#i keep telling myself im going to work on prompt fills for some bingo cards i got and then being a coward about it

[pyrriax]

one day i will stop being afraid of getting hounded for writing something that is less pretty and more just. raw.

[suitofvibraniumarmor]

Advancing the Runner

Summary: A day at the ball field with Sebastian leads to an unexpected decision.  Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader Word Count: 1665 Warnings: Social drinking.  Square Filled: Baseball for @marvelfluffbingo​.  Challenge: Bolded prompt for @buckys-other-punk​‘s 500 Follower Celebration.  A/N: I was so excited to get this on my bingo card because I LOVE baseball! I’ll even take the short season we’ve got this year over no baseball at all. Hope you all enjoy this! Happy Reading! 

It was finally happening; your favorite part of the year. For months, you waited, watched the highlights, the experts’ predictions, the trades and injuries and any other news you could get your hands on. But today was the best day of the year. Even better than your birthday. 

Today was Opening Day. 

Sebastian, being the amazing friend that he was and knowing how important this day was for you, had scored seats for the game for the two of you — third row on the third baseline. You had been so excited when he showed you the confirmation on his phone, you squealed and hugged him so tight, he had to ask you to ease up. 

He knocked on your door exactly an hour before game time. You were ready to go in your oversized team shirt knotted at the hip, a pair of cute-but-modest denim cutoffs, and your favorite sneakers. With your sunglasses positioned on your head, your phone in one back pocket, and your ID and card and a little cash in your other back pocket, you were set to go. 

“You look pretty adorable,” Sebastian greeted, smiling as you hugged him. 

You smiled too, and blushed a little. “Well, thanks, Seb. You’re looking boy-next-door handsome today, if I do say so myself.”

“Shouldn’t I look like that everyday? I’m always me.”

“Yeah, but sometimes you’re boy-next-door handsome, sometimes you’re sleepyhead adorable, sometimes you’re runway sexy. Perks of your job, friend, you get all the labels for your looks.”

He chuckled and you could tell he was a little intimidated; he enjoyed what he did but never quite got used to being in the spotlight. He motioned to his car in your driveway. 

“Ready to go?”

You nodded, handing him your keys. “Do you mind putting those in your pocket so I don’t lose them?”

“Sure.” Sebastian deposited the keys in his front right pocket, then caught up to you down the front walk, hurrying to open your door for you before you could open it for yourself. He frowned a little. “Are you wearing my shirt?”

You winced a little through your smile. “Maybe? I snagged it last time I was over so I could wear it today. I’m sorry, I really like it and I can’t find it in my size.”

He laughed and shut the door before jogging around to the driver’s side and getting himself settled for the drive to the stadium. Before he pulled out of the driveway, he told you to keep the shirt. 

“Looks better on you anyway.”

Your blush returned and you wondered where all the compliments were coming from today. Sebastian was nothing if not encouraging and supportive as far as your friendship went, but something was different today. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, so you shrugged it off and immediately commandeered the radio to find some good tunes for the drive. 

“These seats are really amazing,” you breathed, carefully sitting down with a beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other. “I wish you would have at least let me pay for the beer and the food, though. You bought the tickets, you should let me get everything else. These can’t have been cheap seats.”

Sebastian put an arm around you and hugged you to his side, softly kissing your temple — not unusual for your affectionate friendship, but again, something was different about it today. 

“Just let me treat you, Y/N/N. I wanted to do this for you.”

You shrugged and took a good gulp of your beer before setting the cup in the holder and diving into your hotdog without any sort of grace. By the time the two teams lined up for the Star-Spangled Banner, you were ready for a second round. 

“I’ll go get them,” you offered after everyone was sitting again. 

Sebastian only waved you off and told you to sit back down. “You’re gonna miss the beginning of the game, you can’t go. Just relax and enjoy the game, I got you.”

He waited for the first pitch — the actual first pitch, not the one thrown by a celebrity — then got up and went to hunt down a couple more beers. Although you were mostly focused on the game, there was a part of your brain that was beginning to understand something more than a friendly outing was happening here — and, to be honest, you weren’t sure how you felt about that. 

Sebastian was a good friend. He was handsome, no doubt about that. He made you laugh, listened when you talked, and paid attention to the details. The baseball game was a perfect example of that. What wasn’t to love about that? Except that love, in that sense, had never crossed your mind when it came to Sebastian. While the game progressed, you thought back over your friendship with Sebastian. There were flirtations, but you had assumed that’s simply how things were between the two of you. 

“Y/N? You gonna take this beer or you want me to drink it?”

You had been so lost in thought, you hadn’t realized Sebastian had returned. You took the drink from him and downed half of it in one go. He eyed you suspiciously, but you gave him a smile and nudged him with your shoulder. Was that unintentionally encouraging him, if his thoughts were on the dating track? You mentally told yourself not to overthink and read into every little thing. If you were wrong, then your analyzation could ruin everything. 

Would dating Sebastian ruin everything, though?

Stop. It. You took a deep breath and listened to your mind. You were enjoying a baseball game with your good friend; it didn’t have to be more than that. And, if that’s what Sebastian was going for, you would cross that bridge when you came to it. 

The rest of the game was actually enjoyable once you chilled out and decided to just enjoy your time. You and Sebastian bantered back and forth as usual, cheered together when the team had some good hits and plays, and drank down a few more beers each. 

“Whew! I think it’s safe to say I’m buzzed,” you commented as the two of you filed out of the stadium with the other game-goers. “Do you wanna grab a bite to eat or something? I’ll treat, if you’ll let me.”

Sebastian waved you off. “Today is all on me, Y/N/N. But, yes, let’s go get some food. That hot dog didn’t fill me up at all. The beers didn’t do a bad job, but I need real sustenance.”

You laughed and nodded. “Yes, real sustenance would be good. Where do you wanna go?”

“Um …” 

While he was thinking it over, the two of you fell into step with each other. The initial mingling of your hands was accidental, the effect of your proximity to each other — but then Sebastian took a chance and held your hand. The move was no friendly gesture to get you to move a little faster; it was deliberate, purposeful hand-holding. 

You stopped in your tracks, which slowed Sebastian down. Your expression must have read concern or question because he let go of your hand and shoved his hands in his pockets. He tried a couple times to get words out, but in the end he just shrugged. 

“Is this a date?” you asked quietly. “Be honest.”

He let out a breath. “I mean, I guess I was kind of hoping we could call it that. Doesn’t help if I’m not honest though, huh?”

Now you shrugged. “I could pick up some signals.”

“Yeah. Look, Y/N, I … care about you. Maybe I always have, maybe it’s new but because I know you so well, I feel, I don’t know, further into it. Or something. I don’t expect that you would return that feeling and this isn’t because of anything specific I picked up on that you were doing, okay? I just thought, maybe, we could do this one thing together, kind of like a date, see how we felt about it, and go from there.”

Your bottom lip was going to be sore later if you didn’t stop chewing on it. Sebastian needed a reply from you, but you had to take pause. You pictured a possible future of dating him: sweet text messages, romantic dates, late-night cuddling. You pictured fights and arguments and misunderstandings, but no matter the what-if’s, you could only picture the two of you working it out. When your mind conjured up an image of you and Sebastian within centimeters of each other, lips a hairsbreadth apart, stopped your thoughts and came back to the present. 

Reaching out for Sebastian’s hand again, you waited for his fingers to interlace with yours before you stepped right up to him. You were almost flush against him, and he was looking down at you, waiting for your next move. With only a sliver of hesitation in your bones, you pushed up on tiptoe and softly but surely pressed your lips to his. The kiss was meant to be brief, but once you were in it, butterflies erupted in your stomach. Kissing Sebastian was suddenly something you never wanted to stop doing, though you had barely even thought about kissing him before this moment. 

His hand came up to cradle your face, his long fingers slightly working their way into your hair. He didn’t press to deepen the kiss, only seemed to be enjoying it for as long as you would let it go on. 

Back on flat feet, you took a moment to breathe and process before meeting his eyes again. 

“Okay, but if we fight or break up or something, do you promise to still take me to Opening Day every year for the rest of our lives?”

Sebastian chuckled and squeezed your hand. “Yeah, sweetheart. I promise.”

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