#Oh but hey on the other hand there's only 2 weeks left until next paycheck so I should be fine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sevlgi · 3 years

Text

aphrodisiac

requested: no

group: twice

pairing: mina x fem!reader

genre: fluff, extremely mild and short angst

contents: witch!mina, love potions, college!au

warnings: none

synopsis: You’re broke and desperate, so you don’t think twice before taking a love potion that’ll make you fall in love with a mysteriously perfect girl. But maybe you should.

a/n: hehe i like the idea of this!! i’m just not sure how well i executed it 🤔 happy valentines day, my loves ❤

word count: 6.0k

While everyone knew that working the 9-12 weekday shift at the campus bookstore was the worst job you could possibly get, you didn’t feel quite as exhilarated to have been laid off as you should have.

As the one who had suffered at the hand of old Mrs. Lee for almost the entire duration of your time on campus, you knew the torture better than most. So it was an understatement to say that you were exhilarated to be free of ironing book pages out and restocking the shelves at Mrs. Lee’s whims, that you were practically beaming when you got the email.

But on the other hand, it wasn’t like you had much money to spare, or like you had the ability to find another job in the crowded university. When you felt your wallet in your back pocket, completely empty save for a couple crinkled receipts, the grin faded from your face; after all, it would be even harder to survive without the aid of your measly salary.

So as you pinched together a couple quarters to buy yourself a consolatory iced chocolate, you found that being let go from the shittiest job in the world didn’t feel as triumphant as you had expected. Not when you were, once again, scouring the papers stabled to the lightposts around the campus for anything that offered a quick paycheck.

Well, almost anything.

“I will not.”

“Why?” Lisa was close to whining, though the pout that she directed fully at you did her no favors. “You said you needed to get paid.”

You sighed, “I said i needed to get paid, not launched in the air like a damn cannonball.”

Lisa scowled and tapped her fingers on her face, her hands still cupping her chin as she attempted to convince you. “Come on, the dance team’s willing to pay. It costs less to pay you than to get a dummy, so--”

“That’s not helping to convince me,” you warned. As desperate as you were, and as much as you liked Lisa and her fellow dancers, you definitely didn’t trust them not to launch you in the air and break your neck. “Are you sure that you don’t know about any other job offers? Anything that won’t murder me?”

She considered it, chewing on her bottom lip. You could feel other students eyeing where you sat, one of the only seats in the incredibly tiny boba shop, but you refused to budge until Lisa gave you an answer. “Oh! There is one I can think of, actually. You know the bio lab?”

“Yeah.” You watched her suspiciously, arms crossed. “I’ve been there a couple times. Why?”

“Well, it isn’t a normal bio lab,” Lisa mumbled, leaning in as if what she was about to tell you was the greatest secret in the world. “A lot of them are witches, you know.”

It wasn’t like you didn’t believe in witches, or the supernatural-- both had been proven to be true eons ago, and almost half of the students attending your university weren’t completely human. But you were still a little skeptical that the pretty and equally brilliant girls who ran the campus’s bio lab were... “Witches? Are you sure?”

“Why would I be lying?” Lisa rolled her eyes. “I’m friends with a couple of them, and I know that they’re doing an... experiment of sorts, and they need--”

“Lab rats,” you finished for the dancer. In all rationality, being a lab rat for a couple of young witches with access to a high-tech lab was probably worse than getting launched up in the air by a dance team, but when Lisa slid a flyer over and your eyes widened at the offered money, you instantly stood. “Take me.”

Lisa pouted but stood anyway, taking the flyer back to squint at the tiny scribbled building number. “I can’t believe you trust Mina more than you trust me.”

“Mina? Is that the name of the ‘witch’ I’m selling myself to?” you asked, slightly sarcastic but also slightly curious. At the dancer’s nod, you exhaled lightly and shoved your seat in just to watch the next people scramble for it, and hummed on your way out, “Then let’s meet this Mina.”

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that your entire school was close to dilapidated, but something about the bio lab was almost creepy as you approached it. Lisa had long since set off for the dance room (something about Seulgi breaking Ten’s ankle, she claimed), so you hesitated in front of the cloudy glass door alone. But the thought of the $600 dollars scrawled onto the flyer scrunched in your fist prompted you to push the doors open and step into the lab.

There was already a decent amount of people buzzing around inside; you recognized quite a few of them and nearly laughed at the amount of students willing to possibly be poisoned. But you took the nearest empty seat as someone appeared at the front of the room.

“Wow, this is a great turnout.”

The crowd chuckled lightly, and your eyes nearly bugged out at the sight of the girl standing at the front with papers in her hands. Honestly, she was the kind of girl that you imagined people wrote love songs about-- absolutely perfect without having to really do anything, elegant and soft in a way that still stood out. She smiled slightly and waved, eyes darting around the room. “Hi. I’m Mina, I’m part of the coven that sent out the flyers.”

You joined in the chorus of greetings, but your eyes stayed fixed on Mina at the front of the room. You could see several other girls lurking around in the shadows, probably the other members, though they kept beckoning Mina to speak on her own. “Um, I’ll just... explain the project to you,” she chuckled nervously, darting over to the computer.

Once a slide was displayed on the wall, she rushed back to the front and explained, “Being a potions-focused coven and also biology majors, we wanted to conduct an experiment. A love potion, or an aphrodisiac in scientific terms.”

Murmurs arose around you, and even your eyebrows scrunched together; as far as you knew, aphrodisiacs weren’t real, and if they were, they were probably illegal. In response, Mina raised her hands and her voice slightly to call out, “Hey, hey. It’s an experiment. We were originally planning to accept all of you, but... I think it’ll be hard to conduct an experiment with 50 people, so please fill out the form we pass out.”

And like that, Mina joined the rest of her friends in passing out the clipboards. You didn’t watch them, only scanned the lab for any signs that you were about to die, so when you were tapped on the shoulder, you almost fell off your stool. It was Mina herself, a slight pink tinting her pale skin as she held out one of the forms to you. “Uh. Thanks.” You accepted it with a bow of your head, staring down at the paper. It looked legitimate, with areas for your age, your height--

“What’s your name?”

In your haste to read over the paper, you hadn’t noticed that Mina hadn’t left. When you looked back up, you could feel heat burning at the tops of your ears, and you answered, “Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N, though you’ll read it on my application.”

“Oh. Of course. Thanks for coming, Y/N,” Mina mumbled, bowing before moving on to someone else. You noted that she didn’t ask for the name of anyone else, but you passed it off and turned back to the form. Since when did becoming a coven’s lab rat require your blood type, anyway?

After nearly a week, you had almost given up on being accepted into the experiment. But just 5 days after turning your form in, you got the text.

Unknown number [4:57] Is this Y/N Y/L/N? My name is Mina, we met at the bio lab last week. I’m texting to tell you that you got accepted into the program; we’re meeting at the lab again at 9:00 tonight to discuss the experiment further.

You [5:00] yeah, it’s me. i’ll be there.

It wasn’t like what you wore to the meeting mattered; all you were doing was being briefed on exactly what was about to happen to you. But all through your classes of the day, through your futile studying, you couldn’t keep your mind off the experiment that you had somehow been accepted into, and whether it was a good idea to go at all.

Suffice to say, you went.

“Y/N?” the girl at the entrance of the lab asked. You recognized her from the week before-- dark hair, bunny-toothed smile. “You are Y/N, right?”

“Yeah,” you answered, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing,” she smiled. “We’re just taking roll, making sure everyone’s here. Take a seat inside, if you will.”

You obliged, nodding awkwardly before brushing past her. To your relief, the lab was nowhere as packed as it had been the week before, 7 people including yourself seated on the stools as the girls fiddled with test tubes in the back. One pair of eyes in particular lingered on you, before Mina was pulled back to talk, but your cheeks warmed nonetheless.

“Okay, everyone!” someone else announced, clapping her hands together. “My name’s Jihyo, I’m the head of the coven. This is Nayeon” -- the bunny-toothed girl from earlier waved-- “and Mina. We’ll be explaining the experiment to you today.”

She pulled the projector down and Nayeon stepped up, flashing a grin at all of you. “Basically, we made an aphrodisiac. And to test it, we’ll have all of you do the exact same things with the exact same person-- Mina.”

Mina stepped forward this time, and you couldn’t help smiling at the shy smile that tugged at her lips. “To keep conditions equal, you’ll all be going on the exact same 2 dates with me,” she explained. “I’ll take notes on how you act around me, and we’ll test how you feel about me at the very end. Any questions?”

The room was basically silent and honestly, you couldn’t see a downside to it either. Take a potion once and go on dates with a pretty girl, then get observed like a hamster on its wheel so you could get paid? A million times better than your old job. “Great,” Jihyo nodded. “Then, we’ll get started. If Y/N could be the first one? You’ll just go into a room with Mina to get interviewed and take your first dose.”

“Don’t die,” someone called out as you passed, and you flashed a glare despite not knowing who it was. Nayeon giggled as she opened the door for you and closed it behind you, leaving you in what you assumed to be a supply closet. Romantic.

“Hi,” Mina greeted softly, already seated across the table. “I’ll just ask you a series of questions, if that’s okay.”

“Go for it.”

“Rate how attracted you are to me on a scale from 1 to 10.”

Your jaw dropped immediately; for the first question, it was awfully invasive, especially when Mina voiced it with such a straight face. But you straightened your spine and answered stiffly, “9.”

It should’ve been 10, but you weren’t trying to look like a literal creep; Mina only hummed and marked a circle on her form, moving on to ask, “Are you considering dating anyone else at the moment?”

“No.”

And in that manner, the questions passed decently quickly, with Mina asking them as flatly as possible and you answering them with the exact same tone. As soon as she set the clipboard aside, though, she returned to her original sweet state. “I’ll just have you swallow this now, if that’s okay.”

The test tube was cold to the touch when you uncapped it, and the liquid inside was suspiciously clear. But you barely gave it a passing glance before downing it like a shot, asking with narrowed eyes, “Is it supposed to taste like nothing?”

“Well, we figured that not everyone would like to taste tequila once a week with none of the good effects,” Mina chuckled and placed the empty test tube in its place.

“How fast will I see results?” you questioned as you stood. “Like, am I gonna wake up in a cold sweat tonight because I can’t handle how much I suddenly love you?”

The girl shook her head, though it was a bit hesitant. “I don’t believe so. It should only become more prominent once you see me more often. Which reminds me, I’ll text you about our first date as soon as I can. Thank you for participating, Y/N.”

You snatched your jacket up and stumbled your way out of the room as quickly as you could, hoping no one was looking as you closed the door behind you with a quivering pulse.

Despite the witch’s words, you were sure that the potion was already taking effect. Why else would your heart start to throb terribly as you looked at her smile?

mina [8:16] Hello Y/N! I was wondering if you had class today?

Mouth full of cheap cup ramen noodles, you stared at your phone screen. If Mina was asking you about your schedule, she had to have something planned (for the experiment, of course. You weren’t delusional). And you weren’t sure if you were mentally ready to see her shy smile again.

But when the thought of the $600 dollar check popped into your head, you reached for your phone and started to type again.

You [8:19] hey, mina. i don’t have class, actually, is this something about the experiment?

mina [8:20] Yes! If possible, please meet me at the front of the school, we’ll be visiting the food trucks at the beach. I’ll pay!

Your stomach growled at the thought of the renowned food trucks at the beach by your university, and you typed out a hasty agreement before stuffing your phone into your bag and setting off for your apartment. There was no way you were enjoying such an opportunity for good food (and perfect company) in a slightly ramen-stained hoodie.

Thankfully, Mina didn’t seem to mind you being late when you approached her. “Hi, Y/N,” she smiled and hitched her bag higher up her shoulder. “I’m glad to see you.”

“Hi,” you breathed. Well, at least you tried to-- you could barely remember how to function when faced with Mina in a slightly cropped red top, her hair tied up in a little ponytail. But you followed her down the street well enough, towards where you vaguely remembered a fleet of various food trucks to be. “So, have you already conducted this part of the experiment with everyone else?”

Mina shook her head and answered, “No, you’re the first. You took the dose first, so you’ll be a bit like the guinea pig within guinea pigs.”

You snickered at that, nearly tripping over one of the raised cracks in the ground. Sure, the way down the hill to the beach wasn’t the safest one ever, but at least it was convenient for conducting test dates. “The lab rat. You know, this doesn’t seem remotely like a scientific experiment.”

“What do you mean?” the other girl asked, eyes on yours.

Coughing, you looked away from her gaze, though you could feel her still staring at the back of your head. “I mean... it’s not exactly normal for 7 people to drink a potion that tastes like nothing, then go on dates with a pretty girl and treat that as testing.”

“You think I’m pretty?”

“That’s what you got from my whole spiel?” you sighed in disbelief, turning to look at Mina. She laughed, gums showing slightly and her eyes twinkling, and you were forced to turn to the front yet again. “Whatever. Which trucks are we raiding first?”

And as it turned out, Mina was... generous. You were tempted to ask how she was going to keep herself from going broke if she bought that much food for everyone, but watching her bring yet another load of snacks over to where you sat on the wall, you weren’t sure if she cared too much. “Hey. Are you gonna pay for every date?”

“Hm?” She looked up from her Americano and considered the question. “Well, yes? I mean, we planned for the second date next week to be the fair, and I wouldn’t want any college student to have to pay for those overpriced tickets.”

“Aren’t you a college student?”

Mina hummed lightly and dug into her ice cream, sucking thoughtfully on the spoon. “Well, my parents are... well off? I’d like to put it that way, at least. And I think that when I can, I’ll use that to make others happy. Or to further our coven’s experiments.”

“Rich family,” you observed. “Cool.” To be honest, you didn’t really care about how much money anyone’s family made, but it was nice to have all that food paid for. After all, the sheer amount of things Mina bought could’ve covered several months worth of the finest ramen that the restaurants around campus could’ve offered. “Then why’d you end up going to college here with us normal people?”

She raised an eyebrow jokingly and gathered her knees to her chest. “Am I not a normal person anymore?” When you opened your mouth, slightly sheepishly, she giggled and waved a hand, answering, “I ended up choosing this college because my best friends came here. We’re all Japanese, and Sana wanted to come to Korea, so Momo and I just came along for the ride.”

“Ah.” You turned to watch the sky, the sun melting golden into the surface of the waves just a couple dozen feet away. You understood why it was called golden hour as you watched bright yellow rays flicker in Mina’s eyes and glow in her hair, and you had to resist the urge to pull out a camera and capture the feeling of a first date, as much of an experiment as it was. “Makes sense. Then-- how’d you find your coven? I don’t remember a Momo or a Sana.”

“Our coven is a bit... unconventional,” Mina nodded. “It’s just me, Nayeon, and Jihyo. You know that most covens form as children, and they train together, but we only met in college. See, none of us had our own coven, so it was natural that we came together. Momo and Sana aren’t witches, or we should’ve been together.”

You nodded in silence, prompting her to go on. And she did, a soft smile pressing her lips against her teeth as she thought about the girls eh seemed to consider her friends, or her family. “And, well, none of the three of us have had great luck finding someone to love. Or, to love us,” Mina added as an afterthought. “A love potion was just the first thing we fixated on.”

“Finding someone to love you?” you repeated, hand pressed up against your cheek. “I don’t mean that I don’t believe you, but it’s kind of hard to imagine that it’s difficult to find someone to love you. You’re pretty great, Mina.”

She laughed, “I’m glad you think so. But there’s a reason why we chose me as the one to test the potion with.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

Mina looked you right in the eyes, a kind of softness swirling in the brown of her own eyes, and responded equally quietly, “We chose me because we thought I was the hardest to fall in love with.”

“Bullshit,” you responded instantly, heat rising to your ears immediately after. But thankfully, the Japanese girl only looked endeared, and you continued, “I mean, I don’t know if this is just the potion talking, but you’re awesome. I... I think I’d like you even if I wasn’t part of this damn experiment.”

She blushed, the hue of her cheeks matching the pink clouds in the sky. “Well, I think you’re exaggerating on that. But it’s not them, I just volunteered myself. I think people just misunderstand me, you know? It’s hard to find the right person for you when you don’t let people see you. And-- I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. On a first date, too.”

“Hey.” When she looked away from you, you reached over to squeeze her hand. Mina didn’t look back up to you, but you knew she was listening from the way she chewed at her bottom lip. “It’s okay. I know what you’re saying. And I can’t say I know you yet, but I can say I wouldn’t mind knowing you. I’d like it, even.”

Mina laughed, barely loud enough for you to hear, and squeezed your hand. “Thank you, Y/N. I think we should finish our food before it gets cold.”

“Oh, yeah.” You let go to reach for one of the many desserts displayed in front of you, barely fazed by the topic change. “Wouldn’t want your parents’ money to go to waste.”

“Please let that go,” she whined.

“Not a chance,” you winked in response, laughing at her pout. “Not. A. Chance.”

“Lili, I think I’m done for.”

“Like, literally?” Lisa asked mindlessly, receiving a light hit on the head in response. “Ow, what was that for?”

You whined, “This isn’t funny. I can feel myself falling, and there’s no cushion underneath me for me to fall onto.”

The dancer rolled her eyes and reached for her milk tea. “Okay, Miss Overdramatic. You know falling doesn’t work like that, no one’s kicking you off a cliff. Especially not Myoui Mina.”

“I’m not being kicked off, I’m sliding.” You made the motions with your hand, a despondent expression on your face as you scowled, “I’m slipping through a puddle of aphrodisiac, that’s what, and Mina poured it at my feet.”

“Okay, enough with the metaphors, I’m not an English major,” Lisa sighed. She tossed a chip at your face, as if being smeared with salt and oil would wake you up from your Mina-induced trance. “You’ve gone on one date with her and spoken to her approximately twice, I think you aren’t falling just yet.”

“Did you forget the part where I’m drugged to fall in love with her?” you deadpanned.

Lisa paused at that. “Okay, I did forget that. Then what? There’s an explanation as to why you’re feeling this way, and there’s a way to get rid of it. Once you get your paycheck, you just stay away from Mina, should be easy enough, since you never met her before this. And you wait for the potion to wear off.”

“Does it wear off?” you groaned into your hands.

“Did you never ask?” Lisa asked in disbelief. “Wow, Y/N, ever heard of fine print?”

You smacked her with your rolled-up notes yet again. “Shut up. But I have a date with her tomorrow, and I don’t know what to do. I’m feeling like this because of the potion, sure, but I’m still feeling like this! And Mina has 6 other people vying for her now, all under the same effect as me. And it feels... bad.”

“Eloquent,” your friend sighed. “Then I have the perfect solution for you. Don’t go on the second date.”

“I need the money,” you shook your head. “Gimme another one.”

Lisa considered it, sucked on her straw as she did, until she shook her head. “I got nothing. All I can tell you is to enjoy it while it lasts, then just... wait. And if it doesn’t wear off, Jisoo unnie’s studying law.”

As horrible as her suggestions were, you could admit that you felt the slightest bit more assured. In the worst case scenario, you could sue Mina for winning your heart, and in the best, the somehow blissful stabs at your heart would be alleviated soon enough.

As it turned out, you got a chauffer to the fair. Not an actual one, of course-- it was just Jeongyeon, introduced as one of Mina’s friends who could actually drive.

You really weren’t intending to talk to her at first. She was quiet, too, didn’t even turn on the radio once she started driving, but when something that Mina said crossed your mind, you had to speak up. “Hey, Jeongyeon. Can I ask you something? About Mina?”

“Shoot,” she answered simply, keeping her eyes on the road.

“Do you think Mina’s hard to fall in love with?”

Jeongyeon glanced at you at that, her expression slightly quizzical. “What do you mean?”

“She said something yesterday,” you explained. “Mina said that they chose her for the experiment because they thought she was the hardest to fell in love with. She said-- something about being misunderstood?”

The older girl nodded in understanding at that and blew her hair out of her face. After a short pause, she sighed, “I think that’s more of what she thinks than the rest of us. Mina... she thinks she’s unapproachable, you know. She doesn’t open up easily, so I’m surprised she told you that at all. But... she’s been hurt several times, and a lot of people think she’s mean or something similarly stupid just because she’s quiet. That’s all.”

“Oh.” You wet your lips and looked forward to the road, where you could see the fair’s Ferris Wheel already in the distance. “I see.”

And that was that. The two of you fell back into silence, and as comfortable as it was, it only gave you more time to think about what you wanted to say.

Maybe you could see why they would choose the girl who thought of herself as unapproachable and quiet to be the test, but they also didn’t seem to think about the obvious warm color to Mina that she presented. She was quiet, sure, but she was sweet, kind... there was plenty to fall in love with, and even if there wasn’t magic coursing through your system, you thought that you could’ve fallen in love with her anyway.

After bidding goodbye to Jeongyeon at the entrance, you found Mina waiting for you by the fair entrance. “Y/N!” she called out, though her voice still wasn’t loud. You could’ve spotted her anywhere anyway, and made your way over. “You’re a bit early.”

“You were earlier,” you smiled. “So. Are we ready to go in?”

“Absolutely.” Mina linked her arm in yours slightly hesitantly and surprised the both of you, but you took it in stride and swung your arm slightly to bring a smile to her face. “I’ll get our tickets, you get in line.”

“I can pay for myself,” you protested, but she waved you off. “...Okay then.”

The fair was loud, a bit too loud to hear Mina’s voice if she talked normally, so you found yourself leaning in every time she spoke. You really didn’t mind it either, feeling her words tickle your ears-- maybe it was closer than you should’ve been comfortable with, but there was a certain adrenaline pumping in your blood that you weren’t really used to. So you continued on, fed cotton candy to her despite her blush, shared a soda, won a teddy bear for her. Nothing that should’ve made your heart beat as fast as it did.

Nonetheless, time ticked by all too quickly, whirling past in a gust of quiet laughter and honestly terrible jokes. The sun set yet again, the streaks of pink and purple across powder blue oddly similar to the first date you had gone on. Mina checked her watch and frowned, “I think we only have time for one more ride before Jeongyeon comes to pick us up. What do you think?”

You barely had to ponder it before you pointed at the tall, neon-lit Ferris wheel with a smile. “Classic date ride, of course.”

“Classic,” Mina laughed in agreement. She let you tug her towards it and stood in line with you with no complaint, digging a selfie stick out from her bag. “Should we take some pictures up there? It’d be a waste of a beautiful view if we don’t.”

You shrugged, “Of course. Might as well have some pictures to remember our last date by, right?”

Mina looked caught between saying something and staying silent, but she settled with a quiet, “Sure” before starting to set her phone up. Your hand in the crook of her elbow, you tugged her forward when it was necessary, keeping your eyes away from her red-tinted lips as much as you could.

Soon enough, wind was blowing your hair off your face and the cart of the ride was creaking slightly under your weight as someone started the wheel. “Whoa,” Mina laughed breathlessly and peered over the edge. “It’s really high up.”

“And we’re only starting,” you agreed, tugging her back by the wrist. “Don’t fall over, I don’t want to get off this ride with a murder charge on my hands.”

“Hm.” Mina reached over to set the selfie stick on the seat opposite the one the two of you shared, shoving you to get you to match her smile. “Come on, 1, 2, 3.”

With every click of her phone camera, you felt yourself coming closer to her, until you could feel the rise and fall of her chest beside you. You were almost at the top of the ride in barely a couple minutes, the soft sunlight almost blinding you. As you waited for the next camera click, you felt Mina’s hand creep up your arm, up, up, until her slightly cold fingers rested on your neck.

And then she tilted your head, fit her nose right next to yours like it belonged there, and slotted your lips together. You couldn’t think, much less fight whatever force pushed you up against her. You kissed back as best as you could with your senses battling within you, until you realized that the camera shutter had gone off at least ten times.

Mina couldn’t meet your eyes when you did pull back, and she reached over to fiddle with the camera. “Was that a part of the experiment too?” you questioned, your voice raspy.

“Maybe,” she answered, and your heart sank. But she looked up with a smile, her eyes just as confused as you felt. “And maybe not.”

“Oh. Okay,” you said dumbly, then reached over for her hand. There was nothing left to say, anyway, nothing that the slight swell to your lips didn’t already say for you, nothing that wasn’t conveyed when you leaned over to kiss her again.

The idea of allowing a love potion to work its wonders on you was like allowing yourself to be tossed into a trap. But instead of a cold, rough, and terrible trap that you would actively try to escape, you found the trap to be warm, cozy, a place that you wanted to stay-- and a place you knew that you would eventually be ejected from by force.

Once you were in the trap, though, there was no way you could pull yourself back out, especially when you didn’t really want to escape at all. You stayed up for all the nights leading up to the last time you would talk with the bio lab, just thinking about what you would do if everything that had passed by in the last couple weeks was just a figment of an aphrodisiac-induced haze. After all that time, you still didn’t quite know.

But Mina texted you often enough to pull you from that stupor. Thankfully, it wasn’t like one of those stories or dramas, where the main leads somehow fought after their first kiss-- maybe that would’ve been easier than being pulled in deeper. Instead, the two of you talked every day, even if it was only for a little while, and Mina was only worsening whatever situation you couldn’t seem to get out of.

And eventually, the day came where you’d be paid, a day that you had been looking forward to, until you began to dread it.

“Well, doesn’t someone look like a newlywed,” Nayeon greeted at the entrance with a smile, though she didn’t seem to be mocking you. “Come on in, Y/N, we’ll get you started right away.”

The closet was the exact same as it had been the first time that you stepped inside for the interview, but Mina’s smile was much more warm. “Hi, Y/N. How’re you feeling?”

“Good. Fine.” You cleared your throat and attempted to peer at her clipboard. “Questions for me?”

“Yes,” Mina nodded, flipping the pages over. “Are you ready to get started, then? On a scale from one to ten, how attracted are you to me?”

“Ten,” you answered without hesitation this time, and your smile only grew when Mina flushed.

“Okay. Are you considering dating anyone other than me right now?”

“No.” You shook your head, but gulped slightly and leaned back when Mina leaned forward to observe you.

“What about me?”

You paused, blinked, though Mina didn’t seem like she was going to move until you answered, “Yes. I would date you, absolutely.”

She flicked through the pages listlessly before setting them aside and turning back to you. Somehow, Mina looked like she was about to drop a bomb on you, her lips quivering as she calculated the right words. “I... Y/N, I have to tell you something. About the experiment.”

“I’m not going to die, am I?”

Your shitty attempt at humor did manage to prompt a smile from Mina, but she remained serious. “Not that. But- do you understand control groups? In experiments?”

“Um. I think so?” you answered, racking your brain for whatever limited knowledge of science remained with you. “It’s the normal group, right? The one that isn’t experimented on.”

“Yes, just about,” Mina nodded. She reached for your hands and clasped them within hers, eyes pleading for you to understand something that you hadn’t heard yet. “Y/N, you were the control. I... we had to make sure that it was the potion working, and not me, and you- we used you for that. You were never given any potion.”

“I...” you stammered out. Every instinct in you was screaming out to pull away from Mina’s grasp, to question every aspect of your existence that had led up to you being tricked into loving her. Somehow, everything being real only made it feel more fake, even though you now knew that what you had felt was completely you. “I don’t understand.”

Mina said softly, “You fell in love with me, or at least liked me, on your own. You didn’t work as a control group because the same thing happened to you as it did to the others, even though you never took the aphrodisiac.”

“So,” you faltered, “all seven of us fell for you. I’m just the sucker who’s in it for real, huh?”

“I was willing to sacrifice my own feelings for the experiment,” Mina clarified, shaking her head. “I knew I would fall for one of you, but I didn’t think that you, as the control, would be the one who I fell for. And who fell for me.”

Silence fell over the two of you, though you remained there, hands clasped together and eyes meeting with a clarity that speech could never capture. But you tried anyway. “Okay.”

“Just okay?” Mina questioned.

You smiled weakly as a response, “Yeah. Um... how about we go on another date to talk? After you finish interrogating everyone else?”

Mina let go of your hands and let you stand up, but you could feel her smiling at your back as you closed the closet door behind you. Like a repetition of when you thought that you’d be induced into loving her, your heart beat in your throat as you leaned against the wood.

But when you knew it was real, when you knew that it wasn’t magic seizing you by the hand and pulling you into the unknown, you smiled. Because it felt... right.

#twice #twice x reader #mina x reader #mina imagines #mina scenarios #twice imagines #twice scenarios #twice reactions #twice mina #mina #mina myoui #myoui mina

257 notes · View notes

writing-reaper · 3 years

Text

Slender Brothers x Single Parent Reader Scenarios Part 2

Warnings: cursing, domestic abuse, mentions of violence, mentioned child abuse.

Sorry have all been fem!readers, if you’d like me to make a male!reader one, let me know.

Offenderman

You worked as a bartender at a popular nightclub.

Offender was your #1 customer and you two always chatted while you two worked.

Offender was VERY confused and disappointed when he didn’t see you for THREE WHOLE MONTHS.

When he saw you again he was very relieved that you weren’t dead and chatted you up all night.

Before Offender left to leave, he finally asked: “why were you gone for so long?”

“Oh, I was on maternity leave. I just had my baby.”

“Oh, well, congrats.”

Offender left the club that night VERY confused. He had never seen a baby bump, but maybe that was because it was a high counter and the uniform was a black dress.

The next night, Offender decided to press for info from you.

It was a long explanation that had many pauses due to the night being busier than usual, but to cut things short: you had been in a loving relationship until you had gotten pregnant. Yes, he wanted the baby. Yes, you had wanted the baby. No, he didn’t want you to be the parent. You had started fighting more and more and when the baby had finally been born, the father tried to take the baby and run, injuring you on the way (which was why it took a month longer than she was supposed to be gone).

“So, now I’m officially single and I’m like I dunno, ten legal battles now? Over my daughter’s custody and for some reason he’s “divorcing me” when we aren’t even married. Not to mention I rejected him when he proposed last year.” She explained while cleaning the counter beside him.

“Wow. The father sounds like a total douchebag.”

“Yeah, lucky me. Glad I’m getting him out of her life now. Sucks that I’m living with my parents again though.”

Offender remembered from previous conversations that her parents were very conservative and always made comments on her appearance and relationships, but they were also very supportive of her, even if they didn’t religiously agree with her.

“Well that’s nice. I don’t have any experience with parenting but I think you’d be a great mother.”

You smiled and thanked him before eventually clocking out and leaving.

The next day, you went in to collect your paycheck, unfortunately you couldn’t work due to a court date, but Offender was waiting outside.

“Oh, hey Offender!” She greeted before he handed her a bouquet of roses.

“Sorry if this is a weird time, but I’d been wanting to ask you out for a while. I understand if you say no, but at least keep the flowers.” You were very surprised at this awkward proposal and laughed.

“Seriously?! Oh my gosh yes! You have no idea how long I’ve liked you.”

“Ok, cool, I’ll text you later then.” He said before you went to your car, seeming very happy. He spotted the baby in the window, but didn’t ask to meet her yet.

It was maybe a month into the relationship that you decided it would be ok for Offender to meet her. Though there were still legal troubles.

“Wow.” He said with a smile as the baby smiled and made grabby hands at him. “She looks so much like you.”

“Well she is my baby.” You laughed with a smile.

“So… I have a new proposal for you.”

“Go on?”

“Move in with me? I have the room and I know you hate living with your parents. I’ll keep my business away from the baby and everything I promise.”

“Really…?” You asked, cheeks flushed. Even your last boyfriend hadn’t been so kind.

“Yeah, I want us to be together.”

You were very happy and accepted the offer, it wasn’t long before you were moved in and your daughter was calling both her father and Offender “dada”

Splendorman

Your six year old son went outside one day and found himself in the presence of the Splendorman himself. He had been with his father (who was distracted) when he met him.

Splendorman gave him candy and a balloon and played with him on the playground while the father had his back turned.

It was maybe an hour later, when you, a beautiful young woman, showed up to collect the child.

“What?! I barely spent time with him!”

“Derek! You’ve had him all week! What do you mean you didn’t spend time with him?”

“I’ve been working so I can pay your broke ass child support while you live in that whore house sucking dick!”

Splendor was very shocked and disgusted by the repulsive colorful vocabulary he was using toward that woman. He felt sad when the woman teared up.

“What are you talking about? I’m paying you child support because you’re living in your mother’s basement. I own a company while you’re selling drugs on the corner at a children’s playground— wait! Derek! Where’s (daughter’s name)?!”

“What do you mean where is she—?!” Derek turned to find only (son’s name) sitting on the swings.

You began to cry as you ran up and down the street calling for your daughter while Derek tried to follow you and turn the blame on you.

“Why aren’t you with (son’s name)?!” You cried before returning to your son and hugging him, asking where his sister was.

Splendor took it upon himself to search as well, soon finding your second six year old (daughter) lying on the ground crying, covered in bruises and cuts, with a, most likely, twisted ankle.

He returned your daughter to you and you cried, thanking him before calling an ambulance and taking pictures while contacting your lawyer.

“How the hell is this my fault?!” Derek yelled, looking more than ready to hurt you.

“You neglected our children and now (daughter’s name) is going to be in a cast! Do I need to explain anymore?!” You yelled through sobs as you cradled your daughter, rubbing your son’s head as he sobbed, upset by all the yelling while Splendor stood between the two of you to make sure Derek didn’t attack.

Derek ended up getting taken away in cuffs while your daughter was taken to the hospital.

You gave Splendor your information, he had asked, to tell him whether or not (daughter’s name) was ok before you went in the ambulance with your twin children.

It was maybe a week later, when you remembered Splendor and met up for coffee with him.

Unfortunately, the court ruled, once again, in Derek’s favor, just giving him weekends with the kids now. So the kids were with his parents while you were out with Splendor.

The coffee get together quickly turned into a coffee date when you two were suddenly flirting with each other and scheduling a second one.

One date turned into two, two dates turned into five. Five dates turned into twenty and suddenly you were his girlfriend and moved in with him.

You moved in with him because you were saving to buy a bigger home— that was until you realized his home was a mansion.

It took a very long explanation of his life and a short break before you accepted it all as long as your twins were safe.

The next week the kids were away, the two of you moved everything and prepared their rooms.

Easy to say, the two were very happy with this change.

Splendor wasn’t referred to as their father until 5 years later when Derek ended up behind bars for 25 years and the kids realized how much of a horrible person he was.

Once he was behind bars though, another legal battle ensued to keep him behind bars when the two admitted to Derek hurting them.

Splendor was very supportive and quickly became their new father.

The twins were very happy and enjoyed all the new traditions, as well as a new addition to the family ;)

Baby #3

#splendorman #slenderbrothers x reader #slenderbrothers #offenderman #splendorman x reader #offenderman x reader #scenarios #single parent #part 2

117 notes · View notes

tinyboxxtink · 3 years

Text

“Helpless” *Part 3*

Ok, I got the 2nd dose of the CoVid Vaccine yesterday and it’s kicking my ASS, so I’m gonna blame the writing on that. I wasn’t even gonna do a chapter tonight but I can’t let my babies down!!!!

Please forgive me, I didn’t plan this story out as well. I don’t know how long it’s gonna go, I’m flailing, coming apart at the seams.

ANYWAY, ENJOY! 😂

Also for the record the micro expression thing is a real thing, there was a whole show about it! #LieToMe

This story is just an excuse to exploit my fascination with it. 😅 #jk

Masterlist

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

My Lovelies:

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@chasingeverybreakingwave

After greeting your new guests, you took their drink orders and handed them two menus, explaining the specials. You glanced over to see Rafael furiously scribbling notes down on his legal pad; SUPER.

“....How’s the Cesar salad here, dear?” the older woman of the couple asked.

“It’s great-- really--” you were explaining when you caught Rafael’s eye when he glanced up to look at you. He smiled, and you thought your knees would give out.

“Amazing,” you sighed in a dreamy wisp.

“Really? That good, huh?” The woman glanced over to where you had been looking. Rafael quickly looked elsewhere, then sipped his scotch and continued writing.

“Well he looks yummy too,” She winked, as her husband looked up from his menu with a wary eye.

“I’ll be back with your drinks,” you nodded and quickly excused yourself to make their drinks. After quickly mixing and serving them, you returned to Rafael who was now grinning from ear to ear.

“Are you going to actually order, or…?” You asked, leaning your elbows on the bar across from him.

“In a minute, sure. FIRST, you answer some questions, camarera--” You gave him a face. “It means waitress,”

“Right...cute,” you rolled your eyes, but inside you were melting. Anything spanish coming out of that man’s mouth sounded like straight porn.

“But, I’m not just going to sit here and let you interrogate me, counselor,” you smirked. “Tit for tat-- you ask me one, I’ll ask you one. And remember, I’ll know if you’re lying,” you wagged your eyebrows at him.

“Well that’s just unfair, don’t you think? You could tell me anything and I’d believe you,” he argued.

“Oh really? Because I look that innocent?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Because you’re that pretty,” he winked, causing your cheeks to flush hot. Damn, he was good.

“Alright alright, down boy,” you tried playing it off like you weren’t mentally squealing like a 12 year old. “First question?”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“Excuse you? How old do you think I am?!” You didn’t know whether to be insulted or flattered. You had always been told you looked young for your age, but you didn’t want him thinking you were barely jailbait or something. WAIT, was that him making sure you weren’t?

“Why don’t you ask me my age, counselor? Wouldn’t that be easier?”

“Asking a woman’s age is the equivalent of asking to get punched in the nuts,” he chuckled.

“True. Well I’m older than 21 but younger than 40,” you smirked.

“So...22 then?” He winked.

“Whatever you want, papi,” you winked back, causing his eyes to glisten with arousal.

“But to answer your actual question, I want to work in law someday,” you added, turning his amorous eyes to curious ones.

“Really? Because of me?”

“Oh my GOD, could you be any more narcissistic?” you scoffed.

“I could be, most definitely yes,” he nodded.

“NO, believe it or not my world doesn’t revolve around you; in fact until yesterday you were just ‘tie guy’,”

“Tie guy?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Your ties. They are very...intricate,” you nodded to the tie he was currently wearing. To your surprise, he nervously adjusted it and looked down, as if he was embarrassed by his love for flamboyant ties.

“Not in a bad way, I like them a lot. Especially when they match your suspenders,” as soon as the words left your mouth, you heard the “fatal attraction” in them.

“Okay see how is this fair, you clearly know much more about me than I know about you,” You fanned yourself, your skin was going to be permanently burned red from this entire conversation.

“Yes but to be fair you just keep revealing that information yourself, and it’s really only facts about myself, just with a stalker’s viewpoint,” he quickly recovered from his own insecurities once again, reveling in your skill of self destruction.

“ANYWAY-- No, not because of you. I’ve just been fascinated with the micro expression thing since I was a teenager, and I think if it hasn't been already introduced as tactics for law enforcement, it definitely should be. Having human lie detectors on hand would be very beneficial, don’t you think?”

“You do have a point,” he nodded. “If it was a real thing,” he rolled his eyes.

“It IS! Alright you know what-- new game,” You slammed the bar with your hands defensively..

“You tell me facts about yourself and I’ll tell you if you’re lying,”

“Whoa whoa whoa, I never agreed to that,” Rafael shook his head.

“Well you can agree now or I can keep waiting on other people, counselor,”

“...Alright, fine. But it goes both ways,”

“Oh you think you can tell when I’m lying?” You dared him.

“If I really try, sure. I am a lawyer,”

“Alright....fine.”

“So what are the terms of this game?”

“Hmmmm…..if I win, you have to mention this science--”

“Voodoo”

“SCIENCE, to your higher ups. Or someone who could do something with it,” you held out your hand.

“Alright...fine. And when I win, I eat free here for a week.” he smirked.

“WHAT? No no no, that shit will come out of my pocket, jackass,” You winced after the insult came out, you didn’t know what it was about him that caused such flippancy.

“...You know I’ve never been in a conversation with someone insulting me this much,” he chuckled.

“....Maybe not to your face,” You gave him a tongue-in-cheek smile.

“Touché…” he chuckled, twirling his pen between his fingers.

“Alright fine, if I win, you have dinner with me next week. Anywhere but here,” he grinned, amused at the shell shocked look on your face. You quickly shook it off and tried to play it cool.

“....You know I’ve never been in a conversation with a guy who worked this hard just to ask me out,”

“Oh please, I could’ve asked you to follow me home last night and you would’ve done it,” he smirked, causing you to hit him with feigned protest.

“But what fun would that be?” he asked coyly, biting his lip.

“ORDER UP!” You heard the kitchen call your order.

“Shit...I’ll be right back,” You took Rafael’s glass and filled it back up, sliding it back to him.

“Trying to get me drunk?” He gave you a look.

“More like trying for a bigger tip,” you giggled, going back for the food.

---

You grabbed your other guests dinner and refilled their drinks, making sure they were taken care of for a while before returning to Rafael to start your new game.

“Alright….so first question: Any brothers or sisters?” you started before he could think of a question.

“One brother two sisters,” he replied with a straight face.

“NOPE. Lie. Straight out of the gate, really, counselor?!”

“Oh please, how could you know that,” he rolled his eyes.

“Please, with that ego, you’re definitely an only child.” You both laughed, he nodded.

“Alright, same question,”

“8 brothers, 7 sisters,”

“Oh now THAT’S a load of bullshit! In New York City? No way,”

“Well, technically. I was raised in a group home-- orphan,”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he went for your hand, but you shook it off.

“Not a big deal, moving on,”

“Hey--” he took your hand this time. “For what it’s worth, having parents isn’t exactly great either,”

Hint of a sad tone, a micro anger expression at the word ‘parents’.

“...Mom or dad?”

“What?”

Eye twitch at the mention of “dad”.

“What did your dad do?”

“Wha-- what is happening? What are you doing?” his eyes darted back and forth between yours trying to figure you out.

“I told you, science,”

“Well STOP, whatever it is!” he dropped your hand and leaned back defensively.

Wow, something really must have gone down with his dad.

“Okay...sorry, I’m sorry. Sometimes it’s hard to turn off,” you apologized, he relaxed back in his stool. The awkward silence now made you want to run right out of the restaurant.

“We don’t have to play anymore, I’ll tell you whatever you want,”

“No no, it’s my fault. I thought you were full of shit until that just happened,” he muttered with half a laugh.

“Oh, yeah then totally your fault,” you tried to laugh it off, he gave you a small smile. He was clearly still shaken up by the mention of his father, or the fact that you knew something about it out of thin air.

“Seriously, we can--”

“What about my dad?” he interrupted you.

“What?”

“ What do you know about my dad?” he asked, a serious expression on his face.

“Wha--- I’m not actually a psychic, Rafael. I just noticed your eye twitch when I mentioned the word dad, indicating some stress associated with it. SCIENCE, not magic,” you made “magic” motions with your fingers.

“I mean for all I know you could just hate your daddy because he didn’t buy you a yacht when you were a kid,” you joked; a glance of shame.

“...But you didn’t grow up with money, did you?” You couldn’t help yourself.

“....Seriously, I’ll leave,” he dropped his pen.

“Sorry. SORRY. Okay fine fine um-- I grew up in Jersey, in a tiny house in a room shared by five girls, it was like living in a closet. My foster parents only wanted the paychecks for each kid, so we basically raised each other. I made friends with Arianna who was also in the system when I got to high school, and as soon as we turned 18 we took off for the city, and we’ve been living out of our car for years,” you hoped your self deprecating life story negated whatever shit went down with his dad.

“....How much of that is true?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Okay so we live in a studio apartment, but we did live out of our car for a year,”

“....I grew up in the barrio,” he finally spoke after a long pause.

“I assume that’s like the Mexican ghetto?”

“CUBAN,” he was clearly offended.

“Right. Sorry,” you bit your lip, knowing there was no way you’d be able to dig out the stiletto wedged in your mouth.

“I love my mom, she did the best she could. And my abuela is the sweetest woman in the world. But my dad…” he rolled his eyes, his knuckles slightly curled at the mention of his father.

“....He’s dead now, so it’s irrelevant,” he shrugged uncomfortably.

“Right. Yeah no, sure,” this time you placed a hand over his.

“Miss, can we get a dessert menu please?” You heard the woman from the other end of the bar calling for you.

“I um-- I gotta--” you motioned between the couple and the back.

“Right-- hey um, do you think I could get my usual?” He asked softly, his cocky demeanor diminished.

“Y-Yeah! Of course, yeah I’ll be right back,” you smiled awkwardly at him and bolted to the kitchen.

For fuck’s sake, could you be any more awkward? This is why you didn’t have friends; people don’t want their lives being read on their faces.

It’s fine, you’re fine. You’ll just fix it when you come back….

#rafael barba #rafael barba x you #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba imagine #law and order special victims unit #law and order svu #law and order svu fanfiction

45 notes · View notes

440mxs-wife · 3 years

Text

Something More - Part 2

Pairing: Leonard “Bones” McCoy x Lt. Maggie Parker (OFC). Other Characters: Cmdr Spock, Lt. Nyota Uhura, Lt. Ruthie Warner (OFC), Ensign Miranda Nelson (OFC)

Word Count: 4110+

Warnings: A bit of jealousy, some angst due to misunderstanding, character injury but all tied up at the end with fluff.

A/N: This is my first attempt at a fic outside of the Supernatural fandom. I have @spacedancer1701 to thank for that little nudge. :) This particular offering got away from me a bit, so I split it in two. Enjoy, and happy reading!

Part 1 here (picture courtesy of IMDb)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As the night wore on, the others departed one by one, until Maggie and Leonard were the only ones left at the table. At some point in their conversation, this was brought to their attention, at which they both burst into laughter.

"Oh my goodness, we've talked the whole night," Maggie observed. "I hope the others don't feel like I neglected them," she worried.

"I'm sure they're not offended, sweetheart. I think this is the most fun I've had in a very long time. You're easy to talk to, and you're kinda pretty, too," McCoy remarked, with a grin and a slight slurring of his words.

Maggie blushed at his compliment. "Come on, Leonard, you've been drinking. Let's not get carried away," she laughed nervously. "But thank you. Will you please walk me back to my quarters?" She asked.

"I'd be honored to, darlin', just lead the way," he said as he eased his way off of his barstool. He guided Maggie to the door with his hand on the small of her back. Once outside the rec area, he dropped his hand only to pick hers up and interlace their fingers.

The good doctor thought it might have been too bold a move and possibly a mistake after having just met that day. However, Maggie didn't remove her hand, and when she looked up at him and smiled, he couldn't help but return the gesture.

All too soon, they had arrived at the door to her quarters. "Well, this is my stop," Maggie chuckled.

"So it is," McCoy replied softly. He reached up with his left hand and cradled her cheek. "I'd really like to see you again, Maggie. Would you like to meet for breakfast tomorrow?" he asked.

"That sounds wonderful. Meet you in the mess hall, 0800 hrs?" Maggie suggested.

"I'll see you there, darlin'," McCoy responded. With his hand still on her cheek, he inched closer while gently guiding her towards him. She closed her eyes when his soft lips met her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Maggie," he whispered as he pulled back.

"Good night, Leonard," she replied softly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maggie was in line for her breakfast when Lt. Uhura came up behind her. "You and Dr. McCoy looked pretty cozy last night," she teased. "You two must have talked all night."

"I am so sorry for neglecting everyone, I didn't mean to. I did have a wonderful time talking with Dr. McCoy," Maggie blushed.

"I believe in Georgia, where he comes from, they call that 'sparkin', my friend," Uhura giggled.

"Oh, shut up," Maggie playfully bumped Uhura's hip and they both burst into laughter.

Dr. McCoy had already arrived at the table with his breakfast choices. He caught sight of Maggie and Uhura in line together, laughing about something. Her smile makes her even more lovely, if that's at all possible, he thought, smiling himself.

Maggie and Uhura finished making their breakfast selections and took their trays over to where Dr. McCoy was waiting. He stood when the ladies reached his table, then took Maggie's hand to guide her to the chair next to him. "Good morning, you two," he greeted them.

"Good morning, Dr. McCoy. Sleep well, I hope?" Maggie asked.

"Better than I have in quite a while, thank you. So, you have your first shift today in the Science Department, right Lieutenant?" McCoy inquired.

"Today's the day, and I'm so excited I can hardly sit still!" Maggie exclaimed. "I hope I do all right and don't make a mess of things," she remarked before taking a bite of her breakfast.

"I think you'll do just fine, darlin'," McCoy drawled.

Captain Kirk joined their table and the conversation by saying, "Relax, Lieutenant, everything will be fine. Just remember, though, whatever you break will be taken out of your paycheck," Kirk teased. "I'm kidding, I promise!" he held up his hands and broke into a grin.

Maggie initially froze at the captain's words, then relaxed when she realized he was joking. "Very funny, Captain," she sassed. She looked down at her watch and noted the time. "Welp, time for me to go, don't want to be late on my first shift. Have a great day, everyone!" she called over her shoulder.

"That woman is pure sunshine, isn't she?" Kirk commented as he slid his gaze over to McCoy.

"She sure is," McCoy replied, a smile gracing his face as he watched Maggie leave. "'Bout time for me to head out as well. Try not to do something dumb and get hurt, huh, Jim? See you later, Lieutenant," he said as he left.

Kirk turned to Lt. Uhura. "Well, well, well. Isn't this interesting," he mused as she nodded. "Have to keep an eye on those two," he remarked.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maggie's first day as a science officer went well, and it wasn't long before she settled into a routine. Fortunately, her shifts rotated on the same schedule as Dr. McCoy's did, so they were able to spend time together.

They took turns hanging out in each others' quarters, sometimes to listen to music, other times to just talk. They generally took meals together as well, and were sometimes joined by the captain and other crew members. Dr. McCoy even got to cash in on Maggie's promise to play a few racks of 8-ball with him.

The more time they spent together, the more Maggie noticed her feelings for Dr. McCoy had changed. At first, it was an easy companionship, someone to share a meal with and unwind with at the end of a stressful day.

Then she started noticing the little things, like how his hand felt like it had always belonged in hers. Or how his Southern drawl would slip out when he was telling her a story, along with a lot of "sweetheart", "sugar" and "darlin'". She loved the rough stubble on his cheeks when he didn't have time to shave. Most of all, he made her feel as though she was the most important person in the room, at least to him.

For Leonard, it was a lot of the same. Maggie was his first thought in the morning and the last one at night. And she always seemed to know exactly what he needed when he needed it.

Once, after a particularly stressful day, his hands ached from the number of patients he'd seen that day. Maggie took hold of his hand and began to massage it, starting at the palm and working out to the tips of his fingers. Then, she took care of massaging his neck and shoulders. Afterwards, he could swear that he'd never felt so relaxed in his life.

Which is how their first kiss happened. When Maggie was done with the massage, she wrapped her arms around him and leaned her forehead against the back of his head. She took a deep breath, which felt warm on his neck. He turned to face Maggie, who had a shy smile on her face. McCoy grazed his knuckles on her cheek and leaned in to mesh his lips with hers in a soft, tender kiss.

"Been waitin' to do that for a while now, darlin'," McCoy revealed.

"Well, you certainly don't have to wait as long before doing it again," Maggie teased. Needing no further prompting, McCoy moved in again. This time, the kiss was a little more demanding, but no less passionate than the previous one.

It's no secret that his first marriage to Jocelyn was a bust, although he did get an amazing daughter, Joanna, out of it. After the divorce, Leonard had been on plenty of 'first dates', but nothing really progressed beyond that. At least, not until Maggie came along. Jim's right, he thought. This woman is pure sunshine, and she is shining it right at my heart, he grinned to himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At about Maggie's 6-month anniversary aboard ship, the Enterprise played host to a visiting trio of doctors. One of them, a Dr. Fiona Richardson, was there to compare notes with Dr. McCoy on new field surgical techniques. Their tour aboard the Enterprise was scheduled to last about two weeks.

Dr. Richardson was tall, had long wavy red hair, sparkling green eyes and was incredibly attractive. To say that Maggie felt a bit intimidated by her was putting it mildly. She was also a bit concerned at the amount of time Dr. Richardson spent with Dr. McCoy compared to her.

Maggie tried to keep in mind that Leonard was interested in her, not Dr. Richardson. Convincing herself of that got a little more difficult when he'd had to back out of a few dates they'd planned together. Work always seemed to interfere, and she couldn't ignore that Dr. Richardson was becoming a factor. She hadn't wanted to push the issue with Leonard, but at the same time, it was starting to affect her mood.

"Just talk to him, Maggie. It doesn't do any good to bottle this up and make yourself miserable," Uhura reminded her.

"I know, it's just, how can I compete with someone like that? She's tall, gorgeous, and gets to spend more time with Leonard than I have lately," Maggie grumbled. Then she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "You know what? You're right, Nyota. I'll go down there with a cup of coffee or something for Leonard as an afternoon pick-me-up," Maggie decided.

"Really? Is that what you're calling it," Uhura teased, waggling her eyebrows.

"Oh, stop it!" Maggie chuckled and hugged her friend. "Thank you, Nyota. I don't know what I'd do without you," she choked out.

"Go on, get out of here and go get your man! Crazy woman," Uhura grumbled good-naturedly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Captain Kirk strolled into the MedBay to see how things were going with his CMO. He found McCoy sitting at his desk, absently staring at nothing on the wall. "Hey, Bones? Everything all right?" Kirk asked.

"Hmm?" McCoy broke out of his trance to notice his captain had entered the room. "Yeah, I was just thinking about Maggie. I haven't been able to spend much time with her lately, and I think she's starting to pull back from me," McCoy grumbled.

"Well, your schedule ought to ease up soon, after Dr. Richardson and her colleagues go back to Starbase 42," Kirk pointed out. "Then you'll be able to make things up to Maggie and you can get back to the way things were," he finished. "How is it working with Dr. Richardson, though?" he asked.

Maggie entered the MedBay with a cup of coffee for Leonard. She was about halfway to his office when she heard what sounded like the captain and doctor having a conversation.

"I mean, she's very knowledgeable, but she just doesn't know when to stop talking!" Leonard commented and shared a laugh with the captain.

"So....at the risk of being punched, how do you feel about her? I mean, you two have been seeing each other for a bit now. Well?" Kirk prompted.

Maggie was having a hard time making out their words, so she stepped a little closer to the door, careful not to spill the coffee in her hands. She knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but curiosity got the better of her.

"Maggie...." McCoy said softly. "Ah, she's wonderful. Smart, kind, always thinking of others first. Sexy, too," Maggie could hear the smile in Leonard's voice. "And I love her. I do, and you know I never thought I'd say those words again to another woman, not after Jocelyn. But in this short time of knowing her, spending all this time with her....it just feels right," McCoy declared.

All of a sudden there was a crashing noise outside of his office. The door flew open, and the men saw Maggie picking up the pieces of a smashed cup that had once held coffee.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" McCoy asked gently.

When Maggie tilted up her face to meet his eyes, his heart broke to see the tears streaming down her face. "I-I-I was bringing you something for....never mind, it's not important. I'll be right b-back to get something to clean this up," Maggie stammered. She slowly backed her way towards the door.

"Maggie, honey, wait a second. What's wrong? Why the tears, darlin'?" McCoy implored, trying to keep his tone neutral as he reached out for her.

Behind her, the door slid open and Maggie whispered, "I'm sorry, Leonard" before making a run for it.

"No! Maggie, wait! Please!" McCoy shouted as he ran after her.

Maggie continued running down the corridor until she came to one of the turbolifts. She punched the call button and prayed it would get here before Leonard caught up with her. It didn't matter the destination, as long as it took her away from here. Away from hearing Leonard declare his love for someone else.

McCoy saw Maggie turn the corner to where he knew there would be a turbolift. He had to get there before it did, otherwise he wouldn't know where to find her.

The doors opened and Maggie threw herself inside. She gave her destination as the "Observation Deck" and the doors started to close. The last thing she saw before they completely closed was the panic-stricken look on Leonard's face. She sank to the floor, put her head in her hands and cried as her heart shattered.

She took off her comm badge and placed it on a table on the Observation Deck. Although she was likely to face a lecture from the captain about doing that, she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment.

Maggie needed some time to figure out what to do next. This is just like Ryan, she thought. Kept me around until someone better came along. I'm only a placeholder. She got back in the turbolift and went to the only place she felt she could calm down, her lab. Science Lab #3.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

McCoy slowly made his way back to his office where Kirk was waiting. "What the hell just happened?" Kirk asked. Shortly after McCoy returned to the MedBay, Uhura and Spock came in asking the same thing.

"I have no idea. One minute Jim and I are talking about my feelings for Maggie. The next minute, she'd dropped the coffee mug and goes running out of here, crying," McCoy remarked, then a thought suddenly came to him. "Oh, god. Jim, I think she heard our conversation and thought....she thinks I'm in love with someone else," he whispered. "How could she think I'd want to be with anyone else but her?" he exclaimed.

"I think now might be a good time to tell you what she told me about Ryan," Uhura declared. All three men looked at Uhura with expectant faces, silently urging her to continue. "Ryan was her ex, the one she had right before she came on board. They'd been a couple for a few months, then he started cancelling dates. She asked him about it, and he told her there was nothing to worry about. He'd always say that he was cancelling because of work, but that he still loved only her.

"Turns out, he was back together with his high school sweetheart the whole time. Maggie caught them together out to dinner one night. He didn't even try to hide it, made it seem like her fault that he cheated on her. Worst of all, the three of them worked together, which was extremely awkward for Maggie. She was lucky that a spot opened up on the Enterprise when it did," Uhura shook her head sadly.

McCoy sat on the edge of his chair, elbows resting on his knees and his hands covering the bottom half of his face. "Did you see her face when we came out of my office?" he whispered. "It looked like her heart was broken--no, not broken--shattered," McCoy added.

"Dr. McCoy, I'm not saying you're anything like her ex. I told you the story because she feels a little inferior to Dr. Richardson, and how much time she's spent with you. I know, I know, it was work time, but I hope you can see why Maggie might be a bit scared of it happening again," Lt. Uhura explained.

"I do understand, and I'm glad you told me. I have to find her. I need to tell her--" his reply was cut off by the sounds of alarms blaring. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"Dr. McCoy, you're needed urgently in the Science Labs, something about an accident," Nurse Chapel told him.

"Thank you, Christine, I'm on my way. Wait a minute, which Lab?" he asked.

"I believe they said Science Lab #3," she replied.

All of the color seemed to drain from McCoy's face. "That--that's Maggie's lab! Come on, we need to hurry!" he grabbed his medkit and started running down the hall to the scene of the accident.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

One minute, Maggie was sitting at her desk in her lab, mindlessly going through paperwork. The next minute, she was knocked backwards out of her chair and had hit the wall with her head. She woke up laying on the floor with a splitting headache, dizziness and an aching left wrist. Her uniform was littered with pieces of glass, some of which were embedded in the exposed skin on her arms and neck.

The lab was quickly filling up with smoke, so she knew she had to find a way out and take as many people with her as possible. "Is everyone okay? Who's hurt?" she called out before dissolving in a coughing fit.

Ensign Cooper answered back, saying he was okay, except for a minor burn on his arm. She told him that if he can walk, to find the exit and help anyone else along the way. Others in the lab sounded off, telling Maggie that everyone was mostly okay. She crawled around on the floor, trying to stay below the smoke level but not always finding clear air.

Maggie found Lieutenant Morris, who appeared to have the most injuries, since he was likely the closest to the explosion. He was unconscious at the moment, with burns to his forearms and torso. She tried to lift him, but with her left wrist either sprained or broken, she opted to try and drag him out. All along the way, she called out for help.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

By the time Dr. McCoy, Capt. Kirk, Spock and Uhura arrived, the lab was almost completely enveloped in smoke. Kirk pressed a button on the wall, which opened up the air ducts to try and vent the smoke.

Uhura found Maggie first, sitting on the floor next to Lt. Morris. "Dr. McCoy? Over here!" she called. "Just sit tight, honey, help is on the way. You've been busy this afternoon, haven't you? Crazy woman," she smiled, trying to keep Maggie calm.

"Maggie?!? Darlin', are you okay?!? Oh, you had me so worried, sweetheart!" McCoy remarked, unshed tears shining in his eyes. He laid a hand to her cheek and she leaned into his touch. "I'm going to take care of the lieutenant here, but I promise I'll come right back to you, okay?" he asked. Maggie nodded her head slowly as he began to examine Lt. Morris' injuries.

After he'd made his assessment of Lt. Morris and had him shipped off to the MedBay, he turned his attention to Maggie. She had slumped over on her side, and her eyes had drifted shut. "Oh, no you don't. Come on, darlin', you gotta wake up for me. Please," he begged.

Maggie's eyelids fluttered open again to reveal a very concerned CMO standing over her. She gave him a small smile and reached up with her right hand and caressed his cheek. "Leonard," she whispered. "I'm so sorry," she rasped as she began coughing. "I need you to know something, love," she began but McCoy cut her off.

"No, nope, not happenin'. You're not givin' me some goodbye speech, and do you know why? Because you're strong, darlin'. That's how I know you're gonna be all right," he told her as a stretcher was brought in to take her to the MedBay.

Leonard took hold of Maggie's hand, kissed the back of it and then held it to his chest. "I'll be there when you wake up, okay?" he affirmed. She nodded then was whisked away to where Dr. M'Benga was waiting in the MedBay.

McCoy knew he was more useful staying behind and tending to any other potential patients. His emotions over Maggie could get in the way, so he trusted Dr. M'Benga with her care. Then, he did the only thing he could do at the moment. He turned around and started assessing the lab crew until he had tended to everyone's injuries.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Her hand felt warm, and she was having a hard time moving her arm. When she looked down at her side, she smiled, because she could see the reason. There was a mop of dark brown hair resting on her arm, gently snoring away. Maggie didn't want to wake him, but figured she'd been out long enough that someone should know she was awake.

"Leonard," she tried. "Len, honey, wake up," she tried again, this time wiggling her arm. The motion of her arm was enough to finally jostle him awake. His head snapped up and his eyes immediately locked on to Maggie's face to see her smiling at him.

"Maggie....oh, darlin' it's so good to see you awake. I was starting to get a little worried after awhile, though. Do you remember anything about what happened in the lab?" he asked.

"I remember sitting at my desk, shuffling some papers, then being thrown against the wall. I woke up on the floor, dizzy, headache and my wrist hurt," Maggie replied. She held up her left wrist to see that it was wrapped in a brace. "I called out to see if everyone was okay, then I saw Lt. Morris, who looked to be the more seriously injured. I knew we had to get out of the smoke, so I started dragging him to the door, and that's when you found us."

"When Lt. Uhura found you....I was just so happy to see that you were mostly okay. Maybe a little banged up, but I knew we could patch you up, good as new," he winked. "You were pretty upset earlier, though. Mind telling me what was going on in that pretty head of yours?" McCoy asked gently.

"I feel so stupid about it now, Len," Maggie said, dropping her gaze to her hands in her lap. "I heard you and Jim talking in your office. I guess I just assumed you were talking about me when you said 'she' was knowledgeable but talked too much. Then you said after spending such a short time of knowing 'her' and spending all this time with 'her' that you love 'her'. I guess I thought you were talking about Dr. Richardson," Maggie explained.

"And why would you think that?" McCoy inquired.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Come on, Leonard. Look at her, then look at me. She's clearly the more attractive of the two of us. You have more in common with her, both being in the medical field, you speak the same language. And I know it was work stuff, but I got....jealous of the time she got to spend with you that I didn't," her voice dropped on the last word.

McCoy moved to sit on the edge of the biobed, directly facing Maggie. "First of all, I'm not attracted to Dr. Richardson, academically or otherwise. She's the one who doesn't know when to stop talking. Second, I like that you and I have different jobs on this tin can of a ship. Makes our conversations interesting," he grinned.

"Can't argue with that," Maggie chuckled.

"And last but certainly not least, Dr. Richardson is not the woman I'm in love with. She's not the one who holds my heart," McCoy remarked softly, tucking a strand of hair behind Maggie's ear.

"Oh. I see. Well, whoever 'she' is, she's got the best of the best. She's certainly a lucky woman," Maggie whispered.

"Yes, darlin'. Yes, you are," McCoy replied.

A dawn of understanding slowly spread across Maggie's face. "Well, since I hold your heart, then I should tell you that you've had mine for awhile now," she mentioned.

"I'll be sure and take real good care of it, sugar. I love you," McCoy declared.

"I love you too, Len," Maggie replied, leaning forward until her lips met his to seal their love with a kiss.

Part 3 here!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

#leonard mccoy x reader #leonard bones mccoy x reader #bones mccoy x reader #bones x reader #star trek aos

26 notes · View notes

prettyboyjackhughes · 3 years

Text

-Is this real?- |J. Hughes|

“Jack, you know I can’t move with you. New Jersey? That’s how many hundreds of miles away from Michigan? From Trevor?” I watch the shadow of sadness creep across Jack’s face. The two of us had been avoiding this discussion ever since he had been drafted. Neither one of us wanted to talk about the fact that he would be moving 604 miles away from me until Trev and I moved to Boston. Neither of us wanted to acknowledge the fact that I probably wouldn’t be going with him either. Trevor would be heading to Boston in 2 months, Jack leaving a few weeks after him. Alex flew out in 4 weeks. It had been decided that he and Madi would be living together off UW’s campus since she would only be a 10 minute drive away at Edgewood College. Madi was studying criminology and Alex was studying sports management in case hockey didn’t ever pan out the way he planned. Trev and I would live together, renting out an apartment in Chestnut Hills and attending Boston College together. Him playing hockey and studying business, me studying journalism and babysitting Trev’s drunk self. Again, that was all depending on me deciding not to go with Jack. I had gotten into Seton Hall, which was about 20 minutes away from the arena and practice facility Jack would spend the majority of his time at. The two of us had spent a ton of time looking at apartments between the two and had found ones we liked but I wasn’t sure I was ready to leave Trevor and my parents. Driving to Jack’s wouldn’t be a huge issue, he was only 4 hours away, but with my class schedule and his schedule, it wouldn’t work.

“Charlie, you’re the only one I want there with me. You’ve been going through this with me since the beginning. I can’t be that far from you.” I rake my hand through my hair, taking a deep breath at the same time.

“I want to. But what happens when you’re gone and I’m sitting alone in some city I’m not used to? When you’re on the other side of the country and I’m at home, alone?” All of the sudden, there’s a crazy look in Jack’s eyes. One I’ve only seen when he suggested we hook up for the first time, behind Trev’s back.

“Let’s get married.” He says, looking at me. My mouth drops open.

“Get married? Now? With you and everyone else leaving in less than 2 months? Not exactly the best time to plan a wedding and get married. Jack, we’re 18!” It wasn’t the first time Jack had talked about us getting married. He’d been saying it since the first time I told him I loved him. He had vowed to marry me, but we had both decided it wouldn’t be till after I was through college and working and he was somewhat settled in the NHL.

“Baby, think about it. We’ve talked about it and it’s the perfect solution to everything. We get married, you come with me to Jersey. One last big thing with everyone before we leave.” He says, a smile growing on his face.

“Honey, I know. I want to marry you, I do. But I thought we were waiting.” I say, leaving back into the lawn chair I’m curled up in.

“Well yeah, that was the plan. Before I got drafted to somewhere 4 hours away from you. But it’s close to one of your schools, plus we found an apartment already. Come on, why not? We’ve got a month with everyone still here. Let’s do it.” I shake my head.

“Honey, I know. I want to marry you, I do. But I thought we were waiting.” I say, leaving back into the lawn chair I’m curled up in.

“Well yeah, that was the plan. Before I got drafted to somewhere on the other side of the country from you. But it’s close to one of your schools, plus we found an apartment already. Come on, why not? We’ve got a month with everyone still here. Let’s do it.” I shake my head, not even believing myself as I agree, and kiss him. His eyes are a golden honey color, bright with excitement as he yells for everyone to come out here. I hear the back door slide open as I stand up out of my chair and move to settle myself on Jack’s lap.

“Oh lord, what now? Is Charlie pregnant?” Madi asks, laughing and walking over to where Jack and I are.

“Well…” Jack says, wrapping his arms around me. Her face turns to stone but then back to normal, carefree Madi.

“Shut up, no she’s not. She would’ve told me by now.” Mad says, reaching over and smacking him as she sits in a chair next to Alex. Jack laughs and shakes his head. Trev and Alex take the porch swing and Trev crosses his arms.

“This had better be good. Your screaming woke me up.” Trev says, yawning and throwing a pointed look in Jack’s general direction.

“We’re getting married.” Jack says, bursting. Trev’s jaw sets, Madi’s drops open and Alex covers his mouth with a slap.

“Uh, what?” Alex asks, the first one to recover. Madi and Trev are still in shock.

“We’re getting married.” I repeat, looking down and seeing my hands shake. Jack covers them with his, gently rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand.

“You’re joking. Wow, real funny guys.” Trev says, pretending to laugh. He rolls his eyes but then looks at me. I beg him with my eyes to believe me and not blow up. His face softens but his eyes stare hard at Jack.

“It’s not. We’re getting married. And I’m moving to Newark with Jack.” Madi stands up and looks at me like I have two heads.

“Wait, did I just miss like the last 4 years? Cause last I checked, you two were planning on waiting a while. At least till Charlie was out of school.” Alex grabs Madi’s hand and pulls her back down into the chair next to him.

“Madi, come on. We’re 18, we’ve already talked about this. If anything goes wrong, well then you can say I told you so. But Mads, I’m asking you, I’m asking all three of you. My best friends, my brother, support us in this.” Trev has been silent the whole time. I can see him working it over again and again in his head. Trying to figure out how this was going to work and whether he should be upset or happy. Then I see a calm wash over him. Which could mean one of two things. One, he’s pissed and going to never speak to me again. Or two, he’s decided it’s okay and is happy for us. I hold my breath as he starts to talk.

“You know what, I support you. I’ve trusted Jack with you for 2 years. He’s taken better care of my little sister than I ever have. I’m proud of who both of you are. So I say go ahead.” Trev stands up and walks over to me. He pulls me to my feet and hugs me. Jack stands and puts his hand on my shoulder. Trev lets go of me and reaches for Jack’s hand. They shake hands and I smile.

“Trev’s right. I support it.” Alex smiles, coming to hug both of us.

“Love you guys.” He says, going to stand next to Madi who still looks very confused.

“Charlie, I’m just not sure. Jack, you know I love you, I really do. But I’m just not sure. Charlie, you’re both so young. I guess I have to say yes. You’re probably gonna get way worse from Mom and Dad.” I smile, pulling Madi into a hug.

“Thanks, Mads, love you.” She pulls back, smiling a watery smile as tears fill her eyes.

“Now you know, my apartment is always open. You can come stay with me whenever. Especially if the idiot here is being a jerk.” I smile and Jack laughs. She wipes her own tears and has a huge smile on her face.

“Now you’d better get her a ring. A nice pretty one. Especially with the size of that first paycheck.” Madi says, sticking her finger into Jack’s chest. Jack smiles and puts his arm around my shoulders.

“I’ll get her a ring. You can even go help us pick it out.” Madi laughs and nods in agreement.

“Even though I’ve already asked you and you said yes, can I still plan a big engagement?” Jack asks, sitting down with me still settled on his lap. I nod and kiss his cheek. Trev was on the phone with our parents, asking them to meet us at the house in an hour and a half. Jack’s parents were already planning on coming over for dinner, along with Quinn and Luke so the perfect time to tell them would be tonight.

“Okay, I need to go get ready. Trev, Madi, are you guys okay with cooking?” Trev nods and Madi follows him inside. Alex had gone inside and apparently fell asleep because he never came back out. I head inside behind Jack who goes over to the island in the kitchen and sits down, supervising Madi and Trev’s cooking. I run up the stairs and go into Jack and I’s room. I turn my curling wand on and grab my makeup bag off the dresser. I sit down on the floor in front of the mirror and start by putting my primer on. I go through my whole makeup routine, keeping it decently simple. I’m starting to curl my hair when the door opens and Jack sticks his head in.

“Hey, bub.” He says, coming in and sitting down on our bed. I smile, catching his eye in the mirror.

“Are you ready for this? Do you think your parents will be alright?” He asks, leaning back against the pillow at the top of the bed. I shrug, focusing on my hair. Very rarely anymore am I silent. Jack knows that if I’m silent, it’s usually because of one of two things, anxiety and stress, or I’m mad about something.

“Char, it’s gonna be okay. You need to get out of your head. Your parents love us together. My parents love us together. They may not entirely approve because we’re so young but it’ll be okay.” I smile, walking over to kiss him. He wraps his arms around my waist and I cup his cheeks. He smiles as I pull away.

“Okay, let me finish getting ready. Go make sure Madi and Trev aren’t burning the house down.” He laughs and heads back downstairs. I grab the gray skirt and orange ombre knit sweater I had bought the other day and put it on, tossing my pajamas in the basket by the bathroom door. I flip my hair over, shaking my curls out. I spray some perfume and check in the mirror. I pull the necklace that Jack bought me for our 2 year anniversary out from under the sweater and twist the promise ring on my left hand ring finger, also from Jack about 4 months ago. Both coping mechanisms of my anxiety.

“Jack, babe, come change please!” I yell out the door, still twisting the ring. He bounds up the stairs and grabs me around the waist. He drags me back into the room.

“Okay honey, okay!” I laugh as he tackles me onto the bed.

“Sweetheart, I need to go make sure Trev gets dressed too! Let me up!” He finally lets me go and I head downstairs to talk to the three remaining people in the house.

“Trevor Micheal, please go put on nice clothes!” I say, walking into the kitchen. He turns around, makes a face at me, and runs upstairs. Madi is stirring something on the stove and I walk over, leaning my head on her shoulder.

“Hey, Mads. Thanks. I know this wasn’t the plan.” She nods, continuing to stir.

“It’s okay, Char. As long as I get to be your maid of honor, I’m beyond happy for you. Both of you.” I smile and hug her around her shoulders. Trev and Jack come banging down the stairs, being as loud as possible. Jack is wearing a white waffle knit long sleeve shirt with a khaki jacket over it, and blue jeans. Trev has on a dark blue and green flannel with khakis.

“Alex Turcotte!” I yell, hopping into the living room where he’s laying on the couch. He sits up, his hair sticking up in fifteen different directions. His eyes are wide, almost in terror.

“Charlotte Grace Zegras I swear to God, if you ever wake me up like that again, I will hurt you!” He shouts, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry, but can you please go put on nice clothes? The parents are gonna be here soon. And take your girlfriend up to change with you please!” I shout as he rolls off the couch and walks into the kitchen. He and Madi disappear upstairs with Madi yelling “Watch the cookies please!” I check the oven and make sure they’re not burning before sitting down at the island and getting on my phone.

“Bro, chill out, you’re gonna be my best man.” I hear Jack say, as he and Trev walk into the kitchen. I laugh.

“Oh Trev, only you would worry about that.” He smiles and sits down next to me.

“Wait so, small wedding planning meeting, how many bridesmaids do I need? Because you and I both know I don’t have that many girl friends so we might be in trouble.” Jack crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.

“Well, there’s Trev, but he’ll be paired with Madi. Alex, Coley, Case. So there’s 3. Oh, wait, Quinn and Luke. Oh damn, you don’t have that many friends, Char.” Trev laughs and tries to cover it with a cough.

“Um, I’ve been saying that since we were 6! I always get punched when I say it but lover boy says it and it’s totally fine.” Jack reaches across the island and squeezes my hand.

“I mean, we could just do a little ceremony. Just like you, me, Alex, Mads, your family, my family. Keep it kinda a secret for a while and then have a big party, announce it, once we’re all settled and the 1st season has ended. I mean, I know I’d be fine with just the little ceremony but you probably want the big dream wedding with all the people.” I smile, leaning my head on his shoulder. I nod and the front door opens.

“I don’t need a big dream wedding. I’m marrying the love of my life in front of the people I care about most. I’d love to have all the boys there but with everything and them all leaving, some already gone, I’m okay with this.” Jake kisses the side of my head as we walk towards the front room of the house.

“Hi kids!” My dad yells, closing the door behind him and my mom. I ran out, catching both of them in a hug. Trev follows me out and Jack stands in the doorway. Madi and Alex come back down the stairs. Madi is wearing an orange flowy shirt with ruffles and black jeans. Alex has on a black button-up shirt and khaki pants.

“Hi Mom, hi Dad.” Trev says, hugging both of them as I let go. Madi waves hello from the couch and Jack gives my mom a hug.

“Hi Julie, Gary.” Mom smiles and Dad shakes Jack’s hand. The front door opens again and Jim and Ellen, followed by Dumb and Dumber, walk in, crowding the entryway. I hug both of Jack’s parents then move to hug both Quinn and Luke. Trev takes Mom and Dad into the dining room where Madi and Alex are finishing getting dinner set out on the table. Jack hugs his parents and then does the weird bro handshake thing with both of his brothers. Quinn looks at me funny and then leans down to whisper in my ear.

“Why the hell are you guys all wearing nice clothes? This is what I slept in!” I laugh and Luke smirks. I herd the 3 boys into the dining room. Quinn and Luke sit across from Jack and I. Trevor is sitting next to my mom and dad. Madi and Alex are across from the Hughes. The dinner flows smoothly but I can tell Jack is nervous from the way his knee is shaking constantly under the table. I rest my hand gently on his thigh and his knee suddenly stops.

“Hey, family.” Everyone gets quiet and looks at Jack and I. I feel Jack take a deep breath and I lean back in my chair. Quinn catches my eye and winks at me, calming me slightly, even if he doesn’t know what’s going on.

“Mom, Dad, Julie, Gary, This is going to be a bit of a shock. Especially since I know Charlie and I have talked to both of you about waiting to get married until I was settled in the NHL and she’s through college. But Char and I talked through things and we’ve decided we’re going to get married now. Um, I know I should’ve asked for your blessing, Mr. Z, Mrs. Z, but it was something we just figured out today.” I watch my parents’ faces, along with the Hughes’ faces. Quinn looks amused and Luke’s mouth is hanging open. Madi nudges him and his mouth snaps shut.

“Getting married? You’re 18, Jack, sweetie. Are you sure you two are ready for everything that comes with that? Especially heading into your first professional hockey season?” Ellen asks, holding tightly to Jim’s hand. I nod and Jack pulls my fingers into his.

“We’re ready. We’re sure about this. I mean, you guys have done an amazing job raising both of us. I’ve always wanted a love like you and Dad’s, Mom. Jack is the person I get to share that with.” Mom smiles at me with tears in her eyes.

“Alright baby. If you’re sure about this.” Dad smiles too.

“Wait, let me get this straight, y’all are getting married?” Luke asks, resting his chin in his hand.

“Yeah, and I want you and Q to stand up there with me. We agreed that we would just have a small ceremony at the house in Toronto. Just our families, Madi and Alex. We’d keep it on the down-low for the time being. Then later, maybe once the season is over, we’d have a big elaborate wedding reception party thing with everyone.” Jack says, looking at his parents. His mom nods and Trev coughs.

“I get to be his best man! Mads is Char’s maid of honor. Alex, Luke, and Quinn are Jack’s groomsmen.” Trev’s smile on his face shows exactly how he’s feeling and I can’t help but laugh at the fact that I’m pretty sure my brother is more excited about me getting married than I am.

“Wait, one female attendant and 4 male attendants? That won’t work!” My mom says, sitting up and looking at me.

“Honey, you need at least 3 more female attendants.” Ellen says as Jack slides his hand between my thighs and traces circles on the inside of my thigh.

“I know. But these are the only people I really want there. I’m okay with just these people at my wedding.” Jack smiles, gently kissing the side of my forehead.

“I know you already said yes but do we get to plan a big “surprise” engagement? You would have to act surprised though, Charlie.” Mom says, smiling as Jack laughs.

“Oh my gosh, I’ll act surprised. But yeah, you and Mads can help Jack plan all that.” Mom smiles and turns to Madi, who also has a big smile on her face.

“Alright, real wedding talk. You want this wedding at the Toronto lake house? How soon?” Jim asks, looking at Jack and I.

“Oh my gosh! Can I be a bridesmaid?” Luke asks, suddenly standing up and looking at Jack and I with the same crazy look I saw in Jack’s eyes earlier. The whole table bursts out laughing and I smile.

“Luke, you can be a bridesmaid if you want, but maybe not wear the dress? I love you for offering. I also think Jack would prefer for you to stand with him.” Jack smiles and looks at Luke with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s nice Hughesy.” Trev says, fist-bumping Luke.

“Okay, back to the original topic. Yes, at the lake house. Well technically at the Cape building we used for the one dinner last summer. And since Alex, Jack, and Trev all leave within the next 2 months, it’d have to be as soon as we can get it planned.” I say, looking at Ellen and Jim.

“Okay, let’s set a date then. Jack reports September 19th, Trev, Quinn, and Alex are both on September 13th, so before then. How about August 30th? It’s a Friday and we can all just spend the week up there before, getting everything ready. Then you two can go to your apartment in Newark for the rest of the month, finish getting it all ready until Jack has to report.” Jack’s face drops.

“Oh crap, we probably need to actually decide on an apartment. And soon.” I nod and Jack shows me his phone.

“I messaged the landlord of this building and he said we could move into a 4 bedroom apartment on the 14th floor on September first. Which would be right after we get back. The building, The Colonnade, is about 10 minutes away from the stadium and training facility. What do you think?” I take his phone and scroll through the photos. The apartment looks big and isn’t as expensive as most of the other ones Jack and I have looked at. Especially for having 4 bedrooms.

“Let me and your mom have a look.” Ellen says, reaching for Jack’s phone. I hand the phone off to her.

“Now the big question is, is there a guest room for me, Trev, and Madi to crash in when we come to visit?” Alex asks, nudging Jack.

“Yeah, me too! We’re all gonna come visit!” Luke says, bouncing up and down like the teenage boy he is.

“Yeah, there’s a guest room. There’s honestly probably enough room for all of you to visit at once.”

I lay down on the bed, exhausted from getting Jack’s family lake house ready for our wedding tomorrow. Madi flops on the bed next to mine and groans.

“I love you but I’m so tired of getting ready for your wedding.” I laugh and cover my face with my pillow.

“I feel you. As excited as I am to be married to Jack, I’m so sick of cleaning and getting things ready.” Madi rolls on her side and looks over at me. I run my hands through my hair and close my eyes.

“Dude, this is crazy. Like it’s still processing that you’re gonna be married in less than 24 hours. Married!” Madi’s eyes get big, almost like a bug. I laugh, rolling over and falling onto the floor with a bang. I can hear footsteps running up the stairs and our door flying over. Madi and I are both dying laughing when Jack and Trevor burst through the door, Alex not far behind.

“Babe! You okay?” Jack says, rushing to where I’m laying on the floor. Madi and I are both still laughing.

“Honey, I’m fine, I’m fine!” I say, sitting up and leaning against his legs. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and lets out a deep breath.

“Guys, we’re gonna party so hard tomorrow! I’m psyched!” Trev says, bouncing up and down on my bed. Luke and Quinn make their way into the room and sit down on Madi’s bed next to Alex and Mads. Trev is stretched out on my bed.

“Um so since our parents are here, does that mean no drinking?” I look up at Alex, confused.

“We’re all legal here. Plus it’s my wedding so I will be doing whatever I want.” Jack says, laughing. Everyone laughs and I hear the front door slam downstairs.

“Kids, we’re home!” The parents had gone into Toronto for dinner and shopping. Alex’s mom and dad had ended up coming with us, along with Madi’s mom and dad too. Madi’s parents counted me as a second daughter, and with Madi being in the wedding, they came along. Alex’s mom was our photographer. They were all getting here tomorrow morning since the wedding was in the afternoon.

“Madi, we picked up your dress!” Madi jumps up and runs out of the room. I had picked out Madi’s dress and hadn’t let her see it before I had bought it for her to wear. It was a long sky blue off the shoulder dress that would look absolutely gorgeous with her hair and skin. The boys and I follow Madi down the stairs to where Ellen is standing with the dress bag. Madi unzips the bag and gasps.

“Oh my gosh! Char, I love it so much! I’m gonna go try it on!” She runs into the bathroom as the boys scatter to the different couches and I sit down on the floor between Jack’s legs, my head resting against his stomach. Suddenly the bathroom door flies open and Madi spins out. The dress fits her perfectly and makes her look radiant.

“Oh my gosh, wow Mads! I love it so much!” I say, smiling. Alex’s mouth drops open, he’s speechless.

“Dude, your girl is gonna look so good tomorrow!” Trev says, nudging Alex but Alex still can’t find his words. Madi walks over to him and kneels in front of him.

“Baby? What do you think?” Alex looks up and smiles.

“It looks amazing, baby girl.” He kisses her and I smile, leaning my head against Jack’s leg. Quinn gets up and walks to the fridge, pulling a bottle of Smirnoff out of the fridge.

“Night before the wedding shots!” He shouts, setting the bottle down and smiling.

“Do I really wanna get drunk the night before my wedding? And spoil my own fun for tomorrow? Sure why not!” Jack says, reaching for one of the shots Quinn just finished pouring. He hands one to me and everyone else around us.

Alright, 3, 2, 1!” Quinn counts down. Luke starts to cough and I flip around.

“Oh my gosh, Luke! Give me that!” I shout, taking the shot glass out of his hand.

“Damn! I forgot you’re only 16!” Quinn says, laughing as I glare at him.

“Not like it’s the first time…” Luke says, dabbing Trev up and turning around. Luke disappears and the rest of us continue taking shots. The parents finally make their way back out to the living room.

“Kids, are you planning on doing anything? It’s your last night before you’re stuck together forever.” Jack’s dad says, sitting down on the couch and wrapping his arm around Jack’s shoulder. We all laugh and I look up at Jack and smile.

“I don’t know, I was kinda planning on just hanging out on the dock and just spending it with these guys.” Jack says, motioning to the gang gathered around us. I nod and the boys all stand up.

“Hold up a minute. Jack, you’re coming with us. Mads, you’ve got Charlie.” They pull Jack to his feet, almost knocking me over.

“Wait what? Guys, stop it!” Trev turns to look at me, a grin covering his face.

“Chillax, Sista. We’re just gonna have a little fun with Jacky Boy on his last night of being a “boy.” Don’t worry.” I raise an eyebrow at Jack as he is herded out of the room by Quinn and Alex. He has a goofy smirk on his face and blows me a kiss as they grab their jackets from the hallway.

“Don’t worry, we’re going with them. We’ll make sure they’re responsible.” My dad says, grabbing his jacket as Jim grabs his jacket and the boys make their way out the door. Madi moves to sit on the couch next to me. I cross my arms, watching the headlights of Jim’s car leave the driveway.

“And we’re gonna have a spa night and get you all pretty and ready for tomorrow.” Madi says, grabbing my hand and pulling me upstairs while Ellen and my mom go into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and glasses. We go to my room and she points towards a bag with light blue tissue paper sticking out of it sitting on my bed.

“Open it!” She says, excitedly. I pull the wrapping paper out and pull out a light blue t-shirt. I unfold it and it has 3 words on it. The first one, ‘Girlfriend’ is crossed out, the second one, ‘Fiance’ is scribbled out and the last one is ‘Wifey’ in a fancy script. There are black pajama pants in the bag too.

“Awe Mads, I love it so much. This really still doesn’t seem real that I’m gonna be Jack’s wife. Guess I have to get used to being introduced as his wife to people now, huh?” She smiles and leaves me to put the pajamas on. My phone buzzes and I grab it off the night table, seeing Jack’s name on the screen.

Jack💙: Hey Baby, just wanted to let you know that I love you a lot and I can’t wait to have you asleep on my chest tonight :)

I smile and send back a red heart. He reads the message and I shut my phone off. Mads walks back into the room, sporting a shirt the same shade of blue as mine and the same pajama pants. Her shirt has 3 words too but none are crossed out. The words are ‘Best friend’, ‘Sista’ and ‘Maid of Honor’.

“Awe Mads, these shirts are too cute. I love them.” She smiles and hugs me.

“I know I’ve already said it but I’m so so so excited for tomorrow! You’re gonna be Mrs. Jack Hughes in less than 24 hours!” She squeals, jumping up and down. I laugh and jump with her.

“I know I know I know! Now let’s go downstairs and watch a movie with my mom and future mother in law.” She laughs and takes my hand as we run downstairs. Ellen and my mom are both sitting on the couch, glasses of wine in their hands, “Bridesmaids’ pulled up on the TV. Madi and I both flop on the couch and I grab the blanket Jack had given me as a joke for my birthday. It had a picture of him, Trev, and Turcs from when they won Worlds 2 years ago. It was a picture they had actually sent to me but they looked really little and it always made me laugh. I wrap myself in the blanket and snuggle into the couch. The evening is uneventful with the moms going to bed as soon as the movie is over and Madi and I turning on ‘Friends’ after. Madi falls asleep after about two episodes and I stay up, sort of waiting for the boys to get home, mainly just not wanting to go to bed because I know I won’t be able to sleep because of the excitement I’m feeling. My eyes are just starting to close when headlights flash through the window. The car doors slam and I hear the front door open, the boys coming in quieter than I expected. I walk out to the hallway and watch Trev, Alex, and Quinn head upstairs, probably going straight to bed, trying to avoid the hangover I know they’ll all have tomorrow morning. Luke walks in, my dad and Jim not far behind.

“Hey, Char, Jack’s waiting for you down at the dock.” I nod and smile.

“The moms and Madi are all asleep. I’m gonna go get Alex or Trev and have them take her up to bed.” The dads nod.

“I can get her. Actually, better have Alex do it. He’s the least drunk out of the two.” I laugh and nod, heading upstairs to get Alex. I push his door open, seeing him on his phone.

“Hey Turcs, go down and get your girlfriend. She’s asleep on the couch.” He puts his phone down and rubs his eyes.

“Alright, I got it. Go have fun with your lover boy.” I smile and leave his room. I grab the blanket off the couch before heading out the back door and walking down to the dock. Jack is sitting in one of the chairs, his head leaning back against it.

“Hey baby, how was tonight?” He turns around, a smile on his face.

“It was fun. I drank the least out of everyone and Quinn tried to get a girl to come home with him. Luke had a ton of fun watching Quinn, Alex, and Trev act like idiots the whole night.” I smile, glad the boys had fun.

“I’m glad you had fun tonight. Bubs, I’m so excited for tomorrow.” I say, settling on his lap with the blanket wrapped around me. He kisses the side of my neck and I can feel the smile on his lips.

“Baby girl, I know. I’m excited too. You know, I’ve been thinking about this day since I met you. You’ve always been my dream girl. I’ve never wanted anyone else. I’m so excited to be able to introduce you to all the big important New Jersey people as my wife.” I smile, turning my head to kiss him.

“Jack, I love you. I always will.” I say as I pull away.

“I love you, Charlie Grace.” He says as I hear running footsteps down the dock.

“Dad says you two probably need to be heading to bed. Since we have to be up and finish getting stuff ready for tomorrow.” Luke says, stomping down to where Jack and I are sitting. I look up and nod.

“Can I have one last hug Dukes? Before I’m related to you?” He laughs and nods. I stand up, leaving the blanket on Jack’s lap. I pull Luke into a hug and he wraps his arms around me. I gently kiss his cheek and pull away.

“Love you, Baby Hughes. We’ll be in soon.” He nods and heads back inside. I settle myself back on Jack’s lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. He holds me close and I close my eyes. His thumb gently rubs my knee, giving me an overall sense of calm. I can feel Jack placing gently, soft kisses up and down my neck.

“Honey, if you keep that up, I’m gonna fall asleep out here and you’ll have to carry me inside. So we should probably go inside.” I can feel him smile and he starts to move.

“Okay, sweet girl. Let’s go inside.” He lifts me up off his lap and wraps the blanket around me a little tighter.

“Aren’t you glad I bought you that blanket? You use it all the time.” I laugh, leaning into his chest as we walk up to the dark house. The only light on is the back porch light and the light in our room. Jack leads me up the stairs and into our bedroom.

“You know, technically, this is like the opposite of how the night before our wedding is supposed to be.” I say, flopping on our bed.

“Sweet girl, you realize nothing about any of this is normal. We’re 18...Getting Married tomorrow...And moving in together next week. Babe, it’s all the opposite of how things go.” Jack says, pulling his shirt off and grabbing a pair of sweats out of the dresser. He replaces his jeans with the sweats and I bite my lip, smiling at Jack.

“Okay okay, hold up. We’ll save that, the best thing, for tomorrow.”He says, laying down next to me and wrapping his arm around my waist, and pulling the covers over us. He kisses my cheek and rolls over to turn the bedside light off. The dark envelops us and I close my eyes. The next thing I know, Jack is kissing me awake.

“Morning sweet girl. The boys and I are heading to the hotel. I can’t wait to see you. 6 more hours until I get to call mine. For good.” I sit up and kiss him, cupping his face. He gives me one last smile then heads out the door. I roll over, feeling the excitement wash over me all over again. Madi comes bouncing into my room, with my mom and Ellen not far behind.

“It’s your wedding day, it’s your wedding day!” Madi sings, jumping on the bed next to me. I smile and Mom looks at me with the same misty eye look she’s been giving me since Jack and I announced to our family.

“Alright my gorgeous girl, time to start getting ready! Let’s make you more beautiful!” Madi pulls me downstairs and drops me into the armchair in the living room. She hands me a black robe and two other ladies walk into the room.

“This is Linda and Mary. They’re gonna do your hair and makeup for today.” I nod and go into the bathroom to put on the robe. I come back out and Madi is sitting in one of the chairs at the island. Ellen and Mom are both double-checking on the dresses, making sure they’re ready for us to put on when we’re finished. I sit down next to Madi and the woman I think is named Mary starts running a brush through my hair. She turns on a curling wand and begins the two braids that I had decided on with Madi last week. She braids my hair and then curls what’s left down. I look over at Madi and she looks amazing. Her makeup looks perfect for her. But with her crazy messy bun, she looks kinda crazy. I laugh and she giggles.

“Dude your hair looks so good. I love it so much.” She says, standing up and moving to where I’m sitting.

“Thanks, girl. Your makeup looks so great but you look kinda crazy.” Mom and Ellen both laugh and Mads and I switch places. Linda starts on my makeup, going with the basic but still done up look Madi had decided on for me. I close my eyes, letting the makeup artist do her work. A few minutes later, Mom is handing me my phone.

“It’s Trev.” She says, walking away and going to get her hair done.

“Hey buddy, what’s up?” I ask, glancing at him on my phone.

“Um well...We can’t find Jack.” My heart drops.

“What? You’re joking right?” He rubs the back of his neck.

“I wish I was joking...He got all ready and we were heading downstairs to go to the car and he just disappeared. He won’t answer any phone calls or texts. Oh wait, Alex found him. Never mind, we’re good.” I take a deep breath and roll my eyes.

“Trev, remind me to kill you when this is all over. Are all of you boys ready? Is Luke’s tie tied? The right way?” Trev nods and smiles at me.

“You look gorgeous, Charlie. I love you, see you in a few.” I smile and blow a kiss to him. I hang up the phone and Madi looks at me.

“Okay, now let the poor lady finish and stop worrying, Charlotte Grace.” I laugh and close my eyes.

“We have to leave in 45 minutes. Charlie, you’re just going to put your dress and everything else on when we get to the building. Your flowers, the boys, and everything else is already there.” Ellen says, checking her phone. I nod and Linda sighs.

“Young lady, I’m never going to be able to finish your makeup if you don’t sit still.” I suck my lips in and remain as still as I can be. Finally, after about 10 more minutes, Linda finishes the last part of my makeup.

“Alright Charlotte, we’re all done. Mary and I will be at the venue to provide any last-minute touch-ups needed for you, Madi, or the mothers.” I smile in thanks and then head upstairs to finish packing up everything I need to take to the venue with us. I grab The Blanket off the bed and fold it, sticking it in the bottom of my bag. I grab my shoes and my extra clothes bag. Mom and Ellen are waiting in the car with Madi and the dress bags. I pull on Jack’s sweats from last night so my legs aren’t exposed under the robe. I head downstairs, grab a blackberry Hint from the fridge, the first thing I’ve eaten or drank all day, and head outside. Madi had ordered food for us that was going to be waiting at the venue so I would have something to eat before all the excitement. I slip into the back seat next to Madi and she smiles.

“I just got off the phone with Alex and Trev. They locked Jack, Luke, and Quinn all in a room. Q and Luke are making sure he doesn’t escape and keeping him entertained. Your dad and Jim are double checking all last minute things and our food is ready in your room.” I smile in thanks and look out the window.

“You’ve been pretty quiet today, Char. You okay? Not getting cold feet or anything, right?” Mom asks, turning around to look me in the eyes.

“No, no. I’m fine. I’m excited. I love Jack, I could never dream of marrying anyone else. It just still doesn’t seem real.” Mom smiles.

“I remember having the same feeling on my wedding day. I’m sure Ellen does too. It will seem real very soon. Speaking of which, you’re still planning on doing the first look with the boys right?” I nod and look back out the window. The venue, a small building on the grounds of the country club the boys usually worked out at when they were up here, was gorgeous on the outside. It was decorated with white lights and covered with sweet pea vines. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.

“Alright baby, let’s get you into the building. There’s a door on the side of the building, see that path there, that leads to the womans’ room. Head in there and Ellen and I will go see where all the boys are. Madi, help her get into her dress.” Madi grabs both dress bags from the trunk and follows me inside. The room is a farm girl’s dream. Everything is modeled after a farmhouse vibe and is part of the reason I love it so much. Mads hangs the dress bags up and then turns to look at me.

“This is the big moment. We get to complete the princess transformation. This is even better than the prom!” She squeals as I sit down on the couch.

“You put your dress on first. I wanna see how your dress looks on you before I put mine on.” The door to the room opens and Mrs. Turcotte sneaks in.

“Just gonna snap a few “before” pictures.” She says, smiling and positioning herself. Madi grabs her dress and slips into the connected bathroom. I pick at the chicken salad that had sounded so good a few hours ago. Now, the nerves are suddenly bubbling up. What if Jack and I aren’t meant to be? What if this was a bad idea and we don’t work out? I shake my head, clearing those thoughts away as the door opens to the bathroom. Mad steps out, looking like something out of a dream. I gasp and Turcs’ mom snaps away. Madi twirls, letting the dress flow out around her.

“I seriously love this dress. I may have to just get it in white for my wedding.” Mama Turcs and I laugh.

“Oh please girl, don’t you and Alex go pulling something on me like this. This is wonderful for Jack and Charlie but I don’t know if I could handle it.” I smile.

“You’re right Mama Turcs. It takes a special kinda love to do this as young as they are. I love Turcs but yeah no.” We all laugh and I take a sip from my water. Madi looks at me and shakes her head.

“Stop it, Char. Just eat your food.” I look up at her, glad she can read me so well.

“I know.” She points at my food, which suddenly sounds good again and I start to eat. I hear a knock on the door and Mrs. Turcotte goes to answer it.

“Mom, is Madi in there? I need to talk to her. It’s kinda important…” I hear Alex ask. Madi walks towards the door and steps outside. Ellen walks in, wearing the light blue dress that matches with the blue that’s scattered randomly around the venue. Mom and Ellen both went dress shopping together a few weeks ago for their dresses and both picked out pretty ones that look really good on them in the light blue color Jack and I decided on.

“Alright Charlotte, we’ve got about 30 minutes till the first look. We decided we’ll do a private one with just you, Jack and Shelly. Then we’ll do the one with Trevor, Alex, Quinn, and Luke afterwards. We figured you’d want to see Jack first.” I nod and continue to eat. Madi comes back in.

“Okay, the boys are ready whenever you are. Jack is freaking out but in a good way. I swear, if that boy doesn’t cry when he sees you, I’m dragging you out to the car and we’re running away.” I laugh and hug her.

“I know Mads. How’d Alex handle seeing you all dolled up?” She rolls her eyes.

“He wanted to make out with me right there. Like boy, I have all this fancy makeup and you’re trying to ruin it? No thank you!” I laugh and she nods, a smile that hasn’t left her face all day, still there.

“Okay, you’re done now. Let’s go put on your dress, please? Mama Turcs has some pictures she wants to do. Uh, has Trev came by yet?” I shake my head as she follows me into the bathroom with my dress bag. My dress was about the plainest wedding dress I had ever seen but it looked gorgeous on me. I had fallen in love with it the second I had tried it on plus, it had pockets, my one requirement of any dress I wore. The top half was lacy and delicate with thin straps that crisscrossed in the back. The skirt and train was an almost ivory tulle fabric layered to fall just perfectly. My veil would be pinned in just above the two braids and my shoes were ivory heels with a square heel so they wouldn’t break while I was walking around in the grass. Madi and I had gotten pedicures and manicures two days before and my fingernails and toenails were a very light pink, almost no color at all. I closed my eyes as I slipped the robe and Jack’s sweatpants off. I had to put on nude underwear and a weird bra thing before putting the dress on. I put both on and turned to Madi. She’s holding the dress, ready to help zip it up. I slip it on and let it fall. It feels nice against my skin. She zips it up and I look in the mirror.

“Oh my gosh.” Is all I can say as I cover my mouth, biting my tongue to hold back the tears. Madi stands to the side of me and smiles.

“You’re ready Charlie. And I just wanna say, we did a pretty good job picking this stuff out. I mean come on,” She says, grabbing my hand where the engagement ring from Jack rests.

“You picked the perfect boy, he picked the perfect ring, and we picked the perfect dress. Tell me this isn’t your dream?” I smile, still fighting the tears, and turn around to hug her.

“Thank you, Madi, for being my best friend every step of the way. I love you.” She squeezes me and I can feel the smile on her face.

“Love you too, now stop it before you and I are both in tears and ruin the gorgeous makeup job Linda did.” I laugh and take a deep breath. I follow Madi out into the room where my mom, Ellen, Mrs. Turcotte, Dad, and Jim are all waiting. They all gasp and smile when I walk out. Dad and Mom both cover their mouths, fighting tears. Ellen is already crying, Jim has a smile on his face, hugging her to his side.

“Darling girl, you look gorgeous. Jack is going to be awestruck when he sees you.” Dad says, coming to hug me.

“Thanks, Daddy-o. You look pretty spiffy yourself.” He smiles and kisses my cheek softly.

“Now I know this isn’t tradition but Trevor asked me if he could walk you down the aisle. He would’ve asked you himself but he’s not allowed to see you right now. What do you think?” Dad asks, looking at me as Madi is pinning my veil on.

“I mean, we’ve done everything else in our lives together, might as well do this. But I totally get to walk him down at his wedding.” Everyone laughs and I smile, the most genuine smile I’ve felt all day.

“Alright, we have a little area set up just a short walk that way, we’re going to meet Jack over there.” Mama Turcs says as I finish checking myself in the mirror. She points in the direction I had seen the boys walking when we pulled up. I nod and head out the door, wrapped in The Blanket. I find the little gazebo where Jack and I had said ‘I love you’ for the first time, 2 summers ago. It was all decorated with white lights and white flowers. Jack is standing in the center, a box in his hand, and a light blue blindfold over his eyes. I smile, seeing the smile on his face and unwrap myself from the blanket, folding it up and handing it to Madi who heads back towards the building.

“Alright Charlie, when you’re ready, you can go ahead and take the blindfold off of Jack. I’ll be taking pictures the whole time.” I smile and nod. I take a deep breath and step forwards.

“Charlie? Before you take off the blindfold, I want you to open the box. It’s a present from me and the boys. Mainly me.” He smiles under the blindfold. I take the box from him and open it. Inside is the most beautiful necklace. It’s a teardrop-shaped pendant with a diamond in the center, surrounded by tiny gold and diamond pieces. It sparkles in the sun.

“Baby, I love it. Thank you.” I say, leaning in and kissing him.

“You’ll have to help me put it on once you can see me.” He laughs and I smile.

“Are you ready to let me see you?” He asks, his face growing serious but soft. I smile and reach behind his head to untie the blindfold. The blindfold drops and he blinks. His eyes widen and his mouth drops open. He covers it with his hand and I watch the tears grow in his eyes.

“Bub, you look beautiful. I...I can’t even put into words what I’m feeling right now. You look so good!” He says, almost jumping back and pumping his fist. He runs his hand through his hair and he grabs my hands, pulling me in.

“Jack! I love you!” He laughs and comes back to me, hugging me close.

“I don’t wanna mess up your lipstick again but can I please kiss you? That’s the only appropriate thing I wanna do right now.” He says, giggling and wrapping his arms around my waist. I giggle right back and he leans in, kissing me. His tongue slips in my mouth and I almost moan, but remember that Turcs’ mom is literally 10 feet away with a camera. Jack finally pulls away, but not before exploring every corner of my mouth with his tongue.

“I just, you’re so beautiful. And so, so damn sexy, mama.” I laugh and he interlocks our fingers, walking back down the path with Mrs. Turcotte snapping the whole way.

“Ready to face your brother and my brothers?” I roll my eyes and nod.

“Baby, I just wanna be married already. I wanna be Mrs. Jack Hughes.” He rolls his eyes back and audibly moans in my ear. I bite my lip.

“That’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He says, kissing my cheek as we walk up behind the boys and Madi. Madi raises her eyebrows, asking me if I’m ready to reveal myself to them.

“Alright, boys, ready to see your sister? She looks hot as hell.” Madi says, crossing her arms and looking at the four boys standing in front of her.

“3, 2, 1, look!” They all four turn around and their faces are about as priceless as Madi’s was earlier.

“Holy crap Char, you look so good! Like damn!” Luke says, nudging Trev whose mouth is stuck open.

“Damn Charlie, you look amazing! I’m impressed!” Quinn says, dabbing me up as I laugh.

“Yeah really Char, you look awesome!” Alex says, coming to hug me. I hug him, smiling at Trev who is still awestruck.

“Hi, bubby, what do you think?” I ask, unattaching myself from Alex and walking over to him

“Wow sis, you look so good. Like so good! I’m so proud of you and I love you so much. Look I’m crying!” He says, pointing at the tears running down his face. I laugh and pull him into a hug. He gently kisses the top of my head.

“Oh, and I hear you said yes to letting me walk you down the aisle? Good.” He says, pulling away but leaving his arm slung around my shoulders. Jack takes my hand and I smile. These are the people I’m choosing to spend the rest of my life with. And I’m so excited to see where I go with them.

“Alright gang, time to take my favorite wedding pictures. Alex, can you go in and get the box of flowers on the table? It has all the boutonnieres and the girls’ flowers. We’ll need them.” He nods, heading inside to grab them. Mrs. Turcotte starts positioning all of us for the first few photos. She puts Jack and I in the middle, Madi and eventually Alex on my left, Trev in the middle, down in front of Jack and I, then Quinn and Luke on Jack’s side. The parents fill in around us and Jack leans in and kisses me. Alex somehow manages to slip my flowers into my hand and Mrs. Turcotte snaps away. We go through so many poses then Mom checks the time.

“Alright Hughes-Zegras family and Co., this wedding starts in 10 minutes. Let’s get inside and get all situated. Trevor, you’re walking your sister down the aisle, correct?” Trev nods and turns to me. He sticks his arm out and I link mine through it. Jack kisses my cheek and whispers, “I can’t wait to see you walk down that aisle, future Mrs. Hughes.” I smile and kiss him quickly. Quinn and Luke follow him inside and stand at the end of the aisle, waiting for our parents to be sitting down and all ready. The preacher is already in position and waiting. The music, an acoustic version of ‘I Won’t Give Up’ by Jason Marz, without words is playing softly. Jack and I both loved that song and had kind of declared it our song. It also described the way Jack and I wanted our relationship to be. Jack walks down the aisle and stands, ready for me to come. Quinn and Luke walk down next. Luke trips and almost wipes out. I cough to contain my laugh and he looks back at me, giving me a thumbs up. I smirk and nod to Madi and Alex. They start their walk down the aisle.

“You ready baby sis? You can still back out. I’ll hide the evidence of Jack’s body.” I laugh and shake my head.

“Come on, bubby, let’s do this.” Trevor sticks his arm out again and I loop mine through it. We begin a slow march down the aisle. Trev pulls me close to him and hugs me, kissing my cheek then handing me off to Jack who’s waiting with a smile. He takes my hand and we turn to face the preacher. He launches into the whole “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...” speech. Jack keeps leaning over and whispering “You’re mine tonight” in my ear. I bite my lip and catch Madi’s eye. She grins, knowing exactly what’s going on.

“Trevor, the rings please.” Trev pulls the two ring boxes out of his tux pocket and hands them to Jack and I. We remove the rings and hand them back to Trev.

“Now it is time for the couple to share their vows. Jack, you first.” Jack pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and clears his throat.

“Charlotte Grace, you’re my soulmate. I’ve known that since the day I first met you. I have loved you since the beginning. With this ring I’m about to give to you, I give you my promise to hold on to you no matter what and to never let go. I promise to love you no matter what. I promise to take care of you, no matter what’s wrong. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll be there. I’ll be your shoulder to cry on. Charlie, you’ll never be alone. I love you.” He finishes, slipping the ring on my finger. I smile, the tears forming in my eyes mirroring those in Jack’s. I catch Madi, Mom, and Ellen all wiping tears as Jack and I exchange a smile.

“Okay, my turn!” Everyone laughs as I pull out the paper I had worked on for weeks beforehand.

“Jack Hughes. The golden boy. Mr. Perfect. The love of my life. To this day, I’ll always hold on to the first time I was introduced to you. You made some dumb snarky comment and it was all I could to keep myself from falling in love with you. Thanks, Trev, by the way.” Everyone laughs and I smile, winking at Trev over Jack’s shoulder.

“But Jack, I love you beyond a shadow of a doubt. There’s nothing that could ever change the way I feel about you. I’ll love you forever, Jack. Through sickness and health, through victory and defeat, through trials and trades; through everything. With this ring, I give you all those promises. I’m trusting you with me. Everything I am. You’re all I want and I am genuinely so excited to get to spend the rest of my life with you.” Jack’s crying now, I’m crying now, everybody’s crying. I grab Jack’s hand and slip the ring on his finger. I blink and slow the tears. Jack takes a deep breath and regains his composure.

“And now, by the power vested in me by the state of Toronto, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Jake dips me down and kisses me. Everyone cheers and he lifts me back up, the smile on his face matching mine. We walk back down the aisle to the song ‘Best Day of My Life’ by Imagine Dragons. Everyone else follows us out and gathers in the hallway as Jack and I go ahead into the reception hall. Across the hall from the room we held the wedding in, is the reception room. After Jack and I had a few minutes to regroup and to share a few kisses not appropriate for in front of our families, they’re allowed in and sat at the long table set up for us. Jack and I sit at the head, Madi to my left and Trev to Jack’s right. Alex is next to Madi, Quinn and Luke are on Trev’s side, with my new in-laws next to them. Dad and Mom are next to Alex and all I can do is smile. We all get drinks, champagne of course since it is a celebration, resulting in Luke getting a little too excited to “try his first drink”, even though I’m pretty sure everyone knows about what goes on at NDTP parties. Madi stands up and gets everyone quiet.

“So, since you guys are now officially married and you’re Charlie Hughes now, we’ve planned a little surprise for you two. Each of us has prepared a speech that we’d like to give and then there’s gifts from each of us. I’m going first.” She says, staring the boys down. Jack and I laugh and he interlaces our fingers, resting our hands on his knee.

“Charlotte Grace, you’ve always been my best friend. Since as far back as I can remember, it’s been you and me. Well and Trev but he usually was too cool to hang out with us. But I always knew that we were inseparable. There was no one else I’d rather tell my secrets to, cry over boys with, laugh with. You are my soulmate and will forever hold a very special place in my heart. Now you’re married, which was scary, at first. I thought I was going to lose you. But I know, no matter what happens, you will always be my person and things will never change between us. I love you so much. Now Jack. You changed Charlie’s world. I had never heard her talk about a boy the way she did you. You treat her with the love and care that she deserves. And although she may drive you crazy, I know you do love her so much. And if she ever gets to be too much to handle, I’m just a call away.” Everyone laughs and I lean my head on Jack’s shoulder.

“I honestly thought this was just some crazy idea you had to try and get her to come with you to Jersey, at first. But now I know, you really do love her and not only want but need her in your life. So thank you Jack, for taking care of and loving my soulmate, sister and best friend as much, if not more than I do. I love you both, congratulations.” Madi finishes, tears in her eyes and mine as she hugs me then sits back down.

“Okay, best man’s turn.” Quinn says, nudging Trev as he stands up.

“So it took me forever to figure out what I was gonna say. I mean, talking about my kid sister and my idiot of a best friend? Oh boy we’re in for it.” We all laugh and Trev smirks, looking up from the paper he’s reading from.

“But then I thought about it. These two people, two people I love more than anyone else in the world, decided that they loved each other enough to decide to spend the rest of their lives together, and for that, I couldn’t be more proud to call Charlie my sister and Jack, not only my best friend but now my brother. Now I’m gonna tell you a little bit about what it was like in the beginning, although pretty much all of you were around for it. I always kinda figured Jack would be the one of us to settle down first. I mean, he started dating my sister basically as soon as we all moved into town for NDTP. But I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be this soon. Or that I would be standing at my baby sister’s wedding a month before her 19th birthday. But I love Jack and Charlie. They make each other happy. Jack makes my sister the happiest I have ever seen her, even happier than when I got my license and was able to drive her to get food all the time.” Everyone laughs and I smile at Trev.

“Plus, getting to see my girls all dressed up and looking beautiful is always great.” He says, looking at Madi and I and winking.

“Boys, not too shabby either. But anyway, congratulations to Jack and Charlie. May you have the happiest life, the life you both deserve.” Trev raises his glass and everyone toasts Jack and I. Luke and Quinn stand up next.

“Hi everyone, you all know us. We’re the comedic relief. Or Dumb and Dumber, as Charlie so affectionately calls us. We’ve had the luck of getting to watch Charlie and Jack from the beginning. Charlie was this super awesome, really funny, drop dead gorgeous girl that Jack would not shut up about. But, like always, Jack was a little scary cat and wouldn’t do anything about it. So, with some scheming, meddling and a whole lot of intervention and teamwork from Madi, Alex, Luke, Trev and I, we made it happen. And now, we’re here today, celebrating two of the very few people I don’t hate. Congratulations, we love you both, and welcome to the Hughes family, Char.” I smile and hug Quinn and Luke both. They pat Jack on the shoulder and sit back down. Madi nudges Alex and he coughs, standing up.

“Um...So I’ll be honest, Madi wrote my speech.” Alex starts, smirking as Mads nods and we all laugh.“Just like 95% of things I do, I put it off until the last minute and probably wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t finally done it for me. But anyways, I owe the two of you a huge thank you. You two are the entire reason I even have Madi. Charlie, you told me to go for it, Jack, you helped me realize how much I need her. And now, getting to see the two people who made sure I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, now get to be this happy? Makes me feel so awesome. So thank you, so much. Jack, we’ve been buddies for a while now. Charlie rocked your world the second she stepped into it, 2 years ago. You’ve never been the same and Charlie is the reason. Charlie, you’re the sister I never had. Congratulations to you two, I love you both.” I smile and hug Alex.

#jack hughes #nhl writing #hockey players #hockey #nhl #nhl story

27 notes · View notes

soldrawss · 4 years

Note

Does Big Bro!Mikey AU have an april or no? I think it would be nice for Mikey to have a bff april!!

April is a part of this au, yes! She started out as just a classmate of Mikey’s, they had the same homeroom in high school before Mikey dropped out the summer before his Junior year. They hadn’t really kept in contact, mostly because she only knew him by proxy (Mikey was nice and friendly to everyone, April of course included, but they didn’t have much in common, and their main friend groups were different, so they didn’t hang out much) and when Mikey all but disappeared without an explanation, she kinda just figured he moved or something, and left it at that, not giving him any thought for the next three years.

That is, until she meets him again, in the halls of Hunter College, looking like he was gonna collapse at any minute, which he kinda does, into an empty bench at the schools outside cafe and lounge area. April waffles for a few seconds, because ‘holy shit is that Mike Hamato?’ before biting the bullet and making her way over to say, “Hey, Michael right? Hi, it’s been a while. It’s April, we had homeroom together freshman and sophomore year. I haven’t seen you since Savanti Romero’s pool party. How are you?” And his smile is a slow, automatic thing at first, more out of common politeness than anything else, but then it grows into something much more genuine and glacier melting when he responds back, “April, hey, yeah, hi! Wow, has it really been that long? Man, it seems like just yesterday you were fishing Mondo and me out of the pool after one too many chicken fights. It’s good to see you!”

And catching up seemed so easy, April was almost surprised they hadn’t been better friends in high school. Though, she suspected that was mostly due to Mikey’s incredibly easy charm and naturally inviting warmth. (Dude could make friends with just about anyone)

He was a little different than how she remembered, a little more weather-worn and tired, a kinda weariness that hung off his shoulders like heavyweights. But there was still a bright shine to those penny-colored eyes, and when he smiled, it was with all the dimples and joy that she remembers so clearly from when she was 15. Holding back a laugh at the Hamato kid that was preforming springing handstands across the cafeteria just to draw attention away from the impending fight between two of their more hotheaded classmates and ease the tension out of the air in a ridiculous but effective manner.

She doesn’t ask why he left high school, it doesn’t really occur to her to ask, but after 2 hours of talking (April not even realizing she was missing her history class because she was so caught up in their catching up) he offers the information anyway.

His dad died. When he was barely 16, and he was left alone with 3 baby brothers and no other family that could help take care of them, and oh my god, he just dropped out of school to get his GED like it was the most common thing in the world and he went to work, what, 2, sometimes 3 jobs just to make enough money to support them all and April didn’t mean for tears to start pooling up because that so wasn’t fair to Mikey at all, if anyone should be crying, it should be him, but Mikey just looks a little shy and bashful about it all. “It was hard, but we got through it. And hey, now I’m working at like, this really prestigious Italian restaurant, super classy and everything! And they pay me more than I’m probably worth, but I’ll get my culinary degree in like a year, and then after that, a lot of things will change,” He says like everything in the world is just that easy, handing April a few tissues from his book bag and giving her one of those genuine, if not a little crooked, smiles of his.

Mikey promises to have lunch with her again (because April absolutely refuses to let this dandelion haired lunatic walk away from her life a second time and practically demands that they hang out again) since they both have the same free time before their respective classes at the college, and makes a show of saving her number with probably a few too many emojis as a contact name just to make her smile.

And what turned into a promise for another lunch date turned into almost a daily routine, them having lunch together on the bench, talking about classes and teachers and jobs and April’s problematic little kitten she affectionately named Mayhem and Mikey’s little brothers who are probably equally as problematic but he doesn’t have a say in what their names are, and things are fun and casual between Hamato and her.

That is, until two months later, when April gets a call from Mikey at 5pm on a Saturday.

“Donnie’s sick,” Mikey says almost breathlessly, and even without the context, April was already springing to her feet just at the sheer tension and concern in Mikey’s voice, like a taught wire about to snap. “I can’t get off work for another few hours, but I don’t want to leave him by himself with a fever. And I know this is like, putting you on the spot and really awkward and you can totally say no if you want to, but I don’t know who else to call and,-”

“Mike, it’s ok. Breathe hun,” April is saying, not unkindly pushing Mayhem off her lap and reaching for her backpack off the floor in her dorm room, stuffing a few random things in it before grabbing her jacket and her car keys off the counter. “Text me your address. I’ll be over there in 5 minutes tops.”

And it’s more of a promise than a fact, because his building is technically 20 minutes away from hers, but April makes it in 10 just by spite alone (and maybe driving a little recklessly downtown) and knocks on the door of the little apartment on the 6th floor, unit 404.

It takes a hesitant second, but then the door lock clicks open and April is greeted by warm brown eyes and a freckled face that reminds April so much of Mikey that it takes her almost a full 10 seconds before she introduces herself with an automatic smile. “Hi sweetheart, I’m April. I’m a friend of your older brother Mikey.”

Raphael, if April remembered Mikey’s brothers correctly, didn’t really need much convincing to let April in after she mentioned he was a friend of Mikey's, and doesn’t hesitate to pull her into their little apartment, leading her to the bedroom that the twins share with a small but tight little fist around hers.

“Mikey called and said you were coming. Leo’s atah sleepover, but Donnie’s in here. His head’s still hot and his voice is all scratchy, even though I made sure that he took the medicine Mikey left out. And he won’t eat anything I give him,” the 7-year-old reports diligently, much more mature than April had expected from the young child.

April’s been babysitting since she was 11, and considering how all the neighborhood kids around her block adore her, she likes to think that she’s got a pretty solid Ph.D. in knowing how to take care of a sick pre-teen who wants nothing to do with her. So the heavy-lidded and red-eyed glare that Donatello shoots at her from under his covers is duly noted but otherwise ignored as she gently knocks on the door and slowly follows a much less hesitant Raphael into the bedroom.

It takes a while, a long while, for Donatello, no, Donnie, to warm up to her, but he gets there eventually, with the help of Raphael, Raph, who’s hanging off of Aprils shoulders, having warmed up to her almost immediately simply because ‘any friend of Mikey’s is a friend of ours Dee! Don’t be mean and eat some soup!’

After realizing that Donnie just had a little cold, and was in no real danger even with a fever, Raph seemed to cheer up immensely, and was more than willing to help answer all of April’s questions about what medicine Donnie had taken, any allergies, the last time he ate, and even helped her make some egg drop soup since they didn’t have enough ingredients of chicken noodle, which Donnie put up a fight about, but eventually took after one look of Raph’s puppy dog eyes.

Donnie was out like a light 15 minutes later, after taking some night time cough medicine and April sent a reassuring text to Mikey two hours later when his fever finally broke, to which Mikey replied with an explosion of heart emoji’s that April couldn’t rightly decipher other than he was happy about it.

Mikey got home at 11 that night, and April had to flag him down quietly from where she sat trapped under a sleeping, pj clad Raph on the couch; a Jupiter Jim movie marathon playing on the tv.

“Thank you so much, April,” Mikey said to her in the kitchen 20 minutes later, handing her a cup of hot tea. He had efficiently plucked Raph off of April’s lap like a pro with years of experience, putting him into his own bed before checking on a still sleeping Donnie, whose face was no longer a burnt red from his fever earlier. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. I don’t get my paycheck till next week, so I can’t really pay you right now, but I brought home some chocolate mousse cake from my work that you can have until I can-” “You didn’t tell me you worked at Huesso’s!” April didn’t shout, because there were two kids sleeping down the hallway, as she grabbed the bag Mikey had offered to her. “Dude, their deserts are like, crazy good! I love their cheesecake, but they’re stupid expensive and you have to get a reservation like, 4 months in advance to get in.” And April uses the change in topics as a distraction because there was no way she’d let Mikey try to pay her for helping out, she didn’t even want that to be an option. April didn’t do this for the money. She wanted to help out Mikey out. She liked Mikey. She thought he was funny and charming and had a heart big enough to cradle the entire world if he was as big as all the love he has. And she adored being around his baby brothers.

April grins at Mikey when she opens the box, and slides her finger over the glossy frosting of the cake and licks her fingers of the chocolatey goodness before she says, “Listen, if I could convince you to bring me home deserts from this place, then I’ll hang out with the boys anytime you want me too. You have my number, literally call me anytime, for any reason, and I’m here.”

#rottmnt #big brother mikey au #this took forever i'm so sorry #i was in the middle of moving #but anyway yeah #Mikey and April are bff's in this au #April has a spare key to the hamato place #and is the designated big sister to everyone #the boys adore her and she in turn adores her boys #and yeah they're basically family now

133 notes · View notes

callboxkat · 4 years

Text

Second Chances part 8: The Visit (1 of 2)

Author’s note: Very excited to finally bring you guys this next installment of Second Chances! The second half should be out in a few days. Until then, enjoy this one :)

Summary: Between some difficulty getting along with his coworkers and his quickly approaching visit with his parents, Roman has a lot on his mind. He can only hope that things will turn out well.

Warnings (for part 1) : fear of being rejected, food mention, arguing, panic attack

Word count: 6134

Second Chances Masterpost!

Writing Masterpost!

...

Roman received his first paycheck on the Friday of his first week at the Sanders Café. He didn’t have an account set up yet for it to be directly deposited into—he and Logan were planning to take care of that over the weekend—so this first one was a literal paper check.

Roman was very excited, practically jogging back to the house. When he arrived, he immediately tried to give the check to Patton, in return for letting him stay at the house.

Patton turned him down, cheerfully saying that Roman didn’t owe them anything, and he wasn’t going to take his money. Roman probably should have expected that. He knew that Patton had benefited a lot from the kindness of strangers in his past—of course someone like him would try to pay that forward.

So, when Logan got home, Roman went to him instead and tried again to hand over his check, figuring that Logan was more likely to agree to the exchange. However, Logan just shook his head and pushed it back to him. “That’s yours, Roman. Maybe you can contribute something with future checks, but you should build up some savings for yourself, first.”

Roman had tried to insist, but Logan wasn’t budging, so he’d finally given up. He did have one more idea.

Maybe Patton and Logan had flatly turned him down, but surely there was one person who wouldn’t refuse some compensation for him being there. She hadn’t wanted him there to begin with, after all, and even though she had accepted him now, he still felt that she was the most likely to accept his offering.

This was how he found himself outside Val’s bedroom that evening, his paycheck clutched in one hand. He knocked with the other.

“It’s open,” she called.

Roman opened the door, staying in the hall. Val was sitting at her desk, painting her nails.

“Oh, hey, Roman,” she said, putting the brush back in the bottle and inspecting her handiwork. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Val,” he responded. He looked down at the check in his hand. “I wanted to ask… Pat and Logan wouldn’t take it, but….” He held out the check. “For uh, rent, I guess.”

“Is that your first paycheck?”

Roman nodded.

Val shook her head. “No, I’m not taking your money. Even if I wanted to, Patton would kill me. Or make my brother kill me.”

Roman sighed. He’d gotten this job in the first place so that he could help out and stop being a freeloader, and now not one of them was letting him do that!

“You know what you should spend some of that on?”

Roman looked up. “What?”

“You’re going to see your parents, right? You should use that for your ticket.”

“Mamá already paid for it,” Roman said. “She won’t let me pay her back, either.” She’d probably throw a fit if he tried.

“Okay, Plan B.” Val got up, stepped out into the hall, and closed the door behind her. “Let’s go get your parents a present. What do they like?”

“Weren’t you painting your nails?”

“Just finished. They’ll dry on the way. Now what do your parents like?”

Roman hesitated. “My mamá likes to garden.”

“Okay. Let’s go get her a plant. I bet she’d love something with flowers. What about your dad?”

“He… I don’t know. He’s really into birdwatching, I guess? But I don’t know what you’d get someone for that.”

“What else does he like?”

Roman dithered uncertainly. “Well, he used to collect a bunch of really old coins… but I don’t know where we’d find something like that.”

Val looked thoughtful. “I came across a site a while back where you can buy old Roman coins for like ten bucks each. Does that sound like something he’d like? If we ordered it today I’m sure it’d be here by the time you leave next week.”

“I—yeah, I think so,” Roman said, having the sudden urge to hug Val. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “No problem. Let’s go downstairs; we can pick one out, and you’ll pay me back once you deposit that check of yours.”

…

They ended up choosing a coin that was about $15, with positive reviews, guaranteed to arrive well before he left. Val placed the order, and then she took Roman to a garden store.

“Sure, you could wait and go with Patton and my brother, but my brother has no taste in plants, and Patton’ll probably buy whatever plant looks the saddest because he feels bad for it. Or end up accidentally getting a plastic one. You think I’m joking, but he literally did that once.”

So, Val and Roman went to the garden store alone. They picked out a little plant with small blue flowers, in a cute ceramic pot that had been glazed a darker blue.

Patton and Logan were sitting at the kitchen table when they walked in.

“What’s that?” Patton asked when he saw the plant in Roman’s arms.

“Present for my mamá,” Roman explained. “Val took me to get it.”

“Oh, she’s going to love that, kiddo!”

Roman smiled. “You think so?”

“Of course! It’s so pretty. What kind is it?”

“It’s…” Roman checked the label. “It’s a… myositis. Forget-me-nots.”

“Oh, cool!” Patton said.

“That can’t be right,” Logan said, frowning. “Myositis is a term for muscle inflammation.”

Roman blinked, then checked the tag again. “Sorry, it’s myosotis.”

“That does make more sense,” Logan said. “Interesting. Were you aware that that name translates to “mouse’s ear” in Ancient Greek?”

“Why do you know that?” Roman asked, staring at him. “Who just knows things like that off the top of their head?”

Val started snickering. Logan shrugged, looking embarrassed.

…

Roman was starting to think that being homeless and unemployed hadn’t been so bad. At least then he hadn’t had to deal with this hell spawn.

“I can’t do it!” Roman wailed as he flung open the door (while still making sure it didn’t smack the wall). “I can’t do it! He is the worst!”

Patton, who had been standing at the kitchen counter, cutting up vegetables, set down his knife, looking concerned.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Roman sighed, walking over to him. He put his elbows on the counter and hid his face in his hands. “It’s this guy I work with.”

“Your manager? Thomas?” Patton guessed.

“No, not him—he’s great. The other one.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He hates me, and I don’t know why!”

“Come on, kiddo, I’m sure that’s not true.” Patton picked up the knife and started slicing carrots again, still watching him between cuts to show he was paying attention.

“It is! He acts like every time I mess up, I’m doing it just to spite him, and then he gets on my back about it, which only makes me mess up more, and then he gets even more annoyed at me….”

“Could it just be growing pains? It’s only your second week. Maybe he just needs some time to get used to you.”

“I thought so too, but…” Roman sighed heavily. “It is not working.”

Patton paused. “If it’s really so bad, maybe you could look into possibly working somewhere else? Tons of places would be lucky to have you.”

Roman looked up sharply. “No… no, I’m not doing that.” He shook his head. “I do that, he wins.”

Patton bit his lip uncertainly.

“At least tomorrow is his day off,” Roman sighed. “So I get a break.”

“Well, that’s good,” Patton said. He pushed the carrots into a bowl with the potatoes he’d already cubed, and he picked up an onion. As he started to peel the skin off of that, he said, “Maybe it’ll be nice for both of you to get a break from each other. It could be you’ve just spent too much time together lately.”

“Yeah. Could be. I just don’t know what his problem is.”

Patton glanced up, humming thoughtfully. “Do you think any of this has anything to do with your visit coming up?”

Roman hesitated. “Maybe,” he admitted.

A major source of stress for him at the moment—maybe the main source of stress—was the fact that he was set to visit his parents at the end of the week, for the first time in a long time. If you considered five years to be a long time.

It certainly didn’t help that at the start of those five years, Roman had lied to them about heading to college and basically vanished off the face of the earth, leaving them with no idea where he had gone or if he was even still alive. That is, until Patton and Logan had convinced him to call his mamá the week before.

Ever since then, he had been calling her every evening before dinner, to talk. Mostly, they talked about unimportant things. How their days had been (Roman always sugar-coated things if they hadn’t gone well), what they were up to (you know, besides the homelessness), and how much they were looking forward to seeing each other when Roman was able to get enough time off for a visit.

Getting the time off he needed had turned out to be easier than expected. Roman’s schedule already gave him weekends free, so he had only requested one additional day—a Monday.

He hadn’t been sure whether to be relieved or sad that he had had to wait an additional week to go, since they’d been understandably reluctant to give him a day off in his second week on the job.

Of course, both Thomas and V, all that Roman knew his other coworker by, knew that Roman was taking the day off. Thomas hadn’t seemed to mind coming in on that Monday—since he usually took that day off—but V hadn’t seemed all that enthused. The fact that Roman was taking a long weekend after only working at the Sanders Café for two weeks hadn’t helped the barista’s opinion of him.

As one might imagine, Roman’s stress about the upcoming visit did not go well with the attitude V took with him, and it had already lead to several clashes.

As exemplified by today.

“Want to help me cut up some veggies?” Patton asked. “We’re going to roast them for dinner later tonight. Maybe it’ll help to take out some of that stress on an onion.” He picked up the newly peeled onion and offered it to Roman.

Roman sighed. “Sure.” He went to the sink, washed his hands, and took the onion and knife from Patton. “How do you want this cut?”

“However you like, within reason!” Patton said. “How about I heat up some leftovers for you, for lunch, while you do that? We’ve still got some spaghetti.”

“Sounds good. Thank you, Patton.”

…

Patton sat curled up on the sofa with Logan, only half-watching the news that his boyfriend had put on. After a while, he stretched and sat up.

“I’m going to go check on Roman. He seemed pretty upset when he came home from work today.”

Logan frowned, turning to look at him. “Did he say what was going on?”

“Some kind of disagreement with someone he works with. But I think he’s really just stressed about this weekend.”

Logan nodded. “That seems reasonable.”

“Anyway, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Logan reached out, held his hand for a fraction of a second, and then let Patton go. Patton got up, walked past Val, who was reading, and went upstairs.

He stopped outside Roman’s room, whose door was slightly ajar, and knocked softly. “Roman?” he asked.

He waited, but he didn’t get an answer, so he tried again. When that still went without a reply, Patton gently pushed open the door, wondering if maybe Roman had fallen asleep.

The room was empty.

“Hm.” Patton leaned forwards to look around inside the room, but unsurprisingly, Roman wasn’t hiding in any corners.

He backed up, returned the door to how it had been before, and looked around.

Finally, he realized that he could hear something, faint, but not so faint that he thought it was coming from downstairs. Patton followed the sound.

Was that singing?

He stopped outside the bathroom, which was dark other than the light let in through the tiny, curtained window, but whose door wasn’t quite closed.

Roman stood in front of the sink, singing a song that Patton didn’t recognize. He was singing very quietly, but it was like he was serenading himself, complete with acting.

He also looked like he’d been crying.

Patton, who had been about to knock before he caught a glimpse of Roman in the mirror, stepped back before Roman could spot him. He did want to stay and try to help, but he really felt like he was intruding. Whatever Roman was doing, it seemed to be some kind of self-soothing method. Maybe it was a little unusual to serenade oneself in the mirror, but if it helped cheer Roman up, then Patton wasn’t going to judge him.

Patton quietly padded back down the hall and went back downstairs.

He settled himself back against Logan, who took his hand again. Patton read a headline on the TV screen about that week’s tragedy and sighed, turning his head so his face was against Logan.

“How’s Roman?” Logan asked, subtly changing the channel to one showing reruns of an old sitcom. “Did you talk to him?”

“He didn’t seem like he wanted to be bothered,” Patton replied, looking up again.

Logan nodded in understanding, although he was frowning.

“Is he okay?” Val asked as she turned a page in her book.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “He’s really nervous about this weekend.”

Logan fiddled with the remote without actually changing any settings. “I’d assume he’s afraid that his parents will reject him,” he said.

Val gave him a look. “Please don’t say that when he’s down here.”

“I don’t think it’s likely,” Logan quickly clarified. “They’ve seemed eager to talk to him thus far.”

“They’d better not turn him away,” Patton said. “I’ll fight them.”

“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t be fighting anyone. Besides, if they were going to turn him away, I’m sure it would have happened by now.”

Val closed her book, resting her head on one hand. “Whether it’s realistic or not, he’s obviously upset. And it’s probably not helping him, locking himself away upstairs with his thoughts. We should ask him to come downstairs in a few minutes. He likes to help with dinner, right?”

Patton glanced at the time. “That’s true. We should probably start cooking soon.”

“You cut up the vegetables like I asked?” Logan checked.

“Yep! Roman and I did.”

“Thanks. It shouldn’t take too long, then.”

Val set her book to the side. “Should I go grab him then, or…?”

“I’ll give him a few more minutes and then I’ll do it,” Patton said.

“Okay.”

A few minutes later, Patton walked back up the stairs. He was relieved to see that the light was on in Roman’s room now.

He knocked on the door, and waited for an answer.

A moment later, the door opened, to reveal Roman. He smiled, and if Patton hadn’t seen him before, he might not have known Roman had been so upset. “Hey, Patton. What’s going on?”

Patton smiled back, deciding not to bring it up. “We were planning to start dinner soon. Want to help?”

…

Roman had been making a point of getting to work early ever since his mistake the week before. So, it was no surprise that he was the first employee to arrive at the café that morning. It was a surprise, though, when neither V nor Thomas showed up. Instead, two younger employees, probably 18 years old or so, took their places: Talyn and Joan. Roman had worked with each of them before when they occasionally joined his shift, but never at the same time.

“Is Thomas not coming?” Roman asked, watching as the pair approached. He’d known it was V’s day off, and that Thomas didn’t come in every day, but usually their manager worked whenever V didn’t.

“He’s sick,” Talyn said, pulling on their apron. Joan went into the back to put their things away.

“Oh. Is he okay?”

Talyn shrugged. “He calls in sometimes. He asked me to take his place today.”

“Okay.”

“Joan and I can finish getting everything set up back here. Want to take the chairs down?”

“Sure.” Roman walked out from behind the counter to do just that.

“So how are you liking this place so far?” they asked as Joan returned from the back.

“It’s alright,” Roman shrugged. When V wasn’t getting on his last nerve, at least.

“Just alright?” Joan asked.

Roman flushed slightly. He didn’t want to complain about his job, not at his job, to his coworkers. That didn’t seem like a good plan at all.

Joan laughed. “Relax, I’m just teasing. It can be tough, at the start. Customers are something else. Plus I know Virgil can be prickly.”

Roman blinked. “What?”

“Virgil?” Joan looked confused. “The barista you work with?”

“Oh, right, sorry. I didn’t quite hear you,” Roman lied. He had a feeling he’d get teased if he admitted he’d gone nearly two weeks only knowing Virgil as V, or as the numerous aliases of the other worker’s name tag collection. “Glad to hear it’s not just me.”

“Has Virgil been treating you okay?” Talyn asked.

“Yeah. He can be kinda pushy, but he’s okay… most of the time. I do like his name tag collection.” Roman had tried to compliment Virgil on one of the name tags, pointing out that it was funny that the barista chose to wear one that said “Mary Lee”, and had only gotten even more hostility in response. Maybe Virgil didn’t want Roman to acknowledge that the name tags didn’t have the barista’s actual name on them? Maybe Virgil misunderstood, and thought Roman was making fun of whoever the actual Mary Lee was?

Whatever the case, trying to be that creepy cookie’s friend was proving rather difficult. Thomas’s “Storm Cloud” nickname made a lot of sense.

Talyn bit their lip, glancing at Joan, then looked back at Roman. Roman blinked, unsure what that was about. “Virgil can take a while to warm up to people, sometimes,” they said. “It’s probably nothing to worry about.”

Not long after, it was time to open up the café, and the attention of the three baristas was diverted to the grumpy swarm of early morning coffee-seekers.

It was a busy morning, with a lot of disgruntled people who thought they were entitled to their caffeine before anyone else and didn’t even tip well (if at all), but at least Talyn and Joan didn’t get mad at Roman for spilling a few coffee grounds, or for nearly forgetting the whipped cream on one of the orders. That was a welcome change.

Still, that afternoon, Roman spent most of his time holed up in the former guest room, trying not to stress too much about the next day, which was, of course, his last day of work before he got to go see his parents for the first time in years and hope they wouldn’t turn him away.

…

The following day, Virgil was back at work. And as tired of Roman was of his coworker hounding him like every little mistake he made would bring on the apocalypse, he did have some new information at his disposal, and he was going to take advantage of it.

Roman looked up as the barista came in, reluctantly lowering the headphones that had doubtlessly been blasting some sort of emo music moments before.

“Hey, Virgil,” he said pointedly, grinning.

Virgil hardly bothered to glance up, grabbing one of the aprons that still hung on the wall. “Hey, Princey.”

Roman was almost offended by that lackluster response. “How’s it going, Virgil?” he tried again, louder and with more emphasis.

“Fine?” Virgil said, giving him a strange look. “How’s it going, Roman?”

Roman sighed. “Disappointing.”

“What?”

Whoops. Virgil wasn’t supposed to actually hear that. He scrambled for an excuse. “…I said disappearing. The sun is gonna be disappearing sooner. The days are getting shorter again. You know.”

Virgil glanced outside, at where the sun was just beginning to rise, bemused. “I guess?”

“Aaaanyway. How was your day off?” Roman asked, tying his own apron in place.

“It was great. I actually got to miss the sunrise, for once.” Virgil started taking down chairs from the tables, putting them in place on the floor. “It was over pretty fast, though. Sure would be nice to take three days off in a row.”

Roman frowned.

“What are you doing this weekend, anyway? Video games? Binging Lord of the Rings or something?”

Roman let out a long sigh. “I’m visiting my parents,” he reluctantly admitted. “I haven’t seen them in a while.” Ever since Virgil had found out about Roman’s days off so soon after starting the job, Roman had skirted around answering the question of why he was taking that break. And while it still wasn’t really any of Virgil’s business, Roman was getting tired of this, and really didn’t want to deal with passive aggression when he was already worried enough. Today was Friday, and Roman was getting on the bus to go see his family that very afternoon.

Virgil’s mouth thinned. “Oh.”

The other barista turned away without another word, and didn’t bring up Roman’s days off again that shift. Roman felt that this was worth the admission. It would have probably been nearly unbearable otherwise, since Thomas was apparently still not feeling well, so it was just the two of them for the entire shift. As it was, other than Thomas being gone, Roman might have said that things were going… at least sort of well. Virgil wasn’t getting on his back too much, he wasn’t messing up as much as he’d expected, given how much he was thinking about that weekend (although he still messed up quite a bit more than usual). But of course, his luck couldn’t last.

He took a break during a lull in customers, and he came back, opening his mouth to tell Virgil to go ahead and take a break in the back, now.

But no words came out of his mouth. Instead, he froze.

Standing in the middle of the café, reading the menu, was a familiar figure. His dark hair was swept to partially cover his face, and he wore a black faux leather jacket over a band t-shirt.

Jay.

Roman felt dizzy.

“Roman?”

Roman shook his head, took a step back, and then sat down hard on the tile floor.

“Roman! F*ck, okay, hold on—Sorry, sir, get out, please! The store’s closed! Bye!”

“What the hell are you talking ab—”

“Store’s closed!”

Virgil herded the guy out, and as he disappeared out the door, Roman got a better look at his face. It wasn’t Jay at all. Just some guy who looked ridiculously like Jay.

“Dammit,” he whispered, wishing this realization would stop his heart from pounding, would erase the way he’d just embarrassed himself, was continuing to embarrass himself.

Virgil knelt down in front of him, hovering uncertainly. “Hey. Hey, Princey, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

Roman shook his head, his attempts to breathe only strangled gasps. It was all just too much. The stress of this new job, and the visit this weekend, and thinking he’d seen Jay, who’d been a catalyst in all of this— It was too much.

“I think you might be having a panic attack.” Virgil shifted uncertainly, hovering around him. “Does that sound right?”

Roman shakily nodded.

“Okay. Okay, good. No ambulance, then. That’s great. I mean, not great that you’re panicking, that—never mind. Can I help?”

“Yeah,” he gasped. Please make this stop.

“Cool. Cool, cool. Try breathing with me. It’s an exercise I use when I get anxiety attacks.” Virgil started with a long inhale, counting off a pattern.

“In, 2, 3, 4… hold, 2 3, 4, 5, 6, 7… out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.”

Roman did his best to follow the pattern, with difficulty at first; but soon enough, rather than freaking out, he was a more reasonable amount of mortified, and this time more about the fact that he’d freaked out in the middle of the café, in front of Virgil, than about anything else.

Virgil seemed relieved when it was clear that Roman was no longer panicking. The barista looked him over for a moment, then offered him a hand up.

“I think maybe you should go in the back for a little longer,” Virgil suggested as Roman was pulled to his feet. “I can take my break later.”

“…Yeah, maybe,” Roman admitted, not meeting Virgil’s eyes. “Might be a good idea.”

Virgil led him to the back room, shoved a plastic cup of tea in his hands, and promised to return in a bit.

Roman sat there, sipping his tea, wishing he could sink into the floor.

Several minutes later, Virgil returned.

“Sorry,” Roman said as soon as he saw that distinctive purple hair, gripping his cooling cup of tea tightly. “I didn’t….”

Virgil sat down on the arm of the sofa. “What was that about?”

Roman shook his head.

Virgil sighed, glancing back towards the main area of the store. “Fine, don’t tell me. But are you, like… good? You’re not going to freak out on me again?”

“No, I’m… I’m fine.”

Virgil looked at him doubtfully. Roman set his jaw, and then Virgil nodded. “Alright. Maybe clean yourself up a bit, though.”

Roman felt his cheeks burn. He nodded.

As Virgil turned to leave, Roman cleared his throat.

“…Thanks, Virgo.”

Virgil paused, turned, and said, “I’m a Sagittarius,” before leaving the room.

Under different circumstances, Roman might have laughed. As it was, he simply took a deep breath, set the remains of his tea to the side, got to his feet, and went to the employee bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he had to admit he looked rather… disheveled. He’d definitely seen worse days, that was for sure; but his hair was a mess, and his eyes were red and watery like he’d been crying.

(Had he been crying? He suddenly wasn’t sure.)

Roman reached over for a paper towel, folded it over, and ran the water over it for a second. He stood there at the sink for a while, the cool, damp paper towel held against his eyes. Once the redness had died down, he combed his hair with his fingers until it was back to its normal groomed appearance. Finally, he took a deep, steadying breath, washed his hands, and returned to the front of the store. Virgil looked up when he appeared, in the middle of making a cappuccino, and nodded.

Roman resumed his post without a word, and they both pretended like nothing had happened.

When Roman went back to the house that afternoon, he didn’t complain about Virgil, for once. Of course, he did have other things to think about. Like the little detail that he was leaving in only a couple of hours.

…

“Are you sure you have everything?” Logan asked as the trio walked to the bus station. They’d parked a couple of blocks away, since the parking spots at the station itself were metered, and rather expensive. Logan had offered to park there anyway, but Roman had insisted that he was fine with parking farther away. It was a nice day, anyhow; and he would be spending quite a while on a bus. “There’s still a little time, if we have to stop somewhere.”

“I think so,” Roman said, adjusting his grip on the handle of the small, baby blue suitcase Patton had lent him. It rolled behind them, occasionally bumping over an uneven patch of sidewalk. “I don’t have a lot of stuff.”

“And you’re sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Patton checked. He held the small potted plant that Roman and Val had picked up as a present for Roman’s mamá. He almost seemed more nervous than Roman. Almost.

Roman swallowed, then nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure. It’s just a bus ride. My parents are going to pick me up at the station.”

Patton reached over to squeeze his hand. “They know what time you’re getting in?”

Roman nodded. “And I can always call, if I need to…. Thanks again for the phone, by the way.” They’d picked him up a cheap, prepaid one for emergencies, since Roman hadn’t had a phone of his own in a very long time.

“It’s no problem,” Patton said. “Just be safe, okay?”

Roman gave him a shaky smile.

“There’s the station,” Logan said, gesturing across the street. “Which bus are we looking for?”

“17,” Roman provided. He didn’t even need to check his ticket. He’d spent long enough staring at it the night before.

Logan glanced to make sure no cars were coming, then started across the street. He and Patton were already scanning the busses collected at the station, looking for the correct one.

“I don’t think it’s here yet,” Logan said. “That’s not surprising. We are early, after all.”

“Let’s find a bench to sit on,” Patton suggested.

Logan didn’t exactly look enthused, but he went along with Patton’s suggestion. They found an empty bench, and Roman and Patton sat down. There was still room on the bench, but Logan stayed standing.

“Perhaps I could pick us up some coffee from inside,” he suggested.

Patton giggled. “Only if Roman’s not sick of coffee yet.”

Roman cracked a smile. “Maybe just water for me. Lemonade if they have it. But water’s okay.”

Patton requested whatever coffee drink was the sweetest, iced.

Logan nodded and walked off towards the station’s building.

“He just doesn’t want to sit down,” Patton said, leaning over conspiratorially. “Logan hates public benches.”

“Logan hates public everything.”

“You’re not wrong!” he laughed. He set the plant at his side. “So, do you and your parents know what you’re going to do this weekend?”

Roman thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it.” He’d been too busy worrying.

“You don’t always need a plan. Maybe it’ll be nice to just get to hang out with them, catch up.”

“Or awkward as hell.”

“Ehh.” Patton shrugged. “Maybe at first, I won’t lie to you.”

“Yeah.”

“But they’re going to be really happy to see you. I’m sure they’ve missed you a lot.”

“…Yeah.” Roman knew they had. But he couldn’t help the terror bubbling up inside him, just under the surface, at what they would think when they saw him. At how angry they would be.

Apparently Roman’s silent dread had not been as hidden as he’d hoped.

“Don’t make me hug you,” Patton threatened, pointing at him.

Roman let out a startled laugh.

“I’ll do it! You know I will!”

“I do,” Roman agreed. He watched as another bus pulled up. Number 33. Still not his.

“They did have lemonade,” a voice said. Roman glanced up to see Logan, holding out a bottled lemonade. He took it. It was cool and already slightly damp with condensation.

“Thanks.”

Logan offered Patton another drink from the carrier in his arms. His was a very pale brown, mixed with ice and with whipped cream and drizzles of caramel and chocolate on top.

“Ooh, thank you!” Patton said. He hopped up, kissed Logan on the cheek, and then sat down, sipping loudly from his straw.

Logan coughed, his face slightly red. “You’re welcome. Has his bus arrived?”

“Not ye—oh! There it is!” Patton pointed. A new bus had just pulled in, the number 17 in its window.

“Excellent.”

Roman leaned over to look at a clock on the station wall. He still had ten minutes before he had to be on the bus. Reassured, he sat back and opened his lemonade, taking a sip. Then he recapped it and put the lemonade in his lap, tapping on its sides with his fingers. “You guys don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I’ll be fine.”

“No, no,” Patton insisted. “We’re going to make sure you get on your bus alright.”

“It would be rather unfortunate if we left early, and something happened,” Logan agreed.

Roman exhaled through his nose. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

“Yep! Besides, I can’t finish this in the car.” Patton took another loud sip of his drink. “So we’ve gotta stay!”

“True.” Logan was generally pretty insistent about there being no open drinks in his car. Or at least, that was the idea Roman had gotten so far.

Logan took a drink of his own iced black coffee and shrugged. “Coffee would be difficult to get out of the upholstery,” he justified. “Like any darkly colored beverage. One time, one of Val’s friends spilled fruit punch in her car. It was a figurative nightmare to get that out. I refuse to go through that again with my own vehicle.”

Roman glanced at Patton, who looked amused. “That’s fair.”

A few more minutes passed, with the three of the just enjoying their drinks, before Patton glanced at the time on his phone. “We should probably get you on that bus, don’t you think, Ro? You don’t want to get a bad seat.”

Roman shifted. “…I guess.”

Patton looked at him sympathetically. “Don’t worry. You’ll be okay.” He stood up, grabbing the plant; and Roman reluctantly followed, pulling the suitcase along behind himself.

In no time at all, they stood in front of the bus door, and Patton was handing the plant off to Logan and pulling Roman into a tight hug.

“Don’t be afraid to call us if you need anything at all, okay? I’m serious.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Now go see your parents.”

“Have a pleasant trip,” Logan said as Patton released him. He offered a hand, and Roman accepted. Logan shook it.

“Thanks. I’ll… see you guys.”

“Good luck.”

Roman took a deep breath, picked up the suitcase and took the plant back from Logan, and stepped up onto the bus before he could change his mind.

“Hello, sweetheart,” the driver said, smiling kindly at him. She was probably in her fifties, and had clearly noticed how apprehensive he was. She held out a hand. “Have you got your ticket?”

“Yeah—um,” Roman pulled it out of his pocket, quickly did his best to smooth it out, and handed it over. “Here.”

The woman looked at it for a second, smiled, and handed it back. “Welcome aboard. Usually, we have everyone put their luggage in the storage area under the bus, but I think yours is small enough that you can keep it up here, if you’d like. We don’t have a full bus today. Do you have a preference?”

“Could I keep it?” Roman asked. It was Patton’s suitcase, and he was afraid that it might get damaged—or worse, disappear—if he let it out of his sight.

“Of course. You can go ahead and pick whatever seat you’d like.”

“Thank you,” Roman said. He turned to the rest of the bus, which was about a quarter of the way full with other passengers. He picked a seat about a third of the way from the front, beside the window, and put Patton’s suitcase and his mamá’s gift at his side.

He looked out the window, and saw Patton and Logan there, on the sidewalk. Patton noticed him and perked up, waving and batting at his boyfriend to get his attention. Logan waved as well, with significantly less energy, looking amused.

Roman hesitantly waved back.

He spent the remaining time until the bus departed just trying to keep calm, reminding himself that he did in fact want to do this, that it was a little late to back out even if he wanted to, and that even if his visit went about as horribly as it could go, Logan and Patton had promised that they wanted him to come back.

Finally, the bus driver stood up. She reminded everyone of which bus this was and the route they were taking, just in case someone was on the wrong bus, and how long the trip would take. Then, she sat back down, and they left the station.

Patton and Logan waved until they turned a corner, and then Roman was alone.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then turned to the suitcase. He unzipped it and pulled out a book, which Logan had lent him for the trip. He settled in, doing his best to focus on the story rather than on his fear over what was to come.

55 notes · View notes

smytimagine · 4 years

Text

Part III | Surprise Visitors

We get some other character’s perspectives in this chapter!

Warnings: Mild swearing

Word Count: 3,442

A/N: I’m in the middle of writing other chapters but I can’t decide, does Y/N end up with Grayson… or Ethan?!

part 1 part 2

Thank God the next day was Saturday, and although that didn’t mean a whole lot since I usually spent the day with the twins anyway, today was different.

I spent the whole night curled up in my bed watching chick flicks and ignoring Ethan’s persistent calls and texts. To be fair, I felt bad and had at least let him know I made it home safely but didn’t respond after that. It’s not like it was Ethan’s fault, he didn’t know about Grayson’s new girlfriend either, but I couldn’t tell Ethan how I felt if I wasn’t even sure how I felt.

Grayson had always been my best friend. When I moved out to LA from Connecticut the twins were the first real friends I had made. I had prior experience as a personal assistant to very wealthy CEO’s at large companies, and a recruiter had seen my resume and asked me if I was interested in a position with two clients who were social media moguls. I had no idea who the twins were when I met them, as I suppose I wasn’t their target demographic. I was 3 years older than them and had no idea what vine even was, never mind that they had blown up on the app. I guess you could say I wasn’t the trendiest teen back then.

The three of us had hit it off right away, probably because I treated them like normal people, I never put them on a pedestal. I wasn’t blind to how girls looked at them, I was even an unwilling target to some online slander from people who wanted to pin me to one of them. But it was never like that. We truly were just best friends, until now.

As I sat in my bed debating if I was ever going to crawl out of this mess of blankets and sheets, I wasn’t sure where I stood with the twins. Of course, I would always be professional when it came to work, but I now felt this awkwardness around Grayson. What was Ethan hinting at when he told Grayson he needed to tell me about his girlfriend? Why would they think I needed to know? Grayson didn’t owe me anything. Was there some kind of secret behind my back about me liking Grayson? Because certainly, I had never implied that, or at least I don’t think I did? Ethan would never go behind my back and make something like that up, so I wasn’t sure where any of this stemmed from.

______________

Noon rolled around and I finally pulled myself together enough to drag my ass out of bed and into the kitchen for some food. Still drowning in Ethan’s sweatshirt and a pair of PJ shorts I had thrown on.

“Well it’s about damn time,” a deep voice said from behind me

I jumped and threw my back against the fridge, I held a knife stabbed halfway through an avocado in my hand, looking towards my couch to see a mop of dark hair facing away from me towards the wall of windows

“ETHAN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” I screamed

“We have a spare key in case of emergencies Y/N. After you texted me you were home last night you never answered any of my other attempts to talk. I was genuinely worried about you. I came over around 3 am and saw you sleeping in bed surrounded by tissues. I decided I would sleep on the couch and be here when you woke up, I didn’t want you to be alone. I texted you that, but apparently, you decided to just let your phone die. Now please, put down the knife, that avocado isn’t very threatening ” Ethan laughed as he made his way towards me.

My heart melted. Here I was wasting the day away feeling sorry for myself when this man in front of me came over just to see if I was okay and then slept here in case I needed anything. What the hell did I do to deserve him?

I didn’t say anything, I tossed the knife on the counter and walked towards Ethan, I tucked my head into his chest and felt him wrap his arms around me. He pecked the top of my head and rubbed his hands slowly up and down my back. We stood silently in the embrace for a while.

“I’m okay E, to be honest, I’m not even sure why I was so upset. I told you before there was nothing going on between Gray and me, and now it’s just proof.” I said softly

“Y/N, you may not have thought there was anything, but there was - there is. I saw it, the guys all saw it. To be honest, you weren’t the only one let down last night. After the guys left they all texted me bummed out about the whole situation. There is absolutely no one who is as perfect for Gray as you. Literally, everyone around you guys can see that”

I felt myself smile into Ethan’s chest at his kind words, it felt nice that everyone thought so highly of me. That they all thought that I was good enough for their best friend and brother. But at the end of the day, it didn’t matter. He had a girlfriend, and she wasn’t me.

I pulled away from him with his hands still resting on my shoulders. I tried to change the subject, as anything would be a better conversation than this.

“So, what should we do today Etee?” I smirked as I teased him. He hated that nickname and I knew it, but it was cute.

Ethan sighed at my use of his name, “Well, Mom and Cam are coming into town today actually, I’m supposed to pick them up in a few hours. Do you want to come?”

I loved the twin’s family. Their sister was my age and so much fun to gang up on the boys with. Their mom Lisa was the best. She was super supportive of everything the boys did and would even check up on me once in a while. My mom had never been exactly present in my life, so in a way, she helped to fill the void.

“Is that even a question?!” I asked, suddenly feeling my mood shift to pure excitement.

“I thought you might like that, we have to pick them up around 2:30, it’s going to take us an hour to get there from here, so you better get your ass in the shower because you fucking stink,” He said, pulling his head to the side implying he was trying to escape me.

“Oh, fuck you, dude. I absolutely do not stink, and even if I did, it’s your sweatshirt, which means you’re the stinky one” I scoffed at him, smirked, then turned to head down the hall towards the shower.

______________

Ethan POV

I watched Y/N walk away and head towards the bathroom, my eyes inspecting every inch of her body. She was perfect. She had absolutely no idea how perfect she actually was. I couldn’t stand the fact that my idiot brother had this perfect of a woman pining for him and decided to ignore her for someone else.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother. He’s my best friend. But he can be a real idiot. The thing is, I’m not even sure he knows Y/N is crazy for him. In fact, Y/N doesn’t even know she’s crazy about him, but everyone else knows. They are so perfect for each other it makes me want to vomit out of jealousy. Someday I want to find someone as perfect as she is, though I know it will be a challenge.

I told her my mom and sister were coming into town today, and they are. But, I might have left out the part that I called them late last night and asked them to come. I explained what happened at the fire and when they agreed to come, I booked them on the next available flight out here.

They loved Y/N as much as Grayson and I did. My mom thought of her as her own, considering Y/N’s mom wasn’t the best. She left when Y/N was little and calls her once in a while when she runs low on money. Grayson and I have been throwing extra cash into her paychecks to cover it. We told her it was a pay raise, which part of it was, but we doubled it and if Y/N knew she would kill us. She never asks for anything, never expects anything, and never tries to inconvenience anyone. Her dad has always tried his best, but he works a lot and isn’t sure how to relate to her as a grown woman. Over the last two years, she has become more of a Dolan than a Y/L/N, my whole family accepts her with open arms, and secretly hopes one day she will actually be a Dolan. Of course, none of that will happen if Grayson stays with whatever her name is.

______________

Y/N POV

I showered, got dressed, fixed my hair and makeup and headed back out to the living room where Ethan was half asleep scrolling through twitter. He clicked his phone screen off when he noticed I had entered the room

“Damn” Ethan whispered to himself

I could feel my cheeks blush slightly

“Uh, you ready, E?”

“I’ve been ready, the question is, are you?” he replied, trying to cover for his trip up

“I’m ready! Let’s go get these beautiful ladies so I can ditch you and hang out with some real winners” I laughed as I pulled him up off the couch.

We hopped up into Ethan’s jeep and headed towards the airport. I absolutely loved this car. He had modified it so perfectly that everything about it screamed Ethan. He turned up the radio and started bobbing his head while I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes and leaned my head back into the headrest, letting my hair blow in the wind. He looked over at me, smiled and placed his hand on my knee. This wasn’t odd for us, it was his way of letting me know he was there, but that he didn’t want to turn down his music to talk. All of which, I was okay with. I didn’t want to talk.

______________

“Y/N/N!” Cameron screamed as she ran up and threw her arms around me in the biggest hug. I laughed and looked over her shoulder to see Lisa coming along smiling at the two of us

“Hey gorgeous, what the heck! I didn’t know you ladies were coming into town! I usually have you guys on the twin’s schedules for weeks before you visit” I said looking between Cameron and Lisa with an excited confusion.

Both women looked over at Ethan, unsure of what he actually told Y/N, clearly not the truth, and went along with the story line.

“Oh well, we wanted to surprise the boys and didn’t say anything until last night to them about coming to visit… SURPRISE!” Lisa fibbed as she embraced Y/N in a hug while shooting Ethan wide eyes hoping she said the right thing. He nodded in acceptance of her answer.

We all got back into Ethan’s jeep, his mom and sister in the back as they had insisted I sit in front. I always felt wrong about making a parent sit in the back, but Lisa had insisted.

I suddenly felt a wave of dread wash over me. They would definitely want to go back to the boy’s house to drop off their things and say hi to Grayson. I, on the other hand, did not want to say hi to Grayson until at least Monday.

______________

Lisa POV

I had insisted Y/N sit up front with Ethan. She was so sweet how she always offered me the front, but I knew she needed to be next to my son more than I did right now. As we drove back to the boy’s house I watched how Ethan would smile and look at her and how she mirrored the gesture. To be honest, I would be over the moon if she dated Ethan, the chemistry between them was undeniable. I could tell from a mother’s perspective that she truly made Ethan happy, but I didn’t know if either of them actually felt that way towards each other. Ethan had always insisted it wasn’t like that and that he was pulling for Y/N to get with Grayson. I would be a lucky parent to have that girl end up with either of my sons, so if Ethan felt that way and everyone was happy, it would be okay with me.

But that’s not why we’re here.

When Ethan called in the middle of the night I panicked. No parent likes to receive phone calls from their children at odd hours of the night. He sounded very concerned about Y/N and had mentioned that Grayson screwed up. I had kind of put the pieces together and Ethan filled in the details about Gray’s new girlfriend. My heart hurt for the poor girl. As far as I knew no words were ever exchanged from her about Grayson in that way, but we weren’t blind to it. She spent plenty of time with us both here and in New Jersey and I found myself daydreaming about the days of her and Grayson having kids running around my home and sitting together on our front porch hand in hand. She was everything he had ever said he wanted in a woman. Sometimes, we can’t see two inches in front of our face, and surely this was the situation with my son.

______________

Y/N POV

As we rounded the bend towards the gate I was all too familiar with, Ethan gently squeezed my knee. I looked over at him and he nodded in acknowledgment that he knew this would be hard for me but that he knew I could do it. And I would.

We parked in Ethan’s usual spot and everyone hopped out. I helped Lisa grab her bag as we headed towards the front door. Suddenly it opened

“E, where the hell have you been…” Grayson’s voice trailed off as he came storming out of the house and realized Ethan wasn’t alone.

“Mom? Cam? What are you guys doing here? Y/N were they on our calendars?” He looked at me happy but concerned

“Uh… I” I started but Ethan jumped in

“No, I stayed at Y/N’s last night because she wasn’t feeling well, mom texted me while I was there that it was a surprise and we just got back from picking them up” he explained, while looking at his mom and sister for back up. The three nodded in agreement.

“Okay… wait you stayed at Y/N’s?” Grayson asked looking between me and Ethan. He really had no idea what had happened last night, and here was Ethan covering my tracks. But Gray wasn’t stupid, he knew it wasn’t normal for Ethan to stay at my house even if I wasn’t feeling well. But Ethan brushed it off and changed the subject.

“Okay, let’s get inside, I want to drop off their bags so we can show them the new tiny home,” he said. Although there wasn’t much to show them except the empty shell at this point, it got the subject off of me and away from Grayson’s questions.

The four of us walked past Grayson in the driveway as he turned to watch us. I could tell something about this situation didn’t sit right with him, but I didn’t know why. He had a girlfriend. Ethan staying at my house was no concern of his.

We walked through the door and immediately I regretted being there. I could tell she was still there because there was a woman’s bag on the side table. She spent the night

We gathered in the kitchen, deciding what to do for the evening when Grayson came back into the kitchen with her in tow.

“Hey Mom, Cam, I want you to meet someone special. This is my girlfriend Alyana” Grayson said introducing the three of them.

Someone special. The words stung my ears. I hated what this was doing to me. How the heck was I supposed to come to work every day if I couldn’t even get through 5 minutes of being here. Surely now that she’s been introduced to everyone, Grayson plans to have her around a lot more. I was going to have to handle that.

I turned my attention to Ethan who was looking at his phone, ignoring the interaction in the room. He looked up from his phone and pulled my chair closer to his so I could see the video he was watching.

______________

Cameron POV

Surely my brother was joking. He presented this girl to us like she was some shiny surf board he won at the teen choice awards. The fake smile plastered on her face when she said hi was enough to make me puke. I saw right through her, and I knew if I saw through her so did Ethan. Grayson might be his twin but we were more on the same wavelength when it came to stuff like this. We can both spot a faker from miles away, while Grayson has the worst judge of character of anyone I know, clearly. Considering Y/N is sitting in the dining room with Ethan while this dumb ass is flaunting a girl I could replicate off of Instagram in a second.

“Hi, I’m Cameron” I tried my best to smile.

“I know! I’ve heard so much about the famous Cam” she said

“Cameron” I corrected her.

Grayson shot me a look. He knew I was being salty, but she didn’t know me. She didn’t know anything about me. Surely we were not on a nickname basis. My family and friends call me Cam, not some bimbo who’s using my brother for clout.

“Right, Cameron” she giggled her fake giggle.

I smiled roughly and turned to go sit with Ethan and Y/N. Surely whatever they were talking about would be much more fun than what was happening here.

______________

Y/N POV

Cam came and sat down next to me, smiling and placing her head on my shoulder. Did she know something I didn’t? Why did that smile seem sympathetic?

“Hey, do you guys want to go down to the beach for a little while and then grab some food?” Ethan broke the silence.

“Is that even a question? I absolutely want to go anywhere but here” I laughed while nudging him with my shoulder.

“I’m in, let me go get Mom,” Cameron said

“Can we please just go the four of us?” I asked Ethan quietly. I really didn’t know if I could handle staring at Grayson and Bimbo Barbie all night. Was I jealous of her? It was surely starting to seem that way.

Ethan nodded in agreement and quickly sent a text. At first, I didn’t know to whom until a pissed off Grayson stormed into the room.

“SO FIRST YOU SPEND THE ENTIRE NIGHT AT OUR ASSISTANTS HOUSE AND NOW YOU’RE EXCLUDING ME FROM PLANS WITH OUR FAMILY?!” Grayson shouted as Ethan stood over me in defense

Our Assistant? So now that’s how he saw me? What the fuck is happening.

“We just figured you guys might want some alone time Gray, no big deal, we’ll bring you guys back food if you want” Ethan covered for me. Again

I looked between Ethan and Grayson for a minute. Them arguing wasn’t really anything out of the norm, but I knew secretly it was because of me. Over my stupid feelings and it made me feel horrible.

“It’s okay E, I don’t have to go, you guys should go out as a family. Your mom and sister just got here, you should catch up” I tried to intervene.

“Well, all I see in this room is family” Lisa chimed in looking at me square in the eye. She was not going to let me bow out that easily. Little did I know she had come here for me, not them.

“Fine Ma, then we’ll all go,” Grayson said in a chilling tone, giving Ethan a smug look.

Great so it’ll just be me, the Dolans and Bimbo Barbie . One big happy family.

#ethan dolan #grayson dolan #ethan dolan imagine #ethan dolan fanfic #grayson dolan imagine #grayson dolan fanfic #dolan twins #dolan twins fanfic #dolan twins imagine #avocadotoast

82 notes · View notes

soundofseventeen · 4 years

Text

Can I Have This Dance? Pt. 2 (Kwon Soonyoung)

Hello! Part 2! The world is scary right now! 💛

Masterlist

You sighed, resting your head on the counter. Between your normal shifts and now added dance practices, you were so exhausted. You were now a week into this, and you felt like you were only kind of improving? Soonyoung kept saying that it was a work in progress and he’d get you there, but every time you stepped on his foot or tripped you immediately felt your confidence fall.

Soonyoung at least maintained a positive attitude about it. Sometimes he even brought in some of his members to help out, you finding out that Seungcheol had a similar build to Daeho, so you practiced with him a bit. You felt even worse when you stepped on his feet, so that didn’t happen too often.

Plus, you just spent your last paycheck on your new dress for this next weekend. It was a used dress, but it was still more than you wanted to spend on a single dress.

“Y/N?” You looked up, coming back to reality. Mr. Lee stood in front of you, holding a bouquet of tulips. “Are you okay?” He asked, you nodding your head and putting a smile on your face.

“Oh yeah! I’m sorry, I’m just a little tired.” You said, going to the register. “How’s your wife?” You asked, ringing up the flowers.

“As well as she can be.” He said, nodding his head. “She’s already sick of being in the hospital, but it’s the best place for her. Hopefully these make her smile.” He said, you adding the discount to the price that was only meant for family (he and his wife had been coming in here so often, they were basically your grandparents anyway).

“Well, send her my best wishes.” You said, taking the money from him and giving him his change.

“If you get a chance, I know she would be thrilled if you came to visit her.” He said, you nodding your head.

“I’ll see what I can do.” You said, waving goodbye as he left.

You knew that you could be at a much better job, one that paid better or wasn’t so labor intensive, but you really loved working in a flower shop. You had your set hours, you got to just hang out with plants and flowers all day, you loved the regular customers who came in, it just made you happy to be here. You knew that Daeho thought it was ridiculous that you didn’t want to do more than this, but you just kept with the argument that as long as you were happy here, why would you make the change?

You saw your phone light up, seeing a picture of you and Daeho on the screen.

“Hey!” You quickly answered, smiling.

“What are you doing right now?” He asked, you looking around the shop.

“I’m still at work.” You commented. He always forgot your work schedule.

“Oh, right.” He said, letting out a sigh. “What about after?”

“Oh I… I have a secret project I’m working on.” You said, almost telling him about your dance lessons.

“Secret project?” Daeho asked, you humming in response. “Do you have to do that tonight? All the guys are going to dinner and they’re all bringing their partners.” You thought about it for a second, debating. You only had so many days until this party, but you also hadn’t seen him in forever…

“I don’t know…” You said, thinking quickly.

“Oh come on, Y/N. It’s just one night. You can pick up your little project tomorrow.” He said, you letting out a sigh.

“Yeah, okay. Do you wanna pick me up from work?” You asked, hearing a sigh from him.

“How about your apartment? That way you can get cleaned up.”

“Okay, that works too.” You said, mentally planning.

“Okay, I’ll pick you up at 7:30.” He said, you nodding. You looked at the clock. You would have to rush home to be able to clean up and be ready by then, and that was if the buses were on time.

“Gotcha. Love you!” You said, smiling again.

“Love you too. See you soon.” He said before hanging up. You sighed, going to your messages to send Soonyoung a quick message that you couldn’t make it today. You just hit send and put your phone back on the counter when a new set of customers walked in.

Soonyoung managed to just catch up to Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Jun, who were all surprised to see him on their food run.

“Don’t you have dance practice today?” Jeonghan asked, raising an eyebrow. Soonyoung shook his head.

“She texted me today saying she couldn’t make it, but would be here tomorrow.” Soonyoung said, matching his pace with the other boys.

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Jeonghan said, Soonyoung shrugging.

“Hey, I get a couple hours free now.” Soonyoung said. He looked around, listening to the discussion the boys were having before. He had to admit, he was a bit disappointed when you said you weren’t coming today. He had began to look forward to your little lessons, actually enjoying himself as he tried to teach you how to dance.

It was taking a little longer than he expected, you did seem to struggle a lot. You were apparently very nervous about this upcoming party, so he ended up spending a lot of time trying to get you to relax. He knew he was doing this as a favor to Jiwoo, but it ended up being a lot more fun than he expected.

“So Soon.” Seungcheol said, causing Soonyoung to look at his older member. “You seem to enjoy your time with Y/N recently.”

“I mean, yeah it’s been pretty fun. She’s getting there, soon I think she’ll have it down.”

“Hm. We can tell. You seem to be in a pretty good mood after she leaves.” Seungcheol said, Soonyoung nodding.

“Y/N’s pretty cute too.” Jun added, Soonyoung looking at him. “Wouldn’t you say?”

“...Yeah, I guess?” Soonyoung responded, clearly confused. Jun just smirked at him, causing Soonyoung to look at Seungcheol and Jeonghan, Seungcheol just pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Jun thinks there’s something there between you two.” Jeonghan explained, Soonyoung looking back at Jun.

“Dude, she has a boyfriend.” Soonyoung said, Jun shrugging.

“So?” Soonyoung just shook his head, looking at the restaurant.

“Let’s go in, I’m hungry.”

You sat between Daeho and one of his friends' dates, picking at your plate. You always hated these little outings. You didn’t know how to contribute to their conversations. It was like they were in a completely different world than you were most of the time, so you usually just sat there and listened. Sometimes you zoned out, thinking about the last episode of the drama you were watching. You knew the couple would become canon in the next episode. They had to. You spent most of the meal coming up with ways of how it could happen.

“Hey, you okay?” Daeho asked, causing you to come back to reality. You put a smile on your face, nodding. “You’re really quiet.”

“Yeah, it’s nothing.” You said, shaking your head. “You know these dinners aren’t that fun for me.”

“I know, thanks for coming.” He said, turning back to his plate and eating some more. “How about tomorrow we do something you want to do?” You perked up a bit, smiling.

“Do you want to come visit Mrs. Lee with me?” You asked, Daeho looking at you confused.

“Who’s Mrs. Lee?” He asked, you deflating a bit.

“That lady who comes into the shop a lot? Her husband told me she was in the hospital and I said I’d go visit her. I told you about her…” He looked at you for a second, before putting on a look of realization.

“Oh, yeah.” He said, you looking at him.

“So? Will you come with me?” You asked, Daeho shrugging.

“I don’t know… I don’t really like hospitals. All those sick people.” He said. “How about a movie on Saturday? That’ll be more fun.” You deflating again.

“I guess. What movie do you want to see?”

“Does it really matter?” He smirked at you, causing you to look back at your plate. You went to say something else, only to see that Daeho was already in a new conversation with his friend. You sighed glancing across the restaurant, eyebrow raising. You saw some familiar faces sitting across the restaurant, one of which was Soonyoung.

As if on cue, he looked at you just as you looked at him, eyebrows raising on his own face. You waved a small hand, which he returned.

“Who you waving at?” Daeho asked, you looking at him.

“Oh, just a friend.” You grinned, glancing back at the table, seeing the Soonyoung had already turned his attention away from you.

39 notes · View notes

noona-clock · 5 years

Text

Out of the Question

Yay! Requests are open! You already know I’m requesting Park Seo Joon lol. AU#7 Trope#8 and Prompt#20 please! Thank you ❤️

Thank you for being patient, @katdefbeom (though I hope the fact I’ll be turning this into a series made it easier!!)

Genre: Bookstore!AU

Pairing: Park Seo Joon x You

Trope: Exes

Prompt: “It’s just so hard not to fall in love with you.”

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

“Sorry, I’m late,” Seo Joon said quietly, a bit breathless as he walked up behind you.

“Oh, no, you’re fine,” you whispered. You shot him a small grin before turning your eyes back on your daughter. She was sitting quietly, eyes widened and laser-focused on the bookstore employee who was reading a story. “Storytime just started.”

“What time is your date?”

“Not for another couple of hours,” you assured him. “I got time.”

Seo Joon slid his hands into his pockets and let out a soft sigh. The noise caught your daughter’s attention, and her head snapped over to see him standing there.

She opened her mouth, inhaling and obviously getting ready to say ‘Daddy!’ but Seo Joon put a finger to his lips as quickly as he could to stop her from doing so. He then smiled brightly at her, sending her a little wave before motioning for her to turn back around and listen to the story.

“So, how are you?” he asked once your daughter had followed his directions.

“I’m doing well,” you said with a slight smirk. “Just about the same as I was earlier this week when you dropped her off at my place.”

Seo Joon was asking that like he hardly ever saw you, but this was not the case.

I mean, you two had a child together! You saw each other all the time.

“A lot can happen in a week!” he chuckled.

“Five days,” you corrected. He’d just dropped her off on Sunday, and it was now Friday. Usually, you would wait until after the weekend to hand your daughter off to her father - as was the unwritten agreement you’d come up with - but you did have a date tonight.

“All I’m saying is, five days ago, you didn’t have a date,” Seo Joon pointed out. “And now you do.”

“Can you please stop bringing up my date?”

A very teasing expression overtook Seo Joon’s face, and you braced yourself for what was coming next.

“Why? Are you nervous?”

“Of course, I’m nervous!”

You hadn’t had an actual boyfriend since... well, Seo Joon. But you’d been on a few dates here and there, and you were nervous every single time.

“Do you have a good feeling about this guy?” he asked, taking a few steps toward a nearby bookshelf and reaching to slide a picture book out.

“Maybe...”

“Well, if it doesn’t work out, you at least know it’s not because of you.”

“What do you mean?” you asked with a furrowed brow.

“You’re you,” he shrugged. “It’s just so hard not to fall in love with you.”

“Oh my god,” you murmured with a very bashful smirk. “It’s a first date, nobody is going to fall in love.”

“I’m just saying! I have experience, remember? I fell in love with you once. Really easily,” he pointed out.

You’d met Seo Joon in college, and it had been sort of a whirlwind romance. He’d totally swept you off your feet because - I mean, look at that face.

And then, not even six months into your relationship, you’d gotten pregnant. Completely by accident, of course, and you’d be lying if you said it hadn’t been a hard pill to swallow.

You’d always wanted children, but you’d also always imagined you would be happily married with a steady career when those children came along - not still in school with just a boyfriend of only several months.

But Seo Joon had promised you so earnestly that he would stay by your side. He was the father, so he was going to be a father.

Obviously, his commitment to the situation had helped, so you’d (somewhat reluctantly) decided to go through with the pregnancy and keep the baby.

Things after that had gone... surprisingly well. Your relationship with Seo Joon had evolved into something fairly serious, your pregnancy had been pretty easy, and the delivery hadn’t been as scary as you’d expected (it almost was, but not quite).

But then, not even two weeks after your daughter was born, your dad had passed away.

And, as one would expect, you did not take it well.

Your post-pregnancy hormones were completely out of whack, and the sudden loss of someone you loved so dearly made everything that much more difficult.

Like... extremely difficult.

You and Seo Joon had tried to make things work in your relationship, for the baby’s sake, if nothing else, but... everything just got to be too hard for you. You weren’t in the right space, the right frame of mind, and you weren’t emotionally capable of letting Seo Joon help you through it.

So you’d ended things.

Seo Joon had assured you he would still support you, though, and be the father his child needed. Even though it was a little awkward to maneuver at first, by the time you celebrated your daughter’s first birthday, things were pretty okay.

And now, three years later, things were more than okay.

You and Seo Joon had grown a solid friendship and had worked out a custody schedule with no legal involvement. Honestly, it was probably the best situation you could ask for.

I mean, besides actually being married to the father of your child.

But that was kind of out of the question now, wasn’t it?

Pretty much.

You told yourself it was just to make things easier.

Seo Joon had just said himself that he had fallen in love with you once. As in ‘once upon a time.’ That clearly implied that he no longer was, so there was no point in daydreaming about the perfect family life. At least, not with him.

“If things get awkward, just go to the bathroom and text me. I’ll call you with an emergency,” Seo Joon offered.

“Thanks,” you chuckled softly. “If it comes to that, I will.”

You then heard the bookstore employee say ‘And they lived happily ever after,’ so you turned to face the small gaggle of children surrounding her on the floor.

Your daughter sprang up the second the young lady reading closed the book, leaping off of the reading area rug and hopping over toward Seo Joon.

“Daddy!” she cried just before he bent down to pick her up and swing her into his arms.

“Hey, my little munchkin,” Seo Joon beamed. “Was it a good story?”

She nodded as she wound her arms around her father’s neck. “Can I get a new book?”

“You do not need a new book,” you answered with raised eyebrows. “Your bookshelf at home is overflowing.”

“Then why did we come to the bookstore?” she asked innocently, her eyes shining with curiosity.

A strangled laugh escaped from Seo Joon’s lips, and you shot him a warning look.

“Because it’s close to Daddy’s work, and you like the storytime here.”

Your daughter furrowed her little brow, her mouth puckering as she very clearly thought about something.

“I’m going home with Daddy, right?”

“Yes...” You already didn’t like her train of thought.

You could almost see the lightbulb go off over her head, her forehead smoothing out as her eyebrows lifted. She then leaned in toward her father’s ear and whispered something.

You would bet your last paycheck it was something along the lines of waiting until you left to buy a new book for her.

Seo Joon didn’t say anything in reply to her, but you did see him tip his chin in the tiniest of nods. And then he peppered a few kisses on her cheek - probably in an attempt to hide the fact he was saying ‘yes’ to her.

He was an incredible father - better than you had ever imagined - but, boy, did he have a tendency to spoil his daughter rotten.

“Okay, fine, I’m leaving,” you announced with a playfully dejected sigh.

You trudged over to the pair, standing on your toes to place your own kiss on your daughter’s cheek.

She leaned forward, transferring her arms from Seo Joon’s neck to yours and squeezing you with all of her four-year-old strength.

“Bye, Mommy!”

“I love you, baby girl,” you murmured, reaching up to rub her back as you felt a small lump of emotion forming in your throat.

Since Sunday was the start of Seo Joon’s week with her, you’d figured it would make more sense for him to just keep her on Saturday, too, even though that meant a whole extra day without her for you.

Before having your daughter, you had never imagined you were capable of loving another human being in such a way as you loved her. It had been four years of switching on and off with Seo Joon like this, but it still killed you inside every time you had to say good-bye.

“I love you, too, mommy.” Your daughter then leaned back and placed a very wet kiss on your cheek, pulling back with a loud ‘muah!’

“Thanks for that,” you chuckled, reaching up to wipe away her spit.

“You’re welcome!”

“That’s my girl,” Seo Joon praised. “Such nice manners!”

“Okay, you two,” you said with a soft laugh. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” Seo Joon grinned as you took a step backward. “Have a good time tonight. And bathroom text me if you need to!”

“I will,” you smirked. You doubted it would get to that point - from your conversations through the dating app, this guy seemed really nice - but you would if you had to.

Just after you turned around to head out to the bookstore exit, you heard Seo Joon say, “All right, she’s gone, let’s go and find you a book.”

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly, a smirk tugging at your lips before you called out, “I heard that!”

The only response was a secretive, high-pitched giggle.

And now it was official: you already missed your daughter.

But, alas. You had a date to get ready for.

Yay.

Part 2

#park seo joon scenarios #park seo joon imagines #park seo joon au #park seo joon fluff #park seo joon fanfic #kdrama scenarios #kdrama imagines #kdrama au #kdrama fluff #kdrama fanfic #kdrama actor #park seo joon #park seo jun

438 notes · View notes

piccolina-mina · 5 years

Text

She's Like a Song

Fandom: Roswell, New Mexico

Pairing: Michael/ Maria

Words: 3900

Inspo: One day he decided maybe without even thinking about it that he was going to look out for Maria DeLuca, and he never stopped.

A/N: Borrowed a bit from you lovelies and expounded upon our chats. It's a freestyle, and I'm beyond rusty, but here's to you, you know who you are. :)

He never told anyone before, but the Wild Pony was like his home. A teenager had no business in a bar, but Mimi DeLuca orchestrated a soup kitchen for the homeless, and while he had a pallet on the floor at his latest foster home, he may as well have been homeless.

They appreciated the paycheck, and he could put up with the less than ideal situation because it brought him home to Max and Isobel. Most days, his foster parents didn't pay him attention at all and being invisible was better than being a punching bag.

But Max and Isobel had a comfortable home with doting parents, and he was just the rabble-rousing kid from the wrong side of the tracks they weren't supposed to spend time around.

On his worse nights, he ventured to the Wild Pony. Mimi DeLuca once told him he had inexplicable energy, and it scared him shitless, but then she slid a sandwich across the counter and tousled his hair with a wink, and he felt comfortable there ever since.

She called him for maintenance help sometimes because she knew he was good with his hands, and on nights when his foster father drank too much, she put a cot up in the back room of the Pony, but more importantly, she never asked questions. She just knew. Maybe she was psychic after all.

He didn't mind this exchange between them until one day Maria DeLuca caught him in the back room. She was all long legs and smiles, and he admired how carefree she was, and how she followed the beat of her own drum.

He didn't see her often in school; she hung out with those Ortecho girls, and he always wondered how someone so filled with light could be friends with someone like Rosa who carried so much darkness, but Max and Isobel were his friends, so who was he to judge?

She didn't judge him. The surprise on her face when she caught him in that backroom sleeping on a dusty floor vanished quicker than it came, but unlike everyone else in his life, it wasn't replaced with pity.

Instead, she said, "If you're going to sleep on our floor, Guer, the least you can do is sweep it." She tossed him a broom he caught reflexively, and she barked out an order about grabbing the box of new product and skipped right back out the door no questions asked.

"When you're done, I need help with calculus, too." Of course, she knew he was a closet nerd, and she would be the type to use it to her advantage.

Maria DeLuca wasn't judgmental.

ii.

He shouldn't have been there.

Max said they should've stayed away, but Rosa was a scrub like him, and he felt a kinship with her.

He knew what it was like to be misunderstood. He didn't sleep much anymore. The images of the car burning danced across his eyelids every time he closed his eyes, and he knew the others struggled with what they did too, but his siblings refused to talk about it.

Isobel killed a girl. She killed multiple girls, and Rosa took the blame. It isn't right, and he knows that, but he didn't anticipate this.

Rosa's funeral was the day he saw a spark go out in DeLuca. She stood there, holding up a sobbing Arturo because no one was left to do it anymore.

Rosa was dead, and thanks to him and Isobel, Liz was gone. She took off, and Arturo couldn't make sense of losing two daughters at the same time, but Maria was still there.

Maria was always there. The angry shouts from the crowd Valenti held back grew louder while the priest said his prayer.

He couldn't believe the racist slurs being spewed by the people in their small town at a grieving father. Arturo crumbled under the weight of each indictment, but small but strong Maria held him up.

He watched as the tears spilled down her face, and her mother rubbed her back, and the guilt was too much. He never thought he'd see the day Maria lost some of her spark, and he played a role in that.

iii.

It was the least he could do.

Humans were pretty shitty, at least most of the ones he encountered. He flexed his hand at the thought, but the DeLucas were always kind to him.

When he saw Mimi wandering the streets not far from the junkyard, he thought she was just taking a walk, but something about her gait was off.

He smiled at her as she rambled about Will Smith and, was that Independence Day she was talking about?

At some point, within a few years since high school, Maria took over the bar, but he never knew why. It never made sense.

He knew he had a reputation for being an asshole, but he always paid attention. Maria DeLuca had plans. She dreamed of traveling the world and going on adventures. She wanted to hit the open road and book gigs and sing to her heart's content.

"It's a big ole world out there, and I want a piece of it," she said once at The Crashdown while giggling over a milkshake. She had an infectious laugh, the type that reeled you in and made you shut out any and every noise but the one she was making.

The world stopped when Maria laughed. She didn't laugh much anymore.

She did cry out when he and Mimi finally strolled back to the Wild Pony. Maria jogged up to them her forehead knit in concern, and he could hear the tears in the rasp of her voice.

"Mimi," she choked out before getting ahold of herself. "Mama, you scared me. "

"I just went for a walk, honey," Mimi cupped the side of Maria's face as the glow of the neon Wild Pony sign caught her eye, and she wandered into the bar.

Maria exhaled in disbelief. It took her a moment to bring her eyes to meet his, and she looked ... tired. Her eyes were red from the tears she was sniffing away and trying to suppress, and she hugged herself as if to keep herself together.

She opened her mouth to say something, but it was like a rush of emotion had overtaken her and rendered her speechless.

He gave her an out. "Sorry, we're late. We got a little carried away, I'm a hit with the Cougars, you know?"

She released a relieved chuckle, and for a moment, that missing spark was back and alive. "If you ever lump my mother with those floozies you take home again I'll have your balls."

"Is that a promise?" He teased. Her frown lines disappeared, and for a moment, she was the girl with the infectious laugh without a care in the world.

"Cute. I can assure you, Guerin, when I have 'em it's because they will no longer be attached to the likes of you.

She pats her back pocket where she sometimes kept her pocket knife, and he threw his hands up in surrender. He walked backward, their teasing drawing a half smirk and escapism he hadn't felt all day.

"You just called me cute though, DeLuca. I'm holding you to that." He turns to head home, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets as a chill settles in.

It's not chilly out, but suddenly the thought of going home alone makes him feel cold.

"Hey Guerin," her voice is quieter and more serious than he's used to. He turns to study her face. She looks haunted again, resigned, and so tired.

He doesn't know the particulars of what is going on with Mimi DeLuca, but he knows she's been declining for a while. Whatever it is, it has led to Maria taking over.

He can smell the wanderlust on her and see the longing for greater things that aren't this in her eyes. In many ways, she is stuck like he is. This town is too small for larger than life DeLuca, but her heart is too big for her to leave.

Rosa is gone, Liz left, and he's long since drowned his sorrows over Alex Manes heading to war. They left her alone, and now it seems Mimi is leaving her too.

"Thank you," she said quietly -- sincerely.

He nodded, tipping his hat and turned away.

Maria Deluca was alone, and so was he.

iv.

"Dammit!" She screamed, hitting the steering wheel repeatedly. She turned the key, and her car made ungodly noises.

"Whoa, whoa, you're going to flood it." He was groggy from passing out in the back of his truck behind the Wild Pony, but Maria destroying her car was enough to snap him out of his buzzed sleep.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing at a place like this," he drawled. He was met with a classic Maria glare that could disintegrate his boxers if he were wearing any. "I was talking about the car."

"I thought I kicked you out hours ago when you refused to pay your tab?"

"Most people call the law when that happens."

"Your best friend is the law."

"I don't have a best friend," he bristled at the mention of Max. They hadn't been friends for years.

"Gee, this is my surprised face," she deadpanned. She went to turn the key again, and he placed his hand over hers to stop her. She sighed, frustrated but relented.

"Looks like all your other faces, DeLuca." He signaled for her to pop the hood, and he took a gander. He could haul the thing to work in the morning, but there was nothing he could do tonight.

"It's going to need some work, DeLuca."

"Shit," her head fell back onto the headrest, and she closed her eyes. It was only then he noticed how worn down she was.

When he thought about it, Maria had been putting in double shifts all week while looking for a couple of new staff members. She had been at the Pony since it open to close, and it had to be at least 2 A.M.

"I don't have the money," she said begrudgingly. He figured it was pure exhaustion that led her to that admission.

"Oh, but when I say that, I get kicked out of the bar," he teased. His voice went up a few notches as he mimicked her. "Cough it up or get the hell out, Guerin. Stopping bar fights isn't compensation, Guerin. I will send people after you next time, Guerin. Don't come back until your tab is paid off, Guerin."

He was pretty sure his life should've flashed before his eyes based on the killer look she gave him. "I'll fix your car if you clear my tab."

"I'm not one to turn away a sucker, but I'm pretty sure car repairs exceed your bar tab, if only by a few pennies."

He made a face like a child and earned a bemused snort.

"You say that like I won't be back to drink up my share tomorrow." He patted the car and tilted his head towards his own beater. "Let me take you home."

Shockingly, she didn't put up a fight, and she staggered towards his old piece of junk and slid into the passenger seat. "You're gonna fix my baby when yours looks like crap. Rich."

He was about to respond, but her soft snores stopped him dead in his tracks. Seconds felt like hours as he watched her sleep. It was the most relaxed she looked in some time.

He hopped in and cruised towards her part of town listening to her soft exhalations. He shoved her gently, or so he thought when they pulled up to her house. Her head tapped lightly against the window.

"Asshole," she grumbled as she hopped out the truck, slammed the door, and stalked towards her door.

"Fine. Fix my shit, and I'll clear your tab. And obviously, you're picking me up at 10 A.M. Bring coffee."

"Yes ma'am," he snarked, beaming when she flipped him the bird without bothering to look back at him.

He went to bed smelling like Maria's sweet scent, which faded away by the next morning. There was a sense of relief when he slid into his truck hours later and her sweet musk still clung to the seats.

There was something comforting about it. It reminded him of Maria, and Mimi and home cooked meals in the back of the Pony when he didn't want schoolmates to catch him breaking bread with the homeless.

It reminded him of what home should feel like.

"It took you long enough," he huffed. He looked up from the magazine he was reading as Maria flounced towards him with the familiar clack of her red cowgirl boots as she headed towards his truck.

"Move over, loser." She raised a brow at him as she held the door open to his truck.

"I know they tend to look identical, but it's my car, DeLuca," even he couldn't sell that lie. For one, he managed to keep hers in better condition than his own, and the difference is noticeable, which is how he ended up carting her around town when her baby got a tune-up.

Maria DeLuca owned his ass. He didn't know how to describe the hold she had on him, but there definitely was one. It's been there since they were teens. She had a spirit he recognized whenever he looked in the mirror, and unlike most people in town, she saw him, like really saw him.

Maria DeLuca was a survivor through and through, and he respected that.

"My. Truck." He enunciated as if she didn't hear him. She glared at him, and he relented. He always did.

"Your hair looks nice," he said sincerely while flashing her his shit eating grin.

"It looks the same," she shot back as she slid into the driver seat.

"Yeah, nice." He said it for the sole purpose of watching the soft flush in her cheeks, and he was rewarded with it.

"I can give you some pointers then, Guer," she countered staring pointedly at his mop of curls he admittedly never bothered doing shit with, and she knew it. She teased him about it all the time.

He shook his head. "Still can't accept a compliment graciously, huh?"

"Nope," she said popping the 'p' as she started the engine.

The town whirled past them as they drove in silence. He reached for the radio knob, and she smacked his hand away.

"It's MY truck DeLuca," he whined not the least bit as put out as he sounded.

She slid her shades on and smirked. She fiddled with the knob before music blared. Without seconds to waste, she sang along.

Maria could sing along to any song on the radio. She was some freak of nature who knew them all, genre be damned, and she sang every last one. He secretly loved it.

She crooned some ballad, and his hands twitched. Some days his longing to strum strings between his fingers was too much to bear. He wished he could still play. They could make beautiful music together.

She shot him a sly look and threw her head back laughing that laugh that was its own harmony, and he smirked. Yeah, they would make beautiful music together.

vi.

He wiped his brow as he hauled the last of the boxes into the shed and glared at a relaxed, fresh and clean Maria as she bound down the stairs of her porch.

"You bailed halfway through for a shower and left me with the heavy stuff?" He collapsed on her porch and glared up at her.

"No, 'thanks, Guerin. You didn't have to stop what you were doing and help me with spring cleaning bullshit, Guerin. You're the best, Guerin." He bobbed his head along while he mimicked her.

"Well, I grabbed you these, but if you would prefer a verbal thanks, I can just keep 'em to myself." She knew she had him as she dangled a six pack of the coldest beer he had ever seen, or at least the coldest beer he had craved in the past four hours of hard labor.

He snagged two beers out before she could yank them away and popped the lid to one guzzling it to completion by the time she plopped down next to him.

She scoffed as locks of unruly curls fell into his eyes and obscured his vision.

"You know it only costs maybe 20 bucks tops for a haircut, right?"

He shrugged noncommittally not paying her mind when she disappeared into the house again. He stared into the desert finding comfort in the feel of the condensation from the beer cool against his fingers.

The door swung shut, and he smelled her and felt her before he could see her. He inhaled deep and long, and exhaled again, not saying anything when she came up close behind him.

"Move down," she ordered.

Maria liked to think she was unpredictable, but he knew her better than she thought. He caught the glint of the scissors as she set them next to her, and he scooted down a step until he was between her legs.

"Ah, my favorite position. I can show you why if you want." He flinched even though he knew the punch was coming and choked back a laugh.

His laughter stopped when she ran her hands through his curls carding her fingers through as a way of detangling it.

It was her time to laugh softly. She knew she shut him up for a good minute and relished it, but he was too relaxed to care. He was bone weary tired to the point of his limbs feeling like jello so he couldn't help himself from sinking into her. If she minded, she didn't say anything.

He wanted to make a wisecrack about her being anywhere near his head with scissors, but he was too comfortable with their silence.

He rested his head lightly on her lap, and she absentmindedly scratched his scalp as she snipped.

The sun was setting, and the desert sky was a sunburst of oranges and pinks, and he wondered if there were sunsets so beautiful at home.

Maria hummed quietly as snippets of hair fell around him, and the way she dragged her nails softly along his scalp made his eyes flutter closed, and he thought, he never had this before.

vii.

He paces next to her unconscious form, and part of him wants to join the fight and track who's responsible, but part of him can't bring himself to leave her side even if he wanted.

He leans in close to her face and notes her chest rises and falls, and it's the only thing putting him at ease.

Her stillness is unsettling. She's so full of life -- a force of nature that can't be tamed and one that gets under your skin and electrifies your cells. She's -- she's magic, and he's all nerves and boundless energy that can't be soothed.

Except ... he lifts her gently and hops on the table resting her head in his lap, and even unconscious Maria puts him at ease. She always does.

It took him years to realize that part of the gravitational pull he has towards her is due to her being a constant in his life. She's consistent and normal, and she makes him feel normal, and she helps him escape out of his head if only for their moments.

It's why he wouldn't allow Max to disparage her in such a way. His forearm still aches from shoving his brother against a wall, and he reflexively clenches his fists.

It had nothing to do with his night spent with Maria and more to do with his years spent with her. She was his constant, his sanctuary, his normalcy, his friend, and not even Max could take that away from him.

He knows her intimately and biblically, and they could take everything away from him, his home, his identity, his opportunity for family, but not the small, most consistent form of solace he has.

He brushes water against her lips and tries to keep her hydrated. He strokes her hair the way she does when she cuts his hair and breathes in that soft scent that's all Maria.

The silence between them isn't their comfortable kind. Sure, he hears the buzz from the gala, but he wants to fill the room with something suitable for them.

They banter. They barter. It's their thing, and sometimes, so is music. So he finds himself humming a little diddly she sang once while he strokes her hair.

When she stirs, he exhales a sigh of relief and a weight is lifted from him. He tries to comfort her and tells her to take it easy, and he doesn't miss the softness in his voice.

The truth is, he's scared of losing her. He didn't realize how much he relied on the Wild Pony or her to fill some void he has until she spent days avoiding him.

When he bumped into her at the Crashdown, he saw that familiar haunted look in her eyes, and it hurt him that he once again contributed to her carrying an unbearable load.

He likes to think over the years he did his part to relieve her of burdens, not contribute to them, so when he told her he was to blame and she was not, he meant every word.

Her eyes flutter open slowly, and he strokes her hair and asks her if she wants more water.

"You have to stop showing up like this for me, Guerin."

He knows she's still groggy from the drugs, and his jaw clenches thinking about how she was used.

He's absentmindedly scratching her scalp as he tries to say the right thing. He hesitates before he offers to get Liz and leave, but he doesn't really want to. He'll leave if it's what she wants though because Maria always gets her way with him.

"That's the problem," she says her voice but a whisper. "I never do."

And he feels like he was punched in the gut. Everything is messy now, and he's partly to blame for that.

He understands the sentiment well, though. And he knows what that admission cost her, and it's possible she won't remember she said it at all, and it's what he hopes if only to spare her any more pain.

There's something about Maria DeLuca that brings him back time and again. She never wants him to leave, and he always wants to stay.

He made peace with the fact that he stopped coming to the Wild Pony for the booze years ago. He came for the company.

Their relationship was easy and comforting, and he could disappear into Maria DeLuca the way he used to disappear into music because Maria was like a song that never ended.

A tear slips down her cheek at her admission, and it takes everything in him not to wipe it away, cup her face, press his lips in her hair and absorb her pain and hurt.

He's had decades of practice shouldering hurt and pain. He can handle it.

Somewhere along the way, he made it his personal mission to keep Maria's spark alive. He likes to think it was for her, but he knows it's purely selfish.

One day, he decided maybe without even thinking about it, that he was going to look out for Maria DeLuca, and he never stopped.

#roswell new mexico #roswell new mexico fic #maria deluca #miluca #marichael

116 notes · View notes

jimlingss · 5 years

Text

The Deli Diaries [9]

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10 || Chapter 11 [Finale]

➜ Words: 3k

➜ Genres: Fluff & Cuteness, That good ol’ slow burn, Slice of Life

➜ Summary: Working at a grocery store deli is absolutely unbearable (and you’re also perfectly aware of how dramatic you are). But it seems like something, or rather, someone might make the job a bit more manageable.

➜ Warnings: Mundane-ness that might make you bored to death

➜ Notes: ladies and gentlemen, we are slowly but surely moving away from slowburn from this point forward.

You didn’t think it was possible to hate your job outside of work. For the most part, you like to grumble and complain during the working process. Once you’ve made it home, you’re pretty damn happy and don’t bother wasting your energy to continue whining about it. Out of sight, out of mind. Except now, you were outside of the deli, outside of the grocery store, and surrounded in everything that had to do with it — colleagues, snotty upper management, the company name plastered on every single wall, advertisements on every napkin and piece of paper. The presenters on stage were reading off of their cookie cutter scripts and it was so entirely cringe-worthy, every second you were dying a little bit more inside. Still, you came because you got to skip work and there’s free food. You’ll do anything for free food. “Did you join the raffle?” Yuna asks, shuffling down the buffet line with you. “No. I’m not paying a cent to them.” Your favourite coworker laughs, her festive green dress twirling as she spins to grab a fudge brownie. “But it’s a chance to win a hundred dollar gift card.” “Yeah, for the grocery store.” Your voice drops into a quieter volume and your eyes flicker in all directions before you lean closer. “I’d rather shop at Walmart.” The young girl laughs and it becomes drowned out in the fancy hall. The company rented out the spacious venue for a few weeks so that every store could celebrate the holidays together. It was the only party in the entire year and where a few dollars of your docked paycheck went to. It’s a Christmas party, but management is adamant about calling it a holiday party, even though it’s pretty obvious with the decorated Christmas tree in every corner, the santa hats and fake santa sitting on his throne with a lineup of kids in front of him. The icing on the cookies were of gingerbread men or snowmen and most of the older folks said ‘Merry Christmas’ to each other as they passed by. It really isn’t that bad of a celebration. You wouldn’t go as far as to call it generous since you’re sure this is all a tactic to boost morale and make the workers change their minds about the shitty year. But the dinner is fairly good, the music is pleasant, and there was an open bar where people are happily getting drunk on alcoholic eggnog. You also had a sip of some alcoholic hot chocolate before realizing that it was pretty disgusting and you gave it away. “I’m going to go sit with my family.” “Oh yeah, sure. Did you need me to take that family photo for you?” Yuna shakes her head. “No, it’s okay. My boyfriend can take it.” “Right.” You smile, trying not to feel bitter and it wasn’t that difficult considering the festive mood was infectious and making you feel more chipper. “Lucky you.” “Speaking of which…” Your coworker lingers with two plates in her hand, still not returning to her family yet when there’s a more important question on the tip of her tongue. “Where’s that produce boy?” Instantly, you know who she’s talking about. But you don’t want to give in to what she’s implying, so you give the most confused expression you can muster. “Who?” “You know...the cute guy that always stares at you. The one you always have lunch with…? You walk home together?!” Yuna is frustrated from your blank expression and detects that you’re just playing dumb to antagonize her. “Ugh! You know who I’m talking about!” “Hey, if he’s so cute, maybe you should date him,” you say with brows raised before taking a bite of a muffin. “I-...I have a boyfriend, thank you very much.” Your cheek is stuffed and you stop chewing for a long second. “And how is that stopping you?” She opens her mouth and then shuts it, inhaling a deep breath. “We are not doing this again.” You laugh, having too much fun teasing the poor girl. “Merry Christmas!” You bid her a goodbye and a good holiday in case you don’t see her again in the sea of people. “Merry Christmas, Y/N.” For the next little while, you hang around by yourself. You eat some more, stroll around to observe the activities made for the children, colour a stocking before giving it to a four-year old who had been staring the entire time, all while hiding from your manager. Earlier, she forced everyone who worked in the deli to gather and take a picture together. It was cute and all until every single person wanted their own copy and seven phones were passed around. You were forced to awkwardly stand there and pretend these people were your best friends in the whole world while your picture was taken twenty times and your smile grew more and more stiff. More importantly, the plate of food you set down was stolen. And now you were hiding, not only from having to repeat that monstrosity, but there were rumours that the store manager wanted every department to go up on stage and sing a carol together — and you are not about that life. “What are you doing?” There’s a cute and smooth voice that tickles your ears as you’re sticking your back to a white pillar. You turn slightly, smile appearing at the person you see. “Hiding.” Jimin grins and doesn’t even ask. “Of course.” “Oh shit.” You point to the red and white stick he’s holding. “Where did you get the candy cane?” “In a basket over there.” He motions to the other side of the hall and blinks at you. “Want some?” “Uh, yes.” You put your hand out and he cracks it, fiddling with the wrapper for a second before dropping it in your hand. You throw it into your mouth all at once, forming a strategic plan to march across the venue without being noticed and grabbing a handful of the peppermint candy to bring home. At your prolonged silence, he moves until he’s in your line of sight again. “What are you thinking?” “Nothing.” “You’re going to steal a bunch, right?” Jimin’s eyes crinkle and he giggles cutely at you. “It’s not stealing if it’s free,” you argue, chewing and letting your teeth crunch on the hard candy. Your breath is getting fresher by the second, even if the flavour is strong. “I like your sweater,” he points out. “It’s cute.” “Eight bucks online,” you gloat while pinching the fuzzy red fabric with the cubby cartoon reindeer on it. Your leg lifts and you point to your black pants. “Leggings were a hand-me-down.” “I like your hat.” The produce boy lifts his hand and plays with the white pom-pom at the end of your santa hat. “Dollar store,” you tell him and he laughs again, having expected nothing less from you. “I like your button down shirt. Super fancy. And you got this whole hair thing going on.” You make wild gestures towards your own hair, looking at the way his dark locks curl slightly, exposing part of his forehead, a clean yet cute look. “Looks good, Park.” “My mom made me do all this,” he grumbles shyly, made timid and embarrassed from your compliment. “I should’ve just worn a sweater like you did.” “No, no. You look nice,” you reassure him and you’re not even saying that to make him feel better. It’s all too genuine and if anything, your compliment is an understatement to how you really feel. “I was lazy and I look like trash no matter what I do—” “That’s not true,” he intercepts. “You look nice too….like really good...cozy, I mean. It’s festive...yeah.” “Thanks.” You’re trying not to smile so hard and you’re probably failing. “Did your parents come?” “No, they’re at my grandma’s. My younger brother came though.” “Oh yeah, I think I saw him earlier. Shouldn’t you get back to him?” Jimin shakes his head. “No. He brought a friend along and he thought I was embarrassing him, so now I’m hanging out with you.” “Wow.” You put your hands on your hips, sassing the boy. “Am I your backup or something?” A grin spreads across his face, the apples of his cheeks puffing out. “You’re my first choice. I was looking for you.” You’re caught off guard, but you catch yourself fairly quick. “Well...damn straight.” “Did any of your family come?” “And make them suffer through this?” “Fair enough.” He smiles, humming while watching the surroundings of the bustling hall, how groups and cliques of middle aged workers are chatting with each other, how children are running along with one another and making a ruckus. Jimin hesitates a long moment before he asks, “you wanna go somewhere quieter?” “What do you mean?” “Somewhere without so many people.” He eyes you, mischief glimmering in his warm brown irises. “And where you don’t have to hide.” “Okay.” You allow the cute boy to lead you to the left, down a corridor, past the washrooms and into the dark. Your steps begin to slow. “You’re not going to kill me, right? Steal my kidneys or my organs or something?” “I don’t think the black market would even want your organs with your eating habits.” You’re appalled, giving out the most dramatic and theatrical of gasps. “Calling me out like that when it’s supposed to be the happiest season of the year?” Jimin giggles and then he pushes the emergency exit door at the end of the hallway. A gust of winter wind comes to slap you across the face. “Wait. We’re going outside? Nah.” “Come on.” He waves you over, patience running thin, and you start backing away, arms holding your body, shaking from the chills that have already swept up your spine. “It’s not that bad.” “It’s freezing, Jimin!” “Come on.” He takes two large strides and grabs your arm, touch sliding down before he grabs your hand, tugging you. “It’s not bad.” “Jimin!” You allow him to drag you out of the warmth of the building and the frigid temperature hits you at once. It’s like the freezer at the deli, except a lot worse with the wind and how it’s lightly snowing, crystals dusting from the sky and landing on the top of your skull. “Trust me.” His hand is still holding yours and he pulls you behind the venue towards the garden area that they’ve turned into a festive display area. There are luminous strings of fairy lights wrapped around fences and bushes, hues of red and green, blue and pink. It’s a mosaic of colours, twinkling like stars, turned into decorations and also wrapping around the gazebo in the center. There are only two kids playing outside in the snow with their parents and no one else around…...probably because it’s freezing outside. “Isn’t it pretty?” “Yeah. It is,” you admit breathlessly, getting closer to him. His chubby cheeks have become rosy and his nose reddened from the temperature. You’re sniffling, eyes watering, and Jimin laughs softly at your features. “If we freeze to death though, it won’t be so pretty anymore.” “We won’t.” He pats his chest where his heart is. “I’ll keep you warm.” “I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.” It feels a lot better under the gazebo where you’re at least shielded away from the powder twirling from the dark sky and the frigid breeze. The lights wrap around the roof of the gazebo and around the poles, the kind of thing that the camera can’t do justice for. Jimin sits down, side by side with you, and he stares out at the gorgeous scenery, musing, “I can’t believe the year is ending already.” “I can’t believe I’ve worked at the deli for so long. Should’ve quit months ago.” A small giggle bubbles from his lips and he bumps his shoulder with yours. “But then who would I share my breaks with?” “Exactly.” Unfortunately, Jimin doesn’t know that you’re all too serious. He’s one of the primary reasons why you haven’t left the job. “We’d still see each other in school though. Next semester, we’re sharing that econ class together.” He hums, a bright smile gracing his visage. “Save me a seat.” “We’ll see,” you quip. There’s sweet Christmas tunes that leak from inside the building, faint singing voices that envelop you and help to create an even warmer atmosphere. Past the music, there’s white noise of cars in the distance driving past and the peaceful quiet of snow sweeping down from the air. “Do you have any new year’s resolutions?” “Get good grades, stay on top of school, travel if I can….maybe quit this job.” You try to think and nothing specific comes to mind. “Nothing special. How about you?” Jimin downcasts his head, swinging his legs back and forth. “I have one or two resolutions.” “And?” He steals a cheeky glance. “And it’s a secret.” You scoff. “What kind of secret?” “A secret,” he replies simply and shrugs. His eyes pierce yours, locking his gaze and the stare becomes too intense, his proximity too close. You would shift back and get more distance between the both of you, but you’d be too cold without his body heat pressing on your side. “Do you have anything memorable from the past year?” “Are we really doing this?” You smile, remembering the presenters on stage talking about what a memorable year this was, recalling all the wonderful sales and ordinary stories that could bore someone to death. They also took twenty minutes to praise individual people on the team...people you didn’t know at all. “What?” The corner of his mouth tugs and his eyes crinkle. “It’s just a question.” “My life is literally so mundane and boring. Nothing ever exciting happens to me.” You don’t know how to answer and you’re still racking your brain to see if there was anything memorable. “I guess getting this job and getting into university. You?” “Something memorable?” A wistful sigh leaves through his parted lips and he glances up at the oak beams of the gazebo for a second. “No. Nothing.” “Really?” There’s an incredulous expression on your face. “You look like you have something to say.” “It’s…” He pauses suspiciously. “....embarrassing though.” “Tell me,” you egg him on, unable to resist teasing the poor produce boy. “Promise you won’t laugh or find me weird?” He searches your visage, sincerity and worry dripping off each of his syllables. “Promise.” You nod, giving your word. “What is it?” “Well…” Jimin scratches the back of his neck and then runs a hand through his hair, messing up his neat hairstyle and making it ruffled. The tip of his tongue peaks out as he licks his lips and he steals a peek at you before looking away in the opposite direction. You’re on the edge of your seat, anticipating, and not sure what to expect. “I kind of….might of….had a...crush on you.” “Really?” Your brows raise and even if your cheeks are frozen and stiff, you’re sure that a wide smile is spreading into them. “When?” “Like months ago. Remember when I came up to buy that pepperoni?” “Oh yeah.” You’re gradually recalling it. “I got creeped out by you.” “What?” His brows furrow, concerned at once. “Why?” “You were just standing there. Wait.” It comes back as you’re retracting your memories and you snap your fingers as a light bulb goes off. “I wasn’t creeped out by you. I was annoyed! I remember now! There were twenty minutes left till closing and you were just standing there in silence waiting for me to serve you and I had already cleaned the slicer too. Oh my god. That was so annoying.” “Sorry.” He’s genuinely apologetic and it only makes you smile harder. “I didn’t know.” “It’s fine. It was cute….sort of.” “I didn’t know anything about deli meat. Nothing about hams or salamis, so, I got pepperoni cause that’s the only thing I recognized,” he explains. You laugh, finding his story too endearing. “But how did you even have a crush on me? We didn’t talk back then.” “We didn’t talk, but I heard you talk all the time.” “How?” Jimin stares at you, becoming sheepish. “You’re kind of really loud when you’re yelling half-across the deli gossiping about other managers or when you’re humming or singing by yourself during closing.” Now you’ve become the embarrassed one, burning underneath his gaze. “I didn’t know my voice projected that much…” “It made my shifts a lot more interesting when you were around,” he says it in full appreciation. Your mouth feels dry and you glance at him, trying to approach your question at a more casual angle since you weren’t good at this sort of thing. “You….still got a crush on me now, produce boy?” Jimin’s mouth puckers together like he’s thinking about it and he quirks his head to the side, inhaling a sharp breath, appearing all too mischievous when he whispers— “It’s a secret.” You turn fully towards him, blinking hard in disbelief. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He shrugs. “It means exactly what it means.” Park Jimin leans closer to you, murmuring underneath his breath, “It’s a secret.” It’s strange. You’re outside in the middle of a snowfall. The wind chill isn’t absent tonight. You should be freezing your ass off. Yet, your entire body feels like a furnace and your face is on fire. You’re sure someone could roast marshmallows off of your skin at the moment, and all you can do in the presence of this wolf in sheep’s clothing is divert your eyes. “Unbelievable.” And he even has the audacity to giggle at your mutter and glare. Part of you feels ripped off. This isn’t what you bargained for. He’s not a timid produce boy at all. The guy knows exactly what he’s doing, using his charms so you’re dancing right in the palm of your hand. The sad part is that you don’t even mind. “Well, I have a confession to make too.” “What?” “My toes are going to fall off,” you deadpan with an impassive expression. “Can we go inside now?” Jimin laughs, complying without missing a beat and pulling you up onto your feet. You don’t miss the way he holds your hand the entire way back and you don’t mind in the least bit either.

#bts fanfic #jimin fanfic #jimin fluff #bts scenario #jimin #HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!#MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!#HAVE A GREAT MERRY SEASON!!

392 notes · View notes

onepumpofsyrup · 5 years

Text

ON THREE, QUIETLY II Cha Hakyeon II Part 2

On Three, Quietly // Cha Hakyeon // Part 2

VIXX: N

Pairing : N x Reader

Genre : Fluff, Angst, Humor, Romance

Words : 1,600+

Summary : Trouble comes and goes for every idol. At times its best to combat it with a well minded publicist. VIXX though, hate their new publicists. She’s bossy, nosey, and seems to care more about her paycheck than them. Her only goal is to prove them wrong. Their goal is for Hakyeon to seduce her into leaving.

(A/N)This story is another huge ass thank you to all of my followers.

Part 2

“Minhee...How much jail time will I get if I drop the VIXX boys off a cliff?” You asked while rubbing the aches behind your neck as you walked down the lengthy hall within Jellyfish Entertainment.

They’d made your first week together complete hell. Hyuk continuously acting a menace, stirring up drama between each boy. Hongbin refusing to work with you on anything, prefering to play what every video game sat in front of him. Taekwoon completely refusing to even engage you in any form of conversation. Jaehwan practiced his highest notes every chance he could get, probably in the hopes of giving you a headache. And their wonderful leader? Refused to do anything about it. Most of the time he would be bickering over one stupid thing after another with the others.

She pursed her lips and ticked off her fingers for a few moments walking quietly beside you and Woon before finally saying, “Are you intentionally dropping them off a cliff? Or are you ‘accidentally’ dropping them?”

“I’ll hide you from the cops.” Woon interjected.

You scoffed, “What does it matter? Either way I’m done with the whole issue.”

“They can’t be that bad,” she stated.

“Can’t be that bad?” you asked incredulously. “Can’t be that bad? I’ve been here a week. Yesterday during a meeting with them they all wore their stupid airpods. When I asked the maknae to take them out he said he didn’t speak broke bitch. He’s a person not a meme! Who do they think they are!? I had to send an email with everything I said during the meeting since they wouldn’t listen to me. Their previous manager has been no help. He just allows them to act like this and caters to their every need.”

“Sounds like you’re in crisis,” She snickered.

“Don’t worry! I’m on my way!” Woon cheered along with her

You glared towards them, “I am not in a crisis. But I am thankful that my lovely team begins today. You and Woon are going to help me get these kids into perfect idol behavior.”

Reaching your destination you looked over at the two behind you. “This will be chaos. Woon, your job is to defuse the situation as quickly as possible. Minhee, you are to document so I know I’m not crazy and these kids really are out of their mind.”

They both looked at you with confusion as you slowly began opening the door.

The chaos was gone. Silence was the only thing to greet you as each boy sat quietly looking down at their own phones.

Woon rolled his eyes, “Chaos huh?”

Your teeth ground together.

Just yesterday they were screaming and yelling at each other.

No one knew how to keep their hands to themselves.

And now they want to behave???

Is this their tactic?Make me think I’m losing my mind?

Make others think I’m losing my mind?

So I have to quit and move to Ireland and farm sheep for the rest of my life in silence!!!!

Your eyes closed as you took a slow deep breath. “Boys,” you greeted, plastering a smile on your face, “I want to introduce you to your new manager and the man who will be the head of your security.”

Hakyeon’s gaze slowly moved up from his phone and over to you. “We’re not interested. We don’t need a change of manager and the security team we currently have is fine.”

“Well,” Woon began, an evil glint in his eyes. “Your past security team has already been moved to another group. So either you take me. Or you just don’t have bodyguards. Which would you rather? Because either way I’m going to get paid. But I’d rather get paid for sitting at home and watching my Thai Lakorns”

Zero reaction from the boys.

“Okay, okay.” Woon shook his head up and down before pulling each boy into a standing position. “I’ll leave you all alone if you can prove you don’t need a bodyguard. Let’s play a little game I like called, ‘shove the pretty boys outside and see who gets eaten by fans first’.” He began poking and prodding the boys towards the door, making a train reaction of each getting pushed out of the room. “Lets go let’s go. My money is on you pretty boy, what’s your name? They call you Leo right? You’ll get eaten so fast. You look like you have zero survival skills.”

A slight tick formed in Taekwoon’s eye as he glared back at Woon. Displeased to be called out.

The descent down the hall quickly turned to chaos as it dawned on each boy what was happening.

Limbs flailed everywhere as each boy fought to return back to the room. “I’m not going outside! Unless someone is planning to buy me dinner.” Jaehwan cried, actively fighting to get away from Woon dominating presence.

“No one is buying you dinner until you can prove you don’t need me,” he answered. “If pretty little Leo doesn’t get eaten I’ll buy you whatever you want to eat. On your lovely publicists dime of course.” The last sentence was added quietly so only you could hear. He was rewarded with a snarl.

Like hell I’m buying any of them dinner.

I’m not rewarding their behavior.

They want to act like children.

Fine.

I’ll treat them like children.

No fun outings until they can be nice.

“Hey, what they heck! You can’t just shove us around.” Wonshik whined pushing back towards the rooms.

Woon had the gall to look shocked, again blocking their escape back to the room. “Oh, I can’t? Because it seems like I am.”

“Enough!” Hakyeon boomed. “This is stupid. We know the building is surrounded by fans. We know what will happened. You don’t need to prove a point like this.”

“If you know what’s going to happen, if you know you need a bodyguard, then maybe don’t be so freaking rude next time. Yeah?” Minhee stated, shaking her head at each boy. “You should be ashamed of yourselves. Being so rude to people that are happy to be helping you. What would your mothers say? Hmm? Miss (Y/L/N) left her position to help you improve your image and she says you’ve been nothing but difficult.” Each boy began to protest. “You can’t defend yourselves to me! I just watched all of you do it before you even knew my or your bodyguard’s name. You still don’t know and you haven’t even bothered to introduce yourselves. You should be ashamed!”

Wonshik, Taekwoon, and Hongbing all looked down, chastised. Hakyeon, Jaehwan, and Hyuk still held defiance in their forms.

“I'm sorry.” Taekwoon said quietly. “This transition hasn’t been easy for any of us. I’m Taekwoon. I apologize for my earlier behavior.”

Hakyeon’s eyes closed for a moment before he sighed. “It’s my responsibility to keep everyone in line. I’m sorry I haven’t made things easy. I’m Hakyeon, I’m the leader. And ashamed of our actions.”

Yeah right.

You’ve done nothing but make things hard.

And now suddenly you want to behave because someone bigger than you challenged you? I

’m on to you cutie.

I’ll figure out your plan.

Clicking your tongue you moved to stand between the boys and Minhee and Woon. “VIXX, Minhee will be your new manager. Woon is now in charge of security. These two will take over as the people to oversee everything. I will typically be in my office doing your scheduling and planning. If I’m needed, you can find me there. Is this okay?”

A pout formed on Hongbin’s lips. “But we like seeing you every day.”

Your face stayed stone. “You’ve seen me everyday for a week and this is the first time you’ve bothered to speak to me without creating an entire scene.”

Wonshik reached towards your hands, catching them in his own to swing childishly. “That’s because we love you,” he sing songed.

You nearly missed Taekwoon’s wince as he ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m going to leave you with Minhee and Woon, they are going to take you around to meet the rest of your team. This includes your new stylists and coordinators. I look forward to hearing what you think of them. If there is a problem,” You knew the next sentence would be a terrible thing to say, something that will easily be taken advantage of. “Do let me know. For now, Hakyeon, please follow me. I have a few things I would like to go over with you in my office.”

Each member looked towards Hakyeon for guidance before he gently nodded his head and moved towards you. Separating himself from the group as they walked in the opposite direction of your office.

“Just flirt with her.” Jaehwan says.

“Woo her,” Taekwoon says.

“Wink at her.” Hongbin says.

Yeah like it’s that easy to date someone!

Hakyeon’s teeth ground together as he followed you into your new office.

It’s nice in here.

Spacious.

How the hell did she get such a nice office?

How much are they paying her to be a pain in my ass?

“Mr. Cha, can we call a truce?” You asked, a perfect smile making its way across your lips. “I’m not trying to tear apart your world. I apologize if that’s how it seems. So please, work with me to fix your image, and we can all go back to how things were. Once Mr. Hwang is happy with the progress of VIXX’s image I will be leaving your company and returning to work with Ji Chang Wook. Until then, can we make this a little less antagonistic?”

Hakyeon took a step towards you, and smirked when you took a step back. He continued this little game until your form was trapped back against your desk, him directly in front of you little air separating the two of you.

“I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement. Miss (Y/L/N). I would hate to make things so hard on you.” He whispered, reaching forward to brush a section of hair behind your ear.

What is this?

A bad 90’s teen romance?

Am I really doing this right now?Is she really dumb enough to fall for it?

Your back went rigid, body becoming hot and very interested in how close he was too you. You could feel the pink coming to your cheeks, unused to someone showing this close of attention to you. Your hands moved up to push his chest away from your own.

“I hope we can stay strictly professional.” You said, plastering another fake smile across your lips. “That’s all I wished to talk about with you. If you’ll excuse me. I have some scheduling to work out for you boys.”

“I’ll talk with you soon. I know where your office is now, so maybe I’ll drop in every now and then.” He said with a wink before turning and leaving the room.

She’s easy.

This will be easy.

Just a little attention and she’ll be all mine.

50 notes · View notes

kee-writestrashh · 5 years

Text

To Marry a Bastard

Ramsay Bolton x reader

ao3

summary: Before there were the Bastard’s Bitches, the Black Sheep, the Wicked Ones, and the Red King’s to worry about there was only the Bastard’s Boys. Before there was a bun in the oven there was a possessive, obsessive love. There was raw emotion. There was a rowdy group of men who frequented a small, hole in wall, bar…. There was something evil behind that smirk. But there was also something needing and wanting behind those cold blue eyes.

**prequel to Guns for Hire

Chap 1

Chapter 2: Jealousy Suits You Like a Tailored Cut

Damon was talking, but Ramsay wasn't listening as he watched her laugh and joke with men at the counter.

He was surprised at himself for feeling jealous at these men. He'd like to hear them all scream and beg and apologize for talking to her.

But that man was going to die. Ramsay had already decided it as he watched the man take (Y/n)'s hand and talk her into a dance. He felt the heat creep up his neck and the fire burn in his chest as he watched her twirl on the dance floor.

She was his. She just didn't know it yet. He would be the last thing to ever cross her path before she ended up a bruised and broken floating body in the river.

"Yo, I'm talking to you." Damon said, following Ramsay's gaze.

Ramsay shook his head slightly and turned to look at Damon, "Sup?"

"Dude, just go talk to her. Give her your number. Easy. How many times have you done this?" Damon chuckled, watching Ramsay closely.

He noticed the flush in Ramsay's cheeks at his words and put on a smug grin. About damn time. Fuck.

"Not today." Ramsay hummed, watching (Y/n) return behind the bar and pour herself a shot. He gave a sweeping glance around the bar and saw the dancing man pull a coat on to leave.

He stood abruptly.

"Where you going?" Damon asked, watching Ramsay dig in his pockets.

"I'll be back." Ramsay said, following the man out.

The man had disappeared into the mist, but Ramsay found his drunk ass easy enough.

He grabbed the man from behind and dragged him to the alley.

The man struggled and writhed under Ramsay's grip, but Ramsay's hold was too tight around the man's neck. He couldn't even pass noises as he gasped for air.

Ramsay released him, picked him up by the front of the shirt, and slammed his against the wall.

"That woman in there. You grabbed her ass when you were dancing with her." Ramsay growled.

"H-hey man. Look, if... if she's like your girl friend or something I'm sorry. I didn't know..." the man sputtered.

His fear annoyed Ramsay even more.

"You're damn right you're sorry, you fucking cunt." Ramsay hissed, digging in his pockets again for his knife.

But he realized he didn't have it. It was still on the coffee table, next to the bottle of antidepressant pills he had picked up this afternoon. He may have hated going to the psych, but she prescribed all kinds of drugs. Drugs with value that he could sell.

He cast around, seeing an empty bottle. Well, it was better than nothing.

He kneed the man in the stomach and released him, where he collapsed to the ground with a groan.

Ramsay grabbed up the beer bottle and busted it against the wall until he had a decently sized piece of glass he could use to stab deep enough to cause slow, excruciating pain.

He glanced around to make sure no one around could see or hear.

He smirked, kneeling down beside his newest victim. He placed his palm against the man's throat, pushing down until the man couldn't breath and began to struggle.

Ramsay struck hard, and furiously, feeling the anger burst. He made a few more hard thrusts with the glass into the man's side, pushing down harder and harder on his throat until he felt the man's life slide away.

Ramsay stood up straight, glancing down at the glass, trying to think what to do with it. He couldn't just throw it. He ran his eyes over the dead man, a triumphant glow blazing in his chest. The feeling of anger lifted. He felt light and.... well, he couldn't place the other feelings.

"Fuck it." He smiled, kneeling down, cutting a deep X across the man's neck, and using the man's shirt to wipe the glass clean, before he wrapped his hand in the bottom of his own shirt; feeling awkward at the angle he had to kneel to take the glass in his wrapped hand bury it the dead man's gut until there was nothing left of it.

He stood up, staring at the dead body, trying to decide what to do with it. He should have planned a little better. This wasn't usually like him.

But, fuck it, right?

He turned on his heel to go fund Damon and dispose of this stupid fuck. He slipped into the bar and spotted Damon, chatting it up with some whore.

×××(y/n)×××

"Hey, when you goin' home?"

"Dunno, Oly. I'm drowning in tips tonight. That guy I danced with, gave me fifty for a single dance. Maybe i should be a stripper." You said, pointing to your full, waist apron with a wide smile.

"Well, get out of here. Quit stealing my money." Oly quipped.

"Oh shut up. I've still got an hour." You said, glancing over the floor and seeing two guys in a corner near the exit bicker about something.

The shorter guy was talking animatedly with his hands, an arrogant smirk on his face.

"So, I heard you are quitting school?" Olyvar said, drying a glass and placing it under the counter.

"Yeah, maybe. I dunno. I'm pretty burnt out. And I can't really afford it anymore. Just too expensive and I don't like living paycheck to paycheck. Ya know? If I quit school and focus all my time and energy here I can make enough to live comfortably." You shrugged. "Going to finish this semester and then take the next off, and see how I feel after that."

"I understand. I'm happy with my little baby associate's. At least I got something, ya know? Did I tell you, my mom tried to get a hold of me?" Olyvar said, leaning against the counter, watching the nearby patrons.

"Uh, no guy. You did not." You said, turning to a man at the counter who asked for a dozen jello shots.

"Yeah. She was all like, Oly, you know your father and I love you, even if we don't agree with your life choices." Olyvar laughed, almost bitterly you noted.

You placed a tray on the table and reached for the tiny refrigerator under the counter, stooping down to grab up 12 jello shots. You placed them on the tray and took the cash, "And what did you say?"

"I said, 'well mom, is that what dad said'? And she just kinda gave me this sad look. And I was like, fuck it. If you guys can't accept me for who I am, then why bother coming around?" Olyvar said, pulling a towel from his shoulder to wipe spilled alcohol off the counter.

"I'm sorry, Oly. What are you working this week? I haven't looked at the schedule." You said, hoping to drive the subject away from parents before he asked you about yours.

It wasn't that you didn't love your parents. Complete opposite. You loved them. But it had been five years now since you had left home. You had only seen your parents a couple times in that time frame. But you just... you couldn't. You were out of that damn town, and you would never go back. It always felt like a stab in the heart when you thought about everything you had left behind. Your parents. Your best friends. Your little brother. All of the rumors that had sprung up after your hasty departure.

You sighed, glancing around the bar.

"I'm with you all week. So, how about that guy who asked you to dance?" Olyvar said, watching you closely.

"I dunno where he went. Musta left. He was nice though. Kinda cute. And he was a good dancer. He didn't step on my feet. Maybe I'll flirt it up with him if he comes back." You grinned.

"When's the last time you had sex?" Olyvar asked, mixing up shots for a group of people in front of him.

"I can't remember honestly. I don't have time. I'm either here, or doing homework." You shrugged, grabbing the empty lemon tray to cut up more.

"Oh whatever. You need to have a wild night of sex. You look miserable, and I'm tired of you looking so down." Olyvar said, rinsing out the empty tumbler.

"Yeah, well, I don't wanna let just anyone in my pants. I'm tired of being picked up by drunks. I'd like a serious, casual relationship." You said, taking a lemon and pouring a shot of tequila.

"Serious casual. Does that even make sense?" Olyvar laughed.

You slammed the empty glass down on the counter, making a face as you bit into the lemon, and shrugged.

"Maybe not. But that's what I want. So I will be lonely, until someone gets me on that level." You said, dropping the lemon in the trash.

"So, forever then." Olyvar chuckled, climbing up on the counter, "Hey guys! Who wants to take my lovely girl home tonight? She likes her hair pulled and hasn't had sex in weeks! She gets off in thirty!"

There were many hoots, jeers, and catcalls.

"OLY!" You said, pulling him down from the counter. "I'm not a whore! Don't advertise me as one!" You hissed, embarrassment flooding your cheeks, as you fumbled around in your apron for a cigarette.

"Hon, you need a dick to sit on. Find someone and come back looking happier tomorrow." Olyvar grinned at you.

You gave him a cold glare. "My hand works just fine, and doesn't smell like a bottle of Jim Beam."

"Doesn't smell like a bottle of Jim Beam. Gold right there." Olyvar grinned.

"Hey baby, wanna dance?" A man asked, with a wolfish grin and a wink.

You had to admit, he was pretty cute.

"I'm nobody's baby." You said, giving him a glacial stare.

"You could be mine." He pressed, leaning closer to you over the counter.

"Not interested." You replied in a cross tone.

"Oh come on. You're a pretty little thing." He said, reaching out to take your hand.

You pulled your hand back, balled your fist, but relaxed it and slapped him instead.

Olyvar grabbed you before you could climb over the counter.

"Alright. You're throwing in the towel there, Ali. Go home."

You pulled away from Olyvar and stormed to the back room, grabbing up your purse and keys.

You signed the clipboard to end your shift.

xxxRamsayxxx

With a grunt Ramsay and Damon pushed the dead body over the side of the bridge.

Neither said a word as they watched the body crash through the surface of the water.

"Well, I feel better. Let's go get stoned and eat cereal." Ramsay chuckled, walking back to Damon's car and sitting in the passengers seat.

"You are a crazy motherfucker. You know that?" Damon said, falling into his seat.

"You might have mentioned it to me a time or two." Ramsay chuckled, lighting a cigarette.

"Sooo..." Damon said, taking Ramsay's lighter to light his own cigarette.

"So what?" Ramsay hummed.

"(y/n). Whatcha think?" Damon said, watching Ramsay from the corner of his eye.

Ramsay cleared his throat. "Dunno. She doesn't look like a whore. Put the Boys on her tail. Make sure no one talks to her or touches her."

"Dude, you can't expect that. She can't just not talk to people because of some dude she doesn't even know exists." Damon said seriously.

"Do what I said, Damon. Or you will end up in the river with her." Ramsay said, taking a deep drag.

"You're going to kill her?" Damon asked with a deep frown.

"Possibly. Guess we will just have to see." Ramsay shrugged as if it were no more than talking about the weather.

Damon huffed, turning the radio up.

"What if she's as crazy as you are?" Damon asked, passing the joint to Ramsay.

Ramsay took a hit, holding it in as best he could, before giving into the coughing fit.

"There isn't anyone as crazy as me." He sighed, exhaling the smoke.

"There has to be. Everyone has that one person who challenges them. Ya know, in a good way." Damon said, running his tongue along his finger to stop the run in the joint.

"Well I doubt it would be her anyways." Ramsay said, standing from his seat. "I'm going to take a shower and go to bed. Have to go meet Dom in the morning at the bank."

"Right on man. Catch ya sometime tomorrow. I'm going to crash right here." Damon hummed, setting the joint in the ashtray.

"Just pick up your mess." Ramsay said with a dismissive wave.

"Yessir." Damon nodded, relaxing into the couch and finger the remote closer to him.

Ramsay fell into bed, punching the pillow into a more comfortable position and staring up at the ceiling. What if Damon had a point? Was there a woman out there who could keep up with him? Someone to challenge him and love him through his psychotic mentality?

Little did he know, across town there was a woman who was also laying in her bed, wondering if there was anyone out there that was worth the trouble. Someone who wouldn't bore her. Someone who could give her the world and play along with all her dark ideas and wants.

3 notes · View notes

hoyoungy · 6 years

Text

Tied | Seungcheol (2/2)

genre: angst, fluff | best friend!seungcheol x fem!reader summary: after a falling out due to the kiss, you and seungcheol don’t meet again until two years later. with you trying to date again, you were set up with his co-worker joshua, all thanks to seungcheol’s girlfriend. so what happens when you two go on a double date? word count: 6573 a/n: oh my god christ almighty i finished it good night except it’s 2pm... warnings include mentions of alcohol and cheating

part 1

The first week after you kissed Seungcheol, you avoided him at all cost. You might have texted him here and there, mostly about how your day was or to send each other weird memes you found, but other than that, you never met up with him in person. You were so ashamed about the kiss that you couldn’t face him just yet. To be honest, Seungcheol already saw that coming, so he reluctantly understood your uneasiness, and you knew he did, too, but there was something deep inside of you that hoped he would push that uneasiness and fight for your friendship.

The following weeks became a little easier. You gradually lengthened the texting conversations and even called him on the phone here and there. It felt like you were slowly, but finally getting your best friend back, bit by bit. Although talking to him was getting easier, seeing him in person was still something you couldn’t bring yourself to do. You had to lie about studying for midterms for about three weeks until you saw him face to face again.

So when you saw him for the first time in one month, you felt your heart beat out of your chest.

It was in the middle of a crosswalk at a busy intersection when it happened - quite cliche, if you said so yourself. There was a median that divided the opposite sides of the road and that’s where Seungcheol stopped you with his soulful and pleading eyes.

“It’s been a while, huh?” he teased. “You know, it’s really quiet at the apartment when you’re not nagging in my ear every other day.”

You knew Seungcheol was trying to pretend that he believed your lie about being so busy because of studying. You knew he was trying to pretend that the kiss never happened by trying to act like everything was normal. And you knew he was doing all of that because he knew that you couldn’t. He carried twice the burden because the second you saw him with his bright, toothy smile, you knew that things would never be the same between the two of you ever again.

At least not to you.

“Yeah, midterms are kicking my ass,” you laughed nervously, heart still beating uncharacteristically. You needed to get out of here, fast. “I have to go to the library now. But I’ll see you later?”

“Oh… Ok…”

As you began to walk past him, he grabs your hand and forced you to turn around.

“U-Uh, yeah?” you stuttered.

“Can we catch up after your exams? Dinner next week maybe?” he asked, although it sounded like you didn’t have a choice to decline.

“I don’t know, I have a lot of projects coming up and -”

“Please…?” He begged you with sincere sadness in his big, round eyes. They were always so full of emotion and today they longed for your company again. “I kind of miss you.”

And you missed him dearly, too.

“Ok,” you nodded. “I’ll text you.”

“No, call me.”

“If you insist,” you said, the smile he loved so much finally growing on your lips.

So you called him. And called, and called, and called, but he never answered. You know what he did instead? He texted you - the very thing he told you not to do. He texted you each time he rejected your call, saying to call back later or that he’d reschedule the dinner, but he never did. The first time he texted, you thought it was just bad timing, but the sixth time you figured he just wanted nothing to do with you.

You decided to stop trying. You knew that everything changed the second you stepped out of his car, but you couldn’t help but feel hopeful anyways, right? It was so naive of you... Idiotic, even. Seungcheol made you believe that your friendship wouldn’t change because of one fucking kiss, but of course it would! What friendship wouldn’t!?

Which was why you haven’t seen him for two years.

Two whole years have passed since you’ve not only not seen, but talked to your once-best friend. Two years spent trying to erase the last four years of your life down the drain by deleting all of your saved pictures and throwing away all of your treasured memories together. It took you so long to get over the thought that you were the one who ruined everything, but once you realized that this whole mess was a two-way street, you allowed yourself to forget those dark thoughts once and for all. Two years of heartache, confusion, and growth have made you into the woman you are today. In that seemingly-long time frame, you graduated with your bachelor’s, found your first big girl job that paid well, and you even adopted your first puppy!

And you know what? You were completely fine. You were fucking fantastic without him! Who needs a shitty best friend that ditches you after one accidental drunk kiss, anyways!? Not you, that’s for sure!

But you had to admit, those were the two loneliest years of your entire life.

Today was a warm, sunny afternoon when you were having one of your daily existential crisis thoughts and of course, today just had to be about Seungcheol. Now that your friendship with him was over, did this mean that you would actually truly be lonely forever? You’ve tried going on dates, tried the Tinder thing, and even just one night stands to let your sexual frustration out, but we all know that those things never last! What about that pact you made with him about getting married!? Oh, God, you really were going to be single for the rest of your life -

“_____?” A familiar voice called.

“Huh?”

You probably looked crazy wandering the streets with the dumbest look on your face while your head was in the clouds. When you came to your senses upon hearing your name, you saw your favorite couple standing right in front of you, hand-in-hand, looking like they were straight out of a young-adult coming-of-age drama.

You wanted to throw up.

“It is you! Wow, I thought I was just seeing things, but hah, I was right, Seungie! It’s been so long, _____ ~” Yunah cooed as she came up to hug you tightly.

You weren’t sure how to respond only because she was the second-to-last person on this planet you wanted to be hugging right now, so you ended up patting her back awkwardly, completely ignoring the equally-awkward man in front of you. He hadn’t moved from his spot since he laid eyes on you, still shocked to see you just aimlessly wandering the streets after two years. You tried to avoid looking at his forsaken expression by staring at the clouds.

After an uncomfortably long time of hugging in the middle of town, Yunah released you from her death grip and jumps back to her boyfriend’s side, kicking him forward.

“Hey,” was how Seungcheol breathlessly greeted you for the first time after two years. His face was pale as he looked at you, like he saw a ghost.

Not exactly an appropriate reaction, but did you expect any more?

“Hi.”

“I can’t believe it’s been that long since we’ve seen you.”

“Yeah, life’s crazy like that,” you said, trying to tone down your sarcasm, though you couldn’t help that it naturally slipped out when you looked at him. The longer you stood in front of him, you hated yourself more as every second that passed by. It became worse when Yunah wrapped her arms around his waist affectionately. The cringey scene in front of you helped you realize the twisting in your gut was your cue to leave. “Well, I gotta go -”

“Leaving so soon already?” Yunah pouted. “Don’t you have time to catch up with us?”

“Uh, no... Adulting is hard! Gotta get that paycheck, right? I’ll catch up with you guys later,” you lied.

“Wait, before you go! Are you seeing anyone right now?” Seungcheol nearly choked on his water when she asked you that, and you probably would have, too. The both of you looked at her with wide eyes, scared about where she was going with this. After all this time apart, you and Seungcheol still shared the same expressions.

“U-Uh, no…” you stated hesitantly. “Why…?”

“Seungie, wasn’t Joshua looking to date again? Wouldn’t it be cute if we set them up together!?”

“What!?” he exclaimed. “I-I mean, well, I don’t think -”

“So Seungie’s good friend at his job got out of a relationship a couple of months ago and he was devastated, it was so heartbreaking! But we saw him not too long ago and he mentioned that he might want to start dating again, and honestly, I think you two would be perfect! Don’t you think so?”

“Yunah, _____ just said she’s busy lately with her job. Maybe she doesn’t have time to date right now -”

“I’d love to meet him,” you interrupted. The couple turned their heads towards you surprised. Were you really ready to date? Your damaged heart said no. But there was no way in hell you were going to let Seungcheol dictate your dating life, let alone anything that involved you at all!

“Really!?” they asked you simultaneously.

“Why not? He sounds like a great guy. Besides, I’ve been looking to start dating. It’s been a lonely couple of years, after all,” you spat, causing Seungcheol to look away.

“That’s great! Wow, what perfect timing! How about we have a double date this weekend?” Yunah squealed.

“Sounds perfect. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“I’ll let him know tonight! Isn’t this exciting, Seungie!?”

“Yeah… Exciting…” he frowned.

“I can’t wait for you to meet him, _____. You’ll love him, I promise! We’ll get out of your hair for now ~ See you this weekend?”

“R-Right. This weekend, for dinner, yes.”

“Great!” Yunah hugged you one more time before dragging Seungcheol into some direction. He found it hard to look at you as he left with his girlfriend, not even entertaining you with a mere glance as he followed closely behind her.

You couldn’t wait to go on a date out of spite.

Oh, my God, you were going on a date out of spite.

Really, you were twenty-five years old now, five years away from your ideal age of marriage, and you were going on a date out of spite! With a man who could potentially be the one, you might add! You know, this was all Seungcheol’s fault. If he had just cleared the air and answered one of your fucking phone calls two years ago, maybe you wouldn’t be in this sad, pathetic mess of a date!

And you had to eat Yunah’s cooking while you were at it!? She was a terrible cook!

What did you agree to…?

As you stood outside of Seungcheol’s apartment, too afraid to knock, you thought that maybe you should just bail. This didn’t seem right at all - or fair, for that matter, especially to his coworker! But that would mean Seungcheol won, or something like that, and you were definitely not about to let that happen, so you begrudgingly knocked on his door.

“Just in time!” Yunah chimed when she opened the door for you, dressed a bit too excessively for such an inclusive date. Did she live here now that she was blessed with the duty of opening Seungcheol’s door? “Come in, Joshua’s already here.”

“Thanks.”

When you walked in, you saw your date talking to Seungcheol, and when he turned to smile at you, you thought your heart stopped beating. This man was probably the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen in your entire life! He was tall, incredibly handsome, and his smile was so kind, something you haven’t seen since Seungcheol left you. You really didn’t want to give Yunah any credit, but you had to admit, you were not disappointed.

Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad.

“Hi,” he greeted you, extending his hand. “Nice to finally meet you. Wow, you’re… a lot prettier than I imagined.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” you teased.

“Definitely. I’m usually too chicken to go on blind dates, but Yunah insisted. Needless to say, I’m glad I didn’t chicken out.”

“Me, too,” you smiled.

The four of you enjoyed a lovely candlelight dinner at Seungcheol’s new kitchen table, or at least you thought it was new. The feeling of it was different than you remembered. Yunah probably bought it for him, or something. A full three course meal was set in front of you all with a nice bottle of wine to match the meal. Yunah hastily grabbed Joshua so he could sit next to her, forcing you and Seungcheol to sit together. This made things incredibly awkward on your ends and you were afraid your nervousness would show before the appetizers started.

Was it too early to open the bottle of wine?

“This table’s, um, new…?” you questioned to heighten the awkwardness because that’s exactly what you needed right now.

“Actually, I got it a couple of months ago! Although, it has been a while since you’ve been here, hasn’t it?” Yunah said.

“Do you live here now?”

“No, but I’m slowly making my way in ~! I have a bunch of overnight stuff here already.”

“How do you three know each other exactly?” Joshua asked. You weren’t prepared for this question at least until the main course.

“Either of you want to explain?” Yunah urged. What was she, your mom now?

When you glanced at Seungcheol in hopes for him to answer, you weren’t surprised he did the same to you. You really wanted him to answer, that way you could get a sense of clarity of how he felt about you even just a little bit, but the truth might be too much for you to handle.

“We knew each other from college,” you answered quickly. “That’s all.”

“‘That’s all’? Ouch,” Seungcheol chuckled bitterly, causing you to roll your eyes. “We were really good friends -”

“Who haven’t seen each other in two years. But hey, what a way to catch up, right!?”

“Even finishing each other’s sentences? You two must be really close to be on the same wavelength like that,” Joshua mused.

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it,” you fake-grinned. “Where’s the wine opener?”

“I like the way you think,” Joshua teased.

“I thought you don’t drink?” Seungcheol asked.

“I don’t, but a glass or two once in a while doesn’t hurt.”

“Found it!” you cheered from the kitchen. Your skills in bottle-opening were scarily impressive. You rose your not-so-empty glass to Joshua only after you sat down. “Cheers to new beginnings?”

“To new beginnings,” Joshua cheered. “To new, exciting beginnings, with my pretty date.”

“Joshua, are you flirting with me ~?”

“Just a little.”

“See! I knew they would get along!” Yunah squealed.

“Yeah… good job,” Seungcheol muttered.

“No way, you were a church boy!?” you teased during dessert.

The rest of the night was mostly you and Joshua getting to know each other more and you and Seungcheol trying to avoid every question that involved the two of you. Joshua was a bit invasive about it at first, but you settled the questions once and for all when you lied and said you two were long time friends who just fell apart over the years.

But was it really the friendship that fell apart? Or was it just you? The one left in the dust.

“Yup. I was in the choir and everything ~” he giggled with you. Seemed like Joshua was quite the lightweight.

“Wow, so you must sing well, huh? Will you sing to me sometime?”

“I would love to. Maybe on our second date?” he asked hopefully. “With just the two of us?”

Wow, that was quick. You weren’t expecting to be asked out until after the golden three-day rule. But hey, this was a lot better - at least this way you know he’s just as interested in you than you are of him.

“Yeah, that’d be great!” You could feel Seungcheol’s shoulders tense up next to you.

“Really? Great!”

“Ok, it’s getting late,” he said, hearing enough of you and Joshua flirting for three hours. “I think it’s time to wrap things up.”

“Aw, we were just getting started,” Joshua whined. “Actually, do you mind if I crash here tonight? I don’t think I can drive,” he said, stumbling out of his chair.

“Oh, let’s get you to the couch,” you offered, wrapping your arms around his slim body. Even with your hands outside of his shirt, you could feel the toned outlines of his body. Yunah really picked a good one for you.

“What about you?” Seungcheol asked, acting like he cared. “Do you want to stay the night, too?”

“No.”

“Are you sure, it’s really no problem -”

“I’m sure. I have a few things to take care of,” you lied.

“Oh, ok…”

“I’ll prepare the couch for Joshua. Can you take _____ down?” Yunah asked.

“I still remember how to get to the lobby -”

“Nonsense, it’ll give you two some time to catch up!” She said as she tossed a comforter on top of a very sleepy Joshua.

You didn’t agree nor decline the offer because you were just too tired to do so. There was no use arguing with Yunah anyways, as she always gets her way regardless. You said your goodbye to the most fulfilling date you’ve had in a long time. Walking over to his lying form, you gently tucked the loose strands of hair on his face to reveal more of his sweet, smiling face. He turned to face you more and his smile only got bigger. He was so cute as a smiley drunk.

“Aren’t you cute?” you teased.

“Not as cute as you. I’m sorry I sort of ruined it at the end - my tolerance isn’t as high as yours.”

“If you ruined it, I wouldn’t have agreed to a second date, would I?”

“I suppose you wouldn’t have.”

“I had a wonderful time tonight. I’m glad I agreed to this blind date.”

“Me, too.”

You left a gentle kiss on his forehead and slipped your phone number into one of his trouser pockets as your last goodbye for the night. “Here’s my number. Call me, ok? Good night, Joshua.”

“I will. Good night, _____.”

You gave a quick hug to Yunah as a farewell and a thank you for setting you up before you headed out the door, barely giving Seungcheol any time to follow closely behind you. The walk to the elevator was a silent one, and the wait was torturous as he stood closely beside you. You weren’t sure why, but you felt the hallway walls enclose around you at an increasing rate the longer you two waited for the elevator and it made you sweat. Was it getting hot in here?

Of course, Seungcheol had to live on the seventeenth floor of the highrise, which doesn’t sound as high up as you’d think, but it was still higher up than the single-digit apartment floors, which meant more time spent together. The two of you stood on opposite sides of the elevator, avoiding each other’s eye contact, waiting for the other person to say something. But there was no way you were going to cave in first.

“Can I ask you something?” He asked you with urgency, though he already moved forward with the subject before you could decline. “Were you just faking it the whole night?”

“Faking what?”

“You know, actually being interested in Joshua? Because if you were, you’d be a pretty shitty person.”

“Ok, first of all, you are the last person who should be calling out how shitty of a person I am,” Seungcheol looked down shamefully at your retort. “And second, why would I be faking it?”

“I don’t know, to get my attention?”

“As usual, the world has to revolve around Choi Seungcheol!” you scoffed.

“That’s not what I meant. Besides, he’s not even your type.”

“What would you know about my type? In fact, please enlighten me on what my type is!”

“I know because you’re a very picky person. That much about you hasn’t changed.”

“And how do you know that? Two years is a long time for me to grow up and change my preferences.”

“Fine, so say you weren’t faking it and are actually interested in Joshua. Are you seriously going to go out on a second date with him because you want to?”

“Why does it matter, Seungcheol!?”

“Because…! He’s a good person. He doesn’t deserve to be taken out on a date out of spite.”

“Unbelievable,” you scoffed again. “You care more about your coworker than you do about your friends.”

“_____-”

“No, don’t talk to me -!”

You were interrupted when the elevator stopped suddenly on the sixth floor, causing the both of you to fall. After a couple of seconds of recollecting yourselves, you both realized that the elevator wasn’t going to move anytime soon.

You were stuck in an elevator with Seungcheol for God knows how long.

“Are you kidding me!?” you cursed before pressing the emergency call button. “Hello!?”

“Hello, what is your emergency?” the receiver asked.

“The elevator’s stuck!”

“Ok, hold still. We’ll be with you in just a moment.”

“‘Hold still’, well where the fuck are we supposed to go!?” you muttered bitterly after they hung up. You were so fired up from your argument that you failed to notice Seungcheol’s little smirk he used to get every time you were angry and swore at someone.

After thirty minutes of waiting in silence and counting all of the stars in the sky, they told you it would take a couple of hours until you were free. It was already one in the morning.

“Hey, _____ and I got stuck in the elevator, so don’t wait up for me. Yeah, we’re ok. I’ll call if anything happens. Ok, I love you, too,” Seungcheol told Yunah over the phone. You gagged at the last sentence to mask the feeling of your heart caving in.

“Great,” you sighed in defeat. “Oh, my God, I bet my puppy pooped everywhere…!”

“A puppy? You have a puppy now?”

“What do you mean ‘now’, I’ve had a puppy for over a year - wait, nevermind,” you paused, realizing that of course he couldn’t have known about your puppy.

“Do you have any pictures?”

“... Yeah…” You really didn’t want to show your baby off to someone who cared more about his coworkers than you, but she was just too cute! You were like a proud mom. So you scooted yourself closer to Seungcheol and swiped through the hundreds of pictures you had of her.

“She’s so cute,” he said, grinning at each picture. You tried to focus on the pictures rather than how handsome his face had gotten, but your eyes liked to betray you and wandered frequently.

“You take her to that park we always used to go to?” he asked, pointing to a particular picture.

“Yeah, she likes to pee by the big fountain.”

“The one with the benches where we would sit and people-watch?”

“For like, three hours at a time with $20 worth of street food? The very same.”

“I haven’t been to that fountain in so long…”

“If I don’t walk her by there everyday, she throws a hissy fit.”

It was ironic that sentences like these really put into perspective where you both were at with your lives and with each other. Seungcheol hadn’t been to the fountain since the last time you were with him and you pass by it everyday. It was like how he so easily moved on without you, experiencing new and exciting things with different people, while you were left to live through the past with nearly no one beside you.

All because of one kiss.

“I’ve missed you,” Seungcheol admitted after half an hour of silence.

When you turned to look at him, he had the soft and tired smile on his face he always had when he was feeling nostalgic. You weren’t sure if what he said was genuine or if he said it for the sake of your emotional stability, but either way, you didn’t want to hear it.

Your heart couldn’t take it.

“You don’t have to lie,” you said, turning away.

“_____…”

“Things are different now, Seungcheol. You can’t just say things like that like it’s going to fix everything.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t! You used to always do this, you know!?” you cried out. “Before all of this, whenever I was mad at you, you’d always say some sweet bullshit that would make me forget why I was mad at you in the first place, and I won’t let you do it this time.”

“I’m not trying to! It’s just… It’s been two years since I’ve seen you, and I’ve missed you.”

“It didn’t seem like it when I saw you for the first time a couple of days ago.”

“I was just very shocked.”

“Even so, you shouldn’t be missing me in the first place.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s not how it works with best friends! You should be missing me when I go on vacation for a couple of weeks, or when you see something that reminded you of me, or even as simple as when you’re feeling lonely because you haven’t seen me in a couple of days, not for two fucking years, Seungcheol! You can’t say that you miss me when you’re the one who cut me off! That’s just not fair!”

He watched you with kind and apologetic eyes as you ranted on about how unfair he was. It was very late and he knew you were very tired by the way you talked. You always sounded so whiny and your eyes would tear up when it was this late. He knew he was wrong - when he pushed you away, when he said said he missed you, and even all the way back to when he kissed you - he was in the wrong no matter what angle you both looked at it, but that didn’t make him miss you any less with each passing day.

“I called you so many times because you were the one who told me to call, but you never answered. Why couldn’t you just call me back?” you finally asked.

It was another long moment of silence before he collected all of his thoughts and explained to you. “When I saw you for the first time after a month in the middle of the street, all I wanted to do was run up to you, wrap my arms around your waist, and twirl you in the air as I hugged you. And then I’d gently put you back on the ground and I’d kiss you again. I didn’t think about the cars around us, or the people around us, or even Yunah. I fell for you, _____...”

You swallowed the lump in your throat. “You what...?”

“If I’m being honest, I’m surprised that I held myself back the way that I did. After I asked you to catch up over dinner, I realized that I wasn’t being fair - to you, myself, and especially to Yunah. How could I be having these feelings about you, my best friend, when I have Yunah?”

“Seungcheol, it was just one kiss -”

“No, it wasn’t, and you know it!” he told you sternly. At this point, you felt the tears fall, but you figured they did a while ago. Seungcheol’s face was just as stern as his voice, letting you know that his words weren’t just sugar-coated. “The look on your face when I saw you in the street… You were thinking the same thing I was. You know it wasn’t just a kiss, and I know that you know.” Then he chuckled softly. “I know everything about you.”

“How long have you had those feelings?”

“I think I always have. All four years,” he admitted. “What about you?”

“Hello? Are you two still ok?” the intercom interrupted.

“Yeah,” Seungcheol answered, not taking his eyes off of you.

“Maintenance came early. We’re taking you to the first floor.”

“Thank you.”

Seungcheol was the first to rise to his feet, leaving you shocked and frozen to stone on the floor. You didn’t hesitate to take his hand when he offered it to help you up. His hand was warm and soft with a touch that sent shivers down your spine.

And then it was all over. All the bickering, the nostalgia, the warmth of your heart - like all good things, it came to an end. You arrived at the lobby and Seungcheol led you to the door, still holding your hand.

“Do you want me to drive you home?” he whispered.

Yes. “No, I’ll be ok.”

“You sure?”

No. “Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks for tonight. Take care of Joshua for me, ok?”

“_____ -”

“I’ll see you soon.”

And so you left, with Seungcheol staring at you until you disappeared, leaving him feeling guilty and with words left unsaid. You spent the entire walk home crying with a smile on your face.

You spent the entire week with your head in the clouds daydreaming about Seungcheol. It was so bad that it was interfering with your work! You daydreamed about the way his hand felt wrapped around yours, about the way he bit his lip every time he smiled, and about his confession to you in the elevator.

The word ‘confession’ just sounded so wrong… but what would you even call that moment that night!? And what would you call whatever this feeling was!? Sure, you’ve been talking to Joshua the whole week, but he didn’t spark your heart the way your once best friend did.

You haven’t talked to him at all since that night. You tried texting him, but the words you wrote couldn’t convey your feelings properly. Instead, you needed to see him.

So that’s how you ended up standing outside his door at nine in the morning on a Saturday.

You haven’t slept since last night and maybe you were just being a bit hysterical or maybe it was the sleep deprivation that guided you here, but there was no turning back now. You needed to tell Seungcheol how you felt.

You loved him. You always had - as a friend, as a best friend, and something more, and you needed to let him know.

You knocked on his door at the same pace as your heart and a shirtless Seungcheol opened the door. Damn, he looked good...

“_____?”

“Hey,” you finally breathed out. “Is this a bad time…?”

“Uh… No, it’s fine, I can talk for a couple of minutes.”

“That’s the thing, I think it’s going to take a lot more than couple of minutes -”

“Seungie? Who’s at the door?”

Yunah came out of Seungcheol’s room wearing the t-shirt he clearly wasn’t wearing and nothing else but her panties. You peaked inside of his apartment to see her clothes, shoes, and bra spread out across the living room and made a trail to his bedroom, indicating a wild night for the both of them.

Your heart dropped, your face dropped, you might as well have fell through all seventeen floors. You felt so fucking stupid. Here you were in front of his apartment ready to spill your heart out, completely forgetting that his was already taken.

“Is that you, _____? Whoops, let me put some clothes on -”

“No need, I’ll just leave.”

“Didn’t you need to tell me something?” Seungcheol asked.

“I forgot... I’ll call you when I remember,” you muttered. “Sorry I interrupted your fun.”

“_____, wait -”

“I’ll see you later.”

“_____!”

You sprinted to the elevator and didn’t look back. This was what you deserved for falling in love with your best friend. Your emotions were all mixed in the pit of your stomach. You felt angry that you believed his confession, foolish for thinking that he still felt that way after two years, and hurt that you were yet again left behind in the dust.

But there were no tears this time. You were all cried out.

An entire week was spent trying to wash away the naked images of Seungcheol and Yunah by taking one hour showers. An entire month was spent using Joshua as a distraction to cloud your thoughts. It was invigorating playing the same game he was playing. At first, you felt like a shitty person for using him like a drug to forget your past, but as you laid next to each other, naked and staring at the ceiling, he merely shrugged after you told him that you couldn’t see anything advancing emotionally between the two of you.

“Yeah, I kind of knew that already.”

“What, how?”

“The first time you call me was a month after our date? I’m not stupid,” he chuckled, nudging you playfully.

“That’s true… I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess.”

“Don’t be, I’m more than happy to oblige ~ Besides, I don’t think we would have worked out, anyways.”

“A bit quick to judge, don’t you think?”

“It was kind of easy to gauge it, actually.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“One person - Seungcheol.”

You didn’t say anything as Joshua continued to keep you company.

“You know, I knew about you before our double date.”

“That’s not weird at all,” you snorted.

“Do you know why?”

“Lots of social media stalking?”

“Seungcheol talked about you at work so often that I felt like I knew you for four years, too.”

“Why so often? We weren’t even talking when he started working with you.”

“I don’t think you understand how much he cares about you.”

No, you clearly don’t by the way he confessed to you one evening and goes back to fuck his girlfriend the next. The only thing you understood about Seungcheol was that he was like every other boy and you wanted nothing to do with him.

“What happened between the two of you, anyways?”

“We sort of kissed…”

“Yikes…”

“Like, two years ago, though!”

“But it ruined everything, huh?”

“Naturally.”

“Do you love him?”

You didn’t answer, though you didn’t need to.

“I’m going to head out for tonight. You need some sleep. Call me later?” Joshua said as he changed back into his clothes.

“You can stay over if you want.”

“I’ll be fine, thanks though. But promise me something?”

“Hm?”

“You need to tell him.”

“Joshua -”

“I’m not taking no for an answer,” he winked. He placed a soft kiss on your forehead, just like how you did to him the first night. “Good night, _____. Don’t forget to call me when you need me ~”

You ended up sleeping for two hours that night thinking about your favorite person in the world. No matter how you looked at the situation, whether you told Seungcheol about your feelings or not, you’d be fucked either way. But Joshua was right, as much as you hated to admit it. Once you told him, you would be set free.

Your sleep would have been longer if someone didn’t aggressively ring your doorbell at seven in the morning. This felt like deja vu, especially when you opened the door to reveal an equally-exhausted Seungcheol. His hair was messy, eye bags as purple as yours, and if he didn’t look so lonely, you’d think he just woke up from another session with Yunah.

“What were you going to tell me when you showed up at my door?” he demanded as soon as you opened the door.

“Hello to you, too,” you mumbled.

“_____, please.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because I need to know.”

“Why, so you can cut me off again, but for good?” you sighed. “Seungcheol, I know you’re not stupid.”

“What does that mean?”

“You know why I showed up at your door. You know what I was going to tell you, and I didn’t need to wait to get my answer. God, you made me feel so fucking stupid, you know!”

“_____ -”

“You tell me you love me in the elevator that fateful night but then you go and sleep with your girlfriend like you don’t have a conscience! And you know what, you were right - this is not fucking fair to neither me nor Yunah! She’s an amazing girl, Cheolie, you need to be with her, cuddled up in bed, not here in front of my door making us look both pathetic.”

When you made eye contact with him after your heartfelt rant, you saw him trying to hide his grin.

“Why are you smiling!?”

“You called me Cheolie.”

“Seungcheol -”

“_____, I love you.”

You only shook your head, not wanting to believe your ears. “You can’t say that!”

“Yunah already knows.”

“She what!?” You realized that Seungcheol was still standing outside of your apartment when passers-by began to watch the two of you bicker. You pulled him in roughly and slammed the door. “Seungcheol, what did you do!?”

“We broke up.”

“Why!? More importantly, how!?”

“A couple of days after the elevator incident, I came home to her one night and she told me she loves me, and do you know what I said? I said, ‘I love you, too, _____’,” he smiled sheepishly. “And you want to know something crazier? She said she’s always known - longer than we have.”

“Oh, my God, you did not say that…” you groaned, covering your face with your hands. “How can you just throw away two and a half years like that!?”

“Two and a half years doesn’t compare to the lifetime I get with you, right?” he teased, tugging your hands away from your face and wrapping them around his waist.

“Lifetime? Why a lifetime?”

“‘Cuz we’re getting married in five years, remember? How could you forget your proposal to me?”

“I didn’t think you’d remember.”

“Of course I remember,” he said, squeezing you tighter. “I miss hugging you like this.”

“Me, too,” you muttered into his chest. “Where do we go from here…?”

“How about we move in together?”

“What the hell, Seungcheol, aren’t you jumping the gun a bit too fast!?”

“You asked me to marry you in college so I think I’m going a lot slower than you are.”

“You just got out of a relationship, you don’t want to take it just a bit more slowly…?” you asked, because truth be told, you thought it was just his vulnerability doing the talking.

“I love you, _____,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against yours. “I’m afraid to be away from you any longer. Let’s just do it.”

In any other normal situation or normal relationship, you would have said no immediately. But you and Seungcheol weren’t normal, were you? Your heart beated for him so loudly that you knew he heard it, too, and that’s where the two of you stood with each other. So you nodded your head.

“Ok. I’ll move in with you.”

“I knew you would say yes ~” he chimed.

“Of course you did,” you smiled for the first time in forever. “I love you, Seungcheol.”

“I love you, too.”

#svtwriters #sfwseventeen #hhunit-net #s.coups #seungcheol #seventeen #svt #seventeen seungcheol #svt seungcheol #seventeen s.coups #svt s.coups #omg bye finally

173 notes · View notes