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DNIs: lando norris + carlos sainz fans ; *minors can req but i'd prefer to keep it at that

i'm fine with being spammed since i'm always on dnd so go crazy if u want i apologize in advance if the fic format/story is scrambled, i never proofread cuz i hate rereading my own writing plz interact w me if you have similar interests!! especially f1 ⤷ i'm a chronic overthinker & lurker, so if i don't respond it's not me ignoring you!! i always have to plan n draft out responses unfortunately ⤷ ゛characters/ppl i like ˎˊ˗ lads: caleb xia, xavier shen, zayne li, rafayel qi (he's an exception for only my friend ♡)

dc: tim drake, dick grayson, jason todd, damian wayne, jon kent, bruce wayne, wally west, barry allen, hal jordan

robert pattinson, taron egerton, christian coulson (specifically in the chamber of secrets)

f1: oscar piastri!!!!!!!!!!!, max verstappen, yuki tsunoda (</3), isack hadjar, & practically everyone else except lando norris, carlos sainz, pierre gasly, franco colapinto, lance stroll

ᓚᘏ𑄝 anon list ⤷ ゛🐿️ ˎˊ˗

ᓚᘏ𑄝 about me ⤷ ゛interests ˎˊ˗

f1 (MAJOR!!!!!! oscar piastri fan, but mclaren hater), dc (very surface level fan), lads, harry potter (havent read the books or watched the movie LOL i jst love the moving sirius black mugshot photo), legos (primarily f1 / technic sets), cats ♡ movies/shows: ultraman rising, battle of the supersons, kingsman: the secret service and the golden circle, lego batman movie, tgm, justice league: war, criminal minds, suits, house md, hells kitchen + kitchen nightmares (LOL)

⤷ ゛general ˎˊ˗ 20 yr old uni student ; she/her; lackey to a 2yr old boy cat; horrible at responding; #californian

funfacts for whoever cares: ⤷ the reunion scene in wrong timing came to me when i started tweaking out over how good 1:55 champagne coast by blood orange sounded + one of the lines was from the movie flipped LOL (less than 20 ft away from me was juli, my juli, with eddie trulock. she's laughing. what was she laughing about, and how could she sit there and laugh and look so beautiful)

blinking, you move your eyes to meet caleb’s disbelieving stare. “i was just asking,” you shrug while his mouth drops open in bewilderment. 

satisfied with how caleb is reacting so far, you continue your prank. “like, i know you’re strong, but being athletic is different,” you clarify. 

standing up, caleb crosses his arm with an unamused expression and tone, “uh huh, and what do you consider athletic that i don’t have?” however, before you can respond, caleb boastfully cuts you off with a smirk, “‘cuz i know that stamina isn’t a problem.” 

caught off guard, you stumble as you attempt to pull yourself together. you stammer out gibberish with a slight blush. caleb’s smirk and ego grows at your reaction. you pause. the sight of his smug, winning grin irks you so much that it lights the competitive nature in you. 

no longer flustered, and in an attempt to annoy caleb, you continue on with your prank. “okay, well,” you huff out as caleb simply tilts his head with raised eyebrows. you fake a pout as you accuse caleb, “i know you use your evol to help you with your workouts. you don’t have to lie to me.” 

“oh, really now,” caleb pokes his tongue against his cheek as he sarcastically drags out his words. without waiting another second, you yelp as you’re suddenly lifted into the air, then land perfectly onto caleb’s shoulder. you’re still processing why all that fills your view is caleb’s back when you're snapped out of your daze.

encasing his arm around your calves, caleb makes sure your secure against his shoulder before simply saying, “i’ll show you how my evol feels like when it’s activated.”

xavier “do you wish you were good with the sword?”

xavier doesn’t even stop stuffing his face at your question. but you know that he heard you when you see his eyes drift from his food to your eyes. 

taking a moment to swallow, xavier scans your face before he confusedly asks, “good with the sword?”

instantly, you’re enthusiastically nodding your head, “yeah! like expert level, really good with the sword!” you’re no longer facing him as you move to grab food, but you’re still closely watching for his reaction in your peripheral vision with a gleaming smile.

now even more confused, xavier slowly states, “but i am good.” however, his tone makes it sound as if he is starting to doubt himself. 

the sight makes you feel bad, but then you remember how much hotpot you’ve eaten just this week because of him. in fact, you’re eating hotpot again right now! you deserve a little, harmless revenge on him for making your skin suffer. 

“hmm, yeah,” you hum out as your eyes dart around, thinking about what food item you want to eat. after you finally came to a decision, you make a move to pick it up as you continue explaining, “but i feel like you have the potential to reach isaiah’s level if you really try your best,” you tease as you look up to meet xavier’s eyes while simultaneously shoving the food into your mouth.

there’s a brief moment of silence as the both of you hold each other’s stares. you’re happily chewing on your food while xavier slowly places down his utensils and straightens up. he can’t tell if you’re being serious or joking around simply by your behavior, but with how incredulous your statement is, he safely assumes that you’re just trying to rile him up. 

huffing, xavier leans his face against his now propped up arm resting on the table as he declares, “it seems like i’ve been too lax with you during our spars.” a content smile spreads onto his face while your smile immediately drops at the insinuation. 

“wait,” you rush out while shooting your hands up in an attempt to stop xavier from finishing his statement. unfortunately, your actions prove to be futile when he teasingly smiles out, “i’ll make sure to properly do my best from now on, so we can both improve our lacking skills.”

zayne “do you wish you were busy?”

zayne doesn’t even look up from his paperwork while you continue admiring him from the other side of his office desk. the two of you are sharing a lunch, but, as usual, zayne is drowning in work. 

you’re starting to feel neglected, but you’re not upset at all. you understand how important he is, and thus, how heavily in demand he is. however, that doesn’t stop you from taking advantage of your girlfriend privileges of being able to push his buttons and facing little to no consequences. to be fair, you are doing this to force him into taking an actual break, but if you can entertain yourself while doing it, why wouldn’t you jump at the chance? 

he indulges you with a question, “whatever do you mean?” but you refuse to make a move until he finally redirects his burning stare, which is focused on his paperwork, to your pouting face instead. 

exasperatedly, you huff as you sarcastically roll your eyes, “i don’t know. i mean, you’re spending so much time with me.” you childishly cross your arms and turn your head ahead as you mockingly complain, “i feel bad for your coworkers and patients with how much attention you’re giving me.”  

immediately picking up on the actual meaning behind your words, zayne is quick to reassure you. “i apologize. as soon as i’m finished with this pile,” he gestures to the smallest pile of papers out of the multiple stacks crowding his desk, “i’ll join you.” 

you glance at the 5 inch stack of papers that zayne just gestured to and sigh, “zayne, i don’t mind if you can’t spend time with me, but you,” you firmly jab a finger in his direction, “need a break.” 

zayne has now fully abandoned his pen and moves to open his mouth to retaliate. but you don’t give him a chance because, knowing him, he would say something along the lines about not being able to afford a break or he would simply tell you that he would take one later. you rush to rise up from your seat and forcibly demand, “now,” as you stand your ground. 

“or if you’re so busy, i’ll go have lunch with greyson,” you move to gather your things while zayne carefully surveys your movement. 

suddenly, you gasp out in realization and freeze. then, you spin around to face a somewhat startled zayne as you reveal your idea. “maybe i’ll go visit that hot, new, and, young ophthalmologist-”

clearing his throat, zayne quickly stands up and interrupts you, “now that i think about it, i’m actually quite hungry.”

rafayel “do you wish you were creative?”

rafayel instantly releases an insulted gasp before you can completely finish your question. “why don’t you remind me who’s the professional, globally-known artist between the two of us,” he scoffs at you. 

mischievously humming out, you continue to tease him, “i don’t know raf.” you take a peek at him from above your canvas. it’s date night, and the two of you are sitting across from each other on the couch, painting a portrait of one another. 

“i mean, i did win that art contest,” you shrug as you return your focus onto your purposely deformed depiction of rafayel on your canvas. 

at the mention of the contest where he lost to you, he immediately drops everything in his hands as he begins his rant. “of course you won with your subpar, fluorescent drawing,” he angrily huffs out. “those kids wouldn’t understand art if it hit them in the face,” he complains while flailing his hands around to emphasize his irritation. 

you’re now laughing at his despair, your canvas and paintbrush abandoned as well. he ignores you as he continues on with his complaints, “you just chose the brightest colors, and the worst part is that they weren’t even cohesive colors!” 

you mockingly comfort him as you finally catch your breath, “it’s called strategy, raf.” you attempt to continue your painting that doesn’t even resemble rafayel one bit as you giddy smile out, “y’know how kids are. they may be simple and lack awareness, but they don’t pass on a chance to be brutally honest about this stuff.”

“yeah, well,” rafayel slouches back into the couch as he pouts and crosses his arms. “they seemed to have missed your lack of fashion sense,” he throws out as he turns his head to face away from you.

letting out an insulted gasp of your own, your hands fumble around until they land on one of rafayel’s many abandoned and expensive paintbrushes. rafayel is too busy whining and sulking to notice the still wet paintbrush in your hand. thus, it isn’t a surprise when rafayel yelps out of shock as the paintbrush hits the side of his cheek, smearing paint across it. 

after a minute or two of scanning the doors, gideon becomes reassured that caleb won’t storm in any time soon. huffing out a temporary relieved sigh, he returns his gaze to meet your confused stare. he doesn’t fail to notice how the kitten copies you and is now looking at him too. 

“c’mon,” gideon groans out while you continue to stare with furrowed eyebrows. 

at the sight of your expression, he throws his head back to face the ceiling while shoving his hands into his pockets. it’s not hard to tell how exhausted gideon gets with having to deal with you and caleb, and you can’t blame him. but, just because you understand doesn’t mean you’ll put up with his whiny and vague behavior. 

now irritated with gideon being a pain, you quickly jab at his knee. instantly, he yelps out and doubles over to soothingly rub at his knee. without stopping, gideon glares up at your satisfied expression. 

“you used to be nice before caleb,” he whispers, but clearly not quiet enough when he sees you quickly straighten up and turn to fully face him. 

however, before you can jump to your beloved boyfriend’s defense, gideon beats you to it. 

straightening up himself, gideon tiredly lets out, “why would caleb want a kitten that reminds him of himself?” he maintains the same knowing expression as he witnesses you go through the entire process of realization and embarrassment. 

a silence breaks out as both of you turn back to the kitten. sensing that his freedom and safety was going to be returned to him soon, gideon’s mood lifts as he approaches the enclosure the kitten is residing in. unfortunately for him, you break his brief stress free moment when you questionably murmur, “are you sure,” as you trace patterns on the glass. 

without waiting a second, gideon drops his head and exasperatedly answers, “you’re the one who insisted on bringing me along ‘cuz i supposedly know caleb the second best after you, your words by the way, and now you’re doubting me?” 

slightly embarrassed with your overthinking, you finally pull yourself together and agree with gideon. “okay, you’re right,” you nod while you continue to stare down the kitten. gideon, on the other hand, visibly lights up, “i am?” 

“yeah, she’s perfect,” you turn to meet gideon’s relieved smile with a beaming one. 

after completing the documents, you, gideon, and your newly acquired kitten are on the way back from the adoption shelter with a comfortable silence lingering between the three of you. 

despite making it clear to gideon that you wanted to be the one carrying the kitten, he was scarily adamant about your hand not being anywhere near the handle of the carrier. you know that his odd reaction has something to do with caleb, so you dejectedly complied.

you’re doing your best to hold yourself back, but you can’t help continuously peering over gideon’s build to sneak glances at the napping kitten. gideon is also doing his best to ignore your actions as he stares at the path ahead, but he immediately checks on you when he feels your gaze move onto him. 

feeling caught, you avert your gaze the moment you meet gideon’s as you clear your throat. “so,” you drag out, “what did caleb get me,” you ask as innocently as you can manage. 

gideon doesn’t even slow down his stride as he scoffs out, “like he would ever tell me.”

—

the kitten has been staying over at gideon’s to avoid caleb’s suspicion. unfortunately for you, this meant that you had to get updates via secret messages and phone calls. however, both of you knew that it would be impossible to completely keep caleb in the dark. so when he did eventually notice the increase of interactions between you and gideon, you didn’t even try to lie to him. but at the same time, all you gave up was, “gideon is helping me with our anniversary.” 

it’s the night before your anniversary, and you’re currently sitting on the counter, next to the sink, waiting for caleb to finish brushing his teeth. the two of you agreed to stay up until midnight to celebrate every second, especially since caleb’s presence during holidays is rare. 

happy with your response and how you’re not lying to him, caleb allows your secrecy to pass just this once with a tease. “what happened to your self-declared number one spot of caleb trivia,” he grins while slouching to hover over the sink.

you match caleb’s attitude and rest your hands on your hips with a smirk. “i’ve still got it,” you cockily shrug, “i just used a lifeline.” caleb rolls his eyes in response, but all you can focus on is his still wet, slicked back hair that shows off his forehead. 

it’s just his forehead, and, despite your insistent pleas, caleb refuses to give in and show off his forehead more often. you figure that caleb gets some sort of enjoyment from denying you of it. still transfixed, you don’t notice caleb who is now waiting for his towel in your hands. 

to your dismay, caleb definitely notices. now smug with the reminder of how much of an impact he has on you, caleb slides himself between your legs and towers over you. 

the droplets from his hair fall on your face and wake you up from your daze. instantly, you recognize the pleased expression and shove the forgotten towel into his face. with how much the two of you catch each other practically drooling over one another, embarrassment is no longer the immediate reaction, but rather annoyance from the inevitable teasing. 

removing the towel, caleb slightly shakes his head to cover you with more water droplets as he speaks through your mock irritated groan, “i’m more insulted at you phoning gideon over mc.” 

gasping, you quickly pivot to turn on the faucet in an attempt to flicker water back at him. “don’t be mean,” you scold, but before you could actually get revenge, caleb grabs your wrist. 

bending over once more, caleb maneuvers himself and utilizes his grip on your wrist to carefully pull you onto his shoulder as he comments, “alright, time for bed.”  caleb ignores your yelp and begins making his way to your shared bed. both of you know that you won’t make it to midnight, but it’s the thought that counts. 

you and caleb are wrapped around each other when your consciousness starts slipping, and just before you’re completely out, you swear you hear caleb muffledly whisper something you can’t quite make out through his lips that are pressed against your forehead.

—

when you woke up, caleb was already in the bathroom getting ready for the day. you, on the other hand, are still lying on your side of your bed, rapidly messaging back and forth with gideon. 

out of the corner of your eye, you see caleb reenter the room looking as if he’s about to go out. immediately, you turn off your phone with a growing smile on your face. caleb, with a matching smile, begins striding towards you while you’re simultaneously getting out of bed. 

before you can even place both feet on the floor, you realize that caleb is practically already in front of you. knowing how caleb is, you don’t even attempt to make another move, and, instead, patiently wait for him to reach you. 

“happy anniversary,” you can barely finish when caleb interrupts you with a tackle back into bed. your legs are slightly hanging off the side of the bed while caleb is stuck in an uncomfortable position, trying his best to avoid his outside clothes, which were fresh out of the dryer, from touching the bed. 

your laughter, accompanied with caleb’s exaggerated smooching sounds that trail from your neck, to your chin, and all over your face, echoes throughout the room. caleb is trying to speak through his kissing spree, but it comes out muffled, yet barely audible, “sorry, happy anniversary.” 

you know exactly what he’s apologizing for, but you pretend to be clueless. moving his face back down to your neck, caleb halts his affectionate display as he upsettingly confesses, “i’m sorry. mc needs my help with something, but i’ll be quick. promise.” 

a mischievous grin breaks out on your face, but caleb is too busy shoving his nose into your pulse point to notice. you had planned for mc to get caleb out of the house for a solid few hours, so you could retrieve the kitten from gideon. however, since it was your anniversary, mc had to put together an extreme and urgent excuse to distract caleb. thus, you’ve agreed to be at mc’s mercy for three weeks in return for her having to deal with the aftermath. 

you’re too busy polishing up your plan to realize that you never responded to caleb. your silence, however, makes caleb nervous to the point that he finally peels himself off of you. 

at the feeling of caleb’s heavy body being lifted off, you quickly correct your expression to one of understanding just as you meet his weary gaze. sighing, you move to push his hair back while lifting yourself off the bed to peck between his brows. “‘s okay. as long as you come back,” you pull back with a smile. 

in a hurry to get to mc’s and get it over with as soon as possible, caleb reluctantly pulls away and begins to actually leave, but not before he confidently answers, “always.” 

—

you’ve successfully received the kitten, and now, you’ve been waiting hours for caleb to come back home to you. the sunset is reflecting off your face as you sit in the living room alone since you decided to leave the sleeping kitten on your shared bed. 

as soon as you got back and let the kitten settle down, you immediately went to dress up although you and caleb planned to stay home all day. at first, you were excited to see caleb’s reaction to both you and the kitten, but now, the special outfit you bought just for your anniversary felt suffocating. caleb promised you that he would return, and you don’t doubt him. but, you can’t help losing hope as the sun continues to lower as the minutes pass by. 

fortunately for you, your faith in caleb is rewarded when you hear the front door slam open. startled, you jump up from the couch. now wide awake, you quickly spin around as your eyes land on a disgruntled caleb who looks like he just returned from a war. 

shocked at the sudden change in mood, you rush over to caleb’s side without noticing how caleb is obviously hiding something in his jacket. by the time you’re right in front of him, caleb is still stumbling around, trying to get his shoes off with one arm protectively shielding the lump under his jacket from you. 

to caleb’s relief, you’re too focused on caleb’s torn up and mud-stained clothes, the scratches sporadically adorning his skin, and his hair sticking out all over the place. “caleb,” you gasp out. your hands are frantically hovering about because you have no clue what area of caleb’s body to begin checking up on. 

once caleb finally catches his breath, he huffs out a drained, “i’m sorry.” he begins to gently push you further into the house with one hand while the other is still holding the hidden lump. “i’m sorry you had to wait so long,” caleb rushes out. however, his attempt to calm you down causes you to worriedly scoff in response instead. 

the two of you are by the bedroom door when caleb cuts you off with a giddy smile, “i”m fine, i just had a little bit of a hiccup getting your gift.” 

bewildered, you shriek out, “a little?!” 

ignoring your exclamation, caleb excitedly nods as he pleads, “close your eyes.” 

shocked at how dismissive caleb is being about his disastrous state, you continue to stare him down with a baffled expression without saying a word. realizing that you won’t let this pass, caleb guides his free hand to interlink with your hand and squeezes. 

adding a pout to his already pleading, puppy eyes, caleb repeats himself, “i’ll explain everything later, but for now, close your eyes, please?”

with confirmation that caleb wouldn’t brush over the incident, you hesitantly comply with his request. as soon as you finish closing your eyes, caleb briefly lets go of your hand to adjust both of your hands to be cupped together, hovering in the air. 

you hear caleb’s jacket being ruffled around before you feel him quickly press a kiss to your check. “happy anniversary,” he whispers against your cheek. then, without giving you a chance to reply, he pulls back and gently places his very familiar feeling gift in your hands. you know exactly what caleb got you, and you’re ecstatic. 

without waiting for his permission, you rapidly snap open your eyes to meet caleb’s doppelganger in kitten form staring back at you. “no way,” you gasp out. immediately, you carefully, yet hurriedly shove your hands, which were coddling the kitten, back into caleb’s chest as you simultaneously shout out, “wait here.” 

once caleb has the kitten securely in his hands, you disappear into the bedroom. you spot the once napping kitten now awake and stretching on the bed. quickly, you pick up the kitten, but as you approach the open door, you only eagerly peek your head out to mimic caleb’s earlier demand, “close your eyes!” 

despite being confused, caleb obediently shuts his eyes close as tight as he could muster to make sure that you know he’s not peeking. slowly, you move to stand in front of caleb and proudly present the kitten you got him in your hands. “okay, open your eyes,” you impatiently demand with an expectant smile. 

with your permission, caleb slowly opens his eyes. but instead of immediately looking at the kitten that you’re happily showing off, caleb takes a moment to scan your beaming smile before drifting his gaze down to the kitten in your hands. 

caleb’s face drops. undeterred, you, on the other hand, are smiling even brighter at the sight of caleb’s panicking face. don’t get him wrong, caleb loves that you two somehow got the same gift for each other. what caleb is genuinely worried about is you having to take care of two kittens alone whenever he has to return to skyhaven. 

however, you quickly quell his worries, “this is perfect!” you move to hand caleb his kitten while you embrace the kitten caleb got you. “whenever you leave for skyhaven, you can take the kitten version of me to keep you company, and i’ll have the kitten version of you to keep me company,” you beam. 

at your reasoning, and the longer he stares at your kitten doppelganger, caleb seems to slowly accept your logic. maybe, caleb thinks, the next time he has to leave, he won’t feel as guilty leaving you behind and he won’t be as lonely in skyhaven. 

—

after showering, both you and caleb are now retrieving the hidden kitten care materials and setting it up while he finally recalls what happened to him. 

“—when i opened the door to mc’s apartment, the kitten immediately escaped, and we spent hours—”

at the reveal, you freeze. caleb instantly notices your lack of movement and pauses. 

you’re slowly putting the pieces together when you ask caleb, “wait, mc was sheltering the kitten the entire time?” at the sight of caleb’s slow nod of confirmation, you yell, “i told mc to keep you busy in the morning so i could get the other kitten at gideon’s!” 

caleb’s confusion morphs into amusement as he watches you realize that you got played by mc. you stare at caleb with widened and horrified eyes while he moves to comfortingly rub up and down your back, “oh my god, i agreed to be her lackey for weeks for nothing,” you wail out.

at her insinuation, your drooping eyes snap wide open. no longer sleepy and clearly insulted, you gasp as your face scrunches up in offense. 

mc quickly raises her hands to slightly obscure her panicking face, then she begins frantically shaking both her hands and her head in order to placate you. “you’ve been doing so much overtime,” mc pauses to examine your expression before continuing, “either you’re overworking to avoid caleb or you need extra money, and we both know the latter can’t be true since caleb spoils you rotten,” she dissects her theory. 

after patiently waiting for mc to finish speaking, your entire being relaxes as you roll your eyes in mock annoyance. you start walking again as you make it clear to mc, “we are not fighting,” you scoff. 

mc immediately catches up to you, but remains silent in order to encourage you to continue your explanation. noticing mc’s stare burning into the side of you face, you give in as you sighs. embarrassed at being caught, you finally murmurs out, “i’m saving up to get caleb a ticket to his favorite artist’s concert.” 

before mc can properly finish doting on yours and caleb’s relationship, she stops herself to clarify her confusion. tugging you to a stop, mc moves to face you as she questions, “wait, did you say ticket, as in a singular ticket,” while lifting her index finger to emphasize her point. 

you mirror mc’s disbelief as you upsettingly admit, “even with weeks of overtime, i can barely purchase one ticket, and i’d rather have caleb go alone than not go at all.” mc immediately moves to disagree with you as mc furrows her eyebrows, but you don’t let her start, “it’s not a gift for him if he’s helping me buy his own present,” you counter.

huffing, mc pulls you forward as she makes her final stance on the situation, “you clearly don’t know caleb as well as you think you do if you think that he would prefer going to a concert without you over doing chores and running errands with you.” 

—

you’re finally back in the comforts of your own apartment, but before you can fully settle down, you notice a silhouette lingering in the middle of the living room. terrified, your hand slams around in search of the light switch. you weren’t expecting a visitor, and you’ll be damned if you did weeks of overtime just to die. 

as soon as you turn on the lights, you simultaneously launch your keys at the figure in an act of defense. without glancing at the now lit up and discernible person, you start to reach down again, frantically searching for another item to throw. however, at the sound of the person’s voice, and the lack of sound to indicate the keys falling to the ground, you freeze. 

“wow,” you slowly turns to face the origin of the familiar voice, “is this how you treat your boyfriend after not seeing him for months,” caleb sarcastically drags out as he shakes the keys in his hands back and forth. 

a silence breaks out as you process the situation. caleb teasingly tilts his head as he waits for  your mind to catch up. fortunately for him, he doesn’t have to wait long before you break out into the brightest smile you’ve shown in weeks as you rush into his now open arms.

caleb laughs out while you exclaim, “caleb!” the both of them tighten their hold around each other. “you didn’t tell me that you were coming back,” your smile practically being tattooed into his neck. 

caleb’s matching smile is evident as he explains himself, “it wouldn’t be a surprise if i told you ahead of time.” he takes a slight pause before he continues at a lower octave, “besides, you made it pretty easy for me with how you’ve been ignoring my calls,” his knowing grin still present.

not even a second after caleb finishes his accusation, he feels you immediately tense up in his arms. despite you carefully trying to pull away from the hug, caleb refuses to loosen his grip around you. accepting your predicament, you remain stuck in his hold as you slowly, yet hurriedly rush out, “i can explain.” 

unfortunately for you, your desperate words get muffled against his neck. in response, caleb hums out, “what was that? i couldn’t hear you,” he teases you with a barely noticeable strain in his voice. from the way caleb is still slightly joking around, you relax a bit. 

however, you know that he’s still upset to a degree, so you quickly work at clearing up the misunderstanding. mustering up your most serious voice, you breathe out against his neck, “caleb,” as you gently push against chest, “let me explain.” 

after caleb finally lets you put some distance between your chests, you instantly get to work once the two of you are face to face, “i was doing overtime ‘cuz i want to get you an anniversary gift with my own hard work and not yours, caleb.” you notice his face scrunching up in disagreement, but you refuse to stop, “the tickets for your favorite artist’s concert are going on sale soon, and i really wanted to get a ticket no matter what.” 

once caleb makes sure that you got everything you wanted to say out of your system, he asks a simple question, “a ticket?” caleb already knew that you would never betray his trust, so he wasn’t surprised at the underwhelming reveal. but, he is upset that you were ignoring him even if your reasoning was endearing. 

you lean your forehead against his chest as you reluctantly nod, “sorry,” you mumble out a bit dejectedly as you realize that mc’s earlier statement is starting to be proven correct. at your apology, caleb breathlessly laughs out as he shuts you down, “don’t worry about it,” as he tugs you back into his embrace. 

caleb lifts a hand to trace the edges of your shoulder blade as he confesses, “i already got presale tickets for the both of us.” 

his revelation causes you to whine in discontent. “that’s not the point, caleb. you’re always working so hard, and you still manage to always do something for me, so, just once, i wanted to do something for you,” you frustratedly sigh out. 

at this point, caleb cannot believe how oblivious you are. he takes a brief pause before he points out, “and you think i’m doing this much work just ‘cuz i like it?” he bewilderedly huffs out as he continues ripping apart, what he considers, your useless worries, “all i need from you is to be with me.” he pauses as he contentedly leans his head against yours, “i’ll take care of everything else, m’kay?” 

however, after persistent reassurance and begging, your apartment had eventually became the abandoned one, while the once lonely place xavier called home finally felt like an actual home with your presence. he can’t help but pity his past self for not being able to know what it feels like to sleep with you in his arms every night. even now, xavier still feels jealous towards his future self who will get to wake up with a view of you roaming around his place as if it’s second nature.

despite xavier knowing that you’ll always come back to him at the end of the day, he never fails to ask you every night to stay at his, even if the two of you haven’t seen each other all day. he prides himself with always being able to find a way to contact you no matter what. 

unfortunately for xavier, you have different plans—a prank in other terms—in mind as you giddily drag him back home before he could even finish his tradition. fortunately for you, xavier mistakes your excitement for finally being able to sleep in each other's arms as he lets you tug him all the way into bed.

—

the mission yesterday had taken everything from both you and xavier, so you weren’t surprised when you woke up in the middle of the afternoon. stretching, you barely shuffled an inch away from him when you feel xavier’s arms pull you back into bed, essentially pinning you against his chest as he lets out a soft whine. 

although you’re already smiling at his predictable behavior, your smile grows even bigger when you feel xavier shove his half-asleep face into the back of your neck. “star,” he hoarsely yawns out against your neck. 

to his dismay, his complaint only came out as incorrigible mumbles which only makes you wriggle around in his hold even more. in response, xavier only tightens his hold around you while further nudging his face against your neck. 

at your inability to stay still, xavier mumbles out more complaints into your neck while you let out a whine of your own, “xavier, that tickles,” you giggly complain.

suddenly, xavier’s movements completely halt. as you’re catching your breath, you feel xavier slightly pull back, which gives you enough space to lay on your back.

slightly turning your head, your blissful expression meets xavier’s grumpy, yet sleepy frown. however, before you can question him about his change in mood, xavier immediately shifts to hover above you. 

after gently knocking his forehead against yours, xavier narrows his eyes into a glare as his tight-lippedly murmurs out, “xavier?” 

his frown morphs into a pout when his intimidation tactic only results in an even brighter, teasing grin breaking out onto your face. 

as you move both of your hands to smush his cheeks together, xavier thinks that he has finally found a con to you two being attached at the hip. he can’t pull the same tricks on you anymore he dejectedly realizes as you continue cooing at him as if he was a cat rather than your boyfriend. 

“d’awh,” you gasp out in adoration as xavier closes his eyes in acceptance while you teasingly shake his head side to side. “is the star of my life upset that i called him by his name,” you laugh out as xavier lowers himself on top of you, once again making himself at home against your neck. 

still giggling, you taunt xavier even more as you begin softly treading your hands through his hair, “how about the center of my universe, is that better,” you mockingly question while he hums in response as he locks his arms around your waist once more.

as your laughs die down, the only sounds that fill the room are yours and xavier's now synced heartbeats and breaths. you’re starting to think that xavier has fallen asleep again from how quiet and still he has been, but then he whispers out, “keep going,” to which you happily comply with.

—

you’ve somehow managed to slip out of xavier’s trap of an embrace without waking him up. now, you’re in the kitchen in order to carry out the plan that you’ve been harboring ever since mc and tara has shown you the trending pranks. 

at the thought of them, you begin to feel guilty. although the two of them know that you are seeing someone, they don’t know that the someone is xavier—your coworker and mc’s partner at work. trust wasn’t the reason why you wanted to keep it a secret, but rather the taboo behind dating your coworker. 

you weren’t worried about the possibility of jenna finding out because you knew that she was confident in yours and xavier’s ability to properly perform while keeping work and personal life separate. 

xavier didn’t mind when you requested to keep your relationship a secret. he was fine with anything as long as he started and ended his day with you. however, despite his reassurance, you still felt the need to make sure that xavier 100 percent knew that you weren’t embarrassed of him. 

thus, a panicked xavier was subjected to you crying as you did your best to explain how you, a relatively new hunter, would be affected by xavier, a very well-known and experienced hunter, at work. you didn’t want to be treated differently just because one of the most well-established hunters was essentially wrapped around your finger. and you most certainly didn’t want all of your accomplishments to be diminished just because your stupid, love-sick boyfriend would do anything for you. 

sighing as you try to clear the embarrassing memory from your mind, you refocus on your current task. you’re baking egg tarts as a ‘thank you’ for xavier, but not without playing a small little prank on him first. 

before you can feel bad, you think about all the times that xavier had subjected you to his cooking. now invigorated with revenge, you hurriedly hide your recording phone as you hear xavier exit your shared bedroom. as you pile a mountain of salt onto the biggest spoon the two of you have in your cupboards, you beckon him over at the same time, “xavi? come here, quickly!” you finish your command as you’re proudly admiring your now finished and perfect egg tart covered spoon. 

without waiting a second, you hear xavier slightly speed up as he responds, “coming, my star,” right before you feel his presence right next to you. one of his hands is innocently rubbing up and down your lower back while the other is resting on the counter as he leans over to examine your freshly baked egg tarts. 

you’re too busy making sure that xavier’s head is properly cut off, and out of frame, to hear the compliments he’s showering you in. however, you’re immediately snapped out of your daze as you see xavier’s head dip downwards—almost making an appearance on your phone screen— to give you a quick peck. 

without thinking, you swerve out of the way, and before xavier could process it, you practically shove the ticking time bomb of a spoon in his face. xavier’s eyes slowly flicker from yours to the spoonful of an egg tart, and salt unbeknownst to him, that you’re eagerly offering to him. 

as if sensing xavier’s growing suspicion, you quickly hurry to smooth over his concerns, “i made egg tarts just for you.” you take a short pause before you shyly confess, “i just wanted to thank you for being so patient with me,” and you know it’s hook, line, and sinker when you see xavier’s face soften and his mouth opening.

beaming, you gently, but excitedly guide the spoon into xavier’s mouth as you continue your ramble, “i accidentally made too many,” you pause as your smile turns even more radiant when you spot xavier freeze after you completely remove the spoon from his mouth. 

you’re trying your best to keep your composure when you hear a crunch come from xavier’s mouth as you continue speaking, “so i was planning to give some to tara and mc, y’know, maybe the entire hunter’s association too!” you pretend you don’t notice the terror in xavier’s widened eyes as you flutter your eyelashes in an attempt to appear innocent, “what’d you think, love?” 

you almost break when you see xavier trying his absolute best to swallow the monstrous bite you doomed him with. his adam’s apple continuously bobs up and down, however, the food, if you could even call it that, refuses to leave his mouth. you swear you see his eyes gloss over as his knuckles begin to turn white. 

satisfied with his reaction, you’re about to reveal the prank when xavier finally swallows and coughs out, “i have a better idea,” he avoids your question. at your confusion, he starts up again with a slight tense coarseness to his voice that wasn’t there before, “why don’t we give them to jeremiah,” he contently grins. xavier can’t bring himself to lie to you, so he’ll sacrifice jeremiah instead. 

however, his pleased demeanor immediately fades away as you loudly and accusingly gasp out. “bad xavier,” you disappointedly exclaim as you point the spoon at xavier, whose expression screams ‘caught.’ 

shaking your head, you continue scolding him, “poor jeremiah already has to suffer through so much ‘cuz of you,” you click your tongue, “and you want me to thank him for babysitting you all these years with pure salt egg tarts,” you huff out as you cross your arms against your chest.

feeling as if he was being unfairly punished, xavier pouts out, “how about your poor boyfriend who has to deal with your pranks,” he moves to uncross your arms. 

a small grin returns as you continue teasing him, “you should be thankful that these are pranks, xavi.” you turn to scoop at a properly baked egg tart this time and turn back to be met with xavier’s already awaiting, open mouth. 

after carefully confirming that it wasn’t a salt filled egg tart again, xavier nods his head in satisfaction while you move to retrieve your hidden phone. 

xavier isn’t even surprised at the sight of your recording phone as he moves to cling around your waist again while he comments, “i’m always thankful for you gracing me with your presence everyday, star.” you giggle out at xavier starts distracting you with innocent pecks to the edge of your chin without pausing his praises, “i can’t live without you,” he whispers. you’re not even paying attention to whatever button you’re pressing on your phone anymore. 

“you are to me what the sun is to life,” xavier wholeheartedly, yet breathlessly confesses against your skin. as soon as the words leave xavier’s mouth, you know you’re screwed. it wasn’t even what he said, but rather how he said it.

the quietest of whispers as if he wanted to guarantee that only you would hear his pure and vulnerable admission. 

filled to the brim with pure and unadulterated love that you so desperately want to show to xavier, you hurriedly, yet blindly press one last button before slamming down your phone on the counter and jumping into his arms. 

—

you’re late, and you’re mad. it’s not even your fault, which enrages you even further since the culprit remains still in bed, laying on his side, head supported by one of his arms, eyes sleepily blinking as they follow your panicking movements. 

sensing an incoming repeat of the scolding he got the day before, xavier immediately attempts to quell your anger before it comes out, “you’re pretty,” he murmurs out. 

xavier sees you freeze as soon as the words come out of his mouth, and he instantly knows he messed up. 

before you can fully turn around, xavier is already pushing himself up. however, once your eyes meet his, xavier’s grip on the sheets slips, which sends him tumbling back down with an echoing ‘oomph’ sound as he faceplants back into bed, unwillingly this time.

without giving xavier a chance to recover, you sternly call his name out, “xavier shen.” at your serious tone, along with the use of his full name, xavier wastes no time stumbling out of bed as he responds with, “at your command,” he ends with a salute. 

rolling your eyes, you shoot him a teasing glare as you finish resume your fussing, “go get ready.” you point a finger at him before you rush out to the living room in search of your abandoned phone, “and then you’re figuring out a way to get us there in time,” you yell out. 

now left alone in the bedroom, xavier speaks out to no one in particular, “but we’re already late,” he mumbles out as he heads towards the bathroom to freshen up.

unfortunately for xavier, it seems that annoyance somehow enhances your hearing abilities as you yell back, “what was that?” startled, xavier reflexively responds with, “i said anything you want, starlight,” and rushes into the bathroom this time to prevent himself getting into more trouble.

—

before xavier can take a step forward towards the hunter association building, you tug him back by the crook of his elbow. xavier immediately digs his heels into the ground as you call out to him, “wait.” at the added sound of your plea, xavier looks over his shoulder to meet your nervous eyes as he tilts his head in confusion.

you’re too scared to maintain his gaze as you begin to fidget with the creases of his jacket. before you can spiral, xavier moves his free hand to gently grasp around your wrists. once he begins rubbing circles on your pulse point, you become confident enough to return his understanding and patient stare. 

gulping, you ashamedly admit, “maybe you should wait a bit after i enter the building.” you frown as you force yourself to continue on with your explanation, “so people don’t think we arrived together, y’know.” 

you instantly regret your suggestion when xavier’s entire demeanor deflates as he lets his hand that was softly comforting you fall back down to his side. all xavier can manage in response is a breathless, “oh,” as he dejectedly takes a few steps back, which causes you to release your grip on his elbow.

noticing that you look like you’re on the edge of bursting out into apologies, xavier forces a small smile onto his face as he shakes his head, encouraging you to head to work. however, when you don’t move, xavier speaks out, “if you don’t leave now, you’ll be late again,” he finishes off with a shooing motion with his hands.

as you turn away from xavier and begin rushing to the entrance, you make a mental note to make it up to him for the rest of your lives together. however, it seems as if xavier’s noble sacrifice ended up being useless when you spot two very familiar silhouettes standing guard at the entrance of the building. 

before you can recognize who the two are, the pair immediately recognize you and begin stomping in your direction, eyes locked onto your widened ones. you screech to a stop as you finally realize who is angrily bulldozing their way to you, it’s mc and tara. 

you’re frozen in fear as you’re desperately doing your best to rack through every memory to see if you forgot a hangout, but you can’t figure it out by the time they’re in front of you. without giving you a chance to speak, mc shoves her blinding phone into your face. 

taking a step back in order to actually be able to see the video playing on her screen, mc and tara accusingly shout out their complaints in unison, “i can’t believe you didn’t tell us.” they continue huffing and puffing while you wonder why the video looks so familiar. you swear the background is xavier’s apartment, but you and xavier would never post something this obvious about your relationship. 

your gaze drifts to the username of the poster, and that’s when you realize. you posted it. mortified at your blunder, you jerk your head back as you hear footsteps that you know belong to xavier approaching the three of you. you must’ve accidentally posted the unedited video instead of saving it to your drafts when xavier began distracting you.

just as xavier stops right behind you and before you can calm things down, mc decides to put the final nail in the coffin. “xavier is your boyfriend,” mc shrieks out as tara rapidly nods her head in agreement with mc’s feeling of betrayal. 

undeterred, caleb happily chuckles out, “gladly,” the ends of his eyes crinkling from his beaming smile as he, finally, pushes mc out of the way to tug you back into his arms. a matching, but shy, smile breaks out on your face as you feel caleb slightly speeds up his pace, which in turn quickens yours as well.

caleb’s usual composed behavior is nowhere to be seen, and you know that it’s a result of him finally having an excuse to flaunt your relationship. all caleb has been desperately wanting to do since the beginning of your relationship was love you loudly in both public and private, and he would rather die than let this chance pass by. 

despite caleb obviously being excited about having his dream come true, he doesn’t fail to prioritize you over his desire. as the three of you approach his parked car, caleb steps forward to hold the door open for you first, then gets into the driver’s seat while he contentedly announces, “i’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment,” he confesses with his stupid grin making a reappearance on his face. 

—

as soon as you step foot back in mc’s apartment, caleb ushers you to go sit on the couch and rest up while he grabs a cup of hot tea for you. to his dismay, you insistently follow him and mc as they make their way to the kitchen. despite being adamant about being able to make your own tea, caleb refuses to back down. however, you immediately halt your complaints when you spot a mischievous smirk light up caleb’s face. 

nervous about what caleb is up to, you take a step back to prepare for whatever he has up his sleeve. unfortunately for you, you don’t make it far before caleb softly grabs your waist and drags you back against his chest. ”honey,” he sweetly draws out as he lovingly gazes into your widened eyes, which are flickering between him and mc. without waiting for a response or acknowledging mc, caleb continues on with his dramatic act and exaggeratedly pouts as he teases, “won’t you let your poor, loving boyfriend take care of you,” he puts an emphasis on the word as he simultaneously squeezes your waist. 

from the corner of your eye, you can see mc’s face scrunch up in disgust as she witnesses the pda between you and caleb for the first time. your attention is pulled back as caleb tightens his hold around your waist, essentially pinning you against his chest as he whines out, “just leave it to me, your boyfriend,” his cheek squishes against the crown of your head. 

however, before you can respond to caleb, mc is already sick of the amount of pda she has seen, so she decides to remind you and caleb of her presence as she begins her confrontation, “i have a confession.” mc’s voice causes you to spring apart from caleb and the two of you to snap your heads to see a serious expression spread across mc’s face. 

at mc’s admission, you freeze. this exact scenario was the entire reason why you were adamant about keeping your relationship with caleb a secret, and her current reaction was not making you feel better. you’re too caught up in your fears to notice that caleb has made his way to your side once more.

thankfully, before you can spiral any further, mc continues , “i knew,” she confesses.

silence envelopes the entire room. you’re still frozen, but your fear fades into confusion. however, unlike you, caleb’s face is unreadable. if anything, he’s more focused on calming you down as he wraps an arm around you to begin rubbing up and down your side.

noticing your confusion, mc’s face morphs into one of disbelief as she rolls her eyes, “c’mon,” she scoffs out, and now you’re utterly lost. on the other hand, mc starts up her rant again, but now feeling insulted, “i may be oblivious, but i’m not that oblivious,” she huffs out. “of course i knew there was something going on between you two, i just didn’t know that you two were already dating,” she exclaims while your mouth drops out in shock. 

mc is too focused on her rant to acknowledge yours and caleb’s reaction, “do you think i wouldn’t notice the lingering glances, and, oh my god,” she gasps out of exasperation, “the way that whenever someone flirts with you guys, you both would reject them a little bit faster than usual whenever the other is around?” 

now extremely embarrassed about how unknowingly obvious the two of you were being, you jab your elbow into caleb’s side as you feel him slightly shake as he attempts to hide his laughs, his hand now stationary against your side. 

“don’t even get me started on the double date tonight,” at this, caleb finally freezes for a second as he processes mc’s insinuation before he straightens up, an intense fire burning in his eyes with a slight curious tilt of his head.

at the feeling of caleb’s searing stare on her face, mc takes it as a sign to explain her complaint, “do you really think that i wouldn’t know my best friend’s type,” mc groans out as caleb’s smile grows the more mc talks, “i purposely chose someone who was the exact opposite of caleb, and i didn’t even actually want the other dude!” mc begins to pace back and forth as she flails her hands around to further emphasize her loyalty, ”i couldn’t handle you two dancing around each other anymore, but,” she pauses to glare at you and caleb while accusingly wags her finger between the two of you, “you sneaky backstabbers were together this entire time,” she reveals, annoyed that you would even doubt her.

caleb is beaming so bright that, if you glanced at him, you swear that you would get blinded. on the contrary, you’re beyond shocked at the extent of mc’s matchmaking plans. you can’t believe that she went through years of meticulous planning in an attempt to get you and caleb to end up together, yet you rewarded her efforts by leaving her in the dark. 

not being able to hold in your guilt any longer, you interrupt mc with an apology, “i’m sorry, it’s my fault,” you ashamedly rush out as mc upsettingly stares back at you, quietly waiting for you to finish. you cover the back caleb’s motionless hand that still remains on your side with the palm of your hand as a form of self-comfort. 

“it’s not that i don’t trust you,” you hurriedly reassure her, “i was just scared that, if it didn’t work out between caleb and i,” a disbelieving mumble and scoff arises out from both caleb and mc, which causes you to pinch caleb’s hand in retaliation, “then everything would get awkward and everything would get ruined between all of us,” you finally confess, but too afraid to meet mc’s eyes.

despite expecting mc to feel hurt, you hear her voice laced with understanding and a hint of distress, “don’t apologize,” she stresses out. “i’m not upset at all,” mc reassures you, nodding her head with a smile on her face as you force your gaze to meet hers. “if anything,” mc’s smile grows, “i’d rather have you hide your relationship than not be in a relationship at all with how much i’ve suffered,” she teasingly giggles.

mc looks as if she has lifted years of weight off from her shoulders by the way she refuses to stop mockingly complaining and reminiscing about everything she had to go throughout her entire life because of you and caleb. 

suddenly, mc pauses in the middle of her rant and looks as if a lightbulb turned on above her head, “let me show you guys my evidence book,” she gasps out in remembrance before she breaks out into a run into her room without waiting for a response. 

although you’re still recovering from the whiplash that mc’s confessions and constant change in conversation caused, caleb immediately makes a move to squeeze you into a hug again as soon as mc is out of the room. 

as you begin to pull back, yet still surrender to caleb’s embrace at the same time, you notice how his eyes roam your face as he hesitates, “see,” he whispers out. then, he drifts his eyes to meet yours once again, and any form of doubt is instantly replaced with confidence and content, “i told you she would be our biggest fan.” with a proud grin, caleb carefully leans down, making sure to give you enough time to move away in case you were uncomfortable after the confrontation. to his delight, you remain still, patiently waiting for caleb to continue his advances. 

caleb figures that he could kiss you breathless right then and there. you always look perfect in his eyes, but he swears that nothing compares to how you look right now. the you whose hair is still tousled from the chilly wind that you never bothered to fix; the you who proudly announced that he’s yours and that you’re his; the you who is currently standing in front of him, staring up at him with the most adoring eyes he has ever seen; the you who loves him; the you that he finally kisses on the cheek. 

sighing against your cheek, caleb reluctantly waits a second, lips still against your cheek, before pulling back while slowly opening his eyes that he didn’t even remember closing. as soon as caleb pulls back far enough to relish in your blissful expression that, unsurprisingly, reflects his own serene smile, caleb immediately regrets stopping at just a peck to your cheek. caleb has never hated his sense of restraint this much before. 

however, his selfish thoughts fade away as the sound of mc’s returning footsteps stomps towards you two. caleb is still staring at you when you drift your gaze to look at mc’s fumbling form. a doting grin grows on caleb’s face when he notices your eyes widen in shock as you process the overfilled, giant photo album that is practically bursting at the seams.

slightly pushing caleb back in order to get a better view of the evidence album in mc’s hands, you shriek out, “how many photos are in there,” as a low-quality, unfocused, high school photo of you and caleb slips out of the album and falls to the ground. mc simply shrugs as she moves to carefully place the album down, “just about 500,” she says mindlessly before retracing her steps to pick up the fallen photo.

mc straightens back up as she waves the photo back and forth in front of your and caleb’s faces as she confesses, “and this is only one album,” right as caleb carefully plucks the photo from mc’s grip. with a satisfied hum, caleb scans the old photo as he addresses mc, “how much to make me a copy of everything?” caleb thinks that a photo album that reflects your relationship’s journey would make a perfect anniversary gift, if not, a wedding gift, he softly smiles.

the three of you are lazing about at mc’s apartment when it happens. you’re sat next to caleb on the couch, legs touching, while mc is sprawled all over the floor as the tv is playing reruns. 

despite mc being 3 feet away from the two of you, caleb’s clinginess takes over his rationality as he tangles his arm and hands with yours. 

you glance over at caleb, whose stare is locked onto the tv with a fake innocent expression on his face, then you move your gaze to mc’s silhouette to make sure that she was properly distracted by the show playing on the tv. 

after analyzing mc’s demeanor for a brief moment, you conclude that it was safe for you to cling back with caleb as well. in the corner of your eye, you can see caleb’s grin grow into a smug smirk when you gently let your head rest against caleb’s shoulder. 

however, the short moment is shattered when mc suddenly calls out your name. you hum out in response as you move your gaze to fully pay attention to mc. at the sight of mc beginning to push herself up, you immediately snap your head upright and off caleb’s shoulder while simultaneously attempting to untangle from caleb.

to your dismay, caleb predicts your movement and tightens his grip before you can even move. with mc almost completely straightened up, you meet caleb’s fed-up gaze with a pleading expression as you squeeze his hand in one last attempt to coax him into letting you go. 

everyone knows that caleb can’t say no to you, so it isn’t a surprise when caleb complies, but not without showing his disagreement with the situation. 

with a lasting blow to caleb’s composure, you move to put a bit of distance between you and caleb right as mc moves to completely face the two of you. 

if mc notices caleb’s irritated mood stinking up the room, she doesn’t show it as she zones her attention in on you while she drags a finger up to point at you. 

“you’re single, right,” which causes you to widen your eyes as caleb clenches his fists.

“uh,” you fidget, “why,” you nervously laugh out as you feel the waves of tension radiating off of caleb.

mc shrugs as she confesses, “i have a friend who is exactly your type,” she smiles while caleb sarcastically laughs through a clenched jaw as he crosses his arms against his chest. caleb knows that he’s being careless with his reaction, but he can’t help losing it at mc’s ridiculous claim of supposedly finding the perfect man for you when he’s right there. 

mc glares at caleb as she accuses him, “what’s your problem,” she huffs out. 

caleb stiffly forces the fakest smile you’ve ever seen onto his face as he pokes his tongue against his cheek. he’s trying his best to not explode, and you’ve never felt this grateful for his patience and loyalty in your life before. 

before he responds to mc, he allows himself a quick glance at you, and then curtly states, “nothin’,” as if anyone would buy his poor attempt at playing it casual. 

mc, now irritated by caleb’s standoffish behavior, shoots up from her spot as she scoffs out, “listen, caleb,” you quickly flicker your eyes back and forth between mc and caleb, refusing to get involved. “just ‘cuz you refuse to go on dates doesn’t mean that we,” mc waves a finger between you and her, “have to stay single forever too,” she mocks. 

seeing caleb’s genuinely ticked off expression, you break your silence to prevent an actual fight from breaking out, “who’s the guy,” you immediately wince as soon as the words leave your mouth.

at the interruption, mc practically cheers while caleb crumbles in hurt and disbelief. pacing around the room, mc begins to ramble about the guy, “i swear, he’s practically a carbon copy of your celebrity crushes,” mc doesn’t stop, but all you can focus on is caleb. 

caleb’s already extremely irritated demeanor becomes impossibly more tense. sensing your gaze on him, caleb gets up from the couch without a word and exits the room. mc pauses her non-stop rambles as caleb passes by her. both you and mc focus on caleb’s figure as he hurriedly enters the bathroom to calm down.

the sound of the bathroom door closing causes both you and mc to snap your gazes back to each other. mc moves to sit beside you, “ignore him,” she tries to reassure you in an attempt to break the now awkward tension. “he’s just jealous that you’re going on a date and he’s not,” she jokes, but she notes how your anxious demeanor refuses to leave. 

now serious and concerned, mc begins to rub up and down your arm in a comforting manner. however, before she can properly question you, you grab her hand and gently squeeze it before softly asking her, “so, what’s the real reason behind this set-up,” you knowingly grin at her.

—

as soon as you and caleb enter the elevator and the doors slide closed after you, you burst out apologizing. caleb hates hearing you like this, so, unsurprisingly, he immediately shuts it down, “‘s fine, really,” despite his passive behavior telling you otherwise. 

carefully, you explain the situation to him, “caleb,” he refuses to meet your worried gaze, “mc just needs a stand-in for a double date. the guy wouldn’t go on a date unless his friend had one too,” you hurriedly clear up in a desperate attempt to return your relationship back to normal.

at his persistent silence, you continue, “it’s not even a real date-“

he cuts you off with a disbelieving scoff, “a date’s a date, honey,” he frustratedly argues. 

at his tone, you quiet down as caleb finally begins to unravel, “i just don’t understand why we have to keep it a secret,” he finally meets your eyes with a heartbroken stare of his own. 

he shakes his head in confusion, “i know mc, you know mc,” he points out, “and we both know she isn’t going to be upset about this!” caleb rarely raises his voice at you, and he hates when he does, but he can’t hold himself back anymore.

he hates being your secret and he hates being forced to make you his secret even more. he’s been trying his best to be patient with you, but the longer this goes on, the more he grows confused at this odd situation. caleb would understand your worries if he was mc’s ex, but he isn’t! 

if anything, caleb knows that mc would be your guys’ biggest supporter if she knew, so all caleb can scramble together for the reason behind your unwillingness to reveal your relationship is that you’re embarrassed about him. the idea is ridiculous, and caleb knows it himself, you’re constantly all over him in private, so now caleb is stuck in a limbo. 

you want to speak to reassure caleb’s visibly growing turmoil, but you can’t. you don’t know what to do. 

finally reaching the lobby, the elevator’s bell rings to indicate your arrival breaks the silence, but the tension between the two of you remains even weeks after the fight. 

—

you feel as if you're torturing the poor guy as he lingers behind after dropping you and mc off at the meet-up destination for the double date. mc has tried to persuade caleb to leave multiple times, but all her attempts were shut down with the same excuse, “it’s not safe for the two of you to wait alone.” 

now you’re filled to the brim with guilt and overwhelming adoration for caleb. despite the fight causing awkward tension between the two of you, caleb will always prioritize you before his feelings. 

you feel utterly cruel and terrified because even though you’re standing right next to him, you feel as if there is a massive ravine separating the two of you at the same time. the worst part is that you can’t blame anyone but yourself. 

panicking, you start to spiral as you realize how ridiculous you’ve been and all the unnecessary heartache you’ve forced upon caleb. your loving boyfriend is standing right next to you, waiting to watch the love of his life go on a date with a random guy, who you’ve never even met before, just because you’re afraid of how mc would react to your relationship with him. 

stuck in your daze, you don’t even notice that the guys have finally arrived minutes late. when the two guys apologize for their tardiness, you snap out of your thoughts and lift your gaze to face them. caleb would never leave you waiting, you think as you scan them, and you feel insulted that mc thinks that is your type. you make a note to yourself that after this entire debacle is over, you need to admire and remind caleb of his beauty more often. 

you’re still zoned out as the introductions begin. you’re more focused on solving whatever remains of your relationship with caleb anyway. however, your attention fully returns when one of the guys turns towards caleb, who has been patiently waiting by your side the entire time, and asks, “uh, and who are you,” the guy’s gaze is flickering between the three of you in an attempt to figure out the relationship dynamic. 

with a tight-lipped grin, caleb introduces himself, “i’m caleb,” he grits out while keeping his hands shoved in his pockets. “i was just making sure that these two,” caleb nods in yours and mc’s direction, “were safe as they waited for you,” he ends with an obvious accusation and judgment.

it would be a miracle if no one noticed the sudden tension that stretches over the entire group. irritated at caleb’s seemingly random hostility, the guy passive aggressively huffs out, “okay,” he then moves his gaze to both you and mc, “let’s get outta here, yeah?” 

when the guy takes a step forward, caleb takes that as his cue to leave despite his entire being screaming at him to drag you home instead. however, before caleb can defeatedly retreat, he feels a hand desperately grasp at his sleeve. 

surprised, caleb looks down and tracks the shaking arm that’s gripping him, which lands his eyes on your panicking expression that is already staring at him. 

now extremely concerned at your sudden change in behavior, caleb makes a move to open his mouth as his face scrunches up in worry, but you interrupt him before he can speak.

still grasping at caleb’s sleeve, you snap your head to face the rest of the group before proudly shouting out, “i have a boyfriend,” with a nervous, but determined expression on your face. 

a silence breaks out as the entire group halts whatever they were doing and turns to face you. everyone is seemingly frozen. except for caleb, of course.

standing besides you, caleb’s face immediately breaks out into the brightest and biggest growing smile you’ve ever seen from him as soon as he processes your declaration. he’s trying his best to quell the smile, but, if anything, it makes his smile grow impossibly wider, especially when he feels your hand that was gripping onto his sleeve snake down his arm to intertwine your fingers together. 

he figures that he probably looks like the biggest, down-bad idiot ever right now, but how can anyone blame him when his entire world finally marked their claim on him. caleb swears his heart is going to burst with how much relief and adoration he feels. 

in an attempt to compose himself, caleb brings his free hand to cover his love-sick grin that refuses to leave his face while gently squeezing your connected hands to relay how much this means to him. 

the rest of the group is still frozen at the reveal, especially mc whose eyes and mouth have dropped open and remained in that position for a solid minute or two at this point. 

taking advantage of the calm before the storm, aka mc, caleb lowers his hand that was covering his face as he bashfully announces, “i’m the boyfriend,” while moving the arm that contains your interlinked hands together over your shoulder to tug you closer.