Pairing: Trent Alexander-Arnold x Female Reader
Summary: At Trent's New Year's Eve party, he confesses to the reader, his childhood bestfriend, that he's lonely.
Word Count: 4.8k
Warnings: mention of alcohol, angst, miscommuncation, childhood friends, kiss
Note: Happy New Year!
With twenty minutes left until the clock struck midnight, Trent’s brothers, Tyler and Marcel were already setting off fireworks. A couple of Trent’s teammates were also in attendance, and some of the friends you and he shared, but there were still a few valuable ones missing.
Despite Liverpool playing a match the next day, Trent still wanted to do something for New Year's Eve, even if it was a bit risky. But he promised Virgil he would kick everyone out by one in the morning so that they had time to be well-rested for the match, luckily it wasn’t a noon match. Even though he had his brothers, parents, and best mates surrounding him, the night still felt—empty. A bitter taste was left in his mouth as he took a swig of his drink, searching for a solution to his ache.
Trent makes his way over to you, a brown bottle pinched between his fingertips. It’s too dark for you to notice if he’s looking at you, but the pause in his step once his eyes land on you gives you everything you need to know. He stops at the pillar of the canopy, face lighting up with the blast of a firework, “Did the fireworks get too much for you already?”
You purse your lips, shaking your head, “No. I just keep having the recurring thought of one of the ashes falling on my hair and it going up in flames.”
The corner of his lip barely tugged up, “That’s quite an image.”
“It’s very rational,” you defend, tugging the sleeve of your knitted sweater over your hands. Trent was dressed way more casual than you, a black pair of sweatpants and a dark gray hoodie. Had you known him and his brothers would dress like that, then maybe you wouldn’t have nearly lost a finger trying to put yourself into your tight jeans tonight.
A beat of silence washes between the two of you as he decides to stay quiet. He wasn’t usually this quiet when the two of you were with his family, but when he was, he was thinking. So in his head that everything else was irrelevant. It could be a battle trying to ground him back to the present sometimes.
“So, how are you?” you break the silence, sparing a weary glance at him.
“Lonely,” he mumbles. He stays facing the alleyway of Tyler’s home where they light another firework and then scramble away from it.
“Lonely at the top,” you sing, referencing his team’s position at the top of the table. Trent gives you a hard look immediately and you quiet down, averting your eyes from his. “Sorry.” There’s a heavy plate of tension that fills the air between the two of you and despite you both being outside, it feels suffocating. “What’s wrong?”
He shrugs, “Everyone is moving.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone moved, I feel like I’m the only one who stayed,” he says. His voice is soft but aloof, still not giving you a glance. “I just thought you would stay. Was a slap in the face to see that your house was for sale.”
It was your parent’s house, the one you grew up in. You lived on the same street where Trent grew up, only three houses separating your families. After riding your bike down the street and dramatically tripping over the rock that you saw at the last minute, Trent came running out of his house and helped you up. Him and his brothers were playing football in the street, the three of them had just gone inside, but he noticed your sparkling pink bike and got distracted looking back at you. Once he realized a kiss to your scarred knee wasn’t going to make the bleeding stop, he called out for his mom and the three of you walked you and your bike back to that house after she cleaned your knee. Trent had stayed by your side the entire time, assuring you that your knee would be okay in the next couple of days.
The sound of a firework exploding shutters you out of the past, forcing yourself to look at a sullen Trent. His bottom lip is tucked through his teeth as his eyes follow the firework’s path.
“Trent, can you look at me?” Trent slowly looks in your direction and his eyes seem more hurt than he lets on. Much different than the bright eyes that welcomed you two hours ago. You swallow, “Did you think we would live here forever? I mean Jude, Alana, Kai….” You list off the friends and neighbors you both shared who had since then moved away.
He shakes his head, “Obviously not, but you could’ve told me you were moving.”
“I know, we’ve just both been so busy. We barely put up the house for sale a couple of days ago.”
Trent blinks his eyes a couple of times and doesn’t speak immediately.
“I am lonely though,” he confesses and it stabs you right in the heart. “The season has felt really long, haven’t seen you or the lads that much. I know you go to some of my games, but we don’t speak afterward, and I miss you. I miss having people around that aren’t my family.”
“Trent,” you sigh. “I’m sorry for not being there.”
“It’s okay,” he shrugs. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve tried to be there for you either.”
“Trent—”
He cuts you off, “I haven’t had much time either but I dunno…the time I do have at home, it’s so quiet. I’ve been staying at my parents house actually, for the past couple of days because I’ve been sick of the silence. Sure, I could’ve walked to your house but I never did…”
He swallows another swig of his drink, the bitter taste in his mouth had yet to leave. And after chewing on the inside of his cheek for so long, he also tasted copper. He couldn’t blame you for being busy. He knew you had just landed the job you had been working so hard for, at a company that treated you well and respected your work, and with the way Liverpool’s hectic season has been going, he didn’t have much time off either.
You're left with your thoughts screaming at you to say something, but what could you say that would heal his loneliness? That you two could schedule a meet up soon? But it wasn’t concrete, ‘soon’ could be tomorrow, could be a week or before the month ended.
“We should hang out sometime,” you decide. “I’ve missed you too. My schedule is clear for whenever, just let me know.”
He downs the rest of his drink, before tossing it in the bin that Tyler usually has next to the side of the canopy but it’s not there. The bottle goes crashing to the ground but doesn’t break, it rolls off some steps away from him and he ignores it.
“Are you drunk?” you ask, eyebrows raised. You knew he shouldn’t have been drinking the day before his game, even if it was New Year’s Eve.
Trent looks back at you, a tsk leaves his lips, “I’ve only had one.”
“One case?”
“Funny,” he grits, any humor in his tone is gone. “I’m being honest.”
You cross your arms, not realizing you pointing out him drinking would upset him. Yeah, maybe you wouldn’t want to be caught doing something you shouldn't be doing, but Trent had been acting out of character the moment he admitted his loneliness. He was never one to talk about his feelings, always shoving it somewhere down deep that you had given up trying to pry out of him a long time ago because it always upset him more than helped.
“Tell me what’s really wrong,” you demand.
He looks away but you watch his Adam’s apple bob as he glances down to the pavement. The door to the house suddenly bursts open behind you, his mother weaving through you both as if you aren’t standing there.
“Fifteen minutes until midnight!” She announces, and then marches back inside but stops once she notices the two of you, “Oh, you two look so cute. Please, you both can stay in the upstairs bedroom if you get too tired to drive home. I’m sure Tyler won’t mind.”
Her presence seems to break off the tension because Trent lets out a low chuckle, “You know, she always thought it’d be us.”
“Us…what?” You bite the annoyance of him switching the topic away.
“It’d be us,” he shrugs nonchalantly. “That we’d be married and have a kid by now.”
Your eyes bulge at his words. He had to be drunk.
His voice rumbles as he kicks an imaginary rock, “What? Does the idea of starting a family with me repulse you that much?”
“No,” you shake your head frantically, hoping you didn't make him feel more bad than what he was already feeling. If Trent was going to be vulnerable for the last fifteen minutes of the year, then fine, you weren’t going to be petty and let your own feelings get in the way of him being open. You choose your words carefully, “I just—” Screw sparing his feelings. “You’re drunk.”
He rolls his eyes, words spitting out of his mouth in irritation, “It was one drink. One drink does nothing to me other than make me honest. Even then, it wasn’t a high percentage of alcohol.”
Your eyes dance between his dark brown ones. They seem more watery than before, the glow of the light from the inside of the house and fireworks glaring off of them. You look away briefly, “Honest? Like I can ask you any question and you’ll tell the truth?”
“Well,” he shrugs, “I don’t need a drink in me to be honest. I’m always honest to you.”
“That’s a lie,” you remark. “You lied to me when you said I could take your car for a drive.”
He rolls his eyes, “That’s because I value my life.”
You huff, “You didn’t have to be in the car with me, but fine, whatever.” You needed to control any impulsive comment you had. Trent was opening up, this was unchartered territory, and maybe he needed a clean conscience for the New Year more than you did. “I wasn’t repulsed by the idea of starting a family with you, I was just shocked to hear you say that.”
Nothing could’ve prepared you to hear him utter those words. Sure, the two of you shared your first kiss together and took each other’s virginities on the night of your twentieth birthday, but the two of you were never anything more. Never went on a date, never received flowers from him—minus the single daisy he plucked out of the grass one day as an apology for leaving the rock in the middle of the sidewalk—but nothing the two of you did was glaringly romantic. He held your hand for a total of two minutes and fifteen seconds one day underneath the table at a shared family dinner, but nothing came of it either.
He was off focusing on the academy, while you were busy studying in school. Once he did make his first team debut, you were in the stands cheering him on. He felt like the happiest man—boy—that day, having both of your families witness his debut. But still, the bone-crushing hug he pulled you into after you all met in the car park, it meant—nothing.
Even the night you lost your virginity, him as well, it was haste. He was in your bedroom, flipping through the birthday cards you received when you confessed to him that it was comical being a virgin at twenty, feeling the weight of society’s judgment on your shoulders for whatever reason, while he didn’t laugh at all. The liquor you both were sipping on gave you both the courage as you went on, sneakily closing your bedroom door and turning a page. After the both of you came down from your high, he cuddled you for an hour before slipping out of your bedroom window and going home.
Nothing was ever really mentioned after that, the both of you deciding it was best to scrape it under the rug so that it wasn’t awkward at combined family dinners, but there was a feeling. A tingling feeling that made your voice hitch whenever he looked at you or texted you. Any visit you made from uni, your heart did flips when he pulled you into a hug and welcomed you home for that weekend.
He snorts, making your eyes dart to him, “We’re being honest, yeah?”
“I’m telling you the truth,” you say.
He nods, “Okay, I believe you.”
Another moment of silence passes between the two of you and he sighs, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“Can I ask you another question?” you mumble and he nods. “Why did your mom think that?”
Trent shrugs for the hundredth time that night, leaning against the pillar as his head rests against it, “Because I told her that I liked you. She said to go for it, I told her I would, but I never did.”
Oh.
Oh.
“When was this?” you muster up the courage and power to ask, feeling breathless.
He blows a raspberry, “Maybe ten years ago?”
You're glad that Marcel misfires a firework that goes flying towards a tree to the left of the house, earning a commotion from Trent’s family and teammates, so that you have time to wipe off the shock before Trent looks at you.
Trent looks at the tree and holds his breath, hoping it erupts into flames. Perhaps he needed a break in the conversation as well. He felt exposed, too vulnerable at the expense of your curiosity and even though he said he would be honest, he wasn’t sure how much more truth he could give out when you weren’t exchanging much back.
“Why are you leaving?” he blurts out.
“You know I don’t live there right?” your eyebrow rises. Surely you told him you moved. “I moved out when I was twenty-two. I live almost ten minutes away, but my parents are moving because they need the money. After I left, they started spending on stuff that they shouldn’t have, putting us into a lot more debt than we should be. So, I say ‘we’ decided to sell because the only reason they were keeping the house was for me. For what it represented.”
Your childhood. A part of you was heartbroken for what it meant, but the other part of you knew it was the right thing to do. You knew it would serve you and your family well.
Trent eyebrows furrow, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I knew you would’ve wanted to help.”
Trent averts his gaze, “I can. I can buy it.”
“Trent,” you gawk. “Seriously, I’m going to accuse you of being drunk again—”
“It’s your childhood home.”
“Yeah, and I made a choice. It was my choice to make.”
His shoulders deflate, “So you did want to leave?”
You nod, “It was time for a change. They lived there for the past twenty years. A home isn’t a single house anyway.”
“Do they have a place for after it sells?”
The quick glance at the floor reveals the almost lie you would’ve told him, but the two of you agreed to be honest, so you shake your head, “No. They haven’t left the house entirely. They still live there and whatever they make from the sale, they’ll use it to purchase their next.”
“I can buy it,” he states again and you shake your head.
“Trent, you aren’t going to buy my childhood home, drop it,” you spit, voice unwavering as he looks back at you. His jaw is clenched.
“Fine,” he agrees. “But if you have any doubts, I can buy it. I’ll give them whatever double the asking price is—”
“Trent.” You knew he wasn’t going to drop it, he’d most likely ask your parents first thing tomorrow and you didn’t even want to think about what their response would be.
He sighs, “Okay.”
Instead of letting the conversation simmer into silence, you take a deep breath and ask him another question. Here goes nothing: “Why didn’t you ever pursue your feelings?”
Trent rotates his body towards yours, leaning against the column with his shoulder. His hands are still stuffed into the pockets of his sweats. “I was fifteen, I was scared.”
At fifteen, the two of you would’ve already shared your first kiss and held hands underneath the table. You were so giddy, but you weren’t sure if you were giddy at the idea of getting caught or because you had a crush on Trent. The two of you spent so much time growing up together, playing footy, exploring the neighborhood, everything. Tyler would often tag along, and then Marcel as well once he got older, but still you knew you were closer to Trent more.
“And they’ve just gone away?” you ask without a second thought. Your heart lurches as he looks away. What a stupid thing to say!
He coughs, clearing out his throat and your cheeks burn. He looks down at the hem of your sweater, “Would my mother still be trying to play matchmaker if not?”
A squeezing feeling encompasses your chest that you wince. The shock was gone, you were upset now. It had been ten years, you could excuse the first five years because they were hectic with you at uni and him training, but the both of you had sex knowing the feelings were there.
Because no matter how much you tried to convince yourself you didn’t have feelings for Trent, they were always still going to be there. He was the first boy you were really exposed to. The boy you followed throughout the neighborhood despite not knowing anything about him. You wanted to be brave and follow him into the woods. Doing all sorts of things you would’ve never done had he not been by your side. The sweet boy who kissed your knee in hopes of getting you to stop crying held your heart the moment he ran to you.
He watches the way your eyes dart from the fireworks to his family members cheering as they drink a champagne flute. The crease in your eyebrow and nose, he knew you were in deep thought. On a night of too many truths, he was exhausted.
“Just say it,” he whispers. “We’re being honest.”
“You watched me,” you start, voice trembling but teeth grinding, “you watched me get my heartbroken not once, but twice. Gave me all this advice on boys, broke my heart in the process because I thought you didn’t like me back, and then I went on to have two relationships where they were both shit. And you just watched? Knowing you felt something?”
Trent can’t stand to hear the shake in your voice, it itching his ear in a way that makes him tilt his head away from you.
You continue, “I liked you too, a lot. So much that I would sometimes scare myself because I would see my exes as you, even though sometimes it would be months since we last talked. You were always on my mind, and had you said something earlier, all of it,” you wave your arms around to symbolize the time and heartache lapsed. “All of it could’ve been avoided.”
Trent glances down, “I was a coward.”
“No shit,” you yell. Trent abruptly looks at the crowd of people and hopes you don’t catch their attention.
“I wasn’t ready,” he says, truthfully. “I wasn’t ready to give you my all if we had gotten together. I was still finding my footing on the team, all of my focus was on that and wouldn’t have been on you if we were together. Okay,” he relents, “maybe I could’ve spared your heartache had you known, but it just—it wasn’t worth all the drama—”
“Drama?”
He shuts his eyes closed. Think! “It wouldn’t have been worth you getting hurt because I had training. Or I had a game and had to miss something important of yours. I would’ve been physically there but not emotionally present—”
“Do you think I would’ve cared, Trent?” you gape.
He shakes his head, “You wouldn’t, and that’s the problem. You wouldn’t have deserved that. You wouldn’t have deserved me not being present, it would’ve driven us both away. The only times I saw my family were because they came to my game and I met them at their suite. That would’ve been the only time you and I interacted, do you seriously think you would’ve been okay with that?”
No. But you would’ve been content knowing he felt the same. The small moments you saw him would’ve made up for any multi-hour-long day spent with him.
“Like you needed to find yourself at uni and focus on what you were passionate about, I did too,” he says. His voice is much softer and less urgent, knowing that you were understanding and on the same page as him. “But I’m ready now. I’m not saying you have to be ready right now—or maybe you won’t ever be because you don’t have the same feelings you once had—but, I’m here now. I’m as present as I’ll ever be. The season started off fast and will continue to be difficult, but I’ve learned how to be present at home. How to not focus on football and be with my family and pets during my spare time.”
On cue, the rest of Trent’s family—and yours—burst through the back door. There are only a couple of minutes until midnight, those fifteen minutes blew right past the both of you. Tyler and Marcel had stopped popping fireworks as they compiled a bunch together to be ignited exactly at twelve.
Trent looks at you, pulling your hand so that you’re closer to him near the pillar as your family members stampede outside, settling in lawn chairs and anywhere on the floor. Trent hasn’t dropped your hand yet. He caresses the backside of your hand with his thumb as his fingers squeeze tighter around yours.
“I know I was a coward, I know I could’ve said it anytime you were around, but it was never the right time,” he whispers in your ear. “We were busy, our lives never aligned perfectly, and maybe they don’t align right now either, but I’m willing to take the risk.”
A breathy sigh escapes you as you soak in his words. You close your eyes as you lean the side of your head against his chest. You needed to be grounded as you thought, and he was always someone stable. His hands don’t wrap you into a hug because he knows exactly what you’re doing.
“I still like you,” you acknowledge. “I’m a little upset you kept this a secret.” He snorts. “But, if I’m being honest, I’m not sure when I would’ve bursted and confessed the same thing. I wanted to tell you that we were moving, especially whenever we were thinking about it when it was first brought up, but I stopped myself. I was scared, because I knew my first instinct to reach out to you meant that it was something more, that I saw you as someone more than just my friend. That I always have. Every failed relationship was a reminder of it.”
Trent chuckles, finally being able to breathe. The tightening feeling in his chest had dissipated, replaced with jittery nerves as he restrained himself from pulling you into a hug.
You drop Trent’s hand and face him. If he was confused, he hid it well.
“I’m willing to take the risk too,” you state, the heavy weight on your shoulders dissolving. “I’m trusting you, just like I trusted you the day I followed you into the woods.”
“We ended up getting lost,” he recalls. He isn’t sure how much longer he can keep his hands off of you.
“I know,” you smile. “But I trusted you still, despite being so scared. I knew you would keep your promise and get us out of there before the moon rose. I’m willing to get lost with you, wherever you are, I want to be there.”
“You trust me?” he cheeses, his lips breaking out further into a grin. A chorus of a ten-second countdown breaks out in the background.
“Of course, stupid,” you smack his bicep and the brief contact makes the both of you hold a breath.
Trent knew he couldn’t get the smile off of his face no matter how hard he tried. He didn’t expect to have this conversation with you tonight, but after seeing you underneath the canopy, your clothes and figure lighting up from the colorful lights of the fireworks, he knew he couldn’t let you walk away from him again. You didn’t even hold his heart in the palm of your hands, you held it in your gaze. One look at him from you and he was floored, a weak and desperate man on his knees begging for your attention.
“…three, two, one, Happy New Year!”
Your blissful eyes combined with his gleeful ones don’t look away as you both lean closer. Your hands stay tucked by your side, his suddenly not wanting to move either as he leans down. The moment your nose grazes his, you close your eyes and let him kiss you. You press your lips further into his as the sound of fireworks go off behind you.
The kiss feels like the first one you shared together, tentative but passionate. It feels like a new promise, one full of commitment for the year to come. A promise from him that he’ll be there for every second of the day, and you a promise to be present as well. To not make him feel like he needs to bottle up his emotions and wait until the last minute to confess them.
His hands find your cheeks at the same time you wrap your arms around his waist. He pulls away and sighs against your lips, resting his forehead against yours. “Happy New Year, sweetheart.”
“Happy New Year,” you smile, pecking his lips one more time before burying your head into his chest. He pulls you in for a bone-crushing hug, squeezing your shoulders tightly against him and then resting his head on top of yours.
Instead of letting you close your eyes to soak in the feelings of him being this close in your arms, he shuffles the both of you and points up, “Look up.”
His careful gaze looks down at you as he double checks that you’re actually looking up at the fireworks, but he bursts into a nervous laugh when he sees you looking back at him. You can feel his heart quicken its pace as he stutters, “No, not me. The sky!”
“You’re so happy,” you whisper. Earlier his eyes were on the verge of breaking down, but now, they seem so full of light and hope.
“Yeah,” he slips his hand back around your waist. “I got the girl of my dreams in my arms, my girl.” He enunciates the last two words like they’re a testimony.
Your cheeks rush with heat that you’re glad he can’t feel them. He leaves a chaste kiss on your temple before looking back up at the fireworks. And then he glances down suddenly, “Do you remember when we made that fort in my living room?”
You burst into a laugh, pulling away from his chest, “What?”
“The fort,” he repeats, “it ended up crumbling because Marcel rolled too far and pulled the blankets down—you remember?”
You nod, bewildered by his sudden excitement.
“Well, the spare bedroom of Tyler’s only has a mattress on the floor, but there are some chairs and sofas we can combine to you know,” he lets his voice fade away.
“You have a game tomorrow, maybe you shouldn’t be sleeping on the floor.”
“It’s a new mattress! That’s why it has nothing else,” he laughs. His laugh is intoxicating that all your logic and usual bickering dies out. He could build the fort, you’d be right there helping him either way.
Your heart swells as his eyes go wide, his face glowing red. He taps your waist, “Look, look look.”
The red firework that just popped erupts into the shape of a heart. You smile, standing on your tippy toes to give him a kiss. To think you’ve been missing this for the past twenty years that you’ve known him. What a fool the both of you were.
That night, Trent holds his promise as you help him build the fort around the mattress. You steal a lantern from Tyler’s shed outside while Trent found blankets to use and old moving boxes. It isn’t an exact replica like the two of you first shared, but it’s quite close, only this time you two are wrapped in each other’s arms.
Pairing: Thanos (Choi Su-Bong) x Reader
Summary: Su-Bong's back on the stage, but when an familiar face reappears what will happen?
Warnings: Mentions of drug use
Word Count: 2,992
Comments: Straight up dedicating this part to the anon that guessed who was gonna show up 😂 Hope you all enjoy this part, I'm so excited to see what you think! 💕
<- Part 6
The streets were buzzing as you made your way across the city. The neon lights flickered above you as people spilled out of bars. You clutched your phone, glancing down at Su-Bong’s latest text.
‘I’ll be looking out for you 👀’
Heat rose in your cheeks at his words. It was silly how easily he got to you, how such a short text could leave you grinning like crazy.
You hadn’t been to this kind of gig before, rap music wasn’t exactly your thing, but this wasn’t about the music. It was about him. You hoped it went well, hoped that he’d feel good up there, and hoped that he knew you were rooting for him.
The venue wasn’t as small as he’d let on. From the outside it had a grungy feeling to it, with graffiti and old posters littering the walls, but when you got inside it was overflowing. There was a good few hundred people, the air was dense from how closely everyone was packed together.
The bass from the act on stage shook the floor beneath you as you weaved your way over to the bar. You ordered a drink and took a slow sip, trying to take everything in.
The warm haze of the stage lights cast a glow over the crowd. The air was electric, but you couldn't stop your mind from drifting to Su-Bong. Was he nervous? Excited? You glanced to the side of the stage, hoping you could catch a glimpse of him but it was too dark.
As the set ended the crowd cheered. You exhaled, making your way into the crowd to get a good spot. Would Su-Bong be performing next?
A DJ filled the pause with a low, steady beat. You tapped your fingers against your cup whilst the people around you swayed, their voices mixing into a low murmur of anticipation.
A tech guy jogged across the stage, adjusting the mic. The lights dimmed for a moment, the anticipation was thick in the air. Then, the beat dropped, heavy and pulsing through the air, and Su-Bong stepped out onto the stage.
The crowd surged forward as the stage lights flooded over him. But something caught you off guard. His hair.
The familiar purple was gone, replaced by a striking bleached white. It was a bold change, one he hadn’t mentioned to you, a way to show he wasn’t the same person anymore. It suited him effortlessly.
Before you had much time to focus on it he took the mic. And then it was like he had the room in the palm of his hand.
You’d never seen anything like it, the way he completely owned the stage. He was confident, like he belonged up there, like he was built for this. You were sure you were watching someone doing what they were born to do.
As the first song faded out, he took a breath, taking a moment to look out across the crowd. He was searching for something. No, for someone. You.
His eyes finally found yours and it was as though the rest of the world faded away, the noise of the crowd, the flashing lights, the bass, it all just melted away. In that moment there wasn’t anyone else, it was just the two of you.
His entire face lit up, and as he began his next song he kept his eyes on you. Something unspoken passed between you with every word he rapped. Your heart thundered in your chest in time with the beat.
You watched on, transfixed as he moved across the stage. The rhythm of his words was effortless, the music travelled through him shaping the way he carried himself.
The intensity in his voice deepened as his set went on, his presence growing bolder. Every time he glanced your way a shiver went down your spine. It was electric, he was electric.
As the final song reached its peak, he poured his all into it. His voice, his movement, his energy, it was awe inspiring. The final note echoed out and the crowd seemed to take a breath before erupting with applause. You clapped and cheered as loud as the rest of them. You were so happy for him, so proud.
The crowd was still buzzing as the next act set up but you could barely focus. The rush of Su-Bong’s performance pulsed through you. You needed to see him.
Slipping through the crowd you made your way to the exit. The cool night air hit you as you made it outside, a contrast to the heat of the venue.
You could still hear the bass from out here, muffled by the thick walls but out here everything felt quieter, calmer.
You rubbed your arms against the slight chill as you waited for him to emerge. Your stomach fluttered as you caught sight of him stepping out from a side door, where a couple of people were waiting to ask for pictures with him. He looked so at ease, flashing a cocky grin as he posed.
Then, his eyes found you and he began to make his way over. Your excitement spilled out the second he was close enough, ‘Su-Bong, that was amazing! You were amazing! & look at your hair-’ your rambling was cut off as he reached you and engulfed you in a hug. He lifted you off the ground with ease, causing a surprised laugh to bubble out of you.
‘You see that Señorita?’ he asked joyously.
Your hands gripped his shoulders instinctively, clinging to the feeling of being so close to him. ‘I saw, they loved you!’ Up close you could see the sparkle of adrenaline still in his eyes.
He smiled at your reply and something softer took over his exhilaration. ‘What about you?’
Your breath hitched slightly at the way he looked at you. His hands still holding your waist, keeping you close. ‘I loved it too, I can’t wait to see you perform again, but there is just one thing…’
He furrowed his eyebrows slightly before he followed your gaze. ‘It’s the hair isn’t it?’
‘You could’ve warned me! I almost didn’t realise it was you!’ You teased.
He laughed with you and remained smiling down at you. The laughter faded and neither of you said anything for a moment. The noise of the city hummed around you but it felt distant, like you were back in your own little world. You were hyper aware of everything. His hands on your waist, the lack of space between you, the way his eyes flickered across your face.
It should make you nervous. Maybe it did, but at the same time you didn’t want him to let go. You wanted to stay in this moment, to commit it moment to memory, to let it mean more than either of you were saying out loud.
Then- ‘Hey man, can I get an autograph?’
The moment shattered like glass. He let out a small sigh before pulling away from you, his hands lingered on your waist until the last possible moment. You took a small step back, trying to ignore the way his warmth lingered on your skin.
He signed quickly, exchanging a few words before finally turning back to you. The energy between you had shifted, the interruption cooling whatever it was you had going on.
‘C’mon let’s get outta here,’ he said as he ran his hand through his freshly bleached hair. ‘We can grab some food on the way.’
You blinked at him, hesitating. ‘Shouldn’t you stay? Celebrate your comeback?’
He tilted his head, trying to hide the small smirk with a shrug. ‘Nah I don’t wanna stay out, would rather go back to yours.’
You opened your mouth to protest, to tell him he should stay out. He deserved to celebrate properly, but before you could get a word out he was already walking, his decision made.
All you could do was catch up and fall into step beside him, trying to bite back a smile that might give away too much.
The weeks that followed both felt familiar and different. He still walked you home from work, still filled most of your evenings with his usual antics. But now, sometimes, those evenings ended in dimly lit venues with his voice filling the space.
You never missed any of his shows. You loved to watch him, he belonged on the stage. With every performance he settled further into it, getting used to working under his real name rather than a stage one.
Not much had changed between you, not on the surface at least. You wrote the moment after his first show down to adrenaline, you were both so excited that you weren’t thinking straight. But sometimes, when you caught him looking at you from across the room, or when his arm lingered around you just a little longer than before, it was hard to pretend that nothing had changed.
You tried to act like things were the same, like the feeling creeping up your spine when he was close wasn’t new. Like your pulse didn’t pick up when his fingers brushed yours. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything, and neither did you.
It was another one of the nights where Su-Bong had a gig, you were stood outside after. The night's energy still lingered around you as he lit up a cigarette. His hand briefly grazed your arm as he turned to begin walking, but something stopped him in his tracks.
‘Hey Thanos! Heard you were back on stage, wanted to come see for myself!’
It was player 124 from the games. You froze next to Su-Bong. You hadn’t seen anyone else from those horrific days. The sight of him sent a cold shiver through you, your stomach twisting into knots. Did he even recognise you? Would he bring up the games? Or was he really just here to see Thanos?
‘Hey Nam-Su,’ Su-Bong replied, keeping it short. He was tense, the air around you feeling heavy.
‘It's Nam-Gyu,’ he muttered, correcting him though he didn’t seem too bothered by the mistake as he stepped closer into your personal space.
‘Got some new shit I thought you might wanna try,’ Nam-Gyu said casually, as he pulled a small bag of pills from his pocket, shaking them briefly before tucking them away.
You stayed glued to the spot. Keeping an eye on Su-Bong, you noticed the way his jaw clenched.
‘I’m good,’ Su-Bong dismissed him easily, putting an arm around your shoulders and steering you away.
Nam-Gyu let out a short laugh. ‘Really? You can’t get this stuff anywhere else. You’ll love it.’ He was persistent, you'd give him that.
‘I said no.’ Su-Bong didn’t even look back but his voice was firmer this time.
‘This bitch really changed you didn’t she.’
That halted him.
You felt nausea creep into your chest as Su-Bong’s frame went rigid.
Nam-Gyu smirked. ‘Look at her, probably thinks she’s better than all of us. Isn’t that right?’ You couldn’t help but look over your shoulder, finding Nam-Gyu closing in on you. ‘You keeping him on a leash so when he makes it big again you can cash in?’
The words stung even if there was no truth behind them. But before you had time to fully process them, Su-Bong moved.
In a flash he’d spun around, shoulders squared and hands clenched into fists. For a moment you were sure he was gonna deck him. Nam-Gyu must’ve thought the same because he flinched.
But then just as quickly, Su-Bong exhaled sharply. Instead of throwing a punch, he grabbed your wrist and dragged you away.
His steps were fast, you almost tripped trying to keep up. He didn’t let go, didn’t slow down, didn’t even turn to look at you.
‘Su-Bong!’ you called, trying to steady your breath. ‘Su-Bong stop!’
He didn’t. Not until you were a few blocks away, where he finally released your wrist and began pacing.
‘That fucking asshole!’ He yelled, raking a hand through his hair. ‘Who the hell does he think he is chatting all that shit?!’
You didn’t know what to say, just watched him as anger seeped out of him.
‘I should’ve hit him, asshole deserves it even if he was -’ He cut himself off, his pacing stopped as he remained with his back to you, his shoulders rising and falling unevenly.
‘If he was what?’ You pressed, did he agree with that guy? Thinking you were just with him for money. The thought made your throat tighten
His shoulders deflated, the fight draining from his body. ‘He’s right.’ He sighed.
Your heart broke, after everything how could he think you were using him? A lump began to form in your throat but you forced yourself to talk. ‘Su-Bong,’ your voice shook. ‘I’d never use you like that, surely you know that?’
‘Huh?’ His head snapped up and for the first time since Nam-Gyu had appeared he looked at you. The anger was gone, replaced by something raw. His tense posture softened slightly. ‘Señorita, I know that.’ His voice was gentle as he stepped towards you, close enough to chase away the chill in the air.
‘Then what was he right about?’ Tears stung the corner of your eyes as you tried to brace yourself for the answer.
‘You’re better than me… you always have been.’
Your breath caught in your throat, eyes widening. He couldn’t mean that.
‘Don’t act like it’s such a surprise,’ he muttered, voice laced with something bitter. His hands flexed at his sides, clenching and releasing as if he was fighting the urge to reach out. ‘Fuck, look at me, I don’t know why you still let me hang out with you.’
You watched him closely, his words settled over you. Your chest felt tight as anticipation curled inside of you. ‘What are you saying?’
He swallowed hard, eyes flickering to the pavement below. ‘I can barely keep my shit together, you don’t deserve that,’ he admitted. ‘That night when I showed up at yours… You shouldn’t have to deal with that shit.’
Your mind flooded with images of the night he turned up high, the way he acted, how he’d spoken to you. And then realisation dawned on you, ‘that’s why you disappeared?’
He nodded slightly, ‘thought maybe if I stayed away you’d finally realise you shouldn’t have someone like me around.’
But he did come back, he came back when you needed him the most and you had to know why. ‘If you think that, then why did you answer the call?’ you asked, voice sounding a lot steadier than you felt.
He met your eyes again, he looked so vulnerable. ‘It was the middle of the night, I thought something bad might’ve happened.’ He dragged a hand down his face. ‘I told myself I’d stay away but the moment I thought you needed me, I …I just couldn’t’
The truth crashed over you like a wave, flooding you with an array of emotions. You felt overwhelmed as the weight of his words settled into your bones. He hadn’t stayed away because he didn’t care, he stayed away because he thought it would be better for you. The realisation almost sent you spiralling, a dizzying mix of warmth and sadness twisted inside of you.
‘I never wanted you to stay away,’ you said. ‘Su-Bong I don’t need you to protect me from you.’
His breath caught, body going still. You could see the conflict behind his eyes. ‘I don’t deserve you.’
‘You don’t get to decide that,’ you felt bold as you carried on. ‘I want you here. I want you.’
He looked as though he was fighting an internal battle as you stepped forward bravely, closing the last bit of distance between the two of you. He opened his mouth to speak but you didn’t let him.
‘You think I don’t deserve to be with a person that makes me feel better? A person that makes me feel safe?’ You let out a breathless laugh ‘Su-Bong you’re an idiot if you can’t see that you’re what I want.’
His eyes darted across your face, searching for any doubt but he didn’t find any.
And then, like a dam breaking, he moved. His hands, warm and urgent, cupped your face. His thumbs grazed over your cheeks, like he was trying to convince himself this was real.
For a split second neither of you moved. His breath fanned over your skin, his forehead almost resting against your own. His grip tightened slightly, like he was afraid to let go.
Then, finally, his resolve snapped.
Su-Bong kissed you like he had nothing left to lose. His lips were rough, insistent, like it was something he’d been holding back on for so long that it physically hurt. His hands cradled your face like he was terrified you’d disappear if he let go. You kissed him back just as fiercely, because you weren’t going anywhere.
As the kiss broke, he didn’t pull back completely, holding on to you and taking a moment to ground himself. His hands still cradled your face, thumbs brushing over your cheeks as his eyes flickered between yours.
‘I don’t know how to do this,’ he admitted quietly.
Your heart clenched at the raw honesty in his voice. He was so convinced he wasn’t good enough, so convinced he wasn’t worthy before he even had the chance to try.
‘You don’t have to,’ you raised your hands, gently curling your fingers around his own. ‘We can figure it out together.’
‘...Yeah?’ His voice was barely above a whisper, hesitant but hopeful.
You nodded, a small smile tugging at your lips. ‘Yeah.’
It was though something clicked into place for Su-Bong, like he was finally letting himself believe you. He didn’t say another word, but the way he pulled you in again told you everything you needed to know.
-> Part 8 Coming soon Series Masterlist
Taglist: @andersonslove @fallout-girl219 @olasz-2003 @l5byrinth @hotdxdragon @cherrypied0lly @nicklet94 @learninglinesintherainn @tebteb @lotsa-juicy-shit @onecojg @the-iridescent-phoenix @red22wolf @avsarchivez
LOVE LESSONS
genre. fluff. mutual pining. whc1 w/o the angst au. warnings. they're both whipped. pairing. sieun x fem!reader. wc. 2.6k. (wish it was longer damn) request. no. a/n. happy birthday @yeonjuns-redhair i love you so so so so much you'd better enjoy it 🔪
Sieun hadn’t taken much interest in girls during his life. Other than the fleeting first crush he had when he was fourteen, girls had been the last thing on his mind as he focused all his energy into his grades. But there was just something about you that Sieun couldn’t ignore. Without realising it, he was falling head over heels in love with you and he didn’t even have the courage to speak a single word to you.
You sat a seat up from Sieun one row over, a spot which allowed him to admire you silently whenever he wanted (which was increasingly becoming the only thing he wanted to do). Whenever the window was open on a warmer day, the breeze would always reach your hair and blow in just the way to take Sieun’s breath away. He had become an expert at pretending to be absorbed in his notes like he always was, but his gaze always found its way to you eventually.
The first person to realise was Sooho.
“You like Y/n or something?” Sooho teased, dropping into the seat in front of Sieun, making him look up from his notes which hadn’t been added to in the past 20 minutes despite the pencil in his hand.
“Is it obvious?” Sieun said in a panicked voice, eyes glancing over the mostly empty room just to make sure no one was listening.
“Given that she has the power to take your attention away from your studies, I’d say so.” Sooho pointed out, grinning.
“What do I do?” Sieun sighed, dropping his pencil, dropping his head into his hands.
Sooho leaned back in his seat, pretending to think, “Ask her out, obviously.”
Sieun’s eyes widened, “What?”
“What?” Sooho echoed.
“I… I can’t ask her out.”
“Why not?”
Sieun flushed, “...She’s too good for me.” He mumbled.
Sooho raised his eyebrow at this, “Oh, you’re more whipped than I thought.” He gave Sieun a lopsided grin, finding the younger boy adorable. “Let me guess, you’ve never had a girlfriend before?” Sieun shook his head. “Don’t worry,” Sooho nodded as he spoke, “I can help you.”
“How?”
“Private lessons.” Sooho concluded, standing up and patting Sieun’s shoulder before walking out of the classroom. Sieun stared at him as he left, feeling the anxiety rising and he tried to gulp it back down.
//
Sieun’s first “private lesson” took place the next day. As he worked his part time job at the restaurant, Sooho gave all the advice he had to Sieun. Most of it went right over the smaller boy’s head, but he tried his best to at least write it all down on a notepad. He would need all the help he could get in order to even approach you, so he studied diligently.
“Figure out what she likes first. If she likes strawberry smoothies, buy her a strawberry smoothie. If she likes stuffed animals, buy her one. But be nonchalant about it, like you just happened to know that it was her favourite. Girls don’t like it when boys are obsessed with them.” Sooho explained as he sorted cans of soda.
“Am I too obsessed with her?” Sieun said suddenly, halting the movements of his pen.
“No, no, don’t worry about that. She’ll love you, you’re very lovable once you open up.”
“What if she doesn’t?”
“And what if she does? Stop overthinking it and write down what I say, okay?”
Sieun left that first lesson overwhelmed. He had never thought so hard about how much eye contact to make or what pick-up lines to use. He was starting to feel like maybe he couldn’t do this. You were way out of his league and didn’t even know he existed. He was stupid to even try.
When he arrived at school in the morning, his head felt as cloudy as the sky outside. It was encroaching on a darkness but still clung to the cusp of a light grey. The clouds swirled around and hid the sun, a harsh breeze shifting the leaves on the trees.
Sieun opened his backpack to get out his notebook, but his attention was immediately drawn to a small bottle of mango juice. Sooho must have stuck it in. He grabbed it and found a sticky note with unmistakably Sooho’s handwriting scrawled on it.
I heard from her friend that this is her fav— remember what I told you ;)
Sieun sighed and peeled the sticky note off of the bottle, recalling all the steps Sooho had meticulously given him the previous day. Act cool, don’t try too hard, don’t act interested at first, etc.
Sieun busied himself with studying for the next hour, waiting for when you arrived to class so he could give you the juice. You walked in with a boy beside you and Sieun’s heart sunk. His eyes flickered between you and the boy who was clearly clinging to your side. Sieun thought that maybe you looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t know for sure. He just forced himself to look down at his paper, missing the way you instinctively looked at him, a mixture of disappointment in your face.
Sooho offered Sieun a ride home after school, eager to know if he had successfully made a move on you. “Did she like the juice?” Sooho asked brightly, passing Sieun the motorcycle helmet.
The other boy was silent as he put it on, still processing his disappointed emotions. Why did it make him feel like he was about to explode seeing someone else so close to you?
With the long pause, Sooho was quick to pick up on what had happened, “Don’t tell me you didn’t give it to her?” Sieun nodded quietly, affirming Sooho’s suspicions before sitting down on the motorcycle without another word. Sooho sighed and joined him, turning on the engine with a loud rev and entering the lane on the road.
//
You had known Sooho since your 5th birthday. He was that one kid who no one really knew why they were invited to the party, but ended up being the star anyway. He had caked you in the face on your 7th birthday as a prank, and now it was a tradition at every birthday.
No one was really aware of how close you two were, since you didn’t spend much time talking at school. Sooho was always sleeping and you were always spending way too much time being distracted by the most beautiful eyes- studying. You were studying.
It had been months of your studying being rudely distracted by this… certain someone, and your grades were realistically suffering because of it. You needed to do something about it, and luckily for you, Sooho was friends with this boy. It was like the stars had aligned.
“Sooho!” You sat down loudly at the desk in front of the sleeping boy, earning a tired groan as the boy attempted to wake up from his slumber.
“What?” He rubbed his eye lazily, waiting for you to bring up what was so important as to interrupt his precious sleep.
“I need to confess or else my grades will crash and burn.” You said dramatically, much to the confusion of the boy in front of you.
“Who are you confessing to?” He asked groggily but a bit more alert than before, thoughts of Sieun’s failed confession running through his brain immediately. What if you liked someone completely different? Should Sooho still encourage Sieun to confess to you?
“Sieun…” You muttered weakly.
“What?” Sooho’s eyes brightened when you repeated Sieun’s name in clarification. “I have a plan.”
Sooho’s plan was the most absurd thing you had ever heard. How the heck was randomly showing up to Sieun’s apartment going to achieve anything? What did he expect you two to do? Eat dinner?
Sooho had dropped you off 30 seconds ago and sped off on his motorcycle before you could figure out exactly where you were and bombard him with questions. He didn’t give you any instructions, any pointers. All he said was that Sieun had something to drink. You were confused and a little annoyed and scared. You would probably embarrass yourself in front of Sieun and then that would be the end of it. You wouldn’t have the courage to even look at the boy ever again.
You hesitantly knocked on the door since Sooho had threatened you in case you chose to run away instead of doing anything. As the door opened, you were faced with the pair of eyes that you expected. You watched as shock flickered over them.
You could practically melt right then and there just from looking at him. You had never actually seen him in clothes other than his school uniform, and while he looked good in it, he looked infinitely better in this; a soft crew neck and sweatpants. You could only imagine how comfortable it would be to hug him or even cuddle-
Your thoughts were shut down when Sieun spoke, a little timidly, “Do you want to come in?” His voice was soft like it always was. He never really talked much. Even when answering questions in class, he spoke in as few words as possible. You couldn’t lie, you found it endearing.
You nodded and walked through the door, finding the apartment unsurprisingly clean. You took off your shoes, staying in just your socks. Sieun tried to look for a spare pair of slippers to give you, but the only pair was his dad’s which were comically too big for you.
You gave up the search and walked to the couch to sit down. You could feel this warm feeling in the air, like some simmering tension. It wasn’t uncomfortable, in fact, it gave you the slight sensation of butterflies in your stomach.
Sieun sat next to you on the couch but not too close and you were both silent. You weren’t sure what to say or where to start. You had asked Sooho for help with confessing, but it would seem too abrupt to start with that. You wanted to warm up to Sieun first, though you weren’t sure how long you could wait before the words fell out of your mouth.
“Do you want a drink?” Sieun asked and you smiled. So Sooho wasn’t lying with that part.
“What are the options?”
“Uh…” He dropped his head, thinking for a second before running to the small fridge and pulling out a bottle of mango juice, “You like this… right?”
You nodded, “Yeah, I do.”
Sieun’s lips turned up into the cutest smile you had ever seen in your entire life. You felt like you were floating on clouds from the elated feeling. You made him smile.
Once you had received a glass of mango juice, the conversation started flowing a bit easier. You talked about school and hobbies and your favourite foods. Though Sieun didn’t say much, you could tell he was always listening to what you were saying. That was a bit unusual to you. You were always used to being ignored or thought of as obnoxious when you talked, so you rarely felt comfortable saying what you wanted to. With Sieun, however, you felt like you could say anything and he would listen.
It was late in the night and Sieun was preparing a small dinner for you both. He had been overwhelmingly kind and considerate that you felt your will to not confess being slowly withered away. You were about to crack, you could feel it. As soon as he did one more thing to make your heart flutter, you would have to spill it otherwise you were sure you would explode.
Your resolve was finally broken while you were eating. You were sitting across from Sieun on the floor, food spread out as best as Sieun could make it. You had a small bit of sauce on the corner of your lip, and before you could notice yourself, Sieun had leaned across the table and wiped it off gently with his thumb.
Your cheeks flushed pink at the touch. You were lucky you didn’t have any food in your mouth otherwise you would’ve probably choked. You were stunned, staring at the boy in front of you. And then he smiled as if he was shy but happy to help. You could see his ears had turned pink at the tips, and then finally your mouth was spitting out words before your brain could catch up.
“I like you, Sieun.”
//
“I’m nervous I’ll do it wrong.” Sieun whispered, head dropped to look at the floor. You could see his cheeks a bright red and you were sure that your boyfriend was the cutest thing this world had ever created.
“You won’t be able to mess up cuddling, I promise.” You reassured him.
“But I’ve never done it before… What if-”
“You’ve hugged me before.” You cut him off. He nodded. He had hugged you, many many times. He wanted to hug you right now. “It’ll just be like a prolonged hug… except more relaxed.” You understood how the thought of cuddling could feel daunting for him. He had been touch-starved his entire life. “I’ll show you how it works, but… you need to come here first.” You giggled and patted the spot next to you on the bed.
Sieun’s face flushed more and he joined you carefully, scooting next to you. You grabbed his wrist and tugged him even closer to you, “It’s hard to cuddle when there's a gap between us.” You explained with a smile.
You decided it would be best to make the first move, so you wrapped your arms around his waist and rested your cheek on his chest. He was even more comfortable than you could’ve imagined, and you wondered why you hadn’t done this before. He smelled clean and calming, your nerves instantly becoming soothed by being so close to him.
He had tensed up at first, not sure how to respond and hyper aware of how fast his heart was beating. You were so pretty and the fact that you were hugging him so closely? Sieun would probably never recover. He figured that wrapping his arm around your shoulder would be natural, and he soon discovered that the position was 10 times more comfortable that way as you snuggled even closer to him.
“Your heart is beating so fast… Nervous?” You mumbled, peering up at him with a small teasing smile.
“Yeah…”
“Me too.” You whispered, a smile growing as you could feel both your hearts beating at the same fast rate.
Sieun was an excellent cuddler, he just didn’t realise it. He naturally started rubbing your arm in a soothing way until his hand travelled up to your hair and started playing with it. You were sure you would become addicted to cuddling him after this. Maybe you would ask him to cuddle with you everyday…
“Can I kiss you?” You asked suddenly. Sieun’s hand stopped playing with your hair.
“I… I’ve never-”
“I know. Me neither.” You said shyly, “It just… seemed like the right moment, but if you don’t-”
“I do. I really really do.” He said firmly and smiled a little. Your heart was already melted from the cuddles, but it was as good as evaporated at the sight of his smile.
“Okay.” You cupped his cheek cautiously before leaning in, not quite touching his lips, waiting for him to lean in as well. He pressed his lips to yours softly, timidly moving them in case you were uncomfortable or he was doing it wrong.
Sieun was an excellent kisser as well.
↳ k-drama taglist: @yeonjuns-redhair
hii<3 heres a request for ethan where he has a huge crush on the reader but the reader has a really terrible boyfriend & ethan confesses when he sees the boyfriend cheating and its just a bunch of angst. sorry this is all long i hope you can get to this! love ur writing btw !!
HI ANON 🩷🩷🩷 I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS IDEA IM REALLY SORRY I HAVENT GOTTEN THE CHANCE TO GET TO IT BUT I WILL EITHER THIS WEEK OR THE NEXT
i’ve read so many spider-man! ethan x reader and i fell in love with it omg 🤭 i recently watched miraculous with my little sister and i was thinking about a catnoir!ethan or catnoir!jack x ladybug!reader. what do y’all think???
Hii I love your work and I have this idea for a while so I hope that you could write it!!
Could you maybe do like based on the last video from Beta, the one in the hotel, where like your a guest and there’s like alove connection with one of the members.
I would really love if it could be like Niko or Chunkz but you write with who you want!!!
Summary: You thought you'd signed up for a chaotic night at a YouTuber-run hotel, but instead, you ended up being flirted into a four-course crush by Chunkz with special room service, dessert, and all.
Pairing: Chunkz x Reader
Genre: Fluff
Masterlist
You didn't expect much when your friend surprised you with a last-minute night at a "five-star hotel" run by YouTubers. Honestly, it sounded chaotic. But you went along, suitcase in hand, rolling up to the front desk where Niko and Kenny were already bickering over who had to handle the next guest complaint.
Your check-in was clumsy at best. Kenny handed you a room key, while Niko with his dead serious exprression while he offered a foot massage "for special guests only." You laughed it off, amused but not exactly hopeful, and headed upstairs.
Only to find that Niko had confidently given you a keycard to a room already occupied by a family of four.
You stood in the hallway awkwardly, reevaluating your life choices and adding this moment to your top ten most embarrassing experiences of all time.
Deciding you'd had enough, you wandered back downstairs to the kitchen area Niko had said was "open 24/7" hoping to at least grab a snack while you sorted things out.
And then, he walked in.
Chunkz. Of course you weren't expecting him. Not like that.
He strolled in beside Aj, both of them standing behind the restaurant counter like they belonged in a Michelin-starred kitchen. Aj looked focused, surprisingly serious. Chunkz was laughing at something Aj said, his energy calm but magnetic. You had to give it to him, he looked like he was really trying, taking this whole fake hotel gig more seriously than you'd expected.
And then he looked up.
His eyes met yours, just for a second. Then he smiled, lazy and confident like he already knew how your night was going to end.
"You lost? Or you just came here for me?" Chunkz asked strolling your way with that smug, teasing grin.
"I'm still having problems with my room. The receptionist may have made a mistake..." You said with a shrug.
"I'll show you up, don't want you running into any more... surprises" Chunkz offered, already turning to walk with you, flashing another grin.
"One of the receptionists told me I could come down here anytime" You added, glancing toward the kitchen.
"We're closed for now, it opens again later" Aj cut in.
"Why are those two setting us up, man?!" Aj said to the camera.
"Those schmucks probably did it on purpose" Chunkz said, not sounding the least bit mad about it.
"But I don't mind helping you out" Chunkz added with a small smile.
AJ muttered something about "betraying the team" as you followed Chunkz to the lift, tension crackling like static. You weren't blind, he was handsome, obviously but it was how he carried himself. Smooth. Effortless. That kind of charm that made you feel like the only person in the room when he spoke to you.
"So, what brings you to the Beta Hotel?" Chunkz asked as the elevator doors closed.
"Needed a break, didn't think I'd be walking into a reality show" You replied, laughing softly.
"We take hospitality very seriously here" Chunkz said with a grin.
"You might even get a serenade at dinner" Chunkz added.
"You sing?" You raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"I do a lot of things" Chunkz replied smoothly, his gaze flicking briefly to your mouth before darting away.
"But only for the right guests" Chunkz added.
Your new room was cleaner, tucked in a quiet corner of the hotel. Chunkz handed you a keycard Aj had found back in one of the tables in the restaurant, one of the master keys, if his smirk was anything to go by. His fingers brushed yours, lingering longer than necessary.
"If you're coming down to dinner" Chunkz said, voice a little softer now,
"Let me know, I'll save you a seat" Chunkz added.
"Only if you're serving" You replied, leaning against the doorframe.
"Then I guess I'll see you tonight" Chunkz said as he stepped back slowly, like he wasn't quite ready to leave.
Then came dinner.
You hadn't planned on flirting. You hadn't planned on smiling at your phone every time he cracked a joke over dinner
Dinner turned into a long conversation. Chunkz brought your plate himself, ignored AJ's annoyed looks, and kept coming back to your table like you were a VIP guest.
By dessert, you weren't even hungry. You were laughing too much. Leaning closer. Watching his hands. His grin. The low, smooth confidence in his voice that made you forget you were in a hotel run by chaos.
At the end of the night, he walked you back to your room. The hallway was quiet. But his voice was warm in your ear as you stopped outside your door.
"You sure this is your room?" Chunkz teased, silent referral with the room confusion earlier.
"Wanna check?" You said as you glanced at him.
"You're trouble" Chunkz said as he chuckled, eyes flicking to your lips before rising back to meet your eyes.
"And you're serving me a four-course flirt" You said, smiling.
Something electric hung in the air between you. Then, he gently tucked the keycard into your hand that must have slipped from your hand.
"Goodnight, beautiful" Chunkz murmured.
"Sleep tight, breakfast's on me in the morning" Chunkz added.
You watched him walk away, already wondering what you'd order.
Probably him.
And you definitely hadn't planned on leaning against your hotel door later that night when he brought up your dessert himself with tray in hand and that same damn smile on his lips.
"Just wanted to make sure your night ended sweet" Chunkz murmured, gaze locking onto yours for a second too long.
And somehow, one night didn't feel like enough anymore.
////_////_////_////
Chunkz was still smiling when he made it back to the kitchen, fingers warm from where they'd brushed yours. He didn't usually get caught up like this, but you? You were different. Sharp. Unbothered. Playful. The kind of woman who could flirt without trying and still leave him speechless.
He barely made it two steps inside before Aj clocked him.
"Ohhh, so you really walked her to her room, yeah?" Aj teased as he leaned against the prep counter, grinning.
"That's mad, man gave full escort service" Aj said as he laughed.
"Customer service is important, bro" Chunkz said as he smirked, trying to play it cool.
"Customer service? Bro, that woman earlier asked you to join her in the room multiple times yet you turned her down multiple times too" Aj said with a raised eyebrow yet the smile isn't leaving his face.
"She's too old for me, fam. What's with these old horny women anyways?" Chunkz said.
"She had cougar confidence" Aj said as he cackled.
"Then ten minutes later, you're out here walking the baddest guest we've had all night to her room? Nah, I rate it. Man's got range" Aj said, expression amused.
Chunkz rolled his eyes, but a faint pink crept up his ears.
"I invited her to breakfast, actually" Chunkz said with a smug smile.
"Room service and breakfast?" Aj said as he dramatically gasped.
"You moving like a whole staycation package" Aj said.
Chunkz tried not to smile. Tried. Failed. You'd thrown him off his game but in a way he didn't mind at all.
"She's fire though" Aj added, sounding more like a proud wingman now.
"I saw her walk in and I knew you jokeman was gonna clock her straight away. The way you dropped that dessert tray? Embarrassing" Aj said, smirking.
"It was one tray, relax. I was distracted" Chunkz said, giving Aj a brief side eye.
"Props though, you were trying to be respectful by costing our team to lose" Aj said.
"Yeah, well, don't let Kenny or Niko find out. Kenny's already asking if he can help with room service tomorrow" Aj added.
"Over my dead body" Chunkz said as gave him a look.
"Mans already acting like it's his hotel wife" Aj laughed.
Chunkz just smiled to himself, slowly rolling a towel between his fingers. The thought of you upstairs and maybe still thinking about him, had him already looking forward to breakfast duty.
Yeah, he'd be there.
Fresh shirt, and best cologne.
And maybe, just maybe, dessert before noon.
- end -
Hello lovelies!! See? Consistency from me lmao
Another Chunkz because my man deserves love like this and I see not too many fics for him. For all the Chunkz girlies.
I hope y'all have an amazing day, absolute love and guidance.
As I said everytime, send in some request and ideas!!
hii everyone i just wanted to let you all know that you can send in requests for avatar: the way of water or scream vi !! i just started here in tumblr and i need some inspiration to start 🫶
also i don’t write smut!
he’s so pretty and if you disagree, I will be under your bed tonight
My life every single day, it’s either barely any fics or they’re all x fem readers…like it’s not fair 😭
i love your theme and your writing style omg i just found your account i WILL be looking into more
OMG OMG tysmmm i’m literally blushing rn you’re so kind mwah
jude and trent post match pics please🤞🥹