CeeCee

Text Messages With . . .

Hockey!Matt X Ballerina!Reader

Text Messages With . . .

Exchange!Student!Ilya X Sweetheart!Shane

So when they’re lying in bed one day after a long evening practice, scrolling on their phones, Shane turns towards Ilya and asks, “what’s a ‘slavic stare’?”

“What?”

Shane turned his phone screen towards his husband. It’s a list of ‘Top 10 Athletes with Best Slavic Stare’.

“I am only number four?” Ilya frowned.

“What is it?” Shane pressed.

“Is this,” Ilya tossed his phone aside and rolled over on top of his husband. He had himself propped up on his hands, strong arms bracketing Shane’s head.

Shane looked confused at first. Ilya closed his eyes and set his features. When he opened his eyes, they were gazing up at Shane, chin tilted down. His jaw was set tight with a hard line at his brow. All playfulness had fled his features.

It was the same expression Shane had seen during important games. Games where Ilya wasn’t just trying to win, he was trying to destroy the other team.

“Ilya?” Shane breathed.

But Ilya just stared. It was intense, focused, like his world narrowed down to a single task.

It felt like… how Shane imagined a rabbit would feel caught in the eyes of a wolf.

“Ilya, stop it,” Shane wiggled, hands on Ilya’s chest to push him off. The fact he used about 10% of his strength to do this meant nothing.

Ilya grabbed both of his hands in one of his and pinned them above his head.

He said something in Russian that Shane only caught fragments of. His voice was deeper like it got when he spoke his native language. Shane got “you” “wanted” “good boy” and “me” but it was enough for him to vaguely catch onto the meaning.

“Ilya, I’m…,” Shane whined and unsuccessfully tried to yank his hands back. “I’m tired. I just wanted an…explanation.”

“But you are hands-on learner,” Ilya said in English but with a thick accent, not dropping the stare.

Shane squeezed his eyes close as Ilya dipped to capture his prey.

Word Count- 1193.

Warnings- absolutely nothing.

The second you clicked post, two notifications immediately appeared across the top of your screen.

matthew.sturniolo liked your post.

christophersturniolo liked your post.

You couldn't help but laugh.

Of course they had both seen it within seconds of each other. Even after all these years, they somehow always managed to be the first people to interact with anything you shared online. Your thumb lingered over the screen as more notifications rolled in, comments quickly replacing the quiet that had followed hitting the post button.

A smile tugged at your lips as you read through them. Matt was pretending to be offended that he wasn't your favorite anymore, while Chris, unsurprisingly, had managed to turn a compliment into shameless flirting. You rolled your eyes at both of them, though the grin on your face only grew wider.

Some things never changed.

The three of you had spent nearly your entire childhood together. Every summer afternoon, every birthday, every late-night bonfire—it was almost impossible to remember one without the other two being there. Somewhere along the way, the innocent crushes you'd sworn would disappear only became harder to ignore.

Everything changed after Chris and Matt stopped talking.

You never asked either of them what really happened. Whatever it was, it had been enough to split them into completely different lives. Matt stayed on the countryside, surrounded by open fields and quiet mornings, while Chris settled into the fast pace of the city. They never saw each other anymore, which meant neither of them ever questioned why you disappeared for a few days every now and then.

Your phone buzzed again.

Matt's name lit up your screen, and almost instantly you found yourself smiling. The conversation picked up like no time had passed at all, the two of you talking about your beach trip before he mentioned spending his afternoon feeding the cows. It was easy. It always had been with him.

Then the conversation took an unexpected turn.

You stared at the last message for a second longer than necessary, your heart giving a small, unexpected flutter. Matt wanted you to come visit him. Not just someday—soon. He'd even offered to buy your plane ticket without a second thought.

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard as a smile slowly spread across your face.

Just as you started typing your answer, your phone buzzed again.

This time, it was Chris.

You stared at Chris's name lighting up your screen before letting out a quiet groan.

"...You've got to be kidding me."

The smile that had been reserved for Matt hadn't disappeared, but it definitely shifted into something more amused as you tapped Chris's message open. If there was one thing Chris had always been good at, it was having the absolute worst timing imaginable.

The conversation immediately felt different.

Where talking to Matt was slow and comforting, talking to Chris was fast. He jumped from one topic to the next before you even had the chance to answer the first one, making you laugh more than once as he shamelessly complained about how long it'd been since he'd seen you. Then, almost as casually as if he were asking what you'd had for breakfast, he invited you to come stay with him.

You blinked at your screen.

"No..."

A laugh slipped out as you buried your face in one of the throw pillows on your bed.

"There is absolutely no way."

Matt wanted you to visit.

Chris wanted you to visit.

Both within the span of maybe five minutes.

You dropped the pillow back onto the bed and stared up at your ceiling, letting out a long sigh. If someone had told you this morning that both of your childhood crushes would invite you across the country on the exact same day, you would've laughed in their face.

Yet somehow...

Here you were.

You picked your phone back up, opening Matt's conversation before switching back to Chris's. Then Matt's again.

Country.

City.

Quiet mornings on a porch swing while Matt rambled about whatever project he was working on.

Late nights flying through downtown with Chris insisting on taking "the scenic route," which somehow always ended with overpriced milkshakes at two in the morning.

Neither sounded like a bad choice.

Which made choosing impossible.

With another dramatic sigh, you slid off your bed and walked over to your dresser. Your fingers rummaged through the clutter scattered across the top until they landed on a lone quarter sitting beside an old jewelry dish.

Your dad had always said that if you couldn't make a decision, let a coin do it for you.

Not because it would choose for you...

But because, for a split second while it was in the air, you'd secretly know which side you were hoping it'd land on.

You held the quarter between your thumb and index finger.

"Heads..." you murmured. "Matt."

You turned the coin over.

"Tails... Chris."

The room fell quiet.

With one flick of your thumb, the quarter shot into the air, spinning over and over as the afternoon sunlight caught its edges. You tracked it with your eyes until it dropped back into your palm with a soft smack.

You slapped your other hand over it before you could peek.

"...Okay."

You took one slow breath.

Then lifted your hand.

Heads.

Matt.

For a second, you simply stared at the quarter resting in your palm before a small smile found its way onto your face.

"I guess I'm going to the countryside."

You didn't let yourself overthink it.

Before your brain had the chance to talk you out of it, your fingers were already typing out a response to Matt.

His reply came back almost instantly.

You could practically picture the smile on his face through the screen, and somehow that made your own even bigger. Within minutes he was already talking about looking at flights and insisting you didn't have to worry about paying for anything.

It was so... Matt.

Sweet.

Thoughtful.

Completely unnecessary.

Once the excitement settled, you took a small breath before opening Chris's conversation again. This part felt harder.

You hated disappointing him.

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before finally beginning to type.

You told him you were already planning on visiting a friend this week, but if he was still free afterward, you'd love to come see him next week instead.

The typing bubble appeared almost immediately.

The knot in your stomach loosened.

He wasn't upset.

If anything, he seemed calm?

You laughed quietly to yourself before locking your phone and setting it beside you on the bed.

One plane ticket was already being booked.

Another trip was already being promised.

And somehow, without either of them realizing it, your summer had just been divided into two very different worlds.

One called you Angel.

The other called you Bunny.

You had a feeling this summer was going to change everything.