#like truly i think that was what finally finished the process of un-fucking my brain from all of the Catholic Trauma

[lisafahrenheit]

been thinkin about how my ethics professor back in undergrad was like.

look. there’s no such thing as perfect altruism. you’ll always get something out of helping or being kind to others, whether it’s a stronger relationship or returned kindness or just the feeling of having done good. there’s nothing inherently bad about getting something from doing good either, especially since it’s completely unavoidable. people being rewarded for putting love into the world doesn’t make the world a worse place. so just do as much good as you can and don’t worry about being “selfless” while doing it, because being truly selfless is in fact impossible.

and like man did that take the pressure off of Being A Good Person!! you’re allowed to enjoy helping people! you’re allowed to be kind without worrying that you’re maybe secretly just doing it for yourself!! it’s okay if you are doing it for yourself because you’re still being kind to others!!!!!

#like truly i think that was what finally finished the process of un-fucking my brain from all of the Catholic Trauma #i don’t know what made me think of this again or what possessed me to make this post but. voila.

[missinghan]

to my youth ⤖ lee felix

❖ genre : summer au; high school au; fluff

❖ word count : 11,6k.

❖ warning : explicit language, slow burn

❖ summary : it is official that life hates you because not only was your first few days of summer ruined by a stupid field trip, but things also got somewhat freaky… whatever kind of ‘freaky’ you’re thinking about.

❖ note : i know i said i’m ‘experimenting’ with new stuff but guess who’s back with another mediocre, not-that-well-written mess of a domestic au; please (kindly) yell at me to dabble into a new genre after bearing through this fic- happy reading!

one.

The echoes of your summer days remain as flowers immune to the winter chill, they say.

You’re not entirely sure who even fathomed their time and effort to come up with that statement but from your point of view, those flowers would most likely have either died out from the summer heat or withered horrendously because of the arbitrary showers of rain. Or you’re the only one who doesn’t have the luxury to see life through a rose-colored lens.

Because the first thing that comes to mind for you is the bucket of ice-cream and a YouTube OG that you’ve ceased to finish since finals started two weeks ago. The bell rings, pens down, everyone pours out of the classroom after handing in their exam papers. No one really bothers to check up on each other’s answers anymore; the last subject for today was AP Psych and you don’t know about them but you honestly can’t care any less thereafter cramming the entirety of five chapters. 

Sprinting down the staircase, you easily spot Felix amongst the midst of drowsy high school students for the bright color of his hair. He truly believes that if he slaps enough hair essence and coconut oil on his head four times a week, his hair won’t feel like straws when he changes it every other three weeks. But it’s only a matter of time before balding catches up to him, he’ll learn eventually.

“Please don’t tell me that you left your keys in class,” you sigh upon the sight of him fumbling with his folders and textbooks while trying to open his locker in vain. Just thinking about walking all the way back to the third floor makes you want to use your backpack as a pillow and take a nice nap in the middle of the hallway.

“Gee, Y/N,” Felix makes a face to not show the sense of relief washing over him when he locks eyes with you. “Who do you take me as? A clumsy person?”

“No, just a dumbass.” You coldly snatch a slipping book from his arms before turning to twist the disc in the combination of your birthday until the lock clicks, shaking the shackle off to swing his locker open. It’s a silent tradition that you both set each other’s birthday as your locker’s combination since elementary school; it started out as a stupid joke at first but neither of you really bothered to change it. 

“Why the hell would you put your keys in the locker?” you widen your eyes in disbelief as he grabs the bright yellow Spongebob plushie to collect his keys with a shit-eating grin

“My alarm didn’t go off today, so I was running a little late,” he defends himself while dumping everything out of his backpack, hugging an empty water bottle to his side. 

You throw a wave at a very tired Hyunjin walking side by side with Seungmin on his right and Jisung skipping happily towards your direction. Seungmin looks exceptionally moody today, you pray he didn’t mess up an easy question to take it out on all of you later in the car. “Bet you were staying up late to play Overwatch with Chan.” 

Felix manages to grin stiffly at your comment, turning on his heels and trudges onto the school’s parking lot. “Fine, walk home.” 

“Hey, you forgot to lock this!” you pull his steps into a halt by making a grab for his hand, utterly oblivious at how his cheeks flare up with a bright shade of red at your touch. Or out of embarrassment. Whatever, same thing. 

Felix might be a better driver than you, but he’d be fired ten seconds into the job of a babysitter.

With that being said, when Jeongin decides it’s a good idea to cheer a passive-aggressive, post-exams Seungmin up with a carton of strawberry milk and then proceeds to get lost in his own school, the very same school he’s been attending for who knows how long, you’re the one who manually pulls his ass back into Mrs. Lee’s Jeep within ten minutes. 

And Seungmin has already fallen asleep by the time Jeongin’s back, so now he’s the passive-aggressive one while sipping on the milk bitterly. Either way, this is why you headcount although there are only six of you after Changbin starts getting busy with his college applications. 

“What took you so long?” Jisung looks up from his phone the moment you climb into the passenger’s seat, clicking in your seatbelt (drive safe, kids). 

You immediately feel the need to snap a photo of Jeongin accidentally breaking the cafeteria’s door with the staff running towards him in a panic. They’re more scared for his life than the door itself and that’s… sweet to say the least but with the way that the embarrassed boy is glaring at you through the rear-view mirror, you decide to keep your lips sealed. 

“It’s getting dark so all hallways start to look the same, you genius.”

Jisung momentarily sticks his tongue out at you. “God, you’re so rude to me. You’d never talk to Felix like that.”

“Because,” you drawl. “Lix is a pure-hearted angel descended from the realms of Heaven. Whereas, even Lucifer would see you as an eyesore in hell.”

“See! You’re doing it again!” Jisung points a finger at you in accusation, jumping up and down in his seat but no one really cares. It’s not like you’re speaking any false facts. “Stop bullying me!”

Seungmin shifts his body a little, nose scrunched up at the noises that wake him right up. “Jisung,” he warns his friend without opening his eyes. “Sit the fuck down, you have five seconds.”

Felix smirks when Jisung immediately cowers, slumping and leaning himself against Hyunjin in utter defeat. He learned not to mess with Seungmin after throwing a wallet at him on impulse. “Jealous much, Han?” 

“Nah, she’s all yours bro,” Jisung waves it off tiredly; bickering and making fun of Felix’s gigantic crush on you is too much for his brain to process today. He can really use a long, solid twelve-hour summer hibernation after getting home. 

The statement prompts Felix to look over at you when there’s a red light—the same exact moment as you stop staring at the bakery from across the road to lock eyes with him. There’s a little spark igniting at the pit of his stomach, stirring up butterflies inside his rib cage. But he snaps out of it after seeing you raise a brow at him, implying a silent ‘what?’ before turning away again. Felix has always been the type to stare so you don’t bother to think about it too much. 

The problem is: he only stares at you that way. 

A shade of coral creeps its way up to his cheeks, his gaze averting back on the roads when the light turns green. As Felix tries to calm the erratic tempo of his heartbeat, he also thinks about how much time he’d have left to confess before high school is over and everyone takes their own different paths. Then again, the future is far too blurry for him to make out anything and the thought of changes petrifies him a bit too much. 

Felix wishes to hold your hand until the very end but he’s a little scared...because what if you never wanted to be with him in the first place?

two.

Your brother has one talent, and that’s his ability to irritate the living daylight out of you even when he’s practically on the other side of the planet.

Minho (un)fortunately finished his finals with flying colors, and inevitably, you’re the first victim to receive a series of texts that consisted of nothing but self-indulgent, excessive bragging. Basically, he’s allowed to do whatever slash go wherever for a good three weeks before his summer internship begins, dragging his dumb ass back to hell—where he rightfully belongs. 

He’s probably chomping on a terribly unhealthy amount of pizza, pretzels, and any type of New York street food that you can name from the top of your head. It’s not like he’s paying for them anyway since Chan doesn’t allow people to touch their wallets if they happen to eat out with him. 

Your phone vibrates obnoxiously on your desk, the judder slightly muffled because it’s lying on top of your wide-open psych textbook. You haven’t bothered with cleaning up yet; finals only ended yesterday and you decide that you won’t touch anything until the disarray starts to scrape against your nerves. 

Side note: you’ve specifically told everyone not to call you three consecutive days after finals because yes, you’re that much of a loner, and yes, your stamina level for tolerating human interaction is awfully low. 

Second side note: no one ever listens. 

“Good morning, this is Lee Minho’s personal bullshit pail,” you mumble after your thumb swipes against the screen to pick up, your limbs curled up on the floor. “How can I possibly help you today?” Your morning voice isn’t necessarily threatening but rather scary; according to what Minho claimed, it sounds identical to that creepy girl from The Grudge so he groans aloud, his voice suddenly going out of focus on the other line from pulling his phone away.

“Jesus Christ are you still in your hermit phase after finals?” he questions callously, sounding not at all pleased with the way you greeted him. “Where’s mom and dad? Usually, they would have slammed your ass by now for staying inside like a vampire.”

“Don’t be insufferable, it’s only like…” you trail off while bending forward to take a good look at the little Sumiko Gurashi alarm on your bookshelf that Felix gave you during middle school. “Nine thirty-something and they’re at the park to exercise, duh- why do you care?”

Your brother almost sings on the phone, “Because you’re my little baby sister-” And this prompts you to pull the device away for the sake of your poor ear. It doesn’t help when you’re already surrounded by a group full of obnoxiously loud individuals on a daily basis. Not trying to call anyone out but Han Jisung is at the top of the list, his name in bold, capital letters being circled and underlined multiple times with a red marker.

“Who do I gotta kill to sleep in on a dreadful Sunday morning as any normal, cranky, antisocial high school student would?” you deadpan and rub the bridge of your nose dreadfully. 

“I don’t know, go murder Jisung or something.” Honestly, that’s tempting… but no.

You can physically see the smug smile on his face right now, simpering in delight at your imminent misery. He knows goddamn well about your relationship with sleeping schedules and that’s the perfect excuse for him to ruin those little specks of time when your brain cells are getting an actual break. 

These are also the times when you wish phones don’t fucking exist. 

“By the way, are you gonna go on the field trip tomorrow?” 

This question wakes you up almost completely because your eyes are now wide as a fish’s out of water, your hand automatically putting him on speaker before digging through the folders inside your backpack. What field trip? No one said anything about a field trip. And who thought it’s a good idea to force some worn-out, post-exams, sleep-deprived students into a field trip right after finals?

Minho hums coyly when the only response he’s getting is the rustling sound from your backpack, “Hmm, see what I meant there, little sis? Oh, the downside of living under a rock at its finest.” He doesn’t have to be here for you to fully picture the way that his lips curl up, dark brows wiggling whenever he’s right about something. Your brother wins most of the time against other people but overtaking you is an entirely different story.

“Oh screw off and go buy yourself a sense of humor.”

“Don’t be so mopey, isn’t Felix gonna be there?”

“What does Felix have to do with this?” you grit after managing to pull out a piece of paper from the very back, buried under countless of your essays. And it reads ‘field trip’ in caps at the top with tomorrow’s date right beneath. The trip lasts for three days, you’re going camping with the grizzly bears for three days—a total nightmare, basically. 

“Pfft, you’re actually dense for someone with a sparkly report card,” he sneers. “That kid has been crushing on you since elementary school. Are the signals that fucked up?”

“You mean when I accidentally spilled orange juice over his head? Sure, bet that’s why he’s so head over heels for me,” you snicker, unfazed by these kinds of statements. Minho only knows Felix because he was the president of your school's dance club and you fully believe that your brother is simply trying to mess with your malfunctioning, cranky mindset. 

“I fucking beg to differ, he always stares at you like you’re the love of his life, even when you stupidly poked yourself with a needle,” Minho announces as if he’s a love expert, tsk, amateur. “He might just confess during the trip, who knows? Campfire flickering. Sharing the same s’mores. Surrounded by nature. That sounds romantically ideal to me for a confession.”

He’s visioning everything like a terrible cliché film where two high schoolers stubbornly deny their feelings for each other until they start noticing how cute the other person is while magically being forced to be alone together. The worst kind of high school movie—which is also almost every high school movie. And you best believe that you’d a hundred percent kick your brother’s ass off that director’s chair because people live and breathe for this kind of overused entertainment. Tragic. 

“Alright, fuck this, I’m out-“

“Wait!” Minho exclaims out of nowhere, almost blowing up your eardrums. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

You swear you’re rolling your eyes so hard, they’re about to fall out of their respective sockets. “Well, obviously,” you put the piece of paper down with a sigh, contemplating ways to minimize the amount of socializing in the upcoming three days. “Haven’t you bothered me enough? No?”

“You can’t leave me like this,” he whines in an annoyingly high-pitched voice that sends chills down your spine. 

“You need me, we’re connected.” 

He sounds like a whack version of Minnie Mouse for a second there, the kind of plushie that looks cute but with disturbingly creepy voice audio; no parents would let their children go near that aisle. 

You yawn as if there’s no tomorrow, stretching your limbs tiredly. “What I need is for you to shut the fuck up and leave me alone so I can go on my merry way to pick up snacks for this stupid field trip,” you utter lifelessly. 

“You hurt my feelings,” Minho pretends to clutch onto his chest and lets out a dramatic gasp, his voice doused in pure sarcasm. “What a heartbreaker, Y/N.” Said the one who always keeps his apathetic front up like a fortress’ wall and tosses every single love letter on Valentine’s Day into the recycling bin, handing the chocolate out to his classmates like he’s giving leftover vegetables to his least favorite relatives.

“Oh, I can tell,” you reply with fake enthusiasm and mock empathy. “You know how I can tell?”

“Do not finish th-”

“Cause we’re connected.” With that you hang up, slamming your phone harshly onto the surface of your textbook. 

three. 

You might love your room a little too much, it’s getting somewhat unhealthy.

It was furnished with a rather meager budget after your family moved out of your hometown when you stepped into elementary school. Things stay the same, well, most of it as time passes by you unknowingly. Your sad bookcase used to exist for one sole purpose—carrying countless books and plushies has now been upgraded with too many polaroids of your dumb group of friends, a neatly framed photo of Class of 2020 and two trophies that don’t even belong to you since Minho ran out of space as he kept participating in random dance competitions. 

The morning beams find their way through your white curtains and stain your walls with patches of yellow, eventually bugging your vision until you successfully convince yourself to either 1) wake up and get ready for school or 2) lazily stride across your room to shut the blinds completely so you can head back to bed. It’s summer… so option one is temporarily non-existent for a solid three months. 

Hey, you’re just simply making up for those all-nighters with a new cup of coffee every two hours.

Speaking of your bed, it’s soft but takes up so much space to the point that Hyunjin keeps complaining about not having enough room for his legs when he’s sprawled across the floor with Jisung, vigorously focusing on a presentation’s outline. Seungmin calls you lame for not throwing away your childhood plushies and letting them hog at least one-third of your bed, but Felix doesn’t mind since he always needs something to hug. All the more reasons why you can only trust Felix.

You might miss having those idiots being loud and invading your personal space...maybe.

Your phone rings for the second time that morning when you’re walking downstairs, shoving your keys into your pocket and grabbing a protein bar on the counter. “I’m not in the mood for your bullshit right now, Minho,” you bark into the device, chewing on your breakfast aggressively, not bothering to look at the caller’s ID.

The closest convenience store is only twenty minutes away from your house but there’s a sticky note on the fridge from your mom, reminding you that she needs eggs to bake cupcakes for her company’s twentieth anniversary while your dad is running low on his Red Bulls. Basically, you’re in distress. It’s not like your dad should be inhaling those sugary drinks on a daily basis and your mom can just buy premade goods from the bakery. But there are more options for snacks at the supermarket…

“Y/N, the fuck?” The response of a voice as deep as the Pacific ocean almost makes you choke on air. “Did I wake you up or something?” Felix sounds flabbergasted on the other line, slightly taken aback. You almost feel bad because he’s the only sweetheart in your chaotic squad (besides Chan, obvi) except when he stays up late gaming with Hyunjin, pleading for your notes the next morning with puppy eyes.

“No, Minho did,” you grumble before tossing the wrapping into a bin.

“You don’t say,” Felix replies flatly, but his voice soon grows merry again after pushing the topic of your brother aside. “Oh, and I’m coming over to return your earphones, wanna grab breakfast?”

He practically lives ten minutes away from you, sees you almost every day even if it’s the weekend since he can’t stay in the same house with his sisters for too long and puts you on FaceTime every night to prevent himself from slacking off on assignments. The only time he didn’t get to see you for a week straight was when he visited Australia and accidentally dropped his phone into the ocean. It was a rough week without you nagging him for doing something stupid. Fundamentally, he’s merely making up more excuses to spend time with you after finals.

Chuckling, “Only if you’re treating me, I’m about to go broke from buying snacks for our field trip tomorrow.” you say breezily. 

And you’re only telling him that because he might just pay for your snacks as well since Felix Lee eats freshly grilled steak and mashed potato for breakfast. Baffling, absolutely. Plus, he works at a boba shop every summer either way and he would never hesitate to spend the entirety of his paycheck on any of his close friends. Irrelevant but the point is: you kinda don’t wanna go out alone today.

Or you’re just in the mood to go with Felix. That’s a useless statement since you both see each other at least ten out of twenty-four hours per day. 

“By the way, you know what I just realized?” Felix smacks his palm on his forehead. “This is our last field trip, like ever.”

Walking over to the rack of shoes down the hallway, you let out a large exhale. “That’s unfortunate on your behalf. I, on the other hand, don’t have a problem with that,” you tell him with zero consideration, your brain cells too busy picking out a pair of shoes to process the five basic steps to empathize with another human being. 

“No,” he emphasizes helplessly. “I meant, it’s like our last high school field trip. We’re graduating next year, no time to sleep with the grizzly bears again.”

You can only manage to utter, “Oh.” Shit, college is right around the corners. 

“Jesus fucking Christ what the hell am I supposed to do after high school? Stay here? Go abroad? Wait, aren’t applications for going abroad supposed to be turned in a year beforehand? Why are you only telling me this now!?” 

Felix laughs wholeheartedly through the phone, amused at your sudden outburst. “Y/N, calm down. You’re going to college, not prison,” he brushes it off casually but in a way, college is technically prison. Slaving over a degree while working part-time jobs, chasing time relentlessly like you’re driving in the middle of a foggy night with one headlight out. And you’re forced to open up with more strangers. It’s terrifying, actually terrifying. And you’re not the type to be easily terrified. 

Now come to think about it, you don’t get why you were so pressed about it five seconds ago. It’s a good opportunity not to leech off your parents as much, like dabbling, taking one baby step at a time into adulthood. After that, you’ll graduate again, probably settle somewhere with an adequate job and find someone, starting to think about having ki-

Hold up, you’re going too far. You’re barely a senior. 

“I guess we’ll just have to make the most out of this summer,” Felix’s voice snaps you back to the surface of Earth faster than a tick of a clock. “We’re outside, by the way. Open up.”

That fast? Furrowing your brows, you hang up to slip into a pair of sneakers before sprinting to the front door. Wait, your hand freezes as it grazes the doorknob. We?

Not again. 

“Why the fuck..” you cracks a lifelessly crooked smile after pushing the door wide open. “..are you here?” It’s only ten in the morning, and you don’t think you should be screaming at the top of your lungs to be jumped on by the whole neighborhood.

Felix takes a step back, a little scared for his life. “Uhh, to return your earphones?”

“No, no,” you run a hand through your hair tiredly. Just when you thought this day was gonna be peaceful. “I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about them. Since when was this an agreement? How dare-“

“Why yes, I missed you too!” Jisung exclaims like the little shit he is, throwing an arm over your neck to ruffle your hair. No one ruffles your hair without getting their ass slammed- except for Minho. “Why the long face? Let me guess, until this exact second, you thought there’s a fucking squirrel, a lama, a dog, and a kitten standing at your front porch? No, it’s us, your Forever BFFs.” He’s one of the reasons why you refuse to understand the humans’ language sometimes.

With a harsh shove from you, Jisung staggers backward only for Hyunjin to prevent him from rolling like a ball in the middle of your neighborhood. “One more word and I’m telling the whole class who your crush is,” you threaten, earning an involuntary snort from Seungmin. 

“I hate to admit this, but she might actually say yes if he makes the first move.”

Hyunjin supplies unconstructively, “That’s why he didn’t ask.”

“You know what, Hwang,” Felix says with a smirk tugging at his lips, bumping his fist against Hyunjin’s without turning his head. 

“Oh screw all of you.” Jisung’s getting all the attention he wanted this early in the morning yet he still feels like a loser. Perhaps he should try shutting up once in a while. 

four.

“Thanks for giving me a ride, uncle, you really didn’t have to,” Felix says generously from your dad’s back seats, scratching the nape of his neck as though this is the first time he’s ever shared a ride with you. 

He’s too humble sometimes you just want to smack him across the face with a pillow to stop being so formal with your dad. Heck, Felix downright called him ‘dad’ by accident once during a Christmas dinner back in middle school and your dad even encouraged him to keep addressing him like that. 

Not to mention, Felix is chomping on a turkey sandwich that your mom made this morning specifically for him after finding out that his parents are currently out of town and there's nothing but ramen in the cabinet. God forbids her to starve the same kid who helped your dad fix his bumper. So really, he should be expecting these things by now. 

“Oh it’s not a big deal, you’re too nice,” your dad laughs as he pulls over to your school’s front gate, careful not to run into that one really tall, ugly tree. You’re lowkey paranoid that people might die if it collapses during a storm or something. “Perhaps you can return the favor by getting a drink with me sometimes.”

Felix blinks numerous times, slightly gobsmacked. “...but I’m not old enough to drink yet.”

“Correct answer.” And you snicker when your dad turns around to toss a wink at your friend’s direction. “Doesn’t mean that I’m forbidding you kids have fun,” he clarifies upon the baffled expression on Felix’s face. “But not too much fun, got it?”

“Okay, okay dad, I’ll see you in three days,” you shake your head before climbing out of the car. “Don’t starve the cats while I’m gone. Oh! And Soonie still needs his lactobacillus-“

Your dad brushes it off with a sheepish smile, “I’ll leave it to your mom, muffin, I can’t even remember which dry food is for which cat. I also don’t think they’ll be starving anytime soon, those little demons are getting quite fat actually since your brother spoils them all the time.” You can only give him a mere eye-roll because as much as he claims to hate having pets, there have been countless times when you caught your dad red-handed trying to tuck the cats into bed in the middle of the night. 

Felix soon catches up with your steps after bidding him farewell, crumpling the sandwich wrapper in his palm. “Wait up, muffin,” he says breathlessly with a few skips, starting to think about not skipping dance practice again this summer before his body gets out of shape. 

“Shut up,” you grumble, followed by a harsh elbow jabbed into his side. Felix grunts in pain, slowing down a little but still tries to walk side by side with you nonetheless. “You don’t deserve that complimentary breakfast, I’m telling mom to cut your portion off next time.” 

“Ah! Come on, muffin! You’re being mean.”

Your biggest fear has inevitably come true—after all those years of erratic mood swings and other weird things puberty puts you through, Felix still makes fun of you for the nickname that your parents came up with on your first day of school. It doesn’t help with the fact that he meets them quite often too. Like four out of seven days a week since your parents love coming over to each other’s house for dinner. 

“Flip that scowl upside down now, will you?” Felix cups your cheeks and squishes them together, attempting to make your smile by tugging at the corners of your lips. “Aren’t you excited about the trip?”

You scoff at him, “Are you even hearing yourself? My entire existence reeks off ‘excitement’ 24/7.” 

“That’s bullshit.”

“I’m not responsible for whatever happens next to your face.”

But when you reach up to peel his hands away, you’re bound to make a grave mistake by looking straight into his eyes. The morning light hits his face at the right angle and it makes him look like a puppy—which you wouldn't mind starting at all day. Although it’s not like you haven’t got a good look at him before, something’s different today. From the way his irises twinkle gently like thousands of celestial bodies to how his freckles scattered across his cheekbones like the remaining bits from a supernova, his full lips with a prominent Cupid’s bow and his cute crooked teeth. 

You know all of these things; perhaps you’ve never put too much thought into them before. Not when you’re constantly facepalming at him for doing stupid TikTok dances and trying to eat a banana with its peel on. But now when you actually acknowledge them, your heart momentarily skips a beat. Or two. 

Doesn’t matter, you hate this feeling either way. 

“Get a room, this is disgusting to watch.” 

Seungmin steps in between you two with his backpack slung over his shoulders, hands resting on his hip like he’s babysitting you and your biological parents don’t pay him enough for this tedious job. But Felix is too busy making sure that his eyes aren’t malfunctioning when he sees a pink tint on your cheeks to focus on whatever nonsense Seungmin is spewing at him. 

“Get on the bus, losers! Y’all are embarrassing me!” Hyunjin yells as he plants a foot onto the bus, trying his best not to be subtle about the fact that all of your classmates have already been seated. 

You can practically see Jisung making weird faces from the window and next to him is a very cranky-looking Jeongin with his earbuds plugged in, deciding not to tolerate any chit-chatting this morning. It’s a shame how the school’s always on a low budget when it comes to transportation; consequently, some random freshmen got squeezed in with your class. 

So you elect to ignore your friend’s questionable behaviors (sometimes you wonder what he’s on to be this zealous at six in the morning) and grabs Felix's hand to climb onto the vehicle before coach Kim kicks your ass for slowing the schedule down. 

As you shuffle down the narrow aisle, you quickly realize there are only two seats left at the very back—basically, you feel a little guilty for not getting a good spot for Felix but he doesn’t seem to mind because he taps you on the shoulder lightly, signaling for you to move.

“Ugh, I wanna go home,” you sigh, slumping into your seat after tucking your backpack neatly on the small compartment above. 

“You’re boring,” Felix comments flatly but he’s partially glad that he got to sit with you instead of some blabberer. “Need this?” Fishing his earphones out of his backpack, he wiggles the banana milk case in front of your face. 

You only nod lazily at the offer, causing him to huff in disbelief before slipping in a side of his AirPods into your ear. You both have pretty similar taste in music so you don’t mind when he puts one of his playlists on random and Fly Me to the Moon bleeds into your eardrums. The soft melody makes you yawn a little, eyelids getting droopy. 

“Tired.” Is the only warning Felix gets before you decide to drop your head onto his shoulders, slipping your arm around his torso comfortably like it’s a pillow. You personally don’t do cuddles but since he’s into those things and smells nice—very fruity, somewhat musky too, you might as well take advantage of that with the hope of sleeping throughout the entire ride. 

“What is wrong with you today?” he asks with glowing cheeks. 

“Shh shh, I’m recharging my battery.”

Felix is a little flustered, to say the least. But instead of complaining about your sudden clinginess, he rests his head on top of yours like second nature, allowing his childhood song to drown out some of the background chatters. 

You should really be clingy more often… though he’s not gonna risk his pearly white teeth by telling you that. 

five. 

Your school actually knows how to manage money in a smart way. Shocker, you know. 

You are thrown off upon hearing that no one needs to worry about the grizzly bears, or wolves (hey, one can never be too careful) because everyone gets to share a log cabin with a maximum of three other people. 

In fact, the camp counselors have confirmed that even though they’re throwing a bunch of inexperienced, dumb high schoolers smacked in the middle of the wilderness, there’s really nothing to do other than boring team-building exercises...and fishing. In other words, the only creature that can somewhat do harm to you is mosquitoes. 

It’s been pouring nonstop when your classmates tried to set up the campfire with coach Kim screaming into their eardrums last night, no wonder those little shit are thriving to make your life more miserable—they’re in their element, reproducing at a terrifying pace. 

“Jesus Christ, Y/N!” 

Hyunjin clutches a hand to his chest in both relief and terror after realizing the curled up figure sitting by the window is just you. He steps inside the cabin completely and flings his wet bangs away from his face, shoving the umbrella in his hand into a stand by the shoe rack. “You look like shit, are you okay?” he furrows his brows, slightly concerned about your eyebags and the way your lips crack from dehydration.

A soulless smile finds its way to your face. “I’m pretty sure ‘shit’ and ‘okay’ aren’t supposed to be in the same sentence but thank you for asking, I appreciate it.”

Here’s another downside to being a homebody: you can’t fucking sleep on any other beds that aren’t yours. And surprisingly that two-hour nap on the bus wasn’t enough to fuel you for the rest of the trip. But lucky you, it’s most likely going to keep raining cats and dogs and trash pandas for the rest of the day. Outdoor activities are no longer mandatory and you can almost hear your non-existent muscles crying in sheer joy. 

“Drink,” Hyunjin sighs at your pathetic state and decides to toss a water bottle in your direction. 

However, all you do is retrieve your limbs deeper into Felix’s fluffy blanket since he refused to use the grey one that’s draped over every bed beforehand. You’re far beyond grateful for that because those fading, questionable-looking stains just scare the crap out of you. And also because the fluffy blanket smells like him; you rest your case.

“You were knocked out for the entire bus ride, so why the hell can’t you fall asleep on a decent bed?” Shaking his head, Hyunjin plops himself onto Jisung’s bed like a potato, accidentally knocking over the neatly folded pile of clothes. He really doesn’t give two flying fucks about the fact that his friend spent an excessive ten minutes to organize his stuff so coach Kim won’t be barging into their cabin with a megaphone at five in the morning again. 

“She can only fall asleep on Felix, that’s why.” You roll your eyes in the bitchiest way possible, not bothering to chuck the abandoned water bottle at the unwanted guest of this terrific conversation. 

Hyunjin almost lets out a shriek when Seungmin jolts up from his bed, hair messy, a leg sticking out from his comforter. “You know, until this exact moment, I thought that you were dead or something.”

“What I’m trying to say is,” Seungmin elaborates as he bends over to reach for his glasses with squinted eyes. “There’s a 99,9% that Felix will make the first move but at the same time, it doesn’t mean the other 0,01% won’t happen so you,” he jabs his index finger towards you. “Better be doing something other than walking around camp like a zombie.”

Hyunjin tilts his head in confusion. “Since when was this even a thing?” You’re this close to have a permanent hand imprint on your forehead for facepalming every two seconds with your idiotic friends around. 

“Uhh, since forever?” Seungmin feels the need to voice out. “Listen, since the day Y/N spilled orange juice on Felix’s favorite shirt, the amount of times they’re forced to be together has risen tremendously. And when their parents found out their families live like ten minutes away from each other, they practically see each other every single day. Even outside of school. They tolerate each other, meaning the dynamic is long-lasting. Their bonding encouraged friendship.” 

“But we’re her friends too?”

A deep breath. “No, their friendship was incited to grow into something bigger, more profound because Felix has a special ‘click’ with Y/N that he doesn’t with us. God, Hyunjin, it’s been what, almost a decade! How could you not see it?” Seungmin says with expressive hands, almost yanking every strand of hair off of his head. It’s too early for this, his brain is about to implode. Hwang Hyunjin being dense just feels like a metaphoric chokehold to him. 

“Y/N,” Hyunjin simply ignores his frustrated friend to look over at you slipping into your sneakers. “You’re being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal.”

“That’s because she’s about to either shut the door in my face then find Felix or kick my ass and then find Felix,” Seungmin informs with a yawn, and this prompts you to muster a fake smile. 

Oh, I’m fucking livid. 

“You know me too well.”

He questions with heavy irony, “I’m sorry did you just agree with me?”

“Oh no, no, I take that back,” you brush him off. “Is Felix still outside fishing?”

“I think so?” Hyunjin replies while running a hand through his hair in mere distress; Felix’s competitiveness goes a little mayhem sometimes when it comes to Jisung being better than him at something since they’re so close. That’s one of the sole reasons why Felix always manages to maintain his flying GPA because Han Jisung procrastinates like no other but still tops his class every single semester. 

“I didn’t find him at the lake, though, wonder where he went.”

You widen your eyes, somewhat alarmed since it’s almost lunchtime, and Felix Lee never, and you mean never, ever let himself skip a meal. He always gets a nice nap after stuffing his face with enough good food too, so that’s a bonus. But that’s not the point, the point is: you’re starting to get a little worried because he’s been fishing all morning, wandering alone in the wilderness without a camp counselor. 

You’d better not find him sleeping with the fishes. 

six.

Maybe you were right, maybe Felix is a dumbass.

Because listening to his ego and coming back to the lake after breakfast was a horrendous idea. 

It’s such a pity how those weird-looking vehicles have stopped driving around camp the moment it started pouring outside. Heck, he didn’t even bring an umbrella after asking the coach to check today's forecast. 

So tragically, he’s now stuck underneath the canopy of a cafe ensuing coursing his way through the water blizzard and seeking refuge but can’t walk back to his cabin where his cabin-mates are probably having the time of their life drinking hot chocolate and nibbling on hand-picked fruits.

Felix exhales in torment while gazing outside, everything’s completely white-out thanks to droplets of raining streaking the horizon. Perhaps dashing back might be his one solitary option, but shivers soon run up his spine again, reminding him that he’s probably looking like a wet rat—his black Converse sodden, water seeping through the thin fabric of his uniform, numbing his skin. 

Ruffling his wet fringe, Felix’s hand fishes inside his pocket to look for his phone only to realize that it’s not there. “Shit...great..just great, today is my lucky day.” Even if the camp counselors didn’t confiscate all the electronic devices, there wouldn’t be any service in the middle of the woods either. Splendid. 

“Ugh, Y/N,” he groans under his breath. “Why did you let me do this?”

“Shit.”

 “AHH!”

Felix shrieks upon the tiny voice squeaking out from behind him. And he sighs in pure relief to see a little girl standing mere inches away, looking no more than a seven-year-old dressed in a yellow raincoat. “Hey kid,” he chuckles and crouches down to her eye level. “Where are your parents? You’re not supposed to be out here alone when it’s pouring like crazy.” 

And to his dismay, “Shit,” the little girl giggles, finding a new profound interest in the curse word that he accidentally spewed out seconds ago. 

“Shh shh,” Felix frantically places an index finger on his lips while darting his eyes around in terror—he might be sued if her parents found out how their daughter picked up a bad word from some random high schooler. Suddenly he feels bad for his future kids. “No, no, we can’t say that. It’s forbidden. What’s your name?”

“Mina,” she answers cutely and fiddles with the ends of her braids. “Who’s Y/N? Is she your girlfriend?”

Felix chokes on his own saliva. “...no, why would you say that?”

“I don’t know, my dad always calls my mom’s name when he messes things up.”

“What does that have to do with- oh, shit,” he facepalms himself. This kid is going to give him a cardiac arrest any second now. “It doesn’t matter if she’s my girlfriend or not, what matters is I need to get you back to your parents. Do you know where they are right now?”

Mina simply shakes her head with a pout. “Okay, let’s go find them then,” he can’t help but cracks a smile, ruffling her hair endearingly. Most kids would be bawling their eyes out by now knowing that they’ve strayed from their parents; she’s a tough one. 

Felix gently grabs Mina’s hand, biting down on his lower lip as he prays that a cold doesn’t catch up to him tomorrow and ready to dash out of the canopy that’s been keeping him dry for the last hour or two. But then a figure comes into view from afar, holding an umbrella while squinting their eyes through the thick streaks of rain. 

“Y/N..?” he mutters to himself in disbelief when you quickly skip underneath the canopy, collapsing the red umbrella in your hands. Felix recognizes that umbrella anywhere—isn’t that Hyunjin’s? Have you been looking for him? And for how long too?

“Didn’t even think about bringing an umbrella, smartass,” you say with a raised eyebrow. “Oh dear, who do we have here?” Before Felix can defend himself in vain with lame excuses, you’ve already taken your attention off him to stare at the unfamiliar presence. Your intense gaze scares Mina a little, causing the little girl to squeeze Felix’s hand, hiding behind his leg. 

Your friend laughs, patting her little head in reassurance. “Mina, this is Y/N, my classmate. Don’t let her intimidate you.”

“Are you really going to bother with this little one?” you scrunch your nose a bit. “We’re having pork rib soup, by the way, better hurry if you don’t want Han to hog your portion all to himself.”

Felix rolls his eyes at how utterly apathetic you are towards children. If you can get a perfect A in calc then why is it so hard to simply comprehend that every twelve-year-old needs to be returned to their hypothetical parents safely? “What part of ‘a common sense of morality’ can’t you understand?” 

“I don’t want to, actually, sounds like a lot of work,” you hum sarcastically. 

“Your girlfriend is scary,” Mina ensconces herself further behind your friend, officially detecting you as a threat rather than someone who will potentially bring her back to the cabin where her parents are probably flipping the whole place upside down in a panic—which is exactly what you’re planning to do. 

In your defense, you don’t detest kids in general. Only the bratty ones. And Mina is borderline bratty. 

“You know, I can spare her some time, Lost and Found is like..ten minutes away from here.”

“Y/N-” Felix wants to scream at you, rubbing the side of his temple in distress. Imagining you babysitting your neighbor’s newborn last summer with nine bucks per hour, ten hours per day, and five out of seven days per week is one of the few things that constantly keeps him from having a good night's sleep. It baffles him how you haven’t accidentally drowned the infant while giving her a bath. 

Mina gives the side of his jeans a tug, round eyes staring up at him expectantly. “Or we can get juice pops!” she exclaims happily and looks over to you, mustering her best puppy eyes. “Please? I don’t want to be alone..” 

“Twenty seconds ago, you called me scary and now you’re guilt-tripping me?” you crouch down to get a good look at the kid. Bright, innocent brown eyes, cute button nose, and a chipped front tooth—perhaps she’s a little too cute to not get her juice pops. 

Then, “And juice pops too? You evil mad mind genius,” you say after standing up to unfold Hyunjin’s umbrella, swinging it over the top of your head. “That’s extortion, kid, you’re too young for that.”

Felix breaks into a fit of giggles upon seeing you failing at trying to keep a straight face and steps in beside you under the umbrella. His next problem just pops up right then and there—Mina can’t squeeze in considering the umbrella that Hyunjin gave you is solely used for one person. 

“Mina, hop on here,” he decides to get on his knees, permitting the little girl to clumsily climb on his back and eventually plopping herself onto his shoulders. 

“Oh, oh, oh, can you two hold hands?” Mina suggests with a shit-eating grin on her face. This causes Felix’s cheeks to burn with a bright shade of red while you’re too busy throwing daggers at her with your eyes to notice. “My family does this all the time, my dad would carry me on his shoulders and my mom would hold his hand as we walk home after going to the park.”

You and Felix yell simultaneously, “We’re not your parents!!” But that doesn’t seem to scare the little girl. You’re both just encouraging her. 

“Yip yip, horsey, don’t be disobedient now,” she giggles to herself and pulls at a solid patch of Felix’s hair, making you cringe because his hair and scalp have already had enough from his questionable obsession with bright hair colors. 

“Ow! Mina! Stop it! Ow!”

“Okay quit torturing my friend,” you tell her and decide to slip your hand in with Felix’s, intertwining your fingers to secure the grip before showing it to Mina so that she’ll stop before any blood is drawn. “There, we’re holding hands just like your mommy and daddy, you happy?” 

Felix doesn’t say anything even when Mina nods happily, releasing her monstrous grip off his poor scalp. He only lets you tug him away from the canopy of the cafe as he gazes downward, eyes glued to how your hand fits into his perfectly. The sound of rain tapping against the umbrella suddenly bugs him, suffocating him in a way. In other words, it’s really unnatural to think this way about his best friend but he doesn't want you to let go at all. 

Everything seems to move faster when you’re holding onto his hand so certainly. Felix thinks you’re fully aware but try to fight off the voices that are taunting you to just drop it. And truth is, you can care less because your head is now far too fuzzy to focus on anything but the road ahead. 

You pray he doesn’t feel the pounding rhythm from your veins. If your red ears haven’t given it away already. 

seven.

Jisung has weird friends, that’s a fact. And no, you’re not talking about the gang that saved his ass every time he got into trouble aka you plus JeongMinLixJin. You’re talking about those kids from Class 2C that are mutual friends with Changbin.

Because the moment Jisung barges into the cabin and starts babbling nonsense that you can’t comprehend (not that you can comprehend any of his shit on the daily), you know that he just came back from a get together with those sketchy dudes who managed to sneak some booze inside a shampoo bottle.

“Uhm okay, who gave Felix alcohol?” he squints his eyes hard. 

You are more than aware that Jisung is mildly smashed by the way that his cheeks are tinted with a light shade of coral, hiccupping every ten seconds and slightly more clumsy with his feet. He almost tripped over the rug at the front door if it weren’t for Hyunjin who caught him in time so that he wouldn’t break one of his precious teeth. Those painful years of constantly slurping on watery porridge after every dentist appointment to tighten his braces shouldn’t be going down the drain. 

Speaking of bland rice water, that’s all Felix has been fed with after returning to camp because he has no choice. The sickness finally caught up to him as a result of staying outside for too long while still dressed in his rain-soaked uniform. Even under the cotton comforter, he’s radiating heat on the outside but stoically shivering on the inside, his energy level is as diminished as his appetite. 

The nurse said there’s really nothing that can be done but give him some pills and let him ride it out so now Felix’s all curled up in a corner of his bed, cheeks burning flush of fever, coughing and sneezing occasionally. He refuses to be moved to a completely separate cabin because sleeping alone in a confined place knowing that the grizzly bears might be roaming outside your door is quite frightening for a junior in high school. 

“God, what makes you think I’m the batshit drunk one here?” Felix croaks, his voice more hoarse and gruff than usual because every word pains him, his vocal cords pulse in agony at each syllable. And that sentence was probably the longest thing you’ve heard from him since dinner. 

Jisung lets Hyunjin toss him onto his bed, face down, and props himself up on his forearms. “Uhh, have you checked yourself the mirror?” he hiccups, words a bit slurred, palms outstretched in a grabby motion. “Seungmin, water- ow! What the fuck was that!?” 

He rubs the side of his head while babbling incoherently like a fucking five-year-old because Seungmin decided to chuck a water bottle at him. Those years of playing baseball during retreats indeed paid off. 

“I went for the head,” Seungmin looks up from his book calmly, acting innocent. 

Jisung whines and turns to his side, watching as the water bottle rolls back towards him after coming in contact with the wall. “God, I miss Minho. You guys suck,” he takes it before sitting right up but flops himself back down when a pang of pain claws at his temple. Who even allowed him to drink?

“Didn’t he make your high school experience miserable?” Hyunjin laughs, sitting down on the corner of his bed, legs curled into his chest. 

“Hello? That was me,” Seungmin clarifies, he sounds a little offended. “He called me a nerd for studying late at the library for our finals! Our fucking finals! Do you know how insecure my freshman self was? I was so hurt!” 

You cross your arms and mumble, “He’s the same guy who treated you ice-cream after finding out you got a B in physics.”

Hyunjin hums, butting into the topic, “And he made me do fifty push-ups because I unintentionally skipped a day at practice. Our Dance Club really didn’t need a president who effortlessly snatches the Asshole of the Year Award like he’s stealing candies from a kid.”

“Please, you’re practically buddies now,” you scoff. “You always play Mario Kart and rewatch the Avatar series with him, even during midterms!”

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Jisung suddenly gets on his feet, jumping up and down like a maniac. You’re highly concerned for the bed by the creaking sound that it’s making—sounds just like something straight out of a horror film. “He almost threw a knife at me!”

You’re running out of excuses to defend your stupid brother at this rate. What’s the point in trying anyway? “Han, it was a plastic knife, chill.”

Jisung crawls off his bed to approach you, pinching his thumb and index finger together before shoving them to your face. “I was this close to dying! You try having someone threaten to throw a knife at you during lunch break,” he complains like it’s the end of the world. Truth is, you’ve seen (and experienced) worse things. 

“Minho’s still my brother.”

Staring at you, Jisung looks unimpressed. “He wanted to kill me because I commented on his puffy cheeks that day.”

“He’s adopted.”

The conversation is pulled to a halt right there when Felix does a full-body groan, his head spinning and sweats starting to collect at his hairline. With his mind buzzed like he’s floating, the bickering only adds to the pressure that’s squeezing each of his functioning brain cells. In other words, it feels as though Han Jisung is a fucking hamster going on a marathon across his body, nibbling on his limbs and ears as he’s going through a hangover, his immune system going on a rampage. 

Felix doesn’t even drink. 

“That’s my call for a bedtime story.” You glare at Jisung when he clears his throat while you’re attempting to tuck Felix into bed, pressing your palm against his forehead to check his temperature. It’s not climbing anymore, he should be okay after sweating everything out. 

Hyunjin pulls his friend back onto his bed, locking his limbs in tight before he waddles around and potentially breaks one of those decorative pieces on the bookshelf. “Not to burst your ego, but I don’t think you’re sober enough to give us a good story,” he says unapologetically. 

“Puh-lease,” Jisung lets out the weirdest chuckle at that, wagging his forearm like those Japanese ceramic cat figures that are supposed to bring people good fortune; and Han Jisung is notorious for bringing people anything but good fortune. “They didn’t even have vodka, only Strongbow. That shit is too weak for me.”

You snort involuntarily, “Actually, I think you meant you’re too weak for those bottles of cider.”

“Wow, Y/N, what a snake.”

eight.

The bonfire crackles, flaring up to life when coach Kim tosses a lit matchstick into the pyramid pile of branches and woods. The flame projects long shadows of the trees all round along, swirling and curling in obscure shapes with the high schoolers that each hugs their own cup of hot cocoa, chomping on their marshmallows of choice. 

Glowing embers beneath are colored by the inferno that seems to be moving with the rhythm and melody of the song that they’re all singing along, drumming their feet and bobbing their heads simultaneously. 

“Are you guys sure you don’t want to join them?” Felix says apologetically after sneezing into a piece of tissue, his nose all red and swollen. “I can just… I don’t know, read a book or something.”

When he refers to those oddly colorful and rather bulky-looking books on the shelves, Seungmin immediately stops putting a cookie inside his mouth midway. “Those are called ‘aesthetically useless interior decoration’, Lix. Good luck trying to open those plastic blocks,” he expresses with his hands after stuffing the cookie into his mouth, chewing rather aggressively. 

Felix feels quite bad because, for all he knows, Hyunjin and Seungmin have been planning on going kayaking today and trying out volleyball tomorrow. You’re all going home in two days yet they’ve done nothing but pigging out in pure distress. “Still, it’s a summer camp, you all should be out there having fun, not stuck inside to look after me while tolerating...that,” he quietly looks over at Jisung who just exited the bathroom after splashing his face with some water. 

At least he doesn’t look crazy and homeless now. 

“How are they doing that again?” you join Hyunjin as he rests his head lazily on his forearms, staring outside from the cabin’s window like Rapunzel in an alternative universe where Flynn Rider managed to escape the tower with the crown, leaving her behind longing for civil human interactions in vain. 

“They sing..” he drawls. “And turn their heads to look at each other in the eye.”

You wave it off absentmindedly, falling on your back so now your head is hung upside down from the bed, your arms dangling midair. “Well, that sounds exhausting,” you mumble, ignoring the way that Seungmin is internally judging you. 

Hyunjin sighs, “Never one for sentiment, are you?”

“Easier to let it burn,” you answer flatly, sitting upright when blood starts rushing to your head. 

“Don’t feel bad,” Seungmin immediately forces a smile at Felix. “We’re not really into sitting with a bunch of idiots just to enjoy a mildly decent hot cocoa either way.”

Suddenly the lights go out, and Felix immediately curls himself further into the blanket, a little thrown off. Jisung’s face comes into view out of nowhere when he makes a grab for the oil lamp that no one seems to take notice of, lighting it up with a single match. “C’mon, kids, no bonfire is complete without a good ghost story,” he crosses his legs on the floor happily, still somewhat tipsy so his body is bouncing in excitement with occasional hiccups. 

Hyunjin and Seungmin exchange questionable looks before scrambling to the floor, settling themselves a few solid inches in front of the oil lamp with a sigh while you only shrug at Felix, propping your head onto your hands. Laziness is starting to hold you hostage on Hyunjin’s bed at this rate. 

Seungmin spares Jisung a slight glare, “Better not bullshit us with the same one that you heard at school-”

“No,” Jisung’s lips morph into something similar to a smirk, he looks concerningly confident for someone who’s utterly terrified after watching IT. And now he’s attempting to give his bros who are equally jumpy about everything and anything, you’re excited to see how this goes. “I heard this one from a camp counselor, true story.” You definitely don’t like the sound of that.

At first, the ghost was no more than a chill in the air, a shimmer of mist to the common eyes. Through the heavy rain and fog that seeps through people’s skin, chilling the core of their bones, it slowly came into focus. It wasn’t until the camper found refuge under a canopy of an abandoned café that it congealed into a form—a small child with brilliant round eyes, dressed in white clothing. 

For a moment, all was silent and still. It was as though the camper got hypnotized, feet planted to the ground. Then, he could hear a small lullaby in a cheerful voice. 

“Oranges and Lemons say the bells of St.Clements…” They know how that one ended. 

Suddenly someone blows out the candle, but Jisung’s voice still rings in your eardrums. “When the camper took a step back, the ghost spoke again, this time with the voice almost of a smoker and grin…” You can feel Hyunjin hop back to bed with you in a tick of a clock, holding onto you for dear life with the infrequent whimpers of fear. 

Jisung proceeds to continue, “The grin soon became a snarl, baring teeth like a wolf when it finished the lullaby…”

A muffled silence descends. And, “Have you come to play…?”

“AHHH!!” Felix lets out a petrified shriek, but what confuses you is the sound of Jisung grunting rather in pain. Seungmin sighs in disapproval, flickering the lights on while leaning back against the wall. 

And now before your eyes is a slightly traumatized, feverish Felix with clattering teeth, quivering inside his blanket. Whereas, Jisung is sprawled across the floor, hugging his poor stomach, hacking up lungs. Deserve.

“This is why you don’t give people who can high-kick jump scares, dumbass,” Seungmin comments and crouches down in front of Jisung like his knight in shiny armors, letting a bottle of ointment dangle between his fingers. “Put this on, bet it’s already bruising.”

Hyunjin releases his arms around you and walks towards the freckled boy who looks like he’s about to slip into a coma. “Lix, are you okay?” he knits his brows together, starting to feel somewhat concerned. 

Felix only waves it off with a raspy laugh, standing on wobbly legs with his blanket still wrapped around his figure. “I’m fine, I’ll just go wash my face.” Truth is, he’s anything but fine. And it doesn’t help when he accidentally has a glance of his own reflection in the body-length mirror from across the cabin—his hair is sticking to his forehead, his face is slightly more puffy than usual, and his eyebags look like he hasn’t slept in decades—he looks worse than a trash can, basically. 

“Hyunjin,” you raise a brow at your friend’s current state.

“What?”

“Catch him.”

“Huh-” Hyunjin snaps his head back when a loud thud is heard, eyes growing twice as big in sheer panic upon the sight of Felix laying on his stomach, mere inches away from his feet. “Felix!!” Your friends rush to his side while you’re too busy checking the thermometer by his nightstand. The temperature doesn’t seem to be too alarming, he should be fine after sleeping and sweating it out. But really, Felix looks more like he’s having the nap of a lifetime rather than passing out from the worst fever of the century. That doesn’t stop everyone from freaking out, unfortunately. 

Also, everyone can agree that this is the first and last storytime to ever happen.

nine.

Felix sits on the beach, eyes moving from sand to stone, from rock pools to breaking waves. He lets out a sigh, an exhale of relief when a breeze passes by him, tousling his hair as he buries his feet deeper into the primrose-colored grains. The briny aroma that exists in every fiber of air makes him feel at ease, as though unknotting all his angsty-teenager worries with grace. He feels a bit better, partially because his fever has already gone down when he shook you out of your half-asleep state at four in the morning. 

“Why?” you ask without turning your head after sensing his tense posture.

Felix looks confused, a little startled when you break the silence. “Why what?”

“Why the long face?” you unknowingly exhale too, stubbornly gazing forward. “Thinking about something?” For some reason, you’re too...scared to even spare him a small glance. This isn’t you, did his fever rub off on you or something?

To your dismay, his sudden inquiry catches you off guard. “High school is going to be over in a year, have you thought about what to do?” 

You open your mouth to protest with something along the line of he’s overthinking again and there’s still an entire year ahead to make new memories but when you’re about to utter the first word, your mouth automatically snaps itself close. It’s like you have an entire masterpiece planned out in your mind but when someone tosses you a blank canvas, you’re standing there in defeat like the biggest idiot. Felix is serious this time, you know it’s not because he’s lightheaded after riding out the fever. 

“Honestly?” you breathe out. “No, I haven’t. God, I don’t even want to think about it, the future scares me a little.”

Upon the mossed rock and vibrant horizon, comes the sun rays that are promised by the starlit sky. It makes you both a little breathless, not exchanging a single word nor moving a muscle for a while. 

Until, “Fine, it scares me a whole lot,” you confess, gaze cast downward as you hug your legs closer to your chest. “It sucks because everyone seems to have their lives together, Jisung is finally taking his interest in music seriously, Hyunjin is planning on being an actual theater kid, and Seungmin is...I don’t know, but he’s definitely onto something. Point is, everyone is already one too many steps ahead of me, I’m just..here, stuck. And I don’t feel like I have-”

“A lot of time left.” Felix finishes your sentence, prompting you to look at him this time. His delicate features shine under the cracking lights of dawn, starry eyes twinkling and lips outstretched into the smile that you absolutely adore. He has such a contagious type of smile that it makes you feel a little less dead inside whenever you see it. But your heartbeat also grows a little more ecstatic. 

A hearty chuckle. “You’re not alone, you know,” he says while not breaking away from the eye contact, this makes your throat grow dry. “I still have so much to do, so much to...say yet too little time. So yeah, don’t think about it too much, I’m never gonna leave you behind no matter what.”

You have to hold back a playful scoff at that; and to think he was the one who brought up this sappy topic. “If anything, you’re the overthinker in this relationship,” you tell him with a nudge on his rib. “But if you’ve already had my back, then you should know that I’ll always have yours too.”

Because what would you do without an overthinker like Felix? Drowning your sorrow by stress-eating in the middle of the night? Bottoming out on questionable drinks to end up like Han Jisung? Winging every single important choice that can potentially flip your life upside down in either a good or bad way? Not in a million years. He knows that you need him as much as he needs you, harsh truth but you still hate it either way.

You both don’t look forward to the future, like at all. 

You’re too apathetic and overall just a big ‘meh’ about it. You’re the type of person that goes with the flow, letting life toss you around like a ragdoll until you finally snap at some point to fight back because you know where the line between giving up and knowing that you’ve had enough is. Meanwhile, Felix is rather anxious about things. If a piece of paper with a pencil can draw out the map of his entire destiny ahead then he’ll have it finished in one night. But he’s grown out of his middle school self to know that things don’t always go as planned.

Guess if things turn out to be shit, you’ll still have him.

“Does that mean if we’re still single in our thirties, you’ll marry me like how our parents always joke about?” Felix cracks a shit-eating grin this time, one that makes your heart swell but for the most part, you wanna whack him unconscious with a pillow. 

You sneer in return, “Sure, but you’ll have to fall for me first.”

There’s a pang in Felix’s chest, it’s so loud and evident that he’s afraid you might hear it. You really didn’t have to slap him in the face with that seemingly harmless statement. “Hmm, who would even fall for a stubborn hermit crab like you?” he jokes to hide the nervousness that’s crawling upon his spine. His ears are probably bright red right now. “Although...that wouldn’t be a problem with me.” Because he’s already fallen for you, a little too hard actually.

“What does that even mean?” you only hum after questioning his statement, nothing makes sense right now since you’re getting a little sleepy because a certain someone wanted to watch the sunrise which simply lasted for about two minutes after two(ish) hours of waiting.

“I don’t know,” Felix laughs before standing up, dusting the sand off of his jeans. “You go figure it out, smartass.” With that, he runs off with his Converses dangling between his fingers, leaving you dumbfounded in the middle of the beach like a total dimwit. Slowly, within those five seconds of making eye contact with your best friend again, his words zero in on you like a wakeup call. 

Urgently grabbing your sneakers, you chase after him. “Hey- wait! GET BACK HERE!” By looks of it, you’ve probably figured it out now. It’s not like he’s trying to be subtle either.

Felix feels like he just gained strength from spewing out that indirect confession, and it gives him a tiny ray of hope that he still has his entire youth before his eyes to tell you how he really feels. Or his whole life if you don’t start resenting him for crossing the line that no one dares talk about when they have a thing for their best friend. 

Either way, as long as Felix sees your presence side by side with him at every ups and downs, he’s home. 

#skzwritersclub #inkidz #stayshub #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids fluff #lee felix #lee felix scenarios #lee felix imagines #lee felix fluff #felix scenarios #felix imagines #bang chan fanfic #lee minho imagines #seo changbin #hwang hyunjin #han jisung fluff #kim Seungmin #yang jeongin #felix x reader #felix x you #skz high school au

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

Good day to you, would like to offer some oil for the fire:

Master Kohga summoning his clone and then both of them going down on Sooga

Oooh that’s actually some BIG brained stuff right there? Let’s go???

Sooga was such a prude. Sure, he’d do kinky shit with him occasionally, and he’s had pervy dreams, but for someone with THAT fine of a body, he did almost nothing with it. By which Kohga meant; Sooga would NOT do threesomes with him. Now don’t get Kohga wrong, no meant no, but Kohga knew Sooga would LOVE getting railed by two dudes at once. He had the body, the stamina, the desire for it. But everytime Kohga chatted someone up, it was always ‘they aren’t worthy enough to touch you’ or ‘I will not take away any attention from you like this’. And while it was sweet, it was lame. Kohga wanted Sooga to get plowed while someone hit it from the back, or someone to make out with him while he bounced on his cock. Just SOMETHING to spice things up. Thankfully, clever Kohga had just the idea. Something that Sooga couldn’t at all say no to.

“You summoned me, Master Kohga?”

“Yes, Sooga, get in here! Lock the door!”

Sooga obeyed, and upon being prompted, sat down in front of Kohga.

“Your summon sounded important.”

“It is! I feel like showing you one of my famous techniques today!”

That had Sooga’s attention. Here was a fun piece of trivia; Sooga learned MANY of his abilities from Master Kohga one on one training. Sooga’s binding attack was taught to him by Kohga, and he had since perfected the very rare gift. Every member of the Yiga was capable of unique, special abilities, if they are deemed worthy to be taught as such by Kohga, and only Kohga. It was why Sooga would never turn down the opportunity to see more of Kohga’s incredible skills. Sooga gave a bow of his head, eager.

“I am very honored, Master Kohga. Please, show me.”

Kohga nodded, keeping his palms flat, and pressed together.

“Now, watch. The order of the hands is super important, as well as the speed. I’m going to show you how to do it properly, then we’ll do it step by step after. Watch.”

Kohga moved his hands quickly, forming them in all kinds of poses and patterns. Then, out of thin air, his clone appeared. It was a trick he had seen many times, but to see the actual process astounded Sooga to no end. Sooga stared at the clone with fascination, almost doing a double take between the both of them.

“It’s incredible, truly, Master Kohga. I almost can’t tell the difference.”

“Well I mean, I’m the handsome one, but yeah I see what you mean. Pulled this trick on my mother when I was a kid, nearly killed her.”

“You did this when you were but a child?”

Kohga always loved how easy it was, impressing Sooga. He shrugged, letting Sooga poke and prod at the clone, who seemed to just sit there.

“You did THIS? As a CHILD?”

“Yeah, but it was a pretty spotty clone back then. Not stable, only lasted for a few seconds. Now, he stays until I make him leave.”

“That’s incredible. Is his...face, your face?”

“Yep, lips and all, watch!”

Kohga’s clone (which we may refer to as Kohga2) lifted his mask up a bit, and leaned forward to kiss him. It was a small peck at first, just enough for Sooga to lightly nod his head.

“It...IS like you. How-”

Then the clone kissed him again. And again. Sooga seemed to have no protests, kissing the clone in return, before he pulled away, clearing his throat.

“It’s...quite like you. Very...physical.”

Kohga chuckled. Sooga was trying to be appropriate, but Kohga could see it in his body; he liked the idea of this Kohga touching him. He wanted more, it was obvious. Kohga just needed to give him a little bit of a push.

“He is, he really is. He can do all kinds of stuff. He sometimes copies me, sometimes he acts on his own."

"That's...not dangerous?"

"Not really? He just does things that I'd personally do."

Kohga2 seemed to take the hint, crawling over to Sooga and burying his face in his neck. Sooga wanted to push him away, clearly wanting to be professional, but Kohga2 seemed to know just the spot, making him sit back, and make Sooga just SQUIRM.

"M-master Kohga, I uhm, do believe he's getting rather fri-fuck."

That 'fuck' at the end was so honest, so lust fueled, it made Kohga chuckle. He always did like nibbles to his ear lobe. Nice, slow, even a little bit of pulling, just to drive him nuts. Kohga chuckled, leaning over to cup the slight bulge in his suit. Sooga was trying not to like this, but with the way Kohga2's hands were wandering and roaming, it was hard to deny he was liking this. Kohga chuckled, ever so slowly massaging his bulge. Sooga kept trying to push Kohga2 off of him, but his effort was so half assed, it was adorable.

"Pretty neat, eh? Only thing better than me, is TWO of me. Don't you agree, Sooga?"

"Y-yes, but you were just trying to show me some techniq-"

He was silenced yet again by that weak spot on his ear, actually making him shake a little. Kohga got up, and stood next to Sooga’s face, starting to un do his hair. One Kohga was enough to make Sooga weak, but two? Was enough to just make him submissive.

"Easy. I just wanna show you how talented I am."

Kohga2 nibbled at his ear some more, while Kohga ran his fingers through his scalp, occasionally grabbing fistfulls of that long, pretty hair. Sooga was silent for a moment, clearly absorbed in the feeling of slow, loving treatment. He seemed to find his words after a moment, lightly shaking his head.

“I uhm...this is odd. Very odd display of-”

A little pull of his hair was all it took to shut his pretty face up. Kohga un did his clothes a bit, pulling out his cock. They just started, but he was honestly SO excited about Sooga getting touched by someone, that he was already super hard. He pulled his hair again, prompting Sooga to open his mouth, just enough for him to push his cock through. Sooga didn’t hesitate, sucking and groaning as Kohga slowly pushed his cock back and forth into his mouth.

“That’s it. You remembered to use a little teeth this time, just how I like it. Good, good boy.”

Kohga2 seemed to grow bored of his actions, especially since Kohga seemed to be hogging that nice face of his. So he got off of him, in order to scoot down to his crotch, grinding against Sooga’s hard on. It made him groan against Kohga’s girth, and damn did it drive Kohga crazy. Sooga was handling being shared like a dream, just how he thought it would. Kohga pulled himself out of his mouth, just to watch drool dribble down Sooga’s lips.

“Look at you. You LIKE being shared, don’t you? Like having two people with their hands on you?”

Sooga didn’t want to answer. He clearly didn’t like the idea of a threeway, despite the fact that he was grinding himself in sync to Kohga2’s movements. Kohga cupped his face in his hand, being serious for just a second (he hated doing this, but it was the top’s job to take care of their bottoms).

“Why are you so against this? You LIKE being touched, I can tell. You’re into getting felt up and groped. Why are you so hesitant?”

Sooga tried to think amongst his hazy lust, and finally seemed to muster something.

“I just, don’t want you to think I belong to someone else. Don’t want you to think someone could take me away from you.”

Oh what an absolute sap. Kohga rolled his eyes, lightly pinching his cheeks.

“Soogy...you idiot. I was NEVER worried about that, ever. I want people to see you because I’m proud to call you mine. No one could take you away from me. You could even try to leave me, and I wouldn’t give you up. You body’s mine, remember?”

Kohga’s hand moved from his cheeks, to his throat, having a nice, good grip. He could watch the lust in his eyes. He wanted to get just FUCKED, and Kohga was happy to oblige. Kohga motioned for his clone to switch him, and Kohga2 seemed happy to stuff his cock in Sooga’s mouth, though he was far more greedy, nearly smothering Sooga’s face with all he had. Kohga meanwhile, worried about slipping those clothes off, finally getting to that nice, tight ass, and those long, strong legs. After making sure Sooga was ready (he didn’t need much prepping, but one couldn’t be too careful), he threw those legs over his shoulder, and didn’t hesitate to pound into that ass. Kohga’s grips on his thighs were nice and firm, keeping him in place as his cock not only stretched his ass, but hit right up against that prostate of his. Kohga2 didn’t seem to be nice either, holding onto his hair as he fucked his face, only stopping here and there for Sooga to gag around him. You think this would be too much for one man. You’d be wrong.

Sooga accepted both of them eagerly, even pumping his cock to help push himself further (not to mention giving them both quite a show) to orgasm. Not that he was being selfish. He kept his other hand on Kohga2’s ass, as if he was begging not to let him go. Not to mention he was pushing himself against Kohga’s thrusts, really making sure he got deep into that ass. Kohga chuckled, loving just how messy his boy was. Sweaty, soaked in his own drool.

“You like being a messy boy, don’t you Sooga? You like a nice, juicy cock to drool over? You like that same cock fucking you right in your ass? It good enough for you to cum already? Huh? You gonna cum like a good boy?”

Sooga of course couldn’t respond, but he could tell he was listening. The way he started to quicken the pace of his hand, the way his precum started to get slick all over his eager hands. Kohga expected him to cum as quickly as he did, getting a hot load of cum on his stomach. It was a nice sight, watching all that cum decorating his eager, totally built body. Kohga was going to finish in that ass, when he realized; he really didn’t want to forget this moment. He pulled himself out, making Kohga2 do the same. Sooga whimpered, not just from the fresh orgasm, but from the fact that he wasn’t gifted any of theirs. Kohga pointed to the floor, and Sooga obeyed, although a bit clumsily. He looked confused, before he felt both their cocks upon his face, observing them as they quickly touched themselves.

“Open nice and wide. You want it, don’t you?”

Sooga didn’t have any shame in opening his mouth nice and wide, nearly begging like a dog for scraps. He didn’t have to wait long. WIthin a few moments, they both came, shooting hot loads on his mask, his chin, and all over his tongue. He watched as Sooga panted, nealy fawning over how much cum he was decorated in. Kohga grabbed the data pad from the nightstand, chuckling.

“Say cheese, pretty boy.”

Then he snapped a nice, pretty picture. Ooh, this was a keeper. He looked it over, snapping his fingers, and making Kohga2 disappear. 

“Mmm. You look SO good in this one. Nice and pretty. So, this mean threesomes are on the table?”

Sooga closed his mouth, swallowing the load, just like always.

“I...suppose it depends. It sounds like you have someone in mind.”

“How about Link?”

“....maybe.”

“That's My Soogy Woogy~”

#asks #kohga #sooga #lemon #listen #when you think about it #link only makes sense in this equation

[itsreigns]

Starting Over

Adam Cole x Reader

(Y/N) gets added to the Undisputed Era. Neither Adam or her are super happy at first. When their lives are at stake will they make amends?

TAG SQUAD:

@xfirespritex | @hardcorewwetrash | @shadow-of-wonder | @oreillyskyle | @crazyprettychick | @heelsamizayn | @helluvawriter | @tryingtofindaplaceinthisworld | @heygargano | @moxleysbaby | @laochbaineann | @lustyromantic | @xxsirensong | @the-iridescent-phoenix |  if you want to get (un)tagged let me know

Being a young female wrestler, you’ve been working your ass off to be valued and recognized as one of the best. It’s a tough path for sure, but you’re not backing down. 

And now, getting the phone call you so anxiously waited for, you feel so overwhelmed with emotions. You can’t believe you’re probably about to get the push you’ve been working so hard for. 

It’s only when you get to Carrano’s office that you truly understand what’s going on. Adam Cole and the other members of the Undisputed Era were all there. 

Sure, it was a step up on your career. But you weren’t a hypocrite… you were waiting for a different outcome. And being in the same team, working directly with Adam Cole, wasn’t exactly your biggest dream. 

He’s just so… irritating. So full of himself. Honestly, you just wanted distance from him. The less you have business with him, the better. But clearly that wasn’t an option right now. 

Judging by the look on his face once you stepped inside the room, he wasn’t very happy either. The others looked excited, and even greeted you joyfully. 

Two months in, the animosity between you and Adam is still the same. You talked the bare minimum and kept it professional, but the others took notice of the tense atmosphere surrounding the both of you. 

You’ve grown close to the other three though. Especially with Roderick. 

You love Kyle and Bobby, they are amazing friends. But you had a deeper connection with Roderick, you’d vent to him, he’d give you advice. He just makes it easy to talk to him. He’s like an older brother to you, and you absolutely love his family. His wife is super sweet, and you won’t even get started on the baby! He is so cute and adorable! You loved playing with him, and Marina would always say what a great mother you’d be someday. 

You’d love to believe her, but you couldn’t see yourself actually creating a family with someone, being a wife, a mother… It just seems so unrealistic. In theory, it sounds amazing, especially to a romantic soul like you. But... you just can’t imagine someone loving you, no matter what… wanting to marry you… wanting to create a family with you. It’s just a fantasy. 

Anyway, those five are the closest you have to a family outside of your blood-family.

Adam… well, he just keeps to himself. Just like you, he doesn’t really like to let his guard down. So the both of you just pretty much avoid every possible opportunity to actually talk and address the elephant in the room. 

Roderick once told you that you should just talk to him about it, just to clear things up, or as he had said “to solve whatever’s messed up between you two”. 

Thinking about it, you don’t really know what was messed up… He annoyed you, and you weren’t really fond of his cocky attitude. But that was it. 

You have no clue why he acts the same way towards you. Maybe you annoy him too. Who knows. You have to admit that it bugs you though. And you could tell the others are a little unsettled by the situation, but you didn’t know where Adam stood, so you just let it go.

Today, the group decided to make a barbecue at Roderick’s place. Marina created a to-do list with all the chores split by every one. You ended up having to go to the grocery store with Adam. 

You knew it had Roderick’s finger on it, but you decided to pay no attention to it. 

The sun is setting already when you and Adam are walking to the store. No words have been exchanged so far, there’s just an awful, awkward silence filling up the hair. 

You’re walking, looking down at the ground, hands in your coat’s pockets, completely lost in thought. Adam is walking right by your side, himself focused on his own thoughts, while looking down the street. 

Suddenly, coming out of nowhere, three men surround you. Giving him no time to react, two of them grab Adam, preventing him from escaping or retaliating, while the other grabs you hard by your arm.

“Give me your phones and money now!” The asshole screams at you. 

You nervously nod your head no. Adam is viciously trying to set himself loose, and you’re sure that if he can, he’ll kill them. 

“What do you mean no, bitch?” He snarls, slapping you face, hard. You could feel your cheek sting. So hot and numb. 

“Don’t you fucking touch her! I’m gonna kill you!” Adam spits with so much anger, you’ve never seen him like this. It’s getting harder and harder for the other guys to keep Adam in his place. The asshole just laughs in his face, making him even angrier.

“You can’t say no to me, you fucking bitch. Or you want your lover boy over here to get hurt?” He starts grinning, that maniac, as he pulls his gun from his waist, pointing it at Adam. 

“No, no, no… Pl-please, put it down. I’ll give you all what you want.” You choke out, tears building up.

“Oh, you’ll give me all I want? I like the way that sounds.” He says seductively, running his calloused finger down your red cheek. You’re crying now, the nerves consuming you. You can’t even think straight. 

“Don’t you fucking touch her, I swear to God!” Adam is getting out of his mind. 

“Y-you wanted the phones, right? Here, take it.” You sob, pulling your phone out of your pocket with your trembling free hand. “Money too, right?” You reach your other pocket and pull out the twenty dollars you had in your pocket. “T-take it. It’s all yours.”

“Nah. I changed my mind.” He grins widely, while twirling a strand of your hand. “I don’t want that. I want you.”

Adam barely let him finish. He freed himself from the two douchebags, and within a minute, the three of them were beaten black and blue, groaning on the ground. You tried to stop him, so you could run out of there, but it was all to no avail. Adam was blind by rage. 

He stands tall over them, his fists balled up tight, his breathing hard and uneven. 

“I told you not to touch her.” He says, kicking the guy once more. 

When he turns to face you, his anger quickly turns to shock.

“(Y/N)? Y-you’re bleeding… Your nose… How-” He chokes out, trying to make sense of what he’s seeing. 

You can’t bring yourself to look at him, much less answer him. You can’t even move, it’s like you’re stuck. He takes one step at a time towards you, carefully, until he finally reaches you. 

Adam takes your hand in his, very gently. You can’t help but flinch away from him. 

He let go of your hand and took a step back. You finally face him, and the hurt sprawled on his face tore your insides apart. You know he didn’t mean it. Hell, he didn’t even noticed you were there. He was protecting you. But it was too much for your brain to process so quickly. 

Truth is you just wanted to get out of there. With him by your side. You don’t know why, and your brain is in no condition to try and make sense of it right now. But you wanted him next to you. 

Adam quickly realised that he wouldn’t be able to speak to you now, no matter how much he wanted to. He decided that it’d be best if you’d just went back home so you both could calm down and get cleaned up.

You locked your eyes with Adam, and saw nothing but understandment there. He extended his hand out to you, leaving it to you to make the decision to take it or not. You sigh heavily, a small sob coming across at the same time, as you gently connect your hand with his. 

Taking a final glance at the three douchebags lying on the ground, you finally head back home with Adam.

The way back is filled with silence once again, but this time your hands are linked together. Halfway back, you bring your remaining hand around them, feeling safer at the warmth of his skin.

Once you get to Roderick’s house, you make it through the front door, when Adam stops in his tracks, disconnecting your hands, and clears his throat, attempting to talk to you again.

“(Y/N), I- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Hey guys, you’re finally back!” Kyle happily greets, until he looks at your face. “What the fuck did you do to her, man???” He yells, angrily.

The others heard all the noise and quickly appeared in the hall, confused and shocked looks crossing their faces. 

“What happened?” Roderick asks worriedly.

“Did you hit her???” Bobby asks, shocked. “I can’t believe you hit her!”

“Stop!” You shout, feeling tears threatening to spill again. “Stop, guys. Please. It was an accident. We were being robbed and he was beating up the guys, I was trying to stop him, and you know the rest.”

 A tense silence filled up the air. No one really knew what to say. Marina, being the sweet soul she is, worked things out. 

“Girl, come with me. Let’s clean you up, and calm you down a bit.” She says, a soft smile playing on her lips, as she steps forward and takes you by the hand.

Once you reach the bathroom, she puts the toilet seat down and motions you to seat down. Then, she begins cleaning your face. There’s barely a minute of silence, and she doesn’t even need to ask you anything. You start venting right away. 

“I don’t know why he did it.” You say blankly. She shoots you a confused look. “You should see him. He looked crazed up. The guy hit me, and was touching my hair and my face with his disgusting hands, and Adam… Adam told him that he’d kill him if he touched me. And he nearly did.”

Marina stands there, smiling down at you. Now you’re the one confused. Why the hell was she smiling? 

It’s like she can read your mind, because she answer your question right away. 

“Why are you so shocked about him beating up the guy? You said it yourself, he beat you, he was disgusting, and he was a robber.”

“I just… I never thought he’d do something like that for me.” 

“Why is that?” She asks, stopping what she’s doing to fully face you.

“I just assumed he hated me. Hell, he never showed me anything else until today. Truth is I never thought he gave a damn about me.” You finally confess. “And I know that’s partially my fault, because I wasn’t any better at it.”

And there she is, smiling again. What is wrong with her? 

“Do you really think he hates you?” She asks you, smiling gently. 

You avoid your gaze to your hands. “I think so… I don’t know. I’m confused.” 

An hour or so later, you’re resting on the couch, a blanket covering your body, when Adam sits down next to you. 

“Can we talk?” He asks, fidgeting a bit in his seat.

You nod him yes. He sits there for awhile, trying to figure out where to start.

“I went to… apologize to you, you know, when you were with Marina in the bathroom. And I… I heard what you said to her.” He explains, carefully, trying to read your reaction. 

You’re panicking on the inside, but trying to maintain your cool on the outside. 

“I want you to know that I never, never hated you. Ever.” He sighs, waiting for you to reply. When you don’t say anything, he lets out a sad chuckle. “You know… it kills me inside that you’ve even thought that. But… who am I fooling? I knew I’d never be good enough for you. And now, you know it too.” He finishes, running his hands on his thighs, getting up and turning on his back.

“Why do you think you’re not good enough?” You finally find your voice, taking him by surprise. He stops in his tracks and faces you again. 

“Because I have a bad reputation. I don’t want to be a bad influence to you. I don’t want to affect you or your work.” He confesses, feeling a weight leaving his chest. “See today. Our first time going out alone. See what happened.”

“This wasn’t your fault.” You say, motioning to your face. “You didn’t mean it. You didn’t even see me. You were protecting me, and I’m thankful for it.”

“I still hurt you… He still slapped you, and touched you. So I’d say I did a pretty lousy job at protecting you.”

“I’m here, and I’m fine, so I’d say you did a pretty good job.” You reassure him. “And also, I don’t give a shit about your reputation. Did I find you annoying? Yes. Did I find you cocky? Also yes.”

“Wow, thank you for the honesty.” He lets out a small laugh, amazed by your sincerity. 

“I wanted to know you for myself, but you never let me. And I know that’s my fault too, because I never let you in either.” You sigh, fully knowing you’re both at fault in this. “And also, I think I’m the one who decides who is good enough for me and who isn’t.” 

“Can we start over?” You furrow your brows in confusion, and he smiles. “Hi, I’m Adam Cole, it’s very nice to meet you.” 

You finally understand what he’s doing, so you smile back at him. 

“Hi Adam, I’m (Y/N). It’s very nice to meet you too.”

Give me some feedback please?

#adam cole #adam cole imagine #adam cole x reader #adam cole oneshot #adam cole one shot #adam cole fic #adam cole fanfic #adam cole fanfiction #wwe imagine #wwe oneshot #wwe one shot #wwe fic #wwe fanfic #wwe fanfiction #wwe reader insert

[sukkadeservedbetter]

It’s Different.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: After a dramatic and traumatizing experience at a gas station, things with Tom hit different.

Warnings: Mugging/Robbery

Word Count: 2.6 of fluff

You’ve always been oddly comforted by the smell of gasoline. Anything that smelled like a car garage had always left you with a sense of euphoria: new tires, exhaust pipes, and metals. It wasn't something you could really explain, but as the faint smell of gasoline entered your nose after a horribly long day at work, you welcomed it.

Your mother always told you not to let your mileage gauge get below 50 miles, but you never listened to her. Tonight you got to the gas station with 10 miles left. Tempting the fates was becoming a little hobby of yours—at least when it came to getting gas. Mainly because you hated pumping gas. It wasn't hard, or even a lot of work, but you always realized you needed gas at the worst possible times. Like tonight, for example. You didn't have anywhere to be, but you were tired. You debated whether you wanted to prolong getting into your comfy clothes tonight or wake up earlier tomorrow in order to fill your stupid car with gas. In the end, prolonging rest now seemed a whole lot better than waking up any earlier than you needed to tomorrow.

You begrudgingly dragged your exhausted body out of your car. It wasn't all that late, but the sun had gone down behind the hills and a faint wind nipped at your neck and cheeks. Summer was officially over, but the remanence of long, warm nights hung in the faint pink glow of the horizon. You scrolled through your phone mindlessly as your car's tank filled agonizingly slowly. You heard your mother's voice telling you that you should always wait in your car while pumping gas at night, just in case. You shook off her words. You lived in the sleepiest part of L.A. where nothing even remotely interesting happened. It was all families and Instagram models here—not crackheads and gangs.

The gas pump clicked, letting you know you were finally done with this heinous chore. You placed the pump back in its holster and finished up paying on the pin pad. As you pivoted on your left foot to turn around and hop into your car, you felt cool metal press against the back of your skull. Your throat closed immediately. The pounding in your chest became overwhelmingly loud. Your ears rang and everything began to slow. Whoever was behind you spoke, but you couldn't hear anything.

They teach you about the "fight or flight response," but they never tell you about the third reaction in response to fear: freeze. You wanted to scream, or run, or kick, but you couldn't do anything. Your lip began to quiver as you cursed yourself for never listening to your mom's advice. The person behind you grabbed onto your arm so hard you yelped.

"Shut the fuck up!" The voice yelled. It was deep and gravely. "I said, give me your money and I won't have to use this." You heard the sound of his gun cocking and you let out a silent wail.

"I don't have anything," you plea, putting your hands up to show you were literally empty-handed.

"Do you think I'm a fucking idiot? Where is your purse? In the car? Walk." The man shoved you towards your car. Your mind raced with possibilities of how to get out of the situation. You quickly realized that you were either going to have to give him your money or he would shoot you and there was no in-between. For a moment you let yourself hope that someone would save you in a damsel-in-distress moment, but you knew that real life wasn't a fairytale, and knights in shining armor were far and in between in L.A.

The man turned you around and shoved you against your car door causing you to wince. When you saw his face you let out a sob. He was wearing a Spider-Man mask. Your mind went straight to Tom. You and Tom had been friends for years. You knew he was kind and good, but you couldn't help but associate him with the mask and that made this situation so much worse.

"Now, give me your money so I don't have to blow your fucking head off," The man sneered. You gulped as you turned around to open your car door. The man placed a harsh hand on your hip as you bent over to reach for your purse. Your throat closed up again thinking about what he might do after you give him the money. You grabbed both your debit and credit card out of your wallet. In a stroke of dumb luck, you remembered something from a John Mulaney special you had watched with Tom a while back.

"Here. Fetch!" You yelled as you turned around and chucked your cards as far away from yourself and the car as you could. The man shoved you into your car, causing you to hit your head, as he ran towards your cards which were now scattered about 20 yards away. You slammed your door shut and drove away quickly, hoping he wouldn't shoot towards your speeding car. You felt numb. Your body shook as you drove. You wanted to go home and sob, but you knew you had to go to the police station first.

The police station took forever. You sat in a boring room that was too bright and too cold as you listened to a policewoman talk you through the process of filing a report. You weren't fully there and if she had asked you to repeat what she was saying you wouldn't have been able to. After what seemed like forever, the police let you go. You got in your car and stared forward mindlessly. Where were you supposed to go? Home was the obvious answer, but you didn't want to go back to your dark and lonely apartment after what had happened. Every time you blinked you saw Spider-Man holding a gun towards you.

You realized that you wanted to see Tom. Tom always knew how to make you feel better and after being terrorized by someone who looked like Spider-Man, Tom's happy-go-lucky attitude and soft British voice was something you craved. You checked the time to find that it was nearing 11:30. Tom might not even be home, but you didn't care. You considered calling him first, just to see if he was home, or wanted to see you, but you were already outside of his apartment before you could truly comprehend that you were heading to him.

You stood with shaking hands outside of his building. As you pressed the call button for his apartment, you became instantly anxious. What if Tom didn't want to see you? What if he had someone over? What if—

"Hello?" Tom's voice rang from the speaker. You let out a shaky sigh of relief. At least he was home. "Hello?" Tom asked again.

"Oh, uh. Hi, Tom..."

"(Y/N)? What're you doing here?" He didn't sound upset, just confused.

"I, uh... can I come up?"

"Yeah, of course!" The door buzzed and clicked open. You pushed the ornate gold handle and began bounding up the stairs. You should've taken the elevator in your state, but you didn't want to wait. Your heart was pounding as you climbed to the ninth floor. By the time you got to Tom's apartment, you were out of breath. You took a moment to compose yourself before you knocked. Tom opened the door with a sideways smile. Upon seeing his face you immediately crumpled into his arms and started sobbing. You hadn't processed what had happened yet, but seeing Tom all soft and warm in his hoodie and sweats made you feel safe.

Tom grabbed you just before you hit the floor and wrapped you into a tight hug. You knew he was probably scared and confused, but you couldn't stop crying long enough to explain yourself. You were ugly crying. There were snot and tears coming out of and your jagged breaths made you feel as though you could vomit. Tom didn't say anything he just rubbed your back and pulled you onto his couch.

"I'm-- I'm so... so sorry," You choked out.

"Shhh, it's okay," Tom comforted. "It's alright, Darlin'." Even upset that pet name made your heart swell. "What's going on?" Tom asked. You took a few seconds to gain some composure. You sat up and wiped the tears from your face as best you could. After a few seconds of uneven breathing, you began to tell Tom what happened. His brows furrowed and his grip on your thigh tightened as you told him how this stranger attacked you.

"I didn't mean to bother you so late I just... I didn't know where to go," you said as you concluded your story.

“No, it’s okay! I’m glad you can here. You’re always welcome here. You know that.” Tom pulled you in for another tight hug. You breathed in his cologne. The familiar scent sent your brain back to last spring when the two of you couldn’t keep your hands off each other. Tom wasn’t just a friend—or he was, but with benefits. Two years ago after a bad break up and a lot of tequila the two of you first hooked up. After that, it became custom for the two of you to get together whenever you were both single and in the same place. It wasn’t constant and both you had been in and out of relationships since you first hooked up, but when it happened it happened—no questions asked. A part of you often longed for something more, but at the end of the day, you were just happy to have someone like Tom in your life.

You looked up at Tom through glassy eyes. You wanted nothing more than to kiss him. Tom had always been good at reading you even if you swore you had a great poker face. Tom placed two fingers under your chin and tilted your head so that your lips met his. It was a soft kiss, nothing particularly special, but behind it was all the care in the world and it was mutual. You break apart after only a few seconds.

"I hope that makes up for that asshole using my likeness to mug you." You let out a shaky laugh.

"It did. Thank you."

"I cannot believe the wisdom of John Mulaney came to you in your moment of crisis," Tom laughed.

"Actually, I think it was Detective J.J. Bittenbinder's wisdom," you teased. As you moved to sit completely upright you winced.

"You okay?" Tom asked, suddenly worried.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. That guy just rattled me around a bit. I'll be fine." You were lying. You would be fine, but your hip and back and arm hurt like hell and you didn't want Tom to worry.

"Okay..." Tom said, obviously still unsure. "Do you want to shower? It'll help you relax."

"Yeah, that would be really nice." Tom helped you up from the couch. You followed him to his bathroom with his hand interlaced in yours. You forgot how attractive an attentive/over-protective Tom was.

"You can get in. I'll go grab you a towel," Tom said. You didn't really respond so much as nod, but you knew he knew that you meant, "sure, thank you." You quickly stripped yourself of your clothing and stepped into the steaming water. You winced and cowered away from the water as it hit your forming bruises. You looked down at the marks on your arm and hip which were already red and swollen. The faint outline of fingers traced over your hip. Looking down at the marks, you wanted to cry again, but you knew that there was no point.

You heard the bathroom door open again and could just see Tom's figure from behind the fogged-up glass door. You closed your eyes and let the water pour over your face. When you opened your eyes again Tom's figure was closer to the door, but this time it was devoid of clothing. The door opened and Tom stepped in silently. You turned around to face him.

"Hi," You whispered.

"Hi. This okay?" Tom asked. You nodded, but you suddenly felt the need to cover yourself. You couldn't figure out why you felt so exposed. Tom had seen you naked plenty of times, but this felt different. This was so much more intimate. Normally when you were naked in front of Tom alcohol was involved and during the times it wasn't your exposed body was veiled by the haze of lust and need. Now there was nothing to conceal your skin or your bruises.

Tom's eyes immediately went towards the mark on your arm. He lifted it up to see the bruise better and felt like you could see his heartbreaking as his face crumpled at the sight. "Baby..." he whined, pulling you in for another hug. Your breath caught in your chest at the pet name. Tom never called you 'baby' except for during sex. You (along with most other girls) were always 'love' or 'darling", but this time he called you baby. It felt different.

Your wet body pressed against his. You had never showered with Tom. It was nice. It wasn't sexual like you assumed it would be. In fact, for once, Tom wasn't trying to make an intimate situation sexual at all. Tom pressed a wet kiss to your forehead. "I'm so sorry," he said against your hair.

"It's fine," you mumbled back. Tom turned you around so that your back was now against his chest. You felt his fingertips skim over what you assumed to be various bruises on your back. Without warning, Tom brought his lips down to your shoulders and peppered open kisses across them. He brought his arms around your waist and you bit back a huge grin. Either subconsciously or out of habit leaned your neck to the side to give Tom better access to your neck. Rather than giving you a hickey like you expected him to, he pressed a soft kiss to the exposed skin and turned your head back to meet his lips.

This kiss was different than the kiss you shared on the couch. This kiss was slow and deliberate. Tom slipped in just enough tongue to give you the chills. You could've stayed in that moment forever, but you knew all too well that all good things must come to an end. After what seemed like hours you and Tom stepped out of the shower into the foggy bathroom. Tom wrapped a towel around you, kissing your forehead again in the process. You internally groaned at the thought of putting your jeans back on and going home. Like always, Tom was one step ahead of you.

"Do you want to stay?" Tom asked, but it wasn't like he normally asked you. Something in his voice was different. "I could stay on the couch if you want the bed to yourself, or you could have the couch. I just..." He was nervous.

"You don't need to sleep on the couch," You said, calming Tom's nerves. "You just have to let me borrow a t-shirt."

"Deal." Tom handed you one of his shirts. You slipped your panties back on and let Tom's shirt engulf your figure. It smelled like him. By the time you were finished drying your hair, Tom was already in bed. He was awake, but barely. You slipped into bed next to him and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Tommy."

"Of course, (Y/N)." You had ended your nights so many times in the same way in Tom's bed, but when he wrapped his arms around your waist and kissed your shoulder, something felt different.

——

A/N: This is loosely based on an experience I had a few months back and while getting gas I got inspired! Lemme know what you think :)

#tom holland #tom tom #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland fic #tom holland fan fiction #tom holland blurb #tom holland fluff #tom holland smut #tom holland fan fic #tom holland imagine #harrison osterfield #peter parker #peter prker fic #spiderman

[herowords]

Something’s Gotta Give

A/N: The one where the guy who lives above Dean is having crazy, wild sex every fudgin’ night, and Dean’s about as done with the store bought baked goods the dude keeps giving him as he is of the questionable noises that keep Dean up all night. - Written for a prompt.

To say that Dean’s new apartment is not the Taj Mahal would be an understatement. But it had been cheap, and Dean had been desperate, so he’d signed on the dotted line without much fanfare.

And he’s not high maintenance, he can deal with the washing machine that clanks, and the old carpet, and the missing screens on all the windows, but what he can’t deal with is the questionable noises coming from the apartment above him. Every. God. Damn. Night.

He waits a week, hoping it will stop. The noise can’t go on forever, right? But when it’s been eight days, and it’s 3 o’clock in the morning, and Dean’s staring up at the ceiling, drawn from sleep by a wild thump, it’s time to address the issue.

Throwing back the covers, Dean finds his slippers - feet sliding across the carpet in the dark - and stands, marches out of his apartment full of righteous fury. Outside Dean climbs the steps and then he’s standing in front of Weird Noises’ door, and his fist is falling against the door in three sharp knocks. 

It’s a minute before the guy answers. He pulls open the door, frowning, and blinks at Dean in the yellow-y glow of his porch lamp. 

“Yes?” His voice is rough, gravelly, and for a beat Dean doesn’t speak. Because truly the dude is really rocking the JBF look and someone as good looking as he is this early in the morning is going to take some time for Dean to process. So he stares at him - blue eyes droopy, dark hair a complete mess where it stands on end atop his head - because Dean is especially creepy like that.

Another time (like a time that’s not shitass o’clock in the morning), and another place Dean probably would have hit on the guy already. As it were, that’s not why he’s here. 

“Can you keep it down up here? I gotta be up early tomorrow.”

The man’s frown softens, the side of his mouth tugging up into a smile. “I apologize. That was Michael. He can be very loud when he’s excited.”

“He can- okay,” Dean stammers, because the dude says it like they aren’t talking about him and this guy, Michael, going at it at 2 am. “Well it sounds like fun up here, but uh- are you done? ‘Cause I really need my sleep, man.”

The guy nods. “Yes, I believe he’s finished. I’ll make sure he keeps quiet for the rest of the night. Again, I apologize.”

“Thanks uh-”

“Castiel.”

“Thanks, Castiel.”

After that Dean trudges back down to bed, and waits, eyes trained on the ceiling. When he hears nothing, he’s finally able to roll over and sleep. 

~

When Dean gets home from work there’s a plate of cookies on his doorstep and a note. 

Dear Freckles (I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but notice them last night, they really suit you - and you never told me your name.)

I know I’m not able to give back the sleep you missed, but I can give you cookies. I hope you find them enjoyable.  

Thank you,

Castiel

Dean eyes the cookies. They’re obviously store bought. But at least the guy tried. 

~

Two days later the noises are back. It’s only midnight this time, at least there’s that, but it could be 7 o’clock at night and Dean would still be perturbed. He makes the walk up to Castiel’s apartment and raps on his door. 

“Gettin’ a little loud again, Cas.” Dean says when the door swings open. Castiel looks much like he did the last time, but his eyes are brighter, and his cheeks are flushed. Goddamn post-coital looks good on the guy. 

Castiel’s face goes sheepish, and he blinks at the ground for half a second before bringing his eyes to meet Dean’s again. “Crowley was getting rough. I didn’t realize how loud he was being. I apologize.”

“Crowley?” Dean asks, shocked. What kind of dick parents name their kid Crowley?

“Yes. He isn’t my favorite by any stretch of the imagination, but I do still have a soft spot for him. I’ll keep him quiet.”

Dean nods, “Thanks.” That’s probably all that needs saying, but Dean doesn’t move, staring at Castiel, not ready to say good bye. “Uh, thanks for the cookies. Nestle Toll House?”

“Yes,” Castiel nods in confirmation. “I’m gald you enjoyed them.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Okay now he’s getting redundant. For a beat he shifts on his feet, wracking his brain for something else to say. “I guess I’ll just-” he hefts a finger over his shoulder. 

“Alright.” 

But as Dean turns to leave a hand closes around his wrist and he finds Castiel looking at him with wide eyes. “What’s your name?”

Dean smiles. “Dean Winchester.”

“Good night, Dean Winchester. I hope you sleep well.”

“Okay,” Dean manages, backing away. “You uh- you sleep well, too.” 

As he walks back towards his apartment he asks himself when Castiel went from Weird Noises to Castiel, the first man to have caught Dean’s eye in a very, very long time. 

~

Dean (I very much like your name),

Again I felt I should offer you something for keeping you up. I hope you enjoy pie. It’s lemon.

Castiel

The pie has a price tag on it and everything. There’s no way it’s going to be half as good as Dean’s, but letting it go to waste would be, well, a waste. Store bought or not, it’s still pie. 

~

Monday passes without incident, Tuesday does, too. But when there’s another loud thump sounding right above Dean’s head, he’s almost relieved. It’s not that he’s been looking for another excuse to talk to Castiel, except for that it is. 

Climbing out of bed Dean almost smiles. 

“It was Samandriel,” Castiel offers before Dean even has to say anything. “He’s still fairly young and just learning the rules. But I’ve spoken with him, and I don’t think it will be happening again.”

“Okay,” Dean offers, because he’s not sure what else there is to say. Cas has a different partner four days out of the seven, and at this point Dean’s a little less worried about the loud noises, and more concerned with how he gets a spot on Cas’s list. Right at the top would be nice. 

Castiel doesn’t close his door, and Dean doesn’t move from the Welcome mat. Silence creeps between them, but maybe if Dean waits just a few more seconds, he’ll have something else to say. 

Eventually Cas is the one to break the silence. “How was the pie?”

“Good,” Dean nearly shouts. When he’s calmed himself the fuck down, he repeats himself. More quietly. (More normal.) “It was good. Thanks for leaving it for me.”

Castiel’s eyes twinkle. “I’m glad to hear it.” 

After that there really isn’t anything more to say. It’s almost 4 am, and Dean’s certain he’s not the only one who needs to sleep. He reaches out a hand and lets it rest on Cas’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “Good night,” he says. 

“Good night,” Castiel responds, a small smile curving his lips. 

Dean’s not even to the stairwell before he’s mentally ripping himself a new asshole because that was weird as fuck. There was no need to touch Cas, he’d just wanted to. It was still fucking weird, he reminds himself. And maybe Cas won’t ever answer his door again. 

~

The donuts don’t come as a shock when Dean finds them resting on his stoop. There’s half a dozen in the box, all different flavors, and the accompanying note is taped to the lid. 

Dean,

I wasn’t sure which kind you prefer so I settled on an assortment. Samandriel sends his regards and apologies. ;) 

- C

He’s used to the desserts and notes from Cas by now, but seeing Samandriel’s name in print shakes him a little. So Cas talks about Dean to his conquests. Great.

~

After Samandriel there’s Gabriel and brownies, then Raphael and cupcakes, and Gadreel and lemon bars, and when Dean storms upstairs yet again, he waits for Castiel to open the door with fists clenched and teeth grit. 

This time when Castiel’s door swings open, he’s holding a cat under one arm, petting it’s head with the other. 

“Are you an escort or something?” Dean blurts, because even Dean - who’s a big fan of sex, huge fan - doesn’t get laid as often as Cas does. 

Cas’s classic frown is back, and he studies Dean quietly for a beat. “You think I’m a male sex worker?” He asks, head tilted to the side. The cat in his arms squirms, and Castiel brings it to his chest, letting it head butt his hand, then scratching behind its ears. 

“Yes?” Dean offers, but then the way Cas is looking at him is more confused than guilty. “No? I don’t know, dude. You’ve got thumps, and bangs, and plops coming from up here all night. I assumed-”

“That I was having sex?”

Dean scrubs a hand at the back of his neck. “Yeah?”

With a shake of his head, Castiel points to the cat in his arms. “Dean, this is Michael, my cat. Lucifer is also a cat, as is Samandriel, and Gabriel, and Raphael, and Gadreel.”

“Wait, you have six cats up here? Isn’t that illegal or something?” And for some reason the fact that it’s fucking cats making all the noise makes so much more sense than Cas having an un-tamable libido. 

Nodding, Castiel opens his door wider to permit Dean inside. “Come in,” he says, “please.”

Inside the place is tidy. With six cats running amok Dean assumed Castiel’s apartment would be covered in cat hair and smell like crap, but all he can smell is lavender. 

“I adopt and foster cats and kittens. That’s why I have so many. Some will go to new homes when they are ready, some will stay with me for the rest of their lives.”

Dean’s eyes dart around the apartment, seeing 1, 2, 3, 4 cats all peering at him curiously from behind some piece of furniture or another. “I’m an idiot,” he mutters. But when he looks at Cas, the man is smiling gently at him. 

“You’re not an idiot, Dean. How were you to know it was cats making all the ruckus?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Dean shrugs. 

“I won’t lie to you, Dean,” Castiel states, eyes and nose crinkling with his growing smile. “I’ve grown quite fond of our visits. Even if they are in the middle of the night.”

Now Dean’s smiling, cheeks flushing. “Me too,” he admits.

“Perhaps now we can find other reasons to meet.”

Dean feels light now, happy. So Cas isn’t running a Den of Iniquity, he’s just doing the animal world a solid. And while Dean’s no one to judge how many people someone sleeps with, he feels a strange sort of relief that he was wrong about Castiel. “What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?” 

“Not a thing.”

“Awesome. I think it’s time you learn how to actually bake baked goods.”

“You bake?” Castiel questions, head tilting in that adorable way of his. (That’s right, adorable.) 

“I own a bakery,” Dean explains, “hell yeah I bake.”

Castiel is nodding now, smile still plastered on his face making Dean feel warm. “I'd like that very much.”

After Dean scribbles down the address to his bakery he and Castiel say their good nights and Dean enters his apartment with a dopey grin on his face. Cats, he thinks to himself as he drifts back to sleep. Cats.  

~

The following afternoon Castiel arrives at Dean’s bakery at 1 o’clock on the dot. It’s kinda strange seeing him in something other than pajamas, but at least the guy’s hair is still a complete disaster. 

“You ready to get your bake on?” Dean asks, when Castiel breezes through the door. He hands Cas an apron that matches his own, and puts up a Closed For Lunch sign. 

“I think a more appropriate question would be ‘Are you ready to burn things while I stand in the corner and laugh?’“

Dean lets out a chuckle. “You’re not going to burn anything. I’m supervising, remember?”

“It’s happened before, Dean.” Castiel loops the apron over his head, turning his back to Dean. “Tie me up?”

God yes, Dean thinks, cheeks burning, but then he reminds himself - and his dick - to stay calm. We’re baking cookies for fuck’s sake, he tells himself as he ties Castiel’s apron strings into a messy bow. Remain calm.

Dean’s calm for all of ten minutes and then he’s standing at Cas’s back, showing him the most efficient way to use an electric beater. Cas smells clean, citrisy Dean thinks, and his back is warm against Dean’s front. There is not a shred of calm to be found.

“Am I doing it?” Castiel asks, neck craned so his eyes meet Dean’s. 

Dean smiles, then moves in to brush his lips against Castiel’s. When Dean pulls away, Castiel’s flushed and grinning wide. “Yeah,” Dean says. “You’re doing it.”

And so maybe Cas makes a lot of noise (or his cats do, whatever) Dean reasons it’s not so bad anymore; as long as he’s there to make noise with him.

#DeanCas #puppycastiel #woefulcas #beefcakemish #princessjimmynovak #AU #fluff #prompt fic #herowords fic #baker!Dean #2018 #March 2018

[parkersharthook]

Betrayal By Friends

(Lucas Friar x Riley Matthews) (Lucas Friar x Maya Hart)

Warnings: angst

3k+ words

Maya’s reaction to Farkle revealing Riley’s feelings on New Year’s

It burned, it physically burned her. The words stung at her skin. They intoxicated her brain. And they burned her heart. She was frozen, her mouth agape.

She felt a mix of emotions with betrayal at the top. How could Farkle do this to her? She was happy for once in a long time.

The whole night was rough, starting with Riley taking a seat next to Lucas at the window as if it was where she belonged. Maya wasn’t sure if that’s where she actually did belong, but she didn’t know. Maya didn’t know what to do in this situation because she didn’t want to get hurt. She had to tread lightly, step around the broken glass that people put in her path just so she wouldn’t get cut.

She was pissed, possibly beyond pissed at Farkle. It wasn’t fair for him to do that. It wasn’t fair to Riley, to Lucas, to Charlie, or to Maya. Especially to Maya. Maya had someone she trusted and someone she cared for, finally. And she got to stand next to him at midnight, liked she dreamed the night before.

Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas. Riley still loves Lucas.

The sentence played over and over in her head. It was stuck on repeat and every time it broke just a little more of her. The first time it was said it was surprising, now it was just depressing. She was downcast, hated herself for ever feeling something in the first place. How could she be so stupid? But the glance that was shared between her and Lucas made it seem as if he was almost disappointed too.

Her words were sincere, she really did like him. She was truly glad that he was standing next to her at midnight even if other people didn’t want to believe it. Her heart was broken but not by the cowboy next to her, by her best friend and Farkle. Now everyone was gone and it was just the three of them. Maya was seething, under the skin of course. No one could know her actual feelings.

I’m sorry guys. I did the right thing. Farkle spoke a minute earlier. Maya just wanted to scream bullshit in his face. That was absolutely not the right thing. If he truly loved Riley and Maya the same then he would’ve considered what it would’ve done to both of them, not just having Riley’s best interest at heart.

“Happy New Year my ass.” Maya muttered to herself, her voice too low for anyone to hear. The three sat there in complete silence, no one knowing what to say or do. “It’s midnight.” Maya finally said out loud.

“And here we are.” Riley responded.

Maya couldn’t take it, she had enough. She stood up, “I’m done for the night. Enjoy each other’s company.” She was bitter <<I’m bitter>>.

“Maya?” Lucas asked cautiously standing up also.

“I’m fine.” She had to be, she was Maya. She was always fine. Riley wasn’t though which made her perfect for the Texan hero. Maya didn’t need a savior, but she did need revenge and she was gonna get it. “I’m fine.” Lucas was about to protest but Maya was already gone.

She was going down the steps two at a time, reaching the street in seconds. She saw the figures of her classmates scattered the city, walking home and just talking. Her head whipped from side to side as until she saw Farkle and Smackle walking down the sidewalk. She quickened her steps toward the couple and spun Farkle around. He was taken by surprise and pulled away from her.

“What do you want Maya?” Farkle asked once he regained his composure.

Maya glanced to Smackle, “Go home Smackle.”

“Maya… Farkle was just walki—“

“Go home Smackle.” She spoke slowly, intimidatingly.

“Are you good to go home alone?” Farkle asked.

“Yeah, I’ll just catch up to Sarah. We live in the same building.” She was left confused and alone as she walked behind her new travel partner.

“That was rude.” Farkle stated crossing his arms

“That was rude? Farkle, you just destroyed my relationship.” Maya was beyond angry <<I’m beyond angry>>.

“What relationship? All you two did was sit in silence and look miserable.”

“It was new to us! We were figuring it out! What is wrong with that?”

“Nothing but you didn’t truly like him.” Farkle pointed out as if it was obvious.

Maya scoffed, “What? Who are you to tell me who I do and don’t like. You may be smart but Farkle, you don’t know me or my feelings.”

“Maya, I am one of your best friends. I know you.”

“Then you should’ve known that I liked him. Like truly liked him. It was awkward and new as is every freshman relationship, why couldn’t you let us figure that out?”

“What I did was right. I’m sorry that I’m the only one who can stand up for –“

“For who Farkle? Because you weren’t standing up for yourself and you certainly weren’t standing up for me. So for who? For Riley? Because she didn’t seem to enjoy that either?”

“She was scared so I pushed her, just like you did long ago.”

“I didn’t ruin a relationship in the process!” Tears stung her eyes, “And Riley wasn’t scared to talk to Lucas she was nervous, there’s a difference!”

“All you do is make fun of him! How am I supposed to know that means you ‘truly love him’” Farkle used air quotes hoping to emphasis his point.

“Because apparently you know me better than I do!” She was in his face screaming, but his face was expressionless. She backed down slightly and lowered her voice, “Do you know what I said to him before midnight came?”

“No.”

“Of course you don’t because you aren’t in the relationship nor do you have any say in it!” She shoved him, “Do you know what I tell him when it’s just us? Do you know what our conversations consist of? Do you know that we talk to each other at night? Do you know those things because as far as I can recall, only the two in the relationship knows those.”

“You guys seemed so distant…”

“We were protecting Riley. I knew she had feelings for him still.”

He mouth hung open, “And you continued on? Isn’t that a little selfish?”

“I stepped back for an entire year but she can’t even step back for a few months? <<BITTER>>” She wrapped her arms around her body, “I didn’t ask her to step back and I wasn’t going to, she did that herself. But when she did, I told myself that I wasn’t gonna waste it and I certainly wasn’t going to continue to suppress my feelings.”

“Maya...”

“Of course you pick to defend or help Riley, everyone does.” She shot her head up to meet his and he saw the tears streaming down her face and her red puffy eyes, “Why don’t I deserve love Farkle?”

“I really didn’t--”

“I mean it makes sense, she’s perfect. She deserves the love.” She sighed, “So, you chose her and I’m okay with that. But now, he’s gonna choose her because of what you did and I’m not okay with that.”

“Maya, I really didn’t know.”

“Wow and here I thought you were the all-knowing Farkle. I mean not even ten minutes ago you thought you knew everything about me. God Farkle, make up your mind. You know what, don’t make up your mind because you’re just gonna choose her again.”

“Maya, that’s not fair!” She turned from him but he tried to grab her hand. She yanked it from his grip.

“Don’t fucking touch me! We’re not friends!” Farkle had regret all over his features.

“Maya, I’m sorry!”

“I don’t care. Don’t come near me and don’t you dare ever do that again! Let me be me! Let me figure myself out like you should’ve done with Riley. Stay out of my business.” She stormed away from him, wiping her eyes and shaking her head.

Maya didn’t show up at all the next day to hang out with her friends and only Farkle knew why. The others had some guesses, but none were spot on.

“Has anyone heard from Maya?” Lucas questioned in a worried tone, all he received were no’s.

“I don’t know what to do.” Riley sighed, “She’s probably angry at me.”

“She’s angry at me.” Farkle piped up suddenly. Everyone turned to him.

“You? Why would she be angry at you?” Lucas asked.

He just shook his head, “I don’t know.” He did know, “She didn’t say.” She did say, “She didn’t even yell at me.” She did yell at him, “But she found me last night and said she was angry before walking away.” She did do that but on a much grander scale.

“Weird, it just seems so un-Maya.” Lucas sighed.

“Well, she really hasn’t been herself recently.” Riley muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the way she acts and dresses and behaves, it’s all just so not Maya like. It’s almost like she’s acting like –“ Her eyes popped open in realization.

“Who? She’s acting like who?” Farkle pressed.

“Nobody. She’s acting like nobody.” Riley responded quickly. “We should find her, make sure she’s okay.”

“I’ll check her apartment.” Farkle offered.

“I’ll check the park by her house.”  Lucas said.

“I’ll go with Farkle.” Smackle interjected.

“I can check to the school art studio?” Zay questioned

“I’ll stay around here in case she shows up.” Riley was the saddest one of them all, blaming herself for this. They all nodded and dispersed and who do you think found her?

She stood there on her toes, a can of spray paint in her hand, as she let out frustrated strokes on the side of an abandoned convenience store.

“That’s a felony, you know.” She didn’t even act surprised towards him. Her movements didn’t stop but a grunt came from her mouth.

“Don’t care, leave me alone.” He backed up slightly but instead slid to the ground leaning against an old fence. He watched her ‘decorate’ the wall, intrigued with every movement she made. They looked almost accidently deliberate, purposeful but with no real intention. Whatever it was, it was gorgeous. She sighed when she was finished and stepped back slightly. Her head tilted up to look at the whole thing and ran a hand through her messy hair.

“Looks good, still vandalism.” Lucas stated. She threw the now empty can in the trash and wiped her hands on her old jeans. He noticed the holes at the knees and how they cut off before they reached her ankle. They had patchwork that obviously covered up other holes and was missing quite a few belt loops.

She spun on her heel, “Can I help you? Because if not I need to get back to doing this, I still have two more buildings.”

“Two more buildings? What are you doing?” He examined the brick wall, “are you tagging them? Maya!”

“Relax, it isn’t my name.” She brushed it off as if that fixed everything, “some guy is paying me to do them because he can’t even draw a fucking tree to save his life.” She grabbed her worn down bag and threw it over her shoulder. She began her trek to the next spot and Lucas jogged to catch up to her, he gripped her forearm. Her forearm that was covered in a thin jacket. A jacket that seemed to provide very little protection from the harsh New York winter.

“Aren’t you freezing?” He noticed the goosebumps on the small bit of exposed wrist but she just shrugged her arm from his grip.

“Nope. I’m a native New Yorker, this is nothing.”

“Maya, I’m from Texas. The winter is harsh.” He was partially lying, yeah it got cold but New York was colder and right now on January 2nd Maya should be wearing more layers.

“Guess I’m immune to the cold because I’m fine.” Lucas just shook his head and shrugged off his outer coat. He laid it around her shoulder, causing her to glare at him. “Lucas, I don’t want it. I’m fine and I’m painting, I’m gonna ruin it.” She took it off, “Here.” He took it hesitantly before pulling it back over his strong arms. Maya stopped at a second deserted spot and pulled out a new can. She continued on as before and suddenly her motions had a whole new meaning. He watched her carefully, she was frustrated.

“Soo…” He drawled out cautiously, “about last night.”

“Really hop along? Now?” She looked at him over her shoulder, “I’m at work.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the pay?”

“20 per.” She said casually.

“Really for a quick tag?”

“One, these aren’t quick. Two, that’s my art you’re talking about. Three, this is a dangerous game.” She quickly got back to work.

“What does it even say?”

“I assume his name or his association. I don’t know, I didn’t ask. The less I know, the better.” His eyes narrowed at her words.

“Is this for a gang?”

“Probably, something like marking their territory but I don’t know.”

“You aren’t in any way a part of this gang now are you?” Her arms froze and Lucas instantly regretted his words. She slowly turned to look at him.

“Lucas?”

He smiled sheepishly, “yes?”

“Leave.” Her tone was threatening but her voice was calm, he shivered in fright.

“Maya, I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“I think I’m allowed to have one day away from you guys without having you breathing down my neck. Like I love you guys but geez…” She turned back to her wall before becoming acutely aware of the words spoken.

“I get it, I’ll tell Riley that I haven’t found you so she keeps looking.” He glanced around at the rundown neighborhood, “But I’m not leaving you, this place isn’t great.”

“Fine.” She finished a few minutes later and they walked to the last spot.

“So….” He began once again, “About last night?”

“Look, Farkle said what he said and Riley still likes you so it’s whatever.”

“It’s not whatever, Maya. How do you feel?”

“About one of my best friends confessing the feelings of my best friend to my boyfriend?” She smiled at him, “just peachy.”

“Maya, it’s a weird situation.”

“How do you feel about it? You didn’t seem to fight Farkle. Do you still like Riley?”

“Maya….” He said warningly, “I wasn’t gonna fight with Farkle in the middle of her party and I’m not gonna tell Riley what to feel.”

“That wasn’t the question.”

“Fine, I feel betrayed. When Riley told me she wanted to be siblings I was confused and then you said you liked me and I was less confused. Our first date was weird and awkward but we’ve been talking and every day I get less and less confused. Then last night happened and I’m all confused again.”

“Oh.” Maya said quietly, afraid she lost him to Riley.

“But it’s a different confusion. I’m confused about our group and the dynamic but I’m not confused about my feelings. When Farkle told us that secret, my feelings were reassured and I know what I need to do.”

“Mmmhmmm.” Maya didn’t want to hear his next words so she just focused on the last tag. He was silent so she finally played into his little game, “What do you need to do?”

“Tell the girl I like that I like her.” Maya’s eyes began to tear.

I lost him, she thought. Suddenly his hands were on her waist spinning her around. Maya’s eyes widened in shock until she felt his lips on hers. Her arms slipped around his neck and her eyes closed, losing herself in him.

“I like you.” He did it. He told the girl he liked that he liked her. He pulled apart slightly and smiled at her.

“I like you too huckleberry.” Maya smiled, “but I still have to finish this, then I’ll come back to Topanga’s with you.” Lucas nodded and slowly let go of her. He watched her finish her piece, smiling the entire time. When she finished and discarded the evidence she slung her backpack over her shoulder once again and the pair went back to Topanga’s.

When Maya entered the small café she was rushed by Riley and hugged tightly. Maya felt awkward and as if she betrayed her friend. “hey honey.”

“I’m happy you’re here peaches, I was worried!” Maya nodded awkwardly and pulled away.

“Um… I need to talk to you and so does Lucas.” There was no one else in the café and Riley looked between them. She swallowed and nodded. “Riley you know I love you.”

“You’re scaring me, what’s going on?”

“Riley.” Lucas began slowly, “I like you but not like that. You were right before, we are better as friends.”

“Oh. That’s what you want to talk about.” Riley glanced to Maya, “you chose her.”

“Riley… I’m really sorry.” Lucas apologized

Riley smiled, “don’t be. I’m happy for you guys. Maya deserves the world so maybe you can give it to her.” Lucas nodded. Riley stood up to leave but Maya quickly jumped in front of her.

“I still love you. Still love me?” Riley gave a teary smile and nod.

“Always. I just need some time.” Maya nodded and watched her best friend walk off.

“Fuck my life.” Maya said rather loudly, “This is just perfect.” She plopped down, tired of all the drama that surrounded her. She laid her head on Lucas’s shoulder and he rubbed her back while she mused about everything wrong in her life.

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