Muffin-top Mornings
Crosshair x Tulip Caulfield || @clonexocweek
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Summary: After another late night hookup, Crosshair lets Tulip stay the night. His morning doesn't go the way he thought it would. Turns out, it was pretty nice after all.
Warnings and Tags: Modern au, Swearing, Mentions of sex, (barely) friends with benefits, Two shitheads ignoring they're in love, Crosshairs being immature
The night prior had Crosshair staying up till three in the morning. It had been around midnight when he'd sent that text. And it had been around twelve thirty when she was at his front door. It had been around two fifty when they finally finished and laid down to rest.
It had been two fifty five exactly when Crosshair agreed to let her stay the night. He had looked at her worn out frame and decided she was in no state to drive.
Tulip had stayed over before. It wasn't uncommon but he didn't prefer it. It was complicated, those nights were when he got his best sleep. The thing was Crosshair really didn't want her getting the wrong idea. He was already slipping up himself.
Crosshair was always the kind of person to sleep in. He would spend the entire day in bed if he could. It took several alarms to wake him up everyday, or rather afternoon.
But now Crosshair had passed out beside the girl he'd called in the middle of the night for a fuck. Usually, whenever they did this, she was gone by the morning. Whenever she woke up in the middle of the night, she'd grab her belongings and leave. Tulip was never one for staying over on her own terms anyway. They had both been very clear in their arrangement.
Neither one of them were looking for a true relationship. Their relationship was almost strictly explicit, every conversation they shared was surface level pleasantries if that. Crosshair had absolutely no intention of taking anything further than that. She was a 'man eater' and he was a 'player'. There were only so many ways this could go.
At eleven in the morning Crosshairs phone buzzed on his bedside table. He almost always kept it on 'Do Not Disturb' but he'd turned it off when he was expecting Tulips answer the night before. Biggest mistake of his life.
Hunters caller ID showed on the screen as his phone angrily vibrated against his nightstand. Crosshair tried to ignore it but ultimately failed. As soon as the call ended and went to voicemail he was already awake.
Crosshair pulled himself out of his bed with nobody else in it. Just how he expected. He suspected Tulip would have left an hour or two ago by now. He picked up his phone off the counter.
What he hadn't expected was the pair of shoes he saw in his peripheral vision on the floor. His phone felt like it weighed a ton with the speed at which his hand dropped. One thing was for certain, Crosshair didnt wear three inch plaform boots.
...Was she still here?
There was a cemented crease in his brow as he exited his bedroom. Keen ears listened for any noises that could lead him to a conclusion. His socks slid against the floor as he poked around upstairs. It wasn't until he was passing the stairs that he heard a steady hum of noise from down there.
As Crosshair made it down the stairs he could hear it a little better. It was music... and he definitely knew who was playing it. Her love of 1980's hairmetal was something he only learned from the t-shirts he'd taken off of her. Now it appeared the sounds of 'The Saints of Los Angeles' were reverberating through his kitchen.
He turned the corner to find a scene he couldn't wrap his head around. Standing in his kitchen holding a bowl and a whisk was none other than Tulip. She was still wearing her clothes from last night. Her black and blue hair was tied back but Crosshair thought she looked just as good as did last night. It was a thought he shook from his head rather quickly.
He observed the situation in silence. Her back was to him and she hadn't noticed his presence yet. She was still humming along to the music that came from her phone speaker. Crosshair listened to the quiet chiming of the timer on the oven. She'd been making something. She spun around and turned off the timer with a single oven mitt on she reached into the oven and took out a cookie sheet. Crosshair couldn't place what it was. After a few more seconds he decided that maybe he should actually step in.
He slipped into the kitchen, standing only a few steps away. "Morning." He told her calmly. Crosshair made his way to stand before the coffee pot. He knew he had startled her; he could tell by the way he heard her breath hitch and the way she tensed.
Tulip turned to look at him, sliding the tray on the stove. "Hey." She told him simply. As Crosshair turned his back, Tulip tried to analyze his posture. She was trying to read him. "I made muffin-tops" she said trying to explain the mess around her. "I got kind of bored, and I figured you'd start charging me rent if I didn't do something." She said picking up her phone and turning off the music.
"Is that right." Crosshairs hand stopped moving as he reached out into the cabinet for a mug. He processed her words slowly. What the hell was she talking about? He sighed and finished pouring out the rest of his coffee. "What gave you that impression?" Cross asked.
"The fact this is the fifth time you've called me this month." Tulip answered quickly. She put down the oven mitt and let it sit on the counter. "It's the eleventh, Crosshair." She pointed out.
The man stopped stirring his coffee.
Did he really? He thought back on it harder. Maybe he had. He didn't even know what to say. She wasn't wrong.
"So it is." He said turning around with his mug. Crosshair took a sip as he looked at the two baking trays. "I thought you said you made muffins?" He asked her as he stared at them curiously.
"I did." Tulips expression said everything else she didn't. Crosshair could read her easy enough, her nonverbals were very loud. Her expression was asking him if he was stupid.
"Where's the rest of it?" He asked her.
Tulip half heartedly rolled her eyes. "Glad to see you listen when I talk." She said sarcastically. "They're muffin-tops, you know, the top part" she clarified.
Crosshair rolled his eyes as he listened to her. This was exactly the behavior he was trying to avoid. In that exact moment he made the decision that he'd refrain from calling her for the next while. As pretty as she was and as much as he matched her energy, he wasn't doing this to himself.
"They're still hot." Tulip said to him. She shifted on her feet, after looking at him and seeing his expression, she felt a lump in her throat forming.
She could see it written over his face. He was biting back some kind of remark. Tulip knew him well enough to know he was probably pissed off about something. No doubt it was about her.
Tulip knew how he felt about things. She wasn't stupid. It wasn't like she was limiting herself to only him, Tulips roster was more than full. But there was a reason she came every single time he called. Tulip was not a girl who chased, Crosshair was the first time she'd actually gone after a guy before. She had no intention of anything too serious with him. At the very least she thought they could be friends. If he was going to keep calling her in the middle of the night than she thought, they could at least have that. Apparently, she was wrong.
She knew exactly what was coming next. It was Crosshairs usual trademark speech.
"I'm not your boyfriend." Crosshair finally stated as he looked over the scene before him.
"I never said that you were." She shot back near immediately. Tulip began to clean up the kitchen, she'd started before but she tidied up whatever was left.
"You're acting like it."
"I act like this with my friends." She told him. "Just because I do something nice doesn't mean I'm in love with you. Eat your fucking breakfast."
Crosshair was learning what she was like when she was pissed off. It was a very odd display. Sometimes when he would see her, she was sweet as could be. Other times she was snippy and sarcastic. She always warmed up to him in the end. It was almost funny how much of a turn this had all taken.
He stepped closer to her, nearly caging her against the counter. His eyes met hers, he always wondered what the hell could have been going on inside her head. Crosshair placed his mug down to the left of her. Silently he grabbed one of the baked treats off the tray. They were definitely still warm; it was nearly burning his fingertips.
"Thanks." He finally said as he moved himself away from her. Crosshair took a bite and found himself pleasantly surprised.
Tulip actually saw it on his face. She stood there smiling to herself. "You're very welcome." She told him.
The girl finished cleaning up and turned off the oven. Crosshair stood holding his food and his coffee mug, he looked oddly relaxed.
"I mean it." He said again. "Thanks." He repeated. Brown eyes looking over to her.
Tulip knew that was his way of apologizing for his attitude. She took it for what it was worth. She smiled back at him.
"No problem Crosshair." She hummed.
Hi!!! I promise they actually like each other! This is the most quality time they've ever had! They'll get there eventually 🫶🏻