Granting you mercy, the Sea God allows you sanctuary into his domain. He grows fond of your company in the dark, lonesome sea. Never in a million lifetimes has the Lemurian Sea God been so utterly charmed by a mortal. Before he realizes it, hes fallen deeply for you. You are a precious, glimmering pearl in this cold and dreary sea that he vows to keep safe.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU T..
⋆。°✩ ;; Xavier, Rafayel
⋆。°✩ ;; You ask them to pretend to be your boyfriend. Just for a day.
⋆。°✩;; Part 2: Zayne here !! || Part 3: Sylus, Caleb here!!
⋆。°✩ ;; Modern AU! No such thing as evols and such.
XAVIER
It started two days ago. You had chatted Xavier late in the afternoon, while he was doom scrolling on his phone.
two days ago.
you: hey, xav, this is random but
you: can i ask for a favor?
Xavier: ? sure. What is it?
you: can you be my boyfriend?
Xavier drops his phone on his face.
you: Pretend!!!
you: Pretend Boyfriend!!
Xavier stares at your next message. okay. Ouch. Just a bit. Getting a message like that, while having a crush on your apartment neighbor, friend, movie night buddy? But he replies.
Xavier: … what do U mean?
you: okay, hold on I’ll explain it on call.
Present.
An invitation to a wedding to a cousin that you can’t exactly make excuses for since according to them “You missed so many family gatherings” (on purpose), that you haaavve to make up for it by coming to their wedding.
And you NEEDED a plus one. Code word for boyfriend so they could stop badgering you over your love life.
And so, you asked Xavier, your friend, your apartment neighbor, and also the only person you could think of to ask that as a favor.
Over facetime, you were basically begging for him to agree, anyways.
(“PLEASE, Xav. I’ll do anything!! Just pretend to be my boyfriend for a day, just for the wedding, and then we’re good!” He gives you a skeptical look. You smile sheepishly.)
He agreed. Xavier couldn’t help it– not when you threw him the puppy-eyed look. He folded SO quick, so easily. If Jeremiah was here, he would laugh at his face.
So now, here you are, sitting in his car, dressed up so pretty and so beautiful that when he saw you, Xavier froze on the spot and had to fight back the blush that colored his face.
“Xav? Hello?” You wave a hand over his face, and he snaps back into reality, turning to you. “Yeah? Sorry, spaced out.”
You give him a look, but shrug. “Okay… Anyways, I have the venue location.” You show him the address, “Do you know where? I can set up Maps…”
“Nah, It’s good. I got it.” and he starts the car. If you found him hot at that moment, that is something you will unpack after the wedding.
The way there is you giving him a rundown of everyone in the family– who to avoid, who to tolerate, and who has your approval of “chill and will call back if ever”. He takes it like a champ, nodding and asking questions and mentally taking notes.
“And if they ask about us?” He glances at you, and you smile. Xavier wants to kiss you right then and there. He holds back. Pretend boyfriend, he reminds himself.
“Just say we became friends and then boom, romance.” You shrug. “We don’t have to go overboard in the story. We’ve been friends for a while so you can answer whatever other questions they can have. Can you wing it, if ever?” You turn to him and Xavier nods.
“Yeah. I’ll… I'll try.”
“Okay. I’ll try to not leave you alone. I don’t want you meeting the…” You shudder. “Terror side of the family.”
Xavier chuckles. “We’ll be fine.”
It was not fine. The moment the reception began, Xavier was bombarded with pushy aunts, curious cousins, and teasing uncles. And you.. Were nowhere to be found.
To be fair, he can see you on the other end of the venue, but you were also surrounded by family (that you like), and Xavier really doesn’t want to disturb that wide smile of yours just to deal with the family you don’t like. So– just to see you smile, he manages.
But then he sees someone, a guy, you haven’t mentioned take his place next to you. He squints, a frown on his lips. Who is that?
His question is quickly answered by one of the aunts chattering to her husband. “Isn’t that Ryle?”
“Hm?” The uncle to look over in your direction. Xavier tries to keep his attention to them. “Ah. Yes. The guy who liked [Name] before she moved away?”
“....” Xavier’s frown deepens.
“Wasn’t he her ex? Why is he here?” Xavier freezes, and he eyes the guy closely, watching his every move from across the room. Ryle is standing too close to you, smiling and laughing along with your group and his jaw tightens.
“Ah, he’s friends with the groom.” The aunt shrugs, and the conversation shifts over to the bride and the groom but Xavier tunes that part out, his eyes zeroing on you.
You, so pretty in that dress and that guy named Ryle moves closer to you and rests an arm over your shoulder. You make a face, one that tells him of how uncomfortable you are and—
He doesn’t know how he got to the other side of the room so quickly, but he smiles politely to your cousins who excitedly greet him. You meet his gaze, wide eyed and confused, but you smile and he can feel his chest tighten at your smile.
“Xavi.” His smile turns genuine, and he can see Ryle (said in disgust) give him a look when he maneuvers you away from him so he can hold you to him. His hand is on his waist and he pulls you to him, and you let him, Ryles arms dropping away from your shoulders in the process. “What brings you here?”
Xavier smiles, “I missed you.”
That got a barrage of squeals from your cousins. One comments, “Oh my god, [Name], maybe you’ll be next in the wedding calendar!” and another goes “Awsh, I wish my boyfriend was that sweet.”
You flush at Xaviers words, and at the comments, lightly punching him. “I was gone for ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes too long.” He’s not even pretending at this point, even though you think that he’s a good actor, and you huff out a laugh. You miss the way Xavier gives Ryle a suspicious side eye, pulling you farther from him.
“[Name]?” Ryle forces out a laugh, eyes flickering from Xavier’s hand on your waist to you.“ Who’s this?”
You smile, polite and strained, and Xavier subtly glares at him. “My boyfriend, Xavier. Xavi, this is Ryle, an old friend.”
“Ah, ‘s that so? It’s nice to see you, Ryle.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Ryle gives Xavier a dirty look, and he returns it, proceeding to give you a kiss to your cheek as if to prove his point.
That does it, and Ryle looks away from you two, quickly excusing himself from the group.
Xavier grins in victory, and glances at you.
You’re red, eyes wide as you look at him, but you couldn’t break the facade now, could you? So you play it off with a smile and a laugh, opting to instead deal with the squeals of your cousins at his action instead of questioning his actions right then and there. Xavier watches you smile with them, and he internally decides that maybe this pretend boyfriend isn’t it.
Because he’s too jealous for his own good, you are too pretty for him.
Yeah. Xavier thinks as he stares at you, unaware of the soft look on his face. I don’t think pretending is good for me anymore.
At that moment, he decides to confess on the way home.
Pretend boyfriend? Yeah- no.
He’d much rather be your actual boyfriend.
RAFAYEL
The moment you asked him in the middle of him working on an art piece, he turned to you and grinned. Wide.
“You want me to be your boyfriend?”
You roll your eyes. “Pretend. Pretend boyfriend.”
“For how long?”
“A day.” You pause. “Maybe. I don’t know if my parents are going to make me stay longer than I should, so let's say two? Or three.” You turn to Rafayel, eyes pleading. “Raf, please say yes I’m going insane. If I go to that family gathering without a boyfriend again, I’m going to be subjected to 10 aunts, 10 uncles and at least 15 prissy cousins asking me why I’m so single. And I would go home with a stack of cards with their “suggested” boyfriends I can get. Like?? Can they get out of my business?”
That makes him laugh a bit too loud, and he gets a punch to the arm for that.
“Ow- Ow!! Okay, okay! Yeah sure. I’ll be your pretend boyfriend for how long you need me to.”
You beam. “Really? Oh my God, thank you SO much, Raf. I promise I’ll make it up to you when this is over.” In your excitement, you pull him in for a tight hug, smile so wide it hurts the muscles in your face.
You miss the reddening of his ears, and the fond smile that graces his lips.
“Yeah. You better.”
You glare at him and Rafayel just laughs.
It’s a family gathering, one where you had to give Rafayel of your aunts and uncles, cousins. He made a list. A LIST. You gave him an A+ for effort. There was even a quiz night where you gave questions about them and he answered them. Got them all flawlessly.
Dedicated pretend boyfriend here! The gathering was held at a family member's house, and you told him to dress semi-formal. “They tend to go all out in gatherings like these, so you have to be in semi-formal, or something.”
Rafayel nods, “Alright. What color are you wearing then?”
“Eh?” You blink at him.
He blinks. “I mean, we can go matching? Won’t that help the act?”
“Oh. Right. Yeah.” You ignore the fluttering in your chest. “Uhmm, just a blue dress, I guess? With a ribbon.”
“Gotcha.”
You give him a look, “You don’t have something to match that, right? You really don’t have to go through lengths just to match my outfit.”
Rafayel just grins at you, boyish grin, eyes crinkling, and you want to punch yourself in the face for thinking he looked cute. “Nah. I want to match with you.”
Oh fuck all, you want to kiss him.
You’re kind of regretting asking him to be your pretend boyfriend, because you're pretty sure falling for him in the process was not the plan.
“I don't want to be here.” You grumble to Rafayel. He’s dressed in a dark blue formal top and white pants, matching your light blue and white dress with a cute white bow pulling your hair up. He chuckles, eyes crinkling at you. “[Name], we haven’t even entered yet.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to meet those people! I mean really, Sarah? She’s going to be on my ass for the rest of the night. She hates me for some reason and I lost all the care to even think about why.”
Your pretend boyfriend just laughs, winking at you “Don’t worry, cutie. I’ll do my best to get her off your ass.”
You blush at the nickname but you give him an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Raf.”
“Babe.”
“What.” You blink. He grins at you, wide and innocent.
“I’m your boyfriend, right?” He pokes your side. “You’re supposed to call me babe.”
“Right.” You huff. “Okay, babe.” He grins at that, and extends his arm. “Shall we go in?”
You make a face, but nod. “Yeah. Let's go in.”
It’s been okay for the first hour. Introductions were made, and Rafayel was flawless in answering all the questions, you nearly fold and silently wish he really is your boyfriend. The problem arises an hour later, and you were whisked away from Rafayel’s side to talk to your close family. The ones you actually like, and he stays back at the couch, wanting to give you some privacy to catch up with them.
Unfortunately, he senses someone head over to him, and he feels the couch dip. He glances at them to check if the person is here to talk to him and–
“You must be [Name]’s boyfriend!” Damn. Okay. It's a cousin. Dark hair, high pitched voice, fake smile– ah. Sarah. Rafayel nods, and smiles wide and sweet. “Yep! That’s me.”
Sarah gives him a rundown gaze, and his smile tightens but he nevertheless appears friendly. She gives him a smirk, tilting her head at him. “Really? What do you see in her?”
His smile drops and he furrows his brows at her. Irritation and annoyance begins to stir in his chest. “What?”
She continues, tone innocent, but motives certainly obvious. “I mean, like, her? Really? You could do SO much better.” She eyes him, smiling sweetly. “Did she pay you to be here, or what? I wouldn’t put it past her to do that.”
That does it, and Rafayel’s face hardens.
“How dare you say that about her.” His voice is harsh. “You may be her cousin or whatever, but you do not have the right to say that about my wonderful girlfriend.” His gaze is serious, and it's obvious that he’s ticked.
Sarah blinks, and nervously chuckles. “Whaat? C’mon I was just stating facts–”
“No. [Name] is a beautiful woman, self-made and confident and I am lucky that she even looked in my direction.” Rafayel doesn’t pause, nor slow down, completely annoyed with the rude insinuations that she made. “She is an amazing woman and an amazing girlfriend. It’s no surprise that you’re jealous of her.”
She gasps, brows furrowing as she tries to retort, but Rafayel continues. “And if you think I’m going to sit here and listen to you rudely insult my girlfriend, then you are very wrong, Karen.”
Sarah turns red, and she stands up from the couch, furious. “My name is Sarah!” And she turns and stomps away.
He just watches her with furrowed brows and a frown, before signing back into the couch.
“Wow.”
The shocked tone of your voice makes him jolt up and he turns to see you standing right behind the couch, eyes wide with drinks on both hands. “I’m… wow, Raf. Thats….”
He covers up the surprise with a grin, “Hey cutie. When’d you get here?” He pats the spot on the couch next to you
“Since Sarah asked if I paid you to be here.” You blink, and take a seat next to him while handing him the drink.
“Oh yeah. She’s a bitch.”
You laugh. “Yeah. I don’t like her…” You trail off, eyeing Rafayel closely, and he hums, smiling as he tilts his head.
“What’s wrong, cutie?”
“.. Did you mean that?” You quietly ask, fingers curling on the handle of the cup nervously. “I mean, like, you were very passionate about defending me and…”
“Hey.” Rafayel taps your knee, getting you to lift your gaze. Your breath catches at the serious look in his eyes and he brushes a hand to your cheek. “I was serious. You’re an amazing woman, [Name]. I really was lucky that you even looked in my direction before, hell, you decided to be friends with me.”
You flush, but he continues, “And anyone will be lucky to have you as a girlfriend.”
A shy smile curls on your lips, and you point out his words, “Look at you? Raf, why would you even think that? I mean, you were a hotshot back in college and…”
His thumb caresses your cheek, and you feel your heartbeat beat a bit faster… then he pulls away and grins at you. You blink, he winks, “I’ll tell you later. We still have an act to play, cutie. Though maybe after we talk later, it won’t be an act, yeah?”
You gape at him, mind racing as you process the meaning of his words, then you flush a bright red.
⋆。°✩;; Zayne
⋆。°✩;; You ask them to pretend to be your boyfriend. Just for a day.
⋆。°✩;; i will post sylus and calebs the moment i finish proofreading them i promise
⋆。°✩;; Part 1: Rafayel, Xavier || Part 3: Sylus, Caleb
⋆。°✩;; Modern AU! No such thing as evols and such.
ZAYNE
It started as a joke.
You were complaining to Zayne about your parents’ constant questions of “When are you getting a boyfriend?” and you groaned, “Zayne, you should pretend to be my boyfriend for a day just so I could get them off my back.” You don’t notice the way he freezes for a split second, eyeing you behind his glasses. Instead, you giggle, covering your eyes with your arm. “Yeah. Nevermind. I don’t want to bother you with my family issues.”
Nothing else follows that comment, but it got worse when invitations for family gatherings kept popping up and you were always barraged with questions of a lover or a boyfriend or a girlfriend. You nearly threw your phone when Christmas time rolled around.
In all of those moments, Zayne would watch you grumble, groan, and turn to him with furrowed brows. “Zayne, we should date just for a day.”
It is not good for the heart of a man who loved you since you were kids.
December rolls around, and comes another round of your frustrations— and Zayne, dear Zayne, in hopes of finally calming his heart from your constant jokes of him being your fake boyfriend, just turns to you, brows raised as he carefully takes of his glasses, folding before placing it on the coffee table and goes, “If you need my help that much, [Name], I do not mind doing it.”
You freeze, mid-throw of your phone, and stare at Zyne, before bursting out into a loud, “REALLY?!”
Then comes the rundown. Aunts, uncles, cousins- it's not like he hasn’t met your parents, so that was great. He still remembers the little things about your parents from being neighbors with them.
“Do they still like wine?” Zayne asked you in the middle of the rundown. You hum, and nod. “Yeah. Dad still likes Red wine, and Mom likes the sparkling ones, specifically.”
“Alright.”
A week before the family gathering, Zayne calls you. You pick up, voice teasing as a small smirk grows on your face. “Yeah? What's up, future boyfriend?”
There’s a pause on the other end, and you fear you scared him off but there's a small cough, then “Ah. Well. May I ask what you are wearing for the gathering?”
“Oh! Something pink, I guess?” He hears you fumbling around. Maybe looking for the dress you were talking about. “Yeah. Pink. Why?”
“Do you mind if I match with you?”
“What?” You pause. “Really? Pink?”
“Yes, well, I do think Pink is a flattering color on me.”
He hears you snort, and smiles. He can hear the smile on your face when you respond, “Okay, Doctor. Whatever you say.”
You walked in that family gathering with a gentleman dressed in pink, one of his hands holding yours and the other holding the wine your parents like. They were enamoured the moment they saw him. I mean, Asian parents dream’ right? Safe to say you silenced any more questions of a lover. Instead, you unlocked a new level: marriage. The questions made you want to melt into the floor and never resurface.
Zayne, however, was a good sport, totally answering all the questions with ease. It’s a good thing the questions died down until they started probing about your relationship.
“How long have you been together?” An aunt asked, smiling wide. Zayne smiles, looking at you with soft, loving eyes, you question if this was even a pretending situation. “We’ve been friends since we were younger. We just recently got together, about four months ago.”
Okay. That’s good. That’s according to the fake scenario you both made up–
“Ooh! When did you realize you liked [Name]?” A cousin asked, eyes twinkling as she looked back from you then to Zayne. You pause. Blinking slowly, you turn to Zayne, suddenly interested. Hey, this was a question for him, and you wanted to see how well he fares! “Yeah, Zayne, when did you realize you liked me?”
He doesn’t look at you, but you notice the way he softened. “Since we were little.” His answer was immediate, and there’s a gentle tilt to his smile.
You look at him. And your chest constricts.
He’s genuine. Sincere, and when he looks at you at that moment? His eyes are loving– his hand on your waist is gentle, and his smile?
Everything starts to make sense. How Zayne doesn’t say anything when you come over unannounced, how willing he is to join you in your schemes just so he could be around you, how quickly he responds to your texts and that soft gaze he has every time he looks at you, which you always chalked up to your imagination?
Everything clicks. And you look at him, eyes wide as realization washes over you.
Oh.
He tilts his head. “Darling? Are you alright?”
Oh.
You clear your throat, trying to calm the sudden rush of heat on your cheeks. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. I’m fine.” And you grin at him, “Wow, Zayne, I didn’t know you liked me that long.” You tease, poking his side like you didn’t just realize Zayne, your childhood friend Zayne, your doctor and longtime friend Zayne, likes you.
He hums lowly, “I think you meant love. I loved you for a long time before we got together.”
And you melt. Your voice drops to a whisper, “Are you lying, Zayne? Is that true?”
He meets your eyes, serious, soft– gentle. Your heart stops. “If I kiss you in front of your family, will you believe me?”
You swallow, eyes flickering to his lips then to his eyes and you shoot your shot. “Yeah.”
There’s a short silence, and then he leans in. The moment his lips make contact with yours, you completely forget you were in a family gathering. It was a short kiss, about five seconds, but the moment you pulled away and you met his flushed gaze?
Yeah. yeah he’s definitely not just your pretend boyfriend now.
⋆。°✩;; Sylus, Caleb
⋆。°✩;; You ask them to pretend to be your boyfriend. Just for a day.
⋆。°✩;; Part 1: Xavier, Rafayel Here!! || Part 2: Zayne
⋆。°✩;; Modern AU! No such thing as evols and such.
SYLUS
A couples only VIP event for a franchise you like. You don’t get why they're even having this event- but there is a limited edition merch you REALLY want and who else to ask but rich, black card holder, Sylus who is additionally, a hot man and also a friend of yours?
Why not ask him?
“You know, I could just order it online, or get it delivered to you–” You cut him off with a shake of your head. “No! It’s for the experience, Sylus! The Ex. Per. Ience!” You emphasize your words with claps. He doesn’t seem to get you, with the way he raises his brow, but Sylus sighs. “Okay. Alright. Run it over with me again?”
You beam, then you launch into another long, excited talk, missing the way Sylus smiles at the shine in your eyes.
He snaps out of his staring when you turn back to him, grin wide and expecting. “So?”
Sylus blinks, and agrees, despite the later half of your talk coming in one ear and out the other because he was a bit too preoccupied with staring at you.. You throw your hands around him in excitement, screaming a “Thank you!” Before you pull away to pull out the website to grab tickets before it runs out.
You’re dressed to impress, definitely. Your favorite fit with additional merch of the fandom hanging off of your figure, to match the event, and Sylus is, of course, looking sharp in his black polo shirt, rolled up to his forearms and white pants. You comment that he looks like he’s going on a fancy date, ignoring the fact you find him terribly, irrevocably, hot at the moment.
He hums, and grins at you. Cheeky, mischief swimming in his eyes as he looks at you, “Well, this isn’t exactly fancy, but I have to dress for the occasion.”
You blink. Your cheeks flush red, and you swat his arm. “This isn’t a date!” You hiss.
Sylus chuckles, “But I thought it was? Y’know. For your merch. For the Ex. Per. Ience?” You glower at him, but you couldn’t exactly refute him. You did ask him to come here with you and pose as a couple, just for you to grab the limited edition merch. With his card. Because he offered. Who are you to refuse when he literally forced you to take it by tricking you after you resisted multiple occasions?
You huff out a sigh. “Yeah. Okay. You’re right. Pretend date, though.”
There’s a slight twitch of displeasure on his lips, but he nods. “Mhm. Got it.”
Throughout the event, you get multiple compliments. “I love your outfit!” A girl smiles at you, then glances over at Sylus, gasping slightly before leaning over to you, “Oh my god is that your boyfriend?”
You flush, and nod. “Oh. Uhm. Yeah! He is.”
“He’s lucky to have you.”
Sylus glances over, and smiles, having heard the whisper, and interuppts with a proud, “I know.” He looks at you, and you flush a deeper red. The girl giggles at his response, nudging you cheekily while you smile.
“What a cute couple!” (Sylus smiles wider at that.) She laughs, and waves over her own boyfriend. “Do you mind if we take a picture with you? And you socials! I would love to talk to you more.”
You beam and nod. “Of course!”
When you take the picture, you find yourself leaning into Sylus, his hand on your waist as you pose for the camera.
Following that, you exchange socials and part ways with the other couple. The event takes most of the morning, and you find yourself sitting on a bench by the venue. Sylus had brought you there the moment he heard you begin talking about the ache in your feet from all the standing and the walking, and now here you are.
Your bags are filled to the brim with merch.
It’s quiet for a moment before he speaks up.
“We should go to more of these events.”
You give Sylus a weirded out look. He smirks. “But as a real couple, y’know?”
“Wha–” You splutter, eyes wide.
“The people we met already think we’re a cute couple.” He says with a seemingly nonchalant energy, smirking. “So why not make it true?”
You’re frozen in place, mind racing. “You’re joking.” You manage to say, face already flushed.
“No.” He turns to you then, the insufferable smug smirk on his face still present, but theres a seriousness in his eyes that really makes you think. “I’m not. I’m serious.”
You blink. Then you notice the redness of his ears, the nervous opening and closing of his hand by his side and you realize that he really is serious, and that despite the smirk and the nonchalance, he’s very nervous.
“You… like me?” You say, voice quiet. He nods, slowly. “For a long time now.”
“...Really?”
“Really.”
A slow smile begins to make its way on your face, and you giggle. His eyes flicker down from your eyes to your lips, and Sylus finds himself smiling at your giggle. “Are you laughing at me?”
“No- well, I’m just thinking that you- well, look cute.” You giggle. He smiles wider, leaning over to you as his voice turns soft.
“(Name), I like you.”
“I know.” You smile. “I like you too.*
He blinks. “You do?”
“I do.”
Sylus smiles. “Then can I kiss you?”
“Shoot your shot, pretty boy.”
He laughs and leans in.
CALEB
To be fair– this started because neither of you cared about the rumors that fly around. So imagine your surprise when you were invited to an afterwork night out with some of your work friends, and was specifically told to “Invite your boyfriend! We’d love to get to know the guy.”
You had to pause, blink, and stare at them before they offer a tidbit that makes you realize they were talking about Caleb, your childhood friend and best friend, also conveniently your roommate. (“The tall, hot guy with pretty eyes who always brings you lunch! Yeah, you’re very lucky [name]!”)
When you told him about the invite minutes later, phone in hand, brows furrowed, disbelief laced in your voice, he just laughed. Laughed.
You sputter, “Are you– Did you just laugh!? Caleb!!”
He’s still laughing, voice cracking through the speaker and a pout plays on your lips as he wheezes. “God, Pips! That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard this week.”
“I’m serious, Caleb! They want you over after work for a night out. Can you believe that?”
“I’m serious too.” He lets out a snort. You balance your phone between your cheek and your shoulder as you pack your bag. “I can go. Besides, it’ll be funny to play along with it, yeah?”
You pause. “Are you doing it just for the shits and giggles?” You can hear him grin on the other side of the phone.
“Yeah.”
You groan, then sigh. “Yeah. Yeah you’re right. It’ll be funny.”
“Great! Now hurry up, pips, I’m waiting for you downstairs.”
Swinging your bag over your shoulder, you hum. “Did you bring takeout?”
“Always.”
You grin. “I’m on my way.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“Plan?” Caleb raises a brow at you, mouth full of his hamburger. You wave a french fry at him, “y’know. What do we do during the work night out thing?”
He shrugs. “Act like a couple?
You make a face. “And how do we do that?”
“... Just act normal?”
“We barely look like a couple, Caleb.” You steal a few of his french fries. He lets you.
“If they assumed I was your boyfriend, I think that’s enough proof that we look like a couple, Pips.”
You stare at him. Then shrug. “Okay. Sure.”
-
“So where is he?” Tara asks as you head down to the ground floor. Your other work friends turn to you, and you smile. “He’s downstairs, waiting.”
“Ohhhh.” You see the grins on their faces and you roll your eyes. “Really, guys? You invited him.”
“Yeah, but he always waits for you.” Tara says with a smile.
“And bring you lunch when you forget it.” Another pipes up.
“Yeah! And whenever he calls during breaks, you light up like a Christmas tree.”
At that, you freeze, your cheeks feeling a bit hot at what your friend notices. “No– really? Does my face really do that?”
“Pfft- yeah! We always know it’s him because you literally perk up.” Tara giggles.
“Wh-” You pause. Really??? Do you really-???
A voice interrupts your racing thoughts, and you look up. “Hey, Pips.”
Caleb’s leaning on the wall by the door, dressed in a button up and slacks- and he’s smiling when he spots you. He waves, and when he sees your friends behind you, he ducks his head in greeting to your friends, who grin and greet him back.
Then you feel it- your entire body perk up and despite yourself, you’re grinning. “Hi.”
Your friends snicker. You ignore them.
He takes your bag, swinging it over his shoulder and tilts his head at you and your friends. “so, where to?”
“Right!” Tara claps her hands. “So there’s this really nice place downtown-!"
-
You separate from Tara and Simone by midnight. Caleb is holding your heels, and had switched them out with sandals he brought fully knowing you would complain about your heels. He’s only listening to you ramble, and you mention something about how your friends were assuming a lot of things and that they don’t know any better. He speaks before he could stop himself. “Youre friends do know better than you.” Caleb hums. You furrow your brows and glare at him. “What do you mean by that?”
“They know how much I love you, and you don't."
The words hang there between you like they’ve weight. Even the night sounds seem to dip for a second—like the world is politely pretending not to listen.
You stop walking.
Caleb doesn’t. Well, not immediately, anyway.
He takes two more steps before he realizes you’ve gone still, then turns back slowly, heels dangling from his fingers like he forgot he was holding them at all. “Pips—”
“What did you just say?” Your voice comes out quieter than you mean it to.
Caleb blinks. Once. Then again. Like he’s replaying it in his head and realizing, too late, that it’s too loud for the space it landed in. “…Nothing,” he tries.
You stare at him.
He exhales through his nose. “Okay. Not nothing.”
Silence stretches again.
This time, it’s not the city that feels loud—it’s your heartbeat.
Caleb scratches the back of his neck, suddenly less sure of himself in a way you’re not used to seeing. “I said your friends know how much I love you. And you don’t.”
There it is again.
Not a joke. Not a tease.
Just… Caleb.
You open your mouth, then close it. “That’s— that’s not a normal thing to say.”
He gives a small shrug, like he’s already accepted that about himself. “Yeah. I know.”
“You can’t just say that like it’s—like it’s a fact.”
“It is a fact,” he says simply.
Your breath catches, sharp and unhelpful.
Caleb notices. Of course he does.
His expression softens a little. “Pips…”
“Don’t ‘Pips’ me right now,” you mutter, but there’s no heat behind it. Not really.
He steps closer, slow this time, like he’s approaching something he’s afraid might disappear if he moves too fast. The streetlight catches in his hair, in the faint crease between his brows.
“I didn’t mean to make it weird,” he says.
“You didn’t make it weird,” you shoot back immediately, then pause. “Okay— you did. But not like… bad weird.”
That gets a quiet huff of laughter out of him.
A real one.
Relief flickers across his face for half a second before something else settles in again—something more serious.
“I just meant…” he starts, then stops, like he’s trying to find the version of himself that doesn’t sound like he’s about to ruin everything.
Then he goes for it anyway.
“I’ve been in love with you for a long time.”
The air feels like it shifts.
Your fingers tighten slightly at your side.
Caleb keeps going, like if he stops now he might lose the nerve entirely.
“And I think everyone can see it except you. That’s what I meant.”
You swallow. “That’s not true.”
He tilts his head. “It’s not?”
You think of Tara. Of Simone. Of the teasing. The “always waits for you,” the “lights up like a Christmas tree,” the way your friends said it like it was obvious.
You hate that your silence answers for you.
Caleb watches you carefully. Then, softer—almost careful enough to break himself on—
“I’m not asking you to say anything back,” he adds quickly. “I just… I couldn’t keep hearing you call this normal when it’s not normal for me.”
Your chest tightens again, worse this time, because it doesn’t feel like pressure—it feels like truth pressing outward.
“Caleb,” you say, and his name sounds different in your mouth now.
He straightens a little at that. Waiting.
You look down at the sandals in his hand. At how he brought them without being asked. At how he’s always been like that—already there, already ready, already yours in all the ways that never had a label.
Then you look back up.
“You’re really bad at timing,” you say weakly.
That makes him blink.
“…Yeah?”
You nod once. “Yeah. Because now I’m thinking about it.”
A beat.
Then, carefully—“Is that a bad thing?”
You let out a breath, half laugh, half something else entirely.
“No,” you admit. “It’s just… unfair.”
His shoulders loosen a fraction. “I can work with unfair.”
That earns a real laugh from you this time, small but real, and something in his expression changes at the sound—like it lands exactly where he’s always wanted it to.
You shift your weight slightly, then glance away first, because looking at him too long suddenly feels dangerous in a way it never used to.
“…So,” you say, quieter now. “You’ve been in love with me for a long time.”
“Yeah.”
“And you just… decided to drop that after a work night out?”
He snorts. “I didn’t decide. It kind of just—came out.”
“That’s your defense?”
“It’s not a defense,” he says, stepping just a little closer again. “It’s an explanation.”
You steal a glance at him again.
He’s looking at you like he always has, apparently. You’re just noticing it now.
“Okay,” you say slowly. “And what now?”
Caleb doesn’t answer right away.
Instead, he lifts his free hand slightly, hovering—not touching you yet, still giving you the choice he probably should’ve asked for years ago.
“That depends,” he says quietly. “On whether you want me to keep acting like your friend… or if you want me to stop pretending I’m only that.”
Your throat feels tight again.
But this time, it’s not from surprise.
It’s from the realization that nothing about him has ever really been pretending.
You step forward first, and tilt your head up at him. Enough to brush your lips against his.
Caleb freezes for a split second, before his hands find your waist, deepening the kiss further.
Sylus’s voice from behind you makes you tense, looking around to make sure none of your coworkers are around before turning to face him.
“I’m wearing my uniform Sylus, I don’t look cute at all. What are you doing here?” He’s leaning against his car casually, as if it’s just another day.
“Is it so wrong for me to check up on you?” He closes the distance between you two, hands coming up to rest on your waist.
"Sylus..." Your tone carries a warning, but his smirk only widens. His hands move up, brushing the buttons of your shirt. You almost hate the way he overwhelms you, both in stature and sheer aura. He latches onto your desire so easily, pulling it out of the locked box you keep it in.
Before you even realize it, your body is laid down on the cool leather seats, Sylus's heated body pressed against yours. He manages to slip his shirt off in the cramped space, but when you move to unbutton yours, he stops you.
"Allow me." He smirks, only unbuttoning the first three buttons of your shirt before pulling away.
"You don't want to take it off all the way?" Your question makes Sylus hum, undoing your pants and just barely lowering them. You're practically fully clothed, and he's never looked more excited.
"I'm a big fan of your uniform, sweetie." He grins, leaning down to kiss you once more.
"Seriously? It turns you on to be reminded of my job? The job which is, technically, to arrest you."
"It turns me on greatly, kitten. To be reminded that your loyalty, above all else, lies with me. Truly, such a sweet sentiment." He's clearly gloating, but there's no real flaw in his logic.
"...I'm gonna arrest you after this."
"I could wear the handcuffs now if you'd like?"
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