𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒈 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒓𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔
𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕!
𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒈, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆... 𝑺𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔.
Protag has never gone too far in the dating scene. I would not say that he is this inexperienced, innocent man. (For those who do not know, he is about 30 years old) I could see him being one of those guys where they may say “I do not find dating to be important, but I am not opposed.” Most likely did not date in high school, and had at least one or two serious relationships. Probably a drunken one night stand in there… Aside from that, dating has not been a focus of his. Plus, he is always too busy trying to find a decent job that can get him some decent food on the table. Trust me, you would be tired of having ice soup every night.
You met him when he first came to the office. Maybe you were just as a novice as him, or you have worked for the company for a few months or years, either way he showed respect towards you. Protag admires how you do not put him down or baby him all because he is new in this work field. Cough cough, Coworker… You are probably one of the few people he can tolerate around the office, since you seem… real… By real, he means that you do not try to put up a front, or act as if you are better than the next person. Let us be honest, the office is filled with a bunch of snobs, and stuck up wealthy folks. Nobody really cares about one another. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. An endless cycle that gets more exhausting and boring by the minute.
When he first met you, it was not exactly love at first sight. Sure, he thought you were easy on the eyes, but at the moment it was definitely giving off “hallway crush.” Where you feel as if you will never end up with that person, so you admire from afar. Although, he felt odd watching you from far away. It made him feel like a creep… So, for his sake, he started having conversations with you. Most of them being brief discussions.
“So… uh, nice weather we’re having, right?”
“How’s that report going for you?”
Sure, the conversations were short, but it gave him a slight boost of dopamine.
When it comes to his feelings towards you, he attempts to make it as inconspicuous as possible. Protag likes you a lot, and the last thing he wants to do is make things awkward between you two. (As if he is not awkward enough as it is.) Aside from brief conversations, he likes doing acts of service. In a bad mood? He probably has a few cents in his pocket for your favorite beverage. Ripped up a shirt? He could offer to mend it for you. (For those who do not know, one of his hobbies is sewing.) He is definitely the personification of “actions speak louder than words.”
For the time being, this ship was running decently… Until a certain coworker got involved. Coworker/Bryce Stryker takes notice of his actions towards you. Safe to say, he was not letting Protag live it down. Almost everyday, he found a reason to mess with him.
“You know, you always look like a dork when you’re staring at them.”
“Shouldn’t you be in a meeting right now?”
“Who says I gotta go to ‘em?”
“Right… because nepotism can get you out of responsibility.”
“Sorry newbie, can’t hear you over the sound of my superiority… Anywho, I’m gonna go have a smoke break.”
Coworker does not speak to you very often. But when he does see you, he likes to do certain things that he knows will piss Protag off. One of those things being flirting with you. The man is already a prick, so why not have another reason to prove that? The flirting is subtle, but great enough for Protag to notice. The way his arm is propped up against the wall as he talks to you, along with that damn smirk. Or how he offers to copy your documents and bring you coffee. Protag cannot help but feel a pang of jealousy.
“He hardly does a thing around this office, and now he wants to be helpful?”
Protag mutters under his breath.
Coworker is not actually interested in you, he just likes messing with him. As I said, the man is a prick. Eventually, you catch on to what he was doing. You knew he was not being serious about the flirting. You knew he only gets productive when it involves messing around with someone. Although, after those events you notice that Protag has been acting out of the ordinary. He has always been a reserved individual, but never distant… Maybe he thought you wanted his coworker, but who would want that bastard? Cough cough, new post incoming.
One night the office was empty. It was late in the evening, almost everyone went home. Except for the two of you. Both of you so happened to be procrastinating. All the nights of saying “I’ll do it tomorrow,” finally caught up to you. You went to the break room to make some coffee, Protag was already near the coffee machine…
“Yeah, I have a report that’s due tomorrow.”
“You and me both… although, you don’t seem like the type to do work at the last minute. You always seem so responsible. And if I’m being honest, I almost envy you.
He says the last part with chuckle
“You really think that? Well I must be doing something right to have you thinking that way. I kinda envy you too. So calm and collected, despite all the shit that coworker of yours gives you.”
“Yeah… he sure can be a dick sometimes.”
The two of you were talking like normal again, he was not acting like the distant guy who has been avoiding you for the past couple of days. Maybe he overcame his emotions? You decide to ask.
“I’m sorry if this is too personal, but what has been going on with you lately?”
He says, his voice filled with confusion, with a slight hint of defense.
“I’m not trying to interrogate you or anything, but you have been acting pretty distant lately. You’re quiet, but you’ve been acting weird towards me. Did I do something?”
He eyes then widened with surprise.
“You haven’t done anything wrong. What makes you say that?”
“Because usually we strike up a conversation almost everyday, and now you’ve just been shutting me down every time I tried to speak to you!”
Protag was in too deep. He could not make up a lame ass excuse and say “yeah, I’ve been distancing myself because I felt like it.” That would only dig him a deeper hole. He might as well tell the truth…
“Look, please don’t freak out when I tell you. But just know that I respect any answer you give me. Y/N… I like you.”
You were taken aback, and especially did not expect that answer.
“Then why have you been acting so off?”
“It’s just a silly reason, almost childish now that I really think about it… I have feelings for you, and ever since Bryce has been flirting with you, it really irritated me. Not to mention, I figured you would be better off with him.“
“You thought I had a thing for him?” Didn’t think you thought so low of me.”
Your voice twinged with tease.
“Oh don’t start… He could take care of you far better than I could. Look, I’m sorry if I’m acting selfish, but just the thought of you with him, made me writhe. You are one of the few people in this office who is actually real in my eyes. You actually know how to express other emotions aside from arrogance. Not saying you are arrogant of course! But you’re actually kind, and you don’t pity me like most people in this office. You deserve way more than you think you think, Y/N.”
Safe to say, you were touched by his little rant. You never thought he could become jealous over his coworker, but you found it kind of amusing. Eventually, you give the run down of what Bryce was doing. He was already frustrated with him, but the fact he was doing all that just to mess with him? Now he definitely has a reason to be upset.
After cooling down, the two of you finally set up a date. Protag wants to make sure you are taken care of. His office job has given him some extra cash, but that still does not stop the fact that he still cannot afford opulent things. Not to mention, he is gonna do whatever it takes for you to not pay the bill, he will feel like a burden if you do so… The two of you settled at a coffee shop. Cheap, but cozy. He wishes he could take you somewhere better, but he is on a tight budget. And as promised, he pays for the whole meal.
After leaving the coffee shop, he decides to drive you home, or at least walk you to your door. Kisses? Maybe another time. Protag is the type to take things slow, and does not like to rush things. Although, if you initiate he definitely will not say no…
𝑺𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓... 𝑨𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒐, 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒐𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏
