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#this also counts as a celebration piece for the 10 year anniversary
heartkyeom · 2 years
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figure skater!joshua hong x f!reader
synopsis: as a joshua fangirl, getting the chance to interview him as a teenager was an absolute dream. 10 years later with a flourishing career as a writer and a strained relationship with him, he wants to do a 10 year reunion interview about his path to the upcoming Olympics. there’s only one problem: you’re staying at his house and trying not to address your old feelings for him.
word count: 19.9k
tag list: @junhui-recs @bfwonu @huiranghaes
warnings: figure skater!joshua, writer/fangirl!reader, best friend!jeonghan, dad!seungcheol, smut, fluff, angst, some occasional skating jargon, this is a lot about the Olympics
a/n: y’all. this fic has been reworked over and over and over since spring 2022, it’s the longest fic I’ve ever done. it’s given me so much trouble and seen me through so many changes in my life. doing my final undergrad dance show, writing my undergrad capstone, finishing undergrad, and finding my first apartment. it is my baby and has grown as much as I have since march. thank you to the sports au discord for being so lovely <3 I hope you enjoy it as always and I hope you can feel how much heart I put into this! this is for @gyukult’s sports au collab + this is loosely based on the plot of the book “funny you should ask” by elissa sussman which I can’t recommend enough! title also inspired by the harry styles song ok bye lmao <3
Work isn’t particularly difficult, in your opinion. You’re used to hearing the people around you complain about how much their workload consumes them to a point of no return, but as you made your way into your first adult job as a writer, you tried to stop that from happening.
It’s not exactly easy when you have to navigate the entertainment industry while writing, but the idea of trying to craft new narratives about celebrities that the public is convinced that they know inside and out still excites you.
Even if you’re not exactly fond of whoever you’re writing about, the challenge still intrigues you. Thus, the conversations surrounding ideas for new profiles are always equal parts captivating and nerve-wracking.
“How do you feel about Joshua Hong?” Your manager asks. You look up to see her balancing her weight on the side of your desk, a neutral expression paints her face.
She knows this is a loaded question, all things considered.
“You know how I feel about him,” You blink at her before facing your computer again.
“I do, but I need an updated response considering the anniversary,” She persists. You sigh, swiveling around to face her again before responding.
“He’s great. I like him,” Your voice trails off, you try to nod to convince her, but it’s not working.
Your life has been so intertwined with Joshua Hong’s career as a professional figure skater that it’s hard to delineate life before and after him. He wasn't there, then one day he seemed to consume your life completely.
Before your start as a journalist, you ran a very well-known, albeit secretive, blog about Joshua Hong as a teenager. It was relatively harmless and safe for work, spare the occasional thirst posts sprinkled in. It mostly contained updates about the then emerging skater’s career, offering illegal torrent links for broadcasts of his performances that weren’t available worldwide and communicating with other fans about your love for him. Yet, some random post about him qualifying for the Olympics went insanely viral when you were 17, garnering over 1 million shares in under a week.
It was substantial enough to get his management's attention, and you had the opportunity to interview him not only for your blog but for a major publication for their Winter Olympics coverage series.
With two opportunities to write about him, you were able to fulfill the fan service pleas from your fellow fans for the blog and write a serious piece that made the general public interested in him from the perspective of a fan that knew the general timeline of his career.
The quick success felt like a fluke, but it led you to an undergraduate degree and a dream job as an entertainment writer at one of your favorite companies almost immediately after graduation.
He technically made your career, whether you wanted to admit it or not.
You’ve been trying to forget about the anniversary, but everyone in your life seems determined to bring it up whenever they see you.
“Well, we want you to do a 10-year reunion interview piece with him. That’s only if you want to,” Her voice was sympathetic, but you’re mainly focused on the number. It really had been 10 years, hadn’t it?
You were both incredibly established in your respective careers, him as a 5-time gold medalist with appearances at 3 Olympic Games, and you with a prolific image as a relatable yet incisive celebrity interviewer. It completely makes sense for you two to meet again, considering how much the first interview changed the trajectory of your lives.
It would feed into the nostalgia of Joshua fans that grew up alongside you as readers of your blog and new fans that clamored for any new Joshua content.
Yet, you weren’t exactly convinced.
“I mean, his team could’ve had anyone else write a big profile on him. We’re not the only website in the world with an entertainment section,” You fight the urge to bite your nails and instead choose to wring your hands together.
“He asked us to do it,” She admits.
You try not to look too shocked, but that definitely changes things. You were not close with Joshua whatsoever. Sure, he’d occasionally like your social media posts and wish you a happy birthday every year, but that was the extent of your relationship.
Your teenage self thinks it might be him looking for closure, wondering what might have happened if you stayed in touch.
Yet, you can’t let yourself dive back into the fantasy of him again.
You search for a response, but you can’t land on anything substantial. “What would I have to do?” You ask, you barely notice the unconscious habit of biting the inside of your cheek.
“Well, in addition to the profile, you can attend his practices and any private schedules he invites you to. It’s mostly up to the discretion of him and his team,” She offers and you nod. You’re good with that, you can watch him practice and go to a random professional event he’s booked for.
“He did offer something else, if you’re up for it,” She gives you a pointed look which makes you a bit hesitant.
“What is it?”
“He asked if you were open to staying at his house,” She smiled through her answer, but you’re sure your face was completely pale.
You didn’t know if you were more shocked or nervous at the idea of it. It was ambitious, considering that you haven’t spent more than a few hours in the same room with him at a time, much less stay with him.
You think you might die if you go through with it.
“He’s not serious,” You find yourself laughing in disbelief. You can’t even fathom the idea of being further sucked into Joshua’s life after so long.
“He really is. You don’t have to give me an answer right now, but within the next day or so,” She leaves your desk without giving you a chance to respond, but you revel in the opportunity to think about everything.
It’s a bit too much to wrap your head around, so much so that you don’t remember much else of the work day.
For the first time in a long time, Joshua Hong was all you could think about.
The more you think about the interview, the more it gives you anxiety.
All of the possible outcomes float around in your head during the commute home that you can barely enjoy the music blaring in your headphones.
Once you arrive home, you figure that you need a second opinion on the matter, so you decide to call your far more opinionated best friend for his input.
The phone only rings for a few seconds before he picks up.
“What happened?”
“Joshua wants to do this 10-year anniversary interview where I follow him around,” You sigh.
“No fucking way,” He burst into laughter, his giggles echoing loudly through the phone.
“Jeonghan, this isn’t funny,” You whine. He was probably the last person you needed to call, seeing as he almost never had a sympathetic response to your pain.
“It’s hilarious, and this is karma for trying to ignore his existence for the past 5 years,” He replies with a teasing lilt.
You hate that he’s right.
You were very proud of Joshua’s successes, in a “retired fan celebrating from a distance” sort of way. Yet, you tried to distance yourself so much from the blog that he inadvertently got caught in the crossfire. You cared about him so deeply for so long that you lost yourself in that, so you tried to cope with the state of your uneven relationship with him in your own little fucked up way.
You let out a frustrated sigh. “I just didn’t think he’d be the one to do it, you know? I thought I’d get a polite email from his assistant, not my manager telling me he wanted to do a profile.”
“That means it’s personal to him, then. That’s actually kinda charming of him,” You feel your phone vibrate, so you check the notification.
Joshua messaged you on Instagram, and from a quick glance at your lockscreen, it’s long.
Your heart drops to your stomach.
“Wait, he just messaged me,” You quickly put Jeonghan on speaker and opened the app without a second thought. You read his message out loud:
joshuahong: Hi! Not sure if you’ve heard my request yet about the anniversary profile, but I would really love it if we could make it happen. I know it’s been a really long time, but I think it’d be fun to do it again. You’ve always supported me from the beginning of my career, so it would mean a lot to me. I miss talking to you, so we would definitely be catching up in more ways than one. We’ll only do it if you’re up for it though, please don’t ghost me this time lol
“Holy shit,” Jeonghan fills the silence immediately. You were pretty much lost for words, but you managed to speak. “Holy shit is right,” You mumble to yourself.
You suddenly feel guilty for trying to bury him out of your life, especially when he clearly said he misses you.
Were you trying to set your boundaries by pushing him away or were you just being an asshole?
“I feel really stupid,” You hate that you want to cry. You can’t reckon with the fact that Joshua has wanted to reconcile for so long that he had to do this to get your attention.
At least, that’s what the selfish part of you thinks. You know the interview is so much bigger than yourself, but then again, it is a symbol of you and the years of effort you put into your blog.
“You’re not stupid, but you need to worry about what you’re gonna say. Are you gonna say yes?” He asks.
Admittedly, you do feel the pull to say yes.
“I think I might. Is that a bad idea?” Internally, you know the answer, but your insecurities need some validation.
He clears his throat before responding. “I think you’ll regret it if you say no. I think it’ll hurt you more to not have closure with him.”
You don’t think you necessarily want anything out of this besides becoming friendly with him.
You’d like to think that’s what would’ve happened if you didn’t completely ice him out.
“That’s true. It’s gonna be so hard to see him again,” A whine pulls your lips into a pout and you already know Jeonghan will protest.
“Stop talking yourself out of it. Who knows, you might end up enjoying everything,” he suggests openly.
“That’s possible. His house is supposed to be insanely big,” You shake your head at the idea of how a 27-year-old millionaire pro figure skater would be living, definitely far better than your current apartment.
“You can only know for sure if you say yes.”
“I know,” You figure you need a vacation anyways, even if it means facing some unresolved emotional baggage.
“So, you know your answer then. I need to get back to work, but don’t blow him off. Respond to him tonight or I’m not giving you the deluxe massage package gift certificate like I promised,” Jeonghan was not above threatening you into action, and this one had the right level of stakes.
“Fine, okay,” You huff out, already opening the Instagram app again to motivate you into typing a proper response.
You exchange quick goodbyes and you let yourself look, albeit for far too long, at the message again to gain some inspiration.
Before you know it, you’re sending him a formal reply.
you: Hi! You’re right about ghosting, no excuses for that so I’m sorry lol. I’ve thought about it and I’d be happy to do it, it’s been too long since we’ve talked. Let me know the timeline you’re thinking of and I’ll get my schedule figured out
You figure that’s just enough to ease your nerves. It’s not exactly as earnest as his original message, but it’ll work for now.
You even send a screenshot of the message to Jeonghan as proof for the sake of accountability and the state of your deluxe massage package gift certificate. You place your phone on your nightstand to avoid fixating on another response, letting yourself go fix dinner and get ready for bed without thinking.
It’s only when you’re about to settle into bed that you remember your phone. You reach for it and Joshua, who is somehow extremely prompt with his messages, sends you another reply 10 minutes after your message.
joshuahong: Great! We’ll start sorting out more details then. I’m really glad you said yes
He’s already trying to pull at your heartstrings and it’s working. Despite everything, Joshua has always been kind. He doesn’t just seem nice, like what most celebrities are assumed to be around other people, he’s always made sure you know he cares about you even if you hadn’t known what to do about it.
You type out another quick response before going to bed.
you: Of course, it’s gonna be a lot of fun
You hope that’s true, you hope that you’re not already in over your head with the situation. He still seems to have faith in you, so why not trust that instinct?
During pre-trip preparations, you found yourself talking to Joshua far more often than before.
The conversations didn’t go too deep of course, you couldn’t get everything out of him before you even had a chance to conduct the interview, but the harmless banter seemed to slowly bridge that treacherous gap left between you two.
You even thought it would make your first meeting less awkward, but that wasn’t even remotely possible. It had only taken a few days for the entirety of the trip to be confirmed by your workplace and his team, and the final itinerary made your head spin.
You would follow Joshua around for a week, primarily to his private daily practices in an effort to show his infamous dedication to Olympics training.
All while you stayed in his guest room.
You couldn’t get out of that obligation, no matter how much you tried to convince him that you would be perfectly fine staying in a luxury hotel room paid for by your employer. He was confident that you could get a better view into his life while staying at his house which you reluctantly agreed with.
His idea definitely didn’t cross any professional boundaries at all, none whatsoever! This is what he’d do as a friend if you were coming to visit anyways, right?
You were still slightly afraid to hear his voice, you weren’t exactly sure why, but you were hoping it would keep the image of him unchanged in your mind until you saw him in person again.
You knew you were heavily biased going into this situation, so why not protect your heart for a little bit longer?
joshuahong: Are you nervous about tomorrow?
you: Not really
joshuahong: Y/N, please don’t lie.
you: I’m not!
joshuahong: I’m kinda nervous to see you, though
you: Really? Why?
joshuahong: I think it’s been 6 years since I’ve seen you in person. That’s scary to think about
you: The passing of time is scary
joshuahong: Definitely. Promise to not be awkward?
you: I’ll try my best!
joshuahong: That’s not a promise!
you: Fine, I promise but you have to promise too!
joshuahong: I promise :) now get some sleep, I don’t want to hear you complain when you have plenty of time to get 8 hours of sleep
you: You’re so mean!! but you too, get lots of rest so you can give me a good show tomorrow
He doesn’t reply to that last message, only using a heart emoji reaction instead.
The weight of the trip suddenly sits on your heart, and the main objective of writing an exceptional interview is somehow the least of your worries now.
The flight to Korea is unceremoniously long, you have far too much time and anxiety to let yourself fall asleep. You go through all the Netflix episodes you downloaded for the flight, finish the book that’s been sitting on your shelf for ages, and write down some preliminary notes about what you’d like to cover in the interview.
You decide to keep your ideas vague so that you’re not overexerting your brain during the flight.
First, a general discussion of the Olympics. That’s the main appeal of the article, seeing what his main preparations are like and hopefully getting some better insight about his feelings surrounding everything.
The second is his recovery from his last Olympics injury. He landed the most ambitious jump of his free skate program completely wrong, breaking his ankle in the process. It was during the last event of his Olympics run for that year, and he still placed third in the men’s individual skate program overall, but it’s been a sore subject for him in most interviews he’s done since the incident.
The footage is as agonizing as you can imagine, but the fact that he finished the routine at all is stunning. You figure that you can get some in-depth reaction about that moment and the subsequent recovery, more than the extremely media-trained answer he’s given about it before.
Lastly, the prospect of retirement. He’s said almost nothing about his plans after the upcoming Olympic games, but Olympics experts are convinced that the news is looming over his upcoming appearance.
You knew better than to ask him outright about it because he definitely wouldn’t give you a straight answer. From watching his recent interviews, you realized that Joshua has a tendency to go into a subtle apathetic mood when the interviewer hits something he’s not comfortable with. You hope that you can breach the subject without things going completely south. This interview was supposed to hit some darker aspects of the state of Joshua’s career, but you never wanted to make him uncomfortable.
Other than those topics, anything else he wanted to divulge to you would be a bonus. You wanted him to have a reasonable amount of control over what would go into the interview, so you’re not opposed to adjusting your interview material if needed.
The thought of his reactions to your questions swarms your brain in a frenzy, but you know you’re getting ahead of yourself.
The flight lands without any problems and you’re still trying to figure your thoughts out by the time you’re picking up your suitcase from baggage claim.
You’re soon greeted by Joshua’s driver, a tall man who holds a sign with your name printed on it, nodding in affirmation when you confirm your identity with him. He’s distantly kind to you, but it’s enough to put you at ease for the moment. You’re escorted to a tinted black SUV with a gentle hand opening the back car door for you. Your suitcase is carefully stowed into the back of the truck while you click your seatbelt into place across your lap.
You don’t realize how tired you are until the car starts moving. You didn’t bother to orient yourself with the time once you got off the flight, but you figure it’s somewhere between late morning and early afternoon by the way the clouds create a gray atmosphere in the sky.
Nonetheless, looking out the window is enough to pull you into sleep, and you indulge yourself in a short nap, barely considering where you may be headed.
It turns out that Joshua wanted to meet you at his home rink first which explains why you were waking up to the sight of a massive stadium.
You were slightly annoyed that you weren’t at a stable location yet, your body started to feel vaguely sick at the constant movement of the car.
You’re grateful that the car stops for a moment, you’re hoping Joshua takes a bit longer than expected to come out of the rink so that your body can stop feeling off center.
Unfortunately, he’s quite prompt, you notice him walking out only a few minutes later. He’s accompanied by two other staff members, seemingly debriefing him on your arrival as you see one of them point to the car.
You suddenly feel acutely aware of how disheveled you look in your inconspicuous airport outfit, barely awake enough to make proper conversation with him.
He arrives at the other back car door quickly, opening it with a big smile.
“Y/N! Hi, I’m so happy to finally see you again,” He’s excited, settling into the backseat across from you, slightly more perky than you expected.
“Hi,” You wave back politely, pushing your voice up an octave to match his energy that is nearly impossible to replicate in your current mood.
“I’m sure you must be exhausted, it was a long flight wasn’t it?” His brows furrow slightly, and his concern is evident on his face.
“Yeah, I’m still pretty tired,” You offer him a halfhearted smile.
“Well, we can recover once we’re at my place. We’ll have time to catch up on everything,” He reassures you with a nod.
He notices you’re still out of it, so you don’t talk for the rest of the ride to his house.
Through heavy eyelids, you steal a few looks at him and he really is as pretty as you remember. His boyish features filled out his face much better now, although he was always handsome.
You’re not sure how long his practice day was, but it surely didn’t show in his features. He caught you looking at him only once, you tried to be discreet while he was looking at his phone, but he still saw you.
It seemed like he had a sixth sense to know when someone was looking at him which, if anything, made it a bit more embarrassing to get caught.
He let you off easy though, smiling at you before turning his attention back to his phone.
It was a tiny gesture, but it reminds you just how much he seems to notice you.
You wouldn’t say you’re best friends or anything, but talking to Joshua for an extended period of time has made you miss being around him in person. His energy has always been the same after so long.
“So you just casually stumbled into an interview with Dwayne the Rock Johnson?” He’s somehow fully astonished at your celebrity interview stories, you notice the sparkle in his eyes and his smile is radiant, but you think that’s just the alcohol creeping up on him.
You both agreed to a drink after coming back to the house, you chose wine while he opted for beer. This has made the mood considerably less awkward and you’re grateful that you both pushed past the mandatory small talk.
“Yeah, the interviewer before me canceled so I got more time with him than I intended. Then the whole viral interview video happened,” You wave your hand before taking another sip of your glass.
“You say that as if it’s normal,” He pushes his hair back, slightly exposing his forehead. That was surprising coming from him, considering that he is far more famous than you would ever be. Yet, you assume that it’s because he’s famous in a more traditional sense, so content creation was never a part of his job to begin with.
“Well, it is if you’re good at it, which I am,” You brag, receiving a hearty laugh from him.
“Look at you, big shot,” He playfully swats your arm. “You really made it, huh?” He’s fond, his glance is soft and yearning for more. It’s far too sentimental for where you wanted this to go tonight, but you play along for a moment.
“I did,” Your cheeks are slightly too warm as you avoid his eye contact with a small smile, but you still have control over yourself. You decide to take advantage of it.
“I want to get some stuff recorded for the interview if that’s okay?” You don’t know why you ask for permission to start interviewing, seeing as it’s the entire reason you’re here in the first place.
“That’s fine,” He straightens up a bit, he doesn’t seem too affected by the alcohol either which will make this a bit easier.
“We’ll keep it pretty light today, considering this is just the first day.”
“I’m good with that,” He chuckles lightly. You know he’s watching you struggle to figure out the best way to interview him. It’s too much effort to find your laptop which is somewhere tucked away in a carry-on bag, so you settle for your phone.
“Ok, so,” you fumble with your phone’s record button on the Voice Memos app for a moment, “tell me your general feelings about the Olympics coming up.”
“I’m excited, I missed being in full competition prep mode. It’s an indescribable feeling, but everything is coming together nicely which is all I can ask for on the 4th time around,” He had a vague joy in his eyes, but you didn’t want to scrutinize the answer just yet, it was only the first question.
“What does full competition prep mode look like for you?”
“My practice days are much longer than usual, so I’m in the rink most days from sunrise to sunset, if I can help it,” He smiles sheepishly. That charm seems like it’s going to seep through every response he gives you, so he can possibly get away with some things.
“What do you like to do to destress after such long practice days?”
His eyes light up at the idea and he readjusts his position on the couch. “I like taking a cold shower and catching up on reality TV, I honestly like anything trashy.”
You didn’t peg Joshua to be a reality TV person, but it’s the exact kind of pop culture talk that his fans will eat up.
“Okay, then which one do you prefer, The Bachelor or Love Island?” You ask curiously.
“Love Island, easily,” He replies immediately. He smirks and you nod in affirmation. You knew he had good taste, you figure you’d have to ask him about some other TV preferences later.
“Good, that was the right answer,” You shoot back. You decide to drink the rest of your wine instead of nursing it any longer.
“Asking the tough questions, clearly,” He’s way too smug about it and it makes you roll your eyes.
“Shut up, I told you we’re keeping it light! Unless you want to be asked about the future of your career while we drink,” Now it’s your turn to touch his arm, your hand intentionally doesn’t linger for too long though.
“I don’t, you’re right,” You know he’s not lying by the way he lets out a deep breath. There’s an unspoken tension at the thought of you bringing everything up.
“Okay, one more dumb non-skating question.”
“They’re not dumb,” He immediately catches your words and you blink at him, silently watching his face. He stares back, but his expression is slightly tender. Again, his face is almost too sweet for you to process. It threw you off this time though, so you have to look at the floor. You don’t even remember the question you meant to ask him, so you opt for a way out.
“Stop it.”
“What?” He genuinely looks confused, as if he’s not unconsciously doing the standard heartthrob boyfriend-esque banter.
“That was too nice,” You pick up your phone to stop the recording, still not facing him. Your body language is slightly more closed off.
“You act like you’ve never been complimented before,” He retorts.
You couldn’t say that it was different because he said it, you couldn’t give a shit if some random A-lister made you feel better about your work, but it was him.
“I’m not used to your compliments,” You indirectly emphasize him.
“Well, we’ll have to change that then,” He smirks.
That stirs something up in your chest, but you can’t quite name it. You decide it’s best to ignore it.
“Great. So are you gonna make me dinner or are we ordering somewhere?”
“I’m definitely not cooking,” He lets out a clipped laugh, shaking his head in disapproval. To be fair, he exerted more physical effort in a day than you’d do in an entire calendar year, so you weren’t exactly offended.
The night spun on with cheap pizza and varying levels of conversations. He even convinced you to watch Love Island, albeit one episode, until he decided he was too tired to continue.
He gives you a short tour of the guest room before retreating to his own room, and you finally get a moment to sit with your thoughts.
Joshua is friendlier than you expected and that was going to cause problems whether you liked it or not.
Although it was your first full day in town, the jetlag caught up with you almost immediately. Joshua mentioned last night that he would be at meetings throughout the afternoon, so you were grateful that you didn’t have to tag along.
Once you were thoroughly awake, you decided to investigate the house. As you suspected, it was far too big for him, especially considering he wasn’t home enough to enjoy it anyways.
The style of the house is typical celebrity fare, far too angular and minimalist for your taste. The shades of white, gray, and black that decorated his furniture and appliances were anything but inviting. It was all far too muted in your opinion and it made you miss the character of your apartment.
Besides a few framed photos of what you assume to be his family and friends along with some light decor, it looks like it could be plucked right off of a Zillow listing.
Even if you wanted to write some flowery prose about his house for the article, it leaves much to be desired.
“Are you settled in?” Your manager asks over the phone. She promised not to call you after this initial check in, but you figured she’d find other ways to be nosy about how things are going. She was a fan of Joshua, so her prying for extra details wouldn’t be completely unexpected.
“Yeah, everything’s been good,” You shared, completely nestled onto the couch with a blanket.
“How’s Joshua?” She inquires with a slight lilt.
“He’s doing well. We’ve already got some parts for the interview, but I haven’t seen him skate yet,” You recall the banter of last night with a small smile. You were both being friendly, it was completely harmless.
“Well, you still have a lot of time for that, but I’m glad you’ve made some progress. I’ll let you go, but let me know if you need anything.”
“I will,” You respond. You exchange goodbyes and go back to mindlessly scrolling on Twitter.
“Were you talking shit about me?” Joshua asks. You whip your head around to notice him watching you, completely unsuspecting in his business casual attire. You shriek in fear, clutching the blanket before reaching over to throw a pillow at his face. He narrowly avoids it with a massive grin on his face.
“Jesus, you scared the hell out of me,” You sigh, pressing a hand to your chest to check your racing pulse.
“I’m light on my feet.”
“Yeah, clearly,” You grumbled.
“You look very comfortable,” He teases, pointing to your current seating position with a chuckle. Your body is completely wrapped up minus your head. It probably looks quite funny by the way he bites his tongue with a childish smile.
“I am. How were the meetings?” You deflect the attention onto him instead.
“Productive,” He walks around to join you on the couch, landing next to you with a sigh.
“Anything worth breaking an NDA over?”
He rolls his eyes. “Absolutely not,” He scoffed.
“Worth a try,” You finally free your arms from the blanket, but you’re still wearing a hoodie.
“Why did you need the blanket if you’re wearing a hoodie?” He asks politely, pointing to your chest.
“I get cold easily!” You protest.
This oversized maroon hoodie was your signature writing piece, you absolutely needed to wear it for big projects or else you wrote pure shit.
You’ve had it since you started writing professionally, a random thrift store find that has given you incredible luck over the years. It’s helped you through many long nights of writing and editing throughout your career.
Thus, you put it on in an attempt to stir up some inspiration, but to no avail.
Joshua is charmed by this backstory though, nodding along with his head in the palm of his hand.
“You think it’s dumb,” You’re projecting onto him, without a doubt.
“No, it’s not! It’s actually very cute. You can wear it to the rink later.”
“We’re still doing that?” You grimace. He joked that he was going to take you out onto the ice, but doing it this early into the trip felt like overkill.
“Unfortunately, yes,” He pouts. “I’m forcing you out of the house so that you don’t steal my blankets.”
“Very rude.”
The rink is far bigger than you could’ve imagined. You haven’t been in many throughout your life, but since it functions partly as a stadium, it makes you feel even smaller.
He leads you to the check in booth to introduce you to the staff onsite for the day. If he’s coming to practice solo, he remarks that the employees only door is typically unlocked for him, and his suspicions are correct.
“Hey, man, it’s good to see you again,” Joshua embraces a taller man into a hug once he walks through the door. “Cheol, this is Y/N,” He glances between the two of you with a hopeful smile.
“Y/N, this is Seungcheol.”
“Hi,” You wave politely and everything starts to register for you. You’ve known of Seungcheol for a long time through Joshua’s social media, you knew they were longtime friends and Joshua was always open about being close with Seungcheol’s family.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. Josh has told me a lot about you, you’re always a hot topic around here,” Seungcheol smirks to Joshua’s dismay.
“Not in a bad way, everybody loves your writing,” Joshua tries to diffuse the tension with a short smile.
“Is Sumin here?” He switches the topic completely, looking around to the back door for any sign of life.
“Yeah, she’s just with her mom. I’ll go get her,” Seungcheol replies before heading further back into the venue.
It’s another minute or two before he comes back with a toddler in his arms, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Joshua. She squirms in Seungcheol’s hold until he puts her down, and she takes off running until Joshua catches her in his arms.
“Joshie,” she screams into his ear. He spins her around for a moment until she’s giggling uncontrollably. It was absolutely adorable, it even got a smile out of you.
“Hi Minnie, how are you?” He’s beaming from ear to ear at her.
“Good,” she nods decisively. He points to you before introducing you to her.
“That’s Y/N. She’s a good friend of mine, can you say hi?” He coaxes her with a gentle voice.
“Hi,” She waves and Joshua is celebrating her again with a small kiss on the cheek. He seems like such a natural with her, it’s as if she’s his own daughter.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” You wave back and she offers you a shy smile.
“I have to go, but I’ll just be skating out there with Y/N, okay?” He reassures her with a sweet pat to her hair before handing her off to Seungcheol.
She puts her head on Seungcheol’s shoulder with another nod. “Out there,” she points to the ice.
“Yep. Be good for dad, I’ll see you later,” He winks at her before leading you both out to the ice.
Your heart is warm from the entire interaction. He sits down on the bleachers and you land next to him, silently placing his duffel bag onto the ground.
He unzips it to reveal your skates. He ordered them before you arrived, promising that he would get you to skate at some point during the trip. You just didn’t predict it would be this early on.
“How old is she?” You asked, toeing off your sneakers before putting on the skates one at a time.
“Two,” He smiles fondly at the thought of her. “Cheol and his wife are such good parents, they were worried about being too young but they’re perfect to her.”
“So you’re her godfather, I assume?”
“Is it that obvious?” He scrunches his face. He turns his attention to his skates for a moment, quickly lacing them up and tightening them. You didn’t even notice him taking off his other shoes.
“Yeah, you definitely gave off dad vibes, but it was sweet.”
“Him and his family have done so much for me, I couldn’t say no. I also helped him ask out his wife on their first date, so it was inevitable,” He pushes his hair out of his face with a grin.
“They helped you adjust here, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll always be grateful for them. It started with discounted rental fees because I couldn’t afford to use the space, so I owe a lot to them. I pay them back in any way I can,” He nodded solemnly.
He has a deep sense of gratitude that is admirable, it makes you wonder what it’s like to be so deeply initiated into someone’s life that there’s no question if you’ll be there forever, it’s just a matter of what role you’ll play.
It made sense that Joshua knew the place so intimately, he was clearly a member of Seungcheol’s family. He grew up in this rink, watched his friends grow and start their families. It was a safe haven.
“Are you ready to skate?”
“Barely.”
“That’s the spirit,” He rubs your shoulder before standing up. You also stand up, albeit far more slowly, facing toward the ice.
You’ve gone ice skating multiple times in your life, but not enough to remember anything past the basics. You step onto the ice, but you already feel like the surface is going to give out any second.
Joshua notices you start to flail and rushes to place a protective arm around your waist. “Are you okay?”
“No,” You squeeze your eyes shut and are already considering admitting defeat. The idea of voluntarily skating with an Olympic gold medalist had to be the worst idea you’ve had in a long time.
“Do you want me to get you the walker?” He asks sweetly. There’s absolutely no malice there, but it still feels slightly patronizing.
“Joshua, that’s not funny,” You whine, anxiously looking down at your skates.
“I’m not joking, I’m just giving you options!”
“No, I don’t need it. I just got nervous,” You reassure yourself. That was the truth, it was mostly the shock of being on the ice again after such a long time.
“Ok, so if I let go, you’ll be fine?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’m letting go. Just bend your knees if you think you’re gonna fall,” He slowly moves away from you, looking expectantly to see how you’ll fare on your own. His advice works and you find your balance without too much effort. You do remember how to move forward on skates, so you decide to impress him a bit.
You move easily, pushing your back leg out and to the side before alternating legs, making your way across the ice without much issue. He is visibly impressed, gasping at you with his arms crossed.
“You’re so good! I thought you were a beginner,” He praises you while skating over to your side.
“I am! I don’t know anything other than this.”
“That’s fine, then we can just expand on that skill today. Nothing crazy, I promise,” He calms your nerves with a gentle hand on your shoulder.
The skill in question is extending the standard forward movements into drawn out strokes, so it appears as though you’re gliding instead of walking on the ice. You would leave that back leg out for longer periods to create a more elegant appearance when you move forward. When he demonstrates the move, you’re mesmerized. No matter how many times you’ve seen him do the same moves, there’s still an enchanting quality to his skating.
He can elevate any move without much effort, but that is clearly from years worth of work and persistence into making his moves clean.
Joshua is an incredibly patient teacher, far more than you expected. There’s absolutely no frustration when you make a mistake, just a quiet encouragement to keep going.
When you unexpectedly lose your balance, he’s making sure you fall backwards so as to not injure your hands. When you’re visibly frustrated, he lets you take a break for a few minutes to regroup. There’s a level of care you didn’t expect, but then again, it’s Joshua. He couldn’t ignore your requests for help even if he wanted to.
You’re not ready to do full out spins or jumps yet, but you are instilled with a new confidence that you can at least try something new without getting immediately discouraged.
“Are you good with finishing up there?”
“Yeah, I feel good. I do need something from you, though.”
“And what is that?”
“Your best jump.”
“Best jump?” He looks back at the ice before facing you again, seemingly considering all his options. Despite all of your years of supporting him, you still didn’t know the difference between the jumps, but you figure it’s best not to ask for more explanation than this.
“Pretty please?” You flash a smile that he can’t deny. He lets out a quiet laugh and his eyes search the ground for a moment before he nods.
“Okay, I’ll do a quadruple jump combo, but only because you asked so nicely,” He sighs, squaring his shoulders for a moment.
“I appreciate it a lot,” You amp up the compliments in hopes that he doesn’t change his mind.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” He skates away from you to find a solid starting position. You move to a corner wall to observe and stay out of the way.
He takes a deep breath before starting his entrance, snapping through both jumps with ease. He landed evenly, coming out into a pose for you, his arms pointed up with flair before putting them down again.
“Very impressive,” You compliment him.
“It was, wasn’t it?” His breathing is a bit uneven once he comes up to you again. You smile at his cockiness, but it’s well earned.
He restrains himself from practicing any further or else he’ll be here for hours on end, but that’s not too different from most days. He tells you this is one of his shorter visits, somehow being here for under 3 hours is an accomplishment worth celebrating.
You both say goodbye to Seungcheol and Sumin before heading out to his car. You climb into the passenger seat while he adjusts his seatbelt. He decides to let you interview him while he’s driving although you were fine with waiting until you were back at his home.
“So this current practice routine is the most intense level you’ve been at in the past 4 years?”
“Yeah, I slowly had to work it up to this point after the injury. It was almost painful to slow down that much, but I needed to,” He focuses on the road while responding. You’ve opted for writing notes on your phone and recording at the same time.
“How did it initially feel for you to go through it?”
“I hated it. I didn’t break my ankle normally either, so it wasn’t just the typical advice of staying off your ankle for 8 weeks. It took so much longer than everyone anticipated and I had to genuinely stop everything I was doing,” He tightens his grip on the steering wheel to your slight shock.
“I’m sure it was frustrating to not be able to enjoy that podium moment either.”
“Right, it was as if I didn’t even make the podium. I got 3rd place, but it was so excruciating to even be up there, I didn’t feel like I earned it,” He looks visibly upset just recounting it to you. It hurts to hear just how insecure he became afterwards. In hindsight, it makes sense that he didn’t want to spend time discussing it. Back then, the radio silence just made you hope that he was taking care of himself, not feeling pressured to keep anyone updated. Why would he want to constantly relive and dissect that kind of trauma?
“Do you ultimately want to redeem that moment?”
“I hope so. There’s always pressure to constantly outdo yourself, but I just want to finish the routines safely. That’s all I want,” He nods solemnly and you automatically believe him. Although he’s safely finished the other competitions within a season, there’s still an underlying fear of things going wrong at the worst possible moment.
“From what I saw today, you’re being careful,” You assure him. It’s not wrong to say that either, especially when he was helping you with the execution of the moves earlier. When he was done showing you a certain idea, he didn’t linger in the pose too long at all. It felt like he was overly cautious if anything, but you didn’t want to shift the mood too drastically.
“That’s from all the paranoia, trust me. I don’t want to feel afraid to compete, I want to break out of that habit,” He finally glances at you for a moment.
You’re grateful that he seems to echo your internal sentiment. There was never an air of hesitation around his skating, he was always quite self-assured in himself, but you both know that never conquering your fears could indefinitely stunt your growth. He obviously needed as long as possible to rebuild his self image and confront his fears.
“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll find that courage again,” You place a hand on his shoulder. The tension settles almost immediately at your touch.
“You think so?”
“I know you will. It’s either that or withdrawing from the Olympics which just sounds like a lot of paperwork, honestly,” You joke.
“You’re right, it’s a shit ton of paperwork,” He giggles and readjusts his hands on the wheel again.
You knew that last part wouldn’t be used for your final work, but it’s nice to hear him joke about it all. You liked being there for him as a friend, even if you’d never know exactly what it’s like to be in his position. He deserves that kind of empathy that’s not hollow or backhanded, you figure that’s the least you could do for him while being here.
You could finally even out the foundation of friendship in this way, silently repairing all the mistakes you’ve made in the past in regards to your relationship.
He’s able to talk a bit more about his recovery before the end of the drive and you feel satisfied by the end of the night. Over dinner, it feels like everything is evolving, not just the article itself. He’s opened himself up a bit further and you’d like to treasure that.
“You don’t have to stay the entire time, you know that right?” He turns his glance toward you away from the ice with a smirk playing on his lips.
The infamous 12-hour practice day had arrived, and you were dreading it the most out of the week’s schedule. Yet, you were committed to being as involved in his daily life as possible, despite your natural aversion to waking up at dawn. You didn’t want to be one of those writers that holed up in their hotel room to write their assigned article. It was typically out of your control how much time you were allowed to spend with a subject, but if given the option to spend more time with them, you wanted to take it.
Since it was Joshua, you still felt obliged to play catch up on spending time with him in any way you could, even if it meant watching him from the bleachers for an entire work day. Plus, you were already at the rink this early, there was no use in leaving to do touristy things alone when you didn’t necessarily want to do that anyways.
“I know, but I want to,” You retorted. He gives you that “you’re gonna eat your words” look, but he still accepts your answer.
“Are you still up to be interviewed once you’re done practicing?”
“Yeah, I should be good,” He takes a deep breath once he replies, seemingly preparing himself for the painstakingly long day ahead of him.
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it then,” You wave at him and he returns it immediately. You head up the bleachers to find a good seat, ending up somewhere towards the lower half of the seating. You wanted to be in a good position where you could view the full scope of his skating, but also capture the details of his face. Your position ends up being perfect, it makes watching him even more fascinating.
He does most of his stretches further away from you, so you’re caught craning your neck to see him. His muscles are well defined, a fact that you’ve been trying to ignore as the bulk of his arms seem to fight against the sleeves of his shirt as he stretches his limbs above his head.
His warm-up is calm yet still dynamic to watch. His jumps are so effortless that your head spins just thinking about the physics of jumping up into a spin and somehow not falling on your ass as you land.
Yet, he lands them perfectly every time. You know that’s not possible, that there’s probably some small tweak he’d make to the way he entered a jump or a correction he’d make to the angle of his landing, but you were fine living in ignorant bliss of the technical aspects of his skating.
You wanted yourself to enjoy being a spectator, to not fixate on every single detail, and simply enjoy an elite athlete being good at their sport.
He takes a small breather but soon goes into his assumed short program. Most diehard Olympics fans would kill to see even a glimpse of his routines for the impending games, but like any other figure skater, the details are carefully kept under lock and key until the competition begins.
You try to savor the image of him without the full theatrics of the actual performance, and the sight of him is enchanting.
His short program music is a bombastic and dynamic classical piece that forces you to focus on every detail of the performance. It’s a triumphant number, one that exudes the confidence and charisma of an experienced skater that knows the nuances of the song like the back of their hand. You decide that it suits him perfectly as he expresses the power of the song through cutthroat expressions and sharp movements.
After running through the full routine a few times, you notice him stop to take an extended break. He skates back to your side of the rink with a smile on his face.
“Falling asleep yet?” He jokes.
“Not yet,” you return the smile, your cheeks practically hurt just looking at him. It’s nearly impossible to avoid watching him, he’s always had this magnetic charm on the ice that makes him hard to ignore.
“Good, I haven’t bored you yet. How’s the writing coming?”
You glance at your laptop on the seat next to you, accompanied by scattered papers on top of the keyboard. The writing was mostly on pause considering the unusual environment, you didn’t ever write with the same classical song blasting in your ears on repeat.
Also, he was skating, so every time you thought you got into a good rhythm with writing, your eyes drifted back to him gliding across the ice. The sound of his skates hitting the ice was hard to ignore.
“It’s coming,” You lie easily. A quick tilt of his head signals that he knows you’re bluffing.
“Lots of strategizing, huh?” He doesn’t let on though, pointing at your notes instead and you’re nodding slowly.
“You’re not an easy person to write about,” You give him a pointed look and he’s grinning.
“So I’ve heard,” You’re glad he has some level of self-awareness. You’re not trying to give writers who are purposefully uninformed about his career when tasked to write a meaningful piece about him any credit, but he was a somewhat difficult subject.
Not in the traditional ways, of course, he’s not storming out of interviews over small details, but he’s so polished that it’s impossible to get much depth out of him beyond his typical media-trained answers.
You always heard the same things about him from other entertainment writers. He was perfectly kind and respectful to work with, but you would have to try especially hard to break him out of his mold.
Even if you felt that you knew him, you didn’t really know him at all.
The thought sits in the back of your mind like an unwanted guest.
“That means you actually have to keep giving me something to work with,” You sigh, gesturing your hands out toward him.
“We’ll see,” He playfully eyes you up and down, but it has a serious undertone. You’ve made some good progress, but you didn’t want to torture him for details. It wasn’t worth being invasive of his boundaries just to make a better article.
He skates off without another word and he’s back in the throes of practicing the routine. After a bit more technical work on the short program, he moves on to the free program.
The music is drastically calmer, it creates a stark contrast to his first routine. It’s still classical, you’d have to inquire exactly what track it was, but the mood of the piece was much lighter. It was smart of him to represent the full duality of his skating abilities.
His movements are almost fairylike, his delicate spins are effortless to watch. This doesn’t undercut the power of his jumps though, still as dramatic as ever. This routine contains far more quadruple jumps than the short program, likely in an effort to show off his technical prowess.
He wasn’t called the “technical prince” for nothing. It’s a nickname that’s been floating around the fandom since your early blog days, first used when fans noticed that young Joshua’s technical scores at competitions were almost always perfect. It’s followed him for years, evolving to show how clean his technique is.
He’s the textbook example of a good figure skater.
Once he finishes the routine, you can tell his stamina is reasonably depleted. From your occasional glances, you can tell it’s quite taxing to do multiple quadruple jump combinations in a row, yet he pulls it off every time.
The rest of the day consisted of him alternating between the routines, cleaning up details that he wasn’t happy with, and practicing the execution of his moves until he finally seemed satisfied with them. After a while, you figure you can’t write much else for this portion of the article without interviewing him again, so you settle further into the unforgivingly cold seats to watch him intently.
“Y/N!” He calls your name suddenly, waving his hand from across the rink.
“What?”
“It’s time to go home,” He beckons his hand for you to come toward him. You don’t hesitate to pack your laptop and assorted notes back into your purse, rushing over to meet up with him on his side of the rink. You don’t exactly know how to process being included in the concept of his home, even though you know it’s a harmless statement.
By the time you reach the other side, he’s already taken his skates off and replaced them with sneakers, his leg anxiously bouncing up and down as he watches you come over. He’s sat toward the end of the bleachers and you can sense that his body is ready to get moving.
“I just have to get a few things from the locker room and I’ll be ready to go. Do you want to go back there with me?” He looks toward the lengthy hallway behind him before looking back at you in anticipation. You didn’t go the first day he invited you to the rink out of an abundance of caution, mostly for your own heart’s sake.
You could keep yourself under control watching him collect his things, right?
“Yeah, I’ll go,” You nod decisively. He gets up and leads you through the hallway until you arrive at a private locker room, the door is adorned with a small nameplate with his name on it. He downplays how fancy it actually is, but it feels like a miniature hotel suite. In addition to the dressing room itself, it also contains a full private bathroom and sizable closet.
“Damn,” you mutter under your breath, looking around the room and taking in the full scope of it.
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” He adds. You’re still looking around and trying not to touch anything in fear of breaking something.
You turn around to voice your opinions, but you notice something else.
Joshua is shirtless. You weren’t exactly objectifying him, but it was definitely hard to not look at him. He’s taking a moment to wipe off the sweat across his chest, it feels a bit pornographic to keep looking at that point. The next time you look, he thankfully has a shirt on so your cheeks can stop fully burning at the sight of him.
He doesn’t notice your stare, but you do observe the shirts that fall to the floor when Joshua accidentally knocks his duffel bag onto the ground.
“I’ve got it,” You chirp, already reaching down to pick everything up.
“It’s okay,” Joshua hurriedly shoulders the bag back onto the bench, double checking that it’s not hanging off precariously like last time.
Your heads both come up at the same time, your faces only a few inches away from each other.
“Are you gonna move?” You inquire quietly. He stares back, obviously in no rush to fold. His glance is tempting, everything about him is tempting.
“Do you want me to move?” He counters.
Shit.
You didn’t want him to at all, the idea of him walking away makes you want to scream. The tension has been mounting the past few days whether you wanted to admit it or not. At first, you chalked it up to him just being a gentleman, but there was always a hint of something else there. His politeness toward his staff was completely different to the kindness he offered you.
The lingering glances on you when he’s cooking, his particularly fond smiles while you talk about something, and the soft touches all add up in your brain.
Now that you were in a different setting, it was crystal clear to you. If there was ever a sign, this was it.
“No,” You shake your head.
“Can I?” He asks and your heart has already melted into a puddle. No one ever asks you for a kiss. You’re not sure if you would’ve rejected him to begin with, but the tenderness leaves you enthralled.
You nod and he meets your lips with ease. He tastes better than you could’ve ever imagined. It doesn’t take long for you to move further into the kiss, pushing your tongue into his mouth. He accepts you and naturally picks up the pace, capturing your lips over and over again leaving you few chances to catch your breath.
“Shit,” You step back first and he’s clearly confused.
“Are you ok? We don’t have to do this,” His voice is far too worried for what you’re actually thinking about, poor thing.
“No, I’m fine, I just remembered that I didn’t get to interview you,” You pout. You genuinely feel guilty for not mentioning it before the lust took over your mind, but it still needed to get off your chest.
“That’s okay, we can just do it here,” He reassures you with a nod.
“No,” you caress his arm, “not here.”
It clicks once you start running your hand up and down his bicep, eventually resting your palm on the side of his neck. The gesture is enough to make him arrange his bag faster than you’ve seen him move the entire trip.
“God, you taste so fucking good,” Joshua moans into your ear, momentarily taking his lips off yours to catch his breath. You can’t even form sentences at this point, only quiet moans that show your dissolving restraint. He can tell you’re getting tired of holding back too, in fact it seems to bother him quite a bit.
“I wanna hear you,” He whispers again, he suddenly nips your ear in retaliation for being quiet.
It forces a whiny moan out of your throat, it’s embarrassing to bend so easily to him but his quiet humming on your neck is enough indication to you that he’s satisfied.
He insisted on driving you both home and for good reason, he was so helplessly horny that he couldn’t keep his hand off your thigh for the entire drive home. You felt him snake his hand underneath your skirt, but he didn’t go much further than that, his thumb idly rubbing circles on your inner thigh.
The moment you both walked inside the house, Joshua couldn’t contain himself at all against your lips, thus you were barely standing up against the door.
“Josh, please,” you breathe out. Your voice is weak, you can’t even pretend to have your guard up anymore.
“What’s up?” He barely gets it out before his lips are on yours again. You whimper into the kiss again, tapping your hands against his chest to get his attention. You manage to pull away to speak up.
“Please tell me you’re not gonna fuck me against the door,” You pant, looking up at him with a smirk.
He takes a deep breath and tilts his head to look at you intently. You almost think he’s angry until he suddenly picks you up bridal style, ignoring your startled scream with a smile.
He leads you upstairs into his bedroom and tosses you on the bed lightly, you lean back onto your elbows as he inches closer to you.
“You’re so fucking impatient, you know that?” He giggles at you, hands slowly prying open your thighs with gentle hands. You try not to hold your breath in anticipation, but the touch of his fingertips against your skin is already driving you insane.
“You made us rush home because you swore that you needed to get more material for the interview,” He speaks in a low tone, sliding his hands underneath your skirt again, but his hands stop at your hips, massaging the fabric of your underwear.
“I did, I mean, I do,” You stutter out, making eye contact with him. He laughs at your attempt to be coherent and hooks his fingers under both sides of your underwear. He decides to slip the entirety of his hands underneath, seizing your hips with outstretched palms. He yanks you down the bed in one swift movement, making you gasp.
“You kept teasing me with this skirt, ignoring me and acting like you weren’t already soaked for me back at the rink,” He palms the front of your cunt, confirming how desperate you’ve been for him. It makes you shudder and squeeze your eyes closed.
“No no no, baby, keep your eyes open. You’re gonna interview me right now,” He nods at you and your heart drops to your stomach. You’re already somewhat close to cumming, you’re convinced that a single touch to your clit would send you over the edge.
How the hell were you meant to interview him like this?
“Fuck,” You whine, hips already lifting off the bed to gain more friction.
“I know, honey, you have to focus. Can you do that or do you need my cock that badly?” He teases you with lustful eyes and you clench your jaw. You’re determined to prove him wrong, so you put your energy into contemplating a question to start with.
“I can focus, asshole,” You begrudgingly shift your hips to give him better access. You shake your head and come up with a question on the spot, eyes trained on his expectantly.
“What’s a common misconception about your public persona that you hate?” Your voice holds steady and he slides your underwear off quickly.
He hums to himself for a moment, deciding to graze a finger lazily against your folds. “I’m not a people pleaser or a pushover. People think me being a gentleman means I take all kinds of shit, but I don’t,” He slips two fingers into your core, a light smile plays on his lips when he feels you clench around him.
“So you think people in the industry look down on you for that?” You hear your voice lilt for a second as he finds a steady rhythm, curling his fingers instinctively. Your hips are rocking subtly and he clocks this immediately, he moves to cage you between his legs.
“I know they do,” He confirms with a lift of his eyebrows, “especially when I was younger. It fucked with my mentality a lot, but I know better now,” He adds when he sees your pout. He moves up to your chest, tugging your shirt up slightly. He moves back to let you take off your top and bra, but his fingers are still expertly moving inside your walls. The sound of your wetness is absolutely stealing your focus, especially when Joshua decides to force his fingers inside you even harder with low grunts.
He’s an absolute menace, you’re sure of it.
You only nod to his answer, but he disapproves at your silence. “Come on, you know the rules,” He moves up to capture your nipple in his mouth, eliciting soft moans out of you. Your orgasm is definitely on the horizon, the coil in the pit of your stomach is tightening with every bite to your chest.
“So I assume you channel a lot of frustration into your-” He hits your g-spot particularly hard, you let out a strangled cry that forces a tear down your cheek. You clamp a hand over your mouth, but Joshua is already pushing it off your face to leave a peck on your lips.
“Your skating, shit,” You whisper, you force his head back down to meet your lips in a heated kiss. Your tongue enters his mouth with no hesitation and he returns the kiss just as eagerly. He pulls back after a few seconds and leaves a kiss on your cheek.
“Definitely. People can say whatever they want about me, but I know I’m talented. I don’t have to resort to making shit up about my competitors to compensate for a lack of talent,” He laughs at the idea of being that desperate for attention. It makes your walls flutter around his fingers.
“You like it when I hype myself up, huh?” You watch him move to the crook of your neck, biting down hard on an exposed part of your skin.
“Yes, yes yes,” You slur out, eyes fluttering shut. He giggles at your temporary lack of attention before kissing across your jaw. He retreats back down to your thighs again, placing a finger against your clit.
“One more question and you can cum, I promise,” He nods at you and you return it after a moment, but it’s going to be an uphill battle to arrange your mushy brain into a proper thought.
“Do you think you’re the best figure skater in the world?” You sigh into the air, eyes rolling to the back of your head in frustration. It’s an absolutely loaded question, but you know his ego is massive right now since you’re in the palm of his hands.
His fingers still, the pressure remains deep in your core and he runs his free hand through his hair. The whole act would be far sexier than it already is if you weren’t seconds away from covering his fingers in cum.
He laughs quietly before speaking up again. “I do. We both know I am,” His voice is far too cocky for his own good. His stare is stone cold, he holds so much control over you that it’s almost unbearable.
“Now cum,” His nonchalance sends you over the edge instantly. Your high pitched moan goes completely silent, your mouth agape while your neck tilts back in an effort to regain control. Joshua slips his fingers out and moves up to your face, pressing them gently on your bottom lip. You suck them off immediately and watch him coo at you. “Good job, baby. Ready for anything else?”
“Can I take a nap?” You furrow your eyebrows at him, heart full of malice for his unexpectedly great oral skills, yet he’s still smitten with you.
Honestly, Joshua Hong was always gonna be great in bed. It’s not like you didn’t fantasize about having sex with him over the years, but you didn’t expect the prophecy to fulfill itself this easily.
Somehow, he got you all whiny and pliant when you didn’t expect it at all. It was annoying how well he could please you. You were slightly tired, but you didn’t want him to be a cocky shit on top of you again just yet. You needed to recover.
“Sure,” He finally got off the bed, presumably to help you clean up and your suspicions were correct when he returned a minute later with a damp washcloth. You started to sit up, but he made you lie down again.
Who were you to fight Joshua when he offered to tend to your shaking thighs and messy cunt? It was the least he could do after making you work for your orgasm.
The next morning, you’re shocked that Joshua is in bed next to you. He was always up and moving pretty early, deep into his morning routine while you were barely conscious.
You, on the other hand, were trying to treat this week partially as a vacation. When Joshua wanted to bring you along to his private schedules, you were still insistent on taking your time to get ready, much to his dismay.
Thus, you were grateful that he could actually slow down for one day while you were here. As your eyes adjusted to the sunlight filtering through the curtains, you realized this was the rest day placed onto his schedule for the week.
You look over to his sleeping form and realize that you’re deeply entangled with his body. Although you’re lying flat on your back, his head is tucked in the crook of your neck. You don’t dare to move your arms or legs though, as his body keeps you essentially trapped into place next to him.
Your minimal movements still stir him awake.
“Hi,” you whisper. He’s still forcing himself into consciousness, but he waves at you. You sit in silence for a few minutes, silently waking each other up with random touches on each other’s face or arms.
“We had sex three times last night, correct?” You ask out of the blue. He’s visibly confused at your sudden line of questioning.
“Not even a good morning?” He mutters, letting out a big yawn immediately after.
“No. I wanna know because I know you remember.”
“After that first part? I’m pretty sure it was three,” His voice is slightly hesitant, but you trust his answer considering he was dominant the entire time. You also wanted to know because it was becoming increasingly harder to deny how much you like him.
You have to admit, it was nice being able to have him like this, to watch him rub the sleep out of his eyes and cuddle without questioning if he wanted you back. He clearly did, even if his pride wouldn’t let himself say it. It was a matter of who would crack first, now that you’ve established the fact that you have undeniable sexual chemistry.
“How did you get me to go three more times?” This question is especially pertinent now that your muscles felt the aches to match that number. You can barely sit up against the headboard without wincing.
“You asked me to,” He put his hands up in defense.
You now remember that you did ask to keep going. The first time was standard, being called a cockslut during the second round made you go feral enough for a third, and the absolute filth of the last round knocked you out completely.
You were fucked, considering that you didn’t want to have sex with anyone else but only had access to said person for a few more days.
“Right,” You sigh.
“What are you planning to do today?”
“I’m gonna edit the article a bit, I’ve been putting it off. What about you?”
“Chores. I need to get a lot of things done, but remind me to run you a bath at some point today. Your muscles hurt, right?” He’s already out of the bed, stretching his arms above his head.
“Yeah, but I don’t-”
“No, I’m running you a bath. Us, technically since my muscles hurt too,” He raises his eyebrows at the thought of pampering himself, but he’s still insistent on the idea.
“Fine,” You bite back the rest of your response and he picks up on it immediately.
“No rebuttal?”
“No,” You pout, jutting your lip out to garner some kind of sympathy. He falls for it, approaching the bed again.
He leans down to leave a chaste kiss on your lips, his mouth naturally moving up to kiss your cheek as well.
“I promise it’ll be worth it, you’ll feel a lot better,” He softens his delivery for you and it barely hurts once he pulls away. He’s had that effect on you lately, his affection so irresistible that even the worst news has a slightly sweet aftertaste coming from him.
“Come on,” He taps his side of the bed to coax you up, and you slowly follow him.
The encouragement works though, as you’re both propelled into a productive afternoon. Joshua gets all of his chores done, somehow doing three loads of laundry and other assorted tasks while you’re editing.
Meanwhile, you’re firmly planted on the couch, trying to make the interview sound cohesive. You don't need to fully edit while you’re on the trip, that’s not even possible with what you have, but you wouldn’t feel right just leaving the entire process until you arrived home.
Joshua gives you an adequate amount of space, only stopping you to make sure you ate lunch or took a break from looking at your laptop screen.
They were welcome distractions, truly. If the process of trying to capture Joshua accurately in the article didn’t make any sense, it was nice to know the real Joshua was somewhere flitting around the house doing the dishes or vacuuming the living room.
Plus, it was nice to paint domestic scenes about him in your mind.
Joshua doesn’t take breaks much at all, this has been true for his entire career. He’s always competing, always performing, always doing someone a favor by being a guest of honor or special performer. It was nice to see him just exist, to fret over if he had enough laundry detergent for his next load and watch him sort his white clothes from his colorful wardrobe.
You wonder if these moments add up for him too, if he craves this kind of quiet domesticity at times.
He places a gentle hand on your shoulder and you look up at him.
“Can we take a bath now? Is it a bad time?” He worries, but you’re ready to pause.
“No, I’m ready,” You confirm. He helps you off the couch with a steady hand. You walk side by side on the way up the staircase this time, arms linked with hands untouched.
His master bathroom is just as simplistically ornate as you figured it would be. The bathtub overlooks the backyard, displaying a gorgeous view of the city skyline right above the trees.
The sun was about to set, so the view was even more picturesque than you could’ve imagined.
Throughout the day, your aches have been pressing at the back of your brain, interrupting your thought process multiple times, so much so that you don’t know why you fought him against this in the first place.
He opts for picking the right temperature for the water while he leaves you to pick out a calming scent to include in the bath.
You pick an expensive looking lavender bubble bath and he smiles when you place the bottle in his hands.
“I’ve been meaning to use this one, actually,” His eyes light up.
“Sure you have,” You sit down next to him, placing your head on his shoulder. You both observe the water slowly filling up the tub, he silently squeezes the bottle under the running water before retreating once the bubbles start to spread throughout the surface.
You both sit in silence just watching the water fill up, the sound of the faucet echoing throughout the room. Once the tub becomes noticeably fuller, he adds more bubble bath until the top is visibly covered with bubbles.
He insists on getting in first, stripping his clothes easily before settling into the tub slowly. You can already see the tension leave his muscles, especially on his face. His jaw loosens and he takes a deep breath.
He opens one eye and giggles when he sees you hesitate to enter. “Come on, I don’t bite,” He reassures you.
You move to take your clothes off in a few quick movements. He watches you with adoration, as if he’s never seen you naked before and he’d like to take it all in for a moment. Stepping into the tub isn’t too difficult, but when he suddenly pulls your waist down, the splashing startles you.
“Josh, you’re gonna get water everywhere,” you whine.
“You’re supposed to be relaxing, remember?” He pulls you flush against his chest. He punctuates his question with kisses behind your ear.
Right. You force yourself to take a breath and settle into his skin.
You know your skin is littered with light bruises from the night before and he seems to notice this, his hand silently tracing over the red marks before stopping near your collarbone.
Once he stops moving and you stop overthinking, the silence is perfect.
It’s not entirely silent, there’s still the hum of the overhead fan creating ambiance, but the dim lights pull you into the fantasy of it all.
You realize that you haven’t felt this peaceful in a long time. Perhaps it’s his presence or the fact that you haven’t sat in silence on your own in so long, but you want it more often.
You want him to envelop your life with his gentle reminders and caring gazes, silently telling you that there’s no point in working yourself to death if there’s no life for you to live outside of that.
“Joshua?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you ever want your career to slow down?”
He sighs so deeply that you feel it in your chest. “Is this off the record?”
“Yeah.”
“Then yes. I want to slow down so badly, it feels like my body is fighting back against how much I work sometimes,” His response is slightly pained, adjusting his body underneath you.
You pause for a few moments before speaking up again. “What’s stopping you?”
“I don’t-,” He hesitates.
“It’s okay,” Your voice mirrors the softness that he’s given you throughout the day. He gathers his thoughts for a second before trying again.
“I don’t know who I am as a person if I don’t work. This has been my entire life, if I get a few days to myself I feel like I’m going insane,” He sounds so tired of keeping up the charade, tired of being everyone’s perfect gentleman, just tired of it all.
“Have you told your team?”
“Yeah. After this Olympics cycle, I’m pulling back. I need to before it’s too late, you know?”
“Absolutely. I don’t want you to burn out even more.”
“I’ve been burnt out for ages, so what’s a little bit longer,” He chuckles bitterly. It felt like a poor response the moment you said it, but something in you hoped it wasn’t wrong to be concerned.
“So you’re gonna do the charity skate tomorrow even though you’re burnt out,” You predict.
“I mean, yeah, the skating itself isn’t the problem. I love performing, I’m just not built to keep going without consistent breaks anymore,” He reasoned.
It made complete sense knowing how quickly his career ascended once he entered the elite circuit. He hasn’t left the top 10 of the World Standings since his first full elite competition season which is incredibly hard for anyone to keep up throughout their career.
It’s no wonder that he’s tired of keeping an unmanageable pace.
“I’m sorry,” You whisper. You don’t know what else to say. What could you even tell him?
“Please, it’s not your fault.”
“Do you want me to put this in the interview? Or just write some filler paragraph about it?” You giggle through the last question and he's amused as well.
“Filler, please. I’m confident you won’t make me sound like a dick,” He plants a kiss on your cheek as a silent thank you.
“I promise I won’t.”
“I am excited for the show tomorrow though,” He shifts the conversation and it’s a welcome change.
“Anything fun planned for your number?” You asked.
From what you’ve read, Joshua’s rink held the annual charity skate event in order to honor the professional skaters who train in their facilities, allowing them space to perform routines that they may not have had the chance to otherwise. Notoriously, skaters were extremely flashy with their songs and costumes since there was significant creative freedom.
“Not really, it’s nostalgic of my old numbers.”
“Will I remember it?”
“Definitely, it made your ranking of my best performances forever ago,” His laugh vibrates through your body.
“That list definitely holds up, by the way,” You defend your teenage choices blindly, you definitely hadn’t seen it since you posted it, but it’s nice that he actually remembered some of the content you posted.
“I know you’ll love it,” He presses a long kiss on your cheek once again, but lingers against your face this time.
You’re back to silence again for a few minutes.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other,” You apologized. You can sense that he’s already shaking his head no at your words before you can finish your sentence.
“It’s just as much my fault as it’s yours.”
“You know I was avoiding you, though,” You clarified.
“I noticed that,” You could tell that he was smiling through the response, it makes your cheeks burn.
“I was definitely doing the same though,” He immediately follows it up. In all honesty, it was a relief that both of you decided to bury yourselves in shaping your respective careers. You were unintentionally coping in the same ways, silently hoping the other person was making better choices.
Alas, you were too similar for that to be true.
“But you know what?”
“Hm?”
“I’m really proud of you. I haven’t told you that enough and I feel terrible. I should’ve been there for you,” he replies earnestly.
After all this time, he was proud of you. In retrospect, you thought you were too obsessive or had unintentionally crossed his boundaries as a fan. Yet, that was never the case. He was always grateful that you supported him at every turn, so why wouldn’t he return that gratitude to you?
You didn’t need his validation, the initial interview all those years ago was enough to satisfy you a million times over, but he needed to express it.
You were eternally grateful that he acted on that need.
However, that last part of the confession urges you to sit up completely. You turn your body as much as possible to face him without splashing the water too much.
“You were there for me.”
“Leaving comments on your Instagram is not supporting you in the way you need, you know that,” He counters.
He’s right. You adjusted your expectations for Joshua years ago, you weren’t happy with how things were, but you accepted that your communication would always be limited.
You didn’t have the courage to talk to him, you figured things would never change. It wasn’t smart, you wasted far too much time refusing to invest in your relationship simply because of your own cowardice.
It seems he also became content with barely doing enough.
“I’m sorry for doing the same thing.”
“This can be a truce, then. I want us to be closer if you want that,” He holds out his hand and you take it immediately.
“I absolutely want that,” You're grinning so hard that your cheeks hurt. “So this means you want to kiss me again?”
“You have a massive hickey on your neck and you don’t think I want to kiss you again?” He’s almost fed up, but that smirk tells you otherwise.
“I’m just making sure,” You lower your head coyly. “Come here, babe,” He beckons you over, but he’s too eager to let you make the entire distance. He captures your lips with ease, placing his hand on your cheek. You steady yourself with your hand on his arm, leaning into the kiss with a sense of urgency.
It’s only a few moments before you pull back. “Josh, the water is so fucking cold,” You laugh through your shivers.
He reaches behind you to open the drain and kisses you again. You can’t help but smile against his lips.
The new uncharted territory you’ve forged with him makes your skin burn with excitement.
As soon as you arrive at the backstage area of the rink, Joshua’s whisked away by his stylist and assistants to the dressing room. You’re escorted to a VIP viewing area towards the top of the rink, a lounge with access to multi-view screens and a bird’s eye view of the ice.
Before the show starts, you familiarize yourself with the other figure skaters performing tonight. You’ve heard of all of them to some extent, having watched them in anticipation of Joshua’s performances in the past at invitationals and other competitions. Tonight was no different, as Joshua would be the last skater performing tonight.
The marketing team knew exactly what they were doing with that decision.
There were definitely fans of the other skaters dispersed throughout the stadium, but most people you saw were Joshua fans, carrying slogans and wearing merch with his name on it.
Some people even recognize you on the way up to the VIP section which throws you for a loop. They were mainly shocked that you were even at this kind of event in the first place, but it felt validating to be complimented for something outside of him.
Although the other skaters are highly entertaining to watch, your mind feels ready to see Joshua perform. Their performances are satisfying, but that particular spark is missing. It feels reminiscent of when you’d anxiously stay up to watch livestreams of his performances at 3 am, live updating your followers on the exact time when Joshua would be performing.
It was bittersweet to be able to watch him in person. It’s been years since you’ve watched him perform in the flesh, but the circumstances feel perfectly aligned.
“Performing Every moment of you, please welcome Joshua Hong,” The announcer’s voice booms through the stadium speakers and the stadium erupts into cheers. The sight of him waving to the camera is enough to leave the stadium in shambles, so his steps onto the ice are even more precious.
The pink top was the right choice now that he’s about to perform. He made you pick between a few options earlier in the day, but the sheer sleeves and pastel color match the mood perfectly. His side parted hair is neatly styled and light makeup highlights his soft features. The lighting really does his face justice as he purses his lips slightly, adjusting his head slightly down to enter his starting pose.
He moves a hand onto his heart and tucks his right leg behind his left.
As soon as the music starts, your heart clenches.
He chose this particular song, out of all his older routines. This song was in constant rotation throughout his first elite competition season, you could practically see it in your sleep.
When you watch him, you notice that the routine has barely changed either, the step sequences are just as smooth as you remember with delicate flairs of his new style.
The music is somehow more emotional than you remember, a sign that his artistry evokes such a vivid image that you can only think of him and this particular routine when you hear the song.
The execution of his combination jumps are flawless as always, and the audience agrees with loud applause every time he lands them. It seems as though he doesn’t have to try as he glides around the rink, a dreamy expression paints his face as he visibly connects with the lyrics.
He always transformed into a new character in every routine while still maintaining his own distinct style, it was something you deeply admired about his skating.
Before you know it, the song slowly comes to a close and Joshua stands in that final pose you remember so well, his face settling into a soft smile.
The crowd is absolutely obsessed with him, you look to see that many people were on their feet for a standing ovation. You immediately join in, looking toward his reaction. The cameras capture his shock, he’s pleasantly surprised by all the fanfare. He takes it in for another minute or so, looking up at the people in the stands with appreciative eyes. He finally bows his head and waves before skating off the ice.
When the entire group is called back onstage for final bows and the closing ceremony, he is once again dazzled by how intensely the crowd cheers for him once he’s introduced onstage. It’s precious to watch him try to shake it off with his hands on his face, looking to his fellow performers for a way to avoid the attention. He has always been appreciative of his support, always remaining humble in the face of his popularity constantly growing.
It doesn’t take as long as you expected for him to meet up with you. He asks you to wait in the hallway outside his dressing room, and he soon emerges; he barely lets you get a word out before enveloping you in a hug.
“What did you think?”
“I didn’t think you’d pick that one, honestly!” Your enthusiasm quiets when he kisses you and you suddenly feel acutely aware of the staff around you. He notices your shyness and pulls himself against your ear again.
“We’ll be alone soon, okay? I’m glad you liked it,” He punctuates his sentence with a kiss on the cheek. It made you relax into his touch and hold your hand while you were still in the venue.
Once outside, he lets go to briefly wave at the crowd of his fans before placing his hand on the small of your back.
You hear the gasps when he does it, but you don’t look back at the crowd. The judgment stays in your skin once you’re both escorted into the SUV, even when Joshua’s trying to get your attention with kisses to your hand.
“What are you thinking about, babe?”
“Nothing,” It’s easier to lie in the moment. He eyes you for a bit longer but ultimately doesn't question you any further.
You can’t tell him that everything feels especially temporary now. You know what it’s like to be on the opposite side of it as a fan, the initial feeling of seeing him make contact with a new romantic interest is always shocking. Neither of you owed them anything, you never had to reveal the depth of relationship if that’s what you both wanted.
He says he wants you, but that inevitable “what happens next” conversation hasn’t happened and you’re leaving in the next 48 hours. If there was any time to figure out the definition of your relationship, it was now.
Although the conversation in the bath last night was enlightening, you needed some kind of finality. You wouldn’t let yourself fall for vague promises anymore.
Will he make you a priority when his schedule is about to amp up even more?
If you needed to move on, you’d rather know now before you’re on another 13 hour flight left to your own devices.
You’re able to tag along with Joshua to his practice session with his coach on your last full day in town.
Although the conclusion of the trip takes up most of your brain space, it’s still interesting to watch his skating become informed by a new perspective. You couldn’t hear all of the critiques in detail, but it was enough to understand how Joshua’s energy was shaped through their leveled guidance.
He switched from his longtime coach once he broke his ankle, understandably citing that the old coach had pushed him to the point of collapse, no matter how grateful he may have been for his old coach’s support thus far.
The dynamic was far more supportive, you concluded. You were able to get more writing done, but your eyes drift to him more often than not.
He practices intensely for around 6 hours today, still a considerate amount of time considering the other practice days in his schedule. He didn’t appear distracted when you were watching him, but he was clearly eager to be alone with you again. He was practically pulling you into the front door once you arrived at his home.
He leads you upstairs to his bedroom before closing the door quickly.
“Kiss me,” His request is urgent, and you oblige despite feeling hesitant.
It’s best to just kiss him, to enjoy a good thing standing right in front of you while you have it.
He’s showing all his tells that he wants more than just kisses, cradling the back of your head, moaning into your mouth. It all still feels so enticing.
Yet, as always, he seems to notice something’s off before you can. He must notice the tension in your body that you tried your best to will away. He pulls out of the kiss and examines your eyes.
“Are you ok?” He’s slightly panting. You force yourself to close your eyes to steady your nerves.
“No,” you admit.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this, you know that.” He knows exactly what you mean by the way his shoulders drop. He looks nervous, not sure if he’s about to lose you.
“Why not? What would be so wrong about being with me?” He’s genuinely upset, fighting your answer almost instantly. Therein lies the problem, there’s nothing wrong about dating him as a person. It was simply the logistics that made everything far more complicated than your heart could bear.
“Nothing,” your voice trembles. “It would be great,” A tear falls from your eye and he’s already reaching up to wipe it away. You don’t stop him from touching your face.
“But I can’t be halfway across the world from you, I can’t watch you pretend to love me and then start dating someone else right in front of my face again.”
“You know dating Ara wasn’t my choice, I wouldn’t do that to you again,” His voice is strangely quiet.
Ara was a famous Korean actress who was practically a critic’s darling at this point in her career. She dated Joshua for 4 years, long enough for the Korean public to become absolutely enamored with the idea of them. The concept of Korea’s charming upcoming actress and Korea’s technical skating prince dating each other was obviously popular among netizens, so their sudden breakup was quite shocking.
Their conflicting schedules made it a perfect storm for them to stop speaking to each other.
It all ended very publicly, but somehow Joshua was still beloved in the end. He always was.
At a work gala he was the guest of honor for, he told you that he wanted to be with you over drinks. There were many kisses exchanged in a secluded hallway, promises linger against your skin and you thought they were real.
She was his plus one, but he insisted that they were just friends.
You trusted him, and their relationship was announced a few days later. You were crushed, it made you regret ever thinking you could be more than a fan who simply pushed her luck.
“You stayed with her for 4 years, you loved her,” You persisted.
“No, I didn’t.”
“She said you did,” It bites harder than you expect, but it’s true. There were numerous interviews of her confirming the depths of their relationship. Whenever she mentioned him, there was always long-term commitment implied.
“I promise you I didn’t.” He squares his jaw as he insists on it being false.
“Why did you lie? Why didn’t you just let me down easy? You do it with literally every fan,” You shake your head, knowing exactly what he’s been through. You’ve seen the death threats, ultimatums, and invasive love offers that he’s received over the years. If he could handle that with grace, he could at least give you a proper response.
“You know you mean more to me than that,” He begged.
“If I mean more to you, then you shouldn’t have done it,” You respond. It’s selfish, you know it is.
“You can’t be fucking serious! It was to further my career, you of all people should know that,” He yelled. His voice doesn’t deter you, it simply makes you more determined.
“You could’ve fought back like you’ve done at any other point of your career. You should have fought for me,” You try to yell back but your voice falters again.
“This is me fighting for you, I want you,” He pleaded, moving closer to you out of desperation. Yet, you avoid his eye contact to close your eyes.
“You know that’s not what I meant,” You griped, shaking your head out of frustration. You hate that he’s dodging the question. You’ve seen him fight over much less, you’re not sure why he can’t recognize that he could’ve tried for you.
“You’re fighting me over hypotheticals, shit that hasn’t even happened yet.”
“You had another reason,” You state unremarkably, finally opening your eyes again. It was never a black or white situation, not with him.
“What?”
“You stayed with her for another reason.”
He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and internally resets before looking at you again.
“I didn’t want you to feel tied to me. I already knew what people were saying about you because of me, I knew you didn’t want me overshadowing your career. I didn’t want to haunt you,” He seems desperate to make you see his side of it.
“But you did, from the moment I met you. I knew I’d never be able to get over you. I built up a picture of you in my mind for years, and you actually fit it. I was stupid enough to think that my dumb luck would actually let me date you,” You confessed. You lower your head by the time you finish speaking.
He didn’t seem to understand that the dynamic would’ve always been uneven between you, but you were willing to risk it.
“Y/N,” He starts.
“I was fucking devastated that I still needed you,” you interrupt him, “I was doing perfectly fine, but I knew I would regret not doing this interview. I let you in one last time, to see if it’d be different than before, but you’re not ready. You’re still not ready and it was my fault for expecting too much of you.”
The silence is loud, you both have to process all of the feelings stirred up between you.
“I’m sorry.”
You’re not sure if that’s enough.
“Just indulge me for a second, do you love me?” You ask desperately.
He doesn’t speak. He looks torn, as if he wants to but something deep inside himself still hesitated to admit it. It confirms your worst fear, that even when there’s no other obstacles in the way, he can’t be what you need.
You scoff, wiping your face once again.
“Thanks for letting me stay here, I guess,” You walk back to your room and shut the door behind you. You unconsciously listen for any movement outside the door, to see if he would chase after you.
He doesn’t.
He does a variety of tasks in the kitchen, you hear running water and the sound of cabinet doors shutting, but he never approaches the door.
The kitchen light turns off and you hear his bedroom door shut.
You’re honestly glad he left you alone, but it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.
As you settle into bed, you remember that he wanted to drive you to the airport tomorrow.
You’d rather walk the entire way than let him see you like this.
Joshua is an idiot, all things considered.
It was right there, he had the chance to tell you everything and give you his entire heart, but the words were stuck in his throat. He can barely go to sleep that night, but he could at least send you off to the airport the next morning.
It was wishful thinking that the drive would be any less painful, but he could at least fulfill his promise of taking you there. Thus, he doesn’t expect the guest room to be empty when he stumbles out of his room to go make himself breakfast.
He’s suddenly on high alert, thinking of all the things that could’ve possibly happened to you.
His internal monologue stops when he sees a note downstairs on the kitchen counter. He picks it up and curses under his breath.
“Changed my flight, your driver took me to the airport. Thanks again for letting me stay. - Y/N”
The message feels so stiff, it lacks any of your personality. Yet, he couldn’t pity himself for too long, he had to find you.
He had no idea if your flight had already taken off or not, but he at least had a location. Your original flight wasn’t until late afternoon, so he figured you must have been really fed up to change it to a mid-morning flight. The anger you felt transcended your hatred of mornings, and that was enough to really get Joshua moving.
He decided to stick with the clothes he had on to minimize the amount of time in the house. He wasn’t sure if it was smart to buy an impulse ticket for a flight he wasn’t going on, but he did it anyway.
As he sat in his car, he wasn’t sure if he locked the front door, but the adrenaline made him forget altogether.
The drive to the airport was a complete blur, he was certain that he blew through a few just-turned-red lights in an effort to get there. Once he arrives, he is anything but discreet.
He thanks his lucky stars that he gets a short security line so that he can run through the airport to find you. He only stops to check the massive flight board for flights to your city before picking up the pace again, almost running into a few people on the way.
He just had to make it to gate 12.
He spots the gate out of the corner of his eye, almost missing it due to his haste. He scans his eyes quickly across the group of people to see if you could possibly be there.
He’s almost given up on searching for you, but just like the movies, he finds you sitting in the corner wearing that particular writing hoodie.
He knows whatever way he chooses to approach you, it’ll scare you. Yet, he opts for the least terrifying option.
He walks over, taking a small breath before speaking up.
“Hi,” It comes out far too hesitant, but it still gets your attention. You look up at him, evidently confused but annoyance shows up quicker.
“What are you doing here?” You’re not moved at all, he felt like an inconvenience.
“We need to talk. Can I sit with you?” He points to the empty chair and you stare at him for a moment. You quietly oblige, giving a quick nod. You didn’t reject him outright, so that’s a win in his book.
“I’m really sorry about last night. I should’ve told you how I felt,” His voice is hushed so as to not disturb anyone else around you. Most people were sitting further away, but he didn’t want to take any chances. You only look forward, not acknowledging him at all.
“I thought about everything and you were right to be worried. I haven’t shown you that you can trust me to commit,” He continues.
“Whatever you want to do, that’s fine. I just,” He stops his train of thought to take a breath.
“I love you. I should’ve told you the moment you asked me, I should’ve told you the first day you came to town. I always knew,” He finishes with a shaky breath. You both sit in silence for longer than he’d like, but it’s understandable. Your longtime crush lets you down then admits he’s loved you for ages, it’s a lot for anyone to process.
“Joshua?”
He turns to face you. “Yeah?”
“That was corny as fuck,” You let out a laugh, covering your mouth with your hand. He’s happy to see you smile for a bit, even if it’s at his expense.
“I know, I just needed to tell you before you left,” He laughs quietly. It covers up the temporary embarrassment he feels. No matter what you tell him, he figures that it was worth it to put everything on the line.
“I forgive you, though. And I love you too,” You smile through the reply and your voice is the softest he’s ever heard it.
The newness of it all makes him blush.
“Still can’t look at me, huh? Do I make you nervous?” He touches your shoulder in a silent plea for you to let him in.
“Fuck off,” You finally make eye contact with him and grab his hand, fingers automatically intertwined with his. You press the back of his hand to your mouth for a kiss. The gesture quiets all his lingering fears.
“I’m not relocating for you though, I like my apartment and my job,” You give him a pointed look.
“I wouldn’t ask you to do that. Plus I told you I’m trying to slow down, remember?” The realization hits your face and it makes him giggle.
“Does that mean you’re moving in with me?”
“It might,” He suggests. He thinks he’s a pretty decent roommate, but he’d change his bad habits in a heartbeat if it meant you were more comfortable.
“Not before the Olympics though. And you’d need to sell the house, right?”
“Yeah. Shit, you’re really getting ahead of me here,” He didn’t really consider all the details yet, especially thinking about how shocked his management team would be at the decision, but he knew you were too good to lose.
He lived enough of his life without you, and it was time to switch things up.
“Just making sure you’re aware of what all of this would mean,” You remind him. It was a completely fair critique considering how many directions his life was currently being pulled in.
“Of course, but I’m coming to visit before I move. Many times,” He’s already mentally planning out a schedule in his head, plotting out weekend getaways and week-long trips just to spend time with you again.
“You won’t have your own room though, sorry,” You sigh in fake concern.
“I think we can make that work,” He assured you with a smile.
“I still can’t believe you bought a fucking plane ticket to get past security to come find me. You’re insane,” You shake your head at him in disbelief.
“Your boyfriend is insane,” He stresses the term, “and it was the right thing to do. I couldn’t let you get away like that.”
You both talk for a while, just drinking in each other’s presence as a new couple. While you’re recounting your metal detector encounters, it hits him that he doesn’t know when he’ll see you again.
Everything keeps getting busier between the two of you, and the possible timeframe of him moving seems further and further away with each passing moment.
He desperately wants to slow everything down in his career immediately, for all of his responsibilities to be taken care of for him.
The boarding process begins and he’s wistful, he didn’t think it would hurt so deeply to let you go home. He pulls you into a tight hug, his head nestled into the crook of your neck. “I love you so much, baby,” His voice wavers.
“Don’t fucking cry, you’ll make me cry,” You whisper, curling into his body even further. It makes him smile despite the tears streaming down his cheeks.
“I’ll see you soon, okay? I promise,” He attempts to steady his voice, but it’s no use. The moment he has the love of his life, you’re already leaving.
You lean back and press your lips to his, you move as quickly as time permits. It’s not the kiss he wants, but it’s enough to sate him.
He pulls away first, kissing your cheek before standing back to get a good look at you.
“Now go, they’re about to finish up your section,” He pointed to the gate with a watery laugh, finally wiping his cheeks from the tears.
You wave one last time as your ticket gets scanned and you’re no longer in view.
He’s not ready to go back to an empty house, one without you sitting on the couch bundled up in his blankets, staring at your computer with squinted eyes. He’s not ready to fall asleep without you next to him and wake up the next day knowing you wouldn’t be up until midday.
You’ve worked your way into his life and he can’t picture another second without you in it.
He decides that whenever you’re available to talk on the phone, you would plan his first visit.
That was the only way he could cope with the time and distance that seemed impossible to cross.
The Joshua profile is edited and completed in due time, somehow without losing your sanity.
Joshua is always sending you his edits, many of which are rejected the moment he comments them. Yet, you promise him that he can have input on another piece.
Once it’s approved through final edits, the profile is received well, all things considered. While there are unavoidable critiques, it still resonates with fans and writers alike. It goes considerably less viral than your other content with him, but viral nonetheless. It gets another boost in attention when Joshua reveals your relationship to the public exactly two months after it’s posted, and people are now re-examining the profile for signs of love blooming in between the lines.
These recent post-profile interviews he did were keeping you company during your downtime after work. You’d find yourself watching them on your laptop in bed, craving the sound of his voice when he was caught up in practice. He told you to watch this one specifically when it was uploaded though, so you decided to listen to him.
“So we have to talk about your relationship and the article,” The late night host segues into the new topic and Joshua handles it with ease.
“Of course,” He’s nodding along.
“So you fall in love with one of your biggest fans and do this reunion interview after 10 years? What’s the whole story?”
“Well, she’s been a fan of mine for my entire career and we first met when she made this viral blog post about me qualifying for my first Olympics,” He recounts the story for what feels like the millionth time, but you still eat it up every time. He has an exact script that you can almost know how he’ll phrase it.
“We film an interview and that goes even more viral, like 20 million views or something crazy,” He stops to laugh for a moment and the audience laughs along with him.
“We met up a few times over the years, but I finally suggested we do something for the 10 year anniversary of the interview. That’s how it all came together,” He nods with a grin.
“That’s amazing, is there anything you want to tell her?”
He looks directly into the camera and takes a breath. “Just that I miss you and love you very much,” His voice softens and the audience lights up with applause. He blows a kiss to the camera before the host switches topics once again, moving on to more Olympics talk for the rest of the video.
The declaration of love is simple, he’s not the kind of guy to make these big sweeping gestures of love, but it’s more than enough for you. You send him a quick text approving of the video and your heart is extremely full.
He moves in right after the Olympics end, but he’ll have a chance to properly decompress from the competition. The anticipation is enough to almost drive you insane, but the wait will be worth it.
The Olympics are a complete blur, as expected. You try to enjoy other events during your time there, but the men’s individual skate is the only thing on your mind. Joshua tried to make things for you as comfortable as possible despite living in the designated Olympic Village. He always complained that he wasn’t able to see you by sending you lots of heartfelt texts, but you teased him that he just needed to focus on competition.
Joshua won the gold medal, as expected by numerous sports networks and prediction experts.
You knew he’d win too, obviously.
Although he performed last in the final group, moving his rank down to 5th before his free skate performance, his final showing put him 10 full points above 2nd place.
Your boyfriend, who has been swept up in podium ceremonies, post-skate interviews, and a celebratory dinner is finally alone with you in your hotel room and you intend to make the most of it.
“Congratulations,” You’re practically yelling in his ear as he smothers you in a hug, clutching the back of your head. He’s free of the costume and makeup from earlier in the night, even his team tracksuit was exchanged for an old shirt and shorts.
“Thank you, baby,” His response is muffled against your shirt. You pull away to admire his face for a moment before leaning in for a deep kiss.
He’s feeling just as desperate as you are, swiping his tongue into your mouth with ease. It’s been so long since you’ve had a chance to just kiss him, let alone see him for more than a few minutes at a time. There were still press circuits and endless events for him to attend, but for a moment he was simply your gold medalist.
You barely come up for air for the next few minutes, getting all of the long distance reunion induced kisses out of your system. You step away to breathe against his neck and collect your thoughts.
“I’m so proud of you, like I was fully sobbing in my seat after the scores.”
“You were?” He questions, eyes widening.
“Of course, you’ve worked so hard to get here after everything. It makes me wanna cry all over again,” You’re so fond that it makes your heart swell for him.
“My poor baby, crying her eyes out over me like the good old days,” He coos.
“Yeah,” You let out a shaky laugh and wiped a stray tear from your eye. There were no ways to describe how it felt to watch the love of your life succeed from so many points of view, in some ways your relationship is a time capsule of your adolescence.
Joshua is simultaneously the object of your youth and the promise of a better future.
The journey is never lost on you, all of the time spent learning each other all over again reinvigorated your spirit.
“I’m ready to go home with you, I’m just so tired,” He whispers. The collective stress of the past few years is catching up with him now that the hardest part is over, that sense of normalcy needed to come sooner rather than later.
“I know, love. Just a few more days and we can sleep in as much as we want,” You think out loud, but he seems to like the idea as you cup his face in your hands. The tension melts from his face the longer you stay still and he lets out a quiet hum.
“Can we cuddle?”
“Of course,” You would’ve wanted to do it anyway, but you couldn’t say no to him in this state.
Once you both crawled onto the bed, he naturally put his head on your chest. It doesn’t take long before you’ve both fully relaxed into each other’s touch. The silence is needed after nonstop stimulation from the outside world.
“Y/N?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.” He doesn’t hesitate this time, it's saturated with adoration for you. You feel the warmth on your cheeks and respond accordingly.
“I love you too.”
He sits up, staring at you with so much love in his eyes. He kisses you just to do it, but it’s perfectly fine by you.
You swear that you could live in this moment forever. There would always be deadlines approaching, endless amounts of work waiting for you, but these moments were too precious to take for granted.
There’s so much love for him in your body that it doesn’t know where to go, but you figure that you’ll find somewhere to place it within due time.
There’s no use in grieving wasted time when his love is nestled so neatly in your heart, allowing you to indulge in the infinite futures you’re able to build together.
He’s not going anywhere, there’s still time.
There will always be time.
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thirteens-pocket-watch · 10 months
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I've decided to compile all the small pieces of information about future episodes that RTD has given in his Letter from the Showrunner segments in DWM. I've only included things that can tell us something about the episode, so stuff like Bad Wolf investigating if using a certain title is permitted hasn't been included here. I've included the issue each point was given in and I will obviously update after future issues
(Last updated 28.03.24)
2023 Specials
The Star Beast
- Contains the words westerly, pelican and dreams (584)
- Page seven contains the line "Oh, Nerys and her big mouth!" (585)
- The reconstructed opening scene made from fan recordings of filming contains lines that were cut from the final version of the episode (595)
Wild Blue Yonder
- Contains the words wild, Southampton, vegetable, Flux, bean and starlight (585)
Extra
- RTD refers to a "terrifying scene with Sue" and two celebrity historical figures in the upcoming specials (596)
- None of the specials will air on the 1st, 17th or 23rd of November (596)
Series 14/Season 1
Space Babies (Episode 1)
- Contains the words roar, Glastonbury and conquistador (589)
- The title was said aloud in Star Trek: Picard 3 (590/591)
- Scene 11 is headed as INT. CONTROL ROOM and the stage directions say "THE DOCTOR and RUBY walk in to find a cool, sleek, metal CONTROL ROOM, full of CONSOLES" (598)
The Devil's Chord (Episode 2)
- Scene 10 is set INT. CANTEEN. DAY (585)
- Contains the words Liverpool, legions and non-diagetic (586)
- The title of the episode was revealed (598)
73 Yards (Episode 4)
- Had the line "I once went to the top of the Shard" cut from the script (589)
Rogue (Episode 6)
- Page 10 contains the line "I am ruined" and it is said by a character named Emily (598)
- When talking about watching the final mix of this episode, RTD threw in the quote "Live vivisection!"
The Legend of Ruby Sunday (Episode 7)
- First line of the script is INT. COFFEE BAR, USA - DAY, 1947 (584)
Empire of Death (Episode 8)
- Contains the words kingdom, gold and Tigella (592)
- Contains the words terror, dust, pizza, Einstein, death and opera (598)
- One of the above words is also in the title (598)
Extra
- An unspecified episode had the word "sixpence" in the title before the plot about said sixpence was cut (591)
- There is a crucial scene, designated 27B, in an unspecified episode with an as-yet unannounced guest star (593)
- The aforementioned scene contains the debris of a fallen statue with an 8 foot tall head as part of the set (593)
- The last scene to be filmed for series 14 was a scene in the TARDIS in the "middle bit of the finale" (whether this is episode 7 or 8 is not specified) and the Doctor slides to the ground at some point during the scene (594)
Series 15/Season 2
Episode 1
- Scene One features none of the regular cast (600)
Episode 2
- The episode features a guest star who's been in the show before but in a different role (600)
Episode 3
- RTD mentions that Ncuti Gatwa is rehearsing with a Special Guest Star for their 13th episode. I assumed he was referring to his 13th episode with Gatwa and didn't count the anniversary specials (597)
Extra
- An unspecified episode contains the words garden, firmament and diploma (592)
- An unspecified episode contains the words radiation, moth and skiffle (597)
- The sets include a hotel, a chamber and a hospital (597)
- More sets are listed, including the UNIT OPs room, the Sundays' flat, "a set so real we could rent it out as its actual self" and an "absolute labyrinth of a set" (potentially an actual labyrinth based on a previous comment from director Makalla McPherson) (601)
- RTD confirmed that the 2025 season will not contain an episode celebrating 20 years of New Who (602)
- On the 8th March 2024, RTD claimed they were "shooting a scene that will live forever in Doctor Who history" (602)
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happilychaengs · 1 year
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Nayeon - Tapes
a/n: had a spark of inspiration. this entire thing is from nayeon's pov. this took a lot of courage to even try and i don't know if this was worth posting or not but i tried doing something new, plot wise and writing wise. didn't proofread so it may have some errors.
word count: 1,219
angst
nayeon x gender neutral reader
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When the doorbell rang, I almost couldn't bring myself to stand up and answer it. Not until I heard your name.
"Package for Y/N!" I... couldn't believe it. My chest was tight. My head hurt.
When I saw a box with your name signed on it at my doorstep, everything I've held back finally burst through the floodgates. I cried and cried, each tear staining the cardboard box even more than the last.
I almost didn't have the courage to bring it in but something in me needed to know what it was. There were so many tapes inside, each labeled with different dates. Now I know why you got me a VHS player all those months ago.
Tape 1 - 9/25/21
There you were with a happy smile. As happy as you could have been when you were in a hospital gown, all those syringes pinned inside your arm. You sat down in front of a white wall and yet your eyes were still so bright, almost somehow filling the entire screen with color. You looked so hopeful.
"Hi Nayeon!" You waved directly to the camera with a bright smile and almost for a second, I feel like I'm with you again. Like I'm standing in front of you just having a conversation like any ordinary day with you.
You say all the right things to make me smile despite it all. "I miss you tons already, Nayeon. All these doctors have just been feeding me so much medicine and it's all so disgusting!" You stick your tongue out playfully in disgust, a habit you've picked up from your older sister.
"And all the nurses have been side eyeing me lately for some reason. Maybe it was because I ate another sandwich when they told me not to... oops!" You laugh again and it rings in my ears so clearly. I loved your hearty laugh. The way it always made me laugh too and you'd tease me for it saying I shouldn't be laughing at you.
"I didn't want to sit in my bed all day and watch old people television so I asked for some favors and here I am now before you! Your great protector Y/N!" A nickname you gave yourself when you once killed a cockroach that crawled into my shoes.
"I also know I've been out of tune with the trends lately but I learned this from Jeongyeon when she visited earlier!" Then you dabbed like it wasn't a dead trend for years already, you giggling to yourself as you did it. God, you and Jeongyeon were such dorks together. I wish you knew she misses you a lot too.
Then a person, maybe a doctor or a nurse, was heard outside your room. Something about you going to get your treatment. You just nodded at them as you looked back to the camera, your smile still on your face.
"That's all for now, Nay! But don't worry! I'll be back!" You said in that annoying terminator impression of yours that I secretly loved. I wish I told you.
Tape 2 - 10/01/21
"Happy Anniversary, darling!" You shouted as you pulled on a small confetti popper. "I'm really sorry that we can't celebrate our anniversary together because of me but I wanted to record this to tell you how much I love you!"
You pulled out a small piece of paper which I could definitely recognize as a poem. You always did that on our anniversaries. Something new and original every year albeit sometimes they didn't make sense because you wanted to rhyme but that didn't matter. I loved them all.
Clearing your throat, you read it aloud with a stupid accent you say is 'just like Shakespeare!'
"Like a sunshine to the horizon, you were bound to light up my world.
Like water to the ocean, I feel like we're inseparable.
Whatever I say is true, I give you my word.
You're my one true love, irreplaceable.
Even when I sit here surrounded by death,
The thought of you gives me life.
I wish to love you till my very last breath,
So someday I may call you my wife."
You folded up the paper and set it down, staring directly at the camera with your ever bright smile. "Well! I hope you liked it! I really tried hard for that one since you know... can't take you out anywhere right now." And if only you knew how much that poem meant to me right now.
Tape 3 - 10/11/21
"Hey Nay!" You still haven't lost the glow in your eyes yet as you coddled the small teddy bear I gave you that day. "I know you just visited me but I couldn't help but want to sit down and record another tape for you in secret! I really miss you a lot but I'm glad I can have Mr. Cuddles by my side." I felt a small smile at my lips as I finally figured out what you named that bear that came along with the tapes.
"I also made a new friend here that I didn't tell you last time! I became friends with one of the nurses and now they sometimes give me extra food but don't tell anyone! It's our little secret..." You whispered.
I missed those parts of you. The social butterfly that could become friends with anyone even when you were bed ridden and that sort of free spirit you possessed. Not bound by anything. I wished those parts of you I could try to imitate at least but you really are irreplaceable.
You spoke up again as you tried peering out of your rooms windows and into the hallway. "I think I got to go but I'll definitely come back, Nayeon. Promise." I wish you kept it. Why'd you have to be so bad with promises?
Tape 4 - 12/15/21
"Nayeon. You heard the doctors." Your eyes were filled with such despair, the colors missing now. An apparent void in you. "I've... decided that these tapes will only make it to you if I..." you choked out, "if I die. If you ever see these then... I'm sorry for not being strong enough. For not fighting harder for you."
I wish you didn't say that. I should have been there for you. I should have fought harder with you. Water pooled in my eyes as my hands faltered on the remote, wanting to pause it and forget about it all but how could I ever forget? I love you.
"Nayeon. If I'm really gone, I... want you to move on if you haven't already by the time you're watching this. I know how stubborn you are. If we were really meant for each other then... I'll find you in our next life but for now please move on. For me." Maybe the only thing you could've asked me that I can't do.
"For the rest of my time, I'll record some more tapes for you just to cheer you up if I really am gone but I'm sorry if I sound a little... sad. It comes with the diagnosis." You let out a low chuckle as you reached over to the camera and shut it off, leaving me alone again.
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hi everyone! It's the 2nd anniversary of my comic today! i started on I Love You Lin Peckett a whole two years ago!!! isn't that crazy!! anyways i wanted to celebrate with some type of art contest this is my first time doing something like this.
so basically all you guys gotta do is draw lin with a cake with a big 2 on it! you can draw her eating it or lighting the candles and since my comic is centered around fashion you can dress her in anything you like! no matter how silly or goofy or even shall i say...seductive??
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here are the rules! do not change anything about my oc that would be insensitive like changing her race or skintone pls, if u wanna change her makeup or earrings go ahead tho! there is only 1 entry PER PERSON!
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now heres the FUN PART the prizes! 1st place gets a full colored (or b&w) comic page from me thats up to 10 panels (this can be of ANYTHING you want!) 2nd place gets a 3 panel B&W comic strip of anything you'd like 3rd place you get a little flat colored icon! preferably chest up of your character.
certain things i will look for like (art style, time into the piece, attention to detail, use of colors, how my character is presented,ect) if you want to just draw a sketch or go crazy all out go ahead! also this counts for all mediums! you can also do things like clay, digital art, traditional, anything! (NO AI GENERATED) and to everyone who participates i'm gonna put your drawing and credits back to you into my page to show off your amazing work!~
the deadline for this is march 10th!
if anyone has any questions either comment or message me privately, happy drawing!
refs for Lin !
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LET THE GAMES BEGIN
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alextwdgf01 · 2 years
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Happy Summerween!
(I'm not that late, shh!)
Decided to do a little something for the occasion with the Maternity-verse boys dressing up as werewolves and scaring people.
(Btw, due to me having missed out on all the other GF events the previous week, this also counts as a celebration piece for the 10 year anniversary, Stan and Ford's birthday, and Alex and Ariel's birthday)
#please don't tag as Stancest
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oneinist · 7 months
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Recap #5 - One year Aniversary
OMG I found this in my drafts - I guess life happened.  This is what I wrote in June 2022 (the 12th) XD:
----------- This was supposed to go up a month back but life happened so officially posponing my anniversary XD I can’t believe it’s already been a year now since I joined Ao3 and started this blog. I haven’t done any recaps since October 2021 so there’s a little more than 6 months to catch up on! 
Ao3/Fanfiction
Totals User Subscriptions: 11 Kudos: 1062 Comment Threads: 93 Bookmarks: 96 Subscriptions: 41 Word Count: 20000 Works: 18 Hits: 21539
I did a thing where I worked very hard to write my last oneshot so that my word count would be exactly 20.000 - I cannot believe it!! I find it so cool that I have written this much! I still haven’t regained the output I had in the early days but that’s OK, maybe it was something like beginner’s luck or the IRL circumstances were perfect or something like that. 
Tumblr/Pixiv/Fanart
#Myfanart #Ourfanart
The #Myfanart tag has a whopping 51 pieces not counting the 30 doodles that were the result of the Doodle Drabble Nights over at kakairu.rocks. Add to this maybe around 10 pieces that have not made it onto Tumblr for,,, reasons 🙃🙃🙃
I also got to do my very first art round robin and first art collab this year. I remember for the round robin I was so nervous and spent an insane amount of hours on coloring cause I did not want to disappoint XD
I also passed my Tumblr 200 followers milestone a bit back but I am still to make anything to celebrate it. Since 200 is a common ISO-standard film speed for photographic films - I guess this means we should do SUKEA 💜💜💜
Events/Activites
Fall Exchange Fungi 77 Min AU Architect Iruka’s Birthday Bingo
90 Mins Summer Stunner Iruka’s Winter Bingo 2021/2022 DTIYS
Doodle <--> Drabble Exchange Holiday Gift Exchange KakaIru Valentines Week Doodle Drabble Night KakaIru Reverse Bang 2022
Oh my, listing them up like that, that’s quite a number of events!!!
Closing notes-ish ----------- Looks like I never got to writing a closing note but that’s okay, I’m going to post this anyway, leave it as is for like a week and then back date it so it shows up correctly in my archive (I’m a stickler for that XD). I’ve actually been working on recaps going over the last year so I’ll be posting some more of those till I’m caught up. I like having a diary like this~ I’ve also still been struggling massively with creative blocks in both writing and drawing so I’m going to just focus on other aspects of fandom and see where is goes, you never know whe inspiration hits. 
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boydkorsholm0 · 2 years
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hermes crocodile birkin 13
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thesleepy1 · 3 years
Text
A Servant Resting On His King’s Legs
A/N: A ton of people seem to be liking my merthur fics and I do love to see numbers rise. I am also a sucker for the tag so there’s that. I hope you all enjoy it, and I’m sorta sorry but sorta not sorry for the long breaks in between writing. I have sympathy but at the same time, do I? Unbeta’d as always.
10/14/22: @crea-draws made this awesome piece of fanart for this fic to celebrate the 2 year anniversary of me posting fics. It's so cool, I'm absolutely in love! ❤️❤️❤️
Pairings: Merlin x Arthur
Summary: Arthur can’t seem to can’t get anything done if Merlin isn’t on his lap.
Word count: 769
Warnings: Suggestive themes, lap sitting,
“Am I interrupting something?” Gaius asked genuinely from the doorway, feeling as if he had walked in on an intimate moment.
Arthur sat behind his finely crafted desk, scrolls and tomes littered across the surface like autumn leaves. His head of golden hair was illuminated by the full moon peeking through the open window behind him. A halo of light settled on the crown of his head. Merlin sat comfortably on his lap, reading a report as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
A servant resting on his king’s legs.
The young sorcerer had his side pressed gently against Arthur’s chest, head inclined forward to read the scroll in his hand. Arthur’s arm came around Merlin’s wasit to hold him tight, fingers stroking the exposed passage of skin on Merlin’s stomach. Arthur had his chin rested on Merlin’s shoulder, reading the print while seeming to nuzzle against the brunette’s side. The moon holding its sun.
Both of their clothes looked to be trashed and wrinkled as if they had wrestled a beast to the floor and had lost. Gaius could only guess as to why they were in the state that they were in. He was suddenly very glad he was not in charge of the laundry.
“No, not at all,” Arthur replied after a moment, his eyes moving across the page with a hawk-like grace. The king turned to face the court physician, giving the old man his full attention. Or most of it. His hand never stopped stroking Merlin’s midriff. “Is everything alright, Gaius?” the king asked concerned, his eyebrows furrowing.
At the tensing of Arthur’s body, Merlin too looked up. The young sorcerer peered at him expectedly, body set on a spring trap, ready to take action if given the order. Gaius could only sigh at the antics of his nephew. He should have really expected Merlin to have fallen so in love with the man he was destined to serve. Gaius knew his kin well.
“Everything is fine, sire. I only came here because I couldn’t find Merlin anywhere,” Gaius gave a pointed look at the mentioned man. “I should have begun my search here.”
“Is he needed?” Arthur tightened his hold on Merlin, eyes hardening.
“No, sire. I just wanted to make sure he got to bed safely after such a long day. Only to find him not in his bed at all,” Gaius eyed the pile of scrolls like they were filthy rats; dozens upon dozens of threats and complaints sent their way. Being the court physician was difficult but running a court was hell. “You can understand my concern after the day we had.”
Arthur visibly relaxed, shoulders sagging, body going lax. He continued the process of nuzzling against Merlin. “Of course, I understand completely,” Arthur nodded softly. “You have nothing to worry about. I won’t let anyone lay a hand on Merlin.”
“You both know I’m right here, right?” Merlin piped in, setting the scroll aside.
“Yes, yes, Merlin. We’re just concerned for your safety,” Gaius stated clearly.
“Exactly!” Arthur exclaimed, a light going off behind his eyes. “You know, what? Why don’t you sleep here, Merlin? My room is the safest place in the kingdom. And you have me here to protect you all night. No one, court or peasant could enter without my knowing.”
“Warlock, remember? I can protect myself just fine-” Arthur pinched his stomach roughly. “Ouch! What was that for?!”
“Nothing,” Arthur hissed between his teeth. “Just that you would be under the most care humanly possible while inside my room. Right, Merlin?” Arthur urged Merlin to look between himself and Gaius, hoping to all god that Merlin’s little brain could catch up to Arthur’s poorly thought out plan.
Gaius shook his head, he could see it from a mile away. These two were hardly men, more so boys who were caught out past curfew to see each other. He had to resist the urge to laugh to himself, what a life he lived.
He will let them have their fun. And after all, Merlin was out of harm’s way while Arthur held him so closely. And Merlin would do Arthur some good, make sure the king looked on the bright side of things instead of purely the dark and grim. Even the full moon needed a little bit of light every now and then.
“If that’s decided then, I will take my leave,” Gaius smirked, leaving and closing the door behind him. Faintly he heard the sound of Merlin’s exclamation of pain and Arthur’s hush voice telling him off.
His boys, what a sight they were.
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cap10froggerguy · 3 years
Text
Tenth Anniversary recap
So, as my little celebration of the Ninjago 10 Year Anniversary, here’s a little recap of every single season, including the pilots and a few bonuses. I also added totally arbitrary scoring based on my own preferences. Ready? Here we go!
The Pilots:
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Local man joins gang to save sister, gains awesome powers and dragons along the way. Featuring the Wise Old Mentor(C) and Generic Evil Overlord(C), as well as FIYAH, the main character with a firey temper, AT-AT, blue guy with motor mouth, Frosty, local “real boy” who is super aloof, and Bucket of Rocks, who is the “leader” and has a personality like a rock. Is that a compliment? You decide!
Choppy animation and okay storytelling, but excellent characterization creates a surefire laugh fest!
0/0, they were trying their hardest, so no ranking for you.
Season 1: Rise of the Snakes
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Ninja team angers young and bratty boy, who unleashes snake army. Prophecy threatens to tear the team apart at the seams with contests to prove who is better. Winner ends up being FIYAH’s sister, but instead of becoming The Chosen One(C), young and bratty boy (henceforth known as Green Angst) gets the title. 
Animation is slightly better, and the storytelling style leads to an okay season.
3/13, Room for improvement.
Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja
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Green Angst gains superpowers, ages up, and beats up his dad, who has become possessed with evil. Plot of Return of the Jedi ensues, dad is good, and everything wraps up. 
Thinking this was going to be the last season, the showrunners pulled out all the stops, and it shows. Good job!
5/13, This makes a good ending.
SIKE
Season 3: Rebooted
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Series tries to pick up where they left off. Unnecessary love triangles and robot battles ensue. Frosty dies, totally for realsies. 
The whole atmosphere feels a bit rushed, and about half of the story is there for unneeded drama.
1/13, did not age well.
Season 4: Tournament of Elements
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In stunning turn of events, Frosty is not dead. Ninja must battle in hunger games in order for Colonel Sanders to release him. FIYAH develops a crush on his daughter. 
A fun season with quippy writing and tons of lore, it works really well!
8/13, this season ages wonderfully.
Season 5: Possession
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Ghosts are a thing now! Green Angst gets possessed, and so the ninja must learn ghost fighting to fight ghosts. Also, FIYAH’s sister (From now on called Water Girl) gains water powers. 
While a neat story concept, the fact that Water Girl has only NOW been told about her powers kinda starts to weaken the story for me.
4/13, could do better.
...
...
Oh, and Bucket of Rocks is a ghost now. But the writers don’t care, so lets move on.
Season 6: Skybound
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AT-AT gets a season, where he had to battle a genie pirate while Water Girl tries to be a Strong Independent Woman(C) despite the love triangle fiasco. Season ends up retconning itself out of existence. 
While a good season pre-redesign, some of the story choices cause it to feel a bit drawn out in hindsight.
6/13, a fun season concept.
Day of the Departed:
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Bucket of Rocks cant catch enough of a break to get a season, gets Halloween-ish special instead. In it, he becomes No Longer A Ghost. Hooray for... writing? 
There’s not much to say about this one, it is what it is, and for a while, this was the only content we got centered around good ol Bucket of Rocks.
0/0, a ranking of this one wouldn’t be fair.
Season 7: Hands of Time
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Angst! Drama! Time Travel! Technology jokes! Old Mentor is dying from Too Many Secrets, so Green Angst must lead team. FIYAH and Water Girl find their parents. I bet that’ll be important later!
The story feels choppy, and leaves a lot of threads hanging. It’s still fun, but less so that what came before and what comes after.
2/13: Guys, you had one job.
Season 8: Sons of Garmadon
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The ninja get a facelift, and Green Angst gets a girlfriend! Guess which one is permanent. Evil Ex summons Evil Overlord(C) 2.0, causing Green Angst to loose Green and gain Angst.
The animation bump is stellar, the new voice actor for Green Angst really shines, and the story, while not new by any stretch, is filled with plenty of twists and turns.
9/13, Stellar Season.
Season 9: Hunted
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The OG 4 in Mad Max on one hand, while Green Angst and Water Girl resist against tyrannical overbearing ruler on the other. Now with even more daddy issues, inspiring speeches, and of course, ANGST.
The storytelling and atmosphere increases in quality, and the show does a good job of balancing angst and hope. Also, then end is really cool. 
12/13, Great Atmosphere.
Season 10/March of the Oni
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Everyone teams up to stop faceless CGI army! Wait, does that count if everything is CGI?
There’s not much to say on this one either. It feels both too short and too fast, and many of the story beats don’t hit like they should.
(6 1/2) / 13, Pretty OK.
Season 11 pt 1: The Fire Chapter
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Local team gets lazy, unleashes witch, FIYAH looses fire, Frosty dies again. OR DOES HE!?
Even better animation, and the voice actors are really having fun for this season onwards. It’s one of the weakest of the newer seasons, but the shorter episode time helps every episode pack a punch.\
7/13, Would recommend as a starter season.
Season 11 pt 2: The Ice Chapter
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Frosty becomes Frostbite and commits genocide. Is redeemed by power of friendship and amnesia. Let’s move on.
Character development, great moments, and thought provoking storytelling!? This season has all that AND a good grasp on the aesthetic!
10/13, Please forgive Frosty. He didn’t mean it.
Season 12: Prime Empire
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AT-AT gets his own season again, enacts plot of Tron Legacy, but better! Also, Frosty becomes a detective.
The obligitory videogame plot is done really well. Lots of fun is poked at videogame mechanics and it makes for a quippy and fast paced season. Just like AT-AT! 
11/13, videogame movie(?) done right. 
Season 13: Master of the Mountain
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Bucket of Rocks finally gains own season, proves that he is the best character. Gains a best friend and beats her dad in combat. 
Beautiful set pieces, awesome character development, lore, jokes, and heartfelt moments, I consider this to be the single best season of the newer ones, and possibly even the whole show. 
13/13, amazing season
BONUS!
The Lego Ninjago movie:
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Kung Fu High School AU with a dash of Star Wars. Different from the series? Sure. Super fun? Absolutely!
8 out of 10 Meowthras.
Wu’s Teas:
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Wise Old Mentor(C) opens teashop. Shenanigans ensue.
10 out of 10, if you don’t laugh at at least one, something is wrong.
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moonlightlullaby · 3 years
Text
no celebrations?
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summary: Corpse and reader celebrate his birthday in the most chill way. Based on this lovely request (ty again for sending it!) 
pairing: corpse husband x gn! reader
category: fluff
warnings: food ingestion; alcohol ingestion; loads of physical touch (let me know if I forgot to mention anything)
A/N: Hello (: This is such a lovely concept, I just couldn’t wait to get started hehe Also, I got a bit carried away and just went with it, so I’m really sorry if that’s not what you’d pictured. I do hope you enjoy it tho <3 Take care!
word count: 2.4k
Masterlist
Walking into our shared bedroom, I catch the sight of Corpse exiting the bathroom. As our eyes lock, my lips curl up tiredly and a long sigh I didn’t even know I’ve been holding finally frees itself. He sits on the edge of our bed and extends his hand to me. When I take it, he pulls me so I stand in the space between his legs.
“How was the day?” he asks with both of his hands on my waist. 
I hum, quirking a brow and tilting my head a bit “At least tomorrow - you know, the most unspecial, completely ordinary day of the year -” this earns a giggle from my boyfriend “is Sunday and I can just ignore all of that” I wave my hand in the direction of the adjacent room, where my laptop - filled with texts, assignments, spreadsheets and appointed Zoom calls - is. 
At my words, Corpse wraps his arms around my figure, pulls my body even closer to him and plants a kiss on my stomach through my shirt. My hands, in turn, caress his upper back and soft hair. 
Coming in contact with the string of his eyepatch in the process, I lean back slightly, which causes him to shoot up at me with a small frown and pouty lips. He sits still, though, as I carefully remove his eyepatch, and, while his eyes are still closed, I give each of his lids a peck. He smiles and tilts his head up to meet my lips in a long, tender and effortless kiss. Oh finally.
The idea of quarantining together was welcomed as a blessing by both of us. It meant more time spent together after all. However, with my school and work demands and Corpse’s irregular schedule, we still barely see each other throughout the day in spite of being a few feet apart from one another. And when bedtime rolls in, we’re both so exhausted all we can do is mumble words that could be counted in the fingers of one hand before drifting off. This, of course, when my boyfriend doesn’t stay up until dawn working. Don’t get me wrong, I’m his number 1 fan and admire his passion and all the hard work he puts in everything he sets his mind to, but I’m also not going to lie and say I don’t miss his warmth at night. Hence I want to devote this Sunday to him.
After a while, I break the silence “I’ll be right back.”
I let go of his hold and take my turn to use the bathroom. After doing my night routine, brushing my teeth and getting into my cozy pajamas, I walk back in the dark room and lie down, settling myself back in Corpse’s hug like two puzzle pieces matching together.
~~~~~
The excitement for a new day - not any day, no, but August 8th - washes over me as soon as I open my eyes and get a glimpse of the sleepy boy next to me. 
A couple of minutes go by as I contemplate on getting up, torn between prolonging our cuddling for some more and doing something to show Corpse my appreciation for him. The latter wins and I, cautious not to wake him up, slowly unwrap my arms from him and step out of the bed. Drawing the curtains to make sure the summer daylight doesn’t disturb his peaceful state of mind, I make my way out of the room and to the kitchen. 
Wondering what to make for breakfast, I take a good look around until my eyes catch the plethora of fruits we’ve bought a few days ago. Fruit salad it is. 
Corpse has, for as long as we’ve known each other, made it very clear he isn’t too fond of his anniversary and similar celebrations - and, even if he hadn’t explained it to me, it’s rather evident how uncomfortable they make him. This year, his friends’ and especially his fans’ hype for the date - although unintentionally - has added an extra layer of unease to it all, to which I don’t intend to contribute.
Even though I don’t want to make matters worse and would never overstep his boundaries like this (because, thankfully, I’m not Betty Cooper and he isn’t Jughead Jones), I still want to celebrate Corpse. I want to celebrate his birth and his existence, which I’m immensely grateful for. He’s both the best friend I can confide in blindly and the lover I want to share my lifetime with. He sticks to his truth and dreams higher than I could ever imagine. He turns the darkness in the world and in his mind into light with his words and with his laugh. Having him in my life is one of the best things to ever happen to me and seeing him fly makes me more proud than I can put into words. 
There’s a lot to toast to, so the solution is a celebration that is so smooth and so chill - the smoothest and most chill possible - that it doesn’t even feel like one. Just log off and enjoy a laid back day together.
As I chop a kiwi and make a mental list of fun and uncomplicated things we can do that don’t require much time and many skills, in walks Corpse, in an old white tee which is one too many sizes bigger than him and in his black sweatpants. He rubs his eyes and lets a raspy “good morning”.
“Mornin- wow! They really weren’t lying when they said when you hit 24, hotness knocks at your door”
He chuckles and shakes his head “No one’s said that”
“Well, then consider yourself the muse of a new proverb, baby”
He scrunches up his nose in response before grabbing the cup of orange juice I’d placed on the counter and taking a gulp. 
“Thank you” he turns my face and gives me an orange-flavoured kiss, neither of us having ever really cared about morning breath. 
“For calling you hot? Oh save it to when I’m done with the list of cheesy compliments I have for you” I take a grape and before I can get it in my mouth, he steals it, with wrinkles on the corner of his eyes.
“Then we’d be here for eternity!” he’s not wrong.
Corpse helps me put the fresh fruits in bowls and, with them and our juice cup in hand, we head to the balcony. Sitting next to each other, we calmly eat, take in the light blue sky and the cars and passersby changing the scenery ahead of us. Conversation flows naturally.
As we empty our bowls - after stealing many bits from each other -, I twist in my seat and face him “Hey, Corpse, do you see this?” I point to the very prominent and familiar dark circles under my eyes. “Wanna help me get rid of them?” I ask, knowing damn well it’d take a lifetime for them to actually go away and not giving up regardless.
~~~~~
The bathroom is filled with chatter and laughter and the sink, with hair clips, scrunchies, a sharpie, bowls, hair products and a towel. Corpse hisses as our cool homemade face mask comes in contact with his skin. His curly hair is pushed back and held by a blue hairband and I apply the mask to his face, making sure not to leave any spots uncovered. Well, that’s what I’m trying to do, which becomes an unnecessarily challenging task when my lovely partner can’t be still for more than two seconds. 
He kept switching between dancing to Soulmate, by Mac Miller, and mouthing its lyrics. Now that I got him - after a small threat that I wouldn’t hesitate putting this weird mix we made in his pretty mouth - to keep his lips together, the (adorable, admittedly) swaying, however, continues. He stops momentarily, only to shuffle things around right after.
Something cold touches my skin, making it my turn to let out a hiss this time. The sound is accompanied by a small jump, caused by the surprise. Corpse chuckles and, when I glance at the spot on my arm the cold thing came in contact with, I realize it’s just the sharpie. All he does is give me a mischievous smile.
While I keep massaging his face and covering it with the mask, Corpse litters my body with his drawings. Smiley faces, lightning bolts, hearts, clouds... his repertoire is vast and any exposed skin he can find becomes his canvas. Each line causing me to giggle and shudder a little. With him focused on his creations, it’s 10 times easier for me to complete my task. 
“Alright, my turn” he states, smiling, and I’m quick to grab the sharpie. 
As he adjusts a matching hairband on my head, I put a dainty heart on his neck. And, as he takes the bowl in his hands, I swiftly plant a kiss on top of the drawing. At this, he sighs in content and my chest gets warmer.
I soon understand how hard it was for him to stay still as Stay comes on and all I want to do is have a little karaoke session and dance. Corpse entertains himself with my struggle and, because it’s his birthday, I’ll let it slide. So, to make the whole process easier, instead of focusing on the song, I focus on the gorgeous face in front of me. A beautiful face to a beautiful soul. 
One of the various perks of sharing an apartment with Corpse is I get to see this face in all ways: sleepy, completely clean - no makeup, no mask -, all wrinkled in the morning, red when he’s embarrassed or when he laughs too hard… His laughter. Its sound pulls me from my trance “You’re staring, y/n” 
“Well, at least I wasn’t moving around, Corpse” I reply with squinted eyes and nudge his side playfully. 
We begin collecting the things scattered across the sink and storing them in the cabinet, and the song comes to an end, giving way to Dang!
“How long do we keep these on?” 
I hum at the question and check the playlist on shuffle on my phone “How does 5 minutes and 2 seconds sound?” 
Facing him, his grin mirrors mine and he spins me around. We laugh and allow ourselves to be as goofy as possible, jamming and moving our limbs around with a green paste on our faces.
~~~~~
After washing off the masks in the shower and painting our nails - so we’re both rocking the black nail polish look -, we’ve set our minds to - finally - finish the puzzle we started two months ago. It’s a 90’s anime setting inspired composition and we’d gotten about 40% of it done before our schedules got more hectic and the game, well, pushed aside. For weeks, the pieces sat on the ground of our living room and silently judged us every time either of us stepped to the side, as we crossed the room, in order not to crush them.
Sitting around the puzzle with comfy clothes, we team up against it and indulge in the wine Corpse’s got us and the hawaiian pizza I’ve ordered. 
As the picture comes more and more to life, moments of comfortable silence and of chattery - when we talk about anything from our shopping list and gossip about our neighbours’ lives to parallel universes and the matrix - follow one another. A different playlist on shuffle is our background noise. 
Time flies and the sun’s already hidden when it clicks to us that there are only 5 pieces left. Each piece is fitted in the whole with a giddier feeling than the previous. Corpse picks the last one - deep blue with purple and black specks - and turns to me with an excited smile and an eager gaze that I’m sure are mirrored on my face. I nod encouragingly. He places it in the puzzle and celebratory sounds fill the room.
Corpse stretches his arms and pulls me in a hug, but, since we’re both kneeling and because of the distance between us, we end up falling and lying on the ground in rather uncomfortable positions. 
“Come on, puzzle, that was easy breezy! Gotta step up your game if you really wanna challenge this duo right here!”
“Oh for sure!” Corpse squeaks as we laugh at our nonsensical brag.
After a moment while we catch our breath, he rubs my back and speaks, pulling my attention to him “Not that I’m not loving this position, but what if we watched some Drag Race?”
Is this man real? If I couldn’t feel his heart beating under me or his arms around my figure, I’d be sure he’s just a figment of my imagination. “But it’s your b- don’t you wanna choose something you like more? Li-” 
“Nope,” he boops my nose “Drag Race, or maybe Love Island, would be great right now.” And people still dare say the perfect man doesn’t exist!
“You’re such a dream!” I give him a quick peck before continuing “Ok, so I put on the show and you get more wine…?” He hums in approval and stands up. Our eyes briefly jump from each other to the puzzle and back to each other, then we simply nod. A silent agreement to leave the puzzle here. We’re both too lazy to put all the pieces back in the box and too proud of our achievement to let it go just yet; besides, everything’s been sitting here for about two months, what are a few more hours?
He steps to the side, gets our glasses and makes his way to the kitchen. I lie on the couch and scan Netflix for Drag Race. Corpse comes back, placing the glasses next to the couch, and gently lies down on top of me. He nests his head on my chest and we both hum contently.  
While RuPaul announces what the winner’s prize will be, I play with his hair, letting my fingers knead his curls. His right hand flies up to meet mine and I bring our intertwined hands to my lips, peppering his knuckles with kisses. The gesture is cut by a loud laugh that escapes my lips as miss Vanjie Mateo’s iconic moment replays on the screen. 
“Hey,” Corpse’s voice makes me look right back at him “I love you. You know that, right?”
My heart melts at his words and at the way he’s looking at me right now. I nod with a smile.
“I love you too, birthday boy.”
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prentissinred · 3 years
Text
Life in Pink
Rated T (mild suggestive content) Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Emily Prentiss Word Count: 2.5k AO3
Hi friends! Guess what? This past weekend marked one year since I posted my first story! How crazy is that?!
I’m so utterly grateful to this community for being such a bright spot in a difficult year. To everyone who’s taken the time to read something I’ve written, thank you for being so kind and supportive. It means more to me than I can express in words. To the brilliant, lovely, talented people I now get to call my friends, I love you all so very much.
To commemorate the occasion, I wrote a little something. This is set in the world of The Wonder of You, which was the first story I’ve ever written – but you don't need to have read that to understand this :)
I hope you like it <3
--
“I mean it, JJ. Whatever happens, do not call us.”
“Yes, Emily. For the hundredth time, I promise not to call you.”
Aaron slipped his free hand into his wife’s and squeezed. “Sweetheart, it’ll be fine. Strauss knows we’re away, and our backlog is miraculously clear. We’ll be okay.”
He returned to packing up his things on his desk while Emily huffed and quietly muttered something unflattering about their superior under her breath. JJ chuckled and embraced her friend. “Go. Have a fabulous time and make us all incredibly jealous. We’ll see you in a week.”
After another round of goodbyes and poorly-veiled suggestive comments from Morgan and Dave, Aaron and Emily were in their car and on their way to Dulles, suitcases already packed and in the trunk.
It had been her idea. A holiday in Greece to commemorate their first wedding anniversary. There hadn’t been time to plan a honeymoon, their wedding in Dave’s backyard coming together with relative expediency. They had spent the weekend after the ceremony in a hotel, indulging in champagne and room service for 48 hours before returning to work the following Monday.
Neither of them thought much of it after that, swept up in both work and newlywed life. They moved into a new home, a classic Colonial in Arlington with extra bedrooms and a white wrap-around porch, and adopted a dog at Jack’s insistence.
And before either of them had realized it, it had been a year. Aaron had remembered the upcoming date over Saturday breakfast as he cut bacon into little pieces for Jack, which were then promptly fed to Boo who waited patiently under the table next to Jack’s chair. Emily and Aaron shared a look of bemused surprise as they came to the realization that neither of them had planned anything to celebrate the occasion.
“We could take a trip,” Emily suggested casually. “We haven’t been away before, just the two of us.”
He’d been doubtful at first, unsure if they could really manage to get the time away with such short notice. But it was clear how enthused Emily was by the prospect, though she hid it well under masked nonchalance. Though she always insisted she was more than happy to spend her time at home, appreciative of the roots they had cultivated after all the travel and displacement of her past, Aaron knew there was still a part of her that missed that heady thrill of exploring an unfamiliar place for the first time. And truthfully, he could think of little else that he would enjoy more than having his wife all to himself for a few days.
So they settled on Greece, a place new to them both, and, with some luck, managed to clear a full week on both of their calendars.
They had nearly reached the parking lot at Dulles — having already checked in with Jessica, Jack and Boo over the phone — when Emily’s phone pinged with a text message from JJ, “I’m so sorry.”
“Shit,” she muttered under her breath.
Before Aaron could question her, his phone rang, Chief Strauss’s number on the front screen. Panic flashed across both their faces before he reluctantly answered. Emily could hear brief snippets of the conversation as the pit in her stomach steadily widened.
“...apologize...New York...fourth suicide bomber in three weeks...escalating...need everyone…”
Once he hung up the phone, Aaron took the next exit off the highway, pulling up to the curb once it was safe to do so. They both sat in silence for an extended minute, disappointment heavy in the air. Finally, Emily attempted to break the tension, “Aren’t you glad I convinced you to get the refundable tickets?”
Aaron let out a weak, sad chuckle and leaned over the center console to kiss her, “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” before starting the car up again to head to the airstrip.
When they walked onto the plane, the team was uncharacteristically silent, looking on at their boss and colleague with poorly concealed apology, as though they were personally at fault for this unfortunate turn of events.
It took five days for the case to come to an end, the team finding the next bomber with minutes to spare, leading them to the ringleader of the group orchestrating the attacks. The date of their anniversary came and went, with nothing to mark the day except a quickie in the shower before they left their shared room. Objectively, both Aaron and Emily knew they had made the right decision, compulsory or not. Lives were saved, and the team functioned at their best when they were a complete set.
Still, while Aaron wrapped things up at the precinct after sending Emily back to the hotel, he couldn’t help but feel sorry that the first year of his marriage had passed in such a benign manner. As he drove back to the hotel, watching people shuffle and hustle about their weekend, an inkling of a plan formed and he picked up the phone to call JJ.
He found Emily in their room, her back turned to him as she hunched over the bed in the final stages of packing. He leaned against the wall, taking a moment to admire her before asking, "What are you doing, sweetheart?"
She jumped a little, the close of the door too quiet for her to hear him walk in, then raised a brow at him. "Packing? Don't we have to be at the airport in an hour?"
"Change of plans." Aaron sauntered up to his wife, pulling her in by the waist so he could kiss her. "We're leaving tomorrow."
“Since when?”
"Since I decided that you and I deserve a night to ourselves." He chuckled softly at her confused expression, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry we couldn't get our time away. I thought we could spend the night out here instead. Celebrate the best year of my life with my beautiful wife."
She softened in his arms, molding herself to him as she pushed up on her toes and threaded her hands in his hair, kissing him breathless. “What about everyone else?” she asked, mouthing along his jaw, nosing the length of his neck.
The blood promptly rushed south from his head, a familiar occurrence anytime Emily’s hands ran over him as they were doing now. He swallowed, breathing in deeply to ensure he retained some semblance of control. "I told them to leave tonight; we could fly on our own tomorrow. But they offered to stay the night.”
She laughed against his throat, hot and ticklish on his skin, feeling almost giddy by this unforeseen development, “Okay then.” The hands on her hips tightened as she began kissing down to his chest, and she grinned up at him, lightly palming the front of his black slacks. “Are you sure you want to go out? We could just lock ourselves in here for the night.”
He narrowed his eyes, playfully pinching her cheek, “Cheeky, Mrs. Hotchner. But I have a plan and, tempting as you are, you will not sway me from it.” Knowing her go-bag always contained a nicer dress in case their work called for it, he added, “Now, get dressed,” swatting her ass lightly for good measure.
“Aaron, it’s Saturday night in New York City. You realize we’re not getting in anywhere halfway decent,” Emily pointed out while she unbuttoned her blouse.
“Ye of little faith, my dear wife. I told you, I have a plan.” Aaron also rid himself of his jacket and tie, replacing his shirt with a fresh white button-down and rolling up the sleeves. He went to clean himself up in the bathroom, and when he returned, he found his magnificent wife attempting to zip up a one-shoulder red dress. The same dress he’d slid off her shoulders in his bedroom after dinner on their first date. “Is that…”
"Would you believe I didn't plan this?" she grinned, turning her back to him. "Help me?"
Instead of doing as she asked, Aaron nudged the zipper, skating a knuckle up the length of her bare back and planting a kiss at the top of her spine.
“Aaron..." she breathed, tilting her head back against his, "if you don't cut that out, we're not leaving this room." He groaned into her neck, reluctantly admitting she was right, finally zipping her up and smoothing her hair back over her shoulder.
When they emerged outside their hotel ten minutes later onto the bustling streets of Midtown Manhattan, they walked the few blocks to Grand Central Station, just barely catching the subway headed downtown. Despite her initial doubts, Emily’s smile hadn’t left her, cheeks flushed with excitement.
Aaron led her by hand out of the subway when they reached their destination, climbing the stairs onto the southwest corner of Washington Square Park. The air was hot and muggy, New York in August, even as the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon. Music filtered through from the park, mixing with the din of the crowds enjoying the first stage of their evening.
“Do I get to know what we’re doing now?”
“Not yet. Come on, this way.”
They crossed the street, turned the corner, and Aaron finally stopped outside a red awning.
“Pizza?” Emily looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise as she took in the pizzeria.
“Or hot dogs, or Indian, or Greek, Italian, Vietnamese...We can go anywhere you want in the world in the next 10 blocks.”
She beamed up at him, catching onto his plan, and her grin was infectious. “Can we do them all?”
He laughed, “Lead the way.”
They started with pizza at Joe’s — a pepperoni slice for him and a Sicilian slice for her. Then a stuffed pita filled to the brim with fresh falafel, tomatoes, and hummus. A chicken tikka kati roll. And finally a shared plate of chicken and rice drizzled in white sauce from the halal food cart next to the park.
Their hands never strayed far from the other, the blissful anonymity of the city prompting more affectionate displays from both of them. Aaron stood behind her, hands on her hips or around her waist, as they waited in line. Emily ran her fingers through his hair as they sat on barstools, so smushed together from the crowd that she was practically sitting in his lap. They stood on the sidewalk waiting for their food to be prepared, their arms wrapped around each other and their lips moving together in languid kisses as if they had all the time in the world. To any stranger who could be bothered to look their way, they looked like any other couple smitten and blissfully in love, hiding every scar, hurdle, and hardship they had overcome to reach this point. Two figures floating amongst a sea of millions.
“I’m so full,” Emily moaned, clutching her stomach dramatically as they wandered hand-in-hand down Houston St. “I think you’ve killed me.”
“Not yet, sweetheart. We haven’t gotten to dessert.”
Two spoons and one cup of salted chocolate ice cream later, they made it back to the park, still lively as if the night had only just started. The marble archway was lit up, the Empire State Building in the distance peeking through the gap. People sat around the edge of the fountain, dipping their feet into the cool water.
Aaron and Emily walked through the students and artists and skateboarders and tourists, dipping intermittently into their shared dessert absorbing the infectious energy. They reached the other end of the park, stopping for a moment to watch a street performer, and turned down a new street, neither of them wanting the evening to come to an end.
The unmistakable sound of a piano floated out of a bar as two patrons exited, catching Emily by surprise as they walked past. She jerked to a stop, captivated, then tugged Aaron's hand to the door. He followed her lead, descending down a narrow flight of stairs that led into a darkened lounge. Tufted couches and armchairs in jewel-toned velvets lined the walls, dimly lit by rounded art deco sconces. Two bartenders seamlessly crafted elegant cocktails behind a lavish bar that took up the back wall. And in the center, a jazz quartet illuminated by a spotlight as couples swayed around them on a dance floor. Even in the dark, Aaron could see the way Emily's eyes lit up, entranced by this unexpected discovery, and he discreetly asked a waitress if they could be seated.
They nestled into the corner of an empty couch, Aaron's hand resting on Emily's knee as they both sipped their respective cocktails. Truthfully, he spent very little time watching the band, his eyes trained on his wife. He took in every secret smile, every small part of her lips when the melody soared to a peak. She was breathtaking, and she was his, and not for the first time in his life did he wonder how he had ever gotten quite so lucky.
The song shifted into something he recognized, a string of notes from the saxophone eliciting an audible gasp from Emily. He grasped her hand and tugged her up from the chair, smiling at the delight on her face. He pulled her in close, one hand low on her back, his cheek resting against hers, as they began to gently shift amongst the other couples.
After a minute, Emily’s voice came in whispers in his ear, her tongue curling beautifully over the French he couldn’t understand.
Quand il me prend dans ses bras Qu'il me parle tout bas Je vois la vie en rose
Il me dit des mots d'amour Des mots de tous les jours Et ça m'fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon cœur Une part de bonheur Dont je connais la cause C'est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie Il me l'a dit, l'a juré, pour la vie
She pulled back in his arms, her gaze locking on his. A droplet tipped over her lash and onto her cheek. Her love for the man who held her — her husband, hers — bubbled and popped and diffused in her chest, filling her until she felt like she was floating. Aaron brought his hand up from her waist to her cheek, his thumb wiping away the errant drop on her skin with enough tenderness and adoration to warrant a fresh bout of tears.
Emily shakily rose to press her lips to his, tightening her hold of him, just as the song trailed to its conclusion. Applause erupted, but at that moment, the world around them didn’t exist.
“I love you, Aaron Hotchner.”
“And I love you.”
--
Song: La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf
Translation (thank you Google):
When he holds me in his arms He speaks to me softly I see life through rose-colored glasses
He speaks words of love to me Everyday words And that does something to me
He has entered into my heart A piece of happiness The cause of which I know It’s only him for me, and me for him, for life He said that to me, swore it forever
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fandomscombine · 4 years
Text
No, Not Like This (George Weasley x Reader)
I am rewatching New Girl yea and the episode of S2x15. You know the one with the ICONIC Nick and Jess 1st  Kiss?
Yup, now enjoy it as George Weasley x Reader! With guest appearances of Fred, Lee, Angelina & Alicia. *wink wink*
WC:1673
Read [Part 2]
>>>MASTERLIST<<<
>>JOIN MY WRITING CHALLENGE!<<
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It’s the night before Christmas break and your friends are ever so kind to throw a small party. They let kinda bad as they were all off to spend the holiday at their homes while you spend the next 3 weeks in Hogwarts. You weren’t that sad though, sure your parents were off to spend their 20th wedding anniversary and you are going to celebrate the holidays alone-well there are a couple of 2nd and 5th year students, none you are close with, stuck at Hogwarts too.- but you didn’t really mind cause there is something about Hogwarts during the holidays that makes it more magical.
Your friends are literally the sweetest bunch you’ve ever meat and wouldn’t have any other. Which lead to now, sitting in a circle for a game of Truth or Dare Exploding Jenga. It works like every other Jenga game, the goal it to pull out a piece without it falling and place said piece on the top. The twist is that there is either a truth or a dare written on the piece in which the player who took it must follow, if the player doesn’t accept to do said truth or dare within the 30 seconds, the tower of Jenga would explode and cover the player with brown mystery slime.
‘CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG!’ You all chorused, while Lee Jordan drowns his 5th shot of firewhiskey.
‘And time.’ Alicia pauses the stopwatch. ‘Just under 20 seconds!’
‘A new record!’ chimed Fred.
Lee looked to his left. ‘Alright Angelina, you’re up next. See if you could beat that!’
Angelina raises a brow at him. ‘You do know that each turn has a different dare, right? Or are you too drunk to remember?’
‘NOPE not just drunnkkk’ He slurred.
‘Truth.’ Angelina reads ‘Who is the most attractive person among the group?’
She places the block carefully on the top. ‘EASY. ALICIA’ She states casually. Sitting back down and not breaking eye contact with the now very red Alicia across from her.
‘Now that would be hard to beat.’ Fred stands and takes a block from one of the lower levels, leaving a middle piece. The tower sways a little.
‘Oi, you piece of shit, I’m next!’ You scream. ‘Why’d you have to take that one!’
‘Player’s choice. y/n/n, player’s choice.’ Reading his block, he chuckled. ‘Oh, Georgie this is gonna be good.’
George now curious asks, ‘well then what is it?’
Fred puffed up his chest, ‘Dare: Sit on the lap of the player on your left for one round.’
Everyone laughed including you, though not George through, it seemed like he was fuming.
Then it clicked. Wait a minute. You’re next!
Not that you mind though, it is just a game, and Fred is one of your best friends. You just wished that it was another twin that was in his position.
‘Alright Freddie bring it in.’ Patting your thighs. ‘You’ll always have a seat with me’ you teased.
‘Opfff! Oi boy be gentle!’ Fred had just dropped his weight on you.
‘Sorry.’ He muffled into your neck.
Your embrace position with Fred proved to make it difficult to reach for the tower. ‘Heyya Freddie, do you mind?’
He looks up at you, then the tower and back. ‘No can do amiga, rules are rules. And the dare says I have to stay seated.’
‘Ugh you prick.’ Sticking your tongue out at him. Rules are rules, yet there were none stating that the use of wands is not allowed.
‘HEyyyy! No cheating’ shouted Angelina.
‘There are no rules against using wands!’
‘Dammit….She’s right.’
‘Thank you, George.’
You read the levitating block in front of you. ‘Dare: Snog the player across from you for at least 20 seconds.’
‘Now that’s what I call a dare’ exclaimed Alicia.
Placing the block on top with the help of your wand, who glanced down to see who was across from you. OH OH.
As if he had read your thoughts. Fred sang ‘Ohh lala’ He left your lap. ‘Georgie, Georgie, Georgie! You lucky man!’ he teased.
‘Oh now you decide you release me?’
You make your way to George with the chanting of ‘KISS! KISS! KISS!’ seem like background noised against your nerves. Sure, it’s just a game, but you were given the opportunity of a lifetime to kiss you crush that happens to also be your best friend who you no doubt thinks of you just as that- a friend.
You held your hand out to George and pulled him right up. ‘So…uh…you good?’
He lets out a nervous breath ‘yea..yea’
‘Don’t worry, I’m nervous too.’ You admitted. ‘Let’s just suck it up and French a little.’
‘Okay fine but don’t say “Let’s just suck it up and French a little.”’ You can see him fidget a little. ‘Let’s just do it, No big deal.’ He mutters- more to himself.
‘Yea no big deal.’ You echoed though boy did you wish it would mean something. You tried to keep a serious face on and manage the blush that has no doubt covered all over your face. All that resolve though came crashing down when you saw what he was doing. ‘Why are you licking your lips?’
‘Should I not? Do you want dry lips?’
‘NO!’
‘Then I’m just licking them to make them better.’ He reasoned.
‘okay fine’
‘fine’
‘just kiss me, we’re running out of time!’
You could faintly here your friends counting down from 10….9….8..
‘yea, but first-‘
‘GOSH WEASLEY! YOU’VE KISSED OTHER GIRLS BEFORE! JUST KISS ME ALREADY!’
‘NO, NOT LIKE THIS!’ He bursts. ‘Not like this.’
‘What?’ Mouth opened; you were caught off guard. ‘What does that mean?’
‘Ahhh no , nothing , I… I…’
BOOM.
The Jenga tower explodes, magically covering only you with slime- as if was you who failed to complete your dare.
The explosion seems to bring George back into his body. ‘I’m sorry y/n…I…I gotta go’ And with that he ran out the common room.
It felt like a slap in the face. Did he not want to kiss you? Yea it was a game….but… What did he mean by ‘No, not like this’.
You were pulled from your thoughts by the retching of Lee on the carpet.
‘Oh Disgusting’ Fred helps him up from the floor. ‘Let’s get you cleaned up buddy.’
He looks up at you. ‘Hey I’m sorry the party had to end this way, And I’m even more sorry for my idiot brother.’
‘Nah, it’s fine Fred. Thank you though.’ You place a hand on his arm. ‘Hope you have a great Christmas.’
Fred’s eyes go wide and facepalms himself. ‘Crap I almost forgot, and such horrible timing too. But I owled mom earlier today and she says that you are welcomed to stay over at the Burrow for the holidays.’
‘Really?!?’
‘Yea, We didn’t want you to spend the holidays alone-‘
‘We?’
‘Uh George and I’ He gives you a weak smile. ‘So, are you in?’
‘Heck yea!’ You hugged him tightly. ‘Thank you.’
When you part, he holds onto your arms a second longer. ‘Just don’t mind my idiotic brother okay? He genuinely cares for you, talk to him okay? It’s not like him to chicken out.’
You nod.
Next to you Alicia appears with wash cloths.
‘Come on y/n let’s get you upstairs and cleaned up.’
‘So…Angelina huh?’ you tease.
‘oh shut up!’
~
‘Damn it!’ You cursed. It was 2 am and everyone is asleep. You had finally finished your last-minute packing when you realized that your wand is missing. So here you were, tearing the common room apart.
You rummaged under the couch ‘It has got to be somewhere here. Where are you, you damn magic stick?’ You remembered last using your wand near the couch. But it must have rolled away due to all the chaos.
‘Looking for this?’
‘AHH!’ Startled by the voice, you banged your head on one of the arms.
You look up and see the one and only George Weasley.
‘Yea, thanks.’ Grabbing your wand from him.
The awkward tension between you too is palpable.
You turn to head back up to bed. But George’s hand on your arm stops you.
‘y/n… I’m sorry about earlier.’
‘It’s alright..’ You had considered to ask about what he meant by ‘No, not like this’ his words still had you guessing, you had to know. ‘Um George…’
‘yea?’
‘Fred told me about you guys asking Molly if I could come with and spend the holidays with you. Thanks for that’.
You chickened out, you chickened out! You couldn’t believe it, but your rational self pointed out you can’t risk it being more awkward with George especially when you’ll be spending the next several weeks with him and his family. IN HIS HOUSE. WITH 24 HOUR CONTACT.
George merely nodded. His eyes were moving around a lot. Signs that you knew he was thinking about something- that or he was genuinely tired and is kindly trying to stay awake for you- it is currently 2am.
Concluding that it was due to exhaustion, you bid him good night.
You were midway up the steps when you once again stopped by a hand.
‘Wha—’ Though this time you weren’t greeted by his word but rather of his soft lips.
George Weasley is kissing you! George Weasley is kissing you!
After the initial shock, you reacted and kissed him back with equal passion. The moment didn’t break, even when you felt your back hit the wall. All you could concentrate on was George’s lips on yours and his hands on your waist while yours are tangled in his red hair.
Pulling apart to catch your breath, foreheads touching and his eyes that seem to see into your soul. What he said next, put a smile on your face and butterflies in your stomach that won’t be leaving soon.
‘I meant something like that. I didn’t wanna kiss you because of a game. I want to kiss you because you mean something to me’
~
Read [Part 2]
Part 2?? Anyone? When they spend Christmas in the burrow? Lol just a thought.
Taglist for this fic ‘No, Not like this’: @stopicouldvedroppedmykwusant​ @l0ttadreamz​
Taglist [All/General]: @gruffle1​
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