Here's chapter two! Please follow me here or on Ao3 as Bloodredcherry ✌🏻🥲✨
Let's Go!
Chapter 2
Author's Note: There's a couple of firsts in this chapter, like Adrian using someone's front door, lmao
I love y'all, but not enough to watch nearly 17 hours of gameplay 💖
Finally, we break the fourth wall a bit here, and a lot of it was me just making shit up, so hopefully it's okay.
✌︎
You realize halfway through doing your eyeliner, that you really do hope this is a date.
It's ridiculous - you just met the guy. This type of shit only happened in the movies.
You bite your lip, grabbing your pack of Half Magic face gems, holding your breath as you carefully press them to your skin, along your shock of lilac eyeliner, and they're small enough that they don't feel obvious.
Like you're trying too hard.
Which you're not.
The fact that you cleaned your place for nearly an hour after work, was pure coincidence and the candles you'd lit throughout your apartment was for the vibes.
Adrian didn't seem the type to mind your clutter, but you also wanted to look like you had your shit together.
Truthfully, you weren't used to caring about a man's opinion, but there was something about him, so it sits easy.
Your phone buzzes and you grab it.
𝖨'𝗆 𝗈𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝗐𝖺𝗒🧜🏻♂️🏠🎮
You quirk your head, wonderin exactly what the merman's for, and you grab your pants - black distressed wide legged pants, with a thick silver chain you'd found at a market in Seattle.
You smooth your hand over your cropped The Beaches band shirt and you thought your lacy purple bodysuit was a bit much, but now that you're entire outfit is put together, it's perfect.
You grab your phone, scrolling through your music until you find it, and you crank the volume as you head into your living room.
You're there, there when I need you
Oh my god, oh my god, do I need you
And if I'm too much baby, I'm sorry
You're the only one who can hold me
You dance forward your kitchen, grabbing the chips and Ultra Strawberry Dreams energy drinks you'd picked up on the way home, and you push your hair over your shoulder as you set the snacks on your coffee table.
You drop onto your couch, a huge u-shaped, hunter green sofa, covered in plush throw pillows and the crotcheted blankets you'd inherited from your grandmother when she moved into the nursing home.
You grab your Switch, in its lavender matcha vinyl and you're halfway through rearranging the furniture on your island when you phone starts ringing, and you knock it to the floor in your haste to answer it and you take a deep breath before answering.
"Hey."
"Hi, uh, I think I'm here?."
You bite your lip, "okay, come up." You dial 9, and Adrian mutters something you don't catch before the line cuts off, and you realize you forgot your lip tint, and you abandon your Switch, rushing into the bathroom, grabbing the tube, swiping your finger across your teeth before you step back, pursing your lips to smooth the berry tint across your lips.
There's a knock at your front door, and you slip on your way out of your bathroom, catching yourself before you eat total shit, and you take another deep breath before opening your door.
"Hey!"
Adrian's face brightens, and he holds up his hands, "I brought snacks!" He grins and you go a bit weak in the knees as you step back.
"Thanks," you laugh, as he piles boxes of Gushers and Fruit By the Foots into your arms. "Jesus," you laugh.
"I wasn't sure how long we're going to play so I brought diet coke."
"Are you planning on staying all night?"
You watch colour flush his face, "no," he shakes his head, with a nervous giggle that makes heat prickle up your chest, and you wait for Adrian to kick off his shoes, and he's looking around your apartment like he had looked around Fake Gamer Girl earlier that morning.
"Oh shit, is your rug a cloud?!"
"Oh, yeah," you grin, glancing at your white shag rug, that your vintage coffee table sits on, piled with snacks and your three controllers.
"Sick," Adrian nods, shrugging off his jacket, to hang it on a hook next to your front door. "Are you wearing gems?" He leans in, and your breath hitches as he reaches up, before glancing at his hand in betrayal.
"So, Spiritfarer?" He wonders, bouncing on his feet, and the guy is all kinetic energy, and you nod.
"Yeah, I was thinking we could play out here, I uh, only have one chair in my gaming room."
"You have a gaming room?"
"Yeah, it was supposed to be an office, but it's where I play my old school games like the Sims and Minecraft and where I keep my collectables."
"Can I see it?"
"Oh," you flush prettily, "sure. My place is pretty small. Do you want the full tour?"
"Sure," Adrian nods, pushing his glasses up his nose, as you walk towards your kitchen. "Here's my kitchen -"
"Your fridge is so small," he laughs, pulling it open.
You snort, as he peers at your vegetables and the absurd amount of hot sauce you kept on the second shelf.
"Damn, it's like Hot Ones in here."
"Oh," you shake your head, "I don't have anything really spicy - I still want to be able to taste my food."
"That's a lot of butts," he says, after he closes the door.
"Oh yeah, those are some of the first stickers Lex made."
"That's so fucking cool." He glances at you, "my friend Ads asked where I got my stickers, so I told her about your store. She only plays Animal Crossing."
"Covid?" You wonder.
"Yeah."
You snag the sleeve of his rugby shirt, pulling him towards your gaming room.
"Here it is," you murmur, pushing open the door. The room is small, and has just enough space for your desk, chair and two bookshelves.
"Holy shit," Adrian stops in his tracks, "is that an Odyssey G7 gaming monitor?"
"Yeah. I tried using multiple monitors but it was just so frustrating having to look from one screen to the next -"
"I only have my laptop, and an old fatback tv, and my switch." He laughs, waving it between you.
"And, uh, my bedroom's just down the hall by the bathroom ..."
Adrian gives you a look, and you point towards your bedroom door, where the bedazzled 'No Admittance' sign that you've had since you were ten, hangs from a Kirby hook.
Adrian follows behind you, and it takes you a minute to realize that he's still waiting in the hall.
"Adrian, you can come in."
He looks at you, "is tonight a date?"
"Oh -" you flush, carefully scratching just under your eye, so you avoid the gems. "Do you want it to be a date?"
Adrian stares at you, and you watch heat creep up his neck, "yes." You watch his adam's apple bob as he swallows, "my friend Harcourt told me that I needed to 'be cool', but Sasha said that I should just 'be myself', which uh ... Not a lot of people really go for -"
"Yeah? Well, fuck them."
You feel him watching you as you lean down to turn on your little lamp, and blue and white light fills your room, so it looks like you're underwater.
"Holy shit!" He cries, looking very much like a kid at Christmas. "Do you sell these at Fake Gamer Girl?"
"Yeah, they're in the 'aesthetics' section, next to the neon signs."
"My aesthetic is living in my mom's basement." You snort a laugh, "I don't actually live in her basement - I have my own fucking room -"
"I'm not judging," you assure him, and you miss the way he watches you, with proverbial hearts in hits eyes as you grab your sweatshirt.
"So, did you want to play Spiritfarer?" "Fuck yes. I watched the game trailer and the graphics are are fucking cool."
"And Daffodil?"
"I'm actually obsessed, can you really snuggle them?"
"I think you can hug him, I can't remember if he likes being held."
"That totally tracks," he wets his lips, "you know, consent and all."
You don't know why that makes you blush, but it does and you turn off your ocean light, so your standing in the darkness in your room.
"Did you want something to drink?" You wonder, slipping into the hall.
"Sure."
You pause, "are you okay?"
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Oh my god no, Adrian." you swallow, "you just, uh, make me nervous," you admit, before scurrying back into your living room.
"Nervous? How?" He wonders, strolling into the living room.
"I mean ... Have you looked in a mirror?"
"Of course I have."
"Well," you shrug, reaching down to grab a strawberry monster, and you feel him sidle up next to you, bending over to grab a coke, and his chest connects with yours and you take a shaky breath.
He smells good, like sandalwood and vanilla, and you crack open your can of Monster taking a gulp. Adrian's still touching you and you stand together for a moment before you gesture to your switch.
"It takes about twenty two hours to finish, b-but we don't have to play the entire game tonight."
Adrian drops onto your couch, reaching for his backpack to pull out his copy of Spiritfarer that's still in the cling wrap, and you draw your knees to your chest, cradling your switch in your hand as he rips open the plastic.
It's like a Pavlovian response and excitement thrums through you, as he pulls out the game card, and you lean your chin against your knee as you watch him insert it, and your shoulders immediate relax as the music starts.
You both watch Stella, and Daffodil, waking up in a boat next to a massive grim reaper.
"That would be a wicked Halloween costume," Adrian mutters, as Charon tells Stella he was worried she'd never wake up.
"He looks scary, but the Reaper is an absolute teddy bear -"
"He's leaving? But we just met them."
"I know."
You shiver when Charon speaks, watching Adrian as he reads the dialogue intertitles, and a curl falls against his forehead as he takes the Monster from your hand, taking a sip.
"That's sweet." A drop sits on his bottom lip, and you dart out your tongue to wet your lips.
"Sorry -"
"No, I like it."
You take a deep breath, and you swallow, before you shift over, so your shoulder is pressed against his, and he lets out a breath as Gwen shifts into her true form.
"Who's that?"
"It's Gwen."
A few minutes later, Adrian glances at you. "How many times have you beat it?"
"Twice? It. Makes me feel good, I'm not really concerned about finishing it, if that makes sense."
"Totally."
"So, when did you start playing?"
"I was six. It was the only way my parents could get me to go to school - those half days felt like years. What about you?"
"My brother played," you explain, gathering wood for your latest boat upgrade, "so I wanted to play. I started when I was eleven. The Sims ruled my life, but me and Freddie play Mario Kart on the weekends."
"Who's your favourite character?"
"Princess Peach," you grin, "obviously."
Two hours later, you're laying down, head resting in Adrian's lap as he happily munches on a handful of Takis, and you pulling apart your cherry licorice with your teeth.
"Wait -" Adrian mutters, "shit."
"Oh," you sit up, "hey -"
"I'm okay ... I know you told me it was sad -"
Adrian's eyelashes are wet with tears, and you shift on the couch, "but I wasn't expecting it to hit me so hard - oh -" he mumbles as your wrap your arm around him in an awkward hug.
"This okay?" You wonder, voice muffled by his shoulder. Adrian nods, getting his free arm around your waist and you close your eyes. "It gets worse."
"Fuck."
"Did you want to take a break? Play Pretty Princess Party?"
"Oh, I've been playing. It took me like an hour to make my princess."
"Can I see her?"
"Oh, uh," his eyes drop to his backpack, "I left it at home."
You watch him for a minute, before diving for his bag.
"No - shit!" He grunts as you elbow him out of the way, closing your hand around a game card.
"Ha!" You cry, leaning back against the arm of your couch, so you can switch the game card, and you bite your lip before your brows draw together.
"Is that supposed to be me?" You whisper, when you look over at him, he's sitting across from you, avoiding your gaze, head hung and your mouth quirks up.
"No one's ever made me their avatar before."
Your words hang in the air between you, before Adrian looks at you.
"You're not mad?"
"Why would I be mad?" You crawl back over to him, "it's so cute."
"She's got a little purple wig," Adrian laughs.
"Hold on," you sit up, crossing your apartment, to your game room to grab DC Universe Online and you drop back onto your couch, tearing into the plastic.
"I love that sound."
"Me too."
You quick bring up Character Creation, choosing a human male and superhero you wish there was an option for anti hero - complex characters like that were so much more fun to play. You quickly scroll down the options, "Flirty or serious?"
"Are those the only two options?"
"The only two options I'm giving you, yes."
"Flirty."
"Okay, gadgets or martial arts?"
"Martial arts."
You bite your lip, quickly choosing the hair that's closest to Adrian's and you select a half cross mask, so you can still see his goofy mop of curly hair.
"Colours ..." You murmur.
"Teal and black."
"Okay," you grin, tapping his shoulder.
You grin, typing in a character name and he stares down at your switch.
"Vigilante?" He wonders.
"Yeah."
"That's fucking sick," Adrian grins, and your breath catches when he looks up at you, and you're so close, you can see just how green his eyes are, and you reach across him to slip your hand into the Takis bag he has tucked against his side.
"Can I kiss you?" He whispers, and you gasp - immediately inhaling Takis dust, "oh shit -" he yelps as you quickly scoot back, so you can let out a deep, hacking cough.
Adrian's hand is warm against your back, and he presses your can of Monster into your hand. "Sorry."
You shake your head, "it's okay. You just surprised me," you murmur, taking another sip.
"We don't have to -"
"Adrian."
"Ads said I need to make sure the 'vibe' is right -" You bite your lip, "and I don't know if I'm reading things right, but - mhm" his breath is hot against the palm of your hand.
"Shut up," you shift onto your knees, "and kiss me." He nods, and you can hear him mumbling under his breath when you let him go.
"... open your mouth a bit," he says, carefully carding his fingers through your hair, "breath through your nose," your heart picks up, as he leans in, flushing as you realize exactly what he's doing. "... and close your eyes," and it's like you didn't even hear him and you blink as he stops just short of kissing you. "Close your eyes," he grins, eyes crinkling.
"Sorry -" you blurt, as he finally slots his mouth over yours, and you let out a breathy little sigh as his fingers grip the back of your head, reaching up to fist your hand in his shirt as he gently runs his tongue along your bottom lip.
He tastes spicy and sweet, and you're vaguely aware of something clattering to the floor, as he hauls you into his lap.
"Is this okay?"
"Yeah."
"You know, my friends think I made you up."
"What? Why?"
"My friend John said that you're 'too good to be true'."
"Well, why don't you tell them to swing by the shop sometime."
"Are you working tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'm closing."
"Cool."
"Do your friends play video games?"
"John does, and Ads has a switch. Chris has an old Nintendo, but I've never seen him actually use it."
"We have vintage nights once a month."
"I saw that on your Instagram."
"It's pretty fun, we close up early, order a bunch of pizzas ... It's super chill."
"When's your next
"The nineteenth."
"Can I come?"
"Yes, there's a few guys who are regular attendees."aand
Your brother is one of them, but you decide to keep that close to your chest for a while.
"Nice, John, my friend who thinks you're made up has beaten Elden Ring - twice."
Your eyes widen, "shit," you'd played it for nearly a week before giving up. When you gamed it was for pleasure, unlike Lex, who sometimes treated gaming like an endurance run. "He'd love Lex," you laugh, "she's beaten it too."
"Is she single?"
You nod, "yeah."
"John's never had a girlfriend -"
You bite back a laugh, Lex would love that, she often complained about having to break the people she dated out of their 'bad habits'.
"She's not straight."
Adrian shrugs, "John might be a dick, but he's an ally."
"So ... Are we playing matchmaker?"
"Oh yeah."
You grin, "fuck yes. What are some of his interests?"
"Whimsical printed t-shirts, and shitty box dye ..."
