#i thought his bday was last month but i still left this so late to the date | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wonwoonlight · 2 years

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there’s not a single star in the sky | xu minghao & kim mingyu

➝ Minghao x Reader / Mingyu x Reader // not a love triangle

➝ soulmate!au // angst // somewhat slowburn // fluff in between? // a journey of acceptance and moving on

➝ total word count: 12k

➝ notes, warnings: my sorry attempt of an angst <//3, it doesn't end badly i promise, curses, food, mentions of death, OC is trying to hold back her tears for like.. 80% of the fic, probably some grammatical errors and typos, not beta-ed D: i purposefully write some stuff vaguely. that's it, tell me if there's more!

➝ summary: he’s your soulmate. so why did the universe also decide he’s not the one you’re going to spend your forever with?

or, alternatively:

Minghao was there to fill the space Mingyu left behind; but you'd never expected to what extent he was meant to do it for.

➝ A/N: it's late and i didn't mean this to be your bday fic but.. happy bday hao!! i'll shut up and say more at the end. pls enjoy and tell me what you thought!!

여기 이 세상이 아름다운 건 the reason why this word is beautiful

그대가 머문 흔적들 때문에 아마 is probably because it has traces of you [Jo Sungmo - Do You Know]

When you first met Minghao, he was there to be your roommate.

It's been months since Mingyu left, almost a year, really, and as much as it still hurts and the thought wells up tears in your eyes, Jeonghan is right when he said it's time you need to pick up the pieces broken by the love of your life.

–the first step being moving out of the place you had bought together with him. Saying it hurts is starting to get repetitive at this point, but it really does and you have no idea how many times you’ve broken down crying the more you pack, your eyes red beyond measure and your chest physically aches that it’s hard to breathe.

The apartment is practically empty except for the furniture, nothing inside screams you or Mingyu anymore except for one single photograph and it sends you into a spiral of sadness that you can’t comprehend how to handle. Your eyes wander to the empty wall on top of the TV, already rid of photographs Mingyu had taken and decided to frame because “angel, this is a masterpiece!” like he didn’t say it everytime he decided to frame more pictures and hang them on the walls (mostly of you both together).

You close your eyes and exhale a deep breath at the memories, hating the way your lips still tremble at the thought of him, then gently wipe the tears lining up your eyes before they turn into yet another waterfall.

There’s only one big picture left on the wall, a photograph of a daffodil field you both had gone to two years ago and is easily the most beautiful place you’ve ever stepped your feet on. You insisted that the picture stays though Jeonghan said it’d be better to take everything down. But as much as you know his memories hurt you, you don’t want to erase him just because you’re struggling; that picture is the one Mingyu loved the most and you think it’s only right to let it be.

So it can guard your home once you’re no longer there.

Kim Mingyu is still the most wonderful thing that has ever happened in your life and you want to keep his memories with you no matter what.

“When is your cousin moving in?” Jeonghan asks as you put the last of your belongings. Most of your stuff is already in your new place, and while you couldn’t bear to sell the apartment, you heard from your mom that your cousin is looking for a place in your area because she’s starting university soon; so she’s going to move in and rent your place at least until she finishes her study.

You’re not that close with her, but know her well enough to know that she’s nice and isn’t the type to mess around. Which is good, because if you’re close with her then you’d be finding reasons to visit just to be in the apartment. This way, you know your place will be in good hands and, for now, that’s the only thing you can ask for.

“In two weeks. She’ll start moving her stuff next week though.” It’s weird to be talking about someone else living in a place where your love bloomed, but it’s really for the best and you understand that it’s getting more unhealthy for you if you continue your way of living the way you do. Even one year is already pushing it.

“You’re still moving tomorrow though, right?” your best friend nudges you, and you nod as you try to shrug the weight lingering on your chest. Your silence concerns him despite your nod, so Jeonghan takes your hand and squeezes it lightly. “Do you want me to stay the night?”

“It’s okay, Han.” You smile weakly. As much as you want Jeonghan to hold you through the night because you know you’ll be crying, you want to spend your last night here by yourself. You want to cry one last time so you can let everything go. You want to bask in Mingyu’s memories, in his fading scent, and in the place where the love you shared with him grew the most.

And as you cry yourself to sleep that night in your empty bedroom, screaming for Mingyu’s name into your pillow again and again like it’d bring him back to you, you think you can feel his arms holding you once again the moment your consciousness gives up, almost like a dream you wish you never wake up from.

Your new roommate is perceptive and you’re not sure yet whether you like it or not.

“You look tired.” He smiles politely, though you can tell that the look in his eyes is closest to what you’d describe as pitiful.

Of course you look pitiful, you woke up with your head pounding due to your excessive crying the night before and you could barely open your eyes because of the very same reason.

“I was going to talk to you about rules and all that but I think that can wait.”

“Thank you,” you say without offering any reason, you don’t owe him any explanations anyway. “I just need some sleep though, can we talk about it later tonight?”

Minghao nods, the smile on his face so warm that your heart would probably skip a beat if not for your current predicament. You wince at the way your heart clenches, Mingyu’s name once again echoing in your head. Feeling heat creeping up against your neck, you reach up to touch the skin behind your ear, a habit you always do, something Mingyu teased you about since the time you went on your first date together.

Ah, fuck. You really should stop yourself from thinking about him too much.

“It must’ve been hard moving all that stuff. Have a good rest,” Minghao ushers you before you can say anything, which you thankfully nod at, and you immediately bolt to your new room before you embarrassingly cry in front of him out of nowhere.

You don’t need to know Minghao hears your cry because you didn’t close the door properly, his concerned eyes rooted to the floor as he closes the door for you, the soft click barely even a noise upon your heart silenced sobs.

It’s later that night that he sees you again, already fresh in new clothes and looking comparably better than earlier though your puffy eyes are a dead giveawa. Minghao has never been one to pry, but his heart is made to care for others and he’s trying hard not to ask if you’re okay, to pretend like the sound of you crying didn’t tug something in his heart.

Xu Minghao is born to care for those around him but he’s not sure why you crying hurts him this much when you’re practically a stranger renting the available room in his house.

“Want to order something?” He forces himself to say, wondering if he’s crossing any line; do you even have any intention to befriend him? He’s still not sure why you’re moving into his place, the most he has heard from you was you’re simply looking for a new environment, and Junhui, a mutual friend of the both of you, has only told him that you’re going through a lot so he might want to be careful overall.

When Minghao asks if there’s anything he should know out of concern, the older guy has simply said it’s not his story to tell and reminds him to be mindful if you’re ever visibly struggling in front of him.

“I was wondering what to eat for dinner. You can join me if you want. It’s okay if you don’t, though.”

Unexpectedly, you send a soft smile his way with a nod, then make your way to sit on the single sofa next to him and hug the cushion on your lap. “Sure. What’s good around here?”

“Mmm. What do you feel like eating?” He turns to look at you, only to find your fingers playing with the skin near your ear as you purse your lips in thought. It’s the first time he has the chance to actually look at you, and he scolds himself for being a teenager when it pops into his mind how soft your skin looks followed by the question of how it’d feel under his touch.

“Anything’s fine except for pasta.”

“You don’t like pasta?”

“I do. I think they’re too heavy if we eat them now though.”

Minghao hums in agreement, but you say he can order whatever he feels like eating because you can eat just about anything as long as it’s not too creamy at the moment. “Surprise me,” you tell him, your voice a little too cheerful for someone who was crying a few hours ago. He tries to get it off his mind though, because it’s none of his business and you’re not even friends yet at this point.

He doesn’t even know why it bothers him that much. Perhaps he’s been thinking about Junhui’s words too much, be careful and be mindful. As someone who’s used to catering to other’s feelings, Minghao finds it hard to stay still when he knows someone near him is struggling. It’s obvious from your body language though; the way you’re internally exhausted but are trying your best to look okay.

Maybe moving to his place is your first step to overcoming whatever you’re going through. Whatever it is, Minghao decides that’s where he should stop assuming and reminds himself once again that it’s none of his business.

“So,” he starts after ordering food. He figures he should at least talk about the house rules if there’s no other topic at hand. “I’m not very strict about rules, to be honest. Some of the rules I always tell people are just basic ones like: let me know if you’re going to have friends around, though I’m not too comfortable with anyone staying overnight, so just make sure to ask me first before you let anyone stay over; don’t be too loud; and let’s clean after ourselves? These apply to the both of us though, so I promise I’ll stand by them too.”

“Yeah, sure.” You nod in agreement. He’s right. Those are basic rules, he’s just asking you to have manners and be aware that you’re living with someone else. But you can tell from his first impression alone that Minghao is the kinda person that’s considerate and proper. He didn’t ask for anything too personal when he first met you to talk about your possible coliving situation, and it was easy to tell that Minghao was just looking for someone that’s…, well, also proper.

He was just the right amount of friendly. You didn’t talk with him for that long that day, but you could tell that you both passed each other’s vibe check and you were glad when Minghao called a week later to say you’re welcome to move in anytime the month after if you’re still looking for a place to stay.

“I don’t have that many friends so you don’t have to worry.”

He chuckles at that, glad that you’re comfortable enough to make a joke. "We'll get along just fine then."

The silence after that is a bit awkward, though it's not enough to make anyone uncomfortable. You wonder if you're simply imagining Minghao's extra careful words and gestures or if he’s simply that type of person to begin with.

He does seem the type to be certain with his lines.

"You're home a lot, then?" He tries to stay on the housing topic, a very safe topic that hopefully wouldn't cross any line.

“Yeah. I really mostly go out when my friends invite me or if I want to take a walk, else I’m basically holed up in my room.” You shrug then return the question, though from the few times you dropped by the house when you moved your things over you can already tell that Minghao is about the same.

“Mmm. I enjoy both my time inside and outside,” he purses his lips in thoughts, a tilt of his head accompanying his words. “Depends on the day, I think. Sometimes I actively try to find places to try out, sometimes I’m happy to be in my studio and paint for the whole day.”

“You paint?” Your tone is more excited than you intend it to be, though it really makes sense because you notice there are a lot of paintings throughout the living room. And now you wonder if those are his own paintings, which Minghao shyly nods to, the sheepish smile on his face growing the more you sing praises to his talent. “Wow. I’ve always wanted to paint, you know? But my hands are not made for art so…”

“That’s nonsense.” He frowns like your sentence personally offends him, his words bringing tears to your eyes before you even realize. “Art is for everyone. Have you actually tried painting?”

‘Angel, that is not a painting!’ Mingyu laughed with the entirety of his chest, not minding your pout even the tiniest bit. ‘That’s just doodles. Gosh, you’re so cute.’

‘I told you I didn’t want to do this!’ you whined as you tried to get away from his embrace. Seriously, this guy was a good 20cm taller than you and he liked to just bend down and bury his face onto your neck like it’s not physically uncomfortable for him to do so. ‘I’m not going to let you plan another date.’

Mingyu simply grinned and hugged you tighter at that, knowing full well that you didn’t mean any of it.

‘Art is for everyone though,’ he whispered with a laugh, his lips upon your cheek. ‘You did great. We should try watercoloring sometimes.’

“Did… I say something wrong?” Minghao’s worried voice brings you back to the present, and you blink back the tears before they actually fall down, your voice caught in your throat.

“No.” You clear your throat then excuse yourself to the bathroom in hope Minghao doesn’t notice anything. From the way he simply nods, you hope that’s the case, but the gentle eyes full of concern following you until the bathroom door closes certainly implies otherwise.

Minghao brushes the mark near his collarbone, its jet black color reminding him of things he’d rather not remember anymore. It used to be so vibrant with color, then they bleed out at once one day, turning into such a dark black it contrasts against his skin.

There’s something else Junhui said that has been bothering him, something that he thinks is the main reason why he’s more attentive to you than anything.

‘I can’t say much. But if there’s anyone who understands her struggle, it might be you. Just… don’t push her, yeah?’

He’s not sure how close you are exactly with Junhui. But if the older guy is able to say that, he supposes you’re either closer than he’s assumed, or you’re related in more ways that he could imagine. You did find out he had an available room from Junhui.

It doesn’t feel right to go through yours or Junhui’s social media just for the sake of it. But, from what he remembers, you definitely don’t appear enough on Junhui’s account for you to be in his close circle. Plus, if you’re actually close, the older guy would’ve probably brought you to hang out with him a long time ago; Junhui likes to blend all of his friends, after all. So you’re probably a friend of a friend, or there’s a situation that Junhui happens to know.

Whatever it is, it bothers him. Are you struggling like he was?

Minghao bites his lip and grazes his soulmate mark again, why is he talking like he’s over it now? As much as he’s coping, said that he’s okay now because that's all he’s managed to be, he’s still far from acceptance.

He’s still far from making peace with it.

His eyes flicker to you again as you return and sit back down on the sofa. You force a perfect smile, one that would fool anyone into thinking you’re actually fine. Not him though, because if there’s anything he recognizes, it’s the emptiness in your eyes despite the way they turn into crescents. He’s practiced the same exact smile way too many times not to recognize it on others.

If there’s anything Minghao knows, it’s the eyes of people who are hurting.

And if there’s anything else he understands, it’s that they don’t always want to talk about it. That everyone hangs on differently and he doesn’t know you well enough to know how you cope and how you hurt.

So he does what he usually do: offer comfort in the subtlest way possible by change the topic.

“But, then again, it’s not for everyone,” he shrugs almost nonchalantly. If anyone else is in the room, he’s sure they would notice the way he’s blatantly staring at you in worry. But, fortunately for Minghao, there’s no one and you’re too busy calming yourself down to notice. “What do you do in your spare time?”

“Actually,” you shake your head like you’ve made a resolve, like you didn’t even hear his question. Your voice falters a little as you say your next words, but Minghao listens attentively as he pretends not to notice the quiver in your gaze. “I would like to try painting. I did it a long time ago but… maybe it’s time to try doing it again.”

“You sure?” he questions, something weird stirring in his heart at how determined you look. It’s most likely the romantic side in him; he’s always liked seeing people doing their best. There’s just something so beautiful about people who try, and he supposes it’s the fact that he knows the look in your eyes, recognizes a similar kind of pain reflected in them, then knowing that you’re doing your best to be okay again.

It’s almost like he’s seeing himself a few months back (has it really not been a year since he’s started to learn how to accept?), and while his heart warms at the fact that you’re trying, it makes him wonder if this was how people felt when they saw him before.

“Yeah. I think it’d be fun,” you say vaguely, knowing that your tone itself sounds unsure. Still, you’re thankful that Minghao doesn’t say anything about it as he nods and says that he’d send you the address of a cafe that allows their customers to draw on a paper and turn the result into a keyring; that he thinks that would be casual enough for you to try and have fun because an actual painting studio might feel suffocating if you’re not into it

You falter at the mention of the familiar cafe, one that you haven’t gone to but remember Mingyu had mentioned before. You can probably still find its name and address somewhere on your phone, because Mingyu had insisted you make a list of places you should go together to, though you gave up updating it along the way

“It’s the one with a sloth mascot, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah. Have you been?” Minghao bites his lip at the slight tremble of your lip, did he say something wrong again?

“No, actually.” You force a small smile, one that looks sad, if anything, and Minghao’s heart is so close to breaking that it’s almost stupid. Why is he so emotional today? You’re just his new roommate, for God’s sake. “But I… I’ve heard of it, yeah.”

A heavy silence envelopes the room after that; you, deep in your mind, and Minghao, unsure what to say. Considering Junhui’s words and the way he sees himself in you, he dares to jump into conclusion and wonders what could possibly happen to your soulmate for you to be this way; to be constantly in and out of your memory in the span of thirty minutes he’s been talking with you.

Did they leave you like his soulmate did? He winces at the thought of her, the urge to reach for his mark makes his fingers ball into fists. But he waves it away and, thankfully, the bell rings indicating the arrival of your food.

Fortunately, the food is enough distraction for you two. You hum in delight once Minghao opens the packaging of the food, the smell filling the room immediately that your stomach growls a little. You’re both more hungry than you thought also, because the food is gone faster than the time it takes to arrive, and the both of you wish each other good night after cleaning up.

You’re not exactly sleepy, but you’re mentally drained and you’re afraid at how many times you almost poured your struggle to Minghao. You don’t like crying in front of anyone but Jeonghan, don’t like the feeling of anyone looking at you in pity or even concern. You really don’t.

But there’s something about Xu Minghao that makes you feel okay about being vulnerable; something about him that makes you want to open your heart and serve all its content on a platter for him to see. Or perhaps you’re just more emotional because you’ve officially moved out of your place and it’s your first day in your new home.

You hope that’s really the case.

Because the first scenario scares you a little too much.

You don’t want to feel that way.

So you spend your night talking with Jeonghan until you fall asleep, talking about nothing and everything so you wouldn’t think of Mingyu or how easy it is to be off guard in front of Minghao.

You tell Jeonghan you want to go to the sloth cafe and he offers to come with you, his voice wavering when you mention you want to try painting.

You dream of Mingyu in front of an easel that night, painting a field of yellow flowers with a smile on his face and the stars in his eyes.

“Oh, are you going somewhere?” Minghao asks when he sees you all dressed up on the sofa, though the way you’re slumped against it makes him doubt his question. “Or did you just come back?”

You scrunch your nose at the question, then sit up and hug the cushion against your chest. “I meant to go to the sloth cafe today. But Jeonghan is suddenly called for a work emergency, so…”

The words come out before he thinks it thoroughly, and Minghao almost hits himself in the head once they escape his lips. “I can go with you if you want?”

Unexpectedly, your face lights up as your eyes meet his, making him a little taken aback at the enthusiasm.

You really do want to go there, but the thought of going there by yourself scares you a little but you know that if you don’t go now when you’ve made up your mind, you’ll push it back over and over again until eventually you decide you’d just not go.

“Will you, really?”

“Sure, if you don’t mind going with me.” Minghao shrugs. It’s too late to back out and he’s glad if he could help you one way or another. It’s been quite some time since he visited that cafe and he doesn’t have anything to do, anyway. At your nod, he asks again. “When do you want to go?”

“I’m free the whole day, if you don’t mind going today…” You trail off, feeling a little awkward if you’re being completely honest. It’s been two weeks since you’ve moved in, and while you’ve passed the awkward phase, you’re still not there yet when it comes to favors.

“Let me change real quick then.” He definitely didn’t expect you to say yes when he offered, but now that you’ve asked him… Might as well, right?

The ride to the cafe isn’t as awkward as you suppose it would be, the radio filling in the silence between the two of you when you’re not talking. Minghao asks if you have anything in mind you want to draw already, and you say you actually have no idea, that you want to see if there are any easy examples you can follow because you’re not gifted enough to draw anything by yourself.

“What about you?”

“Hmm… Any requests?”

You laugh at this, and then hum to yourself to see if there’s anything you’d like to see. For a second, you wonder if you’re crossing the line by asking him to draw for you in a way, but if it’s Minghao himself who asks, it should be okay, right?

“Flowers?” Your voice falters as you think of the last dream you have of Mingyu. Yellow flowers, wasn’t it?

You hear his smile before you see it, and when you turn to him curiously, Minghao offers you a nod and asks again if you have any flowers you prefer. But you don’t really know your flowers, so you tell him you want to see anything vibrant, that it’s up to him whatever flower exactly.

“Vibrant, huh?” You wonder if you imagined the slight curt in his tone, but Minghao nods once again and says he’ll see what he can do.

“You don’t have to, though!” You say, suddenly conscious that you’re making him draw something for you.

“It’s okay. I didn’t know what to draw, anyway.” He grins to assure you, but you can tell that there’s something going on inside his head that you don’t dare to ask.

“Alright… But don’t feel bad if you want to draw something else, okay?” You manage to say, hoping that you don’t sound like you’re putting a distance between the two of you. Minghao changes the topic from then, and it’s not long until you find yourself arriving at the cafe.

It’s weird, what you’re feeling. You’re both afraid and excited, as art has always been something that you associate with Mingyu. You never do it with anyone else, or even by yourself, for that matter. Mingyu was the only reason you’re even interested in it, and you’re pretty sure you would never even try if it wasn’t for him.

And now you’re here. About to go to a cafe where you can draw at, a cafe you had promised Mingyu you’d go together with…

And now you’re here.

With someone else.

“Let’s go?” Minghao’s voice breaks you from your thoughts, something you’re incredibly thankful for because you’re just about to spiral into a hurricane of emotion otherwise.

Half an hour later, you find yourself sitting side by side with Minghao as the busy sound of the cafe fills the silence between you two. You straighten your back as you exhale a deep breath, the sound of it makes Minghao chuckle from beside you.

“What flower is that?” You glance at his drawing, intrigued by the amount of details Minghao pours into it despite not having any reference whatsoever. He’s drawing by memory, you assume, as you can’t see his phone anywhere near him, and now that you really look at his drawing, you think you’ve seen the flower before.

Minghao pauses before he answers you, his gaze fixated on the paper in front of him. “Forsythia.”

You hum as you take out your phone, looking up the flower to see pictures of them. It’s when you quietly mutter to yourself that Minghao turns to you, a small smile on his face as he sees you admire the flowers.

“You know them?”

You shake your head, then close your phone and return to the paper in front of you. You’ve drawn nothing but the night sky, poorly drawn hills, and a few street lamps along the street. It’s nowhere near good drawing, but at least you can tell for sure that those objects are identifiable and that’s enough win for you.

Like going here trying to draw.

Like going here without shedding a tear even though your lips trembled when you step into the cafe.

That’s enough win for now.

“Can I ask something?” his voice brings you out of your thoughts, and when you nod, his voice is hesitant despite your okay. “Why… is it so dark?”

“What is?”

“Your drawing.”

Huh. Is it?

“Is there any reason you’re not drawing the moon or stars?”

You blink at the question, then look again at the night sky you’ve been drawing the past thirty minutes. The constellation mark behind your ear suddenly stings a little; have you come to hate astronomical objects so much that you end up drawing nothing but the sky without even realizing?

“It just… didn’t occur to me.” You offer him a small smile, your colored pencil hovering upon the night sky. “I can’t draw them now though, can I?”

He hums as he skims your drawing, then his eyes glance at the pack of colored pencils next to you.

“Yeah. It’d be hard to draw the moon because you’ve colored most of the night sky.” He nods and smiles your way, one that you return with a tilt of your head. “It’s okay though. It’s still pretty as it is. Some nights we can’t see the stars and the moon anyway. Doesn’t really matter, right?”

…Doesn’t really matter, huh? You bite your lip as you ponder over his words, your mark feels like it’s tingling behind your ear.

“Can I ask something too?” You say after some time, eyes still focused on the flower he’s drawing.

“Sure.”

“I notice there are a lot of flowers in your paintings back home. Is there a reason why you like painting flowers so much?” His movement pauses at your question, and, for a second, you wonder if you’re intruding. But Minghao answers before you can retract your question, his hand moves again to fill in the color in the petal.

“It’s my soulmate mark.” His tone is much too nonchalant for such a topic, but as much as Minghao can tell you’re hurting by the look of your eyes, you can also tell he’s hiding by the tightness in his voice.

It’s very subtle, but from your point of view, it can’t be anymore obvious that Minghao is also struggling, presumably about something along the same line as you. Soulmate isn’t a sensitive topic for most people, but now that you’ve seen him this way, you can tell at once that you both share the same reluctance towards the issue.

At least it’s also clear that he’s coping far better than you are. Whatever’s happened between him and his soulmate, you hope it’s not as bad as what befell you.

“You wouldn’t know which one though,” he jokes to divert the topic. It’s more for your sake than it is for him, you feel like. He probably knows you’re not sure what to comment on that.

“I’m sure they’re pretty either way.” You comment vaguely, suddenly itching to touch the constellation behind your ear. You hesitate before you continue, unsure if it’s okay to bring it up again, but you also feel bad and you let your feelings override yourself for once. “I’m sorry I made you draw flowers.”

Minghao completely stops at that, and even though you’re not sure what you were expecting, you surely didn’t expect amusement clouding his face when you meet his gaze.

“Why are you sorry though?”

“Just felt like I needed to apologize.” You shrug, your voice gets gradually smaller as you continue. “Seems like it’s personal to you.”

“It’s fine. Like you said, I do paint a lot of flowers.” His smile is genuine, and you’re glad that he really does sound amused if anything.

Your conversation shifts from there, the two of you swift through light-hearted topics as you finish your drawings. You watch as the staff turn your drawing into an acrylic key ring, a happy smile on your face as you look at the result in your hand.

It’s definitely much better than you expected, and you think it’s good that you went with Minghao because, had it been Jeonghan, you would’ve cried thinking about Mingyu the whole time. You’re glad you went with your roommate, someone between a stranger and a friend, someone that you need to be careful with but close enough that it’s not uncomfortable.

“Yours is so pretty…” You mutter in fascination as you peek at Minghao’s, happy to take the key ring from him when he asks if you want to look closely.

“You can take it.” He says with the entirety of his heart, the grin on his face painted with pride. It’s one thing to have people sing praises to his work, but it’s another story altogether when he sees someone like you who looks at his creation like it’s the most precious thing you’ve ever laid your eyes on. When you ask if he’s sure you can have it like it doesn’t make sense for him to just give it away, he chuckles and nods. “You look like you’d appreciate it. That’s good enough for me.”

“Thank you!” You clutch the keyring between your palms, telling him you’d take good care of it. “I’d offer you mine but…”

“I’ll take it.” He offers you his palm, and then chuckles some more when you ask again if he’s sure about his choice. “You doubt me a lot, huh?”

“It’s just… Mine isn’t as pretty though.” You scrunch your nose as you hand him your result. Yes, it’s better than you expected, but still…

“I saw how much effort you put into that.” He begins, his thumb caressing your keyring. “And I did say it looks pretty, no? I wasn’t just saying it to make you feel better.”

Whispering a small thank you, Minghao almost laughs at how shy you look at his compliment. He looks at the keyring again, a picture of street lamps beneath the night sky. Then his mind pictures your focused frown when you were drawing them, and then to the conversation he had with you almost two weeks ago about this very cafe; how you were holding back tears and how you had reacted when he brought up the cafe.

And now here you are, talking animatedly about how the experience has been much more fun than you expected it to be. And even though he did catch you spacing out from time to time, he notices how determined you are from the beginning. Determined to do what, he can only guess.

He thinks he’ll think of you now everytime he looks at the night sky.

He gazes at the keyring yet again, and then at you next to him.

He thinks he has never seen an effort so beautiful.

Mingyu loved seeing you with your hair up; a pony tail, a bun, anything that let him see your whole face and didn’t cover your soulmate mark if only a little. The location of your soulmate mark doesn’t really allow you a lot of hairstyles that won’t cover it, but if you have your hair up, you’d at least be able to see half of the constellation that stops just a little below your ear.

That said, you wear your hair down most of the time after he’s left, having developed a habit of hiding the black constellation scattered there. The most you’d do to your hair is to tie half of it, which doesn't happen a lot.

“I have a question.” Minghao says as he pours your empty glass of wine once again. Minghao was chilling by himself when you returned from the convenience store, and when you saw the wine bottle on the coffee table, you had been quick to ask if you could join his little routine.

“Shoot.” Undeniably, you’ve gotten closer with him the past few months. You hadn’t expected to find a friend when you first moved in, but Minghao clicks with you in ways you haven’t really clicked with others that you can easily say he’s one of your close friends now.

It’s different, what you have with him.

Jeonghan is your voice of reason as much as he is the devil’s advocate; he’d push and push and push but he also knows when to pull you back when necessary. He cares for you like a best friend and an older brother, having his own way to change between the two roles accordingly.

You’re not the closest with Lisa. She’s not the kind of friend you’d look for first when you need someone to talk to, but you only have good memories with her since high school and it’s always laughter filling your cheeks everytime you meet up with her. You trust her when it comes to it, and she’s a token of happy memories you keep in your life.

Mingyu… Mingyu is–was your soulmate. He understood you without you saying anything, he knew when to leave you alone and when to coax you into telling him what’s bothering you. He spoiled you like there’s no tomorrow, listened when your rambling didn’t make any sense, and held you in his arms on nights you didn’t want to talk to anyone. He’s loud with his affection, never hesitated to show you his love even though he knew you’re never insecure when it came to that.

But Minghao… he observes and hypothesizes. He’s calculated and he’s silent with his concern. He doesn’t always ask when he thinks something might be up, simply leaves you be and you’d find a cup of iced chocolate or an ice cream with a note that lets you know they belong to you the next day. He pretends he doesn’t know you’re crying even though you’re sure you look like a mess, he’d just ask if you want to eat something or if he should just order online.

You don’t have a lot of friends, but from the few that you have, Minghao is the most like you.

And now that you think about it, you somehow gravitate towards those much different that you are; people who are loud in the best way possible. Which is why your friendship with Minghao feels different in ways that you can’t really describe.

“Why do you never tie your hair?” You have expected Minghao to ask this question sooner, if you’re being honest, as you’re sure that he’s noticed this since before. You’ve caught him eyeing your long hair from time to time, mostly when you two are out and it’s hot outside while you stubbornly let your hair down for the sake of covering your ear.

“Does it bother you?” You ask while sipping on your wine. It’s your fourth glass already, and even though you’re not usually a fan of alcohol, there would be days like this when you just feel like letting loose and crave for some.

Minghao shakes his head and changes the song playing in the background, finding something softer than the jazz instrument he played earlier. It’s another lazy Saturday night for the two of you, and between liking to stay at home and your somewhat similar personality, it’s really not surprising how easy it was to be close to Minghao in the span of five months.

How could you not when the two of you almost always spend your days together, even more your weekends? Jeonghan would join you from time to time, or he’d drag you out and there would be days when Minghao also tags along.

So, really, it’s safe to say you’re with Xu Minghao almost 70% of the time except for the time when you’re at work.

“Not really. Just wondering because it looks hot to go around like that all the time.”

You hum as you contemplate your next words. You could’ve just brushed it off like you always do when people ask, but a part of you has finally arrived at a place where it wants to let him know about Mingyu even only a little.

After all, there are days when you share your pain with him. None of you really talk about it, but you’d both vaguely mention about sad romance from time to time; enough for the two of you to be almost sure that, yes, there’s something wrong about the soulmate situations upon you both.

Perhaps it’s the alcohol in your system. Or perhaps it’s the dream you had of Mingyu last night, his fingers tucking your hair behind your ear and smiling at you like you’re the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid his eyes on.

That’s probably why you feel like drinking today.

While moving in with Minghao proves to be a good step towards moving, it doesn’t mean you’ve stopped crying when Mingyu appears in your dreams, which no longer happens quite often. There are still days when you’d read his old messages and stare at old pictures. When you’d open his Instagram account that’s no longer active and scroll through his aesthetically arranged feed.

It doesn’t hurt as much anymore, but you still get choked up for obvious reasons.

At least he no longer resides in your mind on a daily basis, though the thought also weighs like a boulder upon your heart.

You… want to move on from him, but you also don’t.

The amount of love you hold for Mingyu is more than you think possible, it’s overwhelming and it’s a burden at times. You didn’t think you could love someone like you did Mingyu, soulmate or not.

You don’t mind though. Even though the love is heavy and you don’t think you can ever love anyone–anything as much as you love Mingyu, you don’t mind and you still want to do it.

You still want to do it now even if he’s no longer with you. Even if his scent has completely faded from every single belonging of his that you bring with you to your new place.

The fact that you’re actually getting used to a life without him hurts.

It hurts almost as much as the day you lost him.

It hurts because you’re close to forgetting how he even sounded if not for the hoard of videos of him in your phone.

Aren’t you supposed to be together forever? To hold each other every night and spend the rest of your life basking in each other’s warmth?

Aren’t you supposed to be soulmates? What the fuck went up there that decided you’re not going to have a happy ending with your soulmate?

You want to be okay without him.

You don't want to be okay without him.

Minghao’s concerned voice brings you out of your trance, and it’s only when you taste something salty in your lips that you realize you’ve been crying.

For all the time Minghao pretends he’s never noticed you crying, this can’t be one of them. Not when your tears come out of nowhere when you were spacing out for a few seconds upon his question. And when he asks in a hushed whisper whether you want him to hold you, you don’t even answer as you dive straight to his embrace, your tears refusing to stop now that you’re in someone’s arms.

He doesn’t seem to mind though and, for some reason, the way his arms gently circle around you makes you cry even harder. It’s such a contrast with Mingyu’s tight embrace, he always made sure to hug you hard, something to remind you that he’s there and you have him with you.

Minghao's hold is careful but sure, the way he hugs you is almost ticklish, like you’d break if he hugs you just a little too tight. Except for the few times you fell asleep on his shoulder upon movie nights, this is the first time you’ve ever been this physically close with Minghao.

You end up telling a gist of Mingyu that night, tying up your hair to show him your soulmate mark. If Minghao’s surprised at its color, he doesn’t show it, and it’s you who gasp in shock when he tugs the neckline of his shirt to show you his own blackened soulmate mark near his collarbone.

IMinghao starts talking first, as he figures it might be easier for you if you know he’s been through something along the same line. He never really likes talking about his soulmate, doesn’t really have any reason to do so either. But looking at you like this, it’s the urge to comfort you that overrides his usual reluctance.

If his pain can be anything other than pain… if it can even help someone in some way, perhaps it’d be better to share the story he’s been holding to himself.

“She left me for someone else.” You want to wipe the weak smile off his face, want to tell him that he doesn’t have to act like he’s okay because you can’t even begin to imagine the amount of pain Minghao went through. “Said she found someone better and she doesn’t believe in soulmates. That we’re too different and believed the fact that we’re soulmates just proved that fate is nothing but stupid games.”

You know whatever words you offer him wouldn’t be enough.

You know.

You know because nothing anyone says would be enough to comfort you.

So you share him your pain, show him that he’s not alone and you know how it feels to be left behind.

The story you tell him is a very oversimplified version of the whole thing, that your soulmate is no longer with you and it’s still hard even though you’re coping. Though you do tell him that you did move into his house due to the same person.

Minghao’s gaze doesn’t falter as you tell him a very small part of your story, just enough to know you’re both hurting in the same way. That you’ve both lost the people who're supposed to be your destiny regardless of the reasons why. He doesn’t hesitate when he wipes your tears with his thumb, the look in his eyes is anything but pity.

Your lips still tremble despite your tears stopping, making it hard for you to continue talking even if you’re not sure how much you’re going to tell Minghao that night. But in a moment of weakness, your gaze falls to his lips the same time his eyes fall to yours. And when your eyes find each other a second later, you have no idea who makes the first move and how your lips end up upon his.

The kiss you share with him is soft; your lips upon his over and over again, your palms firmly planted on his shoulders as his stays on your waist. You have no idea either how long the kiss lasts for, but the kiss is sad as much as it is comforting, your fingers balling into fists as you grasp his shirt to get yourself together.

You wonder if Minghao can also taste the salty tears falling from your eyes upon his lips.

It’s him who pulls away first, and he doesn’t give you a chance to meet his eyes as he pushes you into the juncture of his neck and kisses the top of your head.

For the first time, Mingyu’s smile is sad when he appears in your dream.

He’s trying to tell you something, but there’s no sound coming out of his lips and your eyes are too blurry to make sense of his words. You’ve missed him so much, and you hate that he looks concerned when it’s been so long since you’ve dreamed of him.

You can still feel the fluttering warmth of Mingyu’s lips on your forehead when you wake up, only to find Minghao holding you to his chest as you both lay on the couch, his eyes closed and his protective arms firm around your figure.

You're not avoiding Minghao.

You've honestly just been plagued by the last dream you had of Mingyu that you’ve been a little dysfunctional for the past week. You haven’t got the chance to tell Jeonghan about the dream nor what went down that night, and you plan on telling him tonight in the comfort of your bedroom just in case you’d be crying again.

You’ve texted Minghao Jeonghan might be sleeping over that night, though he might also go home if he suddenly decides otherwise. You stare at your phone as you bite your lip, hating how you can even tell how awkward you two are even over texts.

[14:22] Hao, is it ok if Jeonghan stays the night? He might also suddenly decide to go home tho!!! I promise we’ll stay quiet

[18:45] Minghao 🍀: Sorry, I thought I replied already.

[18:46] Minghao 🍀: And sure. You know I don’t mind Jeonghan.

[18:46] Minghao 🍀: Thanks for the heads up.

Minghao doesn’t usually answer late, and it’s worrying you a little that it takes him almost four long hours to answer you. Isn’t he working from home today?

You really need to get back to your senses and fix whatever weird situation between you and your roommate. Though, truthfully, you know it’s just you making it weird because Minghao has been acting like usual. The smile he gave you when you both woke up in each other’s arms still haunts you among other things.

And while it’s true you’re not avoiding him, it’s also true you don’t know how to face him after that day.

“When’s Jeonghan picking you up?” Lisa snaps you out of your trance, sipping the last of her coffee. It’s been quite some time since you met up with her, and her text has come right when you need a happy distraction so you’re more than happy to accept the invitation and meet her after work, which is why your hang out with Jeonghan has been pushed accordingly.

It’s the weekend tomorrow, anyway.

“In a bit.” As usual, spending time with Lisa means having a good time. Usually, it’s followed by a good night sleep on your part, but as much as you love spending time with her, the thought of Mingyu, Minghao, and wanting to talk to Jeonghan about them clouds your mind to the point where you’re sure you won’t be having a good night sleep tonight. “He’s stuck in traffic.”

It’s about fifteen minutes later that Jeonghan comes in, and he sits down next to you to talk with Lisa for a bit before you part ways with her. You listen to him talk about work as he drives, offering your thoughts on the matters that you think would help.

When he pulls into Minghao's driveways you stop him from getting off the car, ripping the bandaid with one go because you don’t know how to do it otherwise.

“Me and Minghao kissed last week.”

Jeonghan looks at you wide-eyed, mouth opening and closing as he tries to find the right thing to say.

“Just telling you now because I… well, there’s a chance Minghao might catch it if I tell you later.”

He stares at you in what you’d describe as worry, but before you can ask him to explain, he grabs your hand and gives it a comforting squeeze. “But you’re okay?”

“Somewhat.” You squeeze his hand back. “I’ll tell you everything after dinner.”

Surprisingly, Junhui’s voice greets you the moment you open the door. He’s speaking Chinese, your mind registers, and if his tone indicates anything, he’s upset and he’s nagging. You don’t see Minghao anywhere though, and you find Junhui by himself in the kitchen, hanging up on whoever’s on the other line before he slips his phone back into his pocket.

“Jun?”

“Oh. Hi. Want some soup?” He says like it’s normal that he’s here cooking without the owner of the house.

“What are you doing?”

“Minghao’s down with a high fever.” He shakes his head as he stirs the soup in front of him. “He’s sleeping now.”

Minghao’s sick? Is that why you didn’t see him at all this morning? Why didn’t he tell you, though? You could’ve brought him something had you known.

“Can I… talk to you for a bit?” Junhui asks, his eyes flickering to Jeonghan behind you. The older guy seems to get the message, quickly leaving the kitchen and into the living room before you even answer. “Something happened between you and Hao, huh?”

For all it’s worth, you know Junhui has always been a protective friend. You’ve never been particularly close with him, but he’s close with Mingyu and you know what kinda person Junhui is courtesy of Mingyu’s words. He’s playful and he’s caring. Mingyu used to say Junhui isn’t the kind of person he would want to be enemies with, that he’s glad he’s friends with the older guy.

So to have him look at you with a piercing gaze, it’s hard for you not to deflate under his eyes.

“You don’t need to tell me anything. He didn’t either.” He starts, and then hesitates before he continues. “I… How are you?”

Your eyes prickle with tears at his question, because you know he’s not just asking about you in general. It’s there even if he doesn’t say it outright: how are you coping without Mingyu?

You try your best to blink the tears back, but fail when Junhui reaches out and pats your head. Your palm blocks the sob out of your mouth, and it’s when Junhui says his next words that your sobs turn into pathetic whimpers.

“Don’t think about it too much, okay? I know it’s hard without him. But if there’s anyone who can take care of you like he did… I’m sure he would’ve wanted you to take that chance.”

It’s hard to listen to him and not cry. Not when you know how close Junhui was with Mingyu. They’re not the bestest of friends, but were still close enough to spend nights drinking with each other to talk about life and the problems that came within.

Between all of Mingyu’s friends, you knew Junhui was one of the people he respected most.

“Mingyu used to say you always think about him before anything.” His voice trembles as he says it, and that’s when you realize you’ve only spoken about Mingyu once with him after the whole thing. As much as you’re hurting, you know they are too, to certain points. “But I think… I think it’s okay not to think of him first now. You don’t need to forget him. But try to think of yourself too, alright?”

You nod, not being able to say anything to that. While you haven’t actually dwelled on what you’re feeling for Minghao, it’s true that you’ve always stopped yourself from even thinking about it because of Mingyu. He’d come into your mind everytime Minghao does, and while it helps a little to know that at least you’ve both lost your soulmates, it’s still hard for you to think that you’d be replacing Mingyu somehow.

You don’t want to replace Mingyu.

You don’t want Minghao to be a rebound.

But is he, really?

“I’m not saying you have to decide now whether you want to give Minghao a try or not. But… you deserve another chance at happiness, okay? And whether it's with Minghao or not, I hope you'll take it when the chance presents itself to you.” He whispers softly.

It’d be a lie if you say you’ve never tried to think about Minghao in that light. Because you have, you have since that day you went to the cafe and drew with him. But Mingyu clouds your mind, and a part of you always feels like you’re betraying him and his memories if you even think about being with someone else.

“I promise Mingyu wouldn’t want you to hold yourself back from a chance of another happiness.” You cry harder at this, palm still covering your mouth to stop your sob from echoing throughout the house. “I know it’s still hard to accept that Mingyu is no longer here. I know, trust me, I do. I lost my little brother too that day, and if it’s hard for me as a friend, I can only imagine how hard it is for you who lost your soulmate. But you can’t trap yourself in his memories forever, right?”

It’s then that you cry, cry, and cry.

It’s one thing to think to yourself that you’ve lost him, that he’s not with you anymore and there’s nothing you can do about it. But it’s another to hear it from someone else’s mouth right in front of your face.

It reminds you of that night a year and a half ago in the hospital, the words ringing in your head over and over again until it’s the only thing that echoes in your mind.

Mingyu is gone.

He’s gone and he’s not coming back to you.

He can’t come back to you.

No matter how much you’ve cried into your pillow and cursed at the gods to bring him back to you, it’s nothing but a futile attempt because he’s not here.

He’s no longer in this world and your heart still aches everytime you think about the fact that he’s dead and you can’t see him anymore.

What’s the use of having a soulmate if he’s going to leave you first out of nowhere?

What’s the use of having a soulmate when you couldn’t even do anything to protect him from the accident that took his life?

What the fuck is the use of having a soulmate if you’re not going to end up together with him for the rest of your life?

It’s then that Jeonghan rushes to the kitchen, immediately kneeling beside you on the floor because you don’t have any energy to even stand on your feet at this point. You don't even realize you're wailing, your palm doing nothing to help stopping your broken cry.

Jeonghan can't hear anything but your sobs since earlier, but he knows your talk with Junhui is long overdue, which is why he’s been holding himself back from barging in even though he’s been worried. But how can he stay still if he's heard you let out a loud cry followed by a thud?

Junhui follows and kneels next to you, patting your head once again as he wipes your tears to no avail.

“Think about it… okay?”

You’re spacing out as you lean on Jeonghan’s shoulder when Junhui knocks on your door. You’ve spent the last hour telling your best friend everything, from the way you’ve been suppressing your thoughts about Minghao to the talk with Junhui earlier. In a true Jeonghan style, he has offered you a piece of his mind followed by saying he agrees with Junhui though he doesn't fail to remind you to take your time thinking about it.

“Do you mind taking care of Minghao or do you want me to stay over?” It’s almost ten in the evening, you look at the clock on your wall, and you suppose Junhui is trying to figure out if he should go home now or not. “He gets a little needy when he’s sick but doesn’t say anything.”

You look at Jeonghan for some reason, and when he offers you nothing but raised eyebrows, you turn to Junhui and say you’d take care of Minghao for him.

“You sure?” He asks one more time. “I can just stay over if you don’t want to.”

Junhui chooses those words for a reason. He didn’t ask if you can do it, he makes sure to let you know that it’s okay if you don’t want to.

But you do. As much as you’re conflicted, you can’t deny the worry bubbling in your chest the moment you heard Minghao’s down with fever to the point where it's hard for him to even get out of bed.

“I’ll take care of him.” You say with a determined nod, your arm squeezing Jeonghan’s for support.

“Then I’ll trust you with him.” You’re probably looking too much into it. You have no idea if Minghao has confided Junhui in what’s transpired between the two of you, but his words seem to mean more to you regardless of his real intention.

“I’ll take you home then.” Jeonghan surprises you both, patting your cheek before he gently lets go of you. “I don’t think it’s me you need to be with tonight.”

It’s silent once the two went home, and you’re left on your own in the living room. You try to think about your talk with the two men, but your head pounds a little from all the crying. Your eyes are probably puffy too, though at least they’re not red and you probably just need to drink some water to help your headache.

You close your eyes and exhale as you lean your head back against the sofa head. Has it really been one and a half year since you lost Mingyu?

It's funny, grieving. You never really get over it, and as much as you claim you're okay and you've accepted that he's no longer with you, you know you'd never entirely accept that deep down in your heart.

Some days Mingyu doesn't cross your mind at all. Some days you can suddenly cry in between conversations because his name rings across your head for no apparent reason.

Time seems to be too fast and too slow when it comes to memories of Mingyu. You never really thought about finding a new romance before, if only because you live in a world where soulmates exist and Mingyu took your heart with him the moment he left this world.

It must be some sort of twisted fate too for you to find Minghao, another shattered soul whose soulmate left him by choice. As much as it hurt you to lose Mingyu the way you did, you couldn’t imagine how Minghao picked up the pieces of his broken heart because the person who’s supposed to be his forever left him for selfish reasons.

You can’t imagine how his heart can still be as pure as it is with the pain it went through.

While you don’t know yet what exactly went down, what you know for sure is how beautiful of a person Minghao is. He probably knows you’re struggling since the beginning. He’s been considerate in more ways than you could’ve imagined, in his own soft, subtle way to the point where you didn’t realize he’s taking care of you.

It took you quite some time to realize, but it makes sense because you can recognize the pain that flashes through his eyes too from time to time. As two owners of broken fate, it’s not surprising that you recognize one another.

The sound of the door creaking brings you back from your head, and you see Minghao looking a little lost when the door opens, probably wondering why the house is dark and quiet.

“Why are you out of bed?” You scold him softly as you make your way to him. You usher him back to bed, but Minghao insists his body hurts from laying down too much and he needs to stretch a little.

So you make him sit on the sofa instead, which he whines at because it’s not that different, but his heart softens at your concerned whine so he decides entertaining you shouldn’t be too bad even if he feels like walking around the house.

“Drink some water.” You hand him his usual mug, then plops beside him as your palm automatically reaches for his forehead, cheek, and then neck. Minghao doesn’t say anything as he stares at you, though he shivers at your touch because your palm is cold when it meets his skin. “Your fever has gone down, I think."

“Were you worried?” his voice asks softly. Almost hopeful, even. None of you bothers to turn on the lights, though the light peeking from the kitchen helps just enough for you two to see each other albeit dimly.

You think Minghao might be a little delirious, but Junhui did say Minghao gets needy when he’s sick, so you do the least you can do and decide to throw away all of your thoughts for the night. What matters right now is that he’s sick and you want to take care of him.

“I was. Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” It’s funny the way you’re both talking like it’s a secret. Your soft voices barely heard throughout the house even though it’s loud enough just for the two of you.

Minghao shrugs, not offering you any explanation. But you see it in his eyes, in the way he hesitates and shakes his head. He probably didn’t think it was okay to tell you.

“Tell me next time, okay? Though it would be better if you don’t get sick again.”

He hums and it’s silent after that. Minghao turns to the window, looking at the dark night outside. “Did Junhui go home?”

“Yeah. I told him I’d take care of you.”

“Did you?” His voice gets even softer when he says this, both hopeful and afraid. But before you can say anything, he cuts you off and asks again. “And Jeonghan?”

“Took Junhui home.” You pause before you continue. Is it a good time to bring it up now? Would it be better to do it when you’re both awake and well? Listen to your heart, okay? It’s okay to put your guard down sometimes. Jeonghan’s words from earlier ring in your head. “Said that it’s not him I need to be with tonight.”

If he’s surprised, Minghao doesn’t show it. But his stare seems to pierce through the dark and you can’t find it in you to look away. Mingyu appears once again in your mind, but you try your best to suppress the thought before you find yourself deep into it.

“Is there anyone you need to be with tonight?”

“Mmh. Maybe.” You try to be nonchalant, very conscious of the way your heart is beating loudly against your chest. You look out the window before you start talking again, a pensive look on your face as you contemplate your words. “It’s weirdly dark tonight, huh?”

Minghao follows your sight and nods, waiting for you to say more. You gather your hair and move them to your right shoulder, and from where he’s at, he can see the black stars peeking behind your left ear.

“It’s Cassiopeia, my mark.” You start, your eyes still locked on the night sky. “I tried looking them up once, but I suppose I’m not smart enough to actually understand the story. Mingyu did though, and he’d pop up a quiz from time to time to see if there’s anything I retain from all the time he babbled about our identical marks.”

He doesn’t know where you’re going with this, but his hand finds yours and he’s glad you don’t pull away, simply holds his hand tighter as if you’re looking for something to keep you going. His heart cracks at your weak smile, but he knows you have more to say and he’s more than willing to listen.

“I ended up liking them though; the celestial objects. The moon, the stars, planets, everything that’s up there in the sky. I found fascination in them and I’d find myself buying stuff with their patterns.”

Minghao can’t see you clearly because of the dark, but he imagines your eyes are watering up by the slight tremble of your voice.

“And then it stopped when Mingyu died. I don’t hate them, but it hurts to see them and… if you remember my drawing those months ago, I suppose that’s why my drawing was so dark even if I did it unconsciously.”

You pause to take a breath, your hand tightens around Minghao’s. “I think he took all the stars with him the night he left. That selfish jerk.”

His heart clenches painfully at your weak chuckle, at the way your hand reaches up to wipe your own tears, and at the way you take a deep breath in determination.

“But… But it’s okay even if we can’t see the stars, right?”

Minghao gapes at his own words from that day you drew together, words that he said without much thought but seems to hit you in ways that he would never imagine. He tightens his grip on you, and then pulls you to his shoulder before taking his turn to speak.

“You probably don’t recognize it. But forsythia is my soulmate mark.” He says as he caresses your knuckle, his mind taking him back to the exact day you referred to just seconds ago. “I knew it took a lot for you to be there. And even though I didn’t know exactly why, I could tell it was hard. But you pulled through and I thought I should do the same. So when you asked me to draw a flower, I knew I had to draw the most beautiful forsythia I could ever draw in my life.”

“I used to hate them, you know?” You can hear him smile even though you’re buried in his shoulder, his arm that has made its way around you pushes you more into himself. “But you saw that drawing like it’s the prettiest thing you’ve ever laid your eyes on. I didn’t think much of it at first, but I saw you carrying around that keyring everyday and it’s… something. I’ve heard a lot of people compliment my works, but I’ve never seen someone appreciate it as much as you do. It wasn’t intentional, but I think you helped me get through it without even meaning to.”

You pull away to look him in the eyes, and for someone who claims you don’t find beauty in stars anymore, you almost want to dive into Minghao’s eyes that seem to twinkle with all the stars Mingyu took with him.

“Do you know what forsythia symbolizes?” You know he’s not expecting you to actually know, so you shake your head and urge him to continue. “Anticipation, apparently. Because they bloom in spring and signal the beginning of one. I’d like to interpret it as the flower of a new beginning.”

You almost cry again at what it implies; at what it can imply not only for him but for the two of you. Is it too early to jump into that? Is it too fast? Weren’t you just crying about Mingyu hours ago?

“We don’t have to figure it out now.” His voice rings through the night, his fingers caress your arm to shield you from whatever’s in the dark of night. “The morning will come eventually even when the night is long, right?”

“Yeah.” You succumb into his embrace as you smile through your tears. But how can you not when Minghao says those words like Mingyu did many nights ago?

“Don’t think about it too much.” He kissed your cheek and hugged you close to his chest, to shut you up more than anything, really. “It’s not like the morning won’t come even if the night is a little too long. Focus on what you have in front of you, instead okay?”

“But what if–”

“No.” He cut you off, his palm covering your mouth as he laughed at your glare. “No what if. Let’s enjoy the night while we’re at it.”

“You sound stupid.” You rolled your eyes in mock annoyance despite the way your heart swelled in affection.

“You love me anyway.” He grinned cheekily, which you laughed at out of embarrassment because if there’s one thing you could never do, it’s to deny your love for him even jokingly.

“Hao?”

“Hm?”

“You’ll hold me through the night, right?”

He smiles like it’s not even a question, his fingers intertwining with yours as if to make a point.

“Yeah.”

“Even if it’s a long one?”

He clasps your hand tighter, his thumb caressing your knuckle.

“Yeah.”

A/N 2: hi!! it's been quite some time since i write anything along this genre. i've always wanted to write soulmate!au and while this isn't exactly heartfluttering like soulmate!au usually is, i hope you enjoyed it one way or another. this fic got longer than i originally planned, but i hope you guys enjoyed it and please do send me your thoughts through anything you're comfortable with. i know it sounds repetitive at this point, but it's truly your feedbacks that keep me goin<3

A/N 3: did any of u guessed gyu di*d btw

permanent taglist: @kyeomjjigae @stantrash171819 @sebongmochi @luveveryonewoo @thinkinboutwonu @kpopjackie @ursweetener @lavenderautumnx @itsveronicaxxx @shuahoshiscoups @sunshinein17 @leechanniee @twogyuu @hoe4wonwoo @h3h3tm0n @noraehey @seokshook @rubyhoons @02psh @just-here-to-read-01 @listxn @janandbeyond @pearlygraysky @baekhyunstruly

also tagging: @joonsytip

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bas-writes · 1 year

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Birthday Night

Character: Law Reader: gender neutral Word Count: 1000 CW: fluff, established relationship, birthday fic A/N: repost of old fic (again, broken post...); explains the weird timing for bday fic 😅

He dozed off.

Law didn’t know how long he was asleep before he knocked down the bottle with ink. The bang of crushed glass brought him back to life, but before he lifted his head some of the ink already spilled all over his notes and stained his sleeve. Muttering curses, he rushed to save his work. Days, if not weeks, of research were drowning right in front of him in dark liquid, words patiently scribbled on paper blurred and melted into unreadable smudges. At least, the most important, almost ready list of targets survived with only its corner dirty—but all the bounty posters, the haul his crew had been patiently collecting for months, could be only trashed. Furious, he threw the wet pile on the other side of the desk. Obviously, he made even more mess; a calendar fell this time and Law barely stopped the domino effect when it leaned against books. He sighed. He was too tired for this. He had no proper sleep since they had docked on this island.

Without any unnecessary moves, he carefully cleaned the ink, grouped the notes on those he had to throw away and those he could still save, threw hoodie on laundry pile (without Bepo’s intervention it probably had already developed its own unique civilization) and, finally, started to put everything back on its place. Few smudges of ink on the calendar grasped his attention, his eyes skimmed along dates and fine notes on the margin to stop in the place someone’s beloved hand marked with multiple hearts.

Oh. So it was that day.

Law somehow never got attached to the idea of celebrating birthdays. Even back then, in the times he refused to remember, it had never been a big deal. At some point though the crew had gotten into the habit of dropping small parties for the birthday person and as he was never for, he also wasn’t against it. If they had time (and booze) they were getting some drinks and shared their victim’s favorite snacks. Last year as a present he had gotten an onigiri birthday cake—and well, at a mere thought of it, Law’s stomach loudly protested. When was the last time he ate? He wasn’t sure. He forbade everyone interrupting his work, so the crew probably ignored the celebration this time or treated themselves in the absence of the captain.

He tried to get up and his legs almost gave up under his weight; a painful cramp ran through his left calf. Yes, definitely too less food and too much caffeine.

“Physician, heal yourself,” he grizzled and limped towards the kitchen. In fear of late-night thieves (Law wasn’t without guilt here), the cook was hiding food, but there was always a hope for some leftovers. Law was so hungry he would consider even a piece of old and parched bread. Anything to fill the stomach that was screaming for mercy.

Much to his surprise, something was left on the main counter. Law, a bit suspicious, turned the light on and almost gasped. Was he dreaming? A big onigiri, neatly wrapped in a yellow ribbon, with nori barely holding together the huge amount of rice and—as he confirmed after closer inspection—tuna with mayo. When he took it, something slid off the counter. At first, he wanted to ignore it, too busy stuffing his mouth with delicious and much needed snack, but something in his head told him to pick it up and look closely. Law immediately recognized your handwriting: ‘Happy Birthday. I hope you’re not overworking yourself again.’ and few hearts, imitating his tattoos. Nothing more, nothing else.

“I hope you’re not overworking yourself,” he read, aloud this time, and chuckled. Was there even one task he had ever done without overworking himself? Another cramp got his leg, so hard he almost choked on his birthday onigiri. Well, so much of your hope. But maybe indeed he could rest a bit? As a birthday treat. And a word of thanks for you.

Instead of getting back to his study, Law headed towards your shared bedroom. Since the Polar Tang was docked, there was some natural moonlight pouring through the windows and he could see your silhouette curled on the bed. He quickly—though not without painful complications—got out of shoes and jeans, and joined you, careful to not wake you up. Yet, as soon as his ice cold hands touched your skin, as his goatee grazed your neck when he hugged you from behind and wrapped his limbs around you, you let out a surprised, dizzy with sleep, gasp and turned to face him.

“Shhh, it’s alright.” Law kissed your cheek. “It’s only me.”

“What time is it?” You mumbled, barely awake. You made yourself cozy in his embrace, trying to blend in with the position he chose.

“To hell with time.” He caught your lips and sealed the kiss. There was still some lingering taste of toothpaste on you, Law savored it as if he were drinking the finest wine on this side of the Grandline. When parting for a breath, he playfully pulled your lower lip and sucked on it. You mewled and squirmed in his arms. “I missed you so much, you know, Y/N?”

“Mhhh?”

“Nothing, nothing.” He nuzzled up your nape, trying to not tickle you too much with the scruff. “Thank you.”

His fingers toyed with your hair as he was slowly putting you back to sleep, your breath calming, your muscles relaxing with every skilled move of his hands against your skin. Soon, his body gave up to exhaustion, his tense mind calmed down at the scent and warmth of your body. Last thing he saw before his eyes closed for the well-deserved sleep was a smudge of ink he left on your shoulder.

“Maybe I should have taken shower,” he murmured.

You were in his arms and in his dreams. And Law knew it was the best he could ask for.

#law x reader #law x you #law x y/n #law imagine #law scenario #one piece x reader #one piece x you #one piece x y/n #one piece scenario #one piece imagine #one piece reader insert #bas writes #trafalgar law #gender neutral reader

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herebyjuly · 1 year

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bkg fic snippet

a short snippet of my bkg-centric multichaptered song (pov by ariana grande) fic for katsuki's bday (what a mouthful) !! ii'm planning on making it a different ship for each chapter bc i love me some baku loving

(this part is still unedited but i just wanted to share in celebration of katsuki's borth month ^^ pls enjoy hhhhh)

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

(TODOROKI - BAKUGOU)

It's like you got superpowers

Turn my minutes into hours

Warm hands cradle his face, gentle, always gentle, and move in slow, deliberate strokes, filling Katsuki’s body with unbridled affection for the man (‘—the love of your life.’ a whisper, sounding eerily like him, echoes in the back of his mind. ‘Shut up.’ he says back) laying beside him and effectively rousing him from his slumber. He begrudgingly opens his eyes, only to squint at the natural light slipping past the curtains, bleeding into a soft afterglow which basks him and the room in molten gold. The blonde is greeted to the sight of one bleary eyed Todoroki Shouto, his face impassive - but eyes ever so vulnerable. “Good morning.” he greets, voice raspy and unused.

Katsuki, in all his sleep ridden glory and not yet coherent enough to stop himself, smiles, tender and unassuming — with crinkled eyes and the appearance of the small dimple on the left side of his cheek that Shouto loved to poke and prod at whenever it was on display.

He removes his hand from its clutch on Shouto’s bare back and instead, lays it on the top the one currently caressing his cheek, stopping the motion, “G’morning.” he replies, turning Shouto’s palm to face towards the ceiling and pressing his lips briefly onto the back of his hand. “What time is it?”

Shouto shrugs, using his free hand to simply pull Katsuki’s body closerclosercloser — until he couldn’t tell where Katsuki began and Shouto ended — hand tightening around Katsuki’s narrow waist and burrowing his face into the blonde’s neck. “Too early for both of us to be awake.” The younger of the two grumbles, voice muffled into the fabric of his (Shouto’s) old tattered shirt.

(Katsuki still remembers the day as clear as crystal when he had borrowed the shirt from his then ‘just classmate’ (and yes, I will punch myself before I admit that he was my crush, fuck you off-brand pikachu) when he had accidentally burned the better half of the hem of one of his trademark skull-tees because ‘you were too fuckin’ close half n’ half.’

So, like the oblivious, lovestruck idiot his now-boyfriend (no longer violently repressed crush) was, he had stripped himself of the shirt he had been wearing at the time and passed it to Katsuki like it was a seemingly normal reaction.

After they started dating, Katsuki had figured out that stealing (“I prefer the term permanently borrowing—”) Shouto’s shirts and slipping them on whenever he felt stressed or anxious or woke up in near tears from a nightmare, as it was far too late in the night for him to leave his room and go to Shouto’s instead, had helped soothed the overwhelming thoughts(?). The familiar and soothing scent of lavender wafting through his nose due to Shouto’s fabric softener, silly enough as it was, had him slipping into the realm of Morpheus far too easily than he would be pressed to admit.)

The two laid there in comfortable silence, basking in one another’s warmth.

Wait..

With a sudden vigor, Katsuki springs up on their bed, effectively shaking the last remnants of sleep from both himself and Shouto, who groans mournfully into the plush pillows. He scrambles to get his baggy shorts off from the floor, willing down his blush as the events of last night suddenly flooded his thoughts, and haphazardly pulls them up. He turns towards his boyfriend, still sprawled on their, admittedly, very soft and very tempting bed. “Your siblings are coming over.” he blurts.

Shouto blinks, “Yes.”

“Fuck,” Katsuki curses, closing his eyes and breathing out through his nose slowly, counting down from ten to one, “Fuck.” He repeats, with more feeling.

“Fuyumi nee-san loves you,” Shouto points out, “and you and Natsu-nii are also close. I don’t quite understand why you’re freaking out over their visit.”

.......

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chicken-fifi · 9 months

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Late Night Arguments | Kyuhyun (SuJu)

Pairing: Cho Kyuhyun x Fem!Reader

Requested by anon: aug is my bday month hehe 👉🏻👈🏻 can i request kyuhyun imagine where he waited outside female reader apartment for their drinking/movie night but she forgot? she was late bcs of turning down her interested male colleague (kyu didnt know this and got jealous, they argued a bit) and she called him a dumbwit when he was being frustrated (bcs she he liked her too). she couldn't confess as she knew how busy he was & dint want to be a burden. happy fluff ending (they got tgt) pls ❤

Genre: angst to fluff

Word Count: 1,110 words

A/n: happy (belated or early) birthday anon! i hope you spent or spend it doing everything your heart desires and with people who make you feel happy and loved! and as we say in mexico (at least the part my parents are from) y que cumplas muchos mas! (and we hope you have many more!)

Kyuhyun rang the doorbell to your apartment, again, taking a step back as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. He wasn’t quite sure why he was nervous or getting clammy as the little drinking “party” accompanied with a movie was something the two of you often did at the end of every week. He’d hosted last week and it was your turn. It was also well past the agreed upon time that he should show up at.

Yes, he’d been a bit late leaving the dorm…and then he got stuck in traffic, but you should’ve been home by now. Yet your car wasn’t in its usual spot in the parking lot, nor was it in any other parking spot - not that he’d checked.

Had you gotten tired of waiting and just gone out to the local bar? Had you completely forgotten and just called it night after yet another tiring week at the office? Had you forgotten and decided to go to the bar?

Kyuhyun kept looking at the windows of your building not seeing a single light on. The prospect of you having forgotten and going out to a local bar began seeing more and more like the most probable answer as to why you weren’t there. Heck it even explained why you hadn’t been picking up your phone at all - sending him straight to voicemail. The longer he stood there and thought about it, the more he began getting uneasy and dare he say jealous. The thought of some random bloke hitting on you at the bar made his skin crawl, jealousy boiling in the pit of his stomach. God, he hoped that wasn’t the case.

~~~~

You smiled awkwardly at your coworker who was chatting you up as you inched your way to the floor entrance wanting to get out there as soon as possible. Everyone had already been forced to stay overtime after a rather large setback just before noon and people were just now starting to leave. Except you of course because someone wasn’t getting the message that you weren’t interested.

“Look….Justin,” you began.

“I’m James,” he corrected.

“Right, James. I’m not interested in you, nor am I interested in being in an office romance novel. You’re a great guy I’m sure, but not for me. I have to go, before I’m even more late than I already am.”

You didn’t stay to watch as his face fell, because you were already rushing out the door not even bothering to use the elevator - seeing how many people were waiting for it - and instead running down the stairs. Running to your parked car, you hop in and hightailed it out of there in record time, checking your wrist watch every few minutes and cursing to yourself about being so late for the movie night with Kyuhyun. Your phone had died a few hours ago, never getting a chance to plug it into a charger between running around getting files organized and attempting to print out the reports needed for the meeting the very next day.

The one thing that seemed to be going in your favor at the moment was the light traffic - as it was way past rush hour. But that only worried you more. If Kyuhyun was still waiting at your apartment complex, he must be tired and probably cold from sitting outside for hours. That is if he hadn’t left already. You were really hoping he hadn’t. But you were late, therefore you wouldn’t blame him if he had, even if it did break your heart.

Alas, as you pulled into the complex you spotted his car parked in front of your apartment, him sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, phone in hand pressed to his face. He spotted your car and stood up, dusting off his jeans as you pulled into an empty spot and cut off the engine, quickly getting out of the car with your purse.

“Kyu, I’m so sorry! I-” you began before getting cut off.

“Forgot? Went out with a coworker for a drink? Got hit on at the bar?” he offered, clearly irritated.

“What?”

“Don’t act coy.”

“Kyuhyun, I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. I got caught up at work.”

“Sure you did.”

Now you were annoyed as you rolled your eyes letting out a sigh, “Can we talk about this inside instead of giving my neighbors a show?”

He followed after you as you walked up to your front door, unlocking and stepping inside. As soon as the door was shut he began talking again, accusing you of forgetting your plans. You didn’t say a word, finding it best to let him voice his view and feelings before voicing your own - regardless of whether he believed them or not. Once he was done he looked at you expectantly.

“Everyone at the office had to work overtime due to a setback around noon. My phone died and I wasn’t able to charge it which is why I couldn’t get in contact with you,” you said showing him your phone as definitive proof. “On top of that, once we were finally able to leave my coworker decided to take a shot with me, preventing me from leaving for a good ten minutes until I finally got tired of it and shut him down. I wasn’t at a bar - I wouldn’t have driven there if I was - and I didn’t forget. It was simply a setback at work. Now, if you're done being a complete dimwit, I’d like to watch a good movie with some alcohol to forget about the day’s - week’s - mishaps.”

Kyuhyun remained silent as you moved to your kitchen, grabbing two beers from the fridge, cracking one open and holding the other one out to him as you took a few gulps of your own.

“You promise you didn’t forget?” he asked.

“I promise. Although I do wish I could forget my coworkers face, or that he could forget about his crush on me. I’m not interested and it’s only going to be awkward working with him.”

He took a sip of his beer as he asked you another question, “Why aren’t you interested?”

Clearly the alcohol was already taking effect since you didn’t even hesitate to give a truthful answer. “Because I like you but am too afraid to tell you because it’s a busy time period for you and you have too many burdens already as it is.”

“You like me?”

You nodded, tired of everything already. It was no use going back on your words now. “Say I feel the same, can we consider this our first real date?”

#kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #super junior #super junior masterlist #super junior imagines #super junior scenarios #super junior kyuhyun #super junior cho kyuhyun #kyuhyun #cho kyuhyun #kyuhyun imagines #kyuhyun scenarios #cho kyuhyun imagines #cho kyuhyun scenarios

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brontesisters · 7 months

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thanks for tagging me @mistressaccost !!

last song: listened to dan the dancer by mitski & then i stared into space and thought about it for twenty minutes

last movie: did the thing i hate doing and watched half of howards end but was too tired to finish it (and ngl i don't think i ever will i did not enjoy it)

reading: the left hand of darkness ! i do also need to catch up on some 2023 releases so that i am not the world's most incompetent bookseller. so i am open to recommendations

watching: nothing ! for months ! and i'm still not quite ready to finally take the plunge & watch s3 of the leftovers so i think i might watch some buffy eps for the first time in ages. i've been thinking about her a lot lately

consuming: white grape shloer which makes me feel like i am 12 years old on new year's eve

craving: going to get my sister's bf some aussie beers from the wine bar tomorrow for his bday and they do these amazing mini cheese boards there. i would like some brie

+ tagging @satellitemp4 @finalgirlesque @cornflakegirll if you want to !

#i just started two new jobs so i'm so all over the place atm despite really being in the mood to fall in love with something new

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golbrocklovely · 1 year

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it’s so weird that stas is only ever really in vegas with kat when snc leave lol. just a year ago those 4 were the best of friends and now they’re rarely in the same place together anymore

maybe i’m jumping the gun and speaking too soon and stas will still be there when snc return but 🤷‍♀️

it’s strange to see people still hung up on tc4 this tc4 that when they’re barely friends anymore

“burns half as long when it’s twice as bright” comes to my mind when i think of tc4. they were EVERYWHERE together for a year or so and they had traditions (spending a couple months in vegas together) and it was just the 4 of them for a while. now only 2 or 3 hang out at a time. it’s lowkey sad but i felt they were kind of too close… like they were isolating themselves from everyone else. they all seem to have good friendships with other people now which is why i don’t feel so bad. sorry if this is really long lol i just had to get my thoughts out after seeing kat and stas’ stories

i think the downfall of their group was a mix of things.

mostly, i think it was stas catching feelings for colby. she did a lot of questionable shit when she caught feelings for him that i think left a bad taste in his mouth, and thus caused them all to split slowly but surely.

bc she wanted to live in this fantasy where she was y/n and her life was a fanfic with colby in it, and she just took it too far. once the malishka shit happened, i think that was the turning point for colby. bc right around that time he started deleting comments about her and him together (even did the same for him and shea which was very surprising) and constantly saying "i'm single, i don't want a gf, i'm not dating anyone rn" when stas was trying to make it seem like the opposite was true.

and my thing is, i don't fault her for having feelings towards colby. i've been there many times before. but, to get upset at a guy that has never shown interest in you for not reciprocating your feelings back is just weird. not to mention her constantly telling fans in gcs about stuff….. it's no wonder things ended the way they did.

is it possible that there is a lot we don't know that happened bts? of course. i don't pretend to know the whole picture. hell, we probably only know a piece of the puzzle. but it's clear to me that colby had to put his foot down and put some distance between him and her. and that was the first time he's had to do that bc god knows colby doesn't like anything negative or having to stick up for himself (which i'm just gonna assume he sees as negative).

that's why for a while it was just kat hanging out with stas. and i think as time goes on, i think the whole group will come back around. i don't see them being as close as they once were, but i can see them being able to hang out all once again (i mean, they technically already did for when we were young and sort of on colby/stas' bday lol). bc even tho colby put some distance between him and her, i don't think he hates her or anything like that. i think he just needed distance. and obviously kat still likes her, and sam doesn't really have an opinion unless kat tells him to so i'm gonna assume he also likes her.

and while i don't agree with the sentiment that they were all never really that close to begin with and she was just kat's friend that tagged along bc kat was lonely, while that last part is true, i do think they were all close at one point. which is why i think they haven't hung out as a group since. when a problem arises in a group, it's gonna take some time to heal from it. also, snc are on their grind rn, colby has more important shit to worry about, so repairing a friendship is probably last on the list.

i think they were the type of group that did well in positive situations, if that makes any sense. they were down for the partying, they were down for the festivals, for the drinking, for the staying up late and going to vegas and ghost hunting and all that good stuff. i had friends similar to that in college. but when the party was over… what exactly did we have in common? we never hung out sober, or if we did the vibe just wasn't the same. clearly, in a party we were awesome and it was fun. but when the morning would come, we were sorta strangers in the end bc we just never got deep on that level.

while i do think tc4 were friends, i do think that once things got "negative", so to speak, that's when they stopped thriving. and that's when they couldn't be friends anymore.

i honestly think that they just need time, and they could all be friends again. it might take a bit of time, but i won't be surprised if later this year they're all hanging out somewhere or ghost hunting. like i said in a previous ask forever ago, i'll be very surprised if stas isn't in some video of snc's.

but who knows? maybe i'm just an optimist and they'll never all hang out again as a group lol tbh i don't care either way.

#ask #personal #tc4

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tooearlyforthis · 1 year

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Happy Birthday, Honey

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Synopsis: (2.5k wc) Steve just wants to spend his birthday the same way he always does - no one knowing and all to himself. His girlfriend, on the other hand, has other ideas.

Warnings: fluff, established relationship

masterlist || steve harrington taglist

It's Steve Harrington's Bday! Or at least according to Google it is, so here is a little bday fic about him. Also apparently, it was Joe Keery's Bday last week. So happy bday to him too.

April 29th was Steve Harrington’s least favorite day. Why? Because it's his birthday.

It was a day that plagued him since he was old enough to stay home alone. His parents were never there, off on business trips that left him alone for months at a time. They never remembered his birthday when they were home anyways and that always seemed to hurt more. Like a slap in the face from the only people that cared about him.

Tommy and Carol were the only ones from his old life that knew the day he was born. And even then, they didn’t do anything special for him. It wasn’t like he asked them to, they just never cared enough about him to celebrate. Steve would always make sure to throw a party for himself on that day. Not specifically for him, but just so he wasn’t spending another day alone.

He didn’t bother to tell Y/n or Dustin, or anyone in The Party for that matter. Partly because they never asked and partly because it never came up. But as the day was rounding the corner, he knew he couldn’t spend it alone. He asked for an extra shift at work and Y/n would be coming over later that night, two things that would help him survive another year.

He wouldn’t tell Y/n, that just felt unfair. A few months ago, when it was her birthday, he made sure to make it as special as he could. A nice restaurant, gifts from all their friends - he knew if he told her this last minute she would feel awful about it. And he never wanted to make her sad.

Well, there was always next year.

The morning of he woke up to his alarm blaring like it was any other day. And he was determined to make it such. Grabbing a bagel on his way out, he headed to work. He was surprised when he was the first one to make it to work that morning. The Max, and Robin were always sticklers for time. But both of them were nowhere in sight.

Trying not to think too much of it, he unlocked the front door and headed inside. The place had become very familiar to him after so many hours of work. He could point to a section of the shop and tell you exactly what tapes were stored there, and how much it would cost to rent them.

And by just one glance around the room, he could tell that Keith closed the night before. That was a relief for him, knowing that he didn’t have to look out for half-ass jobs of putting back tapes or an incomplete inventory. He just placed his bag in the back employee room before heading out to the register.

As he emerged from the employee common space, he was relieved to see that at least one of his co-workers had arrived. He sat down at the front desk as they came in.

“Hey, Harrington,” Max announced with a smile.

After moving to the trailer park, the young redhead thought it was about time she started to chip into her household. Plus she needed the money for a new skateboard.

“Mayfield,” Steve responded as he booted up the computer.

Max leaned across the counter, trying to look at the still-loading screen. “Did that old guy return the porno yet?”

“Nope, it’s officially two weeks late.”

“Damn! He’s really been going at it hasn’t he.”

Steve tried to conceal his chuckle. “I guess so… hey go put your stuff in the back I think there are still some tapes we need to rewind.”

She gave a nod before heading away. This was good. Everything was normal and he wouldn’t be alone. Just make it through the day and-

“Steve!”

He looked up to see Robin coming through the front door, a smile on her face. That was odd, she was never usually this chipper in the mornings. She ran over to him, engulfing him in a bug hug from behind.

“How’s your morning been?” she asked, still smiling.

He responded, “Uh, fine?” Cause how else do you respond to that? It was 9 o’clock in the morning. “What’s got you so jumpy?”

“Nothing! Can’t be excited to see my dear friend Steve?”

“Oh, you can, just not when you’re almost late to work.”

She rolled her eyes, pulling away from him. “Key word: almost.”

“Why were you late anyways? The doors are usually unlocked by the time I come in.”

Robin fell silent for a moment as she took out her book and placed it on the counter. Tuesdays weren’t usually busy so she would bring something to read to pass the time.

“I uh…had something I needed to take care of.”

“Care to share with the class?”

He watched as she paused for a moment before simply saying, “No.”

“Okay then,” he responded, turning back to the computer. “Then go help, Max, with the rewinds.”

Robin groaned as she chucked her bag over her shoulder. “You know, you’ve been a little bit bossier since getting promoted to manager.”

“I’d say more disciplined.”

Rolling her eyes she gathered her bag, ready to help David in the back. Steve sighed, hunching back into his seat. Yeah, just like any other day.

The shift at Family Video came and went just like any day, however, Robin was being more distant and smiley. Robin liked to have a good laugh but this much was just too uncommon for her. He spotted her whispering with Max a couple of times throughout the shift. But every time he approached them on the subject they pretended like it never happened.

As their shift came to a close, he decided he would give it one last try.

“Are you sure there’s nothing going on?” he asked her, stripping off his green work vest.

She shook her head. “Nothing! Just another completely normal day at work, right?”

“Sure.”

Steve watched as the next shift came in, Max walking out from the back to join them in leaving. “Well, that was a very unproductive day,” she told them.

The three of them walked out of the store, readjusting their shirts.

“Nothing you can do when you don’t have any customers,” Robin said back. “Max you’re giving me a ride right?”

“Wait Rob, I thought I was driving you home?” Steve said surprised.

“No uh, sorry forgot to tell you Max and I were gonna hang out.” She nudged her arm. “Right?”

“Yeah! Sorry, forgot to tell you,” Max responded quickly as she open the driver’s door of her car.

“You’re letting Max drive you?” Steve asked with widen-eyes. It was almost like he was having flashbacks to the night she almost crashed his BMW.

“Hey, I have my license now!” Max shouted at him but he just dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

Rolling her eyes, Robin said, “I’ll be fine. Would you rather have me driving her?”

“That’s a good point.”

“All right then.” Robin lowered herself into the passenger seat of Max’s car. She reached for the door handle. “See you tonight!”

“Tonight?”

“Tomorrow! I meant tomorrow. But uh… yeah see ya.”

Before Steve could question her further, both she and Mac climbed shut their doors. He sighed, watching as they drove off, leaving him alone in the parking lot.

“Hey there, hot stuff.”

Steve turned to find the voice calling out to him. He smiled when he saw his girlfriend in her car behind him.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked, resting a hand on the top of her car. Y/n leaned out the window, crossing her arms. “I thought we were meeting up later.”

“Well, can you blame me? I miss my boyfriend. Come on, get in.”

“But I drove here.”

“We can grab your car later, come on!”

Not being able to resist, he walked around the other side and climbed in. He leaned over the center console, pulling her into a kiss before buckling his seat belt. “I’ll never get used to that.”

Blushing, Y/n put her car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. “You really know how to make a girl swoon huh?”

He shrugged. “I have my ways. So, why do I have the honor of seeing my girlfriend so early today?”

“I just figured instead of sitting in our separate houses for the next few hours before dinner we could see a movie. 8 Million Ways to Die came out a couple of days ago and I know how much you love those detective movies.”

“Hmm, you are right about that.” He swung an arm across the back of her seat. “Sure, the movie before dinner sounds great.”

“But it was noir how can it be funny?” Y/n asked, taking another bite of her food. Her plate was almost finished.

“It was a noir but it just had some funny moments in it like the warehouse confrontation? I mean it was just a little too quirky for my liking,” Steve responded, picking up his fork. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it!”

“Mmmhm, sure you did.”

“No, come on, babe I liked it,” he reassured her, reaching out a hand to touch hers. “Thank you for today, you don’t know how much it means to me.”

Y/n smiled but it faltered slightly as she pulled back her hand. “I-uh….”

Steve let his smile drop too, growing concerned by the second. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes! Everything is fine it’s just….I might have some idea of what today means to you.”

He felt his heart beat a little faster wondering what she could know. Oh no, did she know?

“I- what do you mean?” he asked.

“Honey, I know it’s your birthday.”

Steve felt his eyes widen, unable to form words on his lips. “H-how long have you known?”

“A couple of months….you just never bring it up I figured it was a sore subject.”

“Not really I just never make a big deal out of it. No one ever- I mean it never-“ He stumbled to find the right words to describe how he felt.

“Steve, you deserve to have a day where people appreciate you. Like the birthday you gave me? It was perfect, having all my friends there to celebrate with me. You deserve that, honey.”

“This day, just going to the movies and dinner with you? That’s enough for me.”

Not satisfied with that answer, Y/n shook her head. “Nope, come on, I got a surprise for you. She stood up, extending an arm to him. “Come on.”

“But the bill-“

“-has already been paid for.”

“You paid already?” he asked, reaching up to take her hand.

“Yep. That’s what happens when you’re the birthday boy. Gotta let others take care of you.”

“I don’t think I like this very much.”

“Well get used to it 'cause you deserve it.”

Steve was confused as they drove silently in Y/n’s car. The only sound came from the rumbling engine and the music playing very softly through the radio. The streets they passed looked familiar, almost too familiar. Wait, they were in Loch Nora.

“Are we driving to my house?” Steve asked, wondering what surprise could be waiting for him in his own home.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Y/n responded, keeping her eyes on the road, and a smile formed across her lips.

He reached forward, placing a hand on her thigh. “Come on, babe. Just tell me.”

Reaching down, she removed his hand. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere Harrington….at least not this time.”

Steve huffed as he leaned back in his seat, watching as the car turned down his street and into his driveway.

“So the surprise is at my house,” Steve nudged, getting out of the car.

Y/n walked to his side, taking his hand. “Oh my god, do you want an award or something?”

“No, but it’s nice validation.”

She smiled as they reached the front steps. He went to turn the handle but she stopped him. “Wait,” she began.

Steve turned to look at her. “Yeah?”

“Just-“ Pausing, she took a moment to re-orient him to face her, her hands dropping from the side of his arms. “I’m not gonna press you why you didn’t tell me about your birthday okay? But it is a special day, at least to me, and you deserve to be celebrated.”

Steve felt like he could melt at her words; slump into her arms and spend the day thinking about how lucky he was to have her. Instead, he leaned in, giving her a quick peck on the lips. It was a chaste kiss, but still passionate nonetheless.

As they pulled apart, Steve smiled. “What did I do to deserve you.”

“You didn’t have to do anything. I love you just the way you are.”

Stepping forward, she opened the front door. They stepped inside the dark foyer, Y/n moving quickly to turn on the lights.

As the lights shined through the room, Steve stepped back in shock. Everyone he cared about, the kids, Nancy and Jonathan, Robin, and even Hopper and Joyce stood in his living room. There was a big banner behind them, decorations, and balloons littered throughout the house.

At the sight of him, they all shouted, “Happy Birthday!!!”

Dustin had a bunch of party blowers in his mouth, making them all go off at once while Lucas threw confetti into the air. He watched as Max let go of some balloons that all floated to his ceiling. Nancy, Robin, and Jonathan were all holding a cake that sprawled a Happy Birthday message across the top.

It was everything he didn’t know he needed for his birthday.

He stumbled back in shock at the scene before him. He beamed at all of his friends who came to celebrate. After so many years of not having a birthday, of being ignored by the people closest to him, it felt like he was being heard.

He felt a tug on his sleeve as Y/n wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Happy Birthday, honey,” she said softly.

Steve grinned looking down at her. “Seriously what did I do to deserve you.”

He swooned for her as she giggled. He loved that giggle, it made his heart feel whole. Not being able to hold back, not caring that he was surrounded by all of his friends, he pulled her into a kiss.

Their lips connected into a familiar dance, filled with the warmth and comfort of everything before them. He could hear a whistling sound in the room, probably from Mike as Robin clapped and cheered for them.

As they broke the kiss, Dustin stepped forward, holding more party blowers in his hands. He yelled with excitement, “Now let’s get this party started!”

#fanfic #fluff #friends to lovers #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #joe keery #djo #steve harrington #dustin henderson #robin buckley #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fic #birthday

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softyn · 4 years

Text

Scintilia | Han Jisung

Scintilia (n): a tiny, brilliant flash; a small thing; a barely visible trait

Summary: Jisung knew he fucked up when he told his friends he had a girlfriend when he actually hadn’t, but he fucked up even more when he started to have feelings for the girl he asked to be his fake girlfriend.

wc: 5k

genre: fake dating! au, fluff, angst

warnings: some curse words, a little make out session.

a/n: I wasn’t really going to post this for Jisung’s bday buuuuut I just finished it so ^^ Happy Jisung day! I hope you have an amazing day 🤍🥺 Stay love you!🥰 (sorry for the end of the au its actually shit lmao but it’s 2am and I falling asleep sjhedjh)

You looked out of your classroom’s window; This class was taking too long and you were hungry enough not to focus on it anymore.

You looked at the people who were sitting in the garden, either enjoying their free period or skipping classes.

Among them, you spotted Felix, your classmate, with his group of friends, laughing at something one of them said.

Their group was pretty popular at your university, they were known to be quite friendly, handsome, athletic, and good students, and you wouldn’t be joking if you said that more than half of the university would die to date them.

You only knew Felix for sharing some classes with you and once, you were paired up to do a project together and, to be honest, it was a lot of fun and you enjoyed doing the project with him even though you barely knew each other.

Suddenly, the sound of the loud alarm indicating that the class was over interrupted your thoughts.

You jumped from your seat and, quickly, picked up all your things. You were starving and you wasted no time in texting your friend to meet you at your favorite ramen place so you could eat together.

“Text me once you arrive home.” Your friend told you.

“I will.” After you said goodbye to your friend, you headed to your dorm, but what you didn’t expect when you arrived there was to find one of Felix’s friends waiting in front of your door.

You frowned and checked the floor and the door number, thinking that maybe, you got off the wrong floor, but indeed, this was your dorm.

“Excuse me.” You said, trying to catch the boy’s attention.

He turned around and seemed surprised to see you there like he wasn't expecting you to appear at all.

"Do you need anything?" You asked.

He opened his mouth, finding the correct words until he finally decided to introduce himself.

"Yeah, hi! I'm Han Jisung, I live a couple of doors from here." He said, pointing with his thumb to the left, where his dorm was. "Also, I'm Felix's friend, you know him, right?"

You nodded quietly surprised to hear that he was your neighbor.

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” He said with a shy smile. “Do you wanna go for a walk meanwhile?

You looked at him and you squinted your eyes.

Why would he suddenly want to go for a walk with you?

“Actually, It’s kinda late you know...” You said, looking for your keys.

“Y/N, please! I really need your help!” He begged, holding your hands in his. “I just... I really fucked up and I know we barely know each other but... I’ll do whatever you want to just please, help me!”

Taken aback by his behavior, you looked around in case someone was watching you and you sighed.

You opened the front door of your dorm and offered him to enter.

“Okay so...” You started saying but you were interrupted by Jisung.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” He suddenly asked, making you choke on your saliva.

“WHAT?”

“It doesn’t have to be real! Like, you can be my fake girlfriend, you know?” He said nervously.

“And why on the earth would you want to have a fake girlfriend?!” You asked confused.

Jisung blushed slightly and looked at his feet. “I told my friends I had a girlfriend so they now want to meet her.” He explained but for the look from your face he understood that you needed much more explanation. “It scaled so quickly, they were saying that I’m a chicken and I couldn’t ask a girl out and I told them I had a girlfriend just to shut their mouths but I didn’t think of the consequences.” He said.

You stayed in silence, examining his face. “I see...”

Suddenly, the ringing of your phone startled the both of you.

“Shitshitshit.” You said when you saw it was your friend Sohye the one calling you.

“Sorry! Sorry, sorry I totally forgot to text you, I’m already at home.” You said after you picked it up.

“You scared me dickhead!” Your friend yelled at you.

“I’m sorry, something came up and I totally forgot.”

“Is everything okay?” Sohye asked.

“Yeah, don’t worry, see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, oh! And don’t forget I have a really important exam tomorrow, I won’t be able to eat lunch with you.” She said.

“Yeah, yeah, good night.”

“Good night y/n.”

You hung up and looked at Jisung.

“Don’t tell me it was your boyfriend?! Or girlfriend?! Oh my God, I’m so sorry, I should have asked you first.” He said, covering his mouth with his hands.

You giggled and shook your head. “It was my friend and don’t worry, I don’t have a partner.” You informed.

“Ok, so...” He said.

“What do I get in return?” You asked.

He seemed to be relieved that you didn’t say no, but that didn’t mean that you would say yes either.

“I can treat you to food every time we’re together.” He asked.

Ouch.

That was such a good offer.

“Deal.” You said, shaking hands with Jisung.

You spent the night discussing your “relationship”, how you two met, where, who confessed first... But of course, you also set some rules; The skinship and PDA were exclusively reserved for when the boys were around, no touching and of course, he wouldn’t brag about you doing “the dirty” because you would not only tell his friends everything was a lie, but you would also slap him in the face.

“Okay so long story short, we know each other because we are neighbors, one day I asked you out and after a few more dates I officially asked you to be my girlfriend but we never said anything because you wanted to keep it low.” Jisung recapitulated.

“We’ve been dating for five months now, don’t forget about it.” You added.

“Oh yeah, true.”

“And we will break up in two months.” You added again.

“Yeah, I remember that as well but there’s no need to tell them that.” Jisung giggled

“Hey, baby.” A voice behind you said, startling you.

You turned around and saw Jisung with a big smile.

The boy pecked your lips softly then he took your backpack and hung it on his shoulder, placing his other hand on your lower back, guiding you to the table where his friends were.

You could feel the looks of disbelief, not only from Jisung's friends but from all the people who were there, on you, making you feel uncomfortable.

“Hey guys, this is Y/N, my girlfriend.” Jisung’s friends looked at you in astonishment while Jisung introduced them to you.

Felix frowned his eyebrows looking at both of them.

You found quite funny his reaction, he seemed to be confused.

“You’re dating Y/L/N Y/N?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Jisung said and smiled at you, sitting down next to you.

“Since when?” He asked again.

“We’ve been dating for five months already but I asked him not to say anything, I wanted to keep it low for a while, sorry.” You said with a shy smile.

You really wanted to pat yourself on the back right now, you never knew you were such a great actor.

“No, it’s okay... we understand.” Chan said with a soft smile.

“How much did he pay you?” One of them asked you.

“Minho hyung!” Jisung complained.

You couldn’t help but laugh but you weren’t really sure if it was because his question was kinda funny, the fact that he actually was paying you with food or just because you were really nervous.

The rest of the guys laughed as well, even though he sounded quite serious when he asked you, they all seemed to take it as a joke.

“Ji, I’m hungry.” You said looking at him with puppy eyes but indicating him you wanted your part of the deal.

He was surprised to hear you call him by a nickname, but he didn’t show that, instead he smiled at you and asked you to choose whatever you wanted on the menu and kissed your temple.

“Bro I still can’t process this shit.” Felix said.

“Yeah same, I was waiting for him to tell us he was lying.” Seungmin commented.

“I’m so happy he’s not staying virgin forever.” Changbin added, proudly.

“Can you guys not talk like I wasn’t here?” Jisung said, embarrassed.

After eating and chatting for a while with Jisung and his friends, you decided it was time to you to go back to your dorms to study.

It was around 11 pm when you heard someone pounding the door.

Scared, you approached the door and suddenly, you heard Sohye’s voice.

“Y/n open the door right now! I know you’re in there!” She yelled.

Confused, you opened the front door and she stormed inside your apartment.

“Can you dare to explain to me why is the whole university calling you “Jisung’s new girlfriend”?” She asked, looking at you in disbelief.

You sighed and sat on the sofa, closing your eyes and massaging your temples.

Of course, this was one of the biggest cons of dating Han Jisung (or any of his friends actually), the whole university would gossip about it.

You looked at your friend and you made a gesture for her to sit next to you.

“Well? Are you dating Han Jisung, y/n?” She said.

You sighed again.

Should you play along and tell her all the gossips and rumors were true or should you tell her the truth?

“Yes.”

You bit your lip, feeling guilty seeing her hurtful expression.

“What? Since when?” She asked, in a low voice.

“For five months now.” You replied.

“Why haven’t you told me anything?” She said.

You were feeling even more guilty now, you and Sohye always tell each other everything.

“Look y/n, I’m not mad, I know you must have your rea-

“We’re not dating.” You interrupted her, making her look at you confused.

“I’m so confused right now.”

You started to explain everything, from how Jisung asked you if you could be his fake girlfriend to your last conversation with his friends.

“Wow... I’m glad you trusted me and told me everything.” She smiled. “Well, if you ever need help with anything you know who to call.”

You were currently in Chan and Changbin’s apartment for a movie night.

It’s been almost two weeks since you and Jisung made “your relationship” public and it seemed like the boys didn’t suspect a thing.

“Baby hey, come here.” You were in the kitchen with Chan and Jeongin making the popcorns, when you arrived to the living room, where the rest of the boys were, your boyfriend called you, patting his lap, indicating you to sit on his lap.

You stopped your tracks and looked at him narrowing your eyes, with the bowl of popcorns still in your hands, you wanted to tell him that in a million years your would sit on his lap but since the boys were there, you ended up agreeing.

Jisung placed his arm around your waist and his other hand rested on your thigh.

You observed all his movements carefully and rolled your eyes when he asked you to feed him with popcorns. You filled his mouth with a handful of popcorn and giggled seeing him happily munching the popcorns, it reminded you to a little squirrel.

“Okay lovebirds, let’s start the movie.” Minho said.

Seungmin looked to his left since he couldn't stop hearing whispers but turned his attention back to the movie with a disgusted face seeing you and Jisung acting all lovely-dovey.

On the outside, it seemed like you guys were just innocently flirting but the reality was far from there...

Not an hour had passed since the movie started and you were already sick of Jisung not stopping moving.

“Can you stop, like, for five fucking seconds, Jisung?!” You whispered.

“Sorry! This movie is too boring I think I'm going to die of boredom.” He whispered back.

You stayed silent for a few seconds before he opened his mouth again.

“Should we make out?” He asked, tucking a few strands of your hair behind your ear. You felt your heartbeat strongly against your chest and your cheeks and ears burn

“W-what? No! I’m not gonna make out with you! Much less if your friends are here!” You said, flustered.

“But that’s the point Y/N! They never saw us kissing.” He said and you looked at him incredulously. “Those weren’t kisses! they were innocents pecks.” He said.

He had a point there, you just pecked his lips in front of his friends.

Also, it’s been a long time since the last time you actually kissed someone.

And Jisung was your “boyfriend”.

And this movie was, indeed, boring.

“It’s okay Y/N, I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to, I already made you sit on my lap.” He said but before thinking it twice, you cupped his face and you brought your lips together.

You caught him by surprise but quickly, he recomposed himself and he tightened his grip on you, leaning even closer to you, stealing your breath away.

Even though there were seven more people in the room, it felt like it was just you and him. His lips were soft and warm and his grip on your thigh, slowly caressing you, wasn’t helping at all.

You break away a few seconds but soon, he pulled you back to him.

You moved your hands from his face to his nape and you caressed the strands of his hair, making him hum against your lips softly.

“Hey! Get a room!” Hyunjin shouted at you two, making you break apart quickly.

You bit your lips, feeling your cheeks burn for the second time that night and looked with the corner of your eye at Jisung, who was also blushing.

“Should we change the movie? This one is kinda boring, don’t you think? Chan asked and you all agreed.

The boys played another movie that it was to Jisung's liking, since he barely moved this time.

You leaned your head against Jisung’s chest and hearing his heartbeat, slowly, you fell into a deep sleep.

Jisung’s P.O.V

Jisung couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss.

At first, he said it as a joke. In these two weeks he has learned about you more than he would like to admit, he knew you get flustered easily and he actually enjoys to fluster you but he didn’t expect you to kiss him that way at all.

And now you were peacefully sleeping on his chest.

Slowly, he started patting your head and giggled softly when you hummed in your sleep.

At that moment he felt a sensation in his chest he couldn’t describe, the only thing he could say was that it felt right, that moment, right there, felt just right.

A few days later, after your class was finished, Felix approached you.

“Hey y/n!” He said with a bright smile.

“Oh! Hey Lix, what’s up?” You asked, smiling him back.

“I was wondering if you could help me to study for the incoming exam?” He asked. “I’ve been struggling with this subject for a while now and I thought that, maybe, since it’s our last exam, it would help if I studied with you since you’re quite great at this subject.”

“As long as Jisung is fine with it, of course.” He added.

“Yeah, of course! And don’t worry about Jisung, he won’t mind.” You smiled.

“Oh! Thank you so much, you’re saving my life right now.” He hugged you, making you laugh.

“I was going to go to this cafeteria and study there, wanna come?” You asked.

“Sure! I’m craving some bubble tea as well.”

After a few hours later, you guys decided to call it a day.

“This is what I call a productive day.” Felix said and you agreed.

For the rest of the week, Felix and you had constant study sessions after your classes so it was difficult to hang out with the rest of the guys.

Suddenly, the image of Jisung popped in your head.

He’s been asking you to meet him, at least to have lunch with the boys but you always declined his offers.

He thought you were being a little harsh on yourself, Felix who has the same exam as you, spends his lunch with them, while you just bought a sandwich or whatever you felt like and went back to your dorm yet he was understanding and told you you would meet once your exams were finished.

You smiled at the thought.

In this whole month you’ve been “dating” Jisung, you’ve found out what an amazing person he actually is.

He loves to make people smile, he makes people laugh without even trying, he’s considerate and, even if you wouldn’t admit it out loud, he’s a great boyfriend and his future partner will be lucky to have him in his life.

A loud sigh left your lips and you shook your head.

You needed to concentrate and go back to your book.

Not so long after, a knock on your door drew your attention.

You looked at your clock.

23:02 pm

“Who in the hell is it at this hour?” You asked yourself.

Opening your front door, you were surprised to see Jisung with a big smile in front of you.

“Jisung? What are you doing here?” You asked confused, moving to your side, allowing him to come inside your dorm.

“I didn’t see you at the cafeteria today so I thought that, maybe, you skipped your meals and since that’s not very healthy, I decided to buy some of your favorite ramen.” He said, placing a bag on your table and flicking at your forehead.

“Ouch.” You whimpered.

You felt your cheeks gain a light pinkish color and a little smile was drawn on your face.

That was very nice of him actually.

Indeed, you skipped your meals today, you felt really stressed today and you even canceled you study session with Felix. Your dorm was a mess and you weren’t any better, to be honest.

“Thank you.” You muttered feeling suddenly shy.

“No problem baby, I bought some for me as well, so I could keep your company, I hope you don’t mind.” He said.

“On the contrary.” You smiled, picking up two pairs of chopsticks and some water.

You sat together and started eating together.

A moan left your lips when you munched your food.

It tasted like heaven.

“Don’t skip your meals again, do you hear me?” Jisung warned you. “It’s not good for your health.”

“Sorry, I don’t usually skip my meals but this exam is going to kill me I swear.”

You keep talking about some trivial things, laughing every now or then about some anecdotes Jisung told you about.

“Anyways, it’s kinda late already and I don’t want to distract you anymore.” He said looking at his phone.

It was almost midnight now and even though you were having a great time with him, you really needed to pass this exam.

“Let me walk you to the door.” You said, getting up and leaning against the door frame once you arrived there, just like the boy did.

You and Jisung stared at each other in complete silence, a very comfortable silence.

You examined his face, you never noticed before but Han Jisung was handsome. His eyes were big and very roundish, and the dark brown of his irises was captivating.

Your sight fell on his lips and you suddenly felt your heart skip a beat.

You suddenly felt your face heat up and you looked into his eyes again, trying to avoid something you could regret in the future, but it didn’t help at all as your pulse sped up when you noticed Jisung looking at your lips.

You wanted to say something, to do something, but your body didn’t want to move and it wasn’t until Jisung made eye contact with you again when your body finally responded.

“I have to go.” He said. “Don’t skip your meals, okay?” He warned again, ruffling your hair.

“I won’t.” You said, giving him a small smile.

It was Saturday night, and again, Changbin and Chan invited you all to their apartment to celebrate you and Felix finally finished your exams.

You were sitting between Jisung’s legs, your back against his chest, while his chin rested on the top of your head.

He had you wrapped around his arms and refused to let you go, saying that you’ve been too busy studying for your exam that you barely saw each other, which was actually true since it was your last exam of the semester you and Felix spent your days glued to your books and notes.

“So how did that exam go?” Chan asked.

“Actually great, I had the best teacher.” Felix complimented you.

You giggled. “I didn’t do anything Felix, you-.” But before you could finish your sentence, Jisung interrupted you.

“Wait, you guys studied together?” He asked, unwrapping his arms from around you.

“Yeah, I thought y/n told you?” Felix said, 7 pairs of eyes now focusing on you both.

You turned your head to look at Jisung, making eye contact with him. “All this time, you’ve been studying together? Why didn’t you say anything?” He asked you, with an annoyed look on his face.

You looked at him speechless. Why was he acting like that?

Jisung scoffed at your loss of words, getting up from his spot on the floor.

“Jisung mate, calm down, we-” Felix was saying but, again, Jisung interrupted him.

“Y/n, can I talk to you for a second?” He said, pointing at the front door behind his back.

You nodded confused as to why he was acting like that and followed him in silence until you two were alone.

“Why didn’t you tell me you and Felix have been studying together?!” He asked you, irritated.

“Oh God Jisung, why are you acting like this? It’s not that deep.” You said, crossing your arms on your chest, rolling your eyes.

“Not that deep?! Not telling your boyfriend you’re hanging out with other guys is not that deep?!” He yelled.

“Did you forget that you’re NOT my real boyfriend?” You whispered harshly, pressing your index finger on his chest.

Anger started to boil inside of you. What’s gotten into him?

“Yeah but for them, I am your boyfriend.” He said, mimicking your actions.

You scoffed rolling your eyes, “yeah, so what? What’s the big deal about it!?” You yelled, getting angrier and angrier as time passed. “Felix is your friend and he could never get in your girl’s pants if this is all the fuss about!”

“Yeah, but would you?!” He yelled.

You looked at him in shock.

Yes, maybe you weren’t a real couple but, to the public eye you were, and for some reason, hearing him accusing you of doing something like that made your heartache.

“JISUNG WHAT THE FUCK? DO YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD FUCK YOUR FRIEND BEHIND YOUR BACK?!” You yelled, not caring if the guys could hear you.

“OF COURSE I DO!” He yelled back at you.

At that moment, you felt a pang on your chest.

You didn’t know what hurt you more, the way he saw you or the fact that it was Jisung the one who said all those things to you.

Without a word, you turned your body and you walked out of that place but you stopped middle track.

Turning around again, looking at Jisung, you opened your mouth, your voice was low but loud enough for Jisung to hear.

“You know what Han Jisung? You already proved your friends that you’re a big man that can ask girls out, you showed them how fucking big your pride and ego is so I don’t see the point of me being around you anymore, this is over.”

“Y/n don’t cry, please.” Sohye said, looking at you curl up on her lap and caressing your back.

You tried to control your sobs but you found it difficult.

“It wasn’t even real Sohye, why does it have hurt so much?” You said, tightening your grip on the hem of his shirt.

Sohye looked at you with pity. She’s never been good with relationships so she wasn’t sure about what to tell you. “Wait here y/n, I’ll make you hot chocolate, okay? I know you love my hot chocolates.” She said, getting up.

You nodded, trying to control your sobs.

You really thought he was your friend.

Friend.

Was he really your friend?

Or you just wanted to believe that he was just a friend?

The kiss in Chan and Changbin’s apartment, the day he bought you food just because he noticed that you skipped your meals, that weird moment in your door frame, all the times he made you laugh...

Suddenly, your thoughts were interrupted by Sohye’s voice.

“She doesn’t want to see you right now.”

You got up so quickly that you even got dizzy.

Sohye was in your front door, arms crossed on her chest and a threatening look on her face.

In front of her, Han Jisung asked desperately to see you.

“Please, just... I just want to tell her that I’m sorry, I’ll leave after that.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Sohye replied.

“Sohye.” You called her. “It’s okay, let him in.” You said.

“Are you sure?” She asked and you nodded. “Okay.” She said and hugged you before leaving your dorm. “Oh! By the way, if you make her cry again I won’t hesitate to kick your balls so watch out.” He threatened, making you giggled softly.

Finally, it was just you and Jisung, alone.

The atmosphere was so tense that I could be cut with the back of a knife.

“I’m so sorry.” He spoke. “I had no right to tell you all the things I said to you yesterday, it was out of place.”

You limited yourself to look at him in silence, letting him finish whatever he wanted to say.

“I hope you know I didn’t mean none of the things I said, to be honest with you, I was jealous.” He admitted.

Your eyes opened at his confession.

“Yes, I know they thought you were my “girlfriend” but in reality, you weren’t and after realizing that I actually liked you, it made me anxious to think that you could fell in love with someone else, someone that it wasn’t me.”

“Y-you like me?” You asked, surprised.

He nodded. “That night, when I bought you ramen, I couldn’t sleep at all. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, your laughter, your smile, the fact that you still looked stunning after studying for hours and being stressed as fuck... That’s when I realized that I genuinely liked you.” He confessed.

“And I could sense you were getting closer to Felix but I didn’t really think anything about it. I mean, you’re classmates, you guys knew each other but when Felix said you and him studied all this time together...” He sighed. “I got mad, but I was mad at myself because you were spending time with Felix because you wanted while I was forcing you to spend time with you.”

“I realized that maybe, I was the only one who ended up falling in love with his fake partner... and it would be okay you know! I’m not telling you this so you pity me and date me or anything, I just want to let it out of my chest and trying to justify my actions.” He rambled.

“But it’s okay if you don’t want to talk to me ever again you know... I acted like a dick so...”

“Are you done rambling?” You laughed.

He looked at you surprised.

“Jisung, first of all, I never felt like you were forcing me to go with you, you introduced me to your friends who I ended up loving and I enjoyed every single time I spent with you all. And yes, I actually got closer to Felix but that’s because we majored in the same thing and we share a lot of classes, we spend a lot of time together but i just see him as one of my closest friends. And actually, you weren’t the only one who felt in love with his fake partner so...” You smiled.

You looked how his face got brighter which made your smile wider.

“Wait... Are you serious?” He asked, excited.

“Yes, how could I not fall for the great Han Jisung?” You giggled.

“Oh God babe, I’m so happy right now.” He said, hugging you.

You hugged him back, with your arms around his neck.

“I promise you, I’ll never say any of those things to you, I won’t make you cry ever again, I’ll make you the happiest girl on this planet, believe me.” He said.

“You better do it Han Jisung.” You joked.

Jisung separated from you and cupped your face, pressing his lips on yours.

The kiss was slow, soft and you could feel the love in it.

“Let me ask you for real this time... Y/L/N Y/N, will you be my girlfriend?

// Masterlist //

tag list: @seung-minnie @ukiyolixx

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dickwheelie · 3 years

Text

@godshaper asked for jonsasha flower gifting, so here is a fic about jon giving sasha some flowers for her bday :)

______________

Jon leaned up against the wall and took a deep breath, reminding himself that it wasn't too late to change his mind, and then ignoring that reminder, before turning the corner to Sasha's cubicle. She was hunched over her computer, eyes fixed on the screen and keyboard clacking, and didn't notice him. Jon tapped his knuckle on the wall of the cubicle, carefully keeping his other hand behind his back.

"Yes?" Sasha said, not looking up. Her glasses had almost slipped down the front of her nose; she must really have been working hard on something. When she wasn't busy she'd adjust her glasses every couple of minutes, but when she really got into her work, it wasn't uncommon for her glasses to slide right off her face. Jon had caught them for her a couple of times.

"It's, uh, it's me," Jon said, shifting his feet. The thing he was hiding behind his back rustled slightly.

At last Sasha glanced up, and her face, which had been pinched in concentration, broke into a smile. "Hi, Jon."

"Hi." He smiled back at her; he couldn't help it even if he wanted to. Sasha's smiles were infectious. "Do you, um, do you have a minute?"

"Depends," Sasha said, swiveling her chair away from the screen and crossing her legs in front of her. "Is this a coworker minute, or a boyfriend minute?"

Jon's face grew warm. "Ah, a boyfriend minute. Definitely."

"Hmm," Sasha said, squinting dramatically down at her phone. "I dunno, I'm pretty booked up today with coworker minutes." She winked at him. "But I think I can squeeze you in."

Jon laughed. "I appreciate it. I'm sure you time is very valuable, Ms. James."

"Damn right it is. So what's up?" She titled her head at him, spotting that he was hiding something behind his back. "What d'you have there?"

No use delaying it any longer. "Ah--these are for you," Jon said, brandishing the bouquet of roses. They were mostly white roses, with a few red ones dotted in between. Jon didn't know much about flower arrangements, but the colors reminded him of the polka-dot dress Sasha wore to one of their first proper dates, which she'd looked very beautiful in. He hoped the roses looked nice enough to match it.

Sasha's mouth dropped open, and she took the bouquet with surprise. "Oh, wow, Jon, these are lovely! Thank you . . ." She smiled as she examined the flowers. "What's the occasion?"

That was odd, Jon thought. Was she making a joke? It didn't seem like it, but sometimes it was hard for him to tell. "It's for your birthday," he said, smiling. "Happy birthday, Sasha."

"Oh," Sasha said, and she looked . . . confused. Not at all like someone who was being surprised on their birthday ought to look. "Jon, this is really sweet, but . . ."

Jon's mind raced. Had he done something wrong? Did he overstep, somehow? Were roses too much? They'd only been dating for about three months, maybe that wasn't long enough for roses.

". . . it isn't my birthday," Sasha finished.

"Oh," said Jon.

Sasha hefted the bouquet in her hands. "But I will gladly take this anyway. It's a beautiful gift, Jon, thank you, really."

"Wait, but--your birthday is June 12th, right?" Jon said. He checked his phone and, yes, that was today.

Sasha shook her head, smiling apologetically. "July 12th, love. Still another thirty days."

July. Of course. Leave it to him to put the wrong birth month in his calendar. "God, Sasha, I'm so sorry--"

"What for?" Sasha hugged the bouquet. "You wanted to surprise me, right? This was a complete surprise. And now I have a bonus early birthday present."

"I guess . . ." Jon still felt rather embarrassed. Birthdays were important in romantic relationships, and he'd already blown this one. "I'm glad you like it, anyway."

"I love it. C'mere." Sasha gestured for him to lean down, and gave him a kiss, leaving Jon red and clearing his throat.

"There's, um, a card," he said, gesturing at the bouquet. "If you didn't want to wait another month to read it."

Sasha was already picking it out from between the roses. Jon had made the card himself. It was just colored pen on a piece of cardstock, but he thought it looked rather nice. He'd broken out his neatest cursive for the occasion.

" 'Happy Birthday, Sasha James,' " Sasha read aloud, " 'from your long-suffering coworker and loving boyfriend. I hope you have an excellent birthday. PS: Redeem this card for one mint chocolate chip ice cream.' And then there's a heart and a little doodle of an ice cream cone. Jon, this is so sweet. Thank you."

Sasha got up to give him a crushing hug, and for a moment Jon was entirely at peace, all birthday-related anxiety vanished in the curls of Sasha's hair and the feeling of her cheek resting against his. He loved how soft Sasha always was, from her clothes to her body to her hands, which were somehow always smooth and cool, like stones on a beach. He wished they were at home instead of standing in Sasha's cubicle, so they could lie on the sofa together and watch whatever history documentary Sasha was into that week, and he could fall asleep on top of her. Yes, Jon thought, that sounded wonderful right about now . . .

Soon enough, of course, they pulled apart and Jon found himself back in the present. "I really do love the roses," Sasha said. "I can't even remember the last time someone got me flowers." She thought for a moment. "I'll put them on the desk back at my flat. They'll look nice there, in the sunlight."

"I'm glad you like them," Jon said, smiling. He'd been trying to think of a good gift for Sasha's birthday for weeks now, and all attempts to find a copy of an obscure journal of medical anomalies from 1934 that he knew she'd been looking for were met with failure, so he had to think of an alternative.

"So . . ." Sasha said, "about that mint chocolate chip ice cream . . ."

Jon grinned. "I'll take you after work. We can make a date out of it."

"Why not now?" Sasha said.

Jon glanced at the clock on the far wall. "It's two in the afternoon."

"It's a Friday! And anyway, it's my birthday," Sasha said, hefting the bouquet demonstratively. "You wouldn't tell your girlfriend no on her birthday, Jon."

"I wouldn't. But Elias might," Jon said. "And it isn't actually your birthday."

"It's my early birthday. And what Elias doesn't know won't hurt him. Here," Sasha said, handing Jon the bouquet and turning back to her computer, "I'll just finish up this statement followup and I'll be done for the day. I've got plenty of overtime to use, and god knows you do too, Jon."

"I--haven't been staying late as much," Jon said, feebly.

"Good! You can still spare three hours," Sasha said, clicking a couple of things on her screen and then shutting off the computer. She grabbed her bag and took back the bouquet. "Okay, let's go."

"Right now?" Jon mentally went through the list of all the work things he had yet to finish for the week, even as Sasha steered him bodily out of her cubicle and towards the stairwell. He couldn't just leave with so much left to do. Could he?

"Yes, right now," Sasha said. "You're going to take me out on a lovely mid-afternoon early-birthday date with ice cream. And I am going to sit there and admire the lovely bouquet my lovely boyfriend bought for me and be thankful that I don't have to spend my early-birthday sitting in a stuffy basement. Even if one of the people I'm sharing that basement with is my lovely boyfriend. I'd much rather spend my time with him outside of work, where he rarely is."

Jon had to agree, that sounded rather nice. That daydream of lying on the sofa seemed very much within reach now. "If you insist," he said, taking her hand with no small measure of relief. Relief that Sasha had liked the flowers, relief that she was going to have a good birthday, and relief that Jon hadn't managed to screw this up after all.

He'd have to come up with something even better for Sasha's actual birthday next month--he wondered if he might try another crack at eBay to find that book--but for now, seeing her smugly order a large cone of mint chocolate chip, holding up her bouquet of roses proudly, was the best present Jon could ask for.

#tma #the magnus archives #jonsasha #sasha james #jonathan sims #gwyneth writes #thank u jack!

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fandomscombine · 3 years

Text

It's the Lease I Can Do

Platonic! Weasley Twins x Reader

BG: The Weasley twins are so close to having their joke shop become a reality. They had found the perfect location but they had hit a minor problem that could cause them everything. You want to help, but how can you when they, the birthday boys themselves had given up?

a/n: I had this idea for a almst a year now and waited til ther twins bday to write it. I hope you enjoy.

WC: 2111

>>>MASTERLIST<<<

Fred and George causing a ruckus in the common room is a daily occurrence that everyone is accustomed to. However ever since the start of Year 7, the amount of commotion these two had caused can be counted in one hand.

At first glance, it could be attributed to NEWTS or in this year's case-to a pink toad acting as High Inquisitor. Still, more and more nights the twins had claimed the back corner of the common room.

The last remaining batch of students were making their way through Filch's checkpoint (an added security protection which also serves for Umbridge having a list of names on who comes in and out of Hogwarts). You glanced down at your watch- 2:27pm, they’re late. Weird, the twins never pass a chance to go to Hogsmeade.

You hear the castle door open behind you. Thank Merlin, you thought but instead you were greeted with a disheveled Angelina. “I’m coming! Wait!”

“Have you seen Fred and George?” You called as she ran past you.

“I think I saw them in the common room!” Angelina shouted back.

The common room? “What are they up to now?” You sighed. Stomping heavily up the stairs. “Ditching me….”

“Oi Weaslebees! I know you’re in here!” You rounded the corner of their secret spot. “AHa!”

You caught them red handed, midway into shoving papers into their “Weasley & Weasley'' Trunk. Though what they were hiding, you weren't exactly sure.

“Y/N!” Fred greeted, grabbing onto your shoulders, effectively covering George and the table. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Narrowing your eyes at him. “Really?” Hands on hips you blatantly say “2:15 am, courtyard?? Ring any bells?” Fred shook his head.

Meanwhile George’s head shot up. “Oh shit, y/n we’re so sorry!”

Fred turned to his brother, still clueless on what the heck George was talking about.

Abandoning the trunk, George gave his twin a classic smack on the head. “Hogsmeade, you idiot! We were supposed to all go together.”

“OHHHH FU--” Fred knew he was screwed. “I’M SO SORRY! WE’RE SORRY.” Seizing the messy trunk, he strategized. “Right, here’s the plan: I’m gonna quickly drop this off back in the dorm while you two make your way to the gate. If you run, I guess you can make it. I’ll catch up with you two then.”

“Fred….. We’re not gonna make it” you argued.

“Not if we don’t try.”

“It’s almost 3, Filch would be closing the gates by now.” You sat down on Fred’s empty seat. “Besides we can go to Hogsmeade next time, we could just hang out here. I miss having my best lads around.”

“Awww…we’ve been upgraded from annoying pricks to best lads!” Gushed George, pulling you into a side hug.

“Yea, I could help in whatever it was you guys were doing before I came. I don’t mind.”

At that, you could feel George tense up, his arm around you dropping. “Uhhh…” He looked to the older twin, silently conversing.

You gaze between the boys, sometimes they get so caught up in their scheming that they don’t notice that to others, especially those who had known them for years that their non verbal communication is not so sly.

In the end, Fred gave his brother a subtle shake. “No, that’s alright. I’ll just put this back and we could play gobstones or something, anything you like.”

As Fred headed up to his dorm room, you noticed a piece of paper under the table. Picking it up, the header caught your eye. RE: Lease Agreement. Were the twins looking for a new home after graduation? You didn’t mean to pry. You were close friends, they would tell you if they were moving right? This is big news….you decided to brush it off until another line caught your attention. The shop premise located at Number 93 Diagon Alley. Shop? They are trying to set up shop? That’s brilliant! The twins would get to showcase their inventions to the world! You could feel your pride swell. Leasing Agreements would not proceed if tenants, Mr. Fred Weasley and Mr. George Weasley, are unable to provide an endorser by the date of 31st of March.

“Where’d you get that?” George standing across from you, gobstones on one hand and another pointing at the document. There’s no backing out now.

“It was under the table.” You explained. “I didn’t know you were this far along with the shop.”

“Yea, well it’s not happening now is it?”

“What?”

“Cmon y/n. I know you read it.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright. We aren’t getting the place anyway.”

“Wait what? Why?”

“No endorsers.” George stated matter of factly but you sense the pain in his voice.

“How about your parents surely-”

George laughed. “As if mum would suddenly have a change of heart. You knew how she disapproves of our inventions, calling it a waste.”

“Arthur then.”

“Mum won’t let him.”

“Anyone then?” George huffed in defeat. “How about me! I could back you up.”

“You have to be an adult with a proven financial stability.” He stated, effectively shutting you down. “Forget it y/n. The hold ends in 3 days. We’ve tried everything. Just don’t let Fred know that you know. He’s devastated. Promise?”

“I promise.”

“And no pity, sad eyes!” He added as footsteps are heard descending the staircase.

“But I suck at poker faces!”

“Then let’s hope that Freddie is distracted even to not notice.”

It’s been 4 days since you had sent the letter to your father.

“Dear papa,

I know that this is a huge favour to ask but I believe it would be worth your while.

So remember back in the summer when you caught Fred Weasley, George Weasley and me snooping around with the Extendable Ears but let us go because you were so enamored?

Well turns out the twins and trying to get a shop up and running! How amazing is that?

The only problem is that they need an endorser to back them up in order to proceed with the lease agreements. The are currently on hold for the Shop Number 93 in Diagon Alley until the 31st.

This is where the huge favour comes in. Could you please be their backer? You did say that you’d love to help in some part in their invention, be an investor of sorts. Please papa. I would love to do it myself but I have to wait a couple more months to qualify. Plus it’s their 18th birthday on April 1st. Imagine their surprise if it were to come through.

I’d love to hear from you soon, regardless of your choice.

Your favourite child

y/n.”

The twin’s 18th birthday was spent with absolute love and madness.

Lee had unloaded his stash of butterbeer and firewhiskey, Fred had slipped Angelina with one of their new prank inventions- which changes the person into a sickly color of vomit green, a perfect way to ditch class or events.

Upon learning that the color would last for a few days and would only fade with the ingestion of an antidote, antidote that George said they still had yet to create. Angelina (understandably) threw cake at them. The Gryffindor chaser with perfect aim, hits its mark. However, Fred using his beater skills, instinctively blocks the incoming cake.

Resulting in a wide splat zone. Fred’s arm was covered in frosting, having sprayed everyone around him in whipped cream during the impact. George wasn’t safe too, despite being across from Fred, the rebounce of the cake had made him the new target.

You had just changed into your pajamas when a tapping sound came from your window.

Your family owl, Lanny, was outside carrying a large yellow envelope.

Quickly letting him in, you gave Lanny a gentle pat and brought out some owl treats for the tired bird.

Unscrolling the note tied to his leg, you begin to read.

“My dearest y/n,

My sincere apologies for the late reply, it’s been quite hectic at work.

In regards to your favour, you need not worry. Everything is taken care of. I had met with the landlord of Number 93 Diagon Alley and had all the documents settled. I had also gone and checked to make sure the two lads aren’t being ripped off. Fred and George had picked a nice prime location.

Greet them a happy birthday for me alright? And tell them that I look forward to witnessing them succeed in their endeavors.

They would undoubtedly be bringing a lot of much needed joy into these darkening times. The people would be thankful for them.

I also had Lanny bring the twins’ copy of the Lease Agreement.

I can’t wait to see you all soon.

Much love,

Papa.”

Fred was grateful that their friends had retired into the night, leaving him and George to sulk into the dreadful reality.

“We were this close Georgie, this close!” Fred winced, pinching his fingers close without touching.

“I know but there was nothing else we could have done.” consoled George but even he himself was having a hard time. Number 93 was the perfect location for their joke shop. But now it’s gone.They are back to square one, scouting for locations.

“Fred! George! There you are! I have great news!” You yelled, not caring if you could wake up the other students.

“Oi Y/N! Be careful!.” Even in a bad mood, Fred Weasley couldn’t help being protective.

You banged the envelope on the table. “Surprise! Happy Birthday! From papa and I.”

“Another gift?” wondered George.

“So you don’t want it then?” You challenged, crossing your arms. You tried to look intimidating but the pajamas weren’t doing any good. “Cause I bet a hundred galleons that you’d shit your pants if you were to reject it.”

“That confident eh?” Smirked Fred, taking the contents of the envelope out. “ What do you think is so grand that Georgie and I would---BLOODY HELL! Y/N!” Fred kept looking down at the paper and up to you, unbelieving.

“What is it Freddie?” asked George leaning over to read whatever it was that left his brother speechless.

Re: Lease Agreement

Mr. y/l/n has submitted his endorsement to Mr. Fred Weasley and Mr. George Weasley.

The turnover of the leasing property of Shop Number 93 Diagon Alley would begin on April 1st …..

“Oh My- Y/n? Is this real?” George whispered, afraid that if he were any louder this dream would end.

“Yes, absolutely, 100%.” You affirmed. “The shop is yours! Opff-”

George embraced you tight, catching you off guard. You could feel your right shoulder getting wet. “Heyya big guy, don’t cry.” Running a hand up and down his back.

“But how?” Fred with brows creased was still stuck in a trance, you could see the paper shake in his grasp.

“You left the agreement noticed a couple of days ago. I might have accidentally read it. George said to not let you know cause you might get angry-”

“YOu KNEW?!?”

“George only knew I saw the paper. Nothing else.” You defended. “I thought i might try and help, so I called in a favour with papa. You knew how much he was impressed with the Extendable Ear, so I mentioned if he wanted to back you up. I only got his reply just now, said he’d love to and got onto ironing out the paperwork and viola!” Pointing at the document. “Oh and he also said Happy 18th Birthday, looking forward to your success and the people would be thankful for bringing a lot of much needed joy into these darkening times.”

“Thanks Y/n but this is a lot we can’t possibly-”

You cut Fred off before he could say more. “Oh please, you have done countless things for me. And I know what you’re gonna say- but see you would do the same for me. Besides think of this as your first investors. We want to help. We see your potential, we know you two, Fred, George, are gifted with bringing laughter and joy to people with your inventions."

"Thank you, truly y/n and to your dad too." Fred admitted, opening himself up. "No one's really backed us up with our inventions before, we've been always told off for being childish. It really means a lot."

“Hey, it’s the lease I could do.” You replied, causing the twins to chuckle immediately lightening up the mood.

It's great to see them relax again after weeks of stressing over the shop. Times might be changing but at least tonight, you got your best lads back.

Everything Taglist : @gruffle1

HP Taglist: @onlyfreds

#fred weasley x reader #george weasley x reader #fred weasley #geroge weasley #fred weasley imagine #george weasley imagine #fred weasley fluff #george weasley fluff #weasley twins #weasley x reader #fred and george weasley #fandomscombine writes #fred weasley angst #george weasley angst

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kelieah · 4 years

Text

surprise (peter parker x stark!reader)

summary: you give peter a gift he would have never expected to receive from you

word count: 2.9k

warnings: angst angst angst, fluff, language

edited: sorry this is super late :(

a/n: hehe, happy bday to the cutest puppy of all! thank you to everyone who helped me come up with ideas for this fic, ily all 3000

masterlist

You and Peter have been dating for almost a year now. You both decided to get together after all the chaos that took place in Europe. You two have been friends for quite a while before that, so the fact that your friendship with Peter flourished into something even better is one of the many reasons why you adore him.

His birthday is tomorrow and you wish to make it as special as it can be. Though you’re not exactly sure how to do that. You know your dad would’ve easily bought something tremendously big and written a cheesy yet short letter with it, and Peter would love it. But if you did the same, it wouldn’t be right. Right?

The night before his birthday, you were in a spiral. You had already planned a surprise party for him at his apartment though that was the least of your worries. You were pacing around your room, unsure if the gifts you’ve been preparing for weeks was enough or if you should add more things.

Over the years you’ve been friends with him and the months you’ve been dating him, you put together memories and experiences all in a scrapbook. It looked cute and simple on the outside, but once you opened it up, the pages were filled with photos, letters, doodles, and colors. Many references or inside jokes were scattered along the side margins and stickers were put accordingly. You made sure it was perfect, but your gift still felt incomplete to you.

You wanted to be extra. You had to be extra. You remember your mom saying it was something you got from your dad. That man was always one for his dramatics. So you stayed up a bit later than you should’ve, making tiny little paper stars with sweet compliments, affirmations, and advice in them. Then you made as many as you can to fill up a glass jar shaped like R2-D2.

Though to you, that still wasn’t enough. So you searched and searched and eventually found some vintage Star-Wars comics. Ignoring the fact that they were over a thousand bucks, you bought a dozen or so. His gifts were spread across your bed and you stared at it for what felt like hours.

Is this enough? Is this too much? Will he love it? Will he even like it? Shit.

You remember wanting to sleep and putting it all aside to figure out in the morning. You might’ve forgotten his birthday was the next day with how much you focused on the gifts than the actual date, so you woke up with panic.

You also remembered there was one last thing you wanted to get for Peter but once you glanced at the clock, it was already noon. You overslept.

You feel your heart drop immediately realizing that you weren’t able to text or call Peter a happy birthday or good morning. You assume he must be worried, or hurt or maybe upset? You place your face in your hands and fall into deep thought. Then it hit you, the surprise party is in three hours.

“Morning Friday, read my text messages and voicemails please,” you groggily lean against your bed rest.

“Are you sure, Y/n? You have 243 text messages and 94 voicemails,” Friday informs you.

Your eyes widen and you shake your head, “Uhm, actually just read the ones from Mom, Peter, Aunt May, and Happy please,” you mutter.

“Understood,” Friday responds, beginning to go through your messages and voicemails, “Mom has messaged you, “Morning honey. Had to go to some meetings. Nanny is leaving at 1, please watch Morgan. I’ll meet you at the party. Could you bring Morgan with you when you go?” Peter has not messaged or called you. Aunt May has messaged you, “Hi dear! I’ve already baked up some cherry pies for the party, when are you going to be over to decorate? By the way, Peter went out and is probably patrolling,” with a smiley face and heart. Happy has messaged you, “Hello, I already ordered the catering, and went over the invite list. Are you up yet?” and he also left the voicemail saying, “Hopefully you’re up by the time you get this. Most of the Avengers are coming, except Thor, the Saviors, no wait, the Guardians of whatever they’re called, and Captain Marvel. I’m sure you could figure out why. Give me a call when you’re up.” Done.”

“Shit,” you whine loudly. You throw yourself out of bed and get to your morning routine. You quickly tidy up your room, take a quick shower, go through your skincare routine and get dressed up. You decided to put on some makeup and wear nicer clothes for once given it’s your boyfriend’s birthday.

You look around your room and inhale deeply, “Just that one last thing,” you remind yourself and walk off. After getting what you need, the nanny informs you that she’s leaving. You walk over to Morgan’s room and knock the door before entering, “Hi princess, you ready for Spider-Man’s birthday?”

She turns around, all dressed up in a pretty floral dress, “Hi sissy, yes! Don’t you mean, your friend boy?” she giggles, running up to you.

You roll your eyes playfully, “You mean boyfriend? Yes, c’mon pretty girl. We’re going to go now.”

An hour or so later, you’re making your way over to Aunt May and Peter’s apartment with Morgan in the backseat. You felt bad for not greeting Peter at all today but you decided to make it a part of the surprise. “He still has a tracker in his suit!?” you burst out in laughter as you stop at a red light.

“Seems like Tony didn’t get rid of it before, I don’t blame him,” Happy mutters. “You got everything right? Morgan, Peter’s gifts, the decorations, and your head?”

“Yes Happy,” you glance into your back seat, checking in on Morgan and seeing the piled clutter. “I feel like Santa Clause with a bunch of gifts and an elf in the backseat,” you chuckle. Morgan gasps and makes a silly expression at you that brings a smile to your face.

“Maybe you are with all the cookies you eat,” he jokes.

“You’re one to talk, anyway where’s Peter now?” you ask as you drive off as soon as the light turns green.

“He’s swinging around, I saw the news. He’s interacting with fans and interviewers, a pretty rare case.”

“True, he must be trying to distract himself. Am I the only one who hasn’t greeted him yet?” you ask, nervously biting on your bottom lip.

“Yep.”

“Shoot, well I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“Let’s hope so, I’ll see you and Morgan when you both get here. Gotta help May out with the pies.”

“Sure, the pies,” you tease, causing Happy to roll his eyes and end the call.

You feel your heart stop as Peter suddenly gives you a call. You fight the urge to pick up and shower him in reassurance and love, but ignore for the sake of the surprise.

Ten to twenty minutes later, you and Morgan arrive at May and Peter’s apartment. You smile and knock on the door, struggling to hold everything in your arms while holding Morgan’s hand.

“Hello hello, you two,” Aunt May opens the door with a bright smile on her face. She lets you in and helps you out, “Took you long enough.”

“Sorry, I overslept. I wasn’t sure if my gifts were enough,” you pout and kiss her cheek.

“That’s okay. Morgan baby, Happy’s in the kitchen.” May smiles and ruffles Morgan’s hair. Morgan hums and hugs her leg, running off.

“These are all your gifts for him? Sweetheart, it’s his birthday not Christmas,” she giggles. “I’m sure he would love anything you get for him, even if it was a cheap lego set.”

“I know I know, it’s just Peter has been through so much. I feel like he deserves the world,” you say bashfully.

“You’re so cute,” she hums and helps you place the many gifts on a certain table. “Remember, you have been through a lot too.”

“Yes, but today’s his day,” you cross your arms. “Anyway, enough chatter. We should decorate now, everyone’s coming over in an hour right?”

“Yep. I also told Peter to swing around for a while and bring Thai food home at 4. He thinks it’s just going to be him, Happy and I. I told him you have work,” she says, grabbing some decorations.

“Okay, perfect. I feel so bad, I haven’t communicated with him since last morning,” you huff and grab some streamers.

“I’m sure he understands, kid gets busy too,” Happy walks over from the kitchen with Morgan trailing behind him. “Man, are these all your gifts for him?” he glances over at a table filled with only your gifts.

“Y-Yes? Why is that such a bad thing,” you groan.

“It’s not, I think,” he glances at May who gives him a look. He puts his hands up in defense and slowly walks back into the kitchen.

“You’re fine, honey. Also, I love your dress, isn’t that?” she tilts her head.

“Yeah, it’s the dress I was wearing on our first date,” you smile to yourself, glancing down at your cherry red dress. It fit perfectly, not too loose or tight and it had pockets. Something you and Peter were always amused by.

After the three of you finish decorating, the guests begin to arrive. Most of the team showed up and you and Peter’s close friends. You let out a sigh of relief and lean on the fire escape railing, looking out at the city. You glance at your watch, “Almost time.”

“Hey there,” you hear from behind you. You look back and see Happy.

“Hey.”

“You doing alright? Peter’s coming soon,” he says and walks next to you, leaning against the railing.

“I know, I just feel like. I did too much? Too less? I’m not sure, I just wanted this day to be perfect for him especially after last year,” you mutter and glance at Happy with teary eyes.

He smiles sadly and pulls you into a hug, “It’s absolutely perfect. You know, Peter isn’t going to be the only one who’s proud.”

“Who else? You?”

“Well, besides me and a bunch of other people. Your dad,” he murmurs.

You feel your heart tighten and you stifle a cry, stuffing your head into his chest. He sighs and hugs you close, “Thank you.”

“No, thank you. Sometimes I feel like he never left, because everyday I see him in you,” he pulls away, holding your shoulder.

You smile softly and nod, “T-Thank you, Happy really,” you sniffle.

“Of course. You should probably tidy up, your makeup’s running,” he takes a step back.

You laugh half-heartedly, “Alright. Could you tell everyone to get in their places?” you begin to walk towards the apartment.

“Got it,” he nods and follows you back inside.

Your heart was racing, everyone wasn’t sure if he was going to show up at the front door or his room. Happy gives the signal that he’s arrived and everyone goes silent. You feel a slight sense of relief when you hear noises from the front door. If he came through his room, he probably wouldn't be that surprised.

Peter sighs and holds the bag of Thai food in one hand, opening up the door with a key in the other. His senses have been all over the place today and his heart didn’t feel like it was in the right place. He was beyond worried about you, he didn’t even care that it was his birthday. He just wanted to know if you were okay.

He opens the door, calling out for May. “May, I’m home-”

“Surprise!” Everyone appears out from their spots, greeting Peter with bright smiles and confetti.

Peter instantly jumps and places a hand over his heart. “G-Guys!? Bruce? Scott? Wait, Ned? MJ!?” he stammers, looking all over the place.

“Happy birthday, Spidey,” you come out of your hiding spot, smiling warmly at him.

“Oh my god, Y/n,” he breathes out and rushes over to you, pulling you into a hug. You let out a gasp as he picks you up and spins you around. He places you down and hugs you closer. He pulls away and glances at your dress then at you, “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he sighs, kissing your cheek.

You blush at his comment and fiddle with your dress. “Thank you,” you smile, hoping he notices your outfit.

“Wait, isn’t this the dress from our first date?” he holds some of your dress and glances at you. You grin and nod, he sighs happily and pulls you back into a hug.

Everyone reacts sweetly until Flash, who was surprisingly invited yells out, “Get a room!” Everyone instantly glares at him and he shrivels up, smiling sheepishly.

You roll your eyes and Peter ignores him, peppering your face with kisses. “I thought you were mad at me or something, or hurt, or just forgot about me,” he rambles, holding your face.

“Well, luckily none of those are the cases. I just wanted to surprise you,” you hum.

“You planned all this?” he gapes, glancing around his apartment once again.

“Yes, but I had a lot of help,” you hum.

“Friend boy!” Morgan squeals and rushes over, hugging you and Peter’s legs. “Happy birthday,” she beams.

Peter’s eyes soften and his bends down, “Thank you cutie,” he grins.

She squeals and hugs him, “Can you be my friend boy?”

You gasp dramatically, “Morgan, he’s my friend boy.”

“I don’t know babe, Morgan looks amazing in her little princess dress,” he picks up Morgan, holding her close.

You pout and cross your arms. Morgan bubbles happily and wraps her tiny arms around his neck.

To say Peter was overwhelmed with happiness was an understatement. He felt relief, appreciation, love and support. This whole time he was worrying that he had done something wrong when really nothing was wrong and everyone was just hiding and being quiet for his surprise.

After catching up with some of the Avengers and friends and eating dinner all together, it was time for cake and presents.

You couldn’t express how unbelievably happy and emotional you felt for Peter as he stood in front of his cake as everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. His face was filled with pure joy and you wish that could stay on his face forever, because to you, that’s what he deserves and more.

Not much later present time begins and Peter starts to open up everyone’s gifts. You told him to open yours last. You absolutely adored this boy and your heart swelled up every time he held a genuine smile to his face as he opened his gifts. He got up, thanked and hugged every single person who had got him a gift. You truly are smitten for him.

“Who are all these gifts from?” Peter asks, glancing at the huge piles of gifts left. “I thought I had opened everyone’s except Y/n’s already,” he chuckles.

“Those are all mine,” you walk over, sitting next to him.

“Oh, flower,” he mutters softly and pouts out his bottom lip. “You didn’t-”

“Ah, please open them and shut your mouth,” you cross your arms. Everyone laughs in amusement at your sass and watches as Peter begins to open up the gifts.

Peter first opens up the comic books and jars filled with little letters, “Oh my god, you didn’t,” he whimpers happily. “This must’ve cost a fortune,” he holds up the comic books.

“What? All I did was write on little pieces of paper and-”

“Babe.”

“I know! I’m joking, on to the next please,” you coo and kiss his cheek.

He huffs and unravels the next gift, his eyes beginning to glisten with tears. He slowly flips through the pages of the beautiful scrap book you made for him. He comes across a page where it was you, your dad and him in multiple photos. He lets tears slip form his eyes and glances at you with softened eyes, “Y/n,” he mutters.

“Larb you,” you kiss his cheek. He places the scrapbook aside and pulls you into a hug, kissing your forehead.

“I larb you more,” he sighs.

“I thought that was our thing,” May pouts, causing everyone to chuckle at her comment.

“It can be our thing too,” Peter teases. “Is that all?” he sniffles, glancing back at you.

“One more thing,” you smile cheekily.

“Oh man,” he sighs, placing his forehead on your shoulder. “I don’t know if I can take it.”

“Morgan,” you look up, running your hands through Peter’s curls. She grins and grabs the last small box, bringing it to Peter.

He looks up and smiles, silently thanking her. “You want to help me open it?” he asks her. She nods and sits on his lap, helping him pull away the ribbon. As they both do so, the box falls and reveals the gift your mom once gifted your dad, then to you. Peter covers his mouth, “No, I can’t-”

“Peter,” you shake your head.

He sniffs once again, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks as he glances at the glass case with your dad’s arc reactor inside. He glances down at the words surrounding the arc reactor, “Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart,” he sobs.

You glance up seeing that your mom smiles sadly, wiping away some tears. “Happy birthday,” you repeat, kissing his cheek.

“Why are you giving this to me?” he stammers, hugging Morgan back as she hugs him close, nuzzling her head into his neck.

“Mom, Morgan and I already have many parts of dad with us. You don’t have as much and we all know how much he meant to you. You really are a part of our family too Peter, and I felt like you deserved this. Now you can see that his heart also belongs with you,” you smile warmly, cupping his cheek and wiping his tears away.

Everyone watches the heart-touching moment unravel, a sad yet understanding smile appearing on their faces. “I love you. I love all of you, and you,” he pokes Morgan’s nose, causing her to giggle.

“We love you too Peter,” everyone chimes in.

“I love you more,” you whisper, kissing his nose.

“I love you 3000,” Morgan pouts, playing with his shirt. You and Peter look at each other with sad smiles.

“I love you 3000 too.”

tagging some mutuals who might be interested! @ariistotles @cosmicholland @petersholland @tonguetiedholland @theamazingtomholland @tombrina @spideyyeet @toms-gf @peterspideysstuff @chloecreatesfictions @mcdwcman @hollandsrecs @the-salty-asian @fallinfortom @hermayone @allegra-writes @waitimcomingtoo @futuremrspcy @dreamofaprilsblog @t-lostinmendes @musicalkeys @icyhollands @beverlyparkerr @marvelhoesworld

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akaashisupremacy · 3 years

Text

Job Wanted: Boyfriend

Summary: Makki is callous w/ his words. After a big fight, he knows he needs to make changes. Can he make things work before it’s too late?

Notes: Right on time for Hanamki’s birthday!! In the fic it’s his actual bday too lol!! Inspired by hcs about Hanamaki’s toxic traits that lives in my mind rent free!

January Fic List || Masterlist || Read it on Ao3

Hanamaki x reader

genre: ANGST, lovers to exes to ??, pining, tw: toxic-ish relationship (wc: 1.9 k)

“It’s not my job to be your boyfriend.” Takahiro Hanamaki mutters with his arms crossed, “Stop trying to police what I have to say!”

Your eyes widen in disbelief. You knew it was over between you two then and there.

You met Makki while working in a soba restaurant. He was charismatic, smart and efficient. Whenever you two were on the same shift, he tried to make the work fun. You both started hanging out after work—indie films in the university theatre, library study sessions, walks home after work. Makki even traded shifts just to see you more often.

All you were asking from him was to be more sensitive. Enough was enough. Sure he liked you and you liked him, but compatibility was a separate thing altogether. He knew you were touchy about comments on your art, your looks and your confidence, but he just didn’t know when to shut up.

“You’re wearing that sweater really?”

“This piece looks okay, like subpar on a good day.”

If he doesn’t want to have to be careful with his words, then you don’t want to have to be around him. You swiftly grab your things and walk out the door. When it finally sinks into him two seconds later, he stumbles onto the door apologizing. You refuse to hear any of it.

“I didn’t mean it-- ”

But fun hang outs and serious dating are two different things, and the end of your relationship proved just that.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Makki tries to apologize to you when he sees you, but nothing seems to work. Eventually he gives in and allows you both to drift apart—he stops catching you in the library and trading shifts, which was fine by you.

After a few months, Makki finds himself staring at his phone one fateful afternoon. He’s still debating whether to make the call or not. In the end, he shrugs his shoulders. There’s really nothing to lose.

When you see his name, you pick up because of your curiosity more than anything.

“To what do I owe this occasion?” you snort. You hear him repress a chuckle.

“Damn, I haven’t said anything yet and you’re hostile already.” he laughs. You threaten to put the phone down.

“Hey, on my last birthday you said that may all your wishes come true, right? Well, my next birthday is coming up and my wish is to spend the day with you.”

“I’m in Kyoto right now. You’re in Tokyo.” you point out. You are both on semestral break. Has he already forgotten that you spend your breaks with your grandmother in Kyoto?

“I’ll take the day off and I’ll come down to see you.” he holds his breath as he waits to hear your answer, “We haven’t hung out in a while.” he adds casually.

“Can’t you just spend it with someone else?” you sigh somewhat resigned, “The not hanging out part is on you. Don’t put that on me.”

You could hear him thoughtfully inhale on the phone before he replies, “No, I want to spend it with you. Besides, I’ve always wanted to see Kyoto.”

“I’m ending the call now.” you roll your eyes, unnerved by the whole conversation. The audacity of this man!

“I promise I won’t do anything or say anything dumb!” you hear him yell over the phone as you get ready to end the conversation.

“Sure.” You click the end call button.

———————————————————————

On his birthday, you do go out with him. You find yourself waiting at the Kyoto Central Station, wading through the crowds to find his light brown head searching intently for you. He smiles when he sees you. You feel a mixture of sadness and nerves. You’d never thought he’d be so callous with you when he first smiled at you like this.

If anything, today is little more than a break from work. You’re also determined to be so quiet to the point of cold to make the experience so awkward he’ll never want to come to you again.

“I really want to change.” is the first thing he says to you over doughnuts and coffee.

Makki can easily tell that you are still not back to your old self. Despite the strong smell of brewed coffee that pervades the Kyoto Central Station, you sit quietly on your seat distractedly eating a sandwich.

You almost pretend to not hear him. Instead you turn to him with a blank expression in your face and look away.

“I’m serious. I know I have a problem. You’re not the first person to leave me for the things I’ve said.” he adds.

“I’m sure the next person you date will appreciate that.” you mumble diplomatically.

“Don’t give up on me.” you hear his voice pleading, his eyes sincere and not their usual sleepy nonchalance.

You put down the donut and cross your arms, “I don’t owe you a second chance. You know that, right?”

“I’m really sorry—“

“Makki, I hate so many things about myself. I don’t need you to taunt or repeat them to me. You’re an above average friend at best, but you’re a terrible person to date. I can’t even call you my boyfriend because you you said it wasn’t your ‘job.’” you sigh deeply with your hand on your forehead, “Can you see why I’m not enthusiastic about you?”

Announcements left and right and the ceaseless shuffling of the busy station fill the voids of your conversation.

“So why spend the day with me?” he pauses, eyes wide with curiosity looking straight into yours.

“To prove a point to you. Even when you’ve made the effort to come down here, you’re finding it difficult to watch what you say. Do you find that sustainable?” you tilt your head inquiringly.

He nods, less confident than usual “I want it to be sustainable.” There was some uncertainty in his eyes.

“I can already see it, Makki. Two weeks of this and you’ll be ready to blow your top because you’ll be tired from having to be on edge all the time.”

“I’ve got to start somewhere, right? It’s a change of mindset I’m realizing, but it’s not impossible. I’ve been trying to be more careful and it’s been easier. I’m just a little tense because I’m around you today.” he says quietly, “I’m really trying. I promise.”

“Feels nice to be the one that’s not tense,” you let slip a smirk.

———————————————————————————————

At the end of the day, you’re back at the train station with Makki beside you. You’ve taken him to see the Golden Pavilion and its surrounding touristy streets. You stop by a bookstore and a shop for sweets. You buy a book, he buys mochi. Despite your coldness, Makki was intent on catching up with you. He wants to know what you’ve been up to, what movies you’ve been catching, what your grandmother’s inn is like. It’s difficult not to warm up to him.

“Can I kiss you goodbye?” he abruptly asks before heading to his platform. You’ve made your way back down to the center of the train station where all the schedule is displayed.

The first time Makki held your hand was in a train station in Tokyo. You were on your way back from a concert when he slipped his hand into yours in the busy platforms. You don’t pull away, instead you hold on tight. You remember pressing your head against his chest on the ride home, his chin resting on the top of your head. Neither of you said much. The companionship was more than enough. That moment seems so long ago.

“No.” you swiftly reply.

“Not even a forehead kiss?”

You firmly shook your head. You half expect him to insist and push, to say something about you being a prude and playing hard to get, but instead he just nods.

“Can I hold your hands? I want to hold you before I go.” Makki doesn’t murmur nor is he reticient. He speaks in his regular tone, extending his hands to meet your midway.

You hesitate at first then grudgingly agree. You reach out to hold him, your fingers lingering on each other’s barely interlaced.

“Let me know when you’re coming back to Tokyo. I can meet you at the train station and help you with your luggage.” he waves before turning his back. You watch him get lost in the crowd of the station.

After Makki leaves, you head back to the inn to help with the dinner service which is more crowded than usual. Your Obasan is grateful that you made it back.

Towards the end of dinner service, your phone rings incessantly. You curse and head outside of the kitchen to quickly answer the call. Of course, it’s from Hanamaki.

“You could’ve just texted.”

“I miss you already. I just wanted to hear your voice.” he says. His usual flirtatious tone is absent.

“Now that you’ve heard it, can you put it down? I need to go. Obasan needs my help.” you whisper hurriedly, “Now is a terrible time to call.”

“If you want to stop talking, you don’t need to drag your grandma into this.”

“I’m serious, she needs help washing the dishes. You can call later when we’re done with tonight’s service.” you chastise him, “We’re a little short staffed in the kitchen. You should know what it’s like.”

You rush back in to help wash the dishes as your Obasan brings more dirty trays of dishes. Momentarily you put Makki out of your mind. But when the inn becomes quiet again, you pull out your phone and stare at it.

Do you make the call again? After ten minutes of indecision, you give in and make the call.

Makki sounds slightly surprised on the other end of the line, “Done with dinner service?” He probably expected you to not follow through.

“Yeah, done for today.”

He clears his throat, “I slipped something into the book you bought. Did you see it yet?”

You put the phone down to reach for your bag. A thin white envelope is sandwiched between the first page and the cover. You open it up. He hears you unfolding the letter.

“Care to explain?” you ask with an eyebrow raised as you read through the lines. Hanamaki Takahiro sent you a resume…?

“It’s my application—“

“We don’t need another dishwasher here. Besides, you live too far away.” you cut him off.

“To date you.” he finishes. You’re too stunned to reply. You feel your heart skip a beat as you fumble at your phone.

“Don’t pass your judgement just yet.” he adds, “I know I have a lot to prove. I want it to be my job to love you and make you happy. Just know that.”

“...I’m not sure I want to give you a second chance.” you whisper, your voice inevitably cracking. You clutch the envelope a little too tightly, accidentally crumpling it.

Makki pauses before answering, “That’s up to you, but I-I’ll be here in case you do. Anyways, thanks for spending the day with me. I missed you a lot and I’d like to come back someday…if you can let me come over.”

You listen to him breathe in the other end of the line. You imagine him twiddling with a pen with one hand and his phone on the other.

“Goodnight, Makki.” you nod. You missed him too and you want him to come back. You don’t say yes or no, nor will you make promises. For now you let things hang in the balance.

------------------------------------------------

If you liked my style of ansgt, you can check out another hq ansgt about Daichi here.

Taglist: @itstheee-ha-chan @kaizumi @holaaaf @glxar @francxsca

If you wanna be added, DM or comment!! Don’t be shyyyy

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dianapana · 3 years

Text

SH Day 12- ANBU Black Ops

@sasuhinamonth

たえる Part 2 (taeru=to endure)

Part 1

Rated M, Ninja Universe that underwent some changes (you’ll see that I use major events in the canon world but there is a lot of history that’s altered), OOC (major OOC for Hinata especially)

Warning: self-harm, mental health, sexual harassment, trauma

Hello, dears, I play quite a bit with chronology in this chapter, I hope it's all easy to understand. I made moth things be during summer so around the time of the girl SH month which is why in all the cases you'll see Sasuke is 1year older than Hina, since his bday is in July and hers in December. I hope you enjoy, ~Love Dia

Sasuke, age 23

I think it’s fair for me to say that I’ve been through a lot, not many things shake me anymore and all the things that have made me worried in the past years have had something in common, they were all somehow related to Hinata. I remember when I woke up after the war, I was chained to a hospital bed, placed under a jutsu that blocked my chakra, I was missing a limb and I was on the verge of insanity once more. The only thing that calmed me down was her image. Even without my chakra I searched for hers. She too was in the hospital; I found her signature light purple chakra but it was so faint and small I almost missed it. Seeing her like that made me crazy with worry, once everyone left my room, I broke all the chains and dragged myself to her room despite the pain. I hadn’t thought of her as fragile since our reunion when she was 15. I could barely stand to see her that way, and even if I wanted to stay and watch over her for longer, I could feel Naruto’s chakra getting closer, which meant I had to leave. For the following weeks I could only go and see her late at night, for there was always someone in her room, Naruto, her father, her sister, some sort of nurse or medic. I recovered under a month, yet I stayed until she woke up.

I was the only one in the room when her eyes opened, she looked confused and for a moment I was sure she had amnesia and would not remember me, us. But for the briefest moment her eyes rested upon my figure and recognition was there, relief was there, gratitude, affection and many other nuances that I can never seem to read or fully comprehend reflected in her eyes. I took her hand and kissed the back of it, allowing myself a small selfish gesture before leaving the room to inform the medics she woke up. Sakura gave me a strange, questioning look when I told her Hinata had woken up, but I didn’t care about subtlety at that second, I just wanted them to check her for any issues, I wanted her to be physically fine.

She didn’t have many memories of the war when she was first questioned, but they came back in waves and waves. I could tell that the questions overwhelmed her, much like the people that littered around, there were over 10 visitors in her tiny hospital room, from her father to Naruto, Kiba and many others. I just watched the whole situation from outside her window. I noticed her looking around, searching for someone that wasn’t there. No, it wasn’t me, she knew I wouldn’t be there when other people were, I knew exactly who she was searching for, that’s why I wanted to be close by. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, I knew things would take a turn for the worse soon enough. I saw it, the exact moment the fog raised off of her memories, the moment in which reality hit her, the moment in which the remaining light in her eyes died.

She asked for Neji, Naruto cringed, her father was the one to inform her of his passing. She asked when the funeral was going to be and silence fell onto the room. Sakura tried to slowly explain that the war ended two months ago and all the dead were already long buried. Hinata cried, she cried for her fallen cousin, she cried for missing his funeral, she cried for herself. They all gave her hugs and condolences, they reassured her that none of that was her fault. They all expected her to mourn and soon enough bounce back to the façade she always kept around the people in the village. They were unaware of the emotional depth her sadness could reach. I knew their expectations would never be met, I could tell that the headspace she was in was similar to the night I found her on the forest floor, she had the same look in her eyes as when she constantly begged me to let her die. Knowing all of that, I expected her to make certain choices, yet, despite knowing what was to come, I was unable to help, there wasn’t a single moment in which she was alone for a week to come. And when it all happened, I panicked at the notion of her death and responded wrongly to her actions.

I wasn’t watching her when she attempted to kill herself, I was with Tsunade who kept insisting that I accept their fake arm. I was in the midst of refusing once more, when I could feel a commotion in her room, I left without a word and ran there. The image that was in front of me wasn’t surprising but it was just as heart-breaking. Hinata’s bed was covered in blood, her left wrist was being treated by Sakura but you could still see the long and slim-cut along her wrist, Naruto was holding her other arm trying to put pressure on her wrist to stop the bleeding. It scared me, the amount of blood on herself and the bed, her light-headedness and indifference indicated that she had been bleeding for a long time. She waited for a moment in which I wasn’t there either, she wanted to escape me too. Had Naruto and Sakura been late they might have found her corpse instead. I left the room to calm myself down, I couldn’t cause a commotion. I tried my best to come up with kind and comforting words to tell her later when I would return to her room, but when I did, the image that greeted me, her arms strapped to the bed, made me lose my composure. I screamed at her, I can’t even recall what I said but I know it was very inappropriate, she laughed, she cried. Trying to comfort her with only one arm was difficult, that was the very first moment when I even considered accepting Tsunade’s offer, but in the end I didn’t. I spent every night that followed with her, after the initial shock I was able to recall the words I meant to give her, I knew they weren’t going to miraculously fix everything but I felt that she needed them nonetheless.

She apologized for considering that path and acting on her thoughts. I undid her chains and pulled her to my lap as she talked. “The moment my eyes moved past Naruto’s shoulders and I saw you in the door frame I regretted my choice, I wished I could undo it if only to never have to see that look on your face” I placed my face into her hair and just breathed her in. “I think I understand a little better now…what you felt when Itachi died, when you found out the truth. Our situations aren’t the same but I remember how…” she stopped, searching for the perfect word.

“Crazy? Unhinged? Mad?” I provided, but she frowned and shook her head.

“No, no, none of those…how anguished, sorrowful, wretched you were at the time. You come to me in a very agitated state, I was scared and concerned but couldn’t grasp that feeling. Now I do” If I’m honest I don’t remember how felt at the time, I don’t remember many things about that period of my life, all I know is that I wanted to give up, I thought I had made only wrong choices in my life, but I saw her and I remembered that even I could save someone.

After a few more nights she assured me that she was now mentally stable, her sadness was still very much present, but she had not had any self-harming thoughts. The decision to leave the village was very difficult at the time, but Hinata assured me that she enjoyed our routine and wished to continue it. I left but our correspondence was much more frequent than before the war, I would write her every other day and she’d reply as soon as my messages reached her. It took a bit over 3 months for her to resume her work as an ANBU, and a bit over 8 months in total to convince Kakashi to promote her to ANBU Black Ops. Her missions became more difficult and longer, she even had a mission in Amegakure that lasted half a year. When she first sent me the message informing me of the location of her mission it reminded me of our first encounter after I left the village. Our encounter that summer isn’t a memory I think of fondly, I was cruel, I was insane, I abused my knowledge of her trauma. Whenever I remember my actions, I want to go back and rewind the time, I want to apologize to 15-year-old Hinata, she was meek and fragile and I broke a part of her. She was doing her best to survive and to keep going and I was a huge obstacle in her recovery. When my feelings for her started changing I was always self-conscious whether they were genuine or not, wasn’t I using her? Wasn’t I just feeling guilty?

Hinata, age 15

I am nervous as I pack my bag for this mission, it is my first solo mission ever. 6 months after I became a Jonin and Tsunade finally trusts me enough to allow me to go alone in a mission. The destination is Amegakure and the mission is supposed to last for about to 3 weeks. The difficulty level of the mission is only B which I’d be pretty annoyed at, but the distance factor and the solo factor make up for it so, I am equally nervous and excited. When I told Neji about the mission he was concerned but didn’t show it much for my sake. Instead, he congratulated me and we had a small picnic in the outer skirt of the Hyuuga estate as celebration.

Now I am looking through my dresser for appropriate clothes for the rain to pack, I have to look for another set of kunais just in case and prepare myself a couple of bentos to have on hand. Slowly, the closer the night before my departure gets the less anxious I am, excitement seems to be the winning sentiment.

The morning of, I wake up at 4:30 a.m. and am unable to sleep longer. By the time I am fully dressed and ready to go it’s only 5:00 a.m. and the sun is barely raising, but I decide that it is light enough outside for me to leave. As always whenever I pass through the forest there’s a chill going through my veins and my enthusiasm is a bit dampened, I actively try and avoid that specific place even if it means it will add to the journey time. On the schedule, Tsunade gave me I’m meant to spend 8 days on the road to the village, approximately 4 or 5 days into the village and 8 more days back.

The mission itself isn’t supposed to be that difficult all I need to do is meet with different people in the village give them the scrolls Tsunade gave me and wait for their replies. All in all, there should be no fighting, I’m mostly a messenger but the large amount of people that need contacting made it impossible for a summon raven to deliver the scrolls. My adrenaline rush of being on my own, experiencing what freedom feels like made me speed up during the journey, I took less stops and didn’t even spend the night in one of the Inns I was supposed to. Thus, not only did I depart earlier than planned but I arrived into the village almost a day and a half ahead of the schedule. Since it’s still barely past noon I decide to start the mission a day early and I am able to cover a fifth of the task on the first day.

People usually when talking about Amegakure call it gloomy and depressing, but I enjoy walking around in the rain, the temperature isn’t too high despite it being the middle of a heatwave everywhere else, the smell and sounds of rain also add to its charm. The Inn I’m supposed to stay at for the duration of my mission is on the outside of the village, it is away from the noise of the centre, but not far out enough to say it isn’t part of the village at all. Walking into my room I sit down and finally grasp that I am days away from Konoha, I am alone. The realization makes me emotional; I hadn’t realized how much I needed to be on my own, how good it would feel to put distance between me and everything that Konoha entailed.

Sitting alone in the dark, only with the occasional lightning brightening up my room, I make a decision, I promise myself to only ever come on solo missions. I’ve endured years of discomfort so I deserved to feel this way, if only during missions. I take a shower and go to bed, I’m not as physically tired as I thought I would be after the journey and that worries me. I don’t want the nightmare to come and ruin my mood, but I close my eyes nonetheless.

It feels like barely a second passed when I open my eyes and see the cool light coming from outside. The sun is hidden behind the clouds of rain, but its light still pushes through to an extent. I had no dreams, no nightmares. I rested well and I feel better than I did in many years. I walk barefoot onto the cold wooden floor and I open the window, not caring that the rain is getting both me and the floor wet. I close my eyes and feel immensely liberated, the heavy chains that dragged me down at all times disappeared. Nobody here knows me and I don’t know them, I am but a face in the crowd, this anonymity offers me the independence I never knew before.

I complete the mission in under 3 days. I feel faster, stronger, happier here. It feels like I can do anything and everything. I have about 3 days I can waste in the village, under normal circumstances I’d return immediately to Konoha to get another mission and the cycle would repeat. But I decide to stay here for a while longer, I want to enjoy this feeling to the best of my ability. The day right after completing the mission I simply stay inside and sleep almost the whole day. I’m recharging my batteries which have been on low for 3 years now. I forgot what being well-rested felt like.

The following day I decide to wander around some more. The mission had me walk all over the village’s centre so, I decide to check out its outskirt more. I go and eat delicious food at a small booth owned by an older couple. Due to its relatively small scale Amegakure’s buildings are much much higher than those from Konoha so I climb on top of one that I deem to be among the highest and sit there, in the rain just watching the busy streets, looking over all the sky-high buildings and enjoying the feeling of being unrestrained by people’s gazes and expectations. For the smallest second, I feel someone’s gaze on me but I discard it as being the locals looking at the strange outsider that’s standing in the rain. I refuse to let my mood be dampened, not when I am just as high as this building is.

I return to the Inn and decide to take a shower, tomorrow is going to be my last day here and I feel like time is moving far too fast. I’m rinsing my hair when I get the same feeling as before, like someone is watching me. Before I can dismiss it again, I hear steps behind me, my mind goes blank. I’m suddenly turned around by a powerful hand, before closing my eyes I see a pair of black dead, unfeeling, cold, cruel, scary, scary, scary, scary eyes. I close my eyes and clench my jaw; I can feel tears trailing down my face. I’m hyperventilating, I can’t move, I’m weak, I’m small. I whimper when I feel his hand touching the scar right above my pelvis. The touch transports me back to when I’m 12 and on the ground, my legs no longer support me, the only reason why I’m still standing is because the man is holding my arm in an iron grip. The moment passes and his hand is gone allowing me to fall to my knees and then onto my butt. I have no idea how long I stay there in a trance. When I’m finally able to regain strength in my limbs to feel and make small movements I notice the shower water is freezing cold despite it being set to warm. I turn it off and walk into the room, there’s no trace of the man anymore, he didn’t do anything beyond touching my arm and my scar. Maybe he was simply created by my brain, yea no one was here, how could they be, why would they be.

I can feel myself slipping into hysteria as laughter bubbles up into my throat. I look around the room again searching for proof again and I sigh in relief when I find none. I’m finally calm enough to get dressed but I make the mistake of looking in the mirror. There’s a handprint on my arm where he gripped me. The print is red and turning a weird purple colour in places and yellow in others. He was here. He was real. I take small breaths in order to calm myself, I am fine, I am here, I can’t even picture the face of the man that was here, I try to force myself to forget the handprint, it was just a dream, another nightmare.

I pack my things and leave that very night despite being tired physically, mentally and emotionally. I don’t want to return to Konoha, and I can’t stay here, I don’t know where to go. The freedom I felt before gave me an amazing sense of accomplishment, but now it is a source of unease. I feel lost and like I do not belong anywhere. I feel insignificant. I feel lonely. I close my eyes and just sit on the floor outside of the village, waiting for something or someone to come get me. But nothing happens and the weather is turning cold despite the summer so I pick myself up and start walking wherever the road will take me.

I don’t remember the journey back home, I can’t even tell in how many days I completed it, I didn’t stop at all, I just ran. I ran from the man, the past, I ran from my weak self. I thought myself to be strong now that I am a Jonin, but I froze and was unable to do anything all the same. I need to be more than I am, I need to be stronger, braver, untouchable, more perceptive.

I hate myself for hesitating to enter the Konoha, I hate myself for hesitating to take on a new mission when Tsunade offers it. I hate myself when I have to walk through the halls of the Hyuuga compound, I hate myself when I hide from Neji. I hate myself when I walk into my room and burst into tears. I hate myself for getting my hope that high in Ame only to have them all crash and burn. I hate that I feel more broken today than I did 3 weeks ago.

Sasuke, age 16

I’ve been in a weird mood since a week ago when I saw Hyuuga in the Village Hidden in Rain. I hadn’t heard or seen anything related to Konoha since I left during the Chunnin exam. She was my first contact with it. Hinata Hyuuga, I remember her name clearly, she holds a special meaning to me, she is a life I saved. I saved her back before I was caught up in any business with Orochimaru, when I still thought following Kakashi was the right path to take, back when I was stupid and naïve. I hadn’t thought of her since that moment, but when my eyes fell onto her, I felt proud that she survived, but I also felt the need, the urge to utterly crush her beneath my feet. Her life belongs to me; I saved her so, I have every right to destroy her.

I could tell she was uncomfortable with me there, I felt her flinch as I traced the scar above her pelvis, I heard her whimper when I turned around, and I saw from the corner of my eye, as her legs have in and she fell to the floor. She looked small and pathetic and I felt strong in comparison.

However, now, days later I feel…guilt. I feel as if I used something against her that I shouldn’t have. At the time her image was blurry and not something I paid attention to, but I can clearly see it now whenever I close my eyes. He white skin had almost no imperfections besides the three scars, her eyes were shut tight, her face was red and wet, at the time I gloated at the thought that the water droplets were tears, now I’m hoping they were from the shower. Her long dark hair was wet and clinging to her body. She did her best to hide from me with her hands, with her position slightly bent. She was helpless, she didn’t even try to stop me, she didn’t scream or fight back, she froze in place and allowed me to do whatever I wanted. At the time that too made me feel powerful, I deluded myself into thinking that my presence as Sasuke Uchiha made her cower in fear. Now that I am analysing things once more, I realize it was her trauma that rendered her powerless, it was my presence that caused her fear, but she wasn’t scared of me, Sasuke, but rather of me, a male; she didn’t see me as an individual but as the image of the man that hurt her in the past.

Realizing that in her mind I was equal to that disgusting piece of trash makes me livid. I clench my jaw, pick up the first thing I see, a jar of whatever substance from one of Orochimaru’s labs and I throw it to the wall. The green liquid escapes its container and slowly eats away at the wall and ground, the sizzling noise and putrid smell don’t even bother me. I’m angry at her, I want to find her and scream in her face that I’m not that man. I wanna shake her until she understands. I am mad at her, at myself. Kabuto comes in and curses, he drags me out and talks under his breath, his presence adds to my anger.

“What do you want?” I ask him, I’m looking down at him. I grew taller these past few weeks, taller than him. I want him to pick a fight, I want a reason to smash his face in. The image of his bloody face as he lays unconscious on the ground would bring me the satisfaction I need. He looks mockingly at me, that’s enough to start a fight.

Less than 20 minutes later the fight is over, he’s not unconscious, he’s still standing, more precisely, walking away. But he is bleeding and so am I. The fight didn’t help. I still feel angry, but my anger is slowly being overshadowed by guilt.

The sudden urge to find her and apologize overcomes me, but I dismiss it. She’s long gone…I checked. The two of us won’t meet anytime soon and even if we do, I’ll never apologize, not to her, not to someone that…weak…

Hinata age 22

After sleeping in until 11 after all, I wake up to Sasuke’s face next to mine, I feel at ease, I feel happy. I cup his face and place a kiss over his closed eyelids. I feel his change in breath when he wakes up but his eyes remain closed. His arm comes around my waist and pulls me closer to him, slowly he opens his eyes and offers me a lazy smirk. For a while I forget that we’re in Konoha, I forget everything about people trying to control me. All my worries just disappear with his presence.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks and brushes my bangs out of my eyes. ‘You’ I want to say, but I decide to be selfish instead. I sit up and he does too, I move towards him and place myself on his lap, we are chest to chest, face-to-face. “I am unsure how long they’ll make me stay here. This... sensei job…they could stretch it for months, who knows.” I hate that that’s true, I hate that they’re trying to cage me into the village. “it’s difficult being here for an indefinite period of time, especially since I don’t have out missions to look forward to. So…” I stop talking, rethinking what I’m about to ask, wondering if it’s worth it, but he looks at me with no judgement, he’s waiting patiently. “So…I was thinking. Maybe being here in Konoha would be better…if you were here as well” Part of me initially regrets the words and wants to take them back.

“You want me to stay here until you can go back to your normal missions” he didn’t formulate it as a question so I didn’t reply, mostly because I didn’t trust myself not to say no, to act like it was a joke, so I stay silent. “Ok, I will” his hand is on my wrist and it’s slowly moving up under my tank top. “You should already know that anything you ask of me, I’ll do Hinata” I do know that, but this was something that I had been afraid to ask for a while. Would staying in Konoha be better with him here? It must be.

We talk some more about his stay in Konoha and then proceed to eat a late breakfast. “I passed by the cottage outside of Amegakure on my way to Konoha” that cottage will forever represent my safe space, all my memories in it are out-of-this-world happy. The cottage itself is pretty much outside every territory of every village, it belongs to nobody, yet that’s the place I feel I belong in. I stayed there for my thirst or fourth mission as an ANBU, as usual Sasuke met up with me and we live together there for months. Sasuke and I worked together for most of my missions, we completed them faster than it was estimated they would take and we spent the remaining of the time just being together outside of all the rules of everyone. That was the place in which after much deliberation and inner-fights I decided to put my trust in him. By then we had already expressed our feelings verbally and with actions such as kisses and hugs, but I wanted to move past that because I craved that closeness with someone, I wanted a stronger bond between us, but also out of spite, I wanted to prove that I was able to enjoy sex. I wanted to prove that what had happened no longer affected me. Out first time was a bit awkward, we were both virgins, Sasuke was overly conscious of making me feel comfortable and I just wanted it to be done with so our desired speed didn’t match, but it happened and it was fine. The second and third time around it was much better and now we reached a point in which intimacy with him doesn’t scare me in the least, I love it and it makes me feel amazing. I am aware that I’m not fully over the incident, the close proximity of strange men that I don’t know still bothers me at times, however, I am much stronger and able to protect myself, I am just...wary.

I end my train of thoughts by going back to the memory of our first time and it makes me giggle a little. Sasuke asks me with his eyes what I’m laughing about and my reply is only a smirk, I see the wheels spinning in his brain and the connections being made. I love that after so many years we’re able to just understand each other in this manner. He gets up from his chair and walks around the table to place his hand on the nape of my neck. “I can show you how much I’ve improved since than” he whispers and bends down to kiss me. I smile against his lips and loop my arms around his neck allowing him to pick me up.

I must have fallen asleep again because I am woken up this time by Naruto loudly knocking on my door. He left me alone yesterday because Sasuke was around but I guess even his long-lost best friend can’t keep his attention off of me for more than 24 hours. I look next to me and my heart hurts because Sasuke isn’t there. I tell myself it’s because he felt Naruto so he left, but I still don’t like that.

Naruto keep knocking on the door and I’m sure he’s about to tear it down if I don’t open it soon so I walk to it in my pjs with my hair a mess. When I open the door, he stops in his tracks. “Oh…” his eyes linger onto the scar on my shoulder, he has an obsession with it I’ve noticed. Does he believe that’s my biggest scar…if only he knew. “I didn’t know you were sleeping, I’m sorry”

“After yesterday’s mission the kids have the day off so I wanted to rest” I don’t assure him that it is ok even though I know that’s the polite thing to do. I am bitter and annoyed that Sasuke isn’t there. For a split moment when I woke up, I thought I had imagined his presence.

“I just wanted to bring these to you.” He says and presents me with a pile of papers. “I know you were given them before when Kakashi assigned you as their sensei” hah, like it was Kakashi’s idea. Hokage-sama wouldn’t have pushed me into being a sensei from a Black Ops and we all know that. I know Naruto pulled all of the strings to get me here, however, Kakashi-san is also to blame for allowing all of this to happen “but I think you should really read them well, you said you have a free day today. I can stay here with you and read them together”

I look at him and his easy-going smile. On normal days I’d try and be nice, but all I want to do today is spend my time in peace. “I heard Uchiha-san is back. Are you sure you want to spend the day with me reading about some kids rather than catch up with him?” I feel sorry for guiding Naruto towards Sasuke, but I know Sasuke and if he’s one thing, he’s good at not being found.

Upon hearing Sasuke’s name Naruto’s smile brightened to the extent that it actually hurt my eyes. “I already saw and talked to him today” He left before Naruto came here, was it before we ate? After? When did they meet? “We talked and agreed to go on a mission together this week” He’s leaving after I asked him to stay “We went to Kakashi and already got all the info, so I’ll spend a lot of time together with him and find out all about what he’s been up to in these years and I ---” Naruto keeps talking but I feel suffocated.

#sasuhina #sasuhina month #sasuhina month 2021 #sa survivor #sasuhinamonth2021 #shmonth #shmonth2021 #shino #hinata #susake uchiha #hinata hyuuga #uchiha #hyuuga #sasuhina facfic #fanfic #fanfiction #dia story #diawrites

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gohyuck · 4 years

Text

pairing: fratboy!lee donghyuck (haechan) x reader

genre: angst/fluff/suggestive (explicit allusions to/mentions of sex)

word count: 4.1k

warnings: fwb relationship, general asshattery on hyuck’s part, explicit mentions of and allusions to sex, slight dom!hyuck

part of a series?: yes, 37.5% viewer ratings, my hyuck bday celebration

🎵 no shame - eric nam

☀️ sex isn’t sex for you without donghyuck

“you’re late.”

donghyuck’s tone is curt, clipped in a way that has no business within the four walls of a frat house, especially not during a thriving party. he has you cornered, one hand out on the wall beside you while his eyes run over your face. the other has a cup of some concoction dangling between his fingers, idle at his side. there’s a potted money plant on your left and a couple of boozed up party-goers mid-conversation to your right.

“and you’re evidently very observant.” you respond, tone dripping sarcasm. you’ve been at the Nu Kappa Theta house for less than five minutes and donghyuck - haechan to the campus, hyuck to those who know and love him - already has his lips inches from your own. you can smell the jungle juice on his breath, and it mixes sweetly with the cedar and orange blossom of his cologne.

it usually takes him at least ten minutes to get here. you consider yourself impressed.

“no bullshit today.” he murmurs, inching closer. donghyuck moves his hand from the wall, instead choosing to trace along the side of your face before placing his fingertips under your chin. he grabs your face lightly, forcing you gently to look him directly in his eyes. you can’t help but shiver under his gaze. the corner of his mouth quirks up at seeing this, and you realize that donghyuck - a stereotypical class clown if you’ve ever met one - is dead serious. he doesn’t want to play, not tonight.

you let your cockiness, your proud facade drop as you nod against his hand.

“okay,” you whisper, feeling small for the moment. “yeah, okay.”

donghyuck wastes no time in stepping back from you, his hand dropping to grasp one of yours. as he pulls you through the throng of partiers, he nimbly places his red solo cup on top of a counter, nodding to a nearby brother - jaemin, if you remember correctly - as he does so. you watch the blue-haired boy throw you and donghyuck a wolfish grin, and you can’t help the blush that rises to your face. you wonder what jaemin’s grinning about.

donghyuck doesn’t give you much time to ponder this as he drags you up the house’s main staircase quite swiftly, pulling you into his bedroom before caging you up against his wall. you lean forward, eager to meet his mouth with your own, but he pulls back before you can. the smirk he gives you infuriates you even more.

“you’re the worst-” you start, only for donghyuck to place his hand against the bottom of your throat, not pressing just yet. he pushes you back, flush against the door, before leaning in, reveling in how your breath audibly hitches once his face is right against yours, dark eyes roving your features.

“if you were good you wouldn’t say shit like that,” he murmurs, lips brushing against yours. he gives you no time to respond, surging forward and taking your lips for himself as he makes quick work of unbuttoning your jeans. you do the same with his shirt - silk, and far too expensive for a college party that’s likely to end in his clothes getting unidentifiable stains - though you’re far more careful with his clothes than he is with yours. he looks even cockier than before when he removes his mouth from your neck for air, and you’re sure it’s because you already look fucked out for him. he lets out a dry chuckle at how swollen your lips are and how unfocused your gaze is for the moment.

“i want you to be good for me, and i thought we agreed on no bullshit tonight, hm?”

“yes,” you say, words coming out in a whisper from the depths of your dry, now-scratchy throat. your swallow is audible.

“yes?” he asks, quirking an eyebrow. your heartbeat stutters as you realize what you’ve forgotten, rushing as you hurry to rectify your mistake.

“yes, donghyuck.” you correct yourself, happy to receive a pleased nod from the man in front of you in response. you aren’t allowed to call him haechan, and you most certainly aren’t allowed to call him hyuck. he offers you no reasoning, and even though it stings you, cuts open your heart just slightly, you never ask.

“on your knees, darling. i’m not drunk enough to deny myself a blowjob, and i promise i’ll get on my knees for you too, but i don’t think you’d enjoy fucking me tonight.”

you blink at him in surprise, and he moves his hand from your neck to cup your face. if you hesitate any longer, you know he’ll yank you onto the floor, forcing you to your knees. you know your safe words, after all, and he’s never pushed or pulled you wrongly.

still, you need to make sure.

“donghyuck,” you start, and he softens slightly at your tone. you seem genuinely inquisitive, like you’re about to ask him something important instead of questioning him like a brat.

“hmm?”

“you’ve still had some things to drink and i barely had, like, a few sips of soju before you found me. are you- are you sure you want me to suck you off? i don’t want to... i don’t want to take advantage of you. that, and-” you interrupt yourself to glance down, only to glance but up at his eyes. “-you aren’t even hard yet. you said no bullshit, but i don’t think you meant it about sex. what’s wrong?”

“wh-” donghyuck looks almost affronted at your genuine line of questioning, his jaw clenching heavily as he looks at you. “when the fuck do we ever talk? if we aren’t going to do anything, we might as well go back out.” he emphasizes this by dropping his hand from your face, instead reaching to grab the doorknob of the door behind you. on impulse, you grab his wrist.

“we don’t,” you say, swallowing after you admit it. “we don’t ever talk and i- it’s obviously bothering you, whatever it is, and i think we need to talk it out. i’m not sucking your dick until we do.”

the pause after your words is... stifling, to say the least. you stare at him, searching his eyes for something, anything. he remains unreadable.

donghyuck’s shoulders stiffen for an imperceptible moment before relaxing entirely, and when he gently pushes you aside, you allow him to. you watch as he pulls the door open regardless, only letting his eyes find yours after.

“get out,” he says, voice surprisingly steady. “get out of my room, and it might be best if you just get out of the house.”

“donghyuck-”

“i’m serious.” he grits out, not meeting your eyes. the difference between the sultry, flirty donghyuck you’d had moments ago and the angry one in front of you now does not escape you. still, for the sake of the tears that are budding along your waterline, you clench you’re teeth together, not willing to let him have the last word.

“you have no fucking shame,” you manage to get out, glaring directly at him as you do. “you can fuck me but you can’t talk to me, huh? i’m just some whore for you to use and throw as you like? you don’t even let me call you fucking nicknames, and you think you have the right to be pissed at me for not doing you while you’re drunk? for caring about you? you make me fucking sick.” you spit out and storm out, not giving him the chance to react nor giving him a second glance, no matter how badly you want to hand him both.

as you rush down the stairs, not bothering to interact with anyone despite the ‘hey, (name)!’s and the ‘woah, slow down’s that you get, you can’t help but tell yourself that you’re done for good, this time. you’re doing sleeping around with donghyuck in the way you should’ve been done months ago. no amount of dick is good enough to keep around when the person attached to it keeps hurting you over, and over, and over. you’ve been mad at him before, but you usually let him fuck you roughly against a wall, bent over his desk, to get both yours and his frustrations out.

still, even then and during all those times, you’ve known it. you’ve known that you’re falling for him, and you’ve known that it isn’t reciprocated. tonight’s made it glaringly obvious that he only sees you as holes to fill, and you absolutely refuse to be an object, no matter how much it hurts to leave.

it’s only once you’re out of the NKT house that you realize your pants are still unbuttoned. the rage and embarrassment that engulf you as you tuck your shirt in properly and zip your jeans back up both have you pulling your phone out, typing, and hitting send before you even know what you’re doing.

the walk back to your place feels awful, but you hold your shoulders high. it isn’t a walk of shame, it’s a walk of relief.

at least, that’s what you tell your roommate, who inevitably questions you after seeing you walk in, slam the door shut, collapse on the couch, and whine for a bottle of straight vodka.

across campus, donghyuck is sitting on his bed, head in his hands, as he tries to tune out his thoughts by focusing on the pounding music he can still hear through his shut door. his phone lies face up and unlocked beside him, though the text that’s lighting up the screen is the very thing he’s doing is damnedest not to look at.

from (name) 😉: it’s over.

♕ ♕ ♕

you manage to go a full week without thinking about him.

it’s genuinely easier than you expect - he isn’t in any of your classes, and you don’t have any truly close friends in common, so you find that you don’t have any reason to see him. sure, you aren’t too thrilled about going from getting laid thrice a week to getting laid exactly 0 times in 7 days, but you'll be damned if you let good dick distract from how poorly you’d been treated by donghyuck.

and god, is it some insanely good dick.

still, you’re determined not to let it get to you, and for a short while, things work out in your favor. you’re busy with organization meetings, volunteering projects, classwork, and spending time with your friends.

disaster strikes for the first time during an organic chemistry study group meeting on day 8.

“(name)? (name)- earth to (name)? hello?”

“huh? wh- yes,” you blink rapidly, pulling yourself back into reality. something’s in your mouth - you realize belatedly that you’re chewing on the already-crushed end of your pen. the daydream you’d been having floods back to you, forcing heat to rise into your cheeks as your friends stare on, mild concern and confusion scrawled across all of their faces.

it’s always been his hands. his fingers, his palms, the way he cups your cheek and the way he kneads at your thighs while they shake around his head. in the world inside your head, you’d practically been able to feel his fingers tracing your skin, hovering over where you needed him the most, giving you exactly what you’d needed.

you might not see his face in your daydreams, but donghyuck’s hands will never be disembodied for you. they carry the weight of his words, the curve of his signature smirk, the sharp edges of his teeth sinking into the meat of your shoulder. you shake your head, forcing yourself out of your reverie.

your friends are still staring at you. at seeing just how flushed and disoriented you are, you practically see realization dawn simultaneously on each of them.

pity joins concern and confusion.

“(name), if it’s hyuck you can talk to us-”

the sound of his name - no, his nickname, the one you’ve always been forbidden from calling him - is what truly forces you back into the truth of the situations both in your heart and between your legs. your friends’ stares start to suffocate you, and you suddenly want nothing more than to be at home.

“i have to go,” you interrupt soobin, standing up as you speak. they all watch, speechless, as you shovel your things into your backpack. “i just- i have to leave. i’ll see you guys later.”

you rush back to your apartment, tossing your bag onto the couch before you lock the front door. you’re thankful to find that your roommate is still in class, or at a club meeting, or wherever. you aren’t quite sure. it doesn’t matter to you - you’re only really looking for one thing, the one thing that you hope will draw your mind off of your aches and your hurt.

you almost cry when you find that your vibrator has no charge on it, and you really do cry when you find that your own fingers, your own hands aren’t enough anymore. it takes a long, long while of imagining that it’s donghyuck touching you, donghyuck who’s giving you the pleasure you deserve, before you can finally properly come after two whole weeks.

after that, it just keeps getting worse.

♕ ♕ ♕

it’s day 11 when you catch sight of him across the dining hall.

he doesn’t see you - you make sure of that when you walk back out immediately after having walked in. it isn’t a big loss - you’ll just go ahead and pay at a nearby foodtruck for once. you’ve been meaning to taste test from the new shawarma truck for a while anyways.

still, the glimpse of him sitting, laughing at something one of his friends has said right before taking a bite of what you believe is a burrito haunts you. more specifically, the image of him nonchalantly licking sauce off his tan skin, swirling his tongue around his thumb and index fingers to make sure it’s all off, is immediately burned into the space behind your eyelids.

even as you sit on a park bench, taking bites of your pita bread while intermittently scrolling through your phone, you can’t shove donghyuck out of your mind. his tongue terrorizes you, flashes of your past trysts with him running through your mind even as you’re determined to focus on your bread and your bread only.

it doesn’t work.

he might be godly with his fingers, but it isn’t as if his tongue isn’t skilled, either. donghyuck has stamina for days, and you attribute it to both youth and the fact that he’s in a frat. you assume sex is some kind of competition for the brothers, although you hope donghyuck doesn’t just see you - hadn’t just seen you - as a conquest, another tally mark. you don’t know if you’d put it past him, though.

after all, if there’s anything donghyuck hates, it’s losing.

and he’d never lost with you. no matter how much you tried to gain control, tried to keep yourself from reacting in the ways he wanted just for the sake of being a brat, donghyuck always won. you can’t even count the number of times he’d eaten you out quickly, sloppily, smirking against your skin in a way that has your nerves on fire. he’d kissed you with everything he’d had, bruised your collarbone and laved his tongue over it like you were his lifeline. his mouth is just as heaven-sent as the rest of him.

you find yourself squirming on the park bench, annoyingly familiar with the tightening in your stomach. donghyuck has a hold on your heart, yes, but you think you hate the hold he has on your underwear even more.

that night, while you dream, you dream of his lips, his tongue. you dream of his smiles and his smirks, the way his mouth looks falling open as you run your own tongue over the head of his cock. you can’t get enough of him, even when you’re asleep.

you wake up sweating.

♕ ♕ ♕

your roommate wakes you up at 2 am on day 14 by loudly and angrily knocking on your bedroom door. before you can even open it, a shout of ‘don’t fuck too loudly’ hits your ears, and you hear the door of the other bedroom in your apartment slam shut. you’re barely out of bed when there’s even more knocking, though, this time, it’s far softer.

“can i come in? can we talk?”

your breath hitches, and you’re suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that you’re only wearing skimpy underwear and an oversized t-shirt. still, against the ongoing war inside your head, you find yourself turning your door handle and pulling it open.

donghyuck, dressed in plaid pajama pants and a neon yellow shirt that’s definitely from some volunteering organization or the other, looks positively forlorn. even worse than than, he looks completely hopeful. you doubt he’s aware of this dichotomy as you step aside, letting him walk in before closing the door behind him.

“before you - fuck, if you were even going to say anything, honestly - let me explain myself. let me explain myself, and then i’ll fuck off again, and we don’t - we don’t ever have to even see each other again, yeah?”

you’re still groggy, but just seeing him both saddens and enrages you. luckily for donghyuck, you’re far too tired to kick him out, so all you do is nod before gesturing for him to sit down on your bed. for your part, you settle down at your desk chair, pulling it so it’s near the foot of your bed.

“i never had a problem with emotionless sex before i met you,” he starts out, and your mind is working at a mile a minute trying to process what he’s saying. donghyuck, lost in his own thoughts, doesn’t notice this, only forging ahead.

“at first, i just thought you were a good fuck, i- i just figured we were having some fun, you know? but then i started... i started letting you stay nights, and you woke me up with breakfast that one time, and... and it just felt right, you know? i didn’t let you call me haechan because it felt too formal, and hyuck just doesn’t carry the weight your words have for me. that, and i was worried that if i let you call me the same thing everyone who loves me calls me, then it would be true, and it would be real.” he finally pauses in his ramblings, taking a deep breath at the end as if it’s the first one he’s taken in a while. donghyuck looks at you expectantly, as if waiting for you to talk or ask or do anything, but he finds that your mouth is just slightly open, your eyes wide as you try and puzzle together what he means.

you’re lucky he’s feeling patient. his eyes light up slightly once you finally respond after what feels like eons.

“... what would be real?”

donghyuck’s budding smile disappears as quickly as it had grown, and he suddenly can’t look at you. he busies himself in roving his eyes around your bedroom, swallowing before he can reply to your question.

“the fact that i was falling for you. it wasn’t just sex, anymore. i- i wanted to... i want to cuddle with you, watch godawful movies with you, go iceskating and drink hot chocolate with you. i don’t just want to fuck you, i... as goddamn cheesy and sappy and awful as it sounds, i want to make love. the thing i was so worked up about that day was that i’d seen you laughing and talking with some other guy when you’d first gotten to the party, and it made me ache on the inside in ways i didn’t know i could. i might just be in love with you, and it freaked me out, so i hurt you. i’m sorry for it, but nothing’s changed other than the fact that i’m not afraid of my own feelings anymore.”

his declaration - his spiel - hits you in the heart, and you’re so stricken in the moment that it must show across your face. donghyuck’s eyes flit to yours, and whatever he sees in them must hurt him immensely, because he allows himself the saddest smile you’ve ever seen on anyone before he pushes himself off your bed.

“i, uh, i know you don’t feel the same way. i just figured i should tell you,” he says, words coming out softer than he means for them to. the smile he gives you is gentle and kind, and you can feel your eyes start to well as he turns around to open your door. he doesn’t look back at you as he speaks again while pulling it open.

“it was nice knowing you, (name). maybe we can be just friends one day.”

you can’t sit by anymore - your thoughts are done forming. without thinking, you lunge out of your chair, grasping onto donghyuck’s shirt.

“i might be in love with you too, you absolute fucking idiot,” you gasp out once you’ve forced him to turn around and face you. “and i asked if you wanted to talk that night because i might love you. i asked because i care, and because i wanted to be more than just a fuckbuddy. god, we’re both stupid as hell.”

“you...” donghyuck manages to get out, his hands finding your waist automatically after he gently kicks your door closed. “you want to be more than what we are too?”

“yes!” you cry out, reaching up to cup his face. “yes. i mean, i miss getting laid, too, and i’ve been dreaming of you, i won’t lie, but yes, i want to hold your hand and go on coffee runs and make you my phone wallpaper and do other gross, couple-y shit with you. i have for a while. i’m still a little mad at how you handled that last night, but i- yes, i want you to be my boyfriend.”

“seriously? really? like really, seriously?” donghyuck asks, the situation at hand finally dawning on him. his eyes are alight with new fire, and as you nod vivaciously he can’t help but laugh and pull you into his chest.

“then it’s settled,” he says, once you both finally pull apart. “we’ll go out and watch a movie or something tomorrow - or, i guess today - night. yeah?”

“yeah.” you agree, smiling genuinely at him. as you look into his eyes, you see them shift slowly from their soft gaze to having a slightly darker, harder edge. his fingers tighten against the cloth of your shirt, and you swallow under his hot stare. you’re guessing that he missed being inside of you just as much as you missed having him inside of you.

“you also mentioned dreaming of me,” he mutters, leaning close to speak directly into your ear. you can’t help the shiver the runs through your body, and donghyuck doesn’t try to hide the low laugh he has at your expense. you don’t trust yourself to speak, not at 2 am while cornered by the one you love, so you just nod, your hair tickling the side of his face.

“no bullshit tonight?” he asks, one hand already coming up to trace what’s showing of your collarbone. you whimper out a ‘yes’, and he walks you backwards until you’re forced to sit down on your bed, forced to stare up at him.

he smiles down at you, and to your surprise, it isn’t hardened or full of command. it’s soft, and real, and you can tell that it’s meant just for you. you smile sweetly back up at him, and he runs a thumb over your cheekbone.

“show me what i did in your dream,” he finally says, sinking to the floor on his knees in front of you. you must look both incredulous and inquisitive, because he takes both of your hands in his, intertwining his fingers with yours before looking up at you. when he finally speaks again, your heart flutters, and you know that maybe, just maybe, the two of you will be alright.

“show me what i did in your dream. tonight, it’s all about you.”

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