#because with warm weather i don’t have the option to hide myself in huge sweaters and cardigans etc

[littlefeatherr]

Prompt fill for @maroucia : Mail-order bride modern AU. In a modern Westeros, the North is much poorer than the South and Sansa is lured by all the riches and temptations of the south and so, she decides to offer herself as a mail-order bride. Of course, she catches Sandor’s eyes who himself has turned to the idea because he hates dating seeing that his face is burned and all, but he still would like to find a wife. Read more below or on AO3 here.

Chapter 1

Settling down with a mug of tea, Sansa needed to take a break from job hunting. Opening her tablet, she decided to indulge her favorite escape: perusing vacation blogs, pretending she was planning a visit to the southern countries of Westeros.

While the south was full of cities bustling with diversity, plenty of jobs to be had for the asking, and mild weather, the north never recovered from the war. And the ten year winter season was a burden itself.

The poor economy denied basic resources for northerners, especially since King Joffrey placed tariffs on all the products exported from there as part of a trade war. In the past year, many industries closed. And families that Sansa had known all her life were moving away.

Since her father passed away five years back, there had been huge financial burdens on the family, and Sansa couldn’t bring herself to leave them. So she settled on a local university to continue her dream of becoming a custom dressmaker.

Bran’s snowboard accident happened not long after; in-home physical therapy and medical bills further strained the family funds. Sansa had to quit school and work two jobs. Since their mother spent her time working and caring for Bran, Arya and Rickon grew wilder by the day. Winter had come with a vengeance for the Starks.

Sleet rattled against the windows, shaking her of her recollections. Gods, what she wouldn’t do to be on a southron beach right now. She was determined to reach her dreams, one way or another. She just needed a plan. 

Sansa tapped her finger on the bookmark of her favorite blog. Escape to the warm, sun-kissed beaches of King’s Landing! Sansa wished for nothing more.  Life seemed so carefree for the people who lived there. The sight of the wealthy, young, tanned and fit men and women frolicking in the waves sent a pang of envy through her.

Sansa couldn’t remember the last time she had a vacation, could barely remember a time when she felt the effortless contentment in the people smiling back at her through the screen of her tablet.

Eagerly she moved onto the second one. The beautiful shores of Port Lannisport, one of the largest, richest cities of Westeros. Come to visit and see it’s prosperity for yourself!

More beautiful, tanned people, Sansa complained inwardly. This time they were wearing swimsuits that barely covered their most intimate places, enjoying champagne under burgundy and gold cabanas of the exclusive Casterly Rock Club.

Yes, Casterly Rock Club was very elegant, but she would feel too out of place there if they even allowed shabby northerners into the place. Every one of the guests was surgically enhanced and dripping in gold and diamond jewelry.

Swallowing hard, her hand instinctively went to the silver and sapphire direwolf charm at her neck, the last nameday gift she had received from her late father. It was a reminder of better times, and the ones she prayed to the gods were ahead for her. She fingered it while whispering a quick prayer to her father before tapping on the next bookmark.

Shop the opulent Lannisport Outlet Mall, your one-stop destination to luxury!   Oh, she would much rather visit there! Ever since she was a little girl, Sansa loved embroidery, sewing, and designer clothing.

The scenes showed happy families laughing while eating southern delicacies, bringing up a bitter lump in her throat. Young people in the latest summer fashions carried designer Dornish leather handbags as they shopped and flirted under a shaded canopy.

Wrinkling her nose, Sansa glanced down at her sweats and ratty sweater. When was the last time she went shopping? Aside from The Wall Mart, there weren’t many places to shop near Winterfell - and none of them fashionable. She would definitely need to do some serious online retail therapy if she ever visited Port Lannisport.

Faintly Sansa could hear her mother speaking to someone. On to the next region, she said to herself as she tucked her feet under her legs.

Visit the rugged hills of the Westerlands, the richest lands in Westeros. A landscape dotted with golden, rolling plains and caves from which gold and silver mines pour forth deep veins in astonishing quantities. Abundant gemstones and precious metals mean lower prices on all your jewelry needs!

With widened eyes, Sansa clicked on the pictures of black fertile fields, apple orchards, Pinot grape vineyards, and Black Mission fig tree groves. Further inland lay dense maple forests that opened up to crystal blue lakes and river rapids, reportedly renowned worldwide for whitewater rafting.

Gemstones of all kinds, gold and silver jewelry, beautiful log homes in the verdant foothills all caught her attention. Oh, she would definitely visit the Westerlands first! The featured delicacies and riches were sensational!

But how could she go? The family barely had enough money to get by; not many opportunities presented themselves as of late. Her gaze fell on a bookmark icon for a mail-order bride broker she had set up months ago. Missandei’s Marriage Brokerage Suite. Let us help you find your perfect match with a beautiful, northern bride of your choosing.

That’s one way to get south. And if I’m chosen, I could put my husband’s fee in a trust for Bran. From what Sansa had seen on the website, Lannisport and King’s Landing was teeming with beautiful women, but the farming areas surrounding them were not heavily populated. The men there depended on agriculture and vacationers for their incomes – jobs that left little time for meeting potential partners.

Her mother’s voice pulled her out of her fantasies - and back to the dreary reality of life. Stern Aunt Lysa was impatiently tapping her foot; Sansa had been so caught up in her musings that she didn’t realize she’d entered the room.

“Sansa, are you daydreaming again? Put down the tablet for a moment, please.”

Her mother had a way of saying “please” that sounded anything but polite, especially when she was about to lecture to one of her children.

No wonder Arya and Bran are nowhere to be found. Suppressing a sigh, Sansa braced herself and turned to face them.

“I cannot understand for the life of me why you haven’t yet settled down with someone and moved out,” Catelyn began. “I was married for four years at your age.”

“Mother-“

“It’s all I can do to keep Winterfell let out, and food on the table for Arya and Rickon, and Bran with all the medical bills, I can’t afford to feed you too.“

“Mother, I know,” Sansa struggled to remain respectful. Ever since she turned eighteen, this had become a well-worn topic between them, and at twenty, Sansa had already said all she had to say on the subject. 

Enter Aunt Lysa.

“That is why I started college,” Sansa pulled her mother close, “so I could make real money, not just the little I bring doing housekeeping and selling on Etsy.”

“And what good did it do you? You knew from the start that we could ill afford it, but you were determined to waste what little money your father left you on it.“ Aunt Lysa interjected. "And here you are, squandering your days on that damned tablet!”

Her words stung. “I wanted to help the family by having an actual career. I thought maybe I could open a clothing store and help the local economy, but there aren’t any opportunities here.” Sansa stepped away and wrung her hands.

Exasperated, Aunt Lysa shook her head. “Always with the dreams. Well, it’s time you grew up. Take your educated self south, Miss.”

“I would love to go, but since I, as you say, wasted my money on education, I don’t have a way.”

Aunt Lysa and her mother exchanged a look. "Uncle Petyr lives in King’s Landing in the famed Red Keep and he’s offered to take you in. You could work with his showgirls’ costumes-“

Tears stung Sansa’s eyes, for this, too, was a familiar and unpleasant topic between the three of them.

“No, absolutely not! He’s not my uncle, so I wish you both would stop with that! And they aren’t showgirls, Aunt Lysa, they’re sex workers!”

"Ungrateful child!” Aunt Lysa sputtered. “This family has no better friend than Petyr, especially since your father and Jon both-”

Sansa rolled her eyes.

“Sansa that is just a terrible rumor started by jealous people trying to discredit him.” Catelyn insisted.

“So that’s the official party line he has you two repeating.“

Catelyn gaped at her, but Sansa went on, “He’s always staring at me in the grossest way. Sending me friend requests on my social media. He’s a stalker.“

“Sansa, that’s your college third wave feminism talking! Petyr is old-fashioned, and he’s not about to hide that he’s interested in you. What’s wrong with that?” Aunt Lysa fumed.

“What’s wrong is that I’ve made it clear that I don’t want his attention - and yet he refuses to take no for an answer!” Sansa set her jaw. “If you like him so much, why don’t you go live with him and leave me alone?”

Catelyn pinched Sansa’s arm. “By the gods, Sansa, you can be just as willful as Arya at times!”

She jerked away from her. 

“You don’t have many options. So, it’s either go with your Uncle Petyr, young lady, or get in touch with a marriage brokerage.”

“A marriage brokerage? To offer myself as a mail order wife?” Sansa’s nervously considered the possibility. It was an honorable way to find a husband and definitely a good opportunity…

“Petyr offered to do it himself, but I don’t like your attitude, so you just do it on your own!” Aunt Lysa hissed. "Just go on and become a mail order bride on one of those bargain sites and see what kind of monster you end up with!”

“Whoa, wait just a minute - Petyr offered to buy me outright, didn’t he?!” Sansa shouted. “And not just for my sewing skills!”

Catelyn side eyed her. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Mother-”

“I married your father as a mail-order bride.” Her mother arched her brow.

Great, another guilt trip.

“And I married your Uncle Jon as one, the Seven rest him.” Aunt Lysa added, even though Sansa had turned her back to her. “You have a duty to your family. It’s time you made good on it.”

“We need the money, Sansa, and there aren’t many prospects up here-“ her mother gestured to the shabby conditions around them, “and Bran and Arya and Rickon need me. What would you have me do?”

“Stop being so selfish, Sansa!” Aunt Lysa shouted.

“Good gods, Aunt Lysa, even the marriage agencies give women the right to choose their husbands!”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Sansa fought to calm her temper and think rationally. Perhaps if I joined up with one of the free sites, I will find a nice man, settle in with him and who knows? Love might follow. It worked out pretty well for my mother. Less so for my aunt.

Biting her lip, Sansa thought it over. Could she really muster up the courage to reach out to a strange man? To be his wife, and share his bed? 

Sansa had already looked at a few sites, and they didn’t seem so bad; each one had ways and means to ensure successful matches. The only caveat was the marriage had to be consummated the day of the wedding, and if they didn’t get along by the end of the trial period, Sansa would need to return the money - and to the north.

Excitement and a bit of fear took hold of her, while Sansa’s silence increased her mother’s unease.

“Stop that lip nibbling, Sansa, it’s unladylike and a disgusting habit you picked up from Arya. So what will it be: go stay and work with Uncle Petyr, or become a mail order bride?”

Sansa had so little ownership of her own life since her father died. Yet today she would regain control, snatch it out of thin air, all for herself.

“Fine, Mother, I’m going to do it my way. I’ll meet with a marriage brokerage as soon as possible.”

Without a word, she picked up her tablet and left the room, leaving her mother crying over her ungrateful daughter and her aunt harping on her duty to the family.

#sansan #sansa x sandor #sansa stark #sandor clegane #sansan fanfiction #loong post

[happiestholland-blog]

Coffee Shop Chapter 3

Fuckboy Tom AU!! TomHollandxReader 

Summary: You and Tom meet again, just a little change in environment :-)

Word Count: 4199

Warnings: Swearing, mostly fluff, a little angst.

A/N: YAYYY finally lol. This is the longest part I’ve done so far, and I apologize for the wait. It ends a little weird, but I promise I have this going in the direction i want. THE NEXT PART IS ABOUT TO BE SO GOOD. I AM SO E X C I T E D. I’m about to start a tag list!!! Message me to be tagged!

Rain, rain, rain. That’s all the weather has been like for the last four days. The city has been plagued with massive puddles resembling small lakes, and the air is bitingly cold. It’s a miracle that with the cold temperatures, you haven’t been trapped in your apartment building by what could’ve and maybe should’ve been a blizzard. And if it had been a blizzard, you wouldn’t have been able to see Tom at the coffee shop for what became a part of both of your daily routines over the last week. The rain hasn’t stopped either of you from meeting each other, which makes your stomach knot in the best way. He was willing to see you everyday despite the awfully shitty weather. You feel kind of silly, hinging the fact that he maybe, just might, be happy to see you everyday as you are as happy to see him, based off the fact that every day you shared a coffee or tea or two together before carrying on with the rest of your day. But you felt especially silly, since you still hadn’t exchanged numbers or even told each other your last names. You always meant to ask him for his number, much less his last name, but whenever you two began to talk, it would always slip your mind, and you wouldn’t remember.

Today’s weather was a small improvement from the previous days. There was a light mist over the city. The air was still bitingly cold, but of course, that wouldn’t stop you. You pulled on a long sleeved t-shirt, a sweater, a pair of comfortable jeans, your rain boots, and braided your hair sloppily over a shoulder. The coffee shop’s atmosphere was always warm, so you didn’t bother with one of your bulkier coats before leaving. The shop was only a short block away from your building and as usual, you weren’t planning on staying out afterwards either.

You usually got to the cafe before Tom did, so in order to busy yourself, you usually helped Ms. Phillips stock coffee bean bags, travel mugs, and other merchandise in the shop’s shelves, wiping tables down, and made sure the magazines scattered throughout the shop were current and up to date. These were small favors you usually did which Ms. Phillips sometimes paid you back for with free drinks and coupons. She often teased you about Tom, about how handsome he was, and how you both probably had a huge crush on each other, but every time, you deny it, giving you a weird sinking and terrifying, yet floating feeling because maybe she might be right. After all, she is old enough to have seen it all. But it’s impossible. Tom was… something else; sweet and kind, and not to mention gorgeous, and you almost forget that you’ve been hurt in the past and that titles and love are actually terrifying, but he’s definitely out of your league. You see how women look at him from outside the window as they pass the coffee shop window and as they buy their drinks. Ms. Phillips has even warned you before that he could have a side you could’ve never imagined. Whatever happens, happens, you think to yourself. But you’re not about to lose your mind over this. But you still find yourself lost in your thoughts as you finish wiping a table down before taking a seat at your own usual spot in the corner. You just pull out a pen and colored pencils, as the door chime jingles and Tom bustles his way in, an unopened umbrella hanging from one of his wrists, both hands lodged in his coat pockets.

“(Y/N), Hi,” Tom greets you, still breathless from the cold. He takes some time to hang both his coat and umbrella from the back of his chair before taking a seat.

“Hey Tom,” you smile.

“What, no drinks today?” he teases, noticing that you didn’t have your usual mug of green tea or coffee before you today.

You shake your head with a smile. “Nah. I just helped the owner, Ms. Phillips with some chores and stuff today, so I haven’t found the time yet.”

He gets back to his feet. “Well that’s good news because I probably owe you a drink or two anyway. My treat,” he says with a shy smile. “Green tea or coffee today?”

“Oooo, you big spender,” you laugh, borrowing his little joke from your second time meeting. “I’ll go for a coffee today, thank you, Tom.”

He snorts a laugh. “Hey, you deserve it, (Y/N). I got you.” Pulling his wallet from his back pocket, he makes his way into the crowded line, which gives you time to study him.

Tom’s wearing a beanie today, little brown curls sticking out from underneath it. He’s wearing a black hoodie over blue jeans with a pair of Doc Martens boots. His hands look rough and calloused from here, but you know from sitting in front of him every morning that though calloused, their movements are gentle and light. He’s rough looking despite his sweet personality. In fact, he looks exactly like the type of guy you knew to avoid. Just by standing there in line, he had gained not just your attention, but the attention of half of the other women sitting in the coffee shop with you. But that doesn’t seem to bother him at all, much less capture his attention. Your eyes travel from his hands back to his face, and feel your cheeks flush in embarrassment when he catches your eye.

Now, Tom is no stranger to catching women’s eyes on him in public; whether it be from recognition from his role as Spider-man or simply because he was good looking. But when he caught your eye, his heart did a flip flop. You were dressed simply today. You didn’t do much to your physical appearance to call attention to yourself, and yet here you were taking all of his. His eyes locked on yours, and your skin is tinged pink in embarrassment, but you smile sweetly and return your gaze back to your notebook. He’s not going to fall for you, he won’t, he reminds himself. He finishes paying for your drinks and slowly makes his way back to your table, careful not to make any spills.

He pulls his beanie off his head and shakes his messy curly hair out with a hand. “So, I’ve been forgetting to ask, but have you gotten any sleep lately?” he asks, aware that you used to never get any sleep due to your obnoxious neighbor living a floor up from you.

You sip your drink, savoring the warm feeling that fills you. “I did actually. He’s been quiet lately, thank god,” you reply, setting your mug down.

He nods. “That’s great, it’s good to know you’re finally getting to sleep.”

“Yeah,” you agree with a smile. “Thanks to him, I haven’t binge watched anything on netflix in a while.”

Tom smirks. “You know, I don’t know if you’re saying that as if it’s a good or bad thing or not.”

“Now that you say that, I’m not too sure about it myself,” you laugh.

At this point, Tom’s breathing gets lodged in his throat again. Your laugh. It literally lifts his stress away, but he can’t have that. He doesn’t want to feel that floating feeling. It made him vulnerable. He can’t stand looking at you without his heart flipping in his chest, and here, at your usual spot in the shop, he has no choice but to keep his gaze on you as you both speak, or be a complete asshole and stare out the window. And both were non-options. If he kept sitting here, focusing on only looking at your pretty face and listening to your soft voice, he knew he start feeling like maybe he should let himself fall a little. A non-option. But being an asshole was also a no-go. You didn’t deserve to think he didn’t care, you were too kind to him for him to do that.

“Hey, (Y/N)?”

“Mhm?” you hum, sipping your drink.

“Would you care for a walk?” Tom asks. At least this way, if they were to walk side by side, he wouldn’t feel obligated to look at you in the face as you walked; there are plenty of things to look at on a walk. “You know, for a change in environment?” he adds, for cover.

There’s a look of hesitation on your face. “What’s wrong with the shop?” you quickly tease, to hide your apprehension.

Tom shakes his head. “Nothing. It’s lovely. But you know, a change in environment?” he repeats sheepishly. He’s never been this bad with words before, and his ideas being rejected or questioned wasn’t a common thing that happened to him. His nerves probably weren’t doing him any good either. Since when did he ever feel nervous about talking to girls? He knew that was dangerous. If he’s nervous about someone, that means he cares about their opinion of him.

You drain the rest of your drink in a few quick gulps and put your notebook away.

Tom smiles. “So is that a yes?”

“I don’t know, Tom. It’s not that I don’t want to go…” you begin.

He shakes his head, a victorious little smile tugging at the corner of his lips, knowing that you were about to give in.

“But fine, I guess we can use a little ‘change in environment’”, you roll your eyes playfully as you air quote his words.

Tom’s smile blooms all the way across his face, and he drains his mug as well. “Thank you. Let’s get going.”

You slip your arms into your coat and pick up your backpack, and head out. As soon as you step out the coffeeshop doors, you remember the freezing forty degree weather and that you didn’t bother dressing very warmly. A cold breeze sends a shiver down your spine, and you clench your teeth to keep them from chattering, pulling the hood of your thin coat up.

“Tom?” you pause on the sidewalk.

“Yeah?”

You stuff your hands into your thin coat pockets, your fingers already a bright red from the cold. “I didn’t exactly dress for the occasion.”

Tom does a quick once over, noticing your thin coat. He tries his hardest not to wince. He couldn’t stay cooped up with you at the shop. Looking at you for too long, even now, was difficult for him. Anything, literally anything, would better than accidentally falling for you if you made him laugh one more time while stuck looking at you. He knows that what he’s about to do is dumb for him and his pact to himself, but he takes his coat off and hands it to you.

Your eyes widen at the gesture. “Tom, I can’t take that. I’d leave you cold, and I’d feel awful about it.”

For fuck’s sake, Tom thinks to himself. Everything you do is so soft and caring and considerate of him without you meaning to do so. He almost wishes you weren’t so easily likable. But your kindness... It’s like second nature to you. “If you don’t, you’ll freeze,” he says quietly.

You shrug, a pained smile crossing your face. You didn’t want to waste time by going home and grabbing something more weather appropriate. You knew Tom was busy whenever he wasn’t with you.

Tom groans. “Don’t act like it’s not a big deal. You can borrow my jumper.” He pulls the hoodie he was wearing underneath his coat over his head, handing it to you. It should be heavy enough to keep you warm, with the sweater you were already wearing, and the thin coat you had brought along.

“You’re gonna be the death of me, Tom,” you say under your breath, but there’s a touch of playfulness in your tone.

He shrugs. “I’ll take the blame… But wait, why would I be the death of you, if you’re the one who forgot to dress warm enough?” Tom can’t help but laugh.

You pause, looking at him. “You know, you got me there, so maybe I’ll be the death of you,” and your lips pull into a slight cringe.

“Just put the damn jumper on, (Y/N),” Tom shook his head between a smile. Tom watches as you pull his hoodie on. You’re right. You will be the death of him. The jumper is a lot bigger on you than it was on him, and its sleeves pool over your hands and its hem settles mid thigh.

Yes, this is definitely a mistake, Tom thought to himself as you pull your coat on over his jumper. You looked adorable with the excess thick black fabric of his jumper overflowing over your hands and out the bottom of your coat. He liked the look of his clothing on you more than he ever could’ve imagined, and when you looked up to him to thank him, he wanted to turn and run in the direction of his apartment building, just out of pure confusion and fright from what he was feeling, but at the same time, he couldn’t; not because he didn’t want to look bad to you, but because he wanted to be around you. You looked goofy, but your sweet smile could evaporate the massive puddles of rain water lining the city streets. He’s at a loss for words, looking at you.

Tom never would’ve thought he’d let a girl borrow his clothing. It invited them to get closer to him... Gave them a reason to think that they meant something to him. To not lend his clothing to any girl for any reason at all, is a rule of his game he hadn’t broken since he started living the life he currently lives. His heart is flooded with his mixed feelings; so torn between wanting you to fall for him and needing to keep his distance. He had been catching your stares more and more often and your embarrassed smiles and flushed cheeks were the most endearing thing he’d ever seen and it was a good boost to his confidence. Being with you was peaceful and relaxing, unlike the turbulence he encountered in his everyday life as Tom Holland. But even though nothing you’ve done shows that you’ll disappear out of nowhere, putting his trust in you, or anyone for that matter, is terrifying. But for the first time in a really long time, he almost feels like he wants to belong with someone… That someone being you.

He realizes that he’s been staring at you, and you’ve been staring back the entire time, and he shakes his head.

“I look stupid, I know,” you laugh.

“It’s quite the opposite. Don’t worry, (Y/N),” Tom replies, looking away.

“Whatever you say.” You quip, and you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and Tom slides a pair of sunglasses on as you both make your way down the sidewalk, between the bustling people. “So where to, Tom?” you ask.

“There’s a few places we can go to,” he replied. “But first, the grocery store.” Honestly, he wasn’t sure where to take you, but he’s seen several people go to the park just to feed ducks at the duck pond. He figured that would be enough.

“The grocery store?” you look at him, inquisitively.

“Mhm,” Tom nods.

“Any particular reason why?” you ask, trying to keep up with Tom’s long strided walk.

He makes a turn down into a street where the low profile bodega he usually frequented sat.

“Well yeah,” Tom says, a small shy smile tugging at his lips. “Ever fed ducks at the pond in the park?” He usually didn’t feel this bashful around women. It was weird.

A smile grows on your face. “Well yeah,” you imitate Tom’s tone. “But people usually don’t do that in this weather. What there aren’t any there?”

“We’re just going to have to hope we’re lucky,” Tom replies. He pulls the grocery store door open, allowing you in first. The door shut behind him as he followed you in, sealing the two of you in sudden warmth after walking in the cold and strange lighting from the fluorescent lights with the grey sunshine pouring in from the windows. He picks up a small can of instant oats for the ducks and a few snacks for himself. “Want anything?” he looks to you.

You pick up a bag of gummy bears and a rice krispy treat. “I got it, thank you anyway, Tom.”

He shakes his head. “Nope. This entire thing was my idea, so I provide the provisions,” he declares. He looks at your sugary snack selection. “Sweet tooth?” he asks.

“Maybe a little,” you admit.

He smiles. A sweet tooth to match your overly sweet personality. It’s only fitting. “Compromise? We’ll take turns with this treating the other deal, alright?” He reaches for your snacks.

“Fine,” you submit. “My turn next time, okay?”

“Done.” He replies.

You crack a stupid smile, pointing at the can of oats in his arms. “I guess you can say, oats a deal,” you bite your lip, trying not to laugh.

“You did not just say that,” he groans, but he can’t help but smile at your stupid pun. “That was the worst pun in history.”

“I believe I did,” you reply in a fit of giggles.

He shakes his head, unable to get rid of his own smile. “You’re not funny, (Y/N).”

“Oh come on, Tom. You oat-ta learn to take a joke,” you say, snorting when you can’t contain your laughter.

“Did you just snort?”

“Maybe I did!”

By now, Tom’s smile is fully plastered across his face. “You think you’re so hilarious.” If you weren’t laughing so hard at your own joke, Tom probably wouldn’t have laughed at all, but your laugh is contagious. A red flag goes up in his head, blaring his alarms. What made you happy, made him happy. This happiness is so new. It feels good, and he hits snooze on those alarms.

You snort again. “You’re right. I do.”

"I’m not confirming that or negating that statement,” he replies.

You raise your eyebrows. “Oh please. You know it’s hilarious. You wouldn’t be laughing right now if you didn’t.”

“That’s questionable.”

“You know it.”

“Okay, (Y/N),” Tom shakes his head, his cheeks aching from his massive 

He brings your items to the counter and pays. With your items in a plastic bag, you both make your way to the park, talking as you went. Despite your joking and light exchange at the bodega and only a week of knowing him, you knew your boundaries. Tom didn’t mention his work as an extra very often, his hometown or his family; when he did, he usually left out titles, places, and names, but today, you learned that he was one of four brothers, two of them being twins, two years younger, a youngest brother, being eight years younger than Tom.

“Your poor mother,” you joke.

He shrugs. “She kept us in line.”

He doesn’t say much about them after that, and you don’t press him for details. You feel like there’s more to the story that he’s withholding from you. He obviously still cares about his family. He speaks about them nostalgically, but they’re obviously not a part of his life at the present moment and you figure that when the time comes, and when he’s comfortable, he’ll tell you more. B you found you had more in common than you thought. You both find yourselves easily talking about your favorite music, TV shows, both of your theories on the universe, your strange obsession for instant ramen noodles, and who you think will win the World Cup coming up.

You basically covered a whole two days’ worth of topics on the walk to the park, without the random pauses that came with trying to cool and sip a hot drink. When you get there, you see that you’re in luck. Though the weather is quite honestly gross and pretty cold, the pond is occupied by fifteen or so ducks. Besides the few people who stream past you and the man playing a saxophone under a footbridge a little further up the path, evidently no one had the same idea Tom had for the day.

Tom unlooped the plastic bag’s handles from his wrist and hands you the small cardboard container of instant oats. “Would you like to do the first honor?” he asks, in a rather grandiose manner.

“Oh, why of course I would!” You tug the lid off the can and grab a small handful of oats and you toss it into the water for the ducks to snack at, and they come flocking. “So what made you think today would be a good day to feed ducks?” you ask out of the blue.

Tom isn’t facing you at that very moment, and he’s thanking whatever god is up there watching out for him. If he were looking at you, you’d be able to see clear as day that he was making up whatever he was gonna say. He didn’t think today would be a day for anything. But here he was. “I just thought a change in environment and routine would be a good thing, you know?” He repeats what he said back in the coffee shop.

“I guess,” you reply, tossing another handful of oats for the ducks.

You guess? Tom’s heart rate started to rise. “Um, there’s an art museum nearby and bunch of food carts. You know, for when we run out of oats. Or get hungry”

“What art museum?” You ask, intrigued.

“The Metropolitan Museum of Art, why?” he asks, he turns to look at you.

You shrug. “I’ve been meaning to go, but I haven’t yet.”

Tom finally brings his eyes to yours. “Wait, I thought you liked art and painting and stuff. Haven’t you lived in the city for a few years now?”

“Well, yeah… I guess I never found the time to go,” you shrug again.

“Would you want to go today?” Tom asked, putting his cold hands in his pockets to hide the fact that his hands were shaking from nerves.

Your eyes widen in surprise. “You want to go?”

Tom shrugs. “Yeah, if you want to.”

“Would it be bad if I kinda want to?”

“I offered it, so no,” Tom says with a smirk. “So yes?”

“Yes, you goof. Stop smirking at me,” you toss a handful of oats at him.

“Did you just throw oats at me?” Tom looks at you in amused disbelief.

You laugh. “They didn’t throw themselves did they?” Suddenly, all the ducks from the pond came flying out of the water and pecking at the ground surrounding Tom.

Tom grunts expletives under his breath, trying to avoid stepping on an unlucky duck. “You know, (Y/N), not trying to start my day covered in duck shit,” he says sassily but still wearing a smile.

You’re laughing the entire time. “I didn’t see that coming, I’m so sorry Tom!”

He shakes his head, dusting oat crumbs from his hands and coat. “I’ll get back at you. Don’t know how yet, but count on it.” He tries to make himself seem threatening, but he can’t stop smiling.

“Okay Tom, whatever you say,” you laugh, capping the container of oats and slipping it into your backpack. “So which way are we going?”

Tom points to your left. “Down that way to Fifth Avenue.”

“Have I mentioned how excited I am?”

“No, but I can tell, don’t worry,” Tom replies, smiling.

“How?” You challenge him.

He shrugs. “You have a bit more pep in your step. Your voice just pitched upwards.” Your excitement is adorable and one of your best qualities, he decides.

You both stroll along the side of the museum, looking out for the iconic Met steps and main entrance.

As you pass the fountains off to the side of the steps, you feel your excitement growing. “I feel like I’m in Gossip Girl or in some rom com,” you say happily, pulling your phone out of your coat pocket to take pictures of the museum’s massive entrance, completely mesmerized by the building’s facade and detailed architecture.

Your wonder is so refreshing to Tom. He was used to high snobbery that came with being a celebrity and being around people who thought it wasn’t cool to look enthused by anything. You’re literally a breath of fresh air to him, which in itself was ironic. While you were so refreshing to be around, you stole the air from his lungs. It was like being submerged in a submarine. He should trust that he’s safe within your walls, but at the same time, the weight and pressure of his past constantly threatened to crush him.

#AH #tom holland #fuck boy au #tom holland fuckboy au #tomhollandfanfic #tomhollandfanfiction #tomhollandfuckboyau #HOW ARE YOU SUPPSED TO TAG STORIES LOL #tomholland #spiderman #spidey #civil war #marvel #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #fan fic #fanfic #smut #fuckboy tom #fluff

[queenbvadva]

Day 7: Free Day

It was a cold winter’s day in South Park a soft snow falling from the sky. I let out a soft sigh and nuzzles into my warm scarf. Despite my warm jacket and blue jeans that were a bit too tight on me I was willing to admit, I was still cold. I had to get to work the bus running a little late. It wasn’t anything strange to see people walk by but someone caught my eye. He was a strong rather large man who had his hands full of groceries. He was busy talking on the phone and before I could warn him he slips on the ice falling on his ass. I let out a soft laugh feeling bad for doing so as the male glares at me. I go over and gently lift his pack of cigarettes from the curb. I brush the small box free of snow before offering it to him with a kind smiling and a hand to help him up.

“Are you alright?” He looked at me for a while before taking my hand placing the box of cigarettes back into his bag with a soft huff.

“I’m fine thank you…” he dust himself off of any snow left on him my attention being drawn to my bus as it pulls up the people quickly filling it up. I take a step into the bus before a voice stops me.

“Hey, whatcha’ doing tomorrow?” I pause looking at the male confused as he rubs the back of his neck with a nervous smile.

“because I’ll be here tomorrow at 7. In case you’d like to meet up. Just in case there’s more than one person my name is Eric.” I go to talk but the bus driver closed the door on me and I smile making way through the bus taking my seat and looking out the window watching as Eric faded into the distance.

“Eric…” I whisper dreamily as I stare out the window a soft smile forming on my face. He’d be waiting there for me tomorrow. My bus ride seemed to take shorter than normal as we pull up to the theater that was recently built. There were so many amazing things built in just the last year. I just had my twenty second birthday last week. While it was nothing fancy, I got myself a cupcake with a candle on it. I got up as we pulled up to the stop making my way through the crowd and looking up at the beautiful theater. I take a hopeful breath making my way through the crowd to get my makeup done. I close the door with a happy sigh.

“Kyle you’re late! Stan is already on stage.” Bebe says crossing her arms a powder brush in her hands.

“Sorry, sorry. I got… Distracted.” I whisper and sit in the chair. Bebe only hums grinning starting to do my makeup.

“So who is it Kyle?~” She teases and grins. I blush but hold my face still so she could work.

“I-It’s nothing Bebe! I just helped this guy up! Not to mention he’s a smoker and you know how much I hate cigarettes.” I huff softly and she laughs happily.

“Ok ok! No need to get defensive.” She hums applying some eye shadow.

“Though if you ever do need to get your makeup done for a date holla’ at your girl.” I let out a laugh as she turns me to the mirror so I could see.

“Bebe you charge far too much.” Bebe whines unhappily leaning against the back of the chair.

“aw come on! I’ll give you a discount~” I laugh and get up pretending to think.

“Maybe we’ll see how much the discount is.” I quickly get my costume on hearing my entering line heading to the stage.

“Break a leg!” Bebe calls as I get rigged up with a mic. Stan saying his line so I walk out, the play went extremely well. The crowd throws roses onto the stage and the entire cast takes a bow. With that we walk off laughing and chatting. I sat down at Bebe’s desk and she hums happily grinning ear to ear.

“You wouldn't believe who decided to come give you a rose!~” She spun the rose dramatically posing making me laugh.

“With posing like that you might be dragged onto the stage~ who?” Bebe grins and hums happily.

“One, Eric Cartman. From elementary school!” She hands me the rose making me go wide eyed as I see the small tag that had messing writing, he must of desperately tried to write it on an uneven surface ‘I’ll see you tomorrow Kahl~ - Eric Cartman’ I laugh softly as Bebe leans over the chair reading it with me.

“Oooh~ is there a new romance in South Park!” I shake my head not being able to help the smile on my face as I set the rose gently on the counter.

“Yeah right! The last romance in south park was a full year ago when Tweek and Craig got married.” Bebe sighs fondly at the memory getting a makeup wipe cleaning my face.

“They’re still the cutest couple in South Park! I mean they run a coffee shop together!” Bebe giggles happily rubbing the eye shadow from my eyelids.

“Though, an actor and a writer might be pretty darn cute~” I laugh and shake my head.

“You’d do anything to get another relationship in South Park again wouldn’t you?” Bebe laughs and puts her hands up in a playful surrender.

“I’ve been caught red handed! There’s just no makeup quite as fun as wedding makeup though~” She hums happily and spins me again.

“My work here is done~ See you for tomorrow’s show!” She gets her bag on and I nod heading to change out of my clothes. It was probably still snowing outside. I make sure my scarf was snug under my chin waving a goodbye to the others before I head out. The wind was now tossing the snow every which way almost making it seem like a blizzard was starting. I whimper unhappily securing my scarf as I head out. I had given up trying to hide my curly hair under a hat instead deciding to go through the effort of flattening it to the point it wasn’t too bad. I get on the bus sighing happily now that I was free from the harsh cold. I take my seat and glance out the window wondering what Eric could be up too. The bus pulls up to the stop and I sigh getting ready to face the winds once more. I make my way out heading to my apartment that was only a block away luckily. Though it felt like I was walking up a mountain. I unlock my door going in closing it and locking it once more setting my bag down, hanging my coat and scarf up. I knock the snow from my boots before I take them off by the door heading inside. I hum tiredly heading to my bed and laying on my bed being far too tired to change into pjs. The next morning rolls around and I get up, take a shower, straighten my hair, pull my hair into a small ponytail, make breakfast and do some vocal warm ups before I head out for my lunch. I had my entire day planned out and I would always buy lunch at a wonderful restaurant. They always  had a wide option of food but nothing compared to their grilled cheese and tomato soup. My mouth started to water at the thought. I glance out the window to check the weather. The sun was shining but there was a good foot or two of snow out there. I get my scarf, coat and boots on once more walking off to the restaurant. It was a short walk, no need to take the bus. I hum happily as I enter the warm atmosphere everyone chatting happily. I hum and Wendy comes over with a happy smile hugging me and I hug back with a small laugh.

“Your show was amazing!” she gushed happily leading me to my normal seat.

“Thanks Wendy, it was a full house!” Wendy goes to put the menu on the table but stops.

“One order of grilled cheese and tomato soup right?” She hums and I sigh dramatically.

“You got me Wendy.” Wendy laughs happily and folds the menu back under her arm.y

“Well you order the same thing every lunch hour. It’s not that hard to figure out.” She laughs before making her way to the back writing down my order. I hum softly and glance out the window watching as the people walked by. It’s true this used to be a small town but it had gotten a lot larger, I don’t know every single person that walked by like I used to as a kid.  

“Dude your show was totally awesome!” I glance over at Clyde who came over with my plate of grilled cheese and bowl of tomato soup.

“Why did your character have to die though? I cried for like thirty minutes into Token’s shoulder.” I laugh slightly and rub the back of my neck.

“I’m not sure! I’m not the person who wrote it!” Clyde nods and hums happily.

“I know that much! Eric Cartman did!” Clyde says matter of factually. I look at him stunned and he reads me like a book.

“Oh you didn’t know? It was on the pamphlet!” I frown confused and look down in thought.

“No I didn’t know.” I whisper softly and glance down at my food starting to eat dipping my grilled cheese into the tomato soup.

“Clyde I need you back here!” I hear Token call from the kitchen making me chuckle at Clyde’s panicked face.

“I need to get back to work.” Clyde says rushing off to help Token out with work. Though I was sworn to secrecy Clyde had a huge crush on Token. I had no doubt Token felt the same way, with how many plates Clyde dropped over the years that was the only reason I could think of why he wasn’t fired. I hum happily eating my grilled cheese looking through my script to make sure I had it set to memory. Closing my eyes and playing the scene out through my head. I stayed there until about 5:30 before I decided I should head back to my apartment calling for my check.

“Heading out so early? Getting ready for a date?~” Wendy teases rubbing in the fact that I haven’t had a single date in all my life. I snort and playfully roll my eyes.

“Better watch it Wendy I have your tip hostage.” I laugh and give her a tip anyway leaving one for Clyde as well.

“Tell Token the food is amazing as normal.” Wendy nods happily taking the tip back to Clyde. I secure my scarf before heading back, most of the snow had melted leaving only a thin layer of powder. I head back to my house getting changed into something a little more, impressive. I look at myself in the mirror humming and scanning my peanut colored sweater. I sigh and rub the back of my neck. It was disappointing that this was my best ��formal’ clothes other than my tux. I glance over at the clock frowning in defeat wrapping my scarf around my neck once more slipping into my boots and sliding into my jacket before I head out. Was I actually excited to go see Eric? I mean sure it had been years but it’s not like they were going on a date. Right? Once I get there I see Eric already waiting there, Well this was new.

“Sorry did I make you wait long Eric?” I say making Eric turn his attention to me his lips turning upwards into a smile. I’d never admit it out loud but man did he look attractive when he smiled.

“No of course not, I just got here a few minutes ago myself.” He says went over to me standing in front of me. I never noticed before but Eric and I were now the same height.

“Man you got tall!” I lift my hand measuring the difference between us with my hand. He snorts and laughs making a small smile form on my face. What a contagious laugh.

“What’s so funny! This is serious business you know! I used to pride myself greatly on being taller than you!” He goes wide eyed at the mention of our past blinking confused.

“Y-You remember me?” I snort and cross my arms glancing over at the direction of school.

“How could I forget? You’d always call me jew and find some way to piss me off.” He laughs at the memory and I playfully glare at him a grin on my own face.

“Better watch it fat ass!” That makes him laugh harder and I couldn’t help but laugh myself. Eric ruffles my hair making all the effort I put into straightening my hair go to waste.

“Hey! My hair! I spent like a full hour on that!” I try to flatten it down but Eric just shrugs.

“I always liked you better without your hat anyway.” I snort at the mere idea of kid Cartman saying anything of the sort.

“Yeah right! You used to call it a jewfro all the time.” It was Eric’s turn to snort this time and I laugh rolling my eyes. I hadn’t laughed this hard in quite a while. Sure I had the cast but there was something calming about Eric’s presence.

“Hey Kyle I was thinking…” I hum turning to Eric surprised by how serious he just got.

“after your show would you like to go on a date?” I stood there stunned staring at Eric’s determined expression a soft smile forming on my face.

“Sure! I don’t see why not.” Eric grins happily as the bus pulls up stepping onto it as well and we both take a seat.

“You do know you don’t have to come see your own play right?” Eric must have read the script twenty times more than I had.

“I don’t mind you pull of my character well anyway. Besides what’s better than the creator of the play offering you a rose?~” I snort and roll my eyes playfully.

“I hope you aren’t thinking of getting me a rose for each night. There’s six more shows left including this one.” I cross my arms when he gasps pretending to be offended putting his hand on chest acting shocked.

“Mwah? No of course not Kyle! I would never do such a thing!” I laugh at his dramatic performance making a small golf clap to which he gladly bows too. Sure people on the bus were staring at us like we were mad men but it was fun to just, relax and goof around a little. Once the bus pulls up we go out.

“Well I need to go get ready.” Eric hums softly gently taking my hand and leaving a soft kiss on it.

“Until next time my dear.~” I roll my eyes but couldn’t help the blush that formed on my face. God was Eric attractive. I pretend to curtsy making Eric smirk at the fact I played along before I head to the changing room. This time I change into my costume having a bit more time and not needing to rush. I hum and sit down in Bebe’s chair who raised a brow.

“Wow, I don’t need to rush to get makeup on you? What’s the special occasion?” She gets her brushes ready and I grin watching her expression in the mirror.

“Oh nothing, I just have a date.” Her jaw drops, and she stops everything she’s doing to stare at me.

“For real!?” I laugh and shrug leaning back in the chair cockily.

“Eric Cartman nonetheless.” Bebe laughs and gets her brushes ready once more getting to work.

“I remember you two used to hate each other! Always finding some hot subject to fight about.” I shrug and hum playfully.

“What can I say I like bad boys.” Bebe laughs before getting an eye shadow brush.

“Now hush don’t make me laugh or I’ll poke your eye out by accident.” This was one quick way to get me to shut up. Bebe went to work making sure that it was perfect before pulling back.

“I hope you know I’m doing your makeup for your date.” I nod and get up now that Bebe was finished.

“Oh trust me I know.” Before I could go Bebe grabs my shoulders making me stop in my tracks.

“And I’m saving you from that sweater you wore in here alright? Trust me when you walk out of here you are going to be hot!” I snort but nod giving in so I would be released.

“fine fine! But nothing too crazy.” I head off to find Stan so we could work on our lines rolling my eyes when I hear Bebe shout behind me.

“No promises!” I make my way through the set finding Stan relatively easily due to the fact we were rather early.

“Stan want to practice before the show?” Stan hums turning to me in a tux and nods happily.

“of course!” I’ll never be able to get over the sight of Stan in a tux because oh boy. Then again any boy in a tux made me have the same reaction. Guys in tuxes were just hot in general. We both practiced until the show started Stan going to start the show. The show went by better than yesterdays everyone working hard. I smile and bow with the crew seeing Eric in the front row standing and clapping looking at me with a smile that could melt even the coldest heart. I could feel my heart flutter and smile lovingly to him before heading off stage with everyone else sighing happily and sitting down in Bebe’s chair.

“He was sitting in the front row Bebe, his stupid grin and ugh!” I groan running my fingers through my hair not being able to help the blush that was flooding my face. Bebe laughs at my misery.

“Someone’s love struck~” She coos cleaning the makeup from my face and I laugh rolling my eyes.

“What gave me away?” She chuckles and cleans the eye shadow off of my eyes.

“Don’t you worry, you’re in good hands! I’ll make you look so pretty he’ll be knocked off of his feet!” She says proudly getting some lipstick and I raise a brow at her.

“Nothing too extreme Bebe.” She pretends to be offended gasping as she places the lipstick to my lips.

“Me? Extreme? Never~” I would have said something sarcastic but Bebe would kill me if I ruined her perfect lipstick so I decide to keep my mouth shut. She hums softly getting focused as she went to work with blush and eyeshadow. She grins proudly turning me to the mirror.

“Tada!~” I look in the mirror shocked at the light pink lipstick and watermelon eye shadow. I was completely stunned, while I did look amazing I looked like a girl. I didn’t even notice Bebe went to the changing room. She hums happily and shoves a pink dress into my hands and starts to shove me into the changing room.

“H-Hey, wait Bebe this is just too extreme! I said n-nothing too extreme!” She hums and laughs a little at my stuttering mess of words.

“Just try it on at the very least!” She calls through the curtains. I sigh and look down at the dress in my arms. It was a beautiful flamingo pink, long, sleeveless with flowers on the waist. The bottom turns into a beautiful frill and I sigh giving in. I might as well try it on right? There’s no harm in that. I take my clothes off and snort as Bebe slides under the curtain a matching pair of high heels.

“You’re really pushing your luck you know that!” I hiss but slip into the dress anyway. There was some strange lace tie in the back and I attempting to tie it to no avail.

“Hey Bebe? Can you come tie the back?” I open the curtain going wide eyed seeing Eric standing at the door staring me dead in the eyes holding a full bouquet of roses. We both just stare at each other for a second and I could feel my cheeks rising in heat. Oh god what if he hated me now? What if I ruined everything? Eric sets the flowers on the desk storming over to me. Oh god was he pissed? I watch as he drops to his knees in front of me holding his hands together leaving the entire room stunned. W-Was he praying!? My jaw drops as he had a fake tear in his eye.

“Oh god I don’t know what I did to deserve such a blessed sight but thank you.” Eric says dramatically. I have never, ever in my entire life been more embarrassed than at this moment.

“I-Idiot!” I hiss hitting the back of his head making him laugh and get up taking my hand and spinning me so he could see the full dress. He noticed right away that the back was undone so he turned me around and started to tie it like it was nothing.

“H-Hey what are you doing?!” I yell still completely and utterly embarrassed. I feel the air leave my gut and I instantly felt bad for any person who had to wear a corset. This was hell.

“Well you’re going to be wearing this to our date right? You should you look beautiful!” My cheeks heat up again and I huff softly crossing my arms. It’s not that I didn’t want too… It was surprisingly comfortable despite the fact that I was suffocating due to the corset. I look down in thought and when he finishes tying I slip into the heels turning to him.

“You wouldn’t mind if I wore this?” At this point I was sure Bebe didn’t even need to put blush on me. I was handling that perfectly fine on my own. I glance over and see her heading out giving me two thumbs up before leaving.

“Mind? Of course not! I would be thrilled if you wore that! You look stunning!” He says happily going over and gently wrapping his arms around my waist pulling me to him. I go wide eyed being only a breath away from his lips. I feel my entire face turn red and I quickly pull away.

“Buy me dinner first would you?” He blinks looking surprised but laughs and offers me his arm.

“Well that is the plan. Ready?” I quickly pack my clothes into a bag taking his arm with a nod. He hums happily leading me out through the crowd. Most of the people looked over shocked and confused. I couldn’t help but feel self conscious and embarrassed but when I look up at Eric that all faded. He had the biggest grin on his face, as if he had all the money in the world on his arm. When we get outside the valet pulls up to meet us. Eric kindly opens the passenger side door for me and I smile happily sliding into the seat. I make sure my dress was safely inside before Eric closes the door. I watch him tip the valet before getting into the driver side. We both get buckled as Eric got ready to drive.

“Alright! We’re off!” with that Eric started to drive off. I hum softly and glance out the window watching the people walk by. Where we even heading? I glance over at Eric who had his eyes focused on the street. It had been forever since I saw him. His mom forced him to move out to New York when we hit middle school. I tried to get him to come back for a good month but everytime I did he said he was much happier here. I knew he was lying even then. I sigh softly and glance back out the window.

“Why the heavy sigh?” Eric questions raising a brow. I turn back to him and let out a soft hum.

“I was just thinking back when we were kids.” Eric nods keeping his eyes on the road.

“Well a lot of interesting stuff did happen, like the time aliens came!” I snort and laugh at the memory.

“And they put a satellite in your ass!” Eric laughs as well glancing at me for a second before returning his eyes back to the road.

“I didn’t believe you guys! I thought for sure it was a dream! Nothing crazy like that ever happened when I moved to New York.” I frown slightly seeing a look of melancholy cross Eric’s face. It must have been worse than I thought.

“I… I tried to get you to come back… You just neve-” before I could finish we pull into a parking lot and Eric parks the car stretching.

“Well it doesn’t matter now, let’s just enjoy or date.” He offers me a kind smile as he unbuckles himself. I nod moving my dress so I could unbuckle myself.

“Sure, that sounds nice.” Once I get unbuckled the door opens for me and I see Eric smiling kindly at me. I snort softly getting out and gently pressing a kiss to his cheek. Eric turns bright red and held his cheek in shock as if I just slapped him full force making me laugh.

“It’s just a kiss on the cheek.” I close the door for Eric due to the fact he was stunned and offer my arm to him this time. Once Eric comes back around he takes my arm leading me to the restaurant. I was to busy watching Eric’s blush start to fade to realize what restaurant we were going too. The second Eric opens the door a shocked voice makes me stop in my tracks.

“Kyle!?” I look at the voice seeing none other than my friend Token, who was helping sort tables. I go bright red and rub the back of my neck nervously.

“Hey Token…” We hadn’t seen each other in almost a full month due to the fact he was normally in the back cooking. I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. Unknowingly I squeeze Eric's arm in embarrassment. With that Eric went to the counter with a grin.

“Hey Token! It’s been forever hasn’t it!” I watch as he leans on the counter and Token smiles happily.

“Eric Cartman! My oh my you’ve changed! Table for two I’m guessing?” I make my way over to Eric now that I chance to compose myself and what I was going to say.

“Yes please.” Eric gives me a glance as if to check if I was ok. I nod my head that I was in deed alright, for the time being. He nods and smiles wrapping his arm around me gently rubbing my shoulder with his thumb. It was surprisingly comforting and I lean into his warmth.

“Kyle?” I hear someone ask behind me. I turn curiously seeing Clyde and rub the back of my neck with a nervous chuckle.

“Hey Clyde.” Clyde hums happily and goes over hugging me. Surprised I hug back and laugh a little.

“You look good!” Clyde hums and takes a step back studying me for a few seconds.

“Pink isn’t a bad color on you at all!” I laugh softly and blush embarrassed as I feel Eric’s arm wrap around my waist. Was he jealous?

“Well anyway your table is over here.” He makes his way through the dinner passing by normal spot and going to a table with two chairs. I hum going to sit down but Eric pulls the chair out for me. I laugh softly but sit down smiling softly at him.

“Thank you.” He nods and went over to his seat studying the menu. I already knew what I was going to get so I just browse the drinks. Though my attention was drawn to a small T.V that was playing news. There was another fire, though I’m not surprised with how old some of the gas pipes in South Park were. Thankfully there were no injuries, someone had smelt the gas and warned everyone.

“Kyle.” I turn to Eric seeing he was staring right at me. He seemed dead serious.

“Yes Eric?” I question and he took a breath of courage before going on.

“You and Clyde. What’s your relationship?” I snort softly not being able to help the laugh that leaves my mouth. He was jealous!

“We’re just friends Eric, I promise. Besides Clyde has the biggest crush on Token.” I hear a plate shatter behind me making chills run down my spine and I turn to see if the person who dropped the plate was alright. I feel my face pale seeing Token staring me dead in the eyes his mouth open as he tries to form words.

“Y-You’re serious?” He asks staring me dead in the eyes. Now it was my turn to lose words. I try and stammer something out.

“I-I mean…” My heart was pounding in my ears as I watch Token take a breath. I watch helplessly as he marches over to Clyde who was busy taking an order. My thoughts start racing in worry but I feel everything stop in a second as Token grabs clyde, dips him and then plants a kiss onto clyde’s lips. I watch awe stuck as Eric laughing loudly across from me. Clyde turns as red as a tomato and I watch the two start to talk. Did I just get two people together without even knowing it? The restaurant slowly starts to clap in confusion.

“Well it seems our food has been mixed with shards and they’re closing soon.” Eric says nodding to the food. I glance at the broken plate and laugh rubbing the back of my neck.

“It was my fault anyway.” I go over to Token paying for the plate and food apologizing to the person who ordered it. Though they didn’t seem to mind at all. I turn back to Eric who was getting up and I make my way over to him. As much as I hated to admit it my feet were aching in pain from the heels.

“Wanna visit my place? Order some take in?” Eric grins happily and nods laughing a little.

“That sounds like my kind of a date.” I snort playfully and push our chairs back in waving goodbye to the new couple. Bebe is going to have a heart attack when I tell her. Eric opens the door for me and we both get into the car. After explaining where my apartment was Eric started to drive off. I could feel my heart beating nervously. I look down at my hands and fiddle with my broken nail, debating hard in my mind. We pull up to the apartment and Eric parks getting out and opens the door for me. I smile and slip out closing the door behind me. Eric was quick to follow as I lead us to my apartment unlocking it.

“It might not be much but it’s home.” I smile and swing open the door placing the heels at the door, I’d have to return those to Bebe later. Eric hums softly glancing around before placing his own shoes at the door.

“It’s not bad! Though as an actor I don’t see why you can’t afford something a bit… more extravagant?” I laugh a little and lead him inside going to the phone to call some take out.

“Well I’ve had this place ever since I got kicked out in high school…” a wave of sadness passes over me at the memory.

“I’m sorry… What happened if you don’t mind me asking?” I rub the back of my neck hesitating to call.

“Well Stan went to a party and got wasted. He called me at like 1am in the morning to come and get him. So I snuck out of the house and got him.” I laugh slightly at the memory.

“He was wasted, like about to throw up wasted and he still had a bottle in his hand. So when I got home and parked I helped Stan out of the car and tried to get the bottle from him. That’s when my mom walked out and saw me holding my drunk friend with a bottle in my hand right next to my car.” A sad smile of melancholy crosses my face.

“And that was that. I haven’t heard from them sense.” I hum softly and look down calling the take out.

“Ike should be a junior by now. I wonder how he’s been doing?” Without a word Eric wraps his arms around my waist pulling me into a hug as the phone rings. I was shocked at first at such a kind action but turn to him and hug him back. The moment was ruined when I hear a voice over the line.

“This is City Wok what can I get for you?” I clear my throat and look at Eric realizing I didn’t ask what he wanted.

“I-I uh, one order of city shrimp and…” Eric laughs slightly and I roll my eyes at him. He still finds that funny huh?

“Shitty beef for me!” I shake my head trying to hold back a laugh.

“and one..” A small chuckle leaves my mouth before I could finish but I quickly try and stifle down anymore laughter.

“One CITY beef.” Eric was trying his best to hold back his laughter as well slapping his hand on the table as if it was the funniest things he’s heard.

“Alright be right over!” With that they hang up and Eric and I burst into laughter. We stand there laughing for a good five minutes before it starts to calm down. I huff in relief finally able to catch my breath and wipe a tear from my eye.

“Kyle…?” I look at Eric seeing he was serious once more making me frown in return.

“What is it?” He seemed to hesitate which was never a good sign. Eric clears his throat before going on.

“I’m sorry. About what happened with your parents. That’s wrong.” Was he actually feeling bad? 10 year old me would instantly assume Eric was possessed by a demon.

“It’s ok Eric, it was like years ago.” before I could go on Eric growls angrily making me go wide eyed.

“It’s not ok! If I was there I could have helped you and then you wouldn’t have…” I frown and go over gently placing my hand on his cheek. Sure it was surprising to see him suddenly burst out  like that but it meant he cared…

“You weren’t there at the time Eric… There’s nothing you could have done…” He seemed heartbroken over that fact but leans into my hand anyway.

“But… There is something you can do for me now…” He looks up at me curiously and a soft smile crosses my face.

“We can watch horrible horror films and cuddle on the sofa while eating dinner?” This made Eric snort softy showing his kind smile once more.

“Yeah… Yeah that sounds great.” He made his way over to the sofa and I was more than happy to follow after. Eric sits down on the sofa with a content sigh and I sit right next to him cuddling into his side. He had a calming warmth something I didn’t know I needed in my life until this moment. It was safe, calming… Time seemed to have no place in this moment and I blink hearing the doorbell ring breaking my haven of safety.

“One second!” I call standing up and stretching. Was I about to fall asleep? I hum softly and head to my bedroom looking for my wallet. I can hear Eric talking outside and I frown softly, he’s not is he? I look around panickedly grabbing my wallet and running out as Eric closes the door holding the bag of our food lifting it with a soft hum.

“Eric I could have payed you know!” I huff unhappily but sit down on the sofa anyway setting my wallet down to my right.

“Oh trust me I know you could.” Eric laughs and takes the seat to my left moving his arm so I could cuddle into him. Eric opens the bag with his free hand handing me my box of city shrimp. I hum softly turning the T.V on and putting a cheesy horror movie. I snuggle into Eric who had his arm wrapped around me happily opening his own box of city beef. About half way through the movie I feel myself nodding off into Eric chest falling into a safe, calming sleep.

By the time I woke up Eric was gone from the sofa. I let out a soft sigh getting up and stretching. I make my way to my bathroom to begin my normal ritual of getting ready. I took a shower, attempted to tame my hair, got changed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Though to my surprise someone was already one step ahead of me. Eric glances over and smiles happily sliding the last egg onto a plate.

“Good morning sleeping beauty.” He says with a soft grin and slides the plate to me.

“I couldn’t find the forks so we’ll have to eat with spoons.” I laugh a little but couldn’t help the smile on my face. He stayed, and made breakfast nonetheless.

“I could have gotten forks for us you know.” I gladly take the plate and spoon anyway looking at the beautiful eggs in front of me. The yolk was perfectly centered and it had just the right amount of salt and pepper sprinkled on top that it made it look like a crown. I hum amazed taking my spoon and cutting into the yolk watching as the golden liquid creates a river down the egg. I lift a spoonful to my lips gently blowing a breeze to insure I wouldn’t burn myself. Once it was cooled enough I place it into my mouth. Bursts of flavor went off in my mouth with a comforting homely warmth.

“Wow this is amazing, you could be a professional chef!” I say quickly before digging in once more. Eric grins proudly eating his own egg.

“Really? I don’t think it’s that impressive.” I snort softly and shake my head laughing.

“Remind me to never cook for you then.” We both laugh enjoying this calming morning. I ate my eggs surprisingly fast, though it was delicious.

“I could eat that every morning and never get tired of it.” I wash my plate off slipping into the dishwasher going to make my normal coffee.

“Oh would you like some coffee?” I turn to Eric seeing he was deep in thought.

“So why don’t you?” I frown confused clearly missing a part in the conversation. I place the coffee pod into the Keurig (type of coffee maker) and turn back to him as I wait for the water to boil.

“Why don’t I what?” Eric scrapes up the last bites of his eggs eating them before looking at me with a determined expression.

“Why don’t you have them every morning? I mean, apartments are normally shared right?” I blink confused as the information slowly started to process into my mind. He wanted to live together. I feel my cheeks flush bright red.

“I mean, I’m normally at work… And not to mention I practice a lot!” Eric looked at me as if saying to go on so I blush rubbing the back of my neck.

“I-I mean as long as you don’t mind me practicing my lines.” I manage to choke out just under a whisper. I see his face light up and he grins happily.

“You mean I can stay?” I couldn’t hide my blush of embarrassment any longer so I just nod and huff turning back to my coffee selecting the size.

“You’ll have to pay for your own rent, and not to mention trash day is a pain in the…” before I could finish I was lifting into the air. I yelp in surprise clinging to the strong arms that managed to lift me up.

“Put me down!” Despite my cry we were both laughing. Eric carefully sets me down and I look up at him. We were once more a breath away. I see Eric glance between my lips and then back to my eyes as a silent question to see if he could kiss me. A soft smile crosses my face and I place a gentle kiss to his lips. Now that took him by surprise, I wrap my arms around him and start to deepen the kiss. Finally he begins to kiss back, though the moment was ruined when I heard the beeping of the coffee being finished. I pull away feeling my cheeks flush and clear my throat going to the coffee.

“W-Well that was…” I manage to stammer out after there was an awkward silence. I pour the sugar into the cup carefully.

“Amazing?” Eric finishes and turns to me. I nod and smiles softly with a blush.

“Yeah… Amazing.” I take my coffee and offer a sip to Eric. He shakes his head and chuckles.

“no thanks I have my cigs.” He shows a pack that he had in his back pocket and my nose scrunches up in displeasure.

“What you don’t like cigarettes?” I sigh and rub the back of my neck embarrassed at how easily he managed to read me.

“I just… Hate how they smell. The scent clings to everything.” Eric hums softly but closes the box.

“If you don’t like them I won’t use them. Besides that gets me a better chance for kisses.” He teases making me laugh and shake my head.

“Dork.” I place a gently kiss onto his nose as a thank you. Eric grins ear to ear and I walk to the living room.

“Where are you going?” I set my coffee down on the table and hum turning to him.

“I have to practice my lines.” Eric nods and sits down on the sofa as I clear my throat and begin my lines. I get through about half of my lines before Eric cuts in.

“My, oh my! So the prince assumes he can fight me! One of the best knights in all of the lands?” I snort softly at his dramatic pose. It was nice to have someone fill in for Stan’s role.

“I have no quarrel with you! I only ask for safe passage through the forest.” I begin to circle around Eric and we both pretending to hold up swords.

“The only way you’ll get there is through me! And even then you’ll have to deal with the elves!” We take a lunge at each other and Eric falls dramatically.

“Oh what cruel fate! Killed by my own prince!” I snort and laugh going over and kneeling next to him.

“You were supposed to dodge.” I flick his forehead making him hold it with a grin on his face.

“How could I dodge such an amazing strike! My prince is truly amazing.” I laugh and gently rest my forehead on top of his looking him in the eyes smiling as he turns red.

“Will you stop if I give you a kiss?” He hums happily and let out a small laugh looking at me than to my lips.

“Sounds like a good trade to me.” I roll my eyes and place a gentle kiss on his lips.

He hums softly in the kiss tickling my lips so I pull away laughing and shaking my head.

“Honestly you’re such a dork.” Eric grins happily and laughs pulling me down beside him and we lay on the floor. I cuddle into Eric and he hums softly messing with my hair.

“Kyle, I was thinking… Do you want to make this official..?” I look at him feeling my cheeks heat up.

“Y-You mean like actually dating? Like a relationship?” Eric snorts softly and gently kisses my forehead.

“No as best friends, of course I mean as dating.” Eric says sarcastically and I roll my eyes cuddling into his side lovingly.

“Sure… That sounds great.” I whisper and Eric hums happily pulling me into a hug which I gladly return.

“I’m glad…” He whispers softly. I couldn’t help the smile forming on my face and I gently kiss his chin.

“Me too.” I whisper and nuzzle into chest lovingly. I could stay here forever, listening to Eric’s calming heartbeat and soothing breathing. It was safe, calming and loving, everything I would ever need.

@kymanweek

((This is the start of a story I was thinking about writing for Ao3! I have a lot more planned but I just wanted to send a snip it, should I finish up the story on a03? let me know your thoughts! :D)

#sp kyman #kyman week #day 7 #Kyle x Cartman #kyle x eric #kyle broflovski #eric cartman