genre: fluff. smut (NSFW 18+ MDNI). friends to lovers
wc: 2.3k
☁️ author’s note! & content warning
soft boi vern. sigh. i love him so much dude. i have major writers block so here’s one i wrote like summer of last year.
smut. unprotected sex. pet names.
The party was already loud enough to make my teeth hurt.
Bass thudded through the floor. Bodies swayed under colored lights. Someone spilled a drink and cheered about it like it was a rite of passage. My only goal for the night was survival. Social niceties. Minimal interaction. Maybe swipe a cupcake and sneak back out before anyone noticed.
I spotted Vernon leaning against the back wall of the living room, sipping something neon from a Solo cup like it was water. His hoodie was up, expression unreadable, eyes drifting from the TV to the crowd like he'd forgotten why he was even here.
When our eyes met, I didn't have to say a word.
He raised his eyebrows and tipped his head subtly to the side. Then he tugged at his ear twice, slow and deliberate.
The signal.
I snorted into my drink and set it down. That ridiculous ear tug meant one thing and one thing only.
It was time to get the hell out of here and go stargazing.
We didn't speak until we were three blocks away, the noise of the party fading into the buzz of streetlamps and late-night crickets.
"You looked like you were being held hostage," I said, bumping his arm with mine.
"I was. By Chad. He tried to explain crypto to me again."
I winced. "Yikes."
Vernon looked over with a half smile. "You were stuck talking to that guy who kept calling the moon a planet."
"I was actively losing brain cells."
"You always do that thing when you're annoyed."
"What thing?"
"The little twitch in your eye. Like you're about to launch into a TED Talk."
I rolled my eyes but I was smiling.
He knew me too well.
We reached the park near campus, the one with the grassy hill no one ever really used except for sneaky couples and kids with telescopes. Vernon dropped onto the grass like a plank of wood and stretched out, arms crossed behind his head. I joined him, head tilted back to the sky.
It was clear tonight. No clouds. Just stars.
"Alright, teach," Vernon said, voice soft but teasing. "Go on. Impress me."
I pointed without hesitation. "That's Vega. It's the brightest star in the Lyra constellation. Used to be our North Star twelve thousand years ago."
Vernon made a thoughtful sound. "Twelve thousand years ago? Damn. I can't even remember what I had for lunch."
"You had hot Cheetos and a gas station burrito."
"Right. Lunch of champions."
I kept pointing. "That one's Deneb. And that's Altair. Together they form the Summer Triangle."
"Sounds like a complicated relationship."
"They’re like…celestial besties."
Vernon chuckled. "Okay, serious question though. How'd you get into all this?"
"Stars?"
He nodded, eyes still skyward.
I paused. "I think... I've just always liked how small they make me feel. Not in a bad way. Just in a way that reminds me nothing is ever permanent. Everything's changing, everything's moving. And yet the stars are still there. Always."
Vernon turned his head to look at me. "You sound like a Tumblr quote."
"Shut up."
"I'm serious. That was, like, extremely poetic. I think you just activated something in my brain."
I laughed, and for a moment the world felt still. Like the sky had paused to let us exist in this one soft pocket of time.
He looked away first. "You ever feel like you're waiting for something?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Like everyone's moving forward. Dating. Breaking up. Falling in love. Getting hurt. Going through the whole cycle. And we're just..." He waved a hand vaguely. "Here. Looking at stars. Eating questionable burritos."
I bit the inside of my cheek. "Are you saying you want to date Chad?"
"Absolutely not. Chad uses the word 'females' unironically."
"True."
There was another quiet beat before he asked, "Have you ever been in love?"
The question caught me off guard. Not because of the question itself, but because Vernon asked it. He wasn't exactly the type to get deep. Not unless he was sleep-deprived or emotionally compromised by a Studio Ghibli film.
"I don't think so," I answered honestly. "I've liked people. Cared about them. But I don't think it's ever reached that point."
He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Same."
The sky stretched above us like a map, every pinpoint of light a place we'd never reach. I wondered if he could hear how fast my heart was beating.
Then he shifted, rolling onto his side to face me. "You think it sneaks up on you? Love?"
I turned to meet his gaze. "Yeah. I think it's always there before you even realize it. Just waiting."
Vernon didn't speak for a while. He just stared at me, like he was trying to line up his thoughts with the words he didn't know how to say.
Then he whispered, "I think I've been waiting for a while."
I stopped breathing.
He blinked like he hadn't meant to say that out loud. "I mean. Hypothetically."
"Hypothetically?"
"Yeah. Like. If someone had been slowly falling for their best friend and only realized it during a party where they watched her threaten a guy for calling the moon a planet."
My lips parted. "Hypothetically, huh?"
He nodded solemnly. "Super hypothetical. Could be anyone."
I rolled onto my side too, our faces inches apart now. "Well. Hypothetically. If that best friend liked you back, what would you do?"
"I'd probably kiss her."
"Should I close my eyes?"
"That might help."
I did.
He leaned in.
And then his lips touched mine. Soft. Unrushed. Familiar in a way that made my chest ache.
When we pulled away, neither of us said anything right away.
Then he spoke, voice a little dazed.
"You smell like moonlight. Is that a thing?"
"Absolutely not."
"Cool. I like it."
I laughed, but it faded when he propped himself up on one elbow, eyes half lidded like a sleepy cat.
"Dude," he said suddenly, like the thought just hit him. "Do you ever think about how weird clouds are?"
"What?"
"Like. They're just... water. But floating. Like ghosts. But wet."
I stared at him with narrow eyes.
"I'm just saying, I'd like to be reincarnated as a cloud. Free. Moist."
"You're banned from using the word moist ever around me."
He grinned and lay back down beside me. "I'm going to leave the sky talk up to you"
"Sounds good." I chuckle.
The quiet settled in again, the kind of quiet that didn't need to be filled. Just the occasional hum of crickets, the soft rustle of wind through the trees, and the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing next to mine.
I tilted my head toward him.
He was staring up now, expression easy, lips pulled into a lazy smile like the stars were telling him something only he could hear.
"You know," I murmured, "for someone who just said clouds are wet ghosts, you're surprisingly peaceful out here."
His eyes flicked toward me. "That's because I'm with you."
The words weren't smooth. They weren't rehearsed. But they landed anyway, right between my ribs.
I tried to look away, but his hand found mine in the grass, pinky grazing mine like a question. I laced my fingers through his without a word.
He exhaled slowly, like the sky felt easier to breathe now.
"I've always liked the stars," I said softly. "But I think I like them more with you."
He grinned again, but this one was softer. Warmer.
"Then I guess I'll keep showing up when you tug your ear like a weirdo."
"You were the one who made up the signal."
"I stand by it. Iconic."
I rolled my eyes and leaned into his shoulder just a little.
The stars stretched above us, glowing quiet and constant. He squeezed my hand once, like a promise.
Neither of us said anything else.
We didn't have to.
Not when the night had already answered for us.
The stars were still out when we made it back to my place. Still bright. Still watching.
Vernon stood just inside my doorway like he wasn't sure what to do next. Hands in his pockets, rocking on the balls of his feet. I almost laughed. This boy who made jokes about moist clouds and held my hand like it was the most natural thing in the world, now he looked like he was one bad line away from bolting.
"You good?" I asked, nudging his arm with mine.
He gave me a tiny smile. "Yeah. Just... didn't plan this far."
"You didn't plan anything."
"True. But like. What if I trip over your couch and ruin the moment?"
I grinned. "Then I'll laugh at you forever and still kiss you anyway."
He looked relieved. "Okay. Cool."
I stepped closer, tugging lightly at the collar of his hoodie. "You wanna come to my room?"
He nodded, eyes soft. "Only if you want me to."
"I do."
It was quiet, gentle, almost shy. He heard it anyway.
My bedroom was dimly lit, a small lamp in the corner casting soft light across the walls. It smelled like clean laundry and the lavender spray I always mist on my pillows. Vernon stood in the doorway for a beat, taking it in. I wondered what he saw. If he noticed the polaroids tucked in the corner of the mirror. The star maps above my bed. The sweatshirt he'd left here two months ago that I definitely wasn't giving back.
I reached for him before he could overthink anything else.
Our lips met again, and this time there was no space to fill. No question to answer. Just a slow pull, familiar and new all at once.
He kissed like he was learning me.
Soft. Careful. And then braver.
My fingers slid beneath the hem of his hoodie, and he let out a small sound that made my heart flutter. I pulled back enough to whisper, "Can I take this off you?"
His laugh was breathless. "I mean, it'd be rude not to."
I rolled my eyes as he raised his arms and let me tug it over his head. He looked boyish like that, hoodie hair, flushed cheeks, shy grin.
"You're cute," I said before I could stop myself.
He blinked, then grinned. "So are you. But I think that's cheating. You've always been cute."
I kissed him again to shut him up, and we stumbled back toward the bed, hands fumbling with zippers and hems, laughing when his sock got stuck on my comforter and nearly took both of us down with it.
When we were finally beneath the blankets, bare skin pressed against bare skin, the laughter faded into something quieter. Slower.
Softer.
His hand brushed down my side, trailing from my ribs to my hip, as he whispered, "You're so pretty."
My breath caught.
He looked at me like I was something delicate. Something meant to be held with both hands.
"I've thought about this," he admitted, voice low. "Not just the... you know. Sex part. But this. Just being here. With you."
I smiled. "Me too."
"Yeah?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
His lips found my neck, slow and soft, and my fingers tangled in his hair. Everything he did felt careful, like he was trying to memorize it. He kissed down my chest, across my stomach, and back up again, making me gasp and giggle at the same time.
"That tickles," I whispered.
He grinned against my skin. "Sorry. You're just... fun to kiss."
I blushed. "You're fun to kiss."
"Don't distract me, baby."
The pet name. Soft. Like he was testing it out and already addicted to how it sounded coming out of his mouth.
When he finally eased inside me, it wasn't perfect. It was a little messy. A little awkward. We both let out half-laughs when our noses bumped, when he shifted and the blanket got caught between us.
But then we found a rhythm.
Slow. Sweet. Steady.
He held me close, forehead resting against mine, hands everywhere: my waist, my cheek, the small of my back. I could feel him shaking a little, just like I was.
"You feel so good," he murmured, voice barely there. "So good for me, baby."
I kissed his shoulder. "You're shaking."
He laughed breathlessly. "I'm nervous."
"You're inside me, Vernon."
"Exactly," he whispered, grinning. "Kinda a big deal."
I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You're doing amazing, sweetie."
He let out a groan and buried his face in my neck. "Don't say that while I'm trying to be romantic."
"Sorry, sorry," I laughed, breath hitching when he rolled his hips a little deeper. "Just—k-keep doing that."
He lifted his head again. "That?"
"Mmhmm."
He kissed me quiet, hips rolling slow and deep, like he had all the time in the world. And I never wanted to be anywhere else.
When I came, it was soft and slow and blooming. My fingers curled into his back. My name fell from his lips like a secret.
And when he followed, it was with a shaky breath, a quiet moan, and my name again. Like he couldn't stop saying it.
He collapsed on top of me with a soft thud, then immediately tried to roll off. "Shit…too heavy?"
"No," I said quickly, arms still wrapped around him. "You're warm. Stay."
So he did.
We lay tangled up, sweat cooling, hearts steadying. His fingers traced shapes on my back while I pressed tiny kisses to his shoulder.
"Is it too soon to say this was my favorite night ever?" he asked.
I smiled against his skin. "A little. But I agree."
He kissed the top of my head. "Cool. Just checking."
We fell asleep like that. Wrapped in each other. The stars hidden behind the roof now, but still glowing somewhere just beyond.
