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talesofpheonixdrop · 1 year ago

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Caught a Vibe!

Wanted to write some headcanons to boost my motivation for drabbles so enjoy!

Minecraft Diaries vs Suprise kisses from reader!

Feat: Garroth, Laurance, Zane, Vylad, Gene, Jeffory, and Cadenza

Info: G/N Reader.

pre established relationships, Zane and Gene sure are themselves lol. Pretty much just fluff. Reader instead of Aphmau in all except for Jeffory, Zane and Gene. Abby is around 5-6, Sasha and Zoey were supposed to be in this, but I got bored of this one and wanted to get it out- if yall want more or I randomly decide to write a part 2 on my own they will be the first ones in it i promise.

Warnings: (I know i said mostly fluff but im sorry) Zane is for sure his own warning but there is mentions of Jeffory's murder in his part and a implication of threatening reader in the past. Genes also not great, his reader is a little naive and he a little frames them. His powers are used but not against reader.

Requests are still open and enjoy under the cut!

Oh, Garroth, sweet, sweet Garroth.

He thinks he's so subtle, but he is not.

Your lovely boyfriend is so starved for affection but so unwilling to ask for it.

He thinks it would be improper being a guard... or at least that's what he says, but it surely stems from his affectionless household.

you catch him sometimes watching your hands or his gaze moving to your lips for only a moment.

It's incredibly endearing. And gives you an *incredibly* devious idea.

really, can you be blamed for Garroth being so fun to tease? He's such a pearl clutcher!!

Patrol reports are boring. you fully understand why they need to happen. But there's never anything to report yet. Somehow, your lovely guards can take 20 minutes to describe *nothing* .

and that's where you sit, listening to Garroth go on about the state of the forest surrounding Pheonix Drop. Turning to you asking if you have anything to add. before doing it *again* .

Crystal blue eyes looking to your lips for just a moment before they are averted.

oh, he makes it too easy.

with a simple smirk, you lean across the table to kiss him.

He goes unbelivably stiff for a moment in his shock before positivley *melting* when your hand moves to cup his warm cheek.

He lets out something between a small whine and a groan when you deepen it, His kiss is soft and sweet, with just an edge of desperation. One hand moving to cradle the back of your head a silent plea for you not to pull away just yet. eliciting a small chuckle from you.

but eventually, it must come to an end. And when you pull away, he chases after your lips for a moment a lovesick haze in his eyes, as if the entire world outside of *you* has fallen away from him. A look that warms you from the inside out and reminds you just how much you love the man in front of you.

'No nothing to add,' you coo softly before fully pulling away, looking to your other two guards. Dantes eyes wide and mouth parted, Laurances eyes were wide as well but there was a sense of amusment to it.

You cheerily excuse yourself, letting them know you will be working on some upgrades for the Plaza if they need you. Leaving behind a sputttering malfunctioning Garroth who crashed back down to earth.

You really will be the death of him.

He's just so handsome.

And his cooking smells so good, His voice is so smooth as he talks about the dish he's making, and you're so in love with the man in your kitchen.

Your relationship is already so affectionate, but will you ever really be satisfied?

You're so busy watching him and fanaticizing you dont even notice that he's stopped cooking to talk to you.

'Hey, you with me?' He asks with a chuckle, snapping you out of the daze.

You look at his slightly crooked smile, giving him a slight smirk, giving you a mischevious idea of your own. His eyebrow raises as he notices the new look in your eye.

You surge forward to kiss him, His eyes widen in slight surprise before closing and leaning further into you. But just before he can move his hands to hold onto you and deepen the kiss, you pull away. He looks down at you with a mixture of amusement and confusion one hand on your hip....

You stare into marble blue eyes for a few moments. Before lifting his hand off your hip so you can dash away laughing, the shout of 'Hey!' and the stove turning off lets you know he's in chase.

'What was all of that about?' he asks, giggling himself as he sets your feet back on the ground.

Even with your head start, you only get halfway down the stairs of the hill to the platform before you feel arms wrap around your midsection, hoisting you in the air and spinning you around with a triumphent shout. Laying quick kisses all over the side of your face as you laugh.

You just let out a contented sigh and turn your head to kiss him for real. Sweet and tender and full of giggles when you remember his shout as you ran.

Being the spouse of the high preist of O'khasis is certainly....interesting.

you know he cared for you in... some real extent. After all, he went through a lot of effort to ensure your engagement. Sabatoging your other suitors and persuading your parents.

That wasn't all it took to convince you. You're not dumb and know of the vast political advantage he gained from marrying you. You were the hier of a village that rivaled Scaleswind in size. If you were dumb you doubt Zane would hold you in any regard.

But Zane does have small moments that convince you that you mean more than just a political pawn.

You still share a bed. You knew no matter what, you would need to share a room to keep appearances, but if he didn't want you in the bed, you were certain you wouldn't be in the bed.

Most nights, you were already asleep when Zane went to bed. but sometimes you would wake up in the middle of the night, and his arm is draped over your side.

He also can be affectionate at times, mostly in public... but there are times in private his hand will find yours, or a quick kiss will be placed to your temple, hand, cheek or very occasisonally the corner of your mouth.

And in a twisted way. You had to care to make threats.

it wasn't anything overt. It was a meeting for the jury of nine. You were seated on the armrest of his throne at his behest. Which wasn't too odd. Whenever Zane saw the opportunity for a power move, he took it. and you still dont know who it was against. The audience he held... or you.

You're stuck staring at the Corpse of Jeffory the Golden Heart laying on the carpet. Zanes pitch black sword still stained with the fathers blood, tossed onto Zanes desk as he makes his way back to his throne.

He pulls you into his lap as he sits. Arms wrapped around your waist and chin resting on your shoulder.

'Let this be a lesson to the rest of you.' He looks around at the rest of the Jury of....well.. Eight gathered. 'This is what happens to those who betray me.'

His arms tighten around your midsection after that.

It's been a while since then. It's getting late, but as usual, Zane is at his desk going through paperwork. The sound of quill on paper and the crackling of the fire makes this moment feel peaceful.

You don't really know what possesed you to do this, maybe the soft light of the fire off of your husbands cheekbones in his rare moments without the mask.

That is what most makes you feel most like he cares for you.

Getting to see the freckles dusting across his light baby face. A view reserved just for you.

'Yes Lamb?' Zane speaks up, making you jump out of your thoughts. He hasnt moved his gaze from his paperwork.

You steel your resolve and get up from your spot, walking to your husbands side, He turns his head to look up to you, one eyebrow raised. Icy blue eyes bearing into you.

'Just heading to bed,' you mummer, leaning down to press a feather light kiss to the corner of his mouth. 'Good night'

you pull away pretending not to notice the way Zanes face flushes the darkest shade of red you have ever seen. And his eyes are wide in suprise.

It's actually pretty adorable, but you know it would take quite a turn if you pointed this moment out.

you go to leave the room when you feel his hand grip onto your wrist.

'Someones feeling *bold* tonight.'

Your boyfriend never really grew out of the whole 'Dissapearing act hide in the trees' thing. Even in times of peace, he goes off to watch and brood.

You suppose you can't blame him. He's been through a lot and is still constantly working towards... welll whatever his goal is. He's pretty elusive about it, but you trust him implicitly despite his insistence. You should be more cautious.

But you feel at some point that it has to be unhealthy to live amongst the trees, stewing on past atrocities rather than fostering genuine connections with people. Something you won't let stand.

'Vylad! Vylad, come on, it's time for dinner!' You call walking through the woods, trying to lure your elusive lover out.

He does not come out immediately, but you can tell you're being watched. The tell tale Goosebumps and raise of unease in your chest, The Feeling of a rabbit being stalked by a wolf and the silence of the forest confirms to you that its a Shadow knight.

You let out a huff as you immeaditly clock the game he's playing.

Vylad likes to test your survival skills from time to time. Letting people in was hard for him. A million times more difficult with the romantic context between you. Sometimes, he needed to assure himself you weren't going to do something stupid and die.

'Fine! But this isn't tag this time! I promised Levin and Malachi we would be eating dinner with them and I don't want the food getting cold' you shout out, knowing full well if Vylad had his way he would be slipping around until either you physically restrained him or he took pity on you.

So you get to work hunting through the trees. Actively going towards what causes all your instincts to scream in protest.

You grip onto the tree and swing around to meet his Pine green eyes, looking back into yours.

'A real enemy isn't going to stick in one spot because you have dinner with your sons.' Vylads voice is muffled behind his scarf as you give him a deadpan.

You reach forward to loosen his scarf just enough to free his mouth.

He instantly assumes you just didn't hear him properly and goes to repeat himself. But you press your lips to his before he can... Vylad always takes a moment, surprised that you'd want to kiss him no matter how many times you have. But he always becomes incredibly passionate, kissing you like it could be the last time.

When you finally part for air that... one of you needs much more than the other. Hands still gripping his scarf, you reply.

'Yes, I know, and Im *very* greatful you did tonight now come on they are waiting' you laugh tugging him along with you back to the village.

Being with Gene means accepting that you never really know when he's gonna drop by, He is fond of you... that's the word he uses. But of course, his plans will always come first.

So, he kinda pops in and out of your life at random, spends Irene knows how long with you, then leaves for Irene knows how long again.

Rinse and repeat.

So you've learned better than to wait around for your hell born partner.

And today you need to go on a trip to the market.

You dont actually live in a Village, you live in a cottage a fairly short walk away from Nahakra.

You make sure to only bring enough coin for what you need and decide to get a covered basket to carry it in that you could keep hooked around your elbow. Trying to minimize the chance of being targeted by any members of the Thieves' Guild. And then you head out!

The walk and most of your shopping goes without a hitch!... the keyword is most.

You had been looking at some blueberries at a stall, You had read about a blueberry tart recipe and wanted to try it out, but with the addition of lemon. Unfortunately, blueberries need much more acidic soil than your plants could handle, so the market was your only go-to.

What's worse is that you apparently weren't early enough because all of the blueberries either were under or overripe, and the ones that were good enough for you to consider taking were way out of your price range.

With furrowed brows and a huff as you stare at the price before putting down the small carton to get your last few items. You're halfway to reaching a new stall when you hear shouting

'STOP you, little Theif!' Well. It is the capital of the Theives Guild. You dont pay it any mind.... until you feel someone harshly grip your wrist and yank

you squeal and grab the wrist of the Stall owner, holding you, trying to pry your arm free from his crushing grip all the while he is screaming obscenities and accusations at you.

Apparently, the blueberries you had been scrutinizing went missing, so he assumed you must have done it.

He's shouting about what the guards will do to you, that you'll be lucky to keep your hands all the while you try to defend yourself. Insist that you didn't do it, but he's ignoring you.

'No one stole anything.' The stall owner goes silent, Gene in the villages armor... somehow? He has one arm over his shoulder and his other hand pressed against the mans forehead, his voice eerily calm. 'You were straightening out your stall, and you knocked the carton over, remember?'

The stall owners eyes are empty. Completely devoid of original thought as he nods, slowly slurring out a yeah.

'Exactly' Gene continues, taking his hand away from the mans face, light slowly reappearing in the vendors eyes as he does.

You always have to suppress a shiver in your spine seeing Gene use his Magicks.

'Now, don't you think you should give this *poor* civillian a apolagy?' He finishes, his arm tightening around the other mans shoulder .

You start to protest, but the man hurriedly apolagizes as genes arm tightens once more,

'You accept that?' Gene asks you. You nod in response, feeling relieved when he lets the vendor go

'There we go all fixed, now why dont you head back to your stall huh?'

It always amazes you how Gene can sound so polite yet so... threatening. The man wisely chooses to run back to his stall.

Gene smirks at you when you're both alone again.

'Wow, theiving, huh? Didn't think you had it in ya Doll' he starts walking away, leaving you stammering for a few moments before you jog to catch up.

You insist you didn't do it, causing him to laugh and pull out the very carton of blueberries from his bag, much to your shock and horror.

'Yeah I know' he hums handing you the offending fruit 'Honestly those prices were *criminal* someone needs to put a stop to that man' he laughs as if he didnt nearly get you arrested???? The audacity???

You proceed to ask him what the *hell* is wrong with him??? You knew he was a criminal, but you had to *live* here! You nearly got dragged to the guards over blueberries!

The man has the *Gall* to look offended, leaning over, so he's at head level with you

'Really Y/N im hurt, I get you those little blueberries you clearly wanted so bad, *and* swooped in and saved you with that guy back there and this is how you repay me??? Not even a thank you for your *Knight in shining armor* Tsk tsk'

You are feeling a mixture of emotions, annoyance, the urge to appease, ..... and a strange warmth. For better or worse, this is the man you fell in love with, horrendous quirks and all.

You lean over and press a chaste kiss to his lips and mummering a small thank you.

He blinks a few times in suprise before smirking wide to egg you on or tease when he notices you rubbing the wrist that man had grabbed, while not bruised it was certainly discolored and sore.

His already lightless eyes darken...

Irene help that mans soul.

Having just arrived home from the market, you watch from the doorway smiling wide.

Jeffory and Abby are in the den playing pretend with swords. Abby is wearing a hood to show she's the villain shouting out and attacking her father.

You loved moments like these, where the Jury of Nine didn't need your fiancée and you all could just be a normal family together. No expectations or glaring preists looming over you.

Your broken out of your thoughts by Jeffory letting out a shout, holding the sword between his arm and side as if hes been stabbed, dramtically leaning backwards slowly and dropping to his knees monolouging about how evil would never win and he would find a way to save the kingdom even in death before fully laying down on his back and letting his head plop to the side with a dramatic groan.

you can NOT help but laugh at this, You love this man, but he is a SHIT actor, and... the idea of a Jury of Nine member defeated is kinda funny, even if it was just pretend.

That alerts both of them to your presence, Jeffory cracking open one sage green eye suprised, but smiles wide moving to get up and help with your basket when Abby whacks him in the head with a sword

'Gah- Hey!! Abby, not nice!'

'You're supposed to be dead! Lay Down!'

After a quick chastizing about using her words, he does as she asks, After all, he's never reeaalllly been able to say no to her.

She gets back in character, laughing manically and saying the kingdom will finally be hers! Then, walking away from her father laughing all the while

You're getting very caught up in the drama when Abby tosses off her hood and then walks back over to Jeffory's 'body' to gasp in horror

'No!! Sir Knight!!' She cries promising to go and get help when her eyes *lock* on you.

uh oh

She runs over to her toy box and brings you a toy crown whispering to you to put it on.

You obviously do, duh.

' Your Majesty!! Your Majesty!! Sir Knight needs your magical healing powers!! Hurry before it's too late!!' she calls, grabbing your hand with her little one to pull you over to where your fiance lays on the floor.

you hold back a chuckle as you kneel on the floor next to him. " Oh, Poor Sir Knight, I see what you mean, Miss Ah -"

Abby opens her mouth to share whatever wildly elaborate name she has setled on for the game when there is a knock on the door and the muffled shout of one of the neighborhood children.

'Abby!! Abby!!! We are playing pick-up sticks, and the winner gets a sachel of candy! come play!!'

double uh oh

There's a LOUD gasp from the girl next to you. Giant puppy eyes pointed to her father, letting out a series of high-pitched pleases.

he huffs, shaking his head lightly but letting her know she can go but to be back before the sun starts setting.

She runs off , and Jeffory gives a light-hearted eye roll at the attention span of kids moving to sit up when you gave him an amused look.

"I thought you were dead, Im supposed to revive you"

He looks at you with a mixture of confusion and amusment.

you lean down to kiss him, his eyes widening in realization and excitment.

his hands wind into your hair, cradling the back of your head, entrapping you in a loving and passionate kiss.

you cradled his face in your hands in turn, reluctantly turning away when your lungs started protesting, panting for a few moments before chuckling at him.

"Healed you~ Now come on, help me put away the produce," you coo to him, standing up and heading over to your basket, hearing him rushing over to you.

he is just insaciable <3

You always made sure to have Cadenza accompany you when traveling to Metelli.

Not only for her to visit her father and friends, but because your favorite activity with each other can only be done in her home village.

A short walk from Metelli is a HUGE lush wild flower field.

The very same fields that Cadenza used to frequent before you met.

Always setting aside a afternoon if not a day of your trip to devote to your girlfriend and the flower fields, Picnics, exploring, finding flowers that remind you of the other most, making flower crowns, and to end it all off lying in the field together.

Sometimes, you accidentally find yourselves waking up there the next morning, breaking out into hushed giggles and sneaking back to your group.

You're both sitting down in the flowers, fruit sandwiches rest on napkins at your sides, Cadenza carefully crafting a very intricate flower crown while you read your book aloud to her.

Some fantasy novel you're only half paying attention to, Irene your girlfriend is so pretty. it's no wonder that a village nearly went to war over her, Irene knows you would.

That's the thought that led you to stop reading and just watch her, waiting for her to look up from her craft.

She does after only a few moments, confused and ready to ask why you stopped when you rush forward, giving her a sweet yet quick kiss.

With that out of your system, you look back to your book to continue reading to her.

Cadenza has other plans though, after processing the pleasant suprise she squeals loudly and launches forward, pratically tackling you to the ground and peppering your face in quick adoring kisses, the type you can feel her smile through, full of laughs from both you.

Only after every inch of your face has been sufficently kissed does she properly connect your lips, Her long firey hair curtining over you, completely surrounding you in *her*

And there is no place you would rather be <3

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dailyaphmaumemes · 2 months ago

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Day 220+ 1036 of posting Aphmau memes till MyStreet returns in late 2025 | 6 loss, 5 grave.. Diaries is still on the table or is it My Inner Demons that's next to get resurrected if at all

#aphmau #aphblr #late 2025

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dilly-dahlia · 12 days ago

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vi. Check

pairing: Gene x Reader

content: pdh, drill team!reader, opposites attract, sunshine/grumpy, feelings (finally), suggestive but not explicit, images used are NOT an indication of the reader's appearance

summary: Practically everyone you knew was pointing out the alleged spark you had with Gene. You denied it every time, but once you're left alone with your own thoughts, you realize that they might not be wrong.

word count: 7.4k

masterlist

The Problem With Popularity masterlist

previous part

There was nothing that could have prepared you for the debate Garroth, Laurance, Dante, and Travis had found themselves entangled in during lunch. You weren’t even sure how you got to this point, but you definitely didn’t want to be part of it.

Somehow, your curious question about whether Garroth or Laurance had a girlfriend (because they had been acting weird lately when the topic was brought up) led to the guys at your lunch table debating who had the most game. So far, it definitely seemed like Garroth and Laurance were in the lead, which was unsurprising. Dante, however, seemed to have fallen dead last among the four of them. He was not very happy about it.

“I have lots of girls that would date me!” His hands were splayed out on the table, and he stuttered as he frantically looked around the lunch room for any familiar faces. “Lori said she likes me.”

“Lori said you were cute but she’d never date you,” you cut in dryly. She’d told you one day in the locker room attempting to get Dante to quit bothering her. You hadn’t done anything about it yet, but Lori hadn’t said anything else to you and Dante had stopped rambling about her.

“What? Why?”

“Maybe because when you were dating your last girlfriend you still flirted with girls,” Laurance suggested. He shrugged, holding his hands up in surrender. “I dunno, though. That’s just a hunch I have.”

“First of all, Daisy said she didn’t want to label it and didn’t care. She turned out to be lesbian anyway, so that doesn’t count.”

“What I’m hearing is you were such a bad boyfriend that she never wanted to like a man again,” Travis said. He had come out of his shell more and often put himself into conversations with the other guys. You were glad for it, but he was more like Dante than you ever imagined.

“Second,” Dante made his voice louder and glared at Travis to shush him, “Laurance, you fumbled Y/n, so I don’t wanna hear it.”

“At least I could pull her.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at Dante’s defense and Laurance’s rebuttal. At some point it had been decided that the most significant thing anyone had done in your friend group was date you. You weren’t sure when that happened, but you didn’t mind. You found it amusing that they’d made you the standard, as stupid as it was. Not to mention it boosted your confidence and had helped you during your sophomore year.

“Dante, you need to just face the fact that you aren’t all that,” Garroth said, shrugging. “It’s okay. Not everyone can be the best.”

Dante glared at Garroth. His expression was void of any feeling and it looked like he might have been plotting a murder.

“Well, I’m sure Katelyn would-“

“Nope.” Katelyn was hardly paying attention to the conversation. Most of her attention seemed to be turned toward her phone and the chicken noodle soup that had been served for lunch.

“Aphmau, if I asked you out, you'd accept, right?”

“Wow, uhm. Look at that.” The freshman looked down at her wrist, clicking her tongue at the time displayed on her imaginary watch. “I have to go.”

Aphmau stood up, lifting her tray from the table and hurrying over to the trash. She lingered there for a moment, but she had left her backpack, so you knew she would be back.

Travis reached over to aggressively pat Dante on the back. “Sucks, man.”

“Travis, you don’t know how to talk to girls.”

“And yet girls love my awkward charm.”

Dante rolled his eyes, looking around the room before his gaze landed on you. You raised your brows at him, daring him to continue with his poorly thought out plan. Aphmau returned to her spot just as he started talking.

“I’m sure Y/n would date me.” He pointed to you, sounding slightly exasperated.

The thought made you laugh. Loudly. You and Dante? It was ridiculous to you. As you lifted your water bottle to your lips, you said, “In your dreams.”

Katelyn snickered. “Maybe if you were your brother,” Her tone was teasing. She glanced up and laughed at the sight of you coughing on water.

“Katelyn! That was one time,” you exclaimed. Your voice was slightly hoarse from coughing, and you cleared your throat to get rid of the scratchy feeling. You shook your head, reaching to lightly hit her arm. “It’s not like that.”

“Oh, my god, Gene?” Dante seemed appalled. You weren’t sure why, since it had been brought up multiple times that you and Gene appeared to have a thing going on. Though Dante did tend to forget things, even if he paid attention.

Laurance leaned forward and you found yourself wanting to curl up and disappear. Just poof out of existence. “What does that mean?” He asked you instead of Katelyn, his blue gaze unwavering from yours. It felt like he was staring deep into your soul, learning every single one of your secrets without your having to say anything.

Katelyn, as oblivious to tone and atmosphere as she often was, laughed. “Me, her, and Sasha made a hear me out cake a while ago and she put Gene on it.”

You thanked God she didn’t mention the tangent you had gone on the previous Sunday. The one where you told her you didn’t know what was happening, but that every time you found yourself with Gene you were smiling more and butterflies flapped in your stomach. If she did, you knew it would have been over for you. That was something you would never live down and you’d face judgement for the rest of your life.

“It wasn’t, like, an admission to a crush or anything!” you quickly added. Your voice was shaky. It was clear you were nervous and you hoped your friends couldn’t tell that you were getting hot. “It’s a hear me out cake, so I was saying, like . . . y’know. Hear me out. Maybe if Gene wasn’t a complete jerk I’d . . .”

You trailed off, finding that your sad attempt at defending yourself was crashing and burning and Dante and Laurance and everyone else’s faces slowly twisted into varying expressions of surprise and disgust. You covered your mouth, hoping the physical barrier would be better than your self conscious filter at making you not speak.

“She said she’d”—Katelyn imitated the hand motion you made to her weeks ago. Immediately you reached over to smack her hand down and hold it beneath the table.

“I did not do that.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No. You were tired and seeing things.”

“No, you definitely did that.”

“Can we get back to how Y/n would date Gene?” Laurance cut in. His brows were pulled together, his gaze was flicking between you and Katelyn, though it always lingered longer on you.

“Yeah, I want to know why you’d rather go out with my brother than me,” Dante added. He leaned forward as well, his arms crossed in a judging manner.

“Okay, I never said I would date Gene.” You rolled your eyes. You had started using your hands to try and paint a picture, but it only ended up being a slop of random motions. “I only admitted that I think he’s attractive.”

“So you think I’m ugly?” Dante asked.

You furrowed your brows and side eyed him. You paused your train of thought to process his words and carefully consider your next words so you didn’t make an even deeper hole for yourself. “I never said that.”

“But I wasn’t on the hear me out cake.”

You grumbled something unintelligible, dropping your head and splaying your hands over your face. After a moment, you lifted your head and clapped your hands. “Just because you were not on the hear me out cake doesn’t mean anything! It’s called a hear me out, so you hear me out about different people and/or objects!”

“Objects?” Travis muttered. It was more to himself, though, as his question went unheard.

“It’s not supposed to be a universally accepted thing, and you guys weren’t supposed to know about it anyway,” you finished, letting out a huff. “But just because I put Gene on there doesn’t mean-“

“I feel like that warrants the jar,” Dante said bluntly. Your jaw dropped, and you stared at him for a moment.

“What?”

“I feel like I should be able to call the jar on you because you’re saying my brother-“

“Oh, my god Dante! It was a theoretical situation!”

“It was a hear me out cake so you deliberately chose him beforehand!” Dante crossed his arms, leaning forward on the table. His gaze was unwavering. So much so that it almost scared you. “Jar.”

You scoffed in defiance, but once Garroth and Travis chimed in that Dante was right, you reluctantly dug the bedazzled jar from your bag.

“You guys are terrible,” you mumbled to yourself, counting out seven ones and shoving them in the glass.

“More.”

“What?”

“This is Gene we’re talking about, Y/n,” Laurance added. Since when did he have Dante’s side? Well, obviously he was but why was he only just now voicing it? “He’s a terrible person and has bothered almost every single person at this table.”

“Yeah, and he’s my brother.”

“Oh, my goodness. I know he’s your brother, Dante,” you groaned, fishing a crumpled ten out of your wallet and dropping it in as well. “That’s all I have,” you said, capping the jar and shoving it back in your backpack. “There. Happy?”

You looked to Dante for approval. You scoffed at the sight of the grimace on his face. “I guess if that’s all you have,” he sighed.

You rolled your eyes, standing to take your tray to the wash station just as the bell rang. “You are so dramatic.”

Once you had walked over and set your dirty bowl and tray into their designated spots, you waited by the hallway entrance for Garroth, Laurance, and Aphmau to catch up. You debated just leaving them behind and continuing to sixth period on your own, though, since they (mainly Laurance) would be questioning you relentlessly.

You spent too long thinking about it and found yourself stepping in time with the three of them. Just as you predicted, the entire walk and majority of the class was spent grilling you about your feelings.

You claimed they were nonexistent.

They didn’t believe you.

—

“You know,” Lucinda began. She took a long pause in her sentence, using a drawn out sip of her sweet tea to bridge the gap between her words. “Studies show the more time you spend with someone the more you like them.”

Both you and Katelyn slowly blinked at her from across the booth. The two of you sat in silence, your food momentarily forgotten as you tried to figure out why that was relevant to the conversation.

“What does that even mean?” Katelyn finally asked, her brows furrowed. “Obviously the more time you spend with someone the more you like them.”

“What were we even talking about to prompt that?” you cut in, scraping the sides of the pink ice cream cup in your hand with a spoon.

Lucinda shrugged, setting her foam cup down on the table again. She spent a second swirling it around, distracted by the sounds of ice clinking together. It was clear there were multiple things on her mind, though from the way she let out a dejected sigh made you think she had settled for talking about something heavier.

“I don’t know,” she mused, propping her head against her hand. She stared at the expanse of wall behind yours and Katelyn’s heads, her gaze seeming far off. “Just thinking that the opposite might be true, too.”

You raised a brow, sharing a glance with Katelyn. Neither of you were sure how to respond to her revelation, so you just kept quiet until Lucinda continued.

“Is there something wrong with me?” she suddenly asked. Your eyes widened and you instinctively reached across the restaurant table to take Lucinda’s hand.

“What? Of course not. Why would there be something wrong with you?” Beside you, Katelyn straightened in her seat and pursed her lips. She was being uncharacteristically quiet, and if Lucinda weren’t about to experience a crisis you might have commented on it.

“Just . . . Ivan-”

Katelyn groaned, tilting her head back. “Luz, I’ve told you a million times-”

“I know! I know.” Lucinda sighed again, fully leaning against the table now. “But he didn’t exactly . . . do anything this time. I just- I don’t know if I like him. Anymore, at least. I think I did, but now it’s . . .”

She made a vague spinning motion with her hand. Clearly her brain was too scrambled to actually form a fully coherent thought, but now that she had partially laid her woes before you, it was understandable.

And it made sense—Lucinda had been acting weird lately. You noticed it was a gradual thing, but over the past couple weeks her usual bubbly and playful personality had been slowly diminishing. You had never commented on it, assuming it was just a natural shift in her mood, but now knowing that Ivan had something to do with it made sense.

Which you should’ve known, really. She hadn’t talked about him without being prompted by someone else for weeks. Normally she would’ve let at least something about her relationship with him slip, whether accidentally or not.

You opened your mouth to say something, but Lucinda continued. “We decided to go on a break a while ago. The break was supposed to end earlier this week, but being on it made me feel . . .”

“Relieved?” Katelyn offered when Lucinda trailed off.

“Like you could do whatever you want?” you added.

Lucinda was silent for a moment, taking in your words before slowly nodding. “Yeah. Which is weird to me because people also say that the more time you spend away from a person, the more you miss them. Like the getting to know and liking someone thing I said earlier. But when Ivan and I went on this break, I realized that I don’t really want him.”

“Maybe you’ve been forcing yourself to like him,” you suggested. It wouldn’t have been surprising, to you or Katelyn or anyone else for that matter. Looking from the outside in, it didn’t seem like Ivan and Lucinda even liked each other. “I mean, I can’t even remember the last time you said something positive about him.”

“He asked me to homecoming. Made me a cute sign,” Lucinda reminded, though the attempt to paint Ivan in a positive light seemed less than half-hearted.

“Yeah, after you begged him to,” Katelyn pointed out. “And that sign was the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It was so low effort, Lucinda. I’m surprised you even accepted.”

Lucinda let out a heavy sigh, though she didn’t seem too disappointed. And knowing her, it was entirely possible that she had already drawn a conclusion herself—she just wanted the affirmation from her closest friends.

She laid against her crossed arms on the table. For a few minutes, the three of you stayed completely silent as she ran through a million thoughts on her own. You continued to scrape the sides of your ice cream cup and Katelyn savored each fry she dipped into her strawberry milkshake. The two of you let your friend stew in her own emotions before she finally sat back up. Neither you or Katelyn drew attention to her reddened eyes, and you pretended that the brief wipe she gave them was just to fix her lashes.

“Enough about me,” she said, her voice coming out quieter than she wanted. She cleared her throat before leaning forward again, propping her head against her fist once more. “What’s going on with you two?”

Katelyn shrugged, taking Lucinda’s question and previous grievance as an invitation to talk about her own. “Jeffory and I are arguing.”

Lucinda furrowed her brows, leaning forward. “Oh, my god. What about?”

Katelyn rolled her eyes, waving her hand as if she wanted to dismiss the topic (like she wasn’t the one that brought it up). “How nice he is. What else?”

“What happened?” you asked, turning your head toward her.

“He just is so . . . good.” Katelyn blinked, trying to find another way to describe it but ultimately failing. “I mean, you know how he is. Nice to everyone, even if they’re bothering him or being rude. There’s this girl.”

Lucinda scrunched her nose. “Oh. Talya?”

Katelyn nodded, an exaggerated motion to portray her annoyance at the situation. “Yes. She so obviously likes him, but he doesn’t see it even though I’ve told him.” Katelyn groaned, leaning back and tilting her head against the wall behind her. “And I keep telling him I don’t like that he keeps talking to her, but he just- He can’t be mean to her, is what he says.”

You and Lucinda both hum in consideration, taking in Katelyn’s words and choosing your own carefully. It could be hard when she vented to you—she would get herself so worked up and then the smallest things would make her tick like a bomb and explode. It was something she was working on, as well as her patience. But, well, she was getting impatient with it.

“Well, that is the kind of person Jeffory is,” you carefully started, your words coming out slowly as if it would lessen the blow. “You knew that before you started dating. You also told me that was part of the reason you liked him.”

Katelyn let out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes. “I mean, yeah, I did. But now it’s getting on my nerves. And . . . God, he’s so patient. He’s never gotten mad at me.”

You furrowed your brows and exchanged a glance with Lucinda. “Isn’t that good?”

“Yeah, that sounds perfect. Imagine having a boyfriend that doesn’t get mad at you.”

Katelyn deadpanned, glaring at you both. She rolled her eyes again as she dipped a fry into her milkshake. “You guys know what I mean. I obviously don’t need someone that gets upset as easily as I do, but it’d also be nice to have someone challenge me every now and then.”

“So you’re less upset that he won’t tell Talya to leave him alone and more mad that he’s just . . . passive?” you said, leaning against the table. You had scraped the edges of your cup completely clean, so you put the empty paper cup on the tray with the rest of the food that had been finished.

“No. I’m still upset that he won’t tell Talya to buzz off.”

“I think him being passive is a big part of that,” Lucinda commented. Katelyn rolled her eyes in response and waved her off.

“Okay, Lucinda. Every time you’ve told me about when Ivan talks to other girls, he at least tries to defend himself. Jeffory just doesn’t. He just apologizes for making me feel that way and then moves on.”

Lucinda softly hummed and shut her mouth. She wouldn’t be saying anything anymore—at least not about Katelyn.

“So that might just be a different conversation you need to have with him,” you suggested, breaking the tense silence that had entered the air. “Because it sounds more like you just want him to argue with you instead of just brushing off your feelings.”

Katelyn sighed. The tips of her ears reddened and she was starting to talk with her hands more. “I don’t want him to argue with me I just want him to respond! He never- He always gives me space to process what I’m thinking and I don’t always want that, I want him to engage.” She huffed, running her hands through her hair. “I don’t even want to completely argue, I want to banter with him. Like you and Gene, Y/n.”

Lucinda perked up at the slight shift in topic. You, on the other hand, scoffed.

“Gene and I don’t banter,” you said. “We just have normal conversations. As friends.”

“Well whatever you and Gene have, I want it,” Katelyn said. “There’s chemistry there, there’s interaction. I want a response from Jeffory. Not just a . . . Let’s come back to this.” She sighed again, slumping in her seat and fully leaning against the wall. She closed her eyes and slowly inhaled, trying to calm herself down.

You reached over to grab her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. When Katelyn started to get like this, you found that the best way to ground her was through physical touch. It didn’t have to be anything big—just holding onto her in some way. She returned the squeeze you gave, letting out another heavy breath.

“Call what you have with Gene whatever you want,” she started after a moment, meeting your gaze, “but there’s something there. The two of you have this . . . weird spark. I might not like him but I’m not blind like Laurance or some of our other friends.”

Your brows raised and your eyes widened. You hadn’t expected this to turn on you, and you definitely hadn’t expected that to be the thing Katelyn seemed the most level-headed about. Though, you supposed that was a good thing since Lucinda took Katelyn’s comment as an invitation to direct the conversation in a different direction to try and take Katelyn’s mind off her own problems.

“Gene and I aren’t . . .” You paused. Weren’t what? It didn’t matter because Lucinda’s smooth voice slipped into the empty gap.

“You and him have been spending a lot of time together,” she said, wiggling her brows at you.

Your expression straightened. You’d had this conversation before, right? “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Sure it does.” Lucinda waved your weak defense off, taking a slow sip of her sweet tea. “People don’t typically spend time with people they don’t like.”

“Okay, then I like him, just not like that,” you replied, lifting your hands in a so what? motion. Lucinda rolled her eyes in response.

“Please, Y/n. I could feel the tension between you two from Dante’s couch on Sunday. The two of you were practically soaked in desire.” Both yours and Katelyn’s faces scrunched in disgust. “Okay, maybe that was a bad description. But I’m serious! You and Gene have something going on when no one else is looking, I can feel it.”

After a moment of stunned silence, Katelyn managed to laugh. She rolled her eyes as she drank the last of her milkshake before setting the tall glass to the side. “As unnecessarily explicit as Lucinda’s description was”—she turned her head to face you, her expression not doing anything to hide the reluctance she held in agreeing—“there is definitely something.”

You scoffed, looking at both your friends in disbelief. How else were you supposed to look at them when they suggested something as ridiculous as that? You certainly weren’t going to be bowing at their feet, praising them for their insight. Especially not when their insight was so poor and practically non existent.

When neither of their expressions wavered—when they kept that same unyielding look of certainty—you couldn’t help but scoff again. You truly couldn’t think of another way to react.

“There is nothing!” you eventually decided to say, throwing your hands up. “Gene and I are just friends. I’m not interested in him romantically, and he doesn’t even–”

“Yeah, that’s why you nearly broke down on the ride home Sunday,” Katelyn mumbled. After the words left her mouth, her gaze wandered. It was almost like she was looking for whoever had said that.

“Katelyn!” Lucinda laughed as you hit Katelyn’s shoulder, and you practically watched the lightbulb go off over Lucinda’s head.

She gasped dramatically and spread her arms across the dining table, leaning forward slightly. “Oh, my goodness. You do!”

“Do what?” You really didn’t need to ask. You knew.

“The first stage is denial, Y/n. And you are deep in that stage right now.”

You sputtered. Apparently, choosing to hang out with your friends would leave you so appalled that you forgot how to speak. “Am not!”

“Yuh-huh.” Lucinda nodded in a very exaggerated fashion. “And I have more evidence. Not only were the two of you being weird on Sunday, but I totally saw your face when he was talking to Lacy.”

Your cheeks heated and your eyes widened. Somehow you managed to cough up an argument. “Who even is Lacy?”

You were possibly the worst actress to exist on the planet. There was no way Lucinda or Katelyn would hear your shaky voice and actually believe you had no clue what they were talking about. Lucinda’s expression said as much, but before she could get the rest of her words out, you jumped in.

“Okay, I wasn’t looking at him, I was . . . Just wondering what they were talking about. Totally normal”

Lucinda hummed, though the pitch of it made you uncomfortable. “Say what you want, but I saw you. I saw your eyes and the way you stared Lacy down.”

“I love Lacy!” you suddenly exclaimed, not wanting to seem like you just disliked the girl. “She’s just a sweet freshman. If anything, I was making sure Gene wasn’t trying to blackmail her or date her or something . . .”

“Why would he want to date Lacy?” Katelyn asked, pushing her empty glass down the table and toward the growing pile of trash.

“I don’t think Gene’s interested in a freshman so much as he’s interested in a certain junior,” Lucinda softly sang, completely ignoring Katelyn’s question. You rolled your eyes, and instead of responding you gathered all the trash on the table and piled it on top of your food tray.

“You are both ridiculous,” you said, standing up. You carefully lifted the restaurant tray in your hands, making sure nothing would fall off before taking it to the trash. You put everything in its designated area—trash in the chute, Katelyn’s milkshake glass upside down on the counter, and finally the tray atop the can. When you returned to the table, you didn’t sit back down.

“I have to get going,” you said, grabbing your purse from where you had sat and wrapping it around yourself. You searched through it for everything you needed as you spoke. “Gene told me about sixish for meeting at Sasha’s and she lives kind of far.”

“Aw, she’s spending the night with Gene,” Lucinda mused. Katelyn did not seem impressed. She gave a mirthless hum and pulled out her phone instead. Taking note of Katelyn’s disinterest, Lucinda playfully swatted at her. “Katelyn, be excited. This is the first guy Y/n’s been interested in since Laurance.”

“Yeah, and she chose probably the worst choice she could have,” Katelyn reasoned, rolling her eyes. “Excuse me if I’m not excited.”

“Oh, my god.” You zipped up your purse, probably more aggressively than you realized. “Guys, for the last time, nothing is going on. Gene and I are just friends.”

Both girls hummed in disbelief, a perfectly synchronised reaction that made them both chuckle. You rolled your eyes (really, how had they not fallen out of your head?) before giving them a brief goodbye and leaving.

You didn’t start driving once you got in your car. You spent a moment just sitting there, taking in a moment—feeling the fresh air from the vents against your skin, watching a couple people walk to their cars, admiring the last of the sun’s golden rays, Laufey’s “Promise” playing from your car speakers. It was a slow moment. Nothing was happening. Nothing needed your immediate attention. You just breathed.

Which you felt like you needed. Non stop for the past week you had been fighting arguments about your alleged relationship with Gene. Constantly telling Laurance and Garroth and whoever else asked that no, you weren’t in love with (or even romantically interested in) Gene. You shut down Travis’s entirely inappropriate remark about you and Gene fucking, which you had promptly smacked him across the face and yelled at him for. After that, you refused to talk or acknowledge him for two and a half days before he presented a box of chocolates to you and begged for an apology during your second period. He ended up putting a hundred dollars in the jar as retribution. All week you had been ignoring the passing comments you heard in the halls, which proved to be incredibly difficult. People were bad at minding their business and keeping their opinions to themselves. Any time someone brought it up, you would vehemently deny anything they said. Total strangers had started approaching you, asking if Gene was really as bad as his reputation said.

It was getting overwhelming. No part of you liked it. You had considered cutting everything off with Gene entirely, but that would also affect your relationship with Sasha. You didn’t want that.

Not to mention that, as much as you denied it to anyone that said anything, you had grown to enjoy Gene’s company. The more time you spent with him the more he showed you small parts of himself that you doubted he let anyone else see. His downturned smile, for example. You hadn’t seen him give that genuine smile to anyone except you, and even then he kept it confined to when the two of you were alone or only around Sasha and Zenix. No one else.

During the conversations you had under the moon—when it was late and neither of you could sleep and you found yourselves texting each other because you knew the other would respond—both of you let yourselves go, just a little. Gene had confided in you that he hated his dad, who always found a reason to be out of the house. That he felt bad for hating his dad because his mom still loved him more than anything. You had admitted that you felt Phoenix Drop wasn’t the place for you. That, despite your popularity and how many people were kind to you, you found your high school and the entire city to be shallow and unwelcoming.

“That’s just Phoenix Drop High. A bunch of stuck up rich kids that think they’re better than everyone else. Don’t worry about that,” he told you, his voice low so he didn’t wake his sleeping family. “You’re a magnet. There might be really shitty people, but you also attract the good ones. Like Sasha.”

And you had gone silent for a moment. Of course there were a couple good people. Like Sasha, but also like Katelyn and Lucinda and Aphmau and your entire friend group, really. Even if they were stuck up rich kids, they were good at their cores.

In that silence between the two of you, the only noise passing through being the soft buzz of the phone line, you took in Gene’s words. There were good people—even ones that seemed unlikely.

“Like you,” you had replied. Your voice was soft, and if Gene didn’t know you he might’ve thought you were hesitant to say it. Or that you didn’t mean it.

But you did. He knew you did. His breath had hitched—so quietly that it was entirely possible to think you had imagined it. Another moment of silence enveloped the two of you as he took in your words. In the quiet, you had started to run your finger against the seam of your stuffed chicken. Had you said the wrong thing?

“Yeah.” His voice finally broke the silence, quiet and low in a way that was different than it had been. It was almost disbelieving. “If that’s what you wanna believe, bunny.”

So yes, you had grown to enjoy his company. Weirdly, Gene had become some sort of rock for you—someone you could confide in and tell things that you were hesitant to admit even to Katelyn.

But you didn’t like him. No, you really didn’t. You had just become fond of him. You weren’t going to let what anyone said gaslight you into liking him (or admitting that you did like him). A similar thing had happened with Laurance, and look how that turned out. You’d cried in your room for weeks and dug yourself into a hole that had been nearly impossible to climb out of.

So no. You wouldn’t let yourself like Gene. You were declaring Gene Accardi off limits for a million reasons. He had a horrendous reputation, none of your friends liked him, he was Dante’s brother.

Falling for Gene was a terrible move. If life were a game of chess, then making that move would get yourself checkmated before you could even do anything about it. With everyone’s assumptions and words, you were in check. You needed to move and keep your king safe.

Unfortunately, you never could grasp the concept of chess.

—

Sasha’s house was just as homey on the inside as it was outside. There was a number of plants everywhere, climbing up the walls outside and flowering into pretty blooms inside. It would have felt cluttered if the house weren’t so big.

It was Sasha’s mom that had met you at the door. She’d told you to call her Zizi and to remove your shoes in the foyer before she led you to a windowless room. It was mostly empty, but in the middle there was an array of blankets and pillows arranged in what you could only describe as a nest of some sort. Zenix, Gene, and Sasha were either sitting or lying on the blankets, and the three of them were scrolling through a long list of movies.

Zenix was the only one that initially turned at the sound of the door opening. He offered you an awkward smile and wave, greeting you to bring attention to the fact that you were even there.

Gene turned next. You might have imagined it, but at the sight of you his eyes lit up. You gave them a soft smile before fully entering the room, closing the door behind you and setting your old backpack down on the mass of pillows.

“What is that?” Gene asked as you tossed your stuffed Stardew Valley chicken to Sasha. Her entire expression lit up once she was hit with it, and immediately she held it in her arms tight.

“It’s a stuffed chicken, Gene,” you replied. You kept your tone straight to emphasize that it was an obvious fact. Zenix snickered, which you considered a win since you figured he was pretty stone faced and quiet about most things. He was probably why Gene knew so much about everyone.

“Obviously it’s a chicken, Y/n.”

“Then why’d you ask?”

“Because who has a giant chicken?”

“Uhm. Me, obviously.” You rolled your eyes, settling yourself on the blankets next to Gene.

“Are you disrespecting Benedict?” Sasha asked. When you looked over she was looking at Gene with a raised brow and a nasty side eye, covering the chicken’s eyes like she was protecting it from an unseemly sight.

“Who the hell is Benedict?”

“The chicken!” you and Sasha exclaimed at the same time.

“What kind of name is Benedict?”

“Like eggs benedict, Gene. You idiot,” Zenix cut in. You were grateful for it because finally, someone who understood the joke in the name without you needing to explain it.

“Because chickens lay eggs,” Sasha added.

Gene blinked at the three of you before softly shaking his head and laying back on the blankets. “I think you three are a little”—he whistled, lifting his hand to tap his temple—“up here.”

You smacked Gene with a nearby pillow, making Sasha and Zenix burst out laughing. In response, Gene got a firm grip on the pillow—his hands above yours, his callouses rubbing against your skin—and pulled you forward. You slid over him without much fight, yelping when he pulled the pillow out of your hands and laid an arm across your waist to keep you down as he tossed it out of your reach.

“You’re a brat,” he said, though it was through a laugh and his tone was lighthearted. You tried wiggling out of his grasp, but Gene kept a stubborn arm around you.

“And you’re mean,” you laughed. You kicked until you could finally shift away. You rolled over, out of Gene’s reach and sat back up. You were still laughing, so you missed the conspiratorial glance Sasha and Zenix shared.

On the TV—a big one, and you only realized then that Sasha had a proper movie room with a surround sound system—your other two friends had pulled up Sasha’s personal collection of movies. Ones she owned based on the word OWNED in the upper left corner.

“Okay, guys. What are we watching?” Sasha asked.

“The Shining.”

“Terrifier.”

It went silent for a moment, the trio of troublemakers looking over at you expectantly. Your eyes widened upon the realization that they were waiting for your answer. You blinked at them, thinking. They probably wanted you to say some sort of horror movie.

“I’m gonna be honest,” you started, holding your hands up in surrender, “the only scary movies I’ve ever seen is Scream and a 1920 silent film version of Phantom of the Opera.”

Sasha snickered. “Of course you’ve only seen Scream.”

You glared at her. You considered saying something, but Zenix unknowingly saved Sasha from whatever retort you had.

“Isn’t Phantom of the Opera a romance?” he asked, brows furrowed in skepticism.

“Actually”—you saw Gene roll his eyes in your peripheral, and you playfully swatted his shoulder—”it wasn’t really considered a romance until Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into a musical. Before that the takes on it were mostly horror.”

Zenix hummed. He seemed indifferent to the information. Then again, he always seemed that way. He wasn’t very inclined to make many expressions or talk, at least not when you were around.

Who knew. Maybe he was different when it was just Gene and Sasha.

“So have you never seen any Tim Burton movies?” Gene asked, tilting his head back to look at you. He still laid on the floor next to you.

“Well, yeah. But I wouldn’t say Tim Burton is scary. It’s more creepy, you know,” you reasoned, shrugging. Gene nodded thoughtfully, probably going through an internal list of other movies

“Okay. Since our precious Y/n is new to horror”—Sasha reached over and gave you an affectionate pat on the head—“our options are now Christine and The Sixth Sense. Any preference?”

“Christine’s good.”

“Yeah. Nice and unsettling.”

“Christine it is.”

You raised a brow, looking between the three of them. Just like three peas in a pod, they were. “Christine?”

“Yup. It’s about a car that kills people because it’s jealous,” Gene mused. You knew he was watching for your reaction to the information because he laughed at your furrowed brows and slightly agape lips.

“What?” That was really the only thing that could express how you felt. It encapsulated it perfectly, actually. “What do you mean a car gets jealous?”

Sasha shushed you. “Watch the movie.”

She turned your head to the TV, where the movie had already started and the camera followed a factory line of old fashioned cars, before standing up to turn off the overhead light. You paid attention, watching with intrigue as the cherry red car cruised along the screen. You gasped when the car’s hood slammed down on a worker’s hand. Your jaw dropped when a different employee stepped inside it and was shown dead because of it just a few clips later.

Okay, an angry car was understandable now. But how was it jealous?

You got your answer a couple minutes later.

At some point, Sasha’s mom came into the room with a tray of arranged snacks and drinks. She set it down on the edge of the pile of blankets before leaving after all four of you had thanked her. By the time the movie ended, your eyebrows had furrowed in disbelief so much you were starting to get a headache.

“Never in my life did I think I would witness a car experiencing jealousy,” you said as the credits rolled. You softly shook your head. “If you told me this morning I would be watching a movie about a killer car I would’ve called you crazy and whacked you over the head.”

“Did you like it at least?” Zenix asked. You didn’t know how to answer his question because yes, you did enjoy it. More than you had anticipated. You did not like how there was no explanation for why the car was evil. Were you just supposed to believe it was made bad and not possessed? Surely there was something else.

You ended up nodding because your enjoyment from it outweighed your questions. Truth be told, you’d probably never think about it again.

The four of you continued watching movies until early morning Saturday. It was nearly three in the morning by the time you decided it was time to leave. As you gathered your things and your trash to throw away on the way out, Gene offered to drive you home. You politely refused, and instead he insisted on at least walking to your car.

The very short walk from Sasha’s TV room to your used car was more awkward than you wanted it to be and seemed to take centuries. Never in your life had you felt more tense, and it was all because this silent moment with Gene reminded you of all the shit you had been asked throughout the week. All the people commenting on the alleged spark you and him had.

You told yourself it didn’t exist until Gene held open the driver side door for you. Then you told yourself he was just being a gentleman because he was rich and was probably raised that way.

He tapped on the glass when you turned the car on. You rolled the window down and he leaned forward, crossing his arms against the frame of the car.

“You didn’t have to walk me to my car, Gene,” you said, leaning back in your seat. Your hands were settled in your lap, and to avoid fidgeting with anything you quietly tapped your hands against your thighs.

Gene shrugged. “I wanted to. You never know what kind of big bad wolves are out here.” You rolled your eyes at his jest, moving to jokingly roll the window back up before his hand intercepted yours. It was warm, just like your face was slowly becoming. “Fair tomorrow?”

You nodded, hoping it shook you out of whatever stupor holding his hand had put you in. “Obviously. I love the Fall Festival.”

Gene smiled. “Alright. I’ll come pick you up at ten?”

“Oh, you don’t have to-” You really didn’t want to be in an enclosed space with Gene. Not when so many detrimental things were making themselves apparent to you.

“I’m driving Sasha and Zenix anyway.” He let go of your hand, straightening up to his usual height. “I don’t mind. I’ll come pick you up at ten.”

You weren’t really given much of a choice to respond because after saying that, Gene turned and stared back to Sasha’s house. You watched in slight disbelief, appalled that he would just leave you like that, as he stepped up onto her porch.

“Okay!” you shouted after him. You waved your arm out the window in a what the hell? motion. Your expression would have added to the display, but unfortunately it was dark and Gene couldn’t see you clearly through the window tint.

At least he waited until you were out of the driveway to walk back into the yellow house. The jerk.

A jerk you wouldn’t mind spending even more time with. Alone.

The thought crossed your mind without realization, and you were left driving down the road in a trancelike state. What was that supposed to mean? Obviously you didn’t mind spending more time with him. Gene was your friend. You liked your friends and often wanted to spend time with them.

You pulled up to a red light and pulled to a stop, debating whether or not you wanted to call him upon your arrival home. As you considered it, your thoughts crashed into each other like two freight trains as the most obvious revelation seemed to finally dawn on you.

You liked Gene. Fuck.

You resisted the urge to honk your horn in frustration.

double update what??? who am I???

y'all gonna like the next chapter trust. I have big plans

TAGGING: @garrothswiferealnotfake @wasting-away-on-the-internet @mellozhi @pushingdaisies1 @orinlin @luckygirldotgov @snowblossomsx @lucciluvr @oliemolliever @endo-bunny @purpledsun @angelhyperfixates @angelarabella @dontcrackyourpinkytoes @siochandess @flynnbee @neptunesfantasies @natpakk @thehumanartist @khoizen @baguettetaylorsversion @tomzgutz @revxwrites @fartmonster98 @1-800-avs @afellow-simp if you’d like to be part of the taglist let me know!

next part >>

#dahlia’s dreams ☾#aphmau #aphverse #aphblr #mystreet #pdh #phoenix drop high #gene mystreet #gene minecraft diaries #phoenix drop high gene #gene phoenix drop high #gene pdh #aphmau gene #gene x reader #aphmau gene x reader #gene aphmau x reader #gene aphmau #minecraft diaries gene

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zvahlne · 11 days ago

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[laurance will remember that]

#cause of the bee he chases down for her later #yeah #<3 #aphmau #minecraft diaries #laurance zvahl #aphblr #zvahlne rewatches mcd #S1: Ep.84 #i had to take a break after the laurmau table scene LMAO

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write-tama · 9 months ago

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"a long day at work." (MCD Scenarios)

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ( MCD!characters) x (guard!reader)

sypnosis ; security has been intensified due to neighboring villages are in fear due the threat of O’Khasis, meaning that you haven’t been able to spend some alone time with your partner. But finally, you’ve been let out of work early, which means you have a night to your lover!

containing ; Laurence Zvhal, Garroth Ro’meave, Dante (for some reason I can't find his last name?!). Established relationship, immense fluff! Reader is referred as you/yours.

author’s note ; hello MCD side of tumblr! i decided to post this just as for fun and to let out my little obsession on MCD lately. Pardon me if some things sound out of character I haven’t watched the series since I was like.. Ten maybe?! and I’m currently rewatching s1. But anyway, hope you enjoy!

9.26.24 | 2.7k words

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LAURENCE

Despite you two being guards, you’ve been stationed on the other side of Phoenix Drop since he is one of the head guards that stands alongside Lord Aphmau. But finally, after what felt like so long, the two of you finally were able to see each other tonight. Laurence was home before you. Being such the romantic he is, he had dimly lit candles scattered along the house and a bouquet of your favorite flowers sitting on the table, waiting for your arrival. He even stopped by Emmalyn’s library to pick out the new set of books she had purchased recently.

He was patiently sitting on the couch, undressed to a white long-sleeve cotton shirt and baggy pants. You came through the door, completely exhausted with your weapon slung over your shoulder. The sound of the door creaking was enough to make Laurence stand up immediately before grabbing the flowers from the table.

“There you are, my love..” He purred. The feeling of his arms wrapping around your body was enough for you to drop your weapon and to bury your face into his addicting scent. He pushed the door closed behind you before reluctantly pulling away to present you with his gift you didn’t even notice at first.

You couldn’t help the giant grin forming on your face as your hand rested upon his cheek. “I missed you too, sweetheart.” you smiled. You took ahold of the bouquet, admiring the selection. “I can see Cadenza helped you out tonight.” You chuckled, feeling the silk ribbon that tied the flowers’ stems together. A content huff blew through his nostrils as he buried himself into your palm.

“Hey.. Can a man not do his best for his loveliest?” He said, playfully rolling his eyes. He turned his face around to kiss the inner part of your palm. “I would’ve done more for you, you know that, but I figured that we should just have a night in bed together. Just you and me.” A comment like that was enough to send a flutter through your chest.

After a standstill of silent kisses and snuggles, the two of you finally headed upstairs to the bedroom to unwind for a night of comfort. You hung all your armor next to Laurence’s armor stand before joining him in bed. On your nightstand was a new collection of different novels from neighboring villages.

“I remember the last time we spoke, you said that you practically read every book from the library, but this morning I helped Brandon unload a crate of books Emmalyn had ordered, so I figured I’d pick some out for you.” Laurence smiled, his voice a bit lower now as he was relaxing into bed. You joined him on your side of the bed, letting the warm covers wrap around your legs. As you looked through the selection of three books, a warm tint deepened your complexion.

“You shouldn’t have..” You mumbled. “Hey! Did you ask Emmalyn for permission before taking these books? One of these books are all the way from Scaleswind!”

Laurence sat up before burying his face into your side, sighing. “Yes, your majesty.” He sarcastically replied. “She figured it as a kind gesture for all of the work we’ve been doing. Now shush up and read me a bedtime story!” He playfully remarked, sounding a bit like a child. Despite his snarky little attitude (that in all honestly, made you love him even more), you decided to start on the book from Scaleswind that way you could return it earlier than anticipated. With a candle illuminating the pages, you softly read to him. He laid down beside you, a protective arm wrapped around your waist, but at the same time cuddling you. Eventually, Laurence fell silent. You had assumed he fell asleep, so you decided to place a bookmark in between the pages before blowing out the candle next to you. You properly laid down next to him, burying yourself into his chest.

As your eyes fluttered close, you heard a soft voice call out your name.

“My love?” Laurence mumbled.

“Yes, Laurence?” You quietly replied, not wanting to break out of your exhausted-state.

“I love you.. After all these years, I never thought I’d be with the person of my dreams. Sleep well, my angel..”

With that, he fell right to sleep. Your heart skipped a beat as heat rushed to your face. Gently, you scoot up and brushed a tuff of hair from his face.

“I love you too..” You spoke barely above a whisper.

Maybe it was the dark playing tricks with you, but the corners of Laurence’s lips tugged into a gentle and content smile. <3

GARROTH

The guards of Phoenix Drop work hard, but there was not a single doubt that Garroth worked ten times harder. For most nights, you were the one that arrived home first. Despite your protests against your own exhaustion, you would fall asleep before he got home. You would only feel the shift of the bed in the middle of the night to signify that he had made it home safely, but again, before you could wake up, he was right back to work.

But thank Lady Irene herself, Garroth finally had a night off. Brian had offered to take the night shift from him, seeing at how exhausted Garroth seemed lately. Along with that, Dante also seemed to notice your exhaustion which is why he offered to take up your shift as well. Whether the two conspired with one another to finally give you two a day-off was a discussion for later.

Garroth was off of work first, and it felt abnormal. The moment he placed his sword into the racks and stepped out of the guards’ station, he felt a sense of emptiness. As he trailed himself back to his house, he thought of what he could do for you once you got home. He figured maybe a homemade dinner together would suffice. Though he had to admit, it’s been quite some time since he cooked a proper meal for himself, epecially for another. He stopped by the farms and local butcher for some groceries, and then arrived at his abode.

He decided on a simple meal— a steak with a side of vegetables and mashed potatoes with a basket of freshly baked bread he picked up from Kawaii~Chan. The table had a white cloth decorating its surface with the basket in the middle, two plates on either side, and a candle to light up the scene. He was nearly finishing up frying your steak when you had walked in, your helmet by your hip.

“Garroth!” You exclaimed, a bit surprised. The excitement had woken you up from your tired state as you dropped your helmet onto the wood floor and hugged him tight.

“Good evening, my knight.” Garroth grinned eagerly, just as thrilled to see you. He ran an idle hand through your hair. “You’re just in time for dinner. Go get undressed and take a seat.” Not wanting to waste another second, you picked up your helmet and immediately placed your armor away, dressing down to some comfortable attire. By the time you headed back downstairs, Garroth had placed your steak on your plate and he had taken his seat.

“Garroth, this smells amazing.” You complimented, a bit amused. You had never seen Garroth cook a full meal before, in fact, you can’t recall ever seeing Garroth cook at all. Garroth chuckled, gesturing his hand to take a seat in front of him. You took your seat in front of him, admiring the dish before you. The steak looked juicy and cooked just the way you liked it. The vegetables were fresh and vibrant of color. Even the potatoes looked thoroughly mushed and creamy!

“Heh, yeah..” Garroth chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “Back in O’Khasis, we still were taught how to cook despite having our own chefs. It was important to my father that we were skilled in even the most basic necessities. My mom just enjoyed spending time together though.” He smiled, thinking back on the fond memories.

You decided to finally dig in. One taste of that steak and it felt like the flavors were melting on your tongue. You squealed in excitement, not having something as delicious as the dish before you. “G-Garroth, this tastes amazing—! Even more than amazing, actually! I don’t even know how to describe it.” You cried. You could barely express your appreciation verbally as you savored and tasted every bite. Garroth’s face flushed in a bright red as the candle light illuminated his face.

“T-Thank you..” he stuttered. “I was nervous that maybe I had lost my skill after years, but I guess I still got it, yeah?” He joked. You couldn’t help but chuckle at his shyness. The two of you spent the rest of the night chowing down on such a gourmet dish, and telling each other the adventerous stories the two of you have been through, enjoying a perfect night together at last. <3

DANTE

Dante, being fresh out of training and this being his first real job as a guard, worked extremely hard and long hours to prove himself as a worthy knight. You fell in love with him the moment he walked into the village, but you didn’t realize how intensely he worked. Some nights after duty, he wasn’t able to say much other than to crash into bed. It’s not like you had any more energy than him. The paranoid feeling of invasion washed over you as you were constantly on guard duty, patrolling through the outskirts of Phoenix Drop.

One evening, despite Dante’s protests, Garroth had ordered Dante to take the night off. “Dante, you’re a profound knight despite your short-term experience. It’s time you take a break from all that work you’ve been doing.” The head guard assured, placing both palms on his shoulders. Dante was about to protest again, but his mind started to wander. He’s been doing all this work, and yet, he doesn’t recall having a night with you since he offered his love to you! Dante felt like a fool, and he knew that you’ve been hard at work as well. Dante sucked in air through his nostrils before sighing in defeat.

“You’re right, I.. I need to go.. Shoot, I need to go!” Without a word of explanation, he ran out of the guard tower, throwing his sword into the racks. Garroth stood, sort of frozen as he watched Dante run out the door. Laurence, who was snacking on a piece of bread, came downstairs and stood next to Garroth.

“Welp, there goes one our of guards. Might as well pull Dale out of retirement.” Laurence joked.

Dante, who was still dressed in full armor, bursted into Kawaii~Chan’s cafe, in search of desserts and treats. He practically threw diamonds at the poor girl, who, luckily, just finished prepping freshly baked goods for her shop. Dante grabbed the first basket he spotted and ran out the door, quickly shouting his gratitude.

He remained as discreet as possible, looking around the village hoping that you wouldn't see him off duty. The blue-haired knight knocked on Brandon's door, beckoning for help before running inside the two of you’s shared home. He grabbed a blanket, a lantern, and a spare bottle of wine he had bought from Logan a while ago.

The plan was to set up a date night on the beach. With Brandon's “expertise,” he was able to set up a lovely picnic by the the glistening shore. The red and white checkered blanket laid flat on the sand with the basket and wine in the middle, rose petals scattered around, and the grace of the moonlight completing the scene. After Brandon and him finished decorating, he told Brandon to tell Garroth to lay you off of tonight's duties in hopes that you would be present for tonight's surprise date. Dante sat eagerly by the shore, waiting upon your arrival.

You were running head-on to the docks in a panic with your sword handle tight in your fist. “Dante!” you cried. “I came as soon as I could! Is everything alri—?!” before you could finish, you met with his deep blue eyes and the moon’s light illuminating his figure. You paused in your tracks, both in awe and confusion. “Dante..?” you called out his name again. At this point, you weren't quite sure if you were awake.

“Hey...” He nervously chuckled. He stood up and walked towards you, leaving his footprints in the grainy sand. He offered his hand towards you, thankful he was still wearing his armor otherwise you feel his palm building up with sweat. You reluctantly took his hand before he lead you to the picnic. You gasped at the sight, not expecting such a romantic gesture on what felt like a typical night.

“Dante.. This is.. Oh my goodness..” The words couldn't muster up in your throat as you admired the scenery. The warm-colored lantern contrasted beautifully with the moon’s cool-blue light.

“I-I'm sorry if it was such short notice.. Garroth gave me the night-off and—” before Dante could continue with his anxious rambling, you shushed him with the biggest, more reassuring hug you could.

“Are you kidding me? This is amazing, Dante! Oh my Irene!” without another word, you took Dante’s hand and led him to the blanket, where the two of you sat comfortably. You two wasted no time blabbing the night away while chowing down on Kawaii~Chan’s delicious desserts.

As you rambled on about your knightly whereabouts, you noticed that Dante took a pause in eating and was staring deeply at you.

“Dante..?” you called out his name, tilting your head a little. Dante blinked before sitting up straight.

“Nothing.. I just.. You look gorgeous in the moonlight, love.” Dante softly admitted. A blush formed on your cheeks, and you couldn't help but look away.

“I-I could say the same for you..” you meekly replied. “Just— don't scare me like that again, okay!”

Dante stared back at you, a little clueless. “Scare you—?” it was as if a flick of lever, Dante realized what you were referring to. “Oh, Irene, what did Brandon do..” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Realizing that it wasn't Dante’s fault, you sighed and explained. “Well.. It wasn't just Brandon.” you admitted. “Laurence and Brandon ran up to me in a panic, exclaiming that O’Khasis had docked and I needed to be there immediately because you were hurt! I can see why I was foolish believing those two of all people.” you rolled your eyes as you trailed off.

Dante let out a deep sigh before scooting closer to you. “I'll be having a talk with them tomorrow.. For now, let's just enjoy this moment, just you and me, okay?” he gently assured, wrapping an arm around and rubbing your shoulder.

You couldn't help but agree, letting your eyes flutter close as the two of you listened to the calming waves of the sea. <3

A/N ~ thank you so much for reading! There's currently a hurricane in my area, so it was nice using this as a distraction :) I hope you enjoyed! Reblogs, like, and even replies are super duper appreciated :3

#Minecraft diaries #Aphmau #mcd laurence #laurence zvahl #mcd garroth #garroth ro'meave #mcd dante #mcd x reader #Laurence zvahl x reader #Garroth Ro’meave x reader #Dante x reader #Minecraft

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dev-mars · 1 year ago

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Larmau near the end of season 1

Laurance and Aphmau literally become each other’s confidants as season one comes to a close. The only people they can truly trust is each other. No wonder Garroth lets jealousy gets the better of him (I still don’t think he would betray them without Lillian influencing it magically). However, Aph and Laurance’s relationship grew in such a short amount of time. This shift really began after they visit Meteli and they hug. Suddenly, they’re keeping secret between each other and they’re the only people making each other laugh. They are both the people that they let loose with and the people that they go to when things get difficult. Honestly, if everything with Scaleswind and Zane hadn’t happened I feel like it would have led to their relationship developing into an actual romance.

Laurance literally begins staying at her home while all the chaos begins to unfold with Scaleswind. He was there to celebrate Malachi’s rebirth (Lucinda is also there too to be fair.) Laurance has become a vital part of Aphmau’s personal life that Garroth unknowingly withheld from himself. Garroth, of course, was always there for Aphmau and especially her children but he always shied away from letting her in and left a boundary between them. But, what’s interesting is at Malachi’s celebration dinner, Aphmau left a seat open for Garroth right between her and Laurance. I feel like this is a good metaphor for Aphmau, Laurance, and Garroth’s relationship. Garroth always has a seat at the table with them but, he’s never reached out and sat down. However, there’s always this space between Aphmau and Laurance; a boundary they can’t cross because they both love Garroth. Laurance and Aphmau can’t wholly give themselves to each other because Garroth has unknowingly taken possession of parts of them.

#minecraft diaries #aphmau mcd #aphmau #laurance zvahl #mcd rewrite #garrence #garmau #garroth ro'meave #larmau #mcd garroth #mcd laurance

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arienic · 1 year ago

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GENE x FEM!READER - not my best work but ive sunken back into the aphmau fandom and i wanted to get something out, so here u go!

warnings: infidelity, zenix slander (i love him i promise), maybe ooc gene??

You tilt your face away, laughing. "You're fucking joking."

Your boyfriend — your ex boyfriend now — frowns at you from across the table. "Look, I'm sorry but — I met her four months ago and — I don't know, she just gets me —"

"Oh, shut the fuck up," you snap, then leap up and grab your things. "Save it for someone who gives a shit."

He has the gall to look offended. Him, offended! You roll your eyes as he splutters out an "Excuse me?"

"So fucking long, asshat," is the last thing you say before you're out the diner door.

You hear his shouts from behind you, so loud that even when you're across the parking lot and by your car, the echoes still chase you down the pavement. Fucking lunatic, you think bitterly, unlocking your car and throwing your things onto the passenger seat. After you clamber in, you're tempted to slam the door closed.

It's only when you've settled into the leather, hands braced against the steering wheel that it hits you.

My boyfriend cheated on me. He cheated.

Holy fuck. What the fuck. He cheated.

You wish you'd screamed at him a little more. You wish you'd ordered a little more, wish you'd left him more than twenty-seven dollars poorer at that ugly red booth. You wish you'd maybe thrown your water at him and had his ugly-ass face sopping wet, frozen in shock.

(But then you start wishing that you'd tried a little harder.)

Last week, when you'd both gone to the mall. You should've suggested the movies, instead of just dragging him around the shops and talking his ear off. Or the other day, during lunch. You should've taken his hand in yours on the walk back home and leaned on his shoulder. It could've been fine — perfectly fine — if you'd only tried a little harder. You could've kept him. If you hadn't gotten so distant all those months ago, maybe he wouldn't have been tempted to run into another girl's arms. Maybe he wouldn't have continued returning to her. Maybe he wouldn't have kissed her, loved her — preferred her over you.

Maybe he would've stayed.

You take a deep breath, gripping the wheel harder. No, you tell yourself, not now. You need to — to — (a glimpse of him, rushing out the dinner and catching sight of you in your car — his shadow against the golden lighting from inside) — you need to get out of here.

Another deep breath. The keys into the ignition — enter, twist — and the car starts. Your mind whirls. But where, it asks, where do we —

There's a name that jerks to the forefront. Jagged, sharp, tapering off at the ends like cigarette smoke — but still so comforting.

Gene, it spells, and you step on the gas.

"I'm telling you, Sasha, it's not like that," Gene groans, spinning one of his dozen silver rings round the stained coffee table.

"Whateeeever you say." Sasha's drawl crackles from his phone speaker, propped up on a spare coffee mug. Her sharp, violet eyes manage to dig into his soul even through the barriers of Facetime and a cracked screen protector. "You're obvious as fuck, though."

He rolls his eyes, flipping the ring into the air. "There's nothing to be 'obvious as fuck' about."

"Even Zenix has noticed."

Gene pauses, and reaches out for the falling jewelry a moment too late — he's fumbling for it as it clatters to the floor.

He doesn't need to look back up at his phone to know the look on her face; the silence speaks volumes.

"I got distracted," he says defensively, leaning down to pick it up. "There was a mosquito."

"Sure," she says — and snorts when he bangs his head on the table trying to sit up again.

Gene grimaces, but leans back and rubs the sore area. "Fuck off, Sasha."

"Don't think I will."

"Fuck you —" He jumps when a series of knocks rain down on his front door. "Shit!"

Sasha frowns, leaning closer to the camera. "You good over there?"

"Someone's at the door," he sighs, slipping his ring on.

He watches her lips lift into a grin. "Maybe it's —"

"No, it's not her. She's on a dinner date today." Gene shuts her down — although he wishes he didn't have to. He's never told anyone (and he never will), but he likes when you show up to his apartment unannounced. He likes when you rap your knuckles on his door and shove takeout in his face, declaring that night as a movie night.

It won't be you, though. Gene's sure of it. Ever since you started dating that guy, your impromptu visits have happened less and less often.

He still stands up, though. "I'll call you back later," he tells Sasha. She throws him a pixelated thumbs-up before ending the call.

Gene sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Who is it now, then," he mutters to himself, making his way down the hall. He drags a hand down his face one last time and moves to look through the peephole — and damn near chokes on his own spit.

Why the fuck were you here?

You don't look good, either. Your eyes are swollen and red, and your bottom lip trembles ever so slightly. You lift a hand to wipe roughly at the tear that slips down your cheek.

Something protective and furious flaring in him, and he practically throws the door open to find you why the fuck you're so upset.

You flinch, take him in, then relax. "Gene," you croak — and immediately start crying.

He blinks. "Woah, hey, no." Gene rushes forward and wraps an arm around your shoulder to bring you close, leading you into his apartment. He closes the door with his foot. "What happened, sweetheart? I thought you were out with…" he trails off, then shakes his head. "Why are you crying?"

"He—" you blubber, "—I left him— "

"Relax, let's relax. Deep breaths," he says, arms curling around your back to bring you closer. "It's okay," Gene murmurs, letting you lean into him as he walks you over to his couch. "You're okay. In and out, sweetheart, in and out."

Gene's thumb rubs circles into your shoulder as he sits down with you; he's breathing loudly, slowly, to coax you into mimicking. It's only when you take a last, shaky breath that he gets up.

"Where are you going?" you blurt when you see him move away.

"Getting you some tissues," he says, and disappears down the hall. When he returns, you’re perched on his couch, sniffling and rubbing at your nose.

"Now,” Gene says, handing you a wad of tissue, “mind telling me why you were bawling your eyes out on my doorstep?"

You wipe your nose again. "It's" — you hiccup — "it's not…" The shame curls deeper into your gut. "Um."

"Yeah? Take your time."

You swallow. "He… he cheated."

Gene stills. "He what?" he says, voice dangerously calm.

"He invited me out for dinner today," you continue. "I told you, right?" Gene nods. "He was really quiet. Really awkward. And whenever I tried to start a conversation, he just wouldn't, like, entertain me, you know? It'd just be so quick. And, um, he was really short with me." You pause, take a deep breath. "I should've expected it. I don't know why I didn't. I don't know why I was still so — so shocked, so… surprised — when he told me. I mean, he's been so distant, and I don't…" Your throat closes up. "I guess I thought…"

"Just to be clear, you shouldn't have had to expect it," Gene tells you, his fury creeping into his tone. He catches sight of your face, though — embarrassed, guilty, heartbroken — and reels in his irritation. "No one should have to expect cheating," he says. "Fucking dick. Should've given him a black eye, too."

You give a small, hoarse laugh and wipe your eyes. "I did leave him to pay the bill on his own."

"Good." Gene smiles at you, cups a warm hand 'round your elbow. "Fucker deserved it. And, uh… you know, if you want, I can sic Zenix on him too."

You snort. "What, like he's a dog or something?"

He gives you a look. You laugh again, this time with your shoulders. "You're so mean," you tell him.

"He barks like one."

"Gene!"

"What? I love him, you know I do, but sometimes —"

"Stop!" you huff, kicking at his thigh. He raises his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay!" He sighs and settles back into the couch. You're picking at the lint on your socks, sitting comfortably in silence, when he mutters, "Offer still stands, though."

You roll your eyes. "Thank you. I'll let you know if I'm ever in need of your services."

He hums. "Good."

Silence again. In it, you realize just how much comfort his touch brings you. You adjust your position on the couch wordlessly, inching closer to him. Gene's kind enough not to comment on it.

He opens his mouth to say something. It closes quickly, but doesn't take so long to open again. You watch him carefully.

"What?" you say.

Gene clears his throat. "What do you think about a movie night? It's been a while. We can order takeout."

You blink, quiet for a moment (during which he hears his heart pounding loudly in his ears) and then a small smile pulls at your lips. "As long as I get to pick the movie."

#mystreet x reader #gene x reader #mystreet gene x reader #aphmau mystreet #mystreet gene #aphmau gene

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