#and maybe when he is done doing business. he can have a little snack

[ceilingfan5]

the pudgy colored pencil brush and i will have a summer wedding

[id: a chalky digital drawing of a bear in a blue suit. his tie is purple, he is wearing glasses held on his head with a little chain, and he is waving.]

#animals in clothes #cute art #ceilingfanart #im really goin for it guys im tryina learn some stuff #bears #bear art #original art #i dont know what else to tag this. i just hope you like him. i worked hard on him and i am sending him into the world to do business #and maybe when he is done doing business. he can have a little snack

[genshin-obsessed]

Him as a husband | Honkai Star Rail

✩ ‒ It's been a while since I've wrriten anything for star rail, so I decided to make these cute lil hcs. I'm not branching out to the newest pretty boy yet, I don't know anything about him. I avoided saying Valentine’s Day cuz they're not on earth or whatever.

✩ ‒ I'm also trying to butter y'all up a little for something else I'm planning lmao

✩ ‒ Characters: Caelus, Dan Heng, Jing Yuan, Blade, Luocha

✩ ‒ Caelus

He's not vocal about being married per se, but people usually know he's married. Other than the ring, he's very unresponsive to flirting. If anyone attempts to flirt with him, he'll just act like he doesn't get it. It makes things awkward and people often leave after.

He's very attentive to you. If you're having a bad day, he'll know pretty much immediately and will do anything and everything to get your mind off of it if you don't want to talk about it.

He loves to celebrate holidays for couples. They're super special days because every day with him is special, but he does go out of his way a little bit to surprise you with something. Could even be food, as long as you're surprised and smiling.

Cuddles are a must. You better hope your rooms are cold at night because he cuddles up to you every single time. He'll either lay his head on your chest or hug you against him, so sometimes it feels really hot in the morning.

Caelus prefers outdoor activities as dates, but isn't opposed to staying in. Movies, snacks, just being with one another isn't so bad. But going to a new planet and fighting baddies is also pretty enticing. More on that, Caelus has near heart attacks when you get hurt- like he saw you get hurt badly once and almost cried. Ok, no, he cried a little.

Children are up to you. He doesn't have much of a preference.

✩ ‒ Dan Heng

"Are you two married? You don't act like it." This has and always will confuse Dan Heng. What the hell does it mean? Is he supposed to be all over you or something? He has class. Though... he will hold your hand more often. Maybe the ring he'll get you for your anniversary might have a ginormous gem so it blinds everyone or something.

He's also pretty attentive to your needs and emotions. The second he thinks you're upset or hurt, he's at your side. He may or may not be a little clingy but he's so terrified of losing you. It's actually changed him for the better a little. He's less quiet, more expressive, and a lot more open to communication. That could also be due to his recent transformation...

He's not overly fond of those "couple days" because he's usually loving all year around. Why have a dedicated day? He has a hard time seeing the point in days like those.

Dates for Dan Heng are usually stay at home. He likes the more intimate activities at home- cuddling, watching movies, making out- yanno. Intimate.

Dan Heng likes kisses. Cheek kisses, neck kisses, shoulder kisses, hand kisses- don't matter. He loves them all. Usually done behind closed doors, Dan Heng never forgets to kiss you. Like, ever. He will also make up for lost kisses.

Um... he prefers no children, but it's something you can talk about later on.

✩ ‒ Jing Yuan

You have your hands full with this one. Everyone and their courier birds will know he's married to you. This man just can't stop talking about you. Like, he'll be receiving a report about something or other and just somehow manages to drop your name in the conversation. It's cute and all, but Jing Yuan, focus!

Sadly, he's a busy man. He comes home to you every single day, don't worry, but he does need to be away for most of the day. He's not the biggest fan of it and has suggested maybe trying to find a position for you to keep you close by. Other than being down right addicted to you, he worries because he's got enemies.

Jing Yuan DOES take time for those fancy couple days but they're not overly different from the usual dates. He used to make it all fancy, with giant bouquets of flowers and expensive jewelry, until he realized he was showering you with love on a specific day and not every day like he should. So, he's toned it down a little, but every now and then, he'll get you something fancy.

There isn't much time for dates. They usually include visiting him during his breaks and enjoying some tea together. Maybe spending time with Mimi or something. But on his days off, he tries really hard to set up something for you.

He kinda likes to hold you. There's nothing wrong with it, its just constant. Like, you're so cute and he just wants to hug you all the time. He does try to control himself in public to avoid making you uncomfortable.

Children? Why? Isn't Yanqing enough?

✩ ‒ Blade

Some people still have a hard time understanding that you actually married him. In your opinion, they're small minded and don't actually know Blade. Blade, himself, doesn't actually care what anyone else thinks. Though, they should mind their manners around you.

Blade can be attentive, but doesn't always know how to help. He's got his own problems, so he usually tries to use them as a reference point. When he feels depressed or lost, what would he do? He tries to help you that way. It doesn't always work, but it does help him learn more and more.

He'll forget any special "couple" days are coming up. Kafka or Silver Wolf mention it and he's always confused about them. He will try to get you something just so you don't feel left out. "Oh my husband didn't get me anything because he doesn't care about today". Never.

Blade likes cuddles, but they hurt. He's got a lot of wounds on his body so he can't hold you the way he likes. Not to mention, the mara, his personal discomfort, lack of understanding. You assure him that it's ok, but he still feels guilty often. You deserve the world, but he can barely give you himself. He does try to hold your hand a lot. You both share the same bed and he sleep extremely close.

There's not many outdoor dates with him other than going on missions which aren't dates. Usually, you two train together and just spend time with one another. Blade is willing to attend an event with you... but he's attached to you. He doesn't know anyone there.

No children. He'd be a terrible dad, sorry.

✩ ‒ Luocha

Now aren't you two an interesting couple? Luocha has a way with words. He'll let potential flirters know he's married way before they can even start flirting with him. He won't even give them the time of day, especially if they're disrespectful toward you.

Of course he's attentive. He's great at recognizing your emotions and understanding what may or may not make it worse. For example, if he attends an event, he'll know what type of people might be too forward for you. Or may know when someone is beginning to make you upset.

Not a fan of those "couple days". He literally rolls his eyes at them, like why would he hold himself back to let it all out on that day? He's all over you, every day. BUT! He does get you a flower or a small box of chocolates... or something else in the bedroom. Idk.

Luocha likes to schedule dates per week so that you can clear up time for them. Just because you have a day off doesn’t mean it needs to be a date night. Maybe you want that day to yourself, who knows? He likes to find a day or two within the week dedicated to actually going out to a restaurant, a picnic, maybe fighting some baddies- who knows. Whatever works for both of y’all.

Luocha likes being close to you, whatever that means to you. He can hold you, hold your hand, just sit close by. Generally, he finds peace around you, so it doesn't matter what you two are doing as long as he can be close to you.

Uhh kids? Are you sure?

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #hsr caelus #hsr dan heng #hsr jing yuan #hsr blade #hsr luocha #dan heng x reader #caelus x reader #jing yuan x reader #blade x reader #luocha x reader #honkai star rail x gender neutral reader #🖊─ pocky’s writings

[becomingmina]

How would SKZ ask Y/N to be their girlfriend on Valentine’s Day 💘 fluff & tiniest suggestive w/ SKZ OT8. 18+ only mdni.

Bang Chan/Chris:

Chan would be so so straight-forward but so so nervous.

Chan would be busy on Valentine’s Day and was only be able to meet you at night. He would be extremely apologetic but it wasn’t an issue to you because you were just happy he wanted to spend some time with you, regardless of the time.

He would pick you up around 9pm.

“I got you something,” he said nonchalantly as he handed you a single red rose when you entered his car. You would place kiss on his cheeks to thank him, and he would immediately tense up, even though you have done that numerously times in the past.

After dinner at your favourite restaurant, he would ask to go on a walk and you agreed, following him hand on hand down the walk path by the park.

Once you reach the half way point before turning back, he pulls you towards him, holding both your hands. You can feel how shaken up he is.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” He asked and you instantly nod yes making Chan let out a nervous chuckle before bombing you with many kisses.

Lee Minho/Lee Know:

Minho would try not to be romantic but is.

Minho would invite you over to his but blame it on his cats. “Do you want to come over? Soonie, Doongie and Dori has been asking for you?”

Minho would cook your favourite food and when you ask if you can help, he’ll say “no” but he would love it when you don’t listen and help him anyways. His heart would beat uncontrollably fast when your hand accidentally brushes against his when you reach for something. And when you ask him to help you cut the steak, he would hover over you, his chest flushed against your back as his hand is on top of yours guiding the knife down the piece of meat.

Once you guys are done eating, you both would sit on the couch and play with his cats. And when you weren’t playing attention, Minho would carefully place a cat treat on your thigh so his cats can jump on you and he would say, “See, I told you they like you so much. You know.. maybe you should be their mom?”

His ears would go red when you call him out for it but you say yes anyways, because who wouldn’t want to be Doongie’s dad’s girlfriend?

Seo Changbin:

Binnie would be so flirty and cheeky with it.

He would come over for a study date. It would be like any other study date you guys had, he’d help you with your music essay and in return you help him with study English.

“Can you read it for me Y/N? I need to hear it and then I’ll know,” Binnie would pout as if he was confused giving you his notebook. He points to a sentence and you read it.

“Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“Yes I want to be your boyfriend.” He answered quickly with his smirk. You were confused for a bit but finally catch on, playfully hitting him across the chest as you cringe at him. The playful fight would soon turn in to something steamy.

“I can’t believe you asked me to be your boyfriend,” Binnie would tease you as he helps you put back on your shirt.

Would order a lot of your favourite food and make you take a break from studying to watch a movie with him. Definitely a rom-com.

Hwang Hyunjin:

Hyunjin would be even more romantic than he already is.

He would set up a picnic somewhere pretty like the beach. He would bring all your favourite snacks and drinks and some of his painting equipment so you both can paint a little too. Hyunjin would have his digital camera with him so he can snap countless photos of you.

After painting across from each other for a while, he would chuckle at his painting then ask you what you think about it.

When you crawl over to look at the painting you notice the he painted two people who had similar features to you and him. That’s when you ask him, “Is that us?”

And he would shyly answer “Yes, that’s me and my girlfriend Y/N,” before pulling you onto his lap.

Would make out for a hot second before coming to sense that you guys were not alone at this beach.

Han Jisung:

Jisung would be so fun with it and go all out.

He would come over to yours during lunch time just to ‘hang out’. When he texted you he was outside you ran quickly to open the door. You were met with Jisung with a box of chocolates and some roses in his hand.

Your eyes flicker to his adorable puffy face then to the presents, that’s when you read the little note on the box:

‘Excuse me noona, do you have a boyfriend?’

It would read and you would giggle at him.

“So do you?” He asks sweetly and you pull him inside.

“Mhm, I have a boyfriend. His name is Han Jisung,” you playfully reply him.

Ji would pull you into his lap as he feeds you the chocolate covered strawberries.

“The strawberries taste so sweet, just like you noona.”

Lee Yongbok/Felix:

Felix would be so sweet with a hint of playfulness.

He would ask you to come over to help bake some Valentines sweets together. He would get out all his heart shaped cookie cutters and pink utensils just to make it more special.

When he pulls you into the kitchen he would pretend the was no apron so he’ll can give you a shirt to change into.

“Change into this, I don’t want your pretty shirt getting dirty.”

When you come out from his bedroom after changing you notice he is in the exact same shirt.

“Hey, we are matching! Like boyfriend and girlfriend!” he would happily say and pull you into a kiss.

You guys would spend hours trying to bake, because he would definitely lose focus and cling onto you. When you guys finally put the brownies and cookies in the oven, Felix would lift you onto the counter and slot himself in your legs, showering you with kisses as you guys wait for the timer to go off.

Would spend another couple hours trying decorate the dessert because you both be too busy playing and licking the cream off each-other.

Kim Seungmin:

Seungmin would be so cool and casual with it.

He would messaged you a week before Valentines day to meet him at a small coffee place in the quieter area of the city. You would show up first on the day and message him where he was. It would be a couple of minutes after sitting down that the owner brings you a tray of two coffees and some waffles.

“I didn’t order this,” you say trying to reject the food.

“Your boyfriend did,” he says you become more confused. “Seungmin.. He is running a little bit late, he will be here soon,” the owner gives you a smile before walking off.

“Boyfriend?” You chuckle to yourself, unable to stop grinning at the title.

You gave in to the smell of the coffee and grabbed the coffee to taste it.

“Hi sweetie, how’s your coffee? From your boyfriend?” Seungmin would come from behind you place a kiss to your cheek before sitting down across from you.

The rest of the day, you would follow and cling onto your puppy boyfriend like a lost puppy.

Yang Jeongin/I.N:

Jeongin would be super shy, super shy.

He would ask his team members what was the best way to ask you to be his girlfriend and after many different options everyone agree on one. It would be best if he wrote and sent you a letter on Valentine’s Day.

You would receive the letter and immediately open up to read. You smile to yourself at his cute handwriting and all the effort he put in to write such a perfect letter address to you.

‘So I’m asking, if you want to make it official and be my girlfriend?’

“Hey, umm. I got your letter by the way. And I got an answer for you.. if you want to come over,” you say nervously over the phone.

“Yes, I would love to be your girlfriend,” you answered sweetly as you and Jeongin were sat at your dining table unable to control your silly smiles.

“And you can stay over tonight.. if you want,” you ask your flustered boyfriend.

The rest of the day was spend at your house , tangled with each other in your bed, as Netflix plays as back ground noise.

{Notes: Happy early Valentine’s Day. I hope everyone knows they are loved! Also not proof read, like ever!}

#becomingmina #skz #stray kids #bang chan #chan #Lee Minho #lee know #seo changbin #Changbin #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin #hang jisung #Han #Lee Yongbok #felix #Kim seungmin #seungmin #Yang Jeongin #i.n #skz reaction #stray kids fic #stray kids fluff #stray kids suggestive #skz suggestive #skz fluff

[yxami]

Yandere jock with a super sweet, nerd/geek darling? Like, after they become friends, invited Yandere jock to movie nights with them? Just binge watching their latest obsessed show or movie series with them? I feel like spending hours alone with their darling isn’t something he’s going to pass up.

Yandere jock would daydream in all of his classes after you asked him to come over for a movie night. He’d accidentally ignore his friends questions and sit there dazed with the thought of being in your house.

He’d run over to your last class to pick you up, even asking his teacher if he could leave 5 minutes early so when he made it over to your classroom, he would already be there when the bell rang.

“Ethan! You’re already here?” You looked surprised to see his big frame right in the hallway that was filled with people.

“Yup! Let’s go now. I’m so excited to see the movie” He grabbed your hand and started guiding you through the crowd. “What if I sleep over even after the movie?”

“You wanna stay even after?” You looked up at him now that the two of you were in the students parking lot. He knew where his car was so you were just following him.

“Yeah! So then we could have a sleepover y’know? If not then it’s fine, I’m not gonna die or anything” He was going to die if you rejected him. He’d wanted to spend more time with you, he was being greedy but he really liked you.

He liked you enough to watch over you during lunch while his jockey friends got excited about uninteresting things like cheerleaders or some girl they’re talking to. He was originally the same, breaking girls hearts when they didn’t interest him but now he was obsessed you.

Maybe a little too obsessed if he was befriending you, making sure you got home safe everyday, buying you things when you slightly hinted at liking something, and doing anything that would please you. A little stalking here and there too but nobody had to know that part!

“Sure, It’s the weekend so you can stick around for a little while longer” You opened his car door, hopping in like a regular passenger. He couldn’t hold his happiness and had a big dumb smile on his face.

It must’ve been the speeding that got the two of you home so quick or the sheer excitement that was held behind the wheel, either way the two of you made it to your house quickly and you were already setting up the snacks.

He was busy getting the couch comfy and you were taking out popcorn from the microwave, dumping it into a huge bowl. He made sure to steal the comfiest pillows off your bed as you requested. After he was done he helped pour two glasses of juice and brought them to the couch.

You sat down, placing the huge bowl of popcorn on the table while you got comfortable. It was a little chilly so it was the perfect temperature to unintentionally snuggle against Ethan. If it weren’t for the movie playing he’d truly believe you could hear his heart beating out of his chest.

While you were rambling about the movie he could feel your arm wrap around his, you were so close to him he didn’t believe he could handle it anymore. Until you distracted him by pointing out a theory. He probably would’ve died by the sheer embarrassment if you didn’t.

“So that’s why people think she actually did it and not her” You pointed towards the characters that you were mentioning. He luckily listened to the theory while he was panicking.

“But what’s about him, don’t you think he could’ve killed her too?” He didn’t point at the screen but instead look at you expecting your response.

“Hmm, I don’t think he did it because he was at that party cheating on the other girl” You shivered feeling the cold air when you moved. He noticed and brought you closer, basically in his lap. Your cheeks reddened but you continued on.

Ethan just nodded and listened to your every word, even asking some questions wondering about the movie. It ended swiftly with all the talking that went back and worth. He was glad that he asked to stay over because time with you was precious to him.

“I don’t have a sleeping bag or anything so is the couch alright? I’ll leave you with all the pillows we brought and the blanket” You started cleaning up the table while you spoke, finding it easier to do it now than tomorrow.

“Yeah! I’m good don’t worry” He dutifully grabbed the empty glasses and placed them in the sink.

“Alright, if you need anything just knock” You thought the whole hangout was fun, you wished it went on a little while longer but maybe he would stay tomorrow morning for breakfast!

“Thanks for everything” He smiled, relishing in the fact that you were so sweet to him even with how the two of you met. “It’s no problem! I had lots of fun today” You looked up at him with a pleasant smile.

“No I mean like.. thanks for forgiving me and stuff. I wasn’t nice to you at all and you still wanted to be friends so I wanted to say thank you” He sighed finally getting it off his chest, he had been meaning to thank you for awhile now but never got the chance to bring it up.

“It just matters that you’re nice now and.. your friendship means a lot to me so I’m glad you turned out to be a good guy” You hugged him, feeling his arms wrap around you after a few moments.

“Fuck I love you” Ethan mumbled, greedily bathing in your warmth that you so kindly offered to him. He loves you so much and yet he can still feel himself falling more in love with you. He’d take his whole heart out and offer it to you on a silver platter if you asked.

“Hm? What’d you say?” You looked up at him after the two of you stopped the long embrace, his expression was soft but then hastily turned into a panicked one.

“Wha- nothing! I was just saying thanks! Anyways I’m sleepy, I’m gonna go to bed now!” He pat your head and jumped right into the comfort of the couch. You found it funny how fast he tucked himself but didn’t question it. You went to bed after that and had a lengthy dream about him, the same way he dreamed about you.

#yandere #yandere x you #yandere x y/n #male yandere #pls request #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #gn reader #soft yandere #yandere soft #soft yan #yandere fluff #yandere with fluff #yan fluff #yandere oc #nerd reader #geek reader #gender neutral reader #yandere jock #ethanmyoc

[eunoiaflow3r]

silent treatment - ron weasley x reader

requests open

taglist

warning(s): language, teasing, smut mentions

word count: 1.5k

request(ed): Can you please do a fic where ron gets really sad because hermione dared the reader to ignore ron for a whole day ?

summary: okay so pretty much the request except a little more scandalous 👀 characters are like 17+ (no war)

—————————————————————

Girls night meant pajamas and tonssss of snacks that Fred and George curated. This was a bimonthly tradition that you and the girls came up with to relieve stress and keep some spontaneity in your lives.

You, Hermione, Luna, and Ginny all sat on the ground criss-crossed apple sauce gossiping and chewing on taffy. Then, Ginny suggested truth or dare. You were actually a fan of this game, as you were pretty much up to do anything and you were also inherently honest.

You went a few rounds, confessed a few kisses until Hermione had a dare for you that had her giggling into her hands. “I dare you,” she giggles some more, “to ignore Ronald for an entire day - no exceptions.” You weren’t sure how to react, but you weren’t going to back down either.

“Okay.” you smiled. You could do this. Wouldn’t be that hard, all you have to is avoid him tomorrow and it would be alright.

However, you and Ron have been dating for a few months now and you knew he wasn’t the type to take this lightly. His feelings would definitely be hurt and you hate the thought of hurting him.

The next day you saw Ron at breakfast and usually you would sit next to him, but to make it easier on yourself you sat in between Harry and Hermione with Ron on the other side of Harry. He had said good morning but you pretended you didn’t hear him by stuffing your face and talking to Hermione. Harry didn’t notice a thing but Hermione knew what you were doing.

After breakfast Ron came up to you and put his arm across your shoulders. He kissed your cheek and asked how you slept the night before. It killed you not to hug him back or say anything but you just stared at the ground.

“Y/N, are you alright?”

Still, you stared at the ground and clutched your books tighter to your chest. His voice made you swoon and you wanted to talk to him but you saw Hermione from the corner of your eye grinning and shaking her head.

You walked on and in to class without even looking at Ron again. Luckily, you wouldn’t see him again until Herbology which wasn’t until later in the day.

———

“She wouldn’t even look at me Harry I don’t know what I’ve done.”

Harry was busy mixing his potion while Ron ranted to him about your behavior this morning. He remembered talking to you at breakfast but he didn’t notice that you were specifically not speaking to Ron.

“She’s probably just tired mate you probably didn’t do anything. Maybe she needs space?”

“Space!?” he almost shouted but looked around the room and lowered his voice. “She had plenty of space this morning when she was chatting Hermione’s ear off.”

For the next 10 minutes Harry listened to Ron go over all the reasons (however ridiculous) that you might not be talking to him. Then it hit him…

“Ron, where was Y/N last night?”

“Uhm, with the girls. Their little sleepovers ya’know that they insist on doing.”

“Right….so….what if her behavior is related to that? Like a dare or something?”

Ron thought about it and it made sense. But what was he supposed to do about it? A dare is a dare…unless he made it impossible for you to fulfill it…

———

The day had gone by pretty smoothly - you ate lunch outside and now it was your last class. Except it was Herbology and Ron would be there. You used Luna mostly to avoid him but you could feel his stare across the way. You were outside today and distracted yourself with planting some flowers that the Professor had asked you to.

Sooner or later Ron came over - no gloves in hand or any indication that he came to help.

“Hey babe.” he says.

You kept digging and avoided eye contact.

“I missed you last night,” he begins. He had a teasing tone and you wondered where he was going with this.. “I was in bed, alone, thinking of that time we went to the lake? Do you remember?”

Oh you remembered.

It was night time, a few months ago during the summer and Ron wanted to sneak out and go skinny dipping. You were hesitant at first but Ron was convincing. Once you got in the water it wasn’t actually that bad and pretty warm…Ron had grabbed you by the waist and began kissing you and you forgot why you were so worried in the first place.

You snapped back to reality and tried to hide your warmed cheeks.

“One of our best times, don’t you think? Could barely keep you quiet that night…”

You stood up and turned so that your back was completely facing him. There was no way you could face him and not speak now.

His hand found your hip and rested his chin on your shoulder.

“I was all alone thinking about you…missing you…wanting to feel you…and now you won’t even talk to me. Not a look, or a gesture…wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

You could feel him smile against your skin and kissed your cheek before walking away back towards the school, leaving you alone with your now dirty thoughts. He was making this so hard for you. You wanted to talk to him, wanted to explain..but you couldn’t. You wouldn’t lose the game.

———

A few hours later you decided the library would be the best place for you to be. Ron was hardly ever there and you could do some homework while killing the hours until when you could talk to Ron again. You got through a few assignments until you heard whispers a few rows away.

——-

“I tried talking to her but I must’ve really fudged up this time Harry.”

Ron had convinced Harry to come to the library with him so he could mess with you. He and Harry curated a fake conversation so that you would feel bad about your dare and hopefully cave in. Ron’s only regret was that he couldn’t see your face in this moment.

“Try talking to her again, I’m sure what you did couldn’t have been that bad.”

“What if she never speaks to me again Harry? What will I do?”

———

Your heart hurt. You hated hearing Ron sounding so upset. Was this prank really worth it if your boyfriend ends up pained because of it? When you agreed to it it really didn’t seem that bad or dramatic…but now that you’re hours into it you don’t know if you can continue.

Whatever. It’ll be fine, you just have to finish your homework…

10 minutes later you see your boyfriend come over and sit next to you.

“Baby, what’re you doing?”

You continue to do your homework and not look at him. He scoots his chair closer to yours and puts his hand on your thigh and slowly moves it up. Hermione said you couldn’t speak to him…she didn’t say you had to stop him from speaking to you…

He moves your hair away from your neck and kisses you behind your ear and moves down your neck til he gets to your collarbone. You resist the urge to moan and say anything to him. You wanted to talk to your boyfriend and you wanted to tell him he did nothing wrong…and now he was leaving a hickey on your neck.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Hermione walk into the library and you gently pushed Ron off and covered your neck so she wouldn’t think you guys were talking. She came over and grinned at the way Ron was pouting right now.

“How’s it going you two? Anything new?”

“New as in my girlfriend won’t speak to me?” Ron asks. “Yeah that’s pretty new.”

“Hermione do you have an extra quill?” You ask.

“Of course I do.”

Luna and Harry make their way over as Hermione hands you the quill.

“Oh is the dare over then?” Luna asks.

Your eyes widened. Luna must’ve assumed since the three of you were together that we must have talked it out….

“Luna!” Hermione whisper shouts.

“Oops….”

You look at Ron and you could feel your face heat up. What would his reaction be? Would he be mad? Sad? Disappointed?

He didn’t say anything. All he did was look at Harry and the both of them started laughing. This made you look at Hermione confused.

“What’s so funny?” you ask.

“We knew it was a dare, love. How stupid do you think we are?” Ron laughs hugging you close. “I’ll admit it stung at first but then I put the pieces together.”

“After I helped.” Harry rolled his eyes.

You turn to whisper in Ron’s ear. “So all that teasing today?”

“On purpose.” He grinned. “What you thought I wouldn’t get you back? You know who my brothers are…”

————————————————————————————

The End!! Lollll. Hope you enjoyed🤍

#harry potter x reader #ron weasley x reader #ron wealsey x y/n #ron weasley #ron weasley fluff #ron weasley smut #weasley #harry potter #draco malfoy x reader #fred wealsey x reader

[universal-imagines]

Hi! I wanted to request a headcanon with Akashi, Murasakibara and Aomine (and another character if you want) about them having a female s/o who is not their original type? (Aka: elegant girls with dignity, Mura: tall girls, Ao: big breasts) Their s/o isn't really elegant lol, or has an average height etc. But they love and treasure her. They reasure their s/o, when she finds out their original type and she's insecure about it

❥ ﹝ insecurities ﹞

i. akashi seijuro

it'd been a couple of months since you'd started dating akashi, but you had yet to make it public

not that he or you were actively hiding it, the occasion just hadn't presented itself, but as time continued to pass by you began to wonder if he was ashamed of you

you'd been friends for a while and people knew the both of you were close, even when everyone else was terrified of him you were always there and he treated you like an equal so you didn't think people would be surprised if you ended up together

however, you didn't fit his type, the type everyone assumed he would eventually end up with, someone sophisticated and well-mannered, someone who oozed elegance and power...

you were just you, maybe a little loud and outspoken or maybe a little clumsy

but your insecurities were immediately dealt with when he took you by the hand and walked down the hall

it was a particularly busy day, you don't quite remember why because your mind was too preoccupied with his hand in yours, but it was probably due to festival preparations

"why did you do that?" you asked when you finally found your voice

"because i could tell something was troubling and i hadn't done anything wrong, so i figure it had to do with our relationship status"

you smiled, of course he could read you like a book

ii. murasakibara atsushi

to be honest you had expected a little more than "you're the perfect size" when you voiced your concerns about your height difference

before you guys started dating you had asked him about his type and he said he wanted someone tall so he didn't have to worry about bending down and stuff, so it had been weighing on you this whole time

you wanted some kind of reassurance that he didn't absolutely hate it, but he just shrugged and continued to eat his snacks

"well can you tell me how exactly i'm the perfect height?"

after taking a bite of a chip he titled his head, studying you for a few seconds

"when i'm tired i can rest my chin on your head and it fits perfectly, doesn't matter if i'm sitting or standing and when we're sitting down you fit perfectly against me. i can practically swallow you up with a hug and i think it's nice"

he ate a few more chips before smiling

"oh and i like the way my sweaters look on you"

iii. aomine daiki

you found the magazines he used to get bribed with by his teammates and felt your stomach drop

in all honesty, you weren't snooping or anything your foot just accidentally knocked into something under his bed and you pulled it out to make sure it wasn't damaged, you actually wished you hadn't stumbled upon his hidden stash of magazines

"what do you have there?" was his nonchalant reaction when he walked into the room

he could tell you were uncomfortable with what you'd found but he thought it was nothing more than shame or disgust that he'd keep something like that

it wasn't until a couple of days later when you brought the subject up that he realized why exactly you looked upset

"are you disappointed that i don't have a big chest like those girls... in the magazines?" you were trying to sound as casual as possible, but your body language told a whole different story

"what?" he frowned, but only got a shrug from you

"i'll admit that's the first thing i see in a girl. i'm a tits guy through and through but that's not all i care about. besides, yours are just the right size. if you had big tits i'd have to watch out for other guys..." he stopped, thinking about how that might have sounded "but that doesn't mean that's the only reason i'm dating you either. without you i wouldn't be able to function. i used to rely on momoi for everything, but now you're the person i look for, so get those stupid thoughts out of your head"

#aomine daiki x reader #murasakibara x reader #akashi seijuro x reader #akashi x reader #akashi seijuro imagine #aomine x reader #aomine imagine #murasakibara imagine #knb imagine #knb x reader #kuroko no basket x reader #kuroko no basket imagines #kuroko no basket #akashi seijuro #aomine daiki #murasakibara atsushi #*headcanons #*scripto

[14buddy22]

hi! Can I request an angsty/hurt/comfort fic with Hotch where he gets amnesia after an encounter with an unsub and the reader is a doctor at the hospital but Hotch obviously forgets her and their life together for a while. And Hotch being Hotch is reserved again and won’t let her help only the team so reader pulls back and can’t really help with the remembering process and is heartbroken but then he eventually remembers bc the little things eventually come back to him and then he finally remembers:)

Before Aaron saw the unsub cut a wire, his life flashed before his eyes. Short 1-second clips played in his head starting from when he was a child to meeting Haley, marrying her, having Jack, her passing away, moments with his team, raising Jack, meeting you, marrying you, having twins with you.

Everything flashed before his eyes and in that moment, Aaron Hotchner was scared. He knew you and his three kids were waiting for him to return, but now, now a bomb was going off in a building that he was trying to get an unsub to walk away from and let the bomb squad take care of it.

You were a doctor at the local hospital. You finally were coming off a long stretch and decided to take the day off to spend with the kids. You knew Aaron was busy but that didn't stop you from planning out a day to spend with your kiddos. Taking them to their favorite breakfast place, letting them play at the park and then bringing them back home to let them pick a movie and have a movie afternoon before the twins had to go down for a nap.

You were excited to have Aaron home tonight. The kids have missed him and you deeply missed him. Both of you working strange hours, his even weirder hours than yours, it was harder to see your husband and have family days.

The sound of your phone ringing took you out of your thoughts. Picking up your phone, you saw JJ's name come across as the caller ID.

"What's going on, JJ?"

You got up and walked into the bedroom. Not wanting Jack to overhear you on the phone with his aunt.

"Aaron was in an accident. He's going to the hospital now. A bomb went off. He was knocked unconscious. Do you want to come to the hospital to be here when he wakes up."

"Yes. Yes. I'll be there shortly. Oh my god."

You hung up, quickly telling Jack to grab snacks for him and the twins and to meet you in the car. You woke your twins up and brought them into the car.

"Daddy got hurt at work. He's sleeping right now, but we want to be there when he wakes up, okay?"

You looked in the rearview mirror of your 3 kids. You saw the fear in Jack's eyes. He was 13. He knew that it wasn't good. You didn't know the extent of Aaron's injuries, you wouldn't know until you got to the hospital, but you couldn't scare Jack just yet. Your twins were only 3, they didn't really understand.

You saw Aaron's team in the waiting room. Your twins excited to see their aunts and uncles, you just wish it was under better circumstances.

"What room is he in?"

"We haven't heard If he's done from getting his CT scan."

"Oh. Okay."

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours before your coworker came out to get you.

"Y/n, would you like to see him? Maybe just you first, I know he'd love to see his kids."

You knew hospital protocol. It was always better start with less guests first before bombarding them with a bunch of guests. You didn't want to overwhelm Aaron."

"I know, can you take me to see my husband please?"

As you walked in the hospital hallways, it felt different. You have walked these hallways more than a thousand times. You've ran in these hallways. But the feeling of having a loved one in the hospital was a feeling you didn't want to experience.

Walking into the room, you saw Aaron laying in that hospital bed.

Your face immediately lit up seeing Aaron awake and talking to the nurse. You heard him say something about having a son and you were just surprised he didn't say anything about you walking into the room. You weren't going to say anything though.

"Hey Aar."

Then you saw him look at you. You saw this look on patient's who had amnesia. You didn't need to hear the words out of Aaron's mouth to know that he didn't recognize you. And that hurt.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?"

Tread lightly, that's all you kept telling yourself. He went through a traumatic event. But you wanted to cry. Did he not remember, at minimum, the past 5 years of his life. He was talking about Jack, you know that he knows Jack exists. What were you going to tell Tommy and Sophia?

"Um, we have met before. I'm Y/n. I know you were in an accident. You work for the FBI. Um, do you remember anything?"

"Y/n. I like that name."

That's what he told you when he interviewed you for the first time at the hospital. Well, not really interviewed you, but questioned you asking about a patient.

"I know."

"I have a son, his name is Jack."

"Aaron. I know this is hard to even think about but you and I. We met about 5 years ago, we got married, and, and we have 3 year old twins. Jack, he's 13. He's a crazy teenager, but we love him."

Aaron looked at you and you could see the tears form in his eyes.

"I want to believe you, Y/n. But, but I can't. I don't, I don't remember. I'm sorry."

You couldn't break down in front of Aaron. But deep down, you were falling apart. This hurt. He didn't remember a life with you in it.

"Well, Jack would probably love to see you. Let me go get him."

You walked back out and the team all came around you.

"Um, he doesn't remember who I am. He doesn't know who the twins are. He doesn't remember his life with me in it. He remember's Jack and probably you guys. He doesn't remember the twins. I can't bring the twins to see him."

Rossi looked at you and moved to hug you. You always loved a Rossi hug. They were the closest thing to your father's hugs and you lost your father around 2 and a Half years ago.

"What am I gonna do, Rossi? He's my rock. He's my best friend. He's the father to my children. He doesn't remember anything with me in his life."

Rossi wiped your tears, realizing your children were running towards you.

"Where's daddy?"

Kneeling down you were met with the curious eyes of your twins. Jack standing behind them.

"Papa Rossi is going to take Jack to see Daddy, but we want to let daddy have some rest. Aunt JJ is going to take you guys home, okay."

Holding your twins in your arms, you explained to them that their Dad needed to rest but Jack knew something was wrong. You looked up at Jack and saw all the questions running through his mind. Your twins just knew that Dad needed to rest and that they could see them later. They also knew that if Aunt JJ took them home (sure enough to see Aunt Penny) they were getting ice cream.

"Love you mama. Give Daddy our pictures."

They handed you pieces of paper that they colored and it was of your little family. You wanted to cry but knew you couldn't. You didn't know when Aaron would break this amnesia spell but you also couldn't rush it on him. It hurt you knowing you couldn't give your husband a hug and kiss right now. It hurt knowing your twins couldn't see their father.

The Aaron you knew would've wanted to see you and his three kids right away, and you were right too. He wanted to see Jack right away. So that's when you needed to step up and be strong for everyone. Be strong for Jack who was sure to have questions.

When you walked into the hospital room with Jack, you didn't miss the way Aaron looked at Jack, not realizing who he was then quickly recovering when Jack said, "Hey Dad!"

Jack said, "I want mom to stay here with us, that's okay, right dad?"

"Yeah. Of course it's okay."

Jack pulled up a chair next to Aaron's bedside and you saw the way Aaron was trying to piece together bits and pieces of the information Jack was telling him. Aaron doesn't remember the last 5 years of his life.

You know how scary it had to be for Aaron. He's talking to his teenage son who he doesn't remember being a teenager. He had to sit in a room with his wife that he didn't remember.

After leaving the hospital that night, Jack had a lot of questions. You had to sit at the dinner table with him answering everything you could. You were a doctor and Jack knew that. He knew that you knew what was really going on with his dad.

You didn't want to tell him that his father hadn't remembered the last 5 years of his life, but you had to because you didn't want to lie. You might have to rebuild this life with Aaron and hope that he falls back in love with you.

The Aaron with amnesia was a single father to Jack, the old Aaron, the Aaron that you had 24 hours ago was a husband and a father to three children.

The next week was hard on everyone. Aaron came home from the hospital and he decided it was best to live with one of his team members, especially since he didn't remember you and your twins.

That was hard on you. Aaron was shutting you out when all you wanted to do was help him. You can't blame him, but you're heart broken. Jack moved out of the house temporarily to move into Dave's with his Dad.

That was a talk Dave had with Jack. You couldn't be there for it because you didn't want to lose Jack and now your twins were missing their big brother.

Dave decided that since all Aaron remembers was raising Jack and by this, the team's hoping that he'll start remembering everything with this help, but not rushing him into his home with his wife and all the kids, especially when he didn't remember them.

Another week had gone by and it was the first week that you were home alone with the twins. You could take care of them, that wasn't the problem, but it messed up everyone's routine not having Aaron and Jack there.

Every night, Aaron would read the twins a book while they got ready for bed.

Sophia spoke up one night that made you break down in the room by yourself.

"Mommy, Can Daddy call us to read us our story?"

Tommy brought the book and your phone to you and you had to come up with a distraction to get them into bed.

That was a rough night, when your twins had noticed that Aaron had cut off communication with them. Aaron always read them a story, whether he was physically here with them, or he called them.

When your phone started ringing, you were concerned when it was Jack calling you. He had only texted up until this point.

"Jackers, what's going on?"

Your twins were trying to push you out of the way and said, "Jack! Jack!"

"Hey Sophia, Hey Tommy. I know it's your bed time, can I read you your book?"

They started clapping and you smiled at the phone. You were so proud of your son. You know he was struggling not being around his siblings. He loved his little siblings so much. We'll see what happens when he's a teenager but for now, he loved them.

Jack started reading the book and in the background, you saw Aaron slowly stop whatever he was doing. You felt like you were watching the pieces of the past 5 years of his life start to connect.

Your heart nearly stopped for a moment when he looked over at Jack and the phone. You thought he was going to walk over but then he continued whatever it was he was doing before hand.

When Jack finished the book, the twins had already fallen asleep. You told Jack you loved him and that you'd talk to him tomorrow to let him finish up his homework and relax before he had to get to bed.

When you said goodbye to your son, kissed Tommy and Sophia goodnight, you went to your room and cried. You wanted your husband back. You were upset he shut you out during his recovery. You wanted nothing more than to be there for him, but he didn't want you there. It hurt. It hurt really bad.

You grabbed a tub of ice cream and turned on a movie. You didn't care what you watched, you just wanted something to distract you from your life.

When you heard a "mom" come from right outside your room, you didn't recognize your twins' voices, that was a voice you hadn't heard in person in 2 weeks.

"Jackers"

Jack rushed into your room and jumped onto your bed, just like when he was a little kid. He hugged you so tight and told him how much he missed you.

"Jack, how did you - What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at Uncle Dave's house."

"I brought him home."

You looked towards your doorway and Aaron was standing there. You got up from bed and Aaron said, "When Jack was reading that book, everything clicked for me. That was the book I was supposed to read to Tommy and Sophia every night before they go to bed. Everything caught up to me all at once. I remember the bomb going off two weeks ago. I remember being thrown against the wall and hitting my head. I remember just praying to whoever would listen that I would be okay so I could get home to you and our three kids."

You immediately wrapped your arms around Aaron and broke down crying. You missed him, but you finally had your husband back.

"I'm sorry I pushed you away. I'm sorry that I wasn't more careful at work. I knew I had to get home to you and the kids and I saw everything flash before my eyes. I thought I was going to die right there."

You couldn't hear it anymore so you finally kissed him to shut him up. It was a long-awaited kiss. One with love and passion and apologies filled with it.

"Your twins really miss you. Let's go wake them up."

As you watched Aaron wake up Tommy and Sophia, they immediately yelled "daddy" and jumped into his arms. Aaron needed that reunion, the twins needed that reunion, Jack needed that reunion, and you needed that reunion. Your family was back together again. Once the twins were read their bedtime story by Aaron, they quickly fell asleep again, you two said goodnight to Jack and then you and your husband were off to your bedroom to spend the rest of the night in his arms.

#aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner angst #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x female reader #jack hotchner

[scoutswritingcorner]

Their Favorite Distraction

Overlord!HuskerDust x Male Reader

Headcanons

TW:KINDA SPICY- SO 18+ PLEASE AND THANK YOU

A/N: Listen I saw Overlord Husk and Overlord Angeldust and thought why not put them together???? Listen, I am a simple man..who simps way too much.

Let me set the scene real quickly, maybe you were a sinner or demon down on your luck and wanted to try your hand at gambling or you simply walked in at the wrong time. But once you got your hand into the gambling ring that’s when Husk had set his sight on you, whilst you were soaring with money lining your pockets. Going table to table, lady luck surprisingly on your side as you had started to get hopeful and maybe you’d be able to pay off your necessities for a few weeks with this type of cash. But you didn’t notice how both Husk and Angel Dust were watching, in hindsight you should’ve just stopped there and left with the prize but god the adrenaline felt so good and what could another game hurt?

A lot apparently, now you were sitting at Husk’s table, Angel Dust standing behind him watching you with a devious little smirk. You should’ve taken your winnings and left. But then..you wouldn’t have ended up with two very overprotective Overlord Boyfriends who adore you so.

-🎰 Like I said- both are very overprotective of you! But in a good way, not in the gross toxic way.

-🕷️ Oh they love to spoil your ass all the time, you look at something on your phone for too long or when your out and about with them? Expect it on your bed or at your door in a couple hours.

-🎰 Sit on their laps while they work? Yes please. Try sitting anywhere else they get pouty and grumpy, your seat is on their lap. 

-🕷️ Want a new suit? Done, lean more feminine cause clothes have no gender? Also done. They praise you all the time.

-🎰 Most people think that these men are your sugar daddies, which in some way and how they spend money on you all the time..they wouldn’t be wrong. But no they are your very powerful and loving boyfriends.

-🕷️ They both own a lot of souls and know that they do but they don’t own your soul. They’d tear each other apart if they found that out and Satan forbid if another Overlord tried to get their disgusting hands on you and tried to own your soul..that Overlord is triple dead.

-🕷️ Husk? Loves when you and Angel blow on his dice before anything, you both are his good luck charms. You decide to play a game? Angel is beside you the whole time making sure no one cheats or gets too rowdy around you, someone pulls a gun? Husk is already on them, fangs and claws out. While Angel keeps you close. You get to decide the fool's fate.

-🎰 In Private? These two are the most cuddliest people ever. Laying on the couch watching your favorite show? Now you have two overlords cuddling you. Or maybe you're making a snack alone, not anymore, Husk is hugging you from behind and grumbling about something.

-🕷️ Oh boy the kisses? There is an endless supply of them anywhere you are. In Husk’s casino with him? Give him a goodluck kiss. With Angel in his office as he looks over papers? Sit in his lap and kiss his cheek, the stress immediately evaporates.

-🎰 Add little accessories that represent them? Maybe have spades embroidered on your suit jacket or have custom made jewelry that looks like a spider? Oh boy, their hands won’t leave you alone. Constantly touching your suit jacket or jewelry as they do their business. 

-🕷️ Date nights are so fun with these two, they take you to clubs or very expensive restaurants or maybe you want to stay home or go out to the closest bar? Whatever you want, babycakes. 

-🎰 If you get a little too drunk? They’ll pull you into their lap and kiss at your reddened face whilst they take your drink away. They don’t need you feeling like shit in the mornin’ especially if your busy the next day.

NSFW GET OUT OF HERE MINORS

-🕷️ Both dominate men, so good luck. Especially if you’ve teased them too much.

-🎰 Husk? Is shameless and will take you anywhere he can get you. In his casino? In his office or in the closest bathroom. He’ll have you bent over and screaming his name for everyone in his Casino to hear. To know who you belong too.

-🕷️ Angel Dust? He’s more of the one to fuck you somewhere private. Not because he doesn’t want to show how good he pleases you but that’s his sight to see and he wants to ruin you (in a good way). He’s also the kinkiest out of the two still.

-🎰When they both get together? Oh you’re done for my good man. They won’t let you go until the morning and your passed out from being fucked all night long. 

-🕷️ Aftercare Kings, doesn’t matter what kind of aftercare you want to them. Just want to lay down and cuddle? One of them is holding you close while the other is getting water and some snacks. Want a nice bath? They got a big tub for a reason, Handsome~

-🎰 When you eventually can’t walk or get out of bed? Both men are smug as hell as you glare at them. 

#hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel imagine #angel dust imagine #angel dust x you #angel dust x male reader #angel dust x reader #hazbin angel dust #husker x you #husker x reader #husker hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel husk #huskerdust #huskerdust x male reader #overlord husk #overlord angel dust #overlord huskerdust x male reader

[callsign-dexter]

I'm Fine

Request: hey love I just saw your angst starter sentences list and I don’t know if you are still doing it so if you aren’t just ignore me lol I have a few so you can pick and choose(or if you don’t like any of them you don’t have to do them no pressure)

maybe with Tim Bradford and daughter you could use

-you’ve been crying, i can tell.

Starter- You've been crying, I can tell.

Pairings: Tim Bradford x Daughter!Reader

Warnings: angst, cussing, assault to a minor, hospitals, inaccurate medical talk, abusive coach

Masterlist

miscellaneous angst starters

A/N: Thank you to the person who sent this in! The same request from the same requester that had three different starters. The other two fics can be found here: Jake Seresin x Daughter!Reader and Maverick x Daughter!Reader.

It was rare for Tim Bradford to take a day off but ever since you, his 17-year-old daughter, was born you he had been taking more of them off and you were glad for that. One you got your dad and two he actually had time to wind down and focus on himself along with taking care of himself. He had just arrived home early in the morning, 6:30 AM, on Thursday from work he knew that would be getting up soon and you would be starting your routine of getting ready to go school and then softball practice right after. He started to get your lunch and then he was restocking your cooler with ice and drinks and some snacks that you had in your Trailblazer, once he was done, he picked it up and grabbed your keys and headed out to put it in your trunk so you didn’t have to carry too much at once. When he went back inside, he heard the shower running and smiled. He made himself busy with things in the kitchen and the laundry room where he went and got your practice clothing out and made sure they were dry and then put them in your bag. By the time he was done you had walked down the stairs with damp hair and when you saw him you smiled. “Hey, Dad.” You said and he looked up, smiled as you walked over and hugged him.

“Good morning, Sweetheart.” He said and kissed the top of your head as you buried your face into his chest. “Sleep well?” He asked and you nodded and then released him from the hug.

“Yea, I did. Did you have a good shift?” You asked as you moved to make yourself something to eat as he leaned up against the counter and watched you. “Coffee?” You asked and he shook his head.

“No, thank you. I’m planning on falling asleep as soon as you leave.” He said and you chuckled as you poured yourself some.

“So… have you confessed your love to Lucy yet?” You asked him smirking as you took a sip of your coffee made just how you liked it.

“Y/N.” He said with a warning tone and you rolled your eyes but still smirked.

“Oh, come on. Everyone can see you are in love with her and she is in love with you.” You said and when he didn’t say anything you knew you had won, sort of. You had met Lucy a few months back and saw the immediate heart eyes they had for each other. You and her really clicked.

“Don’t you have to get to school?” He asked as you looked at the stove and set your coffee down.

“Fine. We’re not done talking about this.” You said as you went to collect your backpack, lunch, and softball bag.

“Yes, we are.” He said and again you rolled your eyes.

“Whatever.” You chuckled “I have practice after school.” You said already dreading it because you hated your coach and he tended to overwork your team to the point of any of you getting hurt or sick from the little to none water breaks and the running without stopping and again no water.

“I’ve already packed the cooler and put it in your Trailblazer. Now get going before you're late. Be safe and I love you.” He said and pulled you into another hug and kissed your head again.

“I love you too.” You said and released him from the hug and you were out the door heading to your Trailblazer and off to school.

You had arrived at school, with plenty of time to spare, you parked next to your friend’s, Samantha Nolan, John Nolan’s daughter, your friend and fellow softball team member, 4Runner. You and her have been friends since the start of middle school and often stayed with each other. It was just a coincidence that your father’s worked together. You just sat in your Trailblazer just trying to mentally prepare yourself for the day and what is to come at practice. Lately your wrist and shoulder had been hurting and with you pitching it made it much worse and then batting made it worse. You tried to say something to Coach Theo Morgan about it but he just said to suck it up and deal with it. Your trainer Amanda Fender and assistant Coach Liam Colt just looked on with sorrow in her eyes, she tried to help but Coach Morgan wouldn’t listen to them and would threaten to fire them if they were brought up again. Several parents were complaining about how bad Coach Morgan was and how their children were breaking down to Coach Colt and they had even compensated by pulling their kids from the team. You haven’t told your dad about it because you didn’t like conflict and he had enough on his plate to begin with. You absolutely loved playing softball but lately you’ve been dreading even playing and starting to hate it.

When you looked down at your Trailblazer’s clock and saw it was time to start heading in, you killed the engine and grabbed your backpack and lunch and headed inside. You were quick to meet up with Samantha. You both had pretty much all of the same classes together which helped a lot. “Hey!” She said and hugged you.

“Hey.” You said and winced a little bit when your shoulder moved the wrong way and she frowned when she released you.

“You, ok?” She asked and you shook your head.

“No, my shoulder hurts when I love it a certain way and so does my wrist.” You said and she looked at you as you both began walking to your first class of the day.

“Have you told your dad?” She asked and again you shook your head.

“No, he has enough on his plate. You know how it is.” You spoke

“What about Coach Morgan?” She asked but knew the answer when you gave her a look.

“You know he doesn’t give a shit about us. All he cares about is winning.” You said and she made a face and nodded agreeing with you. “Even if I told Amanda about it, she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.” You added and again she nodded in agreeing with you. You both arrived at the classroom and went and sat down in your seats, which were right beside each other, and then a few minutes passed and the school day started.

The rest of the day went by quickly, maybe a little too quickly for your liking because now you had to face Coach Morgan and the hell that he was going to put you through. The softball field was just a little bit behind the high school so it was only a short walk to the field. When the last bell rang everyone was let out and you had gone to your Trailblazer along with Samantha, who was parked next to you, and you both traded out your school backpack for your softball gear. You both headed to the locker rooms chatting away. When you arrived, your other teammates were there doing the same thing and everyone greeted each other and then started to complain about how today was going to go and how shitty of a coach that Coach Morgan was.

Once everyone was changed and had grabbed their gear you all were heading down to the field. Everyone started to warm up and had to wait on your coach, who never seemed to care to actually show up on time so your assistant coach, Coach Colt, started your practice. He was a better coach than Coach Morgan because he actually cared about his team members. Practice started easy and it was actually fun then the pitching and batting started and as soon as you threw the first pitch your shoulder screamed in pain and so did your wrist and your pitch was off and this concerned both Coach Colt and Trainer Amanda enough for both of them to walk up to you. “Are you ok?” Coach Colt asked and you nodded not wanting to say anything even though Coach Morgan wasn’t there. They gave you a look and you believed you could trust them.

“No, my shoulder and wrist have been killing me.” You said and they nodded and Trainer Amanda started to press around and when she got to a point you winced and drew back.

“How long has this been going on?” Coach Colt asked

“Since last week.” You said and they gave you a look and a frown “I tried to tell Coach Morgan about it but he just said to suck it up and get on with it.” You added and they had a look of anger on their face.

“Why don’t you go sit down and we’ll get the relief pitcher in.” Coach Colt said and you nodded and went to sit down as your other friend Elizabeth Summers walked up to the pitching mound after giving you a sad smile. You were just glad to have some rest. 30 minutes into the practice Coach Morgan showed up and when he saw you sitting on the bench, he grew furious and stormed over to Coach Colt.

“Why the fuck is Bradford sitting on the bench and not on the fucking pitching mound?” He screamed and everything was silent and everything halted. Nobody liked Coach Morgan and were terrified of him.

“Her pitches were off because her shoulder was hurting and so was her wrist. So, Amanda and I are giving her a rest.” Coach Colt said defending you and trying to keep calm.

“I don’t give a fuck if she’s hurting. You have to work through the pain. No pain, no gain.” Coach Morgan said “I want her back on that pitching mound this instant.” He said and turned to you as you were picking up your glove and heading to the mound looking at Elizabeth who gave you a sympathetic look. You were a great pitcher and because of that you worked harder. They walked away from you to stand on the side “Now begin!” He yelled and you clenched your teeth and got ready to throw the ball already filling your shoulder scream in pain. You took a deep breath and wound up and threw the ball and as you released it tears came to your eyes and they clenched shut but opened them quickly, it had made it to the catcher’s, Samantha, glove like you planned it but it still fucking hurt. Samantha threw the ball back to you. This exercise went on for about 2 minutes just to get you warmed up and each time your shoulder and wrist screamed in pain. “Ok, I want to go onto the next drill!” Coach Morgan yelled “Coach Colt will be hitting the ball to different positions and everyone will be throwing it just like in a game.” He yelled and everyone nodded. You stayed put as well as everyone else as Coach Colt walked up and started the drill. Each time you caught it and threw it your shoulder screamed in pain and you were throwing some wild throws and that just pissed him off. “Time out!” He yelled and stormed over to you and grabbed you by the arm and practically drug you off the field and started laying into you. “What the fuck was that?! It’s like you’re not even trying! You’re supposed to be my best pitcher and you’re pitching like shit! I don’t give a fuck if your injured, you work through the pain!” He yelled and tears stung your eyes. Off in your peripheral vision you could see everyone looking and grouped together. Everyone knew you were hurt and tried to do something but they got punished or threatened to be kicked off the team. You weren’t paying attention to him and that pissed him off “Are you even fucking listening to me?!” He said and shoved you and then grabbed the front of your shirt and got up in your face.

“I am. My shoulder really hurts.” You tried to defend yourself and then he let go of your shirt and you thought it was over but then he raised his hand and slapped you in the face which made you step back and crash into the fence and head hitting the pole, you looked up holding your face and tears actually fell from your eyes.

“I don’t fucking care! How do you expect to become a professional?!” He said and grabbed you again and you were terrified and your face showed it and about that time Coach Colt and Amanda were rushing to your aid and Coach Colt pulled Coach Morgan off of you as Amanda shielded you.

“That is enough. Her shoulder and wrist have been hurting for weeks and you simply ignored her and threatened to kick her off the team if she said anything. That’s right we’ve heard all about it.” Coach Colt said

“That is not an excuse!” Coach Morgan yelled

“Yes, it is. Any more pushing and she could damage her shoulder and wrist for good and she won’t be able to play at all.” Amanda said as she held your crying form. Coach Morgan huffed and stormed off and left. Coach Colt turned to the rest of the team.

“Practice is over. Go home and rest, we’ll let you know when the next practice is.” He said and everyone nodded and started to gather their stuff and head to their cars not bothering to change then he turned to you and Amanda. “Are you ok?” He asked and you shook her head which you must’ve hit because shaking it caused it to throb and you had some blood running from your temple and your ear was ringing. “Here let me see.” He said and put a comforting hand on yours and slowly moved it and he grew angry. You had a handprint from where Coach Morgan had slapped you and his wedding ring must've got you too because you were bleeding from your cheek bone and bruising along with some swelling started to form. “I fucking hate that guy.” He said “You really need to go get checked out.” He added.

“I just want to go home. I’ll get cleaned up there.” You said

“Are you sure? One of us can take you to the hospital.” Amanda said and you nodded “Is anyone home with you?” She asked and you nodded. They knew Tim and Nolan were police officers and knew their schedule.

“Yea, dad is home.” You said in a quiet voice. Just then Samantha walked up with yours and her stuff.

“I’ll make sure she gets home safely.” Samantha said and that made you jump because you didn’t hear her walk up. That concerned them.

“Thank you, Samantha.” Amanda said and she smiled as she threw an arm around your shoulder and began your trek to your cars.

“You are not ok to drive.” She said and you looked at her.

“No, I am. I just want to be home.” You said and she nodded.

“Ok, just take it nice and slow, ok.” She asked and you nodded.

“Ok.” You said as you both put your stuff in your cars and then both got in and started your drive home. As you were getting closer to your house your vision was starting to get blurry with tears and a little bit of double vision was starting. Lucky for you, you had just pulled into your driveway next to your dad’s truck. You killed the engine and started to bawl. After a few minutes you wiped your tears, grabbed your backpack and softball bag and headed inside. You were moving slowly but straightened up and tried to walk normally. You turned the handle of the door and walked in being met with the TV on and your dad in the kitchen. You say your stuff down by the front door and then walk in with your head down and he smiled at you.

“Hey, Sweetheart. How was school?” He asked

“It was good.” You said and he frowned because he noticed how your voice croaked.

“Are you ok?” He asked and you nodded.

“I’m fine. I’m just going to head upstairs and get ready for dinner.” You said and you didn’t give him a chance to say anything as you rushed upstairs. When you got to your room you looked into the mirror and saw the damage, the handprint had darkened and there was more running down your face. Your shoulder and wrist hurt. It wasn’t even 2 minutes later when you heard a knock at your door.

“Can I come in?” He asked

“Yes.” You said as he opened the door.

“Y/N are you ok? You’ve been crying, I can tell.” Tim said

“How can you tell?” You asked with a scratchy voice.

“Your voice croaked like it always does when you’ve been crying. Also, you're my daughter I know these things." He said with a chuckle and you had let out a little one. You had your back to him and when he turned around, he instantly became angry.

“Who the fuck did this to you?” He asked as he walked up to you and gently grabbed your chin to look at you.

“Coach Morgan.” You said quietly

“That son of a bitch. Why did he do this to you?” He asked releasing you.

“My pitches and throws were sloppy because my shoulder and wrist had been hurting for weeks and he got angry and pulled me off the field. He cussed me out and then turned violent and then slapped me hard enough to push me into the chained linked fence hard. His ring cut him and my ear has been ringing ever since. My head hurts too from hitting the pole.” You said and Tim was angry but not at you. He had released your chin when you had begun talking.

“I'm taking you to the hospital and I’m going to take pictures of this and do something about it.” He said and you nodded and he pulled out his phone and began taking pictures of your face. When he was done, he ushered you out of your room and down the stairs to his truck where he was helping you get in and then he got in himself and started the engine, he pulled out of the driveway and started driving towards the hospital.

When you both got there, he made sure to park close by and then he killed the engine he first got out then he walked over and helped you out. On the way to the hospital your vision had doubled, the ringing intensified, and you had become dizzy to the point of almost throwing up. You were almost in the hospital when you suddenly went to the trash can and threw up. “Woah.” He said and rubbed your back after you were done you wiped your mouth and headed inside where he told you to go and sit down. Tim walked up to the front desk and got a forum to fill out. You had told him you were dizzy and having double vision. He walked over and sat down next to you and began filling out what was needed, answering the questions with ease. You leaned against his shoulder on your non-injured side. 

“I don't feel good, Daddy.” You said and he turned to look at you. You had turned pale and looked overall exhausted. “Wanna go to sleep.” You said and he shook his head.

“No can do. Not until we get you checked out by the doctor.” Tim said and you nodded trying your best to stay awake. He was quick to fill the rest of it out and stood up causing you to sit up and took the clipboard to the front desk. He went and sat back down and you cuddled into him. Thankfully the ER wasn't that busy and you were getting called back quickly. They were put in a room and then Gino Brown, Jackson West’s boyfriend, walked in and stopped.

“Officer Bradford, pleasure seeing you again.” He said with a smile then turned to you “Y/N, what happened?” He asked as he began taking an assessment and hooking you up to a monitor. 

“Coach Morgan hit me and that caused me to slam into a pole.” You said slurring your words. 

“He really did a number on you.” He said, “I'm gonna shine a light in your eyes.” He said and you nodded but squeezed your eyes shut from the moment.

“I'm sorry.” You apologized, opening your eyes and he shook his head.

“No worries.” He said and shined a light in your eyes and your pupils were slow to react. He sighed and turned towards your dad but could still see you “I think she has a concussion but I want Dr. Sawyer to confirm.” Gino said and he nodded he was about to leave when you spoke up.

“I think I'm gonna be sick.” You said and they could've sworn you had turned green and Gino was quick to grab a bucket and you threw up. When you were done you were catching your breath when all of sudden your eyes rolled into the back of your head, you tensed, and you began to seize, which was not normal.

“Woah! Ok.” Gino said and was quick to roll you on your side and then instructed Tim to help as he stepped outside “I'm gonna need some help in here!” He yelled out and two other nurses and Dr. Grace Sawyer rushed in.

“What happened?” Grace asked, quickly taking over Tim's place as the other nurses were quick to get an IV in and you hooked up on fluids. “Give a push of Midazolam. Are you ok with us giving her a sedative just to let her brain rest?” She asked calmly and Tim nodded truly scared for his daughter.

“We were talking and she was slurring her words and I was about to come and get you when she got sick. When she was done, she was catching her breath and then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she started to seize.” Gino said after pushing the medication in and you stopped and then he pushed a sedative in and they saw you visibly relax.

“Get her hooked up to a monitor and get her admitted. I want her to get a CT scan as well.” Grace said and everyone nodded and then she turned to Tim. “Now what happened to make her look like this?” She asked.

“She said Coach Theo Morgan, her softball coach, hit her and that caused her to slam into a pole.” Tim said as she motioned him to walk with her. 

“Him. We have had a lot of kids come in with shin splints, stress fractures, broken bones, and concussions. Y/N is the worst case we've had. We've never had one come in slurring words, complaining of dizziness, getting sick, and then seizing.” Grace said as they arrived at the CT scan normally, they wouldn't let anyone in the viewing room but seeing as Tim was a police officer, they let him. They watched the screen scan your brain. “Everything looks good from the scan. The seizure sometimes happens with a concussion. I want to keep her out and here for a few days and recheck in a couple of days.” Grace said and Tim nodded. “I also want to take an x-ray of her shoulder and wrist since it said on her paperwork about them hurting her.” She said and again he nodded.

“Can I get all of this in a report and the others? I'm gonna do something about this once and for all.” Tim asked and Grace nodded.

“Of course. I want this guy to go away.” She said as they moved you out of the CT scan and then they followed you to the x-ray room. They took the x-rays and it turns out that you did have a stress fracture to the wrist and a dislocated shoulder along with a stress fracture in it as well. Tim was outraged. You would need surgery before having your shoulder moved back in place.

When they got you changed into a gown while Tim made some calls. He walked back into your room; he saw you sleeping, he looked over your injuries and grew enraged. It wasn't long until Lucy was knocking on the door and he looked up surprised. Sure, he had texted in a group chat that you had made and he reluctantly was a part of, but he was surprised that anyone had shown up.

“Lucy, what are you doing here?” He asked surprised as he stood and she walked into the room and she hugged him.

“I saw the group chat and figured that you shouldn’t be alone so I came down.” She said and they released from the hug.

“Thank you, that means so much to us.” Tim said and offered her his chair while he grabbed another.

“So, what happened?” She asked and he told her all about it and how this wasn’t Coach Morgan’s first-time harming kids. “That is awful. Are you going to press charges?” She asked and he noted. 

“Yes, and I’m going to take him to court. This isn’t his first-time harming kids.” Tim said just then Grace walked back in and smiled and greeted Lucy.

“She’s going to wake up soon.  When did she last eat?” She asked

“Last time she ate was in the afternoon at lunch.” He spoke. It was 8 PM now so it had been 8 hrs.

“Since it has been 8 hrs. we can go ahead and run some bloodwork and then get her in surgery in the morning.” Grace said “I just need your permission.” She added.

“You have my permission.” He said and she smiled and nodded.

“Gino will be in here in a minute to take the samples. The sedative should wear off here in an hour.” She said and Tim nodded and she left the room. A few minutes later Gino was walking in and getting samples and then sending them off to the labs. 

“He really did a number on her didn’t he?” Lucy asked and Tim nodded

“Yea he did. It pisses me off.” He said and then it fell silent. Like Grace said an hour later you were waking up. Tim and Lucy were up in an instant.

“Daddy?” You asked groggily.

“You’re ok, Sweetheart. You’ve been admitted.” He said and then you looked around and saw Lucy and smiled.

“Lucy.” You said and she smiled and walked over and bent down and kissed your forehead.

“Hey, Mini Tim.” She said and Tim rolled his eyes. You had gotten the name because you were just like your father in more ways than one. 

“Sweetheart-” Your dad began “Your shoulder is dislocated and fractured and your wrist has a stress fracture in it. You also have a concussion and you had a seizure.” He told you and you took in the news. “You’re having surgery on it in the morning and staying here for a couple of days.” He said and you looked at him.

“Will I ever be able to play softball again?” You asked 

“That’s a question for Grace.” He spoke 

“Grace is my doctor?” You asked and he nodded and you smiled.

“Gino is your nurse.” Lucy said and that made you even more happy. A few minutes later Grace and Gino walked in and smiled when they saw you were up. 

“It’s good to see you up.” She said “I’m sure your dad already told you what is going on.” She added and you nodded “I ran a CT Scan on you to make sure nothing was damaged after the hit to the pole and there wasn’t anything.” She said “We ran bloodwork and everything looks good and we have you scheduled for tomorrow morning to fix your shoulder. Do you have any questions?” She asked and you nodded.

“Will I ever be able to play softball again?” You asked and she smiled.

“After physical therapy we will reassess but I highly believe that you will be able to.” She said and you smiled. 

The rest of the night was filled with talking and then Lucy had to leave and now it was just you and your dad. You stayed up for a little bit longer until you fell asleep and then after he made sure you were good and asleep, he allowed him to sleep your heart monitor luring him to sleep. 

——————————————————————

The next morning Tim was being woken up by a knock on the door and Grace and Gino were walking and he smiled. They began talking and that had woken you up. They greeted you and then began the process of talking to you about prepping for surgery and what they planned on doing. After a few minutes they were wheeling you into the prep room and had you count down from 100 and before you got to 88 you were out like a light and they were wheeling you into surgery. 

Tim was a nervous wreck; he had let everyone know what was happening and he wasn’t surprised that they had shown up. Wesley, Angela, Nolan, Lucy, Jackson, and Talia had showed up, they asked how it had happened and he told them. He told them how he was going to press charges and take him to court. Wesley said that he would be your lawyer. He also had called your school and let them know what was going on and then he called your assistant coach and trainer and they were down in an instant. They told him that they tried to tell Coach Morgan to back off but they were threatened to be fired and they watched the entire thing happen. Tim told them his plan and they supported him and said they would testify and knew other parents would too. 

1 hr. later they were done with surgery and Grace was walking out to them. “Everything was a success and she is to make a full recovery.” She said and she left and Gino and a few other nurses were wheeling you into your room. You were groggy and slept a lot. When you fully woke up you noticed Coach Colt and Amanda there and you smiled.

“Hey.” You said to them and they greeted you back. Every now and then you would nod off and they let you sleep as much as possible and Gino along with other nurses were in and out checking on you. They had put a few screws in your shoulder and fixed your dislocated shoulder. 

On your third day of being in the hospital your dad had to leave for a few hours but Lucy said she would stay with you. You both gossiped and you even talked about her being in love with your dad and how he wouldn’t admit it but he was so in love. When your dad came back you both acted like nothing happened but he had his suspicions.

On the fourth day you were finally released and were given instructions on how to take care of your shoulder and what exercises to do to keep your wrist and elbow from locking up. Your dad also told you that he had pressed charges against Coach Morgan and to take him to court as well and he talked with the sports director at school and the principal. 

 ——————————————————————

Court day arrived and you were dressed up and so was your dad. You walked into the courthouse and met Wesely and he hugged you gently. He obtained all the medical records from you and other cases and Tim had given him the pictures he had taken. Court started and it was tough going at first but it was turning in your favor when Wesley presented medical records from you and others along with the pictures and had you along with other team members and passed team members testify along with parents. Coach Colt and Trainer Amanda both testified.  It was a long-drawn-out process. There was a break for the jury to decide if he was guilty or not and it didn’t take them long. They came back and gave the judge the verdict and when they said guilty it was all over. Relief washed over you. Wesley turned to you and smiled. Coach Morgan was arrested for harming and putting a minor in the hospital and he was banned from coaching for life. You thanked Wesely profusely. “Thank you so much.” You said and he smiled.

“You’re part of the family and this family sticks together.” He said and then gently hugged you and kissed you head and then left. You and your dad left after talking to the others and Samantha, who had come and testified she also had provided a video that she secretly took and gave it over to evidence. Tim and you sat in the truck and you sighed in relief and he looked over and smiled.

“Everything is going to be ok now. He’s gone and can’t hurt you or anyone else anymore.” He said and leaned over and brought you in for a hug and held your head and kissed it.

“Thank you, dad. For everything.” You said and he smiled.

“Anything for my girl.” He said and then you smirked and he raised an eyebrow. 

“So, when are you and Lucy going to get together?” You asked 

“Not this again.” He said and you laughed and that made him smile. One of these days you were going to get him to admit it.

Tag list:

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#tim bradford x daughter!reader #tim bradford x daughter!reader imagines #tim bradford x daughter!reader fandom #tim bradford x daughter!reader fanfiction #tim bradford x daughter!reader fanfic #the rookie x daughter!reader #the rookie x daughter!reader imagines #the rookie x daughter!reader fandom #the rookie x daughter!reader fanfiction #the rookie x daughter!reader fanfic #the rookie imagine #the rookie imagines #the rookie fanfic #the rookie fandom #the rookie fanfiction

[sanjisblackasswife]

If Luffy Ate an Aphrodisiac (NSFW)

Aftercare

Zoro version

Sanji Version

A/N: I wanted to separate the monster trio scenarios because they were so long but if you’d like to read all three you can do that HERE!🤍

Bad Summary: Luffy ends up eating and aphrodisiac fruit.

CW: OOC!Luffy, Horny!Luffy, Bath Sex, Oral, Biting(I think), Dry Humping,Vaginal sex, Luffy still being Luffy, Overstimulation

Enjoy!

He’d end up being very giggly, loud, and very less self aware than he already was.

Way more blunt and touchy than usual ofc

You and him never figured out why he was so horny

He’d be so flustered, which is a rare sight but he tries to play it off so badly

The aphrodisiac he consumed was of course: a food.

It happened when you and him went shopping for a few snacks on a quick island stop

You had to save most of the snacks to bring back to the ship because Nami stated there won’t be another island around for the next couple days and you needed to restock in your bedroom snack drawer.

You ended up getting Luffy some snacks to hold him, but by the time you were half way done shopping he was already done eating

You didn’t want to give him any of your snacks and seeing Luffy had a little bit of money you made him buy his own last bit of food, you both quickly headed to a vendor and there it was: a fruit!

Luffy really wanted meat but the fruit was all he could afford so he bought it and in one fell swoop ate it whole. The vendor was terrified.

“What?” Luffy muffled with his mouth stuffed before swallowing.

“Dear, are you this man’s wife?” The vendor asked tapping your shoulder.

“Not yet!” Luffy laughed and wrapped his arm around your waist knocking the air out of you for a moment. “Why? She is not for sale!” He pulled you over on his opposite side as if he were holding you all to himself pouting at the old man. The vendor shook his head and tsk’ed, “Maam. I bid you a good luck tonight with him.”

You couldn’t even let out a “Huh” before Luffy was carrying you and your bags to another vendor. You got all that you needed and had some spare change so you, being the good girlfriend you are, bought him what he wanted and headed back to the ship with everyone.

About an hour past since you set sail. You cleaned up your room and put away your snacks in your drawer and Luffy’s in his. You wanted to relax with Robin for a moment to speak about something and take a nice hot bath before heading to dinner. However, you were stopped by Luffy running as if someone were chasing him.

“Ow.” You plainly said rubbing your chest seeing as he face planted right into you and fell. You grabbed his hand, but nearly grimaced at the sticky and sweaty hot feel of his hand. “Lu—?”

“Y-Y/N! What-what are you doing right now are you busy?! “ Luffy’s voice sounded shaky but aside from that he was hot in the face and constantly panting it was pretty weird to see him out of breath like this.

“Oh…well I needed to talk to Robin about something and then I—-“

“CAN WE HANG OUT IN YOUR ROOM?!”

“Luffy!” You held your sensitive ears for a moment seeing that he was screaming, “Are you okay? Why are you so hyper ? And we can’t right now I have to speak to Robin about something important.”

“N-NO—ahem….no reason, but okay let me take you to her!” Luffy laughs and takes your hand down to the deck where everyone is busy doing there own thing, you heard him make a small groan when he made contact with you, but maybe you were imagining things,“oh look there is Robin! Go talk to her and then we can hang out!” He slapped your ass making you jump in shock, but before you could say anything he was running off to the kitchen. Luffy doesn’t really do that kind of thing often so feeling the hard sensation of his hot hand on your skin threw you off for a moment.

“He’s in a funny mood.” Robin giggled.

“Oh yeah…” you slowly sat down looking back at the door he entered confused. What’s up with him? “A-anyways I wanted to continue asking you about—“

“GET OUT!” Sanji’s voice boomed through the door kicking Luffy out in the process. He had his cheeks stuffed, beginning to whine, he usually does this every other day , so you paid it no mind.

“Oh I See….and so—- hello captain.” Robin greeted the large shadow behind you, you turn to get a look at Luffy and his hat was now in his hand and his face was pinker than you last remembered. He nearly look like he had a fever which kind of scared you.

“Y/n…” He whispered, he was super sweaty and got it all on you when he laid his body on top of yours which his head now in your breast.

“Uh…hey? Luffy what’s wrong?” You rub the back of his head hoping he’d look back up at you, instead he just shakes his head. “You’re so sweaty….You’re taking a bath today you are not sleeping in the bed with me like this.”

“Mmmmmm.” He started to shift and not so subtly grind on your body which made you feel heat hit your cheeks because Robin was right there watching. She had the same casual smile on here thinking how cute it was to see Luffy cuddle his girlfriend, but little did she know about the poking bulge resting on top of your thigh.

“L-Lu! We can hang out a little after I finish talking to Robin okay?” You tried pulling him off of your, but he ended up biting the top of your breast instead making you shriek a bit. “Luffy!”

“I think your boyfriend wants a little time alone don’t you think?” Robin giggled at you both and even though you wanted to laugh off your embarrassment with him you started to feel Luffy suck on the same area he bit you causing you to hold back a moan.

“Y-yeah, but I have to k-know if— fuck…”

You really was happy about how casual and clearheaded Robin can be because seeing you squirm under Luffy and how Luffy was grinding on you with no shame groaning. If anyone else were watching they would have thought you both were nearly having sex right there on the deck.

“Luffy i..i um..are you Sick?” He stopped his grinding to shake his head no at you still smothered in your breast.

Robin insisted you both probably head to Chopper for a moment just in case and you can finish your conversation with her later. However , walking to Chopper’s room deemed difficult since Luffy didn’t want to let go on your body, but you were grateful he was easy to carry.

You take him inside and insist he lay on the couch, he finally pulls himself off of you giggling, placing his hat on his lap.

When Chopper comes in he examines the flustered captain, you assumed it was probably something he ate, but Chopper doesn’t find anything wrong though.

“When did you start feeling this way, Luffy?” Chopper asked.

“Like…uhhh…i think…i think a few minutes after we left that food place, y/n!”

“What did you eat?”

“It was Like this pink weird fruit, it was REALLY sweet! Kinda tasted like chocolate!”

You then suddenly started to remember the old man’s warning to you from earlier today,

“I bid you good luck tonight.”

You were thinking about what he meant but your thoughts were cut when Chopper turned to you, he assumed Luffy just ate a bad fruit and to probably lay down for the rest of the evening. “Okay but first you’re taking a bath!” You demanded grabbing his hand, Luffy throws his hat on your head and quickly wraps around your body instead.

“Okay.” He laughs. “You gatta take one with me w though .”

You didn’t mind, you’ve both taken baths together before so you easily agreed.

That was your first mistake.

You both got in the bathroom and as you bent over to turn on the tub he locked the door behind you and completely stripped.

“O-oh!” You were shocked at how close Luffy was behind you and the fact that he was naked, standing tall and still giggling.

“Common get naked!” He didn’t give you time to respond he just began to pull off your dress and underwear mumbling something incoherent in the process.

He carries you into the tub and situates himself in between your legs. He kept burying his face in between your now naked breast and did a loud groan. You didn’t even care at this point at how weird he was being since you just needed him to bathe and maybe that alone would help your boyfriend.

That was your second mistake.

“Y/N…” he practically moaned into you, but ended it with a laugh. “Can I touch you?”

“You’re already touching me, Lu..”

“No..I mean can I touch you…” he just barely pulls away to then pull his index and middle downwards on your slit with his free hand holding one of your thighs apart. You let out a broken moan arching your back in reaction, “here…I wanna touch you here again.”

You’re shocked, usually you’re the one initiating sex with him, Luffy didn’t have a really high libido and so you wanted to protest just to ask what was happening to him but he didn’t give you enough time since he kept scissoring you so incredibly slow while making eye contact.

“Y-yes. You can.” You didn’t catch yourself bucking into Luffy’s hand, but he did subtly biting his lip at your eagerness.

He smiled pulling out his finger to grab the sides of your head and kiss you, his skin was so hot to the touch you were a bit worried he did actually have a fever but your trusted the ship’s doctor judgement.

Luffy was usually a shy kisser, but today he did everything in your mouth but eat you whole, he sucked your tongue licked your lips, moaned in your mouth all while pulling himself closer into you until you felt his hard shaft press against your clit making your both whine. “C-can I go inside you?” Breathing his hot breath on you still leaving open mouthed kisses

“Yes please.” Luffy didn’t waste anytime grabbing you on top of him sliding yourself down his cock. His mouth never left yours even as you tried to pull away to catch some air, but Luffy needed his release and you were the one going to give it to him.

It wasn’t long until after a few thrust upwards he came, his grip on your butt was so tight the entire time you began to bite on his shoulder making that the possible reason he came so fast.

“Y-you okay, Lu—!” Luffy got up still holding you and moved you to bend over the tub, you never done doggy style with him before so this made you a bit loss of words. You felt his cum mixed with the bath water drip down out of you, and Luffy admired it just for a second until he felt the urge to go inside you again. This time he used his power to grow his dick just a little bit more bigger than you’re used to. “Luffy!” You felt him stretch you out so deliciously, you felt way too full and it was nearly overwhelming.

He just snickered, “‘M ganna keep going okay?”

You could hear his smile from behind, you also didn’t cum yet so you had no objection to it, you nod frantically so he can just give you some friction.

It was obvious this new position overwhelmed him as well, seeing your pretty browned butt in bouncing off his lightly tan skin. He’d pull out just enough to where his tip was still inside you then with full force thrust back inside you. You whined at the deep feel of his enlarged cock dragging in and out of your tiny wet walls.

Luffy didn’t know what got into himself either, but all he knew was he wasn’t going to stop until he felt better. He tried eating, but it didn’t work and got him in trouble. But Every time he seen you in that damn short dress prancing around the ship like nobody’s business he wanted to pull those pretty white panties you wore down and fuck you from behind.

It was about 20 minutes have passed and Luffy’s pace still haven’t let up. You came twice and your arms were so sore and tired. Your body was hot and twitching in what you couldn’t tell was overstimulation or just plain out too much of everything, his sexy pants, the wet slaps his hips and your butt tend to make when they connect, his broken voice Everytime he said “Yes! Need! More!”, feeling his thumbs dig into your back dimples knowing there will be a bruise later to see, or just the simple fact that Luffy isn’t himself right now—it was all just a lot to take in. You knew he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, feeling your tears trickle down your cheek, “L-Luffyyyy….’m tiredddd…”

In the moment he almost ignored you but Luffy being Luffy he’d never allow anything to make you become uncomfortable no matter if it was an aphrodisiac or not. He was panting harshly hovering over you pulling you back into his chest. “Ca—can we finish in your room? Please.”

His voice was worn and filled with desperation you just mindlessly agreed wanting to lay down and take his cock despite already feeling so overstimulated—but you liked it a lot. He smiled weakly and picked you up holding your thighs.

If you weren’t in your post orgasm high you’d be cussing Luffy out for running out the bathroom with you both naked being possibly seen by someone. He shut your door and tossed you on the bed prying your messy thighs back open

“Y/N…” Luffy’s voice was almost like he was singing , “you’re dirty down there…lemme clean it up.”

“Wha??—OH LUFFY!” You threw your hand in his wet hair as he shoved his tongue inside you, he didn’t go down on you often and feeling him widen and stretch his tongue makes you now wish he’d do it Everytime you guys have sex.

“LUFFFYYYY!” It wasn’t Long until you reached your orgasm clamping down on his face with your thighs, you started to ride his tongue, feeling his wet hot muscle roll back and fourth on your clit to carry out your orgasm making him moan inside you seeing as he finally was close to reaching his high too rubbing his own cock while eating you.

Once he was released from your thighs he pulled off of your clit with a smack and stroked himself on you.

“Gatta…cum again!” He released his cum on your tummy breathing shallow with his arms gripping the sheets beside your head. You both were a panting mess until he slid himself right back in your with his face redder than ever still giving weakens giggles at your reaction. “One more okay?”

“I—“ You were dazed whining out uneven moans as he slowly started to pump himself into you, the room was spinning, your jaw was slacked open drooling, and you both were just sweating and groaning on top of each other. His mind was fuzzy, but he managed to give you small kisses on your face and neck whispering a bunch of nothings to you about how good you feel and how much he can’t stop.

After about an hour of hearing “One more” you both were so fucked out of your minds you slept through dinner, but everybody on the ship didn’t mind it considering nobody was hungry after hearing you both all evening.

#luffy headcanons #TimikosLuffy #one piece smut #one piece headcanons #black reader #one piece #op luffy #luffy smut #mugiwara no luffy #luffy x reader #one piece luffy #luffy imagine #luffy scenarios #luffy x black reader #luffy x sanji #one piece x black!reader #one piece x female reader #one piece scenario #female reader #x female reader

[linomilkers]

How about when you use a Safe word? You can do it with either Lino or Chan <3

Sure :-) thank you for requesting! I chose Chan this time around but let me know if you want Linooo next :-)

[warnings: dom/sub dynamics, safe word use, spanking, degradation, overstimulation, subspace]

____________________

Chan was stressed.

Of course he was; comebacks were tiring, leading up to it, during it, and even after it sometimes, the schedules could be packed and busy with little time for reprieve. All of them let the weight of it sit on their shoulders but for Chan it's just a little different -- being the leader is just a little different. He's tired and stressed for himself, and he's tired and stressed for all of the members. While he lightens their load, he triples his own. He's always done that.

Y/N knew he'd be calling her more because of it; she would have been shocked if he didn't, honestly. He always messages her when things are a lot and he needs some sort of reprieve, at least a couple of hours where he can be mindless and follow his more base instincts. Split her thighs, tuck himself between them, and do whatever it is that he wants to do.

They've got rules established, and a safe word always, and Chan is good about following both. In the moment he may say something possessive, maybe a little mean about how she's a whore, she's his whore, to have and to fuck and to claim -- but afterward he's always so grateful. They weren't together and for some reason he's convinced himself that Y/N gets nothing out of this arrangement ("You're good in bed and I cum a lot and you feed me after, I think I get plenty out of this too, dummy."), so he treats each experience with a lot of care.

Because Chan on a good day is a little rough in bed, and likes to squeeze and manhandle and toss her around like she was a rag doll for him only. On a day he's let stress fill his bones? He's spanking and slapping and biting; Y/N is okay with all of that -- she likes it, if she didn't then she would tell him and they'd never do it again, but it's seldom he does something she doesn't enjoy. Sometimes she'll slip into that soft, floaty spot; where it's nice and quiet and Chan makes all the decisions so she can just let her mind flutter off. Chan can usually tell when it happens and he's mindful of it, and keeps doing what he's doing but with a softer edge, more praise, a few sweeter words. She's still a whore, sure, but she's his sweet whore -- that makes a difference in the moment.

Tonight had started out no different! It was the same set up -- she got a message around 8PM while she was snuggled in her blanket on the sofa. Y/N reached for her phone on the cushion beside her, saw that it was Chan asking if she was free, and she replied.

That depends. . .do you have snacks?

lol do you want snacks?

yes

I'll get some snacks then

okay, omw

Chan doesn't expect her to dress up so she usually doesn't, and since she'd just showered for the night, she was in a big shirt and some soft new pajama bottoms that she'd gotten a couple of weeks ago. She gave him a few minutes to actually get snacks for her before she grabs her things, looping her bag over her shoulder and petting her her cat on the couch before heading out. This would be the third time this week he's called, but Y/N had told him she'd be busy next week so she wondered if he was just trying to get it all out of his system now.

The drive to his dorm isn't too ridiculous, so not much time passed between the time he messaged her to her getting there. She knocked, he let her in with a shy little giggle and his dimples popping, and he complimented her shirt (it had a duck on it) while he played with the hair at the nape of his neck -- all of it was the usual stuff.

They usually don't just jump right into it; Chan likes the build up, playing around it, dancing around each other. He invites her into his room, sometimes they pass Jisung who is always polite and has his headphones around his neck (Y/N doesn't know if it's in preparation or not but she's too embarrassed to inquire). Maybe she gets to hear some of the stuff they're working on or maybe he wants to not think about work at all, and they'll just chat, and gab, and Y/N is just the right amount of bratty that gives him a reason to be rougher with her. She always waits patiently though, for him to be comfortable, to make the first move, to crawl into the bed where she's usually sitting stretched out and tucking his face into her throat. He'll kiss up her neck, suck a bruise just beneath her jaw, make his way to nip and bite at her mouth.

Y/N is good with everything he does with her -- to her -- usually. She can handle the overstimulation, and the degradation, and the swats to the inside of her thighs, or how he slaps her breast before grabbing and kneading it. She loves all that, it makes her tremble and squirm, and it's just good. Too good -- so good that she just slips right into subspace without even realizing it.

And Chan doesn't realize it either; he can't see her face, to be fair, and she thinks that's usually a dead giveaway. She's covered in drool and cum and bruises, she's sore, he's made her cum 4. . .maybe 5 times at that point and she was quivering with every breath. And he was still saying things, being rough, being mean how she usually likes, but maybe not right now -- maybe she wanted to be told she was good, and she wanted to be pet on, and cuddled against.

But her back was cold because he wasn't stretched over her how he usually is, and his nails bite into her hips. "Just a filthy hole," he grits through his teeth, the sound of their hips colliding and her squelching around him the only things echoing in the room, "Made for me to fuck. Have you always been such a little whore?"

She gasps when his hand slid around her, his fingers swirling over her clit and her toes curl but it's too much, "M'not a whore," she whines, muffled into the pillow.

"Mm, sure," he hums, mocking her as he swats her bum, "And the sky is neon green. If you weren't a whore then why would this pussy take my cock so easy, hm? You opened up like you've been begging for it -- don't I fuck you enough?" Y/N can't answer, her muscles are tight all over, she feels overwhelmed with her chest swollen and her breath caught in her throat. He slaps her bum again, it's a stingy burn she usually likes but now she gasps again and grimaces, "Answer when I ask you a question. Or do you want me to spank your ass until it's sore?"

"Pineapple," Y/N whines out, the first time muffled with the pillow still but she pulls her face from the cushion that she'd been clinging onto, shaking her head, "Pineapple!" She repeated, puffing a harsh breath through her nose.

Y/N doesn't use her safe word often, but from when she has, she knows Chan is always good about it. Just like he is right now -- he slips out of her gently and takes his hands away from her swollen button. He doesn't let go of her hips because he's the only thing keeping her from flopping down on top of the dried cum and the wet little spot she'd been making from how wet she was. He scooted them over just a hair and shoved the sheets that were beneath her out of the way, before guiding her onto her back.

Y/N feels bare and cold as the sweat cools on her skin from the fan blades whipping above them. She hugs her arms around herself but Chan pulls a knitted blanket from the end of the bed and pulls it over her, "Is it okay if I touch you?" He asks, his voice careful and gentle. Y/N nods quickly -- she hadn't fallen that deep into it (when she does that, sometimes she can't even find the words or her voice to speak them).

He cradles her cheek in his hand, wipes away tears that she hadn't realized wet her skin before pressing a gentle kiss to the lips he'd only just been biting and gnawing at earlier, "I'm sorry, baby," he murmured, "Was I being too rough?"

"Just -- just a little," she caught her breath, curling into the blanket but pressing close to his body. His chest was broad and he smelled good, she noses her way into it, "Felt like. . .felt like a lot when I feel like this."

"Hm?" He's confused but the cogs in his brain click and turn quickly then, "Ohhh," he wrapped his arm around her, flattening his palm between her shoulder blades and keeping her pressed close, "I see. You're feeling floaty, aren't you?" She nodded, "Sweet thing, it is hard to handle when someone's being rough with you like this. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she presses a kiss to the center of his chest, his skin soft, "You didn't realize."

They spend some time like this, Chan rubbing her back, her arms, pushing kisses to her forehead -- it's sweet and warm and soft. The aftercare (even if it's premature) is always the best part, Y/N would say, and she thinks Chan likes it too. He likes to feel needed and to take care of people, and this is a way of doing it in such a relaxed way. Just snuggling close, being kissed, told that she did so well for him that she made him feel so good. Eventually she pulls out of it, and when she does, she untucks her face from his chest and lies her head on his bicep. She blinks at him, and he smiles, dimpled and sweet, "Are you okay?"

"Mhmmmmm," she hums, "Right as rain."

"Good," his smile gets bigger, "Do you want to stay and order take out and maybe watch a movie or something?"

Y/N raises her brows, "You already fucked me, what are you trying to butter me up for?" She's only joking -- they do this all the time, because they were just friends at the start of this with no benefits included but she loves seeing how his face warms up bright pink and he's patting her bum and whining at her.

"Hey, I'm not buttering you up!" He grumbled, "I just want to spend time with you, is that so bad?"

Her heart squeezes in her chest, then feels like it swells up, and pushes her ribs to the side to make room for it. He has a nasty habit of making her feel all gooey and in love, but she swats that away just as soon as it comes in favor of snuggling back into his side.

"Yeah, I'll stay," she replied, "Order something good."

#stray kids smut #bang chan x reader #bang chan smut #stray kids x reader

[sungbeam]

nonidol!kevin moon x f!reader

another summer break, another annual trip to the lake! except, it seems like when you and kev get there, you'll have to make some tweaks to the original rescue protocol.

▷ genre, warnings. childhood friends 2 lovers, fluff, hurt/comfort, humor, swearing, motherly meddling and matchmaking, shirtless kevin..., kissing, talks of academic expectations/pressure/insecurity/and lack of fulfillment, kim seokjin is my favorite plot device, this could technically be slow burn, pining-ish?, im sorry joshua + serena, little to no interactions with the other boyz 😔

▷ word count. 29.0k (...hah)

this is the sixth installment of the love in unity series! reading the prev fics is not required, but i do encourage it :] all prev yns will be referred to as _!yn

a/n: return to summer with me 😌 or for those of u on the other side of the world, we can give summer an early welcome :') treat her w kindness pls </3 hope u enjoy!!

EPISODE ONE (PILOT): DON’T YOU LOVE FORESHADOWING?

"IT still feels weird, man." Kevin Moon brushed his hand over the surface of his newly cropped hair, freshly cut specifically for this summer break, just earlier this week. He probably should have gotten it done before he took all those pictures with his graduating friends, but life had been busy as of late.

Jacob Bae, best friend, roommate, and one of the recent graduates, chuckled from the other side of the video chat. "I'm sure it does. But hey, it looks good, so it's not like you have anything to worry about."

Kevin glanced over at the car where his dad was gassing up. His mom was in the back seat, waving her arm out the window to beckon him back to the vehicle. "Thanks," he grinned. "Looks like my mom is telling me to come back. This is probably the last time I'll have signal for a few weeks."

Just behind Kevin was the little gas station he and his parents stopped at for snacks and the last leg of their drive. It was tradition that every summer his family made the trek to their lakeside cabin a few hours out of Vancouver. Except last summer, Kevin couldn't make it; in contrast, this summer, Kevin and his parents were going without Kevin's younger sister. Usually, there were a couple other families that were there at the same time, too, who Kevin had grown up with. It was usually a grand time.

Kevin adjusted the bag of snacks he'd purchased from the store that hung on his arm as he made his way back to the car.

"Make sure to take pics! And say hi to your mom for me," said Jacob.

"Why don't you say hi to her yourself, Jacob-ah?" Kevin's mom chided teasingly as Kevin took his place in the passenger seat next to his dad. Ever since Kevin and Jacob had met at that one, fateful out-of-country student mixer at university, neither of them shut up about each other to their own families. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, locating a fellow Korean-Canadian.

Kevin passed his phone back to his mom, and he heard Jacob's immediate, "Hi imo! How are you?"

"I've been doing well. Wah, you look so glowy," his mom marveled, and Kevin felt her nudge him in the shoulder. "Hyungseo-ah, maybe you should get a girlfriend, too, if this is how radiant Jacob looks after so long."

Jacob's warm chuckle contrasted Kevin's groan. The latter rubbed his hand down his face with an embarrassed wince. "Eomma," he said weakly, sliding down in his seat. Not this again.

The car began to roll out of the gas station and he lowered his window to catch the breeze as they went. He already recognized the pattern of trees in this area, and his heart fluttered at the thought of being so close to childhood again. The lake was always a favorite place of his.

"—Kevin mentioned something about other families being there?"

"Oh, yes. We're always there with the Ln family, and more recently, Kevin's cousin—you know Yuna, right? She and her husband Seokjin meet us there with their kids now."

Kevin rested his elbow along the edge of the window. "Uncle Seokjin is an interesting character, Cobie," he mused. "I think you'd get along."

"Seokjin gets along with everyone," his dad chimed in.

"You know who you should get along with, Kevin?—" Kevin already knew where his mom was going with this, "—Yn Ln! You're not gonna be shy after spending so long away from her, are you?"

Jacob's voice echoed in the car. "Who's Yn Ln?"

Kevin squirmed in his seat. "Just—a family friend. Mom, can we please not make this a big deal?" And why in the world would he be shy around his childhood best friend? Three years couldn’t have changed a person that much, could it? You were cute—but in a dorky way—that was how he had always seen you.

She sent him an innocent look. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know what I'm talking about," he said, twisting around in his seat to send her a pleading look. "I don't wanna make her uncomfortable, especially since… y'know… we're not kids anymore?"

His mom made a sound of disapproval, but relented. "Aish, fine. I won't say anything; I promise."

A beat of silence. Then from the phone, "I still have no clue what's going on."

The twins were being a pain again. Most of the time, since you were away at college, you actually missed the twin hellspawn, but you should have known that bliss would shatter the moment you had to endure another five hour car ride with them.

"—MAMA, CONNOR IS BEING A JERK—"

"WELL, ALICE WOULDN'T SHARE THE GOLDFISH!"

The noise-canceling headphones weren't working. Usually, they worked substantially well when trying to block out the frat party noises at school, but they weren't holding up well against adolescent discourse. You would have thought that once they had grown out of toddler-hood, they would calm down a little, but sibling rivalry prevailed.

You shucked your useless headphones off and twisted around in your seat to peer into the backseat. "Here, have mine," you said, dropping your bag of goldfish into your little brother's lap.

Connor's eyes lit up in delight. "Thanks, Yn!"

Your ears rang as you turned back to the front.

The drive up to the lake house was something you and your family did every summer, except, you hadn't gone two summers ago for a summer internship. It was a tradition completed with other families—namely the Moons, who were longtime family friends out of Vancouver. You hadn't seen Kevin, their only son who was your age, in two years because of your conflicting schedules. It would have happened again this year, but your misfortune had you internship-less. Then again, a trip to the lake was never a bad thing.

You leaned your head back against your seat rest to enjoy the rare moment of silence in the car. Already, you could begin to point out the familiar scenery out of your window.

“I heard we’re gonna be getting new neighbors this year,” you heard your mother say from the front row, breaking the brief quiet.

You blinked out of your daze, shifting in your seat and to give momentary relief to your aching behind. “Oh, really? Do we know who they are?”

“Aw, so Uncle Jin and Auntie Yuna aren’t coming to the lake with us?” Alice pouted from the backseat.

“No, Uncle and Auntie are both still coming up with us,” you dad piped up from the driver’s seat. He caught your eyes through the rear view mirror. “Their little ones are coming, too. We’re just gonna have even more people this year.”

“Should be fun,” you murmured. You leaned down to rummage through the backpack at your feet for your backup bag of snacks (because some part of your brain just knew that the twins would forget how to share).

“I can’t wait to see Kevin!” This was Connor; you could feel the car shake as he bounced up and down in his seat. “I’ve been wanting to show him my new helicopter—”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Con, you brought the helicopter?”

“Yeah, and what about it?”

Before further argument could erupt between you and your brother, your mom stepped in. “Speaking of Kevin…”

You could feel the coming conversation like there were dark gray storm clouds forming in the distance—impending doom, you liked to think. You fumbled with the opening of your chip bag. “Mama, could you possibly, by any chance, not try and set me and Kevin up anymore?” There, you’d said it. It was out in the open.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” your mother sniffed. “I only think that you and Kevin would be very nice together! It’s already so convenient that our families are long-time friends, and—”

“Mama,” you emphasized. “I don’t wanna get into a relationship for convenience's sake.” Your skin was already beginning to heat. Having known the Moons for so long, as well as having kids the same age, your mom and his mom had harped on the opportunity to bring your families together through more than one way.

“She just doesn’t want to get into a relationship at all!” Your little brother cackled.

You sent him a dull look over your shoulder. “And after I gave you my goldfish?” The situation concerning relationships wasn’t as Connor so bluntly put it; rather, you simply had yet to find the right person, as it was for many people. A relationship would have been nice, but when it came, then it would come. Plus, you were pretty sure that Kevin wasn’t the most comfortable with being matchmade with you by the Mother Matchmakers either. That was what the pact was for, anyway.

“I’m just saying that Kevin is a smart, good-looking young man,” your mother teased.

You hadn’t seen him in almost three years, but how much could three years change a guy? Maybe you would admit that he was cute. If you hadn’t known him since he wore Cars diapers, maybe you would have had a crush on him. “No matchmaking,” you repeated.

Your mother sighed melodramatically. “Fine. No matchmaking with Kevin.”

“Thank you,” you said, settling into your seat. Something stirred in the back of your mind, though. For some reason, you had a feeling that this wasn’t the end of this conversation. But as you turned your attention back to the scenery whizzing past you, you let all dealings with matchmaking, boys, and relationships sink to the very back of your mind.

EPISODE TWO: IT’S CALLED AN AMBUSH

THANKS to the convenience of no signal, you could safely attempt to forget about the internship you hadn’t landed this year. The entire debacle had been a headache and a half, but the residual sadness still lingered. There was something about the lakehouse, though, that gave you hope that you could get over it. While you wouldn’t spend this summer doing something “productive” toward your career, you would at least be presented with a pleasant alternative.

Your dad pulled the family SUV into the gravel driveway of your family lakehouse, and childhood flooded back to you. All of the dark oak walls and browned window sills and wildflowers blooming in the front walkway among the grass… You could remember crashing your bike into that one bush to the side of the house where the rain gutter now stood hugging the building.

The twins had fallen asleep sometime between the matchmaking conversation and here, which left the car in a sort of serenity that matched the surroundings. Your house in particular was one of the few houses that was perched a little higher than the lakeshore. There were a couple around the lake that sat directly on the water with docks built into their lower levels though.

You notched your car door open, shouldered your backpack, then quietly lowered your car’s seat. Connor, who was sitting directly behind you, had his head tilted to the side, mouth wide open to catch flies as he slept. With a cheeky smile, you snapped a picture of him. Once tucking your phone away, you climbed into the back to shake him and Alice awake.

“Hey, we’re here,” you murmured. Your parents were already beginning to unload the car of your supplies for the next couple of weeks.

Your brother’s eyes fluttered open, and his arms stretched over his head as he began to compute his surroundings. “Mmm… I’m hungry,” he babbled and smacked his lips together.

Yep, this one was awake.

You patted his face in your version of sisterly affection as you leaned over him to get to his twin. “You gotta wait, dude. You’re gonna ruin your dinner.”

He rubbed his hand over his face. “You always sound like Mom when you say that.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” you huffed. You nudged your sister. “Hey, Alice. Up, hm?”

She shifted in her seat, eyes still closed. “Are we here yet?”

“Yeah, hon. We’re here.” With your task completed, you backed out of the car to make space for the twins to climb out after you. You took a step backwards, your foot catching against something and making you tumble into the person directly behind you. “Ah! Shi—”

“Language!” Your mom called from the other side of the car. “Hi Kevin! Wow, did you get a haircut?”

Kevin…?

You recognized the warm chuckle behind you, and the arms helping to steady you patted your shoulders in greeting. “I did!”

When you whirled around, your mouth stretched in a grin, but you didn’t expect to come face to face with the confident stature of the man behind you. He was in a tank top and shorts, which were definitely proper attire for the humid temperature, and yet, your brain was thinking about the amount of arm muscle there was. Oh, and of course, the cropped black hair. You could have sworn his jaw got sharper, too… This was not the timid-faced Kevin Moon—rising freshman in college—you last recalled.

“Kevin!” Connor’s body rocketed past you and crashed into Kevin’s legs.

Kevin bent down slightly to ruffle your little brother’s hair. “Hey, little man! What’s good?”

“I wanna show you my helicopter—!”

“Connor,” Alice said as she hopped out of the car, “Mama wants you to help bring in your stuff, and then you can show Kevin your helicopter.”

Connor’s mouth gaped open like a fish’s. “Wha—what about Yn?”

“Well, that’s just what Mama said, so,” your little sister said matter-of-factly. She raised a hand in a wave to Kevin. “Hi!”

Kevin returned the gesture with a sweet smile. “Hi, Alice.”

You and Kevin watched as your twin siblings raced into the lakehouse with their backpacks strapped onto their bodies. You could hear their hollering from out here as they fought over who would get the top bunk this year.

“They’ve gotten taller,” Kevin commented, drawing your attention back to him.

You brushed your hair from your face. “Yeah, you should’ve seen my reaction when I came back home and they were like, not small enough where I could trip over them anymore.”

The two of you shared a small laugh, and you held one arm with your other. You hadn’t realized how a few years could reset things between the two of you, but you supposed it was also attributed to the fact that three years away at college could lead to a lot of difference and a lot of growth.

“So what’s new with you?” You asked him and nudged his arm with your elbow. “Have you been working out?” You blurted, but ran with it.

Kevin smiled, reaching back to cup the nape of his neck with that sheepishness you recognized as something distinctly Kevin. Maybe things weren’t so different. “Hah, yeah actually. Is it that noticeable?”

You looked him up and down with what you hoped he saw as teasing and not you actually checking him out. “Yeah, dude. You look good though.”

“Really? Thanks, Yn. I appreciate it.” He stuck his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "You look good, too—and oh my god, I have so much to catch you up on—"

"Hyungseo! Stop hogging Yn and come in to help with dinner." Just a little ways down the path, Kevin’s mom peered out from the front porch of the Moons’ house. The houses in this neighborhood were a little more spread out than the average suburban street, but their house had always been the closest to yours.

You could have sworn you saw a dusting of pink on your friend’s cheekbones. “I’m not hogging her,” he groaned. He turned back to you, throwing a thumb in the direction of his house. “I’ll see you guys over at ours in a few then?”

You gave a nod. “For sure. My mom and I marinated a couple things for tonight this morning, so we’ll be bringing those over.”

“Sweet,” he grinned, already backpedaling toward his house. “See ya, Yn!”

“Bye, Kevin,” you chuckled and bounded up toward your house.

Once everyone in your household had settled in for the most part, your dad corralled your siblings over to the Moon house, while you and your mom brought over your family’s offerings of tonight’s dinner. Instead of entering through their front door, you simply bypassed the invisible property line between your houses and found Kevin and his dad firing up the barbeque on the back lawn.

Kevin looked up from the box of aluminum foil in his hands and dropped it onto the table. "Oh, auntie! Let me get that for you," he said, meeting you in the middle and taking the tray out of your mom's hands.

"Thank you," she said to him. "How has school been, Kevin? Remind me again—you're a…?"

"Photography major," he replied. The three of you swept past Kevin's dad on your way up to the Moons' house.

"Ah, how's that going for you?"

"It's going well—" Your mom slid the screen door open and you all deposited your shoes to the side before entering the kitchen. "—I should be able to graduate two quarters early, which is nice."

Your mom nodded her head. "That's good, that's good. Katherine, it's nice to see you again!"

As your mom shuffled over to the sink where Kevin's mom was washing a colander of cabbage, you and Kevin set the trays down on the kitchen island.

You heard Kevin's gasp of delight when he lifted the foil off his. "No way. I love your mom's short ribs so much," he said, tipping his head back with his eyes closed.

You laughed at his reaction. "Me, too dude. It's never the same when I try to recreate it at school."

"Oh, for sure," he agreed. He cocked his head to the side, a frown coming into his face. "These should probably go back out to the grill then, huh."

You considered the two trays of meat before you. "You're right."

You both covered the trays back over and began to make your way back out to the lawn.

"Has Connor showed you his helicopter yet?" You asked Kevin while you slid your shoes back on.

The screen door slid shut behind him with his other arm carrying his tray. "He did." Kevin brightened, "It's cool. That kid should go into aviation or engineering."

"That's what I'm thinking," you said. "Though, he's not the greatest at math, but I guess he still has a long way to go before he even needs to consider all that."

He nodded, sighing. "That's true. The twins have a long way to go. Crazy how far we've gotten, y'know?"

You both dropped the marinated meat trays over by Kevin's dad, only to greet your dad on the way down to help out. You were sure that you and Kevin were needed up at the house anyway; your dad had mentioned something about having Connor and Alice start on the batch of kimchi. You hoped he had set up some newspaper this time to avoid a mess.

"My sister says your porch swing broke last year," Kevin said as he followed you back into the kitchen.

"Oh yeah!" You snorted. "Pro tip: don't try to fit two families on that thing. Not a good idea."

The moms directed you both over to the fruits and vegetables on the counter that still needed to be prepped, and you picked up a knife, and Kevin a peeler.

Kevin's brows knitted together as he tossed and caught an asian pear with one hand. "You guys tried to fit both families on that thing? It could barely handle two people the last time I remember."

"Hey, in our defense," you started, already giggling at the memory, "we wanted a cool picture, but then we ended up almost putting a hole through our porch. Lesson learned."

"Lesson learned, indeed." He shook his head as he shucked the pretty ring of golden peel he'd gotten from the pear into the paper bag beside him. "Is it fixed now?"

"Should be," you said. You used the blade of your knife to help coax the peel of the red onion off, then diligently began to take the rest off. "We need a maximum occupancy sign to go with it."

He laughed. "Something like 'less than four people' or something?"

"I think it can handle four people!"

His eyebrows arched high. "You wanna test that theory?"

You glanced up from your diced onions for just a second to meet his gaze. "Uhm no. But you are definitely welcome to."

"Oh, no, no! I'm not getting looped into this solo again like you did with the tire swing that one year."

"Okay, that time wasn't my fault! You said that you bet we could ride it together without breaking the tree branch, and I said—"

Your thought train cut off when the doorbell rang. Both yours and Kevin's heads perked up at the sound and darted in the direction like a pair of meerkats. Even from this room, you could hear the front door being opened and the commotion firing up. There was only one family left to join the party, and you knew exactly who had come to make his presence known.

In minimal time, a lanky man with dark brown bangs and a magazine-cover-worthy face barged into the kitchen with his hands raised, full of grocery bags, and a child riding in a carrier on his chest. "Hello, everyone! Your favorite, most handsome uncle has arrived."

"Hi, Uncle Jin," both you and Kevin chorused, as Kevin's mom took the grocery bags from him with thanks. Your mom must have been the one who opened the door since she had gone into the other room to monitor the twins and their kimchi.

"Hello, children—wow," Kim Seokjin said as he made eyes at Kevin's arms, giving them a little squish. "Close the gyms, everyone. What have they been feeding you at college?"

Kevin's face reddened. "It's nothing, really."

"Nothing?" Seokjin made eye contact with you. "You're seeing this, too, right?"

You swallowed your laugh, but you couldn't suppress your smile. "I'm seeing it, too," you confirmed. You set your knife down and gently ran your finger over baby Leena's head; you wondered how she was still asleep with how loud her father's voice was. "Awh, she's adorable."

Your uncle by association put his hands on his hips. "Fatherhood is great, but let me tell you," he said with flair, "after two kids, I don't want anymore. I think I've seen enough dirty diapers for you both combined."

Kevin laughed. "I'm sure Yuna-noona's on the same page."

"Yes, your cousin and I are definitely on the same page," Jin confirmed while clasping a hand on Kevin's shoulder. His eyes widened, and he gave the muscle beneath his fingers a squeeze. "Jesus—"

"Jin! Do you know where the bag with the formula is?" That was Yuna, Kevin's cousin, calling from the next room over. Soon, her head poked in through the doorway, and her mouth curved into a delighted smile at the sight of familiar faces. "Oh, hi everyone!"

"I think it's in the red colored bag, babe," Jin said as he turned away from you and Kevin and waddled over to where his wife was.

"That's what I thought, too, but I can't find it."

With the young couple now off in search of their bag of baby formula, you and Kevin were again left to yourselves with the fruits and vegetables.

You scooped the diced onions up with one hand and the blade of your knife into an empty bowl for later. "Well, that was…"

"Quite an entrance?" Kevin finished. You could still see the rosiness in his cheeks. "Yup."

"You can always count on Uncle Jin to liven up a place."

"Oh, definitely." Kevin picked up another pear to peel; they would probably either be sliced up for the kids to eat or maybe used to make a dessert later. Something of the sort, at least. "Now where were we?"

You raised your brows as you picked up a carrot. "I think we were talking about how you broke the tire swing in seventh grade."

The evening progressed swiftly with everyone's combined efforts in throwing dinner together. By the time the sun was about to make its descent into the horizon, all three families were moved out onto the back lawn with chairs set up and meats cooking on the grill. There was something beautiful about the lake at this hour—then again, there was always something beautiful about the lake. You couldn’t put your finger on it, but even the way the mosquitoes danced in the waning sunlight made your chest feel warm and fuzzy.

If you strained your vision a little, you could even make out the shapes of people on the opposite shoreline beginning to light campfires of their own. Most of the people who lived around the perimeter of the lake sublet their properties during the non-vacation seasons like your family, the Moons, and the Kims. Then, when the time came, they would return to their lakehouse hideaways for much needed rejuvenation.

As golden hour painted the landscape glorious shades of auburn and butter, you caught your mother making her way toward you out of the corner of your eye.

“Yn-ah,” she said to you with a plate of the fruit that you and Kevin had cut earlier in her hands. She gestured for you to take it from her, then nodded up over to the house on the other side of the Moons’ place. “Take the twins and go welcome our new guests.”

You furrowed your brows. “New guests?” When you followed her gaze, you saw that the house next door had acquired a new car in its driveway. You definitely didn’t recognize it, but you managed to spot what looked like someone disappearing in the front door of the house.

“They’re one of the new families, I think,” she told you. She then gave you a little nudge, urging, “Go. We’re still working on dinner anyways.”

You glanced between the plate of fruit in your possession, then searched the back lawn for the hellspawn. When you located their whereabouts (skipping through a pair of hula hoops over by the big oak tree), you marched over to them to repeat your mother’s instructions.

“Oi!” You called out.

Alice looked over at you as she stopped her skipping. “I don’t want fruit,” she said when she saw what you were holding.

You stopped just short of Connor’s hula hoop circumference. “It’s not for you. Mama wants us to go say hi to the new neighbors. Come on.”

“Do we have to?”

“If I do, then yes. And Mama said so.” Plus, you were not planning to go alone upon any circumstance. Your social anxiety could not take showing up at a stranger’s doorstep alone and with fruit.

The twins dropped their hula hoops and begrudgingly trudged after you. No child could trump the “Mom said so” card. At least, not in this household.

With your siblings following after you like two ducklings to a Mother Goose, Kevin saw the line of you walking past from where he was stationed beside his dad. His eyes zipped from you, the kids, and the plate of fruit, then cocked his head to the side in bemused inquiry.

You inclined your head toward the house you aimed for in the distance and lifted the plate of fruit as if that was enough explanation.

He gave a grave nod for your sake, teasing of course, then held up his free hand in a thumb’s up for encouragement.

Nonetheless, you and your siblings carried on.

The lakehouse on the Moons’ other side was similar to all the others around the lake: dark wood walls, doors encased in a protective screen door, grass and flowers growing out of the cracks where the house met the earth. You could feel your siblings converge on you, nearly hiding behind you, as you all approached the front door. It wasn’t that the house looked scary in any way—it was just the prospect of new people that was the scary part. You were sure this family was just as friendly as everyone else, but it didn’t hurt to be a little nervous.

When the three of you reached the front door, you raised your hand to ring the doorbell.

You could hear the echo of the bell inside the house, followed swiftly by a man’s voice, “I’ll get it!”

Footsteps drawing closer… then the locks came undone, and finally, the main door inside the screen swung open.

“Hi,” greeted the young man on the other side.

You paused when his face became clearer after opening the screen door. He was, to put it bluntly, awfully pretty. Dark hair swept back out of his face and behind his ear, a prince’s facial features, and a smile that was as beautiful as the golden hour greeted you and your siblings. Even his voice was soft.

Alice held onto the side of your shorts pocket. “You're pretty.”

The man made an expression of humble surprise, and heat rose to your neck. “Sorry,” you stammered. “We’re from a couple doors down and we wanted to welcome you to the lake. These are for you and your family.” You managed to pass the plate over to him without being any more embarrassing.

He accepted the offering graciously. “Oh, wow. Thank you so much! That’s so thoughtful.”

You placed your hands on either of your siblings’ backs to push them forward slightly. “I’m Yn, and these are my little siblings, Alice and Connor.”

Your siblings chimed in their hellos to the pretty man.

His eyes narrowed in upturned crescent moons, smile widening. “Well it’s really nice to meet you guys. I’m Joshua, but my friends call me Josh or Shua.”

EPISODE THREE: MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN…

IT turned out that your mother had an ulterior motive for sending you and your siblings to greet the newcomers. She had popped up behind you soon after Joshua had introduced himself to invite him and his family to have dinner with you. You could sniff out the conspiracy from a mile away, but you still wanted to give your mom the benefit of the doubt.

When the first night passed without anything happening, though, you slowly let your guard down. (Rookie mistake.)

Everyone crashed into bed after cleaning up dinner. The move up to the lake was a tiring one, and the promise of an early start the next morning proved to be more than enough encouragement to hit the hay.

You were on the living room couch with Alice sitting on the floor between your legs the next day. It was late morning by this time, and you and your siblings had just woken up less than an hour ago. Your dad was still asleep, and your mom? Well, you weren’t really sure where he was.

“Ow, can you stop tugging?” Alice whined under her breath, her hand rocketing up to the back of her head to stop your hands.

You paused your movement for the third time in the past fifteen minutes. “It wouldn’t hurt this bad if you would just let me run a comb through it.”

“The brush works fine if you use it correctly!”

You exhaled sharply and pressed your lips together. There was never any rest between your two little siblings, whether it was amongst themselves or against you. You supposed you could just suck it up for the time being; it wasn’t often that you got to braid your little sister’s hair. She usually just liked to leave it down.

You heard the backdoor open and shut behind you, and the both of you turned your heads to see who it was. Your mom entered the house with perspiration gleaming on her face as she took off her sun hat and tossed it onto one of the dining room chairs.

“Hi Mama,” the two of you said, one after the other.

Your mom settled onto the couch cushion next to you. “Hi girls. Is your brother and dad up yet?”

“Connor’s with Uncle Jin and Aunt Yuna,” said Alice. “Daddy’s still asleep though.”

“Mm,” she hummed. She combed her fingers through her sweat-soaked hair. “It’s a warm morning out,” she murmured, then quickly added, “hey you.” She knocked her hand against your arm.

“Hm?” You asked as you finished up Alice’s braid and tied it off with the blue Cinnamoroll hair tie she’d chosen. You patted her back with your hand. “You’re done.”

Your little sister hopped to her feet. “Thanks!” She dashed away and out of the room—to where, you had no clue. You figured she knew where the food was if she was hungry.

You angled your body to squish your side against the couch cushions and face your mother. “What were you saying?”

“Ah, I was going to talk to you about the Joshua Hong boy.”

Joshua Hong. You didn’t realize you could hear a man’s name so often within twelve hours.

You made a gesture with your hand. “What about the Joshua Hong boy, Mom?”

“Well, isn’t he a handsome one?” She asked you enthusiastically, straightening in her seat. It was alarming how bright her expression became. “I spoke to his mom while Kevin and I were walking just now, and he’s only a few years older than you, you know.”

You heard a metaphorical record scratch. What? There was so much in that one sentence that you needed to unpack. You raised your hands to signal her to pause. “Wait, since when do you and Kevin take walks together?” What could they have been talking about? You knew Kevin was an exceptional conversationalist, but never in your time at the lake had you known of this interaction.

Your mother blinked. “Oh, we started the tradition when you didn’t come up with us that one year.”

“Tradition?” So this happened more than once? You didn’t know why you were so scandalized by this information—it was just Kevin after all. You knew your parents and even your siblings were all fond of him—of course they were. You were arguably even more fond of him, but that wasn’t the point. You hoped she hadn't said anything about you and him as an item at any point of time… you trusted that Kevin could handle that though; that was what the pact was for, after all.

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this?” She arched a brow. “But anyway, yes, so we bumped into Josh’s mom on the last leg around the lake, and she mentioned that he’s majoring in chemistry and planning to go into medicine. You guys might have something in common.”

You pursed your lips. Perhaps the two of you might have something to talk about, but your track was pre-veterinary rather than pre-med. There was probably a middle ground though... Maybe you were just being stubborn.

“Just make friends or something,” she said to you while standing up from the couch. “You need more of those.”

Your eyes shot wide open. “Hello? Mom?” Now that was simply uncalled for.

She chuckled impishly as she walked away and disappeared down the hall, leaving you to yourself. You were lucky neither of the twins were here to hear that burn.

It wasn’t much longer than a couple hours later that you found yourself on the backyard lawn space setting up the badminton net between two oak trees with Kevin’s assistance. Everyone was outside and awake, and the kids were all seated up on your house’s back porch munching on the watermelon that Yuna cut for them.

You tightened the string on one side of the net. “So he didn't kiss her?” You queried.

Kevin sputtered a laugh, yanking his side to test its integrity. “Yeah,” he said. “Isn’t it so funny? According to multiple sources, Sunwoo and Chanhee barged in at the perfect moment, and frankly—” Kevin raised his arms up in the air and let them fall for effect, “—ruined the moment.”

"Pfft.” You considered that for a moment. An almost kiss ruined by a comedically timed interruption from a guy drunk off liquor and love, and the friend tasked with dumping his ass at home. That was bad luck if you ever heard it. “And what about that other dude? The Hyunjae guy? Did he finally fix his eyesight?”

Your friend leaned back against his oak tree, ankles crossed over the other and arms braided over his chest. A pair of shades rested backwards on his head to complete his summer-worthy ensemble of shorts and T-shirt. “His literal eyesight is still shit, but yeah, he and HJ!Yn are together now. Took for-fucking-ever, but—”

“Language!” Jin yelled like a referee on the sideline of a soccer match. “We have children in the vicinity.”

Kevin brushed a hand through his hair. “Whoopsies, sorry!” He turned back to you. “Anyways, yes, they are finally together. Man, having someone watch my cursing makes it seem like Jacob is here with me.”

You noticed the fond twinkle in his eyes as he stared out at the still waters of the lake just down the way from you both. “You talk about this Jacob guy a lot,” you said to him. “I think I need to meet the person who’s threatening to knock me off the best friend pedestal.”

“He already has,” he jested.

You let out an indignant squawk. “Hurtful!”

Connor, watermelon juice smeared all around his mouth, added rather unnecessarily, “So you don’t want a partner and you don’t have friends. What do you have, Yn?”

You leveled a scowl at him. “An annoying little brother.”

“Hey!”

In a tone dryer than the Sahara Desert, Alice chimed in, “Guess that makes me the favorite twin.”

“I should tell you about Sangyeon. I need to yell about Sangyeon,” Kevin huffed indignantly, snapping his fingers as if the thought just hit him. You whipped your head back over. “Oh my god, dude, you know what happened at the graduation ceremony? It was like, straight out of a scene from a movie—!”

You never got to find out what was just like it was out of a movie, because your mom appeared in the distance with the Hongs. They all came wielding badminton racquets—how convenient. You didn’t mind the extra company, of course, and despite your stubbornness, you knew Joshua and his family were very nice people.

You caught the tail end of your mother’s conversation with Josh and his mom: “...Yn used to play badminton on the high school team. She could’ve gone to the Olympics if she really wanted to—”

Well, that was only partly true. Your team had gone to Nationals, but the Olympics was one step above Worlds. You liked to think you were pretty good at the sport, but you hoped your mom wasn’t talking up you and your abilities too much.

“Oh, wow. I’m a soccer person myself,” said Joshua good-naturedly. “I don’t really know much about badminton, but it seems like a really fun sport.”

"Yn's a great teacher. She taught the twins how to play." Ah, there it was.

When they were within a comfortable distance, you raised your hand in a wave. "Hi hello!"

"Hello Yn," Joshua's mom said back. "Hi Kevin."

Kevin dipped his head with a smile. "Hi Auntie."

"Yn-ah," said your mom as she took you by the arm, dragging you over toward Joshua, "I was just talking to Josh about how good you are at badminton."

Your eyes widened slightly, and you noted the way Joshua's did the same. You made eye contact with Kevin as this happened. He seemed caught at a crossroads, unable to help or say anything. "I guess I'm okay at it."

"Liar," Kevin suddenly jumped in.

You sent him a look. Wait really?

He shrugged sheepishly. "I don't wanna downplay your abilities, dude. You're really good."

Oh. "Thanks, Kev," you said, blinking. Your heart warmed at the finger guns he sent your way. It was nice to know he had your back.

"Good! See? You and Josh should play doubles together." Your mother somehow got a racquet into your hand. She clapped her hands and ushered her two other children off their butts. "Come on, you two, you can be on Kevin's team."

"But that's not what doubles means, Mama—"

Joshua sidled up beside you with an apology in his smile. "Sorry, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I don't want you to be forced to teach me or anything."

Guilt wormed itself into your stomach. "No, no! It's totally okay," you amended swiftly. "This all just happened really quickly, but I'd be so down to teach you badminton, if you'd like."

He bobbed his head up and down, patting the netting of his racquet. "Okay, yeah. That'd be really cool actually."

You nodded, returning his expression. "Cool."

You and Joshua had somehow taken over the makeshift badminton court. The twins had gotten tired of the "big kids" playing too hard, and Kevin… actually, you didn't know why Kevin put down his racquet. But at some point, you noticed that he was just hanging out in a chair, sipping some kind of fruit juice as he observed you and Joshua. (That was what you assumed he was doing. There was a book propped open in his lap, but you hadn't seen him turn a page in a while. And he had put his sunglasses on, so you couldn't exactly see what his eyes were doing.)

You tracked the birdie as it flew over the net to your side. "Nice!" You praised, taking a few steps in the diagonal to hit the birdie back over with an easy backhand flick.

Joshua stumbled forward, but hit it back over. "Shoot," he said, barely catching himself before he crashed into the netting.

You chuckled, "Careful." You backed up and gave the birdie a gentle bump.

It sailed over the net, but it landed too close to it for Joshua to get a clean shot back over. He sighed as he bent down to pick the projectile up from the grass. "Dang. Nice hit, Yn."

Content with your shot as well, you walked over to the net to meet him. "Thanks, man."

"Hyungseo-ah!"

You watched as Kevin stood up from his chair at his mom's call. "Yeah, what's up?"

As she strolled over to him, she was reapplying sunscreen onto her arms and face. "We have more new neighbors. Since you're not doing anything, you should come and welcome them with me. There’s someone I think you should meet."

You and Kevin locked gazes for a second before he turned back to his mom. You didn't know why you kept looking at each other—this all felt like déjà vu, but maybe it was the fact that it seemed like your moms were separating you both instead of bringing you together that was throwing you off.

"Uhm, sure, Mom." He dropped his book into his seat and followed after his mom.

Your gaze trailed after him for a moment before you snapped back to reality. You swiped the sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand. "Sorry, where were we?"

Just then, Seokjin made his way down the lakeshore with baby Leena strapped to his chest again. He threw up an arm in greeting. "Hey, kids. You guys still at it?"

"Yup," you said back. "He's getting good at it!"

Joshua laughed lightly. "Ah, you flatter me. It's just 'cause Yn's a good teacher."

Seokjin's eyes flickered between the two of you. "Huh. I'm sure she is."

"Anyways," you coughed. "Did you just come from the new neighbor's house or something?" He hadn't arrived from the direction of his own house, which was on the other side of yours.

Your uncle by association gave his affirmative, one hand pressed gently on the back of his baby in his holster. "Of course! You know I'm too nosy to not have gone to introduce myself and see what's up. The couple has a girl around your age, Yn-ie. Their son is off in Paris for his job or something though."

The two men could probably see the gears in your brain turning. Another person who was around yours and Kevin's age? You really didn't want to read too much into it, but—you pushed the thought to the side. It probably wasn't what you were thinking, right?

"Uh, you good, Yn?" Joshua asked.

Your eyes shuttered. "Yeah. I was just thinking about something." You gestured with your racquet in a flourish. "How about another round?"

EPISODE FOUR: THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS DEAL™

THE crickets were particularly melodious tonight. Their chirrups became lovely background music as you perched on the stairs of your back porch beneath the warm glow of the outside light. Moths swarmed the bulb, casting little shadow puppets along the wooden deck.

You were hunched over one of the few books you brought along with you for the trip. Your siblings liked to tease you for bringing “school work” on a summer trip, but these had been purchased out of your own interest. It was an anthology of experiences related to animal behavior. The certain piece that had originally caught your eye had been about the Alaskan husky’s primal nature to run, and their participation in dog sled racing. You’d come across it originally in a magazine on an airplane, finding yourself enthralled in a story of the stamina, determination, and hard work that these dogs faced in the brutal Alaskan winters.

When your plane landed, you had gone online and found more stories like them. Thus, the book in your lap and money down the drain. (Though, you would argue that it was money well-spent.)

“Warm night out.”

You startled, heart galloping in your chest, as Kevin appeared in your periphery and stepped into the light.

To his credit, he took on a sheepish sort of grin. “Oops, sorry. Probably should have given a warning or something.”

You pressed a hand to your palpitating heart and scooted over to give him room to sit on the step next to you. “No, it’s all good. I don’t think there was really any way that you could have warned me.” You were probably way too deep into your book to have even noticed if he was any quieter.

He took a seat beside you, posture mimicking yours with his forearms pressed onto his knees. “You’re right,” he murmured. “Whatcha reading?” He asked while inclining his chin toward the pages in your lap.

“Oh.” You kept a couple fingers wedged between the pages you were on as you flipped to the cover to show him. “It’s just this, uhm, collection of stories on animal behavior. Real fascinating stuff, actually, and a lot of it is kind of inspirational.” You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, unsure of why you were always shy about telling people about something you were passionate about. You shouldn’t have thought so little of Kevin Moon, though. He never gave you any worries about being judged.

“Oh, that sounds neat,” he said, scooting closer. “Is it for your major? You’re still doing wildlife biology, right—or is it ecology?”

“Wildlife biology,” you confirmed. “It’s not for my major or anything, no. Just something I was interested in.”

A thought suddenly occurred to you and you were rewinding all of the things that had happened in the past couple of days. Before Kevin could comment further on the topic of majors, you piped up, “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

His eyes widened a smidge, his posture straightening. “Oh? What about?”

You felt around the porch deck for the receipt you had been using as a makeshift bookmark, hand flopping around before you snatched it up and slipped it into the pages of your book. You set the book aside. “Is it just me, or are our moms… you know…”

“Doing the Thing again?” He finished. He sighed with a little grimace, “Yeah, I think I’m seeing it.”

The “Thing” that both you and Kevin were referring to was none other than the very act of matronly matchmaking taking place between you and the new kids on the block. At least you could confirm that you weren’t overthinking it.

You recalled the events of earlier today when Kevin and his mom had come back to where everyone else was with the new family that had just arrived. The Xus were another party of just three—their oldest son was in Paris, as Seokjin reported, but their youngest, Serena, was yours and Kevin's age. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who Kevin's mom wanted to introduce her son to.

“You know what’s crazy?” You said to him then, “On the car ride up here, I asked my mom—like, point-blank, you know?—to not try to matchmake us anymore.”

Kevin perked up. “Dude. That’s crazy, because that’s what I asked my mom on the car ride up here.”

You sputtered, “You’re kidding.”

“Great minds think alike,” he said, lip curling upward into a smile and his arms coming up in a halfhearted shrug. “But I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.”

Now that you were thinking back to your own conversation, you should have known something fishy was going on when your mom mentioned Kevin specifically… You only thought that she was being thorough in her understanding of what you were asking her to do, but turned out, it was only a loophole. “You’re so right,” you groaned and tilted your head backward. “Literally what are we gonna do?”

The two of you stewed in silence on this fine night.

There was one night, similar to this one, where you had sought each other out. You couldn’t remember what year it was—something close to sixth grade when both of you had the mind to realize the game your moms were trying to play. From that night came a pact of sorts, one that would hopefully try to steer each other away from a fate that neither of you were sure that you wanted yet. After all, eleven years old was a little premature to be talking about who you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, right?

Kevin leaned back onto his palms. “We need to make a new pact, I think.”

Your head swiveled over to him. “Amendments to the pact?”

“Either amend it or come up with a new one to fit our current situation,” he said. “A rescue protocol.”

A rescue protocol… you could see it begin to take shape in your head. The previous pact was different—an agreement between you and Kevin that you were both simply friends, no matter how many times your moms made you do chores together, or tie each other’s shoelaces, or swap numbers and emails and social media. And it had worked, for the most part; you were both still friends after all these years.

But this time would have to be different. Your moms weren’t driving you toward each other anymore.

“The Rescue Protocol—is that what we’re calling it?” You mused in an attempt to bring mirth to the conversation.

Kevin made a sound like a laugh. “Better than ‘the pact,’ I like to think.”

“How about the ‘Damsel in Distress Deal?’”

He let out an actual laugh this time. You got to watch his eyes turn up into crescent moons, the corners crinkling with pretty smile lines. His smile was always contagious, even after all this time. “The ‘Damsel in Distress Deal?’” He parroted. When he allowed the phrase to soak into his brain for a second, tongue massaging his bottom lip, he relented. “Okay, that’s actually not bad.”

You giggled. “So we either call it the Rescue Protocol or the Damsel in Distress Deal, trademark.”

“Trademark?” His reaction sent you into a flurry of snickers, hand clamped over your mouth so the sounds wouldn’t wake up your family. “What? Are we gonna advertise this idea to people?” He chuckled.

“It’s a good idea!”

“We don’t even know what the parameters are yet,” he sputtered. Kevin lightly punched your upper arm. “Silly goose.”

“Geese are not silly,” you found yourself replying. They could be mean creatures. “But I think they’re cute.”

“Jacob thinks they’re scary.”

You gave a playful roll of your eyes. “This Jacob guy again?” After a moment, you sighed, toeing the dirt on the bottom step with the tip of your shoe. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

Kevin sobered a little, but the remnants of his merriment remained in the shine of his irises. “Shoot.”

“Are you…” You struggled to string the words together. There was a question you’d come up with already, but you didn’t know if it was too forward or not. “Are you ready for a relationship?”

The question caught him off guard. His gaze flickered from you, to the grass, to his lap, to the moon-soaked surface of the lake further down the hill. “I… I’m not sure, really,” he muttered, then added, “I think I would know the right person when I meet them.”

“Yeah,” you agreed.

“Or maybe not,” he shrugged. “Maybe I’ve already met the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, but the relationship just hasn’t gotten there yet.”

You pondered on that for a moment, then realized you agreed with that, too. If you already met the person you were meant to be with, the thought of a relationship was a little less daunting. You already knew this person. “So we’re in agreement then? This new pact is something we both want?”

“As usual, we are in agreement,” he nodded. “What’s our plan then? Fight fire with fire?”

You snorted. “Pretty much, right? We just have to, you know, swoop in whenever we can to counteract their movements. Help each other out, y’know?” You laughed at how ridiculous this all sounded. “I guess it’s really just doing what they’ve wanted us to do this whole time.”

Kevin grinned to himself. “Spend time together?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m down for that. You?”

“Yeah, man.” You shifted to angle your body toward him and stuck your hand out. “You still remember it, right?”

Kevin sent you an incredulous look, as if offended that you could think so lowly of him. He reflected your angled body, hand primed and ready. “Uh, yeah. Do you remember it?”

You clicked your tongue. “Of course, I do! It's the seal."

You knocked the back of your hand against his to signal the beginning of the handshake.

Like second nature, the two of you made your way through the unnecessarily (but also completely necessary) convoluted masterpiece that was your sixth grade handshake. It was what you used the first time you sealed the deal on the pact, and whenever you made any other agreements of significance (e.g. the Juice Pouch Accord of Eighth Grade). Now, it would seal the Rescue Protocol/Damsel in Distress Deal, too.

When the handshake combination finished (marked by twin flicks to the forehead—"Ow! You always flick so hard.”; “Yikes, hope that doesn’t leave a mark…”—and a… proper handshake), the only thing left to do was put it into motion.

Teasing, you sent him a look of approval. “You did remember.”

“Funny how you say that as if you have the better memory out of the two of us,” he quipped back with an unimpressed look.

You hummed your own amusement back to him, taking the book that you’d set aside earlier back into your lap but leaving it unopened. There wasn’t any signal in this area, so devices were practically useless, so books and board games and sports became the go-to for entertainment. It was what your parents originally liked so much about the place, and eventually you and your siblings. It allowed for moments between the moments like this… whatever this was.

Kevin leaned back onto his palms again, and the shadows and moonlight cut across his jawline like glass. “I didn’t think you’d be up so late.”

“Yeah,” you drawled and picked at a strand of grass sticking out between the boards of a stair step. “I couldn’t sleep for some reason and decided to read, but then I opened my window and realized it was a nice night out, so here I am.” You nodded to him, “You?”

He gave a soft sort of chuckle. “You know I never sleep.”

Your chest felt heavy all of a sudden. “Still have the sleeping issue?” You asked softly. It had been a big thing when he was a kid. It had started off as being a very light sleeper, but over time, you discovered that sometimes Kevin just did not get sleep.

“Yeah…” he said, "I'm usually able to sleep when I'm here though, y'know? The peace, the quiet, the familiarity—it all helps. It was just tonight that was out of the ordinary." When he glanced over at you, the side of his lip quirked upward. "Don't worry too much."

You'd always thought about the lake as your home away from home, your safe space. A part of you had always thought it was the same way for him.

“How could I not worry?" You asked, poorly masking your concern as you leaned over your knees and looked at him. “How did you ever get used to your place at uni?” There must have been some reason that he was able to survive over there.

The corners of his mouth curled upward into a smile. “I was lucky,” he admitted. “I met people who have become some of my best friends and family. I guess it’s just weird being so far away from them and it's catching up to me.”

As much teasing as you did about this Jacob character, you were glad Kevin had found him and his other friends. Being away from home like that could not have been easy. At least you could rest assured that he was taken care of over there.

He had grown so comfortable over there that even his subconscious missed them.

You shifted a little closer to him and gently leaned your head onto his shoulder. He seemed surprised at first, but relaxed and let you keep your head there. “That’s good,” you whispered. “I’m happy for you.”

A beat passed, and the crazy thought occurred to you that maybe you should have asked to do this first. “Is this okay?”

His hand warmed the top of your head. “More than okay.”

The two of you sat there like that for however long—you couldn’t really tell. Time passed by differently here, it seemed. Friends definitely comforted each other like this though, right? Right.

EPISODE FIVE: [SHENANIGANS ENSUE.]

"KEVIN, would you mind giving this snack pack to Serena?"

"Oh, I got it, Auntie!" You snatched the Ziploc bag of trail mix from off the counter where Kevin's mom had set it out. "I haven't properly introduced myself to her yet," you said as some kind of explanation.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Kevin look away to conceal his laugh at your inconspicuousness.

Today, the five families planned to go on a long nature hike as a large group. There was a specific path that your family, the Moons, and the Kims always took at least once every year that led out to a waterfall. It was a beautiful slice of nature, but then again, you thought this entire area was beautiful.

You swung out of the Moons' kitchen and out onto the back lawn where everyone was slowly gathering to take off. Eyes scanning the immediate area, you located Serena Xu standing off to the side plaiting her hair into a simple braid over her shoulder.

As you made your way over to her, your Uncle Jin suddenly appeared beside you. “You look like a woman on a mission, Yn-ie. What’s the sitch?”

Your brain took a second to register the reference. “Has Sana been watching Kim Possible or have you, Uncle?”

“And if I said it was both of us?” He sniffed. Sana was his eldest daughter, only three years old, but Jin and Yuna were very updated in the essential kids shows they wanted their daughters to watch.

“As you should,” you said with an indulgent nod. You turned your gaze over to your intended target.

Serena’s eyes wandered up from her hair and met your eyes, then glanced over at Jin. You hoped she didn’t think the two of you were ganging up on her or anything. Two new people at once could be intimidating.

“Hi, Serena, right?” You asked as you and Jin approached her.

She gave a small nod, pulling her braid’s end over her shoulder as she fidgeted with it. “Uh, yeah. And you’re Yn?”

“We already met yesterday,” Jin said chipperly.

Serena nodded again.

Your fingers danced along the edge of the Ziploc baggie in your hands, squeezing along the edge to make sure that it was closed properly. Your teeth ran over your bottom lip before you were passing her the bag in your hands. “Kevin’s mom made all of us snack bags, and I just wanted to say a proper hello.”

She accepted the bag, eyes wide as she inspected its contents through the clear plastic. “Oh, wow. Thank you; that’s really thoughtful.”

“Oh!” Seokjin illuminated like a lightbulb, clapping his hands loud enough to make both you and Serena wince. (You and she met each other’s eyes with awkward laughs.) “Didn’t you mention yesterday that you were pre-law?”

Your eyebrows flew upward. “Pre-law?” Your head bobbed up and down with a low whistle. “That’s cool.”

“Yeah, uh, I guess so,” she said. “It’s a little intimidating right now, if I’m being honest.”

“Yn!” Ripped out of the conversation, you excused yourself and found the source of your name. Your mom was perched on one of the picnic benches outside of the Moons’ place, slathering sunscreen on your brother’s face. Connor’s face was wrinkled in extreme displeasure as she patted the white cream into his skin with a slapping sound.

Always amusing.

Perched upon the picnic table next to them was none other than Joshua Hong. He sent you a friendly greeting wave.

“What’s up?” You asked, leaving Uncle Jin with Serena so you could make your way over to your chagrined little brother, your mom, and Joshua. “Where’s Dad and Alice? Hey Josh.”

He replied pleasantly, “Hey Yn.”

“Your dad’s grabbing something from the car with her,” she dismissed. “Would you mind showing Joshua where we put our bandages? We have so many of the little ones—”

“It’s just a little cut; I swear I’m fine!” Joshua chuckled good-naturedly. He showed you the slice in the side of his finger that was only a couple of centimeters long, but you could tell that he’d just recently cleaned it up and was holding it with a small piece of napkin.

Your mom made a noise of disagreement. “It’s going to get infected on the hike.”

You shuffled on your feet, offering him a small smile. “Sorry, man. I have to agree with her.”

“Thank you. You remember where the bandages are, right? You and Josh just go run up really quick together.”

You didn’t even realize when Kevin got here. “Oh, why don’t I just get one from my place for you?” Kevin waltzed into the conversation with an innocent expression, hands tucked into the pockets of his shorts, as he appeared at your side. “Since we’re just right here.”

Joshua gestured toward him with his hand-clutching-hand situation and hopped off from the picnic table top. “If you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, dude, it’s no problem.” Kevin’s hand met the place between your shoulders with a warm pat, and he led Joshua up to his family’s cabin for the bandages.

Your amusement followed after them as you watched them leave. Your mom sent you a curious look, eyes narrowed in question, and you could only shrug helplessly.

The hike commenced shortly after the boys got back from raiding the Moon’s medicine cabinet. Your dad and Alice returned sometime before they did, and Alice had once again requested you put her hair up in, as she said, “Something nice.” As if the wilderness would care about her nice hair-do, but you gave her a plait that matched Serena’s.

Your brother and sister kept near to you as you led the group through the beginning of the trail. Though you didn’t consider yourself as someone who exercised religiously, you never turned down a good foraging session. Your freshman environmental science course had presented you with plenty of opportunity to dive into the dense forest areas near the building. Even in the early reaches of the morning (8:30 morning labs were sometimes difficult to be disciplined about, but you were determined), when the fog clung to the forest floor and dew slipped down velvety oak leaves, you found yourself at peace.

At some point in time, Connor picked up a large fallen stick and used it as a hiking staff. “You shall not pass!” He declared after running a little ways ahead of you and mimicked the deepness of Gandolf’s voice.

You snorted as you passed by him and ruffled his hair. “Name the series that’s from and then we can talk, dude.”

“You’re never any fun!” Connor garbled, jogging after you.

You scoffed, pressing a hand against your chest in feigned offense. “I’m way more fun than you are,” you retorted.

“Okay, prove it! Make this more fun.”

“So you’re saying this hike isn’t fun?” You gasped.

Connor stabbed at the dirt path warn into the ground that weaved through the trees ahead for miles. It was by no means a challenging hike, just a lengthy one that required a bit of enthusiasm and endurance. “Well last time, you brought that thing—”

“Sugar water,” you supplied.

“—yeah, that one—and we caught butterflies!” Painted Lady butterflies were a common species of butterfly that was widespread among North America. Luckily, it hadn't been too difficult to find them.

“Woah, you guys caught butterflies last year? Without me?” Man, this guy was just everywhere today, you thought jokingly, as Kevin appeared on your other side with a boyish grin on his face. “That’s cool.”

“We didn’t catch them,” you corrected. It was more so a lure with the sugar water (a substitute for nectar), letting the kids see the insect up close, and then setting it free. You were no lepidopterologist—butterflies were cool, but no special interest of yours. “They just landed in my hand for a little. You should’ve been there to take pictures.”

Kevin hit the palm of hand against his forehead. “That’s what I forgot! I forgot to bring my camera on the hike.”

“Tsk tsk, what would your sister say now?” You chided playfully.

He pressed his lips together in a grimace. “Don’t bring her up—I can hear the echo of her voice as we speak.” To prove his point, he pressed his fingers to his temples, eyes fluttering closed, as if he really could hear his sister’s teasing from wherever she was.

You humored him with a laugh—

“Yn! I’m gonna climb that boulder!”

Okay, fun time was over. You tracked the sound of your brother’s voice, and with barely enough time to catch up to him, you set off the beaten path to follow. “Hey, you better be careful or Mom’s gonna put you on bedrest for the rest of the trip,” you chuckled as Kevin fell in step beside you. You said to him offhandedly, “Would you possibly mind…”

“Yeah, I got it.” He did a small jog over to the cluster of boulders your brother had begun to scale. Going bouldering wasn’t a new activity for you and your siblings, but you remembered that these ones were a little larger than your mom was usually comfortable with. You were grateful Kevin understood immediately.

He was already standing below where Connor was, playing along with whatever roleplay your brother had made up, all the while hovering in case he fell.

The rest of the party caught up to you at this point, and Alice, Uncle Jin, Sana, and even Josh converged upon the rock formation in a flurry of giggles and mirthful playtime. You observed the action with ill-concealed fondness for everyone there as they came together and helped one another climb to the topmost boulder as if it were the peak of Mount Everest. Something warmed within you at the sight.

On your left, Yuna, who was on Leena duty this morning, came to stand beside you. Some of the parents were pulling out cell phones to record all the chaos going on. “Why don’t you go up with them?” She asked, inclining her head to the rock formation.

Josh was just beckoning Kevin up with him, and you saw Kevin’s head turned back over his shoulder. When his eyes found yours, Kevin waved you over, too.

“I should,” you murmured in agreement.

Yuna hummed as she adjusted the little bonnet on Leena’s head. “You know, Kevin…” she began. You waited for her to finish, but she smiled instead, shaking her head. “Nevermind. Go have fun, you bean.”

You giggled at the nickname, then wasted little time going to join everyone else. You could probably ask her what she was going to say later.

The evening found the group of you gathered on the shady back lawn between yours and the Moons’ cabin for dinner once again. The Xus and Hongs had all retired to their own respective houses for downtime, so it would just be the three original families. You perched a little ways away on the back stairs of your house’s porch, a bowl of peelable tangerines in your lap. At your feet, you had rolled the edges of a brown paper bag you’d found beneath the sink to use as a disposal. All of the compostable waste you and everyone else produced while here would become great fertilizer and mulch. It was something you usually had your siblings help with, especially before you left the lake.

Kevin had his cap turned backwards as he made his way over to you in flip flops. “That seat taken?” He asked with a nod toward the board next to you.

Your eyebrows rose. “All yours.”

“Thanks,” he beamed, doing a silly waddle, then sitting down next to you. He reached into the bowl on your lap for an orange, and you moved the compost bag between your bodies. “Your mom was talking about Josh again,” he said as he dug his thumb into the skin of the tangerine. Its juices sprayed into the air and released its sweet fragrance.

“Why am I not surprised?” You sighed with a shake of his head. “You know, he’s really good with my siblings though.”

“Oh, is he?”

You shrugged, shoveling a tangerine half into your mouth. “Mm—yeah,” you said once you’d swallowed. “But you’re also good with my siblings. I dunno, it was just an observation.” Based on what you saw on the hike, you could confidently conclude that your siblings agreed with both Kevin and Josh. They were both friendly beyond means, easy on the eyes, kind on the soul.

Kevin didn’t say anything for a beat, and still didn’t say anything until he’d finished the orange in his hands and picked up a new one. “I hear he’s going into medicine. I have a friend who’s going into medicine.”

“Which one?” You asked, then joked, “Don’t tell me it’s Jacob now…”

When Kevin gave you a sheepish expression, you shook your head, “Okay, now I think you’re obsessed with this guy.” All the teasing was in good fun, of course.

“He’s just my soulmate,” he lamented with a hand draped over his forehead for added effect. “No biggie.”

“Damn,” you laughed. You popped a wedge of tangerine into your mouth, eyes going to the sky for a moment as you pondered on something. “So you say that when Jacob met his current girlfriend, it was because of you.”

“Yup.”

“So you set them up? You matchmade them?”

He nodded. “I’m very proud of myself, actually. I take credit for all of their milestones and anniversaries. I better be the Best Man at their wedding, and—”

“But you matchmade them; doesn’t that make you a hypocrite?”

Kevin’s speech came to an abrupt halt. You watched, in blatant amusement, as his face contorted and arranged itself in the five stages of grief. “Oh my god… I am a hypocrite.”

For a moment, you felt bad for laughing at his blanched expression. “It doesn’t make you a bad person,” you assured him.

“It makes me a hypocrite.” He hung his head, but shot back up just as quickly. “Okay, but wait! It’s different.”

“Do tell.”

“It’s different because Jacob never told me he didn’t want to be matchmade.” The calculations taking place in his head were as stark to you, the observer, as if he was working it out on a white board. His eyebrows knitted together. “Yeah. That’s the difference. Plus, that match was fully successful, and he ended up putting in a lot of the work himself by the end anyway.”

You bobbed your head in agreement. “Fair enough.”

Kevin settled his chin on his hand, eyes slicing back over to you. “Aren’t you a hypocrite, too, then?”

You blinked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

His face said it all. “Jenna from fifth grade.”

Oh. It all came rushing back to you…

But before anything else could be commented on the matter (read: before you could go through your own miniature existential crisis like Kevin had), a presence appeared, squatting down between the two of you. “What—” Jin covered Leena’s ears as he sat down, “—is the mother-effing tea?”

You and Kevin immediately scooted over to make room for the uncle coming in hot. You moved the compost bag back to the other side of your leg.

Kevin chuckled. “You said ‘mother-effing.’”

“Aish,” he exhaled, wrinkling his nose up. “Yuna’s on relax mode right now and has two beers in her. I get a pass, okay? Now catch me up on all of the exciting stuff.”

You and Kevin traded glances. “What exciting stuff?”

Jin’s expression flattened into a deadpan. “Don’t be like that. You two have been so secretive lately; I wanna be let in on the secret stuff.”

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily a secret…” You drawled.

Kevin scratched the back of his head. “Uh, yeah. Well, we’ve kind of figured out that our moms are trying to set us up with Josh and Serena instead of each other now.”

You didn't know what you were expecting Uncle Jin to reply, but he gave a nod. "Ah, I can see that." He sucked in a breath through his teeth, "Why did they suddenly go 360 on the two of you? It seems kind of out of left field."

"Well, we kind of asked them to stop trying to get us two together."

Jin hummed. "Yah, that makes sense. It all makes sense now." He made an old-man noise out of his throat as he shifted his position and the way that Leena rested on his chest. You and Kevin buckled down and hung off his words. "They probably only mean well, you know that, right? Right. But I can see that you both are still uneasy about that, and I get that, too. So—I'll tell you what.

"I'll help you guys out," he said. "I think they already know I'm nosy enough to butt in everywhere, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to… tch tch, y'know—" He gestured very indulgently with his hands, "—do my thing—am I making any sense? It's been a long day."

Another look passed between you and Kevin, then you both shared a laugh, relief making your postures relax and your grins widen. "No, we understand completely."

It seemed like you just gained an ally.

EPISODE SIX: CAN I BE A ROCK IN MY NEXT LIFE? THANKS.

THERE was a collection of jet skis that someone around the lake owned, and Kevin's parents would rent them out once every summer for everyone to use. Of course, it was mainly for the older kids and adults; thus, your siblings and the little Kims were banned from partaking in the festivities, much to your siblings' chagrin. It was for safety reasons that they were forced to find some other method of entertainment for the day.

You trudged your way down the path from the Kims' house to yours. In your hand, you wielded the light blue stick of baby sunscreen Seokjin asked you to fetch for his girls, but based on the fact that Leena, Sana, nor Yuna were even out here, it was safe to assume it was really for him.

Those who were participating in riding jet skis, and some who just wanted to watch and soak up the summer sun, were gathered somewhere between your house and the Moon house again. The two properties shared a single dock made of wood faded out from the sun and washed by the lake water. You could recall summer after summer running down the pier and cannonballing into the water.

"Hey! I got your sunscreen!" You hollered as you neared the group down by the water, raising the sunscreen stick up in the air.

The five or so heads turned toward you at the sound of your voice. You didn't miss Kevin's presence specifically, his arms sticking out from the life vest strapped to his chest. You did not deign to look further.

Jin raised his hand. "My Savior! Thanks, Yn-ie!"

You tossed the sunscreen down to him and he caught it between both of his hands before beginning to slather the cream all over his face.

You noted the last life vest sitting on the edge of the dock closest to land and made a beeline for it.

Just as you descended the hill, your mom appeared in your view with an empty plate in her hands, the bottom ringed in a translucent red liquid. "Yn, honey. Can you do me a huge favor and chop up the last watermelon? I didn't realize we would need more. Your dad and Kevin's dad are driving into town right now for some extra provisions and an extra large watermelon."

"Oh, sure." Your eyes skittered to the vest on the dock, but you realized slicing the watermelon wouldn't take too long.

You took the plate from your mom without further comment and began making your way up the hill to your house.

As you slid the door open, the sound of chatter carried from the living room floor. Eyes peered up from where they were seated, surrounding the coffee table on the floor. A colorful array of beads and string was strewn over the surface, and you came to a distinct conclusion as to where all the non-jet-skiers had gone.

"Hello everyone," you mused, closing the screen door behind you.

Josh was the first to say hello back. "Wanna join us? We're making friendship bracelets." He lifted the craft in his hands as if the beads and materials displayed weren't proof enough.

You leaned over the back of the couch. "Looks like fun! Maybe I will."

Outside by the lake, Kevin monitored the back door of your cabin for when you would make your way back out. He had been wanting to race you on a jet ski ever since the owners brought them over for everyone to use.

There were a grand total of five people surrounding the opening to the dock: Kevin and his mom, your mom, Jin, and Serena. Everyone except for the moms were strapped in lifejackets in preparation to board one of the two jet skis sitting in port.

"Huh," Jin said as he craned his head up in the direction Kevin's was in. "Wonder what's taking her so long."

"I'm sure she's just taking her time or something." Kevin pushed off of the post he was leaning against. "I'll go check up on her—"

“Oh, no-no-no! It’s okay,” your mom protested, her body already turn-tailed to head up to the house. Even Kevin’s mom made a gesture for him to stay put. “We’ll go check up on Yn.”

Kevin’s mom then gestured with her arm toward Serena, who had wandered off further down the dock to inspect one of the vehicles waiting in the water. “Why don’t you go help her with the jet ski?”

“And me!” Seokjin boisterously slung an arm around his cousin-in-law’s shoulders and swung him toward the entrance of the pier.

Kevin’s eyes went wide when he almost tumbled face-first into the hardwood. “Shit,” he sputtered. “Uh, Uncle Jin?”

“Yep?”

“That sounded fishy to you, too, right?”

Jin let out a laugh and patted Kevin’s shoulder in consolation. “Yep.”

“I feel like I haven’t seen you all afternoon.” The words left your mouth as you blocked the unforgiving golden hour sun with a hand to your forehead. The light at this time of day gleamed across the surface of the lake and gave the illusion of a molten pot of gold. You imagined swimming in it, dipping your toes into its warm innards from the end of the dock.

Kevin stood at the edge of the lake’s shoreline with his hair dried from a day of jet skiing, a fresh T-shirt over his chest and the lifejacket from earlier nowhere to be seen. That, along with the jet skis. Those had been returned a little over an hour ago. “We were off doing our separate things, I guess,” he said, his arms folded across his chest. “Speaking of, where’ve you been? You went to cut watermelon and never came back.” He added a small laugh to his words, hoping you wouldn’t think he was bothered by the fact that the two of you didn’t get to hang out on jet skis together.

“Oh, heh.” The sheepishness in your voice made him glance over at you. You didn’t know why you were suddenly getting so shy about it, but from the pocket of your shorts, you withdrew a small piece of beaded string, tied at the end in one of those fancy loops that were adjustable. You didn’t know how it was done; Joshua had done something with the end like magic. “Yuna, Josh, and the kids were all inside making friendship bracelets and they kind of roped me into it.”

“Ah.”

“This one’s for you,” you said, holding it out to him. It was a quirky piece with white block letter beads strung together next to acrylic star and pony beads. You’d scavenged a crescent moon somewhere amongst all the pandemonium, and it sat next to the letter N on the chain.

Kevin peered at you and his irises gleamed with the brilliance of golden hour. He frowned in joy, delicately accepting the chain from you with his bottom lip jutted out in a combination frown-pout. “You’re incredible,” he gushed as he inspected the little gift. “Dude, I’m honestly so touched. This is so cute.”

You broke out into a grin, your heart bursting with pride in your chest. “Glad it’s not cringy.”

“I’m offended for you,” he scoffed, aghast. “How could you think this is cringy?” It was probably a genuine question, but you kept silent as you watched him loop the end of the bracelet around his wrist and struggled to figure out how to tie off the end with one hand.

You stepped forward, and he stuck his hand out to you. “Shua showed me how this works,” you murmured, wracking your brain for the quick how-to Joshua showed with his own wrist. (You had been too confused to ask him to see it done again, and only nodded and smiled.)

“Shua?”

“Mm, yeah, apparently he makes a lot of friendship bracelets, especially for friends at school.” Your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth as you tried something and… “Ta-da!”

With the bracelet secured onto his wrist, Kevin beamed like a kid on Christmas, and held it up to show it to the setting sun. “It’s great—it’s perfect. Thank you, Yn.”

It was some sort of cosmic magic that corralled everyone back down to the shoreline again, but this time, with all of the kids and non-jet-skiers, as well. Another tradition that your party liked to share every year at the lake was rock-skipping. Perhaps it was more of just an activity than a tradition, but it was something that none of you failed to remember to do whenever you were up here. Since you were a kid, you had been practicing to hone your technique.

Your siblings and the Kims, especially, all ran up to the shoreline beside you and Kevin, and the search for the perfect throwing rock began. In the chaos of merriment and childlike glee, the lot of you trudged into the cooling water of the lake’s shallow shore.

“I know you just gave me the coolest friendship bracelet ever,” said Kevin from beside you as he sifted through the rocks beneath his flip flops, “but I hope you know that I’m gonna crush you this year.”

You snorted. “Okay, Kevin.”

“No, I’m serious!” You guffawed at the sight of his expression; he’d even stood up straight in the water, a pair of flat stones in either hand. “My friend YH!Yn—she’s an engineer, right—”

“Oh, so you’re gonna win by cheating?”

“Nuh-uh,” he rolled his eyes, unimpressed by your posturing. “She showed me this video online. You know Mark Rober? She’s a huge fan, but that’s besides the point. The point is that the video taught me the perfect technique to rock-skip.”

Something in you liked to think that was still cheating, but then again, neither of you had ever really established any ground rules to this, and certainly none about doing research. Your eyes narrowed. “Explain yourself.”

Kevin decided between one of the two rocks in his hands with a brief peek at both of them, before discarding the one in his left hand back into the water with an anticlimactic sploosh. “You’re supposed to launch the rock so it hits the surface of the water at a twenty-degree angle.”

Joshua trudged into the water near both you and Kevin with the sleeves of his plaid over-shirt rolled past his elbows. “I don’t even know what kind of rock to look for, and you guys are bringing trig into this?”

“Oh my god, don’t even get them started,” Jin grumbled from a handful of meters away from the three of you. He kicked through the shallow water with his eyes pinned to the ground in his own search for a rock to skip. “Yn almost gave me a black eye one year.”

“That was an accident and I was ten!”

“Yeah, well rocks hurt!”

Joshua bent down slightly and scooped up a rock from the water. He considered it for a minute, taking in its size, its weight, and how pretty it was. “I guess this can work. So do you guys have, like, a training boot camp for beginners or something?” He chuckled.

“I can show you,” you offered once you’d decided on your own rock for the first round.

“Tch,” Kevin huffed, “if you wanna show him the wrong way to do it.”

Your jaw unhinged. “If you keep this up, I will take back that friendship bracelet, Moon Hyungseo.”

Jin covered his mouth with one of his hands and sidled up next to Joshua. “Ooh, she used the government name.” That coaxed another laugh out of the Los Angeles boy.

Kevin held his decorated wrist to his chest. “You can pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

Suffice to say that when it came down to it, Kevin did have the better technique. There were really four main things to consider when rock-skipping, one of them being that the rock ideally should hit the water at twenty-degrees, as Kevin had mentioned before. Though, you did have to give yourself some credit for managing to work your way up to thirteen skips in a row without the help of an engineer friend.

EPISODE SEVEN: ALWAYS TREAT YOUR PLANTS WITH CARE

VACATION granted you the express permission to be the laziest bum in the world. After three years of college work, sometimes it was nice to have even a single day to yourself to do what you always wanted to: relax. In a world that moved as fast as this one, it was nearly impossible to take breaks without feeling the aching guilt of a day without productivity.

But there was something about the lake… you didn't know. Maybe it was just because years of coming here and associating it with the ease and carefree air of childhood that made it easier to sleep in and feel the sun on your toes.

The house and the neighboring ones were quiet this late morning. At ten or so, the Kims had swept up your siblings and their children and towed them off to town for ice cream and provisions. (You hoped they remembered to grab you some bird seed. You still had yet to replenish the bird feeders around the lake.) You weren't sure where your parents were off to, but you recalled them briefly mentioning a visit to the hidden swing at Lookout's Peak about a three mile hike from here. That meant that you had the whole house to yourself.

And what else did that mean? That you would not be in the house.

When it hit noon, you ate a quick lunch at the kitchen counter before gathering up your supplies to head outside. There was always a spare picnic blanket stashed in the hallway closet, and you grabbed a book, your neglected sketchbook, and a pencil to come along with you.

The weather was perfect, you liked to think—temperate, and not popsicle-melting, with a hint of a breeze wafting through the boughs of the oak trees. You trudged your way over to the largest oak tree with the most amount of shade, gunning to get some full relaxing done when you realized that you were not as alone as you thought you were.

You and Kevin locked eyes from where he sat against the trunk of the tree, his iPad left at his side and his camera being fiddled with between his fingers. The friendship bracelet you gave him the other day still hung around his wrist.

"Hi," he grinned. "I thought you went into town with the twins."

"Ah, nah" you sighed pleasantly as you shifted the things in your arms, "I decided to sleep in. You?"

"Same here." He amended, "Well, as much as someone like me can sleep in." He gestured to the picnic blanket bundled over your arm. "How about I help you with that?"

With teamwork (because that made the dream work), the two of you laid out the picnic blanket on the shady grass beneath the oak tree, overlooking the view of the lake. You settled yourself atop it while Kevin moved his things beside you; shoes were discarded at the edge, so you both sat comfortably on the blanket, half-facing the other.

You reached for your sketchbook, inclining your chin toward the DSLR now sitting abandoned as he picked up his iPad. "What were you up to before I got here?"

"Oh, uh, just looking through some photos I took this morning to maybe use as a reference," he said, twirling his Apple pencil between his fingers. "I keep forgetting to take pictures on this trip."

"Maybe it's a good thing," you offered. You tucked a lock of hair behind your ear and flipped to a blank page. "Let's you live in the moment, y'know?"

"Yeah. I guess so." He tapped the end of his pencil against his cheek. You were never the type for fancy technology and equipment, mainly because you were a little stubborn, but nothing could beat a good pencil and paper. "I'm gonna draw you," he suddenly declared.

A giggle bubbled out of your chest. "What? Me?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well then, I'm gonna draw you."

His eyebrows shot up, an amused smile worming onto his face. "You do you, honey."

The two of you, coincidentally, came to share quite the handful of interests. One of them was sketching, and you liked to give credit to your ecology and biology classes at school that gave you the time to practice your drawing skills, even if super accurate drawings weren't always required. It just gave you an excuse to combine two things you loved.

You never did pick up how to use a DSLR though. At least, not like Kevin knew how to.

You sat there for a moment with your cheek to your fist and your eyes glued to the man across from you. Drawing people was difficult—it was always the subtle details that threw you overboard, the movement of the hands and fingers, the crevices in the wrinkle of one's eyes, the… the look. The thing that made them look like a human being.

Kevin had always been a beautiful subject matter. His bone structure was near perfect in your eyes; his smile was awful to draw just because it was so pretty, and you couldn't do it justice. You could never achieve the right curl of his lips, or infuse it with his humility. And even now, you watched the way his eyelashes fell so gently over his eyes and the dusting of pink falling across his cheekbones…

"You're staring."

You blinked, breaking out of your daze. "I'm studying my subject," you clarified pointedly and began to sketch out a rough outline of his head. A portrait would do just fine for the day.

Kevin mimicked your position from earlier where he leaned in slightly and rested his cheek against his fist. "There was this internship I turned down this summer."

His words made you glance up from your paper for a moment.

He continued on, straightening, then absentmindedly sketching out an outline for your face. "It was supposed to be in New York, at this studio, but…" He blew air out between his lips, "I don't know; I couldn't do it. It was a great opportunity and it didn't call to me, but I feel so guilty about not even trying."

You waited a beat in case he wanted to continue. You could see the conflict warring across this face, the subtle flex in his jaw at his frustration—with the portrait or himself, you weren't sure.

"Sorry, I don't know why I suddenly just thought of that," he said to you. "I was just thinking about this place and not being here last year, and I think my brain just went to that."

You looked over at him in earnest. "I feel you, I mean… some things just aren't meant to be, and you shouldn't force it. That's how you get burnt out, y'know?"

"Yeah," he murmured in agreement.

"I was looking at an internship, too," you piped up with a shape exhale. "I—I didn't get it, clearly, but uhm…" It still hurt.

Kevin frowned. "Oh, man. I'm sorry, Yn. I feel like I'm just complaining now that—"

"No, oh my gosh, no!" You hurried to interrupt him. "Don't be silly," you said gently, "you shouldn't invalidate your feelings like that. Some things just really aren't meant to be." It didn't mean it hurt any less that they weren't, but maybe this was the path you were meant to take instead. "It's something I'm coming to terms with, too, but don't compare your troubles against mine. Please."

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth, and it took him a little to finally try for a half smile. "You're gonna get the next one."

You smiled back at him. "Thanks. And you'll find one that suits you."

"I hope so."

"Do you ever worry about," you began as you played around with the slightest curve of his nose on your paper, "not being who people want you to be?"

He hummed. "What do you mean?"

"Like, successful. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this." You didn't know where this had sprouted from in the first place, but one insecurity in particular had nested in the inner cavities of your chest and made itself a home. As someone who wanted to be at wildlife encampments, not catering to fancy rich dogs in a clinic, your path wasn't conventional. You were becoming a veterinarian, but your parents always thought you would end up someplace nice with a pay that was equally nice. Something practical, something they didn't have to worry over. Your calling was… elsewhere though. Somewhere a little more difficult to reach without the prying eyes and mouths of those around you.

Kevin marinated on it. "I think… the two of us are kind of similar in that way. We're both not taking on things that people have expected of us."

Out of everyone you knew, you had a feeling he would be one of the few who could empathize. "There's—there's this thing I want to do," you said. You couldn't figure out the words to string your thoughts into coherent speech; you felt like it would never come out right. But Kevin was patient. "I've always wanted to go on safari expeditions, and observe wildlife in the wild, and do research, and work with conservatories. It feels so unattainable sometimes, when I think about the people looking at me and expecting something good. Does that make sense?"

He gave a thoughtful nod, his Apple pencil tucked behind his ear for the time being. "Yeah, that makes sense. I remember you talked about it before."

That rang a bell. "When I made you watch the David Attenborough Our Planet doc series," you mused. In association, your brain sparked images of late nights, blue-light screens, and flashlights beneath blanket forts. You had been fully convinced Kevin would say the documentary series would be boring like everyone else, but to your pleasant surprise, he had been just as enthralled as you'd been.

"You didn't make me," he smiled. "I liked it."

Your chest warmed. "I still have it downloaded on my phone if you wanna watch."

He screwed his face up in amusement, shaking his head. "You're one of the biggest dorks I know. And I know so many dorks now."

"I'm still your favorite dork though, right?" You smiled down at your paper when you were satisfied with how his eyes turned out.

"Always."

A beat passed, and from your periphery, you saw him tap the blanket in front of you to get your attention.

"Hey, you're gonna be okay," he said. "One day, you will go hide in a bunker in the Siberian winter to wait for tigers like a crazy person—"

"Okay, wait, out of all the examples you watched in the doc, you chose—"

"Anyways!" He grinned at the look you sent him, unfazed. "We're both gonna be okay, alright? We're chasing dreams, and sometimes the chase is hard, but the reward is sweet."

You knew he was right; of course he was right. Talking things out was always a good idea, especially with a trusted person, and who better to trust than Kevin Moon? You had friends who understood, but not really understood.

You reached for his pencil with the end of yours and you bumped ends like ET. The corners of your lips curled upward as you met his gaze, and you were struck by the softness in his rich, chocolate irises. No sketch, painting, portrait could do those beautiful eyes justice. "Don't call me a nerd for this."

"No promises."

You fixed him with a look. "There's this thing that plants do called phototropism. Because plants need light to synthesize into food and energy, they often turn and grow towards the nearest light source. So even in, let's say, a dark hole in the ground—if there's a crack in the roof that brings light in, the plant will grow in that direction, and probably grow its way out." You cleared your throat. "Thanks for showing me the light."

Kevin's eyes shone big and wide, doe-like you liked to say, almost in awe of the explanation of a basic function plants performed to survive. But twisted in a certain way, and one could apply it to everyday non-plant life, as well.

"Now how can I possibly call you a nerd after that?" His voice went raspy and he had to clear it, too. "I think I'm getting misty-eyed," he said, fanning his eyes.

You chuckled at his antics. "Oh, hush. I guess it's my way of saying thanks for reminding me I'm not gonna be a failure." It was scary how often you thought about it, especially at college.

Kevin reached over and warmed one of your hands with his. "You're not gonna be a failure, Yn. I promise you that."

All of the kids were asleep in the back of the Kims' minivan, and it took two trips back and forth between the car and the living room to transfer all four sleeping munchkins. By the time Jin and Yuna were done, the former was certain he was going to need a cane much earlier in his life than previously anticipated.

He held his back as they made their way out onto the back porch. "I think I'm aging faster," he said to his partner.

Yuna sputtered out a laugh. "Aye, so dramatic, and for what? You're gonna survive."

"No sympathy," he sighed melodramatically as he hung off her frame. "I wonder where everyone else is."

His voice trailed off as they stood on the porch and overlooked the valley below. Just further out, they could easily see the occupants of the big oak tree between yours and the Moons' houses. You and Kevin sat slightly angled toward one another, not quite sitting next to each other, but not quite facing each other either.

The laughter was apparent on your faces as Kevin showed you something on his iPad. You grabbed the screen with ill-concealed delight, your eyes lighting up like a pair of fireflies. "No, oh my god, the little sprout on top of my head! You didn't!"

Yuna murmured softly to her lover with a chuckle, "Should we go say hello?"

Seokjin adjusted his position so now his arm rested around her shoulders. A smile etched onto his face at the view; he was so fond of the very thing neither you nor Kevin could see just yet. "Well, how could you possibly want to break that up?"

EPISODE EIGHT: NOD AND SMILE… YUP.

YOU weren't really sure why it took so long before you all deigned to take a proper dip in the lake, but as they said, better late than never.

The sun beat down on the little lake population, even at ten in the morning, which made it perfect weather to go swimming. Your house was a-bustle with life, thunderous footsteps, and motherly yelling to her children of “You better all have sunscreen on!” You were just finishing up the task yourself, rubbing in the last handprint of sunblock onto your calf before you were grabbing your towel at the end of your bed and heading out.

You caught Alice coming down the stairs with her floral one-piece on and a set of blue goggles strapped to her head. This morning, her hair was in two braids. “Do you have sunscreen on?” You asked her as you opened the back screen door.

“Yes,” she groaned as if this was the hundredth time she’d been asked that question today. Knowing your family, it probably was the hundredth time. “Do we still have the flamingo floatie?”

“We can probably pop down to the shed and see,” you suggested. You blinked in surprise at the person you found leaning against the railing of your back porch. “Why hello there.”

Joshua glanced up from the piece of string in his hands that he had tied at the ends to form one, large ring. “Hi guys! Either of you ladies know how to play Cat’s Cradle?” His hands slipped in between the string so that the ring rested on the backs of his fingers. In a movement that sent a wave of nostalgia down your spine, he maneuvered his hands through the string to form the zigzag pattern correspondent with the beloved childhood game.

“Ooh! Me, me!” Alice bounced around on the balls of her feet and rushed over to where Josh was to pick out the next pattern.

The screen door behind you opened up again as soon as you stepped foot onto the deck. Your dad appeared with your little brother, both of whom were dressed in rash guards and swim trunks. Your dad hustled his son along. “Yn-ah, we’re going down to the shed to get swimming things. Wanna come?”

“Wait, Daddy, can we get the flamingo floatie?” Alice asked your dad. Joshua finished up the next pattern, and your sister was quick to grab the next.

“Sure. We have to go now, though.”

With little else left to say or do, your dad ferried your little siblings off and around the house to where the shed was. It was tucked out of the way somewhere between your house and the Kims’ place.

You sidled up beside Joshua and slung your towel over your shoulder, noting his tank top and shorts. “You going for a swim with us?”

He gestured to his attire, nodding. “Seems like it. My parents wanted to run into town to do some shopping, see the sights. Your mom mentioned last night that you all were planning to go swimming today, so I thought I’d tag along, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, man—it’s totally cool.”

You gazed far out toward the lake down the lawn. There were already a few people there, including Kevin and the Kims. Sana and Leena were already frolicking around in the water with their dad, while Yuna and Kevin stood off to the side on the dock. It seemed that Yuna had brought down a pair of foldable chairs to set up there, perhaps to soak up a little sun.

The two of them exchanged a couple more words before Yuna left him there so she could go pick up Leena from falling face-first in the water. Leena was still an infant, after all.

You decided that this would be a good time to run and join him, but your thoughts slowed to a halt when Kevin picked up the bottom hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. You even heard Joshua beside you lose his breath. The sunlight had to be a paid actor or something, because the way it glowed across your friend’s shoulders, enunciating the firm muscles in his back, had to be illegal in nature.

Joshua’s low whistle of appreciation met your ears. “Wow… he’s ripped.”

You nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah.” Whoops, did you say that out loud?

The man simply chuckled and bounded down the porch. “C’mon, Yn. Let’s go join them before he catches you staring.”

If there was anything else that you and Kevin took seriously besides rock-skipping, it was the game Marco Polo. The rules were simple: an elected tagger would play with their eyes closed, yelling out “Marco” in order to locate other players in the water. The tagger had three or five opportunities to open their eyes (this was enforced for safety reasons) in order to tag everyone. Those who were not the tagger were required to reply with “Polo” in response to the tagger’s call.

Boundaries of the game ranged from your house to Kevin’s house, and no hiding beneath the dock. (Only the tagger could pass beneath that zone.)

By the time it was Kevin’s turn to tag, nearly an hour and a half had gone by, and you could feel the sun’s rays seeping into you. The heat was getting to you, and by the looks on everyone else’s faces, it was getting to them, too. But… one last round never hurt anybody.

"Are you guys ready?" Kevin's mom stood on the dock with her hands on her son's shoulders. Kevin's eyes were screwed shut where he sat on the edge of the dock, his feet swinging where they dangled over the water. Everyone stood scattered in the water, biding their time before Kevin's mom let him hop in.

She surveyed the surrounding water for nods of confirmation. You lingered just at the outer edge of the boundary, face half in the water with your eyes peeking out to hide your smile. You would swim back in should he come this way, but the buoy behind you kept you from cheating.

When she was satisfied with what she saw, she patted him on the shoulders. "Okay, Kevin."

He lowered himself into the water. "Marco!"

"Polo," came the wary response, a voice from every corner and reach of the boundary, it seemed.

He honed in on a voice—not yours, it seemed, but Uncle Jin's—and slowly treaded over toward that direction. You saw your uncle's eyes widen in fear, and he ducked under the water for a swift second to attempt at a silent getaway.

"I can hear you," Kevin chuckled as he swung his arm over his head to adopt a freestyle stroke. The tone of his voice sounded awfully menacing.

"YAH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Jin screeched, no longer trying to stay quiet.

One by one, Kevin picked people off. Yuna had a little disadvantage since she had Sana clinging to her back the whole time, so she was given a merciful second life. But when she was caught once more, it was onto dry land for her and her daughter.

Kevin treaded water on the other side of the boundary. In the water, it was just you two.

"Fighting, Yn-ie!" Jin cheered from the shore. A towel was draped over his shoulders with Sana sucking on a watermelon by his leg.

You saw your siblings and Josh raise up their fists in encouragement. "Get him, Yn!"

"Wow, thanks guys," Kevin replied dryly, shaking the water out of his hair. His eyes were miraculously still closed; you had no idea how and when he got so good at this. He still had one more opportunity to open his eyes.

You grinned. "Are you sure you're not cheating by the way?" You drawled with a feigned look of consideration, as if he could see what you looked like.

He gasped. "Me? Cheating? My abilities are far greater than the need to cheat."

"Okay, prove it."

Why did the universe curse you with such a big fucking mouth?

A swear left you as he launched himself across the safe zone. It was like he knew exactly where you had been hovering in order to reach his ridiculously long arms over his head to try and tag you. You gunned out of the way, narrowly missing the dock as you backstroked back from where he came to avoid him.

"Marco!"

"Screw you—polo!"

His white teeth glistened as he grinned, eyes closed completely shut still. Damn. "I can smell fear."

"Sometimes you can be so dramatic," you taunted.

"Now that's just hurtful." And he took it personally.

Around and around you both went, lakewater thrashing as your arms and legs kicked and pumped as hard as you could. You felt so agile and free at times, a dolphin in your own right.

There was a lull in the game for a minute when you managed to evade Kevin's grasp yet another time. He was patrolling the other side of the dock while you loitered just around the corner, by a post. You could hear on land that everyone had turned their attention away from yours and Kevin's competitiveness in favor of the bag tossing boards Kevin's dad brought out.

"Oh, Yn," he smiled, brushing a hand through his hair absentmindedly. "I'm gonna get ya."

If you weren't worried about being so close to him, you would have thrown a retort right back.

But there was another poor, poor hinge to your plan, and that was the very core of the game you were playing.

He whispered, "Marco."

You screamed internally. "Polo," you whispered, barely audibly.

His head whipped in your direction, and before you could even blink, he used his shortcut beneath the dock to yank your wrist back toward him. "Gotcha!"

"Goddamn it," you groaned as you rested up against the post behind you. The water in this area was just shallow enough that your feet could reach the bottom.

Kevin chuckled as he finally opened his eyes. He blinked feverishly to adjust to the sunlight, then ran a hand through his slicked-back hair. He was so close that you could see the water droplets on his head dribble down the sharp slope of his nose. He took in his surroundings, a sly kind of smirk curling up onto his face. "No hiding beneath the dock, Yn."

"I technically wasn't beneath the dock," you shot back.

"Mhm," he pressed his lips together, brows furrowing. He moved closer and braced one arm against the post above your head. "Say I believe you."

You brushed the sudden butterflies in your stomach away as the heat melted your brain (and not Kevin). "That sounds like you don't believe me."

"Well, either way…" He brought a finger close to your face and tapped your nose. You could have sworn you saw his eyes dart downwards for a second, away from your eyes, toward your mouth. "I win."

EPISODE NINE: KINDLING FOR ALL KINDS OF FIRES

A campfire was always in order.

There were quite a few things that needed to be done before it could happen, however. One of the few things on the list just happened to be going out to find firewood, as well as filling up the bird feeders you left hanging out in the forest beyond. You could kill two birds with one stone. (Definitely not literally though. You hoped you never needed to kill two birds with one stone unless it was for pure survival purposes.)

The bird seed you'd requested to be brought back was… somewhere around here. You couldn't remember where exactly Auntie Yuna said they put the bag, but you would go hunting for it.

You meandered through the first floor of your lake cabin, gradually approaching the kitchen area where you heard voices. As far as you were aware, your parents were holed up in the kitchen with Kevin’s parents, as well as Kevin himself. Your siblings were probably either upstairs or at the Kims’ place. Probably.

“—know Judy’s daughter, right?” You recognized your mom’s voice among the fray. By this time, you stood in the middle of the living room with your hands on your hips. Where in the world was that sneaky bag of bird seed?

Kevin’s mom replied next, “Ah, she’s doing that drawing major or something, right? I forgot what it’s called—”

“Animation,” supplied her husband.

“Yes, that’s the one.” A clinking of metal on china; they were most likely digging into the trifle cake that was assembled earlier in the day.

“I hear there’s something going on and it’s getting more difficult to find work for them.”

A disgruntled sound. “Yah. That's the risk that comes with those art majors. If she had gone into bioengineering like Judy wanted her to, then she wouldn’t be worrying so much.”

You paused from your position in the living room. From your vantage point, you got a clear view into only part of the kitchen, but it was where Kevin lingered with his back to one of the cabinets. He had a bowl of dessert in one hand, the other using the tines of his fork to prod at a bite of cream and cake. His head was tilted down though, and you caught his periodic glances toward the part of the kitchen you couldn’t see where the adults probably were, prattling on and on as if he weren’t standing right there.

Your heart sunk to the pit of your stomach.

Why was he subjecting himself to this? Why didn’t he just pick himself up and leave—? The thought came to you that maybe he thought he deserved to hear this.

Having surveyed the living room enough to know that the bird seed wasn’t here, you did happen to note the presence of his camera sitting on the coffee table. You snatched the device up and headed for the kitchen.

“I think it’s good to cultivate creativity, but there’s a difference between a career and hobbies—”

“Psst.” You grappled onto the side of the doorway, quietly catching Kevin’s attention.

His head perked up at the sound and his eyebrows shot up in question. He offered the bowl in his hands to you. Want some? He mouthed.

You shook your head, then used your free hand to wave him over. Bird seed?

He seemed to understand. With one, massive bite, he finished the rest of his bowl, deposited it in the kitchen sink, then quietly slipped out of the room with you.

When the two of you were in the clear and you were following him over to the closet beneath the stairs (damn, had you really forgotten that this closet existed?), you handed him his camera. “I’m invoking rescue protocol,” you told him.

Kevin accepted his camera with a furrowed brow, watching as you opened up the closet door and found a canvas sack of birdseed sitting there. Huzzah! “Wait, but…” He considered you for a moment, and a slow smile slid onto his face. He ducked his head and threw his camera strap around his neck. “I appreciate you. Have I told you that?”

“And I—” You grunted as you picked the bag up into your arms and used your foot to kick the door closed. “—appreciate you. How’d you know this was where the bird seed was?”

“I just remembered what Uncle Jin said,” he told you with a shrug.

The two of you meandered out of the backdoor and onto the porch in a silent agreement to go fill some bird feeders together. The forest at this time of day was streaked in golden sunlight, emerald green leaves painted over in an amber wash of glitter. It felt warm and comfortable like autumn, but with the color palette of summer. The air was fresh, not crisp, and there was still a dollop of pollen floating around in the air from the tailend of spring.

You and Kevin entered the forest proper, and you shifted the bag into your right hand when you finally got the bag’s handles up and at ‘em. “I know the protocol wasn’t meant for those kinds of situations,” you started.

Kevin let his camera rest in his hands at midriff once he had fiddled with the settings enough to his liking. “I know.”

“They’re wrong, you know?” You turned to look at him as you stopped at the first feeder and let the sack of seed and grain fall to your feet with a thump against the earth. Before you opened up the bag, however, you peered up into the wooden house hanging from the branch, slobbered in messy paints and melting smiley faces. There wasn’t a speck of grain or seed left in this one. Satisfied, you bent down to rip the bag open and take out a scoop with your hands.

The shutter of a camera lens fired. He sighed, lowering the camera so he could inspect the test shot he took. “I’ve come to terms with that—all of their opinions, I mean.” He lifted the viewfinder back up to his eye and took another shot as you shoveled the bird seed into the hole. A small stream of it missed and tumbled to the forest floor. “Sometimes I do think like that, though. Whether or not I should have stuck with psychology and become a teacher instead of photography.”

You folded the edge of the bag over itself after dusting your hands off, and the two of you continued onward. “Are you happy with photography though? Do you like the things you’re learning, the work you’re doing?” That was one of the few metrics that kept you clinging onto your dreams—your hands were getting scraped and sweaty holding onto the side of the cliff face, but even though your shoe slipped against the ledge and threatened a long drop, you held on. Some days, you thought it was a sad, desperate effort; others, you found extra strength to dig your soles in.

He didn’t have to think much before answering. “Yeah, I do. It’s… it’s fulfilling.” He shot you a glance. “I guess it’s something I enjoy so much that most days it doesn’t even feel like work. All of the logistic, ‘real world,’ adult stuff is kind of a headache, but…” Even though his sentence trailed off, you could still follow.

You plopped the sack of seed down on the ground beneath the next bird feeder. “I know that it’s hard to think about what-ifs, and I’m kind of a hypocrite about it, too—but I think—” you scooped up a handful of bird seed and poured it into the opening. This house had a little sunshine painted on the roof. “—Kevin, I think you made the right choice. Obviously, it shouldn’t matter what I think; that’s just what I’ve observed so far.”

“It matters what you think,” he replied quietly. “To me, at least.”

The two of you shared a smile as you dusted your hands off again. The chase is hard, but the reward is sweet—those had been his words to you the other day.

“Do you want me to carry that for you?” He mused, in view of your struggle to pick the damn thing off the ground.

You suddenly gained a spurt of strength and energy. “I’m—great.”

His low chuckle followed you as you went. You could hear his shutter go off again.

“Thank you for assuring me that I took the right risk.” Kevin fell into step beside you once more with his camera cradled in his hands. There was a softness to his eyes again, a kind of tenderness you recognized only when it was just the two of you.

You went for a smile. “I feel you, you know? Maybe not on the same level, but you’re not in crisis alone, okay?”

His shoulder bumped against yours. “Get on my level,” he jested.

Your smile haplessly curled up further. “Yeah, yeah, you five year old.” You leaned over his arm to peer at his camera screen. Your heart hammered, blood spiking, when you saw what the subject of all his shots had been thus far. “Oh my god, have you been taking pictures of me?”

He giggled at your reaction. "What? What else am I supposed to be taking pictures of?"

"Uhm?" You gestured with your arm in a wide arc. "There is literally a whole world around us. Nature is much more photogenic than I am." A nervous laugh bubbled out of your chest as you adjusted a lock of hair that had gotten in your face.

"You are totally photogenic," he scoffed. "Literally look."

The two of you stopped in the middle of the path so he could show you the pictures he had taken thus far. Like most people when they saw a picture of themselves, you wanted to grimace, but you tried to search for what Kevin was seeing.

They were all incredible candid shots. The color was so vivid and bright, the edges crisp and focused. He had captured you at the moment when you were smiling, peeking into the bird feeder. It was that split second before the smile bloomed into something bigger when it only teased at the corner of your mouth.

You leaned back and coughed. "I only look good because you made me look good."

"Now that's bullshit."

You both resumed your walk to the next bird feeder. He said to you, "You can't possibly appreciate nature's beauty without appreciating your own, Yn."

You tilted your head and sent him a sidelong glance. "Why did that sound actually profound?"

"What do you mean actually profound?" His face arranged into an expression of offense. "Am I not regularly profound?"

You smiled to yourself. "I mean… if you had to ask—" Click! "Hey, now wait a minute!"

He beamed something boyish at you from over his camera lens. "Whoops?"

The bird seed bag thumped onto the forest floor again and you moved to check the inside of the next bird feeder. To your utter delight, you were greeted by the sight of sticks and mud and leaves slotted together in a messy riffraff, otherwise known as a bird's nest. You could hear the bright chirping coming out from the feeder's hole, and dark gray feathers poked out.

"We won't disturb these ones," you whispered, backing away to collect your bird seed. But before you left, you took a little of the grain to sprinkle on the outer landing ledge.

You didn't even realize you had been smiling out of pure giddiness until you reached the next feeder on the path. You had always secretly hoped that a bird would take over one of the houses as their own. Lo and behold, that hope manifested into reality.

Kevin helped you out with the next one since this tree was hung with a duplex. It was similar to a human duplex; the house was split down the middle to hold double the feed. The two of you carefully transferred seed and grain into its proper place.

"If you really are uncomfortable with me taking pictures of you," he said as the two of you picked up where you left off, "then I can totally delete them." He made a gesture with his hand. "No harm, no foul."

Heat rose to your cheeks. "It doesn't bother me that much," you admitted sheepishly. "They were good pictures."

"See!" Elated, he slung an arm around your shoulders and tugged you against his side with an affectionate shake. "You see the vision? Do you see it now?"

You couldn't possibly say no to him when his expression was brighter than the sun at high noon. At this moment—this perfect moment—when the sunlight streaming through the trees painted his face in a filter of buttery gold… you could definitely see the vision, but perhaps not the exact one he saw.

EPISODE TEN: YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES…

"OH, thank god, you guys went and got firewood!" Jin pressed his hands together in prayer as he jogged over to you and helped transfer the lumber in your arms over to his. On your way back from replenishing the bird feed, you let Kevin hold the remainder of what was left in the bag while you picked up any spare tinder for the fire. There were quite a few loose sticks around that would work nicely for the campfire tonight.

He walked off with your gatherings from the trip, and you and Kevin continued up to your lake house to drop off the bag of bird seed.

"So you were saying about the animal representation thing?" You piped up, recalling where the two of you last ended before your return to home base.

"Oh!" Kevin grinned. "It's so funny because some of my friends—you can totally see the resemblance of an animal, right? But then others don't really get an animal. Like Younghoon: he's just kind of bread."

You nearly tripped over a patch of dirt. "Bread?" You stammered incredulously. "Come again?"

"Bread," he nodded. He murmured in thanks to you when you slid open the screen door for him so he could shuck off his shoes and step inside the house. "But Changmin's a squirrel. Or a giraffe. That's what JC!Yn calls him, anyway; it's because of his long neck."

"Huh," you pondered. Interesting friend group they had going on there. You wondered what you would be…

As you passed by your bedroom on the first floor, you could hear your phone sounding off in aggressive vibrations even through the wooden walls and the closed door. You swore under your breath and pushed into your room to turn it off, then paused when you realized why it had gone off in the first place.

Fireflies.

"Everything okay?" Kevin's voice came back around the bend, his head poking into the space and the bird seed bag nowhere to be seen. He must have put it away just now.

You glanced up at him as you silenced the alarm and tucked your phone into your pocket. You hadn't needed it all that much this entire trip, but you would definitely hold onto it tight tonight. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Ready to head out?"

He didn't question your behavior and nodded. "Ready when you are."

Sometimes campfire smoke burned Kevin's eyes, but that was mostly when he was younger and didn't know any better. The embers of the fire were always so warm and inviting, always luring him toward it and inviting him to stare into its core. He could still feel the sting of the ash in his pupils as he looked at it from afar now.

The summer sun had sunken down into the horizon and gave way to a comfortable nightfall. Above your heads hung curtains of leaves from oaks, and above them was the blanket of night sky bedazzled in stars. Nature, as you had said earlier today, was quite photogenic.

He sat perched slightly away from everyone in the group, settling at the picnic table with his back to the table surface so he could still face into the fire. When everyone regrouped, Joshua had brought along an acoustic guitar and played it for everyone now.

"Sunday morning, rain is falling."

Someone lit up in a small hoot of approval. Kevin observed the group before him, the several families that had come together. He was especially pleased that the Hongs and the Xus were still hanging out with the lot of them, the latter being around a little less, but still coming out to join the fun, nonetheless.

He hadn't even realized when the last time his mom tried blatantly pushing him towards Serena. At some point, she stopped and it slipped his mind.

"Clouds are shrouding us in moments, unforgettable. You twist to fit the mold that I am in."

Kevin scratched his jaw as he turned his eyes down to the iPad settled in his lap. After he had finished up dinner, he ran inside to swap out his camera for his device to get some sketching done. There wasn't a particular project he was working on; he just wanted to practice a little.

When he lifted his gaze back up to pick a subject, he found himself looking in your direction. Your dad and Connor brought out the goodies to make s'mores. Long, slim skewers were passed around the circle, and the kids were the first to receive marshmallows to spear.

You and your sister sat beside one another and you helped her grab two of the mallows to impale. The light from the fire flickered across your face in differing levels of shadow, a play on contrast. Your expression seemed softer here—he wasn't really sure what it was. Maybe it was the tenderness at the corner of your eyes as you laughed at Connor's marshmallow falling burnt into the pit; maybe it was the triumph you shared with Alice when you helped her sandwich her marshmallows between a slab of chocolate and twin graham crackers.

He liked to believe his hand started before he consciously knew what he was doing.

"That may be all I need… In darkness, she is all I see."

"Are you sure you don't want me to make you one?" You asked your brother as he grabbed his redemption marshmallow from the bag.

Connor huffed, puffing out his chest. "I got this."

Your eyebrows flew upward. "Okay, big guy. Have at it." You chuckled and grabbed a marshmallow for yourself, sticking it onto your skewer to let it broil over the heat.

Kevin traced the lines of your face with his eyes, his hand transferring that memorization onto his screen. Sometimes human expressions were a little difficult to portray accurately, and there was a thorn pricking the back of his mind, urging him to do you justice. He didn't know if he could.

Your head slowly swayed to the sound of Joshua's pretty melody, the corners of your mouth tilting upward. Kevin shifted his position on the bench and drew the little tick mark at the edge of your mouth for that slight smile.

He always knew you were beautiful—for fuck's sake, he'd practically said it today in the forest. It had been among the crush of other important conversations, but he meant it. He still had the image of you engraved in his brain, the moment when you discovered the family of birds in the feeder house. You'd lit up like a goddamn star.

You stood up from your spot once your marshmallow became the perfect golden tone over the edges. You stepped over to the chair that held all the ingredients and smooshed the marshmallow between chocolate and cracker. Then, you turned and marched over to him.

Surprise alerted in his features, and he subtly tilted the screen of his iPad up against his chest. "Hey," he greeted softly while you approached.

You returned the expression and held out the s'more to him. "Here. It's for you."

The organ in his chest did a somersault. "What?" He laughed, "For me?"

"Yeah, silly. I don't know why you're so far away, but I know you like 'em." You settled on the bench next to him with one arm braced behind you on the table and your legs crossed, one over the other.

"Thank you," he said, using one of his hands to bite into it with childlike giddiness. The mixture of flavors exploded in his mouth—the crunch of the graham cracker, the soft, gooeyness of the chocolate and marshmallow. A perfect, sweet treat, and done exactly right. "Mmmh, this is so good," he mumbled behind his hand to catch any crumbs on his lips.

You chuckled. "Nice, glad it has your stamp of approval." Your eyes wandered down to his iPad, and you could see the white screen lit up against his shirt. "What have you been up to?"

His eyes widened a smidge, and there came a bashfulness to his face. (Cute.) "Oh, uhm," he swallowed down the remainder of the s'more and tilted the screen away from you. Huh, strange. "It's nothing really. Just sketching."

You hummed in understanding, though it was a little out of character for him to hide it from you. "Ah, I see."

The two of you descended into silence, and you leaned your back against the table to get comfortable. Kevin passed you sidelong glances from the corner of his eye, unsure of how you knew he wanted you to stay. (Because he definitely did want you to stay.)

Perhaps this was a sign. Thoughts had been brewing in his head as of late, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with them. They all just… sort of piled up in his hands and he didn't know how to free them up to reach out to you.

He opened his mouth to say something—anything—maybe even about the pact—to retract the pact?—it didn't matter.

But when he turned to look at you this time, your gaze was elsewhere. That soft, tenderness remained, but you had turned your attention to Joshua.

Ah. He shouldn't have jumped so soon. A hopeless kind of ache twisted in his stomach that made him uncomfortable. He briefly glanced down at his screen of what he'd sketched of you so far and decided it might be better to finish it later.

Fireflies. You nearly forgot that you planned to sneak out and see fireflies tonight.

By the time the campfire was cleaned up and everyone was tucked away into their beds, it was probably nearing midnight. You quietly rustled around your room in the dark and used only your phone's flashlight to gather things into a little knapsack—just the essentials, of course. There was no need to get fancy with it.

You wished you had signal so you could text Kevin and warn him ahead of time that you were about to go appear at his window, but you figured it would be fine anyhow. Even if he wasn't awake, the excitement buzzing inside of you could hardly wait.

Shouldering your bag, you headed out the door and crossed the divide between your house and the Moons'.

You located Kevin's window on the second floor, quietly rejoining when you realized it was cracked open. This had to be fate; what other reason would his window be open? (Clearly not for the cool, evening breeze or anything…)

You cupped your hands around your mouth. "Kevin!" You stage-whispered. "Kevin!"

A moment later, a head popped out the open frame. His hair stuck up a little bit and his eyes squinted down into the darkness at you. "Yn?"

"Yes," you said with a grin that he probably thought was idiotically too large. You waved him down. "I'm gonna go see fireflies!"

It took him a second to compute. "What time is it?"

"Like, midnight."

"Okay."

Seven minutes later, Kevin emerged from the back door with a T-shirt and sweatpants on, a yawn splitting his face. He shook his head out as if he was shaking out the remaining remnants of sleep from his system. You met him on the back stairs.

"So what's this about fireflies?" He asked you as the two of you ventured off into the wilderness.

Last year when you were up here at the lake, there was one night when sleep refused to take you. Your solution had been to go on a walk, and as completely dangerous as that sounded (because it was), you'd stumbled upon the meadow you now took Kevin toward. You hadn't the faintest why you never knew about this place after years of coming up to the lake town, but it was where the fireflies took flight.

The meadow was not too long a walk from where you both lived, and by the time you arrived, Kevin was wide awake.

"It's just over this crest," you told him, the jubilation in your voice nearly spilling over.

Kevin smiled at the sound of your excitement and eagerly followed you up the hill.

As soon as you made it over, you lost all your breath in awe. The meadow sprawled at your feet for miles was completely a-glow. Little beads of yellow-green light dotted the field in every corner like light bulbs strung together by invisible string. You had only ever seen this once in person, the rest via the internet and popular culture (movies, TV shows, and the like), and yet, it never compared to the real life experience.

You and Kevin stood there for a moment to soak in the sight. What a wonder of nature this was.

When you finally gained the sense to, you dug around in your bag for wherever you'd stashed your phone. Your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth as you fidgeted with the settings on your phone camera. You just wanted one little picture to show one of your professors at school, but it seemed your camera-working skills left much to be desired.

"Here, let me," Kevin murmured and gently took the phone from you. He showed you the screen as he fixed the settings—et voilà! Like magic, the field before you became visible on your camera screen in the crispiest, sexiest quality you had ever seen. "And… there you go."

He clicked the photo for you and handed you back your phone.

Mouth agape, you zoomed in on your completed photo. "Thanks, Kevin!" You gushed as you admired his handiwork.

He clasped a hand against the back of his neck. "No worries. Just a few tricks I learned."

You still warmed at the gesture. With your phone now tucked away, the two of you could sink back into the glory of the field of fireflies.

You heard Kevin's voice, soft, "How do they light up like that?"

"Bioluminescence," you replied in a whisper back. "It's a biochemical reaction that basically lets them convert energy into that light you see." There were plenty of other examples of bioluminescence in nature, as well. One particular instance you'd read about once, was a wave of bioluminescent algae appearing on the shores of a Southern Californian beach during the summer. It was neat stuff.

"Wild," he marveled.

A wave of calm fell over your form. You'd never felt so at peace in your life—just you, the outdoors, and one of the few people who made you actually feel this comfortable. You swallowed at the thought.

You were suddenly hyperaware of how close you were standing to him, the backs of your hands grazing against each other. You could feel his skin, his knuckles against yours—and maybe your brain was making it up, but the touch felt intentional.

For a second, you indulged yourself in what it might be like to close the distance and take his hand into yours. Of course, it wouldn't have to be in the romantic way; friends could hold hands… right? They could hold hands and your heart could skip several beats and he could look at your lips, and you would still be friends. Right?

You cleared your throat, and the sound seemed to thunder in the silence. "We should—we should probably head back," you said, sparing a glance at him.

He caught your eyes and held them. His lips turned upward, and the shine in his eyes was fond. "Okay."

With renewed energy, you made the trek back into the neighborhood. Your bucket list items for the summer had nearly all been checked off—not like you had a physical list written out. These were simply traditions you hoped to fulfill every summer while you were here in your happy place.

The crickets chirped a lovely serenade as you and Kevin strolled back onto the street where your houses stood. At the point where you both needed to split off, you nudged him with your elbow. "Thanks for coming out with me tonight."

"Thank you for inviting me," he countered with an amused hum.

"Good night, Kev."

You both lingered for a second. "Good night, Yn," he said back, pausing for a moment. Then he leaned over toward you and pressed his lips to the crown of your head. Your eyes fluttered shut. "Hope the lovebugs bite."

EPISODE ELEVEN: ROCKING THE BOAT

IF there was one thing that Kevin Moon was good at (besides the myriad of things he was actually good at), it was waking up his cousin to exercise with him in the morning.

"I think I deserve a nice, fat stack of pancakes after this," Yuna grumbled after nearly tripping over a raised tree root and kissing the forest floor. She grappled onto her cousin's shoulder to steady herself, the cousin in question giving a light chuckle at her antics. "When your mom said we should exercise together, I thought she meant the next time I was in Vancouver, not right now."

"Well, it's only because Yn's mom planned to go out with my mom this morning," Kevin mused. "Usually I have a designated walking partner."

"Woe is me. Alas, I have become your Plan B," Yuna sighed melodramatically with a hand draped over her forehead.

This morning, at a lovely 9:46am, the lake and its surrounding forest was just as alive and awake as Kevin was. The sun had taken up its perch in the clear, blue sky and the birds had long since begun their morning songs. They were awfully loud at this part of the lake, the exact three-quarter mark around the perimeter. Kevin thanked his parents for choosing houses away from this area—he would have never slept ever if they bunkered up here. (Not that he slept anyway, but that was beside the point.)

The walk began a little later than he usually did with your mom, but he granted Yuna a bit of leeway since she hadn't exactly been given a head's up. (He argued the opposite, but he let this once slide.)

"You're so dramatic," he chided playfully. "Watch out for that rock."

Yuna's mouth morphed into a deep frown, eyes wide open, as she narrowly missed being nature's fool another time. "Oh, speaking of Yn… Yn's mom? Whatever, I just mean Yn."

Kevin perked up at the topic change. His brain was fresh from last night's midnight endeavor with you and the fireflies. His lips still tingled from when he ventured to kiss you on the head… he wasn't sure where that courage had come from, but the memory of it kick-started his heart into a gallop. "What about Yn?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. You tell me." A smile crawled onto her face, and Kevin could smell her slyness a mile away. "The two of you have been hanging out a ton recently."

"We usually stick together," he sniffed, fidgeting absentmindedly with the beads on the bracelet you'd made him.

"Aish," she pressed her features into an unimpressed look that reminded Kevin of a typical Chanhee deadpan. "You're so unhelpful. You know what I'm talking about!" She smacked the side of his arm, and Kevin erupted into a fit of laughter.

His smile grew shy. "I don't really know what to say! I'm sorry—that's the truth." Because how could he even begin when it came to you? Where did it end, where did it begin?

"I see the way you look at her, Kev."

Kevin shoved his hands into his shorts. Suddenly the bird nest he spotted in a nearby tree became all too interesting. The bird nest reminded him of the birds who had made a home out of one of your feeders, and that reminded him of the adorable elation on your face when you discovered it and that reminded him of—he came to a stop. Oh, god, he was so far gone. "How do I look at her?"

Yuna peered at him curiously, then stopped to face him. "You look at her like I look at Jin. At least, that's how I think I look at him." She offered him a supportive smile. "But right now, you look like you're going through your midlife crisis."

"I might as well be."

She barked out a laugh. "Save that for when you buy a house, my friend."

He rubbed his temples with a wince. "Houses, domesticity, money, partners. Why is adulting so hard?"

"Hey, you'll get through it," she told him and nudged his shoulder. "What's going on, dude? What's on your mind?"

Kevin swallowed. He still hadn't the faintest idea where to begin, but everything had to start somewhere. Yuna had always been kind to him (a menace at times, but that feeling was mutual), and he trusted her with his vulnerabilities. He toed the ground. "Okay, last night, I kissed her—"

"YOU WHAT?"

He sputtered, red rushing to his face, as he grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes were practically falling out of her head. "Nonononono! Let me finish, you—I kissed her on the forehead, okay?"

Her gaping mouth closed only slightly. "Oh…" She thought about it some more. "Oh."

Kevin nodded gravely. "Yup."

Yuna straightened with a furrowed brow. "Well, that's not that big of a deal, is it?"

"What do you mean that's not a big deal?" His hands shot to the top of his baseball cap. "How is that not a big deal!"

"That's because the two of you refuse to acknowledge or entertain the obvious!"

Kevin hissed when she reached over to give his forehead a very hard flick. He rubbed the spot that began to smart; getting flicked in the forehead twice in one lake trip was twice too many. "The obvious?"

"That you guys can have the mushy gushy feelies without it being a product of the placebo effect from your moms' collective matchmaking efforts."

He made a face. "That was a lot of words…"

She deadpanned. "Kevin, listen to me: just because the two of you made a stupid pact when you were ten—"

"Eleven."

"Whatever. Eleven—doesn't mean that you can't leave room to, you know, amend that. You have to give yourself the opportunity to explore it, especially when I can clearly see that your feelings are changing about this girl." Yuna grasped her cousin by his shoulders this time in an attempt to telepathically insert these words into his brain. Or at least, just make him listen.

The words seeped into his head. The two of you had already made amendments earlier this trip, but you had never commented on the "only friends part." He even entertained the idea of bringing it up to you last night at the bonfire.

He didn't realize Yuna already began tugging him along the path to circle around the remainder of the lake to get back to the house. Everything was so muddled… but a part of him recognized that Yuna was right. He just wished he could get an idea of where your thoughts laid.

There were moments when you thought life could be like a movie, but then why was doing this pedal boat thing so much less glamorous than it seemed? Then again, maybe you shouldn't have thought doing this at high noon was the greatest idea.

You should have been like your Uncle Seokjin, who sat to your left, swallowed up in a blue lifejacket, a pair of big sunglasses, and a crocheted bonnet with a duck face to keep his face out of the sun. Yeah, maybe glasses would have been a good idea.

Sweat dribbled down the side of your face and down the slope of your nose, and you wiped it off with the back of your hand. "It's so hot, Uncle. We couldn't have waited until later today when it cooled down?"

He leaned back, his cheeks and skin reddened and damp from the heat and the fire in his calves from pedaling. "Okay, okay. Let's stop here."

"Right in the middle of the lake?" You asked incredulously, but immediately brought your feet off the pedals to give your legs a deserved break.

"What better place to do so?"

The two of you lounged in your seat beneath the molten afternoon sun, limbs screaming, water draining from your bodies through your pores. This would have been nice if you brought a sun umbrella… or maybe some water… man, did you make so many poor choices today.

"So what's going on with you and Kevin?"

The question snapped you out of your heat-fazed daze. You nearly thought you hallucinated him saying that. You stammered, "What about me and Kevin?"

You could see his overexaggerated facial expression even from behind his sunglasses. "Yah, don't give me that. You know what I'm talking about—I saw you two last night."

You lurched out of your seat and caused the violent rocking of the boat. You and your copilot let out twin swears as the boat evened out on the waves, and luckily, did not capsize. "Sorry—the fuck? You did?"

"Actually, I didn't," he snickered. "But now I know something did happen. So what's the tea, girl? Hit me with it. It's hot outside but I always take my beverages scorching." He shifted in his seat, carefully, in order to give you his full attention.

You couldn't believe he dragged you out to the middle of the lake just for this conversation. Total Uncle Seokjin move. You walked (or pedaled) right into his checkmate.

Moments of last night flooded into your brain—the campfire, the fireflies, the kiss, the… the him. Kevin. You gulped. Where did you even think to begin? "I took him to see fireflies last night."

Jin scrunched his eyebrows together. "Fireflies? Since when did we have fireflies? You didn't take me to see the fir—oh, you know, what? It was your little romantic moment; I got it."

"It wasn't a romantic moment!" You sputtered helplessly, uselessly. "It was—it was a moment of serenity and scientific marvel."

"You are such a nerd. What did he do, huh? Did you guys hold hands or something?"

Almost. "No," you said. "He… he did kiss my forehead once we got back though."

"Aha!" You both careened as the boat trembled violently from Seokjin's sudden Einstein epiphany. "I knew that something happened," he said once the boat slowed to a stop again. "I just had a feeling in my gut."

"Are you sure it wasn't the yogurt you had this morning?"

"How dare you," he huffed. "I brought my lactose pills. And hey! Stop changing the subject."

You laughed aloud, but inwardly, your gut was churning. Maybe you could blame the heat, but you knew the real reason why you were suddenly feeling as unstable as the pedal boat you sat upon. The idea that the entirety of your friendship could be so easily uprooted… well, perhaps not easily. Picking apart your friendship would be like flushing weeds out of a garden—you would have to get at the roots, and right now, the roots were so deep that you would fall into the ground before finding the bottom.

Not that you wanted to uproot your friendship, or relationship, with Kevin. Of course not.

What did that forehead kiss even mean? What did all of the moments you shared between him this summer, as a whole, even mean? Why, all of a sudden, did you want the way he looked at you to mean something different besides platonic affection? Why did you want more when you had never really thought about more before?

You voiced all of this aloud to your uncle, who sat staring out onto the calm surface of the lake. When you were finished with your ramble, he said, "You need to get your shit together, girl."

You coughed. "Thanks, that was so helpful."

"I'm told that a lot," he beamed. "But really, those are all very good questions, Yn. And they're super important, too."

You frowned, lifting the rim of your baseball cap to wipe away the perspiration collecting at your hairline like a cult. "Do you think that these mixed feelings are a result of all the matchmaking going on? Like, somehow, we've let it affect how we view each other?"

"Honestly?" He sighed, his shoulders lifting and dropping in a half-hearted shrug. "Could be. But, Yn honey, is it really such a bad thing? And let's think about it this way—how do you feel about Joshua?"

You didn't need to think too hard about it. "He's a catch, but not my type of butterfly."

"Exactly, and oh my go—"

"Don't," you chuckled menacingly, "call me a nerd."

He gestured vaguely with his hand. "I wasn't; I was gonna call you a dork."

You snorted. With another swipe at your dripping neck, you said, "But Kevin and Serena—"

"'Kevin and Serena' don't exist," he told you with a smack of his lips. Jin peered at you from over the rim of his glasses, which in kind, made the duck's beady eyes stare straight into your soul, too. "That girl bats for the other team, and Kevin has shown zero interest in her other than helping her not fall off a jet ski."

Huh. You leaned your elbow onto the knee of one leg, propped up to your chest. "Well when you put it that way…"

"When I put it that way," he finished for you, "it makes it a little clearer, hm?" You were quiet for a moment, and Jin gave your shoulder a pat. "Some things are just meant to be."

The words, so familiar to you, rang true as a bell. Some things are just meant to be. You couldn't help the smile that started to work its way onto your face, and it was all thanks to Seokjin helping you sweep away some of the webs confusing your brain. You weren't completely confident, but you could feel yourself being nudged in a certain direction, and this time, you weren't pushing back.

The tide could take you where it may.

Your uncle by association added quietly, "Haven't you thought just once that, after all this sneaking around, there's been another reason for it other than a pact?"

EPISODE TWELVE: FISH IN THE SEA, ANTS IN THE GROUND

BY the time you and Jin returned to solid ground, you discovered that Kevin was away with his dad helping the Xus pack and clean up. Today they would be departing the small lake town, as they hadn't planned on spending as much time up here as the rest of you did. You and most of the others already said your goodbyes at the campfire, so you had little else to do but twiddle your thumbs until you could confront Kevin with your thoughts.

A shower always produced productive results, especially after melting Wicked Witch of the West style in the middle of the lake.

There was time, you realized, to bring things together. Of course, there was a part of you that shied away from wanting to even address this epiphany. What if bringing this up opened up a whole new can of worms? In other words, what if talking about the elephant in the room only led to regret? You didn't want to lose Kevin, and because your families were always so close, you didn't want to lose this. This connection, this tradition, this place.

Too many memories made their home here at the lake. It was your happy place… his happy place. It was everything.

Everything could change, and wasn't that terrifying? But it could also be great, and who best to share the scariest, greatest moments of life with other than your Kevin Moon?

As rubber tire wheels ate gravel, Kevin nodded to his dad and set off back across the lawn toward your cabin. The afternoon had him busy with helping the Xus head home, which he didn't mind doing, of course; the lot of them had fun with his party, and his party with the lot of them. He and Serena left on friendly terms, undeterred by his mother's half-hearted attempt to get them sort of talking. Serena said she understood.

Kevin needed to talk to you though. After the morning was spent with Yuna getting him to see the big ass elephant in the room—trunk in his face and trumpet in his ear—there was no other course of action left but to tell you the truth.

The truth. God, the truth. The truth was that he didn't want the old pact in place anymore. That was it, plain and simple. It was crazy to think about how long the two of you had let it restrain your relationship—wait, did you want it to though?

"Hey Kevin!"

Kevin slowed to a stop, attention perking up at his name when he saw Joshua making his way over to him. He worried his bottom lip. You didn't… like Josh, did you? He just had to be sure because, well, that would throw a rock into things. "Oh, hey, man."

Joshua offered him a bright smile. "Hey. Did Serena and her parents just take off?"

Kevin cupped the back of his head. "Uh, yeah! Just now, actually."

"Cool, cool." Joshua nodded his head. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

His heart threw itself over the side of a cliff. Oh no. He let out a laugh, hoping to push the nerves out of his voice, but he was sure it wasn't too convincing anyhow. "Really? What—what about?"

"It's about Yn—" Oh, double no. "—I kind of," he winced, "noticed that her mom was trying to… nudge us together?"

"Oh god, let me be the first to apologize—"

Joshua broke the tension with a chuckle. "Hey, it's no worries! I just didn't know if you were aware or not because you and she kind of seemed like a couple to me, but I didn't know if her mom knew."

Kevin blinked, heart quickening for a different reason. "What?" He stammered. "Sorry, can we rewind?"

"Hm? That you and Yn are a thing? Are—are you not?" He gasped, eyes going wide. "Shit, that was stupid of me to just assume. Sorry if that was totally awkward!"

Oh, but quite the opposite. Kevin could feel the blood rush to his cheeks, clear as day. There was a warm feeling in his chest knowing that more people thought that you and him looked like a couple. It was ridiculous how the thought got him giddy now. Kevin shook his head though. "No, no, you're good, dude. But we aren't a couple." Yet. Hopefully.

Joshua cocked his head to the side curiously. "Oh? I guess… it's still a little strange of me to assume, so I apologize. You're…?"

"Interested?" A nod. "Yeah." (Wow, that was a verbal admittance. One step closer to the real thing.)

Kevin cleared his throat and grabbed his shoulder with his opposite hand. "You're not—you're not interested in her, are you? I mean," he rushed to add, "it's totally fine. I understand—"

Joshua shook his head. "Oh shit, no, I'm not interested. Not that Yn's a bad person or anything, but I'm taken."

Pause.

…that made sense.

Joshua laughed, ducking his head to hide the smile that blossomed on his face. "Yeah, I'm already spoken for. My parents don't really know yet, but… yeah. I didn't wanna get in the way of whatever you and Yn have, and hopefully I'm not saying this too late."

On the contrary, a weight lifted from Kevin's chest and he sucked in a lungful of summer breeze. "Nah, man. Thanks for saying it in the first place; I appreciate it."

"Yeah," Joshua said pleasantly. He nodded at him, lips pursed with one eye squinted. "She digs you, too, you know? I've seen it all throughout this trip."

Hope filled his heart like the air ballooning his lungs. He didn't know what to do with all of these. They just kept coming up onto the stack of things in his hands that he wanted to take into consideration and tell you to your face, once and for all. Your face just kept flickering in his mind's eye, and the nerves were slowly melting into excitement. He wanted to share this with you, as the two of you had done for years.

"I hope so."

Joshua clasped a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I would say 'go get 'em, tiger,' but I have a friend at school who is scarily obsessed with tigers, so I'll just say—" A squeeze of his shoulder, "you got this."

Kevin didn't know what to do with that extra factoid, but he gave Joshua a grateful grin. "Thanks, man."

The pair split off from there, one heading back toward his own cabin, and the other, marching toward the future. Whatever laid ahead, he could take on.

His step gained a skip, and soon, he was jogging across the green until he appeared at your back porch. He hadn't really prepared anything—no romantic gestures, no flowers or candles, no chocolates. All he had were the words on his tongue and his newly realized love for you. Love, a strange phenomenon. He had his love for you stashed away in his breast pocket and it blossomed every summertime.

He let himself into the house and went poking around for you. "Yn? Yn, you back yet?"

No answer.

He ducked his head into the kitchen, the living room, before he came upon your bedroom door left slightly ajar. Through the sliver, he saw the bottoms of your feet on the bed, and he gently knocked on the door before pushing through.

"Yn…? Ah," His voice quieted to a whisper.

You were curled up over the bedsheets, asleep. Kevin slowly tiptoed his way over to you where your body was angled toward your phone screen, lying discarded on the pillow and actively running an episode of Our Planet.

A smile, fond and tender, pressed itself into his mouth. He reached over to carefully turn the downloaded episode off to descend the room in complete silence.

His head swiveled toward the foot of the bed where your patchwork quilt hung off the railing. He carefully draped it over your sleeping form, then made his exit.

You deserved the rest. And though he couldn't confess to you now, this gave him the time to ensure he got this exactly right.

EPISODE THIRTEEN: THE DAMSELS IN DEVOTION DEAL™

TIME passed by differently here.

One moment, you were biding your time and indulging in an episode of Our Planet; the next, the bedroom was dark and the house was quiet. You roused from sleep confused and delirious. You stretched your limbs up over your head, taking note of the quilt draped over your body.

Huh, you wondered how that got there.

Your eyes fluttered and squinted when you stood up and saw a flicker of amber light from outside your window. The view looked over only part of the backside to the house, so all you could see were the shadows that the campfire created. They danced by way of the breeze, their puppetmaster.

The time on your phone read a (slightly alarming) ten o'clock. You hadn't realized you slept that long. Maybe you were more tired than you originally thought.

Wait, then why was the campfire still blazing?—

"Yn! Psst!"

You pressed your face against the open slit in the window to track the sound of your name. Déjà vu swept over you as you discovered Kevin making his way over toward you from the outside. "Kevin? Is everyone still up?"

He shook his head. "No, no. I've just been waiting," he admitted sheepishly. "Come on out. Have you eaten yet?"

"Oh, no. I just woke up."

"Ah… right." He clasped the back of his neck. "Well, come out anyway. We can sit together."

Together. You liked the sound of that.

Without wasting more time, you promised him two minutes and scurried out of your room to round to the back door. The campfire crackled on your side of the lawn, rather than the middle of the properties this time, and Kevin tended to it on one of the two foldable chairs present.

You took a seat in the open seat. "S'mores?" You chuckled, noting the basket of ingredients at his feet.

He ducked his head. "Yeah," he loosened a laugh, "I thought I'd make you a s'more this time."

It was just a s'more, and yet, here was the organ in your chest palpitating in your chest. You didn't reject the s'more, of course, and watched him skewer a marshmallow and hold it over the blazing embers. As he did so, you caught the way his other hand fidgeted with your bracelet on his wrist, how his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. Was he as nervous as you were?

The thing, Yn.

"There's something I—" You both stopped short at your simultaneous words. They were the same, too, and had the pair of you fumbling.

"You first," you said, gesturing to him.

He hummed and tried for a smile. "Do you remember that night in sixth grade when we made the pact?"

You nodded.

"It was kind of like this actually," he mused. The marshmallow had browned into a beautiful gold, and you reached into the basket to help him assemble the chocolate and graham cracker pieces. Your fingers grazed his as he squished the outer crackers together to hand it to you. "A late night, s'mores, the campfire."

You took a chunk out of the s'more and swallowed before adding, "Seems like so long ago."

"Right?" He slipped the metal skewers back into the basket and leaned his arms onto his knees, body angled toward you. "The pact, I…" He considered his words as they melted on his tongue like the chocolate and marshmallow on yours. "I wanted to ask if you would think about another amendment."

You met his eyes now. The burning fire reflected in his dark irises, warm and bright. "An—an amendment," you parroted. Was this what you thought it was? You finished off your s'more, hoping not to choke when he told you whatever he wanted to tell you. You suddenly wondered if the s'more was just to soften the blow.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, another amendment. We didn't really discuss the biggest part of the original pact when we made the rescue protocol."

"The 'just friends' clause," you finished, breathlessly.

"Yn, I don't wanna be just friends anymore."

It didn't hit you at first. You swore the ash from the fire was making you hear things, but it hit you, milliseconds later. "Oh."

He pursed his lips for a moment. "It's taken me a stupidly long time to come to this conclusion, and I was thinking about what we were talking about the other night—about if we were ready for relationships. And I said that maybe the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with was someone I already met.

"Yn, I think I'm in love with you," he said. "Not just in a way that friends love each other, but something… something more. And I wanted to let you know because—if I'm being completely honest—I want to share everything with you."

You could feel the way your lips curled upward and your heart soared. "I wanna share everything with you, too. And I don't know how long I've sat on this, but what I do know is that I feel so much for you." Every admittance that was released into the night air like sparks flying was another card laid out between you two, face up. "This place, the lake, has been my place, Kevin. But I want you to be my person."

He smiled at you, sweet and boyish, the type of smile that made you feel on the edge of seventeen. He helped you out of dark places with that smile; he was always showing you the light. "Your person," he murmured, letting that sink into his tongue and be familiarized with it. "I would love to be your person, Yn."

Your hand found his across the gap between your chairs. His thumb caressed over the side of yours, and he tucked his other hand over top until you were enveloped in his clasp—safe and sound.

When the fire was reduced to nothing more than ash and memory, you and Kevin raced each other down to the water's edge. The lake was stilled beneath the moonlight, a pool of silvery mercury. You reached for his hand again and intertwined your fingers firmly, a comforting weight and hold.

It felt right.

"So since we made an amendment to the protocol again," you started as he swung your laced hands between your bodies, "we need to seal the deal."

A grin bloomed on his face, and he bit his lip. "Hear me out," he drawled. "Maybe we should update the seal, too."

You narrowed your eyes in jest. "You just don't want me to flick your forehead."

"Sue me, you flick hard," he laughed.

"But shoot."

He licked his lips and turned to face you. "Can I show you?"

Your heart gave one big lurch as he leaned over to you. You closed the rest of the distance and sighed something happy at the feel of his lips against yours. It was gentle and brief, his mouth parting from yours to give you enough room to back away.

You could feel your twin smiles. "I kind of like it."

"Yeah?" He hummed. "Well, that can be our practice round."

You shook your head and threw your arms around his neck to pull him back over to you. His arms curled around your middle, hands pressed to your sides and holding you close.

When you broke apart this time, his warm chuckle ran a delicious bolt of electricity down your spine. "I know things are gonna be different now… But we got this."

It was the way he looked at you—the one that assured you he was the same Kevin he was three years ago and beyond; the kid who broke the swing set when you challenged him to a bet; the kid who sketched butterflies in meadows, and now sketched you in the firelight; the kid who would never judge you or ridicule you for your feelings, but validate them, always. You didn't know how you were so blind to it before.

It wasn't so scary anymore, not when you knew he would be there with you.

"Yeah," you said softly, running your thumb down the back of his neck, "I'm not really worried."

He let out a breathy laugh, and it coaxed one out of you, too. Kevin pressed his forehead to yours, pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose, pressed his heart to yours.

Some things really were just meant to be.

a/n: now the question is how are they gonna tell their moms... 🤡 if you enjoyed, pls remember to reblog, or comment, or send in an ask!! thanks for reading :] see you in at your convenience!

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @tinkerbell460 @kaaimins @hyunjaespresent-deobi @otterly-fey @zzoguri @floatingpluto @winterchimez @ethereal-engene @gyulfriend @polarisjisung @jaehunnyy @shakalakaboomboo @loveliestfelix @bless-311 @zhaixiaowen @leaz-kpop-life @amourdsr @pxppxrminty @kqyutie @sseastar-main @kxthleen14 @fluorescentloves @mosviqu @justalildumpling @jaerisdiction @super-btstrash-posts @jundundun @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @outrologist @vernonburger @maessseongs @ericlvr @kflixnet

#deoboyznet #bjnet #kflixnet #the boyz x reader #kevin moon x reader #the boyz fluff #the boyz imagines #the boyz oneshot #the boyz scenarios #the boyz drabbles #kevin moon imagines #kevin moon fluff #kevin moon oneshots #kevin moon drabbles #kevin moon scenarios #the boyz fanfic

[buckys-little-belle]

Hello i dont know if your taking request right now but if you are then i have a request for bucky if you do request on him maybe like headcanons of what you think he would do to keep you entertained at the stark tower just a thought no pressure to get this done sending love and remember to be safe. Thank you for your time.

xoxo , Kae Kae <3

Stark Tower Blues

Bucky Barnes x Little!Reader (They/Them Pronouns Used)

Warnings - Talks of eating, talks of naps, fluff, protective, sweet, and thoughtful Bucky

Notes - I made this into headcannons because that made more sense to me, but if anyone wants a fic based on one specific headcannon let me know? Also, this is so short, I apologize!

SFW - Please keep all interactions with this post, and this blog, SFW.

. ☾ . ☆ . ☽ . ☆ . ☾ . ☆ . ☽ . ☆ . ☾ . ☆ . ☽.

☆ When Bucky is on a mission and you're on your own (with supervision by another team member who stayed behind) he's got full days planed. Your meals are in the fridge premade, you have activities in bins that are scattered around his living quarters and other common areas. He keeps you busy with drawing, colouring, trips to the outside playground, movie nights, and new toys, so busy you don't have time to really miss him.

☆ When he is there he's got you stuck to his hip, your colouring in a chair in his office, playing with toys by his side when he's in meetings, and he begrudgingly bought you an Ipad so you can watch movies with headphones when you get tired of playing by his side.

☆ He always brings a blanket and a stuffed animal in his backpack whenever the two of you leave the tower on official business. He's put you down for a nap in the back of a car, on a random office couch, at Sam's house, really anywhere, he's always ready for a post meltdown nap.

☆ Bucky keeps your favorite snacks on every floor of the tower, Tony doesn't know it, but Bucky has hidden snacks quite literally everywhere. It helps for when you're hungry and he doesn't have time to rush up four or five floors to get you something to eat.

☆ He was one of the loudest voices when it came to getting an outdoor playground set up in/at the tower. It's in a room with a bunch of windows and fake grass with air circulated from outside no matter the season, so it's both an indoor and outdoor playground. He wanted you to have a place to run around and something to jump and climb on that was still protected and secure.

☆ He began movie nights with the whole team. Mr antisocial himself gets everyone together once every two weeks to watch whatever movie your heart desires. He takes you out to buy snacks and pick out a DVD at the local movie rental store and he lets you set up the living room seating, blankets, and pillows in whatever way you want.

#buckys little belle #age regression #age regression fic #little!reader #bucky x reader #bucky x little!reader #bucky barnes x little!reader #bucky barnes x reader

[sanctum-of-ramshackle]

Egg Waffles, anyone?

[TWST AU]: MC/Yuu sells waffles (and other desserts) to get by.

[Synopsis]: In this timeline, what if MC/Yuu starts selling the Hong Kong-styled Waffles and other delicious snacks from their home world? That way it can provide enough Madol for both Grim and themselves than whatever allowance Crowley has given them. (Cheapskate bastard-)

[Gender Neutral MC/Yuu]

[TW]: Little bit of Ace slander

[(A/N)]: I actually work at my mom’s dessert bar and we make fresh waffles with ice cream + toppings or just plain with the option of adding sugar powder. Another note is if you don’t know what it looks like. It’s something like this:

[Original Image Source]: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnn.com/travel/amp/hong-kong-bubble-waffles/index.html

[(A/N)]: There’s also a recipe I found that maybe anyone can try out.

[Egg Waffle recipe]: https://youtu.be/VNDvNUpT-f8

Ever since falling into Twisted Wonderland, MC/Yuu and Grim were the only ones staying at the abandoned building widely known as the Ramshackle Dorm at Night Raven College.

With money being tight and Crowley who probably is a stingy crow, the two need to find a solution for their financial troubles.

Then MC/Yuu remembers something: The Egg Waffles.

MC/Yuu: Wait! I have an idea to earn more Madols!

Grim: Really?! What?

MC/Yuu: Egg Waffles!

Grim: *Confused* What waffles?

MC/Yuu: They’re waffles that were sold back in my home world. They’re delicious. It’s like mini edible pockets: crispy on the outside, fluffy in the inside. I don’t think anyone around here thought of this. Come on. Let’s experiment.

For the next week, the Ramshackle Dorm is filled with the scent of freshly made waffles.

The smell even attracted some troublemakers: The ADeuce Duo.

You see, Ace and Deuce only want to visit their friends as someone wanted answers for Professor Trein’s history assignment. (Looking at you, Ace. You jerk /j.)

Deuce only came along to try talking Ace out of cheating- Taking advantage- purposefully finding answers without effort.

*Sighs* Who am I kidding? He will and always find shortcuts to everything- Little Bastard Boy…

Anyway, the two Heartslabyul students are heading to the ol’ dorm and when they arrived, the fresh smell of Hong Kong style-Waffles hits their olfaction receptors.

Ace: Prefect, we need your-

MC/Yuu: Ace, Deuce! Thank god you’re here. Quick, try these samples. *Shoves some waffles in their mouths*

Deuce: *Muffles* Mm! These are…delicious!

Ace: *KOFF!* *KOFF!* What was that for?!

MC/Yuu: Sorry. I needed honest reviews for these waffles. I’m planning to sell some so Grim and I won’t suffer in money troubles.

Deuce: They tasted amazing. What kind of waffles are they?

MC/Yuu: They’re called Egg Waffles that originated from a country back in my world. Traditionally eaten as plain, but they are trendy with ice cream and other toppings added inside. Anyway, there’s work to be done before it’s ready for everyone.

Ace: Wait. Before you continue these experiments, you did the assignment for Professor Trein’s class, right?

MC/Yuu: …Do you want another waffle shoved up your a-?

Anyway, the ADeuce duo left, with some waffles.

The following week, MC/Yuu asked Crowley if they can open a small business within their dorm so they won’t pester him every time for allowances.

Surprisingly he let them. (Not for their sake, but he also heard rumors within the school that the Ramshackle Dorm is scented of baked goods. He wanted to try them.)

Now, business is open!

[Waffle Joys Official Opening!]

MC/Yuu: I can’t believe this isn’t a dream. We’re gonna be okay, Grim.

Grim: You said it! Can’t wait for limitless tuna… *Salivating from the thoughts of tuna cans*

[Doorbell jingles, revealing the First Years as the first customers.]

MC/Yuu: Welcome to Waffle Joys!

Ace: Yo, MC/Yuu!

Deuce: We came by to congratulate you on opening day.

MC/Yuu: Aww thanks guys.

Sebek: What are the specials? I must know as I heard you can make some with ice cream inside. Not because of me, but for Waka-sama.

Epel: Yeah! I want one before Etiquette class.

Jack: Small snack after practice.

MC/Yuu: Coming right up! They’re based on familiar desserts.

[🧇THIS WEEK’S WAFFLE SPECIALS!!!🧇]

Cherry Pie Waffle

Purin Waffle

Cinnamon Apple Waffle

Sweetened Pear Waffle

Macaron Delight Waffle

[After waiting for their orders, they got their respective desserts and thanked their friend before heading out back to their usual routines.]

MC/Yuu: *Counting the money* You think this will start a successful business one day?

Grim: I think so? Whatever. As long as I get tuna.

MC/Yuu: *Sighs* You and your tuna.

[DING! DING! DING!]

MC/Yuu: Welcome to Waffle Joys! Wait, Azul?

Azul: Charmed to see me, Prefect~?

Jade: It’s a pleasure seeing you again, Prefect~

Floyd: Hey, Koebi-chan!

MC/Yuu: Azul, I’m not falling for another deal after what happened back then. What is the real reason why to came to Ramshackle?

Azul: Oh, how harsh of you to assume I would drag you into another deal.

MC/Yuu: Just spit out what you want.

Azul: I want your business to collaborate with the establishment of the Monstro Lounge.

MC/Yuu: *Wields up their waffle iron* Absolutely not. First of all, I started this business because Grim and I aren’t getting enough support from Crowley and second, how do I know I’m not trapping myself into another unfortunate end because of you?

Azul: I’m not making you a deal. I only decided to come by because, well…

MC/Yuu: *Realization hits them* I’m stealing your customers, aren’t I.

Azul: *Grasps on their shoulders* How did you do it?

MC/Yuu: Easy. I just remember something nostalgic and whipped them up with modern takes.

Azul: *Lets go* I need you at Monstro Lounge. Now.

MC/Yuu: No way. If you want your “precious regulars” back, how about advertising both our respective eateries and with a fair price on our ends. Is that fine with you?

Azul: Hmm…If it attracts more customers, then it’s a deal.

MC/Yuu: *Slams an unsigned contract in front of Azul* By my contract, not your Unique Magic.

Azul: *Taken aback* How long were you holding this?

MC/Yuu: Since I first experimented, I knew you’ll come around.

[DING! DING! DING!]

MC/Yuu: Welcome to Waffle Joys!

Crowley: Greetings, Prefect!

MC/Yuu: Crowley, this is surprising to see you as you’ll only come because of “favors.”

Crowley: Oh no no! I only came to try this Egg Waffle because some students were posting pictures on MagiCam and it’s trending.

MC/Yuu: Well, I did ask permission and you given in the idea. So what waffle would you like to order?

[10 minutes later]

MC/Yuu: Here’s your waffle, Headmaster Crowley! Enjoy your order!

[He ordered a Charcoal Black waffle with Black sesame ice cream and sliced toasted almonds, sprinkled with powdered sugar. On top of that is drizzled with condensed milk.]

[Now Crowley joined the Waffle Frenzy.]

Now I’m imagining that if an Overblot breaks out, MC/Yuu would pull out their waffle iron.

Then, “WHAM!!!”

Knocks over the person in despair, coughing out a Blot stone (Which they caught before Grim could eat it).

The Overblot victim comes back to their normal state, and MC/Yuu gives them a waffle as an apology since they “didn’t know their own strength.”

✨[Reblogging helps creators and creates more content.]💫

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #twst au #twisted wonderland mc #twst mc #twisted wonderland yuu #twst yuu #Waffle Maker!MC #Waffle Maker!Yuu #Dessert Master!MC #Dessert Maker!Yuu #twisted wonderland headcanons #twst headcanons #twisted wonderland scenarios #twst scenarios #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #Youtube

[delcakoo]

enha when you’re on your period * ❁ཻུ۪۪♡

requested by kuma <3 (i lost the ask woops)

❃ PAIRING ! enhypen x gn!reader

❃ GENRE ! cavity inducing fluff n’ some comedy

❃ WC ! 3.7k

❃ WARNINGS ! blood n’ periods ofc

a/n: for my lovely kuma who can’t read this until she’s back from her trip :( thank you for this adorable request and please enjoy all my period havers out there, ilysm we’re so strong!!

// LEE HEESEUNG !

bro is more prepared than you with the calendar app n’ everything

you’ll be on the couch minding your business

and he’ll just pop out of nowhere like, “babe, i just got a notification your period starts this week, do we have everything?”

first of all mr lee

why does he know this before you do

you’re not the uterus haver

second

aw. he is so cute :(

the only thing heeseung likes about this time of the month is that you start to get extra clingy

it makes him feel so special n’ loved <3

he’d be playing league like a nerd, also making sure to stay quiet since you’re napping only a few feet over on his bed

well at least, you were

all of a sudden he hears your whiny mumbling from behind him before you throw yourself onto his lap

mans is just smiling like an idiot, lifting his arms around your waist as you cling to him like a koala with your chin resting on his shoulder

“g’morning love, how’s your tummy?” he lazily kisses your head, eyes still glued to his laptop

“s’not morning,” you grumble, “i’m still sleepy.”

luckily, heeseung is very good at reading your random mood changes

he can tell whenever you’re getting grumpy and needy instantly

so with that he quickly abandons his screen, ignoring the fact he’d definitely get an ingame penalty for it

“okay, let’s go lay down then, yeah?”

the rest of the day consists of you and hee cuddling and watching every shitty movie you could find on netflix (there’s a lot of those) <3

there’s been a few times where you’ve sent your boyfriend on pad buying expeditions

and surprisingly, he seems to have done his research, bringing back just what you asked for every time despite the intimidating amounts of numbers and brands he had to scan through

“okay, so i got this one for when it’s heavier,” he says, pulling all sorts of boxes out of his grocery bag, “then these are just liners i thought would be good, then i got..”

okay, maybe he was a bit too excited and went overboard BUT

you were so proud of him!!

and very grateful, remember to give him lots of love as a thank you <3

one time he even got you a cute plushie that gave off heat when you clicked it’s stomach

you use it to this day :)

“this will make do for when i’m not here to kiss your cramps away,” he had giggled, presenting the bear to you proudly

all in all, just very casual and loving gamer boyfriend!!

but maybe don’t tell him you love his gamer side too much or else he will 100% try and convert you into a league player (gags)

// PARK JAY !

it’s been said a million times but it’s just the truth

husband material

absolutely ready. no matter if you’re two weeks early or two weeks late

he’s at your service

though when you first started dating he didn’t have any experience with periods at all

so the first few times it started he was a little

oblivious

“babe, you look like a corpse with that posture, c’mon let’s go out and do something,” he said teasingly

the speed in which your neck snapped towards him..

bro was scared for his life

you feel your eye twitch

“yah, which one of us has blood coming out of their uterus and cramps digging into their stomach?” you bark

he just 🧍🚶🏃💨

the next thing you know, your boyfriend has come back with takeout from your favorite restaurant as an apology, along with another bag full of snacks and candies

of course you reach for the snack bag first

only for it to be snatched away from you :(

“uh uh, dinner first babe.”

you feel like a scolded child as jay spoon feeds you every single bite

“but i’m full,” you whine, watching your boyfriend bring another scoop to your lips

“just one more for me, baby.”

you’d oblige, only for him to start getting another spoonful ready

“if it was my homemade cooking, you would’ve eaten more,” he’d brag to mostly himself

you let him believe what he wants 😒

(it’s true)

jay also keeps track of your supplies in the bathroom

as soon as you started dating this rich mf, not once have you ever paid for any pads or tampons again

if he notices something is getting low in your drawer, a whole new box of it will magically appear the next day

however

sometimes he does go a little overboard

“babe, you know i don’t need the same pads in all these different brands, right? it’s the same thing,”you giggle, observing your almost overflowing drawer of menstrual supplies.

he’d pout in defense, “yeah but this one had these cute animals on it, i thought you’d like it. and this one said it’s extra, exTRA absorbent or something.”

you snort, “what? they should all be absorbent, that’s the whole point, love.”

listen he’s trying

but but, give him some credit! this man catches on quick

soon he will demand you to let him know whenever your period starts so he can come over n’ happily take care of you

get ready to have 5 star meals for breakfast lunch n’ dinner, your chef boyfriend is on the job 👊👊💥💥

// SIM JAKE !

HE'S ON A MISSION

soon you will completely forget about the pounding stabs in your stomach! 🤬

jake just wants to see you smile n’ laugh like you always do around him

but when it’s well,

bloodfall week

he doesn’t get to see your pretty smile very often :(

so he’ll do anything he can to distract you and cheer you up!!

and by anything he means anything

literally you could ask him for a mini concert

and he’d be like “okay, let’s go! what song first?”

only moments ago you were sitting on the couch, contemplating life with a heating pad pressed to your stomach

but now you’re too busy watching your boyfriend dance to blessed cursed with music so loud even the neighbours can listen in to

cramps??? who’s that?

now you only know jake singing polaroid love to you in your living room :)

shit, he’ll even dance to billy poco just for you despite the pounding urge to plug his ears everytime the annoying melody turns on

anything’s worth hearing your laugh <3

so the first time you requested jake to pick up some sanitary napkins for you he was strangely.. enthusiastic

it’d go something like this:

you - 3:21: babe

you - 3:21: *1 attachment* if ur free can u pick up some more of these for me?

jakey <3 - 3:22: omg

you - 3:22: ???

jakey <3 - 3:22: sorry love, i’m just excited 😊 i’ll be there in 15 😘

you’re the definition of 😟🤨

what on earth is this man planning

pads are not that exciting in your opinion

and like usual you were right to be worried

bro shows up at your house with a whole care package and a pink ribbon n’ everything

“there is no way you made that,” you gasp, standing with crossed arms in the doorway to your apartment

he snickers, walking in and placing the gift bag on your counter

“okay, i did get some help from an employee at the store. she recommended to me a bunch of stuff you’d probably want,” he announces proudly.

you sigh in disbelief (even though you were secretly really thankful and wanted to give him a big kiss), “baby, i’m not dying. i just needed pads.”

“yeah but i wanted to make you feel better! periods don’t sound very.. pleasant.”

you snort

well, he wasn’t wrong

inside his little basket of goodies was basically everything you could ever need during the week

along with the pads you’d asked for there was a tub of ice cream, chocolates, a teddy bear, and a brand new heating pad

aaand best boyfriend award goes to sim jaehyun 😞😞

// PARK SUNGHOON

lord.. i’m so sorry for you dear

he’s so confident. for no good reason

you ask him to get some pads and he’s like YEAHH, ITS MY TIME TO SHINE

so you offer to show him a picture as reference, and he really goes “i don’t need some stupid picture babe. i knOw what i’m doing.”

then off he goes

waddling through your front door with a dumb, smug smirk on his face

you sigh, an anxious feeling stirring in your stomach

you’re just sat on your couch, thinking of all the things that he could do wrong

and just like that, your phone begins violently ringing only ten minutes later

“hoon?” you question with furrowed brows, holding the phone to your ear

he doesn’t greet you back, his stressed voice blasting through your eardrums, “since when did these things have wiNGs? why are they flying and why are there numbers everywhere?! this one says it’s 100% absorbent, but this one says it absorbs 10x it’s weight, what the fuck is better??”

you can’t help but let out a cackle

it’s so easy to imagine him just. 🧍 in the middle of the menstrual aisle

“okay calm down love, do you want the reference picture?”

his ego says no, absolutely not!

but sadly, if he wants to survive this mission, he has to admit to being clueless, sighing a reluctant yeah.. through the phone

so you rush over to your bathroom, still giggling through the phone

“babe, this isn’t funny,” sunghoon mutters, “all these middle aged women are staring at me, and they don’t look impressed.”

you just laugh harder, “well, i don’t know what you expected mr. period expert, i thought it was ‘your time to shine’?”

he just groans in embarrassment

to say the least, he learned his lesson

but now he’s absolutely prepared

in his notes app, he has a locked folder called “y/n grumpy week reminders”

you were extrEmely offended when you found out about it

you’re not thaaat grumpy on your period…

ok maybe a bit but still :(

you quickly forgave him for the name when he actually allowed you to go through the folder

bro has typed down everything like literally EVERYTHING

your favourite snacks had a pretty big section including your top three ice cream flavors, chip brands n’ candies

and of course in big bold letters he had the exact pads/tampons you used

he did not need a repeat of the first time 😕

sunghoon knows very well how bad your cramps can get, especially at night

so when you guys get ready to sleep, he purposely turns you around so he can throw an arm over your waist and rub comforting circles on your stomach until you fall asleep <3

it makes him feel like he’s really doing a good job taking care of you, which he is!!

but don’t tell him this or his ego will skyrocket. it’s already high up enough 😕

// KIM SUNOO !

having an older sister, sunoo isn’t really phased when your period comes, he’s fully prepared and used to it

it does make him pretty upset seeing you in pain though, and the fact that he can’t do much about it makes him sadder

so he resorts to doing little things with you in an attempt to cheer you up!!

you’ll just be curled up in bed with your boyfriend

when all of a sudden he ruins the peaceful atmosphere by jumping out and running over to the bathroom >:(

instantly you let out a whiny grunt, searching desperately for his warmth once again

“sun, what’re you doing?” you complain

he suddenly prances back in with a pile of random shit in his arms, smiling cheerfully

“i brought face masks! and there’s some other face products i wanna try out, then i wanna paint your nails!”

what were you expecting dating the skin care king

at first you were a bit unsure since well, with your cramps you just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep

but after some more convincing

you realised the fun distraction was helping much more than trying to sleep

an hour went by with you and your boyfriend taking pictures and laughing at each other in bright green face masks

the selfies you took were chefs kiss as usual, queue the new matching instagram pfps <3

then while you waited for the masks to dry, you painted each others nails purple and blue (yes, you convinced sunoo to have matching nails with you 🫶)

by the end of the night you’ve almost completely forgotten about the cramps digging into you ✊

whenever you ask sunoo to buy you menstrual supplies he’s just the biggest sweetheart

the most enthusiastic “sure!!” you can imagine paired with that pure smile of his 💔

mr perfect is also the most educated out of all of them

“wings or no wings? should i get multiple sizes? also, i’ll get some underwear liners too just in case~”

he’s not embarrassed at all with his basket full of items for you, when ladies stare at him in the store he just offers a smile n’ waves 😭

and and, right after leaving the store he’ll go to your favorite ice cream place and bring you back a whole sundae of your choice!!

10/10 sunshine boyfriend. highly recommend

// YANG JUNGWON !

ultimate caregiver

won hates being mushy okay

but period week is a whole different conversation

if you tell him you’re having cramps he WILL appear at your door five minutes later with open arms

he’ll give you a greeting smooch before tackling you to the couch like a real cat

his favourite thing to do is make you sit in his lap n’ reach his hand around your waist to gently massage your tummy

every once in a while the peaceful silence is interrupted with a quick ‘love you’ right in your ear along with a peck

those moments are really healing for him y’know

as the leader he’s pretty much constantly stressed and busy but when he can just sit down with you and. breath

it makes him so happy even though he hates the fact you’re hurting :(

throughout the day he’ll always be checking on you

“want me to reheat this?” he inquires, gesturing to the heating pad on your stomach

“jagi, let me give you a massage.”

“should i run you a bath? i can add some bubbles!”

wonnie also has a sister, so he’s a bit more experienced than the other members

he claimed that he was an expert on getting pads/tampons because his sister would always force him to get some whenever he went out

so you put some faith in the boy and sent him a picture of what you need

but but HE WANTS TO BE 100% SURE so when he gets to the store he’ll literally put you on facetime with speaker and everything

“okay got it, and should i get the ones with wings? okay, and how about these underwear liners, they’re on sale?”

like he does not care at ALL even if the other pedestrians are all 👁👄👁 at the sound of your casual pad conversation in the middle of the store

all he cares about is you and getting everything right, very efficient boy

one time you were sleeping over with him at the dorm and well

mother nature decided to surprise you <3

the millisecond you woke up you knew something was wrong

yeah

the red waterfall had fallen a few days earlier than anticipated

meanwhile your boyfriend was in dreamland mere centimetres away from you

“shit, shit, shit,” you murmured, carefully looking under the covers to see a giant patch of red right on your sleeping shorts and jungwon’s bedsheet

to say you were freaking out pretty bad would be an understatement

would if he’s grossed out?? will he be disgusted?

with the softest movements possible, you do your best to creep out of bed without awakening the boy next to you

but jungwon, being the light sleeper he is woke up to the mere sound of the blankets ruffling

“jagi?” he rasps, rubbing his eyes

your head whips around, looking down at your bloodstained shorts, “close your eyes!”

it was too late, you cringed as you witness jungwon’s eyes widen, quickly sitting up

“what- your shorts- are you okay?”

you quickly cover the patch of red, “i’m so sorry won, i didn’t know it would be starting, i swear-”

he interrupts with a shake of his head, “jagi, it’s totally natural, don’t apologise,” he states, already hopping out of bed to pull his bedsheets off, “go clean up, i’ll throw these in the wash and make you some breakfast, hm?”

you were a bit flabbergasted, just watching him carry his stained bedsheets out the door

perhaps it was the bare minimum, but for you his comforting and calmness was extremely appreciated

by the time you’re done cleaning yourself up and changing into a pair of jungwon’s shorts, your boyfriend has finished making waffles and eggs

when he sees you he runs over to pull you in for a kiss, “g’morning! want to go on a movie marathon today? oh- i can also pick up some supplies for you if you need,” he offers happily

at that moment you just feel your heart burst in love and adoration

wonnie supremacy, please give him lots of cuddles n’ kisses to show your appreciation!

// NISHIMURA RIKI !

here’s your one chance to be free from his constant playfighting and teasing

when it’s that time of the month niki has learned teasing you is not the way to go if he wants to wake up tomorrow

he found this out the hard way when you first started dating

“yah,” the boy playfully pushed your side, making you groan in pain, “i thought i'm your boyfriend, why aren’t you giving me attention? you’re just staring off into space with that weird grumpy face. y’know, you’re going to get wrinkles just like jay hyung- ow!”

then you proceeded to chew him out on how much you’re suffering and he’s just 🧍

new side to him unlocked

niki is usually not one to be very clingy, in fact, he’d say you’re usually the one clinging on to him

but on your period suddenly he’s following you around like a lost puppy

he will wrap his arms around your waist and waddle around with you in his embrace

and while he’d usually say something stupid about your height or call you a midget, instead he just plants kisses on the top of your head and asks how your tummy’s feeling :(

another example being when you want his attention

usually when you come over to him being all needy he’ll grow this stupidly smug smirk and be like “wow. you’re so obsessed with me” (lovingly) 🙄

but now he’ll just smile warmly n’ pull you in for a comforting hug with some stomach rubs if you want

“you should watch me beat heeseung hyung in smash bros, it’ll distract you from the pain~”

“babe, come sit,” he pats his lap, making grabby hands in your direction, “i’ll hug your cramps away~”

and oh god

the first time you asked niki to get you some pads he ALMOST let his excitement show through his face

he was nervous yes

but it also made him proud that you could depend on him y’know

it made him feel manly!! like you really needed him and he could take care of you!! :)

even when he’s at the store he’d be all giddy and excited

though when he actually sees the full rows of colorful, intimidating products he just 😊… 😟

yes, you texted him the brand and everything but there were thoUSANDs of different ones by that brand in specific

but it’s too late now

niki is too determined to impress you and show how good a boyfriend he is

he will not bother you again

and even though he has sisters he was a bit embarrassed, so instead bro goes to ask some random clerk

“hi, my partner asked me to get these but i’m a bit uh- lost, could i get some help?” he shows the clerk the text you sent him, fidgeting with his hoodie string nervously

“ah of course sir! right this way,” the employee replies, already setting off down the aisle

“we have lots of different options, honestly these ones are really good because they’re very comfortable and longlasting, but these ones are very popular because..”

the clerk ends up describing literally every single box there with detail and the whole time your poor boyfriend is just nodding in utter confusion

at this point he was even more lost than before, if they were all so amAZING like this lady said, how was he supposed to pick just one?

a lightbulb appears above his head

“and that’ll be sixty eight dollars and seventy cents, please.”

niki gulps, looking down at his basket filled to the brim with literally just pads

when he got back.. oh boy

“are you fucking kidding me? what is all that?!” you exclaim, watching your boyfriend walk over with two whole grocery bags in his hands

“uh, in my defense this lady was a really good salesperson and well..”

when he opened the bag for you to look inside while murmuring the amount he spent, you nearly fainted right there, immediately scolding him

“that’s it, you’re officially banned from going shopping for me.”

“what!? babe, please! give me another chance, next time i’ll only get one i swear, seriously!”

okAy he wasn’t lying

next time niki actually did do a good job and got ONE pad box instead of ten, you were so proud <3

and he even brought some snacks back along the way!!

biggest softie ever right here, just give him some time to learn pls 😭

if you enjoyed, reblogs n’ feedback is always appreciated and motivating for me to keep writing!

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[yjhariani]

hii, i've an idea. can you write something about the 141 team trying to fast for one day bc reader is also fasting and they're curious abt how it feels etc. thank you in advance :)

“I was thinking maybe we all try,” Soap said.

“Try what?” Ghost asked.

“Fasting,” Soap answered.

“Never once I thought such an idea would come out of you, Soap,” you chuckled.

“It’s not a bad idea either,” Ghost commented.

“I’m an amazing friend, how could you say that?” Soap protested. “Are we doing this or not?”

“Fuck yeah, I’m in,” Gaz nodded.

“When are we gonna do it?” Soap asked.

“Tomorrow sounds good,” Ghost said.

“Excuse me, tomorrow is cleaning day, my guys,” you pointed out.

“So, what? If you can do it, then, I can do it,” Ghost stated.

“Yeah, why not?” Soap supported. “You’re doing fine, we’ll do better than fine.”

“I already said I’m in,” Gaz shrugged.

“Fine,” you nodded. “I’ll wake you up for suhoor and you’ll eat and drink before dawn. After that you practise chastity, you can’t eat, drink, or smoke until dusk.”

There was a pause where everyone was looking at Ghost.

“I can survive without smoking,” Ghost said. “Been trying to quit anyway.”

“You said that like twelve times already in the span of one year,” you said.

“Still trying,” Ghost said.

Soon the time came. It was not that hard getting them out of the bed. However, getting them to wake up took a little bit more time and a lot of food.

The mess was not as full as how it would have been for breakfast, but still more people than it would have been any other month. Mostly, the people here were the ones who participated in Ramadan with their friends who were challenged to fast or simply curious to know what it felt like, maybe as a sign of respect to their friend.

It all went quite well, but after all it was only the beginning of the day.

Dawn came a few minutes after everyone was done eating and drinking. Everyone was oddly in a good mood. Maybe you were in a better mood than most of them because yesterday you did this all by yourself.

Then, fast forward to about hours later, it was about midday, and you were mopping the barrack floor with Ghost’ help. Gaz was asleep in the most uncomfortable position. Soap was nowhere to be seen, but Price did tell him to wash one of the cars.

“Hey, LT,” you called.

“Shut up,” Ghost said, more harshly than he intended.

“Okay,” you said as you turned around, hiding a smile—knowing that Ghost would be snapping at everyone soon if you kept pushing to talk to him.

Sometime later, you walked outside and found König holding up a hose downwards to Soap who was sitting underneath it, face up, eyes closed.

“Is he okay?” you mouthed at König.

König gave you a light shrug for an answer.

“Soap, are you okay?” you asked.

Soap opened his eyes and saw you.

“I’m,” Soap said, but he got water poured into his mouth and he moved his head off the water to talk to you, “I’m fucking thirsty.”

“Dude, you don’t have to force yourself. That’s literally part of the religion. I mean, that’s referring to sick people, pregnant and breastfeeding people, and elderly, but, really, you don’t have to force yourself,” you said.

“No,” Soap whined.

“Well, a lot of kids fast only up to midday,” you brought up.

“Why, because I’m a big baby?” Soap questioned.

You looked at König who slightly tilted his head in amusement.

“I’m just gonna leave you to it,” you decided.

About three hours before dusk, everyone was miserable. However, at least the cleaning was done. 

Everyone sort of had their own way of killing time. They had way less energy than usual, but still kept themselves busy.

Around the last hour of fasting, everyone was a little more spiritful again. They were excited about iftar and a lot of the conversation you were having was food related.

The four of you ordered a lot of food and plated everything in the common area of the barrack. There were warm drinks, cold drinks, savoury snacks, sweet snacks, portions of meals, but seemed to be lacking some water that no one realised would be necessary.

Hours came down to minutes before dusk. Everyone was sitting around the small coffee table where you put the food on. You put your phone on the table as well, waiting for it to announce the time to break your fast.

Your phone soon blared out as a sign that it was time to break your fast. Right away, the four men around you went to take their drinks and food and chugged everything in. However, they took a pause when they noticed that you only had one cup of warm beverage in your hands and you silently prayed before taking a sip. They slowed down then.

Regardless, after drinking a little bit of liquid and eating barely a few finger foods, everyone just sort of sat there and looked at each other.

“We’re never gonna be able to finish all these, are we?” Ghost questioned.

“Not even half,” you chuckled.

“This morning, I pissed seven times in the span of an hour because I drank three jugs of water,” Soap said, “and I’m still fuckin’ thirsty at noon.”

#simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost x reader #gaz x reader #kyle garrick x reader #soap x reader #john mactavish x reader #könig x reader