#smidge of Fake Dating

[raineandsky]

A Date in Exchange

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

Oh goddamnit, why.

The villain can see the familiar car turning down the road towards them. They tip their head down in the vain hope that they’ll go unnoticed, and somehow it works—the car streaks past them, and they thank god that they don’t have to deal with that.

Thanking god, it turns out, means jack shit when the person they’re avoiding is the hero. The car appears next to them again not even five seconds later, having somehow turned around to trail after them.

“Get in,” the hero demands through the open window. The villain turns to give them a hearty scowl.

“I did that once and look how that turned out.” They pick up the pace—not that it gets them any further away. “No.”

“That’s why I wanted to talk to you.” The car mounts the pavement, alarmingly close to the villain and cutting off their path. They leap back slightly at the blatant crime, startled. “Just get in.”

The villain leans down to swing the door open with an irritated huff. “If you try to arrest me for showing you up in front of your parents I’ll be pissed.”

-

“I thought you were telling them we’re breaking up,” the villain points out indignantly, and the hero sighs tiredly.

“I tried, but you, of all people, made a good impression on them,” The hero’s gaze is locked out of the window as they drive, but it feels like they’d avoid the villain’s eye even if they weren’t on the road, “despite the fact I had to stop you from robbing them blind.”

“You knew who you were inviting in.”

“I told my mother that you’d embarrassed me and that I was leaving you,” the hero continues, pointedly ignoring their comment, “and she almost cried. You almost had my poor mother in tears because she liked you so much that the idea of us breaking up hurt her.”

“Your life isn’t meant to revolve around what your parents want,” the villain says tightly.

“It doesn’t. My so-called dating life that exists purely to sate them does, though.” The hero pulls over at the side of the road. “So we’re still doing this. Next time we see each other I’ll be decking you in the face or holding your hand or something gross. I really hope it’s the former.”

-

Much to the hero’s visible dismay, it is not the former.

“You’ve captured their hearts a little too much,” they tell the villain from their doorway. “It seems I’ve made a bit of a huge mistake doing this with you.”

“That’s what you get for trying to get me to do anything for you. Am I coming in or what?”

They step back to let the villain inside, catching a glimpse of the paper bundle in their hands. “What’s that?”

“Oh, these?” The villain holds up their gift—a bouquet of red, orange, and yellow flowers, their shades an exact match to those on the hero’s uniform. “Just a declaration of admiration to my beloved.”

“Oh, how thoughtful,” the hero snaps sarcastically. “Thank you.”

With a flick their bin opens, and the flowers are dumped head first inside. “My parents are constantly asking what you’re up to and why they don’t get to see any pictures of us.” The hero starts the trek to the living room, where they’ve already set up a realistic looking chess board, mid-game.

They pause when they find themself walking alone. They glance back to where the villain is still standing in the foyer, staring at the bin. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

“Huh?” is the answer they get, and they tut as the villain finally starts after them.

“You’ll need to come here once a week, and we’ll get some pictures to convince my parents that this is actually happening.”

The villain frowns. “What if I just left you in the shit? Didn’t come? Told your parents who you’re supposedly dating? Told them it was all fake?”

“Because I’m about to let you get away with a hell of a lot of crime if you don’t.”

The hero settles on the sofa, beckoning for the villain to sit with them. “Fine,” the villain spits a little harshly, “‘cause I’m not doing this for free.”

Taglist: @wacko-weirdo​

(Part 4)

#writing #creative writing #writing community #writers on tumblr #writblr #heroes and villains #hero x villain #fake dating #wrote 90% of this whilst my cat was staring me dead in the eyes #idk why she just likes to O_O at people #a lil intense girl plz chill #postin this a smidge early cause im goin on a weekend awayyyyy #but we going to a city so i will be returning a CRISP #a date in exchange

[nkplanet]

WHICH TROPE ARE YOU?

PAIRING: enhypen x gn!reader SUMMARY: what trope do you and the enhypen members share? WARNINGS: a smidge of angst in jungwon + heeseung’s, all set in high school apart from jay + heeseung’s, implied toxic parents in jungwon’s, written on my phone so the formatting might be weird

NOTE: thank u sm for all the love on my last post and 155 followers!! i rlly appreciate you guys 🫶🫶 also i’m definitely gonna rewrite some of these as actual fics bc i love them (looking at u jungwon and niki)

— HEESEUNG 희승 — second chance romance personally i’m not a big fan of this trope but it just fits heeseung so well like ??? hello yes i would give u a second chance. there’s no doubt in my mind that cheating would not be involved, instead it was something that happened when you two were young and immature, but when you meet again you’ve grown and can continue to do so together

it had ended awfully the first time. neither of you were particularly mature, and a heated argument had caused your entire relationship had come crashing down. sixteen year old you would always regret the way you gave heeseung the cold shoulder for a reason you couldn’t even remember, and the way you had both yelled and screamed at each other. you hadn’t spoken for years when, all of a sudden, you bumped into him in a cafe. then at work. in the park. after six years of no contact, he was everywhere. it was like the universe was telling you to give him another chance. eventually, your walls crumbled, and heeseung made his way back into your heart. the two of you had never been happier.

others under the cut!

— JAY 제이 — fake dating jay is perfect for this trope imo, especially when it comes to fake dating at a wedding. put me in a psych ward bc whenever i think abt him in a suit i go insane. also your whole family would love him because he’s such a gentleman. he’s so perfect

it was your aunts wedding, and all of your siblings were bringing their significant others as plus ones. your brother had joked about how you’d be the only single one in the wedding party and, rather than face the humiliation, you lied and told him you did in fact have a boyfriend. it was a lie you forgot about until two weeks before the wedding, when your aunt mentioned being excited to meet the mysterious man. you panicked, running to tell jay about your issue. while you were contemplating telling your family that the mysterious man had broken up with you, jay said “why don’t i pretend to be your boyfriend? just for the day?” except, his fake boyfriend touches didn’t feel very fake. your aunt remarked that the two of you reminded her of herself and your new uncle when they were young. by the end of the night, you and jay were sharing kisses outside the reception. yeah, fake boyfriend my ass.

— JAKE 제이크 — you fell first, he fell harder jake seems like such a loser (affectionately) that he’d be the one to fall first, but just imagine that he doesn’t realise his feelings are romantic. he just thinks everyone sees their best friends that way and when he finds out otherwise? oh he’s head over heels in love with you. such a loser. i love him

the way you and jake interact is far from platonic. you had developed a crush on him when you were just fifteen, and since then you'd been trying to drop hints. when he started reciprocating your admittedly flirtatious gestures, you thought you had a chance, but he never made a move. in fact, jake never realised that he shared those feelings until one of his friends pointed out that the two of you were incredibly flirty with each other. he thought everyone saw their best friends as gorgeous, as an angel sent from above, as someone who they'd willingly spend the rest of their life with. after that it was hard for him to see you in any light other than romantic. when you asked him out he practically screamed yes. he is absolutely head over heels in love

— SUNGHOON 성훈 — opposites attract i was gonna pick grumpy x sunshine for him but he’s not exactly grumpy so opposites attract it is!! he’s reserved and only really lets loose around those he considers close, whereas you’re loud and bubbly with lots of friends. one of my fav tropes for a reason

sunghoon’s attention was brought to you via your laughter. it was loud and bright, and he’d never heard anything like it. since then, he’d yearned for the sound. though he lacked the confidence to actually ask you out, he began seeking your company. he’d study with you in the library, would offer to walk you home. things that friends do. you, on the other hand, were absolutely smitten. sunghoon was quiet and a little mysterious. you could never read him, and yet you were absolutely entranced by him. you thought he was absolutely gorgeous, perhaps one of the most handsome men you’d ever seen. one day, while sunghoon was walking you home in the rain, you’d stopped and turned to face him. “what are we?” you’d asked. sunghoon remembers blanking immediately, not knowing how to reply. instead of words, he answered you with a kiss.

— SUNOO 선우 — best friend’s brother okay but imagine: you go over to ur best friends house and end up gossiping with their brother and all of a sudden,, he’s soooo attractive? and then he starts developing this crush but he can’t date you because you’re his siblings best friend. there’s probably be some secret dating involved (which i’m also a sucker for tbh)

you'd been harbouring a crush on sunoo for a while now, never acting on it because he was your best friend's brother. you looked forward to the weekly gossip sessions that the two of you shared when your friend left you together arguably more than you looked forward to seeing your friend (but don't tell her that). little did you know, sunoo felt the same. fleeting glances and not-so-platonic touches began growing between you two. eventually, sunoo asked you out. you wanted to say yes so badly but couldn't betray your friend like that. instead, you began dating in secret. it was only two months of sneaking around, 'jokingly' flirting, and kissing in places where she wouldn't see before she finally exploded, yelling that you two were gross but had her blessing. going public only increased the pda by tenfold, and people quickly grew sick of your sappy conversations. not that either of you cared, of course.

— JUNGWON 정원 — academic rivals turned lovers [full fic!] ACADEMIC RIVALS TURNED LOVERS!!!!! i love this trope sm and i think it fits won so well. i was gonna originally give this to niki but he wasn’t rlly in school. so. jungwon it is!! i can see you two as the top two in your year and always competing when one day it all comes crashing down for you. jungwon is suddenly? nice? and we go from there 🤭🤭

yang jungwon had never been the nicest person to you. sure, he was never really mean per-se, but the two of you were so competitive that nothing said was particularly nice. you and jungwon seemed to constantly be on par with each other academically, consistently being the top two students in your year. in english and sciences, you usually pulled ahead, while jungwon excelled in maths and other subjects. the rivalry between you was so tense that even the teachers tried to calm it down but to no avail. the reason behind your competitiveness was your parents. the pressure they put on you was immense, and one day you just broke. you’d had a fight with them, and the next day flunked a biology test. your grades began slipping from then on, and jungwon began to take notice. he stopped making quips, instead resorting to leaving some snacks or study tips on your desk when he thought you weren’t looking. he began giving you sympathetic looks until you eventually confronted him, telling him you didn’t want his pity. it wasn’t pity, though, it was worry. your relationship changed after that, no longer rivals but a little more than friends.

— NI-KI 니키 — childhood friends to lovers/first love OKAY HEAR ME OUT. u were childhood friends. niki realises his feelings and he’s all like oh no i can’t feel this way abt my bff :( and tried to pull away from u but ur like ??? yes tf and that’s how u become lovers

niki had been your closest friend for longer than you could remember. in both of your houses there sat baby pictures of the two of you together. you’d grown up together, going to all the same schools and most of the same clubs. in highschool, you were known as inseparable - if someone wanted one of you, they got both. but one day, niki started pulling away. it was fine, you told yourself, he was just growing up. you both were. but when he stopped answering your calls and texts and started actively avoiding you, you were hurt. you’d been by each others sides for so long that you didn’t really know how to live without him. the truth was, he’d discovered feelings that he’d never felt about anyone before. he knew he shouldn’t feel like this about his best friend, but he couldn’t help it. he was miserable without you, so much so that his friends were telling him to just ask you out. they told him that you definitely felt the same, so he took the leap. and thank god he did. you’re his first love, his everything.

#nkplanet 🪐 #nkplanet’s fics 🪐 #enhypen #enhypen x reader #enhypen x you #enhypen fluff #enhypen comfort #heeseung x reader #jay x reader #jake x reader #sim jake x reader #sunghoon x reader #sunoo x reader #jungwon x reader #ni ki x reader

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

The Date

Older Eddie Munson x Reader

Part one

Mini part two.

Your feelings for Eddie are deepening but he drops the news that he has a date.

Angsty, 18+ Minors shoo!!, jealous reader, longing.

Looks like this might be my new series ❤️

You cuddle into Eddie, softly stroking over his chest and he presses a brief kiss to your hair. Both of you spent after a morning of amazing sex.

Since realising how badly you had fallen in love with him, you were wrestling with the feelings and trying to fight them even though they were threatening to spill over.

"Can I see you later?" you ask hopefully, it's probably a long shot as he never stays but there's no harm in asking right?

"I have a date sweetheart" he replies and you feel something in your heart crack as you take in what he said.

"A date?" you murmur and he nods as he gets up and your mind begins to spiral. The date will most likely be perfect, a perfect woman for Eddie and how could they not fall for him? He was incredible.

So sexy, sarcastic but sweet and had the ability to make you feel safe and contented when you were with him.

"Who's the lucky girl?" you ask and know you can't say anything about this. You were with your ex and Eddie never said a word, didn't give a fuck. So how could you say anything about this?

"Oh, I met her at work sweetheart. Fixed up her car" he explains and you nod feeling sick to your stomach.

"Cool. That's great Eddie" he looks at you for a few seconds, his eyesbrows furrowing in worry.

"You okay?" you smile and hide the pain you're feeling, find your clothes and pull them on hastily. Somewhere deep down you were hoping you meant something to Eddie, that obviously wasn't true.

It's a crushing feeling and you struggle to paint a smile on your face when he gently tugs you back to him.

"Stay. You don't need to rush off" he frowns and you shake your head. It's not like you could stay and wait for him to come back from his date? What if he brought her home.

That leaves an even worse feeling in your stomach and you tug away from him. "Would look weird if I'm still here and you bring your date home Eddie" you murmur.

He looks at you with an unreadable expression, you avoid his pretty brown eyes and get set to leave.

"Sweetheart" he begins but you cut off whatever he's about to say with a smile that feels all fake.

"I should go, I'll see you soon Eddie" you leave before he can say anything else. Trudge home with your heart full of longing and an ache that won't go away.

❤️

You heard Eddie leave for his date a whole ago and do your best to take your mind of it. Feel silly as you get teary at just the thought.

Honestly this was ridiculous. You had to be stronger, protect your heart, you should have listened to Eddie in the first place when you said exactly what this was.

No strings attached. He always said that so you don't know why you thought it would be any different.

At some point you must fall asleep, wake to the sound of Eddie's motorbike and a soft knock at your door.

Sleepily you get up and answer it, Eddie takes one look at your comfy pj's and smirks at the design.

"Well that's just fucking cute" he says and you open your mouth then close it again. Shouldn't he be with his date? You ask him this and he shrugs.

"She was a sweetheart but boring as fuck, nearly fell asleep waiting for dessert. Don't think I'll be looking for a second date"

The ache in your chest disappears a smidge and you open the door wider so he steps inside.

Looks like your night was looking up after all.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie angst #eddie munson x you #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson #older eddie munson

[pinkcottonlatte]

ＹＯＯＮＧＩᵳᵢ𝓬 ᵣₑ𝓬ₛ

[part 1]

⦾ Ｓｅｒｉｅｓ

⁃ Turqbuni by @solastia (complete, featuring Jimin, Angst, explicit smut, threesome)

⁃ feels so right by @solastia (on going, Emotional manipulation, domestic violence, Infidelity, Eventual smut)

⁃ she’s too clingy by @tvntae (on going, Angst, mentions of sex, cursing, cheating)

⁃ void by @btssavedmylifeblr (on going, ot5, smut, explicit sexual content, masturbation, discussions of pornography, voyeurism, and excessive sexual tension)

⁃ silver spoon by @blameblamebts (ongoing, Angst/ Romance)

⁃ what if by @blameblamebts (complete, Angst/Romance/Violence)

⁃ la douleur exquise by @cinnaminsvga (on going, fluff, angst, humor, eventual smut)

⁃ pretend by @gimmesumsuga (ongoing, on hiatus, explicit smut, angst, infidelity)

⁃ her by @solelybts (angst)

⁃ silent black keys by @dtownsuga (on going, deaf composer! yoongi x librarian! y/n, angst, fluff)

⁃ white gown by @dtownsuga (ongoing, doctor! yoongi x doctor! y/n, fluff, angst, eventual smut)

⁃ grey area by @blushoseoks (ongoing, slowburn, soulmate au, angst, language, eventual smut)

⁃ leave me by @itsamejin (complete, angst, cheating, toxic relationship)

⁃ goodbye by @itsamejin (complete, cursing, fighting, angst)

⁃ droplets by @bts-timestories (ongoing, historical au, arranged marriage, angst, violence and yandere themes)

⁃ ink nemesis by @scriptaed (complete, Angst/Fluff || paparazzi!au; fake dating!au;)

⁃ all the room in the world by @inkofyoonkoo (complete, Fluff/angst | Childhood friends!AU ∘ Friends to lovers!AU)

⁃ poetica by @inkofyoonkoo (ongoing, sci fi au, smut, angst, fluff)

⁃ you among the others by @inkofyoonkoo (ongoing, enemies to lovers, smut, angst, fluff, college au)

⁃ Dating advice by @taleasnewastime (complete, fluff, angst, smut)

⁃ look down on me like that by @here2bbtstrash (ongoing, slow burn, enemies to lovers, coworkers au, smut, angst)

⦾ Ｏｎｅｓｈｏｔｓ

⁃ my woman by @solastia (smut & fluff)

⁃ a new beginning by @tvntae (fluff & angst)

⁃ gwanghae flow by @btssavedmylifeblr (explicit sexual activity,dub-con, unhealthy relationship dynamics, slut shaming, adultery, impreg kink, knife/sword play, historical inaccuracy)

⁃ inspiration by @blameblamebts (fluff, angst)

⁃ be quiet by @gimmesumsuga (smut, oral)

⁃ wraith by @gimmesumsuga (angst, Cursing, mentions of domestic abuse, rough, unprotected sex, violence, blood, character deaths)

⁃ your favourite game by @gimmesumsuga (smut, fluff)

⁃ seesaw by @dtownsuga (angst, toxic behaviour)

⁃ this love by @itsamejin (angst, fluff, idol!yoongi, artist!yn, cursing, sexual content)

⁃ all oneshots and drabbles of @scriptaed

⁃ all fics of @blu-joons

⁃ litost by @ethertae (humiliation, dirty talk, degradation, orgasm denial, unprotected sex, angst, smut)

⁃ all eyes on me by @here2bbtstrash (smut, college au, masturbation, accidental and then purposeful voyeurism, a smidge of dirty talk)

⁃ me and my husband by @here2bbtstrash (smut, dom husband yoongi, minor dirty talk/teasing/ass grabbing, suggested infidelity as teasing, semi-public indecency, spanking as punishment, thigh riding, a smidge of crying, squirting)

⁃ watermelon sugar by @here2bbtstrash (spit kink, erotic watermelon eating , friends to lovers, tiny bit of praise kink)

⁃ drip by @here2bbtstrash (friends to lovers, smut)

#min yoongi #min yoonki #yoongi smut #yoongi angst #yoongi fluff #yoongi fic #yoongi fic rec #fic rec #bts #bts x fem!reader #bts x reader #bts fic rec #bts smut #bts fluff #bts angst #yoongi x reader #kpop fic #kpop scenarios #kpop fic recs

[comicallylargemango]

How Kakashi, Genma, and iruka would react to reader staring at them while they're talkin

Summary: 's in the title, but anyway.

How they would react to reader staring at em with intently, like all the love in the world intently

Warnings: some suggestive stuff, mostly harmless though cus all fluff.

Kakashi hatake

Halfway through his sentence he just sees reader staring at him with their hands propping up their head

Immediately shuts up and reader asks if sumn is wrong and when he continues talking he's stuttering n messing up all his words

Legit gets red as a tomato, not even his mask could hide it 😭

No one has ever looked at him with so much interest, compassion, and love in their eyes so he literally has a seizure I swear

If y'all were dating and you stared at him like that it's either straight to the bedroom or he's going to be a blushing, flustered mess (depends on where yall r like in public he's gonna be a red mess but inside his apartment YOU're going to be a mess if ykwim)

You would tease him endlessly for his reaction

If y'all weren't dating though that's when he catches feelings like who wouldn't 🤷

He looks so stoic n serious all the time but with just a smidge of PDA he's gonna malfunction

Genma shiranui

He's too distracted with talking he doesn't notice it at first so you just kinda keep staring n humming as a response

When he DOES notice tho he's reduced to a stuttering mess (kinda like Kakashi) but he tries to remain confident n keep his cool, happy go lucky facade but he fails miserably as sighs in defeat.

Unlike Kakashi you can fully see the red, flustered mess your gaze has reduced him to.

Probably slams the table with the other hand covering his lower half of his pretty boy face n makes the excuse that he needs to go to the bathroom. Startling you and other people (if y'all are in public)

Low-key makes you think you did something wrong and immediately apologises to him when he gets back

He dismisses it though and says you did nun wrong but you still get worried nonetheless

When he notices his senbon probably falls outta his mouth cus he probably noticed it mid sentence with his mouth open n yeah

When y'all r dating he definitely teases you about how you're lookin at him, but his heart and mind are going bonkers rn

In public he tries his best to keep the 'kewl bad boy' facade but fails

In PRIVATE though, in private. Make out session. Nothing else no other words just, make out session. (With consent of course)

He thinks it's cute and adorable and he has ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM telling the entire world. Will cup your cheeks and smother you with compliments like "you're so cute I could just eat you up" (or out if you want idk)

Iruka umino

Honestly Kakashi and Genma combined

Tried [keyword; TRIED] to seem cool about it but is definitely going to fail.

Would switch to a completely different and silly topic to see if your reaction changes but it doesn't, it only makes him more flustered that you don't even care about how silly the topic is you just care about him

If he's eating he'll definitely choke on his food from how lovingly you're staring

(prolly gets turned on)

If y'all are dating n sitting/standing next to him while you're staring would probably look away and fake cough tryna hide his face from you

Iruka is definitely a closet perv and you cannot convince me otherwise (not the peeking into women's stalls closet perv) only a perv fo you

At home you're not going to escape his hungry grasp ifyk

In public though he's prolly a blushing mess

Mans is just adorable idk what to tell you 🤷

#kakashi x you #kakashi hatake x reader #kakashi hatake x you #kakashi x reader #kakashi hatake #kakashi headcanons #Genma x you #genma shiranui x reader #genma shiranui X you #genma x reader #genma headcannons #genma shiranui headcannons #genma shiranui #iruka x you #iruka umino x reader #iruka umino x you #iruka x reader #iruka headcannons #iruka umino

[reputationmunson]

Crossing Lines | S.H x fem!reader

part one | part two | part 3 | part 4

series summary: Steve isn’t your biggest fan, so why does he ask you to be his date to a wedding? | enemies to lovers, fake dating

chapter summary: time to meet the family!

content: you and steve go shopping, meeting his family, mentions of drinking, food mention, swearing, she/her pronouns, use of y/n, a little surprise at the end ;)

word count: 4.7k

_

The piercing ring of the phone wakes Steve from his deep sleep and putting a pillow over his head doesn’t drown out the sound even a little bit. He begrudgingly throws his blanket and grumbles obscenities until he reaches the phone.

“Hello?” he answers with an abrasive tone. “Good morning to you too, sunshine” your voice sounds way too happy for someone who’s awake this early. “y/n? Why the hell are you calling me this early?”

“Do you always talk to your girlfriends like this? No wonder you’re still single.’’ you tease and he lets out an overdramatic, loud sigh. “Get to the point it’s too early for this”

“It’s almost ten in the morning that isn’t exactly the break of dawn, but anyways, I need to know if you work today”

“Yeah, I do” he lies. “Liar! I already asked Robin and she told me that you’re off today” he can practically hear your ‘know-it-all-’ smirk over the phone. “I’m five seconds away from hanging up”

“Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a twist. We need to go shopping today” you tell him and he scoffs at your words “We? Why do I need to go?”

“You said all expenses paid and I need new clothes for our couples getaway, therefore, you’re going shopping with me”

“It’s not a couple’s gateway” is all he says. “That’s all semantics, Stevie”

“Do you even know what semantics means?” he asks “do you?” you reply, turning the tables. His lips purse while he tries to thinks of an answer. He’s got nothing. “Whatever. I’ll pick you up in an hour” he hands up before giving you a chance to gloat.

_

Steve shows up to your house an hour and a half later and he expects nothing less than you reprimanding him for it. You walk outside wearing a dress that might be a bad idea for a breezy day like today, but it’s still a pretty dress. He tells himself that only the dress looks pretty, not the person wearing it. Your sparkly lip gloss that anyone from a mile away can see, looks pretty too, but not because it’s on your lips. He can just appreciate a nice gloss, that’s it.

“Thirty minutes late, mister. That isn’t very ‘boyfriend’ of you” you say as soon as you get into the car. “How about a ‘thank you’ for picking you up? That isn’t very ‘girlfriend’ of you” he rebuttals.

“Hush, I’m the perfect girlfriend. Can I play some music?” you ask and he turns the radio on. “Oh, I love this song!” you cheer when you change the station and ‘We Belong’ by Pat Benatar comes on. “Of course you do” he says and you roll your eyes at him while turning up the radio. In all honesty, he likes this song, but he’ll never admit that out loud.

You sing every word, not too loudly, but loud enough that Steve can hear. Your singing isn’t horrible, but he knows every time he hears this song he’s going to associate it with you. “Why are you always so grouchy? You constantly have a look on your face like someone put salt in your sugar shaker”

“Thanks for putting off your concert long enough to ask me that” he turns the radio down until there's almost no music and you turn it back up a smidge. “See! You’re a total butthead” you argue. “Butthead? Are we five?”

“That’s such a butthead response”

“Then how about we don’t talk for the rest of the car ride? Kay?” he impolitely suggests and you cross your arms. “Fine”

“Fine”

So you sit in silence for the rest of the time you’re in the car, aside from your soft singing. It drives Steve insane.

_

The mall was quite busy for a Tuesday and it takes Steve three loops around the parking lot to find a decent spot.

“I told you to just park in the back. We could’ve saved so much time”

“What did I say about not talking while we’re in the car?” he asks, rhetorically. You quickly step out of the car and repeat yourself “I told you to just park in the back. We could’ve saved so much time. I’m not in the car, so you can’t get mad at me! C’mon, let's go!”

Steve sighs before taking the keys out of the ignition and following behind you. Once you reach the entrance you hold your hand out to him. He looks down at your hand and back up at you “What’s that?”

“It’s a hand, Steve. Ya know, most people have one attached to the end of their arm and-”

“What do you want me to do with your hand, smartass’’ he cuts you off. “We’re supposed to be getting used to acting like a couple, so hold my hand” your hand is still held out and you shake it in front of him. “Nope. No way” he pushes your hand but you reach it out again. “Stop being a butthead, yes I said it again because you’re acting like a five year old”

He reluctantly takes your hand and your fingers lace together. “Wow, look at that. You didn’t even burst into flames” you taunt. He doesn’t hate it as much as he thought it would. Your hands are soft and he notices that your nails match the color of your dress. It’s kind of cute.

Steve tries to shield his face with his hand and you laugh at him. “That’s not gonna work. People come from all over to see that head of hair, so they’ll be able to tell that it’s you holding my hand. I hope you’ll be able to survive this tragic event”

He removes his hand from his face “People do not come from all over just to see my hair.” he grumbles. “It’s called a joke, Steve. Since I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile whenever I’m around then I shouldn’t be surprised you didn’t know that”

“Let’s just get this over with. Where are we going first?” you drag him to the first store and Steve is convinced everyone is staring at him while he holds your hand. (literally no one is giving either of you a second glance).

“Hold this for me, baby” you hand him a sundress and he grimaces at the nickname “Is holding hands not enough? You gotta call me ‘baby’ too?” he complains. “Get used to it, baby”

After only ten minutes in the store, Steve has a stack of clothes piled in his arms. “Are you really buying all of this?” he asks. “I’m not buying anything, you are, but I have to try it on first and you have to give me your opinion”

“My opinion is that you’re going to look horrible in all of it”

“You say that now, but you’ve never seen me in this shade of pink” you point to one of the dresses in his hand that isn’t holding yours. “I’ve seen you in every shade of every color. Your closet looks like a box of crayons exploded”

“You remember what colors I have in my wardrobe? Sounds like you’re a bit obsessed with me”

“In your dreams…babe? Ugh that sounded weird. Can you try this shit on now? My arm is about to fall off” He whines. “Yeah, I wouldn't want you to break a nail. Wait outside the dressing room so I can show you how it looks” you tell him. “Can’t wait” he replies, sarcasm dripping from his tongue.

Steve checks his watch every thirty seconds because how long does it take to try on one dress?

“Spend your whole life waitin’ on your woman, don’t ya?” an older gentleman asks him. “Uh, yeah. I guess so” chuckles. “My wife, Ethel, over there” he points in the direction of where his wife stands “always takes her sweet time. After forty years of marriage I’m still always waitin’ on her, but she still looks so damn beautiful that it’s worth it”

“Harold, leave the poor boy alone, honey” His wife says when she wanders over to her husband. “No, I don’t mind. I’m just waiting for my girl to show me her new dress” Steve says. He said ‘my girl’ so naturally he didn’t even realize it until he finished his sentence.

“Steve, what do you think- oh, hi!” you greet the couple and introduce yourself. “That’s a beautiful dress, don’t ya think Steve?” Harold asks him. “y-yeah. You look great, sweetheart” he smiles. You do look great. The color of the dress compliments your skin tone perfectly and makes your eyes pop.

“How long have you two been together?” Ethel asks. “Five months” you both say at the same time. “Oh, young love. It’s truly a wonderful thing. I feel like I’m looking in a mirror from forty years ago” She expresses and puts her hand over her heart. “We’ll let you kids get back to it. Enjoy the rest of your day” Harold says. “Thank you, you too!” you respond before they walk away.

“So, um, tell me what you really thing about this dress”

“I think it looks great” he replies. “Really? No snarky comment? Did that old couple make you go all soft on me, Harrington?”

“Not in a million years. Go try the other shit on I don’t wanna be here all day” he carps. “Okay, I’m going, but don’t fall in love with me after seeing how good I look in this next one!” yeah, right he thinks.

After a fashion show and a dent in his bank account, you finally leave the store. Most of your outfits were casual, but cute and preppy enough to impress his family. You even found a dress to wear to the wedding. “I have to get a new bathing suit. Or three new bathing suits” you announce as you walk past a store with all the summer essentials. “Three? For what reason?”

“You said your family members are all staying in lake houses and I need to be prepared. I’m also assuming this fancy hotel we’re staying in has a pool” you explain. “Oh, and how come we aren’t staying in a lake house?” you wonder. “My parents weren’t gonna rent a house for just me. I even told them I was bringing my “girlfriend”, but we’re still staying in a hotel twenty minutes away from everyone” he answers. “Oh no, we’re staying in an expensive hotel with all the amenities we could ever need. Should I bring a survival kit?” you gibe.

“Just go get your swimsuits and don’t make me watch you model them” he pleads. “Why? Scared you’ll like what you see?” Yes, he thinks to himself. “Nope. Just starving. I’m gonna go grab something from the food court” he says before scurrying off.

“Hey, can I get two soft pretzels and two lemonades, please?”

“Steve Harrington?” He hears a woman's voice and turns around. “It’s me! Beth!”

“Beth, hi!” He greets. Steve went on a date with Beth a few months ago and she never called him back. He actually really liked her, too. Until she ditched him for her new boyfriend.

“How are you? Hungry?” She asks when she she's the two pretzels and drinks in his hand. “Oh, um, ones for me and ones for my… girlfriend. She’s shopping right now- oh look, there she is! Baby, I’m over here!” he waves to get your attention.

“Aw, you got me something? You’re so sweet, Stevie” you kiss his cheek and it takes everything in him to not act weirded out. “Babe, this is Beth. Beth this is my girl, y/n”

“Nice to meet you, y/n. It was good to see you, Steve” she says and saunters off. “Did you really have to kiss my cheek?” he wipes your lipgloss off of his face. “Give me a soft pretzel and I’ll do just about anything”

“Gross” he mutters, “Are you done shopping yet?” he groans. “Yes, I’m done. Thanks again for the pretzel. That was actually really nice” you smile at him. “Don’t thank me yet. I poisoned it” he jokes and you chuckle. “Thank god. Then I wouldn’t have to spend three whole days with you”

“Well, actually, we have to go up thursday” he tells you and you stop in your tracks. “Thursday? That's in two days and I have so much to do!” you exclaim. “You’ll just have to get it done a day early. It’s the least you can do after I bought you this pretzel”

“You’re impossible”

“And you’re welcome for the delicious treat and all the clothes”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just take me home, please”

“Gladly”

_

By the time Thursday rolls around, you’re already exhausted from this weekend before it’s even started. You spent your entire day yesterday doing laundry, going to the store for travel things, packing, and mentally preparing yourself for being Steve’s “girlfriend”.

It wasn’t that pretending to be his significant other was going to be the worst thing in the world. He’s attractive and you’ve heard his personality is alright, you’ve just yet to meet that version of Steve, but you worried it would be awkward.

There’s no way you have any amount of chemistry with Steve that makes it convincing that you two are in love. He scowls at any pet name you give him, he practically freezes any time you touch him, and you’re pretty sure he’d slip into a coma if he was actually nice to you.

The sound of Steve honking his horn pulls you from your anxious thoughts. He can’t even come up and knock on your door. God forbid he helps you carry any of your luggage. He did pop the trunk for you, though, so that’s something at least.

“Is your arm broken?” you ask, sitting down in the passenger seat. “No?” he replies, confused. “I just figured since you didn’t help me carry a single thing that-”

“You’re bitching already? It hasn’t even been five minutes that must be a new record”

“your hair looks flat today” you insult and he glares at you “you do know i have traits other than my hair, right?”

“yeah, I know. just don’t care enough, is all” you state, looking at your manicure like his existence is irrelevant to you. “Right, okay. Let’s just not kill each other until we get there”

“Only if you promise to buy me snacks at the gas station” you bargain “Fine. Whatever you want”

_

You fell asleep halfway through the car ride and have woken up once. For some reason, Steve can’t stop himself from glancing over you. Your head is resting on the window, your lips are slightly parted, and if he didn’t already know you, he’d think you actually look kind of sweet.

“Hey” he whispers and gently shakes your shoulder to wake you up. You grunt in response and he shakes your shoulder a little more. “Wake up, we’re almost at my parents lake house” he says and you jolt awake. “We’re stopping there first? I’m not prepared for that!” you exclaim and flip down the visor mirror to make yourself look presentable.

“They said they have a surprise for us and they’re looking forward to meeting you. It’ll be fine” he puts his hand on your thigh for a split second then quickly pulls it back. “And here we are” he announces when he pulls into the driveway. It’s more of a lake mansion than a lake house, but you didn’t expect anything less. Steve opens the passenger side door for you just in case anyone is watching. He can tell you’re nervous about meeting his parents. You’ve been fiddling with the hem of your top and the look on your face isn’t exactly hiding any of your emotions.

Steve grabs your hand and you’re taken by surprise. He’s touching you without acting like there’s a gun to his head. “Ready to meet the parents?” he asks, giving your hand a squeeze “As ready as I’ll ever be”

He knocks on the door and your leg bounces, anxiously. “Hey, stop worrying. They’ll love you. Most people think you’re great. Apart from me, obviously” he jests and you snicker. You know it isn’t a big deal if his parents don’t like you. You two aren’t actually together and there's a high chance you’ll never see them again, but you have this irritating need for people’s approval. Which is a bit ironic considering your hand is currently being held by the one person who has a huge issue with you.

“Steve, honey! We’re so glad you’re here!” his mom exclaims before hugging him. “You must be y/n! It’s so nice to meet you!” she hugs you next. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Harrington”

“Oh, please, call me Joanne. Come in, I’ll get your father. George, Steve and his girlfriend are here!” she shouts when you all walk inside.

Steves’ father emerges from the back porch of the house and it’s like Steve twenty-five years from now walked in from the future. “Now, what’s someone as pretty as you doing with my son? Did you pay her Steve?” he jokes, but he has no idea how close he is to being correct. “Thanks, dad, good to see you too.” Steve grumbles. “Don’t get too upset, I know how sensitive you can be. I’m George, it’s a pleasure to meet you” he extends his hand and you shake it. “It’s great to meet you. I’m y/n”

“You’re much nicer than most girls my son dates. There was one girl-”

“Anyways, mom said you had a surprise for us” Steve interrupts his dad. “Yes, we do!” his mom says and hands Steve a key. “What’s this?” he asks as he holds the key. “Well, your father and I thought it might be romantic if you two had your own house and you’d be much closer to the family. It’s just right up the road and we cancelled your hotel reservation.”

“That’s so kind of you, Mrs. Harr- Joanne. You didn’t have to do that” you thank her and she beams at your appreciation. “Honey, we’re just so grateful that Steve has found someone that he clearly loves. You should’ve heard how he spoke about you on the phone” She tells you and Steve’s face turns beet red when you turn to look at him. “Uh, yeah, thank you. We should probably go check this out, yeah?’’ he asks and you nod.

“Once you freshen up, don’t forget we’re having dinner here tonight!” Joanne reminds the both of you before saying your goodbyes. Your nerves come back when you think about meeting the rest of his family.

“So… what did you say about me on the phone?” you ask once you both step outside. “I don’t even remember. I didn’t really say much” he lies, but he doesn’t want you to know just in case you get the wrong impression that he might not dislike you as much as you think he does. “Keep your secrets, then. Let's go check out our house!” you squeal and run to the car.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so cute!” you say as you pull into the driveway. The house is smaller than the others, but the ideal size for two people. There’s a porch that overlooks the lake with two rocking chairs and a coffee table. It’s perfect for watching the sun rise and set.

It does make you a little sad that if you weren’t here, Steve would be all alone in a hotel while the rest of his family was within walking distance. Why wouldn’t he stay with his parents? or another family member? “Did you hear me?” he asks, bringing you back from all the questioning going on in your mind.“No, sorry. What did ya say?”

“I asked if you’re ready to go inside. I’ll help you with your bags this time”

“Yeah, thanks.” you grin and get out of the car.

The inside of the house is as beautiful as the outside. It’s cozy and inviting. If Steve was your boyfriend, it would be very romantic. “So, only one bedroom I suppose,” Steve speaks up. “I’ll take the couch” he volunteers.

“Steve, I can already tell you’re too tall for that couch. I’ll take it”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind”

“Or we could be adults and share the bed? It’s big enough that you won’t even come close to touching me” you assure him. “If you wanted to sleep next to me, all you had to do was ask” he smirks and your nose scrunches in disgust. “Shut up, I’m trying to be nice to you”

“Let’s unpack before we have to go to dinner. Are you nervous about meeting everyone else?” he asks as you throw your luggage on the bed so you can unpack your bags. “Yeah, I guess. Is there anything I should know?” you question. “Not really. My parents seemed to like you, so they’ve probably already put in a good word.”

The rest of the time you spend unpacking and getting ready is spent in silence. It isn’t either an awkward or comfortable silence. It’s like neither of you are there, not acknowledging each other unless absolutely necessary.

_

You and Steve decide to walk to his parents since it’s such a pleasant evening. The sound of the lake is peaceful and the moonlight illuminates your surroundings so perfectly that it makes the street lamps needless. “It really is lovely out here” you say and Steve hums in agreement. “Are you nervous, Steve? About seeing your family? You ask and he lets out a sigh that he’s been holding in for a while. “Kind of, but they’re probably gonna be more focused on you”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” you offer and he shakes his head. “Nah, that’s alright. We’re almost there anyway” When you walk through the door of the house, Steve places his hand on the small of your back. Only for appearances, clearly. “We’re here” he announces and his family comes over to greet you.

“You must be y/n! I’m Linda, Steve’s aunt. We’ve heard many great things about you!” You make your way through all introductions followed by a million it’s nice to meet you too’s. His family is bigger than you expected and you can definitely tell that they have money just by looking at them.

You’re finally offered a glass of wine and happily accept. “Here, Steve, it’s an old-fashioned. The real man's drink” His father hands him a glass and he has to stop himself from chugging it.

“We are all dying to know how you two met” Steve’s aunt says to you once you and Steve are in the kitchen. It seems like everyone is gathered in the kitchen to hear the story. Steve looks a little lost so you decide you’ll take the lead on this one.

“Well, we met through mutual friends and Steve was terrible at attempting to flirt with me. I thought he was just so cute and one night I got stood up on a blind date and Steve came to my rescue and the rest is history” you wrap your arm around his back and his arm wraps around your shoulder. He can’t believe how quickly you came up with that. Your story is met with many ‘aws’ and Steve mouths a ‘thank you’ when no one is looking.

“I like your dress’’ you hear a small voice come from behind you and you turn around to see the most adorable toddler with pigtails. “Thank you, sweetie. I like your hair” you bend down to eye level with her. “I’m y/n. What’s your name?”. “Penelope. I’m this many” She holds up three fingers and you smile. “Do y’wanna color with me?” she asks and you follow her to the table she was coloring at.

“Are you married to Steve?”

“Nope, not married, but I am his girlfriend” it still feels weird to say that. “Okay. You can use my crayons”

Steve watched this interaction from the kitchen. He thinks the drink is already starting to go to his head because he thinks it's absolutely adorable. You’re a natural with kids and with his family. He can’t tell if it’s all part of the act or if you are actually this amazing.

Dinner goes smoothly with the help of several alcoholic beverages. Steve’s hand has been on your thigh throughout the entire meal and he didn’t act bothered by it at all. Maybe his acting skills aren’t so abysmal after all.

“Can I help you wash up?” you ask his mom as she cleans up the kitchen. “That would be wonderful, dear.”

“Penelope adores you, by the way. She’s always been a little shy and she warmed up to you just like that.” She tells you. “She’s a sweet kid. I was like that when I was younger. Shy, I mean. Guess I still am” a small chuckle escapes your throat. “Well, no worries about that. The family loves you” She assures you and you give her a kind smile.

“Ready to go, babe?” Steve asks you. “Go on, I’ll make George help with cleanup” His mom hugs you both and his hand holds yours as you say your goodbyes to everyone.

“That wine got to me, I think. I feel all warm and fuzzy” you say with a giggle. Steve still hasn’t let go of your hand even though you're halfway back to the house by now. “I know what you mean. You were great, by the way. Pretty sure they’re convinced we’re in love.”

“Wow, you’re complimenting me? You must definitely be tipsy” you laugh. “And you’re still holding my hand so you’re absolutely toasted” he quips. “m’not. I just might fall over if you let go” so he doesn’t let go, not until you’re both inside the bedroom.

Once you both climb into bed, there’s more than a respectable distance between you and Steve. For some reason, a strange thought crosses your mind and you have the biggest urge to bring it up. “Hey, Steve?”

“Hm?”

“I thought of something we haven’t practiced yet and it’s kinda weird, but hear me out”

“Okay…I’m listening” he says, sounding a little suspicious. “Do you think it’ll be weird if we don’t kiss? Nothing crazy just a couple pecks here and there” he sits up and turns on the bedside table lamp. “You wanna makeout in front of my family?”

“No! Of course not. I said peck” he doesn’t respond and you’ve never felt more embarrassed in your life.

“Okay. Yeah, we probably should practice it. Ya know, just to be convincing” he finally speaks up. “Yeah. Just to be convincing.” you both sit up and scoot closer to each other. “Wait! Can you turn off the light?” you request and he quickly turns off the light.

You feel Steve’s hand resting on your cheek and your heart thumps in your chest out of nerves, not anything else, that’s for sure. “Ready?” he asks “Ready”

His lips brush yours and linger for a few seconds before he places his lips on yours in a proper kiss. It’s a simple kiss. There’s no tongue, obviously, and it feels like it’s over before it's even started.

“Wait, sorry. Let me try again” he says. He kisses you again and it’s still simple, but this time your lips move together in a harmonious agreement. His body moves closer to yours and you feel yourself slipping away, like you’ve forgotten that you’re kissing Steve Harrington. Someone that you aren’t supposed to be kissing.

He pulls back as he feels that the kiss might grow more intense. You’re left breathless and stunned, but Steve doesn’t seem to be as affected as you are, but he is. His palms are sweaty and his heart feels like it might jump out of his throat. He nonchalantly rolls over back to his side while you stay in the same position, staring at his silhouette.

“Goodnight, y/n”

“y-yeah, goodnight”

_

a/n: IT’LL GET JUCIER SOON I PROMISE

_

taglist: @freezaz123 @lovelyimpossibleobservation @johnricharddeacy @mjtalksaboutanything @nix-rose-q @eternallyvenus (i hope i didn't miss anyone!)

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fic #steve harrington series #steve harrington enemies to lovers #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington smut #steve harrington stranger things #stranger things fic

[loslentesdepedrito]

Feliz Navidad

Javi gif by: Ggyussance My Masterlist

Pairing: Javier Peña x Spanish-speaking Latina f!reader (No race, skin color, or nationality mentioned. I tried my best to include small parts of each Spanish-speaking Latin American country.)

Word count: 11.3k+

Summary: At every family reunion, the relentless interrogation about your love life becomes a tiring ritual. Fed up with the relentless questions and awkward setups, you turn to Javi, your best friend, and ask him to be your date for the upcoming family Christmas party. He suggests that you take it a step further by pretending to be a couple. Can the two of you play pretend, especially when, in reality, you both harbor secret feelings for each other?

Rating: 18+ Explicit content (MDNI) Tags and CW: slight angst, happy ending, fake dating, friends to lovers, jealous and possessive Javi, reader and Javi are in their 20s, not canon, just a smidge of idiots in love, reader wears a dress, lingerie, makeup, and is shorter than Javi, alcohol consumption, Javi being cheesy with your family, unprotected piv, cowgirl, use of a sex toy, oral (female receiving) reader likes to pull Javi's hair, creampie, slight cum eating, Javi loving his cum inside you.

A/N: I’m on vacation and meant to upload this on the 24th, but didn’t have time to add the translations. Sorry for the delay, tarde pero seguro. Enjoy! 

"Come on, Javi," you plead again, watching him chew thoughtfully. There's a sense of urgency in your voice as you desperately hope he’ll agree to be your date for your family’s Christmas gathering. "Please, I'm practically begging you. I'll get down on my hands and knees if I have to." This finally grabs his attention. Caught off guard while swallowing, he hears your words and can't help but let his imagination run wild. The image of you begging, not just for any favor, but for him – for his cock, fills his mind. With a sudden intensity, he forces the last bite of the torta cubana down his throat, triggering a fit of coughing.

Reacting quickly, you reach for the glass of iced water on the table, extending it toward him without a word. He accepts the offering from your outstretched hand, bringing the cool glass to his lips. In a fluid motion, Javi tilts his head back, the cup cradled by his fingers.

Your attention zeroes in on the man before you: The plushness of his lower lip curves around the rim of the glass; as he takes a sip, droplets of water cascade down, catching the afternoon sun and creating a glistening effect.

Mesmerized, you trace the path of those droplets, leading you to the delicate contours of his pink lips. Descending further with your gaze, you focus on his neck, where the rhythmic bobbing of his Adam's apple accompanies each sip. Involuntarily, you shift in your seat, a futile attempt to dispel the growing sensation stirring between your thighs.

Breaking the spell, he speaks, his voice rough as he clears his throat, "Okay, I'll be your date."

A wave of relief washes over you, and gratitude spills forth, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're so perfect. My family will love you."

A quizzical expression lingers on Javi's face as he asks, "Why don't you get a real date?" Despite knowing you could have your pick of anyone, there's genuine happiness in his eyes—an unspoken relief that you won't be taking another man to meet your family.

You sigh and offer an explanation, “I haven't met anyone, and it's pretty weird to introduce some stranger to your entire family on the first date. "Ya te dije (I already told you), my family keeps pestering me about getting a boyfriend. It's the same thing every Christmas, '¿nena y el novio? (baby girl and the boyfriend?)’ 'Mami, quiero que conozcas al sobrino de la vecina de mi comadre. (Mami, I want you to meet my friend’s neighbor's nephew.)’ '¿Mija, ya tienes novio? ('Mija, do you already have a boyfriend?)’ I love them, and they mean well, but I can't take any more of it. Hopefully, when I show up and say that we're just getting to know each other, it will shut them up until New Year's. But by then, I'll tell them we work better as friends, and they'll pity me, so I'll be off the hook for maybe two years."

A knowing look crosses Javi's face as he probes, "And this has nothing to do with the fact that Caleb will be there?"

You groan at the mention of your ex-boyfriend's name. "A little bit," you mumble, slumping in your chair as thoughts of him flood your mind. "He's probably going to bring some girl, and if I show up alone," you pause, giving Javi a sweet smile, "without my best friend, my family will find out I had a boyfriend and I kept it from them."

You didn't mean to keep your relationship with Caleb hidden. You just didn't want to tell your family you had a boyfriend, in case the relationship failed—and guess what, it did. Two months into your relationship, you found out he was still talking to his ex, and you dumped him before shit got worse. Fortunately, your decision to keep your family in the dark spared you from telling them about Caleb, so you didn't have to share the news about the breakup, which, unfortunately for you, meant you had to see him at parties since his parents were friends with your uncle.

"Why don't we tell them we're in a relationship? Like, boyfriend and girlfriend," Javi suggests, attempting to sound confident, though inwardly, he's praying you won't freak out and shoot down the idea.

You blink, momentarily caught off guard and unsure of how to respond. Javier panics at your silence and rushes to add, "I mean, they already know who I am, and we know everything about each other. It would be more believable."

Chewing on your lip, you contemplate what he's proposed. It would be convincing, you think.

“Are there any embarrassing moments that your family will bring up that I should be aware of, my beautiful girlfriend?” Javi teases, a playful glint in his eyes.

In response, you roll up a napkin, forming a makeshift ball, and throw it at him, the projectile hitting him directly on the forehead. Javi grumbles good-naturedly, a blend of irritation and laughter, and you purposely ignore the flutter in your heart. "No, you’ll never hear those."

“Okay fine,” Javi huffs, a mock pout on his face. “What’s the story then?”

"Story? For what?" you ask, genuinely puzzled.

Javi looks at you as if you're not making the slightest bit of sense. “The story we’ll tell your family. You know they'll ask us so many questions.”

He's right. Your family will undoubtedly bombard you both with questions, seeing as they only know him as your friend and not the guy you've been secretly harboring feelings for.

"I mean, in movies, they always seem to have background stor-" Javi abruptly stops, hoping you don't make the connection about the kind of movies he's referring to.

But, of course, you catch it. “¿Aww, te gustan los romcoms, Javi? (Aww, do you like romcoms, Javi?)”

"¡No!" He blurts out, his face turning a shade of red that extends from his face to the tips of his ears. "We've just- we need to establish a timeline."

Watching him stumble through the sentence, you decide to spare him further embarrassment. "Mmm... we can say we've been dating for a month. It's enough that they won't scold me for not telling them about the relationship earlier, right?"

"We can say I asked you out right after Thanksgiving, so that gives us a little over a month since Thanksgiving was on the 22nd."

"Okay, yeah, that sounds good. And are you okay with staying over at my aunt's house since we'll be drinking? Or do you want to drive back to your apartment after we say our goodbyes?"

"Wait, your aunt with the big-ass house is hosting Christmas for your family this year?" He asks, sitting straighter in his chair. Javi's excitement is palpable as you nod. "Yeah, I'm staying over," he declares.

“Trae dos mudas de ropa (bring two changes of clothes)," you instruct him.

“¿Pjs y algo para la recalentada? (Pjs and something for the afterparty?)” Javi guesses but needs confirmation, not wanting to make a fool of himself. In fact, he's determined to make a good impression on your family.

"Mhm," you hum in agreement and then ask him about his previous plans. "You said you weren't going to spend Christmas with your family. Are you sure?"

"My dad's going to Monterrey, and I didn't get my passport renewed, and it's too late now. It's fine; I like spending time with your family." I like spending time with you.

"You just want to get fed," you tease.

"How'd you know," he goes along with your teasing tone.

“Ya te conozco (I already know you),” you tell him, and Javi feels butterflies in his stomach.

Your phone vibrates on top of the white and blue plaid tablecloth. You pick it up and see a notification that your Christmas dress is ready for pickup. "Oh shit, I've gotta go pick up my dress." You scramble to get up and collect your trash.

Javi gently grabs your wrist and tells you, “Ve. Te tiro tu basura. (Go. I'll throw your trash away.)"

Your breath hitches at his touch, and you thank him. You drop your Coke can and take a few steps until you reach him. "You're the best. I love you." You lower yourself a bit to give him a kiss on the cheek. His heart races, and he's scared you'll see him turn beet red, so he stands up and envelops you in a hug. He's hit with your smell, and a groan nearly falls from his lips.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at 8," he says in a shaky voice, whispering into your ear. Grateful for the long-sleeve shirt you decided to wear that morning, your skin breaks into goosebumps around his body. "That's still early, you know?" you object into his chest.

Feeling the lower half of his body respond to having you so close, he pulls away, not wanting to scare you or make you uncomfortable. “¿Entonces a las ocho y media? (So at eight-thirty?)” he asks, now standing a couple of steps away from you.

"See you then," you nod. Glancing at your watch, you realize you really have to get going.

"What color will your dress be?" he asks before you leave.

"Red," you smile, swinging your bag over your shoulder.

Javi gulps; red is his favorite color. He wonders if he'll be able to handle seeing you in it while pretending to be your boyfriend.

"Bye, te veo mañana (see you tomorrow),” you say goodbye one last time.

"Bye," he waves and watches you walk off. As soon as you're out of his view, he's left standing there, hands on his face, and he groans into his palms. Yeah, he doesn't know how he'll get through tomorrow night pretending he's in love with you because he is in love with you but can't show it.

Just as you apply the last coat of lipstick in your foyer mirror, you hear a knock on your door. Palms slightly damp, you start second-guessing taking Javi to your family party. You hear him say your name through the locked door and quickly tell him you're coming. With a slightly trembling hand, you turn the doorknob, your heart thudding in your chest at the sight of Javi. He's wearing a black leather jacket over a red cable-knit sweater, and God, he smells amazing—tones of sage, wood, and maybe some bergamot. All you know is that you want to push him against the door and put your mouth all over him—mouth, neck, chest, cock—you don't have a preference.

While you're busy ogling him, Javi is staring at you with his jaw near the floor. You're in a burgundy dress with black flowers all over, accentuating your beautiful figure. He makes a mistake when his gaze moves up, landing on your lips. Javi has to bite his tongue to suppress a groan at the sight of your luscious red-stained lips. They look so plush and enticing, and he twitches in his pants.

"Hi, Jav," you greet him in your sweet voice, making him look into your eyes.

The way your eyes sparkle, almost makes him lose his composure and profess his feelings for you. "¿Estas lista? (Are you ready?)" He says instead. 

"I just need to get my gifts," you point to the large gift bag you have set on the floor of your foyer. You only have two gifts in the much too large bag because your family does Secret Santa since it would be rather expensive to get each member of your family a gift. When you bend down to grab your things, Javi gets a perfect view of your round ass. He can't tear his eyes from you until he feels himself growing in his pants. He exhales trying to will his hard-on to go away. On his fifth breathing exercise, you turn around and tell him you're ready to go. Ever the gentleman, he signals for you to step out of your home first. 

"I just need to get my gifts," you point to the large gift bag set on the floor of your foyer. You only have two gifts in the much too large bag because your family does Secret Santa, as it would be rather expensive to get each member of your family a gift. When you bend down to gather your things, Javi gets a perfect view of your round ass. He can't tear his eyes away until he feels himself growing in his pants. He exhales, trying to will his hard-on to go away. On his fifth breathing exercise, you turn around and tell him you're ready to go. Ever the gentleman, he signals for you to step out of your home first.

As you brush past him, he's hit with the aroma of your perfume, and the sweetheart line of your dress offers a perfect view of your cleavage. He has to close his eyes to focus on anything else. After you lock up, he leads you to his car, takes the bag from you, and uses his free hand to help you down the steps. He opens the passenger door, puts your bag in the back seat, and goes to his seat to start the truck. You watch as he reverses, placing a hand behind your seat's headrest. His single hand moves the steering wheel, and you have to physically stop a whine from slipping past your mouth by biting your lip. You feel the wetness accumulate between your thighs, and you don't know how you'll get through the night.

The car ride over was hell on earth for both of you. Javi had to resist the urge to reach over and place his hand on your perfect thighs and move it further up. And you had to watch as Javi handled the gear stick with his big hands and thick fingers. You're both relieved to make it to your aunt's house. Javi insists on opening the door for you, and when he helps you get out of his truck, he gives you his hand to guide you. Next thing you know, he's taking the items from the back seat. Javi swings a backpack filled with his stuff, including clothes, and the bag where you have your gifts. You take it from him without him noticing, and he takes out a chocoflan.

You hear the house door open, and people beckon you over. Javi closes the door and takes your hand in his. He leads you up to the entrance, and you hear gasps and mutters coming from your family.

“¡Ay, mi sobrinita! (Oh, my little niece!)" one of your uncles yells as you're inches away from the door.

“¡Tío!” you exclaim, happy to see him. Before you can say anything else, he gives you a bear hug. You slowly push off to turn to Javi, who is still holding your hand. “Tío, this is Javier, my boyfriend." Your uncle's eyes widen a little, but it's quickly replaced with joy.

“Javi, él es mi tío Nicolás, es el tío de mi papá (Javi, this is my uncle, Nicolás, he's my dad's uncle)," you explain to your boyfriend for the night.

Javi gently untangles your laced hands and extends his hand to your uncle. “Buenas noches. ¿Cómo está? (Good evening! How are you?)"

“Hola, Chavalo. Bien gracias (Hey, kid. Fine, thanks)," your uncle replies and shakes Javi's hand. "And you?"

Their handshake ends and Javi pulls you into his side. "Me alegra. Estoy muy bien ya que estoy con ella (I'm glad to hear that. I'm very well now that I'm with her),” Javi tells your uncle, giving him a dashing smile while he gives you a lovey-dovey look.

You don't know who is happier at Javi's response—your uncle or you. "Oh, here, I brought dessert," Javier hands your uncle Nicolás the custard dessert with a chocolate cake base.

“Come in, come in,” the older man ushers you inside the house.

“Miren quien llegó (Look who arrived),” your uncle's voice rumbles throughout the house. Footsteps make their way to you three, and your family's faces light up. Voices overlap, greeting you, but they seem confused over the man beside you.

“¡Hola!” you smile. "This is Javi, he's my boyfriend," you introduce, rubbing his arm.

Javi doesn't get a word in because your cousin slaps his back and says, “¡Habla, pe causa!” Javi smiles and tells him good evening.

Once your cousin goes away, you whisper to Javi, "That was César, and he said, 'What's up, man.'"

"I knew that," Javi lies, running his tongue over his cheek.

“¡Como que ya tienes novio! (What do you mean you have a boyfriend!)" a familiar voice screeches from the living room.

You cringe as you hear your mom's angry voice and your dad telling her to calm down. Fuck, I forgot I have to tell my parents about Javi, you think.

When your parents see Javi, they physically relax. "Javi!" She gasps. “¿Él es tu novio? (He's your boyfriend?)” Your mom asks.

“Él es mi novio,” you confirm. Javi's heart leaps because somehow in Spanish, you calling him your boyfriend sounds a million times better.

"¡Ay, qué alegría! (Oh, what joy!)" She says and clasps her hands. For a long time, she's asked you if you two are anything more than friends, and she's always disappointed when you say no.

"I'm happy for you, mija," your dad tells you, hugging you.

"Thank you, Dad," you say relieved at their quick acceptance of Javi.

"Tu mamá está muy feliz (Your mom is very happy). It's just that you told your aunt first, and she was blindsided," your dad fills you in, and you hear your name being called. You whip your head to the kitchen and see your aunt coming to you with her arms extended.

“Titi Yalissa," you muffle into her curly hair. Your aunt jumps up and down with you in her arms. "Oh, I missed you so much," she says and lets go of you once she remembers what you told her. "Where's your boyfriend?"

You grab Javi's hand and bring him closer to your aunt. "Javi, this is my aunt Yalissa."

“Titi, this is the guy I told you about. His name is Javier."

"Es un placer conocer al hombre que tiene a mi niña tan feliz (It's a pleasure to meet the man who has my little girl so happy)."

Javier smiles at your aunt's happiness and decides to comment on her house and thank her for the invitation. "It's my pleasure. Tiene una casa hermosa (you have a beautiful house)," he pauses to look over at you, “como su sobrina (like your niece). Thank you for inviting me." Your heart thuds in your chest at Javi's words.

Everyone around you coos and awws, and you feel your ears burn.

"Let me show you your rooms, so you can set your things."

You and Javi follow your aunt up the stairs and into the hallway. She comments on how good you two look together and how it's adorable that you're matching. Her observation catches you off guard, and you look at both of your outfits. Oh my God! Is that why he asked me what color my dress was? Did he want to match? While you're lost in thought, you miss Javi's charming words about how perfect you look.

"Javi, this will be your room," your aunt points at a room on the left side. She says your name and then points at the room at the end of the hall, "Your room is still untouched, and you have your clothes there if you need anything."

Someone calls her from the kitchen, and she apologizes, telling you to come downstairs when you're ready for some food.

When Javier hears her descend the stairs, he asks you, "We're not sharing a room?"

"No. She's kinda against pre-marital sex."

Javi shoots you a look that says he knows you haven't made a vow of chastity.

"Okay, she doesn't know that," you say.

Javi sets his backpack in his room, and you make your way to the small dining room.

"Nena (babygirl), how are you?”

“Tía Mercedes!” you scream once another one of your aunts comes into view.

“Every day you get more and more beautiful!” she says to you. “Oh, and where is that boyfriend of yours? Tu tío Beto me dijo que vos ya tenés uno (Your uncle Beto told me you already have one.)”

For what feels like the hundredth time, you introduce Javi. Your aunt gushes over him and is scandalized when she hears he hasn’t eaten yet.

“No puedo creer que no les han dado nada de comer (I can't believe they haven't given you anything to eat). Come here.” She leads you to where the food is laid out, and to say it’s a lot is an understatement.

"Okay, so we’ve got croquetas, empanadas, ceviche, tamales, pasteles, chuchitos, pan con pollo, carne asada, hallacas, chimichurri, tostones, hornado de chancho, pavo al horno, chipa, pan dulce, y no se qué más." Your aunt lists off the myriad of food, whether it’s side dishes or main courses.

“And to drink, there’s coquito, champurrado, atol, ponche, arroz con leche, café con queso, chocolate caliente. If you want something else, you can ask Beto. It’s probably in the kitchen.”

You and Javi grab whatever you crave and add it to your plate before heading to the larger dining room. Everything had been going well until you saw your ex. Javi noticed you tense up, and he followed your line of sight, landing on your ex-boyfriend, Caleb. With food and drinks in his hands, Javi couldn’t physically comfort you. A soft whisper from him, a simple “Hey,” was enough to unfreeze you, and you both walked to your seats, strategically far away from Caleb and his girlfriend.

Dinner went by smoothly. Your family was eager to learn about the new man in your life, and you explained that before becoming your boyfriend, he had been your best friend and someone you trusted with your life. One of your little cousins was curious about how he asked you to be his girlfriend. To your surprise, Javi spun an elaborate story about taking you stargazing and making it official under the night sky. He described the story with such vivid detail that it brought tears to your eyes, and your family found it incredibly heartwarming. Little did they know, part of those tears were tinged with sorrow, knowing that after this night, the charade of this "relationship" would come to an end. The other part of you felt pure love for Javi, appreciating the effort he was putting into making your family believe in your fake romance.

After clearing the plates and sharing the story, Javi couldn’t help but notice Caleb shooting daggers his way. Frankly, he didn’t care about Caleb's feelings, but when he saw him staring at you, Javi couldn’t suppress the desire to leap across the table and strangle him. Thankfully, one of your cousins interrupted and announced that a game of lotería would be played outside if anyone wanted to join.

You take your cup of ponche, and Javi grabs his cup of atol as you both make your way to the backyard, where a table is already set up for the game. Soon, the table of 25 is full, and some have to wait for the next round. With beans in hand, you eagerly listen for the first card to be called.

“Ahí les va la primera tarjeta (Here comes the first card),” Uriel, your favorite cousin's husband, warns. He shuffles the cards in the deck and flips the first one over.

“La Sirena (the siren).”

You squeal and instantly put your bean on top of the square where a siren is underwater. You hear groans from the people who didn’t have the siren on their cards. Javi, not having much luck, simply watched you with the biggest smile, reveling in your excitement over the lead.

Uriel flips the next card and announces, “La Luna (the moon).”

This time, neither you nor Javi has luck. Displeased, you watch as Caleb places a bean on his card.

“¡El soldado! (The soldier!)”

You look at your card—nothing. You look at Javi’s card—still nothing. A feeling of being watched makes your head turn to Caleb, and he’s smirking at Javi because he got another bean on his table. “Not good at lotería,” Caleb tuts, “is there something you’re actually good at?” he says condescendingly. 

You have half a mind to tell him all the ways Javi is perfect, even throwing in a few lies about your fake intimate life, but Javi rests his right hand on your thigh, and just like that, all your hatred bubbles away.

“Before I call the next one, does anyone have all three characters?” Whoops and cheers come from a few uncles, cousins, and family friends. “Okay, does anyone have a line nearly filled?” Uriel asks another question, and this time is met with silence.

“Bueno (Oh well),” he moves on and pulls from the deck, “La maceta (flowerpot).” You wish you had one of those to throw at Caleb’s head. Your wish is answered when someone yells, “¡Aguas!” You and Javi instantly duck, and much to your dismay (not), Caleb doesn’t, and the flying rag hits him right between his eyes. He groans in pain and starts to pick a fight with Marta, one of your cousins. Marta's fiancé stands up for your cousin, “Sos un hijo de remil putas. He told you to watch out. It's your fault you didn't listen." Everyone agrees with Flavia, and they tell Caleb he should've ducked. Your ex finally shuts up, and your family urges Uriel to draw the next card.

“El cotorro (the parrot)." Javi moves quickly and places the bean he's had in his hand for a while. You're so happy for him; that you nearly spill your drink onto the table.

A few more cards are drawn, and you haven't made as much progress, but Javi, on the other hand, has his card nearly full of beans. He needs four consecutive beans in a straight line, but he's missing two beans to win.

“La mano (The hand)." 

“Concha-tu-madre,” an uncle seethes in frustration as he doesn't have the hand on his card, but you know who does—Javi. 

“Ya me agüitaron (Ya’ll bummed me out). I'm going to put on music," your cousin, Darío, says, abandoning the game and hooking up his phone to the speaker. 

“El árbol (the tree.)” You sigh in disappointment as the last character Javi needs isn't called.

Music and various curse words fill the air, including but not limited to coño, jueputa, mamaguevo, japiro. 

"We have four potential winners," Uriel announces, "Y ahora... el gorrito (and now... the little hat)." 

“Mierda,” Javi's voice falls into a whisper because he doesn't have that card. By this point, he's memorized the entirety of his table, and when the hat was called, he knew it wouldn't be on his card.

You look around the table and see that Javi is among three people who need one more bean to win. 

"Let's see," Uriel says as he shuffles the cards. “El valiente (the brave man)” is yelled, and before you can react, Javi screams, "Lotería!" 

Everyone whips their head to your 'boyfriend,' and Uriel rushes to check Javi's card. You're filled with joy and practically bouncing in your seat. 

"We have a winner!" Uriel whoops, patting Javi's shoulder. 

"Beso, beso, beso (kiss, kiss, kiss)" your family chants, wanting you to celebrate with your boyfriend. Your breathing labors, and you don't know how to get out of it. Luckily, you get called to the kitchen, and Javi looks relieved. Your heart drops. He didn't want to kiss me. You excuse yourself and hurriedly make your way to the kitchen.

Javi's left in his seat trying to regulate his heartbeat. He didn't want to kiss you. Not because he didn't want to. God, he wanted to taste your lips, but he's scared that if he kisses you, he'll never stop.

In the kitchen, you scoop food into Tupperware for you and Javi, when you hear a man say, "You said he was just a friend,” the voice accuses. 

"Caleb," you spit with venom.

"You're with him now?" he asks hands in his pant pockets.

"I am. And I'm very happy with Javi," you say simply, adding rice to your blue Tupperware container.

"Come on, we were so good together. Don't you remember? We could be great again. Don't you want that?"

"No is the answer to every single thing you just said."

"What's so special about him? You didn't want to tell your family about us, but you bring him around?" Your ex is furious. When he saw you walk in with that dress and with Javi, hands intertwined and looking up at him like he was the best prize, he nearly lost it.

You turn around with your back to the entrance of the second dining room and point the spatula at your ex. "What isn't special about Javi is the better question. He's sweet, kind, determined, funny, and everything you're not. That's not all I love about him though; he makes me feel loved and heard, and he's my best friend. Javi is everyone's dream."

Caleb scoffs, and his only defense is, "What kind of name is Javi?"

You feel a possessive hand on your stomach, and it moves you back towards the owner's body. No, no, I can take care of this myself, you think, and then his cologne hits your nose, and you feel the warmth of his body, and your mantra of standing up by yourself evaporates.

"What kind of name is Caleb? Why don't you go back to your ex and leave my girlfriend alone?" Javier says, voice deeper than usual, making the rat of your ex retreat with his tail between his legs.

"Want me to kick his ass?" Javi questions.

"Nah, I have a feeling it'll ruin the holiday spirit. Thank you for that though."

You realize he could've heard your conversation with Caleb and ask, "How much of that did you hear?"

"When he made fun of my name, which is fantastic, by the way," he responds.

"Javi is a fantastic name," you assure him, "Javi," you say his name, testing it like it's the first time saying his name.

Javi nearly facepalms himself because hearing his name falling from your lips is making him harden again. Not to mention how you defended him to your ex. He's never heard kinder words about himself until you. Lately, Javi has felt like a failure. He failed to get into the DEA academy, and it was terrifying to think he would feel like that for the rest of his life. But when he's in your presence, everything else just melts away.

"How was my family while I left you unsupervised?" You ask, resting your head on his chest.

"Great. One of your cousins talked about the fact that the Christmas celebration was a pagan holiday and another about companies making a fortune based on Christmas. Your uncle, Ramon, I think started talking about los terrenos y le quitaron la corona (inherited land and they took away his corona beer.)”

"Oh god," you sound horrified, "I'm sorry about my family."

Javi slides his hands up and down your arms, "you have nothing to be sorry for. Mi familia también es así o peor (my family is like that or worse)." He knows he shouldn't say the words but can't help himself, "Our kids will have the biggest family."

Your mouth drops in surprise, and your mind flashes with images of you having a family with Javi, and your heart feels like it can explode.

"Your cousin was behind you," Javi says, looking past you.

A wave of disappointment washes over you. "Oh."

Javi lied. He didn't say that to convince your family about your relationship; he said it because he meant it.

The clock strikes 12 AM, beginning the 25th of December, and you all have to give out hugs to every single person at the party. Thankfully, it won't be awkward since Caleb and his plus-one left an hour ago. You get hugs from your entire family, and they each tell you how much they love you and how proud they are of you. When you reach Javi, you go for a side hug, but he pulls your face into his chest, and you exchange ‘feliz navidads.’ His smell is so comforting you want to stay there forever. You don’t pull away until someone announces it’s time to open gifts.

You take out the large wrapped box inside the bag you brought and give the gift to your little cousin, Gio. You bought him plenty of Hot Wheels and a racetrack that will take up a significant amount of space in his living room. Gio leaps into your arms and tells you you’re the ‘bestest cousin in the world.’ Your older cousin tells you she’ll give you her gift before going upstairs to the balcony to see the fireworks.

When Sandra leaves, Javi calls your attention. "Amor ven," the nickname falls easily from his beautiful lips; it makes you swoon. He pats the seat next to him, and in a few seconds, you’re next to him.

“I got you something,” Javi says nervously reaching into his pants pocket. He retrieves a square box and hands it to you gently like he’s scared you’ll move your hand and drop it.

You take the box fully into your hand. You lift the top, and your eyes begin to water. You scold yourself internally that this shouldn’t make you cry, but the beautiful necklace makes it impossible not to. It’s not because it’s a pretty necklace but you’re tearing up because of the letter attached to the gold chain – a J for Javier.

Javi misconstrues your tears for hatred. “I can exchange it for something else,” he’s quick to spit out."

“I love it, Javi,” you promise, words dripping with sincerity. “¿Me lo pones? (Can you put it on me?)” you ask him, getting ready for him to clasp the necklace.

His fingertips make contact with your nape, leaving goosebumps in their wake. You briefly wonder if that will happen every time you make the slightest contact tonight. Javi adjusts the necklace and clasps it, ensuring he doesn’t accidentally get some of your skin, which he was afraid he’d do because his hands were developing a thin layer of sweat.

“Done,” he tells you breathlessly, and you turn around to show him.

He feels ridiculous that seeing his initial on your chest makes him go crazy. Yes, part of him feels beyond happy that you liked your gift. When he was shopping, trying to find you a gift, he stumbled upon a jewelry store, and he knew he had to get it for you. He didn’t buy it to ‘brand you’. Javi genuinely wanted you to carry a part of him, just like he always carries you everywhere he goes.

You hear the first fireworks go off, and Javi says, “Ya es hora para los cuetes (it’s time for the fireworks).” He helps you get up, and everyone makes their way up the mahogany stairway. You meet Sandra on the 2nd floor, and she gives you a white and red striped metallic-wrapped box. That childhood excitement of opening presents is still there. You feel giddy and tug at the taped ends to rip the paper. Once you’re able to see a sliver of the actual gift, you hold it to your chest.

“Sandra! You did not just gift me a sex toy!” You whisper-yell, the shock and embarrassment evident in your tone.

Sandra was known for being direct; she was your older cousin but more of a big sister. She had been a reliable source of guidance, especially when it came to your body, relationships, and intimacy. In fact, you had learned more from her than from your mandatory sixth-grade sex Ed class. You'd often sought her advice, grateful for her non-judgmental attitude. Sandra was always there to help, whether it was explaining innuendos or first-period crises. You remember when you got your first period, you ran to her after your mom called her for moral support. So, in a way, you shouldn't have been surprised by the gift when you complained to her about your trusty wand giving up on you.

“I recall getting a phone call telling me one of your favorites was no longer working. But with that boyfriend of yours, I don’t think you’ll be needing this, so I can take it back,” she smirks, enjoying making you flustered and sputtering on your words.

“A gift is a gift. You can’t take it back,” you argue, hugging it further into your chest. With the night you’ve had, you’re 100% certain the toy will have its grand premiere.

“Ooo using it with your man tonight to spice things up, I like that.”

You turn around and see Javi standing there with his hands by his side. His pretty lips are parted in an ‘o,’ and you can’t believe he just saw your cousin gifting you a sex toy for Christmas.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Sandra gives you a peck on the cheek and slips past you to go to the stairs and up another floor.

“Woah. That’s certainly a gift,” Javi states.

You want the ground to swallow you whole. Here you are hugging a fucking sex toy in the middle of the hallway with the man you love staring at the gift.

“I’m going to put this in my room,” you say robotically and make a run for your room. Oh my god, oh my god, he did not just see that. With the box still in your arms, hoping you don’t run into anyone, you open the door to your room just enough to slip inside and shut the door. Your heart is beating erratically, and you consider staying in your room for the rest of the night, but you know they’ll be calling for you soon. You finally unlock your arms and take the gift into your hands. There’s still wrapping paper covering the gift, so you take it off and take in the toy for the first time. You mistook the handle for a dildo. It wasn’t a plastic dick you thought you received; it was a clit stimulator. Color? Red.

After you placed your new gift on top of your bed and covered it with a sweater, you found the courage to face Javi. You opened your door and found Javi with his fist raised as if he was a second away from knocking.

“Let’s go,” you croak, hoping he won’t ever bring up what happened a few minutes ago.

Javi wordlessly agrees, and you both walk to the stairs in silence to go to the balcony. As you approach the final stairs, you hear more fireworks go off, but their timing isn’t consecutive, so you know the big event is yet to come. Once you’re outside, near the entrance, there’s a table with drinks that range from alcohol to traditional beverages to a mix. You take a Corona, and Javi picks up a glass of coquito. The balcony is packed, but it's big enough that you don’t feel like packed sardines. Music is blasting on the speakers; some of your family is off dancing, and some men are huddled around talking about work, while your younger cousins are playing with their new toys in a corner. You still haven’t talked to Javi, and it’s slowly killing him. He didn’t mean to embarrass you by walking in on Sandra giving you your gift, but when he overheard the term 'sex toy,' it was as if an invisible force nailed him to the floor. Javi racks his brain for how to start a conversation with you. He knows the firework show will commence any minute now, and he won’t be able to get a word in.

"You look beautiful," he blurts out before his brain can catch up with his mouth. Okay, not what he wanted to start off with, but it’s definitely not a lie.

“Thank you,” you say sheepishly as the fireworks start going off one after another.

“I mean, you look beautiful every day,” Javi says in the midst of a chrysanthemum exploding in the sky.

"What?" you reply, struggling to make out his words over the resounding explosions.

Once the sounds die down, your aunt Odilia passes by, catching sight of you and Javi standing closer, facing each other. “¿Como están los enamorados? (How are the lovebirds?),” she says with adoration before moving on. Her statement prompts a few head turns from your family, who go on to comment about how cute you look with your boyfriend.

"I said," Javi begins, lowering himself to your ear, "You look beautiful. You always do, but tonight..." He stands up straight, locking eyes with you. Javi delicately strokes your cheek with the back of his fingers. “Es como si me hubieras puesto bajo tu hechizo (It’s like you’ve put me under your spell),” he confesses softly, his voice filled with adoration.

You find yourself unable to conjure a reply. Your entire focus is consumed by him—the way he smiles, the dimple on full display, the stray curls tousled from dancing, and the warmth of his fingers against your cheek. His nails graze your skin ever so slightly, leaving you questioning if it's a figment of your imagination. A fleeting thought crosses your mind, wondering what it would be like to feel his nails embedded into your hips as he guides you in rhythmic movement. Taking a deep breath to regain composure, you inhale his scent, causing your head to spin. In the midst of your reverie, Javi's voice pulls you back.

"Your family is expecting a kiss. May I?" he asks, breaking the spell.

"What?" you respond, dumbfounded. While you heard him, the question leaves you in disbelief.

“¿Te puedo besar?” he repeats, his heart seemingly pounding out of his chest, laying his intentions bare.

As you nod and rasp out a breathless "yes,", Javi cups your cheeks with a gentle urgency, bringing his lips to yours in a passionate collision. It feels like heaven with his mouth molding seamlessly with yours. His taste is a delightful concoction of coconut, Don Q rum, cinnamon, and condensed milk—remnants of the coquito he had earlier. In the intoxicating embrace, you clutch his shirt, pulling him closer, savoring every fleeting second because it could be the first and last kiss you'll ever share.

Opening your mouth wider, you send a silent invitation, and he responds, his tongue tangling with yours, the passionate sounds blending harmoniously with the distant fireworks. Amid the explosive bursts in the night sky, the sounds of your fervent kiss are almost lost, and worked up and lost in the moment, you can't help but whimper into his mouth. When the sound of your own desire reaches Javi's ear, he knows he should pull away before the intensity escalates. Reluctantly, Javi breaks the kiss, mindful of the familial audience surrounding you. Both your chests rise and fall in tandem, the shared breathlessness lingering in the air. The post-kiss silence is punctuated by the distant echoes of the ongoing fireworks.

Separated but still entwined in the magic of the moment, you catch your breath. You admire the way Javi's brown eyes reflect the vibrant colors bursting in the sky. Javi gazes back into your eyes, marveling at the way they brighten with each explosion in the sky. It's a parallel to his own feelings as if miniature fireworks detonate in his heart whenever he looks at you. His earlier realization holds true; having kissed you, he never wants to stop.

"Okay, well, I'm going to bed," you say, gesturing toward the door, your eyes avoiding his gaze.

“Buenas noches,” he replies, a tinge of sadness coloring his voice.

You steal one last glance at him and urge yourself to get to your room before you throw your friendship down the drain for another kiss. So that’s what you do; you open the door, whisper one last goodbye, and shut the door. Javi closes his eyes, scolding himself for making things awkward. As he goes to his room, he focuses on thinking about what to do to fix your friendship. One thing he knows is that he can’t lose you.

Inside your room, you press against the wooden door. You have no idea how you’ll get through tomorrow, much less through the rest of your life. our eyes wander around, taking in the familiar walls of the room. You’ve had your own room at your aunt's house since you were a little girl, and there are some things that have remained the same. There's a shelf against a wall that contains a few of your stuffed animals from your childhood. You took down your posters from when you were a teen but kept the same paint color of dark red because you knew you couldn’t have your room all black. 

Realizing you still wear Javi's jacket, you gently remove it, placing it on your bed. You hate that it looks like it belongs in your room. You sigh and go to your bathroom to get ready to toss and turn in your bed.

In the midst of removing your makeup, having already brushed your teeth, a soft knock interrupts the quiet solitude of your room. Confused, you quickly dry your face and rush to open the door, wondering who it could be. It’s Javi. He's outside your door, his hair a mess like he ran his hands through it repeatedly.

"Can I come in?" he asks, his eyes searching yours.

"Javi! They'll kill me if they see you in my room," you whisper.

"Please, cariño?" 

His tone is filled with a vulnerability that softens your resolve. You take a quick glance down the hallway and find it deserted, so you quickly pull him into your room and shut the door quietly. As you assess him, clad in grey sweats and a black long-sleeve compression shirt, a rush of desire floods your body. Thoughts of peeling off his clothes and kissing him all over stir a wetness between your legs, leaving you certain your underwear is ruined after spending the day with Javi. 

"I'm sorry," he interrupts your dirty thoughts, and confusion crosses your face.

Sorry? Why is he sorry?

He sees the confusion written all over your face and continues, “I’m sorry for kissing you.”

What?

“If I knew it would make you uncomfortable, I wouldn’t have done it. Your friendship means the world to me. I’m sorry I ruined it. Cariño, what do I need to do to make us go back to normal? I’ll do anything,” Javi pleads with you.

You shake your head furiously. “No, Javi, you didn’t ruin anything. It didn’t make me uncomfortable,” you promise.

He breathes out a sigh of relief after you tell him he didn’t mess up the best thing that’s happened to him. “Why did you shut down after… after we kissed?”

“I don’t know, Jav,” you shrug, looking away. You feel your eyes sting at the tone of his voice. He sounds hurt. You've hurt the person you love, and you want to take him into your arms and apologize.

“Please don’t do that,” he implores, reaching for your hand. “Dime (tell me).”

A wave of apprehension washes over you; confessing your feelings is a leap into the unknown. You worry about the potential shift in dynamics, but you sense that Javi believes your withdrawal stems from him. “If I tell you, and you don’t like what I say, promise me we’ll forget this conversation,” you request, your lip caught between your teeth.

“What’s so bad you can’t tell me?” 

“Promise me, Jav,” you repeat, aware of the simplicity but needing that ounce of reassurance.

He nods solemnly. “Te lo prometo (I promise you).”

“Javi, I like you. So much,” your voice falls to a whisper. The ball is now in his court, freeing you from the weight of what-ifs.

Javi's reaction is priceless. The tension that once knitted his eyebrows together dissipates, giving way to a radiant smile that stretches from ear to ear. Leaning in, he cradles your chin in his hand and kisses you, a taste of mint lingering on his lips. This time, the kiss is tender, and gentle—a dance of shared feelings that leaves him dizzy and his stomach aflutter. As he withdraws, his forehead presses against yours.

“I like you too. For a long time now,” he confesses, the words clear and resolute.

“Really?” you ask incredulously, feeling like you're walking on air. This moment, a culmination of countless fantasies, was the very last scenario you expected to become reality.

“Yeah,” he affirms with a nod. The truth lingers on the tip of his tongue. “De hecho, te amo (In fact, I love you).”

“I love you too,” you reply with a smile, your hands slowly tracing up his chest. One hand passes his broad shoulders and reaches his nape. A gentle brush of your hands against his skin sends a surge of warmth through him. Your fingers run through his hair, eliciting a low groan from Javi, and you yearn to hear more.

“Javi, te necesito (Javi, I need you),” you murmur with half-lidded eyes.

He doesn't want to risk embarrassing himself with words, so he gently takes your hand off his hair and guides you towards your bed.

Walking with playful curiosity, he asks, "Am I the first guy you've sneaked into your room?"

"Mmm... I plead the fifth," you decide to answer coyly.

He narrows his eyes, "That's a yes then."

"¿Si te pones celoso, porque me preguntas? (If you get jealous, why would you ask me?)" you question him playfully as you hit the bed.

Javi's jaw ticks, and he says, "I'll make you forget about them."

His tone stirs a needy feeling in you, and you reply, " Sigue de perico, y no vamos hacer todo lo que quiero (Keep talking, and we won't be able to do everything I want)."

Tugging down on his shirt, you give him the signal. He promptly takes it off, treating you to your very own private show.

"Oh my god," you groan appreciatively when you see him shirtless—tan skin, toned stomach, and freckles on display. The grey sweatpants hang low on his hips, showcasing the V line and a dark patch of hair.

Javi revels in the effect he has on you. ”Turn around," he commands with dark eyes.

You instantly comply, spinning around so he can reach your zipper. Instead of tearing your dress off, he hugs you from behind.

“I don’t know if I told you before, but I really love this dress,” Javi says, running his hands over the velvet material. “Do you know how many times you made me hard tonight?” He confesses to having excused himself to the restroom multiple times to handle his hard-on discreetly.

"Javi," you whine impatiently, the revelation only intensifying the sticky mess between your thighs.

He pulls your zipper down, but you turn around, reaching your shoulders to slip the dress off, letting it pool on the hardwood floor.

"Dios mío (My God)," he exhales with a shaky breath.

"¿Te gusta? (Do you like it?)" you ask, referring to your lingerie that matches your dress. You're wearing a burgundy thong and a matching bra with lace material, revealing pebbled nipples. His fingers twitch, and he pulls you by the waist.

"Me encanta (I love it)," Javi whispers in your ear. His voice makes you slump against him as he unclasps your bra. “Why did you wear this?” he asks, his kisses trailing down your bare shoulder, devoid of judgment or ill will, just curiosity.

"You know what they say, 'to hope for the best, plan for the best.'"

"I don't think that's how it goes, baby," Javi chuckles into your shoulder and then presses his lips on your neck.

“Oh,” you say dumbly, savoring his kisses.

"Thank you for the outfit, my beautiful girl," he says, instructing you to get on the bed. As you settle on the mattress, you watch as Javi begins to remove his pants.

You watch in awe as his swollen cock presses against his stomach, and an undeniable desire to have it in your mouth engulfs you. Can a dick be pretty? God, his is so beautiful, you think to yourself. Javi gracefully crawls onto the bed, his hand reaching for your unclothed breasts.

“Mmm… so beautiful,” he hums, popping one of your tits into his mouth.

“Oh!” you exclaim, a mix of shock and pleasure coursing through you. Your arms extend onto the bed, and in the throes of passion, you accidentally hit something. The noise prompts Javi to lift his mouth from you and remove the blue sweater that conceals whatever your hands came in contact with. To his surprise, he discovers the present your cousin gifted you earlier.

“Clit and nipple stimulator,” he reads off the box.

Embarrassment washes over you, even though he just had your nipple in his mouth. Before you can say anything, Javi tears the box open and retrieves the toy. He presses the 'on' button, and it comes to life with a soft hum.

“Mi color favorito,” he says with a smirk.

Your brain struggles to form a coherent sentence. Javi sets the suction toy beside you and resumes attending to your nipples with his mouth. Lost in the sensation, your head falls back onto the bed. Suddenly, you feel a vibration around your other nipple. Lifting your head, you see Javi using the red wand on your right nipple.

“Oh God, Javi, I need you inside me,” you moan.

His response is muffled by your soft breasts. Gripping his hair, you lift him off you with a bit of force.

“I need to taste your pussy first,” he says with blown-out eyes.

“No,” you protest, craving him desperately.

It's not what he wanted to hear. “Please?” he insists. “I know I’ll cum embarrassingly fast, and I need to give you something before that happens.”

No. I want you now, you beautiful man. “Just a little bit,” you compromise. Normally, you'd eagerly jump at the prospect of him expressing a desire to eat your pussy, but you're so unbelievably turned on.

He toys with the band of your thong, and you lift your hips to let him remove it. Soon, they're in his hands, tossed aside on the floor. Laid bare for him, you're naked except for your jewelry. The gold 'J' nestles between your breasts, the left one still wet from his saliva, while your pussy glistens with slick accumulated throughout the night.

“Eres tan hermosa. Nunca he visto nada como tú y nada se compara (You're so beautiful. I've never seen anything like you, and nothing compares),” he confesses sincerely. Seeing you laid out before him, looking at him like he hangs the stars, leaves him breathless. He kneels on the floor, gently pulling your legs to be on either side of his face. Javi wastes no time as he begins to lick your cunt.

You gasp, placing one leg on his shoulder for added support. Responding to your silent request, Javi lifts your other leg onto his opposite shoulder.

“Ahh!” you cry out when his mouth presses closer onto your pussy, and he begins to devour you. His tongue explores, collecting all of your wetness into his mouth. Fuck, she tastes so good. I've been waiting to have her in my mouth for so long.

“So sweet, baby girl,” he murmurs between your thighs, causing vibrations that intensify the pleasure. You're already sweating and out of breath, unable to believe how quickly his mouth is bringing you to the edge.

He momentarily stops licking your folds and wraps his lips around your pearl. Your legs jerk, and you can't help but scream out his name. Javi quickly shushes you, urging you to be quiet, though his own noises betray the arousal he feels. He promises himself that once he can take you to his place, he'll never ask you to quiet down.

Opening your eyes, you're captivated by a sinful sight. Javi's intense and piercing gaze meets yours, the obsidian of his eyes seamlessly bleeding into the rich brown of his irises. Simultaneously, his tongue delves into your entrance, a sensation so electrifying that you can no longer endure the sweet torture.

“You’ve made me wetter, Javi, please fuck me.”

“No,” he objects.

“Javi por favor. Mañana podemos hacer de todo, pero te necesito ahora mismo (Javi, please. Tomorrow we can do everything, but I need you now.)”

He chides, “terca (stubborn girl),” but relents, releasing your legs. Taking matters into your own hands, quite literally, you guide him onto your bed, pushing him to lie back as you straddle him.

He believes he's died and gone to heaven, with you on top of him—a dream come true. “Condom?” he rasps out.

“I’m clean and on Nexplanon,” you nod toward your arm. “Are you okay with that?”

Feeling his cock pulse at the thought of being with you without a barrier, Javi nods vigorously and says, “Me matas bebita (you kill me, baby girl).”

His words draw a smile from you as you reach behind, feeling the velvety skin of his arousal in your hand. With deliberate slowness, you stroke him up and down.

“Uhh… fuck!” Javi groans, tossing his head back onto your pillow. The raw, guttural sounds escaping him become music to your ears, encouraging you to keep stroking him. Precome coats your hand, and you use it to slickly spread the moisture over him as makeshift lube. Javi continues panting, and you decide it's enough.

Rising on your knees, you guide him to your entrance. His head breaches you, and an involuntary whine escapes your lips.

“Oh,” you gasp, squirming on his lap. 

“Mmm!” Javi’s jaw drops, unable to believe that you're creating such intensity with just his tip inside

You ride him to open up, moving yourself on his head. “God, Javi!” your body burns as you straddle him. 

“Told you…” he pauses, gritting his teeth. “I should've s-tretched you.” 

You shake your head. “I can take you. I just- uh! I just need some time.” Javi is big and thick, prolonging the process, but you'd rather struggle than have him prep you.

As you keep bouncing on his tip, Javi thrusts up into you, causing both of you to moan. He places both hands, previously gripping your sheets, on either side of your waist, helping him fit more of his cock inside you. You rock back, feeling yourself open up, and you lower yourself down.

Your mouth hangs open, and you wail as the thickest part of him is embraced by your walls. Javi groans heavily and embeds his nails on your waist. You moan at the small ripple of pain and work yourself to sink down some more.

“I-I thought- ah! que me querías calladita, (that you wanted me to quiet down) and look at you…uhh louder than me.”

“You feel s-oh!” Javi can’t finish his response because you fully sit on his cock. Your hips are flush with his, and he swears he can cum this instant. 

“Hold on,” he tells you, breathing heavily, eyelids closed, and stilling you.

Once he feels he’s regained some composure, he lifts you off him. You slowly start to rock back and forth, chewing your lip to keep from screaming out. 

“Does it feel good?” Javi asks, eyes open once more.

You meet his dark eyes and moan, “Mhm, s-so good… Oh! Javi," you whine, "So big… you’re so big.”

He pulsates inside you, a low groan escaping his lips. "You can't say that," he mutters, shaking his head, not to express disagreement but to calm himself. Not yet, not yet, he chants. 

“Why not? It’s true.” You argue, throwing your head back at the pleasure coursing through your veins.

“Shit, you’re gonna make me cum if you keep going. Then I won’t earn first place for the best sex this room’s ever seen,” he laughs lightly to mask his mortification because he knows he’ll be cumming soon.

"You're so much better than anyone else,” you assure him, seeing through the self-deprecating comment he made.

He lights up at your praise. "Yeah?”

"Yes! You make me so full,” you sigh, bouncing on him a little faster. Your hand movement transitions from his hips to both hands sprawled on his abdomen. Pressing your body closer to him at an angle, both of you shake with pleasure. You keep rocking against him, and all he can do is watch. Javi takes in the way your breasts bounce and the way your necklace shines. Overcome with desire and possessiveness, he sits up suddenly, making you whine when you feel his sweaty and hot body against yours.

Javi seeks your mouth, and you eagerly comply. Your mouths crash, and it's all tongue and teeth. He's moving you slowly against him, but it's still a delicious sensation, and you can't help but moan into his mouth. The air in your lungs is slowly decreasing, so you pull away, and your head falls onto his shoulder. With your mouth away from him, he's able to wrap his arms around you and rock up, up, up with intensity. His pace ignites something within you, and you bite his wet tan skin to muffle your cries. Javi feels you tighten on him, and he pants out, “How are you so perfect? No entiendo (I don’t understand.)”

You can't answer him; you just bounce on him, feeling the telltale sensation of your lower stomach nearing the finish line.

“Amor,” he groans. The word sounds like sweet honey coming from Javi's lips, and it makes you gasp. Javi catches on and asks you, “¿Te gusta cuando te digo así? (Do you like it when I call you like that?)”

“Sí,” you confirm. He adjusts the angle of your legs, causing the wind to knock out of you, and the only words you're capable of saying are, “Amor, amor, amor…” This is the first time you've ever called Javi ‘amor’, and it does something to him. He knows he’s got a minute max before he blows his load.

Frantically, he takes one hand off your body and scrambles to find something on the bed. Lost in ecstasy, you don't notice, but then you feel a vibration on your pearled nub, and you jump from surprise. In an instant, you look down and see Javi has the red toy and is using it against your clit. Your eyes begin to water as you reel in the feeling of the man you love inside you and the delicious sucking of the toy.

You don't warn him; you don't even process the thought yourself, but you begin to shake on top of Javi. You feel every nerve in your body— all seven trillion of them—explode. You come in silence with your mouth into a perfect ‘o’. 

Javi doesn’t let up his ministrations; he keeps thrusting his hips upwards and using the red wand, prolonging your high. “That’s it, amor, you look so pretty cumming for me,” he whispers full of adoration. “Good girl, good girl,” he chants as he works you through the most intense orgasm of your life.

Javi bites his lower lip, determined to make this moment last longer; he never wants it to end. Once your vocal cords start functioning again, you cup his face with one hand and, with desperation, you tell him, "Ven, amor, relléname (Come, my love, cum in me).”

Javi feels like fireworks are going off in his body. He keens at your words filled with love and desire for him; he has no choice but to obey. The dam in his abdomen breaks, and “Ahh!” he groans, voice broken and raspy, letting go of the toy. You feel his hips stutter as they lose their steady rhythm, and he pulsates and spasms, the warmth of his seed fills you as he climaxes in ropes. Your body is overworked and sensitive, but you keep bouncing on him to milk every drop. You can't look away from him. His eyelids are heavy, his mouth is parted and panting as he moans and growls hoarsely, his neck is extended showing all the veins, and his skin is flushed in a beautiful red hue. Javi repeats your name over and over as his high washes over him. You caress his nape and run your fingers through his hair as he comes down from it. His spend and yours drip out of you and onto Javi.

"Holy fuck, that was amazing," Javi laughs, and you feel the rumble in his chest.

"Yeah?" you ask coyly.

“Best of my life," he sighs and rolls you over so you're underneath him.

You laugh and crane your neck to give him a peck on the corner of his mouth. God, that sound, Javi thinks. "I love you," he says, knowing he'll never stop telling you those three words.

"I love you," you echo. "Come on, let's sleep," you tell him.

"I've got to clean you up first," he says, climbing off and pulling out of you. You whine at the loss and miss him inside of you already.

His expression looks pained as he looks between your parted thighs, seeing his seed seeping out of your puffy cunt. Javi fights with himself as he debates leaving you with his cum inside. His index and middle fingers are taken by you and guided to your opening.

"Push it all inside," you command, knowing he doesn't really want to wipe it away.

"But your bed and—"

“Me vale (I don’t care)," you interrupt. Javi has always been concerned about how his actions affect you, and you find it sweet. However, you want this. You know he won’t give in to his desires if he thinks you don’t want this. So, you have to convince him you do. “Please,” and just like that, he’s collecting the creamy liquid around your labia and pressing it back inside you. 

You're oversensitive, but you melt at the feeling of his thick and long fingers inside you. Gripping onto his bicep, you savor the sensation as he makes sure most of the sticky substance goes back inside you. Whatever remnants are on his fingers, he sucks them and closes his eyes at the taste. You stare up at him and swear you could go another round if he didn’t fuck the energy out of you. 

“Should I go back to my room?” Javi asks. He doesn’t want to, but maybe you’d rather sleep alone.

“Please stay,” you tell him, gripping his arm tighter.

He nods. “Okay, baby, I’ll stay.” You sit up on your bed and undo your covers. Javi walks across the room to turn off the light, and when he comes back, you’re underneath your quilt. He climbs in next to you and extends his left arm so you can snuggle to his side. 

“Buenas noches, amor,” he whispers.

“Good night, amor. I can’t wait to wake up next to you,” you tell Javi before you drift to sleep.

In the silence, he admires your features and says, “I can’t wait to make you my wife and wake up next to you for the rest of our lives. Feliz Navidad, mi vida”

Extended A/N: I wrote this when Frankie didn’t exist yet; I promise I just don’t write for Javi! 

The last chapter of IYW should be out next week if I’m able to recolor the gifs I need. Thank you for reading!

#javi peña x female reader #Javi peña x latina reader #javier peña x female reader #javi peña smut #javier peña smut #javier peña #javier peña x reader #javi peña x reader #narcos fanfiction #javi peña x you #javier peña x you #javier peña x f!reader #javi peña x f!reader #javi peña #pedro pascal characters #loslentesdepedrito's writing #my writing

[georgie-weasley]

Grinch Young R.L. x GN!Reader

Warnings: swearing, mentions of depression, mentions of poverty, and just disliking Christmas

Word Count: 2.8k

Pairing: Young!Remus Lupin x Gender Neutral Gryffindor!Reader

Summary: Christmas was quickly approaching and everyone was excited but you. As the residential Grinch you were not looking forward to the holiday but turns out Remus Lupin is a Grinch as well.

A/N: Hello all! This is my first fic back after a break and I'm really glad to be back. Thank you to everyone who is still reading my stories and I love you all. Also this was inspired by my disliking of Christmas so I projected on the reader and Remus a smidge.

Masterlist Taglist

Christmas had exploded around Hogwarts. Pine trees were set up in just about every corner in every single room in the castle. Trees were taller than most of the students and covered in brightly colored baubles and tinsel and magic balls of light that changed color every minute. Garlands and wreaths covered the stone walls and the smell of gingerbread followed the students everywhere they went. The suits of armor broke out into Christmas songs and danced anytime someone passed by. The Great Hall was by far the most decorated part of Hogwarts with festive table runners, stockings hung on the fireplace, large real snowflakes on every surface enchanted to never melt, and the magical ceiling was snowing. It was horrible.

You had never been one to get into the Christmas spirit. The songs were annoying and wormed their way into your brain and never left. The decorations were everywhere and followed you around, literally while at Hogwarts. People were just insanely obsessed with Christmas and overly happy. They were happy to the point of it being creepy and fake and weird.

Possibly the worst was just how excited all of your friends seemed to be. James Potter, sunshine incarnate and your best friend, loved Christmas. He loved everything you hated about it. In fact, James had been talking about Christmas since the beginning of November and he never let you escape it.

“Happy 10th day of Christmas Y/N!” James’s bright and cheerful smile popped up between you and your book. The sudden appearance of his face made you jump, smacking him a little with your book.

“James! You absolute asshole! I’m trying to read.” You huffed and shoved him away as you tried to turn back to your book. The common room was quiet and the perfect place to read until now.

James only rolled his eyes and wedged himself into the miniscule space between you and the arm of the couch. “You know there is an entire couch open? Actually the whole common room is open but you had to sit practically on my lap?”

“Well yeah,” James chuckled as he tore the book out of your grasp and fully moved himself onto your lap. “I have to tell you what I want for Christmas! This year I want Lily Evans to date me.”

“Fat chance buddy. You’ve been wishing for that since you were 13. Give it a rest.” With one hard push, James fell off of your lap and onto the rug with a loud thud. “Besides, don’t you know you don’t get your Christmas wish if you tell it to the Grinch.”

James just looked at you with a wild smirk. “Then I suppose I’ll have to sing a song to reverse the curse!” He then burst into song, singing the Twelve Days of Christmas at the top of his lungs. You clamped your hands over your ears but nothing managed to block out the horrible sounds coming from James until the portrait opened and a figure sped by and body slammed James.

Sirius pulled James into a headlock while Peter quickly sprinted over and sat on James’s chest. “Please Prongs, we’ve talked about this. You can’t sing. Don’t ever try to do it again.” While James struggled to break free from Sirius and Peter, the fourth marauder sat in the open space next to you, his eyes already on his book.

You knew Sirius, Peter, and Remus but not like you knew James. Yes they were friends with your best friend but you never spoke to them unless it was for class or James made you. There was nothing wrong with the three of them. Actually, quite the opposite. You loved them and loved hearing stories about them but you never ran in the same circles. In fact, you didn’t see James as much as you used to either. You had grown up next door to him and as kids you two were always together. It’s not that you two aren’t friends anymore because clearly you are, you just don’t see him around as much.

James found Sirius, Remus, and Peter and never left them. You found your own friends and spent more time on your studies than James ever could. Sirius was fine and you waved to him in the halls. Peter would wave if he was with James or Sirius but not on his own. Remus never really acknowledged you. However, that never stopped you from looking at him. Since James had become friends with Remus Lupin, you were drawn to him. He was quiet just about all of the time but that didn’t mean he wasn’t sassy. You heard the way he would call out James and it was cutthroat. He was tall and handsome and rather mysterious in a way. Not to mention he was smart and was always seen with a book.

“Hey Grinch!” James's voice came from somewhere on the floor.

“What?” You and Remus both said. At the same time, you looked away from Remus as he looked away from his book to find James. Hearing Remus, you then looked at him while he looked at you.

For only a second, no one moved or spoke until James broke the silence. “Right, sorry. Forgot there’s two of ya. Moony?” Remus slowly tore his gaze away from yours to look at his friend who had continued speaking but you could hear none of it.

That was an interesting development. You had assumed James was talking to you since not only does he know about your distaste for Christmas but you called yourself Grinch not very long ago. But Remus also responded so Remus must also not be the biggest fan of Christmas. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for James to call him that or for him to respond.

The night slowly grew darker and while more and more students arrived in the common room, Remus never left the spot next to you. James, Sirius, and Peter eventually left to find some poor soul to bother but Remus remained, his nose still in his book. Honestly, it was making you a little nervous at this point. The man has hardly ever spoken to you since you were introduced back in third year. It's been three years since then and it wasn’t like you were much closer than before.

“You don’t like Christmas?” Remus mumbled, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. He sounded almost disinterested.

“Yeah, I think it’s quite dumb to be honest.” You expected him to respond, like people usually do when having a conversation but he didn’t. He just hummed a little and went back to his book. “You don’t like it either?” If he wasn’t going to continue then maybe you would just have to make him. It brought almost a sense of hope thinking about the fact that maybe someone else wasn’t enjoying the season. You didn’t want someone to wallow around with but to have someone that wasn’t going to complain about your less than thrilled outlook would be really nice.

“I don’t. Never have.” Remus didn’t even bother taking his eyes off of his book as he answered. It could have been just your imagination but you thought you could just hardly see him smile. He suddenly closed his book and stood, his arm brushing yours in the process. Remus made it to the base of the stairs before he turned back around to look at you. “Hey Grinch.” As soon as you turned and he could see your face, he smiled. “See you later.”

---

At the Gryffindor table later that week, you had once again been minding your own business when James interrupted you. He sat across from you and smirked, reaching over to poke your arm. “Happy 14th day of Christmas, Grinch Number Two.”

“How come I’m the second?” You said with a roll of your eyes before you continued eating your breakfast.

“Because Remus is number one.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well, I disagree. I knew you first.”

James hummed and shrugged. “I’ll take that into consideration. Did you talk to him after we all left?”

“Did you set that up James?” You asked with narrow eyes.

“No, I just simply called him the nickname I always give him this time of year which just so happens to be the same as yours and I assumed he would mention something about it to you after. Did he?” He leaned forward, eagerly awaiting your answer.

“Yes.” James let out a cheer at your answer, getting him some weird looks from the whole room since he was so loud. Before you could chastise him for being so loud and obnoxious, Remus sat next to you. Which was very odd since before last night, he’s never sat next to you.

Immediately, James got up and moved further down the table to bother Lily. “Are you going home for Christmas?” Remus asked as soon as James was out of earshot. “The final day to sign up to stay here is Saturday.”

“Will you be staying?” You asked.

Remus nodded. “I stay every year.” He opened his mouth and closed it a few times before he evidently decided he didn’t want to say anything and kept it shut.

You could have gone home and while it would have been nice to be with family, you never actually stayed at the castle for Christmas. Now might be a good chance to do it. “I think I’ll stay. I go home every year; my family can survive without me for one year.”

He smiled and started adding food to his plate. “I’m glad you’ll be staying.” You were too busy trying to hide the blush on your cheeks to notice the blush on his.

---

As the holiday neared closer and closer, everyone got happier and happier. Well, everyone but you and Remus. While James and Sirius, who were also staying at Hogwarts, were planning a Christmas party and singing songs, you and Remus bonded over the opposite.

His least favorite song was We Wish You a Merry Christmas, he thought Santa was beyond creepy, and he found the smell of pine to be overpowering. You sat together at meals and laughed at people who were wearing festive outfits. He made you smile as he made faces behind peoples’ backs as they gushed over holiday traditions. On more than one occasion, he shoved James into a pile of snow when he was being too cheery. Remus Lupin was bringing you a lot of joy this season and you were not the only one to notice it.

James made it a point to tell you that this was the happiest he had ever seen both of you around this time of year. In fact, it almost looked like you were enjoying Christmas. You had scoffed at that and then proceeded to shove him into some snow but he did have a point. Remus was making you really happy and it's hard to be a grinch when you’re happy.

But it was nice being happy around the holiday and it was even nicer that Remus was the one making you so happy. You always found him attractive and you knew he was smart and funny but now you got to know just how sweet he was. Yes, he was poking fun at other people but he was doing it purely for your entertainment. He admitted one night after you two had made fun of a particularly ugly Christmas sweater that he never does this; he just liked hearing you laugh. Which made your insides turn into jelly and you couldn’t stop smiling. You also learned that he liked the same books as you and he was so passionate about reading.

He was extremely loyal to his friends and would do anything for them. He wasn’t great at expressing his feelings but he tried his best to let the people close to him know they were loved. He was brutally honest especially when it came to James and Sirius; he was always telling them how stupid they looked or when they were acting like idiots. You felt like a cliche Christmas romance movie but you were falling in love.

---

It was Christmas Eve and James had insisted all seven of the Gryffindors who had stayed needed to sleep in the common room. It was a tradition you two used to have as kids. The night before Christmas you two would sleep on the floor in the living room in front of the tree; you kept up with that tradition until you went to Hogwarts.

Of course before that, there was a party. It was nothing insane like the parties Sirius and James threw after winning a Quidditch game but it was still a party. There were snacks, drinks, games, and Christmas music, much to yours and Remus’s disappointment. You mingled for a while, which is more than Remus could say. He sat on one of the loveseats and only moved to grab more snacks. James tried to get him to play pin the nose on Rudolph but it was easy to guess how that went. While you also didn’t join in on the festive games, you stayed to watch. Sirius managed to get the nose perfectly on Rudolph which made James accuse him of cheating to which Sirius tackled him for ‘insulting his honor’. He confessed to cheating ten minutes later.

Many more games went on like that and after the fifth one, you found Remus still on the loveseat. As you approached, he moved so there would be more space for you. You sat in silence for a while before he spoke up. “Why do you hate Christmas, really?”

You had told him once you didn’t like the music and yes that’s true but it's not the only reason. “I guess I just don’t like how happy people pretend to be. There’s real genuine happiness like James but so many people aren’t happy. Life is horrible and nothing is going right but as soon as it's December, they pretend. It's ok to be unhappy during the holidays; you don’t have to pretend life is perfect just because it's Christmas.” You looked at Remus only to find him watching you. “Can I ask why you don’t like Christmas?”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I never really had a good Christmas. My mom really struggled to be happy around this time of year, especially after…”

“After you became a werewolf?” His eyes grew wide and he started to shake. “No one told me,” you whispered and put a hand on his arm to calm him. “You just were always missing on the full moon and sometimes the day after. I figured it out. I don’t think of you differently.”

Remus took a minute to process the fact that you knew his deepest secret before he continued his story. “Yes, after I was bitten my mother was horribly depressed around Christmas. I think it made her remember everything and she couldn’t be happy. It also was harder for my parents to get money after since no one really wanted to be around us. I saw my parents struggle all month to save money to get me a gift. My mother especially would go without dinner just to waste money on some stupid toy. After seeing that, well it makes it hard to like Christmas.”

Your hand found his and you intertwined your fingers with his. “I’m sorry Remus.”

He shrugged a little and watched your hand as his thumb stroked yours. “It isn’t your fault. Actually, you’ve made this the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” He smiled and looked up at you, his cheeks a dusty rose.

“You’ve made this my best Christmas as well.” It was then something bumped your head, causing you to look up. Behind the loveseat was James who had tied some mistletoe to a stick and was holding it over your head. Remus followed your gaze and sighed, rolling his eyes. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Do you want to?” Remus whispered. You knew James could hear every word you were saying despite him pretending not to listen but you didn’t really care.

“Yes.” You hardly finished the word before Remus leaned down and brought his lips to yours. Immediately your arms wrapped around his neck and brought him closer if it was even possible. His hands found your waist, lips moving against yours in perfect sync. Unfortunately, the kiss had to end so you could breathe.

Remus nudged your nose with his. “Now it’s the best Christmas ever.”

Taglist

@100gaysnails @weasleybuns @s1aaaaayyyyyyyt @steelthistle @jsjcue @Andy200700 @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @daisydark @creepybloodykitty2 @avatheveela @themarauderswife7 @mintyme101

#james potter #sirius black #remus lupin #hp marauders #the marauders #peter pettigrew #james & peter & remus & sirius #marauders #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin fanfic #remus lupin fanfiction #remus lupin x y/n #remus lupin x reader #hp fanfcition #hp imagine #hp fanfic #young remus x reader

[vidavalor]

The Blitz, The B-Side and Baraqiel

Another post in a series about how "The Metatron" in the Final 15 is actually Satan.

This also contains a smidge of requested stuff on Baraqiel, who will get a full meta soon when I'm done with ramblings about The Devil.

The B-Side. Song featured on the other side of a record for another song.

"Peggy Sue." 1957 hit song by Buddy Holly & the Crickets. As mentioned to Aziraphale by Maggie in S2, "Everyday" is the B-Side from the "Peggy Sue" single.

"Everyday." Maggie keeps sending records to The Resurrectionist pub for their jukebox and they send her back copies of "Everyday" because Gabriel's miracle for Beez turns every record they play into that song.

When Maggie turns one of the records over-- the one she gives to Aziraphale-- both sides of the record are "Everyday." The "Peggy Sue" B-Side does not exist because Gabriel has eliminated it from being played at the pub in question, which generates "Peggy Sue"-free records as a result. We'll see a little later in this meta how Gabriel actually told us in 1.01 that he's got no time for "Peggy Sue"...

"Everyday" = The Gabriel and Beez positive ending in S2. Choosing true love and to be with that one particular person who makes everything better.

But it's the B-side to...

"Peggy Sue" = um, not "Everyday"-- more the opposite of that-- as outlined below:

Peggy. Nickname for Margaret.

Sue. Nickname for Susan, the root meaning of which is roses of Sharon.

Greta. Shortened version of Margareta. Derived from Margaret.

Fraulein Greta Kleinschmidt... aka Captain Rose Montgomery ="Peggy Sue".

Marguerite's. French restaurant on Whickber St. Name means "Margaret" in French. Covered in roses. Making it also "Peggy Sue" and tying The Blitz, Part 1's Greta/Rose conflict directly to 2.06's Metatron/Devil conversation at Marguerite's.

Marguerite's is run by and likely owned by Justine. It is the location of both Crowley and Aziraphale's smitten would-be date conversation while it was open and, while it was closed, Aziraphale's conversation with "The Metatron."

It is where Aziraphale is tempted by "The Metatron"-- who is really on the opposite "side" from what he appears to be. He is not really "the Rose" but "the Greta"-- The Devil.

Bara. Japanese for "rose", in a pejorative sense (similar to the English "pansy".)

Baraqiel... aka Crowley. Pictured above at Marguerite's beside a romantic red rose. The actual anti-fascist involved in 1941 and still in the present and whose side Aziraphale should choose. Greta is a spy pretending to be Rose but Rose doesn't really exist; Crowley is a demon who pretends to be an angel whose name partially means "Rose"... and Crowley and Aziraphale both found out together long ago that the demons can still do angelic miracles so, for all intents and purposes, Baraqiel is real.

In S1, Aziraphale is the self-proclaimed "*the* Southern pansy." In S2, Crowley's B-side fake angel identity of Baraqiel is revealed and part of the etymology there relates to roses.

Justine. Means "just" and "fair." When Marguerite's is open, Justine is there, which relates to that sense of what is right and good and true. Crowley and Aziraphale are at Marguerite's together in S2 when it is open. Their relationship is right and true and fair and good. Aziraphale talks there with "The Metatron" when the restaurant is closed and Justine is nowhere to be found. No Justine and the closed restaurant = foreboding as all fuck.

Marguerite's. Justine's restaurant, where, as we've said, Crowley and Aziraphale met during its open hours. Means "of-- or belong to--Margaret" in French.

French. Aziraphale can't get decent crepes anywhere outside of Paris. And the brioche. And the oui est la plume de la jardiniere de ma tante? flirting outside Marguerite's in S2. C'est si romantique...

Margaret. Means "pearl." Pearls are the rare jewels found in oysters. Like the ones Crowley and Aziraphale went out for in Rome on the day they also first shared some oysters.

Montgomery. Captain Rose Montgomery, the B-side fake identity of Fraulein Greta Kleinschmidt. Mont from the Latin for "mountain" and the rest from the Greek "gomari"-- meaning "to load"/"to carry a load or a pack while climbing/man carrying a pack." Means "mountain-climbing person."

"Climb Every Mountain." The Big Damn Song from 'The Sound of Music'. God's favorite tune and the corporate mandate of Heaven, the inhabitants of which do not understand this message or live these values at all. Crowley and Aziraphale get the themes of this musical but seem to have yet to figure out how much they are like the lead characters or that they're in a story that partially parallels this musical.

Maggie. Nickname for (and name derived from) Margaret. Shares a root name with Greta.

Greta. Witnessed Crowley turn up to protect Aziraphale in the church, in a scene in which had matrimonial undertones. Her recruiting of Aziraphale-- that relationship-- prompted Crowley into a romantic gesture.

"...American expression-- played for suckers!" and Aziraphale's gasp at the reveal of Rose as Greta. This all happened *before* Crowley came into the scene. Crowley then confirmed that the trio were "a bunch of half-witted Nazi spies" and that Greta was not really British intelligence.

Maggie. Her talk with Crowley-- which she talked Nina into doing-- prompts Crowley into something circling close to a proposal before it all went off the rails.

"...human expression-- hold that thought!" and Aziraphale's gasp at the reveal by Crowley that the being who had arrived was The Metatron. Crowley, as we'll look at in another meta, is the one who actually helps "the Greta" of this scene hide his identity-- against his will... the mirrored opposite of 1941.

Sister Margareta. The sweet but kind of empty-headed nun that defends Maria during "(How Do You Solve a Problem Like) Maria" in 'The Sound of Music'. As all the other nuns are bashing Maria to The Mother Abbess and saying that she doesn't have what it takes to be a nun, Sister Margareta sings that she'd "like to say a word on her behalf/Maria/makes me/laugh."

Gabriel. Sister Margareta.

Gabriel is Margareta-- is Margaret, is a Peggy. Crowley is Baraqiel-- is Rose, is a Sue. So, Gabriel and Crowley together = our third example of a Peggy Sue scenario. The conflict of Aziraphale between Gabriel or a statue of Gabriel-- representing Heaven-- and Crowley... visually represented in the sushi scene (Crowley presence in significant absence) and in 1827, etc...

Also, just for those who watched Mad Men and think the idea of "Don" being "a Peggy" is fun because Don Draper and Peggy Olson were two peas in a pod...

Back to Good Omens... and over to Gabriel's first scene. So, what famously doesn't our favorite nun Sister Margareta aka Jimbriel do?

Aziraphale-- and the audience-- might not realize it at first but Gabriel is actually not really pointing at the sushi in this scene... at least not exclusively. He doesn't actually comment on the sushi at all, even when it's what Aziraphale defends. What's grossing out The Supreme Archangel here is the tea. The tea is at what Gabriel is pointing when he says "that" and on what he remarks when he tells us what he does not do as a character:

"I do not sully the celestial temple of my body with... rose matter."

The "Rose Matter." The "Peggy Sue" conflict. Aziraphale's core conflict of being a good angel versus being a good person and how his love for Crowley is at the nexus of all of that. First alluded to in the sushi scene. Gabriel informs us right at the start that he'll be peacing out of all of that nonsense lol-- he doesn't give enough of a fuck to be all that concerned as to what their abusers think of them and he'll be around later to teach Aziraphale how to drink far less of "the tea"-- what people say-- at some point. He doesn't quite yet get his own role in why Aziraphale does at that point in 1.01 but he'll start to as a result of S2.

Finally, there's that Gabriel just thinks tea itself-- the beverage-- is disgusting, setting Gabriel up for his hot chocolate orgasm in S2. He's going to "dump the tea in the harbor" in S2 as the resident "American" angel, after all. No "Peggy Sue" pining rose-related shit for Gabriel, thanks-- just "Everyday."

But also...

Rose Matter. Rose petals. Components of rose tea. Gabriel's comment tells us what Aziraphale ordered to drink at the sushi restaurant in 1.01, when he was supposed to meet Baraqiel for dinner. Who is Crowley. Ya know, this Crowley...

...ooh la la, Aziraphale...

Gabriel does not sully the celestial temple of his body with rose matter but Aziraphale consumes all sorts of-- ahem, right, anyway! this was about The Devil lol...

Kleinschmidt. Klein = "small". Greta is a small person-- she is not empathetic, not kind, not forward-thinking. "Schmidt" = "smith", as a blacksmith/metalworker. Someone who makes tools. Kleinschmidt = Small toolmaker.

"And you will be a tool of that glorious destiny." What Hastur tells Crowley in 1.01 when he tells him that Satan has picked him to usher Armageddon and the demonic victory the demons assume will happen.

Toolmaker. The Devil. Kleinschmidt. Small toolmaker. Greta is "the little devil"-- the small plot that both foreshadows and sets up the big one with The Devil himself.

A church. Where the Nazis meet Aziraphale in 1941. Its pastor is nowhere to be found and its altar has been claimed by Nazis, who are planning to murder Aziraphale in this church. A "holy" place that seems of Heaven (the side of "good", supposedly, not really) but is actually evil.

"The Metatron." The being to whom Aziraphale speaks in the Final 15 of 2.06. Seems of Heaven. Actually The Devil.

First little mini post on this topic:

#ineffable husbands #good omens #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #good omens meta #good omens theory #good omens 2 #the metatron #final fifteen #the final fifteen #final 15 #ineffable divorce #archangel fucking gabriel

[lookismlover]

Goo Kim x Reader: The Fake Date

You had always been infatuated by Gun since the day you met him, the day your father told you he was going to be your bodyguard. 

Whether it was with his fighting prowess, that bleak and mature, yet nasty attitude he had, or the overall mysteriousness he had enveloped himself in. You couldn’t put your finger on why, but you were. 

It had been almost 2 years since he was made your bodyguard, and even though you spoke every day and he was around you enough to see your tells when you were upset, angry or scared you still felt like you didn’t know him at all. 

By this point you realized that the so called “infatuation” you had with him had turned into you liking him, you didn’t know how but it had and yet Gun didn’t even bat an eye at you. 

He was there to protect you, not to be romantically involved with you, not in the slightest and yet you wanted him to be, even at the very least, you wanted him to look at you as a potential romantic partner.

Even though you knew this was never going to happen it was a thought that you kept locked away at the back of your mind because after all, even though you felt so close to him, you knew you were still so far away.

However there was one thing or should I say person that brought you too close together in any situation -  that was your shared annoyance and hatred for Goo.

You too also had that same annoyance and hatred for that yellow headed bastard.

Ever since you met him, you had never liked him. 

I mean what was there to like about him, he was obnoxious, self-obsessed, arrogant, conceited and overall just a money hungry pig.

You hated it whenever you would have to be in the same vicinity as him, let alone talk to him.

You hated that he was your fathers bodyguard and you had to put up with seeing him.

But what you hated more was that you had concocted a plan even you, yourself, hated in order to even try and get a smidge of affection, potentially even a straight up confession out of Guns’ mouth. 

That plan was to fake date Goo and make Gun jealous.

It was a plan that even you were willing to go through just to get Gun to notice you in a romantic sense. 

Was it something you were proud of coming up with - No.

Was it something you wanted to do to potentially get a reaction out of Gun - Maybe.

Was it petty and distasteful that you had even thought about this and were going to act upon it - Yes.

And so with everything you had thought up and concocted it was time to put your plan into action, the next time you were seeing Goo was tomorrow and so it was time to act.

__________

You wake up to the sound of your alarm. That ear piercing sound that aggravates you every morning. You always reach over and turn it off so you don’t have to hear it but again and again, it goes off.  

You soon get up and go do your daily morning routine like always, when you thought about last night, how you were going to act on your plan. When you remembered this fact, you could start to feel your palms sweating and feel heat rising to your face, when you hear a knock at your bedroom door. 

You come out of the bathroom and head to the door to open it when you hear an all too familiar voice behind the door, it was Gun. Gun was at your bedroom door at 9 in the morning. You open the door and see him standing there, already in some designer suit, his hair swept back with what you think is too much gel and those black sunglasses of his. You just look at him for a moment before he breaks the silence. “Hurry up and get ready, your father wants me to take you to get something for tonight” Gun says with the stern way he always does. You go away to say something, but you're too groggy to even think or say a snarky comment back to him and so you just oblige and go get ready. 

Within 20 minutes you're ready for the day but you’re still not eager to respond to anything anyone has to say, not even Gun. You leave the room to see Gun nowhere in sight and so you just think for a moment before realizing that he's probably outside, having a cigarette waiting for you. You walk through the house getting to the front door and long behold he is in fact there having a cigarette leaning against the car in the driveway waiting for you.

“Finally ready, huh?” he questions.

“Yeah” is the only word you're able to say in your still half asleep state, even though it’s been about an hour since you’ve gotten up. You see Gun slightly smirk before he puts his cigarette out and goes to open the passenger side door for you. 

You take this as a silent way of him saying ‘let’s go’ without using any words since you clearly can’t be bothered having a conversation with him. He gets in the driver's side and starts up the car while you sit with your head against the window, almost a sign to Gun that you don’t want to talk and that you’re too tired to even keep up a conversation. That and the fact that you’ve only given him a blank and measly stare at your bedroom door and a simple ‘Yeah’ when he tried to talk to you. 

You do in fact doze off before he even leaves the driveway of your father’s house. You wake up to Gun shaking your arm, you look around to see that you’re outside of a dress shop which you suspect you’re going into with Gun. Your suspicions turn out to be true when he says ‘let’s go then’.

You’re in the shop looking about while Gun sits on a couch, leaning his head back as if it's a chore that he’s even here right now, but after all he is your bodyguard. You pick out a few dresses and take them to the fitting room, each time coming out to try and get Gun’s opinion only to be met with a “mhm” or “just pick one” each time, without him even looking at what you put on. 

Until finally you find a dress that you really like. Not just one that you randomly picked out to hurry this up or a dress that a shop assistant picked out for you saying ‘this would look good on you’. 

It was a long black form fitting dress with a slit that ran up the right side of the leg, a corset type sternum piece that was sheer on the midriff and short off the shoulder sleeves that were barely connected to the dress but was still there. 

You take the dress and put it on in the fitting room with a pair of plain black heels that you also brought in and look in the mirror. You love the dress and the heels that you brought in on a whim look great with it as well. You go out and ask Gun what he thinks and again he just says the usual ‘mhm’ without him even looking. 

You’ve had enough of him being uninterested and so in anger you slightly shout “look at me, what you do think”. 

This definitely prompted a response from him since the first thing he did was pick his head off the back of the coach and look straight at you. You could see his eyebrows raised when he looked at you, but what you would have liked to know is if that was from your slightly over the top reaction or his reaction to the dress.

Without saying a word he stands up and walks over to you, you can’t see his eyes but it almost feels like he’s examining you in the dress. When he eventually gets to you he slightly looks down and then ushers for you to spin around, which you oblige. You slowly spin around while you can still feel Gun staring at you until you come almost face to face with him again, then he eventually speaks.

“This ones the winner I think” 

“You didn’t even look at the other ones, obviously you would say that this ones the winner” You say almost annoyed that he hadn’t been looking at you more. 

“I did look at the others, but there wasn’t much to look at with those” 

“Even if you did look at the others, what do you mean by there wasn't much to look at?” You ask, confused by what he means. 

“I mean those weren’t good enough for you, they didn’t suit you either, so this one really is the winner” He says almost sincerely, as if trying to pay you a compliment.

You can’t say anything to what he just said but you can feel your cheeks start to heat up a little bit and so you go back to the fitting room to take the dress and heels off before you go to pay for them. After leaving the shop Gun drops you back off at your home, saying that he has business to take care of and will see you at the event your father's hosting later that evening. 

You go into the house only to hear such an irritating voice coming from down the hall, it was Goo. You drop your bags in your room before going to look for the source of your sudden irritation. He was in your father’s study talking to him. You're about to walk away but hear the conversation between them both finish and then Goo walks out spotting you eavesdropping.

“Well well well…did ya have fun listening to the conversation princess?” He says sarcastically, knowing that him speaking to you is enough to get under your skin. But calling you princess however, he knows that will piss you off and it does. You scoff at him, not even saying a word before turning away until he speaks again. 

“Heyyyyy princess where are you going, lets talk for a bit” 

You stop walking when he says that only to turn and walk towards him. You get face to face with him, being a slight bit childish by putting your finger in his face before speaking to him.

“Stop talking to me and stop fucking calling me princess” You say angrily.

Goo starts to laugh which pisses you off and your anger bubbles over, you take your finger out of his face and go to slap him, but he just leans back and dodges it with ease.

“What was that for, I thought we were having a good conversation…princess” He says still smirking and lightly laughing while knowing that you're getting more and more pissed off.

“Fuck off dickhead” You say angrily, trying no to lash out again and turning around to walk away. But of course Goo couldn’t let you have the last word.

“Well either way i’ll see you later tonight” He says before putting his hands in his pockets and turning around to walk away.

You pause again while walking away to turn your head around to look at the yellow hair bastard that is now walking away from you. Again you scoff while you start to walk back to your room. 

You get back to your room and flop down on your bed laying on your back, hand over your face and thinking about your plan. After what’s just happened you don’t want to go through with it but you know that this is probably the only way to get Gun’s attention. 

But then your mind drifts back to the dress shop you were at earlier today, where Gun had hardly paid attention to you but complimented you in his own way. You start to think to yourself that this is a bad idea and that you don’t want to go through with it but at the back of your mind you know and you hate that you know this is the best opportunity you have to get Gun’s full attention on you, to get Gun to admit to himself that he might have any feelings at all towards you.

So even though you still think it’s a bad idea, all the thoughts that shoot through your mind get pushed aside with the realization that this is the only way to get Gun.

__________

It was now time for your fathers event, you had got ready, done your hair, makeup, the works.

You were now ready to try and have a civil conversation with Goo, or at least try your best to. 

You leave your room taking in a deep breath and walk towards the main area of your home where the event is taking place. 

By this point your stomach is in knots, not only thinking about what is going to happen when you eventually ask Goo about fake dating each other, but also what Gun might think of you.

You make your way to the end of the hall, where you take one more deep breath in rounding the corner before inevitably facing all of your father colleagues, work associates and other personnel at the event. 

You notice a few faces in the crowd and they notice you, you flash a quick smile at each of them before scanning the room again and spotting Gun. 

Gun was talking to your father, presumably about the ‘business’ he had to take care of earlier that day. Out of ethics however, you decide to go over and say hi to your father before trying to find Goo.

You make your way over, then you watch as your father slightly motions for Gun to quiet down as you’re arriving. You didn’t really care what they were saying to each other, you just wanted to find Goo and ask him if he would help - God, you never thought for a million years you would be saying that to yourself. Goo, helping you. HA it was actually laughable. 

You swiftly say hi to your father, Gun as well and then make your way to scan the crowd in search of the yellow headed prick himself. Eventually you spot him. Spending time, talking to the women that are there. I mean you say spending, but it is Goo, so you never know if the women are talking to him willingly or if he’s just harassing them. 

Whichever one it was you make your way over. Hesitantly, given the circumstances that happened hours before, you speak.

“Goo can i talk to you for a minute” you say in the nicest way you possibly can given that you hate him.

Goo turned around in utter shock that you were even talking to him.

“Wait me!?” “As in me, me, Goo Kim me” he says in sheer disbelief.

“Yes, you, can we talk for a second…away from everyone” you said semi-whispering so nobody could hear. After all, you were embarrassed that you were talking to him, let alone asking him to talk away from open ears and prying eyes.

Both of you exit the busy room as business associates of your father are crowding around him, talking about their next ideas and how great of a business man your father has become.

Unbeknownst to both of you though Gun saw you both leave, thankfully however he didn’t bother to follow you both.

He just thought it was odd that the both of you, of all people, would be talking and leaving a room together.

You decide it would be a good idea to drag Goo into the most secluded place you can think of, at least when it was so busy with your fathers’ business associates - his office.

After the two of you are alone, regret starts to come over you and then follows guilt.

You start to question why you're doing this, not only to yourself but also to Gun, the person you like. 

That is until Goo opens that obnoxious mouth of his. That regret and guilt soon turns to anger with the next two sentences that leave his mouth.

“Sooooo…are we here because you want a secret rendezvous and you want me to be the lover in this equation” he pauses for a second.

“If so I’m not interested in doing that with a bitch like you” he says bluntly and then smiles.

Already you can sense that this was a bad idea and that you're also about to explode with anger that he could even be so bold as to say that to you.

But then again, this is Goo and you hate him anyways with how self-obsessed he always is.

You calm yourself down as best you can in the situation and somehow you plaster a fake smile on your face, that even Goo can tell is fake before saying your next few words.

“No, i can assure you that’s not what this is” you deadpan.

“Oh, then what is this?” he asks, now slightly curious about the circumstances.

So, hesitantly, you tell him about what's going on with Gun and your feelings towards him, leaving out the part about fake dating the bastard himself in front of you until you hear what he has to say about all of this first. 

After you’re done explaining you look at Goo, no reaction is evident upon his face until an insane smile comes across it and then hysterical laughter follows. 

You let him laugh all he wants and then he eventually calms down, after 5 minutes or so, but he does calm down and his laughing spell comes to an end.

That is until he abruptly says.

“So why am I here then?”

“I’m not just here because you wanted someone to confide your feeling to and even then I’m not the one you want to confess to”

He wasn’t wrong, not in the slightest.

You ponder for a moment , trying to convince yourself that this was a good idea but in no sense of this was it a ‘GOOD’ idea.

Putting your pride aside and leaving your last shred of dignity that you still have left after telling Goo all of this, that so-called ‘secret’ that you keep hidden away.

You shakily say. 

“Well Gun doesn’t see me as a romantic partner, so-”

 He cuts you off before you can say anything else.

“Yeah no shit, he doesn’t see anyone like that, what do you want me to do about-”

“SHUT UP” you screamed.

This time you cut him off before he could finish.

You steady your voice as best you could before continuing on with what you were saying, while also answering his question that you screamed in the middle of.

“What I want you to do is…fake date me in order to make Gun jealous”

The room goes silent, even though it’s just you and Goo in it to begin with.

Even at that moment you could have swore that Goo had even stopped breathing in order to keep quiet.

But the silence was broken by the yellow headed bastard laughing. 

Not just hysterically laughing like before, but kackling, almost as if he was mocking you through his laughter this time.

“That’s the dumbest idea i’ve ever heard and i’ve heard some pretty dumb ideas in my time”

You think for a second before calculating your response.

“I know it is, but if you think about it and I mean honestly think about it, what is there to lose?”

You pause and then continue, answering your own question while Goo just lets you speak.

“You hate Gun and like to annoy him, I want to make Gun jealous or annoyed or feel some, ANY,  type of emotion towards me - at least the kind that’s visible”

“You don’t have to say yes and even I know that it’s a stupid idea but come on, what wrong with giving it a try, we would both get something out of it”

“Even if you say no though…DON’T… TELL…GUN…”

You stop talking to let Goo speak, then you hear footsteps coming towards you.

Not from outside but from inside, you hadn’t realized it but at some point during your monologue you had closed your eyes and tilted your head down.

The footsteps stopped about an arms length away from you and that’s when you looked up and opened your eyes to see Goo with a sinister grin on his face.

With the room still silent and you being slightly terrified of what was about to come out of his mouth, you back up, just slightly to be a little ways away from Goo. 

He just continues to move forward with that sinister smile of his.

You both continued to do this thing, Goo moving forward, you moving backwards, still not saying a word to each other. 

The only way you could describe it, was as though it was a weird game of cat and mouse.

But in this equation it felt like predator and prey. 

That is until you came to a stop, you had hit your fathers desk that sat almost at the back of the room, so you knew that by this point Goo had won this frivolous game of whatever it was. 

After hitting the desk however, Goo didn’t stop coming towards you - No, in fact he continued until you and him were practically face to face. 

Enough room to where your lips weren’t touching but you could feel his breath on your face and then he finally spoke.

“Sure”

With that, he spun on his heel and left the office leaving you wondering what he meant by sure.

Sure he’ll fake date you. Sure he won’t say anything to Gun. Sure…sure…sure. It played through your mind, again and again and again. Sure. What did he mean?. 

He left wondering what he meant and all you could continue to do was play the entire conversation in your mind. 

Still just repeating that one word over and over in your head, sure.

You soon snapped back into reality wondering how long you had been thinking about what he said, you also had to wonder how long you had been gone from the event. 

Then your mind started racing again when this time you really did hear footsteps coming from outside of the room. 

__________

The air around you felt heavy and thick. Almost like being crushed, due to the overwhelming anxiety that you could feel with each footstep getting closer and closer to the door. 

Eventually you snapped back into reality. Making a dash behind your father’s desk and sitting in his chair, legs crossed under the desk, elbows on the desk with your phone in hand trying to look busy and not like you just had an infuriating, yet confusing conversation.

Within a few seconds one of the doors swung open, you made it just in time and thank god you did because it was Gun. 

Gun looked confused at first, you however were worried at what he was confused about - Was it because you were behind your father’s desk? Was it because you were in your father’s office? Or was it because he saw Goo leave and now he’s seen you in here as well?.

Your mind raced with all the possibilities of what could be going through his mind, then he spoke and it was the one question you really didn’t want to hear.

“Was that Goo leaving here just now?” Gun asked in a stern yet confused manner.

“Actually yes, it was. Why do you ask?” You say somewhat smugly, yet anxious.

“I just never thought I would see the day when you and Goo would be talking, after all we both know how you feel about him.” Gun says in a monotone voice, now not sounding confused at all.

This was now your chance, your chance to see if he would react, your chance to see how far you could potentially push Gun.

You turned off your phone, putting it down next to a pile of papers and files on the desk. Then with the most sheepish grin you looked up at Gun and started to speak.

“Even if I do feel a certain way about Goo, why do you care if I see him or not. Hell this whole time I might have been pretending not to like him.” You spat. The words coming out as calmly yet as teasingly as you could make them.

Gun stood there expressionless, not saying a single word and not showing a single emotion, at least that was visible. After all, he still had his glasses on so you couldn’t see his eyes. 

But something felt off, more with Gun rather than anything. You thought that you had finally gotten a reaction out of him, but that’s not what it was. Someone was getting a reaction out of him but it wasn’t you. That's when you heard it, or rather heard him. Goo was laughing down the hallway, an audible cackle could be heard probably from miles away. 

Goo had heard the entire conversation that you and Gun were having. The only thing he could do was cackle at your little comment. 

You thought to yourself for a moment that this was the source of Gun's irritation and that off feeling you had and you would have been right, even though you wished it was your comment about Goo. But what you couldn’t predict was that the conversation between you and Gun, as well as his expressionless face, was going to change in a matter of seconds after what Goo had just opened his mouth and said.

What Goo said snapped you back into your conscious mind and it rang through your ears, like a blood curdling scream. Like the alarm you had to wake up to every morning. Like nails on a chalkboard or a fork running across a plate. Your confusion about what Goo meant earlier when he said ‘sure’ was gone within seconds and given that you came up with the idea in the first place, you just had to act like you knew it was coming when you heard it.

“Y’know she’s right, she really was pretending not to like me this whole time. Hell if you paid  closer attention to her, you would've known that we've been dating for about 2, no 3 months now.” That’s what Goo said, that’s why Gun’s expression changed after hearing it and that's what you had to play along with.

Gun now looked visibly irritated, glancing back and forth at you and Goo. Goo with that smug smirk of his and you with your now sheepish yet irritated grin. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. I mean come on who could?. You and Goo. Like he said, you both hated each other, at least that's what he thought.

The looks between you and Goo continued until Goo spoke again. “Come on, isn’t now the perfect time to tell him that we’re dating?” Goo said nonchalantly, almost trying to get a reaction out of both you and Gun.

“There is no way in hell, you both are going out with each other. Or as you say, ‘have been’ for the past 3 months like someone said.” Gun spoke in a sarcastic tone, looking directly at Goo when using the word someone and also using air quotes at the words have been.

Goo was away to speak when you stood up from behind the desk, cutting him off before a word could even leave his mouth.

“We actually have been and why are you so skeptical about it Gun?” You question, but also holding firm that you and Goo have had this ‘secret’ relationship going for the past few months. 

“Well, I just never thought that you two of all people would be a couple. But apparently I'm wrong.” Gun said in a now irritated voice.

“Guess you were.” You and Goo say in unison, looking at each other and giving each other a very odd small smile. Almost reassuring each other that, yes, you both were going to fake date each other and that, yes, you are definitely going to irritate Gun with this. 

Gun by this point was taken aback by what was transpiring in front of him, but still didn’t believe that yourself and Goo were dating. So that’s when he came up with a plan of his own. A plan that not even you thought about.

“Ok I’ll give you both the benefit of the doubt that you're actually going out with one another. But only if you kiss each other right now.” Gun said, smiling intently while looking back and forth between the both of you, to see and also to make sure that you both were in fact dating.

__________

While Gun was looking between you both chuckling to himself because he knew that you both were not dating. Your mind started to swirl with what you could do to convince him.

Until your mind started to short circuit when you felt Goo’s lips press against your own. The kiss then stopped and Goo pulled back hugging you and whispered into your ear.

“Just go along with it” That's all he said and that’s exactly what you did.

Goo kept his arm around you and then moved beside you. This was the point that you could see Gun’s face and god do you wish you could take a picture of it. 

Gun stood there with his eyebrows raised and mouth slightly ajar, not knowing what to make of the situation, or potentially being too embarrassed to do anything. 

Of course, Goo had to break the silence. “Well get what you wanted?” He asked in an almost mocking tone. 

Gun cleared his throat and then spoke in a mocking tone to both of you but mainly Goo. “Well I guess you are going out, who would have thought”. 

With that he turned and left. As soon as Gun was no longer in sight you pushed Goo off with as much force as you could, hoping he would fall, but he didn’t.

“What the fuck was that!” You say in a loud whispered scream. 

“Didn’t YOU want this? Weren’t YOU the one to ask me to fake date YOU and if so why shouldn’t we kiss to prove OUR relationship, fake or not?” The very few words that Goo then spoke left you speechless because you knew he was right. You knew you couldn’t argue with him and he knew this as well. 

With that Goo left and you sat down, thinking and imagining what had just transpired and what was going to happen if this continued.

Either way you didn’t want to stick around at the party any longer and so you went to your room and slept.

__________

The next morning you woke up before your alarm, got ready for the day and headed downstairs. Only to find that Goo and Gun were there with your father, speaking about something that seemed to be important.

You didn’t want to interrupt and as quietly as you could, you tried to tip-toe past them as they were sitting in the living room talking. Unbeknown to you however, you were the main topic of conversation and they did in fact see you, but didn’t call over to you.

You could feel the conversation stop, even only for a moment as you passed. Then as you entered the kitchen, you could hear the conversation pick back up to what it was like before. 

You subconsciously shut the door to the kitchen, not wanting to be rude and eavesdrop anymore than you tried to do yesterday (which obviously didn’t end well) and made some cereal for yourself. You sat at the island to let the conversation die before even thinking about going back to your room. 

The conversation however, didn’t die down, instead it got more heated. You could hear your father scream at Gun, then pause, then all his anger turned to Goo. You didn’t know what he was angry at, you could only assume that Goo did something stupid like he always did, and he pissed off your father to the max this time, but only if you knew what was really happening.

You looked at your phone to see what time it was, 9:48am. By this point you had finished eating, rinsed out the bowl, put it in the dishwasher and done a few other mundane tasks that you didn’t have to do, but done to kill time.

The conversation had been going since about 9:12am, potentially longer since you remember coming downstairs at that point. You gave yourself another 15 minutes or so before going back through the chaos. 

Then at 9:51am, your father called for you, anger clear in his voice. You didn’t know why, but you only assumed that it had something to do with Goo. You also assumed that the conversation was over and he was just calling you out, still stressed, to have a regular father daughter conversation. 

You made your way out of the kitchen eagerly to hopefully find out what was going on, or at least get a hint about what happened and you hoped that you could calm your father, even just a small amount. You always hated talking to your father when he was stressed or angry because you felt like you were getting the back end of what happened, but he always apologized to you, saying he didn’t mean it which you knew.

You still left eagerly, walking and contemplating what had happened and wondering how you could console your father this time, or what the conversation was going to be like. Until you saw Gun still sitting on the couch and Goo standing up somewhat defensively with his arms folded across his chest.

You looked from Gun, to Goo, to your father and saw that all of them were looking back at you. Gun looking stoic, yet smug. Goo looking amused as always, but at the same time, almost worried?. And your father looking at you with anger and hurt, almost as though he felt betrayed.

“What’s going on, is everything ok?” you ask.

“Please, sit” Your father said, in what you knew to be his angry voice, while he still tried to keep his cool.

You did as he asked and sat on the chair that was opposite Goo, facing your father, Gun visible at the right side of your peripheral.

“Again, what’s going on?” You ask, still confused.

Your father, still ignoring what you ask then says - “Goo, sit down as well please” practically commanding the room at this point. Goo, not wanting to anger your father further, does just that and sits.

Then your father starts the conversation, eventually answering your question almost immediately and you're shocked by what he asks and also how he found out so quickly.

“Is it true that yourself and Goo are in a…relationship?” Your father practically spat those words at you. Almost like he wanted to stab Goo and send you to your room, telling you not to come out until he permitted it. 

You look at your father in shock, again not believing how he found out so quickly. Then looking at Goo to see he was staring straight at you with a death stare. Not the kind of, I hate you one, that you're used to from him. But the kind that immediately sends chills down your spine, a way more accurate representation of a death stare. The kind that says, you caused this situation and I want to kill you, kind of death stare.

You look back at your father, fearful now of what was to come, not being able to say yes or no. But you were able to ask a question that almost confirmed what he was saying, fake relationship or not. “Who told you” was all you said.

“Gun did and thank god he did”

“Why is it so bad if she is going out with me?” Goo questions. While you just stare directly at Gun in shock.

“There is nothing wrong with you, but I don’t want you going out with my daughter” Your father says back. All while you just sit in silence looking directly at Gun, now giving him the same death stare as Goo had just given you.

Gun then chimes into the conversation, but mainly aiming the words directly at you. “I thought it would be best if your father knew what was happening between the both of you, after all I do still need to keep you safe” He says.

“And thank you for telling me Gun, you did the right thing here” Your father says, now somewhat calm at this point.

Gun just bows his head slightly, in a manner that’s clear to everyone to say that he doesn’t want to converse anymore, but also to say, you’re welcome, to your father.

“Even if I am going out with Goo, what’s so wrong about it?” You say, before you even realize that you were speaking again.

You could see that Goo was shocked by this, that you were somewhat…standing up for him?. Your father doesn’t say anything and instead just looks at you in surprise.

“Wasn’t it only yesterday that you hated Goo? And now you're in a relationship with him” Your father asks, as though he was surprised by the revelation that’s happening before him. That you might really be in a relationship with Goo.

You stay quiet for a moment. Then you quickly think back to the conversation yesterday between Goo, Gun and yourself. Realizing that Goo had said you both have been together for 3 months. 

Before you spoke you could see Goo getting ready to say something. Not sure what he was about to say, potentially that you both WEREN’T dating. You started speaking before he could even say one word. 

“Dad, we’ve been going out for 3 months already. I didn’t want to tell you because I was worried how you would react and clearly I was right in thinking that. We kept up the hating act because it was easier that way and it still does somewhat represent how we are with each other, even now. But please just accept it” You say this, not even recognising how sincere and calm that came across. Also while thinking you could be a great actress. 

Everyone now looked at you surprised, but the one person you looked at first wasn’t your father and it certainly wasn’t Gun at this moment in time. It was Goo and he was staring back at you in shock, but what also felt like appreciation for standing up for him.

The conversation continued for what felt like another 40 minutes, but was probably only 5. As your father continued to say that he wasn’t happy with what was going on, but would allow it as long as you were ‘happy’. 

He may or may not have threatened Goo about 10 or so times in the process, but allowed the “relationship” to continue as is. But by that point you had withdrawn yourself from the conversation that was happening before you, so many thoughts racing through your mind. But, there were two that were constantly sticking out at you. 

The first being that Gun might actually be getting jealous. Jealous enough to go to your father. Sure he might say it’s because it’s his duty to protect you, but you could sense that wasn’t the case.

And the second being that you couldn’t shake the feeling that dating Goo, fake or not, might not be such a bad thing. It might actually be fun…nice even?.

__________

After everything that just happened, you went back to your room, not speaking to anyone after everything was said and done. The only thing you did was check the time on your phone to see how long you had been, 11:37am. It had been almost 2 hours that you were stuck there. 2 hours that you had to listen to your father, but thinking back it must have been longer for Goo and Gun.

You sat in your room for another hour or so to wrap your head around everything, before it all felt suffocating. You wanted to get out, you needed to get out and so you did just that.

You left the house as quietly as you could, not wanting to alarm your father or have Gun trail behind you. You just wanted to be alone and so that’s what you were going to do.

You noted the time on your phone again, 1:03pm and then you told yourself that you would be back before 4pm so as to not alarm anyone. Or at least so you thought.

As time went on and you were just aimlessly walking about to clear your head, while also continuously looking down at your phone to check the time over and over again, you heard a noise.

You didn’t think much of it because you knew better than to poke your nose into other peoples business. Hell, think about what your father did for a living. Basically controlling Goo and Gun, having them take down powerful fighters, while your father hid in the shadows and took down some of his own business associates. You didn’t want to get involved in that, at least not anytime soon if you could help it.

You walked a slight bit faster until the noise was no longer there. You were relieved, then you just walked aimlessly again. 

After hearing the noise and getting a bit freaked out, you lost track of time. It had been 3:13pm when you last looked and much like you said to yourself, you had to be back by 4pm so as to not raise concern. 

By the time you remembered that fact, you had probably walked around another 3 miles or so. Rather than worry by this point, you broke your rule and just continued to walk, until you were in Seoul.

It had taken about 5 hours to walk to Seoul, even though it should have only taken about an hour, but you didn’t mind. The walk cleared your head and you could just text your father and say you were in Seoul if he asked. 

By this point you realized that it was 6:37pm when you had gotten to Seoul. So what better time than to go eat, and potentially go look for some things to buy?. 

You went and got some Samgyeopsal (Korean BBQ) and decided that after this you would go window shopping just so you could stay out of the house a little longer. Obviously not wanting to get scolded for running out of the house. But also because of the lecture that would follow the scolding about how ‘reckless’ you had been for leaving in the first place with nobody (Gun) to protect you.

Either way you ate while also swallowing down some guilt as well as anger. Even though the walk was a good way for you to clear your head, you also realized how forthcoming your father was and how overprotective he was. Sure he had his reasons, but you just realized how smothering that started to feel today. 

After the meal you did exactly what you had in mind, window shopping. You started to walk around again feeling happy that you had a meal and also had time to think and forget certain things.

Another look at your phone as you were walking about revealed the time to be 7:36pm. It would be getting dark in about 30 minutes and so with this in mind, you decided to head for the subway so that you could hopefully be back before dark. Even though you would have an earful from your father, you figured that with a talk, he would understand your reasons for wanting to leave for a little while.

Before you could reach the subway though, it started to rain. You tried to run but almost slipped and with no umbrella you were getting soaked. You decided to go buy one but to no avail, all of them at the nearest shop had been sold out within minutes of the rain starting. 

So you decided to wait, at least until it calmed down a little, but it didn’t. The rain just continued to pour down and get heavier. Your clothes by this point had become weapons against you. The drenched pieces of fabric had become so wet in the few minutes that it had taken you to run to the shop to find an umbrella, that now they were clinging to your skin. Making you almost freeze with every gust of wind or even slight breeze that came your way.

At this point you knew you didn’t have a choice but to run to the subway if you wanted to get home quickly. So you ran, attempting not to slip while running, which you almost failed a few times, but you still made it to the subway in a matter of a few minutes. 

To your dismay though, as soon as you looked at the announcements board displaying the trains, times and where they were going to, each of them read delayed. Over and over you read that word, worrying now that you would need to call your father and have him or someone come and get you. 

Even though you knew you would be in trouble for having left without a word or also having left without having a so-called “bodyguard” by your side, you figured there was no other way of getting home tonight.

Until you remembered something. Goo lived in an apartment just outside the center of Seoul. You could make it there in about 10 minutes if you wanted to and it would save the lecture. You could say to your father that you were just staying at a friend's house and that had been where you were the entire day.

You didn’t know why you hadn’t thought about that idea before now. But then again until last night, which was now about a day ago, technically 2 days ago if you counted separate days on a callander, you didn’t really have a conversation with Goo, at least not a civilized one.

With this in mind though, you thought to yourself about how it would be fine, that Goo would let you in, at least for the night, right?. Either way you didn’t really have a choice. Because as soon as you picked up your phone and pressed the call button on the contact that was named ‘Father’, you needed to stay.

_________

Your father answered and you explained everything, about how it was all too much this morning, about how you needed to get out of the house and about where you were right now. 

To say he was mad would be an understatement, yet he also understood where you were coming from. He apologized and you did the same. Then you brought up that you were going to stay at a friend’s house for the night. That you were only doing this to get some time away and he didn’t question you. 

He asked if you needed anything, to which you told him you didn't and you would buy anything if you needed it. He told you that was fine, apologized one last time and with that the phone call ended. Now you knew had no choice but to go to Goo’s apartment.

You started walking through the rain that was still pouring down, not caring about an umbrella by this point. You just wanted to get somewhere warm and that was hopefully where you were going right now.

After walking about 5 minutes, you looked up at his apartment building that was standing tall just outside the center of Seoul. While doing this you were glad that at some points you did listen to the idiot while he was talking, otherwise you wouldn’t have known about him living so close to where you currently were. 

You were also happy that you were almost there. Excited almost. Maybe due to this being one of the most ‘rebellious’ things you’ve done especially in recent years - but oh well, you needed to get out even for one night.

After another 7 minutes, and getting slightly lost trying to find the entrance, you eventually made it. You were outside his apartment building, getting ready to walk inside. You took a breath and did just that. 

Security was looking at you as if you didn’t belong there. I mean you couldn’t blame them. Soaking wet hair, clothes that were now stuck to your body and dripping water all over the floor. Yeah - you couldn’t blame them for thinking that.

Either way you walked past slightly nervous, while also trying to crack a joke about how wet it was outside. But to no avail, there wasn’t even a small chuckle from any of them, not even the receptionist. 

You continued on, trying to look like you knew where you were going so nobody would question you. You got into the elevator with no questions asked, but distasteful staring looking your way as you were leaving wet footprints on the marble as you walked through the lobby. 

In the elevator you clicked 2 floor buttons that you thought his apartment could be on, the first being the 14th floor and the second being the 16th. In your mind, you thought that if those floors weren’t where his apartment was then it had to be the 15th. When the doors opened up on the 14th floor, you knew that this wasn’t the right floor when the apartments didn’t look “expensive” enough - at least not for Goo. 

You then reached the 16th floor where all of the penthouse apartments were and then you knew you were right with at least one of your three guesses. 

Penthouse apartment number 113, that was his. You remembered because anything with the number 13 always stuck in your head for some odd reason. You stepped out, not knowing if someone else would see you and judge you even more than the security or receptionist had when you arrived. 

There was no one. You breathed a sigh of relief and started to walk to his door, rehearsing what you could say to persuade him to let you into his home. 

Then it hit you, what if he wasn’t there?. What if he was out? What if your father had called ahead and warned him that you might be coming, that he would then come and get you if you showed up at Goo’s?.

No, you had to clear your mind. Plus you also told your father that you would be staying at a friend’s house, so why would he question you.

You arrived in front of his door, it was almost obnoxious as Goo himself. Gold outlines of vines spewed across the matt black door. A gold doorbell at the side of his door, along with a gold door knocker with a wolf’s face on it?. 

You looked disgustingly at the door knocker, but again this was Goo’s apartment you thought, so this was normal. He liked money and even though he didn’t like spending it all that often, when he did, he really went all out on expensive things. But then again money can’t always buy taste…clearly.

By this point you had enough courage to ring the doorbell and so you did. Ring… wait…nothing. Ring…wait…nothing. Ring…wait…nothing.

In that instant your fear was coming to life. He wasn’t there. What were you going to do now?. Go back into the rain?. Try to call a friend at 8:13pm and hope that their parents would let you stay with, well, nothing for one night just because you didn’t want to go home and was too stubborn to let your father have someone drop things off?.

You thought for another minute and then gave the bell one last ring, hoping that he was in. Ring…wait…nothi - in that moment the door slammed open, revealing Goo with no glasses on, his hair and body just as wet as yours and a towel wrapped around his waist. 

He was in the shower. That’s why he wasn’t answering. Goo clicked his fingers in your face a few times before you snapped back from your thoughts and then he spoke.

“My eyes are up here princess” he said with a slight bit of sarcasm, adding the nickname that you hated for good measure. 

“Huh?” You muttered confused.

“What too shy to admit that you’ve wanted to see my abs all this time, that’s ok, here you go” Goo said with all the flirtiness and sarcasm he could muster. 

You let out a sigh along with a small chuckle, before you spoke again.

“Listen Goo, I’m not here for you I… I need a place to stay tonight, so can I stay here?” You say with a hint of sadness in your voice.

Goo looks at you for a moment before the smile tugging on his lips, drops to a straight line . Then without another word he moves aside, letting you in. No questions, no snarkiness, nothing, just Goo purely showing kindness.

You walk inside taking in all the expensive furniture. The dark wallpaper and paint, with accents of blue, gold and silver in different parts of the house. It was a bit different from what you had expected, especially for Goo. I mean he always wears bright colors.

The door shuts and then you hear a lock click into place. Much like when the door slammed open, the door locking snapped you out of your train of thought. 

You turn to Goo, then just stare because you don't know what to say. You expected him to put up more of a fight. To question you on why you were here. Hell, you even expected him not to be here or even for him not to let you inside. But this scenario, you didn’t plan for. You hadn’t even thought it was a possibility. Goo saying a few sarcastic and flirtatious comments like he always did, even while being an ass and then letting you in when you said you needed a place to stay for the night. This was not something you were expecting - you didn’t expect kindness from him at all.

__________

Without a second thought in Goo’s mind, he breaks the silence. “Well my showers been ruined now and clearly you’ve already had a shower. But not a very hot one I'm assuming?”

With another slight chuckle leaving your lips and Goo then smiling again, the tension is then gone between you both. You both just laugh until there is a breeze and you shiver. Goo takes note of this and grabs your wrist, leading you to the bathroom, not saying a word.

“What are you doing?” You ask.

Goo doesn’t say anything but hands you a towel and then leaves for a moment. He then returns with one of his shirts and a pair of sweatpants. He hands them to you without saying anything else, while grabbing the ones that were already in the bathroom and throwing them outside onto a nearby sofa, nicely taking his glasses in his hand and then grabbing the door handle. 

As he’s leaving, that's when he finally speaks. “Go in the showers and change before you catch a cold”. With that the door shuts. You lock it and then hear rustling on the outside of the door, presumably Goo changing. But then you take into account how kind he’s being. 

You reiterate to yourself about how, technically, it’s only been 2 days since the both of you have started to talk civilly to one another and how in those 2 days, so much has happened.

You’ve had multiple conversations, started to fake date, Gun then found out almost immediately, you’ve kissed, Gun told your father, your father lectured you, screamed at you and Goo, you stood up for Goo and then that same day you walked to his apartment in the rain needing a place to stay for the night. Now you're in his bathroom, in his house, getting ready to shower and staying the night. 

How all of this has happened you have no idea and you don’t really want to know, or rather, you don’t want to admit that this is all your doing, just to get Gun’s attention. But now thinking about how you might have his attention, you’re not that bothered. 

Instead, right here, right now, in Goo’s bathroom, you care more about what he will think of you when you walk out. You care more about what the supposed ‘yellow haired bastard’ thinks of you rather than the person you have been fascinated about for years, and you don’t know what to make of it.

__________

You get out of the shower and put on Goo’s clothes. Tying the waistband of the sweatpants as far as they can go so they won’t fall off of you, and trying to sit the shirt across your shoulders but to no avail as it keeps slipping down your left shoulder. 

You sigh and realize that there is no hairbrush for you to comb your hair and that there also isn’t a toothbrush for you. Although thinking any of these thoughts isn’t exactly helping your case, considering you did show up at his house unannounced. 

You tidy the bathroom as best you can before leaving and going to find Goo to ask if he has a spare toothbrush and hairbrush that you could use while you're here. However, once you leave the bathroom the house seems oddly quiet.

You shout out to Goo to ask him the questions, but no response. You wonder if this is the part of your earlier thoughts where your father comes through the door and takes you home. But again you say to yourself that he doesn’t know you're here, he thinks you're at a friend's house. Either way, you don't have a choice but to wait and see what happens. So you sit on his sofa and go on your phone.

Another 15 minutes goes by and then Goo comes through the door, almost tripping on himself, until you see he’s holding some bags. Goo looks up and sees that you’re out of the shower. Meanwhile, you're looking at him trying to not laugh as he did almost fall over. Then you take in his appearance, only for a few seconds. His hair is still wet but neat enough and he’s in regular no name brand clothes with his glasses on. 

Trying to ignore that he almost fell, he nonchalantly takes off his shoes and hands you one of the two bags. With a gesture of his head, you know that this is somehow his way of saying ‘open it’ and so you do just that.

Inside the bag is everything you might need to stay at his place for a night, or by the looks of things, maybe more. There’s a hairbrush, toothbrush, some makeup wipes, hair ties, deodorant, everything that you might need and more. You’re left speechless. 

But it doesn’t end there, Goo motions for another bag, the bag he almost tripped on. You pick it up and see that it’s another regular black bag, as if he also got it from the convenience store. In this bag though is clothes. Some luxury brands sit in the bag like Dior and Saint Laurent and then some regular clothes like a plain black hoodie and ripped blue jeans. 

You look at Goo in shock, complete and utter shock. Clearly it was evident on your face and he realized that because he spoke, in a calm yet unconcerned tone. 

“I know you said you needed a place to stay for tonight, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to buy a few things in case you’re in this…predicament again”. He then stopped speaking for a few seconds and added onto the initial sentence. 

“Also I'll be invoicing you for the clothes. They were expensive after all”. You pause for a second to look at him and he’s entirely serious. By this point you can’t help but laugh uncontrollably, he does the same after seeing you practically doubled over. But he also reiterates that he’s in fact entirely serious about invoicing you. 

You don’t fight him, instead you transfer the money that he asks for because you didn’t want to hear him complain if it came to that. Once all was said and done, you both sat down, not saying a word, rather you both soaked up the silence. The odd thing was, the silence wasn’t eerie, rather it was tranquil and you both could feel it. You sat like that for a good few minutes before Goo finally asked the question that you would rather not answer, at least for tonight. 

“So why are you here?”

“Well, I needed time away and given everything that happened today I think it’s only fitting that I come and stay at my ‘boyfriends’ house, don’t you think?” You say jokingly, trying to avoid the question, while also answering it and trying to sound lighthearted. 

“True, very true. I mean what type of ‘boyfriend’ would let their ‘girlfriend’ spend a night out on the streets, especially when there’s a downpour, even if they might have wanted them to” 

You look at Goo after he speaks, registering the last part of his sentence. Then he laughs and you join him. You both continue to talk, not about your father, not about what happened today, but just talk. It started with the weather, then how you got here and about why Goo went out and bought you clothes and such. Then the conversation turned to your feelings, more specifically about Gun. 

“Listen, I get that you have this weird fascination with Gun. But of all people to choose from to date, HIM!?” Goo says in a confused and mocking way. 

Feeling a sense of  deja vu, you try to steer away from the topic but he keeps coming back round to it. Eventually you think Goo is done when he gets up, but instead he comes back with a bottle of wine and two glasses. 

You look at him with a disappointed look on your face given you're both underage, but you feel like you need it and you figure that your father would be fine with it even if he did find out, since he does give you drinks at home. So once the bottle is open and there’s a half full glass that's being handed to you, you oblige and take it from Goo. 

You swirl the glass around a few times before taking a drink, it’s not as bitter as other red wines you’ve had and so you pick up the bottle. Black raspberry. Huh, at least Goo has good taste.

You put the bottle back down and take another sip, then your mind slips back to the earlier conversation about Gun. You take one last sip and then you start to speak. 

“I guess the fascination comes from the fact that Gun understands me. I don’t know how to explain it, but he does. I don’t like that he does, but then again he has been with me for so long that I can’t exactly deny the obvious. There’s also him being, well…mysterious I guess. You’ve both been with me and my father for so long that I can’t help but wonder about him, about what he was like in Japan. I mean I know some bits and pieces but nothing substantial. I don’t think anyone knows about Gun’s past fully apart from my father and some people that came to Korea to kill him for what he’s done to them. I think that’s why, but who knows really” You say this and turn to Goo, he’s leaning forward, attentively listening to every word you’re saying and you appreciate it. 

“Again, true, but what about me?” Goo asks.

“Huh?” You say confused about what he's asking.

“I mean much like you said, ME and Gun have been with you and your father for so long now, so aren’t you curious about me, or is it just Gun?” Goo asks, as if trying to pry some of your feelings out on what you think about him. 

For some reason with that question, you feel your heart start to race slightly. You ignore it and start to think. You think about what you’re going to say, if you’re going to tell him what you’re thinking right now, if you’re going to stretch the truth a little, or, if you’re going to lie to him. You have another sip of your wine, sigh, and then settle on telling him the truth.

“Sure, I've been curious about you as well, but not as much as Gun. It’s also not like I could have asked you this and that about yourself though. I mean we hated each other and I think partially we still do. We have this whole bargain, fake dating thing going on obviously. Which we each get benefits out of. You piss off Gun, I get his attention and also see if he might have at least some feelings for me. But it’s not like we actually care about each other. I mean we never have really. From the time that we first met each other, we’ve just never..clicked. At least I don’t think we have. I also honestly think that in the past 2 days, we’ve spoken more to each other than in the past 2 almost 3 years that we’ve known each other. It’s funny though. I mean thinking back, I don’t think there was ever a time when we were in the same proximity and didn’t argue. Yet right now, we're sitting down, having a drink, while also holding a regular open and honest conversation with one another. It’s a miracle if you really think about it”. 

After saying everything you think about Goo and your relationship with him, you feel some sort of weight lift from your shoulders. As if this has been burdening you for a while and you're glad it’s out now. You look up from the wine glass to see that Goo is still looking at you and listening to you so attentively. Then he speaks.  

“What if this entire time, I've never hated you?” 

__________

You continue to look at Goo but this time it’s with confusion. You both stare at each other for what feels like hours, but you know it’s only been about 20 seconds. Goo then breaks the silence first.

“Don’t look at me like that”

“Don’t look at you like what. Like you didn’t just say that you’ve never hated me? Also, what do you even mean by that? You mean you’ve never hated me ever, even when I was a bitch to you or you’ve never hated me because you…”

You stall with the last thing that you’re about to say because you’re not sure if you want to know the answer to it. Goo looks at you as if forming his answer, but then he just starts to speak his mind. Or at least what you think is him speaking his mind, but then again this is Goo, he always says what he’s thinking. 

“What I mean when I say I've never hated you is that, well, I've never hated you. I can’t explain it, I just never have. I think it’s because you’re so easy to rile up that even when you are a bitch, it’s fun. You speak the truth, try and hit me, obviously I dodge with ease and you just gradually get more and more pissy, which in turn makes it even more fun. It's a constant cycle you see” Goo says this with so much conviction and pleasure in his voice that you think he’s getting a kick out of it. Almost as if at this very moment he’s trying to piss you off. 

You just continue to look at Goo with a little less confusion now, but more annoyance rather than anything else. Goo just looks at you and starts to laugh because he knows that he’s got you annoyed. Which makes you even more annoyed.

“You know it really is easy to piss you off” Goo says while trying to stifle his laughter. 

“Oh fuck off” You say as you’re gradually getting more angry.

“What, it is. It’s not my fault it’s easy, that part is kinda on you” 

“You know how you just said that you’ve never hated me?” You say lacing it with a hint of snarkiness.

“Yes?” Goo says confused.

“Well I can’t say the same thing about you” You say this with all the snarkiness and pettiness you can muster. 

“Oh come on, don’t be like that” Goo says sarcastically.

“Oh yeah and why shouldn’t I be like this?” You say, snapping back at him.

“Because you’re just proving my point” 

You know that you can’t argue with him anymore because he’s right. You will be proving his point if you continue to argue with him and get even more snappier. But the thing is that right now you are proving his point. Even the way that you just spoke to him proves his point and you hate that he’s right. 

“Also what were you going to say?” Goo asks you.

“What was I going to say, when?” You ask.

“When you were asking me what I mean when I said I didn’t hate you”

You just look at Goo confused because you’ve already forgotten the conversation with Goo being such a pain. Goo then sighs and speaks again.

“Y’know, the part where you trailed off. “Or you’ve never hated me because you…”. Y’know that part?” Goo questions, but the only thing you can think of is how he just tried to mimic your voice. You’re slightly annoyed but at the same time you also try not to laugh at him. But then you remember what you were going to say after that last part.

“OH, that was nothing, just ignore that last part” You say now getting slightly flustered by what you thought.

Goo just looks at you, his brows furrowed as if he’s saying that’s bullshit and you know it. But you’re not about to tell him the truth and you’re sure as hell not going to tell him that you were thinking that he might…like you. That thought has to be burned out of your brain immediately. Goo just nods his head and then doesn’t speak of it again. 

You both finish your glasses of wine, not saying a word to one another. Eventually Goo gets up and you think he’s going to pour you both another glass, but instead he walks upstairs. You assume he’s going to bed and that he’s leaving you to fend for yourself. Selfish asshole. But then Goo emerges with a blanket and a few pillows. 

“I’m tired so I'm going to bed. You take the bed, it’s upstairs, first door on the left. I’ll take the sofa” Goo says.

You’re not entirely sure what to make of it. He’s letting you take the bed and he’s the one taking the sofa, after you show up unannounced. That doesn’t seem right.

“No it’s ok. I'll take the sofa, I mean I am the one who just turned up” You say sarcastically. Goo laughs at your statement, but then proceeds to usher you off the sofa as he lays down the pillows and the blanket and lays down. 

“I did just say that I would take the couch. I mean I'm pretty sure you heard me say it right?” You question Goo because his actions are surprising you even more now. 

“Yup I heard you. But I just didn’t care enough to go back upstairs. Anyway, off you go, go to bed” The way that Goo says this makes you feel little. Not little as if you feel beneath him, but little as if you're a little kid again and you don’t like it.

“Goo seriously. You're really annoying me now. I told you I'll take the sofa, you go back up to bed. It’s your apartment so I'm fine with it, just go” Your words come off frosty, which is what you were intending. But as you're walking towards him getting ready to yank the blanket back and push him off the sofa if need be, he turns, just as your about to do so.

“I told you take the bed”

“And I told you no” 

You’re standing over Goo now, arms folded over your chest. You do feel as if you're being a little child at this moment. But in all honesty, you’re not letting Goo have the couch because you would feel bad.

“Fine” Goo says after about 10 seconds or so of you standing in front of him. 

“Good” You say somewhat feeling accomplished that you’ve now won the argument. But Goo doesn’t get up. 

“Are you getting up?” You question. But before he even gives you an answer, you’re pulled down onto the sofa next to Goo. 

“What are you doing!” You yell.

“All I said was fine. I never said I was going to go to bed. But you were adamant about having the sofa. So now you’ve got the sofa” You shiver at his words because he’s right behind you, whispering in your ear. Holding onto your waist as he’s speaking. 

“But…” Is all you can say before Goo grumbles into the back of your neck. You don’t want to move because you wouldn’t feel as if you won. And I mean technically you hadn’t won, but you still got the sofa, right?.

__________

You’re not sure how long you had been lying for now, but you gather it had been a while. Goo still had an arm slung around your waist, but his breathing was steady now. He was asleep. You were just lying there. Still as can be. 

You tried not to move too much because you didn’t want to be cuddling up with Goo. At the rate it was going though, there would only be 2 options. Either you cuddle up with Goo and somewhat still “win” the argument you both had, or you could go to his bed. 

You tried to crane your head to see Goo as best you could. What you saw was Goo face, peaceful as could be. You didn’t think you would ever see Goo this peaceful in his life. But yet here he was. Eyes closed, his long eyelashes visible, hair messy, no glasses and looking so peaceful.

You turned back around and did what you didn’t want to do. But you also didn’t want to disturb his sleep. So, you back your way up just slightly until you felt your back hit his chest. That was when you heard him mumble again. 

You weren’t sure if he was awake, but either way you still kept quiet. Then you felt his arms. Instead of there being one arm just slung around your waist, there was now 2. One underneath your waist, holding you tightly and the other also now holding you tightly. 

Goo then pulled you even closer to him. So close that the only thing you could think of was him. How nice it felt to be so close to him. How you both fit together so well, almost like a piece of a puzzle and how nice he smelt. 

Then without you meaning to. You put your hands on top of his. Grabbing onto his arms and locking yours in place. Then you laid your head down on one of the pillows, ready to fall asleep. 

But you felt Goo graze the back of your neck with his nose, it made you giggle because it tickled slightly. Then you felt him kiss the back of your neck, before he spoke in a raspy i’m just up voice. “Goodnight” Was all he said but that made your heart skip a beat. 

You kept your eyes open for a few more minutes just processing what had happened. But with the warmth you were feeling and not wanting to think about anything else until tomorrow, you shut your eyes and fell asleep.

__________

You wake up with a slight headache, but what really draws your attention is that you feel breath on your face. You eventually open your eyes and see that you’re face to face with Goo. You don’t know what to do, but you think back to last night and then it clicks. You fell asleep after he kissed the back of your neck and told you goodnight and you both fell asleep.

You think about what to do and while you’re doing so, you’re frightened by a voice. 

“Good morning” Goo says to you in a raspy voice and it reminds you of what he sounded like last night. 

“Morning” You say back to him. 

Goo then slowly opens his eyes and you’re just staring right at him when his eyes do open. You wonder if he’g he's going to say something, but nothing leaves his mouth. He just stares back at you, while you stare at him.

There’s something in his eyes that you can’t quite place. You think it might be confusion or perhaps regret. But Goo doesn’t say anything. He just continues to stare with that something being present in his eyes. 

“So are we going to get up or are we just going to lay down and look awkwardly at each other?” You question Goo on the matter. Partially to break the tension, but mostly because you’re so close to him. 

“Uh yeah, yeah” Goo says back to you. But when he says this to you his voice almost sounds sad. After hearing him say yes though, you waste no time in getting out of his grip and getting up from the safe. After doing that you look at the wine glasses and bottle. Now you remember why you woke up with a headache.

You pick up the glasses and bottle as Goo is just continuing to stare. Like fully STARE at you. You feel like if he could stare harder and potentially cause a hole to form through you, he would do it. 

Either way, you do your best to ignore him and clean up. Which you do. But it’s mostly to keep yourself distracted from the awkwardness. After cleaning, you practically do your morning routine. Brushing your hair, brushing your teeth, getting something to eat. 

You’re doing the last part of your routine while Goo is still on the sofa just looking at you. You don’t know why he’s staring at you but it’s starting to annoy you. But even though it’s starting to annoy you, you can’t help but feel giddy that he’s staring at you so much. 

You start to make breakfast with what Goo has in his fridge, he doesn’t have much but you can make do. You shout back to Goo asking if he wants anything and he just responds with “Whatever you're having”. So you make 2 omelets.

Once you finish making them you take both plates and go back to the sofa, handing one to Goo as you pass. But you don’t sit on the sofa, you sit on the floor, which garners a what are you doing look from Goo.

“What are you doing?” Goo asks. Yup, it was a what are you doing look. 

“Sitting and eating” You say back.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re on the floor” 

“Because I wanted to sit on the floor” You say back to him sarcastically. 

“Why?” Goo asks, confused.

 “Because, why not?” 

Goo just sighs and starts eating. So you do the same. Both of you finish and then Goo gets up and takes the plates. But you feel as if there is a specific conversation that needs to be had. You’re just not sure which conversation that is going to be yet.

After breakfast Goo went and did his normal routine, or at least what you expect to be his normal routine. Finally, he sits down. Before you even think about what conversation needs to be had, he speaks.

“So”

“So?”

“So, are you going back today?” Goo asks.

“Back home?” You say back to him. 

“Yup” 

“Probably”

“Why?” Goo questions, as if he’s expecting you to stay another day.

“Why?” You question back.

“Yes, why?” Goo questions again.

“Because I should probably go back home” You say back to him.

“But didn’t you come here to get away?. I mean seriously. One day and that’s enough for you?” Goo questions again.

Sure you needed to get away, but you were only going to be gone for one night. More importantly though, is Goo asking you to stay?.

“I mean I did get away right?”

“Yes, you did”

“Ok, so we’ve clarified that I got away”

“That we have”

“Ok great. So why are you being so pushy on me staying here another night. I mean do you want me to stay?” 

“Yes” Goo says matter-of-factly.

Well you weren’t expecting that. I mean you liked the honesty, but wow, that caught you by surprise. You think about it for a moment. I mean could you really stay away for another night?. You told your father that you were only going to be gone for the night. What would he say if you were staying out another night?. 

You think and think. Mainly thinking about what your father would say and then you think about the fact that Goo actually wants you to stay another night. Once you’ve cleared your thoughts you pick up your phone and walk away from Goo. You click on the same contact that you clicked on last night. Father. Then you press call again.

This time he doesn’t pick up after the first call, so you call again. Then he picks up. 

“Hi, how are you this morning?. Do you need a car to come and pick you up?” Your father says from the other end of the phone. You’re quiet for a moment and in that moment you look at Goo. He’s just staring back at you. The look on his face is that of confusion and uncertainty, but you think he knows what you’re doing. 

“Hi. I’m fine dad and no the car won’t be necessary. I’m..uh…I’m going to stay another night with my friends, maybe even two. I hope that’s ok?” You say to your father. Your voice hushed so that Goo couldn't hear. 

Your father sighs. This is your way of knowing that your father isn’t happy that you're staying over again but he’s going to let you and sure enough he did. The call ended and the only thing he asked of you, was that you call him every morning and night. You agreed and so that was that. You were going to stay with Goo another night. Possibly 2. 

You went back over and sat down - this time on the sofa.

“Well, looks like I’m stuck here again” You say to Goo playfully as you lay your head down on the back of the sofa. Goo just looks at you with a smile on his face and you’re not sure how to take it. I mean why did he want you to stay?. 

“Hey Goo, why did you want me to stay?” You ask him, hoping to clear your mind a little. 

“Good question and I’ll be honest. It’s because you’re good company” He says back.

Safe to say you’re not sure how you feel about that. But the most you do know is that you don’t mind that answer. And that was obvious to Goo as well considering the smile that was plastered on your face. Goo just smiles back at you. 

A few minutes later, both you and Goo are cleaning the house. He did say he could do it alone, but you had already started lifting the blanket and pillows off of the sofa before he could argue with you. 

“So, the first door on the left upstairs, right?” You ask him just to clarify where you’re taking the blanket and pillows.

“Yup” 

“Cool. Where do you want them?” You ask.

“Just put the pillows back on the bed and the blanked at the bottom” 

“Ok”

After asking you walk upstairs and into his bedroom. Odd, was the first word that came to mind. Much like the house itself, you expected it to be colorful, but it wasn’t. It was also just really…clean?. You, yourself are even confused as to why you were expecting his room to be a mess, but nevertheless, you were. 

You continue to look around and then you see the color you’ve been waiting to see. His closet door is slightly ajar and all you see are his obnoxious suits in all different colors. You laugh to yourself at just the thought of his house being painted bright colors. You’re definitely glad that he didn’t do that to himself or anyone else for that matter.

After your laughing fit is over with, you do as Goo told you to do with the pillows and blanket. Once you’re done you take one last look around the room, nodding in approval of the cleanliness. But as you’re walking out you see a framed picture on the drawers by his door. 

It’s of Gun, Goo and yourself. You pick up the picture and study it more closely, only to remember that this is the day that the both of them and your father took you to a theme park for your birthday a few years back. You smile at the memory and then look at the picture again, only to see that you’re looking at Gun and Goo…Goo’s look at you. But not with disgust or anger or any emotion you correlate to a grievance in a person. He’s looking at you like your father looks at you, with eyes full of…love?. 

You put the picture down and leave the room, unsure if that’s the right emotion he’s got in his eyes. You’re sure you’re overthinking this. Yes, that has to be it. You’re overthinking it, you say to yourself. You walk back downstairs and look around. Goo isn’t anywhere you can see. You shout for him a couple of times, but to no avail. There’s no answer, he left.  

An hour passes and Goo still isn’t back. Then another hour. Then another. By the fourth hour you wonder if your father had called him when you were upstairs and you figured he had. It’s now lunchtime and you’re getting hungry. So much like this morning you go over to the kitchen and start making something. Only then do you see the note that Goo must have left for you.

‘Your dad called. I have to go out and deal with a few things. Be back when I’m back, Goo. x”

Once you read it you nod in appreciation that he left a note at all. Then you do a double take back to the note. Your eyes grow wide as you see he’s left an ‘x’ at the end of the note. Once again your heart starts beating faster and you’re not sure what to make of it. God, Goo really is messing with your head and you don’t like it one bit. 

_________

You're sleeping when Goo arrives back at his apartment, so you don’t hear him come in or come over to you at all. It isn’t until you feel your head being lifted up ever so slightly, that you stir and open your eyes only a fraction. 

When you do, you see Goo looking up at the TV while eating his dinner and then you realize that your head is on his lap. You don’t want to move or even let on that you’re away. So instead you just close your eyes again. Falling asleep.

Once you wake up for the second time, Goo is nowhere to be seen. You think for a moment. Was that a dream?. Was I just dreaming?. No. No, that had to be real. That was real. Only a few moments after reassuring yourself that what happened wasn’t a dream, Goo appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Oh, she lives” Goo Says sarcastically.

“Ha ha. What time is it?” 

“No need to be so miserable after you wake. I mean you were dead to the world. I was having my doubts you were still alive. Oh and it’s…6:08pm” 

“Ok, thanks. When did you get back?” 

“Abooouut, an hour about” 

“Ok. Oh, thanks for leaving the note. I was slightly worried when you weren’t here” You say this as you’re still in your groggy stage of getting up. So you don’t even recognise that you just said you were worried about Goo. 

Once you’re up and not feeling groggy, you look over at Goo. He’s just smiling. He’s not looking at the TV or his phone or anything in the apartment. He’s just smiling, so sheepishly that you’re intrigued to know what’s causing him to smile so much. But then Goo looks at you, still smiling. 

You raise and eyebrow at him. In response Goo just shrugs his shoulders. You sigh and shake your head back and forth. Then after all the dramatical effects both of you have been doing to one another. You look at each other and just burst out laughing. None of you stop until you start wheezing and Goo starts snorting. But again, you both just look at each and laugh even harder.

This goes on for another 5 minutes, in which time, things only get funnier. Eventually after another few minutes, you stop. Both trying to catch a breath. You hadn’t laughed like that in so long, it was nice, this was nice. You think for a minute and discover that you’re calling this moment with Goo, nice, fun even. Wow, he’s really gotten under your skin these last few days.

Then you think back, back to when you both hated each other. Well, when you just hated Goo. After all, Goo never really hated you. He admitted that. You think back to the night in the study, how he was so close to your face when you first brought up the fake dating idea to him. You think about how your father reacted and how you defended Goo. Then how Goo reacted to you defending him. You think about how he let you in last night, bought you clothes and necessities that you would need. He even bought you extras, ‘just incase’. 

Then you think about how you fell asleep together. How Goo kissed the back of your neck and wished you goodnight. How he left the note for you. How he was looking at you in the picture at the theme park and eventually your mind fell back to the time where Goo had kissed you. He kissed you to ‘prove’ your relationship wasn’t “fake”. 

You smile at the thought of the kiss. At the thought that just a few days ago he kissed you and you felt disgusted and angry. Then you look at Goo, who’s just now caught his breath. You look at him and just think some more. You watch him. Then you smile. You’re smiling at everything that’s happened the last couple of days. 

But what you’re really smiling about is the thought you just had. That thought being that you wouldn’t have wanted to go through this with Gun. I mean you hadn’t really thought about him at all these last couple of days, even though you’re doing all of this to get Gun’s attention. The irony. But the one person you were happy to go through this all with, is Goo. 

Goo eventually catches his breath, then looks in your direction. You're already staring at him of course. But you’re not sure how to ask the questions you’re thinking of right now. And there’s A LOT.

“Goo” You eventually manage to say. 

“Yes?” He says back with worry lacing through his voice.

“If I ask you some questions, can you give me the truth?” Goo raises a brow at you this time.

“Sure” He says. “I guess” You nod at his answer and then think. Then you think about how you’ve been doing a lot of that lately. But you inevitably have 1 main question in mind, so you know that that’ll be the last question you ask.

You sigh and close your eyes before looking back at Goo, preparing yourself for what’s to come and the answers he might give to you. Answers you’re not sure if you want to hear. 

“Why did you agree to fake dating me?”

“Because I thought it would be fun” Goo answered the question, but why didn’t you feel satisfied by that answer?.

“Goo give me a better reason other than because you thought it would be fun” You say to him, trying to pry an actual answer out of him.

With this Goo sighs, looks away from you and then looks at you again. “You really want to know why?” Goo says, now questioning you.

“Yes, that would be nice” 

“Fine. It’s because I didn’t want to say no to you. Actually, It’s because I couldn’t say no to you”

“What do you mean you couldn’t say no to me?” You question him again.

“To be honest, I’m not exactly sure about what I mean by it. Don’t get me wrong, I did think it would be a whole lot of fun doing this and annoying Gun. But there was just something, something in your eyes that I couldn’t say no to” 

“Ok” You say. Somewhat happy, but also confused by that answer.

“Next question. Why do you have that picture of you, Gun and I in your bedroom?” Goo looks at you slightly taken aback by what you just asked. But then you think he realized that the picture wasn’t exactly hidden.

“That was just a memory. It was a fun day”

“Goo” You say because yet again, you feel like that isn’t the truth.

“Fine. Fine. I kept it because…well…it’s the only picture I have of…you” You just look at Goo, not sure what to say or what to do. Your lips part slightly as if you're about to speak again, but you can’t think of anything to say. Then you swallow hard at what he just said. He has that picture because it’s the only picture he has of you. YOU!. Wow, just wow. What do you even say to that? What can you even say to that?. 

You eventually let out a shaky breath, hoping to calm your heart down slightly. “Ok, thanks for the honesty. I’ve just got a few more questions. That is if it’s ok?” Goo’s looking away from you now, but he nods to say yes.

“Ok. Then what about the ‘x’ on the note, why did you do that? Or kiss me on the neck and say goodnight? Why were you staring at me so intensely this morning?” You now had so many more questions, but you think that covers the few of the less visceral ones.

“That’s a lot of questions. But I’ll answer them all for you and I won’t try to spin the truth anymore, so here goes. I kissed the back of your neck last night because I wanted you to know I was there and that I was comfortable around you. I wanted you to feel comfortable around me as well because to me at least, you felt as though you were uncomfortable. I left you the ‘x’ on the note because I appreciated what you did for me and wanted to be kind. And as for me staring at you this morning. It all somewhat ties together with everything else I said” Goo sighs and then closes his eyes shut so tight that you can see the wrinkles on them. He looks at you again after opening them, not looking away from your eyes this time. 

“The entire reason I was looking at you this morning was because we woke up so close together. Not just close together but face to face, our lips almost touching. The entire reason I was looking at you like that this morning, the entire reason I kissed the back of your neck last night and the entire reason why I left you that ‘x’ on the note was because the entire time that you’ve been here, in my apartment, when we’ve talked, when we’ve laughed, when we’ve argued was because I wanted to kiss you. I couldn’t do it last night because I was behind you and I knew you wouldn’t have liked nor wanted it. I knew when we woke that you wouldn’t want it and I knew that before I left here to handle some things for your dad, that you wouldn’t want it. That answer all your questions?” 

You sit there completely stunned. Stunned to the point where you think you could be a statue. You couldn’t move, you couldn’t speak, you couldn’t even move your eyes. You just sat there. Goo looking straight ahead, right at you. You blink for the first time in what feels like years. Then you can somewhat move. But you still feel as though you can’t speak. You’re not even sure if you want to speak.

You both continue to just look at each other, not saying a word. Then, just like always, Goo breaks the silence.

“Any more questions?” With this, you eventually find your voice. 

“Just one, maybe two more” 

“Then ask away”

“Ok. Why didn’t you think I wouldn’t want you to kiss me?” Goo looks shocked at what you’ve just asked. But nevertheless, he answers.

“Because it’s me and not Gun who would be kissing you. I mean last night you told me that you thought we always hated each other. It was you who said we just never ‘clicked’” He was right of course. You did say all of that. So you just nod and you’re ready to move onto your last question, but before you can do that Goo jumps in.

“Since I've been answering all the questions. Answer a couple of mine before you ask me anymore”

“Ok. It’s only fair” You say back. 

“Great. I expect the same honesty that I’ve given you” Goo says this so authoritatively, that you feel like your in a room with your father. 

“Of course” You say back to him. Hoping that in any way, he will speak slightly softer.

“Good. So why are you here with me right now instead of Gun? I mean that’s who you really want to be with right?” The hope disappears from you quickly as you realize that Goo just became even more colder to you.

“Because I couldn’t go to him. I didn’t want to go to him. And even if I did go to him, he would have just told me that I’m not his problem or that I shouldn’t be there or he would have taken me back to my father. Sure I may have come to you because you were the easier option, but I liked being here with you. I like being with you. And as for who I want to be with right now. It’s not Gun, it’s you” Again you both just look at each other. But this time it’s Goo who could be mistaken for a statue. 

“Ok, if that’s my questions finished with, then I have one more” Goo just nods, not saying a word. 

“Do you like me?” This was the one question you didn’t want to ask, but you had to know the answer to. You had to know. You needed to know.

“Yes” Was the only word Goo could say and that answered all of your questions. That answered every thought that you could think of. There was just one more thing that you had to say to Goo for that night.

“Thank you for telling me the truth” Was the only thing you said before getting up. Goo watched you as you did so. His eyes were full of hurt and sadness. But you couldn’t let the feeling go that if you left, you would never see him again. Or that he wouldn’t want to see you again. So as you walked, you stopped in front of him and turned to face him. 

“Goo” You said as softly as you could. “Can you stand up for me please, I think you’re sitting on my phone” He now looked so hurt. He looked so hurt that you cared more about your phone than him. But you think he cared more about the fact that you were leaving.

Sure enough though, Goo stood up. You walked behind him, grabbed your phone that he was in fact sitting on, slid it into the back pocket of your jeans and then turned back to face him. You didn’t say anything to him and he wasn’t even looking at you. So you thought and you decided to do one of the most impulsive things you’d ever done and probably would ever do.

Within a few seconds of you thinking about what you were about to do, you did it. You cupped Goo’s face in your hands and kissed him. Then you pulled away. Looking at him. The hurt and sadness had turned to shock and disbelief. So you did it again. When you pulled away this time, he still looked the same. So you did it one more time. This time when you did it, Goo snaked his arms around your waist and lifted you up. After your feet were back down on the ground and you had stopped kissing, you looked at Goo.

“I’m going to bed now” Was all you said. You weren’t sure why you said it but it confused you as much as it confused Goo. But the entire reason you think you said it was because you would have to admit something to yourself. You would have to admit that you were falling for Goo.

__________

You wake up the next morning with a cramp in your neck, probably from lying on the sofa at a weird angle. You slowly wake up and gaze at your surroundings, familiarizing yourself that you are still at Goo’s apartment. 

You get up and do what can only be described as distracting yourself from thoughts of last night. You kissed Goo. Not because you had to but because you wanted to. 

You get a cup of coffee, brush your teeth after and go in the shower. All while you’re still thinking about Goo. Goo this, Goo that. Until finally you think that it is Gun that you should be thinking about.

So you try to think about Gun, you think about all the fun times you had with him and how he gets you. Then as if clockwork, Goo jumps straight back into your thoughts as he descends the stairs.

“Hey” You say as casually as you can.

“Hi” Goo says back in a somewhat cold manner.

“How are you?” You ask him, trying to lighten up the conversation but to no avail. 

“Mhm” Goo responds back. You can’t help but think your lack of ‘caring’ last night about this kiss and how cold you were after have something to do with this. But again, you try to converse with Goo. 

“So, how did you sleep last night?” You ask.

“Good” 

“Good, that’s…well good!” You say back, AGAIN trying to lighten the mood. But at this point you’re hoping that it’s just down to Goo waking up. 

“Yup” 

“Well coffee’s ready if you want a cup. I thought I should make you some, show you how thankful I am that you let me stay here these past few nights” You say to Goo.

“Thanks”

“No problem” 

The room goes quiet after that. No conversations to be had and none that you wanted to start. So you go and sit down and start drinking your coffee in complete silence. 

Goo joins you, but sits far away to the point that you know he is avoiding you in the best way he can. You just continue to drink your coffee and not chat until there’s a knock at the door. 

You immediately look at the door, then to the clock that is sitting in the living room. 7:46am. Who can be here at 7:46am?. Until you hear the voice. His voice. Gun’s voice. 

You don’t even have enough time to get up and go somewhere, let alone hide. Then Goo, as cool as a cucumber, just says “It’s open”. 

You look at Goo, then look at the door which Gun is now standing in. Gun just looks at you and then to Goo. 

“Told you she’s here. She’s been here for the past 2 nights” Goo says.

Taken aback by what Goo has just said, you look at him. He stares right back at you with a completely straight face. No hint of emotion present on it at all. No anger. No hurt. No surprise…no surprise.

“You called Gun” You say looking at Goo. But he doesn’t speak.

“YOU CALLED GUN” You say again this time raising your voice, as well as yourself off the sofa. 

“Yes, Goo called me” Gun chimes in.

“I wasn’t asking you” You say back to Gun, not taking your eyes off of Goo.

“Yes, I called Gun” Goo eventually says. 

You’re shocked at how casually this conversation is for him. How..normal it is that he’s called Gun to get you. Normal. Huh. You suppose it is normal for Gun to come and get you. But you didn’t think it would be Goo to call him first. 

All you can do after thinking for a moment is to nod your head. You know what this is about and why it’s happened. But wasn’t it inevitable?. Wasn’t this how it was always going to be?. You would have to go back to your father’s house at some point, but you thought you might have had another night.

Another night to stay with Goo. To be around Goo. To sort out what had happened between you both. Your…feelings for Goo. But no. All because of a miscommunication that you caused, this is now a thing that’s happening.

Right here, right now - Gun is picking you up from Goo’s apartment, after Goo was the one to call him. Great, you think to yourself. Just great.

An hour later you and Gun are leaving Goo’s apartment. Goo has just sat, emotionless, while you’ve gathered the slight part of “your” things that were scattered around. After doing that and leaving the clothes Goo bought you, you go towards Gun.

“You’ve got everything?” Gun asks.

“Yes, now can we go” You say back to him, while looking at your feet because the fact is you can’t look at Goo. Not right now at least.

“Again, thank you for telling me where she was” Gun says back to Goo before leaving. But just as the door was closing you could see the smirk on Gun’s face and the slight look of despair on Goo’s.

__________

Another hour later and a silent car journey, you’re home. Back at your father’s house and Gun is waiting for you to get out. 

“Thanks” You say to him, so coldly that even you think it is a bit mean.

“Why were you at Goo’s?” Gun asks out of nowhere, even though you were expecting it at least at some point. But now?. 

“It doesn’t matter” 

“Yes. Yes it does” 

“Why does it matter?” You question.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you said that you were at your friend's house for the past few days. Then, come to find out, you’re at Goo’s”

“Yup, I was in fact at Goo’s. Shocker now isn’t it?” You say back sarcastically. 

“Really, that’s it. That’s the only explanation I’m getting?” Gun spits back at you.

“You're really expecting an explanation. Wow, we're a bit full of ourselves aren’t we?” You say back with even more sarcasm this time. But Gun just looks at you and smirks. He knows that he’s pushing your buttons and you’re also very much aware of what he is doing. 

“I’m not, just curious that’s all” He eventually says back to you. 

“Well can’t I hang out at my boyfriend's house?” You eventually say back, giving him a slight explanation. Gun then does something that you were not expecting. He starts laughing. Hysterically laughing.

“Oh come on. You really think Goo called me and didn’t mention your little deal with him, hm?” Just from that one sentence, your sense of reality shatters. Goo told Gun. Goo told Gun. Goo told Gun. 

All you can think to do at this moment in time is to simply repeat that sentence. Over and over again, until probably on the 100th time, it sinks in. Goo told Gun about your deal. He told him the relationship was fake. That you were in fact, never in a relationship with Goo. Meaning that he must have told Gun about your feelings for him.

“So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to tell me the truth about everything orrr am I going to have to tell your father about your little outing?” Gun eventually speaks, drawing your mind back to reality that you lost only moments ago.

However, you can’t help but think with his choice of words that he might not know EVERYTHING. So you think carefully about what you say next because you certainly cannot have your father hearing about you staying at a guy's apartment, let alone Goo’s.

You collect your thoughts and process what little information you have and what information Gun has let slip. He knows the deal with Goo was a lie. He knows that your relationship with Goo was a lie. But he might not know that you had feelings for him. Ok.

“You want to know the truth? Well here it is” You pause before speaking to look straight at Gun and he’s now just looking straight back at you. His eyes are not wavering from yours and then you start off on your lies mixed with truth.

“Yes, I did fake a relationship with Goo. Why? I’m not sure, call it boredom and to see what you might think and wow did that work. The look on your face when we actually kissed, comical” You stop there for a brief moment. Gun’s eyes are still glued to your own but you can now see that the ever familiar smirk has been wiped from his lips. 

“To be completely honest with you, I really do wish I had a framed picture of that moment. It was amazing. But as for why I was at Goo’s house. Let me think. Oh, yes, that’s right, when you thought Goo and I actually were in a relationship, you ran straight to my father and then I needed space. So I went out for a walk, ended up in Seoul and long behold it started to rain. I wandered about a little while, trying to find an umbrella, but you know how it is.Then I ran to the subway”

Again you stop, taking in what you’ve said and by the look and Gun’s face Goo definitely didn’t tell him about how you had feeling for him. And now you're hoping he also didn’t tell Gun about anything else.

“Now let me finish the story, since you are SOOO interested. After running down to the subway, every single message on the board said delayed. So that’s when I decided to stay somewhere for the night. I didn’t think it would be appropriate to just turn up at anyone’s doorstep given the circumstance, so that’s when I remembered that Goo stayed nearby. I called my father, explained that I needed some time away and then made my way to his apartment. Oh yeah, thanks for the information on where he lived, it was really useful even though I never expected to be going there at any given moment of my life. But it worked out nicely. So I made my way over, found the building, went in, went up in the elevator and found his obnoxious door and hey presto, it was Goo’s apartment. I stayed there for 2 nights and then you came to collect me no more than, oh 2 and a half hours ago now” 

You eventually stop speaking after having said everything and you feel accomplished. You’ve said everything you wanted to say, lie or truth. You’ve shut down Gun and you’ve wiped the smirk off his face. You’ve also avoided your father from finding out and you’ve avoided a lecture. So yes, right now you feel very accomplished. 

Now you’re just waiting for Gun to say something back to you. But he doesn’t. He’s just sitting in silence, now not even looking at you. He’s just gripping the steering wheel and you can see that his knuckles have turned white with just how tightly he’s gripping it.

You can only think to yourself about what he has to say and that’s the worrying part. You’re not sure what he will have to say about everything. Sure, you have told him everything that happened, leaving out a few parts. But in the back of your mind your thoughts are still nagging at you that he still might know. That he might know everything. You need Gun to speak so you know, for certain, that he doesn’t know everything. 

“Well then, I suppose that’s all of my question and further questions answered. Apart from one. Why is it that you and Goo, I’m assuming, were getting on like a so-called ‘house on fire’ until today. What exactly happened, huh?” 

Of all the questions that Gun could have asked, this one wasn’t high on your list for ones that you wanted to answer. But you were going to do so anyway to avoid any arguments or lectures later down the line. 

“Well, if you must know, we had an argument last night. Nothing in particular just a spat, so to speak” You say, assuming this is enough for Gun. But of course it isn’t.

“An argument about what?” He asks. 

“Oh you know, he didn’t like the way that my toothbrush touched his. Regular things when you’re living with someone” You say sarcastically, hoping that Gun won’t press on. But of course, that doesn’t happen.

“I’m being serious here. What was the argument about?” 

“Like I said, it was about a toothbrush” You say again. Gun just looks at you unimpressed with your retort and asks again.

“What was it about?” 

“Fine, you really want to know what it was about?” You question.

“Preferably, yes. It would save me telling your father and dim my curiosity” Gun says sarcastically this time. 

“Fine. If you want to know that badly then here’s the truth. We kissed last night, well I kissed him because that was all I could think to do. Then after I pulled away I said that I was going to bed. Are you happy now you know the truth?” 

Gun just looks at you, eyes wide, his grip on the steering wheel even tighter than before, as if he’s the one that has a reason to be angry. But he does, you just didn’t know it then. 

_________

It’s been 3 weeks since you have been back home. 3 weeks since Gun had dropped you back off at your father’s home. 3 weeks since your arguments with both Goo and Gun and 3 weeks since you’ve spoken to either of them. 

You don’t know what to think. You don’t know what to do, but you are grateful to Gun. He kept his word and didn’t say anything to your father when you came back and the weeks that followed. 

But you’re not happy that neither of them has spoken to you. But you can’t blame them either. You’re just upset and that’s fine, you’ll get over it. But nevertheless, it still hurts to know that you messed up what is probably the two people you were closest to. 

But in the past 3 weeks, you’ve also realized something. You’ve realized that in the almost 5 days that you spent with Goo meant something to you. You were too scared to admit it before, but now you’re not scared to. You caught feelings for Goo. But even with everything that went on with Gun, you still have feelings for him as well. How selfish.

But you decided that you were not going to pity yourself. So you have text them both, but with no luck. You apologize to Goo about what you said and asked him if you could both talk. He left you on read. 

As for Gun, you’re not entirely sure what you did but you suppose that hanging out with Goo, who you can only describe as Gun “best friend” and admitting that you kissed him had something to do with it. You’ve also text him, but again with no luck.

You’ve also realized how selfish it was to have done the whole fake dating thing with Goo. So when you came back from Goo’s apartment and arrived after Gun had dropped you off. You went to your father and told him everything about fake dating Goo and that Gun was wrong about your relationship with him. But you still stand by what you said. You didn’t mention anything else though.

Either way, with everything you’ve realized over the past 3 weeks, you feel better about yourself. You’ve figured out that putting people against one another or using someone to your advantage to get someone else, might not be a good idea. Ever.

But you are excited for today. After 3 weeks you are going to see Gun and Goo today. But what you’re not excited for is their reactions of seeing you again, because you’re not entirely sure how they’re going to react. All you can do is hope it’s going to go well. 

3 hours later and 2 coffees in your system, you’re ready and waiting for both of them along with your father in his office. You can’t remember the last time that your palms were this sweaty over seeing someone. You suppose it was when your father told you that you would be meeting your bodyguard for the first time, the irony. 10 or so minutes later, they both arrive. Your father greets them both first with a ‘Hello’ and then it’s your turn to speak.

“Hi” You say as calmly as you can, speaking to both of them.

“Hi” Goo says back.

“Hi, how have you both been?” Gun asks.

“I’ve been better” You say.

“Well then, let’s see if we can change that” Your father says, interjecting into the conversation. You just look at him and smile at him trying to be thoughtful and funny. All you can think is just how ‘funny’ doesn’t suit your father in the slightest.

Goo and Gun both take their seats as your father starts the meeting with all 3 of you present. He’s just going over the usual overviews of his business and from starting again today, you will have Gun as your bodyguard again. Goo as his. 

Once everything is said and done. Instruction clear. Everything worked out. Your father makes a hasty exit to answer a call and you’re left alone with both Goo and Gun.

“So how have you both been?” You ask, curious as to how they both have been. But also trying to ease some of the residual tension in the room.

“Great” Goo replies hastily, as if not wanting to have a conversation with you.

“Good” Gun replies in a slightly less cold manner than Goo.

“Well I suppose starting again today you’re both back as mine and my father’s bodyguards” You say, pointing out the obvious. But you cannot think of anything else to say. The tension now is almost unbearable. You could probably cut it with a knife. 

“Yes” Goo and Gun say at the same time. 

“Look, can we just stop this. I know it’s blatantly obvious but I fucked up. On both accounts I fucked up. I didn’t mean to practically put the both of you against one another, but I did. I really am sorry about that and for everything else. So can we maybe…try to act like we all used to. Like the both of you used to” You say eventually because you couldn’t take the pressure in the room any longer.

“And how did we both act before?” Gun asks. 

“That’s a hard question to answer. But I suppose you acted like, well, friends, but more so friends at a push. And it’s a very big push” You say, trying to bring back your sarcasm along with a potential laugh from one of them. But to no success.

“We were never friends” Goo says matter-of-factly and Gun nods in support of what Goo has just said.

“Ok, so not friends. Got it. But how about co-workers?. That works right. I mean you’re both going to be around one another a lot again. So why not try to get along like how you both used to?” You say.

“That wouldn’t work. Not anymore” Goo says.

“I agree. That wouldn’t work” Gun then says. 

You just sigh at both of them. In the last 3 weeks you haven’t seen both of them. You also forgot that it’s a losing game to argue with them. It must have also slipped your mind that they are like cats and dogs. They can be around one another, but they will never get on with one another.

While thinking about all of this. Goo gets up to leave and because you have been meaning to talk to both Goo and Gun 1 on 1. Assuming they want to as well. You quickly yell Goo’s name. Maybe a little too loudly. 

“Yes?” Goo says in surprise. 

“Sorry that was a bit loud. Could I talk to you for a minute or two?. Would that be ok?” You ask. 

“Sure, I guess” Goo says, letting out a sigh after he finished speaking. 

“Great. Also Gun could you wait here for however long this takes?. I was hoping I could talk to you as well” You ask Gun.

“Sure” Gun replies back.

You nod at Gun. Giving him a silent thank you and then make your way towards the door where Goo is standing with his arms folded across his chest. 

“Ok, well we’ll be talking in the kitchen if you need me for anything before that” You say back to Gun just as you’re pushing the door open and walking out with Goo.

You walk into the kitchen with Goo trudging behind you. Just judging by his attitude today, he’s more prickly than usual. Meaning that if you say something that might set him off, or even just in general, he’s going to lay into you one way or another. Great, you think to yourself. But to be honest, with the way that you left his apartment and how you treated him beforehand, you can’t blame him.

“So” You say, trying to ease your way into things.

“How have you really been?” You say again because it’s the only thing you can think of.

“Like I said, I've been great” Goo says again.

“Ok, well that’s good. I’m glad” You say, trying to lighten the mood before you inevitably ruin it again.

“Ok. Let’s cut to the chase and get this over with. I’m sorry. Really, really sorry for how things went” You say eventually just giving in.

“You’re sorry about what exactly?” Goo says back to you and now you can tell he’s getting angry. But you can also tell that with the way you left things, he’s hurt. 

“I’m sorry about, well, everything. I’m sorry that I came running to you. I’m sorry that I stayed longer than one night. I’m sorry about asking all those question” You pause for a second not wanting to say the last few sentences, but you know you have to. You know you have to because if not the guilt and hurt that you’ve put Goo through would eat away at you.

“And I’m sorry for saying what I said, after I kissed you. And..and I’m sorry for kissing you. It shouldn’t have happened. I’m just so, so sorry” You say. The hurt and sorrow in your voice is so present to you, that you didn’t think you were the one actually speaking. You didn’t think that everything you said and done with Goo affected you this much. You didn’t think it hurt you this much.

“You’re right. It should have never happened. None of it should have ever happened” Goo says, agreeing with every point in one fail swoop.

“Yeah. It shouldn’t have. But…” You pause, not sure if you should finish what you were saying.

“But what?” Goo says, now slightly intrigued as to what you were going to say.

“But I’m..I’m glad it did” You say eventually. With as much authority as you can muster. 

Goo just stares at you. Unsure of what to say or do. You’re the exact same. You don’t know if it was a good idea to say everything you were thinking, but you’re hoping it was. The staring game between you and Goo continues for another few seconds before Goo looks away.

“You’re glad everything happened?. I mean everything. Are you serious!?. You kissed me out of nowhere and then said you were going to bed and your GLAD that happened?. Fuck you. Seriously, fuck you” Goo says before he storms out or even gives you a chance to explain. But you’re not going to run after him. You’re sure you’ll be able to talk to him at some other point and be able to clear everything up. But for right now, you have to let him cool off. 

__________

You make your way back to your father’s office. Where you find Gun is still sitting in his chair waiting for you to arrive back. 

“Hi” You say, trying not to startle him. But it’s Gun, you don’t think anything could startle him.

“Have a fun chat with Goo then?” Gun asks.

“You could say that, but no. It was more a conversation we needed to have, but it was left unfinished” You say back.

“Ok. So why did you want to talk to me?” Gun asks curiously. 

“Well I figured that since we haven't talked in 3 weeks and I feel like you’re mad at me. That we needed to have this talk” You say back, getting straight to the point again.

“I’m not mad” Gun says back to you.

“Yes you are” 

“No, I’m not” Gun says again. This time a lot more stern sounding.

“Gun I’ve known you for years, I know when you’re mad. But if you say you’re not made, then you’re upset. So my question is why?” Gun lets out a sigh to your observation.

“Ok I suppose I’m a little upset. But I’m not mad” He eventually says back.

“Ok not mad, just upset. Got it. But why?” You ask.

“Goo” Is all Gun answers with.

“Goo?” You say back, questioning him. You think it’s because they have both had an argument with one another, which is why they also acted more coldly to one another today.

“Yes, Goo” Gun says.

“Elaboration?” You ask. Again unsure of what he means.

“You and Goo. That’s why I’m upset” Gun says back. You have to take a second to register what he’s just said. You and Goo. Wait, YOU and GOO?. Gun’s not upset because he had an argument with Goo. He’s upset because he’s jealous. But just for clarification, you have to ask him because if you don’t, you know you will never get a straight answer from him.

“You're jealous then?” 

“Yes” Gun says straightforwardly. Your eyes go wide because of what he’s just said. But at the back of your mind, you know that this is what you wanted. This was the entire reason that you started to fake date Goo. This. Everything about this. You wanted to happen. But now, you don’t. You know that much like you had just done with Goo, you had to come clean about everything. For your own piece of mind, as well as Gun’s you had to.

“Look” You say, gearing yourself up for what’s about to unfold.

“I have to be honest with you on this one Gun. You know how 3 weeks ago I told you ‘everything’?” You say and Gun nods his head.

“Well, I might have been lying. But only about a few things. I was also really bitchy, so I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about lying as well. And I’ll tell you the truth, if you want to hear it?” You say, unsure about how he will take it. But also unsure about how he will take another piece of news. 

“By all means, pretell” Gun says.

“Ok. So I was telling the truth about everything, bar one thing. The entire situation played out exactly like I said it did. It rained. I ran down to the subway and every train was delayed. I called my father. I didn’t want to go to a friend's house, so I went to Goo’s. I stayed a few nights. I kissed him and then said I was going to bed. All of that is the truth” You say and Gun nods.

“But what I wasn’t being entirely honest about was the reason for fake dating Goo” Gun nods again, but is curious as to your explanation because he’s now leaning forward in the chair. Ready to hear what you have to say.

“The truth is that I asked Goo to fake date me to make you jealous because I liked you” There, you think. The truth. It’s out now, no taking it back.

“Huh. Well can’t say I saw that coming. But I do appreciate the honesty”

“Why, thank you” You say sarcastically. Feeling a weight lift off your chest.

“But, I also can’t help the fact that you said ‘liked’ me. Past tense” Gun says and your eyes shoot up.

“Huh?” 

“You said you liked me. Again, past tense. So you don’t like me anymore?” Gun questions.

“I. I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t” You say back to Gun surprised that you even said liked. I mean you did still like him, right?. It was only just this morning that you liked both Goo and Gun. But since having that conversation with Goo, you can’t help but think about him.

“Now I'll tell you the truth” Gun says, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“The truth is that I don’t see very many people in a romantic way. I’m sure you’ve gathered that which is why you pulled this stunt, right?” You nod in clarification of his statement.

“Well, that day when I came to get you from Goo’s house I was fine because he told me all about your little scheme. Leaving out a few bits and pieces. But either way when we were in the car and you said that you kissed Goo. I was pissed. That’s when I thought to myself that I may feel something for you. And I did in fact get jealous. When you told me there that you did all of this to get my attention, I was relieved. But then I heard you say liked” You continue to nod, not knowing what to say to any of this. But Gun continues.

“Now I’ll be completely honest with you. You have to admit to yourself that even though you liked me. You don’t like me anymore. With every little petty thing I've done like tell your father about you and Goo. And be snarky about collecting you from Goo’s. You don’t like me anymore. But I also have to admit to myself that in those instances I was jealous. But again. You have to admit to yourself that you don’t like me anymore, It’s Goo you like. Not me. Not after everything” Gun says this and it hits you like a pile of bricks.

All this time, since he talked to your father. He’s been jealous. Which is what you wanted. But now looking back, it made him look like a dick and you hated him for it. That’s when you went running to Goo. That was when your feelings for Goo came from. All this time, you thought you still liked Gun. But really after everything. Especially seeing and talking to both of them today. You’ve realized after Gun’s lecture. That you don’t like Gun anymore. It’s Goo that you have feelings for. It’s Goo that you like. 

__________

“I like Goo” You say out loud.

“I like Goo” You say out loud again, confirming your feelings. 

You then look at Gun, who has a slightly faded smile on his face. You can feel the small amount of pain he feels emanating from him and then you say a quiet ‘sorry’ because you feel guilty, so so guilty about all of this.

You now know that you’ve caused all of this. Every single thing that you’ve done has caused all this pain, all this hurt and you would do anything to change it. But it’s too late now to go back in time and do that, it’s happened and you just have to find a way to fix it.

So, while Gun and yourself are still in your dad’s office, you both sit quietly. You concocting a plan to undo all of this and Gun sitting patiently, waiting and then getting ready to listen to what you have to come up with. You finally hatch an idea. One that you think will have the best outcome on everyone's part.

“Well” You say to Gun.

“Well” Gun says back to you.

“I think I have an idea”

“Hopefully it’s nothing like the last one” Gun says back in a sarcastic manner, smiling while he says it. 

“Ha ha, very funny. But no it’s definitely not like the last one” You say back reassuringly. 

“Thank god for that. So what is it?.” Gun questions.

“Well, firstly, given the fact that it had you and Goo in it to begin with, I don’t want that to happen again. Unless you’re okay with it” You say back to Gun, awaiting his response. 

“Look, as much as last time was a complete fuck up for you, in your so called ‘plan’. I’m fine with helping you this time” Gun says.

“After all, contrary to popular belief, I do want to see you happy. And if that means being with Goo of all people, then I’ll help you” Gun finally says.

You look at Gun and smile with his words. But then what he has just said about Goo click and you start laughing. Gun then joins in and soon you are both laughing with one another.

“Thank you” You say after eventually calming yourself down. “Seriously, thank you” Gun nods at your response and you can’t help but feel like this is reminiscent of so called ‘old times’ you used to spend with him. The exception being that there is a lot more talking going on and he’s not just nodding this time around.

“So, what’s the plan?” Gun questions.

“Well, I was thinking that you could go over to his house and talk to him for a little while. Say it’s for work. Slip in a few questions about him and I…us and see how he reacts” You say back answering his question.

“Hmmm” Gun says back in retaliation to the plan. 

“Why the hmmm?” You ask.

“Well won’t that be a bit suspicious?” 

“Suspicious?. I mean slightly, but even then you could just say some bullshit like you always do and voila, case closed” You say back to him. 

Gun just looks at you with a questioning look. “You think I can just bullshit my way through a conversation?” He finally asks. 

“Yes, yes I do and you’re pretty good at it” You say back to him with a smile on your face and then again, you both burst into laughter. 

“So, what comes after the plan?” Gun asks.

“Well, that part I haven’t exactly figured out yet. But I was thinking that I would give him a week or so to cool down and then talk to him. And my father, about maybe…the possibility of a serious, well, relationship with Goo” Gun looks at you and then smiles back at your answer.

“Aww, getting all sappy now are we?” Gun says back mockingly.

“No” You say firmly “But you did ask didn’t you?. And well, after everything. Mostly with you making me admit that I have feelings for Goo, I actually don’t think it would be a bad thing if we gave things a go. That is if he doesn’t hate me for everything” 

Gun just smirks at what you’re saying. But you can tell he isn’t hurt, he is just genuinely happy that you and his well, rival, best friend in some weird way, whatever they are. You can tell he is just happy for you both and that makes you happy as well.

“So, when are you going to talk to your father about all of this?” Gun asks. 

“Now that, I’m not sure about. I’m also not sure how he will take it or how he will take the whole, you know” You stop talking and then Gun interjects. 

“Fake dating thing?” Gun says finishing your sentence for you.

“Yeah. The whole fake dating thing” You sigh at the end of it, with how much damage you have caused with this entire idea. God, how stupid you are. But you will put it right. You have to put it right in order to get Goo back.

Gun pulls you from your thoughts when he speaks and you almost jump with how startled you are by it. “Your father will be fine with everything, I mean he has to be. Wait, does he not even know that you and Goo ‘broke up’” All you can do is shake your head to his question.

“Well then, I really want to watch that conversation play out” Gun says with yet another smirk on his face. “Oh trust me, I would much rather you be there. But alas, you have a very touchy conversation with Goo to have. Well you are having that conversation on my behalf, but still” You say back, mimicking his sarcasm and adding a smirk onto your face for an extra touch.

Gun just looks at you, unimpressed. But you just look at Gun and mouth the words ‘thank you’ to him. You realize at that moment that neither of you want to breach the silence that has fallen upon the conversation. But it isn’t the type of silence that is awkward, it’s just comforting to you both at this minute. The silence that you both used to have. The silence you used to have before everything became such a mess and you’re glad it’s happening right now, because you know that with this silence again, that everything with you and Gun will be okay.

__________

It has been a couple of days since your conversation with Gun. Since then you have gotten your hair done to try to feel better and to help with your nerves, but it hasn’t worked in the slightest. But today is the day that you are going to tell your father about everything. Every. Single. Thing. 

You have tried to prepare yourself for the inevitable conversation. You’ve come up with so many different outcomes. You’ve come up with how the conversation will start and end. You’ve come up with how you’re even going to lead into the topic of everything, but each time it just makes you more nervous. 

You made sure a few days ago that your father would be free when you went to talk to him. But since then, you really have been trying to mentally prepare yourself, to no avail though. So as you’re walking down the hallway getting ready to enter his office, you freeze just outside the door and take one final deep breath in to attempt to calm your nerves and much like you figured it would, it has not helped.

“Hi dad” You say as you enter his office. 

“Hi” He says back in his firm but yet fatherly voice.

“So what is it that you wanted?” He asks. 

“Well, about that” You pause for a moment and he raises his eyebrows at you curiously.

“It’s about…well, there's a lot I want to talk to you about” You finally say and with that, you now have his full undivided attention on you.

“Go on” He says, making you more nervous.

“Okay. So you umm..well you remember that Goo and I were dating right?” 

“Yes” 

“Well, that wasn’t exactly true” You say to him while looking down at your hands fiddling with your fingers. 

“Go on” You eventually hear back.

“You know what, it’s a long story. It can wait for another time. Sorry to bother you” You say back to him, too nervous and scared to tell him that truth. But as you go to stand up, he stands first. You remain seated until he walks around his desk, takes a chair and pulls it over to where you are sat. Instinctively, you turn your chair towards him.

Then suddenly he smiles at you and takes your hands. You always forget that the man sitting in front of you is your father, since he is always so strict and firm with everyone else. But in every other term, he is your father. So now with this, you feel a lot more at ease with telling him. 

“Go on” He says to you.

“Well, the entire thing with Goo and I was fake. We never really dated, at all. It only came into fruition the night of your event actually. The truth is that I came up with this plan” You pause there, preparing yourself for what you’re about to say.

“Plan?” Your father eventually asks after a long, drawn out pause from you.

“Yes, a plan. The thing is that before that night, I had liked Gun for so many years. Too many now that I think about it. But he just intrigued me so much. So that night I asked Goo to have a conversation with me and in that conversation I told him the plan that I wanted to put into place. I told him that I wanted us to fake date in order to make Gun jealous” As you’ve just admitted all of this your father is sat in the other chair nodding and taking everything in. So given that it is going somewhat well in your eyes so far, you continue.

“So, that night Gun came into the room. Found Goo and I and because Goo is well…Goo, he decided to have a little fun and play along. So he told Gun that we had been going out for some time and then we kissed to prove it. The very next day, that is when we had our conversation. Then I went out, walked about for a little while and got trapped in the center of Seoul. Everything I said on the phone that night was true, apart from where I was staying” You inhale a deep breath but you can already tell that your father has figured out where this is going.

“You stayed at Goo’s house?” He asks. You nod in response. 

“Can I ask why you lied?” 

“Well, the truth is that I didn’t think it would be appropriate to show up at one of my friends' doors and ask to stay the night on such short notice, soaking wet, cold and not having anything to wear for the next day. So I guess, well I figured that since Goo was then the closest person to the area that I would walk to his apartment and hope to god that he would answer the door. And it’s also because I didn’t want to come home that night. I really just needed time to cool down and digest everything. I mean it was a small lie, a stupid plan and then you found out and reacted how you did. I just couldn’t be around it. I’m so sorry” You say.

Your father squeezes your hand in reassurance that he isn’t angry with you, not in the least. But you still feel so guilty for lying to him. 

“So, what happened after?” He questions you again.

“I went, knocked on his door and he was there. He let me in. I showered and he came back with some stuff for me. I mean he was really sweet in the entire thing. After that we drank some wine, had a conversation and then went to bed” 

“Is there more?” “A hell of a lot more, yes. The next day I called you, remember?” Your father nods in response. “Everything I said on the call was true. I did need some more space from you but I just lied about where I was. Then as the day went on everything was fine. But then Goo left to go do a job for you and he left a note. It had an ‘x’ at the bottom of it and he had this picture when we were at the theme park. I fell asleep that day and when he came back I woke up, we had this entire conversation about everything and it kinda ended in me kissing him and then the only thing I could say after that was ‘I’m going to bed’” You stop and try to catch your breath. It didn’t register how fast you were talking just then and with everything you just revealed to your father, you don’t want to stop there. So just as fast as you assume you stopped speaking, you start again. 

“After that, the next day he called Gun to come and get me. Gun brought me back and had a few words to say to me. They both were so pissed off at me about everything. So then 3 weeks went by, no texts, no calls, no communication whatsoever with any of them. Then 3 days ago now we had that meeting and everything kind of came to a head. I had a conversation with Goo and he flipped out on me because I really hurt him. Then he left. After that I had a conversation with Gun and I found out that my plan worked. But he made me realize that by that point, it wasn’t him that I liked, it was Goo. So now we have this entire other plan of him trying to talk to Goo and slip things in about me and that I have no idea on my end what to do. But I wanted to tell you. I wanted to be honest with you because I don’t want to mess up again. I really like Goo and I just don’t want to mess up” 

Now everything is out in the open. You have no clue how your father is going to react to your confession but you’re hoping he isn’t too mad at anyone involved. 

“That’s quite the story. One hell of a story actually. One that I didn’t expect. But I'm glad you told me. And if you’re wondering, I'm not mad at you” You look up after he says this and all of a sudden you feel your nausea fade away. You hadn’t registered just how ill you were feeling until this very moment. But then it had faded away and you felt better. 

Your father then stands up and puts the chair back in it’s place and then stands in front of you. A tell tale sign that he wants you to do the same and so you do. Suddenly, you are engulfed in a hug. And you hug him back just as tightly as he is hugging you.

“All I have to say is, thank you for telling me the truth. And if you do like Goo as much as I think you do, don’t fuck it up this time if you get another chance” With that being said and your father letting you go. You make a swift exit and go back to your room to decide on a plan of what’s to come. A plan that you’re hoping will work. 

__________

A few days after the conversation with your father, you have filled Gun in on the plan that you hope will go well and today is the day it will come into play. Still sticking to the original plan, Gun will go around and talk to Goo, throwing in a few questions about yourself in the process. Then Gun will ask Goo to a dinner to discuss what your father had said previously when all 3 of you had the meeting about 5 days ago and you will show up in his place. Hopefully everything will go well and then you can discuss everything with Goo, resulting in a happy ending.

But since this morning you have been frantically pacing about your room, thinking about everything. You have called Gun about 2 times already to make sure he’s aware of what he needs to do and both times he has responded with ‘I know the plan, don’t worry’. Now you’re onto texting him. But you haven’t received a reply back and that’s worrying you. 

20 minutes of pacing later you hear the signature *ding* of your phone. You run and grab it from your bed and it is a text from Gun. 

*I’ve just arrived. Don’t worry, everything will be fine, it's just like we went over. I’ll let you know how it goes.*

*Okay.* is the only thing you can respond with given how anxious you are. Now with that it’s just a waiting game to see how everything plays out.

_

“Well” Gun says, stepping into Goo’s apartment. “How has everything been”

“Amazing” Goo replies rather nastily. 

“As pleasant as always I can tell”

“Ha ha, very funny. Now just sit down so we can get this over and done with” Gun obliges to the somewhat command-like comment and sits.

“So, what did you want to go over?” Goo says with a still rather hateful tone in his voice and Gun can’t distinguish whether it’s from his presence or because of you.

“Firstly, why the dick attitude of yours?. I mean you’re always a dick, but amazingly enough, this is a whole other level” Gun asks curiously. 

“Oh fuck off, this is how I normally am. Can’t you tell?” Goo replies back, now even more aggravated.

“Mhm. So this little attitude of yours wouldn’t have anything to do with you know who?” Goo just scoffs.

“No it doesn’t have anything to do with her if you must know” 

“Right. So no bitter feeling, no pining for her, nothing of that sort going on right now?” Gun asks, attempting to make Goo more annoyed because he knows this is the best way to get answers out of him.

“Again. NO” Goo shouts the last part.

“Wow, touchy. But even in saying no, it’s a yes. Got it” 

“You know what, fuck off if you’re going to be like that”

“Be like what?” Gun replies, acting oblivious. 

“Oh I don’t know. Curious, nosey, intrusive or just sticking your nose somewhere it doesn’t belong” Goo retorts back.

“Right. So you are upset then. God I couldn’t tell” 

“Oh fuck off. I mean seriously, you would be too”

“Trust me, given what I’ve heard from her and the entire little plan that she concocted, yeah I’m pissed. But seriously the thing she did to you, that’s just laughable” Gun says tauntingly. 

“Right and you’ve hear everything” 

“That’s right” Gun replies back calmly. Goo turns around at this and raises his eyebrows, not needing to ask the question ‘seriously?’ for Gun to understand what he was going to say. So Gun just nods.

“Well then. Looks like you guys are happy again” 

“Were friends again if that’s what you mean” 

“Right…friends” Goo replies back, now getting agitated. 

“You seem bothered. Want to tell me why?” Gun says, provoking Goo even more. 

Then after a few seconds, Gun sees a glass flying towards his head and after that Goo goes in for a punch. They have a small scuffle on the floor for a good few minutes, both landing punches on one another until Goo finally stops and stands. Gun does the same and they both wipe themselves down before sitting on the sofa.

“This is bullshit” Goo says. “All of this is fucking bullshit” 

“Clarification?” Gun asks curiously.

“Her and me. Me and her. God, it’s bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit” 

“Aww so you are upset” Gun mocks. Goo just looks at him for a moment before taking in his surroundings and Gun assumes he doesn’t want to break his expensive furniture. 

“Look just fuck off, I’m not in the mood” Goo says back.

“Listen. I don’t really care all that much. But, for what it’s worth. She is sorry” Gun says as he stands up to leave. 

But as he walks towards the door and reaches for the handle Goo suddenly asks something.

“Really?” 

“Yeah”

“Also what happened to talking about the meeting?” Goo questions.

“We can go over it another time. Clearly, you’re not in the right headspace” And with that Gun leaves Goo’s apartment.

_

Another *ding* on your phone makes you jump as you have just sat down to think about everything for the millionth time. It’s from Gun again. Much like last time you open it at lightning speed.

*Half the plan worked. Very well actually. The other half, not so much*

*What do you mean by half?. What half.* You reply back.

*Dinner didn’t work out. I didn’t even ask. But he is pissed about you and everything you have done. Like seriously, a little provoking and we were having a small fight on the floor.*

*What?.*

*Seriously. He is pissed*

*Also, if you ask me again to go back over there, my answer is no. I am NOT putting up with him again. At least not until it’s necessary.* 

*Got it. Thank you for doing half of the plan though. But what should I do now?.* You ask.

*Talk to him.* 

And with that you are left bewildered. Goo doesn’t want to talk to you and from what Gun has just texted you he’s so pissed off that he’s willing to throw punches. 

A few hours of deliberating later and you still have no idea what to do. Clearly he’s annoyed and hurt and you're pretty sure you’re the last person he wants to see or even hear from right now. So you decide to leave it. Wait for everything to settle down and then you will try to talk to him.

__________

Another few weeks have passed. Now this marks almost a month of not speaking to Goo. Even now you’re still not sure what to do. Since the day that everything came to a head, you’ve seen him a handful of times. Always leaving your father’s office after a meeting and once in the kitchen making a coffee. You didn’t even attempt to talk to him and you’re sure he hadn’t even acknowledged your presence. 

Much like when you tried to put the plan into place with Gun, you continue to berate him about what you should do. It always ends with him saying ‘talk to him’. But you can’t bring yourself to do that.

Now after a few days since the last meeting and talking to your father about everything else that has happened. Your father has told you that Goo will be over in a few hours since he needs to speak to him again, this time on his own. You just replied with an ‘okay’ and told him that you’ll stay out their way. Mostly meaning Goo.

After the few hours are over with, you assume that everything is said and done and that Goo has left. So you go downstairs to find your father.

“DAD” You scream, waiting to hear a response back so you can go to it. But, nothing.

“DAD” You scream again, this time trying to be as loud as possible. But still, nothing. You’re about to scream a third time before you hear a voice shout from the kitchen. 

“He’s not here” 

It’s Goo. Wait, what is Goo doing here, he should be gone by now. You question to yourself. But nonetheless you go to the kitchen because you have a few questions. Such as ‘Where is my dad?’.

As you enter the kitchen. Sure enough, sat on a stool, you see Goo. You furrow your eyebrows questioningly and then walk towards him. 

“So, why are you here? I thought you left” You ask Goo, not expecting a reply.

“Your father. Said he was going away for a few hours. Gun’s out on a job and your father wanted someone to watch you” Goo replies, answering all your questions in one go. 

“Great” You reply back coldly. Then with that, the room falls silent again. So you go and make yourself a coffee while you're here. You grab the kettle, fill it up, place it back down and click it so it starts to boil. Then you turn around, fold your arms across your chest and lean against the counter, just staring at Goo.

Suddenly, Goo looks up and straight at you. Making you freeze for a moment. But then he climbs off his stool and starts walking over to you. All of a sudden your eyes grow wide and you feel your heartbeat quicken in pace. 

Then in a swift flash, Goo is stood in front of you. He then reaches towards you and instinctively you close your eyes. Then suddenly you hear a cupboard door open and some sort of plate being taken out. You open your eyes again and Goo is leaning over you with a bowl in hand. Suddenly he looks down at you and speaks.

“Can you move, I need a spoon” 

You blink for a moment before moving and now you’re trying to hold your tongue. But you can’t for much longer after he grabs a spoon and heads back.

“Seriously, are you still this pissed off?” You ask him annoyed.

“Annoyed?. Annoyed about what?.” Goo asks unbothered.

“Seriously?” You question.

“Yes, seriously” 

“You really are such a dick, you know that right?”

“Oh, so I’m a dick now?” Goo replies back angrily.

“Yes. I mean seriously. I let you cool down, I didn’t talk to you given the circumstances and the only words that you say to me is first why my dad left and then you say ‘can you move, I need a spoon’. I mean what the fuck, really?” You say back, now getting angry yourself.

“Oh I’m every so very sorry princess” Goo says back tauntingly.

“You know how much I hate that nickname, so stop fucking using it” 

By this point you don’t notice that Goo has put down the bowl and spoon. You also don’t conceive the fact that you have slowly been moving closer to Goo, who is just standing round at the opposite side of the counter. And within a few seconds you are face to face screaming at one another.

This goes on for a few minutes before you eventually just scream out something that halts Goo in his tracks.

“At least I wasn't fighting with Gun because I couldn’t handle how hurt or even jealous I was” All of a sudden, silence. You both look at each other and then you step back and look down. You feel bad that you’ve just admitted to knowing about what Gun and Goo had talked about. But you also just crossed a line by assuming things. 

“How do you know about that?” Goo asks. 

“Who do you think, Gun told me. I kinda asked him to tell me what you talked about if I came up in conversation” There’s a long pause before either of you speak again, but just as you do there’s a click. It’s the front door.

“Anyone here?” It’s Gun who’s just arrived. 

“In here” Goo shouts back.

Once Gun walks into the kitchen and sees both you and Goo almost face to face he smirks and then asks rather snarkily “Lovers quarrel?” with a smirk on his face. With that you look at both of them, completely ignoring the fact that you wanted coffee and head back up to your room. You then hear the door slam and an engine start. You can tell it’s Goo’s car and then it fades away as it grows silent again. 

About 10 minutes later footsteps come up the stairs and then there is a knock at your door. Begrudgingly you answer it and it’s Gun.

“What do you want?” You ask annoyed.

“Sorry” Gun says. You sigh at this and let him in, he just goes and sits on the bed. 

“It’s fine, I just overreacted a little” 

“I mean yes, you did. But what was that, with you and Goo?” 

“We had an argument”

“Oh. So you’re talking now” 

“No. Definitely not talking”

“Okay, sure. Anyways, I'm not staying here” “But what about my dad?” You ask.

“Just tell him that Goo left a couple of minutes before he got back” Gun retorts.

“Sure thing” 

Then with that Gun leaves and you hear a click from the front door locking and another car engine starts and you hear it slowly fade. Then you’re alone. You think about everything that has just happened and how much it has hurt you. *Ding*. You pick up your phone assuming that it is Gun who is texting you until you read the name. *Piss head*. It’s Goo. You open the text quickly and read it.

*Sorry for the argument. Can you come to my apartment tomorrow, we need to talk* 

Now your head is really spinning.

*Sure* 

Is your reply and then you prepare yourself for tomorrow.

__________

You could barely sleep last night because you were thinking about the text from Goo. Your anxiety crept up on you when you were about to go to sleep then suddenly all you thought about was Goo. What does he want?. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?. God, even now you’re a nervous wreck thinking about it. But you leave at 2pm and your Gun will drive you.

You told your dad about everything when he got in and he nodded along as you were telling him. But when he walked into his office you saw a smile set across his face. Clearly he’s happy for you but doesn’t want to admit it. 

You check the time quickly to see how long you have until you get picked up by Gun. Suddenly you realize you overslept and it’s 1pm. Where did the time go and why didn’t you hear your alarms is all you ask yourself before you’re rushing to find an outfit and shower.

After showering and doing all the necessary things like brushing your teeth and hair, putting on your clothes. You check the time again and suddenly you hear a car horn. 1:49pm. That will be Gun. You got ready just in time you think and now you’re off to go and see Goo.

You walk outside and get in Gun’s car. Clipping in your seatbelt as soon as you sit down, then the anxiety wears away and the nausea hits. You really wish you had taken some sort of pain meds before you left. Maybe they would have dulled down the ill feeling in your stomach.

“You good?” Gun asks. 

“I feel like I’m going to throw up” You say back to him. He leans over, opens the glove compartment and then there is some medication. You look at him, smile and then reach for the medication. Popping out 2 pills while Gun hands you his half drunk bottle of water, but you don’t care. You just want to take these and hope everything goes well. 

“So, nervous I take it” 

“How could you tell?” You ask back sarcastically.

“Oh you know, this and that” 

“Ha ha” You respond back. Then there's a jolt and suddenly you recognize that Gun has started driving. 

“Do you by any chance know what he wants?” You ask Gun, hoping for a best case scenario where he knows everything. 

“Not a single idea” 

“God. Why couldn’t you know something” You almost whine this out. 

“Just have to go in blind”

“You know I hate not having even a slight inkling into what’s about to occur. So frankly, this is my worst nightmare playing out” 

“Such a shame. I would pity you if it wasn’t slightly funny” Gun says back now stifling back laughter. 

“Such an ass” You retort back and that makes Gun laugh. 

The drive isn’t long but it is silent after you almost threw up after going over a speed bump. Then you arrive at Goo’s apartment. You let out a deep sight before looking over at Gun and giving him a not then getting out. Closing the door behind you, you look up and feel the irony in the situation. 

You wait for Gun to leave and then walk towards the entrance. Once you’re in the lobby you make your way to the elevator and step inside. You remember the floor number this time, press it and wait as it slowly climbs up the floors. It’s so slow that it’s almost painful as it climbs up. Then it stops and the doors open. 

You let out another sigh before exiting the elevator and walking to Goo’s door. You wait for a minute before you ask yourself again why you’re here or what are you doing. But you can’t be bothered to fight it anymore and give in. Recognising you’re already here, you know you can’t turn back and so you knock on Goo’s door and wait for an answer.

Suddenly the door opens and Goo appears in front. He moves out the way and motion with his hand to come in and sure enough you walk in. 

“Sorry” He says.

“About what?” You ask.

“About yesterday” 

“Just about yesterday?” You ask him.

“No, not just about yesterday” You just nod as he talks. 

“Well at least you’re speaking to me now” 

“I could say the same thing about you” Goo says back.

“Well, I thought you wouldn’t want to talk to me”

“And why is that?” Goo questions. 

“I mean, given everything, I think you understand why” Goo nods as you say this but then you see a smile come across his face. 

“I you really want to know, I’m glad we’re talking again”

“Me too” 

You both sit for an hour or two talking about this and that, but you know sooner or later that you will have to have a serious talk about what really happened between you both. But before that Goo gets up and asks if you want a pizza and you nod vigorously and say yes.

It’s about 6pm by the time the pizza gets there and you both stop talking to eat. You get the plates and Goo brings out wine again. Then you start to reminisce on the night that Goo said ‘what if i’ve never hated you’ and then you look at him for a moment, happy and content, pouring out wine for you both with an ordered in pizza sat in front of you both. 

You place the plates down. Take your seat and then Goo hands you the wine. You think before taking a sip and then place it down, thinking about the conversations to come and you want to be sober for it. You both eat and drink and then after it’s finished, you take the plate and clean them while Goo dries the dishes. You aren’t saying a word to one another, you aren’t even looking at each other, but yet you can tell that both of you feel so content.

And so once everything is done and before you sit back down on the sofa you tell Goo that you have to make a call or 2. The first person you call is your father, telling him that you won’t be back tonight and that you’re planning on staying over at Goo’s talking. He doesn’t like the idea, but he’s not going to stop you, after being so truthful to him this past week. Then you call Gun, explaining the situation and trying to be questioned so much by him. But even through the phone you can feel the ever growing smirk on his face and then you hang up and everything is dealt with. 

Then again, you start to reminisce on how similar this is to how you first got to talking. The phone calls you made, staying overnight, having wine and then having conversations that turned into something so deep that not even you, yourself imagined it would. At least not with Goo. But here you are again, you think to yourself. Back in the same position, just without the storm and wet clothes. 

You go over and sit back down beside Goo. Letting out another sigh before you have to face the music and the conversations that will happen. But first you feel like you should let him know that you may or may not have told both your father and Gun that you will more than likely stay over tonight without mentioning it to the apartment's owner.

“ Goo” You say.

“What’s up” 

“Do you mind if I stay tonight?” 

“Why?” 

“Well, I kind of canceled my ride and told my dad I would be staying over here because we do have a lot to talk about” You answer back.

“That is true. So, are we going to get started on the talks or are we just going to keep tiptoeing around it?” Goo asks suddenly. 

“Well, let’s start” You say back to him.

“Great” He says. 

“So. Why the shouting match yesterday and how did you get Gun to tell you about the conversation and fight that he and I had?” 

“The shouting match was because you were a dick. A month of no conversation and then tell me to move because you need a spoon. I mean seriously Goo a SPOON?” You say rather annoyedly. 

“But as for how I found out about the conversation, I may have set up another plan with Gun this time to try and get you to talk to me again..” 

“You did what?” Goo asks surprised.

“Yeah..I asked him if he would come over here and talk about the meeting we had a few weeks back. Then I asked him if maybe, just maybe he could slip in a few questions about me and see how that goes. But I swear all he told me was that you were annoyed and jealous and all you went on about was me, then there was a fight and overall from what I gathered, it was a mess” “Well you’re right about that. It was a complete mess” 

“Yeah. I figured as much” You say, laughing slightly. 

“But as for everything else. It’s also true what he said. I mean I was so pissed off about everything, but mainly about you that even when he came in here I had an attitude on me” Goo says. 

“Well. That’s slightly comforting to know. But still I absolutely hate myself for what happened between us. Well between all 3 of us. But mainly you and I” You say suddenly. Goo then looks at you for a moment before seeing that you are telling the truth.

“Really?” He asks, almost unsure what to think.

“Yes really. I regret that entire plan of making Gun jealous. I regret how I put you two against one another and I regret hurting you in the process of my own selfish actions” 

“Good to hear. But what about what you said in the kitchen that day that we talked, the day of the meeting?” Goo asks.

“Well truth be told I still stand by exactly what I said. I’m glad everything happened like that between us, but at the time I wasn’t entirely sure why until I had a conversation with Gun after you left” 

“And what conversation would that be?” Goo asks curiously.

“Well I told him about everything. The fake dating plan. Me wanting to go out with him, blah, blah, blah. You know the deal by now. But what really got me was when I said I liked Gun and Gun pointed that out. Going on to say a little monologue about how he did see me as a potential partner, this and that and then he said that I don’t feel the same way anymore because he was a complete dick” At this Goo tilts his head curious as to what you mean. 

“What I mean is that he pointed out that I didn’t like him and I hadn’t liked him since coming back from this apartment. Your apartment” You say to Goo. He goes silent for a moment and then the pieces click in his head. 

“Hold on. Let me get this straight. You mean to say that you liked Gun for years and once you actually got him jealous and he started becoming a dick, you didn’t like him anymore” Goo asks almost as a confirmation. 

“Yes” You say.

“Then once I called Gun to pick you up and drag you back, even after everything that happened. You didn’t like him anymore?” 

“Yes” You say again. 

“And what’s more is that you and Gun had a conversation where you said you liked him and he pointed it out and then what?. You realized that it was..” Goo stops before continuing, not wanting to be wrong in what he is assuming. 

“Yes. At that moment when I said that to Gun and he pointed it out saying a few certain things, it clicked. It clicked to me why I said that I was going to bed instead of kissing you again and again or even staying up and talking until the sun came up. It’s because I like you Goo and don’t ask me why because I don’t know. I have absolutely no clue. But yes. I like you” You finally say. Confirming everything that Goo was thinking. Or at least you're hoping so.

Goo stops for what feels like a few hours and then he just looks at you, until he breaks his eye contact. Then he looks at the glass of wine and drinks it all down in one. You’re trying not to smile at this because it’s so funny it's almost comedic. But then after only a minute he speaks. 

“I’m so sorry i’ve been such a fucking dick. You were right. This entire time I have been a dick and what’s more I hate myself for it. But Gun was also right in saying that I was jealous when he came here that day. That’s why I started a fight with him because I thought that he would win you over and I just didn’t want to see that happen. But at the same time I didn’t want to talk to you because I was pissed. So fucking pissed. But now…” Goo just stops speaking and looks at you. Smiling from ear to ear like an idiot. All you can do though is do the exact same thing back and then the laughter happens. 

You both laugh for 15 minutes. You’re crying from it and Goo is doubled over holding his stomach from it cramping up from laughing so hard and then you eventually stop and wait for Goo to do the same. After he does stop laughing, you both just look at each other and then Goo stands up. You do the same, except you move towards him and once you’re close enough to him, you wrap your arms around him, hugging him. 

He hugs you back and you stay like that for a good few minutes. Neither of you wanting to be the first to let go. But then Goo is the first one to break the connection, but in the best way possible. He cups your cheeks and kisses you and you kiss him back. You pull away and kiss each other again and again. Eventually you get slightly tired and so by that point you break away from him and say. 

“I’m tired right now. So I’m going to go to bed” With that being said you both burst into laughter at how stupid you both are. All these plans and misunderstanding and yet with a simple conversation, everything was solved. 

Goo runs up to his bedroom and brings down a shirt and sweatpants for you to wear and you go and get changed. When you come out of the bathroom he is lying on the sofa the exact same way he was when you first slept over that one fateful night. And so you crawl into his arms and he throws the blanket over you. Kissing you on the back of the neck goodnight. 

You wake up the next morning happy as can be. Then before you know it one night turns into two, two turns into three and three turns into a week. Until four months later you have a few boxes left to move that Gun is helping you with. Then you will officially have moved into Goo’s apartment. 

“Well looks like you’re moving in” Goo says sarcastically. 

“Wasn’t that always the plan?” You say sarcastically back to Goo, with a smile on your face. 

“I guess it might have been” Goo says, moving over to you and hugging you as you put the last box down. You smile up at Goo and then see that he is dangling something in his hand.

“Your house keys princess” Go says with a smirk on his face. Meanwhile you know you look unimpressed with that nickname. But it has grown on you over these past few months. 

“Great” You say. “I’ll be taking those '' As you take the keys out of Goo’s hand. You look up at him after taking them and smile again. Goo then leans down and kisses you and you kiss him back. 

“I love you” Goo says to you.

“I love you too” You say back to Goo.

#lookism headcanons #lookism hc #lookism #lookism x reader #goo kim x reader #goo lookism #lookism goo #kim joongoo x reader #kim joongoo #goo kim #lookism fic #lookism fanfic #lookism webtoon #lookism manhwa #manhwa #webtoon #gun park #park jonggun

[onmyyan]

Manny Delmont HC's

A/N: The last of the boys is here but he certainly ain't the least ;) EDITED

TW'S: YANDERE, MURDER, NEEDLE MENTION(TATTOO),

By far the most unhinged member of the family and thats saying A LOT lmao

Platonic yandere for his kin, he has killed in their name and will do it again.

One of if not the most loyal person you'd ever meet.

Once he decides he likes you he turns into your own personal puppy.

If the puppy was a man who enjoyed showing his love through the most violent means at hand that is.

Smells like honey and lavender and when he can't be bothered to hide it, blood.

Shares a lot of features with his twin, except his eyes, he has the brightest in his family, and they are often clouded with mischief.

Marcos uses him as a test dummy for outfits since they look nearly identical, if looks good on Manny he can go from there.

He's been offered to model before.

Best begging face in the business, he rarely has to ask for something twice.

Has a few tattoos, there's a blank cartoon heart over his real one, plans on getting his beloveds name inked there once he finds em.

And he knows he will!

Hopeless romantic, he loves romcoms!

Especially You on Netflix(👁👄👁)

Thinks Christine should have chosen to be with the Phantom of the Opera.

Also thinks Victor should have been with Emily from A Corpse Bride.

Mask kink but we'll circle back later ;)

It stems from his love of all things Horror something be shared with his twin, if he's watching something where he picks up even a hint of romance between the Slasher and the final girl he starts kicking his feet.

Thinks the bad guys deserve love to!

Gave himself his first tattoo, a stick n poke he made himself after watching 1 YouTube video.

Yeah that got infected, but he thought scars were sick as hell plus it was a great party story.

People fall over their feet for him on the daily.

Has gotten in the most fights out of all the brothers.

He may takes some licks during them but he was scary in the way that he never stayed down, and you could tell from the blank look in his eye and the twisted grin, if he got the chance he'd put you in the ground.

Terrible singer but that doesn't stop him from belting out his favorites in the shower

He loves pop music because there are a surprising amount of songs that remind him of his specific brand of love.

He really likes reading, especially when it teaches him something new, always learning this one.

He could be at the top of his class if he put in a smidge more of effort but he likes his life, as long as he's not actively causing chaos which lets be honest is very easy for him, the teachers often turn a blind eye to his goofing off.

Had several fake Id's before he was legal just to get into clubs to see bands preform.

Has a snake named noodle.

Shes a Python. He talks to her like a person

"You would not believe my day girl."

He's lean but strong, way stronger than he looks which always catches people by surprise.

If he doesn't have something occupying his hands he will start tapping on whatever available surface and if left unattended that will turn into beatboxing.

Funny even when he isn't trying

He once kidnapped a guy who was giving his twin grief and sent a picture of his upside down body in the group chat

"Felt kinda silly idk :) "

Manny's got high expectations for anyone dating his family, he's the real reason they have the rule about vetting people with each other.

When Ricky and Gabe were fighting over that girl way back when, a much younger Manny, hating the way his usually loving siblings were at each others throats, took it upon himself to rid them of the problem.

Knowing he only meant well Ricky and Gabe concocted the system the use today, but don't tell that to Manny.

His fits always come with a body count.

Oral fixation, he's constantly chewing on something.

His only source for relationships are his insane ass family so as the baby, it's natural he'd absorb all that crazy.

His laugh is more of a cackle.

He picks stuff up super easily but also gets bored just as fast so he has this random ass assortment of skills and neat party tricks.

Like one summer he got super into gymnastics so for fun he liked to twist into a backbend and speed crawl towards his brothers in the pitch black of the night.(Ricky has passed out from this)

Adrenalin junkie, he'd gotten his first motorbike at 15 and had been chasing the high he got from that first ride since.

Gabe taught him how to fight, not because he wanted to but because Manny had a tendency to mouth off to the wrong people and Gabe couldn't always be there to defend him.

Loves playing soccer, his father wanted him to have a much more legal way of releasing that devil in him, after nailing the goalie with a ball so hard he passed out, he fell in love with the sport.

He has a mean kick, if someone pissed him off enough he'd always manage to 'accidentally' kick the ball at their softest parts.

Has a new group of friends every week, he can't help it if everyone wants a piece of him.

He meets you at a bookstore, and he seen you long before he walked over to ask for help.

He watched the gentle way you handled the books, the care you showed them as you sorted, he could see you bobbing your head to the song softly playing from some speaker, the beams of light pouring in from the window cast you in a light that was damn near angelic.

He gaped at you silently for a bit before coming up with some obscure book title im his mind, if his assumptions about you were correct, you'd offer to help.

"Hi? Sorry to bug you." He put on his most charming smile and he could see it's effects instantly, the warm look in your eye gave him butterflies in his stomach.

"You're fine, how can I help you hun?" God even the way you spoke had goosebumps trailing down his back, your tone was like velvet.

"O-oh well I have this report due tomorrow that I completely spaced about- any chance you have this one?" He made sure to flash his watch, peacocking in every way he knew how, the rolex a gift from his Father, but you focused intently on the screen.

"Hmm this is an old one, I've definitely seen it, wanna follow me?"

"Absolutely." The response was innocent in nature but you had no idea just how much he meant that.

"So, you like to read or just a job thing?" He said gesturing to the rest of the store. To his delight you gave him another heart stopping smile, "I love books. How they can take you away from all the bullshit- oops sorry-" he laughed loud enough to hear it echo causing her to grin, "No don't be sorry, I wholeheartedly agree."

Ironically as picky as he was with his family's partners, he was yours the second you called him Hun, he got flashes of your life together the longer you two spoke, in reality the conversation was maybe ten minutes but that was all he needed.

Charms his way into your number, starts bringing you lunch and offering to pick you up, then he's offering to take you to work, no matter how early you started.

"I don't wanna mess with your sleep hun, plus you'd have to drive all the way across town and then to my job-"

He'd squish your cheeks together to steal a kiss, "Nonsense Darling, you could just spend the night if you're so worried about me." And would you look at that you're spending the night like every other night.

He's dummy smooth, he has you practically moved in before you're one month anniversary, if anyone were to try and plant some poison in your head like "You guys are moving kinda fast" or "shouldn't you get to know him better?" They are quickly put on his shit list.

As quick to cut a bitch as our boy is, he's also smart, and knows if everyone in your family and immediate circle started dropping dead he'd have a problem, so instead he gaslight gatekeeps and girlbosses his way to victory.

It be almost like love bombing, except it never goes away, he only ever falls deeper in love with you as time goes on.

Walk him like a dog he needs it.

Wants to take you all over the world, loves the idea of boneing in every continent.

He's soo cuddly the type to text you when you're in the bathroom cuz he miss you :(

The kinda guy where if you send him a cute picture he responds with a video of him falling to his knees wherever he's at.

Loves being the little spoon, but when he's wasted he has a tendency to flop on top of you like a starfish before curling around you like a koala.

Mean mugs the shit outta any girl who looks at him bec tf I'm for MY babys eyes only >:(

Promise rings for your one month anniversary that have both your guy's blood in them. How he got it you'll never know but you're a weirdo just like him and instead of questioning it you bear hug him.

Fantastic kisser, knocks the breath outta you each time, please touch him while you make out, pull his hair he promises not to moan that loudly again. Scouts honor.

He's lying btw

He is the opposite of afraid to moan in your ear, they almost sound exaggerated but no he's really that loud.

#yandere x reader #yandere #yandere x y/n #yandere oc x reader #manny delmont #yandere oc manny #yandere ocs #manny x reader #yandere hcs

[twogyuu]

seventeen for the holidays

pairing: svt x reader (?) (me tbh lmfao)

synopsis: would my family approve of svt if i brought them home for the holidays?

a/n: delulu hours open 24 hours today!!!! ✨

'tis the season to be lonely and single for the holidays once again, so i wrote this for shits and giggles. mostly pertains to my family dynamics (both nuclear and extended). completely self-indulgent. don't take anything seriously please! will likely delete later lol. im embarrassed fjksdlfj

. . . .

seungcheol:

imma be honest - i think my mom would be a smidge SUS of him at first, but eventually warm up to him. a little too good to be true (i mean aren't they all LOL), a little too pretty yet somehow handsome, very cordial, a little too clingy when she knows i don't like clingy- it doesn't make sense, but when she sees him taking care of me and getting along with everyone else, she'll approve. the asian aunties would be ALL OVER him fr fr. my uncles would think he's a respectful young man and give the approving nods/grunts. my cousins would think he's cool. all around, just a great guy 💓

. . . .

jeonghan:

confused - that's it. everyone would be confused. lots of questions about how we met would be asked before giving approval (or the lack thereof). as beautiful as he is, jeonghan isn't the type i usually go for. he'd just be so left field lol.

. . . .

joshua:

model boyfriend™️ - probably would wonder if i ordered him some underground ai manufacturer until he's hanging out with younger cousins and starts doing his 'love shot' grandpa dancing during karaoke with my drunk younger auntie.

. . . .

jun:

yes - what more do i need to say? he's like what they said in 'goldilocks and the three bears': just right 💙

. . . .

soonyoung:

he is very shy around people he doesn't know, so at least for the first few hours of the gathering, i'd expect him to be kinda bashful but so fucking endearingly so. i think people would ADORE him though, especially my older aunties. my uncles might be a little off-put and brush him off. my cousins would be confused, but maybe less so than jeonghan. they'd all be fooled into thinking he's some sweet boy my straightforward ass coerced into a relationship 😭 my mom might be a little questioning at first because he's so shy and got that kinda corny and innocent/childish feel to him, but ultimately decide he's a nice boy and approve 🫶🏻 honestly the only member of bias line i think she'd approve of- by the end of gathering, everyone will be wondering why my cousin's two-year-old is crawling around growling, holding her hands out like she's a tiger.

. . . .

wonwoo:

in some ways, i feel like wonwoo is the type of guy my entire family would expect me to date. he has that black cat energy that matches my own, also a very mature, polite, serious, quiet confidence kind of presentation (not that he is or isn't - but the he carries himself if that makes sense), they think i'm into. not that it's a bad thing - he's just not . . . my type??? they don't know i don't go for guys like this dkfjslkdf so if i did bring him home, no one would be fazed at all.

. . . .

jihoon:

scared af - does he like us? does he hate us? the world will never know until he releases a diss track about this holiday party-. would be considered tall in my family and fit in just right :D

. . . .

minghao:

HONESTLY ID LOVE TO BRING HIM TO A FAMILY GATHERING HAHAHAHA. ppl need a slice of his sassiness and judgment - looking at you cranky aunties, uncles, and cousins who keep trying to hook me up with your distant nephews/cousins 🥲

. . . .

seokmin:

1000000% - a perfect blend of sugar, spice, and everything nice. the fam would LOVE this man to pieces, except maybe my mom - she'd be hard to crack because that's just her personality, but i think seokmin can do it. as long as we keep the alcohol away-💀

. . . .

mingyu:

mingyu? with me? wwwwhhhhhaaatttt???? HAHAHAHA THIS MUST BE A JOKE - SAY SIKE RN AND TELL US YOU'RE FAKE DATING. impossible. most of my aunties would be too enamored by his handsomeness and boyish charms. would do the classic toxic auntie, "he's too handsome for you" and "y'all don't match" comments :') on the contrary, my mom and brothers would be extra SUS of him. might whisper to me that he's a red flag and warned me about boys like this lmfao because he's sugaring up the aunties a little too much to be normal (but he's just being mingyu really) and show him the door when we get home LOL.

. . . .

seungkwan:

most definitely!!! 🥰 equally sassy - would wonder how we haven't bickered/bantered the roof off the house yet, but they love him anyways.

. . . .

vernon:

it makes sense, but it also doesn't. iykyk 👁️👄👁️

. . . .

chan:

i'm the most undecided on him 🤔 on one hand, he's such a grandma's boy, i feel like my family would love him. on the other hand, it also depends on his mood, what he wears, if he's feeling his inner pi cheol in - so many factors to consider . . .

#twogyuu:strugglin' #seventeen x reader #seventeen scenarios #seventeen headcanons

[hostilemuppet]

The Twitter Drama AU Timeline

finally, after months, we finally have a timeline. this is not exhaustive (i tried to mainly include the super important parts, and some less important parts i thought were REALLY funny), and is probably only 75% accurate due to the non-linear nature we wrote the fic in to begin with, but it is better than nothing! updated as of chapter 10 (low hanging fruits)

12th March 2023: Tiny Diamond is born, Creek is his other dad, which is kept a secret from everyone except Guy and Creek.

November 2023: The events of Band Together, almost completely identical. Following which, Brozone get back together and start working on their reunion album. Now that Branch is in the spotlight, Barb is forced to acknowledge her ex girlfriend (one night stand) Poppy is a lot happier with a transfem butch, which sparks Barb’s descent into terfism. Val and Creek briefly see each other.

December 2023: John Dory gets his Twitter confiscated by Clay. Floyd gets his sex tape leaked (by Creek). Clay throws Viva under the bus for the first time. Clay accidentally gets Bruce accused of cheating on his wife, but they pin it on Branch, who just organised a fake breakup with Poppy because he was uncomfortable with all the smutfic. Riff leaves Barb’s band, and collabs with Creek but calls him an asshole. Velvet gets out of prison and writes a callout thread on Floyd. Floyd gets cancelled for the first time. Creek and Floyd start seeing each other in secret.

January 2024: Val publicly comes out as nonbinary and is kicked out of Barb’s band, then outs Barb as a nepo baby as revenge. JD tries to sneak back onto stantwt but is doxxed. Floyd tells Branch about his relationship with Creek; Branch is surprisingly fine with it as long as Creek is suffering, and boy does he suffer.

February 2024: A misunderstanding leads everyone to think Branch broke up with Poppy because he’s a gay man. He comes out as a lesbian but is immediately met with vitriol of both the exclusionist and transmisogynistic varieties. Barbtwt have a bone to pick with Hickory but he comes out on top. Clay throws Viva under the bus again but this time she's had enough, and releases an expose video on him and kicks him out of the pod. Viva and Floyd become BFFs.

March 2024: Dating rumours about Smidge and Poppy start, which Smidge does nothing to help. Barb accuses Smidge’s actual boyfriend of being a pedophile, and gets ratio’d. Creek and Floyd go public with their relationship.

June 2024: Guy Diamond gets into controversy after soliciting a camgirl and his family vlog channel goes on hiatus. Clay and Viva get back together, and Viva records revenge porn of him to “keep him in line”.

August 2024: Biggie gets into mild controversy that escalates into cancelation when he responds in character as Mr Dinkles. Clay and Vivas relationship becomes undeniably abusive, but they’re really good at hiding it.

September 2024: Floyd and Creek get married! Satin & Chenille have Velvet on their podcast. Guy Diamond gets cancelled after being outed as Pro-Life. 

15th December 2024: Floyd and Creek have twins, Brad and Angelina [LASTNAME]-[LASTNAME2-.

April 2025: Creek and Floyd drop all pretences of thinking they’re a healthy couple.

12th May 2025: Creek aborts his second egg. They would have been named Shiloh. Floyd is distraught and gets harassed on Twitter again for being Pro-Life.

August 2025: Creek and Floyd divorce.

September 2025: It comes to light that DJ Suki is stealing from her niece CJ.

December 2025: Creek and Floyd get back together. Val stops hiding their racism from twitter and get doxxed by KPop fans. They have to live with their mother.

January 2026: Harper starts drawing Bruce as a transphobic caricature, a skinny feminine twink.

February 2025: Viva stops taking birth control. Branch gets doxxed for the first time (by Cloud Guy). Dante starts stalking Branch.

March 2026: jdtwt find out that JD used to have a thing with Delta Dawn, and harass her a bit. The two get back in touch, and Delta tells JD that they actually had a kid together (Holly Darling). JD is thrilled about being a dad. Holly is initially apprehensive but eventually comes around. JD gives Delta Cooties (it’s okay, there’s a cure). Sky Toronto buys Twitter.Crimp gets run off the internet for uncomfortable roleplay with Tiny Diamond (pretending to be 14). Velvet gets cancelled for workplace abuse. Smidge starts queerbaiting by selling merch of referencing her and Poppy’s fake relationship.

April 2026: Tiny Diamond reveals he is not actually 14, he is physically 3 years old (but for our purposes he is functionally 9 because Trolls age weird). He loses all his OOMFs (CJ, Preiscilla, Keith (all approx 13)) and has his account suspended. Branch gets really jealous over Smidge and publicly shittalks her. He and Poppy “get back together” but set the “boundary” that any smutfic about either of them can only be Broppy (obviously not everyone follows this rule).

May 2026: Cloud Guy leaks Smidge’s miscarriage after being paid off by Barbtwt. Branch gets doxxed for the third time. Poppy demands Sky Toronto take action so he permabans Cloud Guy’s IP. Cloud Guy goes to live with his parents.

June 2026: Gust Tumbleweed is violently homophobic to Synth during an LGBT charity event, but faces no consequences because he starts flirting with his fellow straight male friends again. Poppy gets sick of Dante stalking Branch so she prepares to take matters into her own hands. Holly Darlin starts selling snake oil, from the same company that supplies for Satin & Chenille. Holly and Satin start dating.

July 2026: Satin & Chenille (both Creek’s exes) are invited to the Floyd and Creek household for dinner to ‘bury the hatchet’, where they witness blackmailable activities and force them both to come on their podcast and embarrass themselves (mostly Floyd).

August 2026: Demo falls in love with Gust after being flirted with for several months, breaks up with his current girlfriend (DJ Suki) and gets very VERY aggressively turned down by Gust. Dante sends a glitter bomb to Branch’s pod, so Poppy beats him up, but Dante calls the cops on her and she faces legal trouble. Harper starts drawing Creek as a trans man, even though Creek is a cis man, because she felt like it. It catches on. Biggie gets cancelled for something unspecified but really, really bad.

September 2026: Guy Diamond faces controversy for thinking Troll babies sleeping in beds causes Autism, which he got from Creek, who he used to date and is now interested in again. Clay starts nearing his brink wrt Viva and stays with JD for a bit. Viva finds an egg in her hair, which she soon loses (19th). Cloud Guy kills himself. Biggie overdoses while playing Overwatch. Veneer gets hit by a bus.

October 2026: Sky Toronto and Nova Swift get divorced (she leaves him for a trans Troll). Branch and Poppy get an egg, and Viva is the first they tell, so she manipulates them into thinking they’d be awful parents and she can take care of it for them. Viva uses the egg to convince Clay to come home.

31st October 2026: The egg Viva stole from Branch and Poppy hatches. Their name is Ha’Penny Hatch. Since the kid looks nothing like either “parents”, Clay figures that Viva cheated on him and finally goes grey.

November 2026: Harper deletes all her socials when her proship side account is found. Gust tricks Demo into thinking his feelings are finally returned, only to crush his heart again publicly during a subathon.

December 2026: BrozoneRonpa resurfaces. Branch accidentally says something offensive about Guy Diamond publicly, and Guy capitalises on the potential controversy, which leads to intense Guy VS Floyd beef (they are both interested in the same man (only Floyd is married to him). Nova Swift moves to Mount Rageous, leaving S&C in need of a podcast producer, and Fuzzbert is their only hope but expects a big paycheck.

January 2027: Guy Diamond reveals that Tiny Diamond is actually Creek’s son. Floyd goes to stay with Branch. Bruce finds out the real reason Clay went grey and his immediate plan is to fake Clay’s suicide and take him with him to Vacay Island. JD, Viva and Penny are the only members of Clay’s immediate family who don’t know he’s still alive. Clay’s funeral is livestreamed on Twitch. Holly Darlin’s newly rekindled relationship with her dad is halted in its infancy. 

#text #twitter drama au

[saltygilmores]

THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING GILMORE GIRLS: S3/EP6: TAKE THE DEVILED EGGS (Pt 2) (This One's Gonna Be a Real Rage Inducer) (Lots Of Interesting Development Though) (So many things happening) (Salty Rambles about Jess Mariano's Birthday)

There is something to be said about Luke (on multiple occasions) readily admitting he pays Jess in ketchup packets to toil in the Coffee Mines more or less against his will. I get that it's just a part time job after school...before school..while he's cutting school..always working...never stopping...never reicieving any tips from Lorelai and Rory... Rory needs a job... Rory and Lorelai need to pay for their food... Anyway these comments shed a light on the shaky economies of small businesses in small towns which is interesting to me. Gilmore Girls is really, at it's core, a show about class. One day he could wake up to find his diner has been turned into a Dunkin Donuts (this is Not-Quite-But-Almost-New England after all, where DD is king).

Hahahahaha!! Jess stole money to buy a car and he committs attempted murder! Hahahahaaha! You're SO FUNNY LORELAI GILMORE. Your daughter stole a boat.

Yeah. And maybe back home, he did had to steal to survive sometimes. How about them apples, Lorelai Gilmore. God, do I loathe her.

Don't say that around Lorelai, I think she'd believe you were being serious.

A couple of the moots and I recently decided that in the recent past, Liz managed to land and then lose a halfway decent boyfriend/ father figure to Jess who had a car and taught Jess to drive and do repairs and some other light adulting. I honestly feel like this is the only thing that makes sense.

HE LOOKS SO GOOD IN THIS SCENE!!! Fuck meeee. Look at that li'l curl...

LOOK AT IT!!!! You know what, I'm calling it. I'm putting my foot down. This is the hottest Milo had ever looked in the entirety of seasons 2 and 3. It's that perfectly gelled hair, the jean jacket, the cool tshirt. Very James Dean. Woof. Let's see, what would I choose for second place? I have to go with the party scene in KegMax, another episode with impeccably jelled hair and a jean jacket (and even while he was apparently sick shooting that episode too). He just progresses in hotness the further season 3 marches on.

These four words "I'm still a minor" are a point of contention for me in the ongoing debate about his birth month. My beliefs: Jess is a Virgo. He was born in August or early September. This would make him just older than Rory by just a smidge. Since well over a year has passed in the show since the episode he arrived in Stars Hollow as a 17 year old (when he arrived, it was early September as Rory had just started school in that episode), he had just celebrated his birthday before arriving and so he has to have already turned 18 by this episode. However, I will consider the theory that Luke was clueless or misinformed about his age at the time he arrived (because it's not like LIz is in any way reliable with information) and he was actually 16 going on 17 when he hopped off the bus last year, and maybe he has an October or November birthday making him slightly younger than Rory. It would make sense that both missed the kindergarten cut off dates in 1989 at their respective schools (which is rock solid canon already for Rory, as she was born in October 84 but graduated in 03 instead of 02), putting them in the same grade.

Salty has put a pathetic amount of thought into this. So, how can I accept this statemen? I attribute it to the same brand of biting sarcasm that gave us "I mugged an old lady" moments ago and also because this scene doesn't make a whole lot of sense to begin with. He's still a minor, but he got his own insurance all by himself under his own name, which is not really a thing, but not his own car registration? Committing insurance fraud perhaps? Sketchy insurance company that didn't ask too many questions? He knows a guy who knows a guy who can print up some fake documents? At that point why not go all the way with the white collar crimes and forge Luke's signature on the registration too? See, Lorelai thinks Jess is a thief and murderer when he's really a white collar criminal like Taylor Doose.

My memory was certain that he produced a cigarrette and not a pen in this scene. I had to edit this post to remove a line about him smoking. I guess I confused it with the Then She Appears/ Cmurrh kissing scene, where he's also wearing a jean jacket with a popped collar. Damn. I can't wait for that scene...

Just some light fraud. If the car belonged to someone in Stars Hollow, whoever's registration he stole probably deserved it anyway. This is how I approach all "Crimes" Jess commits in Stars Hollow. There are only a few people who don't deserve it. Your honor, my client is innocent.

Oh no, the couch of doom. No good conversations ever happens between Rory and Lorelai on the couch, especially after one of them comes home at night and finds the other one on the couch. The Gilmores recieve an invitation to Sherry's baby shower. The moots and I have determined that Doula and Gigi will eventually band together to form the most powerful duo of neglected half sisters the world has ever seen. For the record, today Doula would be 17 and Gigi would be 21. Since Jess eventually comes to adopt and raises Doula she has a somewhat decent chance of coming out a well adjusted adult. At the very least, if she was stuck with TJ and Liz, Jess would still be a positive influence on her life, visit her and look out for her and make sure she didn't get sucked into any cults. The odds are a lot more grim for Gigi with Crusty and Sherry as her forever "parents" and let's face it, very likely her relationship with big sister Rory or any of the other Gilmores is non existent.

And things were so peaceful. Especially since Dean hasn't reared his ugly head in the last two episodes, either.

You flip flop with Crusty so much how can anyone possibly keep track of whether you're on the outs with him or banging him at any given time?

And by saying that out loud you're gonna tip the balance of the universe and he's going to show up. I looked ahead and although this is sadly still a Crusty-Focused episode, he doesn't actually make an appearance. Small blessings. To Lorelai's surprise, Rory admits that she's been in contact with Crusty and Lorelai is okay with it but upset that Rory was hiding it from her. God, he's such a parasite.

Emails. How quaint.

Highly debatable.

#gilmore girls #denise rewatches gilmore girls #gilmore girls season 3 #TDDE #Take the Deviled Eggs #Rory Gilmore #Lorelai Gilmore #Jess Mariano #Luke Danes #Milo Ventimiglia

[rockybloo]

wait so to the characters in-universe it looks like bitterbat is just trying to humiliate/seduce sweetheart, does sweetheart reject him constantly or does she actually seem like she’s into it? because if she rejects him publicly all the time, then the fact that there’s in-universe people who still ship them together despite that kinda gives me weird vibes

of course we as the viewers know that sweetheart is actually dating him and enjoys his advances, but the fictional bittersweet shippers don’t know the full situation. did you intend for the bittersweet shippers to be seen as weird fans, or is there some lore that i’m missing?

Because this is gonna be a very long response, I will answer this two part question right now with a "She seems into it" and "Yes" in case you (or anyone who is reading this) ain't into a 10 min read

Now comes the part where I slam down my essay about my OCs and the world they live in on your desk for the true expanded response under the cut

"Bitterbat is the King of Monsters who is smitten with Decking City's Loveliest Hero, Sweetheart, who constantly rejects his advances due to her sworn oath to stand as a pillar of peace and love to protect the city from danger."

Of course, this is what they have written down in their shared notebook where they brainstorm their confrontations to make them seem more believable instead of staged. I should state now that what really goes down when Bitterbat and Sweetheart confront each other is Bitterbat going ahead of Sweetheart and tracking down a seed of corruption that is about to be awakened or hasn't awakened yet. He then wakes it up prematurely so it's in a slightly more weakened state and lures it to Sweetheart where she destroys it as Beloved weaponry is the only effective way to put down a Vent without harming the person inside of it.

SO THE MONSTER FIGHTING IS REAL-Bitterbat and Sweetheart's entire act in the public eye is fake.

And when it comes to rejection during the act, Sweetheart doesn't straight up verbally reject or voice discomfort. When Bitterbat flirts with her, she shoots him a corny one liner back and when he attempts to sweet talk her, she pulls out a good ole magical girl monologue. Sometimes they verbally bounce off one another and occasionally Sweetheart's acting face slips as she flirts a smidge back at him, dropping hints that he's "Cute but a troublemaker" or "A shame you waste your good looks on evil".

And when Bitterbat gets more physical like pinning or down or straddling her, she very obviously gets flustered as she manages to gracefully slip her away out of Bitterbat's purposely loose grip on her. There is never a struggle when he pins her down but he makes sure it's loose so Sweetheart to manifest a gun and blast him away pure and clean. Thought there have been times she has let the pin down linger a bit too long because a girl's thinking gets fuzzy when her boyfriend is looking at her like she's a 5 course meal and she has to focus on not swooning.

The two didn't plan it but they've accidentally loaded their entire act with sexual tension and the Bittersweet (the in canon ship name for Sweetheart and Bitterbat) shippers can TASTE it.

Even nonshippers crack jokes about the relationship like openly referring to Bitterbat as Sweetheart's boyfriend. Whenever Sweetheart has talk show interviews, her relationship with Bitterbat is a constant discussion topic to bring up that's filled to the brim with "Ok but what is Bitterbat to you?" type questions.

That being said, Bittersweet shippers are definitely meant to be viewed as weird by other shippers. That's mainly because all hero x villain shippers in story are deemed weirdos. It's a taboo relationship to many and there are countless forum posts, video essays, threads, call outs, cancellations, and straight up arguments about the morality of a hero and villain dating. Even a hero and villain putting aside their differences for a brief bit to work together to take on a greater good causes some civilians to voice their hot takes.

And while other hero x villain ships tend to have a relatively small fandom, Bittersweet is an outlier because of how much fuel the magical girl and her monster boyfriend add to the fire.

Freeheart, Freebird x Sweetheart, was one of the biggest hero ships before Bitterbat made his grand return and triggered the creation of Bittersweet. And it's the true "weird" ship as, while Sweetheart and Bitterbat's banter is playful and organic, Sweetheart genuinely voices her objections and rejections to Freebird's advances.

She does it professionally but she very much is blunt about her displeasure and only becomes more straight forward after Bitterbat returns.

This is a BIG contrast to Sweetheart's lighthearted and "school girl with a crush she doesn't want to admit out loud" energy when it comes to Bitterbat. And people notice this difference. The Bittersweet shippers are the biggest haters of Freeheart because it's so obvious Freebird is barking up the wrong tree but because of their title as weirdos, the masses just mark it up to them not wanting Freebird stealing Sweetheart from Bitterbat.

That's not to say everyone is blind to the lack of mutually shared feelings between the two heroes. But because Freebird isn't straight up out here being super forward and forcing himself upon Sweetheart, restraining himself to simply verbally flirting or admiring her, people just shrug it off and figure it's a matter of Freebird being oblivious the girl ain't into him, Sweetheart playing hard to get, or they just have a weird af friendship.

The twist to shippers in canon is that hero shippers IN GENERAL are viewed as weird by the average person who doesn't partake in that side of hero culture.

It's basically the equivalent of us in our reality shipping celebrities together but with an extra layer of separation to it because many heroes have secret identities no one knows. So people justify it with "Well being a hero is basically like being a different person and putting on an act so it's not that bad to say I think [hero a] should make out with [hero b]".

There's that element of striping away the humanity and filling that space with fantasy. Amara is grounded in reality and a girl anyone could run into on the street. She has her own life and private matters. Meanwhile, Sweetheart is a public and widely known face. She has abilities the mind cannot comprehend and is like a fictional character come to life.

And because many heroes don't view their hero identities as their true selves, it's easy to just brush off the shipping and laugh at it because it's just civilians having fun with what little information they truly know about their favorites.

Overall it's meant to be harmless fun (outside of the ship wars) though there's the rare case, like Freeheart, where the shipping can lead to consequences...like Freebird taking all the fans support of his crush as motivation and fuel for his determination to be with Sweetheart.

#ask #ask: glitter and guilt #ask: sweetheart #ask: bitterbat #ask: freebird #ask: licorice

[lfklhp]

Jungkook 🐰 Fic Rec (2)

Note.

💜 = personal favorites | ✓ = completed | ✐ = ongoing | ✗ = discontinued, on hiatus | strike through = deactivated, deleted

f = fluff | s = smut | a = angst

Oneshots/Drabbles

Supernatural / Fantasy / Magic/ Superhero AU

Bad Omega, Sweet Omega (10k) s, a, f | werewolf au, omega jungkook

Part of the Bad And Sweet Trilogy

Caught Inbetween (2k) s | hybrid au (*on ao3)

Bunny Adventures (13.6k) s | hybrid au

Courage (2k) f | hybrid au, pining (*on ao3)

Depend on Me (13.1k) s | hybrid au, childhood friends to lovers

Not a Creature was Stirring (10k) horror, s | hybrid au, fantasy au

Explorer (17.8k) f, s | alien au, strangers to friends to lovers + Drabble

Chronicles of My Witchy GF 💜 (31.8k) f, s, crack | witch au, established relationship

Suck It Up! (9.7k) f, s | vampire au, college au, friends-to-lovers

Lucifer (13.5K) s | demon au

Graceful Gods (26k) a, s, f, slight crack | greek god au, strangers to lovers, college au

Worshipers of the Sea (16.3k) f, a | god au

Part of The Worshiper Series

Roommate / Neighbor AU

Pencil Strokes & Paint Splatters (20.2k) f, s | best friends to lovers, roommate au

Part of the And They Were Roommates series

Piss Off Your Parents (16.4k) a, s | fake dating au, roommate au, bad boy au

Helping Hand (23.4k) s, f, a | roommate au, best friends to lovers

Red Carnations f | roommate au

In the Pool with the Neighbour 💜 s | neighbor au

Friends / FWB / Sibling’s Friend (vice versa) / Step-Sibling AU

Show Me Something 💜 (51.7k) heavy a, s | road trip, friends to enemies to lovers, first love

The Present (22.3k) a, s | friends to lovers

I Know I Kissed You Before, but I Didn’t Do It Right (28k) f, light a | fake dating au, best friends to lovers

The Favor ® (5.5k) s, f | idol au, actress reader, best friends to lovers

Holidating (12.8k) f, s, baby a, crack | best friends to lovers

Strictly Platonic (19.4k) f, a, s | best friends to lovers, college au, fake dating au

At the End of the Day (13.3k) f, s, little a | high school friends to lovers, ex-baseball player jungkook, beach/vacation au

Southpaw (30k) a, s | childhood friends to lovers, boxer jungkook, college/frat au

Gotcha f, a, s | childhood friends to lovers

Sister Story: The Days Without You a, f | (yoongi x reader)

Calla Lilies (6.2k) a | hanahaki au, friends to lovers

Part of the Flora & Fauna Series

My Dear Friend s, light a | friends to lovers, fuckboy, college au

Opposable (7.5k) crack, f, s, a | zookeeper, best friends to lovers

Part of the Zookeeper Bangtan Series

A Thousand Reasons Why 💜 (43.1k) f, a, s, crack | friends to lovers

A Night at the Mall (8.6k) s, f | friends to lovers

Can’t Be Without You (30.2k) a, f, s | best friends au, underground fighter au

Willow (23.7k) a, f, s | college au, best friends to lovers

Not Like You (28k) f, a | dilf au, boxer au, childhood enemies/friends

Golden 💜 (4k) s | brother's best friend (*on ao3)

Backseat Bickers (1.7k) f, crack | brother's best friend, enemies

College / High School AU

La Douleur Exquise (9.4k) a f | college au, unrequited love

The Spins (10.3k) s | college au, frat au

Falling (31.4k) a, f, s | soulmate/destiny au, college au, photographer jungkook

10 Things I Hate About You a, f | college au, enemies to lovers

You’ve Got Mail (12.9k) a, f | college au, exes to lovers

Calling You Mine (8.5k+) f | college au, strangers to friends to lovers

Heart Taping (3.3k) f, smidge of a | high school au, soccer player, enemies to lovers

Addiction (9k) s | high school au, yandere au

Artist / Idol / Band AU

A Date with Destiny (11k) f, s, comedy | idol au, strangers to lovers

Inked (5.3k) s | tattoo artist

Co-workers / Work / CEO AU

To All The Men I’ve Fucked Before (30.7k) s, f, a | fake dating au, co-workers to lovers

Bonus (4.7k) crack, f, s | co-workers to lovers, office au + Drabble

Other AUs

Anything for You (1k) f | established relationship

Exile (20.5k) f, a, s | established relationship (*on ao3)

Lover (2.1k) f, crack | established relationship

Mercy (1.3k) slight crack, f, s | established relationship

Good Girl (1.9k) f, s | established relationship

Ancient History (12.8k) a s f | exes to lovers, actor au

After I Left You (38.9k) a, f | exes au, fake dating au, enemies to lovers, unrequited feelings

We Belong Together (5.8k) a, s | soft yandere, toxic relationship

Take a Sip (9.4k) s, f | countryclub au (waiter jungkook x rich reader)

Spring Blooms 💜 (20k) f | florist au

Officially Yours (4k) f, s | arranged marriage, friends to lovers

Mugs & Kisses (6k) f | barista au, strangers to lovers

In the Night (2.3k) s, thriller | yandere au, stalking

Covert Affairs (4.3k) s, a | spy au, enemies to lovers

Go to Town (1.4k) s | pwp

Of Honey and Cinnamon (14k) f | slice of life, enemies to lovers

We Are All Dreamers (16.5k) s, a | soulmate au, enemies to lovers

Epilogue: A Touch of Fate (9.2k) s, a

(Road)tripping for You (31k) f, a bit a | roadtrip au, strangers to lovers, only-one-bed au, summer au

Jeon Jungkook Must Die (14.1k) s

Completed Series

Supernatural / Fantasy / Magic/ Superhero AU

Law of the Nature a f | hybrid au, shifter au, enemies to lovers (2 ch ✓)

With Glass Between Us 💜 a, f | merman au (3 ch + Drabble ✓)

Roommate / Neighbor AU

Caught f | roommate au, slice of life (11 ch ✓)

With a Sense of Innocence f, s | college au, neighbor au, friends to lovers, mutual pining (4 ch ✓)

Friends / FWB / Sibling’s Friend (vice versa) / Step-Sibling AU

Day by Day a, eventual f & s | dilf, best friends to lovers, unrequited love (12 ch ✓)

The Wishlist s, f, a | best friends to lovers, one sided love (6 ch ✓)

Our Little Private Love Affair f, a, crack/humor | (secret) established relationship, friends to lovers (series of drabbles)

Puzzle s, comedy, a | best friends to lovers, fwb au, college au (8 ch ✓)

Bad Boy Good Thing a, s | fwb au, college au, friends to lovers (18 ch ✓)

College / High School AU

Hands on Me f, mild a, s | college au, established relationship (2 ch ✓)

Take My Hands Now drama, a | college au, fuckboy (12 ch ✓)

Popular-ish f, s, a | college au, friends to lovers (14 ch ✓)

Salvage a, f | college au (ft. taehyung) (6 ch ✓)

Sugar and Coffee f, a | pâtisserie school au, enemies to friends to lovers (23 ch ✓)

Part of The Slice of Life Series

Co-workers / Work / CEO AU

Cardiovascular Palpitations f, a, s | fwb, doctor au, co-workers to lovers (2 ch ✓)

Spin-off: Cut Me Open a, s | married couple, doctor au, co-workers to lovers (2 ch ✓) (yoongi x reader)

From Home 💜 f, a, s | fake dating, co-workers to lovers, enemies to lovers, ceo au (12 ch ✓)

In Love with Love (with You) 💜 f | office au, frenemies/childhood friends to lovers (10 ch ✓)

Other AUs

Live Through This a, s | exes to frenemies to lovers, band au, punk au (2 ch ✓)

Red 💜 f, s, a | pregnancy au, exes to lovers (3 ch ✓)

Over The Odds s, a, f | ceo au, sugar daddy (14 ch ✓ + Drabbles)

On My Mind f, s | established relationship (2 ch ✓)

4-7-8 💜 semi-heavy a | established relationship (5 ch ✓)

Gone 💜 eventual s | best friends to enemies to lovers, high school au (10 ch ✓)

Incompleted Series

Always You f, a, possible s | second chances au (1 ch ✐ - Jan 27, 2022)

An Ode to a Broken Heart heavy a, future s | unrequited love, best friends (20 ch ✐ - Mar 13, 2024)

All I Want f, s | best friends to lovers, fuckboy au (5 ch ✐ - Oct 21, 2022)

Netflix & Chill s, f, a | (11 ch ✐ - Aug 23, 2021)

Dilf JK s f | (6 ch ✐ - Jan 8, 2023)

Colour Me In f, a, s | fake dating au (18 ch ✐ - Jan 7, 2024)

Against the Odds s, a, f | established relationship, love triangle au (8 ch + Drabbles ✐ - Nov 11, 2022)

Sequel to Over The Odds s, a, f | ceo au, sugar daddy (14 ch ✓ + Drabbles)

Most Undesirable a, eventual s | bridgerton au, regency era (1 ch ✐ - Jul 25, 2022)

Darknets a | yandere au (3 ch ✐ - June 27, 2022)

Vixen s | hybrid au (9 ch ✗ - Jul 4, 2022)

Like the Wind | hybrid au, strangers to lovers (3 ch ✗ - Jul 17, 2022)

*I'll try to update the list regularly, considering these recs also as my reading library ;) update: some of my fav authors are deactivated on tumblr but i'll try to update link to their ao3/wattpad etc. instead or simply just keep the list just in case they decide to reactivate again :D

#bts fanfiction #jungkook x reader #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x you #jungkook x oc #bts x reader #bts x y/n #bts x you #bts x oc #bts angst #bts fluff #bts smut #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook smut #bts fic rec