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#when their kids ask for different colours like let the child have what they want if your little girl wants a green cake let her have it wtf
colourstreakgryffin · 3 months
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I was wondering if you can do Alastor x daughter! Reader? She’s manifested from his magic and because of that she has some of Alastor’s powers. However, she’s the complete and total opposite of him. She’s kind and sweet like Charlie, but is very shy. She never likes bringing out her true demon form for she is very terrifying. Alastor is very protective of her. Although, what if she sees Alastor get hurt by another overlord or Adam and he turns into her demon form to protect him and everyone is surprised by this and maybe even terrified of her.
OMFG. Yes! Second Alastor request in a rooowww! I love this man uncontrollably and he would be a good daddy. He’s a stag papa with his little fawn for reaaall! I love this idea, lots of loves and so much thanks for giving Hazbin Hotel more attention— or, I guess Alastor!
Father! Alastor- Hell’s Angel
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Okay… Alastor wasn’t suspecting to pop a kid out of thin air when he actually wanted to pop a kid out of thin air. His magic is very powerful, no doubt but he birthed a child from solely his own powers and about 100% of his own DNA so his daughter’s features are primarily matching his own but there are some personal key differences Alastor wanted you to have to seperate yourself from him
So, you’re not a carbon copy of your dad, the Radio Demon. More just have the same deer features and red colouring
Alastor also wasn’t suspecting to have born an angel of his own. Sweet, affectionate, cheery, always smiling but smiling in a more welcoming and natural manner than her papa. He doesn’t mind it, you’re his babygirl. He loves you dearly, even after he just shat you out from literally nothing. He’s just surprised!
Well, at least Charlie loves you because you’re like… exactly what she loves and Alastor gets jealous of how well Charlie bonds with his own daughter!
Alastor has never known how to handle his own powers so when you begin manifesting voodoo dolls and portals containing all kinds of demonic beasts, he has to figure out how to get around all of it without hurting you a single bit. He has a whole plan scheduled out for anytime your powers trigger at random
Alastor’s protective, loving, clingy and carries you around a lot. He loves being able to bond with you, he likes hearing your cute deer noises when you’re trying to talk to him. He never lets you leave his sight and whilst he reframes from murder, he may just kill Vox for insulting his little fawn
Alastor now has all the full right to tell awful Dad jokes, since he is a proper Dad now. Rest in peace once again, Angel Dust
Yes. Alastor is the type to spoil his daughter. Spoil rotten, he isn’t going to stop and he isn’t sorry. He loves his little princess and no matter what, he’ll give her what she wants. If anybody dares to take what she wants from her, he’ll send them to double hell then give his babygirl extra hugs and kisses as apologises
Alastor knows, like him, you have your own full demon form and for a harmless sweetheart like yourself(that only uses your powers to help the Hotel staff). Your full form is actually terrifying and you know that, which is why you avoid it. You don’t want to scare anybody, especially not your beloved dad so you always reframe from getting too mad
Just let Papa Alastor handle anything bad. He’ll protect and care for you in the most sweet, cuddly way possible
Alastor is a lunatic, barely sane, monstrous all under a passive-aggressive, well-mannered, dapper 1930s gentleman image but when it comes to you, you’re the most healthy thing he has and he feels genuine love, care and affection for his own offspring. He only views you as his daughter, nothing else or anything exploitative. After all, he acts more like the one serving you than anything. He’ll get you whatever you want, no questions asked
Alastor wants to keep you away from threats so when Adam attacks the Hazbin Hotel. He has no choice but to leave you with Charlie. However, this didn’t last long since you knew your father was struggling when you heard his voice’s radio effect cut out. That was immediately a sign that you, not even a ten-year-old, to jump in and it caused you to rampage against Adam when you used your powers to track down and make it over to Alastor
“PRINCESS! GET AWAY FROM HERE NOW!” Alastor, despite the giant thick cut across his chest, staining his red pinstriped coat, over the white trims of his dark red lapels, yells out as loud as he can to catch his child’s attention, to get her to back off. Struggling to rise up to his feet with his tall fluffy deer-like ears pinned back. A sign of his fear, not because of seeing his babygirl in her full demon form throwing everything she has at the angel, Adam but because you’re in so much danger attacking Adam
Adam isn’t a merciful being, despite being an Angel, and the risk to your life is extremely high. Your demon form is ten times more demonic than any sinner can manifest, due to being produced by raw demonic magic, you form into a pure demonic entity
Screeching out in a menacing echoey way, entirely black and clumpy, phasing in and out like mist, shaped like a mighty Wendigo deer with literally zero resemblance to your cute little form. To you, your father’s in danger and with his cane snapped in half, his powers limited and his radio voice effect gone
You can’t just sit around in Charlie’s arms and let Alastor get killed by this psycho angel!
You have to risk everything to let Alastor escape. However, he isn’t going anywhere without you and is frantically trying to think of a way to get you away from Adam as the said holy entity keeps throwing swings after swings with his holy sharpened guitar to break off all the attacks coming from your Wendigo-style full form, letting out many strings of hateful curses at both you and Alastor. It’s clear with all the shadowy spines and green electricity shocks that you’re desperately trying to fend off the much stronger Angel to try protect your father
But if the Radio Demon himself couldn’t take on Adam for any longer than a few minutes. Of course, you don’t stand a chance, lasting half the time Alastor did. Being beaten when Adam outspeed and charged down a devestating sharp swing on your full form’s form head after you attempt to attack again. Thinking rather fast, you used your magic to cushion the blow to avoid it actually killing you
Being thrown over on the opposite end to where Alastor is and fading back into your normal demon form, a nasty big cut all down your back to the end of your fluffy deer tail, sobbing and clenching fangs
The staff watching nearby were terrified yet impressed. Impressed a child of your age and confidence was able to get that many hits on Adam and manage to guard yourself from a attack from Adam himself, getting away with merely just one cut
The Radio Demon growls frustrated and outraged at being forced to watch his child being thrown around like some doll and get even more hurt, now cornered by Adam, since it’s clear he doesn’t care to attack Alastor anymore. Thinking just as fast and getting up properly with his snapped-into-two cane in one tightening fist
Alastor phases through into the shadows in an almost melting fashion, dragging you down with him in the same shadowy engulfing manner by a single black trail travelling over to where you laid, leaving the bloodthirsty human ancestor as the victor of this fight. Needless to say, Alastor was so pissed. Pissed he lost the fight when he had managed to get many hits on Adam at the first section of the fight and pissed that said Angel dared to put his hands on his angel
At least… you’re safe now. Bleeding, hurt, crying and tired from overworking yourself whilst laid in Alastor’s arms, but you’re alive and okay. In your father’s hold and safe. Away from the Hotel and protected by the Voodoo’s shadowy magic
“You’re okay, darling… you’re okay. Papa’s got you, he’s always got you”
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jinnie-ret · 7 months
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scarred knees and insecurities
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Stray Kids x Ninth Member!reader
genre: hurt/comfort
content warnings: insecurities, heat exhaustion, mean online comments
word count: 2.7k
summary: when the old scars from your youth, become fresh wounds in your adulthood, the boys are there to pick up the pieces.
100 followers special!!! Thank you so much for all your support so far, I hope you enjoy this imagine! I personally share this same insecurity and although I have played it up more for this imagine, I hope that nothing said will offend anyone, I've just written it from my perspective.
As always, asks are open! Let me know what you want to read next! Enjoy! :)
MAIN MASTERLIST
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"Annyeong, Stay!" Y/N greeted the fans as she started streaming on YouTube. She was currently in one of the practice rooms at JYP, ready to dance for stays as she normally did when she went live. She was relaxed in some casual clothes, a big t-shirt and some shorts too.
"What song shall I dance to first?" Y/N grinned at the camera as she read the comments.
"Oh- who said WAP?!" Y/N laughed and shook her head, "Stays you can't be talking like that!"
She got up and started dancing, not to WAP, but to their new song Social Path. Anyways, they weren't allowed to play music outside of their company anymore, so it only felt right.
Finishing the dance, Y/N panted lightly, crouched over with her hands on her knees. As she took a sip of water, sat with her knees bent in front of the camera, certain comments started catching her eyes, no matter how much she tried to act normal and answer questions.
What's wrong with her knees
Ew but why do they look like that
Their knees look so old and wrinkly
Y/N needs to get that checked out it looks so unnatural
Just another reason why she's ugly
Of course, there were actual questions, with Stays giving song recommendations and asking Y/N about what she had been doing recently, but she couldn't help but catch sight of the mean comments. She shifted her body so that her knees were off screen, maybe then the harsh words would lessen.
Look, she's hiding them because she's realised how disgusting she is
Disgusting?
Y/N bit her lip and cleared her throat, but decided she didn't want to force herself to sit there in front of millions of fans when she was trying not to let her thoughts spiral.
"I'm feeling kinda tired guys so I'm going to end the live now, bye!" Y/N blew a kiss like always at the camera and sighed as she ended the live.
She had thought about it a couple of times, she wasn't all too fond of the way her knees looked either. But it always felt different and hurt more when someone else points out your insecurities. Her knees had visible scars on them from how clumsy she was as a child. You could see them stick out yet they were healed over and so had blended in with her skin tone. The other thing was that often she'd find after kneeling down or having pressure on her knees, there'd be a redness or slight colour change to them.
Absentmindedly scratching over the bumps of her scars, Y/N looked up when she heard a slight tap on the door.
It was Hyunjin.
"Why did you end your live early? I was enjoying watching you dance," he pouted at her, clearly in a playful mood as he flopped down beside her in the practice room.
"Don't know, guess I just felt tired," Y/N shrugged. She wasn't tired really, just currently feeling low in her mood.
She jolted as he put his head in her lap, in attempt to look up at her face.
"You're acting all quiet, Y/Nnie," Hyunjin commented, hand stroking her knee comfortingly as he knew this was one of her tells when she wasn't feeling too happy.
Yet this action didn't have the same effect as normal. Y/N moved his hand off of her legs and did a fake shiver.
"It's cold in here..." Y/N rubbed her bare legs, hiding her knees before standing once Hyunjin had removed himself from her.
"I've got some spare clothes, it's in my bag in the other room, come on," Hyunjin patted her on the head gently, before resting his hand against her back as he guided her out of the room.
He wasn't silly. He could tell that Y/N wasn't quite feeling herself at the moment, and the best thing him or any of the other boys could do was treat her gently, that's what she always needed when it came to things like this.
A few days later, Stray Kids were set to do a photoshoot on the beach, perfect for a hot day. Well, as long as they didn't get too hot...
Y/N scanned the clothes that were on the rack in the dressing room with her stylist. She smiled as she caught sight of a beautiful white and blue dress, it fitting their cute casual concept perfectly.
"Oh, Y/N we won't be needing that one today, we've got a better option instead," the stylist fanned her own face, feeling the heat too as she passed over a small pile of clothes to Y/N. It consisted of a heavy pair of jeans, alongside a baby tee with a cute graphic of a heart on it. Now that, she could get behind, she thought the tee was adorable, but the heavy jeans? It was such a hot day.
"But everyone else is wearing shorts, wouldn't it be better if I did too-" Y/N began, before the stylist sympathetically patted her hand, yet it came across as being more condescending than anything.
"Honey, we're just doing what the fans will like best, like wearing jeans instead of anything more revealing, you know, because of your knees," she said, before turning around and sorting through other clothes so that Y/N could change.
What she hated the most was how the stylist's words trailed off into a whisper, like she was ashamed, like Y/N should be ashamed of her body. The company were aware of the comments that had been made online, and just after Y/N was building herself back up and ignoring the thing she can't change, this happened.
Dejectedly, she put on her assigned outfit, and left to head outside in the sweltering heat to join the boys.
"Y/Nnie come stand with me!" Felix dragged her next to him happily. The boys had noticed her mood get better the past few days but being the sunshine he is, he noticed that she was once again in the same low mindset.
"Y/N, aren't you... too hot in that?" Changbin rested a hand on her shoulder as he looked at the heavy jeans she was wearing, fabric slumped over at the top of her trainers.
"No, no, this is fine, it was picked especially for me," Y/N lightly smiled, trying to paint her face to seem content when really she was already sweating, causing a makeup artist to run over and quickly powder her face. Y/N couldn't hide the slight truth in her words, and she was silly to think the small bitterness didn't come through in her tone.
"Okay, just be careful, it's too hot to be wearing those, seriously..." Changbin nodded before returning to where he was previously stood, clearly not happy with the situation his younger member had been put in.
Felix side hugged her before they did their group photos first, the others expressing their confusion for the clothes she was wearing.
"Y/N! You must be so hot!" Han audibly gasped, and all she could do was shrug at him, not really having the words to respond, feeling too hot and overwhelmed at the moment to really think.
"Solo photos now!" the director called out, and one by one they posed, Y/N being the last one to head up, as they were going in age order. As Jeongin stepped up for his turn, Y/N scanned around her for some water she could have, seeing black spots enter her vision slowly.
"Here. Drink, or you'll be too tired to even stand," Seungmin appeared with a bottle of water in front of her, sarcasm coming across through his words as he didn't seem to realise how bad she really was feeling, and that she was too tired to stand.
"Thanks, Seungminnie," she mumbled, drinking it quickly as he nodded and walked away, going to change out of his clothes.
"Yah, you'll choke if you keep this up," Lee Know took the bottle from her hands as he crouched down next to her.
"Just thirsty," Y/N fanned herself as she leant back in her chair.
"You sure that's it? Looks like something else is going on too," Lee Know took one of her hands gently, rubbing a thumb across her knuckles.
"Y/Nnie it's your turn!" Jeongin happily walked over, informing his fellow member yet taking away the chance of gaining more information from his other.
Lee Know sighed as Y/N stood up, standing at the beach bar setup first.
Her movements were slow, yet she was sure it looked casual enough to not seem like she was on the verge of wanting to collapse from the heat. Little did she know, a certain leader had been diligently watching her the whole time. He had inquired about the outfit to the stylists and was annoyed when they said Y/N picked it herself. He knew that wasn't the truth.
"Y/N, turn your head to the left a bit! To the left, turn your head to the left," the director frustratedly said through the megaphone, catching the attention of all the members who were now watching.
But Y/N couldn't really hear what was happening around her. She was more focused on trying to stand up straight right now, panting lightly as she did so.
"The director is being a bit harsh..." Hyunjin whispered to Jeongin, who nodded back in response.
"But she's not acting herself either, look," Jeongin nodded towards the girl, who couldn't seem to keep her head up straight.
"Channie hyung, something is wrong with Y/Nnie," Felix said to his fellow Australian member, frowning as he watched the girl.
"I know. As soon as she's done with her photos I'm going to ask-" Chan turned his head away for one second as he spoke to Felix.
One second.
One second he stopped watching over her, and now she was on her knees, leant against the fake bar as she pulled at the collar of her t-shirt for some air.
Gasps rang out from around the room as both Stray Kids and the staff rushed to help Y/N.
"I knew there was something wrong," Chan shook his head as he started patting Y/N's face with a wet towel provided by the staff.
"Y/N, can you hear us?" Changbin hovered around them, concerned at the state she was in.
It all sounded so muffled to Y/N. She had felt that she had been moved into a position where she was laying down, felt slight relief from the cooler feeling on her face, but her eyes were still resting shut. She managed to let out a groan in response, which offered a light sense of peace before they realised they needed to do more.
"We need to get her inside in an air conditioned room or something!" Chan commanded the staff, as he lifted her up after they nodded and he laid her down on a sofa, the other members following through.
"She needs to get out of these jeans, who's big idea was that?" Seungmin huffed, irritated.
"Let me," a female staff member gestured for the boys to turn away as she and another stylist quickly changed Y/N out of her jeans and into some shorts, letting the boys know they could turn around once more.
They had a fan pointed at Y/N as they tried to get her to sip from some water.
"Come on, Y/Nnie, just slow sips, yeah?" Hyunjin held the bottle with a straw to Y/N's face, a hand under her chin tilting her head ever so slightly so water wouldn't spill down her.
Lee Know tied her hair back, soothingly stroking it back before he gathered it all out of the way.
Y/N's eyes opened wide, feeling a bit better as she had cooled down now. But she saw that her knees were exposed and being in the vulnerable state she was, she grabbed a blanket and covered her knees, her mind going 100 mph and all it could think was that the boys thought she was disgusting.
"No, you don't need a blanket, Y/Nnie, you're too hot right now, that won't help," Han grabbed her hands and held them against her stomach lightly, feeling concerned when her eyes became glossy with tears.
Y/N shook her head, not yet finding the words to explain what she was feeling.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Chan's voice broke through all of her thoughts, the oldest member being someone she could always rely on.
"They're ugly," she mumbled, eyes darting back and forth between her legs and Han's hands holding onto her own.
"What are?" Felix asked confused, looking back and forth between the boys as they all seemed to be catching onto why you had been feeling a bit low the last couple of days.
"My knees. Got scars on them. They're disgusting. Don't want you to have to see them," Y/N rushed out, feeling the grip round her hands tighten ever so slightly and a hand brush through her hair soothingly.
"Now why would you say something so stupid?" Lee Know sighed, hating how she was thinking.
"Don't call her stupid," Hyunjin whacked Lee Know on the shoulder.
"It's fine, it's silly really. B-but Stays didn't like it so why would you?" Y/N bit her lip, still unable to make eye contact with the boys.
"Y/Nnie, look at me," Chan sat in front of her, and reluctantly she looked at their leader. "Is this why you were put in that outfit?" his tone dropped lower, despising how one of his members had been put in such a position for something out of their control.
"The company agreed too... I didn't want to wear it but I guess it was for the best..." Y/N said unsurely, not really knowing how to explain the situation.
"Not when you nearly passed out from the heat!" Changbin exclaimed.
"Y/N, there is nothing wrong with you, okay? Nothing about you is disgusting. They're just from when you were a kid, right? You can't control that," Chan said softly as he rubbed her shoulder soothingly.
"I just hate how they look and then when Stays started pointing it out it made me remember how much I hate them," Y/N frowned and looked at her knees distastefully.
"They're not real Stays if they're making horrible comments like that," Seungmin pointed out, as the rest of the boys nodded in agreement.
"Plus if people are always staring at your knees, that's kind of weird," Jeongin laughed, which brought a smile to Y/N's face.
"I guess so," Y/N nodded, the grin still there.
"Aw there's that smile," Changbin cooed, squishing her cheeks together.
"Hyung, she's not a baby," Han laughed at Changbin's antics.
"But, Y/N, just know, it's okay to have insecurities, we all have them, it doesn't make you weird or mean that there is something wrong with you. But this is not the way things should have happened, please talk to us next time. I know it was the company that decided for you today, and trust me, I will be having words with them about this... but please don't obsess over this, yeah?" Chan hugged her to him, resting his head on hers as he talked to her, wanting her to know that they were a safe space for her.
"Okay, okay, I'll try," Y/N nodded as she relaxed against Chan.
"Good. And just know, whatever type of scars you have, it doesn't define you, and they're certainly not ugly. Everyone has some, whether they're visible or not," Changbin patted her knee, being slightly more serious in contrast to him babying her ten seconds ago.
"Woah, hyung, that was deep," Hyunjin clapped.
"Our Changbinnie is so good," Han said in a high pitched voice, causing the older member of 3RACHA to jokingly raise his fist at his dongsaeng.
"Thanks guys, I mean it," Y/N said sincerely with a relaxed smile to the rest of the boys who weren't caught up in the chaos. Let's be honest, it wouldn't be Stray Kids without any chaos, it just wouldn't be right.
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sexydoffyman · 4 months
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Hello 👋, could I request some cod characters (perhaps Ghost, Price or Graves) defending a male military reader from a bunch of guys that are being homophobic to him?
DEFENDING YOU FROM HOMOPHOBES
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genre: fluff
characters: Simon Riley, John Price, Phillip Graves
A/N: Sick of writing for kinktober. Mby that's why I can't write fucking properly. So let's look at some fluff.
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SIMON GHOST RILEY
Ghost is a fairly scary man. He's known for being cold and serious. No one expected you to hang around him. He had six inches on you (15cm). Some people joked about you being the love birds in your TF. They could never guess how correct they were.
You weren't dating or anything, but you both held some kind of mutual respect, trust and maybe even attraction. You both had some qualities of a couple. He was a little possessive of you. You were a little clingy with him.
Although you had some kind of a relationship, that didn't really matter. The thing that mattered was you having each other's backs.
He was like a predator, making sure no one hurts his weaker companion. But when he wasn't around, you were left vulnerable. Not physically, no. You held great strength. What was left to hurt if people cant hurt your body? Your mind.
They mocked you ever since you met at boot camp. Any time they saw your face, they felt the need to embarrass you. You could handle it. You were a soldier, after all. But that didn't stop you from feeling hurt.
This time, you just sat there and took it. They yelled. They impersonated. Of course, that commotion would attract some people's attention.
The one that had showed up was Ghost. You couldn't even register him when you saw a 6'4 dude punch one of them. The others tried running, but none of them could get far enough to escape him. Their jaws broken. Ribs shattered.
You could hear him laughing under his mask. He then glanced at you "Coffee?" He asked.
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CAPTAIN JOHN PRICE
All I can say is father energy.
He has been your captain for a few years now. You have gone through shit with him, and you both trusted each other. You viewed him as a kind of father that you never had. And he viewed you as his new child.
He is not possessive, but he is protective. He wouldn't let anyone fuck with you. His rank helped him with scaring people off. He never really had a problem with disobeying soldiers to begin with, so he never actually used his rank, but now. He has to stick up for you.
You really do resemble a kid he would have had. You have similar hair colour and eye colour. Your postures don't have a difference, and you find yourselves finishing up each other's sentences.
These assholes who have been making fun of you were your superiors. What that meant was that you could do nothing to stop them. They could say anything they wanted, and they'd get away with it.
"Thirty laps now!" Your eyes averted to the sudden voice coming from the hall. He heard them. They slowly realised they fucked up. It was raining cats and dogs outside. Everything was muddy and slippery. Running thirty laps would be torture.
"Do I have to repeat myself?" Price grunted with a more aggressive tone. They stormed off to the exit to run their laps. He yelled at them before they got out. "Being on good terms with your fellow soldiers is a must. I will have your ranks stripped away from you until you learn that!"
As soon as they left, Price let out a small chuckle. He was proud of himself. Cheeky bastard.
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PHILLIP GRAVES
I love this son of a bitch.
Now, this man is always with you. It's not an obsession. It's just the fact that everyone else wants to be either alone or already has someone to be with. He just doesn't want to be alone.
You felt like you were the chosen one. He was still your superior, after all. After some time together, you got used to it. He always apologised for being such a bother. You got free snacks, which you didn't mind at all.
You were fucking around the base, chilling. You would've never thought you'd be sharing stories with him, but there you were. You didn't know what kind of relationship it was. Were you friends, or were you together just because of the situation? You never figure it out.
The dudes who embarrassed you were your rank. But they fuck with both of you since they didn't know Graves's position. A big mistake. He never really said anything to them. One day, they were just gone.
When you looked deeper into it, you found out that two were dead, and three lost their jobs.
Graves is such a gentleman.
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honeyed-disgraceful · 2 years
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My coworkers and I being pressed at people when they tell us some (predesigned, from the freezers) cake decorations are "too feminine" or "too masculine" and want us to change them. We've started saying "gender reassignment" when one of us has to change them lmao.
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xxblairexxss · 10 months
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Prime
Pairing : Jude Bellingham x reader
Theme : Fluff
Got this idea from those tiktok videos of him playing football with a group of kids. You probably know which one I’m talking about if you stumbled across one. Haven’t proofread! Sorry for any mistakes.
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Jude was like your mom’s favourite child. She was eternally grateful for her lovely daughters but when you introduced your boyfriend to the family, you knew she had put him above you and your sisters. Your dad was a huge fan of football and he thought you were joking when you told him you were dating Dortmund player so of course when Jude first joined your family’s dinner, your dad was elated that you thought he would have forgotten about you if it wasn’t for your constant glare at him.
Since then, Jude always got invited to any family events of yours, just like how he always invited you to his family events.
judebellingham has added to their story
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Your nephew, Noah was obsessed with football. Guess it ran in the family because of how the obsession went from your dad to Noah. Different from you, who barely knew anything about it. Noah had asked you a week prior if Jude was gonna come to the housewarming party but when you asked why he was so eager to know, he said it was secret. Turned out he wanted to ask Jude to play football with him because he got a proper football ball from his birthday last month.
You were in the kitchen, taking over the duty to cut the fruits so your sister could sneaked out to the nearby store to get some more ingredients for roasted garlic hummus with her husband. You were left with Jude and the kids as your parents are yet to arrived.
You were decorating the plate with the colourful fruits when you felt a sudden impact on your side. It was Noah, who was suddenly crying and hugging on your legs. Confused, you bent down and wiped the fresh tears on his cheek as he pulled away.
“What’s wrong? Did you fell?”
“No…”
“Why did you cry?”
“Jude wouldn’t give the ball back…”
“What…?”
That was when you saw Jude walked in with Noel, Noah’s baby brother.
“Jude Victor William Bellingham! Did you seriously make my nephew cry?”
“I didn’t! He asked me to play like I was in a match.”
“You are so silly! He’s not prime Lewandowski, is he?”
He chuckled in response before leaving a peck on your lips and squatted down to be on the same level with Noah, who was now refused to look at him.
“I’m sorry, buddy. Let’s do another round, yeah? You’ll be in the same team with Noel and I can only play with one leg, how about that?”
Noah responded with an immediate “Okay!” and a wide grin as he ran to Noel to pull him outside. You could see the little one waddled trying to catch on his brother.
Jude stood back up and pulled you closer by your waist. He found you so adorable when you were still frowning at him that he wanted to just planted kisses all over your beautiful face.
“I’m sorry, princess. I swear I didn’t mean it. Anyway, I didn’t know you actually have some basic football knowledge. I thought you don’t know any other players except me. That was kinda hot, not gonna lie.” He bended down his head to kiss on your exposed shoulder blade from your off shoulder crop top, pressing his body against yours even more.
“Well, I’m actually a barca girl.”
Jude tilted your chin up as he brushed his lips against yours before nibbling softy on your bottom lips.
“Shut up, you’re my girl.”
“Jude, come on!” You heard Noah called out for him from the backyard, probably getting annoyed at how long he was taking his time.
“Coming!” He pulled away and strode across the living room to the kids, leaving you with butterflies in your stomach, even after all these years.
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princessbrunette · 3 months
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imagine meeting rafe by babysitting for toddler!wheezie?????
-🦭
stop this is sooo cute i love writing big brother rafe with toddler wheeze :(
𐙚🍼⋆.˚♡
he’s more pissed than anything at first, wondering why on earth his father didn’t trust him to be a responsible adult and care for his little sister now that ward was away on business more times than not. the last thing rafe wanted was a stranger snooping around and weaselling their way into the benefits that came along with being a cameron.
his mind changed when he saw just how pretty you are, and not just that — how sweet and polite too. he hangs out in the doorway watching you play with his sister, trying to put on an expression that showcased scepticism but it always softened to intrigue. wheezie loved you, and he couldn’t even question why.
the boy wanders in, watching you knelt beside the curly haired toddler in your cute little summer dress and big smile. “soooo, i’m thinking… we should go and get ice-cream!” you grin, emphasising the last part to catch her attention. it works, and she claps excitedly with a squeal.
“i’ll drive us.” rafe suddenly pipes up and your head spins to him, blinking a few times in surprise.
“oh, really?” you smile politely, if not a little awkwardly at the sudden appearance of the child’s oldest brother who you’d seen floating around.
“well i’ve got nothing to do… and i figured i should get to know the person spending all this time with my little sister.” he shrugs, pulling his hands out his pockets to swing his car keys round his finger.
“yes, of course.” you submit to the idea, clambering to your feet as wheezie runs towards him.
“raaa—e!” she yells happily, pummelling into his legs before he bends down to swoop her up, planting her on his hip.
“hey, kiddo.” he pinches her nose briefly making her sniff and giggle. you grab your purse and send rafe a kind smile, letting him lead the way to his car. he hands you the kid, which feels odd and parental of the two of you and he quickly sets up the car seat in his car, letting you fasten wheezie inside. you hover by the passenger door, unsure of whether or not he’d rather you sit in the back. “go ahead.” he nods obviously and you climb in, placing your hands in your lap, making one sided conversation with wheezie to settle some awkwardness.
the two of you chat, rafe asking most of the questions about where you’re from and what you did before babysitting — the polite interrogation feeling like another interview for the position, but you didn’t mind — it was understandable that the current man of the house would wanna know who was practically living in it with him all of a sudden.
things get more comfortable as the two of you get chatting, walking into the icecream parlour as a three. he didn’t know he’d like the feeling so much, thinking on it as he glances at you pointing out the different colours of icecream behind the glass to his little sister. he’s fishing in his wallet as he does so, paying for the three of you. it made him feel… good. important. he hadn’t much thought of having children before, he knew he wanted to one day but it seemed like a far away thought. having a cute little baby, and a pretty gentle girl by his side calmed him, gave him the sense of authority he was looking for.
he has to remind himself not to place a hand on your lower back when you walk to the little table, chuckling himself when you let wheezie take her own spoon and messily feed herself.
“good job honey!” you coo as she manages to get some into her mouth before offering you the saliva covered spoon. “ohhh, no thank you!”
rafe decided he must have you, and seeing as you were now living in his house, ward being on a long trip — it would make things a lot easier. his own practice family, with you.
𐙚🍼⋆.˚♡
255 notes · View notes
leejungchans · 2 years
Text
seventeen as streamer boyfriends
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༉‧₊˚✧ for my 1k event !
requested by anon : is streamer au on the table for the 1k event :0 if it is then can i request hcs of svt as ur streamer bf :3 if not then u can just ignore this / change it up , no worries !! thenkuu n congrats on the 1k :D
a/n: thank you so much for the well wishes and for requesting 💗 i hope you like this and i had a lot of fun writing this!!
word count | 1.6k
pairing | seventeen x gn!reader
genre | fluff, streamer au
note | i’m not a gamer by any means so there’s a lot of gaming terminology/games that idk, so most of the games mentioned here i looked up online 💔 also tyty to my lovely nny @joshuas @seungcy for helping me w some of these <3
warning(s) / includes | mild swearing, food mentions
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⋆͛♡⋆͛ seungcheol
definitely a gamer. gets really, really competitive and probably lets a few muttered curses slip when he loses, before realising he’s streaming live and turns to the camera with an innocent smile, like “if you’re a child please pretend you never heard anything ☺️”. no one’s really complaining though because he’s attractive when he’s frustrated, especially whenever his jaw clenches and he rolls up his sleeves before starting over. his viewers always know when you’re around because he always has the most lovesick smile as he looks off-camera and mouths something to you, usually a “hi, baby” or asking if you want to come say hi to everyone. he’s literally soooo boyfie and his viewers always joke about wanting to steal him from you…that is, until you started appearing more in his streams and now they want to steal you, which makes him so pouty.
⋆͛��⋆͛ jeonghan
mostly games during his streams and yells when he loses or dies unexpectedly, his viewers don’t really mind because his yells sound really cute. sometimes he’ll join public servers and when he comes across snobby, entitled kids he makes it a very personal mission to humble them. “hannie, did you just make another twelve-year-old rage quit?” “mm…maybe…” prefers to keep your identity private, but during some particularly stressful games he’ll ask for cuddles and his viewers can see him wrapping his arms around your torso, squishing his cheek against you with a pout on his face while he whines about how hard the game is. a menace (affectionate), will have asmr streams just so he can suddenly scream and scare the shit out of everyone, no one knows why they still fall for it.
⋆͛♡⋆͛ joshua
the softest, most wholesome streamer. everyone wants him and wants to be him. streams a wide variety of content from baking and cooking to jamming sessions where he plays his guitar and covers different songs. regardless, his streams always look really aesthetically pleasing, especially during his jamming sessions when he changes his colour-changing light to blue or purple for the ~vibes~. everyone loves his voice because it’s so dreamy and melodic, so despite him involving sunday morning in every. single. stream. no one tells him to stop. talks about you all the time and it’s just so painfully obvious how in love he is because everything reminds him of you. “i’m making ___ for dinner because it’s their favourite”, “i saw a really cute cat today and it looked so much like them”, “i wonder when they’ll be home, they’ve been gone for a while”. (it’s only been half an hour…)
⋆͛♡⋆͛ jun
another gamer! usually pretty quiet when he’s gaming except when he lets out loud groans or yells after losing, think jeonghan’s asmr from hell except in jun’s case the sudden sounds are unintentional 😭 when he gets especially heated he starts rambling or swearing in mandarin and it’s so fast that barely anyone can catch what he’s saying. takes a break from gaming by streaming more chill content, like answering his viewers’ questions while inviting you to take the most absurd buzzfeed quizzes with him like “which unpopular pizza topping matches your personality”. makes your stomach hurt from laughing every time because he gets oddly (yet endearingly) defensive about the results since they’re never accurate. (“what the fuck is ‘anchovy’ supposed to mean???”)
⋆͛♡⋆͛ soonyoung
tried to play the more intense games like league of legends, call of duty and five nights at freddy’s before realising they’re not really his thing, so now he streams himself playing animal crossing and it’s soooo wholesome. his house is tiger-themed from the wallpaper to the flooring to the decor, and his viewers are 120% supportive of his mission to collect all the tiger villagers for his island for max horangi power 🐯✊ sometimes you’ll play too and it’ll consist of at least ten minutes of you two chasing and whacking each other with your nets while giggling manically. he also started occasionally streaming him dancing or creating new choreographies and his duality always shocks those who are new to his channel.
⋆͛♡⋆͛ wonwoo
the Ultimate™ gamer bf, you can’t change my mind—he was made for this au. sometimes he’s so focused on the game that he forgets he’s streaming and all you hear is the sound of furious typing, but he makes up for it by looking cute in the cat-ear headphones that you got him. you didn’t expect him to wear them while streaming, but ever since you gifted him those headphones he has never gone back to his previous ones. he later bought you the same cat-ear headphones but in a different colour so you could match <3 gives really good advice when he’s chatting to his viewers in between games and they love how soft-spoken and wise he is.
⋆͛♡⋆͛ jihoon
most of his streams are him pulling all-nighters in his studio working on music, even if he’s not particularly chatty in those times he still really appreciates having his viewers’ company because it can sometimes get lonely being cooped up inside :( but ever since he started dating you, you make frequent appearances on his streams to chat with his viewers while holding his hand as he works <3 if he’s feeling cheeky he’ll tease his soon-to-be-released song (everyone went crazy over “shit, this is red too”). somehow became friends with soonyoung which treated his viewers to interesting autotuned raps about being a tiger……rawr.
⋆͛♡⋆͛ seokmin
has the voice of an angel, so he blesses us mortal folk by streaming his heavenly song covers. brings his friends (cough, joshua, cough) to sing duets with him whenever possible. the sweetest boy on the platform and does his best to respond to every live comment even though they whizz by so quickly </3 it’s impossible to feel sad when you’re watching his streams, every bit of him radiates positive energy. occasionally does more lifestyle-esque streams, usually of you two running errands together. one time you two rated all the dogs you came across on the street from 1-10. (spoiler: every dog got 11)
⋆͛♡⋆͛ mingyu
the malewife of the platform who games occasionally. his viewers think it’s both hilarious and adorable when a beefy, six-foot man curls up into a tiny ball while playing horror games. (playfully) flirts with his viewers and gives the camera seductive glances, but panics when it leads to a sudden influx of tips and begs people to stop giving him money 😭 constantly demands cuddles and kisses when he loses a game. his viewers love watching his cooking streams where he tests out new recipes because it’s really just him doing 90% of the work but still acting like you won masterchef for cutting one (1) onion. never gets annoyed when you sneak bites of food in between preparations, he thinks you’re cute <3
⋆͛♡⋆͛ minghao
think modern bob ross where he invites his viewers to grab a snack and relax as he paints whatever inspires him in the moment. everyone is begging for a closet tour at this point because he’s never worn a bad outfit from the day he started his channel. asmr not from hell: also does streams where he makes paint from scratch because the sounds of him grinding pigments or his palette knife gently scraping against the glass are very soothing. occasionally he’ll invite you to do cute couple challenges with him, like following a bob ross video but with audio only which always ends in a fit of contagious giggles during the moment of truth.
⋆͛♡⋆͛ seungkwan
such a sweet person :( is here to have a good time, so he’s pretty active and loves doing chatty streams where he plays trivia games with his viewers. keeps up with the gossip especially if you’re a long-time viewer, will absolutely ask you for updates on your pet goldfish stacy. did you buy her a bigger tank like you said you would last time? regularly streams with vernon where they play games like quiplash, questions their friendship and his life every time vernon comes up with a cursed answer. his viewers love whenever you join him while he’s watching true crime documentaries, there’s just something so endearing about you two stuffing your faces with snacks while complaining about how incompetent the authorities responsible for those unsolved cases were.
⋆͛♡⋆͛ vernon
unbothered king, here for the vibes. @/seungcy says he’s the type to play valorant and stare into the camera like 😳 when he wins. has really good taste in music and graphic tees, probably has tons of vinyl records lying in the back or hanging on the walls. makes seungkwan heavily question their friendship with his quiplash answers. started weekly movie watches because he’ll take any excuse to rewatch the shrek movies. the two of you are also on a mission to rank the barbie movies though you always get distracted by the songs and end up belting them at the top of your lungs. it’s okay, his viewers forget about your rankings too because you look so cute resting your head on his shoulder with his hand on your knee <3 (island princess has yet to be dethroned)
⋆͛♡⋆͛ chan
kinda sucks at games (affectionate) but he makes up for it with determination and perseverance, and his viewers let it slide because he’s cute. asks for game recommendations and regrets it every time because people won’t stop making him play the spooky ones. is terrified and flinches at the tiniest noises but will vehemently deny it. no one is allowed to bring up the time he screamed when you barged into the room asking him what type of pizza to order. also likes watching romance movies/shows while you’re wearing your matching hoodies and cuddling. if you see him crying at the sad parts just move along and don’t point it out <3 he’s cute ig.
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a/n: writing this was fun!! tysm for reading and i hope you liked it!!
please reblog and/or give feedback if you enjoyed my writing ! support the creators and content you wish to continue seeing <3
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bitchlessdino · 1 year
Note
chan- your personal knight/guard. been by your side since what feels like practically forever and has protected you against pretty much everything. You both are close but despite knowing him for so many years and being so close you realise you don’t actually know that much about him so on a walk maybe you’re just asking him random questions about him and learning more about him as a person. Somehow the conversations moved from something like his favourite colour to why he’s not settled down and without missing a beat he’s already answered because of you. Queue a love confession from your knight/guard that you reciprocate.
On a regular basis struggling with cheol and chan rot but today felt fluffy- idk i just think chan would be so sweet as your guard like him being super protective like ‘don’t pick that flower it might be poisonous let me check it’ and it’s like a dandelion or somet 😭
anyways just wanted to leave this with you and express how much I love your work!! I hope you have a good rest of your day or evening and genuinely thank you for taking the time to write on here, i truly appreciate the fact you take time out of your own day to read peoples requests and write whatever comes to mind <33
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Pairing: royal!reader x bodyguard!chan
Genre: fluff
Word count: 3.1k
tags: royal au, overprotective chan, yearning, childhood au, love confessions, misunderstandings
author note: I forget how much fun fluff can be and I thought this concept was so cute also to the person requesting. I hope you like it. I love taking requests, including this one and i apprecate your kind words so much. we could all use your positivity. 💕
You remember when you first met Chan. He was the son of the Head of security that would tend to your father's every public and private safety. In a land ruled by a monarchy, these things were just necessary. You’ve been taught about the value you hold simply because of your bloodline and how you were the most precious there is, you must be protected and guarded at all costs. That’s where Chan came in.
He always claimed to be destined to take on a job much like his father, promising to protect you until the end of your days. That was a huge proclamation for an 8-year-old. He carried a wooden sword wherever he went and always had that big goofy smile on his face. It was his life goal to be strong and dependable like his father, and you believed he one day would.
That was the first and last time you saw him until he was officially appointed your personal bodyguard when he turned 18 years old. You were taking etiquette classes and studying scholarly journals of your country’s history, he trained day and night, mastering every possible martial art to exceed expectations as a protector. He was much different when he returned to you, and much stronger as well. He did not disappoint, but the light in his eyes as a child seemed to have faded, leaving a solemn shell of a man who lives to serve his master.
“Chan!”
He responds promptly. He stands by your side in an instant in proper attire, fit for both professional settings and in case he needs to be active, and meets your eyes. “Yes, your highness.”
“Bake with me.”
He blinks, “Your Highness. Would you not rather have the chefs bake something for you if sweets are what you desire?”
You stare back at him pointedly, crossing your arms, “Are you talking back to me?”
His gaze perks up at the accusation, immediately shaking his head, “No, your high—“
You laugh, doubling over at his panicked expression. “Just kidding. I wanted us to bond! No better bonding than creating delectable pastries. No objections.”
“Yes, your highness.”
He was there whenever you needed him. He never told you ‘no’ and he always did what you told him to. All done with a stone face. He took his duty seriously. He was far from who he used to be, which was probably a given, it had been around a decade. That’s when you executed a plan of action to peel away those layers, hoping to find the cute boy that childishly wanted to blindly protect you. 
It was over time you saw progress, seeing him smile at every comment or the little mistakes you couldn’t help but make (you swear to him you’re normally more graceful than that) when he thinks you aren’t looking. You loved that: making him laugh. He has a beautiful smile. And the more you spent time with him, the more it feels he knows you, even bringing things you need without you even having to ask, but what was it you know about him?
“Chan.”
Right on the dot as always. “Yes, your highness.”
“Walk around the garden with me.” You take his hand before he can even answer and had him trodding beside you out of the palace.
“Please slow down, your highness.”
You practically dragged him, it was necessary given the Palace’s size.
“There is very little daylight left. We must make the most of our day. This is a royal order!” You playfully command.
“It is 3 pm, your highness!”
“Royal order!”
You walk side by side with him taking in the air, the freshly cut grass, and hearing the birds sing their sweet melody. Calling it a beautiful afternoon was an understatement. Even after living in the place you call home for so long, there is more that surprises you. “Doesn’t the sky look extra blue today, Chan?”
He softly grins. “It does, your highness.”
You turn your head, watching the smile slip out of view, “Speaking of which, what is your favorite color, Chan?”
He thinks for a moment. “Blue, actually, your highness.”
You offer him a wide grin. “That suits you very well. I’m glad I know that. How was it that you’ve protected me for so long and I never knew that?”
Chan is quiet at that, not sure how to answer.
“My favorite color is green, or was it purple?” You cross your arms in thought, a single finger tapping against your cheek, “Last week it was pink.”
“It should be yellow, your highness. You decided to wear the yellow two-piece today.”
You look down at your attire and confirm his statement, seeing the pretty outfit you properly picked out the day before with Chan. You twirl, watching how the sun reflects off the expensive fabric, “You’re right. Looks like you know me better than I know myself again, but of course.”
His eyes fill with concern. “Does that make you uncomfortable, your highness?”
“No. Not necessarily. It just feels very one-sided. You know so much about me, but I feel like I know so little about you.” You skip ahead of him and you hear his footsteps catching up.
“I apologize, your highness. I never believed it was necessary information.”
“Of course, it is. How am I supposed to trust you if I know nothing about you?” You pointed out nonchalantly.
“I apologize again, your highness. This was careless of me.”
You turn around and let him stand beside him and push him ahead, “Nevermind that. What’s your favorite food?”
He stumbles slightly but does not let the matter phase him, used to you treating him much like a companion rather than the help, “Barbeque.”
“Favorite animal?”
“Otters.”
“Favorite ice cream flavor?”
“Chocolate.”
“Least favorite thing about me?”
“Nothing.”
“Ah ha–oh.” You tilt your head. “Nothing? Seriously?”
“There is nothing to dislike, your highness, and even if there was, I could not speak out on it. However, there isn’t.”
You blink back at him dubiously, an aggressive finger pointing at his chest, “Are you lying, Chan?”
“Not at all, your highness.”
He would have no reason to lie, you thought. And like he said, if he did, he much rather not answer. You stare at him for a little longer, scanning his frame before simply shrugging and continuing your leisure stroll.
“Hmm, alright. Favorite genre of music?”
“...girl group pop.”
Your eyes widen at that, smiling from ear to ear. “No way! Which group?”
The tips of his ears cause a hue of red, spreading all across his cheeks in an instant. “Apink…”
“Ooo, how refreshing. I would’ve never guessed.”
Chan was relieved to hear such a positive and encouraging response, feeling his hairs falter just a little bit, quite enjoying your company. “It’s very encouraging when I train. They lift my spirits.”
You chortle. “That’s quite endearing of you, Chan. I feel like I’m knowing you way better already.”
“That’s a relief, your highness.”
“What else do you like to do in your free time? You spend most of the day with me, even tend to events with me, but I have no idea what you do for fun?”
He was drawing a blank. What did he do worth mentioning? “Mmm, lots of activities. Such as…”
“Such as?” You egg on.
“Such as–-horseback riding, jousting, martial arts–”
You wave the list off. “Save the pleasantries. I mean real hobbies, ones not instilled by the palace. Things that are actually fun.”
“They are fun, you highness…But I guess I do like dancing.”
You perk up once more, strutting backward to talk while facing him, “Dancing? How lovely! You must show me how you move. This instant!”
He grows flustered, knowing they were still very close to the other guards and staff in the palace. He wasn’t sure he felt about showing off his moves this publicly. “Another time, your highness. I feel rather shy at the moment.”
“Oh, but you must, you must! What do you do? Ballroom? Contemporary? Interpretive–Wha!” You feel yourself trip over a rock, falling backward in slow motion, shutting your eyes for impact, until a strong pair of arms prevent you from collapsing.
“Your highness, are you alright?”
Feeling him pull you against his chest, you stare back into the eyes of your savior. His genuine fright and concern peek through his gaze and he grips your build extra firmly. He instinctively frowns, lips quivering anxiously, sweeping your stray hairs away from your face. You naturally melt in his embrace.
You nod, sighing a breath of relief. “I am fine, Chan. Thank you.”
“Who knows what you could’ve landed on.” His gaze scans over the bed of flowers behind you, vibrant and vivacious, “they could be poisonous for all we know.”
You allow yourself to land back on your feet, turning your gaze on the same bed of flowers. “Those are dandelions.”
Chan feels redder than a tomato in August. How is he constantly embarrassing himself, he thought to himself. “Oh. Well, better safe than sorry. Your Highness.”
You chuckle, infatuated by his thought process. “You truly are something, Lee Chan. Your significant other does not have a boring life with you around.”
“I don’t have a significant other, your highness.” 
“That's strange. I’d say you’re at the age to be married or betrothed. Why aren’t you?” You mention, decidedly walking side by side with him.
“Why, my work is the most important thing in my life. I do not have the time to commit myself to someone other than the royal family.”
You raise a brow, “Your father was married and had two kids by your age. If he could do it, I don’t see how you couldn’t.”
“Now, you’re sounding like my mother,” he jokes.
“She is a wise woman.”
He splays a bittersweet smile. “If I’m being honest, I’ve been given a few opportunities, but I don’t believe they can take the place of the person I hold in my heart. No one will.”
You clap your hands together in excitement. “So you are interested in dating? Tell, good sir. Who is the lucky lad or lass?”
“Someone far worthy than I’ll ever be and deserves more than what I can give them.”
You slightly shove him, finding such an assumption doubtful. “Oh please. You’re strong, you’re kind, you’re handsome…anyone would absolutely be ecstatic to have you.”
Chan felt warm all over, taking your words into careful consideration, “Do you truly mean that, your highness?”
“Are you doubting a royal?” You chuckle, “I do. Tell them. I am sure they would happily return your feelings.”
He halts his steps, and you quickly follow, curious about his abrupt actions, “...You ask me why I am still unwedded and untaken. How would you feel if I said you were the reason?”
“No excuses. You can’t use work as an excuse for your lack of love life.” You wag a finger at him.
“Not like that,” He takes your hand in his, bringing it up in mid-air, thumbing over the pristine skin of your knuckles, “How would you feel if I admitted the person I hold dearest to my heart is you, your Highness?”
A gust of wind takes you by surprise, the fallen flowers and leave being picked up with it and fall around you like a picture-esque scene in a movie. Your heart pounds a million times a minute, staring back in awe at his presence, overflowing with love and sincerity, and your eyes flutter from the breathlessness you feel in your chest and throat. You stare at Chan like the first time you were reunited with him, with pure unadulterated infatuation.
“Me, you say? Well, I’d say I was surprised, flabbergasted,…flattered.”
You feel the heat of your cheeks from the back of your free hand. “And inexplicably flustered.”
You release your hand from his grasp, the lingering sensation of his hand on your skin causing you to clench and release, and your heart easily audibly through your eardrums. You look towards the ground, finding it hard to meet your guard’s eyes. “Your choice of humor is rather brass.”
“Your highness–”
“It’s supper time. I must get going. I will see you back at the palace, Chan.”
You make your grand escape, clutching your frills, shielding your face from others in the palace with your arm before heading u to your room. You collapse against the bed, clutching your burning face in a silk pillow, yelling muffled songs of your fluster, reimagining the majestic look on his face when he confessed his feelings. Deep down you knew there was truth in his words, but how could you normally react to something so abrupt from someone so…admirable.
You embrace your pillow, push down your swelling heart, and smile. Tears of bliss fall to your cheeks and you can’t help but kick your feet like an excited schoolgirl.
You find yourself making glances at Chan when you reunite at the dinner. As usual, he does not have dinner with you but he stays by you for your own protection and eats afterward once you’ve finished. He’d look as solemn as he always did in front of other people. He took his job almost too seriously, sometimes even tasting your meal with a separate spoon in case it was poisoned. You used to laugh at his old-fashioned methods of work, there was technology for that sort of thing now, but you finally understand his devotion to his service. There more to meet the eyes, you realize.
When he follows you all the way up to your room for a night's rest, you part ways. You squirm in his presence, his confession fresh in your mind. “Good night, Chan.”
You are ready to run from him until he calls out to you, hesitancy in his voice. You meet his apologetic gaze, regretful of their last close encounter. He wishes you would not see him any differently, that he was simply a lowly guard and protector to you. His feelings towards you would not have changed regardless of your reaction. He knew his place and that was by your side as a human shield.
“Please take no more than a single thought at my confession today. Do not let it diminish my utmost respect and loyalty to the royal family. Have a good slumber, your highness.”
He retreats to his quarters conveniently not too far from your chambers, standing by the door, he gestures for you to enter your room and you obliged, watching his figure disappear behind your door. You fear that the air had changed between you, and perhaps not for the better. Your sleep would be anything but peaceful that night.
“Your highness, Good morning.”
He stands tall and firm with a smile as wide as a river. He holds beside him a fairly large trunk, gripping it by the handle.
You peer at his figure in worry, and earnest fear. “What is this, Chan?”
“I’ve decided to leave the palace forever. I realize my life was being wasted away taking care of someone who could never love me as much as I love them. So, I’ve taken on a lover of the same status.”
As if by magic a common lady appears, taking him by the arm and nuzzling his nose. They look in love, happy, and a sharp pain would shoot through your heart.
“No.” You chant.
“You will never see my face again. Goodbye. Your Highness.”
“Chan, no.”
The image of their silhouette gets smaller and smaller as they walk further away. You fall to your knees in desperation. “Chan please!”
You sob in your sleeves, hands reaching out to their shirking figures until you can only hear the echoes of your pleas.
“CHAN!”
You sit up from your bed, perspiration dampening your forehead and you are flushed to the touch. Clutching your sheets, you sigh a breath of relief that was only a dream. Soon after, your doors swing open, and a panicked guard in his baby blue nighttime attire runs to claim you, “Your Highness. I’m here. I’m here.”
His strong arms wrap tightly around your frame, soothing strokes to your hair, whispering to you it’d be okay. Your hands instinctively hold on to the fabric of his clothes, squeezing the flesh underneath, drinking in his soap’s scent and noticing how pleasant and just to your taste it was. “I know.”
He pulls you away to stare back at you, scanning you for any signs of danger placed upon you.
“I’m okay,” you reassure, “just a bad nightmare.”
“What foul image betrays you to cause such a reaction? I was ready to spar with whatever evil demon tried kidnapping you.”
He must’ve been still asleep, you assume. His colorful vocabulary, wakes you up delightfully.
“I am fine. I promise. Come, I’ll walk you to the door.”
You push him out of bed, meeting the exit, while your guard’s doubts seep out of him like a fountain. 
“Are you sure? Was it truly just a nightmare? Do you need new sheets? A snack to soothe you?”
“Not at all, all good, my good sir. Good night.”
You attempt to push him out completely but he holds you back from doing so, gripping the rims of the bedroom door. “I just want to assure you’re okay, your highness.”
You fall a little deep into those eyes, perceiving the truth of his word in them. It drove you insane how a simple confession could affect you this much. You brighten up your world, open your eyes, and made you feel alive, just like a person in love does. “I am. Just…don’t go anywhere. Stay right where you are.”
He gives a confused smile, his gaze softening the same way your tone does. “But your highness, you were just pushing me away a few seconds ago—“
You tug against his shirt and your lips for the first time make contact, his plush surface meeting yours seamlessly. Your hands clasp over his cheeks and neck, languidly moving them against him. You slowly process how he reciprocates, holding you to his chest tenderly, savoring your warmth, taste, and how it all excited him. The thin fabric between your body was the only thing to stop you, and the world around you simply disappeared. 
Before you both knew it, you were pulling him back into the bedroom. He’d quickly follow, doesn’t leave until the following morning, carrying out what he only imagined in his dreams, even if it was only for the night. It was the matter of his duty to keep you safe, to keep you happy. And he knew he could make you happy.
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spaceistheplaceart · 1 year
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Body Swap - Ritsu
First Comic (the one you're reading now is the 6th! Search #mp100 body swap on my blog to find the rest)
Summarized ID: Ritsu comes into Spirits and Such and demands that Mob go to school. However, he's speaking to Reigen in Mob's body. Dimple tells him this, and Ritsu does not believe that a body swap has occurred. In order to prove that Mob is actually the one in Reigen's body, Mob tells numerous stories of Ritsu from when he was a child. Ritsu gets embarrassed, believes him, then leaves.
FULL ID UNDER CUT
Keep in mind that Reigen looks like Mob and Mob looks like Reigen in this comic. They have swapped bodies.
Ritsu pants, having just ran into Spirits and Such. "Shige... Hey..."
He grabs Reigen's wrist and pulls him. "We are NOT missing class- we're already... 30 minutes late! oh, crap-"
Reigen pulls his wrist from Ritsu's grasp. "Whoa, I'm not going ANYWHERE!" underneath his speechbubble is the subtext: "and don't grab people like that, it's rude!"
"WHY NOT!?" Ritsu yells back at him.
"Ritsu..." Mob says.
Ritsu gets in his face. "Don't say anything! I get that he hands out here after school but don't make him start skipping class!"
A close up of Ritsu's face as he yells: "NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE STREET SIGN CLIMBER!"
Mob looks confused with a big "?" over his head. Text above his head reads "the street sign climber...?"
Mob looks over at Reigen. "Master... did you not tell Ritsu?" Ritsu follows his gaze and thinks to himself: "master?"
Reigen responds, frantically, "Why would I!? I didn't want to freak him out! I was still trying to figure out what was going on! How do I explain something like this anyway!?"
"Explain what?" Ritsu asks.
"That shigeo and reigen have swapped bodies." Dimple replies.
Ritsu looks at Dimple with a mix of confusion and disgust. He squints at him, squints harder, trying to make sense of what he just said, and then looks at him disbelievingly, lips pursed. Finally, he faces Dimple fully and asks bluntly: "What?"
Mob scratches the back of his neck. "Uhh... well, I look like master and master looks like me...."
"meaning SHigeo looks like Reigen and Reigen looks like Shigeo." Dimple explains.
"Right." Mob says. He points to himself, smiling. "So I'm shigeo, your brother."
Reigen is next to him, with a slightly pissed off expression. "And I'm Reigen Arataka. NOT your brother."
Ritsu looks done and annoyed at them. He puts his face in his hands and mutters: "This is stupid. What..."
He makes a 'come here' motion to Reigen. "We're going to school."
"Ritsu! I'm not going! Ugh- didn't you hear a word of what was just said!?" Reigen shouts back.
"Yeah, and it was dumb, so c'mon."
Mob leans in and says: "Please let him go. I don't want Master going to school as me."
Dimple says "Ritsu, come on, man. you seriously can't tell that your 'brother' is acting differently?"
Ritsu responds. "Well, yeah, but..."
Reigen thinks for a moment, hand on his chin, before going "I got it!" He explains: "Hey, mob, you know those movies where there's a clone or something and in order to tell which ones the real one, they have to say something only the real one would know?" In a thought bubble, an image of a person pointing a gun at two identical people is shown.
"Mm... I dunno, maybe?" Mob responds. Reigen huffs. "Whatever. Just say something only you would know."
Mob thinks, putting his finger to his chin. "Something only I would know about Ritsu... uh... Ritsu's favourite colour is green and he really likes tofu." Next to Mob appears a smattering of dark green and a picture of tofu.
Reigen scolds him. "Mob, anybody could know that! pick something more personal!"
"Oh, oh... hmmm...." Mob thinks again.
"One time, when we were kids, ritsu and I watched this movie about a boy who lived in the forest... when we went to the park after, ritsu tried to catch a squirrel and hit his head."
Illustrated below the text box is a young ritsu and mob watching TV. On the TV is a man with wild hair, holding an animal in his hand. Ritsu is paying attention, Mob is playing with something in his hands. Then we see an image of Ritsu leaping towards a squirrel, only to slam face first into a tree trunk.
"And, oh! when we were 10, mom wouldn't buy you a toy so you flipped her off when she wasn't looking... hmm... you were really red when you got caught, though. I think you started crying."
Illustrated below the text box is a young ritsu and mob. Ritsu is flipping off his mother, with his mother looking at her shopping list and not seeing. Mob is nervously looking at Ritsu. Their mother turns around and gasps, seeing Ritsu. Ritsu's face is engulfed in an embarrassed blush. Mob looks up at his mother nervously.
"And he always carries spoons with him, I don't know why though... maybe for desssert?"
Ritsu bursts the thought bubble, blushing. "OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH. Shige, did you tell him all that?"
Reigen crosses his arms. "I'm NOT your brother. I'm Reigen. Can't you just believe that now?"
Dimple smirks. "Do you seriously carry spoons on you, little ritsu?"
Ritsu blushes and uses his powers to push some spoons he has in his back pocket down. "No."
Ritsu sighs. "Alright, fine. Maybe I believe you... I just... don't like it."
Reigen begins to take off his school uniform pants, that are over his pajama pants. "Us neither." Mob looks at Ritsu, frowning. "You should go to school, ritsu. I'm sorry that all of this made you late."
Ritsu smiles, strained, at Mob. 'It's not big deal, uh..."
A panel of Mob, but it's Reigen's face. Reigen's face is drawn in the shows style and he is smiling slightly.
Ritsu only becomes more strained at this. He finishes his sentence: "brother." There are stress lines on his face and the background is dark.
He turns his back to them, waving. "I'll just make up an excuse as to why you're late, okay?"
"Sorry for the trouble." Mob says.
"WAIT!" Reigen shouts. Ritsu startles. "You don't maybe know how to fix this, do you?"
"No... is it a curse or something?" Ritsu asks. Reigen sighs and sits down on a seat, his cheek in his hand and his elbow resting on his knee. "Apparently not... damn it." He says.
"Well... good luck." Ritsu says. "Call me if you need any help, okay? and let me know when you're back in your body, shige." He looks at Reigen as he says this.
Reigen jabs a thumb in Mob's direction. "Don't look at me... I'm Reigen. THAT'S 'shige'. I've told you like five times already!"
Mob raises Reigen's flip phone, now charging. He smiles slightly. "Thanks, Ritsy. I'll call you as soon as Master's phone is charged."
Ritsu looks at Mob, sweating. "Ah. right." Mob is smiling at him.
It's silent for a panel.
Ritsu leaves. "Well, bye!" Mob's smile only drops a little bit.
END ID
652 notes · View notes
streetlight11 · 10 months
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I Remember You
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Summary: You grew up with your foster parents who found you at their doorstep when you were a newborn baby. They raised you up ever since and treated you like their own. When you turned 16, you started to keep getting the same recurring dream with the same scenes playing again and again. Until one day, it began to unveil more and more secrets to the dream which ends up showing you the bigger picture
Theme: supernatural au, strangers to lovers
Genre: slowburn, romance, fluff, a pinch of sadness(?)
Warnings: mentions of partial drowning, slight bullying, fights, injuries, cosmos, those paragraphs in italics are the dreams
W/C: 17.8k (sorry)
Pairing: Celestial!Jungkook x Human!FemReader
a/n: Hello hello! I'm back with a new fic✌🏼I wanted to try and write a theme I've never tried before so I honestly don't know if this is good or not. I'll let you decide :) *characters and storyline is completely fictional*
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“Y/N, sweetie! Don’t go too near the lake!” Your foster mother said as she walked side by side with your foster father. Your 5 year old self was running around the park, trying to diligently catch the beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly. You ignored their calls of asking you to be careful because of course, kids will never listen. You got further and further away from your elders as you were so close to catching the butterfly when all of a sudden, your feet missed a step on the wooden bridge.
Within a split second, you plunged into the lake before your elders could chase after you. Water flushed down your nose and mouth, accidentally swallowing it in huge gulps while you were desperately crying for help. Since you were just a 5 year old kid, you didn’t know how to swim nor were you taught not to open your mouth and breathe underwater.
You were growing unconscious due to the large amount of water that had already started to fill your lungs. You were ready to just accept your fate that you were going to die right then and there. Except, luck has a different plan for you. Just when you were on the brink of completely drowning, a sudden new figure dives into the lake and swoops you into their arms before bringing you back up easily. Once you were on land, they began to do CPR on you until you finally managed to cough out a huge amount of water that had gotten into your lungs.
After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.
“Are you okay?”
It was a man. You glanced up but all you can see is a shadowy figure looming over you. Nothing about him or his appearance is clear and so it was pretty useless to even guess who or what he looked like.
Right after you’ve gotten a glimpse of his presence there with you, everything goes white. Even though this is just a dream, everything about this felt so entirely real. Almost as if this same exact scene happened before in your life.
And it did.
You just don’t remember it. Not yet.
And then you awoke.
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You’ve been getting that same recurring dream ever since you turned 16. They’re all the same dream where it stops abruptly after your savior asks if you are okay. As much as you want to figure out the details of the dream, you couldn’t because you don’t have much to work with aside from it being what looks to be an old memory of what happened to you years ago. Nevertheless, you lived your days like every other normal teenager until you were now in your last year of university.
That’s where you met two of your current best friends and their names were Hwang Hyunjin and Han Jisung.
You were like three peas in a pod ever since college days. Everywhere one goes, the other two follow. Except the toilet of course. There isn’t anyone on this earth (aside from your foster parents) that you could trust more than you trust them. Only reason being you were an only child. Not to mention, adopted. So everyone in school used to make fun of you a lot. They called you all kinds of nicknames and said that your real parents never loved you enough to take care of you.
It hurts a lot, having to hear those words being thrown at you when you were barely a kid. However, you loved your foster parents so much, you tried so hard to ignore the bullies and carried on with your life just to make your elders happy. You couldn’t bear to see them sad so you made a promise to yourself that no matter what happens, they will always come first and you will do whatever it takes to give them a happy and successful life when you’re older.
It wasn’t easy of course but you made it through. Not only that, who knew college would let you cross paths with two of the most genuine individuals who actually cared for you and not expect anything in return. For that, you’re thankful you met Hyunjin and Jisung.
Everyday is such a blessing with them around and today was no different.
You were heading to the parking lot after your class ended when you saw a group of four guys gathered at the near entrance of the campus building. Both Hyunjin and Jisung still have yet to finish their lectures so you told them you’d wait for them by the car. You were about to walk down the stairs when one of the guys blocked your path intentionally.
“Hey, um… Y/N right?” He asked, to which you frowned. You don’t seem to recognize him so how did he know your name?
“Yeah? Sorry, do I know you?” Your voice was timid and almost inaudible.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve introduced myself. My name’s Changbin. This is Wooyoung, Yeonjun and Haknyeon. I’ve uh… been wanting to talk to you actually but I didn’t know how. So I kinda asked your friend about you…” He said while scratching the back of his neck nervously. Upon this revelation, you frowned as you tilted your head slightly in confusion.
“My friend?” You asked.
“Han Jisung?”
“Ah… Right, Mr Dumber…” You said casually, earning a few chuckles from them.
“So… I was wondering, if you’d wanna hangout with me tonight? I know this really awesome billiard place downtown.”
“Um… Sure. Yeah, I think that sounds good.” You said as he asked to exchange numbers with you and so you did. Once you were done, you bid them goodbye and soon walked over to your car. It didn’t feel weird or creepy talking to him but it did catch you off guard slightly considering you’ve never gotten someone to actually come up to you bravely like that and asked for your number. So for that, you kinda respected Changbin for that.
A few minutes later, your friends finally came and Jisung seemed happy as he was seen bouncing in his steps over to where you were standing.
“You look overly happy and satisfied. What’s up?” You asked, only for him to smirk.
“A little birdie told me that somebody’s got a date tonight…” Jisung teased you in front of Hyunjin who looks like he had absolutely no idea what’s going on.
“It’s not a date.”
“Really? What time is he picking you up?” He smirked at you, ignoring Hyunjin’s wide eyes staring back and forth between you and Jisung.
“We haven’t set a time yet, Ji. Now shut up and get in.” You said in annoyance as you unlocked your car doors and entered the driver seat easily while the other two followed suit.
“I’m sorry but what is going on? Can some kind soul please fill me in on what’s going on?” Hyunjin asked as he turned his body 90° to face you and turned his head back to glare at his same aged friend. Finally, Jisung explained the situation to Hyunjin and you were thankful that Hyunjin was just letting it slide without actually teasing the shit out of you.
A few hours went by, and you were finally done getting ready to meet up with Changbin. You opted for a simple crop top, skinny ripped jeans and a thick oversized jacket in case you got cold during the night. Changbin soon picked you up at your apartment with his black mustang, bringing you to the billiard place downtown. You were quite surprised with how easy your conversation turned out with him in the car. He was quite bubbly himself so it wasn’t difficult for him to start the conversation every time. And so far, you feel pretty comfortable with him.
Once you arrived at the location, the place was dimly lit to give off a relaxing vibe to the venue. There were many pool tables occupied so there were a few empty ones near the back. Changbin and you went to book a table for yourselves, only to get the last table at the very last corner of the room.
The other tables near you were empty so essentially, you had the space to yourselves. Changbin took the cue sticks for you and him while you carried the tray of billiard balls.
“Just so you know, I have no idea how to play this.” You said as a disclaimer, only for him to chuckle.
“It’s fine. I can teach you.” He said casually, making you smile.
After you had both settled down your things on the table, he began to prepare the balls into the triangle and soon called a start. He was the first to break it up. Right after that, he walks over to you and asks which colour you wanted to aim for, solids or stripes. You glanced around the table top to see which one was the easiest target and soon chose the stripes. He led you over to where the ball you were aiming for and began to guide you on where to stand, how to hold the cue, et cetera et cetera.
Apparently, you were holding it wrong and had completely no idea what to do so Changbin came over to stand behind you while he reached over to position your hand properly. His left hand was guiding your hand while the other hovered over your waist, knowing not to touch you without your permission.
So when you could feel his awkward hand beside your waist, you glanced down at it and laughed slightly before you turned to him and said, “Isn’t your hand tired from being in the air for that long?”
Changbin glanced over to your waist, only to laugh a little as he got shy.
“Sorry, I just… I don’t know where to put my hand.”
“Just hold my waist if you want. It’s fine.” You smiled at him, earning a little giggle from him.
“O-Okay.” He replied shyly before gently putting his hand on your waist. He resumed teaching you and once you got the shot, both of you cheered excitedly. The game continued with laughter and occasional lessons along the way but so far, you were enjoying it. After you were done playing, he offered to pay for the game so you told him you’d pay for the food afterwards and he said okay.
You were walking back to his car when you didn’t realise there was someone walking ahead of you. It wasn’t until the sudden crash against your shoulder made you turn around. A young guy locks eyes with you from under the brim of his baseball cap, black mask covering his nose and mouth.
“Sorry.” He said softly to which you simply smiled and shook your head.
“It’s okay.” You said as he then walked away. For some reason, your heart was starting to palpitate in your chest.
Soon after, Changbin drove you to a pretty cafe a few blocks down from where you were, only to gush over the cute decorations outside the cafe. It was decorated with pretty fairy lights and small strings of roses attached to it. So minimal yet so pretty at the same time. Both of you went inside to get your food first before sitting outside.
The night was young, people were seen walking about the streets in all ages. You were chatting about your hobbies and what you do when you’re bored. You realize that he is a gym-addict and that he does dance occasionally and rap most days when he feels like recording a song. He is multi-talented and yet, his hard work is not published anywhere. Nevertheless, you found him charming and an absolute sweetheart.
You just… don’t have any special feelings towards him. So when you were ready to call it a night, he sent you home all the way to your doorstep.
“If it’s not too much to ask, is it okay if we do this again? It doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to. I just… kinda like spending time with you.”
“Of course. I’d love to. Anyways, I should go in. It’s getting pretty late… Drive safely. Goodnight Changbin.” You smiled, before entering your apartment once he said goodnight.
Looks like you’ve gained a new friend.
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It was a bright Wednesday afternoon. You were seated at one of the wooden tables at the rooftop garden of the engineering building, waiting for the boys to finish their lecture. You had your headphones on so the world around you was just a blur to you. Mind focused on your assignment, you didn’t even realise the two individuals that had just entered the rooftop until one of them slams both hands on the table top to scare you. As expected, you didn’t flinch.
“Boohoo… You’re no fun.” Jisung pouts as he takes a seat opposite from you while Hyunjin slides into the bench beside you.
“What are you doing?” The long haired blondie asks.
“A research on Thomas Edison. I mean, come on. That man might have invented the light bulb, telephone and motion picture camera, sure. But did he figure out how many times the earth orbits around the sun? I’m pretty sure that’s more fascinating than inventing a device that most people would have come up with eventually.” You didn’t realise you were ranting until you finished talking, earning a soft scoff from Hyunjin.
“Relax, Miss Know-It-All… What’s with the ‘tude? It was just a simple question. Geez…” Hyunjin said as he flips his hair sassily before taking out his phone to text someone.
“Sorry… I’m just a little stressed from this stupid thing, I kinda need a break from it.” You sighed heavily with your head against the table. Jisung cooed softly as he suddenly clapped his hand together and suggested hanging out at the empty music room that nobody seems to use anymore.
“I don’t know, Ji… You tend to overlook some important details sometimes…” You said while packing your stuff, only for the male to huff at you.
“Trust me. I’ve done my research this time. It’s safe. Besides, if anything happens, you have two hot guys to protect you.” Jisung smirks at you cheekily, earning a roll of your eyes.
“More like two cowards.” You said quietly but still loud enough for them to hear, only for you to giggle right after. All three of you finally made it back to the ground floor and were soon walking towards the music production building on the other side of campus. Jisung was standing in the middle of you and Hyunjin. As usual, he was being chatty and bright like how he always was. You were just listening to the chatterbox called Han Jisung when you naturally looked forward to see where you were walking.
Almost instantly, you caught sight of two males walking in your direction, parallel to you.
One had striking neon blue hair while the other had bright purple hair. The purple haired one would be right next to you once you crossed paths with them too. You kept your eyes on them as they got closer and closer until they were about 3 feet away. As if on cue, the purple haired individual just happened to turn his head towards you, causing you to lock eyes with him.
Suddenly, a weird feeling washes over you while you felt as though your heartstrings were being tugged. It was as if there was an invisible thread being pulled.
The minute he had walked completely past you, a small sense of longing lingers in your veins. You frowned as you glanced over your shoulder to find that the two males were casually talking to one another like nothing happened.
You were confused. Yet, there was nothing to say or do so you turned back in front with the thought plastered onto the back of your mind. A few seconds later, the feeling of longing and heartstrings being tugged, suddenly evaporates. Almost as if it never existed.
What’s going on?
Who were those guys?
Why did you feel like you knew the purple haired one?
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Days passed since you first saw the colourful haired duo on campus. And it was pretty noticeable that you’ve been seeing them more often than not now. Even if they were on the other side of campus, you’d still spot them thanks to their brightly coloured hairs. You aren’t even sure if that’s a pro or a con at this point. What’s pretty sure though is that whenever the purple haired one is anywhere close to your range, you would casually lock eyes with him and that feeling you encountered the first time you saw them would come back again.
You still have no idea why but you weren’t one to dwell on it for too long. So after he leaves your radius, you’d either forget about it or you would just pretend like maybe it was pure coincidence and that you didn’t in fact know this guy because if you did, you would’ve recognized him… Right?
And yet for some reason, the one with purple hair seemed to linger in your thoughts more often than you wanted him to.
It has been 8 weeks now and today is a bright Tuesday afternoon. You just remembered you have a Netball tournament this evening in the indoor sports hall. They promised to come down and support you, despite knowing they’ve never missed a single game of your to begin with. All three of you were currently seated in one of the wooden tables right outside the main campus building, just hanging out there while waiting for your break time to pass before you had to go for your respective lectures.
“Omg, you know what? We should really check out that new club downtown this weekend! I heard they sell some amazing booze there.” Hyunjin suggested with a cheeky smirk on his face, one that leaves you rolling your eyes at him and Jisung to fake a gag.
“Sure, let’s see who drops dead drunk in less than 5 drinks first.” Jisung said, giving you a silent high five while Hyunjin straightened his back to retaliate.
“In my defence, I was already pre-drunk with beer the other night. That doesn’t count.”
“Yeah… Sure. You can’t even walk straight after a bottle of soju.”
“Shut up Han.” Hyunjin scoffed as he slapped a packet of wet tissue to Jisung’s face, causing the latter to dramatically stumble backwards. You were quietly watching the two children banter back and forth while your curious eyes began to wander around the campus ground. It wasn’t until two very bright, very prominent blobs of hairs were seen crossing the parking lot from the music production building to the main building, caught your eye.
You had to mentally rip your gaze off them by turning to Hyunjin who was sitting next to you to avoid looking like a creep. About 3 seconds later give or take, you casually turned to pretend like you’re looking around again and that’s when you almost panicked.
When did they get so close?
The purple haired one locked eyes with you as they were just 6 or 7 metres away from your table. Before it got any more awkward, you quickly turned away in hopes that he didn’t think you’re a creepy stalker of some sort because that is the last thing you’d wanna be labelled as. With that being said, the three of you left the table about 10 minutes later to head to your respective classes. You were just listening to Jisung rant about his crush’s kissable lips when you noticed your bracelet was missing.
That was your birthday present from your foster mother a few years ago and you’ve been wearing it ever since. So to know that you’ve lost it, really wouldn’t sit right with you.
“Shit! My bracelet! Where is it? Oh shit, she’s gonna kill me!” You panicked as the two boys couldn’t help but mimic you.
“How could you not feel it dropping from your wrist?” Hyunjin asked while staring at the ground and taking a few steps back to try and retrace your steps.
“Because I was too busy listening to you two idiots trying to differentiate between lipstick and lip gloss, for god’s sake.” You said only to glance at the time and realize that you were almost late for your lecture. They told you to go to class while they try to find the bracelet for you. With a heavy heart, you ran off to your next lecture, leaving it all in the hands of dumb and dumber whom you call best friends.
Hours later, you were in the hall where your tournament would be taking place. Hyunjin and Jisung already tried to find your bracelet but to no avail. You were devastated but what’s done is done. Maybe someone took it. Maybe someone used it. Maybe someone even threw it away. Only God knows. However, that’s not your main concern right now. The golden trophy is waiting for you tonight and you’re determined to bring that trophy home for the team and that’s exactly what you’re gonna do.
You were just stretching by the bench, facing the crowded bleachers where students from Hankuk U came to support you girls. Of course, Hyunjin and Jisung were amongst the crowd. In fact, you saw them earlier and even gave them a wave to acknowledge their presence.
As much as you’re upset about the bracelet, you promised yourself you shouldn’t let it affect your performance today during the game. It was hard, but you can do it.
The game was about to start in just 5 minutes. Your coach had already briefed your team about the rules and regulations, standard procedure, techniques to use, etc. you were just cracking your knuckles when your eyes naturally found its way to a few rows above Hyunjin and Jisung, only to find the coloured hair duo just calmly seated there. What made you not notice them at first was the fact that the purple haired one was wearing a baseball cap while the blue haired one was wearing his cap backwards.
This essentially hides their coloured hair so you didn’t quite spot them first straight away. Nevertheless, you locked eyes with the purple haired one and suddenly, the feeling of your heartstrings being tugged was present. You had to look away to make the feeling stop but it left a lingering tug in your chest. You were distracted for a second but was quickly brought back to attention the minute the whistle was blown.
Immediately, you went into alert mode as your game attitude comes on. The game was intense as you tried your very best to guide your team. You did a pretty good job until the end, claiming the victory title for Hankuk University. After everything was done, you were just gulping down your bottle of water when Hyunjin and Jisung suddenly ran to you and lifted you up on Hyunjin’s shoulders. A scream left your lips as you gripped his hair for balance.
You yelled at him to put you down and once he did, you slapped his chest a few times for nearly giving you a heart attack. They both broke into hysterical laughter as you shoved them away and told them to just go home and not wait for you.
The boys apologized after they'd stopped laughing and soon told you to have a safe journey home before bidding you goodnight. You didn’t leave the hall without taking a quick shower like you always do after every practice. About half an hour later, you’ve already changed into your earlier outfit you wore to classes which were ripped skinny jeans, a fitted tank top, an oversized jacket and a pair of jordans.
Once everyone was done, you all started walking to the entrance to head home. You were just walking ahead slightly from everyone else when you saw a familiar figure leaning against one of the pillars outside. The closer you get, the clearer it is for you to recognize them. A few more steps and you were finally just 6 metres away from him when he pushed himself off the pillar and turned to face you.
“Hey? Um… A-Are you looking for someone?” You asked, hoping he was there for you and not anyone else.
“Actually, I was looking for you.” The purple haired male said with the most gentle smile on his face. His lips curled upwards, reminding you of a bunny. An odd sound leaves you unconsciously while your head tilts in confusion naturally. He couldn’t help but chuckle upon seeing your reaction before he continued from where he left off.
“I wanted to congratulate you on winning 1st place today… And also to return this…” He said as he reached into his front pocket and soon took out your bracelet which you lost a few hours ago.
This made you gasp softly whilst staring at the item in his hand in disbelief.
“How did you-”
“I was sitting at one of the tables when your bracelet fell. I was gonna return it to you but you were gone. I didn’t know how else to contact you until I saw a poster on the notice boards all over campus about the tournament today so I decided to meet you here instead. I hope this doesn’t come off as creepy or anything.” He explained to you in detail, making you shake your head eagerly.
“No! Absolutely not! You have no idea how devastated I was when I realized it was missing… Thank you so much…” You said as he gave you a smile. Both of you were silent as neither of you clearly knew how to keep a good conversation going. Nevertheless, you broke the ice after not wanting him to leave just yet.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you before on campus… Not until recently at least. Are you new here?”
“Yeah. Me and my friend just moved to this city two months ago.”
“Where were you guys from?”
He looked like he was hesitating a bit but was quick to compose himself.
“Far from here actually…” He chuckled and for some reason, you didn’t feel the need to interrogate more.
“Well, I hope you guys will have good memories here so you don’t have to move again.” It went silent for a few beats before you asked, “Pardon my rudeness… My name’s Y/N. What about you?”
“Just call me Jungkook.” He smiled.
“It’s nice talking to you Jungkook, and… thank you again for my bracelet.” You said, to which he brushed you off.
“Anytime… Hey, uh… do you have a ride home?” He asked in the most gentle tone possible.
“Yeah. I drive to school everyday. It’s okay.”
“Alright then. Drive safe. I’ll see you around.” He smiled again, making you do the same. He then walks off with his hands in his pockets and he couldn’t look any hotter than that. The entire drive home, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. How his smile could melt your heart in a flash, how your heartstrings tug whenever you lock eyes with him, how he makes you feel like you’ve known him for years, how he makes you feel comfortable, etc.
You just wished you'd known him sooner.
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“Y/N, sweetie! Don’t go too near the lake!” Your foster mother said as she walked side by side with your foster father. Your 5 year old self was running around the park, trying to diligently catch the beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly. You ignored their calls of asking you to be careful because of course, kids will never listen. You got further and further away from your elders as you were so close to catching the butterfly when all of a sudden, your feet missed a step on the wooden bridge.
Within a split second, you plunged into the lake before your elders could chase after you. Water flushed down your nose and mouth, accidentally swallowing it in huge gulps while you were desperately crying for help. Since you were just a 5 year old kid, you didn’t know how to swim nor were you taught not to open your mouth and breathe underwater.
You were growing unconscious due to the large amount of water that had already started to fill your lungs. You were ready to just accept your fate that you were going to die right then and there. Except, luck has a different plan for you. Just when you were on the brink of completely drowning, a sudden new figure dives into the lake and swoops you into their arms before bringing you back up easily. Once you were on land, they began to do CPR on you until you finally managed to cough out a huge amount of water that had gotten into your lungs.
After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.
“Are you okay?”
It was a man. You glanced up and saw what looked to be a figure of a man looming over you. Though his overall appearance and face was somewhat a terrible blur, there was one thing you could easily make out. And that was the silver pendant necklace hanging around his neck. You couldn’t really see it that clearly but it was an oval shaped pendant, similar to the ones where you can open and close it.
This was new to your dream. All these while, you’ve always seen a shadowy figure, with unclear images of your dream. This time, things were slowly beginning to become clear.
Maybe this is a memory.
A recurring memory that your brain is trying so hard to remember every piece of detail that was left untouched at the very bottom part of your brain.
So you knew, this wasn’t just any ordinary dream.
And then you awoke.
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It was a Friday afternoon, your two best friends wanted to go to the club that night for some drinks and just lay off some steam. You, of course, could never get away with whatever plan they had so you had no other choice but to go. You were all gathered to do your assignments at one of the tables where the study building was. Suddenly, a thought came to mind and you just couldn’t get your mind off it.
“Hey, do you remember the dream I keep having? The one where I fell into the lake?” You ask as Jisung stopped chewing his sushi while Hyunjin stops typing and slowly glances up from the top of his laptop screen.
“Yeah? What about it?” Jisung asked curiously before looking at Hyunjin to see if he knew something.
“You know how it always stops abruptly after the voice asks me if I’m okay and I see a shadow figure standing there?” You explained, earning nods from the two children.
“Well… It’s not really… a shadow figure anymore…”
“What do you mean?” Hyunjin asked, his laptop long closed to pay full attention to your story.
“I saw… a male figure. Everything about him was blurry but I could see that it’s a man. And… he had this silver pendant necklace around his neck. Those where you can open and close.”
“You mean the ones where our grandmothers would put a picture of us in it?” Jisung asked.
“Yes. That kind.” You said.
“Hmm, do you recognize it?” Hyunjin asked, earning a firm shake of your head. “How did you feel when you saw him?” Hyunjin asked again. You couldn’t bring yourself to answer right away as your mind began to recollect the feeling you had when you saw that part of the dream.
“I… felt safe.”
“Well, that’s a good start, right? I mean, if you feel scared then it’s probably a nightmare.”
“But that’s the thing! I-I don’t think it’s a dream.”
“What do you mean? Of course it’s a dream. You were sleeping when that happened, weren’t you?” Hyunjin asked with a confused tone in his voice.
“I mean yeah, technically but… I think that actually happened to me when I was young. If not, why else would I keep having the same dream over and over again?”
“You’ve got a point.” Jisung shrugs while Hyunjin still tries to process this. He brings both hands up in front of him after waving it in a circle, closes his eyes to let the information sink in before he speaks up.
“So… you’re telling me… that the universe is somehow trying to make you recall this memory of yours through a dream?”
“It’s possible isn't it?” You asked.
“Okay? And then what? You’re gonna go to the place where you almost died and somehow meet up with the person who helped you?”
“No? Yes? I don’t know! Look… I think I’ll just ask my parents about it and see if they remember anything about it. I mean… there must be something they can tell me?”
“Good luck babe. You’re gonna need it.” Jisung said, making you sigh.
That evening, you were having early dinner with your elders in the small living room of their one bedroom house. Everyone was quietly eating their food, she was peeling some roasted sweet potatoes while your he was just folding some banana leaves to sell tomorrow. You glanced over at them once or twice before taking a deep breath and dropped the bomb.
“Hey grandpa?” You call softly as the old man pauses his actions and turns to you with a smile on his adorable little face.
“Yes, darling?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Ask away…”
“When I was young… did I happen to… fall into a lake by any chance?” You asked as he frowned in thought. He couldn’t seem to remember anything of it until she spoke up.
“Oh dear, how could I not remember? You were so busy catching the butterflies that I couldn’t even stop you in time.” She giggled as you couldn’t help but smile. “But then this brave young man jumped into the water without a shadow of a doubt. We thanked him for his gratitude and tried to offer him a lunch treat but he rejected us so nicely… I wonder where he is now…” She continued, making you frown.
“Do you guys remember what he looked like?” You asked.
“I’m so sorry dear, I can barely remember anyone I met.” He said to which you let out a soft sigh. Just then, her eyes lit up only for her to raise her finger up in thought.
“Oh, the only thing I could remember was his name… If I’m not mistaken, I think he said his name to be JK like the letters… Yes, yes… That’s it.”
With that being said, you tilt your head to the side in confusion before you stare into the bowl of potatoes, “J… K?” The name sounded like there was a hint of familiarity in it but you can’t seem to point your fingers at where it’s focusing. Nevertheless, you took your attention off that topic and chose to think of what to wear for later instead.
A few hours had passed and you were finally waiting outside the club with Hyunjin and Jisung. The security checked all of your ID’s before letting you in. Hyunjin locked fingers with you just so that you wouldn’t be lost or separated from them as Jisung stayed close behind you. Once Hyunjin has managed to navigate his way around the place and finally save a booth for the 3 of you, he lets go of your hand and allows you to sit in the middle. Jisung went to the bar to order drinks for you all while you stayed with Hyunjin.
Not long after, Jisung came back with a tray of 2 shot glasses, a bottle of tequila, along with a small plate of lime slices and a glass of mocktail for you. The club was pretty much alive with the endless amount of young adults enjoying their drinks and dancing freely to the music.
You had just finished talking to Jisung about the hot girl dancing on the dancefloor when Hyunjin tapped your thigh and soon said aloud in your ear, “Don’t look now, but I think that dude is into you… 10 o’clock.” With that being said, you took a sip of your drink while you let your eyes wander over to where Hyunjin told you, only to find yourself locking eyes with a familiar pair of eyes. It was the purple haired guy from school. Jungkook was his name if you remember correctly.
“Jungkook…” His name rolled off your tongue naturally, sounding so right.
“You know him?!” Hyunjin asked, making you scoff.
“He returned my bracelet to me the other day after the tournament. He told me his name then.”
“And you didn’t tell us this, because…?” Jisung asked, sounding offended almost.
“Not everything in my life has to be told to either one of you.” With that being said, you stood up and soon made your way to Jungkook. Once you were behind him, you slipped into the empty space next to him, dropping an order to the bartender. Right after you were done, you glanced over to him who was just running his middle finger over the rim of his glass.
“Hey… Jungkook right?” You were the first to break the ice as he finally turned to you and smiled.
“Hey, yeah. Y/N, correct?”
“The one and only.” You giggled, earning a soft chuckle from him.
“Are those your friends?” He asked with a slight jerk of his head to the side, referring to the two boys in your booth. You hummed in response before asking if he was here alone or with his blue haired friend.
“Nah, he’s in here somewhere… I just told him I wanted to get a drink at the bar.” He explained, to which you frowned.
“Well, I’m pretty sure he’d be occupied by now.”
“Are you tryna say he’s hot?”
“Am I wrong?” You smiled, earning a chuckle from him.
“Absolutely not. Anyways, enough of him… Do you wanna dance with me?” He asked, turning his body to face you now on the stool. You glanced at the dancefloor, seeing the group of people dancing freely to the music like there’s no tomorrow. You knew you wanted to, especially since he was the one offering it so you easily accepted it. Jungkook got off the stool and held out his hand to you. Without having to think much, you gently place your hand in his as he leads you to the centre of the room.
Once you were with the crowd, he turned around to face you. You comfortably placed your hands around his neck, swaying your hips to the rhythm. Both of you were moving your bodies in sync to one another despite everyone else stumbling and crashing into you. At one point, he twirled you around but you lost your footing. Hence, crashing into him.
You started to burst out laughing and he did too when he realized you weren’t injured. You didn’t notice his hands on your waist until he gently squeezed it to gain your attention. That’s when you glanced up to meet his eyes, your laughter died down as your heart began to beat rapidly in your chest. Heartstrings started to tug everytime he looked at you and it’s unhealthy. For your heart at least despite loving it.
“Are you okay?” He asked softly, his face was just inches away from yours. Suddenly, a part of your dream flashed through your mind upon hearing his question. You frowned a little from the abrupt thought. However, before you could reply to him, a frantic voice to your left made you jump only to meet Jisung’s heavy frown.
“Y/N! You have to help me! Hyunjin got into a fight!” With that, you basically tear yourself out of Jungkook and rush over with Jisung to where the fight was happening. Hyunjin was in a fist fight with two guys who were not much taller than him but were definitely bulkier than he was. You yelled for them to stop but they of course couldn’t hear you. Jisung went in to help Hyunjin but he got punched in the jaw.
“Stop it! Please! Hyunjin stop!” You yelled as he fell in front of you. His lip was busted, his cheek was bruised and his knuckles were bleeding from having a cut. You kneeled down beside your friend as you watched the guy charging over to you and Hyunjin.
So you got up and pushed the guy away with whatever strength you had. But instead, you got slapped across the cheek.
You collapsed to the ground with a hand to your face. Everything happened so quickly because right before the guy could throw a punch to Hyunjin, Jungkook swooped in from the side and landed a hard punch to the guy’s jaw making him fall to the ground with a harsh thud.
“Enough! Get lost before I call security.” Jungkook warned as you watched the two guys who were in the fight with Hyunjin began to scramble away. You crawled over to Hyunjin who was holding his jaw with a hiss. You cupped his face worriedly while you scolded him.
“What were you thinking?! You could have gotten even more hurt…” You frowned, only for Jisung to come over. That’s when you cupped Jisung’s bruised face as well.
Just then, Jungkook kneeled down asking for all of you to leave before the security came. Soon enough, Jungkook’s blue haired friend appears as well and the five of you leave the club through the back door. Once you were in the back alley, Hyunjin used Jisung as support while you held onto his waist and allowed him to sling an arm over your shoulder.
“Come on, our apartment isn't too far from here. We’ll need to get those cuts treated.” Jungkook said, only for Jungkook’s friend to come and ask for you to switch with him. You asked for his name, in which he told you it was Taehyung, so you thanked him afterwards. While they were walking ahead of you, Jungkook stayed next to you as he took off his coat and placed it over your shoulders. Eventually drowning you in his big coat. He chuckled at your ridiculously swallowed body, only for him to speak up.
“You were really trying to be a hero back there, huh?” You glanced up to him, seeing the small smirk on his face but it didn’t annoy you at all.
“He was going to hurt my friend. I can’t just sit there and do nothing...” You pouted slightly, to which his smirk melted and he sighed.
“No matter how dangerous it may be?” He asked as you frowned upon him. Nevertheless, you gave him a firm nod which left him to sigh. Silence falls upon you two, your gaze settles on the three boys walking ahead of you. Just then, Jungkook’s voice is gentle and soft, as if he didn’t want the rest to hear him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t help you sooner… If I did, you probably wouldn’t get hurt…”
“No… No it’s okay… it’s not your fault.” You said softly, making him shake his head. He feels responsible for not jumping in to help Hyunjin when Jisung came to warn you earlier. He felt like he could’ve done better and for that, he couldn’t forgive himself. So when you noticed how quiet he got, you carefully reached for his hand that was just beside yours and soon locked fingers with him to give him some kind of support. And maybe more than that too but he doesn’t have to know.
He glanced down at your linked hands, only for him to lock eyes with you again and this time, a small smile grew back on his face. You gave his hand a little squeeze for reassurance and was about to let go, thinking he might feel that it’s weird considering you barely know him. However, he held your hand tighter and said, “Keep it there. At least until we’re back at my place.” With that being said, you nodded as a blush creeps up on your face.
Once you arrived at Jungkook and Taehyung’s shared apartment, Taehyung tended to Hyunjin while Jungkook tended to Jisung. You were just walking around the living room when you saw a necklace on the table top. It was a silver chain necklace with a round pendant on it. What was even more intriguing is the fact that it looked so familiar to you and it was one of those pendants where you could open and close.
The question is, why did it look so familiar?
Just when you were about to open it, Jisung’s voice called for you as he reappeared into the living room while Hyunjin was still in the bathroom with Taehyung.
“Y/N, hyung asked me to call you over. He’s in his room, the last door on the right.” You gave Jisung a nod as you placed the necklace down and went to the said room. When you arrived, you gave the door a few soft knocks before Jungkook looked up and smiled at you. He told you to sit down on his bed next to him.
“Are you okay? Does it still hurt?” Jungkook asked and there it is again, a weird tug to your heartstrings made your breath hitch. Jungkook stared at you quietly before he asked if there’s something wrong. When you denied it, he went ahead and took a cool pack as he then pressed it against your cheek where you got slapped. You couldn’t seem to bring the words out so you opted to just put your hand over his that was holding the ice pack to make him look at you.
“This is random… but have… have we met before? Like before all this… Before university. I don’t know why but I feel like- like I’ve met you before. I keep getting this same feeling everytime I’m near you.” You said as he stared at you deeply without faltering.
It was nearly impossible to read his expression and thoughts but a part of you was telling you that he’s hiding something from you.
“Maybe we’ve bumped into each other before on the street or something.” Jungkook said as a small smile creeps onto his face. A genuine one at that. So without prying further, you nodded and gave him a soft smile. You thanked him for helping your friends as you excused yourself to let him and Taehyung rest. Jungkook offered to send all three of you home but you refused his kindness politely, opting for a cab instead so as to not trouble him any more than you already had.
“Are you sure? It’s really late out and I don’t mind driving you and your friends back.” He said as you both stopped at the foot of the hallway only to find Hyunjin semi-passed out on the couch after swallowing two aspirins you assume. Jisung was talking to Taehyung, well, more like ranting to the blue haired male about what went down at the club earlier.
With that, you turned to Jungkook and gently reached for his arm, holding it to give him some reassurance, “We’ll be fine. I promise.” You smiled as his eyebrows began to connect in the middle.
You let go of his arm, walking over to Jisung and Taehyung to retrieve your drunk friend.
“Thanks Taehyung. So sorry to disturb your night.” You apologized as Taehyung simply shook his head and told you that it was okay. Once you’ve gotten the green light, you snapped your fingers at Jisung and soon pointed to Hyunjin’s distraught figure.
“You take right, I’ll take left.” You said to him as he nodded. Hyunjin began to stir awake slightly but was still groggy and drunk. You struggled to get his arm over your head so Taehyung helped you with that. After you were ready to leave, Jisung and you began to walk towards the door where Jungkook was patiently waiting. Hyunjin tiredly opened one of his eyelids and was starting to slur over his words.
“Where am I? What are you doing? Where are you taking me, you kidnapper!” You slapped his chest quite harshly before earning a loud groan from him.
“We’re at someone’s house because your stupid drunk ass just had to get into a fight with two bigger dudes. You should be ashamed of yourself, you dimwit.” Hyunjin lets out a weird sound as he leans himself more towards you.
“H-Hyun… H-Hyunjin! Hwang Hyunjin!” You yelled as you were about to fall and get squished by him when a firm arm wrapped around your waist while the other hand was pressed firmly against Hyunjin’s rib to support his heavy weight. In addition, your side crashes against someone’s chest. You glanced up to find Jungkook’s chin directly above your line of sight. Jungkook pushed Hyunjin’s body slightly to stabilize the said man as you managed to stand up straight again.
Except, his arm was still around your waist. Almost as if he didn’t wanna let go of you. Not that you were complaining anyway. However, when he noticed this, he slowly retracted his arm from your waist and apologized to you. You shook your head, to tell him that it’s okay. After you left, Jungkook closed the door behind him only for Taehyung to smile at him.
“Ready to admit yet?” Taehyung asked simply, earning a thick eye roll from Jungkook who began to walk over to his couch.
“Shut up, hyung.”
“What? It’s just me…”
“You’re not seeing my vulnerable side. Uh uh. No way.” Jungkook shook his head diligently, causing Taehyung to laugh as Jungkook continued, “Besides, they’re gonna kill me if they find out.” With that being said, Taehyung sighs at the younger male. Knowing that he had a point.
“No they won’t. I won’t let them.”
“How? Stopping them is nearly impossible, you know that.” Jungkook said firmly.
After a few seconds of silence, Jungkook finally took a deep breath and said, “Whatever. I don’t care.” Jungkook was about to leave the room when Taehyung’s words lingered in his memory like a broken record player.
“You and I both know that’s a lie.”
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“Grandma! Grandpa! We’re here!” Your 5 year old self exclaims the minute the cab driver brings the vehicle to a stop right at the entrance of the park. You hurriedly got out of the cab whilst your foster father was busy paying the driver for the fare. You run to the end of the footpath as it separates into two directions, leading you to different parts of the park.
“Grandma! Hurry! I want to see the swans!” You yelled excitedly as the elderly couple began to walk slowly towards you. Since they were just a few metres away from you, it was the perfect chance for you to run off towards the path on the left where the lake would be. Occasionally taking breaks while waiting for your foster parents to catch up with you. People around you give you smiles whenever you pass by them and say hello.
You were walking down the footpath, trying to find a pair of swans when a beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly suddenly hovered in front of your face. You flinched back in surprise as it landed on the tip of your small nose. A soft giggle left your lips as you reached up to touch its wings when it began to flutter away. Being the child you are, you started to trail after it.
The butterfly flaps its wings delicately across the park, freely and happily while you try to not lose sight of it. Unfortunately, your carelessness has brought you closer to danger than you would’ve thought at the time.
“Y/N, sweetie! Don’t go too near the lake!” Your foster mother said as she walked side by side with your foster father. Your 5 year old self was running down the footpath, trying to diligently catch the beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly. You ignored their calls of asking you to be careful because of course, kids will never listen. You got further and further away from your elders as you were so close to catching the butterfly when all of a sudden, your feet missed a step on the wooden bridge.
Within a split second, you plunged into the lake before your elders could chase after you. Water flushed down your nose and mouth, accidentally swallowing it in huge gulps while you were desperately crying for help. Since you were just a 5 year old kid, you didn’t know how to swim nor were you taught not to open your mouth and breathe underwater.
You were growing unconscious due to the large amount of water that had already started to fill your lungs. You were ready to just accept your fate that you were going to die right then and there. Except, luck has a different plan for you. Just when you were on the brink of completely drowning, a sudden new figure dives into the lake and swoops you into their arms before bringing you back up easily. Once you were on land, they began to do CPR on you until you finally managed to cough out a huge amount of water that had gotten into your lungs.
After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.
“Are you okay?”
It was a man. You glanced up and saw what looked to be a figure of a man looming over you. Though his overall appearance and face was somewhat a terrible blur, there was one thing you could easily make out. And that was the silver pendant necklace hanging around his neck. You couldn’t really see it that clearly but it was an oval shaped pendant, similar to the ones where you can open and close it.
“Y-Yes… T-Thank you, M-Mister…” You stumbled over your words as you saw your elders rushing over to you. That’s when the man said something that wasn’t quite understandable to you.
“I promise to keep you safe from any harm.” He said over a whisper but you heard him.
This was new to your dream. All these while, you’ve always seen a shadowy figure, unclear images of your dream, missing details, unknown situation. This time, things were slowly beginning to become clear with more details given to you in the form of this dream.
At this point, you were confident that this is in fact, a memory.
A recurring memory that your brain is trying so hard to remember every piece of detail that was left untouched at the very bottom part of your brain.
You just have to let time do the magic and fill you in with what’s left of the missing dream.
And then you awoke.
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Days passed gradually as both Taehyung and Jungkook started to become friends with you, Hyunjin and Jisung. Well, they were dragged by Jisung at least. That one just doesn’t know how to stop his bargains until he gets what he wants. So eventually, both the coloured hair friends decided to just accept the welcome to be part of the friend circle. Later on in the weeks, you began to have growing feelings for Jungkook. The butterflies in your stomach and tugging heartstring were still present whenever he was near but you’ve grown accustomed to it.
It was a nice, warm Friday afternoon. Taehyung and Jungkook were nowhere to be seen while Hyunjin and Jisung were seated at the wooden table with you near the garden. Your mind was somewhere else and the boys noticed this. It was easy to know that because your fingers were hovering over your keyboard but nothing was being typed and it’s been a good 10 minutes of you just staring at the pond. Just then, Hyunjin’s voice broke your train of thoughts.
“A penny for your thoughts?” He asked, to which you turned to him with a confused face.
“Huh?”
“You look like you’re grieving over there. What’s wrong?” Jisung was the one to ask this as silence falls over you for the next 5 seconds, give or take.
“Something… new appeared in my dreams. It doesn’t just start with my mom telling me to avoid the lake anymore.” You began to explain as both boys soon stopped whatever they were previously doing, just to listen and pay full attention to you.
“Then what does it start with now?” Hyunjin asks curiously as he and Jisung exchange looks before turning back to you.
“Me in the cab with my parents and getting excited once we arrived at the park… But that’s not the only change in my dream that’s new. The dream doesn’t just stop at the part where he asks if I’m okay… This time, the last thing he said to me was…” You paused for a second to try and remember the exact words. Once you got it on the tip of your tongue, you brought your gaze back up to meet theirs and told them what you remembered.
“I promise to keep you safe from any harm. And then I woke up.”
The two boys were shocked at how much details your dream was showing now but they just can’t decipher why these changes were happening so suddenly. What caused your dreams to be more clearer as if it wants you to slowly remember that day, that incident, that specific person.
None of it was making sense to them.
“I just… I don’t understand. Like, why now? Why after all these years, only now your conscience is showing you all this. Why didn’t it show you from the start? What is it hiding? I don’t get it.” Jisung said as he dramatically pulled at his hair.
You couldn’t help but giggle at his figure before speaking up, “It’s my dream but why are you the one stressed?”
“Aren’t you?! I mean come on. You’ve been having this dream for years, aren’t you even a tad bit curious as to why this is happening to you?” Jisung asked with his eyes wide open. He has a point.
“Maybe the universe just wants me to remember that tragic incident for the rest of my life.”
“Or it wants you to find the hidden clues in your dreams that might lead you to something big.” Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders at you, earning a shake of your head.
“What could possibly be bigger than my near-death experience?”
“I don’t know? Meeting your savior and thanking him for saving you that day?” Jisung said with his arms bent on either side as his palms faced upwards.
“That’s ridiculous. I don’t even know what he looks like. Besides, if he really was in his early 20s when that incident happened, he would be like what? Early 40s now? He probably doesn’t even remember me.”
“Fate works in mysterious ways.” Jisung smirks at you, earning a ball of tissue thrown to his face.
You thought his theory was a whole load of nonsense because theoretically, your savior would be in his 40s by now and it’s nearly impossible for him to remember who you are. It wouldn’t make sense. However, in other circumstances, the universe has different layers to it. So the chances of something out of the ordinary happening, would be a solid 1 out of 10 chance but it’s not completely impossible. It just depends on how you wanted to see it.
Your attention soon diverted past Jisung’s head only to see Taehyung and Jungkook walking over to your table so you warned the two, not to mention anything about your dream when they’re there. Nobody knows about your recurring dream except for Hyunjin and Jisung and you intend to keep it that way.
A few hours later, you were at the supermarket to get some groceries for the house when you stumbled upon Jungkook who was searching through the shelves for something so you spoke up first, “Jungkook? Hey. What are you doing here? I thought your apartment was like 20 minutes away from here?” You asked him casually, earning a smirk from him.
“Ah shit. Looks like I’m busted…” Jungkook said, knowing he was just fooling around. He soon laughed as he continued from where he left off, “I’m just kidding. I needed some stuff that my nearest supermarket didn’t have so I drove over to this one.”
“Well, at least that's better than you stalking me right?”
“Why should I stalk you when I already have you at one phone call away?”
Smooth.
“Maybe you’re just clingy and want to see me.” You teased him to see what he says. You didn’t really know what to expect until he gave you his answer.
“And if that’s true?”
You were quiet as you didn’t think he would be that bold and straightforward. Sure he can be confident and maybe just slightly cocky sometimes but he was never over doing it when he’s with you. For that reason alone, you found that side of him charming.
“Then… you need to see a therapist.” You joked but he took it lightly. A small laugh leaves his lips while he grabs the can of sweetcorn from the shelf. At the end of your shopping spree, he offered to send you home after seeing the amount of bags you had to carry after you told him your car was recently sent to the workshop and wouldn't be repaired anytime soon. Of course you told him you could make it home on your own the first time because you didn’t wanna trouble him. And of course, he brushed you off by saying he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he knew he didn’t help you tonight.
With that being said, he drove you back to your home while he chatted with you comfortably about a series on netflix. Once he finally pulled up in front of your home, he glanced down to where your home was and soon turned to you with a smile.
“You didn’t tell me you lived in a cute little house.” He said effortlessly but it made you frown slightly.
“Well, to many, it's a ‘tiny shack’.”
“Well, those people are assholes.” His words made you laugh softly. You knew he was trying to make you feel better about it so you secretly thanked him for that. Both of you fell silent for a few seconds before he turned off his ignition completely and clapped his hands together once to liven up the mood.
“Come on! I’ll help you carry the groceries!” He left the vehicle before you could stop him, finding it cute that he was eager to help when he really didn’t have to. After he stubbornly carried three bags in each arm, you were left with none despite wanting to help him. You rolled your eyes at his persistence even though your smile never lies. Jungkook walks with you to your front door, only for you to unlock it and is soon greeted by your foster mother.
“Oh hello dear, I was just about to see if you were making your way home yet.” She said as her gaze soon fell onto the male beside you.
“Oh? And who are you, young man?” She asked with a fond smile on her face.
“I’m Jungkook, Ma’am.”
“You seem like a handsome young man, Jungkook. And well mannered too. I think you’d be a great partner for her.”
With that, you gasped softly and scolded her politely. Jungkook simply laughed as he brushed her off saying that it’s okay. Just as he was keeping the groceries with you in the correct places, your father walked out of his room and greeted Jungkook warmly. They talked for a bit while you kept the last bag of celery into the fridge when you overheard your father ask, “You should stay for dinner, Jungkook. My wife and I would love to get to know you more, especially if you are someone special in Y/N’s life.”
Jungkook was too kind to reject their offer so he ended up staying, just like they asked. Thankfully, your elders were mainly focusing on Jungkook rather than trying to convince him into dating you or anything like that. At the end of the dinner, he excused himself so as to not disturb your parent’s privacy. He bid them goodbye whilst you told them you wanted to walk him back to his car.
Once you made it to the top of the steps, you glanced back at the house and naturally, a smile grew on your face. He noticed this and he couldn’t help but ask, “You seem a little happy.”
You turned around to find him staring at you fondly with a smile.
“I just… can’t imagine my life without them.” You whispered sadly to yourself, suddenly a whole series of emotions just got washed over you. It took you a while to come back to your senses with the help of Jungkook. Who gently cups your face in his hands, caressing your cheeks lovingly while he does. Jungkook’s sparkly eyes bore into yours but the connection feels stronger than ever tonight. Your usual tugging of heartstrings and feeling of longing just felt stronger tonight. As he was holding you, a small part of you was yearning for him.
You felt a sense of safety and comfort with him but you don’t seem to understand why. Jungkook could read you like an open book, it was fascinating. Just then, he said something that made you genuinely shocked.
“Your foster parents are really nice. I should’ve thanked them for taking care of you well.” This made you pull away from him slightly in shock.
How did he know they’re not your grandparents?
“How did you know they’re not my grandparents?” You asked as Jungkook visibly froze.
“What do you mean?”
“You said ‘foster parents’ instead of ‘grandparents’...”
“Uh… You must’ve told me before that they’re not your grandparents.” He chuckled softly while rubbing the back of his neck. You weren’t fully convinced by his answer because if you had told him that, you would’ve remembered. However, you weren’t in the mood to question him further so you simply stood there in thought. Jungkook didn’t want you to occupy your mind with it, leading him to take a step closer to you until his forehead gently pressed against yours. Both of you stayed like that for a second or two before he leaned over to the side and kissed your cheek.
“Goodnight Y/N.” He said with a small smile on his face that you couldn’t help but mimic. The minute he drove off into the distance, the thought remained stuck in your mind as you found it difficult to move on from it. And yet for some reason, a part of you knew that he might be hiding something from you. You just don’t know what it is.
Even so, the feeling of his soft lips on your cheek, lingered in your head. Feeling giddy at the thought of him kissing you even if it wasn’t on the lips. You felt like a little girl having a crush on a boy all over again.
But that night, you had the same recurring dream again. Except, a new change happened this time as your dream was slowly becoming clearer.
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“Grandma! Grandpa! We’re here!” Your 5 year old self exclaims the minute the cab driver brings the vehicle to a stop right at the entrance of the park. You hurriedly got out of the cab whilst your foster father was busy paying the driver for the fare. You run to the end of the footpath as it separates into two directions, leading you to different parts of the park.
“Grandma! Hurry! I want to see the swans!” You yelled excitedly as the elderly couple began to walk slowly towards you. Since they were just a few metres away from you, it was the perfect chance for you to run off towards the path on the left where the lake would be. Occasionally taking breaks while waiting for your foster parents to catch up with you. People around you give you smiles whenever you pass by them and say hello.
You were walking down the footpath, trying to find a pair of swans when a beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly suddenly hovered in front of your face. You flinched back in surprise as it landed on the tip of your small nose. A soft giggle left your lips as you reached up to touch its wings when it began to flutter away. Being the child you are, you started to trail after it.
The butterfly flaps its wings delicately across the park, freely and happily while you try to not lose sight of it. Unfortunately, your carelessness has brought you closer to danger than you would’ve thought at the time.
“Y/N, sweetie! Don’t go too near the lake!” Your foster mother said as she walked side by side with your foster father. Your 5 year old self was running down the footpath, trying to diligently catch the beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly. You ignored their calls of asking you to be careful because of course, kids will never listen. You got further and further away from your elders as you were so close to catching the butterfly when all of a sudden, your feet missed a step on the wooden bridge.
Within a split second, you plunged into the lake before your elders could chase after you. Water flushed down your nose and mouth, accidentally swallowing it in huge gulps while you were desperately crying for help. Since you were just a 5 year old kid, you didn’t know how to swim nor were you taught not to open your mouth and breathe underwater.
You were growing unconscious due to the large amount of water that had already started to fill your lungs. You were ready to just accept your fate that you were going to die right then and there. Except, luck has a different plan for you. Just when you were on the brink of completely drowning, a sudden new figure dives into the lake and swoops you into their arms before bringing you back up easily. Once you were on land, they began to do CPR on you until you finally managed to cough out a huge amount of water that had gotten into your lungs.
After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.
“Are you okay?”
It was a man. You glanced up and saw a young man probably in his mid 20s looming over you. His facial features were a blur but you could somehow see how defined and sharp everything was. The bridge of his nose, his beautiful doe round eyes, the silver hair falling down his forehead. Except, there was one thing you could easily make out. And that was the silver pendant necklace hanging around his neck. You couldn’t really see it that clearly but it was an oval shaped pendant, similar to the ones where you can open and close it.
“Y-Yes… T-Thank you, M-Mister…” You stumbled over your words as you saw your elders rushing over to you. That’s when the man said something that wasn’t quite understandable to you.
“I promise to keep you safe from any harm.” He said over a whisper but you heard him.
This was new to your dream. All these while, you’ve always seen a shadowy figure, unclear images of your dream, missing details, unknown situation. This time, things were slowly beginning to become clear with more details given to you in the form of this dream.
At this point, you were confident that this is in fact, a memory.
A recurring memory that your brain is trying so hard to remember every piece of detail that was left untouched at the very bottom part of your brain.
You just have to let time do the magic and fill you in with what’s left of the missing dream.
And then you awoke.
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A few days later, you were going to your next class when Hyunjin told you he forgot something in the other lecture hall. Leaving just you and Jisung. Your mind was swirling around the latest dream you had where the image of your savior was starting to get clearer as the days went by. Jisung could easily sense your distraction because you had not paid attention to any of the things he just said. He got his answer when he snapped his fingers in front of your face and saw you flinch.
“Earth to Y/N? Are you okay? You’re barely listening to me…” He pouted at you sadly, making you sigh.
“Sorry Ji… I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Like what?”
You took in a deep breath and exhaled right before explaining to him what was bothering you, “You know how my dreams are starting to get clear?”
“Mhm?” He hummed in response to which you continued.
“I can almost make out what the person looks like now.”
“Wait! Wait… You mean… The person who saved you?”
“Yeah.”
“Really? That’s great! I mean… Isn’t it? Didn���t your dad tell you the guy’s name the other day? Maybe you can try and find him to say thank you.” Jisung laid out the options you could take but somehow, a part of you still wasn’t sure if this was enough for you to go find the person.
“Ji… How am I supposed to find him?” You asked desperately, thinking his suggestion was insane.
“We have advanced technology now! It’s not that hard.”
“I don’t know, Ji… I don’t think we can find him.”
“Y/N, don’t give up before you even start. We’ll find him together and I’ll be here with you, okay? So will Hyunjin once we tell him…” Jisung said with a bright grin, his full cheeks on display for you. Hours later, you were walking to the parking lot with Hyunjin and Jisung when you bumped into Jungkook and Taehyung coming from the music production block. They were busy talking to each other, not realising the three of you were right there until Hyunjin called their names. They finally turned towards the front only for you to lock eyes with Jungkook.
“Hey guys, wanna go check out that new horror movie?” Hyunjin asked, making them both shrug their shoulders.
“Sure. We’re not doing anything anyways tonight.” Taehyung answered for both himself and Jungkook.
“Great! Shall we meet at the mall?” Jisung asked as he turned to you knowing everyone had their rides except for you. However, before Jisung could offer you a ride, Jungkook had offered it first which you of course, couldn’t reject.
Once you had all separated to go to your respective vehicles, you followed Jungkook to his. You walked along the front of the parked cars with Jungkook behind you. Just then, right when you were about to take a step forward past a tall jeep, Jungkook harshly tugged your waist back. Exactly 1 second before the sports car speeds out of the parking lot right next to the jeep where it was hiding from plain sight. If he hadn’t pulled you back to safety, you would’ve been run over.
A heavy breath left your lips after you gasped in shock. Your heart was racing in your chest, unable to calm down after your second near death experience. Suddenly, you could feel his hands run up and down your arms in attempts to calm your tense muscles in which it worked.
“Are you okay?” He asked as you slowly nodded.
Jungkook whispered a soft ‘okay’ before he guided you to his car safely. As soon as he drove out of the school compound, you felt a huge relief knowing you didn’t die in your school’s parking lot. He must’ve noticed your trembling hands at some point too. Hence the reason why he reached over with his free hand to hold yours softly to give you comfort. When you looked down to find him doing that, you couldn’t help but glance up at him to see his gaze focused on the road ahead of him while he had one hand on the top of his steering wheel.
The ride to the mall was peacefully quiet, with his hand never leaving yours except when he had to park and change the gear stick to reverse. The minute he finally brought the car to a stationary position, you took this opportunity to thank him for helping you earlier.
“Thank you for saving me earlier… A-And for calming me down on our way here.” You said softly to which he smiled.
“Of course. I wouldn’t wanna lose you.” He said easily, making you blush.
“How did you know the car was driving out?” You asked him a bonus question that made him freeze for a split second.
“I saw the tail lights turn on, red light flashing onto the tree behind it.” Jungkook said, which was pretty logical if you think about it. You decided to let the topic slide as you met up with the rest at the entrance. Upon buying the movie tickets, you were all going to get snacks to sneak it into the theatres. After a few debates, you have all agreed to buy some seasoned fries and popcorn chicken bites from FiveGuys. While Hyunjin was queuing to buy the food, the four of you wandered around the same level to see if there’s anything else you could buy.
You were just looking at some stuffed toys through the glass windows of a shop when someone wrapped an arm around your waist comfortably.
“Planning to sneak one in or what?” Jungkook asked teasingly, to which you couldn’t help but giggle.
“And use it to shield my vision from the horror movie? Yeah, why not.” You said, feeling your heartstrings tug upon hearing his laugh. You stood up straight to walk away, only for him to do the same with his arm still around your waist. None of you wanted the other to pull away and you could tell. When you saw Jisung and Taehyung at the other shop ahead of you, Jungkook was debating on whether he should pull his hand away from your waist.
Unfortunately, his thoughts were cut short when Jisung’s voice sounded from a few feet away.
“Hyung… Y/N… Is there something you’re hiding from us?” His voice sounded cheeky and you could tell. You looked at Jungkook and he did the same to you, not sure of what you should reply to your friend. Partly because neither of you declared anything of your status with each other. Upon realising this, Jungkook decided to answer for both of you.
“She got cold so I’m just offering her some warmth.” He said without a single hesitation, successfully convincing Jisung.
“Really? Do you want my jacket?” Jisung asked you as he unzipped his jacket and grabbed the hem, ready to tug them off his shoulders but you stopped him saying it’s okay.
After you had all managed to head into the theatre, you sat in between Jungkook and Hyunjin in the centre of the row. Halfway through the movie, you naturally snuggled closer towards Jungkook who easily noticed this. Your heart was beating so fast in your chest but you ignored it. At one point, Jungkook whispered something to you but you couldn’t hear him so you glanced to your right only to feel his lips brush over yours when you did that. You saw him glance down to your lips briefly as he smirks softly at you, causing your heartbeat to pick up its speed.
“I said… Do you wanna hold my arm? I’m sorry I don’t have a jacket to offer you.” He repeated his words to you, earning a soft nod of your head. You proceed to slide your arm behind his bicep, wrapping your hand over his forearm. Jungkook smiled as he leaned in softly only to feel him kiss your cheek so gently, you would barely feel it if you weren’t paying attention.
After the movie ended, the rest of them wanted to get ice cream before you went home. Once it was time to call it a day, Jungkook sent you home without being asked to do so.
When he finally arrives outside your house, he told you he’ll walk you to your door.
The minute he joins you by your side, he slips his hand into yours as you easily let him. He locked fingers with you, holding you close to his side as if he was afraid of losing you. When you made it to your front door, you turned around to face him. He had a bright smile on his face, eyes twinkling under the moonlight.
“Thank you for sending me home.” You said, earning a soft chuckle from him.
“No worries. Besides, how would I get my goodnight kiss if I didn’t send you home, right?” Jungkook teased you, making you blush hard.
“G-Goodnight kiss?” You repeated those two words in a whisper, catching his attention.
Jungkook laughed at you, not expecting to see you react so shyly like that. Jungkook reaches up with his free hand to cup your face, caressing your cheek softly with his thumb. You watched as he began to lean down, closing the gap until his lips were hovering over yours. Unfortunately, your fairytale thoughts were cut short because the minute you felt his soft lips brush against your own pair, your front door opened and there stood your mother with a bright smile on her face.
You jumped away from him in shock, clutching your chest where your heart is.
“Oh my! Goodness! Grandma! You shocked me…” You said with a heavy sigh, earning a soft giggle from her.
“I’m so sorry dear. I saw Jungkook’s car outside so I was wondering where you two were.” She said, making you sigh.
“You should go. It’s getting late. Goodnight Y/N… Goodnight Ma’am.” Jungkook said before he gave your hand a light squeeze before walking away. After he left, you entered the house with her only for her to ask you something you never expected.
“Are you finally dating the nice boy? What’s his name again? Jungkook, is it?”
“H-Huh? Oh… N-No, no. Jungkook, he… he’s just a friend.”
“Are you sure? I can see that he likes you a lot and I’m pretty sure you do too.”
For the first time in your life, you were speechless. You didn’t know what to answer. So you simply kept quiet as you guided her further inside before you head to your room.
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It’s been a week since the ‘almost-kissing-him-goodnight’ incident which neither of you dared to acknowledge it outwardly. Just hugging and holding hands and occasionally kissing your cheek like he’s been doing all these while. It was a Saturday evening, you were in your bedroom when your mom came knocking on your door and said, “Dear, someone’s here to see you.”
With that, she pushed the door open to reveal Jungkook standing there with a shy smile on his face. He was wearing a white shirt, a black and white large flannel unbuttoned over it and a pair of slightly loose denim jeans. You ushered him in as you patted the mattress, asking to sit down.
After she had closed the door to give you two some privacy, that’s when you giggled softly. Clearly not expecting his arrival.
“What are you doing here?” You asked.
“I was passing by the neighbourhood so I decided to come and say hi. I hope I’m not a disturbance to you or your parents at this hour.” He apologised to you as his eyes began to wander around your bedroom.
It was small but really cosy to you. All there is, was a small desk for you to do your school work, a super single mattress laid on the floor at the corner of the room beside the window, a drawer to keep your clean clothes and a full length mirror. You smiled as you watched him quietly, finding his curious face pretty cute with how his eyes grew round and his lips were parted slightly to show his adorable bunny teeth.
Minutes ticked by so fast when you’re not paying attention. Both of you were just joking around at some point when you saw his necklace fall out of his shirt where he had hid it. It was the same necklace you saw that night on his tabletop but what was even more intriguing is that it was the exact same one that the guy in your dream was wearing.
You reached forward for his necklace but stopped halfway. Jungkook knew what you were going to do so he held the pendant in his fingers and asked why you were going to reach for it.
“I’m sorry, I just… I feel like… I’ve seen the necklace you’re wearing, somewhere before. It’s okay. I must be mistaken though.” You said as you let out a soft laugh. Jungkook remained quiet as he nodded. Suddenly, you watched as he took off the necklace and soon put it around your neck. You frowned as you glanced down at his lips where his face was just inches away from yours, only to meet his gaze after he’s successfully clasped the necklace hook in the loop.
“Why did you put it on me?” You asked in total confusion, having absolutely no idea as to why he did that.
“Keep it.” He said.
“B-But I can’t! It’s yours!”
“I mean it. It’s yours now.” He said as he gave you the softest smile you’ve ever seen. With that, you simply clutched onto it like your life depends on it. When you finally walked him out to his car, you suddenly felt like you didn’t want him to go just yet. Jungkook could sense your hesitation so he lightly chuckled.
“Do you really have to go?” You whispered shyly, earning a laugh from him.
“I have to, besides, it’s getting late. I don’t want to disturb your parents. They need their rest.”
“Hmm… Okay…” You hummed sadly, only for Jungkook to chuckle. Just then, Jungkook takes a step forward as he slides one hand over your waist while the other hand cups your cheek. He tugs you closer as you glance up to lock eyes with him. Jungkook’s eyes glistened under the moonlight as he caressed your cheek with his thumb while his eyes flickered down to your lips. Neither of you said anything as he closed the gap and soon kissed you. Your heart pounded against your chest while you snake your hands around his slim waist.
You felt him smile against your lips before he pulled away to leave barely any space between your faces only for him to whisper, “I love you.”
You were about to reply but he stopped you.
“Don’t… Don’t say it yet.”
“Why?”
“You’ll get to say it when the time is right…”
“When will that be?” You whispered to him, unsure of what was going on and you couldn’t help but feel like something’s wrong.
“You’ll know it… I promise.” Jungkook said as you frowned upon him. You didn’t understand why but you obeyed his words nonetheless. Jungkook breathes out through his nose before he kisses you again longingly, making your heart swell for him. When he finally pulled away, you could feel your whole world slowly begin to crumble.
Something’s not right.
With a heavy heart, you watched as he got into his car and drove off into the distance. There was a voice in the back of your mind telling you that there’s something off with his behaviour. You just don’t know exactly what it was.
That night, your questions were answered.
That night is when it all happened.
That night is when your dream finally became crystal clear to you and all the memories came flooding back like a tsunami.
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“Grandma! Grandpa! We’re here!” Your 5 year old self exclaims the minute the cab driver brings the vehicle to a stop right at the entrance of the park. You hurriedly got out of the cab whilst your foster father was busy paying the driver for the fare. You run to the end of the footpath as it separates into two directions, leading you to different parts of the park.
“Grandma! Hurry! I want to see the swans!” You yelled excitedly as the elderly couple began to walk slowly towards you. Since they were just a few metres away from you, it was the perfect chance for you to run off towards the path on the left where the lake would be. Occasionally taking breaks while waiting for your foster parents to catch up with you. People around you give you smiles whenever you pass by them and say hello.
You were walking down the footpath, trying to find a pair of swans when a beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly suddenly hovered in front of your face. You flinched back in surprise as it landed on the tip of your small nose. A soft giggle left your lips as you reached up to touch its wings when it began to flutter away. Being the child you are, you started to trail after it.
The butterfly flaps its wings delicately across the park, freely and happily while you try to not lose sight of it. Unfortunately, your carelessness has brought you closer to danger than you would’ve thought at the time.
“Y/N, sweetie! Don’t go too near the lake!” Your foster mother said as she walked side by side with your foster father. Your 5 year old self was running down the footpath, trying to diligently catch the beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly. You ignored their calls of asking you to be careful because of course, kids will never listen. You got further and further away from your elders as you were so close to catching the butterfly when all of a sudden, your feet missed a step on the wooden bridge.
Within a split second, you plunged into the lake before your elders could chase after you. Water flushed down your nose and mouth, accidentally swallowing it in huge gulps while you were desperately crying for help. Since you were just a 5 year old kid, you didn’t know how to swim nor were you taught not to open your mouth and breathe underwater.
You were growing unconscious due to the large amount of water that had already started to fill your lungs. You were ready to just accept your fate that you were going to die right then and there. Except, luck has a different plan for you. Just when you were on the brink of completely drowning, a sudden new figure dives into the lake and swoops you into their arms before bringing you back up easily. Once you were on land, they began to do CPR on you until you finally managed to cough out a huge amount of water that had gotten into your lungs.
After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.
“Are you okay?”
It was a man. You glanced up and saw a young man probably in his mid 20s looming over you. His facial features were a blur but you could somehow see how defined and sharp everything was. The bridge of his nose, his beautiful doe round eyes, the silver hair falling down his forehead. Except, there was one thing you could easily make out. And that was the silver pendant necklace hanging around his neck. You couldn’t really see it that clearly but it was an oval shaped pendant, similar to the ones where you can open and close it.
“Y-Yes… T-Thank you, M-Mister…” You stumbled over your words as you saw your elders rushing over to you. That’s when the man said something that wasn’t quite understandable to you.
“I promise to keep you safe from any harm.” He said over a whisper but you heard him.
This time, when you glanced back up to meet the face of the man who saved your life, it was like the blur finally faded away and you could see clearly whoever was standing in front of you. That’s when you realised. The man who saved your life, the man that has been appearing in your dreams as nothing but a black shadow to begin with, the man who you owed your entire life to for giving you the opportunity of a second chance at life, was the same guy who you met a few months ago. The same guy who you became close to. The same guy who you eventually fell in love with.
It was him this entire time.
It was Jungkook.
But how? That’s impossible… right? How could he not age? How is he not in his early 40s by now if he really was in his early 20s when he saved you 20 years ago?
All these questions began to swirl around your head, filling you with a million different emotions.
And then you awoke.
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It was 3 in the goddamn morning but sleep was no longer in your to-do list. You quickly changed out of your sleeping shorts to your sweatpants, putting your bra on and an oversized jacket as you rushed out of the house without waking your parents up and soon made your way to his place. You gave it a few knocks, hoping he was still awake. A few seconds later, the door swings open only for you to be greeted by a shirtless Taehyung. He seemed fully awake as he gave you a confused smile.
"Y/N? What are you doing here at a time like this?" He asked as politely as possible.
“I’m looking for Jungkook. Is he here?”
“Uh… He’s not home… He probably won’t be for the next few days…”
“Why? Where did he go?” You asked a little impatiently. Taehyung stared at you in worry as he wasn’t sure what to say to you.
“He, um… He has a very important business to handle somewhere else. I’ll update you once he’s back-”
“I really can’t wait that long, I need to see him now…” You partially begged as Taehyung pressed his lips into a straight line in defeat.
“He went back to the cosmos…”
Now it was your turn to get confused.
“Cosmos? What cosmos? What are you talking about?”
“Me and Jungkook… We’re not from this universe.” You stared at him in disbelief but for some reason, you knew he wasn’t lying.
“T-Then… Then does that mean you’re… immortal?”
“Correct. How did you find out?” Taehyung asked as he stepped aside for you to enter. Once you made it inside, he guided you over to the couch where you decided to come clean.
“When I was five, I almost died… But someone saved me from drowning. I never got to remember who it was. Right after my 16th birthday, I started getting these blurry, recurring dreams about my accident. The dream wasn’t clear but I kept seeing the same scenes happen again and again. A few months back, my dream slowly began to get clearer but I still couldn’t see who saved me that day… And just now… just now is when my dream finally became crystal clear and I saw everything. Now I remember.” You said. Taehyung smiled as his eyes travelled down to the necklace around your neck.
“He gave you his necklace, huh?” He asked softly. You held it in your hand as you reached forward with your other hand to hold Taehyung’s forearm gently.
“Taehyung, I need to see him. All these years, I’ve been trying to figure out who saved me that day but I have no idea who it was. Now that I know, I have to tell him.”
“There is something I have to tell you.” You remained quiet as you stared at him desperately so he took that as his cue to continue.
“Jungkook was never supposed to save you that day. His task was to simply watch over you. Sort of like a guardian angel. He can’t help you no matter how fatal the situation was for you because that’s just how it works for us. But that day, he couldn’t bear to see your parents cry. He didn’t have the heart to watch you drown in front of your parents…” Taehyung paused as you slowly began to piece this whole thing together.
“So that’s why he saved me…”
“Correct. However, because of that, the higher deities did not approve of his actions… So, he had to receive punishment. And his first punishment was that he has to watch over you from afar as you grow up without getting into close contact with you until your 16th birthday. The recurring dreams you had since you turned 16 was the second punishment. You were made to slowly remember that it was him who saved you that day. And once you fully remember that it was him…” Taehyung stopped abruptly as if he was afraid to continue.
“What happens if I remember it was him? Taehyung tell me! What happens if I remember?” You asked desperately as Taehyung frowned at you sadly.
“He will forget that you ever existed.”
“What…?” Your heart stopped as you couldn’t get this thought through your thick head.
“That’s his punishment.”
“N-No… No he… he can’t forget me. He’s been there for me my entire life, he can’t just forget me… No…” You began to get anxious as Taehyung felt bad for you. You were determined to not let Jungkook forget you so you begged Taehyung to bring you to the cosmos and see Jungkook. Taehyung didn’t want to risk it at first but after seeing how determined you were and knowing that Jungkook would not want to forget you, Taehyung decided to help.
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Jungkook stood in the middle of the courtroom up in the cosmos, ready to receive his punishment. Though his heart was already shattered into a million pieces, he told himself he had to stay strong in order to have even the slightest bit of hope that he would somehow remember you after all this was done. He couldn’t bear to lose you. Not again. Not ever. He has loved you from the start. He fell in love with the little girl he was told to look after. The minute he laid eyes on you on the day you were born, he knew that he would look after you to the best of his abilities.
He made a promise to himself that he would do whatever it takes to protect you from any harm that may come in your way. Jungkook wouldn’t know what he would do if he just watched you get hurt no matter how little or fatal the accident may be. And on that unfortunate day where he was just watching over you from afar, running along the edge of the lake trying to catch the butterfly, he already saw it coming. He just wasn’t sure if he should obey the words of his deity or defy them by doing exactly what he was told not to do.
In which he ended up choosing the latter for he could not bear to see your parents crying and struggling to save you. Jungkook wasn’t heartless and he wasn’t planning on becoming one. Hence, why he decided to dive into the lake that day and save you. He knew his actions would result in a heavy consequence but he didn’t care at the time. All he wanted was for you to have a second chance at life and thanks to him, you got it.
So as he stood there, his mind was filled with memories of you. From when you were a kid to now. Every single memory he had of you, lingered in his mind like posters and pictures pinned to a bulletin board. Suddenly, all he could think of was kissing you. How soft your lips were. How good it felt to finally tell you how he feels about you. To be able to hold you in his arms and tell you he loves you because he wouldn’t get to say it to you again after tonight.
It broke him but he was satisfied.
“Jeon Jungkook. You were called upon the courthouse to receive your punishment for the offence you committed years ago. Are you aware that the girl has finally seen the truth in her dreams?” His deity asked, earning a scoff from Jungkook.
“If she hadn't, I wouldn’t be here.”
His deity leaned back in his seat feeling slightly furious with how Jungkook was showing lack of respect for them. Nonetheless, they continued with Jungkook’s sentencing.
“Very well then. By the power vested in me, thou shall have no memory of the said girl after tonight. Every single memory of her shall be erased, leaving no traces of her behind. In addition, thou shall not remember any mortal from the past 2 years and vice versa. It shall be as though they never existed in each other’s lives. If there are no objections-” As soon as this was said, a familiar voice catches Jungkook’s attention.
“I object!”
He whipped his head up in search of the owner of the voice. The minute he found it, his eyes grew wide as he stared in shock upon witnessing this discovery. There you stood, at the very top of the stairs in the courthouse right next to Taehyung. He knew he had to stop you but he didn’t. He wanted nothing more than for his best friend to be happy so he decided to let you do what’s right to get his best friend out of his misery.
“Who dares to go against our ruling?” The deity said, making you speak up bravely.
“I do.”
He whispered your name under his breath as he watched you descend the stairs while keeping your eyes locked on the higher authorities.
“And just who do you think you are? Strutting about and bravely make your call to stop this trial?”
“Someone that will stop you from carrying out his final punishment.”
“Ah… you must be the girl from the lake… You must be stupid enough to think that you could leave this place alive.”
“No! Please! I’m begging you, don’t hurt her please. Give me my final punishment, just leave her alone.” Jungkook said as he stood in front of you to shield you from them.
“What are you doing? Don’t you wanna remember who I am?” You asked in confusion as he turned to you with tears in his eyes.
“Of course I do. But I also want you to leave this place alive.”
“I don’t want you to forget me! I can’t lose you again. Jungkook please!”
“You won’t lose me. Because you remember me. Promise me that you’ll make me remember you.”
“I promise.”
With that, Jungkook cups your face with both hands as he pressed his forehead against yours softly. Your eyes were closed, feeling him caress your cheeks with his thumbs. Just then, you didn’t want to lose this chance so you pushed your head forward only to kiss him. You let your lips stay there for a while before pulling away. The minute you did, you wrapped your fingers around both of his wrists while you whispered against his lips, a sealed promise.
“I love you Jungkook and I promise I’ll make you remember me.”
Suddenly, everything happened so fast as a blinding white light began to fill your vision. The next thing you knew, you were in your bedroom. It all felt like a dream to you. Except, you remembered everything vividly.
The next day, you made your way to school, only to find Hyunjin and Jisung seated at the wooden table in the garden. You came over and soon asked them curiously about the other two. However, what they answered came as a surprise to you.
“Who’s Taehyung and Jungkook? Are they your friends?” Hyunjin asked, making you frown.
What the…
A few hours later, the three of you were walking to the CS building across the campus when you caught sight of two males walking in your direction, parallel to you. One had striking neon blue hair while the other had bright purple hair. The purple haired one would be right next to you once you crossed paths with them too. You kept your eyes on them as they got closer and closer until they were about 3 feet away. As if on cue, the purple haired individual just happened to turn his head towards you, causing you to lock eyes with him.
Your heart began to race in your chest the closer you got to them. The minute you walked past them, with the purple haired one being the closest to you, the same feeling you felt the first time this happened a few months back repeated again today. The feeling of a string being tugged at that was invisibly linked to your hand and his, a small sense of longing lingers in your veins. However, you continued walking despite sensing him turning back to look at you.
So when you felt like it was safe to turn, that’s when you glanced over your shoulder to see him tilt his head in confusion but nonetheless continued walking. You whispered something under your breath, feeling your heart shatter with every word you say.
“I remember you.”
You turned back in front, your mind was already somewhere far. There was absolutely no way in hell that you were going to let this slide.
Why? Because you were determined to make him remember you for you had made your promise to him.
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endthedream · 11 months
Text
sunshine
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pairing: merman!jeno x reader (she/her)
summary: Moving back to the town known for it's cruse of letting fisherman disappear from the ocean isn't the best idea - accoring to your parents. But they don't understand. They don't understand that for five years you lived without knowing if the encounter you had with a strange boy with a fishtail was real. They don't understand that your heart is calling for him.
words: 21.3k
story colour: silver
note: This story is so different from everything I've written so far. And I can say with my whole heart that I'm proud of this. Everyone close to me had to witness the mess I've been while writing this. The excitment, frustration and impatience I had while working on this. I really hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Remember to always treat people with kidness!🪽
(Also enjoy the little special guest appearing in this story)
masterlist of ‘nct dream as supernatural creatures’
It feels like ages since you last been here.
The place you grew up in. The place you spent your childhood in. All your favorite memories happened in this very town.
A small seaside town south of the pacific ocean. It’s fairly known for its high fish rate. Fisher all over the world visit this town to see for themselves the wonder it promises. But as many fishers as you gain, as many you also lose as well. While the town is known for its wonders, it is also known for its curse. Many people sailing the sea around the town have mysteriously gone missing, only their boat returning safely to the shore. At first every time this happened, people would search day after day for the missing person, but after many of those incidents, people stopped. Now only a bitter taste lingers whenever an empty boat washes up on the shore.
Shortly before your parents decided to move away from the town you once called your home, a nine-year-old girl went missing. She vanished after going into the sea for a swim. She was just four years younger than you. Everyone in town was in shock, mourning over the young life that was taken that day.
So, it makes sense why your parents and friends questioned your decision to go back to the very same town you moved away from. The very same town your parents started to get scared of.
You could just say it’s the sea you miss. The smell of saltwater engulfing you. The melody of the waves crashing against the sand, hypnotizing everyone that spends just a few minutes watching it. You could say it’s the people greeting you every day, asking about your well-being, and offering you fresh fruits to try. The genuine care the people show and the fun little events they plan. You could say you miss the friends you grew up with, not having talked to them in five years and wanting to know what happened to them. Get in on the five-year worth gossip you missed. You could say you miss the person you once were back when you were 13, craving to seek what you lost and once had. But that would all be a lie.
The answer is very simple. You are going back because the town is calling you. Well, not the town itself, more someone else. It’s him calling you.
When you step foot outside the little apartment you moved in a few hours ago, you are immediately greeted with the fresh breeze of the coastal town. Salt lingers in the air, and you can hear seagulls squawking as they fly over the water. A familiar feeling washes over you, the very same you felt as a child. It makes you stop with your eyes closed, taking in the nostalgia that engulfs you. You can get used to this again. How your muscles loosen up and every doubt you felt, every hardship you had over the past months, it all fades away almost instantly. It’s like you are ten years old again, running through the small streets, chasing the wind, and filling the town with your joyous laughter.
But before you stand still on the same spot for any longer, you decide to walk around the town, intrigued by what has changed in the five years that you’ve been away.
And you notice pretty quickly that nothing really changed. Yes, the people grew older. The apple lady has more wrinkles on her phase and old creepy Mike can barely walk anymore, but the town still looks the same. You still find the graffiti at the back of the fish museum – yes, the chairman of the town insisted on making one to honor the towns trademark - was still there, looking exactly as worn out as it did before you left. The little bakery still has tape sticking over the hole a teenager smashed into the window when you were nine. You guess that they either don’t have the money or time to fix it and work well enough with the tape. The water dispenser still stands at the exact same place, a bit rustier than you have it in mind, seeming that still no one uses it. You remember your mother telling you how many germs there are on it, and it made you stay five feet apart from it ever since. You also saw one kid turning it on and tripping over as the force of the water splashed right into their face.
But most importantly, you walk by the small garden that was built further away from the town center. It was made by the Na’s who own the local flower shop. Ever since you discovered it, is has been your favorite place. You remember how you used to always come here whenever your parents gave you a hard time at home. And as you enter the small area, you can’t fight the small smile that makes its way to your lips.
The garden is filled with flowers of all kind and colors. Butterflies, bees and other small animals fly around, taking place on the beautiful flowers. A magpie flies by you and into the tree where its nest is, feeding its baby with worms they just found. You can’t help but to stare at the scenery in front of you, silently thanking the Na’s for still taking care of this place and putting their time into making it look like you stepped into another world.
You wish you could stay here all day, watching the different animals and basking in the comfort you get from this place, but the rumble of your stomach changes your mind. It reminds you that you haven’t eaten anything besides a chocolate bar, too nervous about your arrival in your hometown. So, you go to the only place you’ve trusted with your food ever since you were a child.
“Dream Team” the bakery with the smashed in window owned by the Lee family. When it comes to bread, cakes, and pastries, no one beats the Lee’s. Not even the bakeries in the city you moved to. But maybe it is just because you are biased. Mark Lee, the son of the owners, was your best friend growing up. Your ride or die. Someone you thought you would never lose. Well, everything changed when you moved.
A part of you is scared about seeing him again, dreading his reaction upon your arrival. But another part is beaming with excitement, wanting desperately to see what happened to the once awkward and shy boy.
Without further hesitation, you open the door to the little bakery and step in. And almost immediately you are greeted with the smell of freshly baked goods. Bread, cakes, doughnuts and most importantly their famous cherry pie. You haven’t had a piece of it in five years and admitting it, you missed it a lot. No matter to which bakery you went and tried cherry pie, nothing could compete with the one the Lee’s bake.
The little bakery still looks the same. They still have the same tables that you and Mark used to write hidden messages underneath and the bright orange chair standing around them. You remember buying those chairs with the Lee’s when they first opened the bakery. You found them at a thrift store a few hours from here. Mark’s mom fell in love with them the second she saw them. Saying something about how they will bring contrast into the little bakery, making people stop and stare. And that’s exactly what happened. Everyone talked about those chairs, and they became the number one attraction of the ‘Dream Team’.
Walking further in, you see the small picture frame hanging on the brick walls and it wrenches your heart. They kept the picture of you and Mark baking your first cake when you were five. It’s one of your fondest moments. You had just met Mark two days prior in the kindergarten. You always thought he was weird, not talking to anyone and mostly keeping to himself. But your mom explained to you that the little boy just moved here from Canada with his parents and that he was probably just too shy to make friends. So, you made it your task to become friends with the strange boy. You can still remember the way his eyes lit up the moment you talked to him, like he has been waiting for someone to finally approach him. And when he showed you his Pokémon card collection, you knew this friendship would last forever.
Apparently forever is a short time. Because when you moved, it only took two months for the two of you to lose contact with each other. Busy with life and responsibilities. You having to adapt to a new town, a new school and struggling to make friends. And him, well, you don’t know what happened to him. Or why he stopped responding to your calls and messages. You just hope it wasn’t something bad, or that you did something to scare him away.
“Y/N?”, you hear a voice calling out for you. Turning around you see a young man standing in the door frame of the bakery. And it takes you a second to recognize who he really is.
“Mark? Is that you?” Letting go of the things he is holding in his hands, Mark runs over to you and immediately engulfs you into a tight hug, spinning you around in circles.
Joyous laughter fills the small space. “Is that really you? Or am I just imagining all this?”
A chuckle falls from your lips, as Mark sets you down to the ground again, giving you the chance to take a good look at him for the first time in years.
He looks different, but the same. He still has his boyish smile and big doe eyes, but his features matured. Showing that he isn’t the little awkward boy anymore, but a grown man. It’s weird seeing him like this again, so used to the picture of him that is still burned in your memories.
“You’re not imagining anything. I’m really here.”
Mark smiles brightly at you, taking you in a good look at you. You have changed as well, puberty making itself noticeable on your body.
“Damn.”, Mark says, his voice a lot deeper than you have imagined it to be. “You look so good. What happened to you?”
You have to laugh at that, punching his shoulder playfully. “What a charmer. But you too Mark. You look so grown, it’s crazy.”
“Yeah, puberty.”, he smiles, being almost unable to take his eyes off you. Somehow Mark still cannot believe that you’re really standing here in front of him after all those years. He has already given up on the thought of seeing his childhood best friend ever again. But here you are, in your full glory. “But what are you doing here? Are you visiting?”
“No, not visiting. I came back, permanently.”
“What?”, the boy in front of you asks in disbelief. “But why? Didn’t you like it in your new town?”
“I did like it there. But that’s not the reason I came back.” It’s not even a lie. You really did like it in the town you moved to, but somehow no matter what you did and what you changed, it never felt like home. It was never a place you wanted to grow up in or build a life in. So, you had to come back to the only place you felt like a connection to. The place that changed your life with just one incident. “I just missed my home. My real home. And I missed you. God, I missed you so much Mark.”
Mark can’t help but to pull you into another hug. “I missed you too, Sunshine.” You smile at the nickname, wrapping your arms around tighter around him. No one has called you that since you moved, and you missed it. Sunshine is the nickname Mark’s father gave you when you were nine. He said that whenever you enter a room the sun shines brighter, like it senses the presence of someone pure hearted. He called you the happy pill since you loved to make the people around the town smile. Helping them with their tasks, gifting the children your old play toys and always wearing a smile yourself. The nickname got carried around and after a while everyone called you sunshine.
“Mark Lee. What have I told you about leaving your things at the entrance? The customers won’t even be able to get in and-“, Mark’s mother stops scolding Mark as her eyes land on the two of you. She hesitates for a second, thinking her eyes are betraying her.
“Y/N, dear? Is that really you?” You let go of Mark, walking over to Mark’s mom.
“Yes, it’s me. How have you been doing?”
You can see tears forming in her eyes, as she sets the flowers in her hand down and wraps her arms around you. “How I have been doing? God, Y/N, how have you been doing? We haven’t seen each other in so long.”
Tears stream down the older woman’s face and you can’t help but to let one or two slip yourself. “I’ve been good. Stressed from graduating, but good none of the less. And you?”
“I’m so much better now that I’ve seen you.” You huff out a laugh, letting her go to wipe the tears from your face. “Look at you. You are the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
Redness fills your cheeks as you scoff from embarrassment. Marks’ mom always knew what to say to make you feel like her words are actually true. She was one of the people helping you in the process of self-love. “You always know how to boost my confidence.”
You’ve always had a good relationship with Mark’s parents. They loved you the minute Mark introduced you to them in kindergarten, glad that their little boy finally made a friend. Especially his mom loved you. Not having a daughter herself, she treated you like the daughter she never had. Girls’ days filled with doing each other’s hair and nails. Weekly meet ups to talk about boys, discuss the problems only women understand. She was like a mother to you and seeing her again after such a long time, makes you realize how much you really missed her.
“You must be starving from coming here all the way. Sit down. I will get you a plate of cherry pie.” You smile at the mention of your favorite pie, hearing your belly grumble in cheer of finally getting something to eat. Turning around to find a table to sit on, you see Mark secretly wiping away a stray tear himself.
You sit down at one of the tables, relishing the familiar feeling you have in the presence of the Lee’s. It’s comforting, knowing you are at a place where you can be yourself. A place you are loved and appreciated at.
“You know what?”, Mark says, sitting down beside you. “This is the table we used to always write stuff on.”
“Really?”, you exclaim, already bending down to look at the underside of the table. Seeing all the little doodles you made all those years ago. From deformed dogs to funny words and friendship declarations.
“Don’t think I’ve never noticed your little drawings.”, Mark’s mom says as she puts your plate with pie down at the table. You and Mark sit up straight again, giving each other a busted look. “I clean those tables every day. But I couldn’t bare to wipe them away. If it weren’t for me spraying hair spray on them, they would be long gone.”
“Really mom? That’s so sweet of you.” Mark’s mom ruffles his hair, giving her son a sweet smile.
“I didn’t want to erase the years of friendship you have.”, she points to the pie, looking at you now. “Eat up, dear. Later I will take you two out to dinner so we can catch up some more, okay?”
Both of you nod, you already stuffing your mouth full of cherry pie and Mark laughing at your messy face. All while Mark’s mom watches you. A soft smile on her lips, glad to see the two of you together again.
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
Later that day you enter the bakery yet again, having changed out of your sweatpants into a summer dress. You see Mark cleaning the tables while his mom counts the income they made that day.
And you notice the vase of beautiful orange and yellow tulips on the register. “Those are beautiful.”, you remark as you lean closer to them, inhaling the sweet scent.
Marks’ mom looks up at you, a smile forming on her lips. “They are from ‘Flora’.”, she says, walking over to you.
“Flora? Isn’t that Jaemin’s parents’ flower shop?”
“Yes.”, Mark answers this time. “Well, it turned more into Jaemin’s store. His parents still help out a lot in the store, but Jaemin does most of the work these days.”
You nod, thinking about the just mentioned boy. Na Jaemin. You still remember the kind boy with the prettiest smile you have ever seen. How can you not remember him, when you had the biggest crush on him in middle school. You almost feel like the little girl again that blushed at the mere thought of being in the presence of Jaemin. Everyone had a crush on him at some point. He made girls and boys melt into a puddle right in front of him without even doing anything.
It's crazy how you can still vividly picture yourself standing at your locker until the bell rings just so you could get a glimpse of him. But from one to another day that changed. And suddenly the kind boy didn’t interest you anymore. Your focus was put on something totally different.
“Didn’t you have like the biggest crush on him?”, Mark asks with a teasing voice, knowing exactly what the answer to his question is. You used to always vent to Mark about your crush on Jaemin and how perfect he is. Mark would just tell you to shut it and go talk to Jaemin, completely over your constant raving.
“I mean, yeah, but that was so long ago.” The longer you think about Jaemin, the more intrigued you are to know what has happened to him. Did he change a lot? He probably did. “Is it okay if I quickly head to the flower shop and say hi to him? I just haven’t seen him in so long.”
“You’re sure it’s not for another reason?”, Mark asks, wiggling his eyebrows at you. But before you can react, his mom already nudges her elbow into his rip cage.
“Mark, stop that.”, she shakes her head at her son. “Of course, sweetheart. How about we meet at the restaurant?”
“Sounds perfect.”, you say, excitement rushing through your veins. “See you in a bit.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
The smell of flowers variates between sweet and fruity, and musky and deep. It fills you with happiness, relaxation and calmness. You read once that the floral scent can help with anxiety and stress. Lavender and Jasmine are even said to have a sedative effect on the nervous system and can help to provide better sleep. Sticking your nose into a Boquete bursting with aromas and scents can lift the spirit and the soul. That’s why the scent of flowers is an inspiration for perfumes and beauty products. The scents can take us to other places, evoke people and create memories.
That’s why the minute you step into ‘Flora’ you feel like you spent the whole day relaxing at the beach. It feels like this is the first time you woke up from a deep slumber and you’ve never felt more alive. It feels like a fresh breeze on a hot summer day, feeling the first ray of sunshine after a long cold winter, taking a long walk in the forest and listening to the birds chirping.
You look at the different types of flowers, in all their colors, forms and sizes. You don’t even know the name of half of these flowers.
“Welcome to Flora. What can I do for you?”, a deep voice speaks up, catching your attention. As you look at the owner of the voice, your eyes almost bulge out. Na Jaemin stands behind the register, hair falling over his eyes and a bright smile on his lips, the same you remember from when you were younger. He definitely changed. He looks older, not in a bad way. Jaemin just looks more mature. His features more defined, destroying the boyish image you still had in your head. But that was not the only thing you noticed is more defined. The hot weather made Jaemin wear a white t- shirt, showing off his arms. And you guess, he must be hitting the gym regularly, because that can’t happen overnight.
“And so, we meet again, Na Jaemin.”, you greet him as you walk over to him, a sweet smile on your lips. You watch the boys’ eyes widen in recognition of you.
“Y/N?”, his voice filled with disbelief as if the last person he expected to see was you.
“Yep, in full glory.” Jaemin walks around the corner and stops right in front of you. Like Mark, not believing you are actually here and thinking his brain is playing a joke on him.
“What?”, his hands hold your shoulders, slightly shaking you to test if you’re real. “What are you doing here? I thought I would never see you again.”
“Well, as a talented poet once said, ‘Never say never.’” A scoff leaves Jaemins’ lips, shaking his head in disapproval.
“You are calling Justin Bieber a poet now? I always forget you are best friends with Mark. Dickinson would turn in his grave if he heard you say that.”
“What can I say.”, you remark between a chuckle. “Mark and I have taste.”
Looking at Jaemin, you understand why you’re ten-year-old you had a crush on him. Not only is his bare presence captivating, but he also has one of the kindest souls. Never going a day without having done something good for other people. He knew exactly what to do and say to make people swoon over him, but he never used it to his advantage. Always having the purest intentions with his actions.
“You took over your parents store?”, you ask him after some seconds of silence.
“Oh, yeah. I started working here fulltime after graduating.”
You nod as you listen to him, letting your eyes wander around the store. You haven’t been here a lot, always too nervous about the possibility of running into Jaemin. Occasionally, you went in the store with your mom when she was having trouble picking out beautiful flowers and needed your help. But other than that, you always avoided the store. And now years later, you start to regret it. The flower shop is beautiful. Not only because of the endless colorful flowers filling the space, but also because of the wooden furniture giving it a cozy touch. Soft music plays in the background and an orange cat lays on one of the unoccupied chairs, snoring from deep slumber.
“Do you like working here?”, you ask him, as you your eyes meet his again.
Jaemin nods his head, looking around the shop himself with fondness in his eyes. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’ve never been happier.”
You coo at him, happy that he found his place in life. “That’s wonderful to hear.”
“What about you?”, he asks you now, looking back into your eyes. “Why are you here again?” For a moment, you consider sitting down with him, telling him everything that happened over the years and everything that inspired you to come back. But you realize you have enough time to do that, not planning on leaving any time soon. So instead, you opt for a less complicated and long answer.
“It’s a long story. But I guess I just missed home and wanted to come back.”
“Well, we can always sit down and then you can tell me the longer version of your answer. How those that sound?” Another smile forms on your lips, noticing that you actually can’t stop smiling in his presence. “Sounds wonderful. You can tell me your schedule and we can figure out a day and time. I just need go now. Mark and his mom are waiting for me.”
Jaemin walks back behind the register, writing down something on a piece of paper. “Here’s my number so you can contact me.”
Taking the paper, you bid your goodbye, promising to text him as soon as you are back in your small apartment and heading to the door.
“Y/N?”, Jaemin calls out for you, making you turn back around to him, the doorknob resting in your hand. “I’m glad you’re back. We all missed you a lot.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
You can’t wait any longer. Sitting in your apartment makes you go crazy, when you know what could be waiting for you.
After going out for dinner with the Lee’s, you spent the rest of the night in your apartment. Pacing up and down, trying to ignore the raging urge raising in your veins. The moment you arrived today you could feel the ocean calling to you. You could feel him calling to you. And while that could just be your delusional mind playing tricks on you, trying to convince you of something that probably didn’t even happen, there was a part of you that still hopes. That still believes. You are not the thirteen-year-old naïve girl anymore. You are a grown woman. A grown woman who has a sane mind.
So why are you at the very end of the beach, far away from where the people usually spend their time on the sand, shortly after midnight? To prove something to yourself? To help those sleepless nights tossing and turning and trying to find answers to the millions of questions in your head?
You sit down on the rocks that separate you from the water. No one can see you from here. So, it’s just you. You and the soft melody of the waves crashing against the shore.
“I don’t know if you can hear me.”, you start to speak up into the darkness of the night. “I don’t even know if you’re still here. I mean it’s been five years. Why would you still show up?” You lean back on your hands, closing your eyes and letting the night breeze engulf your body. “I never forgot you, you know? All those years I’ve been thinking about you. If you are doing well and what might have happened to you. You’re probably wondering where the hell I’ve been. Well, it’s a pretty long story. My parents got scared of the rumors and the fisher disappearing, so they decided to move away. Far away from here, actually. That’s why I could never visit. But I wish I had. I didn’t realize how much I missed this town until I was gone. I didn’t realize how much I missed you.”
You scoff at your own words. “Do you know how pathetic that sounds? Everyone thought I was crazy, even my own parents. No one believed me. No one believed that you were actually real. My parents told everyone that it’s just my imagination, putting the fault on my age. But I knew I didn’t imagine you. How could I? When I felt you, right under my fingertips. Even days after the incident, I could feel the softness of your skin. I just want to know, please.”, you beg, voice coming out as a bare whimper.
“Are you still there? After all these years. I’m not leaving again. This time I’m staying, Jeno.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
The next days went by painfully slow. You visited the same place, sitting on the very same rocks and talking into the nothingness every single night. Not giving up your hopes. Your parents may have called you crazy, but they also didn’t raise a quitter. You know the truth and you will try again and again until you can finally be at ease.
You also have been meeting up more with Mark and Jaemin. Sometimes together, sometimes separately. It feels nice, having actual genuine friends again. The new friends you made in your old town couldn’t even be called friends. They never cared to invite you to meet ups, talked a lot about behind your back and spent their free time gossiping about everything that breaths. But they were the only people you had and so you learnt to tolerate them.
“I’m destroying you.”, Mark shouts as he follows the dance steps on the Tv. You don’t know what brought you into this situation. A Wii controller in your hand as you play Just Dance against Mark, while Jaemin sits on the couch. His belly aching from laughing at the two of you.
“Destroying me?”, you scoff. “Look at the score, I’m winning.” You must admit, after playing a few rounds, you’re out of breath. Your muscles are aching and your lungs collapsing, but you can’t let Mark win. The thought of having him brag about a win is fueling the fire inside you and makes you push through, despite your body’s complaints.
“You forget that you play against the master Just Dance player.”, Mark voice comes out in short breaths, showing the exhausting clearly.
“Is that why you lost two rounds against me?” Mark only rolls his eyes, ignoring your teasing comment and focusing on winning the game.
But as it comes to the last second, every move he makes gets declined, making you win with a huge head start.
“Take that Just Dance master.”
“That’s so unfair.”, he whines as he throws himself on the couch. “The Wii controller is ridged. I would have totally won.”
You roll your eyes into the glass of water you’re drinking. “Whatever makes you sleep at night.” Looking at the clock you let out a slight gasp. It’s already near midnight. “Oh god, it’s so late. I should head home.”
Another whine leaves Mark’s lips. “Why? I want a rematch. My ego can’t handle losing against you.”
“You’re like a little kid, Mark. We can play tomorrow again.” You grab your coat, putting it on so you don’t freeze from the cold night air.
“I will walk you home.”, Jaemin says, standing up as well and grabbing his own coat.
“Oh no, you don’t have to. If you want to stay, you can do that. Don’t worry about me.”
“No, it’s fine.” Jaemin shrugs his shoulders. “I have to open up the flower shop early tomorrow anyway, so it’s better if I go home as well.”
The walk to your apartment is, well, a bit awkward. While the both of you did hang out this week, it was just one time where you were actually alone. The other times with Mark by your side. But you don’t mind the silence. It’s nice, if you’re being honest. You enjoy not having to engage in forced small talk and just enjoying each other’s presence.
When you arrive in front of your apartment, Jaemin doesn’t bid you goodbye. Instead, he just stands there, seemingly like he wants to say something.
“Okay, spit it out. I can see that you want to say something.” Jaemin lets out a deep chuckle, raising a hand to brush the lose hair in front of his eyes away.
“Busted.”, he states, trying to break the tension that lingers in the air. “I just wanted to say that I’m really glad you’re back, Y/N. I know we didn’t have a lot of contact back when we were younger, but you were always a very dear person to me, and I was devastated when you moved.” Jaemin rubs the back of his neck, nervousness written all over his body. “I’m just glad to have you back.”
“Is that all you want to say.” He hesitates for a moment before nodding his head. “I’m glad to be back as well, Jaemin. Thank you for telling me that, it means a lot to me.”
Jaemin gives you another nod, before blowing out some air. “Well, I should better go. See you tomorrow, Y/N.”
That night you didn’t show up at the beach, too focused on Jaemins’ words. For some reason you have the feeling that it wasn’t everything Jaemin wanted to tell you that night. And it makes you wonder, what exactly made him so nervous around you?
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
When you show up the next day, you feel the difference in the air. The waves are louder, crashing hard against the rock you’re sitting on, turning its once beautiful melody into chaos.  
“I know you’re here.”, you speak up after a few minutes of silence. “I can feel you watching me, Jeno. I’m getting tired of this. Please just come out.” But as every night, you speak into the void.
“Okay, I’m leaving. I’m not in the mood to wait today.” As you get up to leave you can hear a splashing sound, louder and heavier than the waves normally make. And you know that it wasn’t a wave or a fish. You know exactly what it was.
“You weren’t here yesterday.” That voice. So familiar, but yet so strange. Sounding like dripping with honey, filling up your senses with its sweetness. Sticking onto you, and not once letting you go.
So, you turn around to look at the boy in front of you. The boy everyone told you, you imagined. The boy that has been haunting your dreams, calling for you in the ocean, having a tight grip on you. The boy that made it impossible for you to let any other guy come close to you, that made you hesitate whenever someone asked you out. And the boy that changed your life. By just one incident. Not being able to control yourself, you smile. You smile at him with relief written all over your face. This is what you’ve been waiting for. The day you couldn’t wait to come. The day you finally saw the merman, whose life you saved, again.
“Hi Jeno.”
Five years ago
Your mom always told you to be aware of the dangers that lay in the unknown. To never make rapid decisions without thinking long and hard about it. She told you to stay away from strange man on the street and only talk to people your parents already introduced you to. To never take candy from anyone you don’t know and change the side of the street when you see a white van parked close by. But your dad taught you to be kind. To smile at people on the street and greet them with a friendly hello. He told you to help when you see someone in need and never hesitate to offer to take over some chores, they aren’t able to do. To tell people kind words and take every opportunity to make someone’s day better. He told you to spread kindness all over the world, because we don’t have a lot of it anymore.
So, that’s why you hesitate as you see someone lying in the sand far away from where the visitors on the beach are, not showing any signs of being alive. It is the two different approaches on life your parents taught you, that make you stop where you’re standing and think about your options. You don’t want to get kidnapped or get into a troubled situation with a strange person. But at the same time, you want to go up to the person, see if they are still alive and help them.
As you take graduate and slow steps forward, your first worry starts to fade. You don’t see a strange man laying on the ground, but rather a young boy around your age. He’s covered in seaweed, lying face down in the sand. For a minute you think he is dead by the way he lays so still, but as you get closer, kneeling beside him, you see his back rising and falling, signaling that he is breathing. Relief washes over you, having feared that you might have to report a dead body washed up on the shore. It would be the first time.
Because of the curse creeping over your small town, it’s not an uncommon thing for people to go missing and bodies never being found. So, that would have been the first time a body was found. And you’re glad it isn’t.
Still, you kneel on the ground, not knowing what to do. Maybe you should go and tell your parents, or just any nearby adult. They probably know what’s best in this situation. But at the same time, what if it would be too late? What if you leave and when you come back the boy is either dead or even worse, gone. You can’t risk that, can you? Or maybe it’s just the fact that you don’t want to get caught here, so far away from the people on the dangerous shore with the big rocks. Your parents would ground for the rest of your life and that’s not what you want as the towns summer festival is approaching.
Reaching out a hand, you softly place it on top of the boys’ bare back, gasping as you make contact with the coldness of his skin. You shake him gently, seeing if it gets a reaction out of him, but nothing. No flinch, no fluttering of the eyes, nothing. So, you shake him harder, calling out a bunch of phrases, like ‘Hello?’ ‘Can you hear me?’ ‘Are you conscious?’. But still nothing. No reaction at all.
You look around, searching for something, anything, to get him to wake up. And as your eyes land on the salty water in front of you, you got an idea.
Standing up, you walk towards the ocean. You kneel again, forming your hands into a bowl and scooping up some water. Walking back to him, careful not to let the water drip, you do the only thing you think is left to do. You splash the water right on his face.
And almost immediately, the young boy awakens, eyes wide and mouth agape. He looks around for a few seconds, dazed and confused about where he is and how he got here. That is until his eyes land on you, looking down at him. A scream leaves his lips, and he scrambles away, trying to get into the water. But his body isn’t moving, the sand around him and the seaweed covering his body, making it hard for him to get away.
“It’s okay.”, you say with a calm voice. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just found you laying here, and I wanted to help you. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
But that does not face the boy, he still tries to get back into the water. Crawling forward with his arms and that’s when you see it.
Something silver shimmering under the seaweed. It catches your attention immediately. Getting closer to him again, you raise your hand to push the seaweed away, gasping and backing up when you see what’s underneath.
Instead of having legs like you, the boy has a tail. A silver fish tail with scales, shimmering under the shining sun. The boy turns around to you, seeing your shocked expression. He lets out a panicked sound, wiggling around like a fish on land, which he probably is.
You watch him, shock still consuming your whole body. It’s like you can’t move anymore. Every single muscle in your body is paralyzed. And you question if this is even real. Maybe you’re just dreaming all of this and in a few seconds, you’ll wake up, relieved that it was all just in your head. You wish you could move your arm to pinch yourself, but nothing of your body is responding to you. All you can do is watch the young boy with widened eyes.
He struggles, letting out a few whines and groans before eventually giving up. He just lets his head sink down, body heaving from exhaustion.
“Are you just going to watch me struggle or help me?”, he speaks up, his voice unusually deep considering he looks so young. You shake your head, coming out of your trance before looking at his face, which was now turned to you. “And it’s rude to stare at someone’s tail, you know?”
You raise your eyebrows at him, not believing the situation that’s happening to you. Is a fish really talking to you? Well, maybe half fish. While his lower body is a fish tail, his upper body still looks human.
“So, you’re just going to let me die?”, he scoffs, rolling his eyes at you. “Great, this is not how I imagined my last day alive to be.”
“Die?”, you ask, voice breaking as you speak.
“Yeah, die. Like heart stopping. Lungs not breathing in air. That kind of dying.” You can hear him sigh, probably thinking you are dense by the way you are still staring at him. “If I don’t get into the water soon, I’ll be dead. So, please. As shocked as you are to see a merman, just help me get into the water.”
“You’re a merman?” You didn’t mean to raise your voice so high, but the absurdness of the situation isn’t making it easy for you and your brain to process.
“No, I’m a dinosaur. I’m just shapeshifting right now. Of course, I’m a merman. Why else would I have a god damn tail?” He sounds on edge, like he’s losing his patience with you.
You stand up again, walking over to him. “I will help you. Under one condition.” He sighs, signaling you to continue with whatever you are about to say. He already knows it can’t be anything good, but anything’s better than dying.
“If I help you, you have to tell me more about you and you merman life.” The boy lowers his head again, thinking about your condition.
“Okay. I’ll tell you more about me. But please help me now, I feel like I will pass out in any second.”
Taking both his hands in yours, you pull the boy towards the water. It takes you a few minutes and several tries before you’re both in the water. The water stops right above your navel. The boy swims around you, feeling strength fill up his body again.
You watch him for a while, mesmerized by the fluent movements of his body. He looks so surreal as his silver tail shines brightly whenever he dives down into the water, splashing water onto you every now and then. But you couldn’t care less. All you are interested in is witnessing a miracle, a wonder, something straight out of a movie. For a second time that day, you think it is all a dream. Surely, this can’t be reality. Mermen are just fairytales. Something made up by seaman back in the day to scare people away from the ocean. You once heard that the merpeople are ugly creatures, scales covering their body and a smile that could kill you on the spot. But looking at the boy in front of you, you realize that the stories told in your village aren’t true. Merpeople aren’t disgusting sea monsters who look like something straight out of a horror movie. The opposite, to be exact. The boy looks like art, like he belongs to a museum.
His face is sharp, with high cheekbones and a defined jawline. His eyes are big, representing those of a puppy. And his plump lips are colored like a peach, matching his skin tone perfectly. The messy black hair covers most of his eyes, but every now and then when he comes up from the water you can get a glimpse of the brown orbs.
“Hey!”, you exclaim as you see him swim further away from you. “We had a deal.”
“I know.”, he says, looking over his shoulder to meet your gaze. “Meet me tomorrow at the rocks right there.” You follow where he’s pointing at, seeing the big rocks not so far from where you are standing in the ocean. “At 11 pm. Don’t be late.”
“But my parents won’t allow me to be here at 11.”, you try to say, but he’s already swimming away. Not caring about a word you said afterwards.
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
You can’t believe you’re actually doing this. It’s not like you. Never in your life have you sneaked out, not even when Mark tried to force you three weeks ago. When he was going out with the popular students at your school. Your parents raised you to be well-behaved, to listen to them. They have rules in your household and one of them is your strict curfew. You can’t go out after 8 pm, and that’s still understandable considering you’re thirteen. But this rule sticks until you’re sixteen. You have to go home at 8 every day until you’re sixteen. You can already imagine the teenager fights you will have with your parents.
But up until now you have never broken that rule. Not once in your life. That was until you met the mysterious boy.
The sand feels cool under your feet, causing goosebumps to form on your skin. Even though it’s summer, the air feels cold so far away from the town. You still feel the warmth of the sun as you climb up the rock, trying to get to the top. As you climb you wonder if this is a good idea. You don’t know if you can trust this strange boy with the silver tail, or if his intentions are to harm you. You don’t know where he comes from or why he was stranded on the shore. All of this could lead to you ending up like all these fishers, lost and never found again. But still, your curiosity got the best of you. Humans were always intrigued by the unknown.
Arriving on top of the rock, you can already see a silhouette sitting at the edge of it, leaning back on their arms with their face tilting up into the sky.
“The stars are shining so bright tonight.”, you hear the familiar voice speaking. You walk closer to the figure, soon seeing the silver tail dangling at the edge of the rock, getting splashed with the water that crashes against it. It reflects in the moon light, causing it to look like small little crystals. “Haven’t I told you it’s rude to stare at someone’s tail?”
“Sorry.”, you respond, adverting your gaze and looking right into the boy’s face. A smile adores his lips, his head croaked to the side as if he’s mocking you.
“Come here, sit down.” With slow steps you follow his instruction, sitting down beside the boy, letting your feet dangle down. “I didn’t think you would actually come.”
You shrug your shoulders, looking down at your hands that nervously fidget. “We had a deal.”
A laugh leaves his lips, and you swear in that moment, you’ve never heard a prettier sound in your entire life. It’s almost like everything about him is perfect. “You’re adorable.” Blush creeps up your cheeks upon his comment, never being called that before.
“It’s so fascinating.”, he says, placing his cold hand to your chin and lifting your face so that you’re forced to look at him. His other hand takes place on your cheek, letting his thumb run over the heated skin. “How blood rushes into humans’ cheeks when they get flustered. I heard about it, but I never witnessed it myself.” He leans closer, eyes scanning your face. His scent takes up all your scenes. The salt of the water on his skin and the hint of something sweet. Vanilla? “I’ve never been this close to a human before.”
You take a shaky breath, trying to calm down your fast beating heart. “I’ve never been this close to a merman before.”, you remark, voice coming out as a whisper.
He lets out a small laugh, leaning back again, placing his hands back on the rock. “You didn’t even know I existed until yesterday.”
“That’s true.”, you nod, pulling your knees up on your chest so you can rest your head on them. “But I know now.”
“Yes, you know now.” There is something lingering in his voice. Like a hidden meaning behind his words, but you don’t know what it could be. “What do you want to know?”
“Are there more of you?”
“Yes.”, he nods. “A whole town, but we’re far down in the water. No human could ever find us. Even if they tried, they wouldn’t make it. And if by some weird accident a human does make it into our town, they will be taken care of by our guards.”
“What does your town look like.”
“It’s colorful. Corals allowed us centuries ago to use them as homes under the condition that we take good care of them. They give the town the prettiest colors. We also use a lot of shells, big shells, to decorate around the town.”, he stops for a few seconds, thinking about how he can explain it to you. “It’s nothing like your little human town. It is a kingdom, and it looks like that. Tall columns surround our castle and there are sharks, dolphins, and seahorses swimming around at all times. Most of them guard us, others are our friends. The castle itself is mostly built from bricks and stones we found back then, to make it as stable as possible. It’s large, larger than your town with thousands of fish swirling inside. We also use ship wracks as a warehouse for our belongings.”
“Are there a lot of sea people living in the kingdom?”
He snorts at the choice of your words, looking at you with amusement glinting in his eyes. “Sea people. That’s a funny way to describe us. But yeah, a lot of sea people live there. I can’t tell you any numbers, but it’s a lot.”
You nod, trying to picture what it must look like where he comes from. It must be beautiful, breathtaking. And a part of you wishes you could go with him to see it for yourself.
“If there is a kingdom, you must have a king and a queen.”, you remark, looking at him curiously.
“A king and three princes. You’re talking to one of them right now.”
A gasp leaves your lips, louder than you had  expected it to be. “You’re the prince?” He nods at your question, showing you a charming smile. And you see it, as you’re looking at him for longer. It’s what you see in movies. The charming smile, the confident posture, the cocky attitude. “Oh god, it makes so much sense now.”
“What makes sense?”
“That you’re a prince. You’re too cocky for your own good that can only come from being treated like royalty.” He lets out another laugh, loving how honest you are. “Like come on what kind of mermen voluntarily meets up with a potentially dangerous human? Only a prince who’s already confident by being praised every day.”
“Dangerous? You are far from being dangerous.”, humor laces his voice, but all you do is glare at the young boy.
“How do you know? What if I end up kidnapping you? You should feel scared.”
“Don’t get me wrong.”, he says, turning his body so he’s facing you. The boy leans down his face, his nose almost touching yours. “I was terrified at first. When I saw you, I thought that I was captured by humans and that it will be my last day alive, but then you froze up like a glacier and I knew you were as shocked to see me as I was to see you.” One of his hands graces your cheek again, feeling the heat return yet again. “And then earlier I saw the way you react to me. The heated cheeks, the goosebumps on your skin and I knew, you aren’t danger.” Leaning back again, the boy shows you a satisfied grin. “And anyway, you couldn’t even fight me if you tried to. You’re just a little girl.”
“Little girl?”, you let out outraged. “I’m thirteen.”
“And I’m fifteen. Two years’ worth of more experience, in any department.” You just roll your eyes, folding your arms and looking back into the ocean with a scowl. Little girl, as if you were a little girl. Just because he’s older and stronger build doesn’t mean you couldn’t easily fight him. “But you’re my brothers age.”
Your scowl disappears and you look back at him. “You have a brother?”
He smiles again as he sees your face, scooting a bit closer again, but just to rest his shoulder against yours. “I have two. Fourteen and thirteen and go on my nerves every single day.”
“I wish I had brothers.”, you tell him with a pout on your lips. “Any sibling would be cool. I was always alone. I had to play alone, eat alone. It got so bad to the point where I created imaginary friends and would talk to them all day long.” You chuckle at the memories of three-year-old you. It’s hard to believe at what a young age you can feel loneliness so present. “That was until Mark came into my life.”
“Mark.”, he repeats the name. “Is he your boyfriend?”
“Mark? No, he’s my best friend. We’ve been friends for almost ten years now.” You smile as you talk about much, showing the value you feel for your friendship.
“So, you don’t have a boyfriend? Any boy that you’re interested in?”, he asks, making your cheeks turn into a slight shade of pink again.
“No, I don’t have a boyfriend. But there is a guy I like. His name is Jaemin, but he is…”, you stop yourself, shrugging as you don’t know how to describe Jaemin. He is the nicest boy you’ve met. With a kind smile and an even kinder personality. But he’s also popular, a bit too popular for your liking.
“He is?”, the boy in front of you asks, persistently wanting to know about Jaemin.
“He is just Jaemin. A lot of girls have a crush on him. I don’t think I have a chance.”, you shrug another time, trying to hide the hurt you feel.
“Then don’t try.”
“What?”, you exclaim, looking at the boy with confusion. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”, he admits. “Just don’t try.” But before you can say anything, the boy sits up abruptly. Every bit of comfort that was in his body drained within seconds. He looks down at the ocean, with wide eyes and you swear you can see his chest raising and falling faster. In front of you isn’t the carefree, confident boy you spent your night with. Suddenly he is tense, his eyes hardened. You look down as well, trying to see what he’s seeing in the ocean. But all you see is blackness.
“I have to go.”, he says, already making an effort to climb down the rock.
“What why?”, you ask, not wanting him to leave yet.
“I have to go. My father is searching for me, and he can’t find out I’m here. Meet me tomorrow at the same time, okay?”
But before you can answer he is gone within the ocean. Leaving you alone in the cold, dark night with your thoughts spiraling in your head.
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
Looking at him now, you don’t see the little boy he once was. This is not the carefree, cocky little prince. This is a man. His features matured, showing the years you haven’t seen. His body changed as well. Muscles spread around the smooth skin. His tail a slightly darker shade of silver, but still shimmering and shining under the moonlight. Jenos’ hair still has the same color, black like the night sky, but it’s longer and messier. But what changed the most are his eyes. The big brown eyes turned smaller, almost like he’s in a constant scowl, keeping tension in his forehead. They don’t spread warmth and comfort anymore. They are cold and emotionless.
“What are you doing here?”, he asks. His voice far from sounding friendly.
“I came back.”, you answer him, hope gleaming in your eyes.
“Why would you do that?”, he averts his gaze, looking into the ocean and away from you like he’s ashamed to be talking to you.
“Why? Because I wanted to. I missed this town.” It’s only half the truth, but you don’t want to scare him away. It’s been five years since you saw each other and the last thing you want is to make him leave again. You want to enjoy this moment for as long as he allows you to.
“Tell me the truth. I know you’re not telling me everything.” Without even looking at you, he can sense that your answer isn’t all you wanted to say. But it doesn’t surprise you. Jeno knows how to read people. He watched them for such a long time to be able to understand their body language or the sound of voice perfectly.
“I came back because I wanted to see you again.” He scoffs at that, and you can see him lowering his head. You wish you could see him right now. See the emotions on his face, but he keeps his back turned to you.
“Five years, Y/N. I waited five years for you to come here and say this.”, he turns around to you, face empty of emotions. “I waited every single day for you to come back, but you never did. I waited and waited, but not once did you show up.” He shakes his head, letting little water droplets fall to the ground. “I thought you were dead. For three years I thought something happened and you died. I had to live with that thought because what could I have done? Grow a pair of legs and ask the people in the town about you?”
Tears fill his eyes, but he blinks them away, not wanting to let you see how much this hurts him. “It was until one night they threw a party here. Underaged high school students taking over the beach with their cheap beers and loud music. A crying Mark was here getting comforted by Jaemin. They sat here, at this exact spot. They sat on our rock. Mark kept on talking about how much he misses you and how he wished you were here. And Jaemin told him that you are probably happy where you are. I thought that my theory got confirmed and I wanted to leave to mourn for you, but that was until Mark spoke up again. He said that it’s unfair that you had to move away and leave him here alone, but that he hopes you are happy in the new town. And that you find a better best friend than him. One that doesn’t suddenly ignore all your calls just because something tragic has happened in his life.” Jeno stops for a second, taking a big breath. “You never told me you were moving. You never told me you were actually leaving me and never coming back, Y/n. But still, I waited here. Every single day I waited because I hoped you would come back one day and miss me as much as I missed you. Why didn’t you just tell me? Why couldn’t you just let me let you go?”
Tears stream down your face as you listen to how his voice cracks with all the emotions he’s been holding back. “Because you told me to never talk to you again.”
He scoffs, wiping away the salty tears on his face. “I never thought you would listen to me. You never did before that.”
“But you sounded so sincere. I thought you didn’t want me in your life.”
He shakes his head again, eyes finding yours. “I can’t live a life where you aren’t in it, Y/n.” Speechless by his sudden confession, you just stare at him. A million thoughts in your head, but not one forming into a sentence.
“Has Mark ever told you why he was crying that night?”, he asks after a few seconds of silence. You shake your head, raising your hand and wiping away your own tears.
“You should talk to him.”, Jeno says, voice laced with sympathy. “Ask him about his dad.”
“His dad? What happened?”, you croak out.
“It’s not my place to tell you, but all I know is that he needs you. Even two years later, he still needs you.”
“But what about us?” Jeno shakes his head, signaling you not to speak.
“It’s okay. We have time. Mark needs you more now.” And for the first time since you saw each other again, he shows you a smile. A small one, which you almost didn’t notice. “Meet me here tomorrow at the same time and we can talk about everything, okay?”
You just nod, not knowing what to do add. Jeno turns around again. After glancing one last time at you, he lets himself fall into the water. Leaving you in the dark, cold night yet again.
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
Mark sounded tired when he answered the phone, but you didn’t care. You needed to talk to him now and find out what Jeno meant.
Now you sit on his bed, thinking about a way to speak to Mark. You don’t know what happened to his dad or why Mark didn’t tell you about it, but you also don’t want to assume the worst. Maybe Mark just forgot to tell you, considering it hasn’t been long since you’re back.
“Okay, what’s up?”, he asks after a while, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “You didn’t call me at 3 am just to sit here and not say anything.”
You sigh, turning towards Mark. His hair is a mess, sticking out in every direction. He dyed it blonde a few days ago, talking about wanting change in his life. And you have to admit that this hair color really suits him. Especially since he’s also been growing his hair out a bit. There are obvious eye bags under his eye, showing the lack of sleep he’s been getting. You don’t really know why. Maybe something has been keeping him awake lately. You feel bad for waking him up, but you couldn’t wait until the next day. Jeno’s words not leaving your head.
“Mark, you’re my best friend and I just want you to know that if anything’s wrong, you can always talk to me.”, you start, looking him directly in the eyes. And you think Mark knows what’s about to come. You can see it in his eyes.  
“You know?”, he asks, voice wavering a bit. You just slightly nod, scooting closer to him to take his hands in yours. “I wanted to tell you, I swear. When it happened, all I wanted to do was call you and tell you about it, but I couldn’t. You started a new life, and I didn’t want to take that away from you, or make you feel bad for it. And when you came back, all I wanted to do was spend my time with you. Make up for all the time we lost. I didn’t want to bother you with my problems, I just wanted back what we once had when we were kids. A carefree friendship.”
You feel so much in this situation. Sympathy, regret, sadness, grief, hope. But on top of it all, you feel proud. Mark had to go through all of this. Not alone, since he had his mother and Jaemin, but he still had to endure the pain of losing a very important person in his life. And instead of being selfish and calling you when he needed you, he decided not to. Just to make you have a carefree life. Just so you don’t have to worry about it. Mark is the most selfless person you know. And you are proud to call him your friend.
“Mark, you should’ve called me. No matter where I am in the world, I would always choose you. I would drop everything I’m doing just to see you. And I know it’s not what you want, but it’s what you deserve.” Mark wipes away a stray tear sliding down his cheek with one hand, squeezing your hand with the other. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“It was a stupid car accident.”, he starts, tears filling his eyes as he remembers the incident. But you know he needs this, so you hold his hand tighter and give him all your attention. Because you need it too, even if you’re not aware of it. And for the rest of the night, you talk about everything you missed in the past few years.
Five years ago
The breeze in your hair feels different, colder, and sharper than before. The waves are louder, crashing against the shore as if a storm is about to begin. You don’t know what the weird feeling in your belly means. If it’s just the nerves about seeing Jeno, or something deeper, something you should be worried about.
Jeno is late, which is a first. In the three weeks you’ve been hanging out, he was always here before you, but this time is different. This time you are the one to sit on the icy rock, shivering from the wind as you wait for him to arrive. You brought a book, one of your favorites. Jeno loves it when you read to him, finding it oddly comforting. He finds it fascinating how humans can come up with such bizarre stories, planning them out to an extent, and making money off them. But he doesn’t complain, he wants you to read to him every night.
“You’re late.”, you say as he climbs up the rock, his body dripping from the salty water. Even though the two of you met up a bunch of times now, you’re still in awe every time you see him. Jeno knows that and he’s been taking advantage of it more than you like.
“Take a picture, it lasts longer.”, he teases with his signature grin. Eyes disappearing into small half-moons.
“You’re so funny, Jeno.”, you say, rolling your eyes at him. “Don’t distract from the subject. You’re late. Hasn’t anyone told you that it’s rude to stand up a woman?”
“First of all,”, he begins speaking, brushing the wet hair out of his face. “I didn’t stand you up, I’m here now. And second, you’re hardly a woman.”
A gasp leaves your lips, punching his arm slightly. “You’re being mean again. You know I can just leave.”
“No!”, he exclaims, grabbing your wrist to prevent you from standing up. “Don’t leave, please.” His eyes are wide, filled with panic. And for a moment everything is silent. You look down at his hand and tight grip he has on you, wondering what has gotten into him.
“I was just joking.”, you say, trying to calm him down. “Are you okay? What was that reaction?”
He blows out the air he’s been holding and let’s go of your wrist. “Sorry. I don’t know what just happened. I just thought you would actually leave before we could spend time together. Before you could read to me.”
You nod, not convinced by his statement, but trying not to overthink it too much. “Do you want me to start reading now?” He nods at that, turning his body so he can see you better. “This is actually a poem book. I got it from the old thrift shop two years ago. I will read you one that I really like. It’s called ‘Deep Ocean Blues’ and is by an anonymous writer.”
“In the depth Of her lonely ocean blues Neither lost nor found at sea, She buried her dreams Deeper than she could reach And she made herself a humble home Tucked underneath the ocean floor
She found the familiar In the darkness of the water Like a magnificent storm Blue almost black almost gone — Hazy memories floating Reminding her Of what she could’ve been Now crushed and washed away
The more time she spent there The more she began to crave, The weight of water Crashing onto her skin Vast dark space holding her close Like her old dear friend Did way back when
Loneliness He welcomed her back Every time she swam in — He’d play her an old blues song Deep muddy waters Just for her Melancholy fanfare To keep her hypnotized
Mesmerized By the sound of his ocean song, She knew loneliness And treacherous waters Could always find her here Dancing with solace Right on the ocean floor”
Jeno hangs on to every word you read, mesmerized by the words and the meaning behind them. He swears that no other book tops this form of writing. He heard about poems before from visitors at the beach, but he’s never got to actually hear one himself. But he understands the popularity of them. It’s so different from what you’ve read before. It is unique and beautiful.
“Did you like it?”, you ask, looking up from the book. Jeno nods at you with glossy eyes. As you see that, you scoot closer to him, leaving the book lying on the rock as you gently place a hand on top of his. “Everything okay?”
He shakes his head frustrated by this situation, frustrated by what he has to do. Jeno tries to keep his emotions down, to not show you what this is doing to him, but he’s failing. He’s failing miserably and it only makes it harder for him.
“I’m so sorry.”, he whispers, small tears rolling down his face. You reach up, wiping each one away. “This is the last time we will see each other.”
You pause, your hand falling into your lap. “What?”
“I’m so sorry, I wish this could be different. I wish I could sit here forever with you and have you read to me, but this has to end. For your sake and for mine.”
“But why?” The sadness in your eyes destroys him. Jeno knows this sight will haunt him for as long as he lives, but he has to do it. If his father and all the residents of his town find out what he’s doing every night, they will come for him. And you probably as well. They will find a way, he knows that. Nothing is more important than to hide from the human world, to not expose the secret they’ve been keeping for centuries.
“Don’t ever talk to me again. Don’t come here anymore. Please just leave and forget about me.”
“Forget about you?”, you raise your voice, outraged by his proposition. “How do you expect me to forget about you?”
Jeno rubs his temples. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but he didn’t think he would feel his heart break into a million pieces. “Please do me this one favor. Leave. Don’t search for me again because I won’t be here.”
Jeno leaves over, pressing a soft kiss on your forehead. So soft that if you hadn’t smelled the salty scent of his skin, you would not have felt it. “Goodbye, Y/n.”
“No.” You try to reach him, but he’s faster, dodging your hand. “Don’t leave me, Jeno. Please. You can’t leave me.” Tears stream down your face, blurring your vision. You furiously wipe them away to see again. But as you open your eyes, Jeno is gone. Vanished. Like he was never there in the first place.
For the next two weeks you showed up at the same place, hoping to find Jeno again. But he was never there. He kept his promise of not coming again, but you never lost hope. You told your parents about it, hoping they would believe you. But they didn’t. They told you to stop being childish and imagine stuff. Even Mark laughed at you, telling you that he loves your imagination.
And after those two weeks, you started to doubt it yourself. Maybe you did imagine Jeno after all. But it all felt so real. Every lingering touch, every conversation. It all felt real.
Hope became your best friend that day.
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
Jeno doesn’t know what to feel as he makes his way back home with slow swings of his fin. Is he supposed to feel happy? Relieved? Angry? Betrayed? Is it possible to feel all those emotions at once?
When he saw you again after such a long time, he wanted to wrap you in his arms and make sure you would never leave him again. But at the same time, he wanted to scream at you, get all the pent-up frustration and pain out. Jeno wanted you to feel what he felt over the past five years.
Because he did suffer.
At first, he was in shock. Shock of what he said to you, of how he left you. Jeno couldn’t believe he actually sent you away and told you to not ever talk to him again. He didn’t realize what that actually meant to him. Never in his fifteen years of life has he spoken to a person in this way before, always choosing to be nice and gentle, even teasing, and cocky sometimes – though that side mostly came out when he was spending time with you. He couldn’t believe it and he didn’t want to.
After that came denial. He thought that if he just told himself over and over again that it didn’t happen his brain would eventually believe him. If he just suppressed his thoughts about you, he would eventually forget about you. If he just stopped visiting those rocks, he would not long for you anymore. But that never happened. Jeno found himself coming back to the place after waiting two weeks. Every single night, he came back.  He waited in the water, looking out for you, but you never showed up.
The next phase was the worst. Anger. Neither Jeno, nor any other person in his life could recognize him at that time. He started lashing out more, destroying small things that once had meaning to him. Everyone got worried because they couldn’t believe that this was the once so kind prince. Especially his brothers. They tried many times to talk to him, get him to open up to them, but they failed every single time. Even though one brother knew more than the other.
Bargain. Jeno doesn’t like to remember this time. He felt pathetic, weak, pitiable. He was making promises every day to himself, trying to convince himself that he could fix this. That he could fix the two of you. Jeno tried to negotiate with whatever higher power there was to help him get you back, but nothing happened. Nothing helped and nothing changed.
Next up, Jeno was sad. Humans would say he had symptoms of depression. Nothing could make him smile, not even his brothers who normally light up his day just with their presence. Jeno didn’t want to swim around the town to help the people or discuss plans for expansion with his father. All he wanted was to be with you. To sit on your rock, talk about everything and nothing and hold your hand once again. Jeno never thought he would miss someone’s touch so much. Worse enough that he never saw you around again. Not at the beach with Mark nor at any other town event that he could get a glimpse of. It was like you had vanished or maybe something worse.
Lastly, the upward turn. The feeling you get right after the depression lifts. After he overheard the conversation Mark had with Jaemin, Jeno felt relaxed knowing nothing happened to you. Part of him was sad that he would never see you again, but the other part was happy for you. All he ever wanted for you was to live the life you sought, to be happy and carefree. Jeno started to slowly become who he once was again. He spent more time with the people in his town, his brothers and his best friend, Aiya. He felt like he could start over again. Begin a new life, a life that sadly doesn’t involve you.
Acceptance never came. Jeno still lays in bed sometimes, thinking about you and everything he could have done differently. He wonders if you miss him as much as he misses you. If you feel the same longing that he feels. The longing to hear your voice again, touch your skin, and feel the weird swirling in his belly. He fantasizes about you waiting for him on the rock, your beautiful smile welcoming him. He thinks about it so often that when it actually happened, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There you sit, with a beautiful dress on. Your hair gently swaying in the night breeze. Jeno thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, that he was officially losing it. But then he heard your voice, the melody to his song. You talked to him for a few minutes, not knowing he could hear you. And he wanted to say something. He wanted to go up and talk to you, confess how much he missed you, but he couldn’t. It was like he was frozen.
And for the next few nights, the same routine continued. You talked to him, while he just listened to you. And then you were gone again. You didn’t show up and he thought that yet again he messed up. He thought that if he had just sucked up the courage to talk to you, you wouldn’t have left again. But when you showed up again the next day, he knew he had to take this opportunity. He had to talk to you. And that’s what he did.
“I swear if I find him, he’s going to get the lecture of his life.”, Jeno hears a familiar voice mumble not far away from him. A smirk appears on his lips, as he gets an idea. He swims behind a coral, waiting for the voice to come closer before jumping out.
“Talking about me?”, he says, watching the orange clownfish gasp in shock. A laugh bubbles out Jenos’s throat at the shocked expression on the fishes’ face.
“You scared the living bubble out of me.”, she exclaims, frowning at the merman in front of her. Jeno can’t help but let out an even louder laugh, loving the reaction he’s getting. “You think that’s funny?”
“I’m sorry, Aiya.”, Jeno mumbles between chuckles. “You just looked so cute. The way you got shocked.” His best friend rolls her eyes, letting out a huff of annoyance. Jeno knows that calling a fish his best friend might sound weird to some people, but to him it is the most normal thing ever. He grew up with Aiya, always having her around. They went through thick and thin together and he seriously couldn’t imagine a life without her in it.
“You’re lucky I’m the one who found you.”, she says, swimming around the merman. “The king is searching for you and if your brothers would have found you, then-“
“Then what?”, before Aiya could finish her sentence, she gets interrupted by another voice. Turning around, Jeno is faced with the presence of two mermen. To be exact, the probably most important mermen in his life.
“Chenle.”, Jeno calls the name of his brother with a smile. “Nice to see you. And you too Jisung. You got a haircut?” The said boy shows his brother a sheepish smile, nodding his head excitedly.
“Don’t try to distract from the obvious right now.” Not once in his life could Jeno fool Chenle. Chenle has always been attentive, watching Jenos’ every move. It was different with Jisung. The clumsy boy had to put his constant focus on not breaking things or getting caught into an underwater swirl.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” This lame excuse even makes Aiya let out a frustrated sigh. Jeno was never good at lying or hiding anything. Especially not from those close to him. He is an open book, always eager to share the exciting things in his life. So, when he first met you, he almost couldn’t contain himself. He wanted to tell the whole world about you, but he couldn’t.
“Is it about the girl?”, Chenle asks, eyeing his brother suspiciously. In this moment Jeno wished he wasn’t so transparent. He could just deny it, move on and never let the others know, but his hesitation already calls him out. “So, it is.”
“What girl?”, Jisung asks, titling his head to the side. You can almost see the question mark appearing on top of his head.
“Jeno met a girl five years ago. A human girl. He hung out with her for a couple of weeks but sent her away so that dad couldn’t find out about her.”, Chenle explains to his brother, earning a shocked look.
“That’s why dad was so suspicious of Jenos’ whereabouts back then and Jeno was depressed for such a long time.” Chenle nods, looking back at Jeno who nervously bites his lower lip.
“Is she back?” This time another voice speaks up. It’s Aiya who asks the question. He can see the worry in her eyes. Everyone knows what that means. They know what danger comes with interacting with humans. But they also know what happened to Jeno last time.
“She is.”, Jeno confirms, lowering his gaze to the ground.
“What are you going to do?” That’s a question Jeno doesn’t know how to answer. He doesn’t know what he will do, what he wants to do. If he wants to part ways with you again considering your different lives. Or if he wants to be selfish and see you every night like you did five years ago. If he wants to follow his feelings and let himself fall even harder than before.
“I don’t know.”, he answers honestly, earing sympathetic gazes from the three around him.
“It’s okay.”, Jisung speaks up, having all eyes focus on the younger boy. “You don’t have to know right now. Sleep a night over it and then follow whatever your heart desires most.” The young lays his hand on his older brother’s shoulder. “You’ve always been a person I looked up to. Do you know why? Because you make the decisions that work best for everyone. You always know what to do, even in the most difficult situations. Even in situations that would make most people insane over. You will figure this one out as well. I know you will.”
Jeno feels his heart clench, never having heard such sweet words from his younger brothers’ mouth before. “We should go.”, Chenle utters. “Before dad sends out a search petrol for all of us.”
Beginning to swim in the direction of the castle, Jeno catches up with the small clown fish, who swims unusually fast. “Are you in a hurry or why are you racing back home?”, he asks.
“No.”, Aiya answers a bit too fast. “I’m not in a hurry. I’m swimming normal. The way I always swim.”
“Is it because of Jungwon?” Upon hearing the name, the fish stops for a second, before presuming to swim as if nothing happened.
“Jungwon? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jungwon, another clown fish, just moved into a coral in your kingdom with his family, having been lost in the sea for a long time. Your dad welcomed them with open arms, offering them a home to stay in permanently. Aiya and him got along almost immediately, striking up conversations whenever they could, leaving lingering gazes whenever the other one wasn’t watching. Only a fool wouldn’t notice the obviousness of the situation. That fool is Aiya.
“You’re meeting him again today?” Jeno watches his best friend’s reaction closer, trying to read her expression, but she’s not letting anything show. She just continues to swim, ignoring Jeno completely. “Well, I just want to tell you I’m happy for you. Jungwon seems very nice. I hope that whatever the two of you have turns into something beautiful.”
Leaving it like that, Jeno enters the kingdom, waving at the other mermen and mermaids, showing smiles to the fish and sharks. He enters the castle, swimming up to where his fathers’ throne was.
“Before you go.”, Chenle stops him. “Be nice, okay? Father is on edge today.” Jeno nods, slightly worried about that knowledge. But he doesn’t let that face him.
“Jeno.”, his father speaks up with his loud voice, sitting up to be able to look at his oldest son better. A big scepter in his hand and a crown on his head. As long as Jeno can remember his dad has always had white long hair and a white beard, making him look less intimidating. “You kept me waiting.”
“I’m sorry father. I was out helping the villagers.” His father nods shortly, motioning him to come closer, which he does.
“Jeno, what I’m telling you now is something that will stay between the two of us. Don’t tell it your brothers or your little fish friend, you got me?” Jeno shakes his head in agreement, heart already beating faster at what is about to come. “I’m getting old. I can feel my bones weakening and while it’s not my time to go yet, I can’t rule a kingdom like this. You are twenty now. You’re old enough to become a king.”
“What are you saying?”, Jeno stutters out, eyes wide in pure shock.
“What I’m saying is that in two weeks I’m stepping down from my position as king and I will crown you as the next king. I trained you for this your whole life, and I think it’s time.” Jeno doesn’t know what to say, overwhelmed by everything he just heard. “I will get everything ready. Tomorrow will start the preparation, so let’s meet again after breakfast.”
All Jeno can do is nod, before turning around and leaving the room. He realizes he has two weeks left. Two weeks until he will be king. Two weeks until he has to make a decision about the two of you.
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
You’ve never been this nervous in your whole life. Not when you had to hold a presentation in front of 100 students or when you were seven and your mom made you read the poem you wrote out loud to your whole family. Nothing compares to how you feel when you climb up the rock and see Jeno sitting here. For a while you just watch him. You watch his back glittering from the salt on his skin under the moonlight. You listen to the splashing sound his tail makes as the waves of the ocean crash against it. You prepare yourself for what is about to come, fearing that this might take a turn you don’t want it to.
“You’re so beautiful.”, is the first thing you say to him. And you could slap yourself in the face for such a cringey sentence. Jeno just chuckles, turning his body so he faces you.
“What a nice greeting. I could get used to that.” He holds out his hand, gently guiding you to sit beside him. “You look beautiful as well, Y/n. But it’s no surprise, you’ve always been beautiful.” The familiar heat is rushing back into your cheeks before you can even stop it. No man has ever made you do that. Countless have tried, but only Jeno could make you blush like a little schoolgirl.
“I see you still have your way with words.” You keep your tone light, teasing. Not wanting to add on to the tension that still hangs in the air.
“That’s one thing that hasn’t changed.”, he says, a deeper meaning behind those words. He intertwines your fingers with his, tugging you a bit closer to him. Jeno knows he may be moving fast, but he has waited so long to be close to you again. He’s longing to feel you again, wanting nothing more than to hold you in his arms again. You comply, scooting closer until your thigh touches his tail. It’s a weird, yet familiar feeling.
Jeno smiles at you, lifting his other hand to tug a lose strand of hair behind your ear. “I’m sorry for yesterday. When I saw you, all the emotions I held in started rushing out. I never should’ve let that out on you. I’m sorry.”
You shake your head gently, not wanting to hear an apology from him. “You don’t need to apologies for voicing your thoughts and emotions. I’m glad you did. If you hadn’t done it, I would have never known how much I meant to you.” You take a deep breath, tasting the salty air on your tongue. “Moving was the hardest thing I’ve had to do, because it meant I had to leave the things I love behind. My friends, my school, and you. Not one day has passed that I didn’t think about you. I never forgot about you, even though you told me to. I have to admit, I had a phase where I thought I imagined you. That I made you up because I was lonely, but I quickly realized that that’s stupid. I could have never imagined something as wonderful as you.” You watch a single tear drop fall down the boys’ face and you quickly raise your hand to wipe it away. “I’m sorry for leaving and I’m sorry for never telling you. If I could, I would redo everything, but since that’s not possible, let’s live in the here and now.”
Jenos’ smile gets even bigger, consuming his whole face and forming his eyes into little halfmoons. “Thank you for telling me that. I really needed to hear that.” You just shrug your shoulders, trying to play it off, but it’s not working. Jeno sees right through you. “Can I kiss you?”
The question comes unexpected, catching you off guard. Your mouth gets dry, and your head empties of any thoughts. It’s like your brain stopped working, unable to give commands to the rest of your body. The only thing you can do is nod. You can hear Jeno mumbling a small ‘cute’ but you don’t pay attention to that. Because the next thing you feel is Jenos’ hand on your cheek, leaning down until your noses are touching. He looks into your eyes one last time, before closing the remaining space and placing his lips on yours.
Fireworks light up in the sky. Sirens are heard all over the world. Suddenly you understand all those love songs. This feeling is worth writing a three-minute pop hit about.
Jeno kisses you with such gentleness as if you are porcelain and kissing you harder would break you into a million pieces. His lips are soft, slightly chapped but nevertheless soft. The hand on your cheek gently caresses your skin, making your heart skip a beat. Your hands are on his sides, touching the exposed skin. Jeno shudders a bit as you stroke his rib cage, swallowing a small groan that threatened to leave his lips. He pulls you even closer until you’re on your knees, chest touching his. He can’t get enough of the feeling of your lips, and neither can you. Enjoying every last bit of it until you eventually have to force yourselves apart to breath.
Jeno leaves a few gentle kisses on your cheek, making his way to your neck. He innocently places a kiss on the place where your neck meets your shoulder, giving it a few kitten licks, before lifting his head again to look at you. His eyes are small, pupils dilated, feeling as if he was high. Maybe he was high, and your kisses are his drugs.
“I never want to stop doing that.”, he says, his voice raspy and deeper than before. It sets a set of butterflies free in your belly.
“Me neither.”, you admit, still panting from the kiss. You let your head drop on his shoulder, smiling to yourself at what just happened. Jeno wraps and arm around your waist, also not being able to fight his own smile.
“How was your talk with Mark?”, Jeno asks after a while.
“It was okay.”, you answer with a sigh. “As okay as it can be. But we talked for a long time, and I think it brought us closer as well. So, I count it as a success.”
Jeno squeezes your waist, affirming that he’s glad to hear that. He knows how much Mark means to you. That’s why he’s genuinely happy you two could work it out.
Having Jeno so close while the waves form a gentle melody, you can feel your limps getting heavy and your eyes dropping every now and then. You can’t help the yawn that leaves your lips either, making Jeno chuckle.
“It’s time for you to go to bed.”, he says, but you just whine in responds. You don’t want to leave, loving this moment too much to let it go. “It’s okay, my love. We will see each other tomorrow again.”
“Promise?” You look up to him, searching his eyes for an honest answer, which he gives you with a small smile on his lips.
“I promise. Get home safe and sleep well. I will be here, waiting for you.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
Dazed. That’s how you feel as two weeks pass by. Jeno and you have been meeting up every single night, talking to each other, playing games, and most importantly kissing. Most of your time together was spent kissing. You never leave without having your lips sore.
You feel like you’re floating on a cloud, tasting the sweetness of eternity. Those two weeks were the happiest you’ve ever been and that didn’t go unnoticed by your friends. Mark has been asking you questions about it nonstop, wanting to know who your secret boyfriend is. But you keep your mouth shut, telling him there is no secret boyfriend. Even though both of you know that’s a lie.
Currently helping Jaemin transport an order of flowers to his costumer, you notice how quiet he was. Jaemin has always been quiet, more reserved, but not like that. He would always talk to you, ask you about your day, but not today. Today he seems distant, deeply kept up by his thoughts.
“Are you okay?”, you decide to ask him, trying not to let the flowers in your hand fall to the ground. When Jaemin asked you to help him carry the flowers across the town, you hesitated. He never asked you for your help. But being the nice person you are, you eventually agreed. Now you at least have the nice sent of the freshly trimmed flowers right under your nose.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”, he says, seeming like he just got woken up by a daydream. You let out a chuckle at that, watching his slightly startled expression.
“You sure? You seem a bit off today.” Jaemin shakes his head, trying to find the right words. “But you don’t have to tell me.”, you add. “If you don’t want to talk about what’s going on, I totally accept that. But I’m always here if you need me.” The boy smiles at you, showing off his teeth. You’ve always loved how Jaemin smiled, so bright and full of joy. It’s what caught your attention first and what eventually made you fall for him.
“There is something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”, he starts, his voice raising a bit like he’s trying to build up the confidence to say whatever has been on his mind. You just nod, signaling him to continue.
“Ever since we’ve been children, I’ve had the biggest crush on you. I loved how kind you were to the people around you, how you never judged anyone, how you didn’t let stupid stereo types cloud your vision. You opened your arms to everyone without hesitating. That’s what amazed me about you. I loved how you could sing every song that played on the radio, how the moment you walked into a room the sun started to shine brighter, and how no matter what happened you always saw something positive in everything.” He smiles to himself, fond of those memories. “But I never felt good enough. I never felt like I was worthy to love you, worthy to have you. I thought I had to become a better human before I can even consider trying to be in your life.”
“You not enough?”, you ask, shock lacing your voice. “Jaemin you were more than enough. Every girl in school had a crush on you because you were the definition of perfect.”
You can see his cheeks turning into a light shade of red, but before you can comment on it, he speaks up again. “Don’t try to distract from what I want to say.” You hold up your hands in defeat, making a zipping motion over your mouth. “Before I could ask you out, you moved away, and I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would never have the chance to ask you out. But that was until you came back. All the emotions I thought were gone over the years came back with one look into your eyes.” He sighs, nervously running a hand through his hair. “I feel like I’m finally good enough for you, Y/n. So, will you go on a date with me?”
You stop walking, mouth agape and eyes wide. This is what your twelve-year-old you was waiting for. The Na Jaemin asking you out on a date. But instead of feeling ecstatic, jumping into the air and screaming your lungs out, you felt sorry. The minute you met Jeno you knew that what you felt for Jaemin wasn’t even close to what real love would feel. The small crush couldn’t compare to actual feelings. And it didn’t change. Your heart is still beating fast, but not for Jaemin anymore.
“Jaemin, god, I feel so stupid.”, you start saying, not knowing how to put your thoughts into words.
“There’s someone else, right?”, he asks, making you look up to him with wide eyes. “Mark told me about it. But he said that you told him there wasn’t anyone, so I thought I could try my luck. Apparently, luck isn’t on my side.”
“I’m so sorry.”, you start to apologies, but Jaemin just shakes his head, waving his hand in the air.
“Don’t apologies for your feelings, or the lack of those. It’s okay. I mean it sucks, but rejection is part of life.” He nods, trying to convince himself more than you.
You stand there, silence surrounding the two of you. Jaemin looks at you after a few seconds, a small smile on your lips. “Whoever he is, I hope he is treating you the way you deserve to be treated.”
You nod at his words, trying not to let the tear that’s threatening to leave your eye go.
“And if you ever find yourself in the situation where he isn’t there taking up all your thoughts, I’ll be waiting for you. Until you’re ready for me.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
“Jaemin asked me on a date.”, you tell Jeno after you two laid down on the cold rock, watching the stars.
“Oh really?”, Jeno asks, not lifting his head from where it lays on your lap. You’ve been playing with his hair for almost ten minutes, enjoying the silky feeling of it between your fingers. Jeno has his eyes closed, basking in the closeness of you. The moment you stepped foot on your rock, he latched onto you. One body part always having to be connected to you in some way. You don’t want to complain, enjoying how openly clingy he is, but something inside of you has a weird feeling.
It’s been lingering in the air for a while now. Like both of you know something big will happen, but none of you want to address it. None of you want to face the obvious elephant in the room. It’s like you know that as soon as the words leave your mouth, it’ll change everything.
“What did you tell him?” The question leaves his lips in a whisper. One part of him fears he might hear you agreeing to the human boys’ proposition, but the other part wishes you would. It would make things easier for him, a lot easier.
“I told him I can’t.”, you say it as if you’re stating an obvious fact. But to Jeno it isn’t obvious. He doesn’t understand it. Why would you choose to stay with him? A merman who will never be able to give you the life you want. It’s not like he can grow a pair of legs and join you in your town. He has a tail, and his place somewhere else. He has responsibilities, such big ones that there is no way around them.
“You should go on a date with him.” As these words leave his mouth, the world stops turning for a second. The sounds stop, no more waves crashing against the shore, no more birds chirping in the sky. It’s quiet, just a dead dreadful silence.
“Why would you say that?”, you whisper, not trusting your voice. You tug softly on Jenos’ hair wanting him to open his eyes and look at you, but he refuses. He tightly squeezes his eyes together because he knows seeing your expression would kill him. Jeno saw it last time, your shoulders sinking, face drained of all color, and eyes filling with so much sadness. He can’t endure that another time, he can’t have your face haunt him again.
“Maybe it would be better.”, he tries to hide the shakiness of his voice, not wanting you to see how much this affects him. “You know since he’s human. He could give you the life you want, the life you deserve. I can’t give you that.”
“Jeno, what are you talking about? You are making no sense.”, you push him off your lap, not wanting him that close when he talks such nonsense.
“I’m making sense. Think of it in a logical way. If you dated Jaemin you could have everything you want. You can see him at all times, go into town with him, travel with him. You can marry and have a family. You can let people see you. You wouldn’t have to stay awake until five in the morning to talk to a creature with a tail. You wouldn’t have to hide away your feelings anymore.”
You scoff, looking at the boy with a frown. “Jeno, don’t you think I know all of this? Don’t you think I know it would be easier to date someone that was human. But I’m still here. Even though I know all this, I still come here every night. Because I want you and no one else, Jeno. Love isn’t defined by a pair of legs, by who knows about it and who not, or by how much someone has to give up. Love means sacrifices, compromises, and agreements. It’s communication, honesty, and trust. It’s what you feel, not what others tell you to feel.”
Jeno hides his face in his hands, fighting not to break down. He is so close to letting it all out. The tears, the frustration. He wishes things could be different, for you both to exist in a world where you could actually be with one another.
Tomorrow he will be king of the town he grew up in. He will have to face bigger responsibilities. Responsibilities that are bigger than love. And he wishes to have just one part of his body, even if it is just a blood vessel, that could be selfish. But he can’t be. This is bigger than him, bigger than you. He can’t risk meeting you anymore, exposing his world and bringing his people in danger.
“I can’t, Y/n.”, he whispers quietly.
“Can’t what?”
“I can’t love you. I want to, but I can’t.” His hands shake violently, fighting every part of his body that wants to show weakness. “I will be king tomorrow. And I can’t lead them to danger.”
“Danger?”, you ask. “But I’m not dangerous. Jeno, I would never do or say anything.”
“I know.”, he speaks with more force. “I know you wouldn’t, but just meeting up with you is dangerous. The potential of someone seeing us, it could bring death to my whole town. You have to understand that it’s just too dangerous.”
“The only thing that’s dangerous is the ocean itself.”, you remark, looking down at the water. “Especially this ocean. It’s cursed.”
“Cursed?” Jeno looks up at you, confusion written all over his face. “How could our ocean be dangerous? It is so beautiful and mesmerising. It would never hurt you unless you hurt it first.”
“Explain that to the people going missing every year. All those fishers that visit our town, fishers that have lived in my town long before I was born. They go out on the ocean and disappear mysteriously. No one wants to go far into the ocean, worried that they will disappear as well. We’re scared of the cursed sea and grieving for those who we lost.”, you explain to him, but the older boy just shakes his head violently.
“Those fishers you’re talking about are threatening our existence. They are not here to explore the sea, they hunt us. They kill our people and threaten to expose our secret, we must do something to protect ourselves.”
You feel devastated, hearing such words coming from the boy you thought was sweet and kind. Never did you think he would support killing your kind, even if it means protection to his own. Isn’t it all about peaceful living within each other? Isn’t it about harmony, not war? Because if you start a war, it’s not going to end. By killing those fishers, they only achieve the opposite of what they want. They draw attention to them, making even more people curious about the mystery of the ocean, of the curse. You can’t believe there is no curse.
“I grew up getting told to never enter the ocean around our town alone. To never go past my knees into the water. To be careful not to cross the protection line they drew for the once who go for a swim. I grew up afraid of what would happen once I got out there. Up until I was twelve, I couldn’t even come close to the shore, afraid of what might wait for me. Town people found ship recks, pairs of shoes and even necklaces of the people who went missing. Some even said they heard screams late at night, but when they went looking there was no one there.” When you look at Jeno there is no compassion in your eyes, remembering what growing up here meant for you. “Shortly before I moved away a little girl went missing. Two days later they found her hair clip washed up on the shore. What did that little girl do to you?”
“She saw my brother.”, Jeno whispers.
“She was nine years old.” Your voice is loud, filled with frustration and skepticism. “Even if she told anyone, no one would have believed her. The same way no one believed me when I told them about you. What would you have done about that? Kill me too?” Jeno stays silent, not daring to answer the sarcastic question you asked. It makes you stop breathing for a few seconds, shoulders sinking. “You wanted to kill me?”
“No.”, he answers. “Maybe. I don’t know. I was scared at first, okay? You saw me and you could have easily told all the fishermen. What if they sent an army down to our kingdom and all because I wasn’t careful?” There is an edge in his voice, like his breaking point is coming soon. “But when I saw you again that next day, I couldn’t bring myself to. You were just so small and harmless. You shined brighter than the stars and your eyes were filled with a curiosity I could only return. I was never that close to a human before, having just watched them from afar. I wanted to know more about you and then I fell in love. Hard and unconditionally. More than a fifteen-year-old should have.”
You shake your head, his words breaking your heart into a million pieces. “Maybe you’re right.” As Jeno previously, you press your lips together, hiding the sob that threatens to leave your lips. You don’t want him to see you cry. Not after everything you found out. “Maybe I should go on that date with Jaemin.”
When you look at Jeno after saying those words, you can see his heart breaking. His eyes gloss over and his whole body sinking into itself. But eventually he nods his head. “Yeah, you should.”
You shakily sigh, looking at the ocean in front of you, passed the horizon where the unknown lays. “So, that’s it?”, you ask him, silent tears streaming down both of your faces. “This is the end of us?”
Jeno clears his throat, wiping away the saltiness on his cheeks. He allows himself to have this moment. This one last moment with you, basking in the comfort of your presence. He allows himself one selfish moment with you just for a few more seconds. Jeno listens to your rapid breathing, enjoying the warmth your skin radiates even though you sit a few steps away from him. When he closes his eyes, he can still feel the roughness of your fingertips stroking his back, your lips engulfing his in a gentle kiss, and your weight on his body, feeling like a warm blanket. One last time, he thinks back to the gentle words you exchanged, the confessions you made, the secrets you shared. He treasures them in a box deep inside his heart, locking it away.
When all that is done, he opens his eyes again, turning his face to look into your waiting eyes. “That’s it. That’s the end.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
A broken heart. A metaphor for the intense emotional stress or pain one feels at experiencing great loss or deep longing. Mark told you that similar to death, there are five stages of heartbreak. Denial, bargain, depression, and acceptance. If you judged it yourself, you would say you’re in the depression stage. You want to be alone, sit in your tiny apartment and eat your sadness away with ice cream. You don’t want the boys to come around all the time, forcing you to go outside and get ‘a change of scene’. They think it helps you, but all it does is remind you of what you can’t have. You see couples roaming the streets, holding hands, and laughing with each other. You see their happiness and all you feel in envy. You want that, you want that so bad, but you can’t have that. Not with the one person you want to have it with.
“I can’t see this anymore.”, Mark speaks up after watching you poke around your favorite dish. The cherry pie. You can’t believe that a few weeks ago, the thought of this pie excited you so much that you couldn’t wait to wake up the next day and taste the sweet flavor on your tongue. But now you can’t stand the cake. The cake tastes bland, lost all its sweetness. Its taste resembles your emotions. “This is your favorite, and you can barely even look at it. You know, I thought bringing you hear would cheer you up, but clearly, I was wrong.”
Mark puts down the rag he used to clean the counter, taking off his apron and making his way to you. He sits down beside you, grabbing your hands and turning your face so you look right at him. “Listen to me. I know, you don’t want to talk about what happened and only a fool wouldn’t be able to see what is going on.” He sighs, trying to find the right words. “And as much as I want to find the person that made you feel this way and make them regret it, I also still remember how happy you were. You never shined as brightly as you did in the time that you spent with them. I could see how loved you felt, and as your best friend, I never wanted to see you differently again. But as your best friend, I also have to be honest with you. It can’t go on like this. You are hurting yourself even more with your behavior and I can’t keep watching you do that.”
You lower your gaze, knowing deep down that what your friend is saying is right. But you’re helpless. You don’t know what to do to change things. How to stop the pain you’re feeling. If you did, you would have done it by now. “I don’t know how to.”
Mark shows you a sympathetic smile, squeezing your hands gently. “That’s what I’m here for. Whenever you’re stuck and you need a helping hand, I’m here.” You nod at him teary eyed, appreciating having a friend like Mark in your life. “Either you move on, find a way to cope with it. Even move away again if you have to. Just for a while to get away from all the bad memories. Or you confront the person once more, talk it out and hopefully then make peace with the situation.”
“I don’t think he wants to talk to me.”, you tell Mark, sadness filling your eyes once again at the thought of Jeno.
“Then make him. If he loves you, the way I hope he does, he will listen to you. He will let you have this one last conversation so you can have peace.”
“You really think so?”, you ask him, hope gleaming in your words. Mark nods his head eagerly.
“Yes, I know so.”
“Thank you, Mark. Thank you for always being there for me, even when I act like a sulky baby.”
That makes Mark let out a chuckle, happy to at least see a glimpse of the normal you back. “That’s what best friends are here for, Sunshine.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
The waves are calm at this time around. The sun having just set a few minutes ago, still tinting the sky in its beautiful colors. It’s almost like a scene out of a movie. And for the first time, you don’t feel scared of the ocean as you take place on the big rock. For the first time you appreciate the beauty of it, even though you know the truth about it.
“I don’t know if you’re here, Jeno. I don’t know if you can even hear me. But if you really love me, the way you told me, you will listen to me now. I want to have one more chance to talk to you again. I can’t leave you behind like this. I know that I will regret it and I know that you will regret it as well.” Silence, nothing but silence surrounds you. “I’m sorry for not showing sympathy for you and your people. I know that you just do what is right to protect yourself, but I still stand by my opinion that it’s not the right thing to do. I will never support those actions, but I’m trying to show more comprehension for your situation. I’m sorry for getting so emotional and not listening to you as I should have. I was stubborn, but so were you. I think that’s one thing we have in common. And I’m sorry for making it so hard for you to let me go. I understand now that whatever we have was doomed to end at some point. We are different, way too different to work out. I built this picture of us in my head. I lived in my own bubble and when that bubble burst, I didn’t want to accept that. I wanted to live a life where the two of us could be together, grow old together. And for a moment, it felt like that could happen. For a moment I was caught up in my own delusions, not wanting to let go. But I know now. I know that what you did was for the better and I’m not mad at you. You chose the right thing, and I couldn’t be prouder of you.”
You see the familiar silver shimmering of a tail appearing right above the surface of the water. This is your sign. You step out of the clothes you wear, a bikini underneath it. Climbing down the rock, you feel the warmth of the water meeting your cool skin. The water welcomes you, engulfing you like a warm blanket, coddling you to sleep. Jeno meets you in the water, wrapping his arms around you and nestling his head in your neck. He doesn’t say anything for a while, just enjoying having you close again.
“Thank you for telling me all that.”, he mumbles, head not moving an inch from where it’s buried. Lifting a hand, you gently play with the hair in his nape.
“It’s my pleasure, my king.” He scoffs at your words, but you can feel his smile against your skin. Jeno lifts his head, looking in your eyes once more. “I still don’t want to live a life where you aren’t in it.”
Your confession doesn’t budge his smile. Instead, he gently lifts his hand, tugging a wet strand of hair behind your ear. “I have a proposition for you. Becoming a king means that you can never be selfish. You have to give and give and give and accept that you rarely get anything back in return. You have to be selfless, caring about the wellbeing of your people. But every once in a while, we should be selfish. We should take what we want and take a risk.” You don’t know where he’s going with what he’s saying, not making any sense yet. “How about once a year we meet up. Right here on our rock. We talk, we spend the night together and then part ways again until the next year. In that way the risk will be lower, but we can still live a life that involves the other person.”
“And when shall that be?”, you ask him softly.
“May 24th.”, he answers, a knowing smile on his lips.
“The day we first met.”, you recall the distant memory. It lures a grin out of you, remembering how small you once were. How innocent and unknowing of how much this small encounter will change your lives. Jeno just nods, having the same small flashback as you do.
“Will I see you next year on the 24th?”, he asks, hope glinting in his eyes. And with the way he is looking at you, it’s hard to say no.
“I’ll be there.”, you promise him, leaning closer until your noses touch. “I won’t leave again.”
And for the last time the two of you close your eyes and let your lips meet in a sweet kiss. Locking the promise of a see you again. Even if it means you have to wait a year.
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
Seven months have passed and while the bitter taste of leaving Jeno still lingers in your mouth, you don’t feel your heartbreaking anymore. You feel hopeful, ready to start a new chapter of your life.
So, when you enter ‘Flora’ with a determination to start this new life, there is not one part of you that feels nervous. You’re sure of your decision, having had months to think about it. Now it’s your turn to choose happiness, to guide yourself into the life you deserve. Because that’s not only what Jeno wants for you, that’s what you want for yourself as well.
You walk through the store, inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers and taking in the sea of colors. You always felt like you belong here, right in this store. It pulled you towards it, ever since you were a child. And only recently have you realized why. When you spot what you’ve been searching for, your heart skips a beat. But it feels right. Never has anything felt so right in your life.
Sensing a presence, Jaemin turns around from where he was watering the flowers. Shock written on his face as he spots you, having just seen you two hours ago.
“Y/n?” He says your name like it’s his favorite melody. Like it’s the only word he repeats before going to bed. Like it’s what gives him the energy to live. “Is everything okay?”
You nod at him, taking a few steps forward. Over the months Jaemin has never left your side. Always making sure you eat enough, taking you out to distract you and even buying you new books whenever you finish one. He was the person you desperately needed in the time of your sorrow. He was and still is the person you deserve. You gradually noticed your fast beating heart whenever he was around you. The way your cheeks would become a deep red shade whenever he complimented you. And how you couldn’t stop thinking about him. But you had to wait. You had to wait until you were over Jeno. Until your heart has healed, put itself back together.
“Remember when you told me that if I find myself in a situation where he isn’t there anymore to take up all my thoughts? And that you will wait for me until I’m ready?” Jaemin nods, mouth hanging open, waiting for your next words.
“I’m finally ready for you.”
Bonus scene
Saying bye to Jaemin with a gentle kiss on his lips, you make your way to the beach. It’s sunny around this time, summer slowly showing its face. You enjoy the sun again, after a long dreadful winter. It feels like a reward after having to wear hoodies and sweatshirts for a long time. Now you can put on your cutest sun dresses again, go to the beach with Jaemin and Mark and live a little. Jaemin and you even planned a little trip to Italy, wanting a change of scene after so much happened in your lives.
You can hear a small yawn from the baby seat you are holding. Looking down you see your two-month-old daughter slowly opening her eyes, waking up from her nap. Smiling as you see her little face scrunched up, not ready to leave the dream land yet. “It’s okay, baby. You can sleep some more.” You can see her calm down after hearing your voice, closing her eyes again.
Shortly after last year’s meet up with Jeno, Jaemin and you found out you’re pregnant. It was a shock at first, not having planned such a thing to happen three years into your relationship. But that didn’t stop you from being excited about it either. Even though you hadn’t planned it to happen, it felt like it was the right time. That got confirmed the second you saw your daughter in the arms of her father. Jaemin loves her, and he’s not afraid to show it. Carrying her around at all times, talking to her like she can understand him. Sometimes he just stops and stares at her with this look in her eyes, like he can’t believe she’s real.
As you get closer to the rock, you can already see the silhouette of Jeno. You don’t know how he will react to the little baby, but you wanted to show her to him. Envolve him into the happiness she had brought your ever since she was born.
When you see him turn around, you can see the hesitation in his eyes as he spots the baby seat. Carefully trying to get a look, but not daring to get any closer. “Is that?”, he asks, unsure of how to phrase it.
“Yeah.”, you answer him with a big smile. “I found out shortly after our last meeting that I was pregnant, that’s why I didn’t tell you.”
He just nods, watching as you take a seat beside him, gently getting the small child out of her seat. Jeno doesn’t know what to say, or what to do. All he can do is observe you. He notices the constant smile on your lips, your eyes filling with so much pride as you look at your baby. You’re a mother, he realizes. And that title has never fit anyone better than you.
“You want to hold her?”, you ask him, giving him an encouraging nudge. And as much as he would like to decline the offer, scared he might do something wrong, part of him is tempted to do it. Just for a few minutes he wants to be selfish. He wants to know what it feels like to sit beside you, having a child in his arms, imagining it was his. He wants to know what it could feel like to have a future with you. A future in which everything is possible. In which he can be who he chooses to be, love who he wants to love. A future that involves you and him. Marrying, having children, and growing old together. He’s been dreaming about that a lot more lately, as if his head was telling him all along that you were expecting a child. He’s been longing a lot more as well recently. Longing for you, your touch, your voice, even just your bare presence. And he’s been making wishes a lot more as well. Wishes to be able to change everything, to leave his life behind and join yours again. Just for a few moments, he wants to feel like all those things could actually come true.
So, he nods at you, letting you place the small being in his arms. Her head rests comfortably against his chest, and you two hear her sigh, as if she found her place. As if she claimed him, and never wants to sleep anywhere else but his chest.
“Someday.”, Jeno speaks up, eyes leaving your child and meeting yours. “Someday in another life this could be us.” Jeno looks at you as if you’re his world. As if you picked the stars from the sky only for him. As if he can’t live without you. “In another life we can be happy together, having a family of our own. And I can’t wait for that other life to come.”
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thronesforkings · 4 months
Note
Hi! I really loved your writing of the Tokyo revengers characters and I would like to request headcanons or scenarios of Kazutora, Chifuyu and Mitsuya with a male s/o who doesn’t want to adopt or have kids and would prefer to have a pet instead, please. Or if you can’t do all 3, can you do only one character please. If it’s ok with you.
Hi there, thank you so much! I can do all of the characters and I even added two bonus characters (*^▽^)/
Sorry this took a bit, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!
Characters: FINAL TIMELINE! Kazutora Hanemiya, Chifuyu Matsuno, Mitsuya Takashi, Wakasa Imaushi, then two surprises (^w^), X He/Him Reader
Prompt: Male s/o who doesn't want human children but animal children instead.
Style: HCs + drabble
Warnings before each character!
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Kazutora Hanemiya [Cat]
Warnings: mentions of disliking small children, Kazutora gets into his head
It would be a sudden question from him
He was curious after hearing [Name] refer to the animals at the pet shop as his children
"Do you want children?"
He asks one night while cuddling
Kazutora was enjoying the random show playing on the TV, well, more so enjoying it as background noise as he was thinking about something he had noticed his boyfriend doing.
"Tora?" The familiar voice pulled him out of his thoughts, looking up at the male who was smiling softly, "I was asking if you wanted to watch something else, you don't seem too interested in this. We don't have to watch-"
"Do you want children? Like a family?" Kazutora asked suddenly, making [Name] stop mid-sentence. Of all the questions he was expecting from his boyfriend that was not one of them.
"Where did this question come from? I'm just curious since I thought that I made my dislike of small children pretty clear." [Name] asked, thinking aloud at the end.
"You call the animals at the store your children." Kazutora explained, [Name] trying not to laugh but failing and giggling. His boyfriend confused about his reaction.
"Tora, I love you but I don't want another human running around. I don't think either of us have the skills to take care of a human child either. Animals are a different form of children. You take care of them, you love them, and they are part of your family. I would love to adopt a kitten, one of the ones that Sushi just had at the store. They are all adorable." [Name] answered, the male feeling a bit dumb at not catching on sooner with his antics. He smiled softly and cuddled into him after a moment, humming.
"Baji will probably let us adopt one of them." Kazutora was glad that [Name] was in the same boat as him with children, opting to have a furry companion around instead.
After annoying Baji he gives in
Sushi had a litter of colourful kittens, no one sure who the father was but they didn't care.
One of the kittens loved both [Name] and Kazutora more than the others
She is the runt of the litter, being a mixed breed between a ragdoll and something else, mainly black with orange tints on her paws and cheeks.
She is very loud when she doesn't get attention and both males are happy to spoil her with toys and treats
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Chifuyu Matsuno [Dog]
Warnings: Injured animal
It was just a normal closing at the pet store
[Name] and Chifuyu closing and locking the store up before going to their apartment and passing out
A whimper stopped their routine actions, both of them looking down the alleyway that the back door lead into
Using his phone as a light, [Name] exposed a small puppy that was covered in dirt
“Hey buddy, what happened?” [Name] asked as he went up to the animal, Chifuyu finishing up locking the store and following him.
“He’s injured. Let’s take him back home and we can help him.” Chifuyu spoke, watching his boyfriend pick up the hurt animal.
Once they were home and cleaned the puppy up, they could see that he had cuts and a broken paw
The two nursed it back to health and [Name] had grown attached to the animal
"He is our child now. His name is Lefty." [Name] spoke with no room for argument (as if Chifuyu wanted to argue with his lover).
"We are only having one child, no matter what species. So he is our child now." Chifuyu said as [Name] laughed. The black haired male wondered how he got so lucky to have such a pretty boyfriend
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Mitsuya Takashi [Lizard]
Warnings: None
It was late at night when the two males were finishing up loading the car with the different clothes that were shown off at a fashion event.
They were about to get into the car when Mitsuya saw movement from the corner of his eye.
Investigating, he found a carboard box that was tipped over, trapping something underneath.
"Love?" [Name] called out as he watched his boyfriend go into the alleyway. He went towards him and saw him looking at a scooting box.
"Here, hold this." Mitsuya spoke as he handed his phone to the other, using it as a flashlight. With both hands free, he carefully lifted the box up and was shocked to see a lizard (not a wild one in their area) frozen in place with the sudden light.
"Aw, he's so cute!" [Name] cooed as he crouched down, offering a hand to the reptile. To both of their surprise, the animal scuttered onto his hand with no second thoughts and clung to him. [Name] handed the phone back and held the reptile with two hands, gently petting it.
"We'll take him to Baji's pet store in the morning, they'll have the proper supplies to take care of him." Mistuya spoke, the two heading home.
This was the intended plan but the universe didn't listen to Mitsuya's wishes.
They brought him to Baji's shop and the reptile got hostile when away from [Name]'s hold.
"Well, I guess you are the owner of a lizard now. I can give you guys the stuff to take care of the dude." Baji spoke with a grin as the reptile calmed down once [Name] held him.
"Taka, he's our child! What should we name him? Hm. How about, Boxy!" [Name] said with a large smile and Mitsuya chuckled, smiling softly.
"He's your child, he only likes you. Just don't let him get into my fabric and we'll be good."
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Wakasa Imaushi [Arctic Fox]
Warnings: Mentions of animal abandonment
Note: Arctic foxes are actually legal to own in Japan, it's complicated but apparently it's legal
[Name] thought it was just a puppy or kitten when he first found the white/silver coated animal in a box outside his shady apartment building
It wasn't until the animal that he named 'Snowball' grew to be larger than normal dogs or cats and didn't eat the normal pet food that he looked into what animal this was
It was Kazutora who informed him of what animal he had taken in.
Now, this whole time [Name] had been keeping this from his boyfriend
Wakasa knew that his boyfriend was hiding something but didn't pry. He trusted him and figured that if it was important then he would let him know.
Though he hadn't been answering his messages so the male was paying a surprise visit to his house. As he got closer, a noise that he could only explain as bark but not quite normal for barks, was coming from the house
"Snowy! Hush! The old lady a few doors down has already threatened to call animal control on you." Wakasa heard as he was about to knock on the door. Doing the action, he heard an animal moving around and trying to jump at the door.
"Snowy, I will put you outside if you continue to be rude." [Name] scolded the animal as he gently held his collar, opening his door to be surprised by an amused boyfriend.
"This is what you've been hiding. Doesn't look like any dog I can think of." Wakasa spoke, letting the fox sniff his hand and the animal rubbed against him. He knew that smell.
After the two went inside and [Name] grabbed some drinks for the them and sat down, the fox climbing up and taking up half the couch while laying on the human.
"This is Snowball, or Snowy. She's an arctic fox. I found her in a box and thought she was just a puppy but found out after I got attached that she is not a dog." [Name] admitted and Wakasa could only be amused at his boyfriend's antics
Snowy grew attached to the male
Soon enough the two moved in together and Wakasa didn't consider the amount of fox hair that would be everywhere
He doesn't mind though, he loves Snowy and would die for her
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Haitani Rindou [Raccoon]
Warnings: Not technically legal in Japan to own a raccoon as a pet {It is in the state I live in so uhhh, heck yea}
Dating the famous ex-gang member and club owner was busy
After being together for a bit, his boyfriend agreed to be in his social media posts.
The two of them don't care what random people say and sometimes takes the hate and make sappy posts just to piss them off (Rin's idea)
Rin had suddenly gotten busy with his brother and they were dealing with the crimes and gangs that were around their clubs, leaving [Name] to be by himself for a bit
Rin was glad that the drama was finally sorted out and he had been sleeping at the office or at Ran's. He was so glad to be back at the small house that he shared with [Name].
Well he was excited and had texted his lover that he was on his way home, only to be greeted with a nervous looking male blocking the entryway.
"Babe, I love you and I am excited to hear whatever you have to say but can we go inside?" Rin asked, feeling like something was up and he had confirmation when [Name] nervously laughed.
"Okay, but I need you to not be mad when we go inside. I might've done something without thinking and now we might have an extra mouth." [Name] stammered out and Rin wanted to scream, he was not about to have a child. He barely raised himself, he can't raise another human. He followed his boyfriend into the house, it seemed normal and there wasn't an extra pair of shoes so maybe it wasn't a child.
"Trash!" [Name] called out, Rin concerned about why he would be calling the new member 'trash'. He was still convinced that maybe it was a kid but he watched a chunky animal ran up to [Name].
"So this is Trash. I found him in the dumpster. Just look at him, I couldn't leave him!" [Name] said as he held the raccoon up and Rin looked at the cute chunky animal.
"Next time just say you got a raccoon. I honestly was thinking you brought home another human and I was going to have a break down." Rin said with a sigh in his voice, [Name] giggling as he held the animal like a small child.
Rin wasn't about to admit it but he was jealous of the new house member
[Name] would be playing with Trash and Rin would just take the male away, wanting his attention.
Trash warmed up to Rindou quickly
He slept on his chest and [Name] loved it.
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Akashi 'Sanzu' Haruchiyo [Kittens]
Warnings: None?
Sanzu was particular about many things and pets was one of them
He never had time for them growing up and never understood why people had them
To him it was just another being that couldn't take care of themselves and provided nothing
He never brought up the topic of pets but never entertained the conversation either if it came up.
So when he got a text from his boyfriend, stating that Senju was the one to blame,
He was a bit confused and worried, finishing what he was doing with his friends right away and going home.
Sanzu entered the house to see his sister and boyfriend sitting on the floor with boxes around them.
"So what did my sister convince you to get?" Sanzu asked first thing as he took his shoes off.
"Haru-Nii! I had no say in this-" Senju started but [Name] hit her shoulder
"Don't listen to her, she played mind games and convinced me-" [Name] started but Sanzu was soon greeted by the topic that was being avoided.
A tiny black and white kitten ran up to him and tried to climb up his leg. Soon there were two more kittens that went to him as well and rubbed against him and yelled at him.
"Kittens?" Sanzu spoke as he watched them rub against his ankles.
He gave in after a few minutes
They are adorable and he can't deny it
Since there was three, they all named one
Sanzu named the black and white one, 'Cow'
Senju named the mainly black with two white spots where her eye's were, 'Klepto'
Then [Name] named the orange one 'Taiyaki'
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v3nusxsky · 1 year
Note
Hey love!! How are you? If your not to busy, Can you do a larissa x fem reader where r doesn't want to celebrate her birthday so larissa finds other ways to make her happy on her birthday. Lots of smut please!! Thank you have a good day♡♡
Birthdays are hard but so am I | NSFW
*Authors note~birthdays can be such a difficult day for some people for a verity of different reasons so I hope this helps people who struggle*
Trigger warnings~ daddy kink, shifted Larissa Weems degrading praise oral smut
Prompt~ see ask^^^^
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You dreaded the day your birthday would show itself. Every year the same, you couldn't find it in your heart to celebrate a day you'd always been told was the worst of your parents lives. You'd heard of parents spoiling their child rotten and doting on them all day. Yet that wasn't what you knew so you just ignored it. As you got older your parents forgot and you never really reminded any friends or people in your life. There was no need, after all it was just another day.
Yet this year, Larissa Weems was in your life and thanks to hiring you to work at Nevermore Academy as a potions professor. A few weeks before your birthday Larissa tried to subtly find out what you wanted to do for your birthday but you immediately became upset and shut the conversation down. That's when it clicked for Larissa, your family and lack of wanting to celebrate your birthday, it all made sense. So she would have to celebrate with you in a low key but sentimental manner that wouldn't make you feel like it was purely birthday related.
October 12 rolled around quicker than you thought but so far nothing was out of the ordinary. You woke up by your lover pressing kisses all over your face, like every morning. You both showered together and got ready for work, kissing each other goodbye before going separate ways. Your classes flowed nicely, and before you even knew it, you were heading back to find Larissa Weems.
Larissa was one for romance, but you were totally surprised to see a trail of different coloured petals leading to your shared bedroom. "Ris?" You called out for her only to be stunned into silence, there she lay wrapped up in the most beautiful emerald lace. You allowed your eyes to rake over her beautiful curves before landing on what was currently straining in her panties.
"Ris? Is that a?" You mumbled trailing off distractedly. "It is my darling, now how bout you come help daddy take care of my problem here, it's rather tight" her voice was practically a purr at this point and it was a suggestion you were happy to act on. You honestly looked like a kid at Christmas seeing her all pretty and tied up for you to unwrap, something you made quick work of. "Darling you too, take it off" she whined tugging at your clothing which caused a chuckle to escape before you joined your girlfriend in her naked state. Your lips trailed over every inch of her ivory skin. You would never get enough of the intoxicating love of your life.
Larissa used her strength to flip you onto your back, after all tonight would be all about you and your pleasure, even if her cock was almost painfully hard for you. "Let daddy spoil you my love" was all she offered before her lips and hands went on tracing patterns on your skin, the little gasps for air and whimpers of need spurred Larissa on with her exploration of your body. "Daddy" you whined knowing she'd get the message. With a gently nip to your hip bone Larissa settled between your thighs.
"Oh darling, you smell absolutely delicious" she mumbled against your thigh before lapping at your soaked sex. "Oh daddy!" You whimpered, "fuck daddy, your tongue." Your pleads driving Larissa insane and spurring on her movements. "Daddy!" You whined, "mmm cum please" you mewled as your hips bucked up towards her mouth to allow the older woman's tongue to reach deep into your walls. That was all it took for you to absolutely douse her tongue in your cum.
Larissa's hand slipped down to tug on her thick dick while she lapped your folds, cleaning up the mess you made for her. Once you came back from your high you caught sight of her palming her hard cock you just knew you had to have her inside you. "Daddy, can I?" You mewled giving her the best puppy eyes you could muster, "want you inside me" you whimpered batting your eye lashes to further the innocent look. "You want daddy's special gift?" She teased before kissing her way back up your body.
"Gonna take it darling? It's just for you"she mumbled against the smooth skin of your neck. "Please! I'll be good daddy, just wanna feel you inside me" you whimpered rocking your hips upwards as she teased your soaked folds with the bulbous head of her cock, mixing your slick with her pre cum. "Shhh baby, daddy's gonna take care of you"she murmured stealing a sweet kiss as she slipped into your warmth.
"Daddy" you mewled feeling her hit the spot within you that only she could reach. "Oh darling, you feel so good for me, so fucking tight, dirty girl for daddy" she moaned happily suffocating in your cunt. "More daddy" you are whimpered which resulted in a harsh slap to your thigh, "manners slut" was growled towards you. "Please" you squealed as she began to thrust into your sex, "daddy fuck fuck please oh god" you whimpered over and over as she bottomed you out, the room filled with your shared moans of pleasure, the obscene wet sounds and the sound of skin colliding with skin.
"Oh baby, you feel so good, daddy wants to cum inside this tight fuck hole, make daddy cum darling" she panted as your right leg slipped over her shoulder to create a deeper angle. "Oh daddy fuck need to please" you mewled incoherently. "Oh fuck baby, keep squeezing my dick like that, take it baby!" She all but growled as her pounding became irregular indicating her own climax was quickly approaching. "Daddy please wanna" you mewled as you felt your walls flutter around her pulsating cock. "Fuck daddy's gonna fill your slutty cunt up baby, happy birthday darling!" She mewled shooting thick white spurts of cum into your needy core. "Daddy" you cried as you came with her, the feeling of her painting your walls white driving you crazy.
Larissa slowed her pace to bring you back to earth slowly, loving how fucked out and blissful you looked. You didn't even realise she said happy birthday as you were too blinded by your own pleasure. Larissa had some how managed to clean you up gently and shift her anatomy back before you were ready to deal with words, "Ris?" You whimpered sounding so vulnerable, "did you say happy birthday?"
"I did baby, I know you didn't want to celebrate but you my precious girl are worth celebrating and I wanted you to feel just how much I mean those words darling." Birthdays were certainly something but never had you felt so loved and cared for like you did tonight, a happy birthday indeed.
Word count~ 1227
Tag list ~ @enchantressb @fortheloveofaproditesblessings @medeaswifey @scream-queenlover @larrisalessopet @briennethebeautysstuff @xx-state-of-mind-xx @i-write-sometimes-maybe @farahtissaiamyloves @just-your-casual-nerd
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holdmytesseract · 1 year
Text
It's Okay To Be Scared
Daryl Dixon x fem!Reader
Summary: A 'slumber party' ends in a distaster for you and your son. Can Daryl save you two?
Warnings: usual twd stuff, walkers, weapons, angst, panic? fluff! Daryl being an amazing dad and husband
Set in Season 4!
Word Count: 2,5k
a/n: Here we go! 😄 This just randomly popped up in my head, when I watched this scene (I think you'll know which scene I mean.). I had to write it, hehe. ☺️ Also, Teddy's the cutest. I love him. 😍
Divider by my lovely friend @fictive-sl0th <3
Tagging: @km-ffluv @stitchintimefan @sweetpeapod @loz-3 @peaches1958 @fictive-sl0th @lou12346789 @bookofsecretjourneys @azanoni @fuseburner @hotgirlsshareaccounts @in-this-minute
Masterlist
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"Mommy?" You turned your head at the sound of your five-year-old son's quiet, hesitant voice urging to your ears. "Hey, bud, what's up?" You smiled at the young boy, squatting down to be on an eye-level with him. The bright sun of Georgia shone through the barred windows of the C-Block, dipping the grey hallway in a soft yellow light. The sunrays got caught in the little boy's brown curls, causing them to shimmer. He may have inherited Daryl's hair colour, but not his actual hair. The kid definitely had your soft curls. Your eyes scanned your son's face and body. From his blue-grey eyes, which resembled his father's, over his little snub nose and rosy cheeks, all the way down his slightly too big clothes. His black t-shirt fitted him perfectly, but the jeans vest was definitely too big, just like his tattered and ripped jeans. You had to smile. He looked so much like his dad. Speaking of... "Where did you leave your daddy, huh? I thought you wanted to help him outside, checking the fences?" You wouldn't have let him join his dad, if you weren't aware that the boy was in the safest hands possible. He nodded, but looked at you with a sad and angsty expression. "Y-Yes, but... There were so many m-monsters, I-I got scared." Your expression softened, before you pulled the boy into a hug, "Oh baby..." and kissed his head.
It hadn't been easy for Teddy to understand, that the world was suddenly different now. Dangerous. Scary. He had been still a toddler when the world went to shit, but that didn't make it easier to explain. Why there was so much blood and death. Why there were suddenly scary looking people, who wanted to literally eat him. You and Daryl had a hard time adjusting Teddy to all of this. He had already seen so much. Things a kid should never see, but you couldn't change it. It wasn't in your hands. You never wanted this life for him, but it was how it was now.
Teddy looked up to his dad, of course, saw how Daryl helped the group, got food on the table and so on. His dad was his hero, without a doubt - and he wanted to be just like him. Be just as brave and fearless. The problem? Teddy was, after all still a child - and got scared very easily. Something he inherited from you. You were just the same, especially as a child and quite often even today. Some might say Teddy was a bit all bark and no bite - what you thought was quite cute. It was okay for him to be a child. He had to grow up into a man soon enough...
"You know that it's okay to be scared, yes? Always remember that, because being scared helps us sometimes. It's important." Teddy cuddled closer against your chest, both little arms wrapped tightly around you. "I-I know, but daddy's never scared..." You backed up from the hug, shaking your head. "Oh he is, Teddy. He's very good at hiding it." You said, running your hand through his long hair. It reached almost his shoulders by now. You could've cut it, of course, but Teddy looked way too sweet with longer hair. The boy nodded, although visibly not entirely convinced by your words and shuffled his feet nervously. "What was it you wanted to ask me, sweetie?" You decided to change the topic, distracting your son's mind from the walkers. It seemed to do the trick. Teddy smiled softly. "Can I stay at Nick's cell tonight?" Nick - one of the Woodbury kids and now Teddy's best friend. "Of course, bud. Does Nick's mama know?" Again, the boy nodded. "Uh.Huh... Nick said he's goin' to tell her." "Perfect." You smiled at him and stood up again. "Now go out play, while the sun's still out. I saw Patrick and Carl playing soccer outside. Maybe you can join, huh?" Teddy nodded, but tugged nervously on the red bandana around his neck, which his daddy had gifted him. There was something else occupying his mind. You could tell. "Is there something else, sweetie?" Once more he nodded, blue-grey eyes meeting yours again. "Can you, uh, stay with me tonight, mommy?" "At Nick's?" "Uh.Huh..." You smiled softly, tucking a few wild curls behind his ear. "I thought you are such a big boy already?" "Y-Yes, but... Please mommy..." Teddy looked at you with big, pleading eyes - and suddenly, you had a guess. "Are you having nightmares again?" The little boy nodded, grimacing, in order to suppress his tears. He tried so hard to be strong. "Oh no, I'm so sorry. Come here, baby." You opened your arms for Teddy again. An offer he took gladly. You lifted him up in your arms, not caring that he got pretty heavy for you to lift meanwhile. A few silent tears wetted your t-shirt. Teddy was plagued by nightmares almost regularly. He always had a hard time sleeping peacefully, but since the death took over the world, it became even harder for him - which was understandably. And whenever he woke up at night, afraid and crying from another nightmare, the only way to help Teddy was his dad. When Daryl wasn't here, you tried to help your son as well, but nobody was as helpful as his daddy.
"I'm coming with you tonight, okay?" Another nod. Teddy wasn't a child of many words - just like another important man in your life was. His small tear-stained cheeks glistened in the sun, causing your heart to ache. You knew exactly what you had to do now. "C'mon." You adjusted him on your arms, before you left the C-Block and made your way through the corridors out on the yard, eyes searching for your husband. Luckily, you found him pretty quick. He was preparing for the run he was about to go on, with Sasha, Glenn, Tyreese, Bob, Zack and Michonne. Daryl saw you approaching him, of course and was immediately alerted, since you were carrying Teddy. He wiped his dirty hands on a rug, stood up and met you on your way. "Hey, babe." Daryl looked at you and his boy, concerned. "Wha' happened?" "Nightmares," you mouthed, which was enough information for Daryl. He didn't need to know more. He placed a hand on the boy's back. "Hey, buddy, c'mere." Teddy didn't let himself tell that twice, unlocked his arms from around your neck and wrapped them around his father's, clinging to him for dear life. You gave Daryl a sorrow look, causing him to lean over to you and place a quick kiss on your cheek, "I got it." before he turned around and walked away with Teddy in his arms. Guess the run had to wait...
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"Alright, baby, I'm going now, okay?" Daryl nodded from where he laid in the bed of the cell your small family shared, hands crossed behind his head. "Ya really wanna leave me alone tonight?" He almost pouted, causing you to giggle softly. Teddy wasn't your only child sometimes. "You know that Teddy asked me to, but you can join if you want." He scoffed at your words. "Nah, wouldn't wanna interrupt your girl's night." You giggled again and stepped over to him, in order to kiss him. "Love you." "Love ya, too." "Sleep tight, see you tomorrow." Daryl nodded, pulling you in for another kiss. "See ya." You grabbed your things, blew him a kiss and left the cell, tiptoeing down the dark corridors to cell block D. Little did you know, that staying with Teddy that night in the D-block was going to end in a disaster. A deathly disaster.
That night, you slept way too tight, to hear the soft snarling and growling of the polite and kind young man Patrick had once been, nor the heavy, slurping footsteps which passed the empty cell you were sleeping in, right beside the cell Teddy was sleeping in with Nick and Anne - his mom. You were completely exposed to the threat, lurking in the shadows of the night - but you didn't know it. Nobody knew it.
Daryl had been up quite early that day, just like Rick and Carl. He had just slipped into his beige shirt with the torn off sleeves, as he heard a loud noise ringing through the corridors, causing everyone which was still asleep to wake up - without a doubt. He furrowed his brows. It sounded like a... gunshot! Without hesitation, the archer grabbed his crossbow and stormed out of the cell, just like several others. Carol for example. "What was that?!" "Sounded like a gunshot." "Where from?!" Just after the words had left Carol's mouth, another gunshot was echoing through the walls. The answer of Carol's question was quickly answered, causing the man's eyes to widen and heart to run a hundred miles per hour. The D-Block. It came, without a doubt from the D-Block. "It comes from the D-Block." Daryl breathed out, before he started to run like a mad man, straight towards the block; Carol following him.
The scene he walked into wasn't one he hadn't seen before and yet it scared the shit out of him, because he knew that his wife and son were somewhere in the middle of it... There was blood everywhere. Dead and bitten men and women laid on the floor. The still living people ran around in panic, trying to flee from the walkers, which were trying to get another bite out of the people. There were screams and cries everywhere. "Shit!" The archer cursed, his mind immediately wandering to you and Teddy. He desperately hoped that the both of you were alright. Without wasting another second, he threw himself into the fray, killing every walker on his way. "Teddy! Y/N!" He screamed out, eyes frantically scanning his surroundings. It wasn't easy to overlook this chaos. "Daryl!" He heard Rick shouting at him. "I got it!" Signalling him, that he had the door situation under control. Not that Daryl cared about this in that moment. All he cared about was you and his son. Nevertheless, he gave Rick a short, hasty nod, before he continued his search.
"Teddy! Y/N!" He screamed from the top of his lungs through the loud noise. "Daddy!" Daryl heard a child scream out - his child. He would recognise Teddy's voice everywhere. "Teddy!" He yelled again, looking around to find him and point out where the voice was coming from. To his sheer luck he found him - just in time. The boy sat on the ground, crouched into a corner, crying, with a walker stumbling straight into his direction. Daryl's eyes widened in shock, but nevertheless he reacted fast, ran over and rammed his knife in the back of the walker's head, carelessly throwing the dead body aside. "Teddy!" The archer fell to his knees in front of his son, pulling his small, trembling body immediately close to his. "Are you okay?!" Daryl's eyes scanned Teddy's body for any bites or injuries. The small boy nodded, yes, and clung to his father, still crying. Daryl held him close to his body with his free arm, standing up again. "Teddy, where's your momma?!" "I-I dunno." Cried Teddy. Once again, Daryl looked around frantically, still not able to find you - but he found Carol. "Carol!" His best friend turned to face him. "Can ya take Teddy somewhere safe? I-I gotta find Y/N!" Carol nodded, of course, took the boy immediately in her arms. "You go with aunt Carol, okay? I'll go, find momma." Teddy cried even more, but let himself got carried out of danger from Carol. It broke Daryl's heart to leave his son like that, but he had to find you. "Y/N!" He ran to check the cells, killing another walker on his way. Remembering, that Nick's and Anne's cell was on the second floor, he was quick to run up the stairs, checking the upper cells as well. "Y/N!" "Daryl?!" He heard your voice calling out immediately, causing relief to wash over him. You were alive. He found you locked up in a cell, with a dead walker to your feet and another one in front of the barred door, trying to get its filthy hands on you. Daryl was quick to get disposed of the walker and opening the cell door with shaky hands. "Daryl!" You cried out, running into his arms. You were utterly rattled, covered in blood. "You okay, sunshine?!" Daryl asked you, strong arms keeping you close to his body. "Y-Yes, b-but I lost Teddy. I-I don't know where he is!" You cried, sobbing into your husband's shirt. "W-What if he's dead! Oh g-gods!" You felt how your knees gave in, but Daryl caught you. He immediately shook his head, trying to comfort you. "Hey, hey, hey, Y/N, stay with me, 's alright. I found him. He's alright. He's with Carol." "O-Our baby's o-okay?" "Yes, sunshine. He's safe. Teddy's safe." "O-Oh thank g-god... I-I was so afraid of him, b-but I couldn't leave to search for him. T-This walker had me trapped a-and- oh gods..." "Shh, shhh, it's okay, 'm here." Daryl's calming voice urged to your ears, despite the loud noise. "We gotta get you outta here." He said, before hoisting you up into his arms, carrying you bridal style down the corridor, the stair and past Rick. "You got this?!" Rick nodded. Glenn had joined the chaos as well in the meantime. "We got it! Look after your family!" Daryl gave Rick a thankful nod, before he left the horrendous scene and took you back to the C-Block.
The archer laid you down on the bed in your shared cell, before he called out for his friend. "Carol?" No minute later, she approached with a still shaking Teddy in her arms. "Did you find her?" Daryl nodded, taking Teddy back in his arms. "Thank god. She alright?" "Yeah, jus' quite rattled." Carol nodded in understanding. "I'll go, take care of the other survivors." "Thanks." "No need to thank me," she said, giving Daryl a small smile, before she left.
"Daddy... Where's mommy?" His son asked, voice trembling. "She's here, buddy. She's okay. We are all okay, alright? Everything's goin' ta be fine." His words seemed to calm down the boy a bit, but not as much as being back in his mother's embrace. Daryl stayed with you and Teddy for a long while, even after the boy had passed out from all the exhaustion, sleeping tightly. Hopefully without having nightmares...
Now Daryl sat behind you on the bed, while you leaned against his chest, hands intertwined. "What happened?" The archer asked in a quiet voice, eyes trained on the sleeping Teddy. You shrugged your shoulders. "I don't know, honestly. I was sleeping and suddenly I heard those screams. I got up quickly, looked outside - and there were walkers everywhere. People we knew, suddenly turned. Then everything became chaotic. I tried to react and look for Teddy, but then there were those two walkers..." You said, shaking your head at the vivid memory. "Do you know what happened? What caused this? Did Rick say something?" "Not yet, but we're gonna find out."
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stargazer-sims · 2 months
Text
The Ring
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Mishka: Kolya, do you have a minute?
Nikolai: For you? All the time in the world. What's up?
Mishka: I, uh... I have to tell you something. About our engagement.
Nikolai: What about it? That look on your face... You're not having second thoughts, are you?
Mishka: No! No, it's not like that at all. I'll never change my mind about marrying you and being with you. It's just... I think I'm not sure how to do this without being awkward. I mean, I kind of messed it up the first time.
Nikolai: What do you think you messed up?
Mishka: Proposing. It wasn't how I imagined it. I should've planned things better.
Nikolai: Why don't you take a deep breath, and then tell me what's wrong? I think we'll both feel better if you do.
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Mishka: When I asked you to marry me, I didn't have a ring for you. I didn't even get down on one knee like people do in films.
Nikolai: And I told you it was okay. I meant that, you know. It's all right that we don't have rings, and I know your knee was still bothering you so I wouldn't have expected you to kneel.
Mishka: But, I wanted to.
Nikolai: I know you did.
Mishka: So, I'm doing it now. And... I have a ring. I picked it out myself. It's not big or fancy, but I didn't think you'd want a really elaborate one, and it's not a diamond. I’m sure engagement rings are supposed to be diamonds, but I liked this one better than all the diamond ones I looked at. I really wanted this to be special, but...
Nikolai: Deep breaths, Mishka. Remember?
Mishka: Yes. Sorry. This is probably going to sound strange, but asking you to marry me was actually easier than this.
Nikolai: It's okay. You're doing fine. Can you show me the ring?
Mishka: Can I put it on you?
Nikolai: Of course.
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Mishka: It fits!
Nikolai: It does.
Mishka: I had to guess your ring size.
Nikolai: You did good.
Mishka: Do you like it? We can take it back to the jeweller and choose something else together if you don't.
Nikolai: No, I do like it. I love it, actually. I've never seen a stone like this. What kind is it?
Mishka: It's a blue tourmaline. I didn't know either, so I had to ask the lady at the shop. She said blue tourmaline represents serenity, strength and courage. I liked it because the colour's unique and it reminded me of the ocean, but when she told me that, I knew these were the ones I had to get for us.
Nikolai: For us? What are you... oh! You've got the matching one. How did I not notice that until now?
Mishka: Maybe because I was distracting you? But I only put it on when I came downstairs anyway. I’ve only been wearing it for five minutes.
Nikolai: It suits you. Blue is a good colour for you.
Mishka: I was so happy it came in my size. They don't always. Rings, I mean. It always seems like they don't make things big enough for me.
Nikolai: I'm glad it came in your size, too.
Mishka: You don't think it's weird that I bought matching ones, do you? I probably shouldn't have bought a ring for myself, but I really wanted us to have something that's the same, and I wanted to surprise you, and...
Nikolai: Please stop trying to explain. It's absolutely fine, I promise. I love that you wanted us to have the same rings. Every time I look at it, I'll know you're wearing the matching one. Plus, since you already have a ring, this gives me an excuse to find a different surprise engagement present for you.
Mishka: *whispering* Is it okay if I cry now?
Nikolai: I can't tell you not to, since I think I'm about to.
Mishka: *kisses hand*
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Nikolai: You're the most amazing person, Mikhail Vasiliev.
Mishka: But… I'm kind of a disaster.
Nikolai: Maybe, but you're my favourite disaster, and besides, I'm not exactly the poster child for having it all together either. I'm a hot mess, as the kids say.
Mishka: Hot, yes. And maybe you are a mess, but you’re perfect for me.
Nikolai: *laughing* Come here and let me think you properly for my ring.
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waratah-moon · 1 year
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could you do eddie x nerdy!reader with fluff #10 for your birthday drabble-a-thon?
(also happy birthday !!)
10. "You're adorable when you ramble." Thank youuuuu.... awww nerdy!reader is adorable... This really tested my knowledge of punnett squares. 🎂 other bday drabbles 🎂 masterlist / send me a message
"So if the mother has blue eyes and the father has brown eyes, what colour eyes would the child have?"
"Uh," Eddie sucked on the end of his pencil, bouncing his knee beneath the table. "Blue?"
"Have you been listening to anything I've been saying?"
"I've been listening, I'm just not really hearing what you're saying."
"Okay," you sighed, flipping to a new page in your note book and drawing up a table. "So blue eyes are a recessive gene, right? So we'll write that as a lower case b." You wrote a lower case b above each of the top two squares. "That makes brown eyes..." you drifted off, waiting for him to finish your sentence for you.
He scrunched his nose in concentration. "Dominant?"
"Yes!" You cheered, writing a capital B on the left side of the top square. "Let's just say the father also carries the blue eye gene." You wrote a lowercase b on the left side of the bottom square. "So let's put them together. What do we write in the first square?"
"Brown and blue?" Eddie asked.
"Yep, and what about the next square?"
"The same, right? And then the bottom squares are all blue so it's a fifty-fifty chance the kid has blue or brown eyes!"
"Yes, Eddie! You got it," you held out your hand for a hi-five which he eagerly returned.
"Thank you. For helping me. I know I'm a shitty student-"
"You can be a good student when you want to be."
"You're just a really good teacher." He leant back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head. "Did you end up getting into the college you wanted?"
You sighed. College was a sore spot for you, and it was all due to the fact that your parents expectations were sky high. "I got into the college my parents wanted." That had been their dream for you since day one; get your undergraduate degree in biology from MIT and then med school at Duke. They wanted a doctor more than they wanted a daughter.
"You're not excited?" Eddie thought anyone who got into college would be excited, but your flat expression told a different story. "What do you want?"
No one had asked you that. It was never about what you wanted, it was just expected that you would do what your parents told you to do. You didn't even have to think about it before the words came out of your mouth. "I want to study literature."
"Books?" Eddie raised his eyebrows, nodding.
"Not just books. Authors. I want to learn why they wrote what they wrote. And not just the American literature like Steinbeck or Twain that we do in school, but Tolstoy and Dumas. And feminist perspectives like Shelley and Woolf too-" you stopped because he was staring at you. "What?"
"Nothing," he grinned. "It's just you're adorable when you ramble."
Your cheeks suddenly felt hot and the tips of your ears burned. He'd said you were adorable, and he'd said it so casually. You chanced a glance up at him, he was still staring at you, his bottom lip was between his teeth.
You couldn't think of a response, so you looked down quickly and went back to the punnet squares. "That was a monohybrid cross, but if we want to look at a dihybrid cross-"
"Hang on a sec," Eddie put his hand on your notebook to get your attention. "I never told you this, but I actually asked Mr. Loch if you could tutor me. I've uh, kind of had this teensy crush on you for a while."
"You have a crush on me?" Your eyes widened. You were used to being the quiet girl at the front of the class that no one paid attention to. People weren't suppose to have crushes on you... right?
"Well yeah. And it's not teensy, it's more of this big distracting crush thats making it impossible to focus on anything."
"Oh," you felt the blush creep back and your stomach had started doing flips. You'd never thought of Eddie that way, but then again you'd never really spoken to Eddie before you'd started tutoring him last month. He was nice, and handsome, and the way he furrowed his brows when he was concentrating was insanely cute. Okay, maybe you had thought about Eddie that way...
"I know after the test next week you won't need to tutor me anymore, but maybe we could still hang out?"
You nodded a little quicker than you had anticipated. "I mean, we've had a pretty good study session tonight, maybe we could cut it short and get dinner?"
Eddie grinned. "As in a date?"
You nodded, tucking your hair behind your ear. "Yeah, as a date."
"Okay, I just have one quick biology question for you before we go," Eddie covered your hand with his, his thumb brushing over your wrist. "What colour eyes would our kids have?"
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