You've been friends with Tyler Durden for years, and find yourself crushing on him. He's always out and about doing things, but you miss having him around. After a few months of not talking with him, you finally confront him about his absence. It, of course, works out in your favor.
You and Tyler had been friends for years. On and off, you’d chat about life and what was going on with yourselves recently, but conversations were few and far in between. You’d hang at his house for a week or two at a time, then it was radio silence for months. It was nobody’s fault of course, it’s just how Tyler was. Always moving, never taking a moment to slow down. He preached about freedom, but he never really felt “free” to you.
You’d been missing him for a couple months—probably about half a year by now. You kept seeing all these little reminders of him, from music he liked to the movies you’d watch together, to the taste of copper when you’d have a bloody nose. So odd, you thought, to associate him with things like that. You just couldn’t help it. He was a sweet notion stuck in your head like honey.
Honey. He’d called you that before. He called you that with his arm wrapped around your shoulder the last time you had to walk him home from Lou’s.
Your mind just kept racing, remembering every little sweet gesture he’d done for you, every time he let you borrow his coat or his bed. He didn’t just do that for anyone, surely.
You sprang up and put on some pants and a tight-fitting shirt, something to make yourself feel more confident. You were about to tell Tyler Durden you’d loved him for years and you wish he wouldn’t disappear on you and you want to be his forever because he feels like the only constant in your life even when he’s gone. Or something like that. “Lash out on him,” you thought briefly. It wouldn’t do you any good but the catharsis of it all might feel good. You didn’t really want to yell at him, you just wanted to feel heard. But sometimes with Tyler, you had to get loud about things before he took you seriously.
You took a deep breath before setting out towards Paper St., hoping and praying he hadn’t found another place to live. The most horrific possible scenario would be him having moved without a trace. You tried to shake the feeling off and keep on towards where you’d hoped to find him. You arrived at his place and hopped up the stairs to his doorstep. You wondered if it’d be worth it to knock. You didn’t. Walking inside, you peeked around corners for him. No luck. If he was even home, he was probably upstairs then.
“Tyler,” you yelled up the stairs, “It’s me.” You hoped he could recognize your voice.
The room above you creaked as Tyler shuffled around. You sighed, relieved as all hell. You leaned back against the kitchen table and waited impatiently for him to head down the stairs.
“Comin’ angel.” He said before stomping down the stairs. The name made your heart melt and your brain a little less frustrated with him. He walked towards you, arms open wide for a hug.
“Haven’t seen you around. Where ya’ been?” He asked as he pulled you in.
“I could ask you the same thing. Where have /you/ been?”
“Aw, you know.. around…” He said as he let you go, putting a hand on your shoulder. “Been pretty busy, I guess. With the whole fighting thing and all..” For the first time in your miserable little life, you saw Tyler get uncomfortable. Something about him told you that he knew you were upset.
“I just wish you’d hang out with me more. We’ve been friends for what, 5 years now? And I only get to see you like twice a year, maybe three times if i’m real lucky.” You crossed your arms over your chest and furrowed your brows at him as you watched his face change.
“I don’t do that shit on purpose, you know that. I can’t stand still, I gotta keep going, you know? Like how a shark will die if it stops moving. I gotta keep myself busy.” He muttered, sort of looking down now. “I’m sorry honey, I didn’t mean to make you feel abandoned like that.”
That /name/. Honey. Fuck.
“It’s not abandonment I feel Tyler, it’s just- You’re the one constant in my life between my shit job and my shit parents and my shit friends who wouldn’t care if they never saw me again. I’d be lying if I said you’re the only person I feel gives a single fuck about me.” You stared at him with tears welling in your eyes, but they didn’t break.
His mouth fell slightly open, and now you both had matching furrowed brows.
“I’m real sorry. I never meant to make you feel like I wasn’t there. I guess I’m just not a “slow down” kind of guy. I feel like a damn hummingbird or something.”
You broke eye contact and looked off to your side, sighing deep.
“It’s okay. I just want to feel like you want me around.”
“Want you around? Shit, I’d let you live here if I didn’t think you deserved better. I want you around all the time. I want /you/ all the time. You’re like, the coolest person I’ve ever known, yeah? You don’t even have to try, you’re exponentially more fun to hang out with anyone else I know.”
Now it was your turn to stare with your mouth agape. You wanted to ask what he meant. You couldn’t. You start crying.
“Shit baby, come here.” He said as he took you into his arms again, his head resting atop yours. He stared at the wall as he held you, suddenly truly realizing how he neglected you. He didn’t mean to, sure, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. He knew this. He gently rubbed your back and let you cry into him.
“Sit down.” He said quietly, trying to sound assuring. You sit down on the table behind you, but keep ahold of him. He pulls away from you and gets down to your level, holding his hand under your chin to maintain eye contact with you. He knew you hated it, but he wanted you to know he was serious now.
“How about tonight we go do something, yeah? Anything you’d like. It can be like a date or something like that..” He said, looking off to the left behind you now. He didn’t smile, but his face got a little hot. The two of you had a way of dancing around things when you were trying to be serious. You tilted your head at him, smiling now.
“A date? Like, a casual going out date or-?”
“A date. Like a date-date. Like, I want to go out with you. Bad”
“Out with me?” You weren’t sure if he was kidding to make you feel better or not. “Tyler, you’ve been radio silent for the past couple months, now you want to go out with me?” You almost didn’t believe it.
“And I’m sorry about all that. I want a fresh start with you. Let me prove I’m worthy?” You rolled your eyes a little as a smirk played on your lips.
“Fine, okay Tyler, but you need to make a couple changes if you want to work with me.”
His face lit up and he stared into you deep, making you smile fully now. “Anything you need.” He looked away and thought about what to say next. “…I didn’t realize you felt that I was the only stable thing you had. I wanna fix this for you, yeah?” God, was he charming. You couldn’t say no. You wouldn’t anyway.
“I want you to keep around. Come live with me or let me stay here or something. Tell me your schedule, involve me in even your most mediocre shit. I want to be around you, Tyler. I want you.”
“Really?” He smirked, tilting his head, “I knew it.”
You half-regretted everything you’d just said to him. Of course he’d say that.
“Think you can work with that?”
He nodded eagerly, pulling you into another hug. He wasn’t a very physically affectionate guy, you’d noticed. This was nice. You looked up at him and you were sure you saw his eyes twinkle back at you.
“You don’t need to ask..” You whispered.
He kissed your forehead first and smiled. He then kissed your lips, quickly but tenderly. He pulled back with a big stupid smile plastered across his face. His face got even warmer and he looked away from you, waiting for you to say something.
“Go get dressed,” You pointed at the stairs, “We’re going to mine.”
