she ended with a smiley face. “Anywhere you want to eat at?”

Jhin had to admit. Sona was kind of… cute. “How about sushi? I know an acquaintance who works at a sushi restaurant nearby.”

“Sushi sounds lovely! Just send me the address, and I’ll meet you there at one. Right?”

“Yes. I’ll send it over now.” He leaned back in his chair as he continued to text Sona back about his classes and his work. He was looking forward to Saturday. He even hoped it would come by faster.

Sona twisted a lock of hair in her fingers as she nervously checked her phone. She was a little earlier than usual, and she was seated by a window table, which gave her the space to place her laptop to the side. Her toes were tapping against the tiled floors as she waited for Jhin.

A hand gingerly tapped her shoulder, making her turn her head to see a young man in a fuschia collared-shirt with a beige sweater over it. Oh. She had seen him before when she went to visit the art department. It was only a glance, but she had spotted him in her peripheral vision when she passed by him.

“I’m not late, am I?” he asked with a nervous smile.

She shook her head with kind eyes and gestured to the seat across her.

“Actually, mind if I sit next to you? It might be easier for you to talk to me that way.”

That was true. She moved her bag to the bottom of the table and opened the seat for him. He was such a sweetheart, how could she say no? After ordering their food, Sona started typing on a document in front of him. “So, what happened that night at the party?”

Jhin rubbed the back of his neck. “Truthfully, I was looking for my friends when I happened to spot you sleeping on Draven’s couch. I waited near you first to see if your friends were around to pick you up, but no one had come for you.” He folded a small chopsticks holder and placed his wooden chopsticks on top of it. “Your phone was out of battery, so I couldn’t reach anyone else either. I didn’t want to see you left alone, so I took you to my apartment. Which I will apologize for doing so without your consent.”

Sona shook her head again. “It’s okay. I would’ve preferred that over being alone and blacked out at a party.” Her shoulders shook with a silent giggle. Her smile then flattened into a straight line as she typed in the next line. “Can you tell me what happened when I got to your house? I woke up… you know…”

“Ah. Yes.” He covered his face to hide a blush. “How do I explain this? I believe your body temperature was rising, and you started taking your… shirt… off…” He didn’t dare meet Sona’s eyes. “I swear I didn’t see anything. I ran out of my room with all my necessary belongings. The same applies to the morning, too—when I had to wash up. I covered my eyes so that I can only see the floor.”

Her jaw hung open. Her cheeks flushed red all the way to her ears in shame and embarrassment. She cupped her face and lowered her head onto the table. How could she do that? God, she wanted to cry so badly.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to make you—”

She furiously shook her head to indicate that she was fine. Just morbidly embarrassed. It probably didn’t come across to him, but she’d explain later. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Sona drank some water to cool her head and went back to typing.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am for making you go through that. You know what? This lunch will be my treat. Please take it as my apology and thanks for helping me that night.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to.”

“Please?” She sent him a pleading look, her ears still red.

How could he say no? He gave in. “If you insist then.” After their orders arrived, they continued to talk about any subject that came up throughout their conversation. It felt easier and easier to fall into a smoother conversation as they got to more debatable topics.

“Speaking of which, I tried to find you at the art department yesterday since I had free time, but I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

Yesterday? He gasped in realization. “I didn’t tell you, did I?” He sighed when Sona gave him a questioning look. “I’m actually a theater major minoring in art. Painting, specifically. I am taking a smithing class as an elective this semester.” He couldn’t help but chuckle at Sona’s look that asked him if he was insane.

“How are you not dead?”

He broke into laughter. “I ask myself that every day.”

After lunch, they stepped outside to talk a little longer before parting ways. Sona had to attend a music concert as part of her World of Music class in a few hours. She texted something before handing him her phone.

“Do you think we can still meet after this? I’d hate to stop talking now that we finally met face-to-face.” She shrugged with a shy smile. She wouldn’t type it out, but she would’ve loved to get to know him a lot more.

Wow. Sona was really cute. Jhin chuckled as he handed her phone back. “Of course! I can’t guarantee if I will answer your texts right away, but I will be more than happy to text back.” He paused. “Maybe we can meet up again, when we both have time.” Sona’s eyes smiled with a joy that he found endearing as she gave him two thumbs-up.

That would be lovely.

#league of legends #jhin x sona #jhin #sona #college au #rosywrites #reunited #one-shot

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sorceressmidnight · 7 years

Text

Midnight Sorceress

Chapter: 1/? [1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - ?]

Chapter 1: What a pain

Words: 2778

Warnings: Some cursing.

Rewritten on 5/17/2018 feel free to reread.

Primarily following the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it revolves around an original character.

Description as posted on ao3: A member of SHIELD is forced to struggle with her mental stability and keeping her secret as the craziness surrounding the Avengers crashes around her. She ends up befriending Tony and Pepper, who help out her mental health a great deal, but will they be able to help her with her secret? Something that could destroy her if she uses it too much... What will happen when Tony tries to convince her to use it to help the Avengers?

Read on ao3: here

Tags: @txnystarkimagines @h0bsyrup

Hit me up if you want to be tagged in future chapters.

After the attack on New York by the Chitauri—or... the 'aliens' for most citizens unaware of what they were called, I've decided to keep a small little journal of sorts. It's not much, but I suppose it allows me to vent some and get my thoughts out. I'm not particularly fond of sharing my feelings, but I was told I have to get it out somehow.

If you're reading this, and I have given you permission, please turn to page three.

If you are reading this, and I have not given you permission, please turn to page two.

[PAGE 2]

Fuck off. (Not that you will but at least I have the satisfaction of telling you to.)

[PAGE 3]

I guess I should explain a few things before I start, huh?

A bit about me-- I work with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division, or SHIELD for short. I was approached by an agent after an incident in college that was nearly the cause of my death, but there'll be more time to explain that later.

The major thing I should tell you is... that I do have powers, but I'm limited with how I much I can use them. The power itself would actually be fairly useful in helping SHIELD—my powers being similar to telekinesis. It's a... bit more complicated than that, though. I'm not sure if there's a name for how my powers work, but not only can I lift objects and move them from their original position; but I can also make them semi-sentient. I can use cooking utensils to cook food while I'm in another room, or fixing up something that I'm not too familiar with while I read a book.

I can also make objects change shape, which is pretty cool. I could use them for fighting, if I had the strength to do it. I've had a paper plate and bowl fight in the shape of different animals. When I'm alone, I like bringing stray blades of grass together and make them dance on the wind.

Now, you have a decent understanding of why SHIELD was interested in me to begin with. Let's revisit the college story so you can know a bit more of what happened.

I still remember the day vividly, like a dream I had just woken up from. It was the fall semester and the sky was cloudy with the looming winter weather overhead. I had been in the cafeteria, working on an essay for one of my classes, earbuds in with music playing. I had been snacking on some chips, not hungry enough to get breakfast but too hungry to wait for lunch. I felt the ground shaking before I noticed the students starting to frantically run out of the room. I had pulled my earbuds out, having less than a few seconds to realize what was going on. The ceiling was falling down from the other side of the cafeteria before a loud boom disoriented me, seeing some of the students nearby about to be hit with bits of the ceiling that were coming down over us. In my fight-or-flight response, I froze, or felt like I did anyway.

What was I going to do? Could I even get away in time? Should I use my powers? That could kill me! The thoughts went by so fast it felt like watching pages of a book flipping past and a blur left behind in its wake. In a split second, I lifted my hands to stop the oncoming debris from crushing the rest of us who were left in the building. I can briefly remember the other students staring at me in awe and my strained voice screaming at them to go. When I saw the last student get out the door, I had used my powers for so long that I was unable to hold it up for my own escape.

I was told that another student had decided that the best course of action was to bomb the school, most likely in an attempt to do a murder/suicide. There were three bombs that went off in total, one over the gym that was empty at the time it went off, and two over the area of the cafeteria. They were small enough that the building itself was still standing, but had caused a good amount of damage. I was lucky enough that the students I had saved were quick to tell the college staff that I was still inside.

My parents had flown out from the UK to make sure I was okay and the school put together some get-well cards and flowers that were put around my room. It was a nice thing to wake up to, but when I did awaken there was a figure in a black suit waiting to talk to me.

It was an agent from SHIELD, that told me they wanted to bring me in; not only to make sure I was healing properly—having better advancements in healing than the average hospital—but to keep others from trying to abuse my powers. It was something I had feared for a while, but wasn't aware of the under-the-radar groups that could have taken interest in me similar to SHIELD. It was set up that only agents with higher level security clearances knew about this little fact. I've learned how to do more with my powers since that incident, but I still face the fear of over-exerting myself to the possible point of death.

Also, I guess I should have put this at the beginning, huh? My name is Kiana, but you can refer to me as Kiki.

"Mr. Stark," a voice sounded out, bringing Tony from his thoughts as he sat on one of the couches, deeply focused on whatever he was reading on his phone. He glanced up to look at the figure, a raven haired figure—most likely an agent—with a file tucked under her arm.

"Here's the debriefing for the meeting at two. Please read through all of the pages beforehand," she spoke as she handed the folder to him, "oh, and don't be late." He looked over her as he took the folder, brows arching as he examined her in thought.

"I haven't seen you around before... Are you new?" He looked down at the papers within the folder, only giving it half of his attention at best.

"I've been working here since before the Avengers initiative, sir," she retorted quickly, turning to take her leave.

"Why haven't I seen you around before then?" he questioned, closing the folder after he finished skimming the paperwork.

"Are you meaning to say that you're familiar with every member of SHIELD?" her brow arched, stopping to turn back to him, sarcasm in her tone as she spoke.

"Not... personally, but I have read over most of the paperwork for what I thought was all the members," he looked up at her, a smirk forming on his lips—knowing he shouldn't have access to that information.

A smile crossed her lips as she gave him the sweetest tone she could muster, "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but you'll need a much higher security clearance to read my file—or some of the others for that matter. Now that we have gotten that covered, I'm a rather busy woman, so I should get back to work." She turned back into the direction she was heading, going to what he could only presume was 'back to work'.

"Huh..." he mused quietly to himself, "then I'll just have to obtain this higher level of clearance." His smirk widened, taking her comment as a challenge.

Sometimes I wish I could slap the smirk off of some people's faces, but I really wanted to slap Tony's smirk right off of his face. I've managed to avoid directly interacting with him, but all the other agents were busy or off on a mission... He's just so... ugh. He's so cocky and annoying and thinks he can get anything he wants. I mean, so do most rich people, but I don't have to deal with them.

Well, he'll be pretty busy for a while so I won't be seeing him anytime soon. I'll just personally make sure someone is keeping an eye on the files, changing the codes until he finally gets bored of trying to get in.

A week had passed since Tony had seen the mysterious agent whom he was unable to find anywhere in the database. By this point, he had even gotten a look into Director Fury's files, so he had become curious as to just how much was being hidden away from him. So, naturally he begun to develop software to break through all the security levels that had apparently been blocking him.

"Hey, Fury," Tony said as he strolled up next to the man, "I want to ask some questions about that one girl who had brought me paperwork last week for the meeting."

"Plenty of people have brought you paperwork, Stark. Why is it you want to know about this one?" Fury didn't bother to look at him, instead still working on whatever was currently on his screen, turning to look at the one on his right.

"Because," he started, pursing his lips together, "I haven't been able to find her file anywhere and I want to know why~"

"Again," he gave a quick glance at the billionaire, "there are plenty of agents here who fit that specific description. We have quite a number of people whose files are hidden for security reasons... and of course other reasons."

Tony hummed to himself for a second, remembering the girl, "This one had black hair about here... Bright blue eyes that just screamed she was full of secrets... Kind of sassy?" He gestured to about where her hair length was, crossing his arms soon after.

"I know exactly who you've been talking about, but that's about all I am willing to tell you, Stark."

He pouted his lips slightly as he realized their conversation was over, not getting any new information from the director. He left and continued his attempts to try and crack through, knowing that there had to be some sort of let up at some point or another.

Kiana slipped through the door quietly and plopped herself down onto the couch, head resting against the arm with her recently removed jacket shielding her eyes from the light. A dark red headed female closed the door behind her, following the other into the room, sitting in the chair across from the couch while taking a sip from her cup of coffee. There was a brief moment of silence between the two, relishing in the action that they were currently partaking in—relaxing and drinking coffee.

"I'm pretty sure Tony will be getting a warning in the next week or so for obnoxiously trying to hack into the system," Kiana snickered from behind her jacket, stretching her arms up before pulling her sleeves down past her hands again.

"Ew," the other murmured under her breath, "What's he even trying to figure out?"

Kiana sat up, looking over at her as the jacket fell off her face, giving a soft laugh, "Ew? What's ew, Sammy? He's just mad because he doesn't know everything and we've been changing the codes on him. I get it—he's super paranoid, but he doesn't get an all access pass just because of that."

"He smells like booze and cheap entertainment... If you know what I mean," Sammy mumbled, "plus I overheard him telling Bruce one time that I looked like a... 'dead squirrel'—like the kind that's been run over and left on the side of the road. I know he's just mad that I stole his wallet that one time, but it's not my fault he didn't notice it was missing for a couple of days!" A soft groan emitted from her, completely focused on her reason for saying 'ew'.

"Sammy... No... Really? You stole his wallet?" her jaw dropped as she shook her head, "I mean.. Joe-No-Schmo in the street is one thing, I don't approve, but less risky... Why would you steal from "the" Tony Stark?!"

They continued discussing Kiana's encounter with Tony, talking about how their security experts were keeping a tight watch on all of the higher level security files. It wasn't until a little later in the afternoon that Kiana got a bit more serious about the discussion regarding the billionaire playboy.

"I am a bit concerned about him, though..." She sighed.

"About what?" Sammy asked, mouth half full of the cake she had begun munching upon. Kiana wasn't entirely sure where she even got the cake from at this point, and wasn't prepared to ask.

"He has a bad habit... of... Well doing stupid things... I've kind of avoided him 'cause he's a jerk, but I do know a good deal about him. He's been... Well, he's been acting differently after incident in New York... I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I just don't think you're able to go through something like that completely unscathed..."

"Maybe he should go to therapy," Sammy suggested, waving her fork around while she spoke.

"I'm fairly certain his pride wouldn't allow him to admit he needs it in the first place. I just.... I dunno, I guess it's because I know what it's like to be close to death? It leaves a hole in you... A sort of emptiness that makes you feel scared... You're certain that anything that can go bad, will. Safety is important, but it becomes an all-consuming importance in your life." She sighed, falling back onto the couch. "The more often you're reminded of it—or worse—having other experiences similar to the first can leave you feeling shattered and alone. Tony is way too prideful to admit he feels that way or needs help. It's different when it's physical—broken bone? Just put a cast on it for a couple of weeks. Cuts or bruises? That's nothing... but this is emotional... Emotional damage isn't... Well, it isn't something people often take seriously. I don't think he'd let someone come near if he is experiencing emotional trauma."

Sammy listened to her little tangent, watching as the other scratched her arms nervously and frowned at the red she could see under her sleeve. She stared at her hands quietly, fiddling her thumbs together in quiet contemplation after pushing her sleeves back down. She leaned over to poke the other in the cheek. "You're talking from experience, aren't ya?"

Kiana's eyes widened, blinking at the sudden touch that brought her out of her deep thought. "I... uh... Yeah, sorta..." She admitted, shrugging her shoulders gently, rubbing her arms nervously.

"If you're so concerned, maybe you should try to talk to him?"

"I would... but he's just so... infuriating!! Says whatever he wants, does whatever he wants! If he wasn't such a loud mouth, maybe he wouldn't have had so many issues in life! He needs to learn when to shut his stupid mouth!"

"And I'm not infuriating?" Sammy asked, brow arched as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You need to stop stealing stuff, yes!! But you're not as annoying as he is," she huffed out her chest, pink flushing softly in her cheeks.

"All he does is poke fun at you... and flirt a little? Just ignore that and maybe you can get past whatever you consider is his... 'annoying-ness'." She rolled her eyes.

"That's not just--!!! Ugh!!" She sighed, giving a small pout towards the other while resting her chin into the palm of her hand and thinking it over. Maybe she was letting her perception of him mask what was actually there? Most likely... "Maybe you're right..."

Sammy has a habit of coming out with a good point here and there... Aside from stealing being useful, of course. She suggested that I try and talk to Tony... I would rather not go out of my way, but... I mean, I guess I'd have to if I wanted to try... I'm not sure if he would even bother to listen to me. I'm not even sure why I feel bad about all of this... I barely even know him. I feel so stupid!!

I guess it's not so weird, though... I've always cared about others... It doesn't help that I see some things in him that I've been... ignoring in myself. It's hard not to gravitate towards people who have or have had similar problems to yourself...

#tony stark #original character #tony stark x original character #tony stark x oc #tony stark x reader #iron man #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #mcu #avengers #marvel fanfiction #iron man fanfiction #avengers fanfiction

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titan-mom · 7 years

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@triguntri replied to your post “Self care is sometimes sitting on your desk in front of the window...”

What's your favorite spoon?

Lmao I was so hoping someone would ask!

So for the longest time my roommate and I had no silverware or anything. We had two mugs two bowls and two plates and a cutting board and knife my parents left me with last year. We’re college kids, ok, and poor. We had mason jars we got at repo for 50 cents we used as cups. We forgot to get silverware when there but were too lazy to make the walk again.

So we did what I did last year and bought a pack of plastic spoons and lived off that. Spoons are remarkably the most useful utensil, at least for our diets. You can TOTALLY spear something with a spoon if you REALLY need to but seeing as we survive of cafeteria meals in the actual caf and applesauce and goldfish in the room, we were set.

But one day, god one day, my roommate comes in clutching a spoon. It’s a little wooden thing, wax or clearcoat sealed obviously, and it’s like, three inches long? With the indent of a half teaspoon? It’s probably a baby food spoon now that I think of it.

And I’m like where the fuck did you get a spoon? And she says “I found it on the ground!” All excited. Because my roommate is Queen of Reclamation she claims ANY free stuff (we sprinted down twelve city blocks for Free Shit Once but that's another story if anyone wants to ask.) So much of her stuff she gets for free. Came in with a nice shoulder bag and some various trinkets today just from her walk home from work.

So anyway we marinate the spoon in dishwashing soap for a few hours and rinse it and then it became Our Spoon. Our only spoon. So many months went by of “Is the spoon clean?” “Eh a bit dusty.” “Ok I’ll wash it I want ice cream.”

She grabbed spare silverware at home after Christmas break, but I’m still partial to The Spoon, mostly because wood doesn’t conduct cold and it’s really ergonomic in my hand and because it’s small it has GREAT leverage and the big metal ones bend and don’t fit as nicely in the little Luigi’s italian ice cups I get. It is The Perfect Spoon for my purposes and I love it. I’m gonna try to keep it when she leaves bit u know it’s her spoon really if she wants it she can have it.

#triguntri #oh how ori-jen-al #story time with jen #the college life #I love telling stories #if you ever thing i was purpousefully vague about something and it might have a story just ask #i will tell

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asunafairywizardessheart · 7 years

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Gedonelune College: Goldstein Love Triangle Chapter 2: Stormy Weather

Genre: Romantic Drama

Rating: M

Read: Prologue, Ch1

Since Saturday, she had seen or spoken to Elias or Klaus, but she wanted to see them. Her desperation to see Elias stemmed from not feeling happy about the way they had left things on Saturday. Though, intimidating and as frustrating as he was to talk to, she secretly enjoyed Klaus' teasing.

Gathered in the kitchen, residents of the dorms used the shared kitchen to fix themselves hearty and energising breakfasts ahead of the first day of lectures. Sitting outside, Joel, Vincent and Azusa were indecisive about what they wanted to eat and used the waiting time to use the kitchen to come up with something they all could share.

"I could make something," Vincent suggested.

"If you made something, we all will starve until lunch time," Azusa replied.

"I agree," Joel concurred, watching the bustling kitchen until it was free.

Arched windows, with their curtains opened, spilled sunlight into the French styled shared kitchen. Wooden stools with comfortable cushion tops lined the front counter and were occupied with groups of friends watching others cook or hanging out while eating their breakfast.

Baby blue painted counters, cupboards and drawers with white marble handles and tops lined the walls on the back wall, making room for the large oven, microwaves, utensils. There are three large refrigerators and a deep freezer neatly arranged in the spacious kitchen with plenty of tables and chairs for those dining in, even a courtyard leading to a relaxing garden.

"Invite Asana down here?" Vincent nudged Joel in the arm.

"You invite her, you have her number too and we added her in the chat yesterday," Joel replied, rolling his eyes, "Even though you were hitting on her all day yesterday when we were showing her around the city."

As they were talking, Yukiya entered the busy kitchen and dropped his shoulders as he saw how cluttered the kitchen. Sighing, he spotted the guys occupying an outdoor table with soft cushioned chairs, "This is crazy in here," he mentioned, sitting down at the table.

"It is the first day of the semester, are you surprised?" Elias now popped up from behind them, neither of them having seen or heard him having come into the kitchen.

"Where did pop out from?" Vincent wondered, and making room for him to sit with them at the table but Joel paying him no attention as he waited for his time to make his breakfast.

Scrapping along the stone pavement, Elias pulled his seat back and clinked his plate of gourmet eggs benedict on a bed of toast, spinach and smoked salmon, and a mug of fresh hot coffee, "I came down early to make breakfast, and just finished. How did you not see me?"

"I thought that was someone else," Azusa agreed he had not seen Elias in the kitchen, "But, we did come down with the herd for breakfast."

"I'm deciding whether or not to ditch this and go get breakfast from some fast food place," Vincent pondered, and looked down at Elias breakfast, "Or, I could steal the rich boy's food?"

"Touch my food, and I will ban you from entering the kitchen entirely," Elias threatened, holding his fork and knife as intimidating weapons.

"Shouldn't he have a ban on using the kitchen anyways? I worry he will burn the dorm if he mans a stove top," Joel remarked, earning a nudge from Vincent.

Having dark circles around his eyes, Yukiya realised he had not come to bed last night and wondered if he had been awake all this time, "Have you even slept, Elias?"

He shook his head though, "No," and took a short sip of his coffee, "I have a lot of things on my mind, and I have to make progress on my research into the Mongolian hieroglyphs found at an excavation site, our archaeological team, from the college, found it," he explained.

"Yeah, you told me about that, but still you need to sleep better," Yukiya said, concerned, "Oh, by the way, I don't know if you know yet but your brother tried to call you last night."

"Klaus?" Elias raised his eyebrows in surprise, "What did he want?"

"Not Klaus," Yukiya shook his head, but couldn't remember the name, "...The other one...I forgot his name."

"Julius called me. Did he say anything?"

"Only to have you call him back if you have the chance," Yukiya passed on the message, and caught in time Elias rolling his eyes, "...I take it you aren't going to call him back?"

Cutting a corner of his toast and piling it with a bite sized chunk of egg, salmon and spinach, he shoved it in his mouth and shook his head, "I'm too busy to chase up pointless phone calls. If it is important enough he'll ring back," he said coldly.

Vincent, though, kept nudging Joel to call Asana down for breakfast, "Hey, isn't Asana like your sister. You should be kinder to your sister and invite her down for breakfast."

"Sister?" Turning his head to their conversation, Elias looked at them perplexed, "...Is she your sister? I thought you said you two grew up together, that you were just close," his words churned out rapidly, and his eyebrows squeezed together in irritation of the subject.

Shaking his head, not paying attention to his physical reactions, Joel answered, "We're not really siblings, but...Asana lost her parents in a car accident when she was nine years old so I convinced my parents to adopt her into our family because she had no one to go to and she would have been thrown into the foster care system. I didn't want her to lose her home or be forced to move away. My parents are her godparents anyway, so we think of each other as a brother and sister."

As they were talking, Asana entered the kitchen wearing the dress she had treated herself to on Saturday while exploring the city. Though it had long sleeves reaching the elbows, the sheer fabric kept her arms conditioned in a breeze. Styling her hair in a half up, half down bouffant, the chocolate waterfall of hair down her back curled elegantly for the day, the white cotton-chiffon dress, with small neatly tailored pleats from the scoop next to the floral designed skirt, hugged her figure elegantly and flattering.

"Speaking of," Joel saw her head into the crowded kitchen, "Asana! Make me something!" He called out to her but she poked out her tongue at him.

"Cook it yourself!" She called back to him, not caring that her volume was heard by the others around her.

Seeing the guys were waiting, she rolled her eyes and pulled out food labelled as hers. Eggs, cream and feta cheese and fresh chives, and pulled out five small ovenproof bowls. "What is she making?" Vincent wondered.

"She's making us breakfast, thank goodness. Glad she can handle crowds," Joel sighed.

"You all could have made something by now if you went over there," Elias muttered, while taking his time to finish his gourmet breakfast and coffee.

Cracking two eggs each into the five bowls, she filled the bowls with light cream, a good amount of feta cheese and seasoned it with fresh chives, salt and pepper. On a tray, she stuck them in the oven, and a few girls sitting on the stools asked her what she was making, "Baked eggs with feta cheese and chives. It's quite delicious and easy to make," she smiled, as they watched her pull pieces of rye bread from her collection and toasted one piece for the five bowls.

Within twenty minutes of baking and toasting bread, she was done, and brought the tray out to them, "The five of you owe me," she said, setting the plated bowls of baked eggs and toast in front of Joel, Vincent, Yukiya, Azusa and herself.

"You are a champion Asana," Vincent smiled, graciously accepting the offering of a healthy cooked breakfast, "And full of goodness too."

Sitting across from Elias, they made slight eye contact but the tension lingered between them with what happened on Saturday making flashbacks through each other's memories, "...Good morning, Elias," she awkwardly greeted him so not to appear rude or seem like a problem was apparent between them to the others.

"...Morning," he replied, not peeling his eyes from her. She could feel his eyes on her, and became reluctant to eat with his eyes watching her from across the table, "...What is that?" He asked, looking at the food in front of her.

"...Just baked eggs with feta and chives and rye bread toasted," she replied, awkwardly again and looked around the table, "Sorry, I should have checked to see if any of you had any diet needs," as she said that, the four of them were chomping down the food like it was a sweet dish.

Vincent smiled, "This is so good! You're a natural, Asana."

"Maybe she can teach you how to cook something?" Joel suggested.

"You want me alone in a kitchen with her, Joel? Well, now that I have the brother's permission, how about we make it a date Asana," Vincent teased, smearing a slice of toast into the egg.

Hearing his flirting teasing, Elias' eyes sharpened with a glare, and turned to Vincent, "Not only is it not appropriate to have Asana be your Mom and cook you food, but it is inappropriate to flirt with her. There are clubs around the college, if you are desperate to learn how to cook join the cooking club," his criticism of Vincent came off harsher than he had expected, and all eyes around the table stared back at him.

His outburst surprised himself, and with an empty plate and mug, he used the dirty dishes as an excuse to remove himself from the table. Yukiya followed his body language and looked across to Asana who was watching him walk away.

"What's his problem?" Vincent wondered, and looked across to Asana, "Hey, what's up with you two? I know you two have been awkward around each other since Friday."

"Not to mention how you spoke about him and his brother when you dined with Randy and me," Azusa added, "Everything okay?"

Unsure how to respond to their serious but concerned questions, she shot a glance up at Joel, who looked back at her with worried eyes, "...It's nothing," she quickly polished off the rest of her breakfast and cleaned her dishes in the sink of the kitchen.

Handbag in hand, and full of textbooks with her tablet, purse and phone, she went after Elias, not too far down the road. Desperate to talk to him about Saturday, she also wanted to know what that was about in the kitchen. "Elias!" She made it as far as outside on the side path near the dorm building, and called out to him.

She half expected him to ignore her, but he turned around and waited for her to catch up to him. Above their heads, the sun had disappeared behind clouds lingering in the morning skies, a thunderstorm later in the evening had been forecasted this morning on the weather news. With the cloud cover, a slight breeze swirled through the college, swaying her hair softly.

Standing in front of him, she suddenly lost all thought as to what to say, "...I...," losing her thoughts, she simply stared up into his eyes and her heart pounded as he waited for her to say something, "...I...wanted to wish you a good day," awkwardly, she came up with something to hide her embarrassment.

"...Are you ready for classes?" He asked, trying to relax the tension between them.

"Yes...though, I am a little nervous but excited," she replied, moving her flying her out of her face, "...I don't know if you go to lectures, so I don't know if I should ask if you're prepared or not."

"I do classes, but I don't have as many or I often have my professor send me lecture notes. I mostly do my tutorials at nights though," he pointed up the road towards the academy, "I actually need to go to the library for some books for my research."

"Right, you study languages. What language are you working on?" She genuinely was curious, not having the chance to talk to him properly since their awkwardness on her first couple of days living in the dorms.

With the tension relaxing between them, they walked closely together and at a comfortable pace to have a proper and calm conversation. Though, from the distance, anyone would think they are close considering how closely they walked together and the way (they didn't realise) they looked at each other. Watching them with jealous brown eyes, Rose stood still in shock for the scene she is forced to witness.

Turning to one of her sisters, she angrily punctuated her words, "Who. Is. That. Girl?" She asked, and pulled her phone from her pocket and began to take photos, "Send that photo to every pledging dork wanting to get into our sorority. Make it their next task, identifying this woman with my Elias."

Marching forward, she kept her eyes on them, not hearing there conversation as they walked towards the college's main building, and the sea of students swarming around college grounds provided Rose's cover.

"Right now, I am working on deciphering ancient Mongolian hieroglyphics found at an excavation site near the Chinese border."

"Is it going well?"

He sighed, and couldn't lie, "...To be totally truthful, I am lacking in my progress because...of everything going on. My parents, Rose and...you."

Stunned to here that she was giving him grief, she stopped walking to look up at him, "Me?" She needed more than answers.

"...I have been thinking about what happened on Friday and Saturday," he answered, his face turning red from embarrassment, "...I owe you an apology for how I have been behaving towards you," he looked down at the healing bruise he had left on her wrist, not realising it had been there before.

Following his gaze, she covered the mark with her hand, "...I bruise easily, it's a condition I've had since I was a kid. I may have only known you a few days, but I know you aren't that kind of guy."

"...D-did I scare you?"

Asana shook her head, "I was startled back I wasn't scared. But, if you are apologising for what happened Saturday, then I'm sorry for my behaviour too. I should have moved away from the door."

"You tried to," Elias reminded her, "So, you have nothing to apologise for. I...was just...angry at my parents for trying to force me into a marriage I don't care for. But, that's no excuse for how I treated you. So, I deeply apologise for my actions and I hope you can forgive me."

He stared deeply into her eyes, conveying his sincerity. She had seen his features up close during their awkward moment in his office on Friday night, and each time it is his clear crystal-violet eyes drew her in. She smiled, and averted her gaze to her feet to regather her composure, and looked back up at him, "There is nothing to forgive you for, I understand that you were just stressed and frustrated, and I was just there."

He chuckled quietly to himself, breathing in the fresh air around them, feeling content now they had removed part of the elephant from the room, "...So, veterinary science, huh? I don't know much about science and medicine but I know that's a hard subject to master."

"Well, thankfully, I am pre-trained and I have experience," she let out a smile.

"Is that so?" He looked back at her, catching the glimpse of her positive and natural pink smile, those lips he saw up close in his office, appeared glossier and softer than it had under the light in his office, but his eyes skimmed all of her features, "...What made you decide you want to be a vet?"

She trailed off slightly but regathered her confidence quickly, and felt proud to admit her influence, "...My father," she answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry...I didn’t mean to make you remember bad memories," Elias quickly apologised, and received a curious glance from Asana, that he, again, quickly explained, "Joel...mentioned this morning you lost your parents when you were young."

Nodding, she figured that's where he had heard it from, and continued her story, "...My father was a biologist and the local vet. Joel and I grew up in a countryside in the mountains not far from here, and my father travelled around the region tending mostly to farming animals and wildlife living in the area. He loved animals, and he wanted to do everything in his power to help them, whether injured, lost, abandoned or facing extinction. He'd string my mother and I along on his jobs, sometimes even when he had to travel overseas, and I'd help him with his research. 'Wildlife Bingo' he called it, he would give me a card, often of the animals he was trying to find, and he would tell me all about them, I loved every lesson."

"...So, you were close to him?"

"Yeah, and my Mom too. They were very positive and happy people, forever smiling and going out of their way to help others. My mother owned a café restaurant, next to my Dad's vet clinic, and she would always give free food to people who were struggling by giving them hampers. Every week, she would put away some item into that hamper, and then she'd give it away. They were not just my parents, but my best friends too. I never felt unloved."

Her relationship with her parents was nothing like the kind he had with his parents, "They sound like wonderful parents," and looked away sadly, "If only they were all so...caring about their children," he muttered, and found her staring at him, "It must have been horrible when you lost them?"

"...Yeah. It's funny, how one day your life can be perfect with a happy and smiling family giving you the happiest childhood, and then in the blink of an eye it's all gone," that day was tattooed in her memory, and she couldn't erase it, holding back her mournful tears, she explained what happened.

"...Thursday nights, I went to gymnastics. Before my mother had me, she was a gymnast and nearly went to the Olympics to represent our country. We would always watch the gymnasts on TV, and admired the grace of it all. When I was nine years old, I had a competition in the neighbouring town. On their way to watch me, a drunken driver veered onto their side of the road...c-colliding with them...h-h-head on," she began to quiver, Elias listening, "All three died, including the drunk driver, died. I remember waiting for them, and then Joel and his parents came to the hall I was competing in, and pulled me out of the competition and told me they had died."

"Joel's parents took me in, and treated me like a daughter but...I lashed out at everyone around me because all I wanted was my parents. I miss them, but I cope," fearing she was simply rambling, she looked away embarrassed, "...Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Immediately shaking his head, he replied, "No, you aren't. I simply wish I could understand but I don't, but I think you are a very strong person if you can speak so bravely about it."

"Oh...t-thanks...but, you know, it happened a long time ago. I could continue to be depressed about it or I can make my parents proud up there, while they are watching me. I even tried getting into gymnastics a few years after their accident, and won a gold medal at the junior Olympics in gymnastics."

"If that's the case, why not apply for a scholarship?"

"Well...I quit. But, that's another story altogether," she scratched the back of her head nervously, and they resumed walking towards the main building, when Asana returned his question, "What about you, though? I am slightly familiar with your family and what they do, they are kind of celebrities in a way, they are all lawyers or work for the National Ministry as federal agents, or are politicians. What is it about languages that caught your interest?"

He nodded his head, "Yeah, you and I come from completely different environments, that's for sure," he acknowledged and thought about his answer carefully, "...Growing up, my family dealt with many people of different cultures and ethnicities, so I was interested in the contrasting differences between the different languages. More over, the various ways we communicate like through art, music, dance, text, speech, and our bodies. So, I began studying various languages, and found that this field of study can be useful in making historical discoveries to uncovering leads in major crimes, criminal and civil cases...," suddenly he stopped talking and started to laugh.

Asana didn't understand, "What's so funny?" She smiled, seeing the new side of him even if he was being sarcastic about his laugh.

"...My story is no where near heartfelt as yours," he realised how boring his interest sounded to hers, and how different they truly were in regards to family, "...My parents...are not like yours though. Like you said, a bunch of famous, high-class lawyers, federal agents and politicians. They live in a world I don't think I was ever meant for."

"What do you mean?"

"My parents like to use me and my brothers for connections or to make themselves look good. When I had announced my plans to my parents, they did not approve and tried to change my major. All my life, they groomed me to follow a path into being a lawyer, but that's not what I wanted to do, and boldly studied culture and language. They don't believe I can make a comfortable living out of it, so I compromised by taking a minor in international law. Constantly, they are arranging for me to go on blind dates with daughters of people they are trying to deal with, and Rose is using that to her advantage by getting them to agree that a marriage between me and her would improve Dad's position at work. Her father is the deputy minister of the National Ministry, in other words he deals with Ministerial matters in congress, somewhere my father wants to end up."

Like he had felt bad for her and envious that she grew up in a loving environment, she could see the pain and loneliness in her eyes, "Why do they care about their titles? Titles are just names, that in the end mean nothing," she voiced her belief, "...So, that's why you and your father were fighting because you refuse to marry her?"

Elias chuckled, and looked at her from a side glance, "There's more to it than that. My parents don't trust the decisions I make regarding intimate partners. I went to a lavish private school with the Queen's niece, and we dated for a long time, we were very serious and often thought about marriage. Of course, my parents were fine with this, until...I discovered she had been sleeping with my brother behind my back for three months, and I caught them red-handed during my birthday celebrations."

"Klaus...did that?" Her eyes widened in shock of his news.

"No, I have another brother, and he's the eldest, Julius," Elias corrected, and continued on with his story, "My brother was dating at the time, now married to, the daughter of an influential businessman, and she's the corporate heir of her father's company. The news that he had an affair with my girlfriend made instant headlines, and created a huge scandal and strained the relationships between our family, the royal family and my sister-in-law's family. My parents, though, blamed me for the mess."

Narrowing her eyes in anger, she clenched her fists until the knuckles on her hands turned a brief shade of white, "That's absurd! Why blame you when you had nothing to do with their actions?"

Elias nodded, "Yeah, Klaus and Julius defended me but my parents continued to blame me. Saying, had I never involved myself with a member of the royal family this mess wouldn't have occurred. That incident alone is enough to convince me that I can't trust my parents to make my decisions nor do they care about my feelings. I loved her, but the unfaithfulness was not what hurt the most. It was my brother's betrayal of trust, and I rarely talk to him these days, and my parents betrayal of compassion, caring and understanding. I have come to the point where I am determined to prove to them I am not an embarrassment to my family's name."

She never understood how his family could treat him that way, and spun around to look at him, "You shouldn't have to prove anything to them!" She blurted out, passionately, nearby people turning to look at her. Quickly, she covered her mouth and her face turned red from embarrassment.

His face twisted in surprise at her sudden outburst, absorbing her kind and passionate opinion, "...That's just...how things are in the world I grew up in."

"Doesn't mean you should just accept that kind of treatment like it's natural, Elias," she narrowed her gaze, passionately conveying her message across, "It doesn't matter what your title is, the only title they should be proud of is being called Mom and Dad from their sons, and being proud, not because their children please their expectations, but to have children in their lives. Their job should be supporting you and ensuring your happiness, and not for their own motives. I don't get how they can treat you that way, it's not right."

"They do love me...they just don't understand me," Elias assured her.

"I understand they love you, but should make an effort to understand you and what interests make you happy, Elias," she pointed out, and put a hand on his shoulder, "It is sad to hear that you must prove to them that your career path is worthy of the family's name. Elias, don't immerse yourself in your career just to honour your name, do it for you because you want to. Do it for yourself."

Behind a hedge near a path lantern, Rose growled through her gritted teeth as she watched Asana lay her hand upon his shoulder. Their proximity and now that touch would convince anyone they were a couple. Raising her phone, Rose continued to take photographs of their close body language, "Who does she think she is?"

Silence ensued between Elias and Asana. Her words struck a chord within him, her rose-coloured eyes filled with an intensity he had never seen before. Feelings he couldn't understand bubbled to the surface, and at the loss of her hand on his shoulder he felt...lonely. "...You are much stronger than I am, Asana, I admire that," he honestly said, "Thank you, and I hope we can get along off on a better note this time."

He started to walked away, and managed a few steps forward as she called out to him again, "Hey, I want to be your friend Elias, and with that friendship I want to support you through this. Don't push away people who only want to be there for you. You are a good person."

Social skills lacked him, but he softly smiled at her and nodded in acknowledgment. With a face burning with embarrassment, he cutely walked away in the direction of the library to pick up some books he had ordered. She thought it was an adorable sight, and watched his back disappear further down the path, before she wandered off in another direction with a sign on the luscious green grass that pointed toward the main, castle-like, building Amelia had shown her on her first day.

A beautiful lawn separated the two paths, and Elias turned his head to watch her elegant figure, gracefully dressed, disappear down the path until a large garden blocked her figure. He didn't even realise the small tree, planted on the side of the path, he was about to walk into, or that Klaus was coming up behind him.

With his eyes not concentrating on the path in front of him, he had strayed not feeling the grassy earth under his booted feet, and ended up with a face full of leaves and an angry bee, pollinating the flowers, ready to sting him in defence. Unable to contain his laughter, Klaus swatted the bee away, "That was priceless."

"Shut up," Elias dusted off the leaves and the dirt that had fallen onto his clothes, "...Who put a tree there anyway?"

"It's been there for a while, probably even before you applied to come here," Klaus replied, smiling, "What has your attention so much that you walked into a tree?"

Elias looked around to see if she was watching, but thankfully, she didn't have to witness his most uncool moment. "...Um, just thinking about my research, I guess," he lied, averting his gaze and cheeks turning pink.

Klaus' lips teased into a devilish smirk, "You are terrible at lying. Though, did you think you could hide from me, Elias? I'm your brother."

"Does not mean I am going to talk to you," Elias replied, continuing to walk on the right path and distracting his mind from his thoughts about Asana and her wise advice a moment ago.

"Did you, by chance, read the morning paper?" Klaus asked, carrying the large newspaper under his arm while juggling his teaching materials. Clothed in a suit, he cut a dashing figure.

Remembering the events from yesterday, he had ditched his cell phone and unhooked his office phone since reporters from the city's paper were harassing him for a comment about his engagement to Rose, and guessed, from Klaus' question, they ran the story without his comment, "Let me guess, I am getting married to Rose?"

"Yes, seems like Rose, her parents and ours are really forcing you into this," Klaus commented, unfolding the paper in his grasp, "It even made the front page news."

"If arranged celebrity marriages makes the front page news than I worry about the state of truth telling and factual news stories," Elias commented.

"I see you give me a comment but not the news," Klaus remarked, skimming the short article with a continued story on the third page, "Though, technology is amazing. I have never seen you and Rose in a photograph but here's you two hugging with an engagement ring on her finger."

He glanced at the photo, and looked up to Klaus, "...She's persistent, got to give her that," he sighed, "If you were me, what would you do to stop this from happening?"

"Not give in and be smart about putting an end to this," he recommended.

A brief silence fell between them but Klaus' ringing phone broke the comfortable silence, "Julius?" He answered the phone, and Elias rolled his eyes at the mention of his brother's name, "You want Elias? Yeah, he's next to me," Klaus handed his cell phone over to Elias, nudging him to take it.

Snatching the shining silver smartphone, Elias brought the earpiece up to his ear, "What?" His greeting was short and cold, "I'm busy, so unless this is an emergency I have nothing to talk about with you."

"I suppose that's as close to a 'hello' as I am going to get," Julius awkwardly joked and chuckled at his brother's curt response, "However, I do know you are not busy now, you just are ignoring me. Though, I'm curious, what if this had been an emergency, would you still ignore me?"

"Suppose it were a life-and-death type of emergency, why would you call me and not the appropriate authorities? More over, you are an agent with the National Ministry, if you can't handle an emergency yourself I would question your ability to work as an agent," he logically countered, "Seeing this is not an emergency, start talking or I'm hanging up."

"Wow...," Julius reacted to Elias' dryness towards him, and felt "Don't hang up. I need your help."

"My help? Ask Klaus for help?"

"I would but Klaus doesn't understand language like you do and the Ministry has no language expert, hence why they consult you on a regular basis," he replied.

"Yeah, and I'm sure Father has nothing to do with that," Elias sarcastically remarked, rolling his eyes in the process, "What is it you need help with?" He returned back to the topic his brother had called for in the first place.

"There is a case I am leading, but the group we are looking for use some kind of a...code, to communicate. We need someone with an understanding of languages to help us. That's why I called you," he explained without giving too much over the phone, "It's also the reason I want to invite you to lunch later. I can go over the case in more detail if you want to help us."

Clicking his tongue, and humming in thought, Elias knew the kinds of cases his brother worked on usually meant dealing with evil and corrupt members of society that could cause nationwide damage, "...Fine, but you come to me and you are paying."

"Seriously?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Well, yes...but extorting a free lunch from me?" Protesting the pain of having to drive from the city to the suburb the college was located in, Julius sighed at his brother's demands.

Elias heard the reluctance in his voice, "Fine, you don't need my help. Have fun trying to figure it all out on you-."

"Wait. Fine, I will buy you lunch," Julius interrupted him, and agreed to his terms on the condition that he truly needed Elias' help and he was in no position to pass up the opportunity of spending time with him either, "Where do you want to meet?"

Elias thought for a moment, and a devilish smirk graced his features, "Oscar's," he replied, "I'm in the mood for lobster, and he has the freshest lobster in the city and he's not located too far from the college. Quarter past noon."

In front of him, Klaus tilted his head in confusion but found it amusing Elias managed to extort an expensive lunch from their eldest brother, and taking advantage of their awkward relationship to achieve it. Though, he knew Julius is willing to do anything to earn Elias' trust and respect back after his costly mistake.

"...You are expensive, brother," Julius protested, and groaned, "Fine. I'm going to book a table. But, what if you can't help me with my investigation?"

"Well, considering asking for my expert opinion on a coded language is definition of consulting me, I would like to think of buying me a juicy lobster for lunch is perfect payment for my time. Unless, the Ministry is going to start paying me for the many free consultations they have managed from me?"

"Must you talk so formally with me, I'm your brother?" Julius missed the point of Elias' statement, or rather ignored it.

Detecting a hint of sadness in his voice, Elias handed the phone back to Klaus, "We're done talking," he said sourly, and stomped away toward the library, muttering under his breath, "A true brother wouldn't have done what you did," it was loud enough for Klaus to hear.

Raising his phone to his ear, Klaus spoke to Julius on the other end of the line, "Do I get lobster?" Klaus asked.

"...No, trust me I'm only agreeing to it...because I can't really afford to be picky in spending time with Elias. He never wants to see me, not like he used to," sadness consumed his usually happy voice, and had traces of guilt and regret.

"Do you blame him Julius? You did sleep with his girlfriend for three months behind his back, and lied to his face when he questioned you about your feelings towards her, and I think he blames you for Mom and Dad blaming him."

Falling silent, Julius could not deny his crime, with the only sounds Klaus could hear in the background were the roar of engines and tyres scarping across the roads from wherever Julius had been calling from, "...Well, I should go. Bye," he said an awkward farewell, and all Klaus could hear on the other end were annoying beeping noises indicating he had disconnected the call.

He glanced down the open outdoor corridors to worriedly watch Elias back descend farther down the shaded path and disappear behind a corner on his way to the library. Letting the subject go for now, Klaus walked the opposite direction to the main building where is office was located.

She had memorised the map in her head this morning before leaving her room, yet the complexity and grandeur of the main building had blocked her memory. Standing in at the main staircase, she watched students going up and down the grand staircase.

"How is I managed to get lost again?" She wondered, trying to refocus on finding where she was meant to be, and turned towards the large clock sitting on the wall by the notice board, "At this rate, I'm going to be late," she panicked.

Rose had followed her from the moment she had seen her being close with Elias, and caught up with her in the crowd of students coming in and out of the reception area, idling by the noticeboard and going up and down the stairs. "Are you lost?" She asked, her angelic-like voice catching Asana and looking behind her right.

"Oh no, I am...admiring the architecture of the building," she replied, mindful not to provoke Rose, despite unknowing she had already done that. She averted her gaze from Rose's deep brown eyes, and began looking around.

Using the opportunity to see her up close, Rose looked her up and down, until Asana looked back at her, "Is there a problem here?" Asana asked, pretending not to know who she was.

Her friends giggled behind Rose's back, laughing at Asana's ignorance, "Do you pretend to feign ignorance or do you truly have no clue who I am or how...horrible I can make your life?" Her angelic face stayed but the words she spoke were mean.

"Is that...a threat?"

"Are you dense?" She snapped, "Of course it is, because I saw you getting close to my fiancé, Elias," she pulled out her phone to prove she had the evidence, "Listen, I am not the girl you want to cross and because I am reasonable, I'll let this slide but a commoner like you has no place getting close to someone like Elias."

The sudden threat caught Asana off guard, but she was not afraid of Rose or her two loyal followers. Easily, she could tell they were only friends with her so they had somewhere to stay during their college years. Glancing back at them, the two girls she had seen with Rose when she vandalised Mrs Daniels' boutique, smirked back at her, and moved her narrowing eyes back to Rose.

"...I have to go to class now," she replied, and began to walk away.

Pursing her lips together in agitation, Rose stepped in front of her, "I believe you do not comprehend the situation you are in, here, whatever your name is. When I speak to you, you listen until I am finished."

Asana was biting her tongue, thinking if she retaliated to Rose's threatening stance it would create problems for Elias. Returning to his air-conditioned office, Klaus could see the tense shoulders and glares between the two, and broke up the confrontation, "Miss Mason, you have no business with this young woman," he said, protecting Asana to make her way up the staircase, "Go before you are late. Professor Schuyler does not like late starters in his classes."

"Yes, thank you Professor," turning to Klaus, she gave him a thankful look but made sure she looked Rose in the eye to make sure the socialite understood she would not be easily intimidated by her teenage drama, "Goodbye, Miss Mason," she curtly said.

Rose watched her back ascend the staircase, and took another winding staircase up to the third floor of the main building. Once she was out of sight, she shot a glare to Klaus, "How dare you ev-."

"Be quiet!", Klaus shot her a scarier glare and nearly pressed his nose against hers as he looked her dead in the eye, "Do not even think about talking back at me, Rose. Do not forget, you are a student and if you continue on with your pathetic schoolgirl dramatics I will shut down that sorority house of yours and have you kicked out of this school for the improper use of your father's scholarship trust. Using your father's money to upgrade the mirror in your bedroom, a 25,000Lune upgrade, is illegal, since that is not what the money had been intended for, and I am positive neither the Chancellor or your father would be too impressed."

Unable to deny the truth, she crossed her arms at Klaus. Narrowed eyes venting her anger she dared not to express in front of Klaus, who was more cunning than she ever could be. Unhappily defeated, she sharply turned on her heel, her brown hair slashing the air as she turned, and stomped away like a child throwing a tantrum, and not disconnecting her brown-eyed glare at Klaus, "Soon, I will be your sister, Klaus," she smirked.

"Keep dreaming," he turned his back on her, and pushed the glass doors of his air conditioned office leaving her to angrily mutter and stomp on her own.

His office was located in a private room inside the faculty staff room. A large room where other professors earned their own privacy with the help of cotton covered cubicles. Walking down the hall between the office like staff room, he heard the phone ringing in the distance and approached his assistant's desk, "Any messages?" He asked her.

"Only two sir. I put the messages on your desk," she replied, not turning her eyes off the computer screen in front of her.

"How's my schedule? Do I have anything happening at lunch?"

His assistant, paid with money from his own pocket rather than from the public office or the college he worked for, turned out a black-leather diary from the side of her desk and double checked his timetable for the day, but properly organised for the month ahead, "You have a private meeting with your mother," she answered.

"Cancel it," Klaus ordered, not giving her an explanation and walked into his office. He would deal with her questions later, but he wanted to do some personal research, and would defend his brother against this pressure into marriage if he had to. For now, though, he had a 10am lecture he had to prepare for, though not before sending a private message to Asana to sleuth out what Rose had said to her, both out of concern for her and to gather intelligence in the secret case he was building against Rose.

In her pocket, her phone acknowledged the message Klaus sent had been retrieved but she was already five minutes late to her first class, that she ignored the message and couldn't find the time to admire the classic architecture of the old castle now being used as a college.

Grey stone ceilings decorated in an elaborate fresco design arching slightly leading to large square leaded windows to her right. To her left, the classrooms were separated by thick pillars and heavy brown doors, with only the original plain stone walls attaching to the roof above. Everything but the doors were old, and she was curiously interested in the history of the old castle and who had roamed these halls long before students infiltrated them. History a subject that did interest her, and she made a mental note to satisfy her curiosity later.

"Lecture Room 3A...lecture room 3A...," next to each door were room numbers along with the subject's code and the Professor in charge of the lecture, she kept mumbling to herself the room she needed, like they were lyrics to a repetitive chorus.

Along the corridor, the classrooms were large lecture rooms. She had watched plenty of college-themed movies, and curiously wondered if the lecture rooms were anything like they were in the movies. Rows and rows of one-cushioned seats fitted at a L-shape desk, a mean professor standing in the centre of the room upon a stage walking around his podium and in front of a large whiteboard or blackboard.

"Asana," a voice called out to her from her left while skimming the multiple rooms, venturing further and further down the sunlit corridor, the sea of modern-clothed students contradicting the age of the building. Looking to her left, she found Yukiya coming up from behind her.

"Yukiya, good morning."

"Good morning," he replied, his double-strapped backpack dangling off his shoulder, "Why didn't you wait this morning? I ran into Amelia and she told me that your first class is with me."

"Sorry, I took off after Elias left after he had said his outburst at Vincent...I needed to talk to him," she looked down the hallway, "...Do you know where we have to be?"

"Yeah, it's just down there towards the middle," he directed, and Asana looked down where he pointed and back at him with curious questions, "...I looked around when I got here, shall we?"

"Ah, that makes sense," she smiled, and they began to walk together towards the classroom. "Did you like your breakfast?" She asked, hoping what she had made them this morning filled up their hungry stomachs.

With a straight face, he nodded, "It was nice of you to have cooked for all of us," he added, "...Feel bad about it actually."

Ever since she had met Yukiya, she could never read the emotions he felt since they were never expressed through his facial features. His blue hair matched his blue-brown eyes and his flawless skin, but his lips always seemed to frown in a straight line, even when he spoke. At first, she was intimidated and thought herself annoying if she spoke to him but became surprised by his kindness and his considerateness.

Though, he felt bad about having her made them breakfast, she laughed it off, catching the sight of him scratching his eyebrow, "It's fine, really. We're friends, and I could tell by Joel's look on his face he was over waiting for the kitchen to be free. But, he has a piano recital at 11am, he couldn't afford to wait that long. So, it wasn't a bother."

They came to a stop halfway down the window covered corridor, and suddenly her interest in the castle's history distracted her from the first class she would take in her journey to become a vet.

She envisioned how lively the castle must have been in a time long ago. Women and men roaming these halls, perhaps a man in his golden inlayed doublet having come from a fencing lesson and gazing beyond his gardens on a clear day, or an important woman, dressed in vibrant colours, accentuating gold in her robe a l'anglaise, leading her group of waiting ladies, those servants dressed in long thin fabric dresses, colourless and with some corset-laced vest.

"Let's find a seat," Yukiya suggested, pulling Asana from her day-dreaming visions of feet that have stepped through these halls throughout its history.

Pushing the door open, and being only familiar with each other as two new student's taking this class, they found two vacant seats by a window and in the middle of the room. Their spot put them directly under the flow of the air conditioner and cooled them as temperatures started to peak as the sun came to the middle of the sky, and they were not too far to see the whiteboard or too far on an angle to struggle to see the professor.

Students taking the classroom had gathered and had their desks loaded with their textbooks and notebook computers, with an outlet on each desk square, of the long bench, separated by the walkways going to the same door, to charge electronics during note-taking lectures. And, just like in the movies, the seats were tiered like a cinema giving a perfect view of the screen, in this case the screen being the slightly risen stage, podium and whiteboard, the only difference was there was also an antique desk beside the podium.

Beside her, she watched Yukiya pull out his learning books and notepad from his bag and then stared out of the window as people filled in seats and chairs around them. Nervously, she did the same, and the excitement she had this morning dissipated evermore, her anxious voice sending her thoughts that she's in the wrong class, and every blunder she had so far, Klaus or Elias would normally see it. She wondered if she was sitting in the wrong lecture room as she slowly set up her learning station by neatly aligning her textbook and pens, and plugging in her cable for her tablet and attaching the keyboard to begin learning.

Looking down at the time, it was right on 10am, and that's when the door to the side of the Professor's podium swung open with force that startled her and made her jump in her seat. Dressed in funeral black, from the tips of his hair down to the leather-covered toes, the middle-aged man had surprisingly had smooth skin and high cheekbones, but he wore a stern and unapproachable expression.

"Quiet. Welcome to BIO231 Introduction to the Animal Body. I am Professor Conrad Schuyler, and I will be lecturing some more of your units later in the semester and through the years you will be here studying to become vets, animal researchers or wildlife protectors. Though, be warned, like if you were studying for a degree in human medicine, working with animals is as important as the lives of our own kind, therefore, degrees will not be easily obtained here. I will accept nothing more than your hard work. If you slack off, it will reflect in your grades as there is no easy road to obtain a degree at this college. Now, shall we begin."

"As the name of this unit suggests, this is the an introduction unit to the several years you will spend within these walls on track towards your career goals. There will be theory and practice, in both lab and lecture room, and by the end of this unit you will have a fundamental understanding of the basic cell cycle, tissue and cell organisation, genetic inheritance and sexual reproduction within animals. You will gain the required knowledge of the major organs and body, the diversity of animals deriving from both natural selection and evolution. This will lead to looking into evolutionary ecology, such as how animals relate to each other, and how evolution has impacted on species among animal groups," he explained, his clear and curt voice, though not monotonous, kept the students quiet and their youthful eyes fixed upon the man in front of the podium. "Let's begin with understanding the processes of cells and cell and tissue organisation in animals. Take our your textbooks and turn to chapter 1. Read through to Chapter 2 has homework, and answer the end of chapter questions," he instructed, and everyone made notes.

"Think of the process of cellular functions as essence of life. From accumulated research from the very beginning of cell study, cell theory suggests the units and characteristics of life arise from pre-existing cells. Thus, learning about the formations and processes of cells and their functions in the animal body will be an ever repeating circle during your studies, and once you enter your careers. That is, you can't understand the function of say an animal's muscular system and how they function without first understanding the processes in which the cells were formed, same applies to other imperative systems, including the endocrine system and the plasma membrane and the organisation of cells into tissues and the correlation to the animals structure. To understand cell formation and process to structure and function is to tell if you all have what it takes to help the animal's on our earth from diseases and illnesses, or to increase numbers where populations are decreasing to the point of extinction." Though he had a harsh face and an unapproachable figure, he had knowledge and is experienced in the world of animals and understanding their science.

After two hours of learning about the art of cell formations and processes relating to animal function and structure, the lecture ended and students filed out of the room, some refreshed with new energy and others dragging their feet like sleep walking zombies that had just been awoken from the long lecture. Asana and Yukiya were on opposing sides, she felt assured she could do this and graduate to her degree and appreciated the expert lecture but Yukiya consistently yawned, and slowly dragged along behind her.

"What are going to do now?" Asana turned her head, and asked Yukiya.

"Going for a walk along the river. There's a spot I found, not many people know about it," he said, followed by a yawn to awaken his body to move after the long lecture, but they waited for the crowd of students to thin out before leaving, "I also want to take some photos too."

"I remember you saying that you take photographs of nature. Do you think you could show me what you have one day?" She asked, genuinely curious about the diverse range of birds and other animals that lived in this green city.

"Sure, why don't you come by my room later and I can show you what I have on my computer."

"That would be great," excited to see the photos, she worried Elias might be annoyed, "...Oh, what about Elias?"

"I thought you two were on good terms?" Yukiya looked at her, tilting his head in confusion by the choice of her words.

She knew they were, but she didn't want to push her luck with him either, "I am, but...I don't want to inconvenience him," she replied, not wishing to be rude to Elias when they had just decided to restart their relationship.

They joined the back of the line and would be the last few people to leave the cool lecture room. Yukiya replied to her as they walked up the thin steps of the path between the desks to the exiting door, "Elias won't mind if you are looking at the photos, and there's a high chance he'll be in his office doing his research."

Surprisingly, the lecture room's walls were quite soundproof since the loud chatter from the outside corridor rebounded off the walls and clashed in a chaotic noise. Not surprised, there would be many more lectures going on at this time of the day, and being the first day of the new semester, it felt like the halls of high school all over again. "Alright, I will text you before I come over."

"Sure," he agreed to those terms, "Did Joel and Vincent add you to our group chat?"

"Yes, Joel hijacked my phone yesterday and set up everything. Like, I have only been here a few days now, but feels like I've known Amelia and everyone for a lifetime just because we've all clicked so well."

"Yeah, everyone was like that with me too," Yukiya added, "Not many people wanted to be roommates with Elias because of the family he's from. So, I got paired up with him, apparently, Luca used to be his roommate before he moved into the frat house."

From how Luca spoke about Elias on Saturday when she had met Amelia and Luca leaving as she returned from her exploring adventure, he understood Elias but they seemed to argue a lot, and Elias was never keen on seeing him inside the dormitory. "So, they grew up together but don't like each other?" She thought out loud.

"Who, Elias and Luca?" Yukiya commented, not too interested in the status of their relationship to care, and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not really interested."

Eventually, they weaved between the people to snake their way down the main staircase to reach the foyer of the main building, talking about various topics and sometimes enjoying the quiet silence. "I'm going to go out for lunch. Will you be at the tutorial later?" She asked, pulling out her smartphone and earmarking the 2pm class located in the purple conference room in the library.

"Probably not, it's just a recap of everything we just heard in there," coming to a stop at the junction of the footpath, going right leading through the school grounds down to the tree-shaded Riverwalk, surrounded by cool and vibrant gardens for wildlife and insects to flourish by the water, and to the left, leading back towards the dorms and other areas of the large grounds and business district of the suburb and public transportation, "Anyway, see you later."

"Bye," he walked away.

Unlike before, the cloud cover had worsened and the sun struggled to shine through the thickening build-up. There was supposed to be a thunderstorm this morning, but it had not yet struck even when they were inside the lecture room. Light drizzle had wet the footpath, but nothing heavier had hit. Further out in the distance, she noticed the darker blue skies, the temperature of the breeze bringing a cooler relief from the muggy conditions.

Her elegant beige-coloured pumps tapped along the concrete, making her appear taller and complimented her graceful and elegant dress-style. Crowds of students gathered around her, only rarely seeing one person walking alone, as people formed lunch groups. She wanted a quiet place to review her lecture, and understand the requirements of her first class for the semester and be ready for tomorrow's other unit she is scheduled to start tomorrow too.

Without a clear destination in mind, she headed for the busy Winifred Strip where various shops were located and had a variety of take-away fast food outlets, sushi bars and trading restaurants behind the strip near the entrance of one of the smaller malls open around the city. "Ah, I know, I will try that cute little French café on the corner," she thought to herself out loud, and hurried to there with hunger driving her.

"That wraps up the lecture. Be sure to read Daley's reading on the Greek political system and Pullman's reading titled 'Laws We Learnt from the Latins,' and answer the posted questions on the intranet. These are part of your grades," Klaus raised his voice to the students scrambling away from their seats, positive neither of them heard his voice in the shuffling noises.

Sighing, he watched his bored students leave the room while packing his bag with his materials, noting to drop it off in his office. He was supposed to meet with his mother for lunch for some private meeting but he didn't feel like attending and had his assistant cancel it. He was sure her meeting had something to do with her trying to convince him to convince Elias to go ahead with this arranged marriage. Because of that, he had a free lunch.

He still had Elias' research book, marked with coloured sticky-paper arrows to direct him to the chapters he had to photocopy for his students to read in this unit regarding the history of political systems and legal structures. A pointless unit, he thought, but necessary for their basic understanding of the industry these students were wishing for a career into, but looking around his classroom half of the faces were students forced into this career by their parents, assuming 5% are here because they want to be.

Pulling out his smartphone, he didn't have another lecture until 2:30 in the afternoon, his alarm already set, warning him thirty minutes beforehand of the time he had to do another lecture. "Lunch time," he said, and used the side door to make his exit from the lecture room and keeping the room clear for the next class to be using the space.

Before putting his phone back into his pocket, it started to ring in his hand. He didn't recognise the number, and wondered if it was a client from his work outside of teaching, he had to answer it just in case, "This is Klaus Goldstein," his elegant and clear voice confidently and professionally greeted the other person on the end of the line.

"Mr Goldstein, thank you for answering my call. This Dorothy Cloud from the Socialite Daily Tabloid, and I was hoping I could get a statement from you regarding your brother's recent engagement to Rose Mason, announced this morning in the city's newspaper and said to officially be confirmed by the Mason and Goldstein patriarchs' at the Mid-Year Goldstein Charity Ball event," the lady on the other end of the line had a pleasant voice wavering between sweet and feminine tones, easily he could tell she was quite young, maybe early twenties.

"No comment," Klaus replied, understanding that she was only doing her job but also realising a tabloid reporter's passion is to stick their nose in places where it does not belong, "Do you have nothing better to do with your life than interfering with other peoples' lives?" He asked.

"...Um...," she didn't quite know how to respond to the sudden question, "...Rose Mason is giving us an exclusive interview later in the day. I have been trying to get a hold of your brother but he refuses to answer his phone. I was hoping you could give me your angle on the situation."

"Say that I do, are you going to report the facts and not skew them in anyway?" Klaus questioned, and immediately answered his own question, "Even if you say that you will report my words fairly, your editor will only skew them so the tabloid sells, right? If you wish to have my angle, it's this, my brother and I are extremely busy people with work to do and do not have the luxury of time to waste on pointless and pathetic tabloid magazines. Do not call this number again," with those last words, he hung up the phone, leaving the reporter to do as she wished with his answers.

After dumping his bag inside the security of his office, he grabbed his wallet from the locked top draw of his desk and secured it inside his pocket along with his phone to head out for lunch.

In her short tour around the strip with Amelia, Asana remembered her saying the café was popular with students because the café was elegant but cute and was a hub for students to work and study. Crossing the road was an effort since Monday was the busiest time of the week, but as soon as she approached the café, the classic outdoor furniture and plants caught her eyes.

Dark chocolate-coloured chairs and tables blended well with the polished glass windows and yellow lights weaved among the green garlands decorating the awnings of the buildings and merging with the plant centrepieces on the tables. On a board outside the shop, the specials of the day were advertised and the delicious smell of freshly baked pastry and bread and the aroma of coffee beans aggravated hungry stomachs and lured them into the classy café.

A bell chimed as she pushed open the dark-chocolate-coated door with a polished glass plane pinned with an 'open' sign. A few customers were waiting for their orders in their chosen seats inside and outside, others used the long benches seated on cushioned stools to use the power outlets and charging hubs for their laptops and phones – most of them students with the one professor among them, and each person keeping to themselves.

The dark brown exterior with wooden furniture was replaced with beautiful white chocolate painted walls, a dark chocolate marble floor and creamy-beige cushioned chairs with a comfortable back were seated next to circular tables covered in white cloths and fixed with salt and pepper shakers, a menu of the café's meals and drinks, and a flowery centrepiece. Each table evenly spaced around the floor of the room.

Weaving between empty chairs, the counter greeted customers to the store with many baked goods on display in the clear glass cabinets and cookies within jars on top of the counter for sale. A vintage cash register was between the two cabinets with swinging white saloon-styled doors leading to the kitchen, and waiters leaving another set of swinging doors from the side of the kitchen to avoid collisions with workers going through the doors behind the register.

"Hi there, what can I get you today?" A cheery red-haired girl, dressed in a black uniform and brown apron, greeted Asana.

"Um, a vanilla latte with chocolate sprinkles and the spinach and cheese soufflé please," she ordered and looked down at the creamy delicious brulee cake topped with strawberries dusted in powdered sugar, "Oh, and a slice of that crème brulee cake, please. Eat in."

The girl wrote down her order and gave her a number, and punched numbers in the cash register, "Eleven fifty," she asked for the payment price with Asana paying with cash, "That will not be too long, please take a seat anywhere you like," she said, and took the order to the kitchen.

Asana looked around the comfortable café, cooled by the air conditioner flowing soft air through the U-shaped café. To her left and behind the kitchen, one side of the wall was lined with a bookshelf full of magazines, novels and study topics for customers to enjoy while waiting, with classic music on low volume to provide relaxation to dining customers.

At the very end of the room, she found an empty booth tucked inside a small alcove. She sat on the furthest white-cushioned seat where she could view the length of the shop, just seeing a side of the counter until the wall obstructed her view, and to her right a tinted window provided a view of the world outside going by. She could see the curve of the pavement, and since the café was on a corner, it provided her with a view of the line of shops across the road, where she could survey the busy Monday streets.

Adjacently, she could see the fence of the college and a portion of the dorm's rooftop. Running engines and tyres slashing the gravel roads as they drove past became like a music of the busy city life she found herself in, and she didn't mind because being here meant she was ever closer to obtaining her degree, one that would lead her onto a good career path. Placing her handbag next to her, on the window side, she dragged out her textbooks and tablet to begin her homework that had been set.

They had been informed of the readings they would have to complete to answer the questions in class, there would be three on the intranet, two in the dossier of readings they were provided for the unit and the first two chapters of their textbook, 'Understanding What's Underneath Animals,' written by six authors. "Better begin," she said, and was prepared to take down notes after she had finished reading. Also bookmarked were newly published research papers relating to the veterinary field that she wanted to read.

Immersing herself in her readings, the noise of the café and the streets blurred into the background, with only hearing the waitress setting her order next to her and away from her reading materials. Looking up from her tablet, she smiled at the waitress, "Thank you," she said, and teared open two sachets of sugar packets on the table to stir into her latte, while concentrating on her readings.

She didn't even hear the bell chiming as a familiar blonde-haired man entered the store, "Mr. Goldstein, welcome," the waitress greeted him as a regular customer, "The usual today sir? Mushroom soup with black coffee?"

"Yes, in my usual booth," he added, and paid with more than enough cash, "Keep the change," he said, ignoring anymore questions from the waitress.

"Um...," she tried to explain that his usual booth was occupied by a young woman, but he moved away before she could warn him, and raced his order into the kitchen, worried that he might be angry seeing her in the booth he usually sat at.

Walking around the corner, his glare softened at the sight of her tresses of long brown tresses glowing under the yellow light dangling from the ceiling, and her concentrated face focused on the screen in front of her and her delicate milky-smooth skinned hands writing notes. "A dedicated student I see," he muttered under his breath, and walked closer and watching as she brought a scoop of her soufflé to her soft pink lips.

His boots barely made a noise on the marble floor, not that she would be alert to the sounds, as he came to sit across from her. Looking down and writing her notes, she noticed the dark-coloured fabric and the smell of tea and cinnamon overwhelming the scent of her vanilla latte and food in front of her. She felt eyes on her, and started to feel uncomfortable by the presence of a stranger. Hopefully, she thought, if she kept her eyes down and focused, the person, definitely a man she sensed, would go away.

"Are you really going to pretend that I am not here in the hope that if you ignore me I will go away?" Klaus' harsh voice reached her ears while she continued to write notes.

Realising it was Klaus who was sitting across from her, she stopped writing and, slowly, looked up at him through her lashes, "...Sorry," she couldn't say anything else but to apologise for being rude to Klaus, and was reminded of earlier when he had managed to scare Rose away, "Well, I suppose I should also express my gratitude for earlier. Thank you."

Curiously, he tilted his head, "For what?" Though as soon as he asked, he remembered Rose giving Asana a hard time in the lobby of the main stairwell inside the castle, "Are you referring to Rose and yourself exchanging words in the lobby? Honestly, I refused to see her face this morning, I did not do it for you."

His macho refusal of her words of thanks, made her round eyes narrow into a square once more as she glared at him from across the booth they had silently agreed to share, "Why is it you struggle to accept words of gratitude? I wonder if it is because you struggle to agree with your emotions?"

Unsure how to respond to her straightforward and pure response, a smirk graced his godlike face and just as his food arrived at his table and the waitress, timing it right, broke the flow of conversation, "Your coffee, Professor, and your soup will not be too far away. Are you dining at this table and is there anything else I can get you?"

"So many questions," he sighed, annoyed but answered them in one response, "Yes, I will be dining here in my usual booth as I said. Also, a refill with whatever beverage Miss Way was drinking, I will pay for it as I leave," he requested, seeing as she had finished her cup.

"That's really not necessary," Asana interrupted, stubbornly refusing the free drink, "I can't allow you to buy me a vanilla latte. Those are 3.40 a small cup."

Klaus smirked, "Who do you think I am? I think I can afford small pocket change like 3.40, and I insist otherwise what other reason will I use to enjoy your company?" The waitress decided to go along with whatever Klaus had instructed her to do, and walked away with her empty cup to refill it.

Cutting her crème brulee cake with her fork, she stuffed the forkful in her mouth. Klaus watched her, and their eyes connected as she slowly withdrew the fork from her mouth, making sure the cream-filled centre of the cake was lapped up off the fork, her face flushed in red from him having watched her and a bashful smile spreading across her face. Her heart skipping a beat as he studied her.

"Why are you staring?" She giggled, covering her mouth while she chewed and quietly swallowed the portion in her mouth.

"This café is one of my favourite places to buy cakes. Ms Caroline, the owner, makes these fresh daily, and makes well-balanced meals too. Though, I quite enjoy the privacy and simplicity of this little corner booth. No one knows I come here," he explained, and turned around a book she had been taking notes from to view it himself.

From reviewing her readings, she had ended up opening several books to organise her notes into categorised sections, and she was reviewing the parts of the animal cell with appropriate references from her textbook, assigned readings and accumulated research papers she had sourced on the internet library function available to students of the college.

"Your mushroom soup, Professor," the same waitress from before returned with a warm brew of mushroom soup, the white smooth liquid looked more like a carbonara with a fresh parsley leaf floating in the middle of the enamel white bowl, "And, a fresh vanilla latte, Miss."

With the book he had turned around, he started to flip through the pages of a subject he had little to no knowledge about and ended up on a chapter with a graphic and vivid picture of a blood-covered organ, "Goodness," he slammed the book shut and felt squeamish in the pit of his stomach, "I don't know what that was but I don't ever wish to see it again," he muttered.

She peeked at the page he had stumbled upon, and started to giggle, "So, the strong Professor Klaus Goldstein is squeamish at the sight of a dog's heart, huh?" She couldn't explain why, but she felt her heart thumping loudly, thinking the sight of him averting his gaze and feeling squeamish from the image an adorable sight.

"What are you laughing at?" He glared across at her from the table but she couldn't fight the smile that found its way on her face.

"...Oh, nothing," she smiled.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes and found the courage to eat again, "If you aren't giggling or smiling at anything, stop it. It's creepy and annoying," his voice was as harsh as usual, but having not heard him all day yesterday she was happy to see him.

"I will forgive your harsh tongue on the account that not only did you save me from falling down the stairs on Saturday but for saving me from Rose this morning and buying me a coffee just now."

"Honestly, I had a few options in ways to spend my lunch break. Either have it alone here, be forced to go to lunch with my mother or intrude on my brothers having a meeting and keeping the peace while trying to coax a free lobster from my older brother, but of all the three having it here with you is the least stressful option."

She tilted her head and didn't know if that was a compliment on her good company or not, but also questioned how a lunch by himself would be stressful, "How would a lunch by yourself be stressful?"

"Well, I would not be left alone to my thoughts now that I have you for a good distraction, and my family...well that's...not really a cool conversation topic right now," Klaus cut himself off from saying anything embarrassing, unadvised that she knew enough already for him to discuss it.

Though she knew, she didn't want to focus on that right now and wanted to focus more on Klaus in front of her. Naturally smiling, she comfortably drank down a mouthful of her delicious latte, the yummy vanilla washing over her taste buds and going down her throat. "Well, if I'm glad I can provide you with a peaceful lunch. Especially, being a professor, I'm sure your morning has been quite busy."

"Mondays are always the busiest, especially right after a short holiday," he replied, swallowing a good spoonful of his soup down, "Let's see. I had a tutorial at nine and a lecture at ten-thirty. After my lunch break, I have two telephone conferences and at two-thirty I have a political lecture to give. Tomorrow, will be no less busy since I have court."

"Court?"

"You don't honestly think I am just a professor, do you?" He laughed at her innocence, "I enjoy teaching more, but I am also a defence lawyer too. I can't be experienced to teach without having tasted the industry myself."

"...But you're so young and already accomplished?"

"I graduated from college early," he concluded, smiling back at her and looking at her through his blonde lashes.

She didn't expect anything less from him, "That hardly surprises me, you know."

"Is that so?" The way he looked at her through his lashes with that handsome smirk on his face, made her look away with embarrassment as her heart pounded in her chest, "Just what do you think of me, Miss Way?"

"That depends...," she gave it some thought, and replied, "How would you like me to think of you?" She held her hands warmly around the cup and leaned back on the cushioning back rest of the chair.

Her question surprised him, but he was really curious to know what she really did think of him, now, without a proper understanding of his personality, "Well, depends on how on mark your first impressions of me are?"

"It's hard to believe that you would care what I do think about you, but if you want an answer to satisfy you then I would say...," she thought carefully about the right way to word how he impressed her, "Shall we start with the good points. There is no denying that you are a smart and independent man, many women would compare your good looks to a Greek god but I don't think you are the narcissistic kind to care too much about that."

"Handsome? Never heard someone openly use that word to describe me," Klaus commented, but he still wasn't hearing what she thought of him, "But...I want to know what you think of me? Your impressions of me," inside, he couldn't understand why he needed to ask such a question because he had never cared so much about what others think of him, but he wanted to know how she felt about him.

"My impressions? I do agree with the universal points that you are smart, independent and handsome," she smiled and leaned forward to rest her arms on the table in front of her, "But, you can be mean, rude and intimidating. Just now, that girl was too nervous to serve you, what did you do to her?"

He turned his head to peer at the girl waiting on another customer who had sat nearby the booth they were seated at, and recognised her immediately, "Oh, the girl with the red hair. Samantha Dayton, a law student of mine, might have made her cry during a meeting I had with her about failing her class. But, ever since she has been more attentive and receiving good grades."

"See, harsh and intimidating," Asana guessed correctly, "You're probably wondering why your sharp glare and wicked tongue doesn't scare me?"

"Not really, but you are the first girl that has not run away crying because of how I am. That part is intriguing," Klaus answered, taking another spoonful of his soup into his mouth. "Though, you can be to innocent and naïve. You are too kind for your own good and you should watch that others don't take advantage of that sweetness."

She laughed at his advice, and he gave her a perplexed look in return, "You don't need to worry about me, Professor. I am a big girl and I can look after myself," and she could too, because she owns a black belt in mixed martial arts, "Question is, do I have to watch you?"

Meaning it as a joke, Klaus didn't catch the gist of the joke, "Why would you need to be careful of me? I have no reason to take advantage of you. Still, you should be careful, you decided to ignore me when I sat down here, what if it wasn't me and some perverted creep?"

"If it weren't you, he would have a hot latte thrown in his face and understand how I can take care of myself," she smiled, assuring him she had her guards up at all times.

Pulling her books back towards her, she resumed taking notes while talking with Klaus, and reopened to the first pages she had open to begin with. "It is disgusting to open those images again? Please wait until I leave."

Although his words were harsh, she couldn't fight the smile spreading on her lips, "First, I was sitting here before you sat down without an invitation. Secondly, I am a veterinary student, blood and the insides of animals is the formation of my chosen career path. Lastly, my purpose coming here was to have lunch while I reviewed my material. So, suck it up or move elsewhere."

Her straightforward response had his grin widen, and an unknown but satisfying feeling bubble within his heart. Never had someone been brave to talk back to him like she did, and he felt like he had a challenger in her. "You are quite brave to talk to me like that," he said, smirking, and genuine curiosity to know more about her led him to ask more questions, "So, veterinary science, huh? What do you plan to do with your degree?"

"My degree?" The question caught her quite off guard, but she knew her determination was simple, to save animals, "Well, I plan to graduate with a degree in veterinary science and applied medicine, and I am also doing a minor in wildlife ecology so my focus is not only on domesticated animals but all animals. After that, I will proceed onto my doctorate in animal biology and veterinary medicine to save animals from extinction from diseases and illnesses, and to understand their behaviours better so that we can help them."

"To save animals, in summary," Klaus concluded, respecting her determination, "How do your parents feel about you becoming a veterinarian?" Having dealt with law and political students, pushed into those careers by their parents, and somewhat following the same career path for the sake of his parents, his question felt logical to him.

From the little information Elias had told her this morning about his parents trying to control the career path he should follow, she gazed into Klaus' eyes and could see the naturalness of that question, but he was unaware of her parents' passing, "...Well, I hope they would be very proud. My father was a veterinarian and biologist, and owned his own clinic while researching and documenting populations of animals that lived in the area I grew up in. I grew up in the country mountainside, so I was surrounded by animals growing up. My mother, she loved animals too, she had a kind heart, and I remember her helping my father sometimes look after patients that needed twenty-hour hour care. So, I hope I'm making them proud."

Hearing the past tense in her answer, he tilted his head in confusion, "...I'm sorry, I'm confused, are your parents...no longer of this world?"

"No, they died in a car accident when I was nine years old," she honestly replied.

"Oh, I apologise, I had no idea," realising the nature of the question he had asked, he apologised fearing it might have caused her grief, but carefully continued, "...They seemed like warm people. Do you ever regret following in your father's footsteps?"

"No. Though, to me, working around animals is...natural, like it feels right. People always assume I am doing in memory of my father, which is not entirely false, but it's not the total reason. I chose this path all on my own because I love animals and when I look back on it, I followed my father around while he was working because I respected his hard work to save animals. I couldn't see myself doing anything else, and I am continuing his work while doing my own," she explained, a smile born from pure happiness curling across her beautiful face.

Having explained her true feelings on the subject twice in one day, she remembered what she had mentioned to Elias about her dream of going to the Olympics to compete as a gymnast. She realised, now, having to explain her career path once again, she could comfortably put that dream to bed because this is what she truly wanted to do with her life, with or without fulfilling her Olympic dream, fuelled by her mother's near-chance before her. "Yes, I am happy with what I wish to do."

"What were you thinking about just now?" Reading her thoughtful face, he was curious to understand the thoughts going through her mind, "I'm sure having lost your parents at a young age must bring back many sad memories?"

"Oh, I wasn't thinking about that," she quietly answered, "Before my mother met my father and had me, before she owned her own café, she was a gymnast and just missed out on an opportunity to compete at the Olympics. I was thinking about it, when I was training for the chance to go compete in the Olympics one day, but I just had an epiphany. I explained it to Elias earlier today, but now, I'm happy if I never get that chance because my studies toward becoming a veterinarian makes me happy. That's all," she explained to him.

"Talking about...doesn't make you sad?"

She shook her head, "I do get sad sometimes, but my mother always taught me to push through every day with a smile and not to waste each day since no day is ever the same. I could mope around forever and insult them or I can continue to live each day to the fullest like I know they would want me to."

Listening to her response, he figured out two things. One, she was very fond of her parents and had a relationship with them he couldn't dream of having with his own. He loved and respected his parents, and they loved him, but they had their own plans for their children. They had a different understanding of bonding and being close to their children compared to Asana's parents. Second, how incredibly heart-breaking it must have been for her to lose them at a young age and the admiration he felt towards her courage.

"Of course, I say that now but growing up I did lash out at those around me while I was trying to make sense of my emotions, so I'm not going to say I was strong all the time."

He didn't think any less of her tenacity as she admitted how she handled the emotions as a young girl, and shook his head, "I would question you if you didn't. It must have been overwhelming to experience such a huge loss at a young age. How did you get by?"

"My childhood friend, Joel and his parents. They adopted me, raised me like I was their daughter and gave me a home and handled the inheritance I received from my parents. They are good and honest people, and they became my family. I have no other true family to speak of, since I never met my grandparents and my parents were only children. I'm very grateful towards them, otherwise I would have been thrown around in the foster system and not had a sheltered teenage life," she explained, "I sold my mother's café to a nice lady in town and the same with my father's clinic which gave me a bit more money to get by, and the lady who took over my mother's café gave me a job as a manager. So, I didn't struggle much, and I have saved money to work towards getting my degrees and doctorate."

"Did you have to give up on gymnastics to pay your way?" Klaus asked, interested in her life up until now, and happy that she was giving him honest answers and being strong about it, like the emotional trauma of her past was a scar she was proud to have overcome. His admiration and respect for her grew.

Memories of the day she was told about her parents came flooding back to her like it had only happened yesterday, like it had when she explained it to Elias, "...I was at a gymnastics competition when they were involved in the accident. I remember my friend's parents coming to get me, and they told me privately in a corner what had happened. I stopped competing for a long time, and then when I went to high school they had a gymnastics program and I decided to get involved in it again a few years later and won gold at the junior Olympics. But...I stopped for another reason entirely, that's a story all on its own."

Her hesitance to tell him why she gave it up raised a desperate urge to know, but he decided not to press her on the subject since she was not comfortable talking about it, but he wondered if her epiphany she had just now, she would end up regretting, "You don't believe you will regret giving up on the Olympic dream?" He asked instead, treading the water lightly with that general question.

She hadn't really thought about it, but sometimes the spark of desire tried to wedge itself back into her heart, "...I do enjoy gymnastics...but I don't think I can give you an answer to that question. The future is uncertain, and lives are never perfect. We make do with what we have, and while we are young gain more as we live. If I can become a good veterinarian and researcher to save animals, and get married and have a family of my own, someday, I know I would look back on my life and be proud of it. What does being a potential Olympic Gold Medallist or, simply, an Olympian mean? A right to boast how athletically gifted you are, a title that wins you admiration? I don't want that, I want to be admired for my veterinary work or just being...Asana."

Seeing this new side to her, he suddenly found himself captivated by her. Sure, she could be clumsy and has a charming innocence and childish side to her, but he realised she's a woman who's known emotional hardship and it has made her wiser too. "...Well, my impression of you just changed, Bunnyhead," he complimented, "I thought you were just childish and naïve, with a clumsy flaw, but I realise you're smart, strong, independent, with a calmness around you, despite the emotional hardship you have had to endure."

"...I will ignore the insults, but t-thank you if that was a compliment," red painted her cheeks with the embarrassment that came from being complimented by Klaus, her heart thumping as he directed his soft violet gaze at her.

Coming from his lunch meeting with his brother, Elias accepted the job his brother needed help with and savoured the taste of the lobster on his tongue. Lugging a folder underneath his arm with the contents of Julius' case, he was careful not to drop any papers while walking down the street, with a slight hill. He was leading to the corner where the Winifred Strip met the street he was on and looked up at the wrong time.

Through the slightly tinted window, he made out the vivid blonde locks of his brother and the brown tresses of Asana. His attentive and soft violet eyes stared back at Asana, who broke out in a smile. Elias' eyes surveyed the situation in front of him, and he suddenly started to feel as though history was about to repeat itself. Anyone watching those two, right now, smiling and gazing at each other would think they were close. His figure, unnoticed by those two, his eyes winced in anger and he stormed off.

"How could she? And after everything I told her this morning!" He grumbled to himself, his jealousy over them having lunch making him furious and his failure to understand why he was jealous about this situation-Asana was not his girlfriend and he convinced himself several times he had no feelings towards her, therefore she would be free to have an intimate relationship with Klaus if that's what they both wanted-but he didn't like it.

Finishing his small bowl of soup and his coffee, he wiped his lips with the provided napkin on the table. He checked the time, and it was close quarter to one, "It was a compliment," he reacted to her bashful reply, while gathering his things ready to leave the café, "And, thank you for being pleasant lunch time company."

"Thank you for buying me a latte, and listening to me too," she returned the gratitude as he stood to his feet.

Fixing up his tie on his suit, he gave her a charming smile that had her heart pounding in her chest. Bashfully, she smiled back at him, "Don't work too hard, Klaus," she smiled back at him, while trying to calm her racing heart but that handsome smile of his wasn't making it easy.

She watched his back all the way to the counter to pay for the latte he shouted for her, and until he had completely disappeared from view, merging with the colourful sea of clothes worn by pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. Once he was gone, she could breathe, not realising she had held in her breath for this long.

"First, my heart goes crazy about Elias and now it is going mad about Klaus too. Why does it race like this around just those two?" She questioned in her mind, and it became cluttered with thoughts about those two that she could no longer concentrate on the work in front of her.

Daydreaming, she stared mindlessly out of the window, watching the cars drive past and the people walk by, the city teeming with life. Everyone with a different story, going about their day in different ways, some are workers out at lunch, students exploring the city, parents shopping with their young children. Clashing plates brought her from her daze.

Not nervous anymore now that Klaus was gone, she confidently picked up his dirty dishes and cleaned the spot he had occupied. Her name was...Samantha...she remembered, but she didn't ask about her encounter with Klaus as his student, and returned to try to make sense of her own feelings. Her facial muscles twisted and pulled in her deep thought, until she heard Samantha let out a small scream and the plates she had gathered dropped to the floor, shattering like a mirror on the ground.

Before she could register anything, a shadow towered over her and the palm of a hand slammed down on the table in front of her. She glanced down at Samantha to see if she was okay, and then glanced up to see Rose's deep brown eyes glared back at her with the air around her grown thin with tension. "I hope you enjoyed your lunch with Klaus Goldstein, but I will warn you again since he interrupted us this morning. Stay away from that family!" She hissed, "So help me, if you do not dare to listen, I will make your life here a living hell."

Asana sighed, "Is that all you want to say?" She hoped that was all Rose wanted to say, and remained unnerved by the other girl's threatening demeanour, "It is not you who decides who I get close to. My relationship with the Goldstein brothers is none of your concern."

Those is the café were silent, and those close enough to hear Asana's response dropped their jaws, including Rose and her friends. "H-how dare you speak to me like this! A commoner such as yourself needs to know her place, and it is not hanging around like a common tart around the rich and wealthy, with a powerful influence beyond your dreams."

"A common tart, huh? Are you so shallow that all you see is their monetary worth? Your pathological need for money and attention is pathetic and I'm glad those two men are wise to your tactics, I wish I could say the same thing about their parents. You may be able to bully others around here, but your tricks will not work on me Rose," Asana picked up her books and tablet and shoved them into her bag, "Now, if you don't mind but these lovely diners are trying to eat their lunch in peace. Order something, or leave," she made sure to bump Rose's shoulder on her way by and forced her way between the gate her friends held up, and helped Samantha onto her feet.

"Are you alright?" Asana asked her.

"Yes, thank you."

She went to the counter and the owner of the café came out to the front on Asana's request, "Would I be able to grab two chocolate macadamia cookies to go, please?"

"Yes," Ms Caroline, with her greying-burgundy straight-wire hair tied into a neat bun and dressed in the café's uniform, had wrinkling olive skin but she was nice had still had the accent of her French-origin. While she tended to retrieving the cookies Asana had ordered, Rose and her friends filed from the café, angrily swinging the door open and giving dagger-looks back at Asana. "You must be brave to stand up to that troublesome trio," Ms Caroline commented.

Handing over the cookies, Ms Caroline accepted the cash from Asana's hands, and listened to her reply, "I hope I didn't cause you any trouble, and I really hope your waitress is alright, but I refuse to allow girls like Rose Mason to walk over me," she said, and accepted the change back from Ms Caroline.

Dispensing the change into the coin compartment of her purse, she saw from the corner of her eye the advertised job taped on the counter. "Job available to college students for a manager's position," she read out loud, and Ms Caroline saw her interest in the job.

"Are you interested in the job?"

"Yes, I used to manage a café back home," Asana said, and dug around her bag to find her printed resumes she had filed into clear protection sleeves in the hope of finding time to find a job during the week, "I have my resume on me if you'd like to take it, attached is a copy of my schedule this semester."

Ms Caroline accepted the resume and asked her a few questions there while she had Asana in front of her, "In this job, you will be required to make cakes, cookies, coffees and everything we serve on the menu, and I take pride in serving fresh meals to my customers. Are you up to that task?"

"Yes, Ms Caroline," Asana smiled, "At the café I managed in my home town, much like this one, the owner took pride in bringing customers warm and fresh delicious meals, and we were often busy but we managed to make every customer happy with our fresh meals. Also, on a personal note, I enjoy baking and cooking so I will be more than enthusiastic to do the job."

"An excellent answer," Ms Caroline approved of the response, and liking what she saw on the girl's resume, "And, how are you with the money side of the job? As a manager you will be tasked with ordering stock each Tuesday, counting money if you are working on closing times and dealing with complaints too."

"All fine with me," Asana answered, having done it before, "With a brief explanation on how you like to order stock and how the computing system works for counting and banking money, I will understand how to do it. After all, I handled cash floats and counting money and ordering stock at the former café I used to manage. As for dealing with customer complaints, I will do so in the most appropriate and effective manner."

"Good," Ms Caroline could see she was experienced in this field, and decided to offer her the chance to obtain the job in a formal trail for the position, "I like you, and I like that you have had experience. I want to invite you to do a two day trial this weekend, and bring along a batch of your homemade sweets so I can judge your cooking skills for myself."

"I will do that," Asana smiled, "Since you are trialling my sweets, is there any allergies I should know of?"

Impressed by the question, it showed Ms Caroline she had an awareness for people's dietary requirements where the other candidates who had applied for the position lacked, "...No nuts. I am highly allergic to nuts," she said, "I am fine touching them but I can't eat them."

"Great, thank you for letting me know. I will be here Saturday, what time would you prefer I arrive?"

"We open at 9:30am but I would like to meet with you at 8:30 to properly run you through our computer system, our products and to sample your cooking. Please be here by that time."

"I will be, and thank you for the delicious food," Asana thanked her, and left the café, hopeful she was in for the chance to get the job. It was up her alley, and would give her a good income for the time she would be at school, if even the job didn't last the six years of college life.

Instead of making on flavour, Asana decided to do some research and headed to the library, remembering to take her tutorial at two in the afternoon, to find different recipes to create a platter of sweets she could do, and present it to her potential boss.

As she stepped outside and onto the street, the rain that had been waiting to fall all day began to water the roads, the heat from the roads blending to give off a pleasant smell as the rain drops soaked the city. She had no choice but to

#klaus goldstein #elias goldstein #joel crawford #vincent knight #Luca Orlem #Yukiya Reizen #randy march #Azusa Kuze #Amelia Nile #asanawayMC #professor schuyler #WizardessHeart #lovetriangle

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