Tumgik
#gonna be busy with other projects anyways now that the semester is over
upsidedownsmore · 22 days
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
(edited to fix page 3, oops!)
Hello! Here's a Hollowframe zine I made for my 2D design class final last week!
We basically got to make an 8-paged zine + poster designed for a double-sided 11x17" sheet of paper about anything we wanted, so I elected to just reuse stuff I already drew for my ongoing Hollowframe project since I was already buried under other assignments (though I still ended up putting way too much effort into it lol, I even remade the full group arrangement!)
The idea was to split the timeline of the Hollowframe project into four rough "phases", take a warframe from each, and then condense a bunch of info about the design I drew for them into a page each.
Hollowframe tag!
Google drive link with high quality pdfs, pngs, and more for printing and whatever! :) (and send me pics if you actually print it!!)
Pics of the irl folded zine and more under the cut!
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
And here's an unfolded view of all of the pages:
Tumblr media
Feel free to try printing and folding it yourself! (here is a random zine folding tutorial I found: https://zineopolis.blogspot.com/p/h.html) (meant for 11x17" paper but idk maybe you can make a really small one lol)
I used Photoshop for the page backgrounds, Illustrator to arrange the pages themselves, and Krita to rearrange the full group image.
Pretty happy with how it turned out! I'm honestly mostly glad I finally got an excuse to remake that full group arrangement cause man that dull bluish gray background was not doing it for me anymore lol (though now it's 11x17" rather than 16:9 ratio so maybe not as good for desktop backgrounds but idk if that matters that much? idk i might adjust it back to a 16:9 ratio if people really want me to)
Anyways that's it for now bye bye :)
213 notes · View notes
brotherblaze · 11 months
Text
weedkiller —miguel o'hara
Tumblr media
summary: LYLA likes categorizing what you and Miguel have as 'too close to be friends' because Miguel doesn't let his friends make themselves at home in his office.
word count: 2,2k
warnings: n/a
a/n: thank you @starrysatoru for listening to me ramble about Miguel & lyla and all the other wips i infodump at you🥹
Tumblr media
“Hey, Miguel.”
“Not now, LYLA.”
LYLA scrunches her nose at Miguel’s dismissal. She’s hovering over his shoulder while he’s discussing (more like lecturing) the matter of not letting a villain blow up the Parliament, no matter how shitty the British institution. Hobie doesn’t seem all that enthused about what Miguel thinks. Gwen just looks like she’s hoping for the ground to swallow her whole.
“I wasn’t gonna say anything interesting anyway,” LYLA cuts in with as much passive-aggressiveness as she can find in her code and makes a note to ask if it can be dialed up. “Just that Anti-Venom’s day ended like an hour ago.”
Miguel cuts himself off mid-sentence and his eyes shoot to the clock LYLA is oh-so helpfully projecting for him. She revels in seeing the panic blooming in his eyes, the stuttering of his vitals, and the subtle hitch in his breathing.
He’s beyond late to pick you up.
“Where are they now?” He’s scrambling for something. Something that doesn’t make it seem like he forgot. She can’t wait to see where this goes next.
“On the elevator.” LYLA jerks her head towards the door. This might be the closest thing to glee she’ll ever get to experience so she makes sure to soak up every moment. 
Miguel runs a hand down his face. The sigh that escapes him rattles his whole frame and she takes a snapshot of the moment to tuck away for the future.
“Call one of the reserved spider-bots. I want it up here ASAP.”
“Wow, you’re really buying their forgiveness with imported candy? Wanna get a white van while you’re at it, too?” She raises a brow, arms crossed over her chest like she hadn’t set a spider-bot on hold the moment Miguel first dismissed her. Because she’s an amazing assistant who gets her boss out of trouble.
“LYLA!”
“Yeah, yeah.” She waves him off like he’s a pest. She’d hauled ass to get those candies imported and now Miguel is using them as apology fodder because he dismissed LYLA’s routine reminder that your day was ending at exactly 5:45 PM.
Come next semester, she considers invading your university’s system and redoing the class schedules to maximize your time at HQ just to get Miguel to chill. 
The door slides open and you pause in the doorway when you notice Miguel is not alone. Your fingers tighten around the edges of the pizza box in your hands. “Should I come back later?”
“No, no, you’re fine.” Miguel motions you inside and you allow the long metal arm sprouting from the ceiling to wrap itself around your waist. It carries you over the room to Miguel like a very disgruntled cat and he holds his hand out to help you balance when you’re deposited on the podium next to him. “Why didn’t you call?”
“LYLA said you were busy.” You sink into your usual chair and place the pizza box on your lap. It’s still warm. “She also said you haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
Miguel sends LYLA a look. She sticks her tongue out at him.
You clear your throat to disengage them and hand Miguel a slice of pizza between a napkin.
“Gracias, mi luz.” He motions towards your captive audience with his free hand. “Hobie, Earth-138. You’ve met Gwen.”
You hum. “Again with the numbers.”
“How do you hate numbers, you’re studying programming.”
“You’d be surprised.” You wave to Gwen and Hobie. “Nice to meet you.”
Gwen waves back while Hobie merely nods in greeting.
“How’s a wanker like him know someone like you?” Hobie asks—he’s immediately jabbed in the ribs by Gwen’s elbow and a hiss of ‘stop’ under her breath.
You raise a brow.
“That a compliment or an insult?”
Hobie shrugs.
“Oye,” Miguel warns. You jab your foot against his shin.
“Alchemax,” you say. “I used to intern there when I was still studying biochem. Didn’t work out so I no longer intern there.”
“Uh, so, what do you do now? If I may ask.” Gwen hastily adds that last part like she doesn’t want to bother you. Her movements are jerky. She’s nervous. You look at Miguel and raise a brow, then turn back to Gwen.
“Oh, you’re in trouble,” LYLA whispers into his ear. Miguel swats her away.
“I study programming.” You jerk your head towards Miguel. “My first-year internships used to run until what, 11 PM, midnight-ish? And he didn’t want me going home alone that late, so he picked me up. Then we kept doing it for convenience’s sake.”
“And today he forgot.” Hobie shakes his head with a tsk. “Ignored the A.I., actually, by the way. Deplorable.” He looks towards Miguel. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
All eyes turn to Miguel. He glares back at Hobie. “I’m not explaining myself to a 12-year-old.”
You snort. “Remember that one jackass who threw a tantrum when I told him I was the intern and not the babysitter?” You look back down and hold out your hands, palms facing the ground. “Literally on his hands and knees crying in the middle of the hallway while his kid is standing there watching—god, I wish I had pictures.”
Miguel covers his mouth with a closed fist to hide the chuckle that escapes him. “His wife was divorcing him, by the way.”
Now you actually laugh. “I would’ve too.”
Miguel looks at the spiderlings below. “Fill out your mission reports by tonight. And no more blowing up the Parliament. You’re dismissed.”
Hobie opens his mouth to say something but Gwen has him by the scruff of his jacket before he has a chance to voice his opinion and quickly drags him out of the room. The door slides shut behind them and silence fills the room. It’s not uncomfortable by any means, both of you working on devouring your slice of pizza.
Even LYLA is sitting on your lap, munching on her own little pixelated slice of pizza.
“By the way,” you begin through a mouthful. You pause and swallow before continuing, “You busy tomorrow?”
“I don’t know yet.” He reaches to pick up another slice and you watch him devour it in three bites.
“Dude, are you even enjoying the food?” You deadpan. “I just… realized I haven’t seen so many old horror movies, and I wanna watch them. But not alone.”
“Scared?” He raises an eyebrow, wiping his fingers in a napkin.
“No. Just kinda lame to watch them alone. Was thinking of like, Carrie, maybe—speaking of horror movies: what’s stopping you from dressing like 80s horror movie hunks?” You rest your elbow on the chair armrest and your chin against your knuckles. One leg is sprawled out to chase off the oncoming pins and needles.
“What?”
“A nice crop top, short shorts, or low-rise jeans…” You shrug your shoulders but don’t look away from him.
“I’m 6’9”, do you know what a pain in the ass buying pants is?”
“So? Just saying you’d look really good.” You allow your eyes to slowly slide down his body and then back up again. “Like,” you begin again, almost breathlessly, “really, really good.”
“Yeah?” He leans over you, one hand on his hip, the other gripping the back of your chair. “You think so?”
Your mouth dries up abruptly and swallowing feels like someone’s scooped sand into your mouth. So, you only hum.
“What, cat got your tongue?” His voice has dropped and you can feel the warmth he radiates.
“Yeah.” Your voice cracks and heat floods into your face and you feel like you’re a volcano about to erupt. There’s a hollowness in your chest, a fuzzy, messy ball of feelings bouncing around your ribcage, and a tingle in your right leg and—
Oh, that’s a pinched nerve, not oncoming pins and needles, you belatedly realize. You tap on Miguel’s wrist to push it off the chair’s backrest and let it fall flat to allow sprawling out for comfort.
“You okay?” Miguel asks, hovering over your newly acquired horizontal position. You wince.
“Nerve pain again.”
“LYLA, have the infirmary send a heat pack up.”
“On it.” She materializes on your chest and suddenly you realize you hadn’t seen her blink away.
Miguel crouches next to your chair, fingers hovering over your skin. “Where does it hurt?”
“Hip.” You tap the spot with a finger, then return to willing the pain away until the heat pack arrives. Whoever said mind over matter better be right.
“Well, considering I’ve seen you sleep like a pretzel…” 
“You sleep on your back like the fucking dead, dude.”
Miguel gently presses his fingers against your hip and the fabric of your jeans melts away enough for him to reach skin. His hand is warm. “Symbiote as pants,” he states, the corners of his lips curled slightly upwards. “That’s new.”
“Now, which one of us uses unstable molecule fabric as their whole spider-suit?” You let your eyes flutter shut, taking slow, deep breaths to cope with the stabbing pain under your skin. “Plus, this is the one pair of white pants in the whole world that will never get dirty, or be see-through.”
“Oh yeah,” LYLA appears again, as if she’s remembering something important, “hey, Miguel? I could use a new outfit.”
“What?” Miguel tears his eyes from you to look at his A.I. assistant like she’s grown a second head. For a moment, LYLA entertains the idea of having you modify her code to make that possible.
“Or seven.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Y’know what, the more the merrier.”
“You can just download them off the internet.”
“So?”
“I’m busy; I can’t just drop everything to give you new clothes when you can do it yourself.”
“But you do it so well!”
“LYLA—”
“Good boys who do what their A.I. asks get rewarded.” LYLA holds up a finger. “Now, shh, listen.”
She begins a list of items she would like, specifying colors and patterns, accessories—even a car. You stifle your laughter at her demands and glance toward Miguel. Despite his grumpy demeanor, you know he’s listening intently, interjecting every now and then for clarification.
It’s reminiscent of the Miguel you knew before he became Spider-Man. The man who had lunch with you at Alchemax (even though you were just a lowly intern) and who listened to you talk about the chemical compounds Venom and its siblings and offsprings produced without rudely interrupting. Even now, in the midst of his verbal sparring-turned-hostage situation, there’s the ghost of a smile creeping up on his features.
You’re drawn from the reverie when the sound of spider-bots skittering across the floor draws your attention. One parks next to Miguel and opens the container on its back. Miguel grabs the heatpack and presses it against your hip. Anti-Venom forms around it, keeping it glued to your side. One of the metal arms hanging from the ceiling collects the empty pizza box from your lap.
A second spider-bot parks in front of you once your chair is upright again and you slide off, kneeling on front of the bot on the floor. The hatch in its back opens with a chirp, exposing a handful of colorfully wrapped candies. All familiar. 
“You had them imported all the way here?” You reach in and retrieve the candy, staring at the collection in your hand as if it’s the 8th wonder of the world. “I—I never even thought of checking if they export.” When you look up, Miguel is avoiding your gaze. The tips of his ears are burning, as indicated by LYLA on your Gizmo.
“He spent an ungodly amount of time agonizing over what flavors to get.”
“LYLA.” Miguel pinches the bridge of his nose, effectively hiding his whole face from you.
“Thank you.”
He doesn’t look at you but he does grunt out an acknowledgment.
The silence that follows feels a little prickly and you frown. Not prickly, per se, but… awkward, maybe.
“Are you uh…” you lick your lips and nod toward the screens hovering a few feet away. “Do you have work you have to get back to? ‘Cause I should get on with my homework.”
“Oh, uh—” Miguel glances back at the screens as you stand, pocketing the candy in your hand. “Yeah. I’ll drop you off.”
“Can I maybe stay?” You venture to ask. “Watch you work when I’m done?”
“You… want to watch me work?” You nod. “You’ll get bored.”
“But you look so pretty when you’re doing stuff I don’t understand.”
Heat floods your face and you clamp your jaw shut. You’re sure your heart skips several beats at once and suddenly you’re praying to be sent to the infirmary. No such luck and so, you slowly lower yourself onto your usual chair again to get on with your homework.
Miguel opens and closes his mouth a few times like a gaping fish before he finally closes it. A few beats of silence and then—
“Tú serás mi muerte,” he mumbles as he returns to whatever he does with the million screens he always has open. Maybe you should ask one day, but not this day.
Tumblr media
LYLA appears in front of you, glowing a warm yellow. Maybe she should’ve asked for a new display color, too. She stares at you over her pink heart-shaped frames. 
“Wow, smooth.”
part two.
342 notes · View notes
thebowieconstricker · 1 month
Text
Head Over Heels - Chapter 1
(The Creature x Reader)
A Lisa Frankenstein (2024) fanfic
Prolouge
YOU THOUGHT I WASN’T GONNA POST DIDN’T YA??? Nah I’ve just been doing other things. We’re gonna have ONE more chapter after this one and then… we meeting our boy. Enjoy!
~~~
1989, Brookview, Indiana
As you reapplied your mascara for the fourteen billionth time, you let out a sigh. It was the first semester of your freshman year and Taffy was determined to drag you along with her to your first rager. You had fought her for years when it came to you attending parties. They were your own personalized hell, too much smoke and alcohol and noise, and for the past three years of high school, you had explained this to Taffy. Somehow, for some reason, she had respected your decision and you had successfully avoided them.
On the condition that you would go to one when you were a senior.
Unfortunately for you, you now had to actually fulfill that promise.
Taffy couldn’t be happier about it, though.
You had been struggling with your hair, face, outfit, everything since you’d gotten home from school. It was a Friday, so you couldn’t use the school night excuse on your father.
Even if you tried to, you doubted he would keep you home. These days he seemed exhausted with you, too wrapped up in his own business to care to listen to your silly teenage problems. You thought that he’d be more dad-like these days, his kid going into their senior year, but no. Anytime you complained, he retorted that you should just be more like Taffy. She didn’t have problems! Maybe join the cheer team! He’s sure she’d teach you the ropes!
He didn’t care to know you would rather drop dead then join the cheer team.
Anyways, back to you. Getting ready, yes. You grabbed a jean-jacket littered with patches you had stitched on yourself. You had a job with a local tailor in town and you’d always loved to sew. You considered yourself an artsy person, fascinated with the art of creation. This patched jacket was an especially loved project of yours, a sort of comfort jacket. So, it was coming with you.
After putting it on and glancing at yourself one last time in the mirror, you heard a honk outside your door. Taffy.
You shut off your bathroom radio, currently blaring “Keep On Loving You” by REO Speedwagon, a favorite of yours. You hummed the rest of the song as you zipped around your bathroom, grabbing a shoe here and chapstick there, shoving things in your bag and absentmindedly combing through your hair with your fingers. One final check later and you were speeding through your house, running out of your bathroom, through your room, down the stairs, past the living room, and straight towards the door, grabbing the handle and yanking it open.
You gasped and squinted as you walked out of your house, taken aback. Taffy’s car lights were on and pointed directly at you, completely blinding. As your eyes adjusted, your stomach began to turn as you recognized the cherry red of her car.
There was no going back now.
You saw Taffy in the drivers seat, excitedly smiling and waving at you.
This was gonna be a long night.
~~~
“So… are you hot for anyone?”
Oh my god, Taffy would not shut up.
Yeah, you two had been friends for… forever at this point, but didn’t she know you well enough by now to understand how you worked? You were already going out on a limb here, why did she delight in torturing you? You didn’t talk a lot, you rarely had crushes! Why did she act like you were like everyone one else?
“Taffy, that’s gross.” You replied, groaning.
“It’s not gross! It’s human, (Y/N). There has to be someone at school you think is cute.” She looked at you grinning.
A thought popped into your head. You knew it wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but you couldn’t help yourself.
Your eyes shifted to look out the window. “I mean…”
Taffy gasped. “That wasn’t a no! Details, details!”
You giggled a bit at her enthusiasm. Perky as she was, she was fun.
“There’s… someone who doesn’t go to our school, I guess.”
Taffy nodded aggressively, bouncing in her seat.
Now, you knew very well that you weren’t interested in anyone at school, but you could… stretch the truth a bit. For her sake. Make her think there was still a chance for you.
“We don’t talk much, but… when I see him, he’s sweet.”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHH-“ Taffy let out a high-pitched squeal, causing your eyes to close tightly.
“Can you not?!?” You tried your best to maintain an annoyed expression, but her genuine happiness for you made your smile impossible to hide.
“What school does he go to??” Taffy was glancing back and forth at you and the road.
“He’s homeschooled.”
“Ooh, so he’s like, freakishly smart?”
“Yeah, freakishly.”
“Does he have more of a football bod or a basketball bod?”
“He, um- doesn’t play sports.”
Taffy gave you a look.
“(N/N), I thought I went over this with you. How are you gonna climb the social ladder this year if you only go after geeks?”
You wrapped your arms around yourself defensively.
“He just caught my attention, okay? It’s not like we’re anything serious.”
Taffy sighed and turned up the radio, beginning to hum along to whatever was playing.
You couldn’t hear it, though. All this talk about your bachelor friend had you daydreaming.
What would it be like if he went to Brookview High? Maybe he would actually be your friend. He’d help you with your math homework, eat lunch with you, walk you to class, give you kisses in the hallway…
EEEEKKKK
The car lurched to a halt. You jolted from your dreams, arm hitting the car door.
Damn, you forgot how bad of a driver Taffy was.
“We’re here! Alright, (Y/N), are you ready for your first official senior rager??”
Taffy’s smile was impossibly wide, her eyes shining in the darkness of her car. You could faintly hear the music and noises of the party, whoever’s house you were at ahead of you.
Sitting there in the dark.
Waiting.
You took a breath.
“Okay.”
~~~
Nope nope nope, this was the worst choice you could have possibly made.
You could have thrown yourself into oncoming traffic and you would have been better off than being at this stupid, awkward party.
Standing outside with an unopened bottle of water, you watched as Taffy flawlessly buzzed about. She seemed to somehow know every single person here, to the point where each of them was just so glad she made it! It’s not a party without her! Damn, girl, I’m loving the outfit!
You thought your jacket would have gotten you some complements, at least from the right people, but apparently not.
Even the goth kids were steering clear of you.
Was there a meeting before you got here to make sure no one would talk to you??
You swallowed harshly and began to walk over to one of the random coolers strewn about the lawn. Thankfully, Taffy hadn’t forced you inside the actual house. You were sure the music was even louder, and the bright lights pouring from the glass doors and walls that shone on the pool were much brighter and even more headache inducing inside. Finally getting to a cooler, you realized that you had already been holding an unopened waterbottle.
Mentally rolling your eyes at your own idiotic behavior, you decided to just commit. Yes, it was stupid, and yes, you should just go hide in Taffy’s car for the rest of the night, but you might as well just suck it up at this point.
Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, it would get Taffy off your back for good.
You bent down and opened the cooler, and your hand dove straight into the icy cold water. It was pure instinct, a desire to feel something that wasn’t hot and sweaty and awkward, and it honestly gave you a brief feeling of relief.
You took your original water bottle, now lukewarm, and placed it in the ice water, grabbing a new, much cooler bottle of water.
Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind and above you.
“If you’re looking to fade out, the ethanol’s inside.”
You furrowed your brow in confusion. “What?”, you responded.
“The booze…?” The voice said as you stood up, not yet turning around. “It’s in the house.”
You started to turn, now actually understanding whatever this guy was talking about.
“O-oh, yeah, I think my friend brought most of it-“
Wait-
Your eyes focused in the dark on the figure who was speaking to you. Pretty brown hair and eyes, a slight tan, and a face that you would recognize in an instant.
Why was Micheal Trent talking to you?
Tumblr media
35 notes · View notes
ceilingfan5 · 2 years
Note
22 (Hey I love you and still very much do want to marry you but I need you to elaborate on these last few amazon purchases with my credit card?) w blupjeans please :O!!!! thank u <3 -ise
“Hey, Bear?” They’ve been on the phone for at least an hour now, and there’s been pleasant silence for a solid chunk of it, Lup working on a project and Bary idly re-reading the same page over and over in the text book he’s meant to be approving or denying for use in his class next semester. On the one hand, it sure does have many words inside, in a particular order. On the other, his mind is entirely elsewhere, and it may as well be word salad with a noticeable lack of ranch dressing. 
“Huh?” he says, incredibly intelligently, genius level, Nobel prize and a half, tell the news, et cetera and so on. So big-brained he lugs the thing around in a wheelbarrow and can’t see because the implications of that, physically, are horrifically comical. Jesus, what kind of flesh nonsense crimes would have to be committed to manage such a thing? Now, maybe if he carried it around in a backpack…no, that’s still pretty awful. 
“Bear,” Lup says, a multi-pack of the amused flavor and the getting-at-something flavor, which is a bit spicy, honestly. “Back to the planet, hon, reel your ass in and turn your gravity boots on.”
“Click click woosh.” Barry shakes himself and tries to focus. It’s easy to daydream about other things, one big thing in particular, if he’s gonna be real with himself here. He keeps spinning the roulette wheel, or maybe one of those things that makes the different animal noises, and, swish, moooo, he’s thinking of a white dress and a veil and rice from above, and swish, baaaaa, he’s back to a number with far too many digits and its place on a check he’s going to have to write, and swish, quack quack, it’s the tin cans after a limo, the Just Married :) he can’t wait to write…How can a guy focus on the here and now when the most important event he’ll ever be a part of is looming? 
“One more time, paging Doctor Bluejeans, you’re needed back on the planet, Doctor Bluejeans?” Lup snickers. “Hey, come on. You’ve been in the clouds a lot lately.” 
“Yeah, well, there’s a lot of clouds up there, and, you know, as clouds go, they’re pretty fluffy and inviting and, uh, up, there. What’s, what’s the thing?” He knows she can’t see him, but his cheeks burn and he rubs his neck anyway. 
“Listen. Listen. Listen.”
“Listening, I prommy.”
“Stop letting Taako teach you slang, I swan to John. But uh. Hey. I love you and still very much do want to marry you but I need you to elaborate on these last few amazon purchases with my credit card?” 
Barry freezes. Had he…did he…what? He didn’t think…But…oh dear. 
“Your credit card?”
“That’s what the numbers business do say. On the bank’em cruncher and everything. Several dollars, my fucking beloved, and, uh, Barry, Bear Bear. Barrold. Barty Juhbullgens.”
Barry is sweating whatever comes after bullets. Very quiet armistice, maybe. 
“Should I put you, my fuckin’ betrothed, on blast, right here, right now, to an audience of you and moi, or do you, are you aware of my uh, confusion on this front?” 
“Um,” Barry says, throat dry, dry dry. 
“Too late. Trendy Watermelon Inflatable Pool, $57.95. Fuckin’, 1,000 Bright Colors Ball Pit Balls Crush Free with storage bag, of COURSE. $99.04. Entire Gallon of Fake Blood, $24.98. Burritos Tortilla Blanket, X-Large, $34.99. Fort Builder Kit, $35.99.”
“Um. I, um. I, I, um. In, in my defense,” Barry pushes up his glasses. “I thought I was using my card. And just your Prime, I’m so sorry, incredibly remorseful,”
“I’m not worried about the money, doofus, although I would appreciate you taking care of that, but no. No, uh, my question is more on the order of what the actual fuck.”
“Um,” Barry says, swallowing. “If I said honeymoon prep, would you believe me?” 
There’s a beat. 
“You know what,” Lup says, before absolutely losing it and laughing so hard she almost asphyxiates. He can practically see her smile, all screwed up and wiggly, trying to hold in the mirth like she’s trying to keep marbles in her armpits. “Yeah. Yeah, I would.”
88 notes · View notes
barrenclan · 2 years
Note
Actually wait I do have a legit question but idk if I’m gonna word it right.
How do you manage to balance multiple large projects out like this? Like you already have tds, and now this story, along with other irl things like college and what not I’m assuming. Just asking as someone who is VERY bad at managing multiple things at once, its interesting how you’re able to pull it off well. (Yes I know you’ve just begun this, but clearly you already have some planning already.)
Oh yeah I'm supremely busy right now haha! Classes + honors leading + independent research + generally just Living is on my IRL plate, and for my art projects I'm working on TDS, PATFW, and also my RVB Trek series. Oh, and a few MAPs/MAP parts, too. And I do unrelated artwork sometimes too. And I'm reading the whole ASOIAF series this semester. But I don't have a job right now, so... that's something!
I guess for me, staying balanced involves a lot of organization; like, I use a whiteboard to track out all my assignments & responsibilities with the due-dates so I can see what needs to be done Now and what I can do over the weekend, etc. I have one both for art and for schoolwork. And honestly, I think after working on a comic for multiple years I've just kind of gotten using to sneaking time to draw where I can? I do a lot of it in the evening, or wherever I had a chance to sit down with my tablet. Drawing is my relaxation time, so it's not ever a chore, especially because I watch/listen to things while doing it.
Also, I do a lot of buffer. TDS has about nine pages worth of buffer right now, because I finished a lot of pages in the summer, which translates to almost two months of updating without technically needing to draw another page. (Even though I do draw pages, to stay around that number.) PATFW is also buffered, although not as much since I just started - only a single issue ahead so far.
And I'm not gonna lie, I don't have a very big social life outside of seeing a few friends every week. But I am someone who makes two Warriors OC webcomics, so I'm not terribly inclined to being social anyways. I get enough of what I need to stay sane.
One thing I try my best not to sacrifice is sleep, though. I believe incredibly deeply in the importance of a good night's sleep and I try to never go to bed later than half-past midnight. That takes priority over classes, which take priority over hobbies. It takes a lot of discipline but I guess that's how I've built it!
That was a very long, rambly answer, sorry, but I hope you kind of got what you were looking for out of it anyways.
32 notes · View notes
madsinfiction · 1 year
Text
Too Busy Being Yours
did I start a new writing project right at the start of the semester?
:) maybe.  But this one is only going to be a few parts!
Anyway, enjoy!
There was a quiet knock on his door. Arven threw off his blanket and sat up. There was only one person he could think of who would be knocking at this hour. He sighed and went to the door, pulling it open to confirm his suspicion. 
Juliana stood on the other side.
“What are you doing here? Someone will see you!” It wasn’t the first time she’d showed up at is door unannounced in the middle of the night, but he’d never gotten less nervous about it. He was serious about his studies now, and didn’t want to delay graduating any more than he already had. 
“Can I sleep in here?” she asked. 
“Yeah” he said, standing aside to let her in before anyone could see. He shut the door but didn’t bother with a light. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness once again before making his way back over to the bed, where Juliana and Mabosstiff had taken up his spot. 
“You have a bed, get down,” Arven said, snapping his fingers. Juliana made as if to stand. 
“Not you!” Mabosstiff sighed then but got off the bed and went back to his own on the floor. Arven crawled back into bed. 
“It’s going to be so different without you here,” she said when he settled. 
“Its gonna be okay,” he tried to comfort.
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I wont miss you,” she said, burying her face into his side.
“What will I do when I can’t sleep?”
“You can call me,” he offered.
“And you’ll sing me a lullaby?” She teased.
“Sure, Little Buddy, anything you want.”
“Stop calling me that,” she groused.
“You don’t like it?” She shook her head. “Why?”
“Makes me feel like a little kid,” she pouted.
“Are you pouting?”
“No.”
He rolled onto his side and leaned over her.
“You want a new nickname? What do you have in mind?”
“I can’t come up with my own nickname!” 
“Well I’d like your input,” he said. “Since I clearly did so horrible the first time.”
“Something that doesn’t make me sound like some kid you met outside a lighthouse.”
“You are some kid I met outside a lighthouse,” he teased, tickling her side. 
“Not anymore,” she argued, pushing his hand away from her side. She hated being tickled and he knew it. 
“No,” he agreed fondly, running a hand over her cheek. “Not anymore.”
“Arven,” she whispered. 
“You can’t have that name, that’s mine,” he teased. She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that forced its way onto her lips. They laughed quietly at his terrible joke, and then the silence stretched as the humor fled. 
“Can I kiss you?” he asked on a breath. She nodded. He leaned forward, his eyes closing as their lips just barely touched. Juliana kissed him back, and he let himself get lost in it, just for a moment. Then he pulled away. 
“Let’s get some sleep,” he said. 
“You’ve got a big day tomorrow, Mr. Graduate,” Juliana replied, a small smile curling on her lips. Arven moved back to her side, letting her settle against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He glanced at the clock. 
12:02
His big day was already here.
14 notes · View notes
udon-udon · 1 year
Text
2022 recap
Let’s see... 2022 was a pretty wild ride, not gonna lie
Shall we start from the beginning? Hmmmm the beginning of 2022..... SheEEEESH. It was my last semester of my final year for my bachelor’s degree in graphic design for marketing (wait, I have a bachelors? LMAOOOO I forget that I have one now holy cow wait a sec). I also remember being very very stressed out about my 3 week practicum I had to do in Feb. Alongside that were a ton of projects like portfolio making, final projects for said portfolio, the grad show etc etc. It was VERY busy and stressful. Luckily, the practicum went on without a hitch, and school projects were done with, and one of the bigger projects was well received so YAY!! And then of course, graduation rolled around in April, and I finally made it!! And then I got hired right after graduation which im still super thankful for cause I got hella lucky, really. 
So work started in around late May/early June and it took a while to get used to things. I’ve never worked full time at an office before so there were many things I had to learn and stuff, but other than that I’m just glad I’m able to deliver the things I’m tasked to do, and they seem like they like me, so :’) Of course I still have my moments where I feel like I’m not cut out for the job or I think I’m doing horribly and for some reason think they’re going to fire me any time soon LOOL...  but anywho... I started a deskmat project (which is still delayed unfortunately, i don’t want to talk about it...) but hoping that can get picked back up sometime soon... I was also rushing on new prints as well for con season so that was pretty wild. 
Summer then came and WHEW. I got covid. Luckily it just felt like a regular cold, so I might have gotten a weaker strain of it. It was quite scary though since I live with family and I was afraid of spreading it to them (of course I ended up doing so cause we share the same bathroom, but they survived) Aside from that, I tabled for the first time in 3 years! AND I DID GREAT! I really missed tabling and honestly it might have been because of the turnout at the events but damn I did better than I’ve ever did, which is crazy. It really makes me want to get better and table more, but it do be pretty exhausting. Anyway, the summer was great imo, but jesus the fall took a nosedive.
September was alright, and for the second time, I didn’t have to worry about going back to school anymore which was kind of surreal again. I was finishing up the art commissions that I paused to work on the anime convention prints. I finished those up so I can focus on the Yuri Game Jam 2022 in Oct-Nov but little did I know.............. I would not be able to make it v n v. I underestimated the time management needed while working a 9-5 job and my lack of discipline... Also cause I didn’t have a clear vision of this year’s game which made me literally go in circles until I had no time left by the time I actually kind of had something down.... I became so stressed over the story that it branched out to other bad thoughts and I just spiraled really hard. Things that I said I would not let bother me had bothered me again and god I hated it so much. Why can’t I just... not think about those things. Hoping to stop those thoughts in 2023 though. So yeah I got really stressed so sadly I had to shelve the project and not release anything for this year’s game jam. I was very disappointed in myself, and it was a very tough decision to break my visual novel streak but I had to do what I had to do. After dropping the project I felt much much much much much better. Hoping to revisit the project again sometime though, now that I decided to release it whenever it’s ready (but will i have the proactiveness to go back to it? that is another story LOL)
So November was over with and December rolled around. December itself was stressful yet okay at the same time? Stressful in terms of spiraling at work again, but I also managed to just chill out and do whatever. And of course, the week-long break from work helped a ton (as I’m writing this thinking back I did absolutely nothing that week but that’s what I wanted most) Hopefully I’ll go back to work rejuvenated again cause I was clearly burnt out from work lmao. I should make use of my vacation days more man. Anyway since it was recent, I vividly remembering spiraling again over subject that shall not be mentioned, and I had no one to ground myself with so I had to try to ground myself somehow which I do try to do more so than rely on others. Luckily I recovered from the spiraling relatively quickly, so maybe it’s an improvement and if I ever encounter that subject again it’ll be an even faster recovery and soon it will be over? That’s what I’m hoping for 2023. Definitely a goal. Please let my 2023 self not let it bother me anymore please please please please (though i think i said that in 2022 no? hahaha) i jsut want to be loved v n v and not feel like my friends are leaving me one by one :’)))))))))))))))))))))))) 
ANYWAY Thank you for reading until the end. Ultimately, I want to worry less about subjects that make me go insane and just be happier. I’m a Bocchi that needs to find a close knit of supportive friends that can make me take another step in life :’)))))) LOOOOL And of course, I would like to draw more. Planning on opening art commissions in the new year some time soon so stay tuned. Hoping to table some more too! Though I don’t have much to sell hahahaha;;; Well then, until next year! 
7 notes · View notes
miutonium · 1 year
Text
Nobody asked but this is a weekly post of me telling people that yes I am alive but barely! School kicked my ass and they got me while I was down (like I am legit depressed lol) but I am doing way better than I was before. Maybe because of the amount of work I have rn distracts me from ever sitting down and be in my thoughts. Right now I'm trying to get back to my commission and make it my personal goal to at least finish one this week and another next week, hopefully I get it all done by June. I wish by that time I am 50% over with my final project for the semester.
Anyway how you guys doing? I kinda miss talking to people here 🤧 I don't really talk to people these days here due to me being busy and also being depressed. I don't check my feed and just come to post. I miss a lot of things. I miss talking about my selfship freely and just gush about my f/os but these days I just couldn't find time to do so and it kinda sucks since thats one of my coping mechanism and not bring able to do so nor bring myself to write about it makes me sad like I suppose to do that and I couldn't? My brain must be fucked up from a lot of things. I just wish things were back to the way it was but now that I kinda lose everything, maybe it's gonna take me a while to heal zzzzz
Here's the less fun part about my situation so uh skip if you dont want to deal with me being womp womp
I tryna get back on my feet but lol just caught myself crying today because I just feel so so lonely. I lost my support system for months now and it really sucks. It feels so much worst than a break up like I literally have no place to talk about anything. I wish I knew earlier about not relying on one person for everything because I literally feel so lost right now and I just still couldn't believe I have to navigate everything by my own. I have no one to talk to about my life, no one to listen to the dumb shit I have to deal at school and I feel like I just lost myself completely. I don't reply to people messages, i dont enjoy things that I used to like and right now I just feel like I am going on autopilot. I just feel so numb. Maybe it's my fault that I lean too much on people and rely on others so heavily to cope so right now I am trying to muster myself to be completely by myself and living on my own terms even though I know I am struggling with it right now. I'm just so glad at least I have my cat, I love him so much and I think about him everyday at school and get so excited when I see that stinker at my door. I just don't want to get hurt no more. So please be patience with me as I try to navigate with my life right now.
Thank you for going through the least fun part of my story. I hope everyone is doing fine while I was busy 💕
6 notes · View notes
starwalker03 · 4 months
Text
Ayo it's late but 2023 Digital Art Progress
I drew the most digital stuff I've ever drawn last year. I finally pushed past a lot of my issues with the digital medium and figured out how to actually Do The Thing per se. so I think I got a lot better over the course of 2023. I definitely changed my visual style a lot, that's for sure.
Unfortunately I did lose my USB in 2023 as well so I lost a lot of my files. much sadness.
LONG POST. lots of drawings to get through and I have Thoughts.
Anyway these are dated in my files as March, which is my earliest I have rn, so this is kinda a representation of how I started the year.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I was busy most of April so May has two files. these were both a part of my semester one project of my degree.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I've got a lot of things dated for June, which is surprising. and not a lot of things dated after. I'm all over the place with starting wips and when it comes to finishing them... ehhh it happens eventually.
Tumblr media
I really wish I could go back in time and fix that leg. I just wanted to avoid drawing toes lmao. the thick line art really is a problem to me but that's neither here nor there.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I think I finished a bunch of thing in June, because these are dated two days apart and I definitely started one before the other lmao. hell I think the one on the left was started in 2022.
Tumblr media
I'm not sure when this was but it was early in the year. I tried to veer away from the harsh lines and ended up swinging too far into semi-realism. I loved how it was looking (this is still a wip) but the amount of time it was taking was too much for me to replicate again.
Tumblr media
This definitely a June piece, because I wanted to do one character every few days throughout Pride Month. Didn't finish it.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
last year my friends and I considered starting to record and post our dnd games, so I did some arts of the characters of our current campaign.
Tumblr media
I think the solid black line art all of the same thickness was one of the main things I always disliked. I could never quite make it work with everything else I was doing.
Tumblr media
This is probably the only work I did with solid black lines that I really liked. it seems to work okay here.
Tumblr media
The July came around, and artfight with it! (this character belongs to Crimson_Deceit. You can find Crimson on instagram as Lova.cos or twitter also as Crimson_Deceit)
Tumblr media
and then the DCU rarepair exchange came in September and I didn't have time to write treats so I drew them, which spawned a new attempt at shading things that I've been messing with ever since. I prefer the way my linework looks with it.
Tumblr media
I messed around with clown oc designs in October, cause that was a mini trend on instagram. didn't finish fast enough to post it but i really like some of the designs.
Tumblr media
in December I drew the OCs of some of my friends, as we finished our playthrough of CoS last year. this is our cleric, a changeling who went through many names and faces, depicted holding hands with their player @angelicsky64817
Tumblr media
Last piece of the year was this muck around. I'm still trying to figure out some of these new style choices I'm making.
Finish off with a sneak at what I'm currently doing in the new year! I've been drawing one big piece so it's stretching over from january. It's still a wip. And it's such a big image I've gotta compress it.
Tumblr media
woo! now I gotta go finish that thing. there's gonna be three more characters to the right of the yellow one. why have I done this to myself.
i hope that in 2024 i can get more of a grip on the saturation of my newer styles of drawing. and learn some more colour theory. and also get better at drawing skin, cause I think I'm mostly okay at clothes but skin always looks boring or weird.
1 note · View note
Text
Tumblr media
Ya lil’ Glasses | LaMelo Ball One Shot
Pairing: LaMelo Ball x fem!reader
Word Count: 2,588
Summary: You and LaMelo Ball both attend UCLA for undergrad. Of course he happens to be that hype kid the class that’s loud with his friends. You both get paired up to do a project together for the class. He’s kind of mean and pokes fun and although he gets on your last nerve, you may or may not find him just a little tiny bit cute. Maybe.
Warnings: 18+ ONLY, smut, mentions of sex, female and male anatomy, orgasm control, possibly cliche, M/F.
A/N: damn forgive me it’s been a while since I’ve written smut, butttt I’m on a roll with writing lately soo that’s not stopping me. Let me know what y’all think ;) enjoyyyyy and happy reading
•••
You cannot believe you were paired up with Melo Ball for the most important assignment of this course for the semester. Yeah, it’s UCLA but they really just let any good sports player in and you cared about your education. He did not. All he did was mess around and crack jokes
with his friends in the class. Imagine acting like that in college, couldn’t be you.
When it came down to finally finding a time to work on it together, you could not wait to get it over with.
The first time you met with him for the project was in the common hall. You both settle down in your chairs and you pull out your laptops. As soon as Melo pulled his stuff out, he hopped on his phone.
“Can we just come up with an idea and be done today?” You ask, not really in the mood to ask for his full attention.
He looked at you before clicking his phone off and licking his lips.
“Yeah sorry, sorry, I gotchu.”
You cannot help but roll your eyes. He sits there in silence for a moment and actually starts shooting out ideas. You start writing them down until you finally agree on one.
“I think that’s a pretty good start,” you say, proud you guys at least got something down.
“I think so too. What you doing after this?” He asks, running his hands over his curls.
“Track practice at 4, shower, hopefully dinner after,” you say as you close up your laptop.
“You run track? Running is gross,” he laughs.
“How you gonna say running is gross when all you do is run up and down the court?” You ask, a little too loudly, someone shushes you and you both crouch down and begin whispering.
“Basketball is more than that,” he shot back, “you wouldn’t know.”
“Oh here we go, you all say that,” you respond, flicking your wrist at him.
“You all?? What that mean?” He asks.
“As in all the basketball players,” you laugh.
“Yeah yeah, you let me know when track become a real sport,” he fires back.
“It is!” You slam your fist on the table and he smirks, as if he is happy to get you all riled up.
“Mhmmm,” he replies.
“Over this conversation,” you say, getting up and throwing your backpack over your shoulder.
“When you trying to meet next?” He asks calmly, standing up close in front of you. You were looking up at him now, him being more than a foot taller than you made you feel small.
“I’m free all afternoon Wednesday, my class ends at 12:45p.m.”
“You would know when your class ends, nerd.” He responded.
You cock a brow at his attempt at a roast.
“Shut up,” you responded.
“Wednesday at 2p.m. Your dorm. How’s that sound?” He smiles.
“That works,” you shrug. He smiled at you before walking away. You both go your separate ways.
Wednesday came around quickly. Your head hurts today, so you decided to put your glasses on instead of wearing contacts. Even though you knew that would not help you deal with Melo’s bs. He was extra unfocused today.
“How was your dayyy?” He asked as he walking into your dorm room. He looked huge walking through the door it was kind of funny actually.
“Fine, and yours?” You ask, feeling obligated to do so since he asked you first.
“It was alright, better now that we are here working on our project together bestie,” he jokes, plops himself down on your bed to make himself comfortable. You sat on your desk chair facing him.
You caught up with a couple ideas and worked on some your work, actually getting something done, for now.
You had to show each other your screens, so you awkwardly sat next to him on the bed. He sat up. The two of you now with your backs up against the wall and feet hanging off the bed. You sit in silence for a moment.
“I like ya lil glasses, can I try them on?” He asked, smiled and looking in your direction now.
“N-“ before you could answer, he already swiftly pulled them off your face and put them in his anyway. You roll you eyes.
“Do I look smart?” He asked with the cheesiest smile on his face.
“You look stupid,” you reply coldly, although you secretly kind of liked how they looked on him. They fit his face well.
“I think you’re mad they look better on me,” he replied with a scoff.
“You’re sooo annoying,” you reply. Surprisingly feeling yourself fight a smile. “Can you focus please?”
He does the opposite of focusing, eyes looking around your dorm room for a moment.
“Have you ever had sex with a guy? Are you even straight,” He asked, catching you off guard. You took full offense to his question. Not because of him questioning your sexual orientation, but rather him thinking that was his business.
“That’s a personal question,” you respond quickly.
“Seriously? You have this single dorm all to yourself. You don’t even use it to its full benefits. You know how many girls I’d be bringing over if I lived in a single,” he tossed his pencil up in the air and caught it as he spoke.
“I’m here for my sport and to learn, not everything in college is about seeing how many people you can have sex with, Melo.” You responded, typing away at your computer.
Melo slowly lifted your computer off your lap, placing it on the opposite side of him.
“Hey-“ you reach out your hand to it. The room suddenly feeling a lot smaller than it was now that his face was right next to yours and you had nothing to do to keep your hands busy.
“Have you ever even kissed a guy?” He asked, you loosen up at his tone, which oddly enough seems a bit more sincere now.
“Um, no, no actually I haven’t,” you responded quietly, looking down on your lap.
“I don’t believe that.” He responded. “Stop lyin.”
“It’s true,” you shrug, throwing your hands up in defeat.
“You’re so pretty,” he smiles, making your heart skip a beat or two, but you’re usual chatterbox brain was too nervous to agree.
“Beauty standards have nothing to do with the fact that I haven’t kissed anyone yet. I simply choose not to settle-“
He cuts you off by grabbing the back of your neck with his large hands and pulling you in for a kiss. It lasted for what felt like forever but it was only about 10 seconds. Although you were surprised, you did not want to fight it, and you even found you hands settling on top of his shoulders before he pulled away.
You stared at him for a moment, wondering what in his right mind made him want to do that.
“Anyway, I’m ready to focus now,” he smiled, got up and sat in desk chair you were sitting in first.
You sat there eyes wide, trying to process what just happened.
“Um.. yeah… yeah okay,” you say slowly.
You sat there and decided to not acknowledge what just happened as well. Trying to focus on your work, you could not help by to continue replaying that moment in your head. The kiss on repeat for a while. A couple days even. You saw him in class and he was so nonchalant about it. It started to bother you.
It took everything in you not to ask him about the kiss. Not wanting to seem desperate but at the same time what the fuck. That caught you off guard completely.
The next time you too worked together, you worked in his dorm. His roommate was in there with you guys, engaging in the occasional conversation with the two of you.
This time, you actually cared about how you looked, wearing a little make up and wearing a floral sundress that stopped midway on your thighs.
When you walked up to the door, Melo looked you up and down for a moment before letting you in. He had shorts on with no shirt. His athletic build made your cheeks turn hot and look at the ground quickly.
“Welcome in,” he gestured. You walk in and it looks just as you thought a guys dorm room would look like. A damn mess.
You watched him with his back turned as he stood by his closet of clothes, muscles taut as he pulled a new shirt over his head.
You shuffled to get your stuff of your backpack out before he caught you staring and got to work.
His roommate was cute, and you did not care that you were flirting it up with him right in front of Melo. He kissed you with no explanation. You were determined to figure out why.
“Alright, I’m heading to the gym,” his roomie stated and you smile.
“Have funn,” you reply. You watch him walk out the door, looking down at your lap to flatten your dress then look back up at Melo. His face very clearly annoyed and unamused.
“What?” You smirk, asking in an oh-so innocent tone.
“It’s nothing,” he shook his head in response.
“Oh yeah?” You ask. “You sound a little pressed.” You push, big smirk on your face as you spoke.
“I’m good,” he replied coldly.
You confidently put your hand on his shoulder and replied. “Okay,” in a sarcastic tone.
He was not fucking with that. He pulled your arm down from his shoulder and pulled you into a kiss, this being your second time feeling his lips on yours. This one was more intense. You remember thinking of his lips and how they felt from the last kiss. Feeling them again made your heart pound with excitement.
“Shut up and don’t make me admit to jealousy,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m not giving you the satisfaction.”
His hands gripping the back of your hair and he spoke, eyes bouncing from your eyes and lips.
“Hmmm, I think you just did,” you nod your head and shrug your shoulder. He was not having your sarcastic tone. He pulled you closer to him, this time he was laying down and you were sitting top of his lap. He refused to break the kiss, hands from down your neck to your lower back.
In your mind, you were strategically making sure you were right on top of his dick. His lips felt so good to feel again. You were so lost in the heat of the moment now, as he began using his tongue in your mouth, you let out a small moan for the first time.
He let go of the kiss for a moment and smirked.
“I wanna hear your beautiful moans,” he admitted, voice deep and full of lust.
He flipped you over and now your body was underneath him on his bed. You lied down flat on your back. He hovered himself over you.
Kissing you a couple times more, before kissing his way down your neck and stopping at your breast.
“You knew what you were doing wearing this shit,” he stated sternly.
You roll your eyes, “shut up.”
“You gon stop giving me that smart mouth,” he replied, smirk on his face before making his way down further. Your heart beating even fast now. He lifted up your dress to find you only in a thong.
He quickly looked up you with a smirk on his face, shook his head and carried on. Yanking your panties off, his lip made their way to your clit like a magnet.
You moaned softly at the pleasure, in fear that someone might hear the two of you.
“What if he comes back?”
“I don’t give a fuck, he could watch,” his voice low and eyes hooded, way too focused at the task at hand to even look at you.
Licking and teasing at your folds, you feel yourself getting closer due to all the tension you had built up since you arrived to his dorm, your mind flashing the sight of him when you walked when he was just no shirt on. His dick print very clear through his shorts.
As you felt yourself getting close to the edge, he stopped, and looked up at you.
“Whyyy,” you groaned put your hands over your face in frustration.
“Because, you was talking all that shit,” he said with one finger in your folds as he rubbed it slowly.
“Please,” you said and his surprised eyes look into yours.
“Nope,” he smirked. Now you were not having it.
You reach down to his shorts and very clearly feel his hard member. You looked up at him with pleading eyes as you began to rub it slowly.
He leaned down and started kissing your neck. You and him both knew he did not want this to stop, and he was fighting with every ounce in his bones not to rip your dress off and fuck you right then and there.
But you knew how to get what you wanted.
“Then it’s my turn,” you smile, pushing him off you and getting down on your knees on the side of his twin sized bed.
Knowing you have never done this before, you were slightly worried you would not be that great at it. You moistened your mouth as you pulled his shorts down, you did not have anything to compare his size to, but you were guessing it was bigger than average.
You admired it for a moment before taking it into your mouth. You heard him suck in his teeth as you took a few licks.
“What’s the matter?” You ask innocently looking up at him through your lashes while you swirled your tongue around the tip.
He bit bottom lip threw his head back, you knew that no answer meant that shit was hitting.
“Keep doing that shit with your tongue,” he groaned quietly.
You keep going at it for a while, and stopped when you felt him starting to thrust into your mouth.
“That’s it,” he groaned as he pulled you on the bed, you watched as he began to slowly push himself inside of you, wincing at the pain, he went slow and you warmed up. He looked so good while he stroked you. You started to feel better and better. He watched you as you took all of him now and proudly.
“I told you to stop talking all that shit,” he groaned.
“I don’t regret it,” you smirk.
“You bout to,” he stated as he began to speed up the pace.
You moaned louder as he continued to thrust into you. You could not believe this moment was actually happening. Him giving into it fed into your pride.
You watching at he admired every ounce of body, gripping and tugging at your soft spots. He held your hips as he picked up the pace.
He pulled out and finished himself off on your stomach. You lay there feeling a mess, he gets a towel and you guys get yourselves together throwing the occasional smirk at each other.
“You look so pretty taking this dick,” he stated, grabbing your neck and kissing you slowly. You smiled into the kiss.
“I’ll do it again,” he confirmed, both hands holding your face as he kissed you hard, tonguing you down.
“Chillll,” you laugh. “Let’s get this damn assignment going already.”
444 notes · View notes
authoressofdarkness · 3 years
Note
I saw that you're taking prompts, from the dialogue list. Can I get number 20? “I’ve never had someone taking care of me before.” for starker obviously. I'm excited, I love reading your works. Thank you in advance!
Hi anon! That means so much to me and I’m v glad to be taking this as my first prompt. Thank you 💙
I kinda want to try some new things with some of these prompts, so I’m gonna go at this with omega Tony and alpha Peter and see where it goes. I hope that’s okay with you anon and that everyone likes it 😘
Same age college AU, omegaverse, alpha Peter Parker, omega Tony Stark, some angst and some fluff at the end.
It’s a well known fact that Tony Stark has a shitty family.
Well, at least to anyone who knows him, it is. They know how he’ll do anything to not be at home when his father is around, to get out of the endless pressures of social events and promotional things and questions of mating and management and all of the things that he hated about being born an omega and being attached to the last name Stark to top it all off—
For years, it was just him. Some flings, mainly to piss his father off, but he never had his attention for longer than the time it took to scold him or order him around, and his mother was never much help, either. He had precious few friends growing up, never really made any real ones until college when he met Rhodey and Pepper — an alpha and a beta respectively that helped him manage things there and that were the first people to truly understand the depths of struggles he had going on at home.
And they were great friends, still are, but there was never anything more there between them. They helped him float through the first year of school, and then—
And then came Peter Parker.
Tony doesn’t hate all alphas on principle, although he is often rather tempted to try to, what with how they were shoved in his face most of his life. They were great for a good fling but most of them were meatheads. As horny as Tony was, he couldn’t allow just anyone to be close to him, nothing too get to serious, because he’s got a lot of responsibility coming down to him and he needs the right partner — alpha or otherwise — to be willing to deal with that. Not that he’s particularly interested in mating right now but he also isn’t going to allow someone close enough to potentially mark him knowing the repercussions of that.
He’s the heir to Stark Industries, sure, but he’s still an omega. An alpha will have significant legal power over him once they’re mated. And he wants to be the one to run SI, to take on his legacy, to build, to create, and to run his business, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, even if that means flings forever.
(Not that that’s legally going to fly because he can’t take over until he’s considered qualified which implies a certain amount of stability that translates into having an alpha that’s more than just a fuck buddy but—)
It doesn’t matter. None of it matters after he meets Peter.
Peter is a year younger than him in school, technically, but biologically they’re the same age. Peter just started a bit later than most — and for good reasons, as Tony comes to find out.
He’s in one of Tony’s engineering classes and his organic chemistry class and the omega would be lying if he said he wasn’t immediately taken with him.
He can’t help it. Peter is cute, with his overgrown curls and slim form and silky skin and shy little smile and—
The other man is all alpha, there’s no doubt about it. He exudes it without even trying, but there’s a shyness to him, too. He’s not a meathead; he’s a sweetheart. From day one he’s respectful of Tony in class, kind when he sees him around campus, and that makes them the perfect lab partners in chemistry, and after knowing that, it’s just the natural choice for them to partner for the project in engineering and then—
Then things spiral, and Tony doesn’t even care.
He’s seeking the alpha’s attention, and Peter, the innocent, shy thing he is, is happy to give, to dote on Tony in ways that he would resist if they were coming from anyone else.
They’re not even fucking, but it’s intimate, so intimate that he can’t even explain it, and he loves it, scarily so. It both soothes and sets all his instincts on edge at the same time.
By mid semester they both have keys to come and go freely from each other’s rooms. It’s more common to see them together than it is to ever spot one of them out alone. The whole school probably thinks they’re a couple, and even though they’ve never made it official — and he’s never allowed himself to even come close to considering it before — Tony can’t bring himself to mind.
As midterms approach, though, Tony locks himself in to focus on his work. He doesn’t mean to, really; it’s just that hours studying slip into full nights and then he hasn’t eaten and he hasn’t left the room, even missing one of his classes because he doesn’t realize the time.
Peter hasn’t come by in days and except for the occasional check in text, Tony hasn’t heard from him, either. But they’re both busy with midterms so he really isn’t surprised. In fact he barely has time to eat, let alone check his phone, so even if he was texting him regularly Tony probably wouldn’t be answering.
Except mid terms or no, of course Peter notices when Tony misses class. And when his texts go unanswered by the absorbed omega, he doesn’t hesitate to show up and let himself in.
Tony doesn’t even realize anyone is there until he feels a hand on his shoulder. He jumps so hard he nearly knocks the chair back, and when he turns around he sees Peter, stepping back and holding his hands up in the universal “I surrender” gesture, clearly not having meant to startle him.
“I’m sorry, I knocked but you didn’t answer so I let myself in. I just— you weren’t in class, and I was worried… are you okay? When was the last time you ate?” It takes all of two seconds for Peter’s sheepishness to melt into concern, and he steps forward again, closing the distance between them to tilt Tony’s chin up, looking at the shadow stretching across his jaw where he hasn’t shaved in a few days. “You’ve lost weight,” he murmurs, thumb brushing over Tony’s cheekbone tenderly — which, yeah, is definitely more prominent than it was at the beginning of the week.
Tony’s eyes flutter and he leans into the touch for a moment before refocusing and shaking it off. “I’m fine. This is normal, Peter. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?” Peter raises an eyebrow. “Do you even know what day it is?”
“It’s Saturday—“
“It’s Monday, Tony. 1pm on Monday, at that. You missed engineering this morning and you haven’t answered my texts all weekend.” Surprise flits across Tony’s face at that, because — yeah, last time he checked it was Saturday, and he had no new texts from Peter, so— “When was the last time you ate?” Peter continues to prod, voice gentle but insistent.
Both aspects only serve to spark irritation in him, though. Tony bats Peter’s hand away from his face, frowning. He doesn’t need to be treated with kid gloves. “I ate a little while ago. I’m fine.”
“You don’t even know what day it is—“
“It all kind of blurs together when you’re not doing anything besides working, okay—“
“Two days is a lot of blur, Tony—“
“And just because I need a shave doesn’t mean I haven’t left my desk or that this isn’t totally normal for midterms—“
“You’re the one saying you haven’t left your desk, not me—“
“That’s not what I meant! I’m just saying—“
“I’m just saying you need to take a short break, it’s not that big of a deal—“
“I don’t need a break, I know my limits—“
“Tony, I really don’t think—“
“Jesus fucking— You’re not my alpha, Parker, would you fuck off?”
The words come out before he can stop them, and he flinched himself at the hurt on Peter’s face, the way the alpha physically recoils, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I’m not— god, I know that, okay? I’m just trying to help you, Tony. Please, this isn’t sustainable. You need to eat. Just— let me find you something, and then I’ll leave, okay?”
Leave? No, he doesn’t want him to leave. But the only thing that comes out is a quiet “whatever,” and he watches Peter escape to the kitchen with a ball of guilt growing in his chest.
Peter is just trying to help. He likes Peter and he doesn’t want him to leave, he just— he panics, and then he snaps.
Because what if Peter wants more? What if he really likes him? And Tony is a fuck up that does shit like this when he feels emotions and has so much baggage attached to being with him and—
And Peter knows that, at least some of it. It’s been a few months of seeing each other nearly every day, now, and his family situation was never a secret.
So why is he still here? Oh god, did Tony just ruin it?
The thought, for reasons that he’s refusing to immediately think about, is almost too much to bear. He stands up, fumbling his way out of the chair and into the kitchen.
The smell hits him almost as soon as he enters, and he sucks in a deep breath. His traitorous stomach growls, loud and demanding.
Soup bubbles on the stove as Peter works at the counter, chopping up some fruits and vegetables. He’s already managed to put a few little storage containers of food together for him, and something in Tony’s gut feels warm at the sight. But it also drops — preparing premade meals most certainly means that Peter isn’t intending to come back.
He looks up when Tony enters, expression wary. “The soup was the quickest thing you had, and since I had to be here for as long as it takes to boil anyway I thought I would just—“
“Peter.” His own voice sounds remarkable calm for how shaky he suddenly feels, lurching towards the alpha at the countertop. “It’s okay. I… thank you, for this. I’m sorry.”
Peter looks taken aback by the apology. “Tony, you don’t have to apologize. You’re right; I’m not your alpha and it’s not my place to give you orders. I just… I care about you, okay? I just want to help. I know you don’t think about me that way, and I’m sorry I overstepped, but—“
“You’re wrong.”
“What?” The words draw Peter up short.
Tony takes a breath, looking down. He focuses on the alpha’s hands, watching him chop instead of looking at his face. It’s easier. “You’re wrong. It’s not that I don’t think of you that way. The problem is… that I do. And I… I’m not used to this. I’ve never had someone take care of me before. Not really, not in any way that mattered. And what I feel for you… it scares me.” He takes a little breath again, looking down at his own hands. “I want you to be my alpha, Peter. But I’m not really a good omega, and I just have so much shit that comes along with being with me. The thought of asking you to do that… what that could do to us… I just don’t think I could handle that.”
He hears the knife ting against the countertop as Peter sets it down, and the pitter patter of footsteps as the alpha crosses the room. He’s suddenly being drawn into a pair of lanky but surprisingly strong arms, surrounded by the musky, relaxing scent of alpha, and he practically melts into it, nestling his nose into the spot between the collar of Peter’s sweatshirt and his throat almost automatically.
Peter’s hand running up and down his back is soothing, relaxing him the rest of the way, and the press of the alpha’s chin against his head is just the perfect weight to be comfortable, reassuring.
“Tony… I’m not an idiot,” he says gently. “I know who you are. What you’ve done, where you came from, what’s expected of you — and yeah, I’m sure there’s more that you haven’t told me and that’s not public, but— I get why this is a struggle for you, and why you feel the need to put so much pressure on yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you for that and it is most definitely not your own fault that you’re not used to being taken care of. And you’ve no idea how badly or how long I’ve wanted to be your alpha.” He pulls back a little to look down at him, fingers scratching Tony’s scalp gently as he works his fingers through his hair. “But that doesn’t mean that this kind of behavior — towards yourself or others — is good or acceptable. It’s okay to let me take care of you — at least in small ways. I know you’re scared of losing your independence, but that’s not what I want for you, either. I just want to help.”
“Help,” Tony echoes, eyes drifting to the pan on the stove and then back to Peter. “I… I think I’d like that.” He bites his lip, looking up at him. They’re about the same size and height, but this close, wrapped in the alpha’s arms and scent, with his steady gaze on him, he can’t help but feel small by comparison. “You really want to be my alpha?”
“Only if you want me to be, but…” Peter looks down at him and cracks his shy little smile. “I’d like to try, if you’d let me.”
“I’d like that,” Tony admits. He shifts to press up against him, putting a hand on his chest. “I’d also really like it if you’d kiss me.”
Peter looks a little surprised, but not unpleasantly. Still, he shakes his head, giving him a little push back. “Tony, you didn’t even know what day it was. God knows when the last time you brushed your teeth is. No offense, but… ew.”
Tony just laughs a little, unable to help himself. “If I brush my teeth…?”
“Maybe. If you eat your food as well.” Peter moves back to the counter, finishing up the container he was working on. “We can’t be doing anything that’s going to burn you extra calories when you don’t have enough to begin with, hm?”
Tony finds himself grinning. “That’s an argument I can get behind. Literally and metaphorically.”
Peter flashes a grin in return, voice back to that gentle but insistent tone that he knows so well when he says, “Go, Tony.”
And for once, Tony is all too happy to obey.
78 notes · View notes
whispersatdawn · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
on the rebound | jeong jaehyun social media!au | part 8
↳ In an attempt to finally move on from his ex-girlfriend, basketball star Jeong Jaehyun reaches out to Y/N, who he knows has a crush on him.
prev | next || masterlist
a/n: i wasn’t gonna include a written part, but here we are
word count: ~3k
This... feels strange, you thought mindlessly to yourself, as your gaze fixed on the boy seated next to you. He was busy on his phone taking photos of the fading sunset that he barely noticed you staring, which you were quite thankful for because it allowed you to take a look at him just a little longer.
There was no denying that Jaehyun was attractive. To be honest, his beautiful features slightly intimidated you. When his perfectly shaped brows raised in surprise. Or when his dreamy dark brown eyes looked like he was trying to figure someone out. You especially liked it when Jaehyun smiled or laughed. You were confident Jaehyun’s dimples were the culprits of stealing many people’s hearts; those cheek indentations were truly fatal. However, for you, it was simply the occasional, cute nose scrunch. Unlike the dimples, the latter came and went quickly, but it still had an impact all the same.
Despite having been on few casual dates with Jaehyun in the past week, it was difficult to wrap your head around the time spent together, especially since the past two years consisted of you pining over him, after missing the opportunity to act on your feelings and confess to him.
Two Years Ago (First year of college)
"We should rent an apartment and be roommates next semester!”
Your eyes widened at Sujin’s suggestion. “All four of us?” you asked, swiftly spinning your finger once to point at yourself as well as the group seated around you. It was a clear day, so after class, you had a picnic with your friends at the university quad. “My parents helped me pay for campus room and board this year. I don’t know if my part-time job at the fitness center can afford rent.”
After meeting Sujin at the freshman orientation and running into Ten and Johnny in line at a food stand during the school organizations event, you had never had more fun nor felt more comfortable with anyone than you did with them. You remembered studying for hours often with Sujin since you both were biology majors and shared some courses. There was also the time when you attended the university dance team’s fall show and watched Ten’s first solo performance. Of course, though you almost always refrained from physical altercation, you could never forget the day you confronted Johnny’s ex-girlfriend at a party after she cheated on him and showed no remorse, which resulted in hair-pulling as well as Sujin and Ten dragging you out before further troubles. With what you all had gotten through together, there was no doubt that you considered the three to be your closest friends.
“Aren’t you going to apply for the research position with Dr. Kim? I’m sure it pays more,” Sujin said before taking a bite out of her sandwich.
“That’s the plan, but she hasn’t opened applications yet, so I just have to wait,” you sighed, laying down Johnny’s lap. “I think it’ll be fun to live together though!”
“I’ve actually been thinking about living off campus, too,” Ten said, grinning, “so you’d all be saving me from looking for roommates. I’m in.”
“Johnny?” you asked in a sing-song voice, looking up at the handsome male, waiting for his response. You opened your mouth as Johnny fed you a grape and then he leaned back, probably considering the idea.
“Hm... if I say yes, can I bring people over to spend the night?”
You grimaced at him before sitting back up right away while Johnny let out a laugh due to your reaction. “No thanks for the image,” you deadpanned, “though I guess it’d be cruel to deprive you of sex. We’ll all need to obviously talk more about housing and details later...”
“Y/N, behind you! He’s here.”
You instantly froze after Sujin’s announcement. “He’s here?” you mouthed, heart rate picking up, and Sujin confirmed with an eager nod. Pushing the conversation with your friends to the side, your ears were now focused on the sounds behind you. Multiple shoes against pavement. A ball dribbling. Familiar as well as unfamiliar voices chattering. When you tried to discreetly turn around, you found some members of the basketball team on the open court. You immediately spotted Jeong Jaehyun, casually wearing a black hoodie and maroon basketball shorts, playfully shoving a teammate after a teasing remark.
“Oh my god, how did he get even hotter after Spring Break?!” you muttered before turning back to your friends.
Johnny scoffed jokingly. “Hey, hey, keep it in your pants.”
“Also, aren’t you forgetting something?” Ten asked you, nudging his head back to the basketball court.
Oh. Right.
The actual reason you coincidentally (not) picked this day for a picnic at the same time Jaehyun and his friends played basketball.
You and Jaehyun took a Calculus class together the previous semester, and in a room with a little more than 100 seats, you ended up sitting next to Jaehyun. The two of you barely exchanged much words other than when one of you had questions about assignments, but you could not help but be drawn to him anyway. And although he did not have to talk to you outside of class, you always appreciated his greetings whenever you ran into each other at parties or after his basketball games. You thought your feelings were just a temporary infatuation, but your crush only seemed to grow after months, so you made a vow. After Spring Break, you would ask Jaehyun out.
However, now that you saw Jaehyun standing a few feet across from you, you felt like you were going to throw up. You wanted to back out. Abort. “Oh, look at the time!” you laughed nervously, pointing at your wrist that was definitely not wearing a watch. “I forgot I have to study for an exam tomorrow.”
You started to stand up, but Ten yanked you back down to the ground right away, causing you to land on your butt. “Nuh-uh. Don’t think so. Hey, Yuta!”
You shot a look at Ten, sending a quick telepathic message along the lines of Are you fucking serious? before turning back to everyone on the court. Almost all of the guys faced the direction of your group after hearing Yuta’s name called. You found Yuta who waved once he spotted you and your friends. I guess I’m doing this, you thought to yourself, breathing deeply and then mustering the biggest smile you could in that moment.
“Good luck, babe,” Sujin cheered as soon as you stood up and started to walk towards Yuta. The group had already dispersed to different parts of the court, ready to start a game.
“Is there a reason why you texted me if I would be out at the quad today?” Yuta asked as you ran into his arms for a quick hug.
You pulled away and then playfully punched his arm. “Maybe there’s just something about you playing basketball that makes me swoon,” you said, batting your eyelashes at him.
Yuta rolled his eyes, punching your arm back lightly. “Please. I can assure you that from middle to high school, when your parents worked, you had to wait after my practices so my dad could take us home. You’ve definitely used the word miserable to describe it.”
“Okay, but it’s obvious that my presence at your practices have made you into who you are today, right? This university has to thank me for their best shooting guard.”
Yuta grinned. “Alright, just tell me what you want.”
You hummed, rocking back and forth on your feet as you glanced around for the one who has been on your mind. “I actually wanted to talk to Jaehyun.”
“Jeong Jaehyun?”
You nodded your head. Yuta leaned closer, eyes narrowing as if he was trying to assess you. After a second, your friend straightened back up and called for his teammate. “Jaehyun!”
Jaehyun stopped his conversation with another player and turned his attention to you and Yuta, slightly confused, but he walked over to you both. “What’s up?” Jaehyun questioned, catching a quick glimpse of you.
“Y/N wanted to talk to you, so I’ll leave you two to it,” Yuta explained, ruffling your hair as a goodbye before he left you alone with Jaehyun.
You let out a nervous laugh, fixing your hair. It was now or never. With the close distance between you two, you got a whiff of Jaehyun’s cologne—wood, also kind of spicy. “Hey, Y/N. Sucks we don’t have a class together this semester.”
“Yeah, sucks. How was your break?”
Jaehyun shrugged. “I went to Cabo.”
You paused. “Oh.” The wealthy be different. “Cabo. Must’ve been a hell of a time. I thought Haeun’s pool party was something. Not even close.”
"Yeah, Cabo was a great time. So... what did you need to tell me?”
“What?”
“Um, you said you wanted to talk?”
“Oh!” you exclaimed, feeling shy after remembering why you were there in the first place. Your eyes shifted to your shoes, unable to keep eye contact with the boy in front of you. Nervousness as well as excitement rushed through you, and your body felt like it was tingling. It kind of scared you what his reaction would be, but it was what it was. The worse he could say was no. “About that. I—”
“Jaehyun!”
Suddenly, a feminine voice called out his name. You whipped your head around to find a girl with a black long bob and bangs waving excitedly to Jaehyun and then running straight into his open arms. You took a minute to process what was happening. Your first thought was that she was very pretty. Her makeup suited her, especially the burgundy red lip tint. Her body also fitted well in her white tank top and black skinny jeans.
“Hey, babe. What’re you doing here? I thought you were working on your journalism project,” Jaehyun said, happiness evident through the way his face lit up, smiling in a way you had never seen Jaehyun smile before. Arms still around the girl, Jaehyun leaned down to give her a peck on the lips. You quickly averted your eyes, feeling as if you were intruding on the intimate moment.
“Yeah, but I missed you, so I decided to take a break and hang out with you,” the girl answered in the sweetest tone as she pulled away from Jaehyun. She then looked over at you as if she noticed you for the first time. “Who’s this?”
“This is—”
“I was just leaving,” you interrupted.
Jaehyun brows furrowed. “Wait, I thought—”
“Ah, don’t worry about it,” you said a little too quickly, waving your hand dismissively. “It was nothing important. I had a question, but the answer just popped into my head, haha. I, uh, actually have a thing, so I’m gonna go now. Yeah. Thanks, Jaehyun. And nice meeting you—”
“Hyejin.”
“Hyejin. Nice meeting you, Hyejin. Okay, bye!”
You spun around, and your feet picked up pace as you walked away from the basketball court, out the quad, towards the direction of the dorm. Your phone vibrated in your back pocket, likely a call from one of your friends, but you could not help but feel slightly embarrassed after the incident. The last thing you wanted to do was talk about it.
Babe. Definitely way worse than being rejected.
End of Flashback
When you snapped out of your thoughts, you realized that Jaehyun was now staring back at you, with those captivating eyes that sought for answers. “Y/N?” he called out softly.
You felt your cheeks grow warm, slightly flustered that you zoned out while looking at him. “Y-Yeah?” Shit, you cursed to yourself after you choked on the reply, and you cleared your throat before answering more clearly. “Yeah?”
Jaehyun leaned back and chuckled. “I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate you coming to the basketball games again. It’s nice seeing your face in the crowd.”
You smiled. “Of course. None of my roomies except Ten really enjoy watching basketball, but he’s been busy and it’s been fun attending with Mark and Lucas. Also, don’t tell Yuta but I think I gradually started to like basketball because of him. Watching him for so many years, I can’t help but get into it when I see him find so much delight in the sport. He’s insane on the court.”
When you caught Jaehyun’s pout, you let out a laugh. He wanted his ego fed for sure. “I mean, obviously, he’s nothing compared to you, Captain. Come on now.”
“Obviously,” Jaehyun replied, giving you a smug look. Then for some reason, in a few seconds, you caught his expression when his smirk fell. “You know, my ex,” Jaehyun started, absentmindedly grasping at the sand under his hand and letting them fall through his fingers, “she never really attended my games.”
As the sun was about to fully disappear, you heard the sound of thunder rumble in the sky. Looking up, you noticed that dark clouds started to roll in. Was it supposed to rain today, you wondered. “Hyejin?” you asked, returning your attention to Jaehyun. He nodded. Since he brought her up, you might as well have asked your questions and got them over with now. “If it’s okay, can I ask what happened between you two?”
Silence settled between you and Jaehyun when he did not answer right away, which made you feel bad because you did not want to open those wounds again. Another wave of thunder roared. You two would have to return back home soon. You were about to try and change the topic, but Jaehyun spoke first. “She said that the way I loved her bored her. I don’t know. Something about how I always agreed with her and that I never confronted other guys when I felt jealous. Or when I didn’t argue with her, it felt like I didn’t care at all.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” You did not know what else to say. Breakups were hard. Before you realized, your hand reached over to Jaehyun’s, and you placed yours over his, squeezing it softly. “It’s not place to say... but she didn’t deserve you.”
Jaehyun turned his hand over so that his palm held yours, squeezing back. His lips stretched into a small smile. “Thank you, Y/N.”
You then felt a droplet of water tap on your leg. Then the top of your head. Then your cheek. Suddenly, the pitter patter of the rain became louder as it hit the sand and water. You and Jaehyun looked at each, mouth opened in awe at such misfortune, before the both of you bursted into a fit of laughter. “Wait, did you not check the weather before planning this?!” you exclaimed to Jaehyun with a huge grin on your face as you jumped up, barely covering yourself with your hands above your head.
“Listen,” Jaehyun explained as he also stood up, grabbing the jacket that he brought with him. “did you not check the weather?”
You were not sure if the rush your body felt was due to the unforeseen weather or the way Jaehyun stared at you like he was waiting for you to make a move. With your adrenaline and curiosity, you stepped closer to him. “Are you seriously trying to blame this on your date right now, Jeong Jaehyun?”
Jaehyun leaned closer to your face. You sucked in a breath, aware of the lack of space between you two. Jaehyun took his jacket and covered the top of your head to protect as best as he could from the rain. You grabbed the outerwear, but Jaehyun’s grasp was also still on the jacket. Despite the rain drenching Jaehyun from head to toe, a smile remained on his face. “I’m sorry. You’re right. This was my bad. How can I make it up to you?” Jaehyun asked as his eyes fell onto your lips before looking up to read your eyes. His lips pressed together, and his next question almost turned you into a puddle. “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes.” It was all Jaehyun needed to hear to release his hold on the jacket and moved his hands to cup your face. Jaehyun’s lips brushed against yours. Soft. His lips were soft. You smelled the familiar scent of his cologne, and it made you even dizzier as you continued to kiss Jaehyun, letting the blossoming warmth consume you. You could not help but smile into the kiss, and when his tongue pressed between your lips, you started to part your lips for him until a loud crack of thunder struck in the sky, prompting you both to pull away from each other.
“As much as I’d like to keep going, I think I should get you home before you catch a cold,” Jaehyun said with a chuckle.
Like a gentleman, Jaehyun walked you all the way to your front door. Though you offered Jaehyun shelter from the rain inside your apartment, he declined, assuring you that his fraternity house was not too far from your place. “Really sorry we couldn’t get that fancy dinner,” Jaehyun apologized. “I knew you were looking forward to that the most.”
You shook your head, reassuring him with a smile. “No worries. I had such an amazing time, Jae.”
He leaned in to give you a quick peck on the lips. “Next time. Now get inside and change into some dry clothes. I’ll text you later.”
“Drive safe,” you told him, and he nodded. As soon as Jaehyun walked away from you, you grabbed your key and unlocked the door to your apartment, calling out to your roommates. “I’m home!”
Sujin was the first one to greet you in the living room. Her eyes widened when she spotted you in your wet clothes, droplets of water dripping from your hair to the tiled floor. “Geez, Y/N! I thought you two were just going to watch the sunset, not get into the water fully clothed.”
You playfully rolled your eyes and passed by Sujin to get to your room. After you closed the door, you ran to your bed and plopped on the mattress, not even bothering to change out of your clothes right away. You unlocked your phone and opened Instagram to view the most recent photos of you and Jaehyun from today, recalling the event that occurred hours ago. Today really happened. Jaehyun kissed me.
taglist: @fluffyjaes @hwangful @seeking-faces @urlocalnctstan @justineasian @127-jaehyun @dearjaehyxn @taesty-jams @jeneyesmile @taeiluv127 @mango-bear @marklexleaf @generantionct @tyxsaturn @247byun @yourchasingsunsetslove @ajhdr @jaeficrecs @bitchenderyy @thorscrown @leaurcitee @erisxczenie @minavenue @phoenixes-and-wizards @renjunf00ls @notminniie @sanisms @sunflowerhae @smileyyuta @ohmy-fandoms @artfulbarnes @anotherfullsun @moons00 @nctlovesme @unmanageable-day @raywishii @thejungjaehyun @venusprada @doyobun @nshitae @andrea-chanel @llamabouquet
278 notes · View notes
softyoongiionly · 3 years
Text
Fear and Dumplings: Chapter Seventeen
Tumblr media
Confronting your fears for a final grade sounds unappealing but, with Yoongi as your partner, things might not be so bad.
Summary: You’re in your final semester at University when your Abnormal Psychology professor assigns you a partnered project surrounding your greatest fears. Lucky for you, your partner just so happens to be a cute boy named Min Yoongi.
Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader
Genre: Underground Rapper! Yoongi, Soft!!! Yoongi, Fluff!!!, College! Yoongi, Sub! Yoongi
Word Count: 9.1k
A/N: Hi friends! Here is a new chapter for you. I know it’s been a super duper long time since I’ve updated this series but, I plan on wrapping up the current timeline (wink wink) within the first half of the year! Special shoutout to my amazing friend @bulletproofbirdy​ who I love so so much. Without her big genius brain, I would literally not be able to get through any of my wip. Another huge shoutout to @gldnrecs​ @kithtaehyung​ @yoonia​ and @randombtsprincessa​ for being my lil hype team. I love you! Also, thank you to everyone over at @bangtansorciere​. I am so grateful to have met so many lovely new friends this year! okiii bye. I hope you like it!
NOTE: all bolded words indicate when characters are speaking Korean
Warnings for this Chapter: ok here we go…(TRIGGER WARNING)
moderate angst, drug use (marijuana), mentions of anxiety, brief allusions to physical abuse, very brief allusions to drug addiction, alcohol 
Chapter Seventeen: Daegu and Dirty Laundry
No thoughts, head empty (and in Yoongi’s lap)
The two of you are in his living room, bags packed by the front door, awaiting the cab to take you to the airport.  
In a few short hours, you were leaving on a plane to Daegu to visit Yoongi’s older brother and, you can tell by the way he’s shuffled around all morning that he’s anxious.  
Thankfully, Hoseok and Namjoon woke up with him, knowing that emotions would be high and well- offered to get him high.
“This is a really good indica strain hyung,” Hoseok assures him as he hands over a zip-lock bag, “I rolled a joint with this last night and passed out in like 30 minutes.”
Yoongi, dressed in an all-black sweat outfit, accepts the bag into the palm of his hand, before grabbing the pipe that’s resting on the couch cushion beside him.
“Did you get it from that same guy?” Yoongi asks, his voice heavy beneath the obvious tension he’s feeling.
Despite his attempts to remain casual, you know him well enough to feel how nervous he is. He’s practically vibrating beneath you but, you know that pointing this out will only make it worse so instead, you merely rub the outside of his thigh whilst he packs his pipe. 
“Yeah, Jin’s friend-” Hoseok responds before nodding to Namjoon, “He’s honestly killing it right now. Jin told me he’s made like 5 grand already.”
Namjoon raises his brows, “Really? Damn, that’s impressive, I’ve never heard of anyone taking off that fast.”
“Jin has a lot of contacts-” Yoongi offers, adjusting the bud once more before grabbing his lighter, “it probably helped him get started. Plus, I think a lot of people around here have been looking for a good plug. Whatever he’s doing is working though, the high from last night was pretty good.”
At Yoongi’s comment, Hoseok’s lip melt into a salacious smirk as he raises his brows and jerks his chin towards you, “Are you sure it had nothing to do with that one over there?” He teases, “Yah, what are you so quiet for? You haven’t given me shit all morning...”
His comment makes you giggle but Yoongi cuts in before you’re able to respond.
“She’s tired, leave her alone.” He scolds but his lips twitch at the sound of your laughter.
Hoseok snickers as you finally decide to sit up. You can feel Yoongi’s eyes on you even as he lifts the pipe to his mouth. Tucking yourself into the side of the couch, you finally decide to add to the conversation.
“Is the guy you pick up named Yugyeom by chance?” The sleepiness in your tone is more obvious than you were expecting and, it makes Yoongi smile to himself whilst he lights his pipe.
Namjoon nods, “Yeah, it is. Do you know him?”
Yoongi’s attention is on you even as he inhales his first hit, the nerves in his body standing at attention, waiting to be soothed.  
“He was in my human sexuality class.” You remember, with a grin on your lips, “That’s actually where I met Jin too. I just had a feeling that it was him because, he literally always came to class high. Plus, him and Jin were like inseparable.”
Namjoon winces, “Of all the people to get stuck learning about sex with. I’m sorry...”
This makes you laugh, as your mind journey’s back to all the days you spent trying not to make a scene as Jin made sexual puns in the middle of a serious lecture.  
“It definitely kept things interesting...” You offer, “I’m glad to hear that Yugyeom is thriving on his own. He mentioned his dad wanted him to join the family business but, I could never picture that man in a suit.”
Hoseok chuckles before his face tightens with intrigue, “Oof that makes one of us. He would look fine as hell in a suit.”
Namjoon grins, nudging Hoseok with his foot, “You got a thing for him?”
For the first time, you see a hint of shyness overcoming Hoseok’s demeanor but he shrugs it off, trying to appear casual, “I mean- I don’t know about all that. I’m just saying that he would look good in a suit.”
“You’d both look good in suits- together...” You offer, grinning at him, “Maybe in a private venue somewhere...”
Hoseok rolls his eyes but the smile creeping onto his lips is unmistakable, “Shut up- you guys are fucking wild. All I said is that he was hot...”
Giggling, you shrug your shoulders before nodding over to Yoongi, “Yeah well that’s how it starts-” You warn, “Then the next thing you know, you’re sitting on the subway, simping over a selfie he sends you.”
Yoongi’s soft lips immediately turn up in a small smile, the shy boy in him peeking out. At first, he says nothing as he merely passes the pipe to Namjoon, who mirrors a similar expression.
Hoseok is back to his normal mischief, feeling relieved that the heat is off him for the time being.  
“Are you saying you’d marry Yoongi then?”
He expects you to be flustered by this question but, the answer is simple.  
“This man?” You raise your brows as you point to Yoongi, “You’re asking me if I would marry this man right here? Hoseok- I would wife this man up so quickly, it would give you whiplash.”
Your comment causes the three of them to laugh and, to add to the shifting vibe of the room, you feel Yoongi wrap his arm around you in an effort to pull you into his side.
“You can’t say shit like that right in front of them, they don’t need to see me soft...” He mumbles shyly in your ear before kissing your cheek, his heart singing with validation.
“Hyung, you act like we don’t already know who whipped you are for this girl.” Hoseok laughs, eagerly accepting the pipe from a coughing Namjoon.
Yoongi ignores him with his arm still around you, checking his phone with the other hand, “The cab should be here soon, do you need anything before we go?”
“Hyung, you’re gonna leave your piece here right? Cause we kinda need it-”  
Namjoon eyes him suspiciously, “What happened to your bong?”
Hoseok cringes, “I may have accidentally dropped it off the rooftop...”
Namjoon’s eyes blow wide open, “What the fuck were you doing on the rooftop to begin with?”
“I wanted to vibe! The bud was good and, I wanted to listen to the J. Cole album and get in my feelings hyung, get off my dick-” He laughs, playfully defensive.
“Hey that’s J Cole song-” You point out giggling at the double meaning, the exhaustion from earlier finding you once again.
“Exactly, I’m glad you caught that-” Hoseok winks at you before Yoongi finally responds.
“I’m not going to take my pipe through international security. Pot isn’t legal in Korea so, I wouldn’t be smoking while we were there anyway.”  
“Oh shit that’s right-” Namjoon remembers, “I really need to keep up with what’s been going on back home, I heard they were opening the discussion about it recently but, I haven’t kept up with it.”
Hoseok interjects, “What about your brother? He probably has connections.”
Yoongi shrugs, “He might but, I'm not going to worry about it.” He glances at his phone again before turning it towards you, “Our car is here, you ready to go?”
You offer him a small smile as you nod, your cheek tingling still as he places another kiss to it.
He stands up first before holding his hand out to you. Eagerly, you lace your fingers with his and, hoist yourself off the couch.
“Alright you two-” Namjoon stands too, brushing his hands over the front of his hoodie, “Try and send us updates when you can yeah?” He shoots a look towards Yoongi that is filled with an emotion that breaches casual concern.  
Yoongi understands perfectly, offering Namjoon a solemn nod in return as he pats his shoulder, “Yeah I will. I’ll text you when we land...”
Moments later, the two of you are in the back of the cab. Yoongi takes the middle seat so he can be close to you, his fingers are interlaced tightly with your own despite the fact that his hand is already sweating.  
He’s anxious.  
You can feel it and, you’re faced with two options.
Address it
Distract him  
It’s not an easy choice but, you figure this weekend will already be filled with heightened emotions so, you’re not sure if you should breach this topic so early. At the same time though, you don’t want to act like nothing’s wrong and dismiss what he’s clearly feeling.  
So, you land somewhere in the middle.  
Yoongi’s jaw is loaded with tension as you reach over and turn his face towards yours. He doesn’t register what you’re doing at first but he is in tune with your touch as always so, he doesn’t question it.    
Leaning in, you tuck your lips between his own, whilst your free hand comes up to encase the side of his face. You feel him relax beneath your kiss, a sigh leaving his nose as he kisses you back slowly.  
You pull away, pecking at his lips a few times, your thumb rubbing over his cheek.
“It’s going to be ok.” You murmur softly for the sake of his privacy, “We’re going to get through this.”
Yoongi’s eyes open just enough to show you the sheer amount of trust present in them.  
He believes everything that comes out of your mouth and, despite the anxiety that’s raging inside of him, he knows you’re right.  
Pressing his cheek against your hand, a soft smirk graces his lips as he resists the urge to pour his heart out to you for the millionth time.
“I wish it was socially acceptable for you to kiss me like that every time I feel like this...”
You giggle, pecking his lips again for good measure, “It would make our psych presentation really interesting that’s for sure.”
He chuckles, his face adorably smushed against your hand, “I keep forgetting that we have to do that. I don’t even remember the last time we worked on it...”
“Me neither.” You say at first before your eyes light up with realization, “Oh my god wait- the last time was when we watched that horrible spider movie at my apartment! Ugh no wonder I couldn’t remember, I’m pretty sure I've blocked those images from my mind as a coping mechanism.”
Yoongi’s face lights up along with you, “Oh shit, that’s right-” He laughs, “Did we even finish our lists?”
The two of you share another round of laughter, caught up in the ridiculous realization that you had lowkey abandoned your final project.  
You lean over to pull your phone out of your purse, “Here let me check-” Scrolling through your notes app, you find the project tab before allowing your eyes to wander over it, “It looks like I still have deep water and you technically still have night clubs and horror movies. But I mean- you did perform in a night club recently so I feel like that should count.”  
He nods thoughtfully before his face lights up with realization once more, “Oh yeah, I already wrote about that in the research journal, I forget to tell you. That was definitely more of a direct confrontation than I was planning.” He chuckles, “We did sit on the beach and read terrifying facts about the depth of the ocean for mine, would that be enough for you to write about?”  
The two of you have maneuvered so that you’re tucked into Yoongi’s side again, his arm draping comfortably around your shoulders.
“You still have horror movies left though so, I feel like I should maybe confront one more directly too. Besides, I have a feeling that I’ll be able to distract myself in the water if you’re there-” You mumble suggestively, which causes him to smirk as he leans his head back against the seat.
“Oh yeah?” He jerks his head towards you “How so?”
Resting your face on his chest, you smile to yourself and think of a response that’s appropriate for a perfect stranger aka your cab driver, to hear.
“Cause if something touches my feet in the water, I could simply latch myself to your back for safety purposes.” You explain matter of factly.
“If something touched your foot while we were in the water, I’d swim away so fucking fast- I don’t think you’d have time to latch on.” He explains through his laughter
Scoffing, you smack your hand against his chest as you sit up fully, wiggling out of his grip, “So you’d just leave me to die???” You accuse, “Also, last time I checked- you weren’t an Olympic swimmer, what makes you think you’d just zoom out of there???”
Yoongi’s cackling at this point, his hand on his stomach, his previously tense features now smoothed out beneath his amusement, “I’m not saying I would leave you necessarily-”
“Necessarily!” You point out, laughter erupting from your lips as you pinch his side, “After everything we’ve been through, you’re really just gonna let a sea monster eat me!?”
His eyes widen, as his laughter increases, “A sea monster?! Who said anything about a sea monster? Where did they come in????”
“I said something touched my foot???? Obviously that means there is a sea monster, lurking in the depths, trying to eat me and you-” You poke his sternum, “You just said you would leave me to die!”
Yoongi’s face is reddened with the force of his own laughter, his hand subconsciously coming up to cover your own. With his eyes tearing up and his mouth parted to make way for his giggling, you can’t help but admire how beautiful he is.  
Especially when he’s laughing...
He wipes his eyes with his free hand, still chuckling lightly to himself even as he brings your hand to his mouth, “Alright, alright- let's be clear- I would never leave you to die.” He promises, still smirking as he kisses the back of your hand, “Realistically, I’d probably panic and jump on YOUR back.”
With narrowed eyes, you wiggle the fingers he has pressed to his lips, “Well I don’t know how that would work out because, I’d probably you know- swim away so fucking fast that I don’t know if you’d have time to latch on...”
Yoongi snickers as you imitate his voice but, rather than retaliate he simply tugs you by the hand his currently holding and, kisses you.  
It’s soft and sweet- lasting only for a few seconds until he’s pulling away.
“Thank you for coming with me.” He says suddenly, the volume of his voice decreasing significantly.
And as usual, you know that he wants to say way more than he does. But you’re perfectly fine with that.
Yoongi’s subtly is a specific brand and, you’ve grown to love how the little things he does allows him to pack so much emotion into a simple phrase.  
You feel lucky to love such a special person.  
“Of course.” You return his simplicity, pecking his lips once more before settling back in your original position.  
The airport was a blur.  
You’re thankful it passes quickly because, the process of getting through security makes you anxious.  
Yoongi ushers you into your seat before taking both of your bags and, storing them in the overhead compartment. You can’t help but smile as he turns to help an older woman with her luggage as well.
He smiles ( :] ) at her, bowing his head slightly as she thanks him. Yoongi offers her a tiny wave and takes his seat beside you, not noticing the way you smile fondly at him.  
When he takes his seat beside you, the two of you settle into a comfortable silence. Once the flight crew permits it, Yoongi takes his laptop out and begins toying around with one of his songs. You pull your headphones out as well and find one of your favorite playlists. Leaning back against the seat, your eyes eventually begin to droop until you can no longer keep them open.  
The next thing you know, you’re being woken up by someone gently patting your thigh.  
“Sleepy girl...” Yoongi croons in Korean, the sound of his voice alone making you smile, “We’re landing soon.”
Slightly disoriented, you blink your eyes a few times before you’re finally able to focus on your boyfriend’s face.  
You slump against him, rubbing your cheek against the material of his hoodie. He chuckles softly, his arm sliding out from underneath you in order to drape across your shoulders.  
“I’m sorry I fell asleep.” You mumble
He chuckles again, nodding with a false sense of consideration, “Ah yes, you missed so much. Two hours ago, the flight attendant came by and asked if we wanted anything to drink. It was a wild ride...”
Giggling sleepily, you shake your head at his sarcasm before pointing at his laptop.  
“Were you working on your composition project?”
He bites his bottom lip and shakes his head, a bashful expression on his face “No, it was just a song I’ve been working on for a while now.”  
He leaves it at that and, due to the signal from the flight crew, Yoongi begins putting his stuff away as the rest of the cabin prepares for landing.  
“Are we taking the train?” You mumble, still fighting off the remnants of your nap.
Yoongi purses his lips, his eyes narrowed in concentration whilst he scrolls through his phone.
“No, I have a cab waiting for us.” He responds, “It says it’s already here. So, when you get out of customs, just meet me right outside. It should just be a straight shot from immigration.”
You nod and rest your head back against his shoulder, “Okay.”
He puts his phone away, allowing his hand to find yours. Intertwining your fingers, he takes a deep breath- his mind clearly elsewhere. You squeeze his hand to acknowledge this but, the two of you don’t comment on it.  
There is no need.  
With the tightening of your grip, so much has already been said.  
Less than a half hour later, the two of you are once again seated in the back of the cab.  
“It’s probably going to rain a lot while we’re here.” Yoongi explains, his voice low and slow, “This is Daegu’s rainy season. I’ve been checking the weather periodically and it looks like there might be a storm coming but, it doesn’t look too severe.”
You look at the window after his comment, noticing that the sky is overflowing with heavy clouds, swollen and gray with the promise of rain.  
“We’re approaching monsoon season, we call it uh- jangma.” He tells you and his explanation makes you smile.  
Despite the circumstances, you’re very honored and excited to be in Yoongi’s hometown. You know the memories he associates with this place are complex but, there is a shift in his tone now and, he sounds eager to teach you about this place: the place he called home for so long.  
And you’d gladly listen for hours.
“Jangma-” You repeat, trying to get the pronunciation right, causing him to refocus his attention back on you. He smiles softly and nods,
“Good job.”  
Your heart skips a beat at his approval as you return his smile, “Is there gonna be thunder?”  
Yoongi chuckles, “Do you want there to be thunder?”
You nod eagerly, “I love storms. When I was little, I would just sit at the window and watch them go by. I’m pretty sure our neighbors thought I was crazy. But I don’t know- I've always had a thing for bad weather...”
He smirks, glancing out the window and then back at you, “That explains a lot.”
Giggling, you cock your head, “What do you mean?”
Yoongi gestures to himself, his now playful gaze looking at you expectantly. You laugh at his insinuation,
“I see the resemblance.” You concede, gently patting his cheek, “You’re not nearly as gloomy as you think you are though.”
“To you-” He retorts, “You always forget that...”
“Pleaaaase.” You disagree, “You’re soft for other people too, don’t lie. I’ve seen the way you deal with Namjoon and Hobi...”
He shakes his head, “Yeah but things are still different with you, I don’t think you realize that.”
You nudge yourself underneath his arm once more, cuddling up with him as best as you can in the back of a cab.
“I know you’re especially-” You emphasize the word, “soft for me. I’m just saying that you come across more approachable than you think you do.”
Yoongi smirks to himself, seemingly understanding something that you don’t.  
“Soft is an understatement.” He retorts, turning to kiss the top of your head.
“Whateverrrr.” You tease him, your eyes trailing down to focus on his hands, “I’m still right.”
He chuckles, his figure shaking lightly beneath you, “You usually are.”
The cab pulls off of the highway, and it’s then that you begin to notice the way the scenery around you shifts from a middle class/ metropolitan vibe to something much much...fancier.  
Through the winding streets, the cab begins taking the two of you up a pretty steep hill before turning onto a street full of ridiculously nice houses.  
White marble, giant glass windows, and driveways filled to the brim with luxury vehicles zip by as the car turns down another street. Similar in theme but greater in size, the new street had much larger houses on more sizeable plots of land- likely designed to give the owners privacy amongst their neighbors.  
You can feel Yoongi’s eyes on you then and, you know very well that he’s observing your reaction.
He knows that even though he told you his brother was wealthy that, that phrase alone wouldn’t be enough to properly convey what that entailed.  
“This neighborhood is really beautiful,” You observe softly, eyes still glued to the window, “The architecture is so different than anything I’ve ever seen.”
And of course, this makes Yoongi smile.  
Because of course, you aren’t making a fuss about the degree of luxury before you. You’re finding the beauty in what otherwise is a very stressful situation.  
Finally, the cab pulls into a driveway right behind a black Tesla before putting the car in park.  
He and Yoongi exchange a few words in Korean as Yoongi hands him a small wad of money.  
“Thank you.” You murmur to the cab driver with a slight bow of your head to which he responds with a tight smile and a similar bow.  
You and Yoongi unload your bags from the trunk and as he is reaching for your hand, the front door of the house swings open.  
A man a few inches taller than Yoongi steps out. His black hair is neatly arranged in a middle part and he’s dressed in a beige turtleneck and white slacks. As he comes closer, the resemblance between the two of them is staggering.  
“Hello!” He calls with a warm smile, his voice bright, “Welcome! Come on in, the rain is supposed to pick back up soon.”
His expression only glows as he spots his younger brother. He looks excited to see him but, his movements are apprehensive.  
The unspoken tension is already present and, you can feel Yoongi almost freeze up as he draws near. Subtly, you coax him along offering his brother a warm smile as the two of you approach the landing just in front of his door.  
Normally, you don’t get nervous when meeting new people but, this situation is laced with so much complexity- you aren’t sure how to act.
Thankfully Yoongi finally speaks, “Good to see you hyung. Thank you for having us on such short notice.” His tone is almost unrecognizable as he gestures to you, “This is my girlfriend Y/N. Y/N-” He gestures back to his brother, “This is my older brother Geum-jae hyung.”
Bowing your head slightly, you smile once more, “It’s very nice to meet you, thank you for having me.”
Geum-jae nods, eyeing you softly as his lips press into a tight line, “It’s so nice to meet you Y/N. I promise you, the pleasure is all mine.”
Yoongi motions for you to step in front of him so, you follow his lead and trail behind his brother through the doorway.  
Geum-jae's home resembles a marble statue. It’s clean, beautiful and, elegant- but lifeless. Geum-jae has artwork of various styles all over his walls, crisp white couches, sleek granite countertops and, stainless-steel appliances however, there is not one bit of evidence that anyone even lives here. The house feels empty despite the amount of effort put into its appearance.  
It makes you sad.  
“You have a beautiful home.”  
Your voice echoes off the dead weight of the walls, the paintings themselves seeming to arch a brow at your comment. Geum-jae however, smiles and nods graciously,
“Thank you. I just moved in not too long ago so, there is a lot I want to do. I definitely could have used this one’s expertise-” He nods to Yoongi, “He was always really good at that kind of stuff...”
Your boyfriend smirks, his eyes taking in his surroundings but failing to really focus on anything; he was too wound up, “You could have. I would have charged you though...”
Geum-jae chuckles and you see him glance at Yoongi fondly for a split second before he quickly reverts to his casual demeanor.  
“I put you guys on the second floor facing the skyline-” He gestures to the ivory staircase, “I’m sure you want some time to freshen up and relax so, please take all the time you need. I’m having BBQ brought over tonight but, if you’re hungry- feel free to help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen.”
Yoongi allows you to step in front of him whilst taking the suitcase from your hands. The two men follow behind you as Geum-jae continues laying out the plans for the evening,  
“I have a few virtual meetings to attend that I wasn’t able to move around but, I will be free as of 7 this evening. Until then, please make yourselves at home. I am really-” He seems to take a deep breath for emphasis, “really happy to have you here.”
“Thank you hyung.” Yoongi smiles slightly once the three of you reach the outside of the guest room, “Good luck with your meetings. Let me know if you need help with dinner.”
Geum-jae responds with a tight nod, “Will do. I’ll be in my office so, feel free to explore.” As he pushes open the door for you, he allows his own pained expression to meet yours, “I’m honored to meet you Y/N. Thank you for coming all this way with my brother.”
“Well-” You squeeze Yoongi’s hand gently, “He’s lucky I like him so much...”
Cheeks flushed, Yoongi rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but his lips are practically puckered against the smile he’s trying to stifle.  
“That’s fair.” Geum-jae chuckles, “Let me know if you two need anything. I’ll just be downstairs...”
With that, Yoongi pushes open the door and allows you to step inside before following behind you.
“Wow.” You whisper to yourself as you take in the scene before you.
The walls are painted a soft gray and surrounding only three sides of the bedroom. The fourth wall is made entirely of glass and given that the house rests upon a hill, you’re able to make out the skyline of the inner city. A giant four poster bed sits in the middle of the room, covered completely in a white duvet and three rows of pillows. Dark gray curtains sit on either side of the massive window as various muted colors accent the room in the form of a dresser, two nightstands and, a set of couches at the end of the bed.  
Yoongi is silent behind you as he sets the bags down at the entrance of the room. He pushes the door shut and allows his eyes to move over the space for a moment.  
It's nice, he thinks, but he can’t find himself to be very impressed.  
He knows where this money comes from and, even though his brother is out of the crime sector now, it still feels strange to acknowledge his wealth.  
Noticing his silence, you turn towards him, eyes tracing over the features of his face to assess his mood.
With a slight and subconscious pout, he looks at you, his body seemingly full of a breath he wants to take.  
“Do you want to lay down for a bit? I know you didn’t sleep on the plane.”  
At your offer, he seems to deflate slightly, lips turning up at the corners, “I think I want to shower first...”
Immediately, you nod with an encouraging smile, “Yeah go shower babe, I’ll just-”
He interrupts you, sticking his hand out and flexing his fingers in a grabbing motion, “Come with me.”
His offer makes you giggle, “You want me to shower with you?”
Yoongi closes the distance between you, using his grabby hands to lock onto your hips, “No, I meant like come with me as in come watch me...yes I want you to shower with me.”
Your laughter heightens as you pinch his side, causing him to recoil before chuckling.
“You’re such a punk today...” You scold.
Yoongi simply chuckles warmly as he kisses the side of your head, the tone of his voice lowering significantly, “That usually means something to you doesn’t it?”
It does.  
It usually means he’s having trouble vocalizing his needs and, he’s in need of attention. And the type of attention is usually a specific brand.  
And it usually comes with a little bit of pain.  
However, you don’t think it’s a good idea to indulge that side of Yoongi’s desires at the moment because, his emotions aren’t fully organized. You know the talk with his brother is causing him a lot of stress and, as much as you liked to wreck his body right now- you know it’s best to wait until later.  
That doesn’t mean you can’t take care of him though...
“Come on-” You urge him, grabbing his hand and practically running towards the bathroom, “Let's get you clean, king.”
He laughs, stumbling into the bathroom which is just as nice and similarly colored as the room.
“I’m a king now?”
His question goes over your head as you notice the ridiculously oversized bathtub in the center of the room. Biting your lip, you turn towards him and point at it.
“Do you want to take a bath instead? The shower looks amazing and all but- this thing literally looks like a jacuzzi.”
Yoongi eyes it curiously, his teeth finding his bottom lip, looking a little apprehensive, “How would you want to sit in it though? I kinda uh- I kinda thought maybe we could stand under the water for a bit together, like last time...”
He wants you to hold him.
He’s not going to say it but, he needs it.  
Like really bad.
You can see his nerves creeping into his posture so, you decide to act quickly before he somehow convinces himself that he’s being too needy.  
Looking around the room, you spot a few things that could aid in his relaxation: candles, bubble bath, a neatly folded pile of fluffy gray towels...
“I’ll show you.” You assure him, “Close your eyes really quick- no peeking. I have a plan...”
Yoongi looks at you, suspicious all over his face, “I’m scared.”
Giggling, you raise your brows for emphasize, “Oh you should be-”
He can’t help but smirk at your tone despite the anticipation swimming in his gut. He trusts you though so, instead of arguing- he shuts his eyes.  
Shuffling around the bathroom, you set things up in record time, turning the water on, pouring the rose scented bubble bath beneath the stream, and lighting a few candles along the ivory counter. Yoongi maintains his smirk the entire time, folding his arms across his chest, stifling his desire to make a snarky comment.  
“Alright,” You sigh, dusting your hands off, “Ta daaaaa.”
Yoongi opens his eyes, blinking a few times before taking in the scene in front of him. It changes his smirk into a grin really quickly as his cat-like eyes flit over to you.
“Are you planning on sacrificing me?” He quips, nodding to the candles.
Snorting, you roll your eyes, “If you keep talking shit, I just might-” You threaten, laughter forming on the tail end of your sentence, “Get naked...”
Yoongi snickers, his face full of satisfaction as his finger tuck beneath his hoodie to tug it over his head. The two of you undress in a small bout of silence and attempt to sneak glances at one another’s naked form.  
“I’m going to get in first and then you’re going to sit in front of me, between my legs...” You explain, trying not to shiver as the cool air of the bathroom begins to grow uncomfortable.
His brows raise, “Between your legs?” He confirms, “Say no more...”
Once again, your eyes are rolling but this time, there is a smile on your lips as you move to take your spot beneath the warmth of the water. Yoongi has to take a deep breath as he watches you, his emotions brewing dangerously beneath the surface at the sight of the woman he loves.  
He still doesn’t fully understand it.  
He is still meet with endless confusion when he starts to think about why you’ve chosen to be with him but, he knows better now than to question it.  
You have your reasons, he thinks, and he has a million of his own.  
Looking up from beneath the mountain of bubbles, you pat the top of them, looking at him expectantly, “Come here.”
He grabs the hand that you extend towards him, balancing himself on it whilst he steps into the tub. Modestly, he turns his body away from you for a second so he’s able to bend down before pivoting beneath the water and settling against your chest. The bathtub is big enough for the water to go past his shoulders and, he feels his entire body relax once he feels your body against his.  
“Comfy?” You check, draping your arms across his chest.  
Yoongi nods, his head leaning back and resting against your left shoulder. Once it lands there, you turn and kiss his temple which then prompts one of his hands to reach up rest on yours. Silently, you place a few more kisses against his hairline, allowing him to decompress however he wants to, not wanting to pressure him into talking about anything.  
And he doesn’t, at least not for a while.  
The only sounds between the two of you are the dribbling of water from the faucet and the low whisper of breathing. Every so often, you kiss his temple, just so he knows that he isn’t alone.
“Seeing my brother is really difficult.” He mumbles, eyes still closed, hand still on top of yours, “Even just seeing his face- it brings back a lot of memories.”
You nod, “I can imagine- especially since it’s been so long.”
Yoongi sighs, his eyes fluttering open and honing in on the ceiling, “I haven’t seen him since I was 18. He came to Sejin’s place just before I moved in with Namjoon. He tried to talk to me to let me know that he was leaving the business but, I barely said anything. I was too angry at him.”
Using your free hand, you rub softly at his chest under the water, silently encouraging him to continue.  
“He never helped me when my father would-” He takes a deep breath through his nose, his throat bobbing as he swallows on the exhale, “the time I told you about, when my father hit me...that wasn’t the only time. It happened often towards the end.”
Your eyes shut momentarily, the pain of Yoongi being harmed stinging your heart like a shot.  
“I’m so sorry.” You whisper, kissing his temple again.
Yoongi’s face turns slightly into your lips, his hand squeezing over yours, “Don’t be. It was a long time ago. I held onto my disappointment in him for a while until I realized something: the only reason my father every laid his hands on me and not Geum-jae hyung was because, I stood up to him.”
“Geum-jae hyung never did and, I think he still carries that regret to this day. I can see it all over his face...” His voice is so low now that it barely makes it above a whisper, his eyes seemingly elsewhere. “Is it wrong that I feel like- like I didn’t just come here to save Sejin’s studio?”
You shake your head, “Not at all...”
He swallows again and takes another deep breath through his nose, “It’s hard you know- during winter break especially; everyone would leave campus and go home for the holidays...and I never knew where to go. For the first two years at school, I spent Christmas alone until Namjoon’s mom finally called me and told me that if I didn’t come back with him, that she was going to make him sleep outside.” He chuckles, smirking slightly at the memory.
Your heart fills with despair then. You didn’t piece it together that Yoongi would have stayed behind during the holiday season. There was so much to unpack from the tragedy that he’s endured; it didn’t even cross your mind.  
“Namjoon’s mom was right to threaten you-” You affirm but then you shake your head, “I don’t think there could be a wrong reason to come here. You deserve to have whatever kind of closure or healing that you need.”  
“I wish I knew what I needed...” He admits, licking his lips before turning towards you, his brown eyes holding all the emotions he can’t vocalize, “I wish everything was as easy as this.”
Following suit, you turn your head so that you’re facing him, “So do I. But I’ll always be here through all the not-so-easy stuff.”
Yoongi smiles then, soft and sweet, delivering a kiss to match. He relaxes into you, brushing his tongue along the inside of your lip just for a moment before pulling away.
“I love you Y/N.”  
“I love you too Yoongi.”  
Eventually, you both got out of the bathtub and into the shower so, that you were able to get clean properly. After a few hours of catching up on missed calls/texts and relaxing, Yoongi gets a text from his brother saying that dinner would be ready in 15 minutes.  
Geum-jae had the finest BBQ in the city delivered and prepared right in his dining room. Banchan lined the center of the table, slabs of meat were grilled one right after the other until the three of you tapped out.  
It passed easier than you thought it would. Yoongi and Geum-jae relaxed in the face of a meal, the conversation flowing effortlessly between them as if no time had passed. It was a touching sight to see and, you hoped that it meant their discussion would come out easier.  
You take your leave after you help clean up, thanking Geum-jae for the incredible food and, letting Yoongi know that you’d be up in the room checking on something for school if he needed anything.  
Which was a total lie but, you needed an excuse to leave them alone for a bit.  
Yoongi feels his heartbeat pick up a bit as he watches you leave the room, the realization of what was coming finally hitting him.  
“Hyung-” He wants to rip the band aid off. “Is it alright if we talk for a moment?”
Geum-jae raises his brows at the switch in languages and nods immediately, gesturing to the table, “Of course. Can we sit here? Or would you rather talk in the living room?”
Yoongi shakes his head, “Here is fine.” He sits back down in his original seat and, rubs his palms against his jeans.
Geum-jae takes a seat across from him, gazing expectantly at his younger brother, “What did you want to talk about?”
Despite Yoongi’s anxiety, he understands that being to the point would be the most effective way to communicate. He wasn’t sure if any past issues would come up but, right now his concern was on Sejin.  
“I know that I told you I needed your help with something but-” Yoongi begins, “It isn’t me who needs your help exactly...it’s Sejin.”
Geum-jae purses his lips, his hands coming out to clasp rest on the table, “Is he alright?”
“The landlord for the studio he runs is increasing his rent again and, he doesn’t have the money to keep it open...” Yoongi’s explanation gets a little rushed as he gets more and more nervous, “I have some money in savings to help out with rent for the next few months but, it’s not enough to keep it open long term and-”
Geum-jae cuts him off, “Tell Sejin to call me. I will send a team to his location to sort everything out. It wouldn’t be a bad building to purchase but if Sejin is willing- then maybe he can look at other properties and I’ll have the money wired over to him.”
Yoongi can’t hide the shock on his face, “Wait- are you serious?”
“Of course. Sejin is one of my dearest friends. I owe him a lot for what he’s done over the years.”
In this moment, regret washes over Geum-jae's face, his eyes reaching out to Yoongi’s in hopes that he understands what he’s alluding to.  
And obviously, he does.  
“Why didn’t you just call me?” Geum-jae continues, tilting his head to get a better look at Yoongi’s expression, trying to read him, “I’ve always told you that if you ever needed anything-”
“I haven’t talked to you in 8 years hyung, I wasn’t just going to call and ask you for a favor.”  
Geum-jae nods, his face tightening with solemnity, “I understand.” A brief moment of silence passes between the two of them before a sigh comes from Geum-jae, “There is so much I want to say to you Yoongi, I don’t even know where to begin...”
Yoongi stays quiet.  
He doesn’t know either.  
He just knows that the only way to get rid of the heaviness in his chest is to talk about it.  
“I suppose I could start with an apology.” Geum-jae concludes, shaking his head as a light scoff leaves his lips, “I could never find the words to express how much regret and shame I feel inside. I could never explain how sorry I am for not protecting you, for not being a better example, for not having a backbone, for being selfish...I was blinded by greed. I couldn’t see what was in front of me.”
Yoongi swallows back his emotion, dreading the way his eyes begin to sting.  
Geum-jae continues, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I just want to apologize and tell you that, even though I played no part in the man you’ve become, I am incredibly honored to call you my brother.”
It isn’t easy but, Yoongi manages to contain the tears that desperately want to fall from his eyes. His chest tightens as he hears his brother’s words. He wades through all the bitterness he feels towards him, allowing himself to feel the full force of his approval.  
“I forgave you a long time ago.” Yoongi swallows, avoiding direct eye contact with him, “I just wish I understood your actions. You were my hyung, I thought you would have protected me and-” Yoongi blinks away the tears as quickly as he can, “and I still haven’t been able to accept the fact that you didn’t...”
Geum-jae shakes his head, “I wanted to protect you. I just didn’t know how- I was scared of him too. You had more courage than I did. It doesn’t excuse my actions but, it’s the truth.”
Suddenly, he reaches out and places his hand overtop of Yoongi’s, a pleading expression on his face, “That’s why you got out. That’s why you have a life. You have friends, you’re about to graduate university and, you have Y/N...” Geum-jae's voice breaks at the end, “Because of your strength, you finally found happiness.”
Yoongi looks at his hand, observing the evidence of his life present on his skin. Scars, burns, callouses, needle marks...
“Are you saying that you haven’t?” He asks, still not meeting his brother’s eyes.
“I’m not even close.”
Finally, the two meet each other's gaze. For a moment, they just stare, glistening eyes to glistening eyes. Overcome with years of repressed emotions, fueled by the desperate need to try and break the cycle, they wordlessly convey an unspoken emptiness.  
They have missed each other so much.  
“I am here now.” Geum-jae promises, the first tear dangerously close to falling, “Hyung is here if you’ll have him. I want to be in your life but, I understand if you want nothing to do with me.”
Yoongi blinks now, and the tears land upon his cheeks, “You’re my hyung...” And it really is a desperate proclamation, “...you’ll always be my hyung...”
The chair screeches against the tile, causing Yoongi to jump in his seat until he realizes what his brother is doing. Rounding the table, stands to the side of Yoongi with open arms and his own tears atop his cheeks.
He eyes him for only a few seconds before standing up suddenly and accepting Geum-jae into his arms. The two of them seem to collapse against one another. Yoongi breaks down and sobs in the arms of his older brother.  
Just as he would have when they were young.
When times were hard and he could take shelter behind the one person who made him feel safe, the first person who ever showed him love.  
“I’m so sorry Yoongi-ah.”  
His words cause Yoongi to squeeze his eyes shut as he nods against the expensive fabric of his brother’s dress shirt, “I know.” He sniffles and pats his back, “I know you are.”
Meanwhile...
You’ve been upstairs, straightening up the bedroom and trying to pass the time without worrying excessively about your boyfriend’s well-being.  
Which turns out to be impossible...
Cleaning around the room/bathroom only takes you about 20 minutes before your flopping onto the massive bed and, pulling out your phone. Scrolling through Tik Tok, you hope for a substantial distraction and, lucky for you- one arrives.  
But, it isn’t on Tik Tok...
Jungkook: So you know Jimin right...  
The text from Jungkook confuses you as you’re pretty sure it's like the middle of the night back home and, it’s not like him to text you outside of the group chat.
You: I have heard of him yes
You: Isn’t he like your boyfriend or something?
Jungkook: ha ha
Jungkook: about that
Jungkook: what if he wasn’t my boyfriend anymore?
Your eyes widen and, you immediately sit up in bed and hover anxiously over your phone.
You: !!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN
Jungkook: shhhhhh don’t yell
Jungkook: my future fiance is sleeping...
You’re about ready to get on a flight back home to kick his ass before your vision focuses on the word he’s just sent.
You: excuse me  
You: YOU’RE WHAT ???????????
Jungkook: …
Jungkook: What did I just tell you smh
You: *whispers* WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT JUNGKOOK
Jungkook: -____-
Jungkook: can I call  
You: ?????? Obviously!!!!
Seconds later, Jungkook’s name illuminates your screen.
“Good evening,” He begins calmly, “I’m having a panic attack...”
You giggle, “What’s going on????”
“Well you see- I am in love with Park Jimin and I fear it may be terminal.”
“Terminal huh? Is that how you describe a lifelong partnership with your one true love?”
“...yes.”
“Jungkook,” You urge him through your laughter, “What is going on?”
You hear him sigh, “I think I’m going to ask Jimin to marry me.”
Squealing, you jump up on your knees, “Wait seriously?! Jungkook!”
“Yah! Don’t yell at me! This is all your fault!”  
“My fault??? How is this my fault?”
“Well technically I guess- it's Yoongi’s fault because, he’s the one that convinced me to get in touch with my feelings or whatever- either way, I am STILL the victim. And now I want to be with him forever and it’s disgusting...”
You flop back against the pillows and laugh again, “If Jimin knew this was how you were telling people you were proposing, he would kill you.”
He doesn’t hesitate, “He’s going to kill me either way Y/N...it’s bad- the other day, he sent me a selfie and, I had heart palpitations for like 15 minutes.”
“If your man doesn’t give you heart palpitations then, that isn’t your man.” You conclude.
“Y/N...” Jungkook whines now, sounding very much like the boy you met back in middle school.
“Jungkook...” You whine back causing him to finally chuckle on the other end of the line.
“I’m scared...”
“I know but, you and Jimin are so perfect for each other, there is no way that this wouldn’t work out.”
“More perfect than you and Yoongi?” He teases, reverting back to being a little shit.
And his question makes you scoff, “Oh sweetheart- obviously not. But second place isn’t bad!”
He laughs now and it’s the full bellied sound that you love hearing.  
“You really think we’re perfect together?”
Despite his inability to see you, you smile at his need for validation,
“Duh. You two are literally soulmates.”
Jungkook is quiet on the other line but when he speaks again, you can hear the giddiness in his voice, “Ok so...will you help me then???”
Back downstairs, Yoongi and Geum-jae are sat at the bar in front of the window that faces his backyard. As he predicted, the rain came back in full force and is now propelling itself against the clean glass. After their emotional encounter in the dining room, Geum-jae suggested that they have a drink together and relax for a moment.  
He had poured each of them a glass of wine, ensuring not to fill his glass up too much.  
“Your girlfriend is a wonderful woman; you made a good choice.”
At the mention of you, Yoongi’s lips twitch, his eyes watching the droplets of water chaotically race down the window, “Thank you. But, it was her who chose me, I’m still working out exactly why.”  
Geum-jae chuckles, “I see you’re still selling yourself short ah? Did you two meet at school?”
Yoongi smirks, “Yeah, we met 6 months ago in my psychology class. She was my partner on our final project.”
“Ah.” He nods, “Things blossomed that way then?”
Yoongi’s heart throbs a bit as his brain begins its recollection of his time with you.  
So much has happened during your relationship, he forgets that he hasn’t known you all his life.
It certainly feels like he has.  
“Yeah.”
Geum-jae chuckles, “You’re so reserved about her.”
Yoongi knows what he means. In the Min family, you always say things as they are. You don’t sugarcoat your sentiments and you definitely don’t play coy.  
“I can’t help it-” He admits, and he can feel the heat on his cheeks now, “I find it difficult to talk about her...”
His brother bites his bottom lip, unable to help how endeared he is, “Can I ask why?”
Yoongi leans his cheek against the palm of his hand, still focusing on the rain, “It’s overwhelming.”
Geum-jae seems to understand but he chuckles anyway, “Do you plan on marrying her?”
His question hangs in the air for a moment. Yoongi’s brain once again travels elsewhere, and he is bombarded with images of you walking down the aisle. He has to take a deep breath as he forces the thoughts out of his head; he’s cried enough this evening.
“I would marry her tomorrow.”  
Geum-jae's laughter increases now but now it bubbles over his lips in an excited fashion.
“Yahhhh! Look at that eh?” He congratulates him, “It’s safe to say you’re off the market for good then? Because I have a few of my friends who have been asking about you.”
This finally makes Yoongi laugh as he turns towards him, “That’s flattering.” He means it too but, he speaks the next set of words with all of the conviction he can muster, “There is no one else for me though.”  
Geum-jae grins proudly and with a raise to his brows, he lifts his glass, “Well, let’s drink to that then.”
The clinking of crystal signifies so much. For now though, Yoongi allows it to represent the future and, all of the possibilities it may bring.  
320 notes · View notes
bandgeek4life8 · 3 years
Text
Guardians - chapter two the lost city of atlantis
Chapter 1
WC: 3, 453
Season 1, Episode 2: The Lost City of Atlantis
Previously on Guardian in Jim's POV "The Nightmares have emerged once more." Pabbie told everyone.
"GREAT GRONKA MORKA!!" Blinky exclaimed.
"And they attend to assimilate an army. They already have the witch Gothel, the bogeyman Pitch Black, the dragon tamer Drago Bludvist with his mother of dragons Red Death, the prince Hans of Southern Isles and Duke of Weselton, the cursed bear Mor'du, the Pirate "Captain Hook" Killian James, and the Boggan Mandrake. And I have a list of who they want. From my visions. But only two people I wish to say it to: Vendel and... James Lake Jr. Because she wishes it."
"Who wishes for me to know?" I asked him.
"Starling."
Some people are chosen for this life and have no choice but to accept its transgressions. Others spend their life completely in the dark about this life we lead. Some, like me, choose to live this life. It is a lot of work for anybody. Not just anybody can get into this life and survive its trials and tribulations. But we were born for this. To become guardians. But I'm not a guardian yet. I'm just an apprentice.
|{[INSERT_OPENING_SEQUENCE]}|
"Welcome to the first meeting of the Druidia Order." I announced.
"Did you have to name us after a planet in your favorite Star Wars movie?" asked the raven-haired time-traveller Wilbur Robinson.
"Spaceballs is not a Star Wars movie, Wilbur." Currently undercover spy, Walter Beckett told him.
Wilbur rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Did your dad teach you anything about Star Wars?" asked blonde enpath/ hockey-player from Wisconsin, Riley Anderson.
"Only that he hated the sequels, he loves the originals, and respects what the prequels tried to do." Wilbur said.
"Can we please get to the topic at hand please?" I asked everyone.
Everyone in the room grumbled out a yes and we continued with the precedings. Wow. That sounds way too formal for me.
"Well what can we do? We already made allies with the Arendelle trolls via Elsa and Anna. We had Grand Pabbie alert the Trollhunter of the Nightmares." said Ted Wiggins.
"Which means a group of you have to go find the essence stones." Megamind appeared with a plate of, "who wants cookies?"
"Are you growing soft on us, Meg?" Megamind basically growled at Wilbur for the nickname he used.
"I am trying to babysit Gru's oldest daughter and her friends." Megamind told him looking the kid dead in the eye.
"What do you know of the essence stones?" I asked him, ignoring the intense staredown happening between the two makes.
Megamind turned his attention away from Wilbur only for the time-traveller to blow a raspberry at him and Megamind to turn back and glare at him I rolled my eyes. The same old stupid antics. "I know where you can find the essence stone of the ocean."
"If you tell me we have to befriend Poseidon or-."
"It's in Atlantis." Megamind said.
"Or that." I facepalmed. "And how would you know that?"
"Because I have an evil underwater lair in the city of Atlantis." Cue another facepalm from me.
"And why...? You know what? I don't want to know. So how are we getting there?" I asked.
"It's not a matter of how we, but rather how who is getting there." Megamind said.
"That makes no sense whatsoever, dude." Hiro said as he walked into the room followed by Lucy Tuchi.
"Some of us will go on the mission while the rest research the rest of the essence stones." Megamind suggested.
"You know... your ideas are normally terrible. But this one is actually a good idea." Wilbur told him.
The alien growled. "Easy now, Megamind. When we heading out? And who is coming along for the ride?"
"You, Rayla, Ezran, Callum, Sisu, Hiccup, Jack, Light Furry, Walter, and Toothless." Megamind told us. "And you will leave tomorrow. After school."
"Alright. Before we do anymore planning, I need pizza." I walked over to where Hiro plopped the pizza on.
|{[INSERT_COMMERCIAL HERE]}| "
I cannot believe he has the audacity for this! He knows we're not on the best of terms, and yet he does this." I sighed.
"I'm sure he has a reason." said Hiro.
"It's Megamind. It's a stupid-ass reason." I told him.
Hiro sighed. "But you miss hanging out with Toby and Jim. And you-."
"Don't even finish that sentence. I know what you were going to say." Hiro gapped at me. "I know what you were going to say. Only three people know it. And one betrayed me."
My phone vibrated in my hoodie's pocket and I opened it up to see a text from my grandmother, Margaret. "Is that Marge? What she said?"
"She's wondering about the you-know-what with the you-know-who." I told him. She wants to know about James Lake Jr being the Trollhunter. Grandpa would not be pleased with this anyway. But he's dead. And he doesn't matter.
"You have gym next block right?" I groaned. Of course I forgot. And why of all days did we have to do the Pacer test today!
"And we're doing the pacer test today too!" I would have banged my head on a locker if we weren't coming from History. "Kill me now! Woe is me!"
"Stop being overdramatic. And I'm off my way to Robotics." Hiro said once we got to the hall where we would part ways.
"Don't take over the world of robotics without your team first." I called out to gim.
"Yeah, yeah. Just focus on making chemistry after gym, but preferably during." the smart-ass called back.
I'm gonna kill him one of these days. Just you wait, Hiro Hamada. I grumbled and continued on my way to the ends of the earth. Also known as gym. Because I lack the athletic ability of a worm. My arms are basically noodles before submerged in H20. I got dressed in my PE clothes and walked outside to the bleachers where I plopped myself down on. Gym. The one class I don't have my safety net to catch me. The one block where I feel alone. Completely and helplessly alone.
"Hey, [Y/N]. Mind if we sit here?" asked Toby.
It was just him and Jim. What on Earth are they up to? I scooted some ways away from my spot and patted the spot beside me. Jim took the spot beside me while Toby took the bench in front of us.
"We haven't hung out just the three of us in awhile, huh?" Toby remarked.
"You both seem busy since the semester started. I can't blame you for that one."  I told them. The pair shrugged at me, but it was a lying shrug. I would know. I do the same ones. "Anyway, what are we doing for our History Project, Jamie?" I looked over at him.
"I don't know. Wanna brainstorm some ideas after school?" Jim asked me.
"Can't. I have a family thing." Lying to them has gotten harder since I found out. Hopefully they don't catch. But they're idiots. They won't catch on... I hope. "I can come over tomorrow after school if you want."
"That... Th-th-th-that'll be gr-gr-gr-great." What's with the stammer? It's weird. "Oh, don't forget about Pig Zombies on Saturday."
"Don't worry. I have it all set in my calendar. So, what time is the movie?" I asked them.
Toby and Jim shared a look. Oh that is never good. "We don't actually know."
"Then, what are we going to do about Saturday?" I asked them.
"We're more of idea men." Like they're any close to being men. "Creating a plan is someone else's problem." Of course.
"You two haven't changed at all, have you? I'll get to work on that sometime this evening. You guys still have email, righr?" I asked them.
"Who still uses e-mail anymore?" Toby inquired.
"Good point. I'll just have Lucy drive us to the theater anyway." I replied. "So, how are you and Claire going, Jamie?"
"O-o-o-oh, m-m-me and Claire?" stammered Jim. That's strange.
"Yes, you and Claire. You two are dating, aren't you?" I asked him.
"Oh, y-y-yeah. We're g-g-g-good." Hmm. Peculiar. But Jim's always been like this when pertaining to Claire. Nothing suspicious about that.
I hope.
|{[INSERT_COMMERCIAL_HERE]}|
Jim
"So, you have a study date with [Y/N] tomorrow huh?" Claire teased me while we walked to Blinky's library.
"What-. Wait! You told her!" I exclaimed to Toby who was on my left side.
"Of course, I did. Dude, you've been hopelessly obliviously in love with this girl since she stole your first kiss on the monkey bars when we were nine. And she-."
"She clearly has feelings for you, but she's not gonna act upon them since you know we're fake dating and all that jazz." Claire said.
I sighed. "You're the smart one. Couldn't you have come up with something... um... better?"
"What? Because a wuss like you was going to ask her out if I didn't say we were dating?" Claire asked him, raising an eyebrow at her friend.
I sighed once more. She clearly had a point. And Tobes seemed to catch it too. "He tried to ask her if she wanted to go see Pig Zombie 6 for her sixteenth birthday, but dragged me along with them because he wussed out of calling it a date."
Claire tapped her chin in thought. I do not understand girls. Then, she did the thing where you smack your fist against your hand in an aha! idea moment. Which is what transpired next. "I have a perfect idea for your movie date on Saturday."
"Am I going to regret this?" I asked her.
"I hope not. I'm helping you whether you want me to or not." Yea me! Internal frown.
We made it Blinky's library in which the four arm troll was talking animatedly to Vendell. About Essence Stones? What the fuzz buckets are those?
"Um, what are the Essence Stones?" I piped up.
"The Essence Stones are the only thing that can combat the Oncoming Storm." Vendel explained.
"Which is why we should be looking for them! We already know where one is! The Sea Stone!" Blinky told him.
"I already told you the Starling has this under control. This is her fight. Not ours. We shouldn't-."
"But then why have Pabbie tell us about the resurgence anyways?!" Blinky cut him off. I don't think Blinky has ever interrupted Vendel before. This is a first.
"Because to warn us of an even greater danger, Blinkous!! One that we have to face on our own! As Trolls!" the elder roared.
I never saw a look of fear as intense as the look that crossed Blinky's face when Vendel told him that. A greater danger? Even Aaarrrggghh! and Draal had the same look as Blinky. What did it all mean? Vendel left the library.
"I don't care what the goat says. We're getting the Sea Stone." Blinky told us.
"And how do we acquire it?" asked Claire.
"Hate Gyre." Aaarrrgghh! cried. Oh.
"And where would we find the Sea Stone?" Toby asked. "It's underwater right? And we can't breathe in water? So is it in an aquarium? Washed up on a beach?"
"I'll tell you where when we get to the Gyre." Claire, Toby, and I shared a look before shrugging our shoulders and following Blinky to the Gyre.
When we got there, we reached the Gyre and hopped in. "So, where are we going?"
"Under the sea. In an underwater palace where there is no water inside located in what you humans refer to as The Bermuda Triangle. Get ready for Atlantis." And before the three of us could protest, Blinky put in the coordinates and we zipped off towards... did he really say Atlantis? And the Bermuda Triangle?
But I didn't have time to question it as we arrived in a palace? And our clothes were soaking wet. But we never submerged in water? You know what? I shouldn't question it. Me and my friends huddled for warmth. It'll be awhile before we're dry. But why isn't- you know what? Never mind. I don't care.
"Okay, so where do we go first?" asked Toby.
"We head for the treasure room. The Jewel of Atlantis is the Sea Stone." Blinky told us.
"Why are we wet, but you aren't?" asked Claire.
"No clue." Blinky shrugged his shoulders.
The three of us grumbled but followed after Blinky with Aaarrrgghh! and Draal taking the rear. This is going to be a long evening. Our little group trudged, our squeaky footprints giving our location to anyone who would be here. And I think someone was here. Because a familiar ball of silver and blue was charging at us. Not us. Me. Followed by a march larger greenish-blue dragon.
"Hi, Azymondias." I said to the baby dragon when he jumped into my arms.
"I see you humans have already met the Prince. Starling's Zym seems to like you Mr Lake." the green-ish blue dragon said. Um... do dragons normally...
"YOU TALK?!?!" Thanks for that, Tobes.
"Of course, I do. I'm Sisu. Starling sent me after Little Azymondias to make sure he stayed out of trouble." Why aren't Blinky, Aarrrgghh!, and Draal freaking out about there being another dragon? And the elf being here?
"You six, now-seven, looking for the Treasure Room?" asked Sisu.
I shivered as a breeze went by. Why was there a breeze? We're in a dry castle underwater! This is just too weird.
"We were headed that way right now!" Blinky told the dragon.
Azymondias coughed. Or sneezed? I don't know. But he zapped me and I yelped and I'm... dry? Well alot dryer than before. Uh, thank you. Living dryer thay could kill me at any given moment. But you're still cute. So you're forgiven if you do.
"Well I wouldn't go that way! That's where Meg put his evil lair at." Sisu told us.
"Lair?" "Meg?"
"Meg is what the time-traveler calls Megamind. And he placed a lair here when he was going through his 'evil' phase." I did not know Dragons did air quotes.
"Time Traveler? Like the Doctor? Or Loki?" askes Toby.
"Looks like a mix of Matt Smith and Loki as a tween with too much hair gel. Alright, kids follow me." Sisu told us.
Zym appeared on my shoulder, wrapping his small body around on my shoulder and we followed the hopping dragon towards the treasure room. We had reached the treasure room, avoiding all the traps (that was on the ceiling for some strange reason). We arrived there. And Sisu peered inside before letting us enter. Strange.
But I couldn't help peering over Sisu's sboulder "Are you really angry that the Trollhunter keeps unknowingly stealing your pet?" That sounded like... no it can't be.
"Azymondias is not my pet. My pet sounds like I chose to take care of him. The bundle of zappy madness chose me to take care of him. So if anything, I'm his pet." Please tell me that's not who I think it is. But the-I'm guessing- Startouch Elf looks nothing like her. Not one bit. Well maybe except for the nose. And the eyes.
"You make absolutely no sense. And yet you love him anyway." the other voice said. A male with slick-back hair. This must be the time-traveler Wow. Sisu was spot on.
"Kids, easy now. We wouldn't want this to get into the wrong hands. Not this close to the Cotillion." A brunette male that appeared to be the oldest of the group. Why does he look so familiar to me?
"I have a question for you, pig snout. Meg said you wouldn't be here. Why the hell are you here? And why are you even here?" the elf asked.
"I stowed away because none of you are smart." the time-traveller said.
"Says the royal dumbass." the female elf sighed. "I'm so young and yet I feel so old." she emphasized. I was half expecting her to do a dramatic fall like they always seem to do in soap operas notthatIwatchsoapoperasinthefirstplacethat'sabsurd.
"I already knew that, dumbass." time-traveler said.
"Go on, Trollhunter." Sisu used her tail to push me toward the elf's group to retrieve the essence stone. "Introduce yourself."
And suddenly I stumbled upon the room making the group's attention turn to me. "Um...hi." Cue the awkward wave. "I'm... James Lake Jr? I'm the... Trollhunter." I held out the Amulet of Merlin. I could practically sense Toby and Claire facepalming at this.
"Starling, I think this one is for you to handle." I now noticed the brunette boy that stood beside the other elf. Is that... Callum Schlott?? Um... I hope if that is him, he doesn't tell [Y/N] about this.
"I am the one they refer to as Starling as you must know. And we don't need you here. To help us." The girl's hand were running up and down a strand of her waist length periwinkle hair. [Y/N] did the same thing when she had long hair. Not the time Jim.
"I think we do. Because the Seastone is missing if you've forgotten." the other elf said. She sounds like Rayla. And sort of looks like her too.
"THE SEASTONE IS GONE!?!?!?" Blinky exclaimed.
"Unfortunately so. Now, one advantage turns out to be a setback." I didn't notice the other brunette who had a black dragon that was acting like a cat by his feet.
"Do you have any leads?" asked Claire as she stepped forward.
"Just a Roman Penny. No clue from where though." Starling told us. "Now, I think it's time you kids return to California. Don'tyouthink."
|{[INSERT_COMMERCIAL_HERE]}|
"So Atlantis was a flopp?" I had already told Draal about the whole atlantis situation.
Luckily mom had another night shift at the hospital, so Draal could walk around freely while I made dinner for myself. Elbow Pasta and Meat Sauce it appears to be.
"Yes, it was, Draal." I turned the TV on and started flipping through the channels to find the one I wanted. "At least, I met Starling. She was not what I was expecting."
"Most elves aren't. You humans expect them to be small and cute because of the Claus, but they aren't." Draal told me.
"Actually, I think," I found what I was looking for. The French food competition show the World's Greatest Chef Competiton. "she was the exact opposite of what all of you were saying. Sure she was a tad harsh to us, but I think she didn't want to involve us in the Essence Stones. Like she didn't want anymore added help. I don't know." A knock sounded on the door.
"Were you expecting anyone?" asked Draal.
"Not that I know. Toby and Claire wouldn't knock. They'll just barge on in." I told him.
And before I got to the door, the door opened to reveal a boy with white hair, incredibly pale skin wearing a blue sweatshirt and brown trousers. "Don't be such a pussy, Hiccup." That was Sisu.
"Yeah, we're only here since Zym wants the trollhunter to be his dragon rider and to train him how to combat magic." white hair said.
"Um... what are you doing at my house?" I asked them as I held my wooden spoon in my hand, ready to strike them if necessary.
"You and Punzie would be great friends, squirt." The platinum blonde ruffled my brown hair to make it messy. My hair now looks like the dragon boy's hair.
"We're here to train you. I'm Hiccup. And this is Jack. Jack Frost." Wait. What? I'm lost. "I live over in Berk Manor. And you have wandered in a den where you cannot get out of." the brunnette introduced.
"Which is why Starling didn't want you to get involved. By trying to help us with the Seastone, you and your friends have put a target on your back. Starling didn't want that. But now we have to help you. To train you. Hiccup here is a Dragon Rider. And even though Azymondias isn't big enough to be ridden. He will be. I suspect sooner than you think, so he's going to train you to ride him. And I and many others are going come here to help you train against magic. Since the people who will come after you to kill you will have magic." Jack Frost told me. Now I'm really lost.
"So let's begin."
@trollhuntersfanatic
73 notes · View notes
Text
being students together (ot7) :
shownu | son hyunwoo
Tumblr media
he’s in your economics class and yeah you are super intimidated by him
he’s quiet and handsome and tall and he’s a music production major but he’s taking a high level economics class FOR FUN so he’s smart too
basically all the girls in the class love him and the guys look up to him
you haven’t talked to him all semester but then you’re paired together for the final project
“Hello I’m Shownu, you’re y/n right?” he came up to you after the pairs were announced you were surprised he knew who you were you just nodded and he asked for your number to talk about when to meet and you gave it to him without hesitation
Shownu was all business and you seriously doubted he even liked you
over time you had grown even more fond of him, he was kind and caring and definitely not the scary tough guy you thought he was
you were one year younger than him and he teased you about it pretty often but you didn’t mind especially since shownu insisted on paying for all the snacks you bought while working on the project
finally when you were done he said, “we’re finally done, let me treat you to meat kid” and you definitely liked being younger now
when you went to eat there was a group of drunk guys at a table nearby being rowdy
shownu, despite his big appetite, made sure to pace himself so you could eat properly
it only occurred to you when he literally stopped eating to watch you eat and maybe you were blushing
as you were about to get up to leave the group of men came up behind you, “hey beautiful why don’t you come with us instead.” you cringed at the slurred voice and turned around to glare only for the man to lean in towards your face, inches apart you could smell the alcohol on their breath
almost instantly shownu was standing up and walking over to your side of the table they cowered away as he moved to stand in front of you, you got up then getting ready to pull him back
“i would leave if i were you” shownu said sternly and it made you remember just how intimidating he was they scurried away after that and he turned towards you, his body still tense
“i- thank you shownu” you couldn’t express how happy you were he was here and how kind he was and he seemed confused by your expression, you looked ready to cry tears of gratitude
“don’t mention it, seriously i’d do it again any day”
you expected shownu to stop sitting next to you in class or meeting you between classes after your project ended but he didn’t, instead he became apart of your friend group, still quiet and talking only to you
then he introduced his other friends they were all music production majors but they were fun and shownu loved them like brothers they joined your group too
after a random guy from your class asked you out shownu realized just how much you meant to him and asked you out
wonho | shin hoseok
Tumblr media
let’s be real he’s intimidating asf
but wonho’s the sweetest man alive
he would definitely sit next to you because you’re pretty and then be too shy to talk to you
he blushes when he sees you and when you smile he can’t help but stare
you never notice despite him being right there and stare at him too but he never catches you
your best friend, changkyun, who walks you to class every day notices him watching you as you enter and he’s sure wonho likes you so he tries to prove it
“what if i just ask you out one day?” you smack his shoulder and he yelps in pain
“he doesn’t like me so if you want to embarrass yourself then yeah go for it?”
“maybe i have a humiliation kink.” changkyun wiggles his eyebrows and you just roll your eyes but sure enough the fucker does it the next day waiting a couple seconds for you to take your seat before walking up to you
“y/n i was wondering if you want to get dinner with me i really like you?” changkyun was a good actor you had to give it to him, wonho couldn’t believe this kid but he really hoped you would say no
“i’m sorry i like someone else actually.” you couldn’t think of anything else to say and you immediately regretted it
“oh do you mind if i ask who?” you were gonna kill changkyun you glared at him but could feel wonho looking at you both so you regained your composure
“i-it’s personal” your gaze flitted to wonho and sure enough he was looking at you, you blushed instantly
“i understand no worries.” changkyun said and walked away knowing his work was done
“that was awkward huh? sorry you had to witness that.” you said to wonho without looking at him, trying to cool your cheeks
“it’s okay you deserve better anyways.” his voice was so soothing and you decided you had to be bold or you would regret it forever
“like you?” you looked at him now and he looked so shocked but he was blushing too
“yeah exactly like me.” he smiled a bright grin and you knew you were head first falling for him
kihyun
Tumblr media
definitely the intimidating but annoyingly smart student that argues with everyone
you don’t mind being quiet and unassuming in class but today is discussion day and you actually liked the assigned reading
Kafka’s Metamorphosis made you excited about reading again so you decide today will be the day you wrack up on participation points
“Okay class lets start off with an open-ended question as we do: does anyone want to share what they thought about the reading?” The professor asked and there was a couple beats of silence before you raised your hand and she called on you
“Personally I really liked how the salesman describes the events of his metamorphosis so matter-of-factly and it gave insight into his general outlook on society.”
“I would argue the events of his transformation made him numb and traumatized him so much that he became nihilistic.” Kihyun was talking to you now, looking at you with his sharp eyes and you couldn’t deny your cheeks flushed under his stare
and then you two started arguing with each other across the lecture hall forgetting there were other people there until the professor cut in, “kihyun and y/n while your discussion is riveting let’s give others a chance to add in,” you huffed and looked away from kihyun not missing his smirk, did he think he won?
when class ended you decided you had to set the record straight, no way in hell were you backing down you stalked over to where he was packing up his laptop
“i hope you don’t think you won,” your were arms crossed and your cheeks were still flushed from the heat of the moment
“no you were right i just kept it going because you look cute when you’re angry,” you closed and opened your both in incredulity
“well then ask me to get coffee and we can argue some more,” you still feigned anger and his smirk turned into a grin and he did just that
you and kihyun’s first d(eb)ate was the same day you properly met and he couldn’t help but squeeze your red cheeks when you were done arguing and you let him walk you to your dorm and kissed him goodbye
minhyuk
Tumblr media
class clown and kinda intimidating too
all the girls in your class are in love with him and you thought he was cute but you had always been in a relationship and you wouldn’t be swayed be anyone besides your partner
he’s funny, cute, smart, and sweet but definitely not interested in any of you nor does he notice the attention
but then you’re breaking up with your partner and you don’t let them see you cry, they had cheated on you after all they don’t deserve your emotions now
you run off to the library, sat down in the old reference book aisle that no one ever checks but you weren’t lucky it seems because lee minhyuk is walking through the aisle until he sees you on the ground and crying
he squats down in front of you, “do you wanna get something to eat?” he doesn’t ask if you’re okay because that’s a dumb question and it makes you giggle because you were hungry and dehydrated from all the crying so you just nod and let him lead you to an empty diner near campus
he orders you fries and a milkshake, strawberry, coincidentally your favorite flavor, and you feel better as you both eat in silence
minhyuk is funny and sweet making you forget about your day, for a while and then you’re telling him what happened and he’s sympathizing, “what’s his name i wanna beat this guy up?!” minhyuk is not intimidating you learn he’s actually just a softie and you make a great friend that day
minhyuk knows you’re not ready for a relationship but he’s always there for you after that day and months later when you get fries and a milkshake like that first day he tells you he wants to date you and you just kiss him square on the lips
hyungwon
Tumblr media
quiet, smart, respectful boy but also sleepy
he always comes in with a 24 oz americano and your class wasn’t THAT early so you couldn’t help but notice the large drink
then you notice how adorable and handsome he is and maybe when you stare off into space during lecture your eyes always land on him, but alas you’re both too quiet to approach each other
one day he comes in without coffee and he falls asleep during lecture but you feel bad because the professor just announced details about the midterm and he definitely missed all of it
so after class you stand up and go to his still sleeping form and poke him a couple of times and he groggily says “wha-what’s happening?” and then he’s blinking and sitting up straight with wide eyes
“uhm you fell asleep and class ended but you just missed all the midterm details so i can email you the details or quickly tell you all of it?” you couldn’t help but giggle at his appearance and you desperately wanted to fix his messy hair
“oh uh- thank you do you mind just walking with me?” he was clearly still disoriented but you agreed since you didn’t have another class for a couple of hours
you and hyungwon walked to the nearest library on campus and you told him everything you could remember and he thanked you profusely
“i never sleep in class but today i didn’t have coffee and ugh i’m so grateful thank you,”
“i noticed,” you don’t know why you said that but hyungwon smiled a lazy and soft smile and you decided you wanted to get to know the caffeine addicted tall boy
the next lecture he brought you a cup of coffee too and sat next to you and as you became friends it wasn’t soon after he asked you out
jooheon
Tumblr media
like minhyuk he’s the smart class clown but also intimidating
he jokes around with the professors like he knows the entire content of the course and he’s so smart he probably does
one day you’re late to lecture and the only seat left is next to him and he gives u a nod as u sit down
you’re struggling to stay awake and when your head falls out of your hand it’s resting in slightly jooheon is giggling next to you
“hey you can sleep i’ll take extra good notes for you,” and you could cry from gratefulness but instead you just give him a smile and rest on your arms and then he’s waking u up and giggling at your grogginess
it’s the first time you see his dimples and you feel like an arrow shot through your heart and you must be half conscious because you can’t seem to control your body as you outstretch a hand and poke one of his dimples
he’s shocked but just laughs and his dimples deepen impossibly and you’re apologizing and he just says, “you can poke my dimples any time,” and well you just tell yourself you’re still sleepy even though your entire body feels awake now as you do it again and his eyes vanish as he smiles
you’re definitely whipped and he is too and it’s only until one of his friends notices you two being annoyingly oblivious of your feelings for one another and says, “yah just ask them out already!” to jooheon do you two actually start to date
he takes you bowling and you’re grossly whipped for each other
I.M | im changkyun
Tumblr media
the type of hot and intimidating you would never approach him but just stare at him from a distance
sits behind you in class and rarely talks but when he does you shiver just from how deep his voice is
you sit next to your friend and they constantly tease you about how reactive you are just to his voice alone
one day you’re running late and rushing through campus and when you finally make it to your lecture hall you’re almost late so you stumble on the steps to your chair and fall
a all too recognizable voice says, “are you alright?” and then he’s kneeling in front of you and giving you his hand to help you up and your hand is oh so cold but his is so warm and so are your cheeks now because he’s staring right at you
“yes thank you,” and you’re stumbling as you stand up so he naturally grabs your arms with both hands to steady you and you’re so sure your blush is out of this world and changkyun feels like he might have just fallen for you right then and there
after that he notices you more and more until he can’t stop seeing you everywhere what feels like all the time
when he sees you in his favorite cafe in what is his usual seat he just mumbles “fuck it,” and takes the seat right opposite from you and you’re sure you’re imagining it, maybe all the caffeine was battling the lack of sleep and you were losing it
“you know we haven’t properly met,” changkyun introduces himself and you give up on your homework as you begin talking to him, after a while you don’t find him intimidating any more and revel in just how easy he is to talk to
as you’re walking out of the cafe he walks you to your dorm and your hands are cold as you desperately try warming them up, even resorting to blowing on them, and he notices and takes both of them in one hand and puts them in warm pocket and you feel yourself falling headfirst for the seemingly edgy truly soft boy
311 notes · View notes
rolandtowen · 3 years
Text
three times Zuko comes into the Jasmine Dragon coffee shop, and one time Sokka leaves with him. Set in the Neurodiverse Zukka AU, but can read as a standalone.
*banging pots and pans together* "Come over here and get yall Neurodiverse Zukka!"
Read it on Ao3 or under the cut!
TW: discussions of skin picking and implied child abuse
i.
When Sokka pulls into the parking lot of the Jasmine Dragon, he is unsurprisingly the first car there. Being a freshman in town means getting the worst pick of shifts at local businesses. Sokka was hired on to work the opening shift, which means he wakes up at the ungodly hour of 5am to open the shop before the first round of sleep-deprived college students comes in. The pay isn't bad, Mr. Iroh is an incredibly fair man,
The bell on the door jingles on his way in, and he flips several light switches on, watching as the coffee shop slowly comes to life. He busies himself with getting the beans for the day grinding, pulling his first shot and dialing in the expresso. When he takes a sip, the espresso is spot on for the day, which is a relief. Having to make adjustments as customers start filing in is a nightmare.
Today's brew is floral and citrusy, so he decides to make himself and iced lavender latte - with oat milk, of course, because he's gotta do it for the gays - and he spends the next 20 minutes setting out pastries and fiddling with the display cases, making everything look perfect.
At 6am sharp, Sokka unlocks the front door and flips their sign to open, before retreating behind the bar to nurse his latte. Not even five minutes later, the door bell jingles, and Sokka sees a flash of dark hair, face obscured by a pile of textbooks and binders. The figure runs into one table, and then another, and Sokka is rushing out from behind the counter. He gets there just before textbooks go toppling everywhere, his hands taking a firm hold of the top bundle. As he pulls the books into his arms, he sees the face behind them.
Breathtaking golden eyes.
And.. a massive burn scar.
"Hi!" Sokka says, "I'm the barista on shift today - my name's Sokka." He would reach his hand for the other man to shake, but for the stack of textbooks in them.
Golden Eyes smiles.
"I'm Zuko, Zuko Sozin," he says, setting his remaining textbooks on the table by his side. Sokka follows suit.
"Hey, I think I've seen you before - are you taking Piandao's Intro to Biology class?"
"Uh, yeah - yeah! You sit a few rows in front of me." Zuko laughs. "Your doodles are uh, something alright."
Sokka knocks him good-naturedly on the shoulder. "I gotta keep my hands busy for my brain to focus." He looks down at the stack of books on the table. "What on earth are you studying, to have that many books?"
"Uh, Biology and Chemistry double-major, Pre-Med track." Sokka's eyes widen. "It's really not that much! I got a bunch of stuff out of the way with AP credits."
Sokka raises an eyebrow.
"Okay, it is a lot - but I'm really passionate about it. I want to be a doctor."
"Well, Dr. Sozin, what can I get started for you today?"
"Can I get a iced matcha, with a lot of honey?"
Sokka raises his other eyebrow. "A doctor with a sweet tooth?"
"Kind of?"
"Don't worry, I won't rat you out to your dentist. An iced matcha with extra honey?" Zuko nods and Sokka smiles. "You got it, doc."
ii.
Sokka falls into a routine at the Jasmine Dragon. He opens the shop every morning, and every morning of the fall semester so far, Zuko Sozin comes in at precisely 6:05am. Zuko will order an iced matcha with honey, and sits at a table by the window with his laptop and at least two textbooks open at all times. Then, at 11:50am - Sokka guess he has a class that starts at noon - Zuko leaves the shop, always making sure to throw his spare change into Sokka's tip jar.
He's so beautiful.
On a slow day, Sokka comes out from behind the safety of the counter and works up the courage to ask Zuko if he can study with him. Zuko looks shocked at first, but his lips quirk up in a smile as he gestures for Sokka to sit in the chair across from him, moving his textbooks to make room for Sokka's one book and laptop.
"What are you studying, Sokka?" Zuko appears to be genuinely interested.
"Oh, uh, social work, with a concentration in mental health." Sokka waits for Zuko to laugh at him. It never comes. He looks up at him over their laptops.
"That's really cool."
"You think so?"
"Yeah! I mean, some pre-med majors can be really pretentious, really dismissive of mental illness, but um - not me. I don't really have that luxury." Zuko laughs, as though at a joke with himself. "What's the Intro to Biology for, then?"
"Not all of us got our common core out of the way with AP credits, like some nerd I know." Zuko smiles at that, and looks back down at his laptop screen.
Sokka pulls his keys from his pocket and starts fidgeting with the stim toy he keeps on his keychain as he reads through his latest assignment for his Mental Illness and Society class. He bought it on Etsy, relieved to find a neurodivergent-owned shop after scrolling through a lot of stores that just seemed to be hopping on the 'trend' of selling fidget toys. He flips to the next page in his textbook, popping the buttons back and forth in a steady rhythm. He remembers Zuko's sitting across from him and stops abruptly.
"Is this annoying? Do you want me to stop?"
Zuko just cocks his head. "Why would I get a say in what you do? It's kind of your shop, right?"
"Um, to be polite?" Sokka laughs. "And you would be surprised how many customers I get who think they get to tell me what to do." His eyes settle on the half drunk latte in front of him. "It's not really my shop either, I just work the early morning shifts so Mr. Iroh can sleep in. If you ever get to stay past noon sometime, you'll see him come in. You can't miss him, short guy, talks in riddles. He's older, a war vet I think - I just get that impression from some of the stories he tells me. But anyway, did you want me to stop fidgeting?" Sokka looks back up to meet those golden eyes.
Zuko glitches for a second. "Oh! No, no, go for it - if it helps you to study, I'm all for it."
Sokka smiles, and looking at the way Zuko keeps picking at his cuticles gives him an idea. He digs into his backpack and pulls out another stim toy, an acupressure ring. ""Do you want to try this instead of maiming your hands?"
Zuko hesitantly holds out a hand and Sokka drops it into his palm. "You don't have to."
Sokka scoffs. "I know I don't have to - I want to. Come on, I wear it on my thumb sometimes -" and suddenly he's taking Zuko's hands into his and getting very close to Zuko's face. Zuko can smell espresso on his clothes and Sokka's hands are so warm against his. Calloused, sure, but warm. He holds Zuko's right hand gently, pressing the spiky ring onto his thumb. "And you can rub it back and forth with your pointer finger and it gives you that kind of prickly sensation that you get from skin picking, just without the skin picking." Sokka pulls his hands away and Zuko immediately misses them. "Give it a shot, tell me what you think."
Zuko tentatively rolls the ring over his thumb. Huh. The cute barista's right, the acupressure gives him that same prickly, scratchy feeling that picking at his nails and cuticles does. "Wow," he says, "I think you've converted me."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Then keep it, I've got a thousand more where that came from, ADHD perks."
Zuko instinctively opens his mouth to protest but the words die in his throat.
"You, you have ADHD?" He stops rolling the ring across his thumb.
"Yup." Sokka's lips popped on the 'p', and he turned to the next page in his textbook. "And I'm pretty sure you've got some spicy stuff happening your brain, too. But you don't have to tell me."
"How are you so open about it?"
Sokka's hand stills around the fidget. "My parents never treated me like I was deficient in any way - my brain just works differently, which means I have trouble with some 'normal' stuff. But I also strengths in areas that others don't have naturally. Accommodations aren't anything to be ashamed of."
"Sounds nice." All of the levity drops out of Zuko's voice.
Sokka levels a look at Zuko. He lets his eyes flit to the right side of Zuko's face and the scar there. He's seen it so many times, and the burns look so concentrated, almost... intentional. His stomach churns at the thought. The scar's old... and Zuko's at college now, he has to be safe - he has to be.
"Like I said, you don't have to tell me." Sokka's hand starts to fidget with the buttons again. "But I have it on good authority that I am a good listener."
"I'll... I'll keep that in mind." Zuko looks down at his hands, fingers rolling the ring back and forth against his thumb. "Thank you."
"Anytime, doc."
iii.
Somehow, fumbling through their collective social awkwardness, they manage to swap numbers.
At the end of the fall semester, Sokka texts Zuko for the first time.
S: hey, im gonna be a few minutes later. don't worry, im still coming.
Z: okay. thank you.
When Sokka finally pulls into the parking lot fifteen minutes late, he sees Zuko waiting outside the door, sitting on a bench, head buried in one of his chemistry textbooks.
"Hey," he puts his keys in the door. "You can just come in while I open, it won't take too long."
Zuko follows him inside, and he closes the door against the chill.
"You didn't have to text me," Zuko says, like it's a question.
"I wanted to," Sokka starts flipping on light switches. "I know you've got your routine, and I didn't want to stress you out when it got messed up."
"Why would that matter to you?"
"Um, I don't want you to be stressed? I kind of care about you."
"You... you care about me?" Zuko stands in the middle of the coffee shop, unmoving.
Sokka smiles. "Yeah, I think I do."
"Why?"
"I think we could be friends?"
"Oh." Zuko's face falls for a second - what Sokka has come to understand is his 'processing' face - and he looks back up a second later. "I think we could be friends too."
"Friendship with a barista has great perks, you know." Sokka laughs as he starts up the grinder. "Although the perks of a social worker friend aren't too bad either."
"How's that going? With your first semester ending?" Zuko sits on a stool at the bar and watches Sokka putter around behind it.
"Well, I'm going to pass Intro to Biology, not for lack of trying on Piandao's part - I swear he's trying to weed out all the humanities kids. It isn't even a weed out course!" He polishes an espresso glass furiously. "How are you doing?"
Zuko chokes. "Oh, I'm - I'm fine, you know it's a hard class and all -"
"You're getting an A, aren't you?" Sokka squints at him from behind a bag of coffee beans. "Curve breaker," he scoffs.
"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm, what did you call it? A 'burnt-out gifted kid with people pleasing tendencies'." Zuko crosses his arms and huffs at the memory of that conversation. Sokka had read him like a picture book. And it was not fair for one person to be that good at emotions.
"You are correct, I did indeed call you that." Sokka pulls the first shot of the morning. "And it looks like I was right."
"You know what you said the other week, about being a good listener?"
"Sure do," Sokka takes a sip of the espresso, swishing it around in his mouth before spitting it out. "What's on your mind?"
"Well, if we're going to be... friends, I just think you'd want to know that - I'm autistic." Zuko stares at Sokka searching his face for any cues about what the next words out of his mouth will be, waiting for the facade of friendship to drop. He furiously rolls the acupressure ring up and down his thumb.
"Okay, that's great!"
"...what."
Zuko's hands freeze and he squeezes the ring against his skin, feeling the pressure increase.
"That's great, I'm glad you felt safe enough to tell me that. I kind of guessed your parents weren't as accommodating as mine?"
Zuko laughs something sour. "No, no they were not." He looks up in surprise as Sokka puts an iced matcha, extra honey, in front of him. "You're right though, I do feel safe here. I feel safe with you." Zuko looks down at the acupressure ring on his thumb, softening his grip. "You could have totally ignored me, but you didn't. Or you could've been mean about my quirks - but you weren't. Why?"
"Well, for starters, you tip well." Sokka smiles and leans across the counter, bracketing Zuko's elbows in with his own. "But you're also a really great guy - you're passionate, you want to make people's lives better, and you're also like, really beautiful."
Zuko feels his cheeks flush. "You really think that?" His fingers still against the fidget again, but he doesn't feel the need to press it into his skin. He's captivated by Sokka's words. Surely, Sokka couldn't actually mean -
"Oh, yeah. Every bit." Sokka brushes his hand against one of Zuko's, the one with the fidget ring. "Can I hold your hand?"
"Yes, please, yes." After weeks, Sokka's hand is back in his, and Zuko thinks he's going to implode. "Can, can you hold both of my hands? With both of your hands?"
"Of course," Sokka's positively beaming, grabbing Zuko's hands and running his thumbs across his knuckles. "Now you're absolutely allowed to say no to my next question, and there are no hard feelings."
"Yes?"
"Can I kiss you?"
"Fuck yes."
The iced matcha is forgotten.
+ i
Sokka's feet hurt like hell. Mr. Iroh had called in him to work a double on Friday, and since he doesn't have any classes on Fridays, he foolishly agreed.
It won't seem so foolish once you see the paycheck, he reminds himself. He and Zuko have a deal. Zuko pays for his medical school with his job shelving books at the University library, and Sokka pays for their tiny apartment by caffeinating all of the other broke college kids in town. By some miracle, they seem to be able to make it work. Zuko graduated into the medical college a year early, which helps with tuition costs, and of course his brilliant boyfriend got all kinds of scholarships.
Sokka is indescribably proud of him.
The door bell jangles just as Sokka is wiping the crumbs off the last cafe table. "Hey, we're starting to close up for the night, so it'd better be a to-go order," he calls over his shoulder.
"Even for me?"
"Zuko!" Sokka drops his cloth immediately and spins around, pulling Zuko into a hug. Zuko taps the small of his back when he's ready to let go, and Sokka lets him go, beaming. "You came to visit me at work?"
"More like I picked up your favorite soup dumplings from Haru's across the street and thought we could walk home together?" Zuko shrugs, gesturing to the brown paper bag in his arms. "How's that sound to you?"
"Baby, that's just what I needed today." Sokka picks up his cleaning supplies. "Okay, I just need to put all of this away and then we can lock up and go home, how's that?"
"Great," Zuko smiles at him. "I may have also picked up some more Doctor Who DVDs from the library," he smirks.
"Oh, you trickster!" Sokka yells from the kitchen, before appearing again. "You used my one weakness, pork soup dumplings, against me in order to get your nerdy way."
"Oh, big talk coming from the guy who watches astronomy documentaries for fun," Zuko laughs as Sokka leads him out of the shop, switching off the lights and locking the door behind him. "If it were up to you, we'd be watching Cosmos all weekend, and I can only take so much of Neil deGrasse Tyson explaining the peculiarities of the moon."
"Hey, the moon is cool!"
"You are correct, the moon is very cool. It's freezing, because it's a rock. In space. With no atmosphere. Or life." Zuko deadpans, earning a light punch on the shoulder from Sokka.
"Fine, you get Doctor Who tonight, but Saturday is going to be all PBS Nova, baby. Brace yourself." Sokka takes Zuko's free hand into his as they start the walk home.
"Well, as long as you're there, I'm happy."
Notes:
fidgets in this work were inspired by those from shop StimBox
51 notes · View notes