#like this n i'll come plot w/ u!!

[turnertopia]

can you write a Alex x fem reader where the two meet when they’re young and then they become best friends. After a concert they go out for drinks and are dancing together at a bar (A little drunk) and it gets a little spicy and then they leave for a hotel or something and you can make it smut or not 🫣🫣 ❤️❤️

much loveeeee

thank u for the request, hope this was okay for u ! if any of this is cringe don't tell me i'd rather be blissfully unaware and ignorant :3

tipsy

pairing: am!alex turner x fem!reader

summary: long desired tipsy sex w a cocky am al teehee

warnings: no use of y/n, not proofread, small plot, smut (mdni), mentions of alcohol and drugs, p in v sex, unprotected sex, switch!alex, hickeys/lovebites, bit of nipple play, handjob kinda, use of unscientific terms (cock, pussy, etc.)

words: 1.6k

note: wrote this in the middle of the night please this is horrid i'm so embarrassed omg

⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧

the post-concert glow is evident in alex's blown pupils as you both share a pricey bottle of wine at his favourite bar. sharing the adreneline as well as a drink, the man offers his hand.

"used to love this song, didn't you, love?" his tipsy giggling makes you grin as you listen in to the music playing from the bar's speakers. dizzee rascal, 'dance wiv me', both you and a 2008 alex had countless laughs and dances to this song in the past, this occasion no different. "come and dance with me!" he grinned stupidly. alex clumsily drags you over to the dance floor, grabbing your hands and lacing your fingers between his ringed ones in order to not lose you amongst the crowd of drunks.

he twirls you around with a lazy grin, moving one hand onto your waist. you feel it, a subtle blush growing your cheeks, going unnoticed by alex due to the rapid flash of the prismatic lights. you're both getting very close to each other. your eyes lock together a few times. the song fades out and he pulls you close, leaning into your ear so you can hear him over the blast of the speakers.

"we should go." he says. "gettin' late, you get weirdos in here when it's too late. i'll book a hotel for the night, yeah?" his hand squeezes your waist. "alright." you reply, letting him lead you to the exit.

you're all giggles as you exit the pub, gaining odd looks from the people smoking outside. both yourself and alex are falling over each other on the way to the hotel only a street away. you're still holding hands, too.

alex makes a fool of himself while speaking to the receptionist with his slurring and tipsy snickering. getting into the lift, you can't seem to keep your hands off each other. your hands combing through his now tangled hair, remembering how he had been so precise when gelling it before the concert. you grin. his hands are groping at your waist, hesitant to go any further yet in fear of making you uncomfortable despite his cocky attitude this evening. how gentlemanly.

the ding of the lift snaps the two out of your little lovebird daze, stumbling over to your room. before he can get the key in the door, you give into the temptation and slam him a little roughly against it, greedily pressing your lips against his. he doesn't hesitate for a second, kissing back like he was getting paid to do it. "fuckin' hell." he hisses, his hands aren't as shy now, boldly grabbing your ass while the other stays firmly planted on your waist. you tug his hair, and he lets out a breathy moan and gives you perfect access to slip your tongue into his mouth. he groans, breaking your little makeout to speak.

"let me open the door." he breathes, fumbling with the key curtly. you tease him, slipping your hands up the back of his shirt and dragging your nails down his back. you could have sworn you heard him growl. he finally opens it, the door swinging open with such force it slams into the wall behind it. you're quick to shut it behind you, alex's hands hooking under your thighs to pick you up, re-attatching his lips to yours.

he finds the nearest bedroom, tossing you onto the bed and kissing you more. shoes get kicked off, and he reaches for the zipper of your dress. "please can i take this off? i need to see you." he groans, his cheeks painted in a pretty pink blush. "go on." you purred, and he almost tore the dress off your body. he moaned softly at the sight of you in your underwear. "fuck, shit, fuck, wanted this for so long.." he hissed, kissing and biting your neck, leaving behind marks and little bruises of his love. "take it slow then, al." you murmured, your cheeks also covered in a matching rosy blush.

his rings are cold against your flushed skin, making you shudder. his kisses travel down to your cleavage, unclasping your bra with a hasty motion. he exhales slowly, one ringed hand kneading the flesh of your breast. he takes a nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue snugly over it.

closing his eyes, his other hand palms it's way down your body, cupping your mound through your panties. your helpless squirming was met with a smirk and a firm hand pinning you onto the bed by your waist. he grazed his fingers over your slit through the lace material, only rewarding you with feather-light touches.

"please, alex." you mewled, he relished in the way you spoke so desperately. "please what?" his grin widened. you huffed, turning your head to press into the pillow. "no, love, you have a voice. use it. what do you need?" he coaxed, the pad of his thumb toying with the delicate bow that adorned your underwear.

"...please touch me." you mumbled, that rosy blush making your face hot as it saturated your skin. his lips curled with satisfaction this time. "that's a good girl, hm? very good." his praise reverberated through your ears, a feeling of gratification filling your senses at those very few words.

he dragged your panties down at such a frustrating and deliberate pace, a soft whine escaping your lips after being choked back for so long. "shh.. s'okay, we're getting there now, aren't we, hun?" he cooed at you amorously, but also contradicting himself with that condescending undertone.

he groaned with admiration at your dripping pussy, wasting no time in gathering the slick on his fingers. after waiting so long for any sort of contact with your aching core, the grazing and prodding of his fingers was more than enough stimulant, making you moan out with an arched back.

he was basking in your encouraging moans and mewls, only spurring him on. the strain in his jeans was only getting tighter. you caught sight of the aching bulge, testing the waters by pressing the heel of your foot against it. alex choked on his breath, the steadiness of it instead growing shallow.

"doll." he croaked, hissing as you began grinding your heel against the ever-tightening fabric. his grin was wiped off, replaced with a line, his lips firmly pressed together in order to conceal his sounds. however, your lips were curled into that cocky smirk that usually adorned his pouty lips.

how easy it was to shift the dynamic.

you finally started on his clothes, hungrily pulling the muscle-fit t-shirt off his toned figure and attaching your lips to his neck, sucking and biting. he grips your waist, tilting his head back and finally letting out some noises. you straddle his lap, completely bare, sitting on his thigh as your wetness drips onto the denim.

you move at an achingly slow pace, teasing him just like he did to you. you grip his crotch, his cock is heavy beneath the layers. you unzipped his jeans, watching how the tent in his boxers protruded deliciously. both of you helped push the material down his thighs and legs, leaving him in his underwear.

"please, baby. please." the begging just rolled off his tongue. your grin was cruel, knowing how easily you could deprive him of the pleasure he sought after. but that could wait for another time, now you knew how he could be teased effortlessly and turned into a mess. but now you were both too desperate and pent-up to tease any further.

you released his thick, aching length from the thin fabric. it almost slapped his tummy with how hard he was. and over what? a few kisses and touches? how he was aching, only for you.

when you sat back on his thigh, now both completely bare, he groaned. you looked up at his big brown eyes. pupils blown from lust and need. kissing him gently as you wrapped a hand around his cock, he moaned into your swollen lips.

pumping him slowly, his cock grew wet and twitchy quickly, coated in layers of pre-cum and spit. you let go after a short while, straddling his thickness with your lips still connected, fingers intertwined with one another's.

you sunk down on him, earning a contented sigh from each of you. you bit his lip at the stretch, groaning alongside him. his hands gripped your hips now, guiding you.

"fuuuck... fucking -- that's it." he hissed, eyes rolling back. "so tight." he looked down at the sight of him disappearing into you. was he in heaven?

"al, s'too big." you tugged at his hair, clenching around him. "gonna split me open." you whined.

he chuckled lowly, guiding your hips so you were bouncing on him at a faster pace. "got you, sweet girl. feels s'good darlin'. you were slamming down on him, a squelching noise coming from between the two of you. his toned abdomen pressed against you, sweat sticking to the both of you.

both of you were close. you could each tell, the way he twitched inside of you and the way you spasmed around him.

"lovey, i'm almost there." he gritted. "cum with me, baby. i've got you, jus' let go puppet." and you did. you convulsing around him brought him to his climax, releasing hot spurts of his seed deep inside of you. he whimpered with you, holding you close as you caught your breath. he kissed your forehead, sliding out with a grunt.

you looked at each other for a moment before giggling quietly. "we'll talk in the mornin', kay?" he whispered with a stupid smile. you nodded softly, the drowsiness hitting you after the few drinks and what you just did.

"g'night, love." he kissed your head, pulling the covers over your waist with an arm around you.

:3

#alex turner #alex turner x reader #alex turner smut #arctic monkeys #first fic uh oh #my writing

[0cta9on]

Hoya there bud✌️🗿

My degenerate mind was thinking about about "Instant loss" kink (idk the right wording 😐).

"The idol acts all cocky and bratty towards OC, some moments later, she got dominated in bed by OC, Giving her a 'harsh' lesson for being a brat"

My lewd thought can't seem to find a proper idol that suits this style, so I will let you do the honour.😉

This picture has nothing to do with the plot above, just sharing a very cute picture of Danielle 😚

hello mikeylo! I haven't heard of the instant loss kink until today but i think Danielle would be pretty good for it :) she kinda gives off bratty princess vibes if u know what i mean

As the top ranked student in the entire school, you decide to offer tutoring services to make some extra cash. Most students would be grateful to spend even a second around, hoping to get some of your knowledge - but not Danielle.

Her mom gave you large lump of money that only a fool would refuse, but now you're starting to regret your decision after seeing how much of a brat Danielle is.

"This is boringgg, I'm gonna go to a cafe with my friends," she complains for the umpteenth time.

"Wha- No, it's barely been 10 minutes since we started the lesson. You have a math test coming up and I promised your mom that you would at least get a B on it."

She ignores you, grabbing her keys from her desk and heading to the door. You jump up, blocking the exit.

"Danielle, we still have 50 minutes left-"

"I don't care, get out of the way!"

She tries to push past you, but you stop her, grabbing her wrists.

"Ugh let go of me, you fucking nerd!"

Something snaps inside of you. You tried to be patient with her before, but you've had enough of her shitty attitude. No amount of money is worth spending another second with her.

You toss her face first onto her bed, causing her skirt to ride up just enough for you to see her panties. An idea pops into your head. A sinful, messed up idea, but at this point, you don't care anymore.

"Listen here, you little shit," you whisper harshly into her ear, tracing the outline of her pussy through her panties with your fingers. "I've had enough of your bitchiness. If you don't sit down and listen up, then I'll force you to."

She scoffs, but you can see a hint of fear in her eyes. "I bet you don't have the balls to do it, you stupid virgi- AH!"

Danielle moans in surprise as you stick a finger inside of her pussy. Each small movement of your hand sends a shockwave of pleasure throughout her body, making her shiver.

"W-what the fuck are you doing?!" She glares at you, but makes no attempts to stop you. In fact, you can actually feel her getting wetter with each pump of your digits.

A sly smirk grows on your face. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, you little slut?"

"N-no, I'm not- MMPH!" You flick her clit as you stick another finger inside her heat, watching in delight as she struggles to maintain composure.

"I bet you're just dying for a cock to fill your tight little cunt, aren't you, Danielle?" You whisper into her ear, taunting her.

"O-oh please, your dick is probably the s-size of an inchworm."

"I guess we'll just have to see about that." Danielle watches with a mixture of horror and intrigue as you stand up behind her, taking your erection out of your pants. You tease her wet hole with your tip before forcing your entire length inside of her.

"OH FUCK!!" She screams, her eyes falling into the back of her head. You grab her hair and pull it back, causing Danielle to moan in pain and pleasure and forcing her to take more of your cock.

"Yeah, you fucking like that, you're nothing but a dirty girl."

"Y-yes, I'm your dirty girl! Please, keep fucking me!" The bratty princess is gone, replaced by a cock-crazed slut. Her walls tighten around you, begging you stay inside her.

Suddenly, her entire body shakes as her orgasm hits her like a freight train. She covers your entire cock with her juices, making it easier for you pound into her. Pretty soon, you can feel your own orgasm about to hit you.

"F-fuck! Your dick feels so fucking good! Hurry up and c-cum inside me!" You do as she says, dumping your entire load deep into her womb before collapsing onto the bed next to her. As you catch your breath, Danielle looks at you with a timidity that you've never seen from her before.

"U-um... Can we do that again?"

"Get a B on your math test and then we'll talk."

[vampzxi]

𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

preview: she hums as she pulls away, leaving a spit trail connected to her lips and your nipple. her mouth travels to your neck, and she nips at it, adding to the collection of purple marks that already stain your brown skin. her hands cup your tits as she kisses behind your ear, “fuck, you’re so perfect, y/n,” her breath tickles your ear, and you shiver, smiling at the sound of your name. “i need you to go in the room and lay down, pretty girl. can you do that for me?”

a/n: THANK FUCK this fic is finally finished it was kicking my ass so bad. very sorry for the wait, i had a bunch of shit going on at home and with my mental in general( a nigga was struggling☠️). i'm a little better now, but i'll probably be extending my break until a little after the 15th (a nigga is graduating!! :P). also this fic did not turn out the way i thought it was going to...who wrote this ? like hello ? also this is kinda unedited. if you see anything wonky, shh. i love u guyth. saur much. ok sorry for the long ass author's note, nobody reading allat.

word count: 7k+ (fics getting longer and longer..)

tags: LOTS of teasing, like i was pissing myself off writing this…riri plays too much, fingering, (semi) public sex, masturbation, voyeurism, phone sex?, dom!riri, sub!reader, slightly bratty!reader, avenger!riri, (slightly) cocky!riri, overstimulation, pussy eating, (slight) ropebunny!riri, crying, dacryphilia (listen…), face sitting (riri receiving), strap slanger!riri, degradation, humiliation, praise, video taping, there’s a plot if you squint, riri’s chain makes me hard, hair pulling, (slight) slapping, riri being a big softie at the end, umm probably more that i forgot. whoopsi!

dts!: @heejayy , @abenomeiiii , @playhousedistee , @cafehyunji , @amplifiedmoan @zayswriting , @vixentheplanet , @inmyheadimobsessed , @quintessencewrites , @marsolgy , @verachii , @saintwrld , @motheroffae , @dejaonline , @dominiquesheart , @izrinmabel1 , @mocha-aya , @shuriszn @yamsthoughts : i love you guys and every single interaction i have with you. u guys make me kick my feet so bad like...pls take care of yourselves. special dt to eden for giving me the idea to put raveena in here..love u fr.

taglist!: @because-were-pointless-ghosts , @yourfavdummy , @ihearttish , @biltongbite , @vspletitia3 , @sookiesookie , @letitiaslabyrinth , @iotusroses , @ppawmpkin , @prettymrswright , @somethingcleaverandwhitty , @icespiceluva , @sapphicvqmpires , @puppykitt , @pinkwright divider by: @firefly-graphics (lmk if i forgot anyone! taglist request form is here!)

ok ENUFF w that... here you guys go! enjoy ;P

“no goodbye kiss?” riri pretends to pout at you.

“you can kiss my ass on the way out,” you grumble, slamming the door, “get the fuck out my car.”

you walk over to the trunk and grab her luggage as she steps out of your car. “baby, what i do?” she yells over the airplane taking off.

you scoff, rolling your eyes, “you kept teasing me on the way here. you know ion like that shit,” you say, handing over her luggage.

she smiles and reaches out, "aw baby, don’t be like that. it’s so easy to get you worked up, it’s cute. come here.”

you roll your eyes again and embrace her tight, letting her firm arms squeeze your torso, “i’m tired of your ass.”

she presses a quick kiss on your forehead, “i love you too,” she rests her head on yours, “it’s only for a weekend.”

you groan, “i’m sure the Avengers will be fine without ironheart.”

“and i’m sure you’ll be aight without riri,” she pulls away and looks at you smirking, “you miss me already, huh?” you gasp as riri pushes you against the car, her playful eyes lingering on your lips.

“ri, don’t start-” she presses her mouth against yours, and a quick moan slips from you. you feel riri grin against you as she hears you, deepening the kiss. as her tongue slithers into your mouth, chills travel down your spine despite the humid air. the knot in your stomach tightens.

she lightly bites your bottom lip as she slowly breaks the kiss, her eyes never leaving yours, “riri…” you sigh, her lips traveling to your neck.

“‘sup, ma?” she nips at your neck, sucking the dark skin hard enough to leave a mark. the pet name makes your knees buckle as you lean against the car. riri’s calloused hands slide up your shirt and rub your sides as you gasp lightly.

“there’s people…,” you tuck a moan into your lip as she bites at your collarbone, “you’re gonna miss your flight-fuck,” she slips her hand down your waistband, grabbing a handful of your ass.

“i embarrass you, ma?” she inquires, her voice muffled by the skin in her mouth as she presses her teeth into it. your entire body heats up as she looks at you, expectant.

“no..i just-riri!” your words die in your throat with a whimper as she pushes her fingers against your damp panties, laughing at how you squirm under her.

“she’s so wet for me, haven’t even touched her yet,” she runs her finger up your slit as you hold back a moan, “she’s begging me to taste her, yeah? what you think, mama?”

you nod quickly as she continues to rub you through your underwear, whining every time her finger passes over your clit. “really? i can’t tell, she aint loud enough for me.”

“riri please…” you make eye contact with a man struggling with his luggage, and you quickly divert your attention, your face turning hot.

“i should eat her right in front of the airport,” riri uses her free hand to caress your cheek, and you lean into it as she applies more pressure to your clit, “let everyone know who she belongs to. let everyone know how needy she is. she’d like that, huh?”

“fuck, riri,” you moan. you’re grateful for the sound of airplanes passing overhead, because if not for them, surely the entire parking lot would have known riri’s name. “i don’t care, baby, please. i’ll make a big mess for you right here and let you do whatever you want. just..please, riri. i need you.” the band in your stomach tightens as you listen to her giggle.

“louder, baby.”

“FUCK, RIRI, PLEASE,” you grind on her fingers as they move along your underwear, ignoring the curious glances of passerbys.

she kisses you tenderly, making you melt under her lips. “hmm..what i tell you?” she murmurs into your mouth, “too damn easy.” she slides her hand out of your pants and pops her fingers into her mouth, swirling them around. “make sure you pick me up at 6 on monday, aight, ma?” the sight makes your pussy throb, but you just scoff as you watch, frustration overtaking your arousal.

“nah,” you push yourself off the car, fuming, “you got legs, nigga. you can walk.” she opens her mouth but you cut her off, pushing your finger into her chest, “matter of fact, use that fucking suit you always messing with. figure it out.”

your jabs do nothing but amuse her as she watches you climb back into the car. “so…no goodbye kiss?”

you shut the door and roll the window down, glaring at riri. truth was, you really did want to kiss her. but your frustration barred you from even thinking about it. “text me when your plane lands.”

“yes ma’am,” she sighs. she kisses her two fingers and places them against your temple. you watch her walk away with her luggage and so desperately want her to turn around. to turn around and yell “fuck the Avengers!!” and hop back into the passenger seat and kiss you until the windows fog. but she doesn’t. you sigh and shove the keys into the ignition and turn your music to 100, pulling out of the parking lot.

you open the door to your shared apartment, cringing at the silence. normally, ri would have her tunes playing, usually switching between Tyler, the Creator, Kehlani, Chief Keef, or Lauryn Hill. her inconsistent music taste always made your head spin, but now you yearn for it. if it wasn’t music, then she was sprawled on the bed, begging you to play just “one match” against her in Mortal Kombat or Smash Bros., knowing she would whoop your ass. you always gave in anyways, just to see the satisfaction on her face.

you drag yourself into your room and plop into bed, opening your phone. you haven’t checked it since you left the airport, too frustrated to even peek. you scroll through riri’s texts, your guilt building with every missed message you read.

you shoot her a quick “made it home, love you too,” and throw your phone into your pillows, groaning. she’s been edging you all day, building you up just to stop you from finishing. when you asked her why, she simply giggled and said, “to give you something to look forward to when i come back.” oh she pisses you off.

your mind wanders back to the airport. riri’s voice bounces around in your head, “it’s so easy to get you worked up,” and irritation builds in your gut. you think about the way her hands fit perfectly around your ass as she gripped it, her dull nails digging into your soft skin. you think about the way her fingers curled in you as you surrendered to her touch. you replay the moment in your mind, biting your lip. you embrace the familiar tug in your stomach, recalling the way riri’s fingers grazed you. your face turns hot as you clench your thighs together, breathing heavily.

you peel your jeans off and toss them in the corner. your hand slithers down to your wet front and you sigh as your clit finally gets the pressure it’s been waiting so patiently for. your fingers trace your slit through your wet underwear, your pussy begging for the release riri’s been denying you. her laugh echoes in the back of your mind as you push your panties aside, your arousal sticking to the fabric. you smirk, recalling how her breathing faltered when you would whine in her ear, the sound of your voice spurring her on.

you grab your phone and go back to riri’s messages, your fingers pressing the voice memo option before you can even think about it. as your phone starts recording, you slip your middle and ring fingers inside of you, moaning at how easily they slide in. you close your eyes and think back to riri, the thought of her listening to your moans sending shivers down your spine. you feel yourself getting wetter as you imagine riri's rough hands and tongue exploring every inch of you, imagining her whispers trailing up your spine, her mouth leaving marks on your neck. you drag your fingers in and out, the messy noises of your cunt filling the room. “fuck,” you groan into your mic as you curl your fingers into your g-spot. your hips buck under your hand as you pump them inside of you, dropping the phone on your chest. your other hand travels to your clit, pressing your fingers against the swollen bud. your back arches from the pressure, and another quick moan is stolen from your lips. you feel your body getting warmer as you get louder, giving in to the pleasure that's building up inside of you.

“riri…i’m so close,” you slip another finger in, whining as you speed up. you trace circles into your clit as groans tumble out of your mouth, rising in octaves. tears blur your vision as you near your edge, forcing yourself to go further. your gasps become shorter and quicker as you push yourself to your orgasm, “fuck, baby, i’m gonna cum! i’m cumming,” your head swims as your walls clench around your fingers, whining.

your eyes roll to the back of your head as you release onto your fingers, the white liquid gushing onto your sheets. you slide your fingers out as your chest heaves. you bite your lip as you press send on the audio message, smirking. you don’t know when she’ll listen to it, but you know the thought of you touching yourself when she isn’t here will send her into hysterics. and you giggle at the thought.

you pick up your phone again and open the camera, flipping it so your face fills the frame. you look crazed, with your curls sticking to your forehead and your brown eyes dilated. you smile and press record, dragging your fingers into your dripping cunt again. you moan at the sensation, your jaw hanging open as you push your digits into your overstimulated pussy. you stare into the camera and bring your wet fingers to your mouth, wrapping your tongue around them. you lick your cum off of your fingers, grinning into your phone, “was that loud enough for you, mama?” you suck your fingers and swallow the last of it, winking into the camera. you stop the video and press send, watching until it says delivered.

you toss your phone onto the bed and step into the bathroom to clean yourself up. after a quick shower, you throw on one of riri’s shirts and step out and pick up your phone again, checking your messages. your stomach twists as you see 3 dots in the corner of your screen, indicating that riri was typing. you hop onto the bed again, grinning hard enough to make your face ache. your head spins as you anticipate her response. you can’t contain the giggles spilling out of you as you imagine her reaction to the attachments, but that smile quickly drops when the dots fade away. you blink at your screen, waiting for them to reappear. after 5 minutes of nothing, you groan and shut your phone off, burying your face into your hands.

irritation creeps up your spine as you stare at your phone. was she really icing you out? whatever. you didn’t care. or she was probably busy at work, actively saving people, instead of listening to her girlfriend fuck herself. duty calls or whatever. your mind races through explanations so fast that your head starts to hurt.

you sigh and stretch across your bed, sleep creeping its way behind your eyelids. your finger hovers over the call button, contemplating. her contact image smiles back at you, squeezing your heart a bit as you remember her in her first ironheart suit, where she was too excited to even sit still. you took the picture before she successfully completed her first test flight, her eagerness evident on her face.

you sigh and decide against calling her, figuring she was busy. thinking it’ll be better to wait til the morning. surely she was too preoccupied to even pick up. you roll over, burying your face into riri’s pillow, letting her scent trace the inside of your nose. you inhale the cocoa butter smell, letting it lull you to sleep.

bang!

you shoot up, sleep clouding your mind as you rub your eyes. you fumble for your phone and wince when the light hits your eyes. 3:17am. “hello?” you call out into the darkness, fidgeting with your hair. silence answers you, making you bite your lip. you slide out of bed and tiptoe to your closet, grabbing the vibranium gauntlet that riri somehow managed to swipe from shuri. you laughed at her when she told you to keep it, but now you’re silently thanking her as you creep into the living room. you slip the gauntlet onto your wrist, holding it out in front of you as you feel the faint hum of the vibranium travel up your arm.

you notice the door hanging ajar, and you stiffen, gripping the glove tighter. “i…i have a weapon!” you squeak out, heart racing, “wakandan, too! you don’t wanna fuck with me!”

a soft chuckle emanates from the couch, and you whip your head around, using the soft blue glow of the gauntlet to guide you. you point it to the figure shrouded in darkness that was sitting comfortably on your couch. “last warning,” you keep your distance from the figure, but you know the power of the gauntlet will reach them in seconds.

“babygirl, put that shit down before you hurt yourself,” her voice makes your blood run cold, but you also basked in the relief she bought, “you know you clumsy.”

“shit, riri what the fuck?” you turn off the gauntlet and throw your hands into the air, “i thought i was bout to end up on a fucking true crime podcast. what the hell are you doing here?”

“uh, i live here?” you roll your eyes as you reach for the light switch, flipping it on. the sight of her manspreading on your couch made your knees weaker. her red hoodie and matching sweatpants did nothing to help. “i figured i’d swing by ‘cause you missed me so much.”

you laugh, taking the glove off and setting it on the kitchen counter, “sure. what happened to being an Avenger? don’t you have babies to save, or whatever they do?”

she sighs and stands up, taking two swift steps to you. her R-chain glints in your eye as she stares down at you, smirking, “i’m sure the Avengers will be fine without ironheart,” you smile as she shoots your words back at you, “you’re so damn needy, couldn’t leave you alone for long.”

she reaches out and wraps her arms around your waist, pulling you towards her. your cheek rests against her shoulder as you murmur, “i’m not needy.”

“you ain’t?” she reaches into her pocket, pulling her phone out, “you sure?”

you scoff and nod, “yo ass just wanted an excuse to come see me,” you pull away, “hold on, how’d you even get here?”

riri opens her phone, scrolling, “flew in that fucking suit you were talking about earlier…here it is,” she looks at you, her face unreadable, “ain’t this yo needy ass?”

you stare at her, puzzled, until the sounds reach your ears. amidst the panic of thinking there was an intruder in your home, you completely forgot what you had sent to riri. it all comes crashing back to you as your sultry moans emit from her phone, making your face hot. the noises of you playing with your wet cunt filled the room, your heavy breathing getting louder with each push of your fingers. “riri…i’m so close..” you hang your head, but riri grips your neck, forcing you to look at her.

“you was so vocal earlier…what happened, ma?” she turns up the volume, letting your voice echo through the living room. the splashing noises of you fucking yourself grow louder, along with your whines, as your gasps come through the mic. you press your thighs together, attempting to hide the arousal sliding down them.

the sounds end as you finish, and she shoves her phone back into her pocket, never breaking eye contact with you. her eyes boring into yours made you shiver, a smile playing on her plump lips. her hand tightens around your throat, and a moan slips from your mouth, “there it is.” her hand travels down to your underwear, prodding your clothed slit, “she’s so wet and i aint even touch her.”

your legs buckle as riri pushes against your clit, amusing herself with the way you lean into her. “fuck, ri,” you widen the gap in your legs, giving more access to your leaking cunt.

“hm?” she pulls her hand away, “what you want, ma?”

you’re too pent-up to put up a fight. you sigh into her shoulder, mumbling, “i want you, ri.”

riri’s hand returns to your underwear as she prods at your bud once more, making you whine into her ear. her jaw clenches as your whimpers fill her head, wanting nothing more than to see you crying under her as she sluts you out. but you had to earn it.

“use your words, mama,” riri moves your panties aside, sliding a singular digit into you with ease. your grip on her arm tightens as she slowly pumps her finger in and out of you, her brown eyes staring into yours.

“shit,” you tremble under her, “riri no more teasing, please. i need you to make me feel good. put me in my place. make me your bitch-i’ll take anything you give me, baby,” you throw your head back as she slips another finger in, her slow pace making your mind foggy, “fuck me, riri.”

“you gon’ be a good girl and make a mess for me, baby?” she quickens her pace, making it hard for you to keep your balance, “you gon’ let me tear this pussy up?”

you frantically nod, listening to riri play with your arousal. her eyes light up at the sight of her fingers disappearing into you, entranced by the sounds of your squelching pussy. “i’m your good girl, ri. i’ll do anything you tell me.” your walls clench around her fingers, eliciting a low groan from the back of her throat. the sound makes you quiver, hungry for more.

riri’s boxers are beyond damp as she listens to you. “so messy for me,” she kisses your head as she pulls her fingers out and you gasp at the absence of her digits inside you, “do me a favor, baby, and i promise i’ll give you what you want.”

you whine as she steps away from you and you stumble slightly, “you promise?”

“yeah, baby, i promise,” you smile as she cups your face and kisses you gently, her breath tickling your upper lip. your tongue runs across her bottom lip and she grins against you. riri speaks in between kisses,“i need these,” she tugs at your underwear, “gone. and this?” she pulls at the shirt hanging from your body, “never wanna see it again.”

you giggle, rocking on your heels, “but this is your shirt.”

“i’ll be ight. it looks better on the floor anyways,” she watches as you slowly pull the shirt over your head, her eyes fixed on your erect nipples. she resists the urge to step forward and squeeze and lick at the brown buds, but she reminds herself to wait.

you toss the shirt onto the floor, and your panties are next. the fabric is borderline glued to your wet cunt as you peel them off and toss them in the same corner as your shirt. you look back at riri, curling into yourself as she stares at you. it’s been around a year since y’all got together, but her gaze still makes you nervous. you cross your arms over your chest, suddenly self-conscious.

“nah, baby, let me see you,” riri steps forward and moves your arms to your sides. her eyes fall to your chest again, and your breath falters as she reaches forward and envelops your nipple in her warm mouth. she groans under you as her other hand reaches up to fondle your other boob. you bite back a moan as you grip her braids, watching the way she kisses your chest.

“oooh! shit, ri,” she smirks as she bites on your nipple, making you wince. her wet tongue rubs over it, chasing away the sting she left.

she hums as she pulls away, leaving a spit trail connected to her lips and your nipple. her mouth travels to your neck, and she nips at it, adding to the collection of purple marks that already stain your brown skin. her hands cup your tits as she kisses behind your ear, “fuck, you’re so perfect, y/n,” her breath tickles your ear, and you shiver, smiling at the sound of your name. “i need you to go in the room and lay down, pretty girl. can you do that for me?”

“fuck you, ri” you gasp as you throw your head back and clench your thighs, the incessant buzzing between your legs driving you to tears.

as soon as ri stepped into the room, wearing nothing but her boxers, her R-chain, and a shit-eating grin, you knew she wasn’t done teasing you. “i’m making you work for this shit, you think i flew all the way down here just to give in to yo needy ass?” she chuckled, “you got me fucked up. hands above your head.”

“say that shit again, ma. i might just consider letting you go,” she uses her vibrator to apply more pressure to your clit, making your back arch off the bed. your hands squirm against your restraints as you cry out.

riri’s eyes are glued to your bloodshot ones, grinning so hard, you’re wondering how her damn face doesn’t hurt. “ri..fuck,” you pant, your sweat-slicked chest heaving, “i can’t. i’m gonna cum-ah!”

riri uses her free hand to slip 3 fingers into your puffy pussy, pumping at a rapid pace, “you can. and you won’t,” your overstimulated cunt clenches around her as she circles your sensitive clit with the vibrator, “not until you apologize.” a whimper tumbles out of your mouth as you buck your sore hips.

your eyes roll as another jolt of pleasure courses through you, making your stomach tighten. you grit your teeth in frustration as she bites at your trembling thighs, the stinging bringing you closer to your edge, “i..fuck!” you crane your head down, making eye contact with the grinning girl as her fingers continue to pound into you, “haah..kiss my ass.”

you smile weakly to yourself as you watch irritation cross riri’s face, “aight, bet,” she laughs, slowing her pace. you smirk as she pulls her fingers out, praying she’ll finally end the assault on your clit. but your prayers go unanswered as she increases the speed of the vibrator, making you flinch.

your voice cracks as she slips her fingers back into you, this time adding an extra one. she moans at the sound of you, relishing the way you crumble under her, “yeah, you was so big and bad earlier. what happened?” she curls her fingers into your sweet spot, and you can feel your orgasm starting to leak onto riri’s fingers.

“i’m sorry!” you wail, spit forming in the corners of your mouth, “ri, baby, i’m sorry! please, please, let me cum. i can’t hold it anymore.” hot tears cloud your vision.

“huh?” riri’s digits twist inside you, making your back arch once more. you wish your hands were free so you could smush that stupid ass grin off her face, “ian hear you, baby.”

“i’m sorry! i’m so sorry,” you start to babble, rutting your hips against riri, “i won’t do it again. i’ll be good. i was being needy because i missed you!”

riri’s fingers slow as she looks at you, “who’s my bratty girl?”

“i am,” you huff, the buzzing of the toy slowly creeping through your entire body.

“who’s pussy is this?”

“it’s yours, ri!”

riri hums and removes her fingers and the vibrator, making you sigh in relief. her lips gravitate to your swollen bud like a magnet, kissing it softly. “good shit, baby. let it out for me,” her tongue dances between your folds, “flood my shit.”

“fuck, i’m cumming, ri!” you squirm against your restraints and moan as riri’s fingers dig into your thighs, stopping them from closing as she licks you up.

her tongue grazes your clit and you squirt on her without warning, fat tears rolling down your face as your orgasm splashes onto riri. she opens her mouth, not letting a single drop go to waste. your arms burn from the strain of them hanging pathetically over your head as you struggle against them, watching riri continue to suck on your overstimulated cunt. “ri, baby-shit. i came, i came!”

“yeah.” riri mumbles into you as she sticks her tongue into your entrance, slurping you up. she eats you like your pussy is a drug, never stopping to come up for air. your legs twitch uncontrollably as she moans into you, the vibrations going straight to your core. she reaches up and tweaks one of your nipples, making your eyes cross.

your safeword is resting just behind your lips, ready to tumble out of your mouth, when riri presses one final kiss against your entrance and pulls away. “such a pretty pussy,” she coos, eyes locked on the wet spot on the bed, “could eat her all day.” your chest heaves as you struggle to catch your breath, and your cunt throbs as you watch her suck the rest of your release from her fingers, her chain winking at you in the dim lighting as she sits up.

“let me go?” you mumble, head swimming. she finally looks back at you, taking in your blissed-out state. she smiles and kisses you deeply as you moan into her mouth.

“where you at, mama?” she looks down at you, concern swimming in her eyes, “just say the word, and i’ll run you a bath.”

while you would appreciate the warm water soothing the welts riri left behind, you also can’t get enough. you shake your head, “i..want more,” you look at her, a lazy smile playing on your lips, “wanna taste you,” you watch her bite her lip as she listens to you, “please, riri.”

riri rubs circles on your stomach, pecking your temple and humming, “you think you deserve it? have you been good?”

you nod quickly, “did so good for you…” she leans over you and reaches for the rope around your wrists, her low-hanging necklace brushing against your face.

as your arms are released, she gently takes your wrists and kisses them, alleviating the burn of your restraints. you sigh as you relax into riri, wrapping your arms around her. “thank you for being such a good girl baby,” she kisses you again, “you gonna let me sit on your pretty face?”

her words send shivers down your spine, and you whimper as you nod. “tell me how bad you want it,” she rubs her hands over your thighs, coaxing the plea out of you.

“please…riri. i wanna taste you so bad, i want you to smother me, i want your pretty pussy on my face. make a mess in my mouth and ruin me,” you babble desperately.

riri swallows a moan as she listens to you, trying to keep herself from becoming undone with just your words. “shit, ma. you got me so wet,” she admits, “you wanna see?”

she grins as you rapidly nod, giggling at your eagerness. her finger traces your belly button as she leans closer to your ear, her breath making your body quiver, “lay on your back for me, baby.”

“just sit down, ri,” you coo, her thighs straddling your face as her glistening pussy hovers above you, “please, mama.”

“say ahh for me,” riri’s voice barely registers to you, as you’re too focused on the line of arousal slowly trailing from her cunt, your breath catching in your chest as you suppress yet another needy whine. your attention snaps back to riri as she pops your thigh, the sting making you suck your teeth, “open your fucking mouth. you ain’t have a problem keeping it wide open earlier.”

“shut the hell up and sit down,” you mutter impatiently.

“i don’t know who the hell you think you talk-shit“ riri’s cut short by you as you push down on her waist, letting her drenched pussy fall into your mouth. an abrupt moan escapes her as your nose brushes her clit.

“shit, baby, right there,” riri throws her head back as you suck on her folds, savoring the way your tongue fits perfectly in her. she tastes better than anything you’ve ever eaten, like nectar to a bee. ambrosia to a goddess. she writhes above you as you lap her up, eyes rolling to the back of your head. your grip on her thighs tighten as her hips rock, letting her cunt slide across your face as she hums, “you like this, don’t you? needy slut.”

you dig your fingernails into riri’s thighs, leaving small, crescent-shaped marks as her insult sends a shudder down your spine. you look up at her, watching how her face contorts as your lips wrap around her swollen bud. her jaw hangs open as she continues to ride your face, her chain swinging with each rut of her hips.

“fuck, i’m bout to..” riri tries to bite back a whimper, but your ears catch it. you slide your tongue into her, drawing out a long moan from the prodigy on top of you. her thighs tremble as she grabs fistfuls of your curls, grinding her hot cunt further into your mouth.

“you gon let me flood your pretty face, baby?” riri smiles as you hum your confirmation, the vibration of your voice making her head spin, “let me cum in that dirty mouth, yeah?”

you look up at riri as you press sloppy kisses onto her pussy, relishing the way she bounces on your face. “fuck, baby. feels so good..shit!” her back arches as you gather her clit in your mouth once more, sucking on it, “im cumming! im-“

riri’s hands fly to her tits as she gropes them, riding her orgasm out on your face. you moan as you watch, maintaining eye contact with her as she creams in your mouth, the thick liquid coating your throat. her legs twitch as you continue to lick her clean, your tongue traveling over her folds. “aight, baby, i’m done, i’m done, fuck!” she cries out as you release your grip on her thighs.

riri lifts off of you and plops onto the bed, chest heaving, “how i taste, ma?”

you roll over and press a long kiss onto riri’s lips, hands trailing down her body. she moans into your mouth, wrapping her arms around you to pull you closer. her tongue slips into your past your lips, swirling around your mouth. you push your hips into her, your throbbing clit brushing against her leg.

riri grins against your mouth before rolling on top of you and bringing her knee up to your cunt, “you want me to keep going?” she laughs as you nod vigorously, “needy ass.”

she slides off the bed and walks into the shared closet, disappearing for a bit. you sit up as you watch her walk back to the bed with her most prized possession.

“where’d you get that one from, ri?” you watch as she steps into the harness of her strap, staring curiously at the purple-veined appendage.

“don’t worry bout it,” riri fastens the strap to her and looks up at you, mischief dancing in her eyes, “hand me my phone.”

you knit your brows in confusion as you reach for her long forgotten hoodie and fish out her phone from the pocket. you toss it to her, “for what?”

“you’ll see,” she smirks at you, “you already know what position i like you in. bend over.”

your eyes screw shut as riri aligns the strap with your hole, the tip brushing against your overstimulated clit.

“ri…please,” you mumble, squirming against the rope tied across your wrists once more. she uses one hand to dig her nails into your hip while she uses the other to stroke the tip between your folds.

“please what, baby?” riri coos, her voice dripping with disdain, “ask the camera. you had no problem doing it earlier.”

you shut your eyes tighter, mortification burning through your cheeks. riri had propped her phone up on the pillows in front of you after tying your hands behind you, letting them sit snugly on your lower back.

your eyes shoot open as riri’s hand slams down on your ass and you wince from the impact. “i know you heard me,” she grabs a handful of your curls and tugs at them, forcing you to stare straight at yourself in her phone camera, taking in your pathetic state. eyes puffy, tears staining your cheeks, your messy hair sticking up in various directions. riri takes pride in knowing she’s the cause of your current state.

her cold chain drags against your burning back as she leans over to whisper in your ear, “don’t act brand new. tell them how bad you want me to fuck your pretty brains out.”

panic seizes your chest as you crane your head away from the camera to look at riri, “‘them’? you’re gonna show this to people? what the fuck, ri?” you splutter.

“nah, i bet you would like that though, huh?” she chuckles, “wanna show everyone how much of a needy whore you are? want them to see how pretty you look when i fill you up?”

she turns your head back to her phone as you whine, feeling the familiar knot in your stomach. “ri…”

your whimper makes her laugh, “speak up, babygirl.”

the way your nickname rolls off her tongue pushes you to the edge, “SHIT, ri. just fuck me, please. i want you inside me, fuck me stupid. i wanna feel y-“

your words die at your lips as riri rams into you, the tip of the strap brushing against your cervix. “you talk too much,” riri mutters as you cry out. you can’t form a coherent response as she continues to thrust into you at rapid speeds, her groans making you clench around the faux dick buried in you. “she’s so fucking tight for me..god.”

“you..you can feel me?” you struggle against your restraints and wince as the rope digs into your skin.

“yeah…was working on it before…fuck, mama keep squeezing my shit just like that!” riri gasps as she digs into your g-spot.

“YES, riri, right there,” you watch your body in the camera, shaking from the impact of her thrusts, “i can’t…hold it” tears swim in your vision, and you fight against them, “please let me cum..oh fuck!” you choke out a sob as her hand slithers to your neck and her fingers tighten around your throat.

“hold that shit,” ri’s says through gritted teeth as her pace becomes sloppy. your pulsating cunt continues to constrict around her, causing her to emit a low groan, “you look so pretty when you’re full of dick.” the corner of her mouth quirks up into a smirk as she listens to your whimpers, “now tell the camera how good i feel.”

“please, ri,” you whine. she tightens her grip around your throat as a warning, and you involuntarily moan. “shit, riri fucks me so good. she makes my pussy feel so good!”

“yeah, good shit, baby.” riri’s hips kiss yours as she continues to slam into you, her dick burying into your core. you feel your orgasm approaching, the familiar tug in your stomach becoming stronger with each push into your puffy pussy. riri bites her bottom lip as your walls tighten around her, making her eyes roll to the ceiling, “can i fill this you up, mama? you gon let me cum in this pretty pussy?”

riri knocks into your g-spot and you finally let your tears fall as you moan, “YES, riri. please fill me up. flood my shit, baby!” your voice cracks as you yell, desperately wanting to break free of the rope binding your wrists.

“oh my god..are you fucking crying?” riri looks at your wet cheeks and scrunched face as she pumps into you. she removes her hand from your neck and grips your curls, turning your tear-soaked face around to look at her. she leans forward and presses her tongue flat against your cheek, letting the salty fluid settle on her tastebuds as she moans. “you see how lame you look? you’re so goddamn needy,” she smirks, dragging her tongue across your cheek, “i knew i couldn’t leave you alone for long.”

“ri…i’m so close-please,” you blubber, “been so good..for you.”

riri resumes her rapid pace and you chomp down on your bottom lip. “yeah? who’s the only one that makes you feel this good?”

“you, riri, only you!” your eyes cross as her palm smacks your ass, with riri fascinated by the way it jiggles.

“who’s pussy is this?” riri’s chest heaves, her pounding becoming erratic. her orgasm is quickly approaching, but she wants to watch you become undone first.

you scream in response, your back arching as you squirt onto riri. your release splashes on her as you moan, throwing your head into the sheets. “shit, baby, im..fuck, i’m about to cum!” riri groans, digging her fingernails into your hips, “ke-keep squeezing me like that. wanna feel your pretty pussy.”

“fill me up, ma,” you plead, throwing your ass back on the Avenger, “please, baby! wanna feel yo-”

“shut up!” riri says with a snarl as she shoves her fingers in your mouth, making you clench as she gags you. riri moans, throwing her head back as she drills her strap deeper into you, “fuck, baby. just like that! i’m…i’m bout to..”

your eyes roll to the back of your head as her seed shoots into your cunt, relishing the warmth that fills you. you bite down on her fingers and moan in sync with her, relaxing your body.

as she pulls out of you, her creamy release pours out of you, dripping onto the sheets. you collapse onto the bed, breathing heavily as your eyes flutter closed. riri chuckles and steps peels the strap off, tossing it into a forgotten corner of the room. she rubs small circles into your back and places her lips on yours, kissing you deeply. “you did so good for me, my beautiful girl,” you smile at the compliment, feeling her scatter sweet kisses across your face.

“can you walk, baby?” she asks softly, starting to untie the rope at your hands. you don’t even have the energy to talk, much less stand. riri understands your silence and let’s out a soft laugh, rubbing your wrists and easing the ache that your restraints left behind.

“i’m gonna run you a bath, then i’ll be right back,” you nod drowsily as she presses another kiss to your temple and walks to the bathroom, humming. you envy her endurance, the way she’s able to bounce back after leaving you strewn out across the bed. you turn your head, watching the muscles in riri’s back shift with each step. riri disappears into the bathroom and you let the sound of running water lull you to sleep.

“you never answered my question,” you say as riri plays in your wet curls as your back lays against her chest. you’re positioned between her legs in the tub, letting the smell of the floral bubble bath and the sound of Raveena’s Still Dreaming surround you as you lean into her touch.

“you ask a lot of questions, baby,” riri chuckles and slides her hands to your thighs and starts to rub them. you relax into her, relishing the sensation of her fingers kneading into your soft skin.

you roll your eyes as she massages your legs, “okay, yeah, but you never told me where you got that strap from,” you huff, “like what was that?”

riri’s hands falter slightly at your question, but she catches herself and resumes rubbing your thighs. you pretend not to notice. “it, uh..” she sighs, “don’t laugh.”

“why would i laugh?” you scoff, turning your head to look at her.

“cause yo ass always giggling about something,” ri swats at you, and you smile, “don’t try and hold it back now. look at you, always ready to laugh at someone.”

“just answer the question, ri,” you say impatiently. riri sighs and moves her hands to your shoulders, gripping them firmly.

you sigh and melt into her touch as she rubs circles into your shoulders, “it’s just a project i’ve been working on for a minute,” riri’s hands glide down your back as she rubs your sides, “it started as a joke, but when i met you...i guess i actually had a reason to finish it.”

you bite back a giddy giggle as you turn around in riri’s lap, looking at her. she stares back at you, her eyes gleaming. your chest grows warm as you watch her smile, her perfect set of teeth on full display. “i told you not to laugh,” she pushes a curl from your head.

“i know, i’m sorry, baby,” you plant a kiss onto her forehead, “you’re just so fucking smart, like damn. how’d you even come up with that?”

riri’s eyes widen at the compliment as her grin grows wider. you know how self-critical she is towards herself, so watching her become undone with a simple compliment makes you melt. “thank you, mama,” she reaches up and grips your chin, her wet palm pulling you towards her lips. she kisses you fondly, relishing the way your arms wrap around her waist. the music and the smells fade around you as you get lost in riri’s touch, committing the way she tastes to your memory.

you shiver under her and riri breaks the kiss, leaving your lips cold. you pout at her and lean in for another one, missing her warmth. but she softly pushes you away, “the water’s getting cold, baby,” she smiles, “come on,” she motions for you to get out of her lap.

you climb out of the tub as she lets the water out, watching the bubbles disappear down the drain. you turn around, and riri startles you by wrapping you in a towel and throwing you over her shoulder. you shriek, swinging your feet and laughing, “ri!!”

laughing, she flips you onto the bed and kisses you, intertwining her fingers with yours. you giggle into her mouth and throw the blanket over your naked bodies.

riri groans as her phone starts to ring, breaking the kiss. “hold on, baby, i think that’s work.” you roll your eyes and huff as she reaches over to grab her phone, putting it on speaker. “yeah?”

“riri, where the hell have you been?” smooth xhosa comes from the other side of the line, “you left without saying anything…again.”

“hey, shuri,” riri runs her hands through her braids, “i uh…” she looks at you smirk, “family emergency?”

“i didn’t get this primitive device just for you to lie in my face,” shuri sighs, “hi, y/n.”

your eyes widen as riri rolls hers, “she ain’t even here, you trippin.”

“hi,” you say, giggling when riri scowls at you.

“right. anyways,” you can practically hear shuri’s eye-roll through the screen, “fury’s pissed and he has kamala and me out looking for you. i’ve been trying to cover for your ass but we need you. kamala’s getting annoying.”

“yeah. i’ll be there tomorrow,” riri ignores you when you swat at her arm, frowning, “tell fury i’m busy. ion even need to be there, for real, but aight.”

“yeah, okay,” shuri sighs, “he’s gonna chew you out for missing patrols again.”

“man, ion give a fuck,” riri laughs, “but i’ll hit you back later?”

“yeah. bye, riri. bye, y/n. don’t keep her up too late.” before you can object, shuri hangs up the phone.

“‘be back tomorrow?’” you cross your arms and pout, your frown growing deeper as riri laughs.

“baby, i’ll be back the night after,” riri scoots closer to you and spoons you, letting your hair tickle her nose, “and then no more trips for the rest of the year, unless it’s with you.”

“good.” you smile, relaxing into her arms.

“so fucking needy,” she whispers, laughing and kissing your cheek.

you both drift off to sleep together, with riri snoring softly. riri ended up oversleeping, causing her phone to constantly go off with calls from nick fury, shuri, and even kamala. both of you were oblivious, too busy snoozing in each other’s arms.

⭐️

my masterlist!

#dizzywrites #riri williams #shuri udaku #shuriri #riri #ironheart #the avengers #mcu ironheart #mcu riri williams #marvel black panther #black panther wakanda forever #riri williams x you #riri x black!reader #riri x reader #riri x y/n #black lesbian #lesbian #sapphic #wlw nsft #riri smut #smut #fluff at the end #ironheart x reader #ironheart mcu #black panther #bpwf #bpwf riri #shuri fic #wakanda forever

[sungbeam]

nonidol!kevin moon x f!reader

another summer break, another annual trip to the lake! except, it seems like when you and kev get there, you'll have to make some tweaks to the original rescue protocol.

▷ genre, warnings. childhood friends 2 lovers, fluff, hurt/comfort, humor, swearing, motherly meddling and matchmaking, shirtless kevin..., kissing, talks of academic expectations/pressure/insecurity/and lack of fulfillment, kim seokjin is my favorite plot device, this could technically be slow burn, pining-ish?, im sorry joshua + serena, little to no interactions with the other boyz 😔

▷ word count. 29.0k (...hah)

this is the sixth installment of the love in unity series! reading the prev fics is not required, but i do encourage it :] all prev yns will be referred to as _!yn

a/n: return to summer with me 😌 or for those of u on the other side of the world, we can give summer an early welcome :') treat her w kindness pls </3 hope u enjoy!!

EPISODE ONE (PILOT): DON’T YOU LOVE FORESHADOWING?

"IT still feels weird, man." Kevin Moon brushed his hand over the surface of his newly cropped hair, freshly cut specifically for this summer break, just earlier this week. He probably should have gotten it done before he took all those pictures with his graduating friends, but life had been busy as of late.

Jacob Bae, best friend, roommate, and one of the recent graduates, chuckled from the other side of the video chat. "I'm sure it does. But hey, it looks good, so it's not like you have anything to worry about."

Kevin glanced over at the car where his dad was gassing up. His mom was in the back seat, waving her arm out the window to beckon him back to the vehicle. "Thanks," he grinned. "Looks like my mom is telling me to come back. This is probably the last time I'll have signal for a few weeks."

Just behind Kevin was the little gas station he and his parents stopped at for snacks and the last leg of their drive. It was tradition that every summer his family made the trek to their lakeside cabin a few hours out of Vancouver. Except last summer, Kevin couldn't make it; in contrast, this summer, Kevin and his parents were going without Kevin's younger sister. Usually, there were a couple other families that were there at the same time, too, who Kevin had grown up with. It was usually a grand time.

Kevin adjusted the bag of snacks he'd purchased from the store that hung on his arm as he made his way back to the car.

"Make sure to take pics! And say hi to your mom for me," said Jacob.

"Why don't you say hi to her yourself, Jacob-ah?" Kevin's mom chided teasingly as Kevin took his place in the passenger seat next to his dad. Ever since Kevin and Jacob had met at that one, fateful out-of-country student mixer at university, neither of them shut up about each other to their own families. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, locating a fellow Korean-Canadian.

Kevin passed his phone back to his mom, and he heard Jacob's immediate, "Hi imo! How are you?"

"I've been doing well. Wah, you look so glowy," his mom marveled, and Kevin felt her nudge him in the shoulder. "Hyungseo-ah, maybe you should get a girlfriend, too, if this is how radiant Jacob looks after so long."

Jacob's warm chuckle contrasted Kevin's groan. The latter rubbed his hand down his face with an embarrassed wince. "Eomma," he said weakly, sliding down in his seat. Not this again.

The car began to roll out of the gas station and he lowered his window to catch the breeze as they went. He already recognized the pattern of trees in this area, and his heart fluttered at the thought of being so close to childhood again. The lake was always a favorite place of his.

"—Kevin mentioned something about other families being there?"

"Oh, yes. We're always there with the Ln family, and more recently, Kevin's cousin—you know Yuna, right? She and her husband Seokjin meet us there with their kids now."

Kevin rested his elbow along the edge of the window. "Uncle Seokjin is an interesting character, Cobie," he mused. "I think you'd get along."

"Seokjin gets along with everyone," his dad chimed in.

"You know who you should get along with, Kevin?—" Kevin already knew where his mom was going with this, "—Yn Ln! You're not gonna be shy after spending so long away from her, are you?"

Jacob's voice echoed in the car. "Who's Yn Ln?"

Kevin squirmed in his seat. "Just—a family friend. Mom, can we please not make this a big deal?" And why in the world would he be shy around his childhood best friend? Three years couldn’t have changed a person that much, could it? You were cute—but in a dorky way—that was how he had always seen you.

She sent him an innocent look. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know what I'm talking about," he said, twisting around in his seat to send her a pleading look. "I don't wanna make her uncomfortable, especially since… y'know… we're not kids anymore?"

His mom made a sound of disapproval, but relented. "Aish, fine. I won't say anything; I promise."

A beat of silence. Then from the phone, "I still have no clue what's going on."

The twins were being a pain again. Most of the time, since you were away at college, you actually missed the twin hellspawn, but you should have known that bliss would shatter the moment you had to endure another five hour car ride with them.

"—MAMA, CONNOR IS BEING A JERK—"

"WELL, ALICE WOULDN'T SHARE THE GOLDFISH!"

The noise-canceling headphones weren't working. Usually, they worked substantially well when trying to block out the frat party noises at school, but they weren't holding up well against adolescent discourse. You would have thought that once they had grown out of toddler-hood, they would calm down a little, but sibling rivalry prevailed.

You shucked your useless headphones off and twisted around in your seat to peer into the backseat. "Here, have mine," you said, dropping your bag of goldfish into your little brother's lap.

Connor's eyes lit up in delight. "Thanks, Yn!"

Your ears rang as you turned back to the front.

The drive up to the lake house was something you and your family did every summer, except, you hadn't gone two summers ago for a summer internship. It was a tradition completed with other families—namely the Moons, who were longtime family friends out of Vancouver. You hadn't seen Kevin, their only son who was your age, in two years because of your conflicting schedules. It would have happened again this year, but your misfortune had you internship-less. Then again, a trip to the lake was never a bad thing.

You leaned your head back against your seat rest to enjoy the rare moment of silence in the car. Already, you could begin to point out the familiar scenery out of your window.

“I heard we’re gonna be getting new neighbors this year,” you heard your mother say from the front row, breaking the brief quiet.

You blinked out of your daze, shifting in your seat and to give momentary relief to your aching behind. “Oh, really? Do we know who they are?”

“Aw, so Uncle Jin and Auntie Yuna aren’t coming to the lake with us?” Alice pouted from the backseat.

“No, Uncle and Auntie are both still coming up with us,” you dad piped up from the driver’s seat. He caught your eyes through the rear view mirror. “Their little ones are coming, too. We’re just gonna have even more people this year.”

“Should be fun,” you murmured. You leaned down to rummage through the backpack at your feet for your backup bag of snacks (because some part of your brain just knew that the twins would forget how to share).

“I can’t wait to see Kevin!” This was Connor; you could feel the car shake as he bounced up and down in his seat. “I’ve been wanting to show him my new helicopter—”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Con, you brought the helicopter?”

“Yeah, and what about it?”

Before further argument could erupt between you and your brother, your mom stepped in. “Speaking of Kevin…”

You could feel the coming conversation like there were dark gray storm clouds forming in the distance—impending doom, you liked to think. You fumbled with the opening of your chip bag. “Mama, could you possibly, by any chance, not try and set me and Kevin up anymore?” There, you’d said it. It was out in the open.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” your mother sniffed. “I only think that you and Kevin would be very nice together! It’s already so convenient that our families are long-time friends, and—”

“Mama,” you emphasized. “I don’t wanna get into a relationship for convenience's sake.” Your skin was already beginning to heat. Having known the Moons for so long, as well as having kids the same age, your mom and his mom had harped on the opportunity to bring your families together through more than one way.

“She just doesn’t want to get into a relationship at all!” Your little brother cackled.

You sent him a dull look over your shoulder. “And after I gave you my goldfish?” The situation concerning relationships wasn’t as Connor so bluntly put it; rather, you simply had yet to find the right person, as it was for many people. A relationship would have been nice, but when it came, then it would come. Plus, you were pretty sure that Kevin wasn’t the most comfortable with being matchmade with you by the Mother Matchmakers either. That was what the pact was for, anyway.

“I’m just saying that Kevin is a smart, good-looking young man,” your mother teased.

You hadn’t seen him in almost three years, but how much could three years change a guy? Maybe you would admit that he was cute. If you hadn’t known him since he wore Cars diapers, maybe you would have had a crush on him. “No matchmaking,” you repeated.

Your mother sighed melodramatically. “Fine. No matchmaking with Kevin.”

“Thank you,” you said, settling into your seat. Something stirred in the back of your mind, though. For some reason, you had a feeling that this wasn’t the end of this conversation. But as you turned your attention back to the scenery whizzing past you, you let all dealings with matchmaking, boys, and relationships sink to the very back of your mind.

EPISODE TWO: IT’S CALLED AN AMBUSH

THANKS to the convenience of no signal, you could safely attempt to forget about the internship you hadn’t landed this year. The entire debacle had been a headache and a half, but the residual sadness still lingered. There was something about the lakehouse, though, that gave you hope that you could get over it. While you wouldn’t spend this summer doing something “productive” toward your career, you would at least be presented with a pleasant alternative.

Your dad pulled the family SUV into the gravel driveway of your family lakehouse, and childhood flooded back to you. All of the dark oak walls and browned window sills and wildflowers blooming in the front walkway among the grass… You could remember crashing your bike into that one bush to the side of the house where the rain gutter now stood hugging the building.

The twins had fallen asleep sometime between the matchmaking conversation and here, which left the car in a sort of serenity that matched the surroundings. Your house in particular was one of the few houses that was perched a little higher than the lakeshore. There were a couple around the lake that sat directly on the water with docks built into their lower levels though.

You notched your car door open, shouldered your backpack, then quietly lowered your car’s seat. Connor, who was sitting directly behind you, had his head tilted to the side, mouth wide open to catch flies as he slept. With a cheeky smile, you snapped a picture of him. Once tucking your phone away, you climbed into the back to shake him and Alice awake.

“Hey, we’re here,” you murmured. Your parents were already beginning to unload the car of your supplies for the next couple of weeks.

Your brother’s eyes fluttered open, and his arms stretched over his head as he began to compute his surroundings. “Mmm… I’m hungry,” he babbled and smacked his lips together.

Yep, this one was awake.

You patted his face in your version of sisterly affection as you leaned over him to get to his twin. “You gotta wait, dude. You’re gonna ruin your dinner.”

He rubbed his hand over his face. “You always sound like Mom when you say that.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” you huffed. You nudged your sister. “Hey, Alice. Up, hm?”

She shifted in her seat, eyes still closed. “Are we here yet?”

“Yeah, hon. We’re here.” With your task completed, you backed out of the car to make space for the twins to climb out after you. You took a step backwards, your foot catching against something and making you tumble into the person directly behind you. “Ah! Shi—”

“Language!” Your mom called from the other side of the car. “Hi Kevin! Wow, did you get a haircut?”

Kevin…?

You recognized the warm chuckle behind you, and the arms helping to steady you patted your shoulders in greeting. “I did!”

When you whirled around, your mouth stretched in a grin, but you didn’t expect to come face to face with the confident stature of the man behind you. He was in a tank top and shorts, which were definitely proper attire for the humid temperature, and yet, your brain was thinking about the amount of arm muscle there was. Oh, and of course, the cropped black hair. You could have sworn his jaw got sharper, too… This was not the timid-faced Kevin Moon—rising freshman in college—you last recalled.

“Kevin!” Connor’s body rocketed past you and crashed into Kevin’s legs.

Kevin bent down slightly to ruffle your little brother’s hair. “Hey, little man! What’s good?”

“I wanna show you my helicopter—!”

“Connor,” Alice said as she hopped out of the car, “Mama wants you to help bring in your stuff, and then you can show Kevin your helicopter.”

Connor’s mouth gaped open like a fish’s. “Wha—what about Yn?”

“Well, that’s just what Mama said, so,” your little sister said matter-of-factly. She raised a hand in a wave to Kevin. “Hi!”

Kevin returned the gesture with a sweet smile. “Hi, Alice.”

You and Kevin watched as your twin siblings raced into the lakehouse with their backpacks strapped onto their bodies. You could hear their hollering from out here as they fought over who would get the top bunk this year.

“They’ve gotten taller,” Kevin commented, drawing your attention back to him.

You brushed your hair from your face. “Yeah, you should’ve seen my reaction when I came back home and they were like, not small enough where I could trip over them anymore.”

The two of you shared a small laugh, and you held one arm with your other. You hadn’t realized how a few years could reset things between the two of you, but you supposed it was also attributed to the fact that three years away at college could lead to a lot of difference and a lot of growth.

“So what’s new with you?” You asked him and nudged his arm with your elbow. “Have you been working out?” You blurted, but ran with it.

Kevin smiled, reaching back to cup the nape of his neck with that sheepishness you recognized as something distinctly Kevin. Maybe things weren’t so different. “Hah, yeah actually. Is it that noticeable?”

You looked him up and down with what you hoped he saw as teasing and not you actually checking him out. “Yeah, dude. You look good though.”

“Really? Thanks, Yn. I appreciate it.” He stuck his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "You look good, too—and oh my god, I have so much to catch you up on—"

"Hyungseo! Stop hogging Yn and come in to help with dinner." Just a little ways down the path, Kevin’s mom peered out from the front porch of the Moons’ house. The houses in this neighborhood were a little more spread out than the average suburban street, but their house had always been the closest to yours.

You could have sworn you saw a dusting of pink on your friend’s cheekbones. “I’m not hogging her,” he groaned. He turned back to you, throwing a thumb in the direction of his house. “I’ll see you guys over at ours in a few then?”

You gave a nod. “For sure. My mom and I marinated a couple things for tonight this morning, so we’ll be bringing those over.”

“Sweet,” he grinned, already backpedaling toward his house. “See ya, Yn!”

“Bye, Kevin,” you chuckled and bounded up toward your house.

Once everyone in your household had settled in for the most part, your dad corralled your siblings over to the Moon house, while you and your mom brought over your family’s offerings of tonight’s dinner. Instead of entering through their front door, you simply bypassed the invisible property line between your houses and found Kevin and his dad firing up the barbeque on the back lawn.

Kevin looked up from the box of aluminum foil in his hands and dropped it onto the table. "Oh, auntie! Let me get that for you," he said, meeting you in the middle and taking the tray out of your mom's hands.

"Thank you," she said to him. "How has school been, Kevin? Remind me again—you're a…?"

"Photography major," he replied. The three of you swept past Kevin's dad on your way up to the Moons' house.

"Ah, how's that going for you?"

"It's going well—" Your mom slid the screen door open and you all deposited your shoes to the side before entering the kitchen. "—I should be able to graduate two quarters early, which is nice."

Your mom nodded her head. "That's good, that's good. Katherine, it's nice to see you again!"

As your mom shuffled over to the sink where Kevin's mom was washing a colander of cabbage, you and Kevin set the trays down on the kitchen island.

You heard Kevin's gasp of delight when he lifted the foil off his. "No way. I love your mom's short ribs so much," he said, tipping his head back with his eyes closed.

You laughed at his reaction. "Me, too dude. It's never the same when I try to recreate it at school."

"Oh, for sure," he agreed. He cocked his head to the side, a frown coming into his face. "These should probably go back out to the grill then, huh."

You considered the two trays of meat before you. "You're right."

You both covered the trays back over and began to make your way back out to the lawn.

"Has Connor showed you his helicopter yet?" You asked Kevin while you slid your shoes back on.

The screen door slid shut behind him with his other arm carrying his tray. "He did." Kevin brightened, "It's cool. That kid should go into aviation or engineering."

"That's what I'm thinking," you said. "Though, he's not the greatest at math, but I guess he still has a long way to go before he even needs to consider all that."

He nodded, sighing. "That's true. The twins have a long way to go. Crazy how far we've gotten, y'know?"

You both dropped the marinated meat trays over by Kevin's dad, only to greet your dad on the way down to help out. You were sure that you and Kevin were needed up at the house anyway; your dad had mentioned something about having Connor and Alice start on the batch of kimchi. You hoped he had set up some newspaper this time to avoid a mess.

"My sister says your porch swing broke last year," Kevin said as he followed you back into the kitchen.

"Oh yeah!" You snorted. "Pro tip: don't try to fit two families on that thing. Not a good idea."

The moms directed you both over to the fruits and vegetables on the counter that still needed to be prepped, and you picked up a knife, and Kevin a peeler.

Kevin's brows knitted together as he tossed and caught an asian pear with one hand. "You guys tried to fit both families on that thing? It could barely handle two people the last time I remember."

"Hey, in our defense," you started, already giggling at the memory, "we wanted a cool picture, but then we ended up almost putting a hole through our porch. Lesson learned."

"Lesson learned, indeed." He shook his head as he shucked the pretty ring of golden peel he'd gotten from the pear into the paper bag beside him. "Is it fixed now?"

"Should be," you said. You used the blade of your knife to help coax the peel of the red onion off, then diligently began to take the rest off. "We need a maximum occupancy sign to go with it."

He laughed. "Something like 'less than four people' or something?"

"I think it can handle four people!"

His eyebrows arched high. "You wanna test that theory?"

You glanced up from your diced onions for just a second to meet his gaze. "Uhm no. But you are definitely welcome to."

"Oh, no, no! I'm not getting looped into this solo again like you did with the tire swing that one year."

"Okay, that time wasn't my fault! You said that you bet we could ride it together without breaking the tree branch, and I said—"

Your thought train cut off when the doorbell rang. Both yours and Kevin's heads perked up at the sound and darted in the direction like a pair of meerkats. Even from this room, you could hear the front door being opened and the commotion firing up. There was only one family left to join the party, and you knew exactly who had come to make his presence known.

In minimal time, a lanky man with dark brown bangs and a magazine-cover-worthy face barged into the kitchen with his hands raised, full of grocery bags, and a child riding in a carrier on his chest. "Hello, everyone! Your favorite, most handsome uncle has arrived."

"Hi, Uncle Jin," both you and Kevin chorused, as Kevin's mom took the grocery bags from him with thanks. Your mom must have been the one who opened the door since she had gone into the other room to monitor the twins and their kimchi.

"Hello, children—wow," Kim Seokjin said as he made eyes at Kevin's arms, giving them a little squish. "Close the gyms, everyone. What have they been feeding you at college?"

Kevin's face reddened. "It's nothing, really."

"Nothing?" Seokjin made eye contact with you. "You're seeing this, too, right?"

You swallowed your laugh, but you couldn't suppress your smile. "I'm seeing it, too," you confirmed. You set your knife down and gently ran your finger over baby Leena's head; you wondered how she was still asleep with how loud her father's voice was. "Awh, she's adorable."

Your uncle by association put his hands on his hips. "Fatherhood is great, but let me tell you," he said with flair, "after two kids, I don't want anymore. I think I've seen enough dirty diapers for you both combined."

Kevin laughed. "I'm sure Yuna-noona's on the same page."

"Yes, your cousin and I are definitely on the same page," Jin confirmed while clasping a hand on Kevin's shoulder. His eyes widened, and he gave the muscle beneath his fingers a squeeze. "Jesus—"

"Jin! Do you know where the bag with the formula is?" That was Yuna, Kevin's cousin, calling from the next room over. Soon, her head poked in through the doorway, and her mouth curved into a delighted smile at the sight of familiar faces. "Oh, hi everyone!"

"I think it's in the red colored bag, babe," Jin said as he turned away from you and Kevin and waddled over to where his wife was.

"That's what I thought, too, but I can't find it."

With the young couple now off in search of their bag of baby formula, you and Kevin were again left to yourselves with the fruits and vegetables.

You scooped the diced onions up with one hand and the blade of your knife into an empty bowl for later. "Well, that was…"

"Quite an entrance?" Kevin finished. You could still see the rosiness in his cheeks. "Yup."

"You can always count on Uncle Jin to liven up a place."

"Oh, definitely." Kevin picked up another pear to peel; they would probably either be sliced up for the kids to eat or maybe used to make a dessert later. Something of the sort, at least. "Now where were we?"

You raised your brows as you picked up a carrot. "I think we were talking about how you broke the tire swing in seventh grade."

The evening progressed swiftly with everyone's combined efforts in throwing dinner together. By the time the sun was about to make its descent into the horizon, all three families were moved out onto the back lawn with chairs set up and meats cooking on the grill. There was something beautiful about the lake at this hour—then again, there was always something beautiful about the lake. You couldn’t put your finger on it, but even the way the mosquitoes danced in the waning sunlight made your chest feel warm and fuzzy.

If you strained your vision a little, you could even make out the shapes of people on the opposite shoreline beginning to light campfires of their own. Most of the people who lived around the perimeter of the lake sublet their properties during the non-vacation seasons like your family, the Moons, and the Kims. Then, when the time came, they would return to their lakehouse hideaways for much needed rejuvenation.

As golden hour painted the landscape glorious shades of auburn and butter, you caught your mother making her way toward you out of the corner of your eye.

“Yn-ah,” she said to you with a plate of the fruit that you and Kevin had cut earlier in her hands. She gestured for you to take it from her, then nodded up over to the house on the other side of the Moons’ place. “Take the twins and go welcome our new guests.”

You furrowed your brows. “New guests?” When you followed her gaze, you saw that the house next door had acquired a new car in its driveway. You definitely didn’t recognize it, but you managed to spot what looked like someone disappearing in the front door of the house.

“They’re one of the new families, I think,” she told you. She then gave you a little nudge, urging, “Go. We’re still working on dinner anyways.”

You glanced between the plate of fruit in your possession, then searched the back lawn for the hellspawn. When you located their whereabouts (skipping through a pair of hula hoops over by the big oak tree), you marched over to them to repeat your mother’s instructions.

“Oi!” You called out.

Alice looked over at you as she stopped her skipping. “I don’t want fruit,” she said when she saw what you were holding.

You stopped just short of Connor’s hula hoop circumference. “It’s not for you. Mama wants us to go say hi to the new neighbors. Come on.”

“Do we have to?”

“If I do, then yes. And Mama said so.” Plus, you were not planning to go alone upon any circumstance. Your social anxiety could not take showing up at a stranger’s doorstep alone and with fruit.

The twins dropped their hula hoops and begrudgingly trudged after you. No child could trump the “Mom said so” card. At least, not in this household.

With your siblings following after you like two ducklings to a Mother Goose, Kevin saw the line of you walking past from where he was stationed beside his dad. His eyes zipped from you, the kids, and the plate of fruit, then cocked his head to the side in bemused inquiry.

You inclined your head toward the house you aimed for in the distance and lifted the plate of fruit as if that was enough explanation.

He gave a grave nod for your sake, teasing of course, then held up his free hand in a thumb’s up for encouragement.

Nonetheless, you and your siblings carried on.

The lakehouse on the Moons’ other side was similar to all the others around the lake: dark wood walls, doors encased in a protective screen door, grass and flowers growing out of the cracks where the house met the earth. You could feel your siblings converge on you, nearly hiding behind you, as you all approached the front door. It wasn’t that the house looked scary in any way—it was just the prospect of new people that was the scary part. You were sure this family was just as friendly as everyone else, but it didn’t hurt to be a little nervous.

When the three of you reached the front door, you raised your hand to ring the doorbell.

You could hear the echo of the bell inside the house, followed swiftly by a man’s voice, “I’ll get it!”

Footsteps drawing closer… then the locks came undone, and finally, the main door inside the screen swung open.

“Hi,” greeted the young man on the other side.

You paused when his face became clearer after opening the screen door. He was, to put it bluntly, awfully pretty. Dark hair swept back out of his face and behind his ear, a prince’s facial features, and a smile that was as beautiful as the golden hour greeted you and your siblings. Even his voice was soft.

Alice held onto the side of your shorts pocket. “You're pretty.”

The man made an expression of humble surprise, and heat rose to your neck. “Sorry,” you stammered. “We’re from a couple doors down and we wanted to welcome you to the lake. These are for you and your family.” You managed to pass the plate over to him without being any more embarrassing.

He accepted the offering graciously. “Oh, wow. Thank you so much! That’s so thoughtful.”

You placed your hands on either of your siblings’ backs to push them forward slightly. “I’m Yn, and these are my little siblings, Alice and Connor.”

Your siblings chimed in their hellos to the pretty man.

His eyes narrowed in upturned crescent moons, smile widening. “Well it’s really nice to meet you guys. I’m Joshua, but my friends call me Josh or Shua.”

EPISODE THREE: MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN…

IT turned out that your mother had an ulterior motive for sending you and your siblings to greet the newcomers. She had popped up behind you soon after Joshua had introduced himself to invite him and his family to have dinner with you. You could sniff out the conspiracy from a mile away, but you still wanted to give your mom the benefit of the doubt.

When the first night passed without anything happening, though, you slowly let your guard down. (Rookie mistake.)

Everyone crashed into bed after cleaning up dinner. The move up to the lake was a tiring one, and the promise of an early start the next morning proved to be more than enough encouragement to hit the hay.

You were on the living room couch with Alice sitting on the floor between your legs the next day. It was late morning by this time, and you and your siblings had just woken up less than an hour ago. Your dad was still asleep, and your mom? Well, you weren’t really sure where he was.

“Ow, can you stop tugging?” Alice whined under her breath, her hand rocketing up to the back of her head to stop your hands.

You paused your movement for the third time in the past fifteen minutes. “It wouldn’t hurt this bad if you would just let me run a comb through it.”

“The brush works fine if you use it correctly!”

You exhaled sharply and pressed your lips together. There was never any rest between your two little siblings, whether it was amongst themselves or against you. You supposed you could just suck it up for the time being; it wasn’t often that you got to braid your little sister’s hair. She usually just liked to leave it down.

You heard the backdoor open and shut behind you, and the both of you turned your heads to see who it was. Your mom entered the house with perspiration gleaming on her face as she took off her sun hat and tossed it onto one of the dining room chairs.

“Hi Mama,” the two of you said, one after the other.

Your mom settled onto the couch cushion next to you. “Hi girls. Is your brother and dad up yet?”

“Connor’s with Uncle Jin and Aunt Yuna,” said Alice. “Daddy’s still asleep though.”

“Mm,” she hummed. She combed her fingers through her sweat-soaked hair. “It’s a warm morning out,” she murmured, then quickly added, “hey you.” She knocked her hand against your arm.

“Hm?” You asked as you finished up Alice’s braid and tied it off with the blue Cinnamoroll hair tie she’d chosen. You patted her back with your hand. “You’re done.”

Your little sister hopped to her feet. “Thanks!” She dashed away and out of the room—to where, you had no clue. You figured she knew where the food was if she was hungry.

You angled your body to squish your side against the couch cushions and face your mother. “What were you saying?”

“Ah, I was going to talk to you about the Joshua Hong boy.”

Joshua Hong. You didn’t realize you could hear a man’s name so often within twelve hours.

You made a gesture with your hand. “What about the Joshua Hong boy, Mom?”

“Well, isn’t he a handsome one?” She asked you enthusiastically, straightening in her seat. It was alarming how bright her expression became. “I spoke to his mom while Kevin and I were walking just now, and he’s only a few years older than you, you know.”

You heard a metaphorical record scratch. What? There was so much in that one sentence that you needed to unpack. You raised your hands to signal her to pause. “Wait, since when do you and Kevin take walks together?” What could they have been talking about? You knew Kevin was an exceptional conversationalist, but never in your time at the lake had you known of this interaction.

Your mother blinked. “Oh, we started the tradition when you didn’t come up with us that one year.”

“Tradition?” So this happened more than once? You didn’t know why you were so scandalized by this information—it was just Kevin after all. You knew your parents and even your siblings were all fond of him—of course they were. You were arguably even more fond of him, but that wasn’t the point. You hoped she hadn't said anything about you and him as an item at any point of time… you trusted that Kevin could handle that though; that was what the pact was for, after all.

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this?” She arched a brow. “But anyway, yes, so we bumped into Josh’s mom on the last leg around the lake, and she mentioned that he’s majoring in chemistry and planning to go into medicine. You guys might have something in common.”

You pursed your lips. Perhaps the two of you might have something to talk about, but your track was pre-veterinary rather than pre-med. There was probably a middle ground though... Maybe you were just being stubborn.

“Just make friends or something,” she said to you while standing up from the couch. “You need more of those.”

Your eyes shot wide open. “Hello? Mom?” Now that was simply uncalled for.

She chuckled impishly as she walked away and disappeared down the hall, leaving you to yourself. You were lucky neither of the twins were here to hear that burn.

It wasn’t much longer than a couple hours later that you found yourself on the backyard lawn space setting up the badminton net between two oak trees with Kevin’s assistance. Everyone was outside and awake, and the kids were all seated up on your house’s back porch munching on the watermelon that Yuna cut for them.

You tightened the string on one side of the net. “So he didn't kiss her?” You queried.

Kevin sputtered a laugh, yanking his side to test its integrity. “Yeah,” he said. “Isn’t it so funny? According to multiple sources, Sunwoo and Chanhee barged in at the perfect moment, and frankly—” Kevin raised his arms up in the air and let them fall for effect, “—ruined the moment.”

"Pfft.” You considered that for a moment. An almost kiss ruined by a comedically timed interruption from a guy drunk off liquor and love, and the friend tasked with dumping his ass at home. That was bad luck if you ever heard it. “And what about that other dude? The Hyunjae guy? Did he finally fix his eyesight?”

Your friend leaned back against his oak tree, ankles crossed over the other and arms braided over his chest. A pair of shades rested backwards on his head to complete his summer-worthy ensemble of shorts and T-shirt. “His literal eyesight is still shit, but yeah, he and HJ!Yn are together now. Took for-fucking-ever, but—”

“Language!” Jin yelled like a referee on the sideline of a soccer match. “We have children in the vicinity.”

Kevin brushed a hand through his hair. “Whoopsies, sorry!” He turned back to you. “Anyways, yes, they are finally together. Man, having someone watch my cursing makes it seem like Jacob is here with me.”

You noticed the fond twinkle in his eyes as he stared out at the still waters of the lake just down the way from you both. “You talk about this Jacob guy a lot,” you said to him. “I think I need to meet the person who’s threatening to knock me off the best friend pedestal.”

“He already has,” he jested.

You let out an indignant squawk. “Hurtful!”

Connor, watermelon juice smeared all around his mouth, added rather unnecessarily, “So you don’t want a partner and you don’t have friends. What do you have, Yn?”

You leveled a scowl at him. “An annoying little brother.”

“Hey!”

In a tone dryer than the Sahara Desert, Alice chimed in, “Guess that makes me the favorite twin.”

“I should tell you about Sangyeon. I need to yell about Sangyeon,” Kevin huffed indignantly, snapping his fingers as if the thought just hit him. You whipped your head back over. “Oh my god, dude, you know what happened at the graduation ceremony? It was like, straight out of a scene from a movie—!”

You never got to find out what was just like it was out of a movie, because your mom appeared in the distance with the Hongs. They all came wielding badminton racquets—how convenient. You didn’t mind the extra company, of course, and despite your stubbornness, you knew Joshua and his family were very nice people.

You caught the tail end of your mother’s conversation with Josh and his mom: “...Yn used to play badminton on the high school team. She could’ve gone to the Olympics if she really wanted to—”

Well, that was only partly true. Your team had gone to Nationals, but the Olympics was one step above Worlds. You liked to think you were pretty good at the sport, but you hoped your mom wasn’t talking up you and your abilities too much.

“Oh, wow. I’m a soccer person myself,” said Joshua good-naturedly. “I don’t really know much about badminton, but it seems like a really fun sport.”

"Yn's a great teacher. She taught the twins how to play." Ah, there it was.

When they were within a comfortable distance, you raised your hand in a wave. "Hi hello!"

"Hello Yn," Joshua's mom said back. "Hi Kevin."

Kevin dipped his head with a smile. "Hi Auntie."

"Yn-ah," said your mom as she took you by the arm, dragging you over toward Joshua, "I was just talking to Josh about how good you are at badminton."

Your eyes widened slightly, and you noted the way Joshua's did the same. You made eye contact with Kevin as this happened. He seemed caught at a crossroads, unable to help or say anything. "I guess I'm okay at it."

"Liar," Kevin suddenly jumped in.

You sent him a look. Wait really?

He shrugged sheepishly. "I don't wanna downplay your abilities, dude. You're really good."

Oh. "Thanks, Kev," you said, blinking. Your heart warmed at the finger guns he sent your way. It was nice to know he had your back.

"Good! See? You and Josh should play doubles together." Your mother somehow got a racquet into your hand. She clapped her hands and ushered her two other children off their butts. "Come on, you two, you can be on Kevin's team."

"But that's not what doubles means, Mama—"

Joshua sidled up beside you with an apology in his smile. "Sorry, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I don't want you to be forced to teach me or anything."

Guilt wormed itself into your stomach. "No, no! It's totally okay," you amended swiftly. "This all just happened really quickly, but I'd be so down to teach you badminton, if you'd like."

He bobbed his head up and down, patting the netting of his racquet. "Okay, yeah. That'd be really cool actually."

You nodded, returning his expression. "Cool."

You and Joshua had somehow taken over the makeshift badminton court. The twins had gotten tired of the "big kids" playing too hard, and Kevin… actually, you didn't know why Kevin put down his racquet. But at some point, you noticed that he was just hanging out in a chair, sipping some kind of fruit juice as he observed you and Joshua. (That was what you assumed he was doing. There was a book propped open in his lap, but you hadn't seen him turn a page in a while. And he had put his sunglasses on, so you couldn't exactly see what his eyes were doing.)

You tracked the birdie as it flew over the net to your side. "Nice!" You praised, taking a few steps in the diagonal to hit the birdie back over with an easy backhand flick.

Joshua stumbled forward, but hit it back over. "Shoot," he said, barely catching himself before he crashed into the netting.

You chuckled, "Careful." You backed up and gave the birdie a gentle bump.

It sailed over the net, but it landed too close to it for Joshua to get a clean shot back over. He sighed as he bent down to pick the projectile up from the grass. "Dang. Nice hit, Yn."

Content with your shot as well, you walked over to the net to meet him. "Thanks, man."

"Hyungseo-ah!"

You watched as Kevin stood up from his chair at his mom's call. "Yeah, what's up?"

As she strolled over to him, she was reapplying sunscreen onto her arms and face. "We have more new neighbors. Since you're not doing anything, you should come and welcome them with me. There’s someone I think you should meet."

You and Kevin locked gazes for a second before he turned back to his mom. You didn't know why you kept looking at each other—this all felt like déjà vu, but maybe it was the fact that it seemed like your moms were separating you both instead of bringing you together that was throwing you off.

"Uhm, sure, Mom." He dropped his book into his seat and followed after his mom.

Your gaze trailed after him for a moment before you snapped back to reality. You swiped the sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand. "Sorry, where were we?"

Just then, Seokjin made his way down the lakeshore with baby Leena strapped to his chest again. He threw up an arm in greeting. "Hey, kids. You guys still at it?"

"Yup," you said back. "He's getting good at it!"

Joshua laughed lightly. "Ah, you flatter me. It's just 'cause Yn's a good teacher."

Seokjin's eyes flickered between the two of you. "Huh. I'm sure she is."

"Anyways," you coughed. "Did you just come from the new neighbor's house or something?" He hadn't arrived from the direction of his own house, which was on the other side of yours.

Your uncle by association gave his affirmative, one hand pressed gently on the back of his baby in his holster. "Of course! You know I'm too nosy to not have gone to introduce myself and see what's up. The couple has a girl around your age, Yn-ie. Their son is off in Paris for his job or something though."

The two men could probably see the gears in your brain turning. Another person who was around yours and Kevin's age? You really didn't want to read too much into it, but—you pushed the thought to the side. It probably wasn't what you were thinking, right?

"Uh, you good, Yn?" Joshua asked.

Your eyes shuttered. "Yeah. I was just thinking about something." You gestured with your racquet in a flourish. "How about another round?"

EPISODE FOUR: THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS DEAL™

THE crickets were particularly melodious tonight. Their chirrups became lovely background music as you perched on the stairs of your back porch beneath the warm glow of the outside light. Moths swarmed the bulb, casting little shadow puppets along the wooden deck.

You were hunched over one of the few books you brought along with you for the trip. Your siblings liked to tease you for bringing “school work” on a summer trip, but these had been purchased out of your own interest. It was an anthology of experiences related to animal behavior. The certain piece that had originally caught your eye had been about the Alaskan husky’s primal nature to run, and their participation in dog sled racing. You’d come across it originally in a magazine on an airplane, finding yourself enthralled in a story of the stamina, determination, and hard work that these dogs faced in the brutal Alaskan winters.

When your plane landed, you had gone online and found more stories like them. Thus, the book in your lap and money down the drain. (Though, you would argue that it was money well-spent.)

“Warm night out.”

You startled, heart galloping in your chest, as Kevin appeared in your periphery and stepped into the light.

To his credit, he took on a sheepish sort of grin. “Oops, sorry. Probably should have given a warning or something.”

You pressed a hand to your palpitating heart and scooted over to give him room to sit on the step next to you. “No, it’s all good. I don’t think there was really any way that you could have warned me.” You were probably way too deep into your book to have even noticed if he was any quieter.

He took a seat beside you, posture mimicking yours with his forearms pressed onto his knees. “You’re right,” he murmured. “Whatcha reading?” He asked while inclining his chin toward the pages in your lap.

“Oh.” You kept a couple fingers wedged between the pages you were on as you flipped to the cover to show him. “It’s just this, uhm, collection of stories on animal behavior. Real fascinating stuff, actually, and a lot of it is kind of inspirational.” You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, unsure of why you were always shy about telling people about something you were passionate about. You shouldn’t have thought so little of Kevin Moon, though. He never gave you any worries about being judged.

“Oh, that sounds neat,” he said, scooting closer. “Is it for your major? You’re still doing wildlife biology, right—or is it ecology?”

“Wildlife biology,” you confirmed. “It’s not for my major or anything, no. Just something I was interested in.”

A thought suddenly occurred to you and you were rewinding all of the things that had happened in the past couple of days. Before Kevin could comment further on the topic of majors, you piped up, “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

His eyes widened a smidge, his posture straightening. “Oh? What about?”

You felt around the porch deck for the receipt you had been using as a makeshift bookmark, hand flopping around before you snatched it up and slipped it into the pages of your book. You set the book aside. “Is it just me, or are our moms… you know…”

“Doing the Thing again?” He finished. He sighed with a little grimace, “Yeah, I think I’m seeing it.”

The “Thing” that both you and Kevin were referring to was none other than the very act of matronly matchmaking taking place between you and the new kids on the block. At least you could confirm that you weren’t overthinking it.

You recalled the events of earlier today when Kevin and his mom had come back to where everyone else was with the new family that had just arrived. The Xus were another party of just three—their oldest son was in Paris, as Seokjin reported, but their youngest, Serena, was yours and Kevin's age. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who Kevin's mom wanted to introduce her son to.

“You know what’s crazy?” You said to him then, “On the car ride up here, I asked my mom—like, point-blank, you know?—to not try to matchmake us anymore.”

Kevin perked up. “Dude. That’s crazy, because that’s what I asked my mom on the car ride up here.”

You sputtered, “You’re kidding.”

“Great minds think alike,” he said, lip curling upward into a smile and his arms coming up in a halfhearted shrug. “But I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.”

Now that you were thinking back to your own conversation, you should have known something fishy was going on when your mom mentioned Kevin specifically… You only thought that she was being thorough in her understanding of what you were asking her to do, but turned out, it was only a loophole. “You’re so right,” you groaned and tilted your head backward. “Literally what are we gonna do?”

The two of you stewed in silence on this fine night.

There was one night, similar to this one, where you had sought each other out. You couldn’t remember what year it was—something close to sixth grade when both of you had the mind to realize the game your moms were trying to play. From that night came a pact of sorts, one that would hopefully try to steer each other away from a fate that neither of you were sure that you wanted yet. After all, eleven years old was a little premature to be talking about who you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, right?

Kevin leaned back onto his palms. “We need to make a new pact, I think.”

Your head swiveled over to him. “Amendments to the pact?”

“Either amend it or come up with a new one to fit our current situation,” he said. “A rescue protocol.”

A rescue protocol… you could see it begin to take shape in your head. The previous pact was different—an agreement between you and Kevin that you were both simply friends, no matter how many times your moms made you do chores together, or tie each other’s shoelaces, or swap numbers and emails and social media. And it had worked, for the most part; you were both still friends after all these years.

But this time would have to be different. Your moms weren’t driving you toward each other anymore.

“The Rescue Protocol—is that what we’re calling it?” You mused in an attempt to bring mirth to the conversation.

Kevin made a sound like a laugh. “Better than ‘the pact,’ I like to think.”

“How about the ‘Damsel in Distress Deal?’”

He let out an actual laugh this time. You got to watch his eyes turn up into crescent moons, the corners crinkling with pretty smile lines. His smile was always contagious, even after all this time. “The ‘Damsel in Distress Deal?’” He parroted. When he allowed the phrase to soak into his brain for a second, tongue massaging his bottom lip, he relented. “Okay, that’s actually not bad.”

You giggled. “So we either call it the Rescue Protocol or the Damsel in Distress Deal, trademark.”

“Trademark?” His reaction sent you into a flurry of snickers, hand clamped over your mouth so the sounds wouldn’t wake up your family. “What? Are we gonna advertise this idea to people?” He chuckled.

“It’s a good idea!”

“We don’t even know what the parameters are yet,” he sputtered. Kevin lightly punched your upper arm. “Silly goose.”

“Geese are not silly,” you found yourself replying. They could be mean creatures. “But I think they’re cute.”

“Jacob thinks they’re scary.”

You gave a playful roll of your eyes. “This Jacob guy again?” After a moment, you sighed, toeing the dirt on the bottom step with the tip of your shoe. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

Kevin sobered a little, but the remnants of his merriment remained in the shine of his irises. “Shoot.”

“Are you…” You struggled to string the words together. There was a question you’d come up with already, but you didn’t know if it was too forward or not. “Are you ready for a relationship?”

The question caught him off guard. His gaze flickered from you, to the grass, to his lap, to the moon-soaked surface of the lake further down the hill. “I… I’m not sure, really,” he muttered, then added, “I think I would know the right person when I meet them.”

“Yeah,” you agreed.

“Or maybe not,” he shrugged. “Maybe I’ve already met the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, but the relationship just hasn’t gotten there yet.”

You pondered on that for a moment, then realized you agreed with that, too. If you already met the person you were meant to be with, the thought of a relationship was a little less daunting. You already knew this person. “So we’re in agreement then? This new pact is something we both want?”

“As usual, we are in agreement,” he nodded. “What’s our plan then? Fight fire with fire?”

You snorted. “Pretty much, right? We just have to, you know, swoop in whenever we can to counteract their movements. Help each other out, y’know?” You laughed at how ridiculous this all sounded. “I guess it’s really just doing what they’ve wanted us to do this whole time.”

Kevin grinned to himself. “Spend time together?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m down for that. You?”

“Yeah, man.” You shifted to angle your body toward him and stuck your hand out. “You still remember it, right?”

Kevin sent you an incredulous look, as if offended that you could think so lowly of him. He reflected your angled body, hand primed and ready. “Uh, yeah. Do you remember it?”

You clicked your tongue. “Of course, I do! It's the seal."

You knocked the back of your hand against his to signal the beginning of the handshake.

Like second nature, the two of you made your way through the unnecessarily (but also completely necessary) convoluted masterpiece that was your sixth grade handshake. It was what you used the first time you sealed the deal on the pact, and whenever you made any other agreements of significance (e.g. the Juice Pouch Accord of Eighth Grade). Now, it would seal the Rescue Protocol/Damsel in Distress Deal, too.

When the handshake combination finished (marked by twin flicks to the forehead—"Ow! You always flick so hard.”; “Yikes, hope that doesn’t leave a mark…”—and a… proper handshake), the only thing left to do was put it into motion.

Teasing, you sent him a look of approval. “You did remember.”

“Funny how you say that as if you have the better memory out of the two of us,” he quipped back with an unimpressed look.

You hummed your own amusement back to him, taking the book that you’d set aside earlier back into your lap but leaving it unopened. There wasn’t any signal in this area, so devices were practically useless, so books and board games and sports became the go-to for entertainment. It was what your parents originally liked so much about the place, and eventually you and your siblings. It allowed for moments between the moments like this… whatever this was.

Kevin leaned back onto his palms again, and the shadows and moonlight cut across his jawline like glass. “I didn’t think you’d be up so late.”

“Yeah,” you drawled and picked at a strand of grass sticking out between the boards of a stair step. “I couldn’t sleep for some reason and decided to read, but then I opened my window and realized it was a nice night out, so here I am.” You nodded to him, “You?”

He gave a soft sort of chuckle. “You know I never sleep.”

Your chest felt heavy all of a sudden. “Still have the sleeping issue?” You asked softly. It had been a big thing when he was a kid. It had started off as being a very light sleeper, but over time, you discovered that sometimes Kevin just did not get sleep.

“Yeah…” he said, "I'm usually able to sleep when I'm here though, y'know? The peace, the quiet, the familiarity—it all helps. It was just tonight that was out of the ordinary." When he glanced over at you, the side of his lip quirked upward. "Don't worry too much."

You'd always thought about the lake as your home away from home, your safe space. A part of you had always thought it was the same way for him.

“How could I not worry?" You asked, poorly masking your concern as you leaned over your knees and looked at him. “How did you ever get used to your place at uni?” There must have been some reason that he was able to survive over there.

The corners of his mouth curled upward into a smile. “I was lucky,” he admitted. “I met people who have become some of my best friends and family. I guess it’s just weird being so far away from them and it's catching up to me.”

As much teasing as you did about this Jacob character, you were glad Kevin had found him and his other friends. Being away from home like that could not have been easy. At least you could rest assured that he was taken care of over there.

He had grown so comfortable over there that even his subconscious missed them.

You shifted a little closer to him and gently leaned your head onto his shoulder. He seemed surprised at first, but relaxed and let you keep your head there. “That’s good,” you whispered. “I’m happy for you.”

A beat passed, and the crazy thought occurred to you that maybe you should have asked to do this first. “Is this okay?”

His hand warmed the top of your head. “More than okay.”

The two of you sat there like that for however long—you couldn’t really tell. Time passed by differently here, it seemed. Friends definitely comforted each other like this though, right? Right.

EPISODE FIVE: [SHENANIGANS ENSUE.]

"KEVIN, would you mind giving this snack pack to Serena?"

"Oh, I got it, Auntie!" You snatched the Ziploc bag of trail mix from off the counter where Kevin's mom had set it out. "I haven't properly introduced myself to her yet," you said as some kind of explanation.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Kevin look away to conceal his laugh at your inconspicuousness.

Today, the five families planned to go on a long nature hike as a large group. There was a specific path that your family, the Moons, and the Kims always took at least once every year that led out to a waterfall. It was a beautiful slice of nature, but then again, you thought this entire area was beautiful.

You swung out of the Moons' kitchen and out onto the back lawn where everyone was slowly gathering to take off. Eyes scanning the immediate area, you located Serena Xu standing off to the side plaiting her hair into a simple braid over her shoulder.

As you made your way over to her, your Uncle Jin suddenly appeared beside you. “You look like a woman on a mission, Yn-ie. What’s the sitch?”

Your brain took a second to register the reference. “Has Sana been watching Kim Possible or have you, Uncle?”

“And if I said it was both of us?” He sniffed. Sana was his eldest daughter, only three years old, but Jin and Yuna were very updated in the essential kids shows they wanted their daughters to watch.

“As you should,” you said with an indulgent nod. You turned your gaze over to your intended target.

Serena’s eyes wandered up from her hair and met your eyes, then glanced over at Jin. You hoped she didn’t think the two of you were ganging up on her or anything. Two new people at once could be intimidating.

“Hi, Serena, right?” You asked as you and Jin approached her.

She gave a small nod, pulling her braid’s end over her shoulder as she fidgeted with it. “Uh, yeah. And you’re Yn?”

“We already met yesterday,” Jin said chipperly.

Serena nodded again.

Your fingers danced along the edge of the Ziploc baggie in your hands, squeezing along the edge to make sure that it was closed properly. Your teeth ran over your bottom lip before you were passing her the bag in your hands. “Kevin’s mom made all of us snack bags, and I just wanted to say a proper hello.”

She accepted the bag, eyes wide as she inspected its contents through the clear plastic. “Oh, wow. Thank you; that’s really thoughtful.”

“Oh!” Seokjin illuminated like a lightbulb, clapping his hands loud enough to make both you and Serena wince. (You and she met each other’s eyes with awkward laughs.) “Didn’t you mention yesterday that you were pre-law?”

Your eyebrows flew upward. “Pre-law?” Your head bobbed up and down with a low whistle. “That’s cool.”

“Yeah, uh, I guess so,” she said. “It’s a little intimidating right now, if I’m being honest.”

“Yn!” Ripped out of the conversation, you excused yourself and found the source of your name. Your mom was perched on one of the picnic benches outside of the Moons’ place, slathering sunscreen on your brother’s face. Connor’s face was wrinkled in extreme displeasure as she patted the white cream into his skin with a slapping sound.

Always amusing.

Perched upon the picnic table next to them was none other than Joshua Hong. He sent you a friendly greeting wave.

“What’s up?” You asked, leaving Uncle Jin with Serena so you could make your way over to your chagrined little brother, your mom, and Joshua. “Where’s Dad and Alice? Hey Josh.”

He replied pleasantly, “Hey Yn.”

“Your dad’s grabbing something from the car with her,” she dismissed. “Would you mind showing Joshua where we put our bandages? We have so many of the little ones—”

“It’s just a little cut; I swear I’m fine!” Joshua chuckled good-naturedly. He showed you the slice in the side of his finger that was only a couple of centimeters long, but you could tell that he’d just recently cleaned it up and was holding it with a small piece of napkin.

Your mom made a noise of disagreement. “It’s going to get infected on the hike.”

You shuffled on your feet, offering him a small smile. “Sorry, man. I have to agree with her.”

“Thank you. You remember where the bandages are, right? You and Josh just go run up really quick together.”

You didn’t even realize when Kevin got here. “Oh, why don’t I just get one from my place for you?” Kevin waltzed into the conversation with an innocent expression, hands tucked into the pockets of his shorts, as he appeared at your side. “Since we’re just right here.”

Joshua gestured toward him with his hand-clutching-hand situation and hopped off from the picnic table top. “If you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, dude, it’s no problem.” Kevin’s hand met the place between your shoulders with a warm pat, and he led Joshua up to his family’s cabin for the bandages.

Your amusement followed after them as you watched them leave. Your mom sent you a curious look, eyes narrowed in question, and you could only shrug helplessly.

The hike commenced shortly after the boys got back from raiding the Moon’s medicine cabinet. Your dad and Alice returned sometime before they did, and Alice had once again requested you put her hair up in, as she said, “Something nice.” As if the wilderness would care about her nice hair-do, but you gave her a plait that matched Serena’s.

Your brother and sister kept near to you as you led the group through the beginning of the trail. Though you didn’t consider yourself as someone who exercised religiously, you never turned down a good foraging session. Your freshman environmental science course had presented you with plenty of opportunity to dive into the dense forest areas near the building. Even in the early reaches of the morning (8:30 morning labs were sometimes difficult to be disciplined about, but you were determined), when the fog clung to the forest floor and dew slipped down velvety oak leaves, you found yourself at peace.

At some point in time, Connor picked up a large fallen stick and used it as a hiking staff. “You shall not pass!” He declared after running a little ways ahead of you and mimicked the deepness of Gandolf’s voice.

You snorted as you passed by him and ruffled his hair. “Name the series that’s from and then we can talk, dude.”

“You’re never any fun!” Connor garbled, jogging after you.

You scoffed, pressing a hand against your chest in feigned offense. “I’m way more fun than you are,” you retorted.

“Okay, prove it! Make this more fun.”

“So you’re saying this hike isn’t fun?” You gasped.

Connor stabbed at the dirt path warn into the ground that weaved through the trees ahead for miles. It was by no means a challenging hike, just a lengthy one that required a bit of enthusiasm and endurance. “Well last time, you brought that thing—”

“Sugar water,” you supplied.

“—yeah, that one—and we caught butterflies!” Painted Lady butterflies were a common species of butterfly that was widespread among North America. Luckily, it hadn't been too difficult to find them.

“Woah, you guys caught butterflies last year? Without me?” Man, this guy was just everywhere today, you thought jokingly, as Kevin appeared on your other side with a boyish grin on his face. “That’s cool.”

“We didn’t catch them,” you corrected. It was more so a lure with the sugar water (a substitute for nectar), letting the kids see the insect up close, and then setting it free. You were no lepidopterologist—butterflies were cool, but no special interest of yours. “They just landed in my hand for a little. You should’ve been there to take pictures.”

Kevin hit the palm of hand against his forehead. “That’s what I forgot! I forgot to bring my camera on the hike.”

“Tsk tsk, what would your sister say now?” You chided playfully.

He pressed his lips together in a grimace. “Don’t bring her up—I can hear the echo of her voice as we speak.” To prove his point, he pressed his fingers to his temples, eyes fluttering closed, as if he really could hear his sister’s teasing from wherever she was.

You humored him with a laugh—

“Yn! I’m gonna climb that boulder!”

Okay, fun time was over. You tracked the sound of your brother’s voice, and with barely enough time to catch up to him, you set off the beaten path to follow. “Hey, you better be careful or Mom’s gonna put you on bedrest for the rest of the trip,” you chuckled as Kevin fell in step beside you. You said to him offhandedly, “Would you possibly mind…”

“Yeah, I got it.” He did a small jog over to the cluster of boulders your brother had begun to scale. Going bouldering wasn’t a new activity for you and your siblings, but you remembered that these ones were a little larger than your mom was usually comfortable with. You were grateful Kevin understood immediately.

He was already standing below where Connor was, playing along with whatever roleplay your brother had made up, all the while hovering in case he fell.

The rest of the party caught up to you at this point, and Alice, Uncle Jin, Sana, and even Josh converged upon the rock formation in a flurry of giggles and mirthful playtime. You observed the action with ill-concealed fondness for everyone there as they came together and helped one another climb to the topmost boulder as if it were the peak of Mount Everest. Something warmed within you at the sight.

On your left, Yuna, who was on Leena duty this morning, came to stand beside you. Some of the parents were pulling out cell phones to record all the chaos going on. “Why don’t you go up with them?” She asked, inclining her head to the rock formation.

Josh was just beckoning Kevin up with him, and you saw Kevin’s head turned back over his shoulder. When his eyes found yours, Kevin waved you over, too.

“I should,” you murmured in agreement.

Yuna hummed as she adjusted the little bonnet on Leena’s head. “You know, Kevin…” she began. You waited for her to finish, but she smiled instead, shaking her head. “Nevermind. Go have fun, you bean.”

You giggled at the nickname, then wasted little time going to join everyone else. You could probably ask her what she was going to say later.

The evening found the group of you gathered on the shady back lawn between yours and the Moons’ cabin for dinner once again. The Xus and Hongs had all retired to their own respective houses for downtime, so it would just be the three original families. You perched a little ways away on the back stairs of your house’s porch, a bowl of peelable tangerines in your lap. At your feet, you had rolled the edges of a brown paper bag you’d found beneath the sink to use as a disposal. All of the compostable waste you and everyone else produced while here would become great fertilizer and mulch. It was something you usually had your siblings help with, especially before you left the lake.

Kevin had his cap turned backwards as he made his way over to you in flip flops. “That seat taken?” He asked with a nod toward the board next to you.

Your eyebrows rose. “All yours.”

“Thanks,” he beamed, doing a silly waddle, then sitting down next to you. He reached into the bowl on your lap for an orange, and you moved the compost bag between your bodies. “Your mom was talking about Josh again,” he said as he dug his thumb into the skin of the tangerine. Its juices sprayed into the air and released its sweet fragrance.

“Why am I not surprised?” You sighed with a shake of his head. “You know, he’s really good with my siblings though.”

“Oh, is he?”

You shrugged, shoveling a tangerine half into your mouth. “Mm—yeah,” you said once you’d swallowed. “But you’re also good with my siblings. I dunno, it was just an observation.” Based on what you saw on the hike, you could confidently conclude that your siblings agreed with both Kevin and Josh. They were both friendly beyond means, easy on the eyes, kind on the soul.

Kevin didn’t say anything for a beat, and still didn’t say anything until he’d finished the orange in his hands and picked up a new one. “I hear he’s going into medicine. I have a friend who’s going into medicine.”

“Which one?” You asked, then joked, “Don’t tell me it’s Jacob now…”

When Kevin gave you a sheepish expression, you shook your head, “Okay, now I think you’re obsessed with this guy.” All the teasing was in good fun, of course.

“He’s just my soulmate,” he lamented with a hand draped over his forehead for added effect. “No biggie.”

“Damn,” you laughed. You popped a wedge of tangerine into your mouth, eyes going to the sky for a moment as you pondered on something. “So you say that when Jacob met his current girlfriend, it was because of you.”

“Yup.”

“So you set them up? You matchmade them?”

He nodded. “I’m very proud of myself, actually. I take credit for all of their milestones and anniversaries. I better be the Best Man at their wedding, and—”

“But you matchmade them; doesn’t that make you a hypocrite?”

Kevin’s speech came to an abrupt halt. You watched, in blatant amusement, as his face contorted and arranged itself in the five stages of grief. “Oh my god… I am a hypocrite.”

For a moment, you felt bad for laughing at his blanched expression. “It doesn’t make you a bad person,” you assured him.

“It makes me a hypocrite.” He hung his head, but shot back up just as quickly. “Okay, but wait! It’s different.”

“Do tell.”

“It’s different because Jacob never told me he didn’t want to be matchmade.” The calculations taking place in his head were as stark to you, the observer, as if he was working it out on a white board. His eyebrows knitted together. “Yeah. That’s the difference. Plus, that match was fully successful, and he ended up putting in a lot of the work himself by the end anyway.”

You bobbed your head in agreement. “Fair enough.”

Kevin settled his chin on his hand, eyes slicing back over to you. “Aren’t you a hypocrite, too, then?”

You blinked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

His face said it all. “Jenna from fifth grade.”

Oh. It all came rushing back to you…

But before anything else could be commented on the matter (read: before you could go through your own miniature existential crisis like Kevin had), a presence appeared, squatting down between the two of you. “What—” Jin covered Leena’s ears as he sat down, “—is the mother-effing tea?”

You and Kevin immediately scooted over to make room for the uncle coming in hot. You moved the compost bag back to the other side of your leg.

Kevin chuckled. “You said ‘mother-effing.’”

“Aish,” he exhaled, wrinkling his nose up. “Yuna’s on relax mode right now and has two beers in her. I get a pass, okay? Now catch me up on all of the exciting stuff.”

You and Kevin traded glances. “What exciting stuff?”

Jin’s expression flattened into a deadpan. “Don’t be like that. You two have been so secretive lately; I wanna be let in on the secret stuff.”

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily a secret…” You drawled.

Kevin scratched the back of his head. “Uh, yeah. Well, we’ve kind of figured out that our moms are trying to set us up with Josh and Serena instead of each other now.”

You didn't know what you were expecting Uncle Jin to reply, but he gave a nod. "Ah, I can see that." He sucked in a breath through his teeth, "Why did they suddenly go 360 on the two of you? It seems kind of out of left field."

"Well, we kind of asked them to stop trying to get us two together."

Jin hummed. "Yah, that makes sense. It all makes sense now." He made an old-man noise out of his throat as he shifted his position and the way that Leena rested on his chest. You and Kevin buckled down and hung off his words. "They probably only mean well, you know that, right? Right. But I can see that you both are still uneasy about that, and I get that, too. So—I'll tell you what.

"I'll help you guys out," he said. "I think they already know I'm nosy enough to butt in everywhere, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to… tch tch, y'know—" He gestured very indulgently with his hands, "—do my thing—am I making any sense? It's been a long day."

Another look passed between you and Kevin, then you both shared a laugh, relief making your postures relax and your grins widen. "No, we understand completely."

It seemed like you just gained an ally.

EPISODE SIX: CAN I BE A ROCK IN MY NEXT LIFE? THANKS.

THERE was a collection of jet skis that someone around the lake owned, and Kevin's parents would rent them out once every summer for everyone to use. Of course, it was mainly for the older kids and adults; thus, your siblings and the little Kims were banned from partaking in the festivities, much to your siblings' chagrin. It was for safety reasons that they were forced to find some other method of entertainment for the day.

You trudged your way down the path from the Kims' house to yours. In your hand, you wielded the light blue stick of baby sunscreen Seokjin asked you to fetch for his girls, but based on the fact that Leena, Sana, nor Yuna were even out here, it was safe to assume it was really for him.

Those who were participating in riding jet skis, and some who just wanted to watch and soak up the summer sun, were gathered somewhere between your house and the Moon house again. The two properties shared a single dock made of wood faded out from the sun and washed by the lake water. You could recall summer after summer running down the pier and cannonballing into the water.

"Hey! I got your sunscreen!" You hollered as you neared the group down by the water, raising the sunscreen stick up in the air.

The five or so heads turned toward you at the sound of your voice. You didn't miss Kevin's presence specifically, his arms sticking out from the life vest strapped to his chest. You did not deign to look further.

Jin raised his hand. "My Savior! Thanks, Yn-ie!"

You tossed the sunscreen down to him and he caught it between both of his hands before beginning to slather the cream all over his face.

You noted the last life vest sitting on the edge of the dock closest to land and made a beeline for it.

Just as you descended the hill, your mom appeared in your view with an empty plate in her hands, the bottom ringed in a translucent red liquid. "Yn, honey. Can you do me a huge favor and chop up the last watermelon? I didn't realize we would need more. Your dad and Kevin's dad are driving into town right now for some extra provisions and an extra large watermelon."

"Oh, sure." Your eyes skittered to the vest on the dock, but you realized slicing the watermelon wouldn't take too long.

You took the plate from your mom without further comment and began making your way up the hill to your house.

As you slid the door open, the sound of chatter carried from the living room floor. Eyes peered up from where they were seated, surrounding the coffee table on the floor. A colorful array of beads and string was strewn over the surface, and you came to a distinct conclusion as to where all the non-jet-skiers had gone.

"Hello everyone," you mused, closing the screen door behind you.

Josh was the first to say hello back. "Wanna join us? We're making friendship bracelets." He lifted the craft in his hands as if the beads and materials displayed weren't proof enough.

You leaned over the back of the couch. "Looks like fun! Maybe I will."

Outside by the lake, Kevin monitored the back door of your cabin for when you would make your way back out. He had been wanting to race you on a jet ski ever since the owners brought them over for everyone to use.

There were a grand total of five people surrounding the opening to the dock: Kevin and his mom, your mom, Jin, and Serena. Everyone except for the moms were strapped in lifejackets in preparation to board one of the two jet skis sitting in port.

"Huh," Jin said as he craned his head up in the direction Kevin's was in. "Wonder what's taking her so long."

"I'm sure she's just taking her time or something." Kevin pushed off of the post he was leaning against. "I'll go check up on her—"

“Oh, no-no-no! It’s okay,” your mom protested, her body already turn-tailed to head up to the house. Even Kevin’s mom made a gesture for him to stay put. “We’ll go check up on Yn.”

Kevin’s mom then gestured with her arm toward Serena, who had wandered off further down the dock to inspect one of the vehicles waiting in the water. “Why don’t you go help her with the jet ski?”

“And me!” Seokjin boisterously slung an arm around his cousin-in-law’s shoulders and swung him toward the entrance of the pier.

Kevin’s eyes went wide when he almost tumbled face-first into the hardwood. “Shit,” he sputtered. “Uh, Uncle Jin?”

“Yep?”

“That sounded fishy to you, too, right?”

Jin let out a laugh and patted Kevin’s shoulder in consolation. “Yep.”

“I feel like I haven’t seen you all afternoon.” The words left your mouth as you blocked the unforgiving golden hour sun with a hand to your forehead. The light at this time of day gleamed across the surface of the lake and gave the illusion of a molten pot of gold. You imagined swimming in it, dipping your toes into its warm innards from the end of the dock.

Kevin stood at the edge of the lake’s shoreline with his hair dried from a day of jet skiing, a fresh T-shirt over his chest and the lifejacket from earlier nowhere to be seen. That, along with the jet skis. Those had been returned a little over an hour ago. “We were off doing our separate things, I guess,” he said, his arms folded across his chest. “Speaking of, where’ve you been? You went to cut watermelon and never came back.” He added a small laugh to his words, hoping you wouldn’t think he was bothered by the fact that the two of you didn’t get to hang out on jet skis together.

“Oh, heh.” The sheepishness in your voice made him glance over at you. You didn’t know why you were suddenly getting so shy about it, but from the pocket of your shorts, you withdrew a small piece of beaded string, tied at the end in one of those fancy loops that were adjustable. You didn’t know how it was done; Joshua had done something with the end like magic. “Yuna, Josh, and the kids were all inside making friendship bracelets and they kind of roped me into it.”

“Ah.”

“This one’s for you,” you said, holding it out to him. It was a quirky piece with white block letter beads strung together next to acrylic star and pony beads. You’d scavenged a crescent moon somewhere amongst all the pandemonium, and it sat next to the letter N on the chain.

Kevin peered at you and his irises gleamed with the brilliance of golden hour. He frowned in joy, delicately accepting the chain from you with his bottom lip jutted out in a combination frown-pout. “You’re incredible,” he gushed as he inspected the little gift. “Dude, I’m honestly so touched. This is so cute.”

You broke out into a grin, your heart bursting with pride in your chest. “Glad it’s not cringy.”

“I’m offended for you,” he scoffed, aghast. “How could you think this is cringy?” It was probably a genuine question, but you kept silent as you watched him loop the end of the bracelet around his wrist and struggled to figure out how to tie off the end with one hand.

You stepped forward, and he stuck his hand out to you. “Shua showed me how this works,” you murmured, wracking your brain for the quick how-to Joshua showed with his own wrist. (You had been too confused to ask him to see it done again, and only nodded and smiled.)

“Shua?”

“Mm, yeah, apparently he makes a lot of friendship bracelets, especially for friends at school.” Your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth as you tried something and… “Ta-da!”

With the bracelet secured onto his wrist, Kevin beamed like a kid on Christmas, and held it up to show it to the setting sun. “It’s great—it’s perfect. Thank you, Yn.”

It was some sort of cosmic magic that corralled everyone back down to the shoreline again, but this time, with all of the kids and non-jet-skiers, as well. Another tradition that your party liked to share every year at the lake was rock-skipping. Perhaps it was more of just an activity than a tradition, but it was something that none of you failed to remember to do whenever you were up here. Since you were a kid, you had been practicing to hone your technique.

Your siblings and the Kims, especially, all ran up to the shoreline beside you and Kevin, and the search for the perfect throwing rock began. In the chaos of merriment and childlike glee, the lot of you trudged into the cooling water of the lake’s shallow shore.

“I know you just gave me the coolest friendship bracelet ever,” said Kevin from beside you as he sifted through the rocks beneath his flip flops, “but I hope you know that I’m gonna crush you this year.”

You snorted. “Okay, Kevin.”

“No, I’m serious!” You guffawed at the sight of his expression; he’d even stood up straight in the water, a pair of flat stones in either hand. “My friend YH!Yn—she’s an engineer, right—”

“Oh, so you’re gonna win by cheating?”

“Nuh-uh,” he rolled his eyes, unimpressed by your posturing. “She showed me this video online. You know Mark Rober? She’s a huge fan, but that’s besides the point. The point is that the video taught me the perfect technique to rock-skip.”

Something in you liked to think that was still cheating, but then again, neither of you had ever really established any ground rules to this, and certainly none about doing research. Your eyes narrowed. “Explain yourself.”

Kevin decided between one of the two rocks in his hands with a brief peek at both of them, before discarding the one in his left hand back into the water with an anticlimactic sploosh. “You’re supposed to launch the rock so it hits the surface of the water at a twenty-degree angle.”

Joshua trudged into the water near both you and Kevin with the sleeves of his plaid over-shirt rolled past his elbows. “I don’t even know what kind of rock to look for, and you guys are bringing trig into this?”

“Oh my god, don’t even get them started,” Jin grumbled from a handful of meters away from the three of you. He kicked through the shallow water with his eyes pinned to the ground in his own search for a rock to skip. “Yn almost gave me a black eye one year.”

“That was an accident and I was ten!”

“Yeah, well rocks hurt!”

Joshua bent down slightly and scooped up a rock from the water. He considered it for a minute, taking in its size, its weight, and how pretty it was. “I guess this can work. So do you guys have, like, a training boot camp for beginners or something?” He chuckled.

“I can show you,” you offered once you’d decided on your own rock for the first round.

“Tch,” Kevin huffed, “if you wanna show him the wrong way to do it.”

Your jaw unhinged. “If you keep this up, I will take back that friendship bracelet, Moon Hyungseo.”

Jin covered his mouth with one of his hands and sidled up next to Joshua. “Ooh, she used the government name.” That coaxed another laugh out of the Los Angeles boy.

Kevin held his decorated wrist to his chest. “You can pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

Suffice to say that when it came down to it, Kevin did have the better technique. There were really four main things to consider when rock-skipping, one of them being that the rock ideally should hit the water at twenty-degrees, as Kevin had mentioned before. Though, you did have to give yourself some credit for managing to work your way up to thirteen skips in a row without the help of an engineer friend.

EPISODE SEVEN: ALWAYS TREAT YOUR PLANTS WITH CARE

VACATION granted you the express permission to be the laziest bum in the world. After three years of college work, sometimes it was nice to have even a single day to yourself to do what you always wanted to: relax. In a world that moved as fast as this one, it was nearly impossible to take breaks without feeling the aching guilt of a day without productivity.

But there was something about the lake… you didn't know. Maybe it was just because years of coming here and associating it with the ease and carefree air of childhood that made it easier to sleep in and feel the sun on your toes.

The house and the neighboring ones were quiet this late morning. At ten or so, the Kims had swept up your siblings and their children and towed them off to town for ice cream and provisions. (You hoped they remembered to grab you some bird seed. You still had yet to replenish the bird feeders around the lake.) You weren't sure where your parents were off to, but you recalled them briefly mentioning a visit to the hidden swing at Lookout's Peak about a three mile hike from here. That meant that you had the whole house to yourself.

And what else did that mean? That you would not be in the house.

When it hit noon, you ate a quick lunch at the kitchen counter before gathering up your supplies to head outside. There was always a spare picnic blanket stashed in the hallway closet, and you grabbed a book, your neglected sketchbook, and a pencil to come along with you.

The weather was perfect, you liked to think—temperate, and not popsicle-melting, with a hint of a breeze wafting through the boughs of the oak trees. You trudged your way over to the largest oak tree with the most amount of shade, gunning to get some full relaxing done when you realized that you were not as alone as you thought you were.

You and Kevin locked eyes from where he sat against the trunk of the tree, his iPad left at his side and his camera being fiddled with between his fingers. The friendship bracelet you gave him the other day still hung around his wrist.

"Hi," he grinned. "I thought you went into town with the twins."

"Ah, nah" you sighed pleasantly as you shifted the things in your arms, "I decided to sleep in. You?"

"Same here." He amended, "Well, as much as someone like me can sleep in." He gestured to the picnic blanket bundled over your arm. "How about I help you with that?"

With teamwork (because that made the dream work), the two of you laid out the picnic blanket on the shady grass beneath the oak tree, overlooking the view of the lake. You settled yourself atop it while Kevin moved his things beside you; shoes were discarded at the edge, so you both sat comfortably on the blanket, half-facing the other.

You reached for your sketchbook, inclining your chin toward the DSLR now sitting abandoned as he picked up his iPad. "What were you up to before I got here?"

"Oh, uh, just looking through some photos I took this morning to maybe use as a reference," he said, twirling his Apple pencil between his fingers. "I keep forgetting to take pictures on this trip."

"Maybe it's a good thing," you offered. You tucked a lock of hair behind your ear and flipped to a blank page. "Let's you live in the moment, y'know?"

"Yeah. I guess so." He tapped the end of his pencil against his cheek. You were never the type for fancy technology and equipment, mainly because you were a little stubborn, but nothing could beat a good pencil and paper. "I'm gonna draw you," he suddenly declared.

A giggle bubbled out of your chest. "What? Me?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well then, I'm gonna draw you."

His eyebrows shot up, an amused smile worming onto his face. "You do you, honey."

The two of you, coincidentally, came to share quite the handful of interests. One of them was sketching, and you liked to give credit to your ecology and biology classes at school that gave you the time to practice your drawing skills, even if super accurate drawings weren't always required. It just gave you an excuse to combine two things you loved.

You never did pick up how to use a DSLR though. At least, not like Kevin knew how to.

You sat there for a moment with your cheek to your fist and your eyes glued to the man across from you. Drawing people was difficult—it was always the subtle details that threw you overboard, the movement of the hands and fingers, the crevices in the wrinkle of one's eyes, the… the look. The thing that made them look like a human being.

Kevin had always been a beautiful subject matter. His bone structure was near perfect in your eyes; his smile was awful to draw just because it was so pretty, and you couldn't do it justice. You could never achieve the right curl of his lips, or infuse it with his humility. And even now, you watched the way his eyelashes fell so gently over his eyes and the dusting of pink falling across his cheekbones…

"You're staring."

You blinked, breaking out of your daze. "I'm studying my subject," you clarified pointedly and began to sketch out a rough outline of his head. A portrait would do just fine for the day.

Kevin mimicked your position from earlier where he leaned in slightly and rested his cheek against his fist. "There was this internship I turned down this summer."

His words made you glance up from your paper for a moment.

He continued on, straightening, then absentmindedly sketching out an outline for your face. "It was supposed to be in New York, at this studio, but…" He blew air out between his lips, "I don't know; I couldn't do it. It was a great opportunity and it didn't call to me, but I feel so guilty about not even trying."

You waited a beat in case he wanted to continue. You could see the conflict warring across this face, the subtle flex in his jaw at his frustration—with the portrait or himself, you weren't sure.

"Sorry, I don't know why I suddenly just thought of that," he said to you. "I was just thinking about this place and not being here last year, and I think my brain just went to that."

You looked over at him in earnest. "I feel you, I mean… some things just aren't meant to be, and you shouldn't force it. That's how you get burnt out, y'know?"

"Yeah," he murmured in agreement.

"I was looking at an internship, too," you piped up with a shape exhale. "I—I didn't get it, clearly, but uhm…" It still hurt.

Kevin frowned. "Oh, man. I'm sorry, Yn. I feel like I'm just complaining now that—"

"No, oh my gosh, no!" You hurried to interrupt him. "Don't be silly," you said gently, "you shouldn't invalidate your feelings like that. Some things just really aren't meant to be." It didn't mean it hurt any less that they weren't, but maybe this was the path you were meant to take instead. "It's something I'm coming to terms with, too, but don't compare your troubles against mine. Please."

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth, and it took him a little to finally try for a half smile. "You're gonna get the next one."

You smiled back at him. "Thanks. And you'll find one that suits you."

"I hope so."

"Do you ever worry about," you began as you played around with the slightest curve of his nose on your paper, "not being who people want you to be?"

He hummed. "What do you mean?"

"Like, successful. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this." You didn't know where this had sprouted from in the first place, but one insecurity in particular had nested in the inner cavities of your chest and made itself a home. As someone who wanted to be at wildlife encampments, not catering to fancy rich dogs in a clinic, your path wasn't conventional. You were becoming a veterinarian, but your parents always thought you would end up someplace nice with a pay that was equally nice. Something practical, something they didn't have to worry over. Your calling was… elsewhere though. Somewhere a little more difficult to reach without the prying eyes and mouths of those around you.

Kevin marinated on it. "I think… the two of us are kind of similar in that way. We're both not taking on things that people have expected of us."

Out of everyone you knew, you had a feeling he would be one of the few who could empathize. "There's—there's this thing I want to do," you said. You couldn't figure out the words to string your thoughts into coherent speech; you felt like it would never come out right. But Kevin was patient. "I've always wanted to go on safari expeditions, and observe wildlife in the wild, and do research, and work with conservatories. It feels so unattainable sometimes, when I think about the people looking at me and expecting something good. Does that make sense?"

He gave a thoughtful nod, his Apple pencil tucked behind his ear for the time being. "Yeah, that makes sense. I remember you talked about it before."

That rang a bell. "When I made you watch the David Attenborough Our Planet doc series," you mused. In association, your brain sparked images of late nights, blue-light screens, and flashlights beneath blanket forts. You had been fully convinced Kevin would say the documentary series would be boring like everyone else, but to your pleasant surprise, he had been just as enthralled as you'd been.

"You didn't make me," he smiled. "I liked it."

Your chest warmed. "I still have it downloaded on my phone if you wanna watch."

He screwed his face up in amusement, shaking his head. "You're one of the biggest dorks I know. And I know so many dorks now."

"I'm still your favorite dork though, right?" You smiled down at your paper when you were satisfied with how his eyes turned out.

"Always."

A beat passed, and from your periphery, you saw him tap the blanket in front of you to get your attention.

"Hey, you're gonna be okay," he said. "One day, you will go hide in a bunker in the Siberian winter to wait for tigers like a crazy person—"

"Okay, wait, out of all the examples you watched in the doc, you chose—"

"Anyways!" He grinned at the look you sent him, unfazed. "We're both gonna be okay, alright? We're chasing dreams, and sometimes the chase is hard, but the reward is sweet."

You knew he was right; of course he was right. Talking things out was always a good idea, especially with a trusted person, and who better to trust than Kevin Moon? You had friends who understood, but not really understood.

You reached for his pencil with the end of yours and you bumped ends like ET. The corners of your lips curled upward as you met his gaze, and you were struck by the softness in his rich, chocolate irises. No sketch, painting, portrait could do those beautiful eyes justice. "Don't call me a nerd for this."

"No promises."

You fixed him with a look. "There's this thing that plants do called phototropism. Because plants need light to synthesize into food and energy, they often turn and grow towards the nearest light source. So even in, let's say, a dark hole in the ground—if there's a crack in the roof that brings light in, the plant will grow in that direction, and probably grow its way out." You cleared your throat. "Thanks for showing me the light."

Kevin's eyes shone big and wide, doe-like you liked to say, almost in awe of the explanation of a basic function plants performed to survive. But twisted in a certain way, and one could apply it to everyday non-plant life, as well.

"Now how can I possibly call you a nerd after that?" His voice went raspy and he had to clear it, too. "I think I'm getting misty-eyed," he said, fanning his eyes.

You chuckled at his antics. "Oh, hush. I guess it's my way of saying thanks for reminding me I'm not gonna be a failure." It was scary how often you thought about it, especially at college.

Kevin reached over and warmed one of your hands with his. "You're not gonna be a failure, Yn. I promise you that."

All of the kids were asleep in the back of the Kims' minivan, and it took two trips back and forth between the car and the living room to transfer all four sleeping munchkins. By the time Jin and Yuna were done, the former was certain he was going to need a cane much earlier in his life than previously anticipated.

He held his back as they made their way out onto the back porch. "I think I'm aging faster," he said to his partner.

Yuna sputtered out a laugh. "Aye, so dramatic, and for what? You're gonna survive."

"No sympathy," he sighed melodramatically as he hung off her frame. "I wonder where everyone else is."

His voice trailed off as they stood on the porch and overlooked the valley below. Just further out, they could easily see the occupants of the big oak tree between yours and the Moons' houses. You and Kevin sat slightly angled toward one another, not quite sitting next to each other, but not quite facing each other either.

The laughter was apparent on your faces as Kevin showed you something on his iPad. You grabbed the screen with ill-concealed delight, your eyes lighting up like a pair of fireflies. "No, oh my god, the little sprout on top of my head! You didn't!"

Yuna murmured softly to her lover with a chuckle, "Should we go say hello?"

Seokjin adjusted his position so now his arm rested around her shoulders. A smile etched onto his face at the view; he was so fond of the very thing neither you nor Kevin could see just yet. "Well, how could you possibly want to break that up?"

EPISODE EIGHT: NOD AND SMILE… YUP.

YOU weren't really sure why it took so long before you all deigned to take a proper dip in the lake, but as they said, better late than never.

The sun beat down on the little lake population, even at ten in the morning, which made it perfect weather to go swimming. Your house was a-bustle with life, thunderous footsteps, and motherly yelling to her children of “You better all have sunscreen on!” You were just finishing up the task yourself, rubbing in the last handprint of sunblock onto your calf before you were grabbing your towel at the end of your bed and heading out.

You caught Alice coming down the stairs with her floral one-piece on and a set of blue goggles strapped to her head. This morning, her hair was in two braids. “Do you have sunscreen on?” You asked her as you opened the back screen door.

“Yes,” she groaned as if this was the hundredth time she’d been asked that question today. Knowing your family, it probably was the hundredth time. “Do we still have the flamingo floatie?”

“We can probably pop down to the shed and see,” you suggested. You blinked in surprise at the person you found leaning against the railing of your back porch. “Why hello there.”

Joshua glanced up from the piece of string in his hands that he had tied at the ends to form one, large ring. “Hi guys! Either of you ladies know how to play Cat’s Cradle?” His hands slipped in between the string so that the ring rested on the backs of his fingers. In a movement that sent a wave of nostalgia down your spine, he maneuvered his hands through the string to form the zigzag pattern correspondent with the beloved childhood game.

“Ooh! Me, me!” Alice bounced around on the balls of her feet and rushed over to where Josh was to pick out the next pattern.

The screen door behind you opened up again as soon as you stepped foot onto the deck. Your dad appeared with your little brother, both of whom were dressed in rash guards and swim trunks. Your dad hustled his son along. “Yn-ah, we’re going down to the shed to get swimming things. Wanna come?”

“Wait, Daddy, can we get the flamingo floatie?” Alice asked your dad. Joshua finished up the next pattern, and your sister was quick to grab the next.

“Sure. We have to go now, though.”

With little else left to say or do, your dad ferried your little siblings off and around the house to where the shed was. It was tucked out of the way somewhere between your house and the Kims’ place.

You sidled up beside Joshua and slung your towel over your shoulder, noting his tank top and shorts. “You going for a swim with us?”

He gestured to his attire, nodding. “Seems like it. My parents wanted to run into town to do some shopping, see the sights. Your mom mentioned last night that you all were planning to go swimming today, so I thought I’d tag along, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, man—it’s totally cool.”

You gazed far out toward the lake down the lawn. There were already a few people there, including Kevin and the Kims. Sana and Leena were already frolicking around in the water with their dad, while Yuna and Kevin stood off to the side on the dock. It seemed that Yuna had brought down a pair of foldable chairs to set up there, perhaps to soak up a little sun.

The two of them exchanged a couple more words before Yuna left him there so she could go pick up Leena from falling face-first in the water. Leena was still an infant, after all.

You decided that this would be a good time to run and join him, but your thoughts slowed to a halt when Kevin picked up the bottom hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. You even heard Joshua beside you lose his breath. The sunlight had to be a paid actor or something, because the way it glowed across your friend’s shoulders, enunciating the firm muscles in his back, had to be illegal in nature.

Joshua’s low whistle of appreciation met your ears. “Wow… he’s ripped.”

You nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah.” Whoops, did you say that out loud?

The man simply chuckled and bounded down the porch. “C’mon, Yn. Let’s go join them before he catches you staring.”

If there was anything else that you and Kevin took seriously besides rock-skipping, it was the game Marco Polo. The rules were simple: an elected tagger would play with their eyes closed, yelling out “Marco” in order to locate other players in the water. The tagger had three or five opportunities to open their eyes (this was enforced for safety reasons) in order to tag everyone. Those who were not the tagger were required to reply with “Polo” in response to the tagger’s call.

Boundaries of the game ranged from your house to Kevin’s house, and no hiding beneath the dock. (Only the tagger could pass beneath that zone.)

By the time it was Kevin’s turn to tag, nearly an hour and a half had gone by, and you could feel the sun’s rays seeping into you. The heat was getting to you, and by the looks on everyone else’s faces, it was getting to them, too. But… one last round never hurt anybody.

"Are you guys ready?" Kevin's mom stood on the dock with her hands on her son's shoulders. Kevin's eyes were screwed shut where he sat on the edge of the dock, his feet swinging where they dangled over the water. Everyone stood scattered in the water, biding their time before Kevin's mom let him hop in.

She surveyed the surrounding water for nods of confirmation. You lingered just at the outer edge of the boundary, face half in the water with your eyes peeking out to hide your smile. You would swim back in should he come this way, but the buoy behind you kept you from cheating.

When she was satisfied with what she saw, she patted him on the shoulders. "Okay, Kevin."

He lowered himself into the water. "Marco!"

"Polo," came the wary response, a voice from every corner and reach of the boundary, it seemed.

He honed in on a voice—not yours, it seemed, but Uncle Jin's—and slowly treaded over toward that direction. You saw your uncle's eyes widen in fear, and he ducked under the water for a swift second to attempt at a silent getaway.

"I can hear you," Kevin chuckled as he swung his arm over his head to adopt a freestyle stroke. The tone of his voice sounded awfully menacing.

"YAH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Jin screeched, no longer trying to stay quiet.

One by one, Kevin picked people off. Yuna had a little disadvantage since she had Sana clinging to her back the whole time, so she was given a merciful second life. But when she was caught once more, it was onto dry land for her and her daughter.

Kevin treaded water on the other side of the boundary. In the water, it was just you two.

"Fighting, Yn-ie!" Jin cheered from the shore. A towel was draped over his shoulders with Sana sucking on a watermelon by his leg.

You saw your siblings and Josh raise up their fists in encouragement. "Get him, Yn!"

"Wow, thanks guys," Kevin replied dryly, shaking the water out of his hair. His eyes were miraculously still closed; you had no idea how and when he got so good at this. He still had one more opportunity to open his eyes.

You grinned. "Are you sure you're not cheating by the way?" You drawled with a feigned look of consideration, as if he could see what you looked like.

He gasped. "Me? Cheating? My abilities are far greater than the need to cheat."

"Okay, prove it."

Why did the universe curse you with such a big fucking mouth?

A swear left you as he launched himself across the safe zone. It was like he knew exactly where you had been hovering in order to reach his ridiculously long arms over his head to try and tag you. You gunned out of the way, narrowly missing the dock as you backstroked back from where he came to avoid him.

"Marco!"

"Screw you—polo!"

His white teeth glistened as he grinned, eyes closed completely shut still. Damn. "I can smell fear."

"Sometimes you can be so dramatic," you taunted.

"Now that's just hurtful." And he took it personally.

Around and around you both went, lakewater thrashing as your arms and legs kicked and pumped as hard as you could. You felt so agile and free at times, a dolphin in your own right.

There was a lull in the game for a minute when you managed to evade Kevin's grasp yet another time. He was patrolling the other side of the dock while you loitered just around the corner, by a post. You could hear on land that everyone had turned their attention away from yours and Kevin's competitiveness in favor of the bag tossing boards Kevin's dad brought out.

"Oh, Yn," he smiled, brushing a hand through his hair absentmindedly. "I'm gonna get ya."

If you weren't worried about being so close to him, you would have thrown a retort right back.

But there was another poor, poor hinge to your plan, and that was the very core of the game you were playing.

He whispered, "Marco."

You screamed internally. "Polo," you whispered, barely audibly.

His head whipped in your direction, and before you could even blink, he used his shortcut beneath the dock to yank your wrist back toward him. "Gotcha!"

"Goddamn it," you groaned as you rested up against the post behind you. The water in this area was just shallow enough that your feet could reach the bottom.

Kevin chuckled as he finally opened his eyes. He blinked feverishly to adjust to the sunlight, then ran a hand through his slicked-back hair. He was so close that you could see the water droplets on his head dribble down the sharp slope of his nose. He took in his surroundings, a sly kind of smirk curling up onto his face. "No hiding beneath the dock, Yn."

"I technically wasn't beneath the dock," you shot back.

"Mhm," he pressed his lips together, brows furrowing. He moved closer and braced one arm against the post above your head. "Say I believe you."

You brushed the sudden butterflies in your stomach away as the heat melted your brain (and not Kevin). "That sounds like you don't believe me."

"Well, either way…" He brought a finger close to your face and tapped your nose. You could have sworn you saw his eyes dart downwards for a second, away from your eyes, toward your mouth. "I win."

EPISODE NINE: KINDLING FOR ALL KINDS OF FIRES

A campfire was always in order.

There were quite a few things that needed to be done before it could happen, however. One of the few things on the list just happened to be going out to find firewood, as well as filling up the bird feeders you left hanging out in the forest beyond. You could kill two birds with one stone. (Definitely not literally though. You hoped you never needed to kill two birds with one stone unless it was for pure survival purposes.)

The bird seed you'd requested to be brought back was… somewhere around here. You couldn't remember where exactly Auntie Yuna said they put the bag, but you would go hunting for it.

You meandered through the first floor of your lake cabin, gradually approaching the kitchen area where you heard voices. As far as you were aware, your parents were holed up in the kitchen with Kevin’s parents, as well as Kevin himself. Your siblings were probably either upstairs or at the Kims’ place. Probably.

“—know Judy’s daughter, right?” You recognized your mom’s voice among the fray. By this time, you stood in the middle of the living room with your hands on your hips. Where in the world was that sneaky bag of bird seed?

Kevin’s mom replied next, “Ah, she’s doing that drawing major or something, right? I forgot what it’s called—”

“Animation,” supplied her husband.

“Yes, that’s the one.” A clinking of metal on china; they were most likely digging into the trifle cake that was assembled earlier in the day.

“I hear there’s something going on and it’s getting more difficult to find work for them.”

A disgruntled sound. “Yah. That's the risk that comes with those art majors. If she had gone into bioengineering like Judy wanted her to, then she wouldn’t be worrying so much.”

You paused from your position in the living room. From your vantage point, you got a clear view into only part of the kitchen, but it was where Kevin lingered with his back to one of the cabinets. He had a bowl of dessert in one hand, the other using the tines of his fork to prod at a bite of cream and cake. His head was tilted down though, and you caught his periodic glances toward the part of the kitchen you couldn’t see where the adults probably were, prattling on and on as if he weren’t standing right there.

Your heart sunk to the pit of your stomach.

Why was he subjecting himself to this? Why didn’t he just pick himself up and leave—? The thought came to you that maybe he thought he deserved to hear this.

Having surveyed the living room enough to know that the bird seed wasn’t here, you did happen to note the presence of his camera sitting on the coffee table. You snatched the device up and headed for the kitchen.

“I think it’s good to cultivate creativity, but there’s a difference between a career and hobbies—”

“Psst.” You grappled onto the side of the doorway, quietly catching Kevin’s attention.

His head perked up at the sound and his eyebrows shot up in question. He offered the bowl in his hands to you. Want some? He mouthed.

You shook your head, then used your free hand to wave him over. Bird seed?

He seemed to understand. With one, massive bite, he finished the rest of his bowl, deposited it in the kitchen sink, then quietly slipped out of the room with you.

When the two of you were in the clear and you were following him over to the closet beneath the stairs (damn, had you really forgotten that this closet existed?), you handed him his camera. “I’m invoking rescue protocol,” you told him.

Kevin accepted his camera with a furrowed brow, watching as you opened up the closet door and found a canvas sack of birdseed sitting there. Huzzah! “Wait, but…” He considered you for a moment, and a slow smile slid onto his face. He ducked his head and threw his camera strap around his neck. “I appreciate you. Have I told you that?”

“And I—” You grunted as you picked the bag up into your arms and used your foot to kick the door closed. “—appreciate you. How’d you know this was where the bird seed was?”

“I just remembered what Uncle Jin said,” he told you with a shrug.

The two of you meandered out of the backdoor and onto the porch in a silent agreement to go fill some bird feeders together. The forest at this time of day was streaked in golden sunlight, emerald green leaves painted over in an amber wash of glitter. It felt warm and comfortable like autumn, but with the color palette of summer. The air was fresh, not crisp, and there was still a dollop of pollen floating around in the air from the tailend of spring.

You and Kevin entered the forest proper, and you shifted the bag into your right hand when you finally got the bag’s handles up and at ‘em. “I know the protocol wasn’t meant for those kinds of situations,” you started.

Kevin let his camera rest in his hands at midriff once he had fiddled with the settings enough to his liking. “I know.”

“They’re wrong, you know?” You turned to look at him as you stopped at the first feeder and let the sack of seed and grain fall to your feet with a thump against the earth. Before you opened up the bag, however, you peered up into the wooden house hanging from the branch, slobbered in messy paints and melting smiley faces. There wasn’t a speck of grain or seed left in this one. Satisfied, you bent down to rip the bag open and take out a scoop with your hands.

The shutter of a camera lens fired. He sighed, lowering the camera so he could inspect the test shot he took. “I’ve come to terms with that—all of their opinions, I mean.” He lifted the viewfinder back up to his eye and took another shot as you shoveled the bird seed into the hole. A small stream of it missed and tumbled to the forest floor. “Sometimes I do think like that, though. Whether or not I should have stuck with psychology and become a teacher instead of photography.”

You folded the edge of the bag over itself after dusting your hands off, and the two of you continued onward. “Are you happy with photography though? Do you like the things you’re learning, the work you’re doing?” That was one of the few metrics that kept you clinging onto your dreams—your hands were getting scraped and sweaty holding onto the side of the cliff face, but even though your shoe slipped against the ledge and threatened a long drop, you held on. Some days, you thought it was a sad, desperate effort; others, you found extra strength to dig your soles in.

He didn’t have to think much before answering. “Yeah, I do. It’s… it’s fulfilling.” He shot you a glance. “I guess it’s something I enjoy so much that most days it doesn’t even feel like work. All of the logistic, ‘real world,’ adult stuff is kind of a headache, but…” Even though his sentence trailed off, you could still follow.

You plopped the sack of seed down on the ground beneath the next bird feeder. “I know that it’s hard to think about what-ifs, and I’m kind of a hypocrite about it, too—but I think—” you scooped up a handful of bird seed and poured it into the opening. This house had a little sunshine painted on the roof. “—Kevin, I think you made the right choice. Obviously, it shouldn’t matter what I think; that’s just what I’ve observed so far.”

“It matters what you think,” he replied quietly. “To me, at least.”

The two of you shared a smile as you dusted your hands off again. The chase is hard, but the reward is sweet—those had been his words to you the other day.

“Do you want me to carry that for you?” He mused, in view of your struggle to pick the damn thing off the ground.

You suddenly gained a spurt of strength and energy. “I’m—great.”

His low chuckle followed you as you went. You could hear his shutter go off again.

“Thank you for assuring me that I took the right risk.” Kevin fell into step beside you once more with his camera cradled in his hands. There was a softness to his eyes again, a kind of tenderness you recognized only when it was just the two of you.

You went for a smile. “I feel you, you know? Maybe not on the same level, but you’re not in crisis alone, okay?”

His shoulder bumped against yours. “Get on my level,” he jested.

Your smile haplessly curled up further. “Yeah, yeah, you five year old.” You leaned over his arm to peer at his camera screen. Your heart hammered, blood spiking, when you saw what the subject of all his shots had been thus far. “Oh my god, have you been taking pictures of me?”

He giggled at your reaction. "What? What else am I supposed to be taking pictures of?"

"Uhm?" You gestured with your arm in a wide arc. "There is literally a whole world around us. Nature is much more photogenic than I am." A nervous laugh bubbled out of your chest as you adjusted a lock of hair that had gotten in your face.

"You are totally photogenic," he scoffed. "Literally look."

The two of you stopped in the middle of the path so he could show you the pictures he had taken thus far. Like most people when they saw a picture of themselves, you wanted to grimace, but you tried to search for what Kevin was seeing.

They were all incredible candid shots. The color was so vivid and bright, the edges crisp and focused. He had captured you at the moment when you were smiling, peeking into the bird feeder. It was that split second before the smile bloomed into something bigger when it only teased at the corner of your mouth.

You leaned back and coughed. "I only look good because you made me look good."

"Now that's bullshit."

You both resumed your walk to the next bird feeder. He said to you, "You can't possibly appreciate nature's beauty without appreciating your own, Yn."

You tilted your head and sent him a sidelong glance. "Why did that sound actually profound?"

"What do you mean actually profound?" His face arranged into an expression of offense. "Am I not regularly profound?"

You smiled to yourself. "I mean… if you had to ask—" Click! "Hey, now wait a minute!"

He beamed something boyish at you from over his camera lens. "Whoops?"

The bird seed bag thumped onto the forest floor again and you moved to check the inside of the next bird feeder. To your utter delight, you were greeted by the sight of sticks and mud and leaves slotted together in a messy riffraff, otherwise known as a bird's nest. You could hear the bright chirping coming out from the feeder's hole, and dark gray feathers poked out.

"We won't disturb these ones," you whispered, backing away to collect your bird seed. But before you left, you took a little of the grain to sprinkle on the outer landing ledge.

You didn't even realize you had been smiling out of pure giddiness until you reached the next feeder on the path. You had always secretly hoped that a bird would take over one of the houses as their own. Lo and behold, that hope manifested into reality.

Kevin helped you out with the next one since this tree was hung with a duplex. It was similar to a human duplex; the house was split down the middle to hold double the feed. The two of you carefully transferred seed and grain into its proper place.

"If you really are uncomfortable with me taking pictures of you," he said as the two of you picked up where you left off, "then I can totally delete them." He made a gesture with his hand. "No harm, no foul."

Heat rose to your cheeks. "It doesn't bother me that much," you admitted sheepishly. "They were good pictures."

"See!" Elated, he slung an arm around your shoulders and tugged you against his side with an affectionate shake. "You see the vision? Do you see it now?"

You couldn't possibly say no to him when his expression was brighter than the sun at high noon. At this moment—this perfect moment—when the sunlight streaming through the trees painted his face in a filter of buttery gold… you could definitely see the vision, but perhaps not the exact one he saw.

EPISODE TEN: YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES…

"OH, thank god, you guys went and got firewood!" Jin pressed his hands together in prayer as he jogged over to you and helped transfer the lumber in your arms over to his. On your way back from replenishing the bird feed, you let Kevin hold the remainder of what was left in the bag while you picked up any spare tinder for the fire. There were quite a few loose sticks around that would work nicely for the campfire tonight.

He walked off with your gatherings from the trip, and you and Kevin continued up to your lake house to drop off the bag of bird seed.

"So you were saying about the animal representation thing?" You piped up, recalling where the two of you last ended before your return to home base.

"Oh!" Kevin grinned. "It's so funny because some of my friends—you can totally see the resemblance of an animal, right? But then others don't really get an animal. Like Younghoon: he's just kind of bread."

You nearly tripped over a patch of dirt. "Bread?" You stammered incredulously. "Come again?"

"Bread," he nodded. He murmured in thanks to you when you slid open the screen door for him so he could shuck off his shoes and step inside the house. "But Changmin's a squirrel. Or a giraffe. That's what JC!Yn calls him, anyway; it's because of his long neck."

"Huh," you pondered. Interesting friend group they had going on there. You wondered what you would be…

As you passed by your bedroom on the first floor, you could hear your phone sounding off in aggressive vibrations even through the wooden walls and the closed door. You swore under your breath and pushed into your room to turn it off, then paused when you realized why it had gone off in the first place.

Fireflies.

"Everything okay?" Kevin's voice came back around the bend, his head poking into the space and the bird seed bag nowhere to be seen. He must have put it away just now.

You glanced up at him as you silenced the alarm and tucked your phone into your pocket. You hadn't needed it all that much this entire trip, but you would definitely hold onto it tight tonight. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Ready to head out?"

He didn't question your behavior and nodded. "Ready when you are."

Sometimes campfire smoke burned Kevin's eyes, but that was mostly when he was younger and didn't know any better. The embers of the fire were always so warm and inviting, always luring him toward it and inviting him to stare into its core. He could still feel the sting of the ash in his pupils as he looked at it from afar now.

The summer sun had sunken down into the horizon and gave way to a comfortable nightfall. Above your heads hung curtains of leaves from oaks, and above them was the blanket of night sky bedazzled in stars. Nature, as you had said earlier today, was quite photogenic.

He sat perched slightly away from everyone in the group, settling at the picnic table with his back to the table surface so he could still face into the fire. When everyone regrouped, Joshua had brought along an acoustic guitar and played it for everyone now.

"Sunday morning, rain is falling."

Someone lit up in a small hoot of approval. Kevin observed the group before him, the several families that had come together. He was especially pleased that the Hongs and the Xus were still hanging out with the lot of them, the latter being around a little less, but still coming out to join the fun, nonetheless.

He hadn't even realized when the last time his mom tried blatantly pushing him towards Serena. At some point, she stopped and it slipped his mind.

"Clouds are shrouding us in moments, unforgettable. You twist to fit the mold that I am in."

Kevin scratched his jaw as he turned his eyes down to the iPad settled in his lap. After he had finished up dinner, he ran inside to swap out his camera for his device to get some sketching done. There wasn't a particular project he was working on; he just wanted to practice a little.

When he lifted his gaze back up to pick a subject, he found himself looking in your direction. Your dad and Connor brought out the goodies to make s'mores. Long, slim skewers were passed around the circle, and the kids were the first to receive marshmallows to spear.

You and your sister sat beside one another and you helped her grab two of the mallows to impale. The light from the fire flickered across your face in differing levels of shadow, a play on contrast. Your expression seemed softer here—he wasn't really sure what it was. Maybe it was the tenderness at the corner of your eyes as you laughed at Connor's marshmallow falling burnt into the pit; maybe it was the triumph you shared with Alice when you helped her sandwich her marshmallows between a slab of chocolate and twin graham crackers.

He liked to believe his hand started before he consciously knew what he was doing.

"That may be all I need… In darkness, she is all I see."

"Are you sure you don't want me to make you one?" You asked your brother as he grabbed his redemption marshmallow from the bag.

Connor huffed, puffing out his chest. "I got this."

Your eyebrows flew upward. "Okay, big guy. Have at it." You chuckled and grabbed a marshmallow for yourself, sticking it onto your skewer to let it broil over the heat.

Kevin traced the lines of your face with his eyes, his hand transferring that memorization onto his screen. Sometimes human expressions were a little difficult to portray accurately, and there was a thorn pricking the back of his mind, urging him to do you justice. He didn't know if he could.

Your head slowly swayed to the sound of Joshua's pretty melody, the corners of your mouth tilting upward. Kevin shifted his position on the bench and drew the little tick mark at the edge of your mouth for that slight smile.

He always knew you were beautiful—for fuck's sake, he'd practically said it today in the forest. It had been among the crush of other important conversations, but he meant it. He still had the image of you engraved in his brain, the moment when you discovered the family of birds in the feeder house. You'd lit up like a goddamn star.

You stood up from your spot once your marshmallow became the perfect golden tone over the edges. You stepped over to the chair that held all the ingredients and smooshed the marshmallow between chocolate and cracker. Then, you turned and marched over to him.

Surprise alerted in his features, and he subtly tilted the screen of his iPad up against his chest. "Hey," he greeted softly while you approached.

You returned the expression and held out the s'more to him. "Here. It's for you."

The organ in his chest did a somersault. "What?" He laughed, "For me?"

"Yeah, silly. I don't know why you're so far away, but I know you like 'em." You settled on the bench next to him with one arm braced behind you on the table and your legs crossed, one over the other.

"Thank you," he said, using one of his hands to bite into it with childlike giddiness. The mixture of flavors exploded in his mouth—the crunch of the graham cracker, the soft, gooeyness of the chocolate and marshmallow. A perfect, sweet treat, and done exactly right. "Mmmh, this is so good," he mumbled behind his hand to catch any crumbs on his lips.

You chuckled. "Nice, glad it has your stamp of approval." Your eyes wandered down to his iPad, and you could see the white screen lit up against his shirt. "What have you been up to?"

His eyes widened a smidge, and there came a bashfulness to his face. (Cute.) "Oh, uhm," he swallowed down the remainder of the s'more and tilted the screen away from you. Huh, strange. "It's nothing really. Just sketching."

You hummed in understanding, though it was a little out of character for him to hide it from you. "Ah, I see."

The two of you descended into silence, and you leaned your back against the table to get comfortable. Kevin passed you sidelong glances from the corner of his eye, unsure of how you knew he wanted you to stay. (Because he definitely did want you to stay.)

Perhaps this was a sign. Thoughts had been brewing in his head as of late, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with them. They all just… sort of piled up in his hands and he didn't know how to free them up to reach out to you.

He opened his mouth to say something—anything—maybe even about the pact—to retract the pact?—it didn't matter.

But when he turned to look at you this time, your gaze was elsewhere. That soft, tenderness remained, but you had turned your attention to Joshua.

Ah. He shouldn't have jumped so soon. A hopeless kind of ache twisted in his stomach that made him uncomfortable. He briefly glanced down at his screen of what he'd sketched of you so far and decided it might be better to finish it later.

Fireflies. You nearly forgot that you planned to sneak out and see fireflies tonight.

By the time the campfire was cleaned up and everyone was tucked away into their beds, it was probably nearing midnight. You quietly rustled around your room in the dark and used only your phone's flashlight to gather things into a little knapsack—just the essentials, of course. There was no need to get fancy with it.

You wished you had signal so you could text Kevin and warn him ahead of time that you were about to go appear at his window, but you figured it would be fine anyhow. Even if he wasn't awake, the excitement buzzing inside of you could hardly wait.

Shouldering your bag, you headed out the door and crossed the divide between your house and the Moons'.

You located Kevin's window on the second floor, quietly rejoining when you realized it was cracked open. This had to be fate; what other reason would his window be open? (Clearly not for the cool, evening breeze or anything…)

You cupped your hands around your mouth. "Kevin!" You stage-whispered. "Kevin!"

A moment later, a head popped out the open frame. His hair stuck up a little bit and his eyes squinted down into the darkness at you. "Yn?"

"Yes," you said with a grin that he probably thought was idiotically too large. You waved him down. "I'm gonna go see fireflies!"

It took him a second to compute. "What time is it?"

"Like, midnight."

"Okay."

Seven minutes later, Kevin emerged from the back door with a T-shirt and sweatpants on, a yawn splitting his face. He shook his head out as if he was shaking out the remaining remnants of sleep from his system. You met him on the back stairs.

"So what's this about fireflies?" He asked you as the two of you ventured off into the wilderness.

Last year when you were up here at the lake, there was one night when sleep refused to take you. Your solution had been to go on a walk, and as completely dangerous as that sounded (because it was), you'd stumbled upon the meadow you now took Kevin toward. You hadn't the faintest why you never knew about this place after years of coming up to the lake town, but it was where the fireflies took flight.

The meadow was not too long a walk from where you both lived, and by the time you arrived, Kevin was wide awake.

"It's just over this crest," you told him, the jubilation in your voice nearly spilling over.

Kevin smiled at the sound of your excitement and eagerly followed you up the hill.

As soon as you made it over, you lost all your breath in awe. The meadow sprawled at your feet for miles was completely a-glow. Little beads of yellow-green light dotted the field in every corner like light bulbs strung together by invisible string. You had only ever seen this once in person, the rest via the internet and popular culture (movies, TV shows, and the like), and yet, it never compared to the real life experience.

You and Kevin stood there for a moment to soak in the sight. What a wonder of nature this was.

When you finally gained the sense to, you dug around in your bag for wherever you'd stashed your phone. Your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth as you fidgeted with the settings on your phone camera. You just wanted one little picture to show one of your professors at school, but it seemed your camera-working skills left much to be desired.

"Here, let me," Kevin murmured and gently took the phone from you. He showed you the screen as he fixed the settings—et voilà! Like magic, the field before you became visible on your camera screen in the crispiest, sexiest quality you had ever seen. "And… there you go."

He clicked the photo for you and handed you back your phone.

Mouth agape, you zoomed in on your completed photo. "Thanks, Kevin!" You gushed as you admired his handiwork.

He clasped a hand against the back of his neck. "No worries. Just a few tricks I learned."

You still warmed at the gesture. With your phone now tucked away, the two of you could sink back into the glory of the field of fireflies.

You heard Kevin's voice, soft, "How do they light up like that?"

"Bioluminescence," you replied in a whisper back. "It's a biochemical reaction that basically lets them convert energy into that light you see." There were plenty of other examples of bioluminescence in nature, as well. One particular instance you'd read about once, was a wave of bioluminescent algae appearing on the shores of a Southern Californian beach during the summer. It was neat stuff.

"Wild," he marveled.

A wave of calm fell over your form. You'd never felt so at peace in your life—just you, the outdoors, and one of the few people who made you actually feel this comfortable. You swallowed at the thought.

You were suddenly hyperaware of how close you were standing to him, the backs of your hands grazing against each other. You could feel his skin, his knuckles against yours—and maybe your brain was making it up, but the touch felt intentional.

For a second, you indulged yourself in what it might be like to close the distance and take his hand into yours. Of course, it wouldn't have to be in the romantic way; friends could hold hands… right? They could hold hands and your heart could skip several beats and he could look at your lips, and you would still be friends. Right?

You cleared your throat, and the sound seemed to thunder in the silence. "We should—we should probably head back," you said, sparing a glance at him.

He caught your eyes and held them. His lips turned upward, and the shine in his eyes was fond. "Okay."

With renewed energy, you made the trek back into the neighborhood. Your bucket list items for the summer had nearly all been checked off—not like you had a physical list written out. These were simply traditions you hoped to fulfill every summer while you were here in your happy place.

The crickets chirped a lovely serenade as you and Kevin strolled back onto the street where your houses stood. At the point where you both needed to split off, you nudged him with your elbow. "Thanks for coming out with me tonight."

"Thank you for inviting me," he countered with an amused hum.

"Good night, Kev."

You both lingered for a second. "Good night, Yn," he said back, pausing for a moment. Then he leaned over toward you and pressed his lips to the crown of your head. Your eyes fluttered shut. "Hope the lovebugs bite."

EPISODE ELEVEN: ROCKING THE BOAT

IF there was one thing that Kevin Moon was good at (besides the myriad of things he was actually good at), it was waking up his cousin to exercise with him in the morning.

"I think I deserve a nice, fat stack of pancakes after this," Yuna grumbled after nearly tripping over a raised tree root and kissing the forest floor. She grappled onto her cousin's shoulder to steady herself, the cousin in question giving a light chuckle at her antics. "When your mom said we should exercise together, I thought she meant the next time I was in Vancouver, not right now."

"Well, it's only because Yn's mom planned to go out with my mom this morning," Kevin mused. "Usually I have a designated walking partner."

"Woe is me. Alas, I have become your Plan B," Yuna sighed melodramatically with a hand draped over her forehead.

This morning, at a lovely 9:46am, the lake and its surrounding forest was just as alive and awake as Kevin was. The sun had taken up its perch in the clear, blue sky and the birds had long since begun their morning songs. They were awfully loud at this part of the lake, the exact three-quarter mark around the perimeter. Kevin thanked his parents for choosing houses away from this area—he would have never slept ever if they bunkered up here. (Not that he slept anyway, but that was beside the point.)

The walk began a little later than he usually did with your mom, but he granted Yuna a bit of leeway since she hadn't exactly been given a head's up. (He argued the opposite, but he let this once slide.)

"You're so dramatic," he chided playfully. "Watch out for that rock."

Yuna's mouth morphed into a deep frown, eyes wide open, as she narrowly missed being nature's fool another time. "Oh, speaking of Yn… Yn's mom? Whatever, I just mean Yn."

Kevin perked up at the topic change. His brain was fresh from last night's midnight endeavor with you and the fireflies. His lips still tingled from when he ventured to kiss you on the head… he wasn't sure where that courage had come from, but the memory of it kick-started his heart into a gallop. "What about Yn?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. You tell me." A smile crawled onto her face, and Kevin could smell her slyness a mile away. "The two of you have been hanging out a ton recently."

"We usually stick together," he sniffed, fidgeting absentmindedly with the beads on the bracelet you'd made him.

"Aish," she pressed her features into an unimpressed look that reminded Kevin of a typical Chanhee deadpan. "You're so unhelpful. You know what I'm talking about!" She smacked the side of his arm, and Kevin erupted into a fit of laughter.

His smile grew shy. "I don't really know what to say! I'm sorry—that's the truth." Because how could he even begin when it came to you? Where did it end, where did it begin?

"I see the way you look at her, Kev."

Kevin shoved his hands into his shorts. Suddenly the bird nest he spotted in a nearby tree became all too interesting. The bird nest reminded him of the birds who had made a home out of one of your feeders, and that reminded him of the adorable elation on your face when you discovered it and that reminded him of—he came to a stop. Oh, god, he was so far gone. "How do I look at her?"

Yuna peered at him curiously, then stopped to face him. "You look at her like I look at Jin. At least, that's how I think I look at him." She offered him a supportive smile. "But right now, you look like you're going through your midlife crisis."

"I might as well be."

She barked out a laugh. "Save that for when you buy a house, my friend."

He rubbed his temples with a wince. "Houses, domesticity, money, partners. Why is adulting so hard?"

"Hey, you'll get through it," she told him and nudged his shoulder. "What's going on, dude? What's on your mind?"

Kevin swallowed. He still hadn't the faintest idea where to begin, but everything had to start somewhere. Yuna had always been kind to him (a menace at times, but that feeling was mutual), and he trusted her with his vulnerabilities. He toed the ground. "Okay, last night, I kissed her—"

"YOU WHAT?"

He sputtered, red rushing to his face, as he grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes were practically falling out of her head. "Nonononono! Let me finish, you—I kissed her on the forehead, okay?"

Her gaping mouth closed only slightly. "Oh…" She thought about it some more. "Oh."

Kevin nodded gravely. "Yup."

Yuna straightened with a furrowed brow. "Well, that's not that big of a deal, is it?"

"What do you mean that's not a big deal?" His hands shot to the top of his baseball cap. "How is that not a big deal!"

"That's because the two of you refuse to acknowledge or entertain the obvious!"

Kevin hissed when she reached over to give his forehead a very hard flick. He rubbed the spot that began to smart; getting flicked in the forehead twice in one lake trip was twice too many. "The obvious?"

"That you guys can have the mushy gushy feelies without it being a product of the placebo effect from your moms' collective matchmaking efforts."

He made a face. "That was a lot of words…"

She deadpanned. "Kevin, listen to me: just because the two of you made a stupid pact when you were ten—"

"Eleven."

"Whatever. Eleven—doesn't mean that you can't leave room to, you know, amend that. You have to give yourself the opportunity to explore it, especially when I can clearly see that your feelings are changing about this girl." Yuna grasped her cousin by his shoulders this time in an attempt to telepathically insert these words into his brain. Or at least, just make him listen.

The words seeped into his head. The two of you had already made amendments earlier this trip, but you had never commented on the "only friends part." He even entertained the idea of bringing it up to you last night at the bonfire.

He didn't realize Yuna already began tugging him along the path to circle around the remainder of the lake to get back to the house. Everything was so muddled… but a part of him recognized that Yuna was right. He just wished he could get an idea of where your thoughts laid.

There were moments when you thought life could be like a movie, but then why was doing this pedal boat thing so much less glamorous than it seemed? Then again, maybe you shouldn't have thought doing this at high noon was the greatest idea.

You should have been like your Uncle Seokjin, who sat to your left, swallowed up in a blue lifejacket, a pair of big sunglasses, and a crocheted bonnet with a duck face to keep his face out of the sun. Yeah, maybe glasses would have been a good idea.

Sweat dribbled down the side of your face and down the slope of your nose, and you wiped it off with the back of your hand. "It's so hot, Uncle. We couldn't have waited until later today when it cooled down?"

He leaned back, his cheeks and skin reddened and damp from the heat and the fire in his calves from pedaling. "Okay, okay. Let's stop here."

"Right in the middle of the lake?" You asked incredulously, but immediately brought your feet off the pedals to give your legs a deserved break.

"What better place to do so?"

The two of you lounged in your seat beneath the molten afternoon sun, limbs screaming, water draining from your bodies through your pores. This would have been nice if you brought a sun umbrella… or maybe some water… man, did you make so many poor choices today.

"So what's going on with you and Kevin?"

The question snapped you out of your heat-fazed daze. You nearly thought you hallucinated him saying that. You stammered, "What about me and Kevin?"

You could see his overexaggerated facial expression even from behind his sunglasses. "Yah, don't give me that. You know what I'm talking about—I saw you two last night."

You lurched out of your seat and caused the violent rocking of the boat. You and your copilot let out twin swears as the boat evened out on the waves, and luckily, did not capsize. "Sorry—the fuck? You did?"

"Actually, I didn't," he snickered. "But now I know something did happen. So what's the tea, girl? Hit me with it. It's hot outside but I always take my beverages scorching." He shifted in his seat, carefully, in order to give you his full attention.

You couldn't believe he dragged you out to the middle of the lake just for this conversation. Total Uncle Seokjin move. You walked (or pedaled) right into his checkmate.

Moments of last night flooded into your brain—the campfire, the fireflies, the kiss, the… the him. Kevin. You gulped. Where did you even think to begin? "I took him to see fireflies last night."

Jin scrunched his eyebrows together. "Fireflies? Since when did we have fireflies? You didn't take me to see the fir—oh, you know, what? It was your little romantic moment; I got it."

"It wasn't a romantic moment!" You sputtered helplessly, uselessly. "It was—it was a moment of serenity and scientific marvel."

"You are such a nerd. What did he do, huh? Did you guys hold hands or something?"

Almost. "No," you said. "He… he did kiss my forehead once we got back though."

"Aha!" You both careened as the boat trembled violently from Seokjin's sudden Einstein epiphany. "I knew that something happened," he said once the boat slowed to a stop again. "I just had a feeling in my gut."

"Are you sure it wasn't the yogurt you had this morning?"

"How dare you," he huffed. "I brought my lactose pills. And hey! Stop changing the subject."

You laughed aloud, but inwardly, your gut was churning. Maybe you could blame the heat, but you knew the real reason why you were suddenly feeling as unstable as the pedal boat you sat upon. The idea that the entirety of your friendship could be so easily uprooted… well, perhaps not easily. Picking apart your friendship would be like flushing weeds out of a garden—you would have to get at the roots, and right now, the roots were so deep that you would fall into the ground before finding the bottom.

Not that you wanted to uproot your friendship, or relationship, with Kevin. Of course not.

What did that forehead kiss even mean? What did all of the moments you shared between him this summer, as a whole, even mean? Why, all of a sudden, did you want the way he looked at you to mean something different besides platonic affection? Why did you want more when you had never really thought about more before?

You voiced all of this aloud to your uncle, who sat staring out onto the calm surface of the lake. When you were finished with your ramble, he said, "You need to get your shit together, girl."

You coughed. "Thanks, that was so helpful."

"I'm told that a lot," he beamed. "But really, those are all very good questions, Yn. And they're super important, too."

You frowned, lifting the rim of your baseball cap to wipe away the perspiration collecting at your hairline like a cult. "Do you think that these mixed feelings are a result of all the matchmaking going on? Like, somehow, we've let it affect how we view each other?"

"Honestly?" He sighed, his shoulders lifting and dropping in a half-hearted shrug. "Could be. But, Yn honey, is it really such a bad thing? And let's think about it this way—how do you feel about Joshua?"

You didn't need to think too hard about it. "He's a catch, but not my type of butterfly."

"Exactly, and oh my go—"

"Don't," you chuckled menacingly, "call me a nerd."

He gestured vaguely with his hand. "I wasn't; I was gonna call you a dork."

You snorted. With another swipe at your dripping neck, you said, "But Kevin and Serena—"

"'Kevin and Serena' don't exist," he told you with a smack of his lips. Jin peered at you from over the rim of his glasses, which in kind, made the duck's beady eyes stare straight into your soul, too. "That girl bats for the other team, and Kevin has shown zero interest in her other than helping her not fall off a jet ski."

Huh. You leaned your elbow onto the knee of one leg, propped up to your chest. "Well when you put it that way…"

"When I put it that way," he finished for you, "it makes it a little clearer, hm?" You were quiet for a moment, and Jin gave your shoulder a pat. "Some things are just meant to be."

The words, so familiar to you, rang true as a bell. Some things are just meant to be. You couldn't help the smile that started to work its way onto your face, and it was all thanks to Seokjin helping you sweep away some of the webs confusing your brain. You weren't completely confident, but you could feel yourself being nudged in a certain direction, and this time, you weren't pushing back.

The tide could take you where it may.

Your uncle by association added quietly, "Haven't you thought just once that, after all this sneaking around, there's been another reason for it other than a pact?"

EPISODE TWELVE: FISH IN THE SEA, ANTS IN THE GROUND

BY the time you and Jin returned to solid ground, you discovered that Kevin was away with his dad helping the Xus pack and clean up. Today they would be departing the small lake town, as they hadn't planned on spending as much time up here as the rest of you did. You and most of the others already said your goodbyes at the campfire, so you had little else to do but twiddle your thumbs until you could confront Kevin with your thoughts.

A shower always produced productive results, especially after melting Wicked Witch of the West style in the middle of the lake.

There was time, you realized, to bring things together. Of course, there was a part of you that shied away from wanting to even address this epiphany. What if bringing this up opened up a whole new can of worms? In other words, what if talking about the elephant in the room only led to regret? You didn't want to lose Kevin, and because your families were always so close, you didn't want to lose this. This connection, this tradition, this place.

Too many memories made their home here at the lake. It was your happy place… his happy place. It was everything.

Everything could change, and wasn't that terrifying? But it could also be great, and who best to share the scariest, greatest moments of life with other than your Kevin Moon?

As rubber tire wheels ate gravel, Kevin nodded to his dad and set off back across the lawn toward your cabin. The afternoon had him busy with helping the Xus head home, which he didn't mind doing, of course; the lot of them had fun with his party, and his party with the lot of them. He and Serena left on friendly terms, undeterred by his mother's half-hearted attempt to get them sort of talking. Serena said she understood.

Kevin needed to talk to you though. After the morning was spent with Yuna getting him to see the big ass elephant in the room—trunk in his face and trumpet in his ear—there was no other course of action left but to tell you the truth.

The truth. God, the truth. The truth was that he didn't want the old pact in place anymore. That was it, plain and simple. It was crazy to think about how long the two of you had let it restrain your relationship—wait, did you want it to though?

"Hey Kevin!"

Kevin slowed to a stop, attention perking up at his name when he saw Joshua making his way over to him. He worried his bottom lip. You didn't… like Josh, did you? He just had to be sure because, well, that would throw a rock into things. "Oh, hey, man."

Joshua offered him a bright smile. "Hey. Did Serena and her parents just take off?"

Kevin cupped the back of his head. "Uh, yeah! Just now, actually."

"Cool, cool." Joshua nodded his head. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

His heart threw itself over the side of a cliff. Oh no. He let out a laugh, hoping to push the nerves out of his voice, but he was sure it wasn't too convincing anyhow. "Really? What—what about?"

"It's about Yn—" Oh, double no. "—I kind of," he winced, "noticed that her mom was trying to… nudge us together?"

"Oh god, let me be the first to apologize—"

Joshua broke the tension with a chuckle. "Hey, it's no worries! I just didn't know if you were aware or not because you and she kind of seemed like a couple to me, but I didn't know if her mom knew."

Kevin blinked, heart quickening for a different reason. "What?" He stammered. "Sorry, can we rewind?"

"Hm? That you and Yn are a thing? Are—are you not?" He gasped, eyes going wide. "Shit, that was stupid of me to just assume. Sorry if that was totally awkward!"

Oh, but quite the opposite. Kevin could feel the blood rush to his cheeks, clear as day. There was a warm feeling in his chest knowing that more people thought that you and him looked like a couple. It was ridiculous how the thought got him giddy now. Kevin shook his head though. "No, no, you're good, dude. But we aren't a couple." Yet. Hopefully.

Joshua cocked his head to the side curiously. "Oh? I guess… it's still a little strange of me to assume, so I apologize. You're…?"

"Interested?" A nod. "Yeah." (Wow, that was a verbal admittance. One step closer to the real thing.)

Kevin cleared his throat and grabbed his shoulder with his opposite hand. "You're not—you're not interested in her, are you? I mean," he rushed to add, "it's totally fine. I understand—"

Joshua shook his head. "Oh shit, no, I'm not interested. Not that Yn's a bad person or anything, but I'm taken."

Pause.

…that made sense.

Joshua laughed, ducking his head to hide the smile that blossomed on his face. "Yeah, I'm already spoken for. My parents don't really know yet, but… yeah. I didn't wanna get in the way of whatever you and Yn have, and hopefully I'm not saying this too late."

On the contrary, a weight lifted from Kevin's chest and he sucked in a lungful of summer breeze. "Nah, man. Thanks for saying it in the first place; I appreciate it."

"Yeah," Joshua said pleasantly. He nodded at him, lips pursed with one eye squinted. "She digs you, too, you know? I've seen it all throughout this trip."

Hope filled his heart like the air ballooning his lungs. He didn't know what to do with all of these. They just kept coming up onto the stack of things in his hands that he wanted to take into consideration and tell you to your face, once and for all. Your face just kept flickering in his mind's eye, and the nerves were slowly melting into excitement. He wanted to share this with you, as the two of you had done for years.

"I hope so."

Joshua clasped a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I would say 'go get 'em, tiger,' but I have a friend at school who is scarily obsessed with tigers, so I'll just say—" A squeeze of his shoulder, "you got this."

Kevin didn't know what to do with that extra factoid, but he gave Joshua a grateful grin. "Thanks, man."

The pair split off from there, one heading back toward his own cabin, and the other, marching toward the future. Whatever laid ahead, he could take on.

His step gained a skip, and soon, he was jogging across the green until he appeared at your back porch. He hadn't really prepared anything—no romantic gestures, no flowers or candles, no chocolates. All he had were the words on his tongue and his newly realized love for you. Love, a strange phenomenon. He had his love for you stashed away in his breast pocket and it blossomed every summertime.

He let himself into the house and went poking around for you. "Yn? Yn, you back yet?"

No answer.

He ducked his head into the kitchen, the living room, before he came upon your bedroom door left slightly ajar. Through the sliver, he saw the bottoms of your feet on the bed, and he gently knocked on the door before pushing through.

"Yn…? Ah," His voice quieted to a whisper.

You were curled up over the bedsheets, asleep. Kevin slowly tiptoed his way over to you where your body was angled toward your phone screen, lying discarded on the pillow and actively running an episode of Our Planet.

A smile, fond and tender, pressed itself into his mouth. He reached over to carefully turn the downloaded episode off to descend the room in complete silence.

His head swiveled toward the foot of the bed where your patchwork quilt hung off the railing. He carefully draped it over your sleeping form, then made his exit.

You deserved the rest. And though he couldn't confess to you now, this gave him the time to ensure he got this exactly right.

EPISODE THIRTEEN: THE DAMSELS IN DEVOTION DEAL™

TIME passed by differently here.

One moment, you were biding your time and indulging in an episode of Our Planet; the next, the bedroom was dark and the house was quiet. You roused from sleep confused and delirious. You stretched your limbs up over your head, taking note of the quilt draped over your body.

Huh, you wondered how that got there.

Your eyes fluttered and squinted when you stood up and saw a flicker of amber light from outside your window. The view looked over only part of the backside to the house, so all you could see were the shadows that the campfire created. They danced by way of the breeze, their puppetmaster.

The time on your phone read a (slightly alarming) ten o'clock. You hadn't realized you slept that long. Maybe you were more tired than you originally thought.

Wait, then why was the campfire still blazing?—

"Yn! Psst!"

You pressed your face against the open slit in the window to track the sound of your name. Déjà vu swept over you as you discovered Kevin making his way over toward you from the outside. "Kevin? Is everyone still up?"

He shook his head. "No, no. I've just been waiting," he admitted sheepishly. "Come on out. Have you eaten yet?"

"Oh, no. I just woke up."

"Ah… right." He clasped the back of his neck. "Well, come out anyway. We can sit together."

Together. You liked the sound of that.

Without wasting more time, you promised him two minutes and scurried out of your room to round to the back door. The campfire crackled on your side of the lawn, rather than the middle of the properties this time, and Kevin tended to it on one of the two foldable chairs present.

You took a seat in the open seat. "S'mores?" You chuckled, noting the basket of ingredients at his feet.

He ducked his head. "Yeah," he loosened a laugh, "I thought I'd make you a s'more this time."

It was just a s'more, and yet, here was the organ in your chest palpitating in your chest. You didn't reject the s'more, of course, and watched him skewer a marshmallow and hold it over the blazing embers. As he did so, you caught the way his other hand fidgeted with your bracelet on his wrist, how his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. Was he as nervous as you were?

The thing, Yn.

"There's something I—" You both stopped short at your simultaneous words. They were the same, too, and had the pair of you fumbling.

"You first," you said, gesturing to him.

He hummed and tried for a smile. "Do you remember that night in sixth grade when we made the pact?"

You nodded.

"It was kind of like this actually," he mused. The marshmallow had browned into a beautiful gold, and you reached into the basket to help him assemble the chocolate and graham cracker pieces. Your fingers grazed his as he squished the outer crackers together to hand it to you. "A late night, s'mores, the campfire."

You took a chunk out of the s'more and swallowed before adding, "Seems like so long ago."

"Right?" He slipped the metal skewers back into the basket and leaned his arms onto his knees, body angled toward you. "The pact, I…" He considered his words as they melted on his tongue like the chocolate and marshmallow on yours. "I wanted to ask if you would think about another amendment."

You met his eyes now. The burning fire reflected in his dark irises, warm and bright. "An—an amendment," you parroted. Was this what you thought it was? You finished off your s'more, hoping not to choke when he told you whatever he wanted to tell you. You suddenly wondered if the s'more was just to soften the blow.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, another amendment. We didn't really discuss the biggest part of the original pact when we made the rescue protocol."

"The 'just friends' clause," you finished, breathlessly.

"Yn, I don't wanna be just friends anymore."

It didn't hit you at first. You swore the ash from the fire was making you hear things, but it hit you, milliseconds later. "Oh."

He pursed his lips for a moment. "It's taken me a stupidly long time to come to this conclusion, and I was thinking about what we were talking about the other night—about if we were ready for relationships. And I said that maybe the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with was someone I already met.

"Yn, I think I'm in love with you," he said. "Not just in a way that friends love each other, but something… something more. And I wanted to let you know because—if I'm being completely honest—I want to share everything with you."

You could feel the way your lips curled upward and your heart soared. "I wanna share everything with you, too. And I don't know how long I've sat on this, but what I do know is that I feel so much for you." Every admittance that was released into the night air like sparks flying was another card laid out between you two, face up. "This place, the lake, has been my place, Kevin. But I want you to be my person."

He smiled at you, sweet and boyish, the type of smile that made you feel on the edge of seventeen. He helped you out of dark places with that smile; he was always showing you the light. "Your person," he murmured, letting that sink into his tongue and be familiarized with it. "I would love to be your person, Yn."

Your hand found his across the gap between your chairs. His thumb caressed over the side of yours, and he tucked his other hand over top until you were enveloped in his clasp—safe and sound.

When the fire was reduced to nothing more than ash and memory, you and Kevin raced each other down to the water's edge. The lake was stilled beneath the moonlight, a pool of silvery mercury. You reached for his hand again and intertwined your fingers firmly, a comforting weight and hold.

It felt right.

"So since we made an amendment to the protocol again," you started as he swung your laced hands between your bodies, "we need to seal the deal."

A grin bloomed on his face, and he bit his lip. "Hear me out," he drawled. "Maybe we should update the seal, too."

You narrowed your eyes in jest. "You just don't want me to flick your forehead."

"Sue me, you flick hard," he laughed.

"But shoot."

He licked his lips and turned to face you. "Can I show you?"

Your heart gave one big lurch as he leaned over to you. You closed the rest of the distance and sighed something happy at the feel of his lips against yours. It was gentle and brief, his mouth parting from yours to give you enough room to back away.

You could feel your twin smiles. "I kind of like it."

"Yeah?" He hummed. "Well, that can be our practice round."

You shook your head and threw your arms around his neck to pull him back over to you. His arms curled around your middle, hands pressed to your sides and holding you close.

When you broke apart this time, his warm chuckle ran a delicious bolt of electricity down your spine. "I know things are gonna be different now… But we got this."

It was the way he looked at you—the one that assured you he was the same Kevin he was three years ago and beyond; the kid who broke the swing set when you challenged him to a bet; the kid who sketched butterflies in meadows, and now sketched you in the firelight; the kid who would never judge you or ridicule you for your feelings, but validate them, always. You didn't know how you were so blind to it before.

It wasn't so scary anymore, not when you knew he would be there with you.

"Yeah," you said softly, running your thumb down the back of his neck, "I'm not really worried."

He let out a breathy laugh, and it coaxed one out of you, too. Kevin pressed his forehead to yours, pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose, pressed his heart to yours.

Some things really were just meant to be.

a/n: now the question is how are they gonna tell their moms... 🤡 if you enjoyed, pls remember to reblog, or comment, or send in an ask!! thanks for reading :] see you in at your convenience!

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[genericpuff]

How long do you plan making rekindled? I loved Lo at some point, But now I cant get enough of your version!! And I wanted to know how did you come up with the darker back stories for Rekindled?

I have a semi-detailed skeleton of the plot with basically every story beat planned out, but I can't definitively say how long it will be as I haven't actually scripted every single episode out yet.

Not to mention a lot of the time my scripts will change from their original versions, by the time I get to an episode I've planned ahead for I've either thought of new ways to do it or don't like how it's paced so I change it. Case in point, there was a specific scene I had planned for the next episode and then wound up not liking the pacing because it was too fast so I moved it to several episodes away and restructured everything on the fly, took a whole new text document and scrapping sketches to figure shit out LOL I actually do have up until Episode 70ish scripted out in my documents with like, actual notes and dialogue for each episode, but I already have sooo many of those crossed out now because of how much I've had to tweak and change as time has gone on. This is why I plan ahead well in advance though, so that if I do need to make those changes, I can make them long before the episodes are even due to be drawn (and believe me, they get changed during the sketching phases too LOL).

What I can confirm for certain is that the current 'arc' we're in right now is definitely the bulk of the story. And that's not to say there isn't any content afterwards, more like the pacing just gets completely turned on its head in the last 30-40% of it where shit gets N U T S and just can't go back to the same energy that it was in the beginning. Without spoiling, there's a certain 'turning point' in the plot and everything after it isn't quite as long as the stint of story we're in now. This is mostly because the arc we're currently in is still establishing a bunch of stuff like the Underworld Corp, Persephone's schooling, etc. and once that turning point hits, it's basically all character development and focusing on the consequences of everything setup in the first arc.

I guess if I had to illustrate it, the story progression in the end will look something like this?

It's basically just this slow and chill climb that, once it hits that sharp peak, doesn't ever return to normal levels LMAO So I guess enjoy this part of the story while you can because it's the chillest it'll ever be w(°ｏ°)w And boy, I am EXCITED for that peak, but we have a long way to go before we get there. As for how long, well, I'm hoping I'll be able to have Rekindled's story wrapped up in the next 2 years, tops. Just depends on how the update schedule goes, and assuming the plans I have put down for the plotting don't change in any major way. I don't have as much of the latter half of the story actually scripted out yet so for all I know it could wind up being way longer than anticipated, but right now I have a pretty good sense of how the story beats will play out in relation to each other.

So it's kind of a wait and see thing, at least until I have every episode scripted out, and even then I won't be 100% sure because things are always being tweaked and fixed and changed on the fly! I'm guessing it won't go much longer than 170 episodes, give or take, but that's a very very VERY rough estimate.

Regardless, Rekindled still has a lot more story to tell, and I'm hoping y'all enjoy the ride with me <3

As for the darker backstories, y'all don't even know yet. Like... I've got stuff planned. Stuff that even Banshriek (my BG assistant) doesn't know about. Stuff that I keep buried very deep in Rekindled's episode documents that won't see the light of day until they have to be ripped out of the deep dark trenches of the characters' own buried secrets, and by that point, the toothpaste will be out of the tube, there will be no going back. So, again... enjoy it while it lasts. Because I don't pull my punches. And maybe even you won't be able to look at me the same way again once the final blow has been dealt.

Sleep well.

:)

#k but i am actually really nervous for how those bigger turning points go #esp the spiky one LOL #i feel like it'll definitely be uh. interesting. in how people feel about it. #but mostly because it'll just be a punch to the gut #i will definitely give adequate warning when it's coming so that people can steel themselves LOL #ask me anything #ama #anon ama #anon ask me anything #lore rekindled ama

[harrysmmm]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧

Fanfiction: The Relics of Hogwarts (CLICK THE LINK BEFORE READING THIS)

Draco malfoy x Y/N Riddle (f!reader)

A/N: First chapter of the fanfic! It took me a whole week to write this, and a whole week to create the plot of the story. This chapter sets the tone for what is to come - more draco and the reader's interactions will happen in the following chapters. I am beyond excited to be posting this, I hope you guys enjoy it - I really had the best time writing it (it helps me deal with reality which I very much thank). Also, two things before you go and read it: one, my mother tongue is not English, once again, so forgive me for any mistake or wrong word that I might've used; two, every paragraph or conversation that is written in italic is a flashback (I think it was clear but just to be hella clear). That's everything for me to say... also you don't know the amount of research I've had to do in order to be precise on every description, family line, Hogwarts system... it's crazy the number of tabs I've opened during the creation of all of it. Last thing, I have never done this before but if you'd like to be on the taglist for each time I post a new chapter, put it in the comments or write me an inbox and I'll gladly do it! I'm going to try to do my best and post a chapter every week - two would be ideal. I tend to write pretty long chapters so it takes me a lot of time to finish them. I'm going to stop writing, this is becoming addictive. Love you, this fic is for all of you out there.

W/C: 4.3K

masterlist here

Summer was about to come to an end. It was pouring rain in the Scottish mountain range; a wild, twisted, ravaging storm that left a lifeless valley at its steps. Someone was rushing through the vast hallways, crackling footsteps as he was approaching the stone gargoyle. He whispered in a low, hoarse voice: “Cockroach clusters”. A stoned spiraled staircase revealed itself behind the statue, he marched them upstairs.

At the top, a wooden door was slightly opened revealing at its gap a dim light and an overwhelming heat. Under this particular weather, there was a need of a fireplace.

The professor stepped in the headmaster’s office.

“Severus,” Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the Wizarding School, Hogwarts, greeted the man, “what can I do for you in this, rather hectic evening?”

“I –” he stopped, having been interrupted by a loud thunder, “have some news from You Know Who.”

Dumbledore froze for a moment. “Ah!” he uttered, heading towards his centered desk, and sitting down. “Tell me what you know.”

“You Know Who’s daughter is supposedly coming to Hogwarts this year.”

“How is that possible?” Dumbledore seemed confused.

“He has gotten back in contact with her, after seventeen years,” Snape said in a monotone voice of his range. “I have been told to keep an eye on her.”

The storm was heavily attacking the gleaming windows.

“This is no coincidence - I suppose you know that, Severus.”

“I… assumed.”

“Voldemort has something in mind – something that involves the school – or Potter.”

“The child has always been in his sight, why would it be that now he is looking to get to him by sending his abandoned daughter off to school while she has a cursed bloodline herself, it seems a little…odd… from my perspective, Professor.”

“You’re right, Severus - but we need to be en garde.” Dumbledore was looking all around his desk seeming to try to dismantle this new information. “Does the girl know why she’s coming?”

“It seems like she does.”

“U-huh,” he replied. “Well, the link between Draco’s commended mission to kill me and the arrival of Voldemort’s daughter is evident; he’s trying to gain some presence within the school.”

“And,” he continued, “the girl and Draco have known each other merely from birth, they’ve grown up together as siblings, haven’t they, Severus?”

“I wouldn’t use the word siblings, Professor – as far as I know, they roughly consider each other cousins.”

“Right, right, cousins…”

“Professor,” uttered Snape.

“Huh?”

“What should I do?”

“Well,” Dumbledore got up and walked towards the animal that was gripping a stand cage. It was an elegant phoenix; he had crimson feathers covering his entire body and a long golden tail resembling that of a peacock. His name was Fawkes. Dumbledore caressed the animal as he continued, “you have no choice – she will have to attend this year at Hogwarts. In fact, she will directly be put into Slytherin, that way your task will be eased.”

“If I may, I don’t think she would’ve been sorted into any other house, giving her lineage, Professor.”

“Right, descendant of Salazar Slytherin, right…” Dumbledore didn’t seem to be there, his thoughts spiraling up, trying to find the connecting factor.

“I see you… pensive” said Snape in return.

Dumbledore moved from the bird to the East of the room and stood next to the recollection of memories bottled up in glass jars.

“We both know, Severus, that Voldemort doesn’t hold any sort of affection towards his daughter; he’s incapable of it.” He frenetically moved to the West of the room. “That girl has been raised by Druella Black, mother of the living Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. The girl has never had any contact with her father, nor her mother for that matter.”

“If I may ask… what happened to the mother?”

“Well, no one knows what happened to her; no one even knows who she is. Voldemort hasn’t had any known-of partner in his life.”

“Right,” replied Snape. “Although the girl has, so it seems, a tight relation with the Diggory family.”

“The Diggorys… Cedric Diggory? The boy that Voldemort killed during the Triwizard Tournament?” inquired Dumbledore.

“Indeed. She’s presumably close to his father, Amos Diggory, who works in the Ministry of Magic.” completed Snape.

“How?”

“I don’t know, but she will come to the school as his niece, omitting her last name Riddle.”

“A façade.” Dumbledore had a lost look.

“Yes.”

“There’s a lot of things that we can’t grasp, Severus. You will keep an eye on her, I will deal with the rest.”

“As you wish.”

Snape turned around, swinging his cape as he moved to the door.

“Severus,” Dumbledore called him, before he could walk away, “Hogwarts is, once again, being threatened. This time, it might be the last time”. He looked at his hand, a black dark magic had scattered through most of it.

Snape understood his words but didn’t reply.

A black figure made his way down the enchanted staircase.

ྀ࿔

The hallways were full of students. Bustling chatter about summertime and vacations was spreading around the walls of the entrance hall. First years were arriving in canoes through the Great Lake that surrounded Hogwarts while upper years were progressively making an entrance, after getting off the Hogwarts Express.

She noticed the attunes of most students. Black robes seemed to be the official uniform, with varying colors on the hood, sleeves and the edge of the front depending on the student who was wearing it. At the front of it, there was a patch in accordance with the colors of the robe – she assumed it was the house patch of the student. She particularly laid her eyes on the green one, the one who seemed to have a snake in the middle. She knew that Father had attended the school – and even if she was mostly ignorant about the school system and supposed houses, she knew her father had been a green-robed student.

Snape started to climb up the Grand Stairs, she followed him. Various students and professors were hectically going up and down the stairs, making her have to pay attention to not brush shoulders with any of them. Snape was not looking back at her, swinging from side to side as if he knew seconds ahead who was going to go up or down.

Her mind wondered back to the reason why she was there; to the mission Father had commended her to do. She had heard about Wizarding Schools, Hogwarts in particular, since nearly her birth. However, Druella never wanted her to get mingled with academic wizards and witches, fearing for her life as a Riddle. That last name did not follow any welcoming reception in the Wizarding World. But after Father’s come back, things have changed all around.

She couldn’t help but travel back to the moment it all started.

“F-father?” she called him, pitch black consuming the entire room of the Malfoy Manor.

She could hear him moving. Hollow wooden floorboards slowly crackling at his steps. She could also hear his snake hissing - that’s how she knew he was standing in front of her.

“Child,” he finally said with a whispery, throaty voice, “I missed you.”

She felt two arms making their way to her ribs while slowly tangling behind her on what seemed to be a hug. She didn’t move, shivering of horror.

“My daughter.” She felt the air of his voice in her ear, making her swift breathing be noticed.

She understood that he knew she was afraid.

His arms were no longer wrapping her, and she felt how he was circling her by the crackling wood yet again.

“How have the Blacks been treating you?”

She gasped.

“Fair enough…Father.”

He seemed to have moved to the other side of the room.

“And the Malfoys? The young boy, Draco, is he nice to you?”

She tried to relax her breathing.

“He is - they all have always treated me as one of their own.”

“But you’re not one of them, are you?”. He moved closer to her again, as she felt his snake sliding next to her foot.

“I-I guess I’m not.” She could’ve sworn she saw a monster in front of her. She closed her eyes tightly.

“Your stay with them might’ve been enjoyable, but I’m afraid you must leave.”

Something in her stopped when she heard those words.

“Where?” she inquired.

“To the Diggorys.”

“I don’t know who they are.”

He was standing in front of her. She could sense it.

“They are nice people that will take you under their roof – now, I need you to befriend them, become one of them. You will need to take on their last name.”

She didn’t say a word and let him continue.

“I need some things that lay within the walls of Hogwarts; some things that someone wants to steal.”

“Harry Potter,” she whispered, not being able to contain herself.

“Do not mention his name!” he raised his voice, and she could feel his face almost touching hers.

She nearly started sobbing.

“You don’t get to say his name in front of me, do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He leaned back some inches from her. “Some objects that are in the castle belong to me. I hid them so they would be safe - but it has come to my attention that they might be in danger.”

She kept listening.

“When the time comes, I will need you to go to Hogwarts as a Diggory and bring those objects back to me. You will be fully awarded for the act,” he paused, “and gain your place by my side.”

She heavily breathed when she heard that. After all those years, her father was offering her a chance to make him proud, to honor her last name, to have a family.

“What are these objects?”

“You’ll must bring me the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw, the locket of Salazar Slytherin and the sword of Godric Gryffindor. All of them make the Relics of Hogwarts.”

“Now,” he continued, “you will leave to the Diggorys tomorrow morning. I will be back to tell you when you will attend Hogwarts.” He paused. “I’m afraid I must leave you now, dear girl.”

“Father?” She needed to ask.

“Yes?”

“Who is my mother?” she asked away. She figured that now that he needed her, he couldn’t hurt her for asking.

The seconds that lasted the silence lingered in her like a death sentence.

“Your mother ran away as she had the chance. I would be tarnishing your name by speaking of her.”

She knew that wasn’t the truth; she sensed it in his voice.

“Did you love her?”

He breathed heavily; he was getting tired of this conversation. He swiftly approached her once again.

“Love does not exist. Don’t let them bewitch your mind.”

And just like that, he vanished through dark smoke.

ྀ࿔

“Hogwarts. What a pathetic excuse for a school,” Draco snapped. “I’d pitch myself off the Astronomy Tower if I had to continue for another two years.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Pansy Parkinson, close friend of Draco, replied.

“Let’s just say, I don’t think you’ll see me wasting my time in Charms class next year.”

Draco, Pansy and Blaise were sitting down in a wagon of the Hogwarts Express. Draco knew it was his last time returning to Hogwarts. He also knew his biggest stress this year was not going to be about returning good grades home or beating Potter in the Quidditch finals. The Dark Lord had commended him a very important mission, and now that his father was facing sentence in Azkaban, he had to bear with the responsibility of the family’s loyalty towards the Dark plan.

Blaise blurted out a small chuckle to Draco’s words.

“Amused, Blaise?” the blonde boy replied. “We’ll see just who’s laughing in the end.”

Draco heard a noise coming from the rack above their seats and saw his bag having slightly been moved. Someone was eavesdropping on the conversation through an invisibility spell, and he bet on bloody Potter. He didn’t talk much after knowing the conversation was not confidential. In what twisted pathetic adventure was Potter trying to be the hero on this time? His blood was boiling by just having to pretend not knowing he was there. That tosser that everyone always praised – he wouldn’t last two days in his position. After all, life was not about heroic acts, corny speeches, and lucky fate – some people had been given a family name to respect, an expectation to be met. He thought, once again, about the mission that had been commended to him by the Dark Lord; how his wand would have to end the life of the greatest wizard alive; how he would go onto History as the man who assassinated Albus Dumbledore. He realized his hands were sweaty and his heartbeat higher than normal. He tried to keep his composure in front of everyone in the wagon and fixed his gaze on the rich green Scottish fields – clouds welcoming him to a thunderstorm.

ྀ࿔

“Ah! Y/N Diggory! Come in, come in…” Dumbledore greeted the girl in his office.

“Thank you,” she replied, following Snape. She didn’t take too much time to have a look at the curious, but glamorous place.

“Do you fancy my office? I must admit I am really fond of collecting peculiar objects,” he approached a table where all sorts of outlandish things were scattered. She noticed the blackness of his hand when he grabbed one of the objects, “I don’t always know what they do but I find them really unique as room decoration, don’t you think?”

“I’m sure being the headmaster has its advantages when it comes to decorating.”

“Oh, being the headmaster has plenty of advantages, Miss. Diggory,” he replied in a whispery tone.

“Now, you, as a new Hogwarts student, have also a lot of advantages;” he continued, “First of all, you are skipping from year one to year six, so you won’t have to bear first years’ Potions on how to make a cure for boils or first year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts on how to cast an Expelliermus.”

You simply nodded.

“Then, Professor Snape has told me that you’ve already passed through the Sorting Hat and you have been assigned to Slytherin, is that correct, Severus?”

“It is.”

It was not correct. She hadn’t gone through any house assignation, but she understood that Dumbledore didn’t know about it, and that Snape had probably settled her in Slytherin for a reason – therefore, she didn’t question it.

“Wonderful. An ambitious, clever girl, I see”.

She smirked at him. She bet he was not by any means a Slytherin himself.

“Lastly, I assume you have all this year’s textbooks, ingredients, plants, constellation maps, perhaps? Oh! I assume you have a pet by now! And a wand…”

She looked at Snape, knowing that she hadn’t bought any of those things herself. Except for the wand that she got at Ollivanders when she was eleven, after Druella had told her she would get a private tutor to teach her magic.

“She has,” Snape simply replied, without giving her any look back.

“Then everything seems to be settled. How are you feeling, Miss. Diggory?” Dumbledore deeply stared at her. This time, she felt like he really wanted to know the answer.

“Really honored to join the school, Sir.”

“My door is always open for any visits. Never underestimate the magic of being listened, Miss. Diggory.”

She nodded and followed Snape downstairs, thinking she was probably never going to step into that office again.

Snape and Y/N arrived at the dungeons of the school, where the Slytherin dormitories could be found. Snape turned around to talk to Y/N.

“All of your things are in your dorm, number 3, all the schedule and times are also in your dorm, the password to the common room is pure-blood… don’t want you sneaking after ten p.m. or you could get… into trouble.” His intimidating black eyes were on hers. He turned around with a swing of his cape.

“Oh,” He turned towards her again, “supper starts at six.”

She was alone in the castle for the first time. She uttered the password on a low voice and a bare stretch of stone wall opened, leading her to a corridor. Once she walked through it, only lightened by torches hang up on the stone walls, she arrived at the common room. It was a high ceiling, ample room; dark green shades flickering from the multiple windows. Low backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas were placed all around the room; skulls on top of tables; and dark wood cupboards. Tapestries of numerous medieval figures decorated the walls. Y/N noticed the highlighted portrait of an old man that she recognized to be Salazar Slytherin, founder of the Slytherin house and one of the four founders of Hogwarts. She knew this because she was a distant relative of his, through her father of course. She noticed she was alone and headed directly to her dorm.

Her dorm was a five-bed room with one bathroom. She recognized her bag next to one of the beds. On the side table, she found a pile of textbooks; she started leafing through some of the books: Advanced Potion-Making, A Guide To Advanced Transfiguration, Flesh-Eating Trees Of The World… Her eyes wondered to the parchment at the right where her schedule and attending courses were shown. She started to read through the different school norms and times when she felt something brushing her leg. She startled at the contact when she saw a small black kitten going under her bed. She kneeled and grabbed it, putting it on the bed. The kitten had big emerald eyes that were looking into hers, as if it had some sort of human spirit inside.

“You must be my pet, huh?” She grabbed it again and looked to confirm the sex. “A Miss… Should give you a name, shouldn’t I?” She laid down on her bed caressing the kitten on her chest, thinking of a name for her. She realized that it was the first time she let herself sink down and relax since her arrival. A lot of thoughts were constantly crossing her mind telling her to focus on everything, to plan everything, to think about everything – it was exhausting. Exhausting… she came up with something.

“Your name is Exhonia. What do you think?” she asked the kitten as if she was going to reply. The kitten was scratching her jumper.

“Okay Exhonia, don’t get too ahead on yourself.” She grabbed the rather turbulent cat and placed it next to her on the bed.

The only time she had ever dealt with a cat was a the Diggory’s house, near Ottery St Catchpole. Cedric’s pet had been a brown and white cat, a rather upset one she might add, especially when Cedric was not around anymore. She had gone to the Diggory’s a month after the boy’s death when Father had asked her to.

“What can I do for you, dear?” a middle-aged man, short and plump opened the door of the cottage.

“My name is Y/N, Sir – is this the Diggory’s house?”

“Yes, yes… what is it that you want?” he wouldn’t entirely open the front door, as if he didn’t trust the world outside.

“I came to talk to you. I was really close to Cedric.”

The man seemed to freeze.

“And I was hoping to come and meet you since you would’ve been my father-in-law”.

And that is how she managed to spend a year living under the roof of the Diggorys. Amos Diggory fully believed her when she told him the story of how she was supposed to marry Cedric once he would end the Triwizard Tournament; how they had wanted to wait until the end of it to tell his parents. She told him, through a little bit of sobbing, how her parents had dropped dead on a car accident, being herself a muggle-born, and that the only family she had left was the Diggorys – even if she had never met them before. Amos and his wife found in her a beam of light; the spirit of Cedric in a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl. They never questioned the story, nor her intentions and adopted her as a Diggory that had always belonged in the family. It was not until one year later that Y/N shared with them her dream of attending Hogwarts, as Father had contacted her back and told her it was time she fulfilled her mission. They accepted with little objection, happy that they could spoil a girl as they once did to Cedric. Y/N, as a sign of gratitude, asked them if she could inherit their last name, to which they happily agreed. She became Y/N Diggory, niece of Mr. and Mrs. Diggory, as she told them it would be more appropriate taking into consideration that no one knew about her planned marriage with Cedric. Even if Y/N didn’t really want to get mingled in the Diggorys life, she knew they were living in delusion, desperately looking to fill the void of their son’s death – which Y/N, in a way, managed to do. They were in need of a miracle, she offered them the fairiest of fairy tales… who cared if it was all a script of lies at the end of the day?

Her thoughts came back to the present moment when she heard a bell chiming the hour. Six, so she counted. She decided to go down for supper, still curious that no students had yet come to the common room.

She walked up the stairs and dived through the hallways, meeting no one on the way. When she started to hear some familiar voice she recognized as to Dumbledore’s, she followed it, understanding she was somehow late to some sort of first day speech. But in the middle of her wanderings, an old-wrinkled man with a cat yelled at her.

“And what do you think you’re doing lurking in the hallways?” He firmly grabbed her by the arm.

“I was looking for the Great H- let go of me!” she replied, trying to get rid of his grip.

“The headmaster will hear about your wanderings, young lady!” He dragged her towards the doors of the Great Hall. Both doors slammed open when he pushed them with his bare hand. Dumbledore’s speech was immediately interrupted. Hundreds of eyes turned towards the old man’ and Y/N’s direction.

“Headmaster, sorry to provoke such an entrance but I found this girl wandering around the castle, missing the opening ceremony” he gave her away to everyone in the room. He pushed her forward so everyone could see who he was screaming about.

She stood at the beginning of the corridor between the students’ tables. She looked ahead, Dumbledore standing up in a podium, several professors sitting down behind him and, of course, a few inches away from her, long tables filled with students of different ages, different houses, staring at her like she was the most bizarre specimen. She decided to say something.

“Sir, I-“

“There’s no need, Miss. Diggory,” after her last name had been dropped, all students started to look at each other, mumbles starting to form, “you can join your table with the other Slytherin students.”

She didn’t reply, hearing how the room had become a cloud of voices at this point.

“Thank you Argus for the help. But, Miss. Diggory was just lost, being this her first day at Hogwarts.” The voices intensified. “Now, while it is always very joyful to welcome new students, I must ask you to stop the chatter.” Students seemed to listen to him, and seconds later there was little to no sound.

Y/N sat down on the first free seat at the Slytherin table, still feeling like half of the students’ gazes were settled on her. Once Dumbledore had proceeded with his speech, she discretely took a look on the people that surrounded her. Four large tables divided the Great Hall, one for each house. Her gaze wondered through the Gryffindor table, looking for a certain scared-boy. She of course knew about the prophecy, as well as she knew the history between him and her father. She had thought about eventually meeting Harry Potter but never really figured how she would react to his presence. Should she hate him, pity him, fear him? The boy was her age – which didn’t leave a lot of room for fear. But she was still curious to see how they would react to one another, even if the boy was unaware of who her father was, as well as everyone. She guessed she would eventually meet the chosen one during class.

Her eyes turned back to Dumbledore, who was finishing talking, when someone pulled their arm towards her.

“They are calling you from there,” a dark-haired boy told her, while pointing to the other side of the long table.

She switched her focus to look for the person who was calling her. A blonde boy tilted his head down to meet her gaze. He playfully tilted his eyebrows while a smirk made its way to his face. She smiled at him while slowly shaking her head. It was no other than the heir of the Malfoys himself. He stared deep into her eyes a little longer, then shifted his gaze back to some Professor that had started talking. She looked at him a little longer, letting herself feel for no more than five seconds the accelerated heartbeat that she was still unfamiliar with. She eventually switched her gaze back to the Professor too. The Slytherin heir was back at Hogwarts, and this time, she had the Prince of Slytherin by her side.

part two

#draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy x y/n riddle #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco malfoy smut #draco malfoy fluff #harry potter imagine #harry potter fanfiction #hogwarts imagine #hogwarts fanfiction #slytherin fanfiction #slytherin imagine

[lowkeyremi]

I found you (Yazukza Eren J x fem!reader)

Basically, you've been messing w his yakuza group anonymously, n he finally finds you (why did i think of the "me when i fucking get you" meme)

Content: Angst, eren's a bitch, suggestive, kidnapping, language, cocky-ish reader, a lil fluff, plot twist btwn u n eren

Oml this prob the darkest thing I've written

banner by: cafekitsune

It hurt to open your eyes, so here you are in this dark environment; more specifically a cold floor. There's a blindfold over your eyes, not that it matters because once again it hurts to open your eyes.

The smell of mold is so powerful that it's the only thing you take note of. Where the fuck are you? You aren't even sure how long you've been— where ever this is.

Creak, thump, thump, thump. That tiny voice was telling you to pick your head up because someone is coming, the louder voice was reminding you that you answer to no one so you will not pick your head up.

The blindfold was removed and you let out a groan. The light hitting your eyelids already feels bad enough, opening your eyes is going to be a pain in the ass.

"Open your eyes." A soft spoken voice commands. You do so out of curiosity, and boy, are your findings humorous.

"I refuse to believe I was kidnapped by a thin, blond, boy such as yourself." You attack him with your words. Those baby blues widen, the blond smiles maliciously.

"I didn't kidnap you, my friend did. I'm just here to get answers from you." The blond runs his hand through his short hair.

"So you're supposed to torture me? How cute." He only has shown enthusiasm to your behavior, which pissed you off a little.

"Precisely, I may not seem all that scary but I know how to get answers from people." He say intimidatingly.

You say nothing in return because you don't believe him at all.

"F/n, L/n, is it? That little sister of yours is very pretty. Wonder what would happen if I sent some guys-"

"My sister is more than capable of kicking ass, she learned from the best." You imply yourself as the best.

You're twenty-three while your sister is twenty. She's learned self defense and offense attacks in case of an emergency.

"Interesting, most people crack when a family member's life is at stake." He grins.

You are a little bit worried, but you know your sister better than anyone. She can handle anything thrown at her.

Armin, you learn, keeps asking questions, trying to get information out of you.

"You might want to just tell me because my buddy Connie isn't as nice as I am." He threatens.

"Let's hope he doesn't hit like a sissy." You respond.

Armin laughs like he's crazy. Then once again asked, "why have you been stealing our shipments and sabotaging our missions?" His voice no longer held any softness it had earlier.

"Like I said the last time, because I wanted to." A smirk creeped onto your face. Armin was getting impatient with you and your annoying back and forth with him.

He clicks the little earpiece and starts talking, "should I send in Connie or Mikasa? She's refusing to cooperate."

He was silent while the person on the other end spoke.

"Oh... alright I'll wait for you to arrive." Armin smirks at you an evil look in his eyes.

"You've done it now, have fun speaking to him." Armin crosses his arms and begins to whistle.

Excitement flows throughout your body, who are you going to encounter next?

Within a few minutes a man with long brown hair, emerald green eyes, and a well fitted suit walks in with a woman who has short black hair and a red scarf, the other man has a growing buzz cut and a nasty scowl on his face.

"It still surprises me that one woman has been able to cause so much chaos in my group." His velvet voice shook your soul.

"Never underestimate a woman, Eren." The black haired girl speaks, she has the voice of an angel.

"You can go Armin, thanks for the help." The brunnette dismisses him.

"Of course, if you need anything I'm in the main building." Armin smiled at you as he walked out, it was more of a childish 'you're in trouble now' kind of smile.

"Do I look familiar to you?" Eren asks.

You knew an Eren when you were a young girl, that was a long time ago. This man doesn't look the Eren you knew.

"No, am I supposed to recognize you?" Eren looks at your chained arms and he chuckles.

"You should recognize me, does 'Eren's famous mud pies' ring any bells?" He asks folding his big bulky arms.

"I didn't want to believe it was you." Is all you say sighing.

"What was your reasoning, if you didn't know I was the head of this group?" When Eren had found out his childhood crush was antagonizing him, he thought that you were trying to get his attention.

"Your father." Eren's eyes widened.

"My father?" He asks.

"Yeah, at first I thought he just didn't like my family. Recently though, from the test results it turns out he killed my father and once attempted to murder me in my sleep. I was only returning the favor. Seems the old geezer retired and put you in his place to save his ass." Before Eren could respond Connie spoke up.

"How do we know she isn't lying?" He asks.

"That would be a very sick thing to lie about." Mikasa counters.

"So Dad wasn't lying about that..." Eren whispers more to himself than to anyone in particular. You hear it anyway and your eyes squint.

"You knew?" Betrayal starts to seep through your body, even if you haven't seen Eren in a long time he was still somebody you used to trust your life with.

"Well yeah, but when he confessed it sounded too ridiculous to be true but now that I know it's true, I'm angry. I can't believe he tried to fucking kill you." The look on his face is lethal. You understand his anger but it makes you upset that he's more concerned about you than the fact that Grisha killed your father.

"It doesn't matter to you that he killed my dad?" Venom is laced in your voice, Eren's emerald eyes flicker your way and they soften for a moment.

"That's not what I meant. Of course I'm mad he killed your father. I'm... I just- I'm pissed he tried to kill the girl he knows I love! Even if that bastard is my father, he's going to pay." Eren blurts his love confession to you and everyone else is shocked, including you.

"Love? Eren what the actually fuck? Why didn't we know about this?! I thought we were like family!" Connie shouts he sounds more betrayed than angry.

"Yeah Eren, what the hell? Saying you love me won't bring my dad back." You're smug now, it hurts thinking about him but you won't cry, especially not in front of the son of the man who killed him. That would only make his death more pitiful.

"You can't seriously be implying you don't feel the same way." Eren's voice holds none of that comfort from earlier.

"Eren, don't do this. Not everything will go your way." Mikasa reminds him calmly.

"I wasn't fucking talking to you Mikasa! Answer the damn question!" He screams at you.

It seems he's the same as he's always been, your little maniac.

"Eren you are so pathetic, why obsess over someone like me?" His hands ball up into fists and it looks like he might bust a vein.

"Quit stalling, you can't tell me you don't love me after all those years we spent together." Connie grips his shoulder, but it does nothing to ground Eren because he's lunging at you in rage.

"No Eren, I don't love you. How could I? You and your asshole father can rot in hell." You're lying straight to his face, you want nothing more than to kiss him right now. It's not possible, maybe in another life where your father is still breathing.

Mikasa and Connie use all their strength to pull him back. You watch as they escort the love of your life out of the basement. He's screaming and cursing at you. The only thing you seem to tune into is, "This isn't over! I know you love me! You can't punish me for something I didn't do! I still love you." The last part was spoken quietly.

Your heart was beating loudly in your chest from everything going on. When he's out of sight, you mouth, "I love you too."

pt 2??? maybe?????

#eren jaeger x reader #eren #eren yeager #eren yeager x reader #eren x reader #eren aot #aot #aot x reader #eren jaeger #mikasa ackerman #mikasa aot #connie springer #connie aot #armin arlert #armin aot #armin #attack on titan x reader #attack on titan

[l1tw1ck]

4k Follower Celebration!

Send in numbers + letters + a character or two and you'll receive a short fic in return!

Requests Open

Rules:

☆ Read My Writelist if you're new

☆ You can send 4 numbers and 2 letters

☆ You're allowed to add any other kinks that aren't listed here

☆ You can expand on the prompt and add a plot if you want to

Phone Sex

Shower Sex

Stockholm Syndrome

Yandere

Restraints

Drunk Sex

Corruption

Somnophilia

Stepcest

Public Sex

Voyeurism

Kidnapping

Camboy

Marking

Heat

Cameras

Perversion

Stalking

Car Sex

Hybrids (Cat Boys, Puppy Boys, Bunny Boys, Etc.)

Power Imbalance (Teacher/Student, Boss/Subordinate, Sugar Daddy/Sugar Baby, etc.)

Thighs

Window Sex

Over Sensitivity

Virginity Loss

Sex Pollen

Aphrodisiacs

Free Use

Innocence

Dacryphilia

Crying

Asphyxiation

Hate/Angry Sex

Stripper

Alternate Universe (Royalty, Role Reversal, Villain, etc.)

Cockwarming

Hate Sex

Roleplay

Dom/Sub

Dressing Up (Cosplay, Lingerie, Skirts, etc.)

Cum as Lube

Blood as Lube

Orgasm Denial/Delay

Size Difference

Predator/Prey

Creampie

Praise

Degradation

Humiliation

Choking

Succubus/Incubus

Daddy Kink

Coming Untouched

Hypnotism

Glory Hole

DILF

Cheating

Blackmail

Non-Con

Objectification

Coming in Pants

Age Gap

Just The Tip

Double Penetration

Broken Condom

Womb Fucking

Mind Break

Video Sex

Dry Humping

Monsterfucking

A. "Keep your voice down."

B. "I've barely even touched you."

C. "You're nothing but a whore."

D. "Where do you want it?"

E. "Please don't-"

F. "I'm sorry."

G. "I'll do anything!"

H. "Not inside!"

I. "Stop struggling."

J. "You're mine."

K. "Stay away from them."

L. "Don't make me say it again."

M. "You look better like this."

N. "You didn't wear any underwear?"

O. "It hurts!"

P. "You thought I wouldn't find out?"

Q. "Kneel."

R. "Don't touch me."

S. "Show me."

T. "...whether you like it or not."

U. "I'll be gentle."

V. "It won't fit."

W. "What if I don't?"

X. "You need to learn some manners."

Y. "More~"

Z. "I need you."

#wicks🕯️events

[inlove-and-dying]

The Walking Dead characters as things from the quotes channel on Discord (Ft. Y/N) PT 2

Negan: nice, I slap children

Y/N: my brain is smooth! it hardly has any wrinkles! the only wrinkles it has are from stress!

Daryl: you run like a deer in the headlights

Carl: I am not above drop-kicking children

Michonne: time sure does fly when you've been sleeping all day

Negan: do you have a crush on me? Rick, without missing a beat: no, I have standards Negan: Negan: I just asked you that to see your reaction but OW-

Y/N: cats are not human

Carl: another day, another slay. and as I like to say, go fuck yourself!

Y/N: *about Carl* there go his ribs.... oh and his life too i guess.... oh nevermind he's still alive the stupid bitch

Y/N: I'm just gonna.... slide the L to you... Daryl: and I'm just gonna.... flip the bird to you....

Glenn, at 2 AM: reject humanity, become B A N A N A

Negan: manslaughter... I can't believe it's not murder!

Michonne: my ducks are not in a row. heck, I don't even know if my ducks are alive!

Carl, to Daryl: you're a tall midget

Rick: where are you going? Y/N: *exhasperated sigh* Australia Rick: oh Rick: you're gonna die Y/N and Carl: *laugh* Carl, quietly: that's the point

Y/N: I would just like to say Y/N: Daryl has a rockin' set of tits Y/N: I mean have you seen them??? Y/N: and not to mention the HAIR oh my god the HAIR Y/N: I W A N T H I S G E N D E R

Glenn: Maggie. MAGGIE. I have decided that I am going to be a walking blue stick

Daryl, to Glenn: you're talkin' a lotta smack for someone light enough to be thrown into oncoming traffic

Negan: I'm going crazy. I said killed someone and said "eat this, it's good for you"

Carl: you squished my weiner :(

Y/N: y'know, IDK crap about the Bible but I do know the entire Pokemon timeline

Rick: *comes into Carl's room* I think I've found your trouble sleeping Carl: what? Rick: *points to coffee cup* maybe you should be having that in the morning instead of at night Carl: but morning for me was 3PM Rick: try 9AM Carl: nooooo that's nastyyyyyy

Negan: I'm so manly that even my balls have balls

Carl, to Negan and Rick: aww, look at you! arguing like the old couple that you are!

Enid: do you have a fruit loop stuck up in your nose?

Tara: go dink some water children. hydrate or die straight

Rick: I am.... Rick: going to war, for plot reasons

Michonne: Im pretty sure i lose more blood on ym period that I will with a broken nose, I'll be fine

Carol: dude, you're trying to speedrun seeing God

Y/N: gotta love that E N E R G Y J U I C E

Carol: get outta here, dude. I revoke your life pass

Abraham: If all else fails, we get a tank

Maggie: be nice to everyone! *looks at Y/N and Carl* I'm talking to you two!

Eugene: THAT IS A FOUNTAIN. A FOUNTAIN IS A DECORATIVE RESEVOIR USED FOR DISPERSING WATER

Glenn: I am extremely dying

Governer: *laughs in evil*

#twd x reader #twd incorrect quotes #the walking dead x reader #the walking dead incorrect quotes

[haywire-hetfield]

HIII idk if i’m late but can u do lars n james w/ 1 + 34 + 48 …. 🫶🏻

You're never too late, anon! And sure :)

Send me a number along with a pairing (or leave it to dealers choice) and I'll write you a snippet (500 words or less)

1- "Did you touch yourself to the thought of me?"

34) "Need a hand?"

48) "I heard you last night."

Lars was grinning as he sat in James’ bed with him, showing too many sharp teeth and giving James an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He seemed up to something and Lars plotting was rarely a good thing. He was too close to James, looking at him as though he was searching for something in his face. 

“I heard you last night,” Lars said suddenly and James was confused. Luckily, Lars elaborated before he had to ask. “I heard you jerking off,” He laughed and James shook his head. 

“So what, man? Everybody jerks off,” James shrugged and it was true. He couldn’t even count the amount of times he’d heard Lars jerking off. He wasn’t sure why the other was bringing it up as though it was some big scandal. 

“So, I heard everything. I heard you moaning my name,” Lars told him and James felt his cheeks heating up immediately. His heart started racing in his chest, worried he’d made things weird between the band or that Lars was going to make fun of him. “Did you touch yourself to the thought of me?” He asked and there wasn’t judgment or mocking in Lars’ voice. No, it was something…Else. 

James couldn’t quite be sure, but he thought it sounded like Lars was happy about it. He gave a tentative nod, deciding to just be honest. If Lars knew it anyway, there was no point in denying it and starting an argument over whether James had been or not. 

“I bet you were imagining it was me touching you instead, weren’t you?” Lars asked further, but James didn’t answer. This time, it didn’t seem like Lars was looking for a response. James’ cheeks were bright red now, embarrassed and flustered by this situation. Lars didn’t back off, though. Hell, James wasn’t sure if he wanted him to. “Bet you imagined what it’d feel like with my hand wrapped around you instead. Maybe even my mouth,” Lars suggested, the words sending a shiver down James’ spine. 

“Fuck,” He breathed out, unsure of what else to say. He didn’t know what to say when his best friend was talking about getting him off. So many emotions had gone through him so quickly. Fear, worry, relief, arousal now. He was embarrassed to admit it, but he felt himself getting hard in his jeans just from that mental image. “Yeah. I imagined it was you,” He told him quietly, his voice harboring a bit of shame. He shifted around, a bit uncomfortable as he was so vulnerable with Lars when he hadn’t expected this conversation. 

“Yeah, you like that, huh?” Lars hummed, glancing down between them and clearly noticing that James was beginning to get hard. “I bet you hoped I’d come in here and make you come instead of just your hand. Weren’t you, Jamie?” James gave a nod this time around and Lars looked back up at his face, his smile closer to a smirk now. “Well, James? Need a hand?”

#they're my absolute beloved #my baby #hetrich #jlars #james hetfield x lars ulrich #lars ulrich x james hetfield #james hetfield smut #lars ulrich smut #lars ulrich nsft #james hetfield nsft #smut #nsft #metallica smut #metallica nsft #metallica #james hetfield #lars ulrich #asks #rpf #fanfic #fanfiction

[fruity-phrog]

ok hi i read ur anon post i agree w everything n now i NEEED 2 know allll of ur thoughts abt colinmichael + colin's arc and also if u have any colinjamie/ bi jamie or roy hcs. love love love ur blog!!!!!😌💓💓💓🫂

First off, the serotonin you two anons are giving me is insane, this is such a nice ask and I am very happy rn. Thank you for actively inviting me to discuss my hyperfixation.

So most of my thoughts are compiled in the aforementioned anon post, but I have more so here you go:

Since you mentioned Colin's arc, there's something I've noticed. Ever since Colin has been canonicalized as queer, and even before when people simply headcanoned him as queer, his entire arc and history has been pretty much erased. He's not just this closeted guy on the team. He was a dick to Nate for the most of s1 and maybe even some of s2, but then had an uno reverse card pulled on him and got bullied. His character was developed throughout the seasons, especially when Jamie left. He began to change and stopped being Isaac's cocky right hand man. This is something most people forget as he progresses, something I think we need to remember simply because it's a part of his character.

I think that when Isaac and Jamie find out Colin and Michael are dating they will not let Colin forget Michael's height. Isaac definitely makes fun of Colin's height even though he's the same height as Jamie, so for him to be dating a man smaller than him? Instant comedy.

As for bisexual Jamie... firstly, just look at that man. Singular dangly earring. Ridiculous sitting positions. Eyebrow slits. Istg if he turns up one day with black nail polish I'm gonna throw something at my computer. But also, I think he doesn't really understand attraction to men. Obviously, with a dad like that, he has his fair share of toxic masculinity hurting his chances of coming to terms with any kind of sexuality. But I feel like sometimes, maybe as a kid or maybe as an adult, he'll look at a man and feel something and immediately go "Nope this is jealousy I am jealous nope nope nope". Also he definitely had a crush on Roy as a kid. But I'm not to sure about Jamie x Roy in the present. They strike me as more big brother/little brother vibes, but I can definitely see where the shippers are coming from.

And since we're talking about gay Ted Lasso - Barbara 100% has a crush on Rebecca. It's just a fact. She has a crush on her. Maybe that will segway into bisexual Keely being brought back because even though it's already canon no one talks about it.

Actually, I'm going to touch on that as well. Keely is canonically bisexual. Colin wasn't the first queer character - Keely was. "If I'm going to dip my toes back into the lady pool, I can't think of a better body of water to do it with than you." I know it was played off as a joke but it's still canon. I'll actually be quite disappointed if they don't revisit that because the GA has completely ignored it. Keely. Jones. Is. Bisexual. This is a fact.

Okay I've once again diverged from the plot of the ask so I'll steer it back with a theory (kinda). I mentioned this briefly in a post but I really want Colin to stand up against Isaac and the team's comments. Nothing much, just "That's rude". And when Isaac jokes about if Colin's gay, he just says "Yeah. I am. And I want you to stop it". He needs to address the things he said to stay in the closet and I'd love it to be like that.

I actually wrote a random fluff oneshot for Colin coming out. I still think he'll be outed, but I'd love for him to have some control before that happens.

Okie that is my rant. Thank you for asking, and thank you for the compliment about my blog! Have a nice and gay day <3

#cedar crap #colin hughes #michael ted lasso #keely jones #jamie tartt #bisexual jamie tartt #ask

[fortunefool]

hi hello everyone!! im here w yu sera and her luck manip ability!! aka ur rabbit's foot & broken mirror in one! ik ik ... 2 in 1 .... what a steal ! formal descriptions / pages will b coming this weekend!!!

dc is avail. upon req if u prefer it over tumblr ims (which im ok with, btw!!) & like this if u wna put our beasts in some situations (if u want to plot) ! OH! and ty to evry1 who has alrdy reached out!! tw for mentions of : death, murder, drowning, sewer side.

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ statistics .

name : yu sera. (유세라)

birthday: 980922. (twenty5)

hometown: yongin, south korea.

education: master degree in nursing, second yr.

residence: yellow hall('s resident advisor)

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ biography & co .

you see, sera's life has been L after L after L, back to back

her mother? poor, modest, v excited to have a daughter. her f*ther? HWAKTHU. fluctuating between rich and poor, gambling his life away, alw fucking around, messing w the wrong people, scamming!

scammer on scammer hate crime ensues when a dubious low budget genie irl tells sera's dad "give me all the $$$ u have. but dw dw! i can grant u a wish... such as.... i'll give ur newborn daughter the power of Luck." and he leaves out the part that Luck is bad n good.

and what does her dad do? he listens!!! a born, living, lucky charm? sign him tf up!!!! he waits for sera to be born, tells her mom that he has to leave n he will take sera (so he doesnt have to share the lucky charm yknow), the mom tries to fight for the daughter but... ope... person w money vs person w no money.... yea... head low.

sooooo, she spends her childhood pretty happy. daddy's girl n all! w an ability that she believes to be some form of Good Luck Manip. she sees her dad as the best man in the world and he. loves. it. why? bc it makes her ability v powerful and he keeps on winning, buying expensive things, not being caught etc etc... just living the best life off of sera... but ofc. nothing lasts forever.

sera enters her teenage years and hell breaks loose. she accidentally learns that her mother didnt abandon them (as per her dad's fake sob story), she figures out that her dad is no Fair businessman and it alllll comes crumbling down.

so young and so shaken up with new, different emotions, she quickly learns that she can manifest bad luck as well. luckily(?) for her dad, she was still in denial so the bad luck wasnt strong enough to k*ll him off.... but it did take away all of his riches which cld count as murder in his books. long story short, he becomes a Monster, trashes her things, kicks her out, leaves her out in the street w nothing.

i'll try to make this part rlly brief bc i want her Trauma to be traumaing but i also dont want to get into graphic deets!! couch surfing at a friend. friend dies. parents hate her. sera starts searching for her mom, someone tells her that she's dead. ope... sera tries to end it all bc of that by drowning. randomly gets saved. ends up living w this cute ol lil lady, a retired nurse, who feels like a grandma figure for sera... baow. accidental bad luck manifestation makes them get into an accident, guess who survives thru survival luck and who doesnt. yea....

so ... you may be thinking ... now what. WELL. she hears abt sua ... abt the Patch (one that she cldnt afford/get her hands onto) so she decides well. im sick of being the bad guy (accidentally) all the time, im sick of spiraling, im sick of my ability fluctuating. let me become a nurse and help out! maybe i'll finally get to use my power for proper good this time....

soooooo she tries to cheer up during her uni years. she gets more control over her ability but theres still lots to learn! her emotions still affect her deeply but its no longer THAAAAAAAAT bad.

her goals? become a v v v good nurse. gain complete control over her ability and use it w her job. help ppl w her power. find her mom. and... devious smile..... find her dad to k*ll him w the bad luck.

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ ability .

luck manip!!! she can give u good luck or bad luck!!! her eyes turn green when it's good luck & black when it's bad luck! she can touch u, look at u, think of u, it works either way! ofc, she can do more w a touch than w a thought!

she can make you get the luck you need to find your keys or to win the lottery! she can make you spill ur coffee all over ur new clothes or get u vvv sick! anything goes! if it's a casual ez kind of luck (keys, coffee), then she'll need a few moments to regain her energy. if its smth more extreme (lottery, sickness), she needs a few days (even up to a week), to recover!!! the more complex it is, the more it drains her energy!

it's all within d laws of physics & limits of 'reality' ! so she cant get you to magically materialize ur lost keys back and she cant spill invisible coffee on u! ALSO!!! this ability only works in like... idk.... a 100-200 miles radius!

her Survival Luck is also present n exists and she can (and has alrdy) managed to survive a bunch of extreme situations (see above)! however, the Way that she survives it.... out of her control fr.... cld be a scratch, cld be 5 broken bones, not up to sera!

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ brief personality .

she's v chill and looooooves helping people!!! not super hyper BUT still a fun girl nonetheless! not boring by any means despite being v toned down and lowkey!

DESPITE the previous bullet point, she is extremely afraid of getting attached to people and LET ALOOOOONE love them so she tries to keep everyone at arms length. why? obv bc of her ability and her fear of not being able to control it properly... she doesnt want another friend + grandma incident.

has a tendency to become mellow / nostalgic and can be caught overthinking... which she tries to do while on that nullivi .... ofc! LDFDFGJJ

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ plots .

a few friends????? a few foes?????? a few younger ppl @ yellow hall she's helped out as a resident advisor??? someone who tries to get close to her but shes ADAMANT on not letting that happen?

ppl affected by her good luck..... what abt ppl affected by her bad luck.... ooo swearing up and down that she didnt mean it and it was accidental... cld be true or not. ppl accusing her of using her powers when she didnt? OOOO what abt using the bad luck on a person that she was told was a bad person but sera was only manipulated into thinking soooooooo ooooooouuuuu

someone who's known her ever since she was a teenager? watching her go thru the whole spiral of bad luck??? maybe theyre older and even told her abt sua!!!

what if there's someone who jus doesnt believe that she has an ability? or they do and they think its a stupid one? NLKFJGN idk...

i kinda want lots of angst for her.... i think it'd be fitting.... lets put sera and ur muse thru the pain machine tgt!

THANK YOU FOR READING / SKIMMIN THRU THISSSSSSSSSS SMUAAAAAAAAAAAAACH!!

#⠀ ⠀ 𖹭 ⠀ ⠀ 유세라⠀⠀ ⠀ ›⠀ ⠀ ⠀ intro. #nm:intro

[blueiight]

You're so right. the sex industry is lucrative and fast money. Since the Du Lacs were months from bankruptcy an honest business was not going to cut it. He even says that his little corner grocery stores weren't making enough. And I'll bet getting that kind of big money that fast while also being the token/pet black was addictive.

he needed to get rich fast cuz his family was also unaware of how close to bankruptcy they were. i wouldnt say he liked being the token black person more than he liked the power n psychosexual performance of controlling what these rich white men have sexual access to. “the product was desire” his modern self says. and he was the plug. re: his fixation on acquiring the fairplay salloon in ep1-2 is motivated by that & etc etc etc. ep1 when lestat is like “u made me buy a townhouse in the quarter” louis is like “i know men of my race look the same to u ppl but i aint sell u no house” & as soon as he becomes a vampire in ep2 he kills the assessor (?) for calling him a “good negro”. lestat is a french white man he knows little about here other than this guy has more things than me & hes feeling up on lily while staring at me. i wanna be him , kill him, and REDACTED by him. it unnerved him bc lestat was likening him to lily in that moment of sexual tension. translating lestat’s sentence, snarking at him off the jump, then being mesmerized by him not to put my ship goggles on [for a canon ship ik lol] is a rly gr8 way to set up the lxl dynamic n how louis operates. show louis is someone with sum i deem interpersonal racial pride. he interacts with his particular black classed community of his era n shows a perfectly respectable face in the eyes of the black church, his baby sister w the tickets up the garvey line, but everybody know where that money come from& r perfectly fine eating off its benefits. louis strategizing to get ahead at the expense of the black ‘collective’ outside of his immediate network. claudia would be someone outside of that as a poor black girl. shes the type of girl louis couldve .. well. lets just say, the fact that louis saved claudia in the midst of the race riot n losing his family , their shared tie of being made immortal by lestat & decades of living with lestat brought this temporary show of solidarity in the murder plot btwn lou+clauds that otherwise may have not have been there had claudia & louis met in a diff situation n show potential to go a lot of places in parts of s2 when lestat is out the picture. anyways. louis is not a self loathing black man n he hates being the token, but he was hardly a paragon of racial solidarity in s1. n he was always aware that his privileges were extremely conditional & dependent on how much of himself he was able to comparmentalize in situations where he did not have the upper hand and had to put aside his pride. what better to set up a certain kind of person whod favor eternal life, than a suicidal bougie boule opportunist of a black gay man whos aspects of himself all existed on different bookshelves.. who had to lie about his family’s financial condition to them, who tries to maintain this double life even with newly bestowed immortality. hes not grovelling at tom or fenwick’s feet, he plays the game to stay afloat but despises having to smile in their face. thats why when hes a vampire & the laws r discriminating against him hes so much more transparent in showing how he feels about them. all that pentup aggression he felt as the only black man in those rooms is the fuel for why he gored fenwick& ripped up toms jaw. i think 1x01 louis was actually at a breaking point but 1x02-beginning of 1x03 b4 the vampire starvation shit louis was rly feeling himself when the dough was rolling in. he has the fairplay salloon, he has lestat, he can ‘control’ what white people have sexual access to. but all that crumbles…

#yn. #yn answers #iwtv #louis de pointe du lac #Hes not a buy back the block type nigga hes the ‘i can fuck & kill a honkey out ws’ type guy. jacob anderson saying lou can kill a racist #but cant kill Racism.

[cahmilo]

dumping another request here, but this time with camilo and its also fluffy fluff fluff

Camilo x Fem!Reader where they're aged up (however you like it) and reader is babysitting dolores' "kid" until dolores walks in with her actual kid and and camilo kisses the reader on the lips and runs away shapeshifting into his original self LMAO

(you decide if its established relationship, or friends to lovers thing as long as its fluffy i'll take it LMAO)

Doppelganger ㅡ camilo m.

pairing: aged up camilo madrigal x female reader

genre: fluffy fluff fluff

word count: 3120

tags: mutual pining, shapeshifter camilo, babysitter reader, post-canon encanto

summary: camilo madrigal isn't exactly the confident and cocky boy everyone knew about. sure, he's had his boastful and proud moments but when it comes to his liking for a particular girl in town, well.... let's just say he tries. this time though, he devices a plan to hog her attention for a day.

a/n: MOCHIE all ur reqs are amazing i swear <33 also i hope u dont mind i changed some of the ending cause i saw fanart w similar plot as this so i decided to make it different lol

Knock Knock Knock 

Camilo opened his eyes, disrupting himself from his dream as the knocking become louder. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes with a yawn. In contrary to the 'sunshine boy' everyone sees him to be, he was unfortunately not a morning person. It would take a few more knocks to fully wake the shapeshifter of the Madrigals, and this was the fourth time. 

Having little to no energy, he stood up and made his bed. There was no way he would be able to fall back asleep anytime soon, for the entire town is awake and chattering with their own respective chores. Camilo can faintly hear voices outside his room, probably from his family yelling for their chores every morning before breakfast. 

Footsteps trudging, he leaves his bed all while constantly yawning. He needs the daily arepas to fully awaken the boy, which is the only reason why he looked forward to morning, specifically for breakfast. 

Yawning once more, he contemplated going back to sleep. Yesterday's event of Mirabel's birthday had him completely knocked out, probably drank and danced too much for his liking. 

His half-lidded eyes refused to stay up. Again, he desperately needed some substance or food to bring him out of dreamland, something that would energize him, something that would make him feel-

"Good Morning, Y/N!" Camilo heard his father's voice from the outside balcony, footsteps getting faster like she was running somewhere.

His eyes immediately shot up as soon as he heard your name. 

Turns out, it was enough to fully wake him. 

Figuring that you were in the Casita early in the morning, Camilo then dashed all the way to the house's shared restroom, freshening himself up and making himself look presentable.

Oh shoot, I forgot the curling gel in my room! He muttered a curse as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, his hair was a frizzy mess and he needed to get that fixed ASAP. Immediately he rushed out to run to his room, but unluckily for him, he almost bumped into you who was not watching where you were going.

With a yelp, he halted from his tracks sighing as he didn't get to crash into you. Looking up, he froze at the close proximity. You were literally right there in front of him, giggling at his panicked state.

"Bad hair day?" You asked, holding back a laugh. Camilo silently cursed himself before regaining his composure as he stood up and playfully rolled his eyes at you. "Tell me about it." He scoffed.

You ruffled his hair, further making it worse while he swats your hands away and whines. "Stop! I was on my way to fix it!" You let out a hearty laugh and unknowingly making Camilo's heart do constant backflips from your voice. 

"If you want I can help you style your hai-" "Oh I know that mischievous grin, hermosa. You're definitely doing anything but styling it." Camilo interrupted you, raising his eyebrows. Yep, he sees through you. You can only give out a sigh and slumped your shoulders while pouting and he pinches your cheeks. 

"Okay, not that I don't mind but you're not usually here early in the morning" Camilo trailed off, leaning on the balcony rails while looking at you.  

You mimicked his actions, leaning on the rails while facing down to the ground floor, motioning to the family downstairs preparing for breakfast. "Senor Felix called me, he wants me to babysit Manuel this afternoon cause Dolores and the rest of the family are busy."

Oh. Camilo thought. Not, surprised, you were the town's second babysitter after Camilo. In times where he is extra busy, you were the one that took over. It was also probably what made you and Camilo closer. Oftentimes you would babysit children together and you both enjoyed it.

"I feel betrayed that she didn't ask me to babysit my nephew." Camilo dramatically exclaimed, putting a palm in his chest to further prove his nonexistent point. This only made you laugh at him again.

"Maybe I'm just better." You smirked. "I'm like that calm wife that tries to keep their baby away from trouble" 

"Oh, dropping the 'wife' word are we? Does that mean I would be the husband?" Camilo flirts, leaning more towards you who had a dead-panned look. 

Two can play at this game. You grinned. Playing along with his antics, you leaned closer as well, putting your hand on top of his which was resting on the balcony handles. "Well..." You whispered in a low voice. Camilo's breath hitched, not fully expecting you to flirt back. 

"- in your dreams, Madrigal" You exclaimed playfully, pulling away and booping his nose. Camilo scrunched his face and then pouted. "You're mean-"

"Breakfast in 10 minutes!" Abuela Alma's voice echoed through the house, abruptly interrupting you and Camilo's moment. 

"Well, you have 10 minutes to fix your hair, hermoso" You snapped back to reality, ruffling his hair to mess it up again making Camilo groan. You turned your heel as you turned away, strutting to leave before he calls you back.

"Not even a goodbye kiss for your husband?" You froze. So much for the flirting earlier... 

Turning back, you rolled your eyes and walked back closer to him and seeing his smug smile. Thinking hastily, you aimed to fluster him as you cup his cheeks and planted a kiss on the corner of his mouth, barely leaving enough space closer to his soft lips. Pulling away, you laughed out loud seeing his gaping face, oh you definitely flustered him. He was frozen like a statue. You pat his cheeks twice and snapped him back to reality. 

"8 minutes, Camilo." You turned around and left confidently, even flipping your hair as you walked out. Camilo however, lagged for a good minute before he ran back to his room while screaming internally. 

—

"Hello? Earth to Camilo!" A waving hand snapped the boy from his thoughts, jolting up and slightly shaking his head. Quickly realizing that he spaced out, he looked around only to find the entire family in the dining table staring at him weirdly while Mirabel was snapping her fingers in front of his face. 

"Are you okay, hijo?" Pepa asked worriedly, putting a hand on her son's head, patting it slightly with pursed lips. Camilo reassured her, "I'm fine, mami. I was just thinking"

"What were you thinking of?" "Uhh"

"It's not a what" Dolores suddenly squeaked. "It's a who, that he was thinking about." 

"NO!" Camilo exclaimed, hastily shaking his open palms to the rest of the family. "It was nothing, really"

"Was it Y/N?" 

"MIRABEL!" Camilo yelled even louder. Sighing in defeat, he bumped his head down to the table, making Mirabel let out a fit of laughter after exposing him. "I knew it!" 

Camilo grabbed the hems of the openings of his ruana, bringing it up to his face to cover his blushing cheeks. That didn't stop his family from teasing, though. Even early in the morning, the Madrigal were always giddy and loud. 

"Okay, okay that's enough!" Pepa said in between cackles after seeing her son sinking into the chair, almost out of sight from the dining table. "But speaking of Y/N, why don't you let Camilo tell her, amor?" Camilo looked up to see his mom motioning to his dad. "Let me tell what?" 

"Oh" Felix let out a cough, fixing his posture. "Change of plans, Y/N isn't babysitting Manuel cause Dolores left him with Mariano for the day. You should drop by and tell her instead. Maybe even make a move." He whispered the last part, only Camilo and Pepa heard it.

Like a meerkat, Camilo popped up from the chair, sitting straight and fixing his ruana before putting out a shy smile. "Okay, papa. I'll tell her" He lied.

Little did they all know, that he too, had a change of plans. 

Camilo smirked and continued his meal, while having his palm resting on his cheek nearer to the side of the lips were you just kissed. Sighing in relief that his family no longer had their attention on him, he daydreamed again, thinking of you.

—

"Dolores?" Your voice echoed through the walls of Casita as you opened the door, letting yourself in. Upon stepping into the entrance, Casita happily welcomed you by shaking its tiles, making you let out a laugh as you patted the walls. Figuring that the girl with enhanced hearing didn't even hear you, you figured that she was just in her magical soundproof room. 

So, you just let yourself in to the empty house. You were practically family at this point, Casita even trusted you enough. 

Humming a soft song, you opened Dolores' door, only to find it calm and tranquil. She wasn't there either, maybe she already left. You thought to yourself, walking towards the nursery to find Manuel. Putting slight knocks at the door startled the one inside, when you softly opened the door, you saw a small figure lying in the crib. 

"Hola, nuelito!" You hummed softly, approaching the 1-year old boy. He was awake, and rolling around the crib. How odd, you thought. You expected the little boy to be still and calm, like her mother. 

"Extra happy today, are we?" Digging your hands to the crib, you lifted the small boy, a tiny laugh emitting from its tiny mouth while you giggled at his cuteness. Another odd thing you noticed?

The boy ran straight to your arms and buried himself in your embrace.

If there was one thing you knew about little Manuel, was that he is an exact carbon copy of her mother. Like Dolores, he was calm and quiet. Not too touchy, not too clingy, and not even too giddy. All the more reason you wondered why he was so different today, and it clicked you.

"Look at you, spending too much time with your mama's hermano" You lightly booped the child's nose. "You're starting to be as loud and clingy as your Tio Milo." 

You ruffled the boy's hair as you set him down to Mirabel's bed. Watching over as to not make him fall off, you carefully sifted through the drawers at Manuel's side of the room, making a bottle of powdered milk formula for him to drink. Glancing occasionally at the little boy, you observed his mannerisms. You thought that he spent too much time with Camilo to the point where they somehow act alike. Manuel would sway side to side, sneeze at random times, and laugh every now and then. You found it adorable and immediately imagined what Camilo would look like spending time with his nephew, probably spoiling him a lot. Your heart fluttered, falling for the guy more. 

As you finished the baby bottle, you shook it before giving it to him. His tiny hands gripped your fingers and your heart melted at how cute the boy was. His eyes similar to Dolores' and his hair like Mariano's, oh Manuel got the good genes. 

You crawled on to Mirabel's bed and fiddled with the story books she made, reading one out loud out of boredom while Manuel finishes drinking. He eventually crawled next to you, looking at the colorful pictures that Mirabel drew. Your smile couldn't leave your face, he was the cutest kid you've ever seen. 

After a long day of watching over Manuel, it soon hit afternoon, almost dark. Cradling the boy in your arms, you hummed a song to make him sleep, but it wasn't working. Manuel kept crawling all and around, eventually yelling and blabbering random words as he kept throwing himself to you. It lowkey took you by surprise, since you thought the boy was not used to physical contact but you thought otherwise. Oftentimes, he would kiss you. In the forehead, cheeks, nose. Sometimes you thought that Manuel probably mistook you for his mother, but it was unlikely, Dolores and you looked too different. 

After carrying the boy in your arms and swaying side-to-side, he eventually dozed off to sleep. You sighed in happiness, finally you can get a break. Putting him in the crib and wrapping the blanket around him to keep the child still, you wiped a bead of sweat from your forehead as you slowly opened the door and went down to the kitchen. Dolores was about to come back any time soon, so you waited while munching on an arepa. 

You heard the door click and Casita's tiles shaking loudly. Finally.

"Hola, Dol"  You greeted her. If the afternoon wasn't odd enough, she was acting weird too. Having seen her purse her lips so hard as if she's hiding a laugh, you found it questionable but then shrugged it off. She greeted you back, grabbing a snack like you did.

"Okay, was it just me or did Manuel suddenly get weirdly clingy?" You asked, wiping your cheek still filled with sweat mixed with saliva from the sleeping kid. "I thought you raised him that he doesn't trust strangers that easily. Or did he just magically warm up to me?"

"Huh?" Dolores asked. "I don't understand."

"Manuel? Your quiet kid that oddly kept clinging onto me? I took care of him since lunch like your papi asked me to"

"Y/N," Dolores squeaked with a hint of laughter evident from her shaking shoulders. 

"What?"

"Manuel was with Mariano the entire afternoon." Dolores blurted out, still holding back a laugh. You raised your eyebrow, pointing upstairs. 

"But he was just upstairs? And he was sleeping-" You paused.

You quickly pieced everything together. Dolores giggling, 'Manuel' being too touchy to your liking, the fact that the real Manuel was in fact with Mariano the whole time, the fact that there was a doppelganger, and most especially the fact that there is a certain Madrigal kid that can shapeshift perfectly, 

"Oh god I just babysat Camilo"

—

Quickly, you ran upstairs to the nursery after hearing enough teasing from Dolores who heard everything the entire time. Footsteps getting heavier, you slammed the door open, only to reveal that the crib was now empty. 

"Camilo Madrigal" You muttered under your breath. 

Changing paths, you stormed off to his room, not even bothering to knock. Kicking it open, you were welcomed by a large dome of a yellow blanket. Walking towards it and lifting it off, you found the panicked shapeshifting Madrigal, hastily waving his arms and covering his face.

"I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT- AAAA" Camilo kept screaming as you chased him around the Casita. He knew it was one of the biggest pranks he's ever done, and you being the most gullible out of all his victims, he was both proud and terrified. 

Running after him around the hallways, you screamed too. "COME BACK HERE YOU B-" You got cut off-

-by Casita who's had enough. Lifting the entire floorboard into wave-like figures, Casita dragged you and Camilo back to his room and slammed the door close. Being in close proximity to him, you gripped on the collar of his top and glared at him in the eyes while he widened his, profusely sweating in his entire face. 

"What kind of sick joke are you playing, Madrigal?" You leaned in closer, squinting your eyes while you observed him being both scared and flustered. You were having fun teasing him at this point, you were just putting an act. 

"I- I- It was a joke!" He rambled, shaking eyes not leaving yours. "And, Dolores had nothing to do with it! I was supposed to tell you but I forgot!"

"Did you really?" You tested him. Letting go of your grip on him, he finally took the chance to look at everything else but you. 

The silence and lack of answer was enough for you to figure everything out. You knew that him being extra clingy wasn't a friendly gesture, and hell, going as far as to shapeshift into his nephew just to hog all your attention? You knew his pranking tendencies for fun, but this wasn't it. He wanted to see something else for this one. 

"You know..." You spoke once more, cutting off the tense atmosphere between you two. "If you wanted to spend an afternoon with me that badly, you could have just asked." 

Camilo finally looked at you, his gaze no longer terrified but nervous. He was blinking repeatedly, thinking of what else to say. 

"I- I couldn't" 

"Aw, come on. You knew me for how many years yet you couldn't even get the nerves to ask me out?" 

"Shut up" Camilo grumbled, gripping the edges of his ruana and fiddled with the material. You took notice, and decided to grab his hands and interlace it with yours, taking him by surprise.

"Just say, 'Y/N, the most perfect flower in this entire Encanto-"

"Yeah nice try plagiarizing Mariano's words" Camilo laughed, slightly flattered that your joke eased the tension for a bit. He was lucky, you knew him that well to help him become more comfortable and he loved that. 

"Okay fine, say 'Y/N, I wanna spend an afternoon with you, as me, Camilo Madrigal" 

"Too formal-" "Stop being too choosy! Do it yourself then, show me what you got"

"Okay" Camilo took a deep and long breath. And like his personality took a 180 degree turn, he suddenly looked flirty and cocky. The sudden switch in his behavior made you more attracted to him for some reason.

"Y/N, you were right, I should have asked when I want to spend an afternoon with you, so let me ask again properly"

"Go on,"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you" Camilo blurted out, eyes staring intensely at yours. Your jaw dropped.

"Nah you're bluffing" You joked, trying out something risky but all the while worth it.

Camilo snickered. "Stop ruining the moment I swear to God-"

You suddenly cut him off by crashing your lips to his. 

Lowkey, you smiled through the kiss when you felt his lips move against yours. Your plan on catching him by surprise definitely worked. Camilo kissed you back, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulled you even closer, nearly bumping his torso to yours. You, in return tangled your hands in his curls, lightly raking them after hearing him groan through your lips. You smirked as you deepened the kiss, feeling the heat in your cheeks get even more intense the longer Camilo remains in your grasp. 

Pulling away only due to the lack of breath, both of you gaze at each other and for the first time in ever, not a hint of mischief was in either of your eyes.

"Sorry, what did you say about me ruining the moment?" You asked innocently, battling your eyelashes as he scoffs. 

"Oh, shut up" He mumbled, leaning in once more for a quick peck on your lips. You laughed, grabbing a handful of his hair to pull and kiss him once more. 

taglist: @thegirlwiththebangs, @mirabelleza, @carcat-02, @brushofease, @camilos-luna, @kitasgloves, @ducky-is-dead-inside, @elegantkidfansoul, @moon-cakiie, @ignoremepeople37, @its-mia88, @nerdish-simp, @foreverwriting

thumbnail made by the artists of purrfect tale

#camilo supremacy #camilo madrigal #camilo my beloved #camilo x reader #camilo #camilo madrigal x reader #camilo x female reader #camilo fluff #camilo x you #encanto #camilo imagine #camilo incorrect quotes #camilo encanto #disney encanto #encanto fanfic #encanto x reader #dolores madrigal #felix madrigal #pepa madrigal

[13elmst]

ahhh hello n happy openin day 2 us all!! im gemma ( s/h, 21+ ) n i write for jaehyun and sumi!! i've got their individual intros linked bc it's too long to put in one post xo what's new i cannot shut up : )) below r some event plot ideas that i came up w like 2 seconds ago so they're kinda questionable but anw if u r keen to plot pls LIKE this post n i'll come runnin!! and ofc if u have discord pls lmk bc tumblr ims and i have some longstanding beef...

on the night of the event, JAEHYUN is...

not attending the charity gala thx!! jaehyun is very anti together for daehan so he will not give any money 2 support them ( also he is the charity tq curious currenter 4 pointin that out )!! that said, jaehyun will b helpin get the blue hall ready 4 the afterparty so!! any evo members wna help direct him n get him 2 put his superstrength 2 good use!!! boss him around 🥴

ok i will alw push this agenda but any fans of gangcheori!! imagine u see the new capt there n u think this is the PERFECT time 2 share my strategies !! jaehyun's a pretty approachable dude so i feel like he'd take in on board ( tho he is also p proud so ease it on the pushiness mayb.... )

as per the event description im sure there's gna b an accident or two... who better to call 4 help than the dude w superstrength!! imagine u have a friend passed out somewhere questionable n u need help gettin them outta there n back 2 safety!! perhaps that dude breaking things when he walks past can help u out he looks strong...

alternatively a fight breaks out between u n someone else n jaehyun comes n puts a stop 2 it bc he dc ab fights but !! not @ the blue hall party!! this is evo's moment don't turn it into a crime scene!! OR jaehyun is also v trigger happy n easy 2 anger so if someone from together from daehan / other sporting rally houses annoys him n ur muse is tryna step in between... watch out for those hands tho he packs a mean punch!!!

he's probably taken over as the student bouncer at some point during the night ( for like j a short moment tho cause he wna party too!! ) so what if ur muse rocks up late from the charity gala.... how r u gna convince mr t4d suxx

um jaehyun is a classic fuckboy so yk imagine yall ended wrongly or he treated u not gr8 n yall meet for the first time since yall ended things... wyd

on the night of the event, SUMI is...

attending the shit outta that charity gala she's slashin her aunt's life savings by a QUARTER !!! sumi will b dressed 2 the nines bc one thing she will do is turn up !! imagine u have an art piece put up n sumi bids on it!! then comes 2 u n tells u what a good job u did n how pretty it is

alternatively if she hates it n laughs @ it w her friends n ur in earshot... wyd do u fight her sumi loves 2 gossip but one thing she won't do is throw hands she's a wimp like that

sumi will def be hitting the gala w her red hall girlies so!!! red hall girlies wya!!!

this is meant 2 b a classy event n uh oh sumi's alr kinda drunk... she's laughin a lil too loudly n gettin drinks spilled everywhere r u gna try 2 tell her 2 take it easy!! ( note: it will not work she will at some point in the night dash of, see plot below )

as much as sumi loves t4d she also loves blue hall parties so once 10.30pm comes around ya gorl is dashin!! she'll turn up 11.01pm beggin the bouncer 2 let her in... what if ur the bouncer!! girl who CLEARLY is from the gala tryna have her cake ( attend the charity gala ) n eat it too ( attend the blue hall party ) will u let her in...

IF she gets in she's j gna b partyin the night away!! j generic party plots wud b fun 2 explore hehe i.e. gettin drunk n havin smth messy happenin aka someone's passed out on the toilet n that's the only one that's usable n u n sumi rly need to pee... u gna drag them out or what

#nm:intro #—— gemma shut up! #ok tumblr stopped letting me send welc messages n im scared so....... welcome everyone who didnt get a message im so sry.... #pls dont shadowban me tumblr im a real person

[jiminrings]

heyy

i love your works :))

all of them are unique plots that i haven't seem others writers partake in and that makes it all the more intriguing, plus your interactions with people on here are really heart warming. i think what makes them all the more special is how specific each and every plot is, the specificity makes it really easy to recognize your books and your unique tropes, like i've never seen such instances, such characters, such set ups in any other writers stories, which acc to me is really difficult, like i could never come up w something new for each and every story over and over and over again

the way you encapsulate every characters persona, their emotions, their developments, makes it really easy to visualize it in my head (i'm a visual thinker lmao). again, the uniqueness of all your tropes and subsequently your characters sets them apart reaaaaally easily, like i'd recognize fs yoongi's bitchass anywhere even if no one told me which story i'm reading. you're almost too good at it, to the point that i've cried reading most of your works, even while re reading even though i know what happens next, and how the story ends lolol

plus, don't even get me started on the fuck ass memes you post here as replies to your asks, it's probably illegal the amount of memes i've screen shotted and stolen from you on here lmao

also, not to pressurize you but, i'm unaware of when the next part of fs will be posted, can i know when you might post it?

STOPPPPP RIGHT NOW . my heart is so incredibly warm reading ur ask like r u kidding me. thank u so so much for not only being here, but taking the time to send me this!!!! i know i throw it around a lot, but i really, genuinely am so appreciative with each warm n lovely ask u guys send me 🫂🩷 i do Not know what i did in my past life to deserve love n recognition like this!!!!!! bae u are as warm as my favorite waffles n as comforting as my favorite blankets.

++ u can always steal from me!!!

+++ no problem at all!!! i already have part 2 written and posted on patreon, so as soon as i post intermission 02 n part 3 there, i'll post part 2 here on tumblr and so on!!! :D

++++ LOVE YEWWWWWW

#answered #fs feed #love mail