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16. PLUSHY
ぬいぐるみ

TEETH PULLING BOTTOM lip, jungkook hit the answer button. "lia?" he said into the phone slowly. "the one and only!" she chirped. he chuckled softly. "i thought you were watching riverdale." he drew circles on his bed distractedly.

"yeah, but you said you couldn't sleep. so i'm going to help you. i'm not sure how though. damn i'm already bad at this." she muttered the last bit. he could not help the smile that spread across his face. "that's very nice of you but you don't have to."

"yeah, but i want to." she replied sweetly. "hmm, first things first, are you in bed? wait did that sound kinky?" she asked the last part more to herself than him. "yes, i'm in bed." jungkook laughed softly. "is it comfortable? you should get comfy."

he did as he was told, throwing the covers over himself. "i'm warm and toasty." he remarked playfully. "hmm, i'd sing you a lullaby but you'd probably never be able to sleep in your life again so no. um, no gadgets. so phones and laptops are off limits. wait, we're talking on the phone... laptops are off limits."

jungkook couldn't stop smiling as he listened to her soft voice. "okay, what do you usually think about before you sleep? when you do sleep." she added softly. he shrugged, taking a deep breath. "i'm not sure. can't really remember and it's been a while."

"oh," she sounded worried. "i was going to say maybe you could try thinking of those things to help you sleep. i don't know. this is why i can't help people, i'm useless."

his cheeks rounded as his smile got wider. "no, you're not." he assured her. "sure," she drawled and he chuckled. lia took a breath, humming in thought for a moment. "do you have any plushies?"

his brows went up at the question. "why?" he inquired curiously. "i like to hug things when i'm sleeping so i thought hugging a plushy might help." her voice was shaky as though she was moving around.

"can i hug you?"

there was silence on her end and jungkook could tell that she was flustered by his unexpected question. "j-jungkook," she finally started, "stop teasing me." if blushing had a sound, it would be lia's voice.

he moved around on the bed, turning on his side. "why do you think i'm teasing?" he was unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. "because you are." she almost sounded like she was whining. "are you blushing, aaliyah?"

"s-shut up!" she stuttered out defensively. jungkook's laughter was close to soundless. "you're so cute." he remarked softly, pressing his cheek against the pillow. "stop." she groaned. "what? what did i do?"

"i'm not sure but stop." she replied, sighing deeply. shifting around in the bed to get more comfortable, he laughed again. "but really, i don't have a plushy. so can you be my plushy?" he sounded almost child-like.

"it's almost three in the morning i'm not leaving my bed to be your teddy bear." her voice had steadied, seemingly now somewhat more comfortable with his teasing. he smiled softly at her being able to banter with him now. "well, i can come over."

"sure. if you'd like your legs chopped off by my father and brother, by all means." she chimed softly. he chuckled in response, feeling more relaxed. "well, i kind of like my legs."

"good for you. most people do." she replied with a tinge of sarcasm. jungkook couldn't wipe the smile off his face. she was a breath of fresh air. "i'm not most people." he answered playfully. "either you actually don't like your legs or you don't know how to use that cliché phrase."

he laughed loudly then, amusement wracking his body. "i was being sarcastic, lia." his fingers traced a path down his pillow. "oh, so you are like most people, hm?" he could almost picture a smug look on her face. "well, i like to think i'm different from others. i actually am." he murmured.

"yeah, you're a good different." she replied sweetly. "thank you, lia." a shy smile made its way to his face. he was oddly beginning to feel tired, his body becoming more limp. "i think i know how to get you to sleep?" she chimed after a moment of silence.

his ears perked up though his body barely moved. "really? what?" his curiosity showed itself in his soft question. "a recording of mr martinez's class." she answered perkily. "who's mr martinez?" his brows furrowed.

"oh he was my 12th grade science teacher. cat would swear on her life that his classes could cure insomnia. everyone always seemed to be battling sleep in his class." she replied with a small laugh. "i'm so glad i've graduated and don't have to sit through one of his 'siesta fiestas'."

another laugh left jungkook's lips, his eyes fluttering shut. "lia, we have professors like those in uni too." he told her. "hey, cheesecake, don't piss on my happiness." he could tell she was pouting by the sound of her voice.

"i'm sorry," he chuckled quietly. there was a pause before lia spoke again. "feeling sleepy, cheesecake?" she queried softly. "mhm," his head bobbed lethargically. his body was feeling heavier and heavier. "but when did we go from cheesecake guy to just cheesecake?"

"i don't know. it's shorter and cuter." she answered. "i'll just keep talking until you stop responding so i know you've fallen asleep." she informed, voice dropping significantly to just a little over a whisper.

jungkook's lips curved up lazily. "that's super nice, yaya." he mumbled, voice sounding groggy and deeper. somewhere in his mind he registered a questioning hum on her end. "so i'm also getting a new nickname, hm?" lia's soft voice reached his ears as though it was from a great distance.

he hummed a reply, body completely relaxing. the last thing he heard was lia's calming voice wishing him a soft goodnight. it seemed like shooting stars really did have magic. his wish had been granted.

☀️☀️☀️

ohmygod this update is long overdue. it's been far too long but my inspiration finally returned! i hope you like it even though it's messy and not proofread. so they moved on to sort of new nicknames. what do you think? and jungkook finally slept!