Jul 3, 2023
"what if Catholic monks in 1500 learned about nuclear physics"
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"what if Catholic monks in 1500 learned about nuclear physics"
IDOL PROJECT THREE
episode five weekly drabble - trainee relationships 503 words
Though Hana is friendly towards most of the trainees she encounters, both within the idol project setting and outside of it, she actually has few trainee friends. Before the competition, she would have probably counted Mirae as her only true friend who is also a trainee. Within her own company, she isn’t particularly close with anyone, and anyone she had been more friendly with has either left or graduated into Eternity. Her and Mirae had met somewhat on accident some time before the competition, and their friendship has solidified further through living together and discovering uncommon similarities in their families’ backgrounds, despite being in the competition setting that is Idol Project. Through the competition, though, she feels that she has met some people who she likes enough to want to befriend properly - both Sean and also Raekyung (who she knew to a degree beforehand) are people she’d immediately felt comfortable with, and could see them becoming good friends in future. She also had taken a liking towards Taeha, and would like to get to know both her and Myungji (about whom she feels confused how they have rarely interacted, given her friendship with the girl’s sister) better outside of the show.
Really, there are few trainees she dislikes - just because she doesn’t form many deep friendships doesn’t mean she automatically dislikes everyone, and Hana has enjoyed the company of almost all the trainees she has encountered so far. However, there are a few she is wary of. Hana would be happy if she never saw nor heard of Chanmi again for the rest of her career, for after having to deal with her ego and unpleasantness up close and personal for two weeks in a row she decided then and there that she had had enough of the girl for the foreseeable future. Mercedes, too, though the girl has done nothing to Hana personally, is someone Hana has developed mixed feelings about. The girl presents a nice front to Hana, but Hana knows she has been unpleasant to Taeha, who Hana views as a sweetheart and during the younger’s time in the competition had felt somewhat protective over her, so Hana can’t help but look upon Mercedes with a degree of distrust.
Mercedes also happens to be the person who Hana sees as her biggest rivals - within Idol Project, at least. They are in different companies, so once the show is over, Hana will hold no feelings of rivalry toward the other girl, but in the competition so far it has been she and Mercedes that have been next to each other in the ranking every week, no matter where they sit on the scoreboard. Hana views Mercedes as the one she has to beat, or rather stay on top of, to achieve her dream of getting into the group, so although she is civil with and will work together with Mercedes when asked, internally she is measuring herself against the other girl and upping her performance where she can.
coffeeeeeee
Misery (OC’s; Mason and Chase)
Mason never thought he would settle down. He figured he would play the field until he was too old to play the field anymore, and then he would live out his remaining days in Sean and Lucy’s attic with whatever pet he happened to own.
That is, until he met Chase. Chase...well, Chase took Mason’s breath away the first time he saw him, something very, very uncharacteristic of him.
He had been at the hotel reception desk, drumming his fingers on the counter when he walked in.
‘Shit, he’s hot,’ Mason remembers thinking, staring at the tall, broad shouldered man who had a jawline that could cut diamonds. Mason wanted to die just looking at him, but then he was walking towards him, and Mason was two hundred percent he was about to pass out, spontaneously combust, or both.
He’s sure he looked like an idiot, standing there with his mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of something intelligent to say, but all that came out was, “hi...you...w-welcome...um..i-its the-uh...welcome to the...o-oceanside hotel.”
He bit down on his lip hard, mentally kicking himself for being such an idiot, and wondering when the hell he stopped being able have a conversation like a normal human being.
The man smiled, his green eyes lighting up as he hoisted his duffel bag up on his shoulder.
Holy shit, his eyes. They were captivating, and Mason couldn’t stop staring.
He blinked at him for a few seconds before standing up straighter, exhaling sharply, “uh, you, um...you w-want to check in?”
The man nods, “Chase Shaffer. I’m with the teaching conference.”
Mason can feel himself turning red, and he ducks his head so he doesn’t have to stare into Chase’s impossibly bright green eyes any longer. “Right...um..yeah, give me a few minutes, I’ll get you your room key and you’ll be all set.”
Mason and Chase flirted the entire week he was there, and the day he was supposed to leave, Mason finally got up the courage to ask him out. He never dreamed that Chase would have agreed, but he did, and it wasn’t long after that that they started dating, and it wasn’t long after they started dating that they moved in together.
“I think I want to go back to school,” Chase says one night at dinner.
Mason looks up from his food, mouth forming an ‘o’. They’ve been living together for six months at this point, and he had been talking about graduate school off and on for weeks now, but this was the first time he’s expressed any interest in actually doing it.
“Yeah?”
Chase nods, “I’ve been looking into it...I think I’m going to apply to a couple.”
“So...what are you going to be getting? Doctorate?”
“Nah, masters.”
“Are you going to quit your job?”
“Why would I do that?” He asks, frowning in confusion.
“I mean...I don’t have my masters or anything...but...isn’t that going to be really time consuming? How are you going to teach all your kids and get your masters?”
“Through the magic of Christmas,” he deadpans.
Mason rolls his eyes, “I’m serious.”
“It’ll be fine, Mase. People do it all the time.”
He chews on his bottom lip, “just...be careful. Please?”
Chase smiles softly at him, grabbing Mason’s hand in his own. He squeezes tightly, “I’ll be fine. I’m excited, it’ll be great.”
“Come to bed,” Mason mumbles sleepily, walking out to the kitchen table where Chase is sitting, working on a paper.
It’s two AM, and all of the lights are off, save for the glow of his computer illuminating his face and the abundance of coffee cups to the right of him.
Chase had been back in school for a little over three months now, and he was completely exhausted. He hasn’t said anything to Mason, he hasn’t complained at all, but he’s been wearing his glasses more and more frequently, which is a sign he’s either dead tired, or has a migraine.
“Can’t,” he mumbles, pausing to push his glasses up and rub at his eyes before going back to typing away at his laptop.
“Yes you can,” Mason says, sitting in the chair next to Chase.
“No, I can’t. I have a paper due tomorrow, I have work until three, and then class at five, I don’t have time to sleep.”
“You haven’t slept in three days.”
“And your point?”
“Chase Alexander Shaffer,” Mason spits, narrowing his eyes, “you need to sleep.”
“I’ll sleep on Saturday.”
“That’s not until tomorrow.”
Chase purses his lips, eyes flitting up to look at Mason before he turns his attention back to his laptop, “yes, I’m very well aware of what day it is. Thank you.”
“Chase, please?” He asks softly, “I’m worried about you...you need to sleep.”
“I just...I need to write this paper,” Chase whispers, voice breaking.
“How much longer?”
“Another two pages.”
“Can you call out of work?”
“No,” Chase says, clenching his fists as he pounds on the table, “I can do it. I don’t need to call out, I can handle it.”
“Chase-“
“-Stop. I need to finish this, go back to sleep, you have work in a few hours.”
“So do you.”
“Mason.”
“Fine,” Mason snaps, “fine. If you want to kill yourself, go ahead. I’m going back to bed.”
“Thank you.”
Mason sighs and leans down to kiss Chase’s cheek. “Goodnight.”
“‘Night,” Chase mumbles.
When Mason walks back out of their bedroom three hours later, Chase is fast asleep, hunched over his laptop as he snores lightly.
Mason walks over to him with a frown, putting his hand on Chase’s back. Chase’s glasses are askew, and Mason pulls them off gently, worried that if Chase jolts awake, he’ll break them.
“Chase.”
He jolts up into a sitting position, choking on a breath as he starts coughing.
“What? What time is it?”
“Five fifteen...are you okay?”
He sniffles and rubs a hand over his face, “mmm...yeah...tired.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” he frowns. “You were snoring. You never snore, unless-“
“-I’m fine.”
“You sound-“
“-I’m fine.”
“Did you finish?”
“Yeah.”
“Good,” Mason says, rubbing his back, “bedtime, then.”
Chase groans and rubs a hand over his face, “I don’t want to move...I’m exhausted.”
“How about you call your work and stay home and sleep?” Mason asks, putting his hands on Chase’s shoulders.
Chase shrugs him off, “No. I don’t need to call out.”
“But-“
“-I can do it,” Chase snaps, “I can handle it. I don’t need to call out.”
“Okay fine,” Mason sighs, rubbing his forehead. “But will you at least go to sleep?”
“Um...yeah, yeah, I’ll do that.”
“Chase?” Mason asks quietly, pulling him to his feet.
“Yeah?”
He pauses for a second, gathering his thoughts. “Don’t get mad at me, but...are you feeling okay? I know you’re stressed and exhausted, but...you don’t look like you feel well.”
Chase groans as they walk back to their bedroom, “I’m sorry...I don’t mean to snap at you all the time, I’m just-”
“-Stressed, I know. It’s okay, I’m not mad.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. Just please get some sleep, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You never answered my question, by the way.”
“I’m just tired...don’t think I’m sick.”
“Yet.”
Chase rolls his eyes, “I’ve been teaching for seven years, I don’t get sick anymore.”
“You say that now,” Mason says, pulling the blankets over him.
“I don’t get-”
“-I know. Get some sleep.”
“Hey, I think your phone is ringing,” Sean says, looking over at Mason.
He walks out of the back with a frown on his face, “what?”
“Your phone. It’s buzzing,” he says, grabbing it from the cabinet underneath their counter. “Here.”
Mason frowns, looking at the caller ID, “It’s Chase’s school.”
“That’s...weird.”
“Hello?”
“Is this Mason Edwards?”
“Yeah, this is he.”
“This is Lisa from Woodside elementary school. You’re the emergency contact for Chase Shaffer, and we were just wondering if you’ve heard from him.”
Mason’s breath catches in his throat, “um...isn’t he at work?”
“He never showed up this morning, and we’ve been trying to reach him for over an hour, but we haven’t been able to get in contact with him.”
His heart leaps into his throat, and he can’t move as he clutches his phone as tightly as possible, “O-okay...uh...I’ll try to get a hold of him...um...yeah. Thank you for letting me know, I’ll call you back in a little while.”
“What’s up?”
“I have to go.”
“Is everything okay?”
“No...Chase didn’t show up for work...they can’t get ahold of him.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you-”
“-I swear if he crashed his fucking car because he fucking fell asleep at the fucking wheel, I’m going to fucking kill him,” Mason spits, grabbing all of his stuff.
“What-”
“-Can you just let boss man know I left, I need...I need to get home and make sure he’s okay.”
“Mason, take a breath. I know you’re panicking right now, but nothing is going to get accomplished if you wrap your car around a pole.”
Mason’s heart is racing the entire drive home as he calls Chase’s phone over and over and over again. Each missed call makes his panic increase, and by the time he gets to their apartment, he’s furious and is close to tears.
“Chase!” He yells when he finally kicks the door in (he’ll worry about repairs later). “Chase!”
He all but sprints into the bedroom, and sighs in relief when he sees his boyfriend fast asleep under the covers.
Chase shifts under the covers, and groans when he feels Mason’s hand on his forehead.
“Go ‘way...m’sleepin’”
“You have a fever,” Mason says softly. “You slept through your alarms...nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Shhh,” Chase mumbles, “too loud.”
“Headache?”
“Mmmmmnh,” he mumbles, and then groans when he opens his eyes and the sunlight streaming through the curtains exacerbate the throbbing in his head. “Migraine, I think.”
“I’ll go get you something for that.”
“Wait...what time is it?”
“Nine thirty.”
“What?!” Chase cries, bolting upright. He goes into a coughing fit that makes Mason grimace.
“Chase, relax-”
“I’m late for work!”
“Chase-”
“-I have to-”
“-Chase,” Mason says firmly, putting his hands on Chase’s shoulders. “Honey, relax.”
Chase looks at him, jaw clenched in pain. “I can’t...I can’t do this, Mason.”
“What are you talking about?” He asks, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“I can’t do it,” he whimpers, eyes filling with tears. “I thought I could do everything but I can’t.”
“Do you know what I think?”
Chase sniffles, “what?”
“I think you’re burnt out, and you’re exhausted and you need sleep, but I know you can do it.”
“I can’t.”
“You can. I know you can...you’re the most capable, smartest person I’ve ever met, there’s no doubt in my mind that you can do this.”
“I feel like shit.”
“I know,” Mason says, cupping Chase’s cheek. “I’m going to get you some medicine and take your temperature, and then I’m going to call your work, and then I’m going to call my work, and then we’re going to cuddle and you’re going to sleep.”
Chase nods, biting his bottom lip as he blinks the tears away.
“I know it’s hard, I know...but I’m not lying to you. I know you can do it. Will you please let me help you out? I’ll help you write papers, I’ll help you study, I’ll take time off work and help you in your class..just let me know what you need.”
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
Mason grins, kissing Chase’s forehead.
“I’ll be right back, try and sleep, yeah?”
“Mason,” Chase croaks sleepily a couple of hours later, nuzzling his face into Mason’s neck.
“Yeah? How are you feeling?”
“Everything hurts,” he mumbles.
“You sound stuffy,” Mason frowns, stroking Chase’s light brown hair.
“I am,” he mutters, “chest feels tight.”
“Are you alright?”
“No,” he croaks, going into a coughing fit. The sound is harsh and grating, and Mason can hear the rattling in his chest.
“Chase, that doesn’t sound good. Where’s your inhaler?”
“Dunno,” he wheezes. Mason has him sitting up in an instant, panic clawing at his chest as Chase gulps for air.
“Chase, I know you don’t feel well, and I know it’s hard to think because you can’t fucking breathe, but I need you to work with me a little bit. Where’s your inhaler?”
“Uh...bathroom cabinet, I th-think-” he’s cut off by a series of rough, congested sneezes that kick off another coughing fit. “Sh-shit.”
“Here! Here! I found it,” Mason cries, thrusting it into Chase’s shaking hands.
After a few minutes, Chase clears his throat and brings his glassy, fever-bright eyes to Mason’s, “thank you.”
“Better?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Chase, you can’t do this.”
“...have an asthma attack? Well shit, thanks for letting me know.”
Mason rolls his eyes, “that’s not what I’m talking about and you know it. You can’t work yourself this hard, dammit. You can’t stop sleeping, you need to figure out some system that works better than giving it up.”
Chase groans, “I know...I know.”
“Just...I don’t want you to end up killing yourself. I don’t...that call was...I thought you crashed your car.”
“I’m sorry, Mase...I didn’t mean to worry you…” he rasps weakly, eyelids drooping.
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know, I know. It’s okay,” Mason soothes, stroking his cheek, “I think your fever is up. It’s time for some medicine, I’ll be right back.”
Chase mumbles something unintelligible that Mason assumes is a “thank you”.
He chuckles, kissing Chase’s cheek before walking out of the room.
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh-xrXDua1k)
@solitary-sean