#i dont know if she would register being flirted with and i really dont think she'd register the doctor being jealous of it

[cyxnidx]

No Nut November !

fandom: jujutsu kaisen

characters: gojo satoru, suguru getou, kento nanami, toji fushiguro, sukuna, shoko ieiri, utahime iori, choso kamo

a/n: i dont usually post nnn, but i decided to do it this year bc why not.

Satoru Gojo

I'd be generous giving him anything more than a week and two days. I have no doubt in my mind about it - Satoru Gojo is the most touchy characters out of them all. And while, yes, he will try his hardest to resist, the beginning of the second week begins to get too much for him and he eventually caves.

Suguru Getō

About four days. I've no idea why it's so specific but it just makes sense. The first two days pass like a breeze for him - until the third and fourth approach, which you up the stakes a bit and show a little more skin. That's where he begins to lose it.

Kento Nanami

Either half the month or two weeks. It's one or the other - either way, he ain't making it out completely unscathed. He'll only really last half the month if you take it easy on him though - minimal to no teasing, and only a fair amount of touching. However, if you decide to add a little bit of spice to things, he may just be tapping around around the two week mark.

Toji Fushiguro

Either the first day or the very last day. Though, the thing is, he knows he could last the entirety of the month. The amount of discipline this man has over his sensuality is utterly surprising. It's just - sometimes, he doesn't wanna last. On the very last day, he could decide to simply throw the whole "game" and say fuck it. He wants to give in sometimes. Others, he'll want to get it on and over with. To not have to hear about how others are struggling with it so badly, and not have to relate himself to it because technically, he already lost, in a sense. Which, however you decide to look at it, is a win for him.

Sukuna

He probably doesn't care enough to participate. Either he doesn't care enough or he's already lost without knowing the "game" was on. And with courtesy, you'd offer for him to start over and consider it a "freebie". Though, he doesn't accept. He simply doesn't see the joy in competing with others about who could basically hold their nut for 30 days. Especially not when he has such a pretty thing in front of him - competition or not, he couldn't hold himself for long, regardless of whether or not tried.

Choso Kamo

I'd give him a couple hours to two days. Apologies, but Choso strikes me as the almost needy type. If not the needy type, then he seems like he'd be the kinda person to try to edge himself. The whole purpose behind it would be to make the "relief better in the end", though he'd simply end up loosing due to pushing himself too far. If not him overdoing it, it'd be your additional flirting to his self-edging that causes him to give in.

Shoko Ieiri

Quite surprisingly, likely two weeks to the whole month. She's even surprised herself, and doesn't even register that the month is over until she asks you whether or not the challenge is over yet. She just.. either doesn't care enough to think too much about it or genuinely forgets until she reminds you or you remind her.

Utahime Iori

A good week or two. I can't see her being too desperate, but it's the fact of how she's feeling. She probably could last if she tried, but at some point, she ends up caving because she saw you in an outfit you full and well know she goes off the brink for. Even then she'll try to isolate herself, but any small gesture toward her or even watching you simply exist sends her off the edge.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hey so if you can could you by chance do tadc x very clumsy reader who whenever something happens they try to save themself by flirting (but it's like very bad)? I'm picturing a scenario where the reader is trying to walk on like a tightrope and falls landing face first in front of their s/o looks up and just says "I must be an angel because I just fell for you". Thank you in advance if you do take this request, and have an amazing day/night!

TADC cast x clumsy but flirty!reader !

my dear sillies youre going to have to come up with the flirts/pickup lines on your own because admin has zero rizz soooooo TToTT i didnt make meringue cookies today, so sad... but i think i might make them tomorrow! im a little torn on flavors, though... i got vanilla, almond, peppermint, strawberry, orange, and raspberry extract... i think i might do plain vanilla, though! shrugs

CAINE:

honestly i think he might just forget that you completely embarrassed yourself and return the same energy by flirting back with you know? but thats just caine being caine, probably picks you up via literally grabbing you by the back of your shirt and dragging you back to your feet. i think if you guys are close, be it dating or just friends, he might tease you about the line... its going to be a while before you hear the end of it... does make sure youre not hurt, though.. cant have an unhappy circus member under his watch

POMNI:

out of confusion gives a sheepish and awkward "thaaaaaaanks..." before realizing that you just fell from the top of the tent and splatted onto the ground. sure youre going to be fine, given that this is in the digital world. but pomnis shock fades and is replaced by worry and concern as she runs over to make sure youre alright... actually i dont even think she would register that you flirted with her, much less that you did it to play off your shame... at least not until later, probably hours after the event as she replays the moment in her head before going to bed... honestly the line was probably so bad it made her inwardly cringe, just a tiny bit

RAGATHA:

tries not to be phased by the line but honestly i can see ragatha being into cheesy and cliche shitty pickup lines, but after a moments pause shes fretting over you and trying to peel you off of the circus floor... lightly scolds you for even attempting something so dangerous. i mean sure, you wont die since this is the digital world and you wont have any long lasting damage and unlike pomni, ragatha is very aware and very used to this fact. but theres still that instinct, you know? probably gets onto you for trying to play it off, i mean youre in pain and your first instinct is to come onto her? probably tries to deter you from doing things that can get you hurt in the future....

JAX:

probably retaliates with a.... whats the opposite of a flrty pick up line? like he deflects it and crushes it in a teasing way... regardless of if he knows youre doing it to save your pride. no one flusters this man, no-sir-ee-bob! similar to caine hes not going to let you hear the end of it, but he also brings up the incident of you being clumsy to further push the point... a little bit of a dick about it but he thinks its funny, probably also laughs just a little. i mean he said he likes seeing funny things happening to people, and as long as no one is actually being REALLY hurt/permanently hurt/dying then everything is free game in his eyes

KINGER:

so you know how in pomnis part, she doesnt even register that youre trying to playfully flirt with her but she realizes it hours later? honestly i dont think kinger would recognize that it was a pickup line, ever. hes way too busy panicking and freaking out and trying to pull you up off of the ground. probably gently shaking and rocking you about as hes checking your body over for any injuries, forgetting that you cant really get those in the digital world in the heat of his panic... seriously, one of these days youre going to give this poor man a heart attack, please take it easy for his sake....

ZOOBLE:

rolls their eyes and scoffs, before grabbing your arm and pulling you up. theyre open about saying that your pick up lines are dumb and cheesy, but they dont exactly make fun of you for using them to protect your pride. do they think its pathetic? only a little bit, just own up to the shame man, thats what they think you should do... but its your choice... no they just think the lines themselves are... euuguhgh... you know? honestly if they knew any better lines theyd probably offer to teach you some, but alas, they dont. they dont really strike me as the type to be a flirty person... probably gives you /that/ look when you so much as imply youre going to do something that has a high change of ending in disaster

GANGLE:

not phased by the pickup line, shes just standing there in shock. you know how gangle looked when zooble got disassembled in the pilot? she looks at you with a similar look, if not the exact same one. if her comedy mask if broken, perhaps she even lets out a short and soft whine in place of crying... if she doesnt burst out into panic tears, at least. makes no comment about your flirting for the most part, but i think she would meekly try to push you away from doing anything dangerous... ponders

[mxlktxa]

!!!POSESSIVE & JEALOUSY!!!

cw; maybe sub/switch!abby depends on how you interpret this, strap-on use, strong language, this is probably just toxic!abby, possessiveness, jealousy

wc; 455, 2.3k characters

full ramble/quick read list here!!

you and abby always got into a fight whenever you were out with your friends or even her friends. she swore up and down that you had looked at someone in a flirty way or said something in a tone she would claim as your bedroom voice (and vice versa).

“why did they talk to you like that? do they like you or something?”

“abby its nothing serious give it a rest.”

“nothing serious? they were trying to fuck you!”

“no, abby, im just close to them like that.”

“ bullshit. i dont like them nor trust them.”

even if it was just the two of you out and about, she still found a way to make it known that you were hers. she didnt like when you were being flirted with whether you realized it or not. at a drive-thru? she hates your ‘customer service/friendly’ voice. sitting in a nice, fancy restaurant? she hates how you look up at the waiter/waitress. and of course she gives you an earful about it

“did you think they were cute?”

“what? who?”

“dont play dumb with me, the server, obviously!”

“oh, my— abby, what is your problem? im not leaving you for some fucking server or fast food worker, you know this!”

“i saw how you looked at them!”

“abby… shut the fuck up, im done with this.”

the upside to abby was that she always listened to you, believed every word you said to her (she just felt like arguing because she like getting you all pissy). she loved hearing your voice it didnt matter if you were yelling at her, crying at her, or had your sweet, soft voice. it was like she were in a trance and you were the boss. didnt matter if she was on top of you, below you, behind you, didnt matter. you were always in control.

abby groaned as she watched her strap slip into your pretty little cunt, waiting for you to give the okay to just go crazy. her eyes were glued to how your body shivered and how your chest rose when your back arched due to the friction. she was so down bad for you and you alone.

“fuuuck, abby,” your voice so whiny yet assertive, “youve been so stressed out lately, havent you?”

“mhm, yes. and im sorry, so sorry.” she didn’t even really register what she was saying, just ready to bury your face into the satin pillow cases at some point, ready to make you all dumb and cry like crazy.

“dont be sorry, sweetheart. go ahead, go crazy. relieve some of that stress.”

abby’s smirk wasn’t completely there but you both knew youd be very entertained for the next 2-3 hours

[kosmo-politan]

Hiiiii kosmo my mutual kosmo. I’m sitting in a waiting room and bored out of my mind so I’m sending you an ask because I need Enrichment. You should talk about your ocs Right Now please /lh

OHGHHSGSG. I JUST GOT THIS YOU ARE OPENING PANDORAS BOX I FEAR,. .. I DONOT KNOW IF YOU MEAN BG3 OR REGULAR OCS SO . BG3 ITIS

ASSORTED MELCHIOR THOUGHTS . THE PROFESSIONAL FAILBOYFRIEND...

two guys bringing their team down <3 from the beginning melchior felt the need to one up him because well. he didnt remember anything and was attached to what little skills he did remember and felt like if someone else was better that he was losing that too you know. would rather die than say that out loud though so he starts this petty thing with the only other rogue. to everyones dismay.

at first melchior tries to one up him and whatnot but when he genuinely fucks something up and astarion does it for him he has a jimmy neutron brain blast moment. i can get this sucker to do my job for me. and it all goes downhill from there <3

two guys trying to manipulate eeach other ! love really does lose....

astarion is. not very good at manipulating melchior. ill be honest. and that isnt in the like. Melchior Is Simply That Good and Smart way. unless you say something Directly To His Face his ass is NOT gonna get it!!!!!!!

all the flirting registers as Witty Banter to mel because. well if he was flirting he should just say that to me.

yes h e is autistic. because i heart projection yousee.

on an unrelated note he thinks hes sooo good at eyecontact because he just Stares At People. doesnt look away. bores into their retinas with his big hot pink eyes.

anyway when Thee whole Blood Drinking Event happens mel aint even mad. confused above all else if im fully honest. like if you wanted my blood you can,. just ask ? i can make more.

also makes a huge melodramatic deal about it . for funsies. ex: do u think its bad. is my blood bad. is it like gales*. do i have galeblood. NO. dont say it. i couldnt bear... anyway.

*he does like gale he just makes fun of his friends youknow. gale probably doesnt care for melchior. Stresses Him Out.

prior to The Confession Scene after moonrise melchiors attitude towards That Vampire is that i have feelings for you. not saying which ones. post you know the one

Finally Comes To Terms with how he feels about that stupid vampire at moonrise. gets So Mad during the araj thing. perhaps unreasonably so.

sososo afraid to confront how he feels because. Dark Urge youknow. he doesnt WANT to be like that but hes also far too afraid of what it means if he Frees Himself Of It yknow. like what if i still have these compulsions. whatif im still Like This. i have a very loose grasp on durge but wtver. if the shit i make up doesnt fit i shall simply reshape bg3 lore to fit /lh

got his top surgery done by orin during a girls night or something silly like that.

i have so many thoughts about that vampire that i shall spare you. neway heres melchiors thoughts on the others <3

thinks gale is kindof funny and has a weird desire to seem. Less Foolish around him because he thinks gale is one of The Smarter Ones. makes fun of him for being kindof a loser with those wack ass old man jammies.

also likes wyll ! deeply envious of him because he sees all the desire he has to be Good and Help Everyone and wishes he could be Like That

thinks halsin is.Large. doesnt like him because hes only 5'5

little miss warrior cats... calls her shart because he thinks itis funny. (melchior is like 40 bear in mind) kindof afraid to talk to her because hes an absolute goober of a guy and thinks shes Thee Smart One

KARLACH <33333 also kindof envious of her for similar reasons to wyll. wants to impress her so bad because he thinks shes So Cool... after meeting gortash his ass WILL NOT talk to her. Afraid To. lots going on there but in general he thinks shes so cool and wishes he could be like her.

lae'zel... Frightened By Her. thinks shes cool though ! wants 2 be her friend but. again hes a goober and WILL make a fool of himself.

astarion. melchior voice well hes just that guy. i saw him trip and bust his ass on a trap the other day... kindof a loser if u ask me.... embarrassin.....

weird feelings towards gort. on one hand he was mels only friend (from what he remembers) but. he doesnt want to be That Person anymore. he doesnt Want to accept the whole bhaal thing. he wants a shot at a normal life. also this dude fucking sucks my god. comically evil. melchior voice i can excuse bombs in teddy bears but you did WHAT to karlach !!!

i ghave so many thoughts on . gort. unfortunately. the whole thing hes got where he foils the main 6 and the themes of redemption and breaking the cycle is sogood i love a good foil. fascinating man i want to blow him up with grenades

REAGHHHH THANKYOU FOR ASKING ILL WRAP IT UP HERE BUT FEEL FREE 2 ASK MORE I LOVE TALKING...

ALSO. quick notes 4 aldente. ill spare you their lore here because Theres Years Worth of it. however if you are inch rested it is. a bit edgy there at the beginning ill be honesyt </3

1) i started this story ages ago as like. A Token Edgy middle schooler. and built So Much more worldbuilding upon it that i cannot change it now youknow. it may be cringe </3

2) may reflect the age at which i wrote it with how edgy some of it is. so like. theres murder in there .

3) i stole demons from the bible and so on and made them ocs. the demonology special interest goes crazy in here.

[honeypirate]

Feet First

Obi Akitaru and Fem!Waitress reader

“His face smiles when he’s tense, he can’t help it” the man with the glasses says as you bring over more drinks. They were already a few in and were so far your favorite table of your shift. They were talkative and joking around, you loved it.

You tuck your drink tray under your arm and place your elbow on the high table, resting your chin on your palm as you gazed at the young man with a smile and unblinking eyes.

The handsome biggest man in the middle, the famous Captain of the Fire Force 8th division, stares at you with a grin and stars in his eyes “is that so?” you ask softly and lean in closer to the young man, hoping to see if it was true. You watched as the corners of his mouth twitched a few times as he tried to control it, you lean in farther and he can feel your soft breath hitting him as his face tenses into a smile.

You start laughing along with the handsome man in the middle, the one with glasses just takes a drink of his beer. “Sorry kid, I had to see it” he just nods, his cheeks turning as pink as his eyes.

“I think it’s really cute though. Dont worry” you wink at him before looking into the eyes of the one you were currently crushing hard for “do you guys need anything else right now?” you smile at him and his cheeks start to flush a little from your gaze “no, we’re good for now. thanks ..” he looks at your name tag, like he hasn’t known your name this entire time, “thanks y/n” you nod and turn around, heading back to the bar for more drinks for your other tables, feeling his eyes on you had made you grateful for wearing your good jeans tonight.

“Did you see who's at my table 12?” you whisper to your best friend and co-waitress, Jane. She slyly looks over your shoulder and then leans into your shoulder with a whispered squeal “oh my god y/n they are all so handsome, that one in the middle is SCRUMPTIOUS and aren't they..?” you nod “fire soldiers. I’m thinking about giving the one in the middle my number” she chuckles and her eyes widen in recognition “dude do it! That’s Captain Obi! He’s looked back at you like 50 times already”

You feel your cheeks warm up as you place the drink glasses on your tray and hold it above your shoulder as you turn back around, making eye contact with the Captain.

You smile at him and wink then smile harder, butterflies making your stomach flutter when his cheeks turn pink. You walk over to a different table, setting down the drinks and taking food orders, popping your hip out just a little extra because of their table directly behind you.

When you walked back to the bar and kitchen you set another glance over your shoulder at the Captain who was watching you, grinning when he winks at you this time. You feel your heart skip and you stick your tongue out at him just a little making him laugh.

After ten minutes of dealing with some kitchen problems you’re back out at their table “Here are your nachos and cheese fries” you place between them, all three moaning as they take bites immediately, not even waiting for the plates to touch the table. “You’re burgers will all be out shortly”

you chuckle as you set down the drink refills as well “thank you beautiful” Captain says and your cheeks flush “calling a girl beautiful when she doesn't even know your name, it doesn't feel right to me” you grin up at him and he returns it

“Obi Akitaru, now can i call you beautiful?” you nod with a flirty smirk “you can call me tonight if you want” he almost chokes on his drink and the kid next to him beats on his back a few times.

Guy with the glasses who you’ve heard been called Hinawa, just rolls his eyes and puts another chip in his mouth. If you spent long enough looking at him you’d realize how jealous he was, but you didn’t, your eyes easily found Obi again as you waiting for his response.

“yes! I would like that a lot ” his words stumble out and you chuckle, taking out your pad of paper and pen writing out your name and number with a small heart “here is my number. I look forward to hearing from you Obi” your fingers brush his when you hand him the paper and then you turn and head back into the kitchen for your other orders.

Hinawa rolls his eyes so hard it hurt.

You feel your phone immediately buzz in the front pocket of your apron and you chuckle as you slip into the back fridge to check. sure enough it’s from a new number asking when you get off work. You send back “45 minutes, what do you wanna do tonight Obi?” you squeal as you exit the fridge and go find Jane who was now sitting in her closed section because she got cut and closed.

You tell her everything and she quietly cheers for you before you have orders up to deliver, noticing someone else has dropped the burgers at their table.

After the dinner rush slows down, and you get a little more time, you notice the two other guys with him leave. you finish talking to your boss before going over to their table and clear off some of the plates “are your friends coming back?” you ask and he chuckles “no they’re going home, now i’m just waiting on you, doll” you grin as your cheeks warm again, your heart skipping as you refill his water glass

“15 minutes then I’m all yours” you heft the tray to your shoulder now covered in empty plates and glasses “i’m really looking forward to it.”

he hands you the black book with the bill and cash in it “ready whenever you are” you shove the book in your front pocket and laugh “see you in a bit” you say before walking back into the kitchen with a smile on your face and excitement in your veins.

You finish your silverware rolling and cleaning in the back, before sweeping your section and wiping off tables, making small talk with Obi whenever you are around him. Talking about when you started working there and how he hasn’t ever seen you since he’s been coming here for years.

You shrugged “i don’t know how you haven’t noticed me, I notice your handsome self every time you come in” you say and make eye contact with him smiling. Watching as he gets so flustered he speechless for a moment. He’s not a player, you can tell from his actions that this is new for him, flirting and having it be successful, he could hardly believe it. It’s why he switched to water after one beer that his big stature hardly even felt but he wanted to be clear headed with you.

You wipe off his table and pick up his glass “I can meet you out front in five minutes” you say and he hops off his stool “Okay, i'll see you in a bit beautiful” he winks and walks towards the front of the house, looking if his shoulder and smiling every few steps.

Your section is checked, your jobs are checked, and your receipts and cash are checked before your boss opens the safe to give you your extra tips from cards. Obi had surprisingly left you a hefty tip but you still had a great night with all your other customers. You shove your apron into your bag and pull out a sweatshirt and perfume. You take your hair out from it’s low pony and put on your hoodie, spraying it with perfume so you don't smell like fried foods and beer, before heading out to see what Obi had in mind.

When you exit he is waiting by the front door, looking up into the night sky before looking at you and grinning. He pushes off the wall and holds his hand out and you take his hand without hesitation, making him smile warmly.

“so where are we going tonight captain?” you ask and he chuckles, giving your hand a squeeze “it’s a surprise” you laugh until you notice you’re walking towards a fire force truck “we’re going in that?” you ask and stop in your tracks. Obi laughs at your reaction and nods “of course” you beam and start to bounce on your toes “this is the BEST” you say before practically dragging him with you to his truck.

“Okay put on your seat belt” he says but you’re too enamored by the interior that you don't really register. He chuckles before reaching across you to grab the belt “‘huh?” you say as you see his arm but it quickly grabs the metal end and pulls it out, clicking it in palace “sorry” you say sheepishly and he smiles “you’re so adorable” he says and you grin, your cheeks flushing “thank you, you're not so bad yourself hot stuff” he chuckles, holding out his hand again for you to take it before he’s backing out of the parking space.

“A park?” you ask as you hop out form the truck, he was holding your door open and holding your hand, helping you down. He nods “a park on a big hill on a nice night where he can swing and talk” you smile wide, hardly believing this big sexy man was taking you to a park so you could talk and star gaze. It was perfect.

“Race ya” you say and take off towards the swings “no fair! You got a head start” he says laughing as he runs behind you. You grab on to a swing just a few seconds before he did “i won so that means you have to give me something” he laughs “what would you like?” you both sit down in the seats of your swings as you think “hmmm” you walk backwards until you are on your tiptoes before jumping up and swinging forward kicking your legs out “is it too early to ask you for a kiss?” you say, boldly, and he laughs “i don't think so” he says and you look over at him, swinging at the same speed in tandem “perfect. Then that's what I want you to give me tonight” you can feel your cheeks are warmer than ever but your heart feels like it was on a swingset of its own. You cannot believe how bold you’re being tonight.

“So tell me, Obi. what made you become a fire soldier?” you lean back as you swing high, watching the ground come up to you quickly, feeling like you were on a roller coaster. He chuckles at you and then says “I wanted to help people” you can tell there is more to it but don't press him, he’ll tell you when he feels comfortable with you. “Do you like working at the restaurant?” he asks and you let yourself naturally slow down as you stay leaned back “mmhmm! I meant to only be there as a part time thing to pay for school but I really enjoy interacting with people. I’ve graduated already and can get a job in my field at any moment but I’ll stay here as long as I get paid well.” You lean back up to sit normally and smile at him when you make eye contact.

“What’s your field?” he asks as you both slow down speed “I majored in Biochemistry with a minor in chemistry” you place your feet on the ground to stop yourself and twist so you were facing him, he does the same and you lean in close

“i’m also a second generation” you whisper and then pull back with a little smile. He has wide eyes and a smile “seriously?” he asks and you nod, pulling a lighter from your pocket you flick it and the fire flies into your palm, you make it dance around your finger tips before closing it inside your palm and putting it out. “Mostly party tricks. My parents didn't want anyone to know so as a kid I always hid it. It actually works really well in chemistry so once i was an adult i decided to use it freely. My parents were just worried and did what they thought was best.”

when you look back up into his eyes he’s looking at you with stars in his eyes again he leans forward, capturing your face in his large hands “god you’re amazing” he whispers “can I give you a kiss now?” he asks and you grin with a chuckle, nodding your head in his hands and he quickly but gently brushes your lips with his own.

When he pulls back you’re smiling softly up at him with eyes so sweet he feels his heart melt for you. “Do you like pancakes?” He asks and you chuckle with raised eyebrows ”pancakes?” You ask and he nods with a chuckle

“I love pancakes” you say and he grins “Wanna have breakfast with me in the morning?” He ask as he’s standing and pulling you with him, his arms wrapping around you as your swings wobble back into place.

“I’d love to get breakfast with you” you say and he leans down to kiss you again “youre so beautiful” he whispers against your lips then you push up on your toes and seal your lips against his.

Your hands bury into his hair as his tongue licks against yours, making you chuckle softly as his hands reaches down and gripped your ass, pulling you up against him as he kissed you hard.

“Breakfast” he said after he broke away and his hands rested softly on your neck, his forehead pressed to yours.

“9am. I’ll pick you up” he says and you chuckle, giving him a soft kiss before taking his hand “can you also take me home tonight?” You ask and he nods with a laugh “of course doll”

He opens the door to the truck and helps you in, lifting you up and placing your butt on the seat before he steps on the rail and kisses you again.

he hops down with a smile and walks away to his door, turning the key as you put your seatbelt on this time, reaching out for his hand at the same time he reaches for yours. He chuckles softly as you bring his hand to your lap, his stomach filling with warmth.

He walks you to your door and leans down to kiss you, soft and warm, making your heart flutter and your spine tingle as he hugged you to his chest.

“I’ll see you in the morning beautiful” he says and gives you one last peck before he heads back to his truck, blowing you a kiss as you wait by door, waving as he drives off.

You close the door to your apartment and sigh as you lean against it. It seems too good to be true but his eyes are so honest you can’t help but trust him. God what a man. Your fingers brush against your lips softly as you smile and head deeper into your apartment. You know you won’t be able to sleep tonight, not with him on your mind.

[mediocrebnhablog]

Kiribaku+ bakusquad hcs

Getting together

This is a long one and if I had the talent I'd just make it a fic

They liked eachother for a long time before finally getting together but didnt wanna ruin their friendship and thought the other was way too good for them.

They each talked to the squad about their crush but they told different people. So it wasn't a Person C looks on in exasperation situation.

Sero was the first to notice something off and asked kirishima about it. Kiri tried to reassure him it was nothing but after a couple weeks of sero gently reminding him he was there to listen kiri finally told him he might have a crush on bakugo. Hes just coming around to understanding and accepting this himself so that's why he didnt come to sero before. Every once in a while sero will get a text saying how manly bakugo is but other than that it stays quiet.

Mina is next to notice. She thought kiri had a thing for bakugo for a while and hes only been getting more blushy. So she confronts him to make sure shes right. She may be the gossip queen but she makes sure the rumors have some hard facts behind em. Kiri gets really akward and tries to laugh it off but the blush definitely says otherwise. Shes a good friend though so she pretends to believe him and tells no one.

In second year when kiris crush gets bad and he decides he wants to win bakugo over. Sero tries to help but hes not very good at this stuff so he suggests mina. Kiris hesitant at first but realizes shed definitely be the best person to help. She pretends to be shocked and agrees to help him. After a week or so though she lets something slip and when kiri asks her about it she admits she knew about his crush for months.

Kaminari doesnt know about kiris crush but he did notice bakugo being alot more snappy and growly when people would flirt with kirishima. He makes a joke about bakugo being jealous and he gets yelled at. Most people would think this was all bakugo being bakugo. Hes always growly and when is he not yelling?? But kami knows somethings different. Hes surprisingly observant. When they're alone he tells him its totally ok to crush on kiri and he could talk to him about it if he wanted. Bakugo obviously yells at him and denies it but kami just laughs it off and tells him again he can come talk whenever.

Because kaminari fears no God when he and bakugo are out of ear shot he'll tease him about kiri. This goes on for a few weeks but then bakugou mellows out a bit and usually just mumbles and pouts after his usual threats (that are definitely for show). When they're completely alone with no chance of anyone hearing bakugo scream he starts casually talking about kiri and the rest of the squad. He doesnt mention the crush and when he notices bakugo is actually listening he talks more and more about kiri specifically. Eventually he sees that bakugo has a soft look on his face and a small blush and that's when he brings up the crush.

Bakugou looks like he wants to yell at him but it comes out really soft when he says "shut up why should I care about that?" Kaminari laughs and tells him his secret is safe and that bakugo should totally go for it. He even says he'll help bakugo "get over his emotional constipation." At that point bakugou does try to blow him up but he accepts the help none the less.

So for many more months kiri and bakugo are flirting with eachother more trying to win the other over while they get flustered at any attempts the other makes. So when bakugo invites kiri somewhere kiri asks if the rest of the squad is going. Or when kiri flirts the way mina taught him to bakugo gets really flustered and yells stfu. Because bakugo gets red when hes angry (seperate hc) kiri doesnt think it's a blush and thinks he doesnt like the flirting.

Kaminari doesnt know about kirishimas crush on bakugo and mina and sero dont know about bakugous crush on kirishima cause they're all great friends who would take this secret to their grave if need be. So after every attempt to flirt with each other the squad is just in the background being supportive. Like "nice try man we'll get him next time" :D trying to reassure them "no, no he totally likes you back! Did you see that blush?"

The reveal happens cause bakugo caught sero and mina setting something up for him and kiri. Bakugo catches them and when he asks about it they get all jumpy. He threatens them but even then they wont say so he tells them if it's a prank it better not affect him. They swear it's not a prank so bakugo leaves it at that.

Later when kiri asks him to hang out later he brings him to the same spot. Bakugo obviously recognizes it but doesnt say anything. Kiri doesnt seem to find the different look of the place surprising so obviously he knew about it and theres no way kiri would do something weird. They're just hanging out but bakugo quickly realizes how romantic the atmosphere is compared to the last time they visited. He gets all shy thinking "wait does this mean he actually likes me back?"

Kirishima and the rest of the squad who were totally not spying see how bkg is acting and are excited cause this means their plans are finally working :D

Mina and kami get excited and accidentally make a noise. Bakugo and kiri dont notice thankfully but the other 3 do and they see eachother. [Insert spiderman meme] It turns into a "what are you doing here" "what are you guys doing here?" "I asked you first"

They try to be casual and keep it secret but they're bad at it and realize kiribaku like eachother cause why else would they other be there unless they were also totally not spying on the not yet couple.

They accidentally make another noise and this time they're caught. Kiri and bakugo are confused why the part of the squad that doesnt know about their crush is there but they forget about it when they realized they were being spied on. Mood ruined so they head back to the dorms.

For the next week the squad is trying to keep the fact that they like eachother back a secret cause they're not supposed to know while also being "dude trust me on this he like you back!"

After that week they're studying in one of their rooms and the tension is so thick kiri could cut through it without his quirk. They're both thinking about the Not Date but bakugo is thinking more about kami telling him he knows kiri likes him back.

After a couple hours of silence (not even kirishima asking for help) bakugo snaps. He demands to know what's up. Kiri laughs and tries to brush it off but bakugo calls bullshit. He brings up the Not Date and ask what exactly that was. Kirishima is stammering to the point bakugo cant make out any words and bakugo cuts him off asking if he likes him. Kiri tries to say yeah and imply that he likes him as a friend. Bakugo thinks the answer is too vague and makes him specify how exactly kirishima likes him. Kirishima thinks about lying but after hearing mina and sero tell him for a week that bakugo definitely likes him back he tells the truth.

After realizing what he said he gets nervous and starts rambling. He tells him why he likes him and the more he talks the more scared he gets. He tries saying how it's not that big a deal and it doesnt change anything and he totally understands if bakugo doesnt like him back.

Half way through bakugo comes out of his shock that kiri likes him back and grabs kiri by the front of his shirt. Kiri doesnt know what's happening and doesnt realize hes being pulled in until a second after bakugo starts kissing him. When he does register what going on he immediately kisses back. When they finally pull back bakugo whispers "shut up shitty hair. I like you too." This time kiris the one who pulls him in. He practically jumps on bakugo like an excited puppy as he throws his arms around him neck.

They could keep going but they have homework and bakugo knows kiri must have gotten alot wrong if he got anything done at all cause he didnt ask for help once in 2 hours.

When the bakusquad sees them the next day they're holding hands and bakugo yells at them to shut up multiple times before giving up. Not once does he let go of kirishima though.

[markberries]

j u s t  f r i e n d s┊cedric diggory

anons requested:

HIII :) i havent seen that much cedric fluff/smut lol cedric is literally my comfort character 🤠 if ur requests are open could you write a fluff/smut? i literally dont mind what kind i just WANT MORE CEDRIC FANFICTION CAUSE THERE IS BARELY ANYYY :((

HellO! I love ur work can I request you make like a Cedric x F reader hufflepuff, friends to lovers, fluff and smut. I know it's vv vague but go off. I just want cedric content i love him sm :,)

info:  cedric diggory was your best friend, nothing more, but when he tells you about an upcoming date, you start to question that.

genre: fluff, some angst, SMUT, fem reader, hufflepuff reader, friends to lovers

warnings: so much smut, oral (receiving), cursing

word count: 5.7k+

a/n: HIIIII i was able to complete 2 reqs in 1! this was long overdue but i hope you like it,, also i edited the first half and just gave up on the second half GHFHJFSG

cedric diggory was your best friend.

he smelt of vanilla, his voice warm, flowing smoothly like honey. his presence gave you a sense of comfort, almost as if he was home. his eyes were a slight grey, full of wonder, color like a foggy autumn night, or the clouds that filled the sky on the day you two had met. his brown hair, always effortlessly styled, never failing to make girls swoon when he ran his fingers through it. and his smile — god, his smile.

adored by most and kind to all, you truly believed that cedric diggory deserved the world. it was impossible for any girl to get a glimpse of him and not feel their heart flutter.

the good-natured overachiever was your best friend because you hadn’t developed any romantic feelings for him, despite his good looks and unforgettable, lovable attitude. you knew that you wouldn’t have been friends with him in the first place if you felt the same way as the hundreds of other girls who yearned for cedric diggory, so the day he told you that he had a date, you were unsure of why there was a slight pang of pain that struck your heart.

“finally,” you sighed in relief, a playful tone hidden in your voice as you wiped fake sweat off of your forehead. the sound of your heartbeat felt like it was louder than the crackling of the hufflepuff common room’s fireplace, and you weren’t sure if it was in your head or not.

the both of you sat on the snug fabric couch that was placed right in front of the small flames, the cushions soft. cedric shoved you playfully, making you jokingly hold your arm in pain. cedric muttered a “shut up,” a smile on his face as he looked down in his lap. you stuck your tongue out at him, scrunching up your nose.

the fidgeting of your fingers went unnoticed as you smiled at him, a sense of dread washing over you as you began to think about how his date might go. you remained unassertive of why these negative emotions swallowed you whole, reassuring yourself that it was probably just because you were afraid of losing your best friend.

“seriously though, i’m really happy for you,” you say, patting his shoulder lightly. somewhere in the back of your mind, you knew were lying, you knew that you wanted to say “please, don’t go on that date,” but you ignored it. 

“i just don’t know what to do! or wear, or say,” he complained, waving his arms around, before falling back and relaxing on the couch. “do you think i’ll mess this up?”

no cedric, you’re perfect.

“yeah, you’re an idiot,” you lie, making cedric kick your leg. “you know i’m only joking, if you want, i’ll help you choose an outfit.”

cedric shot up, his hands on either side of his body as he looked at you with joy filled eyes. 

“really? you’ll help me?”

you laugh, “that’s what friends are for, idiot.”

you hated every bit of how your conversation was going. you felt like the more you two discussed about his upcoming date with cho chang, the longer that stinging pain stuck to you. you didn’t know what you wanted to do, you didn’t know if you wanted to cry, scream, yell, it was all left a mystery to you as cedric’s excited voice talked about how amazing cho was.

“she’s smart — and i mean, smart smart; and beautiful, wow, she really is beautiful. i’ve never met someone like her.”

you continued to smile and nod, enduring the ache that stayed with you the entire time. before, you were confident that you would never gain feelings for cedric, but now, you weren’t so reliant of your previous beliefs as the lurking torment hit you.

“well, can you blame her? she’s a ravenclaw,” you gave him a nonchalant reply, crossing your legs as you played with your wand.

“but she’s different, you know?” he went on and on, while you had an internal battle with yourself. you thought you were different. you hoped that you were different. but, you guessed, not to cedric.

“i’m getting tired,” you yawned, trying to get yourself out of this situation. you weren’t really tired, you just didn’t want to hear anymore of cedric talking about how cho was his dream girl. you wished that he would talk about you like he did her.

“really? it’s only eight o’clock,” he raised an eyebrow at you, smirking. you nodded, stretching your arms and standing up. you stood in your penguin pajama pants and an oversized tee, waving to him.

“i’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? and i’ll help you with your date,” you say, regretting the statement you made about how you would assist him in preparing for his date. 

“wait!” he quickly stood up, walking towards you and wrapping his arms around you for a hug. you froze for a moment, before melting into his touch. “thank you, y/n, for being such an amazing best friend.”

he placed his chin on the top of your head, while you buried your face into his shoulder.

“of course.”

while you headed up to bed, your loud thoughts echoed throughout your mind. you were rubbing your eyes, stifling your soft cries so you wouldn’t wake up your roommate. you crawled into your bed, wrapping the blanket around you, silent cries escaping your lips.

it was like a cliche love story, the girl finally realizes she has been in love with her best friend this entire time, only to be met with unintentional rejection. it hurt, of course it hurt. you were beginning to register that you wanted be cedric’s, you wanted him to be yours, but it was impossible. he had eyes on another.

—

the next day was even more dreadful than the previous, you woke up in a bad mood, lazily putting on your uniform and making your way to breakfast. cedric was quick to catch you on the way there, attempting to scare you from behind.

“boo!”

you turned and slapped cedric, who now, regretted his horrible effort to spook you. 

“don’t do that!” you whisper-shouted at him, and he raised his hands, surrendering. “sorry, sorry. forgot about last year.”

last year, you repeatedly told cedric about how much you hated being jump scared. it was no surprise that the idiot had forgotten. you giggled, cedric infamous laugh following your own. he began to walk side by side with you, continuing your conversation from yesterday.

“so.... you’re still going to help me, right?”

you wished you could say no, you wanted so badly to say no, but you knew you couldn’t. his happiness counted too, not just your own.

“with your fashion sense? do you think i have a choice?” you teased, squinting your eyes at him. you two entered the dining hall, every student was talking to another, some girls watching you and cedric walk by. you spotted cho across the room, cedric also seeing her. he waved at her, a smile on his face as she waved back.

you sighed internally, sitting down at the dining table. cedric sat down as well, but still kept his eyes on cho.

“what the hell are you doing?” you asked, grabbing an apple on the table. 

“me? nothing,” he replied back, resting his head on his hand as he stared at her in awe, you were tempted to slap him again, but you held back that said urge. your fingers traced the creases in the wood as your best friend eyed his crush, and you wanted nothing more than to leave the room.

“hey y/n are-”

“yes, i get it. cho is beautiful. she’s smart. i heard you the first thousand times.”

you turned to glare at cedric, who was looking at you, concerned. “no, i was going to ask if you were okay.”

your cheeks turned a light pink as you felt butterflies erupting in your stomach. you smiled at him, “sorry. just a little tired, i didn’t get much sleep. i’m alright.”

it was a half-lie, but you couldn’t risk telling cedric the truth. you were so sure that it would be the end of your amazing friendship, he would never look at you the same, and you weren’t sure if you could get over your feelings. you were stuck, in this in-between state of mind, one side of you begging to let your confession out, while the other just stayed quiet.

so yes, you caved into yourself and lied, but your only problem was that cedric knew that you were lying. there was no way of hiding it from your best friend, even if you thought you were concealing it well.

“hey cedric.”

the voice of the seemingly irritating asian ravenclaw snapped you out of your thoughts, and you immediately pivoted your head to look at her. cedric was already standing, looking at cho.

“hey y/n,” she smiled at you, and you replied back with a small awkward wave of your hand, a fake smile on your face before you turned back around to roll your eyes. your face scrunched up, biting into your apple as the two lovebirds talked behind you.

every word that came out of her mouth, every compliment he gave her, every giggle you heard, it made you want to turn around and walk out. jealousy was an ugly emotion, and you never thought that you’d actually get a chance to experience it, but here you were, annoyed out of your mind.

you waited for what felt like hours, for their talking to be over (it was really only a few minutes), time felt especially slow when they began to flirt about their upcoming date tonight.

“so, i’ll see you after classes then?” cedric asked her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“of course.”

cedric watched her walk away, gazing at her with those ever so beautiful eyes of his, taking a deep breath before sitting back down.

by the time cedric sat down, you were already getting up from the table, with a loss of apetite. cedric glanced at the single bite you took out of your apple, then glancing back up at you.

“hey, how do you expect to grow if you don’t eat?” he joked, earning a pissed off face from you, who only said, “i’m not hungry.”

you walked off without him, muttering to yourself meaningless thoughts. although cedric was worried about your sudden shift of attitude and demeanor, he decided to leave you some time to yourself.

you were already halfway to class, wondering what the hell you had done in your past life to receive this emotional torture. you groaned, looking down at your shoes. 

“you alright there, y/n?” a familiar voice called out to you, running up to you. it was ron weasley, an idiot, but a good friend of yours. you turned your head to him, saying, “no, i’m not.”

“spit it out, then,” ron says, lightly bumping shoulders with you. you let out an exhale, grasping at your wand in your right hand, your tote bag slung over your left shoulder. “are you going to take all day? i want to at least make it to potions before snape sends me to detention again.”

“fine, fine,” you whine to him, “you know cedric?”

“no — is that a food? are you mad? everyone knows cedric,” he exclaims. “there’s no one in this bloody school who doesn’t know who he is.”

you sneer, pinching his arm while he cries out a small “ow”. 

“so,” you start, avoiding eye contact so you wouldn’t have to see ron’s reaction. “him and cho have a date tonight. i know, not a big deal, but you see, i kind of started to fancy him.”

“i knew it.”

“be quiet.”

ron lets out a snicker at your quick reply, but he shuts himself up as you snap your head at him to give him a death glare. 

“are you planning on telling diggory at all?” he questions, and you immediately shake your head, your eyes wide, imagining everything that could go wrong.

“what would he think of me? it would make the situation much worse,” you explain to him, and he nods, trying to understand how you were currently feeling. 

approaching his potions class, ron gives your arm a little squeeze.

“well you know, someone must find you attractive, even someone as ugly as y-” his voice is cut off by you kicking him in the shin, and he yelps out, while you giggle. 

“get to class.”

your face drops when you hear cho’s and cedric’s voices echoing behind you, and you feel a part of your heart clench. it doesn’t take you long to walk as fast as you can so they don’t spot you, your shoes clicking against the concrete floor.

—

“how’s this?”

cedric stood in front of you with a white dress shirt, black dress pants, with a black leather belt wrapped around the waist. his shiny black shoes tapping against the floor anxiously, the sleeves of his shirt neatly rolled up. he put a slight amount of gel in his hair, he looked amazing.

if anything, the more you stared at him, the more you regretted offering to help him get dressed for his outing. your stomach did twists and turns as his eyes bored into your own, searching for approval.

he had a nervous smile on his face, the kind of smile you wished you had caused. you wanted nothing more than to be happy for him, for he had finally found a girl he actually liked. the only thing that had you upset, was that you weren’t that girl.

“you look,” you pause for a moment, taking him in. you gained a whiff of his natural scent, before exhaling slowly.

“stupid.”

his eyes widen in horror, rushing to go find new clothes. you erupt in chuckles, grabbing his arm.

“i’m just kidding, you look great, now go!” you exclaim, but cedric freezes, sitting down on his bed. he looks like he’s in thought, but his exact mindset wasn’t clear to you.

you sit down next to him, the bed cushion sinking. placing a hand on his shoulder, you ask him, “are you alright?”

“i don’t know, i’ve just never really felt like this for someone, i feel like i’ll mess it up,” his head turns to you, with a neutral facial expression. “what if i do something wrong? do you think she’ll stop liking me?”

“listen to me diggory, every girl i know has a tiny crush on you, i’m sure cho is crazy about you, and i doubt that there’s anything you can possibly do to mess tonight up,” you beam, patting his back. “unless you kill her.”

“i just don’t want to miss my chance with someone like her.”

there’s something that hits you when cedric says that — maybe it’s the fact that cedric would never see you in a romantic way is finally setting in, or the thought of never being able to compare to a girl like cho, or maybe you’re finally understanding you have been in love with cedric for longer than you thought, or maybe it was all of those reasons. something makes you want to crash into a fit of sobs, or maybe a chorus of silent cries.

for cedric’s happiness, you decide it was better to hide you’re sadness, that was slowly eating you up bit by bit, or at least, attempt to hide it.

“trust me, i’m sure she’ll love every bit of tonight. and if she doesn’t, well, i can surely take her head on.”

and here came his beautiful, mesmerizing, bright grin. he enveloped you into a hug, smiling to himself. “you really are my best friend.”

“yeah, i am, aren’t i?”

he lets go, standing up from his previous spot on the bed, dusting off his shirt.

“time to go, diggory,” you say to him, pushing him out the room, the door making a slight creak as you open it.

“thank you, y/n,” he grins, and you shut the door, but not before pressuring him to leave faster. your back is pressed against the cool wooden material as you slide down it slowly, burying your face in your hands as you are being swallowed whole by the everlasting feeling of unwanted rejection.

although cedric had no clue that he had technically rejected you, there was still a fresh feeling of heartbreak within you.

you felt vulnerable, like you were out of control, and that you couldn’t change anything.

there were so many thoughts running through your mind, you barely realized that you had got up and reached for the door handle, twisting it open, and pacing down the hall to where cedric was walking.

before realizing what you were doing, you grabbed cedric by the wrist, making him turn to you. you cut him off in the middle of saying your name, pressing your soft lips against his own.

you screwed your eyes shut, unaware of your own actions, while cedric stood there, eyes wide open in shock. he was frozen, unbeknownst of what to do.

when you slowly backed away from him, you swear you just wanted someone to put you out of your misery, right there. cedric was sputtering words, trying to form a proper sentence, while you were on the verge of tears.

“o-oh my god, i didn’t- shit, i’m so sorry cedric,” you were shaking, bringing your hands to cover your mouth, “just go on your date. this was a mistake- i uh, i’ve got to go.”

you took off fast walking to your dorm, trying your best to forget about the moment that happened seconds before. the adrenaline that was previously pumping through your veins was slowly beginning to wear off as you slammed your dorm room’s door shut, you let out a quiet wail. you quickly got yourself under the covers, gripping at the cotton sheets.

that night, you barely got any sleep, as the only thing keeping you awake was the thought of tomorrow.

—

there’s a soft knock on your door the following day, and you immediately huff in frustration, burying your head further into your pillow.

“go away!” you shout, your voice muffled by the fabric. ron calls your name from behind the wooden walls, ushering you to let him in.

“you can’t just stay in there forever!”

“yes i can, watch me,” you say back, hearing the door opening, followed by ron’s footsteps. he pokes you, repeatedly, purposely trying to irritate you.

“the professors are going to kill you if you don’t show up to your classes,” he scolded. you turn to look at him, the left side of your face still in the pillow. grabbing another pillow beside you, you toss it at his face.

“i don’t care,” you huff, finally turning over to lay on your back. “leave me alone, weasley.”

“i brought you something to eat, you can’t starve yourself,” he muttered, placing a plate of food on your nightstand. the sun shined bright into your window, birds chirping from the school grounds.

ron sighed, “could you at least tell me what happened?”

you gulp, frowning.

“i kissed cedric.”

“could you repeat that one more time?”

“i... kissed... cedric. right before he left for his date.”

“huh!?” ron squeaked, standing up. “what happened to the whole ‘i’m not telling him’ thing?”

“i know!” you snivelled, the feeling of guilt overwhelming you. “i really don’t know what i was thinking.. i just can’t face him right now.”

as if he was right on time, you hear cedric call your name from behind your dorm room door. he’s about to turn the knob, but you jump out of bed to prevent him from opening it.

“please let me in,” he says softly, his forehead pressed against the wood. “we really need to talk.”

“there’s nothing i want to talk about, diggory,” you say back, and ron laughs at your current struggle.

“ron, i swear to god-“

“weasley is in there with you? please, let me in!” cedric tries his best to convince ron to get you out of the way, but you’re prepared to throw the plate of food that ron had gotten you, and ron was not risking that.

“y/n-“

“i don’t want to talk, okay? please leave.”

the room goes quiet for a moment, no talking, no giggles from ron, it’s simply just silent. you hear cedric audibly sigh, before walking away.

you can imagine cedric’s distressed face as his frustration is always visible, and you really wanted nothing more than to go out and hug him, but you couldn’t. not after last night.

“you really do need to talk to him, though,” ron comments as you breathe heavily.

“i-i know, just not yet.”

—

hours after waking up from your hell-induced “sleep”, you finally got the energy to go to your last period, as you had told your professors from earlier classes that you were in terrible condition (you told them you had gotten food poisoning), and they were surprisingly, understanding.

you were battling with the ideas of speaking to diggory or never facing him again, and to be honest, you were liking the latter option a lot more than the first.

each time you spotted him through the day, there was something that felt like a small pinch within you, followed by a longing to talk to him again. you would quickly avert your eyes, or rush to make sure you weren’t in his line of sight, either way, you felt empty.

the worse was when you had just got out of class, only to walk a few steps down the hall, to see him talking to cho, taking her hands into his own, a soft expression on his face as he spoke to her. it’s almost like you could hear an audible shatter come from your heart. you shut your eyes, turning back to the way you came, your head hanging low.

you were so exhausted, physically and emotionally. dodging cedric at all costs, studying for upcoming tests, and losing hope in regaining your friendship with him.

you walked to the gryffindor common room to rant to ron, as he seemed like the only person you could talk to right now.

“i see you actually got out of bed,” he comments, leaning back on the red sofa. you placed your bag on the coffee table, plopping down next to him.

“surprising, right?” you say sarcastically. “but i didn’t come here to be criticized by you.”

you cross your arms over your chest, placing yourself deep in thought as you tried to calm yourself down. you rubbed your temples, trying to think of some sort of solution to end your torture.

“talked to diggory yet?” he asks, writing something down in his notebook. your posture becomes rigid, a pinched expression on your face as you shake your head “no”.

“y/n.. you have to at least to explain to him about what happened last night.”

your fingers begin to fidget, and you stare down at them. “i don’t even know what i was thinking, to be honest. so what am i supposed to tell him?”

“well,” ron trails, “you can start by saying that you like-”

ron doesn’t get to finish his sentence, as someone shouts his name from beyond the gryffindor common room. you immediately recognize the voice, scrambling to hide behind the couch as to not be seen.

seconds later, cedric comes in, a bothered look im his eyes as he approaches the red haired boy.

“hey ron, have you talked to y/n at all?” he asks him, his hair disheveled as you take a peek from behind the couch. he still looked amazing to you.

“yeah i have,” ron replies, nodding, but it’s tight — as if he’s holding something he wants to say back, and cedric is quick to notice it. he’s always been able to see those tiny details hidden behind a person’s actions.

“uh, okay.. and do you know where she is?”

ron looks to the couch, then back at cedric, “yeah, she’s behind the couch hiding from you.”

you freeze, your eyes going wide. you slowly stand up, awkwardly scratching the back of you neck, followed by nervous laughter. 

“h-hey! i was just leaving,” you’re at a loss for words, eyeing both cedric and ron. you let out another uncomfortable “haha”, before darting towards the door. cedric is yelling your name, following close behind. you’re able to make it towards your doom room, where luckily, your roommate was too busy having a sleepover with another hufflepuff to be there.

“y/n!” cedric catches the door before you’re able to close it, forcing himself inside. you swiftly turn around to face him, staring intently. your hands were clenched into fists, your legs barely being able to keep you up as you felt something weaken in your knees.

“we need to talk,” he says, sternly. your face is a bright red, almost at a loss for words.

“what’s there to say?” you retort, crossing your arms, then sitting on your bed. you try your best to avert your gaze from his, staring at anything but his face.

“please, y/n,” cedric pleads, taking a step closer to you. “what happened last night?”

“it’s really not important, cedric,” your breath hitches, as he was standing directly in front of you. you gathered the courage to look into his eyes, regretting it almost immediately, for they were filled with sorrow, glimmering within the cold moonlight.

the light of the bedroom remained off, you were sure that if you saw cedric’s face properly, you would lose the ability to speak.

“you can’t keep running away,” he tells you, placing a hand on your shoulder and bending down so he was at eye level with you.

you shrug his hand off, crossing your arms, “who said i was running?”

“y/n,” he starts with a small chuckle, “you just sprinted away from me a minute ago.”

“but the reason i chased after you was because we need to speak about the kiss.”

your body becomes stiff, you wanted to curl into a ball on the spot, biting your lip.

“we can’t.”

he sits next to you, taking your hands into his. “but why not? there isn’t any reason for us to not speak-“

“because,” you say in a small voice, “you like cho. she likes you. i don’t want to be the one to ruin that. it’s selfish, i know, but you deserve her.”

cedric stands, running a hand through his hair. “but that’s the thing, y/n! i don’t know anymore. i don’t know who i like — if i even really like cho after last night, it’s just so... confusing.”

“how the hell is it confusing?” you question him.

“don’t you understand? everything is just so, mixed up. after you kissed me, during my entire night, i couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

you feel the tip of your ears grow warm as the pace of your heartbeat grew.

“cedric—”

“please listen to me. think about how i feel right now. i liked you for at least six months, but you always told me the reason we were friends was because of the lack of romanticism between us, so i moved on, i mean, i tried to. but then, that kiss. it just changed so much, and i didn’t know what to tell cho—“

“weren’t you talking to her today? i saw you two together,” he continues pacing the wooden floors, stressed.

“i needed to tell her that things were complicated and about how i didn’t think she was right for me,” he tells you, and you stand up to poke him playfully in the chest, as if nothing was going on.

“you,” poke.

“did,” poke.

“what!?” poke.

“i, uh, um..” he doesn’t know what to say, frantically searching for the right words, but then throwing his hands up in defeat.

“it would be better if i just did this,” within seconds, he’s cupping your face, pressing his plump lips onto yours. they tasted of his fruity chapstick, and you liked the way he moved.

finally, you registered that diggory was actually kissing you. he was the one that initiated it, he was the one running his hands down your body as your hands gripped at his brown locks.

he bites your lip, and you let out a small mewl. he slips his tongue in, dominating against your own, all while removing his robe. he backs up, keeping your lips locked while shutting the door.

you remove your own robe, palming the bulge in his pants. he groans into your mouth, the wetness building in your heat.

he’s quick to switch the roles, your back on the door instead of his. he breaks from the kiss, panting. your foreheads rest against each others, staring into each others’ eyes.

“i need you to tell me,” he says in between breaths, his skin glowing in the moonlight. “do you want this?”

you nod desperately, “yes.”

“good, because i do too.”

he grabs you by the waist, picking you up to toss you on the bed. he’s standing over you, looking down at you with a smug smirk on his face, before peeling off his top.

“enjoying the view?” he raises a brow, and you can’t help but let out a laugh.

“mhm, i guess i’m next,” you reply, sitting up to unbutton your shirt. you make sure to begin slowly, cedric watching your fingers intently. you part your lips, removing the sticky clothing, leaving you in your undergarments and your skirt.

you bite your lip, looking up at him. he brings his lips to your ear, dragging his finger down your cleavage. “i need you to do something for me, baby. i need you to take off everything so i can make you feel good, is that okay?”

your stomach begins to do somersaults, and you comply to cedric with no hesitations, dragging the black fabric of your skirt down and tossing it somewhere in the room. next, you unclip your black bra and take off your panties, throwing them in the general direction of your skirt.

he admires you, who’s now laying down on the bed. you grow a little shy, but remind yourself that this is cedric, this is your best friend. he lowers himself to face your pussy, dragging his finger through your folds.

“let me take care of you, baby.”

with that, he trails a stripe through your heat with his tongue, a quiet moan escaping your lips.

“you’re so cute, writhing from just a bit of contact,” he grins, his hot breath fanning against you. “now what if i did this—“

he places his lips against your clit, sucking gently.

“cedric— ah,” you say, and he moans against you. he sucks harder this time, bringing his hand to your entrance, he sticks a finger inside at the same time.

“oh god,” you sigh, arching your back. you bring a hand to cedric’s hair, the other hand gripping at the sheets under you. his teeth grazes your bundle of nerves, making you shiver. the feeling of his mouth against you was addicting, his finger moving in and out of you at a fast pace combining with that lead to a familiar building up of pleasure within you.

“cedric, p-please,” you mewl, his free hand holding one of your thighs. you began to feel warm, crying out the boy’s name over and over again.

“come, baby.”

your body went stiff, your orgasm washing over you as you began to relax. your breathing was heavy as cedric stood up, looking at you. you smiled, shutting your eyes.

“can you do it one more time?” you hear him ask, and you swallow, nodding your head.

“yes i can.”

he began reaching for the emergency condom hidden in his back pocket, undoing his belt, the sound of the metal buckle hitting the floor as he kicked his pants and boxers off. he ripped the foil open with his teeth, rolling it on the tip. you opened your eyes, watching as he crawled on top of you.

he smiles, kissing your forehead with a loving look in his eyes. “ready?”

you wrap your arms around his neck, leaning up to kiss him. “whenever you are.”

finally, he begins to enter you, slowly, making sure it isn’t painful. you moan loudly, your eyes rolling to the back of your head. you didn’t care about how sensitive you were from your previous orgasm, all you could think about was how good you felt. his dick reached deep inside of you, expanding your pulsing walls.

he took this as a cue to movs, creating a steady pace as he let out a breathy groan every time he thrusted.

“fuck, you feel so good,” he praised, thrusting deeper. he would pull all the way out, before slamming back in. his hands were on either side of your head.

you were overwhelmed with pleasure, moaning his name and gasping when he would go deeper than expected. he whispered filth into your ear, talking quietly about how much he enjoyed fucking you, or how beautiful you looked under him.

your sinful cries bounced off the walls, sweat dripping down your bodies. you began preparing for his orgasm, as well as your own as he sped up. you clenched around his dick, making him groan louder. you threw your head back, your hips moving to meet his thrusts.

“holy shit, oh fuck, i’m gonna come,” he growled, kissing you hungrily. you moaned his name into the kiss, digging your fingernails into his back. he buried his head into the crook of your neck, shouting curses as the two of you lost yourselves in an erruption of bliss, only thinking about each other. your cries of his name was a symphony to his ears as he thrusted one last time, moaning loudly.

it ended in heavy breathing and gasps for air as he turned over to lay beside you. cedric removes the condom, tossing it onto the ground. he looks over to you, who was already looking at him.

“does this mean you like me?” you ask, and he lets out his amazing laugh.

“yes, i like you.”

you smile, “also i had no idea you could do that.”

“neither did i.”

[abybweisse]

I've seen a thread on ig about how Undertaker was probably never Claudia's lover, and I know you kinda ship them or at least are a believer of the UT=Cedric theory, I kinda am too and I tried not to be bias while reading that post but I feel like their points were rlly weak. Here are some points that tried to debunk UTxClaudia: 1. Cedric canonly has a birth and a death date which means he is human (lol).

2.Because UT was already a shinigami when he met Clau, we need to ask ourselves some questions: Why should a shinigami be able to have children? Since the shinigami duty is a punishment for those who commited suicide. Being able to live a nice life, have kids and interfere with human affairs and lives does not respect those facts.

3. Isn't it weird for him to fall in love with someone that was born 24 yrs after he came to the human world?

4. UT expressed strong feelings toward all the other mourning lockets and Vincent especially. Why would Claudia be more important than the rest of them?

Idk but when I read this I went ??? a bit cause I dont think it rlly debunks anything :/.. or maybe I cant see it that way cause I'm a fan of the theory/ship. However I wanted to see the side of a theorist/ an analytical pov, so what do u think?

Thanks for thinking of me! 😊

Only two things boggle my mind, here:

How that person thought their arguments debunked anything in the world, and

How you managed to send such a long ask in one message....

Anyway, I’ve received asks like this before, but it’s usually from people who think more like that thread on ig. You can try searching my blog with some of the tags on this post, like #cedric k. ros—, etc. But let me see if I can pull up something that gets to the heart of this ask....

....Um, it’s really spread out over way too many posts for me to grab that many links. Anyway, a search for “cedric k ros” brought up a ton of posts generally on this topic.

Also, my beliefs have changed somewhat over the years. I wonder how old that ig thread is, since we’ve learned a lot more canon information on Undertaker and the Phantomhive family since I first joined the discussion of Undertaker’s true identity. So, I’ll address each part of your ask here and now.

Cedric has a canon birthdate and death date, so he must be human. Well, it means he must have once been human, but it doesn’t mean he’s a mere human now. Besides, the years of his birth and death are rather conveniently covered up by a speech bubble. The rest of his last name, too. Go check out all my #cedric of rotherwood posts. Cedric might have lived and died centuries ago, might have become a reaper long ago, too.

Shinigami having kids breaks the rules. Reapers being able to have children could actually be part of their punishment... if my theory is correct that reapers are reborn as a form of karmic reincarnation. That would mean reapers are born to biologically female reapers, who definitely do exist; there just don’t appear to be as many of them, which fits suicide statistics. A reaper having children with a human goes against reaper rules, since they are not supposed to meddle in human affairs... just collect souls. Technically, they don’t even judge the souls, they just follow a protocol to verify it’s that person’s time to die. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible; it just does, in fact, mean Undertaker is breaking reaper rules. But he’s obviously doing that anyway. Why not break all of them? 🤨 Edit: There’s a good reason for him to want to have children with human females (not even necessarily just one), for the very reason that it skirts around this punishment of making more reapers with reaper females. Reapers like Undertaker, who might be mating with humans, can cause the reaper organization to become even more understaffed over time. That’s something else I have mentioned before in my theory about them being reborn. There could even be a backlog of souls from suicide victims that are waiting around for new reaper bodies to be placed into. And the way Ronald flirts with females both in the reaper realm and the human realm suggests that Undertaker isn’t the only one who might be spreading around his reaper genes... changing the very nature of humanity over the generations.

It’s weird that Undertaker would fall in love with a human within however many years of deserting his post. Not weird at all, plus we don’t know whether love is the only thing that might have brought them together. Also, 24 years is merely a guess... and not a very good one. 136649 tried to destroy reaper HQ ~70years before 1889, so around 1819. The year these three things historically happened: 1. Queen Victoria was born, 2. Prince Albert was born, and 3. (Sir) Walter Scott introduced the world to Cedric of Rotherwood in Ivanhoe. He even invented that name, Cedric. Undertaker says he hadn’t been called a reaper in about 50years. That suggests two things: 1. He not only failed to destroy the HQ, but he also might have been captured, punished, and returned to his work as a reaper until he finally deserted about 20years later, and 2. If he didn’t actually manage to escape until around 1839 or thereabouts, then Cloudia/Claudia was just a kid at the time. Undertaker might have become involved in the Phantomhive family’s “work” before she became watchdog; he might have been an informant to her father, for example.

Why should he care more about Cloudia/Claudia than the other people on the lockets or Vincent? If he loved her, and if she bore his children, then it would explain this quite easily. Who wouldn’t cry over the death of their child? These other six people represented by the other lockets must also have been particularly dear to him, for various possible reasons. But he seems to focus the most on her locket. It’s also placed directly in the center of the chain; they are not in order of death dates. (In fact, their last initials create a pretty cool set of notes, with Phantomhive becoming an F or an F# [F sharp]. Please see #lockets’ melody and #leitmotif posts that date as far back as 2016). And more recently, her locket (and her locket alone) has become a symbol of Undertaker in series merchandise. Them having been lovers would explain it pretty well, I should think! And, if I’m right that “136649” means he became the 49th registered reaper of 1366, then Cloudia/Claudia died (was killed) not just on a Friday the 13th... but also 500 years after Undertaker was registered as a reaper.

Thanks for this ask, and please check out the tags below for more information.

[georgescatcafe]

but i keep my hands (’til you come into the water)

rating: t warning/s: none pairing/s: georgenap genres/tags: barista george, fluff, humor, flirting, friendship, communication, getting together word count: 22,064 summary: George breathes, and it comes out in a shudder. “Everything about you is so much.” He straightens, meets Sapnap’s eyes. “I’m trying, Sapnap. But sometimes I think you’re just too much for me.”

Or, the one where George is a barista, Dream is Sapnap's best friend, and Sapnap just feels a lot.

+ao3

;;

The first attempt is a disaster. Sapnap should’ve expected it, the object of his desires completely different from who he usually chases after. For one thing, it’s a guy, for another, he’s got his arms crossed, fingers digging harshly into his arms, brows furrowed, lips downturned in a frown. Usually, when someone catches Sapnap’s interest, they paint a more pleasant picture.

Yeah. Not this one.

“I’m working,” he snaps. “I get it, but I really don’t like being flirted with at work.”

“You’re so upfront,” Sapnap replies, smile still on his lips, though he’s certain his ears are turning red as more people turn to look at him where he leans against the counter, probably about to be completely eviscerated by this barista. “I like that.”

He’s not eviscerated. His fate is even worse.

He gets ignored.

“Julia,” George calls, placing down the drink handed to him.

Sapnap steps out of the way as a petite girl with blonde hair takes the drink from the other, delicate fingers curling around the cup, golden-tipped fingers contrasting against the pink of her drink. Sapnap finds himself fighting against the urge to shove his hands in his pockets, remembering something about Dream saying that’s an obvious display of insecurity. And Sapnap isn’t insecure.

He just doesn’t like the way George smiled at the girl as she walked away.

“It’s called customer service, idiot,” Dream tells him later, the two of them having agreed to meet at the library so Dream doesn’t have to smell the coffee that wafts a good way out past the entrance of the Starbucks Sapnap frequents. Sapnap rolls his eyes as he takes a long sip of his vanilla frap, not fully convinced.

“It’s just,” he finally says, drink set carefully down on the table, “it’s like… why did he smile at her like that, when you could barely hear her ‘thank you,’ yet he doesn’t even look at me?”

“Maybe because he told you to leave him alone and you didn’t?” Dream suggests, taking Sapnap’s cup and drawing a smiley face in the condensation. He presents it to the other, only for Sapnap to groan and rub it away. He’s not exactly in the mood for cutesy shit. He says as much.

Dream looks unimpressed. “I’m just saying,” he draws another smiley on the opposite side of the cup, “try respecting his boundaries next time.”

“But I only know him as the barista from Starbucks,” Sapnap whines. “How am I supposed to flirt with him if I only see him when he’s working?”

“Break,” Dream replies, easy.

“Ah.”

Dream sets down Sapnap’s cup, the new smiley still there. “Yeah,” he says, “ah.”

;;

Dream had also advised him to maybe read the barista’s nametag and find out his name, so that’s the first thing Sapnap does when he walks in on Wednesday, eyes going directly to the little plaque on the barista’s apron. GEORGE. Sapnap bites his lip. He can work with that.

“Welcome to Starbucks, would you be interested in trying any of our—oh.” Sapnap looks up from the nametag to see George’s eyes on him, face devoid of any emotion other than perhaps vague disappointment.

“Hi,” Sapnap says.

George’s lips press together, and it’s not a frown, so Sapnap takes it as a smile.

“One venti vanilla frap please.”

“Name?”

“Come on,” Sapnap says. “You so remember my name.”

George hums, brows furrowing as he enters the order into the computer. “You’re right. Something like… ‘nuisance’?”

Sapnap frowns.

“My bad,” George says. “It was ‘annoyance,’ wasn’t it?”

“Ha ha,” Sapnap replies, crossing his arms. “It’s—”

“Sapnap, I know.” George taps the screen and Sapnap tries not to flush at the sight of his wrists. It’s not like they were hidden. It’s not like George is some Victorian lady. Jeez. Embarrassing. And then—

“‘I know’?” he quotes. “So you remembered my name.”

“Kind of hard to forget,” George replies, “since you wouldn’t leave me alone.”

Sapnap rolls his eyes. “Come on,” he tries, “I wasn’t that bad.”

“You were.”

“I’m just determined.”

“Determined?” George repeats, unamused. Sapnap nods. George gives him a long look up and down (and it’s not checking him out, not even close, but Sapnap pretends that’s the case, straightening up and hoping the lighting makes him look good) before sighing and motioning to the person next in line.

Sapnap is ready to continue speaking, but then he remembers the main point of Dream’s advice and instead just rolls his eyes, finding an empty table near the window. 

Better? a text from Dream reads.

Duh, his name is George

George

Yes, George , Sapnap glances up at the barista, who’s now taking the order of a guy definitely taller than Sapnap, and judging by the size of his arms, probably stronger too, and when he walks away, George’s eyes definitely follow him, lips curled into a smile not like the one he wore when the blondie left, but rather… oh, come on. Dude what the hell

What

Sapnap doesn’t take a picture, but he does try his best to describe the other customer to Dream. George was like..drooling over him what the hell!

I doubt it

When Sapnap looks up again, George is most definitely not wiping any drool away from his mouth, instead wearing a polite smile as he takes an older woman’s order. It’s as if Sapnap made up the smile he wore watching that guy walk away.

Ok, he concedes, maybe not drooling, but he definitely like… I dont think Im his type :(

As if u ever gave up that easily, Dream’s reply is fast, and Sapnap smiles as the thinking dots appear. You’re fine, just be yourself and respect his boundaries. I know you, you’re a great guy Sap you’ve got this

He’s right. About… everything. Sapnap slips his phone into his pocket right before he hears his name called. It’s not George calling out the drinks today, whoever was missing the other day now returned to their normal shift. Sapnap accepts the drink with an easy thank you and is about to walk away before he’s struck with an idea.

“Um, excuse me,” he calls to the woman who’s already started to head back to the espresso machine. She turns around and makes her way back over to the counter anyway, brows raised, anticipating Sapnap’s question.

Sapnap leans in some, unsure if he wants George to hear what he’s about to ask or not.

“Um, George,” he starts, and, oh, that’s not a good look. He presses on anyway. “When is… do you know his breaktime?”

“I do,” the woman replies, and Sapnap is ready to be pleasantly surprised, the amount of information this employee is ready to give more than expected, but then she continues, “but legally I’m not allowed to share it with you, and even if I could, I don’t think I would.”

Sapnap tries his best to swallow his disappointment. He’s not sure how he ended up so dumb with hope anyway. “Right,” he says. “Sorry for asking.”

“I suggest not doing it again,” she replies easily, but before she walks away she gives him a soft smile, “but it’s fine.”

Sapnap returns her smile, even as he feels an itch at the base of his neck, only growing as heat spreads under his skin. He’s quick to make his way back to the table, fingers wrapped tight around his frap.

He tries his best not to watch George, appearing as disinterested as he can, up until the other switches places with another employee, now going around cleaning up tables. Sapnap’s been people watching, eyes determinedly looking anywhere but at George, but that fails when he sees movement from the corner of his eye, a napkin falling to the floor, just in reach of Sapnap’s foot. Stretching the tiniest bit, Sapnap catches the napkin under his shoe, pulling it over to him so he can pick it up and throw it away himself. He almost makes a comment to George about his cleaning skills, always one to tease, no matter who it is he’s teasing, but then the napkin flops over the back of his hand and he sees ink on paper.

Mon-Th 8am-4pm break @ 10 lunch @ 12 break @ 2

Sapnap has no idea when George wrote that, if it was while he was still taking orders or if he wrote it while Sapnap kept his eyes out the window, but when he looks up, he finds the barista already watching him, now back behind the till, cheeks pink even as he holds Sapnap’s gaze. Sapnap smiles, waving the napkin in an I got it! gesture. George doesn’t smile back, just looks down at the register, then up at the customer that walks in a second later.

That’s fine. Sapnap shoves the napkin into his pocket. This is progress.

 When he’s about to leave, hand pressed against the glass door, he turns. George is looking down, but Sapnap can see the tips of his ears, the slope of his nose. Pink. Bright, pretty pink.

He smiles. Definitely progress.

;;

“So you want me to flirt with you, then?” Sapnap asks, leaning his hip against the edge of the table George sits at, the barista looking at something on his phone.

“No, not really,” George replies, not looking up from the device.

Sapnap sits in the seat across from him. “But I can flirt with you now, right?” he asks. “Since you’re not technically working right now?”

“I’m being paid for this,” George says. “It’s ten minutes. Money is going into my bank account, right now.” He finally looks up at the other, eyes wide in emphasis. “That means I’m working.”

“Boo,” Sapnap immediately snaps. “You just don’t want to admit that you want me.”

George makes a face.

“Want me flirting with you,” Sapnap clarifies, though he wouldn’t mind George wanting him. (He even hopes for that, honestly.) “You want me to flirt with you.”

“Quit making assumptions, you weirdo.”

Sapnap laughs. “You sound like my friend.”

“Oh, really?” George asks. “Maybe we’d get along then.”

“Me and you?” 

George gives him a dry look. “No, you idiot, me and your friend.”

“Well, you’re not going to meet him,” Sapnap replies.

“What, is he better looking than you?” George asks. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Hey!” Sapnap cries indignantly. “What does that mean?” George merely raises a brow. “And no , he’s not. I just… he doesn’t like coffee.”

“And that means he can’t come inside?” George asks.

“He gets, like, really nauseous if he smells it,” Sapnap explains “After I come here, I usually end up meeting him at, like, the library or something.”

“Oh, are you guys students?” At this, George sits up, leaning forward slightly over the table. Sapnap wonders if he’d be allowed to copy the other’s posture, or if it’d make George lean away. He decides not to risk it.

“I am,” he says. “My friend isn’t.”

“H’m,” George says.

“Yeah,” Sapnap replies. “H’m.”

He smiles at the smile that spreads on George’s lips, even as the other looks away, tucking his chin into his collar in an attempt to hide it further. “Stop it,” George says, muffled as he speaks into fabric. “Stop that.”

“I’m just looking at you,” Sapnap replies.

George glances at him from the corner of his eye. “I know,” he says. “Stop it.”

Though he doesn’t want to, he does. “So are you a student too?” he asks.

“Alum,” he replies. “Graduated last year.”

“Ooh,” Sapnap says. “Teach me all that you know.”

“You don’t even know what I majored in,” George replies. “What if we took, like, completely different classes?”

“Unimportant,” Sapnap says. “I was just trying to find an excuse to spend more time with you.”

“I—,” George is cut off by a persistent beeping. The two look down at the phone on the table. “Oh,” George turns off the timer. “Back to work.”

“I thought you said you’re still technically working?” Sapnap asks, knowing the grin he’s wearing is infuriating.

George’s eyes narrow as he looks at Sapnap before he shakes his head. “You’re so annoying.”

“You’re the one who talked to me for ten minutes,” Sapnap replies easily.

George doesn’t reply, instead just shaking his head once more, heading back to the counter, where he grabs his apron and goes to tie it around his (oh God, small) waist. Sapnap squeezes his eyes shut, thinking, before he gets up from his chair. The place is relatively empty for ten in the morning. “It’s compsci,” he says as George finally comes to stand at the register. “I’m a compsci major.” George looks up at him from across the room, startled. “In case you were, you know, actually wondering.” He can feel his confidence drain out of him the longer the other continues to stare blankly at him. “Um, yeah.” He lifts a hand to wave goodbye, and he’s about to walk out when George replies:

“Wait, Sapnap,” he turns around to see George watching him, fingers gripping the edge of the counter, “if you actually do want help ever, uh, I can do that. For you.”

Sapnap wants to reply, wants to say thank you or maybe even you, me, library tomorrow at six?, but instead he stays silent, and the moment passes, George inserting something into the computer, Sapnap clearly dismissed.

;;

“I fucked up,” he says immediately to Dream, sinking into his seat at the small diner on the corner of Mulberry and 11th, convenient for its equidistance from his dorm and Dream’s apartment.

“You really could’ve gotten a date, and instead you just stood there,” Dream says, a vague echo of Sapnap’s retelling.

“You’re making fun of me right now,” Sapnap whines.

“No,” Dream says. Sapnap looks up at him from between his fingers. The corner of Dream’s mouth twitches. “Maybe.”

Sapnap groans, pushing his face further into his hands.

“No, no, it’s not that bad,” Dream tries. “Come on, man, no moping at Sally’s. You’re literally eating cheesecake pancakes right now. You can’t mope.”

“I’m not moping,” Sapnap immediately replies. “I’m mourning.” He pulls his hands away from his face, instead pressing the tips of his fingers to his temples. “Mourning the relationship that never was.”

“Is this what you’re like when you actually have to work for a relationship?” Dream asks. He steals a strawberry off of Sapnap’s plate. “I don’t know if I like this dude.”

“George?” Sapnap asks.

“No,” Dream says, stealing another strawberry, “you.”

“Considering you’re still here, I think you like him well enough.” Sapnap lifts a brow as Dream goes to sneak another strawberry, blocking the other’s fork with his own. Metal clinks against metal.  Dream accepts defeat, going back to his waffles.

“We all have our ups and downs,” Dream finally declares. “That was a bad day—”

“But it was going so well!”

“Okay, then things got thrown off with the alarm—”

“Timer.”

“—going off,” Dream eats another bite of waffles, “so basically: don’t worry about it.”

“I will worry about it,” Sapnap says, just to be contradictory.

Dream knows what he’s doing, so instead of replying, he just finishes off the first of his waffles. Sapnap glares down at his own meal before spearing a piece of pancake.

“I’ll go back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s Friday,” Dream says.

Shit.

;;

He resigns himself to waiting until Monday to see George again, only to find himself stopping short when walking to his dorm from the library, spotting a familiar figure sitting on one of the benches that line the commons.

“George?” he calls, before he can decide if interacting outside of the four walls of the Starbucks they’re so used to is a good idea.

George looks up, slipping his phone in his pocket, eyes obviously wide even when hidden behind a pair of—

“Are those clout goggles?” Sapnap asks, biting back a laugh.

George crosses his arms, stretching his legs out (though they don’t reach particularly far, Sapnap affectionately notes) and leaning back on the bench. “Maybe,” he replies.

Sapnap stops holding back his laughter, letting it spill out freely as George’s face goes through a range of expressions, from a frown to a smile to a grimace to something of a cross between all three.

“If you’re done,” he says when Sapnap’s laughter has turned more into sporadic giggles.

“I’m sorry,” Sapnap immediately replies, though it’s clear the words mean nothing. He’s certain if he could see George’s eyes clearly through his lenses, the other would be rolling them. “It’s cute,” he almost says, but something stops him, the words turning into, “It’s fine. They suit you.”

One of George’s hands comes up to adjust the glasses, the twist of his lips finally turning into a smile. “Really?” he asks, hand pulling away from the frames to instead rest his fingers lightly against the plastic, but Sapnap isn’t paying attention to the glasses at all, eyes instead locked on the delicate bones of George’s wrist.

“Yeah,” he says anyway. George’s hand falls back to his lap. “So,” Sapnap says, now that the immediate distraction is gone, coming back into himself, “what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you were wanting to see my face again.”

“Um.” George looks away, at a tree that Sapnap knows is behind him, at the ground, the railing of the bench, at an acorn that lay a few feet away. Sapnap tries not to let the hope grow in him, even though the silence only continues to stretch on.

The hope finally breaks loose, and he asks it: “Did you really come here just to see me?”

“Not… entirely,” George replies. Sapnap gives him a disbelieving look, and George is quick to defend himself. “No, really!” he says. “I live in the area, and this… it’s nice, isn’t it?” He motions to the commons. “It’s, like, cool outside now, and the sun isn’t, like, really hot or anything. It’s nice.”

“But you said ‘not entirely,’” Sapnap says, “so that means I was part of the reason?”

“I didn’t expect to see you,” George sighs. “But if—if—I did see you, I wouldn’t be opposed to, like, hanging out or, um, something.”

“Okay,” Sapnap says easily, taking a seat on the bench next to him. Now that he’s beside George, he can see his eyes better underneath his glasses, and he doesn’t even try to hide the way he stares. “So what do you want to do?”

George gives a noncommittal shrug. 

Sapnap sighs. They sit in a tense silence, Sapnap itching to say something, George… Sapnap isn’t sure what he’s thinking. Although they’re sitting side by side, sometimes their shoes would brush against each other, edge of sole against edge of sole, and George would jump like he’s been shocked, bringing Sapnap’s eyes back to him every time. Finally, Sapnap gives another sigh and says, “I spy… with my little eye… something… blue.”

From the corner of his eye, he sees George tense. And then.

“The sky?”

“Nope!” Sapnap answers, popping the ‘p’. “Try again.”

George hums quietly, head moving the tiniest bit as he surveys the area. “There,” he says, pointing, “those flowers.”

“Got it,” Sapnap smiles, “your turn.”

George looks around, a single finger tapping on his jean-clad thigh. Sapnap refuses to follow the movement. “I spy,” George begins, “with my little eye something that starts with P.”

Sapnap looks around, searching for whatever George could have chosen. Then a bark rings through the air, and his head snaps around to look at the dog darting across the commons to get to a girl kneeled in the grass. “That puppy,” Sapnap replies, smug.

“Yup.” George nods, glancing over at Sapnap as he picks out something.

“I spy with my little eye,” he starts, angling himself more towards George, “something green.”

George falters. “Grass?” he tries, a slight smile on his face.

Sapnap laughs. “No,” and then out of a rush of courage he’s not sure from where, he reaches up to pluck the leaf out of George’s hair, holding it up between the two of them.

George scoffs. “That’s not even fair. I can’t see that. And was that in my hair this entire time?”

Sapnap shakes his head, flicking it away from them, the leaf dancing idly in the air before twirling to the ground. “Nah. It must have happened sometime last round.”

“Ah.” George finally takes off his sunglasses, pushing them up onto the top of his head. “Well, still not fair. I can’t even see green.”

“What?” Sapnap doesn’t mean for it to come out as a laugh, but it does. “What do you mean you can’t see green?”

“I’m colorblind, asshole,” George doesn’t shove him, but his hand does lift and make a weak motion towards him. “When you started with a color, I figured this wouldn’t last long.”

“Why didn’t you say anything, then?” Sapnap asks, hand coming down on the bench next to him so he can lean towards George.

“You said blue; it was fine,” George replies. “Besides,” he gives a shrug, “I just said the letter the word starts with. If I did it every time, maybe you would too.”

“Weird,” Sapnap says, the word coming out on a whistle.

“Not as weird as you,” George easily fires back.

Sapnap rolls his eyes but doesn’t reply, settling back on the bench once more. They sit in a companionable silence for another second before he remembers.

“Hey, uh,” George looks over at him, and wow, have his eyes always been that deep, wide and round and shining like honey in the bright sun, “my friend and I, the one that doesn’t like coffee, we’re meeting up for dinner. Would you… maybe want to come? Just so you can meet him. You know. We hang out a lot. And stuff.”

George seems to consider it before he nods. “If your friend is fine with it, why not?”

Sapnap sends Dream a quick text to ask, though he knows the other will say yes. “You’re not allergic to anything, are you?” he asks, even though he and Dream were just going to meet at, like, a McDonald’s.

“Not that I know of,” George replies.

“Awesome,” Sapnap says.

“Yup,” George agrees.

And… it’s awkward again.

“Got any other plans?” he asks, just to break the silence.

“Not really,” George says. “Fridays are usually pretty uneventful.”

“No one asking you to any parties?”

At that, George gives a quiet laugh. “Not really a partying type of person.”

“Really?” Sapnap asks, eyes wide. “I never would’ve guessed.”

George looks over at him, brows high, before he realizes it was sarcasm, making him roll his eyes. “Oh my God, you’re so annoying.”

“I’m not the one who agreed to spend more time with me.” 

George doesn’t reply, but when Sapnap glances at him, he’s got a small smile on his lips, cheeks pink and not, Sapnap is pretty sure, because of the sun.

;;

Sapnap thinks he should be jealous. He’s, like, really sure he’s supposed to be jealous.

Dream and George meet and hit it off immediately, falling into an easy banter that Sapnap watches like a tennis match, a constant smile on George’s face, laughter spilling out past his lips like a waterfall. 

They get along like a house on fire or whatever the phrase is, and Sapnap is left to breathe in the smoke. Yet he’s not choking and he’s not jealous.

Because every time George says something that sends Dream into a fit of laughter, he’ll glance over at Sapnap, eyes bright and smile wide, as if to check that he has Sapnap’s attention too, that he has Sapnap laughing right along with them.

Sapnap wonders if Dream notices, if he catches these moments between them, but if he does, he never comments on it, instead continuing to talk to George like they’ve known each other for thirty years and not thirty minutes.

By the time they finish their food, George and Dream have exchanged numbers and are planning another time to hang out.

“It sucks about the coffee thing,” George says to Dream, head tilted back so they can make eye contact. It’s endearing, but Sapnap does feel a slight pain in his chest when he realizes their one inch difference in height means he doesn’t get the same experience. 

“Yeah,” Dream agrees, “honestly it’s just, like, really inconvenient because I don’t like coffee in the first place, but you’re telling me I can’t even be near it?” George gives a sympathetic smile, and Dream backtracks. “If you ever want, I’m sure I can stomach it for, like, a minute or two, but—”

“It’s fine,” George cuts him off. “I can meet you wherever you want. I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?” Dream asks, looking apologetic.

“It’s fine,” George repeats. “So next Tuesday? When I get off work?”

“Yeah,” Dream confirms. “I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

“Same here.” George gives him a smile. “It’ll be fun kicking your ass.”

“Oh, right, like you’re going to win,” Dream scoffs. “Right.”

“You’ll see,” George crosses his arms, “just wait.”

“Whatever.” Dream gives a laugh before shouldering his backpack. “Alright,” he says to both George and Sapnap this time. “I’m going to head out. Patches is probably wondering why she hasn’t been fed yet.”

George laughs as Sapnap lifts his hand in an easy wave.

Dream waves back then heads out, leaving George and Sapnap alone.

George turns to Sapnap.

“So,” Sapnap says, “what’d you think?”

“He’s nice,” George replies, and then, “thanks for, uh, inviting me.”

“Of course, dude,” Sapnap says because what else do you call the guy you like, other than dude? He blinks. “Maybe we could do it again sometime.”

George gives a hesitant smile. “Maybe.”

“You’re not, like, intruding on anything,” Sapnap immediately goes to reassure. “We do this, like, all the time. It’s really not a big deal.”

“I didn’t think I was.” George collects his trash, “but thanks for putting the idea in my head.”

“No. You don’t get to do that.” Sapnap follows his lead as they throw out the wrappers from the burgers. “Anyway,” he opens the door for George, who ducks his head in silent thanks, before following after him, “what about me?”

“What about you?” George asks.

“Your number,” Sapnap answers, “I want it.”

“You think I give it out just like that?” George’s brows are raised in disbelief as Sapnap scoffs.

“You did it for Dream, and he didn’t even ask!”

“Okay, and?”

“You’re so mean to me, George,” Sapnap whines, crossing his arms. “See if I ever talk to you again.”

“Oh because that’s just the worst possible outcome for me,” George laughs.

“What the hell?” Sapnap uncrosses his arms to instead fling them out at his sides. “I thought we had fun today! We played I spy!”

“Yes,” George says, “because that is the exact definition of fun.”

“Well,” Sapnap crosses his arms again, “ I had fun. Sorry that you didn’t.”

In his performance, he had closed his eyes, but when he opens them again, his heart is quick to skip a beat upon seeing the soft smile on George’s face as he looks at him. His eyes are no longer turned to gold by the sun, but instead are dark like the coffee he serves, and Sapnap only finds himself looking away from them to instead drop his gaze to the other’s lips. They’re a soft pink, and they’re full, and Sapnap finds himself wondering what they’d feel like on his own.

“It’s,” and then a slew of numbers that Sapnap doesn’t catch. He finally meets George’s eyes again.

“What was it?” he asks, pulling out his phone. George rolls his eyes, giving a quiet laugh, before repeating his numbers as Sapnap rushes to add him to his contacts. When he’s done, he sends a quick text to George (Hiiii :D) to which George doesn’t answer but does make a show of blocking the number (then immediately unblocking it).

“Anyway,” Sapnap shoves his hands in his pockets, Dream’s advice be damned, and gives a slight whistle, “walk you home?”

George shifts his weight, readjusting his jacket, before nodding. “Alright.”

Sapnap smiles. George starts walking.

;;

George’s apartment is nice. Not too far from the Starbucks he works at (not too far from Sapnap’s dorm) and it’s in a quieter part of the city. The two of them stand in silence on the front step.

“So,” George says.

“So,” Sapnap agrees.

A second. Two seconds.

George makes a small noise that has Sapnap ready to ask if he’s alright when George’s hand suddenly smacks against his cheek. Sapnap immediately reaches up to cradle the reddening skin. “Did you just slap me?” He thinks the slight crack in his voice is warranted.

George’s eyes are wide as he shakes his head. “No. Oh my God. I wasn’t… it was a,” and then he makes a motion, like he’s pressing a kiss to his fingers, then lifting them as if he were to press that kiss to—

“You couldn’t have just kissed me like a normal person?” Sapnap is trying not to sound accusatory or angry because he’s not, but what the hell.

“It’s—I didn’t—look, fuck, I’m sorry.” George wraps his fingers around Sapnap’s arm to tug his hand away from his cheek. “Here, look, shit, I—,” and then he’s got his lips on Sapnap’s cheek and any pain Sapnap’s feeling is gone. George’s lips are warm against his skin, and when he pulls away, his eyes are still shut, fluttering open only once he’s back within his own space. Sapnap stares at him with wide eyes. “It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal,” George says.

“It was kind of cute,” Sapnap tries, heart pounding in his chest. “But only kind of.”

“Whatever,” George says, “I’ll see you Monday, Sapnap.”

“Will you kiss me then too?” Sapnap asks.

George shakes his head, shoving past Sapnap to get to his front door, pulling out his key and unlocking it. “Goodnight, Sapnap,” he says.

“Goodnight, George,” Sapnap replies.

George turns around, looking at him from right inside the door. Sapnap stares back. George opens his mouth, as if he plans to say something, but only ends up closing it again, shaking his head and turning to go further inside, shutting the door behind him.

Sapnap stands there on the front step for another second before shaking his head, the ghost of a response to whatever George left unsaid, deciding to take the long way home.

;;

Monday comes quickly, and after class Sapnap finds himself making his way to Starbucks, just in time for George’s lunch break. He wonders if thirty minutes is enough for him to take George somewhere, nothing fancy, just something quick, but then he’s inside and George is sitting at a table on the far wall, lunchbox open in front of him.

“Boo,” Sapnap says, sliding into the seat across from him, “I was going to ask if you wanted to get lunch with me.”

“I’m good, thanks,” George says.

“I can see that.”

He watches as George peels away layers of cling wrap around his sandwich.

“So how was class?” George asks, right before he takes a bite.

“Ugh,” Sapnap crosses his arms and rests his head atop them, closing his eyes, “I don’t know why I do it sometimes.”

“What, go to school?” Based on what he hears, Sapnap assumes George has peeled away more cling wrap.

“Yes,” he replies.

“Deep down you enjoy it,” George says, “and it’s for your future.”

“You went to school,” Sapnap starts, “and now you work at Starbucks.”

“I hate you.”

“That’s not what you said on Friday.”

“I didn’t say anything Friday,” George says.

“You’re right,” Sapnap sits back up, “you didn’t say anything because you were too busy kissing me.”

“Yeah because a kiss on the cheek totally equals making out on the couch,” George snorts as he takes another bite of his sandwich. “Right.”

Sapnap grins. “Duh.” When George just rolls his eyes and opens a bag of chips, Sapnap is quick to steal one. “Anyway, we have a quiz Friday that I am not looking forward to.”

“I don’t think anyone looks forward to quizzes,” George slaps his hand away when it swoops in for another chip, “are you ready for it?”

“Define ‘ready,’” Sapnap replies. At George’s unimpressed look, Sapnap shrugs. “I mean, as ready as I can be.”

“That’s better than ‘not at all,’” George sighs. “Tell me how it goes?”

“Obviously.” Sapnap smiles when George allows him another chip. “So what about you? How’s your morning gone?”

“It’s gone,” George says. And then he pauses. “I got a girl’s number.”

“Oh,” Sapnap says, because that’s all he can think to say.

“She, like, wrote it on the receipt, I guess when Sarah was talking to me, and when she left, she just… left it on the counter.” Sarah, as it turns out, is the woman who told Sapnap she’s not allowed to disclose George’s break times. Sapnap still feels prickles of irritation under his skin as George continues: “I threw it out.”

The prickles suddenly stop.

“You threw it out?”

George nods, nonchalant, popping another chip in his mouth and even offering the rest in the bag to Sapnap with a raised brow. Sapnap just shakes his head, ears still ringing from George’s words.

“Why?” he asks.

“Not interested,” George says, finishing off his chips. “Besides,” he says, getting up to toss the bag in the trash, “no flirting while I’m at work.” Sapnap hands him the cling wrap sitting on the table. George smiles as he grabs his lunchbox. “See you later, Sapnap.”

“What if I wanted to order something?” Sapnap calls as George gets himself situated behind the counter.

“You drink too much sugar,” George replies, putting on his customer service face as a middle-aged man walks in. “Welcome to Starbucks, would you…,” Sapnap lets the rest of the greeting fade into background noise as he watches George’s mouth move, his fingers dancing across the computer as the man places his order. After another second, he gives a stretch, then rises, giving George a smile and a wave as he heads out the door.

He comes back that afternoon only to be greeted by George’s furrowed brows and a cold drink shoved into his hands. “On the house,” George tells him as Sapnap stares down at the vanilla frap, the condensation that had gathered on the cup wetting his hands.

“Thanks,” he says.

“Don’t mention it,” George replies, pushing through the glass doors and holding one open for Sapnap. “So where to?”

Sapnap thinks. He hadn’t really thought of anything for them to do, mostly just wanting to see George again. Then he remembers neon lights and crummy carpet with space patterns on it, rockets and stars and moons. With the next step he takes, he moves the tiniest fraction closer to George. The backs of their hands brush together. Sapnap lets this happen a couple more times, and then—he takes George’s hand.

George just holds on tight.

Sapnap smiles. “I have somewhere.”

;;

They hold hands the entire way, and Sapnap tries not to let it get to him. George’s fingers are thinner than his, and not long after he had started to lead them in the direction of the arcade did George’s fingers slot their way between his. His palm is warm, pressed flat against Sapnap’s own, and every once in awhile Sapnap will say something that makes George laugh and his hand will come up as if to cover his mouth, the action aborted halfway to its destination when Sapnap’s arm goes taut, George letting their hands fall back between them. He still looks over at Sapnap though, eyes glittering, squinted, cheeks rosy.

It’s maybe the most beautiful thing Sapnap has ever seen.

;;

Correction. George smiling (still, because George always looks nice smiling) colored by the neon lights is the most beautiful thing Sapnap has ever seen. He’s almost tempted to take a picture of just George, just for him to have, him to cherish, but he knows George will hate it, George will watch him like a hawk over his shoulder as he deletes it, not letting up until he deletes it, and the effort isn’t worth it. Seeing George so displeased isn’t worth it.

So instead he crowds into George’s space, demanding a selfie, “to send to Dream! To make him jealous!”

Like that’s anywhere close to the truth. But he does send the selfie to Dream, who does reply with a >:(, and Sapnap laughs and shows George, who laughs then wanders over to the skee ball, and then that’s when Sapnap goes and changes the picture to his homescreen (because a lockscreen is too risky, because he knows George will definitely see it).

He lets George win at skee ball. And air hockey. And… this game isn’t even competitive, what the hell, but he lets George win at that too. (And okay, maybe sometimes George wins because he’s better, but it’s not like Sapnap would ever admit to that.)

When they leave, George is still giggly, fingers intertwined with Sapnap’s once again, but less passive, more with a purpose, more I’m holding your hand because I really want to hold your hand, because I like how your fingers feel between mine, because I like the way our skin touches, you’re here and so am I. It’s so deliberate, and Sapnap is dizzy from it.

They get dinner at a seedy, shitty pizza place, though the pizza is anything but, and then it’s back to Sapnap walking George home.

“You really don’t have to,” George says. “Your dorm is, like, right there,” he makes a general motion to the upcoming intersection.

“But I want to,” Sapnap says.

George sighs, but doesn’t say anything, even as they walk past the entrance of the university.

When they reach his apartment, Sapnap fakes nonchalance. “So,” he says, “are you going to make it a big deal?”

George crosses his arms.

Sapnap puts up his hands in front of him. “Just a question.” He smiles. “So are you?”

“You’re so annoying,” and then warm lips are on his cheek as fingers tangle into his shirt. “I hate you,” George says when he leans back. Sapnap looks down at where George still has a grip on his shirt, but when he meets George’s eyes again, the other doesn’t let go. Sapnap wants to take his face in his hands and press a kiss to his lips right then and there.

George’s gaze dropping down—to his lips, there’s no doubt about it, George is looking at his lips—is almost enough to make him do so.

But that would scare George away. He knows it would. So he leans back on his heels, smile on his lips. “Hate you too.” The soft lilt of his voice belies his words. He doesn’t mind. 

George’s eyes flit back up to Sapnap’s. Sapnap’s smile widens. George drops his hand from Sapnap’s shirt. “Thank you for today,” George finally says. “I had fun.”

“Me too,” Sapnap reaches out, taking George’s hand in his own, finding that he quite missed the other’s touch, even if it’d only been a few seconds. “We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

“Yeah,” George agrees, “we will.”

They stand there in silence, Sapnap holding George’s hand. George clears his throat.

“Well,” he says, “goodnight, Sapnap.”

Sapnap gives the other’s hand a squeeze. “Goodnight, George.” He drops George’s hand, their fingers dragging together until they’re not.

When their fingers finally part, George takes a breath then turns to unlock his door and head inside. Right before he shuts the door, Sapnap is treated to the sight of an eye turned liquid gold from the streetlights, a rich, amber color that leaves Sapnap tasting coffee and honey. “Goodnight, George,” he says one last time, and then, the door shuts and it’s just Sapnap out in the cold. He gives a smile to the closed door, then turns and starts the walk to his dorm.

;;

Sapnap ends up with what feels like fifty new assignments on Tuesday, and he knows Dream and George are meeting up after George’s shift ends, so he decides to forgo his usual trip to Starbucks and instead heads back to his dorm after shooting George a quick Have fun with dream :) text. 

When he reaches his room, his phone chimes in his pocket.

thanks, i’m gonna kick his ass

Sapnap huffs out a laugh before unlocking the door and heading inside, dropping his backpack onto the floor next to his desk then collapsing into his chair, tilting his head back and closing his eyes before replying to the text.

Of course u will <3

Immediately, he gets a text back, and he thinks more about that than what the text actually says (gross, don’t ever send me a <3 ever again).

Just to be antagonistic, Sapnap grins and sends: Good luck baby xoxo mwah mwah mwah <3

Another instant reply: you’re so disgusting. talk to you later sapnap

Sapnap’s grin stays as he sets his phone down and pulls out the assignment he’s decided to tackle first. Sure, George may be annoyed by every text he sends, but he’s still replying right away, still replying at all—he totally doesn’t mean it. George totally loves texting him, he’s sure of it. Sapnap gets out his laptop and goes to Blackboard as he thinks about George on Monday, the way he’d sometimes lean into Sapnap, the clean scent of his laundry detergent settling into Sapnap’s heart and the occasional press of his cheek against Sapnap’s leaving a permanent warmth under his skin.

He goes through his assignments in a daze, Java getting mixed with java and graphs getting interrupted by George. Only the sound of his phone going off—a call from Dream—breaks him out of it, little numbers and letters dancing behind his eyes as he blinks and answers the phone.

“Yeah?”

“George and I are getting something to eat, do you want us to bring anything to your dorm?”

“You don’t have to,” Sapnap replies, even as his stomach rumbles and roars at him to eat.

“You’re right,” Dream agrees, “but I’m not doing this for myself.”

Sapnap blinks. “George,” he says, and Dream gives a quiet hum. “Where’re you guys getting food from?”

“Taco Bell, maybe,” Dream replies. “There’s one on the way to your dorm.”

“Across the street, yeah,” Sapnap agrees. “Then can I get a Cheesy Gordita Crunch with two soft chicken tacos, a steak quesadilla, cinnamon twists, and a Baja Blast?”

Dream repeats it back to him with an, “alright,” at the end, and Sapnap tells him he’ll pay him back when they get to his dorm. “Sounds good,” Dream replies. “See you in a bit.”

“See you,” Sapnap agrees, then the call disconnects, and Sapnap is left in a messy as hell room with George on his way. “Shit,” Sapnap says, looking at the weeks-old laundry spilling out of his wardrobe and the assortment of half-drunk Gatorades and water bottles littering the shelf above his desk. “Shit, shit, shit.”

He grabs his trash can from where it sits at the foot of the bed, lifting it to the edge of the shelf and just pushing all the bottles into it, some of them falling past the edge and hitting the floor. He groans as he bends over to grab them and put them into the trash properly. When that’s done, he knows he’s not going to be able to run a full two and some loads of laundry before Dream and George get to his dorm, so he deems the laundry a lost cause and shoves it as best he can back into the wardrobe, his hamper buried under weeks of unwashed clothes. Oh well. At least his room doesn’t smell.

Sapnap freezes. Does it?

He shakes his head. No. It doesn’t. It’s fine. Besides, his room isn’t that bad. And George is a guy; he probably lived in the dorms, he knows the horrors of a bunch of dudes crowded in one building. It’s fine.

A knock on the door makes him look up from where he’d been staring a hole into his bedsheets, wondering if remaking his bed (he had put it together haphazardly that morning, more for a sense of productivity than any need for cleanliness, the sheets wrinkled and pillows slouched awkwardly) would be worth it. He supposes the interruption is answer enough. Leaving the bed as is, he unlocks the door, swinging it open to see George standing there holding three paper bags, two drinks under his left arm.

“Hi,” Sapnap says.

“Hi,” George replies, angling himself to allow Sapnap to take a bag from him. “These drinks are really cold.”

“Here,” Sapnap grabs the green one, immediately lifting it to his lips and taking a sip. “Almost as refreshing as seeing you.”

George stares at him before making his way into Sapnap’s room, setting the two bags down then taking out a napkin and setting his drink on it. “You’re not funny.”

“You’re right,” Sapnap agrees, making George’s eyes widen as he looks over at him. “I’m hilarious.”

George’s parted lips fall into an unamused line. He scoffs, turning back to the bags and pulling out various Taco Bell items. “Here,” he says, handing Sapnap his quesadilla and cinnamon twists, “they threw some of our things in the same bag. Everything in the one you’re holding is yours, though.”

“Nice.” Sapnap sets down the bag to take the food, immediately getting started on his quesadilla.

“And Dream was going to come, but then he got a call from someone and said he had to go. He might’ve taken the hot sauce…?” He looks over at Sapnap with a raised brow, who glances into his bag.

“Nah. There’s sauce in here.”

“Cool,” George replies. “But yeah, it’s… it’s just us now, I guess.”

Sapnap glances over at him. George is staring down into his bag, fingers crumpling the paper. When George turns to look at him, Sapnap doesn’t turn away. George holds his gaze for a second before his ears turn a warm pink, and he ducks his head, reaching into his bag to pull out a Quesarito. 

“Uh,” Sapnap says, and then reaches across George to grab his wallet from the desk and pull out a ten. “For the food.” He holds it out to George.

George takes it, their fingers brushing and Sapnap’s pulse sent racing. 

“Thanks,” George says, “but Dream paid.”

Sapnap plucks the cash from George’s fingers. “Never mind then.”

George laughs, “rude,” before unwrapping his Quesarito and taking a bite. “So how are your classes going?”

Sapnap groans making a motion to the stack of assignments half-covered by an empty Taco Bell bag. “Terribly. I’m doing… fine. It’s just… so much work.”

“The worst,” George agrees, taking another bite. “Studying for the quiz?”

“What are you, my dad?” Sapnap asks, but at an unimpressed look from George, he sighs and leans back against his bed. “Yes.”

“Good,” George says, and then he says, “I kicked Dream’s ass by the way.”

“Like I said you would,” Sapnap replies, and when George looks at him from under dark lashes, he thinks about how easy it would be to lean forward and press a kiss to the space between his brows, the tip of his nose, Sapnap hesitates for the shortest second before his gaze drops lower—it’d be so easy to lean forward and press a kiss to George’s lips. When he meets George’s eyes again, they’re dark, and in the faint light, Sapnap can see his pupils blown wide. He swallows. George watches the movement.

Sapnap takes a breath. “I—”

And then George is on him, their mouths pressed hot against each other. Sapnap moves back, resting on the bed, as he tilts his head, angles it so that he can kiss George properly. It’s once he does this, once he brings a hand up to hold the back of George’s head, that George pulls away with a small breath. “This was a—”

“If you say ‘bad idea,’ you owe me ten bucks,” Sapnap says before he can finish.

George, flushed, glances up at him and huffs a small laugh. “Lapse in better judgement, then.”

“No take-backs,” Sapnap says, his left hand, which had settled on the curve of George’s hip, sliding up to hold the nape of George’s neck. “Okay?”

George lets out a breath. Sapnap feels it warm against his lips, a phantom of their kiss. “Okay.”

Sapnap smiles. “Good. So what’s wrong?” He wouldn’t normally talk it out, the other party throwing out their worries and Sapnap immediately going back in for the kill, lips on theirs and them preferably in the bed by now, but it’s okay if it’s George—if this takes longer than it normally would, that’s okay, and—George gives him a hesitant smile back—if the end result is more than a tumble in the sheets, that’s even better. (Not that that was ever the desired result, but for a time, Sapnap could’ve been content with just that. Not anymore, though. Not now.)

“I’ve never dated anyone,” George admits, “not seriously.”

“Like, you’re some type of player or…?” Sapnap lifts a brow as George sends him a look. He drops his hand to pull himself back and up onto his bed then pats the space next to him in a silent offering to George. George looks from his hand to his face then back a couple times before sighing and climbing onto the bed next to him. When George places his hands down at his side, his and Sapnap’s pinkies brush together. George takes another breath.

“I mean, I dated a girl in high school, if you could call it that,” George says. “More like I knew she had a crush on me and was doing what I was supposed to.” He makes a face and Sapnap wonders if it would be bad of him to curl their pinkies together, to take even more than that. Good or bad, he leaves his hands as they are, letting George continue. “It didn’t mean anything, and it was a high school relationship. Those are hardly legitimate.” He gives a slight eye roll. “So yeah, this is… kind of new to me.”

“That’s okay,” Sapnap says immediately. “I’ve never had a real relationship either.” 

It’s not the consolation Sapnap had planned for it to be. Sapnap wouldn’t say he sleeps around, or slept around, he’s not some kind of manwhore or anything, but the fact still stands that he’s definitely had more than one partner and most of those relationships did reach at least third base before he even hit the ball. That, in contrast to George’s high school hand-holding, is definitely a strike against him.

Sapnap shakes his head, dissipating the baseball metaphors beginning to sprawl in his mind. “But it’s something I want with you,” he amends. “I really like you, George. Like… I really like you.” He’s not sure if the second thing is what does it for George, but either way, he still takes Sapnap’s hand in his, lacing their fingers together and resting their connected hands in his lap. Sapnap leans over just enough to have their shoulders touching.

“You really do annoy me sometimes, you know?” George asks, thumb rubbing smooth circles into Sapnap’s skin. “It’s like you go out of your way to do it, too. You can’t just… dial it back a bit. It’s really all or nothing with you.”

“I’m not known for doing things in halves, yeah,” Sapnap agrees.

George glances at him from the corner of his eyes. “Except for relationships,” he says. His voice is rough.

The smile that had started to grow on Sapnap’s face drops. “Yeah. Except for those.”

“I really like you too,” George finally admits, “and if you’re willing to try,” he squeezes Sapnap’s hand then looks over and meets his eyes, “I am too.”

;;

The soft atmosphere had broken not long after that, Sapnap’s stomach rumbling and George bursting into lilted giggles, nerves and hesitance coloring his every move after that. But when Sapnap offered to walk him home, George agreed, and they held hands the entire way, and when they reached George’s door, George scrunched his face up then grabbed Sapnap by the front of his jacket and pulled him into a searing kiss.

“For someone who’s never been in an actual relationship,” Sapnap had said, “your kisses are pretty hot.”

“Thanks,” George had said and then slammed the door in Sapnap’s face.

Sapnap didn’t mind, though; nah, he grinned the entire way home.

;;

The rest of the week flies by in a vanilla frap-flavored, headache-filled haze. George is certain the headaches are from all the sugar Sapnap intakes, but Sapnap is certain it’s from all the homework his professors assign and studying George pushes him to do.

“It’s not as if you wouldn’t be doing this if I weren’t in the picture,” George tells him as he wipes down the table next to Sapnap’s. Sapnap has a lab report open on his laptop, his notes spread all out on the table before him. Half of the keyboard is covered by the paper, rendered unusable. 

Sapnap doesn’t have a good argument for that, but he also wants to keep George nearby. He leans back in his chair. “I’d have a headache with no remedy,” he says.

“Remedy, huh?” George asks, standing straight and arching a brow.

“Seeing your face is the only medicine I need,” Sapnap says, and then he throws in a, “pretty boy,” just because he wants to see what it’ll make George do.

Apparently, it makes his expression fall off his face and heat rise in its place, cheeks and ears glowing a bright pink even as he stutters out irritated (and empty) phrases, eventually giving the table a final furious once-over then disappearing into the kitchen to get rid of the dirtied rag. So basically, the words did the opposite of what he wanted, but in the end, Sapnap finds himself unable to consider it anything other than a win, mind now running through other opportunities to pull out the pet names.

George appears only when he’s about to leave, sending him off with a kiss on the cheek that’s really more an accidental brushing of lips against skin, but it’s enough for Sapnap, and he leaves the other with a smile and a promise to tell him how the quiz goes at dinner.

;;

Come dinner, Sapnap is halfway through explaining how he’s pretty sure he failed the quiz when George sits up in his seat and asks, “Is this a date?”

Sapnap freezes, mouth open and mid-word. “Do you want it to be a date?”

George huffs. “This isn’t really the wining and dining I expected, but—”

“I’m nineteen,” Sapnap tells him.

George sighs. “It was just an expression,” he says. “And I was going to say it’s fine. Everything here leaves something to be desired, but it’s fine.”

“Everything?” Sapnap asks, eyes widening coyly as he looks at the other.

“Everything,” George confirms. “Especially my date.”

Sapnap exaggerates a sad face and George rolls his eyes, throwing a fry at him, but he’s got a smile on his face, so Sapnap drops the act and grins back. “You’re so cute,” he tells the other, and George immediately seems to grow smaller, shoulders curving inwards, face angled down, his smile facing the floor instead of Sapnap, who observes this all with a quiet gaze.

“Shut up,” George says, the words on the end of a laugh.

“It’s true,” Sapnap replies. “I love looking at you. Even when you look dumb.”

“Excuse you,” George immediately snaps, finally looking back at Sapnap, “I never look dumb.”

“Oh,” Sapnap says, “you’re right. I meant when you look stupid.”

“What the hell?” George guffaws. “You’re actually so annoying. Shut up.”

“So you want me to shut up when I compliment you, and you want me to shut up when I insult you—what’s the truth?”

George looks at him, unimpressed. “The only conclusion is that I like you best when you say nothing at all.”

Sapnap scoffs. “Rude.”

“And yet.” George lifts a brow.

Sapnap gives a quiet exhale. “And yet,” he agrees.

;;

Dream stretches his legs out in front of him while Sapnap twists himself around to lean against Dream, back pressed against shoulder.

“How’s it going with George?” Dream asks, flicking through the channels on the TV, Sapnap watching the short frames he gets while taking nothing in.

“I think we’re a thing,” Sapnap replies, settling even further into Dream when he finally decides on a channel. It’s an old comedy from the 80’s, one Sapnap thinks his dad might’ve shown him when he was younger. Vaguely, he recalls falling asleep halfway through. He’ll try not to do that this time.

He feels Dream shift as he looks down at the younger. Sapnap can sense his eyes on the top of his head. “You think?” Dream asks, the words coming out slowly, as if he’s tasting every letter.

“We kissed,” Sapnap explains, “and we both talked about how we feel, and we went on a date, and he’s kissed me again since that first one. On the lips,” he adds hastily, just so Dream understands the severity of the situation.

“But no one’s said ‘boyfriend’ yet,” Dream concludes.

“But no one’s said ‘boyfriend’ yet,” Sapnap confirms.

Dream hums as a fanfare starts up in the movie. Sapnap takes a handful of popcorn from the bag on the coffee table in front of them.

“I think we’re taking it slow,” Sapnap continues. “Neither of us are good at relationships.”

“What do you mean?” Dream turns slightly, and Sapnap slips down his arm some. “You’re not good at relationships?”

“You know how it was,” Sapnap answers, “is.”

“Is it really that bad?”

Sapnap shrugs, scooting back up against Dream as he does so. “I’d think so. Someone like George would think so.”

“Where does that leave me?” Dream asks.

Sapnap doesn’t answer, eyes back on the TV screen. Dream huffs, but doesn’t push for one either. 

“It’s fine,” he finally says. “Whatever works best for you guys.”

Sapnap nods, and they don’t talk about George or Sapnap and George or relationships for the rest of the movie.

;;

This is new. Sapnap’s heart pounds heavy in his chest as George sits perched on his lap, hands flying across Sapnap’s keyboard as he types a command into the chatbox. Dream’s voice crackles through his speakers: “George! What the hell?”

“Oops,” George says, glancing back to share a conspiratorial look with Sapnap, “I didn’t mean to.”

“Yes, you did,” Dream argues, his character finding George’s—who's really just using Sapnap’s character, but it’s whatever—and George running, even as Dream hits him over and over, beginning to take hearts. “You’re such an idiot, oh my God.”

George leans back against Sapnap’s chest, letting Dream kill him. “Fine,” he sighs, “we can do it your way. Whatever.” Sapnap smiles at the way his accent colors his words. George sends him a curious glance; Sapnap noses at the edge of his hairline in answer. George makes a small noise before leaning forward to get back into the game. Sapnap shifts, adjusting George on his lap so he can have some circulation in his thighs again. It’s not that George is heavy, no, George is fairly light, but George is bony, and for all Sapnap likes him and would in fact like to slip his hand in the other’s back pocket as they walk together, that doesn’t change the reality of George having a bony ass and it pressing into Sapnap’s lap.

When he’s got him where he wants, Sapnap curves himself over George, wrapping his arms around the other’s waist. George feels warm all over, and when Sapnap tilts his head to take in the other’s profile, he sees it as a soft pink. Though George can’t really afford a free hand when PvPing Dream, he still lifts a hand to shove Sapnap’s head away.

Sapnap huffs and hooks his chin over the other’s shoulder. And then he gets the most terrible (wonderful) idea and angles his head so his nose is pressed into George’s neck and he’s starting to run kisses across the skin there. George breathes out a titter and lifts his shoulder to try and push Sapnap away. Sapnap grins and starts to climb his lips up the slender column of George’s neck. George gives a full-on giggle at this. “Stop,” he says, hand coming up to shove at Sapnap again, the lapse giving Dream a chance to hit George with his axe. “Sapnap,” George says when his kisses turn a bit rougher.

“What are you guys—,” and then George gives another breathless laugh and Dream makes a disgusted noise. “Seriously?” he asks. “In the middle of my Minecraft PvP?”

“Sorry,” George gasps, shoving at Sapnap with an urgency now, brows knitting and lips losing their smile for a frown instead. Sapnap gives one final nip to George’s neck before relenting, letting George stand from his lap and glare down at him. It holds for another second before George turns back to the computer. “I’ll be back on in a bit, is that okay?”

Dream makes a noise of confirmation then ends the call. George turns back to Sapnap. 

“Too far?” Sapnap asks.

George scrutinizes him, eyes narrowed, before he sits back down on Sapnap’s lap, this time angled towards him. When Sapnap puts his hands on his hips, George makes a face. Sapnap drops his hands. “I know I kissed you first,” George finally says, not quite meeting Sapnap’s eyes. “So I should be okay with all this.” He finally manages to make eye contact, holding it as he speaks. “But I’m not.” He swallows. “I’m sorry.”

“You can tell me when it’s too much,” Sapnap tells him, but at George’s look, he sucks in a breath. “You did.”

“I was—I didn’t seem like I meant it,” George says. “I know. And, um, I guess I didn’t. Not really, not at first, but—”

“I still should’ve.” Sapnap lifts a hand, looking from it to George’s eyes then back. George gives a nod, and Sapnap sets his hand on George’s side, fingers resting in the spaces between George’s ribs. He feels George’s chest expand and contract with every breath he takes.

“We could,” George ducks his head, “have a sign, or a word, or something, and if one of us does it, the other stops,” he meets Sapnap’s eyes again, “would that work?”

Sapnap’s brows raise, jaw dropping slightly. “George…,” he says, “did you just suggest we employ a safeword?” 

George splutters. “No? I mean—I guess, but not like that! Just… yes or no?”

“Butterscotch,” Sapnap says.

“What?” George makes a face.

“When it’s too much,” Sapnap explains, “just say you want butterscotch.”

“It sounds like a euphemism.” The word drips distasteful from George’s tongue.

Sapnap rolls his eyes. “But that’s what makes it good !” He slides his fingers from George’s side around to his back, watching George’s face all the while. When George doesn’t stop him—physically or with butterscotch—Sapnap brings his other arm around George, holding him. “People will think we’re going to fuck or something, but actually we’re doing the opposite!”

“That or they’ll think we’re sugar addicts,” George scoffs, making Sapnap laugh.

“One of those,” Sapnap agrees. “Is that really such a bad thing?”

George looks at him, disappointment clear on his features. Sapnap smiles. George’s facade breaks; he smiles back. “It’s dumb,” he says.

“You always look dumb,” Sapnap replies. “No one will think anything.”

George sighs. Sapnap feels the movement against his chest, beneath his fingertips. “Fine,” George finally concedes. “Butterscotch.”

Sapnap smiles back then leans forward till their noses touch and their breath intermingles as George inhales then says, “If there’s ever been a better time to say the opposite of butterscotch, it’d be now.” Sapnap kisses him. George’s eyes slip shut, hands coming up to tangle slender fingers into the ends of Sapnap’s hair, and returns the kiss.

Eventually, George calls Dream again and the two of them start up their game again, George back to his perch at the edge of Sapnap’s lap, and this time Sapnap doesn’t kiss him, but George lets him run his fingers up and down his sides, and Sapnap delights in the little shivers and shudders George does every time. George and Dream end the day on a tie, the last win one of Dream’s. George’s consolation is a kiss pressed to his temple, but then George says that’s not enough and decides Dream and Sapnap owe him dinner.

“Both of us?” Sapnap asks as Dream groans on the other line.

George nods.

“Why me?” Sapnap makes the best pleading face he can. 

George is made of stone. “Friend of the enemy.”

“Boo,” Sapnap says, “hiss.”

“Hey!” Dream’s voice crackles through the speaker. George glances over at it, unamused.

“I think we should try that one place, what was it called? It’s on Main and Delaware.”

Dream makes a noise. Sapnap thinks it might be one of fear. “If it’s the place I’m thinking… that’s really expensive.”

“But you can pay for it, can’t you, Dream?” George asks. “I know you can.”

Dream doesn’t reply. All three of them know he can.

“But I wouldn’t do that to you,” George continues. “Which is why Sapnap owes me dinner too.”

Sapnap is about to whine when his brain catches onto an idea and his eyes narrow. “Is this payback for the date?”

“H’m?” The tilt of George’s head is innocent in a way only the guise of innocence can be. Sapnap’s eyes squint even more, vision practically gone. “Of course not.”

Sapnap doesn’t believe him.

;;

Despite George’s teasing earlier that week, he ends up ordering the cheapest things on the menu, though Sapnap (feeling guilty about the date thing, oops) points out other, more expensive, things for George to try.

“Sapnap,” George finally says, “it’s fine. If it bothers you that much, we can split a dessert or something.” Across the table, they meet eyes and at the contact, a small smile appears on George’s face. Sapnap’s breath catches.

Dream is seated next to George, this date of course anything but traditional, but, like at the McDonald’s, Sapnap finds he doesn’t care, their closeness completely platonic—if anything, he’s comforted by it, in a sense, his two favorite people getting along as easy as they do. Sapnap’s utterly sold on it.

He and George catch eyes again as Dream peoplewatches casually, cheek resting on his palm. Sapnap’s own palm is open on the table in front of him, bored of messing with his unused cutlery. He smiles as George eyes the hand, eyes dark and inscrutable, before a hand covers his own. Sapnap curls his fingers around the other’s. They sit in this calm silence until their server brings them their food.

Sapnap’s tempted to keep George’s hand in his as he eats, but it’s his right hand and George’s left, so he lets go, turning to his food instead. George does the same, and Sapnap thinks that’s it, but then he feels a foot brush his, and when he glances up, it’s to see George already watching him, cheeks flushed. Sapnap hooks their ankles together. George’s gaze goes back to his plate.

When it comes time for dessert, George does agree on splitting with Sapnap, Dream getting his own thing, some chocolate mousse pie, and George and Sapnap getting a crème brûlée, George eager to tap the top with his spoon when the waiter brings it out to them, steaming and pretty.

Every once in awhile, their spoons clink against each other, and they exchange quick glances, Sapnap swears his aren’t heated, but the pounding in his heart suggests otherwise—he never knows with George, whether there’s something behind them or not, his eyes dark, endless, Sapnap wonders if he’ll ever be able to properly read him. If Dream is ever uncomfortable, he never gives any indication of it.

Dream and Sapnap do pay, and George looks green and guilty after, even when Dream did everything he could to keep George from seeing the check, leaning away and even cupping a hand over the receipt to prevent curious eyes from wandering.

The three of them walk out together, Sapnap’s pockets feeling considerably lighter, but the meal worth it, and when he reaches over, George lets him clasp their hands together easily, fingers intertwining like this happens everyday. Dream walks on his other side, hands in his pockets (Sapnap stops himself from making a smart remark), eyes on the sidewalk ahead of them. The sun has long since set, and a chill has started under Sapnap’s skin, shaken only by the solid warmth of George’s hand in his. Still, when a breeze ruffles their hair, Sapnap has to suppress a shiver. 

They reach George’s apartment first, and he goes with an easy goodbye to Dream and a short hug around Sapnap’s middle. When he pulls away, he turns his head and his lips brush Sapnap’s cheek in something like a kiss. Sapnap watches him up until the door finally shuts and they hear the click of the lock. 

They’ll reach his dorm before they reach Dream’s place. When Sapnap looks over, Dream is still staring straight ahead.

“I could’ve paid it all myself,” Dream says. “You knew that.”

“Yeah,” Sapnap agrees.

“You could’ve told me to pay it all myself.” Dream turns his head, eyes on Sapnap. His gaze is sharp. “George wouldn’t have minded.”

Sapnap looks to the ground. “Yeah.”

Dream goes back to looking ahead. They walk in silence for another minute. “He’s happy,” he finally says. Sapnap’s eyes dart to the other. Dream isn’t looking back. “He really likes you.”

“I really like him,” Sapnap says.

“Monday—the other week,” Dream gives a slight laugh, “George said he really liked that, too. He had a bad day—,” Sapnap remembers the drink shoved in his hands, the dark expression on George’s face, “—and then you were there, and you were happy and happy to see him, and suddenly the bad parts of the day didn’t really matter.”

“I just want to see him smile,” Sapnap says, and then he amends the statement, “I want to see him happy. If it’s because of me, that’s even better, but really, he just…,” he shrugs, makes a noise in his throat. “I care about him.”

“So do I,” Dream says. “And I care about you. And I can tell that you guys make each other happy. And that’s all you want for each other.” He glances over, showing the other a soft smile. “And that’s all I want for you both.”

“You haven’t even known George for that long,” Sapnap says, because he’s socially incompetent or something.

“George is easy to love,” Dream replies.

Sapnap doesn’t have anything to say to that. It’s true. He is.

;;

It’s another one of Sapnap and Dream’s biweekly movie nights, but this time George is there, head resting in Sapnap’s lap, feet in Dream’s. He fits perfectly along the couch, though he’s turned on his side, blanket tugged tight over him as he watches Jurassic Park. They settled on that after some brief bickering, mostly between George and Sapnap, Dream content to watch whatever, while George wanted a comedy and Sapnap didn’t know what he wanted but it wasn’t a comedy because, “Dream and I watched a comedy last time!”

“I wasn’t here last time!” George argues. “So it shouldn’t matter!”

“But it does ,” Sapnap does not whine, though they all know the pitch in his voice makes it close to one. “We should watch something else.”

In the end, it was Dream who decided, having closed his eyes then picked a movie off the shelf randomly. Once Dream was sat back down on the couch, George had huffed and flopped over onto his side to watch it, ignoring Sapnap’s cheering but not turning away from the hand the younger had placed atop his head, fingers running through the short strands.

Now, an hour and a half later, George makes a sleepy noise, nuzzling into Sapnap’s thigh, and Sapnap’s heart clenches in his chest.

Dream had dozed off a few minutes ago, chin in his palm, and now his elbow has started to slide off the arm of the couch. Sapnap bends over, running his nose along the curve of George’s ear, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Hey,” he whispers. “Want to call it a night?”

George turns his head, nose bumping into Sapnap’s when Sapnap doesn’t sit up quick enough. Their eyes lock, dark blue on dark brown, and George stares up at him for a second before he glances to Dream at the other end of the couch, one hand curled around George’s ankles. “‘Kay,” George says, voice rough. Sapnap finally leans back the rest of the way, and George sits up, pointing his sock-clad toes and stretching out his right arm, the limb having been pressed to the couch beneath him. When he takes his feet from Dream’s lap, dropping them to the floor, Dream’s elbow finally slips from the couch, and he jerks awake, eyes blinking rapidly until they finally settle blearily on the TV.

Sapnap leans over to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. “George and I are gonna head out,” he tells him. “We’re all pretty tired.”

Dream looks over at him, movements sluggish, before he nods. “See you guys tomorrow?”

“Probably,” Sapnap replies.

Dream nods again before making a small noise and pushing himself up from the couch. The movie still plays on the television, but none of them pay it any mind. Dream picks up their empty bowl of popcorn and takes it to the kitchen.

George sighs, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes.

“Ready for the walk home?” He’s talking about their respective homes, Sapnap knows—George’s apartment and Sapnap’s dorm—but it feels so much like they’re a duo, a pair, home coming from George’s lips like they live together, that it makes Sapnap’s breath catch in his chest. Breathlessness and a clenching heart—maybe Sapnap should seek medical help.

At his lack of reply, George looks back at him. The blue light colors his skin something pretty. Maybe Sapnap’s just had an overdose of George. He doesn’t think he minds. “I’ll walk you home,” he says. And then he thinks about the placement of their houses. He backtracks. “Or… if you wanted, you could just stay at mine?”

George, growing steadily more alert as time goes on, stares at him. “You want me to go home with you,” he says. It is in no way a question.

“I mean, if you want,” Sapnap answers anyway.

“We might as well have spent the night here,” George tells him.

Sapnap glances back at Dream, only to find the other missing from the kitchen. A look at the dark hallway and the slim line of light coming from underneath the bathroom door lets him know where the other is, however. He turns back to George. “We can ask Dream,” he says. “Do you want to?”

George gives a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe your place would be better. We don’t know what he’s doing tomorrow.”

“We don’t,” Sapnap agrees, although they’re both aware Dream doesn’t have any plans.

“And we don’t want to overstay our welcome,” George continues.

“We don’t,” Sapnap repeats.

George sucks in a breath, holds it. “My place is farther,” he finally says on the exhale, “ but my bed is bigger.”

That’s true. Sapnap has a room to himself, but he’s still only got a twin. It can barely fit him sometimes.

“I’m willing to make the walk if you are,” he decides.

;;

George is willing to make the walk. Dream had come out of the bathroom not long after, wiping his hands dry on his sleep pants, then waving them out with a tired smile. Sapnap had taken George’s hand the minute the door had shut behind them, the two of them alone on the sidewalk, Sapnap tugging George even closer, using their connected hands to his advantage.

They make their way to George’s apartment slowly, despite their initial reluctance to walk. Sapnap wonders if it’s a delay of the inevitable or an enjoyment of the other’s company. (They can enjoy each others’ company within four walls, not outside where the unforgiving autumn cold that’s finally settled seeps into their bones.) George takes a breath.

“I don’t,” he starts, then makes a noise. “I don’t want anything to happen, Sapnap.”

When they pass under a streetlight, Sapnap sees George’s cheeks glow red. George glances over at him.

“You know that, right?”

Sapnap has a list of things he could say. I never even thought about that, is one. Why not? is another. “Yeah,” is what he goes with. “Don’t worry.” He squeezes George’s hand. George squeezes back.

“I just…,” George tilts his head back, looking to the sky, and Sapnap’s eyes are locked on the graceful column of his throat, “I really like you, Sapnap.” He goes back to looking ahead, but Sapnap keeps his eyes on him. “And it’s almost been a month since… since,” with his free hand, he makes a vague motion at where their other hands are locked together, “this. Whatever this is. So I just… in case you, I don’t know, expected anything.”

“It’s okay,” Sapnap says. Again, he adds, “Don’t worry.”

George smiles at him. Sapnap smiles back.

;;

When they reach George’s apartment, George unlocks the door and Sapnap follows him silently inside, chewing on his lower lip as he contemplates what he’s about to say next. Eventually, he gives up on elegance:

“You said this.” George looks over at him from where he’s locked the door. Sapnap leans against the kitchen counter. “Whatever this is.” He makes a gesture between the two of them, something indicative of the blurry relationship they have.

“I don’t know what to call it,” George says.

“I know,” Sapnap replies. “I don't know what to call it either.”

George glances around, as if checking for eavesdroppers, before he looks back to Sapnap. “What do you want to call it?”

Sapnap raises his brows. “What do you want to call it?”

George gives a sigh. “Are we having this talk now?”

“When else will we have it?” Sapnap crosses his arms as George shuts off the main lights, plunging the two of them into darkness.

“I don’t know,” George replies. “In the morning?” He’s nothing but a shadow as he crosses in front of Sapnap. Sapnap refrains from reaching out to grab a wrist, pull him to his chest, demand an answer now. It doesn’t matter that much.

But it’d be nice to have some answers. And George had been right before. It’s been almost a month since that kiss in Sapnap’s dorm, lips greasy with Taco Bell yet the kiss still nice, in that way kissing someone you really, really like is. In kissing someone you could grow to love—maybe already love, deep, deep down—is.

“I just like knowing,” Sapnap finally says. “What’s wrong with that?”

A light flicks on, and when Sapnap takes a couple steps away from the counter, he realizes it’s the light for George’s bedroom. He stands out of place in the doorway before George takes notice and makes his way over to the other. 

Sapnap gives him a tight smile once they’re face to face. George studies him for a second before sighing. “There’s nothing wrong with that.” He pivots, going over to a set of drawers and tugging the middle one open. T-shirts and lounge pants are folded loosely inside. “I like knowing too.” He glances over his shoulder at Sapnap. “Do you think any of these will fit?”

George buys most of his clothes oversized. Just something Sapnap’s noticed about the other. “There’s a chance,” he replies. George tosses a few different pairs at him. Sapnap changes in the bathroom.

The first pair he tries doesn’t fit at all. He gives a small laugh to himself before grabbing the second. They fit better. The third look hot, flannel and dark, even for the weather, so he leaves them folded and tries his best to fold the other pair before dutifully marching back to George’s side to have him tuck them back into his drawer.

“We’ve been on a date before,” Sapnap says, “and a half. A date and a half. You could say we’re dating?”

“We’re about to literally sleep together,” George replies, and although his cheeks are flaming, the heat radiating off them in waves, his expression remains neutral, completely unamused. “I think we’re a bit past that.”

“So…,” Sapnap tries his luck, though he’s starting to think it less luck, and more a careful maneuver on George’s part, “you could say we’re boyfriends?”

“A bit gradeschoolish,” George replies.

Sapnap blinks at him.

George stares back before rolling his eyes and scoffing. “You’re so dumb. Yes, you could say we’re boyfriends.”

Immediately, the blank look drops off Sapnap’s face, and he grins, even as George turns on a lamp and brushes past him to turn off the bedroom light, completely ignoring him. Sapnap watches him disappear out the door and round the corner into the bathroom. There’s the sound of water running, then rummaging, then water running again, and then George’s head pops into the bedroom and he says, “I’ve got a spare toothbrush.”

Sapnap brushes his teeth and watches George’s shadow every time its reflection appears in the mirror. He holds back a sudsy laugh when he realizes the taste of George’s toothpaste is familiar. He rinses and spits then straightens and runs a hand through his hair. It’s gotten longer since the start of the semester. Since he’s met George. When he tugs his fingers through the ends, they get caught on knots. He does his best to untangle them without a brush. He gives up less than a minute in.

When he gets back into George’s room, George is already in bed, looking at something on his phone. Sapnap bites back a giddy smile, crawling into bed next to him, immediately pressing a kiss to his temple then sliding down the bed and wrapping an arm around his waist. 

George sets his phone down on the bedside table before looking down at him. “You’re very affectionate,” he says.

“So I’ve been told,” Sapnap replies.

George stares at him for another handful of seconds. Sapnap stares back. George blinks, then stretches to turn off the lamp. They’re left in the dark once again.

Sapnap is forced to lift his arm when George gets properly under the covers, the sheets tugged up to his chin. He’s flat on his back, and when Sapnap sets his arm back down, this time across his chest, he can feel the tension in him. George takes in a breath, and when he lets it out, Sapnap feels it shudder.

“George,” Sapnap says, and then, a leap of faith, “baby.”

George turns his head. Beneath Sapnap’s arm, his heart pounds.

“C’mere,” Sapnap says. A second. Two seconds. George rolls onto his side. Now, they watch each other, face to face. Sapnap can’t pick up any details on George’s, the room too dark, the most he can figure out being the slope of George’s nose, the occasional movement of his eyes. The window is behind George. Sapnap wonders if George can see him more clearly. 

Sapnap gets his arm further round George, pulling him close. When George lets out a breath, Sapnap feels it warm through his shirt. When George blinks, Sapnap feels the feathery kisses his lashes leave on his skin.

“You’re really warm,” Sapnap says.

From beneath the covers, George’s fingers twist and tangle in his shirt. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

A car passes by outside. George gives a small sigh. Sapnap brushes the pads of his fingers across the back of George’s neck.

“You can,” the words get muffled into Sapnap’s chest.

“What?” Sapnap asks.

George tilts his head back. “Your shirt,” he says. “You can take it off if you want.”

It’s Sapnap’s heart’s turn to pound.

George goes back to lying on his back. And then he rolls onto his side, but this time, he faces the window. Sapnap studies the curve of his shoulder. Then he sits up. And he pulls off his shirt.

He doesn’t really know what to do with it. Dropping it on the floor seems messy, but folding it and putting it on the bedside table just feels weird. No matter what, he’s not getting out of bed. He glances over and has to fight back the urge to jump. George has rolled back over, now staring at him.

Sapnap drops his shirt on the floor. George scoffs before rolling back over.

“I didn’t know what to do!” Sapnap immediately defends himself. He gets back under the covers. “I’m sorry.”

“Whatever,” George replies.

Sapnap moves closer. “Stop,” George says.

Sapnap places a hand on George’s shoulder. It’s warm under his palm.

“Sapnap,” George says.

“George,” Sapnap replies. He runs his hand from George’s shoulder down to his chest. Again, he can feel his heartbeat. He pulls the other closer, so George’s back is pressed to his chest.

“No,” George says. “I’m not… spooning with you.” The word is spat with venom.

Sapnap sighs, nose tickled by the other’s hair. “Night, babe.”

“Sapnap.” George’s fingers curl around Sapnap’s wrist. They make no move to pull his hand away. He makes no move to push him away.

He still hasn’t said butterscotch. Sapnap is pretty sure he’s not going to say butterscotch. George lets out a breath. Sapnap feels him relax against his chest. Another car passes by. Sapnap hears it outside. Sees the change in lighting from behind his eyelids.

George lets out a quiet breath. “Whatever,” he finally says, more to himself than to Sapnap. “Night, Sapnap.”

Sapnap hums and delights in the shiver it sends through George. When he falls asleep, it’s to the steady sound of George breathing and the light movements of George tracing shapes on the back of his hand. Sapnap wonders what exactly it is he’s drawing. Wonders if he’s drawing anything in particular at all.

;;

When Sapnap wakes, George is still asleep. They’ve changed positions sometime in the night, both of them apparently being the type to spread out (and it had felt nice, Sapnap notes, not just to wake up next to George, but to wake up in a bed that he can actually stretch out in), so now George, Sapnap sees after sitting up all the way, has a foot just off the edge of the bed, the bump of it clear under the blanket, an arm flung back towards Sapnap, the other close to his head, fingers brushing the hair near his ear. The leg closer to Sapnap is tangled with Sapnap’s own. Sapnap’s not sure which of them is the cause for that.

There’s not much to do yet. It’s a Saturday, and while Dream didn’t have plans, he didn’t have any either. George might, but Sapnap is pretty sure that’s unlikely. He lets himself fall back onto the bed, head bouncing lightly against the pillow. George makes a soft sound from next to him. Sapnap takes his hand. He tries not to think the curl that appears at the corner of George’s lips is because of him.

George sleeps for another hour, Sapnap drifting in and out of wakefulness next to him. The final time Sapnap wakes, he knows he won’t be falling back asleep, but it doesn’t matter, because George huffs then slowly blinks open his eyes, staring blankly at the wall before looking over at Sapnap.

“G’morning,” he says.

“Morning,” Sapnap replies.

“Breakfast?” George asks.

“I’m down.”

Neither of them move.

George gives a soft laugh. Sapnap smiles at the sound.

“I might have eggs in the fridge,” George says. He looks over at the other. “I have apple juice.”

Still, neither of them move. Sapnap grins as George sighs and presses the heels of his palms over his eyes.

“There’s a diner on 3rd and Ashmore,” Sapnap tells him. “Want to try there?”

“Sounds good,” George replies.

They sit there for another second before George swings his legs off the bed and Sapnap leans over to pick his t-shirt off the floor.

“I might have a sweater you can wear,” George says. “You can put it on over your shirt.”

“Yeah?” Sapnap asks.

George tosses him a sweatshirt. It’s a pale grey, crewneck. Sapnap tugs it on over his head. It’s a little tight. George sighs, grabbing Sapnap’s jacket off the chair he had set it on the night before. “Never mind. It’s fine. Not like anyone saw you last night anyway.”

“Scared they’ll think you’re sleeping around?” Sapnap teases. George sends him an unamused look, taking the sweatshirt back when Sapnap hands it to him. “George the neighborhood whore?”

“Shouldn’t you be a little nicer to your boyfriend?” George asks, and while Sapnap is choking on his words, George sends him a playful look, hanging the sweatshirt back up in his closet.

Sapnap gets a grip on himself and gives him a smile back. “That’s not a no.”

“Yes,” George tells him, “because I’m just such a whore. Always sleeping around.”

Sapnap stands, going over to George, backing him up into the bedroom door. “I wouldn’t mind,” he says, “if that were the case. I know it’s not, but even if it were, I don’t care.”

“I don’t care either,” George replies. Sapnap wonders if George thinks that was the case with him. “I,” they had tentatively locked eyes, George’s occasionally glowing amber when caught by the morning light slipping through the blinds, but now, George looks away, at some distant point past Sapnap, “like you as you are. If that’s how you were, it wouldn’t matter. I like you.”

“Can I kiss you?” Sapnap asks, breath caught in his throat. At George’s concerned look, Sapnap waves a hand. “Morning breath, I—you—you seem like you’d care about that.”

George presses a kiss to the corner of Sapnap’s lips. Sapnap lifts a hand and runs his fingers along George’s chin, gets pricked by the short, short stubble there, then tilts his head and kisses George proper on the lips. George kisses back.

When they separate, George keeps his eyes closed. Sapnap bumps their noses together.

“In the future,” George says, “I’ll care about that.”

Sapnap really wants to say I love you.

“I’m sure you will,” he says instead.

;;

For breakfast, Sapnap has steak and eggs. George has French toast. To drink, he has apple juice. Sapnap stares into his own black coffee.

“Very nice,” George tells him. “Very stereotypical.”

“Are you really judging my food choices right now?” Sapnap asks.

George lifts his cup to his lips, taking a sip of his juice as he raises a single brow. Sapnap tries to be defiant, firm in his choices, but his eyes are continually drawn to George’s throat, the pale skin there. His gaze is only broken by George setting the glass back down. Sapnap swallows. He can’t say if George’s eyes following the movement is deliberate.

He looks back up. George has moved on, cutting into his toast, taking a bite.

“It’s good,” he says, once he’s swallowed. “How’s yours?”

Sapnap cuts into his steak. It’s good.

They eat, and their legs once again tangle, this time under a table instead of blankets.

;;

Despite what they had all told each other the day before, George and Sapnap end up not seeing Dream again.

“Sorry,” he tells them over a Discord call, George and Sapnap both at George’s computer, Sapnap having dragged the chair in the corner of George’s bedroom over to the desk. “Someone kind of high profile asked me to code something for them. I wasn’t going to turn it down. It was a good offer.”

“We didn’t expect you to turn it down,” George replies. “We don’t want you to turn it down.”

“Yeah, man,” Sapnap agrees. “That’s great. Secure that bag.”

“Secure that bag?” George echoes. “Seriously?”

“Let’s get this bread,” Sapnap says solemnly. “Make his pockets hurt.”

“I already did,” George replies.

“Still,” Dream cuts in easily, making George and Sapnap immediately stop, heads turning once again to the computer, “I’m sorry. I’ll see you Monday or Tuesday maybe.”

“You want a rematch?” George asks him. “It’s been awhile since I’ve completely obliterated you.”

“Whatever,” Dream laughs. “I’ll see you.”

“See you,” George and Sapnap agree. And then the call ends. And then it’s just them.

Part of Sapnap feels like he’s overstaying his welcome. Part of him wants to overstay his welcome, wants to stay forever. Part of him feels like George would say something if he were. If not get out , then butterscotch or something. But George has stayed silent, content to have Sapnap by his side.

At that thought, Sapnap leans over, a hand coming to rest on George’s thigh. George shifts, and Sapnap’s hand falls. That was the movement’s intention. Sapnap readjusts, placing his hand on the edge of George’s chair. George returns to his previous position. Sapnap leaves his hand where it is.

George takes a breath then leans back, head rolling on his neck to look over at Sapnap. “Got any work to do?”

“Nope,” Sapnap replies, popping the p. George hums, eyes slipping shut.

“Got any plans at all?”

“Nope,” Sapnap repeats. “No obligations, nowhere I need to be. I can go home if you want me to, though.”

“You don’t need to,” George replies. And then he glances behind to the bed. “I might take a nap.”

“You want me to say something,” Sapnap says, eyes narrowing. “What is it?”

George looks at him with wide, innocent eyes. “I want you,” he says, “to do whatever you think you should be doing right now.” 

And with that, he rises from his chair, tugs off his tennis shoes, and falls onto the bed.

“In jeans?” Sapnap asks him, crossing his arms as best as he can at the angle he’s at.

George grunts. Sapnap sighs, taking the pair of sweatpants George had left on the dresser and dropping them on the bed next to George.

“You want any water or anything?” he asks.

George keeps his eyes closed. “I’m good, thanks.”

Sapnap studies him for a second before heading to the bathroom.

He really has no idea what George wants from him. 

Really, going into the bathroom was just him stalling, more for George’s benefit than his—he’s completely certain he’ll reenter George’s bedroom to see the other wearing the sweatpants he had set next to him—but he does use it as a moment to wonder just what he’s supposed to be doing.

When he goes back into George’s room, the other is lying the way he had been when he left, but, just as Sapnap thought, he’s now wearing sweatpants, an arm thrown across his eyes.

Sapnap takes a seat next to him, then lets out a breath and lets himself relax back onto the bed. George’s arm falls from his eyes. Together, they stare up at the ceiling.

“Can we just stay like this?” George finally asks.

Sapnap looks over at him.

George remains looking at the ceiling.

“Like what?”

“You’re so affectionate, Sapnap.” George’s fingers brush his. Sapnap fights the urge to take them. “It’s a lot for me.” George finally turns his head and meets Sapnap’s eyes.

Sapnap holds his breath. George’s fingers run up his arm, tickle quick over his shoulder, finally scratch through the slight beard he has. “Sorry,” Sapnap says.

George takes a breath, then shifts, turning himself onto his side. “Not your fault. It’s just new. A lot of this is,” he gives a quiet exhale, “new.” His fingers still press against Sapnap’s skin. They’re warm. Sapnap swears when they fall away, his skin will be stained red.

“I like it,” George finally says. “New is good.”

“That’s good,” Sapnap says.

“It is,” George agrees. “I like this a lot.”

“In the future, you’ll care?” Sapnap asks.

George laughs, gentle, soft. “I already do.”

;;

The rest of the weekend passed slowly, time molasses. Sapnap hadn’t spent the night again, the two of them finally napping, then Sapnap slipping out when they next woke, delivering a kiss to George’s lips then tugging his jacket over his shoulders and heading out into the October cold. He’d taken his time on the walk home, an opposite of Friday night—reluctance to leave, each step heavier than the last. By the time he gets to his dorm, he swears his feet are stone.

Wearily, he eyes his desk. Atop it lay various assignments, all at different degrees of completion. Most aren’t due till Friday or the next week entirely—he’d meant it when he told George he’s got nothing he needs to be doing—but with nothing to take his immediate attention anymore, he finds himself wondering if now would be a good time to complete it all.

He gets through an assignment and a half before he finds his thoughts wandering. Some of them go towards eating; he and George had slept through lunch, and now it’s practically dinnertime, and Sapnap is hungry. But most of them go towards George, towards a thought he’d had that morning.

I love you.

He rolls the thought around in his mind. Reshapes it.

I love you, George.

A beat.

“You’re so affectionate, Sapnap. It’s a lot for me.”

Sapnap groans, head coming to rest in his hands. When he lifts his head again, he pushes his hair back. An I love you now would be too soon. They’ve just declared themselves boyfriends, and now Sapnap is thinking about I love yous.

It is a lot. For anyone. Sapnap is the odd one out here. He knows it’s a problem, but he just doesn’t know any other way to be.

;;

meeting dream today, gonna try and kick his ass. wish me luck?

Sapnap smiles down at the text that lights up his phone. Kick his ass babe, gl but u got this

thanks

Sapnap slips his phone back into his pocket. It vibrates. Sapnap pulls it out once more.

It’s probably the bare minimum. There’s no words involved. But it stops Sapnap short, leaving him staring down at his screen with wide eyes. He wonders if he’s pink. His skin feels warm. 

<3

It means something. It’s George. It has to mean something.

;;

“I brought Taco Bell,” George announces when Sapnap swings the door open.

George pushes past him easily, setting the bags at an empty spot on Sapnap’s desk while Dream brings up the rear, shirt wet with condensation from their drinks.

“It only felt right,” George tells him as Dream gives him his Baja Blast.

“I’m here this time, though,” Dream says, pulling out a burrito from one of the bags George sat down. “Please don’t make any jumps in your relationship while I’m still in the room, thanks.”

George glares at him then takes a menacing bite of his Quesarito.

Sapnap turns to Dream with wide eyes. “I don’t think that’ll be an issue.”

“It won’t be,” George says.

“I didn’t realize you’re so sentimental, George,” Dream finally speaks up after a few minutes of them just eating their food.

“I’m not,” George replies.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Dream sends him an unamused look, but George just gives him one right back.

“Really,” he says. “I’m not.” He glances at Sapnap. Dream catches it. “I’m not really doing this for myself, anyway.”

Sapnap flushes, staring down at his gordita. Dream looks between them, blinks, exhales. Sapnap thinks he’s going to say something ridiculous. All he says is, “Couples,” and that’s that.

George catches his eye, smiles, and it’s like they’re sharing a secret. Sapnap likes it.

He loves it.

;;

With a new week comes the panic of midterms. Sapnap had thought he’d been overwhelmed before, but now he’s drowning, completely slipping under murky waters.

George pulls him out with a heated chocolate croissant and a pat on the head.

Sapnap smiles at him as he walks away.

Dream sits on a chair next to him, flipping through one of the New Yorker s left on the little table in front of them. Sapnap blinks at his laptop before setting it aside and stretching. “You’re so lucky, man,” he tells Dream, who gives a noncommittal hum and turns a page. “I mean it. Midterms are the worst.”

“Yeah,” Dream agrees. “Tests are annoying.”

“They’re dumb,” Sapnap says, conviction coloring his words. “Memorization is dumb.”

“Just a couple more years of this,” Dream replies.

Sapnap sighs, picking up the chocolate croissant and taking a bite. “Just a couple more years.”

After a few more minutes, Dream heaves a sigh. “It’s getting to me,” he says.

“Sorry,” Sapnap replies, like he can in some way change the strength of the coffee.

“It’s fine,” Dream dismisses, then he stands, dropping the magazine back onto the table. “See you later.”

Sapnap sends him a smile as he waves at George, who’s moved back behind the counter.

“See you!” George calls as the door slides shut behind Dream.

“That was pretty long, I think,” Sapnap says when George makes his way over a few minutes later, now on break, taking up Dream’s empty chair. “We’d been here almost an hour.”

“That is long,” George agrees. “How long are you staying?”

“You get off at four?” Sapnap asks, and George nods. “Want to get dinner with Dream and I after?”

“Of course.” George smiles, and Sapnap smiles back.

;;

Despite all of his manic studying—or perhaps because of it—midterms the next week pass by relatively quickly, him coming out of his last class Friday tired but content. He doesn’t really think he got an A, but he’s sure his mark will be pretty damn close. 

A few hours and a billion failed Minecraft speedruns later, Sapnap gets a message from Dream.

I know movie nights r every other week, but u just finished midterms. Wanna come over?

Sapnap’s at the other’s house before he even thinks about it. “Uh, yes, I want to come over,” he tells Dream when the other opens the door. “What are we watching?” 

“Whatever you want,” Dream replies. “You’re the one who’s got nothing to worry about anymore.”

Sapnap grins, plucking a movie off the shelf. “Here,” he hands it to Dream. “Popcorn?”

“You know it,” Dream replies, getting the movie set up.

When the popcorn is done, Dream is on the couch, remote in hand. “Good?”

Sapnap nods, setting the bowl between them.

The movie passes by quickly, and they move onto the next one—it turns into a right marathon by the time the sun has set, and eventually, the bowl of popcorn is empty, and they’re leaning against one another in the center of the couch.

At a lull in the movie, a quiet moment between the two main characters, Sapnap speaks:

“I think I’m in love with George.”

Dream is quiet for a moment. Sapnap feels him shift against him. Their shoulders press together. “He’s easy to love,” Dream echoes his words from weeks before.

“Easy to scare,” Sapnap replies.

More movement.

“Is there ever a right time to say I love you?” Dream asks. “If you love them, let them know.”

“He told me that I’m a lot,” Sapnap tells him. “That I’m a lot for him.”

“I’m sure he didn’t say it like that,” Dream says. Sapnap gives a half-hearted shrug. Dream sits up, angling himself to better face Sapnap. Sapnap imitates his pose. Like this, he can only see half of Dream’s face, one side lit up by the TV screen, the other cast in shadow. “It’s been a month,” Dream continues, “and a half. I think George is the type of guy where, if he feels like you’re too much, if he doesn’t like you, he’s going to leave. He’s not going to sit there, miserable, waiting for you to pull the plug.”

Dream is right because of course he is, but Sapnap still shifts, uncomfortable. “I just… I am a lot. We don’t spend all the time together, but I’m so much more affectionate than he is, and it’s like… I already love him, and—and—we have a safeword, Dream. Like this is some BDSM thing. But it’s not for that, it’s for how much I fucking hold his hand.”

“But isn't that proof?” Dream asks. “That’s communication. Compromise. He wants this to work, Sap. He wants to be with you. Wants you.” He smiles, hand reaching between them to hold Sapnap’s shoulder. “He wants the guy that’s pushy and loud and in your face, the guy that drinks too many vanilla fraps and gets competitive over everything and likes to cuddle. He wouldn’t have decided to go out with you—hell, I don’t even think he’d have kissed you—if that isn’t who he wanted.” He leans back, hand stroking warm down Sapnap’s arm, and the minute it falls back into his lap, Sapnap leans forward to throw his arms around the other.

“I love you,” Sapnap says, turning his face to press his nose into Dream’s neck. “I’m so lucky you’re my best friend.”

Though his arms are pinned awkwardly to his sides, Dream still manages to reach and get his hands on Sapnap’s waist where he squeezes the other in a poor imitation of a hug. “I can’t imagine a world where you aren’t my best friend,” he replies. “I love you too.” 

When Sapnap pulls away, Dream smiles. “But I don’t think I’m the one you need to be saying I love you to, though.”

Sapnap sleeps on Dream’s couch that night and dreams of the different ways telling George he loves him could go.

He’s pleased to note that most of the scenarios end positively.

;;

Saturday he spends the night at George’s again. He lies in bed, quiet, with George next to him, one of the older’s hands holding his phone, the other affectionately brushing through Sapnap’s hair. Sapnap gives a quiet sigh before rolling over and touching his nose to George’s hip. George hums and twirls a lock of Sapnap’s hair around a thin finger.

“You okay?” George asks.

Sapnap squeezes his eyes shut and nuzzles further into the other's side. “Tired.”

“Fall break is coming up,” George consoles him, “and midterms are over.”

Sapnap nods, arm stretching out and over George’s waist. His fingers brush along George’s side, featherlight. George flinches away from it with a giggle. Sapnap tilts his head, eyes opening and gaze flitting to George’s face. It’s a bad angle, but he can still make out the smile there.

He loves George, he knows that now. He’s in love with George.

And George wants him. Wants the him that touches too much and feels too much and loves more than he should. George wants that. George has that. And he likes it.

Sapnap sighs, sinking back into George’s side. George plugs his phone in then turns off the lamp. Before he gets fully under the covers, Sapnap feels his fingers run through his hair one more time before a kiss is pressed to the top of his head.

“Goodnight, Sapnap,” George whispers.

Sapnap squeezes George as best as he can, delivers warm kisses to the parts of George he can reach. “Night, baby.”

George hums, touching the tips of their noses together (with the action, Sapnap swears he did some kind of witchcraft to steal his breath), before rolling over, back to Sapnap’s front. Sapnap bites back a smile. He wonders if George would call this spooning. Because that’s what it is.

He buries his nose in the soft hair at the nape of George’s neck. It’d be easy to say it now. Let the words slip out and if George questions him on it, he can blame it on sleep. A slip of the tongue.

But he doesn’t want it to be a mistake, even if that’s a lie to save his own face. He wants the words to be deliberate, the meaning of them felt by George wholly.

He sighs, and George shivers with it. Sapnap makes a small noise of apology.

“What’re you thinking about?” George finally asks.

Sapnap takes in a breath. He’s not sure what to answer.

“You don’t have to tell me,” George says.

“I want to,” Sapnap replies.

George exhales, the sound loud, before rolling back over. When he’s facing Sapnap, a hand comes up to hold Sapnap’s cheek.

“I think you’re more affectionate than you realize,” Sapnap tells him.

“I think you just make me affectionate,” George replies.

Sapnap stares at him. George stares back before he lifts his hand, fingertips remaining against Sapnap’s skin. He runs them over his cheek, then across his lower lip. And then they go back to his cheek, and George is moving to slot their lips together.

When they separate, Sapnap smiles. He’s pretty sure George smiles back. He presses one more kiss to George’s lips.

He could say it now. George’s fingers begin to tangle into the ends of Sapnap’s hair. His mouth is hot underneath Sapnap’s own. Their breath intermingles. Under the sheets, their legs have tangled together. The two of them are practically completely intertwined.

Against his lips, Sapnap feels George smile.

He says it.

The words hang heavy in the minimal space between them. Sapnap’s heart is equally heavy in his chest as he anticipates George’s reaction. He wants to ramble—apologize, take them back, clarify, tell him that he loves him but he isn’t in love with him (but he is)—but he doesn’t. The words are what they are. He means them.

Though his face seems to now be void of the smile he wore, George doesn’t move away, and they remain tangled together. George rubs his thumb over the curve of Sapnap’s cheek.

He feels George’s breath. George kisses him softly. And then he replies: “I can’t say it yet, Sapnap.” His other hand finds Sapnap’s own. Holds it. “I feel it. I’m, like, certain I do. But I can’t say it yet. Not like that.”

Sapnap sucks in a breath, closes his eyes, nods. “I get it. That’s fine. I love you, though. I just… wanted you to know.”

At that, George laughs, a quiet, warm sound. “Thank you. I’ll remember that.” A beat. And then, “The minute I can say it myself, I’ll tell you.”

Sapnap smiles. “I’m holding you to that.”

George rolls back over. Instead of waiting for Sapnap to curl around him, he backs up, pulls Sapnap’s arm over him. Readjusts so it’s even harder to separate their legs. “Goodnight, Sapnap.” He means it this time.

Sapnap closes his eyes, relaxes. The words are out there now. And George accepts them. No take-backs.

“Goodnight.”

;;

Neither bring it up later. It happened—Sapnap definitely told him—but the words stay only in the air between them, felt but never heard. They go on a walk, no destination in mind, just enjoying each other’s company, and at the local cafe (an actual cafe, not the Starbucks George works at), they split a hot chocolate topped with a mountain of whipped cream that ages them a hundred years only for those years to be wiped away with a thumb. At one point, George has some stuck to the corner of his lips, and Sapnap can’t help but lean forward to lick it away. Of course, George shrieks and shoves him back, flustered and grossed out, but his lips are upturned.

“Sweet,” Sapnap tells him.

“You’re so annoying,” George replies.

“You’re cute,” Sapnap shoots back.

George flushes and takes the mug from Sapnap’s hands, lifting it to his lips so he can hide the smile on his lips. It only works so well. Sapnap lets the moment go, though.

“Normally that’d be butterscotch,” George tells him as they exit the cafe. “I can’t believe you did that. That’s so disgusting.”

Sapnap laces their fingers together. George huffs.

“The only reason you got away with it is because I didn’t expect it.” George kicks a pebble lying in his path. “So annoying.”

Sapnap doesn’t bring it up, but he does say it again.

George stutters out a laugh. Sapnap feels George’s hand squeeze his. It’s enough.

;;

The weeks pass by quickly after that, and soon Sapnap finds himself Friday night sitting between George and Dream while an early 2000s sci-fi movie plays on the TV. They weren’t supposed to have movie night this week either, but come tomorrow morning Sapnap is supposed to head down south for Thanksgiving with his family, so this is their last hurrah together.

They’re a bit like dominoes, actually, Dream sitting normally on the couch, Sapnap’s back resting pressed against his side, and George leaning on Sapnap. Idly, he plays with Sapnap’s fingers. To add to George’s amusement, Sapnap flexes and stretches his fingers. Meanwhile, Dream tugs on his hair.

“It’s probably best you head home soon,” Dream says. “Not to kick you out, but it’s a long drive tomorrow.”

“How many hours away is Houston anyway?” George asks, voice muffled with the way his cheek is squished against Sapnap’s chest.

“Too many,” Sapnap says. “I’m gonna miss you guys.”

“We’ll miss you too,” Dream tells him. 

George makes an affirmative noise.

“But it’s only for a week,” Sapnap says. “And then I’ll be back up here.”

“You don’t normally focus on that,” Dream tells him, more for George’s sake than his. Sapnap flushes, glancing down at George, who stares back with inquisitive eyes. “But I guess now you have something to come back to. Someone.”

“I like spending time with you.”

Dream scoffs. “Like distance ever mattered when it comes to us.”

“Huh?” George pushes himself up and Sapnap sends Dream a dirty look.

“I like cuddling with the homies well enough, but affection from you is way different from affection from George.” He pulls George back down on top of him. “Affection from you is like… a jacket. Nice to have, really nice, but not a necessity. George is a shirt. No shirt, no shoes, no service.”

Dream guffaws. “I hope I’m not just a jacket to you guys, but a friend too.”

“You’re my friend, Dream,” George tells him.

“I love you, George!” Dream immediately replies, and George hides a laugh in Sapnap’s chest.

The movie ends not long after that, and soon Sapnap is heading home.

“I can walk myself home just fine,” George tells him when they reach the intersection that Sapnap is supposed to turn at.

“But I like walking you home,” Sapnap replies.

“But you need to rest,” George tells him, smile on his face. He brushes a strand of hair out of Sapnap’s eyes. “I can help you pack your car in the morning?”

“Do you want to?”

George just continues to smile.

“Why are you like this?” Sapnap asks, and then he leans forward and George lifts a hand to cup the back of his neck. They kiss, and when they separate, Sapnap squeezes George’s waist. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Sleep well,” George replies.

“I’ll try.” George smiles, and Sapnap smiles back. George’s hand slips from his neck, and Sapnap’s hand falls from his waist. George starts to walk away. “Goodnight!” Sapnap calls after him. “Love you!”

“Goodnight, Sapnap!” George calls back.

;;

George greets him with a kiss and a coffee and bagel pressed into his hands. “For the road,” he says, and Sapnap thanks him, setting the things aside and drawing George into a deeper kiss than the chaste one he was given. “For the road?”

Sapnap grins. “For me. A week away from you. You know I need my kissies.”

“Don’t ever say that again,” George says. “Oh my God. I think I’m going to be sick.”

Sapnap laughs before tugging his backpack over his shoulders. Dragging his suitcase behind him, he leads George to the parking lot, where he lifts his suitcase and sets it into the trunk. “Seriously, though,” he says, “this’ll be fun.”

“An experiment,” George replies. “A week apart. How will we fare?”

Sapnap grins, and George smiles back.

“Remember me while I’m away,” Sapnap tells him. “Don’t go falling for the first pretty face you see.”

“Of course not,” George says solemnly, and Sapnap laughs. George studies him for a second before once again kissing him. “Three’s a lucky number.”

“I didn’t think you believed in luck,” Sapnap says.

“I don’t,” George replies.

Another kiss. George makes a small noise.

“Four,” Sapnap says. “Actually, I think that’s unlucky in China. I read that somewhere.”

One more.

“How’s five?” George asks.

“Eh,” Sapnap says. “Even numbers are better.”

“Seven is lucky.”

“Eight?”

“Pushing it.”

Sapnap leans away from where he’d come to pin George against the door. George straightens up, readjusts his shirt. Sapnap runs a hand through his hair. George tracks the movement with his eyes. Sapnap’s hand falls back to his side.

“Thanks,” he says.

George huffs a small laugh. “Don’t mention it.”

Sapnap studies him for a second before pulling him into a hug. “I really will miss you,” he says. “I’ll see you.”

“You’re getting on the server with Dream and I if you’re not too tired tonight, right?” George asks.

“Duh.”

George nods. Sapnap feels it against his neck.

“I’ll miss you too,” George finally says.

Sapnap holds him tighter.

;;

Despite the drama of him leaving, Thanksgiving passes by without much fuss. 

They voice call a fair amount and when Sapnap gets to Houston he does hop on the SMP for a bit, a couple hours later passing out mid-call. When he wakes, the lights are all shut off and his blinds are closed.

He’s grateful.

Dream FaceTimes him on Thanksgiving, showing Sapnap his and George’s… creative feast.

“I still can’t believe you guys are having it together,” Sapnap tells the two, completely ignoring the football game on TV to focus entirely on them.

“Why shouldn’t we?” Dream asks him. “George’s family is in England, and it’s not like they celebrate, and I’m not going to Florida this year. Why not?”

That’s fair. 

“Still,” Sapnap says anyway. “And did you just call every nearby restaurant?”

“It’s an assortment,” George says.

“But it’s good,” Dream continues. “Besides, it’s more about the leftovers than the meal.”

Also fair, and Sapnap finds himself with an array of Tupperware from his family’s Thanksgiving in his backseat as he drives back to school. When he’s back inside his dorm, staring at his minifridge, he realizes they won’t all fit in the small space.

“Can I use your fridge?”

“Welcome back, Sapnap,” George replies. “How was your break?”

“I’m offering you free food,” Sapnap says.

“And I’m asking how your break was.”

Sapnap makes a face. “Good. I’m happy to be back. Now, can I please use your fridge?”

A pause. “You only love me for my house,” George finally says. “That’s so wrong of you.”

It’s the first time George has ever brought up Sapnap’s love for him, even as a joke. Sapnap takes a breath. “I do love you for your house,” he replies, teasing before turning serious, “but I also love you for a lot of other reasons. You’re very lovable, you know.”

George is quiet for a second before Sapnap hears movement. “When are you coming over here?”

Sapnap gets an Uber, knowing parking near George’s apartment is risky at best. “Ten minutes?” he says when his phone tells him his driver will be there soon.

“Okay.” Sapnap listens as George putters around. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” George replies immediately, and then, “you’ll see.”

“M'kay,” Sapnap says. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Bye,” George says, and then ends the call.

Sapnap looks down into his plastic bag of remaining Tupperware. His phone pings—the driver’s outside.

;;

“Are you ready to eat leftovers for months?” Sapnap asks, setting the bags down on the counter. “Or at least as long as they last.”

George opens the first bag, pulling out a medium-sized container stuffed full of mashed potatoes. Immediately, he finds a place in his fridge to tuck it into. He does this with the rest of the containers, Sapnap taking them out and setting them on the empty counter space for George to pick up and put away. When they’re done, George comes to lean next to Sapnap.

“We survived,” he says.

“I knew we would,” Sapnap replies.

They’re on each other in an instant.

“I’m not usually into this,” George says hotly into his mouth.

“I know,” Sapnap says.

“I don’t know why I’m like this,” George continues.

“Do you need to know?” Sapnap asks.

George moans at the nip Sapnap gives to his lower lip.

“No,” George replies. “No.” Sapnap runs a burning trail of bites soothed by his tongue down George’s neck. “Sapnap.”

Against his skin, Sapnap smiles.

George gasps when Sapnap moves to press George into the couch instead, the cushions definitely comfier than the linoleum counter. “I missed you so much,” Sapnap says, each word punctuated by a kiss.

“You—Sapnap, yes—too.” George gets his fingers twisted and tangled into his hair, drags him up roughly. Sapnap bites back a groan at the sting and George pulls him into a bruising kiss. “Shit. I missed you.”

Sapnap lets himself be pulled down over George’s body, more than happy to press him further into the couch.

;;

George doesn’t let Sapnap skip his first class on Monday.

“School is important,” he tells him, zipping up his jacket like some mother hen. Sapnap makes a face when his hands brush imaginary dust off his shoulders.

“What are you going to do when I’m gone?” Sapnap asks.

George laughs. “Leaving for a week again?”

Sapnap gives him a dry look.

George smiles, soft. “I’m going to work. You’ll see me in, like, four… five hours at most. Is that really the end of the world?”

Sapnap grabs his hands from where they’d come to rest on his chest, pulling George in closer. “I just like spending time with you.”

“I love spending time with you too,” George says, “and you don’t see me clinging to you.”

“You think this is clingy?” Sapnap raises a brow in a silent challenge, and George tries to back up, but Sapnap just gives another tug to his hands before pulling him into a hug and wrapping his arms tight around him. “You wish I were clingy! You want me to be more clingy, actually.”

“I do not,” George replies, words warm against Sapnap’s ear. Sapnap holds back a shiver as George wriggles in his arms. “You’re… I like you like this.”

Sapnap holds him closer. George lets him.

He pulls away after a moment, the day finally catching up to them. “Class,” George tells Sapnap.

“Work,” Sapnap tells George.

They reach the Starbucks and George squeezes his hand. “See you,” he says.

“Love you,” Sapnap replies. And then George is disappearing into the cafe, the words dissipating in the growing space between them.

;;

The rest of the week passes by slowly, each day slouching into the next. Sapnap looks over at George, whose lips are wrapped pretty around a cake pop. He’s been quiet, more so than usual, and it sets Sapnap on edge, each word coming out of him more hesitant than the last.

Come Saturday, and he finds himself confronting the other.

“You’re avoiding me,” he says.

“I’m not avoiding you,” is immediately shot back, and Sapnap rushes forward, George bringing a hand up between them to push him away. “I’m not. I’m just….”

“I’m too much,” Sapnap says, filling in the words himself.

George is adamant. “No! You’re—you’re—you’re you, and I—Sapnap, I really—,” he makes a small noise and Sapnap tries to get closer again, but George’s hand comes back up and he mutters a quick butterscotch. 

“What’s wrong?” Sapnap asks. “I did something.”

“You—no,” George shoves past Sapnap to get a glass and fill it up with tap water. He takes a quick drink before pouring the rest down the drain. “You love me so much,” he finally says.

“You’re lovable,” Sapnap replies. “Everything about you, George. It’s just—you’re so easy to love.”

“That’s what Dream had said,” George tells him, and Sapnap swallows at the lump that’s built in his throat like sediment, little bits and pieces added to the pile till it cuts off Sapnap’s airways and he’s left floundering, gasping for air. George gives a quiet laugh. “I thought,” he swallows, takes a breath in contrast to Sapnap’s struggle, “it was too soon. I’m not good at this, Sapnap.”

Sapnap moves to speak, but George continues, setting the glass in the sink before his fingers curl into the countertop, knuckles turning white from his grip. He takes another breath. “I love you,” he says, all in one breath. “It shouldn’t have happened so fast. I’m… I’m terrified, Sapnap.”

When Sapnap takes a hesitant step closer, George lets him. He lifts a hand and brushes back some of George’s hair before running his knuckles over George’s cheek, down to his neck. He curls his fingers around the back, brushes them through the short hair there. Under his palm, George is tense.

George breathes, and it comes out in a shudder. “Everything about you is so much.” He straightens, meets Sapnap’s eyes. “I’m trying, Sapnap. But sometimes I think you’re just too much for me.” 

And then he shrugs off Sapnap's hand, moves around him, disappears into his bedroom. Sapnap hears the door click. He stands alone in the kitchen, his only source of light the one over the stove. He thinks it might be dimmer than usual. He waits. George doesn’t come back out. Sapnap wonders if he’s been broken up with. George still doesn’t come back out.

Sapnap looks at the empty plastic bags on the counter. He gathers them in his hands. George can keep his leftovers. He never really wanted them anyway.

;;

“I think George broke up with me,” Sapnap accepts the apple slice Dream hands him, and at the sight of the fruit, it’s like the dam he tried to build surrounding thoughts of George breaks and all those pent up feelings come pouring out, “yesterday. He told me he loved me. And then he left me.” His grandma had made some apple cobbler. It sits on the second shelf of George’s fridge. George’s favorite fruit is apples. 

Sapnap takes a bite out of the slice. Dream sits next to him on the couch, setting the tray of assorted fruit on the coffee table. “Did he actually say that?” Dream asks. “That he’s breaking up with you.”

“He left,” Sapnap repeats. “He said, ‘I love you. You’re too much for me.’ Then he just… walked into his room, shut the door, and that was it.”

“Talk to him again,” Dream says. “He told you he loved you. I don’t think that’s nothing for George.”

Sapnap sighs. It’s not. Dream smiles at him, and Sapnap leans over, resting his head on the other’s shoulder.

“It’ll be fine,” Dream tells him. “Communication is always key.”

As always, he’s right.

;;

He doesn’t want to have any major conversations at Starbucks, but he feels if he doesn’t do it now he won’t do it at all. There hasn’t been any word between him and George since that conversation in the kitchen, but Sapnap doesn’t let that deter him, instead pressing on determinedly as he walks inside and sees George’s usual station devoid of, well, George.

“Called in sick today,” Sarah tells him as she finishes putting whipped cream on someone’s drink. “Thought he’d have told you.”

Sapnap blinks. “Uh,” he says, and then, “think he fell back asleep before he could. Thanks.” Sarah waves nonchalantly, but Sapnap is out the door before he can see it.

The walk to George’s has him tugging at the drawstring of his hoodie, the chill settling deep within him, unshakeable now, especially without George’s easy warmth by his side. He’s never been more grateful to see the steps leading up to the older’s apartment than he is at this moment.

And then he has to wait, much the same way he did Saturday, wait for George to see his text, call him back, answer his knock.

He waits, and he waits, and he waits.

The lock clicks, and the door creaks open. Sapnap swears his fingertips are turning blue.

“George,” he says immediately, just to have said something , and then the door is opening wider and Sapnap is rushing into the apartment, getting himself fully inside before George can reconsider.

In the sink, he spies empty Tupperware containers.

George stands next to the couch. Sapnap swallows.

“George,” he says again. “I missed you.”

“It was only a day, Sapnap,” George replies. His voice is quiet.

“You said I love you to me,” Sapnap says. George stays silent. Sapnap falters, continues: “I love you too, and I know I’m a lot, but George,” he comes closer—George lets him—he places a hand on George’s waist—George lets him, “I’ll… you once told me I can’t dial it down, or whatever, and this is me telling you that for you, I’d dial it down. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I can’t, but I want to try. For you. You said you’d try for me. You need to know I’d do the same for you.”

George laughs, but it’s an empty, hollow sound, just air shoved past his lips. “I don’t think it’s as easy as that.”

“Isn’t it, though?” Sapnap asks. “You said it happened so fast. What happened so fast?”

George mutters something. Sapnap moves closer. George pushes him back. “Falling in love, dumbass. I was in love with you before I even realized it was love I was feeling.” He keeps his hand in front of him, a visible barrier between him and Sapnap. “Am feeling.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Sapnap asks. “What are you so afraid of?”

George doesn’t reply.

“It’s only as complicated as you let it be,” Sapnap says. “I’m—we’re—we’re in love with each other, George.” His voice is firm. George finally meets his eyes. Dark and inscrutable as ever. Sapnap is in love with him. “Isn’t that enough? Just for right now, tell me it isn’t enough.”

George moves, a mirror image of the him in Sapnap’s dorm on Tuesday months ago, bringing their lips together and kissing Sapnap with purpose. When he pulls away, his cheeks are flushed and his eyes sparkle. “I can’t. I can’t tell you it isn’t enough. But I won’t say it’s not either.”

“I love you,” Sapnap says, reflex. He presses a kiss to George’s lips, presses one to his cheeks, his chin, nose, forehead. “I love everything about you.”

“You too,” George says. “I love you so much that I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“You don’t need to know,” Sapnap replies. “Just love me. Be in love with me.”

George’s fingers twist in the fabric of his hoodie, pull him closer. Their noses touch and Sapnap feels every single one of George’s breaths on his lips. They’re heavy. So are his own. When George speaks, he may as well be putting the words directly into Sapnap’s mouth, the two of them working as one. “I love you,” he says, and so does Sapnap. “I love you and being with you and being in love with you.”

“It won’t be perfect,” Sapnap says. (So does George.)

“But it doesn’t need to be.” George seals their lips together. He’s right. Neither of them need it to be perfect. Nor, Sapnap thinks, as George wraps an arm around his neck, draws him closer, holds him tighter, do either of them want it to be.

[idylliceden]

Hii! CAn i request hcs or a scenerio where gom+kagami 's friend from childhood who they have a crush on tells them she sees them as family/sibling? (But not like they were confessing just a random moment she tells them they're family to her)I hope that's not too much angst!! Thank you

GOM+ kagami get familyzoned:

Akashi:

“I’d kill for a brother like you, sei “

Froze for like a millisecond but quickly regained his composure

Smiling through the pain

No i’m kidding , the guy is confident

Knows it’s only a matter of time before you acknowledge him so he doesnt take it personally

Less subtle flirting than before and you are sooo falling for it

Would ask you on a date if he feels like you’re finally on the same page

Midorima:

Stopped mid bite and side-eye glared at you

You flinched but he just sighted and continued eating

Didn’t talk at all after that till he finished eating and took his time rearranging his bento

Turned to you very calmly when he was done and you were kinda scared tbh

“I have no intention of becoming your sibling y/n” “midori-“ “ i don’t even wanna be your friend” “i-“

He just packed his stuff and went away

A few hours later you can hear him hit his head against his pillow and groaning cause this dumbass wanted to subtly tell you his feelings but made it seem like he hated you

Legend has it takao still hasnt stopped laughing when he heard about it

Murasakibara:

Hears it, registers it, continues eating pretending he hasnt heard you

Cuts you off or ignores it everytime you say it again

Will ask tatsuya for pointers on how to get out of the zone

Poor tatsuya thought he was talking about basketball and panicked for a second

Murasakibara will randomly do very ..unsibling things innocently

Like softly smacking your ass while walking by or brushing his hand against you thigh

You’ll get the hint eventually..i hope

Aomine:

“ would be cool to have a big brother like you -“ “ hahahaaa no.”

Will literally smirk and wiggle his eyebrows before leaning across from you

“ you think THIS * points at himself* is brother material? Oho y/n... didn’t know you were into that “

“ into what” “incest“ “daiki NO”

“I mean i’m a pretty kinky dude but even i got my limits , although if you’re saying step-siblings ? Now that’s kinda ho-“ “ I AM LEAVING!!”

Will just laugh while watching you walk away

Kise:

Pikachu face

“ Y/N WHY!!”

Very overdramatic about it

“No listen i’m like a really shitty brother... you know who would be a great one??? Kassmatsu!!! Yeah , him!!”

Cuts you off if you ever try it again with an “ apapapapa” or “ZIP IT”

Makes a mental note to ask you to be his date to whatever event he is invited to next

Kuroko:

Blinks at you but shruggs

Gets a bit down about it but its hard to notice

Because he thinks he can’t do much about it

Rico notices his shift and makes him talk, she absolutely melts when seeing frustrated kuroko voicing out his feelings

It’s kuroko so i don’t think he’s much for throwing hints so he’ll just randomly ask to talk to you

“ y/n i don’t like it when you say i’m like your brother because i like you and i dont think that’s appropriate “ with the straightest face

He knows it’s not gonna change overnight so if he sees you hesitating he would ask you to just consider him for now and give him your answer when you’re sure

Kagami:

Chokes on his burger

Accidentally said “the fuck “ which made him choke even more

Is trying to explain to you that he can’t be your brother figure without confessing

“ i like being an only child “ “taiga it was a figure of speech-“ “ no sorry just .... ehem no”

Is so flustered and keeps glancing at you

Very clearly bothered by it, to a point where you start wondering if he likes you

Randomly calls you at 4 in the morning

“Hello?” “ i like you!” “ wait w-“ “ i like you alot and i don’t wanna be your brother i wanna be your boyfriend thanks”

And he just..hang up

[i-fucking-hate-ppl]

What about some fluffy dating headcanons of Alastor, Angel and Sir Pentious? Cute things they like to do with their S/O’s, who makes the first move and kisses each other, maybe how would them react if their S/O’s want to have intimate relationships or maybe kids(?? Idk If you’re comfortable with nsfw or not :)) btw sorry for my grammar mistakes

Can do! I hope it's up to standards! Dont worry about spelling btw, I'm just as bad :) Also I do NSFW for anyone wondering, and yes it's kinda in here. Also, Alastor is asexual in my opinion, although I know others may not think so, so I wrote some nsfw for him. Anyway Enjoy!

Alastor:

• His S/o has to make the first few moves. (Handholding, hugs, and eskimo kisses/ butterfly kisses/ cheek kisses)

• After that he'll initiate everything else. (Hand kisses, kisses, make out sessions, etc.)

• Most of the time, he's the first one to kiss you. Sometimes you do surprise him by kissing him first.

• He really likes to kiss the back of your hand. He'll do it whenever he sees you (even if he's in public).

• He also likes when you hold onto his arm, he feels really proud.

• He does cute couple things with you a lot. But it's always behind closed doors.

• He's set Saturday nights to the side all for you. It's usually for going on a date, but if you're not up to it that day he's all for staying home and watching tv or cuddling (or both).

• He'll try to make you breakfast in the morning so you can have it in bed. (Praise him for it, he loves it when you praise him [and his cooking])

• If anyone new comes into the hotel, he'll immediately show you off as his.

• He doesn't need these hopeless sinners hitting on you. You. Are. HIS.

• That being said, you can mingle with them, so long as they keep their filthy hands and thoughts to themselves. (In his mind everyone likes you, fyi.)

• In my opinion, Alastor is asexual and wouldn't have an intimate relationship with you. He'll make out with you, sure. But that's as far as he's wants to go or will let you go.

• In this situation he'd be a bit uncomfortable, and he'd try to explain it to you if you didn't know. He'd probably apologize for not telling you sooner as well.

• Although if you don't think so, I want you to know, Alastor will NOT make the first move.

• No, no, no, no.

• He made some of the other first moves sure, but NOT this one.

• He doesn't want to take things too fast, he doesn't want to make you afraid. He just wants it to be special, and for you to feel special.

• He'll wait for you to take it farther until he does, and even then he'll ask just to be sure.

• Once he's absolutely sure he'll get super excited, like a kid in a candy shop. He'll be all smiles (the sweet smiles btw).

• Alastor is the type to really enjoy foreplay. He'll definitely be giving it more than recieving it.

• Let me tell you, he could do a lot with his tongue and hands.

• It doesn't matter if you're a male or a female. He'll still be able to make you scream and beg for more.

• His more into it for your pleasure, rather than his.

• Although seeing you whimpering and begging for him, is his pleasure so it's not like he's not getting anything out of it.

• If a fun night leads to you being pregnant, (or if you talk to him about kids) he kinda... panics?

• He's not meant to be a father. That's why he's in hell.

• He's 100% sure this baby is going to be fuck up. Mentally and emotionally speaking.

• He'll make sure to be calm around you but all hell is breaking loose on the inside.

• Basically always having a mental breakdown over this.

• Although once his child is born, he calms right the fuck down.

• She's just so cute, how could she do or be anything bad? She was a little angel.

• Instantly regrets those words once she gets older.

• His daughter would be the one to make mischief. Most of the time it's harmless, but it's still a problem.

• Although he'd love her, and honestly? That's him so he can't really yell at her.

• She'd have him wrapped around her little finger.

• "Daddy can I have juice?"

• "What did Mother/Father say?" *already pulling the juice out from the fridge*

• "She/He/They said no, but I knew you'd give it to me! So I came to ask!"

• "You know I can't go behind her/his/their back." *about to put it back*

• "Its okay! I won't tell! It can be a Daddy-Daughter secret!" *grins sweetly with a finger to her lips*

• Any thought of putting it back flew out the window as he handed it to her with a pat of her head.

• He's really soft and caves for his child easily, but if it was serious -like going out with a few friends he doesn't like- he'll be able to say no quite easily.

Angel Dust:

• This boy is glued to your hip and he really tries to do cute couple things.

• He'll give you random sweets, and set up random dates in the hotel.

• They're so random you literally cant figure out when he's going to do these things. No matter how hard you try.

• Although usually when he flirts with you he'll give you a piece of candy. Idk why, he just does.

• We all know how Angel is, so we all know he's always one to make the first move!

• If you feel uncomfortable about whatever move he pulled, let him know and he either won't do it again or wait a little longer, depending on what you say and how you react.

• Although you can never really kiss him first because he's always doing it.

• You wake up and can barely register anything? He's already giving you a kiss of some kind. The moment's romantic and you turn to kiss him? Welp he's already holding your hand, kissing it and then leans over to kiss your cheek.

• Trust me, you have never started anything because he doesn't give you a chance too lol.

• He likes when you hang out with just him. It makes him feel special and like you only need him.

• So many of your dates and couple hangouts are just you and him with no one else around

• If anyone interrupts, oh boy.

• RIP them, you have to start planning a funeral.

• And if anyone hits on you? It's the end of the god damn world. He'll act all big and tough and he'll fuck them up too, but he's pouting about it for a week+

• He'll also double his clinginess and affection so be prepared.

• One day, if you give hints that you're in the mood he'll be ecstatic!

• S/o wants to fuck. With me? Hell fucking yes!

• Unlike Al he's not much into foreplay, so he'll probably keep it short and just get straight to the point.

• It's not that he doesn't like it, he just think there's no need for it.

• You'll feel plenty of pleasure when he's pounding into you. Besides it's more fun and fast paced! Foreplay is just too slow for him.

• He'll also go for more than one round.

• If you end up pregnant, or talking about kids, he's all for it! Full send!

• Immediately regrets it the second he's up all night with the little boy he created.

• Dont get me wrong, he LOVES his boy, but god damn he was not ready.

• Once his child is older and a bit more independent he's -I wouldn't say happier- but less stressed out.

• He tries to keep his son from knowing he was a porn star. Hopefully he'll be one of those teenage boys that dont look up porn or he'll be scared for life.

Sir Pentious:

• Sir Pentious is a gentle men! He'll do plenty of cute couple things and he'll show you off to the public!

• If you're crying or upset he'll put his hat on your head to try and cheer you up.

• He'll hold your hand or give you a hug any moment he can.

• He's usually the one to initiate anything. He'll kiss you first, hold your hand first, and all that.

• But after that, you usually start everything, unless it's a hug or hand holding.

• Sir Pentious is quite the jealous man so try to keep talking with men on the down low.

• He's not going to stop you, but it makes he feel uncomfortable when you'd 'prefer' being with them instead of him.

• He's kinda intimidated by sex so he wouldn't start it.

• He'd definitely wait for you to show signs and even then he's still a nervous wreck.

• Although he manages to rise above and give you a good time regardless of his nerves.

• He'd do a bit of foreplay and a bit of sex. Sometimes it'll be more foreplay, other times it'll be more sex. It honestly depends.

• And if it happens to get you pregnant, or you speak of kids he'll say "aren't the eggs enough for you?"

• But obviously not. So, mostly to make you happy, you guys have a child!

• He actually likes this one though lmao.

• He'll look more like you but act more like Pentious. He's a gentle man and style is everything in his eyes.

• He's always quite the little genius. Always making something (even if it's matching macaroni necklaces for you and Pentious).

• Pentious is really good with him, bc honestly he's dealt with the eggs forever and it's no different to him.

[athenagrantnash]

Wow your posts on buddie has really made me re think how the fandom talks about them/buck. Like I know there is a weird obsession with them (its actually a pretty big turn off from the ship imo and if anything makes canon buddie LESS likely to happen, not surprised that there are cast/staff members opposed to it). And this stuff with Ana is ridiculous, I actually think her and Eddie are really cute and that shes a good “moving on” LI, whether they last or not. tbh the fandom also doesn’t really have any proof on whether they are a good match or not because all we really know about her is that shes a nice teacher, and Im interested to see how her and Eddie grow! But I always thought the bi Buck thing was about 1. “Flirting” with guys this season (TK in the crossover, bar guy in buck begins, maybe even the probie in jinx if you squint... all of which can be taken either way) and 2. Oliver talking in interviews about how he would be open to a buddie storyline (not sure what Ryan has said about it). I only really joined fandom about a month ago, so idk about anything before that. I never really thought about people not talking about bi eddie, but yeah after I read your posts its blatant how its such white gay fetishizing lol and Im embarassed I didnt even notice. Like theres a lot of similar hints for lgbt Eddie (ex “theyre not my type” in s2) as there are for lgbt Buck but yeah, no one ever really talks about Eddie, just “omg get buck a bf this season 🤪”. Buck is not the only option for bi rep lol, and I actually think there are multiple characters on the show that would be more interesing to explore bisexuality with (eddie, may, even albert lol). And if we’re being honest when it comes to buddie, the only scenes that we have that are 👀 are 1. The christmas scene in s2 with the elf and 2. The go for the title scene in s3. And both those scream fanservice lol. And that combined with things like the live stream comments “omg they should date” in s2, it should be kind of obvious that the writers dont really plan to go canon with buddie so I wish the fandom would stop over analyzing every look sometimes haha. Anyways this got kinda long but I just wanted to say thanks for sharing your opinion and yours (and others) posts were really thoughtful (and almost refreshing)!! ☺️

Aww, thank you for your kind words. <3

I was actually a little bit worried about making my original post in the first plce because... well you know how fandoms can be.

Also, as to the “flirting”...

Why on earth do people always assume that somebody being nice/friendly/smiling = flirting? It’s NOT! 

Saying that Buck was flirting with the bar guy is exactly what it sounds like when a creepy guy tries to ask out the pretty girl at the cash register because “she was totally into me”. Ditto with the probie.

Buck is a friendly dude and is very good at engaging with people. That’s a sign of him being NICE, not a sign of him being FLIRTY! People need to stop equating every interaction he has with people with what creepy dudes at the cash register are like. PLEASE! I’m BEGGING!

[thedappleddragon]

hooooo my fucking god I don't know why but recently my anxiety/sence of dread has SKYROCKETED in the last 3 days, I haven't been sleeping great and last night I had an anxiety dream about manning the register at work. idk I guess today was fine but im so fucking overstimulated I guess?? I seriously just dont fuking know. but anyway here’s a summary of some days that I may or may not remember. putting it under the cut

Wednesday I was exited to work, they didn’t need me, I hung out with my friends at their outdoor band concert and had boba and it got super cold out

Thursday I went with my dad to drop off a car, then we had breakfast together at a little restaurant I had never been to before. He told me about his childhood n stuff. Then I went to work and priced things outside and felt good about helping some people buy plants even tho I didn’t know exactly what I was doing and ended up handing them off to Becky anyway. Got off work, came home, hung out waiting to be able to go visit my friend but she took a while so dad and I made the snack he had a lot as a kid which was just handmade chocolate frosting on graham crackers. Eventually my friend got home so I grabbed one of those graham crackers in some Tupperware and some other stuff and headed out. It was a longer drive than I was expecting but eh whatever, I got there no problem with a bunch of dad’s shit in the back of the car. We had awkward hellos in her apartment and I pet her fat ass cat until she suggested we go thrifting and oh my god I had never wanted to go thrifting more in my life than right then. I had one of those moments where I realized oh I’m an adult who can go out and just DO things :D so we walked around and gossiped in goodwil and had a great time until they closed, whereupon steph frantically looked for anything that was open near us while I drove around. We settled on going to a little park nearby, where we climbed on the tube with holes on it and swung on the swings. Then we walked around a dense tree/brush like and into the middle of a field, having our main character moments as we walked to the top of a hill with a cross on it. I took a picture of the sunset and a selfie with both of us before we walked back through the field and drove back to her apartment. I gave her 2 tiny flower jars and she let me borrow her container of earring hardware and a bunch of different tiny things to make into earrings. I had a great time and I’d love to hang out again, maybe when everything isn’t closed lmao. We joked a lot about understanding why people do drugs lmao since there’s nothing else to do! everything’s closed!! Also some joke flirting mixed in for flavor. We have an excuse to hang out again so I can return her earring supplies and she can return my Tupperware lol. I thought my phone was going to die on the way home before I realized there was a charging cord in the car! Nice. Got home, watched my friend stream plasmaphobia for a bit while I finished a birthday gift, and hung out and slept when she quit streaming. 

Friend’s birthday party day!! Also dad moving day!! The first task of the day was to drive with my dad down to the nearest uhaul to pick up a big ol’ truck, and follow him home in the car while he lead the way in the truck. Then we brought his car full of shit to the apartment, got his key and paid his first month, and looked through everything to do inspection. Tbh it’s a pretty nice apartment, I’d love to spend some time there once it’s a bit more furnished. My favorite part is a Harry Potter style hidey hole closet that’s meant for storage, but it’s the perfect size for a secluded hangout spot for me. I’ll totally let him use it for storage if he wants, I just like sitting in there. I joked that I would let Emily hang out in the spare bedroom and I could get the tiny room. But we spent time cleaning and looking around and bringing in boxes before dad sent me to pick up lunch, my sister, and another car load of boxes. I left to do all 3 and came back with Mcallisters, and we all sat on the floor and ate together. A very nice way to break in a new apartment. We brought in boxes and dad sent us on a quest to pick up a car part and drop it off where the car we dropped off the day before. We got there just fine, but getting to the second location was a nightmare because of all my wrong turns and u turns and no left turns, it was awful. I mean we got there eventually but still. By then it was time for me to get home so I could wash my hair and get ready for the party!! I got everything ready, but my sister wouldn’t be home with the car on time, so I just took my mom’s van. I was on time for once!! But in exchange I didn’t realize I had forgotten Cassidy’s gift until I was like 3 minutes away. But also I found driving my moms van very easy compared to last time I tried to drive it, and I think I’m a much more confident driver now :) but I was one of the first to arrive, accidentally twinned with cass, waited for everyone to show up, met her new dog, and then we all packed up the picnic basket and walked to the top of a hill to have our little sandwiches and play cards against humanity. On the walk there we passed by a park where little kids were asking why we were all dressed up if it wasn’t Halloween, so I shouted at them that it was her birthday and handed them the branch I was carrying. We played CAH on the hill and ate little sandwiches and meatballs and drank sparkling juice and had a lovely time, and when we were done, we walked back to her house where there was pizza and we all changed out of our formal wear. My bra was sewed into my dress with 6 stitches, so I grabbed some scissors and flashed my friend’s cat as I cut my bra free of the dress because I forgot to bring an extra. I changed into my ghostbusters shirt and snake onesie and joined everyone outside for pizza and lots and lots of stories and ice cream cake and gossip and quiplash and balloons and gifts and CAH and friends leaving and new friends arriving and more quiplash and then the grass getting cold and wet and going ham on keeping the balloons up and then playing that’s what she said (basically CAH but ✨for women ✨) and by this time there was a dude I didn’t know but he was very nice and cute and already taken. Tbh I didn’t know half the people there, there was a group of 4 cool alt people I had never met and then the 4 band kids I already knew but everyone else seemed to know each other and they all had great energy so I yelled a lot and joked a ton and had an amazing time. As the crowd dwindled and the night got cooler, I helped put things away before I left so I could be a nice guest, said my goodbyes, gathered my things, and drove home past midnight. Ask walked around the house turning off lights like my mom asked, I realized that my dad wouldn’t be sleeping here anymore, and I felt bad that he had to spend the night all alone in his new apartment :( and this is going to be a huge financial burden that idk if he can afford, rent for the apartment is almost as much as my mom pays for the house. Jejdjgjt this is all a mess and I would like to go back to ignoring it all <3 Listened to a lot of two trucks by lemon demon lmao

Hoo boy howdy I did a lot of shit today. Basically as soon as I woke up I got a text from dad about us helping him move with a promise of donut holes and a fruit platter. I walked out to the garage to find our family friends the drakes helping to move boxes, so we all spent several hours loading boxes into our cars and driving back and forth from the house to the apartment, with emily and I avoiding the drakes as much as possible lmao. When we had moved as much as we could in the car, we started loading up the uhaul, shoving as much shit in there as possible so we only had to do one trip there and back. Partially through unloading the truck the drakes stopped cleaning things before we brought them in left and some randos from dad’s work came to help unload and somewhere in the middle of all this our aunt and uncle and her service dog came to visit?? Bruh idk so much stuff happened. Emily asked me to take her home so she could work on school stuff and we put things back into the garage and I went back to the apartment to help with stuff and hang out with my aunt while my dad and uncle returned the truck. We made a list of stuff I might need for college and I wrote it down on a notepad and most of the page space was taken up by ponies tbh. The men brought back burger king and eventually my aunt and uncle left. I helped my dad clean up and set up his wifi and we watched mama Mia. It was my first time seeing the film, and it was really dang fun. Then I made dad drive me ho e since emily was still gone with the silver car. I’ll spend he night over there eventually, but not yet. I’m exited to eventually invite friends over since I’ve never been able to do that before. So now I’m home trying g to go to sleep so I can work tomorrow. I keep thinking about smoking weed and making out with someone in the hidey hole in dad’s apartment............ even tho I have literally no one to do that with afsagssg I’m a CHILD. 

Had dreams last night about being stuck on the infinity train again, except there was a mechanic of switching the world between 2d and 3d and the cast of Bluey had to help bingo go through stages of grief / character moments to help her get off the train or something. I was tossing and turning for a few hours anxiously waking up thinking I was gonna be late and going back to bed so I could sleep/dream more. But then I finally got up, fed my cat, fed myself, helped clean the kitchen a little bit, got ready for work, arrived 15 minutes late on accident, worked register for 6 hours, got more comfortable with register and learned how to do stuff, lots of friendly people, lots of me struggling and my bones hurting, dad brought me food but I couldn’t get to my lunch break until everything was room temperature. The chicken sandwich reheated well but the fries did not. After work dad and I stopped by the house, I got an info card to fill out so I can be called in for jury duty eventually, dad handed me $50 for dinner for us and my sister, we laid on the floor and looked at the noodles and company menu, drove there, picked up our food, had a lovely dinner at dad’s apartment, laid around while he talked to Greg on the phone, went to target to pick up small apartment things like a clock and a trash can and some small groceries but it made me nervous because I hate spending money and watching my dad spend money he may or may not have, and by then we were tired as shit and after dropping his stuff off emily and I drove home and I tried teaching her how to crochet for a school project. Now I’m hanging out wanting to go to bed and thinking about how everybody else my age working at ACE is doing like 60 hours a week with 2 jobs and saving for college and I’m just sitting here with probably 14 hours a week and fuck. I don’t want to spiral into shit, I just want to keep busy as much as possible. Maybe I’ll ask for as many work hours as possible, maybe I’ll ask my friends to hang out, idk. Right now I jut want to be busy so I don’t have to think about anything. I’ll spend as much time as possible helping my dad set up his apartment, I don’t care.

WAAAAA TODAY AT WORK WAS SO STRESSFUL, I LEFT FELLNG SO FRAZZLED IT SUCKED. basically I worked register for 4 hours but they’re all trying to ween me off asking for help to get me more comfortable, and we were surprisingly busy, and my garden boss becky asked me to do 2 extra things and my boss boss kept asking about paperwork that I couldn't fill out because I needed my sister to text me something, and an old man got mad at me over the phone because no-one was out there to fill his propane tank and I had a lady waiting for 10 minutes for someone to help load salt into her car and a middle aged man tried to use sarcasm at me while I was in friendly cashier mode aND IM SORRY I HAVE ADHD I DONT GET IT PLEASE S T O P and I tried answering the phone more and I didnt get the things done that becky asked and I left shit there because I just wanteD OUT. afterwards I went to target to get something, idk im writing this afterwards so I not really remember 

and today, my day off. ugh god I dont remember what I did, I know I picked up a vent for my mom’s bathroom and I just went to go get Taco Bell with my sister and bought her some more about crocheting and she’s making progress :) tomorrow is my friend’s birthday and last year I made her a felt doll of her fursona, so today I started making a crochet doll for her. so far I have the body and libs, but I still need to make the muzzle, tail, ears, attach everything, and hand-sew on all the markings and glue on button eyes. or maybe felt eyes, idk. my stomach hurts and I got upset because I told my mom my cat may be sick because her pee looked suspicious so I crocheted and watched my little pony and now I have a headache and im just trying to listen to music but really I just want to watch 50 arms videos at once but it wasn't loading right and idk man I dont know what’s happening, I may be going into work tomorrow. I think now that I have a job to do 3-4 times a week, I dont feel like I can just chill and wing it anymore, it’s like I have plans forever now. and oh god I still have to sig up for college orientation night or whatever, but my mind hasn'tt been on college for like a month or longer. I think im just going to take some Advil and try to relax with my cat and my music. holy shit dude. I know none’s gonna read this but just. fuck. also I should really post these more frequently rather than let them pile up in my texts. thinking about going back and adding all the dates like I did with my early quarantine diary, but that feels like a lot of work

[knivesrey]

My most hated customers as a Starbucks employee rated from mildly annoying to worst ever

1.) That guy who flirted with me one time. Like sir. You can't see half my face not to mention the fact that u dont even know me. I asked him of he wanted his receipt and he said "no, i trust you." And then i had to tell him his coffee would be on the other end of the bar when it was ready which is just common fucking sense but he was just standing there holding up the line.

2.) The lady who I HEARD ORDERING AND DIDNT HAVE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO HER DRINK WHEN SHE ORDERED and then proceeded to yell at me and my coworker that her drink, a Royal English Breakfast Tea LATTE, wasn't supposed to have milk in it. Latte implies the presence of steamed milk, IDIOT, you shouldve fucking said something when you ordered it. Words mean things.

3.) The businessman who fucking ran up to my register one time and cut me off as i was all like "hey welcome to starbucks, how are you?" And just fucking yelled "DOPPIO ESPRESSO" and then started furiously tapping his card against the machine. When i asked him for his name for the order he just said "ill be at the end of bar" and like?? If there was no one there that'd be okay but dude we're in thee middle of a morning rush and you're being a dick. I know you think you're special because you're just ordering espresso at a starbucks but really you're just an asshole and other people order that too

[pilot-boi]

Shouting In Cafes: Chapter Two

Downsides Of Revenge

If possible, second impressions go even worse. And this time, he doesn’t even have the excuse of being hungover. As much as he wished he was.

AO3 LINK

Neptune laid in bed, phone on his chest, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. His hangover had finally worn off and he was starting to regret everything. Why had he initiated anything? He should’ve just acted passively annoyed and let the guy - Sun right? - figure out how much of a dick he was being by himself.

Why the hell did he tell him he had nice pecs?

He wasn’t in his right mind when he was hungover. That was apparent.

So, now he was debating whether he should actually call this girl and get one last blow in. It was a shady move. Using a girl for petty revenge. Was he really that kind of guy? What had Sun really done to him?

Neptune considered opening the bottle of replacement-wine he’d just bought.

No. Stop. He needed to stop. He wasn’t using a girl to get back at a guy he met once who kind of pissed him off. He needed to sleep. He needed to get his shit together.

He’d take care of it in the morning.

“Well, hello, sunshine.” Jaune greeted a drowsy, rumpled Neptune with a broom in his hand and a flower from one of his sisters stuck awkwardly into his blonde curls.

Morning light streamed through the windows of the empty coffee shop, the smell of fresh coffee and Jaune’s careful sweeps across the tile floor the only indication that the building was open. Neptune checked his watch. 7:05 AM. They didn’t get customers until around nine. They had some time to kill.

Neptune rubbed at the bags under his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Do I look that bad?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks.” He shoved his card into the slot to clock in with a little more force than needed.

“Not enough sleep?”

“I went to bed at like nine but kept waking up in the middle of the night.”

“Nightmares?”

“Stress dreams, more like.”

“Are you still trying to be mad about that guy?”

“I’m not trying! And no. I don’t know.”

“Did you get your revenge?”

“I’m not going to sleep with somebody’s girlfriend out of spite. Even if she’s dating a douche. She seemed pretty nasty herself.”

“Hm. She did give you her number while she was on a date, didn’t she?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you even know her name?”

“No.”

“Well then, that settles that!” Jaune plucked the flower from his hair and tucked it behind Neptune’s ear, poking his friend in the eye in the process. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll never see either of them again, anyway.”

Jaune’s soft smiles were one of the only things that could warm Neptune’s heart. He tried not to show any emotion other than general annoyance whenever he could, but Jaune never failed to see right through him. He appreciated that sometimes.

But right now, Neptune couldn’t tell if he wanted to be annoyed by Jaune’s optimism or not. He settled on giving him a soft smile. He tried harder than most people he knew. “Thanks, Jaune.”

“No problem. You’re on register today.”

“God dammit, Jaune.”

The day was slow. Slower than usual. By three in the afternoon, they had only had five customers. Neptune caught himself falling asleep a couple times while standing up, which could not be healthy. Had he done his homework? God, he didn’t remember. All he remembered doing last night was staring at his phone and contemplating whether he wanted to be an asshole or not.

No homework then. He could do it before class. After work. How much longer did he have?

The door opened. Shoes smacked against the floor.

“Welcome to The Daily Grind. What can I get for you to-”

It was the dickhead. And his girlfriend. Again.

Neptune took a breath. Cleared his throat. “Welcome to The Daily Grind. What can I get for you today?”

The guy- Sun? -hunched his bare shoulders up to his ears. He was wearing one of those tank tops that had nearly the entire side of them cut out of them so you got a healthy dose of chest no matter what angle you were looking on from. They were nice shoulders. He didn’t deserve nice shoulders.

Thankfully, his expression took away from his body. Cocky and whimsical and snarky, like he knew everything you didn’t. “What? Not hungover today? No sleazy remarks?”

God, he commented on how nice his pecs were yesterday, didn’t he? No. God, no, of God why. Why would he let him have the upper hand like that? Bad move, bad move. Wine did bad things to him. Never again. Or at least he’d settle for never that much.

Embarrassment flooded to his cheeks and he tried to choke it back down. “Could I please take your order.”

Sun forced his palms against the table, winking and flashing a toothy grin. “What? No guts now that you don’t have some booze in you?”

“I’m working. Please keep your voice down.” Neptune let himself wonder if Sun could ever be quieter than a jackhammer.

“You were working yesterday, too! But that didn’t stop you from saying that my pecs were nice!”

Neptune leaned forward. “I like complimenting a handsome man when I see one, but no matter how nice your body is, your personality reeks of frat boy and beer.”

Sun’s date appeared beside him, grinning at Neptune from ear to ear. Sun’s face melted into pouted lips and a worried brow, like Neptune had actually offended him. Neptune felt victorious for a moment, before more heat rose to his face.

He was at work. All three of their other customers were staring at him.

Neptune coughed and picked up some cups and a sharpie, staring straight at the plastic. “What will your orders be today?”

“Grande white mocha and a plain cappuccino,” Sun said.

“Right.”

There was a silent exchange of a credit card and a receipt. Neptune’s blush was finally fading away. Just as Sun and his date were walking away, Sun turned back around and asked, “Are you gay?”

Neptune tensed, mouth slack in shock. Finally he managed to stutter out, “Your order is almost ready, Sun.”

They stared at each other for a moment more before Sun spun on his heel and walked away.

“He asked me if I was gay,” Neptune said in a hushed voice, fingers pressed to his temples, head bowed to the floor. “Is this real life? Did someone just ask their fucking barista if they were gay?!”

“Were you acting gay?” Jaune asked.

“Jaune!” Neptune hissed, sounding scandalized.

“It’s a genuine question.”

“I said I liked complimenting handsome men. I kind of implied that he was a handsome man.”

“That’s pretty gay.”

“That’s not the point!” Neptune nearly yelled before gathering himself. “You don’t ask your barista if they’re gay! What?! No! You don’t do that. Who the hell does that? This guy, apparently!”

“Neptune.”

“I’m sorry, dude, but honestly what the fuck. I can’t believe this. Who acts like this?”

“Neptune, I understand, but calm down. Take a breath.”

“I have to retaliate.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I’m texting his girlfriend.”

“No, you’re not.”

Neptune pulled out his phone. “Then tell me what I’m doing right now.”

“Oh my god.”

He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out the crumpled straw wrapper, plugging in each digit into his phone. He thumbed the text icon and typed out a message.

Ocean Man: Hey this is the barista at the daily grind. I never caught your name.

“Sent it,” Neptune said and waggled the phone in front of Jaune’s face.

“I can’t believe you,” Jaune sighed.

“I’m probably going to regret this later.”

“You definitely are.”

They both watched as Sun’s date sipped her coffee, set it down, and looked at her phone. Sun was too engrossed in his own storytelling to notice the smile that pulled on her lips or how fast her thumbs typed on the keyboard.

A few seconds later, Neptune’s phone buzzed. Neptune puffed out a sigh. Guess he was doing this.

No Contact: Aria. And you?

Ocean Man: Neptune vasilias. Nice to meet you aria. Quick question. Why are you going out on a date with that guy? You dont seem to like him.

No Contact: He’s hot and he asked me out. Quickly finding that his personality sucks. You’re cuter. Wanna hang?

Neptune gave his phone a sour expression. No matter if the guy was a dick, you should at least finish the date before setting up a new one with someone else.

Jaune read over his shoulder. “Yikes.”

“Yeah.”

Neptune looked up and across the cafe to find Aria looking over her shoulder, smiling, and waving at him. No.

And Sun was glaring straight at him. No.

Was this what he wanted?

Sun stood up, nearly knocking his chair over backwards as he stomped back to the bar.

“Is this what you wanted?” Jaune asked, echoing his thoughts.

“What do you want exactly?” Sun questioned, pushing a finger into the middle of Neptune’s chest. “To piss me off? Is that why you’re flirting with my date in front of me?”

“Look. You might be an ass but she’s the one who gave me her number while you two were here yesterday. You might want to find someone who actually likes you.”

Neptune could hear Aria squeak in outrage from the other side of the cafe.

“Fine! But that doesn’t explain why you actually texted her!”

“I think I wanted to make you mad.”

“What the hell!”

“You asked me, your barista that you don’t know the name of, if I was gay!”

“You were acting pretty gay!” Sun exclaimed, as if that explained everything.

“So what?!”

“I dunno! But you obviously aren’t because you’re flirting with my date!”

“Why do you still care? She doesn’t like you!”

Jaune stepped to the side of Neptune. “Dude, you might wanna stop.”

Neptune didn’t stop. “I’m not having the best time right now! I got dumped two days ago, got painfully drunk and hungover and have had to deal with you repeatedly!”

“Neptune,” Jaune warned.

“You’re just a shitty frat boy! Why the hell are you in a tiny coffee house on a date at three in the afternoon?”

“I get free coffee here!” Sun yelled. Not that it made a difference, his only volume setting was yelling.

“No, you don’t, you id-”

“My mom owns this place!”

Neptune went quiet. He stared at the fury burning in Sun’s eyes, white teeth bared, flimsy tank top threatening to fall off.

For once, he had no words. Well almost no words. Thank you Mama Vasilias, for your words of wisdom for these troubling times. Words that had helped him through many hardships before. Words straight from the old country.

“Merda,” Neptune muttered, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open.

[btsrmono]

Trial & Error | chapter 7

Main Pairing: (jimin): student/idol x (main): foreign student

Side Pairs: main x taehyung,, main x (nct) jaehyun

PART 6

"What it is?" Jimin asked, making you look up from your pizza to him.

 You sighed, leaning back on the couch sofa in your living room. You guys sat at the coffee table as you enjoyed each others company and forgot about everything you were both were stressed about for a while... Until he bought that up, at least.

"What is what?" you acted stupid.

"Y/n... Earlier. You were clearly crying in class today. What happened?" He bought his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them, looking at you concerningly.

 You put your pizza down and breathed out, defeated. "I saw Taehyung today," you started. "And he just seemed... Not hisself."

"Yeah, he hasn't been lately," he agreed. "I think he's just upset that the fans are upset. Like, he doesn't want them to feel that way about him, you know? Just give it some time."

"But he told me not to talk to him anymore," you said.

"So what--"

"He seemed serious, Jimin."

He clenched his jaw before poking the inside of his right cheek with his tongue. "Forget him then--"

"No, Jimin, I'm not just going to just ‘forget him’. Tae is my best friend, he's all I had. I don't want him mad at me."

He sucked his teeth, seemingly getting mad. "So I guess I don't exist," he humped.

You cocked your right eyebrow in confusion. "Ummm say ‘sike’ because you and I didn't even start officially becoming friends up until about a week ago."

"But I'm here, right?"

"Yeah and I said he's all that I had, not have. Obviously, I have you right now but not too long ago, it was just him."

Suddenly, he looked sorry. "Oh," he said. "You're right. I'm sorry..."

 You shook your head after staring for quite some time. "No, Jimin... Don't be sorry." You rested your hand on his knee, reassuringly.

"I just want things to go back to normal," he whispered.

"Isn't your school almost done with the reconstruction?" you asked, placing your hand back in your crossed lap. "Maybe then, things will change."

 He shrugged. "They don't seem like they're getting done anytime soon, to be honest."

"Oh, I'm sorry. That sucks."

He smiled shyly at you. "No, actually, it's okay. I kinda like having class with you now," he said, winking.

"Jimin, are you flirting?" you teased.

"Maybe," he replied, biting his lip in a seductive manner and looking you up and down.

 You rolled your eyes, picking a pillow up and throwing it at his face. He instantly picked the pillow back up whilst laughing and gently tossed it back in your lap. You guys silently collected your fits of laughter together before Jimin turned to you again. "Hey, you still owe me ice cream."

"Ugh," you grunted. "Fine, let's go."

He smiled, jumping up quickly to go put on his shoes. You followed in his footsteps and both left the apartment, walking to the nearest ice cream parlor.

"Do you do this often?" Jimin spoke up in the midst of your journey.

"Do what?" you wondered.

"Walk alone at night like this."

"I'm not alone," you scoffed.

"Y/n, you know what I mean."

You shrugged your shoulders. "Sometimes. Why?"

He started to look at the ground as you two continued to walk. "It's just... You need to be more safe, okay?" You looked over at him, making him look back at you. "You're a pretty girl," he started. "And people can be crazy. Just start taking taxis everywhere. Got it?" He took his hand out of his pocket and roughly slapped his hand on your back right shoulder.

"Yah!" you yelled out. It was obviously just a playful hit that you doubt was meant to actually hurt but clearly Jimin just didn't know his power. "The only crazy person is you, you psychopath, who goes out to get ice cream while its cold outside?" you complained, rubbing your back shoulder in the spot where you could still feel some lingering pain.

 On your left, Jimin was just cracking up. You scowled at him, still lowkey upset about the hit but quickly getting over it as you both, unnoticeably, arrived at the parlor. "Aww, poor y/n," he joked, as he rubbed the spot for you.

 You pushed him off of you just before entering the store as Jimin followed, still laughing.

"What do you want?" you asked.

"What do you want?" he asked back.

"Mint chocolate chip."

He scanned the menu. "Melon," he decided.

 You shook your head, then paid for your order as Jimin found you guys a table to sit at. After handing him his bowl and sitting down across from him, you started to worry about something. "I figure this is a bad idea."

 Jimin tilted his head, picking his spoon up. "How so?"

 "It's just... Last time I was out with Tae--"

 "Oh please," he quickly cut you off. "Look around, there's no one here. You don't have to be paranoid, y/n." He started eating his ice cream, clearly not bothered at all. You, however, were still scared.

"I just don't want to bring you boys trouble, I've done enough already."

His shoulders slugged and you could tell that you were sucking the joy out of his pep. You hated to be the person to do that, you did. 

 A few pauses later, Jimin put his spoon down and reached across the table for yours. He scooped up some ice cream and put it in front of your mouth. "Open up," he said.

 You looked around, aware that the worker at the register was carefully watching the both of you. She was sitting, seeing what was about to happen next and Jimin saw this. "I dont care if they see," he said. “We're friends. Am I not allowed to hang out with you?"

Not wanting to argue back, you simply complied, opening your mouth as asked. You ate the scoop and looked at him. "Happy?"

He smiled. "It's good right? Now eat up, don't worry too much." He went back to his own bowl and began to make small talk.

 You started to remember what it was like the first time Jimin and you actually had your first real conversation. You realized it was just easy to talk to him about things. He was real but non-judgmental with you. He just wants the best for everyone and you found that to be so nice of him. He truly had a way with making you feel better about every situation and making you forget about things in the time being.

After a little while, you and Jimin walked back to your place, stopping in front of the main entrance. You saw your mom in the lobby, waiting for the elevator, making you turn to Jimin. "It looks like my parents are home," you spoke. "Guess that's your cue to go too."

 Jimin looked through the lobby, his eyes slightly widening. "That's your mom?" he questioned. You nodded your head. "She's beautiful! I see where you get your looks from."

 You playfully rolled your eyes as you laughed, placing your hand on his chest to slightly shove him. "Please, Jimin." You noted that this was his second time complementing your looks that night and not going to lie, you were flattered.

 He laughed too. "Alright give me a hug," he said, pulling you in before you even got the chance. You hugged him back tightly, grateful for him taking your mind off things for a while.

 "I'll see you later," you spoke, looking up at him. He looked down and shook his head in agreement before you both let go and he took off.

~~

You and Jimin had been hanging out a little less than usual due to him and the boys having multiple dance practices, meaning he would not only rarely show up to school but you rarley even talked or texted with him. Of course he tried to keep up with you when he could which was better than nothing, you guess. You just kind of missed him.

"Psstt," you heard from behind you. 

You turned around to find Kayla, another internatial student like yourself. "Hey," you said, smiling at her. "What's up?"

"I'm freaking out," she replied. "I didn't do my homework last night, I was too busy. Before class starts, can I pleasssee copy yours?"

 You shook your head, not minding as you grabbed your homework from your backpack and handed it to her. "You're a life saver!" she exhaled. She quickly copied your homework and within about two minutes, it was back in your hand. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem," you replied, ready to turn back around before she cut you off.

"Wait," she said. "Is it true, about you and Taehyung?"

 You sighed, not aware that that was still a thing. "People are still on that?" you asked, semi annoyed. It had almost been two weeks, you thought it was behind you.

She scoffed. "Of course they are girl, you snatched up two of the most wanted guys in this school.” She paused, thinking. “ Well, besides Jungkook and Jaehyun."

 You were confused, what did she mean? "Two?"

"Jimin and Taehyung," she responded in a ‘Duh’ tone.

 You stared at her for a quick second. "Well to answer your question, no. How bout' you spread that around the next time you decide to gossip?" you snapped. You don't know what it was but you were over it. This rumor ruined your friendship with Taehyung and you were sick of it following you around.

"Jesus, well excuse me," she said, putting her hands up in surrender. "It's not like it was me that started it."

"Well you're sure as hell not helping, no?"

"Attitude much?"

 You sighed. She was right. Normally, Kayla was really nice to you so although she was being annoying at the moment, you still couldn't help but feel bad for the way you spoke to her. "I'm sorry," you apologized. "I've just been really stressed."

Her face softened. "Yeah, you look it," she joked, a small grin appearing on her face. "Hey, if you're not busy after school, me and Heejin are gonna go grab some boba if you want to join us?"

 You thought it over. Having some girl company didn't sound too bad, it actually sounded like just the perfect plan to you at the time. It wasn't anything significant but given the fact that you only was hanging out with guys for most part, this seemed overdue.

"That actually sounds really nice right about now."

She shook her head. "Okay then, we'll just be waiting for you at the bus stop after school."

Just then, your math teacher walked in and you all started our work.

~

After a long day of 7 classes, you and the girls did end up hanging out. Kayla ordered matcha boba, Heejin ordered strawberry and you ordered coconut. The three of you got a table and sat down, discussing random things such as school and who they liked.

 “Taeyong is definitely the most handsome boy in our school,” Kayla stated.

 “Really?” you chimed in. “He is super attractive but he’s too mysterious.”

 Kayla threw her head back in admiration. “That’s what makes him hot, y/n!” she cried, making you giggle.

"Well, I hands down like Jungkook," Heejin said. "No doubt about it, he is my ultimate crush." She was swooning over him and got dramatically emotional at just the thought of him. "Ugh! My heart is beating so fast even thinking about him, I think I'm going to die!" she then plopped her head on the table as you and Kayla laughed at her silliness. "It's depressing," she said said in a muffled voice, her face still on the cold surface.

"You'll survive," you responded.

She lifted her head back up, looking at you curiously. "Wait, aren't you friends with Jungkook?"

 You scoffed, looking around to make sure no one at the surrounding booths heard that. "No," you responded. "I hardly know him."

"Oh, I just assumed because you and Taeh--"

 Heejin was interrupted by Kayla shoving her quickly as a means to get her to stop talking. Kayla cleared her throat. "So, y/n," she started, changing the subject. "Heejin and I were thinking about starting this club--a dance club and we were wondering if you would be willing to join?"

 Heejin gave her a look, scrunching her eyebrows together, as did you, wondering where this was coming from. "Me?" you asked. "Why me of all people?"

"Because," Kayla started. "I see how you are in class, you're a team player. I already know you would do well on our team. Plus, you just look like you can dance," she chuckled.

 Her explanation wasn't good enough and you were still confused. Heejin still looked confused too but she seemed to not want to bud into it.

"What do you say?"

You started to stutter. "I-I-I.... I, um... I'm not sure," you said. "Dancing isn't really my thing..." She suddenly started to look disappointed, which made you feel a little bad. "But I'll let you know," you added, wanting to give her a glimpse of hope.

She smiled again, shaking her head. A few minutes later, you then dismissed yourself and said your goodbyes before you headed out the cafe door to go home.

A/N: Surprise! Heejin is in this. She’ll be around a little more often now hehe okay stay tuned to see what happens next! <33

PART 8