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#and also he exasperatedly tells them that a date should probably include only the people dating. he’s tired of watching them make out okay.
iwoulddieforienzo · 5 months
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Personally I think percabeth is at its best when Grover is in it. I don’t necessarily mean in a polycule way I just think it’s great when he’s around
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deadbiwrites · 4 years
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a video of supergirl grabbing lena luthor's ass starts circulating and it's very embarrassing for sc but extremely funny to their friends
(I am SO sorry. Where do these hide? Why do I never see them? How long has this been here?!
Anyways, have some cute nonsense!)
The day starts like any other, honestly.
Like, sure, Kara’s never thrilled when she wakes up 20 minutes late and has to use superspeed to get through her morning routine and into the office on time, but it happens regularly enough that she’s just sort of used to it by now. Like, the sky is blue, the grass is green, she manages time poorly. Whatever.
But she does get to work on time, with just enough to spare that she can make a brief detour to Nia’s desk for the coffee her protege has already bought for her, thank her profusely (with perhaps minor promising of firstborn children), and slip into the morning meeting just as Snapper, James, and Lena start handing out assignments for the day.
“Well, well, good of you to join us, Ponytail. Let me guess, a family emergency kept you out all night again?”
‘I mean, that Abraxian wasn’t my family, technically, but someone’s family, so…’ “Something like that. Sorry.”
Lena catches her eye and quirks a brow in question, but Kara just shrugs easily and sips her coffee, pulling a silly face at her friend when Snapper’s attention moves away from her. When her eyes uncross, she can tell Lena is fighting not to laugh, eyes sparking with mirth as she bites her lip. Kara takes another sip of coffee, feeling a bit smug that she can get Lena to smile without even having to say anything to her. That’s real talent, right there.
Especially since Lena has to stand up at the front with James, who has been by turns cold, dejected, and surly toward her since their breakup (a big, real, final one) a few weeks prior. Lena had said that the whole thing was a mistake, that she should’ve never gone for it in the first place because she’d been right the first time- they’d had some chemistry, after all, but it certainly wasn’t compatible long-term. 
Which… Kara can certainly relate. Like, a lot.
Especially about the whole… James being kind of wounded about it part. That part had really sucked- when he’d done it with Kara, who he’d gone on like, a date with, it’d resulted in him deciding to become a vigilante. Rao only knows what he’ll do when it’s someone he dated on and off for over a year...
“Ponytail!”
Kara jumps, realizing too late that her wandering attention hasn’t gone unnoticed. “Yes, sir?”
Snapper rolls his eyes. “Great, now that you’ve stopped orbiting Saturn, you wanna go get that article started?”
Kara’s eyes widen slightly in a panic as she realizes that she has no idea what he’s talking about. “Uh…” Behind his back, Lena catches her eye and nods subtly. Thank Rao. “Yes. I super do.”
Lena snorts, James sighs deeply, and the meeting is adjourned.
**
“So what exactly am I supposed to be doing today?” Kara asks Lena as they stroll out of the conference room together.
“Well unfortunately for you, you have to interview a big-time CEO. You have a meeting scheduled with her in three hours.”
“You?” Kara asks hopefully.
“You’re very sweet,” Lena chuckles. “No, Elena Watts. She’s a real estate developer, and she runs a nonprofit organization for homeless youth. It’s one of the articles we’re doing for next month’s spread. Contrary to popular belief, Cat and I weren’t the only women with high-profile jobs in this city. ”
“Oh, that’s pretty cool! Have you met her?”
“Not personally, no, but I have donated to her charity- it’s a very good cause, especially the outreach they do with queer youth.”
Kara elbows Lena gently. “You’re such a softie.”
“Mmm, maybe. But if you tell anyone, you’re fired.”
Kara clutches a hand to her chest, feigning horror. “Why Miss Luthor, what a blatant abuse of power!”
Lena shrugs. “I’m a Luthor, darling, I have to keep up appearances somehow.”
“Ouch,” Kara laughs. “See you at lunch?”
“Only if lunch includes a milkshake- I have a teleconference with both boards today. Unless you feel like joining me?”
“Wow, well as fun as that sounds, I’m gonna go do literally anything else.” Her comms crackle to life, alerting her of a hostage situation downtown, and Kara sighs. So much for a work day. “Alright, well, I’m, um, gonna go… see what I can find on Elena Watts. Maybe over another cup of coffee at Noonan’s.” She widens her eyes a bit, trying her best to convey that she’s going to be on Super-duty for a little while.
Thankfully, Lena picks up on it and grins. “You just want sticky buns.”
“Lena, I always want sticky buns. They’re like, my second favorite thing to eat.”
“Oh? What’s the first?” Lena asks, voice just a bit lower than usual. 
Kara opens her mouth and closes it, flushing slightly as she averts her gaze and adjusts the laptop bag on her shoulder. Stuff like that has been happening more and more, and she’s not 100% sure what to do about it. Because on the one hand, it makes her stomach do flips and tie up in knots and makes her brain do this… staticky thing where nothing filters in or out, just a pleasant buzz of how funny and smart Lena is and how much Kara likes hanging out with her and being flirted with (because that’s definitely what’s been happening, even if neither of them is really ready to address it) and just generally looking at Lena.... who is currently biting her lip and grinning up at Kara, and that buzz makes her kinda dumb, which is just really unhelpful. But on the other hand, it’s also kinda awesome and Kara really enjoys it, and-
“Kara?”
She spaced out again. Crap.
“Um. What time are you free for lunch?”
Lena sighs, seeming slightly disappointed that Kara isn’t flirting back at the moment (and thank Rao Lena can’t read minds), but she smiles back easily enough as they step off of the elevator. “I should be done by two.”
Feeling emboldened, Kara turns so she’s walking backwards in front of Lena and grins. “It’s a date,” she says with a grin, ducking forward to press a quick “friendly” kiss high on Lena’s cheek. She whirls and jogs out the double doors, leaving Lena smiling exasperatedly after her.
**
It is genuinely baffling to Kara that people still commit crimes in National City. It’s not even an ego thing, really, since Kara tries to keep herself humble (even when she manages to wrap up a hostage situation within twenty seconds of arriving on-scene without injuring any of the criminals or damaging the building too badly). Like, yeah, she gets that there’s a certain element of crazies who just sorta gravitate to places with a local hero, the big-bads who have their own suits and geek-toys and abilities. Them, Kara gets. Kinda sorta. But the regular ones, who are armed with like, pistols? Or knives? Just regular man made stuff without even the benefit of magic or kryptonite or something?
Why? 
She’s sure that if she asked, Lena would have some sort of statistical thing about large cities and poverty and all sorts of other factors that would end up making Kara feel like a jerk for being uncharitable to the criminal element of her city, but at the moment she’s mostly too annoyed by the fact that she has to spend her weekdays chasing them around instead of chasing stories.
Once all the hostages are freed and the cops secure the scene, Kara departs, flying into the alley behind Noonan’s and changing into her regular clothes before she heads inside to do a bit of research before her meeting with Elena Watts in a few hours (just because she’d used it as a cover doesn’t mean it was a bad idea…). She finds her favorite little two-person booth tucked into a quiet corner, plugs in her laptop, and gets to work, asking the waitress to please keep both the coffee and the sticky buns coming.
She gets a surprising amount done by the time she needs to leave for the interview, having a good foundation for what she wants to write and who Elena Watts is.
Ms. Watts turns out to be a pretty nice lady around Eliza’s age, if a bit busy and distracted by the steady flow of people in and out of her office. She answers all Kara’s questions with aplomb, happy to elaborate on most every point and eager to draw attention to the rising issue of homelessness among children and teens in the US.
“When I was young, my dad lost his job at the auto plant. It was supposed to be a temporary layoff, but the factory never reopened. We ended up losing the house, and we lived so far from our extended family that staying with them wasn’t much of an option. We lived in our SUV for six months, sleeping at shelters every now and again, if we could find one that allowed families to stay together. We showered at the local YMCA. Five people and a dog, living and sleeping in an old station wagon- even now, it sounds ridiculous. Eventually, we got back on our feet, but I never forgot that. It was just six months, but it was- and remains- the scariest, most uncertain time in my entire life, and it shaped me in a lot of ways I didn’t expect. And there are kids and families who do that for years. I just want to help them the way I wish that someone had been able to help us.”
At the end of the interview, Kara thanks her profusely for her time and for sharing her story before hurrying off to CatCo to type up a draft for Snapper (“What’s wrong with you, Ponytail, why is everything you bring me sappy and sentimental?”), which she finishes an outline of just in time to send it off before running to Big Belly and L-Corp for lunch with Lena.
She greets the newest in a series of secretaries (Anna? Amy? Ava? Lena’s really missing Jess, these days, but from what she’s told Kara, Jess is kicking butt in her new role as VP of Operations and will probably take over for the COO when he retires in a few years), and the girl waves her in distractedly.
And that’s when Kara’s day goes from normal to not, because inside the office are two masked men holding a stone-faced Lena at gunpoint on her balcony and demanding… something, probably. Kara’s a bit distracted by the loaded gun aimed at Lena’s head.
“Hey!” she yells, attracting both their attention. They whirl on her and Lena’s eyes widen in alarm, and Kara suddenly realizes three things- 1) she’s in her Kara Danvers clothes, not the supersuit, 2) she can’t speed into the suit now that they’re both looking at her, and 3) she has no plan.
Crap.
“Who the hell are you?!” one of them demands.
Kara… doesn’t have a good or snappy answer for that, and instead does the only thing she can think of- she throws the large milkshakes she’s carrying at them as hard as she can.
Which, in retrospect, is too hard, apparently because while yes, it is both funny and gratifying to see two grown men get absolutely leveled by a tasty dairy treat to the face, the one closest to Lena manages to elbow her in such a way that she falls backwards over the rail with an instinctual scream that makes Kara’s heart fly into her throat. She whips off her glasses, and by the time she’s out the window and speeding toward Lena’s flailing form, the suit is materialized. She gets under Lena, catching her carefully and dropping a bit further before slowing down (because she’s been made aware that when she doesn’t, the people she’s saving may as well be hitting the pavement), finally coasting to a stop about 20 feet from the ground.
Lena’s face is screwed up in a forced sort of focus, her hands clutching tightly at Kara’s shoulders and cape as she holds her breath.
“Are you okay?” Kara asks quietly.
Lena swallows thickly and nods, eyes still firmly closed. “I’m alright. Thank you- I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite sure how to get out of that one.”
“What was that? What did they want?”
Lena cracks an eye open. “Oh. you know, just my quarterly assassination attempt. I think my mother was starting to miss me, so she wanted to reach out.”
Kara snorts. “That really shouldn’t be funny.”
“Maybe not, but here we are.” Lena shifts a bit in Kara’s arms, cheeks a bit flushed from the adrenaline rush, and clears her throat. “Not to be rude, Supergirl, but do you think that perhaps we could continue this conversation… on the ground?”
“Oh. Oh! Yeah, sorry. I forgot we were, uh, flying.”
Lena chuckles as they ascend slowly back up to her office. “You forgot you were flying?”
Kara shrugs with an easy smile. “I guess you have that effect on me.”
Lena huffs a laugh against Kara’s neck, eyes squeezed shut again. They alight on the balcony, finding the two men still unconscious, covered in Kara and Lena’s lunch. Lena sighs as Kara sets her down, pinching the bridge of her nose. “What a mess.”
“Yeah, sorry, I sorta… panicked.”  
“I was so looking forward to a milkshake too…” Lena laments playfully.
“Well, then I have good news and bad news,” Kara says. She reaches out and gently wipes a bit of her own chocolate shake from Lena’s cheek with the pad of her thumb, tucking it into her mouth on instinct to get a taste of it. “The good news is, you do, in fact, have some shake on you!”
“Whats the bad news?” 
“Also that you have some shake on you.” Kara laughs, gathering the two men in her arms and hefting them a bit so they’re easier to carry. “I’ll get you another one. Be right back.”
She drops the men at the police station with a brief explanation before flying back into the office. Lena hands over her discarded glasses with a wry grin.
“I figured you’d need these before the police arrive.” She’s putting on a brave front, but she’s clearly still more than a bit rattled, if her too-bright eyes and thundering heartbeat are anything to go by. Kara steps closer and opens her arms in invitation, and Lena doesn’t hesitate to step into them. “Thank you,” Lena says fervently, tucking her face into Kara’s shoulder and wrapping her arms tight around Kara’s waist. 
“Always,” Kara promises, daring to press a reassuring kiss to Lena’s temple (and getting a bit of Lena’s strawberry shake for her troubles) before wrapping her up even tighter in her arms. “Are you actually okay?”
“I mean, my fear of heights has been reaffirmed,” Lena jokes, “but aside from that, I’m not hurt.”
“Good. I don’t like, love people pointing guns at you. Just so you know.”
“I’m not a fan either, for the record,” Lena drawls, burrowing even closer. “Even though I know you’ll save me, it still puts a damper on my day.”
Kara huffs a laugh. “Same.”
They stay like that for a few minutes, until Lena’s calmed down enough to stop shaking and calls her assistant (Audra, apparently) in, telling her what’d happened and that the police would be arriving shortly to take her and Kara’s statements, and please advise the security team to let them up discreetly. After the cops arrive, it’s a blur of questions, and Kara has to concentrate on telling the story of how she’d panicked and thrown the milkshakes at the men, and one of them had knocked Lena over the balcony (all true), and Kara had yelled for Supergirl, who had knocked the men out on her way to Lena (also technically mostly true. Technically. Mostly.). The police are sure to tell Kara that next time, she shouldn’t throw things at people with guns, and also to tell them both how lucky they are that Supergirl had shown up when she did.
“She’s always there when I need her,” Lena agrees, throwing a sly wink over the officer’s shoulder at Kara.
Kara just shakes her head and smiles. Even almost dying isn’t enough to make Lena not flirt with her. The woman is truly a marvel.
Kara’s comms crackle again, accompanied by Alex’s custom ringtone on her cell, and after assuring the police that she has no issue with giving another statement if they need her to later, hurries over to the DEO (making a quick stop in the back alley to change into her suit).
**
When Kara arrives, she’s told that J’onn and Alex are waiting for her in the Directors’ offices. She makes her way there, waving to the agents and scientists she knows. But it’s very weird, because every time one of them sees her, they start giggling before quickly hurrying off in the opposite direction. Like, literally everyone is whispering and pointing and giggling, and it’s giving Kara such visceral flashbacks to high school that it’s all she can do to not check her cape for a taped on sign that says ‘Kick me’ or ‘Freak’.
(Kids are mean.)
By the time Kara gets to her destination, she’s fully paranoid, sure that someone’s playing a prank on her, somehow, and that everyone but her is in on the joke. She opens the door with more force than intended and catches it just before the handle puts a hole in the wall, throwing Alex and J’onn a sheepish smile. She closes the door extra gently and leans against it heavily. J’onn and Alex just stare at her, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
“Busy day, Supergirl?” Alex asks, and after half a lifetime of spending time with her, Kara recognizes that she, too, is trying not to laugh. 
Kara’s had enough. “Okay, do I have something on my face? Or on the suit? Is someone messing with me?”
J’onn’s brow furrows. “No.”
“Then what’s the deal? Why is the entire DEO like… laughing at me? Did someone accidentally vent the lab fumes out into the main hub again?”
“No.”
“Did someone see me crash into that billboard last week?”
J’onn’s frown deepens. “What?”
“No,” Alex answers.
“Then why is everyone laughing at me?!”
“I mean, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because of that,” Alex muses, nodding toward the big TV on the wall beside Kara.
She steps back to watch the news coverage of her dealing with the hostage situation this morning and frowns. “What, those guys? That was routine, what’s so funny about tha-”
“No, no, not that. That,” Alex clarifies, cranking up the volume.
“...reports are saying that the CEO of L-Corp, Lena Luthor, experienced an attempt on her life early this afternoon. Sources claim that she fell from a considerable height-”
“Hey, she was pushed,” Kara corrects.
“Shh!”
“...caught by Supergirl, who may have gotten a little… familiar with her.”
And there’s a video (clearly recorded on a cell phone but not the worst quality Kara’s ever seen) of Kara catching Lena and slowing to a stop above the sidewalk, of them talking quietly, of Kara’s hand definitely on Lena’s-
“Oh. Oh no.”
“Oh yes,” Alex drawls, clicking the TV off with relish, a large, evil-big-sister grin spreading across her face. “Congratulations, Supergirl- the world just watched you grope Lena Luthor’s ass.”
“But I’m not- I wasn’t groping, I was catching! My hands weren’t… If it was groping, I’d be all up on her, and I wasn’t!”
“Camera begs to differ. It’s already trending on Twitter in National CIty.”
Kara puts her head in her hands and groans. “Why?! I was trying to save her!”
“You were definitely trying to save part of her,” Alex agrees. “Granted, it’s a very nice part...”
Kara’s head pops up, and she shoots Alex a look that’s between a pout and a glare. “You’re not helping.”
Alex feigns confusion. “Am I supposed to be helping?”
“Alright, enough,” J’onn cuts in before Kara can retort. “We just wanted you to be aware. I don’t think that this is going to be taken for anything more than it is- a humorous moment in the middle of a successful rescue. You shouldn’t worry about the press.”
And truth be told, Kara isn't worried about the press- she’s worried about the fact that she’s going to have to face Lena after this. Lena, who she knows for a fact has google alerts set for herself, Kara Danvers, and Supergirl, a gesture which is normally actually sweet and kind but is right now definitely gonna bite her in the-
“Okay! So, is that all?”
Alex blinks, looks over at J’onn, and shrugs. “I mean, yeah. Try not to make a habit of groping your crush when you’re in the suit.”
“I wasn’t groping her-”
Alex grins. “So you admit you have a crush? Interesting…”
“Alex!”
**
J’onn’s prediction is mostly right- no one seems to be taking the shots of her grabbi- saving Lena as anything other than a funny blip of a moment in their coverage of it.
He was wrong about the sheer scale. The clip had gone totally viral in a matter of hours, and seemingly every major network in the country has run the clip at least once as a bit of filler-fluff, and almost every major network anchor (including the ones at CatCo, the traitors) has made at least a passing joke about Supergirl being ‘Super-Handsy'.
Which means that Kara is very late getting back to Lena’s office with replacement food. But like, she’s been busy, okay? It’s not like she’s avoiding Lena, or something, because she’s embarrassed- which she isn’t, because she didn’t do anything bad or wrong and-
Anyways, it’s well past sunset by the time Kara gets to Lena’s office door again. She hesitates outside it for just a moment before shouldering the door open and knocking tentatively.
Lena’s attention jerks from whatever she’d been absorbed in to Kara, and a relieved smile blooms across her face. “Hey there.”
Kara finds herself equally relieved to not experience a repeat performance of earlier scary situations. “Hi,” Kara says, unable to resist smiling back. She raises the bags and cup carrier. “I bring grease and milkshakes. Again.”
“Oh thank god, I’m starving,” Lena says, rolling her chair away from her desk and rising into a deep and probably much-needed stretch. Kara very determinedly does not stare at the slight sliver of soft tummy that appears between her blouse and skirt at the motion. “I’ve been staring at this screen for several hours. And Sam called to yell at me- she says hello, by the way- she and Ruby are in town next weekend.”
“Good!” Kara crosses the room to the couch as Lena does, easily spreading out the veritable buffet of fast food she’d brought over the coffee table. “I mean, not good that she yelled at you, or that you’re still at work, Miss Luthor,” she says pointedly, receiving only an unapologetic shrug in response. “But good that, um-”
“I get it,” Lena chuckles, resting a hand lightly on Kara’s knee and boy, if that doesn’t make Kara’s brain go fuzzy and dumb again… “Thank you, for checking in.”
“Of course I was gonna check on you, Lena,” Kara huffs. “Plus, I know you probably didn’t get lunch, so…”
Lena hums around a mouthful of burger, chewing until she can politely speak again. “Well it’s delicious. Did you make it yourself?” she teases with a sly grin.
“Oh, yeah, totally. Slaved away over a hot stove for this- I just wrapped it in Big Belly wrappers so you wouldn’t feel bad about it.”
“Very clever.” Lena pops the lid off of her milkshake and drags a fry through it (an advanced culinary delicacy Kara had horrified her with initially but had eventually become a bit of a guilty pleasure). “Although I have to say, traditionally you’d have to buy me dinner before you grabbed my ass.”
Kara chokes on a pickle. “Oh no,” she groans, dropping the burger onto the wrapper on the table and dropping her very red face into her hands as Lena laughs beside her. She peers out from between her fingers. “I am so sorry, I was just worried about you hitting the pavement and like, catching you in the least jarring way and I wasn’t paying attention to where my hands were and I didn’t even notice until I got back to the DEO and-”
“Well I have so say, I feel a bit offended that you didn’t even realize you were copping a feel...” When the only response is another groan and a deep flush spreading from Kara’s neck to the tips of her ears, Lena relents. “Kara, Kara, it’s fine!” she laughs, pulling Kara’s hands away from her face and giving them a grounding squeeze. “Nia’s been sending me memes about it all day, which has improved my mood significantly. On the grand scale of fallout from assassination attempts, this one was at least funny.”
“I know that’s supposed to be comforting, but all it makes me wanna do is wrap you in bubble wrap forever,” Kara informs her.
“Pass on that. But seriously, don’t worry about it- I know it wasn’t on purpose- unfortunately for me, you’re too noble to do something like that,” Lena laments playfully.
And whether it’s the knowledge that Lena is not, in fact, upset, the overall weirdness that has been this day, or this delicious burger fueling it, Kara feels a bit emboldened. “Hey Lena…”
“Yes?”
“What if I wanted to grab your butt? Just, y’know, as a hypothetical. For future reference.”
Lena quirks a brow at her, fighting a smile as she contemplates this. “Hmm. Strictly hypothetically?”
Kara scoots a bit closer on the couch. “Sure.”
 “Well, you’ve already bought me dinner…”
“And lunch, technically. Even if I gave it to the bad guys.”
“True. Plus you saved my life, so that gets you some points, probably.”
Kara pauses in her sly scooching. “Oh, hey, wait, no, that’s not-” 
“Kidding, Kara. I know you’d never use that to your advantage. I, however, have determined that strong moral fibre and nobility do, in fact, earn you more points, which is my choice on the matter and you get absolutely no say in it.”
“Oh. Um, alright, I think.”
Lena stares off into the middle distance, tapping her forefinger thoughtfully against her chin. Finally she shrugs. “Yes, I think you’re fulfilled the prerequisites for a bit of grab-ass today.”
Kara snorts, Lena laughs, and soon enough Kara takes her up on the offer.
**
“Hey Kara, remember that time you grabbed Lena’s ass and it made international news?” Nia asks around a mouthful of mushu pork.
“You mean last week? Yes, I remember,” Kara drawls. Beside her/halfway sitting on her lap, Lena snorts.
“That was the best.”
Alex glares. “Um, excuse you, no. No it was not. I had to sift through so much thirsting over my sister on like, every social media platform. It was the worst day of my life.”
Brainy’s brow furrows. “Surely that cannot be correct, Alex. Statistically speaking-”
Alex holds up a hand, cutting him off. “Trauma can’t be measured, Brainy.”
Kelly chuckles and presses a consoling kiss to Alex’s cheek, and it makes the tough agent melt into a doe-eyed puddle of mush that Kara snorts. And she says they’re gross... Kara sneaks a glance at Lena from the corner of her eye, and she catches Lena looking at her. She leans close and jostles her gently as she drops her head onto Lena’ shoulder. “We’re never gonna live that down, are we?”
“Probably not.”
“We have the worst friends.” When this elicits nothing but a chuckle, Kara tips her head back to see Lena still looking at her, a soft smile playing at her mouth and shining in her eyes. And like, this whole thing they’re doing is new, with the kissing and the actual dates and the... everything else. But the thing where Kara catches Lena looking at her and she doesn’t look away? That freakin’ knocks her out, every single time. “Hey,” she manages.
Lena grins down at her. “Hi.”
So yeah. Maybe the initial circumstances weren’t ideal, and she doesn’t love the mockery that’s been heaped upon her by all of her friends and loved ones (including Winn, who’d sent a missive from the future that literally just said ‘LOL’). But the fact is, Kara muses as she surges up just enough to kiss the corner of Lena’s mouth, that she doesn’t regret a thing.
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sunshine-stars · 3 years
Text
Deja vu
Flynn remembers some of her happy memories with Carrie. Then they see her Instagram posts with Kayla doing the same things.
Inspired by Deja vu by Olivia Rodrigo
Word count: 2707
Car rides to Malibu
“We’re going to Malibu? That’s awesome!” Julie exclaimes.
Carrie laughs a little. “Yeah, my Dad has to meet with some business people there and didn’t want to leave me alone so he invited you guys too.”
Flynn’s over the moon. They’ve been to Malibu a few times, most of them with Carrie and Julie, and it’s always so much fun. It’s about an hour one way and it means that they have a little road trip, which is always more than a little chaotic.
���You know I’m in,” Flynn answers, smiling. Julie agrees and they make plans to go the next day, after asking both of their parents.
“You’re stealing all of the sour keys! How dare you?” Flynn yells at Carrie. She knows that they’re her favourites and she’s eating them all, the traitor.
Carrie huffs. “Only because you’ve already eaten half of them and I want some too!” Her lips are slightly stained green and Flynn can’t help but look at them. They’re probably so soft.
“You’re just lucky that the green one’s aren’t as good as the orange one’s, or else I’d have to kill you,” Flynn replies after a beat too long.
Julie takes a sour key and between bites says, “You’re both wrong, the purple one’s are the best.”
“Of course you think so little miss purple,” Carrie teases.
Julie gasps. “Hey! Flynn’s the shortest, not me!”
“How did we get back to this?!” Flynn groans. “Weren’t we just talking about how Carrie’s a thief?”
“I am not! You’re the hoarder, you made me take them. Besides you being the shortest is so cute and fun.” Carrie raises an eyebrow with an evil little smile.
She’s obviously trying to get on Flynn’s nerves, and she’s succeeding, but why does Flynn’s heart speed up when she calls them cute? Why does her mind go blank for a second as they feel very happy?
She shakes her head a little to steady themself. “You do realize that you’re stuck in a metal box with me, right? Where I could kill you and no one would know. So I suggest you shut your mouth before I make you.”
Carrie coughs a little as her face goes slightly pink. Julie’s just looking knowingly at both of them. What just happened?
Carrie’s Dad turns around in his seat to look exasperatedly at them, though there’s a little smile on his face. “Settle down kiddos. Flynn please don’t kill my daughter, I love her. Carrie please don’t try to aggravate Flynn. Also why can’t you all just share the sour keys? You all like different flavours.”
“Because once Flynn finishes all of the orange one’s she eats all of mine and Carrie’s,” Julie responds like something weird didn’t just happen.
“It’s not my fault that there’s always less orange one’s! It’s not fair! Why aren’t you also telling off Julie she participated in this?” Flynn frustratedly and loudly says.
Carrie’s Dad sighs. “Julie wasn’t yelling and trying to annoy you two. Why do you and Care bear always get into silly arguments?”
Julie mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like, “It’s because these two idiots are in love with each other and won’t admit it.”
Flynn glares at her, but she just flashes her perfect little angel smile. Julie’s so sweet that no one expects her to be a little devil, it’s stupid.
Flynn suddenly realizes that Carrie has been very quiet. They turn to look at her and she gasps. There’s only one sour key left… and it’s an orange one.
“Bubblegum, Pinky Pie, Sappho, lollipop, sweetheart, love of my life can I please please have the last sour key?” Flynn quickly rambles.
They just have to get the last one and she’s not above begging for it. So what if her begging includes calling people sweet pet names to bribe them, and so what if they do it more with Carrie? It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a coincidence, right?
Carrie looks down and avoids their eyes, her cheeks turning even redder than before. Is she okay? Why has she been acting strange? Flynn has no idea, but they hope for the best.
“Well since you asked so nicely, soda pop.” Carrie hands her the sour key. If Flynn didn’t know any better they’d say she was flustered, but that can’t be right.
Flynn flashes Carrie a wide smile as they start to eat the delicious treat.
Strawberry ice cream, one spoon for two
“You said you didn’t want any ice cream.” Carrie crosses her arms and glares at Flynn.
“That was before I saw how good it looks, and I love strawberry. It’s like the best flavour and it reminds me of you.”
Julie sighs and looks at them disapprovingly, but also slightly amused. “Flynn honey, you said you didn’t want any because your stomach hurt from all those sour keys. Ice cream will only make it a lot worse.”
“I’m feeling better now,” Flynn argues. “Besides now that I want it it’s all that I’ll be thinking about. Do you really want me to be constantly thinking about and bugging you for ice cream? I have seven sodas all the time. It's fine.”
Flynn may have a massive sweet tooth, but how can she not when it tastes so good.
“That’s not healthy and I still don’t like it,” Julie scolds.
Flynn just shrugs in response. “Okay, mom.”
Julie throws her hands up in the air and Flynn turns back to Carrie with pleading eyes.
Carrie just sighs and passes it over. “You’re lucky I like you, babe.”
“I know, sweetie.” Flynn thanks the universe for it everyday. They have no idea where they’d be without Carrie, and frankly, they don’t want to know.
Flynn ignores the fluttering in her chest as they take a bite of the strawberry ice cream and almost moans. The cold sweet fruity taste is so refreshing on this warm day.
It’s a shame she has to share it with Carrie, they want it all to themselves. The thing is that Flynn would do anything for Carrie. Sharing ice cream with her is the least they can do for this truly amazing girl who somehow loves her.
And trading jackets
Carrie wraps her arms around herself. “This ice cream is making me cold.”
Well that’s not allowed. Carrie is this warm ray of sunshine in Flynn’s life and she’s just not allowed to be cold. Not when Flynn’s wearing a perfectly good jacket.
“Here take mine.” Flynn passes it to her with a smile.
It’s their jean jacket that has a bunch of patches and embroidery that Flynn either bought or made. There are lesbian and nonbinary flags that they all put on together after she came out, along with a hundred other things that all have a special meaning. It’s precious to her. If it were anyone else they’d be hesitant about letting someone wear it, but it’s Carrie, it’s a no brainer.
Carrie looks up at them, rubbing the fabric between her fingers. “Are you sure?” She has a hesitant and caring look on her face. She knows just how much Flynn loves the jacket.
“Of course, Sappho.”
Carrie smiles softly as she puts the jacket on. Flynn has to catch her breath. She’s wearing their jacket and she almost explodes.
For a second Flynn wishes that they were dating. That she was giving their girlfriend her favourite jacket. That she could wrap her arms around Carrie, kiss her perfect lips, and ramble about how gorgeous she looks and how her wearing their jacket makes her feel so happy. It’d be something out of one of those cheesy rom coms that they watch to make fun of, but secretly like.
Flynn’s daydream is interrupted by Julie’s laugh.
Laughin’ ‘bout how small it looks on you
“It’s so small on you,” Julie says between giggles.
Flynn looks at it again and sure enough it’s too small for Carrie. They’ve had it a couple years so it’s a little small on Flynn, but it’s too sentimental to throw out and it still fits. On Carrie the sleeves come up a bit too much above her wrists and she can’t really button it up.
It should be something for Flynn to laugh at like Julie, but it almost adds to the charm of Carrie wearing their jacket. The imperfections make it real. Besides, perfection never lasts. Robert Frost said “Nothing gold can stay,” but this isn’t gold. It’s as precious as it, but maybe, just maybe, this can last. This moment, their friendship, hopefully it can stay.
Watching reruns of Glee
“Seriously? Why is Rachel always in the spotlight? The rest of them have good voices too,” Flynn complains. Their legs are thrown over Carrie’s lap as they watch a random episode of Glee
Carrie scoffs. “I have no idea. I’m passionate about being a singer, but I’m not that self absorbed. You don’t always need to be the lead.” She leans back on the couch more. “Besides, I can sing better than her.”
Bein’ annoying
“Not self absorbed, huh?” Flynn teases.
They know that Carrie has an absolutely angelic voice that they’re constantly in awe of. She can definitely sing better than Rachel and she’d fight anyone who disagrees. It’s just that teasing Carrie is so much fun. Basically half of their relationship is bickering with each other. Julie says they act like a married couple, but she always sees stuff that isn’t there.
“Shut up.” Carrie moves Flynn’s leg off of her.
Flynn gasps and looks at Carrie with a horrified expression. “How dare you?! Do you not love me anymore?! Betrayal of the highest order! Dishonour! Dishonour on your whole family! Dishonour on you! Dishonour on your cow! I can’t even look at you right now. My heart… it hurts.” They dramatically turn away from her and sigh, acting hurt.
Flynn doesn’t even have to look at Carrie to know that she’s looking at them with an exasperated expression on her pretty face. After a minute she feels a body lay on top of them.
“Can you please stop being such a drama queen? Of course I love you, you idiot,” Carrie says quietly into their ear.
At that moment Flynn realizes just how close Carrie is to her. She’s pressed up against them and her face is literally a breath away from theirs. She has to fight not to get flustered at the fact that this gorgeous girl is oh so close to them and how they are so aware of her every little movement.
Flynn swallows. “Says you, and what happened to babe?” It’s the best thing she can come up with at the moment.
“You’re still the love of my life, soda pop, but when you’re being a bit of an idiot I’m gonna call you an idiot. It’s how it works hun.”
Carrie can’t just say that. Especially not when she’s this close to Flynn who feels like they’re going to combust. It’s just not fair how she doesn’t have a single coherent thought in their mind. Her brain cells have decided to go on vacation to leave her speechless, which they very rarely are.
Flynn doesn’t even bother to wittily respond, partially because she can’t, so they just half watch the episode of Glee that’s still playing and enjoys the moment.
Singin’ in harmony
“For the last time bubblegum, I can rap, but I can’t sing.”
“Come on, at least try. You can’t possibly be as bad as you think,” Carrie pleads as the sun sets around them, painting the world a soft pink.
Carrie looks breathtaking in this glow against the pink sky. Pink has always been her colour. The shade doesn’t even matter, anytime she wears pink Flynn just has to do a double take. Not that she doesn’t look incredible in everything else, pink just kind of enhances it even more.
“You’ve heard me sing, pinky. Don’t act like you haven’t. You know it’s terrible.” Flynn walks slightly faster. If they keep looking at Carrie against the beautiful sky she’d do anything she asks.
Carrie puts a hand on their shoulder, making them stop for a moment. “Yeah, but I can’t remember the last time I heard you sing that wasn’t just singing terribly on purpose to random songs on the radio. Please, I promise I won’t make fun of you.” She just looks so genuine as she says those soft words. It’s enough to make Flynn fall head over heels for her once more, but really, she does that every second they’re with her.
“Maybe later. We’ll try to sing in harmony together.” Flynn takes Carrie’s hand. “Let’s go watch the sunset by the ocean.
Carrie smiles widely and Flynn automatically does the same
I bet she’s bragging to all her friends , sayin’ how you’re so unique
Unfortunately, Flynn never got the chance to sing in harmony with Carrie.
Flynn told herself she wouldn’t look at Carrie’s Instagram, but they just couldn’t help it. She misses her so much and it’s better than nothing, right? Plus Carrie hasn’t blocked them, and Flynn hasn’t either.
There’s a picture of Carrie and Kayla in Carrie’s Dad’s car. They’re both smiling and looking at the camera and eating some kind of snack, but Flynn can’t quite tell what. The caption says that they’re on a road trip to Malibu.
The next post shows Carrie and Kayla sharing strawberry ice cream at an ice cream shop in Malibu, there’s only one spoon. Carrie is wearing Kayla’s beautiful trademark purple jacket.
A picture of them watching an episode of Glee, both sprawled out on the couch together. They’re smiling widely and just look so happy.
Then a post of the two of them posing at sunset, the sky a soft pink that makes Carrie look angelic.
So when you gonna tell her that we did that too?
Carrie did all that with Flynn. They carry the memories so close to her heart. They mean so much to them. They’re a reminder of how it was before, when it was good, when they were all happy.
Now she’s doing all that with someone else. Flynn’s not jealous, but they don’t understand how Carrie’s able to do all of this. Flynn can barely think of road trips, strawberry ice cream, her favourite jean jacket, watching glee, and pink sunsets without being overwhelmed with her feelings and memories of Carrie.
She thinks it’s special, but it’s all reused
Flynn can’t help but wonder if Carrie does all of these things with her friends. She’s obviously allowed to, but Flynn kind of thought she was special. They thought that maybe there was something else there. That maybe their feelings weren’t completely one sided, but that doesn’t matter anymore.
That was our place, I found it first
They both found that ice cream place in Malibu with Julie. It became a tradition to go there every time they went on a road trip there with Carrie’s Dad. It was important to them.
That post hurts slightly more than the rest. Flynn saw that place the first time they went to Malibu and dragged them all in. They wish she could go there again with Carrie, but that’ll never happen. Not after… everything.
I made the jokes you tell to her when she’s with you
Do you get deja vu when she’s with you?
Carrie has to get deja vu when she’s with Kayla, right? She can’t have just forgotten everything they’ve done together. Their entire friendship.
They were as close as could be for years, and now they’re nothing. The girl she knew and loved isn’t quite there anymore. Now she’s been replaced by mean comments and rude looks. Flynn hopes that they can get back to where they were, but it’s not likely.
Do you get deja vu?
Flynn gets deja vu when looking at her posts. She gets a sudden wave of nostalgia and wants to look through her closet to see her favourite jacket and all of their clothes that are connected to memories of Carrie.
Their friendship was as precious as gold, but just like in the poem, it didn’t stay.
Taglist: (send an ask to be added) @lyxchen @sunnysbright
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somuchnonsense · 4 years
Text
October Drabbles
Previous drabbles
26. Garden          (post-canon Wangxian featuring bunnies)
Wei Wuxian doesn’t have a farm yet, but he does have a garden on the back hill in Cloud Recesses. “Why here?” Lan Wangji asked him when he started planting. “The rabbits will eat everything.”
“I don’t mind if my hard work goes to feeding the rabbits,” Wei Wuxian responded, grinning. “Besides, I’m not here consistently enough to tend to it and harvest things when they’re ready. At least this way, someone will enjoy the fruits—or vegetables, I suppose—of my labor. And maybe then they’ll love me like they love you.”
Lan Wangji smiled, petting one of the rabbits as they both curiously watched Wei Wuxian work. “I’m sure they will.”
It’s debatable, a few months later, whether the rabbits love Wei Wuxian any more than before, but they do love Wei Wuxian’s garden, and Lan Wangji loves watching him kneeling in the dirt, celebrating the first shoots of a new plant or complaining when the rabbits ate one before it even had a chance to grow. He looks so happy, so comfortable, so relaxed, not the fearsome Yiling Laozu or the brilliant cultivator Wei Wuxian with his ever-active mind, but just an ordinary young man, content with his simple life, with no fears and no painful memories weighing on him.
“What’s that look for?” Wei Wuxian asks, eyeing Lan Wangji with a freshly pulled carrot in his hand. There’s dirt on his cheek and a sparkle in his eyes.
Lan Wangji says nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself, but Wei Wuxian smiles like perhaps he knows anyway, and cheerfully turns back to his garden.
27. Serendipity          (Wei Wuxian canon gen/character study)
It would be easy to think that Wei Wuxian has bad luck. He lost his parents young, and then the people who took him in when he was alone. He lost his adopted sister, and the people who lived with him like family for a year. He lost his golden core and the trust and respect of his peers, and the love of his adopted brother. He lost his home, and the one he found to replace it. And after all of that, he lost his life too soon.
But if you ask Wei Wuxian, he’ll tell you he’s lucky. He lost his parents, but then he was taken in by a new family. Sure, they weren’t perfect, but they saved him from a lonely life on the streets and they loved him, mostly. He lost them too, though not all at once, but then he had the Wens to care about him. That didn’t last, but he got Wen Ning and Sizhui back, at least, and he has the other junior disciples who are ready to fight for him, and Lan Wangji, of course. As much as he’s lost, he’s also been loved by many people, and isn’t that lucky?
As for the rest, well, the loss of his golden core was a fair trade for Jiang Cheng’s life, and it led him to abilities that helped avenge the Jiang Sect and defeat Wen Ruohan and later Jin Guangyao. He’s not the strong cultivator he was as a teenager, but he’s found new ways to be strong and fight the battles he needs to fight. He’s also blazed a new path and invented new things and made a name for himself, in his own way. Isn’t that lucky?
And yes, he died once, painfully, but that’s over and done with and he got a second chance at life. In his second life, he’s fallen in love, made new friends, done some good in the world, and at least done a little to make up for his past mistakes. So few people get a chance like that, including many who are much more deserving than him, so in the final sum, isn’t he lucky?
28. Drunk Confessions          (junior quartet gen)
It started with a few bottles of wine and Zizhen declaring that true friends share their secrets with each other, but nobody could have imagined that it would end like this.
"You're what?" Jin Ling asks, his voice low and strained.
"You're what?!" Jingyi echoes in a loud squawk.
"I'm a Wen," Sizhui repeats, his nervous expression belying his calm voice.
"You never told me!" Jingyi's voice is still far too loud, his expression almost comically betrayed. "How could I not know that?"
"You knew Hanguang-Jun took me in," Sizhui points out.
"Yes, but I thought your parents were Lan cultivators who died back then, or at least non-cultivators from Gusu. Not...Wens." Jingyi grimaces, but wipes the expression of his face when he sees Sizhui's face fall.
“Sizhui is still the same person, right?" Zizhen puts in. "And we know Wen Ning's a nice guy. It's not like all Wens are bad."
"Right," Jingyi firmly agrees. "But I can't believe you didn’t tell me sooner!”
"I didn't know until recently. After meeting Wei-qianbei and Wen Ning, some memories came back." Sizhui finishes the drink in front of him, getting some liquid courage before he looks at the conspicuously silent Jin Ling. "I'm sorry," he says quietly. "I hope this doesn't change anything between us."
Jin Ling clenches his fist on the table, brow furrowed, and for a long, tense moment, the whole group is silent. Finally, he sighs exasperatedly and says, "Well, it's far from the worst secret I've heard about someone I knew. Do you two at least not have any dark secrets?" He waves his cup and Jingyi and Zizhen.
"None, I promise," Zizhen declares.
"If I do, I don't know them myself," Jingyi says.
"I've met his parents," Sizhui interjects. "They're nice, normal Lan cultivators for several generations back."
"Good," Jin Ling says. To Sizhui, he adds, "For this, you can at least buy us another bottle or two of wine."
Sizhui smiles brightly, getting to his feet. "Right away."
29. Cars          (modern AU Wangxian featuring the Jiang sibs)
Jiang Cheng says Wei Ying drives like a maniac. Wei Ying says Jiang Cheng is a wimp and also boring and besides, he doesn’t go any faster than he can safely drive, but he does always slow down when he sees Jiang Cheng’s knuckles turning white.
“You’d better drive more carefully on your date with Lan Zhan,” Jiang Cheng tells him. “He probably drives perfectly the speed limit and obeys every traffic law to the letter. He won’t be able to deal with you.”
“I’ll be fine,” Wei Ying insists. “And it’s not a date!”
“Just don’t rush,” Yanli says. “You’ll have more time with Lan Zhan that way. And I’m pretty sure it is a date.”
“Not you too,” Wei Ying whines.
Later, though, when he picks Lan Zhan up and sees him looking very dashing even though he’s in what passes for casual clothes with him, Wei Ying has to admit that okay, yes, he wants it to be a date, and sure, okay, he wants to impress Lan Zhan, or at least not scare him away by driving too wildly. He forces himself to go only a little above the speed limit as he drives to the cafe where they’re going to study together, and Lan Zhan doesn’t complain or grab the panic handle like Jiang Cheng does.
On the way home, though, after endless hours of Lan Zhan sitting across from him looking casually hot but looking at his textbook or talking about economics instead of kissing Wei Ying, he forgets himself and drives as usual. Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything, so Wei Ying doesn’t realize what he’s doing until he stops in front of Lan Zhan’s building and sees him looking suspiciously paler than usual, his hand still gripping the door handle. “Oh, uh, Lan Zhan…you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Lan Zhan says tightly.
“Say, um…” Wei Ying feels bad and all, but he’s spent hours not kissing Lan Zhan and wishing this was a date and he just has to know if maybe it was, or at least could be. He unbuckles his seatbelt, turns in his seat and presses his lips to Lan Zhan’s. He’s not expecting to promptly get pulled into Lan Zhan’s lap, but he’s definitely not complaining, especially when it’s followed up with a whole lot more kissing.
They only stop when someone honks and Wei Ying realizes he didn’t pick the best parking spot for making out. “So,” he says, grinning shamelessly as he moves back into the driver’s seat, “let’s go out on another date some time soon?”
“All right,” Lan Zhan agrees without hesitation. He’s not smiling, but he is eyeing Wei Ying in a way that he really likes. “But next time, I’ll drive.”
30. Dessert          (modern AU Wangxian, just a tiny bit NSFW)
The first time Wei Ying sees Lan Zhan in a cafe daintily eating whipped cream off the top of a parfait, he can’t believe his eyes. There’s something so unexpected about strong, serious, stoic, ever-responsible Lan Zhan enjoying any kind of dessert, let alone the same kind Wei Ying’s sister and her friends love—unexpected and adorable.
“Wow, Lan Zhan! I had you pegged for the health food 24/7 type,” Wei Ying says, sneaking up on him from behind. He’s obviously trying to surprise Lan Zhan, but he doesn’t expect it to actually work, so he’s thrilled when it makes Lan Zhan jump and then turn a glare on him. “Hey, no judgment. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying something sweet.” The temptation to stick his finger in the whipped cream and dab some onto Lan Zhan’s nose is so strong, but Wei Ying doesn’t want to die today, so he restrains himself.
It takes nearly a year after that encounter for them to start dating, though Wei Ying does manage to put whipped cream on Lan Zhan’s face twice before that. (Maybe he should have guessed that Lan Zhan liked him, despite never mentioning it, by how he didn’t murder Wei Ying for doing that.) It takes another five months after they get together for Wei Ying to convince Lan Zhan that whipped cream will also be delicious when licked off his body, but oh, is it worth it.
31. Trick or Treat          (modern cultivation AU, A-Yuan and Wangxian)
    “I want to go as Uncle Wen!” A-Yuan declares.     Wei Wuxian blinks at him, turns and blinks at Lan Wangji, and then starts to laugh. “I mean, I think a ghost or a vampire or a cat or something is more typical, but sure, you can go as a fierce corpse.”     “Not a fierce corpse!” A-Yuan protests. “Uncle Wen!”     Lan Wangji gives Wei Wuxian his patented You are not treating this child as he should be treated look. “Yes, of course,” Wei Wuxian amends. “We’ll find you the best Wen Ning costume anyone has ever had.”    “Can Uncle Wen come with me?” A-Yuan asks.    Wen Ning won’t do well with crowds or a sugar high A-Yuan, but on the other hand, he’ll blend in on Halloween in a way he usually can’t. “We’ll all come with you,” Lan Wangji tells him.    “Yay!” A-Yuan jumps up and down in excitement. “What will you be? Ooh, I know! You should be a bunny.” He gestures at Lan Wangji, and then to Wei Wuxian, “And you should be a carrot.”    “A carrot?” Wei Wuxian grimaces. “Come on, between the two of us, don’t I look more like a bunny?”    “At least he didn’t say a donkey.” Lan Wangji keeps his voice low, and before A-Yuan can demand that he repeat it, says, “Those are excellent choices.”    “You’re so mean to me,” Wei Wuxian whines, but that doesn’t stop him from going out on Halloween evening in a big carrot costume, hand in hand with rabbit Lan Wangji, with mini Wen Ning skipping on ahead of them and actual Wen Ning looking fondly on.
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estamos-destinadas · 4 years
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Snapshots: Impressions
The luxury SUV parked in front of the cafe across the street from the Ferrer Fashion Institute somehow manages to be discreet, courtesy of its black colour. Despite that, Juliana sees it as soon as she gets out of the school building with her new acquaintance.
“Solène,” she interrupts the girl amid a monologue that Juliana wasn’t listening to. “I have to go,” she says in English. It feels awkward, speaking only in English when she’s gotten used to speaking mostly Spanish for the past several months, but it seems to be the only language the other girl knows.
“Oh,” the other girl stops short. “Are you– oh, is that Valentina?” she asks, catching sight of the SUV.
The question is answered as Valentina rolls down the SUV’s window, waving at Juliana. Both Juliana and Solène wave back.
On Monday, the very first day of school, Solène approached Juliana after orientation and claimed that she and Valentina knew each other, adding that Valentina’s girlfriend would automatically be a friend of hers. When Juliana told Valentina about the encounter, Valentina explained that she and the other girl were passingly acquainted. Apparently, their fathers had a long-standing business partnership, but Valentina and Solène only ever spoke once.
Solène clearly doesn’t care that Juliana is dating a girl, and Valentina Carvajal at that. Out of all their classmates, she was also the only one who approached Juliana. Everyone else just stared at her with skeptical eyes. So Juliana continued to hang out with the other girl at school for the next couple of days, including now, though she is beginning to regret it.
Juliana says a quick goodbye to her classmate, who gives her an air kiss. She also reminds Juliana about her invitation to go out that evening with a few other people, even though Juliana already declined it.
Turning away from the other girl with a barely-suppressed grimace, Juliana crosses the street to where Valentina is waiting for her. Valentina opens the SUV’s door for her and Juliana climbs in, closing it behind her with relief.
Her first three days of fashion school haven't been too interesting in terms of classes. The professors are seemingly content to allow first year students to get used to the routines of the school before giving them more difficult lessons and assignments. Socialising and making acquaintances and friends are proving to be much trickier. Juliana can’t help but wonder if she’s going to fare any better than she did in high school, when only a handful of kids talked to her, all of whom lived in the same trailer park she did.
.
Valentina greets Juliana with an, “Hola, chiquita,” and a kiss as soon as her girlfriend climbs inside the car. When they pull back from the kiss, Juliana returns her greeting with a “Hi,” and a smile, but it’s immediately obvious to Valentina that something is bothering her girlfriend.
“Qué pasó?” Valentina asks in a low voice, grabbing Juliana’s hand. In front of them, Alírio keeps his eyes forward as he puts the car out of park and starts driving.
“Qué? No es nada, Val,” Juliana denies, still smiling.
Valentina isn’t fooled. “Juls.”
“It’s really nothing,” Juliana tries to insist.
Valentina just gazes at Juliana as she squeezes her hand, quietly waiting.
Juliana lets out a breath. “It’s just that Solène asked me again today to go get drinks with her and–”
“She what!?” Valentina exclaims, twisting in her seat so she can better face Juliana. “She asked you out? And again!?” Valentina says exasperatedly. How can Juliana think that it’s nothing?
“What? Oh, no,” Juliana says, pulling Valentina’s hand to her lap. “She asked me to go to some bar with her and her friends. To go drinking,” she adds with a grimace.
Valentina makes an effort to rein in her jealousy, knowing it bothers Juliana. Still, she can’t help but say, as calmly as she could, “It sounds to me like she was asking you out, Juls.”
“Val, no,” Juliana says, an edge creeping into her voice. “She doesn’t like me like that. She’s straight. And she has a boyfriend, remember?”
“That’s never stopped anyone before,” Valentina mutters, looking away from Juliana as she absently crosses her free arm over her chest. It drops down to her lap without the support of her other arm.
“What? Who are you talking about?”
Valentina looks back at Juliana in disbelief.
“Qué?” Juliana asks.
Valentina continues gazing at her with a deadpan expression. Juliana gazes back, confusion evident on her face. Valentina sees the exact moment the confusion is replaced with dawning comprehension.
“Oh,” is the only thing Juliana says before she puts her free hand up to cover her face.
Juliana’s blush and embarrassed smile drives away any irrational jealousy Valentina is feeling. Valentina starts giggling, and Juliana is quick to join her.
When their laughter dies down, Valentina pulls Juliana’s hand to her lap and asks, “What were you going to say?”
Juliana draws her hand out of Valentina’s grasp and crosses her arms. “I don’t know if I want to say it now,” she says, pouting slightly. “Are you going to get all jealous again?”
“I wasn’t– I was just–” Valentina scrambles to explain, but cuts herself off when she hears Alírio coughing from the driver's seat.
Looking in his direction, Valentina catches his amused gaze through the rearview mirror. She can see his mustache twitching, as though he’s trying not to laugh. Valentina narrows her eyes at his back, not appreciating his amusement at her misstep. Deciding to ignore the unsupportive driver, she turns back to her girlfriend.
Juliana is clearly trying to hold on to her pout, but her lips are rebelliously turning up at the corners.
Valentina starts to grin, realising that Juliana isn’t really angry. “Chiquita, I’m sorry,” she cajoles gently, putting a hand on Juliana’s arm and caressing it.
Juliana turns slightly away from her, looking outside the window and pretending to ignore Valentina. It’s very obvious that she’s only trying to hide her smile. Valentina leans forward, making sure Juliana can see her face, and puts on the slightest of pouts while smiling with her eyes. It’s a look that she knows Juliana can’t say ‘no’ to.
It takes two seconds for Juliana to break. “Oh my god,” she says, laughing slightly as she uncrosses her arms. She takes Valentina’s hand, her eyes twinkling with mirth as she meets Valentina’s gaze. “You are incorrigible, you know that?”
“You love it,” Valentina says confidently.
Juliana rolls her eyes playfully, but she doesn’t make any denials. They gaze at each other wordlessly for a few minutes, simply basking in each other’s smiles.
“So,” Valentina eventually breaks their silent staring, “what happened?”
Juliana’s expression turns skeptical.
“I won’t get all jealous again,” Valentina says. She knows she was only being irrational before. “I promise.”
.
Juliana softens, knowing Valentina means what she said. ‘Jealous’ isn’t exactly the right word for it, but Juliana has come to learn that Valentina tends to think that almost any guy — and some girls — they meet that’s around their age would fancy Juliana, which is crazy because Juliana thinks it should be the other way around. It can get slightly annoying on occasion, but Juliana appreciates that Valentina gets over it quickly.
“Well,” Juliana starts, “like I said, Solène asked me to join her and a few other people at some bar later this evening. She asked me the same thing on Monday, and then again yesterday, and she keeps getting insistent about it! Like today, I already said I wasn’t going, but she keeps telling me that they would still be expecting me there. I– I don’t understand it. It’s a Wednesday during the first week of classes, why are they going out drinking?”
“First week of classes means no lectures, or just light and introductory ones,” Valentina says. “They’re probably thinking that it’s okay because they don’t need to concentrate on classes yet. I did the same thing when I was still going around with Nayeli and the others,” she adds quietly.
Juliana almost wants to hit her own head for forgetting about Valentina’s old circle of friends. She had no intention of making her girlfriend feel guilty. “Val, I’m sorry, I–”
“No, don’t be,” Valentina says quickly. “It wasn’t very smart of me. We didn’t even care when in the school year it was, we went drinking and partying in the middle of finals week. Not one of my proudest moments,” she adds with a self-deprecating grimace. She rubs the back of Juliana's hand with her thumb for a few quiet seconds before saying, “You know that just because you two are hanging out at school, that you’re not obligated to go to some bar with Solène and her friends, right?”
The concern in Valentina’s eyes melts away all of Juliana’s anxieties about trying to fit in. “I know, Val,” she says softly. “To be honest, I don’t think I want to hang out with her at all.”
Just that afternoon, the other girl talked Juliana’s ear off with some unreasonable complaints about something a sales assistant did. It reminded her of how rich people can be so obtusely rude. Valentina is so genuinely nice and kind with everyone, but Juliana thinks her girlfriend is something special.
“That’s okay,” Valentina says, smiling at her.
“Yeah? You won’t be offended that I don’t want to go around the school with your dad’s old business partner’s daughter?” Juliana checks jokingly.
“Oh, not at all,” Valentina replies. “Besides,” she adds with a smirk, “I’m still convinced she’s into you, so I’m happy that you don’t want to hang out with her.”
“Oh my god, Valentina.”
.
Juliana starts avoiding Solène after that. The other girl doesn’t seem to mind. Juliana suspects that she has gotten bored with her after her repeated refusals to go drinking.
One week later, Juliana finds herself being invited to lunch by a group of students from one of her classes. Most of them are on scholarships like she is. Apparently, they didn’t talk to her before because they thought she didn’t speak Spanish and that she was a snob.
Juliana can’t really blame them. Being one of the ‘trailer park kids’ throughout her school years in San Antonio means that she was never one to make the first approach with friendships, Valentina being the shining exception to that. She is glad, however, that they didn’t judge her based on first impressions. She hopes that, this time, far away from her old life, she can make better friends with her classmates.
.
.
.
22 notes · View notes
the-paris-of-people · 5 years
Text
That Cute Couple You See at a Coffee Shop
SURPRISE! (Or not?) I’m your @tgpsecretsanta @alys07! I hope you enjoy this Cheleanor Cinderella Story/College AU I wrote for you! You can read it on AO3 or down in the cut below! 
P.S. special thanks to @chidi-anagonye for editing! <3 
Summary: What happens when Chidi and Eleanor begin messaging each other online, with no idea of who the other really is? 
Words: 5555
I got my latte with almond milk this morning, pinged Chidi’s penpal. A special shoutout to you, bud.
A grin slipped onto Chidi’s lips. He was in the middle of class, his seminar about Middle Eastern civilization, but still he typed back,
I’m jealous. But! at least you’re able to enjoy it without any of my agony and guilt.
Did you just make a joke? She wrote back. Look at you! I’m impressed. Character development.
You taught me well.
“Chidi!” Tahani hissed, catching Chidi in the middle of his lovestruck look at his computer. “Chidi!” She cried again, tapping his desk with her manicured index finger.
“Huh? What?”
“Look, I know you are quite infatuated with this mystery girl, but can you please pay attention for one moment so we can meet with our group project partners?”
“Right! Sorry!” Chidi cleared his throat. As he whipped out his notes from his backpack, Tahani squinted at Chidi’s iMessage. Blushing furiously, Chidi clicked the ‘X’ at the corner of the window. The last thing Tahani needed to see were his ramblings from last night, after he told his mystery friend that he wished they were a couple he had seen at the coffeehouse, studying together, staring into each other’s eyes. He then panicked because he realized how desperate he sounded. To cover for his semi-flirty messages, he typed out a long explanation, spanning paragraphs, but it didn’t work. He was bad at lying, and the worst part was, he wasn’t even drunk. He was just that awkward.
“Ugh,” Tahani sighed, flopping down in the seat next to him dramatically. “Chidi, you obviously like this girl. It’s been three months. Are you ever going to tell her how you feel?”
“First of all,” Chidi shut his laptop. “You should not be reading my messages! Also, no. It wouldn’t be right to disclose my feelings if she doesn’t have all of the information she can possibly can have about me. And! I don’t know if she has a boyfriend, or girlfriend, or if she’s romantically interested in any gender at all! It would be ethically unsound for me to dump that burden on her. And since finals are approaching, and it might distract her, too!”
“I mean that’s technically true, but still-“
“Alright!”  interrupted Eleanor, the de facto leader of their project team, barreling in from the doorway. “Let’s get to work!”
Perfect timing, Chidi thought, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Did you just get to class?” he inquired, eyeing the coffee cup still in hand and scarf around her neck. It didn’t surprise him, Eleanor always came late, but still, it floored Chidi how she strolled in with unabashed confidence. Chidi shriveled away when he arrived even one minute late, how could Eleanor muster the guts to come forty five minutes after class began?
“Long line at Michael’s,” Eleanor explained, setting her cup down and pulling her messy notes onto the desk. As Chidi learned from their midterm presentation, Eleanor wasn’t the best student, but she was the best at organizing their projects of the four of them. Unlike Chidi, she didn’t waver on which details to include and unlike Tahani, she wasn’t concerned with how to woo the teacher for self-validation. And unlike Jason, she actually had… a brain, so she could contribute sometimes.
(To be honest, Chidi didn’t know how Jason got into college at all. Not that he minded having him there, he always offered free snacks at their group meetings, but he wasn’t... the sharpest tool in the shed)
“By the way, I saw Jason nuzzling with Janet by the windows,” Eleanor mentioned. “ So I guess they’re not coming either.”
“Wait, Jason and Janet together?” Tahani asked, flabbergasted. Tahani wasn’t the only one surprised. Jason was a great guy but Janet wasn’t exactly... his type. She was pretty, funny, president of the student body and the Scholars Club. On top of that, she knew everything. He wasn’t exaggerating. She literally knew everything. Sometimes his friend Simone joked she was secretly a robot.  “Since when have they been… dating?”
“I wouldn’t say they’ve been ‘dating’ if you know what I mean,” Eleanor snorted. She flipped through her stack of loose leaf paper and pulled out her project notes, clicking into her planning mode, “Alright, so we have five more days to put together our final presentation, and from what I remember from what we talked about on Tuesday, no one has any weekend finals, so I vote we get together Saturday and Sunday and just bang this shiz out, ya feel me?” Proud of her quick thinking, Eleanor laid back in her seat and propped her feet up on Jason’s vacant chair.
“Oh!” Tahani clucked. “I’m sorry Eleanor! But no can do!”
“I’m sorry?” Eleanor sat back up.
“What Tahani is trying to say is, the Scholars Club has a ball on Saturday of winter finals week,” Chidi filled her in, “And since Tahani and I are on the board, we’re busy planning until Saturday, and then on Sunday, we have to clean up and debrief, so it probably won’t be until Monday that we can work on the presentation.”
“Seriously?” Eleanor threw her head back and groaned.  “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”
“Well, we’ve been caught up with other finals, Scholars Club events, I’m part of the Plato society…”
“Oh my god, I get it, you ner-” Eleanor paused mid-sentence.
Chidi cocked his head at her. Was she about to say nerds? Huh. He felt like he had heard that phrase from somewhere, but he couldn’t place where…
“-naturally very busy overachievers,” Eleanor covered. She froze for a second before flapping her lips exasperatedly, folding up her notes and shoving them back into her backpack. “I guess we’ll just do it on Monday around my philosophy final, then.”
“I’m sorry, Eleanor,” Tahani patted her hand. “But I promise I’ll come by your dorm tonight to give you that face cream. It will make all your blemishes disappear!”
“Tahani, I never said-”
“Oh, I’m so excited to see your triple, Eleanor!” Tahani interrupted, clapping her hands together. “I bet it’s just so… quaint.”
She shot her one last grin before gathering all her books and striding away, her floral dress billowing behind her. Eleanor’s mouth dropped open at she watched Tahani exit, still wondering what just happened.
“Don’t worry,” Chidi told her. “She gave me face cream last week, too. You don’t need it.”
Eleanor’s eyes sparkled before she coughed and stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. For some reason, Chidi found himself liking the way her eyes glimmered under the fluorescent lights, how the ends of her mouth softened, how her cheeks tinted pink. She looked pretty.
Calm down, Chidi, he scolded himself as he shook his head. One crush at a time.
***
I ate a quesadilla for lunch today, Chidi texted mystery girl later that day, at the library with Uzo. And now I have a giant stomach ache.
I’m sorry, philosophy cutie, she instantly replied. I wish you didn’t feel so sick all the time :(
The campus health center is open until 7. She added. Maybe you can make an appointment? She sent him a link to the online appointment maker.
I have to study for my psych final tomorrow, Chidi messaged. But thank you for checking for me. That was really nice of you.
Guess you’re not the only one with character development.  :)
Chidi chuckled to himself. He began crafting a witty response, clicking on the urban dictionary link he bookmarked to match her constant use of casual slang. He felt Uzo peering over his shoulder and turned around.
“Shrimp freak again?” Uzo lifted an eyebrow.
Chidi nodded.
Uzo, his childhood best friend, his roommate, his pseudo-brother, was one of the only people who knew the full story. Of how Chidi wrote under a pen name for the university’s online philosophy zine. Of how one day, “StoneColdSteveAustinfreak” had commented on his post, mocking his rigidity and suggesting he “lighten up.” Chidi responded politely, requesting that she directly contact him for her difference in perspective, and two days later, he received a message from shrimpfreak1014 over his newspaper gmail chat. At the time, he was refining his midterm paper for deontology, checking every now and again for messages. Somehow, he remained embroiled in an argument with her until three A.M.
She irritated Chidi to to end. She was argumentative, and she made fun of his nerdy habits, and her sense of humor was cruder than he liked. But at the same time, Chidi didn’t want to stop talking to her. She was sharp and witty and unlike anyone he’d ever met. She was selfish, but she was trying to be better. She was rude, but she apologized when she went too far. She coined herself as a moral particularist, yet she sometimes cited Kant in her arguments, emphasizing when she did just to tease him.
And soon, as their chats grew more and more frequent, they became closer. She messaged him during her work breaks, and he talked to her while he worked on his homework late at night, bags sagging under his eyes as he alternated between his essay about Plato to their discussion of Tim Scanlon. They were friends, advisors, maybe even confidantes, their conversations ranging from philosophy to their favorite coffeehouse on campus to their lives outside of university. She told him how she emancipated from her parents at fourteen, how she worked three jobs to pay off her student loans, how she decided to become a better person after a near-death experience getting her stomach pumped. He confided that his grandmother passed away last year and he missed her, he missed the snacks she used to send and the stews she used to serve. Since then, he told her, he had been more anxious than usual, the simplest of decisions causing his palms to sweat and his leg to bounce .
Listen, dude, how about this? She wrote. Since you’ve been my dorky mentor and you’ve helped me a better person and all the junk, why don’t I help you make decisions? I’m good at that stuff, anyway.
You would do that? He asked.
Yeah, man, I owe it to you! She insisted. The next time you freak out over a big decision just come to me.
And so he came to her each time he freaked out, faced with a choice between white or black, right or left, frozen mocha or coffee.
Just get the frozen mocha, she would reply, as if choosing was so easy. You don’t even like the taste of fair trade coffee at the cafe, so why not get something you enjoy?
You’re right, said Chidi, shocked at her ability to choose without qualms. And so they went on, Chidi as her philosophy mentor and shrimpfreak as his decision maker, and Chidi found himself aching for her messages. During the day, his mind began drifting to her: how perfectly she complemented Chidi, how since they started talking, he softened her and she strengthened him. He wonder about her in ways he shouldn’t, about how her eyes were probably bright and fearless, about if her mouth would curl after a quip, about how her skin would feel against his, cuddling in Chidi’s bed-
No, no, no. It was wrong. How could he have a crush on her when-
“Chidi?” Uzo waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him back to reality. “Chidi? Dude, are you freaking out about your crush on shrimp freak again?”
“A little,” Chidi squeaked. “Okay, well a lot,” He admitted. “I can’t handle this anymore, Uzo! I mean I’ve kept this from her for way too long, and I’m the one who’s always maintained a moral code of honesty! And if I do tell her how I feel, it could potentially destroy our relationship and all the progress she’s made! And who am I to destroy progress, Uzo? I don’t have that kind of authority!”
“Listen, you’ve got to calm down, man,” Uzo advised, while Chidi gasped for air. “Look, it seems like this is eating you alive inside…”
“Pretty much everything does!”
“Right, but it seems like you like her a lot, so… why don’t you put yourself out there? ” He punched Chidi lightly on the shoulder. “Ask her to the Scholars Club ball.”
“The Scholars Club ball?”
“The Scholars Club ball.” Uzo nodded. “Just so you have a shot at meeting in person. I mean, it’s been four months and you don’t even know her real name. You can just go as friends, too. No pressure. But this way, you don’t have to worry about her not knowing who you really are, and if you want, you can come clean and tell her about your feelings.”
“Huh. That’s not a bad idea, actually.” Chidi pondered, tilting his head. If they went to the Scholar’s Ball together, they could have a lot of fun. Shrimpfreak could meet Uzo and Tahani and Simone, and they could talk and laugh all through the night. And maybe, just maybe, (just a thought!) they could slow-dance together, too. He even knew how to sell it to her. There were tons of caterers and free cocktail shrimp. He’s sure she would like that.
But there were drawbacks, too, and Chidi had to consider those, too. Maybe he could make a pros and cons list. Or maybe he would use that Magic 8 Ball in the student union to make a decision for him.
“I’ll think about it,” he told Uzo.
“You’re going to stay up all night agonizing about whether to ask her, aren’t you?” Uzo anticipated.
“Yeah, pretty much!”
“I know you too well, buddy,” Uzo laughed.
***
“Eleanor!” Tahani sang outside her door. “I have your face cream!”
“Oh, no,” Eleanor muttered. “Here we go.”
She closed her laptop and ripped down her Stone Cold Steve Austin poster. Eleanor wasn’t sure if Chidi told her about their messages, but wasn’t taking any chances. She scanned her room for any other defining items that might give her away. Luckily, she wasn’t much of a decorator, unlike Becky, who littered her desk with pictures of cats, Spiderman figurines, and frog drawings by her cousin, Jeremy. Yeah, sure, the frog sketches were cute, but the Spiderman figurines? Come on, Becky!
“Hello, Eleanor!” Tahani greeted as Eleanor opened the door, waltzing right into her room without permission.
“Sure, come on in, Tahani. I definitely invited you.” Eleanor grumbled and flopped onto her bed.
“Here’s a bag with some face cream, and some other Korean skincare products I’d thought you might like to try!” Tahani perched herself on the edge of Eleanor’s bed. As she examined the rest of Eleanor’s dorm room, her face scrunched. “Why, this space is awfully… cramped…”
“Because it’s a dorm room,” Eleanor drawled sarcastically. “It’s small? It’s something normal college students usually live in?”
“I mean it’s nothing compared to the spacious single I have in the Scholar’s Club house, and it’s not as quaint as I thought, but I have to admit, it’s quite cute. Aside from the Spiderman figurines on that desk, which are creeping me out…”
“Right? Thank you!” Eleanor threw her hands up in the air emphatically. “I keep telling Becky to turn them to the side so we don’t have to see them!”
“Though I suppose they would creep out the people walking and looking at the dorm windows,” Tahani giggled.
“Haha! You’re right!” Eleanor snickered. “There’s no winning, is there?”
“Not unless you accidentally throw them in the garbage can!” Tahani joked.
“That’s the best idea you’ve ever had, babe!” Eleanor rolled over from laughing so hard. Tahani, who was keeling over with her laughter along with her, suddenly stopped, focusing on the left corner of Eleanor’s room.
Eleanor’s eyes widened. Oh no. She had completely forgotten that she left her work backpack on her desk. It was free of badges and patches and tacky Becky-like decorations… besides the small shrimp keychain on the zipper.
Shit.
“Say Eleanor,” Tahani spun back towards Eleanor. “Shrimp doesn’t happen to be your favorite food, does it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tahani,” Eleanor challenged, shooting Tahani her sharpest eyes. Tahani’s normally light demeanor darkened to match Eleanor’s venomous stare.
“Anyway,” Eleanor swung her legs around her bed and stood up. The faster she could shove Tahani out of the room, the better. “I think it’s time for you to go, Tahani,” She pushed Tahani back towards the door with her feeble muscles. Jeez, she was surprisingly strong. “Buh-bye! See you Monday!”
“Hang on just a second,” Tahani resisted Eleanor’s shove.“You don’t happen to have a poster of Stone Cold Steve Austin, do you?”
“Again,” Eleanor choked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tahani. See you later, okay buh-bye!”
“Oh, really?” Tahani smugly leaned against the doorframe, pointing to the back of the room. “Then why is that Stone Cold Steve Austin poster on the ground?”
Eleanor flicked her eyes back to the back of the room. Her Stone Cold Steve Austin poster was lying face-up. Fuck. She tore the poster down but she forgot to turn it over or hide it under the bed. Damn it, Eleanor!
“Okay, fine, you caught me!” Eleanor caved. She sighed and walked back to her bed. “I’m shrimpfreak1014.”
“Well, since I am very well-connected,” bragged Tahani, shutting the door and joining her on the bed. “I happen to know the identity of the lucky man you’ve been talking with-”
“Please,” Eleanor rolled her eyes. “ I know it’s Chidi. I sit behind him in class and he’s not super discrete about messaging on his laptop.”
“Oh,” Tahani shook herself out of her initial shock before agreeing, “That is true. But if you know who he is, and you both are very close, why don’t you tell him who you are?”  
Because it’s Chidi, she wanted to say. He’s intelligent and patient and kind and he genuinely cares about people. He cares about me. But I don’t even know if he cares about me me. Eleanor me.
And I couldn’t stand losing him if he didn’t.
“Because I don’t even know if he likes me,” she said instead. She avoided Tahani’s gaze as her eyes welled with tears, tucking the strands of hair behind her ears. God, she probably looked like an idiot, getting all soft talking about how much she liked him. “We always bicker while working on projects, and he always gives me a funny look whenever I say something ignorant, and I just… I don’t want him to change his mind if he knows who I really am…”
“Eleanor,” comforted Tahani, rubbing her back in circles. “I’ve known Chidi for a long time, and he doesn’t dislike anyone. Including you. And also…” Tahani hesitated  “You never know how someone will react if you tell them how you feel, so it never hurts to try. Like the time I told Daniel Radcliffe that…”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Eleanor cut her off. “I always get it. But…. Thanks, Tahani. I guess. Maybe. I’ll think about it.” She smiled up at her in between sniffles.
“No problem, friend,” Tahani gave her one last pat on the back before heading back to the door, this time, without Eleanor forcing her out. “Well, I better get going. I have to run a bunch of errands for the ball. But Eleanor,” Tahani lingered in the doorway, rocking back and forth on her feet. “If you ever want to get lunch or something…I’d be happy to put something in my calendar.”
“That would be great, Tahani,” accepted Eleanor, grinning. Sure, Tahani was a snob, and she name-dropped too much. She wore heels even though she didn’t need them, and she was too concerned with her popularity…but she also had a good heart. And she was kind of fun to be around. It was only fair that Eleanor gave her a chance.
“But only if we go to get burgers,” she added. “I’m not much of a fancy girl, and you could use some loosening up.”
“Well, I look forward to the grease.” Tahani bobbed her head, then double-checked, “Is grease something to look forward to?”
“You’ll see, babe,” Eleanor winked at her. “You’ll see.”
***
Chidi paced up and down the shiny, hardwood floor of the Scholars Club house kitchen. He had been at it for an hour and a half. Femi already came down to check if he was okay, and he had already scarfed down three bananas from the ornate ceramic fruit bowl Tahani had made for the kitchen. Okay, he was going to go over the possible outcomes one last time, then he was going to decide on what to do…
Hey, bud, his phone vibrated in his hand, disrupting his train of thought. Haven’t heard from you in awhile. Feeling alright?
Chidi trembled as he reread the message. He couldn’t keep up this charade any longer, otherwise he would just end up freezing her out. Yeah, that’s what normally ended up happening with his friends and ex-girlfriends he couldn’t break secrets to, but he didn’t want this to happen with her. He didn’t want to lose her; he wanted this, finally, to be the one that stuck.
You know what? His mind whipped into shape and settled, He was going to do it. If shrimpfreak had taught him anything, it was how to be more decisive. He yearned so badly to meet her, he yearned for nothing else, but he was letting the tossing and turning of his mind prevent him from going for what he desired.
Hey! He texted. Thanks for checking up on me. I was just thinking how to ask you something. So I’m part of the Scholars Club on campus and we’re having a ball on Saturday night. Do you want to go with me? Just as friends, of course. There’ll be free shrimp!
He held his breath while he waited for her response. Nothing.
He removed another banana from the fruit bowl. Maybe the overload of potassium could somehow carry him through the day.
***
It was only in his final class of the day, creating a study guide for philosophy of neuroscience alongside Simone, when he heard back from shrimpfreak1014:
Sorry man, I have work from 9-5 tomorrow and then I have to finish my group project. :(  
Oh, Chidi responded, swallowing his disappointment. I understand. Good luck with finals! If you end up having time, feel free to come by.  
Yeah, honestly, dude, I’m not really sure if I will. I don’t know if I’m ready to meet yet.
Chidi blinked, pushing down the sickening feeling slithering up his throat.
That’s okay, He reassured, although he was stewing in his own regret. We can just meet when we’re ready. There’s no rush, right?
No response.
Chidi heaved as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“You okay, Chidi?” Simone asked, tapping him on the shoulder.
“Yeah,” He somehow managed to lie through his heaving. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”
This was why he couldn’t make decisions.
***
On the day of the ball, Chidi rose with dread.
He was surprised he could get up at all- his muscles fatigued from restless turning, his eyes strained from rereading old messages all night. Uzo calmed him down for a little bit in the morning, promising that shrimp freak just needed some time to process the idea of meeting him in person. Chidi told him he was probably right, but still, he checked his phone a couple more times to see if she had messaged back.
The rest of the day kept him distracted enough; he and the rest of the board met in the living room to begin ball preparations: wrapping carnations around the banisters, confirming arrival times of the caterers, transporting surprise gift bags to the gazebo. He felt normal, for the most part- until he overheard Simone and Vicky talking about their dates.
Chidi’s stomach boiled with agony. He didn’t know why he cared so much- he had been fine with not having a date, with not meeting his secret friend in the near future. Now he couldn’t get it out of his head, and he hated himself for it. Why did he have to go and ruin everything?
As the sun lowered over the Scholars Club house hill, the guests rolled into the living room. Chidi feigned a smile as he tore them in half, trying not to let his misery get the best of them. They had planned this ball for months and at least it was going well: the decorations colorful yet classy, the guests adorned in flowing gowns and fitted suits.
After he finished up registration, Chidi floated throughout the house to different groups, greeting them and asking if they were having a good time. It wasn’t a distraction, he tried to convince himself. It was part of his job as a board member. He wasn’t trying to keep his mind off shrimpfreak at all. He wasn’t even thinking about her.
“Chidi!” beckoned Simone from the kitchen.
Chidi let out a sad smile and moved towards Tahani, Uzo, and Simone. As he approached them, Tahani handed him a plate of shrimp. Chidi thanked her gratefully and popped it in his mouth, humming delightfully at its taste.
“Mmmm.” He turned to Tahani. “You did a great job with all of this. The shrimp is so much better than last year, and people seem to be having a great time.”
“It’s much better than the one Kamilah threw two years ago, isn’t it?”
“Oh, much better,” Chidi reassured, and he meant it. Kamilah’s taste was a little too loud and garish for him, but Tahani struck the tasteful balance between sophisticated and fun.
“Be honest,” Uzo slugged an arm around his shoulder. “How are you holding up, man?”
“Could be better,” He shrugged. “But, I’m not doing horrible. I think… I’m going to go outside for a little bit. Get some fresh air.”
“Oh,” Uzo dropped his arm from his shoulders. “Do you need anything else?”
“I’m okay.”
“Would you like some more shrimp, Chidi?” Tahani extended out another plate.
“I’m good,” Chidi tried to think of an excuse so he didn’t sound lame “I’ll come back in later… maybe… to get some more.”
Skeptically, Simone crossed her arms. “You’re going to go outside and read until you calm down for a bit, aren’t you?”
“I-I-I-I-I, um-” Chidi stuttered, but their gleeful chortles freed him explanation.
“Go ahead, mate,” Simone shooed him off. “Just come back after the dance ends to clean up. We’re going out to iHop after.”
Chidi confirmed their plans one last time before he left for the gazebo. On the way out, he grabbed his copy of Symposium, the one he had purposely left on the living room table in case he wanted to escape. Deftly, he balanced the book with his plate of shrimp as he pushed open the door. He paused on the steps to appreciate how beautiful the night was, the thickness of the black winter sky, the shimmering stars that lay overhead. The gazebo stood brightly against the dark with its fresh white paint, quickly drawing Chidi in with its solitaire.
Ever since he was a freshman, Chidi sought solace in the gazebo. He frequently snuck away when he needed to be by himself, especially after his grandmother passed away. It boasted a sprawling view of the campus and open panels that breathed in fresh air. Yes, the paint was chipping, and the roof crumbled when it rained, but Chidi loved it nonetheless. Last spring, Tahani held a fundraiser for its restoration, and by fall, it had returned to its former glory. The days of Chidi’s secret, safe place slipped away as he found kids, not even from the Scholar’s Club, using it as a gathering spot to down shots. He was surprised no one was out here right now. He hoped it stayed that way.
Chidi closed his eyes, listening to the plucking of the guitar seep out of the house. He was in his favorite place. The music inside was slowing, the shadows were swaying loosely, and he felt, just for once, that he could handle things.
He opened his book and begin to read.
“Hey nerd,” A brash voice echoed from the doorway mid-paragraph. He snapped his head up to see a familiar frame leaning against the entrance. Wait… was that? No… it couldn’t be…
“Are you reading Plato during the ball?” teased Eleanor. She sauntered over and joined him on the bench.
Chidi opened his mouth to ask her more questions, but instead, he broke into a grin. It was Eleanor. Of course it was Eleanor. No one else was as funny and hard-working and brave as she was. He should have known. He had crushes on both shrimpfreak and Eleanor for the same reasons; how could he not have figured it out before?
“Just needed to get away for a little bit.” He shut back his book and slid it to the side. Eleanor was dressed more casually than normal. Her hair was messy, she sported oversized, food-stained sweats, and still, Chidi couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “Did you kn-”
“Yeah, yeah, I knew,” Eleanor scoffed. “You leave your messages open way too much, Chidi.”
“Right,” Chidi couldn’t help but laugh. She was right. Tahani was always telling him that, too.
Eleanor bit her lip and gave him a shy smile.
He scooted closer to her.
“Um, I created a rough outline of the project!” She cried. She began fiddling with her fingers. “It’s almost done, we just have to add more details in the slides.”
“You worked on the project?” Chidi felt himself warm towards her. He knew how much she hated schoolwork. “Without us there?”
“Yeah,” Eleanor shifted in her seat. “I mean, you and Tahani and Jason are all my friends. I just figured it would make things easier for all of us, since I had the time.”
“That was really nice of you, Eleanor,” His voice fell quietly at the end of his sentence. Eleanor glanced down at her shoes, failing to hide her blush. Chidi wanted to hold her so badly, but he kept talking,
“So, you emancipated from your parents when you were fourteen?”
“Yup. That’s why I work three jobs. I’m surprised you never noticed. I’ve been on shift when you ordered your frozen mochas at the coffeehouse.”
“And you like shrimp?”
“More than I love life itself. And I’m ready to wolf down this unlimited free shrimp! If I’m still allowed to, that is.”
Chidi ducked his head down and chuckled to himself. He couldn’t wait to talk with her the rest of the night.  
“I can’t believe you came,” he said happily. “I’m really happy you did.”
“You are?” Eleanor’s eyes shone.
“Of course I am,” He lifted her hand and stroked her palm with his thumb. Eleanor wove her fingers in his and squeezed his hands, leaning her forehead against his.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. He could feel her shaking against him. “I said no because I freaked out, not because I didn’t want to see you.”
“I understand,” Chidi empathized. “I freak out all the time.”
“That couldn’t be more true,” Eleanor agreed endearingly.
They moved in closer to each other.
“Eleanor?” Chidi licked his lips nervously. He didn’t know why he was about to ask what he was about to ask, but he really wanted to. “Can I- can I kiss you?”
Eleanor beamed up at him.
“Go ahead, bud.”
Chidi sprang his lips onto Eleanor’s, moving his mouth passionately against hers. Eleanor drew back at first, startled, but then she sank into the kiss, her mouth curving against Chidi’s in a smile. Chidi removed his hand from hers and wrapped them around her back, sliding one down to her waist and the other up her back. As Eleanor laid her hands on his stomach and let them travel up to his shoulders, Chidi reveled in having her fingers against his chest. This, he realized, thoughts unlocking as they kissed and kissed, is what he always dreamed of. It was always Eleanor he heard when reading her messages. It was always Eleanor he imagined kissing. It was always Eleanor he longed to be near, and now he finally was: her tiny little body pressed against his, her mouth moving with trademark feistiness he admired and loved.
They kissed until their lips grew weary, reluctantly pulling apart as they clung to each other still. Eleanor gazed up at him, her eyes full, and it struck Chidi that he’d never seen her so happy. Guess they both made each other that way.
Chidi kissed her forehead as she snuggled herself his chest. He felt ready to make million decisions right then, with Eleanor in his arms in his favorite place, the brisk air gusting all around them.  
“Hey, shrimpfreak.” He bumbled as the music spilled back into the gazebo, “Do you- do you maybe want to dance? Um, with me?”
Eleanor laughed, tugging Chidi up onto his feet.
“Come on, Kantafficado.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Show me how it’s done.”
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Thanksgiving (Tom Holland Smut)
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request: “could u do a tom imagine where hes dating the reader and shes bi ? and when he first found out, he was like intimidated but then he finds it like sexy lol make him react how u think he would” (requested by anon)
short summary: you take tom home for thanksgiving and when the topic of past relationships comes up things get a bit :/
length: 3.9k words
warnings: tbh the smut’s just like at the end there’s lots of plot stuff and shit so
A/N: i lowkey didn’t know how to go about this, bc i didn’t want to write something that would come across as tom fetishizing the reader’s bisexuality bc i’m bi and i hate when i read stuff like that so anyway this was the result, idk if this is the direction u wanted but uh here we go
Your mom & sister had been hounding you for almost two months to come home and also bring your boyfriend so they could properly meet him for the first time. It’s not as if you didn’t want them to meet Tom, it’s just that he’s been busy and frankly so had you. And when the two of your schedules aligned with a break, dragging him back to your hometown wasn’t exactly your top priority.
But when Thanksgiving rolled around and your university had given you a break, you knew you had to go home. And once you’d mentioned it to Tom, he got excited to come with you since he’d have some time off between projects. Once you told your mom and sister, they were over the moon.
The two of you were currently standing outside of your childhood home, hand in hand. You’d been standing out in the cool autumn air for almost 10 minutes. You didn’t know whether you should just walk right in like you used to, using the spare key under the potted plant, or knock. 
“It’s your home, darling, just walk right in,” Tom said with a slight laugh, balancing the small pie the two of you had baked earlier in the day. You were almost dreading going inside, but you knew he was right. 
“I guess so,” you said with a sigh. You put your hand on the door knob, but hesitated yet again. “You’re sure you want to do this?” you asked him, for probably the millionth time.
“Of course, I have to meet the people responsible for creating you. We’ve been dating for almost 7 months, I feel weird having not ever met your parents or other family members before. It’s like you were hiding me,” he joked. You slapped his arm.
“You know I wasn’t hiding you, I was just saving you from being ripped apart by my crazy blood relatives,” you said with a grimace. With that, you opened the door, kicked off your shoes, and announced your arrival.
“Mom? Me and Tom are here!” you yelled as loud as you could. You first heard the sound of paws against the hardwood floors, and your pug came into the room excitedly, almost tripping over his own adorable, stubby feet.
“Bucky!” you yelled with a smile on your face. You got on your knees and opened your arms for him to jump into, but he instead went straight for Tom, almost knocking the cherry pie he was holding out his hands. You frowned as he showered your boyfriend’s face with appreciative licks.
“How is it that my own dog is more excited to see you than me? He’s never even met you,” you inquired out loud. Tom just gave you a smirk.
“What can I say? I’m Spider-Man. Spider-Man can do anything, including charming dogs.” he said cockily as Bucky retreated and ran towards the kitchen. You rolled your eyes.
“Y/N? Is that you?” your mother called from close by. Moments later she came into view with a bright grin on her face. “Finally, you’ve come home!” she quickly embraced you in a hug before taking a look at Tom. “And you must be the boyfriend my daughter has been hiding from us!”
Tom laughed charmingly with your mother at your own expense. You glared at them both. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Y/L/N, I’m Tom.” he said with an infectious smile.
Your mom gave you an approving nod as he looked him up and down, stopping at the pie in his hands. “Such a sweetheart,” she commented appreciatively. “Welcome, Tom, and thank you for this delicious smelling pie!”
“It was no trouble at all, Y/N and I whipped it up together, it’s my grandmother’s recipe actually. We only use it for special occasions.”
“Well I cannot wait to taste it,” your mom said, positively beaming at the creation. “The rest of the family is outside in the back with the food, we’ll start eating in the next hour or so,” your mom explained momentarily. She made her way out back while you hesitated for a moment.
Sounds of laughter and merriment continuously emanated from the back of the house. You interlocked Tom’s hand in yours.
“Time to meet the family,” you muttered. Tom gave your hand a reassuring squeeze and kissed your knuckles.
“Shouldn’t I be dreading this more than you?” he asked teasingly. You shook your head.
But you had absolutely nothing to be worried about. Tom charmed everyone he met, including your grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, and anyone who had a conversation with him that afternoon.
It was almost as if there was nothing to dislike about Tom, and he knew how to interact with every type of person to make them love him almost as much as you did. He was able to entertain all your little cousins but keep up with the banter of your older relatives. Your dog, Bucky, was constantly by his side almost everywhere he went. Throughout dinner he managed to fit in as if he had been part of the family for ages, and you couldn’t have been happier.
By the time you made it to dessert, everyone was lingering in different places of the yard, various conversations flowing. You and Tom were sitting on the porch swing talking to your sister while eating your respective slices of cherry pie.
“This pie is fantastic,” your sister said, shock painting her features. “Did Y/N help bake this because she is a literal mess in the kitchen,” your slightly younger sister asked Tom. The two of them laughed at your expense, a trending theme that seemed to be overtaking the evening.
“Shut up, Y/S/N, you’re the one who almost burned the kitchen down last year.” That shut her right up.
“She really did help, and she was very cute while focusing on the measurements to make sure it was perfect, if I do say so myself,” he said, giving you an adoring look. Your sister awed.
“I literally haven’t seen Y/N this happy since she was dating Fiona,” she mentioned off handedly. Your head snapped up, you trying to silently tell your sister to stop talking.
“Fiona?” Tom asked curiously, cocking his head at your sister. She nodded and kept talking, completely ignoring your look of distress. 
“Yeah they dated for like a year and a half in high school, completely inseparable. It was gross how much they loved each other but at the same time any normal person would be jealous of the type of relationship they shared.”
At this point Tom was merely poking at his pie, no longer having the appetite to eat it. Your sister didn’t seem to notice and continued to fill him in on your past relationship.
“It was a pretty big shock when Y/N broke up with her, I remember our mom was actually crying for like a week because we all loved her around here so much. And to this day I still don’t know why they even broke up,” she finished.
“I think I need to go the bathroom,” Tom got out after a few moments of silence. He carefully placed his unfinished pie on the table next to the table and hurried into the house.
“Tom,” you sighed exasperatedly as he quickly excused himself and went inside. You gave your sister a pointed glare.
“Did he not know that you’re bi?” she asked, confusion painting her features. You ignored her, then hurried after your boyfriend to follow him inside. She merely gave you a shrug, but you were already long gone by the time she did.
“Please, wait, Tom,” you called after him as you made it into the house. It was very quiet considering the rest of your family was out in the backyard enjoying some desserts after the fulfilling Thanksgiving meal. “Just wait a second!”
He continued to ignore you as he wandered into the kitchen, realizing he didn’t know where anything else in your house was. “I’m just going to the bathroom, Y/N,” he said unconvincingly. You saw right through his lie.
Before you could call him out, he picked a hall to walk down and opened the first door he came to. It wasn’t the bathroom, but a hallway closet where your mom kept extra blankets and coats. As he moved to close the door, you dragged him and yourself inside and closed the door. 
“Would you just tell me what’s wrong?” you asked softly, taking a seat on the floor. Tom sat down next to you and let out a sigh.
“I don’t know, why don’t you ask your girlfriend that your family seems to adore. Maybe you should be dating her instead of me if you loved her so much and your family still loves her so much,” he ranted while giving you a look of discontent.
“Loved. As in past tense! As in she and I have been done for ages. She’s just a past girlfriend,” you fired back. He scoffed and rolled his eyes.
“Tom it’s not a contest,” you said with annoyance. “I dated her my senior year of high school and we haven’t even talked since graduation, which by the way was two years ago. God, you’re literally jealous of a relationship that doesn’t even exist anymore, why do you always do this?” you ranted. He had been the same way when he heard about the boyfriend you had during your first year of college, it’d taken you 3 days to get him to calm down, his insecurities getting the better of him.
“Damn it, I know that, Y/N, but I just...I’ve never really done this before, okay? This my first real...serious relationship,” he mumbled quietly. A moment of silence fell over the room, the only sounds being the faint music from the backyard permeating the walls of the closet.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, romantically. Well, er, love. Present tense,” he clarified awkwardly, looking at the wall in front of the two of you. You’d never seen Tom this vulnerable before, looking almost...ashamed. 
Here you were, thinking that he was being a prick about you dating a girl, but he was just nervous. It was glaringly clear now you’d been in more relationships than he had, but it never really seemed that way based on how he carried himself and acted. You put both of your hands on his cheeks and looked him in the eye.
“I love you Tom. And only you. And no girl or guy I may have dated in the past is going to change that. Okay?”
“Okay.” he replied meekly, a small blush on his cheeks. The two of you fell into another bout of silence, but more comfortable this time. After a few minutes, Tom spoke up again.
“Maybe okay will be our always,” he said with a small smug look on his face. You slapped him in the arm and glared at him.
“Okay, Augustus Waters, no need to get all fake deep on me here.”
“You know you love it,” he said teasingly, giving you a messy kiss on the cheek. You shrugged him off and wiped your cheek.
“I absolutely do not,” you said, trying to hold a serious expression on your face. Two seconds later you were a giggling mess, and Tom joined you. As your laughs subsided, you put your head on his shoulder. He pulled you closer, humming in content as one of his hands wrapped around your waist, the other around your inner part of your thigh.
“I love you,” Tom said softly, starting to stroke your thigh excruciatingly slowly. You gave him a suspicious look as he pretended as if he didn’t know why you were making a face at him.
“I love you more,” you replied, kissing him softly on the column of his throat. You lifted your head to give him a soft kiss on the lips.
As you pulled away from the brief peck, he pulled you in again with his free hand for a deeper kiss. His mouth hungrily connected with yours, a renewed passion seeming to overtake both of your senses. Your mind began to spin as his tongue began to lap into your mouth.
His hand against your thigh began to move higher until he was stroking your heat through the fabric of your pants. You could feel yourself becoming breathless and particularly wet the longer he persisted, until you eventually had to break the kiss for air.
“Stand up, pretty girl,” he purred silently in your ear. You were deep in a trance and obeyed him, slowly moving your back up the wall until you were in a standing position. Tom smirked up at you as your flushed face looked down at him on his knees in front of you.
It felt like the temperature increased drastically in the tiny closest as your boyfriend began to slowly unbutton & unzip your jeans. His lip was caught between his teeth in concentration as his eyes darkened with lust at the sight of your lace underwear.
Your heart was pounding hard in your ears as he let out a shameless moan. “Did you wear these on purpose?” he asked mischievously. Your cheeks reddened as you avoided his question entirely. “It’s quite cute, but it’s gotta go. I want a taste of that pretty little pussy of yours, darling. Is that alright?”
You couldn’t bring yourself to form words as his fingers lightly traced over your core through the fabric of your underwear. You licked your lips and nodded slowly, but Tom gave you a chastising look.
“Words, honey, I need to hear you say it’s alright,” he said with a slight purr. 
“Please, Tom, I need you to taste me,” you said, barely containing the moan that spilled from your lips. He hummed appreciatively as he dragged your underwear down your legs.
“That’s what I love to hear. My beautiful girl wants me to ravish her with while her family’s practically close by, someone else could’ve wandered into the house right now. But what my girl wants, my girl gets,” he said.
You were practically dripping onto the carpet at this point, but Tom took the time to kiss up your thighs as your underwear hit the floor. 
“Did Fiona ever make you feel the way that I make you feel?” Tom asked, his voice vibrating mere inches from where you needed contact the most. His hands were gripping the skin of your ass as you reached down to entangle your fingers in his dark, curly hair. You were silent as you waited in anticipation for him to do something, anything.
“Did she, baby?” he drawled slowly, not moving his mouth as he waited for your response.
“No Tom, will you eat me out already?” you snapped impatiently. He had half a mind to do the opposite of what you wanted for your snappy tone, but he wanted it almost more than you did, so he dove right into your glorious pussy.
He began to work a steady rhythm, taking slow, bold licks from the back all the way to the front of your pussy. As he lazily worked on the shallow end, your grip on his hair tightened, causing him to tighten his grip on your ass. The two of you moaned simultaneously.
“Tom, I need more,” you almost squealed. You could feel him smirking against the lips of your pussy before he finally obliged.
“What my girl wants, my girl gets,” he stated simply before viciously attacking your clit with his tongue and teeth. He introduced two of his fingers into the mix, pumping in and out of you at a heavenly pace.
With each moan that erupted from his throat, a resounding wave of pleasure overtook your lower region. You could feel the vibrations against the walls of your pussy, adding to the almost unbearable bliss that you were already feeling. You didn’t even care that most of your relatives were nearby, you only cared about chasing your impending your release with the help of your boyfriend.
Tom began to make come hither motions with his fingers in your core while slowing the pace at which he was attacking your clit with his mouth. Everything felt heavier the slower he went, and you could feel the pit of your stomach tightening in anticipation and desperation, wanting to finally explode so you could feel the sweet relief of your orgasm.
“Is my beautiful girl ready to come?” he asked haughtily, removing his mouth from your pussy, which made a resounding popping noise. You whined at the momentary loss of contact.
“Please Tom, I can’t,” you stuttered slowly, “I need you and I need to come, now,” you begged. A slight spasm went through your core as you tried to hold in your orgasm until he gave you permission. “Please,” you begged, your voice cracking.
Tom looked up at you, his pupils blown out of proportion and your wetness was coating his mouth and chin. His hair looked wild, sprawled out in different directions thanks to your death grips. His appearance alone had you utterly wrecked. He took a moment to look you dead in the eye as he licked his lips, groaning at your sweet taste.
“Go ahead, baby, come for me,” he said before readily diving back in, his mouth attaching itself to your clit as he worked two of his fingers in and out of you at a divine pace.
Your world felt like it came shattering down, your orgasm ripping through every part of your body. You almost lost your balance and collapsed against the wall as you came in your boyfriends mouth. You could feel some of it running down your thighs as he did his best to lap it all up.
All you could hear were the sounds of your moans and the obscene noises of him slurping and lapping at your pussy. After your orgasm was spent, Tom didn’t stop, continuing to nip and suck at your clit with a renewed vigor.
You were still sensitive and started to see spots in your vision as he continued to work at your core, the pleasure feeling like it was too much.
“T-Tom, I-I,” you stammered out slowly. “I can’t handle another,” you finished with a gasp. He immediately removed his mouth, using his fingers to wipe at his face.
“Sorry, darling, I got a bit carried away,” he said sheepishly. He put his wet fingers in his mouth for a final taste of you, his eyes closing in bliss as he licked them clean. “I love how you taste.”
You blushed madly as you finally slid down from the wall, sitting on the floor next to Tom. You didn’t bother pulling up your panties and jeans, feeling too exhausted and sensitive to do anything at all.
Tom wrapped a protective arm around you as you leaned into him, focusing on the smell of his shirt for a few minutes. You heart rate seemed to return to normal, as did Tom’s. You could see him sporting half a hard on in his pants, but neither of you said or did anything about it.
“I’m bisexual Tom,” you blurted, a few minutes after the silent bliss that overtook the room. You didn’t know why it came out like that, but you just felt a need to voice it out loud.
“I know,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Did you think I’d have a problem with that?”
“You were upset about...Fiona. I just didn’t know if that was why or just the fact that I shared a meaningful connection with somebody else before I met you,” you explained softly. 
“I was just jealous at the way your sister was describing the two of you,” he said, embarrassment coating his features. “Like I said, you’re my first serious relationship, but I don’t have any problem with your sexuality. Nobody should,” he said while pulling you closer to him.
“Good, because if you had a problem with that I would’ve had to break up with you right now,” you deadpanned. You weren’t kidding either, and Tom sensed that.
“I love you, darling,” he said while giving you a kiss on the forehead. You hummed in content. 
“Y/N?” you heared a muffled call of your name in the hallway. Your head shot straight up as you scrambled to get up and adjust your lower region. Your panties and jeans were still pooled around your ankles and you almost tripped over yourself.
Tom put a hand over his mouth to restrain himself from laughing at your predicament. You would’ve punched him in the arm but you were too concerned with your mother not finding you in this compromising position.
“You’d better shut the fuck up Thomas,” you hissed as you ungracefully zipped up and buttoned your pants. Your mom’s footsteps were growing nearer and you managed to try to act natural before the door to the closet opened.
“What are you two doing in here?” she asked suspiciously, eyeing the both of you. Tom reverted back to his charming self as he stood up from the floor. 
“Y/N was just helping me look for a blanket, I was getting slightly chilly outside and she offered to help me find one,” he replied smoothly, not missing a beat. Your mom looked him up and down again before nodding.
“It is getting quite chilly out, I feel like it’s more wintery than fall like outside,” your mother commented. You nodded in agreement.
“Definitely true, maybe eating outside wasn’t exactly the best idea to do in the middle of fall, verging on winter,” you joked slightly. Your mom simply shrugged.
“Well, come back and join us after you find something to keep warm with,” she said as she began to walk away. She stopped momentarily, turning around to faec the two of you.
“And Tom,” she began, “we’ve really enjoyed having you here today. I do wish that Y/N had brought you around immediately after she let it slip to me that she had a boyfriend, but we’re glad you’re here now. And you’re always welcome in this household.”
Tom looked overjoyed to have your mother’s approval and gave her a warm hug, which she immediately accepted. It took everything in you not to awe at the display in front of you, your slight fantasy of Tom being welcomed into your family with open arms being fulfilled.
“Thank you Mrs. Y/L/N,” he stated appreciatively. She gave him a grin before rejoining the festivities in the backyard.
“See, this wasn’t so bad was it?” he asked, his face looking like he wanted to let out an I told you so. You played it cool and shrugged your shoulders.
“It was alright, I guess,” you said, picking at your fingernails. Tom put a finger under your chin to make you look at him directly, your faces mere inches from each other. Just as you thought he was about to plant a kiss on your lips, he spoke instead.
“I told you so,” he gloated quietly, his eyes closed to relish in the moment. You shoved him away from you and followed your mother’s path to rejoin the rest of your family outside. You didn’t wait for Tom to catch up with you, but you were secretly smiling. Even if he was a pompous ass sometimes, he was still yours. And you loved him immensely.
permanent tag list: @searvhing @curly-haired-crisp @werido-fangirl @dreaming-of-the-lost @nightviolet @sunshine-raee @bitsyb21 @naybeirao @thespidersman @themusicorthemisery @call-me-tears @ephemereal @spooder-tom @buckysbumpkin @pvnksy @urbanstrangersfanfics @o-brienwrites @vibraniumdoritos @villagecrazypeggy @tambouriner @artsysad @makapaka11 @gaiasambuci @turtlesareradaf @hollandsucker
what did u guys think!! pls let me know!! this is like the longest fic i’ve written i think wow lol but yeah!! if you wanna be on my permanent tag list shoot me an ask and i’ll add ya!!
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