pb-and-beans - Tumblr blog

pb-and-beans · 9 months

Text

Torture

Pairing: Nolan Booth x Fem!reader

Summary: What happens when The Bishop decides to torture you instead of Hartley?

Warnings: swearing, kidnapping, torture

A/n: I love me some Ryan Reynolds and I was shocked to see that there weren’t a lot of fanfics based off Red Notice so I had to write something

You met John Hartley and the infamous Nolan Booth after getting arrested in Rome. Your life as a criminal was just starting and this was your second heist. Call it beginners bad luck. Somehow all three of you found yourselves intermingled with unearthing the three cleopatra eggs. It has been quite an adventure, an FBI agent, the world’s second best art thief, and the worlds best failed art thief.

Unbeknownst to you, Nolan and Hartley were handcuffed together in a room further down. You couldn’t hear a thing over the sound of a crowd cheering.

For some unknown reason the only thing you could think of was whether Nolan was okay. Your heart raced at the idea of the Bishop torturing him for information on the third egg. You hated to admit that the criminal had grown on you, his constant humor and dashing looks made him completely irresistible but there was also something much deeper and gentler that drew you towards him.

“Where is she?!”, Nolan spit at the Bishop.

She walked in front of him, “That’s not important Booth, this is the time where you tell us where the third egg is.’”.

Nolan let out a breathy laugh, “Piss off for a thousand years.”.

“Oh bummer, I really wanted to do it the easy way.”, she sighed, “That’s okay, I’ll get the information from you, by hurting him.”., she gestured towards Hartley.

“I’m sorry what?”, Hartley questioned.

“I love this plan.”, of course Nolan would.

Bishop turned up an electricity machine and made her way towards Hartley, “You two share a special bond, I mean why else risk your lives together attempting to steal the eggs.”, she grabs two metal pliers, “Isn’t that right, Agent Hartley?”.

“There isn’t any bond between us, I barley know the guy…Booth tell her we’re not friends.”.

Of course being the cheeky one, Booth had to play this one out, “She knows about us pal.”.

“That’s bullshit..”, Hartley immediately knew what he was doing.

“She knows about our special bond..she knows you were the best man at my wedding…”.

“You son of bitch.”, Harley spat at Booth, “He’s lying!”. The Bishop teasingly sparks the pliers in front of Hartley’s face.

“If she hurts you bad enough, I mean if she gets really creative with it, than I’m gonna have no choice but to tell her everything.”, Nolan continues his speech.

“Now Mr. Booth, where is the third egg?”, Nolan stayed silent, “Okay..here I go..”.

“No don’t wait..”, Nolan sarcastically pleas.

He seemed completely unfazed with the torture his new found friend was being subjected to.

“Hm, let’s switch it up.”, the Bishop nods to Sotto and he exits the room with one of the pliers, “If this isn’t working maybe giving a few shocks to that pretty little thing down the hall will.”.

Nolan freezes, suddenly the air feels stiff and the once humorous situation turned sour, “Don’t you fucking touch her.”. He says in a serious tone.

“Seems like we’ve struck a nerve, tell me where the egg is.”.

“Eat shit!”, she lets out a low chuckle and presses a button.

Your screams could be heard clearly, crying for help, crying for Nolan’s help, “NOLAN!!”.

“NO NO STOP IT!”, Nolan thrashes around, “ITS IN EGYPT!”, Nolan finally caved in.

She stoped the machine, “Where in Egypt?”.

“It’s buried with Cleopatra in the Grand pyramid, there’s a secret entry way, alright!Just please stop hurting her.”, Nolan breathes heavily.

“See! That wasn’t that hard, I would say nice working with you but we both know that would be a lie.”, and with that The Bishop left.

“I swear to God I’m gonna to kill that bitch”.

While the two of them got into a shooting fight with Sotto, you were still trapped in the chair. Your body felt numb and your cheeks felt wet, you presumed it was your tears. There was a metallic taste in your mouth and all you could do was whimper as you heard gun shots.

Than there was silence, you heard a door open and your blindfold was ripped off. It took a minute for your eyes to adjust to your environment but the only thing you could see was Nolan’s worried expression as he looked down at you.

“Nolan, it hurts”, you sobbed.

“Hey hey hey, I know sweetheart.”, he didn’t mean for the name to slip out but he was too distracted to care.

Nolan unhooked the restraints and guided you to your feet, you immediately crashed into his chest due to how weak you felt.

“The electricity affected her worse than me because she’s much smaller than I am.”, Hartley spoke and met Nolan’s eyes. Hartley knew the look Nolan had and felt guilty for how badly injured you were.

“I was so scared they were going to hurt you.”, you spoke.

“I wish it was me rather than you.,” he said in a whisper.

You pulled back from the embrace and met his eyes which looked down upon you lovingly yet concerned. He lowered his head and placed a hesitant kiss on your forehead. As he pulled back he analyzed your face for any sort of reaction, once he saw the faint blush on your cheeks and your smile he returned it. He cupped your face and leaned in, your breath hitched as your two lips connected.

You deepened the kiss by pulling him closer by the neck earning a short groan from him.

“Okay okay, break it up!”, the two of you pulled away both out of breath and looked towards Hartley.

“Dude! A little privacy here!”, Nolan said and promptly returned to kissing you.

“Why did I agree to any of this.”, Hartley left with a huff.

You didn’t know what the futures has in stored but for now you felt safe in Nolan’s arms and you knew that this is where you belong.

456 notes · View notes

pb-and-beans · 9 months

Text

Good Places in Boston

Pairing: Colin Shea x Bestfriend/Neighbor!Reader

Summary: Your bestfriend and neighbor Colin comes to you in agony when it becomes a physical problem to think of you with anyone else.

Warnings: Angst, yelling, getting in a fight. Friends to lovers type beat, Colin is such a major fuckboy and reader is sick of it and wallows a bit in self pity (with wine lmao), fluff, this part is clean but I would def be up to writing a part 2 if it's wanted!

Wordcount: 5100

The beautiful divider is by @firefly-graphics

"Colin, what are you doing here?"

Colin sends you his characteristic grin, his fingers drumming on the pillar in your apartment as he leans against it, "Well, I uh.. I needed an escape."

"An escape from what, exactly?" You ask as you take a bite out of your breakfast bagel, quirking a brow in his direction.

"Well, I uhm... Have a girl at my place."

You roll your eyes, "Oh, so you invaded my private space to avoid the girl you just slept with... Again."

Colin laughs, "When you put it that way, it makes me sound like a total asshole."

"Maybe that's because you are a total asshole," you quip, sipping your orange juice, "I've told you numerous times that I don't like when you use me like this."

"Hey!" Colin immediately exclaims, "I'm not using you! I would never!"

Your eyes trail over his naked torso, the sweatpants he's wearing hanging so low on his hips, you're surprised they haven't slipped off already.

You place a hand on your hip as you look at him pointedly, "Sure you wouldn't. Tell me again why you're at my apartment at eight in the morning?"

Colin eyes you for a moment before he sighs, "Fine. You're smarter than me and figured me out. Is that what you want to hear?"

"No," you snort, tidying up your kitchen as you speak with your back turned to him, "What I'd like to hear would be; 'I met this girl and she's amazing and I'm gonna marry her because she's the best.' But for some reason, you keep ruining that."

Colin scoffs obnoxiously, "Why do you keep holding on to that fantasy?"

"Because I know you," you reply as you turn around to face him, "And I know you deserve an amazing person in your life. As your friend, I have a right to believe that. And I also have a right to believe that you're sabotaging yourself by sleeping with random girls every night."

Colin groans, "Will you fucking quit it, already? I don't know where you got the idea that I need to settle down when I've always told you that I don't want to settle down."'

"Right, you want to keep sleeping with strange women every night because it makes you feel better about yourself."

"Exactly!" Colin grins, "I love that about me."

You snort again, "Well I hate that about you. It's one of the things I tolerate about our friendship."

Colin walks up to you, plucking the breakfast bagel out of your hand before he takes a bite, "Please, shut it. It's not like you're any better."

"Better than you?" You scoff, narrowing your eyes at him, "Come on, Col. You must know I'm better than you when it comes to this."

"When we met each other you were just as much of a slut as I was."

"Yeah!" You exclaim loudly, "Five years ago! Did you not realize that it's been that long? Or do you just not believe that people change?"

Colin rolls his eyes, "No, what I don't believe is the fact that you're now suddenly celibate because you want to get married. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

You frown, turning your back to him as you put another bagel in the toaster, "Well, just because you don't believe it, it doesn't mean it isn't true."

"Oh come on!" Colin laughs, placing a hand on your shoulder, "You're so full of shit. I saw a guy leave your place yesterday."

You whip around to face him, your eyes narrowing, "Yeah, you did. The same guy that's been leaving my place for the last couple of months."

"What?"

"I'm dating someone," you say, frowning as your eyes meet his, "I've been dating Robert for months now."

"You're dating someone?"

"Yes!" You reply, rolling your eyes, "And you'd know more about him if you ever asked. But you never do! All you ever talk about are the random girls you fuck. Or Mexican wrestling."

"Wait.." He drags out, tilting his head as his eyes narrow, "So you're telling me you're dating someone? Someone serious? And you have been for months?"

"Oh my god, Colin," you sigh, stuffing the bagel into his mouth, "Yes, I am dating. And I have been for a while. Why is that so hard to believe?"

Colin pulls the bagel out of his mouth as he takes a step back, "It's not hard to believe.."

"Then what's with the attitude?"

"There's no attitude," he quickly interjects, "I was just.. I don't know.. Surprised."

"Well, you wouldn't be if our entire friendship wasn't based off of you and your conquests."

"Come on," Colin scoffs, "You know that's not true."

"Isn't it?" You immediately reply, "Because it seems to be the focus of our friendship."

Colin's brows furrow, "Yeah, but not on purpose.. That's just how it's always been.."

"Yeah," you scoff, turning your back once again to butter your fresh bagel when it pops out of the toaster, "That's how it's always been because I'm a good friend and that's what you need. The only times I basically see you anymore is when you come to hide out at my place. I don't feel the need to tell you about what's going on with me."

"Why not?"

You frown, looking at him over your shoulder, "Because you don't care about what's going on with me."

Just as you turn your back to him to focus on the task at hand, he replies, "I care."

"Colin," you groan, shaking your head as you focus on your bagel, "The only important person in your life is you. And I'm okay with that. I've accepted it. But don't fucking lie to me, I don't like being lied to."

"That's not true. And I'm not lying."

You scoff again, turning around to look at him as your arms cross over your chest, "So you're telling me that I hurt your feelings by not telling you about the guy I'm seeing? Come on, Col, we both know you don't give a shit."

"I do give a shit, though," he grits out, glaring at you, "And I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"Will you stop it? It's not that big of a deal. Can you just go back to being your normal self, please?"

"I am being normal."

"No, you're not," you huff, "You're being weird.. And I don't like it."

"Well, excuse me for having a reaction to you telling me you're dating someone," he loudly exclaims, turning his back to you before he starts walking away, "And that you apparently kept it secret because I'm such an awful friend."

"Colin-"

"No!" He yells, glaring at you, "Fuck off. You've said enough. I should leave."

He marches to your door stubbornly, making you huff out, "I thought you needed to hide out here so you wouldn't have to deal with your one night stand? Isn't that the only reason you ever come to see me?"

"Fuck you!" He yells, slamming the door behind him as he walks out.

"Well, fuck you too," you mumble, walking back to your kitchen to finish eating your bagel.

Five entire days went by without you seeing Colin.

That's the longest you've gone without seeing him since college. On the second day, you contemplated reaching out, but you also knew you'd done literally nothing wrong.

You were just being honest.

Truth is, you loved Colin.

In fact, you'd loved him since the second day you met him. And for the rest of your college days, you were also in love with him. But the closer you got, the more it faded.

The more you watched him hook up with a new girl every night, most of the time right in front of you, the more it went away.

When you found an available apartment in his building, you didn't know if you'd actually stay friends. You always suspected he just kept you close by in college to hit on your friends.

But then you moved in across the hall from him and he decided to keep you around. But he mainly did it so he'd have somewhere to go when he needed to hide from the women he brought home.

To be fair, usually when he'd come by, you two would end up spending most of the day together. You'd watch Mexican wrestling (he's obsessed with it and it's actually quite entertaining, so you didn't mind), or he'd play you music he'd been working on. Sometimes you'd both be doing separate things but within the same space, sharing a comfortable silence. Or you'd watch movies or simply just talk.

But there had always been a.. distance, between the two of you. He always had a hard time opening up, sharing parts of himself. You knew you meant something to him because on rare occasions, he would show a softer side to himself. Like when his dad died. He came to you for support and you did everything to help in any way you could, and it helped you get to know him a little better. He wasn't as guarded as usual.

But eventually, things went back to normal. Which meant he went back to hiding out in your place. You didn't mind that he was hiding, it wasn't about that. It was about the fact that it felt like that was the only reason he came to see you.

In the three years you've lived across the hall from him, he's had countless one night stands. Several times a week, if he wasn't working too much or was too busy to go out. It never grows old - at least not to him.

But it did to you.

Being in love with him did too.

It wasn't more than a few months ago when you decided that the dwindling feelings you harbored for him were not healthy.

That was the night you went on your first date with Robert.

And he's great; charming, handsome.. The only thing that's missing is that feeling inside.

The one you feel whenever Colin is around.

"I can come up if you want me to."

You're smiling politely up at Robert as you finish another very adequate date, but you're just not in the mood.

You haven't been in the mood for the past few days, but you don't really know why..

Actually, you do.

You know exactly why.

But you refuse to admit it.

"I'd love that, truly," you reply with a small smile, "But I'm feeling pretty.. icky, from the food tonight. I don't know, maybe I ate the wrong thing.. And I feel completely knackered out. I'm sorry Robert, is it okay that I call a raincheck on your offer?"

Robert just offers you a warm smile, "Yeah, of course. Don't worry about it."

He really is a very sweet guy. Not everyone would take a rejection that nicely. You've only been seeing each other for a few months, and it's not exactly serious; you haven't had the talk yet, and you're not exclusive with each other, either.

But he's nice and kind. Very sweet and understanding. And he's making an effort to get to know you.

Robert leans down to peck your cheek, making your smile widen before he pulls back.

"I'll see you later this week."

Once you're inside your building, you trudge up the stairs. You lied when you said you were feeling sick, but you weren't lying when you said you were tired.

Your body feels heavy, your head groggy as you walk up to your place, your mind wandering aimlessly.

You keep thinking back to the date with Robert, and how truly sweet and kind he is, but for some reason you also keep focusing on the fact that something is missing.

And once that thought hits you, your mind inevitably wanders back to Colin.

Fucking asshole. First he infiltrates your apartment and now your mind.

You shake your head and sigh once you reach the final flight of stairs. But you immediately tense up when you hear an oddly familiar sound.

Your eyes dart up at the sound of a high-pitched giggle, immediately landing on a tall, beautiful blonde, practically hanging off Colin's side.

You roll your eyes as you continue walking, glancing shortly at Colin as he fumbles with his keys to get the door open.

You walk past them, your eyes catching Colin's for a split second before he darts his away, back to focusing on getting his front door open.

You walk to your door, swiftly unlocking it, your eyes rolling to the back of your head when you hear the girl giggle out a "Colin, come ooon," before you slam the door shut.

Wine.

You need wine. Only wine can fix this dark cloud seemingly permanently hovering over you.

You hang up your coat before you patter into your bedroom, immediately changing into a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top. You swiftly move to your kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine and a large glass, and then you plop down on your couch.

Before you know it, you've drank half a bottle while watching some mindless rom-com on TV.

Is this really what it's come to?

You have a perfectly sweet guy, who would have loved to spend the night with you, and yet you're sitting here, moping on the couch and drinking wine. Alone.

Stupid Colin. Stupid Colin with his beautiful stupid face, and sculpted abs, and firm chest, and perfectly round ass, with his large hands that could-

Stop it!

You shake your head at your thoughts, topping off your glass of wine. You need to focus, need to get your shit together.

Maybe it's time you find somewhere else to live.

Yeah. That'll fix it.

You immediately pick up your laptop from the coffee table, perching it on top of your lap as you start typing.

Good places in Boston

Yikes. Okay, that's not going to work. You don't have that kind of money..

Cheap places in Boston.

Double yikes. You want to run away from your distractions, not get murdered..

You sigh, looking through some of the places as you take another sip of wine. Your fingers move over the keyboard before you can even stop yourself.

Places to live in Boston when you're trying to run away from your feelings

You chuckle at the fact that a few options actually pop up, immediately clicking through the pictures.

But then you almost spill your glass of wine on your computer when your front door is suddenly pushed open.

"Alright, we need to talk!"

Colin loudly slams the door shut behind him as he walks inside, making you snap your head to the side to look at him.

"Col, what the fuck?!" You exclaim, placing your laptop down on the coffee table, "What the hell? I thought I locked it, how are you in here?"

"No," he stomps inside, sending you a pointed look, "You didn't. Just like you never do. Sometimes I think you have a death wish."

You roll your eyes and pull your feet up on the couch, tilting your head as your eyes narrow, "Thanks for the lesson, I'll remember to lock it next time. Maybe that'll keep the assholes out."

"That's it!" He yells, crossing his arms as he walks up to you and stands in front of the couch, "We need to talk!"

"Oh, you think so? About what?" You retort, mirroring his expression as you cross your arms over your chest.

"Yes, I do!" He exclaims, clearly missing the sarcastic tone of your voice.

"What are you doing here?" You frown, glaring at him, "I'm pretty sure I saw you with a date. Shouldn't you be entertaining her?"

"I sent her home," he huffs, his stance tense. Your eyes momentarily gaze over him, noticing his grey sweatpants and his t-shirt. But then you inwardly sigh when you spot the text written on it; Free Licks.

"Okay," you sass, "And what's that got to do with me?"

"Everything!" He bellows, arms waving about exasperatedly, "It's all your fault!"

"What?" You snort, watching him as he walks closer to you on the couch, "How the fuck is that my fault? I didn't exactly invite you here, you're the one barging in!"

"Because I can't fucking... Ugh! You're so annoying!"

He huffs out a breath before he plops down on the couch dejectedly, practically staring daggers at you, "You ruined everything!"

"Colin," you sigh, shaking your head as you turn your body to face him. He's slumping down on the couch, legs spread wide, his face reminding you of a kicked puppy, "What are you talking about?"

"I can't do it anymore!" He exclaims, gesturing with his hands exasperatedly, "It doesn't work anymore! You broke it!"

"Broke what?" You frown, tilting your head at him.

"Me!" He yells, whipping his head to the side to look at you properly, "You broke me!"

You snort again.

"How exactly did I break you?"

"You were mean to me and now I can't do it anymore. It's your fault!"

"Okay, stop yelling," you sigh, sitting criss cross on the couch, looking at him, "Elaborate, please."

Colin sighs deeply before he turns his body towards you, "You fucking broke me. You were talking about that shit, about you, and settling down, and just-ugh! You fucking ruined it."

"Colin," you shake your head in confusion, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you mean that you're upset because we had a fight?"

"No," he replies, his eyes trailing over your living room, "I'm not just upset because we had a fight, it's not that. It's-"

His eyes narrow when they land on your computer and before you can even object, he snags it off the table, "What the fuck is this?! You're looking for an apartment?!"

You pull your bottom lip between your teeth as your eyes dart down, not saying a word.

His head whips to the side to look at you, "Are you moving?!"

"No, I was just looking-"

"Why?!"

"Please, stop yelling," you mumble, rubbing your temples with your fingers, "You're going to give me a fucking migraine."

His eyes move back to the computer screen, long slender fingers quickly tapping the touchpad as he looks through the site, "Why are you moving?"

You shrug, your fingers fiddling with the hem of your shorts, "I'm not, I'm just.. Looking. I just wanted to see what else is out there, just to, you know.. Have a look."

"But you love living here," he mumbles, glancing at you before he looks back at the screen, "And these places are.. Wait a fucking second."

You glance up at him at his tone, your breath almost hitching when you're met with the stern look on his face.

"Are you moving in with him?"

You scrunch your face up in confusion, "What?"

"You are!" He exclaims, fingers now clicking furiously on the touchpad as he glares at the computer screen, "You're fucking.. You're moving in with him! I can't believe this.. Why would you do that?!"

You put your hands up to calm him, "Okay, hey, calm down, that's not-"

"Why are you moving in with him?!"

You blink a few times as he looks at you, his eyes searching your face. You take a moment too long to reply, making him speak again, "Do you love him?"

"What? Colin, it's-"

"You fucking love him," he breathes out, eyes widening as he looks back at the computer, "You broke me, and now you're gonna move in with this fucking guy, and you're gonna leave, and-"

"Colin!" You interrupt, making him look at you again, "Calm. Down. I am not moving in with him. I was just looking for fun. Calm your fucking tits, Shea."

"But do you love him?"

Your brows furrow at his question.

Why would he ask that?

Your eyes search his face and it has this strange vulnerability to it, one you haven't seen many times before. It's so rare, because he usually hides who he truly is. The only times you've ever seen it have been when something awful has happened, like when his dad died and you went with him to his funeral for support.

Your words are quieter than before when you ask, "Why do you want to know?"

He takes a deep breath, cerulean eyes holding yours captive as he whispers, "I just.. I want to know.. Do you?"

You wait for a moment, holding his piercing gaze, "No, I don't love him."

He releases a breath, your eyes not missing how he visibly relaxes where he sits. Then his eyes move back to the computer without him saying a word.

"Why are you here, Colin? What's going on?"

"You broke me," he mumbles, not looking at you, "I don't work like I used to, anymore."

"What does that mean?"

"Means I can't fucking get it up," he grumbles, clicking through the pictures on the website, "Can't have sex, it's like you're infiltrating my mind. No matter how hard I try, or who I've brought home in the past five days, I can't fucking do it. Can't even masturbate, how pathetic is that?"

He lets out a dry laugh as he continues looking at the pictures on the website, not even glancing your way.

You can feel your heart pounding in your chest, slamming against your ribcage as nerves swirl around your body.

"Why do you think that is?"

"Dunno," he mumbles, "I just keep thinking about you, it's so infuriating. It's never happened to me before, I don't know what the fuck is going on. I think your domesticated stink rubbed off on me, or something.."

You smile, watching the side of his face as he keeps his focus on your computer. "Or maybe it's something else."

"Like what?" He asks dumbly, turning his head to look at you, "You think I'm going impotent?"

You snort, shaking your head, "No, you idiot, you're not going impotent."

"Then what is it? Is this normal? Can you help me? I'm going fucking crazy here."

You nod slowly, eyes holding his, "Yeah, I uh.. I've heard about this before."

"What does it mean?" He asks you urgently, putting the laptop back down on the coffee table so he can face you fully, "How do I fix it?"

"I'm afraid you can't."

"What?! Why not?! I can't live like this!"

You chew on your bottom lip nervously as you hold back a smile at his words, and you don't miss the way his eyes immediately dart down to your lips at the action.

"I don't think it's something that needs fixing, Col. I think it means something else."

"What does it mean?" he mumbles out, eyes staying locked on your lips, "What should I do?"

You lean closer until you can cup his cheek, making his eyes move back up to meet yours, "I think it means you have some feelings that you're trying to ignore."

He scoffs softly, eyes bouncing between your own as he whispers, "But I don't get feelings.."

You chuckle softly, tilting your head, "I'm sorry to tell you this.. But I think you do."

Colin's eyes widen slightly at your words, then dropping to your lips again, "So.. What do I do? How do I get rid of them?"

"Sweetie," you smile, making him meet your eyes again. Your thumb gently rubs his cheek as you whisper, "Why would you want to get rid of them?"

His brows furrow, baby blue eyes scanning yours, "Because they're ruining me. I don't work anymore, I can't-"

He trails off when you lean a little closer, his breath hitching audibly.

"What was that?" You ask, tiling your head, "What were you about to say?"

Colin keeps searing eye contact, his blue eyes slowly being swallowed out by his pupils as he breathes out, "I can't get it up."

You smirk, your eyes darting down to his crotch momentarily, noticing the large bulge straining against his jeans, before you whisper, "You sure about that?"

He looks at you in complete and utter fascination, a dumbfounded expression pulling at his features. Then he mirrors your actions, his hand raising to cup your cheek, "What is this? What's happening?"

You snort, offering him a small smile before you drop your hand from his cheek, "It's nothing, Shea. Doesn't mean anything. But at least now you know your issue isn't physical. It's all in your head."

Colin frowns when you start to pull back, the hand cupping your cheek suddenly sliding back to curl around your neck, "Wait! Wait, stop, don't move.."

He pulls you closer to him, slowly, your lips parting as you look into his eyes intensely. He inches you closer until your breaths are practically mixing, his gaze never faltering.

"Col," you whisper, your heart beating rapidly, "What are you doing?"

He doesn't reply, instead, his eyes bounce between yours nervously before he leans the rest of the way. He moves in, slowly, and then he releases an unsteady breath when his soft lips slot over yours.

Your eyes close on instinct, your body practically melting into him at the delicate touch. He holds you to him, his grip on you never wavering, and it makes you rest your hand on his thigh to steady yourself.

He hums quietly as his lips move over yours, slowly, exploring the feel of them, and you mirror his movement, kissing him back carefully.

You can feel practical fireworks swirling inside you, your mind swimming at how soft his lips feel, how fucking fantastic it feels to dig your teeth into that plump bottom lip of his.

He groans quietly at the action, his other hand lifting to cup your face, tilting your head to kiss you deeper.

But then, when his tongue swipes at the seam of your lips, it snaps you out of it.

You pull back immediately, eyes widening as they meet his, "What-"

"Come back," he whispers, his eyes wild as they meet yours, "Don't pull away, please. Kiss me again."

"Col, I don't know if-"

"Please," he says, his eyes pleading, "It felt so good."

You smile softly, leaning into his touch when his thumb strokes your cheek, "Yeah, it did. But we can't do this, Colin."

"Why not?" He asks, almost needily.

You let out a small sigh, your eyes dropping to your hand on his thigh, "Because I won't just be another notch on your belt. I can't do that, we can't do that. You're my best friend. I don't want to just be a fuck, if we did that it would ruin everything."

"No, you don't know that, maybe-"

"I wouldn't be able to do it," you reply as you look back up at him, "If we crossed that line, I wouldn't be able to go back. I can't do that and still be your friend, still watch you hook up with every girl you meet. It would be too painful."

Colin stays quiet for a moment, those baby blues almost haunting as he holds your gaze. But then his hands drop, releasing you from his hold, and it's like your heart shatters into a million pieces.

"You're right," he mumbles, looking away from you, "You're right, it wouldn't be okay. It would be bad."

You try to hide the hurt inside, forcing on a brave face as you reply, "Yeah, it would be."

"I'm sorry," Colin says, glancing back at you before he gets up from the couch, "I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't even have come here. I should go."

And then, before you can even manage to object, he's stormed out of your apartment, leaving you sitting on your couch, feeling even more lost than before.

When your door opens suddenly at 8 am two days later, it makes your blood run cold.

You almost cower in the kitchen, your eyes glued to the inside of your fridge, body tensing when the front door slams and you hear footsteps getting closer.

Guess it's back to normal, then.

And normal means he hooked up last night.

You take a moment to calm yourself before you mumble out, "Morning."

"Morning!" Colin says cheerfully as he walks closer, dropping something on the kitchen counter behind you.

You pick up the jug of juice in your fridge door, not looking at him as you turn to bring out a glass from the cupboard, "You're chipper this morning."

"Yeah," Colin replies, watching you pour juice into your glass, and you don't miss the happy tone of his voice.

Guess his problem got fixed.

You open another cupboard, reaching to pull out the bag of bagels hiding inside, when Colin's voice stops you, "No need, I got us breakfast."

That makes your brows furrow.

You glance at him over your shoulder, surprised to see he's actually dressed at 8 am, wearing a graphic tee and a pair of jeans, as well as his blue converse.

You tilt your head, smiling in amusement, "What?"

Colin lifts the bag off the counter, jutting his chin toward the couch, "C'mon, let's watch something. I got us fresh bagels. Bring the cream cheese."

You watch in utter confusion as he walks over to the couch and plops down on it, placing the bag of bagels on the coffee table. You remain a little sceptical as you bring out plates, a knife, and the cream cheese from your fridge, before you follow him.

You sit down next to him, frowning in confusion as you move to sit criss-crossed on the couch, leaning against the arm of it.

Colin just smiles as he pulls two bagels out of the bag, even preparing each of them with cream cheese before handing one to you.

You take it hesitantly, eyeing him carefully as he leans back on the couch and takes a bite, picking up your remote to turn on the TV.

As you watch him casually take a bite of his bagel, you finally ask, "Colin, what's going on?"

"Breakfast," he replies with his mouth full, eyes locked on your TV screen.

"Yeah, I got that," you chuckle, looking at him incredulously, "But, why?"

"Wanted to prove it to you," he says after he swallows his bite, finally turning his head to look at you.

"Prove what to me?" You ask curiously, watching the wide grin slowly spreading on his face.

"That it's different," he replies as he looks at you, "That you're different."

394 notes · View notes