pairings: sharky x reader
summary: you share an intimate moment outside on the balcony of the party with Sharky, who you thought was a close friend of yours and nothing more. till now.
warnings: none! this is a bit more angst than fluff, edging on suggestive
a/n: there's white Ferrari, and then there's my underrated baby moon river. i got inspired from this video on yt -> [ https://youtu.be/3A98XOCrChk?si=Z-6uoU6fZgiWWZiR ], leave it on for the perfect ambiance. i'm a ho of many fandoms and beta squad is one of the many things i adore in this world too. this specific one for sharky has been long overdue. Enjoy everyone!
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The balcony spilled out into a night that could only belong to London — a velvet sprawl of city lights glittering like sequins on a dark canvas, stitched together by the muted hum of traffic far below. Cars slid across the London Bridge like little beads of light, their motor sounds reduced to a gentle hush at this height. Somewhere in the trees nearby, a couple of lone fireflies blinked in rhythm, as if nature itself felt restless tonight as well.
Your steaming cup of tea sat half-empty on the ledge, the last ghost of the hot fluid fading into the cold air. The thin fleece cardigan on your shoulders was doing nothing to protect you against the cold bite of late September air. Not that it mattered really — the presence beside you was a source of warmth on its own, the kind that starts somewhere deep in your core and waves of it spread to your limbs, slow and fuzzy.
It's been a bit more than a year, since you met Sharky for the first time on one of the NDL's chaotic and strangely magical shoots, where holding back your laugh was the biggest problem you had at work. Back then, you were a freshly graduated young adult, scrambling for a clear life direction, when Niko put out a call for creative editors 'hungry for work and capable of surviving our nonsense'. You’d applied partly because you needed a job, partly because you adored watching NDL and the Beta Squad boys, choking from laughter on your noodles every other Saturday night like it was a tradition of your student life. A rare handful of UK youtubers, relatable enough and whose banter didn't make you skip the video every ten seconds.
A month later, you met the rest of the Beta Squad boys in person, and became a permanent part of the production crew. Upgraded to getting invited to Chunkz’s infamous dinner parties with the amazing food and story-worthy fun time spent. You’d lucked into a little found family this early in your adult life, which made you have that quiet pinch-me gratitude from time to time.
Tonight was one of Niko's legendary 'game night' events. Feeling fuzzy and warm inside, after a few exhilarating rounds of mafia and physically exhausting charades, you slipped outside for a breather to the balcony with the best view in all of London — the introvert’s survival tactic in a crowded place.
You'd only been there for a few minutes, when you heard the door behind you slid open again, followed with the soft rustle and a whiff of a warm cologne, which tugged at your senses and revealed its owner to you way before you turned your head to look.
And then, in that maddeningly friendly voice, that made it too hard for your meticulous brain to read too much into it:
You've been in this kind of state for a bit more than a month now. Confused and lost, you were borderline considering writing it all out in a laptop, to organize this messy jumble of feelings inside you properly. Shelf the necessary ones and get rid of the rest.
You kept things professional at all times. Mostly.
You talked with him about the party, winter holiday plans, future video projects — safe topics that let you pretend you were just chatting with a colleague. But it didn’t stop the ache in your chest and a pull somewhere deep down, which your rationalism wasn't yet ready to face.
But one thing was undeniable: the feeling of attraction (or whatever it was you didn't want to put a name on yet) overflowing from within your heart towards a boy who was standing right next to you at the moment, holding a red cup of some drink that was definitely not alcohol. You sighed.
Yeah right, an agonizingly perfect man that he was. Sharky was gazing up at the moon, its light reflecting in his large, insufferably beautiful brown eyes. His eyes twinkled before they turned and settled down on you. Your stomach sank.
His mouth twitched. “What's with the face? Plotting your revenge on Niko already?”
“Considering it,” you said, feigning seriousness, but smiling with a corner of your mouth. “After that long-necked lying bastard went after me in every round, anyone would.”
“Well, now you know how Kenny feels,” said Sharky, and you both burst out laughing.
"AJ was on your ass the whole time too."
"Yep. Wonder how he is feeling now."
"Probably scraping the last shards of his ego off the floor.”
“That's… Bold talk coming from someone who lost to me in Uno thirteen times in a row,” Sharky smirked slowly. You met his eyes with a challenge, struggling not to smile back. You narrowed your eyes.
“Well, clearly, I underestimated the size of that evil mastermind brain of yours," you turned your body towards him and leaned on the balcony fence, feeling bold all of a sudden. Sharky was looking down at you, his hands folded behind his back, that lazy crooked smile of his in place, and you shivered. "You’re really not going to let me forget that, are you?”
He grinned a devastatingly attractive smile that probably came standard with him at birth. God. Did he always smile like he was flirting with everyone, or was it just you?
“And yet, here you are. Still playing games with me.”
The possible double meaning of his words hung in the air with thick tension. He had no right to be giving you cryptic messages, you thought, the truth of his words stinging your ego slightly.
“Idiot,” you muttered, rolling your eyes and turning back to the city view. "I am," you added quietly, more to yourself than him, but didn't notice Sharky's attentive gaze fixed on you for a few more seconds.
You unconsciously shivered, not at the cold night air, but mostly at the sheer intensity of how badly you didn't want to name what you were feeling. Falling for someone, this fast and deep, felt like balancing on the edge of a skyscraper, blindfolded. The pragmatic, practical overthinker in you thought so, at least.
A streak of the Drake-Chris-Brown-and-PND jam inside the house — which was most probably run by Chunkz till now — finally stopped, letting the slow beginning notes of Frank Ocean's 'Moon River' slip into the starry night. You hummed in approval, letting out a breath you didn't even know you were holding, and closed your eyes.
♪ Moon River, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style someday… ♪
"Such an underrated tune," you murmured out loud.
"It is," Sharky replied, his voice low and slightly surprised at your acknowledgment of the song. Your eyes curiously met his glinting ones. "What's your favorite Frank Ocean song?" he continued, seeming genuinely interested.
A smile tugged at your lips; music — safe territory.
"Am I gonna sound too basic if I say White Ferrari and this one?" you cheesed awkwardly. Sharky's corners of the mouth slowly crawled upwards, and he tilted his head to the side, as if weighing out your question.
“But then,” you went on thoughtfully, warming up to the topic, “there’s 'Pyramids'— best ten minutes in the history of music. 'Ivy', 'Chanel', 'Rushes', that Aaliyah's cover from Endless… Oh, and 'Good Guy', 'Close to You' — but only the live versions. Way better than the studio. And—"
"Alright, alright, we get it," Sharky interrupted you, laughing. "Number one Frank Ocean fan is in the building."
“You’re one to talk,” you shot back at his mocking laughter, “with your Blonde-infested Spotify Wrapped for seven years now! So don't even try, I am NOT being pretentious or showing off, you fanboy."
"Okay, okay, I believe you, I didn't even say none of those things!" he lifted his hands in surrender, still giggling, and you shot him an indignant look, clutching your cardigan even tighter, in faux offence.
"Well, you know damn well, you can never have only one favorite Frank song though," you murmured, looking away with the fading butterflies in your stomach.
He smiled, mouthing "true", looking at you for a second too long.
The silence settled in softly, while Frank's heavenly vocals worked their magic at the background. The chilly breeze was getting interrupted by gusts of wind traveling all the way up from the heart of London.
♪ My dream maker, you heartbreaker,
Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' the same ♪
You shuddered involuntarily, the thin fleece cardigan doing nothing to prevent goosebumps travelling down your body. Sharky turned his head to you, noticing your slight shiver, opening his mouth, as if to say something, when you mumbled:
"I think it's getting colder in here. I will head back in," your eyes took in the picturesque night scenery one last time, preparing to leave.
"No, stay—" you heard Sharky say hesistantly, with a barely noticeable note of what you assumed to be urgency. A moment, shorter than a second, longer than eternity, hung loose in the air between you two.
The corners of your lips lifted up, and arching your eyebrow, you turned your amused, slightly teasing face towards Sharky. Even in this darkness, you could have sworn Sharky was flustered.
"Uh, I just mean, I…" The hand moved to fumble with the cap on the back of his head. His eyes scrambled to find a fixed point to focus on, quickly running all over the place, and choosing your left shoulder, away from the amusement of your eyes. "I have a coat, maybe it's warmer up here."
He looked at you with his usual boyish grin — like it could erase the crack in his composure — and opened his puffer coat widely, inviting smile in place, audaciously beckoning you in. What is this guy on, you thought dumbfoundedly, feeling a warm tug behind your chest regardless, the heat filling you up till your cheeks, no doubt coloring them a visible shade even in this darkness. Was he trying to fluster you now?
With the best impression of nonchalance and confidence that surprised even you, you gave a calm "alright" before stepping forward right into Sharky's warm, outstretched arms.
He closed the coat around both of you, surprisingly fitting you both well. His overcompassing smell invaded all your senses.
You closed your eyes unconsciously and tentatively wrapped your hands around his sweater, resting them on his back. Your nose brushed the soft cashmere of his sweater, your eyes fixing on the dangling pendant of a little silver shark, before drifting upwards to meet his piercing gaze. He was looking at you, full of thought and unhidden tenderness. City lights far below reflected in the darks of his irises, like constellations, drowning in deep waters.
Music swelled in the night, 'Moon River' filling every quiet space between you. Without thinking, you both started slowly swaying left and right to the music at the back. His smile softened genuinely, and you felt something give way inside you, your own smile relaxing too.
"Much," you answered, chuckling.
You glanced into his eyes, and the universe tilted. His hands around you tightened imperceptibly, and you did not dare breathe out, your mouth going dry all of a sudden, when your eyes landed on his lips.
You looked at his face. What if you didn't overthink? What if you just embraced it, accepted it, let it be? All the chaos, the feelings, the turmoil inside. What if you let your heart, and not your brain, guide you for once? What if, just this time, you let yourself fall?
♬Two drifters off to see the world
It's such a crazy world, you'll see
We're all chasin' after our ends ♬
You caught a stable pulsating point on his neck right at the level of your eyes. With some invisible force inside you lifting you off your feet, you leaned in and planted a feather-light soft kiss on that pulse point.
Sharky's breath caught, barely noticeable, but you noticed. His eyes darkened with something that made your knees weak, he swallowed hard.
"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, evaluating every word that was being spoken, voice caught between surprise and something softer.
"Having an impossible urge to kiss you," you said simply. You were answering honestly for the first time in a long while. The simple truth tasted terrifyingly sweet and felt easy to admit, in that tiny, intimate space, where your breaths mingled.
He paused for a beat, searching your face, contemplating the weight of your answer, unreadable. It seemed like ages before he responded to you.
You could visibly see Sharky's face softening when he asked you. "Then why don’t you give in?"
His words were light, but there was a whole grand universe of feelings in his eyes — vulnerability, hope, readiness to laugh it off any second, in case you brushed it off, an escape route, if you said you didn’t mean it, all enveloped and topped off by a smile so full of tenderness that you could fill up oceans and revive forests with it.
The look Sharky gave you was so earnest, so achingly familiar, that your heart made a decision at that exact moment. Making the decision was so simple, really. You nodded, so faintly that you barely realized you did.
But that was all he needed.
His hands sprawled on your back, moving up towards your neck, fingers spreading like roots, tangling in your hair, and then his mouth caught yours. Warm, soft, and unhurried, in contrast to your cold, nervous fingers, trembling as they traced the warm skin above his collarbone at the dip of his neck. Your mind was trying to scramble what was going on, gathering your last remnants of conscience. He exhaled shakily, catching one of your shivering hands in his, anchoring you right then and there.
You continued kissing until you thought you'd pass out from the burn in your breathless lungs, until your pulse was thrumming in your eardrums, until you knew you’d never be able to hear 'Moon River' the same way again.
You finally broke away, skin flushed, breath ragged, foreheads resting against each other. In a few seconds of mutual silence, you were absorbing every inch of his face, trying to remember everything from this moment, this night.
His eyelids lowered, soft and uncertain, as he leaned close enough for his breath to brush your cheek. The tip of his nose grazed yours fleetingly, a gesture so tender it made your heart stutter.
Sharky whispered your name and hesitated, his lips parting, gaze flicking between your eyes and your mouth. You could see the war he was waging on inside himself: the magnetic pull to kiss you senselessly again, versus the need to finally voice the words that had been clawing at the back of his throat for weeks now. Words he'd rehearsed a dozen times in his head treacherously faded away.
But you didn’t need to hear Sharky speak to know what he meant. That he was in too deep. That this wasn't anything impermanent for him. That he wanted this — wanted you — not just for tonight, but for however long you’d let him stay. That even if you didn't let him stay, he'd still fight to stay somewhere in your horizon, in the line of your sight. That he was terrified of ruining whatever good thing you already had, of tossing a grenade into the comfort of friendship for the chaos of more. That he didn’t know how to start, only that not starting was becoming unbearable.
His lips twitched as if to voice it all out, but you didn’t let him, your thumb tracing the corner of his lips and your fingers pressing softly against his mouth, stilling it. His lashes fluttered surprisingly, and then his gaze softened in recognition of your silent understanding, your don’t say it, I know. His eyes had already told you everything you needed to know.
♫ Wherever you’re going, I’m going your way ♫
The moment hung between you, fragile as glass, as Frank Ocean’s honeyed voice melted away into the night.
₊˚♬ Life's just around the bend, my friend
Moon River and me ₊˚♬
sugurugetos
stormborns
snowghoul
yousharknotpass
