on such a breathless night as this
(a valentine’s day brian may one-shot)
summary: brian surprises you with a spontaneous outing for valentine's day––cuteness ensues
pairing: brian may/fem!reader (you)
warning(s): only fluff, sorry folks ;) nothing serious, just pure indulgence
a/n: i wrote this as a quick prompt for valentine’s day on my ao3 & decided to reupload it here––hope you enjoy!
After a long day full of lectures and labs, it felt good to laze around your dorm room. It was the perfect reprieve––you lay on your bed, legs propped up against the wall, staring at the various posters that decorated the wallpaper. Not wanting to think about schoolwork anymore, you reach to grab a book from your nightstand––”The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.
As you’re settling into a comfortable position, your telephone rings. You glance at the clock–– who would be calling me at eleven?–– and dismount from the mattress with a sigh. Picking up the receiver with one hand, you tangle your other in the spiraled cord.
“Hey, it’s me.” The voice of Brian, your boyfriend, brings a grin to your face. “You’re still up?”
“No, I’m sleeping,” you tease. “Yes, I’m awake! What’s up?”
“I’ve just finished laying down the last bit of guitar for the track we’ve been working on. Is it okay if I come by to pick you up?”
Suddenly curious, your ears perk up. “This late? What for?”
You could almost hear his boyish grin through the phone. “It’s a surprise. I’ll be there in ten. Love you.” He hung up, leaving you equal parts confused and excited.
Quickly stopping in front of your mirror, you fix your unruly eyebrows and apply a bit of lipstick to correct the day’s wear. You’d been dating Brian for over a year now, thanks to an introduction by mutual friends, but you still felt butterflies erupt in your stomach every time he did something like this. He loved surprises, and even after he began spending more time with his band in the studio, he continued to go out of his way to make you feel appreciated. Smoothing your skirt with your hands, you grab your coat and head out the door.
Brian’s car, a Ford Escort, was a modest thing––the perfect combination of practicality and style, just like him. Opening the passenger door, you slide into the seat and give him a grin. He looks good ––he never agrees, but you always insist he looks best after a long day in the studio, collared shirt slightly disheveled and hair tousled. He returns your gesture and leans forward to capture your lips in his, soft and warm. Your smile breaks the kiss. “What’s this all about?”
“Ah ah, that’s for you to find out.” He winks. Putting the car into gear, he rolls out of the campus parking lot and heads toward the street.
Moving to sit closer to him, you thread your arm through his and rest your head on his shoulder. “Oh, alright. If I can’t ask about that, I suppose I’ll ask about your day.” You absentmindedly trace your fingers down his arm, admiring the way his muscles flexed as he drove.
He let out a small sigh. “It was… long. But good. I finally managed to get all the parts right on the track I was telling you about, White Queen.” He pauses, turning onto the main road. “Rog wasn’t so pleased with how long I spent on it, but that’s to be expected.” Laughing, he presses a soft kiss to the top of your head. “But now that I’ve finally perfected it, we’re that much closer to mixing the whole album.”
You squeeze his arm and sit up, your head level with his. “I’m glad! I know how much you care about that song. I can’t wait to hear the final product.” Taking a moment to look at the road in front of you, you realize that you don’t recognize this area. “How far out of town are we?”
Giving your knee a quick squeeze, he only smiles and says, “We’re nearly there.”
Sticking your lip out in a playful pout, you observe the fields passing by your window, everything shrouded in the soft glow of the moon. Just as you felt certain you were en route to London, Brian makes a sharp turn onto a dubious-looking country road. Ahead, you notice a scattering of trees in the middle of the expanse.
“Ah, here we are.” He pulls onto the grass and puts the car into park. Turning off the ignition, he turns to fix you with an eager grin. “Ready?”
You nod, the curiosity nearly making you crawl out of your skin. Exiting the vehicle, you cross the grass to sidle up next to Brian and, grabbing his hand, you intertwine his fingers with yours. “Where are we? Have you been here before?”
“Only once––I recently discovered it when looking for good places to stargaze.” Gesturing to the clump of trees, he pulls his coat tighter to his body to combat the cool breeze.
Intrigued, you let him lead the way until you both stand underneath the cover of the massive evergreens. Taking a moment to look around, Brian bites his lip in concentration. You love when he does that. “There should be––ah, this way.” Pulling you gently, he directs you farther into the trees until, suddenly, you’re standing in the middle of a clearing.
“Whoa.” A gasp emits from your lips as you take in your surroundings. The moonlight illuminates the open space, accentuating the intricate texture of the trees and drawing a stark contrast between the tree tops and the shadows cast underneath.
“Look up.” On Brian’s suggestion, you tilt your head up to look at the sky. Bright stars of the likes you’ve never seen twinkle down at you, sprinkled across the deep indigo depths like flecks of snow. You let go of his hand to clap it to your mouth. “Oh Bri, it’s beautiful! It’s so clear!”
Turning back to him, you catch him watching you intently, the adorable flash of canine teeth appearing as his eyes meet yours. “I knew you’d like it. Here, lay down on the grass and make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right back.” You watch, dumbfounded, as he turns and jogs back towards the car. A laugh bubbles in your chest and you shake your head, amused at his dedication to the surprise.
Looking around the clearing, you select a particularly soft-looking patch of grass and sit down. The ground is chilly––it is February, after all––but you lay back anyway, keen on getting a better look at the sky. As much as you despised the practical work required for studying astronomy, you understood why Brian did it. Looking out into the ether evoked a magnificent sense of wonder––about the stars, about the galaxy, about the universe. How much is up there that we don’t know about?
You feel the vibration of footsteps through the ground, and you twist yourself until you’re lying on your stomach. Brian kneels down in front of you, clearly holding something behind his back.
“What’s this?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.
Brushing a rogue curl out of his face, he brings his hands in front of him––he’s holding a box of chocolate and a bottle of wine.
“Bri! You shouldn’t have.” You’re compelled to sit up and give him a soft, appreciative kiss. Pulling back a couple inches, you bring your hand to his cheek, caressing the line of his cheekbone with your thumb. “What’s all this for?”
His hazel eyes light up with amusement and he nudges your nose with his affectionately. “You forgot, huh. Tell me, what’s the day today?”
Scrunching your eyebrows together in confusion, you pull back and take a moment to think. “It’s Wednesday, the 14th… Oh!” Pink rises to your cheeks, dusting them with a soft blush. “I suppose it’s Valentine’s Day.”
Brian chuckles, setting the bottle down and handing you the box of chocolates. “And I suppose you’re right! I suspected you might forget––you’ve been so busy with coursework lately, I know how much it takes a toll on you. I wanted to do something special for you tonight, get your mind off of it all.”
Carefully opening the box, your eyes grow large at the sight of the perfectly-shaped chocolate hearts arranged neatly in the box. “You’re definitely succeeding!” Popping one in your mouth, you stifle a moan.
Brian cocks an eyebrow and smirks. “That good, hmm?” Pulling the cork out of the wine bottle, he takes a swig before handing it to you. “Sorry, I forgot glasses.” He gives you a sheepish grin.
The two of you lay back, your head resting on Brian’s chest, the box of chocolates resting on yours. The wine slowly warms your insides, bringing a rosy glow to your cheeks. You let yourself get lost in the sound of Brian’s heartbeat as he points out different constellations.
“See that star there? The bright one.”
You squint in the direction of his finger. “Yes, I think so.”
“That’s Rigel, the main star of Orion. You’ve heard of Orion, right?”
“Mmm.” You vaguely remember hearing something about Orion––or his belt, maybe.
Brian’s hand takes yours and uses your finger to connect the stars. “Orion was a great hunter, or so the stories say. He fell in love with Artemis, the goddess of the moon.” Smiling to yourself at Brian’s depth of knowledge about greek mythology, you nod to show you’re listening. “But Apollo, her brother, didn’t like their relationship. So he got Gaia involved, and she sent him to battle. Of course he died, and so Zeus placed him in the sky to reign forever over the winter skies.”
“Tragic. But beautiful,” you commented, swirling another chocolate around in your mouth.
His hand let go of yours and tangled itself in your hair instead. Leaning into his touch, your eyes flutter shut as his fingers gently massage your head. The calming silence of the night mingles with Brian’s soft exhales, and you soon find yourself drifting slowly to sleep.
Just before slipping completely into unconsciousness, you feel Brian move under you. His arms tuck underneath your body, and before you know it, he’s lifting you off the ground and into his arms. Your arms instinctively wrap around his neck as your head nestles into the crook of his shoulder. Breathing in the comforting undertones of lavender and oak from his aftershave, you let out a sleepy, contented sigh. As you feel him begin to walk you towards the car, he leans down to kiss your forehead gently. His lips ghost over the shell of your ear, lingering there for a moment before whispering softly.
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