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#⁑Im just a farm boy in the big city⁑ - Interaction
trunksandcapes · 3 years
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🎧 // for @firstxman​ Hold On - Royal Blood
I know you're tired bein' so strong / But you don't know what you got till it's gone / So don't give up, don't let go / ('Cause I won't) / But you gotta hold on
          The excuse that ‘you’re only human’ doesn’t get tossed around as much when you’re... Not really human. It was one of the things Clark had made sure to say in his debut interview with one Lois Lane, and reiterated it several times after to make sure his secret identity, his first identity, was never found behind the cape. Still, he couldn’t shake the sameness between how he was raised and why he did what he did with the rest of the generous human race. After all, they’re the ones who raised him: Jonathan and Martha Kent had been the greatest humans Clark had ever known, who made him feel like one of them even if they knew he was from somewhere else. 
          But holding a human nurture against what could be seen as an almost Godly nature had him constantly on the move, helping the helpless, trying to be in five places at once, putting out fires at the same time he was pulling people from the burning building. As much as he hated to admit it, being Superman got exhausting. Even being Clark Kent got to be a bit much at times, what with all the meetings he had to skip out on because suddenly the Daily Planet was being toppled due to stray property damage of a rampaging creature causing late nights at the office or in front of his computer, typing away to reach the deadline for the job that actually allowed him to live as Clark. It was confusing, it was tiring, it was a bit much even through all the years he’d been doing the exact same thing.
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          So Superman sought out a few minutes of reprieve every once in a while. Sometimes he’d shoot to the North Pole to wander his Fortress of Solitude, sometimes he’d find a place outside of civilization to take a fresh breath of air, sometimes he’d go back home to Smallville to see if Ma had made pie that afternoon. Today, he found himself on Genosha, just on the island’s shores, staring out at Manhattan and it’s tall, foggy skyline. An errant barge had brought him to this resting space, meant to quite literally only take a fraction of a breath before the exhaustion settled into his bones. He wished the clouds weren’t so prevalent today...
          He looked over his shoulder, getting back up on his feet with a few grunts of effort. “Howdy,” Clark chuckled, giving a small wave. “Sorry for the intrusion. I’ll be out of your hair in a second, I promise. Just enjoying the view from the ground for once.”
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ectonurites · 3 years
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heyyy can you talk about kons dating history or atleast with older women? ive seen a few posts but im not sure but thats so ://///
Ahhh yes. Kon’s dating history, I've finally now finished reading all his solo comics (and had already gone through his team books a while back) so it’s a perfect time to delve into this. I’m kinda broadening it to his love interests in general, as not all of them put an official ‘dating’ label on things, but are still worth bringing up. This is kinda long so sorry in advance about that, but I tried to be as brief as possible.
TW for pedophilia (in these specific cases discussing a 23 year old dating a 16 year old, and another woman without a specifically given age [but clearly an adult] with the same 16 year old) obviously i’m not talking about it positively here but it’s unfortunately necessary to discuss with this topic.
I consider Kon as having five primary love interests in the pre-reboot comics world, which is where most of his dating happened. The ‘criteria’ I guess i’m using to separate them from the others i’ll talk about after is a combination of ‘they interacted for a long time’ and/or ‘the relationship had a big impact on his story/him as a person’. 
I’m also mainly sticking in pre-New 52 world for this because aside from the 'fake married to Lophi to protect her and her kid on Gemworld' thing in Young Justice 2019, he hasn't done much with relationships since getting officially reintroduced. Then the New 52 version of Kon was a very separate person and even so he was mainly just (sorta) involved with Cassie.
ANYWAYS the main five are:
Tana Moon - Tana was a 23 year old (as stated in Superboy #32) reporter Kon initially met during Reign of the Supermen, the story he debuted in (meaning she was one of the first people he met), who also happened to move back to Hawaii around the time he ended up there on his press tour. The two of them had an on and off relationship from basically the start of the comic until she broke up with him in Superboy #46. She briefly came back into his life in Superboy #72 after having been kidnapped by The Agenda, before being killed by Amanda Spence in Superboy #74. Kon and several others refer to her as his ‘first love’ especially after her death, which weighed very heavily on him.
Knockout/Kay - A woman we find out was originally one of the Female Furies, who works as a stripper at the 'Boom Boom Room’ in Hawaii while trying to keep a low-profile after leaving Apokolips. We don't get an exact age for her but she's very much so implied to be an adult. She hits on Kon from the moment she meets him (she also quite literally uses the term ‘jailbait’ to describe him in her first appearance in Superboy #1) and kisses him several times, insisting on working with him and training him and eventually beginning a more formal relationship with him. She kills someone and he blindly defends her thinking she couldn’t have done it, and she tries to coerce him into killing someone by promising herself to him (before killing the guy herself when Kon wouldn’t do it). The arc mainly focused on their relationship is from Superboy #22-30, but she is a presence in the comic from the start. She is arrested for the murders she committed at the end of the arc, and doesn't interact with Kon much again after as she is in a high security prison, but she is referenced multiple times.
Roxy Leech - Roxy is the daughter of Rex Leech, Kon's agent. From the moment she meets Kon, also during Reign of the Supermen like Tana, she's got a thing for him. Her age is left a bit more unclear, as some bits of dialogue indicate she is actually close to Kon's age but other things like how she applies to the police academy, something you need to be like 20 to do, indicate she's a bit older. Regardless, she’s definitely younger than Tana as she comments on her age at least once. She actively dislikes both Tana and Knockout for being interested in Kon, and confesses her feelings to him during a 'the whole world might end tonight' situation (in Superboy #33). The two of them didn't really date, but there is a period of time where Kon feels torn between Tana and Roxy. Not too long after that she ends up volunteering herself to be used in a procedure to stabilize Kon's dna after it had been torn apart by The Agenda when they cloned him, as the method to save him required someone close in age to him be used as a genetic template. From that point on they considered each other more like siblings, ending the romantic aspect of their relationship (in Superboy #41)
Serling Roquette - Serling is a 16 year old (as first stated in Superboy #57) science prodigy who works in the genetics department of Cadmus, and is the person who manages to cure Kon's condition where he'd been stuck at age 16 (a side effect from the procedure with Roxy). Initially she had a crush on Guardian, but over time grew to like Kon, she was one of the first people at Cadmus he personally tells his name ‘Kon-El’ to. They only kinda start to get together before Tana comes back and then is killed. After a situation where Roxy came back and needed help, when he and Serling try to maybe pick things up again, Kon realizes Tana’s death is still too fresh for him to get involved in anything too serious with her and he breaks it off, leaving them very tense with one another. (Superboy #82) 
Wonder Girl/Cassie Sandsmark - Cassie had an interest in Kon before she even met him, more of a celebrity crush at first than anything else. They share their first kiss in Wonder Woman #153 after she had tried to change her look to impress him and he reassured her that she was already beautiful the way she is. Cassie was present for Tana's death in Superboy #74, and after that Kon is overly protective of her in a noticeable way that actively annoyed her (She points out to him that she can take care of herself a few times, like in Young Justice #29) but eventually at the end of Young Justice (in #55) he confesses feelings for her, and they share another kiss. Graduation Day bringing about the end of Young Justice as a team kinda throws a wrench in things, but early in Teen Titans Vol. 3 they begin to date more formally, and are getting pretty serious together (cough cough they uhh consummate their relationship in the Kent farm's barn in TT Annual #1) right before Kon is killed during Infinite Crisis. She takes his death very badly and joins a cult to try to bring him back, has her whole thing with Tim (who is coping equally poorly with the death... almost 100 cloning attempts babey), and befriends Kara as a surrogate Teen Kryptonian™, but eventually learns to accept what happened and move on. Then he comes back, and everything's a lot to process all over again. She had become the team leader and things were just different than they used to be. They tried to resume their relationship but eventually Kon decided to end it (Teen Titans Vol. 3 #91), because they both wanted different things at that point in their lives, but they remained friends and teammates.
So when people are talking about the ‘older women’ thing, it should be pretty clear from that list they’re talking about Tana and Knockout. Both were adult women dating a 16 year old boy, and neither situation did enough to handle it in a way that addressed it as the problem it was. Knockout’s situation did end up being seen as a bad thing by the end because of the murder parts at the very least, but the age difference didn’t come up nearly as much. With Tana a few people (Roxy, some of Tana’s coworkers, even Tana herself) did bring up the age difference as a potential problem, but they continued to stay together for a pretty long time regardless. The kicker is that she ultimately breaks up with him for being ‘immature’ after he gets stuck at age 16, when it’s like... he’s 16. You’re 23. No kidding you think he’s immature? It was just a whole mess and makes reading a lot of his solo incredibly uncomfortable.
Additionally he has a few other shorter-lived relationships/potential love interests. I’m categorizing them separately because they weren’t focused on in the same ways/for as much time as the girls I listed above:
Trixie (Superboy #94-100) - When Kon gets his own apartment in Suicide Slum, he repeatedly runs into Trixie and the rest of the Slaughterhouse Six, but Superboy inspires her to try to turn her life around. They didn’t formally date but that was definitely the direction things were starting to head towards before his apartment building blew up and he realized he needed to get away from the city where his presence was painting a target on innocent people, and so they decided to just be friends. (This was also when his solo ended, so possibly if the book hadn’t been ending they may have continued longer)
Batgirl/Cassandra Cain (Superboy #85, Batgirl #39-41) - They first met when Kon had been bugging Tim in Gotham, and had a little adventure together that resulted in Batman being PISSED because he didn’t want Cass interacting with Metas (especially not teenage boy ones that’ll flirt with her) and Kon volunteered to share her punishment so she didn’t have to do it alone. They later meet again shortly after Kon moved in with the Kents while on a cruise (and he’s her first kiss!) and afterwards she goes to Smallville to meet him. She’s actually like the first person outside the Kents we’re shown to know his new civilian name is ‘Conner Kent’. After their little attempt at a date they decide to just stay friends.
Lori Luthor (Various appearances with Kon in Adventure Comics (2009) & Superboy Vol. 5) - When Kon and Lori initially meet there’s definitely some interest and she kisses him, but it happens while he’s still dating Cassie so he makes it clear he’s unavailable. Afterwards he learns who she actually is and realizes ‘oh she’s sorta kinda my cousin on the Luthor side’ so he stops really being interested. She’s still interested because she feels like the cloning doesn’t make them really related, and they talk about it in Superboy Vol. 5 #4 after he and Cassie had broken up, but he still feels too raw from Cassie and too weirded out by the situation to have it go anywhere. Kon helps try to get Lex to cure Lori’s mom (Lex’s sister Lena), and eventually when Lex is an ass in the end he finds another way (Some Wayne money through Tim) to try to help her. Lori figures out Conner is Superboy and along with Simon and Sujan helps him to save Smallville from the Hollow Men.
Ravager/Rose Wilson (Teen Titans Vol. 3 #95-100, kinda some parts of Superboy Vol. 6 if ya squint) - This is another of those ‘they didn’t actually date but there was interest’ situations, in the very end of Teen Titans Vol. 3. A fake version of Rose had kissed Kon which was kinda the catalyst for it, where after that moment he became a bit more protective of her once the real her returned. They had a moment where Kon tried to trust her with something (Kryptonite to take him down if the situation arose) but she saw it more as him thinking she was the one ruthless enough to do it, rather than as a token of trust, and left upset. The reboot happened before this really went anywhere/got resolved though, but interestingly enough she became a bit of a support character in the New 52 version of Kon’s life, likely because of this connection they tried to do before the reboot. They never really dated there either, he just referred to her as cute a few times. New 52 Kon is a very separate person anyways, but it’s worth mentioning.
I might be forgetting a few other minor ones along the way (especially if there’s things that weren’t in his main books), and Kon (especially in the 90′s) was the kind of guy to flirt with pretty much every girl he saw, so bear that in mind. But yeah, I hope this helps! 
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babybirdgyeom · 4 years
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you, me and bertha | pjy
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genre: neighbors!au, farmer!au, lots of bickering and alcohol
word count: 30k
summary: when you moved to your uncle’s farm you expected a lot of things - but not to fall in love with your handsome, yet very annoying neighbor park jinyoung, whose favorite hobby was to tease you.
note: i posted parts of this before but never finished it - so i rewrote it all and here it is, the finished story! 
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Walking the long but yet very pretty way towards the small village that, from today on, was supposed to be your new home you felt a bit indifferent. While you were sure that it was time for you to start a new chapter of your life you still were anxious about taking such a big step. Moving to the farm that belongs to your uncle seemed like a good idea to you, the place held such special memories and as a child you always wanted to live here, working on the farm, supporting your uncle and his son, Bambam.
The big city you grew up had nothing to offer you anymore – so now, you wanted a cut in your life. There was nothing you loved more than sneaking out with your cousin at night, secretly meeting up with your friends, going for a swim in the small, but yet very charming lake next to your house. You wouldn't trade those memories for nothing, cherishing each and every one of them.
It's been such a long time since you visited the town, you actually felt a bit nostalgic when you arrived in the center of the town. The residents liked to call the marketplace at the beginning of the town „the heart“ of the city. Ever since your last visit many years ago nothing has changed. Basically, it was a round and rather big circle, surrounded by a small café that has been there all your life, right next to it the library that was owned by the Kim's, the parents of Bambam's closest friend, Kim Yugyeom. You couldn't help but smile as you remembered how you used to hide in the library, reading the same few books over and over again. Opposite of the library was the old restaurant – every single rather important event was celebrated in that restaurant, may it be birthdays, anniversaries, New Year's Eve or whatever other reason there was.
It was so popular not only because of the delicious food they had but also because it was literally the only restaurant around. Your uncle and your neighbors, the Park's, were providing them with the food they needed, so you usually always got food for free which lead to you and Bambam spending a lot of time at the restaurant, no matter how often your uncle insisted he could cook dinner for you.
And last, but certainly not least, there was the little pub that you never actually were allowed to spend time in since you used to be too young. The Im’s, the owners of the place, were very strict about that. None of you and your friends were ever allowed to be inside the pub as long as you were minors – even their son Jaebeom rarely ever saw it from the inside.
As you stood in the middle of the marketplace you couldn't help but smile as the last sunrays of this warm late summer day were falling right onto the pub, making it look a bit more beautiful than it actually was. The paint on the outside was splintered and the sign that simply said ‘The Im’s Pub’ was slowly falling apart - somehow all of this gave it a certain charm though. The mentality of the village always made you feel comfortable. There were about 150 people living here if you had to guess and the next supermarket was a twenty-five minute drive away but the people seemed so happy, not worrying about a lot of things.
You decided that a short stop in the pub before you’d go home to your uncle’s house wouldn’t hurt anyone. After all, you were way too curious to finally see the place everyone always used to go after work ended.
As you carefully entered the door you felt cheerful - it looked exactly like you always imagined it to be. Most of the furniture was made out of old wood, the bar was long and it was the first thing one would notice as they came in since it was on the opposite wall of the entrance.
Your smile was a mile wide when you spotted the one man you hoped to find standing behind the bar. Of course, Jaebeom was the bartender by now, it was always his plan to work here, to him it seemed to be the coolest thing ever to be a bartender, especially in his own bar. For a second you studied him, he looked dangerously handsome. Certainly a lot taller than the last time you had interacted with him and his face looked more mature, a sharp jawline and high, defined cheekbones, his hair styled back making him look almost evil with the combination of the tight and dark shirt he was wearing and the nose ring shining in the light. If it wasn’t for the two moles under his eyebrow you would have to look twice to be sure it was the same Im Jaebeom you spent so much time with as a child.
The expression on his face as he recognized you, the young lady from out of town, was priceless - his whole relaxed and cool facade vanished immediately as he looked at you with his eyes wide open, a questioning glance as he saw you. He was caught off guard, his mouth slightly open.
“Just the man I hoped to find. Im Jaebeom, you look good,” you flirted as you walked towards the bar, “I’d like to have one beer please.”
Within seconds he was walking away from his place behind the bar to come and embrace you in a tight hug before mustering you, shortly studying your face to make sure you were really the person he thought you were.
“(Y/N), live and in color? I thought you forgot about us,” he joked cheesily, his hand holding your chin.
A joyful laugh came out of your mouth as he walked back behind the bar, opening both, you and himself, a beer.
“You could’ve called, you know? No need to surprise me like this. My old heart can’t take those kinds of surprises anymore.”, he sounded lighthearted, just like you remembered him.
Immediately you felt ten times lighter, clicking with people you haven’t seen in a long time was one of the purest things in existence and you were more than relieved to see that you and Jaebeom were equally as excited to be reunited after such a long time. Not getting along with your old friends, especially Jaebeom, was one of the many fears you had about moving here.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think Bambam would actually keep quiet about me coming back.” you admitted.
“How long has it been since we saw each other?”, he asked as he was leaning against the bar, his whole attention on his former best friend, still having an obviously hard time to believe that you were actually sitting in front of him right now.
Before you could give him an answer someone else started to talk from behind you and you immediately recognized his orotund voice, “Six long years.”, your cousin said while he and another familiar face walked up to you.
Bambam pulled you into an even deeper hug than Jaebeom did and you felt home within seconds. Yugyeom was right beside him, of course, where else would he be than next to Bambam? The two of them still were inseparable apparently.
“How did you manage to not say anything?” Yugyeom said in shock before looking at you, “It’s good to see you again, (y/n). I can’t believe Bambam didn’t tell us.”
You were almost amazed at how much he grew, his chin could easily rest on your head by now, something that you would’ve never thought could happen. Yugyeom has always been the youngest and smallest kid back then and now he was the tallest in the room.
“I wasn’t sure if she’d actually come. Didn’t want to get your hopes up, Yugyeom,” he teased his friend, still nagging about the crush he had on you when you were five years old. Yugyeom rolled his eyes at his comment before bringing his attention back to you and Jaebeom, sitting down on the stool beside yours.
“So, how long are you going to stay?” Jaebeom asked suddenly.
For the first time, you actually had to say the truth out loud, making it feel much more real.
“I’m not planning to leave again,” you sounded more confident than you thought, the nice encounter with your old friends almost making you feel like you had nothing to worry about.
There was a moment of silence, both of them not knowing what to say, broken by Bambam when he let out a laugh.
“You know, I never saw you speechless until now,” he said amused.
“You mean-”, Yugyeom started to form a sentence but dropped it, not knowing how to continue.
“You’re moving here?”, Jaebeom asked, wrinkles on his forehead as his brows narrowed in confusion. As you slowly nodded his concentrated expression vanished and changed into a grin. “You’re actually moving here.”, he repeated breathlessly, more to himself than to you, slowly nodding to himself as if he had to progress the new information, “Welcome home then, (y/n). Let’s celebrate a bit.”, he said while pouring shots into a few glasses in front of him.
Time went by fast and you had fun learning about what happened in the last six years. It didn’t sound like a lot has changed though, they were still as close and as fun to be around as last time. Every time you looked at them it hit you how fast time flew by, it felt like a few months ago that all of you were playing hide and seek in the middle of the night while your parents had no idea you sneaked out. Those teenage boys were adults now, or at least on their way to becoming some.
A few hours and many shots later, you and Bambam walked home, the night sky was breathtakingly clear and full of stars - a sight you could never see in your hometown. You forgot how special it felt to walk under millions of stars.
Walking home with Bambam was your favorite part about today, you definitely missed him the most. He told you a bit about how Jackson and Mark are thinking about taking over the old restaurant because the owners are getting too old to manage everything and about Yugyeom and Youngjae being into the same girl, without knowing that Mark is dating her secretly.
As you arrived at home your uncle was sitting in the rocking chair on the porch in front of the old farmhouse.
“Uncle Minwoo,“ you almost shouted out as you saw him, jogging over to where he was sitting.
Minwoo always was your favorite uncle and you were his favorite niece, much to the dislike of your siblings.
“(Y/n),” he laughed as you hugged him, “you smell like you had a good time in the pub.”
“We actually have a small surprise for you,” Bambam told you to follow him.
He lead you to the old little cottage that has been on the farm for as long as you were able to think – back in the days it was mainly used for storing tools and electronics that shouldn’t be exposed to the rain. A bit confusion coming over you, your uncle handed you a key and you opened the small hut. Stepping inside, you couldn’t believe your eyes.
“Welcome home,“ your uncle said as you observed the comfortable room. A small kitchen, a couch and a TV in the living room, a bed on the other side of the room. They painted the walls white and decorated a bit, making you feel touched. You were sure you could stay here forever, it looked so cute and welcoming, like a real home. Not a thousand words could describe how much you appreciated them for putting in so much effort, just to make you feel comfortable.
As you thanked both, Bambam and your uncle, you sat down and all of you talked a bit until your uncle told you to go to sleep. Work wouldn’t wait for you and you were thankful for any second of sleep you could get.
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Waking up the next morning, you immediately regretted the alcohol you were having yesterday. Your phone said it was currently six in the morning and while being woken up by the sound of chicken and cows was way more relaxing than your alarm clock you still would have preferred to just sleep in.
Walking outside a few minutes later you inspected the farm – it was a giant property with two big houses on it. Half of the farm belonged to your uncle, he took care of the animals, the other half belonged to the Park's, in charge of the harvest.
Starting the day with feeding the chickens and collecting eggs was one of the easier tasks you had to face today since it almost didn’t require any kind of skill. While you were picking up another egg you suddenly heard someone scream at you from behind.
“Hey! Put the eggs back! Who in the world steals eggs these days?”, the deep voice belonged to a man but before you could turn around to find out who was screaming at you, he held your wrists behind your back, not giving you any space to move.
Your attempt to free yourself was almost embarrassing, you had no chance.
Turning your head around to scream at the stranger you muted as soon you met his eyes - the words you wanted to scream wouldn’t come out as you looked into the familiar face of his.
His thick eyebrows were furrowed, his dark eyes were piercing you, filled with a mixture of anger and annoyance - he was staring at you and waiting for an explanation.
“Par-,“ your voice died and you fastly cleared your throat, “Park Jinyoung?”
His annoyed expression changed into a confused one as you called him by his name. You couldn’t believe he was accusing you of stealing eggs.
“Let go of me!” you demanded but Jinyoung wasn’t planning to listen to you.
“Who are you?”, he asked harshly, “You’re not from here. How do you know my name?”
The grip on your wrists became tighter and actually started to hurt a bit.
“I’m (Y/N). Minwoo’s niece,” you replied just as harsh as he asked you, “Didn’t Mrs. Park teach you any manners?”
He let you go and you immediately grabbed your own wrist just so he couldn’t grab them again. A small pout formed on your lip as you looked at them, trying not to let him see that it actually hurt.
“What are you doing here?” he asked you.
Now you were facing him and you had to stop for a second to take in his beauty. As he was holding you, you didn’t really manage to study his face since you were too busy trying to free yourself but now you started realizing how handsome he became.
It's not like he was ugly before, you and him just never clicked and that’s why you never gave his face any kind of attention. Jinyoung wasn’t a bad guy, you knew that because Jaebeom repeatedly assured you that he was actually a very loving person once you get to know him. Personally, you just never really got the chance to, since he definitely wasn’t interested in anything that had to do with you. Not in a mean way though, he just didn’t seem to care about the girls in town, especially not the one who always came over the summer break and then left again.
Glowering at you, he was waiting for an answer. You, on the other hand, didn’t dare to look him into his eyes, instead, your eyes were studying the rest of his face. His features were sharper and manlier now, his brows thick but he still had the same wrinkles around his eyes. For a second you wanted to look at his lips but you stopped yourself, not wanting him to get wrong ideas.
“What are you doing here?” you asked in retund instead of giving an answer, “Didn’t you always say you wanted to leave this place?”
He rolled his eyes as you avoided his question.
“I asked first,“ he said, making it hard for you not to chuckle at the very immature conversation you were having.
“I am working here. Don’t you have some vegetables to take care of?” you asked coldly before turning your back to him.
“You better get used to my face, if you scare me like this one more time I might have a heart attack.”, you added as your attention back to feeding the chickens.
But instead of leaving Jinyoung was walking to stand right beside you again, “You’re working here? How come?” he asked. It never was a secret that Jinyoung wanted to leave this town, he used to talk about it a lot back then already and, even though he still was here, apparently, he still wanted to leave.
“I’m supporting my family,” you shrugged, not looking at him. You really didn’t want to be cold to him but you were tired and you knew how Jinyoung was, he’d either be totally rude or uninterested.
You could see him shake his head in confusion as you were continuing with your work, “Okay, you go milk those cows and churn that butter if this is what fulfills you, (y/n). I’ll go back to work,“ he pointed at the field of tomatoes on the other side of the farm your families shared and left you alone again.
Walking over to the cows, you couldn't help but wonder why he still was here. He was a very clever guy, he could easily go and leave this town to study and open a business or whatever it was he wanted to do. Glancing over to him one more time, you tried to milk the cows.
The field of tomatoes he was currently working on was not too far away but luckily far enough to give you a bit of privacy. He seemed to be very invested in picking the best tomatoes he could find, a concentrated glance on his face. And you really should try to concentrate too, since you haven’t milked a cow in years.
But you failed miserably. To your desperation, no one was around when you went looking for Bambam or your uncle to help you. Trotting back to the cows you sat down on a small stool in front of one them, giving it another try.
You groaned at the cow, laying your head back and closing your eyes in frustration.
“Just give me your stupid milk, please,” you mumbled while taking a deep breath, your eyes still closed.
“Are you sure this is the right job for you? If you can’t even milk Bertha maybe you should reconsider,“ Park Jinyoung’s voice startled you, making you jump a bit. The grin on his face clearly was teasing, full of satisfaction because you were struggling, “Do you need help?”
“Please,“ you didn’t care about the triumphing grin on his face, you were more than willing to take his offer. Any kind of help was good. And in the end, you didn’t dislike Park Jinyoung, you just weren’t close to him.
He nodded before telling you to wait for a second as he walked towards the little shed. Coming out again he held a strange looking machine in his hand while attaching it to the cow’s udder.
“We haven't milked them by hand for years,” he explained to you as he took your wrist once again, this time more careful though, and slightly pulled you towards the cow’s udder, right next to him. “Watch closely, I’ll show you once and if you can’t follow, you’re on your own,” his words sounded harsh but you didn’t take them that way. The fact that Jaebeom was his best friend was something you two had in common and if Jaebeom wanted you to give Jinyoung a chance you would do that. For Jaebeom, but also for you. After all, Jinyoung was your neighbor and, in addition, he was a handsome man, you wouldn’t mind being able to look at his face whenever you wanted at all.
You saw the way he acts around the guys and you saw that he indeed had a very soft heart, maybe he just had a hard time showing it.
“Hey! Are you even watching?” he asked annoyed while glancing at you, “I know how to do this, I am not the one that has to learn. I’m being nice here, don’t waste my time.”
You chuckled a bit at him losing his temper so easily. “Yes, Jinyoung, I’m watching," you said grinning, “Wasting your time was not a task on my list today.”
After he rolled his eyes at you you could swear you saw a small smile on his face, “You’re really annoying,“ he insisted while starting to milk the cow.
You tried to concentrate on how exactly he does it, what movements his hands made and so on but you kept on finding yourself thinking about how good his hands looked – what in the world was wrong with you? It's not like you've never seen an attractive man before so you had no clue why your hormones were playing a game with you.
After you started to try milking the cows yourself you felt more than relieved that you actually managed to do it right. Letting out a small ‘thank god’ under your breath you realized that Jinyoung still stood right beside you, watching your every move.
“You know, you can go back to the toma-,” you started to say before he interrupted you in the same moment.
“Just a tip for you,“ he said, not sounding cold for the first time, “Don’t dress up for farm work. You’ll ruin your clothes. You can still wear cute outfits after you’re finished here. But while working just wear something old,“ he said as he was just about to turn around before you had to take the chance to annoy him one last time for now.
“You think my outfit is cute?” the grin on your face was wide and you were way too amused.
As a response he gave you a death glare, knowing that you’ll probably never stop teasing him about it.
“Please don't,“ was all he could whisper frustrated under his breath.
“What a softie you are,“ you said, playfully poking his upper arm, “Didn’t know you had that in you.”
He let out yet another sigh, sounding almost whiny, “Are you always this awful?“
“Dear diary,“ you said in a nagging tone, “Today Park Jinyoung gave me a complim-”
Before you could end your sentence he was covering your mouth, shaking his head in disbelief slowly, “I’ll go back to work, (y/n). Don’t forget to churn the butter. The wooden pitcher we use for it is in the shed,“ and with that, he walked back to his side of the farm again.
Just a second before he arrived he glanced over to you again, screaming so that you could hear him, “I didn’t compliment you okay? Don't let it get to your head.“
Waving at him from the shed, you nodded your head. “Sure. Talk to you later! Your outfit looks cute too by the way”, you screamed back. Maybe working next to Jinyoung wasn’t so bad after all, if he was always such an easy target to provocate you'd at least have your fun.
When Bambam came into the shed with the tools to take over a few hours later, you were churning the butter, cursing under your breath. Sweat was dripping all over your forehead and it was seriously tiring, every single muscle of your arm hurt. You weren’t sure if you could manage to do that on a daily base. At least you wouldn’t have to worry about a gym membership anymore.
Your cousin stared at you confused, a sly grin in the corner of his mouth, “What exactly are you doing?“
“I’m churning the goddamn butter. Why is it so hard?” you complained while looking up to him. He was holding two beers in his hands, handing one over to you before starting to laugh at your action.
“Why would you use that old thing for that? We have a machine that churns it for us,“ he laughed, “I don’t know why we even still have that old thing.”
“Fucking Park Jinyoung,“ you cursed under your breath, leaving Bambam even more confused.
“You met him?” he asked while sitting down in the hay beside you.
“I did," you hissed, “He was the one who told me to do it this way.”
Bambam’s smile grew wide as he tried to contain his laughter, “A typical Park Jinyoung move.”. He almost sounded satisfied that you were getting fooled by him, “He likes you if he teases you.”
The only response you could give him to that was an eye-roll, “Well, that’s not a very nice way of showing it,“ you took a big sip of the beer, knowing that you probably deserved it for all the teasing earlier, before continuing, “You didn’t tell me he became handsome though.”
Bambam’s eyes widened immediately as you confessed and you could tell he was trying not to spit out his drink out of shock. He fastly swallowed, “You have a crush on Park Jinyoung?”
You shook your head scoffing, lightly kicking his leg, “A crush? How old are we? I just think he’s very attractive. But he was pretty rude though.”
Bambam pressed his lips together in a thin line, looking into the sky, „His father died two years ago. He became a bit cold since then. But he opens up sooner or later, just be patient with him.“
You gulped at the news, “What a sad loss, Mr. Park was such a ray of sunshine, always ready to help.”
Bambam nodded, “He was. Olli was only six years old when his father died. But dad took a lot of care of them since then.”
There was a short silence. You still remembered little Olli, Jinyoung’s younger brother. The last time you saw him he was barely two years old.
“I can’t believe he’s your type though. I thought I really wanted to set you up with Yugyeom,“ Bambam broke the silence before you could think about it any longer, almost offended. You laughed at him. He was close to Jinyoung, you knew that, but he always wanted you to date Yugyeom, only for the purpose of having him as an official family member.
“That won’t happen, Bam.”, you broke it to him, much to his disappointment.
A deep sigh came from him, “Well if you want Jinyoung so bad, come to the pub with us. I bet he’ll be there too tonight. We are meeting at eight. What do you say?”
“I don’t want him, I simply said that he is good looking.”, you hoped he wouldn’t tease you all the time about this from now on, already starting to slowly regret that you even brought it up in the first place. And as much as you would like to go out to the pub with the others you had a date with your bathtub that you wouldn’t want to miss for anything else tonight.
“I’ll pass though. I’ll come next time,“ you promised, standing up and walking towards your door.
“I can’t wait to tell Jaebeom that you and Jinyoung are going to become a couple. How exciting!” he yelled after you, making you laugh out in frustration. Sharing your opinion on Jinyoung’s look with your cousin probably wasn't the best idea.
It fastly got dark outside and you were lighting the candles in your bathroom, the bathtub slowly filling up with hot water. Exactly what your muscles needed after churning the butter all afternoon. Putting a bit of milk in the bathtub, you wondered if you had some honey in the farmhouse by any chance. As you wrapped the first towel you could find around your body, you wanted to hush over to your uncle’s house to check. But what stopped you from your plans was a shadow you saw walking past your window, making you freeze until someone rang your door.
Opening it, no one else than Jinyoung was standing in front of it, his work clothes traded into sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, a basket in his hand and his eyes fixed on your exposed legs. The towel you were wearing luckily covered all of your breast and bottom but that was about it. And, as if it couldn't get worse, it also had a lot of fairies on it - it used to be your favorite towel when you were about five years old. Still, you didn’t need Jinyoung to see you wearing it.
“Jinyoung?“ you asked him, unsure why he was visiting but he was still looking at the exposed parts of your body, not doing a good job at hiding the fact that he got distracted by your legs. You barely noticed though because your thoughts wandered to this morning. “How dare you not telling me that we have a machine for the butter? Are you crazy?” you raised your voice at him.
“My arms hurt so much,“ you added, too tired to fight him so you decided to whine.
Coming back to reality, he laughed at you, his eyes now looking at your face, “You seriously did it all by yourself?”, he was lucky the wrinkles around his eyes were so cute whenever he laughed, otherwise you would have killed him right there, “You must be pretty strong then.”
This time it was your turn to give him a death glare, “What do you want?” you asked him annoyed before you saw his eyes wandering down to your legs once again.
Not missing out on the opportunity to nag him, you chuckled, “Do you like my outfit?” as you struck a small pose, you had to be careful not to expose any parts he shouldn’t see.
Rolling his eyes he handed over the basket, “Seriously, you’re so annoying.”
You grinned, thinking it’s quite funny how easy it was to annoy him, “But you still think I’m cute, so it doesn’t matter.”
There definitely was a smile hidden on his lips that he tried to hide at all cost, but you could see it reaching his eyes, “This is for you. My mum put your favorites in it. Tomatoes, cherries, peaches, blueberries. She asked me to bring it to you,“ the man said, trying to sound as uninterested and unbothered as possible.
“That-“ you started to say, feeling very touched about the little gift but a bit confused as to why Jinyoung brought it to you, “That’s so nice of her. I’ll come over tomorrow and thank her.”
He immediately focused on you again, “No, it's fine. I’ll tell her. She’s kind of sick at the moment, she needs to rest, Olli is not even letting me go near her because he doesn’t want anyone else to get sick, so I doubt he would let you come over.”
You mustered him suspiciously but decided to leave him be, you surely teased him enough for today and didn’t want him to actually dislike you.
“Alright, Jinyoung. Thank you,“ you gave him a soft smile as you were about to close the door.
“Wait,” he stopped you before you closed the door and you waited for him to say something, “Are you planning to go to the pub later?“ - if you didn’t expect him to ask one thing than it was this one. Why did he care suddenly?
“I don’t think so. Churning that butter has really worn me out, you know?” you said, laughing lightly, “And my bathtub is already waiting for me.”
“Oh alright. That’s cool. See you soon, I guess,“ he said before awkwardly giving you a small smile and leaving again. What a strange yet interesting guy he was.
Something about him made you look forward to your future on the farm. But before you could let it get to your head, you were interrupted by a text from no one else than Jaebeom.
[Jaebeom, 22:29]
Glad to hear you're getting yourself a man! Jinyoung and (y/n), how sweet.
You let out a small laugh before finally meeting your only date for tonight: Your bathtub. Though you had to admit that the handsome face from next door was coming to your mind every now and then.
。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+
After a week you slowly got used to the daily work on the farm, your body was finally starting to react differently, your arms weren’t getting as sore anymore and waking up early was bothering you less and less. It was a sunny Saturday which means you had to gather all of the stuff your uncle wanted to sell on the market the next morning. Picking out the best eggs, milk, wool and cheese was pretty boring, especially since Bambam left early because he was going on a date tonight with some random girl you never heard of. But since you wanted him to be happy, and also because his teasing about Jinyoung was slowly but surely making you go insane, you told him it would be okay if he let you work alone today. It took you about an hour until you were finally done with carrying all of the boxes into your uncle’s car as you saw Mrs. Park, Jinyoung’s mother, and decided to help her quickly, she looked like she was struggling.
His mother was a beautiful and lovely lady, always has been. Her black hair was long and even though there were a few grey strands in it by now she still looked as young as ever.
“Mrs. Park, let me help you,“ you shouted while jogging over to her, “Where’s Jinyoung? Letting his mother carry all the heavy boxes of fruits and vegetables alone is not a nice thing to do,”, you disapproved, one box already in your hands.
She let out a laugh and you were reminded of how warm her laughter was, it sounded like the giggle of a small child.
“It’s fine, I told him to rest for today. He always works so much,” she let out a worried sigh, “I’m very thankful, I know helping me on the farm was not what he wanted to do with his life but he does it for me.”
You never really thought about it that way before - this might explain why he’s still here despite always hating the small village he was born and grew up in, it was probably hard for him to leave his family behind after losing his father. While carrying a box full of blueberries you ate a handful, not able to hold back. The Park’s blueberries have always been your favorites, none of the ones back at home could compare to the juicy fruits you'd get here.
“You still love blueberries, I see,” She hummed joyfully as she was carrying the last box to the car.
“I am obsessed with them,” you answered, “Oh- I still wanted to thank you for the little basket full of fruits you send to me. I was in heaven, your peaches were even better than I remembered.”
Mrs. Park looked at you in confusion for a second before getting a grip of the situation, the confusion vanished while a different kind of expression came to her face, unable for you to read at first.
“So he can actually be charming,“ she mumbled to herself with an almost mischievous smirk and within seconds you knew exactly what she was talking about.
Scoffing, you wondered why Jinyoung wouldn't just admit that the little basket was a present from him, not from his mother – who would do something so sweet without wanting to let the other person know? But then, on the other hand, you knew it wasn't like Jinyoung to play the nice guy.
“Mum,” you heard his voice while he walking out of the door to their house.
When he saw you he froze for a second, “Oh, hey, (y/n),“ he said with a slight and not really convincing smile, it almost seemed forced.
You nodded towards him, ready to go back to work and leave them alone, as his little brother came running outside, chasing after Jinyoung.
“Jinyoung,” he let out a scream as he tried to jump on his back. He was surprisingly tall for an eight-year-old, almost managing to get to Jinyoung’s shoulders if he jumped high enough, “Can I come with you? Please?”
Before Jinyoung could answer, Olli’s attention was shifted somewhere else. Or better said, on someone else. To be precise, you caught his attention, the girl standing in front of his mother and brother, a stranger he’s never seen before.
“Who are you?” he asked curiously, studying you exactly, “Are you the niece of Minwoo?”
You kneeled down to be at an eye to eye level with him, shaking his hand, “Yes, that’s me. I’m (y/n). It's nice to meet you.”
He had a big grin on his face, “Hi, I’m Olli,“ after introducing himself to you he turned around to his big brother, “Did you make the basket for her?”
Jinyoung shushed him within a second, giving him a warning glance before trying to cover up his story, “Yes, I did it because mum asked me to.”
She let out a sarcastic laugh, making fun of her son, “Sure, Jinyoung. It was totally me asking you to do that.”
A heavy sigh fell from Jinyoung’s mouth before shaking his head in disbelief, “Where is your cousin? He promised he’d help me picking up our new couch.”
“Oh, I am afraid he forgot. He’s on a date right now,“, you informed him.
Jinyoung let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temple, not believing that Bambam completely forgot about him. Now even more frustrated, he started mumbling, “It’s always the same with this kid.”
“I’ll help you,“ you volunteered determined, not even bothering to ask him first, knowing he’d say no anyway, “I’m done with work for today and I don’t mind coming along.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll go alone,“ he insisted, clearly mad at Bambam, before walking over to his car. Not caring you decided to follow him, hoping that he’d be nice to Bambam if you helped him instead, even though you had little hope, considering the fact you were talking about Park Jinyoung but it was worth a try.
“Stop being so stubborn,“ you said to him as you opened the door and sat down inside the car, “Just accept my help.”
And much to your surprise, he did accept it, not bothering to start another discussion with you. Maybe he was just too tired of the constant bickering going on between the two of you.
As the two of you drove out of town the sky looked like it was painted in golden colors, the sun slowly setting but the air was still warm, brushing the arm you held out of the open window.
“Where are we even going?” you asked the obviously bothered boy beside you.
“It’s not far away, the dude I’m buying the couch from lives like twenty minutes away,“ he answered, his eyes glued to the street, „You really didn’t have to come. I could’ve easily done it alone.”
Slowly but surely, you were starting to get mad at Jinyoung. You couldn’t tell why his constant attitude was getting to you but it did. Of course, he didn't have to like you and honestly, maybe you did go a bit too far with the teasing but after all, you were neighbors, co-workers and also shared the same group of friends. Being nice to each other was the least you could do.
„Dude, you’re the worst. Can you keep quiet for once and accept help? Stop being so rude all the time, being nice every now and then won’t hurt you, you know? You can take your bad mood out on Bambam later.”, you snapped at him, not even intended to sound so mean but it just happened.
He peaked at you, his eyes grew wide in shock at your rant. Even though your voice was still low he clearly heard the frustration in it, “What do you mean? I am being nice all the time. I told you that you shouldn’t wear your good clothes to work in. That was a piece of nice advice I gave you for example.”
You scoffed at him not knowing if he was being serious, “You also attacked me because you thought I was stealing chicken and made me churn butter.”
He chuckled amused as you brought the churning up, “I still can’t believe you did that.”
“My arms still hurt. You’re an asshole,“ you rolled your eyes, not in the mood to put up with Jinyoung being, well, himself, when you were just being nice, “If that is your interpretation of being nice I’m beyond sorry for your future girlfriend.”
“Hey, now you’re the one being mean,“ he said, acting offended and honestly, a bit confused, not knowing why the two of you were fighting. You weren't even mad at him, you just felt fed up, craving at least peace between the two of you.
“Well, maybe you just need a taste of your own medicine,“ you shrugged, calming down a bit as the discussion started to become more playful than serious.
But before you or Jinyoung could fuel the fire and add anything into the it, you let out a small scream as he was turning right with full speed, making you feel like you were about to crash, holding onto the seatbelt for dear life.
“For fucks sake, where did you learn how to drive? Do you not know that you’re supposed to slow down before turning?” you asked him, gasping for air.
“If this is already scaring you, I’ll give you the nice advice to not drive with Jaebeom.”, he laughed out loud as he parked his car in front of a big house, “Ready to use the strength in your arms built up from churning butter?”
It took you about twenty minutes to carry all the parts of the couch from the third floor to the trailer on Jinyoung’s car. When you were done it was beginning to become dark outside and the weather was cooling down, making you shiver a bit. All done, you sat back inside Jinyoung’s car as he was securing the trailer so you could drive back home safely – or at least as safe as a ride with Jinyoung could be.
“If you’re cold there’s a blanket on the backseat, I'll get it for you,“ he screamed from outside before coming getting inside the car, a blanket in his hand, “See how nice I am? So caring, not wanting you to freeze to death.”
You shook your head amused, „What a gentleman you are.”
The drive home was more peaceful, no discussions this time. You looked outside, seeing a big and bright star in the sky, pointing to it excited.
“I can’t get over how beautiful the starry night sky is here. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,“ you mumbled, almost sounding dreamy, eyes glued to the sky. It wasn’t even completely dark outside yet, but the first stars were already sparkling brightly.
“Isn’t it the same in your hometown?” Jinyoung asked a bit perplexed as he looked over to you, wondering how you could be so excited about some stars.
“Not at all. The big city lights drown them. You can barely see some, and if you can, they are not as bright as here.”
“I suppose Ilmon isn’t all bad.”, he shrugged, his glance wavering to the sky every few seconds.
You hummed in agreement, “Except for this terrible guy living next to me I quite enjoy my time here.”
He chuckled, enjoying the little game you two were playing, „Must be really hard to live right next to such an attractive young man. I bet you have a hard time.”
Laughing, you were impressed at his wittiness, “Don’t think too highly of yourself.”
Before you could let him answer your favorite song suddenly started playing in the radio, making you turn up the volume instantly, “You need to shut up now. This is my all-time favorite song.”
But of course, Jinyoung didn't shut up. He did the opposite, trying to sing along as loud as he could just to ruin the song for you – and he had way too much fun doing it.
“I didn’t know you could sing,“ you said, giving him an approving look.
A smirk formed on Jinyoung's lips, “I'm a man full of surprises.”
The rest of the drive the two of you were singing along to the radio loudly, having genuine fun together for the first time since you arrived. It was nice to see him loosen up a bit, even though it was only a small step.
Driving up to the farm, you already saw Bambam sitting on the porch. He immediately stood up, walking over to the car, already apologizing without you really arriving yet, “I’m so so sorry mate. I completely forgot. I owe you a beer next time we go out.”
Jinyoung chuckled as he turned the engine off, “Doesn’t seem like his date had a happy ending, considering he’s home already.”
“Good for me,“ you shrugged, “I’m way too tired to carry the whole couch inside anyway.”
You were the first to get out of the car, making Bambam narrow his eyebrows in confusion.
“What are you doing in Jinyoung’s car?” he asked suspiciously.
“I’m doing your fucking job, Bam,“ you shot him a mean glance.
As you were walking towards your home you were stopped by Jinyoung holding your arm, making you turn around.
“Thank you, I suppose,“ he said, pressing his lips together, obviously feeling awkward, “Just trying to be nice.”
You gave him a genuine smile, “No problem. Sleep well.”
“You too, (y/n).
。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+
Waking up a few days later you were almost shocked to see today’s weather. Yesterday the sun was still shining while today it was pouring like never before. The sky was dark and grey and your whole farm seemed quite sad, making you wish you could just stay in bed all day, just being lazy, reading, eating and maybe fantasizing about a certain someone.
Checking your phone you saw a text from Bambam: it’s going to storm today, you have to make sure all the animals are in the barn and safe, please. i’m getting food for tonight. see you later, favorite cousin.
You immediately threw on a thick cardigan and brushed your teeth, hurrying to get things done before the weather got even worse. Looking in the mirror you scoffed for a second at your sad reflection - your hair was in a very messy bun and your under-eye circles were almost black. But there was no time to pity yourself right now, you could do that after work.
After you fed and, of course, petted the chickens and made sure that all the windows were closed tightly you ran over to the barn where the cows and goats were in. Your clothes were completely drenched even though the way between the barns was very short, the heavy rain was so strong that there was no way you could’ve stayed dry.
Entering the barn your eyebrows narrowed as you saw that the light was on and the food for the cows was already laid out.
“Uncle Minwoo?”, you screamed loudly, the rain was so loud that otherwise, no one would hear you.
“Oh thank god, there you are,“ the owner of the voice was coming out of the little shed you kept your tools in, throwing one of the milking machines over to you. You barely had time to catch it because Jinyoung was throwing it without caring if you’d catch it or not.
“What are you doing here?” you asked him skeptically as you sat down to the cow next to the one he was currently milking.
He glanced at you with an annoyed expression on his face - but only until he saw how wet you were from the rain. Right then, he bursted out into laughter, “Why are you not wearing a raincoat for fucks sake?” he asked you, enjoying the sight in front of him a little too much.
“I don’t even own one,“ you admitted a bit hesitant while shrugging, knowing he’d make even more fun of you.
And of course, he did.
“How can you not own a raincoat? Seriously, (y/n), you’re something else. Who on earth doesn’t own a raincoat?” he shook his head in disbelief, still laughing.
You simply pressed your lips together, coming back to your actual question, “But why are you here? Certainly not because you wanted to help me.”
“Hey, maybe I’m not as bad as you think and just wanted to be friendly for once?” he said, acting offended, “Since you’re always complaining.”
“Yeah, I doubt that,“ you answered.
Suddenly you heard a loud thunder outside, making you jump - you usually were not afraid of thunder but the sudden loud noise startled you for a second. What really scared you though was the reaction of two of your cows, immediately after they heard the thunder they let out the deepest and loudest sounds you’ve ever heard of them. They sounded terrified.
Jinyoung immediately jumped up from his stool and walked over to Bertha, the small brown cow, petting her face.
“Shhhh, it's okay,“ he tried calming her down before looking over to you, “I’m always here when it storms. Bertha and Marnie are deadly afraid of the thunder, so I accompany them. It calms them down.”
For a second you thought he was fooling you but before you could say something another loud thunder was heard followed by loud sounds of the cows once again. God, you weren't sure if you ever could get used to the sounds they made.
“Wait,“ you interrupted confused as you saw Jinyoung pet Bertha once again, giving her a small kiss on the side of her face, “You’re serious?”
He looked at you with a grin, “Of course I am. Go, pet Marnie a bit. She loves getting pets right under his chin, she’s such a lovely cow.”
You did as he said but not really trusting him yet.
“I didn’t know he had feelings, Marnie, did you know?” you asked the cow sarcastically.
Jinyoung chuckled, shaking his head, “I only have feelings Marnie and Bertha.”
Bertha was walking away from Jinyoung to the hay he just put down for them to lie down for a bit, something you barely ever saw them doing,
“When I first looked into Bertha’s big brown eyes I fell in love.”, he stated lovingly, petting some of the other cows while Bertha was still lying down, „Her eyes are just too pure.“
“That’s adorable.”, you had to admit, “Didn’t expect that from you.”
He scoffed at your remark, “Are you aware that just because I’m telling you you’re stupid because you don’t own a raincoat or work on a farm with a goddamn Gucci shirt doesn't mean I'm an asshole? That’s my way of helping.”, he said confidently, “You just seem to not know exactly what to do, so I’m trying to help.”
„You're still being mean while doing it,“ you insisted, not giving in.
“Whatever,“ he walked over to Bertha, who was resting on the ground, lying down next to her, “Just go inside and relax, I’ll take care of the cows.”
“No way,“ you sat down next to him, “I’ll not leave you alone with my cows. I don’t trust you.”
Of course, that was only an excuse to spend some time with the pretty boy from next door but he didn't need to know – his ego was big enough already. Both of you were now starting to relax slowly, leaning against Bertha, petting her every now and then.
“So, farmer girl, how do you like it here?” he asked you after a few seconds of silence, seeming to be actually interested in you for once.
“It’s nice,“ you shrugged as he was peaking over at you, “I like the fact that I finally am allowed to go into the pub the most.”
“I remember when we first were allowed to go in, it was like Harry Potter seeing Hogwarts for the first time,“ he remembered laughing, “and now we’re the ones that get drunk in there while the younger kids are jealous they can’t.”
“Some things never change, right?“ your eyes darted to Jinyoung, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be truly relaxed in your presence for the first time since you arrived. He was using his arm as a pillow, a smile on his lips - for once a genuine smile, not the usual teasing one he gave you. The rain was pouring so hard onto the roof of the barn it sounded like applause. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself, exhaling a breathy scoff through your nose, not believing that Jinyoung actually had a soft side.
“What's so funny?“ he asked curiously, still with closed eyes.
“I just love the sound of heavy rain.”, you said, also getting into a comfortable position and closing your eyes.
Jinyoung let out a hum, agreeing with you before yawning, “Me too. It’s cozy.”
Your eyelids started to feel heavy, you didn’t have much sleep last night and your body was shivering a bit because of your wet clothes. Jinyoung was snoring lightly beside you within a few minutes and before you knew it you were asleep too. You wouldn’t have expected the barn to be such a comfortable place to sleep in.
The sound of someone calling your name, you couldn't quite identify who it belonged to yet, woke you up. As you were slowly starting to realize where you were, you were just as perplexed as Jinyoung, who was still beside you, seeming to just have woken up too, according to his dreamy gaze.
“Did we fall asleep?” he asked you, yawning and stretching his arms from his body.
As you looked up, Bambam was standing in front of both of you, confusion was written all over his face, “What the hell are you two doing in here? How do I keep finding you two together?”
Jinyoung shrugged, sitting up as you were doing the same, “What does it look like? We obviously fell asleep.”
“Okay but why were you here together in the first place?” he asked, a smirk on his lips, “Did you make out in front of the cows? They are too young to be exposed to such wild and unholy behavior.”
Chuckling at his remark, you rubbed your eyes a bit, “Don't be noisy, please. I’m having a headache.”
“You two are just too cute,“ he teased a bit before telling you the reason he was looking for you in the first place, “Dinner’s ready. We’re having some meat with different salads and corn. Feel free to join us, Jinyoung, your mum and Olli are there too.”
“I don’t know,“ he replied, a little unsure, “I still wanted to meet with Jaebeom and Jackson later.”
Bambam narrowed his eyebrows, “Why didn’t you ask me to join, you jerk?”
Jinyoung laughed at Bambam, standing up, surprisingly offering you a hand to help you get up from the ground, “I’ll eat dinner with you and then you can come with me, alright?“ he proposed to Bambam.
Your cousin agreed happily and the three of you walked over to the big house Minwoo and Bambam lived in.
“Did you find her?” your uncle screamed from the kitchen as he heard the door open.
“Yes, I’m here,“ you shouted back as you took off your shoes.
Walking over to them, Mrs. Park was surprised to see her son, “Oh, Jinyoung. How lovely that you’re here,“ she smiled as cute as always, “Where have you been?”
Both, Jinyoung and you felt a bit awkward telling them where Bambam found them, not wanting anyone to get a wrong idea. But, of course, your annoying cousin was faster.
“They were sleeping in the barn together,“ he smirked as he told your family, enjoying every minute of it, “You two seem to get along better by now.”
Jinyoung rolled his eyes, “We were literally just taking care of the cows.”
You nodded, “It’s not like we met to take a nap in the barn.”
Uncle Minwoo and Mrs. Park both giggled a bit at the bickering between their families,.“Stop teasing them. They are already flustered,“ she said lightheartedly.
Everyone sat down on the table as your uncle brought the food to the table. It smelled like you were sitting in a restaurant and you could feel your mouth watering as you saw the food.
“Thank you for letting us eat with you,“ Jinyoung politely said.
“Oh, Jinyoung!” Minwoo exclaimed joyfully, “You’re always welcome. We’re like family.”
He nodded thankful as all of you started eating. The food was truly delicious and the conversation was nice, all of you participating in it, talking about current events and life on the farm.
You weren't sure if it was because your families were there but Jinyoung was unusually nice to you, not even nagging you once. He passed you the salt when you asked him to and he even asked you about your job back at home.
It was a nice evening and you cherished it, knowing that it probably was a once in a lifetime experience to have a normal, peaceful conversation with Jinyoung in the same room as you.
About an hour later you started walking from the big house to the small hut and even if it only took a minute or two Jinyoung walked right beside you, not leaving your side. Maybe he truly wasn't as bad as you made him out to be – the two of you might have had some difficulties but thinking about it now he seemed to open up to you more and more. As the two of you stood in front of your door, you fiddled with your hands, not knowing how to react to being all alone with him.
“Don’t let Bambam drink too much tonight. I need him to be fit tomorrow. It’s my day off,“ you joked.
“I promise to stop him if he drinks too much,“ he smiled brightly, the wrinkles around his eyes showing slightly, “I’ll see you around?”
A scoff escaped your lips before you could hold it back, “Considering the fact that you can look inside my living room from your window I think so yes.”
And with that, he started walking towards his house but even after he was gone you still couldn't stop smiling.
。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+
The few next weeks were pretty unspectacular, working on the farm was part of your everyday life by now and your work was a routine, knowing every small step of it. But still, today you woke up with a smile plastered on your face - it’s not like anyone besides Bambam and Minwoo, maybe Jaebeom, would know it’s your birthday today but you still loved your special day. It didn't matter that no one would know, you were quite happy that to everyone else this day would be just another day. You, on the other hand, had tons of self-care plans for tonight.
The first thing you did that morning was checking your phone, happy to see that your friends from home - or more like what used to be home to you - thought of you and send you very nice birthday greetings full of love, telling you that they missed you. In no time you got up and dressed to go over to the main house.
“So, what do you want to do today?” Bambam asked you as you had breakfast with him and your uncle. Despite you telling them that they shouldn't worry about you, they still made you some scrambled eggs and cut a lot of the vegetables from the Park’s farm, Bambam even managed to go to the heart of the city to buy some buns for all of you.
Stretching yourself, tiredness still washing over you, you thought about Bam’s question, “I actually don’t know, I thought I'd just do some sheet masks later and watch Netflix,” you said shrugging before eating a piece of cucumber, “Why? Any ideas?”
“Why don’t you invite your friends over, (y/n)?” your uncle suggested but you’d rather not. The problem with inviting people over is you can’t leave early since they are literally at your own place and you'd never kick them out, not wanting to be unfriendly.
“No way, I don’t even think most people know about my birthday. I’ll stay lowkey about it,“  you denied your uncle's request, just wanting to have a nice night on the couch after you took a long bath - an ideal night for you, “Why don't we have a movie night?”, you suggested to your two family members but they didn’t seem to show much support to your idea.
Uncle Minwoo immediately stopped you, “I’m not letting you stay at home with your old uncle and cousin on your birthday.”
“I’d love that though. We hadn’t had a movie night in a long time,“ you pouted, hoping to convince your uncle despite knowing you had no chance against him.
“Bambam, take her to the pub, alright?” he instructed his son who was currently not listening to the conversation and instead was texting someone.
“Sure,“ he agreed with his father before looking up from his phone, “I’ll take you to the pub later, (y/n). No discussion.”
So a few hours later you found yourself in your small bathroom, putting on a real full face make-up for the first time ever since you moved here, you almost forgot how pretty you could be.
Bam said to make sure that you looked your best since a lot of other people would be there, including the girl he ‘sometimes takes out’, as he liked to call it.
Even though you were still not fully in the mood, you started to warm up to the idea of going out as you got ready. In the end, you knew it wouldn't hurt to doll yourself up and go out every now and then - and maybe, just maybe, Jinyoung would be there too.
Bambam picked you up from your place at around eight in the evening, the sky already pitch-black.
“Hey birthday kid,“ he said lovingly, “I didn't know you could look this lovely. I bet Jinyoung's eyes will fall out when he sees you.”
Throwing him a glare that was about to end his life you were ready to hit your cousin if he wouldn’t stop mentioning your attraction towards your neighbor. You prayed he didn’t tell Jinyoung about it, his ego was big enough and you didn’t know if you could survive if he’d become even cockier. Jinyoung knew how handsome he was and that he could probably get just any girl if he wanted already so you didn't want to give him the satisfaction.
“I’ll kill you if you don’t shut your mouth,“ you threatened him even though you knew that nothing could stop Bambam's teasing ever.
Arriving at the Pub, you couldn’t help but grin like an idiot - all of your friends were waiting inside, a whole booth decorated just for you. Jaebeom was the first to welcome you, hugging you tightly, “Happy Birthday, princess,“ he almost whispered into your ear before the other people were waiting for their turn to congratulate you.
Jackson and Mark were there, including Mark’s girlfriend, that you hadn’t met before. Yugyeom, of course, was there and even gifted you some sunflowers, “Those are my favorite!” you told him excited, to which he replied that he knew.
Bam introduced you to his almost-girlfriend and she seemed to be a nice girl, almost as tall as him, with cute glasses, short blue hair and a nose ring that she pulled off like no one else could, not even Jaebeom. Speaking of him, you noticed a girl sitting next to him and you made a mental note to ask him about her later on – you bet she was more than just a friend. And last but not least Park Jinyoung was standing in front of you, trying to look cold and unbothered like always, but his eyes were sparkling a bit, giving away that he wasn't as cool as he wanted to be.
“You’re here!” you gasped, genuinely excited to see him, “I feel honored.”
He shook his head joyful, “Don’t let it get to your head. Happy birthday, farmer girl,“ for the first time ever Jinyoung hugged you, and you hated to admit that it felt quite comforting - the hug didn’t feel awkward or forced at all, he even had his hand on your head, right in your hair.
Jaebeom and Bambam, who were standing behind Jinyoung, were inspecting the hug you shared, drawing hearts with their fingers in the air for only you to see as you turned almost as red as the Park’s tomatoes.
“(Y/n), we got a present for you! Come on, sit down,” Jackson happily ordered from the table and Jinyoung let you go, way too early for your liking, but you weren’t complaining – you appreciated what you got this far. As you sat down beside Jaebeom, Jinyoung sat right next to you, pretty close since you were sitting on a small bank with five people.
The booth was decorated with a paper chain that spelled “Happy Birthday”, a few presents were waiting for you on the table, right next to many glasses and several bottles of alcohol.
“This one is from me, Jackson and Youngjae,“ Mark said excited, handing you a present. Opening it you couldn’t help but pout at their heartwarming idea: They gifted you a framed picture the four of you when you were little, you were maybe around three to four years old.
„God, we were so small,“ you chuckled, studying the picture.
Jackson smiled wholeheartedly, “There’s a little wheel on the side that you have to move,“ he explained and so you did - as you turned the little wheel more pictures of your friends and you appeared, all of them from different years.
“I love it,“ you smiled at them, “I'll find a special place to display it, I promise.”
“Open our’s next,“ Jaebeom said, an untrustworthy smirk on his face. “It’s from me and Bam.”
Just because you knew the two of you too well, you didn’t trust them at all.
“I bet it’ll get also a very, very special place at your home,“ Bam assured you and you just knew at that point they probably got you something very stupid.
And they did - you let out a deep breath, shaking your head in disbelief.
“Thanks, I really needed that,“ you said sarcastically as you hold the box of the vibrator they gifted you in your hand.
Both of the boys bursted out into laughter, making you sigh, „You think you're so funny, don't you? How old are you? Fourteen?“, you snipped both of their foreheads but still, a chuckle managed to slip out. Not really because you thought the present was funny but more because the boys were so amused by their own idea.
“We know the nights get lonely here,“ Jaebeom said, still laughing like a teenager, “Much fun with it. Just call Jinyoung if you need any help with it.”
“Yeah, no, thanks, I think I can handle that on my own,“ you quickly responded before anyone else could join their nagging, “I really need a shot now. Otherwise, I won't be able to deal with you.”
Jaebeom immediately poured a round of shots for everyone, “To our little (y/n).”
All of your friends clinked glasses and downed the shot. Within a few hours, one shot became quite a few, too many to count them. Bambam and his girl were making out heavily in the corner of the pub – much to your disgust. While you were happy for your cousin you still could imagine better things than seeing your family member's tongue in someone's mouth.
Jaebeom, you, Youngjae, Mark and Jinyoung were currently playing a card drinking game that you not only never heard of before but was also killing you at a fast pace.
“(Y/n), your turn,“ Jinyoung glanced at you, raising his eyebrow – his cheeks were red and the sloppy smile on his face gave away that he also was at least a bit intoxicated by now, “Red or black?”
That was the whole point of the game, basically the only rule. You had to say a color and if the card didn’t have the color you had to take a shot. Youngjae said it was the best game to get really drunk really fast, and boy, he was right.
“Red”, you answered or to be exact, mumbled since you had a hard time pronouncing your words clearly by now.
And, of course, luck wasn’t on your side - as Jinyoung turned around the card it showed black. “Jinyoung,“ you let out a whine as he laughed, “I literally cannot drink this shot or else I’ll throw up.”
Your head was turning and your stomach felt warm and tingly, a part of you suddenly felt playful and giggly, which was pretty unusual for you. Looking at Jinyoung you felt something deep down in your stomach – the way his rather long hair fell into his face and his tanned skin was glowing was a beautiful sight. God, you really wanted to blame it on the booze but deep down you were aware that you were just fooling yourself.
“You’re no fun,“ he almost whined before taking the shot, “I’ll take it for you since it’s your birthday.”
“Oh, what a gentleman you are,“ you nudged him.
“Just trying to get drunk,“ he shrugged laughing before downing the shot as if it was nothing.
Your glance waved over to Yugyeom, who was maybe the drunkest, his eyes slowly closing. “Yugyeom!” you poked his upper arm, not sure if you should laugh or be concerned, “Are you passing out?”
“Hmm?” he responded, trying to open his eyes but failing, “Oh no. I’m just taking a nap.”
You peeked to Jinyoung beside you, questioning him what to do, “Are you going to babysit him?”
He scoffed, “That isn’t my problem to deal with.”
About two hours later you decided that it was time to go home, having to admit that you did have fun despite wanting to stay home at first. You thanked everyone and grabbed your bag.
“What about you?” you asked Jinyoung who was sitting on his phone, texting someone with his eyebrows furrowed, “You’re staying?”
His eyes met yours as he looked up from his phone, “No, I’m walking you home. Give me a second.”
You decided to wait outside, in need of some fresh air to sober you up.
Slowly, you started to walk towards your home, knowing Jinyoung would be able to catch up in no time. And he did, of course.
“Oh!” Jinyoung looked at you with wide eyes as he arrived by your side, before opening his bag, looking for something, “It’s your birthday!”
“No shit, Sherlock,“ you responded unimpressed at his sudden realization, walking through the little city at night, still not used to how beautiful the stars were here, „You just got that now?“
“No, wait. I actually got you something,“ the boy mumbled and you thought you heard wrong for a second. At least until Jinyoung handed you a box, a rather big one.
“Are you serious?” you asked surprised, suddenly feeling shy. This morning you were convinced he didn’t even know it was your birthday but now he was standing in front of you, with a present that was neatly wrapped in yellow wrapping paper.
“Don’t make a big deal out of it, please,“ he rolled his eyes as you two walked through the dark night, only a few lanterns on your way home, “Just open it. It felt wrong not to get you anything. I mean, we’re neighbors now, and also co-workers.”
Your arm nudged him, playfully asking, “Maybe even friends?”
His laugh seemed to be even louder and happier when he’s drunk, “Says who? You wish!” before immediately adding, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Maybe even that. Now open it. Let’s sit down.“
Your neighbor gestured at the bank on the side of the way, a few steps away.
He took out his phone to turn on the flashlight so you could see, sitting dangerously close to you. “Why didn’t you give it to me earlier?” you asked him curiously.
“You know, I gotta keep my cool reputation in front of them,“ he joked.
“Ah, can’t let them know that you have a crush on me?”, you blurted out, trying to flirt, knowing you would never say those things if it wasn’t for all the shots you drank earlier.
“You’re a pain in the ass,“ he mocked you a bit, “Will you please just open it now? There are a few smaller things.”
As you ripped open the wrapping paper you let out a laugh, impressed by his first present, “A raincoat? I could’ve seen that one coming.”
“I still can’t believe you don’t own one. Look underneath, there’s also a shirt you can use for work so you won’t ruin your good clothes,“ he said, almost proud of his idea and it was adorable.
The shirt was grey and oversized - and also, there was a picture printed onto it. Jinyoung let out another laugh, covering his mouth with his hand to stop him from laughing harder, before you could see what was on it.
As he shined his flashlight on the picture you were not only extremely amused but also very amazed that he did that for you, even though he obviously was trying to be funny, you genuinely liked it - the picture was a selfie of Jinyoung, giving a thumbs up, right next to his favorite being on this earth, Bertha. Underneath the picture the sentence ‘(Y/n), you can do it. I hope.’ was written in big letters.
“You’re seriously the worst,“ you joined his laughter, wondering how in the hell he got this idea. The atmosphere was almost friendly – a new step for the two of you. Not that you didn’t like him before, you just thought that he didn’t like you back.
“I think you’ll look quite good in it, (y/n),“ he smiled proudly, definitely satisfied with himself.
“You’re such a flirt,“ you said sarcastically.
The last gift in the box really got to you though - it immediately brought back a lot of memories, cherished ones, of your childhood. An overwhelming rush of sentiment came over you as you couldn't believe your eyes.
“Jinyoung, I,”, you were looking for the right words to say but none came to your head, “is it what I think it is?”
“If you think it’s your old music box that played Somewhere Over The Rainbow over and over again, then it is, yes,“ he replied, playing it cool as if it wasn't a big thing.
You totally forgot about it until now, back in the day you always used to play it before going to bed, falling asleep immediately to the soothing sound of it – back then it didn't matter where you were: you wouldn't fall asleep without the petite woodbox playing your favorite song.
“Where did you even get this?“ you asked him, gulping.
“Oh, Minwoo gave it to me to calm the cows on thunder days,“ he said amused.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,“ you chuckled, still inspecting the music box. It seemed to be even prettier than you remembered it.
“Do you like it?” he asked, turning towards you, “I know how obsessed you were with it as a child so I thought you’d like to have it back. The cows didn’t like it anyway.”
Your eyes met his, not knowing what to say. He was so cool about it when to you, this might be one of the most meaningful presents you've gotten in a long time. The fact that he even remembered how in love you were with this music box and how thoughtful of him it was to give it back to you. Slowly you put the box down, still feeling a bit overwhelmed. It was probably stupid, for him it was just a simple present and you were overreacting, right? But still, it was so much more than you would’ve expected. Especially from him
“I love it, Jinyoung,“ you assured him, the wrinkles around his eyes deeper than you’ve ever seen them before. “Thank you so much.”
Before he could say something to ruin the moment you wrapped your arms around his neck and buried your face in his collar. It took him a few moments to realize what was happening, a hug was something he didn’t expect at all, but it did feel nice. His arms carefully found your waist and hugged you back.
You could see how red his cheeks were as your hug ended but for once you decided to not tease him, not wanting to ruin a genuinely nice moment. The two of you didn’t have those very often.
“Shall we go home?” Jinyoung asked softly as he stood up, waiting for you to join him.
The two of you were walking for a while, way slower than usual. It might be the alcohol in your veins or simply the secret desire to spend some more time together, alone and outside of the farm.
“Be honest,“ you started carelessly, it almost sounded like you were singing it, “You do think I’m cute.”. Looking up to Jinyoung you saw that he was smiling and didn’t seem to care about your teasing anymore.
“I do think you’re cute. That doesn’t make you less any annoying though,“ he replied, his tone almost playful. As you were walking your shoulders were lightly brushing every now and then, a rush of excitement going through your body every single time.
“Now you be honest. You were totally checking me out when you saw me on the day you moved here,“ he countered, the conversation light.
You let out a small scoff, “I maybe would have if I hadn’t been to busy trying to free myself from your grip since you thought I was stealing your chicken,“ you snapped at him and Jinyoung let out a laugh at that memory. Even though it wasn’t long ago it felt like years, considering how much your relationship developed since then.
“Your turn. You would’ve gone home sooner but you were waiting to walk me home,“ the vibe Jinyoung gave you told you it was okay to dig a bit deeper.
“Now you’re just being overconfident, (y/n),“ he laughed and you thought about how his laugh is so different than his mum’s. His mother's laugh was light and charming while his laugh was deep and full of joy, almost bold and loud.
“If you say I’m wrong you’re lying,“ you insisted while looking up to the beautiful night sky, not letting loose. Even though you were a bit cold you didn’t really care, you could walk and talk for a few more hours without complaining.
“I never said you’re wrong,“ he answered quietly, now more soft and serious, “But don’t let it get to your head, I know my mum would kill me if she heard that you had to walk home alone.”
“You’re so in love with me dude, how gross,“ you joked, not able to stop your usual nagging. By now it seemed like that was Jinyoung’s and your’s thing somehow. It was an open secret that there was something between the two of you, whatever that was. Maybe, you and Jinyoung were still denying it but your friends weren't completely wrong when they talked about your relationship to each other.
“I really don’t know if I wanna shove you off this bridge or kiss your annoying ass,“ he stated shamelessly, trying to sound annoyed but his mood was just as good as yours and the cheeky flirting was something he missed over the last years. It’s been too long since he met someone he liked so much that he didn’t have to care about what he said. Spending time with you made him feel careless. The night air and the sky that was full of stars just loosened up the mood even more.
Even though your heart was beating faster at his comment you tried to remain cool – he said it so casually as if the topic of kissing you was something completely normal to him, making you realize that maybe Jinyoung and you were indeed becoming something more than friends, “Oh, can I pick?”, you grinned at him.
“No,“ he answered easily while pushing you towards the edge of the bridge you were currently walking on, making you gasp a bit, while trying to balance yourself so you wouldn’t fall over the low wooden railing.
What exactly was he doing? Just in the right moment, he held you, his arm around your waist, being a bit too close to you which was making your heart beat insanely fast. As you looked at him your eyes were opened wide, the shock written all over your face.
Jinyoung still was holding you close, giving you the brightest smile ever, his expression full of joy, “Did you really think that I’d let you fall?”
“Yes!“ you almost shouted out of shock, a hundred percent sure that he’d actually do something like that, “If anyone in this town would then it would be you.”
He acted a bit offended, as he pulled your body a bit closer to his again, your intestines feeling all over the place. Half of your body was still bent over the bridge as Jinyoung’s hold was the only support that stopped you from falling right into the water. His face came near yours and at this moment you wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on yours.
“Well, if you think that lowly of me,“ he started, before pausing his sentence, you could swear that you could feel his breath tingling on your lips and see his eyes wandering down to look at your them - but before anything else could happen you started losing balance as Jinyoung let go of your body, making you fall right into the lake behind you.
Of course, he’d do something like that. You should've guessed that.
As you came up again you were drenched. The water was at least still warm enough to not make you shiver while climbing up to the bridge again. Jinyoung was laughing wholeheartedly, his one hand once again covering his mouth, while holding his other hand out for you so he could help you. You immediately took his offer, taking a tight grip on his hand before getting your revenge – within seconds Jinyoung forcefully joined you in the water, his eyes popping out when you completely caught him off guard.
“I should’ve seen that coming,“ he admitted, now also completely wet but still amused, “I deserved that.”
The two of you were chuckling, no one of you seemed to want to get out of the water for now. “Remember the one time we were having a contest here about who can stay underwater the longest when we were children?” you asked him thinking back to older days, one of the few memories you had with him.
He nodded while walking towards you, leaning his back against the bridge. His body was close to yours, his face facing yours, “I remember you and Bambam being afraid because you thought I fainted because I let my body swim on the surface with my head under the water still.”
Hitting his chest, you squinted your eyes, “You were the worst, seriously! Why would you do this to me? I was so afraid.”
His arm found your hip, resting lazily on it - you wondered if he’d also do that if he was completely sober, “To make good memories.”
“Well, that’s also about our only memory because you always avoided me when we were younger,“ you stated, a bit salty.
His laughter sounded different this time, if you didn’t know better you’d almost say there was some kind of admiration in it. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,“ he apologized, putting his hands up in the air, still laughing before looking at you once again - it’s like you completely forgot about being in the water now in the middle of the night.
“Wanna know a secret?” he asked you, whispering as if you had to be careful to not get caught.
“Always,“ you answered eager as your eyes widened in excitement.
“I avoided you because I had the biggest crush on you and Jaebeom always said girls suck and if anyone of us ever kissed a girl they’d be kicked out of the gang,“ he admitted, smiling back at the memory.
“Okay, but Jaebeom was literally my first kiss,“ you confessed to him, “I think he knew exactly why he told you that.”
Now it was Jinyoung who was in shock, not you. “You’re kidding me,“ he sounded offended, “I can’t believe he’d play me like this because of some chick.”
“Hello? I’m right here,“ you growled, shaking your head amused.
“Oh, I bet you’d rather be where Jaebeom is, huh?” he stared you down for a second before breaking character and starting to laugh, “But seriously, he never even told me. He knew I’d fight him about it.”
“It must be hard to always be as dramatic as you are,“ you scoffed, as you got out of the water again, starting to shiver a bit, “Let’s go home, I’m cold.”
He got out of the water too and you tried hard not to stare at his chest that was completely showing through his white shirt.
“You should have put on a jacket,“ he shrugged, acting as if it's your fault that you were completely drenched and cold.
“You little shit,“ you countered as the two of you were walking towards your home, “I’m only cold because you pushed me into the lake.”
“I had fun tonight,“ you admitted to him as you were standing in front of your door once again, “You’re not awful.”
“Thank you?”, he laughed unsure before he continued, “You’re also not awful, (y/n).”
“I mean, you were not the nicest in the beginning, I thought you hated me. But now, I think you tolerate me,“ you said, a winning smile on your face.
“Believe it or not, I think you’re pretty cool,” he mirrored your smile, nodding.
“I’ll let my diary know about that,” you assured him.
He just stood there for a second, looking at you. Both of you didn’t want to part, enjoying time with each other but you didn’t want things to get awkward.
“I’m sorry I pushed you into the water,“ he mentioned, laughing while apologizing.
You rolled your eyes at his half-assed apology, “Yeah sure. You better make up for that.”
He nodded, “I will. Good night, (y/n),“ suddenly you felt him hugging you, not expecting it once again. Three hugs in one day were something you didn’t expect at all when you woke up this morning.
“Sleep well,“ you told him as you closed the door behind you, removing your make up, changing into comfortable clothes and letting yourself fall into your bed, falling asleep with a smile on your lips. You were definitely making progress.
。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+
A few days after your birthday and the situation with Jinyoung it was about time to talk to someone about your confusing feelings. Jaebeom was the first person that came to your mind, definitely not wanting to talk to Bambam about it. As the two of you were sitting outside on your porch, drinking a beer and enjoying the sunset slowly going down, you decided to tell him about what happened after you and Jinyoung left on your birthday.
“He gifted you your old music box?” he asked confused, almost shocked, “That’s so much better than the vibrator we gifted you, dammit.”
You let out a laugh, “Anything is better than that.”
“Well, apparently you won’t be needing it any time soon if you and Jinyoung continue to fall in love at that pace,“ your best friend gave you a small wink.
“Jaebeom,“ you let out a pout, “I really don’t know what I should do. He was about to kiss me by the lake but instead, he let me fall into the water.”
He was trying his hardest to contain his laughter as you told the story but he couldn’t help it, “You really think he’s the one you want? I bet not even Yugyeom would behave that awkward.”
Chuckling, you shrugged, “I guess I just like a challenge.”
Jaebeom nodded, “He definitely is one. Bear with him, it’s been some time. His last girlfriend and him broke up quite some time ago.”
When Jaebeom mentioned the word gilfriend you felt curiosity awakening inside of you, “How was she?”
Taking a sip of his beer, he glanced at you, a bit pitiful, “Are you sure you wanna do this to yourself?”
“I’m just curious,“ you assured him, „No hard feelings.“
Before Jaebeom could start telling you about her you were disturbed by your cousin, who just finished his work, a beer in his hand as he sat down on the free chair on your table, „What are you talking about?”
“My hopeless crush,“ you said, laughing.
“What else,“ he shrugged, unimpressed, “You could still date Yugyeom, you know.”
You shook your head before turning back to Jaebeom, “So, tell me about her, I can’t imagine him with a girl at all.”
“Are we talking about Elly?” Bambam asked confused, trying to catch up with your conversation.
“Yes.”, Jaebeom said, trying to start once again before getting interrupted by Bambam, also once again. “She wasn’t shit, (y/n). Don’t worry about her. I never liked her. They weren’t even really a couple.”
Jaebeom rolled his eyes, “She wasn’t all bad, Bam. She was actually quite nice at the beginning. She’s from the town next to ours, the granddaughter of the owner of the library - we were friends with her back then when she still visited every weekend. I guess she was into Jinyoung from the first second and he was, well, frustrated. So they became friends with benefits. Nothing too serious at first.”
“(Y/n), I really don’t get why you’d wanna know. You’ll just hurt yourself,“ your cousin seemed to worry, clearly disagreeing with your curiosity.
“They broke up so I won’t be hurt, I just can’t imagine him in a relationship at all. I need some information for research,“ you argued.
“He was a good boyfriend, I guess,“ Bambam thought about it, taking a big gulp of his beer, “Like he visited her often and made sure to bring her to every event or birthday. But one of them would always start a fight and it got so annoying over time. Every time he brought her I was afraid to say anything to him because if I only said one wrong word she’d start to discuss with him.”
Jaebeom now interrupted him, “Well, it wasn’t only her who started fights, to be fair. Jinyoung often enough started one too, whenever he was in a bad mood he’d always find a reason to fight.”
A scoff came out of your mouth, “I already thought he’d be one to pick fights, to be honest.”
“Speaking of the devil,“ Jaebeom nodded towards the house of the Park’s and as you turned around you saw Jinyoung jogging over to you. He seemed to be in a good mood, a smile on his lips, something rather unusual.
“Why are you having a nice evening and no one cared to call me?” he asked as he arrived in front of you, holding up a big plate with many different pieces of cakes on it, “I brought cake.”
Bambam immediately took the plate and set it down in front of him as Jinyoung sat down on the free seat on the bench beside you.
“We were just talking shit about you,“ Bambam started, getting up to get some forks from inside.
“Why? What did I do?” he asked, already sounding offended, ready to defend himself without knowing what even seemed to be the problem.
“I just told them about how you let me fall into the lake,“ you huffed, salty, not letting it go easily.
“Why would you do that?” he asked in a whiny tone, “Aren’t they teasing us enough already?”
“I don’t care about that. I still can’t believe you’ve done that. I could’ve caught a cold.”
He now crossed his arms in front of his chest, “You didn’t though, right? I brought you cake as an apology, just to find you hanging out with our friends, without me?”
Jaebeom let out a laugh at your constant bickering, “Young love must be so nice.”
“Be quiet,“ you gave Jaebeom a warning glance before you turned back to the real enemy here, “You think cake can just fix the trust I lost in you?”
He let out a laugh, “You’re being overdramatic.”
Actually, you couldn’t care less that he let you fall into the lake. It was just fun to pick fights with him, “You’re being an asshole.”
He scoffed before continuing your discussion in a mocking voice, “Wanted me to kiss you so bad that you can’t get over the fact that I didn’t?”
You let out a small gasp, not expecting his comeback. Jaebeom and Bambam were both trying no to laugh watching the two of you fight.
“If you think that, you’re truly delusional,“ you stated, even though everyone here knew he was right, “The only reason I didn’t kill you right then was because I was so relieved you didn’t kiss me.”
He snorted, not ready to give up yet, “Sure, just keep on telling it to yourself until you start to believe it.”
And this is how you spent the rest of the evening. Three of your closest friends, cake, one or two or maybe even more beers, a beautiful pink sunset and most important - in the place you loved to call your home.
。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+
“(Y/n), give me a hand, please,“ your neighbor screamed from the other side of the farm, struggling to put up the pavilion that was supposed to cover the tables from the weather. It was a warm autumn day but you knew that it could basically start to pour any second. Quickly you jogged over to Jinyoung, leaving Bambam alone with the other preparations for the big harvest festival that was held once a year on the farm. It was a tradition you used to love as a child and you were more than happy to participate again this year.
As you walked over you couldn’t help but notice how mesmerizing he looked once again. There was sweat dripping down his face while he gave you a light and exhausted chuckle, holding up one side of the pavilion with his rather strong arms. The white shirt and grey sweatpants he was wearing might as well be the death of you. Oh god, you definitely hated being attracted to him. 
“What’s up, Park?” you asked, desperately trying to sound as unbothered as possible.
He, on the other hand, continued to smile, shaking his head, “Can you please hold up the other side over there?” he asked, pointing to it, “I’ll do the rest.”
You went over and held up the other side, having to stand on your tiptoes. “Are you excited for tonight?” you asked him, desperate to make conversation with him. Even though by now Jinyoung was being very nice to you, at least as nice as Jinyoung could be, you were still always trying to make him like you. Even though Bambam and Jaebeom assured you he likes you quite a lot by now you still wanted him to admit to it. His attention was your favorite thing at the moment.
He shrugged while concentrating on a screw he was currently trying to get in, “Not really. It’s not gonna be different than any other year.”
“I’m here now so it is gonna be different than before,” you said, making him look up from his work for a second, his eyes finding yours.
“So, you’re going to make the harvest festival interesting again?” you saw the smirk on his face before continuing, “Don’t get up my hopes.”
“Share a bottle of liquor with me and I bet we’ll have a lot of fun,” you stated boldly, immediately embarrassed at your way too obvious flirting. At this point, you were sure that Jinyoung was very aware of your obvious crush on him - he was many things. Rude, annoying, sometimes even a bit mean but delusional wasn’t one of them.
“Are you flirting with me, (y/n) (y/l/n)?” he asked almost a bit teasingly.
“I am,” you said, trying to sound confident but you were pretty sure your now deep red cheeks were giving you away.
He seemed to be amused and he shook his head in what seemed to be joy. 
“Not bad,” was all he said, shrugging before his full attention was back on building the pavilion. 
You looked around the big farm as Jinyoung was working. It looked beautiful, there were a lot of tables with benches, all of them had some flowers and candles on top of them, you could only imagine how cute it would look as soon as the sky was dark and all the candles were lit. Bambam was currently preparing some baskets filled with eggs, milk, some wool, all different kinds of fruits and vegetables and even some feathers you picked up from the pond where the ducks stayed as a lucky charm - your uncle and Jinyoung’s mother would sell them later on, the people always loved those little baskets. Jinyoung’s mother was inside, preparing food for the night. She was overdoing herself, cooking four different kinds of soups, baking too many loaves of bread for the visitors to eat, she even has been baking all kind of cakes since yesterday night. 
“Your mum is an angel,” you mumbled more to yourself than to him but Jinyoung still heard you, laughing a bit.
“She just really loves the harvest festival. But yes, I agree, she really is,” he answered without looking at you, “There’s gonna be plenty of leftovers tomorrow, I’ll bring you some if you want.”
You nodded even though he didn’t see, “I’d love that.”
“Hey, (y/n)!” Gus, the owner of the restaurant, came up to you. He drove up here in his truck, the whole back of it filled with different meals that he contributed for tonight, “Where should I put the fish and meat?”
Jinyoung told you that you could leave and help Gus for now so you showed him where the food was being served. There was a long in the middle of the farm, where Gus’ and Mrs. Parks’ food was going to be sold later on. It was opposite to the little dancefloor your uncle built earlier, he even got a pretty good sound system for the night. You already anticipated seeing all of the older people dance later, it was always very cute to you. All the tables to sit on were placed in between the dancefloor and the food. 
As you were helping Gus’ to carry the food you saw Jaebeom and his parents coming up to you. It was a funny sight, seeing how much taller Jaebeom was than both of his parents.
“Hey cutie,” your best friend greeted you as he put down the three beer crates he was casually caring like they didn’t weigh anything, “How are things going?”
“I’m really excited for tonight,” you cheered with a wide smile on your lips, “My last harvest festival was years ago, I still had to go to bed at eight o’clock at that time.”
He let out a laugh, “Oh, that’s when the fun is just starting.”
You only managed to finish all the work an hour before the first people came to the festival. Within no time the whole farm was filled with people as the sun was slowly going down.
You didn’t expect so many people to actually show up. Not only the whole village was attending tonight’s fest but a lot of them also brought their family from out of town, a lot of faces you’ve never seen before. It luckily didn’t rain yet and you were hoping it would stay that way for the rest of the night. The sky was dark now and all the candles were lit, making the atmosphere cozy. People were eating, drinking and enjoying themselves, some even danced to the 80′s music that was playing already. You were sitting on the side of a table, just looking around and appreciating everything as a few of your friends came up to you.
“Don’t you wanna eat something?” Yugyeom asked you, nodding towards the table with the food, “We were just about to grab something, join us.”
“Let’s also grab a drink or two,” your cousin, who clearly already had more than just ‘a drink or two’, his bright pink cheeks exposing him, shouted as he came up behind Yugyeom, Jaebeom and Jaebeom’s girlfriend.
Your mouth watered as you saw, and especially smelled, the food that was offered. Now you were very thankful that you didn’t have the time to eat all day. All the food looked amazing and you didn’t even know where to start. Jackson and Mark both went for the meat but you wanted to start with something more light for now, looking at all the soups Mrs. Park made.
“Try mum’s Italian wedding soup, it’s the best,” you flinched lightly as Jinyoung suddenly came up behind you out of nowhere, his arm casually resting on your shoulder. 
You tried to play it cool in front of your friends but inside you were all tense, just because of Jinyoung being so close to you. “I’ll have that then,” you agreed, telling his mother who was handing out food tonight. Both you and Jinyoung offered her to help out earlier but she insisted that you should just enjoy the evening.
“Of course, darling,” she poured some of the soup into a big cup, giving you and her son a wide smile, “You two look just adorable together.”
You felt yourself blushing but you were pretty sure that no one would notice in the dark. 
“Right? We’ve been telling them the whole time,” Jackson joined, excitement in his eyes, agreeing with his friends’ mother. You heard a deep, frustrated groan from Jinyoung.
“Guys,” he squinted his eyes at both of them with a warning glance but he still was resting his arm on you, not even thinking about removing it, “Can you mind your own business? Just for once?”
Jaebeom chuckled at the two of you, knowing exactly that you were trying your hardest to keep your cool, “You know they won’t leave you alone until something happens.”
He was right. But you weren’t sure if and when things would happen. And what those things even would be. When it came to Jinyoung you felt more clueless than ever before. Not even your math class in senior year seemed that confusing.
“Yeah, because no one in this town knows how to respect the boundaries of other people,” Jinyoung bitterly said through gritted teeth, slightly annoyed but everyone just let out a laugh, not taking him seriously, thinking it’s funny that he gets so worked up over some simple teasing.
“I’m sorry (y/n),” Mrs. Park turned towards you, apologizing, but you could still see a little amused smile on her lips, “I hope I didn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I don’t mind at all,” you assured her, “Don’t apologize.”
“I’ll go and get us something to drink,” Jaebeom offered after he got some food, his lips already pressed against his girlfriend’s neck again before turning to you, “Save us a seat.”
You waited for the rest to get something to eat and wondered what was suddenly going on with Jinyoung, he wasn’t leaving your side at all which was pretty unusual for him. Last week he was still too afraid to give you a birthday present in front of the boys and now he was suddenly even touching you in front of everyone?
“I’m sorry,” he whispered for only you to hear as all of you were looking for a table to sit on. On the way, he let go of you but still was walking right next to you. Not that you minded, you enjoyed the sudden attention he was giving you, you just had to get used to it. 
“What for?” you asked him, shrugging lightly, “I don’t care if the guys tease us. They think we’re into each other, they won’t stop anyway.”
“Well, they aren’t so dumb after all, huh?” he still whispered to you, chuckling a bit as he turned around to the others, pointing to a free table, “Let’s sit down over there.”
This little shit was flirting with you. 
The soup was amazing. The alcohol was pouring. The atmosphere was loud and filled with banter and laughter. Jaebeom and his girl were making out in front of everyone in no time, literally being all over each other. Jackson, Yugyeom and Bambam were screaming along to ‘Come on Eileen’ playing in the background, doing those stupid fortnite dances to the old music, constantly motivating each other to do stupid moves and having the time of their lives. Mark was talking to his girlfriend, the majority of your friends still had no idea that they were actually dating and you wondered how they managed to keep it a secret in such a small town like this. You were just laughing, enjoying everyone’s presence - an evening like this was exactly what you needed, full of friends and possibilities to make amazing memories. 
Looking back at the fact that in the beginning, you were so afraid to start a new life here was ridiculous by now - this was your home, you were doing the thing you love with people you wouldn’t trade for anything. Not in a hundred years would you have thought that you’d find your happiness in this small town.
You carefully dared to look over to Jinyoung, hoping he wouldn’t catch you staring - you felt tingly, it might be the wine or the butterflies in your stomach but you felt so much comfort and happiness that you wanted to explode. The way he was laughing was making you go insane - you got lost in the wrinkles around his eyes and his side profile that seemed to be the most perfect thing you’ve ever seen. It was so nice and rare to see him letting go, being completely relaxed and warm. The longer you looked at him the more you craved something deep down in your stomach.
It felt like you were in a movie, the world around you blurred and slowing down while all you could concentrate on was the guy next to you - the guy, that used to be so cold to you and opened up step by step, going from thinking you were stealing chickens to flirting with you in front of everyone. You secretly hoped that the two of you were figuring out the future of your relationship sooner than later, slowly growing impatient. It was obvious to anyone who’d spent only five minutes around you: There was an undeniable tension, a chemistry that both of you felt.
Still staring at him while everyone was laughing and talking he stole a glance from you, seeing that your attention was already completely on him. His features softened as soon as his eyes met yours and the big laughter on his face turned into a small but impactful smile - immediately you felt a rush of confidence running through your veins, your heart beating faster. You hated how you were literally melting for him but you knew exactly that you couldn’t fight it so you might as well let him in.
His eyes were still locked with yours, no one daring to break eye contact. You wondered how this moment could feel so intimate when there were literally 200 people gathered around you - it felt like you were all alone, everyone else was busy cracking jokes while the two of you were busy falling in love. Or at least that was what it felt like. 
He gave you a small nod before sitting a bit closer to you, your thighs now touching. “Stop flirting with me. I might just break my cool character and blush,” he joked, making you chuckle before the two of you brought your attention back to your friends who were currently cheering for Bambam and Yugyeom, both trying to down their beer faster than the other one. You shook your head, letting out a laugh at them being messy. Jinyoung’s hand sneakily rested on your lower back and you hoped it would stay there for a while.
Bambam finished first and laughed at Yugyeom, who was still drinking, “Oh, I can’t believe you thought you could win against me. I’m the king when it comes to drinking,” he bragged.
Jaebeom, who was for once breaking free from his girlfriend, shook his head at Bambam, “You’re overconfident. Jinyoung, finish him.”
Jinyoung let out a groan, “Don’t make me do this.”
“Let’s go Jinyoungie, I bet I can beat you easily,” Bambam challenged him, knowing exactly how to provoke his friend.
“Dude, don’t do this to yourself, you’ll lose,” Jackson yelled, “No one can beat Jinyoung, you should know that.”
“I trained. And Jinyoung didn’t show off his skills in a long time, I think you’re underestimating me,” he insisted, opening another bottle of beer and putting it down in front of Jinyoung.
“Bambam, take it easy. It’s your fourth beer in what? Twenty minutes?” you interrupted, “I don’t wanna clean up all alone tomorrow because you are dying.”
“It’s harvest festival (y/n),” he whined while opening another bottle of wine for you, pouring something into your glass, “You gotta start learning how we do it here.”
Jinyoung shook his head, letting out another deep sigh, “You have no chance against me,” he held up his beer and waited for Bambam to do the same.
Bambam had a satisfied smile on his lips, ready to give it his all, “I’m going to fight for your title.”
Jinyoung let out a laugh, “That’s cute. Much luck trying.”
All of you were counting down from three and the guys started chugging down the beer like it was a life or death situation. It was stupid and childish but all of you were enjoying it, rooting for Jinyoung. If all of your friends could agree on one thing then it would be that Bambam needs to be taken down back to earth every now and then.
You looked at him, your mouth slightly open. One thing you definitely didn’t know about Jinyoung was how fast he could drink. He always seemed like the most reasonable and mature guy so you were kind of taken by surprise to see how he downed the bottle in the matter of a few seconds.
“Ha!” he let out, laughing as he put his bottle down, “You’re a fool, dude.”
Bambam let out a laugh, shrugging, “Never thought I had a chance, just wanted you to drink a bit. Who’s the fool now?”
“I didn’t know you could drink like that,” you turned to Jinyoung.
“This guy used to get so wasted every weekend, he just acts all pure in front of you,” Mark exposed his friend laughing.
You raised your eyebrow at Jinyoung, “Oh, let’s see who can handle more then, shall we?”
Jinyoung’s eyes widened surprised, not expecting you to challenge him when it comes to drinking, “You might regret that.”
“I don’t mind regretting a thing or two,” you poured the two of you some shots.
“That’s the spirit,” Bambam cheered, opening another bottle of beer.
Jinyoung and you were clinking glasses, “To Bertha!” he mentioned his favorite before both of you downed the shots, making a grimace as the bitter liquor went down your throat.
“That shit tastes horrible,” you stated, making him laugh.
“No one said getting drunk is easy,” he countered before immediately pouring you another shot, “But you wanted this. We can stop if you can’t take it, you know.”
“Definitely not,” you scoffed raising your eyebrow at him and holding up the shot glass, “It’s going to be a long, long night.”
“Oh, don’t promise what you can’t keep,” he flirted amused, laughing at you before getting ready to down the next shot, “To you and me.”
Nodding, you gave him a smile, “Whatever that might mean.”
You didn’t know what was faster: The time flying by or your alcohol level rising. It was around midnight now and the night just started. All of you were still drinking eagerly, sharing stupid stories and daring each other to do even more stupid things. The music was loud and the older people were dancing like there’s no tomorrow while you were still sitting at the table, playing cards and taking videos and photos of each other.
Some other girls around your age joined your group, you didn’t know them but the rest did. It was a nice group of people overall.
You still were watching the elders dance, smiling to yourself as your uncle and Jinyoung’s mum were dancing with each other, seemingly having the best time.
“Aren’t they cute?” Jinyoung turned to you with a grin, his hand resting right above your knee, slightly squeezing it. You could tell the alcohol had its impact on him because he was getting more touchy by minute, his eyes sparkling. 
You nodded, feeling a bit nostalgic seeing them together. They always have been close, both of them lost their significant others early and were left with their children and a whole farm to manage. “It’s nice that they’re having fun. I wish they’d take a break more often.”
Jinyoung hummed in agreement, his thumb caressing your leg, “I’m happy Mum has Minwoo. They are always there for each other and talk shit about me and Bambam,” he joked, his eyes still glued to his mother.
He was clearly adoring their little dance while you were adoring him.
“He’s really grateful you’re here.”, you didn’t expect Jinyoung to be so serious, a new side of him showing.
“I like being here. Wouldn’t go back,” you told him as you put your hand on top of his, appreciating the moment.
His eyes met yours, not thinking you’d hold his hand in front of everyone, even though no one could see, “You do? I didn’t think you’d fit in or like it here at first if I am honest.”
You let out a laugh, “Yeah, I know. You were very vocal about that if you don’t remember our first encounter as I came back.”
He joined your laughter, giving you an apologetic pout, “I’m sorry. I was being a bit rough, wasn’t I?”
You nodded, “Didn’t expect anything else though. You never opened up towards me when we were younger,” you explained to him in a soft voice, you didn’t want to hurt him with your words.
“I just wondered why you’d move here. I thought it was stupid. What does this little town offer you?” he asked curiously, his eyes glued back to your family.
“This, for example,” you gestured to them, “It’s very heartwarming here. You might not realize because you’ve always been here but this town is full of love.”
Jinyoung narrowed his eyebrows a bit, “I bet the actual reason you like it so much here is this cute neighbor of yours.”
You scoffed at his confidence, “Oh, you mean that Jinyoung guy? No, he’s just too busy loving himself, I doubt he could ever make time to let someone else in.”
He opened his mouth a bit, acting shocked, “Didn’t you hear?”, he asked you, turning his body to you now to completely face you, “Everyone says he’s a total sucker for you.”
Playing along, you slightly brushed your knees against his, “I don’t think so,” you let out a sigh, “Last week he had the perfect chance to kiss me but instead he threw me into the lake.”
He grinned, not expecting you being so witty. “I’m sure he was just nervous and regrets it very much.”
“I wonder what your sources are. They don’t seem very trustworthy. You know that guy, he has a heart made of stone.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” he came closer to whisper in your ear, “He’s actually a soft man inside.”
“(Y/n)!” your cousin screamed over to you, clearly drunk, ruining your little moment with Jinyoung, “Let's go, dance with your favorite cousin.”
You sighed heavily, knowing that refusing won’t work even though you didn’t want the playful banter with Jinyoung to end. So a few seconds later you found yourself on the dance floor, jamming to the old classics with your favorite human in town. Jinyoung and Jaebeom might be close, but no one would beat your family.
The two of you danced around like crazy, exaggerating every move, having fun without any worries for a few songs.
That was until you saw Bambam looking over to the rest of your group, his eyebrows narrowing, a mixture of confusion and anger in his eyes - his jaw clenched as he was glaring somewhere. You followed his gaze to see Jinyoung talking to a girl you didn’t know. You didn’t think anything of it at first, he didn’t seem very close to her, maybe even a bit uncomfortable.
“That little shit,” your cousin raised his voice, looking at you, “He better doesn’t do anything stupid.”
You threw him a questioning look, no idea what was going on, “What do you mean? They’re just talking.”
He shook his head, “That’s Elly. Elly and Jinyoung are never just talking.“
His ex. What did this mean to you? You didn’t feel jealous somehow. The evening was fine, Jinyoung was clearly giving all of his attention to you, the two of you weren’t dating, you didn’t even kiss yet. Of course, you hoped that this would change sooner or later, your feelings for him were undeniable at this point and part of you thought that they weren’t one-sided.
Before you said anything, Bambam was losing his temper, “He can’t treat you like this, (y/n). I’m going to talk to him.”
You laughed at his clearly drunken state, shaking your head, “No no, I can manage my relationships alone, don’t worry.”
He tried to look you in the eyes, failing slightly. You were pretty sure that if you’d ask him to touch his nose right now, he’d miss it by miles. 
“Why, of all people, Jinyoung? He’s too cold for you. I love this dude but I don’t want you to go through a hard time because of him,” he pouted, suddenly wanting to discuss your love life with you.
You knew you shouldn’t laugh, Bambam was being sincere and caring about you right now but his state was so fucked up that you couldn’t help it, “Let’s get you some water.”
Letting out a heavy sigh because you ignored him, he followed you to the Im’s table where they were selling drinks.
They immediately let out a laugh, “Oh, Bambam,” Jaebeom’s mother said amused at his clearly fucked-up state.
“Can we have a water, please?” you asked her as you held Bambam, wishing he’d stay still.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he tried to convince you, “I could do a cartwheel without a problem.”
“Please don’t,” you laughed at his confidence, giving him the cup of water and thanking Jaebeom’s mother, “Should we go back to the table?”
He nodded and you walked over to your group of friends, handing Bambam over to Yugyeom. Looking around you saw that Jinyoung was missing. Just as his ex-girlfriend.
Of course, you couldn’t know if they left together. Maybe Jinyoung just went home without saying goodbye. Checking your phone to see if he maybe texted you just disappointed you even more. You hated that you suddenly felt so vulnerable. The evening was so much fun up to this point, the fact that such a tiny thing could ruin your mood completely made you feel foolish.
Not daring to ask Jaebeom if he knew where he went or if they left together, knowing he’d try to comfort you, making you feel even worse, you said your goodbyes to your friends, claiming you were tired and needed some sleep.
Walking over to your home luckily was only taking you a minute, considering that the harvest festival was held on your farm. The worst thing about all this was that you didn’t know how to feel. Technically, you had no reason to be mad or jealous, Jinyoung and you never did anything more than flirting. On the other hand though, you liked him, so of course, it hurt you that he was probably enjoying himself with his ex-girlfriend right now. Your head hurt from all the alcohol and overthinking. You wished he would at least have said goodbye to you. Maybe, after all, he wasn’t into you as much as you thought. Today would’ve been his chance to make a move otherwise.
Opening your door you almost got scared to death. Your heartbeat was going crazy fast and you were even more confused than before. Just as you accepted the fact that Jinyoung left the party with his ex-girlfriend, he was sitting on your sofa, playing games on his phones, waiting for no one else than you.
“What are you doing here? How did you even get in?” you almost screamed, still shocked by the thought that someone broke into your house at first.
He laughed, simply stating, “I know where your spare key is.”
You shook your head in disbelief, “But what are you doing here? Why are you just sitting on my sofa?”
“I wanted to leave the party. But I still wanted to spend time with you.”
 “What about Elly?” you blurted out, your eyes immediately widening after you asked, realizing that he and you never talked about her.
He looked at you in shock, “W-What?”, you never head him stutter before, “What about her? How do you know?”, the confusion on his face vanished a bit, sighing heavy, “Jaebeom told you about her, right?”
You nodded, “It just came up once in a conversation we were having. And when I saw you with her I just assumed you left with her.”
He laughed, looking at you like you were crazy, “Why would I do that?”
You shrugged, not having an answer to his question. “What do I know? Maybe you missed her.”
“You’re crazy if you think I’d waste your time like that. And my time also,” he said softly, “Forget about her. She came up to me as soon as you left, trying to talk so I left.”
You nodded, understanding what was going on now, “So, you decided to break into my house?”
“Oh, I can leave if you want me to.“
“That’s not what I said,” you rolled your eyes. Suddenly, there was a pause. Neither of you were saying anything and you felt unsure of how to continue.
“Shouldn’t we clean outside a bit already?” you asked Jinyoung, trying to break the silence so you’d get out of this overwhelming situation. 
Jinyoung, on the other hand, seemed to be very relaxed, he almost felt at home on your sofa. He stood up, coming closer and closer to you, “It can wait until tomorrow.”
When he stopped, he was right in front of you, your feet were almost touching and if someone would push you at this moment, you surely would land on top of him, which actually sounded pretty nice to you. You nodded, trying to sneakily take a deep breath to calm down, you had no idea why you were so nervous. He’s by far not the first guy you kissed but he might be the one kiss you anticipated the most.
His hand slowly ran up your arm, then down again, giving you goosebumps all over your skin, his gentleness making you fall for him even more. His hand found yours and you looked into his eyes, wanting to drown in them as your stomach felt like it was tied in knots.
A small smile formed on Jinyoung’s lips as you locked eyes, not able to have a single clear thought. By now you were sure that tonight would be the night you’d finally have him where you wanted him. All for yourself.
Coming nearer, you felt his upper body almost touching yours, his head was leaning in and you saw him slowly closing his eyes as his free hand found your hip, bringing you even closer to him.
The moment before the actual kiss was already breathtaking enough. The mixed smell of his cologne and the alcohol the two of you drank earlier was making you feel dense. The touch of his hand was already burning but as his nose brushed yours slightly, a rush of adrenaline was sent through your whole body, making your stomach turn and you suddenly felt hot in places you didn’t know he had an impact on until now. It was rather quiet, the only sound you could hear was the muffled music from outside, but you couldn’t figure out what song was playing, only feeling the bass of it. Your heart was beating so fast, you hoped he couldn’t hear it.
But all those little and unimportant things around you vanished as soon as you felt his soft lips, pressed onto yours with the perfect amount pressure. The kiss developed from something shy and soft into the projection of what both of you had been craving secretly for so long in no time. No one dared to break the kiss, not wanting it to be over.
His hand wandered all over your body, from your hip to your waist, to your arms, to your neck, right back down to your lower back until he held onto your thighs.
“Jump,” he mumbled hectic, his voice deeper than usual, between your kisses, not wanting to stop.
“Are you sure?” you asked him carefully.
He chuckled into your kiss, “Never been more sure.”
So you did as he told you and jumped up, your legs now crossed around his hips as he held you up like it was nothing, deepening the kiss once again, your tongue playing with his. Being with him like this was more exciting than you ever could’ve imagined.
Your hand found the nape of his neck, burying itself in his soft hair, as he was carrying you to the sofa he was sitting on just a few minutes ago.
So there you were, on top of Park Jinyoung, straddling his muscular thighs, feeling a heat in your core that you haven’t felt in such a long time but missed so much. The way his hands were exploring your body while his lips were busy kissing every single spot on your jaw and your neck was making you feel like you were going insane, leaving you wanting every single part of him.
A small, rather quiet groan came out of your mouth as he pulled you closer to him, not able to suppress what you were feeling any second longer. He chuckled once more, clearly satisfied with the feelings he was giving you, before giving his attention to your lips again.
His one hand was now on your neck, supporting every movement between the two of you, as his other hand was resting on your hip, slowly making you rock back and forth on him, the tension in both of your pants growing.
Slowly, his hand started to wander under your shirt, to a place where you needed him desperately. He was caressing the skin under your shirt carefully, teasing while taking his time. You wanted nothing more than for him to move them upwards towards your breasts, giving you more and more. 
His lips were doing its magic on your neck again, kissing and nibbling on a soft spot under your ear as his hand slowly wandered up until his thumb finally found your nipple under your lace bra, the contact making you flinch a bit because of the intense feeling. 
He let out a deep groan, sending shivers down your body and an undeniable friction in your underwear grew, making you rock your hips into him once more.
You started to wonder if you were prepared for what was about to happen, the two of you were just starting and you already felt like a mess, wanting him so much more. But he took his time, enjoying every single second of you on top of him.
His hand was now kneading your breast, the pressure just exactly right as he brushed your nipple every now and then, already knowing its effect on you. Every time he touched your bud lightly you couldn’t help but moan.
You let out a small whine as your breast lost contact with his hand, not wanting him to stop. But as you realized that he was only stopping to pull up your shirt you were more than willing to give him what he wanted. Within seconds you were not only shirtless but also braless, as Jinyoung was throwing your bra away to the floor.
He studied what you looked like, wanting to never forget this moment. Leaning back on the couch you saw a satisfied smirk on his lips as his hand found your nipple again. He now was looking right into your eyes and you held eye contact with him, trying not to break it as you got wetter every time his thumb was caressing your nipple.
He enjoyed watching you trying to contain yourself for sure. The smirk on his lip was growing now and his glance was filled with a mixture of lust, adoration and mostly, anticipation of what was going to happen next.
You put your hand on his shoulder to support yourself as you started to dry-hump him, letting out a moan, a louder one this time, as you felt his erection under you.
“Shit,” he moaned, breaking eye contact and throwing his head back, his eyes closed as he bit his lip.
All of a sudden he stopped you from your actions, holding your hips down with both of his hand as he looked at you, frustration all over his face, “(Y/n), are you sure about this? I don’t think I’ll be able to stop once we started.”
Your heart skipped a beat, appreciating his question but you immediately gave him another kiss, this time a bit softer, kissing him deeply, before whispering into his ears. “Don’t you dare to stop now, Jinyoung.”
You could hear his chuckle, his breath on your neck giving you goosebumps. “Thank god,” he said before lifting you up without warning you, making you scream a bit, afraid he’d let you fall.
“Be careful, you scared me to death,” you laughed as you were being carried towards your bedroom.
“You think I’d let you fall?” he said amused, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” you countered, making him laugh as he arrived in your bedroom, letting you down on top of your bed - now you were under him, lying down as he was still sitting on his knees, taking in the view of your naked upper body right in front of him, for him only.
You did the same - and what a beautiful view it was. He was hovering over you, your legs between his as he was pulling his top over his head, throwing it away before unbuckling his belt as you were running your hand over his toned chest.
Not long until both of you were only left in your underwear. Jinyoung slowly removed your pants, before coming back up to you, supporting himself on his elbows as he gave you a deep kiss, adding tongue and caressing your cheek before looking at you. You couldn’t help but smile.
Jinyoung gave you a small smile back, his eyes soft, “I love that smile.”
Before you could think about his compliment, one that he never gave you before, before you could get flustered or say anything back he suddenly changed the game completely, fastly pulling your underwear to the side and sliding one finger inside of you while his thumb was rubbing circles against your clit.
Taken aback by his sudden actions, you let out a loud moan, almost a scream, making Jinyoung smirk a bit before his lips wandered down to your neck once again, taking his time with you as he pumped his finger in and out in just the right rhythm. You moved your hip into his movements as his lips kissed down to your chest, his free hand holding your breast while his mouth teasingly played with your nipple, licking it and twirling his tongue around it, making you a moaning mess already.
Your hand was lightly stroking his dick through his boxers, leaving you wanting more. God, the things you wanted him to do with you were unholy.
The way he glanced at you as he was kissing his way down to your core looked like living art. Your whole body wanted him so bad, just the thought of where his mouth would travel to next or how it would feel when you’d finally feel him inside of you was making you go insane. Never before have you wanted something as much and at the same time hoped he’d take his time before.
Arriving at his destination he let out a moan, definitely being into all of this a bit too much too. He started to slowly kiss your inner thighs, holding your legs up a bit, teasing every part around where you wanted him the most.
“Stop teasing,” you whined, wanting him so much more than you currently had.
He chuckled against your core, the warm air making you flinch, “I thought that’s our thing,” before licking along your wet folds and then adding another finger, his tongue giving all its attention to your clit.
The pace in that he was going down on you was making your knees feel weak. He looked so handsome, his forehead in wrinkles as he was concentrating on pleasing you completely, moans vibrating against you.
It didn’t take long for the two of you until you were having sex, the two of you completely concentrating on the sensational feeling for the next moments.
After you finished you laid down on your stomach, not able to really move, as Jinyoung let himself fall right next to you, giving your nose a small peck. He was not only out of breath but also still in trance of what had just happened, “I didn’t expect this,” he breathed, calming down from his orgasm.
You giggled a bit, “What? Us having sex?”
The smile he gave you made your heart race like crazy, his messy hair falling into his eyes, “I’m not complaining though.”
For a second you were lying there, letting Jinyoung catch his breath and calming down. You felt your legs shaking from the intercourse you just had.
“Feel my legs,” you ordered chuckling, his hand on your thigh in a second as he felt how much you were shaking.
“Glad you liked it,” he laughed before getting up, “I’ll get you a towel, be right back.”
As you were waiting for him to come back you realized what had just happened. After all the flirting and teasing Jinyoung and you actually ended up in your bed. The thought made you dizzy, but it could also be from the alcohol you drank. It seemed too good to be true.
Cleaning you up, you suddenly heard a laugh as he grabbed your ass, “I may or may not have left some marks. I’m sorry.”
You turned you head back, squinting your eyes at him, “You’re lucky no one else sees that part of me. The others would tease me to death about that.”
Slowly, he climbed back up to lay next to you, both of you on your stomach, his hand caressing your side, “Apparently they have a bet going on about when we’re going to end up together.”
“I’m not even surprised. Sounds like them,” you closed your eyes, enjoying Jinyoung’s affection, “This feels nice.”
He hummed in agreement before giving you a small kiss, his forehead resting next to yours, “I could stay like this forever.”
“Then stay,” you offered, still not opening your eyes. Jinyoung was getting a blanket, throwing it over both of you so you wouldn’t freeze, “Don’t leave. Stay here.”
“You want me to?” he asked, his hand now playing with your hair, “Alright, I’ll stay then. Sleep a bit, it’s late and you’re drunk.”
“I will, just give me one more kiss, okay?” you asked him, feeling yourself getting more tired by any passing second.
He chuckled as he came closer to your face once again, holding your face in his hands as he softly pressed his lips onto yours one more time, your naked bodies touching. “Good night, (y/n).”
Falling asleep, everything seemed too good to be true. Jinyoung beside you, his scent in your nose as you slowly drifted to sleep in his arms.
As you woke up he was gone. First, you thought you had dreamed about yesterday's events but after a few seconds, you realized that it wasn’t a dream. You got drunk, you had sex, you fell asleep next to him. And now, he was gone.
Standing up, you wrapped your blanket around your naked body, looking for the man that you spend the night with but he was nowhere to be seen.
Well, maybe it was too good to be true.
。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+
It’s been five days. Five days since you shared your bed with Jinyoung. Five days and your goddamn sheets still smelled like him - or maybe you were hallucinating at this point, wanting just something that reminds you of him around you. The two of you talked to each other casually when you met on the farm. You said hi and talked about the weather. Shared awkward smiles. And that was about it. It’s not like he was cold to you or anything, he seemed to feel just as helpless and awkward about your drunk night together as you. As much as you loved the night and what happened, you definitely hated the aftermath.
Talking to Jaebeom about it didn’t help, sadly. While you appreciate that he always listens to you and is ready to give you advice at any given time, you still had hoped that he’d suggest something else than to give him a bit of time.
The current tension between you was even worse than the sexual tension between you before. You didn’t care if you and Jinyoung wouldn’t end up as a couple, of course, you’d like that very much and still hoped that things were going into that direction, but the two of you developed too much to just destroy the nice friendship you built because of feelings getting in the way.
So you decided to visit him that afternoon, feeling anxious as you were walking up the front porch of your neighbors. You barely remember how their house looked like from the inside since it’s been so long since you been inside. The front door stood open and you knocked against it, not wanting to be rude.
“Mrs. Park?” you called for her as you slowly stepped inside, looking if you could find her but there was no sign of her being home.
Walking up the stairs, you tried to remember which room belonged to Jinyoung until you were distracted by something odd and unexpected - suddenly your ears were filled with a beautiful but rather sad piano melody coming from the room on the back of the corridor. Curious, your feet walked towards the source of the sound, your heart suddenly felt heavy, the sad melody immediately managed to impact your mood, making you feel blue. A part of you wanted to turn around and leave Jinyoung alone, just like he probably wanted you to – if you figured out one thing about him over the last few months than it was the fact that this man was a complicated person, hard to read and even harder to talk to, but you decided to accept that. There were only two options: Either you’d work it out with him or you wouldn’t.
You stood in the open door, looking at the back of the man your heart wanted so bad, sitting in front of a big, wooden piano - for a second you couldn’t even believe that he was able to play such a heart touching piece of art, sitting in his room all alone. What a waste it was for him to play all alone, with no one around to hear. It made your heart sting for a second, at this point you liked him too much to go back. Just looking at him being at peace was making you crave to be the woman beside him. After all, he was Park Jinyoung, the one man that managed to surprise you over and over again.
As quiet as possible you walked into the tidy and light room, not wanting to give him a heart attack by creeping up on him but also not wanting him to stop playing. It was a beautiful sight, the way his hands were gliding on the big instrument so smooth and without thinking. You couldn’t see his face yet but you were already swooning over how beautiful he looked.
He looked over his shoulders as you cleared your throat, continuing to play even without paying attention to the keys, giving you an unreadable smile. You sat down on his bed that was placed right beside the piano as he stopped playing.
“Didn’t expect you to come visit me if I am honest,“ Jinyoung admitted, almost sounding shy. He seemed to be a bit uncomfortable, knowing exactly that he finally had to face the night you shared a few days ago.
“Well, I didn’t expect you to be able to play the piano so skillfully but yet, here you are, doing exactly that,“ you countered in a soft tone, not wanting him to feel like you were mad at him, “That sounded beautiful.”
He chuckled and you were happy to see him relax a bit, “You think so? It was rather depressing, wasn't it?”
“Matching your mood?” you dared to ask him carefully, trying to address the whole situation somehow.
He stood up from his chair and walked over to you, sitting down next to you on his bed, “It’s my dad’s birthday today. He taught me the song I just played.”
His voice was full of love while talking about his father but you could hear the hidden sadness behind it. You didn’t know about that and suddenly, you felt guilt rushing over you. While you were wondering why he didn't try to solve the obvious problem between you and him he had something way harder to deal with. Looking up at you, he forced a small smile, “Mum and Olli are visiting his grave but I didn’t feel like going.”
Trying to give him any kind of comfort you nodded, pressing your lips into a thin line. You were surprised that he was opening up to you but as sad as the situation was, it was relieving you that he finally talked to someone about it. According to Bambam and Jaebeom he tried to avoid this topic as much as he could.
“Why did you stay here?” you asked him, trying to keep the conversation going and show him your support. What you didn’t want was overwhelm him with questions, so you slowly started to see how comfortable he was around you.
He shrugged, looking up at the ceiling, “It’s such a sad place. I feel like we shouldn’t be sad on his birthday, if that makes sense. We should eat his favorite food and drink a beer and stay up too long, playing guitar on the porch. Mum and he always sneaked out at night on his birthday, taking drunk walks. They thought I didn’t notice but they were always coming back, laughing loudly. I miss celebrating his birthdays. But it’s hard to be happy on his birthday without him here.”
He laid down on his bed, his head right next to where you were currently sitting. You studied his face, his eyes still glued to the ceiling, not daring to look at you, the woman he hurt by leaving her after having sex with her. The sun outside was setting, leaving Jinyoung’s whole room in a golden light, his tan skin was glowing and his light-brown hair shimmering. While he seemed to be sad on the outside you could see that talking about the memories he made with his father was making him feel lighter. It was nice seeing him talking about his dad - they always have been very close, you still could recall that.
“I still remember him so vividly. He always gifted me self-made marmalade before I left the city and no other marmalade, literally not a single one at home was comparable to his,“ you shared your memory with Jinyoung, looking out of the big window in his room, admiring the sun, “He has a beautiful soul.” - When you came over you wouldn't have expected to talk to Jinyoung about his father but you knew that everything else, every problem and unsolved question, between the two of you could wait for now.
“I wish I was more like him,“ his voice was nothing more than a mumble, almost inaudible. The sudden craving to hold him came over you, to comfort him in your arms, to kiss him until he felt better. But you held back, as long as you didn’t talk about the obvious.
“What do you mean?” you asked him, daring to lay down beside him - luckily, he didn’t seem to mind. The two of you didn’t touch or cuddled, you just were lying there, on his bed, having a serious and meaningful conversation.
“He was so kind and positive. He told my mother different reasons why he loved her every night. Even after a long day of work he still took his time and practiced the piano with me every night and then brought Olli to bed, reading him a good night story or playing him songs on the guitar until he fell asleep. He taught me so much but still, I could never be so full of love like he used to be.”
“You think too low of yourself, Jinyoung,“ you said determined, meaning it, “I don’t think you see how much your mother appreciates everything you do for her. She knows that you didn’t plan out your life like this but you’re staying here for her. And Olli looks up to you so much, you could do nothing to let him down.”
He shrugged, looking at you for a second, “I don’t feel like that’s enough.”
Feeling heartbroken about hearing him talk so bad about himself, your hand found his in between the two of you, linking it with yours, now it was you who didn't dare to look into his eyes, “Look at us then.”
“What do you mean?” he asked you, confused.
“Since I moved here you gave me so much joy and helped me everywhere you could. You have no idea how much I appreciate all the things you’ve done for me since I came here, complicated tensions between us or not,“ you meant every word.
He scoffed lightly, “I attacked you on your first day, made you churn butter and let you fall into the lake in the middle of the night on your birthday.”
You couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his words, “Well, yes. And I could still kill you for all of those things. But,“ you started, turning your body towards him to look into his eyes, “You also helped me calm the cows during the storm. You gave me the most meaningful birthday present I could’ve thought of. You brought me a basket full of my favorite fruits even though you still deny that you did-”
He let out a soft chuckle before interrupting you, “That wasn’t me,“ he insisted once again with a grin on his face.
“Sure, Park,“ you rolled your eyes at him picking up this discussion again, “You might think you’re being cold but you’re not at all.”
Now he turned to face you too, both of you lying on the side, looking in each other’s eyes. His brows narrowed as he tried to say something to you, the expression in his eyes seemed to be hurt, maybe even guilty.
A heavy sigh came from his lips before he closed his eyes, “I just left you. That morning. I just got up and left.”
Those words made you freeze. After all, you came here to talk about exactly that but it seemed so wrong right now, “We don’t have to talk abou-”
“I just left,“ he repeated, seeming disappointed with himself, “I never just left someone after having sex with them. There were people that meant way less to me and I still stayed the morning after. I am being a complete asshole to you all the time and still, you don’t hate me. You’re here, trying to make sure I’m okay.”
Keeping quiet was the only thing you could do at that moment. Jinyoung’s words seemed harsh but the tone in his voice sounded guilty. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t say anything - you had no idea what Jinyoung was trying to say.
“Jinyoung,“ you finally started after a few seconds, his full attention on you, “This day is hard enough for you already. We don’t have to talk about that right now. I’m not mad at you.”
“You should be though. I know, I am pretty amazing but not even such a godlike man like me shouldn’t treat you like this,“ he joked but both of you knew it was his way of comprehending because he didn’t know how to handle the conversation you were about to have since he always struggled to talk about his feelings, especially sober.
“Why did you leave then?” you asked him the one question you asked yourself over and over again. There could have been millions of options in your mind. Maybe, he regretted it and it was just a drunk mistake. Maybe, the feelings you thought he had for you were just sexually. Maybe, he simply had to go and do something early in the morning. So many maybes that have gone through your head without any idea if any of those maybe’s were right.
“I don’t know. I wish I didn’t,“ he bit his lip nervously, not looking into your eyes anymore, afraid to see your reaction, “Maybe I’m afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” you asked, not sure if you actually wanted to know the answer. You felt many emotions when it came to Park Jinyoung. You felt happiness, joy, hope, possibly love. On other days you felt powerless, insecure and confused. What you never felt was being afraid. Pretty sure, you actually felt safe around him.
“I’m not as flawless and strong as I constantly try to convince you I am,“ he sighed, pressing his lips into a straight line, “I couldn’t stand to hurt you because of my own problems. But I still did.”
Slowly you nodded as your heart was sinking deeper and deeper in your stomach, “You’ve got to talk to me, Jinyoung. What are you thinking about?”
Jinyoung hated this probably even more than you did. He was good in so many things - he was a good friend, a better brother and the best son. He was an amazing cook and apparently, an amazing piano player. He could flirt like no tomorrow and crack jokes around his friends that would make everyone laugh. He could drink a lot and he could make your heart beat faster. There were countless things he was able to be and to do without any problem. But when it came to talking about his feelings and showing his vulnerable side he failed. You knew that just as good as everyone else but if he wouldn’t talk, you couldn’t continue to work on your relationship.
“I,“ he started but stopped, looking at you sternly while clenching his jaw a bit. His eyebrows furrowed and his expression looked almost pained, trying to find the right words, “I think that I loved the night with you. I did, really. But maybe, it was a bit thoughtless of us.”
“So, what you’re trying to say is that you regret it,“ you stated, trying to just get this conversation over with, hoping he couldn’t see or hear that you felt like he just put a knife in your stomach.
„God, no,“ his answer bursted out of him like a bullet before he started mumbling to himself, „I am truly terrible at this.“
You gave him a few seconds to gather his thoughts even though the silence was deafening. This wasn't how you expected to spend your first time in Jinyoung's bed at all.
„I like you, (y/n),“ he then spoke, determined, „Obviously I do. And I think you like me too, or at least I hope you do. But we were drunk and desperate when we had sex and I wanted it to be special.“
You couldn't help but pout at his helpless confession, adoring him even more than before. Within seconds all of your doubts vanished – as long as Jinyoung liked you too you would find a way to work everything out. Trying not to let your overflowing happiness show, you gave him a small smirk, „You thought about us having sex?“
Luckily, his body relaxed too, an annoyed smile appearing on his handsome face, „All the time,“ he scrunched his nose, his arm wrapping itself around your waist.
„So, what you're saying is that you ignored me for days because you didn't like the way it happened?“ you asked him, coming back to the actual topic.
Frowning, he sighed, „When you put it like this it sounds stupid.“
„Because it is,“ you insisted, squinting your eyes at him, „I thought you avoided me because you hated me or something like that.“
„I'm so sorry,“ he apologized again, his face coming closer to yours, „Apparently, I'm very bad at this.“
„So, what are we doing now?“ you asked him, feeling a bit anxious even though Jinyoung just told you that he liked you too, so you had nothing to worry about.
„First, I want to kiss you if you're fine with that,“ his fingers were drawing little patterns on your waist, „and then I'd like us to become something serious.“
Nodding, you did as he asked and gave him a kiss, his soft lips feeling just as good, if not better, as you remembered them. You felt something like butterflies in your stomach and you thought that Jinyoung would probably make fun of you if he knew how jolly he made you feel.
Breaking from the kiss, the most handsome man you've ever seen stared you down for a second, not saying anything.
„We should celebrate,“ he suddenly suggested.
„What do you have in mind?“ you asked him curiously, not once escaping his gaze.
„Let me take you out to dinner,“ his voice was sweet as honey and you were sure you never heard him talk in such a soft tone – it might be the rest of guilt he still felt towards you or the fact that now you officially knew about each other's feelings but you could get used to it. You wanted to get used to it.
„Right now?“ you asked him, wondering if it would be okay considering it was his father's birthday.
„I don't wanna wait a second longer,“ he smirked at his own cheesiness, getting out of his bed to get ready to go.
You joined him, „Stop being so loving. God, where did my cynical Jinyoung go?“
Rolling his eyes, he chuckled as he wrapped his arm around your waist, walking down the hallway with you. „This changes nothing,“ he gestured between the two of you, „You're still terribly annoying even if we're together now.“
„I could get used to the sound of that,“ you scrunched your nose as your eyes met before you repeated his words, „We're together now.“
Even though he tried to hide it, he was just as excited about the label as you were. You could feel it in the way he touched you and the sparkle in his eyes gave him away.
A few minutes later you were sitting outside of the restaurant in the heart of your city, the marketplace was pretty quiet as it slowly got dark outside, a candle lit on your table.
The owner of the restaurant greeted you, raising his eyebrow and smirking as he saw the two of you together. „Oh, what a nice sight to see the two of you here together. Is this a date by any chance?“
You let Jinyoung answer, not knowing if he was okay with telling people yet.
„It's still a secret so you have to keep quiet, please,“ he answered with a proud smile on his lips and you could swear his chest was sticking out a bit.
„What a pretty couple,“ he sang as he went back inside, giving you a bit of time to read the menu and decide on what to eat.
Even though it was almost autumn it was still warm outside – you loved those kind of late summer evenings. Without even having a single sip of alcohol you felt almost tipsy, the man opposite of you making you feel all light and smitten.
„This is the downside of living in such a small town,“ Jinyoung started, his skin glowing in the candlelight, „We have zero privacy.“
„I don't mind,“ you shrugged, „They're going to find out sooner or later. It's the charm of towns like ours.“
„I just would like to take you out on a date every now and then without one of the guys crashing it because they see us,“ he explained, „But you're right, it's not as bad here as I make it out to be.“
He took your hand that was resting on the table, caressing it with his thumb. Every touch you two shared make you shiver in anticipation for more. Even though you already knew you were head over heels for him you felt yourself falling deeper every time you touched.
Time went by way too fast for your liking and before you knew it you two had your dinner, your dessert and even some drinks afterwards. The atmosphere was light, both of you enjoying each other's company after not talking for some days.
„I don't want this night to end just yet,“ you pouted. Before you dared to take his hands you glanced around to see if Bambam was anywhere to be seen, not wanting him to disturb your peace.
Your new boyfriend, still a weird thought to call him that, nodded, „I can stay if you want to.“
Before you could say anything he fastly added, „I don't have to though. It's your decision. I can leave too.“
You gave him a weird glance, „You're acting like this would be a first for us.“
Not saying anything he almost froze in front of you, fidgeting with his hands, staring at your door. For a few seconds you mustered him, waiting if he'd say something but nothing came out of his mouth, which was pretty unusual for him.
„Oh god, you're nervous!“ your grin was a mile wide and you clapped your hands amused, „Park Jinyoung is nervous because of me. I can't wait to tell my diary about this.“
Frustration was written all over his face as he closed his eyes as if he couldn't believe himself. „Your diary must be full of my name,“ he mumbled under his breath before looking at you again, the satisfied smile on your face provoking him, „Stop making fun of me.“
As you were searching for your keys in your back he hugged you from behind, pressing a kiss against your hair, “Let’s drink some beer and watch a movie.”
Nodding, you stole a quick kiss from his lips and opened the door, letting the both of you in. 
“I’m going to get a blanket,” you informed him, “Get some beers, I’ll meet you in the couch in a minute.
„What do you wanna watch?“ he asked you a few moments later, one leg bent while the other one was spread out on your sofa, his arm spread on the back of it, just waiting for you to join him.
The sight of him comfortably sitting on your sofa gave you the most domestic feeling you've felt in a long time – he seemed to look even better than before somehow.
„Let's watch an animal documentation,“ you responded, sitting down next to him. The blanket you brought from your bedroom spread over the two of you, you dared to cuddle yourself up to him and he seemed to enjoy it as much as you, giving your head a quick kiss, your face resting on his chest.
„You're weird,“ he muttered, „Let's watch a horror movie instead.“
Giving him an unimpressed glance, you sighed, „How cliche.“
You could feel his chuckle going through his chest, „At least it would give me a reason to stay for the night.“
Rolling your eyes, you looked up at him, his glance already on you, „Why? Because you're too afraid of horror movies? Because I am certainly not.“
„I have such a brave girlfriend,“ he acknowledged in a sarcastic tone while opening two beers, handing you one, „Here's to us, babe.“
Clinking your bottles, you took a sip of your beer, „So, you're a babe kind of guy? Wouldn't have thought that.“
„I can call you asshole if you prefer that,“ he said seriously before starting to laugh at his own joke once again.
And with that, the rest of the evening was just as perfect as the first part. It was just you, Jinyoung, some beers and Netflix. Every now and then you shared kisses, sometimes those kisses were a bit more passionate and longer, turning into full make-out sessions before Jinyoung started to whine because he missed the plot of the movie you were watching.
“God, I’m so happy,” he told you softly as you were slowly falling asleep in his arms, relaxing completely under his touch, “I wanted this for so long.”
。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+
You and Jinyoung managed to keep your relationship a secret for about two weeks. It took you only two short weeks to decide that it didn’t make any sense to keep it from them. Not only were both of you pretty sure that the relationship between you was serious but also, like always, none of your friends stopped their teasing, making it difficult to stay hidden because their eyes were always on you.
“We have to tell them,” your boyfriend looked at you, “It’s a miracle they didn’t find out yet.”
You chuckled, wrapping your legs around his, “I guess you’re right. But they are going to be so nosey about it. I hate it already.”
It was a late summer Saturday evening, probably one of the lasts warm days for this year and Bambam decided to gather your friends and your family together for one last barbecue.
Walking outside, you linked your arm with Jinyoung’s, something you’ve never done before in front of other people. A part of you almost felt nervous to let the rest know.
“You’re ready?” he asked you, giving you a small wink as you walked towards the big table next to the barbecue grill. Your families were already sitting down on the big table while Jaebeom and Jackson were struggling to get the barbecue grill to work. It was a beautiful evening, the sun was still high but was about to sink, the warm summer breeze felt refreshing and the big table in the garden was full of drinks and food, from meat to salads to bread to vegetables. Jaebeom’s parents were there too, currently mixing some cocktails.
Bambam was the first to spot the two of you walking out of your cottage, giving you a confused glance, his eyebrows narrowed. He stopped telling the other a story he was in the middle of, wondering about the sudden skinship. Immediately, everyone turned their heads to where he was looking, wondering what made Bambam speechless.
As you arrived you said nothing, waiting for anyone to say something.
Jaebeom looked at you with a big grin on his face, “What is that supposed to mean?”, he asked, pointing onto your linked arms.
“You are fucking with us, aren’t you?”, your cousin asked suspiciously, “Ha Ha. Very funny.”
“No Bam, for once I’m serious, you replied, amused because he didn’t believe you, “Are you really surprised?”
Mrs. Park and your uncle looked at each other, a smile on their faces.
“Jinyoung, are you serious? You can’t trick your old mother like this, don’t make me excited for something that isn’t true.”
Jinyoung chuckled at his mother, nodding, “Don’t worry, mum. I’d never lie to you.”
Bambam still didn’t seem to believe you, “If you’re not kidding you gotta kiss,” he insisted with a sly smirk, thinking that he exposed you now.
You looked at Jinyoung, giving him a questioning glance, not knowing if he’d be comfortable kissing you in front of everyone. But he didn’t seem to care and just shook his head amused before he came closer to give you a short, but still very adorable, kiss on your lips, his arm now around your waist, before turning to Bambam, who looked like he was about to faint.
“Who do you think you are just dating my cousin without asking me for permission?” he yelled angrily, getting ready to fight Jinyoung.
You, Jaebeom and Jackson started to laugh out loud as Bambam started to chase after Jinyoung.
Sitting down on the table right next to Jaebeom’s seat he pinched your cheeks lightly, “Congratulations, finally trapped him, huh?”
You nodded, “Was about time. I was slowly going insane.”
“In a more peaceful minute, you need to tell me all about how it happened, alright?” your best friend said with a satisfied smile on his lips, “And don’t forget me now that you’re in love.”
“How could I ever?” you promised, laughing as Jinyoung came back to the table, out of breath from running away from Bambam.
“Your cousin is crazy, (y/n),” he breathed heavily, shaking his head, “Maybe I have to reconsider becoming part of your family.”
“Well, too late now,“ you shrugged as Bambam joined the table again too, a goofy smile on his face as he turned to you.
“So, I assume I can’t try to set you up with Yugyeom anymore, right?” he joked, sitting back down on his chair and opening two cans of beer, one for himself and the other one for you.
„You better watch your mouth,“ your boyfriend warned Bambam, giving him a warning glance.
A few hours later, the sky was pitch-black by now and the stars sparkling, you noticed that Jinyoung was gone for quite some time now and decided to go check up on him - you saw him going to the barn earlier.
As you walked over to Jinyoung he already noticed you but didn’t look at you yet. Instead, you only saw his back as he was busy giving Bertha some kisses.
“Oh no, don’t worry, Bertha,“ he talked to her, “You’re still my favorite cow, just don’t tell (y/n).”
You rolled your eyes, scoffing, “You’re trying to make me jealous?”
He turned around, acting as if he didn’t realize you coming on, “Oh no, (y/n),“ his voice was mocking, “You shouldn’t have seen this, I can explain, I promise.”
Laughing at his own joke, he came over to you and put his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to him. Trying to give you a kiss, you freed yourself from his grip, giving him the cold shoulder.
“No, go and kiss Bertha, if you love her so much,“ you huffed and held your chin up high, trying to stay serious but Jinyoung wasn’t having it. Within seconds his arms were wrapped around you once again, now tighter than before so you couldn’t escape if you wanted.
Pulling you into a hug, he locked his eyes with you, a joyful smile on his still so beautiful lips, “You’re so annoying.”
Scoffing, you avoided his eyes, still playing hard to get, „I thought we're over the whole 'you're annoying me' phase.“
„Actually, each time I told you that you're annoying I fell in love with you a bit more,“ your boyfriend confessed, still hugging you tightly before smirking, „But you still were a pain in the ass.“  
You gave him a quick and small kiss before resting your forehead against his, “I want to spend the rest of my life annoying you.”
He let out a small laugh, his eyes closed. “Oh, that’s good,“ suddenly he picked you up, giving you no other chance as to hold onto him, your legs around his waist as he was holding you up, his arms tightly around your waist, “Because I want to spend the rest of my annoying life with you.”
。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。+..。*゚+ 。*゚+.*.。
the end! if you read this whole thing i wanna thank you. this is my first long scenario and it took me a lot of time to finish it. of course, i have a lot improvement to do but i hope i could at least make someone happy with it. :)
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seblos · 4 years
Text
there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach - ch 2/10
chapter title: let’s stop swirling, and start twirling
word count: 3,351
[one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine (coming soon)]
read on ao3
Carlos now has a hall pass to miss the last 15 minutes of study hall so he can get to rehearsal early. He probably would have been allowed to leave without one, considering everyone in the cast had been excused half an hour early for costume fittings, but he has Mr. Mazzara to thank for the small yellow paper he clutched in his hand now.
Miss Jenn was already in the bomb shelter by the time he gets there, quickly typing away at her phone until she notices Carlos standing in front of her.
“Carlos, perfect, just in time!” Miss Jenn says as her phone made a fwoosh noise, confirming some order that Carlos couldn’t see. “I left the box of scripts in my office, so can you set up the desks and name cards for the read through? I’m thinking a circle for all the named roles, plus me, you, and our stage manager, and then the ensemble and the rest of tech can just be grouped together behind.”
He was about to ask why not just put everyone in a circle, but Miss Jenn had already made her way out the door towards her office. He shrugs, not caring enough to argue with her judgment. Miss Jenn knew what she wanted; he might as well follow her agenda.
Carlos arranges the desks the way she had asked, then quickly slides over the top of one as he begins putting down the name cards for everyone. He starts with his own choreography card (keeping a mental reminder to take a photo with it later) then director, stage manager, Chad, Troy, Gabriella, and Taylor.
The next card stops him though. Carlos reads over the neat printed “Sharpay” as the conversations he had with Seb from auditions washed over him, warming his heart.
 He glances over at the desk he had left off on, almost directly across from where he was sitting. Instead of putting it there, though, he bit his lip and turns, dropping the card on the desk next to his instead. 
With that, he kept going around the circle acting as if nothing happened. He makes sure to put the Ryan card next to Sharpay just in case anyone decides to ask why Seb was all the way on the other side of the circle from the other leads. Miss Jenn came back in a few minutes later with the box full of scripts.
“Oh that looks perfect!” she tells him, looking at the arrangement. Carlos sucks in a breath, expecting her to say something about the out of place Sharpay name card, but she doesn’t say anything about it.
The theatre kids begin filing through the door just as the bell rang for school to end as Carlos swipes through the few notifications on his phone as Miss Jenn calls for everyone to take their assigned seats. Nothing important, just a new post from Ashley Tisdale on Instagram, a few new twitter followers (he was surprised to see EJ Caswell was one of them) and-
Carlos groans, showing Miss Jenn the text he had gotten from Natalie.
“Who is Natalie Bagley and why do I care if her glands are swollen?” she asks.
“Our stage manager. Guess she’s not coming,” Carlos says, switching off his phone.
Miss Jenn immediately called out Ricky’s friend, Big Red, and asked him to read the stage directions. Part of Carlos is upset that she didn’t just ask him to do stage directions since it wasn’t like he had any lines to read, but it was fine. They needed more tech kids anyway, maybe this would convince him to join backstage.
Or so he thought, considering the next near-hour and half was spent painfully listening to Big Red read the stage directions. Carlos at one point had shot Miss Jenn a pointed look, who looked stressed out of her mind as she asked him to read the punctuation. Unfortunately, Big Red had taken that seriously, and no one had the heart (or the energy) to correct him after he started reading “Sharpay comma heads for class period.” This, plus Carlos’s ADHD made him feel like he needs to take a lap around the school. Maybe around all of Salt Lake City before he’s ready to come back to this.
Instead, he chooses to glance over at Seb to his left, who looks just as spaced out as everyone else did. An idea pops into Carlos’s brain, and he quickly scribbles down an SOS on the blank sheet of paper he had been using to take choreo notes (in which there were none, yet. He couldn’t focus like this anyway.) He then folds up the note and tries to make eye contact with Seb.
Unfortunately, the farm boy was still spaced out as ever, staring at the pages which he turned while everyone else did, although his eyes weren’t moving along the words. 
The universe decides to apparently help him out, though as while Carlos was trying to get Seb’s attention, he doesn’t notice his pencil rolling off the table until it was too late. It clattered on the floor, not catching the attention of anyone except for the boy sitting next to him. 
Seb breaks from his trance, reaching down to grab the pencil before handing it to Carlos with a grin, and Carlos uses it as his shot to quickly hand the boy the note as he takes his pen back. 
He takes the piece of paper in surprise, cocking his head at Carlos for a moment as he unfolds the paper as quietly as possible. For a moment, Carlos wonders if it had been a bad idea.
Until, Seb reads the note and a smile grew on his face, grabbing a pen from his backpack nonchalantly so he wasn’t writing back in highlighter. Carlos noted that it was cow print and wrote in shimmery light blue ink, which, aw. 
He passes it back a moment later, and Carlos grins as he reads the response. Underneath his SOS in round, loopy writing is Seb’s bubbly ikr? big red is the sweetest but this plus my adhd my brain is GONE.
Carlos grins when he reads it. He didn’t know Seb had ADHD too (it’s not exactly something he advertises either, to be fair) but it’s always nice to see someone who can relate. He quickly scribbles back same! im all for new tech kids but i think miss jenn should just let me read from here on out. and i hate reading out loud. (and i have adhd too, crazy lol)
He passes it back to Seb, who’s brow furrows he writes, passing it back a moment later. It now reads she really should. why didnt she? i mean, youre capable of anything, even reading out loud. (and that’s cool! i mean, not cool, but cool that you can relate :) ) 
Carlos smiles. It’s sweet that Seb thinks that about him. He writes not sure. perks of being the unpaid choreographer i guess. 
When Seb gets it back this time, he smiles. well, someone should pay you then. btw have you done the chem hw yet? mr mazzara is killing me
They continue passing the paper back and forth, veering off topic from the show and just talking about school and their families. It’s never been this easy for him to make friends, but something just seems right when he’s talking to Seb, even if its through a piece of paper.
They end up covering the paper, only pausing when Seb has to read lines. They have to move onto the back at one point before Big Red finally reads the last sentence of Act I, and Miss Jenn calls for a break. Carlos is about to scootch his desk closer to Seb’s when Miss Jenn gestures for him to come talk to her. He shoots Seb an apologetic look, who just waves him off with a smile before adjusting his jacket and instead moves to talk to Ashlyn, who looks surprised when he drops down in the seat next to her.
As he follows Miss Jenn over to a corner of the bomb shelter, he worries for a second that she’s going to call him out for not only not paying attention to the script but distracting one of the leads in the process. Thankfully, it seems she didn’t notice and instead starts asking about Ricky and Nini. (As if Carlos has any idea what’s going on between them. Again, hetero drama that he doesn’t completely care about.)
“Should we think about recasting?” Carlos offers. 
“Absolutely not, my instincts are impeccable.” Miss Jenn replies, then adds, “and I’m not scared of a challenge.”
“This one might be impossible. She won’t even look at him.”
“Don’t underestimate me. I come from strong stock. My mother bounced back from an autopsy.”
Okay, not the reply he was expecting, but Miss Jenn was already calling them back together, which meant another hour of listening to Big Red read Act II. 
When he sits down, though, Seb smiles at him again, and Carlos pulls back out the paper.
Carlos was packing up his backpack after they ended early rehearsal that day. Ricky stormed off, and maybe it wasn’t necessarily Carlos’s fault that he was quitting the show, but he could feel his chest getting tighter the more he tried to ignore it. If he had just pushed Ricky a little less or cut all the dance talk and tried just a little harder to get him to stay, they wouldn’t be in this mess. 
“Hey, do you need a ride home?” Carlos hears footsteps approaching. He hadn’t realized that anyone was still in the bomb shelter, but when he turned around Seb was standing there. They had talked before rehearsal and in classes, but during rehearsal, Carlos was barely able to spare a glance at the boy playing piano while he tried to teach choreography. Not that rehearsal was about interacting anyway.
“Don’t you live on a farm?” Carlos asks, even though he knows the answer. It’s more of a question of why are you offering a ride if you live so far away?
“Yeah, but don’t worry! Your house is on the way!”
Carlos squints at him, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. “You don’t even know where I live.”
“No, but I’m sure it’s on the way,” Seb is grinning at him, and Carlos doesn’t want to say no. Besides, he told his mom they would be done at six, and it’s barely even 5 o’clock, so he nods.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. That would be good,” Carlos returns the smile and Seb beams. He finishes zipping up his backpack, swings it around his shoulders as Seb finishes sending a message on his phone, and the two walk out the door of the bomb shelter together. 
“By the way, I like your shoes,” Seb says without even looking down, and Carlos feels the slightest bit of heat rushing to his face. The shoes in question are cow print, and even though he bought them before his conversation with Seb at the read through, he did think of the boy this morning when he put them on. 
“Thank you,” Carlos says. He’s quiet for a moment, before asking “how are you so happy all the time?”
Seb looks surprised. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re always so smiley and nice, even when everything is crazy stressful, like right now. I feel like I’m just snapping and brushing people off.”
“Well, first of all, you’re definitely more stressed than me,” Seb says, turning his head towards Carlos as he speaks. “I barely played today, considering how much everyone has been arguing with you about the moves. I mean, just because Miss Jenn isn’t there all the time doesn’t immediately give them the right not to listen to you.”
“I think it’s that, plus being an underclassman,” he sighs, pushing open the doors to the main entrance of the school. “I mean, Gina respects me but she isn’t exactly the friendliest with everyone right now either.”
“Well, it’s not fair of them,” Seb says, and Carlos bites his lip. He already knew deep down what Seb had said was true, but just hearing someone say it out loud made it so much more real. 
When Carlos doesn’t say anything else, Seb continues. “Besides, it sort of seemed like you weren’t having the greatest time, so I was hoping if I was a little happier, you would be too. Is that stupid?” he asks.
“No, it’s not stupid. It helped. Thanks,” Carlos smiles, because it did genuinely help. Well, either that or the venting. 
Seb smiles again, and Carlos feels his heart flutter just a little bit. Something about Seb’s smiles always made him feel warm. They never feel fake, and they’re always just as bright as the last.
They stop in front of a car, and Carlos opens the door to the back while Seb goes to the front seat. Behind the wheel is a girl a few years older than them who he presumes is Seb’s sister.
“Carlos, this is my sister, Georgie,” he introduces, and the girl turns to smile at Carlos. She has the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Seb.
“Nice to meet you, Carlos,” Georgie says. “Seb texted saying you need a ride, so where am I going?” 
For the most part, the car ride is silent. There’s music playing, a mix of old 2010’s pop and musical theatre, and Carlos can’t tell who’s playlist it is as both Seb and Georgie sing along. It’s not uncomfortable though, and he smiles as he watches the two of them together. He only has step siblings, and he’s not nearly as close to any of them as Seb is. 
“Do you have other siblings?” he asks out of nowhere, and both Seb and Georgie laugh.
“Too many to keep track of,” Seb shakes his head. “I’m a middle child of seven.”
Carlos’s eyes widen. “Seven? And they’re all fully blood related to you?”
“Yep. four sisters, two brothers. Josephine is the oldest, then our brother Cohyn, then Georgie, then me, then Sophia, Paisley, and Isaac. We’re all two years apart, starting at 21 with Josie, except for Isaac who’s 5 and was a bit of a surprise,” Seb explains, and Carlos feels his head spinning.
“How do you remember all that?” he asks, causing both the Matthew-Smith’s to laugh again. 
“Years of practice. To be fair, I don’t know like, half of their birthdays,” Seb says, earning a punch in the arm from his sister.
“Do you have any siblings, Carlos?” she asks.
“Two stepsisters on my mom’s side, both older. Isabella and Victoria,” Carlos says. “Isa is in college and Vic is about to graduate, but she goes to West High. I have a lot of cousins though, which are basically my siblings.”
“Us too,” Seb smiles softly. Carlos is expecting the look that people give him when they realize his parents aren’t divorced, but there’s no change in his expression. It’s nice to not have people ask about it for once (not that he remembers a time before they were divorced anyway. He was three, it doesn’t really affect him anymore.)
Georgie pulls into the driveway of Carlos’s house, and Carlos opens the door. 
“Thank you for the ride,” he says.
“Anytime, Los.” The nickname hits Carlos harder than he’s expecting it to, and he stops for a second, registering it into the mind as his heart swells. Only family members had ever used that nickname on him before, and hearing Seb use it felt… different. But good different.
“See you tomorrow,” he says, closing the door and waving goodbye to the two before running up the steps to his house. He can see them driving away as he closes the door.
“You’re home early,” his mother steps out from the kitchen, and Carlos turns. 
“We ended early. Sort of a dramatic day.”
His mother laughs. “Always is in theatre,” and Carlos can’t help but laugh too. “How did you get home? You could have texted.”
“A… friend gave me a ride. Seb Matthew-Smith, he’s our accompanist and he’s playing Sharpay.” 
He can see a twinkle in his mother’s eye as she nods. “Got it,” she says, stretching it out as she gives him a look.
“Not like that, mamá, just a friend,” he rolls his eyes with a smile. 
“Well, I’m glad you’re making friends. Dinner will be ready in an hour, I’m going out to play bunco tonight, so make sure you and Victoria clean up,” she tells him, and Carlos nods, taking that as his cue to go upstairs.
As he reaches his bedroom, though, his phone dings with a text from Seb (they had swapped numbers at the end of the readthrough) about the chemistry homework. Carlos sets down his backpack, pulling out the homework in question, and sets it on his desk while he texts back. 
His mother’s voice rings in his head. I’m glad you’re making friends. It’s the first time in a while that he’s had a close friend, and it fills his chest with warmth. 
“Where do you sit during lunch?” Seb asks Carlos out of nowhere, plopping down on the seat next to him during study hall. He’s in the library, researching other school’s performances of High School Musical so he can try and get inspiration for their show. When Seb sits down, though, he pulls out an earbud.
“I mean, here, usually,” Carlos glances around the library. “Why do you ask?”
Seb shrugs. “Dunno, I’ve never seen you at lunch before and I was wondering who you sit with. I thought we might be in different periods, but we have gym and chem together sixth and seventh, and you mentioned to me yesterday that you have algebra fourth, so the only option left was fifth unless you take an extra class like some kinda psycho.”
Carlos blinks. “You kept track of all of that?” he asks.
Seb suddenly blushes slightly. “I mean, I don’t know the rest of your schedule, I was only really paying attention because like I said, I was wondering who you sit with. But I guess you sit with… no one…?” he trails off.
Now it’s Carlos’s turn to blush. “I mean, my mom plays bunco with the librarian so she always let me sit in here. The only other person I really talk to is Gina, but she has seventh period lunch. And I guess I could eat in Miss Jenn’s office, but sometimes she stresses me out and I can watch videos in here. Plus it’s a lot quieter than the cafeteria, although I did run into Ricky today-”
Seb cuts him off. “Would you want to sit with me and Natalie? It’s only us at our table.” 
“I- uh. Yeah. Sure,” Carlos says.
Seb nods with a smile. “Okay, cool,” he says, then turns in his seat and logs into the computer next to Carlos.
“Why do you keep inviting me to things?” Carlos asks suddenly, gnawing on his lip.
Seb turns back to face Carlos again. “What do you mean?”
“You offered to drive me home, now you’re inviting me to sit with you at lunch.”
He cocks his head, smiling, although still clearly confused. “Because we’re friends, dummy,” he tells Carlos.
“Oh,” Carlos smiles. “Okay. Cool.”
Seb nods. “Cool.” 
They both go back to doing their work silently until Seb turns around again. 
“Did you say you saw Ricky in here?” he asks.
“Yes! You’ll never believe what he did.”
“What?” “He told me he’s joining the show again! And then, he started dancing. Like, in the middle of the walkway!” They both laugh.
As Carlos continues filling Seb in on all the details of his previous conversation with Ricky, he can feel his heart fluttering. He doesn’t know what is with the other boy in the long run, but hey, at least they’re friends.
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sunshinesatellite · 4 years
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new agere blog!
hiya, i'm Bear! i've been an age regressor for around 5 years, but i'm finally making a blog im ready to comit to. i need more people to follow, so here's some things about me, and if you relate to them please like/reblog/reply to this, because i wanna follow more regressors like me!
a boy regressor
disabled (i have POTS, EDS, and autism)
have more "boy"-centered interests (pokemon, thomas, dinosaurs, cars, trucks!!)
ndn/poc in general
vegan
some of my big interests are
alt/punk/emo music
animal crossing no, i dont have NH :(
art
cooking (and basically anything related to homesteading tbh. im a city boy but i still want a lil farm)
other than no ns/fw, i don't have a dni, but if you want me to follow you then you have to allow transmed and ace exclusionist interaction. i don't want any fighting about it, i dont mind either way, it's just something i know a lot of people are uncomfy with and i don't want to upset anyone!
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sleepthinks · 5 years
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I'm having Dumb Bitch problems.
We are in Texas visiting my niece who plays soccer for the college out here. I haven't been to Texas since like 2006 when we moved. I think we came back for like a quick few days in maybe 2008 or 2009 for a funeral. My father still lives in Texas with his new family. We haven't spoken since 2006 when I told him I was moving across the country. Before that it had been maybe 9-12 months since we had talked. After the move I received birthday cards for a few years but found out that it wasn't him, it was his new wife sending and signing the cards. After some therapy I decided to ask them to stop sending cards and officially cut off all ties. There was always pressure from her for me to come visit them and I felt like the cards were her way of guilting me into coming back.
We had to drive through the city they live in on our way to my niece's school. My mother made some smartass remark about going to visit him. I didn't respond.
Im still connected to some friends from Texas on Facebook. But having moved the week before we started high school, and not really ever coming back, I think we've all grown very far apart and there's not a lot of common ground anymore. I tried reaching out to a few friends, didn't hear back from most. There's a chance I can see a friend tomorrow night, maybe for dinner or something, but I'm really anxious about it. I don't feel like I've been successful or that I'm in a good spot in my life and I'm nervous to go meet someone I haven't seen in almost two decades. Worst case scenario I reveal how much of a loser I am. Or I have to face some harsh truths Ive been avoiding.
There's also some dumb bitch gay problems. Which aren't really problems. Allow me to explain. One of the boys I went to middle school/junior high with in Texas has been in my dreams lately. We're always in a happy relationship. Being depressed and miserable and oscillating between that low and just like a neutral "okay," having a dream where you're happy or elated is a trip. It's jarring because those basic feelings shouldn't be something you miss, but when you DONT have them, once you feel a little taste of it again, it reminds you of how far away you are.
It's really dumb this boy in particular is in my dream. We maybe spoke once or twice in the years I grew up in Texas. From 2nd-8th grade we never had any classes together. My mom was friends with his mom (they worked together before she got fired from that job thus burning all bridges she had made) he was friends with one of my "best friends" I had growing up. But he and I never really ever interacted. But he's in my dreams. Often. 3 or 4 nights a week.
Side note about that best friend. Since moving we haven't really kept in touch. I tried to reach out a few times and never got a response. Growing up either I stayed at his house or he stayed at ours nearly every weekend. It doesn't make sense to me. So much of our childhood was tied together, yet we have nothing to do with each other now. Do they ever think about me like I think about them? Do they ever dream about me? Towards the later years of our friendship we were at odds a bit. He was getting into trouble and getting into girls and getting into trouble WITH girls. He was super disrespectful to his parents. It made me mad. His parents were so nice. They provided everything for him. He lived on a huge farm, had every game and toy he could want. He got a phone and got taken to anywhere he wanted to go (we couldn't drive in 7-8th grade)
Looking back I start to wonder. He had several friends that were like me. Boys that didn't really have any other friends. It's hard to do it without naming names. Idk if anyone reads this anyways. This friends name was Randy. Randy was friends with Colton. Colton didn't really have other friends. He was just a big goofy kid. (looking back so was i) he was friends with Taylor. (the boy in my dream) Taylor's only other friend seemed to be his cousin (who was a girl, and for middle schoolers that meant he was weird) there were more boys but I can't remember specifically now. The point is. Looking back. I think maybe Randy wasn't really our friend. The friendships seemed one sided. I get the feeling that his mom put him up to it. All of us were kind of lonely kids. Not popular. Quiet. Maybe that's why Randy doesn't want to keep in touch. He didn't want to be friends in the first place. He was obligated to.
This all culminates to now. Now I'm in Texas again. Now I'm at a college visiting my niece. (I have other college anxiety but that's another long post) this college happens to be the same college both Randy AND Taylor went to. I'm not nervous about seeing them. I don't think they would recognize me anyways (I didn't have a beard in 7th grade) but it's weird being here. Being were they lived. I feel like an unwanted invader somehow.
Ah fuck I forgot to explain the Taylor in my dreams thing. I think the reason he's in my dreams is because he's got similar features and body types to my friend from Seattle. See my friend was a cute boy that i lived with and he was nice and paid me attention and acted like he wanted to hang out with me so OF COURSE I had a little infatuation. I'm so starved for friendship and love that any sort of attention like that would draw me in. I feel dumb. I just want to be friends with my friend without feeling like I'm crushing on him or something.
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asphalt-cocktail · 5 years
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OKAY SO LIKE I HAVE A PROMPT I THINK IDK! So like I work at a horse ranch where they have therapeutic riding lessons for kids with disabilities and veterans and like, because in marvel trash I always wanted to know how Bucky and Steve would react to this and if they would sign up for it because I feel like these big animals who are so scared of small things relate to bucky and like HOW THEY WOULD HELP HIM A STUFF IF HE DID TAKE THE THERAPEUTIC LESSONS?!?! I feel like it would be a cute oneshot?!
AAWWWW I AGREE. I’m such a slut for therapy animals they just work so hard and every time I see them I’m like WOW LOOK AT YOU LOOKING SO HARD IM SO PROUD.
I don’t really know how this really works so bare with me on this fic haha. Also, I added a little cameo see if you can spot it! 
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Sam walked into the kitchen and slammed a flyer down on the table “What the hell is this?” Bucky asked.
“What? Forgot how to read?” Sam joked and pulled a chair our while Steve joined them “It’s a flyer to a horse ranch the VA partners up with.”
“Like cowboys?” Bucky asked making a face while Steve picked up the flyer and read it. 
“Looks like it, says they give you riding lessons and let you help out on the farm with feeding horses and doing handy work. Veteran rehabilitation it says.” Steve said sliding it over to Bucky.
“Does it cost anything?” Buck asked.
Sam shook his head “Nope, it’s all through the VA like I said, and since you two served, you’re eligible.” Steve and Bucky both looked at Sam skeptically “Oh come on, you two can’t just run and spar your problems away. You need to get out of the city, meet more people. Getting some country air will be good for you. I’ll even drive.”
With having Sam just roast the both of them, they reluctantly agreed to go to their first meeting tomorrow. 
Bucky couldn’t even remember the last time he interacted with a horse. It was probably sometime when he was in the Army in the 40s. Sam dropped them off at the gate “I’ll pick you boys up when it’s finished, behave I don’t want any phone calls from the directors.” He said while shaking a mocking finger at them through his rolled down window.
Bucky rolled his eyes “By mom, we’ll miss you.” He shouted back, “Come on Steve.” He said turning and walking towards the entrance of the small homey looking building that was the main entrance. 
They entered and a girl was seated at a table and there was a line of other people waiting to check in. Steve and Bucky looked around and noticed all different ages of people that busied themselves around the building and that were in line. Slowly they made their way up and were separated into two separate lines by last name “Name?” The girl asked looking up from her list “James Barnes.” He said gruffly.
“Can you write your name on this name tag and then you can go through the doors back there and we’ll start shortly. There are coffee and bagels, feel free to socialize!” She said sliding him a black marker and a name tag that said “Hi, my name is ________” He wrote down ‘Bucky Barnes’ in messy capital letters and stuck it to his shirt. 
Bucky and Steve met up back in the little courtyard area and grabbed some complimentary coffee and sat back “What do we say when they ask when we served?” Bucky asked looking at Steve.
“We tell them when we served?” Steve said back, the way he said it made him sound unsure and like he was asking permission.
Bucky sighed and took a sip of his coffee “I guess we’ll have to” He said. 
The same girl that was at the check-in table came in and divided them into groups. Bucky let out a sigh of relief when he and Steve were put in the same group, it was the table group. Bucky frowned internally as to not be rude, but if he was going to be stuck picking up horse shit all day when he was going to be pissed. 
As they walked towards the stable a guy kept pace with them and started small talk, “What brings you here?” He asked Steve and Bucky.
Bucky was apprehensive and naturally defensive towards the stranger, Steve sighed “Our friend works at the VA in New York he suggested we come to check it out, said there was free coffee.” Steve said smiling.
The stranger grinned and nodded his head “The free coffee and bagels are a crowd pleaser, Logan, armed forces.” He said introducing himself. 
“Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, Army,” Steve said introducing him and his friend, “When did you serve?” He followed up. 
Logan shifted uncomfortably “I’ve been around. What about you.” He said scratching at his facial hair.
“Us too,” Bucky said smiling, thankful he didn’t have to explain their complicated history, “What brings you here?”
Logan shrugged his shoulders before he let out a long sigh “I have a lot of kids back home, it’s nice to get away for a while.”
As they approached the stable, nothing could be heard but the hum of the insects and the soft sounds of the horses in the pasture. they divided up into simple tasks like replacing the water, cleaning up the weeds, keeping the horses company, stuff like that. Bucky was assigned to keeping the horses company, he didn’t know what the hell to do, nervously he walked up to one of the horses, it was big, taller than him, and brown with white feet. He reached his hands out “Be careful he’ll bite your fingers off.” A voice said behind him causing him to jump.
Bucky turned around and saw the girl that was at the check-in table. She laughed and shook her head “I’m kidding, they’re therapy horses, they're well trained.” she said and patted the horse on the head. He let out a loud huff and leaned into her touch “Chester is a big boy but he’s a sweetheart.” she said and turned towards Bucky “Go on, pet him.” She said and nudged her head towards the horse.
Bucky looked at the girl nervously before he gently patted the horse on the head. Chester responded by shaking his head and letting out a grunt “No like that,” The girl said smiling and laughing.
Bucky smiled and laughed back before he scratched Chester on the nose “See there you go, he’s not so bad.”
 “Yeah, not too bad,” Bucky said smiling.
The girl looked back at Bucky with a confused face “Oh I was talking to the horse.” She said with a serious face, Bucky looked at her confused until he saw her break into a shit-eating grin. 
Bucky shook his head and laughed.
The day was long, he bailed hay, hauled water and had to sweep the stables, his muscles were surprisingly sore and his face had a light pink dusting to it from the sunlight, but for once he and Steve felt like they were back in the 40s, before the war without a care in the world. 
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zed-36 · 6 years
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if you havent read this AMA that happened today with the creator of Hot Wheels Highway 35 Universe, you better check it!!!
heres some that caught my eye!
There were tons of things in development that got cut. A lot of it had to do with Gelorum's plan and how Kurt fit into it. There were some additional set pieces like the ocean terrain. You can see some of it in the comics and Target special comic and the videogame.
i have theorized and questioned numerous times what couldve consisted of more story on Gelorum and Kurt, and how they met or what more involvement they couldve had and boy it hurts to know they had it in mind and planned but just couldnt keep it in.
Our original ending explained what exactly the hell was going on with the Wheel, Gelorum, the SCRIM and the CLYP. It would have set up the cosmology a lot more clearly. It killed us to see the series just sort of trail off plot-wise. We were told that little kids didn't need so much explanation...!
i would pay so much for a proper ending that went over SCRIM/CLYP...god, there was so much not explained about them at all.
its kinda sad to hear how much they apparently had planned to explain because it really makes the universe seem WAY more full than what the movie explained. watching the movie, i felt like a lot was missing and that the world wasnt developed, but obvious it was and they just werent able to show it all.
The storyline that picked up the threads of our work in Acceleracers was NOT what we had originally created. The Accelerons were not quite as dark in our work, and there were conflicting factions within them that would have made interesting mixes and matches for the characters. Some of that is hinted at in the later episodes of Acceleracers.
oh man, conflicting organization within the accelerons?? more in depth accelerons?????? im so.. sad we never got more of what the Highway 35/World Race accelerons wouldve been. as much as i like the dark vibe of Acceleracers, i feel like they missed the mark on Acceleron lore and they came off very...boring by the time they appeared (for like, two minutes). mostly saying “would have made interesting mixes and matches for the characters” implies there were likely ideas for interactions with the accelerons and characters in the race.
Great question! We had a fairly convincing reason for Vert to get the Deora 2, and even wrote it into the script. Mattel wanted us to get to the action faster and felt we didn't need to explain so much to the young audience. We were indeed going to compare Vert more to his Dad by illustrating that he had faster reflexes and greater driving sense than even his skilled military father. The car was built for Vert's Dad, but Tezla switched the designation to Vert at the last minute.
I am surprised to see how close the theory was about the Deora II not being for Vert! and im so happy to get a real answer about it. Sure we dont know exactly what Tezla’s reasoning is as i imagine they cant say, but this brings up a whole load of new questions.
Regarding fleshing out the characters, yes we wanted a lot more. We wanted to explore more about why Kurt Wylde was doing what he was doing. We had a cool plot thread for Esmeralda, who I really liked. Such was not to be. But all team leaders were the ones we wanted.
[earlier post] I loved Esmeralda and had big plans for her, but she was diminished in the first series and I lost control of her in Acceleracers. 
Already went over Kurt, but Jeff mentions a few times that he had plot ideas for Esmeralda, which wouldve been so nice! i have complained in the past about how lacking the female characters were, and to know that they did care about them and have ideas that never made it out makes me very happy.
Yes, Jack [Wheeler] fixed Gig.
The design process is really interesting. My original concept was that the World Race took place in the real world on tracks that phased into our reality from the Acceleron dimension. So you can race on tracks that were hundreds of feet off the ground, winding around skyscrapers and farms and mountains and landmarks around the planet. That's why you saw the cars and characters racing around the real world in the comics. In our mythos, both of these things happened (the race ran around the world and through the Acceleron dimensions).
this was a question i had on mind and couldnt recall them ever clearing up in the movie!! thank god i have an actual answer now!!!
In the show bible, Hot Wheels City is a central point in the Acceleron dimension. That's how we saw it in the series finale.
I was disappointed that the producers dispatched Banjee, and couldn't really understand why, because he was so good humored and egotistical, a fun character. I'll say it here: Banjee did not die. He is a Silencerz. The action fig you see pop up from time to time is real.
Wew, thats a nice confirmation on Banjee! Obviously a common theory but i guess its confirmed for reals now.
The answer is basically yes, SCRIM and Silencerz are roughly the same organization. But their motivations and techniques changed from our bible. The CLYP were a renegade group of Accelerons that wanted to use a kind of speed force to conquer the various realms (powered by the Wheel of course).
[Hi Jeff, I've got a quick question. How did Markie get to the World Race?]
Markie's arrival was originally our one and only homage to Speed Racer — he had hidden himself in Kurt Wylde's trunk! But time and budget forced that story beat to be cut from the show. =sigh=
i have always had this in mind and never thought there was a real answer for it
To me, Gelorum was an android originally designed to fool humans over the course of time, so she needed to appear to function like a human. So it stands to reason that even though she is messed up in Acceleracers, she's still functioning like a human, which includes hair growth.
always kind of nice to get some idea of how a character like Gelorum function even if its simply just the idea Jeff Gomex had and never made canon for sure.
To our mind, Dad is Jack Wheeler, Jr. The original Jack Wheeler was in his late teens in the 1960s, so we saw him as a grandpa.
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allbeendonebefore · 6 years
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What are your favourite head/canon things about Alberta
[cracks knuckles] [stretches fingers]
so i’ll just start with a disclaimer - i use sherry’s/iamp/whatever alberta and i realize ive been getting a lot of followers who are part of rp groups and whatever or people who might be interested in adding some depth to their own ocs so feel free to like… think about these things if you want if you’re thinking of doing an alberta oc?? I guess
so since that mysterious slash implies what are my fave canonical things about AB too I’ll say that there isn’t much- I go with what sherry says on canon rather than IAMP and PC because while there are a lot of things I had influence over in both projos there are a lot of things I would have done differently so we’ll start with the bio
Canon Stuff
literally all the things are accurate sooo its hard lol. Obviously the political situation has changed and the economic situation is its usual rollercoaster (WELL… but thats another time). I gotta say that the ‘alberta beef is the best thing that’s ever happened to me’ is really hitting home right now because i didnt realize how SPOILED i was by AAA beef until I got to Ontario ToT (ngl the pork here is super good and saves me money but the BEEF aAAA)
also my edmonton bias shines through at ‘he hates a part of himself called calgary’ thats by far my second fave B)))
Headcanon Stuff
ok where to start I will try to not make this an essay and i can elaborate more if you’re curious
- a lot of people will wonder about whether a province lives in the capital or the biggest city etc. and I have to say in Bertie’s case it is NEITHER. He’d never willingly live in (d)E(a)dmonton (sorry ed ilu) because Ed represents Government which he Hates and while he would spend a fair bit of time in Calgary he gets claustrophobic/exhausted - he still in my mind represents more of the rural bits of the province than the cities. I think he might move around a little, but he probably lives on a ranch between both cities but within sight of the mountains. I’m sure he has a place to stay in each city, but he’s a country boy at heart and appreciates his space, peace and quiet. 
- Particularly space because Where else is he going to keep his 3 trucks + 2 ATVs + horses + 100000 cows + boat + canoe + kayak + all his camping junk + motorbikes + dirtbikes + tractor + other junk that people leave at his place
- that said his ‘birthplace’ is the southern ‘half’ of the province so he tends to kind of hover around there more- as i said he owns a ranch rather than a farm because the Quality Ranch Land is in the south and the Good Farm Land is in the north (and being eaten up by ugly houses ugh)
- still I think he spends a fair amount of time working up north in the Fort Mac area because Why Not make All the money. Even if you’re a rancher boy in the middle of nowhere, everyone in this province has ties to the oil industry one way or another. It wouldn’t make sense for him NOT to work in Oil and Gas because it’s literally the only job in the province lmao.
- His driving playlist consists of: Dean Brody, Corb Lund, Keith Urban, Ian Tyson, and the obligatory Nickelback which he listens to Un-ironically but also to piss off/drown out passengers when they’re annoying him
- He’s easily annoyed. By Everything. And Everyone. He’s the current national scapegoat and he takes it Extremely Personally depending on the context but also he has a relatively affectionate relationship with everyone and usually expresses his affection by pointed jabs. 
- like he literally gets along with everyone on a personal level and not just because he buys them drinks- his worst relationships are probably with BC and Ontario and that’s just because he lives to irritate them and they respond with an appropriate amount of salt. He still doesnt mind hanging out with them and bc/ab/on/qc is an unstoppable team. He just gets extremely sensitive when anyone asks to borrow money from him and will give you an earful of ‘i work SO HARD for this money to put FOOD on YOUR TaBLe’
- generally really tight fisted with money………. only when other people are looking. he makes a big deal about how little he spends on essential services and you just look at him like ‘so you’re saying you have the money to get all this crap for this rodeo coming up but you dont have the money to take yourself to the hospital after’ and hes like [coughs up blood anime style] ‘im ok i have whiskey and benadryl at home’ [adjusts his diamond studded hat]
- really big on loyalty and straightforward conversations and has NO patience for any hypocrisy or doublespeak no matter how small. The slightest of things can send him reeling with Betrayal. Also this makes him either tight lipped or TMI, there is no in between. 
- like literally reeling he’s very top heavy and you could blow him over with a sneeze, he’s all bark and only some bite. When he’s good he’s Real Good but when he’s bad he’s like a foot in the grave bad
- he’s the baby of the prairie bros but also the one with the brains- and i don’t mean in an academic sense i mean in the ‘so crazy it just might work’ sense. 
- literally he’s an idiot he doesnt understand how equalization payments work no matter how many times you explain it to him. He doesn’t understand a lot of things re: the economy but he never shuts up about them. 
- the easiest way to piss him off is to threaten his autonomy in any way, he will stop whatever he’s doing to put a boot up yer ass if you Dare suggest something like ‘why don’t you let ontario/canada take care of that for you’ even if he knows the way he’s doing something is garbage he will go out of his way to keep doing it because its ‘my way or the highway’. 
- ‘why do you have all those guns’ ‘oh you know hunting deer and stuff’ [really its because he’s terrified a rat is going to sneak into his barn or something] [but he does actually hunt] [and he’s the type of guy to have the ‘trespassers will be shot’ signs]
- I haven’t figured out WHAT truck he drives yet but i am PROUD OF HIM for no longer putting truck nuts on it, THANK GOD that went out of fashion. (That said he does not have the stacks- his truck is lifted and Shiny and also has a handful of Alberta Strong decals/stickers.) Newf probably gave him a sticker of “The Rock” or a nfld flag and he Loves it. On a scale of most to least obnoxious trucks its Mac - Bert - Cal - Ed. It’s probably a white truck.
- i should think about things he loves more, this headcanon list is mostly things that make him angry oops xDD he loves animals a lot, and not just to eat i swear. The bigger and the more horns the better.
- he really loves driving a lot, it’s like a big part of his independence factor. I think sometimes he will just drive aimlessly late at night/early morning when it’s not busy and just go and find somewhere to look at the sky.
- he looooves digging up fossils in his spare time, or just interesting rocks in general. If you say the words animatronic dinosaur he is ALREADY THERE
- he watches a lot of sci fi and really loves star trek. So Much. he’s totally attempted mowing crop circles in his lawn/fields probably multiple times. he’s still waiting for the ufos to come land. Also has a thing for spooky places and cryptids and those weird inexplicable twilight-zone like events that only happen on road trips. did i mention the Giant Roadside Attractions. 
- he has this persona of being a traditional/small-and-big-c conservative but he’s actually really into innovation and trying new things, meeting new people, etc. He interacts with so many different people lately that he’s trying to take the time to really re-evaluate himself and move away from the Klein-era “Severely Normal People” image because it doesn’t reflect him. The issue is he’s more likely to vote on economy rather than social issues so his actual progressiveness gets hidden by lack of political representation (and lets be honest he has Always hated politics). He’s got a lot of crap to sort through but he catches people who underestimate him off guard.
- was probably raised methodist/protestant/whatever but is mostly pretty secular, but he has some definite strong holdovers that make him uncomfortable about certain subjects and his first reaction to being uncomfortable is always anger.
- completely oblivious to being hit on or something or really gay situations around him but is that type of person who is like [cant walk too close to another dude because what if it looks gay bro].
- his fave cow is named buttercup
- he has definitely woken up after a night out with friends naked and alone duct taped to an air mattress and floating in the middle of a lake. true story. 
- he will macgyver his way out of any situation. doesn’t mind getting down and dirty in the mud when it’s necessary. exactly the type of person to shove his hands in bitumen and squish it around or to pick up a rock and lick it or to shove a thermometer up a cow. When he gets squeamish he does his best to be bullheaded and pretend like Nothing is Wrong until he faints. 
- his french is crap but he Tries- the french he knows is backwater northern AB french which he’s too shy to bring up so he feigns ignorance. His german is good and his ukrainian is passable, his spanish is fine, he’s trying to get the hang of some other languages but doesn’t tell anyone he’s practicing because he hates getting made fun of xD
- the hat and boots are Absolutely to make him look taller than he actually is. He doesn’t wear inserts but he does make sure the sole/heel on any boot he buys is Thick. Smol insecure man with a Big hat. Will spend 300 bucks on shoes, but he actually does ride/work so its an investment for him. 
- heads to Arizona/Mexico in the winter when he’s not working, otherwise Banff/Jasper are his ‘budget’ vacations lol. 
i love this stupid province pls ask if you have any more questions because i love to talk and i feel like i’ve said too much already lol
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trunksandcapes · 3 years
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one word // return @catalystsofchange​
          It was rare that Clark managed to go to Gotham on his own accord, let alone Bludhaven. Even the most reprehensible he’d met in his travels knew to avoid the city like a plague. If he was being entirely honest, he didn’t feel too good himself wandering the dingy streets, looking over his shoulder and keeping his hands buried in his jacket pockets. He hoped he looked unassuming enough to be left alone, but as mild-mannered as Clark could attempt to look... How was he going to explain that they really couldn’t hurt him?
          Sweeping through the suburb was his less-ideal mode of getting back home, but he promised Lois he wouldn’t be flying back and causing another mass panic around him existing. It wasn’t an ideal request, but he’d done worse and dumber for her. Besides, he’d rather pass through and see if he could catch one of his favorite vigilantes. 
          Blue eyes stayed on the skies, on the rooftops, keeping his sightlines above the broken shop marquees, stumbling over cracks in the sidewalk, having to readjust the slightly ill-fitting glasses more than once. He let out a heavy sigh, leaning his shoulder against a crumbling brick wall to wipe them off with the crumpled rag shoved in his pocket. He didn’t even lift his gaze from his current focus as he heard footsteps, lighter than air, still very much there. “Don’t think you can pull that trick on me. I may be older than most of you new-age heroes, but I’m not that old.”
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trunksandcapes · 3 years
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one word // study @impulselantern​
          One thing Clark missed about the League’s fracturing was being able to talk to the newcomers to the scene. He’d barely met the two newest Lanterns of Earth before their lines of communication seemed to drop. Granted, the Kryptonian never figured he’d be making any vacations to Oa anytime soon, or in the future, so those connections were few and far between. Recently, something must’ve shifted in the space sectors... Is that what they were called? He’d seen more Green around the city than he’d thought he would in a while. Surely there were other planets in need of ring-bearers more than New York.
          Though, with everything he’d heard about just within the past year, he was ready to take back that claim.
          A quick, patrolling flight had turned into a slow chase when he’d spotted one of the green lights in the sky, dim enough against the sunny sky to be mistaken for a plane (or a bird, maybe a little less so). He’d been tailing the newer face for a few miles before he’d brought up the courage to actually fly past, offering a soft wave as he floated backwards a little too expertly, arms crossed over the crest emblazoned on his uniform’s chest. “You’re pretty good at that,” he called, a bright smile matching the sun overhead. “Mind showing me a few tricks?
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trunksandcapes · 3 years
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one word // nostalgia @supersxn​
          He remembered the day he was born like it was yesterday.
          He knew why everyone on Earth considered birth such a miracle. Lois was a strong woman, he knew, but the ordeal only gave him a reminder of that tenfold. He’d been so worried through the entire process until he was holding the bundle in his arms, swaddled in the cape off of his back. His child, his son. He could still feel the tears that threatened to fall down his smiling cheeks, remembering the warmth through the red, wind-battered fabric, being entirely too conscious of his enhanced strength as not to crush the precious gift in his arms. 
          And for someone who could race fast enough to see the world’s at a snails pace, his boy grew up far too quickly. Soon, he was moving out from under his parent’s watchful gaze, and Clark had promised he wouldn’t be too overbearing, wouldn’t check up on him too much... And yet, here he was, floating a few blocks away from the apartment he helped him move into, trying to figure out of he could hear his heartbeat among the rest of the pounding drums in the building. It was only as he started to drift away did the thought occur that he might be doing that helicoptering thing, grimacing at his actions and nearly turning tail before he looked back over his shoulder with a shy smile. There was his heart.
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          “Sorry, I know I... I’m just so bad at the whole texting thing. Seems so impersonal. Your mother would kill me if she found me like this-”
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trunksandcapes · 3 years
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one word // beautiful @barryallins​
          There were many things on this planet Clark found beautiful; aesthetically and in concept. He’d been around the world many times, saving lives some times and making mistakes other times. He thought nature was beautiful, and a bit terrifying sometimes when he would see it reclaiming old, crumbling buildings. He thought Smallville skies were beautiful, and a great lookout point for friends or foes among the stars. He thought humanity was beautiful, their drive to be good sometimes got lost in the shuffle of their daily lives, but in the end it would almost always win out. It was what he found remarkable in all the friends and acquaintances he’d made along his own adventures in heroing. Some of them wore similar sigils across their chests, some wore less than technicolor clothing instead. 
          He passed a lot of them wandering the streets with his glasses loosely hanging on his nose, looking above the thick lenses to get a better view of the world around him. Nature and humanity mingled together in the vastness of Central Park, wherever there was an open patch of land there were people. He wandered a bit aimlessly, making a day out in the sun a bit more exciting without having to rush to the scene... At least for a quiet minute.
          A blast of wind and the smell of static brought him out of his concentration, laughing gently as he pushed the glasses up his nose, looking over his shoulder with a bright smile. “Mr. Allen! Joining me for a stroll? Or did you want another race?”
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trunksandcapes · 3 years
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one word //  nostalgia @kxnel​
          There was some part of Clark that regretted staying away from the world for so long after Doomsday appeared. At the time, he didn’t have too much of a choice, being whisked away to the Fortress to spend months attempting to heal, stolen away from the public eye, letting his own duplicate take care of what he couldn’t. He never expected others to battle for the same spot, the same title of Superman. He never expected Lex Luthor to bank on the tragedy. He never expected he would think of the result as one of his sons. 
          Clark regretted not staying closer to his half-clone. At first, he’d been slightly apprehensive. What good could come out of a CADMUS experiment gone independent, a forced marriage of Human and Kryptonian genetics, a rehash of the Bizarro incidents? Seeing him work, the Superboy, gave him more hope than he’d initially thought possible. This wasn’t just a puppet purely for Luthor, he was his own organism, his own person. Needless to say, it brought a lot of his more questionable decisions regarding his alien relatives to light, taught him a lesson or two about how to deal with these things should they come up again in the future.
          He only hoped he could to the same for Conner, Kon-El.
          It took a while to track him down. The City, the World, was a big place, even for someone who traversed galaxies. It was even bigger when you were finding a needle in a haystack, one super in a crowd of billions. “Still rocking the jacket look. I dig it, super retro,” He started, a smile gracing his face, head tilted just slightly as he approached. “... That’s not the lingo these days, is it? Gosh, it changes so darn much, they need to make a class for modern linguistics.”
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trunksandcapes · 3 years
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one word //first @cfvalors​
          Clark had plenty of encounters with aliens and super-powered beings through his life, but none like Lar Gand. A younger Kent had found him in a near-exact way that the humans he called Ma and Pa had found his ship. The bout of amnesia had them both thinking they were somehow related, and with what limited knowledge of his own planet Clark had, he gave the stranger from the stars a name and a purpose. Everything went as smoothly as could be until the other’s memories came back, and Clark felt the shallow disappointment at being the last Kryptonian yet again. 
          This would prove later to be entirely false, but the memory of the visiting Daxamite was as fresh as Yesterday. It had been a glimpse of hope, maybe not for his birth-planet, but for other planets out in the universe, that there were others that might be like him on Earth. That would also turn out to be false; the only one came like he did, from the skies.
          Clark regretted not asking Lar enough about space, about what the solar system around Rao was like, if there was more that Jor-El’s tinny voice from the space pod wasn’t telling him, what the crystals he was sent with really meant (though, he’d figure out most of those later in life, in the time he’d grown and learned a bit more but not enough.) He couldn’t tell if it was his curiosity about life among the stars that brought him to the front door of the so-mentioned Legion facility or if it was the desire for familiarity, for a touch of escapist nostalgia while he tried to work through his problems in the present. He knocked on the door with a heavy breath, waiting for the doors to open as he attempted to look through the walls. “Golly, some place they had built out here-”
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trunksandcapes · 3 years
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one word // hope @ancientwonders​
          Thank God Diana was back on the mainland.
          Okay, maybe not her mainland. Maybe not the best word to use in general considering their World-Saving escapades, but she was back where she was visible, meetable. It brought a smile to Clark’s face, knowing that Wonder Woman had made her way back into the public sphere. Clark couldn’t miss it even if he tried: the Planet was up in arms over the return of another one of their usual headline suspects. The echoes of Perry’s cigar-scratched barks, Lois’ soft voice behind him mumbling some word she was trying to remember how to spell, but all Clark was doing was smiling, opening up a message tab to type a simple invite.
          “Heard you’re back in town. Want to meet for lunch? Promise I won’t be late, I never am.”
          Naturally, his timeliness was tested within the course of the few hours he had between plans. He did his best to hide his fast fingers while editing and sending an article off to publishing, diving around a corner to pull the buttons off of a shirt that probably had them resewn more times than he wanted to count, swooping in to solve a situation in Queens, help with a fire in the Bronx, pose for some selfies in Brooklyn, all to make it back to Manhattan with a heavy breath and a bit of wind-tousled hair. Straightening his tie, tucking the tell-tale curl back into his hairline and making sure the thick-rimmed glasses were still affixed firmly on his face, he pushed through the doors with wide, hopeful eyes.
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          “Long time no see, Princess. Sounds like you’ve already got yourself back in the business of things.” 
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