authors note: hellooo! someone had requested for a soft nate jacobs piece and the draft got deleted so if u were that person i am so sorry but I hope this finds you! :) also I’m so sorry for how long it’s taking me to make these I’ll try to post as consistent as possible! Pls enjoy this one in the meantime!
Tenderness is a Virtue.
The reminiscing air of what was left of summer flew through your window with a soft sound.
Closing your textbook, you let out a small sigh of relief. Wanting to get enough hours of sleep before class the following day, you shifted your body and let it finally be at ease.
Though none of it lasted long.
The soft ping of your phone rang through the room and its soft light luminated a tiny section of your bedroom ceiling.
Groaning softly you moved your body to scan the screen.
“Wyd?.” -nate
You stared at the message for a moment, but ultimately settled that you were to answer him back in the morning as you moved back to your previous position.
Again, it didn’t last long before your phone rang softly.
Letting out a nosier groan this time, you moved to answer the phone ready with an irked greeting to whom you knew was on the other line.
“I’m outside.” Was the first and only thing he said in a soft hurried voice before he hung up.
Agitated and incredibly confused you quickly put on a pair of slippers and looked outside your bedroom window.
From there, you spotted Nate’s truck parked right infront of your house.
Grabbing your phone you dialed him back.
He picked up on the first ring.
“What the hell are you doing here?!” We’re the first words you spoke to him that night.
“Well hello to you to moody.” Was what he said and you swore you could hear a smirk in his words.
“Nate it’s 2 in the morning, why the hell are you here-“
“Alright, Jesus fucking Christ calm down a bit, yeah?”
You groaned softly for what seemed like the tenth time of the night.
“Just trust me alright? And get your ass down here, the foods getting cold.” There was the shit eating grin in his voice again.
Your annoyance shifted into curiosity and by the time you were to respond he had hung up.
Grabbing a hoodie and carefully moving to the front door as to not wake your parents, you reached the front door and stepped outside.
Running carefully to his truck you reached the passenger door and opened it.
“Hi.” Was the only thing he said as he watched your soft gaze fall onto the objects in the passenger seat.
Your gaze shifted to meet his eyes, “hey.”
“You gonna come in or are you gonna stand there looking at me like that?” He asked with a soft teasing tone in his voice.
Hesitantly you exhaled softly.
“I don’t know Nate, there’s class tomorrow and I can’t risk not sleeping just because you decided to go on a joy ride.” You said in a slightly annoyed as he took it all in meanwhile you rambled.
“And even if I wanted to, if my parents see that I’m not home they’ll ground me-”
“Please?”
You turned your eyes to stare at his soft expression.
“I know it’s late as shit right now and I’m sorry for waking you up but I really need you right now, so if you could just get in the fucking car please.” He said in a pitiful tone.
Part of you felt a slight sense to be there for him, and the other small fraction felt like slamming the car door shut.
With a resigned sigh you slid into the passenger seat.
He smiled softly at you as you buckled your seatbelt.
“Thank you.” He whispered afraid his voice would break the brittle silence between you two.
You turned to him and nodded softly, a silent reassurance.
“So where are wo going?” You asked.
“It’s a surprise.” He said grinning and starting the car.
“Nate.” You groaned his name softly and scrunched your nose at his words.
“Nope, not telling you, but relax alright? All you have to do is sit your pretty little butt in that seat.” He said still grinning and teasing.
You shook your head smiling softly and leaning back into your seat.
———
After a short drive, he turned onto a side street, then another, weaving through the city until you reached a small, secluded rooftop parking lot with a stunning view of the city skyline. Nate parked the car and turned to you, eyes softening as he looked at you.
“Come on,” he said, his voice gentler than usual as he hopped out of the car. You followed, your curiosity growing as he opened the trunk and pulled out a small basket.
He caught your confused expression and offered a quiet smile. "Trust me," he said, guiding you to the edge of the rooftop where he spread out a blanket on the cool concrete.
"Picnic on the roof?" you asked, a bit surprised by the thoughtfulness behind it.
"Picnic on the roof," he confirmed, carefully unpacking the basket. He handed you a sandwich, his fingers brushing against yours briefly, and you noticed how deliberate and careful his movements were.
“Thank you.” You whispered sweetly.
He nods softly with a small smile on his face. “I know we’ve been tiring yourself out lately so I wanted to do something for us, figured we could use a break even if it’s just a night,” he admitted dropping normal smug tone to a more tender one towards you.
You couldn’t help but smile at the thought of him planing this all out.
“This is really nice, thank you,” you said, your heart warming.
His lips pulled upwards into an adoring smile, “I’m glad, I was worried you were going to think it was dumb or something.”
You shook your head softly as you bit into the sandwich.
You both ate and fell into conversation, chatting about everything from school to football.
“You know we have a game next Friday,” he spoke.
You nodded your head, “yeah, I heard. Biggest game of the year right?”
“Yeah,” he replied, his voice a bit softer than usual.
He paused for a moment as to decide how to say his next words. “You should come.”
You blinked, a bit surprised. “To the game?”
He nodded, looking almost shy for a moment, a side of Nate you weren’t used to seeing.
There was something in his tone, a quiet sincerity that made your chest tighten a little. “Really?” you asked, wanting to make sure you hadn’t misunderstood.
“Yeah,” he said, his eyes meeting yours. “It’d be nice to have someone there who... who actually cares, you know?”
You thought your heart would actually explode at that point hearing how he aches for you to be there.
“I’ll be there,” you said softly, your voice barely above a whisper.”
He smiled, a genuine smile. Thanks, it’ll be nice seeing you in the stands instead of mad at me,” he says teasingly.
You shook your head softly and laughed softly, “you’re horrible,” you said still shaking your head and hiding the soft tint that rose to your cheeks.
———
Pulling up to your house and turning off the engine, Nate turned to you, the soft radio music filling the space.
You smiled softly at him and reached to open the car door to exit but turned to look at him with a soft smile.
“You know you can’t just show up to my house and make me a picnic every time we fight,” you said softly and teasingly.
He smiled softly and reached to cup your cheek to bring your face towards him.
“I know,” he said in a whisper as your faces were inches apart.
“But,” he said as he got closer.
“There’s always painting, museums, a movie, and I suppose if everything else fails I’ll just do this,” he said as his gaze fell to your lips while he held both your cheeks softly and pulled them so your lips met his.
The kiss was soft and tender, no lust, just you and him.
As you pulled away softly you peck right below his lip lightly.
“You’re dumb,” you said in a whisper tone.
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be sweet girl.” He said with an adoring smile.
