wc: 1009
tags: ruggie bucchi, fem!reader only because reader is referenced as a “girl” in a boys locker room, established relationship because i said so, ruggie post game after a win, rugbert is cheeky as always, he also likes kpop because why not, slightly suggestive, never proofread- we type and upload
a/n: i sat for an hour in an unstable mental state after seeing this ruggie bucchi card. yana put her whole ass into this card. me thinks yana has a secret favorite, i mean have you seen ruggie's ssr cards ??? bangers
You tapped your phone screen once more, checking the time. It had been at least 20 minutes since the spelldrive match had ended and the NRC team had gone back to their locker room. You were trying to be patient, but it was killing you how long your boyfriend was taking. One after one, the team started to leave, but there was no sign of your biscuit brown, tousled-haired beau. You checked your phone one last time before you huffed and pushed past the entrance doors. You made your way past the short hallway of lockers into the open space where only a few team members remained, gathering their gear and belongings. Ruggie sat on the bench in the middle of the room.
He had already taken off his black athletic shirt and was in the process of taking off his cleats. He had music playing from his phone, feeling the rhythm and quietly singing to himself as he unstrapped his knee braces and put them in his bag. You stood there in front of him, hearing the sounds of the other lockers closing and the not so subtle whispers about a girl being in the boys’ locker room as the last of the team left for the night. You rested your hands on your hips and put on your best pouting face for him to see when he finally acknowledged you standing there. You watched as he continued to take his time removing each of his things and tucking them away in his bag. He softly changed his gaze to look at you, raised one eyebrow and grinned as he sang to you. “Baby, you a gangster, got my hands tied. Fallin’ for you deeper girl, I can’t lie. So sweet, like honey, honey.~ ”
“Ruggie, come on. It’s getting late and I want to go back to the dorms. It’s already cold and I’m tired,” you whined, grabbing his hand and tugging on it. “Honey, Honey, Honey, workin’ for you like a bee. Buzzin’ for you baby, baby. Tell me what you need. What you need, ha, you can say please,” he continued to serenade you with a look that on normal occasions would have you melting, but not at this moment. You dropped his hand harshly and lightly pinched one of his ears. “Hey, hey, those are sensitive,” he groaned before chuckling to himself and pulling out his normal everyday clothes from his bag. “And you’re tired? I forgot you just played in the match, my bad, chief.” He grabbed your hand back and pulled you onto his lap.
“Stop, you’re all sweaty and gross!” you exclaimed, clambering to get out of his grip. Your need to get away only made him pull you closer into his embrace. “But, I thought you liked this,” he snickered as he nuzzled his sweat soaked forehead on your shoulder. His eyes were beaming as he looked up at you, his fangs peaking through his mischievous grin. It was a hard sight to be upset at, and he knew that all too well. He knew you all too well. “Ruggie,” you whined again. “Say please, or we stay here all night,” he teased. “Please, Ruggie, hurry up,” you replied, your voice monotonous. His ears drooped a bit as he looked at you. “That doesn’t sound very sincere.”
“What? You want me to get on the floor and beg?” His ears perked up at your suggestion, which was supposed to be more of a rhetorical question. “Ruggie, I’m not getting on the floor and begging you to get undressed so we can go home.” You watched as his eyes trailed from your eyes to your lips and then back to your eyes. “You don’t want me undressed? I’m hurt. What do I do all this working out for then? For the boys?” he asked playfully. You lightly pushed him back and rolled your eyes. “You know what I mean. You’re still partially in your uniform and have to change. Don’t you think we should go home and rest? You guys just won another placement match, so you’ll want to be ready for the semifinals.”
“Yeah, yeah. We can go soon.” He moved you off his lap and onto the bench before standing up. He grabbed the hand towel that had been on the opposite side of him and used it to dry off the droplets of sweat on his face, neck, and chest before tossing it back on the bench. The locker room didn’t have much going on visually besides the random “team spirit” and “sportsmanship” posters hanging up on the walls behind a row of lockers. Ruggie was much more aesthetically pleasing to look at than them. You watched observantly as he searched his shirt for the tag so he put it on right, his forearm flexing every time his grip changed on the fabric. He pulled the shirt over his head, making sure to let his ears through first so they didn’t get tugged on.
He noticed you looking at his arms as he pulled his shirt down and straightened it out. “Don’t ogle me, weirdo.” He stood in front of you and leaned down to meet your eye level and placed one hand on either side of you. “Y’know, we did just win, and we don’t have to leave the locker rooms just yet.” Again, his fangy grin had you enamored as you felt your blood rushing to your face. You took the damp towel he had used previously and shoved it in his face between you both. “I wanna go home, Ruggie, please, you’re the one being a weirdo,” you teased playfully. “Yeah, okay, I’ll remember that. See if I share any of my snacks with you then,” he sighed as he ruffled his hair.
“Snacks?” you said intrigued. He bit his lip and shrugged as he grabbed his pants and walked off to the bathroom. “Ruggie, wait- are the snacks here??” you shouted to him. He just snickered as he closed the door without saying anything more.
wc: 613
cw: ruggie bucchi, drabble, gn!reader, it's very short, established relationship (you've been together for awhile), mushy gushy romance
a/n: this has been in my google doc drafts since August and i wrote it at like 11pm apparently ?? i must've been using my love goggles while i wrote this
“Ruggie…,” you whispered with a long pause afterwards. The sight before your eyes was one you never really anticipated on a day like today, but Ruggie was never short of surprises. You and Ruggie had taken the weekend to go back home to Sunset Savanna. Every time you two would go, it was always a given that you would visit a small field that grew wildflowers and sunflowers. It always had the prettiest view for the sunset, and since you were with Ruggie, he would always bring a blanket and some snacks for you both. It was something you always enjoyed doing when you came to visit with him, but this wasn’t ever what you thought would happen. Not here, not right now.
Ruggie was staring up at you with a beaming grin across his face, the sleeves on his white button up were rolled up to his elbows in his typical playful fashion. But this was no mere “playful” interaction between you two. This was something important, something far more serious. The way Ruggie knelt down on one knee, his hand holding out a small box with a dainty, yet breathtaking ring, was almost too much for you to take in all at once.
He took your hand; you could feel his own trembling as he spoke. “You know I love you; you mean the absolute world to me. All the money I could make, all the finer things I always wanted to have, hell, even the selling price for all those goodies in Kalim’s little treasure room- all of it's nothing compared to you. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to call you mine forever, my partner in life as we try to figure it out together. You are my sunshine every day, the reason I wake up every day and do my best to be a better person, the best that I can be so you’re proud to have me next to you.”
You were trying your hardest to hold in the immense amount of emotions you were feeling in this moment. After all these years- all the long days and nights when he was away and working hard to make sure you both were fed and taken care of; all the petty arguments you had over something that was never as serious as either of you made it out to be in the end; all the blissful, shared memories you two had accumulated together that would make you smile when your mind replayed them randomly throughout the day. Everything had brought you both to this point, to this moment in time- one that, truthfully, you wished would last a lifetime.
You let out a short exhale, trying to catch your breath and find the words you so desperately wanted to say to him, but he continued on with his affirmations towards you.
“I want to wake up to you every day; I want to make you breakfast, lunch, dinner- whatever, whenever. I want to be the reason you smile every day. I’ve grown up with so many hardships, I think I know pretty well when something is worth it, and dammit,” he chuckled a bit, “I think you’re worth it. We are worth it. I want to be the person you can rely on when you need me; I want to be at your side always. I need you to know that I love you more than anything, more than myself or my friends and family, more than anything or anyone on this planet, the galaxy. You are the one I want, the one I want to be with… please, my sunflower, will you marry me?”
wc: 2550
tags: fem!reader, she/her pronouns, Sterling Cooper, fluff, first meetings, alcohol consumed (by adults obv), reader is mid 20s, a bit flirty if you ask me hehe, never proofread ~we type and upload
Walking to the local general store was the last thing you wanted to add to your to-do list for the day. If only you had gotten up earlier, then maybe you would’ve noticed sooner that you were out of seeds to be planted for this season. No seeds means no crops, and no crops means you would be struggling to maintain the little level of sanity you had after taking on your grandfather’s long abandoned farm. The autumn season was beautiful here in your new home of Pelican Town. It was much different than the typical rustle and bustle of the city life you had before. But working in the corporate world had become too much stress. Not that this new flourishing farm was any less stressful, but the townspeople were always willing to help and you knew your grandfather would be proud that you were doing this for yourself.
Luckily, the farm wasn’t too far from the heart of the town where all the little stores and businesses were. It was just on the outskirts, maybe a mile or two outside the town limit, but you didn’t mind the walk. Walking was much more pleasant than sitting at a desk all day. Every day you fidgeted in your seat, anxiously awaiting for some way to leave and get out of the hell hole that was the corporate life. If not for that letter you remembered your grandfather had sent you, then you would probably still be stuck, the metaphorical chain still attached to your leg from the desk you were assigned to. It was a huge leap for yourself. Taking on an abandoned farm? Since when did you know anything about farming or crops or profit margins? The truth is that you had zero idea what you were doing, zero idea if this would even work out in the long run, but you wanted to have faith in yourself. You needed this change badly.
You checked your watch, almost 2pm. The store was still open until 5pm, so you had more than enough time to get there. Thankfully, you weren’t noticing your lack of seeds on a Wednesday or else you’d be out of luck until the next day.
The door’s chime bells dinged and donged as you opened the front door of the store and walked inside. Ever since moving to Pelican Town, you had told yourself that if you were going to buy seeds, you weren’t feeding the wallet of that scoundrel, Morris, at stupid Joja Mart down the road. You’d much rather contribute to the small community businesses. The mom and pop shops were always your favorite in the city; here, it was the same. You were no stranger to the aisles of Pierre’s; however, this was the start of a new season. The layout changed a bit each time, making room for the new seeds and items for sale. As you looked towards the counter, you could see Pierre speaking with Mayor Lewis. The conversation looked … intense? More than likely something about taxes and what not, so you didn’t want to really interrupt just to ask where the new season’s seeds would be.
You went down the first aisle, browsing through the shelves. There were so many new fall things that caught your eye, you almost forgot your real reason for coming to the store. As you turned down the next aisle, where hopefully those pesky new seeds were at, you bumped into another who was moving to the aisle you were on. You stumbled back a step or two but were able to catch your balance quickly.
“Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry, miss! I wasn’t looking where I was going. I hope you’re okay.” A hand reached out to assist you from the person you ran into. Clearly neither of you were paying any attention coming around the corner.
You brushed off his extended hand. “No, no. It’s fine! I wasn’t paying attention either, I’m sorry, too. I’m fine though, thank you,” you said with a smile. The man in front of you looked relieved that he didn’t hurt you in the head on collision you two had had. He was wearing a white button up, where the sleeves were so casually rolled up his forearms, with a black apron and a nametag on it. “Oh! Do you work here… Sterling?” you asked as you tried to read the scribbled name on the tag. He patted over his nametag and laughed. “Yeah, I do. Sorry, I know this chicken scratch ain’t the easiest to read. My name is Sterling, Sterling Cooper. And you are?” he asked, his smile was as radiant as the sun outside. “Oh, me? My name is Y/N. I just moved here awhile ago, took on that old farm down the road. It used to be my grandfather’s and he passed it on to me.”
“Ah, so you’re new here, huh?” he chuckled. “I used to live here as a kid and then moved to the city. I just moved back not too long ago either. Ole Pierre was nice enough to let me have my old job back from my teenage years.” As he said teenage years, you stared at him and laughed. He honestly didn’t look that old, but he talked as if he was pushing his 30s. “Teenage years? You mean like 2 years ago?” you jokingly said. He shook his head and snickered at your words. “I know this face looks fresh and new, but I promise I am 27. Those teenage years feel like a lifetime ago.” Twenty-seven? He didn’t really look it, but you were going to take his word. You laughed at his response as you stood there. His sapphire-like blue eyes sparkled the more he smiled. It was hard not to admire him, but you were here for seeds- not some maroon haired, blue eyed store clerk that you just met.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” he asked to break the silence between you two. You noticed he had a cart next to him that was full of new seasonal items. He must be stocking the shelves, I bet he knows where the stuff is at, you thought to yourself.
“Actually, that would be amazing?! I’m looking for some of the new fall seeds so I can get ahead on planting them on the farm. Just some things like artichoke, amaranth, bok choy- oh and pumpkins, of course! It wouldn’t be fall without those,” you chuckled as you read off your small list you had made for yourself.
“Well, let me see here,” Sterling said as he turned around and dug through the cart behind him. He was almost tossing stuff to the side in his search before finally finding a few seed pouches and turning around. “I’ve got the amaranth and bok choy seeds right here, but you’ll have to go down that way to get the artichoke and pumpkin seeds you need.” He offered you 4 small pouches of seeds, which you gladly took from him. “Thank you so much, Sterling! You’re so handsome!” The words just seemed to roll off your tongue without you even realizing it. You stood there like a deer caught in the headlights, embarrassed that you just said that out loud. Sterling, shocked as well, stood there silent with his mouth open- almost as if he was going to respond but couldn’t find the words to say.
Without saying anything more, you hurriedly walked past him and put your head down as you made your way to where he said the other seed packs would be. You could feel your face get hot with anxiety. You told yourself that next time you needed help, you were just going to interrupt Pierre or wait however long it took to get assistance from him. There was no way you would even think about asking Sterling for help again. You picked up the other packs of seed and damn near ran to the front counter. All you wanted to do right now was pay for your things and leave without talking to anyone else, especially not any other store clerks here.
“This it for you today, y/n?” Pierre said as he took the packs and started ringing them up. “Yeah, for a while at least. Hopefully I can get these planted today and have a good start for the season, y’know?” You spoke the words, but your mind was elsewhere, and Pierre could tell. “You okay? I can get you water if you need, you look like you should sit down or something.” You shook your head at his words, you didn’t need anything more from the store- you needed to go home and plant these seeds and, maybe later, hop into Gus’ bar and relax with a drink or two after today’s efforts. “Well alright then,” Pierre said with a sigh. He gave you your total, and you passed money over the counter. It took everything in you to not snatch the bag from him as you rushed to leave. But before you left, you decided to torture yourself even more and sneak a glance at Sterling, who was still stocking the shelves in the aisles. He was very handsome, there was no denying it, but why, oh why, did you have to say it out loud?
You were standing at your kitchen sink, still cursing yourself internally about being weird at the general store, while you washed the dirt off your hands. The seeds were finally planted- at least one stressor for your day was gone, and with the homemade fertilizer you had whipped up, you hoped that this coming harvest would be bountiful enough in profit to hold you over til the cold winter months were through. After the day you had had, you just wanted to relax, so you changed out of your dirty, farming attire and slipped into some comfy,everyday wear. A nice drink and slice of pizza from Gus’ would make anyone’s day better.
By the time you arrived back in town, it was roughly about 9pm- a young night for those out and about at the saloon. You walked inside and approached the bar. “Oh, goodness! Y/N! Been a bit since you’ve come in, what can I get ya tonight?” Gus cheerily said as you sat down. “Can I get just a rum and coke and then let’s do a slice of that Gus’ famous pizza,” you hummed as you tapped your fingers on the counter. “Comin’ right up!” Gus turned around and started prepping the oven and grabbing an empty bottle to make your drink. The atmosphere was already making you relax; Gus had felt like a long distant uncle since you met him. He was always someone you could rely on that would listen to your woes and try to brighten your day in any way he could, which was usually with that pizza you loved so much.
As Gus put the drink in front of you, out of the corner of your eye you could see another person leaning on the bar as they sat down. “Hey, Gus! Can you get me an ale? Actually- make it two!” the voice sang. It didn’t take long to figure out who the person was that took the seat beside you. “Ah, absolutely, Sterling! Let me check this pizza and I’ll get ‘em served.” Sterling nodded as Gus went about his business and then turned to face you. “Did you get your seeds planted alright? Pierre said you didn’t look so good when you left the store earlier.” He put his hand on his cheek and leaned on the counter, smiling as he waited for you to answer.
“I’m fine,” you said as you glanced over at him. “They all got planted. I just … felt a little light headed. Yeah, lightheaded. But I’m fine now.” You traced the rim of your drink with your finger and then took a sip of it. The awkwardness from earlier in the day was still there for you, but he acted like nothing was wrong- or like you didn’t weirdly blurt out a compliment and run away when meeting him the first time.
“Lightheaded?” Sterling chuckled. “If that’s what you say it was, then I’ll take your word for it.” Gus placed the two ales in front of Sterling and went to the other side of the counter to take more orders from the townspeople waiting. “Don’t think this is a pickup line, but do you come here often?”
“Come here often? Sounds like a pickup line to me,” you teased. “But no, actually, I only come every once in a while- usually when it’s been a long day and I just need to relax. Why? Do you come here often?”
“Wow, first you call me handsome and now you’re asking if I come here often? Was it me that made you lightheaded? I’m flattered.” He grinned at you with a smile so delicious you thought that the few sips of your drink were already clouding your thoughts. As he took a drink of his ale, he could sense you still felt some type of way about the exchange earlier. “I mean, you called me handsome and I couldn’t even say anything before you scurried away. What if I was going to compliment you back?”
“So it was a pickup line. I’m not interested,” you said harshly, your brain and heart pulling you two different ways. “It wasn’t a real pickup line, I swear it,” he said as he held his hand over his heart in sincerity. “But what if I said I was interested? Then what? What if I wanted to tell you that I also think you’re stunning and I’d like to get to know you more, if you’d allow me?”
“Gus, is my pizza ready? Can you box it for me?” You practically shouted as you ignored Sterling beside you. You stood up from your seat and fumbled in your wallet to grab the money for your food and drink. “It’s like that?” Sterling asked with a surprised look on his face. “I have to get back to Shane anyway, he’s probably laughing at my failed attempt right now. I hope I’ll see you around though.” You watched him from the corner of your eye get up from the counter and grab the two drinks and walk over towards the fireplace where you could see Shane standing.
As Gus took the money you handed him and put the box in your hand, he didn’t let go of it. You looked up at him confused. “He’s a nice guy, really. Been through some hard times, but I wouldn’t cross him off your list just yet.” He gave a wink to you and let go of the pizza box. “Thanks, Gus,” you said quietly. You looked over your shoulder at Sterling and Shane, laughing and drinking their ale together. The way he looked when he was happy, smiling and laughing, it was like sunshine in human form. You downed the remaining bit of your drink, which truthfully wasn’t even that much, and left the saloon with even more on your mind than before you came in.
Summary: Deuce needs you to come over- you're the only one who can help Ace right now.
WC: 1549
tags: ace trappola x reader, gn!reader, Deuce Spade cameo, more like a comfort ???, rejection talked about, ace is dumb actually, haha pillow fight, not proofread or beta read, we are just here to ball out y'know
Frantic, you haphazardly stormed into the Heartslabyul dorm, almost knocking over the decorations in the foyer as you came in. You didn’t know what was going on, only receiving a text that read “SOS, hurry” from Deuce. You walked through the dorm; it would take too long to find Deuce on your own so you stopped and asked where he was. Out of breath, you finally found Deuce. In the kitchen… fine as can be… opening a popsicle wrapper.
“Deuce,” you said panting and with a confused look on your face. Deuce looked you over, he seemed confused himself. “Why are you panting, did you run here? That was pretty fast, you should come run with me and Jack sometime.” He took the fruit popsicle in his mouth as you caught your breath. “Why did you send me an SOS if it’s not an emergency?! And plus you said hurry, what am I supposed to think, egghead?!” you frustratedly shouted.
“Oh, well it is an SOS, but I guess it wasn’t that big of a deal that you needed to run here. You prolly could’ve just walked and it would’ve been fine,” he said with a cautious smile. “I didn’t mean to make you worry, I just think you’re the only one who could help right now.” You walked over to the fridge, opening the freezer and grabbing a popsicle of your own. “So, what is it? And where’s Ace, isn’t he like glued to you?”
“That’s the thing, it’s Ace that I need your help with,” Deuce said softly. Deuce? Needing help with Ace? And somehow you were the only one Ace would listen to? “What’s wrong with him? He fall down in a well somewhere and is too stubborn to let you help him?” You chuckled, trying to make light of the situation. Deuce didn’t laugh though. “No.. he actually told his crush he liked them and they rejected him,” he explained.
Your smile went away as you heard why Ace was MIA right now. He probably told everyone who knew that he was fine, but you and Deuce knew that wasn’t true at all. “I’ll go talk to him,” you said as you grabbed another popsicle from the freezer.
You walked down the hallways to the room you knew all too well. You, Ace, and Deuce frequently had sleepovers, so being at the Heartslabyul dorm and in Ace’s room was like a daily thing. Knock, knock, knock. “No one’s home,” you could hear Ace say from the other side of the door. He sounded like he was pouting, moping away in his room. You tried to turn the knob, only to find that you and the rest of the world were locked out. “Ace, it’s me. Unlock the door,” you calmly requested.
It was quiet on the other side for a moment until you heard rustling in his room. A disheveled Ace opened the door. His hair was unusually more messy than normal, and by the look on his face, you could tell “fine” wasn’t the word to describe him. He let you in the room and then shut the door, locking it back, as you sat on his bed. He walked back towards you, and you held out the popsicle you brought for him. “Here, this is for you,” you said with a small smile. He took the popsicle and sighed as he sat down beside you on the bed.
“You good?” you asked playfully as you watched him try to open the wrapper. “Shuddup,” he huffed as he struggled. He gave up after his second attempt and shoved it into your hand, wanting you to help him with it. He laid back on his bed and stared at the ceiling as he waited. “Y’know, your popsicle is gonna melt on your bed if you eat it lying down.” You handed him the popsicle, the glare he gave you as he put it in his mouth said that he didn’t care if it melted on his sheets or about the consequences that came from it. “So… how was your day?” you asked, breaking the silence.
“I know Deuce told you. I don’t wanna talk about it. I told him that, so what’s he do? He sends you, like I’m some kid who needs their parent to come hold them when they’re upset. I’m not a baby,” he scoffed, shoving the popsicle back in his mouth. “Yeah, he told me, but I don’t think it’s like that? Or maybe it is like that? You are kind of a baby,” you teased. “But in a good way.” Ace rolled his eyes at you before moving to the top of his bed and sitting up against his headboard.
You moved up to sit beside him, taking one of his pillows and throwing it across your lap to rest your arm on. Ace sighed again as he ate more of his popsicle. “I just don’t get it, I thought they liked me, too. That’s why I said I wanted to see them. And then they just-” Ace groaned at reliving the conversation in his head. “Sometimes people are just hard to read, I guess? But that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you,” you reassured him.
“That’s the thing, there isn’t anything wrong with me, so why wouldn’t they like me?” Ace said arrogantly. You flicked him upside the head, trying to bring him back to reality. “I was trying to be nice, dumbass. People have their flaws,” you said, pausing and turning his face towards you, “including you Ace.” You finished your popsicle and got up from the bed to throw your wrapper away, Ace grabbed your shirt to catch your attention. He was holding out his popsicle wrapper to you, like a child asking you to throw something away for them. You threw both of them away and came back to his bed.
“All I’m saying is, if you got rejected, that doesn’t mean you’re less than who you were before. You’re still the same stupid, childish, hella annoying at times guy you were before,” you said with a smile. “Hey, I thought you were here to make me feel better, what the hell,” he scoffed. “And, you’re still the same loveable, silly, cute, carefree guy you were before, too,” you added. Ace gave you a cheeky smile. “You think I’m cute?” he teased.
“Ace, I will literally hit you,” you said, grabbing his pillow and holding it up as a threat. His cheeky smile never left his face, it was taunting you. You narrowed your eyes at him and acted like you were about to swing the pillow, making him flinch. “Big baby,” you muttered. Without a second thought, Ace took his other pillow and hit you across the face with it. You sat there, mouth wide open and in shock, as you stared at him. He stared back with the same stupid, mischievous smile painted across his face.
“This is why you got rejected, you clown,” you shouted as you hit him back with the pillow you had. “HEY, THAT’S NOT COOL!” he shouted back. The both of you hit each other back and forth a few times until he finally gave up. “Do you feel better now?” you asked, raising your eyebrows at him. Ace threw his pillow onto the floor and stretched out on his bed. “Actually, yeah I do. Forgot about everything for a moment,” he chuckled. He paused for a minute and then pulled out his phone. “You wanna see what they said?”
You were curious as to what they said, what reason they gave for rejecting him. You took his phone and looked at the messages, noticing that he had a recent message from them. “Ace, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” you said, giving him a look. “They literally like you.” You tossed his phone back to him.
He stared at the messages, looking at you and then back at them. “They literally said “no” when I said I wanted to see them more. They do not,” he said confused. You crawled over to him and pointed at his phone. “Listen, dingbat. They literally texted you back a few minutes later trying to get you to answer because you left them on read AND texted you back over an hour later calling you some cringe nickname they gave you. How dumb are you?” you sighed. “Deuce made me run all the way here for nothing.”
Ace kept looking at the texts over and over again, his brain trying to connect the pieces that didn’t click before. “Oh my god,” he said quietly. “Get out, get out. Get out of my room, I have to make a phone call.” Before you could even answer, Ace was pushing you off his bed and across the room towards his door. He unlocked it and pushed you through it, but not without telling you thank you before he shut his door.
You shook your head and saw Deuce from the corner of your eye. “How is he?” he whispered as he approached you. You let out a long sigh. “Stupid. Stupid as ever. He’ll be fine,” you laughed, putting your hand on Deuce’s shoulder as you turned him to walk down the hallway with you.
wc: 781
a/n: i'm telling you now, I may fall short on this but we will do our best lmao and idk what happened to my cute banner. forgive me.
“♪♪ Spooky Scary Skeletons, Send shivers down your spine~”
You had been cleaning around the Ramshackle dorm all day because to be honest, it just needed more TLC than what you had been able to give it lately. It was the last day of September, but this was just the beginning of your real spooky season.
Every year you’d do a deep clean and then decorate your home in festive decorations. Bright green and purple witches’ hats and cauldrons, a bucket on every table with Halloween candies, and your favorite ghosts and pumpkins placed in just the right spots.
Decorating Ramshackle felt different than when you’d do your house back home, but you were trying to make the best of it since this was your favorite holiday. So you woke up this morning and immediately got to work and turned on your spooky music playlist after breakfast.
DING DONG !
You stopped in your tracks, trying to figure out why on earth someone would be here this early- and on the weekend nonetheless. You tossed your cleaning rag onto the couch and opened the front door.
“Hi, I have some pumpkin spice drinks for-,” they acted like they were reading a nonexistent label on the two drinks in their hands. “For a Y/N? Do you know them? They’re still supposed to tip me for these~”
The hyena beastman standing in your doorway gave a fangy grin as he handed you one of the drinks. “Rug, what are you doing here? Do you realize how early it is?” You stepped aside so he could come inside the dorm.
“Mmph,” he said with a nod as he drank his drink and plopped down on the couch, scooting the dirty cleaning rag away from him with his hand. He placed his drink on the coffee table, making sure he was using the coasters sitting out.
“I mean, yeah, I know what time it is. It’s spooky time.” You rolled your eyes at him and chuckled. “Okay, sure, but why not come over later? It’s like the crack ass of dawn right now,” you said as you leaned over the back of the couch next to him. “What? You don’t want my help? Aren’t you putting up your decorations today? Sure looks like you could use me. Y’know I used to work for a Spirit Halloween one time. It was a seasonal gig, but this guy was the one in charge of putting up all the displays.”
He looked so proud of himself as he spoke; he was so happy to share his Halloween decoration accomplishments with you. “Oh, wow~” you said sarcastically. “You mean I’m here with a world renowned Halloween decorating connoisseur? And to think I go to the same school as them! Amazing…”
“Alright, butthead. I guess I’ll just leave then.” He got up from the couch and grabbed his drink. “Ahhh, guess all those… fun… fall ideas I had can go down the drain…,” he said in a sulking tone as he took a few steps towards the door before turning back to look at you.
“Don’t give me those eyes, you heathen.” You playfully glared at him, racking your brain to figure out his silly little schemes. “What kind of ‘fun fall ideas’ are you talking about?”
“Oh… it’s nothing. Nothing you wanna go do with me anyways. Guess I’ll have to find another to enjoy this Rugtober with.” He had his hand on the doorknob and a wide grin on his face as he looked at you. He knew what he was doing.
“Rugtober? What the hell is that?” you chuckled as you put your drink down and grabbed your cleaning rag once again.
“Uhh?! Only the best time of the year- and if you wanna join, you have to get a ticket from yours truly.”
You narrowed your eyes at him again and crossed your arms over your chest. “What’s the ticket gonna cost me?”
Ruggie opened the door and took another big sip of his drink. “Where’s the fun in me telling you? I’ll see you tomorrow, at the crack ass of dawn again, shyeheehee~”
“HEY?!” you shouted to him, his head popping back in before the door shut completely. “You’re just gonna leave? I thought you came to help decorate?!”
Ruggie looked around and snickered. “You look like you got it taken care of, Y/N. Seee youuu tomorrroowwwww~,” he sang as the door shut. You stood there and wondered what plans this “Rugtober” season would bring to you. At least this stupid pumpkin drink he brought you was going to fuel you through your cleaning, but you couldn’t help but wonder what he was scheming.
Summary: You and Ruggie get to go on a picnic date together.
WC: 1740
Tags: Ruggie x reader, gn!reader, picnics, flower crowns, Ruggie sings to you at one point, Ruggie is pure bliss, for once this is beta read and i lightly proofread it, tw big time rush though
“Do we have to walk any further? Ruggie, please. My legs are tired,” you groaned as you trudged along behind him. Ruggie was in front of you, carrying the large basket he put together for your afternoon. “Oh, c’mon. We don’t have much more to go. I just wanted us out of the way of the club. Riddle said he didn’t care if we came out here as long as we’re out on the far side of the fence,” he replied happily as he turned his head back to you with a grin. “See, just right up there and that’s it. I promise.” You looked in the direction he nodded his head towards. It was a nice patch of grass, not far from the field’s fencing and covered by shade from a large tree.
“Shade!” you yelled as you jogged past him. You felt like you had been walking in the sun for hours, when really it had only been just a few minutes. The sun was blaring today though, and the shade never looked more enticing than now. “Hey, I thought your legs were tired?! Slow Down!” Ruggie shouted to you as you kept going towards the shade. “I’m the one with the blanket and stuff!” He shook his head and chuckled to himself as he watched you stop, toss your bag off your shoulders, and plop yourself down onto the shaded grass. You rolled onto your back, taking in how cool the shaded grass felt against your skin. Ruggie made his way next to you and put the basket down on the ground.
“I like that the grass isn’t all cut short like it is up by the school,” you said as you lazily moved your arms along the grass. Ruggie opened the basket and pulled out a large yellow-orange and white blanket. With the help of the light breeze, he opened it wide and laid it out on the ground beside you. “Here, get on the blanket before you start getting ants in your pants,” he laughed. That got your attention. You rolled towards Ruggie and laid on the blanket as he got everything out of the basket. He took out two square packages, a small container of what looked like different types of fruits, and two bottles of water. “Lunch,” he said as he gestured to the food in between you two,” is served.”
You sat up and took one of the packages and started to open it. “What does Chef Ruggie have for me today?” you said playfully as you raised your brows at him. “The chef has prepared a gourmet meal today, one that will really satisfy your taste buds,” he chuckled as he opened the other package and winked at you. You smiled wide as you got your food out- a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich. “Chef Ruggie, you shouldn’t have!” You grinned at him as he smiled back at you. “I know, I spoil you too much,” he teased. “So what’s in that?” you said, pointing to the container of fruits and taking a bite of your sandwich.
“Mm, this-” Ruggie said with his mouth half full of his own bite he took. He sat and finished chewing for a second before he finished. “Some fruits. I brought some strawberries, grapes, uhh there is some honeydew in here I think.” You took the container from his hands before he could even finish telling you what all was in it. “Ok, greedy butt. Take it all I guess,” he laughed to himself. “I’m sorry,” you said looking at the container and then Ruggie. “You brought it, you get some first.” You held out the container for him and he took a strawberry with a smile, but instead of eating it himself, he held it up to your mouth to feed you. “No, you,” he grinned. You happily took the strawberry and ate it. They were really fresh- the right texture and just the perfect amount of sweetness.
“Mmm, those are good. Where’d you get them?” you cooed. “I know a guy who knows a guy,” he said as he stuck his tongue out at you. “Uh-huh… I bet you do,” you laughed as you kept enjoying your food. “No, actually I got them from the botanical garden. Had to pull a few strings to get ‘em, but hey it was worth it if you like them.” He grinned widely to show how proud of himself he was. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and turned on music. You grabbed your bottle of water, pausing as you heard the song that started playing. “Oh that’s funny,” he said as he chuckled at it. “Please.. Don’t, Ruggie,” you said, giving him a serious look. Ruggie didn’t hear your words, he was already getting ready to start his performance for you.
“Have you ever had the feeling you're drawn to someone? And there isn't anything they could of said or done?” He started to sing. You stared blankly at him, almost cringing at his display. You were so thankful no one else was around to see him like this, but he would only ever act like this when it was you two alone anyway. He was always silly and loved seeing you laugh at his jokes or things he did. “C’mon you know you love me,” he whispered to you. You shook your head at him as you watched him start to dance in the spot where he was sitting, singing directly to you. “Looking for a, looking for a- That you're looking for a boyfriend. I see that, gimme time, you know I'm gonna be there. Don't be scared to come put your trust in me. Can't you see all I really want to be- Is your boyfriend,” he said as he vibed to the music and pointed at you.
You laughed loudly at him. “Ruggie, stoppp,” you snorted. “You’re so cringe. No one even listens to Big Time Rush anymore, oh my god.” Ruggie chuckled and finished his sandwich. “Yeah, well I do, so,” he shrugged. You finished your own sandwich and ate a few more pieces of fruit, just enjoying the time you got to spend with Ruggie. Between classes and how busy you both were with your own lives, it was hard to find real time out of your day to do something together. But today was different, Ruggie had planned this date out in advance so that you two would for sure make the time to see each other.
You sat on the blanket and closed your eyes, enjoying the breeze as it blew by and taking in the sounds of your surroundings. It was so peaceful you almost forgot where you were at until you kept hearing a weird snapping sound every so often. You opened your eyes and looked around. You saw Ruggie laying on his abdomen with half his body off the blanket. His tail lightly swishing and his ears twitching every time he heard the birds chirping. You peaked around his shoulder, trying to see what he was doing. That’s when you saw him grab one of the small little white flowers in the grass, twisting the stem around another flower and tying it to make a knot. He was making a flower crown.
“Rug, what’cha doing?” you asked behind him. He answered as he kept picking flowers and making his crown. “I’m making you a flower crown.” His words made your heart flutter a little bit, he was too adorable. You looked around your side of the blanket, seeing the dandelions in the grass beside you. You decided that if he was going to make you one, then you would make him one as well. You liked the idea of using the dandelion flowers more than the white ones he was using. After a few minutes, he came up behind you and lightly put the flower crown on your head. He leaned in and put his head on your shoulder. “Making one, too?” he asked.
“Yeah,” you said, turning to him. “This one's for you though.” You smiled at him as you put the flower crown atop his head, making sure to be gentle around his sensitive ears. He looked up at your hands trying to watch you put it on him. The smile on his face was wider than before as he met your gaze when you got done. “Now we both have one,” you said, sticking your tongue out at him. For a moment, you both just sat and stared at each other smiling before you broke the silence. “You wanna hear something?” you said with a small giggle. “Sure, what’s up?” Ruggie said, nodding and adjusting the flower crown on your head.
“I had no idea that these flowers and the purple fluffy ones there-” you said, pointing at your crown and then to flowers out past the blanket, “were both clovers. I just thought they were something else.” Ruggie looked at you and laughed. “I’m sorry, what? How did you not know?” Ruggie laid back on the blanket and looked up at the leaves in the tree above you both. “You wanna know something else?” you said crouching down beside him and whispering. “Y’know, I’m not sure if I do, but go ahead, what else?” he laughed. You got closer to his ear and almost laughed in it before saying what more you wanted to say. “I didn’t know the yellow ones and the puffy ones you make a wish on were both dandelions.”
Ruggie let out a really obnoxious laugh and rolled over to look at you. “You’re joking, right? Please say you’re pulling my leg right now.” You shook your head no and laughed at yourself. Ruggie could do nothing but put his hand over his face and laugh as well. “What am I supposed to do with you?” he teased. “I don’t know. Teach me about all the things I don't know anything about, I guess,” you said with a smile. Ruggie grabbed you and pulled you to lay down beside him and pointed up at the sky above you. “That big yellow thing over there, that’s the sun. And oh- those green things moving in the wind right there, sounds crazy, but those are called leaves.” You rolled your eyes as you both laughed. “Okay, y'know what- go back to singing Boyfriend to me again.”
You rubbed your eyes groggily as you made it down the steps. Having just rolled out of bed, your eyes were still struggling to adjust to the light coming in past the curtains on the window. Grim had pounced on you that morning, whining about someone being at the door. You kept telling him there was no way someone would be there so early, the sun had just come up. But you were mistaken.
As you made it off the last step, you could hear light mumbling coming from outside the door. Confused, you quietly approached the door and put your ear to it, trying to make out the muffled sounds. It was hard to really decipher what was actually being said, but it was easy to recognize to whom the voice belonged to.
You threw the door open to find Ruggie standing there on your doorstep, once again. “Ruggie.” Your tone was sullen, clearly from unwillingly being woken up so early. “Oh, turn that frown upside down, sunshine. It’s Rugtober, did you forget? I did tell you that I’d be here again super early.”
He stood there with his hands in his pockets, eyes bright and chipper as if he had been up for hours already. Did he ever take the time to really get in good sleep, or was he always a ‘go-go-go’ person? His outfit consisted of a dark gray shirt with the spell drive team’s logo, a mustard yellow plaid shirt overtop with the sleeves rolled and left unbuttoned, and a plain black pair of joggers and sneakers.
For waking you up so early, you decided to get him back a bit with teasing. “Are you already dressing up for Halloween? Gonna be a scarecrow this year?” You raised an eyebrow at him as he sucked his teeth at your words.
“Yeah,” he grabbed at the bottom hem of the plaid shirt, “this is my scarecrow outfit. You don’t like it?” He looked up at you, giving you sickeningly sweet eyes. It was difficult to not think it was adorable.
“So what is our plan for day 1 of Rugtober, Ruggie?” you asked.
“Two words. Pumpkin. Patch. Well, I guess four words. Also, get and dressed. Maybe six words. Hurry and up, oh seven, already!” He chuckled to himself as he counted on his fingers.
“Okay, okay, mister impatient. Give me like 5 minutes, I’ll be right back. I’ll even wear a flannel so you don’t become a lonely scarecrow today.”
“I’m touched,” he said, putting his hand over his heart. “I’ll be waiting here.”
You shut the door and ran back upstairs, scaring Grim and making him fall off the bed as you came back into your bedroom.
“WAHHHH!!” Grim hit the floor with a thud. “What’d’ya doing scaring me like that?! Who was that?” he asked, rubbing the top of his head.
“It was Ruggie. I have to get dressed, we’re going to a pumpkin patch today. And before you even ask- no you cannot come along.” You rummaged through your drawers and closet, quickly finding clothes to wear, not forgetting the flannel you said you’d wear.
“Hmph, like I wanna go anywhere with him anyway. He never shares his snacks with me,” Grim huffed and stuck his tongue out. His fake disinterest was amusing, you knew he probably really wanted to go, but this was something Ruggie invited you to- not you and Grim.
You finished getting dressed, walked over to him, and put your hand on his head gently, avoiding the spot where he bonked his head moments ago. “How about I bring you a small pumpkin back? Yeah? One you can decorate however you’d like?”
Grim’s ears perked up at your words and he smiled mischievously. “You better bring me back a good one, or you’ll roux the day and feel the wrath of the all powerful mage, Grim!”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get you back into bed, o’ powerful one.” You picked him up, put him back on your bed, and watched as he snuggled back up into the covers. “I’ll be back later, be good.” Grim was already half asleep as you left the room and closed the door quietly before meeting Ruggie downstairs.
“Alright, let’s go.” You locked the door as you closed it. Ruggie nodded and turned on his heel, leading the way.
Going towards the town of Sage’s Island, you spotted an old wooden fence with a makeshift sign on it that read “Pumpkin Patch” with an arrow pointing down a small dirt path. Realistically, it seemed odd that a pumpkin patch would be out of the way like this, but you wouldn’t think Ruggie would lead you into danger- at least, not without forewarning you before.
“Why’s it so far out of the way? I feel like we’ve been walking for hours, Ruggie,” you groaned. “Well, if it was right by the road, then there wouldn’t be any room for that.”
You kept walking, staring at the sky above you and not paying attention to the stopped beastman in front of you, running into him and staggering back.
“OOF!” Ruggie said as he caught his balance and turned around and grabbed your hand. “Watch it, klutz,” he teased. “Oh, shut up,” you said as you used his hand to stabilize yourself and tried to reorient yourself. “Wouldn’t be any room for what?” you asked looking everywhere but where Ruggie had been talking about.
“For that.” Ruggie pointed up ahead to a small little hill. There were what looked like hundreds of pumpkins, but what was amazing, leaving you in awe, was the ginormous pumpkin that was in the middle of them all. “Holy shi-”
“Shh, shhh. Language,” Ruggie said, putting a finger to your lips. “Come on” He took your hand and pulled you up the hill, making sure you didn’t clumsily fall down it or run into him again.
The patch was full of many pumpkins, you knew it was going to be hard to find the right one, especially since you promised to get Grim one while you were here, too. The varying sizes and colors and shapes of them all could force someone to spend hours here just trying to find the pumpkin for them.
You could see a small house up higher on the hill with a sign on the front railing that said “Checkout here” on it. An elderly man waved at you and Ruggie from the porch, to which Ruggie shouted up to him. “HEY, MR. JOE! I THINK THIS ONE’S BIGGER THAN LAST YEAR’S!” Ruggie smiled widely as he pointed to the excessively large pumpkin.
Mr. Joe shouted back to him, but he was so far away and seemed so soft spoken that it was hard to make out what he said. Ruggie just waved off the words and turned to whisper to you. “He has no idea what I just said, and I have no idea what he just said.” You both chuckled as you started to look through the patch for your perfect pumpkins to take home.
A plump, orange pumpkin near a back fence caught your eye. It was the perfect roundness for making a jack-o-lantern and the orange was bright and vibrant. You walked over to it and tried to pull it off the vine when you felt a tapping on your shoulder. You glanced up to see Ruggie standing there with two pumpkins in his hands, looking almost upset.
“Ruggie? What’s wrong??” You stopped tugging on the vine to give him your full attention, it was rare to see him in such a state.
“Uh.. Uhm.. well..” he stammered.
“Spit it out already! WHAT, WHAT?!” You stood up and wiped your hands on your pants to get the dirt off.
“What… what do you get when you drop a pumpkin?”
“What do you get? Uh I don’t think you get anything, except a bill to probably pay for it,” you said confused.
“No… squash.”
The upset look on Ruggie’s face immediately changed to a cheeky grin as you rolled your eyes at his joke.
“Do you want me to get that one off the vine for you? Here, hold these.” He shoved the two pumpkins in your hands and knelt to the ground to get your pumpkin off the vine.
“Rug, why did you get two? Getting Leona one or something?”
“Oh, please, he doesn’t carve pumpkins. I figured your pet cat was wantin’ one so I got him a small one.” He traded pumpkins with you, handing you your one and taking his two back. “Yeah, he does want one. I was gonna look for him one next, but you did it for me. Thanks, Rugbert.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” he snapped and leaned in close to you. “Don’t call me that in public.” You knew he was just joking with you, at least mostly. He really did hate being called that in public but there was no one around you two at the patch, and there was no way Mr. Joe could’ve heard the nickname anyway.
You two made your way up to the small house where Mr. Joe was to buy your pumpkins. “Welcome, Welcome!” the man said cheerily from his old rocking chair. “Find the ones y’ere looking for?”
“Yes, sir! Three pumpkins, good and ready. How much for these bad boys?” You held up your pumpkin when Ruggie showed his. Mr. Joe looked back and forth at them for a few moments before responding. “I’d say about 10.”
“Just 10? Feels like I’m robbin’ ya, old man,” Ruggie said as he handed the money to Mr. Joe. “I’ll be back next year, and that pumpkin out there- It better be as big as this house next time.” Ruggie and Mr. Joe chuckled. “O’heehee, you betcha it will be, my boy!”
“Take it easy, you know how to get me if you need me,” Ruggie said walking off the porch. “Err, it was nice meeting you, thank you for the pumpkins, Mr. Joe!” you spit out before tagging along behind Ruggie.
“You come here every year, Rug?”
“Sometimes more than once a year. The old fart’s too old to get house and yard work done, so I come by every now and then when he tells me he needs help and then he always gives me a lil discount when I buy pumpkins. One time I bought pumpkins for all the kids at Sunset Savanna and it only cos’ me like 100 thaumarks. Wild, right?”
“Yeah, that is wild. I bet he likes when you come around, seems lonely all the way out here if you ask me.”
Ruggie smiled and nodded at your words. “We better get you back before Grim starts causing a ruckus and setting the dorm on fire.”
