Hiii, I'm not sure about this idea, but what about poor(?)reader who barely has money decided to make a handmade gift to Louch, Aventurine and Jiaoqiu? (´ε｀ )
A Token of Devotion
Tags: Luocha x Reader, Aventurine x Reader, Jiaoqiu x Reader, Fluff, Angst (Mild), Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn (for some), Established Feelings, Mutual Pining, Thoughtful Gestures, Emotional Depth, Gift-Giving, Poor!Reader, Handmade Gift, Soft Moments.
Warnings: Mentions of financial struggles (Reader being poor), Some emotional vulnerability from characters, Slight angst regarding self-worth and personal burdens, Mild past trauma mentions, Comforting moments and happy endings.
The Xianzhou Luofu was always bustling with life, but to you, the city’s markets only served as a reminder of your empty pockets. As an intergalactic traveler with barely enough money to buy a meal, extravagant gifts were out of the question. But when you thought about Luocha—the enigmatic merchant who had helped you time and time again—your heart ached to give him something in return.
So, you turned to the one thing you could offer: your hands.
You spent days carefully weaving a simple charm, using threads you scavenged from old fabrics. It wasn’t much—just a small green tassel, embroidered with a white flower. It was meant to resemble the ones on Luocha’s coat, a small token of appreciation for all he had done for you.
When the time came to give it to him, you hesitated. What if he found it childish? What if—
“Something on your mind?”
Luocha’s voice was gentle, pulling you from your thoughts. He stood beside you, his ever-present coffin resting on his back, his piercing eyes studying you with quiet curiosity.
You swallowed your nerves and held out the charm. “I… made this for you. It’s not much, but I wanted to thank you for everything.”
Luocha took the charm delicately, his fingers grazing yours. He examined it for a long moment, a small smile playing at his lips.
“A handmade gift,” he murmured, voice laced with something unreadable. “This must have taken you some time.”
You nodded, embarrassed. “I didn’t have money to buy anything nice, so I—”
“You misunderstand.” His eyes softened. “This is worth far more than any trinket I could buy.”
Your breath hitched as he carefully tied the charm to the handle of his coffin, letting it sway gently. His next words were quieter, almost as if they were meant for himself.
“A reminder that kindness does not always need to be repaid in coin.”
Luocha looked at you then, something warm and unreadable in his gaze. “Thank you. I will treasure it.”
Your heart stuttered. Maybe you weren’t as poor as you thought—because at that moment, Luocha made you feel richer than anyone in the stars.
You knew Aventurine was a man of luxury. Everything he owned was expensive—his suits, his accessories, even his dice were probably made of precious metals. Which meant buying him a gift was out of the question.
But you weren’t about to back down from the challenge.
So, you made something instead—a small deck of handmade playing cards. The designs were uneven, the paint smudged in places, but each card was made with care, featuring symbols inspired by his signature motifs: peacock feathers, gemstones, and spades.
When you presented it to him, Aventurine stared at the deck in silence, turning a card over in his gloved fingers. His eyes flickered with something unreadable.
“You made these?” he asked, a rare pause in his usual carefree demeanor.
You nodded, suddenly self-conscious. “I know it’s not much, but I—”
A chuckle escaped him, low and amused. “Not much? Sweetheart, do you have any idea how much effort this must’ve taken?”
You blinked, taken aback.
Aventurine shuffled the cards expertly, a mischievous glint in his gaze. “Handmade cards from you? I’d say that’s a one-of-a-kind treasure.” He twirled a card between his fingers before tucking the deck into his coat pocket. “A gift from the heart… Now that’s a gamble I’ll always bet on.”
His grin widened as he leaned in, voice dropping to a teasing whisper.
“Though I must warn you—I fully intend to make you play a round with me. And if I win…” He tapped your nose lightly, smirking. “You owe me another handmade surprise.”
You groaned, but the warmth in his expression made your heart flutter. Maybe, just maybe, you’d already won something far more valuable.
Jiaoqiu always gave so much to others. Whether it was his medical skills or his wisdom, he poured his heart into his work.
You wanted to return the favor—even if you had little to offer.
That’s how you found yourself carefully preparing a small, handmade snack using the most affordable ingredients you could find. It was a simple pastry, infused with herbs known for their calming properties—a recipe you had once seen Jiaoqiu mention in passing.
When you nervously handed it to him, Jiaoqiu blinked in surprise, his fox ears twitching slightly. “For me?”
You nodded, fidgeting. “It’s not much, but… I wanted to thank you.”
A slow smile spread across his lips, and for a moment, his irises shimmered with something soft. He took a careful bite, chewing thoughtfully.
Then, his expression melted into something fond.
“This… tastes like home,” he murmured.
Your breath caught.
Jiaoqiu looked at you then, eyes half-lidded but warm. “It’s been a long time since someone made something for me.” He let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. “You have no idea how much this means.”
He reached out, gently patting your head before brushing a stray lock of hair aside. “Thank you. Truly.”
In that moment, you realized—maybe you didn’t need wealth to make a difference. Because in Jiaoqiu’s smile, in the quiet way he savored every bite, you knew your gift had found its place.
Summary: ♫ Expired and rotten and long overdue. You left me to wilt without courage to shoot. 'Cause you're just kind enough to keep me in the loop. I have never met poison like you how, you're spoiling me. You're spoiling me ♫
Warnings: Angst, toxic relationship, poor!Reader, Kate being privileged, cheating, arguing, Kate being very out of character, Kate’s lwk heartless
Word count: 6.7k
A/n: I recommend listening to song ‘Spoiling me’ while reading this cause its based of that :P
~
Rummaging through your practically empty drawers, you hunted and searched for a nice outfit for tonight. Your heart was already racing in your chest. You had been dating Kate for about a month now and you still hadn’t met her parents, she’d met yours but whenever you brought up to her about meeting her parents, she turned you down.
Till this morning. Kate finally agreed, but insisted you come round to her house and wear something nice. You struggled to even find a shirt that didn’t have at least one hole in it. you threw the shirts messily back into the drawer and went over to your closet, it didn’t take long to find the dress you were looking for as it was the only thing in there. You thought it might be a bit too fancy; you only wore it on very special occasions because of how expensive it was, you worried about it being ruined, but you had no other choice tonight. After changing into your dress you put on some light makeup and did your hair in a style you knew Kate liked.
A message pinged through your phone, you looked and smiled as Kate’s name popped up, you read the message which said ‘I’m here :)’ you eagerly typed back that you were coming then slid your phone into your purse and rushed down the stairs. You opened your door and saw Kate in her sleek black BMW, she saw you and quickly got out the car. Rushing to the passenger side, she opened the door for you. You chuckled and gave her a quick peck on the lips, followed by a thank you. Kate rounded to the other side of the car and got into the driver’s side.
She looked at you and smiled but that smile then faltered when she saw what you were wearing. You fidgeted with your hands, “Is something wrong?” you asked her. She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly and looked at the windshield then back at you.
“Well the dress is uh…I was just hoping you’d wear something…nicer?” she said, sounding unsure. You looked down at your outfit, Kate wasn’t a mean person, you knew she was just trying to be nice. You turned your head back to her, “This was all I had…”
“No no baby I don’t mean it in a mean way…it just looks a bit cheap is all” like that made it any better, “Look I had a feeling this might happen, so I got you something” she reached into the back seat and pulled out a black box. She placed it on your lap. Your brows knitted together as you carefully opened it. your jaw practically dropped at the sight of the gorgeous dress. It had to be over a hundred dollars. You noticed the price tag and looked at it ‘$920’.
Your jaw dropped. You quickly shook your head and closed the box. “No Kate I can’t take this” you tried to give the box to her but she just pushed it back into your lap. “At least wear it for tonight baby…you can change in my room when we get home” she explained.
As you looked up at the large house, you felt your jaw practically drop. How could anyone afford to live in such a grand home. Kate got out the car and helped you out, “My parents will be back home in like ten minutes, which should be enough time for you to get dressed” she explained with a smile.
Being in Kate’s room felt so humbling. Her richness practically oozed out of the room. She had a large bed made from polished spruce wood, which was a common theme throughout the room. Her bed was decorated with crimson silk bedding. “This is…damn” you muttered, looking around the room. She had an ensuite too and her very own balcony. You whistled and walked over to the sliding door, looking out at the beautiful view.
Kate chuckled and came up behind you, wrapping her arms around your waist and resting her chin on your shoulder. “Nice view, right?” she asked you; your jaw was hanging open still as you nodded. With another chuckle, Kate lifted her hand to your chin and shut your mouth for you, “come on get changed” she pulled away from you and gave you a small slap on the ass.
You blushed slightly but you’ve grown so used to her doing that, that it doesn’t affect you as much anymore. You went to her large mirror and started to change into the dress she got you. You tried your best to be as careful with it as you could. Once you had it on, and Kate had zipped up the back for you, she came back to you with a smaller box.
“What’s this?” you asked her, tilting your head a bit. She opened the box and your eyes widened as you were greeted with the sight of jewellery, some was silver and some was gold. It all looked so expensive. “I got you these to wear” she smiled, grabbing a bedazzled claw clip and putting it in your hair. “you’re spoiling me” you told Kate with a small smile. She smirked and kissed you on the back of the neck.
She then took out one of the necklaces, you could’ve sworn it had a diamond in it. A fucking diamond. She put it around your neck then placed a gentle kiss on your collarbone. “Beautiful” she muttered. She then reached for the bracelet that sat on your wrist, you never took it off. Not ever. It was a handmade beaded bracelet; the beads were cheap and it was held together by a small elastic string. She took it off of you, “It’s too tacky” she muttered. That stung.
You fidgeted with your hands, “Your parents don’t know, do they?” you suddenly asked her. Her brows furrowed, “Know what?”
“That I’m not as financially well off as you” you told her, turning around to face her. You could tell by the way her cheeks glowed a faint pink that you had caught her. “They..” she sighed, “they don’t even know you’re a girl, they think I have a boyfriend…if I show up with a girl that’s also poor they’ll throw a fit Y/n” your heart burned at that. Is that really how she saw you, as poor? Was she ashamed to be with you for that? “right…” was all you could say, in a quiet mutter.
Kate was about to speak till you both heard the sound of the front door open. Kate rushed to put a bracelet on you and a couple rings, treating you like a doll. She took a deep breath then snaked her arm around your waist.
You walked with her down the stairs. “Kate?” her mother called out, “Where’s the lucky-“ she was cut off when she saw the two of you, her eyes widened slightly but then was covered by a smile. “Lucky woman…what a lovely surprise” she chuckled. You shifted nervously, unsure if she was being sarcastic or not. You held out your hand for her, “Nice to meet you Miss Bishop, I’m Y/n” you smiled at her. She tilted her head, as if she was analysing you. You stood there for an awkward moment with your hand still held out.
You probably looked like such an idiot then she politely shook your hand, “Lovely to meet you too Y/n, I like your dress its gorgeous” she smiled, you thanked her then your attention was pulled away when a man walked into the room. Unlike Eleanor, he wasn’t dressed formally. He wore a pair of cargo shorts and had a polo holiday shirt on. You smiled at that.
“Well you’re not a man- or you are?” he joked, tilting his head a bit at you. You heard Kate outwardly groan at her father’s jokes. You giggled and shook your head, “Um no sir I’m not a man” you told him, to which he smiled. “Well that’s a relief, I’d be very surprised if Katie ever came home with someone that wasn’t a woman” he teased Kate, giving her a nudge with his elbow. He then suddenly pulled you into a welcoming hug. He gave you a tight squeeze before pulling away. He met Kate’s surprised expression and chuckled, “Katie it was obvious you were gay” he told her, patting her on the shoulder.
After speaking for a bit longer, you all went into the dining room. The chef’s had already laid out a large dinner on the table. Kate pulled out a chair for you and you thanked her as you sat. She took the seat next to you.
Overall, the dinner went really well. There were moments where you felt out of place whenever they mentioned money. Kate seemed to not notice your discomfort as she was the one starting those conversations the most.
You were sat on the couch, leaning against Kate who had her arm around your waist. Both her parents were stood up dancing together, Kate chuckled as she watched. A chill ran down your spine, as much as you loved the dress, it didn’t do a very good job at keeping you warm. Kate seemed to notice this as she grabbed her flannel that was on the back of the couch. You recognised it as the one she wore when the two of you were on call a few hours ago.
She put it around you, “oh thanks” you muttered, smiling at her. She mirrored your smile and gently kissed you on the lips. “No problem sweetheart” she murmured to you. You leaned further into her for a moment till she suddenly stood, holding out her hand. “Dance with me” she said, answering your confused expression for you.
“You know I always will” you answered before reaching out and taking her hand. She pulled you up to your feet and snaked her arms around your waist. You couldn’t help the giggled that slipped from your lips as the two of you danced together. You wrapped your over her shoulders and your head was tucked into her shoulder.
“Oh I got something for you” she said, breaking the silence that had been held for a few minutes as the two of you danced. You pulled your head out of her shoulder, “More? You’ve already gotten me so much” you chuckled. She shrugged and lowered her hands to your hips. “I know, but I like buying you things, come on” she took your hand and walked upstairs with you.
You went into her room with her, fidgeting with the sleeve of her flannel that you were still wearing. She went into her bedside table and took out a bouquet of flowers. They looked expensive, your brows furrowed as you smelt them. Lavender, you were allergic to lavender. You tried to cover up your surprise as you placed them back down on the side. “I love them babe, thank you” you smiled at her. She nodded, proud of herself. “Yeah, guess how much they were?” she asked you, leaning against the counter with a cocky grin.
You hated when she did this. When she flexed about the money she spent on something minuscule. You raised your eyebrows, feigning interest. “$59” she smirked. Your eyes widened and you looked at the flowers, they didn’t seem that special, “Made sure to find the most expensive ones for you” she stated.
She put more thought into spending as much money as she could rather than taking your allergies and favourites into account. You only hummed and sat down on the bed, taking your heels off. She looked confused, “What? You don’t like them?” when you didn’t answer she groaned, “Fuck I knew I should’ve just ordered the $600 ones…” she sighed and shook her head.
“I don’t care about the price Kate, I never care about the price” you told her, she looked confused, unsure what to say, “I care when you put thought into what you’ve gotten me” you continued, taking the jewellery off. “I did put thought into it”
“Obviously not” you said, “I’m allergic to lavender Kate, you got me lavender flowers” you pointed towards the flowers that sat on the other side of the room. Her face dropped slightly, “Shit, baby I’m sorry” she went to you, standing in front of you.
“It’s fine, can you take me home? Please?” you asked her, putting your heels back on even though you had just taken them off. She seemed taken aback and hesitated, “You don’t wanna stay?” she asked you. You couldn’t stop your heart from aching at the kicked puppy look on her face. “Not tonight baby” you kissed her hand and stood up, “Another day, okay?”
That seemed to reassure her and she nodded. “Its raining, wear my coat” she went over to her coat rack and took a dark purple coat off. Your favourite one of her many, many coats. You put it on when she handed it to you.
She held your hand the whole way out to the car and opened the door for you. Right as you put your seatbelt on, you remembered something. It was yours and Kate’s fourth date but the memory lingered with you every time Kate bought you another meaningless item.
You sat in Kate’s car, wearing one of her hoodies and your own jeans that were quite old and some scuffed converse. She looked at you, it had been silent for a while. You turned to meet her gaze, “You okay?” you asked with a chuckle. She hummed and nodded, looking away, her knee was bouncing and you could tell she wanted to say something.
“Katie, what’s up?” you placed your hand on her knee, stilling it. She looked at you, hesitantly she reached into her pocket and took something out, a bracelet. Your brows knitted together. It was a handmade friendship bracelet type…thing. It seemed quite poorly made, but there were letters on it that read: “Kate x Y/n”.
“Uh I made this like when I was grounded for breaking that bell tower…my mum took my money so I couldn’t buy you anything then I found these beads stuff under my bed and so yeah I made this” a large smile grew on your lips, “I thought it was too stupid to give to you but yeah” she was blushing, clearly nervous to give this to you.
You lunged forward, cupping her face and kissing her passionately. Her cheeks flushed red and you smirked slightly when you pulled away, “I love it Katie, so much” you told her, taking it and putting it around your wrist.
You glanced down at your bare wrist. “Where’d you put the bracelet?” you asked her, she looked at you confused, “You took it off me earlier” you reminded her.
“Oh yeah that, I threw it away” your heart sank, she noticed the look on your face but couldn’t quite process what it meant, “It was just a stupid bracelet Y/n, come on I’ve bought you way nicer ones before and you rarely ever wear them” she scoffed, starting the car. You said nothing, only staring out the window in silence.
She threw it away.
--
It’d been a couple of days since you had seen Kate, you hadn’t even messaged her. You were mad, hurt mostly. How could she. That gift meant more to you than anything she had ever bought you before.
Then again, it wasn’t like you were ignoring her. She hadn’t even messaged you. usually she’d message when she got back home after dropping you off, with some cheesy comment. But she didn’t that time, now that you thought about it, she hadn’t done that in a while.
You sighed and got up from the couch, going over to the kitchen. “Y/n!” your mum yelled your name, you ran a hand through your hair, sighing once again. “Yeah mum?” you called back out to her. “Get me some chips out the cupboard!” she demanded. You begrudgingly grabbed the bag of chips and popped your head into the living room, throwing the back on her lap.
Then there was a knock at the door. With a loud groan you trudged over, you were wearing one of Kate’s hoodies that swamped you and a pair of short shorts. You opened the door to see Kate standing there, she was holding flowers. Your favourite flowers. Your head perked up and she shoved them into your hands before letting herself in.
She kicked her shoes off at the side with the others and made her own way up to your room. You smelt the flowers and hummed. They didn’t smell like cheap gas station flowers. You looked for a tag and found one, they were $38. Well, at least they were your favourites.
You ran up the stairs and went into your room. “I like the flowers” you said to her. She was laid on your bed, holding one of your stuffed animals in the air. She looked at you, putting the bear down. “Yeah? Not gonna complain this time?” she asked you, but you could tell by her smirk that she was just joking.
You rolled your eyes playfully and carefully placed the flowers down on the side. You climbed onto your bed, laying on top of her with your head on her chest. She smiled and put her arms around you, “I missed you” she said, running her hand up and down your back. You hummed and only nodded, closing your eyes.
“Wanna watch something?” she asked, suddenly stopping to grab the tv remote. You sighed and rolled off of her. “We can’t” you told her, when she looked confused you answered, even though you didn’t want to, “My mum can’t afford the Netflix this month” you told her, fidgeting with the top of her shirt.
She sighed, as if this was such an inconvenience for her. She opened Netflix on your TV and logged out, signing into her own account. “Oh okay then” you said, rolling off of her to look at the tv. She grabbed your blanket, pulling it over herself. “Wanna rewatch Yellowjackets?” she asked you as she scrolled.
You shook your head, “No I cant watch anything if I know the end, other than that I don’t care what we watch” you told her, she hummed and put on a random show you hadn’t seen before. Game of Thrones. You knew she had watched this show numerous times. “This show is like crazy good” she promised you. “Oooh okay, don’t spoil it though” you warned her. You hated when people spoiled things, it just made you not want to watch it.
You had been watching it for a while, you were left absolutely speechless at episode ten. “This is so good, next episode! Next episode!” you said eagerly, playfully hitting Kate’s arm. She laughed and clicked on it, “Alright, alright, who’s your favourite so far then?” she asked you. You answered almost straight away. “Robb and Daenerys duh” you said simply.
Kate then burst out laughing, “Ohhh don’t get too attached” she laughed. Your smile faltered and you asked, “What do you mean?”. She looked at you, “They both die” she shrugged, putting the next episode on. Your smile then completely dropped, “Kate what the fuck” you looked at her, annoyed.
Its an honest mistake, you guessed, but still. She knew how much you hated spoilers, and she knew how much you were enjoying this show. “You spoiled it for me” you murmured, looking at the screen. She only shrugged, “Oops”.
After watching a few more episodes she had fallen asleep. You got up. Carefully, you put the flowers in a vase, smiling at them, they were beautiful. Maybe one of your favourite gifts from Kate. You glanced over at her. You sighed. This wasn’t healthy, not anymore. You didn’t want to break up with her, you loved her, so much. You just needed space.
You gently shook her sleeping form, her brows knitted together and she opened her eyes. She looked at you in confusion, “What?” she asked. You sighed and sat on the bed, fidgeting with your hands. “Kate…I think, I need some space” you told her, “like, a break” you clarified, to be certain she wouldn’t get confused.
She stayed silent and stood up. “Kate?” you called to her, she didn’t respond. “You wanna break up?” she asked you, turning to face you. You quickly shook your head, standing up and going closer to her, “No, no, I don’t want that, I just need time to myself for a bit” you reasoned with her. Her jaw clenched and she abruptly stormed out the room.
You rushed after her, “Kate!”. She put her shoes on in a rush, “Hold on! Lets at least talk about it” you told her but she didn’t listen. She walked out the door and you watched as she got in her car, speeding off. You wiped tears from your eyes you didn’t even realise were there then stormed up to your room.
~
A week. It was a week until Kate spoke to you again. You had seen her Instagram posts, she was out partying and raving every night. Every. Damn. Night. Almost as if she was rubbing in the fact she didn’t care you were out of her life.
Then you got a letter. You’d never gotten mail before so it was quite exciting. You held the envelope in your hands, it felt quite heavy. Your brows knitted together and you went upstairs to your room. You flicked the light on then sat down on your bed, in a pile of blankets.
Grabbing a pair of scissors off the side, you cut the envelope open. You reached in and pulled out some pages. Seven pages to be specific. You looked at the first one. Handwritten, Kate’s handwriting. You took a deep breath and started to read. The further you read the more surprised you were, the whole thing was her expressing how much she loved you, how he wanted to buy you the whole world and how much she wanted to be with you.
All this she had to say, and all you could do was stare at it in silence. Maybe that meant you couldn’t do better. How could you, Kate cared about you enough to write it all into 7 pages. You took a deep breath before opening your phone and messaging her. ‘Can we go out for dinner?’ The only response she gave was liking the message.
She picked you up around half an hour later. You wore the dress she bought you when you went to her house to meet her parents. She was leaning against her car when you walked out, wearing a suit. With a grin you walked over to her, “Nice dress sweetheart” she told you, wrapping her hand around your waist and pulling your body flush against hers. “Thanks, it’s the one you got me” you grinned.
“Oh it is? Cool” she leaned in to kiss you and you eagerly returned the kiss, your lips moving in sync. You missed the feeling of her lips on yours, the feeling of her so close to you that you could feel her body heat warming you.
Kate pulled away and opened the door for you, “In you go, love” she smiled, you thanked her and got into the car. She shut the door behind you and you put your seatbelt on. You opened the glove compartment In front of you, its where you always stored your stuff. You were happy to see all your stuff was still there. You grabbed a pack of gum you had in there and put a piece into your mouth.
Kate got into the drivers side and tossed you her phone. “You pick the music” she told you, starting up the car. You instantly clicked on the car playlist you made the last time you had her phone and Radiohead started playing first. You placed her phone down on your lap and looked out the window, Kate’s hand resting on your thigh the entire time.
When she pulled up at a restaurant she went around to your side of the car and opened the door for you. “Thanks Katie, damn this place is fancy” you told her, looking at the large building. She only chuckled, her hand resting on your lower back as she guided you inside.
Sorting out a seat wasn’t difficult; Kate booked a reservation for one of the best tables in the restaurant. You were surprised she could even get it in such short notice. The worker led you both to your table and you eagerly pulled out Kate’s chair for her, deciding it was your turn to be the gentlewoman. She laughed and sat down, “Thank you baby”
You sat opposite Kate, grabbing one of the menus. You propped it up so you could still peak over but still see Kate’s face. She could only see your eyes. She cocked a brow, “Why you hiding? Hm?” she leaned forward on her elbows. “I’m not hiding” you said, ducking your head down. She chuckled and rolled her eyes, “Whatever you say doll, now pick something” she told you.
“Umm…spaghetti and meatballs” you asked, it was the cheapest thing on the menu, but you didn’t notice that. You just really liked spaghetti and meatballs. She shook her head and took the menu away, making you frown. “No, no, you can do better than that…” she muttered, looking through the menu to pick for you. Your frown deepened and you leaned back, crossing your arms over your chest.
“Don’t strop” she told you, not even needing to look up from the menu, “You can have the spaghetti then, but I’m getting you garlic bread too, and some fancy cheese” she insisted, placing the menu’s down. “Can I have orange juice too?” you asked, she couldn’t help her smile and she nodded. “Yeah doll sure”
When your food finally arrived you eagerly grabbed your fork, digging in straight away. Kate got herself some random meal you couldn’t even begin to name. You dipped a bit of your garlic bread into the marinara sauce then took a bite, humming.
“That good?” she asked, to which you nodded. You swallowed down your mouthful. “So good, probably better than whatever you got” you joked, pointing to her plate, but she didn’t laugh. “You’re not gonna make another comment about how I spend my money, right?” she asked, sounding quite pissed. You frowned a bit, “No…I was joking- but actually yeah, cause you paid what? $600 for a tiny plate of crap” you told her, pointing to the plate once again.
She scoffed, “It’s my money, if I wanna spend it on this then I will” she spat. You just shrugged at her, sticking your fork into the spaghetti. “Yeah whatever, just don’t complain to me when you’re hungry later” was all you said, that seemed to be enough for Kate as she pulled out her wallet, slamming down her card. She stood and stormed out of the restaurant. You watched her walk off; your eyes widened in shock. Numerous heads turned to look at you and you felt the blood rising to your head as you blushed.
You politely called the waitress over, holding back your tears as you (technically Kate), paid for your dinner. When you walked out of the restaurant you saw her car was gone, you called yourself an uber. You had no choice but to use Kate’s card to pay for it. You did give her the courtesy of telling her you had to use her card for an uber to get home.
When you got home you went straight into the shower, crying your eyes out. You had such conflicting emotions. Sure she kind of blew up at you, but she paid for your dinner. Maybe that just meant you wound up the winner. Time after time you had taught yourself to just forgive her, because you knew you’d go crawling back either way. You just needed to give her time to calm down.
Kate clearly didn’t need a lot of time when she showed up at your window a few hours later, with flowers. You opened the window and let her in, “Why are you at my window?” Kate climbed through, shrugging. “Decided to try something new” she said, putting the flowers on the side for you. “I’m sorry” you told her. She only hummed and laid on your bed. You took that as Kate’s form of forgiveness.
You went over to her, climbing onto the bed and laying on top of her. She wrapped her arms around you and kissed you on the head. “Comfy, doll?” she asked, running a hand down your back. “Yeah, very comfy” you hummed, satisfied.
~
That next morning, Kate was gone. She left you a message saying her mum wanted her home, which confused you slightly. Her parents left on holiday just the other day, why would she want Kate home? But you brushed it off, continuing your day as usual.
You sent messages throughout the day, it was around 7pm when you noticed she wasn’t messaging you back. You furrowed your brows but brushed it off, maybe she was busy. Then you checked Instagram. You were scrolling through peoples stories when you landed on one that caught your eye. Yelena Belova. Kate’s best friend.
It was a video of her at a rave with America and Kamala. Then at the back you saw something. Your eyes didn’t want to believe it. You zoomed in and you knew your eyes didn’t deceive you. Kate had her arms around two girls, dancing with them. They were both practically grinding on Kate as she grinned at them.
Your heart ached and you felt a small burning sensation In your eyes as tears pricked. You sniffled, liking the story to make sure Yelena knew you had seen it. You then turned your phone off, slamming it down on the counter. Kate had been ignoring you all day, and now she was dancing with random girls at a club. You took a deep breath, deciding not to let this get to you.
Maybe she was just too drink to realise what she was doing. You knew those girls wouldn’t mean anything to her, but it still stung. This was a worry you had from the start of the relationship. When the two of you were just dating and hooking up, Kate told you about her exes, how she got bored of them all eventually and left them. She got bored easily, and you were now scared she was starting to get bored of you.
~
You got a message from Kate a few days later, it was 8pm when the message lit up your phone. You picked up the phone, opening it to see your wallpaper. It was you and Kate, a simple mirror selfie, she had her arms around your waist and was kissing you on the cheek. You sighed and opened messages, checking what she said. ‘Wanna come out clubbing in a bit bby? xx’
You were hesitant to answer. Did she know you knew? Did she care? You chewed on your bottom lip, debating your response till, before you knew it, your thumbs were speedily typing a response. ‘I don’t have anything to wear’. You watched the typing bubble for a couple minutes till it disappeared. You sighed and sat on your bed, closing your phone.
Not even half an hour later, there was a knock at your window. Kate seemed to like climbing through your window last time as she climbed in once again. You sat up, slightly surprised, “Kate, I told you I have nothing to wear” you reminded her. She threw a bag onto your lap; you opened it to find a skimpy dark red dress. Your eyes widened slightly, it was quite revealing. “Oh, thanks”
You took your shirt off, “Take your bra off too” she randomly said, you looked confused, “check the bag” Kate nodded her head towards the bag. You went to it and pulled out a black lacy bra. Your eyes widened once again “Oh, wow” you murmured, unsure what else to say.
Kate grinned, “good, right?” she asked, leaning back in your bed. You gave a small nod and started to change, you were used to her seeing you naked so you weren’t too bothered by her eyes being on you the entire time you changed.
You looked at yourself in the mirror, honestly the dress looked good on you, but it truly was quite revealing. You felt exposed. Kate came up behind you, wrapping her arms around your waist. It reminded you of your wallpaper on your phone, reminding you of when you took that photo. Back when there were no problems in yours and Kate’s relationship.
“Alright” she said, pressing a kiss to your neck, “lets go” she took your hand and went downstairs with you. She took you to her car. As always, she opened the door for you. You finished up your makeup during the car ride.
The car came to a stop outside of a club, there were crowds of people and you could hear the music from outside. Once the two of you got out the car, Kate snaked her arm around your waist, holding you close to her.
The second you entered the club, the music blared even louder in your ears. A dank smell of alcohol, weed and for some reason smoke, filled your nose. You scrunched up your nose. Kate took you straight to the bar and you were met with her friend group. The familiar Russian blonde turned to you, her eyes widened slightly and she quickly looked away. She knew, she knew that you knew.
You sat down on one of the stools, in between Yelena and Kate. The raven-haired girl still had her arm around you as she ordered you both drinks. She looked at you with a smirk, “I got you the most expensive one, it’s the best, trust me” she insisted. You forced a smile on your lips and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks” you said into her ear so she could actually hear you over the music.
Once you had finished your drink, Kate was quick to pull you to your feet. She practically dragged you along to the dance floor. You danced with her to the music, your ass pressed against her front. She laid kisses along your neck as the two of you danced, leaving no room for Jesus.
America, Kamala and Yelena then came over to dance too. America smiled at you, “You look good!” she called out, over the music. You smiled back at her, about to say thank you till Kate responded for you. “I know right? I just bought her this dress, it was like $100” she flexed, holding you close to her. It was like she was showing you off as if you were some sort of trophy. You didn’t like how that made you feel.
“Y/n” Yelena suddenly called to you, “Can we talk?” she asked you, not waiting for a response before she grabbed you by the wrist and dragged you outside to the back of the club. The cold breeze made a chill go down your spine, you shivered.
“You saw the video” she stated, you awkwardly nodded. Your lips tight to a line. “So you saw Kate?” she asked you. You nodded once again, keeping your body movements stiff. You said nothing, waiting to see what she could’ve possibly had to say. “Good” Well that wasn’t what you expected.
“What?” you asked, uncrossing your arms, longer caring about the cold. She sighed and looked around as if to make sure Kate wasn’t eavesdropping, “I put it there on purpose Y/n, Kate’s been doing this for a while…she’s never hooked up with one of these girls before but she’ll flirt and dance with them all night” her words made your heart rate pick up, you stayed silent. “Whenever we ask her why, she says she’s gotten bored of you, but that’s obviously a lie because then she’ll go crying to us about you every time she gets a bit too drunk” her words ran through your mind a million miles a second.
“Yelena what the fuck” a sudden voice came in. You both looked to see Kate standing in the doorway, she slammed the metal door shut behind her. She walked over and you then noticed you were crying, you wondered when that happened.
“Someone had to tell her, she deserved to know” Yelena answered bluntly with a shrug, “I’ll leave the two of you to talk” she walked off back inside the club.
The two of you stayed quiet for a moment and Kate was about to speak till you interrupted her, “I knew you stopped caring ages ago” you said, “when you stopped putting thought into things and just decided the more money you spend on me the happier I’d be” it felt good to get that fully off your chest. Kate seemed a bit shocked at your words, “I never stopped caring” she murmured.
“Then why did you change? Why did everything between us change? Why were you dancing with other girls like that!” you didn’t mean to start yelling but the overwhelming emotions had become too much for you as you flapped your hands around.
“I don’t know!” she yelled back, “I felt bad! You struggle so much with money and stuff, I thought you’d like if you could finally get expensive things…and when I first bought you something expensive you seemed so happy I thought you preferred that, I thought you preferred when I bought you stuff instead of making crappy shit like a stupid bracelet”
You clenched your jaw and looked away. She scoffed, “It’s not my fault, I thought you loved my money!” she exclaimed, “Fuck just-…just don’t be mad at me, here” you looked at her as she pulled out her wallet, taking out some cash. You quickly stopped her, “Kate enough!” she stilled.
“This” you pointed to her wallet, stepping close to her, “Isn’t what I loved you for” you then pointed to her heart, “This, this is what I loved you for” she took note of your words. “Loved?” she asked, “Not anymore?” her voice cracked as she spoke.
“Kate- you wanna know how you’ve made me feel? You’ve just made me feel like you bought me to rot on the shelves of your fridge and you keep me around 'til you're hungry enough” you rambled at her, “You love me one minute then the next you’re not talking to me for days and dancing with girls at clubs!” she didn’t even attempt to butt in. “And you just- you show no care about anything anymore; you disappear and I think we’re over but then you reel me back in cause you're just kind enough to keep me in the loop”
More and more tears built in your eyes as you poured your heart out to her, “I have never met poison like you, y-you’re spoiling me…you’ve fucked me up Kate” you sniffled, she reached a hand out. She too was crying now. But you pulled away, shaking your head. “I cant do this anymore Katie” you sighed.
“Please, Y/n…I didn’t- I didn’t mean to make you feel this way, I swear I’ll change, I love you baby…I love you so much” she stepped closer again, placing her hands on your shoulders but you shrugged them off. “No Kate, its over- we’re over, I’ll return this dress to soon, and everything else you bought me” you didn’t even wait for her to say anything else before you stormed off.
You walked alone that night, it was cold, but luckily it didn’t rain. Your eyes were raining enough though. You choked out a sob. It was really over, things with Kate were actually over for good.
