「𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍」 · polaroid iii
❝𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎,𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚔 𝚖𝚊𝚗.❞
➥ Bang Chan x Reader (f) — 6k
➥ Single Parent Neighbors, Second Chances, S2L
➥ Contains: Shirtless Chris, collarbone ink, kindergarten open house, haven't-been-dicked-down-in-FAR-too-long thirst, teenage angst
➥ Chris knocks on your door to ask for a feline visit pass, but next thing you know, you're all on a "family" shopping trip.
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚢𝚙𝚜𝚎
“Daddy, can we have Missha time today?”
If anybody point-blank asked, Chris would firmly deny it, but he was beyond glad the twins had developed an attachment to a certain marble cake and that they were still at a “chaperone required” age. The feline visits were the only excuse he had to knock on his neighbor’s door this frequently without feeling like he was perjuring himself under oath.
SO WHAT if he was an anally cautious man? He had to make sure conditions were just right to ask a simple fucking question, yes, what about it?
Do you wanna like… run into each other on purpose sometime?
CRINGE!
Nevertheless, surely you had better things to do than let his girls play with your cat like it was bootleg daycare, and he needed to fucking cool it before he prematurely wasted all his entry tickets to your house. He was hoping to secure a season pass one day, but it was still some ways away.
Well… If ever.
“Maybe some other time, okay, baby?” he refused sweetly. “We shouldn’t ask to come over so often.”
“But we love Missha’s mom,” Harper flashed her huge eyes for a stronger appeal. “She loves us, too.”
“She does, huh?” his lips curled involuntarily.
“Yes, but she loves us more than you,” Piper chimed in to back her sister up. “Deal with it, Daddy.”
“Yeah, deal with it, Daddy!”
“CADE! STOP TEACHING YOUR SISTERS HOW TO THROW SASS, IT’S THREE AGAINST ONE HERE!” Chris howled towards the makeshift intercom system of the stairs.
Unfortunately, the major bug in a devoted father’s operating system is the inability to say no to his kids. When the girls toggled to relentless whining mode with ample amounts of “Pleaaaaaase~”, Chris had no choice but to march his ass across the street, hoping he wouldn’t hear something along the lines of, “Brother, you have got to get a life since I very much have one.” He took a deep breath and knocked on the door, but instead of the homeowner, a good-looking bouncer in his late teens greeted him.
You weren’t kidding at all with that description, huh?
“I remember you,” the boy squinted. “You’re the dude across the street.”
“Right! You were looking for Missha that day,” Chris flashed a dimpled smile.
“How do you know my girl’s name?”
Uh oh…
Why the FUCK was he getting nervous like he was at the doorstep of his prom date, talking to her father?! This was a kid! He had one of these in this size himself!
Then Chris suddenly realized, in his handful of “attempts” so far, the other party had always been either single or had daughters. There was no one to perceive him as a threat. This was the very first time he was meeting the son of a… of a potential…
You know.
“She… had a collar. I’m the one who found her,” he extended his hand like an olive branch rather than a greeting. “We haven’t officially met. I’m Chris.”
“You’re damn right we haven’t, very attractive hunk man. I shall be known to you as Ryder the Grinder,” the boy narrowed his eyes even more, not even a little bit affected by the charming accent. “Are you here to see my mom?”
Chris wasn’t under oath, so it wouldn’t technically be perjury if he kept that overly passionate “HELL YEAH!” to himself, so…
“Uh… Yeah, is sh—?”
“You shall pass only if you can solve my riddles three, hunk man,” the bouncer declared his entry requirements.
“Of course,” the intruder respectfully bowed his head.
“You’re ripped,” Ryder scanned Chris’s body from head to toe. “Are you a looksmaxxer or something?”
“I don’t know what any of those words mean,” Chris stared at him blankly.
“I’m asking if you’re a gymbro.”
“Not… necessarily? I mostly work out in my garage,” he answered, stressed the fuck out like he was sitting for an oral defense exam. “And the beach, I guess. I teach surfing.”
“Can I use your equipment?”
“By all means!” Chris agreed in a heartbeat and continued exercising extreme caution. “Though if you don’t mind me saying, these weren’t riddles.”
“Silence! I’ll be the judge of that,” Ryder raised his hand, posture Gandalfesque. “Now, the most important question of all. Are you or are you not…”
He leaned in super close, staring daggers at Chris with a threatening stance somewhere in between a girldad and a mafia boss, and let it rip.
“...a fuckboy?”
“RYDER, WHAT THE HELL?!”
You yelled at the top of your lungs while descending the stairs whereas Chris started wheezing his lungs out, not at all as a taunt but because that was exactly what he would say if Cadence brought someone home to meet him one day.
In slightly different vocabulary, but the gist would remain fully intact.
“I’m a father of three girls, my good man, so no worries on that one,” he eased the overprotective bouncer’s mind.
“You’re still not answering my question.”
“I hate the entire human population between ages 5 and 18 on principle,” Chris submitted the response that he knew would get a passing grade. “You know how it is.”
“I’m watching you, hunk man,” Ryder pointed at him with peak intimidation, then kissed you on the cheek. “I’m off, Mom.”
“Don’t be late, or I’m watching the new season without you!” you yelled after your self-appointed bodyguard, then greeted Chris with a warm smile. “What’s up?”
And just like that, WHAT ARE WORDS?
Chris put his brain in aggressive overdrive, trying to remember what the hell he was there for. It had something to do with the twins, but why would he come to your house for the twins? Oh, okay. OKAY, the playdate.
“The uh… T–The girls… They were um… wondering if… if they could have… Missha time today.”
“Anything that won’t have them asking for iPad time!” you enthusiastically responded, but your expression quickly morphed into regret as the bearer of bad news. “But unfortunately, I have to go to the store today.”
“Oh…”
Chris looked so disappointed as if you had just told him Christmas was cancelled, flashing you huge puppy eyes, and you suddenly felt horrible. You were trying really hard to find something to say to make him feel better, but your mind was entirely blank!
Meanwhile, Chris realized the silence had dragged on for too long, and he had to fill that fast.
“I mean, Y–YEAH OF COURSE!” he yelled out of nowhere. “I’m really sorry they keep asking. They’re just… They’re really fond of her.”
Seeing his dimples instantly loosened the death grip on your chest, and you awkwardly laughed. Luckily, the soft rubbing you felt against your ankles pulled you back to reality a little.
“No worries at all!” you vehemently reassured him, knowingly smiling. “I don’t think they’re the only fond ones, though.”
FUCK!!!
Did he make it that obvious?! At least you didn’t seem entirely repulsed by the idea. Besides, you were the one who said the opportunity could hold onto some hope if it wanted, weren’t you? Well, guess what, the opportunity happened to be clawing at hope for dear life right now, and if this was his opening…
“I uh… I–I mean, I was wondering—”
“Right, girlie? You’re fond of them, too,” you picked Missha up. “Look, it’s your man.”
Chris’s heart dropped from his chest when he heard you say ‘your man’ to refer to him, his knees damn near giving way. Oh, this was bad. This was so bad, and if he couldn’t contain the aggressive endearment within him, he was going to punch a hole in your front door!
Thankfully, his spiral was successfully blocked by Missha reaching for him as if to say, “Hug me.” He let out a relieved sigh, holding the furball in his arms as delicately as he would hold a newborn.
“Hey, baby girl! Missed me?”
If anybody point-blank asked, you would firmly deny it, but you were beyond glad that your marble cake had developed an attachment to a certain topless drummer because you were running out of believable excuses to knock on your neighbor’s door. One day, it was to ask for flour. Another day, it was to ask for a car jack. At some point, he was going to ask you if you were aware that a mall existed in town.
“We’ll wait for your invitation then,” Chris placed a little kiss on Missha’s tiny head, handing her back to you. “I’ll tell them not to insist.”
“WAIT!”
Missha rightfully hissed at you for temporarily deafening her. When Chris turned around and looked at you like that, your knees damn near gave way. Oh, this was bad. This was so bad, and if you couldn’t contain the aggressive heart eyes you had for him, you were going to latch onto his lips for the entire neighborhood to see!
“W–When I was babysitting the girls,” you shook your head to gather your thoughts and continued a bit more seriously, “they showed me their wardrobe.”
Chris’s shoulders drooped as he sighed in defeat, dragging himself to your doorstep again.
“Look, I know I’m not the best stylist, and I’m so sorry you had to see that clusterfuck,” he apologized for no reason. “Cade never comes shopping with us, and the store clerks always say whatever I pick looks great, EVEN when I assure them I will be buying stuff and just need an honest opinion. I mean, we always get the things the girls say they like, but… I mean…”
“NO, IT’S FINE! I didn’t mean it to come across as judgemental or anything,” you immediately held your hands up, assuming a defensive stance. “You should have seen what Ryder’s wardrobe looked like until he told me to back off. I just wanted to tell you that they told me they wanted skirts.”
“They did?” he nervously scoffed.
“Is something the matter?” you tilted your head.
“I think you can understand why I need someone with me for this, and Cade’s not very uh… a girly girl. She’s never cared about clothes and stuff until she imposed a no-color rule on her wardrobe,” Chris confessed. “And she loathes going to the mall unless it’s for records and books, so…”
You barely held yourself back from smugly declaring, “Say less,” incredulous of your luck that it landed on your lap so easily. There could not be a more apt opportunity than this for your semi-ulterior motives!
“I… told the girls I would ask you to go shopping together,” you told him somewhat shyly, all but pressing your index fingers together. “IF you’d like, of course. I don’t want to impose.”
“Oh, I’d LOVE THAT! Do you wanna go today?”
As soon as he finished the sentence, Chris mentally punched himself as a reminder to practice the bare minimum impulse control. You had just told him you weren’t available today, and at this rate, he was going to earn a fucking restraining order, let alone a season pass!
“Oh, s–sorry, got a bit too excited that my misery was about to end,” he exhaled, exasperated with himself and internally yelling ‘GET IT THE FUCK TOGETHER!’. “You’re uh… You’re going to the store today.”
“That I own, yes,” you chuckled, tickled by his eagerness. “We can do some shopping, then I can show you guys my little shrine. You need to upgrade from Singing Giraffe anyway.”
“In that case, can I be your driver?”
SHUT UP???
Why, YES, he could be your driver. He could be whatever the heck he wanted, actually, as long as he was going to smile at you like that what the FUCK?!
“S–Sure,” you nervously giggled, then placed a big smooch on Missha’s tiny head. “Sorry, baby, I’m stealing your man today.”
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Chris was a fully monogamous man, and you were an evil woman getting him all excited at the prospect of fucking cheating! Yes, steal him. Steal him right now, and never give him back actually.
Well, is it even cheating if the relationship is open, though?
“I’m sure she understands,” he reached to scratch under Missha’s chin. “She’s too independent to be tied down anyway, right?”
Only when your eyes met did you both realize just how close you were standing to each other. Your fond smiles instantly gave way to eyes widened in panic, and you simultaneously flinched as if you were electrocuted with impeccable comedic timing.
“I UH… I–I’LL TELL THE GIRLS THEN! MEET YOU OUT IN FIVE?” Chris screamed at your face.
“SURE!”
You slammed your door close and leaned against it with your heart beating in your throat, letting Missha run inside for her sixth nap of the day. Nervous out of your mind, you dashed to your bedroom to change as fast as you could, going through all the t-shirts you owned as if you were summoned for an impromptu date.
This was NOT a goddamn DATE, and you needed to GET IT THE FUCK TOGETHER!
Walking to Chris’s driveway, however, your anxiousness started to evaporate, promptly replaced with overwhelming affection when you spotted two little rays of sunshine running towards you with open arms.
“WE’RE GETTING SKIRTS!!!” Harper yelled.
“Yes, you are, baby!” you hugged them both in each arm. “Tell me, what are your favorite colors?”
“Yellow!”
“Orange!”
“No wonder Cadence doesn’t prefer coming with you,” you cackled as you looked up at Chris.
You safely sat the girls in their carseats and settled down in the front, and as soon as Chris put the gear in drive…
The scene turned into FULL delulu fuel.
FUCK this man for looking this attractive while driving, all laid back and legs spread out like a whore. His sleeveless shirt accenting those bulging biceps, lips shaped into a pout with peak focus, brows slightly creased like he was mad at something…
Was this what he looked like when he was mad, and on a completely irrelevant note… did he get mad in the bedroom at all?
Focus!
You discreetly pinched your own thigh both to exorcise yourself of the horny and to snap your wits back, and once the unholy thoughts subsided, this time the scene turned into a wholesome kind of delulu fuel. It felt like you were on a road trip with your little family. Oldest kids sent to college to live their best lives, younger ones with you at home, allowing you to taste the joys of parenthood all over again with a rock to lean on this time.
OH MY GOD, FUCKING FOCUS!!!
Instead of the crowded mall, you had given Chris the address of a street filled with cute little boutiques, on which your store was also located, and what started with an innocent question of “Do you have skirts in yellow and orange?”
…turned into an entire haul.
Suddenly with all the time to kill in the world, you let the twins try on all the items they pointed at, mixing and matching everything from little sundresses to nightgowns, slippers, bathrobes, hair pins, shoes, pants, coats, you name it. Before you knew it, you had fashioned not one but two wardrobes, one for spring/summer and one for fall/winter. Despite Chris’s protests, you threw in a few print shirts and a pair of badass boots for Cadence, firmly stressing you weren’t going to be offended if she chose to return them.
“Look who it is!”
And as you were trying to close the trunk of the car, a woman’s voice echoed behind you.
“Oh my god, hi!”
You hugged her tightly, and it wasn’t long before she noticed the charming man standing next to you, silently waiting to be introduced.
“This is Chris,” you pointed at him, then at your friend. “Lily and I were roommates in college. She teaches kindergarten now.”
“No way, I was looking into schools for my girls just yesterday!” Chris shook her hand, the ‘naur way’ making you giggle for no reason at all, then introduced the rays of sunshine curiously looking at the nice lady. “Harper and Piper. My daughters.”
“So nice to meet you! I’m Lily,” she immediately kneeled to be on their eye level, gently shaking their hands, then turned to Chris for a casual invitation. “We actually have an open house for parents today. Would you guys like to come? It’s just down the street.”
“HECK YEAH!”
Chris’s abrupt enthusiasm was quick to die down when he met your gaze, flashing you the puppy eyes again, and it was becoming more and more obvious to you where the twins learned that trick from!
“I–I mean…Would it be okay if we went?”
“Of course!” you burst out laughing.
The entire way, you and Chris listened to Lily talk to the twins like they had become best friends over lunch, and watching how easily she was able to communicate with them, you were beaming with pride with a smile that said, “Yis, that is my friend.” The girls talked about Singing Giraffe, their Aquaman Daddy, their Batsister Cadie, and much to your heartache…
Their angel mom.
“You can’t see her because she’s invisible,” Piper continued.
“Oh? So I can’t meet her?” Lily asked, pouting a little.
“You can when she comes back from protecting heaven,” Harper explained.
You almost fell to your knees with how hard your heart was wrenched. You needed something, anything to change the mood because a coat of mist had started invading Chris’s eyes, and it was killing you to see him like this.
“Aquaman? Batsister?” you gently nudged him with your elbow. “Is someone a bit too into comic books by any chance?”
“Maybe,” Chris smiled after taking a deep breath, then asked as you followed Lily into the building. “Did Ryder go to this school, too?”
“Oh hell yeah. This is like the family business of the Wilsons,” you answered him. “Lily’s mom taught Ryder, and that’s why my dude can’t shut up about dinosaurs.”
“Dinosaurs?” Chris furrowed his brows. “Let’s just skip the open house right now. They are going here, period.”
After leaving the girls in the care of the teachers in the playground, Lily gave you a personal tour of the grounds first, patiently answering every single question Chris had, then introduced you to the principal. The chat was a bit of a formality as Chris seemed to have already made up his mind about the school, greatly reassured by your reference, as well.
“Looks like the girls are having a great time here, so if you’d like a few hours to yourselves, you can leave them with me,” Lily offered, knowingly smiling at you. “I’m well aware couples don’t get much alone time when they have kids this age.”
NAUR WAY.
Turns out, you weren’t the only one in delululand today, huh?
You had no idea why the assumption rendered you completely mute. You knew you had to say something to correct the misunderstanding, but you just… couldn’t.
What’s worse, a part of you simply did not want to.
“Ac–Actually, we aren—”
“And you promise you won’t judge me if I take you up on that offer?” Chris immediately interjected, squinting.
“Off the record?” Lily leaned in, speaking quietly like she was letting you both in on a well-kept secret. “Brother, I have two kids of my own, and if my husband and I didn’t have mandatory date night once a week, we’d be divorced ages ago. Trust me on this.”
“Summerland fucking rocks!” Chris cheered, not even noticing how much your flabbers were gasted. “Girls!”
The call was greeted with instant protests from the playground, perfectly executed with the heartstring-slasher pouts.
“DADDY, NO!”
“We don’t wanna go!”
“Do you want to keep playing?” Chris asked upon Lily’s ‘Told ya’ shrug.
“YES!”
“Then can I go play, too?”
“BYE, DADDY!”
“Unbelievable,” Chris scoffed and turned to you. “Mini Bieber walks in, and it’s like I don’t even exist!”
“Aww, come on, it’s cute!” you broke into a massively endeared giggle fit.
“No one is good enough for my babies. I’ll see him in court,” he toggled to Dadzilla mode scarily fast.
“Just walk,” you softly pushed him from his back, and all of a sudden…
The delulu fuel struck back at full force because this did feel like a goddamn date!
Oh, you were so not getting it the fuck together…
Taking the deepest breaths of your life to calm yourself, you walked for a little while, just shooting the shit. Chris talked about a song he’d been working on and his passionate frustrations with finding rhymes for certain words. You talked about a few authors you’d been eyeing for a book signing and your hopelessness regarding how to convince them to come to a town this small.
“So um… Since you’ve done such a great job with the girls,” Chris eventually broached the subject, “do you mind styling me?”
“Did you want skirts, too?” you smirked at him with ample amounts of mischief.
“Ha funnny,” he deadpanned. “All I have is tanks for summer and hoodies for winter. I don’t have anything else to wear for any other occasion.”
“What kind of occasion?”
“I don’t know. A date?”
If you were sipping on a drink, it would be all over his stupid gorgeous face because…
Well…
“You… have a date coming up?” you asked as nonchalantly as you could manage.
“Not presently, but you can never be too prepared, yeah?” he stopped in front of a shop and pointed at the door with his thumb. “Just one store?”
“Alright, what should I be looking for?” you asked while crossing the threshold.
“Whatever you’d wanna see you date in.”
You stopped dead in your tracks and looked at him, your lips slightly parted, because how could you NOT? Was he…? Just messing with you, or…? Was this his indirect way of…?
He didn’t say anything. Didn’t elaborate further. No ‘I’m jaurking,’ or anything of the sort, either. He just stood there, one hand keeping the door open, and stared at you with a shit-eating grin.
This motherfucker…
Exerting the effort of a lifetime to not spontaneously combust, you handed him a few picks and sent him to the changing room to hunt for more items. It wasn’t that you were suddenly super into fashion; you just needed to be away from him to regulate your heart rate to prevent untimely cardiac arrest.
Which… wasn’t as helpful as you hoped for.
“I found a few shirts,” you approached the cabin a bit too carefully like your life was in danger. “Should I hang them on the door?”
“Um… actually can you get in here?”
“W–WHY?!” you shrieked, unknowingly clutching the clothes in your hand.
“I think I’m stuck.”
The unexpected answer made you wheeze your lungs out, and with your nervousness melted away, you saw no problem fulfilling his request. You hung the clothes in the rack behind you and opened the door, which was a FUCKING MISTAKE!
Your laughter abruptly stopped like you had swallowed it whole. Well, naturally, because you were expecting to see something of comical nature.
NOT what could only be described as soft porn!
Hottest fucking thing you ever witnessed with your own two eyes. GORGEOUS physique out in the open, and it was such a ridiculously effective stimulant that you could literally feel it between your legs even though he was only fucking you in your head. The amount of restraint it took not to lick those abs… The iron-cast willpower it took not to close that door right behind you… And as if that wasn’t enough, bro went ahead and inked his fucking COLLARBONES?
You couldn’t remember a single time someone had awakened such intense urges within you, but it was clear that you needed to upgrade your… self-care collection as soon as possible. Just the thought of experiencing these feelings every time you saw Chris was absolutely mortifying, and you had to get whatever this was out of your system fast.
You violently shook your head to snap out of it, laser-focused on the area from neck up, and carefully moved his arms to free him from the fabric trap.
“No tight-fit shirts for you without buttons,” you attempted a half-joke. “Duly noted.”
It was nothing short of sleep paralysis. You knew you were supposed to take a step outside, but you couldn’t move. You just could not move!
And someone seemed to be getting a kick out of it.
“See something you like?” Chris cheesed, enjoying the way you were staring at his broad chest a bit too much.
“NO?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
“T–Telling you?”
When he broke into those giggles, you did want to slap the shit out of him, which had to be a good sign that you were coming back to your senses.
“If the view is nice, you can tell me, you know,” he held up the too-tight-to-handle shirt. “I could use a compliment after this fiasco.”
Compliment, huh? He wanted a compliment? So, what, like you were supposed to tell him you would totally ride those abs? That he must feel rock hard to the touch? That you kinda wanted to know what his body weight would feel like on you? That you had a bit of a thing marking hickeys on a partner and his skin looked like he bruised easily?
Was that what he wanted to hear?!
“I mean,” you mumbled under your breath and averted your eyes, quickly grabbing the shirt before bolting out of there. “I would throw my bra at that.”
Having the time of his life and content with your picks for him, Chris didn’t insist on doing more shopping, and you finally made it to the bookstore. As soon as he entered, he looked around with complete fascination in his eyes, unable to stop smiling.
“Do you have any historical romance books here?” he asked out of nowhere.
“Y–You read… historical romance books?” you widened your eyes, utterly appalled.
“Cade loves them.”
“Seriously?” you inadvertently let slip, immediately covering your mouth. “Shit, I–I’m so sorry. That sounded so presumptuous!”
“Oh, presumpt away. Five years ago, her Christmas wish was the entire Goosebumps set, and she has a shrine dedicated to Stephen King, so…” he confirmed your sophisticated guess. “She’s very analog. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to get her a few.”
“Do you know what she already has?”
“Not by heart, but I think I’ll remember when I see the titles.”
“‘Sup, boss?”
A college-age boy appeared from behind the shelves with a large box in his hand, making his way to you.
“Well, today is your lucky day because I actually have an expert on site,” you spoke to Chris, then turned to the boy. “Hey, Oliver. Anything to report?”
“One tasteless incident of— FUCK, YOU’RE CHRIS BANG!”
“Uh… Hi,” Chris greeted the freaked-out guy.
“Dude, we cover your band’s songs all the time!”
“NO WAY!”
Maybe it was the ‘naur way’ or maybe it wasn’t, but something in your chest was tickling you so much you couldn’t stop smiling.
“Chris has a daughter who is very into historical romance,” you informed your right hand. “Anything in the Dracula avenue, you show him.”
“I got just what you need. Follow me,” Oliver took the lead to the romance shelf, still hardcore fanboying. “I canNOT believe it’s really YOU!”
While you took care of some business, Oliver and Chris basically combed through the entire store and returned to the cash register with two big stacks in their arms, including upgrades for Singing Giraffe. You and Chris started sparring in the form of credit card aikido, where you adamantly refused to accept payment from him whereas he did not take no for an answer, claiming it was compensation for your styling services today.
And Oliver was a big help watching the whole thing from the sidelines with a huge grin on his face.
When you were finally done with work, you left the store, picked up the exhausted twins beaming with happiness, and returned home. As soon as they saw the shopping bags, they perked up in the blink of an eye, running to their rooms to try on their new clothes.
“Thank you so much for today,” Chris expressed his heartfelt gratitude with extra deepened dimples.
“Anytime! I haven’t had this much fun in a hot minute.”
The silence was dragging on for too long again, and Chris had to fill that fast.
The conditions seemed… just right this time. A great day was had, pleasant fatigue was in the air, and there was also the changing room incident, which was a very welcome surprise to him. You didn’t seem… terribly bored to spend time with them.
Was this the time to ask? It was time, right?
“Listen, um…” he intently stared at his shoes. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Yes?”
He was kidding to himself earlier that day, but why the FUCK was he getting nervous like he was actually about to ask you to prom?! He was a grown man! Who wanted to spend some time with an equally grown woman!
He mustered all the courage he possibly could, and finally fucking went for it.
“Do you wann—?”
“CADENCE, WAIT!”
You both turned your heads towards the concerned voice of Ryder and watched Cadence storm into the house crying, Chris immediately running after her. Ryder looked distraught, but also totally guilty of something. Your brows started creasing, and you could feel something boiling hot rising from the pit of your stomach as you stared daggers at your son.
“What did you do?” you calmly asked him.
“It’s nothing. I w—”
“What the FUCK did you do?!”
The explosion scared him a bit as he rarely saw you like that, but Ryder didn’t even have it in him to protest.
“Today was the auction results. Emotions ran high. I…” he started explaining himself, unable to look you in the eye. “I said something in the heat of the moment and—”
“Say it.”
“Mom, please…”
“If you could throw the words so casually at her, you’re gonna say it to my face. Say it.”
It was so obvious he knew he messed up, and you didn’t particularly enjoy confronting your son like that, but in your defense, there had never been an instance that you had to. His shenanigans with his friends were one thing, but this was NOT one of his boys in question.
“I called her a ghoul that reeks of death.”
Hearing those words felt like Ryder poured molten lava all over you and didn’t even blink. You could not believe your own son was even capable of uttering something so despicable out loud. It was as if the entire world went mute, and the only thing you could hear was your own heartbeat in your ears, feeling yourself descend into a full spiral. This was your fault, wasn’t it? You didn’t raise him right. You had never been enough. Maybe if he had a father, this would have never happened. Tears were filling your eyes to the brim, and your brain was going numb.
You weren’t a violent person by any means. If anything, Ryder’s number one complaint about you was that you loved hugs a bit too much.
But that didn’t mean the occasional pinch on the arm was off the table for moments of massive fuckups.
“Ow!”
“Was it worth it, huh?” you spat through your teeth. “Was it worth hurting her over a goddamn TOY?!”
You grabbed him by his hand and dragged him to Chris’s front door, knocking on it hard like you wanted to break it down. You wouldn’t even be surprised if he didn’t open it, but thanks to whatever country you saved in your previous life, he did, the frown on his face painfully telling of how upset he was.
“HI! This is my dumbass son, and he would like to say something,” you flashed a psychotic smile at Chris, then nudged Ryder forward with a death glare. “Do it.”
“I’m really really sorry, Cadence,” Ryder didn’t even hesitate as he addressed Cadence sitting on the couch inside, hugging a pillow. “I–I didn’t know that your—”
“No, you didn’t,” she interjected with a trembling voice.
“I SWEAR on my mother and Missha I didn’t mean anything by it. I know it’s not an excuse, but I only use that kind of language around my best friends. Ask Mom! She knows how bad the boys and I bash each other!” he continued his fervent begging, then suddenly slowed down. “For a second, I… completely forgot you don’t… roll with me like that.”
All eyes turned to Cadence, waiting with bated breath as to how she was going to react. And much to no one’s expectation, especially Ryder’s, she got up to her feet and slowly walked to the door.
“We’re…” she relaxed her scowl, surprised despite her apparent anguish. “We’re friends?”
“Of course we are. Wasn’t it obvious?” Ryder faintly smiled, holding onto the tiniest bit of hope. “Why else would I get that vicious when I was basically raised in Gentleman Camp? MOM, STOP PINCHING!”
“Save your snark,” you hissed at him.
Cadence didn’t say anything else and left, leaving Ryder to sigh in her wake with drooped shoulders.
“I understand if neither of you ever wants to see me again, but please know I feel horrible about it,” he apologized to Chris this time, bowing his head in regret. “I’m truly sorry.”
You dared look at Chris despite your embarrassment, realizing he was looking back at you. It sucked so much that you didn’t know what the right thing to do or say was here because it felt like you were the one hurting him, which you technically did, no matter how indirectly.
“I will NOT be this calm if I hear you hurt my baby again, hunk man junior,” Chris spoke flatly, though clearly ticked, “but if you’re really sincere with your apology, I’d better see you make an effort to make things right.”
Ryder nodded solemnly and asked to go for a walk to clear his head. And while you were on the verge of grounding him, you couldn’t find it in you to say no for how genuinely apologetic he seemed. You silently gave him permission with a nod, finally accepting there would never come a day you’d finally go, “This is it, and I’ve seen everything,” for a mother.
“Call me crazy, but I’m sensing some tension between the kids,” Chris uttered, watching Ryder walk away with his hands in his pockets.
“What was your first clue?” you turned to him with furrowed brows as if you were asking a genuine question. “I wholeheartedly apologize for his behavior. I thought I’d raised him better than this.”
Chris looked inside the house, then walked out to the porch, closing the door behind him.
“Listen, I know this isn’t the type of thing to ask for someone who’s almost a grown woman, but I’d really like it if Ryder and Cade got along,” he voiced his heartfelt request. “She has the confidence of gods, but she… can’t make friends easily.”
Well, wouldn’t you know a thing or two about that? The black eyeliner wasn’t the only thing about Cadence that reminded you of your younger self.
Something to get these two dummies closer, huh? But what?
“What are you guys doing this weekend?” you asked, a sudden lightbulb going off in your head.
“Nothing scheduled. Why?”
“Wanna take the whole family to the beach together?” you proposed with an up-to-no-good grin.
And after almost twenty years, this was the second time Chris was asked out by the woman he was falling in love with right before he could do it himself.
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「© 2023-26, cb97percent · No translations, rewrites, or reposts permitted」
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