#jake the shelter guy

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Oh, oh, you know what I'd love to see some time? Kauri getting an electric shock from a domestic appliance or something. It doesn't need to be serious, we just know how much he hates getting shocked 👀

"You need a new toaster."

Jake looks up, rubbing a hand over his face, blinking where he sits on his bed in a pair of pajamas pants. Things are blurred and bleary, it's too early for this on one of the few days he doesn't have class. Still, though - he can't help but feel a little... happy, maybe, to hear Kauri's voice. "What...?"

"Your toaster's fucked up." Kauri has it in his hands, gripped white-knuckle tight. Jake reads in his appearance the story of his night - his hair is a mess of black curls, there's dark circles under the bright blue eyes, he's still wearing clothing he had on two days ago, the last time Jake saw him.

His shirt is on inside out. Whose cologne will be smell like if Jake gets close?

There's a twist of something odd and sharp in Jake's chest. "... Our toaster is fucked up?"

"Yeah. It... It's broken. It shocked me. When I plugged it in." Kauri dumps the toaster on the floor in Jake's room, and Jake winces as he watches ancient crumbs scatter everywhere as it tips on its side.

"... And you brought it up here because..."

"Because it's broken. You should get a new one. I wanted to tell you." Kauri's voice is short and sharp, Jake can see his eyes are a little too wide. He crosses his arms and Jake thinks it looks like he's hugging himself, trying not to be obvious about it. "It's a stupid toaster. It hurt me. It-... It shocked me, and-"

"Yeah. I'll handle it, I will. But, are you okay?"

"What?" Kauri looks... uncomfortable and surprised. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, but. You said it shocked you?" God, he's too tired to think. Jake leans into instinct instead. "Like electric shock?"

"Yeah. Just. A little one, but..."

Silence draws out between them. Jake rakes a hand back through his hair, and then pushes himself to his feet. If Kauri's eyes drop to Jake's bare chest down to his stomach and the waistband of his pants, Jake doesn't notice. Or he pretends not to, anyway. There's a Tshirt on the floor, and he pulls it on over his head. "Yeah, but... Still. Are you okay?"

"I'm not hurt-"

"That's not what I'm asking. Kaur, you used to be shocked, before. Even if you're not hurt..." He looks back down at Kauri. "That doesn't mean you're okay."

Kauri's smile fades for just a second - then it's back, but brittle this time. "I'm always okay."

"No, you're not. Kauri, I just wanted to know if you need to talk-"

"Absolutely the fuck not. I just came here to get some breakfast, not get trauma interrogations at six in the morning."

"I'm not interrogating you-"

"Then take 'i'm fine' for an answer for once."

Jake's mouth opens and then closes again.

Kauri's smile is small and vicious. "Like I said. Buy a new toaster."

"Kauri, just-"

Kauri disappears from the doorway and is halfway down the stairs before Jake can get out of his room.

"Kauri, wait-"

The front door closes and Kauri is gone.

#erase to control #jake the shelter guy #whump #traumatized whumpee #ptsd tw #i love Kauri lashing out #just love it honestly #bbu #box boy universe #box boy #recovering whumpee #escaped whumpee #caretaker and whumpee #angry whumpee

[nero-neptune]

finally watching peacemaker. the butterflies Wish they were the yeerks. this show owes Everything to animorphs

#harcourt is literally rachel...leota worked at a dog shelter (a way with animals like cassie) #like pls it's a six member team (ONE OF WHOM IS AN ALIEN) trying to stop a catastrophic alien invasion #(and the alien race in question burrows itself in the head of the host........cmon!!) #if leota is cassie and harcourt is rachel and mern (on a technicality) is ax #would chris be jake? and vigilante as marco and (process of elimination) dye beard as tobias? #it gets a little rusty with the rest of the guys but if you put a basic plot synopsis for peacemaker and for animorphs #i'd stare at it and be like the meme 'its the same picture' #i just think its funny. james gunn you need to pay ms applegate pronto #rambles #peacemaker #(a reminder that this is all in jest but i am also serious) #animorphs

[intheupside]

who would survive on a deserted island (dkpitt)

Bryan Rust: I feel like Harkins probably could. He seems like a guy who would be climbing trees and cutting them down with his bare hands, maybe even chewing them down. I think he would do well.

Reilly Smith: I wouldn't say any of us! No, you know what? Harks. Harks could survive. He can probably find weird things to eat. He'd be sufficient at just getting by.

Jansen Harkins: Ned. He just seems resourceful, and I feel like he could just chill. I don't think he needs too much.

Alex Nedeljkovic: Jars. He seems like an outdoorsy guy. Survivalist? I don't know if that's a real word.

P.O Joseph. Not Ned! I'm going to say Gravy. He's from the Maritimes, I feel like they know a little about the outdoors is my guess. On a serious note, I think Ned would definitely be someone that would be good at it, just his capacity of adjusting in places. He would be good at it.

Lars Eller: Sid. He seems to be going different ways about things, about a lot of things. He doesn't rely too much on new technology, let's just say that.

Jake Guentzel: Sid. He's just an outdoorsman, that's kind of his vibe. I'm sure he could find something to live off of.

Chad Ruhwedel: Sid or Carts, or myself. They seem like they could handle themselves in a tough situation. I think I would do OK.

Kris Letang: Sid, he lives in the middle of the woods.

Erik Karlsson: Sid. I just feel like he would be very creative and would probably figure out a way to sustain himself for as long as he needed.

Valtteri Puustinen: I would say Kopi (Joona Koppanen). He's the smartest guy, I think. He knows what he's doing. I think if I went with myself? I'm dying. But he's a smart guy.

Joona Koppanen: I'll take Carts. He has the wisdom and the dad strength.

Colin White: John Ludvig. I feel like he's pretty handy, he'd like the outdoors like that.

Drew O'Connor: Luds, probably. He seems like he would. Look at him! He seems like an animal, don't you think?

John Ludvig: I'm going to say Cookie (Noel Acciari). Cookie's a burly man, he can handle himself. I'm pretty sure he'd find a way to survive wherever he was. I'll go with him.

Noel Acciari: Rudy (Chad Ruhwedel). He has a military background with his dad, he just seems handy.

Marcus Pettersson: Rudy. I think he's pretty handy, he could make something out of nothing, make himself a good shelter. That's big, I think he could build a shelter. Raks is a good fisherman, but the problem is he's alone on that island. He doesn't touch the fish, he hates touching the fish. He doesn't do it. So it'd be a problem, he'd need somebody with him.

Jonathan Gruden: I feel like Petey (Marcus Pettersson) would be good, just being around him for a little bit. He's pretty good, he could work his way around it and survive. Not OC. But P.O could maybe survive too. (Me: Half the team picked P.O for who couldn't survive.) I've got P.O's back! Maybe he's fooling me.

Magnus Hellberg: Can I pick myself? I'm really big into the outdoors and hiking, hunting, fishing. I think I've watched every season of Alone and all those survival shows. I like to be out in nature. When I think about all the guys, I feel like I'm the most nerdy with that stuff, spend a lot of time on the water. I would say myself, but in a humble way.

Rickard Rakell: I think Sid would do pretty well. I feel like he lives out in nowhere over the summer.

Sidney Crosby: I think I'd say Ricky (Rakell). He's pretty chill, I think he's got some survival instincts. He's got the tools.

Ryan Graves: Maybe Jars, I feel like he's outdoorsy.

Jesse Puljujarvi: Maybe Jarry. I heard he stays on a farm? So that's why.

Tristan Jarry: Tanger. He'd find someone to come pick him up.

#pittsburgh penguins #sidney crosby #kris letang #erik karlsson #tristan jarry #ryan graves

[moonpetrichors-blog]

can i request for enemies to lovers for neteyam ?? love ur work sm !!

First Impressions

Tags: Neteyam x Metkayina!Reader, Heacanons, Enemies To Lovers, Female!Reader, Anguished Declarations of Love, Reader is Kinda Mean, Forced Proximity

Warnings: None

You are another daughter of Ronal and Tonowari. When the Sully family shows up on your shores, you immediately dislike their eldest son; Neteyam.

Tysm ♥♥ Lucky for you, this was already in a list of things I wanted to write!! Great minds think alike fr 🤝🙄

* ˚ ✦ Read below the cut

╭┈─────── ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-╰┈➤ ❝ [26/12/22] ❞

He was like no one else you had seen before.

He was a boy from the Omaticaya clan, a foreign stranger who had no business to be seeking refuge on your beaches.

After all, he was clearly suited for swinging in trees, not swimming.

You had heard of the fabled Jake Sully; the Toruk Makto, and as of right now, referred to as a great warrior by none other than Neytiri.

They had travelled a far distance to seek shelter with your people, so that their clan could be safe.

You were against allowing him and his family to hide within the Awa'atlu village. Danger would follow them, and they did not fit in with your people nor the environment.

Alas, you had no power to defy the orders of your father, Tonowari, as he was the Olo'eyktan.

Imagine your surprise when your father, not only simply allowing them to stay, also expected you and your siblings to teach them your ways.

You groaned at the thought, not wanting to spend time with these people or their children.

After their initial introduction, their eldest son Neteyam attempted to get to know you.

However, his kind demeanor towards you quickly turned sour when you made it transparently clear you wanted nothing to do with him.

‘The hell is wrong with you?’ is what Neteyam would think.

You both would want to avoid each other, but unfortunately, that’s not really possible.

He does try to be civil when he can, though. Neteyam has a backbone and won’t let anyone walk all over him, but he’s not like Lo’ak where he’ll freely start fights.

His father warned not to cause problems, and he doesn’t want him to be disappointed in him.

Your sister Tsireya had taken a liking to the younger son, Lo’ak, which meant you were stuck with teaching Neteyam.

So here you were with Tsireya, teaching the two brothers breathing exercises.

You were getting frustrated with Neteyam. His breathing wasn’t on par with your expectations, and time and time again you would smack him (lightly, of course) if he wasn’t doing it right.

“Here, do it like this!” frustrated, you placed your hands on his chest and abdomen. “Breathe like this!”

You took deep breaths through the diaphragm, then gestured your head for Neteyam to do it next.

Well, he wasn’t breathing through his chest anymore, but his heart was definitely going a mile a minute with you being so hands-on with him.

Just when you thought he was finally getting the hang of it, he smacked your hands off of him and said he can do it himself.

You tsked, and decided that if he wants to drown, he can. “Whatever, asshole.”

The next thing you tried to teach him about was riding the ilu and performing tsaheylu with it.

You honestly weren’t expecting much from him, you knew that it would take awhile before he could actually do so.

And you were right. The moment he started gliding underwater, he was thrown off the ilu’s back.

You remained in place treading the water, bursting into laughter at his falling form. This guy really doesn’t know what he’s doing 💀

When Neteyam meets with you again, his face is red with embarrassment. You can’t contain your laughter, and he has to remind himself to stay calm and not yell in a fit of rage.

A few days pass, and Tsireya and Aonung decide to go swimming with Kiri, Lo’ak, and Neteyam.

Tsireya urged for you to come along, and you agreed, because how could you say no to your sister?

As you are swimming, you have to slow down for Neteyam. You were quite irate with the fact that he couldn’t keep up, trading looks with Aonung occasionally.

As you kept swimming, Neteyam was in awe with the underwater scenery. 

The schools of fish, bright coral, and the way the light refracted in the ocean made him amazed. He couldn’t believe that he had never seen something so beautiful before.

And then, he looked at you.

The scenery really tied everything together; being surrounded by a vast, blue world, you were like the centerpiece of an artfully woven painting.

It was in this moment that Neteyam really took in your beauty. He thought you were pretty since the first time he laid eyes on you.

But of course, you didn’t like him, so he quickly picked up the memo and forgot all about those thoughts of you.

Almost.

Neteyam was so distracted from daydreaming about you, that he forgot his breathing exercises instead.

You turn around to see him flailing in the water, and start panicking because he’s literally about to drown.

You quickly swam over, wrapped your arms around his waist, and hauled him up to the surface.

You start slapping his face, shaking him by the shoulders to breathe.

He’s coughing and sputtering now, muttering a thank you.

His near-drowning experience is swiftly forgotten when he processes the fact that you basically saved him.

At this point he’s making fun of you because you came to his rescue, and Tsireya and Aonung are not too far behind him either.

Angrily, you shove his head underwater, and swim away.

Later on, when it is well over eclipse, you push a stick through the sand to make stupid drawings.

Neteyam creeps up behind you, and you almost whack him with your stick when he sits down besides you.

“The hell do you want?”

He recoils at your attitude. Neteyam wanted to properly thank you for your help earlier that day, but it seemed now that all hint of gratitude left his body.

“What’s wrong with you?” is what he ends up saying.

You promptly begin to argue. Honestly, you didn’t really have a good reason for being so mean to him all the time.

In all honesty, you did find him kind of cute at first, but worrying about the safety of your clan overpowered that more than anything.

You would never admit this though. Instead, you scoop up a handful of sand, and throw it at him.

Neteyam’s patience completely snaps. He has tried to be cordial with you in the past, but that was it.

He tackles you to the ground, and fighting between the two of you ensued.

“You’re so rude for no reason!”

“What’s it to you?”

You’re both practically yelling at this point as you wrestle on the sand.

Out of sheer anger, Neteyam did something he’s never done before. Make an impulsive decision.

In response to you, he blurted out that he likes you, but you’re such a massive asshole to him that it makes him furious!

You aren’t any smarter than him, and reply with the exact same confession.

You both paused.

Neteyam was leaning over you, hands by either side of your head. All his anger had disappeared. Was this guy smiling??

Your face flushed with embarrassment that you had actually admitted that to him. You wanted the sand beneath you to swallow you whole.

You tried to back up, but found yourself trapped between Neteyam and, well... the sand.

Your about to start yelling again when he places a featherlight kiss against your lips, and that’s when your face erupts into a violent blush.

You can’t hide your face from him, which makes him all the more amused.

“Okay, fine. I guess you’re kind of cute...” you trailed off.

He let out a toothy grin, sharp canines on display. “I always thought you were.”

Okay, now you really wanted to be six feet underground.

#↳˳💿;; ❝ inbox ᵕ̈ ೫˚∗: #↳˳☁️;; ❝ headcanons ᵕ̈ ೫˚∗: #avatar neteyam #avatar 2 headcanons #avatar headcanons #avatar 2 #avatar #metkayina #Metkayina reader #enemies to lovers #female reader #avatar neteyam x reader #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam sully #neteyam sully x reader #neteyam x you #avatar neteyam sully #avatar neteyam sully x you #avatar neteyam x you #headcanons #anguished declarations of love #forced proximity

[oddballwriter]

I love seeing Jake being a tender guy who cares for others and things. Like he is an avid part of the community and nonprofit organizations.

He helps with homeless shelters and feeding those who can’t get a meal.

He picks up litter on the streets even though it’s not his trash.

He volunteers at animal rescues and helps with the animals’ food or medicine and is THE foster dad and has adopted many.

#moon knight #moonknight #jake lockley fluff #jake lockley

[marymary-diva17]

Eywa blessed child (2)

sully family x reader

It always seems like the great mother has plans for all her children, even due they might not know what she has planed for them it always seem to lead them down a path. Right now your path was forming, and this path might not be the same as her family. The eldest sully daughter always thought she didn't have any place in the clan or her family, when she thought she was down on her luck it seems like she was wrong. As her dynasty seem to be coming to light slowly and soon enough her life may never be the same.

y/n " ......" the sunlight had hit your face and the sounds of the forest had help you awake up, soon each you got up from slumber. It was morning time and you had spend the whole night outside and away from village.

y/n " well I should be getting some" you soon climbed down from where you were resting and sneaking shelter for the night, your feet soon touch the ground.

y/n " time to head home and let hope I'm not in that much trouble, but seeing as no one came after me I'm good" You soon made your ways back to the village but on your way home, you were being followed by wood spirts they had brought a smile to your face. Your soon found some fruit and pick it for your breakfast, you were walking and eating your breakfast. You soon made your way home knowing if either of your parents know you are missing you will be grounded, until you are an adult and have a mate of your own.

y/n " made it home on time safe and sound"

????? " y/n" you soon heard your fathers voice calling out your name, you soon looked up and saw him. You are praying to the great mother for miracle to save you from whatever was going to happen.

y/n " hey dad"

Jake " where have you been young lady when I woke up and I check on your sibling your bed was emptied"

y/n " oh well I woke up early today I had some stuff to do"

Jake " are you sure honey"

y/n " yes I'm sure"

Jake " about yesterday I wish to have some words with you about the events, that unfold yesterday and so does your mother on her own time"

y/n " you can save the speech dad I know you have disappointed you and mom once again for not being the perfect daughter, but I will make sure to make you both proud" it seems like Jake had been taken aback by your words.

Jake " there is so much I ..."

tsutey " brother the morning meeting is starting ... oh good morning y/n you are up early"

y/n " hello uncle well I leave you for now father"

Jake " no I wish to ...."

y/n " it okay dad the council needs you more right now we can speak later" you soon walked passed Jake and tsu'tey quickly without saying anything else to them. You did not even head home as you soon made your way through the village, hoping you will not get the attention of anyone else.

y/n " good I'm safe now" you had started walking to caught up with the many thoughts that are running in your head. You didn't bother to try to go back to the village or even go home right now, because now it seems like it was hard to tell if your parents are mad at you are not.

y/n " well it good to know that least they knew I was gone at some point" you didn't know to feel good or bad that your mom and dad finally notice you were gone in the morning, and that you didnt even come home that night. You were sitting on a rock watching the ikran fly over and other creatures roam, you were mediating and it felt like you were one of the world.

????? " y/n" you soon heard someone screaming your name snapping you out of your traces, you soon turned your head around and saw your siblings and spider.

y/n " hey guys"

lo'ak " there you are we been looking for you when we woke up this morning you were gone"

y/n " oh"

kiri " we heard you were speaking with father early this morning, and soon took off"

y/n " oh yes I had some stuff I need to deal with sorry for not being there for morning meal"

lo'ak " it was okay we had your breakfast" lo'ak was soon smack on the shoulder by kiri.

lo'ak " oh sorry mom made you some breakfast it still ...."

y/n " it okay"

spider " good job dude"

lo'ak " I was playing around I didn't mean to make you feel excluded"

y/n " it okay lo'ak I understand mom and dad are already busy, and sometime mom forgets stuff I had my own breakfast so I'm good"

tuk " well can you hangout with us today"

y/n " are you sure the events are yesterday"

neteyam " nope you are coming with us" there was no fighting your sibling as they soon dragged you off with them, heading towards a waterfall all of them were having fun. You were making flowers crowns with tuk, as she asked you to help her make them and you said yes.

tuk " wow y/n you have some talent you are use some beautiful flowers, and weaving them well together"

y/n " thank you tuk ... look this one is done now" you soon placed the flower crown on tuk head and she soon smile toward you.

tuk " it so beautiful"

y/n " thank you tuk"

kiri " wow that amazing sister you have used wonderful flowers and you made them into a beautiful crown"

y/n " thank you .... umm were you all able to fix the gift for father I ruined"

kiri " you didn't ruin it sister it was accident"

y/n " accident or not I ruined you and mom hard work and she was so mad"

kiri " well it okay and you did nothing wrong yesterday ..... coming from what you made today you have wonderful talent"

y/n " thank you" you were spending time with your sibling and spider as they were telling you of the events that had taken place, last night were not your fault.

????? " children" it was your mother voice calling out she soon showed herself. tuk had gotten up and ran to greet her.

tuk " mama look what y/n made for me"

neytiri " it beautiful I have come to see how you all are doing"

neteyam " we are doing well mother and making sure to stay out of trouble"

neytiri " good y/n may I have some words with you"

y/n " yes mother"

neytiri " alone" you soon nodded your head and get up from the ground, as neytiri soon guided you away from everyone else. You are preparing yourself from the scolding that will be coming from your mother, about your behavior from yesterday.

y/n " mother I wish to apologize for my behavior and actions from yesterday I'm sorry I should of done better"

neytiri " my daughter I have come here to talk with you I had heard from my father he spotted you, and we were wondering where you went this morning as you were gone and you didn't come join us for morning meal"

y/n " oh I'm sorry mother I had woke up to start the day early and soon went off to deal with the task and other stuff"

neytiri " what were these task that called you to be gone so early without saying a good"

y/n " I was doing some ...."

????? " she was doing some task for me" you and neytiri soon spotted mo'at as she made her way towards the mother and daughter.

neytiri " mother"

mo'at " yes she was doing some task for me I had mentioned I need help on and other matters we disced , I'm sorry I didn't tell you my daughter but it seems like my granddaughter was perfect for the job"

neytiri " oh"

mo'at " yes it something related to great mother and tshaik responsibility, now my granddaughter come with me"

y/n " yes grandmother ... mom can I go"

neytiri " yes listen to your grandmother and good job on this task, I hope to learn more about it when you grandmother thinks it right"

y/n " yes mother" you soon nodded your head as you walked off with your grandmother. After some walking the two of your soon reached the spirt tree.

mo'at " had a dream last night"

y/n " a dream grandmother"

mo'at " yes a dream about you my granddaughter and tell by your facial expression you already know"

y/n " yes and no"

mo'at " come closer" you soon stepped closer to your grandmother as she place a finger under your chin, and soon lift but your head making you look at her in the eyes.

mo'at " you have been blessed by the great mother herself my child ....that rarely comes I have always knew you will be special one day but never knew it will come so soon"

y/n "........"

mo'at " you will become my tsakarem my child you have been blessed by eywa to be seen right for the position, and I had always wished to make you take over after me"

y/n " thank you grandmother but what will my father and mother have to say, and the clan will not love the idea as everyone rather have kiri or tuk maybe even neteyam future mate as tshaik over me"

mo'at " what words are the law in the clan everyone most obey what I say my child .... this is right position for you and don't worry about your sister they will learn as well, but your path will be different from them"

y/n " yes grandmother"

mo'at " I know life hasn't been perfect for you my granddaughter and I'm sorry but now it seems like you will, be able to discover what you are meant to do in this world"

y/n " thank you grandmother I will take all the help I can get from you and other tshaik but I feel like, there are some stuff I most learn on my own"

mo'at " you will do well" your granddaughter words made you feel happy, as your always wished for an adult to tell you these words. As your had rarely heard them from your parents and now hearing them from her, made you feel happy and loved. mo'at had left you as she was called away by some healers, as you stayed by the tree looking as it glows while humming a song. You had stayed there for a while enjoying everything that was happening around you, feeling at peace with the world. Knowing your life this peace and happiness was something that was not going to last forever, and soon enough you will be facing the hardships once again and everything else that comes with them.

#avatar x reader #avatar 2 #atwow #avatar #avatar x y/n #sully family x reader #avatar the way of water #jake x reader #jake sully x daughter!reader #neytiri x daughter!reader #neteyam x sister!reader #lo'ak x sister!reader #kiri x sister!reader #tuk x sister!reader #sully reader #sully family x y/n #sully family #sully siblings #sully kids #avatar 2009 #avatar fanfiction #avatar 2022 #avatar twow #avatar way of water #jake sully #jake sully x y/n #neytiri x y/n #loak x sister!reader #kiri te suli kìreysì'ite #neteyam te suli tsyeyk'itan

[builtbybrokenbells]

have you ever thought of Jake pretending to be a big tough guy? one that’s immune to the cuteness of animals? baby animals, even? or Jake that’s so certain he’s a dog person, that cats just aren’t his thing, but absolutely melting at the sight of a stray kitten you brought home? yeah, it’s probably a good thing. anyway, here’s that thought:

“Jake?” You called out as you gently kicked the door shut behind you. The sound echoed off the walls, bouncing down the hallway and landing somewhere amidst the empty living room. You weren’t sure if he was home, or if he was, what he was even doing. That was a minimal worry compared to the one you had for the kitten in your hands, bundled in a towel you had found in your backseat. “Jake!” You called a little louder, but not enough to scare the already nervous animal seeking comfort in your arms.

You carefully made your way down the hall, cautious not to move too suddenly. When you broke into the kitchen, the lights were off and the house seemed even more silent than before. Feeling a shred of defeat, you flicked the light switch on, realizing you would likely have to navigate this on your own. “It’s not so scary, is it?” You asked, looking down at the towel. From your position, you could only see the tip of an ear poking from the hole you had made for the kittens head. “We’re gonna get you all cleaned up.” You couldn’t help but feel a little anxiety at the thought of Jake’s reaction. In your time of knowing him, it had always been quite apparent that he was a dog person. Although the never spoke blatant distaste for cats, he also hadn’t ever given an idea that he was fond of them. Plus, since moving in together, neither of you had offered an idea as large as a pet, and you weren’t sure if he would be interested in such a big commitment yet.

“Who are you talking to?” A grumble from the doorway made you jump. You looked up, eyes wide in shock at the intrusion. Jake stood, eyes heavy and clad in only sweatpants.

“Did I wake you up?” You asked, regret apparent in your question. He waved you off, shaking his head, even though it was quite obvious.

“Just dozed off…” he trailed off, stare landing on your hands. “Uh, what’s that?” He raised an eyebrow, looking up to you.

“This? Oh, just an old towel that was in my car.” You gave a nervous laugh, not really certain why you were lying about it. He was bound to find out eventually.

“Talking to a towel? That’s new for you.” He noted, not believing a word you said.

“I wasn’t talking to the towel.” You defended, narrowing your gaze at him showing your distaste for his smart comment. “I was talking to myself.” As the words left your mouth, you understood that your answer had not made you seem any less insane. He watched you, eyes flickering between your face and your arms. Before you could think of anything else to say, a small meow broke through the silence. You two had a bit of a staring content, neither sure of what to say, nor what to do.

“Y/n,” he said, a hint of warning in his tone. “Is that a cat?” Your defensive nature turned into one of defeat.

“Yes, but before you get upset, he was tiny and alone on the side of the road. How could I just leave him there?”

“We can bring him to a shelter,” he offered, almost unwilling to discuss the topic. As hurt as you seemed, he just wasn’t sure if a cat was his first, or favourite idea for expanding the family. “That way he’s safe, but he doesn’t have to stay here.”

“Jake, just look at him!” You exclaimed, maneuvering the towel to show off the small animal.

“Nope, don’t want to.” He shook his head, casting his glance to the floor.

“Please,” you begged, now making it so the kittens head was fully in view, surrounded by the soft fabric. As nervous as it may have been, it was incredibly content just being held by you. “Look at his little face,” you cooed, gently scratching his head. Through the thickness of the towel, you felt a little purr, which only melted your heart even more. You took a step closer to him, making it harder for him to ignore you. Eventually, once you were in front of him, he couldn’t resist looking at you any longer. “He’s just so hungry, and little…” Only slightly, his head turned towards you. The stony expression he had adorned previously seemed to crack, softness taking over his eyes. His gaze flickered from the kitten, then up to you. After a moment, he gave in.

“Fine, we can feed him and clean him up, then we’ll take him to the shelter.” He sighed. You fought back a smile, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before he changed his mind completely. “We don’t have cat food.”

“I think there’s leftover chicken in the fridge from last night. Or there’s a probably a can of tuna or something in the cupboard.” You theorized. He looked like he was fighting the urge to pet the cat, so instead he nodded in agreement. He left your side, immediately following your verbal guidance. You took a seat at the table, making sure to hold the towel close to you while you did so. After a few moments, Jake took a seat beside you with the food you had previously mentioned. You carefully placed the towel on the table, straightening it out so the kitten could walk freely.

“You’re a little beggar, you know that? Come into my house and eat my food.” Jake grumbled, pulling out a small bit of the plain chicken breast. The cat perked up at the smell of it, immediately taking a step towards him. Instead of feeding it, he placed the food on the table. He repeated the action a few times, smiling more every time the kitten eagerly responded.

“He likes you.” You informed him, noticing the cat’s affiliation with his attention.

“He can like me all he wants, but he’s not staying.” He noticed the animals attention shift to the can sitting beside it, giving it a little sniff of curiosity. “You want to try that, instead? Chicken isn’t good enough for you?” Although his words were gruff, his tone was light. He opened the can, placing it in front of the kitten in a timely fashion. It immediately began eating away at the contents, just happy to have food. You both fell into a silence and you began to worry he really was annoyed with you. That was, until you heard a small mutter of words that made your heart swell with joy. “You like tuna? Is that your favourite?” The words were coated with affection, spoken in the same tone you would speak to a baby with. You couldn’t fight back the smile that broke onto your lips. Suddenly, Jake stood, going to the sink and flicking on the tap. He grabbed a shallow bowl, holding it under the stream for a moment. He returned to you, setting the bowl beside the can. You looked over to him, a smug grin stuck on your face. “What? He needs water, too.” He defended.

As the cat made itself at home, Jake slipped his arm around your shoulder. It was a silent show of affection, one that told you he wasn’t upset with you at all. When he placed a kiss to the side of your head, you were more than aware that this would be the newest member of the family. “He is kind of cute, isn’t he?”

“I think so.” You giggled, reaching out to give the animal a small pet. You both settled into your seats, content with watching the cat explore its surroundings. After a few moments of curious looks, it took a few steps towards you both. With caution, it approached Jakes hand that was resting on the table. Jake was still, watching it closely. Eventually, once it was familiar with him, it nudged his hand with its head. As if he was completely defeated, he let out a groan. Immediately after, he gave the cat a few pets. When the cat began to purr, his hard exterior melted away entirely.

He picked it up, the animal giving him no protest at all, and brought it to his chest. He held it to him, scratching behind its ear with a smile on his lips. “I think it would be okay if he stayed with us tonight.” He murmured, looking down at the ball of fluff in his hand. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Get you cleaned up and you can sleep in bed with us tonight?” As he spoke, the kitten let out a yawn, then it’s eyes slowly drifted shut. “You’re tired? You eat all of our food and then just go to bed? Such a hard life to live.” He cooed, but there was no hint annoyance in his voice at all. After a moment, the purring slowed to a stop, because the kitten had fallen asleep in his hand. Slowly, Jake turned to you. His eyes were glistening with love, completely wooed by cuteness of the animal.

“What do you want to name him?” You teased.

“Shut up.” He grumbled, but his attempt at sounding annoyed was futile. “Sparrow?” The word was barely spoken, so quiet that you almost missed it. You let out a laugh, nodding your head in agreement.

“Yeah, I think that’s perfect.” He gave you a grin, thrilled that you liked the idea. “I love you, Jake.”

“I love you.” He hummed as he leaned over and placed a kiss to your lips, quickly forgetting he ever contested the idea of keeping the kitten at all.

this post was made by a certified cat lover and Jake kiszka enthusiast. no, I will never recover from this. thanks for asking though

#gvf #greta van fleet #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #sam gvf #danny wagner #jake gvf #gvf fic #josh gvf #danny gvf #jake kiszka gvf #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka fic #jake kiszka blurb #gvf imagine #gvf blurb #greta van fleet blurb #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet fluff #gvf fluff #jake kiszka fluff #blurb #greta van fleet imagine #imagine #jake kiszka imagine #builtbybrokenbells

[ashintheairlikesnow]

You don’t have to write this if you don’t want to, but there’s an idea that has been on my mind lately and I just need to get it out there and share it with someone. Lately I’ve been thinking about a whumpee sitting in the passenger seat of caretaker’s car, being driven home after caretaker picked them up from the bar. Under the influence of alcohol, whumpee starts casually rambling about the fucked up shit that whumper did to them, all of which caretaker was completely unaware of. Whumpee wasn’t normally the type to open up to them. Caretaker is horrified, while whumpee is too drunk to even notice caretaker’s stunned reaction.

CW: References to domestic violence, drug use, derogatory self-talk, Kauri being a Drunk Mess. Takes place early after Kauri starts coming to the safehouse.

"I said, 'Oh my God, look at that face,'" Kauri sings, voice husky and cracking, boneless against the passenger seat. "You look like my next mistake-"

"Annnnnnd we're not listening to this," Jake interrupts, leaning forward to switch from the random dance-pop playlist to his own personal one. Kauri's glimmering smile fades into an overwrought pout in response.

"Boo. You have the worst taste in music."

"I do not. I just don't want to listen to you drunk-sing Taylor Swift, that's all. Not again. Last time you cried."

"Excuse me, Jakob Stanton, that was a private performance and you should be glad I didn't make you pay for the concert of the century." Kauri kicks his dirty Vans up on Jake's clean dash, crossing his legs at the ankles. He drops his right hand down to pull the little lever on the side of his seat, the back falling backwards until he's nearly lying down. "Not my fault I get carried away with emotions."

"Ever tried not doing that?"

"Yeah." Kauri smiles again. Jake pretends not to glance sidelong to watch his eyes move, like he can see the stars right through the roof of Jake's car. There's a hickey on Kauri's neck, bruising in the shape of teeth and tongue. Might be lipstick smudged on an earlobe. Kauri's own mouth seems too red in the dark, yellowed under the occasional streetlight.

It isn't the answer Jake expects. "What?"

"Course I tried. You think I let this pretty face be ruined by all those ugly tears before? It's in my training, you know. No tears unless he wants them, no screams he doesn't demand, nothing left that he didn't pay for. He wants a gorgeous face, not some asshole who feels things and has opinions."

Jake falls quiet. His music seems incongruous now, clashing with Kauri's soft voice. He takes a turn, driving out of downtown where he'd found Kauri giggling outside yet another bar, dancing with a group of people who looked just as wounded as he does.

He isn't as good as Kauri is at knowing, but he thought at least two of them probably had barcodes hidden underneath jewelry and long sleeves, too.

Romantics run away often, it's in Jake's literature. But they struggle once they're out. They don't know how to make a living. They tend to shoplift because no one showed them how to pay, they can't get a job anyway even when they know what to do. They get treated like shit and taken advantage of... and they go back. They're bad at hiding, at blending in. They get caught, or they go back.

"There's a lot in you that nobody made but you." Jake wishes he was better at this. He's still kind of new at it, and Kauri hasn't been coming around that long. He still has some bandages under his shirt, covering the fresh scar on his collarbone.

"Therein, Jakob, lies the problem." Kauri intones the sentence like a professor delivering a lecture. "Mr. Owen hated all those parts, because none of them were in the person I was supposed to be."

Jake tries not to grind his teeth too obviously. Mr. Owen. Fucking asshole.

"I tried not to feel things that I wasn't supposed to. I was great it, too, for a while. Even better at lying once the feelings showed up anyway. But that wasn't enough, because it was a lie and we both knew it. Love is just lying, for us. To ourselves. To the owners. To everyone. We don't really mean it. We don't know how."

Jake licks at his lips. They sit at a stoplight, and he wishes he'd told Nat to get Kauri instead. Or had told Kauri no, figure it out, it's late and Jake doesn't want to be doing this.

But Kauri called, and he came.

It's a bad habit he can't let himself get into, or he'll be who Kauri always calls on nights like this.

He hopes so, anyway.

"We lie." Kauri's voice is a haze, fog rolling in off the bay. Kauri sounds the way someone looks when they're far enough away that every edge has softened. "We manipulate, we steal, we plead and flatter and fuck like rabbits. And there's absolutely nothing underneath."

"Kaur, you know that isn't true-"

"Every time there was," Kauri continues, as if Jake hadn't spoken, "He hurt me, and then he put me back in my box."

The light finally turns green, and Jake presses down on the gas. "Your box?"

"My delivery box. He kept it, set it up against the wall. When I couldn't be empty enough for him, when he remembered it was all just the two of us lying to each other, he would put me back in it. In the dark... all by myself." Kauri blinks rapidly, and Jake sees streetlight gleam, dim and yellow, off the tears escaping the corner of his eye to soak saltwater into his hair, just above his ear. "Can't feel anything. Can't see anything. Can't hear anything. He'd leave me for hours. One time for-... for over a day. Once he even moved it around like he was sending me b-back."

"Holy fuck."

Jake thinks about that.

He thinks about the way Kauri flinches away from small spaces, sleeps outside because the doors don't lock when there aren't any.

"Jesus," He whispers.

Kauri doesn't seem to notice.

"I just got so tired of pretending I didn't feel it when he hit me," Kauri says, holding his hands up, looking at his own palms. The leather bracelet that hides his barcode looks like handcuffs at this angle, in what passes for light at midnight under nothing but tree canopies lining residential streets. "I couldn't keep it up and he couldn't keep remembering I'm not ever going to suddenly become Vincent fucking Shield, even if he killed me. And... and he was gonna kill me sooner or later, right? After the choking started, the..." He touches his collarbone over his shirt. "He was going to, soon. And nobody would care."

Jake swallows, hard. "That's not-"

"I almost didn't even care anymore, either."

There's no way to respond to that.

He just listens.

"I got so tired of being empty. I couldn't lie to him any longer. Couldn't keep lying to me, either. I'm a failure, a broken pet. I wanted to tell the truth. Just the one time, I wanted to tell the truth without being put in the box, Jake. I wanted to say that I could hate him more than I loved him. I wanted to get to hate him at all. But there's... there's a problem with that."

"Is there?"

What the fuck else can he say?

"Yeah." Kauri digs a hand into his pocket. He swallows something before Jake can stop him. Maybe it's just Tylenol to hold off the hangover. Maybe. Probably not. Kauri'd smile swims, uneasy and seeming oddly seasick. "The problem... is that the truth isn't what I want it to be."

"Kauri-"

"I am empty, Jake. I got away from him and there isn't anything in here. They're right. I'm not even a person. Just a face and a cock. Just the cold and the walls and... and the box."

"That's not true-"

"It's okay." Kauri, absurdly, lays a hand on his arm to soothe him. "It's okay. I don't even mean it. I'm just rambling, Jake. None of it means anything. I am so drunk, just ignore me, yeah? Just talking shit, that's all." He suddenly smiles, bright as any star, and jerks his seat back upright. "Hey, can we go to Burger King? I want some fries."

The sudden swerve of mood feels like driving right off a cliff but finding yourself suddenly flying a plane.

"What? It's twelve-thirty in the morning-"

"Drive-thru is open til one. Come on, Jake, please?" Kauri's eyes are absurdly wide, too blue.

Jake groans. "Yeah, fine."

Kauri claps his hands together with glee, half-lunging to grab Jake's mp3 player. "You're my favorite person on earth, Jake. Now, where is the list with the pretty orangey looking background color..."

Kauri keeps his eyes carefully unfocused so he won't read the letters. The guitar starts up for the first song in the list, and Kauri grins. Whatever he swallowed is already starting to work on him, pupils wide, wiping out so much of the gorgeous blue.

This time, Jake doesn't stop him from singing along.

-

@finder-of-rings  @endless-whump  @arlin-always-writing  @thefancydoughnut  @newandfiguringitout  @doveotions  @pretty-face-breaker  @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow  @boxboysandotherwhump  @oops-its-whump  @cubeswhump  @burtlederp  @whump-tr0pes  @autophagay  @whumptywhumpdump  @whumpiary  @orchidscript  @outofangband  @eatyourdamnpears  @hackles-up  @grizzlie70  @mylifeisonthebookshelf  @keeper-of-all-the-random-things

#whump #kauri's poor life choices #writing #bbu #box boy universe #box boy #trauma recovery tw #recovering whumpee #runaway whumpee #escaped whumpee #caretaker and whumpee #erase to control #jake the shelter guy #drug use tw #alcohol tw #drunk whumpee

[moonknixght]

Awkward conversations and.. Fishes? (Steven Grant x GN!Reader)

Summary: Curiosity to learn more about a gorgeous store clerk of a pet shop leads Steven to buying his first pet ever. Warnings: Fluff ?? and just embarrassingly long silences Word count: 1.1k A/N: Okay please imagine that Gus wasn't Steven's pet already 🙏 Might make a part 2 if I get ideas. Also first post woohoo!! Made this account solely so I could make my ideas a reality. I'm a little rusty at writing as of right now, so bare with me </3 Requests are open for stuff!! (please talk to me)

"And this little guy here, He's a feisty one, but he means no harm." Lifting up a perched budgie on your finger, who seemed to have distrustful look on it's face, You smile widely at the latest client that had stumbled upon your small shop. You've always been a passionate soul when it came to animals; from the age 8 when you first wanted to be a veterinarian, which you quickly backed out from after slight consideration as you realized that you would have to constantly put down animals and see them in absolute pain. The next choice was arts, which you did took a degree in, before landing on the final prospect of being a caretaker to injured animals. From there, you found yourself reverting back into your obsession, eventually starting a small shelter/pet-shop where you took in abandoned and wounded animals, healed them and put them back to find new owners. It would be a lie if you said that you didn't miss any of the animals that were taken by other people, but it was also a joy to see them go to homes where they would be given full attention and loved. Therefore, you found yourself rambling about all your beloved pets to whoever stepped into your little abode with any interest— which is what was happening right now. A guy, with almost perfect curly black hair and tan-kissed skin had walked in and began to mindlessly wander, often catching your eyes while he did so. You eventually walked up to him and offered your help, to which he seemed ever so grateful for, even though it was odd that he didn't know what animal he wanted to adopt. This man was Steven Grant. and only if you knew the panic the poor guy was going through. With Jake relentlessly pushing Steven to interact with the employee he's been eyeing through the glass doors of the pet-shop, Steven found himself awkwardly cruising through the different animals, who looked up at him with expectant eyes. Clearly, He needed a plan before walking into the shop, especially when you approached him with a confused look on your face. "Uh.. I-I'm not particularly fond of birds, love." Steven gave you a weak smile, he seemed like he was scared of possibly disappointing you. "Maybe the fishes?" 'Or the cats.' Jake added from somewhere in the headspace, obviously enjoying the shit-show. "Ah." You say allowing the bird back onto the bird perch, your eyes shifting towards a small section of the shop where you tucked away a rectangular aquarium with exactly one fish inhabiting it. "Well, The options are very limited with fishes." Steven was digging himself a deeper hole each time he enquired about the animals like he was actually going to get one— but don't get him wrong, he was genuinely finding your rambles about every creature there interesting. So interesting in fact, that he couldn't possibly leave without getting something. So, the most laziest pet to have would be a fish, according to him at least. You eventually lead him to the front of the tank, where you lightly bend (which Steven also mimicked) to meet eye-to-eye with a goldfish. But this wasn't any goldfish, it was a goldfish with exactly one fin. "He's your only luck if you're looking for fishes." "Does.. Does he have a name?" Steven asked, trying to keep the conversation going. How exactly was he going to take care of a goldfish anyways? Especially a goldfish that only had one fin? What if it dies? It'll ruin his entire day. Maybe his entire week.

 You tilt your head to think about it, before giving a soft shrug in response— which Steven admittedly found quite endearing. "Not really, He just came in like this I guess, Never thought to give him a name." 'A fish, Seriously?' "What about Gus?" Steven asked, turning a deaf ear to Jake's mocking comment. The goldfish paused for a second looking at the two observing it for a moment, before it continued to pace around again. It was almost like the little aquatic creature had approved of the name, but he wasn't planning on sounding like a total nutjob by expressing that out loud. "Hm, It surprisingly fits him." You say after a moment of silence. Though a second later, With a chuckle, You pick up conversation again. "You're pretty good at naming fishes, huh?"

"No! I just.. It came to me, I guess. Lil' fella looks like a Gus." "I agree."

After another moment of uncomfortable silence, Steven desperately tried to revive the exchange. "D'you know that Gus means Majestic? It fits 'cause it's quite amazing that he can swim with just a fin." 'Way to make them swoon, Steven. Buen trabajo.' Steven was truly getting sick of the unnecessary commentary from Jake, but he couldn't quite tell the wanker to piss off just yet. You, on the other hand, seemed to be intrigued by this rather sudden splurge of knowledge. Honestly, You didn't mind this at all, actually finding some amusement in how he suddenly geeked out. "Huh, I didn't know that." You said with a pleasant smile. "That's quite interesting now that you put it that way." "Yeah..." Steven's voice was small; the fear that he might have come off as weird subsided with your smile, which he reciprocated almost immediately. "I'll take him then." Your eyes lit up. For some odd reason, you didn't exactly expect him to actually get anything— Let alone a damn fish. Actually, Even Steven didn't know that he would end up being the owner of a fish, it just happened. He's technically already named the fish, it's only right that he takes it.

"Right, A moment." You nod, excusing yourself to go get the equipment needed to pack Gus away and off to settle in his new home. You come back a moment later as Steven stepped by the counter, Gus in a small plastic baggy as you balanced a small tank to put the little guy in as well as some food for the strangers convenience. Handing it off to him carefully, you nodded as you glanced at the only goldfish your store has seen be taken away. Who would've guessed. "I'll be off then, Thanks, love!" "You're welcome, Take care Gus!" You cheerfully wave them off, watching as your customer for the night took off. You sigh contently, feeling unnaturally happy about the whole interaction. Strange. — 'You bought a fish but you didn't ask for their name?' Gods, He totally forgot amidst everything. Steven had made it back home, his lip curling into a subtle frown as Jake bought forth a very valid point. The male couldn't help but sigh out loud, gently face palming as he realized his error. Maybe Steven didn't manage to catch their name or learn more about them but as he laid in his bed, he found himself recalling how beautiful that store clerk looked when they smiled. And besides, he made a new friend— a companion he was starting to adore quite alot.

#steven grant x reader #steven grant x you #steven grant x y/n #steven grant x gender neutral reader #jake lockely x reader #marc spector x reader #moon knight x reader #oscar isaac x reader #oscar isaac x you #x reader #jake lockley x you #marc spector x you #marc spector x y/n #moonknight x reader #moon knight x you #moon knight x y/n #reader insert

[wheredostarsgowhenyoudie]

Once upon a time when employees are being interviewed at SI:

.

.

Interviewer: So what is it like working for Iron Man?

Employee A: Oh! Easy question. I like that. It is an honor, you know. It's what I thought when I joined, and it still is now. But also, I did not expect that SI is a place where we are allowed to prioritize things like family. Like last time, I left my phone on silent at my desk cause I had to go to a meeting. My kid at home was having an emergency and I couldn't be reached. But apparently, Friday, Mr. Stark's AI, keeps track of phone vibrations so she made the report and someone came to notify me. I didn't even know there was a protocol for that. Turns out my daughter was having her period for the first time! And I'm a single father so I had no idea what to do and I was panicking. Next thing I know, an SI nurse came and apparently she was sent by Mr. Stark to walk me through how to help. Apparently, Fri also caught my panic rumblings and triggered 'YOU ARE NOT ALONE PROTOCOL' or something. (*laughing*) The next week, we received an official email introducing a new department called Human Care. They encourage everyone to reach out if we ever find ourselves out of our depths on non company emergency matters.

.

.

Interviewer: How long have you been working here?

Employee B: Eight years, two months, six days and counting.

Interviewer: What's the weirdest thing you've witnessed here?

Employee B: (blanks out)

Employee B (struggling to think): Ahm. Really? Just one? Er- That's a tough one. Maybe that one time they set up a room for everyone to try lifting Thor's hammer? Or wait, no, maybe that time there when flying roombas were everywhere following Mr. Stark and reminding him to eat? Or when a villain came via the vents but before he could come down, Hawkeye accidentally hit him with pepper spray? I don't know, man. Weird things happen a lot. We're used to it by now.

.

.

Interviewer: Do you feel safe working here?

Employee C: Yeah. The avengers live here. But to tell you the truth, I think Happy Hogan and his black tux team of agents scare all the potential bad guys away. I heard rumors that Black Widow personally trains them. Like, I know two of them. Jake, for instance. He's like a giant, and he is intimidating but I saw him crying one time and when I asked him why, he just said Mr. Hogan.

.

.

Interviewer: Which avenger have you met?

Employee D: Oh, I've met two of them. Captain America and Thor. It was odd but one time, they were in the cafeteria and carrying trays of food and I do not mean just one each. Nope. Like, a ton! Like they're feeding an army. But it makes sense. Can you imagine the workout? With bodies like theirs? And the battles they go to? Man, if I have to save the world from aliens, I'll probably need the same nutrition.

.

.

Interviewer: Which avenger is the kindest?

Employee E: Ahm...We all know they're all badass. But kindest, I think Spider-Man. Last Thursday, it was raining, and then Spidey suddenly came all wet and holding a box and I'm gonna quote him now. He said, "Friday, can you please ask Mr. Sam Wilson Falcon sir to come down? The shelter is close and I have a box of puppies and I really, really want to bring them up but Mr. Stark is gonna ban me from the lab again."

Interviewer: Aww. So what happened next? What did they do with the puppies?

Employee E (grinning): Falcon came down, alright. But he came with Iron Man who zoomed past everyone to drag Spidey to the penthouse. I am not sure what I heard but he was muttering about oven toasters and frozen spiderlings? In the end, aome employees volunteered to take care of them. But I believe two of them are at the avengers' floor. We saw Mr. Stark ranting about puppy paw paint marks on his armani.

Interviewer (gasps): Oh my. Was he mad?

Employee E (ends up laughing): Mad? Try grunting fondly? Peter really likes those puppies. Mr. Stark tried to act like he hates them but really, he adores everything about the kid, puppies included. He even had custom made collars with avengers logo made for them.

.

.

Interviewer: I'm sorry? The Winter Soldier was asking directions to where?

Employee F: The Lego Store.

.

.

Interviewer: How would you describe the workload? Do you still get work life balance?

Employee G: I guess it depends. I work in R&D and we're all nerds there. So like, we're typically busy but it's play for us. Some days, we're really cramped with work, mostly when deadlines are nearing or sometimes, we're just really in the zone, we do not want to stop. Peter activated 'NIGHT NIGHT PROTOCOL' for that. Had Fri lock us out of the lab and we had no choice but to go home or nap at the sleep wing. And would you believe? After the product launch, we got emails on mandatory vacation leaves with bonus to spend! Like, who does that? So yeah, it's cool working here.

.

.

And then, there was this:

Interviewer: How does it feel to be the heir of a multibillion dollar top green tech company?

Peter (stares quizzically, dumb-founded): Uhhh-....Look, sorry, I think I'm in the wrong room. I'm not- Maybe you got the wrong questionnaire? I'm just an intern-

Interviewer: Oh. Wait. Is it top secret then? Sorry, I was told of your identity as Mr. Stark's kid so I thought I could ask. But if you're not comfortable-

Peter: WHAT!?? Who said that? They're probably just joking.

Interviewer (chuckles nervously): Ms. Potts did actually.

Peter (freezes): Oh.

Suddenly the door opens and Tony walks in.

Tony: Hey kid, and Ms. Carrenland. How's the interview going? Thought I'd drop by for moral support, you know.

Peter (looks torn, but excuses himself to go to Tony): Uhm, Mr. Stark, can I talk to you for a second? Look, sir, ahm, I think there's been a misunderstanding. The interviewer asks me how it feels to be your heir. Like that's real. I don't-

Tony (has his brows rising to his hairline): Kid. Peter. Breathe.

Peter (groans and sighs embarrassingly): I just didn't want to lie! They mistook me for someone else. It was a misunderstanding!

Tony (smirking): It's really not.

Peter: What?

Tony: Kiddo, I was the one who gave Pep the approval to sign the questions. And really, you've been managing the R&D department and shadowing Pep at management for a year now. You never wondered why I make you do that?

Peter: Oh.

Tony: Yup. Genius child here.

Peter: I just wanted to help. You seem stressed out with the Avengers' work and dealing with the government. I thought I could lend a hand. I didn't- I don't expect you to- I'm not worth that, Mr. Stark.

Tony (scoffs): I beg to differ. Look, I'll be honest with you. Even if you aren't interested in the company, it's still gonna be yours. Look around you, kid. Do you think I let just anyone go around with a free pass at my tower? You have a room at my home. This place is your home, as where as everywhere else that I own. Plus, it's another motivation for you to take care of yourself when you go out as Spidey. Imagine all our employees. They need you, kiddo.

Peter (mumbling softly): I'm just Peter Parker.

Tony (smiles and pats his shoulder): And that is why I chose you.

#irondad #irondad & spiderson #ironfam #spiderson #spider-man #iron man #avengers #mcu #tony stark #peter parker & tony stark #peter parker tom holland #peter parker #stark industries #incorrect marvel #incorrect avengers #incorrect irondad and spiderson #fun fics

[tgmsunmontue]

With our pets, a house becomes our home

5k Hangster MeetCute (Explicit, but not very by my standards). Bradley is the vet (DVM) that Jake takes Brisket to after he adopts her and moves to Corpus Christi to be a flying instructor.

I started this fic before I saw @yeagrave's art, but this post is 100% Jake's lockscreen (and those are a set of Jake's spare dog tags).

                Monday mornings generally suck. The people who have left their pets wellness until normal business hours because they didn’t want to pay the extra emergency fees. He quietly judges them. This Monday sucks more than most though, because he’s covering another vet on what is meant to be his day off. But he doesn’t want to make the admin staff have to reshuffle the thirty or so appointments that he now has facing him in a long gauntlet of monotony. Hopefully there will be something interesting that pops up.

                He deals with the standard checkups, listens to heart murmurs, administers vaccines, makes notes for the techs, gives instructions about diets he knows get ignored by owners who think they know better. He has to change his scrubs when a dog vomits on him and yeah… he wants his day off back with a deep burning passion but pushes through. He can shower and blob when he gets home and bitch and moan to his friends. They can compare Mondayitis stories and see who comes out worst.

                He steps into the waiting room, and there’s only two people left, one a woman with two kittens in a carrier, and the other a man cradling a puppy. He’s only got one left for his ticket today, and it’s a puppy so okay, at least he gets to look at a cute puppy and a cuter guy.

                “Brisket?”

                The guy blushes and Bradley can’t help his smile getting bigger as he gestures toward the consultation room.

                “Uh, hi.”

                “Hi, I’m Bradley. What brings Brisket in today?”

                “She needs a general checkup, and I wanted to register her with a vet since I moved here in the weekend… She needs vaccines I think? And to be fixed? And I wanted to ask some questions?”

                “So she’s here for the works… can I have a look?” Bradley asks and the guy blushes again, looks down at the tiny bundle who looks back at him adoringly and Bradley has a thing for guys who like animals. Couldn’t be with anyone who didn’t like animals, wouldn’t feel like he could trust them. He hands the puppy over to Bradley and he handles her gently, lets her lick and sniff at him a little before lowering her to the examination table.

                “Tell me about how you got Brisket,” Bradley says, running his hands down the little body, grinning as she happily licks his fingers, tail wagging enthusiastically. She’s very sweet. Most guys like having big dogs, so he’s genuinely curious as to whether this guy chose this dog, or if he’s here at the bequest of someone else. Girlfriend or boyfriend maybe. Purely out of professional courtesy.

                “Uh, I’ve wanted a dog for ages. Finally getting settled in one place for a while so I figured it was finally time you know? So I went to the shelter in San Diego, not really intending to adopt then and there…”

                “She’s a rescue?” Bradley says, and he’s a little surprised. Because if they’re not big dogs then they’re usually little dog breeds, so some hybrid-cross-breed that some breeder thinks will be in demand. This little thing hadn’t looked like any breed he was familiar with, but there’s so many new ones and he’s not usually up with them all.

                “Well yeah, of course. She just had such a friendly personality you know?”

                “She is very sweet natured,” Bradley agrees, because the guy is clearly besotted with his puppy, and it’s adorable. He listens to her heart and lungs, takes her temperature and soothes her through the discomfit.

                “So did you have paperwork showing what she’s already been vaccinated for? Most shelters give you adoption paperwork?”

                “Oh, yeah, they did. One second,” the guy says, pulling folded pieces of paper out of his pocket and handing them over. On the top of the paper are all the details of the dog, and then down the bottom the details of the new owner. Jake Seresin. At least he has a name now.

                “Okay, so she’s all up to date with all the vaccines, she’ll need to come back in six weeks for a booster. And we don’t do on the spot spaying or neutering, you’ll have to make an appointment when she’s a little older. Try not to let her out unattended, because we don’t want to be adding to the puppy population, regardless of the fact that she’d no doubt make gorgeous babies…You a first time dog owner?”

                “I grew up on a ranch, had lots of animals. Horses mainly. Well, beef stock. But lots of working animals, not pets. She’s my first.”

                “Well, you made a good choice. She’s got a lovely temperament. Nice and healthy,” Bradley states, laughing as she tries to chew on his thumb and he reaches for a dog toy from the jar. “Okay, so she’s going to be mouthy, she’ll want to chew on things as her adult teeth come through. You might find a couple of puppy teeth lying around but they usually just swallow them. It’s all normal. You have any questions?”

                “Uh…I… um. Made a list.”

                “Sensible,” Bradley says, and this guy’s adorable intensity is commendable, he wished more owners thought to ask their vets the questions rather than trusting Google.

                “You’ve, uh, already answered a few of them actually.”

                “That’s good, what else have you got?”

                He asks about diet and exercise, sleep and routines, anxiety and separation and toilet training and Bradley answers them all, writes down a few notes and links to some reputable websites. Recommends a puppy obedience course, steers him away from problematic dog toys which can cause more harm than good. The appointment definitely runs well over the time, but it’s his last of the day and he’s got nowhere else he’d rather be, and after the day he’s had this is a nice silver lining.

                “Anything else I can help you with?”

                “No, I think that’s it. Thanks so much, it’s really helped.”

                “You’re more than welcome. I guess I just have a question for you now.”

                “Of course, what is it?”

                “I don’t usually do this, but you want to grab a drink sometime?”

                “A drink. Like…A date?”

                “Yep.”

                “Yeah. Yeah I’d like that.”

                “Great, let me get a card.” He grabs a business card, usually reserved for when he goes to conferences, carefully prints his personal cell phone number on the back and hands it over. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

…             …             …

                Jake gets back to his house and immediately lets Brisket out into the back garden, looks at the little rectangular piece of card and puts the number into his phone before he loses it. He puts the name in as Bradley but then follows it with the flame emoji, followed by the guy with the moustache and then the dog emoji. That’s enough to remind him of who exactly Bradley is. Not that he thinks he’s going to need the reminder.

                He spends some time looking at the websites Bradley has recommended, sends an enquiry about the puppy obedience classes. He’d already made an appointment for the booster shots and for getting Brisket fixed. Definitely doesn’t want to wait that long before seeing Bradley again. He grins. Only in town for five days and he’s got a guys number. Without even trying. Phoenix told him a puppy would help him make friends, that he needed as much help as he could, maybe she was onto something.

Hi Bradley. This is Jake. Let me know when you want to do that drink. I don’t start work until next week so currently free as a bird.

                It’s not too late, and it’s been a couple of hours. He’s not going to play hard to get. He’s never considered himself hard to get when the guy is as attractive as Bradley is, and he’s never been one to play games or overthink setting up dates or hookups. He’s hoping this is maybe more than a hookup.

I’m free most evenings. Tomorrow? Dinner?

                Jake grins, likes the idea of dinner even more than a drink, it’s a good sign; sends a message back, organizing a time but asking for recommendations of where they could go to eat.

…             …             …

                They settle at a table and quickly peruse the menu before placing orders with the hovering waitstaff. They’ve made superficial small-talk about the weather and how Brisket is doing, but he’s hoping he can find out more about Jake himself.

                “So you’re new to the area?”

                “Uh yeah, I guess. I lived here a while back but am back for work.”

                “And what do you do for work?”

                “I’m in the Navy. An aviator,” Jake says, like he’s a little unsure.

                “You’re shitting me…” Bradley says with a disbelieving laugh, because he’s had a guy tell him he was a naval aviator before. Except he hadn’t been and the lie had quickly bitten the other guy in the ass when Bradley had quickly realized and called him out on it. It had been a shame because Bradley had genuinely liked him.

                “Why would I lie?”

                “Well, some guys think it’ll sound impressive…”

                “Isn’t it?”

                “Well… maybe to some guys,” Bradley concedes.

                “Not you?”

                “No. Not to me. I’m more impressed you adopted a rescue, travelled across country with it and care about your puppy than what you might or might not do for your work.”

                “Most people care that I disappear for months on end. Or have a thing against the military in general.”

                “Huh,” Bradley states, realizing that that was maybe where his hesitance had come from. “I’m used to people being away for long periods,” Bradley states. Jake raises an eyebrow. “Sorry. I’m just… I was a Navy brat. Sort of.”

                “Sort of?”

                “Yeah. Grew up on bases, spent most of my life on them. We probably know some of the same people, if you’re actually a naval aviator…” Bradley says, still giving him an out, because maybe this guy is not realising the hole he’s dug.

                “How do you figure?”

                “My dad was a naval aviator, and until very recently my godfather was also a naval aviator, although he’s recently retired. Although I don’t think the Navy will actually ever get rid of him. He’s pretty entrenched.”

                “Yeah, what’s his name?”

                “Pete Mitchell,” Bradley provides, and Jake’s immediate response makes him relax a little. That’s definitely recognition of the name.

                “Maverick? Mav’s your godfather?”

                Bradley opens his mouth, snaps it shut again. Not just recognition but more than that. He's calling him Mav. Of fucking course he knows Mav, and he hadn’t used his callsign so this guy is legitimately a naval aviator.

                “You know Mav huh?”

                “Yeah. He’s… damn. He’s fucking insane but so good. He was brought in to train us and he’s just… that good.”

                “Don’t let him hear you say that. His ego doesn’t need to be made any bigger.”

                “He deserves his ego, he’s fucking legendary.”

                “You sound like a fan.”

                “Yeah, I guess I am. He’s… worthy of fans.”

                “Yeah well, he’s my godfather. So there you go.”

                “Wait, are you little goose?”

                “Oh god…” Bradley groans.

                “You are!”

                “Yeah yeah… this is quickly losing the date vibe.”

                “Sorry, I can bring it back to that,” Jake says, and his hand is suddenly resting on Bradley’s, warm and dry, fingers stroking the back of his hand.

                “Yeah, think you better or you might strike out…”

                “Wouldn’t want that…” Jake says, and his eyes are dark and amused and Bradley feels a little thrill at being the subject of his intense gaze.

                “So, you’re an actual naval aviator.”

                “Yeah, no wonder you aren’t impressed if you grew up hearing about Mav’s exploits. Fuck.”

                “Trust me, I find you plenty impressive.”

                “Good to know,” Jake says, his smile clearly pleased. “I’m one of the new flight instructors. Have a three-year stint here and Kingsville unless they need me for something special.”

                “Nice. Do you like teaching?”

                Their conversation changes as they talk more, discussing what their upbringings were like, their families, respective careers, all of Bradley’s current animals, favorite food and drink. It’s easy, their humor similar and gently teasing at times, making laughter come easily. It’s one of the best first-dates he’s ever had and it’s not until there’s a polite cough that he looks up to see the rest of the restaurant is empty, the waitstaff having clearly cleared up and are now just waiting on them. A quick glance at his phone tells him it’s nearly midnight and his mind bugs out a little.

                “Shit, sorry. I guess we got caught up talking.”

                “It’s fine.”

                He grabs the bill, leaving a generous tip for keeping them and tells Jake he can grab the bill next time, which has him murmuring next time huh under his breath, close to Bradley’s ear as they walk close together as they step outside. There are only two cars left in the lot and he guesses the staff must park somewhere else. He walks Jake to his car, only a few yards from his own truck.

                “I had a really good time tonight…” Bradley starts.

                “Me too. Wouldn’t mind doing it again…”

                “What are you doing Saturday?”

                “Having dinner with this hot guy I just met…”

                “What a weird coincidence, so am I…”

                He shifts forward, eyes searching Jake’s face to make sure there isn’t any hesitation before placing a gentle kiss on Jake’s mouth. He pulls back slowly, his lips quirking in amusement when Jake quickly gives him another kiss back, slightly firmer and longer and he feels the flicker of warm anticipation come to life in his belly. Potential something.

                “Don’t suppose I can tempt you to come back to my place?”

                “I’m definitely tempted, but I’ve got to get home. Dogs.”

                “Oh yeah, of course.”

                “Bring Brisket on Saturday. She can meet the pack…”

                He doesn’t want to mention that Jake could also bring all her gear, as well as a spare toothbrush for himself.

…             …             …

                They’ve been messaging since dinner on Tuesday and Jake feels completely settled into his house now, he’s driven to both Corpus Christi and Kingsville to familiarize himself with the routes. He’s taken Brisket to her first puppy obedience class, figured out the most convenient grocery store. All week he’s been looking forward to Saturday, packs some things and leaves them in has car, so if he needs any of it they’ll be close at hand. If it’s effectively a sleepover backpack for him and Brisket that’s between him and Brisket.

                He pulls into the drive of the house address Bradley had given him and looks at the tall fence that surrounds the back garden, can already hear barking and he looks down at Brisket who is sitting there, ears pricking forward at the sound of other dogs. He gets out, grabs her bag of stuff and carries her toward the house, glad she at least seems curious about the barking rather than terrified. He rings the bell, eyes widening at the sudden increase in barking and then Bradley is there, smiling at him behind the wavy glass of the door. Immediately the barking ceases, although there is a small yap, and then the door opens.

                “Hi. Come on in.”

                “Hi. Uh. Are you sure she’s going to be okay?”

                “Trust me, if anything she’ll rule them with an iron paw… feel free to put her down.”

                Jake doesn’t particularly want to, but Bradley is looking expectant, as are the five dogs who are all sitting and waiting obediently. He knows they aren’t all Bradley’s dogs permanently, that he’s fostering three and dog-sitting one, but he can’t remember which one is which. Most of the dogs are normal sized, one is huge though, and he wishes he remembered which one Bradley said was his. Then a cat walks in and insolently stalks in front of the line of dogs and collapses at Bradley’s feet.

                “Curtiss,” Bradley states, waving a hand at the cat with a sardonic sigh. The fact that none of the dogs have moved, except one, the largest, whose tail had started wagging enthusiastically makes Jake feel more confident about putting Brisket down. She is nowhere near as disciplined as any of the other dogs. Hell, the cat is probably more disciplined than Brisket, despite the fact it is a cat and takes direction from no one. Understandably she runs from him to Bradley, then to the cat, then back to Jake, then takes turns running to and around each dog and prancing playfully, like she expects them to play with her.

                “I’m going to give them the release signal and it’s going to get chaotic, but just trust me okay? They’re well trained.”

                He believes it, but sure enough in less than a second there’s barking again, six dogs suddenly all barking and then they’re running and Brisket is chasing after them and Bradley grins at him.

                “I gave them the signal for outside. Brewster is too big to not be well trained, and he generally gets all other dogs quickly following his lead.”

                “What kind of dog is he again?”

                “A Leonberger. He was surrendered to a local shelter because the owners couldn’t afford to keep him. He eats a lot. He went unadopted because of the costs associated with feeding him, raft of potential health issues as he aged and because he had zero training. I’ve had him for five years now.”

                “He’s massive,” Jake says, and he knows he’s stating the fucking obvious but when Bradley had said he had just the one big dog, he had never imagined this. He’s pretty sure Brisket is the size of one of his paws.

                “Yep. But as I said, he’s very well trained. I work with him every day as well. Come on, I promised you dinner.”

                “You cooked?”

                “I did, but it’s only one of the five meals I can make, so don’t go thinking I’m accomplished or anything.”

                “As long as it’s edible.”

                He takes the offered beer, watches as Bradley dishes out some pasta dish along with some garlic bread and then directs him to sit at a high bench on bar stools rather than at the dining table.

                “We don’t want Brewster putting his mouth into our food, at least up here we have a slightly better chance of protecting it.”

                “I thought you said he was really well trained?”

                “Not when I’m eating food. All bets are off if I’m eating.”

                Jake laughs and just like it did on Tuesday, conversation flows easily. Bradley can follow his work talk easily, obviously used to Navy talk because of Mav, his own work stories are equal parts hilarious and terrifying. He’s attentive, giving Jake his full attention and he finds he likes that a lot more than he thought he would. They finish dinner, Bradley quickly stacking his dishwasher before feeding the dogs. He watches as Bradley holds their attention before giving them the signal that they can eat and he can’t help but be impressed. He’s pretty sure Brisket is only going to have to look at him and he’s going to cave to her every whim. He does try and look like he’s not a complete soft touch in front of Bradley as he feeds her, but he doesn’t think he succeeds.

                They go into the back lawn and throw balls for the dogs, starting an elaborate game of keep-away for about twenty minutes before Bradley offers him dessert. He wants to ask if it’s Bradley himself on offer but doesn’t, instead takes the bowl of fruit and ice-cream and makes himself comfortable on the sofa, apparently safe from Brewster as he’s afraid of the scent of fruit. There’s a collection of boardgames, none of which he’s familiar with so he asks about them and learns that it’s another of Bradley’s hobbies.

                When they’re finished he follows Bradley back to the kitchen, notices it’s much quieter, almost dark outside and there’s no more barking and he looks around, suddenly anxious.

                “She’s just over there…” Bradley says, his lips twitching with a smile and Jake’s not sure if he’s laughing at him or… oh. That’s fucking cute. Brisket is curled up on Brewster, she’s somehow managed to climb up the almost mountain like body and curl up on top of him. He grabs his phone and snaps a photo, and then a few more because one is never going to be enough.

                “She’s all tuckered out… You going to wake her up?”

                Jake looks up at Bradley’s tone, and his eyes are hooded and Jake feels an immediate jolt of arousal spark through him.

                “No… she looks far too comfortable. Think I need to go to bed too…”

                “Yeah?”

                “Definitely. Show me the way…”

…             …             …

                They’ve not talked about what they’re doing, not in the actual physical and practical sense. Not in terms of sex and he’s definitely been raised in a house with the rule of if you can’t talk about it you shouldn’t be doing it. Which actually only goes so far when you really don’t want to share details of your sex life with your surrogate parents, or hear anything about theirs. He does agree in principle though, and there’s only one way to find out. Conversation hasn’t been difficult between them so he doesn’t expect this to be awkward either. He shifts slightly so he can rest his head on his hand while his other hand runs up and down from Jake’s shoulder to his hip.

                “Anything you don’t like?”

                “Uh…”

                “Anything you do like? Or prefer? I’m easy…”

                “Lucky me.”

                “Can I touch?”

                “Yeah…course.”

                Bradley lets his hand rub Jake’s cock through his underwear as he kisses him, enjoys the feel of Jake’s body moving against his hand, body and mouth. Jake’s free hand runs through the hair on his chest, then his shoulders, down his arm before there are blunt nails digging into his ass; then finally a large palm rubs his cock far too fleetingly to be anything more than a frustrating taste before it starts back at the beginning.

                “This okay?”

                “Yeah, look, if you do something I don’t like I’ll say something okay?”

                “And if I do something you like?”

                “Actually, you could work on that a little bit more…”

                He kisses him hard then, grinds their hips together and palms an ass cheek in his hand, holding Jake tight against him.

                “Yeah, fuck…”

                He shifts, pushes Jake back to lie on his back and then straddles one of Jake’s thighs. He runs both hands down Jake’s naked chest, leans down to kiss him again, hands on either side of Jake’s shoulders. Jake looks good, is confident with it, Bradley can’t help but find it attractive. He shifts a little, Jake’s hands are all over, hips lifting up to try and rub against him and Bradley would tease him for being impatient but he is starting to feel the same.

                Their breathing is getting shallower, and he kisses over Jake’s collar bone, licks a little into the slight dip in his clavicle and assumes it’s a little ticklish from the way Jake laughs a little. He runs a hand down Jake’s side, his mouth moving down his chest but his eyes are on Jake’s neck and mouth, muscles taut and mouth open as he breathes harshly. He’s clearly given up waiting for Bradley to pay attention to his dick, has his own hand rubbing himself, occasionally detouring to rub Bradley’s dick as well. He moves his mouth over Jake’s pectorals, sucks gently at one nipple, wanting to know if this is something Jake –

                 “Fucking hell,” Jake exclaims, body jerking up as if electrified and Bradley pulls back immediately.

                “Good or bad?”

                “Good. Do it again …”

                Bradley grins and seals his mouth around his right nipple again and sucks, flicking his tongue over the harder nub of flesh in his mouth and Jake’s entire body arches again and Bradley can’t believe how good he looks. How good he feels.

                “Fuck, why does that feel so good?”

                “Lots of nerve endings…”

                “It was a fucking rhetorical question…”

                He snorts, lowers his mouth back and presses down with his lower body at the same time, wants to give something for Jake to grind against, push him toward climax. Jake is reading his body easily, his hips angling slightly to thrust against the juncture of his thigh and hip, hands both on Bradley’s lower back urging him closer, pulling him down and Bradley lets a little more of his weight press down. The moan Jake lets out is gratifying and he reaches a hand between them and presses harder, feels the dampness from where he’s leaking pre-come.

                “Lube?”

                “No, I like it a little, uh, rough… you go ahead though, if you want…”

                “Nope, I’m all good…”

                His lips are red and swollen and Bradley wants to make him look like this all the time. He runs a finger under the elastic of the underwear and then Jake’s hips are up and he shifts back and out of the way. Watches as Jake pushes them down and he can’t actually get them off with the way Bradley is half-kneeling over him, one thigh between Jake’s legs. He shuffles down the bed. Drags his hands down Jake’s legs, tugs the underwear off before moving back up, placing gentle kisses on knees, thighs and hips before he licks up the length of Jake’s cock, kisses the head and lets his moustache scrape against the skin gently. Jake is shifting, clearly wanting to move more but holding himself back and he’s got far too much control for Bradley’s liking.

                He wraps his hand around Jake’s cock, a little firmer than he would usually, but Jake had said he likes it a little rough. He jerks it steadily, watches as Jake’s eyes squeeze shut, mouth opening in a silent gasp and he keeps going. It’s been a while, but he knows how to multitask and he wants to hear and see what will happen next. Knows getting Jake off is likely going to make him come as well. He settles his mouth over the same nipple he’d sucked before, and it’s a little pink, and he sucks again. The resulting words from Jake’s mouth are nonsensical in between loud gasps for air and what he recognizes as his name. He doesn’t say anything, can’t really, with his mouth busy sucking intently. His hand has sped up and he’s resting a fair bit of his weight on Jake’s leg, partly pinning Jake beneath him and his cock is hard and leaking. One of Jake’s hands is fisted in his hair, holding Bradley to his chest and then his whole body goes taut like a rubber band being stretched before it snaps back and then Jake is coming all over his hand and he gentles the sucking to more gentler licks and swirls of his tongue because it’s most likely going to be a little bruised.

                 “Ungh… fuck…”

                He doesn’t bother moving very much, just shoves his own underwear down enough to take his cock in his hand and jerk himself off, hard and desperate to come, no need to try and make it last longer or hold back. He moves enough to kiss Jake and he feels a hand try to come and help him and while he appreciates the intent it isn’t something that is even a consideration right now, he’s too close and he doesn’t need much…

                “Bradley…”

                Yeah, that’ll do it. He comes with a groan, his come joining Jake’s on his stomach. He rests his forehead against Jake’s neck while he tries to steady his breathing. Their breathing is the only sound he can hear outside of his body, heartbeat pounding in his ears, waits a moment before he lets out a long shuddery breath and kisses Jake on the chin.

                “You okay?”

                “What’s that saying, ask a stupid question?”

                “Get a stupid answer…”

                “Yeah.”

                He grabs some tissues, passes the box to Jake and they wipe themselves clean and he feels fantastic, hopes Jake feels similarly. He kisses him, takes the dirty tissues from his unresisting fingers and lies down beside him.

                “Stupidly okay. You?”

                “Yeah. That sounds about right. Damned good for a first run…”

                “Mmm. Imagine what it will be like when we’ve got a few more test runs behind us.”

                “Always room for improvement.”

                “That’s very true… I’m just going to go and let the dogs out but I’ll be right back. If you wanted to stay that is?”

                “Yeah, staying sounds good. Just… uh. Brisket normally sleeps on the bed with me.”

                “Think she’s found a new bed.”

                “Lucky for me I won’t be lonely I guess.”

                Bradley grins.

…             …             …

2 MONTHS LATER

                He’s running a little late, but not by a lot. He’s messaged both Jake and Mav to say he’s running a bit behind due to a surgery requiring a bit more time. He walks into the restaurant and spies them sitting at a booth near the back, tells the hostess he’s with them and raises his hand in greeting as Mav is standing to give him a hug.

                “Bradley!”

                “Hey Mav, good to see you,” Bradley says, returning the tight embrace.

                “Good to see you too. You’re looking good. This is… Jake.”

                Bradley leans down and gives Jake a kiss, takes his time and licks into his mouth.

                “Hi.”

                “I hope you don’t meet everyone that way…”

                “Only my boyfriend Mav,” Bradley says, laughing. “You didn’t tell him?” he asks Jake.

                “Nope, one of my joys in life is keeping him on his toes,” Jake says, grinning at them both as they sit. Mav is rolling his eyes and huffing, but Bradley can tell he’s a little pleased. At least he knows now why Bradley really didn’t care about him inviting someone else along to dinner.

                “How long has this been going on?” Mav asks, looking between them with interest.

                “Couple of months,” Bradley provides.

                “You move fast,” Mav says to Jake dryly.

                “What can I say? I know a good thing when I see one.”

                “Plus Brisket loves me.”

                “She does have exceptional taste.”

                “Much like her owner. Although don’t you get the names mixed up? Brisket, Bradley and Brewster? There’s definitely a theme there…”

                Jake blinks, looks at Bradley and he just shrugs.

                “We could get a couple more pets and name them Brownie and Bruno and you’d have the whole set.”

                Jake laughs, eye brow quirks;

                “Sounds like a plan.”

#Hangster #Sereshaw #Top Gun Maverick #Top Gun Maverick fanfiction #AU where Bradley is not a Naval Aviator

[jake-webber]

I desperately need someone to write a cute fluffy oneshot of jake adopting a tiny dog with his s/o. Specifically a weiner dog puppy if you're up for it :) or not... up to you.... please :)))

"I want a big boy. A hunk of dog!" Jake exclaims in front of the employee, using his hands to illustrate the size of the dog he desires – apparently, one larger than life itself.

You share a laugh with the employee at Jake's enthusiasm. "The closest thing to that is a horse, sir," the employee quips, prompting a gasp from Jake, who then turns to you with a twinkle in his eye. "Let's get a horsey-horse!"

"Jake, please," you interject, placing a hand on his tattooed arm. "What happened to the guy who didn't want so much as a goldfish near our house?"

He grins mischievously, his chin jutting out confidently. "Well, he's gone and in desperate need of a horse to ride." The employee leaves with a shake of his head, clearly amused by the two of you, giving you some time to chat.

You find yourselves in a dog shelter, puzzled by Jake's eccentric desire for a horse. Despite his excitement, you're not entirely sure if he's serious.

Sighing affectionately, you take Jake's arm and steer him away from the bustling employees, opting to explore the shelter together. "We'll get your horse next time, but first, let's find our dog," you say, pulling him along as he playfully pouts and pretends to be a drama queen.

"I guess a dog will do," he concedes, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. "For now." He whispers against your ear before stealing a quick kiss from your lips, causing you to giggle into the kiss.

As you make your way towards the playpen where most of the puppies are romping and barking, Jake entwines his fingers with yours, leading the way. "God, I want all of them. Look at 'em! Aren't you all just a bunch of gorgeous little fellas?"

Following his lead, you kneel down beside him as he coos at the puppies, scratching them behind their ears. "Is it even legal to adopt all these cuties at once?"

"There's probably a law like that somewhere," Jake replies without looking at you. "I'd be happy to break it with you."

"Jake, that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me," you quip, feigning a dramatic sob and wiping imaginary tears.

He laughs with you, picking up a particularly shy wiener dog and holding it out to you. "Look at this one, he's so quiet. Maybe he's emo like Johnnie." The pup stares at you with beady eyes, and Jake gives you his best puppy eyes in return.

You chuckle, taking the dog from Jake's hands and cradling it in your arms. "He does look adorable."

"I mean, d'you like him?"

You stroke the wiener dog gently, feeling him relax in your arms as if he's found a familiar comfort. "I do. He's so precious, Jake."

He grins at you. "And I'm not disagreeing. As long as he doesn't take my spot in the bed and in your heart, then we're cool." Jake wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him and scratching the sleeping dog on your shoulder.

"No one could ever take your spot," you assure him, planting a kiss on Jake's lips and grinning. "Unless you do something to get yourself replaced, sweetheart." You playfully tap his cheek, watching as his mouth drops open in mock disbelief, eliciting another chuckle from you.

#jake webber #jake webber x reader #jake webbber x you #jake webber imagine #jake and johnnie

[stolenslumber]

devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes (pjs)

Jay needs someone to pretend to be his girlfriend, and you’re just the person for the job— seriously, you’re almost a professional at this point, regularly charming the families of your idiot twin’s friends who need your help getting their parents off their back. Of course, leave it up to Jay to blur the lines of your fake relationship so smoothly that you catch real feelings; falling in love has never been this easy.

PAIRING: park jongseong x female reader GENRE: acquaintances to partners in crime to fake dating to lovers i guess? lol, college au, vaguely greek life au, vaguely rich kid au, fluff fluff fluff, jake is the mc’s twin bc i thought it would be funny WARNINGS: swearing, kissing and suggestive content/sexual themes WORD COUNT: 14.4k A/N: ik the ages don't line up here shhhh just ignore that okay

NOW AVAILABLE: hang your head low in the glow (companion fic/follow-up)

“WHY DO YOU LOOK SO NICE?” 

“Why do you sound so surprised?” You scoff, tossing the apple you were just about to eat at Jake’s head. Annoyingly, he catches it in mid-air, then makes a show out of polishing it with his shirt and taking a big bite out of it. “Hey, I was going to eat that, asshole.”

“Shouldn’t have thrown it at me, then.” 

You roll your eyes at your twin, then go to retrieve another apple from the fruit bowl. It’s surprisingly well-stocked, given that you’re in a frat’s kitchen. Honestly, it’s surprising that there even is a fruit bowl in a frat’s kitchen, but the president of this frat runs a tight ship.

Said president appears in the doorway just then, snatching the apple from your hands as well as the one from Jake’s hands. “Guys, seriously, you have to wash these before you eat them.”

You and Jake both whine simultaneously. “Chan!” 

“I already took a bite out of that, bro,” Jake complains.

“I’m starving; please have mercy,” you beg.

Chan whips his head around from where he’d begun washing the apples in the sink to fuss at you. “What? Why haven’t you eaten yet? It’s almost 9pm!”

“Which reminds me— why do you look so nice?” Jake repeats.

“I had a thing with Mark,” you sigh. 

“You can just say you were pretending to be his girlfriend; we all know what you mean,” Jake snorts.

“I had a thing with Mark,” you repeat, resisting the urge to throw another apple at Jake’s head. “It was at this ballroom downtown, and of course he had nothing to wear, so I had to take him shopping first, which made us late, and then his parents wouldn’t stop talking my ear off about how I need to convince him to give up the music major, so I couldn’t touch any of the food there. Not even the foie gras torchon,” you recall mournfully. “We just got back, like, five minutes ago.”

Chan hums sympathetically— he knows how much you love foie gras torchon. “You can probably ask for an endless supply in return for your appearance at today’s thing,” he suggests, only half-joking. It absolutely sounds like the kind of thing Mark Lee would agree to, what with his ridiculously large inheritance and hapless generosity (last month, Mark lost thousands of dollars in some animal shelter-related pyramid scheme, marketed to him by none other than Lee Haechan).

You wave a hand dismissively. “Nah, I’m keeping Mark’s favor for something else.”

Jake raises an eyebrow. “What else?”

“Whatever it turns out I need in the future, dumbass. What’s it to you, anyways?” 

“Just wanna make sure the poor guy doesn’t end up trapped in your snares forever, little sis. Yo, can I have that apple back?” Jake turns to Chan with characteristic puppy eyes.

“You’re only older than me by eight minutes,” you grumble, the age-old retort slipping out of you before you can help it.

“No, Jaeyun, you cannot. And don’t talk to your sister like that— oh my god, why do I sound like Taeyong,” Chan mutters, thinking about his predecessor frat-president-slash-mother-hen. 

“Jeez, government name and everything.” Jake holds his hands up, relinquishing his claim to the apple.

“In fact, your sister gets to have both of these apples, after I clean and cut them up, because she is a saint for continuing to save our asses from our parents like this,” Chan lectures, unceremoniously carving out the chunk of the apple with Jake’s bite marks and tossing it into the trash bin.

“Real ones get it!” You reach out and high-five Chan. 

“That is so unfair, c’mon, man!” Jake splutters. “She gets just as much out of these fake relationships— seriously, didn’t you drive her around everywhere for, like, a month after she went to that wedding with you?”

Both you and Chan shudder at the memory. “Ugh, my worst cousin and the worst guy he was ever with. They’re still married, by the way.” Chan shakes his head. “God knows why.”

“Love conquers all…?” Jake offers.

“What the hell are you talking about love for,” a new voice grumbles. Park Jongseong strolls in through the doorway, hands full with plastic bags promising wonderful things based on how your stomach reacts to the smell.

“Oh, hell yeah, chicken!” Jake cheers. “Took you long enough, bro.”

“Traffic was hell; something about a ball downtown, and— oh. Hey.” Jay stops abruptly at the sight of you, now munching on the apple slices Chan hands you, one by one.

You wave vaguely in his direction, too busy eating to respond. Jay is one of your brother’s friends who you don’t know that well, since you’ve never pretended to be his girlfriend. It’s strange that you two don’t know each other better, actually— as the social chairs of your sorority and his fraternity, respectively, you would usually have a lot to work on together. But this year has been particularly busy for you, what with your senior thesis and your various things with Jake’s frat brothers, and you had delegated most of your social chair responsibilities to your co-chair, Yunjin, who was far better suited to the social part of the job, anyways. You suspected Jay had done the same thing, since the two of you only ever texted to confirm budgets for any joint events.

“You need to have more than one-and-three-quarters of an apple for dinner,” Chan scolds you, parental instincts back in full force.

You shrug, about to turn around and rifle through the cabinets to see if you can find some peanut butter to add to your apple slices when a takeout container appears in front of you. Tired and still starving, you react rather slowly, your eyes tracing up the hand on the container to the veins of an arm belonging to none other than Jay.

“You look hungry,” is all he says, before popping the container open for you and rearranging the rest of the plastic bags on the counter. “Jake, tell the others to come down for food.”

The others means that soon, there will be an influx of hungry frat brothers in the kitchen, and you have no desire to be anywhere near that, so you mumble a quick thank you to Jay, plop the rest of the apple slices into the takeout container (against Chan’s complaints about the contamination), and move to leave the kitchen, eager to be on your way to your sorority house.

The last thing you overhear before you leave is Jay asking, “Why did your sister look so nice?”, and Jake and Chan responding in unison, “She had a thing.”

A few days later, when they’re doing work in the library, Jay asks Jake, “So how long have Mark and your sister been seeing each other?”

Jake’s pencil jerks across his graph paper, a jagged line appearing on the page at the same time that he swears. “Dude, what the fuck?”

“Dude, what the fuck,” Jay echoes flatly. “Didn’t you say she had a thing with Mark?”

Jake blinks. “Well, sure, in the same way that she’s had a thing with Chan, and Yeonjun, and Vernon, and all the others.”

Jay gapes at him. “Your sister dated all of them? And all the others?”

“What, no, she didn’t date them, she fake-dated them! Just a couple of times, mainly showing up to things with their families so their parents would leave them alone about finding a partner and all that. You know how the parents are.” Jake gestures vaguely, referring to the oddities of the world of wealth they were born into. 

Jay nods slowly, understanding dawning upon him. Does he know how the parents are? Oh, does he ever. He has always had a good relationship with his own, but they had been more pushy on the whole love thing as of late, with the not-at-all subtle questions his mother asks about any special someones in his life and the unfunny jokes his dad cracks about how he’s still spry enough to help raise grandchildren. Especially unfunny, given the health scare his dad had given them all in the last year.

Jake’s voice brings him out of his veering-towards-morbid thoughts. “But seriously, bro, how is this news to you? My sister’s been doing this… Cinderella-genie thing for two years now.” 

Jay’s eyebrows furrow. “Cinderella-genie thing?”

“Yeah, I mean, she transforms our frat brothers into respectable young men with a respectable relationship, but only for three occasions, and she gets the same number of favors back.” Jake wrinkles his nose. “It sounds weird when I say it like that, and don’t get me wrong, I love to give her shit for it, but it’s all above-board stuff. Sunghoon bought her bubble tea for like, three months. Oh, and no one’s allowed to catch feelings, so everything ends clean and neat.”

“She fake-dated Sunghoon?”

At the mention of his name, Sunghoon pops one side of his headphones off. “What’s up?”

“You fake-dated Jake’s sister!?”

Sunghoon shushes him before responding. “Yeah, don’t you remember? It was a couple of months ago.”

Jay’s ears flush, both at how loud he had unconsciously gotten, and at the reminder that he really has been out of it for a while now. It’s not like he’s been living under a rock, but he has definitely been spending a lot more time with his parents and away from his friends ever since his dad’s health scare.

“She was great, though,” Sunghoon continues. “My mom still thinks I made the biggest mistake of my life ‘letting her go.’ But she’s also been leaving me alone about ‘finding love’ because she thinks I’m heartbroken, so yeah, Jake’s sister works wonders.”

Jake smirks. “Sim genes, man. Elite stuff.” 

Sunghoon scoffs. “You wish. Didn’t I hear your mom yelling at you on the phone the other day for not having settled down yet?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Does she not realize what decade this is, I mean, we’re still in college—”

Jay interrupts what looks to be the beginning of a long rant from Jake, cutting him off with, “So where can I sign up?”

Jake stares blankly at him. “Sign up for what?” 

“The Cinderella-genie thing.”

Sunghoon scrunches his face awkwardly. “Uh, she kind of has a waitlist, buddy.”

Jay waits for him to laugh and say he’s just kidding, but he doesn’t. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, she doesn’t do the fake-dating thing for multiple people at the same time, and she’s pretty busy with all her shit, so I’m not sure how long of a queue you have ahead of you…”

“Okay, but Jake could get me ahead, right? Cut the line, or something? C’mon dude, I’m your best friend.” Jay is suddenly desperate, remembering the conversation he’d had with his mom on the phone last night, where she had dreamily recalled meeting his dad in college and delicately reminded Jay that he could have a plus-one to the Parks’ upcoming 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

Jake eyes his friend warily. “I dunno, she really doesn’t like stuff like that. Unfair advantages, I mean.”

“My parents aren’t getting any younger, Jake, and you know, with my dad last year and everything…” Jay does his best approximation of batting his eyelashes at Jake. 

“Are you guilt-tripping me?”

“A little?” Jay’s smile turns a little maniacal. “For real, my parents have their 50th wedding anniversary coming up, and it would be the perfect event to bring her to so I can reassure them that things are going well in my love life.”

“Are things going anywhere in your love life?” Sunghoon’s tone is skeptical, and reasonably so. 

Jay has been distant lately because of his family, but even before that, he had always been known as somewhat aloof and unattainable. Devastatingly handsome, yes, with killer grades and fierce ambition, and a business empire to inherit to boot, but he is also his parents’ one and only miracle child, born after years of trying and almost giving up. Jay’s parents are older than all of his friends’ parents, and their family business has always been that— a family business. Jay has two years after graduation to learn the ropes in the business, and then he’ll be due for an MBA, and then a return to helm the business, but this timeline has recently felt more urgent than ever with his parents’ flagging health. They would never say it, but he knows the only reason they haven’t retired yet is because they don’t want to hand over control of the business to anyone but him. Jay has worked his ass off in college, trying to get there as fast as he can, as well as he can. But his parents also want him to enjoy college and find true love, and while he’s been doing pretty well with the former, the latter has been on the backburner for, well, forever. Who has time for true love, in between classes, fraternity duties, the various shenanigans his friends get up to, internships, networking, TA-ing, volunteering, being on the executive board of two clubs, and eating, sleeping, dreaming, and thinking?

So. No. Things are not going anywhere in his love life, and he confirms just as much to Sunghoon with a grunt, to which Sunghoon wheezes out his amusement.

Jake eyes Jay with pity, now. “Alright, that guilt trip was successful, but more so because you just admitted to being bitchless for so long. I’ll put in a good word to my sister for you.”

Jay perks up instantly. There is light and beauty in this world after all! “Awesome, thank you bro, you won’t regret this, I promise!”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but those are famous last words, Park.” Jake raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure you can handle my sister?”

“Why not? She seems… nice.” Jay is slightly evasive in his answer, and truthfully, it’s because he isn’t really sure what you’re like. All your interactions to date have been cordial, almost business-like, and you and Jake are fraternal twins, so it’s not even like he’s really familiar with what you look like. He is, however, sure that you look beautiful in a ballgown, even if he only saw you in one in his frat’s kitchen.

Jake chortles outright. “No, my sister is not nice. Yeah, I’m definitely going to convince her to help you, just because I think it’ll be hysterical watching her turn you inside out. Good luck, my brother in Christ, because you’ll need it!”

you: hey jake told me abt ur predicament

jay: … good morning, how are you? i’m pretty good myself

you: ???

jay: just being polite. and it’s not a predicament i’m just… interested in your services

you: good for you? anyways i’m super busy right now and don’t really have time to be taking on anything else so i’m just letting you know that i can’t help you out. good luck though

jay: how about coffee?

you: what?

jay: do you want coffee?

you: like right now?

jay: yeah i’m on your porch

You almost throw your phone to the other side of the room. True, Jay’s fraternity house is across the street from your sorority house, but it still feels absurd to think that he’s right there, less than twenty feet below your room. Is he stalking you?

Accordingly, that’s the first thing you ask him when you throw the door open to him. “Are you stalking me?”

He scoffs. “As if. I asked Jake to ask Yunjin for your location.” 

“That’s not not stalking.”

Jay shrugs, though he has the decency to look a little embarrassed as he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Whatever. I just walked across the street; that’s all. So, coffee?”

You stare at him for a few moments, weighing your options. Truthfully, you were about to leave to get coffee before your first class, anyways, but you’re not sure how long you want to entertain Jay. You decide to split the difference. “I’m on my way to Nat’s, so you can tag along. But I’m just grabbing a coffee to go, and then I have class.”

“Okay, let’s go.” 

“Gimme a second; I’ll grab my stuff.” For some reason, your heart is beating a little faster than usual when you reach your room. You’d like to blame it on the stairs you just climbed, but something about Jay coming to find you at your front door feels old-fashioned and sweet, though your rational mind reminds you that he literally just walked a couple hundred feet. He even said so, himself.

But when you come back down to see him leaning against the doorway with his hands still in his pockets, looking out into the street, you suddenly remember that Jay is, like, really good-looking. Despite yourself, you find yourself admiring the cut of his jaw and how nice his hair is styled. It’s not like you don’t know plenty of attractive guys— hell, the guys you usually fake-date are all objectively hot. It’s just inconvenient that you now recall how Jay has always seemed to be the most mature out of Jake’s friends, even from what little you know of him. Unhelpfully, your brain also conjures up the image of him sliding a takeout container to you last week, and the way your eyes had lingered on the veins of his arm.

God. It’s been too long since you’ve gotten laid.

Jay’s voice breaks you out of your bizarre trance. “Ready, Cinderella?”

“Excuse me?”

“Jake told me about your whole Cinderella-genie thing. It would be weird to call you ‘genie’, so…” Jay trails off, scratching the back of his head and looking actually embarrassed now. 

You can’t help but laugh. “Right, because Cinderella is totally less weird. Alright, big guy, let’s go.”

The walk to Nat’s, your favorite local coffee shop, takes about 15 minutes— 10, if you’re walking fast, which you usually are. Jay’s legs are uselessly long, but he seems determined to walk as slowly as possible, while also staying silent the whole time. Finally, you reach the end of your patience and step out right in front of him, intending to ask him what the hell he’s doing. Unfortunately, you find that you misjudged the distance, and he almost collides right into you.

“Whoa,” he mutters, reaching out to grab your arms to steady the both of you. 

“Sorry,” you huff, embarrassed at yourself. A lot of that going around today. “I just… what’s your deal? I already told you I can’t help you, and then you show up at my door and ask me to get coffee, but you don’t say a single word. What do you want from me?”

Instead of answering your question, he asks, “Why do you do it?” 

“Do what?”

“The Cinderella-genie thing.”

You roll your eyes. “Jake has got to stop calling it that. It’s a long story, honestly.” Sighing, you reach into your backpack to pull out your planner. “Alright, we’re already past the amount of time I scheduled to get my coffee and get ahead on some readings before class, so I guess we can sit down inside.”

Jay raises an eyebrow. “You have time for me now? Also, that’s the most insane planner I’ve ever seen.”

You gesture around you. You had stopped Jay almost at the door of Nat’s, and you’re clogging up the sidewalk. “We should at least get out of the way of these people. And yeah, I’m sure it is.” You are a live-and-die-by-your-planner kind of person. Everything is in there— social events, studying time, your various things with Jay’s frat brothers, even things like eating and showering and sleeping. It seems psychotic, sure, but you’re a busy person, and there’s no way you’d be able to handle everything without the strict schedule you set for yourself.

When you walk up to the counter inside Nat’s, your favorite barista— a cute high school kid named Riki— is manning the register. You smile warmly at him. “Hey, Riki. The usual, please.”

You expect Riki to tease you about your usual, which contains an admittedly concerning amount of caffeine, but instead he calls out, “Jay! What’s up, my man!”

From behind you, Jay reaches out and fist-bumps Riki. “Hey, long time no see, buddy. How’s history going?”

Riki groans theatrically. “Horribly, ever since you stopped tutoring me.”

Jay frowns. “Wait, really? What are you having trouble with? I know I’m kind of swamped right now but we can always find some time and—”

Riki bursts out laughing. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Jeez, you should’ve seen your face. Relax, I got a 94 on my last paper!”

“Oh, very funny, you menace!” Jay punches Riki’s shoulder, but his expression eases up. You wonder at the fondness that twinkles in his eyes. 

Riki laughs some more, then he turns to you. “Noona, one cup of liquid death coming up! Hyung, what about you?”

“London fog, please. And seriously, text me if you’re having trouble, okay?”

Riki waves the both of you off, telling you that he’ll bring your drinks over to you. 

You make a beeline for your favorite spot, right by the large window that overlooks the sidewalk. Jay surprises you for the umpteenth time that morning by easily striding ahead and pulling your chair out for you, then coughing and turning red when you give him a weird look.

“Sorry, I, uh, yeah. Instinct,” he explains, which is really no explanation at all. 

“Are you courting me or something?” You try to keep your tone light and joking, but confusion inevitably slips in. Nothing Jay has done today has made sense. 

He seems to have regained his composure when he sits down, because he hits you with, “I guess you could say that. It’s just something I think I’d do for my girlfriend.”

You stare at him blankly. “Thanks for telling me…?”

“I mean, if you’re going to fake-date me, you can probably expect me to do stuff like that, right?”

You groan. “I’m not going to fake-date you, Jay, how many times do I have to say it? I—”

“— don’t have time, I know. But what if I could make it worth your while?”

“Jay, you know I’m Jake’s sister, right? We have money. Besides, I’m helping Mark right now, and I don’t do this for multiple people at the same time.”

“Oh yeah, Jake told me about that rule. What if I could take care of that for you?”

You raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll help Mark find a real girlfriend, and then you can help me, instead.”

“If it were that easy, don’t you think Mark would have done it himself?” 

Jay waves his hand dismissively. “Oh, please, Mark’s been crushing on the girl in his music class for ages. He gets too into his head about asking her out, so he chickens out every time. They’re partners on a project right now, though, so I’ll just give him a push in the right direction.”

You have to admit that you’re intrigued by his proposition. Everything Jay just said lines up with what you know about Mark, especially the chickening out part. You’d like to see Jay try, and you figure it can’t hurt either way, so you nod. “Okay, fine. If you can help Mark, I’ll help you. But seriously, what’s your deal? Why do you want my help so badly?”

Jay blinks, then he leans back into his chair. “Oh. Honestly, I haven’t 100% decided that I do, yet.”

“But you’re willing to agree to help Mark Lee with a girl in order to secure my help?” You shake your head. “You’re really strange, Park.”

“I get overly invested in challenges really easily,” Jay confesses, showing you an unexpectedly bashful smile. “So I got a little caught up just now in the idea that I could change your mind about helping me. But now that you’ve brought it up, I’ll still help Mark, no matter what. I’m sick of him writing lovesick songs about that girl, anyways.”

“Large iced Americano, no water, four shots of espresso. And a London Fog,” Riki announces. He sets the drinks down on your table right as the bell above the shop’s door chimes and lets in the pre-9am work crowd. He groans and bids you both a hasty goodbye.

Jay eyes your coffee with disgust. “Liquid death, huh? That’s disturbing.”

“Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” You tilt the cup in his direction, laughing when he shudders. 

“Absolutely not. I can’t believe you order that enough that Riki knows it’s your usual.”

“I usually see him in the afternoons when I order this, actually, so I’m sure he’s going to give me an earful about getting one in the mornings, too. Speaking of— doesn’t he have school?” You whip around in your seat to stare at Riki. 

“He has two free periods on Mondays this year, so I guess he picked up an extra shift. He’s a hard working kid,” Jay says. 

You turn back around to see him with that same fondness in his eyes. “How do you know him, by the way?”

“Ah, he’s my little’s friend from high school. My little is Jungwon— cat-looking dude?”

You let out a squeal. “Oh my gosh, he’s the cutest!” 

Jay crosses his arms and grins, looking amused. “Yeah, he is pretty cute. Anyways, Jungwon mentioned his friend was having trouble with his history class last year, so I started tutoring him a bit, just casually, since I’m studying history.”

“Not economics?” You’ve heard about Jay’s family’s notoriously tightly-controlled company. Everything is within the family, so you’re surprised that he isn’t getting ready to take over. 

“Both. I can have two majors, you know. What’s yours?”

“Linguistic anthropology. And studio art. I can have two majors, you know.” 

Jay rolls his eyes. “Okay, okay, I know that was pretentious. What’s linguistic anthropology?”

You clear your throat, not expecting to talk about your hopes and dreams so early in the morning, and with someone who’s only a few steps away from being a stranger. “Languages, and the social and cultural foundations of them. Basically. I want to do linguistic archaeology in grad school, and this is the closest thing you can get in undergrad.”

Jay leans forward and nods enthusiastically. “That sounds really cool. What kind of art are you doing?”

“Oil paints, mostly, and some charcoal drawing…”

Like that, an hour flies by. You don’t even notice the blocks in your calendar getting overwritten by what is essentially a coffee date with Jay until you get the reminder that you have class in thirty minutes. 

“Shit, I gotta go soon.” You say it with some regret; surprisingly, you’re really enjoying yourself with Jay. He’s smart, and funny, and a little awkward in a way that makes you think he’s the most sincere person you’ve ever met. And he has interesting thoughts and opinions on history, some of which you even make a mental note to follow up on later for your thesis. 

“Before you go, will you tell me why you do the fake-dating thing?” Jay puts his head in both his hands and smiles at you, and…

“Are you batting your eyelashes at me?”

Jay squints at you. “Maybe. Is it working?”

“Not really,” you lie, like a liar. 

“Didn’t work on Jake, either. Man, I gotta work on it.” Jay gives up the act and relaxes back into his chair. “Will you tell me, though?”

“Sure, it’s not like it’s a big secret or anything. It’s not even that long of a story, now that I think about it. Not something worth trying to seduce me over, but I like your hustle,” you joke. 

“So it was working!”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Okay, so it started with Chan. He just didn’t want to go to his horrible cousin’s horrible wedding, but his sister had been arguing with the cousin about Chan and was, like, defending his honor or something? And one thing spiraled into another and all of a sudden Chan needed to show up to the wedding with an impressive partner to prove to his cousin that he could pull.” You make a face. “Boys. I’d actually met this particular cousin before, through some convoluted situation at one of those holiday parties that our families throw, and I knew he was insufferable, so I was willing to help out. Other guys in the frat heard about it, and you know, it’s surprising but not shocking that your frat has a lot of guys with some sort of weird baggage that prevents them from actually seriously dating someone. It’s weirder that a significant number of them also find themselves in situations where they need to pretend to have a girlfriend, but as it turns out, I’m really good at it— being a fake girlfriend, I guess. I haven’t had much time to date myself, so it’s kind of nice hearing how much everyone’s families liked me as their potential daughter-in-law. Plus, I always get favors in return, so it’s not the worst thing in the world. It’s like the fun part of dating, without the actual time commitment.”

Jay looks skeptical. “Going to family events and schmoozing with distant relatives is the fun part of dating?”

You scoff. “Whatever. You’re the one who asked why I did it, and I told you. It doesn’t have to make sense to you.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m not judging, I swear. I just think that there’s probably better parts to dating, but who am I to talk,” he mutters.

“Ah, yes, Jake mentioned that, too. Bitchless all these years?”

Jay deadpans at you. “I know you aren’t making fun of me for that when you basically just told me that you fake-dated all these guys because you have a raging praise kink specifically for people’s families.”

“Oh, fuck off.” But you’re laughing, almost— giggling? Ugh. Maybe you do need to back off on the caffeine. “Alright, I have to go now, for real. Text me when Mark is good, and then we can talk about our two fake dates.”

“Isn’t three the max?”

“I was serious about not having time, Jay. I have a thesis for linguistics, and a portfolio to put together for art. Mark was going to be my last… thing this year. I went to one event with him, so if you can get things squared away with him, you can have his other two.”

“Okay, fine. Pleasure doing business with you.” Jay salutes you with two fingers.

“You haven’t even succeeded with Mark yet, and you haven’t heard what favors I want in return, either. Don’t get ahead of yourself, hotshot.” 

And then you’re gone, leaving Jay to ruminate on the last hour and a half you spent together.

Jake’s right— you’re not nice, not in the traditional sense of the word. You’re kind of prickly, and you seem to run your life like a drill sergeant, but Jay thinks you must be really kind. Aside from Chan, the others you’ve helped (Mark, Yeonjun, Vernon, Sunghoon, good lord) are all variants of pretty boys who can’t talk to women to save their lives but live and die by the words of their parents, who all hope to see them get married sooner rather than later (Jay elects to ignore how he fits into that mold pretty well, too). No wonder you felt bad for them in their plights and wanted to help them; and Jay really believes that you did it to help them, not because of whatever favors you got in return. Like you said, you have money, so it’s not like you couldn’t buy your own bubble tea or pay for a driver. No, he’s seen your calendar, and it’s crammed with volunteering events in between everything else, and he’s seen the way you fuss over Riki, someone you only see a couple times a week while ordering a coffee. He’s pretty sure you’re just a classic do-gooder, and he doesn’t even need your help that badly, but he does love a challenge. Get Mark Lee together with the girl of his dreams is the first one. The second one is to figure out why he cares about proving himself to you so much— it’s not like he’s swimming in free time either, but somehow you’ve gotten under his skin, and he wants to see where this goes.

(Plus, he thinks you’re really pretty.)

When you enter your studio art workshop class, you find Yunjin immediately and pout at her. “Thanks for revealing my location to Jay, traitor,” you whine.

Yunjin grins. “It’s not like the sorority house is a state secret, babe. And I have zero regrets— he’s hot!”

“So?”

“So, I’m sick of you fake-dating these guys because you love to be the most helpful person in the room, and I want to see you actually date someone!”

You snort. “Joke’s on you, then, because he also wants to fake-date me.”

“Eugh, really? What the hell, I thought he was a good one,” Yunjin groans.

“He is a good one,” you respond instantly. You’re not sure why you’re so defensive about him, but from everything you’ve witnessed today, you know that Park Jongseong is the definition of a good guy.

“Well, maybe this will finally be the one that goes from fake-dating to real dating!” Yunjing wiggles her eyebrows at you. “You already think he’s nice, and you didn’t say he isn’t hot, either.”

“I have a pulse, Yunjin, I can tell that he’s hot.”

Yunjin whistles between her teeth. “Wait ‘til I tell Jake to tell Jay that.”

“Do not— and since when are you and my brother so close, anyways?”

She flashes you a conspiratorial wink. “New boytoy.”

“Ew, seriously? Jake?”

“Hey, it’s not that deep. He gets around, too, doesn’t he? Friends with benefits, no strings attached, etcetera.”

“Famous last words, honey.” You start pulling out your art supplies, chewing on your lip as you consider whether to ask her what you’re dying to know. “... So, what do you know about Jay? And do not tell Jake about any of this, Yunjin, I swear.”

“We’re really not close like that, babe, and I’d never betray your trust for dick.” Yunjin puts her hand over her heart solemnly.

“I want you to know that I’m throwing up in my mouth.”

“Noted.” Yunjin sticks the pencil she was using in her hair, then leans back and hums thoughtfully. “Now, Jay… I know what everyone knows about him, I guess. Good guy, nice family, kind of detached, if I had to say so? Not in a bad way, though. I just mean that he seems to hang out with his friends and that’s pretty much it. He’s involved in a bunch of stuff on campus like you are, but I know he had to pull back recently because one of his parents had a health thing— oh no, I can tell you’re already Cinderella-ing.”

You huff. “Jake is so annoying for that. What do you mean, Cinderella-ing?”

“You feel bad for him and now you want to help him!”

“I already agreed to help him, if he helps Mark Lee get a girlfriend, first.”

“Wow, he must really need your help if he’s willing to do that.”

“Funny, he said he isn’t sure if he needs my help, yet.” You shrug. “He’s confusing.”

“Oooh, but you’re interested, aren’t you?” Yunjin peers closer at you. “Oh my god, you whore! You want him!” 

“Yunjin!” You shush her, cognizant of the other students around you. “I’m just curious, okay? I wanna know what I’m getting myself into.”

“Sure, sure. I believe you!” Yunjin insists, looking entirely unbelievable. “That’s not surprising about Jay, though. His family is, like, super family-oriented. Introducing them to a fake girlfriend seems like it wouldn’t go well, so it makes sense that he’s hesitant about it. You should ask him for more details when you guys fuck—”

You cut her off with a hand slapped over her mouth. “I’m going to murder you in your sleep.”

Yunjin laughs underneath your hand and flicks you off. “But seriously, the rumor is that he’s never dated anyone in college because his parents had the perfect college romance and want the same thing for him, and he’s always been too busy being the prodigal son and heir apparent for true love to just, like, fall into his lap. Despite the valiant efforts of many girls on campus,” she finishes dryly.

“That’s… a really detailed rumor.”

“Chaewon’s little is obsessed with him, so I’ve heard it a million times.” 

You both cringe. Chaewon is far too nice to say it, but her little is stuck in a phase of boy mania so all-consuming it borders on clinical.

“Enough about boys; how’s it going with the portfolio?” Yunjin nudges her chin towards your empty canvas.

You sigh. “Pretty good, except for the human portrait part. It’s really not my thing, but Professor Song was so adamant that I try to include at least two of them by the end of the year. I did one of Jake already, but he doesn’t know, so it’ll be hilarious to see him cry at the senior showcase.”

“Oh, he’s totally going to lose it,” Yunjin agrees. You stay silent on the curious display of knowledge she just exhibited on your brother’s behalf. “Who are you thinking for the other one?”

“Beats me. I’d use my parents, but that feels a little bit too on the nose, especially after the one of Jake. It’d be weird to ask our friends, right?”

“Not really, but your portfolio theme is family, isn’t it? Very sweet of you to think of us as family, but then you’re talking about an entire group of people.”

Instantly, you shudder. “That’s way more than two humans. Love you guys, but no thanks. I’ll figure something else out.”

Yujin smirks at you. “If you and Jay date and fall in love and get married, you’ll be family, and then you could do one of him.”

“That is so not the solution!”

You don’t hear from Jay until a week later, at which point you figure he has given up, so you’re shocked to find him at your door again. 

“Morning, Cinderella,” is all he says to you before handing you a cup.

“Good morning,” you return, too dumbfounded to say anything else. “What’s this?”

“Coffee. Large iced Americano, no water, four shots of espresso,” he recites. “I got Riki to text it to me,” he admits quickly.

“I appreciate it, but what’s this for?” You narrow your eyes at him. “You can’t possibly think that one of the favors I’ll ask from you is coffee, right? I’m not that easy, Park.”

Jay looks offended. “Hey, you let Sunghoon buy you bubble tea!”

“Yeah, but he was really pathetic about the whole fake-dating thing.”

“... Fine, I’ll give that to you. That does sound like him. But no, this is because I wanted to ask you something, and I figured I’d take up the time that you usually schedule for getting your coffee.”

“Ooookay. So, what’s up?” You start on the walk to the library, and he’s quick to fall into step beside you.

“I’ve been thinking about how to help Mark with his crush, and I have the perfect idea, but I need your help.”

“You need my help to help Mark so that you can get my help for yourself?” It sounds absurd coming out of your month, and before you can stop yourself, you blurt out, “Wow, try saying that ten times fast.”

A surprised laugh erupts from Jay’s chest. “That was corny as hell,” he says, but he’s still laughing, high pitched and delighted. Laughter transforms his whole face, his eyes slipping into crescents and his nose scrunching with the force of his happiness, and you’re left dazed looking at him like that.

“Don’t tell anyone you witnessed that. I know where you live,” you threaten him half-heartedly. It really doesn’t carry much weight when you’re beaming in response to the mirth in his expression.

He stops laughing to grin at you, still bright and lovely. “Yeah, right. Who’s been coming to whose front door?”

“You don’t think I could walk across the street? I’m there all the time, Jay. So many people in that house owe me; it’d be a piece of cake to get your room number.” You say this with a stupid smile still on your face.

“Right, consider me properly frightened.” The wattage of his grin finally turns down a couple of notches, giving you room to breathe properly. “So, about Mark,” he starts.

“Yeah, this just sounds like more work for me,” you respond skeptically.

“Hear me out, okay? Mark has all these love songs written about this girl, and I found out that she always eats lunch at the same table at the same time in the dining hall on Tuesdays, so I figured he could play one of his songs over the dining hall speakers and then confess to her.” Jay makes little jazz hands at the end of his sentence, and it prompts a giggle out of you.

You have to fight your smile down when you speak. “A couple of things. One: that is so incredibly over the top for a confession, but sure, I like your spirit. Two: there’s no way Mark is slick enough to pull this off. Which leads me to three: what do you need from me?”

Jay nods. “Exactly, Mark could never do this on his own, which is why I’ve enlisted a bunch of guys from the frat, and you, of course.”

“Me, of course?”

“Sunoo and Jake are going to sweet-talk the lady at the dining hall who has the keys to the staff office with the dining hall audio hookup and microphone— she loves Sunoo, and Jake will flash her the ol’ puppy dog eyes to keep her sufficiently distracted. Heeseung will walk past and swipe her keys, and Jungwon is going to make sure that Mark’s crush is actually in the dining hall at the right time. Chan is going to apologize on everyone’s behalf if this goes wrong.”

You tut. “Poor Chan.”

“It’s his presidential duty, god bless.”

“And where do I fit into this?”

“You and I need to hold Mark’s hand, figuratively, and keep him hyped up enough to actually go through with it. He agreed to the plan, but I can totally see him chickening out again, which is why Sunghoon and Yeonjun are also going to stand guard outside the staff office so he can’t escape.”

“I feel like you could hold Mark’s hand on your own,” you argue, but you don’t really mean it. This sounds so chaotic and harebrained that you would normally want to stay a mile away from it, but Jay’s enthusiasm and seriousness about it is rubbing off on you. Plus, it would be nice to see one of your fake boyfriends actually succeed in their love life.

“He has two hands, and I can’t hold them all by myself because I have to operate the audio hookup,” Jay proclaims solemnly. “And I said figuratively! He trusts you, clearly, or at least he trusted you enough to be his fake girlfriend.”

“I come highly recommended,” you intone dryly. 

“And he trusts me enough to go along with the plan, so I think we’re the best suited to be his moral support,” Jay continues, ignoring your smartass comment. 

“This is a ridiculous plan, Jay.”

“So you’re in? Oh, wait. Are you free at 12:30 today?”

You stop to check your planner and confirm that you are. “What would you have done if I wasn’t?”

“Reconfigure the time-space continuum so you could be in two places at once. Mark’s future happiness depends on this,” Jay insists.

"I see what you mean about getting overly invested in challenges really easily… Alright, text me where I should meet you later, then?”

“You got it. Have a good day, Cinderella!” He yells this part as he jogs away from you. 

“Stop calling me that!” But you can’t remember the last time you smiled this much this early in the morning.

Hours later, you smile instinctively upon seeing Jay’s name pop up in your notifications.

jay: coast is clear. meet me outside the dining hall staff office in 5 minutes. operation is a go

you: omw, 007

jay: stop ur making me blush

you: fr?

jay: no this is just banter

you: omfg mark just texted me to say that ur actually blushing

jay: im going to end him. after he gets a gf, ofc

“Hey,” you whisper in Jay’s ear, making him jump. 

“Holy shit, how’d you get here so fast?”

You shrug, jostling his shoulder as you’re pressed up against him in the tiny recessed alcove across from the staff office. “I’m a fast walker. Places to be, people to see, you know? Speaking of…” You motion to the open office door. “Should we go inside?”

Jay clears his throat. Up this close, he can count the eyelashes that flutter against your skin. “Yeah, Mark’s already there. I’m surprised he found the composure to pop his head out and see me, or text you, honestly. He’s been a nervous wreck since this morning. Oh, finally, way to be on time, losers!” Jay beckons Sunghoon and Yeonjun closer from down the hall.

“We’re fine; Jungwon says Mark’s crush hasn’t even sat down at her table, yet. Hey, how are you? Long time no see.” Yeonjun flashes you a smile.

“Committing questionable acts in the name of love, you know, just living the dream,” you joke. “How’s your mom?”

“Great! She still asks about you. By the way, if I had known being a little more pathetic would get me this level of commitment,” Yeonjun gestures around him, “I would’ve asked for a real girlfriend, too.”

“I’m told I was pretty pathetic, and even I didn’t get this kind of treatment,” Sunghoon reminds you.

You pat his arm consolingly. “Maybe if you had Jay on your side, buddy.”

“Yeah, what the hell, best friend?” Sunghoon eyes him accusingly.

Jay pats his other arm. “Sorry, I have ulterior motives with Mark.”

“Oh, so now Mark gets a girlfriend and a secret male lover?”

Jay scoffs. “Not those kinds of ulterior motives, but please. As if Mark could bag me.”

“Ladies, ladies, there’s plenty of Jay to go around,” you say placatingly. 

“Guys, I’m freaking out in here!” Mark wails from inside the office.

“Fuck, Jungwon said she’s sitting down now. Go!” Yeonjun pushes you and Jay towards the office.

In quick order, Jay gets the audio hooked up to Mark’s laptop, and he starts the song. While Mark hyperventilates between the two of you and you actually do share in the holding of his hands, Jay finds himself staring at you as you try to encourage Mark. You really are quite kind— he doesn’t think many people would have agreed to be dragged into this silly scheme, but here you are, throwing yourself into it wholeheartedly because there’s a chance it might secure Mark’s future happiness. 

The sun reaches its highest point in the sky just then, streaming in through the windows behind you and drenching you in golden light. Jay’s not sure if he’s nervous about getting in trouble for this or if he’s just been looking at you for too long, but he can feel his heart stuttering in his chest. It’s positively outrageous how pretty you are.

“Bro, what the fuck do I say?” Mark hisses, interrupting Jay’s very important investigation of the color of your eyes. “The song is almost over, please, you gotta help me!”

“Just tell her how you feel,” Jay offers. It’s not his best attempt at advice, but he’s distracted by the way your hair brushes against your neck. 

Mark splutters and fumbles and curses under his breath, but then the song is over, and Jay is turning on the microphone for him to speak. “Um, hey, so, yeah! Yeah. Uh, I’ve liked you for a long time… which you can probably tell, because of the song and everything.” Mark giggles nervously. “There’s, like, at least five more where that came from. Because I like you a lot, but I’m not great at talking in person, so I wrote all these songs, and oh god, this is super weird, isn’t it? I’m sorry if it’s weird, I just, well, I wanted to tell you. What I feel for you is so big I think I might explode; it makes me lose my mind and my breath and my ability to speak, and it leads me to do stupid stuff like this. And now you know. Okay, cool!” Mark reaches over and slams his hand to turn off the microphone. 

You and Jay share an exasperated look over Mark’s head.

“Mark, you didn’t even say who the song is for,” you remind him. 

He pales. “I didn’t?”

“Or who it’s from, but I think that part is pretty obvious,” Jay sighs. “Just text her right now, and tell her it was from you, and ask her out!”

“What? No, I can’t do that, I think I’m gonna be sick,” Mark moans.

You roll your eyes. “Mark, do it right now, or I’m telling your mom you cheated on me.”

“What? But I didn’t! And we weren’t even dating for real! And I just told her we broke up!”

“Right, I’ll say we broke up because you cheated on me.” You stare him down. “Seriously, I’ll call her tonight.”

“Nonono, I’ll text Mina, okay? See, I’m texting her right now.” Mark pulls out his phone and types frantically. 

Jay throws his arm around Mark’s shoulder, using the leverage to hit the send button on his phone. “See, that wasn’t so hard!”

“I need to go walk into traffic,” Mark declares. 

You smile breezily at him. “Sure, whatever. Love conquers all!” Behind his back, you and Jay high-five.

Jay says you should have dinner to celebrate Mark and Mina’s new romance (ignoring Mark’s pained “What romance? I’m dying.”), but you tell him that you’re volunteering at the community kitchen that night. Jay doesn’t miss a beat. “Sure, I’ll be there. We should talk about my thing, anyways.”

That’s how he finds himself in a hairnet and disposable gloves that night, making funny faces at the head of the community kitchen’s daughter, who’s running around underfoot. He’s been put in charge of chopping vegetables, while you’re stirring a huge pot of stew at one of the stoves.

“Watch your fingers,” you scold him half-heartedly. He’s devastatingly cute like this.

He has the audacity to wink at you. “I know my way around a kitchen, don’t worry.”

“Very cool, trophy husband.”

“What, no more 007?”

“Depends on the outcome of Mark’s text to Mina. Did you hear anything from him?”

Jay scoops up his vegetables into a large bowl and brings it over to you, nudging you aside with his hip so he can add the vegetables to your pot. “Not yet, but I don’t have him freaking out in my messages either, so I’ll take that as a win.”

You let him take over the stirring and turn around to lean against the countertop. “Cute hairnet,” you quip.

“Thanks. You think they’ll let me take it home?” he jokes. 

You nudge your chin in the direction of the little girl giggling at Jay. “I think she wants to take you home.”

He winks at her, then lowers his voice so that only you can hear him say, “She’ll have to get in line.”

You swallow and wonder if the stove is turned on too high. “Right, so what’s your thing about?”

“Later, yeah?” Jay gestures around you, and you suddenly remember that you’re in the middle of a busy kitchen, with everyone hustling to get ready for the dinner service starting in half an hour. 

You spring into action again, embarrassed at how easily you’d been absorbed into conversation with Jay. Something about the way he talks to you makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world— he’s always so attentive, nodding and responding to your every comment. You have to wonder why he hasn’t dated anyone seriously in college; he seems like he’d be the dream boyfriend. Hypothetically.

He only proves this point further when he reveals two containers of mac and cheese that he had picked up before getting there, which he microwaves for the two of you to eat after the dinner service is over. You turn on the lights in one corner of the cafeteria and sit at the only table that’s still left out: a children’s table where you have to balance precariously on seats that are too small for you. But it’s entirely worth it, knocking knees and elbows together, laughing too hard for what the situation warrants.

“I would’ve made you something myself, but I didn’t want to use up the kitchen’s ingredients,” Jay comments off-handedly.

Your heart glows in your chest. “That’s really thoughtful, Jay.”

He smiles and scratches the back of his head, suddenly shy. “Nah, it’s common sense, right? Come on, eat before it gets cold.”

Right then and there, Jay learns that he loves to watch you eat. You make exaggerated faces and ooh and ahh over something as simple as mac and cheese from the 24-hour diner down the street, and he finds himself itching to make something with his own two hands that will make you react like that. 

When you’re done eating, you sit back and sigh in satisfaction. “That was exactly what I needed. Now, tell me about your thing— what kind of mess have I gotten myself into?”

Jay hems and haws for a good minute before finally telling you about his parents’ upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. “It’s a little complicated because they had this, like, fairytale relationship, and of course I’m happy that they’re still so in love all these years later, but it’s kind of… a lot to live up to. Not that I’m complaining, because they’re awesome, but I don’t have that kind of relationship with anyone yet, so I haven’t brought anyone home to them.”

“So the rumors are true,” you mutter under your breath.

Unfortunately, Jay seems to have heard you. “What rumors?”

Flushing, you explain what you’d heard from Yunjin, who had heard it from Chaewon’s little. You’re quick to add, “I wasn’t asking around about you or anything!” 

Jay just smirks at you, something wicked and slow that only contributes to the heat in your cheeks. “I didn’t say anything.”

You hesitate before speaking up again. “So, if you don’t mind me asking… How come you haven’t dated anyone long-term in college? You’re, you know, perfectly okay to look at.”

Jay deadpans at you. “Wow, thanks, that really means a lot to me.”

You let out a huff of a laugh. “Shut up, it’s not a secret that you’re hot.”

Jay’s eyebrows shoot up, and you swear to god, he blushes to high heaven. “Th-Thanks.”

“Mm.”

It’s silent for a few long moments, then Jay clears his throat. “If I’m being honest, I haven’t dated anyone long-term in college because my parent’s relationship is a lot to live up to, and it’s not like I have a ton of time to find my perfect life partner in between everything else.”

“Ugh, tell me about it. Yunjin tells me I should try actually dating again, but it’s kind of a lot, right? Putting in the time and effort to get to know someone from scratch, when you’re not even sure how it’s going to pan out? And you’ve seen my calendar.” You laugh quietly. “And, honestly, I have this problem with dating where I get bored pretty easily.”

Jay leans forward, pushing into your personal space close enough to count your eyelashes, again. “Are you bored right now?” 

“No,” you answer, although you’re not sure why he’s asking. “Um, so, why do you need a fake girlfriend, then? I don’t think it’ll pass muster with your parents, if they want you to be in love for real.”

Jay fidgets with his fingers on top of the table. “Yeah, it’s kind of stupid, to be honest. My dad was hospitalized for a month last year, and it really shook us all. My parents are on the older side, and I’m their only child, and, well, I’d like to make them happy while they’re still around. Sorry, that was morbid. And I know it’s not like we’d be doing this forever, and it’s wrong to fake it, but still. They’d be overjoyed to see me in a relationship. I want to give that to them, even if it’s only twice.” He tells it to you like it’s a secret, and your chest caves in with the force of his sincerity.

“I don’t think that’s stupid. It’s sweet, Jay, really.” You reach out and still his fingers. “Listen, you know I’m really good at being a fake girlfriend, right?”

“You come highly recommended,” he mimics you from earlier, mouth quirking up in the beginnings of a smile. It lifts the atmosphere slightly, and you’re glad for it.

“Right, so don’t worry. Leave it to me. Your parents won’t suspect a thing,” you promise. “When’s the anniversary celebration?”

“Six weeks.”

You pull out your planner to start scheduling. “Great, so you can send me information about yourself, and I’ll do the same for you, and then we can find time to meet up and quiz each other about it and get our answers on our relationship straight—”

Jay’s hand lands around your wrist, stopping you from writing further. “Not that I don’t appreciate your… efficiency, but I don’t think that’s going to work. Like you said, my parents want to see a true relationship, and I don’t think flashcards are going to cut it. How about we just… get to know each other?”

You blink. “What, like daily one-on-ones, or something? Office hours, but just for each other?”

He bursts out laughing. “Oh my god, you’re serious, aren’t you?” He lets go of your wrist to hide his face behind his hands as he continues to laugh, which makes you smile despite yourself. He’s so goddamn cute.

You decide to humor him. “What do you suggest, then?”

“As much as I would love to monopolize your time, I don’t actually want to take up any of the precious few free spots on your calendar. You need to set aside more time for yourself, by the way. But for now, how about you give me the thirty minutes you schedule for getting to Nat’s and then back to campus every day? We can get to know each other then.”

“You want to walk me to the coffee shop and back?”

“Among other things.”

“… Such as?”

“Just you wait, Cinderella. I’m going to sweep you off your feet so hard, you won’t know what hit you. I’ll be the best fake boyfriend you’ve ever had.”

In the dim light of the after-hours cafeteria, with his long legs stretched out on either side of yours and the soft crescents of his smiling eyes twinkling at you, you’re inclined to believe him.

Jay keeps his word. He shows up on the sorority house’s porch every morning, backpack slung over his shoulder and hands in his pockets at 7:45am. He doesn’t even have class until 11am (you know because you asked Yunjin to ask Jake), so his dedication impresses you. Sometimes, you’ll watch him approach the house from your window, bopping his head along to whatever he’s listening to in his earbuds. 

When you open the door to greet him, he always smiles sleepily at you and reaches out to grab whatever’s in your hands (usually art supplies or heavy reference books for your thesis). It’s a small gesture, but it shoots through your cotton-candy-soft heart as true and straight as an arrow.

Most mornings, the two of you will chat about anything and everything, swinging from homework to Greek life drama to pet peeves to Mesopotamian history. Occasionally, you’re both tired from your busy schedules and just end up sharing his earbuds, listening to something slow and soothing. More and more often, you find yourself stuffing supplies and books into your backpack until it’s grossly misshapen, just so Jay can have his hands free to brush against yours on the walk to Nat’s.

It’s not just the coffee shop, either. Suddenly, he’s everywhere in your life, as if someone had penciled in his name as one long continuous block in your calendar. He comes to the library with you, and you work on your assignments in companionable silence. He’s now a regular volunteer at the community kitchen, and he’s helping them design a new menu for the colder days coming soon. He even shows up outside the studio art workshop, bringing you takeout when you’ve forgotten to eat. At parties, the two of you dominate beer pong, with him bouncing balls off of his bicep into the cups just to make you fake your fawning adoration at him. He doesn’t have to know that it comes easily to you, especially when he’s constantly looking at you the way you know you look at beautiful works of art.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were actually courting me,” you comment thoughtlessly one day. You’re perched on the kitchen counter at the frat, watching Jay make ramen for the two of you. It’s almost three in the morning, and neither of you should be awake, but there’s something special about the quiet privacy afforded by the strange hour.

Jay forces himself to keep stirring the pot like usual. If he’s being honest with himself, he doesn’t know any better, either, but he doesn’t want to look too closely into that at the moment. Instead, he opts to flirt. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he murmurs.

“Yeah, that’s why I said it, smartass.” But you let him off the hook, now preoccupied with reaching over to re-tie his apron.

“Ooh, ramen!” Jungwon’s face lights up as he walks into the kitchen, led by his nose. He looks like he just woke up, rubbing at his eyes with the ends of his sweatshirt sleeves. You have to stop yourself from cooing at him.

“What are you doing up so late?” Jay scolds him gently.

“Oh, hey, Dad. Hey, Mom. I just woke up; I had a weird dream.” Jungwon nods at you both and takes a seat at the kitchen island.

You gape at him. “What?”

Jungwon blinks a couple of times, looking more alert by the second. “Oops. Did I say that out loud? Sorry, Niki’s been rubbing off on me.”

“Niki calls us Mom and Dad?” You’re not sure if that’s sweet or weird.

“As a joke! In a jocular manner. Jovially.” Jungwon throws up a peace sign, as if that helps.

“I’m glad to see the English degree is paying off,” Jay remarks dryly. He looks like he took the Mom-and-Dad thing much more in stride, except for the tips of his ears, which burn red. It’s a dead giveaway that makes you smile fondly, because it’s so him.

“Will you make some more ramen?” Jungwon bats his eyelashes at the two of you.

“See, it works much better when Jungwon does it,” you tease Jay.

“Can’t argue with you there, honestly.” Jay puts another pot of water on the stove to boil. “You should have more than just sodium and carbs, though,” he tells Jungwon.

You nod, hopping off of the counter to rummage through the fridge. “Yeah, you don’t eat enough vegetables. Maybe that’s why you’re having weird dreams. Aha!” You emerge triumphantly with a salad kit.

Jungwon laughs. “And you wonder why Niki calls you Mom and Dad.”

Jay scoffs. “That’s just because he hasn’t met Chan.”

“Fair enough. What are you guys doing here so late, anyways?”

You pause in assembling the salad to point a salad tong at Jay. “This guy just follows me everywhere.”

“We’re in my frat house,” Jay retorts. 

“I could be here for someone else,” you argue. 

Jay’s gaze pins you down, warm and earnest. “You’re not, though.”

You smile at him. “No, I’m not.”

Jungwon coughs. “Get a room.”

You reach over to ruffle his hair. “You’re standing in it.”

The three of you eat your ramen and salad in silence for a bit, all falling victim to varying degrees of sleepiness. Without noticing it, you’re scooched up next to Jay, shoulders and knees and ankles pressed together in one long line of comfortable intimacy.

Jay thinks about Jungwon’s question as he slurps at the noodles. What are you guys doing here so late? The answer almost eludes him. These days, he finds himself drawn to you like a magnet, pulled in by forces far stronger than himself. 

He remembers that the two of you had been doing work in his room after the main library had closed, and you had fallen asleep on his bed at some point, a sketchbook dangling from your fingers. He had spent a ridiculous amount of time admiring your sleeping form, indulging in his favorite pastime of counting your eyelashes and resisting the urge to lay beside you. Eventually, your stomach had woken you up, and he insisted on making you some food, even if it wasn’t as nice as he would have liked to do for you. Now, looking at you chatting and joking with Jungwon, Jay feels his heart expanding into his lungs. You fit into his life so perfectly, and he’d like to think that he fits into yours, too. It’s almost too good to be true— could this be what his parents started with? 

When you’re done eating, Jungwon waves the two of you away, insisting that he should do the dishes since you cooked. You’re not about to argue with that, so you pat him on the shoulder before following Jay back up to his room. 

“He’s a good kid,” you tell Jay as you hop on his bed again, grabbing your sketchbook to pick up where you left off.

“He is.” Jay tuts at you. “And you should go to sleep.”

“I will, I will, just let me finish this sketch, okay? Besides, I don’t see you turning your laptop off, either.” You jut your chin out stubbornly.

Jay glances at the Wikipedia rabbit hole he’d been going down before your stomach had growled loudly an hour ago. He’s done with his work for the day, and he had just been keeping you company for the last two hours. “I have super important, time-sensitive work to finish,” he lies solemnly.

“Jay, I can see that you have the Wikipedia page for sinkholes open.”

He slams his laptop shut. “Actually, I’m done,” he declares, flopping down on the bed beside you. He turns his cheek from where he’s level with your stomach to look up at your hands moving across the page. “What are you working on in there?”

You make a displeased face. “People. I have to do one more human portrait for my portfolio, and it’s driving me nuts. Here, this one is of you.”

Jay lifts his head, astonished to see himself reflected back on the page. In smooth, sure strokes, you’ve captured him in tender detail: strong jaw, sharp eyes, and mouth twisted in concentration, probably from earlier when he’d actually been doing work. Jay’s jaw works as he struggles to figure out what to say. He’s unbelievably touched that you would draw him. “Can I keep this?” he asks finally.

“It’s not even done yet. And it’s not that good,” you warn him.

“It is to me. C’mon, please?”

“Maybe when I finish…” You trail off, swayed by the senseless patterns he’s tracing on top of your knee. “Which I won’t, if you keep distracting me.”

He smirks and stills his hand, looking like he’s about to tease you before he interrupts himself with a yawn. “Alright, goodnight, Cinderella.”

“'Night, 007.”

When he wakes up the next morning, he finds the lingering scent of your shampoo and a complete sketch of himself, now decked out in a tux worthy of James Bond. It makes him laugh out loud, and he knows he’s in trouble when he slides out a picture of him with his cousins from a picture frame to put your sketch in the frame, instead.

Before you know it, the day of the Parks’ wedding anniversary celebration has arrived. You’re on a four-way FaceTime call, with Chaewon lounging on your bed as you try on various dresses.

Kazuha is more invested in asking you about your relationship than helping you decide what to wear. “I’m just saying, I think it’s interesting that you and Jay have been, like, glued together for well over a month.”

“We’re getting to know each other better, so we don’t mess up in front of his parents,” you explain for the millionth time.

Kazuha wiggles her eyebrows at you. “Suuuure. Why didn’t you just send him one of those scarily detailed questionnaires like you did with all the other guys you fake-dated?”

Chaewon motions for you to spin in the billowy dress you’re currently in. “Too beachy,” she decides. “But ditto to what Kazuha said.”

“It’s because she like-likes him,” Sakura sing-songs.

You stick your tongue out at her. “Grow up, will you?” 

“Forget about that— have you guys hooked up yet?” Yunjin demands.

“Yet? No, Yunjin, what the fuck,” you complain.

“Gross,” a familiar voice groans from Yunjin’s corner of the FaceTime. You, Kazuha, Sakura, and Chaewon all zero in on her square.

“Jake?” You exclaim.

Yunjin giggles and moves the camera to show Jake sitting at his desk in his room, wearing his nerdy glasses and hunched over a textbook.

“Did you guys just hook up?” Kazuha blurts out. 

“Gross,” you repeat.

Yunjin rolls her eyes. “Grow up, will you? And no, I’m just here because it was too loud at the house.”

The rest of you fall silent on the call, especially you and Chaewon, demonstrating how decidedly not loud it is in the sorority house.

Yunjin blushes and clears her throat. “Whatever. Hey, you should totally wear that sparkly navy velvet number! The one that cinches at your waist.”

You rummage around in your closet and pull out the dress in question to try it on. “This one?”

Sakura whistles. “Oh, for sure. Good eye, Jen.”

Yunjin blows her a kiss. “Of course, of course.” She points at you. “That’s the one, babe. You have, like, the sluttiest waist ever, second only to Sunghoon; you have to wear that.”

Sounds of agreement abound, except from Jake, who whines, “You guys don’t think I have a slutty waist?”

“You’re a whore in other ways, don’t worry,” you reassure him dryly. You do another spin for Chaewon. “This isn’t too much, though?”

Jake suddenly pops into view of the camera. “It’s a formal event, and Jay is going to lose his mind no matter what you wear, trust me.”

“That’s not the point,” you insist.

The girls respond in unison, “Yes, it is!” 

And you have to admit, the way Jay’s mouth stays open as he gives you the once-over a few hours later is gratifying, to say the least. For good measure, he does it again, letting his eyes linger at the dip between your collarbones and the curve of your mouth.

Molten heat spreads through you in response to his wandering eyes, ratcheting up in intensity when he smirks at you, purposeful and knowing.

You elect to check him out, too, knowing that you’re not the only person who can get flustered here. He cuts an unbelievable figure against the setting sun, leaning against his sleek black car, hands in his pockets and legs crossed at the ankles. The tuxedo he wears fits criminally well, emphasizing his broad shoulders and long legs, and you can’t stop yourself from wondering what he’d look like taking his tie off. On second thought, this may have backfired; you only find yourself feeling warmer the longer you stare at him.

Thankfully, he starts moving, coming up to the porch to hand you a bouquet of baby’s breath.

“Oh, good idea— should I hand these to your mom or your dad?” You ask, taking the flowers from him.

He laughs, surprised. You are too cute for his own good. “The flowers are for you, Cinderella. My parents and I are allergic to pollen, actually.”

“Oh.” You hold the flowers closer to your chest, giddiness touching you from head to toe. He got you flowers, even though he’s allergic. “Thank you, Jay.”

He hums and reaches out to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. “Happy to do it. I saw the flowers in your room dying the other day. Go put them inside; I’ll wait out here. I can feel Chaewon’s stare drilling into the top of my head, anyways.” He looks up and waves at Chaewon, who’s hanging out of your window shamelessly.

She shouts, “Have her home by midnight, or she’ll turn into a pumpkin!”

“I don’t think that’s how it goes, but okay!” He throws her a thumbs-up.

Inside the house, you’re seized with the urge to splash some water on your face, just to calm yourself down, but that would ruin your makeup. Instead, you place the flowers in a vase of water and trust that Chaewon will bring them up to your room for you, after she’s done heckling Jay.

“Leave my guy alone,” you yell in her direction, pulling at his arm to get him down the stairs and to his car. 

“Your guy, huh?” Jay looks at you with uncontrollable fondness.

“Just for the night,” you say, but you don’t miss the way his smile widens at the way you don’t deny it.

Ever the gentleman, Jay opens the passenger door for you, helping you gather the ends of your dress and tucking them in under your legs. He remains crouched for a moment, looking like he’s debating with himself about something, and then he goes for it, leaning over and buckling you in.

When you raise an eyebrow at him, all he says is, “Precious cargo,” and then he’s shutting the door, leaving you flushing once more.

The car ride to his parent’s place is easy and comfortable, even with the charged atmosphere that lingers between the two of you. Conversation always flows like water with Jay; you’re debating the finer points of how to determine provenance for historical artifacts when you arrive. Guests are littered across the front lawn, conversing with each other but centered around his parents.

Suddenly, you’re nervous. “Do you think they’ll like me?” You ask Jay.

He looks at you like you’ve grown another head. “Are you serious? Of course they will. You’re you.”

You swat at his shoulder even as you smile widely. “Your unconditional faith in me notwithstanding, I’m serious, Jay. I want to be able to live up to this fairytale romance thing.”

He takes your hand in his, pressing a kiss to your knuckles. “Believe me, you’re a dream come true. Let’s go, Cinderella.”

You gulp and curse your thundering heart, but then you’re five feet away from his parents, and you’re exclaiming at how in love they look, all these years later. Jay’s dad is distinguished in salt-and-pepper hair, and his mom is all smiles when she tells you that you’re too pretty for Jay.

“Mom,” he whines.

“Oh alright, come here, my beautiful boy.” She brings him in for a hug and beams when he kisses her cheek. Your heart melts like ice cream in the summer; he’s a mama’s boy, through and through.

Jay’s dad asks, “So, how did you meet?” 

You open your mouth, prepared with your story. “I’m Jay’s friend’s twin sister, and then we kind of got caught in a scheme to help one of our other friends ask out the girl he liked, and we just got closer after that. Jay’s easy to like.” So far, it’s all true.

Jay doesn’t look like he’s faking anything when he continues, though. “She’s easy to love.”

“Way to one-up me,” you joke, but you feel like you’re floating, cradled by the buoyancy of the affection in his eyes.

“Seriously, she’s so smart it makes my head spin, and her heart shines brighter than the sun. She makes me laugh and work harder to keep up, and I’m lucky to just stand by her side. Being with her is the most natural thing in the world, like breathing, or my heart beating.” Jay doesn’t take his eyes off of you the whole time he’s speaking; he wants to commit every change in your expression to memory, from surprise to fondness to something deeper.

Jay’s dad hums approvingly. “Good work, son. You sound like I did when I met your mom.” He brings his wife in to kiss her temple.

“Enjoy the party, lovebirds,” she coos at you, and then they’re gone, off to greet other arrivals.

You’re frozen in place, with one hand still clutching at Jay’s like a lifeline. “We didn’t practice that,” you mumble.

He shakes his head and rubs his thumb over your cheek with his other hand. “No, we didn’t. Are you mad?”

“Mad? I think I’m jealous of your future girlfriend,” you say, forcing a laugh. It sounds wooden even to your ears.

He frowns. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Act as if you don’t know how much I like you.” 

The world stops turning on its axis. “What?”

His gaze slips down to your mouth, tracing your cupid’s bow. “You heard me.” He turns hopeful eyes on you. “Do you… feel the same?”

Just like that, the world resumes its motion, and you can’t let him go a second longer without knowing how much he is loved. “Desperately.” 

He breathes a sigh of relief, and you think he’s going to kiss you— you need him to kiss you— but he hugs you close instead, lips hovering against your ear. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” he murmurs.

“If it’s anything close to how happy I am, I probably have a good idea,” you laugh. You’re surprised at how quickly the burning urge to have his mouth on yours has tempered into something more grounded and permanent. 

“I have to go do something for my parents, but I think I’ll die if I have to leave you. Will you come watch?” 

You’d go anywhere with him. “Of course.”

He squeezes your hand. “Thanks, doll.” Against your will, your hand spasms in his. He giggles, delighted. “Duly noted.”

“Shut up,” you complain, but you follow him all the way to the tented dance floor set up on the grounds behind the house, only letting go after he kisses each of your fingertips in turn.

You’re surprised to see him pull out an eight-string guitar, and even more surprised when he explains to the gathered crowd that he’ll be playing the song from his parents’ first dance. They look perfect, swaying in the center of the floor, but you only have eyes for Jay.

You watch as his fingers pluck deftly at the strings, a romantic Spanish melody that barely reaches your ears over the rush of all your adoration for him. As soon as the song is over, he catches you in his arms, lifting you up and spinning you around twice before setting you back down, hands at home around your waist.

He asks if you want to dance. You teeter back on your heels, looking at the graceful curve of his mouth and thinking back to the nimbleness of his fingers. “Honestly? I want to kiss you. Really badly.”

He exhales and holds you tighter. “You won’t let me take you out first?”

“If you count the last few weeks, you’ve taken me out, like, a million times.”

“But a real date, doll. I want to cook for you, and we can get tea lights, and a picnic blanket, and— god.” Jay sucks in a sharp breath when you move his hands higher to cup underneath your chest. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he sighs, pressing his forehead to yours.

“I hope so. Stop being so nice, and take me to your room, please?”

Jay’s eyes flick heavenward. There’s only so much self-restraint left in him. “You win.”

And when he finally kisses you, pressed up against the door of his childhood bedroom, you nearly cry from how tender it is. He kisses you slowly, reverently, like you’re one of the saints from his history books.

“Sometimes, I think I’ve dreamt you up,” you confess to him. The words hang precious and delicate in the space between your lips.

“Let me show you I’m real then, yeah?” He presses a kiss to the corner of your mouth, then licks right into you, eliciting a gasp from the back of your throat. Your fingers find purchase in the soft hair at the back of his head, and you realize that you’ve been breathing the wrong air your whole life; the groan that passes from his mouth to yours is the only thing you want in your lungs from now on. 

Liquid desire pools in your stomach, rising until you think you might choke on it. “Jay, please.”

“Please, what? Use your words, doll.”

“Touch me.”

That’s all he needs to hear. Quicker than you realize it, but just as urgently as you need it, you find yourself laid out on his bed, and then he’s demonstrating that he knows more than just how to play guitar with those thick fingers.

When you make it out of his room an hour later, you’re still glowing with happiness. Jay knows he looks equally lovestruck, not least because his collar is hiding several lipstick stains from you. 

You offer to help him redo his tie, so he anchors you unnecessarily close to him, hands sweeping up and down your side. “I don’t think I told you yet, but you look really nice tonight,” he murmurs. “You look really nice all the time, actually.”

You bury your face in his chest. “I’m going to explode if you keep sweet-talking me like that.”

He presses his smile to the top of your head. “Nooooo, you’re too pretty to explode.”

“Jay!” But you’re both laughing, bathed in the soft magic of newfound devotion. You couldn’t dream up anything better.

(Dating Jay is a lot like fake-dating Jay, as it turns out. In some ways.

In other ways, Jay still manages to take your breath away with new and inventive methods. He really does make you dinner, with tea lights and a picnic blanket, ensconced in the twilight of a park you drive an hour away to get to. He even makes foie gras torchon for the occasion, from scratch, and he watches you intently as you moan in delight at the taste. You joke about your breath being fishy when you kiss later, but he just shrugs, unbothered and already moving so that his head disappears underneath your dress, making you moan in a different way.

So, yes— there’s a lot more kissing, and sex, and intimacy that makes you want to curl up in a ball and hiss at how vulnerable it makes you. But Jay is always welcome in the prickly patches of your soul, and he wants those parts of you as much as he wants the parts of you that paint him in aching affection.

When he finally tells you he loves you that winter— in so many words, because it shows in his every action otherwise—, it’s three in the morning again, and your hands are fluttering across his brow, smoothing out the creases from a night of worrying about whether he’s really good enough to take over the family business. Your fingers, lovely and dear to him, stitch together the cracks in his self-resolve, and he can’t help but let the words out. His heart absolutely sings when you repeat the words back to him.

Some time later, you ask him to sit for a portrait for you. He doesn’t think too much of it, especially as the seasons bleed into one another and spring brings an influx of senior events, pollen, and the impending question of the future. He’s at your senior thesis, asking you detailed questions during the audience Q&A and wrapping you up in the biggest hug when it’s over, and you sit in on the final class he TAs, applauding when he’s done.

At the showcase of your final portfolio, his jaw drops when you reveal the second portrait (after having laughed his ass off at Jake blubbering over the first one and Yunjin kissing him in public to shut him up). 

The second portrait is of him, and his parents. From his dad’s strong brows, to his mom’s smile lines, to his own hands; every detail is captured, shimmering in loving light. 

He finds that his eyes are wet when you come up to him and brush your thumb against his  eyelashes, smiling brightly at him. “Do you like it?”

“I love it. I love you, so much, like crazy, you don’t even know,” he rambles, laughing through his tears now.

You kiss him quickly but firmly, just a reminder that your mouth was made to fit against his. “Love you more, London boy. Speaking of…” You lean back to stare at him through your eyelashes. “I got the Rhodes,” you whisper.

His eyes widen like saucers. “You’re coming with me?”

“More like you’re coming with me,” you say, knowing that Jay had requested to be placed at his family business’s England location to be close to you in the event that you got the scholarship.

“Obviously,” he relents without missing a beat. “I’m going to follow you everywhere. Can’t get rid of me now.” He dips his head to kiss you longer. Lightning still shoots through his fingertips, just like the first time, and every time after that.

At graduation, you tell him, “You know, I think I’ve decided what I want your favor to be.”

He smiles at you, familiar and true. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“Just love me, for a long, long time.”

“Easy, Cinderella.”)

#enhypen #park jay #park jongseong #enhypen jay #enhypen x reader #enhypen fic #jay x reader #jay fic #jay oneshot #enhypen oneshot #enhypen fluff #jay fluff #wrote this in 5 days bc i am deranged #no banner bc idk how to make one and don't plan on learning so we're rawdogging it #back when i wrote fics on tumblr for **** there used to be like banner makers who would specifically make them for ppl... #is that still a thing? someone lmk idk #okay! ready set go gimme ur thoughts on this #im gonna go to dinner and then watch the rest of ep 7 and 8 of king the land and ignore how sunghoon is soooo guwon #i also need to finish dr romantic 3 and start packing to move across multiple state lines #but maybe i'll fall into the clutches of guwon sunghoon or jake puppy fic. i need a lobotomy honestly #ss.fic

[katsu28]

KAIT I LOVE U HI can i request Baby’s Breath - a wholesome moment with Hangman please?

hi thank you for requesting ily!! in honor of glen becoming a dog dad here is jake becoming one too i hope you enjoy it <3 (part of me wanted to scrap this and rewrite but we are embracing difference today folks!)

baby's breath: a wholesome moment, jake "hangman" seresin x reader, 1.4k

Growing up on a ranch, Hangman was no stranger to animals of all kinds. He’d always wanted a dog of his own when he finally settled down somewhere, but never got one because of how often he was gone on deployment. After you came into his life and made it clear you were going to stay, he brought up the topic of wanting to adopt a dog together. Thankfully, you wholeheartedly and very excitedly agreed with him. 

It was a win-win for everyone; Hangman would finally get his furry friend, you’d have someone to keep you company while Hangman was away, and the lucky pup would find a forever home with two people ready to spoil the absolute shit out of them. 

That was how you ended up here at Top Pup, Miramar’s biggest animal shelter. 

Hangman had heard his fair share of loud things before—jet engines, gale force winds, Rooster after a few too many beers—but he wasn’t expecting an animal shelter to be this…well, loud. He could hear the barking echoing off the walls of the place as soon as you both stepped inside, rattling and clanking of pens accompanying.

The woman at the front desk brought you out back to a wide pen lined with artificial turf, where dogs of all sizes roamed around interacting with other folks who’d had the same idea as yourselves today. 

As soon as you stepped into the fenced area, you were surrounded by dogs instantly, all of them nosing their way into the fray to get a sniff at a potential forever home. 

“Can we just adopt them all?” You asked, aiming a pout up at Jake as you tried your best to love on every single one of them. 

“I don’t think we have enough space for all of them, darlin’.” He chuckled, kneeling down next to you. A few of them left you to sniff at him and he welcomed them with open arms, giving a few chin scratches and rough pats that they thoroughly enjoyed. “How ‘bout we start with one and see how it goes, then we can talk about adding to the pack.” 

“You’re no fun.” You were only joking and Jake knew that.

He gave a playful shake of his head, grinning. “Bite me.” 

“C’mon girl, sic ‘em!” You joked towards the fluffy black dog currently enjoying your love, nodding in Jake’s direction. Her head tilted, tongue lolling out of her mouth and ears pricking up, but she made no move towards him. “You’re just a big ol’ sweetheart, aren’t you baby? Yes you are, I love you.”

Had you been paying a shred of attention to your boyfriend, you would’ve seen him snapping a quick photo for his not-so-secret album of pictures of you he scrolled through when he missed you whilst he was away. 

Time went by in a blur, and soon you lost track of how many dogs you’d met. They were all adorable and your earlier statement about wanting to adopt them all still stood, but none of them gave you that feeling—that zing that made you say ‘yes, this is the dog for us’. 

That was, until Jake caught your attention from across the yard. He was sitting cross-legged on the grass at the very corner of the yard, beaming at you as he waved you over. 

“Honey, come look at this little guy,” Jake called, excited. You ruffled the fur of the dog you were knelt next to one more time before making your way to where he was, spotting the tiniest pup you’d ever seen curled up on a pile of blankets a few feet away. “The lady said he and his four siblings had just been dropped at the door a few days ago, but the rest of ‘em have already been adopted. Said he’s been huddled away over here pretty much ever since. Didn’t even get a chance to give him a name yet.” 

The pup’s fur was a gorgeous white with cream markings on his face and ears and the same colored patches along his back, big dark eyes peering out at the two of you curiously. Jake put out a hand on the ground in front of you, making little kissy sounds to see if he’d show any interest. When all the puppy did was blink slowly, he kept his hand out, just in case. “He seems shy. I barely noticed him over here.” 

“Hi baby,” You cooed, taking a seat on the ground next to Jake. “You’re just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, little dude!” 

It took a little while for the puppy to warm up to the two of you, but you were more than happy to be patient. Eventually, he padded over to Jake on unsteady paws, sniffing at his outstretched hand tentatively. He was barely as long as his forearm. His little nose twitched a few times and then he promptly crawled into Jake’s lap, and you swore you could see your big tough boyfriend melt a little inside. 

You’d always talked about adopting a bigger dog—one Jake could rough-house with in the yard, one that would be able to protect you if need be when Jake wasn’t around. He’d told you about the dogs his family had when he was growing up, cattle herding dogs and big Shepherds that could (and did) knock his younger self to the ground. They were absolute sweethearts when it came to the family, he’d said, but loyal to a fault and wouldn’t hesitate to protect their loved ones. Kind of like Jake. 

Admittedly, you’d originally been leaning towards a larger dog too, but the tiny pup looked right at home comfortably nestled in Jake’s lap. This was the dog for you, and one look at Jake told you he was thinking the exact same thing. Soon enough, the paperwork had been filled out, adoption fee paid, and the pup was yours. 

A trip to the nearest pet store to grab everything you’d need proved too tiring for the little guy, who’d fallen in your arms before you had a chance to let him see what toys made his little ears perk up. Then you were home, settled on the floor of the living room in the pen Jake had set up next to the couch with your new furry little addition curled up on the floor between the two of you. He was awake now but still sleepy, trying to keep his head up to take in his new surroundings but starting to nod off again. 

“What should we name him?” Jake wondered aloud, tilting his head at you as his fingers scratched circles behind the pup’s ears. 

You shrugged, leaning back against the couch. “I dunno, throw some names at me.” 

“Uh…let’s see. How ‘bout Brisket?” 

“We get it, you’re from Texas,” You huffed, rolling your eyes playfully. Jake flicked your knee. You let your gaze fall on your pup, watching his eyes flutter shut the longer you stroked along his back. “You don’t look like a Brisket to me, my love.” 

“I thought I was your love?” 

“I can have two, can’t I?” 

“So long as that one doesn’t get any ideas,” Jake muttered, narrowing his eyes at the pup, who gave a tiny, tired growl. “Whoa, okay! Copy you loud and clear, big guy. No need to get all tough on me.”

“What about Fido?” 

“That’s so unoriginal. What are we, living in the 40’s?” 

“Snowball?” 

Jake fixed you to the spot with an unamused look. “I’m not naming our son Snowball. He’s gotta have a tough name. Something like…Turbo. Or Rambo. Bruiser!” 

You honestly didn’t really register the names he threw out, too focused on the first thing he’d said. “Our son? Does this mean we’re parents?” You asked softly, not able to fight the giddy grin working its way across your face. Jake slid a hand around the back of your neck, bringing you into the sweetest of kisses, fondness dripping like honey. 

“We’re parents, darlin’.” He repeated, smiling against your mouth. You suddenly flashed forward to the next time Jake would say those words, sometime far in the future with a baby of your own (human, not canine). It seemed so off in the distance, but you already knew in your heart it was something you both wanted eventually.

For now, you had all the love in the world to give your brand new fur baby.

“Parents of our yet to be named puppy.” 

“I still think Brisket is a solid option.” 

“We’ll workshop it.”

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#jake seresin #hangman seresin #hangman seresin x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman seresin x reader #hangman seresin x you #hangman seresin x y/n #jake seresin x you #jake seresin x y/n #hangman seresin fluff #hangman seresin fic #glen powell

[oddballwriter]

The Moon Boys Spoiling Your Daughter

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Warnings: The moon boys spoiling their daughter, but don't worry they aren't raising a complete brat 

Author’s Snip: I just thought more about them being girl dads and couldn't stop so here have this too.

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Steven Grant

Steven doesn't like to say he spoils her. He's seen spoiled kids and his daughter never acts like that. She's a perfect little angel

And maybe she is perfectly well behaved, but she's his blue ribbon child. He puts her on a pedestal for being smart and getting awards in school.

He's okay if she struggles a bit, that's part of learning, he won't make her stay up there or make her be a burnout child, poor man would never forgive himself

But yeah Steven spoils her with praise a lot

Steven would never be an outright snob about it at the PDA meeting but maybe he gets a bit sassy and snooty, but only when another parent is being a dick

"My child is in honor rolls and never disrupts class, yours doesn't know the difference between they're, their, and there and got detention for the third time this week. And you want to come in here with your attitude." type shit

Marc Spector

It's less so spoiling and more so sheltering with Marc

Again, he has a need to keep his child safe and protected from everything at any cost

So he sort of tries to keep her in a bubble to keep her "safe"

Anything she doesn't like that isn't something she needs he'll just take it away so that it doesn't hurt of make her upset anymore

Of course that's the easier one of the habits to fall out of since something will happen one way or another and so he stops at some point

They always find a way to pop the bubble

Jake Lockley

Okay with Jake she really is spoiled

At least a little

She's not full on brat but she manages to get her way

Jake's no push over but his idea behind it

If she has a standard for having the men in her life give her what she wants then it's going to be hard for boys to meet her expectations and thus the only guys who can get her are ones that care

Of course he teaches her that gifts aren't everything and that there's more to a relationship but you get it

Princess attitudes means only guys losers don't get her as easily (that's his logic)

He has a limit though

If she wants ice cream when he's out running errands with her then he gets her one scoop and she has to finish it before they get home so that you don't notice that she had some before dinner

So it's princess and business woman attitude

#moon knight #moonknight #moonknight x reader #moon knight x reader #steven grant #marc spector #jake lockley #steven grant x reader #marc spector x reader #jake lockley x reader

[marymary-diva17]

The ones we leave behind

sully family x reader + tarsem/tsu’tey/ mo’at

Among the navi people family was everything every child was love by their parents and cared for throughout out their lives. Family is the strong hold among each individual navi, but what happens when there is a child that hasn't revived the same love and care as others around. The effect of getting less love and support will effect a child over time, but what happens when the action of the parents and other adults around have effect them so, much that it will soon lead the child on a different path.verse everyone else. The feeling of being left behind will be a permit memory that will affect their childhood, what happens when it happens to a sully family member.

y/n " ......" you are the human daughter of Jake and neytiri unlike your other siblings you had been born human, and had spent most of your childhood as human no avatar body. The day of your birth had effect your parents and everyone in the clan, as it was shown the sky demons still were here.

y/n " guys come sit down and relax" you were looking at your siblings as they were all worked up for the events, that had unfolded today. As your siblings had gone out with spider and ran into old enemies, that were believed to be dead had come back to life. You are with them trying to comfort them as they none of them seem to be doing well, at the moment.

kiri " is spider going to be okay"

y/n " spider will be fine kiri norm and max are attending to him, he just need some medical care and rest" kiri soon nods her head and sat down next to you.

lo'ak " I think dad will blame me I was the one who decided to go there"

y/n " baby brother is not your fault no one knew they will come with avatar bodies"

neteyam " dad and mom have been in that meeting with grandmother and the council for a long time, he didn't even let me attend the meeting"

y/n " it going to be okay teyam when the meeting over dad will share what will happen next"

tuk " y/n I'm scared"

y/n " dont worry tuk everything will be okay, we are here to keep you safe and so are mom and dad" you brought tuk into a embrace making her smile towards you and you smile back at her.

y/n " dad what has happened" Soon enough Jake and neytiri had shown themselves, either one of them looking happy.

Jake " no now y/n there is new we have to share with the clan, we can speak later" you have a good relationship with your parents but you were not close to them like your siblings, and there were times when you felt like out of situations.

y/n " yes sir ...mom is there anything I can do for you or the family"

neytiri " ....." neytiri didnt pay any attention to you and soon walk towards your siblings. She seem very overwhelmed at the moment as she was scared about everything that had happened.

y/n " mom I can make the family something to eat or help around the house"

neytiri " no please do nothing" neytiti have you a cold look you didnt know if she meant it or not.

kiri " sis can you come with me to see spider or check up on him"

y/n " sure we can go and see him maybe we can all go as a family"

neytiri " no you all stay here and that is finally you can see that boy some other time or y/n can update you on him" neytiri soon picked up tuk and walked into the home with her, the older kids had stayed with you. Talking about anything to light up the mood even getting spider on com link was well, soon that all ended when a meeting was called for the clan by your father.

Jake " I have called this meeting to state the situation that had happened earlier today.... today children of our clan and human child life had bene out in danger, as enemies from our best have come back and now look like us" gasp had been heard from everyone as they were listening to Jake words.

Jake " I'm sad to share this new but the clan most leave we are no longer safe here, we all most leave and seek shelter else where until the demons are gone"

neteyam " what we are leaving"

Jake " we will head towards the sea clans where will be safe from harm, we can't stay here we have to think about the clan children and their safe"

Jake " will we have to leave our homes and ways of life but we will be back when the time right, but we most think what the best for our families and ourselves"

mo'at " Jake sully is right we will have to leave but one day will come home"

Jake " this decision is heavy on my heart as well my people we all love the forest and what she has to offer, but we most leave to keep her safe ... this decision is finally and I hope in time you all can forgive me for making this chose" there was no debating Jake on that as he was right once the meeting was over, everyone started getting ready to leave in couple days.

y/n " almost done just need to make sure everything alright"

Tarsem " so we are really are leaving"

y/n " tarsem yes we are it will be sad to no longer run around here and live our lives but it for the best" you and tarsem are best friends and have been close since you two were very young.

Tarsem " I came to see how you are holding up I saw you were very worried about your family and wish to go with your parents"

y/n " I'm good thank you for asking but you should be worried about my family more then me"

tarsem " always thinking of other but there has to be other worrying about you" you smile toward tarsem he would always come check on you after battles or hard situations.

Jake " y/n"

y/n " dad"

tarsem " olo'eythan Jake sully hello"

Jake " it okay young man I have come here to bring my daughter home there is something I most share with her and her siblings"

tarsem " yes sir I will see you later y/n maybe I can help you pack"

y/n " sure I will love that offer" Tarsem soon walked off looking at you one last time as you waved at him and smiled.

Jake " come on let head home there is something I need to speak with you and your siblings about" you had nodded your head and followed your father, soon getting back to the village and see your family gather together.

tuk " sis you come to dinner"

y/n " well dad said he had something to speak with us all about"

Jake " everyone sit down there is something I need to speak with you all about" you soon sat down with your siblings give some dinner as well, soon Jake and neytiri were suiting together.

Jake " we will be leaving in a couple days so I will need you all to pull your weight around here"

the kids " yes sir"

y/n " dad the scientist have started packing some of the stuff for travel we were wondering how that was going to go" Jake and neytiri soon looked at each other and soon at you.

Jake " y/n there is something I need to tell you"

y/n " oh okay dad you have my whole attention"

Jake " you will not be coming with us to the reef clans"

y/n " what"

neteyam " dad if she can't ride with you or mom she can ride with one of us or tarsem, it will be fine we will come up with a way to take her and everyone else"

kiri " yes we will find out a way so she can come with us we, so you and mom are not overworking yourselves"

Jake " kids that not the matter but there a bigger matter to address"

lo'ak " what tell us what the matter that our sister can't come with us"

neytiri " it because your sister is born human unlike your all she not navi, and it will be hard to get the clans to help us ... they already don't like human as they have been hunting over there and destroying there ways to life ... one human will be fine but to many will be bad news"

tuk " why don't we give her any avatar body like uncle noir that will slove everything"

neytiri " no we can't"

tuk " why"

y/n " because they don't have the resource and it will take to much time"

Jake " time we don't have kids"

neteyam " come on there have to be an avatar body for her and the there, did you all not making one when she was baby so it will grow over time"

Jake " we become busy and other stuff got involved I and your mom were already overwhelm of everyone else that was happening"

lo'ak " meaning you didnt care to do anything about it and forgot"

neytiri " no we become busy our family and clan need us and we have to chose the right decisions"

kiri " that not fair to y/n or anyone else"

Jake " kids we all know you are upset but we are sorry, we had to do what was best and look now you sister has lived a amazing life as human she one of us" kiri and Lo'ak looked at you and knew that you had face bullying for being te freak child of toruk makto.

y/n " wait so you are leaving me behind here all on my own"

Jake " you will not be alone you will have norm and spider alomg with everyone else, they will take care of you"

y/n " I want to be with you and mom along with my siblings... please dad don't leave me like this don't leave everyone else like this"

Jake " enough y/n"

y/n " I'm your daughter we are sully we stick together that what you told us"

neytiri " chid respect your father"

y/n " mom and dad I do respect you all but you can't just leave us like that it unfair ...."

Jake " I said enough and I mean it young lady you are almost an adult it time you learn to take care of yourself, and learn to be an independent adult and not some spoiled brat .... you selfishness is now effecting your siblings as they will refuse to leave and soon enough the rest of the clan will follow"

y/n " dad ..."

Jake " no you will listen here right now young lady .... this is what bets for the clan I know you are upset and mad but what is done is done., I don't wish for this but I most happen for the good of the family and good of the clan ... we will be apart of months or weeks but we will soon be together again"

y/n " yes sir I'm sorry"

neytiri " look we know you are asking alot form you right now, but you most do what best for the people and they will see you as one of us"

y/n " yes ma'am"

Jake " I will tell norm and the others as well but we need you all to act mature on this matter, no harm will come to any of you I know that and I think it will be for the best ... it will help you grow into a young women and help everyone else as well . hey maybe in time the rda will leave and we can all come home and be a family again"

y/n " ......."

Jake " look you can me mad at me all you want but I need you to do this for the family, I need you to be mature right now and take this for the family"

y/n " yes sir I understand" the rest of the family dinner was silent you didn't eat that much as you felt sick to your stomach, later on after the meal you headed home with your parents. No words had been spoken as you are coming to terms with everything.

Norm " hey welcome home kid and hey Jake and neytiri welcome back, came to make sure y/n made it home safe"

Jake " yes we want to make sure our daughter was okay"

norm " that sweet well we have some of the stuff already pack we don't know about everything else yet, we mights have to hide it if we can't take it"

Jake " umm norm I need to speak with you and the rest it important"

norm " sure dude no one has done to bed yet so we have some time to talk"

Jake " thank you" soon everyone had gather for the meeting as everyone was looking at Jake.

Jake " look everyone I know I made the announcement that we will be leaving but I have some sad news to share with you all, so please listen to me"

max " okay Jake what the matter"

Jake " the clan will be leaving in a couple days"

spider " we know mr sully and we are coming up with ways for us to make it out there"

Jake " no I'm sorry to say this but none of you will be coming with us, it will not be good for the clan"

norm " what"

Jake " you all will have to stay here you can't come with us"

Scientist " that rda is hunting us down"

neytiri " they are hunting down the clan children lives are in endanger if we stay, we most leave and seek uturu elsewhere"

Scientist 2 " we are apart of the clan"

neytiri" you are apart of nothing just friends and the former people of my mate"

max " what about the children y/n and spider they will come with you, right you will not leave you daughter and the kdis best friend here"

y/n " ......"

spider " mr and mrs sully I and y/n are coming as well"

Jake " ......"

spider " oh" spider knew he will not be coming as neytiri and most of the clan hated him for being human and his father as well, he knew some of the clan dislike you as well and you are not that close to neytiri as well.

Jake " the children will have to stay as well they are not navy like the other and don't have an avatar body"

norm " then we can make one for them it will be easy"

Jake " no we can't we don't have enough time for that we most leave before the rda comes"

max " how are they supposed to deal with this they are children"

Jake " they will understand and me mature about it they are about to become adults, they know what has to be done and pull their weight"

Scientist 4 " speaking of the rda we help you fight them we all turn down the offer to betray you all, and have been marked as traitors if we are caught it over for us ... think about y/n and spider they are innocent and teens"

Jake " it will be okay"

Scientist " coming from the one who will not bed here she your daughter you will leave her for the rda and anything else out here to hurt here"

Jake " enough it my decision I'm the reason you all are still allowed near the village, okay what I say is finally nothing can change my mind"

norm " not even the words of you own daughter know her she fought you on this right she know it wrong, you can't just leave her like this or spider what will happen to them"

neytiri " they will learn and adapt ... it for the best you humans are being selfish think about the children of the clan think about my kids"

max " we are thinking about your kids one of them is here"

neytiri " I'm done talking none of you are coming until future notice" neytiri soon stormed away saying nothing else as she left she didn't, even say goodnight to you at all.

Jake " look we will be leaving in a couple of days I will try my best to ask for you all to come with us, but it might be weeks and months until then ..... I know you all will be okay and will make it through this"

norm " ......."

Jake " look we all most do what best for the clan and I'm making the decisions I need to keep my family and clan safe I hope you all will understand some day, when you walk in my footsteps I will tell everyone in the clan later I will see you all later ... I most go be with my wife and children" Jake soon left heading home not even looking back you soon felt tears rushing down your face, it seems like you were not their children.

norm " don't let them get you kiddo you have us"

y/n " thanks uncle norm"

spider " we are going to need each other for what going to come" no one went to bed that night happy, and for the next couple days there was tension between humans and navi. As some of the navi hated the idea of leaving their human allies here to fight against rda alone, while big amount thought the humans were selfish on trying to change Jake mind about his decision. That the end of the day there was not changing what had bene done the humans were staying and everyone else was leaving of the clan. None of your siblings and tarsem wish to leave you, and that you blamed by the clan and your parents.

y/n " we will not see each other for a every long time" you are with your sibling and tarsem that day they were levaing.

tuk " I'm going to miss you big sister"

y/n " I'm going to miss you as well honey but we will still be sisters"

kiri " take care we will make sure you join us soon we will not forget you"

y/n " I know but I wish for you guess to live you best lives for me"

spider " me as well I want you all to still have fun and tell me all about it when we see each other again"

lo'ak " you all be well as well"

neteyam " yes take care"

tarsem " life will not be the same without any of you and it sad not that many are saying goodbye"

mo'at " they have made their decision and this might effect many future relationships, I have left some stuff for you all to survive on there were any other stuff left as well by other of the clan"

y/n " thank you grandmother"

tuk " where is mama and daddy ar they going to say goodbye to you and everyone else"

y/n " it okay tuk they are both busy"

lo'ak " to busy to say goodbye to their daughter"

y/n:" it okay"

Jake " everyone hurry up we are leaving" you soon hugged everyone goodbye one last time, there were no more goodbye from the rest of the clan or your parents but you learned to accept it.

later that night

max " these plans will work fine if anything bad happens"

norm " yes"

y/n " it seems like everyone has found something to do for the evening"

spider " it better then walking around here acting all hurt about everything that happened"

y/n " maybe tomorrow we can go find all the stuff that was left behind as we are going to need it"

norm " I'm proud of you y/n acting mature and helping everyone around, even your spider taking command of stuff and helping you two will to great stuff when you are older" soon an alarm had gone off getting everyone attention.

y/n " come on lets go see what the matter"

spider " on it" soon you and spider had gone outside to see what was the matter when you heard something moving.

y/n " come out and state your business of my friend here will show you his still with arrow and bow"

????? "it me y/n I mean no harm" you soon saw tarsem, tsu'tey, and avroke standing there.

norm " what are you three doing here"

y/n " please don't tell me something bad happen to the clan"

tarsem " no we came here to be with you all we count leave you all like this"

spider " wow"

tsu'tey " we are here to help you are all going to need it"

avroke " we are going to make sure nothing bad happens, you all have given up enough and now we wish to pay you all back for everything that happened"

norm " well we can talk about this more in the morning there was some tents you all can us" everyone else had walked away expect you and tarsem.

y/n " thank you for coming back but anytime you feel like leave you can I understand, I want you to leave your best life"

tarsem " I will never leave as I'm already living my best life" you soon smile towards tarsem and soon walked off with him after the others. Your heart was still broken about everything that happened between your family and the clan. Things will never be the same ever again between child and parents, and navi and humans. Some relationships will be fixed and while other relationship will stayed damages forever. Now you were walking down your own path and only time will tell what is on this path for you and what will become of you in the future along with milestones you will archive as well. The great mother was watching over you and you were hoping that life will bless you well.

#avatar 2 #atwow #avatar #avatar x reader #avatar x y/n #sully family x reader #avatar the way of water #jake sully x daughter!reader #neytiri x daughter!reader #neteyam x sister!reader #lo'ak x sister!reader #kiri x sister!reader #tuk x sister!reader #sully family x y/n #sully reader #sully kids #sully siblings #sully family