Pairing: Sebastian Stan | Y\N
Summary: headcanon, Sebastian Stan as the older brother's friend.
Your peaceful morning toastâbuttery, sugary, perfectâwas interrupted by the thunderous stomping of your older brother. He still hadnât learned how to walk down stairs like a normal person, practically launching himself over the last few steps like they were optional. When he was younger, your mom got tired of dragging him to the ER. One doctor even joked that in his next life, he wouldnât have legsâsince he clearly didnât know how to use them in this one.
âEating your bland bread again, tipster?â he teased, ruffling your hair as he flew toward the fridge. Hunched over the lower shelves, he started hunting for the soda youâd hidden for yourself. You groaned in protest, standing up with the toast still between your teeth.
âWhen are you gonna start hiding it somewhere else? Itâs been what, five years? You always stash it behind the asparagus.â
âWhen are you gonna start buying your own?â you grumbled, swatting at his chest. But thanks to the height difference, you couldnât even reach his forearm. Still, surrender wasnât in your vocabulary. âAnd you call yourself my brother?â
âUgh, Y/N! Youâre gonna get butter all over me!â he said, taking a few greedy gulps from the can before finally giving in and handing you your lemon soda. âFlea.â
âSo why are you even up this early? You got fired,â said, curling back into chair, legs tucked under you, munching happily on toast. He grimaced, leaning his hips against the counter.
âThanks for the reminder, bug,â he stretched with a groan. âIâve got a meeting today. Sebâs back in town.â
âSeb?â you raised a brow, sipping your soda.
âSebastian. Friend from high school. He was living in Amsterdam, but now heâs back at our alma mater,â your brother scratched his head, watching you chew like a chipmunk. âSaid he might hook me up with a job.â
You licked your lips, eyeing him thoughtfully.
âThat the bully who always dragged you into messes?â He hummed in agreement, scrolling through his phone. âJJ, are you sure this jobâŠâ
âWhat? Not dangerous? Legal?â he smirked, dropping into the chair across from you. âLook, sis, weâre kinda screwed if you havenât noticed. We barely scraped together your college tuition, and we still have to pay rent this month. And your part-time job at the barâŠâ
âWhat about my part-time job?â
He winced, biting his lip.
âNot exactly thrilled about it. That place attracts some sketchy people, and I worry about your ass every damn shift,â he tapped your nose with a bent finger, and you rolled your eyes.
âI work day shifts. They pay less because all the âsketchy peopleââwho, by the way, leave massive tipsâonly show up after ten o'clock,â you stood and stretched. âIâm not fifteen anymore. Not even eighteen. You donât have to freak out over every little thing.â
âYeah, but you still look like youâre eleven,â you smacked the back of his head and immediately pulled him into a hug, pressing his face to your chest. He wrapped one arm around you in return.
âPromise me that you won't get into any trouble and I won't have to save you.â he murmured, leaning into you.
âTwo more beers, beauty,â winked a regular, and you smiled, nodding as you weaved between tables with practiced ease.
The bar was quiet today. Hardly any strangers, which wasnât surprising. Small townâeveryone knew everyone since diapers. Your boss had gone to school with your parents and happily offered you the waitress job. You were managing fine, mostly. But trouble wasnât rare. Youâd cleaned up broken furniture more than once, called ambulances for drunk guys who couldnât make it home. Your coworker Cassie, who worked nights, always wore long sleeves and kept her hair down. You werenât stupid. Understood. Didnât ask. You already knew what happened when drunk, foolish men got too bold.
âHey, sweetheart! Got a number for me?â Speak of the devil. Cassie flopped behind the bar, scooping up a handful of salted peanuts without looking.
âGod, it's so quiet here during the day. It's like someone died.â
You smirked, popping open two bottles.
âMaybe someone did. How would I know what goes on after midnight?â
âI saw the hottest guy, girl. I swear, everything in me just lit up,â she wiggled her brows, scanning the room. âNever seen him around before. Must be new in town. Jesus, Iâd ride that stallion into the sunset.â
You rolled your eyes and stepped out from behind the bar.
âIâm honestly shocked you havenât done it yet,â you said, stopping beside your gorgeous friend and giving her figure a playful once-over. âWith assets like that, babe.â
Cassie rolled her eyes, dropping onto a spinning barstool.
âIâve been flaunting everything Iâve got and he didnât even glance my way,â she pouted dramatically. âMaybe heâs gay?â
You rolled your eyes again and headed toward the table that still needed its drinks. A new guy in town? Maybe your coworker had run into your brotherâs old friend? Handsome one? You didnât exactly remember bloody noses and split lips being all that attractive. Then again, how old was he now? Twenty-seven or so? Maybe the job he was offering your brother wasnât as dangerous as youâd imagined.
Your thoughts were interrupted by a phone call.
Y\N: âWhat?â
JJ: âHey, sis! Remember I told you about Sebastian this morning?â
Y\N: âNo. Iâm a goldfish.â
JJ: âSmartass. Anyway, heâs got some housing issues. Mind if he crashes with us for a week or two?â
You nearly choked on air. What was that supposed to mean?
Y\N: âJay, whatâs going on?â
JJ: âCome on, donât be grumpy. You know how dead the housing market is in this town. Heâll take the parentsâ roomâitâs empty anyway.â
You clicked your tongue, completely unsure what those two were scheming. But your soft side⊠was too soft.
Y\N: âFine. But as soon as he finds a placeâŠâ
JJ: âYeah, yeah, heâs out. Got it. Thanks, youâre the best, snotface.â
You hung up, biting your lip. Nothing bad would happen⊠right? Just one more chaotic roommate. No big deal.
...
You got home late. Thankfully, no one bothered you on the way. And no, your older brother didnât need to know that sometimes things like that happen. Because sometimes. Youâre a pretty girl working at a well-known bar. Slipping home unnoticed isnât always an option. The âadmirersâ arenât exactly a problem. Sure, they can be pushy, say things that sting â but thatâs just alcohol loosening their tongues. At least, thatâs what you told yourself. Your faith in decent people still lived somewhere in your heart.
âIâm home!â you called out by habit, dropping the heavy grocery bag to the floor and kicking off your worn-out sneakers. No spare cash for trendy things right now â what can you do.
Suddenly, a whiff of menâs cologne hit your nose, and you froze, breathing it in again.
Right. You had a new âhouseguest.â You slowed your pace, peeling off your track jacket. Slipping into pink slippers, you squared your shoulders and picked up the bag. You were quiet by nature. Even working as a waitress, meeting new people made you anxious. You hadnât quite unlearned the habit of worrying what others thought of you. Always trying to make a good impression. Some kind of âgood girlâ syndrome.
But just as you turned the corner, you nearly collided with a solid male chest. Stepped back, lifting your gaze in surprise. The man leaned one muscular shoulder against the doorframe, eyes trailing over you slowly, deliberately. You gripped the plastic bag tighter.
âHey,â he said. Low, slightly raspy â like heâd just woken up. His face was unreadable. No friendly smile. Not even a twitch at the corner of his mouth.
âHey,â you echoed, matching his tone, afraid to look anywhere below those icy blue eyes. You wanted to take in the stranger properly, but his aura practically pinned you to the floor. You shivered. âSebastian, right?â
âDo you always carry heavy bags alone?â You looked away, flustered. He reached out silently, asking for the bag. You handed it over, and again his gaze swept from your shoes to your hair. Was something wrong? Were the tight jeans and stretched-out sweater really that bad a fashion choice?
âWhereâs J?â You followed him into the kitchen, allowing yourself a quick glance at his build. Yeah, he had way more muscle than your scrawny older brother. And that black tank top clung to him in all the right ways â every movement of those arms was visible.
âPassed out,â he said, leaning his hips against the counter, eyes back on you. What was with that stare? You didnât know where to put yourself, but groceries werenât going to unpack themselves.
âAt ten p.m.? Thatâs not like him,â you said, approaching the table and pulling things from the bag. âSorry, I didnât know what you eat, so I grabbed a little of everything.â
Yep. The good girl in you was screaming for approval and praise. You were developing a kink for it at this point. Sure, he could feed himself. You didnât have to think about dinner at all. But manners told you to welcome the guest properly â even if you werenât thrilled about it.
âWe already ate,â his velvet voice came from behind you, hitting your eardrums a little too hard. You felt like a rabbit caught in headlights â his presence was overwhelming. âLittle bugâ
You spun around, brows furrowed in irritation. Oh. The corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smirk. He liked your reaction.
âAnd I see you two had a good time, since my brotherâs completely knocked out,â you shot back with a sharp smile, arms crossed. You needed some kind of shield against his intensity.
âJust celebrating my arrival. Donât pout,â he said like youâd known each other for years. Even his tone threw you off balance.
âAmazing how youâre still standing,â you muttered, turning away in frustration as the groceries started spilling from the bag like they were to blame for everything.
âIâve got a fast metabolism,â he said, pushing off the counter and stepping toward you. You froze, feeling his breath on your neck.
Suddenly, he curled a strand of your hair around his finger, sending chills down your spine all the way to your lower back. You turned your head, catching him staring at your hair thoughtfully.
âItâs grown,â he said quietly, eyes locking onto yours. âAnd youâve grown up too, little bug.â
He backed away towards the exit, without breaking eye contact with you, and slipped outâgiving one last slow glance from head to toe.
You closed your eyes, exhaled. Licked your dry lips and dropped into a chair.
Yeah. This was going to be a long week. If not longer.