Tumgik
#well clearly its not art but i want to be able to find it later
gyu-effect · 3 months
Text
i’ll marry you with paper rings || k.mg
Tumblr media
“AND I’LL MARRY YOU EVEN WITH PAPER RINGS”
PAIRING || Mingyu x Female Reader
GENRES || Best Friends To Lovers AU, Fluff, Angst, Childhood Friends To Lovers AU, Slow Burn, Love Triangle (not exactly), Marriage Pact AU, Humour
SUMMARY || When the two of you were little, you and Mingyu had made a marriage pact, agreeing to marry each other if both of you remained single till thirty. Of course, it was just a joke between the two of you and you both went about in your own ways, the silly promise pretty much forgotten. You soon had a huge list of ex-boyfriends and it became a routine for Mingyu to be your human tissue after each breakup. It was a tiresome job, taking care of you, but if the said best friend in love with you didn’t do it, who would?  
Or, in which, even twenty years later, Kim Mingyu finds himself running to your every beck and call, despite telling himself he won’t fall for you anymore.  
WARNINGS || minors dni, swearing lots of swearing, alcohol consumption, wonwoo is an ass (sometimes), mingyu’s friend circle bullies him because what even is new, reader has a obsessive ex, down bad gyu (and yes this is a warning), switch!mingyu, switch!reader, soft sex its more of making love so there aren’t really any dynamics, unprotected sex (do not do this), pet names for both (love, baby, angel, princess, sir), riding, sofa sex. [let me know if i missed anything pls]
WORD COUNT || 28.3k (what happened here-)
A/N || OMG ITS FINALLY HERE. AFTER 8 MONTHS OF TURMOIL, 8 MONTHS OF HATING IT AND LOVING IT, HAVING A WRITERS BLOCK AND CRYING OVER IT ITS FINALLY HERE. This was a huuuuge journey to write this and I hope you guys enjoy it because this fic is truly my baby that I raised. Special thanks to @wonumatics for helping me with the fic (and also making a cameo) and @thepoopdokyeomtouched​ .
TAGLIST || @alyssng​ @shiningstar-byulxx​ @ashkuuuu​ @venusprada​ @macaronihaha​ @jyiiscool​ @sanniekook​ @obaebarbs​ @springdaybreaks​ @just-here-to-read-01​ @hoshipills​ @jhornytrash​ @jeonnyread​ @zgzgzh​ @neuviloved​ @hoeforcheol​ @sahazzy​ @lightprincess-world​ @watermelon-sugars-things​ @idubutily​ @meowmeowminnie​ ​@raindroponme-onme @nishloves​ @cosmic-w0lf​ @gyulfriend​ @youre-on-your-ownkid​ @neocarat17 @bias-recs​ @bmkgemz​ @fragmentof-indifference​ @peachytokki @hanicore​ @winterbeartaehyungbestboy​ @toshijimafarms​ @hyneyedfiz​ @weebotakuboy​ @angelfeverdream​ @aaniag​ @thepoopdokyeomtouched​ @caramyisabitchforsvtandbts​ @sea-moon-star​ @jjeongddol​ @k-drama-adict​ @mnstxmnbb​ [if you want to be added to my taglist please fill in this form!]
Tumblr media
𝐎𝐍𝐄. 𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒
“Mingoo.”
The boy ignored your words as he continued with his drawing, hoping you would stop calling him and get back to your own work. The two of you had been drawing and colouring since morning so it wasn’t really surprising to him that you were already bored, but his art teacher had claimed that he wouldn’t be able to draw well since he was left-handed and he was determined to prove her wrong. 
“Mingoo. Mingoo! Look at me!”
‘Mingoo’ looked exasperatedly at you, clearly unamused by your antics. You had placed the entire colour pencil box on your head, balancing it as you tried climbing up the arms of the sofa where the two of you were seated. No sooner had you lifted a leg, your whole body shook and the pencil box came crashing down, spilling its content everywhere.
“Hey!”
You had begun to laugh but immediately stopped when you saw how upset he was. Sitting down beside him, you gave him a sad pout as you gently patted his back.
“What’s wrong, Mingoo?”
“I told you not to call me that! Just call me Mingyu!” He huffed, going back to his drawing.
You rolled your eyes but you were sure he didn’t even notice it, considering how immersed he was in his drawing. “Fine, Mingyu. Just so you know, Mingoo is much cuter! What’s bothering you?” 
Mingyu didn’t respond right away, which just confirmed your suspicions that he was very, very upset. And when he did look at you finally, his lower lip was quivering as though he was on the verge of tears.
“My- my art teacher told me I can’t draw!” The very first tear drop fell as he sniffled, trying very hard to control his tears. You looked at him confused, not sure what he was talking about since Mingyu was clearly the best artist you had seen in your life (however short it was).
“What are you talking about? Why can’t you draw? You draw amazing.”
“She said since I’m a leftie I can’t draw!”
“That’s because she is just jealous that a six year old draws better than her. I think you are the best artist I’ve ever seen.”
“You haven’t even- you haven’t even seen that many artists.” Mingyu mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he felt the sadness in his heart reduce a little. You rolled your eyes once more (he had come to notice that you seemed to really love rolling your eyes at him) before poking his cheeks once.
“Don’t need to. I just know you are the best.”
“Really?”
“Mingoo.” This time he groaned at the nickname. “I think you are the best at everything. You are the best person I’ve ever met.”
“You are just six. You couldn’t have met that many people, could you?”
“You are underestimating my social skills. But the point is, according to me, you are the bestest person I know, and that’s why you are my best friend.”
He snorted. “It sounds like you are convincing me to get married to you.”
You gasped at that, and for a second Mingyu was worried he had said something scandalous (it didn’t feel right to him that you would be troubled by this when you used the word ‘idiot’ many times, which was a pretty bad word according to his mom). 
“That’s it!” You clapped your hand in excitement and something told Mingyu you were going to suggest the most scandalous thing he had ever heard from you. “Let’s get married!”
“Like…now?”
“No, you idiot!” He winced as you slapped his arm lightly, though he wasn’t sure if it was because you hit him or because you had sworn again. Maybe it was time to tell your mom that you were always using bad words. “We can’t get married now, so if we are still single till thirty, let’s get married then!”
“W-why, though?” He asked, rubbing his arms gently. Not that he was opposed to this idea. Mingyu thought you were a great friend, you were his best friend after all, and to be honest, in his eyes you were pretty enough (he didn’t have much girl friends unfortunately). But he wasn’t sure why you had suggested this idea suddenly.
You just shrugged. “No reason. It’s just that I’ve seen many movies where the best friends get married because no one wants to marry them.”
“They sound desperate to me.”
“So will you be, if you don’t get a girlfriend by thirty.” You snickered and that got Mingyu actually wondering. Would he actually never get a girlfriend? Now that he thought about it more, he realised that maybe your plan wasn’t that bad. 
“Sure then. Let’s get married if we are still single by thirty.”
You raised your pinky finger to him and he immediately entwined it with his, both of your thumbs brushing against each other as you smiled at him, causing him to mirror your grin.
“Pinky promise that we’ll get married if we are still single when we reach thirty?”
“Promise.” He whispered.
“Oh, by the way, Mingyu?”
“Hmmm?”
“You are going to be the world’s greatest artist.” 
Tumblr media
Mingyu rotated the pen in his hand as he absentmindedly stared outside the window. He could faintly hear the teacher teaching something about the different divisions in the animal kingdom but he had no interest in it whatsoever (after learning about the different excretory systems of insects, he had lost interest in biology all together). Through his seat, he could see the school ground and being on the lower floor didn’t help the fact he could recognise all the students who were playing out right now, making him wish he was there instead of his current location inside the sweltering, hot classroom. 
No one had warned him that middle school would be this boring but after being put in different sections, his school life seemed to have considerably dulled without you. Seventh grade wasn’t supposed to be this lifeless, was it?
He could see your little running form going in circles around the field and he automatically felt a smile tug at his lips. You looked so funny, with that annoyed expression on your face as you struggled to complete your laps. Mingyu dearly wished he had his camera with him, just to click a picture of you in this haggard form and pin it up in his bedroom wall just to tease you.
Just as he was thinking of the million different ways he could embarrass you, he heard his name being called sharply, snapping him out of his train of thoughts.
“Kim Mingyu!”
He jerked up straight to see his biology teacher glaring daggers at him, hand clutching the duster as though he was ready to throw it on Mingyu the second he answered the question wrong.
“Er,” he stood up awkwardly, eyes darting to the board to search for anything, just anything related to the question, anything that would give him enough hint as to where they were.
Suddenly his eyes landed on Boo Seungkwan who was sitting on the first bench, the extremely talkative boy Mingyu had recently befriended, and to his relief, Seungkwan mouthed him the question.
What are the four divisions of phylum arthropoda?
“Uh right, um, arthropoda is divided into arachnida, myriapoda, insectae and crustaceans.” 
The teacher looked slightly annoyed that he had got it right but nonetheless motioned Mingyu to sit down. Letting out a silent sigh, he sat down and looked out of the window, searching for you. His eyes immediately landed on your figure as you and your friends stood in circles for dodgeball, causing him to smile once again knowing you were horrible at the game.
It was funny to him how easily he always noticed you even amongst a huge sea of students. He was always the first one to catch your eyes at the morning assembly and he could always spot you in the canteen during lunch despite the huge strength of students. It was like you stood out the most amongst everyone, and yet at the same time, there wasn’t really anything that special about you.
Thank god he remembered this chapter though he had studied this almost five days ago. Mingyu had finally come to believe that he had, what you called, a ‘sexy brain’. It kind of embarrassed him how much you always threw that compliment around him whenever the two of you were studying, but for some reason he didn’t stop you. 
He just liked it a lot when you complimented him.
The bell finally rang after what felt like hours, indicating that it was the lunch break. Mingyu turned towards the window to see you disappearing into the school building one last time, before he began packing his books into his bag.
“Dude, why do you stare out of the window so much?” 
He looked up to see Seokmin leaning on his desk, his usual gentle smile on his face as he waited for him to answer. Mingyu could see the curiosity behind his eyes so he just shook his head.
“No reason. It’s just better than studying bio, to be honest.”
“Oh, yeah?” He asked, peeping out of the window too. Seungkwan came and joined the two of them, having overheard the conversation. “Are you sure it isn’t to just check out the section A girls?”
For some reason, Mingyu felt heat creep into his cheeks as he glared at the smiling boy opposite to him, who was already laughing in a good natured way.
“Then what?” Seungkwan snorted. “His best friend is in that class.”
“Oh? What’s her name? Then you must be mad that the two of you got separated last year, right?”
“It’s Y/N. Of course I’m mad.” He huffed, frowning at the very memory. His school had suddenly decided that from middle school girls and boys would be in completely different sections. He remembered whining about this to you because what was the point of studying in a co-ed school if he was separated from his best friend for silly reasons to which you had gently reminded him that you would be meeting at the canteen nonetheless. “Won’t you be angry if Joshua got put in a separate class, Seokmin?”
Seokmin laughed once more. “Of course I would. But you look like you are ready to set the school on fire for this.”
“You see,” Seungkwan spoke and Mingyu could already tell he was trying to add fuel to the fire from his expression. “They both are really close. So of course Mingyu was pissed.”
To this, Seokmin widened his eyes at Mingyu dramatically, clearly intrigued by this new piece of gossip. “Oh? Is that so?”
“It’s not what you both are thinking.” Mingyu said firmly, finally zipping his bag shut. But one look at Seungkwan and Seokmin’s mischievous smirk was enough to tell him that he had dug his own grave.
“And what are we thinking, Mingyu?”
“You think I have a crush on her.” He said, his nostrils flaring. Mingyu could feel his ears turning red from the embarrassment but he wasn’t really sure why. What was so embarrassing about explaining his relationship with you, his best friend, to his friends? “Or that we might like each other. But we don’t. Not like that.”
“Uh huh whatever you say, lover boy.” Seungkwan giggled before beckoning them to get out of the classroom. Mingyu rolled his eyes as he followed his friends out but it did nothing to stop his ears from burning up. Why was he so flustered?
The canteen was as usual crowded and the three of them lined up with their trays to get their food, when he felt his elbows hit someone else.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Mingyu began, sure that his clumsiness had gotten him into trouble once again. But luckily, he was met by your annoyed expression (he never knew he could feel so much relief upon seeing you annoyed) as you rubbed your ribs gingerly.
“Watch where you’re going, boy. You could easily have taken off my head with that elbow of yours.”
Mingyu snorted at your words, secretly glad that he was finally able to catch up with you in the canteen. “I bet I could. After all, who gets tired after running three laps?”
“You were watching me?” You hissed, pretending to lift your tray to hit him. He laughed at you and felt his smile grow as you too smiled back at him.
“He was watching you the entire time.” Seungkwan said. Mingyu glared at the two of them but that didn’t stop Seokmin either.
“Yeah, nearly got into trouble too, because of that. Thank god you knew the answer or else Park would have had your head for lunch today.”
���You weren’t listening to Park? You must have a death wish, Gyu.” 
All of a sudden Mingyu felt his stomach flip, causing him to stumble a little, his plate (now filled with food) nearly falling off his hand if it wasn’t for Seungkwan catching it with a hiss. 
“What’s wrong with you?” He hissed, carefully pulling Mingyu away from the crowd. The four of them looked at him concerned and he realised he must have looked shell shocked or something, seeing that they weren’t scolding him for his clumsy habits like usual.
To be honest, he felt shell shocked too. What was that? What was that sudden feeling that nearly threw him off his balance? When you had called him Gyu (Mingoo had evolved to Gyu because even you finally agreed; it was cringe), he had felt his stomach drop like he had been dropped from a great height. You had called him Gyu countless times before, and none of them had ever had such a dangerous effect on him before.
“Mingyu?” He heard your soft voice call him, and when you placed a gentle hand on his arm he turned to look at you. You were looking at him worriedly, and for some reason that made him feel even more light headed.
He felt the familiar heat rise up his cheeks and he immediately turned away, not wanting to look at you anymore.
“I- I think I need to go to the nurse’s room. I think I’m a bit dehydrated.” he said, deciding that he must have been feeling unwell. What else could be the reason for this sudden feeling? It was very hot after all and they did have an hour of physical education before biology. Maybe he hadn’t drunk enough water?
“Oh, okay. Let me come with you-” You began but he cut you off with a smile
“No, I’ll go alone.” 
You looked taken aback for a second, but smiled back almost immediately, giving his arm a gentle pat. “Are you sure? What if you faint on the way?”
“No, I’m not that unwell yet. It’s okay, you guys have lunch. I’ll catch up with you later.” Nodding at Seungkwan and Seokmin, he quickly ran out of the cafeteria, hoping no one was using the ice bag from the nurse’s room. 
Now that he was finally away from the suffocating heat and loud buzz of the cafeteria, he wondered why he had refused you to take him to the medical room. 
Tumblr media
“Crap. How many days left for cram school to start?” You asked, stuffing another handful of popcorn into your mouth. Your best friend looked at you in annoyance for asking the most useless question in between the movie, but nonetheless picked up his phone to check the date.
“Two days. It starts this Saturday.” 
“Fuck, we’ve really got to make the most out of it Mingyu.”
“I know. But you repeating it after every few minutes isn’t really making it better or making the day go slower. If anything, I can already feel the anxiety seeping in.”
He heard you snort and mumble something about having it easy because of his sexy brain, and he felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. The two of you were finally in high school, but there was nothing to rejoice about it by the number of extra classes you would have to attend. So here you were, idling away the two week summer vacation you had got, enjoying the ‘last glories of our youth’ as you had called it.
Even though Mingyu knew the next four years were going to be a huge study overload (he could actually feel the anxiety seeping in now), he had never felt so relaxed in his entire life like he had in these two weeks.
The two of you had gone to amusement parks, done movie marathons and had even gone to the beach for a few days with both of your families. Even though he knew spending time with you was supposed to be memorable, he couldn’t help thinking that this time it had felt extra special.
He still couldn’t forget that warm feeling that had enveloped his chest when you had won one of the amusement park games and hugged him out of excitement, or the time when the two of you kept pushing each other at the sea until a huge wave crashed into the two of you, causing you to hold onto Mingyu as you both let out shrieks of laughter.
All of a sudden he realised that he had been getting this feeling of warmth whenever he was around you quite often off lately. Not to mention that one time his stomach dropped when you winked at him back at your fourteenth birthday. 
Well, in his defence you looked gorgeous. Like in a way he hadn’t expected you to. Of course he knew you were pretty. Kim Mingyu wasn’t blind to all those love letters and chocolate boxes you got every Valentine's day. But he really hadn’t expected you to look so beautiful in that dress. Nor had he expected his heart to stutter like that when you showed him the dress, twirling in it. 
Maybe it was because of the heat inside your bedroom due to all the closed windows and door or maybe it was because he was remembering those confusing emotions, but as Mingyu turned to look at you, he felt his heart stutter once more.
Your hands had a dusty orange on them from all those cheetos you had been munching on from earlier this evening, and your mouth was in an even worse condition. And yet, he felt warmth flood his chest when he realised he didn’t really care for your appearance. It didn’t really matter to him whether you had cheetos crumbs smeared on your lips or whether you were dancing in a beautiful evening gown.
Because you were, well you. You were Mingyu’s best friend of nine years and with someone he had shared every single memory with, be it a happy, sad or an embarrassing one. Of course he wouldn’t care about your appearance (hell, he had even seen you when you woke up after bawling your eyes out for the entire night) so why was this point coming to his mind now?
You were pretty and that was a fact. There was nothing to debate about it and yet here he was, not paying attention to the movie but wondering if all the guys who had chased you were aware of this side of you. Would they still ask you out? Would they still send you roses and chocolates during that time of the year?
He snorted at the very thought of how fake their affection towards you now felt. Mingyu was pretty sure they would run in the opposite direction if they saw you in this condition right now; wearing your old Melody pyjamas while eating chips in the most messy way ever. 
But he would never do that (assuming there was a hypothetical situation where he had to date you, of course). Because this was what made you you and he loved you for that. Everything about you was perfect in his eyes, including your flaws and mistakes.
Which once again, made his heart to stutter erratically causing him to suck in a harsh breath.
You turned to him when you heard him suck in a breath, your smiling expression changing to that of concern.
“Gyu? You okay?”
“Yeah I think…I think I’ve got a clogged artery.” Maybe it was high time he talked to a cardiologist. 
“Dammit. Told you to cut down on those snacks.”
“Me? Or you?” He laughed, pointing at the heap of empty snack packets around you. You pushed all the packets to his side and he gave you his usual ‘defeated smile’, causing you to laugh once again.
Damn, you were really pretty when you laughed.
“Oh but clogged arteries? Please Einstein, I bet you were thinking about a girl, weren’t you?”
“What the hell? Where did that come from?” He spluttered, taken aback by this sudden confrontation. You punched his arm lightly before wiggling your eyebrows at him (Mingyu made a mental point to ask Seungkwan to stop hanging out with you since you were clearly picking up his habits).
“My dude, you clearly have a crush on someone. Why else would your heart be jumping like that?”
“I don’t think I ever mentioned it was jumping?”
“Oh please. I’ve known you for so many years. I know what’s going on inside your head.”
Mingyu rolled his eyes. “I don’t have a crush on anyone, okay?”
“Then why is your heart jumping like that?”
“I told you it's not jumping-”
“The only explanation is that you have a crush on someone.” You winked, causing him to groan. Letting out a laugh you patted his shoulder gently, letting him know you were joking. “I’m just kidding, Gyu. If you ever had a crush on someone, you would have told me right?”
“Yeah…” Mingyu nodded. He would have told you right away, right? But what if…what if his crush was you? Would he be able to tell you then?
“Speaking of which, one of my friends thinks you are cute! Do you want to go on a date with her?”
“Er, I don’t think I’m good enough-”
“Excuse me?” You glared daggers at him, causing him to halt mid sentence. “You are not good enough? What are you even talking about? Anyone who knows you well knows that you are a literal gem! You are smart, cute, handsome and well-mannered! What else does a girl need?”
“Er.” He tried thinking of something to say, but his mind was stuck on something else you had said. You had called him smart, cute and handsome? Sure, he heard you say it a million times before but it did nothing to stop the heat creeping up his cheeks.
“Give it a try, please? Suji is a nice girl too, and I’m sure you both would click. You know I wouldn’t have even told you about this if I knew you wouldn’t like her, would I?” You asked, your lower lip jutting out in a pout. You looked so adorable right now, pouting at him slightly as you spoke in a soft voice, as though trying to convince a child to do something for you.
As though in a trance, Mingyu found himself nodding to your words. “Okay. But why does she like me? I mean, I barely know her.”
“I don’t know honestly. She just said she had a crush on you because you looked like her ideal type.”
“So…she loves me because I look like her ideal type?”
You narrowed your eyes at him and Mingyu wondered what had he done wrong. When he still didn’t reply, you rolled your eyes and took the remote controller, switching off the movie and edging closer to him.
“No, you silly. She doesn’t love you. I said, she has a crush on you. There’s a difference.”
His head spun at your words as he looked at you annoyed this time. Why were you complicating matters when it was clear he didn’t know a thing about this?
“Look crush is like a short infatuation. It doesn’t have much to do with personality, and is mostly based on looks. Love on the other hand, develops slowly, over a period of time. Like you could give a million reasons why you might have a crush on someone but love is, love is just…there’s no reason. You just love them despite everything and anything. Like…their imperfections don’t matter at all.”
“Like how I love you?” He asked, and you just laughed, slipping your hands into his. He grimaced as you oily fingers brushed against his, but somehow it felt comforting when you entwined your hand in his. 
“Of course not. We are just friends; everything is platonic between us. What I mean is loving a stranger, like a person you were not meant to be with in the first place. I mean like, not- not Seokmin, me or Seungkwan. Not your family or friends. Someone you accidentally happened to meet. Am I making sense?”
Mingyu nodded, understanding you very clearly. It made sense in a way. Loving you couldn’t possibly be the same as loving his girlfriend, could it? Loving you was like his second nature, like it was bound to happen and he couldn’t think of a time he didn’t love you and your friendship. Loving you was just so easy and just so natural; that had to be platonic right?
You switched back on the television, and for a few minutes, silence engulfed the two of you before you broke it again.
“You want to know something, Gyu?”
“What?”
“I would have definitely loved you if we weren’t best friends.” 
Tumblr media
“Hi!” 
Mingyu turned towards the excited squeak and found a girl of his age standing beside him, waving a bit too excitedly. He smiled at her politely before beckoning to the empty seat beside him for her to sit down.
He had finally agreed to go on a date with Suji, deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy a little bit before he became completely busy with his studies. He had tried searching for good places to go on a date that might suit both his and Suji’s taste, but finding none, he finally had resorted to asking Seokmin for advice. 
Currently the two of them were at the Food Plaza, a street completely dedicated to small food shops. According to Seokmin, he and his girlfriend enjoyed trying new food from there so it might be a great idea to take Suji there instead of a restaurant which would serve only a particular cuisine. 
“So, um, Suji.” Mingyu began. immediately wishing a hole would swallow him up because of how awkwardly he had started. “What do you eat? I mean, like, what would you like to eat? Like- Like cuisine wise?” 
“Uh, about that-”
“We could have Italian if you like! Or- or, uh, my friend actually recommended me this taco place but I’ve just got to search for it a bit-”
“I’m actually allergic to a lot of food.” She cut him off, smiling at Mingyu apologetically. As he stared at her, he could feel the embarrassment sinking in even more.
Oh. Oh. “Why didn’t you tell me before? I would have picked a different date spot.” He said, trying not to sound too dejected at how his first date was going.
“I didn’t want to offend you. I mean, it was the first time we were talking and you asked if this was fine with me and I felt it would be rude if I said no.” She said sheepishly, clearly equally embarrassed at how things were turning out.
Why did she have to overthink so much? Why did she have to be so polite?
“Then…do you want to go somewhere else-”
“I see a Subway here, behind you. Do you mind if we eat there instead?” She asked with a smile.
He forced a smile and got up, and she followed his lead. Oh great, this Subway is only a takeaway. “Of course not. Let’s have a Subway then.”
Mingyu had always had great expectations for his first date. He had always thought it would be at a nice comfortable place, enjoying the food as he got to know his date and vice versa. Never had he thought that he would be eating a Subway for his first date, sitting on one of the plastic chairs kept outside the shop, getting boiled under the hot sun.
The rest of the afternoon passed away in idle chatter. Suji was apparently a straight A student, but she had no other hobbies because she spent every single moment studying (he could understand her position, really, but it was still boring beyond words).They ended up talking about school and grades more than Mingyu had in his entire life and by the time they had finished lunch, his head was already throbbing.
Out of politeness he asked if she wanted to go to the amusement park but she told him she hated the amusement park, to which Mingyu had nothing to say.
Finally finding that there was nothing else to do (and they had nothing in common except for their grades), the two of them decided to call it a day. They bid each other goodbye with Suji thanking him for the food, and Mingyu promised he would catch up with her more (he didn’t intend to keep this one though).
The sun was already setting in by the time he began his walk back home and the atmosphere had gotten relatively cooler, but it did nothing to stop the pricking heat he was feeling all over his body. His head still throbbed from earlier despite finishing nearly two bottles by himself, so he decided to take some rest at the neighbourhood park.
He sat down on one of the wooden benches and finally let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. 
What was wrong with him? Mingyu could feel his head spinning as he felt oddly hot, his clothes sticking to him uncomfortably. Talking to Suji made him feel so uncomfortable for some reason, it felt like he had been talking to a wall the entire time. It was awkward, forced and just so annoying even though he couldn’t tell why.
And he felt unhappy. Unexplainably unhappy. Like he had been forced to choose a career he hated or like he had been told to stop art altogether. 
Finally, he took out his phone and dialled a very familiar number, hoping you weren't busy at this moment.
You picked up at the first ring itself and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. What was he supposed to say? That he didn’t enjoy the date? He knew you wouldn’t feel offended by that and you would agree with him but then why couldn't he say anything to you? 
“Gyu?” You asked softly, your voice laced in worry. 
And that was enough to break him. He let out a sob as he screwed his eyes shut, feeling a heavy emotion wash over him.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered, though he himself was unsure what he was sorry about. “I’m so sorry. I just-”
“Where are you?” You cut him off gently, and he paused for a second to catch his breath. 
“I’m- I’m at the park near our apartment.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes, okay? Just hang in there.”
True to your words, you were there within five minutes, and he found you crouching down in front of him. Gently placing your hand on his knees, you asked again, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
He was still shaking from the aftermath of his sudden breakdown, the nauseous feeling threatening to rise if he opened his mouth to speak. So instead, he just opted to look at you with his teary eyes, hoping you would understand.
Mingyu had always been the softer one among the two of you. He was always the first one to end up with tears when he got hurt or offended, and at the same time he was the first one to forgive anyone for their mistakes. So it wasn’t really surprising that you had learnt to realise his emotions even if he didn’t, and you always knew the right word to soothe him.
“Hey,” You said, still talking softly to him. You took his hands in yours, gently rubbing circles on them with your thumb. “It’s okay. It’s completely fine that you didn’t like her, you know that right? Sometimes…things don’t work out the way we think they would. But why are you crying? Did she do something to you? Don’t tell me she forced you to kiss her or-”
“No, no, it’s not anything like that.” He inhaled sharply, finally finding his voice back. He didn’t want to ruin your friendship with Suji just because he was confused about what he was feeling and why he didn’t like her. “It’s just that…I don’t know. She felt so boring, bland and dry. Not in the offensive way! Like- like Minghao from my chess class talks about only grades and school too! But I never feel so dull…so lifeless with him.
“It’s okay.” You said with a reassuring smile that had warmth flooding back to his chest, the stupid prickling heat that had been irritating his skin now gone. Pressing a soft kiss onto his knuckles, you said, “We don’t have to justify why we don’t like or like someone ever, okay? It’s completely fine.” 
And all of a sudden Mingyu realised what he had been feeling, why he had felt so unhappy and what Suji had missing.
“I felt uncomfortable.” He said, just realising how comfortable he felt beside you. There was a feeling you radiated, which was something no one could ever replace. Whenever he was with you he felt like he was at home, like no matter what would happen he could always go back to you. 
Which was a given since you were his best friend. And yet, when he was with Suji all he could think of was you. Of how you made him feel. Of how you made him feel always.
“It’s okay, Gyu. It can happen. You know that I’ll always be there for you, right?” You smiled at him.
Mingyu smiled back at you, finally feeling like the throbbing in his head dull down a bit. As if on a cue, he remembered something like this had happened to the two of you long ago, another incident of you calming him down which had resulted in the two of you making a silly promise.
Back then it was a promise made at the heat of the moment, with little to almost no thought given to it since it was meant to be a light joke between the two of you. But when he extended his pinky to you and you immediately linked it with yours, Mingyu could feel your seriousness.
“I promise I’ll be there for you too.” 
Tumblr media
He pressed your doorbell multiple times furiously, patience running thin with every passing second. What was taking you so long? Were you that badly injured that you couldn’t even open the door-
The door finally swung open and Mingyu nearly flew in, engulfing you into a bone crushing hug.
“Ow! Mingyu- It hurts-” You clawed at his back but he still didn’t let go, pouring all his anger that had built up in the past few hours against you in this hug (he had always been told he had weird ways to show his anger). It was only when he felt you yank his hair at the back of his head lightly did he let you go.
“What the hell-” He began as he pulled away, still clutching at your shoulders. He took a deep breath in when he saw your split lip and bruised cheek, feeling his heart twist in the most horrendous way ever. “Did you think you were doing?”
Mingyu could feel the huge wave of guilt coursing through his veins right now. He shouldn’t be blaming you. This wasn’t even your fault in the first place. Why was he getting mad at you?
Because after all, this was actually all his fault. The whole reason you had even got into the fight in the first place was because of him.
And yet, you looked unfazed as you rolled your eyes at him, shrugging his hand off your shoulders. You walked into your bedroom and after making sure the front door was locked (your parents had gone out for a week and it was Mingyu’s responsibility to check if you were keeping up with the safety rules set by them), he followed you into your room.
“Why did you do that?” He asked once again, as you sat down on your bed with a huff. He followed suit and you turned to glare at him.
“What do you mean why did I do that? Of course I had to punch that asshole-” 
“Then are you going to get into a fight with anyone who says they don’t like me?”
“Of course I will! And it wasn’t even a matter of simple liking. He called you a whore just because you didn’t want to go out with his sister. Who the fuck does that? I needed to get some decency punched into his head!” You snapped, causing him to flinch at your anger.
Why were you so angry? It was true that even he would have been offended if someone had insulted you, but now you had gotten yourself hurt and that hurt him a lot more. 
“Did the school send you home early as a punishment?” He asked as he got up to search for the first aid box, trying to change the subject.
“Not as a punishment. The principal said he was letting me go since he was the one who started it. But they said that if I got into another fight, it would go down in my report.”
Mingyu hissed at the very thought of your report getting tainted due to him. Squeezing the antiseptic he had taken out from your first aid box onto a cotton bud, he was about to apply it on your lips but you caught his wrist. He looked up at you in surprise only to see you looking at him worriedly. 
“Are you mad at me?”
“I’m not mad. I’m just- Look, you got hurt. Because of me.” He said, his strained voice giving away the guilt he had been hiding all this time. He was mad at you; but only because you had got hurt so badly because of him.
“Nope. Not because of you. I got hurt because of that bastard-”
“Okay that’s enough swearing for a day. But why did you do that?”
“Done what?” You asked in annoyance, as though it was a stupid question he was asking. “Gotten into a fight? Gyu…wouldn’t you have done that for me too?”
“I- I would- I wouldn’t- Yeah. I would.” He whispered, feeling bile rise up his throat at the very thought of someone insulting you. Was that even possible? What would they even insult about you? What was even there to insult about you? You were so perfect in every way that Mingyu could not even think of any flaw that someone might find in you. “I would burn down the world for you.” He said, still whispering.
When you heard this, the creases that had formed in your eyebrows due to your anger disappeared, as you burst into laughter. He blinked at you confused, not sure why you were laughing. Nonetheless, he felt his own mood lighten a bit upon hearing your beautiful laugh, his heart skipping a beat when you smiled at him softly.
“Oh Gyu.” You said, grabbing his hand in yours. Right now you were looking so, so pretty that all Mingyu could do was stare at you and nod dumbly, all words dried from his throat. “You would burn the world down for me? Nah, you are too sweet for that.”
At this he snorted, jerking his hand away from you and proceeding to dab at your lips. “You underestimate my love for you.”
“I don’t.” You said, wincing a bit that caused him to freeze, scared that he was hurting you more. Seeing your wounds from up close made his heart squeeze painfully, and it oddly made him wish he had taken those punches instead of you. “I know you love me as much as I love you.”
“Then don’t get hurt.” He whispered. You blinked at him and he sighed frustratedly, pulling you into another hug. This one was gentler than the previous one and yet Mingyu held as close as he had done before, as though he was scared to let you go. “Then please don’t get hurt. It hurts me. It hurts me to see you like this.” 
He felt you gently pat his shoulder blades before wrapping your arms around his torso, pulling him even more closer. Your scent, which he had grown so familiar with, comforted him as you buried your face in the crook of his neck.
Hugs were not something uncommon between the two of you; you had hugged each other a million times before and nothing had changed between the two of you.
And yet right now, as Mingyu held your body close to his, he was hyper aware of how your skin felt against his, of how comfortably your body fit in his grip and of how his heart raced as you clutched his biceps. His heart hurt, his head hurt and yet, it felt so good to have you in his arms. 
It really felt like Mingyu was the one who got into a fight; everything hurt so badly. He thought of the raging emotion he had first felt when he had heard that his classmate had hurt you. He remembered the panic he felt when he entered the nurse room and couldn’t find you; he was worried that you were in a worse condition than he had thought you were in and had to be taken to the hospital. And he remembered the relief flooding back in him when the nurse told you had simply been asked to go back home and there was nothing serious about your bruises. It had nearly torn him apart as he waited for the day to get over, dying to go home and make sure that you were actually okay.
He thought of all the emotions he had experienced with you; happiness, anger, sadness, fear, surprise and even disgust. Mingyu had shared a huge journey with millions of memories with you. He really couldn’t even imagine what his life would have been like if it weren’t for you. It was impossible to even breathe without you.
Suddenly he remembered what Seokmin had told him once, that maybe, maybe he was in love with you.
It was back when they were on a school school field trip and students had been allowed some free time around the resort so Mingyu, Seokmin and Seungkwan decided to play on the monkey bars. They were just either sitting on it or swinging aimlessly (sixteen year olds were a bit too tall for a playground meant for five year olds) with idle chatter when you and your group came and sat down on the swing.
Normally Mingyu wouldn’t have really cared and the swings were too far from the monkey bar to involve himself in your talk but he glanced at you and felt himself smile. You were laughing and talking to your friend, the sunlight catching your hair and almost giving you an angelic glow.
It was already warm but Mingyu still felt warmth spreading in his chest, his cheeks heating up within seconds.
Back then, Seokmin had joked, only joked, that Mingyu was in love with you but now, he realised that it may be true.
That maybe, he was in love with you.
And not in the platonic way that you had explained to him. Not in the way where you both exchanged ‘i love yous’ regularly because you loved your friendship.
He loved you in the way Orpheus loved Eurydice, the way Romeo loved Juliet and the way Louisa Clark loved William Traynor. 
Because Mingyu had said it for himself; loving you was so easy and just so natural that he couldn’t even think of something else, he couldn’t even see himself falling in love with someone else. Loving you was like a river flowing, something that would have happened no matter what. Something that could not be stopped, because then it would be like a dam that had been forced to be built to stop Mingyu’s emotions from flowing.
“Just promise me you won’t get hurt.” He whispered and felt you slightly nod your head. You were gently rubbing circles on his back, with no idea what effect it had on him. “Promise me please. Because I love you so much that I can’t bear to see you get hurt.”
“I promise.” You mumbled almost immediately, unaware of the double meaning his words held. 
But that’s okay. Mingyu thought. You didn’t have to know about his feelings. He wasn’t going to burden you or your friendship with his one sided love. As long as you were happy, he was okay with it.
After all, some promises were meant to be broken.
Like this one. 
Tumblr media
“What did you even want to show us?” Seungkwan grumbled, squinting through the sunlight looking heavily annoyed.
Mingyu didn’t blame him though. They had been sitting at the cafe for the past half an hour doing nothing, still waiting for whatever ‘surprise’ you had planned for them. The hot weather made everything even worse; Seokmin was already on his fourth ice cream, Seungkwan was sipping his sixth iced americano and Mingyu himself had drunk two large glasses of milkshake and now he wanted to use the washroom so badly but could only resort to shaking his legs.
“If I tell you it won’t be a surprise anymore, will it?” You said, checking your phone for the millionth time. 
Mingyu realised that this was the first time in weeks he was hanging out with you. College was starting in a month and everyone had decided to take part in activities that might help them boost their respective subject knowledge. Since both of you had decided to major in different subjects, he hadn’t been able to see you much due to the conflicting schedules of your work. 
He felt warmth bloom in his chest as he watched you smile at your screen, the corners of his lips tugging when he realised how ridiculously pretty you looked. Mingyu had come to terms with the fact that love was indeed blind; in his eyes you would always be the most perfect human being and even though you would never see him in a non-romantic way, he would always love you.
All of a sudden your eyes lit up, and you jumped up from your chair. “He’s here!” You yelled as you dashed towards the entrance of the cafe.
Confusion settled between the three of them as both Seungkwan and Seokmin’s eyes fell on Mingyu.
“He? What’s she talking about?” Seungkwan asked urgently, but all Mingyu could do was furrow his eyebrows.
He? Who were you talking about? Was it a new friend? It couldn’t be your-
“Guys, meet my boyfriend!” 
Mingyu felt blood rush up his ears as he stared at you. A boy, of their age, beamed at the three of them along with you, both of you clutching each other’s hands. The two of you were met by complete silence, which was only interrupted when Seokmin’s spoon clattered onto the ground.
“Oh, hi!” He said, laughing awkwardly to ease the sudden tension that had built up. You pulled your ‘boyfriend’ down onto a chair beside you and it was only when the said man smiled at Mingyu did the truth finally sink in.
You had a boyfriend. A boyfriend.
Suddenly the air felt a thousand times hotter than it already was, compressing against him like it was trying to squeeze all the breath out of him. He felt his stomach drop as you smiled at the man beside you, your eyes holding so much love for him.
A love that could never ever be his. 
Mingyu felt like he was going to be sick. And his two friends were doing literally nothing to stop the nausea rising up his throat. Seungkwan was glaring very obviously at the newcomer while Seokmin smiled at him awkwardly. 
You looked at the three of them expectantly, your smile dropping a little when none of them showed the reaction you were clearly hoping for.
Mingyu felt his heart crack a little at your slightly crestfallen face and that’s when Mingyu realised how stupid he was acting.
How could he be this selfish? Just because he was in love with you didn’t mean that you couldn’t date or fall for someone else. Just because he loved you didn’t mean that you were obliged to return the same feelings. Hell, you didn’t even know that he was in love with you in the first place (which, Seungkwan and Seokmin considered a bit dense of you, because of the fact that it was apparently very obvious that Mingyu was and always had been in love with you; in fact that’s how they had come to know about this even without him telling them).
“Hi! Nice to meet you. I’m Mingyu. And this is Seungkwan and this is Seokmin.” He spoke, forcing a smile onto his face for your sake. You immediately beamed back at him and for a second, Mingyu almost forgot that your boyfriend was there.
“Hi Mingyu! I’m Jisung. Y/N’s talked so much about you! At first I thought your name was actually Gyu.” He laughed and Mingyu smiled back politely. 
He engaged himself in a casual conversation with Jisung and you, kicking his two friends lightly under the table so that they could help him a bit too. He didn't want you to feel bad. After all, you had looked really excited when you had first told them about the surprise and he wanted you to be happy.
"I'm hurt, though." Mingyu said with a pout, so that you would understand that he was only joking (he wasn't). "You never told me that the reason you kept putting your club activities over meeting up with me was because you had a boyfriend. You could have introduced us much sooner."
You smiled at him apologetically, a small shy one that caused his heart to stutter a little. 
“Hey, come on.” Jisung laughed, placing his hand over yours and giving it a squeeze. “Of course she would prioritise me, her boyfriend, over you, her best friend.”
“Excuse me?” Seungkwan asked as Mingyu felt his stomach twist in the most revolting way. He felt something catch his throat, his cheeks flaming at the comment more than the unbearable heat of the weather. 
Mingyu wasn’t stupid; he could feel the sudden tension in the air at Jisung’s comment and your slightly shocked face so he tried laughing it off. He really, really tried smiling at his words, however awkward the smile was, but for some reason he just couldn’t. All he could do was tighten his grip on the glass as he gritted his teeth to stop himself from lashing out.
Never had he felt so much anger towards someone. No matter how much he tried to digest that statement, he just couldn’t stop the bitterness from rising to his mouth. 
Because it was true.
Mingyu knew it was true, and so did everyone else present at the table.
He would always just be a best friend for you, while someone else played the role of your boyfriend. It was a part he could never play, no matter how much he loved you.
But Jisung telling him that definitely didn’t make anything better. It didn’t make his feelings for you go away or make him realise how stupid he was to fall in love with his best friend. If anything, it made him feel worse. It was like Jisung had on purpose crossed all boundaries, just to rile him up.
“H-Hey guys?” Seokmin interrupted, as though worried of what Mingyu might end up saying in the heat of the moment. “Didn’t the three of us promise to play on Joshua’s new xbox at two? If we want to reach on time then we need to leave now.”
“Oh, that’s right!” Seungkwan said, standing up and grabbing Mingyu’s elbow to pull him up. For a second Mingyu looked at his two best friends hurrying to leave in a confusion and then it finally hit him what they were actually trying to do.
“Ah, yeah. Sorry I forgot to mention this Y/N. But we need to leave now.” He said, forcing a smile onto his face just for you. You still looked taken aback from your boyfriend’s comment and just smiled back hastily at him.
"Uh, okay. I'm sure we all can hang out together later too!" You called after them, and they  hastily turned to you, bidding you a goodbye.
The three of them walked in complete silence for a while, as though the situation had not yet sunk in.
A boyfriend. His biggest worry was now coming true.
Mingyu could still taste the bile in his mouth and no matter how much he swallowed, the lump in his throat was still choking him.
"Hey man…" Seokmin said, stopping abruptly and causing the other two to do the same. He looked at Mingyu sadly, before patting him gently on the shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
He could feel tears sting his eyes as he balled his fists to stop them from falling. But no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't stop the feeling of his heart being ripped apart.
Why couldn't he be the one holding your hand right now? Why couldn't he be the one whom you looked at with so much love? Why couldn't he be the one who showered you with love and affection everyday?
The sadness clutched at his heart tightly as the first tear drop fell. Seungkwan clutched his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as though he could understand Mingyu’s feelings.
It's okay. He said to himself. You knew this would happen.
He hadn't felt this sad in years, not even when his friend Kwon Soonyoung made his entire friend group think he was the mafia when he wasn't, and definitely not when he had to force himself to keep a straight face when he heard guys talk about how pretty and awesome you were, or when you would open every single Valentine's Day letter and read them out to him, all the while giggling.
Mingyu felt Seokmin take his other hand and the comfort it gave him made him realise once again how grateful he was to the two of them.
He took in a shuddering breath to calm himself down before speaking. "Thanks a lot. For back there."
Seokmin shook his head, once again patting his back. "Don't mention it. I know this won't cheer you up and it probably sounds useless, but you both are going to two different colleges next month, right? Maybe, I’m saying maybe, you'll get over her. Maybe- maybe the lesser you see her, the easier it will be for you. Plus there's going to be so many other girls too, right?"
Mingyu just nodded, not having the heart to tell him how dull other girls looked to him beside you.
"But I just don't understand how Y/N still does not know that you are in love with her. I mean, even if she can't see it, surely her friends would have noticed?"
Mingyu shrugged, the feeling of dejection finally setting in as he watched the setting sun. But he always knew that one day or another, you would get a boyfriend that wasn't him and he would have to accept that. 
After all, the promise that the two of you had made was just a stupid joke, right? 
"Hey Mingyu. If you want, Soonyoung and I could accidently spill poison into that shit excuse of a boyfriend's coffee and Seungcheol or Jeonghan could cover it up."
He let out a laugh at this, feeling his mood lift up a bit. A bit.
"No thank you. I don't want any of you in jail."
"Damn, okay. What does she even see in that asshole anyways?"
Mingyu shrugged. "I guess everything that I lack."
"Hey, hey, hey." Seokmin shook his head at the two of them. "We need to cheer up! And you know what to do after a breakup?"
"Seokmin. To break up you need to be in a relationship in the first place. Mingyu hasn't even confessed to Y/N yet-"
"Do you," Seokmin flashed his eyes dangerously at Seungkwan. "Know what you need to do? That's right gentlemen. We need to stop by Joshua's house to play with his xbox."
"Did Joshua really buy a new xbox? Didn't he buy one last year?" Mingyu asked, already feeling slightly distracted.
"Yes and yes. You can thank me later on for being best friends with the richest kid from LA."
"He's friends with all of us."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Seungkwan." 
Tumblr media
𝐓𝐖𝐎. 𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒
The rain poured down heavily as he ran across the wet road, ignoring the way his wet clothes clung on to his skin, making him feel cold and clammy. His sneakers were soggy too, making it almost difficult to run, but he didn’t want to think of the consequences if he didn’t get to you quickly. 
Mingyu came to a halt in front of a series of bars, taking out his phone hurriedly to check the address you had sent him. 
Correction: he whipped out his phone to check the incoherent words you sent him with the line "oick ne up pld".
By now understanding your drunk texts had become a second nature to him; he could decipher it as easily as your normal ones. In fact, this current situation was such a common occurrence that he knew that it wouldn’t really hurt you if he reached a minute or two late but he could never get rid of that horrible feeling in his heart that something, something might happen to you if he didn’t find you.
Finally stepping into the bar whose name you had sent, Mingyu scanned the crowd for your familiar face. Being a Friday, the place was really crowded but it didn’t take him long to find you seated on one of the stools near the counter, emptying your glass in a flash before resting your forehead against the counter.
The tightening in his chest returned as he took in your expression, your drunken state causing his heart to shatter into millions of pieces. 
He hated seeing you like this. He hated seeing you sad, he hated seeing you cry and he hated seeing you so heartbroken. It made him angry at the universe for making you cry, it made him angry at you ‘boyfriend’ for making you cry, and it made angry at himself.
It made him angry that he couldn’t protect you, or save you from feeling these emotions. It made him so angry that there were days he would just hate himself for not being able to make you smile. What was the point of being your best friend if he couldn’t protect you from those feelings? What was the point of loving you if you still got hurt over love?
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Mingyu walked over to your spot and sat down on the stool beside you. Then gently patting your back, he called your name softly. “Y/N? Can you hear me?” 
You immediately shot up, looking around a little dazed until your eyes landed on him. Squinting at him a little, you asked in a slurred voice, “Gyu?”
“Yeah. It’s me. Let’s go home, okay?” He asked, still speaking softly as he gently slung your arm over his shoulder. You let him pull you up from your chair as he tightened his grip on your waist, and you buried your face in his neck.
Mingyu felt your nose tickle his neck as you wrapped both of your arms around his shoulders tightly, but he ignored it and instead focused on literally dragging you out of the crowded place. Once the two of you had made it out safely, he quickly hailed for a taxi so that you didn’t get wet (and because it was physically impossible for him to drag you all the way back home). After making sure you were seated comfortably in the backseat, he slipped in beside you.
“Y/N?” He asked, poking your knees as you rested your head on his shoulder. The strong smell of alcohol on you pricked his nose in irritation but he let you be, allowing you to use his shirt as a tissue. “Did you…break up again?” 
You nodded slowly, sniffling once before looking up at him in teary eyes. Mingyu felt his heart break once again and it took him all his willpower to not wrap his arms around you and engulf you into a hug before you even spoke.
“He said- he said something was off. That he didn’t feel that I was really interested in him.” You mumbled into his shoulder. “I don’t get it though. I really liked him. What did he mean by ‘I wasn't interested in him’?”
“Maybe- maybe it's because you both have busy schedules?” Mingyu reasoned, not sure why he was trying for excuses for your boyfriend, now an ex. “Maybe he was under stress so he wasn’t able to figure things out in his end?”
“I don’t know.” You mumbled. “I-I thought it would work this time.”
It would work this time.
Mingyu had lost track of the number of times he had heard you spill those words, both in your drunken and sober state. It was a word he heard repeatedly over the years since college and he had thought that maybe after you got a job, he would stop having to hear those words.
But he still ended up hearing them after your every single break up, still sympathising with you like he was just your best friend and didn’t love you in any romantic way. 
“Maybe it’s time you, uh, try something different?” Another common response. “Like maybe stop being in a relationship for a while, heal yourself completely and then try?”
“I’ve tried, Gyu. I’ve tried it so many times. But for some reason, I feel like something is missing in my life if I’m not in a relationship. You understand, right?”
He did not understand. Mingyu had never been in a relationship before thanks to his one sided love for you but even apart from that, he couldn’t understand how you could jump from one person to another in such a short span of time even though each of it ended in the same sad, messy way.
The taxi finally came to a halt, indicating that they had reached their destination. Mingyu quickly paid the fare and gently pulled you out of the vehicle, him still supporting your maximum weight. 
Experience had taught him that dragging you all the way up to the fourth floor of the apartment not only was a bit strenuous to him but also hazardous to you (the dark corridors were not helping his clumsy nature in any way). So he slung your arms around his neck and pulled you onto his back, grabbing your knees as he made his way to the apartment elevator. 
Once he stepped out of the elevator and reached his front door, he slowly let go of your one knee and reached for his pant pocket to get his house key-
Shit. 
His hand came out empty and he felt panic grab him. Frantically, he reached for his other pocket but all he could feel was his wallet. In his hurry to get to you, he had forgotten to take his key with him. 
How could he be so stupid? He had always been an organised person and always checked, double checked everything before leaving the house. How could he forget something so important, especially when you needed his help?
Shit, shit, shit. If we stay here any longer, Y/N’s going to catch a cold. Should I just go to a hotel-
The front door swung open and if Mingyu had been asked at that instant which god he believed in, Mingyu would have said Jeon Wonwoo without a second's hesitation.  
“Oh god Wonwoo-” He began, as his older roommate just rolled his eyes, opening the door wider to let the two of you in. Carefully, Wonwoo helped a now unconscious you slide down from his back onto the couch. “How did you know-”
“How did I know you forgot your key?” Wonwoo asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Mingyu nodded, feeling Wonwoo’s disapproval through his stare. “Well, I went to your room to return your book but guess who had sneaked off so late at night?”
Mingyu averted his eyes down, feeling Wonwoo’s gaze pierce through him.
“It’s not that I have a problem with you hanging out so late at night. I’ve never even complained when Y/N crashes in your room. But why do you-” He inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself down. Mingyu felt guilt wash over him as Wonwoo continued. “But why do you run to her every single time? Do you have no self respect?”
He winced at his friend’s words even though he knew they were true. He had himself asked this question many times. Why didn’t he stop going to you everytime? Why did he force himself to shoulder your pain every single time? Why couldn’t he, for once, even hint that he loved you?
“You keep telling me it's the last time. Every single damn time.”
“I’m- I’m sorry. I promise this will be the last time-”
“You always say that!” He snapped. “You say that it's going to be the last time, and then you go back, and then get hurt as she rambles about her boyfriend and you still stick to her like she’s not hurting you; like you aren’t breaking inside, like-”
“Then what do you want me to do? Ignore her messages? Leave her alone in this state?”
“No!” Wonwoo hissed. “But if you don’t set boundaries, you are going to be her doormat forever! You’ll be a pushover-”
“Fine, I get it!” Mingyu snapped, mad at Wonwoo for not understanding him and mad at himself for being exactly what Wonwoo had just called him. Your doormat. “I get it, okay? I get what you mean. But I can’t just- I can’t- Fine, I’ll- I’ll get over-” 
Both the men flinched as you murmured in your sleep, causing them to finally pause. Wonwoo sighed as he shook his head, slowly walking back to his room.
“It’s up to you, Gyu. Either chase her or forget your feelings for her. But what you are doing now- it’s just going to hurt you more. I’ll be in my room if Y/N needs anything, okay?”
With that, he shut the door of his room, leaving Mingyu all alone with a snoring you. 
Tumblr media
“Gyu.” You said, swallowing your food abruptly to speak. It just resulted in the huge lump to get stuck in your throat, causing you to cough as you choked on it. Immediately Mingyu shot up from his chair and thumped your back, slowing it down to gentle pats as gradually stopped coughing. “Thanks.” You muttered, giving him a small smile as tears slid down your cheeks. 
“Be careful.” He said worriedly, pouring you another glass of juice. You took a sip of it and set it down, before giving him a bigger smile. Mingyu felt his heart clench painfully as you beamed at him gratefully; as though he was your saviour. 
“Thank you for the breakfast.” He just nodded, swallowing thickly as he tried to distract himself from your smile; anything that wouldn’t remind him of the way the sunlight from behind gave you a soft glow, the way the corner of your lips quirked up when you smiled, the way- “And- and thank you for yesterday. Thank you for always, actually.” You continued. 
“Don’t thank me.” He said, sitting down back on his seat. “That’s what friends do anyways, right?”
Opposite to him, he heard someone snort. Both of you turned your attention to Wonwoo, who was busy reading the newspaper (Mingyu had never seen his roommate with a newspaper; in fact the newspapers were only for him). 
“Ah,” you said, “thank you to you too, Wonwoo. Gyu told me that if it hadn’t been for your timely intervention, we would have frozen to death outside the house.” 
Wonwoo narrowed his eyes at you, as though trying to find the sarcasm in your statement. But you were genuinely smiling at him and Mingyu kicked Wonwoo lightly under the table. You might be stamping on Mingyu’s heart (unknowingly of course) but he knew you were always thankful to Wonwoo.
“It’s okay.” He muttered, going back to the newspaper. “I was just helping my friend.”
“Yeah, thanks for that too.” You turned back to him and scrunched your nose. “Gyu can be a little oblivious to his surroundings sometimes, right? He needs someone to take care of him sometimes.”
“Absolutely right.” Wonwoo stated coolly, picking up an egg tart that Mingyu had made specifically for you. He eyed Mingyu, before continuing to speak. “He definitely doesn't keep his own feelings and health in mind and is always dashing to help others, unaware about himself or what state he is in.” 
Mingyu laughed dryly at his roommate’s statement, before shooting him a glare. Wonwoo then continued again. “But Mingyu is really responsible. And always has everything under control.” (By now, Mingyu could feel sarcasm even in Wonwoo’s breath) “In fact most of the time, it’s him taking care of me. Besides, I think we can all agree that you need to be taken care of more than him.”
At this, Mingyu shot up from his chair once again, pulling you up by your elbow. “You are done right? I’ve already packed some lunch for you. Come on, I’ll drive you back home.”
You looked at him confused. “But- But I just started-”
“It’s okay, you can have them in the car!” He said, quickly picking up some tarts. You rose from your chair hesitantly, but nonetheless waved Wonwoo a small bye as you followed Mingyu out of the house. 
Just before closing the main door, Mingyu glared one last time at his roommate, but the older one just smiled at him, mouthing the words, ‘enjoy your “alone” time with Y/N.’ He air quoted the word alone, causing Mingyu to roll his eyes.
As he walked towards his car with you behind him, he made a mental note to talk to Wonwoo about not betraying roommates. 
“I’m sorry.” You said, as you finally settled in the car seat. Mingyu looked at you confusedly, not sure where this was coming from. You had never apologised to him before because there wasn’t any need to. He would have gone to pick you up if you had ever texted him, break up or not, drunk or sober. It wasn’t like the two of you were strangers either, where one had to apologise for the inconvenience caused. 
Wait, Mingyu thought. Don’t tell me she knows about-
“I keep asking you to come so late at night and pick me up. And then I crash into your house just like that. I can understand why Wonwoo doesn’t like me.” You said, a note of sadness lingering in your voice.
“Oh.” He let out a small breath of relief, feeling a tension release from his chest at your words. Over the years, as Mingyu saw how horribly you dealt with breakups, he had learnt to control his feelings even more whenever he was around you and not let a slip of word either. He didn’t want you to end up like that because of him, even the thought of it brought a stabbing pain to his chest. “Oh, don’t be sorry. What are friends for, huh? I’ve known you all my life. If I can’t help you get you home safely, I think your mother will stop thinking of me as her son.” He glanced at your direction as you gave him a small smile. 
But Mingyu could tell there was still some weight on your chest so he added, “And don’t worry about Wonwoo. He does like you. It’s just that- It's just that he is worried that one of us might get hurt, you know.” That one of us being me. “He’s a great guy, trust me. He’s nice and caring in his quiet ways. And he’s someone I trust with my life. Apart from you of course. And Seokmin and Seungkwan. And Joshua too.”
Mingyu saw you smile more brightly from the corner of his eyes as you reached forward and placed your hand over his, which was on the steering. Had it been someone else, Mingyu would have flinched and probably would have accidentally rammed the car into a wall (he was speaking this from experience; needless to say the female coworker didn’t even glance at his direction ever again despite the ‘crush’ she previously had on him).
But yours were so warm and comforting, he felt himself relaxing against your touch almost immediately, before realising you were probably watching him. Quickly he straightened up, and inhaled deeply to control his heart that was giving small squeezes every now and then.
“So, uh,” He began, venturing into the area he knew might be a bit painful for you. “What did he say this time?”
You seemed to understand who he was referring to by the way you withdrew your hands from his and crossed them in front of your chest. You frowned slightly though Mingyu wasn’t sure if it was because of the sunlight falling on your face or the content of yesterday night’s conversation.
“I don’t know, Gyu. I don’t know. He said he felt I wasn’t committed enough. What did he mean by that? I always readjusted my schedule to meet him, ditched my friends whenever he said he needed me and god knows what else. What more does he need?” 
“Did you mention that to him?”
“Of course I did! And he just felt that even though my actions were doing those, it was obvious my heart was searching for something else! Like what is he? A shaman?”
“Er, didn’t the last guy, what’s his name? Haejoon? Didn’t he say the same thing?” Mingyu asked.
“Who’s side are you on?” 
“Yours, of course.” 
“Good to know. But you are right, you know. They always say the same thing. Not only Haejoon and Jongmin. Starting from Jisung, they always say the same thing.”
“And what are you exactly searching for?” Mingyu asked as he carefully parked the car in front of your apartment. He really wanted to know what was the thing that you were looking for, the thing that caused your break ups and the thing that might finally give you solace. He wondered if he had what you were searching, though he doubted you would even bother looking for it in him. 
You shrugged as you got out of the door, pulling the bag of food along with you as you got out. “I don’t know. I don’t know myself.” You said, though in Mingyu’s opinion you didn’t look that affected by it. Mingyu had always loved how cool and chill you always were about life but right now, he was really dying to know what was the key point that would win your heart forever.
“Here, give that to me. It’s heavy. I’ll carry it.” He said, reaching forward to take the bag from your hand but you just moved the handle away from him, a playful glint in your eyes.
“What? Just because you’ve been living in the gym off lately doesn’t mean I can’t lift this much.” You said, walking up the stairs.
Mingyu frowned and paused for a second, before chasing after you. “How did you know that? I don’t think I’ve told you-”
“Those arms don’t lie, Gyu.” You said with a wink, stopping in front of your door as you rummaged through your purse for the house key. “And besides, Seokmin keeps me updated with his pictures-”
“What? Seokmin has been sending you gym pictures?” Mingyu gasped, feeling his head spin. You just laughed at him teasingly as you walked into the house, a sound which made Mingyu’s stomach somersault but right now his head was in a whirl. “Y/N! Answer me!”
“And what will you do if I say yes?” You said, amused at his reaction as you placed the bag of food carefully on the dining table before turning to you. Your one hand was on your hip, the other on the edge of the table and you were smiling at him brightly, eyes crinkling at the corners. 
You looked so, so pretty that for a second Mingyu had forgotten to answer your question. It was only when you raised your eyebrows at him did he realise he was staring, and quickly looked down so that you wouldn’t see the heat creeping up his cheeks. 
“Uh, it doesn’t really matter to me.” And it shouldn’t have mattered. Mingyu knew that Seokmin and you were just good friends, and that Seokmin was really faithful to his girlfriend but still, he couldn’t help feeling disgruntled about it. Why couldn’t it be his gym pictures you were asking for?
“Uh huh.” He heard you say, but it sounded closer than before. Mingyu looked up and almost jumped back, because you were so close to him now, that he could almost count the number of lashes on your eyes. He inhaled your scent; you smelled like his soap. But he never knew his soap smelt this good, never knew its scent could be this intoxicating, slowing down his reactions as you beamed at him mischievously. How the hell did you manage to smell better than him in his soap?
“You don’t need to pout so much, Gyu.” You said, cupping his cheeks as you scrunched your nose at him fondly. Despite being six feet, Mingyu felt like a small puppy in your arms, waiting for its master to pet it. It was taking all his resolve not to wrap his arms around your waist and kiss you, or even melt into your touch this easily. When did he become so whipped for you?
“You know,” You began a bit absent mindedly this time as you dropped your arms and took a step back from him. “You look very cute when you pout. But I don’t want you to be sad on my behalf, Gyu.”
Mingyu blinked at you. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, me being sad isn’t your fault Mingyu. My breakups, getting wasted or even jumping into relationships so hastily isn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself.”
“What are you talking about, Y/N?”
You turned your back towards him and walked back to the dining table, carefully taking out the lunch boxes he had packed for you. “I see how you look after each break up. You look so hurt, more hurt than even I feel and somehow that hurts me more. I hate seeing you so hurt. It breaks me-” You inhaled sharply, trying to control the trembling in your voice. “I hate calling you each and every time, I hate leaning on you so much, I hate dumping all my sorrow over you. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I fucking hate it so much.”
“But- But” He began, still not sure what you were trying to say. His mind was in a whirl and it was hard getting out the thoughts in his head. “But I already told you many times that I don’t mind picking you up. I don’t mind being beside you whenever you go through these! If I don’t do these, then who will?” 
“And I hate seeing you sad.” You finally turned to face him and Mingyu felt his heart drop. You were…crying? “If you stop being sad, then I don’t mind you coming over to me. Otherwise…I feel selfish. I always feel like an awful person and I hate feeling like this so much. I’ve just wanted you to be happy, you know that Gyu.
He snorted. “Well, you are being selfish. You can’t stop me from doing this much for you. Do all our years of friendship mean nothing to you?” What was wrong with you? Why were you saying such things to him? Each word that escaped your mouth felt like a slash on his heart, like all the things he had done for you as a friend, as a person he loved and trusted, had meant nothing to you. 
“Gyu-”
“No, don’t start again! Don’t okay, don’t! You don’t get to decide what I feel or what I want to do for you! You are being selfish if you think it’s okay for me to stand back and watch you fall apart.”
“Mingyu, please listen to me-”
“If you care about my feelings then stop breaking up just like that!” He yelled. The silence that followed was almost deafening and as Mingyu watched your tears fall more, he realised that he too was crying. His whole body was shaking as he clenched his fists, feeling an anger he had never felt before coursing through his veins. 
Why did he do that? Why did he say that? Why was he feeling so hurt over your statement? Yes, you were being selfish by telling him to stand back and watch you cry every time, whether he loved you romantically or not. 
But it hurt him more that you were so ready to give him up was like a huge blow to him. And because of what, it made you sad?
He swallowed thickly, breathing in slowly as he tried to calm down his racing heart. “If- if you want me to be happy, focus on yourself first. After all, it was you who started it.”
Tumblr media
“And one kilogram of cheddar cheese.” Wonwoo said, and Mingyu reached out to take the last slab of cheese kept in the open freezer, but instead he found himself holding someone else’s hand, who was holding the cheese he was about to grab.
He immediately jerked his arm back and turned to profusely beg for forgiveness, but froze when his eyes met the other person, who too was staring back at him with a look of shock. 
Your eyes averted down to your shoes as you took a step back almost immediately, clutching the part of your wrist he had just held. And he would have kept staring at you, trying to think of something to say after last week’s fight if it wasn’t for the sudden crash sound from beside you that snapped both of you out of your daze.
Mingyu turned to his right to see a curly haired girl staring back at the trio, all the items that were once in her hand on the floor now. 
“Ni!” You gasped, running towards the girl to help her pick up the things. Mingyu too moved forward to help but Wonwoo was the fastest among the three, picking up the groceries and handing them to her.
As she took it slowly from his hands, Mingyu all of a sudden realised that she wasn’t staring at all the three of them, she was staring at his roommate. At Wonwoo.
His eyes darted to you and you too wore an expression of shock and surprise, as your head moved between Ni and Wonwoo, as though finally understanding the situation.
“Are you okay?” Wonwoo asked, the question snapping her out of her trance as she looked away, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Then turning back to him she nodded a little, before asking, “Are you okay?”
Wonwoo blinked at her for a second before she realised what she had just said, flushing once more as she furiously corrected herself again. “I-I mean, thanks a lot. For helping me, I mean.”
Mingyu looked at you once again and smirked, as you too mirrored back his expression. He very well could see where this situation was going and for once he hoped that Wonwoo wouldn’t screw it up.
“No problem.” Wonwoo said, before looking back at Mingyu. “So, uh, Mingyu should we-”
“Oh hey, are you sure you don’t want any help?” Mingyu interjected, signalling at Ni with his eyes, hoping she would get the hint. “Like um, do you want any help getting stuff from the top shelf because-”
because you are short? Was that rude? Was he overdoing it? But like he was blessed to have you as his best friend, you came to his rescue immediately. “Because you are short! And Wonwoo is tall! There’s nothing wrong in asking a sexy, handsome, tall man to help, right?”
Mingyu had always thought it was your charming personality and unearthly beauty that got you the long list of lovers but now he made a mental note to add smooth talker to it. Because while he was sure that if he had said that statement Wonwoo would have said no, he could literally see the wheels in his roommate’s brain turning as he mulled over your words.
“Sure.” He said, turning back to give Ni a smile. “Where’s your grocery list? I could help you.” Saying that he turned to look at you, tilting his head as he said something to you through his eyes. You pursed your lips a bit but looked at Ni and gave her a smile.
The two of them then disappeared down the aisle, leaving Mingyu alone with you, the coolness from the freezer all of a sudden disappearing as he felt the awkwardness settle in.
It had been a week since the argument the two of you had but none of you had made an approach to talk it out. And now seemed to be the perfect time to talk about it but once again the two of you just stared at the floor, waiting for each other to break the ice.
“Uh, so about that day…” You began, as both of you looked up at the same time. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I mean, yeah, even I’m sorry so-”
“Well you shouldn’t be.” You interrupted him. Then taking in a deep breath, you stepped closer to him, looking down again. You looked so nervous and confused, as though you weren’t sure of how to apologise to him.  “I mean, you shouldn’t be sorry because you were right. You were trying to help me, but, you know- I’m trying to sort out my feelings still, trying to find out what’s wrong and uh,-”
“Hey.” He said softly, putting his hands on your shoulder causing you to look up at him. You looked so sorry that Mingyu almost forgave you then and there. But he knew the two of you needed to talk it out so instead he said, “How about we talk about this after a few more days? I think we both are affected by this so I think we both should sort out our feelings and thoughts and then talk about it. You’re right, I do get hurt everytime I see and I know that hurts you too. But you very well know I can’t leave you like that, can I? If our roles were reversed you would do the same for me.”
You opened your mouth to say something but then closed it, slowly nodding as you let out a sigh and leaned in to rest your head on his shoulder. He felt his muscles tense as he inhaled in your scent, but relaxed almost immediately when you wrapped your arms around his waist. He did the same too, pulling you in closer as you stood like that for a few seconds before breaking the silence again with a chuckle.
“When did you become so mature, Mingoo?” You asked, causing him to groan. “Back when we were kids it was always me taking care of you. When did you grow up so much?”
“Hmmm, maybe if you took care yourself a little bit more-”
“Okay, okay!” You laughed, pulling away from him to look at him. You smiled at him softly, the familiar heat sparking in his heart as you nodded at him. “You are right. I promise I’ll get back to you in a few more days. Wait for me till then?”
I’m always waiting for you.
Tumblr media
“You guys are terrible.” You groaned, tearing the wrapper of the triangular kimbap. You glared at five men sitting opposite to you individually, before taking a bite of food in your hand. “This is not what I had asked you all for!”
“Blame that on Mingyu.” Seungkwan grumbled, shooting a glare in his direction as he picked up a fish cake bar and unwrapped it, dipping it into his ramyeon cup. 
Mingyu could feel the disappointed look of his friends on him, so he cleared his throat and tried to divert the blame away from him. “Come on guys. You all love eating at this convenience store. We’ve eaten so many times here during our college days! Doesn’t it bring back memories again? Just the five of us, meeting up after a month and enjoying a meal here? Can't you guys feel the nostalgia?” 
He felt you slap his shoulder lightly, and he grabbed it with an exaggeration. hoping that would make you soft for him and you would stop scolding him so badly. 
“Did I ask you to set up a reunion meeting? I asked you to pick a restaurant according to the guys’ convenience because I wanted to treat them!” You pursed your lips and glared at him once more, and the situation would have scared Mingyu out of his wits if he couldn’t hear Seokmin’s giggling from the corner. 
“Sheesh.” He muttered, rubbing his shoulder. He was used to being blamed by the group for the simplest reasons such as breathing in the wrong way but he really hadn’t meant to mess up your well intentioned plans. “It’s fine, just eat up. Think that we cannot afford to eat at those pricey restaurants right now and eat up. Besides, I know you guys love this. Weren’t you craving cup ramyeon even yesterday, Wonwoo?” 
Wonwoo froze in the middle of slurping his noodles, before putting it down and saying, “I said I was craving your noodles.” 
Mingyu let out a gasp, not expecting to be betrayed even by his own roommate, (it was evident Wonwoo hadn’t listened to his lecture about not betraying roommates) but it was swallowed by your laughter. He turned to look at you just as you stopped, chuckling at him as though still enjoying the joke. 
The dim lights of the neon signboard hit you at an odd angle, but it was enough to make you look like an angel. You let out a giggle as he stared back at you, the smile growing on his face involuntarily. He could see the tiredness from the entire day’s work on your face, but you kept smiling back at him with such tenderness and love that Mingyu felt like his heart was going to explode. 
Someone cleared their throat at the table, snapping both of you out of your daze and you immediately knitted your eyebrows back into a frown. “Oh gosh, Kim Mingyu! We could have been eating barbeque but now here we are stuck-” You said, shoving another fish cake packet to his face, “-eating this amazing, nostalgia inducing food!”
“Oh god, it brings back so many memories.” Seokmin sobbed, rubbing the corner of his (dry) eyes. Mingyu rolled his eyes at his friends’ dramatics, but he couldn’t help smiling at them. “It reminds me of the time Mingyu and I kissed.”
“Wha-” His voice was caught off as Seungkwan spat out the water he had been drinking, spluttering and gasping for breathe as Wonwoo thumped his back hurriedly. And even though Mingyu too was worried about him, the only thing he could do was let out a cry because unfortunately for him, he had been sitting opposite to the Seungkwan, causing all the spat out water to fall on his face.
“Seungkwan!” He cried as the table erupted in another round of laughter. 
“Oh my god Mingyu, are you crying? Don’t cry baby!” Joshua asked, mischief laced in his voice. Of all the seats I could have sat on, why did I pick the one next to Joshua? Joshua grabbed a few napkins from the table and began dabbing it on his face, cleaning his ‘tears’. “Don’t cry, Gyu. We’ve got your back always.” Then dropping his voice a little, he added, “You know we’ve been joking from the very beginning right?”
Mingyu took the tissues from his hand as he nodded, a small laugh escaping him as he rubbed the rest of his face clean. “You guys are mental.”
Suddenly he felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around his torso, causing him to inhale sharply as you leaned against his body, glaring at the other guys. “Yeah, why are you pestering my poor baby?” 
Oh god. Oh god. He tried to control his face from heating up, balling his fists so that he didn’t lose his senses due to your scent. Seungkwan must have noticed his sudden change in demeanour because he snorted and said, “That’s one big baby you have.”
“Besides,” Joshua said, pulling him away from your embrace and into his instead. “You were pestering him earlier too.”  
“Getting pestered is just Mingyu’s love language.” You countered back. “But of course, it should be only by us. Right Gyu?”
“I don’t want to be pestered by any of you though?” He said, to which Joshua pressed his finger to his lips, shushing him. “If we don’t pester someone as nice as you, someone who can always laugh it off because he knows we are just joking and we actually love him, who else will we pester?”
“Wow,” Mingyu said sarcastically. “You guys are such angels. I love my friends who pester me!” 
“I don’t pester you though?” Wonwoo said, causing ‘ey’s and ‘fucking liar’s to rise from around the table. He just laughed at them before raising his can of beer, saying, “To our friendship!”
“To our friendship.” Everyone echoed back, raising their drinks too, before taking a large sip of it. 
Mingyu could feel the alcohol slowly settling in his system, a pleasant buzz tingling his entire self. The rest of the night passed by with such speed that one minute he was still eating and joking with his friends and in the next minute he found himself walking beside you, taking you back home.
He had insisted on walking you back home despite your refusal, because apart from knowing that it was dangerous for you to walk alone at night especially in this slightly intoxicated state, he also knew that his own mother would kill him if she came to know that he had let you go just like that. 
Presently the two of you were walking through an uphill alley, you giggling at some old memory while he complained about the unfairness of it to you. 
Suddenly you grabbed his arm, causing his heart to skip a beat as you jerked him towards you, looking at him with shining eyes. 
“Gyu,” you whispered, even though there was no reason to do so, “Want to see something special?” 
“Special?” He asked, his voice a little higher than he had expected it to be. Your face was so close to his that he could almost feel your breath against his neck, gulping slowly to control his breathing. “We- we have work tomorrow. Don’t you think it’s a bit too late-”
“Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport.” You scolded him lightly, before smiling at him softly. He prayed to god that the warm, giddy sensation he was feeling in his body was due to the alcohol and not due to how you were smiling at him, eyes shining in a dangerous way as though you were about to show him a secret that was meant only for him.
“Okay.” He said, straightening up a bit so as to put some distance between the two of you. “But only if we come back within half an hour-”
“Oh, you can just crash in my house.” You said, all of a sudden giving him a light shove backwards. He looked at you in surprise as you suddenly took off, screaming at the top of your voice, “Race you to the top!”
“Why, you-” He began, before starting to run too, laughing at your dirty method of cheating. You knew you wouldn't be able to beat him, not when he had such long legs and had a much better stamina than you. But there was no way Mingyu was going to let you win, not when you had decided to win like this.
He caught up with you within a few seconds, throwing his arms around you as he pulled you into a bone crushing hug. You shrieked with laughter as the two of you stumbled, doing your best to break from his grip but all those days in the gym had truly paid off as all you could do was claw at his arms helplessly. 
“Okay! Okay!” You yelled, gasping for breath because of how much you were laughing. “You win! You win, okay?” But he still didn’t let go, burying his face into your shoulder as he giggled continuously. He could feel that he was losing his grip on you because of his sides aching due to his laughter, but you felt so warm in his arms, your clothes really soft and smelling like you that it made him pull you into him even more. 
In the back of his mind Mingyu wondered if the two of you were causing too much ruckus so late in the night, but all thoughts were pushed back when you suddenly turned in his arms to face him, wrapping your arms around his neck. 
Time slowed down as he felt his stomach drop as you beamed at him gently, a soft smile on your beautiful lips as you tilted your head a little, looking at him with nothing but pure adoration. He felt his arms instinctively tighten around your waist, his breath hitching slightly as you leaned into him, noses almost brushing. 
“This is it.” You whispered, your breath ghosting his lips. His mind was swirling as his heart raced, sure you could feel it with how close you were pressed to him. You smelt so, so good; it was enough to cloud all of his judgement. His knees had turned completely jelly at the way you were gazing at him, mouth slightly apart and it took him all his willpower to not drop you as you leaned your entire weight on him. 
“Wh- what is this?” He asked, finally finding his voice as he forced his mind to come back to the present. He had to focus. He couldn’t let himself sweep away because of this.
The corners of your lips curled up a little, an action Mingyu had always found endearing. “This is the special thing I wanted to show you.”
He blinked, trying to process your words. Tearing his eyes away from your face, he looked around slightly bewildered, still not understanding what you meant. 
You laughed lightly, and he could feel your chest rapidly rising and falling against his. “No, you idiot. Don’t look around. Just look at me. Us. We are the special thing I wanted to show you.” 
He inhaled sharply at your words, finally the meaning settling in.
You were right. What more could be special to him than the friendship between both of you? The two of you loved each other so much, admitted you loved him platonically, but still, it was such a beautiful thing. The two of your actions and mannerism had  been shaped by each other’s influences. He carried a part of you just like you carried a part of him.
“You're right.” He said, exhaling slowly as your eyes fluttered due to his breath. “You are so special to me, Y/N. I- I love you so much Y/N. I love you so much.” His chest contracted painfully when he said those words but he knew if he didn’t say them, he would combust even if you didn’t get the second meaning of these innocent words.
You sighed contentedly in his arms, before wrinkling your eyebrows in a frown. Then taking in a deep breath you said, “Mingyu, I- I’m terribly sorry for yelling at you that day.”
“What?” He asked, a little taken aback as he hadn’t expected you to bring that conversation back up for a while, and certainly not now. You just dipped your head low, until your forehead was resting on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I messed up big time. And I made you feel that I was using you.”
Something caught his throat at your apology, so he just chose to keep quiet and listen to you, opting to rub small comforting circles on your back instead.
“It’s just that I felt really bad seeing you look so sad on my behalf. Because of me. And I know I asked you back then to pick me up, not to feel hurt but you were right. Because like you said, even if it happened to you I would feel upset. Whether or not you ask me to stay out of it.” You finally looked up at him, lips slightly apart as your eyes ran all over his face. Even though you weren’t crying, he could see that your eyes had turned glossy. “And you were right. I know we already talked about this but still it was half assed so I feel like you deserve this apology. I want you to know that I’m truly sorry and I don’t want you to get hurt. The best way to make sure you aren’t getting hurt is to by making sure I just don’t jump into relationships. I was never a thousand percent sure of any of my relationships so far and yet I went into them and they all resulted in the same way. So I’m going to wait for the one that I’m a thousand percent sure about and only then go for it. How does that sound?” 
“Good.” He said, giving you a small smile. “I just want you to be happy and take care of yourself, okay?”
You smiled back at him and nodded, before pushing yourself away from his grip. His disappointment at the loss of warmth soon disappeared when you grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, until you were leading him into an empty park.
“This,” You said pointing at the sky. “Is what I actually wanted to show you by the way.”
“You…wanted to show me the moon? Something we could have seen from your rooftop and reduced the risk of freezing to death while walking through some lonely street?”
“Hahaha. Very funny. I’m pointing at the stars.”
He blinked at you, pretending to look offended. “I thought you said we were the special thing you wanted to show me?”
“Yeah, that too. But since you have a very kind and considerate best friend, I even wanted to show you the stars. And as a sorry for the bitch I was.” If you had said this in an alternate universe where Mingyu and you were dating, he might have dropped some flirty comment about you being the brightest star in his eyes or something but since he wasn’t, he decided to keep it to himself instead.
He followed your suit and craned his neck to see the night sky, not finding a single speck of light in the ink black sheet overhead.
“There’s no stars, though?” He asked amusedly, watching you as you swore and kept turning your head, as though changing the angle of observation might help you find one. “I did tell you years ago that light pollution has made it impossible, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I know.” You muttered, still searching for them (Mingyu found it endearing on how persistent you were of showing him the stars and would have fallen for you more if he wasn’t already completely enamoured by you). “I just- I just thought since this was uphill and was a little empty it might be a good spot.”
That statement caught him off surprise. “You searched up for this place?”
Finally you gave up with a sigh, walking towards him in a dejected manner. “Yeah, yeah I did. I knew you would walk me home so I spent the entire night yesterday on Google Earth trying to find a good spot.” Your shoulder slumped a little as you sat down on a bench, Mingyu following suit. “I guess I should have come here physically and checked it before getting you here. Or looked around more on foot instead.”
“What the hell, I literally just told you it’s dangerous for you to roam around in the night on your own.” He said but it didn’t remove the pout from your face.
“I just wanted to show you how truly sorry I am. That I really, really want you to be happy.”
He reached over and grabbed your hand, giving it a squeeze. It was surprisingly warm despite how much the temperature had dropped, and he hoped that you too could find comfort in his warmth. 
“Don’t worry, Y/N. I already forgave you when you said you would finally prioritise yourself. Besides, I can already see Orion up there.”
“What?” You asked, your head snapping up. “Where?”
Mingyu laughed at your eagerness, before you let out a ‘Hey!’ and punched him lightly. “Oh please. You are forgetting that I’m an artist. The best artist you've seen, right?” He wondered for a second if you still remembered that incident from twenty years ago, when you had claimed that he was the best artist you had ever seen. 
Your lips stretched into a smile at the memory, causing his heart to jump that it was not only him that remembered such trivial things of your friendship. 
“Yeah,” You muttered, tightening your grip on his hand as you gently rested your head on his shoulder. “You are the best artist I’ve ever known. Will always be.”
As Mingyu rested his head against yours and closed his eyes, he realised just how special the word us was. 
Tumblr media
“Good morning, handsome.”
Mingyu swivelled on his chair at this weird greeting, only to find Seokmin leaning against the glass door frame, arms crossed over his chest with a rather flirty smirk on his face. He just groaned and rolled his eyes while Joshua just let out a small laugh. 
“What?” Seokmin asked, looking offended as his smile suddenly dropped, as though his girlfriend had just called him ugly. 
“Go back to work, Seokmin. Don’t you and Seungkwan have any sound effects to add to the last game?” Mingyu asked.
Seokmin just stuck his tongue out, before walking over to Joshua, who was still laughing at his antiques. “I wasn’t even talking to you. I was greeting Shua.” He said, and Mingyu rolled his eyes once again. 
“What brings you here?” Joshua asked, picking up one of the hundred cups of coffee he and Mingyu had kept in between them and handing it over to Seokmin. But Seokmin just shook his head, opting to take Mingyu’s sandwich instead. He raised his eyebrows a little at Mingyu, asking if he could eat it and the latter nodded. Seokmin took a bite of it, chewing slowly before sitting down on an empty chair.
“Sorry, can't really drink coffee much nowadays. And I already had one in the morning. Apparently it dries out your vocal folds and mucus.” He said. “Makes working for the entire day hard but what else can I do if we are so broke that us sound engineers itself need to record and compose apart from our usual role?” 
“Don’t let Wonwoo hear you about us being broke.” Mingyu chuckled, before remembering about the other person in the sounds department. “Oh my god, how is Seungkwan surviving then?”
“He says if he drinks it in excess it will nullify the effect.”
“Oh shit, Seungkwan’s going to retire even before we hit mid life crisis.” Joshua joked. 
Seokmin too smiled before pointing at all the coffee cups on their desks. “Well looking at all those cups, I can say the same about the graphics department to be honest.”
“Oh this?” Mingyu asked, pointing at the cups. “This isn’t for us, it's for watering the plants.”
“Heh.” Seokmin said, before standing up once he had done with the sandwich. “Then you guys will need more of it because we just got a whole new batch of houseplants.” He placed a file on their desk, clearly another new project, before saying, “God bless Y/N. She’s the best salesperson we’ve ever had.”
“Y/N gave this?” Mingyu asked in amusement, picking up the file to go through it. “She trusts us too much, considering the fact I already told her we still haven’t finished the last client’s game yet.” 
“It’s fine.” Joshua said, leaning back against his chair. “He’s a nice author. He literally told me, ‘It took me a lot of time to come with this huge storyline so I know it will take you guys even more time’.” 
“I wish Wonwoo would hire Y/N though.” Seokmin groaned. “He’s a great programmer and all but I just don’t get why he hates her so much. He was pretty fine with her at the beginning.” 
Mingyu felt his cheeks burn as Joshua said, “Isn’t it obvious? He can’t stand seeing Y/N use Mingyu even if she’s clueless. Personally, sometimes when Mingyu’s giving her puppy eyes, I want to scream, cry, throw up and shake her until she starts seeing his feelings.”
“Looks like Wonwoo isn’t the only blind one among us.”
Mingyu snorted at this, before adding, “I don’t give her puppy eyes by the way.”
“You really don’t know yourself then. You always looked like a dog to me.” Seokmin commented. 
“Wow. Wow. I’m going to take that as a compliment.” 
“Think whatever you want. Just because all those girls line up to see your biceps at the gym doesn’t mean I think you are handsome.”
“Are you salty that you had one less fan girl than Mingyu, Seokmin?” Joshua asked sweetly to which Seokmin just laughed. “No way, I have a girlfriend and they all know it. Me and Seungkwan are committed to our beautiful girlfriends. It’s always the two of you flexing your biceps a little too hard in front of them. At least Wonwoo is chad about it and not like you bitchless losers.”
“Oh no, are you forgetting Wonwoo’s new date? That cute girl he met at the grocery store? Also, it's not our fault you guys managed to find love at high school and college. Adult life wasn’t the fun and thrills they had promised us.” Mingyu complained. “Besides, I’m in a life long one sided love with my other best friend, not my fault.”
“Yeah, and I had a girlfriend too.” Joshua said, to which Mingyu and Seokmin deadpanned at him. 
“You mean you had a hook up with Wonwoo’s ex-secretary.”
“And she just quit the next day. Out of the blue. And no one would have known if Wonwoo didn’t grill us on if we did something to her. Hell he even made you write a thousand times that you will not have office sex. You are lucky it's just the five of us here.”
Joshua raised his arms defensively. “Hey, I told you I don’t know why she quit. I never forced her to do anything. I would never. But the question should be why does Wonwoo need a secretary when he’s actually at the same level as us? Just because opening a gaming company was his initial idea doesn’t mean that he is the CEO now. We all contributed.”
“Are we all rebelling against Wonwoo today?” Mingyu asked with a giggle. 
Seokmin pointed at the door. “Should I go get Seungkwan?” 
“Instead of the secretary, Wonwoo could have hired Y/N. Wasn’t she the topper of her class? I aspire to achieve her dedication.” Joshua said.
“In fact, she dropped this file personally this morning. Asked me to imitate her and wish you ‘handsome men’ a good morning once it got clearance from Wonwoo.” 
Mingyu’s mouth fell open in disgust. “You tried imitating her? God, that was so bad I thought you were flirting with us. You captured her horribly.”
Joshua pointed at Mingyu with wide eyes as he laughed. “See? This is why Wonwoo won't hire Y/N. She could straight up rob us and Mingyu will jump to her defence even then.” 
He rolled his eyes at them and finally looked down at the file in his hands, trying to skim through the content. Suddenly he felt bile rise up his throat and constrict his air passage as he read more and more, stomach dropping at the rather familiar storyline. 
“Oh my god, it’s so frustrating!” Seokmin cried, frustratingly wiping away his nonexistent tears. “Why won’t Y/N look at you?”
“Don’t you guys start too.” Mingyu mumbled, turning back to his desk. He had finally finished reading the storyline of the new game and the frustration of the scene suddenly hit as the air around him changed to seriousness, all the humour from before gone.
“What’s wrong?” He heard Joshua ask but he just shook his head, not wanting to talk about it anymore. 
“I’m sorry guys. We need to get back to work.” He said, before switching his computer back on. Through the corner of his eyes he saw Joshua pick up the file and lean in to read, Seokmin peering at it over his shoulders.
“Oh…” Seokmin said after some time. “Mingyu, I’m so sorry-”
“Don’t” He let out a humourless laugh. “Don’t. It’s okay. I’m okay.”
“No, you are not.” Joshua began angrily. “If Y/N would just-” 
“Just drop it please.” He cut Joshua off, closing his eyes as he buried his face in his palm. If Y/N could this, if Y/N could that, if only he was a bit more bolder-
“Even a game character manages to confess his love to his best friend and end up together. Just how- just how pathetic am I?”
He could feel his friend’s sad stares on his back and it just worsened his mood. Every bit of him just wanted to curl into a ball and cry. 
Why couldn’t he fall out of love with you? Why couldn’t he just stop loving you? Why did you have to be so goddamn perfect in every way that no matter how hard he tried, he still ended up pining for you?
“It’s just a game.” He said, his voice thicker than he had expected it to be. “It’s just a game. Let’s go back to work.”
Tumblr media
“This isn’t a date, by the way.” Mingyu clarified, causing the girl sitting opposite to him to give him a dry look. 
“It’s not. It’s a self realisation therapy from your pathetic love life.” She said, slicing into her meat. Mingyu winced at her words but couldn’t say anything back because, well, she was right. 
When Minghao had learnt that Y/N had broken up with her umpteenth boyfriend, he had decided to take matters into his own hand and asked (read: forced) Mingyu to go on a date with none other than Joshua’s sister, Julia. 
“If Joshua finds out you’re having a dinner date with me, you’re dead.” She said, as though being able to read his mind. 
“And if Wonwoo finds out I’m having a dinner date with his new secretary, I’m dead. In other words, I’m in a risky position of being murdered by my best friends.” 
At this, Julia laughed, the mood of the table finally changing from annoyance at being forced to randomly go on a ‘date’ to that of one Mingyu was used to whenever he used to play with her everytime he would come over to Joshua’s house. 
“It’s okay Dr. Black. I’ll find the culprit and make sure he gets what he deserves. You know how good I’m at Cluedo.”
“Yeah.” Mingyu said with a smile at the memory of the younger girl always defeating them at the murder mystery board game. “But the problem is Wonwoo is too smart while Joshua’s really creative. It might be hard for you to guess who did it.” 
“It’s fine, don’t worry. I’m sure all twelve of them want you to be alive for a very long time so that you can get married to Y/N and grow old and boring with her.” She said, rolling her eyes.
“By the way, I’m amazed by all of their deduction skills. Except the four who always hang out with me, I mean. How did they all come to know?” 
“Duh.” She rolled her eyes at him. “It was so obvious that even Soonyoung didn’t need to blabber away. Hell, even I knew it before you realised it.”
“Wow, thanks.” He muttered. “Good to know that I’m obvious to everyone except that one person I wish would know.”
Julia chuckled, shaking her head a little. “You are to blame too. You always run to her beck and call no matter what.”
“That’s because-” Mingyu opened his mouth to explain but she just raised her hand, cutting him off.
“Don’t give me that crap about doing everything for your best friend. Because yes, you should be doing a lot of things for your best friend. But there’s a limit to everything, Mingyu. Knowingly or unknowingly, she’s trampling on your feelings. Excess of even good things isn’t healthy for us.”
His eyes dropped to his food, which suddenly felt unappetizing. He swallowed the food stuck in his throat, feeling a bad taste in his mouth. 
“But I- But I just don’t know how to tackle this.” He whispered, and Julia reached out to hold his hand lightly. He looked up at her and saw the sadness and sympathy in her eyes. 
“It’s okay.” She whispered. “It’s okay, Mingyu. We all come across situations where we might feel like we are being trampled by the person we love in some way or the other, even if it’s not their intention. And you know why that happens? Because in that scenario, they aren’t communicating with each other. But all relationships are made on understanding. How can the two of you even be friends if you can’t understand each other? And yet, it is not within our power to be able to completely understand every feeling, emotion and thought of the other person. At that time, you need to communicate. You need to speak out. Ever thought of dropping hints?” 
He stared at her. “ You…want me to confess to her?”
She shook her head once more.“Not confess, silly. Stay completely away from Y/N for a week or two. Sort out your thoughts. And then approach her. Objectively speak out your thoughts and feelings to her. She might be taken aback by it but it’s okay, give her some time. She’ll get back to you.”
“And what if she doesn’t?” Mingyu asked. His eyes must have been showing his fear because she gave his hand a gentle squeeze before drawing it and sitting back.
“Well then she’s not the one for you, nor is she a good friend. Whether she says yes or no doesn’t matter. And judging by how you are always by her side whenever she has a breakup, I’m sure you can accept her no too. But if she runs away without any proper response, then well it’s time to move on. You are a wonderful person, Mingyu. We all want the best for you.”
He gulped. “I know. I know. But it’s just so- just so hard, you know. I just feel like I’ll lose her. I just feel like I’ll lose.”
“Lose what?”
“Y/N. My love. My best friend. My everything.”
“You mean you feel like you are a lose-her.”
“Julia.” He said, though he couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Okay, okay. Sorry. But don’t worry. In that one week you’ll stay away from her to organise yourself, I’ll be there with you and help you out. And I’ll make sure all the twelve of us do. You have to, Mingyu. You have to. You have to take a break from her. And think about everything clearly.” 
He smiled at her more brightly this time, head clearing up. She was right. “Yeah, yeah. I will. I will, don’t worry. What would I do without you? What would we do without you?”
“I know right.” She said, all the seriousness from a minute ago gone as she stuffed an entire piece of bread in her mouth. “This is why Minghao set you up on a date with me.”
“For the last time,” Mingyu groaned, “this isn’t a date. It’s a self realisation therapy from my pathetic love life.”
“-self realisation therapy from your pathetic love life.”
The two of them stared at each other as they said the exact same thing at the same time, before bursting out into laughter.
“See?” Julia said after a while, laughter slowly bubbling away. “You are already getting better as you slowly realise.”
“Yeah, sure.” Mingyu said. “Now let’s just hope Wonwoo or Joshua doesn’t kill me tomorrow itself when they find out about today’s plan.”
“By the way,” She said, biting into the last morsel of bread. “I’m curious about my job offer. Why did Wonwoo ask me if I wanted to become his secretary? Not that I’m complaining since I’ve always been envious of the projects Seokmin, Seungkwan, Joshua and you used to do but yeah, I’m just curious because this was quite sudden.”
“Oh that.” Mingyu coughed, not sure how he was supposed to answer this question when it could lead to his partial balding in case Julia pulled his hair in anger. “So, um, Joshua. He, uh, he had sex with Wonwoo’s old secretary so I guess he wants you to keep an eye on-”
“He did what?!” She spluttered, proceeding to stand up and then froze, eyes looking at something behind Mingyu in horror. 
Just as Mingyu was about to turn to see what had happened, someone behind him let out a yell.
“Taehyung, I already told you no!” 
The familiar voice caused him to turn faster than he had expected, and he nearly jumped out of his seat to get to you. In two strides he was by your side, yanking the man’s hand away from your arm.
He could feel your shocked face on him but he ignored it, choosing the focus on the man in his grip who was making his blood seethe in anger. “What the fuck,” he said, his voice coming out much lower than he had expected, “Do you think you are doing?”
“And who the fuck are you?” The man glared, trying to yank his hand out of Mingyu’s grasp but he just tightened it, not letting the man budge even a bit. Through the corner of his eyes, he could see a few staff come over to them to break the fight, but all he could see was red, especially when your next few words came out in a scared whisper. 
“G-Gyu.” You whispered and he felt a small tugging at his elbow. “You don’t have to-”
“Gyu? Oh, so you are Gyu? Well fuck off asshole before I beat the shit out of you for ending everything between us.”
“We ended because of you.” You said and Taehyung snarled at you, causing Mingyu to give his hand another squeeze, diverting Taehyung’s attention back to him. 
“You were just fucking paranoid, you bastard. Don’t even try to blame it on others. Y/N’s better off without you.”
“Oh yeah?” He sneered. “And how would you know that considering the fact you are the reason we broke up?”
What? As if I could even make a move on Y/N. But instead he said, “Is that so? Well good for her then. My girlfriend doesn’t need to date insecure idiots like you.” 
Mingyu felt the air around him drop as the three people around him (Julia had managed to pry you off him) stared at him, but he just prayed that you wouldn’t look very surprised and give away the lie.
In fact, he was sure Taehyun would begin laughing at their faces but that seemed to do the trick. His eyes darted between Mingyu and you, sputtering out words as his face reddened with each passing second.
“You- you- you cheater!” He began, pointing an accusing finger at you. “You liar, you slu-”
“That’s enough.” Mingyu growled, grabbing Taehyung’s collar to drag him out of the restaurant, which wasn’t so hard considering the differences in their builds (he never thought that going to the gym would help him out in this way). Once outside, he let go of the other man, eyeing him disgustedly.
“Stay away from Y/N.” He said flatly, pushing the man a little when he tried to hurl himself at Mingyu. He saw Julia and you come down through the stairs slowly, the former holding you gently as you made your way down. “If not, I’ll call the police on you and maybe even get a restraining order.”
“Fuck, a restraining order just because I want to get back to her? You are as fucking messed up as that bitch.” He growled.
“I will call the police right now if you don’t stop calling my girlfriend names like that. Besides, what you are doing is stalking. So get lost now before I actually remove the front two teeth of yours.”
Holding his wrist gingerly, Taehyung gave the trio another disgruntled group, before turning the other direction and walking away, muttering something about mental people ending up together.
As Mingyu watched his figure disappear down the street, he could feel the adrenaline rush quickly disappearing from his veins. The cool night air pressed against him as he felt his body temperature finally come down from its previous risen state, chest rising up and down as he tried to control his breathing slowly.
Mingyu turned to look at you, and felt his heart clench painfully as he took in your shrunken appearance, nodding vigorously as Julia whispered into your ear, rubbing circles on your back. Walking up to you, he took your hands in his and sighed, before asking, “Are you okay?”
Your eyes darted to his and stayed there, lips slightly parted, taking in his features as though it was the first time you were seeing him. You stared at him for a few seconds before Mingyu asked again, feeling worry cloud his mind. “Y/N?”
Saying your name seemed to snap you out of your trance as you jerked away from him, removing your hands from his as you rubbed your arms.
“Yeah.” You said, your voice strained as your eyes roamed over his face with an unreadable expression. Now he was getting really worried. What else had Taehyung done to you? Had it happened before? Though Mingyu knew about your obsessive ex, you had never mentioned to him about Taehyung disturbing you before. 
“Yeah, I’m fine.” You said, finally looking down. “Thank you for pretending to be…my boyfriend.” The way you said ‘my boyfriend’ sounded foreign to Mingyu’s ears, like you were having difficulty pronouncing it. It did hurt him a bit but he was more preoccupied by the way you were acting.
He sighed, taking off his jacket and draping it over your shoulders. “You are not fine.” 
“I- I-” You opened your mouth to speak but then closed it, as though still trying to figure out whether or not you were okay. Mingyu could see your mind running in a million different directions so he figured it would be better if you could slowly jot down your thoughts in a more comfortable place.
Turning to Julia, he said, “I’m taking Y/N back home. I’ll drop you on the way, okay?”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll take a cab. Don’t worry about me. Just get Y/N back home safely, okay?” She said, already taking out her phone to book an Uber. With a jolt, Mingyu suddenly realised how much Julia had grown up and that she was no longer the small girl who used to peep into her older brother’s room through the curtains.  
“Okay. But give me a call when you reach, okay?” He said as she waved them goodbye before getting into the taxi. Then turning to you, he gave his hand and you took it, though you were avoiding his eyes once more.
Even the ride back to your place was filled with silence and though Mingyu wanted to ask you about what had just happened, he could feel that your thoughts were completely preoccupied. It was only when he parked the car in front of your house did you speak up.
“Gyu.” You said, finally turning to look at him. He froze when he saw glassy your eyes were, your bottom lip trapped by your teeth as you bit onto it to prevent yourself from crying. 
“Y/N?” He asked worriedly, grabbing your hand with one hand as he cupped your face with the other. “Y/N, what’s wrong? Is it Taehyung? Did he hurt you? Has he done it before? When did it-”
“It’s not him.” You said with a sniffle, screwing your eyes shut as the first tear fell, leaning into Mingyu’s touch. He felt his heart squeeze painfully and he gently wiped away your tears with his thumb. “It’s not him. Don’t worry about him, it’s- He just happened to meet me here today and he started acting like that but it’s- but it’s-”
“It’s what?” Mingyu asked gently and you opened your eyes to look at him. Taking in another shuddering breath to control your tears, you said, “I- I just realised something this evening. And I- and I don’t know how to deal with it.”
Worry grew in him as he took in your words. “What is it? You can tell me everything, you know that, right?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” You whispered, shaking your head. You placed your other hand on his and gave it a squeeze, as though trying to find comfort in his touch. “I don’t even know how to say it though. I- I think I will mess it up.”
“Okay. Okay. It’s okay.” He whispered, slowly rubbing small circles on the back of your hand in an attempt to calm you down. “Breath with me. Breath Y/N. It’s going to be okay. I’m there right here. I’ll always be there for you.” 
“I know. I know. I just- don’t know what to do about it.” You rambled, still crying.
Mingyu’s mind was in a whirlwind. For the first time in twenty years, he couldn’t understand what you were talking about, what you were implying or what was making you cry. 
It was certainly not Taehyung. And it was definitely not something he had said or else you would have been uncomfortable around him. So what had happened this evening that had broken you down like this?
“Gyu.” You sobbed, leaning into the crook of his neck as you buried your face in his shoulder. “Gyu, I’m so sorry for this. I’m so so sorry.” Sorry for what? “Promise me you’ll never hate me. I can never hate you too. I’ll love you forever. But promise me you’ll love me forever too. No matter what happens. 
“I promise.” He said, the only response from you being your sobs getting louder as you dug your fingers into his shoulder deeply. And unlike all the other promises Mingyu had made to you, he intended to keep this one.
Tumblr media
“Hi.” Mingyu said with a smile, extending his umbrella over your head as he came and stood beside you. Though you were not getting wet, he could see that you were shivering slightly from the cold, rubbing your arms as the rain dripped from the narrow beam sheltering you and fell into the puddle forming right in front of both of you.
You looked up at him just as you sucked in a breath sharply, staring at him with such wide eyes that your pupils were completely blown out. He cocked his head to a side worriedly, smile faltering a little as you continued to stare at him. 
“Y/N?” He asked softly, taking a step closer until he could wrap an arm around your waist. “Are you okay?”
You blinked at him, looking away shyly as you muttered a small ‘yeah’, finger digging into your arms as you tried hiding your face from him. Mingyu frowned, taken aback by the sudden change of behaviour. Were you shy in front of him?
“Hey.” He said, this time a bit more louder as he gently tugged you towards him until he was practically hugging you, resting his chin on top of your head. He moved his arm up to your elbow, rubbing small circles on it, causing you to let out a sigh as you finally turned to him, burying your face into his neck. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” You muttered, wrapping your arms around his torso as though trying to engulf yourself in his warmth completely. He felt his heart squeeze at your endearing action, a chuckle escaping him as he let you stay in that position, enjoying the sound of rain.
“Is it Taehyung?” He finally asked, breaking the silence after a while. Your head shot up as you looked at him in surprise, as though caught completely off guard by his question. “Tae- What? No! Of course not. Don’t worry, I haven’t had the time to think about him.”
Mingyu hummed in response, asking you to go on. You rested your head against his shoulder once again, pausing a little as though thinking about how to go on. “I’ve been thinking about…something. Something else. A lot of things actually, so uh, I’ve been feeling tired for the past few days.” 
“Care to tell me what’s running in your pretty head so that I can lessen your burden?” He felt you relax into his touch but then stiffen almost immediately, slowly slipping out of his grip. He let the arm holding you drop as you made some space between the two of you, still close enough for him to feel your body warmth. 
He watched you with worry as you chewed on your lips, before looking at him with a rather obviously forced smile. “Nope, you unfortunately can’t.” You said, the smile still plastered on your face. “It’s work related so of course it’s out of your domain.”
“Okay…” He said slowly, still uncertain but deciding to drop the subject for now. “So, uh, you said Chaewon wanted to see me?”
“She wanted to see us.” You corrected and even though you had meant it as a joke, Mingyu’s mind couldn’t help but replay that night when you had said us was the special thing you had wanted to show and he felt his heart lighten up a bit at the reminder of it.
But in front of you, he rolled his eyes. “Fine, us. Why did she want to meet us?”
You shrugged. "Said she had to give us somethi-"
"Mingyu!" Someone called him just as he felt a new arm drape around his neck, its owner wedging herself between him and you. He blinked for a second as the heavy smell of perfume and loss of warmth overtook him, before smiling back at the woman flashing all her teeth at him. "How are you?"
"I'm good. What about you, Chaewon?" He asked, gently detaching himself from her powerful grip. "How's work?"
"It's being a pain in the ass so of course I'm not fine." She said with a laugh that Mingyu too returned (politely). “Anyways, I’ve got a surprise for both of you!” 
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve been going on and on about the surprise but what is it actually? You said, rolling your eyes a bit. Mingyu had never realised how cute you looked when you were annoyed but right now, you looked absolutely adorable, with your eyebrows slightly knotted together as you huffed out a breath. 
“So…” Chaewon drawled, looking at either of them once before pulling out something from her pocket. “I got you us tickets for the 9Muses!” 
Mingyu blinked at her, feeling his cheeks pull into a smile as a new found excitement erupted in his heart. “Wait- 9Muses? Really?” 
Chaewon smiled back at him superiorly as she waved four tickets in front of his face. “Yeah, yeah. I know, I’m awesome. You can thank me later on when you and your future girlfriend finally hit off.”
The last statement caused him to pause, eyes darting to you as a force of habit before looking back at Chaewon in surprise. “Future…girlfriend?” 
She meant you, right? It wasn’t the first time people had mistaken the two of you for a couple but Chaewon had known you since college which could only mean that she was referring to-
“I’ve set you up for a blind date!” She said excitedly, but Mingyu could feel the colour draining from his face as an ugly sensation rose up his throat. “That’s why I actually have four tickets-”
“You did what?” You asked, causing him to look at you in surprise. You were looking at Chaewon in complete shock with your mouth slightly open, as though you could not believe what she had just done. Chaewon too seemed to be taken aback by your reaction, because her next few sentences came out in a stammer. 
“I- I thought- You told me you were sad that Mingyu was never in a relationship so I thought- “
“I-” You began, but stopped when you looked at him, immediately averting your eyes to the ground instead. Something was wrong. Something was bothering you from the very beginning but Mingyu could tell that something about this proposal had upset you even more. But what was it? Did you not want to go to the concert? 
“Yeah. Yeah I did say that.” Then looking up at him, you gave him a smile, though he could see that you were battling with something deep inside. “You should totally take that person out as you date. Who knows, you both might hit it off really well, huh?”
Even though he had prepared himself for this very situation many times before, these words coming from you still hit him with a blow. It had been years since he had gone on a date with your friend Suji and yet it still hurt him freshly that you were this eager to give him away to someone else so readily. He was still okay with you always dating someone else but everytime you would try to get him to go out with someone, it would hurt him even more.
But instead, he smiled back at you and nodded to your words. “Yeah, who knows? We might actually end up dating.” 
You laughed at his statement, hitting him on the shoulder lightly. “Oh my god, I can’t wait to babysit my nephews and nieces.”
“Excuse me?” Mingyu gasped, giving you a look of disgust. “That’s too far, don’t you think?” 
“Well, you are such a gentleman that it would be stupid for anyone to let you go.” Chaewon commented with a smile and Mingyu felt his cheeks heat up a little. 
“It’s nothing like that.” He muttered. He felt you reach out for his hand and give it a squeeze, causing him to look at you. You smiled at him softly, before saying, “Don’t say that, Gyu. You are the kindest and sweetest person in this world. Anyone would want to be with a wonderful person like you.”
Then why don’t you want to?
But before he could retort to your compliment that had him almost weak in his knees, Chaewon clapped both of you on your backs. “Okay, then! It’s decided. I’ll send you the details later on, Mingyu. See you on Sunday!” 
“Yeah, bye!” Mingyu waved at the two of you as Chaewon produced an umbrella (practically out of nowhere) and wrapped an arm around you and darted across the street. He watched the two of you with a smile as you struggled to keep up with your friend’s pace, finally breaking free from her grasp when you both reached the other end. Turning back, you waved at him one final time before slipping into your car.
He waited for your car to completely disappear down the street before stepping out into the rain himself, his heart weighing down more and more with each step he took. 
Time to brace yourself again, Mingyu. 
Tumblr media
“Perfume. Check. Breath mints. Check. Keys. Check.” Mingyu muttered, going over his things that he was supposed to carry one last time before he actually left. Glancing at the mirror one last time, he smiled to himself, patting down his hair to fix his hairstyle.
Be happy, Mingyu! You are going to a 9Muses concert. And you look fine. 
Then why doesn’t Y/N think I look good?
The very reminder of you brought up the bile to his throat, his smile dropping almost immediately as he let out a sigh. Exhausted, he crashed onto his sofa massaging his throbbing temples that had been hurting ever since Friday due to his complicated thoughts.
He was going to go to the concert of his favourite band. With you. And with a pretty girl that could potentially be his future girlfriend if things went well tonight. 
Then why did he feel like throwing up at the very thought of holding someone else’s hand that wasn’t you? Why did his skin crawl at the thought of smiling, laughing and flirting with someone that wasn’t you?
He felt so sick that a small part of him didn’t even want to go to the concert now. The fact that he would be on a date with another girl with you right beside him was suffocating him so much that he really felt like he was going to die.
He could feel himself shrinking back to his fifteen year old self, when he was on a date and he felt like throwing up. Back then he didn’t know why. But now that he did, it felt even more worse. 
Mingyu glanced at the clock on his wall, before closing his eyes to calm himself down. He still had an hour to go and pick up Yoobin and then drive to the concert. If he could just-
The doorbell suddenly rang, jerking him out of his thoughts and he sat up straight, frozen as to what to do next.
Who could it be at this time? He wasn’t expecting anyone. It certainly wasn’t Wonwoo as he had gone for a week to live with his parents. Lately, there had been a lot of burglaries in his neighbourhood. It couldn’t be…?
“Snap out of it.” He muttered, slapping himself lightly before getting up to go and get the door. He was sure that it was a dinner delivery at the wrong address and swung open the door, ready to tell the delivery man he was at the wrong house. 
But when he opened the door, he found himself staring at you, you who were completely dressed up for the concert and definitely not supposed to be here, you who looked so stunning that Mingyu momentarily forgot to speak until you broke the silence. 
“Don’t go out with her.”
“What?” Mingyu asked, snapping out of his reverie as he tried processing your statement. What were you talking about?
You took a step closer to him and repeated your statement. “Don’t go out with her. Yoobin. Don’t go out with her.”
You reached out to him but all he could react to your statement was by taking a step back instead, feeling even more confused about what you were talking about.
“What do you mean? What’s wrong?” He asked. You opened your mouth and closed it, before taking in another step towards him so that you were inside the house now. 
Taking in a shaky breath, you whispered. “Please don’t go out with her, Gyu. I know it’s very selfish of me but I-”
Swiftly, Mingyu closed the door behind you before pulling you close to him by your waist, cupping your face in his hands. “Hey,” he whispered, as you froze in his touch, eyes going glassy with tears. He could feel himself panicking at the thought that maybe someone had hurt you badly but he tried to keep himself calm. “What’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong, love. You’ve been acting so different these few days and now this-”
“It’s because I love you.” You choked, tears finally streaming down your cheeks. “I love you, Gyu. I love you. I love you so, so much.”
Now it was Mingyu’s time to freeze. His brain seemed to slow down by a million years as a loud ringing filled his ears instead, stomach dropping like he was on a roller coaster. What did you just say?
You covered his hands with yours, gently removing them from your cheeks and holding them in yours instead as you whispered. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry Mingyu. I know I’m really selfish but please don’t go out-”
The rest of your rambling was completely cut off as he smashed his lips against yours, fireworks immediately exploding in his heart. He felt you drop his hands as you wrapped it around his arms, fingernails digging into his skin as you held onto him while you kissed him back as passionately as he was kissing you. Every bit of Mingyu’s perception was drowned out as you took over his senses, and the only thing he could think and feel was you, you and you.
He ran his one hand fervently against your back while the other pulled you impossibly closer by your waist. His entire skin tingled as you ran your mouth over his again and again, tangling your finger in his locks. 
Mingyu couldn’t believe it. He just couldn’t believe it. If it wasn’t for the excess blood pumping to his ears and his heart threatening to swell and burst out of love and happiness, he would have been sure that this was just a dream. 
Finally, you pulled away, gasping for breath, and the loss of warmth caused him to chase after your lips, desperate to get back that euphoric feeling of kissing you.
You laughed lightly as you placed a hand over his chest to stop him, tears once again flowing down your cheeks. Mingyu rested his forehead against yours, cupping your face gently with one hand as you leaned in to his touch even more. 
“I waited for you so long.” He whispered, and you screwed your eyes shut, nodding to his statement. “I loved you for so, so long. So long.”
“I’m sorry.” You whispered back, opening his eyes to look at him. “I’m so sorry I never realised I loved you and even when I did, I didn’t approach you.”
At this, Mingyu shook his head, resting both of his hands on the small of your back as you cupped his face, staring at him so softly and with so much love that he could feel his knees going weak. “Don’t apologise. I just- I just wish that I had kissed you in a more romantic setting-”
“Oh, Gyu.” You said, brushing your lips against his, causing his brain to short circuit once again. “This was the best kiss I’ve ever had. It’s you who made it so romantic. Doesn’t matter that I barged into your house an hour before we left.”
“I think it should matter.” He said with a pout. “After all, you did barge into my house.” 
You pressed a quick kiss on his lips in response. “And what should I do to make up for it, baby?” 
Mingyu didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with you more than he already was but somehow, impossibly, you calling him baby had him falling for you even more. The entire world around him had dimmed as he could see only your face, eyes shining and lips quirked in a cocky smile. 
He didn’t even realise he was staring at you until you reached up and kissed him softly again, closing his mouth that had been slightly open. “Gyu.” You murmured. “I asked you a question.”
“Huh?” He asked, too busy kissing you back. Was your heart supposed to dance like this whenever you kissed someone? He wasn’t even sure if his stomach dropping so much as your hands ran over his back was a good sign.
“I asked what I should do to make it up to you.” 
Oh. His eyes flicked to your lip gloss smudged lips, which were swollen and this time Mingyu felt a different kind of feeling spark in his heart. A desire to ruin you even more. 
“Well,” he said, kissing the corner of your lips. “You could let me worship you.” Another kiss on your jawline, causing you to sigh. The sound shot up a shiver down his spine and he wondered if he would be able to survive even the night. “Let me show you how much I’ve loved and wanted you for all these years.”
“Yes, but,” you said, pushing yourself away from him. “I should be the one making up to you.” Saying that, you pushed him, not too hard, but enough for him to stumble back and fall on the sofa (thank god the sofa happened to be there. Mingyu wasn’t sure if he would be able to live with the embarrassment had he fallen on his ass instead.)
He watched you in awe as you climbed onto his lap, straddling him as you wrapped your arms around his neck and he found himself grabbing you by your waist to pull you in closer. You looked so sexy that Mingyu was sure he had ascended to heaven.
You leaned down to capture his lips in yours again, feeling your thumb gently stroke his jawline. He could taste your lip gloss, igniting that fire in the pit of his stomach again as he licked your bottom lip to get more of it. 
You opened your mouth a little more and his tongue accidentally slipped in, and Mingyu couldn't help but dig his nails into your skin in an attempt to cover up his groan. Your mouth was so wet and warm against his, tongue gliding over each other’s as you both fought for dominance.
He quickly broke the kiss, before moving to kiss the soft skin right below your ears.
“Gyu…” You hummed, the sound sending a shiver through his dick. He really wanted to elicit more of those sounds from you now, so he grazed his teeth lightly into the skin, causing a gasp to escape you. Immediately he soothed the area with his tongue, your gasp turning into a very low moan as pulled at the locks of his hair near his neck. “Gyu, I love you so much.”
“I love you too. I’ve always loved you, angel. And I’ll love you forever.” He whispered back, leaving trails of kisses on your neck as he moved downwards, finally stopping at the hollow of your neck. By now, he had realised that the best way to get you undone was by grazing his teeth against your skin and then soothing the area with his tongue. 
But when you shifted slightly on his lap to move even more closer for him, he felt his dick twitch and another groan escaped him. It felt so good, and so, so right doing this with you, whatever the two of you were even doing. Your head was completely thrown back as Mingyu marked love bites all over your neck, gripping on his hair as you grinded down on him. Your moans had gotten much louder by now and with each sound he got out of you, he could feel his dick getting harder and harder. 
Each time your cunt rubbed against his dick, mingyu felt a small relief wash over him but it just wasn’t enough; he wanted more of it, more of you and he wanted you to want him equally as much. 
“Gyu.” You whispered, all of a sudden, causing him to pause. He looked at you with widened eyes, panic gripping him that he had done something wrong. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
“Can you- can you take off your shirt? If you are okay with it? Or else-”
“Yeah, I’m okay with it, princess. A hundred percent okay. Okay with whatever you do.” He said, reaching downward to pull off his shirt but felt your hands stop him, causing him to look at you in surprise.
You were looking at him with guilt and a bit of sadness, before you reached down to press a soft kiss on his lips.
“Don’t say that, Gyu. Don’t say that, please. I’ve been hurting you all these years. Knowingly or unknowingly. So don’t- don’t say that, okay? I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” You said.
For some reason, Mingyu felt his heart soften at your words. It was like a huge knot that had tangled his heart, not allowing it to beat and causing him pain for all these years had finally opened, releasing him from all pain. He smiled at you and nodded, and you slowly let go of his arms, allowing him to take off his shirt finally.
Mingyu always knew he had a great build. He took pride in how well he took care of his body and was kind of used to people complimenting him.
But nothing prepared him for the way you were looking at him right now, like he was some god who had just materialised in front of you. As soon as his shirt was off you sucked in a deep breath, your teeth sinking into your lower lips. Your eyes flicked all over his body, pupils darkening as you took in his physique.
He had never felt so bare in front of anyone and yet, it felt really good being like this in front of you. You lifted your hand slightly and placed it in front of his chest, looking at him for permission. When he nodded a yes, you let your hand finally touch, fingers trailing gently over his toned chest.
It was like you had set his skin ablaze; he could feel where your fingers had trailed against his now warm skin. A low moan escaped his throat when you gently brushed your finger against his nipple, causing you to smirk. Fuck, you were so hot.
“You are so handsome, baby. And so, so hot.” You said, leaning down to kiss his jaw this time. Another moan escaped him as you too repeated his action, sucking on the soft skin of his neck before licking it with your tongue. Your hands that were roaming all over his body were making his skin hotter with each second, which was doing nothing to give relief to his achingly hard dick. 
“Can you take these off for me too?” You asked sweetly, tugging at his belt. Though he was mildly annoyed that you had climbed off his lap, resulting in the loss of your touch, he quickly jumped off the sofa and undid his belt, shimmering out of his jeans before turning to look back at you.
Your eyes now flicked all over his body as you took in his entire appearance, and he felt his dick twitch under your gaze. Your eyes then moved up to meet his, smiling so tenderly at him that Mingyu had to sit back down to make sure he didn’t melt into a puddle then and there. You climbed back onto his lap, straddling him as you wrapped your arms around his neck.
“Hi, love.” You whispered with a smile, bumping your nose against his. 
“Hi.” Mingyu said, mirroring back your smile. 
“Can I ride you?” 
He found himself nodding to your question, anticipation eating away his heart as you tugged onto the band of his underwear, and he raised his hips a little as you both pulled it off. A tiny bit of relief flooded him as his hard dick sprang free, finally able to breath a little.
Mingyu watched you as you took him in with hooded eyes, letting out a sigh of relief as you brushed your thumb against his now angry red tip, already leaking with precum. 
“Aren’t you- Aren’t you going to take off your clothes?” He asked and you shook your head in negative. “After some time. You’re so pretty, Gyu.” You replied, wrapping your hand around his length and giving it a gentle squeeze. He thought he could see stars as his head fell back with a groan, hips jerking up to chase your hand as you removed it.
“Don’t tease me.” He hadn’t meant it to come out as a whimper, just as a request, but right now he was so desperate for you that he didn’t care if he sounded this pathetic. 
“Sorry baby.” You said, but you were smirking, clearly enjoying the power play here. And for that reason, that made him even harder (if that was even possible) for you. You raised your hip up and slipped your hand underneath your skirt to pull your panties aside. 
Then slowly, you sunk down. He felt your warm and wet pussy envelope just his tip, and a groan ripped from his throat at the feeling. Your hips too stuttered as you let out a moan, pausing to take in a deep breath. Mingyu could see that you were fighting with yourself to not sink in completely from the way your nails were digging into his shoulders. 
He didn’t know what came over him but he was so done with playing gentleman with you, so tired of not being able to feel you fully, so sick of keeping himself away from you that he found himself grabbing your hips and pulling you down as slowly as he could.
When you finally bottomed out, the two of you letting out a moan in unison. Mingyu’s eyes rolled back as he felt your warm walls flutter around his length, trying to adjust to the size. The erratic squeezing was not helping him keep his composure and he could already feel his balls squeezing, ready to let go any second from now.
“Mingyu.” He heard you whine, the sound shooting straight up to his brain as his eyes snapped open to look at you. You looked back at him with complete adoration, and Mingyu felt his insides melt, leaning towards you to capture your lips in his.
The kiss was short lived though; as you raised your hips slightly, before bringing it down with a slam. He broke the kiss to groan loudly against your lip as your pussy clenched around his length once more, before you swallowed his moans with another kiss. 
He felt your hot tongue slip into his mouth, drowning all his moans as you raised your hips once again and brought it down. Gently, you picked up the pace, a small pressure forming in his lower abdomen. 
“You’re so beautiful, do you know that?” You whispered, his moans increasing as you sucked his lower lip. “So, so beautiful and so perfect. I love you so much Mingyu.” 
Mingyu felt his balls tighten at your words, the knot in his stomach growing tighter and tighter as you whispered soft praises into the skin of his neck, sucking and marking at the soft skin. 
“I love you. I love you too.” He whimpered back, burying his face into the crook of your neck. You ran your hand through the strands of his hair as he clutched your waist, trying to find something to ground himself too. The coil was getting too tight, too tight for him to hold himself back and you squeezing the life out of his dick was definitely not helping the situation. 
“Are you- are you close, Gyu?” You asked, and he nodded. You felt so good, just so good, with the way your warm and wet walls were pulsing around him, causing ecstasy to shoot through his veins. 
But now he could feel you slowing down a bit, obviously tired from riding him. You didn’t say anything though, and Mingyu could see you were trying to live up to your promise. So instead he relaxed into the sofa a bit more, before snapping up his hips to meet you halfway.
The sound that ripped through your throat was like music to his ears and he could feel himself threatening to burst, body threatening to snap under the intensity of pressure he was feeling.
“Baby-” He gasped. “Baby, I can’t- I can’t-”
“Let go.” You choked, slamming your lips against his to steal his breath away.
And that was enough for the coil in his stomach to snap. White hot pleasure coursed through his veins as a ringing sound took over his ears, all senses hindered as he lost himself in the bliss. Another groan stumbled out of his lips as you too finally came, doubling his pleasure as you coated his cock with your warm liquid, squeezing it as though to take in all his cum.
He wrapped his arm around you more tightly so that now both of your bodies were practically one, sweat and cum mixing with each other as both of you tried to catch your breaths. 
After some time, Mingyu felt you ruffle his hair lightly and he finally peeled away from you, only to look up at you. You gave him a tired smile and he felt his heart squeeze, wondering for the millionth time how he had ended up with an angel like you. 
“Hi.” You giggled, brushing your nose against his as you fondly cupped his cheeks. 
He felt himself melt into your touch as he smiled back, quickly pressing a soft kiss against your lips. “What just happened?”
You laughed at his question and wrapped your arms around his neck, engulfing him in your scent as he buried his face into your neck.. The two of you stayed like that for sometime, just enjoying each other’s presence as the only sound heard was your rapid heartbeats and the sound of your slightly laboured breaths.
“I love you, Mingyu. Always had.”
“Hmm?” He hummed, kissing your collar bone. 
“Yeah. I realised that’s why I could never be in a happy relationship with anyone. And why they always complained that I wasn’t interested in them.” Your voice had dropped a little and he could sense your sadness, so he began rubbing soft circles on your back to calm you down. “I kept searching for you in them. I kept searching for you. And- and all this time- all this time I-”
“Shhh. It’s okay princess.” He whispered, looking up to meet your eyes. He smiled at you gently. “It’s okay princess. We are here together now, and that’s all that matters.”
You stared at him for a second, before whispering. “I hurt you.”
“You also hurt yourself, baby. But now, we can help each other out. We can pick up our broken pieces and fix them. This time, together.”
“Oh Mingoo.” You said with a soft smile. The old nickname reignited a flame in his chest, and all of a sudden, all the years he had spent with you, all the beautiful and sad memories the two of you had created together flashed before his eyes. “What did I do to get you?”
“No, what did I do to get you?” 
You giggled, leaning down to kiss his chin. “Thank you for waiting for me, Gyu.”
“What happened to Mingoo?”
“I thought you hated it.”
“I could never hate anything about you or anything that you call me.”
“So…I can call you mine?”
“Okay, stop.” He groaned, and you let out a laugh. “You’re terrible at jokes.” 
“God, and you think you’re very funny right?” You wiggled your eyebrows at him, as though it was a challenge.
“Of course! Do you know how many girls have come up to me at work and told me I’m so funny?” 
“There are no girls at your work. Only four other guys who bully you like shit.” 
“Fine, at cafes.”
“Don’t lie- Oh!” Your eyes widened in horror and Mingyu felt his stomach drop, panic seizing him. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt-”
“The concert! Your date!” You gasped, hitting him slightly on the shoulder. Then you began climbing off his lap but he caught you and moved you back, hands firmly on your waist as you struggled slightly. “Gyu, we’ll be late-”
“Oh, I don’t think we can go to the concert anyways. I’ll just text Yoobin about it.” You froze at his words, looking at him in complete surprise. “What do you mean?” 
“You still have to make it up to me.” 
Mingyu could see the gears turning in his head as you took in his words, before your lips broke into a smirk. “Right. Right, I do. But what about 9Muses? Aren’t they your favourite band?”
“No 9Muses can compare to me spending time with you. Besides, I can go to a million other concerts now that you are by my side.”
You laughed at his response, before asking, “Can we move to a more comfortable room then, sir?”
He felt his cock which was still inside your warm pussy stir to life once more at the nickname, and his head filled up with thoughts of how he could fill you up once again, make you feel good and make you his forever.
“Of course love. Can I- Can I ask you a question?” He asked as you got off him, nodding at his question as you tried to stand with your shaking legs. Mingyu quickly caught you before you stumbled and you wrapped your arms around him and smiled softly, almost causing him to fall instead because of just how pretty you looked. And because of just how much he loved you.
“Remember- remember our promise? To marry each other if we were still single when we are thirty? Will you- Would you-”
You cut off his statement by pressing your lips against his, but this was unlike any other of the kisses the two of you had just shared. This one was the softest, and yet the most loving kiss Mingyu had ever been given. He felt himself completely surrender to your unspoken confession, letting you glide your hand over his chest until you were cupping his chin, his own hands wrapped around your waist and back, engulfing you with his large body. A tiny realisation flickered at the back of his brain; that he was completely naked while you hadn’t taken off a single article of clothing, not even your panties, but something about your kiss made him feel safe and protected, as though being vulnerable was out of the question.
The two of your lips moved against each other ever so softly, like you had all the time in this world to make for what you had lost over the years. He could feel his heart swelling with love, and he felt his stomach drop with happiness when he felt your heartbeat racing too. 
Finally, you broke apart the kiss, looking up to him with soft, tender eyes. The fairy lights behind you were giving you a soft glow, and Mingyu was sure that he had just fallen for you even more. 
“Marry you?” You asked, and he found himself nodding at your question. For some reason, he was no longer scared of your rejection, and the sense of doubt vanished completely when you smiled at him softly. “Yes. Yes I will, Kim Mingyu. I’ll marry you any day and any time. I’ll marry you even if the world says no, even if the world is ending or even if we have to move far away from each other. I love you so much that I’ll marry you in a blink. You are the person I’m a thousand percent sure of. And I’ll marry you even with paper rings.”
Tumblr media
A/N: Please do tell me what you think about this story!! I worked really hard on it and I would love to know everyone’s thoughts on it~ Comments and reblogs are appreciated!  
Tumblr media
© 𝐆𝐘𝐔-𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑  
Tumblr media
2K notes · View notes
faeriekit · 5 months
Text
Health and Hybrids (XVI)👽👻💚
[I can't remember the original prompt posters  for the life of me but here's a mashup between a cryptid!Danny, presumed-alien!Danny, dp x dc, and the prompt made the one body horror meat grinder fic.]
PART ONE is here PART TWOis here PART THREE is here PART FOUR is here and PART FIVE is here PART SIX is here and PART SEVEN is here PART EIGHT is here PART NINE is here PART TEN is here PART ELEVEN is here PART TWELVE is here PART THIRTEEN is here PART FOURTEEN is here PART FIFTEEN is here and this is sixteen *SixTeen theme plays*
💚 Ao3 Is here for all parts
Where we last left off... Martian Manhunter finds out that,yeah, dude, when your brain is missing chunks, you can't write or access data without the hardware to store it. My dude remembers nothing.
Trigger warnings for this story:  body horror | gore | post-dissection fic | dehumanization (probably) |  my nonexistent attempts at following DC canon. On with the show.
💚👻👽👻💚
Days pass. Nights pass.
(He thinks.)
He gets a new room. This one has a window. He can’t stare at it all the time, but when he does, he can feel himself growing stronger. Steadier. The change in his body is borderline tangible.
If only it was physical. He’s still too weak to lift anything but his arms, and not even all the way. Moving his head is tiring. Lifting his head is impossible.
But he tries.
A lot.
The doctors and the lady have to make upset noises with him when he does, but he wants to be able to see everything they’re doing to him. So far it’s a lot of tubes and needles, but what if they become scalpels and clamps?
…Danny tries to assure himself that they probably won’t be.
But they might. Things could change.
And that eats at him constantly.
Someone puts a big circle on the wall in his room. It’s large. It’s a little fuzzy at its distance on the far wall, but it’s got little arms on it, and little dots in equal degrees around the circumference. It takes him almost two napping periods to realize that it’s a clock.  
Danny squints. He can...almost read analog. (Probably.) It sure doesn’t help that he has no idea when night is and when day is, though. He sleeps at one hour and wakes up at another, and the room will look entirely the same. Was it a few hours’ sleep, or a day’s? Was it longer? The world spins outside his window, big and blue, and he spins against it in a station on a lonely moon. There’s no way to tell.
Someone eventually notices that he’s bored, though, because he gets a television and a remote.
It’s a super thin television. At first, Danny spends time wondering why they put a screen with no system in his room, and then hour later the lady starts pressing buttons on the remote, and the screen lights up with a news program.
…The TV is too far away to see all that clearly. He can see some of it when he squints, but then all the colors turn lime green.
The banner on the bottom of the screen scrolls with headlines, and cool, it looks like they invented new letters while Danny was asleep. Fantastic. His head hurts from trying to squint to read, but it kind of looks like a kindergartener scribbled all over an otherwise serious news report.
Great. Now he’s getting a headache.
But the noise is…nice. It’s distracting. The news anchors chatter seriously as Danny gets yet another IV swapped out in his arm, and the heavily geared-up doctors have started telling Danny things he doesn’t like to listen to too much because if it is threats, great, he should ignore that; if it’s not threats, then, well, Danny’s bored of it all anyway.
“—Wel?”
Danny blinks. Well. That sounds like ‘Well’.
He shifts just enough to make eye contact. A doctor looks down at him from their place at his bedside. Their scrubs are kind of blue-green, with little flowers on the trim.
They have human eyes. The sight of soft, brown eyes probably ought to be reassuring, but they just make Danny more nervous.
“Eow eart wel?” They ask again, soft and slow. That middle bit sounds kind of like ‘art’. Ha. Old timey Shakespeare. ‘Art well,’ like ‘you art well—‘
Wait. Danny takes a deep breath. Blinks. His chest arcs up, just a little—just enough for the doctor to realize that Danny’s more than just looking, he’s paying attention. Are they asking him if he’s well?
Danny reflexively opens his mouth and flexes his throat, tries to answer—
Nope. Ow. The noise he makes sounds like the garbage disposal is backed up with angry blob ghosts. It hurts just to make. But the sound makes the doctor look at him; they see him.
“Inne cwic tima!” Danny hears, and then they’re jogging out of the room, and Danny is left alone. His throat hurts.
His head thumps back onto his pillow. The news program plays on. There’s a damaged city he’s never seen before on the news.
…And then the doctor comes back. Danny’s head is swimming, so he almost doesn’t notice their return, but they’re holding something, and that something has a sippy straw.
Danny is perfectly happy with a sippy straw.
The straw is put into his mouth. Danny goes sippy sippy.
…The water sloshes a little weirdly through his throat. Some of his tubes might not be where they ought to be, which is weird. Isn’t he supposed to be human right now? Or. Uh. Kind of human? Human equivalent? …Close enough…?
Danny drinks. When the pain in his throat goes to normal pain levels instead of new and angry pain levels, he lets go of the straw, and the doctor lets him.
Their fingers carefully brush Danny’s hair. Not very hard. A little too slowly. Just at the hairline. But it reminds Danny so much of sitting at home with Dad on the couch, home from school with a fever as Muppets tapes play in the background, that tears leak out of his busted eyes. The tears are probably just as green.
“Eow eart wel?” the doctor asks again. So gently. So careful.
“I’m tired,” Danny rasps.
The effort of speaking crashes into him in seconds. If things are happening around him, he doesn’t understand any of it. Nothing reaches him. He’s so tired.
He’s out before he knows it.
204 notes · View notes
zilabee · 3 months
Text
I listened to the final ep of @anotherkindofmindpod's Fine Tuning, yesterday. I'm so sad it's ended. I loved every.single.second. I don't think I've posted about it at all, but it's only because everyone was already saying it better, and my posts end up in drafts half finished and confused and full of runaway sentences of little import.
I'm really grateful for the whole thing. Grateful the way I was when I watched Understanding Lennon McCartney the first time, like being given a genuine gift of fandom making sense of itself. I don't know. It's just lovely to have. And it's done so well.
When, in the first ep, they casually mentioned that there were going to be ELEVEN episodes I knew it was going to be amazing. Proper genuine "we have a lot to say and we're going to say it all so you don't think we didn't think it through" you know? I love that they didn't start making eleven episodes and then decide that was too many and cut 40% of it out, it's more like they wanted to make twenty episodes and then cut out about 40% of that. Making eleven episodes and then being like 'we didn't even have time to talk about anything that we LIKED about this book' is a real move. A perfect shiny move.
The fact they made a spreadsheet sends me into fits. I love it.
Cards on the table I have not read Tune In properly, I have skimmed and picked at it, and obviously I've seen loads of it quoted on tumblr, but EVERY quote you read from it (and everything he says in interviews) makes it so fucking OBVIOUS that he doesn't understand basic things, I've never been able to face it full on. And the frustration that people (men) can't see how bad it is. So having it put out there like this, bit by bit, oh the joy of it.
And then it's also so much worse than I knew, because I'd never really worked out that he was just MAKING UP QUOTES and mushing them together to say new things, and oh my god the stuff that's NOT in there, is insane. The bit in episode 3 where AKOM quickly list off about five or six really interesting things about Paul's art in his schooldays and then you find out that Tune In didn't even MENTION that he liked to paintklsjdofihoijsodijfohwoisjdf OH MY GOD.
I'm blown away by the work of it, and the scale of it, and how well put together it was. I love the *feel* of it. I love its tone when they let the sarcasm ride high. The voices of "sincere surprise" are just my favourite thing. "Oh, so he mentions that Paul did x and y right?" "Actually, weirdly he doesn't!" "Oh, HOW STRANGE. But does he say he was interested in z???" "Oddly no." I love the sense of giddy anticipation in the intro ep, it must have been killing them to have made so much of it and not be able to talk about it.
I'm so fully aware that all of what they're saying will move into other podcasts, and become things that men sort of talk about as if obviously everyone kind of sees the bias in Tune In, even though they've always talked about it as if it's a great work of truth until now. It kills me softly. And they'll claim it's only POSSIBLE to see that now, ten years later when it's spelled out to them, as if it's aged badly or something, when actually female fandom has been fucked off with Tune In for fucking years. But that's FINE. WHATEVER.
Also glorious have been all the posts people posted around it, and how the conversation grew, and especially the fact that @mythserene had clearly been doing a lot of the same work. Her posts in tandem with the show are so wonderful, and make it even more special, the depth of fandom for the love of fandom <3333333
62 notes · View notes
swampghostoroki · 3 months
Text
Tumblr media
That's not Child's Play
art by: @stardustrobin
Vanessa doesn’t trust the plush Spring Bonnie that T’aaku found. He isn’t willing to throw it out. Spring Bonnie comes to life and attacks Vanessa.
Something new sat in the nursery, staring with blank purple eyes. Settled beside the baby crib, the plush seemed like a sentry over the young infant Deishu. But Vanessa thought it more horrifying than anything else, and she couldn’t wrap her head around why T’aaku would have added this to the nursery… or when. She didn’t remember it when they first moved in together, and she had helped set it up when he came to live in her home. Yet, there the golden rabbit plush was, as if it had always been there. 
“T’aaku?” Vanessa called, never taking her eyes off the plush golden Bonnie. They had been through entirely too much to not question this strange appearance. “Can you come here?” 
He didn’t leave her waiting for long, hurrying into the nursery in case something was wrong. “Yeah?” His voice was soft, dripping with his own anxiety. “What’s wrong?” The blonde pointed to the plush rabbit, his yellow eyes following until they fell on the strange plush. Then his heart ached, tightening in his chest. 
Golden Bonnie. --William’s mascot. He had only ever known the man as the costumed character, having pulled William out of the secret room while he was trapped in the springlocked suit. The imagery of the golden rabbit was so heavily tied to everything T’aaku knew of his ex-lover, how could it be anything or anyone else? And then he felt guilty for not moving it sooner, now seeing the confused and terrified look in Vanessa’s green eyes. “Oh, that…” The mechanic swallowed down the lump forming in his throat. “Yeah, I… I don’t know where it came from. I think Aniu may have got it for him?”
But that didn’t make sense either. Aniu had made it her mission to bring justice to the children who lost their lives, to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that William Afton was the murderer never charged. 
“Deishu really likes him,” T’aaku tried to add as he slipped past her and closer to the crib. He took the golden Bonnie plush gently in hand, his gaze softened as he looked it over. 
Vanessa struggled to find the words. She didn’t blame T’aaku for any lingering affection (even if she didn’t quite understand it), but… “It’s creepy,” she admitted. “I don’t like it.” Her lover shrunk back like a kicked dog, falling quiet for the moment. He didn’t see the harm in keeping a toy around. 
“It’s not real, Vanessa…” Rarely was there a moment he would try to argue with her. Oftentimes, they agreed on… well, everything. Having spent so much time together, Vanessa and T’aaku found themselves in sync with each other. 
Was he really going to get upset over a stuffed animal? Then she paused, her green eyes shifting down. Was she really going to get upset over a stuffed animal? She clenched her hands, feeling something bitter bubbling in her gut as her eyes narrowed. Unable to explain, Vanessa was forced to resign, even if there was something off about the plush. Clearly, T’aaku didn’t feel the same way. And wouldn’t he know? His goggles were special, even if he never told her how or why. He would be able to see if there was something truly wrong with it. “Nevermind,” she mumbled, retreating from the nursery. 
That would not be the end of it. 
Vanessa swore the plush began moving around on its own. She would remember seeing it in one spot, only to find it in a completely different area of the house later. T’aaku was soft on the plush, wanting its company and somehow finding comfort in it. Vanessa didn’t understand, but she wasn’t going to give him much pushback for it either. Feelings were complicated. Despite how she felt about William, and the hell he put them both through-- she understood that her partner’s feelings (while messy) were genuine. And to his credit, T’aaku never argued in defense of their tormenter. At the end of the day, the mechanic had still come through for her-- saved her from William’s hold on her mind. He stood his ground and worked hard to take down the Monster in the pizzaplex. Together, they trapped the Mimic animatronic below, and brought MXES out to tackle the electronic beast William had become. 
She trusted her partner. And so, she kept her mouth shut about the oddities surrounding the Golden Bonnie plush. In the wake of her freedom, Vanessa knew she was prone to hallucinations and wrote off what she saw as nothing more than that: hallucinations. Her mind playing tricks on her. 
It was nothing to worry T’aaku over. Until that day--
Sharp pain shot through her whole body from the force of something metal penetrating her side. Vanessa immediately recoiled and fell to the floor, putting pressure on the open wound that took her by surprise. Blood seeped out, staining her white tank top. Her body trembled, overcome by agony and shock. What just happened? 
And then she was answered with a sneer. Her green eyes shifted up, finding the now animated plush of Golden Bonnie, his little paws bloodied. How he managed to shove a small pipe through her was beyond the blonde, who crawled back to create some distance between them. “Does it hurt?” William’s deep voice purred out from the plushie. “I guarantee it doesn’t hurt as badly as what you did to me.” 
“Fuck you-” Vanessa breathed out, but the pain in her voice made the statement lose its edge. It betrayed her, showing how truly scared she was in the moment. Her body pressed against the wall, one of her arms slapping against it for support-- to keep her weight off the protrusion in her side. Her voice might have failed her, too weak to call for help, but the scraping and scrambling done in her weakened state was enough. 
T’aaku’s white German Shepherd-- Shane, had heard the subtle sounds of distress. His sensitive nose immediately caught on the smell of blood, and he was off hunting down the source. Nose to the ground, the massive canine padded around the home until he found the threshold to the room Vanessa was trapped in. 
--the room where the living plush stood, taunting her. 
Shane’s fur bristled along his shoulders and neck as he let out a vicious bark, loud enough to catch T’aaku’s attention outside. Then, the canine lunged for the plushie, his metallic fangs ripping through cloth and stuffing with ease. There was nowhere to run. And no matter what William did, what scheming he came up with-- this damn dog was always there to ruin his plans.
48 notes · View notes
Text
Demon Kyojuro and Senjuro AU!
First off tho! Credit! This design was inspired by @lokh ‘s demon Kyojuro design! Which can be found here. It's extremely cool please go reblog it!!!!
Tumblr media
Tumblr media
Explanation of my AU is under the cut :)
Okay! so!
this AU begins after Kyojuro's survival of the Mugen Train.
He takes months to begin to get near fully healed but he'd never be healthy enough to become an active demon slayer again, much less a hashira.
Then Senjuro gets diagnosed with the same disease that killed their mother and it all spirals.
Akaza makes a startling appearance and becomes a frequent visitor.
Akaza isn't stupid, he knows he can't convince Kyojuro to become a demon willingly, convincing him to turn his dying little brother while hes vulnerable in multiple ways (physically, emotionally etc) on the other hand ? He switches tactics. It works.
They run, because Kyojuro knows the consequences of what he's done and isn't willing to face them.
Because of Kyojuro's presence Senjuro was able to retain his memories and full autonomy.
The same cannot be said for Kyojuro later, who is turned unwillingly (note: NOT by Akaza). He looses his memories and most of his speech (he can talk, its just choppy and mostly one word sentences). All he remembers is his love for his little brother and dislike of Akaza and other demons.
He becomes a sort of...demonic vigilante? He does eat, but only when he needs to and tries very hard to only attack and eat those he deems morally corrupt. When it comes to demon slayers, those he considers innocent or morally just he preforms quick, 'mercy' killings.
I'm not quite sure what his demon blood art would be yet but I'm thinking its something simple like him just setting alight and burning people (which, when slayers begin to find bodies of people who were clearly killed by a demon but burned it mystifies them. Demons aren't know to 'cook' their food). Knowing the Rengoku name means Purgatory you could say it's a form of hell-like punishment. He only burns those he considers morally corrupt.
A note about Senjuro: he refuses to eat and it worries Kyojuro to no end.
Senjuro wants to tell his brother about who they were and why whats going on is wrong but hes under strict instruction and threat from Akaza to not. (the threat being Akaza tracking down and attacking people like Tanjiro, their father, Kocho and such).
Another thing about Senjuro is that even as a demon he's weak. Well comparatively to humans he's much stronger but he's still nowhere near useful in combat. This angers both him and Akaza.
and...that's it so far! this has been a lot of rambling but i've fallen in love w this AU so i hope u can forgive me :)
There is a short playlist for this AU! You can find it here <3
227 notes · View notes
Text
Hazbin hotel Little headcannons
Its long!
Characters:
Lucifer, Alastor, Vox.
Lucifer:
(Man is really interesting to think about, I had fun with this one)
Age: 1-5
Preferred caregiver is Lilith.
Technically, he started regressing after he fell. Neither Lilith nor him knew what it was, so they just called it 'fuzzy head' as that was the only way Lucifer could ever explain it.
Not a lot of resources at the beginning of the world. 'Fuzzy head' time was often Lucifer curled up in Lilith's lap as they looked at the sky together.
Of course after a while, sitting wasn't really 'fun' so the two would often wander around their new world (Hell) together as Lucifer pointed out objects in the ground or weird trees.
Hes a very clingy baby and usually needs to be around someone.
Big feelings, he often has a hard time regulating himself and needs to be calmed down.
The way they figured out that Lucifer started 'Fuzzy head' for the first time was in a very... compromising situation. (ie: Just making out, nothing too crazy. I'm not a monster) Lucifer burst into tears because he didn't know what was going on and he didn't feel good. Lilith stopped, very confused. Neither of them knew what to do, well... Lilith didn't know what to do, Lucifer, was crying his little heart out and wasn't really explaining what was wrong.
Once hell started getting more populated, down time for them became harder and harder to find. ie, 'fuzzy head' was also harder to do. (Until they had a sort of system going on for them)
Have you ever shaken a soda bottle with the cap still on? That's kinda what it feels like to shove your little time down while busy. Imagine you keep shaking the bottle, you shake it and shake it until, BANG! The cap pops off and the soda erupts and gets all over the place. That my friends is what repression is! Guess who does that while busy! I'll give you one guess.
Meltdowns, lots of meltdowns.
He's the BESTEST helper in the whole wide world! (He does more damage than good, but don't tell him that.)
Cartoons don't really interest him, stories though, thats the good stuff. This frusterates Lilith when she needs to do something and Lucifer keeps saying "Jus one more tory, pease Lilif?"
When hes older he's a little more independent, but he still needs to be able to see someone he trusts. (ie, Lilith.
Talking about having a baby was... hard. At first Lilith was worried that Lucifer would regress while watching them and both of them might get hurt.
"I already have a child darling. Did you forget?" "I already have you sweetheart, and you cause me enough trouble as it is" (Meant lovingly)
When they did have Charlie Lilith watched the two like a hawk and hardly left the two alone together.
One morning however, was different. Lucifer had heard Charlie crying first and went to comfort her. A few hours later Lilith wakes up to find a half empty bed and the crib empty. After a half panicked search of the 'house' she found Charlie sat in front of the tv and a bunch of cardboard story books, while laying on Lucifer who was lying on the floor while coloring. (Something tells her she needs to Lucifer proof the house)
Loves playing big brother with other littles, even when hes clearly younger. Angel's 6? Well Lucifer's clearly 7(cough cough 4 cough cough, sorry something was stuck in my throat) Wait- Alastors 9!? LUCIFER'S 12-
Overall shorts, Lucifer loves him some overall shorts.
SOFT BIG SWEATERS! (Who else loves that tho?)
Arts and crafts!
Baby's a sweet tooth.
Duck plushy. Need I say more?
Hes a rather intelligent little and knows how to get what he wants from people.
Alastor:
Age: 4-10
Only really regresses if he knows that it's been too long. (other times he gets tricked into it, which takes an absurd amount of time)
Rosie is his preferred caregiver.
Don't touch him.
He doesn't get too small often.
It doesn't matter if hes older or younger, hes a big bully.
He was the last person to figure out that he regresses.
Tiny thief (CHAR CHAAAR! HE TOOK MY TOY!) (GIVE IT BACK!)
Fairly independent and doesn't really interact with the others.
He can be left alone in a room and you can expect him to still be there a few hours later.
Doesn't like being around any male adults. (The only person who can be around him is Husker, but that's mostly because... kitty)
Sensory toys are nice.
He will throw something at you if you offer to put something on the tv, don't you dare offer that filth to him.
He doesn't really like stuffies. unless someone (Lucifer/Vox) has a stuffie, then he HAS to have it.
Boy knows the timeout corner better than anyone. (he even wrote his name in it.... which got him another five minutes but lets not talk about that)
Black hole child. He's always hungry.
Random screams. Everything will be quiet, then all the sudden he drops what hes doing and starts screaming, then sits back down as if nothing happened.
Very particular about how the toys are put away.
Husker doesn't stick around when Alastor is little, the boy tends to tug on his fur.
THAT'S NOT HOW THE TOYS GO! Very particular
Why are all the dog plushies in the trash?
Doesn't like plastic sippy cups. Hes a big boy! He can handle a big kid cup!
He can't handle a big kid cup.
Puts on shows for his CG(s).
Vox:
Age: 0-4 (Sometimes teen space)
He was a regressor before he died.
Preferred Cg is Velvette & Val.
Sleepy boy.
Night light baby.
Glow in the dark stars.
Quiet play time.
RANDOM BURST OF CHAOTIC ENERGY!
Nap time.
Snack child, no meals juuust snacks.
He and Val could watch Sensory videos for hours if Velvette let them.
Paint! All over the walls! How nice!
Paint sticky, must throw a tantrum to get rid of paint.
NO DON'T WANNA BATH TO GET RID OF SAID PAINT HE JUST COMPLAINED ABOUT!
Hunting games! (definitely not gonna shoot every deer he spots)
Action figures!
Shocking himself! (its funny! It also doesn't hurt, just tickles)
Doesn't like plastic sippy cups. Hes a big boy! He can handle a big kid cup!
He can't handle a big kid cup. (Hmm where have we seen that before?)
Doesn't stay in time out.
HE WILL BLOW UP THAT STUPID CORNER IF HE HAS TO GO BACK IN IT AGAIN!
YOU'LL NEVER CATCH HIM ALIVE!
"Do you need to go to the bathroom?" "Noo!" (Said while doing a very obvious potty dance)
Padded Regressor.
He can do things all by himself!
Onesie all day long baby!
HE DOESN'T WANNA GO TO BED! HES GONNA STAY UP ALL NI-
Aaaand hes down.
.............
Part two?
@bootyyyyyyshakerrrr9000
21 notes · View notes
adobe-outdesign · 11 months
Note
Have you done the Azumarill line yet? I searched in the tags and couldn’t find it, but it IS tumblr
Tumblr media
(Why does Azurill look so sad in this art? :( )
Before we start, I need to mention that the naming of this line drives me nuts and I always get Azurill's name mixed up with Marill's. That has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to mention it.
Anyway, Azurill is a good example of how to add a pre-evo to a line later on. A lot pre-evos added later on end up feeling unnecessary because they don't add anything to the line. In Azurill's case however, the white markings on the cheeks and the waterdrop-shaped body are unique to it.
Much more importantly, taking the line's signature floatation tails and making the body small enough to bounce on it is fun, cute, and a fun twist on the rest of the line's designs. That alone justifies its existence and makes it plenty memorable, unlike some other similar pre-evos I could mention (not naming names) (Pichu).
Tumblr media
While Pikablu Marill does what it needs to, I do think it's the blandest of the line. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but Azurill bounces on its tail and Azumarill has unique markings, while Marill is fairly standard by comparison. Still, it works as an in-between and doesn't look overly similar to either of its evos, which is all that really matters.
Visually, the main draw of this line is obviously the tails, as mentioned above. I really like the biology included in the 'dex about them; Azurill's tail contains nutrients to help it grow, while Marill's tail has oil in it that helps it float on water, allowing it to deep-dive despite not being able to breathe underwater. It's always nice when a design has actual thought put into how it works and why.
Tumblr media
Aside from that, the blue color is pleasant and reflects its water-typing, while the underbelly helps break apart the body a bit. Nothing stand-out, but a good basis for the rest of the line.
Tumblr media
It also has this beta sprite. Nothing much to note other than the blue makes more sense than pink giving the typing and the zig-zag tail gets the fact that it can stretch across more clearly than the straight tail here. Something about the expression and ears were cuter in this beta, but everything else has been an improvement.
Tumblr media
Azumarill is a pretty straightforward evo for Marill, following the Jigglypuff line's tactic of taking a round Pokemon and having it elongate and gain some vaguely rabbit-ish features when it evolves. I do, however, think it stands out a bit more than Marill. This is mostly due the water-y, bubble-like markings, which also serve as a form of countershading according to the 'dex:
Tumblr media
Aside from the markings, the egg-shaped body and long ears help it to feel stronger than Marill while still making sense progression-wise. I do find myself wishing something more interesting had been done with the tail, seeing as it's the most distinct element here and nothing about it really changes; I could easily see it becoming white to match its new markings, becoming more oval-like in shape to match the body, etc. Still, the design works fine as-is.
Tumblr media
Overall, this line is pretty simple, but solid. The biology behind the stages is well thought out, each stage is distinct, and the designs are straightforward.
Also, Marill can be trans, so that's great.
Tumblr media
84 notes · View notes
cupcraft · 2 months
Text
One thing this situation makes me want to critique is how in general when ccs are called out and apologize there is always express criticism about those who do not like the apology. This is not to say everyone who dislikes an apology is reasonable always 1000% of the time obviously but what I am saying we need to stop having celebrities and ccs just apologizing being enough because as repeated behavior comes out its always "erm well they apologized in the past!" As if that just apologizing in itself is enough and thst the content of the words doesn't matter at all.
Content of an apology does in fact matter. Between not being able to say "hey I did x action and it was wrong" and instead saying "I did some meh accidental vague stuff I won't say. Sorry you were offended" 1000% makes a difference and one of which is a terrible apology. It happened in the past is a common excuse people use for things and I'm also sick of that. Firstly 2-3 years ago isn't a long time ago and secondly "erm the early 2000s bigotry was normalized" or "insert year insert action was normalized" isn't isn't excuse either. Harm is and was never okay and it did and always still does cause harm. Just because it was "normalized" and people got away with harn does not mean that harm was just like alright to do 😭. We cannot keep allowing harm to happen just for 5 years later to go "welp it was okay then so no one can be held accountable" as a means of you ignoring the uncomfortability you have with holding people and yourself accountable for those actions. It isn't t9 say time cannot be a factor in showing the length of someone's effort to become a better person and grow on fact I think that time can be really valuable and i believe in growth.
Lastly I feel like with cc and celebrities there's an expectation for forgive them amongst fans. You're either a fan thst defends them or you're an anti that hates them. You can't of course be a fan that critiques them or any other gray area because to be a fan or supporter of their art or adjacent projects you have to in fact forgive them even if they harmed you. They're of course Owed this because Applogy was made regardless of how bad the apology was. And that's bullshit.
And again this is not to say I think we should go far in the other direction and doxx every celebrity and cc and hope we find something that clearly is fucked up and terrible and it's not to say people can't be unreasonable in their expectations of the person they follow for content (often people are unreasonable a lot). It's to say that apologies are much more than just doing it and people are allowed to be harmed by past and current behavior and are allowed to want accountability for that and are allowed to critique an apology and not want to support them. The end.
23 notes · View notes
dwn024 · 6 months
Note
hii i was wondering if you have any good resources or tips for y2k styled background patterns/elements? i wanted to look at stuff for some inspo but i've got a lot of trouble figuring out the right search terms and stuff to find specifically what i'm looking for... you're The Y2K Mutual in my head so i was hoping you might be able to help out? XP
YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT MAN MY DEAR FRIEND
first off, in general when it comes to Y2K design research [and really any any historical aesthetic design from 1960s-present] i always love to point people towards the consumer aesthetics research institute
it is the most useful research on this subject you will probably ever find because it is VERY well organized, well researched, they're the ones that coin basically all the aesthetic names that the aesthetic fandom wiki uses, and at some point since the last time i checked the site they added a new search feature that lets you filter by relevant decade!
now for Y2K type shit you might be tempted to search for resources from "the 2000s", but the Y2K futurism aesthetic was actually already on its way out by 2003 [the decline officially started post-9/11] and many 2000s aesthetics are wayyyy more different than the Y2K futurism type visuals i specialize in. it's better to seek out things from the 90s, especially late 90s [1996-2000 is the general Peak Era for Y2K style design], but don't limit yourself to JUST the 90s! it's also extremely helpful to look at the decades that Inspired Y2K futurism, because the late 90s was nostalgic for the 60s and 70s, so a lot of design styles from those eras are useful to research too! i mean just look at space channel it is EXTREMELY 70s revival
Y2K futurism itself is its own distinct aesthetic style, but it's very connected in a web of other visual styles from the same era. plus, the term "Y2K" has been corrupted by bad SEO and people who don't know what they're talking about conflating it with mcbling, so just searching "Y2K" won't really net you anything very helpful. "Y2K futurism" or "cyber Y2K" are good search terms to start with!
besides just the classic Y2K style, here are some other similar/related styles that will help you branch out your research even further
disco deco [60s] *art deco revival combined with disco aesthetics. you can very clearly see its influence on Y2K when you look at a lot of the fonts; case in point bauhaus 93 AKA the homestar runner font
supergraphic ultramodern [60s] *very very influential on Y2K design trends especially with all the organic flowing shapes
corporate gen-X cyber [90s]
gen X soft club [90s]
metalheart [90s]
vectorheart [90s] ***my personal favorite and probably what you think of when you think of flat Y2K graphics and UI
ultramodern revival [90s] *revival of supergraphic ultramodern with Y2K flair
frutiger aero [00s] *USE AS INSP WITH CAUTION. this style sprung into being AFTER the Y2K style had already waned, but since history is more like a gradient than a checkerboard, very very early examples of frutiger aero overlap with Y2K and contain similar design elements. still, if you're going to look into it, try to stick to the earliest possible examples, especially since Later frutiger aero starts to look very apple minimalist in a way i can't stand
mcbling [00s] *same as above, WITH MORE ANGRY PASSION THIS TIME!!!! Y2K futurist fashion is WAY different from mcbling, but more casual everyday fashion styles from 1998-2003 are fairly similar/precursors to mcbling, but mcbling and Y2K are NOT the same and should NOT be conflated. mcbling's real popularity began After the death of Y2K, so they weren't exactly The Big Thing at the exact same time
^all of the above can be found on the CARI website with plenty of example pictures. thank you for coming to me with this question if you have any further questions do not hesitate to ask i would be happy to help^_^
31 notes · View notes
Text
On RE1 Concept Art
The following is a ramble/discussion/analysis of some RE1 concept art. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
(Fandom Wiki)
The concept art holds a lot of details about the nuances of the STARS workplace dynamic and some traits of individual characters. Although at first I found myself disappointed that these dynamics and vibrancy of character didn’t come through in the RE1 remake, I quickly found myself reevaluating. Every member of STARS is completely in character throughout the entirety of the game, and these subtle character dynamics are actually present if you pay closer attention (which I had clearly not done on my first watch-through of the RE1R). However, the game doesn’t go out of its way to show these things off, which actually ends up aiding the storytelling. This is something that the original games and RE media do a lot better than the more recent productions, in my opinion. While the movies and some aspects of the 2019-2023 remakes have the subtlety of a gunshot, the writing in earlier Resident Evil media is pleasantly nuanced in a way that gives anyone thinking too hard about the games something to chew on and appreciate. 
Character Context of Chris and Jill:
In image 1/2, we find out that Chris doesn’t listen to orders, doesn’t work well in a team, doesn’t take a lot of things seriously, and is always getting into trouble. Especially if he’s hanging around with Joseph and Forest. It’s incredible to me how much he changes from this. Chris goes from the guy who doesn’t listen to orders to the one giving them. He goes from not working well in a team, to becoming a capable leader who always has his teammates’ backs. He loses almost all of his sense of humor. I think the only ‘jokes’ I can remember him cracking are, “Okay, but no sightseeing”, in regards to wanting Jill to hurry up about getting him out of the cell in her run of the RE1R, and re-referencing, “I never make plans that far ahead”, in Vendetta as an inside joke with Leon. (In contrast, Leon, who in concept art is supposed to be a very serious and somewhat unfriendly guy, turns to humor as a coping mechanism post Raccoon City. More on that later.) However, Chris keeps his impulsivity. He causes an explosion without warning Jill at all in Prelude to the Fall, and one of his most prevalent character traits is jumping headfirst into danger without a second thought to save his teammates. (But he’ll never be able to jump more headfirst than Jill. Literally. She tackled Wesker out a window.)
In image two, we find out that Jill, “tends to stay home on her day off and relax.” I almost wish we would have known this about her somehow going into RE1 (although, I can see how it would be difficult or irrelevant to incorporate it for the game’s story), because it adds even more impact to her state of mind post RE1, and the rest of her life. As we can see, especially in the RE3R, Jill loses all ability to relax following the mansion incident. She’s downright tortured by what she saw and experienced there, who wouldn’t be? This is a pattern that continues. After the Raccoon City incident, she dives headfirst into tackling bioterrorism alongside Chris, both working tirelessly against Umbrella (see Prelude to the Fall Manga, UC: Umbrella’s End, Jill and Chris founding the BSAA.) Post RE5, Jill doesn’t get back into the field until Death Island, 6 years later. In Death Island, we can see that the guilt and horror of what happened in RE5 drives her to overwork herself, to the point that Chris is concerned. It seems to me that Jill just doesn’t know how to rest or wait anymore, not when there are lives at stake and a war to fight. 
Aside from the more serious character implications, I love the fun things we get to learn too. Like how Rebecca loves basketball, how everyone hates Irons. Like how Chris either respects Jill enough/is scared of her enough when she’s angry to take shooting lessons seriously. 
It’s fun to find out that Jill is sort of the silent and mysterious type, and I think it gives greater depth to what she does in RE1. Her unexplained lockpicking skills give more context to Barry giving her the lockpick. (Side note, on the STARS fandom wiki page, Jill’s specialty is listed as B&E. I sat there for a while thinking, what on earth is that? Then I realized. Breaking and Entering.) Her being the silent type also gives more explanation for her seemingly blind trust toward Barry in RE1. I always wondered, “Why on earth hasn’t Jill noticed anything off or confronted Barry yet?” It’s because that’s not her style. She’s the kind of person who observes and doesn’t tell, she waits till she knows more. Also, Jill is the kind of person who gives full faith to her teammates, even when she knows it may not be deserved. This is prevalent not only in her handling of Barry’s secrecy and treachery, but also in the way Enrico treats her. In Chris’ run, when he encounters Enrico, Enrico suspects him of being the traitor. In Jill’s run, Enrico trusts wholly that she can’t be the traitor. I think this is because Jill doesn’t naively place trust in people, but chooses to give full faith to her team members. She’s loyal to a fault, and her teammates recognize that and reciprocate.  I like to think that the reason Wesker sends Jill to investigate the noise right when the enter the mansion is because he knows Jill is silent, observant, and smarter than she lets on. He might’ve wanted to get her out of the way so he could move around freely without her scrutiny.
On Rebecca Chambers:
I would also like to take a moment to recognize how absolutely cracked and insane and prodigious Rebecca Chambers is. She’s 18, graduated college, and working as a tactical paramedic on what is essentially a SWAT team. 
“The primary job of this type of paramedic is to provide medical care to SWAT members. Some form of military or law enforcement experience is required for this position. Medical training can come from the agency itself or from a traditional higher education but the arms training is necessary… Similar to positions within the military and SWAT, a tactical paramedic in most cases must also be a sworn officer… Though the military and law enforcement training is ideal and makes a candidate much more desirable to the hiring officer, it is not uncommon for the military and law enforcement to consider professionals that aren’t sworn in nor have military background. For those candidates choosing to take the private route, it is important to first receive paramedic training through a secondary education, becoming a certified paramedic and then focus the first five years on being a top paramedic.” (https://www.paramedictrainingspot.com/how-to-become-a-tactical-paramedic/) 
Here’s a short version of Rebecca’s required skills, with an in-depth version below the cut.
Highschool diploma
We know Rebecca graduated college at 18 years old as a chem major. We also know she has her doctorate in Virology by 2005/age 24 (See Biohazard the Stage). Girl’s crazy smart.
Certified paramedic
Despite the fact that someone would normally need prior work experience to be a tactical paramedic, it seems this isn’t the case for Rebecca. Perhaps she was prodigious enough that they decided she didn’t need that prior experience, which I think comes back to bite her in RE1. Rebecca is green, she hasn’t had any prior paramedic experience to prepare her for the trauma of, well, trauma response. Hence why she breaks down in front of Chris in his run of the RE1R.
21 years of age
Once again, Rebecca must have just been prodigious enough that this requirement wasn’t an issue. The 21 years age requirement also seems to be in place for a lot of law enforcement jobs in general. 
Concealed carry permit
80 hour basic SWAT school completion
Must be able to engage in vigorous physical activity and lift and/or carry a minimum of 140 lbs.
In essence, Rebecca is crazy smart and has the wildest sleeper build of all time. This little 5’3” 90-something-pound girl can lift. She could pick up Jill and carry her around. She has to be able to, as a paramedic who may have to get injured or incapacitated persons to safety. 
More detailed version of Rebecca’s required skills.
These are taken from the Pinellas County (FL) PD tactical paramed requirements: (https://www.pcsoweb.com/Data/Sites/1/media/jobdescription/Tactical%20Paramedic_092021.pdf) 
These requirements are post-1998, but can still help to give an idea of what skills Rebecca would need.
High school graduation or equivalent diploma
Minimum of 3 years as a state certified paramedic
Potential education requirements: (taken from here: https://one.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/ems/EMT-P/disk_1%5B1%5D/index.htm) 
“There are two prerequisites for the Paramedic curriculum: EMT-Basic and Anatomy and Physiology.” (1998 Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic: National Standard Curriculum Introduction)
More on EMT basic here https://www.emstraininginc.com/emtbcoursedesc.html 
Various Certifications
Current Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) certification
Current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification
Current Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) course certification
Current Emergency Pediatric Care (EPC) certification
Current Advanced Practice Paramedic (APP) certification
Completion of an approved forty (40) hour Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) /Tactical Emergency Medical Service (TEMS) course
Requires that the member be at least 21 years of age
Concealed carry license for weapon or firearm
Concealed carry courses assume a prerequisite basic handgun handling course has been taken.
The course typically teaches and assesses: license protocols, use of force laws, firearm safety, and marksmanship.
Completed an approved 80 hour Basic SWAT School, within one year of employment
Prerequisites may include: A moderate proficiency level and working knowledge with the carbine and pistol. Must be free of any physical ailment that would limit their participation in events that require running, climbing and carrying 45lbs for extended periods.
Material covered may include: Nutrition and Hydration, Deadly Force Considerations, team formation and dress drills, shooting positions and movements.
Valid driver’s license
Physical abilities
Visual acuity of 20/30 vision standard in each eye
Hearing acuity
Weapons handling
Ability to operate authorized semi-automatic handguns designated by the agency from a standing, crouching, kneeling, or prone position with either hand with accuracy,
essentials for this requirement shall consist of, but not limited to the following: grip, stance, sighting under various lighting conditions, trigger control, body positioning, drawing techniques, and loading / unloading.
Strength
Must be able to conduct regular vigorous physical activity while wearing a full-face air purifying respirator, tactical vest, ballistic helmet, boots, and carrying a backpack with up to 20 pounds of equipment
Includes climbing ladders, running up stairs, etc.
Stand or walk while wearing and carrying tactical medical equipment / gear up to 12 hours per day
Lift and / or carry a minimum of 140 pounds up to 200 pounds
30 notes · View notes
lunastrophe · 29 days
Note
Hi! I love your blog and deep dives. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the Lolth-worshipper stuff you can find in the whispering depths, close to the well entrance. If I remember correctly, the journals suggest that the worshipper of lolth was an elf but not a drow? Do you think it might connect to any of the other characters we run into in bg3?
Hello, and thank you for an interesting question!
The story of Eliette, the high elf who began to worship Lolth and became the phase spider matriarch, is a very interesting and tragic one. So far, unfortunately, I found no connections between her and other characters from BG3 (or from D&D lore in general).
I suppose that it might be possible to create such connections - only, we do not know very much about Eliette and her past.
🕷️ Surface Life - from the Bloody Journal we know that the elf who became the phase spider was named Eliette. She was a high elf from the surface, but where or when exactly she lived - it is a mystery.
This fragment: "I weep for the decades spent treading the murky waters of profanity..." may suggest that Eliette was still a young elf when she was taken to the Underdark - she wrote about "decades" spent on the surface, not "centuries".
🕷️ Captured - Eliette mentioned "drow captors" in her journal, so at some point, she was clearly captured and brought to the Underdark.
From time to time, drow organize night raids on the surface settlements, and many elves do not survive such attacks. Drow typically prefer to kill them (or torment them and kill them later) than to let them live. It is quite possible, then, that Eliette was captured during such a raid - and that she saw many of her family members and friends dying that night 😔
🕷️ Slave - Lolth-sworn drow usually do not have a habit of keeping surface elves as slaves - they hate them by default and they think them (and surfacers in general) weak and ill-suited for life in the Underdark.
There are exceptions, though. Some drow may want to keep a particularly skilled or interesting elf as a useful slave, a curiosity or a plaything (Halsin's story can be an example of that).
Eliette clearly possessed some knowledge of arcane arts (sketched spell runes in the journal) - so maybe that was the reason why her drow captors found her too useful to simply kill her. Regardless of the reason, she survived and was kept by some noble house as a slave - for a long time, probably, since her own name began to feel "foreign" to her at some point.
🕷️ Menzoberranzan - Eliette mentioned "arachnomancers of Menzoberranzan" in her journal, so we can probably safely assume that this was the city where she was kept as a slave. She must have seen arachnomancers there and picked up some knowledge about them since later, she was able to recognize one's sigils (Tattered Journal).
I have no idea which one of the noble houses of Menzoberranzan could keep Eliette as their slave. She wrote: "I see their house's downfall in visions granted by the Spider Queen herself. When that day comes, when some unnamed whelp from an insignificant house cuts the matron mother's throat..." - but there is nothing overly specific there.
If her visions were true, the house ultimately ended up destroyed and its matron mother was killed - but it is a common end for many drow houses, both lesser and greater ones.
Maybe arachnomancers could be some clue - at least one noble house was particularly associated with them. For example, house wizard of House Melarn of Menzoberranzan was an arachnomancer and Melarni seemed to have an affinity for arachnomancers in general. But the end of the house from Eliette's vision would not fit...
🕷️ To sum things up - Eliette's story is not connected to any BG3 character, but theoretically, some Lolth-sworn drow from Menzoberranzan might remember her:
elven slave is not exactly a usual sight in a drow city, so - unless Eliette was rarely seen outside of the house compound - someone might have noticed her,
many Lolth-sworn drow would find the story about high elf being fascinated by Lolth utterly delightful - or absurd. Either way, it would probably make a popular rumour,
some Menzoberranyr drow might connect Eliette's vision described in her journal with some house's story, recognizing the facts.
These are only "what if..." scenarios, though.
19 notes · View notes
freesia-writes · 7 months
Text
Chapter 22: Return
Tumblr media
···
During the Clone Wars, the Bad Batch is tasked with a variety of missions across the galaxy. An unexpected addition to their team throws a wrench in the mix, particularly for Tech, who finds a particular connection with this disillusioned Padawan-turned-mechanic named Vel throughout the events in this action-adventure romance. COVER ART BY @zaana!!
Master List of Chapters
Tumblr media
Tech bounced his knee impatiently as the Marauder lurched out of hyperspace, Alderaan appearing in front of them. As they slowly glided toward the surface, Hunter appeared behind him, resting a hand on the back of his chair and observing the planet. It felt like they'd been here yesterday, but months had passed.
"There are so many impracticalities, Hunter," Tech confessed.
"We've been over this. Life is short, and ours even shorter. She's handy on missions and clearly made an impact on you. You already shared all your reasons, and we're here anyway," Hunter replied. 
"True. But I am concerned that my perception of reality has been altered by literary portrayals of this sort of thing," Tech returned.
"Well, take it one step at a time," Hunter advised, turning to gear up with the others.
Tech's hands tightened on the steering controls momentarily, and he sought distraction by moving through the long-memorized actions of the switches and buttons of the landing sequence. He had been forced to make a quick departure after his last conversation with Vel, called to another mission before she had woken up. He had remedied the situation by sending a transmission, informing her of his absence and his regret at their separation.
He had also determined it was the right thing to do, concerning his apparent interest in her, to follow in the steps of a variety of literary and historical characters and maintain communication during their time apart. He had been diligent to send transmissions on a regular basis, filling her in on their adventures as much as he could while maintaining confidentiality. 
Unbeknownst to the others, he had even made a few attempts to reflect upon and convey his feelings, in a variety of approaches, from descriptive analysis to poetry, though the latter was too subjective for his tastes. And now, forty-two missions later, they had completed their recent objective and found themselves landing on the very planet on which Vel had been recovering from her spinal injury.
***
Vel grimaced, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. She had completed five full laps on her own, without any of the equipment, and was going for a few more with the assistive walker. It had been a long journey, but she was able to get around on her own and was now working on her stamina. She paused for a moment, leaning on the walker, when she heard his voice.
"If you keep pushing yourself like that, you're going to be outrunning me in a week," a gravelly male voice said. She turned to see Arthen grinning next to her, dressed in his standard medical attire, with a datapad in his hand. "You've made so much progress."
She stood up straighter, tilting her head and returning his smile with a bright one of her own. "Well, you know I've got you to thank for that, so you're really just complimenting yourself."
Arthen laughed, wagging a finger at her before tapping on the screen. 
As Clone Force 99 entered the expansive physical therapy facility, Crosshair located Vel immediately with his sharp eyes, nudging his brother with an elbow. Tech followed his gesture, spotting her brown hair, and felt considerably unsettled. 
"You sure you don't want us to come with you?" Wrecker asked, wrapping an arm around Tech's neck and rubbing a fist into his hair.
"No, thank you!" Tech snipped, wrestling himself away from his brother and fastidiously returning his hair to its... well, you know.
"Alright, we'll see you at lunch," Hunter said, "Come on." They headed for the door, Crosshair turning back to give a wink before disappearing into the corridor. Tech stood for a moment, watching Vel talk to the medical personnel, going through his speech again in his head to ensure it was precisely adequate. 
With a deep breath, he approached them slowly, hands fidgeting at his sides, "Hello, Vel."
She turned toward him, utter shock on her face. "Tech? What..." she drifted off, "I mean, hello." 
As she identified this newcomer, Arthen's eyebrows dropped briefly, but he recovered quickly and extended a hand. "Arthen Rass. Nice to meet you... Tech, was it?"
"Yes," Tech responded automatically, shaking the hand after an initial pause. He turned to Vel, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other, unsure where to begin despite all his practice.
"Um, I was just about to finish and go tidy up," Vel said, feeling a need to escape the situation.
"Might I have a quick word before you do?" Tech inquired politely, having trouble looking at her, eyes heavy with the weight of the time they'd been apart.
"Sure," Vel answered, "Arthen, I'll see you later?"
"Looking forward to it," he responded warmly, leaning in to kiss her cheek. He lingered for a moment, whispering something in her ear that caused her to blush and push him away, then he offered a nod to Tech before heading for the door. 
Vel turned to face Tech, cheeks still flushed, and he stared at her, dumbfounded. So many questions flew through his mind, and he was completely thrown off from everything he had been thinking leading up to this moment. 
"You are romantically involved?" he asked bluntly.
"Yeah, kinda," Vel answered, looking at the ground for a moment before raising her eyes back to his. "What are you doing here?" 
"I came... We came... We were on a mission nearby," Tech finished, still clearly distracted. 
"Nice," Vel responded flatly. "Well, it was good to see you. I'm sure you've got places to be." And she turned toward the door.
Tech's mind was racing, but the sense of urgency brimmed over his self-control, "Vel, I came to see you. It has been a while, but as you know, I have not stopped thinking of you."
Vel stopped, turning over her shoulder, eyes narrowing. "As I know? I don't know anything, Tech. You disappeared without saying goodbye. Then you show up after months and months and just expect everything to be the same? You can't keep dropping me off and fetching me like a spare part when you suddenly find a need for me again."
"That is not--" Tech began, feeling flooded with responses and questions.
"Take care of yourself, Tech," Vel said, turning back to the door, "And tell the boys I said hello." And with that, she walked as smoothly as she could, exhaustion requiring her to use the assistive walker, and disappeared out the door. Tech remained, arms at his sides, frozen in place by the oppressive weight of confusion and disappointment.
Tumblr media
Tag List: @merkitty49 @vimse @arctrooper69 @dystopicjumpsuit @starrylothcat @ghostperson69 @dreamie411 @savebytheodoresnonjosestuff @523rdrebel @clonemedickix @sinfulsalutations @ughhhhfoff @coraex @amorfista @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @followthepurrgil @littlefeatherr @sunshinesdaydream @thew0nderer2342 @dangraccoon @iceskategirl18 @chickentenderx
(If you're on my regular tag list, let me know if you want to be tagged in this; I didn't want to spam ya!)
Click here to join or leave the tag list. <3
30 notes · View notes
sistervirtue · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media
making a copy of this bc op disabled reblogs and i just got reminded it existed and would like to not lose it
ok so . im outing myself to the world but thats fine this is too funny to not share
so. ive run a roleplay blog for a few years. i keep it separate from my main, yknow, its just a side hobby and ive been doing it since i was like, 12. its cringe but hey yknow at least im not 30 and writing ya novels
now its pretty common for rp blogs these days to have rules. right? you dont want to just bag any weirdo on this website, and as you can imagine bnha roleplayers are batshit crazy (see: conversion therapy todoroki) so mine are pretty strict and detailed. because ive been doing it long enough to be exposed to what counts as carbon monoxide poison from a screen. one of those rules is "if youre mutuals with people who write porn of the kids even aged up im blocking you we're keeping a ten foot pole on this". because as a 20 year old man i have a healthy disinterest in seeing paragraphs of teenagers fucking
so the dash is astir with talk of a guy writing age up bakugou porn and im like ok whatever. make a post bitching about it . mutual likes those posts but then the mutual is turning around and being buddy buddy with this guy so i dm the mutual like hey whats going on here . mutual is like "well why dont you talk it out with him hes not as mean as he seems i prommy" and im like sure whatever i can have civil conversation and if it ends with One Less Person writing weirdo porn then i might be able to get into heaven
so i dm him and he loses his fucking mind. it lasted all of 10 minutes because he was sending paragraphs like this and i was too tired to give a shit
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
(take note of my icon thats a special tool thatll help us later)
(also he goes by the name rxgelord. WITH the x. thats also important just because its funny as fuck)
so the guys clearly bothered by the idea that people might possibly talk about him without his permission and im a little miffed after being misgendered (which hed do again later) so i just post our dms. swing first and hey batter batter lets play ball i dont give a shit this is bnha roleplay
once again: loses his damn mind. he makes a psa post about me talking about how im just some pussy infant and hes too HARD for me and shit and also they do bakudeku muffin roleplay in the comments of that post which is fucking insane
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
anyway. at one point while joking about the whole thing i called him a "wannabe bakugou kinnie" as a joke and apparently he felt a very serious need to address this
Tumblr media
and im like holllllllllllllly fucking shit
you may have noticed that his posts are incredibly over-formatted. this goes for everything he does he is pouring a LOT of time and energy into typing his 9 paragraphs about how im an insane bitch or whatever. (if theres literally one thing i can give him credit on its that his graphic editing skills are kinda good. i will be honest) his rules document is also just as insane and features gems such as:
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
(this dude thinks hes pulling bitches on a bnha roleplay blog)
so we're just full on ragging on him at this point and hes getting MADDDDDDD MAD. he misgenders me again and when i point it out he has the following excuse:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
(art by @/pcktknife. anyways)
after a certain point i get dmd an old copy of a 130+ page callout he had a year prior and im like WHAT and it included his yugioh rp blog career and various allegations like having been involved in gang violence, doxxing, etc. also a picture of the hickies he bragged about leaving on his uwu pink glitter gf which looked more like he was trying to go for the killing bite but hey. yknow. apparently im a toddler idk how that works
along in this we also find his twitch account, which was under the name rxgelord, and it featured edited graphics of his real life face with bakugou. he posts selfies a lot too i wont share them even if theyre public but he has knuckle tats and a goatee and uses the greyscale filter. if this gives you an idea. he also had 5 twitch followers and detailed his desire to be a rapper/dj and im like holllllly fucking shit this guy cant be a real person. holy fuck.
anyways. skipping a lot of unnecessary bullshit and paragraphs of text with gifs from 2013 attached hes constantly going on about how we wont just "say it to his face" which i think is hilarious bc i was, the entire time. but im like ok fine you want me so bad
Tumblr media
so i send him this. he posts about how "he won when he got all might" (for some reason hes calling my ex mutual by the character name. i dont know) and then hasnt posted in 4 days. he deleted his twitch. im a little worried bakugou. dont say that. may have actually chased this man off the internet . to go have real life sex with his real life girlfriend so he isnt so mad
anyway we ended up turning one of his posts into an eminem uberduck
im honestly probably forgetting something this was so much and it was so fucking funny and honestly im glad to have been there
update: he has not in fact posted since last summer. god bless.
13 notes · View notes
x-noechi-x · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
"𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎" - 𝙽𝚒𝚔𝚘 𝙸𝚔𝚔𝚒
Tumblr media
Pairing: "Orpheus" Niko x "Eurydice" reader
Warnings: Angst with happy end. It´s based on the Hades game. Niko is also doubting himself :(
Noechis notes: I swear this was so much fun to write. It´s gonna be one of my favorites by now. :D
Additional notes: This is for @dark-mnjiro ´s "Taste of Divine Rush" event. Thank you for letting me join even though I changed the prompt so many times hehe. But it´s finished now.
Tumblr media
Yoichi = Zagreus
Noelle = Nyx
Niko = Orpheus
Y/n = Eurydice
??? (whoever you want him to be) = Hades
??? = Hypno
(Arts will be posted later. Tell me who you see as hades and hypno)
Tumblr media
You couldn’t complain about your life. Well, you could. But that wouldn’t have been fair to all the good things that you had experienced. The meeting of your husband, the house you had bought together with the money you had earned through singing. The friends you had made and how they supported you. It was enough to be happy.
Even if it meant going to sleep hungry because of the lack of money. Or the worry of the debts that had to be paid.
Your husband was always by your side. How you came together was a story that was told a long time ago, but you still remembered it so clearly.
“Love? Are you okay?”, asked Niko, your husband.
“Yes. Don’t worry. I just caught a cold from being outside during the snow”, you laughed at the worried expression of your cute husband.
Being musicians in the town has been a straining job, especially when the weather turned colder again. But you were only humans., You weren’t able to change the weather or the change of seasons.
Lately, your health hasn’t been so good, resulting in Niko having to go to the city alone. He wasn’t as good at singing but his other musical skills were able to bring in the money you needed to survive. But it still wasn’t enough to pay the debt in time.
Medicine was still one of the most expensive things. It wasn’t even helpful in the end. Your “cold” just got worse and you couldn’t do anything against it. The doctor of the town passed away recently. Was it a coincidence that it was from a “cold” as well?
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
“P-Please, love. Don’t leave me. I need you”, you were able to hear your husband cry. The warmth of his hands was the only thing that you were able to feel. It was a comfortable warmth, but at the same time, it held you down. Like it was the only thing chaining you to this world.
Oh, now you understood. You were dying. Your body couldn’t handle the suffering that the illness brought to you. It was unfair. Why were you the one who got it? You haven’t done anything wrong in life and lived a peaceful life with your husband.
So why did you have to go? You couldn’t go yet. What about the plans that you made? That if you saved enough money, you would travel around like you always dreamed. To find the place that you belonged to.
A dry laugh passed its way through your lips. Fate was cruel. All the time you still wanted to spend with Niko was just ripped away from you within a few days. You couldn’t even wrap your head around the fact that you were passing away.
It was a shame that you had to leave so soon. All the plans now going to waste. Nothing but regret being left. The regret of not having been able to save you, to not spending all his time with you.
It was like a rope wrapping around his neck. Niko didn’t know what he should do. You were the reason that he was able to be happy. He had nothing besides you. Why did the gods take you away from him? How could the fates have been so cruel?
All he was able to do was watch as you took your last breath. He knew that you didn’t want to pass away like that… Nobody would want that.
“P-Please… Don’t leave!”
The only thing he could do was cry and scream. Screaming his emotions out. His usually quiet voice turned loud.
He didn’t know how long he had pleaded to the gods. To give him a chance to bring his beloved back. Niko didn’t notice how his body lost its power as he passed out… Was he going to die now as well? Probably not, but it would be the best thing to happen to him now.
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
When he opened his eyes, Niko was surrounded by red. Blood red. His body jerked up, looking around. He was sitting in a pool of blood. Panic started to fill his mind.
What was going on? Where was he?
His breath quickened as he tried to stand up from the pool of blood, the red fluid dripped down his body while he tried to climb out of the pool.
“You pleaded for a new chance to bring your wife back to life. Congrats. Your voice was annoying enough to be heard by Hades. Lucky you”, a voice clung from the side of the pool, making Niko tense up.
“Whoa. Relax, dude. Your wish has been granted. You are able to make a contract with Hades and he will let your wife go. Easy as that”, the guy laughed. He didn’t bother introducing himself, because he knew it wouldn’t make a difference if the new arrival knew his name or not.
Niko saw how the guy pointed in one direction. There was a gigantic door, even bigger than the city wall that had surrounded their town.
“Go inside and Hades will make a contract with you”, with a smile the guy made a small motion with his hand, opening the door.
Niko didn’t thank the guys, being too shocked to even understand what was going on… Was this true? Was he in the underworld? Was he able to save you?
His steps were heavies than cement. Why wasn’t he running? He was finally able to save you.
The moment he stepped through the door, his vision turned black. It felt like he was falling for a long time. When was he going to reach the ground?
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
There he stood. On a hill with a clear view of the exit. It was like a cave. If you excluded the flames that surrounded him.
He wasn’t able to remember anything, but there was one thing that was on his mind.
He had to walk this path, not looking behind him. If he was able to do that you and he would return to your home. If he failed, you had to stay separated for all eternity.
How did he gain that information? Did he meet Hades? Were you really behind him?
Niko wanted to check. His head was about to turn around before he stopped. No. He couldn’t. Not now. He had to save you. You always saved him so now it was his turn to save you. So, you could return home together.
Niko started to take slow steps. His mind was killing him with questions. New questions seemed to fill his head with every single step he took. His head hurt already and he had only done a few steps.
Tears dripped down from his eyes. When did he start crying? Why was he crying?
Oh…
He failed…
He turned around….
He couldn’t handle the uncertainty if you were really behind him…
He just….
He just wished to be together with you again….
So why were you looking at him with such hurt eyes…
There was the ringing of a clock in the distance, making everything around him shake. Niko was about to reach out for your hand, but the ground beneath you started to crumble as you fell into the depths of the underworld.
“Y/N!!!”, his voice called out to you. He wanted to follow you. But before he could he was at the spot where he started.
“Oh! It´s you again. You failed. What a shame. But you can call yourself lucky again. Hades has taken a liking to you. You´re gonna stay here as a musician”, the guy from earlier smiled at Niko whose eyes were filled with tears as blood dripped from his long bangs again.
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
He didn’t know how much time passed. Niko didn’t know why he was even here. He wasn’t able to play music like he used to. It felt wrong. It felt wrong because you weren’t there.
You weren’t there because he failed. He was at fault that you died twice.
Why couldn’t he have taken your spot? You could have been happier when you were alive.
Only if he hadn’t come into your life.
Niko´s spiral of thoughts was interrupted by the young prince of the underworld. Yoichi. The young prince wanted to escape from the underworld. Just like Niko who had failed miserably.
“What´s troubling you? Lately, you look much gloomier than usual”, Yoichi asked, kneeling so he was able to look at Niko properly who was sitting down.
Niko just shook his head, not wanting to trouble the young prince with those thoughts.
“I met someone named Y/n. They hummed the same song that you sometimes play on your instrument. Do you know them?”
This sentence made Niko look up in shock. Y/n? You were alive? Your soul wasn’t going to be lost forever?
“How are they?!”, Niko yelled, startling Yoichi who wasn’t expecting this reaction from the normal quiet musician.
“They seemed fine. They live in Asphodel and helped me when I needed to get back on my feet. Thanks to them I got further than last time”, he explained, still not knowing why Niko had reacted that way.
“Could you…. maybe tell them a message from me?”
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
That’s how it continued for a while. You found out about your husband living in the house of Hades. From what Yoichi had told you, he seemed normal, but you knew him better. He was your husband after all.
You knew how he blamed himself that you both now stayed in the underworld. At first, you had to admit that you blamed him, but that soon faded.
You couldn’t even imagine what rollercoaster of emotions he must have gone through back then.
You missed him. Oh, how you wanted to hug him, telling him that you weren’t mad at him. That he didn’t do anything wrong. And how much you loved him.
“Y/n! I come back with good news!”, Yoichi came barging through your chamber, startling you.
“Oh! Your Highness. It’s good to see you again”, you answered as you stood up from the place you were sitting at.
“Noelle found the contract that keeps you and Niko here in the underworld. I just need one more thing to destroy it. Then you can see each other again and get reborn”, Yoichi panted. He must have run here. The way to Asphodel was a hard one and getting to your room was even harder.
“Does that…”, before you could finish Yoichi answered for you “It means that you will be free again. You can see Niko! Get reborn and meet him in a new and better life!”
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
The time you spent waiting was way too long for your liking. Had it been weeks? Days? Years? Or only hours? You lost your sense of time during your stay in Asphodel.
You walked around in your small chamber, praying that it would make the time pass faster. Suddenly there was this tingling feeling in your fingertips. It was like chains were being lifted from your body and you felt light as a feather.
What was going on?
Was the contract broken now? Were you free?
The feeling of a hug brought you away from your thoughts. This familiar embrace that calmed you within seconds…. Niko!
Your eyes widened as you looked up at him. Tears were streaming down his face as he hugged you even tighter. As if he was scared that you would disappear again.
“I-I´m sorry. F-For everything. I wasn’t able to save you. Forgive me, my love”
Tears now clouded your vision as well as you hugged him back, just as tight as he hugged you.
“There’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t do anything wrong. I missed you so much. I love you”, you cried along with him.
“Promise me that we will meet each other again in our next life. Please let me be your husband again!”, Niko whispered. He knew it was time. Time to start his new life. Without any memories. But his last thought was that he wished to meet you again in a better and more peaceful life…
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
Any normal day started like that. Getting ready for school, eating breakfast before going to school, and then making your way to the school building.
You had your headphones in, listening to your favorite song before you felt the air knocking out of your body. Something had hit you…
A football?
Your gaze fell in the direction where the ball came from. There was a boy, around your age with long bangs. He looked panicked. But at the same time cute.
“Are you okay?”, he asked as he came towards you. He stopped in front of you, looking at you worried and checking if you were hurt.,  
“I´m fine”, you chuckled as you gave him back the football. “Be more careful”.
And that was how you first met your boyfriend who later became your husband.
Tumblr media
This was so much fun I swear.
@oo-mi-ru-oo
@mitsuya-takashis-darling
@chronic-claire-universe
@wildartist
@blueberryfroyo
@galactict3a
@niko-hugs (i know that you´re not on the taglist, but I know that you love Niko <3)
@Noechi2023 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 凸( •̀_•́ )凸
♡‌ ‌҉☆‌ ‌҉.☆‧₊˚‌ ‌
╭◜◝‌ ‌͡‌ ‌◜◝╮‌ ‌╭◜◝‌ ‌͡‌ ‌◜◝╮.‌ ‌҉‌ ‌
(‌ ‌•‿•‌。‌ ‌)☆(‌ ‌•‿•‌。‌ ‌)☆‌ ‌♡‌ ‌
╰◟◞‌ ‌͜‌ ‌◟◞╭◜◝‌ ‌͡‌ ‌◜◝╮‌ ‌͜‌ ‌◟◞╯☆‌ ‌҉‌ ‌
.‌ ‌҉☆‌ ‌҉(‌ ‌•‿•‌。‌ ‌)☆‌ ‌♡‌ ‌
♡‌ ‌ ‌ ‌╰◟◞‌ ‌͜‌ ‌◟◞╯‌ ‌.‌ ‌҉☆‌ ‌
43 notes · View notes
tamelee · 1 year
Note
I thought you’d find this cute: scenario—> give Sasuke a fox and tell him if he misses it that it’ll turn into a handsome prince. And then it turns into Naruto.
Ahw~ heh, idk if Sasuke would be wanting a 'handsome prince' but him with a fox is definitely something I thought about before!! Based off of this art:
(except it is AU, sorta, and Sasuke still has both his arms)
Tumblr media
He'd be traveling and encounter an obnoxious looking orange fox. Almost too bright, clearly visible under the moonlight- a bit odd he thinks. It follows him around. Sasuke finds it strange because foxes can hunt very well and usually stay away from humans as they are scared of them. Not this one though. It probably learned to associate people with food Sasuke thought and so he was reluctant to share his food/water with the fox at first. But after a while of not being able to scare the little animal away and it becoming bolder in his approach, coming closer every time, Sasuke threw it a snack. And he observed. Since it was nighttime you normally wouldn't be able to see its features. But this is Sasuke. There were no signs of it having rabies or otherwise being sick as far as Sasuke could tell. And.. were those eyes blue?
Slowly Sasuke stood up so as to not disturb the fox while it was eating but to no avail. The moment he walked away the animal started to follow him again. He sighed but allowed it to because he was on a mission and had no time to entertain it further. After some time the fox was still there. Dawn was approaching fast and Sasuke braced himself, disappointed that yet another night passed by without results. He'd now have to wait until dusk again. Reaching into his pockets to grab his remaining food he turned around to give it to the little animal but the fox wasn't there anymore. Instead there was a fully grown, blond guy with the same blue eyes awkwardly smiling up at him.
"Hi." He held up his hand halfheartedly as if to wave.
"..." Sasuke's eyes went wide seeing the round mark on the guy's hand, then glancing down on his own which was in the shape of a moon. Found you then. Or better yet, you found me.
"..Uh, thanks for the food I was starving! Are you- hey- you're getting smaller!"
Sasuke blinked because he was getting smaller. And he grew wings too. It was now daytime after all. The guy laughed. "A hawk, huh. I'm Naruto. Tell me your name later."
Sasuke shook his feathers once.
Naruto.
43 notes · View notes
pico-digital-studios · 4 months
Text
Into, Across and Beyond! Cast: Hog the Tenrec
Created by: Jack Gore
Tumblr media
(Art by Stikfig01 on DA)
"If it means getting to stop other lives from being unfairly destroyed by some paranormal creeps... I'm in! I've got a lot I need to make up for after my world was wiped out."
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles; a truly marvellous game by today's standards, and a pretty fitting conclusion to the original Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy. And of course, our story begins when the cartridges containing the full game are inserted into a console.
However, this isn't the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis it got inserted into; rather, it was a bootleg product dubbed the GIGA Switch 'n Play, which aimed to create extensions to pre-existing titles. The console was made exclusively for the Sonic franchise, which aimed to include its own twists to the characters and gameplay.
And so this brought in GIGA's own original lineup of bootleg Sonic characters for this game; Hog the Tenrec, the land's hero, Prowler the Fennec, Hog's trusty sidekick, Fists the Porcupine, the guardian of the Giga Ruby, and Dr. Yolkman, the main bad guy. As to where the original assets ended up? Well, they ended up in a place dubbed "The Void", where hidden or unused assets go.
This is where this cartridge's Sonic ended up, having been stuck there for months by that point and trying to remain optimistic as best as he could, with little success. Just about everyone's code was being taken and used for the game, and Sonic was the sole survivor in the void, everything else he cared for having died upon coming here.
During his long time there, he learned about Hog, having witnessed him and Prowler getting into a scrape with Yolkman. He wasn't spiteful of this replica at first; rather, he was intrigued, and wanted to try and find a way to reach out to him. Unfortunately, nothing worked during his isolation, missing his friends and arch-nemesis a lot.
Soon enough, the distorting corpses of the trio revealed to Sonic some stuff; namely, what the Void was now doing to Sonic, and that he was really close to dying. Tails showed him a way to make his presence known via a Power Ruby, and Knuckles and Robotnik made it plain and simple that Sonic got replaced by Hog.
After a longer time in the Void, Sonic finally lost his mind, now feeling nothing but utter hatred for Hog and wanting to return on top again. In his words...
"I WILL NOT BE REPLACED!"
He was finally able to break out of the Void and snag the first Power Ruby. However, something wasn't right. He did not look like himself, and the fennec in front of him kept referring to him as Hog. He tried to take his anger out on Prowler, but his possession of Hog was short-lived, as the tenrec took back control, clearly unaware of what had just happened.
Hog felt guilty for unknowingly trying to strangle his now-upset friend, and Sonic was back where he was. However, he had that Power Ruby, and with them, he could keep trying to break free. And the more Power Rubies Hog collected, the closer Sonic was to his goal.
Later, Prowler noticed Hog's unnatural obsession with wanting to collect the Power Rubies, especially since he'd only ever get them to try and stop Yolkman. While the tenrec was resting up that evening, Prowler thought about what was going on and knew that this behaviour was completely unlike Hog. Whatever this thing was, it wanted the Power Rubies for its own purposes.
And so, Prowler worked on a device to nullify the power of the Rubies, testing it on one of them with success before pretending he was sleeping. The following day, Hog single-handedly dealt with a whole army of Boltniks, which gave Prowler a chance to sneak up on him and ready the gun.
This led to a fight between Prowler and Sonic, the gun working well against the corrupted hedgehog, who was impressed Prowler had figured out the truth. In the aftermath of their right, Prowler made it clear that Tails, despite the two being little alike, would not appreciate Sonic for doing this.
This only served to infuriate the fallen hero, who, in a fell swoop, slaughtered Prowler before Hog regained control. Hog was absolutely heartbroken over what had become of his best friend, falling into broken tears over this loss. And worse still, Sonic LET Hog regain control just to see his pain and relish in it.
Now holding all seven Power Rubies, Sonic attempted to transform proper, but with little success. However, the Giga Ruby on Heaven's Land (Hog's equivalent of Angel Island) could be a possible last resort. So he raced over there, only to be met with Fists, who wasn't too pleased about his motives for coming here.
After a fight that felt like hours, Sonic managed to weaken Fists, before using the Giga Ruby to summon his friends back into existence. However, they were more undead than anything, and they promptly slaughtered Fists in a really gruesome fashion.
Sonic then used the Giga Ruby to transform, but it wasn't what he had hoped for. His body was taller and more withered, reflecting the monster he had become. He was not Sonic anymore; he was now Scorched.
Yolkman arrived, feeling horrified at the sight before him before taking the Giga Ruby as fast as possible and retreating to Sacred Aether Zone (Sky Sanctuary Zone). When both arrived at the location, Yolkman ordered his newest robot, War Hog Mk. II, to fight off Scorched and buy him some time to escape.
However, Yolkman ultimately met his end too. But this time, Hog's resilience caused him and Scorched to be split into separate entities. And boy, was the tenrec NOT happy to see his most hated foe yet. The two fought a lot, and Scorched was getting the upper hand.
And yet, Scorched was forced to reflect on all that had happened, realising what he was doing was uncharacteristic of him, and he was losing all of what made him Sonic. Fists did survive his encounter, however, and his movement to patch himself up destroyed the Power Rubies AND Giga Ruby, setting off a worldwide apocalypse in the process.
Fists perished after getting some more hits into Scorched, leaving only the fallen hedgehog and Hog left. Scorched had now become nothing but a quivering wreck, regretting everything he had done after being called out for it by Hog. And with impending doom approaching fast, Hog didn't know whether he should forgive his enemy or let him suffer.
He seemed to lose consciousness for several hours after that, awakening in a new location he felt familiar with, but at the same time, didn't recognise. Something seemed to have saved his life, but he didn't know what it was. He did some investigating around the CR version of Angel Island, trying to get some bearings as to his new location.
During his time there, he discovered CR!Sonic paying a visit there, having patched things up with his Sally since One More Hero. The blue blur was headed to Hidden Palace as Hog quietly trailed behind so as not to be spotted. While in the palace, he saw the murals depicting all that had been, like the S3&K events and the ordeal with Perfect Chaos.
Tumblr media
(Perfect Chaos mural by Sotaknuck from Sonic 3D in 2D)
At the shrine, CR!Sonic and CR!Knuckles were simply catching up with each other, the echidna having heard about Sonic fixing things up with Sally again. They noticed Hog a few seconds later, with the blue blur going to give his introductions.
Hearing Sonic's name caused those traumatic memories to surge right back into the tenrec, as he explained what had happened back at his world, and the sad truth that he can NEVER go back there ever again thanks to its destruction. CR!Sonic offered Hog his understanding and reassured him that he would not ever try to harm Hog.
For a couple more days, Hog stuck around the CR universe to familiarise himself with how regular Sonic universes are like, and he and CR!Sonic later got involved in the events of More than One Universe, Hog's motivation for doing so being to stop any more lives being unfairly lost to multiversal terrors like what Scorched was.
In the aftermath of it all, Hog decided to stick around in the OMT universe, becoming a new member of the Blur Gang and being able to interact with others from other worlds that are not hostile towards him in any way. In a way, he got what he couldn't back at his home; Sonics who COULD co-exist with him without being wiped clean from existence.
It's only telling that he and Wacky, both bootlegs of Sonic, take high offence to Lost Memory Sonic's remark that OMT!Tails and Antho were not deserving to be heroes due to not being Sonic. Speaking of them, they also have a good laugh about stuff like the names of their villains (Hog's being Dr. Yolkman, and Wacky's being Dr. Sunnyside, both egg-related puns).
5 notes · View notes