#wah sorry for being late as usual

[sungbeam]

nonidol!kevin moon x f!reader

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

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

▷ word count. 29.0k (...hah)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"—MAMA, CONNOR IS BEING A JERK—"

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

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

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

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

Your ears rang as you turned back to the front.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yeah, and what about it?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EPISODE TWO: IT’S CALLED AN AMBUSH

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yep, this one was awake.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kevin…?

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

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

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

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

“I wanna show you my helicopter—!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I think it can handle four people!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Oi!” You called out.

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

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

“Do we have to?”

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

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

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

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

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

Nonetheless, you and your siblings carried on.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your siblings chimed in their hellos to the pretty man.

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

EPISODE THREE: MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“He already has,” he jested.

You let out an indignant squawk. “Hurtful!”

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

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

“Hey!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Liar," Kevin suddenly jumped in.

You sent him a look. Wait really?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You nodded, returning his expression. "Cool."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Hyungseo-ah!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EPISODE FOUR: THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS DEAL™

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

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

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

“Warm night out.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You sputtered, “You’re kidding.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It’s a good idea!”

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

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

“Jacob thinks they’re scary.”

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

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

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

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

“Yeah,” you agreed.

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

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

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

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

Kevin grinned to himself. “Spend time together?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m down for that. You?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You hummed your own amusement back to him, taking the book that you’d set aside earlier back into your lap but leaving it unopened. There wasn’t any signal in this area, so devices were practically useless, so books and board games and sports became the go-to for entertainment. It was what your parents originally liked so much about the place, and eventually you and your siblings. It allowed for moments between the moments like this… whatever this was.

Kevin leaned back onto his palms again, and the shadows and moonlight cut across his jawline like glass. “I didn’t think you’d be up so late.”

“Yeah,” you drawled and picked at a strand of grass sticking out between the boards of a stair step. “I couldn’t sleep for some reason and decided to read, but then I opened my window and realized it was a nice night out, so here I am.” You nodded to him, “You?”

He gave a soft sort of chuckle. “You know I never sleep.”

Your chest felt heavy all of a sudden. “Still have the sleeping issue?” You asked softly. It had been a big thing when he was a kid. It had started off as being a very light sleeper, but over time, you discovered that sometimes Kevin just did not get sleep.

“Yeah…” he said, "I'm usually able to sleep when I'm here though, y'know? The peace, the quiet, the familiarity—it all helps. It was just tonight that was out of the ordinary." When he glanced over at you, the side of his lip quirked upward. "Don't worry too much."

You'd always thought about the lake as your home away from home, your safe space. A part of you had always thought it was the same way for him.

“How could I not worry?" You asked, poorly masking your concern as you leaned over your knees and looked at him. “How did you ever get used to your place at uni?” There must have been some reason that he was able to survive over there.

The corners of his mouth curled upward into a smile. “I was lucky,” he admitted. “I met people who have become some of my best friends and family. I guess it’s just weird being so far away from them and it's catching up to me.”

As much teasing as you did about this Jacob character, you were glad Kevin had found him and his other friends. Being away from home like that could not have been easy. At least you could rest assured that he was taken care of over there.

He had grown so comfortable over there that even his subconscious missed them.

You shifted a little closer to him and gently leaned your head onto his shoulder. He seemed surprised at first, but relaxed and let you keep your head there. “That’s good,” you whispered. “I’m happy for you.”

A beat passed, and the crazy thought occurred to you that maybe you should have asked to do this first. “Is this okay?”

His hand warmed the top of your head. “More than okay.”

The two of you sat there like that for however long—you couldn’t really tell. Time passed by differently here, it seemed. Friends definitely comforted each other like this though, right? Right.

EPISODE FIVE: [SHENANIGANS ENSUE.]

"KEVIN, would you mind giving this snack pack to Serena?"

"Oh, I got it, Auntie!" You snatched the Ziploc bag of trail mix from off the counter where Kevin's mom had set it out. "I haven't properly introduced myself to her yet," you said as some kind of explanation.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Kevin look away to conceal his laugh at your inconspicuousness.

Today, the five families planned to go on a long nature hike as a large group. There was a specific path that your family, the Moons, and the Kims always took at least once every year that led out to a waterfall. It was a beautiful slice of nature, but then again, you thought this entire area was beautiful.

You swung out of the Moons' kitchen and out onto the back lawn where everyone was slowly gathering to take off. Eyes scanning the immediate area, you located Serena Xu standing off to the side plaiting her hair into a simple braid over her shoulder.

As you made your way over to her, your Uncle Jin suddenly appeared beside you. “You look like a woman on a mission, Yn-ie. What’s the sitch?”

Your brain took a second to register the reference. “Has Sana been watching Kim Possible or have you, Uncle?”

“And if I said it was both of us?” He sniffed. Sana was his eldest daughter, only three years old, but Jin and Yuna were very updated in the essential kids shows they wanted their daughters to watch.

“As you should,” you said with an indulgent nod. You turned your gaze over to your intended target.

Serena’s eyes wandered up from her hair and met your eyes, then glanced over at Jin. You hoped she didn’t think the two of you were ganging up on her or anything. Two new people at once could be intimidating.

“Hi, Serena, right?” You asked as you and Jin approached her.

She gave a small nod, pulling her braid’s end over her shoulder as she fidgeted with it. “Uh, yeah. And you’re Yn?”

“We already met yesterday,” Jin said chipperly.

Serena nodded again.

Your fingers danced along the edge of the Ziploc baggie in your hands, squeezing along the edge to make sure that it was closed properly. Your teeth ran over your bottom lip before you were passing her the bag in your hands. “Kevin’s mom made all of us snack bags, and I just wanted to say a proper hello.”

She accepted the bag, eyes wide as she inspected its contents through the clear plastic. “Oh, wow. Thank you; that’s really thoughtful.”

“Oh!” Seokjin illuminated like a lightbulb, clapping his hands loud enough to make both you and Serena wince. (You and she met each other’s eyes with awkward laughs.) “Didn’t you mention yesterday that you were pre-law?”

Your eyebrows flew upward. “Pre-law?” Your head bobbed up and down with a low whistle. “That’s cool.”

“Yeah, uh, I guess so,” she said. “It’s a little intimidating right now, if I’m being honest.”

“Yn!” Ripped out of the conversation, you excused yourself and found the source of your name. Your mom was perched on one of the picnic benches outside of the Moons’ place, slathering sunscreen on your brother’s face. Connor’s face was wrinkled in extreme displeasure as she patted the white cream into his skin with a slapping sound.

Always amusing.

Perched upon the picnic table next to them was none other than Joshua Hong. He sent you a friendly greeting wave.

“What’s up?” You asked, leaving Uncle Jin with Serena so you could make your way over to your chagrined little brother, your mom, and Joshua. “Where’s Dad and Alice? Hey Josh.”

He replied pleasantly, “Hey Yn.”

“Your dad’s grabbing something from the car with her,” she dismissed. “Would you mind showing Joshua where we put our bandages? We have so many of the little ones—”

“It’s just a little cut; I swear I’m fine!” Joshua chuckled good-naturedly. He showed you the slice in the side of his finger that was only a couple of centimeters long, but you could tell that he’d just recently cleaned it up and was holding it with a small piece of napkin.

Your mom made a noise of disagreement. “It’s going to get infected on the hike.”

You shuffled on your feet, offering him a small smile. “Sorry, man. I have to agree with her.”

“Thank you. You remember where the bandages are, right? You and Josh just go run up really quick together.”

You didn’t even realize when Kevin got here. “Oh, why don’t I just get one from my place for you?” Kevin waltzed into the conversation with an innocent expression, hands tucked into the pockets of his shorts, as he appeared at your side. “Since we’re just right here.”

Joshua gestured toward him with his hand-clutching-hand situation and hopped off from the picnic table top. “If you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, dude, it’s no problem.” Kevin’s hand met the place between your shoulders with a warm pat, and he led Joshua up to his family’s cabin for the bandages.

Your amusement followed after them as you watched them leave. Your mom sent you a curious look, eyes narrowed in question, and you could only shrug helplessly.

The hike commenced shortly after the boys got back from raiding the Moon’s medicine cabinet. Your dad and Alice returned sometime before they did, and Alice had once again requested you put her hair up in, as she said, “Something nice.” As if the wilderness would care about her nice hair-do, but you gave her a plait that matched Serena’s.

Your brother and sister kept near to you as you led the group through the beginning of the trail. Though you didn’t consider yourself as someone who exercised religiously, you never turned down a good foraging session. Your freshman environmental science course had presented you with plenty of opportunity to dive into the dense forest areas near the building. Even in the early reaches of the morning (8:30 morning labs were sometimes difficult to be disciplined about, but you were determined), when the fog clung to the forest floor and dew slipped down velvety oak leaves, you found yourself at peace.

At some point in time, Connor picked up a large fallen stick and used it as a hiking staff. “You shall not pass!” He declared after running a little ways ahead of you and mimicked the deepness of Gandolf’s voice.

You snorted as you passed by him and ruffled his hair. “Name the series that’s from and then we can talk, dude.”

“You’re never any fun!” Connor garbled, jogging after you.

You scoffed, pressing a hand against your chest in feigned offense. “I’m way more fun than you are,” you retorted.

“Okay, prove it! Make this more fun.”

“So you’re saying this hike isn’t fun?” You gasped.

Connor stabbed at the dirt path warn into the ground that weaved through the trees ahead for miles. It was by no means a challenging hike, just a lengthy one that required a bit of enthusiasm and endurance. “Well last time, you brought that thing—”

“Sugar water,” you supplied.

“—yeah, that one—and we caught butterflies!” Painted Lady butterflies were a common species of butterfly that was widespread among North America. Luckily, it hadn't been too difficult to find them.

“Woah, you guys caught butterflies last year? Without me?” Man, this guy was just everywhere today, you thought jokingly, as Kevin appeared on your other side with a boyish grin on his face. “That’s cool.”

“We didn’t catch them,” you corrected. It was more so a lure with the sugar water (a substitute for nectar), letting the kids see the insect up close, and then setting it free. You were no lepidopterologist—butterflies were cool, but no special interest of yours. “They just landed in my hand for a little. You should’ve been there to take pictures.”

Kevin hit the palm of hand against his forehead. “That’s what I forgot! I forgot to bring my camera on the hike.”

“Tsk tsk, what would your sister say now?” You chided playfully.

He pressed his lips together in a grimace. “Don’t bring her up—I can hear the echo of her voice as we speak.” To prove his point, he pressed his fingers to his temples, eyes fluttering closed, as if he really could hear his sister’s teasing from wherever she was.

You humored him with a laugh—

“Yn! I’m gonna climb that boulder!”

Okay, fun time was over. You tracked the sound of your brother’s voice, and with barely enough time to catch up to him, you set off the beaten path to follow. “Hey, you better be careful or Mom’s gonna put you on bedrest for the rest of the trip,” you chuckled as Kevin fell in step beside you. You said to him offhandedly, “Would you possibly mind…”

“Yeah, I got it.” He did a small jog over to the cluster of boulders your brother had begun to scale. Going bouldering wasn’t a new activity for you and your siblings, but you remembered that these ones were a little larger than your mom was usually comfortable with. You were grateful Kevin understood immediately.

He was already standing below where Connor was, playing along with whatever roleplay your brother had made up, all the while hovering in case he fell.

The rest of the party caught up to you at this point, and Alice, Uncle Jin, Sana, and even Josh converged upon the rock formation in a flurry of giggles and mirthful playtime. You observed the action with ill-concealed fondness for everyone there as they came together and helped one another climb to the topmost boulder as if it were the peak of Mount Everest. Something warmed within you at the sight.

On your left, Yuna, who was on Leena duty this morning, came to stand beside you. Some of the parents were pulling out cell phones to record all the chaos going on. “Why don’t you go up with them?” She asked, inclining her head to the rock formation.

Josh was just beckoning Kevin up with him, and you saw Kevin’s head turned back over his shoulder. When his eyes found yours, Kevin waved you over, too.

“I should,” you murmured in agreement.

Yuna hummed as she adjusted the little bonnet on Leena’s head. “You know, Kevin…” she began. You waited for her to finish, but she smiled instead, shaking her head. “Nevermind. Go have fun, you bean.”

You giggled at the nickname, then wasted little time going to join everyone else. You could probably ask her what she was going to say later.

The evening found the group of you gathered on the shady back lawn between yours and the Moons’ cabin for dinner once again. The Xus and Hongs had all retired to their own respective houses for downtime, so it would just be the three original families. You perched a little ways away on the back stairs of your house’s porch, a bowl of peelable tangerines in your lap. At your feet, you had rolled the edges of a brown paper bag you’d found beneath the sink to use as a disposal. All of the compostable waste you and everyone else produced while here would become great fertilizer and mulch. It was something you usually had your siblings help with, especially before you left the lake.

Kevin had his cap turned backwards as he made his way over to you in flip flops. “That seat taken?” He asked with a nod toward the board next to you.

Your eyebrows rose. “All yours.”

“Thanks,” he beamed, doing a silly waddle, then sitting down next to you. He reached into the bowl on your lap for an orange, and you moved the compost bag between your bodies. “Your mom was talking about Josh again,” he said as he dug his thumb into the skin of the tangerine. Its juices sprayed into the air and released its sweet fragrance.

“Why am I not surprised?” You sighed with a shake of his head. “You know, he’s really good with my siblings though.”

“Oh, is he?”

You shrugged, shoveling a tangerine half into your mouth. “Mm—yeah,” you said once you’d swallowed. “But you’re also good with my siblings. I dunno, it was just an observation.” Based on what you saw on the hike, you could confidently conclude that your siblings agreed with both Kevin and Josh. They were both friendly beyond means, easy on the eyes, kind on the soul.

Kevin didn’t say anything for a beat, and still didn’t say anything until he’d finished the orange in his hands and picked up a new one. “I hear he’s going into medicine. I have a friend who’s going into medicine.”

“Which one?” You asked, then joked, “Don’t tell me it’s Jacob now…”

When Kevin gave you a sheepish expression, you shook your head, “Okay, now I think you’re obsessed with this guy.” All the teasing was in good fun, of course.

“He’s just my soulmate,” he lamented with a hand draped over his forehead for added effect. “No biggie.”

“Damn,” you laughed. You popped a wedge of tangerine into your mouth, eyes going to the sky for a moment as you pondered on something. “So you say that when Jacob met his current girlfriend, it was because of you.”

“Yup.”

“So you set them up? You matchmade them?”

He nodded. “I’m very proud of myself, actually. I take credit for all of their milestones and anniversaries. I better be the Best Man at their wedding, and—”

“But you matchmade them; doesn’t that make you a hypocrite?”

Kevin’s speech came to an abrupt halt. You watched, in blatant amusement, as his face contorted and arranged itself in the five stages of grief. “Oh my god… I am a hypocrite.”

For a moment, you felt bad for laughing at his blanched expression. “It doesn’t make you a bad person,” you assured him.

“It makes me a hypocrite.” He hung his head, but shot back up just as quickly. “Okay, but wait! It’s different.”

“Do tell.”

“It’s different because Jacob never told me he didn’t want to be matchmade.” The calculations taking place in his head were as stark to you, the observer, as if he was working it out on a white board. His eyebrows knitted together. “Yeah. That’s the difference. Plus, that match was fully successful, and he ended up putting in a lot of the work himself by the end anyway.”

You bobbed your head in agreement. “Fair enough.”

Kevin settled his chin on his hand, eyes slicing back over to you. “Aren’t you a hypocrite, too, then?”

You blinked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

His face said it all. “Jenna from fifth grade.”

Oh. It all came rushing back to you…

But before anything else could be commented on the matter (read: before you could go through your own miniature existential crisis like Kevin had), a presence appeared, squatting down between the two of you. “What—” Jin covered Leena’s ears as he sat down, “—is the mother-effing tea?”

You and Kevin immediately scooted over to make room for the uncle coming in hot. You moved the compost bag back to the other side of your leg.

Kevin chuckled. “You said ‘mother-effing.’”

“Aish,” he exhaled, wrinkling his nose up. “Yuna’s on relax mode right now and has two beers in her. I get a pass, okay? Now catch me up on all of the exciting stuff.”

You and Kevin traded glances. “What exciting stuff?”

Jin’s expression flattened into a deadpan. “Don’t be like that. You two have been so secretive lately; I wanna be let in on the secret stuff.”

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily a secret…” You drawled.

Kevin scratched the back of his head. “Uh, yeah. Well, we’ve kind of figured out that our moms are trying to set us up with Josh and Serena instead of each other now.”

You didn't know what you were expecting Uncle Jin to reply, but he gave a nod. "Ah, I can see that." He sucked in a breath through his teeth, "Why did they suddenly go 360 on the two of you? It seems kind of out of left field."

"Well, we kind of asked them to stop trying to get us two together."

Jin hummed. "Yah, that makes sense. It all makes sense now." He made an old-man noise out of his throat as he shifted his position and the way that Leena rested on his chest. You and Kevin buckled down and hung off his words. "They probably only mean well, you know that, right? Right. But I can see that you both are still uneasy about that, and I get that, too. So—I'll tell you what.

"I'll help you guys out," he said. "I think they already know I'm nosy enough to butt in everywhere, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to… tch tch, y'know—" He gestured very indulgently with his hands, "—do my thing—am I making any sense? It's been a long day."

Another look passed between you and Kevin, then you both shared a laugh, relief making your postures relax and your grins widen. "No, we understand completely."

It seemed like you just gained an ally.

EPISODE SIX: CAN I BE A ROCK IN MY NEXT LIFE? THANKS.

THERE was a collection of jet skis that someone around the lake owned, and Kevin's parents would rent them out once every summer for everyone to use. Of course, it was mainly for the older kids and adults; thus, your siblings and the little Kims were banned from partaking in the festivities, much to your siblings' chagrin. It was for safety reasons that they were forced to find some other method of entertainment for the day.

You trudged your way down the path from the Kims' house to yours. In your hand, you wielded the light blue stick of baby sunscreen Seokjin asked you to fetch for his girls, but based on the fact that Leena, Sana, nor Yuna were even out here, it was safe to assume it was really for him.

Those who were participating in riding jet skis, and some who just wanted to watch and soak up the summer sun, were gathered somewhere between your house and the Moon house again. The two properties shared a single dock made of wood faded out from the sun and washed by the lake water. You could recall summer after summer running down the pier and cannonballing into the water.

"Hey! I got your sunscreen!" You hollered as you neared the group down by the water, raising the sunscreen stick up in the air.

The five or so heads turned toward you at the sound of your voice. You didn't miss Kevin's presence specifically, his arms sticking out from the life vest strapped to his chest. You did not deign to look further.

Jin raised his hand. "My Savior! Thanks, Yn-ie!"

You tossed the sunscreen down to him and he caught it between both of his hands before beginning to slather the cream all over his face.

You noted the last life vest sitting on the edge of the dock closest to land and made a beeline for it.

Just as you descended the hill, your mom appeared in your view with an empty plate in her hands, the bottom ringed in a translucent red liquid. "Yn, honey. Can you do me a huge favor and chop up the last watermelon? I didn't realize we would need more. Your dad and Kevin's dad are driving into town right now for some extra provisions and an extra large watermelon."

"Oh, sure." Your eyes skittered to the vest on the dock, but you realized slicing the watermelon wouldn't take too long.

You took the plate from your mom without further comment and began making your way up the hill to your house.

As you slid the door open, the sound of chatter carried from the living room floor. Eyes peered up from where they were seated, surrounding the coffee table on the floor. A colorful array of beads and string was strewn over the surface, and you came to a distinct conclusion as to where all the non-jet-skiers had gone.

"Hello everyone," you mused, closing the screen door behind you.

Josh was the first to say hello back. "Wanna join us? We're making friendship bracelets." He lifted the craft in his hands as if the beads and materials displayed weren't proof enough.

You leaned over the back of the couch. "Looks like fun! Maybe I will."

Outside by the lake, Kevin monitored the back door of your cabin for when you would make your way back out. He had been wanting to race you on a jet ski ever since the owners brought them over for everyone to use.

There were a grand total of five people surrounding the opening to the dock: Kevin and his mom, your mom, Jin, and Serena. Everyone except for the moms were strapped in lifejackets in preparation to board one of the two jet skis sitting in port.

"Huh," Jin said as he craned his head up in the direction Kevin's was in. "Wonder what's taking her so long."

"I'm sure she's just taking her time or something." Kevin pushed off of the post he was leaning against. "I'll go check up on her—"

“Oh, no-no-no! It’s okay,” your mom protested, her body already turn-tailed to head up to the house. Even Kevin’s mom made a gesture for him to stay put. “We’ll go check up on Yn.”

Kevin’s mom then gestured with her arm toward Serena, who had wandered off further down the dock to inspect one of the vehicles waiting in the water. “Why don’t you go help her with the jet ski?”

“And me!” Seokjin boisterously slung an arm around his cousin-in-law’s shoulders and swung him toward the entrance of the pier.

Kevin’s eyes went wide when he almost tumbled face-first into the hardwood. “Shit,” he sputtered. “Uh, Uncle Jin?”

“Yep?”

“That sounded fishy to you, too, right?”

Jin let out a laugh and patted Kevin’s shoulder in consolation. “Yep.”

“I feel like I haven’t seen you all afternoon.” The words left your mouth as you blocked the unforgiving golden hour sun with a hand to your forehead. The light at this time of day gleamed across the surface of the lake and gave the illusion of a molten pot of gold. You imagined swimming in it, dipping your toes into its warm innards from the end of the dock.

Kevin stood at the edge of the lake’s shoreline with his hair dried from a day of jet skiing, a fresh T-shirt over his chest and the lifejacket from earlier nowhere to be seen. That, along with the jet skis. Those had been returned a little over an hour ago. “We were off doing our separate things, I guess,” he said, his arms folded across his chest. “Speaking of, where’ve you been? You went to cut watermelon and never came back.” He added a small laugh to his words, hoping you wouldn’t think he was bothered by the fact that the two of you didn’t get to hang out on jet skis together.

“Oh, heh.” The sheepishness in your voice made him glance over at you. You didn’t know why you were suddenly getting so shy about it, but from the pocket of your shorts, you withdrew a small piece of beaded string, tied at the end in one of those fancy loops that were adjustable. You didn’t know how it was done; Joshua had done something with the end like magic. “Yuna, Josh, and the kids were all inside making friendship bracelets and they kind of roped me into it.”

“Ah.”

“This one’s for you,” you said, holding it out to him. It was a quirky piece with white block letter beads strung together next to acrylic star and pony beads. You’d scavenged a crescent moon somewhere amongst all the pandemonium, and it sat next to the letter N on the chain.

Kevin peered at you and his irises gleamed with the brilliance of golden hour. He frowned in joy, delicately accepting the chain from you with his bottom lip jutted out in a combination frown-pout. “You’re incredible,” he gushed as he inspected the little gift. “Dude, I’m honestly so touched. This is so cute.”

You broke out into a grin, your heart bursting with pride in your chest. “Glad it’s not cringy.”

“I’m offended for you,” he scoffed, aghast. “How could you think this is cringy?” It was probably a genuine question, but you kept silent as you watched him loop the end of the bracelet around his wrist and struggled to figure out how to tie off the end with one hand.

You stepped forward, and he stuck his hand out to you. “Shua showed me how this works,” you murmured, wracking your brain for the quick how-to Joshua showed with his own wrist. (You had been too confused to ask him to see it done again, and only nodded and smiled.)

“Shua?”

“Mm, yeah, apparently he makes a lot of friendship bracelets, especially for friends at school.” Your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth as you tried something and… “Ta-da!”

With the bracelet secured onto his wrist, Kevin beamed like a kid on Christmas, and held it up to show it to the setting sun. “It’s great—it’s perfect. Thank you, Yn.”

It was some sort of cosmic magic that corralled everyone back down to the shoreline again, but this time, with all of the kids and non-jet-skiers, as well. Another tradition that your party liked to share every year at the lake was rock-skipping. Perhaps it was more of just an activity than a tradition, but it was something that none of you failed to remember to do whenever you were up here. Since you were a kid, you had been practicing to hone your technique.

Your siblings and the Kims, especially, all ran up to the shoreline beside you and Kevin, and the search for the perfect throwing rock began. In the chaos of merriment and childlike glee, the lot of you trudged into the cooling water of the lake’s shallow shore.

“I know you just gave me the coolest friendship bracelet ever,” said Kevin from beside you as he sifted through the rocks beneath his flip flops, “but I hope you know that I’m gonna crush you this year.”

You snorted. “Okay, Kevin.”

“No, I’m serious!” You guffawed at the sight of his expression; he’d even stood up straight in the water, a pair of flat stones in either hand. “My friend YH!Yn—she’s an engineer, right—”

“Oh, so you’re gonna win by cheating?”

“Nuh-uh,” he rolled his eyes, unimpressed by your posturing. “She showed me this video online. You know Mark Rober? She’s a huge fan, but that’s besides the point. The point is that the video taught me the perfect technique to rock-skip.”

Something in you liked to think that was still cheating, but then again, neither of you had ever really established any ground rules to this, and certainly none about doing research. Your eyes narrowed. “Explain yourself.”

Kevin decided between one of the two rocks in his hands with a brief peek at both of them, before discarding the one in his left hand back into the water with an anticlimactic sploosh. “You’re supposed to launch the rock so it hits the surface of the water at a twenty-degree angle.”

Joshua trudged into the water near both you and Kevin with the sleeves of his plaid over-shirt rolled past his elbows. “I don’t even know what kind of rock to look for, and you guys are bringing trig into this?”

“Oh my god, don’t even get them started,” Jin grumbled from a handful of meters away from the three of you. He kicked through the shallow water with his eyes pinned to the ground in his own search for a rock to skip. “Yn almost gave me a black eye one year.”

“That was an accident and I was ten!”

“Yeah, well rocks hurt!”

Joshua bent down slightly and scooped up a rock from the water. He considered it for a minute, taking in its size, its weight, and how pretty it was. “I guess this can work. So do you guys have, like, a training boot camp for beginners or something?” He chuckled.

“I can show you,” you offered once you’d decided on your own rock for the first round.

“Tch,” Kevin huffed, “if you wanna show him the wrong way to do it.”

Your jaw unhinged. “If you keep this up, I will take back that friendship bracelet, Moon Hyungseo.”

Jin covered his mouth with one of his hands and sidled up next to Joshua. “Ooh, she used the government name.” That coaxed another laugh out of the Los Angeles boy.

Kevin held his decorated wrist to his chest. “You can pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

Suffice to say that when it came down to it, Kevin did have the better technique. There were really four main things to consider when rock-skipping, one of them being that the rock ideally should hit the water at twenty-degrees, as Kevin had mentioned before. Though, you did have to give yourself some credit for managing to work your way up to thirteen skips in a row without the help of an engineer friend.

EPISODE SEVEN: ALWAYS TREAT YOUR PLANTS WITH CARE

VACATION granted you the express permission to be the laziest bum in the world. After three years of college work, sometimes it was nice to have even a single day to yourself to do what you always wanted to: relax. In a world that moved as fast as this one, it was nearly impossible to take breaks without feeling the aching guilt of a day without productivity.

But there was something about the lake… you didn't know. Maybe it was just because years of coming here and associating it with the ease and carefree air of childhood that made it easier to sleep in and feel the sun on your toes.

The house and the neighboring ones were quiet this late morning. At ten or so, the Kims had swept up your siblings and their children and towed them off to town for ice cream and provisions. (You hoped they remembered to grab you some bird seed. You still had yet to replenish the bird feeders around the lake.) You weren't sure where your parents were off to, but you recalled them briefly mentioning a visit to the hidden swing at Lookout's Peak about a three mile hike from here. That meant that you had the whole house to yourself.

And what else did that mean? That you would not be in the house.

When it hit noon, you ate a quick lunch at the kitchen counter before gathering up your supplies to head outside. There was always a spare picnic blanket stashed in the hallway closet, and you grabbed a book, your neglected sketchbook, and a pencil to come along with you.

The weather was perfect, you liked to think—temperate, and not popsicle-melting, with a hint of a breeze wafting through the boughs of the oak trees. You trudged your way over to the largest oak tree with the most amount of shade, gunning to get some full relaxing done when you realized that you were not as alone as you thought you were.

You and Kevin locked eyes from where he sat against the trunk of the tree, his iPad left at his side and his camera being fiddled with between his fingers. The friendship bracelet you gave him the other day still hung around his wrist.

"Hi," he grinned. "I thought you went into town with the twins."

"Ah, nah" you sighed pleasantly as you shifted the things in your arms, "I decided to sleep in. You?"

"Same here." He amended, "Well, as much as someone like me can sleep in." He gestured to the picnic blanket bundled over your arm. "How about I help you with that?"

With teamwork (because that made the dream work), the two of you laid out the picnic blanket on the shady grass beneath the oak tree, overlooking the view of the lake. You settled yourself atop it while Kevin moved his things beside you; shoes were discarded at the edge, so you both sat comfortably on the blanket, half-facing the other.

You reached for your sketchbook, inclining your chin toward the DSLR now sitting abandoned as he picked up his iPad. "What were you up to before I got here?"

"Oh, uh, just looking through some photos I took this morning to maybe use as a reference," he said, twirling his Apple pencil between his fingers. "I keep forgetting to take pictures on this trip."

"Maybe it's a good thing," you offered. You tucked a lock of hair behind your ear and flipped to a blank page. "Let's you live in the moment, y'know?"

"Yeah. I guess so." He tapped the end of his pencil against his cheek. You were never the type for fancy technology and equipment, mainly because you were a little stubborn, but nothing could beat a good pencil and paper. "I'm gonna draw you," he suddenly declared.

A giggle bubbled out of your chest. "What? Me?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well then, I'm gonna draw you."

His eyebrows shot up, an amused smile worming onto his face. "You do you, honey."

The two of you, coincidentally, came to share quite the handful of interests. One of them was sketching, and you liked to give credit to your ecology and biology classes at school that gave you the time to practice your drawing skills, even if super accurate drawings weren't always required. It just gave you an excuse to combine two things you loved.

You never did pick up how to use a DSLR though. At least, not like Kevin knew how to.

You sat there for a moment with your cheek to your fist and your eyes glued to the man across from you. Drawing people was difficult—it was always the subtle details that threw you overboard, the movement of the hands and fingers, the crevices in the wrinkle of one's eyes, the… the look. The thing that made them look like a human being.

Kevin had always been a beautiful subject matter. His bone structure was near perfect in your eyes; his smile was awful to draw just because it was so pretty, and you couldn't do it justice. You could never achieve the right curl of his lips, or infuse it with his humility. And even now, you watched the way his eyelashes fell so gently over his eyes and the dusting of pink falling across his cheekbones…

"You're staring."

You blinked, breaking out of your daze. "I'm studying my subject," you clarified pointedly and began to sketch out a rough outline of his head. A portrait would do just fine for the day.

Kevin mimicked your position from earlier where he leaned in slightly and rested his cheek against his fist. "There was this internship I turned down this summer."

His words made you glance up from your paper for a moment.

He continued on, straightening, then absentmindedly sketching out an outline for your face. "It was supposed to be in New York, at this studio, but…" He blew air out between his lips, "I don't know; I couldn't do it. It was a great opportunity and it didn't call to me, but I feel so guilty about not even trying."

You waited a beat in case he wanted to continue. You could see the conflict warring across this face, the subtle flex in his jaw at his frustration—with the portrait or himself, you weren't sure.

"Sorry, I don't know why I suddenly just thought of that," he said to you. "I was just thinking about this place and not being here last year, and I think my brain just went to that."

You looked over at him in earnest. "I feel you, I mean… some things just aren't meant to be, and you shouldn't force it. That's how you get burnt out, y'know?"

"Yeah," he murmured in agreement.

"I was looking at an internship, too," you piped up with a shape exhale. "I—I didn't get it, clearly, but uhm…" It still hurt.

Kevin frowned. "Oh, man. I'm sorry, Yn. I feel like I'm just complaining now that—"

"No, oh my gosh, no!" You hurried to interrupt him. "Don't be silly," you said gently, "you shouldn't invalidate your feelings like that. Some things just really aren't meant to be." It didn't mean it hurt any less that they weren't, but maybe this was the path you were meant to take instead. "It's something I'm coming to terms with, too, but don't compare your troubles against mine. Please."

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth, and it took him a little to finally try for a half smile. "You're gonna get the next one."

You smiled back at him. "Thanks. And you'll find one that suits you."

"I hope so."

"Do you ever worry about," you began as you played around with the slightest curve of his nose on your paper, "not being who people want you to be?"

He hummed. "What do you mean?"

"Like, successful. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this." You didn't know where this had sprouted from in the first place, but one insecurity in particular had nested in the inner cavities of your chest and made itself a home. As someone who wanted to be at wildlife encampments, not catering to fancy rich dogs in a clinic, your path wasn't conventional. You were becoming a veterinarian, but your parents always thought you would end up someplace nice with a pay that was equally nice. Something practical, something they didn't have to worry over. Your calling was… elsewhere though. Somewhere a little more difficult to reach without the prying eyes and mouths of those around you.

Kevin marinated on it. "I think… the two of us are kind of similar in that way. We're both not taking on things that people have expected of us."

Out of everyone you knew, you had a feeling he would be one of the few who could empathize. "There's—there's this thing I want to do," you said. You couldn't figure out the words to string your thoughts into coherent speech; you felt like it would never come out right. But Kevin was patient. "I've always wanted to go on safari expeditions, and observe wildlife in the wild, and do research, and work with conservatories. It feels so unattainable sometimes, when I think about the people looking at me and expecting something good. Does that make sense?"

He gave a thoughtful nod, his Apple pencil tucked behind his ear for the time being. "Yeah, that makes sense. I remember you talked about it before."

That rang a bell. "When I made you watch the David Attenborough Our Planet doc series," you mused. In association, your brain sparked images of late nights, blue-light screens, and flashlights beneath blanket forts. You had been fully convinced Kevin would say the documentary series would be boring like everyone else, but to your pleasant surprise, he had been just as enthralled as you'd been.

"You didn't make me," he smiled. "I liked it."

Your chest warmed. "I still have it downloaded on my phone if you wanna watch."

He screwed his face up in amusement, shaking his head. "You're one of the biggest dorks I know. And I know so many dorks now."

"I'm still your favorite dork though, right?" You smiled down at your paper when you were satisfied with how his eyes turned out.

"Always."

A beat passed, and from your periphery, you saw him tap the blanket in front of you to get your attention.

"Hey, you're gonna be okay," he said. "One day, you will go hide in a bunker in the Siberian winter to wait for tigers like a crazy person—"

"Okay, wait, out of all the examples you watched in the doc, you chose—"

"Anyways!" He grinned at the look you sent him, unfazed. "We're both gonna be okay, alright? We're chasing dreams, and sometimes the chase is hard, but the reward is sweet."

You knew he was right; of course he was right. Talking things out was always a good idea, especially with a trusted person, and who better to trust than Kevin Moon? You had friends who understood, but not really understood.

You reached for his pencil with the end of yours and you bumped ends like ET. The corners of your lips curled upward as you met his gaze, and you were struck by the softness in his rich, chocolate irises. No sketch, painting, portrait could do those beautiful eyes justice. "Don't call me a nerd for this."

"No promises."

You fixed him with a look. "There's this thing that plants do called phototropism. Because plants need light to synthesize into food and energy, they often turn and grow towards the nearest light source. So even in, let's say, a dark hole in the ground—if there's a crack in the roof that brings light in, the plant will grow in that direction, and probably grow its way out." You cleared your throat. "Thanks for showing me the light."

Kevin's eyes shone big and wide, doe-like you liked to say, almost in awe of the explanation of a basic function plants performed to survive. But twisted in a certain way, and one could apply it to everyday non-plant life, as well.

"Now how can I possibly call you a nerd after that?" His voice went raspy and he had to clear it, too. "I think I'm getting misty-eyed," he said, fanning his eyes.

You chuckled at his antics. "Oh, hush. I guess it's my way of saying thanks for reminding me I'm not gonna be a failure." It was scary how often you thought about it, especially at college.

Kevin reached over and warmed one of your hands with his. "You're not gonna be a failure, Yn. I promise you that."

All of the kids were asleep in the back of the Kims' minivan, and it took two trips back and forth between the car and the living room to transfer all four sleeping munchkins. By the time Jin and Yuna were done, the former was certain he was going to need a cane much earlier in his life than previously anticipated.

He held his back as they made their way out onto the back porch. "I think I'm aging faster," he said to his partner.

Yuna sputtered out a laugh. "Aye, so dramatic, and for what? You're gonna survive."

"No sympathy," he sighed melodramatically as he hung off her frame. "I wonder where everyone else is."

His voice trailed off as they stood on the porch and overlooked the valley below. Just further out, they could easily see the occupants of the big oak tree between yours and the Moons' houses. You and Kevin sat slightly angled toward one another, not quite sitting next to each other, but not quite facing each other either.

The laughter was apparent on your faces as Kevin showed you something on his iPad. You grabbed the screen with ill-concealed delight, your eyes lighting up like a pair of fireflies. "No, oh my god, the little sprout on top of my head! You didn't!"

Yuna murmured softly to her lover with a chuckle, "Should we go say hello?"

Seokjin adjusted his position so now his arm rested around her shoulders. A smile etched onto his face at the view; he was so fond of the very thing neither you nor Kevin could see just yet. "Well, how could you possibly want to break that up?"

EPISODE EIGHT: NOD AND SMILE… YUP.

YOU weren't really sure why it took so long before you all deigned to take a proper dip in the lake, but as they said, better late than never.

The sun beat down on the little lake population, even at ten in the morning, which made it perfect weather to go swimming. Your house was a-bustle with life, thunderous footsteps, and motherly yelling to her children of “You better all have sunscreen on!” You were just finishing up the task yourself, rubbing in the last handprint of sunblock onto your calf before you were grabbing your towel at the end of your bed and heading out.

You caught Alice coming down the stairs with her floral one-piece on and a set of blue goggles strapped to her head. This morning, her hair was in two braids. “Do you have sunscreen on?” You asked her as you opened the back screen door.

“Yes,” she groaned as if this was the hundredth time she’d been asked that question today. Knowing your family, it probably was the hundredth time. “Do we still have the flamingo floatie?”

“We can probably pop down to the shed and see,” you suggested. You blinked in surprise at the person you found leaning against the railing of your back porch. “Why hello there.”

Joshua glanced up from the piece of string in his hands that he had tied at the ends to form one, large ring. “Hi guys! Either of you ladies know how to play Cat’s Cradle?” His hands slipped in between the string so that the ring rested on the backs of his fingers. In a movement that sent a wave of nostalgia down your spine, he maneuvered his hands through the string to form the zigzag pattern correspondent with the beloved childhood game.

“Ooh! Me, me!” Alice bounced around on the balls of her feet and rushed over to where Josh was to pick out the next pattern.

The screen door behind you opened up again as soon as you stepped foot onto the deck. Your dad appeared with your little brother, both of whom were dressed in rash guards and swim trunks. Your dad hustled his son along. “Yn-ah, we’re going down to the shed to get swimming things. Wanna come?”

“Wait, Daddy, can we get the flamingo floatie?” Alice asked your dad. Joshua finished up the next pattern, and your sister was quick to grab the next.

“Sure. We have to go now, though.”

With little else left to say or do, your dad ferried your little siblings off and around the house to where the shed was. It was tucked out of the way somewhere between your house and the Kims’ place.

You sidled up beside Joshua and slung your towel over your shoulder, noting his tank top and shorts. “You going for a swim with us?”

He gestured to his attire, nodding. “Seems like it. My parents wanted to run into town to do some shopping, see the sights. Your mom mentioned last night that you all were planning to go swimming today, so I thought I’d tag along, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, man—it’s totally cool.”

You gazed far out toward the lake down the lawn. There were already a few people there, including Kevin and the Kims. Sana and Leena were already frolicking around in the water with their dad, while Yuna and Kevin stood off to the side on the dock. It seemed that Yuna had brought down a pair of foldable chairs to set up there, perhaps to soak up a little sun.

The two of them exchanged a couple more words before Yuna left him there so she could go pick up Leena from falling face-first in the water. Leena was still an infant, after all.

You decided that this would be a good time to run and join him, but your thoughts slowed to a halt when Kevin picked up the bottom hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. You even heard Joshua beside you lose his breath. The sunlight had to be a paid actor or something, because the way it glowed across your friend’s shoulders, enunciating the firm muscles in his back, had to be illegal in nature.

Joshua’s low whistle of appreciation met your ears. “Wow… he’s ripped.”

You nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah.” Whoops, did you say that out loud?

The man simply chuckled and bounded down the porch. “C’mon, Yn. Let’s go join them before he catches you staring.”

If there was anything else that you and Kevin took seriously besides rock-skipping, it was the game Marco Polo. The rules were simple: an elected tagger would play with their eyes closed, yelling out “Marco” in order to locate other players in the water. The tagger had three or five opportunities to open their eyes (this was enforced for safety reasons) in order to tag everyone. Those who were not the tagger were required to reply with “Polo” in response to the tagger’s call.

Boundaries of the game ranged from your house to Kevin’s house, and no hiding beneath the dock. (Only the tagger could pass beneath that zone.)

By the time it was Kevin’s turn to tag, nearly an hour and a half had gone by, and you could feel the sun’s rays seeping into you. The heat was getting to you, and by the looks on everyone else’s faces, it was getting to them, too. But… one last round never hurt anybody.

"Are you guys ready?" Kevin's mom stood on the dock with her hands on her son's shoulders. Kevin's eyes were screwed shut where he sat on the edge of the dock, his feet swinging where they dangled over the water. Everyone stood scattered in the water, biding their time before Kevin's mom let him hop in.

She surveyed the surrounding water for nods of confirmation. You lingered just at the outer edge of the boundary, face half in the water with your eyes peeking out to hide your smile. You would swim back in should he come this way, but the buoy behind you kept you from cheating.

When she was satisfied with what she saw, she patted him on the shoulders. "Okay, Kevin."

He lowered himself into the water. "Marco!"

"Polo," came the wary response, a voice from every corner and reach of the boundary, it seemed.

He honed in on a voice—not yours, it seemed, but Uncle Jin's—and slowly treaded over toward that direction. You saw your uncle's eyes widen in fear, and he ducked under the water for a swift second to attempt at a silent getaway.

"I can hear you," Kevin chuckled as he swung his arm over his head to adopt a freestyle stroke. The tone of his voice sounded awfully menacing.

"YAH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Jin screeched, no longer trying to stay quiet.

One by one, Kevin picked people off. Yuna had a little disadvantage since she had Sana clinging to her back the whole time, so she was given a merciful second life. But when she was caught once more, it was onto dry land for her and her daughter.

Kevin treaded water on the other side of the boundary. In the water, it was just you two.

"Fighting, Yn-ie!" Jin cheered from the shore. A towel was draped over his shoulders with Sana sucking on a watermelon by his leg.

You saw your siblings and Josh raise up their fists in encouragement. "Get him, Yn!"

"Wow, thanks guys," Kevin replied dryly, shaking the water out of his hair. His eyes were miraculously still closed; you had no idea how and when he got so good at this. He still had one more opportunity to open his eyes.

You grinned. "Are you sure you're not cheating by the way?" You drawled with a feigned look of consideration, as if he could see what you looked like.

He gasped. "Me? Cheating? My abilities are far greater than the need to cheat."

"Okay, prove it."

Why did the universe curse you with such a big fucking mouth?

A swear left you as he launched himself across the safe zone. It was like he knew exactly where you had been hovering in order to reach his ridiculously long arms over his head to try and tag you. You gunned out of the way, narrowly missing the dock as you backstroked back from where he came to avoid him.

"Marco!"

"Screw you—polo!"

His white teeth glistened as he grinned, eyes closed completely shut still. Damn. "I can smell fear."

"Sometimes you can be so dramatic," you taunted.

"Now that's just hurtful." And he took it personally.

Around and around you both went, lakewater thrashing as your arms and legs kicked and pumped as hard as you could. You felt so agile and free at times, a dolphin in your own right.

There was a lull in the game for a minute when you managed to evade Kevin's grasp yet another time. He was patrolling the other side of the dock while you loitered just around the corner, by a post. You could hear on land that everyone had turned their attention away from yours and Kevin's competitiveness in favor of the bag tossing boards Kevin's dad brought out.

"Oh, Yn," he smiled, brushing a hand through his hair absentmindedly. "I'm gonna get ya."

If you weren't worried about being so close to him, you would have thrown a retort right back.

But there was another poor, poor hinge to your plan, and that was the very core of the game you were playing.

He whispered, "Marco."

You screamed internally. "Polo," you whispered, barely audibly.

His head whipped in your direction, and before you could even blink, he used his shortcut beneath the dock to yank your wrist back toward him. "Gotcha!"

"Goddamn it," you groaned as you rested up against the post behind you. The water in this area was just shallow enough that your feet could reach the bottom.

Kevin chuckled as he finally opened his eyes. He blinked feverishly to adjust to the sunlight, then ran a hand through his slicked-back hair. He was so close that you could see the water droplets on his head dribble down the sharp slope of his nose. He took in his surroundings, a sly kind of smirk curling up onto his face. "No hiding beneath the dock, Yn."

"I technically wasn't beneath the dock," you shot back.

"Mhm," he pressed his lips together, brows furrowing. He moved closer and braced one arm against the post above your head. "Say I believe you."

You brushed the sudden butterflies in your stomach away as the heat melted your brain (and not Kevin). "That sounds like you don't believe me."

"Well, either way…" He brought a finger close to your face and tapped your nose. You could have sworn you saw his eyes dart downwards for a second, away from your eyes, toward your mouth. "I win."

EPISODE NINE: KINDLING FOR ALL KINDS OF FIRES

A campfire was always in order.

There were quite a few things that needed to be done before it could happen, however. One of the few things on the list just happened to be going out to find firewood, as well as filling up the bird feeders you left hanging out in the forest beyond. You could kill two birds with one stone. (Definitely not literally though. You hoped you never needed to kill two birds with one stone unless it was for pure survival purposes.)

The bird seed you'd requested to be brought back was… somewhere around here. You couldn't remember where exactly Auntie Yuna said they put the bag, but you would go hunting for it.

You meandered through the first floor of your lake cabin, gradually approaching the kitchen area where you heard voices. As far as you were aware, your parents were holed up in the kitchen with Kevin’s parents, as well as Kevin himself. Your siblings were probably either upstairs or at the Kims’ place. Probably.

“—know Judy’s daughter, right?” You recognized your mom’s voice among the fray. By this time, you stood in the middle of the living room with your hands on your hips. Where in the world was that sneaky bag of bird seed?

Kevin’s mom replied next, “Ah, she’s doing that drawing major or something, right? I forgot what it’s called—”

“Animation,” supplied her husband.

“Yes, that’s the one.” A clinking of metal on china; they were most likely digging into the trifle cake that was assembled earlier in the day.

“I hear there’s something going on and it’s getting more difficult to find work for them.”

A disgruntled sound. “Yah. That's the risk that comes with those art majors. If she had gone into bioengineering like Judy wanted her to, then she wouldn’t be worrying so much.”

You paused from your position in the living room. From your vantage point, you got a clear view into only part of the kitchen, but it was where Kevin lingered with his back to one of the cabinets. He had a bowl of dessert in one hand, the other using the tines of his fork to prod at a bite of cream and cake. His head was tilted down though, and you caught his periodic glances toward the part of the kitchen you couldn’t see where the adults probably were, prattling on and on as if he weren’t standing right there.

Your heart sunk to the pit of your stomach.

Why was he subjecting himself to this? Why didn’t he just pick himself up and leave—? The thought came to you that maybe he thought he deserved to hear this.

Having surveyed the living room enough to know that the bird seed wasn’t here, you did happen to note the presence of his camera sitting on the coffee table. You snatched the device up and headed for the kitchen.

“I think it’s good to cultivate creativity, but there’s a difference between a career and hobbies—”

“Psst.” You grappled onto the side of the doorway, quietly catching Kevin’s attention.

His head perked up at the sound and his eyebrows shot up in question. He offered the bowl in his hands to you. Want some? He mouthed.

You shook your head, then used your free hand to wave him over. Bird seed?

He seemed to understand. With one, massive bite, he finished the rest of his bowl, deposited it in the kitchen sink, then quietly slipped out of the room with you.

When the two of you were in the clear and you were following him over to the closet beneath the stairs (damn, had you really forgotten that this closet existed?), you handed him his camera. “I’m invoking rescue protocol,” you told him.

Kevin accepted his camera with a furrowed brow, watching as you opened up the closet door and found a canvas sack of birdseed sitting there. Huzzah! “Wait, but…” He considered you for a moment, and a slow smile slid onto his face. He ducked his head and threw his camera strap around his neck. “I appreciate you. Have I told you that?”

“And I—” You grunted as you picked the bag up into your arms and used your foot to kick the door closed. “—appreciate you. How’d you know this was where the bird seed was?”

“I just remembered what Uncle Jin said,” he told you with a shrug.

The two of you meandered out of the backdoor and onto the porch in a silent agreement to go fill some bird feeders together. The forest at this time of day was streaked in golden sunlight, emerald green leaves painted over in an amber wash of glitter. It felt warm and comfortable like autumn, but with the color palette of summer. The air was fresh, not crisp, and there was still a dollop of pollen floating around in the air from the tailend of spring.

You and Kevin entered the forest proper, and you shifted the bag into your right hand when you finally got the bag’s handles up and at ‘em. “I know the protocol wasn’t meant for those kinds of situations,” you started.

Kevin let his camera rest in his hands at midriff once he had fiddled with the settings enough to his liking. “I know.”

“They’re wrong, you know?” You turned to look at him as you stopped at the first feeder and let the sack of seed and grain fall to your feet with a thump against the earth. Before you opened up the bag, however, you peered up into the wooden house hanging from the branch, slobbered in messy paints and melting smiley faces. There wasn’t a speck of grain or seed left in this one. Satisfied, you bent down to rip the bag open and take out a scoop with your hands.

The shutter of a camera lens fired. He sighed, lowering the camera so he could inspect the test shot he took. “I’ve come to terms with that—all of their opinions, I mean.” He lifted the viewfinder back up to his eye and took another shot as you shoveled the bird seed into the hole. A small stream of it missed and tumbled to the forest floor. “Sometimes I do think like that, though. Whether or not I should have stuck with psychology and become a teacher instead of photography.”

You folded the edge of the bag over itself after dusting your hands off, and the two of you continued onward. “Are you happy with photography though? Do you like the things you’re learning, the work you’re doing?” That was one of the few metrics that kept you clinging onto your dreams—your hands were getting scraped and sweaty holding onto the side of the cliff face, but even though your shoe slipped against the ledge and threatened a long drop, you held on. Some days, you thought it was a sad, desperate effort; others, you found extra strength to dig your soles in.

He didn’t have to think much before answering. “Yeah, I do. It’s… it’s fulfilling.” He shot you a glance. “I guess it’s something I enjoy so much that most days it doesn’t even feel like work. All of the logistic, ‘real world,’ adult stuff is kind of a headache, but…” Even though his sentence trailed off, you could still follow.

You plopped the sack of seed down on the ground beneath the next bird feeder. “I know that it’s hard to think about what-ifs, and I’m kind of a hypocrite about it, too—but I think—” you scooped up a handful of bird seed and poured it into the opening. This house had a little sunshine painted on the roof. “—Kevin, I think you made the right choice. Obviously, it shouldn’t matter what I think; that’s just what I’ve observed so far.”

“It matters what you think,” he replied quietly. “To me, at least.”

The two of you shared a smile as you dusted your hands off again. The chase is hard, but the reward is sweet—those had been his words to you the other day.

“Do you want me to carry that for you?” He mused, in view of your struggle to pick the damn thing off the ground.

You suddenly gained a spurt of strength and energy. “I’m—great.”

His low chuckle followed you as you went. You could hear his shutter go off again.

“Thank you for assuring me that I took the right risk.” Kevin fell into step beside you once more with his camera cradled in his hands. There was a softness to his eyes again, a kind of tenderness you recognized only when it was just the two of you.

You went for a smile. “I feel you, you know? Maybe not on the same level, but you’re not in crisis alone, okay?”

His shoulder bumped against yours. “Get on my level,” he jested.

Your smile haplessly curled up further. “Yeah, yeah, you five year old.” You leaned over his arm to peer at his camera screen. Your heart hammered, blood spiking, when you saw what the subject of all his shots had been thus far. “Oh my god, have you been taking pictures of me?”

He giggled at your reaction. "What? What else am I supposed to be taking pictures of?"

"Uhm?" You gestured with your arm in a wide arc. "There is literally a whole world around us. Nature is much more photogenic than I am." A nervous laugh bubbled out of your chest as you adjusted a lock of hair that had gotten in your face.

"You are totally photogenic," he scoffed. "Literally look."

The two of you stopped in the middle of the path so he could show you the pictures he had taken thus far. Like most people when they saw a picture of themselves, you wanted to grimace, but you tried to search for what Kevin was seeing.

They were all incredible candid shots. The color was so vivid and bright, the edges crisp and focused. He had captured you at the moment when you were smiling, peeking into the bird feeder. It was that split second before the smile bloomed into something bigger when it only teased at the corner of your mouth.

You leaned back and coughed. "I only look good because you made me look good."

"Now that's bullshit."

You both resumed your walk to the next bird feeder. He said to you, "You can't possibly appreciate nature's beauty without appreciating your own, Yn."

You tilted your head and sent him a sidelong glance. "Why did that sound actually profound?"

"What do you mean actually profound?" His face arranged into an expression of offense. "Am I not regularly profound?"

You smiled to yourself. "I mean… if you had to ask—" Click! "Hey, now wait a minute!"

He beamed something boyish at you from over his camera lens. "Whoops?"

The bird seed bag thumped onto the forest floor again and you moved to check the inside of the next bird feeder. To your utter delight, you were greeted by the sight of sticks and mud and leaves slotted together in a messy riffraff, otherwise known as a bird's nest. You could hear the bright chirping coming out from the feeder's hole, and dark gray feathers poked out.

"We won't disturb these ones," you whispered, backing away to collect your bird seed. But before you left, you took a little of the grain to sprinkle on the outer landing ledge.

You didn't even realize you had been smiling out of pure giddiness until you reached the next feeder on the path. You had always secretly hoped that a bird would take over one of the houses as their own. Lo and behold, that hope manifested into reality.

Kevin helped you out with the next one since this tree was hung with a duplex. It was similar to a human duplex; the house was split down the middle to hold double the feed. The two of you carefully transferred seed and grain into its proper place.

"If you really are uncomfortable with me taking pictures of you," he said as the two of you picked up where you left off, "then I can totally delete them." He made a gesture with his hand. "No harm, no foul."

Heat rose to your cheeks. "It doesn't bother me that much," you admitted sheepishly. "They were good pictures."

"See!" Elated, he slung an arm around your shoulders and tugged you against his side with an affectionate shake. "You see the vision? Do you see it now?"

You couldn't possibly say no to him when his expression was brighter than the sun at high noon. At this moment—this perfect moment—when the sunlight streaming through the trees painted his face in a filter of buttery gold… you could definitely see the vision, but perhaps not the exact one he saw.

EPISODE TEN: YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES…

"OH, thank god, you guys went and got firewood!" Jin pressed his hands together in prayer as he jogged over to you and helped transfer the lumber in your arms over to his. On your way back from replenishing the bird feed, you let Kevin hold the remainder of what was left in the bag while you picked up any spare tinder for the fire. There were quite a few loose sticks around that would work nicely for the campfire tonight.

He walked off with your gatherings from the trip, and you and Kevin continued up to your lake house to drop off the bag of bird seed.

"So you were saying about the animal representation thing?" You piped up, recalling where the two of you last ended before your return to home base.

"Oh!" Kevin grinned. "It's so funny because some of my friends—you can totally see the resemblance of an animal, right? But then others don't really get an animal. Like Younghoon: he's just kind of bread."

You nearly tripped over a patch of dirt. "Bread?" You stammered incredulously. "Come again?"

"Bread," he nodded. He murmured in thanks to you when you slid open the screen door for him so he could shuck off his shoes and step inside the house. "But Changmin's a squirrel. Or a giraffe. That's what JC!Yn calls him, anyway; it's because of his long neck."

"Huh," you pondered. Interesting friend group they had going on there. You wondered what you would be…

As you passed by your bedroom on the first floor, you could hear your phone sounding off in aggressive vibrations even through the wooden walls and the closed door. You swore under your breath and pushed into your room to turn it off, then paused when you realized why it had gone off in the first place.

Fireflies.

"Everything okay?" Kevin's voice came back around the bend, his head poking into the space and the bird seed bag nowhere to be seen. He must have put it away just now.

You glanced up at him as you silenced the alarm and tucked your phone into your pocket. You hadn't needed it all that much this entire trip, but you would definitely hold onto it tight tonight. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Ready to head out?"

He didn't question your behavior and nodded. "Ready when you are."

Sometimes campfire smoke burned Kevin's eyes, but that was mostly when he was younger and didn't know any better. The embers of the fire were always so warm and inviting, always luring him toward it and inviting him to stare into its core. He could still feel the sting of the ash in his pupils as he looked at it from afar now.

The summer sun had sunken down into the horizon and gave way to a comfortable nightfall. Above your heads hung curtains of leaves from oaks, and above them was the blanket of night sky bedazzled in stars. Nature, as you had said earlier today, was quite photogenic.

He sat perched slightly away from everyone in the group, settling at the picnic table with his back to the table surface so he could still face into the fire. When everyone regrouped, Joshua had brought along an acoustic guitar and played it for everyone now.

"Sunday morning, rain is falling."

Someone lit up in a small hoot of approval. Kevin observed the group before him, the several families that had come together. He was especially pleased that the Hongs and the Xus were still hanging out with the lot of them, the latter being around a little less, but still coming out to join the fun, nonetheless.

He hadn't even realized when the last time his mom tried blatantly pushing him towards Serena. At some point, she stopped and it slipped his mind.

"Clouds are shrouding us in moments, unforgettable. You twist to fit the mold that I am in."

Kevin scratched his jaw as he turned his eyes down to the iPad settled in his lap. After he had finished up dinner, he ran inside to swap out his camera for his device to get some sketching done. There wasn't a particular project he was working on; he just wanted to practice a little.

When he lifted his gaze back up to pick a subject, he found himself looking in your direction. Your dad and Connor brought out the goodies to make s'mores. Long, slim skewers were passed around the circle, and the kids were the first to receive marshmallows to spear.

You and your sister sat beside one another and you helped her grab two of the mallows to impale. The light from the fire flickered across your face in differing levels of shadow, a play on contrast. Your expression seemed softer here—he wasn't really sure what it was. Maybe it was the tenderness at the corner of your eyes as you laughed at Connor's marshmallow falling burnt into the pit; maybe it was the triumph you shared with Alice when you helped her sandwich her marshmallows between a slab of chocolate and twin graham crackers.

He liked to believe his hand started before he consciously knew what he was doing.

"That may be all I need… In darkness, she is all I see."

"Are you sure you don't want me to make you one?" You asked your brother as he grabbed his redemption marshmallow from the bag.

Connor huffed, puffing out his chest. "I got this."

Your eyebrows flew upward. "Okay, big guy. Have at it." You chuckled and grabbed a marshmallow for yourself, sticking it onto your skewer to let it broil over the heat.

Kevin traced the lines of your face with his eyes, his hand transferring that memorization onto his screen. Sometimes human expressions were a little difficult to portray accurately, and there was a thorn pricking the back of his mind, urging him to do you justice. He didn't know if he could.

Your head slowly swayed to the sound of Joshua's pretty melody, the corners of your mouth tilting upward. Kevin shifted his position on the bench and drew the little tick mark at the edge of your mouth for that slight smile.

He always knew you were beautiful—for fuck's sake, he'd practically said it today in the forest. It had been among the crush of other important conversations, but he meant it. He still had the image of you engraved in his brain, the moment when you discovered the family of birds in the feeder house. You'd lit up like a goddamn star.

You stood up from your spot once your marshmallow became the perfect golden tone over the edges. You stepped over to the chair that held all the ingredients and smooshed the marshmallow between chocolate and cracker. Then, you turned and marched over to him.

Surprise alerted in his features, and he subtly tilted the screen of his iPad up against his chest. "Hey," he greeted softly while you approached.

You returned the expression and held out the s'more to him. "Here. It's for you."

The organ in his chest did a somersault. "What?" He laughed, "For me?"

"Yeah, silly. I don't know why you're so far away, but I know you like 'em." You settled on the bench next to him with one arm braced behind you on the table and your legs crossed, one over the other.

"Thank you," he said, using one of his hands to bite into it with childlike giddiness. The mixture of flavors exploded in his mouth—the crunch of the graham cracker, the soft, gooeyness of the chocolate and marshmallow. A perfect, sweet treat, and done exactly right. "Mmmh, this is so good," he mumbled behind his hand to catch any crumbs on his lips.

You chuckled. "Nice, glad it has your stamp of approval." Your eyes wandered down to his iPad, and you could see the white screen lit up against his shirt. "What have you been up to?"

His eyes widened a smidge, and there came a bashfulness to his face. (Cute.) "Oh, uhm," he swallowed down the remainder of the s'more and tilted the screen away from you. Huh, strange. "It's nothing really. Just sketching."

You hummed in understanding, though it was a little out of character for him to hide it from you. "Ah, I see."

The two of you descended into silence, and you leaned your back against the table to get comfortable. Kevin passed you sidelong glances from the corner of his eye, unsure of how you knew he wanted you to stay. (Because he definitely did want you to stay.)

Perhaps this was a sign. Thoughts had been brewing in his head as of late, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with them. They all just… sort of piled up in his hands and he didn't know how to free them up to reach out to you.

He opened his mouth to say something—anything—maybe even about the pact—to retract the pact?—it didn't matter.

But when he turned to look at you this time, your gaze was elsewhere. That soft, tenderness remained, but you had turned your attention to Joshua.

Ah. He shouldn't have jumped so soon. A hopeless kind of ache twisted in his stomach that made him uncomfortable. He briefly glanced down at his screen of what he'd sketched of you so far and decided it might be better to finish it later.

Fireflies. You nearly forgot that you planned to sneak out and see fireflies tonight.

By the time the campfire was cleaned up and everyone was tucked away into their beds, it was probably nearing midnight. You quietly rustled around your room in the dark and used only your phone's flashlight to gather things into a little knapsack—just the essentials, of course. There was no need to get fancy with it.

You wished you had signal so you could text Kevin and warn him ahead of time that you were about to go appear at his window, but you figured it would be fine anyhow. Even if he wasn't awake, the excitement buzzing inside of you could hardly wait.

Shouldering your bag, you headed out the door and crossed the divide between your house and the Moons'.

You located Kevin's window on the second floor, quietly rejoining when you realized it was cracked open. This had to be fate; what other reason would his window be open? (Clearly not for the cool, evening breeze or anything…)

You cupped your hands around your mouth. "Kevin!" You stage-whispered. "Kevin!"

A moment later, a head popped out the open frame. His hair stuck up a little bit and his eyes squinted down into the darkness at you. "Yn?"

"Yes," you said with a grin that he probably thought was idiotically too large. You waved him down. "I'm gonna go see fireflies!"

It took him a second to compute. "What time is it?"

"Like, midnight."

"Okay."

Seven minutes later, Kevin emerged from the back door with a T-shirt and sweatpants on, a yawn splitting his face. He shook his head out as if he was shaking out the remaining remnants of sleep from his system. You met him on the back stairs.

"So what's this about fireflies?" He asked you as the two of you ventured off into the wilderness.

Last year when you were up here at the lake, there was one night when sleep refused to take you. Your solution had been to go on a walk, and as completely dangerous as that sounded (because it was), you'd stumbled upon the meadow you now took Kevin toward. You hadn't the faintest why you never knew about this place after years of coming up to the lake town, but it was where the fireflies took flight.

The meadow was not too long a walk from where you both lived, and by the time you arrived, Kevin was wide awake.

"It's just over this crest," you told him, the jubilation in your voice nearly spilling over.

Kevin smiled at the sound of your excitement and eagerly followed you up the hill.

As soon as you made it over, you lost all your breath in awe. The meadow sprawled at your feet for miles was completely a-glow. Little beads of yellow-green light dotted the field in every corner like light bulbs strung together by invisible string. You had only ever seen this once in person, the rest via the internet and popular culture (movies, TV shows, and the like), and yet, it never compared to the real life experience.

You and Kevin stood there for a moment to soak in the sight. What a wonder of nature this was.

When you finally gained the sense to, you dug around in your bag for wherever you'd stashed your phone. Your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth as you fidgeted with the settings on your phone camera. You just wanted one little picture to show one of your professors at school, but it seemed your camera-working skills left much to be desired.

"Here, let me," Kevin murmured and gently took the phone from you. He showed you the screen as he fixed the settings—et voilà! Like magic, the field before you became visible on your camera screen in the crispiest, sexiest quality you had ever seen. "And… there you go."

He clicked the photo for you and handed you back your phone.

Mouth agape, you zoomed in on your completed photo. "Thanks, Kevin!" You gushed as you admired his handiwork.

He clasped a hand against the back of his neck. "No worries. Just a few tricks I learned."

You still warmed at the gesture. With your phone now tucked away, the two of you could sink back into the glory of the field of fireflies.

You heard Kevin's voice, soft, "How do they light up like that?"

"Bioluminescence," you replied in a whisper back. "It's a biochemical reaction that basically lets them convert energy into that light you see." There were plenty of other examples of bioluminescence in nature, as well. One particular instance you'd read about once, was a wave of bioluminescent algae appearing on the shores of a Southern Californian beach during the summer. It was neat stuff.

"Wild," he marveled.

A wave of calm fell over your form. You'd never felt so at peace in your life—just you, the outdoors, and one of the few people who made you actually feel this comfortable. You swallowed at the thought.

You were suddenly hyperaware of how close you were standing to him, the backs of your hands grazing against each other. You could feel his skin, his knuckles against yours—and maybe your brain was making it up, but the touch felt intentional.

For a second, you indulged yourself in what it might be like to close the distance and take his hand into yours. Of course, it wouldn't have to be in the romantic way; friends could hold hands… right? They could hold hands and your heart could skip several beats and he could look at your lips, and you would still be friends. Right?

You cleared your throat, and the sound seemed to thunder in the silence. "We should—we should probably head back," you said, sparing a glance at him.

He caught your eyes and held them. His lips turned upward, and the shine in his eyes was fond. "Okay."

With renewed energy, you made the trek back into the neighborhood. Your bucket list items for the summer had nearly all been checked off—not like you had a physical list written out. These were simply traditions you hoped to fulfill every summer while you were here in your happy place.

The crickets chirped a lovely serenade as you and Kevin strolled back onto the street where your houses stood. At the point where you both needed to split off, you nudged him with your elbow. "Thanks for coming out with me tonight."

"Thank you for inviting me," he countered with an amused hum.

"Good night, Kev."

You both lingered for a second. "Good night, Yn," he said back, pausing for a moment. Then he leaned over toward you and pressed his lips to the crown of your head. Your eyes fluttered shut. "Hope the lovebugs bite."

EPISODE ELEVEN: ROCKING THE BOAT

IF there was one thing that Kevin Moon was good at (besides the myriad of things he was actually good at), it was waking up his cousin to exercise with him in the morning.

"I think I deserve a nice, fat stack of pancakes after this," Yuna grumbled after nearly tripping over a raised tree root and kissing the forest floor. She grappled onto her cousin's shoulder to steady herself, the cousin in question giving a light chuckle at her antics. "When your mom said we should exercise together, I thought she meant the next time I was in Vancouver, not right now."

"Well, it's only because Yn's mom planned to go out with my mom this morning," Kevin mused. "Usually I have a designated walking partner."

"Woe is me. Alas, I have become your Plan B," Yuna sighed melodramatically with a hand draped over her forehead.

This morning, at a lovely 9:46am, the lake and its surrounding forest was just as alive and awake as Kevin was. The sun had taken up its perch in the clear, blue sky and the birds had long since begun their morning songs. They were awfully loud at this part of the lake, the exact three-quarter mark around the perimeter. Kevin thanked his parents for choosing houses away from this area—he would have never slept ever if they bunkered up here. (Not that he slept anyway, but that was beside the point.)

The walk began a little later than he usually did with your mom, but he granted Yuna a bit of leeway since she hadn't exactly been given a head's up. (He argued the opposite, but he let this once slide.)

"You're so dramatic," he chided playfully. "Watch out for that rock."

Yuna's mouth morphed into a deep frown, eyes wide open, as she narrowly missed being nature's fool another time. "Oh, speaking of Yn… Yn's mom? Whatever, I just mean Yn."

Kevin perked up at the topic change. His brain was fresh from last night's midnight endeavor with you and the fireflies. His lips still tingled from when he ventured to kiss you on the head… he wasn't sure where that courage had come from, but the memory of it kick-started his heart into a gallop. "What about Yn?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. You tell me." A smile crawled onto her face, and Kevin could smell her slyness a mile away. "The two of you have been hanging out a ton recently."

"We usually stick together," he sniffed, fidgeting absentmindedly with the beads on the bracelet you'd made him.

"Aish," she pressed her features into an unimpressed look that reminded Kevin of a typical Chanhee deadpan. "You're so unhelpful. You know what I'm talking about!" She smacked the side of his arm, and Kevin erupted into a fit of laughter.

His smile grew shy. "I don't really know what to say! I'm sorry—that's the truth." Because how could he even begin when it came to you? Where did it end, where did it begin?

"I see the way you look at her, Kev."

Kevin shoved his hands into his shorts. Suddenly the bird nest he spotted in a nearby tree became all too interesting. The bird nest reminded him of the birds who had made a home out of one of your feeders, and that reminded him of the adorable elation on your face when you discovered it and that reminded him of—he came to a stop. Oh, god, he was so far gone. "How do I look at her?"

Yuna peered at him curiously, then stopped to face him. "You look at her like I look at Jin. At least, that's how I think I look at him." She offered him a supportive smile. "But right now, you look like you're going through your midlife crisis."

"I might as well be."

She barked out a laugh. "Save that for when you buy a house, my friend."

He rubbed his temples with a wince. "Houses, domesticity, money, partners. Why is adulting so hard?"

"Hey, you'll get through it," she told him and nudged his shoulder. "What's going on, dude? What's on your mind?"

Kevin swallowed. He still hadn't the faintest idea where to begin, but everything had to start somewhere. Yuna had always been kind to him (a menace at times, but that feeling was mutual), and he trusted her with his vulnerabilities. He toed the ground. "Okay, last night, I kissed her—"

"YOU WHAT?"

He sputtered, red rushing to his face, as he grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes were practically falling out of her head. "Nonononono! Let me finish, you—I kissed her on the forehead, okay?"

Her gaping mouth closed only slightly. "Oh…" She thought about it some more. "Oh."

Kevin nodded gravely. "Yup."

Yuna straightened with a furrowed brow. "Well, that's not that big of a deal, is it?"

"What do you mean that's not a big deal?" His hands shot to the top of his baseball cap. "How is that not a big deal!"

"That's because the two of you refuse to acknowledge or entertain the obvious!"

Kevin hissed when she reached over to give his forehead a very hard flick. He rubbed the spot that began to smart; getting flicked in the forehead twice in one lake trip was twice too many. "The obvious?"

"That you guys can have the mushy gushy feelies without it being a product of the placebo effect from your moms' collective matchmaking efforts."

He made a face. "That was a lot of words…"

She deadpanned. "Kevin, listen to me: just because the two of you made a stupid pact when you were ten—"

"Eleven."

"Whatever. Eleven—doesn't mean that you can't leave room to, you know, amend that. You have to give yourself the opportunity to explore it, especially when I can clearly see that your feelings are changing about this girl." Yuna grasped her cousin by his shoulders this time in an attempt to telepathically insert these words into his brain. Or at least, just make him listen.

The words seeped into his head. The two of you had already made amendments earlier this trip, but you had never commented on the "only friends part." He even entertained the idea of bringing it up to you last night at the bonfire.

He didn't realize Yuna already began tugging him along the path to circle around the remainder of the lake to get back to the house. Everything was so muddled… but a part of him recognized that Yuna was right. He just wished he could get an idea of where your thoughts laid.

There were moments when you thought life could be like a movie, but then why was doing this pedal boat thing so much less glamorous than it seemed? Then again, maybe you shouldn't have thought doing this at high noon was the greatest idea.

You should have been like your Uncle Seokjin, who sat to your left, swallowed up in a blue lifejacket, a pair of big sunglasses, and a crocheted bonnet with a duck face to keep his face out of the sun. Yeah, maybe glasses would have been a good idea.

Sweat dribbled down the side of your face and down the slope of your nose, and you wiped it off with the back of your hand. "It's so hot, Uncle. We couldn't have waited until later today when it cooled down?"

He leaned back, his cheeks and skin reddened and damp from the heat and the fire in his calves from pedaling. "Okay, okay. Let's stop here."

"Right in the middle of the lake?" You asked incredulously, but immediately brought your feet off the pedals to give your legs a deserved break.

"What better place to do so?"

The two of you lounged in your seat beneath the molten afternoon sun, limbs screaming, water draining from your bodies through your pores. This would have been nice if you brought a sun umbrella… or maybe some water… man, did you make so many poor choices today.

"So what's going on with you and Kevin?"

The question snapped you out of your heat-fazed daze. You nearly thought you hallucinated him saying that. You stammered, "What about me and Kevin?"

You could see his overexaggerated facial expression even from behind his sunglasses. "Yah, don't give me that. You know what I'm talking about—I saw you two last night."

You lurched out of your seat and caused the violent rocking of the boat. You and your copilot let out twin swears as the boat evened out on the waves, and luckily, did not capsize. "Sorry—the fuck? You did?"

"Actually, I didn't," he snickered. "But now I know something did happen. So what's the tea, girl? Hit me with it. It's hot outside but I always take my beverages scorching." He shifted in his seat, carefully, in order to give you his full attention.

You couldn't believe he dragged you out to the middle of the lake just for this conversation. Total Uncle Seokjin move. You walked (or pedaled) right into his checkmate.

Moments of last night flooded into your brain—the campfire, the fireflies, the kiss, the… the him. Kevin. You gulped. Where did you even think to begin? "I took him to see fireflies last night."

Jin scrunched his eyebrows together. "Fireflies? Since when did we have fireflies? You didn't take me to see the fir—oh, you know, what? It was your little romantic moment; I got it."

"It wasn't a romantic moment!" You sputtered helplessly, uselessly. "It was—it was a moment of serenity and scientific marvel."

"You are such a nerd. What did he do, huh? Did you guys hold hands or something?"

Almost. "No," you said. "He… he did kiss my forehead once we got back though."

"Aha!" You both careened as the boat trembled violently from Seokjin's sudden Einstein epiphany. "I knew that something happened," he said once the boat slowed to a stop again. "I just had a feeling in my gut."

"Are you sure it wasn't the yogurt you had this morning?"

"How dare you," he huffed. "I brought my lactose pills. And hey! Stop changing the subject."

You laughed aloud, but inwardly, your gut was churning. Maybe you could blame the heat, but you knew the real reason why you were suddenly feeling as unstable as the pedal boat you sat upon. The idea that the entirety of your friendship could be so easily uprooted… well, perhaps not easily. Picking apart your friendship would be like flushing weeds out of a garden—you would have to get at the roots, and right now, the roots were so deep that you would fall into the ground before finding the bottom.

Not that you wanted to uproot your friendship, or relationship, with Kevin. Of course not.

What did that forehead kiss even mean? What did all of the moments you shared between him this summer, as a whole, even mean? Why, all of a sudden, did you want the way he looked at you to mean something different besides platonic affection? Why did you want more when you had never really thought about more before?

You voiced all of this aloud to your uncle, who sat staring out onto the calm surface of the lake. When you were finished with your ramble, he said, "You need to get your shit together, girl."

You coughed. "Thanks, that was so helpful."

"I'm told that a lot," he beamed. "But really, those are all very good questions, Yn. And they're super important, too."

You frowned, lifting the rim of your baseball cap to wipe away the perspiration collecting at your hairline like a cult. "Do you think that these mixed feelings are a result of all the matchmaking going on? Like, somehow, we've let it affect how we view each other?"

"Honestly?" He sighed, his shoulders lifting and dropping in a half-hearted shrug. "Could be. But, Yn honey, is it really such a bad thing? And let's think about it this way—how do you feel about Joshua?"

You didn't need to think too hard about it. "He's a catch, but not my type of butterfly."

"Exactly, and oh my go—"

"Don't," you chuckled menacingly, "call me a nerd."

He gestured vaguely with his hand. "I wasn't; I was gonna call you a dork."

You snorted. With another swipe at your dripping neck, you said, "But Kevin and Serena—"

"'Kevin and Serena' don't exist," he told you with a smack of his lips. Jin peered at you from over the rim of his glasses, which in kind, made the duck's beady eyes stare straight into your soul, too. "That girl bats for the other team, and Kevin has shown zero interest in her other than helping her not fall off a jet ski."

Huh. You leaned your elbow onto the knee of one leg, propped up to your chest. "Well when you put it that way…"

"When I put it that way," he finished for you, "it makes it a little clearer, hm?" You were quiet for a moment, and Jin gave your shoulder a pat. "Some things are just meant to be."

The words, so familiar to you, rang true as a bell. Some things are just meant to be. You couldn't help the smile that started to work its way onto your face, and it was all thanks to Seokjin helping you sweep away some of the webs confusing your brain. You weren't completely confident, but you could feel yourself being nudged in a certain direction, and this time, you weren't pushing back.

The tide could take you where it may.

Your uncle by association added quietly, "Haven't you thought just once that, after all this sneaking around, there's been another reason for it other than a pact?"

EPISODE TWELVE: FISH IN THE SEA, ANTS IN THE GROUND

BY the time you and Jin returned to solid ground, you discovered that Kevin was away with his dad helping the Xus pack and clean up. Today they would be departing the small lake town, as they hadn't planned on spending as much time up here as the rest of you did. You and most of the others already said your goodbyes at the campfire, so you had little else to do but twiddle your thumbs until you could confront Kevin with your thoughts.

A shower always produced productive results, especially after melting Wicked Witch of the West style in the middle of the lake.

There was time, you realized, to bring things together. Of course, there was a part of you that shied away from wanting to even address this epiphany. What if bringing this up opened up a whole new can of worms? In other words, what if talking about the elephant in the room only led to regret? You didn't want to lose Kevin, and because your families were always so close, you didn't want to lose this. This connection, this tradition, this place.

Too many memories made their home here at the lake. It was your happy place… his happy place. It was everything.

Everything could change, and wasn't that terrifying? But it could also be great, and who best to share the scariest, greatest moments of life with other than your Kevin Moon?

As rubber tire wheels ate gravel, Kevin nodded to his dad and set off back across the lawn toward your cabin. The afternoon had him busy with helping the Xus head home, which he didn't mind doing, of course; the lot of them had fun with his party, and his party with the lot of them. He and Serena left on friendly terms, undeterred by his mother's half-hearted attempt to get them sort of talking. Serena said she understood.

Kevin needed to talk to you though. After the morning was spent with Yuna getting him to see the big ass elephant in the room—trunk in his face and trumpet in his ear—there was no other course of action left but to tell you the truth.

The truth. God, the truth. The truth was that he didn't want the old pact in place anymore. That was it, plain and simple. It was crazy to think about how long the two of you had let it restrain your relationship—wait, did you want it to though?

"Hey Kevin!"

Kevin slowed to a stop, attention perking up at his name when he saw Joshua making his way over to him. He worried his bottom lip. You didn't… like Josh, did you? He just had to be sure because, well, that would throw a rock into things. "Oh, hey, man."

Joshua offered him a bright smile. "Hey. Did Serena and her parents just take off?"

Kevin cupped the back of his head. "Uh, yeah! Just now, actually."

"Cool, cool." Joshua nodded his head. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

His heart threw itself over the side of a cliff. Oh no. He let out a laugh, hoping to push the nerves out of his voice, but he was sure it wasn't too convincing anyhow. "Really? What—what about?"

"It's about Yn—" Oh, double no. "—I kind of," he winced, "noticed that her mom was trying to… nudge us together?"

"Oh god, let me be the first to apologize—"

Joshua broke the tension with a chuckle. "Hey, it's no worries! I just didn't know if you were aware or not because you and she kind of seemed like a couple to me, but I didn't know if her mom knew."

Kevin blinked, heart quickening for a different reason. "What?" He stammered. "Sorry, can we rewind?"

"Hm? That you and Yn are a thing? Are—are you not?" He gasped, eyes going wide. "Shit, that was stupid of me to just assume. Sorry if that was totally awkward!"

Oh, but quite the opposite. Kevin could feel the blood rush to his cheeks, clear as day. There was a warm feeling in his chest knowing that more people thought that you and him looked like a couple. It was ridiculous how the thought got him giddy now. Kevin shook his head though. "No, no, you're good, dude. But we aren't a couple." Yet. Hopefully.

Joshua cocked his head to the side curiously. "Oh? I guess… it's still a little strange of me to assume, so I apologize. You're…?"

"Interested?" A nod. "Yeah." (Wow, that was a verbal admittance. One step closer to the real thing.)

Kevin cleared his throat and grabbed his shoulder with his opposite hand. "You're not—you're not interested in her, are you? I mean," he rushed to add, "it's totally fine. I understand—"

Joshua shook his head. "Oh shit, no, I'm not interested. Not that Yn's a bad person or anything, but I'm taken."

Pause.

…that made sense.

Joshua laughed, ducking his head to hide the smile that blossomed on his face. "Yeah, I'm already spoken for. My parents don't really know yet, but… yeah. I didn't wanna get in the way of whatever you and Yn have, and hopefully I'm not saying this too late."

On the contrary, a weight lifted from Kevin's chest and he sucked in a lungful of summer breeze. "Nah, man. Thanks for saying it in the first place; I appreciate it."

"Yeah," Joshua said pleasantly. He nodded at him, lips pursed with one eye squinted. "She digs you, too, you know? I've seen it all throughout this trip."

Hope filled his heart like the air ballooning his lungs. He didn't know what to do with all of these. They just kept coming up onto the stack of things in his hands that he wanted to take into consideration and tell you to your face, once and for all. Your face just kept flickering in his mind's eye, and the nerves were slowly melting into excitement. He wanted to share this with you, as the two of you had done for years.

"I hope so."

Joshua clasped a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I would say 'go get 'em, tiger,' but I have a friend at school who is scarily obsessed with tigers, so I'll just say—" A squeeze of his shoulder, "you got this."

Kevin didn't know what to do with that extra factoid, but he gave Joshua a grateful grin. "Thanks, man."

The pair split off from there, one heading back toward his own cabin, and the other, marching toward the future. Whatever laid ahead, he could take on.

His step gained a skip, and soon, he was jogging across the green until he appeared at your back porch. He hadn't really prepared anything—no romantic gestures, no flowers or candles, no chocolates. All he had were the words on his tongue and his newly realized love for you. Love, a strange phenomenon. He had his love for you stashed away in his breast pocket and it blossomed every summertime.

He let himself into the house and went poking around for you. "Yn? Yn, you back yet?"

No answer.

He ducked his head into the kitchen, the living room, before he came upon your bedroom door left slightly ajar. Through the sliver, he saw the bottoms of your feet on the bed, and he gently knocked on the door before pushing through.

"Yn…? Ah," His voice quieted to a whisper.

You were curled up over the bedsheets, asleep. Kevin slowly tiptoed his way over to you where your body was angled toward your phone screen, lying discarded on the pillow and actively running an episode of Our Planet.

A smile, fond and tender, pressed itself into his mouth. He reached over to carefully turn the downloaded episode off to descend the room in complete silence.

His head swiveled toward the foot of the bed where your patchwork quilt hung off the railing. He carefully draped it over your sleeping form, then made his exit.

You deserved the rest. And though he couldn't confess to you now, this gave him the time to ensure he got this exactly right.

EPISODE THIRTEEN: THE DAMSELS IN DEVOTION DEAL™

TIME passed by differently here.

One moment, you were biding your time and indulging in an episode of Our Planet; the next, the bedroom was dark and the house was quiet. You roused from sleep confused and delirious. You stretched your limbs up over your head, taking note of the quilt draped over your body.

Huh, you wondered how that got there.

Your eyes fluttered and squinted when you stood up and saw a flicker of amber light from outside your window. The view looked over only part of the backside to the house, so all you could see were the shadows that the campfire created. They danced by way of the breeze, their puppetmaster.

The time on your phone read a (slightly alarming) ten o'clock. You hadn't realized you slept that long. Maybe you were more tired than you originally thought.

Wait, then why was the campfire still blazing?—

"Yn! Psst!"

You pressed your face against the open slit in the window to track the sound of your name. Déjà vu swept over you as you discovered Kevin making his way over toward you from the outside. "Kevin? Is everyone still up?"

He shook his head. "No, no. I've just been waiting," he admitted sheepishly. "Come on out. Have you eaten yet?"

"Oh, no. I just woke up."

"Ah… right." He clasped the back of his neck. "Well, come out anyway. We can sit together."

Together. You liked the sound of that.

Without wasting more time, you promised him two minutes and scurried out of your room to round to the back door. The campfire crackled on your side of the lawn, rather than the middle of the properties this time, and Kevin tended to it on one of the two foldable chairs present.

You took a seat in the open seat. "S'mores?" You chuckled, noting the basket of ingredients at his feet.

He ducked his head. "Yeah," he loosened a laugh, "I thought I'd make you a s'more this time."

It was just a s'more, and yet, here was the organ in your chest palpitating in your chest. You didn't reject the s'more, of course, and watched him skewer a marshmallow and hold it over the blazing embers. As he did so, you caught the way his other hand fidgeted with your bracelet on his wrist, how his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. Was he as nervous as you were?

The thing, Yn.

"There's something I—" You both stopped short at your simultaneous words. They were the same, too, and had the pair of you fumbling.

"You first," you said, gesturing to him.

He hummed and tried for a smile. "Do you remember that night in sixth grade when we made the pact?"

You nodded.

"It was kind of like this actually," he mused. The marshmallow had browned into a beautiful gold, and you reached into the basket to help him assemble the chocolate and graham cracker pieces. Your fingers grazed his as he squished the outer crackers together to hand it to you. "A late night, s'mores, the campfire."

You took a chunk out of the s'more and swallowed before adding, "Seems like so long ago."

"Right?" He slipped the metal skewers back into the basket and leaned his arms onto his knees, body angled toward you. "The pact, I…" He considered his words as they melted on his tongue like the chocolate and marshmallow on yours. "I wanted to ask if you would think about another amendment."

You met his eyes now. The burning fire reflected in his dark irises, warm and bright. "An—an amendment," you parroted. Was this what you thought it was? You finished off your s'more, hoping not to choke when he told you whatever he wanted to tell you. You suddenly wondered if the s'more was just to soften the blow.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, another amendment. We didn't really discuss the biggest part of the original pact when we made the rescue protocol."

"The 'just friends' clause," you finished, breathlessly.

"Yn, I don't wanna be just friends anymore."

It didn't hit you at first. You swore the ash from the fire was making you hear things, but it hit you, milliseconds later. "Oh."

He pursed his lips for a moment. "It's taken me a stupidly long time to come to this conclusion, and I was thinking about what we were talking about the other night—about if we were ready for relationships. And I said that maybe the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with was someone I already met.

"Yn, I think I'm in love with you," he said. "Not just in a way that friends love each other, but something… something more. And I wanted to let you know because—if I'm being completely honest—I want to share everything with you."

You could feel the way your lips curled upward and your heart soared. "I wanna share everything with you, too. And I don't know how long I've sat on this, but what I do know is that I feel so much for you." Every admittance that was released into the night air like sparks flying was another card laid out between you two, face up. "This place, the lake, has been my place, Kevin. But I want you to be my person."

He smiled at you, sweet and boyish, the type of smile that made you feel on the edge of seventeen. He helped you out of dark places with that smile; he was always showing you the light. "Your person," he murmured, letting that sink into his tongue and be familiarized with it. "I would love to be your person, Yn."

Your hand found his across the gap between your chairs. His thumb caressed over the side of yours, and he tucked his other hand over top until you were enveloped in his clasp—safe and sound.

When the fire was reduced to nothing more than ash and memory, you and Kevin raced each other down to the water's edge. The lake was stilled beneath the moonlight, a pool of silvery mercury. You reached for his hand again and intertwined your fingers firmly, a comforting weight and hold.

It felt right.

"So since we made an amendment to the protocol again," you started as he swung your laced hands between your bodies, "we need to seal the deal."

A grin bloomed on his face, and he bit his lip. "Hear me out," he drawled. "Maybe we should update the seal, too."

You narrowed your eyes in jest. "You just don't want me to flick your forehead."

"Sue me, you flick hard," he laughed.

"But shoot."

He licked his lips and turned to face you. "Can I show you?"

Your heart gave one big lurch as he leaned over to you. You closed the rest of the distance and sighed something happy at the feel of his lips against yours. It was gentle and brief, his mouth parting from yours to give you enough room to back away.

You could feel your twin smiles. "I kind of like it."

"Yeah?" He hummed. "Well, that can be our practice round."

You shook your head and threw your arms around his neck to pull him back over to you. His arms curled around your middle, hands pressed to your sides and holding you close.

When you broke apart this time, his warm chuckle ran a delicious bolt of electricity down your spine. "I know things are gonna be different now… But we got this."

It was the way he looked at you—the one that assured you he was the same Kevin he was three years ago and beyond; the kid who broke the swing set when you challenged him to a bet; the kid who sketched butterflies in meadows, and now sketched you in the firelight; the kid who would never judge you or ridicule you for your feelings, but validate them, always. You didn't know how you were so blind to it before.

It wasn't so scary anymore, not when you knew he would be there with you.

"Yeah," you said softly, running your thumb down the back of his neck, "I'm not really worried."

He let out a breathy laugh, and it coaxed one out of you, too. Kevin pressed his forehead to yours, pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose, pressed his heart to yours.

Some things really were just meant to be.

a/n: now the question is how are they gonna tell their moms... 🤡 if you enjoyed, pls remember to reblog, or comment, or send in an ask!! thanks for reading :] see you in at your convenience!

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @tinkerbell460 @kaaimins @hyunjaespresent-deobi @otterly-fey @zzoguri @floatingpluto @winterchimez @ethereal-engene @gyulfriend @polarisjisung @jaehunnyy @shakalakaboomboo @loveliestfelix @bless-311 @zhaixiaowen @leaz-kpop-life @amourdsr @pxppxrminty @kqyutie @sseastar-main @kxthleen14 @fluorescentloves @mosviqu @justalildumpling @jaerisdiction @super-btstrash-posts @jundundun @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @outrologist @vernonburger @maessseongs @ericlvr @kflixnet

#deoboyznet #bjnet #kflixnet #the boyz x reader #kevin moon x reader #the boyz fluff #the boyz imagines #the boyz oneshot #the boyz scenarios #the boyz drabbles #kevin moon imagines #kevin moon fluff #kevin moon oneshots #kevin moon drabbles #kevin moon scenarios #the boyz fanfic

[ticklish-n-stuff]

Heya!^^ How about something with ler mitsuya and lee takemitchy with the scenario we discussed in discord where he's being measured for his toman uniform? You can include your favorite boi mikey too if you like, really just go nuts with it and do whatever you like! Also, just wanted to say I really love talking to you and you're one of my favorite people to chat with! You're so freaking sweet and I'm really glad we're friends! 💖

Measurements

WAAAH IM FINALLY DONE MWAHAHAHA!

Mitsuya was very fun to write, I hope you likey :3

RAAH I LOVE TALKING TO YOU TOO, YOURE GONNA MAKE ME SOB WITH YOUR SWEETNESS💖💖💖

VIRTUALLY TACKLING AND HUGGING YOU

___________________________________________

Takemitchy x Mitsuya (interpret as you wish)

Lee: Takemitchy

Ler: Mitsuya

Warnings: Tickles!

___________________________________________

It was finally time, Takemitchy could explode from excitement. Today Mitsuya would take his meassurements for his very own Toman uniform!

“Okay, now stay still and stretch your arms out a bit” 

“Hai!!!” Okay maybe he was a bit too excited, but it’s not everyday one becomes an official member of one of the lost well known gangs.

Mitsuya rolled his eyes fondly as he got to work, taking out the tape meassurer and bringing it across Takemitchy’s waist. 

“Eep?!” a squeaked escaped the blondie, his body almost tumbling. 

“Hmm? Something wrong?” Mitsuya asked with his usual eerily calm nature, but this wasn’t the first time he’s gotten such a reaction. Still, he played it cool for now.

“No!! Not at all. Sorry, continue!” with newfound determination, Takemitchy vowed himself to stay as still as a rock. Despite how much it might tickle… maybe he didn’t think it through.

Everytime Mitsuya’s fingers would stray a wee bit too close to one of his sensitive spots, he’d squirm and giggle like a kid. Careless fingers caressing his side, poking under his arm, brushing down his spine. His defense almost faltered when he felt a sharp squeeze at his hip. 

“WAH?! M-Mitsuya!” that one was definitely on purpose, the ‘younger’ boy thought as he cried out to his senior. 

“What? Don’t tell me you're ticklish” the older boy gave a playful smirk, making Takemitchy’s face flush.

“Maybe a bit…” the blonde mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

“Just a bit? Seems pretty bad to me” Mitsuya teased as he quickly scribbled up and down Mitchy’s sides. As an older brother, and just a calm menace in general, he was practically a pro when it came to tickling.

“Huh?! Wait! Wahahait! Nohoho! Mitsuya!!” Takemitchy shrieked, arms trying to desperately protect his sides. Sometimes he’d switch to try batting Mitsuya’s hands away. Either way, it wasn’t that hard for the older teen to maneuver around him. Evil fingers latching onto the blonde’s ribs and vibrating vigorously. 

“EEK! STOAHAHAP!” Takemitchy all but screeched, his brain going haywire with how overwhelmingly flustered he felt.

“Does Mikey know about this? I’m sure he’d be pleased to learn about this weakness of yours~”

The way Takemitchy’s face dropped in pure fear was absolutely golden. It took some willpower on Mitsuya's part to not laugh at him. Oh how fun it always was to mess with the new kid. 

“PLEHEHEASE DON’T TELL HIM- GYAH! MITSUYA, NOT THEHEHERE!” poor Takemitchy’s knees gave out as Mitsuya found the soft spot at his belly. His fingers kneading at the sides, scribbling along his lower belly, even poking at his navel that would never fail to make him squeal each time. 

“Pff- Okay, fine you crybaby” Mitsuya held back a snicker as his tickly fingers stopped, watching in amusement as Takemitchy curled up on the floor like a kitten. Gasping for air as if he went through the most intense workout of his lifetime. 

Once the blonde caught his breath, he looked up at Mitsuya with pleading eyes “For the love of God, please don’t tell Mikey”

Before Mitsuya could respond, they heard the click of a phone, prompting both of them to look for the source of the sound. 

“Too late, CryMitchy~” Mikey was peeking through the door, phone in hand, having recorded the whole ordeal. He stuck his tongue out before running off, Takemitchy’s laughter echoing from his phone.

“Wait! Mikey, come back!” The blonde desperately went after his leader, not like he’d ever catch up to him but hey, one can dream. 

Mitsuya smiled fondly to himself and the silliness of the situation, that was until he realized, he never finished getting his measurements… Oh well, maybe next time. Hopefully with less distractions. Well… he wasn’t making any promises. 

___________________________________________

Been looping Mitsuya's character song while writing this, his voice is very 👌

#tokyo revengers tickle fic #mitsuya takashi #hanagaki takemichi #lee!takemitchy #ler!mitsuya

[smol4bluengine]

It was time for Gordon's check- up with Mr. Ramsfield. Sir and Lady Hatt walked up to the Ramsfield's office, Lady Hatt pushing Gordon's pram.

"Are you excited for your visit with Mr. Ramsfield today Gordon"? Sir Topham Hatt asked.

"Mhm." Baby Gordon simply replied.

"Is everything okay Gordon? You haven't been your usual happy self lately." Lady Hatt said.

"Boiwer ache." Baby Gordon replied.

"Poor dear, don't worry once we're done with Mr. Ramsfield, we'll head over the steam works and Victor can make you feel all better, okay"? Lady Hatt asked.

"Otay". Baby Gordon said.

Unbeknownst to everyone except Gordon, the baby engine had been hiding that he had regained his big engine memories quite some time ago. However, Gordon was loving his life as a baby engine and had planned on purposefully failing the big test to remain as a baby engine, but the weight of guilt had been getting to Gordon.

The Hatt family entered Mr. Ramsfield's office.

"Hello Sir and Lady Hatt and hey there little guy! How is everyone doing"? Mr. Ramsfield asked.

"We're doing fine thank you, but poor Gordon here has been having some nasty boiler ache lately." Sir Topham Hatt responded.

"I'm sorry you're going through that Gordon. I'll try to get through our meet up as fast as possible so that your mommy and daddy can focus on making you feel better, okay"? Mr. Ramsfield asked.

"Otay, mista Wamsfeeld." Baby Gordon agreed.

With that, Mr. Ramsfield began his examination. He first started by asking Baby Gordon some simple questions like asking him how he was doing, did anything exciting happened during the week, and reciting the alphabet and numbers. Finally, Mr. Ramsfield had Sir Topham Hatt place Baby Gordon down on the baby engine track he set out for some play time. On the track were some toys: stuffed animals, soft blocks, toy freight, and toy passenger cars.

Gordon stood at the switches looking at the two trains. The weight of guilt crushing him as Lady Hatt asked Gordon what he would like to play with.

A bad memory flashed in Gordon's mind, one where his mentor had him locked in a dark shed for weeks after he saw Gordon returning to the sheds singing happily while hauling a heavy goods train and giving a friendly whistle to passengers waiting on the platform.

"Please professor let me out, it's too dark and scary! I'm sorry I took a goods train, I just wanted to be useful"! A young green Gordon cried.

Young Gordon couldn't see a thing in the shed, he feared a monster would gobble him up or worse, he'd be forgotten in there forever. By the time his professor let him out, Gordon had lost count of how long he'd been locked up.

Before him stood his mentor, the engine was only a bit smaller than Gordon, but the way he had Gordon cowering in the corner, one would've mistaken the professor for being a Union Pacific Big Boy. The professor looked at the young express engine in disgust.

"Get out." He spoke.

"W..what"? Gordon stuttered.

"You've been bought by another railway, meaning you don't belong here anymore. Get out." The professor said bluntly.

Without another word Gordon rushed out of the sheds as soon as his crew got him up to steam.

As Gordon made his way to the big station, he passed by the smaller engines who immediately fled to hide once they saw the young big engine approaching. Gordon wheeshed sadly as he watched the small station pilot cower behind a short train of coal cars, but it wasn't just Gordon they were hiding from. From the other side of the tracks a group of three young big engines steamed up, pushing any small engine who hadn't been fast enough to move out of the bigger engines way. Gordon hoped they wouldn't notice him as he pulled into the station.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here"? Came one of the big engines.

"Looks like they finally let the big crybaby out, what a shame, we were enjoying the peace and quiet away from your obsessive sobbing." Said another.

"Wah, waaah! I'm Gordon and I don't have a single friend! Wah"! The third taunted.

"Not even those silly little engines want to be friends with a weirdo like me"! Mocked the second.

"PATHETIC"! The big engines laughed.

Gordon fought the urge to cry as he struggled to speak.

"I...I got sold to...to another railway..." Gordon struggled to speak.

"Yes, to a railway of failures."One said.

"I heard their controller fell for a silly trick and bought some sort of sick chimera of an engine." Third said.

"A rather perfect fit for a big baby like yourself." The first said smuggly as they pierced deeply into Gordon's soul.

By now a few tears had managed to escape Gordon's eyes as the bit smaller big engines passed him.

When he managed to calm down, his builders arrived to instruct the big engine to head to London, where he would meet his new controller at King's Cross. Gordon just hoped he could make some friends on this railway and maybe, just maybe, he could have a family with siblings and a mother and father like he always wanted.

Back in the present, Baby Gordon could no longer hold in his emotions and began to whail.

"ME WIED!!!!!!!!! ME WEMEMBA BEIN BIG"!!!!!!!!!!! Baby Gordon admited.

The adults in the room were shocked as Gordon continued to cry.

"Me sowwy! Me no wanna be big! Too scawy! Too many inny ouchies"! Gordon cried.

The baby engine feared and awaited the out lash from a very crossed Sir Topham Hatt. Instead, Mr. Ramsfield spoke.

"I understand." Mr. Ramsfield told Gordon and the still processing Hatt's.

The watery eyed engine looked up towards the younger man as he knelt down to the best of his abilities to be on Gordon's level.

"Engine phycology is just now starting to be seen as a serious issue and yet there have been many, many engines ever since "The Rocket's" era that are in need of help. I don't know what happened in your past Gordon and I can't imagine how scared you must have felt telling us you remember being big, but know that the place where you are right now is a safe area for you to be you and to talk about anything you need to talk about." Mr. Ramsfield gently spoke to the little engine.

Gordon felt the soft rubs on his boiler from Sir and Lady Hatt.

"Gordon, does being a baby engine make you truly happy"? Sir Topham Hatt asked.

"Yes." Gordon responded.

"Then I don't want you to change alright? If being a baby engine makes you the best version of you then you are a really useful engine." Sir Topham Hatt told the baby engine.

"Dada"! Baby Gordon cried happily as Hatt's held their little blue baby engine close.

#ttte #thomas and friends #ttte gordon #thomas the tank engine #gordon the big engine #ttte sir topham hatt #ttte lady hatt

[thegeminisage]

it IS tng update time. saturday we watched "relics" and "schisms" and last night* we did "true q" and "rascals."

*times altered bc as usual im typing this up late at night

relics:

oh boy. ohhh my god

so like, i'd like to preface this with: i am not a scotty stan or anything. don't get me wrong i love the guy and i'm fascinated by the way he tricked me into thinking he had all ten fingers. like he's v fun and all. but im not like Extremely Emotionally Invested In Scotty. all right. that said

I CRIED. LIKE A BABY. no one was more shocked than i was. actually i'm sure catherine was not shocked at all

i didn't cry when he first showed up which is what i suaully do when i see spock. no, no, no, no. it was when he went to the holodeck and created the fucking BRIDGE OF THE ENTERPRISE. and they played the main theme!!! the sound effects were even the same!!!!!!! and like all his friends are dead now except spock and bones and bones frankly has one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel!!!!!!!! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO UPSET IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

chronologically, this is also the last time we'll ever see a tos cast member coming back to reprise their role except for aos spock and um. an appearance which i do not wish to discuss now or ever. anyway it's definitely the last time in tng proper. and like yeah we have aos and snw and everything but those guys arent the OGs. AUGH.

also wah him saying the doctors are prettier on this enterprise. thats SO MEAN TO BONES………………….i miss him so bad and he's WAY prettier than beverly sorry beverly

i definitely wanted to kill geordi for yelling at scotty when he tried to tell his old man stories. im glad they hung out for the rest of the episode and that geordi treated him really niceys but it still felt a teensy bit patronizing of him at first like he was just doing it because picard told him to make scotty feel useful

THAT SAID. for once, i am pro picard, because picard is a giant nerd and he wanted to listen to scotty's old man stories as much as i did. not that i got to enjoy them while being blinded by tears. i'm actually genuinely tearing up right now while typing this just thinking about it. i think it was genuinely compassionate for picard to want to give scotty something he could genuinely help with in a way that WASN'T patronizing. like old people are just regular people you know. we all get old one day if we're lucky

spotted scotty's missing finger twice, which is two more times than i spotted it in my original watch of tos.

he remembered how to hide the missing finger (mostly) but forgot how to do his fake scottish accent. in his defense it's been ages and he was old but it was still funny

synthehol is wack. it's just another way in which there's no work-life boundary in tng. you're always on call, so you can never get drunk. you will NEVER have personal time aboard this ship. they can call you in your son's parent-teacher meeting. they can call you during birthday parties. you cannot raise your children here. but they do. anyway.

IT'S GREEN!!! i remember seeing a gifset of data floating around saying that to somebody, and then later i saw a gifset of scotty saying it in tos, but i didn't realize data was talking TO SOCTTY i thought it was just a reference!!!!!!! there were actually sooo many tos references in this episode, i was so pleased to hav caught them all <3

looooooved the dyson sphere. that was genuinely so fucking fascinating and it was the b plot!!!!! why can't it be the a plot!!!! it was so cool looking

i thot for a sec they were gonna kill scotty at the end and got REALLY worried but they didn't and he decided not to retire after all and good for him <3

anyway. that cry felt like a full-body workout. horrific.

schisms:

OFF GOES RIKER TO THE COFFEE SHOP

i waited so long to see the episode that gifset is from and it did NOT disappoint

my one sour note re: this ep was the beginning with data's poetry. can we please be nice to him and not loudly fall asleep in the front row. i know the circumstances are highly extenuating. i of all people understand sleep deprivation, which i am currently experiencing even as i type. but that was just rude!!! could he not have simply explained he was unwell and unable to attend!!!!!!! the crowd being restless was terrible. if you simply tell him that he has to have a limit on his poems he would understand. i'm glad geordi was an honest critic when data asked later but i would have liked to see data's results after incorporating his feedback. ok anyway

firstly, i loved when a little guy is sleep deprived. it was great when sam winchester did it and also great when riker does it

SECONDLY, that whole sequence with the table was fucking insane. everything getting darker and darker both literally and metaphorically and deanna starting to look uneasy near the end and riker's eyes being ABSOLUTELY HAUNTED and that table was basically like a chair, anyway

when they were like "yeah the aliens cut off your arm and reattached it" READER I HOLLERED. you can't just put a guy on a chair and tear his arm off and then make him forget stuff. please. it's been nearly 10 years.

when he's like theyre gonna take me again whether i want them to or not. yeah man they sure are. this isn't quite riker roulette but it is definitely adjacent

i think the best cure for insomnia is to be absolutely terrified of going to bed because you're still in uniform and have a tracking device on you because you are about to get abducted by fucking aliens. who could resist sleep after that.

i did wonder why he laid on the table so long before attempting his escape when time was precious but i doubt i could have done any better in his shoes. i sure did love the way that knife thing hung right above his neck though. i'm pretty sure we spent that entire scene hollering DISMEMBER HIM. TRAUMATIZE HIM!! and then they didn't <3 but i'm not even mad about it

anyway. 10/10 episode they need more space horror in star trek bc it's always fun. i remember reading that tos was originally meant to be space horror-y, but i found the pacing of those earliest episodes waaaay too slow. i want a star trek show with more dismemberment though.

true q:

mistakenly thot this episode was named qpid (got it mixed up) and was hoping for more of q wanting to fuck picard to so bad it makes him look stupid but all we got was one little arm around his shoulder. which was REALLLY funny because picard instantly made a face like he'd eaten sour lemon but we deserved more. to reiterate i do NOT want them to fuck i think the dynamic of q wanting to fuck and picard preferring to die first is the funniest possible set of circumstances

instead, q constantly displays predatory body language towards this EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL. he leans really close to her and whispers in her ear and all that stuff and i did Not like it

i kept waiting for this girl to secretly be his child, or for her parents to have once been friends with him, but they literally were just randos to each other. disappointing, especially after he vanished while she was having her emotional moment on seeing their faces

where do the puppies go when she vanishes them? do they cease to exist?? did she just kill 12 puppies on screen???? too horrible to contemplate. i wish i could make kittens out of thin air though. actually that would be a terrible power the world is overpopulated with kittens as it is but STILL.

i want to know more about the weather altering net. we could have an entire episode about that alone. you just...got rid of tornadoes? and forest fires? did you fix climate change??

riker almost being killed by an empty barrel sent me into fits. they didn't strap them down after what happened to worf? this spaceship gets jostled horrifically EVERY EPISODE. what are they thinking!!!!!!!!!

RIKER ROULETTE STRIKES AGAIN. her bringing him to the alternate dimension and trying to lay on the moves was bad enough but using her powers to MAKE HIM START KISSING HER? HELLO???? i'm still mad they wrote an episode about rape and just used it for deanna fetish fuel instead of actually discussing what this poor guy goes through. why is it somehow ok/not noteworthy when it's men. come on now

it was kind of silly to have this girl go "no way im a human forever" and then immediately solve climate change on this other planet because her lil crush (/VICTIM???) was down there. like that was so rushed and weird

ultimately not a very good episode. i only like one thing about q and they did NOT deliver. he was also a misogynist to beverly once...like, die

rascals:

this got a 1 on letswatchstartrek.com and i simply disagree. i would have given it a 2 or mmmaybe 3. well no probably a 2 but STILL. first of all, tng's children are ALWAYS charming, and these guys were no exception, save possibly the kid who was playing picard, who was fine until the tantrum scene/riker's son bit, at which point i wanted to die

i never want to hear riker say daddy again.

i HAAAATE the ferengi theyre racist theyre misogynist i HATE THEM.

i felt like there was a missed opportunity with obrien and keiko to have him be cool about it, instead of awkward like everyone else. like i obviously dont think they should be canoodling or anything, gross, but there's nothing wrong with a little platonic compassion. he got there in the end ig but idk it would've made a nice contrast

how old is their fucking baby??? i just looked it up and she was born at the beginning of season 5...her ass is NOT old enough to be talking yet let alone full complete clear sentences??????

anyway speaking of compassion............GUINAN AND RO

i actually unironically loved ro's little arc here. anyone who had a shitty childhood will tell you they'd cut off their arm before going back, but she had to go back anyway, and guinan neither pitied her nor minimized anything she'd gone through. instead she got to occupy that space in a totally harmless way and receive a little closure. while the rest of this episode was okay-ish to maybe less than okayish (i NEVER want to hear riker say daddy EVER again) ro's little bit was so so so good.

re: ro...i love that we don't constantly bring her past and situation up as if it's the only thing about her but nor do we shy away from it and how it's shaped her and the narrative has never once suggested she's too harsh or too angry or whatever. of course with a season and a half left there's still time to ruin it but so far her whole thing has been one of the very few instances where tng is doing everything wonderfully.

NEXT TIME: "a fistful of datas" (noooo it's a holodeck episode) and "the quality of life."

#personal #star trek blogging #tng lb #i hope im not at work when this posts but u never know.

[weirdkpopgirl]

regret | mark imagine #1

Title: Regret

Genre: Angst (with a happy ending though)

Warnings: Mentions of arguing, and depression

Word Count: 1231k

Author’s Note: Thank you to the anon who requested this! I’ve really been wanting to write more imagines for the Dream members. So I am grateful for this opportunity! Just a side note, it was a little hard at first for me to visualize Mark reacting impulsively. He’s such a sweet and considerate person. I still hope this was okay. Thank you for reading ^-^

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Lately, the company was just not giving Mark a break. His schedules were so tightly packed with rehearsals, interviews, recordings, and stages. As a result, he’s been quite stressed because of it all. He was so busy that he had to cancel dates with you, and hasn’t been able to answer your texts.

It wasn’t like you texted him 24/7, just to occasionally check up on him. You never took it too personally if he left you on read, knowing he was probably occupied with work. But one day, Jaehyun asked if you could come to the company building. He said that Mark’s been overworking himself, and was concerned for his mental health.

You were in your apartment, studying late in the evening when his member called. But you didn’t hesitate to leave your things to go see your boyfriend. Since most restaurants were closed, you stopped by the convenience store to get some snacks and drinks for the guys.

By the time you got to the practice room, the group was just finishing up the dance routine to the song that was playing. Immediately you were overwhelmed when the members came over to greet you. They were especially pleased when you didn’t come empty-handed.

“Wah, that’s so kind of you (Y/n)-ah. Thank you!” Taeyong exclaimed and took the grocery bags for you.

You smiled and turned to find Mark. He barely acknowledged you when he came over. But you chose to brush it off, taking it as him just being tired from practice. However, his behavior didn’t change as time passed on. You tried to catch his eyes now and then, as the guys conversed with each other. After a while, you worked up the courage to say something to him. 

You gently nudged his knee. “Babe, are you alright? You haven’t eaten anything.”

“I’m not hungry,” Mark muttered, causing you to feel only more worried. 

He never responded to you so coldly before. Still not wanting to give up so fast, you picked up one of the snacks and reached for him to take it.

“Are you sure? I got the chips you liked—” You started to say before Mark slammed the chip bag down on the floor. His actions caused you to flinch and gained attention from the other members.

He sighed in frustration, “Can you just stop? Seriously, just because I’ve been busy, it doesn’t mean you can just come in during our dance practices like this. You don’t need to be so clingy.”

The room fell silent, as they stared at the boy in slight shock. Surely none of them, including you, had expected him to lash out like this. Immediately you felt a lump in the back of your throat. You were both hurt by his words and embarrassed that this had to happen in front of his members.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you felt that way,” You mumbled, slowly getting up on your feet. 

Quickly realizing what he just said, Mark and some of the other members called your name as you left. But you couldn’t look back, too afraid to let them see you cry. You never expected Mark to speak so harshly toward you. Usually, he was so sweet and gentle with his words.

His words kept replaying through your head, during the bus ride and when you returned home. Maybe you were clingy and didn’t notice until now. Regardless, Mark was clearly annoyed by you. You laid in your bed, angrily wiping away the tears that continued to fall.

Mark had accidentally brought you back down into a spiral of dark thoughts and insecurities. It’s been a long time since you’ve had a depressive episode, and you’ve nearly forgotten what it was like. But from experience, you knew this was only the beginning of a breakdown.

~ ~ ~

“Dude, that wasn’t okay,” Johnny called him out. He was the first one to speak up after you had left. Mark had his head in his hands, hating himself. 

“I know Hyung, I messed up.”

This was not he had wanted things to go. He had been trying to keep all his feelings to himself, though he knew he could withstand his stress for only so long. Truly, he hadn’t meant to take his frustrations out on you.

Mark texted you and tried calling, but you didn’t pick up. Sighing to himself, he decided to let it go for now. Maybe you were asleep and would respond tomorrow. But you didn’t reply the next day or the day after that.

As the days passed by, Mark felt more anxious. He could tell you were distancing yourself away from him. You guys rarely fought, so he wasn’t sure what to do. The members had never seen the rapper in such a gloomy mood. They were concerned for both of you.

“I just saw (Y/n) at the store,” said Haechan one day. 

Mark sprang up from his seat, “Really? Did she say anything to you?”

“Nothing much. But she didn’t look too good, Hyung.” The maknae went to sit beside him. “It’s been a week already. You should talk to her.”

“I don’t know, Haechan-ah.” Mark started to shake his head. “I don’t want to hurt her more than I already have.”

Haechan sighed, “Just apologize to her. You need her right now, and she needs you.”

After some contemplating, Mark decided to go see you as Haechan suggested. When you went to answer the door, he quickly noticed the change in you. You looked as if you hadn’t slept in days, and appeared to have lost some weight too. Mark hated to see you like this, knowing he was the cause.

“Mark? What are you doing here?” You asked. He nearly broke down, when he heard how weak your voice sounded.

Trying to hold himself together, “(Y/n)-ah, can we talk?”

He saw the brief hesitation in your expression before you stepped away from the door.

“Come in.”

The two of you awkwardly settled in the living room. You had grabbed a yellow cat plushie that Mark had won for you at an arcade. You held the stuffed animal close, unsure of what to expect.

Just apologize to her, Mark remembered Haechan’s words. That was what he needed to start with.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, (Y/n)-ah,” He breathed. “I didn’t mean what I said to you the other day. I was just tired and wasn’t thinking properly.”

A small smile formed on your lips as you shook your head. “No, I understand. You’ve been so stressed with work. I can hardly blame you for getting upset.”

“But that doesn’t excuse how I treated you,” Mark said. “You’ve been nothing but supportive and understanding. While I’ve only caused you pain.”

He hung his head low, afraid to make eye contact with you. He was taken aback when you placed your hand on top of his.

“I forgive you, Mark,” You spoke softly. “Just try not to bottle all your stress anymore. I’m your girlfriend for a reason, you know.”

“I know. I’ll come to you from now on, I promise.”

Your heart broke when you saw the tears in his eyes. You didn’t have a second thought before engulfing the boy in a much-needed embrace. Mark smiled, as your chin rested on his shoulder. He missed this. 

You felt him place a kiss on your temple before he held you closer and whispered,

“We’re going to be okay.”

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#nct #nct dream #nct 127 #mark #mark lee #mark imagine #angst #kpop #nctzen #czennie #nct requests

[yyh4ever]

Over 10 years

"Yu Yu Hakusho 100% Maji Battle" Kurama Event

This event about Kurama's past was first held on September 8th, 2020. I really like this story because Kurama looks back on events of his life that don't exist in the anime. For example, the day of Shuuichi Minamino's birth at the hospital, lines from his biological father, and conversations with his mother and Maya.

Story: Shuuichi Minamino is a very normal high school student with excellent grades and a strong affection for his mother. However, his true identity is that of a demon fox (Youko) named Kurama. Ten years have passed since the demon fox led a life of a human being in the Human World. What does he think now?...

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Translation:

"Over 10 years"

Shuuichi Minamino, a high school student who attends Meioh High School.

He is a perfectly ordinary youth with excellent grades, and trusted by those around him. He also has a deep affection for his mother.

However, he has a big secret.

Shuuichi Minamino's true identity is that of a demon fox, Youko. He was a thief from the Demon World, called Kurama.

15 years ago, he was severely wounded by a Spirit World hunter, and fled to the Human World in spirit form…

Possessing the child of a certain married couple, Kurama decides to remain in this world as Shuuichi Minamino.

T/N: The game uses the term "spirit possession" to say that Youko's spirit body entered the embryo of Shuuichi. But, let's not forget that later, Kurama explained to Gouki, that it was more like a fusion than a possession.

Shiori Minamino: I wonder if the baby will be born soon.

Kurama's father: Haha, you can't help being impatient. There's still some time until the due date, right?

Shiori Minamino: Yeah, that's right, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Shiori Minamino: I want to see you as soon as possible...

[At the Maternity Hospital]

*Wah-Wah! Wah-Wah! Wah-Wah! Wah-Wah!* (a baby is crying)

Nurse: Congratulations! It's a healthy boy!

Kurama's father: You're a child who laughs a lot.

Shiori Minamino: Look, Shuuichi, it's papa!

Shuuichi Minamino: Tee-hee

Shiori Minamino: This kid, he really likes cuddles.

Kurama's father: Mother, let me cuddle him too.

Shiori Minamino: Yes, yes, I wonder if you can do it well?

"Thank you for being born, Shuuichi."

Kurama became aware of the couple's joy.

But, he only escaped to the Human World and possessed a baby…

It will take about 10 years for him to regain his lost demon power.

When the time comes, Kurama intends to disappear from their sight.

There is no such thing as special feelings.

The human body is like a box, so to speak. Therefore, he will just make use of it in order to regain his demon power.

[Kurama's childhood]

Kurama: Kyahaha!

Shiori Minamino: Look out, don't get too carried away, it's dangerous.

Kurama: It's all right!

Shiori Minamino: You really like cherry trees, don't you?

Kurama: Mom, the cherry blossoms look even more beautiful from up here.

Shiori Minamino: Oh, so that place is a special seat just for you.

Shiori Minamino: It's a spot made only for Shuuichi, where he can have a wonderful hanami.

T/N: Hanami, known as cherry blossom viewing, is a Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers, especially sakura. People usually gather together and enjoy cherry blossoms that only bloom once a year and last for about two weeks.

Kurama: Yay!

The couple showered Kurama with their irreplaceable love.

He was planning to disappear from their lives in 10 years, but as time went by, those feelings were gone.

And then, his father's death came suddenly...

Shiori and Kurama, ended up just the two of them.

[Kurama's youth / Junior High School]

Kurama: Phew, it's already this late … I have to go home soon…

Maya Kitajima: Ah, Minamino-kun! Did you stay here until this time?

T/N: I bet she stayed at school until late, just waiting for an opportunity to talk to him alone (lol).

Maya Kitajima: Er, um ... We were talking about this in class today, but, you see…

Kurama: Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. Do you mind if we do this tomorrow?

Kurama: It's too late, so you should go home too.

Maya Kitajima: ...Ah ... uh-huh.

He was in junior high school.

The 10 years he had his heart set on leaving have gone by…

The option of going back to the Demon World, is no more.

[At the Demon World during the 3 Kings Arc]

Kurama: ...It 's been a long time.

*Flashback of Shiori in the hospital when he first met Yusuke*

Shiori Minamino: I'm feeling much better today.

Kurama: Should I peel you an apple? You need some nourishing…

Shiori Minamino: Yes, yes, I'll do as Shuuichi says.

  *Flashback of Shiori's wedding with Mr. Hatakana*

Kurama: Congratulations, mom.

Shiori Minamino: Haha, thank you so much. I'm very happy now.

Shiori Minamino: But you know, mother is the happiest by the fact that Shuuichi has grown up healthy so far!

*End of Flashbacks*

Kurama: Many things happened in the Human World.

Kurama: It's been a long time since I've been in the Demon World, but I am feeling strangely calm. I am a little behind Yusuke and Hiei.

T/N: Kurama left to the Demon World during his summer vacations in August, two months after Yusuke and Hiei. His mother got married in July. He gave the couple a honeymoon trip to Europe, so he could go to Makai more easily with them away.

Kurama: I am in Yomi's debt...

 *telephone rings...*

Shiori Minamino: Hello, Shuuichi?

Kurama: Ah, mom! What's wrong?

Kurama, who grew up with the love and affection of his mother, is now in the Demon World.

With all his resolve, he headed towards Gandara.

-The End-

#10年の月日を超えて #Yu Yu Hakusho 100% Maji Battle #Kurama #Shuuichi Minamino #shiori minamino #Maya Kitajima #Youko Kurama #Demon World #Over 10 years

[babstheyaga]

Fear Me Or Die: Chapter Ten: Stick Up For Yourself, Day 3

Pairing(s) for chapter: Ratchet/Reader, BumbleBee/Reader, Optimus/Reader, Jazz&Reader, Arcee&Reader

Previous Ch. - Next Ch.

Word count for chapter: 4.9k

Rating for chapter: Explicit

Warnings for this chapter: Degrading, curse words, blood&gore, attempted sexual assault 

A/n: (from Ao3): I'M SO SORRY THIS IS LATE!!! Please don't kill me T-T I've been dealing with a LOT recently, but after getting a few people on AO3 and Wattpad say they miss this story, I just gave up and posted this chapter. I meant to on the 11th, but I got so distracted with a mania phase, plus BPD phase so I was hyper-focused and fixated on Overwatch and writing about it. I'm going to try and get back into the rhythm of things and post like normal, and I'm sorry it took a month :WAH: I'm just struggling a lot mentally and needed a break from Transformers to focus on something that made me really happy like Overwatch. 

I'm going to work on chapter 11 here soon, hopefully get it into the swing of things again. In the mean time, ENJOY THIS CHAPTER!! I love y'all, and I promise I'm not ditching this story!!!!

I could hear Ratchet from the kitchen, he was in the living room talking to Optimus who was on the couch. My eyes were stuck glued to the flooring, my sandwich in hand and confidence out the window, I struggled to get ahold of myself but after being forced to sit in silence for a good 15 minutes, I found myself pulling it together.

I held my egg salad close to my chest like it was a precious diamond that I searched years for, it was the only thing giving me comfort, and I needed it by me desperately.

Ratchet was mumbling to IronHide just on the outskirts of the kitchen. Did I dare look to him? Probably not. I just wanted to morph into a ball of nothing. But he caught my mental attention from my side view, coming over to me, still mumbling like he was lost in thought, or cursing someone under his breath like a scene from Harry Potter.

“Let me see them.” The redhead demanded.

My dark, exhausted and mournful eyes looked sluggishly up to him. Our hues connected, and his brows folded upward ever so slightly like he was saddened by my sight. He stared, the orange in his irises glowing big and bright, yet he had a sense of grief in them. I asked him silently what he meant, and he looked down to my sandwich, being incredibly gentle, as if handling a new born baby, to take hold of my wrists. He took the barely eaten sandwich from my grip, sitting it to the side and taking his time to look at my palms.

“You've been picking at them...” He discoursed, bringing a soft index and middle to touch the terribly healing scabs on my palms. He lifted my fingers, examining my cuticles, and his lips formed into a thin line, brows folding downward in frustrated thought.

“I wish you would stop scratching your nails, you're making them bleed.” He wasn't lecturing me, but simply showing concern. I was astonished that someone like him could even do something like that. I wasn't sure how to react, but when he took in a breath and sighed lightly, I looked down to my hands in quiet shame.

“Are you going to let me wrap her hands?” Ratchet asked, blinking to the blonde muscle man sitting on the table in the dining room. He was eyeing us down, a skin crawling scowl on me and he glanced to the redhead as he spoke to him.

Why? She's fine. BumbleBee directed, my heart hurting that he wasn't going to allow the medic to heal me fully.

“Because she can get a infection and die.” He told back, a sudden harshness to his tone that was laced with annoyance... He was sticking up for me?

You think I give a ??? I assumed he was cursing, though I wasn't sure which word he was using...

I jumped a little when I heard a deep voice clear their throat, Optimus coming into view when I flicked my eyes over to the owner. He was standing long and tall as usual, his proud stature surprising me that he was somehow lengthier than the fridge he stood next to. With his hands behind his back, he stalked BumbleBee with a glare, the freckle-faced, beaten male straightening himself, clearly not wanting to be disrespectful towards the Knight of all people.

Do it. He signed, running a hand down his face in distress.

I despised the fact that I couldn't stand up for myself anymore, the lingering threat of when Optimus leaves making every part of my mind go on red alert. I was terrified to think of just what not only BumbleBee, but also Arcee can, and mostly likely will, do once he's gone.

No crying. Don't cry. I'm banning myself from crying ANY more. So suck it up!

The voice of Optimus brought me back from my soft mental break. He approached me on the left, while Ratchet rummaged through a first aid kit I didn't realize he had to my right. He came to my side, bringing a hand from behind his back to my face, being as soft and gentle as a cotton ball when he pushed a fly away behind my ear, bringing it out of my sight and lifting my chin with his bent index.

“How was your food? You did not eat much of it, I see.” He sounded disapproving, and when our differing sights caught together, I focused on his demeanor. I wasn't sure how to speak right now, let alone talk to a monster like him. I found it difficult to even listen to Ratchet, not to mention use my voice and words with Optimus... Oh, god... Here we go again with the lectures...

He watched me greatly and with care, but everything inside me was shocked when he didn't debate me on speaking, instead turned to BumbleBee, ignoring my jump of surprise at his sudden movements.

“Has she had anything to drink?” His tone was calm, and I listened intently to what the two of them were saying to each other.

Not that I know of, no. BumbleBee answered. Optimus didn't even need to give him a second glance before he pushed himself off the table, taking slow strides to the dishwasher, opened it and grabbed a misty glass from the hot fog coming from the washer. He went to the fridge aside him, opened it then took out a water container where he filled the glass and made his way over to me.

He leaned past Optimus, snatching my hands in his and forcing the cup into them. I gripped it and glanced down to it, feeling the absolute dehydration causing my blackening sight to make my mind go crazy. I rushed to bring it to my lips, almost downing the entire thing in one go.

Optimus pulled it down, telling me a cool and understanding, “Slowly, dear.” I reset myself and pulled it to my lap, letting my mouth prop open slightly to catch my breath. Optimus didn't let his serious eyes off of me, but he spoke to BumbleBee, who was also staring at me with his arms cross... Glaring like a madman at me from behind the dark one.

“If you do not take care of your wife, BumbleBee, then there will be consequences.” He told, lifting his knuckles to the end of my chin to wipe a line of water dripping down my mouth as I tried to drink again.

“You did your job as her Alpha to teach her place. But she will act out again, expect it and do not be fooled by her obedience, for an untrained type B is bound to become defiant again.” He pushed down the glass again, watching me like a hawk.

“She will become compliant in time.” He finally turned to him when he was comfortable that I was able to drink on my own.

“When we leave, I expect you to take care of her well, only punish her when she steps out of line. You want a deferential wife, not an abused puppy.” He ordered, BumbleBee nodded dutifully. “I imagine she will do as she is told, correct?” He turned to me who was nursing my water like a child.

I didn't reply out of pure unconsecratedness on the subject but that wasn't doing it for him. The black male cleared his throat. I blinked up to him in a fit of nervousness, looking to the two of them then nodding. “Yes...” I agreed, losing my thoughts a little on what exactly I was agreeing to. Optimus tilted his head down a little as if nudging me in the right direction, and I caught on immediately. “Sir! Sir, yes sir- yes... Sir...” I fumbled out.

D-u-m-b-a-s-s. The mute insulted. Optimus cleared his throat, a slight threat, but BumbleBee didn't apologize. Eat your food, Mistake. He corrected. I still felt annoyed by that name...

Ratchet caught my attention again, he apparently was waiting for a short moment for the talking two to tell me to eat before he came up to me again. He took the drink out of my hands, sitting it beside my sandwich and he was affectionate to inspect my palms.

He started to mumble to himself, I was only able to catch a word or two, my small knowledge about medical supplies helping aid in my understanding that he was talking about what to use on my open wounds. “Small sting...” He said more coherently, I prepared myself when he went over them to get the fuzz and gunk out of the scabs with a small cleaning rag. My brows and lips twitched in pain, but he was being as considerate as he could.

He got done cleaning them, now moving to the tongue depressor with some kind of cream or ointment and wiping it across them. Then he started to wrap them in the gauze, being sure to wrap my fingers one by one, telling me, “This way you can't pick at them...” In a cursing grumble. “That's done...” He rumbled, then was quick to lift my feet and glance at them to make sure they weren't bleeding.

Ratchet nodded, turning to the first aid kit, closed it then dragged it down to his side. “She's all clean, don't let her get hurt again.” The redhead dared the blonde across from me. He rolled his eyes, but tried not to be too obnoxious when he came to my side.

BumbleBee picked up the sandwich I had forgotten about, pushing it into my hands, and lifted it to my lips where I took a nibble of it. It was the small amount of pleasure I experienced while here, the intense pain and torment was exhausting, so a small moment of just being able to sit and eat a sandwich was something I never realized I needed.

I could hear rummaging in the living room, or perhaps down the hall, but with Optimus and BumbleBee standing over me, watching me slowly take bite after bite of my bread, I decided against looking up towards it.

I thought maybe Jazz was up and at 'em again, wreaking havoc on our ears, but Optimus moved to his side, the brute turning to look. Coming into view was Arcee, stumbling down the hall like she was completely plastered... I felt awful just seeing her.

She looked up from the wall she was clung to, her dead eyes staring over at the three of us, and her bruised, bloodied face didn't show an inch of expression. She took in a breath, puffing up her chest when Optimus took a proper glance at her. I could tell she was struggling to stand up straight, so as she made her way over to us, almost tripping over her own feet multiple times, fumbling to us when she clung to the dish washer handle to steady herself. She tried to play it off that she was just leaning on it, but even I could tell she was in immense pain.

“Good morning, Arcee.” Optimus greeted, she flung two fingers away from her forehead.

“Mornin', Sir.” She said back, her voice sounding like a dying cat.

“Have you had time to recuperate yourself?” He asked, leaning his head to the side, clearly knowing better.

I studied them both patiently, trying to get a feel for how Arcee was feeling, or more importantly, how Optimus was reacting.

“Yes, Sir. I feel-” She choked on something in her throat, but pushed it down. “Much better, Sir.” She obviously lied... Jesus, did I do this?

Are you hungry? BumbleBee asked, seeming concerned.

She sucked in air through her nose, puffing up her chest again and flinching to cross her arms. She flicked her eyes around the three of us, landing on Optimus then closed them in fake thought. “I'm starved, Bee.” She breathed out. I could see Optimus analyzing them like an officer.

I watched BumbleBee start to go to the freezer, pulling out what looked like a TV dinner... It seemed everyone had their own dedicated food, I made a mental note of that. It didn't have the box container as he just stuck it into the microwave, the instant familiar hum filling the strange silence.

Optimus turned to BumbleBee, “Make sure to give your wife more water, we will be leaving to Florida soon.” With that he turned and made his way to the living room where he spied on the slowly growing crowd.

When Jazz, who was standing with his arms crossed in front of CliffJumper, noticed that Optimus had left the kitchen, he pointed it out to the raven-haired male and they came over to Arcee's side.

CliffJumper leaned down and whispered something in her ear, she nodded in response and before I could hear her speak again, Jazz caught my attention. “Aww sick, Doc gave you gloves-! Oh, those are band-aids... My bad.” He seemed to joke, I couldn't tell. “What's goin' on in the...” He looked to BumbleBee, “What name did you give her?”

Mistake. The blonde replied... I bit my tongue.

“Mistake? That's fucked-”

“Jazz.” Optimus tested, not looking over his shoulder at the male, just staring into the living room as if bickering with the silver fox wasn't something he cared much about.

“So what's goin' on in the Mistake world? Heh...” He corrected, I stared mournfully down at my sandwich.

“I just want to eat my food...” I replied back, my voice barely audible. Jazz hummed in response, bringing his hand up to my egg salad and spreading the bread, making me almost snap at him to get his mitts away from my goddamn food!

“Egg salad? Thought you hated that stuff, Beebster.” He crossed his arms, but not before wiping his fingers on my shirt. I wanted to strangle him till his head popped like the fucking pimple he is.

Why do you think I gave it to her? He said back.

I felt myself dip in a little. “Then what do you eat?” I kind of argued, resetting myself instantly before I got into even more trouble. “I-I just... Haven't... Seen you eat much...”

What's it to you? He barked, I looked back to my sandwich as to not bicker more. And trust me, I wanted to.

“He likes his PB. That and those damn protein shakes! Ha!” Jazz laughed.

CliffJumper, who was examining Arcee's neck... Rather thoroughly... Looked up from his hold on her and towards me. “Bee's got an eating disorder. He ain't like food a whole lot.” He explained, I found myself... Shocked.

Jazz nudged me with his elbow, “Makes me wonder how a homie can get so fat if all he eats is peanut butter, chocolate, and protein shakes!” He broke into a fit of chuckles.

BumbleBee moved away from CliffJumper to lift his arm, flexing his rather big muscle, and said, an awfully insulted, F-A-T? How the h-e-l-l is this f-a-t you ??? skinny ???

“Brotha' got that dang dad bod.” The white-eyed male shook his head in amusement.

Dad body my a-s-s! You won't stand a chance in an arm ???

“Arm wrestle me? Hells nah homie, take up Mr. Loverboy over here on that, he finna kick your toosh.” I could tell he was trying not to cuss, and it made my heart lighter that he was trying so hard.

CliffJumper looked up to Jazz in a fit of worry, putting a finger to his lips and zipping them shut, but was quick to turn to BumbleBee beside him. “Kid doesn't stand a chance.” But the blonde seemed amused.

Oh yeah? He smirked, crossing his arms and CliffJumper nodded.

“Don't test me, kiddo, I'll whoop your ass.” He cracked his knuckles, and Bumblebee nudged his head up as if showing he's not intimidated. “You wanna go?”

Bring it old man. He dared, stepping away from the kitchen and going to the dining room beside it, sitting in the chair rounding the edge of the table. CliffJumper laughed darkly, cracking his neck and going with him to sit in the opposing seat.

Jazz moved in between Arcee and I, leaning on the counter behind him and watching the fighting two start to arm wrestle. “Bets on Bee, pack of ciggies.” He bet to Arcee.

She pushed his shoulder, “You're on.” And we sat and watched the two struggling.

I found myself wondering what CliffJumper was talking about... BumbleBee couldn't possibly have an eating disorder! Especially if he boxes! I needed to know more, so I leaned over to look at Jazz properly.

“He has an eating disorder?” I kind of whispered, like I was scared to be heard.

“Who, Bee? Oh yeah, yeah...” He tilted his shades down to look at me from over them, only glancing in my direction when talking as he watched the wrestling two. “I forget the acronym, like R-...”

“It's ARFID, Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.” Arcee chimed in, leaning over him to look at me.

I nodded, but still found myself confused. “So what does he eat? I-I mean... I saw him eating M&Ms and... Um... Peanut butter, but...” I wanted to know this, why? I kind of laughed at myself mentally.

“Like I said! PB, shakes, and chocolate!” Jazz joshed, but Arcee pushed his shoulder.

“He eats, trust me, he eats.” She comforted, “He gets most of his protein from his shakes though. But on his bad food weeks, he needs a little more help- speaking of which- BEE!” She called out, making the male look up from the tussle, clearly not breaking a sweat. “Tube, come on!” She demanded, pushing herself sluggishly off the washer, clapped her hands, and waddled over to the two.

“Not now-” CliffJumper cursed, holding his breath with how focused he was. “'Bout to-” His arm was shaking, “Win this thing-”

“Well hurry up, Bee needs his go-go juice!” Arcee walked over to BumbleBee's side of the table, gripping his shoulders and whispering something in his ear.

“His liquid cocaine!” Jazz cheered. Arcee smiled up at him and held down a laugh.

“His xan-y in a can-y!” She added.

“His jitter juice!” What?

“Come ooonnn CJ he needs his wake-y and shaky!” Um...

“He needs to inject his number 8!” Are these two okay?

CliffJumper's annoyance showed as he roared a loud, “SHUT! UP!” But that didn't seem be enough as BumbleBee's smirk grew, taking only a second to slam the opposing male's hand into the table to his left.

“GOD- FUCKING-” CliffJumper cursed, rushing up and pointing a daring finger at Jazz, “If you didn't shut your YAP then I would have-” Arcee came running over bringing her hands up to his face and smooshing it.

“Ohhh look at the little baby! Little baby doesn't want to get kicked in the butt by Optimus, now does he! No no no, so why doesn't the little baby join Bee in the living room!” She mocked, making me totally lost on the relationship between these people...

I leaned into Jazz, “Are they a thing?” I said in as low of a hush as I could manage.

The white male cleared his throat, looking automatically to Optimus before blinking to me. He stood up straight and crossed his throat, as to tell me not to talk about it...

Jazz took a second to make sure I got the message, then ran a hand through his hair, and shook it off, turning his attention to the fridge aside the sink. I flicked my eyes away from him, them landing on the threesome crowding the dining room.

Optimus' back was still away from us, his hands behind his back as one held the other's wrists. Even from over here I could tell they were gigantic... Just looking at them made my mind wander away from the norm, going to dark territory and into the land of the past. I hadn't seen my face in a couple days, but I knew the markings on my neck were still fully there, the terrifying thoughts of his fingers on my skin making my mind go AWOL... I just wanted to be okay, but looking at him was like reliving everything again.

When the midnight male noticed I was not with BumbleBee, he searched the smaller male for something, then turned to where I was. I still had my sandwich in my hands, the thought of eating it erased from my mind, but I didn't want him to think I was staring, so I looked back to it.

I could feel the panic lace my upper stomach as I heard his heavy, loud footsteps approach me. My brows folded downward, my lips pouting out accidentally in frustrated fear. I could see him in my peripheral view, his hand reaching up to my face again to tuck another flyaway behind my ear.

“Do you not like your food?” His deep, calm voice was chilling to my ears, I honed in on my sandwich. My fingertips squeezed the white bread lightly, leaving indents in it from the many times I've attempted to eat it. He played with the fuzz on the bottom of my lobe, the earring twiddling in between his thumb and pointer, I didn't answer him, my mouth clamping shut the second he spoke, I doubted I'd be able to say a word to him.

His hand toying with my ear moved down my face, ending at my chin. I expected him to force my head up to look at him, but instead, his thumb played with the side of my cheek, slowly moving over to brush against my bottom lip. The smoothness of his skin on my broken and busted flesh made my brows twitch in slight pain, the cracks of dryness and open scab from when BumbleBee had hit me the first day here...

Even when I wasn't looking at him, he felt the need to cause me pain, I was tortured by this man, and I found myself time and time again being put back in front of him. I didn't want his touch on me, I can't stand it, so I moved my head to the side, removing his hand off my lips, off my skin, and most importantly just off of my body.

I shaded my sight with my lids, glancing to my shoulder and staring half-lidded at it like I was ashamed of the man in front of me. He stood still for a short second, my vision unable to see his face, until he put either hand on the counter-top beside my hips, leaned down to my ear, and cornered me to the spot.

He was deathly close to me, his freshly sprayed cologne betraying my mind into thinking this was a pleasant moment. His eyes glowed on my skin, radiating into my hues and I tried not to think about it, I didn't want to look at him, not this close, not at all!

I released the sandwich in my hands, it dropping to my lap. I put one hand to his chest, daring to press him away, while pushing the other behind me, making sure I don't fall backwards. He was mere centimeters from me, it was suffocating, and I'm sure he knew that. He would have to be blind to not see how close and uncomfortable he was making me, I just wanted to be left alone, why is that so hard for him to understand?

I could feel his breath on my ear, my air leaving my chest with one quick exhale as he began to speak, his voice strong but hushed, “The bug may tolerate disobedience, but I won't.” I rushed to mumble quiet, baby like sighs of an apology after apology, but he shushed me, saying, “Quietly, dear. In time you will learn where you belong.”

His hand on the outskirts of my hip moved up, brushing up my thigh, making my skin pierce with bumps, tingles, and red alerts. He was gentle to brush them down to the end of my blue boxers, tugging on the ends and I took in a sharp breath through my mouth.

“I can have you smitten in two days time, Omega.” He threatened, I tried to dip my head back away from him, doing anything to get away from him.

The oversized boxers did me no justice, he oh so easily slid his hand up the side of my thigh, inside the cloth and touching the top of my backside that I had never had anyone touch before. It was so unnatural, it was so uncomfortable and nerve wrecking, my body reacting to his touch told me this wasn't what I wanted... But who was I to say? The only experience I've ever had was reading smut stories my friends would send me as a prank read, but surely being touched is supposed to feel good!

… Does this feel good?

His warm, huge hand barely scratching my skin on my bottom made my stomach do flips, his breath on my ear made my neck tingle like I was being caressed, and his words... God, was this what it's like to be turned on?

“Stop.” My voice was stern, the sudden air in my lungs aiding me greatly, I pressed my palm against his chest, pushing ever so slightly. I wasn't sure if it would work, but the confidence in me was intense, I needed this to stop, and I would pitch a fit if I have to.

Our sights connected when I turned to look at him, his glow never fading, yet he glared down at me like he was going to eat me alive. I stared up at him in a bundle of my last bit of courage, but still not enough to fully push him away.

“I'm BumbleBee's Omega.” I demanded, the first thing that popped into my mind, though it pained me more than a knife in the heart to say it.

His stare on me made my hands weak, but I wasn't going to back down. I will play every card in the book to these low lives if it means I will stop being harassed and abused.

“You really want the bug more than-” He dipped down to me, testing my levels, but I held my ground.

“Yes. I do.” I snapped back, pushing him with both hands this time.

I could see the glow in his orbs flicker, and my heart dropped.

Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me.

A short minute passed, like the cogs were turning in his head at what I said, but when the sound of Arcee's laugh caught his attention for a second, I saw the chance to drop down in front of him. He was stooping over, and he was ridiculously tall, so it was easy to squeeze by him.

My feet padded on the floor to get away, and when I looked around, the area around me didn't register, instead my head spun at top speed, my stomach feeling like a wind turbine. I put a hand to my mouth and darted for the bathroom, passing by a few rooms before I barged into it and hung my head over the toilet as I spewed my guts out.

I struggled to catch my breath, heaving on water and feeling every bit inside me regret saying a goddamn word. My head was in circles, the unforgiving sickness before me as I puked up nothing but liquid, I gripped onto my stomach as I emptied it.

“Yeah she's fine!” The sudden shout made my life flash before my eyes, and when I looked up, CliffJumper was leaning on the side of the door, one hand on his hip and the other above his head as he laughed at me. “Bitch's just scared of Optimus.” He said lower, only for me to hear.

“Get out.” I barked, he shook his head.

“Not happenin'.” He laughed. I went to close the door, but he stuck his foot in front of it. “Fat chance, kid. Get your ass up and go to your husband.” He mocked me and I really wasn't in the mood.

“I need a minute, please leave.” I tried again, but instead of moving away, he pushed himself off the wall, going to the mirror and flipping his head to both sides as if checking himself out. “You fucking Autobots are the scum of the earth...” I hissed under my breath, flopping my forehead in my hands.

“Aww, ya' see that's hurtful, Mistake.” Jazz's voice made my nerves spike, added with the name made my last annoyance crack.

“STOP CALLING ME THAT! I can't get a MOMENT alone?! I'm literally throwing my fucking lungs out! You people belong in an insane asylum!” I was exhausted, and it was definitely not called for, but I didn't even realize the things come out my mouth before it was too late.

I heard the stomping of footsteps, and I knew I was screwed. Jesus fucking Christ what is wrong with me?!

BumbleBee came into view, a IV that Arcee was carrying attached to his upper chest. He looked infuriated.

“I'm sorry- It literally just came out-”

Zip it.

I shut my mouth, blinking down and smudging my eyes into my hands in pure frustration. He clapped as loudly as he could, I peered back at him.

Look at me when I'm talking to you, who do you think you are?!

“I'm sorry-”

Shut. Your. Mouth.

I placed my hands on my lap, excruciating to straighten myself and watch him.

Get your a-s-s back in the k-i-t-c-h-e-n and stay quiet. You are to be seen not HEARD.

#bumblebee x reader #optimus prime x reader #dark fic #transformers fanfiction #fem reader #transformers x reader #fanfic #bumblebee x you #optimus prime x you #bumblebee x y/n #optimus prime x y/n #x reader #reader insert #humanformers #fanfiction

[yukiwrites]

Back to Their Roots

Thanks for the support as usual, @authordgaster!

This is a Support chain C-S Between Byleth and Anna.

Commission info HERE and HERE!

__________________________

C SUPPORT

Anna: Hmmm, but if what’s written here is true, what happened before it all…? (sound of paper rustling) *sighs* There’s no way there’s a Prologue for this, is there?

Byleth: …

Anna: *gasps* Wah! Talk about stealth! Don’t go sneaking up on a girl like that, Professor!

Anna: Rather, would you be interested in using these skills somewhere else? I’m sure although ‘Teacher’ would look good in your resumé, you could be doing much more…

Byleth: Choice 1: What were you worried about before?/ Choice 2: I was a mercenary before being a teacher.

Anna: (Choice 1) So you won’t let that go, huh? / (Choice 2) True, your resumé is already outstanding.

Anna: But that still isn’t enough to yank the answer out of me. I wouldn’t be a great secret seller if I just told about my Secret Thingy to any who asked, would I?

Byleth: I suppose not.

Anna: So! There you have it. Thanks for the chat, Professor! Ta-ta!

Byleth: …

B SUPPORT

(Monster howl)

Anna: Ack! Get away from me!

(slashing sound followed by a thump)

Anna: Huh? Professor! Oh, phew. Thank you so much for getting me out of that one. It was close!

Byleth: Are you hurt?

Anna: No, I’m alright. Thanks again, you showed just at the perfect time! I owe you one.

Anna: But I dislike owing people, so I’ll repay you right now! Is there something you need? Anything at all? I can guarantee the best deals and I’ll cut you a discount if you want something that I don’t have at hand.

Byleth: Choice 1: Just knowing you’re safe is payment enough. / Choice 2: What were you doing out here so far?

Anna: (Choice 1) Aww, aren’t you a charmer? That won’t do, though. / (Choice 2) Urk, hoping that you wouldn’t ask really did not make it come true.

Anna: I guess I owe you at least an explanation — though I will still repay you with something else, later. Hmm but I suppose information IS money, too, so if you’re happy with it, so am I, heehee!

Anna: Where should I start… Well, as you know, my family is pretty big. Wait, you know about it, right? I’m sure you’ve seen my sisters around.

Byleth: Sisters?

Anna: The peddler on the battlefield, or the dark merchant down the river… Don’t tell me you thought they were all me!

Byleth: …

Anna: Heehee, just pulling one over you. It’s fine thinking that; it’s the whole point of the scheme. I have many, many sisters, cousins, aunts, yadda-yadda that are all merchants by the name Anna. It’s kind of our thing.

Anna: We even have a…

Anna: …

Anna: A… secret thingy.

Byleth: …

Anna: Sorry, but saving my life still doesn’t make you privy to this information. It’s really top secret.

Anna: Anyway, we have this secret thingy that I’ve been reading from cover to cover lately, but there’s still so much to know! Information is money! Information keeps the world going! I want to know more, I NEED to know more. What happened BEFORE the thingy? I’m sure I can capitalize on that, but then there’s how the thingy kind of tied our family down here in Fódlan… Maybe if I find more about the Outrealm gate…

Byleth: Outrealm?

Anna: Whoops, said that outloud, did I? Call that a bonus for saving my life! Now that I said too much, it’s time for my strategic retreat. Ta-ta, Professor!

Byleth: …

A SUPPORT

Byleth: …

Anna: Aha! Caught you off guard, didn’t I?

Byleth: Choice 1: That surprised me. / Choice 2: I was looking for you.

Anna: (Choice 1) Good! I won’t be caught by surprise again. / (Choice 2) I know. That’s why I didn’t want to be caught by surprise again.

Anna: Quick learning and knowing how to adapt are key qualities for merchants, you know! Anyway, what did you need me for today, Professor?

Byleth: Choice 1: I’ve just been worried about how you’ve been holding out. / Choice 2: I was wondering about your secret thingy.

Anna: (Choice 1) Aww, truly a person after my own heart. Is that really all, though? / (Choice 2) So it really was about that, huh.

Anna: *sighs* I suppose it’s not much of a secret thingy if you’ve known about it for so long, is it? But before I start, can I ask a few questions?

Byleth: Of course.

Anna: Back when your hair changed, they said you went to another world and met the goddess… Is that true? How was it like? Anything like Fódlan or was it… something else entirely?

Byleth: It was just darkness. The goddess gave me her power so that we could escape it and return here.

Anna: Just darkness, huh… Turns out that world-hopping is a more serious business than it already seems.

Byleth: World-hopping?

Anna: *sighs* The cat’s outta the bag already, so I’ll elaborate on it. But just a little bit! Figure the rest out by yourself.

Anna: There are other worlds. My family is really big. I have the secret thingy here that’s passed down to every Anna before they start their business. What do you think we do?

Byleth: World-hopping?

Anna: Bingo! Though I spelled it out for you, so the credit’s still mine. But there’s the thing: our family hasn’t world-hopped since coming to Fódlan. The records in the manifesto aren’t very clear about when it happened, but I’m guessing it’s been ever since we got our Crest…

Anna: Maybe that bound us to this land? Maybe the power we had to world-hop canceled out? Or maybe we just forgot how to do it since we’ve been here in this land for so long? So many questions, and no one to answer them!

Byleth: I’m sorry I can’t help with this.

Anna: That’s alright. Thanks for listening ‘till the end, though. I don’t need to mention this, but this is ultra top secret information, okay? Don’t go tittle-tattling on me, you hear?

Byleth: *nods*

Anna: Thanks! Ta-ta, Professor!

Byleth: *thinking stance*

S SUPPORT

Anna: Woo! With that war outta the way, I’ll be able to cover more ground for my research. Thanks for letting me join up to help, Professor.

Anna: I got some pretty big numbers in both clinkity-clinks and information, which’s a win-win-win!

Byleth: I’m glad everything got resolved.

Anna: Yup. Something on your mind, though? You seem out of it, somehow.

Byleth: I’ve been thinking about what you told me last time.

Anna: *whispers* World-hopping? We’re alone here, right?

Anna: Okay, we are. So what were you thinking? Do you have any clues?

Byleth: I think that I might be able to use the power of the goddess to find these Outrealms. I can’t hear her voice anymore, but I feel her power growing everyday.

Anna: *Gasp* So… you mean you can world-hop?! This is incredible news! I was thinking that my family was too bound to this place, but if you can help with the power of the goddess… maybe our children can world-hop again!

Anna: Alright, I got the guns on you, take that ring out and put it on my finger, we’re going to cover grounds no other Anna has done since the start of our history here!

Byleth: Choice 1: You surprised me. / Choice 2: How did you know I was going to propose?

Anna: Heehee, a woman must keep her secrets! This is one I won’t be sharing, darling. Now, we’re bound forever, with new heights in sight for us! And so many business opportunities!Anna: Thank you for always thinking of me! Now, we’ll be together forever, as partners, lovers and strangers in other worlds. I’ll share this one secret though: *whispering* I love you. Thanks for believing in me. Okay, enough secrets and more happiness! *kissing sound*

#fire emblem three houses #fe3h #byleth fire emblem #anna fire emblem #support chain #my writings #yuki's commissions

[machifuwa]

Summer Splash | Episode 6

Yuzuru: I found Hiiro-sama. He's over there.

Aira: You're right! As expected of Fushimi-senpai!

Eh?? Half of his body is in the water...!

O~i, Hiro-kun! It's already dark, you'll never find it- Wah!?

Watch out! Hiro-kun!

Hiiro: .....

Aira: He just ignored me... Can't he hear me? Hey~ hello~

Hiiro: .....

Yuzuru: (Rather than being ignored, it looks like he's unable to hear the sounds around him.)

(As Shiratori-sama said, the river is dangerous at night. According to my preliminary research, the maximum depth of the river here is three meters.)

(We should bring him back even if we have to force him. I borrowed a rope from the management office...)

Hiiro: ...I see it.

Aira: Hi-hiro-kun!?

What do we do!? Hiro-kun has disappeared into the river!

Yuzuru: Ugh, I was late in making a decision.

Shiratori-sama, wait here, I'll go swimming...!

Hiiro: Puwaah! Alrighty. I found the glasses!

Well, it was worth getting all wet.

Hm? What are you two doing here?

Aira: Why, you say. We've been chasing you, Hiro-kun. Hmph...

Yuzuru: Well done, but... How did you manage to find it in the dark?

Hiiro: It's only because it's dark that I could find it. When the sun is shining, the light reflects and glares, and your eyes see so many things that it's distracting to look for them.

When I sharpened my mind in the dark, I could immediately detect the presence of the glasses.

Yuzuru: Oh... I see that Hiiro-sama has excellent physical abilities.

Aira: You don't have to follow him, Fushimi-senpai. Hiro-kun is just a weird guy.

Hiiro: You have a rather strange way of saying things sometimes, don't you? Weirdos, let's stay friends!

Aira: Don't wrap me up with "strange guys" like you! I'm just normal!

Mika: Should I go check on him too? But I have a bird's eyes, so I can't see much in the dark.

Not only will it be useless, it will only be a drag. What should I do...?

Keito: Kagehira, do you hear something in the distance?

Mika: Hmm...? O-Oh!! It's Yukkun and the others! Hasumi-senpai, they're all back!

Hiiro: We're back. Hasumi-senpai, can you give me your hand?

Keito: This is...? This touch... my glasses? I didn't think you'd actually find it...

Hm? What's wrong, Amagi? You're all wet...

Hiiro: The glasses were sunk to the bottom of the river, so I had to dive.

Keito: You dived? Don't do anything rash, for god's sake...

Yuzuru: Hiiro-sama, please change your clothes in the tent. I'm worried you might catch a cold.

Hiiro: Umu, I understand!

Five minutes later

Hiiro: Sorry to keep you waiting. It's kind of weird that I'm the only one in civilian clothes, huh?

Yuzuru: Let's dry your practice clothes later. They will be dry in the morning.

Hiiro-sama, please come this way. I will wipe your hair.

I'm glad we found the glasses as a result. The river is dangerous at night. If you want to go to the river at night, you should have gone at dawn instead.

Hiiro: No, no. If we wait till morning, they'll be gone by then.

Yuzuru: ...You mean the stars?

Hiiro: Umu. Stars that would be lost in the town lights near the ES are visible here.

I really wanted to find it because I thought this view could only be enjoyed at a camp where we could spend time in nature.

We are the five members of Keito's Lessons. We wanted to enjoy and share this moment without cutting anyone off...

That's the only reason. I apologize for worrying you. I'm sorry.

Yuzuru: While Keito-sama lost his glasses, everyone was looking down, not in the mood to enjoy the starry sky.

Although it was dangerous and I can't praise you without giving credit. This time, we were saved by the energy of Hiiro-sama.

You usually act out of the ordinary and sometimes insane. But that's why we can help you and stay by your side.

Hiiro: I am inexperienced, and I will cause a lot of trouble in the future. But as a fellow member of "Keito's Lessons", I hope you'll continue to keep in touch with me.

There are so many things I want to know about idols, about the city, about everyone, and about this world!

Yuzuru: I would be happy to do so if it is all right with you. It seems that you also agree, Keito-sama.

Keito: Unfortunately, it seems like I have a habit of attracting troublesome people. The increase in the number of people in the group is not going to hurt or itch me.

There are limits, though, since we have different offices and different "units". As long as we don't give up, we will take care of ourselves as fellow members of "Keito's Lessons".

Hiiro: Umu! Let's work hard again, together, from now on!

Aira: So it looks like we're done here? Hasumi-senpai, why don't you play with this?

Keito: Hand-held fireworks. Did you bring them all the way here?

Aira: Yes. Fireworks are really used during the summer in some places, and I wish we could all play together...♪

Mika: There are so many different kinds. What are these?

Hiiro: It's shaped like a pistol. Is this how you hold it?

Keito: Don't start yet, alright? If there's a fire, we'll move to the riverbank.

Yuzuru: That's right. Just to be safe, I'll borrow some firefighting equipment from the administration office.

It's going to be a wonderful memory, Keito-sama.

Keito: ...Yeah, that's right.

◀ Prev | ■ All

Written by Yuumasu

Season: Summer

Translated by machi

#ensemble stars #enstars #hiiro amagi #yuzuru fushimi #aira shiratori #keito hasumi #mika kagehira

[edenaeris]

[food fantasy] dessert crisis / chapter 2

🦋 Season: Spring

🦋 Writer: Mitsuki

🦋 Featuring: Ritsu, Tsumugi, Mao

Location: Library

Tsumugi: Thanks to Ritsu-kun’s help, I could settle things at home just in time yesterday.

But still, although he said he’d help me sort out the remaining books, I couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy for some reason, so I ended up coming back to the library. 

Ritsu: Zzz… Zzz…

Tsumugi: Huh? Isn’t that Ritsu-kun?

The flashlight’s still on, as well. Does this mean that Ritsu-kun stayed up reading the whole night?

Ritsu-kun, Ritsu-kun, wake up. You’ll catch a cold if you sleep here. 

Ritsu: Yawn~ 

Ah, it’s you, Aoba-oniichan~ Good morning.

Tsumugi: Did you… Did you stay here all night?

Ritsu: Hmmm… I just woke up, so things are still kinda blurry. Gimme a sec.

Ah yes, I remember now. Aside from the ones I borrowed, I also found a lot of other interesting books while I was sorting them out. I got inspired by them, so I came up with new design ideas~

Then I sat down to draw some of them on paper, and I think at some point, I ended up falling asleep on the table.

Wah~ But sleeping on your stomach is truly uncomfy. My back is all stiff now~

Tsumugi: Haha, come here, I’ll massage it a little for you.

By the way, I brought you the juice you like. Here, drink some first to wake up.

There aren’t many people in the library this early in the morning, so I’ll let it slip this time around, alright?

Ritsu: Hehe, Aoba-oniichan, you’re so good at taking care of people~

Tsumugi: I mean, you did help me sort out the books yesterday, so this is the least I can do to thank you.

Because you rounded up things for me here, I was able to solve things at home just in time, so you helped me more than you can imagine.

In any case, classes will start soon, so make sure you attend them properly.

Ritsu: Sure, sure, I know.

Fufu, how funny. Usually, it’s Maa~kun who wakes me up so we can go to class together, but today I was woken up by Aoba-oniichan. Feels like a refreshing change of pace.

Mao: Ritsu!

Ah, you’re here too, Aoba-senpai. Morning.

Tsumugi: Haha, speak of the devil and he’s sure to appear. [1] Good morning, Isara-kun. Were you looking for Ritsu-kun?

Mao: Yup. I dropped by his house as usual today, but he wasn’t there.

Then, his family told me that he contacted them yesterday and said he’d stay in school, looking for books.

‘Though I gotta admit, I thought he’d be in class already, so I went straight to our classroom, only to find out he wasn’t there yet, so I came to the library.

Ritsu, since you’re still here, does that mean you spent the night in the library? Didn’t you feel cold or anything?

Ritsu: It’s fine, Maa~kun, I wouldn’t get sick so easily.

And after being pampered by Aoba-oniichan, I feel a lot better now ♪

Tsumugi: Alright, I’m sorry to interrupt you two, but the bell’s about to ring. If you don’t go now, you’re gonna be late for class.

Mao: Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the time as we talked. C’mon Ritsu, let’s hurry back.

Ritsu: Sure, lemme just put these books back first. It’ll only take a minute.

Tsumugi: You can leave that to me. If it’s just these few books here, I should be able to finish it in a jiff.

Ritsu: Thank you, then, Aoba-oniichan. Make sure to not be late for classes, as well.

Mao: Alright, we’ll be going now. See ya, Aoba-senpai.

Tsumugi: Ah, I’m jealous of the friendship between youngsters. To be able to go to school hand in hand like that.

Anyway, no time to keep sighing to myself. I better finish organizing these books so I can go to class as well.

These two volumes are about sweets-making…

Hm? This one seems to be about the Cthulhu Mythos [2], though. Is this one of the interesting books Ritsu-kun mentioned he found?

Of course, there’s no harm at all in reading different genres.

Hm? There’s a piece of paper under the book. It says… “The Cthulhu Dessert Plan – Part 1”? 

Woah! What… What on earth is this design?

ㅤ

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

Notes:

Tsumugi uses an idiom here, [说曹操, 曹操到](shuō cáo cāo, cáo cāo dào), which is literally “speak of the devil and the devil shows up”, pretty similar to the English version.

The Cthulhu Mythos is mythopoeia that originated from the works of H. P. Lovecraft, deriving from the central creature in Lovecraft’s seminal short story “The Call of Cthulhu”. Lovecraft would make frequent references in his works to the “Great Old Ones”, a loose pantheon of ancient, powerful deities from space who once ruled the Earth and have since fallen into a deathlike sleep, letting the world fall into a state of chaos and hopelessness. “The Call of Cthulhu” was his first story that really expanded the pantheon of the “Great Old Ones”. This Enstars event is a collaboration with the Chinese RPG game “Food Fantasy”, in which the story revolves around how the God of Beginnings forced himself into a deep slumber after an all-out war between humans and souls broke out, leaving him in complete despair. This fictional myth from the game is very likely inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos, hence why it makes an appearance in this collab story.

ㅤ

🦋 Translation: Eden

🦋 Proofreading: Mia (ENG)

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[awek-s-archived]

aweksss i was about to go to sleep but checked tumblr once and saw your were active so: how is my favourite person doing today :3c also spoke nothing but facts those last few text posts; you are so right about it all. i still can’t believe these people start training at such a baby age and debut as literal children, it’s weird finally being older than most kpop stars these days especially when i see the kind of stand they have :c i get the orange neck thing 😭 i was trying to gif a kpop boy the other day and for some reason his foundation was a bit too white (despite it usually being a couple shades lighter than his skin but i always make it work) and i cried because i thought it’d be smart to make the whites darker and shifted them towards orange/red THEN ZOOMED OUT FROM HIS SKIN TO SEE THAT I ENDED UP WITH THE SCARIEST EYES AND TEETH EVER and the fact that he was smiling didn’t help at all… he also adores his skin colour a ton which makes me sad each time i see him in light foundation ☹️ - bio anon 🍃

wah im sorry im answering so late my dear nonnie!!!! i am okie :3 how are u?? i love u so much hehe. also. real about both of those things. imo if you're gonna make a kid work in the industry you could at least make them do kid stuff, not appeal to adult audiences, but none of that is new (dream were debuted w the purpose of pandering to women in their mid twenties onwards for example). but it's wishful thinking, the most i can do is hope that these kids get thru it all as safely as possible :/ ALSO..... literally the worse contender for whitewashing content is weekly idol, like every time i have to colour weekly idol i want to die but their shots and quality is so good that i have no choice (in my head<3 JFKLDG)..... imagine weekly idol AND really whitewashed makeup, i couldn't cope. but anyawys :< im sowwy nonnie, it's rly so hard and also frustrating knowing they do it to ppl who are actually happy in their own skin as well, it's like telling them they shouldn't be and it makes me MURDEROUS fr

#🍃 bio anon #asks

[temaru]

happy belated international women's day here are my favorite girls !!

#wah sorry for being late as usual #also i have absolutely no idea what these outfits are. there was no reference so they don't make any sense. sorry i have no fashion sense #i think i subconsciously made grace's clothes similar to an oc i made when i was like 12 #this is why i ask my friends for fashion advice #infinity train #grace monroe #tulip olsen

[allisonlol]

Wah! I cant remember if I congratulated you already but congrats on 400!! <33

May I request milk tea with Chuuya? 💞

a/n: thx again ariel !! combining all my chuuya reqs here since, unsurprisingly, i got a lot

milk tea; what are their kisses like?

you’ll typically get two different main types of kisses from this boy!!

chuuya is usually aggressive in his advances

likes to catch you off guard 

^will grab your wrist before quickly pulling you into him, wrapping his other arm around you, and pressing his lips to yours

turns into a makeout session every time lmao

daddy? sorry. daddy?? sorry...daddy...?

seeing your flushed face after doing this just really gets him going-

chuuya’s other way of kissing is much more...calm?

^gently raises your face to meet his before kissing you very sweetly

10/10 extremely loving & soft 

also loves to kiss the back of your hand

^started off as a joke at first, but then turned into one of his official forms of showing affection after seeing how flustered it made you

and they say chivalry is dead...

green tea; how do they comfort their s/o?

well, obviously by killing whoever it was that made you upset ☺️

i’m kidding. kind of

chuuya is very sensitive & in-tune to your feelings so, the moment he sees you upset, it breaks his heart a little

you’ll never see him softer than when he’s comforting you <3

^pulls you into his lap so he can hold you and gently wipe the tears from your eyes

will listen quietly as you explain or vent about why you’re upset

stays calm on the outside while he reassures you, but on the inside he’s livid at whatever it was that made you upset

chuuya will bring you something to drink before offering if you’d want to take a bath with him to help you become more relaxed 

you’d be a fool to say no-

if he has to go to work after, he’ll call you whenever he has free time to check in on how you’re feeling

even if you insist that you’re fine now, chuuya will continue to dote on you for the rest of the night 

brings home your favorite snacks and some drinks to share

will tell you about the crazy events that happened to him at work in an attempt to make you smile/laugh

chuuya is a sympathetic person in general, so he’ll do anything it takes to make you feel better

definitely will look into it more on his own time later to determine if he wants to kill the person who made you upset or not tho 🤫

lemon tea; what are mornings like with them?

sleepy chuuya is literally the cutest

just a warning that you'll have to drag him out of bed every morning so he's not late for work

chuuya is NOT a morning person at all (felt)

deadass starts whining at you to turn off your phone alarm so he can immediately fall back asleep 

you’re usually the one who wakes up first (which means u get to see your boyfriend’s cute sleeping face)

once you’re out of bed and dressed for work, you’re tasked with trying to convince chuuya to do the same

shaking him awake, he’ll try to shove you away before pulling his pillow over his head 

“baby you’re gonna make us late for work!!” you beg before yanking the blanket off of him

this mf will go half feral to wrestle that blanket back out of your hands

it’s always a 20 minute ordeal before he’ll become conscious about what he’s doing

if you bribe him he’ll be more inclined to listen

“hey chuuya...didn’t you wanna go wine tasting after work today~?”

you know you’ve caught his attention once he peeks his eyes open to suspiciously look at you

by this point you’re cutting it real close to being late so this is only used as a last resort

chuuya will sit up with a long sigh before accepting defeat and actually getting out of bed (FINALLY)

english breakfast tea; would they want a family?

ok so we all know chuuya is really good with kids

which still surprises me

so honestly i don’t think he would mind maybe having one or two around?

it would obviously ultimately be your choice tho

however

realistically, with the professions you both have and the risks that come with it, it’s unlikely you’d actually be able to start a family

^you’d be constantly worried about the kids safety, plus with the busy schedules that you both have, you wouldn’t be able to spend much time with them to begin with

chuuya is always still open to the idea for sometime in the future, if that would ever be possible 

black tea; what do they look for in a person?

definitely would be drawn towards someone who can hold themselves in a fight and take care of business on their own

^wants this so he won’t feel the need to worry about your safety so much, especially if you have the same profession that he does

leans towards more mature and calm people - this is a bit of a contrast to his own personality as you’d be better suited to handling him when he’s irritated lol

bonus points if you love to drink as much as he does too 😋

and even more bonus points if you have top tier fashion as well

i feel like chuuya honestly isn’t too picky about the kind of person he would date

either he likes them or he doesn’t 🤷🏻‍♀️

however i do think he would be more drawn to shy/laid back people

^would greatly appreciate it if you were easy to fluster so he can smooth talk you 😏

#bsd x reader #bsd x y/n #bungo stray dogs x reader #chuuya x reader #dazai x reader #bungou stray dogs #chuuya x you #chuuya imagines #chuuya headcanons #chuuya fluff #chuuya hcs #chuuya x y/n #bsd chuuya

[blackstar95]

The Brothers reaction when MC slaps their ass

Lucifer

As usual, Lucifer listened to some classical music and poured himself a glass of wine to relax a bit.

Once he was done, he brought the glass to his lips and took a sip, savoring the taste.

"Mhm," he hummed to the sound of the melody and blissfully closed his eyes, enjoying the quiet moment he was having.

Much to his dismay, you entered his office without making yourself noticable.

Now dont get me wrong, he loves enjoys your company.

But not when your main goal is to tease him.

An thats exactly what you were doing.

You grinned mischievously as you slowly crept up to him, his back turned to you.

Since he was in his own state of mind, he didn't noticed anything.

That was until you reached your hand out.

In that milisecond, Lucifer's senses were tingling and his eyes shot open, turning around as fast as lightning.

But it was too late.

He only watched as your right hand colided with his left buttcheek, giving it a good squeeze afterwards.

Lucifer jumped and just stared at you in shock, processing what just happend.

And you just stood there with an empty expression, your eyes starring at your palm.

"Wow, your butt is actuallly softer than I thought".

Lucifer furrowed his brows in anger and shook his head.

"MC".

"Yeah?" You asked, looking up at him innocently.

Lucifer had that closed eyed smile with an dark aura surrounding him.

"Now, what made you think this was an good idea, MC?".

You shrugged and slowly walked backwards, shivering nervously "I dont know.. I was just curious?"

"Curious?" He met up with your steps and tilted his head to the side, his smile never leaving

He became dangerously close, making you more nervous than you already are.

You felt your back hitting the wall and your eyes widened.

Oh lord...

Lucifer slammed his palm beside your head, caging you.

You flinched and looked to the ground, feeling suddenly so tiny under him.

Lucifer cupped your cheek and made you look back up at him, a sadistic smile on his lips.

"Such inappropriate behavior should be punished, MC"

I leave the rest up to your imagination.

Mammon

Mammon was walking beside you as always, being practically attached to your hip (nothing new).

You guys were at R.A.D on your way to the cafeteria, since it was break time.

The greedy demon beside you rambled about that new scheme to make money, and you once again had to talk him out of it.

"Ya! It aint a dumb idea!" He protested.

"It is Mammon. Just think about Lucifers reaction and the consequences," you shook your head "Want to hang from the ceiling that bad?".

Mammon only scuffed, turning his head to the side.

You glanced over to him and noticed a visible pout on his lips, making him look like a child.

"Hey, Mammon".

"Hm?" He looked over at you "What's up?".

You raised your hand and reached over for his bottom, smiling sweetly at him.

"Cheer up".

He was about to question you, but before he could even start his sentence, you cutted him off with a real loud smack on his ass.

Mammons stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes widened in shock "W-what?".

Once realisation kicked in, his face flushed in an intsant.

"O-oi, human! Whats the big deal slappin' my butt like that?!". He yelled at you, looking like a fricking tomato.

You couldnt help but let out a few chuckles, highly amused by his reaction.

"Ya! It aint funny!"

Thanks to his loud voice, the whole hallway now knew what just had happened.

Leviathan

Leviathan walked down the stairs to the dining room.

He was really excited because he finally got his hands on the new Ruri-chan merchandise that came out.

"Woaah! I cant believe I got that limited edition figurine!, its SO rare and the new outfit- its just soo angelic-"

Levi being caught in his own ramblings didnt noticed that you were walking beside him.

"And that new hairstyle! I cant believe Ruri-chan could get even more cuter than she already is-"

"Say Levi, to who'm are you talking to?"

"WAh!", Levi jumped slightly at the sound of your voice and almost tripped over his own foot.

"Wha- MC!? How long have you been here!?"

You smiled at him and grabbed his shoulder for support, preventing him from falling down the stairs.

"There there, calm down. I didnt heard much".

Levi let out an sigh of relief and turned to you.

"Yeah right, I mean who would want to listen to an yucky otaku like me?".

You facepalmed in your mind and sighed, he really needs more confidence.

Leviathan kept walking and pitying himself, mumbling random stuff.

He has such a negative mindset.

You walked up behind him not thinking much.

But then you stared at his head and then his back,

Eventually your eyes landed on his bottom.

You smirked to yourself as you just ran past him, giving his butt a hard and loud smack.

Levi yelped in surprise and stood still, overwhelmed with what just had happened.

His hand grabbed his right buttcheek and rubbed it, being too shocked to react.

You turned around and waved at him. "Damn Levi, you really got an nice butt there! Im soo jealous!"

You then disapperaed in the dining room.

Levis brain needed a whole minute to process what just had happened.

And then he became a stuttering mess.

"M-M-MC! W-what was that now?!, h-hey wait!" He hid his flushed face behind the back of his hand as he stumbled after you.

Ngl he was kinda happy you touched him.

Satan

Satan was on kitchen duty, cooking his curry.

He invited you to join and help, so you guys could spend some time together.

And theres no way you would ignore that chance.

So here you were beside him, giving him the ingredients he asks for and making some small talk.

"Did you know that Beel almost ate my hair in his sleep?" You sighed "Im lucky im not bald".

Satan glimpsed at you and raised his eyebrow, shaking his head, "His hunger really doesnt know its limits".

He looked up, "Well speaking of sleep, I had an unpleasant dream last night."

You handed him the spoon and nodded "What was it about?"

Satan sighed, "Beel ate too much and grew to be a giant. He then ate the House of Lamentation, leaving the rest of us homeless".

You laughed, "Why do I have a feeling that could actually happen?"

Satan frowned "He already eats plates, its only a matter of time until he starts eating the walls".

You chuckled, intending to jokingly slap his arm.

But since you werent focused on what you were doing, you didnt notice how your slap landed right on his butt.

Satan dropped the spoon he was holding and looked at you with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?"

You turned to him with an confused expression "Did I do something wrong?"

Satan cocked an eyebrow and leaned his head to the side "You just slapped my butt".

Now its your turn to look at him with wide eyes. "I did what now?".

Satan didnt knew if you were joking or not, and it was kinda ticking him off.

"My butt. You slapped it".

"No I only slapped your arm- ohh wait..." you chuckled.

"What is so funny?" He asked you with furrowed brows.

"Sorry Satan, I wasnt focusing on what I was doing and accidently slapped your butt instead of your arm," You shrugged "My bad".

Satan nodded and turned back to what he was doing "Next time be more careful, or I will return the gesture".

You smirked and leaned over to him "I wouldnt mind that".

He will remember that.

Asmodeus

Asmo was having a mid-life crisis.

He was on one of his diets, because his waist gained 1 millicentimeter.

You assured him that a little more weight always looks good and healthy but he wont listen.

So here you were infront of him, eating one of his favorite Cupcakes.

"MC darling, why do you have to torture me like that?"

He whined "Its not faair!"

You just shrugged "I have another cupcake left for you, but since you're on your little 'diet' I will give it to Beel."

He sighed and dropped his head on the table "Does my pain bring you pleasure?".

You frowned "I-"

Asmo gasps and sat back up straight. "Dont tell me your into that stuff?, Wow!"

He smiled and wiggled in his chair.

You sighed and shook you head "Asmodeus, stop".

He pouted "You're no fun..".

After some time you finally finished the cupcake and Asmodeus had reached his limit.

He watched as you stood up and walk towards to the kitchen.

"Wait, what are you doing?" He also stood up and followed you.

"I will bring the cupcake to Beel-"

"No, wait!" he grabbed your wrist and stared at you.

You looked back at him "What is it, Asmodeus?".

He glimpsed to the side "I dont want him to eat my cupcake.."

You clicked your tounge and pulled him towards you, making him stumble to the side

"What are you doi- AH!" He moaned yelped in surprise as you slapped his ass.

"Just eat that damn Cupcake. Its not like you will gain 10kg from it".

He blushed "Oooooh MC! That really made me excited! How harsh you pulled my wrist-"

You just let go of him and left the room.

"MC where are you going?, you cant just leave me here!"

Beelzebub

Beelzebub asked you to keep him company while working out.

And of course you said yes.

So now you sat there, on the bench with a towel in hand, enjoying the view infront of you.

Beelzebubs biceps flexed as he lifted weights, and his white tanktop was drenched in sweat, making it transparent.

His abs showed through the fabric and you blushed.

How can this man be so big and muscular?

You blinked when he stopped his workout and laid the weights back down.

He grabbed his bottle from the floor and drank from it, taking big gulps.

You decided to stand up and walked over to him.

"Hey, Beel"

Beel lowered the bottle from his mouth and smiled at you "Hey, MC!"

You smiled back, and held the towel in your hand out to him, "Here take this".

"Thanks" He nodded at you and grabbed it, wiping the sweat on his face away.

"So, how is the workout going so far?" You asked couriously.

"Im still warming up" he replied.

You blinked, Still at warming up, huh?.. impressive.

"But im starting to feel hungry..." Beel pouted.

You laughed "You can do it Beelzebub, I believe in you".

He blushed and smiled at you "Thanks, MC!"

So cute.

You nodded and patted his shoulder "Sure".

Beel proceeded to start his warm up again, starting with some sit-ups.

But you had other plans.

"Beel wait!" You ran up to him.

He stopped what he was doing and looked over at you "What is it, MC?"

Before he could fully turn his body to you, he felt a stinging sensitation on his butt.

He looked at you startled, now realising you slapped it.

"Wow Beel, your buttcheeks are pretty hard.. are they made of iron or something?" You hold your hand up to your face.

Beel blushed slightly, not knowing what to do or say.

You just shrugged and turned around, marching towards the bench you were sitting on.

But suddenly, you felt a light clap on your own butt.

You gasped, "What-, Beel?!" You looked behind you and saw him standing there, smiling.

"Your butt feels really soft and nice, MC". he chuckled, "Is that a human thing to do?"

"Beel no-"

Belphegor

Belphegor was taking a nap in the attic, skipping the student council meeting.

And since you were coming late to the meeting due to some complications, Lucifer ordered you to search for Belphie and bring him there along with you.

And thats how you ended up infront of the attic, clearly annoyed.

"Belphegor," you spoke as you opened the door "I know you're in here".

The youngest brother laid on the bed, snoring and cuddling into his cow pillow.

You walked over to him and shook him "Hey Belphegor! Wake up!"

He stirred in his sleep and furrowed his brows.

Eventually he opened one eye and glimpsed at you. "What is it?"

"Lucifer wants me to bring you to the council meeting" you explained.

"Too bad, I wont go" he closed his eyes again. "Why dont you join me?"

"No," you shook your head, "Please, stand up".

He groaned "No, I dont want to go".

Thats it

You grabbed Belphegor by his arms, and turned him on his stomach.

His eyes shot open "Dah! W-what, hey-"

You raised your hand and slapped his ass, the sound of it echoing through the room.

Belphegor jumped and sat up straight, looking at you in disbelief.

"What was that for?!" He blushed

"You should stand up," you crossed your arm over your chest "I asked you nicely but you wont listen".

"Alright..," He closed his eyes "I will go"

You nodded "good"

But before you could turn around, Belphegor grabbed your wrist and laid you over his lap, his hand resting on your butt.

You blushed when you realised what he was doing,

You tried to escape, but his grip on you was too tight.

"Heheh," he chuckled "Time for payback".

"B-belphegor-" you were interrupted by his hand squeezing your left cheek slightly, making you shiver.

Belphegor raised his hand and striked an direct slap on your butt.

He expected you to squeak cutely, but instead a loud moan left your lips.

You quickly sat up and covered your mouth, an massive blush on your face.

Belphegor stared at you with wide eyes,

But after a few seconds he smirked.

"Didnt knew you're into that stuff," he teased you "Im not complaining though".

You just hid your face in his shoulder, too embarassed to look up "Dont tell anyone about this..".

Belphegor chuckled and patted your head "I wont, that would ruin the fun".

He will still tease you about it tho, but just when you guys are alone.

#obey me #obey me fanart #obey me mc #obey me! #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me leviathan #obey me belphegor #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me satan #mammon x reader #satan x reader #lucifer x reader #obey me shall we date #obey me masterlist #obey me fandom #obey me fanfic #asmodeus #belphegor #belphegor avatar of sloth #beelzebub #leviathan #leviathan x mc #obey me brothers #lucifer #mammon #om! satan #satan #satan avatar of wrath

[quirklessidiot]

title : cigarettes and parfaits [4]  pairing : older!nanami kento x younger!reader [13 year age gap, ft toji fushiguro] Genre: romance, fluff, slice of life, josei, angst, comedy, strangers to lovers au

Summary: you’re pretty sure you’d remember marrying a man 13 years older than you, right? Warnings: alcohol, smoking, mild smut, y/n making stupid decisions, cliche fluff, everyones a human-au so yeh non-canon stuff and everyone’s happy (periODT)

Notes: lil development right there HAHSHSHHS , yes tojis appearing soon guYS hddhdhdh thank u for ur patience ily all and yall stay safe and drink lots and ltos of water!! sorry for the late update!

Masterlist || taglist || [prev ; next] [updates; every saturday!]

You stare at the ring on your hand as you stand next to Nanami Kento in the grocery shop, you and him have agreed to see each other and go out once a week while fixing up the divorce papers. 

Last week you both had gone to a cafe after work but had to end early since Yuuji had fell down the stairs (despite being athletic, the boy was awfully clumsy). This week, you both decided to do something mundane.

Grocery shopping.

“Hm, what does Yuuji think about this?” You asked, showing the man some bars of rice krispies, “He seems to be a sweet-tooth.”

“Sukuna is the sweet-tooth, Yuuji isn’t really picky with food.”

“Huh,” You hummed,  “Sukuna seems so soft despite all the tattoo’s.”

Nanami rolls his eyes at your statement, “He’s just, as kids like to call these days, a nerd.” he retorts, taking the peanut butter off the shelf and carefully placing it in the grocery cart, “He enjoys mathematics and art,”

“Ah, hence the tattoo’s.” you thought out loud.

“I almost lost it when he went home a few months ago looking like that.” He sighs, running his hands through his hair, “It was a sign of rebellion, saying that he didn’t want to move to Tokyo.”

You chuckled, eyes on him, “Must’ve shot up your blood pressure, Kento.”

He clicks his tongue in dismay, the memory still fresh. Nanami Kento    unlike what Gojo Satoru said    was a very easy person to like and accompany. Ever since that ‘mild’ mishap two weeks ago, you’d have calls and little quick meet-ups aside from the once a week dates. 

At times it felt like the little wedding at the Izakaya hadn’t happened, it was as if you were just going out with him.

Nanami Kento didn’t even have to try so hard to make you comfortable, he was just...there and everything just seemed right. He had easily fit right in with your routine.

You continue to watch him and he stops in the middle of his tracks, blinking heavily, “Ah,” he mumbles, placing a hand over his eye.

“Oh,” you paused in your tracks too, “Are you alright, Kento?”

“Just dust,” He mumbles, “It probably got in.”

You hold back a laugh, how mundane, “Here, let me…”

You slowly take his hand away from his face, his eyes shut tight, trying to hold in the pain from the dust getting in his eyes, “Do you mind bending down a bit lower, Kento?” you ask, “I’ll have to blow it out of your eye.”

Nanami follows your orders and bends down. You slowly cup his cheeks and lean in closer to his eyes and softly blow. You notice the slight twinge of his body, the reaction making you inwardly giddy, “Feel better?” you whispered.

The older man opens his eyes and only then do you notice just how close you two were with each other. For a moment, movement around you is slow and you don’t even notice Maki Zen’in standing right in front of you along with Yuta Okkatsu.

“Sensei?”

You finally snap back to reality when you hear that very familiar voice calling you out. It seemed like Nanami had been caught up in the moment too, “Oh,” You cleared your throat, letting go immediately of Nanami’s face and jumping back, “Maki-chan.Yuta-kun. What a surprise.”

The young girl narrowed her eyes while Yuta’s ears were evidently red, signaling that he felt very embarrassed to walk in on that moment, “Hi sensei.” Yuta greets, clearing his throat, “I-uh sorry about that, I told Maki to walk away and-”

“It’s fine, Yuta-kun.” You laugh, a bit nervous. What would happen if she told Yuji and Sukuna about this? You knew how Maki was sort of close with the twins, although she did not know who Nanami was, she may describe him and if the boys were smart enough to catch on with it, you’d be entangled in it pretty quickly and you weren’t ready to meet them as their ‘oji-san’s’ partner. 

You were a bit nervous and it was showing.

Nanami takes quick notice of this and slowly wraps his fingers around yours, a small smile appearing on his lips, “Good afternoon, you must be my partner’s students.” he greets, the man had a way with younger ones, you could only imagine how he was as a father figure to the boys growing up,  “It’s nice to finally put some faces on the kids that Y/N loves to gush about.”

Unlike your nervousness a while ago, this man is calm, cool, and collected. You almost envy him at how good he’s doing this.

“At least you picked someone better than Toji-ojisan.” Maki nods, “This guy looks actually more serious with life than him.”

You feel Nanami’s brow quirk up at what she just said.

“A-Anyways, Sensei…” Yuta clears his throat, “We’ll leave you and your boyfriend together. See you at Math class tomorrow!” He hurriedly grabs Maki’s wrist and zooms away at a speed of light. Leaving you two awkwardly standing there.

“Toji?” Nanami asks, curiously peering at you, “An admirer, I assume?”

“Megumi’s otosan.” You mumbled, embarrassed, “He likes to play jokes and all that. It’s nothing serious.”

“Hm.” he mumbled, a small dismayed look crossed his features and you wonder why, “If he does anything uncomfortable, you can pull my name out. I wouldn’t mind.”

“I’ll be sure to take note of that.” 

You both continue your way down the grocery aisle, not even noticing that he still has his long hand wrapped around yours.

“Y/N-sensei…” Nobara drawled, placing her head on top of the wooden end of the mop, “How come we never knew you had a boyfriend?”

“Oi,” Megumi growled, “You’re supposed to be cleaning.”

“You’re just jealous that Y/N-sensei didn’t get to be your new okaasan.” Nobara bit back, putting her tongue out. You watched as the raven-haired boy chunk the blackboard eraser at her direction, a vein popping in his forehead.

“Stupid,” He replied, “I’d never let Y/N-sensei near the jiji.”

“What’s he like, Y/N-sensei?” Junpei asked, tapping his chin, cutting the argument short,  “I heard Maki-senpai talking about him.”

You watch as Yuuji placed his head on his best friend’s shoulder, “Yeah, she was telling me how older he looked than you.” he exclaimed, you nervously gulped down. Yuuji sure wasn’t helping the situation at all.

“Well,” You chuckled, trying to remain calm and oblivious, “He’s nice and he has kids.”

“Ha.” Sukuna droned, stopping whatever he was doing,  his punishment     despite not being given any by Nitta    was helping the cleaners clean for the whole week, much to his dismay, he had to follow or you’d be giving him a slip, “You’re dating an old man? I thought the reason why you didn’t date the Zen’in-jiji was because he was old and he had kids.”

“Oh.” you looked down on your books on the desk, embarrassed, “I don’t have a problem with kids. In fact, I’d love to meet them.”

“Wah,” Yuuji’s eyes were sparkling now as he hurried in front of you and placed his elbows on top of your table and head on top of his hands, “I hope I really get to meet someone like you, sensei.”

“Stupid, I doubt any sane person would want to go with you.” Nobara said across the room, making Yuuji glare at her and started teasing her.

You chuckled once again at their antics. Meanwhile Sukuna continues to stare at you, eyes narrowing especially at the ring on your ring finger. For some odd reason, it held quite the familiarity.

Yuuji likes to think that Nanamin is the best godfather out there, technically, he was like a father to them already. So he had always wondered why he never got married, he was sure that when they were out a few times, many women would crowd for their ojisan. 

His father’s very close friend, Haibara-ojisan had mentioned one fleeting moment back when he was babysitting them that Nanamin was very secretive on who he liked that even he didn’t know if he’d ever been in a relationship.

But things were different these days, for the past two weeks, he’d have one day wherein he’d go home later than usual. It was odd to say the least    and not like he minded really, they were high school kids after all     since Nanamin hated overtimes.

He mentioned it to Sukuna but his twin just rolled his eyes and said, “Man probably needs to chase the bag or something, he technically is paying for this nice house and two freeloaders here.” 

Yuuji doubted it though! Nanamin earned pretty well and he didn’t really need overtime since he was technically the boss or so he heard from Geto-ojisan a few nights ago.

So while he was making them some katsudon for dinner that night and Yuuji was doing some homework for your class, he decided to ask the question.

“Saaay, nanamin-ojisan…” he drawled, placing his pen down, “You’re coming home a lot later than normal these days…”

The older blonde turns to the younger twin, face still straight-lace and stoic, something that Yuuji was accustomed to, “Work has me by the neck.” he replies shortly.

“Every wednesday’s?” he quips, tilting his head to the side.

“Yes.”

“You aren’t dating anyone?”

Silence erupted between them, the only sound could be heard was the sizzling of the chicken on the pan, “What made you say that?” he asked stiffly and maybe, if Yuuji was ignorant, he wouldn’t have noticed the slight twitch of his brow but he wasn’t.

Yuuji prided himself to be an observant person, someone had said he could pass off to be a detective in the near future, he had the agility and the observation skills (sukuna said otherwise though and said he’d get himself killed if he were to ever enter that field)

“You sometimes have that weird look on your face when you look at your phone.” the boy pointed out, “But Sukuna says you’re just chasing the bag so maybe he’s right, he’s kind of the smarter twin after all.” he mumbles the last part with great disdain.

Nanami lowers the fire on the stove and places his hands on the counter in front of Yuuji, “What if I told you I was sort of seeing someone?” he mused, humoring the young boy. 

“Are you really?” Yuuji’s eyes widened, surprised written all over his features, “What are they like, Nanamin-ojisan? Are they pretty? Do they know about us?”

“Oi what’s the noise about?” Sukuna’s raspy voice cuts through Yuuji’s excited one as he enters the kitchen, hair still wet from the shower and in house clothes with a towel hung on his neck.

“I told you Nanamin-ojisan was seeing someone!” Yuuji yelled, eyes sparkling since he was right this time, he quickly returned his gaze back to the older man, “When do we get to see them? Are they nice? How’d you guys even meet?”

“You’re seeing someone?” Sukuna spat, eyes wide in complete surprise, “How’d you even get someone to stay around with your uptight attitude?”

“Yah!” Yuuji yells, “Nananmin-ojisan is nice with women unlike you, no wonder girls are very scared to approach you!”

“Shut up,” Sukuna grumbles towards his twin then turns towards his godfather, “How the hell did you even meet?”

Nanami just shrugs, telling them they’ll know soon enough as he returns to his cooking. The boys seemed to dislike his answer though and continued to bug him. After cooking dinner and having their fill, he returns to his room and whips out his phone, a text message from you saying, ‘hey, the boys asked me about you earlier. They heard from maki-chan.’

The blonde wonders if he weren’t drunk, would he even consider doing this sort of thing? Dating was really out of the question, he admits he isn’t in the right place to go out with anyone especially with a young person like you. 

He thinks he’s taking advantage of the power-dynamics since he’s older.

He doesn’t even deny how weird it was that you're still hanging around him especially when you had a far richer man as one of your admirers. Satoru may or may not have overhead Yuuji gossiping about you one time and your ‘relation’ with Megumi’s father, it was definitely a small world and judging from the Toji you had mentioned a few days ago, it wasn’t hard to connect the dots that it was actually Toji Zen’in, a member of one of japan’s high business clans.

He shakes his head before pressing the call button, it only takes a few rings until you answered, “Hey kento.” You greeted, “What’s up?”

He hears the sound of a whizzing electric mixer on the other line.

“Boys gave you trouble?”

“No,” he could almost feel the smile on your words, “They were just surprised I liked a man with kids.”

“I reckoned, Yuuji seemed to have caught up too in my side. Been asking why I’m going overtime.” 

Silence settled between you two for a moment and Nanami wonders if you’re scared out of your wits. You might be backing out this deal after testing those waters, “Maybe you should tell me when I could meet them then? We wouldn’t want them to run into us during one of our outings or when we’re fixing up the divorce.” you replied softly.

“Hm,” he mumbled, “I’ll be sure to ask them about that. For a temporary setting, you sure take this matter quite seriously, Y/N.”

“Well, I did say I’d help you out.” 

A small smile reaches his lips as he hears your small and shy voice. It seemed like having people to check up on you by the end of the day wasn’t so bad, after all.

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[s4kasaki]

hey i just read your natsume hcs and they were adorable !!! i was wondering if you could write hcs for rei and tetora for when it starts raining on their date w/ gn reader??

oh my goodness, I'm so glad...thank you so much. (´；ω；｀) and of course! oh my goodness this is adorable bye–

♡︎ — rei and tetora | when it begins to rain on a date!

‣ tws / cws: none

‣ reader: gender neutral - they/them

‣ author's note: this is my first request so I hope I did it justice AAAA!! (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ

☆ — SAKUMA.

I cannot lie... he has a neutral feeling for when it begins to rain unlike his feels for the sun – because one; the sun is covered away by the dark clouds, so he no longer has to hide under his umbrella. But don’t worry! The two of you are sitting under an awning~!

whether his feeling of rain is neutral and isn't phased himself, he is still disappointed and feels bad for taking you out on a rainy day like this, especially with you wearing complete summer wear. ( even if he didn’t know the weather either )

He’s getting out of his seat, walking behind you, and taking off his leather jacket. And placing it around his dear’s shoulders!

“Won’t you get cold?”

“Perhaps, but you are more important at the moment.” as he places his chin on your shoulder, leaning to the side to rest his head... you can’t help but smile when you see his ears get a tint rosier than usual.

He will try his HARDEST. To comfort you during it all, especially if you’re afraid of lightning.

“I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t know it would be pouring this much today. Do not worry. I am here for you <3.”

He says, in an attempt to comfort you. Rei’s holding onto you as tight as possible, rubbing small circles into the center of your hair as he plays with it.

And it works at comforting you, and it especially warmed you up! Once the rain ends, he’s still clinging onto your shoulders, resting on your arm still. While he asks;

“Let's stay here and rest for a while, is that okay dear?”

☆ — TETORA.

Tetora would take you somewhere where there’s a lot of physical activity, maybe like bowling, ice skating or something to show off his strength! But for a first date ? He’s taking you to a fancy dinner on the rooftop.

But o lord, unlike Rei— he is 100% serious during this. But at the same time, he's in a panic. Even if he tries to bluff he isn’t, trust me... He is.

“wAH?!! WaHHHhhHhHHH!!!!!!!!!”

Once it starts raining, he’s already got you covered!

He’s dashing over to you and shielding you and the food like the brave hero he is, you are his date, after all. He has to do a good job of impressing you with his skills– he’s trying, okay?

He’s telling you not to worry, because after the rain washes by, it will be a sunny day again. And the date isn’t over just yet.

“It’d be shameful if I let this date go to waste by something so small!”

you can’t help but smile at his courage, while he's thinking; “they’re so cute when they’re smiling like that!”

despise the heavy rain, and him getting soaked— he tries his hardest to make you smile and keep the date going! Seeing you enjoy yourself made it worth getting soaked like a wet rag (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

“won’t you get sick, being soaked with all that cold air and water?”

“don’t worry about that! you have a whole plate of food you should be eating! quick, before it gets too late and it's cold and wet.”

#enstars x reader #enstars headcanons #rei sakuma x reader #rei sakuma #tetora nagumo x reader #tetora nagumo #꒰ 🌸;; hcs ̖́- #ensemble stars x reader #ensemble stars headcanons