big chance

msulevi​:

( xxx )

nate doesn’t even bother trying to hold back his laughter as levi pulls the shirt on. it’s too big on him (not surprising, as it doesn’t fit nate perfectly, either), and looks, quite honestly, ridiculous. he’d definitely been right in thinking that imagining the younger walking back to his dorm in that shirt would be hilarious. “what, you don’t like it?” he asks innocently, as he shuts his shirt drawer behind him. no way levi is getting another, more plain shirt — he’s enjoying this way too much. 

he moves back towards levi, deciding to see just how far he can take this. the change to their dynamic is still  new, meaning nate is still trying to figure out just where the line goes. so far, though, they’ve both easily settled into some form of mutual teasing of each other, which has surprised him, because it’s not like he ever expected to feel... somewhat comfortable around kang levi, of all people. but here they are, teasing each other over something as stupid as a fortnite t-shirt.

“i don’t know, i think it looks nice on you.” which, surprisingly enough, is true. his gaze moves over the younger, and he doesn’t bother trying to hide that yeah, he’s kind of checking him out. he’s starting to think levi would probably look good in just about anything, as this shirt isn’t exactly flattering. 

“i mean...” he starts, placing his hands on levi’s hips, “you could always take it off again...” his hands are moving under the shirt now, slowly, a feather-like touch stroking levi’s skin. “if you don’t like it. but, you’re right, it is my favorite shirt.” there’s a grin on his face, and his hands are still moving upwards, he’s almost about to make a move to take the shirt off, when— 

he freezes, briefly, hopefully not long enough for the other to notice. ‘have you taken a fancy on me?’ what the fuck? this is just playful banter, he reminds himself, levi doesn’t actually mean it. but... no. it’s not true, he hasn’t, they’re just playing around—

HALLOWEEN AT MOKSEONG 2020

msucallie​:

maybe they should have brought someone who could read map. callie found herself musing this very thought at least every few minutes since they had left the train station. now callie wouldn’t exactly call them terrible navigators, but from trying to share the screen of nate’s phone to also trying to make sure not to accidentally bump into any of the locals, with what should have been a fifteen minute walk at most, it somehow turned itself into almost a full hour expedition instead. that’s not to say that she wasn’t having fun, of course.

with every wrong turn they made or them realizing just how turned around they actually were, callie found herself in fits of amused laughter, her hold on the male’s arm growing tighter at some points because she just couldn’t keep it together. she was excited, thrilled at the prospect of an off-campus adventure. and for what exactly? pet goldfish, of course. probably one of the most normal, every day things she can think of.

“i think we’ve been here before–” the scenery became familiar. she was sure they walked by that same post box twice now. and there was that convenience store at the corner of the street too when they were taking a break there twenty minutes ago. suddenly, callie was stopped her her tracks, a firm arm preventing her from walking any further. she blinked in confusion until she realized the store front in front of them was exactly the one they’ve been searching for all this time.

“you’re right, it is it! that took a while, didn’t it?” she agreed relieved that they finally found the place. maybe she shouldn’t mention that they actually walked past it twice though. reaching for the door, she pulled it open for the both of them to walk inside; and almost immediately, they spotted the large back wall filled with various aquarium tanks displaying exactly what they were looking for. goldfish. excitedly, she gestured for them to walk over, their arms still intertwined. “nate, this way!”

“oh! what a lovely couple!” 

huh? well, that’s definitely not the reaction nate expects when walking into a pet store, of all places. though, he supposes he gets what the... store owner, he assumes? means, considering how close callie and him are, their hands linked together. a smile is given in response to the employee, though it’s a distracted one, as he’s mostly focused on callie’s gesturing towards the direction of what they’re looking for — the goldfish. 

before they even get the chance to begin heading over to the displays, though, the owner? (actually, yeah, he’s just gonna assume owner from here on), continues talking to them. which might be expected if she’s, y’know, helping them with a purchase, but... that’s not really what she ends up talking about. 

“you two remind me of me and my husband.” there’s a longing in her eyes, it seems almost sad, and nate nearly thinks she’s about to deliver the sob story of the century to two unsuspecting customers. “he had to attend a meeting, so he couldn’t be here today,” oh. apparently not — no sob story, then, “but it really warms my heart seeing couples come in today. oh, and someone as beautiful and in love as you two!” 

in love? well, nate doesn’t know about that. sure, he loves callie — she’s one of his closest friends, someone he knows he always can rely on. and sure, they often do act very affectionate, even occasionally sleeping together, but in love? as in, romantic love? nah, they’re... not. it’s not like that. 

he’s about to say as much, his mouth open, ready to speak, when— “you two say you’re looking for fish, yes? just for today, i’ll offer up a very special discount for couples only! well, you’re the only couple that has visited so far, so it kind of is only for you two. but you seem so sweet, and i’m in a good mood, so! any fish you want, 50% off.” 

a discount? well, now they’re talking. nate isn’t about to say no to that. “oh. yeah! definitely! we’re very much in love.” he lets go of callie’s hand, instead putting his arm around around her waist. the younger is pulled closer to him, his hand laid gently across her waist. 

humans were never meant to fly. 

if they were, then maybe they’d have wings and wouldn’t have to rely on unreliable contraptions that might as well be fodder for the fire on a chilly winter night. (that’s right, she’s threatening a broomstick and she means it.) and this isn’t just her posturing because her pride’s a little wounded by the fact that she is quite literally trapped in a tree, but seriously—all things equal, if she had to choose an unnatural thing to have a knack for, it would simply not be flying.

maybe sleeping for seven days straight. that sounds much more productive.

“i!” she just barely manages to yelp out when curious squirrel scampers closer to her. she doesn’t mind animals (except for cats), but the whole ‘being elevated three times her normal height’ thing is really starting to get to her. “hate! this!” bitna concludes, each word an exclamation on its own. still, she can’t hide her relief when nate manages to fly up. they’re eye-to-eye now, and not eye-looking-down-desperately-at-distant-top-of-head, and bitna’s never felt more grateful.

the execution of this rescue mission, however, doesn’t seem to be promising in the slightest. skeptically, she stares at the broom, gaze lingering on an empty ‘seat’ she’s supposed to be hopping onto and then back to nate. 

“if this wasn’t me right now,” bitna starts, clamping her eyes shut. dewdrops on blades of grass. running water. a bird chirps in the distance. the flutter of a butterfly wing. she’s very freaking zen right now or she’ll die trying. “if this wasn’t me and you specifically right now, i would think this is the perfect sort of exposition to—”

the squirrel chatters excitedly and bitna lets out a tiny gasp. alright, not the time for pontificating! she gets it!

“okay, i’ll take your hand!” bitna quickly concludes. “but you can’t let go. and you have to hold on tight. and it’s not that i don’t trust you, it’s just that the last time i did, my stomach hurt so badly i convinced myself the ninth circle of hell was actually my digestive system—” is she rambling? oh, she’s rambling. “so it’s not that i don’t trust you! but you’re definitively on a trial period!” 

she reaches out, feebly, and latches onto nate’s hand as tightly as she can. 

humans simply were not meant to fly—

the squirrel from earlier takes one miraculous jump closer to her, like it’s trying to give her a farewell hug, and out of panic, well, she… jumps.

“what?” he regrets asking as soon as the word is out. here’s the thing: him and bitna are tight, all things considered. yes, they are technically exes (though he’d hardly classify the two and a half days they spent together as a relationship), and yes, nate might have accidentally poisoned her once. or maybe it was twice. but they’re close. meaning nate is used to her rambling, that mostly consists of words he rarely has any idea what means, and if there’s one thing he’s learned during his time knowing hwang bitna? it’s that asking doesn’t help, it doesn’t clear anything up. which is why he usually ends up retorting to the method he likes to call ‘just smile and nod’ — it usually works. this time, though, he had asked, but he’s hoping she’s too busy being focused on the rescue mission to actually elaborate.

speaking of the rescue mission, nate doesn’t know what he expects from it. he’s a talented flier, he’ll readily admit to that without feeling like he’s bragging, but his specialty is knocking people off their brooms, not... rescuing people from trees. rescuing people in and of itself seems like it’s hard enough, but doing it on a broom? even harder. or so he assumes — he can’t say he has any sort of experience being a ‘person stuck in tree’-rescuer, on a broom or not.

then, after a melodramatic (is that the right word? sounds like something bitna would use, at least) speech, the younger grabs his hand. she’s holding on, tightly, before jumping, and— okay. so she’s heavier than he expected (he doesn’t mean to be rude! but he’s used to flying alone, and not while carrying another human being!), which does weigh them down a bit. 

once he’s used to her weight, though, he manages to levitate higher, as he moves the broom up, up and away from the tree. if bitna gets a couple of cuts, branches in her hair, etc. in the process, he takes no responsibility for that. at least he saved her from the tree — he thinks that should be good enough. 

another thing about this rescue mission, is that he should have planned ahead further. bitna is out of the tree, but now what? well, logically he’d take her right back to the ground, but, the winds are stronger than before, and maybe they should have checked the weather before choosing this day, because—

this? this isn’t going well. when did the wind suddenly get so strong? nate is struggling to keep his broom straight, while at the same time trying to keep his tight hold on bitna’s hand. but his hand is getting sweaty, and this isn’t going to end well. 

“bitna!” he yells out, gaze turned downwards to check on how she’s doing. she seems fine, for now, at least. “i really wish you’d gotten on the broom! i don’t know how much longer i can hold on! i’ll try to land, but this wind—”

he looks up, with the intention of finding a fitting spot to land, but instead—

what nate says makes caleb chuckle a bit. “yeah. i know what i said was terrible, but really, you know i’m right.” he hums a bit, drags his finger on the rim of the glass. it’s about the dramatics! “i really should apologize. i’ll work up the courage.” caleb pouts for a bit. he hopes he’ll get over the embarrassment in not too long. he’s shameless enough, right? the embarrassment will disappear soon. right? anyway. there were other things to focus on now.

caleb’s reeling at the things nate is telling him. he maimed a guy? only to kiss him? classic nate! or, well. maybe not exactly. but if there’s anyone he knows who would do it, it really is nate! “and you got kissed back!?” caleb can’t help but laugh. this sounds like the synopsis to some weird romcom advertised outside orbit theatre. it’s like he can see the poster in front of him.

“really, i’m kind of impressed! some game you’ve got if you can maim a guy and get kissed by him seconds later. unless by maiming you mean– well, no, that would be a very weird way to say you did something sexual. maybe if you said you’d fucked him up i’d see it, but maim–" caleb interrupts himself. “actually. not relevant. unless you did more than kiss him? no judgment!”

man, this is all a lot to take in. and that is only for caleb! nate’s brain must feel entirely to full and messy right now, because of this. caleb raises a toast to his friend’s honor. “you look constipated, dude,” caleb declares and takes a long sip of his drink. he needs it for the role he has to play right now. caleb han’s love consultation: now open for business!

“look, if you didn’t like levi in at least some way, would you really have kissed him? and liked it?” nate says he hates the guy, and so, to put himself in nate’s shoes or whatever, caleb tries imagining kissing someone on his hate list. aaaand never again! he even shudders at the thought. gross! “like what was even the motivation if you hate him? i know you’re allergic to thinking, but,” caleb leans over to knock lightly on nate’s head, “something has to be in there!”

nate is relieved that caleb seems to have realized this whole thing with aspen? could definitely have been worse. all caleb really needs to do is apologize, sooner rather than later, instead of spending time in a bar whining about it. what he’s less relieved about, though, is that now that his best friend seems to have realized this, all the attention is focused on him, and his... thing with levi. can you even call it a thing? they kissed. once. and that’s it. at least he thinks that’s it? 

honestly, nate is confused about the whole ordeal, and he can’t say this conversation with the younger is helping relieve his confusion. if anything, it’s just making him even more so confused. what’s all this all this talk about things getting sexual? well, he had felt something— no! no, no, no, no! absolutely nothing of the sort had gone down. why the hell would caleb think that it did? 

“what? no, i didn’t...” he trails off, and he can feel his cheeks slightly heating up. fucking hell. now caleb is definitely gonna think something like that had happened, no matter how much he tries to deny it. “i didn’t fuck him! what the fuck? why would i even do that? you know i don’t like him.” 

caleb’s next comment is ignored, as nate busies himself with beer instead. part of him is hoping, desperately, that the freshman will drop it, that the topic will be changed to literally anything else. but a much, much bigger part of him knows caleb well enough to realize that’s not likely to happen, which is why he shouldn’t be surprised when his best friend keeps going. and he isn’t, but what does still surprise him enough to make him nearly spit out his drink, is what the younger is suggesting. 

what the fuck? of course he doesn’t like levi. the fact that caleb is suggesting that he must like him in some way is ridiculous. right? “i don’t like him. that’s impossible.” he’s annoyed now, which is usually everyone’s standard reaction whenever caleb has been talking for too long, but not nate’s. the older is used to it, even entertained by his best friend’s antics, but for some reason, what he’s feeling now is clearly annoyance, even bordering on anger. 

nate swats the younger’s hand away, before he yells out “stop it!”. both his words and actions come out harsher than intended, even getting them a glare from the bartender. okay, nathaniel, calm. the. fuck. down. a couple of deep breaths later, he feels calm enough to speak, this time at a more normal volume

honesty hour — status: closed

honesty hour — status: closed

honesty hour — status: closed

msusojin​:

there was something about nate’s obedience that amused anais to no end. he was very compliment. silly and definitely could make her laugh even in the most serious of situations but if she said something he did it. people seemed to think that everyone likes a mouthy brat 24/7 but if anais was being honest, nate was refreshing. the way she can so easily make him blush made it more fun to play with him.

their dynamic was certainly amusing (as was any of the people anais had fun with) when you looked at the two of them: nate was older by 2 years and a full 35cm taller than anais. no one would second guess who would “be in charge” in that respect. of course it would be the man, the tall and older man. right? knowing that it was the complete opposite and how easily the perception could be changed was what made this all the more sweeter to the female geumseong prefect.

( X X X )

msualec​:

“you are so boring”, Alec made a face as he closed the door behind him, making a rather disgusted face, that was all just an act. He knew Nate wouldn’t mind because he was used to have him saying those things to him all the time, and every one of them he was just joking.

Nate was someone Alec considered a lot, it was probably the closest he would have of a best friend, someone who wouldn’t lie or hurt him on purpose. sometimes it sounded too lame to even think that and never actually telling the taller male that, other than writing a couple of sappy letters when they were younger, but Alec was more of an action than a talking guy.

“well, at least I can sleep in one of these beds in peace knowing you didn’t do anything dirty on these sheets. you haven’t right?” he poked Nate’s cheek with a finger, trying not to tiptoe due to their height difference but once he moved a bit carelessly, the damn pain was there to prove why he decided to show up at the infirmary that day.

his pained sigh and his evasion motions were hardly not to be noticed and again Alec felt his pride hurt a bit because he once again was trying too hard, pushing his limits to the point there was no other way but his body to kick him (quite literally) and make him stop; it was a failure, one more time.

“I’m in pain, I need to stop feeling.” and Alec thought about how ironic that sentence looked coming off his mouth and he shook his head, now looking at Nate with a lost smile. “Something happened during practice and well…please just make me new again. I gotta return to the club.”

nate lets out a sigh, half in frustration and half in amusement, at alec’s joke. the younger’s sense of humor is something he’s used to by now, with them having known each other for so long, but admittedly, his jokes are less funny after hours at work, having dealt with a number of different patients. all he wants right now is a nap, but seeing as he’s still stuck here for another hour, he’ll humor his friend. 

“oh, but i have. nurse sato makes me have sex with all the patients. it’s a new policy.” the expression on his face is a deadly serious one, though there is a hint of playfulness in his eyes. he just hopes nurse sato isn’t actually around to hear him right now — he doesn’t think she is, as she had excused herself about half an hour ago, and he still hasn’t heard her come back, but... you never know. he doesn’t even want to think about the last time he said something out of line, accidentally in front of the one person who shouldn’t have heard. 

thankfully, a quick glance around the room reveals nurse sato still isn’t there. but, when he turns back to alec, it’s clear that the dancer hadn’t shown up here only to bother nate. his motions are clearly pained. must be some sort of injury, probably related to dancing, knowing alec. 

“i can see that,” he notes. there’s a free bed right by them, which nate helps alec move towards, before making sure the dancer is able to lie down comfortably. “okay, wait here, and i’ll get something for the pain. one sec.” 

he scours the potions shelf, eventually settling on the wiggenweld potion, meant to cure minor damage. surely that applies to dance-related injuries as well? he’d ask nurse sato about it, but alas, she’s not here. even if it doesn’t work, it’s not like he’ll have any side effects (or at least nate doesn’t think so?), so — he’ll take his chances. 

msusoohwa​:

soohwa opens his mouth to reply what exactly kind of fun that he has but he feels the need to close it again when nate makes a very accurate guess of what exactly soohwa does for fun— which some might argue that it isn’t exactly fun when all of those are just part of his duties as the head student and as a teacher’s assistant for dada, so they still are a very big factor on why his stress levels are always so high, especially because most of the prefects don’t seem to be taking their jobs as seriously as they should be, not when they let slide way too many things that soohwa, personally, doesn’t think they should. but he still feels even a little attacked, called out and ends up getting a little more defensive, because that was how he was raised, to not waste time in anything that wasn’t supposed to help him in his career as an auror because then it just meant they were distraction. so as a, for the lack of a better word, mechanism for soohwa to keep functioning as a normal human being he ended up trying to find fun (or whatever closest to that) in his duties since they were all he had.

“i like to read books too.” he retorts, doesn’t comment that those books are mostly about the classes he’s taking or the ones he lectures sometimes, or even the sometimes even the guidelines of the university to be sure what trangestions should be punished and what shouldn’t, especially what kind of punishment should be given to those. “and excel spreadsheets can be quite relaxing, you just don’t know how to manage them properly.” which is true and soohwa will fight about it. 

soohwa shifts on the hospital bed while he waits for nate’s suggestions and raises an eyebrow when he cuts himself off, clearly changing his mind about sharing an information. and soohwa isn’t stupid, especially when it isn’t the first time that people stop talking midsentence and change the topic because they just realized they’re talking to the head student and if they don’t want to get into trouble, they’d better mind their words better. soohwa isn’t stupid and that’s why he gives nate a very pointed look. the head student is feeling a little generous (and tired) so he won’t press it like he normally would, however he’ll leave it very clear that he might not know exactly what nate was going to talk about but he knows it’s something that shouldn’t be done in the campus. 

“i’ve never—” soohwa cuts himself, pressing his lips into a thin line, because he feels a little embarrassed with that confession. “i was never someone that was into video games. but i do like solitaire spider.” he remembers enjoying it and it was something that was nice in between his assignments to keep his focus going and it was mostly a quick game. he also doesn’t comment on nate’s favorite videogame because he hasn’t heard of it, or more like the only thing that he knows is that it has some sort of dance because he did have to scold some freshmen who were doing those movements when and where they shouldn’t and the only reply the had for soohwa was that they were doing it for the meme or whatever. “is it…” he frowns. “the one with the dance thing?” he’d like to confirm it either way.

“i don’t like the smell of fish.” the grad student admits, actually remembers the carnival and how mostly enjoyed the fishing part of it because he was with cal and they had a very nice talk. actually they ended up talking more than actually fishing. “it might also be a little too calming, too much time not doing anything besides sitting on a boat and waiting. i feel like it’d get me more anxious than anything.”

“books can be fun, i guess,” he... agrees? is it an agreement? honestly, nate has never been one to read for pleasure. or for class, for that matter. any required readings are usually forgotten, unless he really needs to for an assignment or an exam. and even then, he tends to be better off being told the material, instead of actually reading it for himself. but other people can have fun with books. and comic books are fun! they’re mostly pictures, but still, he thinks they should count for something. “what kinda books?” his question is accompanied by another look, one that says something along the lines of ‘you don’t seem like the kind of person who would read for pleasure, but alright, i’ll humor you’. 

the excel spreadsheets though, seem like much less fun. do people actually do those for fun? nate thinks surely it must be only soohwa, the older must be an outlier of sorts. “uh, i don’t know about those spreadsheets of yours. aren’t they just numbers? what’s fun or even remotely relaxing about that?” he almost shudders — numbers stress him out. 

the look the head student gives him, one that quite clearly says he knows nate was about to say something probably very illegal, is pointedly ignored, as he goes on to babble about different topics. the point here is for soohwa to have fun, not for him to bust any of nate’s friends for anything. though, when he thinks about it, that does seem like the kind of thing that head students and prefects probably do think is fun. but still! it’s not relaxing! 

“okay, no video games or fishing then. except solitaire. wait, isn’t that a card game?” it also doesn’t sound very entertaining, but hey, if it gets soohwa de-stressing, nate isn’t complaining. “with the...— oh yeah!” he exclaims with a grin. he’s not much of a dancer himself, but he has to admit that even he has tried reenacting some of the fortnite ones. mostly while drunk, and mostly with caleb, who despite not even playing the game anymore, is required by best friend law to keep fostering nate’s interest in it. “the game is about shooting, but there’s dances. i don’t really know why, but they’re fun!” wait, on the topic of dancing...—

honesty hour — status: accepting

honesty hour — status: accepting

honesty hour — status: accepting