max :3 @glubglubgurgle - Tumblr Blog

shiny paperclips

xaviermc fic where you have a crush on a faceless gaming streamer and then you meet your neighbor/new coworker who is suspiciously similar to the streamer

pairings: xavier/unnamed fem reader (you)

tags: eventual shameless smut, gamer!xavier, office au, jealous xavier, CHARLIE MENTION!, making out in the office, kissing in the supply closet, desk sex, voyeurish if u squint, a LITTLE bit of dry humping, rubbing it in a car 🤤

word count: 20.1k

a/n: me when i'm two months late 😓i have TWO (2) j*bs rn and i'm still in my thesis era so 😣 pls forgive me mwah. also this was supposed to be a one-shot for the FIRST PART OF OFFICE AU but i got carried away. i posted it as three parts on ao3 but i waited to post it all at once here. pls enjoy!!! i'm a little rusty 😣😣

pings: @rubyluna09 @kittyf4ngg @mystides @dummiebunny @applecaviar @safeinyourheart @mcdepressed290 @spring214 @unfriendlypigeon @schnittled @youkoden @rtmissx @pixiu-palindrome @beaconsxd @st4rlight707 @mysterios-hoe @auroranavi @lycheegirl222

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You were always on the verge of falling asleep on the train ride to work. It was the same view every day and it started blurring into the same boring grays and blues. The only pops of colors would be the large advertisements on the digital billboard littered throughout the city. You had gotten your dream job after university, and landed the perfect position at the best company and yet your days had begun to blur together. It was rewarding work at times, but most of the time it was the most boring thing ever. Your coworkers were nice, but it was hard to connect with them on top of all your paperwork. You weren’t too good at multitasking so it was hard to hold a conversation. And you usually worked through lunch as well, which is one of the reasons why you climbed up the ladder so quickly.

But the drive was slowly wearing off. You went out with friends once every two weeks, and your idea of a fun day off was staying in all day to play the video games you had begun to neglect once you started a 9-5.

When you were unable to play, you’d watch other people play for fun. You actually had a favorite streamer whom you would indulge in on the dull train rides to work. He often streamed at oddball times, which usually lined up with your schedule to go to work. You even began to envy the faceless streamer for being able to wake up at 8am (assuming he had been asleep) and play your favorite games.

His name online was lumiere. The stream was very starry in theme and he was one of those faceless streamers who mainly played the same game you enjoyed: Legends of League.. The camera had only shown his hands as he played, fully aimed at the keyboard and mouse.

It was a little embarrassing for you because you bought the exact same set just because of him. It was a cute white and purple keyboard with little yellow stars littered throughout the buttons, with a matching mouse.

You felt extremely parasocial, but you couldn’t help it. Even without his face showing, he had an attractive voice and you were a firm believer that pretty hands meant an equally pretty face. You knew he took care of himself well enough for his nails to be healthy and clean and his fingers moisturized and nice. You were very observant, to the point that you found yourself to be a little creepy, even.

And it wasn’t just his hands and voice. Lumiere was extremely your type when it came to hobbies, conversations, and humor. It had gotten to the point of reading fanfics on AO3 and Tumblr of other people imagining how it would be to be with him. Which, as you thought about, seemed a bit too much for someone who actually existed.

This interest of yours was very much your own little secret. Your fansites were under pseudonyms and you never peeped a word about him at work or with your friends. You wanted to say you weren’t ashamed, but you were very much so. It just felt a little too silly for you to have a crush on a man whose name you don’t even know and a face you had never even seen.

And yet, the fascination continued.

The humming of the train bled through your earphones as you watched Lumiere play the same video game that had taken over lots of sleepless nights. He was a really good player. And although other streamers have been known to be really aggressive and even rage over the game, Lumiere was extremely calm. Even in ranked games, he acted as if it truly was just a game. That was extremely important to you.

starlight: can you play adc? id luv to learn from you!

You chatted into his stream, wanting to see him play a role you were bad at. It was something you often did and although sometimes you were drowned out by the chat, he would reply to you the rest of the time. Hearing your username being said by him made you feel something embarrassing. You sometimes wished you added your actual name.

“Thanks for coming back, starlight. I’ll play adc for you…shouldn’t you be at work though?” A small chuckle boomed softly through the mic.

You heard yourself hiccup. He was good at remembering small things and the fact that he remembered your schedule was making you shiver in your seat on the train. It even almost made you miss your stop.

Your eyes were glued to your phone as you made your way through the crowd of other office workers trying to get to work. You’ve taken the path to the building hundreds of times so you were confident that 80% of your attention could stick to Lumiere.

starlight: yes…but i’ll be bored without you !

starlight: without watching you, i mean !! jdfskjfweo

Another small chuckle. You were sure that if you looked at your reflection on a building window, you’d be greeted by a tomato. Your cheeks felt hot and your heart was fluttering. It was hard to feel embarrassed with all the emotions soaring through your veins.

It would have been embarrassing to say out loud, but your infatuation ran deep. You recalled a dream you had a few nights before as you watched his fingers move across the keyboard. Even with his face blurred out and unrecognizable, since you didn’t know what he looked like, you couldn’t help but feel the heat in between your legs as you had flashbacks.

The thoughts of his fingers roaming on every inch of your skin made you shiver as your eyes watched every movement on his stream. Your thighs squeezed against each other as indecent thoughts filled your brain. You may have had the biggest crush on a faceless streamer, but you were free.

—

At least you thought you were free.

Work was hectic as always. Your head was buried in stacks of paperwork and you couldn’t even pay attention to Lumiere doing exactly what you had asked him to. You even heard him call you out.

“Starlight doesn’t seem to be in the chat anymore…maybe she got busy. Just in case she’s listening, let’s play another ADC game.” He said, humming to himself. “This might be the last morning stream…I think I’ll have to switch the schedule to nighttime streams soon.” Your ears perked enough to pay attention since your schedule was going to change along with his. “Unfortunately…I have been employed. I should become a part of the working society since I didn’t get three degrees for nothing, right guys?” He laughed. “Nothing wrong with playing games all day! I just want to explore other areas for the meantime. Don’t be mad…please?”

The way he said everything made you melt. It was extremely hard to be upset, but you were going to miss the live streams.

It just didn’t help with your infatuation for the faceless man. Three degrees meant he was smart and education motivated. It was attractive. And the fact that he could definitely be well-off as-is by being a streamer since he was so popular, and yet he chooses to work normally. It felt so mature.

Your daydream was interrupted by your name being called to the meeting room.

The usual monthly meeting was as boring as the last one. Right until the last minute. Until your bosses announced the least boring news.

“We’re going to have a new employee starting tomorrow, so please welcome him warmly. They used to work in a similar position before so he’ll just need a refresher.” Your boss pointed the stack of papers towards you, “Are you free to train him? Your big assignment is due by the end of the day today, right?”

You nodded sheepishly, caught slightly off guard.

“Good, you should be free by tomorrow then. I’ll provide the paperwork on your desk by the morning. Meeting dismissed.” They said before turning on their heels and exiting the room.

The moment your boss left, the room erupted with hushed whispers. It was all excitement for the newcomer. It had been almost a year since the last new employee so everyone was getting sick of each other. The newcomer was sure to stir the pot. It was almost like when you were back in high school and a transfer student came.

The ladies were most excited knowing that the new guy was a guy. And you would have been lying if you said you weren’t curious either. None of your current coworkers piqued your interests, although you found yourself not really interested in dating anyways. It just didn’t hurt to daydream a little.

Even at your desk, the whispers of everyone else filled the room. Rumors zipped around about the new employee being a secret millionaire or him being a delinquent that was actually the son of the CEO. All sorts of ideas came to like the dramas you would watch at home. And you started thinking of it too. Chuckling to yourself as you think it would be the heir of the richest man trying to fit in a small white-collared job; wondering if he would be into you instead of every other beauty in the office. You bit your lip to suppress a laugh.

You grew up watching all sorts of Asian dramas that had outlandish, unrealistic plots of a rich man with a poor woman in the type of office space that you worked in now. It made every drama even more unrealistic when you finally landed the job. There weren’t any secret office romances or any flirting with the boss. It was just work. The only good thing that came out of it was good pay and a fun lunch downstairs.

—

You ended up arriving home a lot later than you thought. The big assignment your boss had mentioned ended up taking a lot longer due to issues on other people’s ends. You were just happy to be done by the time you hit submit.

Your feet were being dragged through the road as you took yourself home from the train station. The bag on your shoulder felt heavier than it did earlier, and you were just excited to hop into the shower. Even when you knew that you had to do everything all over again the next day.

The apartment that you lived in was comfortable. You had made it your home just a few months after moving in. The only thing you regretted was not being close to any of your neighbors. You had always wanted to make more friends considering it was hard to make them at work and you rarely saw the ones you did have. But it didn’t help that you would leave the house too early and get home too late at times to really interact with your neighbors; not that you really made an effort when you were at home all day.

You entered your apartment’s bright lobby, an old Lumiere video playing on the one earphone in your ear to dull out the bustling street noises. The marble floors were shiny and made the place look more expensive than it really was. You made your way into the elevator, hitting the floor you lived on and as the doors closed, a hand reached out to stop them.

The man would have looked suspicious if you didn’t recognize him. The usual white hoodie over a light blue shirt, it was the neighbor who lived right above yours. His hoodie was up over his head with sunglasses on, and after the last year of seeing him with them on at random times, you had stopped questioning it. He gave you an acknowledging nod before standing beside you, pressing the floor above yours.

The audio to your video seemed to have been acting up and you pulled your phone out to check. Lumiere’s voice had seemingly layered onto itself or glitched. It wasn’t until you felt a poke on your shoulder that you took your earphone off and realized he was talking to you.

Your neighbor looked at you awkwardly and waved.

His voice…

“Y-yeah? Sorry, did you say something?” You stumbled on your words.

He took his glasses off and showed his blue eyes, almost piercing into you. It was then that you realized that your upstairs neighbor was actually really handsome. His silver hair looked soft and his skin was flawless. He pointed at your badge, “It’s a stupid question now that I’m asking it again, but do you work there? For UNICORNS?”

You didn’t realize that you still had it attached to your shirt, and you were too stunned by his visuals and how he sounded just like Lumiere. You couldn’t even cover the embarrassing photo they took of you on your first day at the job. “I-I do! Yeah!” You rushed to say.

“What a coincidence. I start my first day tomorrow, I wonder if I’m in your department…” He cocked his head to the side, pondering, before reaching his hand out to you. A pretty hand. “I’m Xavier, by the way.”

Your eyes widened, surprised at yourself with how much you were ogling at him. But you somehow broke out of your trance to shake his hand and introduce yourself. “You have a nice voice, Xavier.” You accidentally blurted out. “Oh. Sorry, sometimes I-” You tried to go back on your words but the elevator dinged.

Xavier’s smirk grew as you fumbled with your words. Your eyes must have looked helpless since he ended up chuckling and reaching out to hold the elevator doors. “Thank you,” he said along with your name. And the way he said it was unbelievably attractive. “I hope to see you tomorrow.” He gestured for you to get off onto your floor.

“Goodnight.” You mumbled, quickly walking off before stopping a few feet. You turned back around just as the doors were closing and you managed to say, “Good luck!” Just as they closed. His blue eyes still peeked through beforehand.

As you walked into your apartment, you were thinking about how you never noticed how attractive your neighbor was; but you were mainly focused on how his voice sounded like the one you fell asleep to every night. In order to help you sleep at night, you just came to the conclusion that attractive people all sound the same.

–

As you were about to head out to work in a rush, a knock on the door interrupted your thoughts for the day. You checked the time on your phone and decided to grab everything on your way to answer the door since it was almost time to catch the train.

You opened the door to find your neighbor again. Xavier.

He was dressed in a blue button-up, a striped navy jacket on his arm, with matching dress pants. His thin frames seemed to have accentuated the blue color of his eyes. “Hi…” Xavier said, waving his hand at you, a small smile playing on his lips.

“H-hi, Xavier.” You responded, slightly stunned at his appearance. Not only did he look attractive in casual clothes, but it felt as if it was multiplied by a hundred times in his formal wear. Your neck even had to crane up slightly due to the height difference, and you always had a thing for taller guys.

A soft silence played in-between the two of you. Just the two of you looking at each other with curiosity in your eyes.

“I just wanted to uh-” He scratched the back of his neck, looking away, as if he suddenly remembered why he was there. “Did you want a ride to work? Since…we’re both going to the same place anyways…”

You cocked your head to the side, questioning him. “You’re either a saint or someone planning to murder me…” You half-joked.

His smile came back to his face before pulling his phone out and scrolling for a moment. And then he faced it towards you. “This is my onboarding letter, if it helps.”

Welcome to UNICORNS as one of our new Front End Engineers!

Your eyes widened as you read through the letter. “You’re the new person I’m training!”

His eyes mimicked yours, widening by surprise. And then it was as if he was releasing everything off of his shoulders, clutching at his chest. “Oh I’m so glad.” His smile reached up to his eyes as they wrinkled with joy. “It’s my first office job in a while and…” He looked at you gratefully. “I’m glad it's you…I stayed up all night because I was so nervous.”

The way he seemingly twinkled in front of you made you stare at him with awe. You wondered if this was really the man you were supposed to spend the rest of the week with, on top of living in the same building as him. It almost felt like you hit the manhwa lottery. “Don’t ease up yet, I could be really strict at work.”

Xavier loosened up his collar and fumbled with his cuff links. “I’d rather have it be my neighbor than a mean older man.” He smiled down at you, straightening himself up. “But throw everything at me today, trust me. I can take it.”

You were enjoying the small talk between the two of you that you didn’t realize that you had already missed your train. It was odd to you that despite years of being unable to make new friends, you felt that you were able to click with Xavier quickly. “I guess…I’ll take you up on that ride to work.” You bit your lip.

“Cool…it’s, um, good for the environment to carpool.” He stepped aside to let you close your door and walk with him to the elevator. “How long have you been working with UNICORNS?”

You had to think for a moment. “I think it’s been two years and a half. I started out as an associate but was able to become front end pretty quickly.” You turned to him, cocking your head with curiosity. “Did you do front end work beforehand? Normally everyone starts out as an associate.”

He pressed his lips together in a thin line as he looked around awkwardly. “Yeah…I did it for another company. I also have a lot of connections that let me skip that route, but I am a hard worker.”

You waved your hands in front of you to dispute any concerns. “I’m not accusing you of anything! I was just curious…I’ll have to see about the ‘hard working’ part though.” You smirked at him to lighten the mood. Although you were a little jealous that he was able to move up quickly, you didn’t really doubt his experience. And if anything, you still ranked up rather fast since this was your first job.

The car ride to work was really nice, compared to the bustling train ride. Xavier owned an extremely beautiful luxury car which he became flustered showing as he noticed your surprised eyes. He had said that it was a dream car of his which he saved up for using the money he made on the side. Which made you more curious about his character since it seemed like the car was worth 10 months of rent.

Your phone pinged right at the usual time when Lumiere would normally stream with a note saying his apologies and that his stream will be at night starting from then on.

You saw Xavier peek over at your phone at the red light and you instantly shut-it, making him chuckle. “Sorry to be nosy, but I didn’t peg you to be someone who watched Legends streams.”

You cleared your throat as you looked out the window, “U-uh…sometimes. I’m not too good at the game so I like seeing people who are.” And then you looked at him. “Don’t say anything at work about it, though…It’s kind of embarrassing for me.”

“Really? I think it makes you…cool.” He smiled. “I play too…maybe we can play sometimes? I promise to keep it a secret.”

You chuckled softly, “Maybe…” Deep down, you were embarrassed. It was quelled only a bit by his assurance, but this was a part of you that you kept hidden. You had grown up thinking that video games were a waste of time, and yet there you were. And now someone knew about it–someone that you didn’t even know at all. You chewed on your lip as you thought way too hard about the implications of it all.

“Lumiere’s a pretty good player, but personally…I think I’m better than him.” Xavier said, causing you to whip your head towards him.

You realized that your reaction was too reactive and tried to play it off, clearing your throat and pretending to stretch your neck. “Interesting…” You muttered.

He chuckled, “Is he really that good?”

“Well, I don’t know how you play. I just find it hard to believe…” You nodded, attempting to not go full defense-mode.

“Find out, then.” The car hit another red light and he looked over at you. “Play with me tonight.”

“I’m not that good, I think. I don’t play too much.” You responded, flustered.

“I doubt that. And if anything, I’ll show you how good I am by making up for what you think you lack.” The car started again and when you peered over, he looked proud of himself.

You found yourself smiling too, since you never had anyone to play with before. It was rare to find someone nice in-game and you would always be too shy to queue up with them. “I guess we can play…if you’re good at work and we don’t end up ripping each other’s hair out by the end of the day.”

You were worried about arriving to work together, but everyone had assumed that you met him at the lobby. Surprisingly, no one had seen the two of you from the garage.

Xavier’s introduction went as you expected. He was so handsome that it caused a lot of wandering eyes. The whispers weren’t as hushed as the people thought, and you could see Xavier’s ears turn red at times. The only hard thing about training him was all the people coming up to introduce themselves.

Although Xavier was very warm and welcoming to you outside, he was actually rather stoic at work. He exchanged simple greetings to the people who tried to get to know him, but he didn’t show enough interest that people slowly gave up.

In terms of work, Xavier was excellent. You gave him a rundown of the company itself and daily works, and then you tested him on handling coding issues. And he was so quick at spotting mistakes that even you would take a few minutes to find despite your experience. It made you question how long he had been working in the industry. You thought that it was going to take a whole week to fully train him, but you were rather confident that he would be able to work alone in half that time.

He was working in the desk across from yours and you couldn’t help but steal glances throughout the day. You could see that everyone had the same idea. The way his eyebrows furrowed together as he filled out his additional onboarding paperwork, and the way his forehead showed whenever he ran his fingers through his hair. It was easy to say that he was the most handsome man on the team. And the other guys knew it. You wondered if it was going to be an issue, but Xavier wasn’t paying attention to anyone.

Xavier then said your name, and despite it being a call for your attention, it seemed to have called the entire table’s attention as well. “Can you tell me what to do with this thing?” He pointed at his screen, making you stand up and move to where he was. As you moved around the table, you could see the people looking at the two of you, pretending to be busy on their own keyboards. You could tell it was nonsensical typing, though.

He had a little notepad open, and you could see the notes he took of things you taught him. His handwriting was a lot prettier than yours, almost a perfect cursive. As if he had been practicing calligraphy all his life. It wasn’t usual for someone in computer science who spent all their career typing to have beautiful handwriting and yet he did. Xavier asked how to navigate the program that all of you worked on, and as you explained, you saw how his hands rested on his desk. It was hard to ignore how pretty his hands were, but you found yourself chuckling at how his left ring to index fingers rested on the ‘Q’ ‘W’ ‘E’ keys, whilst his right hand held his mouse. It was a clear sign of a Legends player.

The sound of your laughter left before you could even remember that everyone was watching you, and you tried to cover it up with a cough. You didn’t know how the rest of them took it, but you knew Xavier caught on.

Under his breath, he asked, “What’s funny…?” His eyes met yours with innocent confusion. You had just realized then that your faces were close to each other and you backed up instantly, looking away as you felt your face warm up. Even up close he was handsome. His silver eyelashes made his blue eyes pop even more and it intimidated you, despite how softly he looked at you.

“U-uh.” You stammered, before lowering your voice and pointing at his hands. “You just seem to be always ready to play.” You attempted to keep your face straight because you usually felt embarrassed when you noticed yourself in the same position after a night of playing until two in the morning.

Xavier laughed for the first time in the office. “I guess so.” He looked at you again with his eyes crinkled and you wanted to reciprocate the laughter. Yet people were still watching.

You cleared your throat and pointed back at the screen, continuing to train him. Somewhere inside of you felt excited. It felt as if you actually had a friend, and despite how awkward it felt to have the attention on you, you were excited for work again.

—

You started packing up after the long day. You had to stay later again to be able to finish a mistake in one of the programs that one of your coworkers had missed. It was hard to say ‘no’ to people due to your fear of being more disliked by others. Although you were sure that no one actually hated you, it was just awkward since no one wanted to really become friends either. So you found yourself stepping up a lot.

Xavier had gone home earlier, right at 5pm. When he was dismissed by the boss, he looked at you expectantly. As if waiting for you to ask him to wait for you, but you waved him off. You knew that you were going to be there for a longer time. He still seemed hesitant, but he eventually left after pretending to fidget around his desk for a moment.

You wondered if it was going to be a regular thing of riding with Xavier to work. It did make sense since carpooling is always nice and better for the environment. You just hoped that you two would become closer friends soon so that it would feel more natural.

As you were about to push your chair in to leave, you saw a ping on your phone.

lumiere: Sorry I lied! See U guys tomorrow (maybe). I’m still stuck at my j*b…Forgive me…please?

You sighed as you clicked your phone off, but you didn’t think you were going to watch him live that night anyways. Since Xavier had said he wanted to play the game with you. It was a weird thought in your mind, that you were choosing an actual person over your favorite streamer.

You felt like you were growing, just a little bit.

You walked out of the office and were walking towards the elevator when you saw the familiar silver-haired man, seated at the bench beside it.

“Xavier?” You asked, shocked.

His head whipped towards you, and you could’ve sworn his ears perked up. He mugged the way you called out to him and said your name back to you. “You’re off now?”

You checked the time on your phone and realized he had been waiting for almost two hours. “Why didn’t you go home?” You fast-walked over to him, confused.

“We took my car here…I didn’t know how you would get home. And then I realized that I didn’t have your number either. I wanted to ask you for it, but I feel like everyone else would’ve asked for mine too…” He scratched the back of his head.

“You waited?” You felt sheepish and warm. The effort he expressed was heart-fluttering, and the two of you barely knew each other. It wasn’t that small of a feat either, to not only wait that long, but to respect how the two of you were seen at work.

“It’s really dark out. And although you look strong, I think I’d sleep better if I knew you got home safe. You’re the only friend I’ve made here.” He stood up to press the button for the elevator. “We…are friends, right?”

You blinked. “I-I…I guess, yeah.”

“Cool.” Xavier threw his jacket over one shoulder and shoved his other hand in his pocket. His shoulders looked as if they had relaxed, like he had been holding in that question.

“Cool.” You agreed, the corner of your mouth twitching upwards as you looked on the ground.

“Friends usually exchange numbers…” You looked back up at Xavier who threw out the thought, but he was avoiding eye contact. You thought your eyes were playing tricks on you, but you swore the tips of his ears were pink.

The two of you stepped into the elevator and you pressed on the garage button before holding your hand out. You had meant it as a way to ask for his phone so you could put your contact in, but instead he gave you a low-five.

“Woot.” He said, pleased with himself. And when he met your eyes, the confusion he saw on you made him turn red. “Oh, was that wrong?”

You stifled a laugh. “I wanted your phone so I could give you my number.”

Xavier looked unsure and patted his back pocket. “I think it’s, um, dead, actually. Can I put mine on your phone instead?”

You dropped your hand and grabbed your own phone instead. You had a hint of suspicion with the way he said it, but you just weren’t sure what he would be hiding. So you let it go to the back of your mind. You opened up the contacts page and he took it from you to add his number. He had saved himself as “xavier 🌟” before handing it back to you.

On the car ride home, he had talked briefly about work, but he didn’t seem to be too interested in it. “We’re playing Legends when we get home, right?”

You nodded, fiddling with your fingers, “What would you do if I was really bad though?”

He shrugged. “I play to have fun, I really wouldn’t care. I’m getting bored of playing alone.” He raked his fingers through his hair, his teeth poking out from a snarky smile. “Don’t tell me you’re a toxic ranked player…” He prodded.

“No! I never want to sweat in a game. It’s actually a turn-off seeing toxicity. But this whole game is toxic…It sucks that it’s fun.” You pouted. It was one of the reasons that you kept your interests a secret. It wasn’t a well-liked game in the community since it was filled with enraged players.

Something about Xavier’s laugh made you feel like you had heard it before. It was comforting with a yearning of wanting to hear it again. You just couldn’t put your finger on the familiarity of it all.

“By the way…a lot of people looked like they wanted to be friends with you today. Are you not that social?” You finally asked, as you were confused about how stoic he was at the office. Before work, he was really talkative with you, and then all of a sudden it was as if he didn’t want all the attention. Although it was something that you really related to.

He chewed on his lip as he pulled into the garage of your apartment building. “Maybe later on…I’ll make friends. I prefer to focus on work at work, though.”

“I thought we’re friends now?” You cocked your head at him as your hand went to your seatbelt button, ready to get out as he pulled into his spot.

“I meant making other friends. I’m pretty satisfied if this is how the work weeks go.” He beamed at you and it almost looked like the car did get brighter at his smile, but you were sure that you were imagining things. “Do you want me to make other friends?”

“The girls seemed very enthusiastic about being your friend.” You accidentally said out loud. “But I mean, do what you want.”

He looked at you as he turned the car off with a push of a button. And then looked away with a soft chuckle. “You seem pretty work-focused too. I didn’t see you interact much either.”

You rolled your eyes as you climbed out of the car, grabbing your purse from the backseat. “I should at least pay you for gas for taking us to work and back…if this is a regular thing.” You said as you started walking to the elevator.

Xavier’s long legs made it to the buttons before you despite walking first. “It’s electric. And you can pay me back with hot pot every…Friday night.” “If people see us, they’d think we’re dating.” You mindlessly mumbled.

“Are you bothered by that?” The elevator doors opened and he stepped in, pressing the two buttons for both of your floors. “As long as we know what it is, does it matter what other people think?”

“I-I guess not.” You chewed on your lip. “I just don’t want you to be the butt of anything…”

“It’d be an honor to get caught up in drama with you.” He smirked at you.

The two of you looked at each other, eyes crinkling as you were sure that you finally had a friend. Your heart swelled up just a bit, but you didn’t want to jump on anything yet until you got to know him more.

But you were attracted to him. One hundred percent.

The doors opened as the two of you still looked at each other. “Call me when you get set up. I’ll play a few games before I sleep.”

“Mm…are you hungry? I can make something for both of us before we play…” You said as you walked out of the elevator, looking over your shoulder to see what he thinks.

“Are you sure I’m not a serial killer yet?” He teased you.

“I’ll have the police on speed-dial in case you do anything.” You motioned him to get out of the elevator to follow you. “It’s the least I can do. And I heard your tummy in the car…don’t think you’re slick.”

“If you say so, m’lady.” He faked a curtsy and got out.

The two of you walked to your door and you let him in. You felt like you should be a bit more hesitant with letting a man into your house after just a day of knowing him. Although you had seen him around before, it was still fast. There was just such a comforting aura around him, that you were ready to welcome in closer to you. “Are you allergic to anything?”

Dinner went by better than you thought. It was a quick meal, but he was eager to eat. And he had a huge appetite for someone who looked rather slender. The only embarrassing thing was receiving a notification from your Lumiere fan account.

“Starlight?” He read out loud as he peeked over your shoulder while the two of you ate on the counter. There was surprise in his voice, and you couldn’t pin from what.

The way he said it, though, sent a shiver down your spine. Only one other person had ever called you by that name out loud, and it just so happened to be someone who sounded just like Xavier.

Shame would have taken over, but Xavier already knew of your interests. “I made it my name on everything…it kinda fits with Lumiere, don’t you think?” A small smile played on your lips, before you laughed at yourself and shook your head. “This is stupid.”

“What do you like about him?” Xavier asked as he took the bowls from your hands and brought them to your sink to wash them. “I’m not making fun of you, by the way. I just want to learn about you.”

You took a seat on the barstool of the kitchen island, giving you a clear view of him doing the dishes. You played with your hair, slightly exasperated, feeling weird that you’re opening up about your dumb crush. “Uh…I don’t know. I like playing the same games as him. I think he’s funny. I kind of relate to him sometimes…” You were internally beating yourself up because of the way you were talking about this streamer. You straightened up as you just accepted everything. “I learned a lot from watching him play.”

“It’s my turn to see how well you play then.” He turned around as he placed the bowls on the drying rack. There was no hint of judgement on his face. He just seemed happy to be there. “I noticed your keyboard…is it because of him?” He pointed his chin towards your computer set-up.

You put a finger on your chin, as if you were thinking. “I think we both like the same aesthetics…I like stars and purple and stuff…but yeah, I did copy him.” You crinkled your nose.

“I like that aesthetic too.” He grabbed his things by the door. “Thank you for dinner,” he smiled warmly, saying your name softly. “Call me when you’re ready. I’ve grown even more curious to see how you play.” And then he headed out.

The moment the door clicked, you dropped your head onto the breakfast bar counter and cringed. You confided a secret you kept for so long to a man that you just became friends with. And it didn’t help that it was a really attractive man that you just met.

You were just glad that he still wanted to be friends with you, but you were already kissing any hopes of progressing anywhere further with him goodbye.

“Xavier?” You said as he picked up the phone.

“Hey, starlight.” He put emphasis on your gamertag, making you cringe even more. And then a soft pang hit your chest. You had drilled Lumiere’s voice into your mind, and over the phone, Xavier sounded even more like him. And then he said your name, shaking you out of your thoughts.

“Has anyone ever told you that you kind of sound like…Lumiere?” You blurted out.

“Oh…is that why you said my voice was nice last night?” You could hear the smirk through the phone. “Now it doesn’t feel as genuine of a compliment. Ow.” You could tell it was sarcastic, making you break into a soft smile of your own.

You rolled your eyes, “Oh my gosh…Just tell me your username.”

“It’s ‘lightseeker #1016’. I’ll be awaiting the friend request from starlight, soon.” You heard the clacking of his keyboard through the receiver.

When you added him, he was a really low-level account. You were double his, but he had sworn he was better than Lumiere. And you knew Lumiere was around the 300s. “You talk big for someone who’s only level 67…” You mumbled, getting comfortable in your chair.

“Maybe I’m a fast learner.” The two of you got into the lobby together to select roles. “Do you have a preference?”

“Um, I usually play support. But I’ve been trying to learn how to play solo better, so I’ve been learning mid lane. It’s a bit harder to play support with randoms.” You looked through your bleak match history, seeing many losses.

“If you go mid, I’ll jungle. And if you go support, I’ll go bot with you. I’m pretty flexible.” He cleared his throat, switching through each role. “You ready?”

The two of you ended up playing more than you should have. And you admitted defeat as you saw that he was, indeed, as good as he said he would be. You tried both roles out, and each time he switched into a role that would be more beneficial for you. Xavier had even given you tips in a way that wasn’t pushy, and on top of that, he was a big praiser. Each ‘nice one’ or ‘good dodge’ sent a chill up your spine. It felt good playing with him. And even when you didn’t do too good, he was motivating and calm.

“Goodnight, starlight. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said, yawning.

“You cannot call me that at work.” You laughed, shutting your computer down and heading over to your room with your phone. “But, goodnight Xavier. I had fun.”

“Me too.” And then he hung up.

When you got into your bathroom to brush your teeth, it was hard to wipe the smile off your face. It was as if you had found yourself your own version of Lumiere. And even if he wasn’t, you were just glad you had someone to look forward to seeing again. You were excited to go to work for once.

—

You had grown accustomed to Xavier’s presence as a routine between the two of you grew. He took the both of you to work, where two of you efficiently worked through the endless amount of codes and tickets, and then he’d drive the two of you back home. You’d always make food at home, unless it was a Friday. You kept your promise of getting hotpot with him, but it became a battle of who would pay. Although it was supposed to be you, as a payback for him driving all the time, he would somehow sneak off to the restroom where he’d take the bill with him.

On weekends, it seemed to be that he slept in. Which gave you time to do the errands you normally did. You would also visit bakeries as a way to destress.

Lumiere ended up moving his whole schedule to streaming only on the weekends. You would’ve been more upset if Xavier hadn’t come into your life, since you no longer had time to tune-in to his streams.

It was a comfortable routine. You had established a good relationship with someone who made things more exciting, and you were still able to get your work done and have proper time for yourself. And since Lumiere wasn’t as active, you felt a little less parasocial and silly. But you still really liked watching him.

Lumiere chuckled. “Someone in chat just asked if I stopped streaming because I met someone at the office…” He said as he cleaned up a game swiftly. “Is it obvious?”

Your eyes widened as he spoke, almost choking on your tea.

starlight: really!??

Another chuckle. “Starlight. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in chat…” You still weren’t used to the way he’d catch onto you. Everytime you thought you were over the pair of hands on the screen, he easily sneaks back in. “I do like someone, but everyone has to keep it a secret. I think I’d have to quit if it doesn’t go well. Maybe even move out. I’m nervous.” His hands flexed over the keyboard.

starlight: gud luck :3

You shut your phone as you got ready to go home from the cafe. You were surprised. You couldn’t recall him being so open about his life, much less answering a question about romance. There was a pang of jealousy deep inside you, and you couldn’t help it. There was also worry about the people who liked him even more than you did, because you knew that this wouldn’t be received too well with the weird side of his fans.

The next day was another work week filled with more paperwork and coding. Xavier was no longer the talk of the office, but he was becoming another you. Someone who would take a lot of the tickets that others couldn’t handle. It also meant that the two of you ended up leaving at the same time, way after the designated end time.

As the two of you were in the break room, making coffee, he nudged you with his shoulder. “I heard people saying that I’m your favorite coworker.” He stirred his coffee, looking proud of himself.

You rolled your eyes. “Please…after you hid in bush last night instead of helping me?” You said, recalling the mistake he made during a game. “Why would they even be talking about us, anyways?”

He shrugged. “I dozed off on accident, it was like a minute…and I think it makes sense. I’d be curious about the person who always has their nose buried in the papers, too.” He took a seat at the same table as you. “And if I’m not your favorite coworker, then who is?”

You pretended to think as you sipped on your hot drink. “Maybe Charlie?”

“The catering baker?” Xavier looked truly puzzled. “He doesn’t even work here…”

“Yeah but he comes by every morning to drop off bread and snacks, so technically he is a team member if you really think about it.” You nodded, looking past him to see if there was anything left in the basket. “He sometimes brings by an extra muffin just for me!”

“So if I bring you two muffins, I’d be your favorite coworker?” He leaned closer to you, narrowing his eyes.

You held your breath as you felt him near you. “Maybe…does that matter to you?”

He sat back on his seat. “Yeah, actually. We spend most of the week together, and I’m still not your favorite?” He clutched at his chest. “You don’t care about me at all…” He pouted.

“Cute.” You muttered under your breath accidentally. And when you realized he heard it, you shot back up from your seat. “I forgot I have to call product management about- um, the program…thing.” You rambled before almost running out of the break room.

You had found yourself slipping up more often than usual. It was hard to contain your feelings as you slowly became more and more infatuated with Xavier. Every single daydream you had about Lumiere was turning into reality, only with Xavier. You had someone to play games with, and someone to laugh with to and from work, and someone who was extremely handsome and dependable. He was the full package for you. And just because of that, you had a hard time hiding it. Each time you slipped up, you were greeted with a warm smile from him, as if he knew, but you never stuck around long enough to let him have a proper reaction.

He returned to his desk shortly after, meeting your eyes every chance that you looked at him. It was playful. And it brought heat to your cheeks every time. Your phone then buzzed with a text from him.

xavier🌟: Everytime I look at U, ur looking at me

You looked up at him with a confused face and then rolled your eyes before burying your face in your arms. Up until your phone buzzed again,

xavier🌟: are U going to the dinner with everyone on Friday?

You sat back up and thought about it. You normally skipped them, but you had a feeling that he would skip out on the dinner too. And it shouldn’t be both of you that was socially isolated from the rest. So, as a sacrifice for you thought would be the greater good, you slowly nodded.

xavier🌟: on hotpot night? [Galaxy Kid: Pouting]

Another roll of your eyes.

You: we should be a part of society and attend these things. besides, its ur first one with the team. theyre supposed to all celebrate u or smth

xavier🌟: Id rather just spend time with U

You: we spend time together all the time, arent u getting sick of me

xavier🌟: Ur projecting on me arent U?

xavier🌟: I could never get sick of U.

You couldn’t help but giggle at your phone, earning a glare from the team leader.

—

Although it was probably obvious that the two of you were friends, you mainly kept to yourself at work. It was more out of habit, but you were still afraid of the lingering attention on the very-handsome Xavier Shen. And he did the same.

The interactions between the two of you were small and felt almost secretive. Like you were hiding an office relationship, and you would be lying if you said it didn’t excite you. Small brushes of your hands as you walked by him, as you handed him papers, or even as you grabbed coffee in the break room.

“Sorry for running late…” You muttered in the car, groaning as you rubbed your eyes.

“I recall someone saying ‘I’ll wake up on time, just one more game. We can’t end on a loss!’ last night.” He mocked you, laughing.

You playfully hit him. “If you played better, we would have gone to sleep on time.” You groaned, resting your head on the seatbelt. “I can’t believe I overslept.”

“Mind you, we’re not even late. We’re actually on time.” He tapped on the display of his car to make the time bigger. “What are you so upset about?”

You fiddled with the hem of your shirt. “Everyone usually arrives around this time.”

“And?” He scoffed. “Are you too embarrassed to be seen with me?”

“N-no!” You huffed out the window, exasperated. “I just…don’t want people to talk badly about us.”

“What would they say?” He asked softly, lowering the music in the car.

“I don’t know…maybe something about me going after the new guy. What if they’re judgemental?” You pouted, letting your insecurities spill.

“Are you going after the new guy?” You could hear the smirk on his face without even looking.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “If anything, the new guy’s coming after me, but they don’t know that.” You meant to dodge the question but ended up throwing an accusation out.

Xavier nodded. “The new guy is. Is it working?” You hadn’t even realized that the two of you were already in the parking lot of your apartment. “Unless you’re waiting for Lumiere to ask you out.” He asked as he put the car into park, turning over to you with his eyebrows knitted together. His lips were almost in pout.

You blinked at him, feeling the whiplash of him basically confessing and making fun of you at the same time. Your lips fell open as your mouth went ajar.

He dropped his head, chuckling with his eyes closed. It was hard to tell what he was laughing at. And then he looked back up at you, tapping your jaw up with the side of his index finger. “Don’t look so shocked.” His finger lingered on your chin, and you were sure his eyes darted at your lips before going back to your eyes.

Your mouth felt dry. You hadn’t been in a relationship in a long time, it felt all new to you again. It was exciting and slightly scary. “How should I look?”

Xavier pretended to think. “Hmm…I’d love to see a smile.” His blue eyes looked at you earnestly. Expectantly.

And you couldn’t help but comply. “Happy?” You blushed, pushing him away. “Let’s go to work already.”

The interaction made you forget about the reason you felt anxious to show up together so close to when everyone was arriving to work. Xavier always opened the door for you and you met with so many people’s eyes as you got out of the car. Your eyes shifted towards the floor, feeling awkward. There were whispers around the two of you as you all entered the building, and you were just hoping that it wasn’t because of you two.

It most likely was.

Multiple people filled up the elevator, pushing you and Xavier to the back. The morning greetings felt forced as it gave them an excuse to look at you. And him.

And then you heard a soft whisper. “I’d teleport us out of here…but I think it’s on cooldown, right now.” He joked, making a reference to the game.

It made you snort. A laugh that you weren’t expecting and couldn’t turn cute. Your hand slapped over to your mouth as some people looked back at you. And you felt Xavier’s shoulders move up and down as he stifled his own laughter.

The rest of the day was uneventful. You were beginning to think that you were overreacting–minus the morning. Although everyone was perhaps on a crunch to be able to make it on time to the company dinner.

You, on the other hand, couldn’t concentrate on your work at all. You kept glancing up from the screen to look over at Xavier. And sometimes your eyes would meet, sending your body into immense heat. Your imagination ran wild. You were wondering if it could have been considered even too wild. The multiple office fictions you had read replayed in your mind, romanticizing your boring work life. Yet there it was, unfolding in front of you in real-time.

You wondered how it would play out when the two of you were alone later. Xavier liked you back. You winced as you pinched the skin on the top of your left hand, making sure that you weren’t dreaming.

“Do you have the framework we need to use for this?” Xavier asked, jogging you out of your thoughts.

You had to blink yourself back into reality as he leaned down near you, pointing at the notification of his email on the corner of your screen. His other hand steadied himself beside you, using the back of your desk chair and his chest was near your face. “Oh, um…” You bit your lip, almost holding your breath, moving your mouse to open his email to find the issue he was working on. You studied it for a bit, hearing him breathing beside you as he read along. Xavier was so close, you were worried he could hear your heart pounding in your chest. And he did. “Are you nervous because you’re looking for a way to reject me or are you excited?” He muttered just loud enough for you to hear.

Your finger twitched, making your right-click the screen, and he laughed softly. “I’ll email you what I normally use for this sort of ordeal…You can go back to your desk.”

“Answer me, first. Please?” You hesitated, pondering if you wanted to play hard to get or give in instantly. Little did you know that you were too confident in yourself for even thinking that you had control over your words. “I’m not rejecting you.”

A sigh of relief left him. “Good.” And then he stood back up and walked to his desk. As if nothing ever happened. Yet, it was almost as if the room got brighter.

—

The chosen restaurant was just the bar and grill across the street of the company building. It was popular for a lot of surrounding company dinners. Everyone seemed to have been in good spirits so you were a little excited to go with them, now that you were sure that you weren’t going to be alone in the corner.

“I’ll catch up to you guys! I just have to finish a few more things…” You responded to someone asking if you were attending the dinner. It came as a shock since the past two times, no one really asked anymore after you didn’t go before.

“Me too.” Xavier said, waving them off.

Hushed whispers filled the doorway as you felt eyes on the back of your head again. “The reservation in thirty minutes! Don’t be too late, you two!” Another coworker said before heading out.

It was a truthful excuse though. You had spent most of the workday dillydallying with your thoughts, making you slower at your coding. The chatter died down as you heard all your other coworkers reach the end of the hallway or already heading downstairs, and you finally let out a sigh of relief.

“We can just go home now, if you want.” You heard Xavier say, making you peek over your monitor.

“You should really interact with your coworkers. There’s only room for one loner in this office.” You pretended to boast before sighing, resuming your typing. “Besides, I kind of want a free dinner tonight.”

“I pay for dinner many times.” He knitted his eyebrows towards you.

You rolled your eyes. “Only because you never let me, but I mean like free free. Where you’re not paying either. Now finish your work so we can go.”

“I am done, I’m just waiting for you.” You saw him put his head down on his desk, as if he was preparing to take a nap.

You huffed. “Show off.”

He spoke a bit muffled, but you were still able to hear him clearly. “I’d rather go home so we can talk.”

“We’re talking right now.” The numbers and letters on your screen were spinning all over the page, you couldn’t focus at all.

“Do you like me?” He asked, his head still on his desk.

The room went quiet again. You realized how loud your typing was the moment that you stopped.

Xavier lifted his head again, looking at you from the side of his monitor this time, resting his cheek on his hand. A small pout played on his lips. “I like you.”

You pressed your lips into a thin line. Your eyes glanced over at his, but you were unable to hold his stare. “Yeah.”

“Can we ditch the company dinner and go on a date instead?” Xavier was bold. You realized that you never pegged him to be as confident as he was, and then his true colors would peek through his impatience.

“No.” You were stearn, frowning. It was merely an attempt to hide how giddy you felt. “We can go out next time.” You continued to type, but there was no point. Your hands were shaking and none of your commands were being spelled correctly and you were missing every semicolon possible in your code. You were just performing at this rate.

“After?”

“What are you in such a rush for?” You asked, feigning annoyance.

“Is Charlie the caterer going to be at the dinner?” He asked, a deeper pout showing on his lips.

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Is this because of what I said a few days ago?”

“Answer the question.”

“He owns that restaurant.” You lied.

You swore that you almost saw steam leave the top of his head and his ears as he believed you. And you worked so hard to keep the laughter contained. “I already said I like you.”

“I saw the way he talks to you in the morning. He likes you too.” You couldn’t see his hands, but you were sure that they were clenched into balls. “But please remember that I like you in a way that no one else can.”

You were a mess. Your heart felt like it was going to jump out of your chest. “Xavier…” You gasped.

He crossed his arms over his chest and sat back on his chair, his head leaned back with his eyes closed. “If you keep looking at me like that and saying my name like that…I can’t promise that I’ll last until the end of the night.”

Next thing you knew, you were stood up. With shaky hands and knees, you walked over to his chair and put your hand on his chest to grab his tie.

No words were being exchanged as he opened his eyes to look at you–into you. As if he knew and he was waiting. You bit your lip, your fingers feeling the muscles of his chest through his dress shirt. A small smirk played on his lips as he stood up, suddenly towering over you, waiting for your next move. Quietly.

Your hand moved down his tie, grabbing the end of it before storming out of the office, dragging him with you. Down the hallway with the automatic lights as they turned on with every clop of your high heels on the marble flooring. Your entire body felt like it was on fire, trying to figure out yourself on what you were planning to do. And then you pushed into the room of the stairway of the building, dragging him into the dim room with you.

“You’re so impatient,” you muttered as you pressed his back to the wall by the floor number right by the door.

“I like seeing your reactions…” He brought his face closer to you, as if he was waiting and wanting.

But you pulled back just enough to make him question everything. You saw the flashes of concern and confusion as you backed away from him. “I like seeing yours too, I guess.” You wondered if he could see your eyes, moving back and forth to every feature on his face to see how he felt.

Time moved slowly at first as you tiptoed to kiss him, pulling him down by his tie to meet somewhat halfway. You scrunched your eyes closed as you pressed your face against his. You couldn’t really tell if you were holding your breath, or if you just completely forgot how to breathe. It felt like an eternity before he started acting human again, instead of a statue.

But when he did, it was like someone pressed play and each movement suddenly felt rushed or even on fast-forward. He pulled your body closer to him by your waist, making you stumble forward and put most of your weight on him. You let go of his tie to place both your hands on either side of his chest, letting him hold you. It was almost as if the two of you could fuse together with how hot it felt.

His hands moved from your waist to your back, fully wrapping his arms around you. And you could feel the way his biceps flexed as he held you. His fingers that were moving up your spine made you shiver. And then one hand stayed on the middle of your back as he brought one up to your face, holding your jaw as you two kissed.

You were sure that you forgot how to kiss someone, but it felt almost automatic with Xavier. His lips felt soft and tasted minty from all the pillow mints he would take from the office break room. It made you giggle softly as you could almost tell how much he ate.

He pulled back to read your face, his thumb tapping the side of your lips with his head cocked. “Are you having fun?”

You nodded. “No wonder I’ve been having to refill the bowl of mints more often since you started working here. You eat them all.” You jabbed at his chest with your finger.

Xavier chuckled and then rested his head on your shoulder, you felt his nose nuzzle at your neck as he hugged you with both his arms again. He sighed, his breath tickling you and making you giggle again. “Now I really don’t want to go…”

“They’re waiting for us…” You moved your hands up to loop around his neck, hugging him back. You did your best to ignore the growing excitement in between your legs and between his.

“Let them.” He groaned, standing back up to look at you. “You’d rather keep me waiting than our coworkers?” Xavier practically glared at you as he pressed his forehead against yours. “I thought we were closer to each other than them.” It sounded as if he whined, his voice breaking ever so lightly.

“It’s rude to let people wait. This is supposed to be your very late welcoming dinner…” You gulped. You wanted to kiss him again. You wanted to kiss him even deeper, taste him even more. Mark every inch of his pale neck and leave stains of your lip balm on his cheek. Your hands balled up into fists on his chest as you fought the urge.

“You can welcome me instead…let me take you out on a date, right now. Like a gentleman…please.” He was practically pleading, inhaling each breath of yours like it was his. “I won’t do anything further until you let me take you out. No matter how much you…” He closed his eyes, pressing a kiss to the tip of your nose. “No matter how much you look at me like that.”

Half-lidded and dazed, was the way you were looking at him. “Okay…” You wanted to be the person of sound mind and participate in work networking activities, but it was getting harder to ignore every feeling that you had for him.

He smirked with the sheer confidence of knowing that he won. His hands slid upward, softly and slowly to cup your face. His right thumb tracing your bottom lip. “Where’d all that care for our coworkers go? I expected you to stand your ground.”

“I’m saying ‘yes’ now. Are you going to keep teasing me because I’ll walk over to the restaurant right now and postpone this date until next week.” You pushed him back into the wall and went to grab the door back into the main hallway.

But he caught your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours instead, halting your actions. He held your waist with his other hand and the pose felt like the two of you were about to do a ballroom number. “No. Let’s grab your stuff and we’ll go right now.” He pouted at you again, bringing the hand he was holding to his lips and muttering against it. “I’ll be good.”

You instantly pulled him in and gave him a peck on the lips, overwhelmed with such affection for him. “What are you waiting for then?”

The two of you rushed back into the office. Your leftover work completely left your mind as your head was filled with blood, sweat, and too many indecent thoughts. Xavier had taken off his jacket and loosened his collar, making you want to jump his bones even more. But the thought that he merely took his jacket off to hide what was growing in his pants made you want to laugh.

The plan was to go to dinner and then go home. Mainly to see what happened next.

Yet the moment the two of you reached his car, the two of you couldn’t keep your hands off of each other. He opened your door after placing your purse in the backseat and instead of sitting down, you looked up at him. There was nothing in your head anymore. And you were sure with the way he looked at you like he was drunk with need, that there was not much control in his head either.

He crashed his lips onto yours, practically forcing you to sit down in the car with the sheer intensity. You gasped as you felt his hand on your hip, his thumb pressing down on your thigh as he was trying so desperately to hold onto you, as if he was afraid of you slipping away. Xavier’s tongue traced your teeth, like he was afraid of pushing his luck. Your eyes instantly shut as you attempted to kiss back with as much fervor. Your chest swelled with happiness as you were finally able to act on your feelings and it made you feel like you were floating. Yet your mind couldn’t stay quiet.

You pulled back just enough to be able to talk but your lips still chased after yours like oxygen. “Are we going too fast?” You asked, concerned.

“I waited months.” He planted a kiss on the corner of your mouth. “I’ll wait more if you want to…” Another kiss on your cheek. “I don’t think you want to, though.” A kiss to your jaw. “Tell me to stop, and I’ll stop.” His teeth nibbled on your ear, you could feel the tip of his tongue so close to your neck, making you shiver. “We’re just…kissing. Nothing more…not yet.”

Not yet.

“What if someone sees us? A security guard or something…” Your knee brushed past the bulge growing in his pants and it made him groan right next to your ear as he clenched his fingers around your arm. The sound made you more excited than you ever thought, and all you could think about was wanting to hear more of it. You moved your knee against it again. And again, enjoying the sounds of him biting back right by your ear until he held your knee still.

“I’m about to make you walk to the restaurant if you keep behaving like this.” Heavy breathing was all you could focus on. The idea that you had this much effect on him made you feel assured. You pulled back to give yourself a better view of him.

Your neighbor, coworker, and friend was in front of you breathing heavy, red ears, glazed eyes, and with an evident erection. His once bright blue eyes suddenly looked darker than navy. All because of you. “How are we going to dinner if you look like this?” You raised your hand to cup his face and he nuzzled into it instantly, inhaling the scent of your palm.

“Keep your hands to yourself, and I’ll be fine.”

You had never seen Xavier drive as fast as he did that night. His fingers gripped the wheel tight, turning his already pale knuckles even whiter. You couldn’t help but look over to see the way his forearms flexed underneath the rolled up dress-shirt sleeves.

Your palms were sweating as you did your best to keep your hands in your lap. Your thighs were pressed together, feeling friction where you needed it at every speed bump.

You couldn’t even focus on the menu at dinner. It was a beautiful place and he instantly knew to go there. Either he had been there before or he had been planning it for as long as he said. And judging from antisocial he was, he didn’t seem to be a serial dater.

“Do I get a margarita…?” You joked, trying to ignore every instinct in your body to jump him.

“No. If you’re even the slightest bit tipsy, I won’t be able to trust a single word you say after…” Xavier’s eyes were knitted together, looking like he was calculating what he was going to do. “I want to know that you’re kissing me because you like me and not because of the tequila.” He sternly said.

You nearly melted in your seat. A bare minimum, but it was so refreshing nonetheless. “If we just order appetizers, will it still count as a date?”

“Mm…yeah. As long as you tell me why you like me and why we should be together.” He put the menu down in front of him and rested his cheek on his propped up hand, looking at you with sparkling curiosity.

You nearly choked on your water. “Aren’t you the one asking me out? Shouldn’t I ask you why I should say yes?”

He sat back up and straightened his tie. “Okay.” He tapped on the table mindlessly as he got his words together. “I’ve been interested in you for a while. Pre-coworkers.” A small smile played on his lips. “You left early and got home late. Professional and pretty. But then on the weekends, sometimes I see you in the elevator in Craftmine pajamas and bunny slippers.”

You pouted. “Stalker.”

Xavier rolled his eyes. “And then we’re working together. You’re headstrong and confident. Work hard. Friendly but you’re kind of like me.”

“Xavier, you are not that friendly towards our coworkers.”

“Do you want me to tell you why I like you or not?” He glared at you. “Hush. Now…we have the same interests. We became accustomed to each other. And I like what we have. But I want more.” He let out a sigh. “I thought I would be okay with doing whatever we’d been doing the past few weeks.” His hand spread open, tensed, before balling up into a fist. “But then I saw that stupid baker laugh at one of your jokes.”

“I can’t be funny now?” You teased him, enjoying the jealousy behind his eyes.

“You can. Just with me though, please.” He reached for your hand and fiddled with your fingers, rubbing his thumb on your knuckles. “I’m new to this feeling of being jealous. And I realized it'd be really hard for us to be just friends.”

You nodded slowly. “Okay…same.”

He smirked at you. “I give you my whole story and all I get is a ditto?”

You shrugged. “You’re good at Legends?”

He hummed, removing his hand from yours. “Who do you like more? Me or Lumiere?”

You pretend to think long and hard. Each second that went by made his ears turn pinker at the tips. You tried to keep a straight face as you said, “I’ve watched Lumiere longer, but I guess…it’s you now.”

“That’s not very reassuring.” He leaned back on his chair, his eyes glaring at you as he crossed his arms over his chest. “So you like to watch me suffer, I see.”

“Hey, if anything, since I spend more time with you now, I don’t watch his streams as often.” You sighed, taking another sip of water. “He doesn’t stream that much anymore either, though.” You thought for a moment and laughed to yourself, shaking your head as you set your glass down.

“What’s so funny?” He asked, putting his elbows to the table again, as if he was attempting to close the distance between you two.

You shrugged, dragging the tip of your index finger around the rim of the glass. “You two are so alike…I’ve never seen the two of you in the same room.” You joked. “Xavier,” you locked eyes with him. “You’re not Lumiere, right?”

Xavier looked stunned, and you couldn’t tell if it was because you asked what you deemed as a ‘dumb’ question or because you just compared him to someone he didn’t seem to like very much. He opened his mouth to answer, but then the waiter came to ask for your orders.

You thought that the dinner would have been hard to get through, but you forgot how easy it was to be with Xavier. There were moments where you would remember what was happening in your pants, but for the most part, you were able to enjoy your time without squirming in your seat too much.

He ordered a small dessert, sharing the ice cream with tiny spoons as you two giggled at small talk. “I want us to be together.” Xavier said, clinking his spoon onto yours as if the two of you were sword fighting. “I really want to call you mine.”

You hummed, tapping your spoon onto his again. “We only know so much about each other…What if you get to know me and then realize I-”

“Isn’t it enough that I want to know everything about you? Each little thing I learn about you is meaningful to me. And I want more.” He set the spoon down. “I want to be the only one who knows this much about you, see every side of you.”

You took a deep breath, setting your spoon down next to his. “Will I learn about you?”

“Haven’t you been?” He cocked his head, the same smug smirk grew on his face.

You shrugged. “I feel like I talk a lot more than you do. I want to know what you used to do and what you aspire to do. Things like that.”

“I aspire to be yours. Can we start there?” He motioned for the check as he held his gaze onto you. “We’ll have all the time to learn about each other, I just can’t stand the idea of not being able to call you mine as we do.” He held your hand again. “Please?”

You wanted to scream ‘yes’ over and over again, as if he had just proposed to you. But something in you wanted to play hard to get. It felt so easy for you to tease Xavier, and seeing his very slight annoyance was amusing to you. “So…we’re dating?”

“If you accept me.”

“I guess…we’re dating then.” You attempted to contain your excitement with another swig of water. You felt like you were getting your first boyfriend in high school. It was giddy and unreal. You thought back to how you entered relationships back in college, but it all felt so casual compared to his loaded confession. This felt real and raw to you. And you wanted more. You were excited for every ‘first’ with him. All of a sudden, your past relationships didn’t count anymore.

“That doesn’t sound serious enough actually.” He pouted, sulking into his seat. “And you don’t sound that excited.”

You felt like jumping him like one of those jumpscares from another video game you enjoyed. Your mind was melting, screaming the word ‘cute’ over and over again. “Let me prove it to you then.” You said as you stood up and began to walk out of the restaurant. You saw how he fumbled with his wallet, taking out a wad of cash to leave on the table instead of waiting to pay with his card.

He caught up with you, interlocking your fingers together and dragging you faster with him. He opened the car door for you and continued to hold your hand for stability as you got in. It felt like that one scene from a movie where the guy held her hand as she got onto a carriage.

The car was freezing, but you were fully sweating. Your legs were shivering and you couldn’t tell if it was the rest of your body feeling cold, or if it was from excitement. You saw Xavier take swift steps around the car to get to the other side, fully ignoring oncoming traffic.

The two of you sat there for a few seconds. It felt awkward. You wanted him to take you right then and there, but you didn’t want to seem too eager. You were embarrassed that you were acting like a bunny in heat. It was all too new again and you didn’t want to ruin things. You usually never did anything on the first date either, but it felt different with Xavier. Especially since you had spent a lot of time with him already, it was as if every outing before was a date too. You looked at him, waiting for something. Anything.

“I’m trying really hard to build myself to take the both of us home, right now.” He closed his eyes and drooped his head, taking a deep breath.

“Why haven’t you started the car yet, then?” You rested your elbow on the center console of the car, putting your chin onto your palm as you continued to stare at him. “Are you waiting for something?”

“Are you?” He finally opened his eyes and glared at you, inching his face towards you. You could smell the slight coffee scent from dessert in his breath. His eyes glanced up and down your face, obviously looking at your lips that were in a pout as you grew impatient. “Your eyes…I’m quite patient, but when it comes to you…” His hand moved up to your face, his thumb barely grazing at your bottom lip that was jutted out.

“I actually feel like the most impatient one here,” you took a shaky breath in. “Xavier…”

His breath hitched and he leaned closer as if he was about to kiss you, his bottom lip almost touching yours. But his thumb separated the two of you. And then he let out a chuckle as he noticed your eyes were fully shut.

Xavier moved his face to the side of yours, reaching over to grab your seatbelt. His breath tickled your neck before he pulled back. His other hand pushed you by your shoulder, gently, to make you sit properly onto the chair. “You are.” A click of the seatbelt fully throttled you out of your thoughts. “Impatient.” He clicked his tongue and sat back into his seat, putting his own seatbelt on before pushing the button to start the car.

You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest as you got comfortable. You knew that he was teasing you, and you wondered how long he was able to keep his composure.

Xavier hummed along to the random song playing on the radio, tapping on the steering wheel. He was clearly amused with seeing you squirm in your own seat.

“You’re enjoying this,” you glared at him from the side, crossing your leg. Your foot tapped against the car, evident with your displeasure.

Another chuckle. “I told you…I want to see your reactions.” He reached over and poked you on your cheek. “All of them.”

You couldn’t fight down the smile that was playing on your lips as he said those words. It was flirtatious and teasing all at once, and you were so close to taking the steering wheel yourself to swerve the car into an abandoned parking lot.

Instead, you reached your left hand over and rested it on his thigh. You didn’t miss his tiny jump with the way he reacted. Nor did you miss the way his fingers twitched on the wheel. “How much longer until we get home?”

“Not soon enough…” Xavier answered through gritted teeth, his knees parted even more, making your fingers move closer to the inside of his thigh. You dragged it slowly more upward, teasing him with your fingertips. “B-behave…” His voice, which was normally soft, became strong and stern.

“I’m not doing anything…Am I bothering you?” You squeezed his thigh making him twitch again. You took your pinky and moved it closer to the growing bulge in his pants. “Maybe I’m not the only one that’s impatient, huh?”

Thankfully for the two of you, there were barely any cars on the road. And he was speeding up immensely. “I’ll be the judge of that.” His right hand moved from the wheel to your own thigh.

Your thighs squeezed onto his fingers out of surprise.

“Do you want me to stop?” He huffed out.

You couldn’t answer, you were afraid that your voice would break. Instead, you relaxed your legs and yourself onto the seat. And you moved your hand up on him, inviting him to mirror you. Your ring and pinky finger were rubbing him over his pants and you knew exactly what you were touching.

He wasted no time to cup your heat, two of his fingers finding your clit through your pants instantly as he pressed down. You bit down on your bottom lip to suppress any sound fighting to come out of you as you felt him. “Fuck…how long does it take to get home…” He moved his two fingers up and down, slowly. Too slowly for you. “You’re trembling.” He continued. “I’ve been thinking about how sensitive you are.”

A small moan came out of you and the hand that was on his lap slapped over your mouth as the other cupped over his own hand.

“Your expressions are telling me I’m doing a very good job…” You could hear the smirk in his voice as his thumb rubbed your thigh whilst the two other fingers pressed down on you. “At least let me hear that I’m doing good too, yeah?” His voice was deep and breathy, almost desperate and breaking.

You were just glad to see familiar buildings, knowing you were close to home. Your hand came down, gripping your seatbelt as you let soft moans come out of you. You knew words no longer existed, and yet you complied with his request.

“You sound so good, my star…” His fingers were rubbing small circles on you now, and you wondered how much you were leaking through the fabrics of your bottoms. You could feel the intense warmth in between your legs.

You were so focused on cumming that you didn’t realize that he had messily parked the car already. Both of your hands gripped at his wrist as he moved faster and harder against your core. Whimpers spilled out of your mouth until he nudged your face up with his nose to reach your lips. Engulfing you with a kiss as you slowly unfolded.

The position must have been awkward for him, but his slender fingers persisted whilst his other hand pushed your head closer to him. You gasped against him as your legs shook with intensity and you came just from getting rubbed over your pants.

“Did you like that?” He asked, breathing in your own breath.

All you could do was nod as you processed what had just happened. No one had ever made you feel that intense that you could cum just like that before.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He smirked before pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

Xavier pulled back to take his seatbelt off and his hand moved to the engine button again, probably to fix his parking, but you instantly tugged on his shirt to pull him back towards you. “Sh-shouldn’t I return the favor…?” You asked, glancing at his crotch before realizing it was too dark in the garage to see anything.

He chuckled and pulled you into another kiss. “Later…I promise.”

The elevator trip upstairs was sweet, unlike what happened in his car. There was slight disappointment in your chest, wondering what’s keeping him from taking you in that elevator. You wondered if the sound you made while you came was a turn-off or if his hand was hurting too much from the angle he was in. The little things that made you overthink were swarming your brain.

Then he hugged you from the back and pressed a kiss onto your neck. “What are you thinking so hard about?”

You held onto his arms that were around you. “Hmm…Just thought you wanted to…y’know.” You admitted.

He chuckled, his hair tickling your neck as his head moved as he reacted. “Are you disappointed? I just wanted to talk to you first…” He pressed himself closer to you and you could feel his sincerity. “Can’t you feel that I’m holding back?”

You rolled your eyes, “What’s so important that we have to-” You stopped talking as the elevator doors opened to your floor and you saw boxes outside of the unit beside you. “Woah, someone’s finally moving in.” You pulled away from Xavier and walked into the hallway of your floor to see if you could introduce yourself.

You could hear Xavier grumble behind you, along with his footsteps following you. Although you were excited to be alone in your home with Xavier, wondering what could happen next as the two of you were actually a couple. But the unit beside you had been vacant since the day you had moved in, so you were just hoping that it was a nice person.

And then you saw a very familiar face.

“Charlie?” You exclaimed as you ran up to the doorway, making your way through the boxes. “Woah! You’re my new neighbor!”

“Hey!” Charlie said, putting down the stand-mixer that he was holding. “What a coincidence!” He reached his arm out, motioning for a side-hug.

You were about to reciprocate until Xavier took his hand and shook it. An awkward scene, but you were too busy being surprised by how suspiciously polite Xavier looked. “Hi, I’m your neighbor too. I live upstairs.”

“O-Oh! Hello!” Charlie smiled at him warmly, but the warmth was not reciprocated by Xavier at all. “You’re the newest hire, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. And you’re the baker.” His hold on Charlie was firm, as if he was trying to show him up.

Charlie wiggled himself free from his grip and then motioned to the boxes. “I should finish unpacking.”

“Of course! We’ll leave you to it then…” You grabbed Xavier’s wrist and pulled him toward your apartment. You knew Xavier had something against him, which you actually found quite endearing, but you didn’t expect him to let it show. Despite how polite he tried to be, it was more condescending and obviously fake. Once the door to your place closed, you threw your stuff on the couch and went to the kitchen to make tea. “I can’t believe your best friend is living next to me,” you jested, almost snorting.

“Now that he’s your neighbor, are you going to invite him over for dinner too?” He stood by one of the counters of the kitchen, leaning his head against one of the cabinets. You couldn’t see his face too clearly, but that pout of his was prominent from his tone.

It wasn’t that you liked hearing him be sad or upset, but something about it made you want to tease him even more.

“Shouldn’t I?” You weren’t going to, but the idea of Xavier possibly breaking the door down was amusing to you. “Calm down, Xavi…I thought I heard the kettle whistling, but it was just the steam coming out of your ears.” You walked toward him and placed your hand on his cheek, your thumb caressing him softly to loosen his frown. “Now what did you want to tell me that you’re keeping me waiting for?” You wrapped your arm around his neck to hook onto him and he wrapped his arms around your waist to hold you close to him.

His expression changed completely. The usually confident Xavier Shen looked like he was about to start trembling like a little chihuahua.

You raised an eyebrow at him and tilted your head, seeing if you could look into his blue eyes and look through his thoughts, but he started avoiding your gaze. “Earth to Xavier?”

“I’m Lumiere.” He said, his voice breaking a little.

You let out a nervous chuckle. “Come on, what actually do you have to tell me?” His arms loosened around your waist and one hand came up to rub the back of his neck, something he did when he felt awkward. “Are you secretly an alien? Like Clark Wayne or Bruce Kent or whatever?”

He took a deep breath and then looked you in the eyes. “I was going to tell you before I asked you out, but I never knew the time and whenever I’m with you I just…I really like you and I knew I needed to tell you before we went any further.”

You started staring aimlessly at his chest and then the ground trying to process what he was saying, but then he bent down to your gaze and tried meeting your eyes with his.

“Don’t be mad, please?” His voice cracked near the end, and you could tell it was taking everything out of him to tell you.

You didn’t know what you felt. It felt irrational to be mad because you didn’t even know what to be mad about. You were in some sort of state of shock. Your real-life crush was your online crush. On paper, you thought that sounded cute, but when it was happening to you in real time, you were just embarrassed. You talked about why you liked Lumiere to Lumiere himself. You even felt stupid for liking him because he was some faceless streamer that played a toxic game.

“Say something…” He quietly pleaded. Your name was whispered out of his mouth, like he was afraid of breaking it if he said it too loud.

And then the kettle did start whistling.

You dropped your hands from his neck and turned around to remove it from the stove. Without looking at him, you finally talked. “You should go home tonight. I have to think.”

“Ask me anything, please. I-” Xavier said, you could hear him getting closer to you.

“Please…just give me a moment, Xavier.”

“I’ll be one call away…okay?” He said. You could feel him so close to you, like his hand was trying to reach out for yours, but he thought otherwise and then walked out.

You left the boiled water on the counter, not really checking if you turned the stove off. And then you face planted right on the couch. You looked for something to be mad at and all the answers just pointed at being mad at yourself for not realizing sooner. You had suspicions, but for your long-time infatuation being your neighbor that turned into your coworker and friend was too good to be true. You just thought you were being too hopeful. Now you two were more than friends so you were sure you should have been happy.

And yet, you couldn’t pinpoint why you weren’t.

The whole weekend passed by and you didn’t leave the house, nor did you talk to him. Which made you feel even worse. Since you couldn’t find any reason to be upset at him, just at yourself, and you still ignored every message and knocked on your door that you knew was him.

You even woke up extra early the following Monday to take the train and avoid him. It was the first time you had taken the train in months, and on top of that, it was a quiet ride. You couldn’t even bring yourself to listen to music, your thoughts were loud enough.

And it was as if he knew because he showed up to work, looking less prim and proper as he took his seat in front of your desk, searching for any sign of you in you. Yet you averted your gaze.

It was suffocating being at your desk as your thoughts ran grew louder. It was as if everyone else could feel the tense air too as they worked quieter than usual.

The man you had pined over on the internet for months, almost a year, and the man you had been pining over in real-life turned out to be the same person. And you could feel his eyes glance over at you every other moment.

You still couldn’t find it in yourself to be mad at him, even though you really wanted to. You just felt humiliated.

Although you were trying to figure out when he would have told you, or if he would have ever told you. You knew you weren’t really obligated to know as of yet. You two had just started developing something more than friends.

You couldn’t focus on the codes on the screen as you were thinking back to everything you had said to the streamer that just so happened to be someone who was really close to being your boyfriend. You’ve had drunken nights where you complimented him a lot on your social media accounts, making thirsty statements about his hands. Yearning for the faceless man. You wanted to scream into your hands as you remembered that Xavier knew your username. He knew it was you. And now you knew it was him.

The moment it hit the time for your lunch break, you darted out of the office, heading up multiple flights of stairs until you reached the roof of the building. Your head spun like you were losing oxygen until you pushed the heavy door and felt the fresh air hit your face. Deep breaths.

Lumiere was Xavier. And Xavier was Lumiere. Somewhere deep down, you already knew. Even after trying to deny it. And now that it was fully confirmed, you wanted to scream. You wanted to cringe yourself into a black hole as flashes of interactions with lumiere kept going through your mind. You were on the “Lumiere X Reader” tags on fanfiction sites too.

It was hard to distinguish what you felt. Guilt, embarrassment, confusion…The mix was overwhelming.

A long and deep breath kept you from spiraling.

All you knew was that you still liked him. A lot.

Another deep breath.

Even if it was embarrassing for you, he still confessed to you even with the knowledge that you were one of Lumiere’s biggest fans. It was also better off that he told you from his own chest rather than finding out later on. The only thing that was keeping you away from him was your own cowardice.

Lumiere or not, you really liked Xavier.

With the newfound realization, you walked back towards your office with a new mindset. Along with plans in your head to talk to Xavier again. You craved your old routine back. You had grown too accustomed to being with him that it was tearing you apart that you weren’t doing the things you normally did.

You were coming up with things to say to him and finding segues to talking to him again. Different sorts of apologies and ways to apologize came to your mind. You wondered if you should follow him into the break room and say, ‘I’m okay that I completely embarrassed myself in front of you,’ and then kiss and make-up. It was multiple unrealistic scenarios straight out of a montage of a teen movie film.

Yet they were all interrupted as someone grabbed your wrist as you passed by the supply closet and pulled you into the dark room. Before you screamed, you heard a familiar ‘shhh’ and then the lights turned on.

Xavier was in front of you, bags visible under his eyes and clear signs of worry as he looked down at you. “I’m sorry I just…” He let go of your arm and stepped back, raking his fingers through his silver hair, taking a deep breath.

He looked like a mess, but it almost made you mad as to how good he looked despite it. The buttons of his shirt were misaligned and improperly tucked, mismatched socks, and one missing cuff link.

“You wouldn’t even look at me…and I didn’t know…” He started rambling.

You didn’t know how else to stop him, mainly because you were still in shock. And instead of being a rational person, stop him by saying ‘Hey! It’s fine!’ Instead you stepped on your tippy toes, grabbed his wrinkled collar and brought him down for a kiss.

Both of you seemed to have been in shock as you pulled away. “S-sorry. I just- Um, I wasn’t mad at you. I just felt kind of dumb for not connecting the two dots so-”

It was your turn to be stopped with a kiss.

Xavier pushed you back onto the shelf, one hand behind your head and the other above you, possibly to keep the shelf from falling down. He kissed you like you were the oxygen mask in a post-apocalyptic movie in space. Your eyes were still open and you could barely see that his eyes were squeezed shut until yours fluttered closed soon after.

He moaned softly as you kissed him back, like he was surprised by the affection you were showing after two days of ignoring him. “I thought…I screwed up…” He said, in between kisses as he gasped. And then he pulled away, putting his forehead on your shoulder, breathing heavily. “You’re not mad at me?”

You hummed, your hand on his shoulder. “I kind of am…You asked me so many embarrassing questions…turns out you just wanted to hear me praise you.” Your eyebrows knitted together, bothered by his audacity.

“I actually hate that you like Lumiere so much.” He grumbled against you. You could feel his teeth graze your exposed skin from your sleeveless top, as if he was going to bite you.

You scoffed. “You and Lumiere are the same person, didn’t you just say that?”

He pulled back to glare at you. “While Lumiere is funny and smart…I’m apparently corny and cocky.” He got closer to your face with each word. “He made the same joke I made a few days before and you’d roll your eyes at me. But I’m sure when Lumiere said it, you were laughing up a storm.”

You were still beating yourself up for everything, but the way he read you like a book made you want to disappear. You covered your face with your hands and cowered. “How long are you going to make fun of me? I’ll actually run away…” You mumbled into your fingers.

His small laugh made you warm up again, and then you felt his hands wrap around your wrists, prying them away from your face. One of his thumbs hooked under your chin to tilt your head up to look at him. “Do you still like me?”

You slowly nodded.

“Okay, good.” He kissed the tip of your nose, light and sweet. His lips moved down to yours and your mouth was agape, waiting for something. But instead, he pecked your bottom lip softly and chuckled. “Let’s go back to work. I’ll take care of you later. We have time we need to make up.” He reached up above you again and grabbed a box of paperclips.

And then you were alone in the supply room.

The rest of the day was a blur. You were working on autopilot as you sped through every ticket in order to make sure that you were able to leave as soon as possible. The only time that it felt slow was when Xavier would look past his monitor to see you.

His expressions were normally hard to read, but it felt like everything was actually out in the open. And you could see from his almost-glowing blue eyes that he was rushing to the end of the work day as well.

As your humiliation was slowly dying down, your fascinations were coming back. You were so embarrassed that you couldn’t focus on the fact that you had actually liked one person for a long time. Your fingers worked away on the keyboard as you started to look on the brighter side of things.

You weren’t completely delusional after all.

The owner of the attractive hands was attractive himself. He was everything you thought you were and much more. Although, each time you thought of something positive about the situation, an embarrassing moment where you freaked out over something Lumiere-related to Xavier would pop up in your mind. And it made you want to slam your head onto your monitor.

Bright side. Bright side. Bright side. You thought to yourself.

The mantra became too much for your brain as you started to mutter it out loud while you were in the elevator with Xavier to get to his car. “Bright side of what?”

You looked at him wide eyed. “Huh?” You realized that Xavier looked brighter than that morning. He fixed his shirt and somehow unwrinkled everything, back to his prim and proper self. “I- uh…I am looking on the bright side of things.”

“So…you are still mad at me.” His eyebrows came together as he pouted.

You tapped your chin to think, letting him open the door for you. “No?”

Xavier cocked his head to the side before shutting your door and only replied when he got in the driver’s seat. “You didn’t sound very sure.”

“I’m just embarrassed! I don’t know how to explain that any further.” You groaned. “But if I get rid of…how many times you made me talk about Lumiere…I can focus on the bright side.”

He started the car and was quickly driving back to your place. “What are the bright sides then?”

“I’m dating my celebrity crush.” You beamed at him. “And I wasn’t that crazy thinking about him the way I did, because you really are my type!”

“Am I more your typ-” Xavier started but you instantly swatted his arm.

“Don’t ruin this.”

The two of you bickered about the logistics of him being jealous of you liking Lumiere despite the fact that Lumier equaled Xavier the entire car ride home. And the entire elevator up.

Except on the way up, instead of pressing your floor, he pressed his. “Now that you know…you can come over now, right?” He suddenly looked shy.

“You always said your place was too busy, I really was starting to think that the ‘other family’ theory was becoming plausible.” You huffed, a little exhausted from trying to understand his jealousy. Although you found it amusing as well. Dork.

“My stream set-up is in the living room.” He shrugged, walking to open his door as soon as the elevator let the two of you off. “I think it would’ve been too obvious.”

“Can I ask why you kept it a secret?” You played with the hem of your shirt while you waited for him to get his keys out to open his door. “Not to everyone, I get that. I mean…when you found out I liked Lumiere…you didn’t say anything.”

He paused before opening his door and then turned to you. “How would you have reacted?” Xavier opened his door and let you in.

You thought about your answer, but you were distracted by his layout. It was clean and organized. His furniture was modern, and yet it was still homey. “U-uh…I guess I wouldn’t have believed you. Well…”

“I was surprised to know that you’re starlight.” Xavier said, taking your bag from your hand to hang on his rack by the door. As he did so, his touch was soft and lingered long enough to know that it was on purpose.

“Please…that’s so…” You cringed, walking around the living room. It was the exact same layout as your place, but the way he decorated made it seem like a completely different place. You distracted yourself by taking in the scenery as the realization of being alone with him properly with a new relationship was settling in your bones. Warmth was flowing through you in more ways than one. “You knew me by name?”

“There’s only one starlight.” He said, following close behind you, And then he bent down, his mouth near your ear. “You’re still cringing at yourself, but would it make you feel better if the feelings were mutual this whole time?” His breath tickled you and sent signals directly to your lower area.

You awkwardly laughed, turning towards him. “Wha-”

“I, the faceless streamer, got excited seeing a certain viewer’s name in my chat.” He smirked down at you, walking forward as you walked back until the back of your knees hit his couch. “You had the same name on Tweeter and I went through your account too. Little glimpses of your life, very miniscule, and I was interested.” You fell back onto the couch and he towered over you, one knee beside your legs with both his hands on either side of your head to hold himself up. “Are we even now?”

You tried to swallow, but your mouth was dry. “W-what now?”

“A gentleman usually waits for the girl he likes to say yes…” His face inched closer down to yours, waiting as he flitted his eyes between your eyes and your lips.

“Then…yes.”

You never understood how ‘searing kisses’ existed in literature. Until you had that kiss with Xavier. Your entire face felt like it was on fire, growing throughout your body. The way his tongue met with yours, the feeling of one of his hands on the back of your neck, moving down to the lower part of your back. You kissed him back with just as much intensity as he kissed you, your hands exploring his chest, and you were sure that you ripped a few buttons clean off as you tried to get rid of as many layers as possible.

“Are you sure…?” He gasped against your mouth as your hands fumbled with his pants.

“Fuck, please…” You begged into his mouth.

Xavier readjusted the two of you on his couch, having you fully lay down and him settling in between your legs. He had even placed the pillows under your head so you could watch him properly. You watched as he ripped open your stockings impatiently, just to be able to remove your underwear properly. Your skirt was tossed to the side, along with your shirt, leaving you fully nude. “Fucking beautiful. I knew you’d be this beautiful…” He praised as he kissed your belly, moving upwards to kiss each breast, and then more upwards to your neck. He was still fully clothed, despite your shaky attempts of tearing his clothes off. You lacked the strength he had. But you felt his bulge through his pants on your bare core. You couldn’t help but seek friction by rubbing yourself against his clothed cock, making him wince against your neck. His free hand grabbing one of your breasts, as if to hold himself grounded. “I-impatient…Are you enjoying yourself?” His hips moved against yours. You had a feeling you soaked through his pants, but it felt like he got harder with each movement.

It was an odd sensation, but since it was with Xavier, everything felt too good. You were almost at the edge when he pulled back, making you whine.

He replaced the sensation with his hand. Xavier’s bare fingers were against you, no fabric in sight to separate the two of you anymore. “You’re so wet, starlight. Were you waiting for this?” Two fingers played at your entrance. “I can already tell…what your answer is…” He moved on top of you again to capture your lips, and at the same time, his fingers entered you.

It was hard to kiss him back as you moaned into his mouth. Everything was happening all the same time and you were overjoyed. His two fingers pumped in and out of you as his thumb rubbed against your clit. A small part of you wanted to be jealous of where he learned how to be good with his hands, but each movement sent shockwaves throughout your body. “Your entire body…is responding to me.”

“Please, X-Xavier…” You felt spit drip down from the side of your mouth and you were unaware if it was yours or his. “I n-need you.”

“You have me, baby.” He softly bit your neck as he got faster with his hands.

You threw your head back with almost a yelp, you were too close, but you wanted more. “F-fuck me, please. I can take it…I want it.” Adrenaline coursed through your veins, giving you just enough strength to say what you wanted.

Xavier sat back up and pulled his fingers out of you. “I never thought I’d hear you beg for me…I want to hear it more…” You watched as he removed his pants just enough to free his cock. Long and thick cock. You weren’t surprised, and you weren’t disappointed. He took the fingers that were inside of you and used your lingering slick to wrap around himself, stroking himself as he looked at you. “Do it again…”

You couldn’t find it in you to be embarrassed. “Please…please fuck me, Xavi…”

Instead of fucking you then and there, Xavier stood up and grabbed your wrist to make you follow him. Your legs wobbled with need and you could feel your excitement dribble down your thigh. “Come here…” He said through gritted teeth, pushing aside his chair and making you bend over in front of his desk.

His actions in getting you to his desk were rough, but the way he slowly entered you showed his restraint and care still. The way he held you up as you took his cock slowly through every inch until he was fully in. “Oh my fu- ngh!” You knew you had limited words now, your mind filled with sex.

“I knew you’d feel so good, starlight. I’ve been imagining this for so long…” He kissed your shoulder. “Tell me you had too…”

All you could do was nod as moans spilled out of your mouth at every thrust.

“Look at the screen, starlight.” He lifted your head gently by your hair, aiming your gaze at his computer monitor. The camera that was normally pointed at the keyboard was pointed right at you. He pressed on the spacebar and it was your reflection. It wasn’t recording you, but the big ‘Go Live’ button on the corner made you feel nervous.

And somehow more excited.

Xavier hissed behind you. “Fuck me…I knew you’d like this.” Another thrust into you filled the room with both of your moans. “Don’t you look beautiful…?”

“Y-you’re embarrassing me…” You grunted out.

Another thrust. Wetter and louder. Harder. “Really? It sounds like you’re really enjoying yourself. Look…” His hand moved down to hold you up with your chin. “Your words don’t match what’s happening here– ngh…” Another thrust. He squeezed your cheeks together with his thumb and index, making you pucker out your lips for the camera. “And here…you look so good around my cock…right?” The grip he had on your hip was so tight, but it somehow felt so good.

In just a few seconds, so many new interests came to your mind, being awakened inside of you.

You realized how long his arms were with the way he so easily maneuvered them around you. He moved his hold onto you to be able to put two of his fingers into your mouth. And like clockwork, you welcomed him right in. “Is this what you imagined while watching me play?” His other hand roamed up your waist, squeezing at every part of you that he could. “I’ve read what you’ve said about me…” He chuckled, referring to your fan account. “You’re doing so well…”

You hummed around his fingers, looking right at the screen. It was embarrassing to see how blown out you looked. Your eyes no longer looked like they were in your control. It was so high-definition that you could see the strings of spit dropping onto his desk as you sucked on his fingers. Xavier was barely on screen, but you could see the bottom half of his face. The smirk. You felt that it was unfair seeing as your chest softly bounced, fully nude and bare. Whilst Xavier still had his white button-up still on. Barely but still on.

“Careful with where your hands are, baby. One wrong move and Lumiere’s face reveal might get my whole channel banned…you wouldn’t want that would you?” He slowed down his thrusts, watching you intently and moving your hair out of your face with his other hand that wasn’t in your mouth still. “Or maybe you do? You talked a lot about me being so jealous…but I’ve seen you react to other thirst tweets about Lumiere.” He leaned closer to your ear, licking at your tongue as he looked at you through the screen. “You’re just as jealous as me, aren’t you?”

Your eyebrows knitted together as you nodded weakly, pushing your ass back onto him, silently begging him to keep going.

Xavier removed his fingers from your mouth, taking advantage of how wet they were to bring them down to your clit, rubbing small and soft circles just to tease you as he completely stopped fucking you. “Tell me who you like…say my name.”

Your knees were trembling even more. “X-Xavi…-er, p-please?” You turned back to look at him, the real him, trying to meet his blue eyes. You searched for the satisfaction, the pleasure that was contorting his face. “Xavier…I like-angh…you. S-so much.” You felt drool on the corner of your mouth and you knew you looked like a mess. You already saw it.

He pulled out of you completely, making you whimper from the loss. And then he grabbed the chair that he pushed aside to sit you down in it, settling himself in between your legs. His cock radiated heat and looked slick in the dim light of the desk lamp. “Say it again.” He teased the tip at your entrance, hooking your legs onto his forearms as he gripped the armrests of the gaming chair. “Please, starlight?”

You wiggled in the seat, trying to get more comfortable. Your sweat made you slip easier around the leather chair. “Don’t…” You gasped as he moved his tip against your clit. “D-don’t call me that,” you whined.

“Why not, starlight? Isn’t that the name you made for me?” He chuckled.

You were breathing heavily as you glared at him. “Oh, so now you wanna be Lumiere…when it-” He slapped his cock against your tip this time, as if he hated the way you said a different name.

“Say my name,” he nearly growled. His blue eyes turned darker than ever. “You don’t want me to stop, right?”

You shook your head.

“Yet…it seems like you don’t want me to continue either.” He cocked his head to the side.

“X-Xavier…” You gave up, desperate for him.

“Hmm? What… Your voice is trembling. I can’t hear you…” He teased, pulling back.

“Xavier! Please!” He chuckled, positioning himself at your entrance. “Good girl,” he said before fully entering you again. “Fuck…you’re so good.”

Only a little bit of you was worried about the neighbors. You wondered if Xavier was enjoying that other people could hear you. Especially one person downstairs. You were moaning loudly as he grunted while he fucked you.

You could feel every inch and hear every inch entering you. It was almost embarrassing how wet you were, but you could see him staring intently at the place the two of you connected. You laid your head back on the chair and shut your eyes, taking in every movement as you got closer and closer over the edge.

But then he dropped one of your legs and grabbed your face again, gripping it tightly. “Keep your eyes open and look at me.”

And you don’t know what came over you as he said those words to you, but one look at him being rough made you instantly cum. Your head was thrown back again as your entire body shook and your walls pulsed around his cock. Your hands gripped and scratched at his arms, losing control of every limb.

“Holy fuck…you’re beautiful.” He gasped. “So…perfect.” He muttered as he leaned down to capture your open mouth with his, tangling your tongues together as he tasted everything. “I’ll never…get enough of this…” He said in between kisses. “Fuck…I’m gonna cum, starlight.” He kissed your cheek and moved to your ear. “Where do you want me…?” He whispered seductively in your ear.

“Holy shit…p-please Xavier. Insi-inside me…” You nearly screamed, afraid he’d pull out.

“D-don’t say things like that so suddenly…I c-can’t hol-ngh…” And then you felt him speed up, making you cum again as you heard him grunt and moan by your ear. Up until you felt him spill into you. He kissed you again as he came inside of you, and you couldn’t tell if it was him or you leaking onto the chair. Neither of you cared as you kissed your way through every shockwave of your orgasms. “We’re not done yet, starlight…I said we had to make up for lost time, didn’t I?”

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