#cater fluff

To a lot of people, it looked like you and Cater were dating. Granted, there was a lot of damning evidence. For starters, the two of you had a shared social media account that was always up-to-date. You had a lot of matching clothes and he hardly ever hacked you. The two of you like the same candy and have the same sense of humor.

You must be dating right?

“No, no, we’re not dating. We’re just best friends, that’s all.” You laughed, your arm slung over his shoulders. “Trust me, I don’t think I could bear having him as a boyfriend, as cute as he is.”

He scoffed. “Pssh, you wish you could date someone as cool as me!”

“In your dreams!”

“Like you’d ever be in my dreams!”

If it wasn’t already obvious, no, the two of you are not dating. You’re just very close friends. You have been since you were children. Ever since the day he helped you up from a nasty tumble on the playground, you two have been inseparable. And you preferred it that way.

The rest of Heartslabyul, on the other hand, weren’t all that convinced. While Trey tried to laugh every time you assured him you weren’t dating, he would ask Cater when you weren’t around if he needed help confessing to you. Of course, he shut that conversation down as quickly as he could. As for Riddle, he believed it was some ultimate prank, that you both were secretly dating and telling him you weren’t for the perfect gotcha moment. But that wasn’t the case either.

Although pranking him like that sounded like a great idea, which you filed away for later in case you wanted to try.

You sighed, laying back on Cater's bed, your phone on your chest. You were updating your social media when you got yet another comment asking if you two were dating. You immediately went to tell them that, no, you were just besties, when you hesitated. Glancing at Cater sitting next to you, tapping away on his phone and sucking on a lollipop, you frowned.

Cater was pretty and he was nice to you when it mattered. He was funny and courageous and passionate about a lot of things you liked as well. But when you tried to look at him in the Boyfriend Light, you just couldn’t see it. Cater was your friend! If anything, he was like a brother! He just wasn’t your type at all and a part of you felt guilty. What if he didn’t think that way?

“Hey, Cater?” You asked before you could tell yourself not to open your mouth.

“What?”

“Do you ever think maybe we should date?”

Yep, just rip it off like a bandage. That’ll work.

He paused, moving the lollipop around in his mouth as he thought. “Do you want the serious answer or the funny answer?”

“Serious answer, please.”

There was another stretch of time before he said, “In all honesty, and I hope you’re not offended, but I really don’t. I just don’t see you as my significant other. You’re my bestie, my ride or die, sure, but not, like, the love of my life. You’re just you and I think that’s perfect just the way it is. I’m sorry if that isn’t the answer you wanted-”

“No.” You quickly cut him off. “No, I mean, I feel the same way. You’re not boyfriend material to me. I mean, I hope one day you find someone you could fall in love with, but I don’t think it will be me. I mean, I hope it won’t be me.”

He nodded. “Yeah, we’re just besties.”

“Besties who steal each other’s candy.”

You don’t smell like roses—you smelled like fresh air and freedom, like wildflowers and clouds, like fluffy blankets on a movie night. You smelled like comfort, like home, and it’s the first home Cater believes he’s ever had.

He’s never been good at opening up, always keeping every part of him (except for the parts he wants people to see) under wraps, as tightly as he possibly can. He clutches those pieces to his chest, but you pulled his arms apart, gently and patiently, ripping him away from the safety of being unknown for the first time in his life.

It feels like you're taking his breath away. It feels like being strangled. It feels so violent and so soft at the same time, a contradiction for a contradiction of a man. He’s never met anyone who twists him up inside like you, someone who pays attention to him and puts him first.

You always, always put him first.

Even when Ace and Deuce are beating down your door, even when Trey offers you some new sweets, even when Riddle invites you to a study session. You always tell them that you’re on a call with Cater right now and can’t talk, you always ask for Trey’s signature spell so you can share with Cater, you always ask what subject it is just to make sure you couldn’t just go to Cater for tutoring instead.

He doesn’t even have to hint at things he wants when it comes to you. He doesn’t have to pretend to be nonchalant, or pretend not to care. He doesn’t have to ache with desperation anymore.

He’s loved.

Cater sighed once more before stretching his arms above his head, grunting softly as his back popped in multiple places, the tension from slouching over his desk all day lessening. Today felt like the worst, time felt as if it had been slowed with how excited Cater was, but now that it was finally over, and that excitement hadn’t waned a bit. From the moment he had woken up, Cater had been so giddy that he couldn’t focus. He had messed up during his debriefing, ran into the vending machines because he was on his phone, and he accidentally misspelled their client’s name on their webpage. #Unprofessional.

The moment the last meeting of the day was adjourned, Cater sighed with relief, slouching in his chair. This month so far has been super busy with the amount of clients who wanted their advertisements up today, potential clients whose appointments were scheduled all throughout the week with notes that needed to be looked over, and various websites to be updated. They definitely weren’t out of the woods yet, but that was the life of someone who worked in the Social Media and Marketing Department.

But today was special, and it had the entire building buzzing. Pink, red, and white hearts decorated the office, the women of the office wore their pretty pinks and luscious reds, pretty bouquets and boxes of chocolates dotted the desks, the guys wore their best dress shirts, and the older men adorned their themed ties hand picked by their wives that morning. Today was Valentine's Day and Cater knew this one was going to be special. 

Cater made his way to his desk from their roundtable when an arm wrapped its way around his shoulders, startling him. 

“So,” the voice said. 

Cater whipped his head around and was met with a mop of brown hair and brown eyes. It was Lucas, of course it was Lucas. The twenty-five year old was Cater’s senior by a year, and terribly nosey. 

“So?” Cater asked.

“Penelope, she’s pretty cute right?”

“Not this again,” Cater sighed, moving out of his grasp to walk a bit faster.

“Oh, c’mon dude,” Lucas sighed, rushing after him, “You two would make a great couple!”

“And I keep telling you I’m seeing someone.”

“You mean his fake girlfriend,” Fabian joked, matching their stride. 

Fabian, a twenty-two year old blonde with a knack for unintentionally offending people with his words. Cater wouldn’t lie, he didn’t like the guy when Fabian first came to their department, but after they got to know each other, and eventually sat in the same quad, he learned that Fabian wasn’t a bad person, just a little hard with his words.

“Mimi is not fake,” Cater huffed, moving to clean up his desk.

“C’mon dude, you can’t blame me,” Fabian reasoned, from his side of their shared desk, “Every time I mention your girlfriend you get all defensive, and the last time I asked for a picture, you wouldn’t show me.”

“Maybe she’s shy?” Brain offered from his desk.

Brian was the best behaved out of their quad. He hated confrontation, and tended to keep to himself, but when the time arose, the twenty-four year old would stick his neck out for anyone without a second thought.

“Or imaginary,” Fabian muttered.

Cater rolled his eyes, making for his hasty retreat, when suddenly his phone vibrated and like his life depended on it, Cater snatched his phone from his desk, unlocking the device. Fabian and Lucas rushed over to try and peek at the message, which Cater promptly pulled out of sight.

“He’s practically been glued to his phone the whole day,” a soft voice chided. “I knew he loved the thing, but today was something else entirely.” 

“Sup, Tif,” Lucas greeted, looking up from his attempt to get a glimpse of Cater’s phone.

“Hey guys,” Tiffany smiled. 

Tiffany, better known as Tif throughout the building, was part of the Marketing Department. The twenty-five year old and her team often worked with Cater and his quad, like today.

“Hey, Tif,” Cater smiled.

“Going home so soon?” Tiffany asked.

“Yeah,” Cater sighed with a dopey smile, “I got plans and I don’t wanna be late.”

“Plans?” a sweet feminine asked, “That’s nice to hear.”

“Penelope,” Lucas cheered, “How was work?”

“It was an easy day,” Penelope smiled, playing with the petals to a bouquet of flowers. 

Penelope, the office sweetheart and most eligible bachelorette, was the floor’s secretary. Cater couldn’t remember a time when Lucas wasn’t trying to set him up with the twenty-five year old, or a time the guys of the building treated her like a princess. Don’t get him wrong, Cater liked Penelope, but just not like that.

“Oh, nice flowers. Who’s the sender?” Fabian asked.

“My mom,” Penelope laughed awkwardly, “She always sends them on Valentine's Day.”

“That’s cute,” Tiffany smiled.

“Aw,” a deeper feminine voice sighed, “I wish my mom did that.”

“Hey, Brooke,” Brian smiled, “how was accounting?”

Brooke was head of accounting, and like a mother figure to the younger workers on the floor. Anytime you needed something, Mama Brooke was on the case, the twenty-nine year old taking her title with stride. 

“Same as always,” Brooke said dismissively. “What I wanna know is what was so important that you couldn’t pay attention during today’s roundtable, Cater?”

Cater laughed awkwardly, “Sorry, Brooke. I’ll admit, I was a bit distracted today.”

“I get it, it’s Valentine’s Day,” Brooke smirked, “you just got distracted by some really nice pictures from your girl.”

Cater flushed to the tips of his ears,” I-It’s not like t-that!”

 Brooke laughed, “So, does anyone have any plans for tonight? My husband and I are going to that really fancy restaurant on 5th street.”

“Me and my hubby are gonna go see a movie,” Cecelia said excitedly.

“Me and my girlfriend are gonna stay in and make dinner,” Fabian said.

“Jesse and I are gonna go to a drive-in movie,” Brian smiled. 

“That’s cute,” Cecelia whined, “We should've done that instead.”

As the group spoke of their evening plans, Cater’s phone vibrated again, and he was on it like a moth to a flame.

“Mimi’s here,” Cater gasped, suddenly rushing to get his things.

“Mimi?” Cecilia asked.

“His fake girlfriend,” Fabian teased from his seat across from Lucas.

“Whatever,” Cater laughed with a scoff, putting the last of his things in his bag.

“It’s okay man, we’ve all been dumped before,” Fabian said, “You don’t have to keep up this charade any longer.”

Cater rolled his eyes, getting the last of his things.

“Leave him alone, guys.” Brooke huffed, “Cater, I’m sure your girlfriend is very nice.”

“Thanks Mama Brooke. See ya,” Cater called, practically running to get to the elevators.

“Oh, I gotta see this,” Fabian said, rushing to follow Cater.

“I’m coming too,” Lucas exclaimed, shooting from his seat.

The group followed closely behind Cater as he weaved his way through the desks, quads, and cubicles, trying not to lose that head of bright orange hair in the crowds of people making their ways home.

The Cater and his unappointed followers passed by one of the quads when a pair of gold eyes spotted them. “Where are you guys going?”

“Hey, Maddox,” Lucus shouted, “You’re gonna finally see Cater’s girlfriend!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Cater rolled his eyes affectionately. Maddox was one of the seniors of the department at thirty-six years old, he was one of the guys who trained Cater when he first joined, and became a big brother of sorts. Whenever Cater needed something, whatever it might be, Maddox had his back.

 All of them shoved their way into the elevator, pressing the button to the ground floor. The ride from the eighth floor was a long one, and every time they stopped on a floor, they got curious looks as there wasn’t a lick of room for anymore people. 

Once they stopped at the third floor, Keith gave them all weird looks, as he was trying to use the elevator as well.

“Keith,” Cecelia waved, “we’re gonna see Cater’s girlfriend.”

Keith worked in IT, the twenty-six year old always hanging on the eighth floor when he wasn’t supposed to.

“Ima take the stairs and meet you guys down there,” Keith said, before he rushed to the opposite side of the room to the stairwell. 

“Guys,” Cater whined as the doors shut once more. 

Downstairs, Mirai stood awkwardly next to a gaggle of women. He felt so out of place standing next to all of them in their cutesy skirts and frilly dresses, even their hair was curled and or pressed. And how could he forget their polished nails on dainty hands that held their teddy bears, roses, and chocolates. 

Then there, sticking out like a sore thumb, he was, a man all dolled up with a bouquet of flowers of his own. Mirai couldn’t help but feel a hint of jealousy at their flawless beauty. Why couldn’t he look that pretty like them with their soft skin and long eyelashes? Maybe he should have worn a skirt instead? 

Mirai sighed, shaking his head to somehow shake the thought away. He was fine, this was fine. He dressed up too in his suit and black and red rose pattern mesh button up. He had spent hours trying to perfect his eyeliner, and once he did, he chose pink eyeshadow that went perfectly with his flushed cheeks and pink lipgloss. He knew it did, because he had called Crewel before he left and he said so. 

Instead of a teddy bear, well, he did actually get a teddy bear, but it was with the soap set that came with bath bombs, face masks, lotions and oils, which was at Cater’s apartment, sitting on the living room coffee table. And as for chocolates, Cater hated sweets, so he improvised with dark chili chocolates for him to try and if that failed, Mirai got a fruit and cheese platter, which was also sitting in Cater’s apartment, chilling in his refrigerator of course. Fiddling with the petals of his bouquet of roses, wondering if it all was too much. 

And on a side note, Mirai really thought he would be late with how much of a hassle it was to get into the building itself. The guy at the gate gave him a hard time, and it wasn’t until Cater’s father had to explain that he was with him did the man let him in. After that, Mirai and Mr. Diamond had split ways in the lobby, the older man having something important to take care of, leaving Mirai in the lobby, which led him to his current problem. The woman at the front desk.

The woman gave him such a hard time for a while, questioning how he got past security, why he was there, and who for. Mirai argued with her for a good while, telling her that he was picking his lover up, just like everyone else and that yes, his visitor’s pass was valid. Mirai didn’t understand, all of the misses were here, so why couldn't he be? Mr. Diamond said it was okay, so what was so bad about him being here? 

She had finally stopped when one of the women stepped in, asking her why she was so adamant on trying to get Mirai to leave. And now said front desk woman, with the name tag that read “Mara,” was giving him the stank eye as she tapped away on her desktop computer. Mirai just hopped Cater or Mr. Diamond came back soon.

“So what do you and your boy have planned?” the woman from earlier asked.

Mirai startled a bit, not expecting her to ask him that, or anything for that matter, “I-I, h-how did you-”

“Oh please, Honey, no man makes himself look that pretty for a woman unless one of them swings the other way,” the woman laughed. “Also, I may not be the straightest woman here.”

“O-Oh,” Mirai chuckled nervously, “I tried my best. Uh, do you think it’s too much?”

“Not at all, hon, you look stunning,” she smiled. “You make me feel like I should have stepped up my game this morning, but then again, my Georgiana doesn’t like that shmancy stuff.”

“Don’t, don’t sell yourself short. To be honest, I was a little jealous at how pretty you guys were compared to me.”

“Please, you’re the best dressed out of everyone here.”

“Thanks,” Mirai muttered, flushing a pretty pink.

“You’re welcome,” the woman smiled, “I’m Xola by the way.”

“Mirai.”

A chime sounded through the lobby and immediately everyone perked up at the sound, their eyes honing in on elevators.

“Good luck,” Xola smiled.

“Back atcha,” Mirail nodded.

The elevator doors opened and Cater scanned the lobby, looking for the familiar blonde wolf cut and silver prosthetic. It didn’t take long for Cater to spot a constellation of freckles on rosy cheeks and eyes as bright as the stars.

“Mimi,” Cater gasped, running across the lobby.

“Cater,” Mirai shouted, matching Cater’s enthusiasm as he met the strawberry blonde halfway, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck.

Cater pulled back just enough to smash his lips into Mirai’s in a deep kiss, his hand reaching up the cradle the back of Mirai’s head, his fingers musing through his gelled tresses. Mirai sighed against Cater’s lips, his eyes closing in bliss. If his hands weren’t so full, Mirai knew his hands would be bunched up in Cater’s blazer by now. 

Cater finally pulled back after he had enough, the biggest grin on his face. “Hey Babydoll,” Cater muttered affectionately, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Mirai chuckled. “Sorry I wasn’t able to come down for your Birthday. I could only get three days off.”

“I don’t care about that. You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

“It does though,” Mirai whined, “ It was your twenty-fourth Birthday.”

“And you can make it up to me by coming to see me for your twenty-third. Now, Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Mirai smiled, wriggling out of Cater’s grasp to hand his gifts.

“Mimi,” Cater gushed, “thank you, baby. And don’t worry, yours are in the car.”

“It’s okay,” Mirai smiled, “I can wait.”

Cater looked at the bouquet and smiled fondly, “Ya’know, after all those years of painting the roses red, I’ve come to appreciate a fine red rose. I can tell these are good quality.”

Mirai chuckled, “Same here. I couldn’t just get any old rose, it just didn’t sit right. I felt as if Riddle would pop out of nowhere and collar me or something.”

The two of them fell into a fit of laughter at the image they conjured in their heads. 

“That’s Mimi?!” Lucas shouted, prompting an end to Mirai’s and Cater’s little moment, “You told me Mimi was a girl!”

“No I didn’t,” Cater said with a sardonic smile, “I said I was seeing someone and you assumed.”

“But his name is Mimi!”

“Yep. Short for Mirai.”

“Dude,” Lucas whined.

“Ignoring him,” Brooke said, pushing her way to the front of the group, “I think some introductions are in order.”

Cater took the time to introduce his colleagues to Mirai and vice versa. Mirai found the group to be very lively, and even with their different personalities, they somehow fit together perfectly. 

“You two have seriously been together since high school?!” Cecelia gushed, “That’s so cute! I wish me and my hubby were high school sweethearts.”

“I’m not sure if it counts, Cater mused, “we met during my third year, and by my fourth, I was doing my internships, and he was entering his Sophomore year.”

“It counts,” Brain nodded.

“Wait, how old was he when you two met?!” Tiffany asked.

“He was seventeen then,” Cater laughed.

“Oh.”

“I’m so proud of you, Cater,” Maddox cried, “my boy is becoming a man.”

“Maddy,” Cater whined, “stop it.”

Mirai chuckled at their antics.

“So how come I’m just learning you have a high school sweetheart?” Fabian asked.

“I told you I was seeing someone for a while,” Cater laughed. “You're the one who decided that I had an imaginary girlfriend.”

“As I said earlier, you wouldn’t show me pictures.”

“And since when did I have to?”

The two began to bicker when a thick accented voice spoke up, “So this is the fabled lover of Cater Diamond.”

Cater laughed awkwardly, looking up at Georgiana, “I didn’t know word got out that far.”

 “You two make a great couple.”

“Thx.”

“If only you’d told me it was Cater, I'd have given you some dirt on these guys, Mirai, no questions asked,” Xola laughed.

“Don’t you dare,” Keith shouted.

Cater’s colleagues began to converse amongst themselves, when Mirai checked the time. It was almost four-thirty, their dinner reservations were at five.

“Catie,” Mirai muttered, pulling at Cater’s sleeve, “We have to get going.”

Cater gasped. “Oopsies, sorry guys, but we gotta go if we wanna make our reservation. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Bye Cater, have fun,” Tiffany called.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Brooke shouted.

They made their way to Cater’s car, and Cater, ever the gentleman, opened Mirai’s door first, making sure he was seated, before shutting the door, and making his way to the driver's seat. 

“Here you go, Baby,” Cater muttered, kissing Mirai on his temple, as he handed Mirai a bouquet of pink and purple hydrangeas, a teddy bear and a box of chocolates. 

“They’re so pretty,” Mirai gushed, “Cater.”

“Of course, you only deserve the best.”

“And you got me lilies,” Mirai whispered, voice growing a little emotional, “Cater.”

Cater kissed Mirai on the head once more, “Don’t cry, Baby.”

“I’m not. I’m okay.”

Cater smiled softly, starting the car, and as he pulled out of his parking spot, the two of them spotted Mr. Diamond pulled out of his parking spot. Mirai waved with a big smile, his smile getting even bigger, if that was even possible, as Mr. Diamond waved back. 

“Have a good night, Mirai, Cater,” Mr. Diamond called from his open window, as he drove up to their car.

“You gonna go see mom?” Cater asked.

“Of course.”

“Good luck,” Cater called. “And give these to them for me?”

Mr. Diamond nodded, taking the flowers before diving off the lot.

“Let’s get going, shall we?”

The ride to the restaurant wasn’t a long one and after Cater switched his blazer for a red one and gave his keys to the Valet, they made it just in time. The restaurant was beautiful, decked out for the holiday with rose petals decorating the tables, white ribbons covered the chairs, and pink hearts decorated the windows. And you’d think it would look tacky, but it didn’t, somehow the restaurant made it work, the look giving it a romantic, classy feel. 

The dining room was packed with couples, each and everyone of them dressed to the nines. Mirai wondered how Cater even scored seats in a place like this.

“Good evening, Sir,” the hostess smiled, “May I have a name for your reservation?”

“Diamond,” Cater supplied.

After a second, the Hostess smiled, “Ah, here we are. Diamond, table for two. Alright, follow me if you please.”

Dinner went off without a hitch. Their table was on the indoor balcony that overlooked the rest of the restaurant and the city below through their floor to ceiling windows. They were served three courses starting with drinks and appetizers, which consisted of honey glazed prosciutto wrapped asparagus paired with a raspberry or cheese fondue sauce and for their drinks, sparkling cider since they had to drive home. 

For their next course, Cater had a brown butter steak and mashed potatoes, and for Mirai, a plate of their finest fettuccine chicken and broccoli alfredo. Over dinner, the two of them talked about anyone and anything. Mirai filled in how things were with living with Crewel and Grim, and how university was going. He talked about the last time he met up with Ace and Deuce and how they even went to visit Riddle and Trey. Mirai told Cater anything he thought was interesting. 

And Cater told him things in return. Cater talked about his department, his floor and everything they went on in the office. He talked about his sisters and his mother, he talked about his upcoming collaboration with Vil, and his hopeful future one with Idia and Kalim. 

Once dessert was served, things slowed down. The sun had long set, the food had settled in their bellies and with the looks Cater started giving Mirai over his glass of sparkling as he watched the blonde devour a piece of red velvet cheesecake, Mirai was ready to head out. 

“Ready, Babydoll?” Cater muttered with lidded eyes.

Mirai swallowed, feeling the telltale heat of a flush beginning to prickle at his cheeks, as he started back at Cater. The strawberry blonde smirked, putting down his glass to rest his cheek on his fist.

Mirai cleared his throat, but his words still came out hoarse, “Y-Yeah.” 

They paid, took the last piece of cake to go and made their way to the front of the building where the valet arrived with their car, and as they waited, Cater made sure to get as many pictures as he could. 

“Can we stop by somewhere before we go home?” Cater asked after a while of driving.

Mirai looked from his window to Cater, he couldn’t read the strawberry blonde’s expression, his face blank, eyes on the road.

“Sure. I don’t mind,” Mirai muttered finally, looking back at the city flying by. 

Cater drove around for some time and after a while, Mirai realized they were in the outskirts of the city, the amount of skyscrapers getting smaller, the amount of cars dwindling.

“Where are we going?” Mirai asked, looking out the windows.

“Surprise,” Cater smiled.

It wasn’t long after that they made their way to a scenic spot that overlooked the city. Here, they could see the stars in the sky, there were no bright lights outshining the galaxies above.

“Come sit,” Cater beckoned, crawling over the center console to sit in the back seat of his red convertible. 

“Cater,” Mirai giggled, crawling after Cater. 

Once he was back there, Cater wrapped the two of them in a blanket and pushed the button the dropped down the top.

“Why are we here?” Mirai asked, “What's going on?”

“Because it’s nice, and I can get some totally awesome pics for my Magaicam.”

Mirai shook his head, he guessed some things would never change. Cater snapped a bunch of pictures as Mirai stared at the cityscape below.

“Mimi?” Cater called.

“Yes?” 

“Cake?”

“I just had some. You tryna get me fat?”

“Well I do like feeding you,” Cater smirked. “Open?”

Mirai smiled, taking the fork into his mouth. The cake was sweet, creamy, and think, just what he liked in a good cheesecake. Eventually Mirai’s eyes wandered back to the city. Even from here, the city looked full of life. The red taillights dotted the roads, the white and gold lights from the buildings twinkled like stars, and above, the lights the warded off incoming planes pulsed like the city's heartbeat. Mirai agreed, this was nice.

“Mirai?” Cater whispered. 

“Huh?” Mirai answered, reluctant to take his eyes off the city.

“Jasper.”

Mirai’s head snapped away from the scenery for a second to see Cater holding a small red velvet box. Mirai froze, his heart stopping, his blood feeling as if ice was shot through his veins. He didn’t know what to do, but to sit there like a deer in headlights.

“Ca-Cater?” Mirai whispered, shakily.

“I-It-It’s not, it’s not what you think,” Cater stammered, face going cherry red. “Will you open it?”

Mirai shakily took the box from Cater’s hands, gently pulling the top up to reveal two simple gold bands with little flowers engraved on the outside, and in the center most flower, was one lone white rhinestone. On the inside of the rings were their names, Cater Diamond on one, and Mirai Jasper Yuhara on the other.

Mirai's lip quivered as he tried his best to take the ring out of the box, but he didn’t think he could without dropping it. “I can’t,” Mirai gasped a breath as he eyes filled with tears. 

“Here, let me,” Cater whispered, taking Mirai’s ring to loop a matching gold chain through it.

Mirai watched curiously as Cater did so, wondering what the gold chain was for. 

“I know you’re supposed to wear these on your left hand,” Cater muttered, before reaching around the blonde to clasp it around his neck, “but I wanted it so that when the time comes, you would be able to fit it on your right.”

Only then did Mirai’s eyes finally shed their tears, “Cater.”

“They’re promise rings, oh, well, you probably already knew that-wait did you? I-I-, this, this isn’t a proposal, well, not that kind of proposal. I wanted that one to be even more special, like #TheProposal, but I also wanted this one to be special, but not too special that it would outshine that one, and I-,” Cater stopped for a second, before laughing through his tears, “I’m not making any sense, am I?”

Mirai chuckled, voice muffled due to his emotions, “I-I-It’s, I understand you fully.”

“I-I’m so nervous,” Cater breathed, eyes misty, “I’ve never thought I’d be doing something like this. My life has never been stable, ya’know? I’ve moved around more times than I could count, gained and lost so many people who were close to me, and after a while, I stopped caring. I just knew everyone would disappear one day, so why try? If they were all gonna forget Cater one day, why not give them Cay-Cay instead?” 

Cater took a breath before continuing, “But that was before I met you. You made me want something stable, something permanent. You made me want to be me, to be Cater. And I want you.”

Mirai hiccuped at Cater words, and as Cater reached for his hands, Mirai sobbed, gripping them tightly.

“I can’t express how much I want this to be the real deal, but I can wait. I want you to finish school, I want you to find a place for yourself here in Twisted Wonderland. And then after all of that, we can think about actually tying the knot,” Cater chuckled. 

“I’d like that,” Mirai smiled, voice quivering.

“We can take our time, we can be young and dumb. We can make our mistakes, and find our place and who we are.”

“And then when we marry, we can get that house with the guest room, and the huge backyard?” Mirai asked.

“Yep, the one with the guest room for the guys, and the two car garage for our fancy cars.”

“With our dogs, and space to throw parties the whole street would envy?”

“And let’s not forget the giant walk in closet.”

The two of them fell into a fit of joyous laughter, the world and all of their worries seeming a world away. 

“Here,” Mirai eventually said, holding out the other band to Cater.

“You do it,” Cater smiled.

Mirai took his time and carefully slipped the gold band onto Cater's left hand. “There. Perfect.”

“Yeah, perfect,” Cater sighed, but he wasn’t looking at the ring on his finger. Mirai looked up and realized what he was implying, his face flushing.

 “I love you, Mirai,” Cater said, voice full of unbridled emotion. 

“I love you, too, Cater,” Mirai choked out.

Cater pulled Mirai in for a sweet kiss, like he was trying to convey his feelings with his body and soul. Mirai kissed him back, the same feeling of love and devotion. Cater pulled back seconds later, pressing his head to Mirai’s. Even if the kiss wasn’t a long one, it conveyed everything they wanted it to.

“So, selfies?” Cater asked.

“Yeah, selfies,” Mirai laughed.

Days were rarely ever quiet around the Heartslabyul dorm. What with Deuce and the others causing chaos and irking Riddle every day. Today, however, Cater got the rare treat of being out of the dorm and with his lovely partner. Sounds like a good day to him, if anyone were to ask. 

Cater may love everyone in his dorm a bit, it definitely was not enough to stay when offered a night out with the one person he truly felt safe with. Cater expected to have a day with his partner out in town in cute cafes or even looking for picturesque sights for beautiful selfies. What he got, however, was his other half pampering him with homemade food and some good old hair brushing. 

“Honey! This is amazing! How did you get the spice level just right?” Cater was thoroughly enjoying the spicy dishes that you made with jamils guidance. “Jamil was willing to help me with spicy recipes because I helped him take care of a sick Kalim who didn’t want to stay in bed.”

Cater choked a bit, after taking a drink of water, he laughs at the mental image of you trying to keep the rowdy light music club member in bed while poor Jamil takes care of everything else. “Did Jamil at least get to take a break while Kalim was sleeping?” You shake your head and smooth some of Caters hair back from his forehead while speaking to him softly.

“Jamil took a 10 minute nap while I sang them both a lullaby. They were both so tired that they couldn’t see straight.” You rest your elbow on the table and raise your banana milkshake to your lips and sip through the straw. “Kalim slept through the rest of the night and Jamil didn’t have as big of eye bags as normal. Suffice it to say that they both got some much needed sleep.”

Cater loved you dearly, even though sweets were something he didn’t like all that much, he still shared food and snakes with you sometimes. No matter how many times you told him that he didn’t need to, sweet things weren’t something he would be forced to eat with you around. “I want a sip of your shake. Can i?” He shot you the cutest puppy dog eyes and you frowned a bit.

“Cate, you don’t need to force yourself to drink something sweet.” Cater looks at you with soft, warm eyes and grins a little. “The banana milkshakes you buy aren’t that sweet, they just taste like bananas and milk. C’mon, please?” When he puts it like that, you really can’t say no, can you?

You tilt the shake toward his mouth and watch as he sips at it while making eye contact. “Told you it wasn’t sweet. You never buy overly sweet things when it comes to shakes.” Cater runs one hand over your forearm that is laying closest to him. Goosebumps rise in the wake of his gentle, teasing touch.

Having finished his food, Cater gets up, gathers his dishes and takes them to the sink and gets to washing them. “Cater, I could have done that.” Cater laughs lightly and shakes his head gently and flashes you a smile. 

“You made all of this, invited me over and have already made my day brighter. The least I can do is wash my own dishes.” Cater pauses and thinks to himself for a moment and then jovially whines “You could give me back hugs and dry them when I’m done scrubbing them.”

Quiet days with Cater were nice, rare and all the sweeter for their rarity. Walking up behind cater and wrapping your arms around his middle and pressing your cheek into his back and you mumble against his shirt. “I’m so glad that we have days like these. We won’t have them for much longer, will we?” 

Cater didn’t know what to say to them. This was his last year on campus. Fourth years were always out, they were doing internships under mages and important figures around Twisted Wonderland. “Unless I get held back a few years!” Cater laughs in lieu of not knowing what to do or say about where they were at in their last year together.

“We’ll figure something out. I don’t even know where I'm going for internships.” Cater keeps washing the dishes and handing them over to your dish towel covered hands. The silence is soft and warm in a sense. The evening light filters through the kitchen windows and the sound of crickets chirping is the background music to your water sloshing. 

“Would you….” Cater trails off softly and his voice fades into the summer evening around you. The night keeps closing in on your time with Cater. Time seems to fly around those that you care for. There never seems to be enough time. For now, the time you have with cater and the others will be something you hold dear to your heart.

“Cater, let’s just enjoy the time we have now. I will forever be grateful for the love we share. The greatest gift the universe has given me has been my time here with you.” Your voice is soft enough to carry to his ears without grim hearing your confession from where he is napping in the common room.

Cater is truly in awe with what he sees when he looks over at you. The evening sunset casting your form in that beautiful orange light. The last glow of the day framing your head like a halo. Truly the most beautiful thing he has ever seen on campus, hell, maybe even the most beautiful thing he has ever seen in the entirety of his life. His heart threatens to beat clean out of his chest if he stares at you any longer. 

Looking back down to the last dish in his soapy hands, he whispers, “Would you like to come back to the Queendom of Roses with me?” The words leave him before he can even think of what he was asking of you. Cater heard a light gasp and then felt hands grab at his jacket. 

“Cater?” A quick movement of his hands to set the dish down and another to turn and wrap his arms around you. “I am super aware of how that sounded but please just think about it. You have a few years still. Besides, I still have to deal with family stuff.”

There, in the evening light with the sound of grim snoring and the feeling of your hearts beating against your chests, a very important decision was made. “Oh Cater, of course I will.” 

Suddenly, Carter realized how quiet the ringing in his ears had gotten. The calm was so nice. If everyday with you could be like this, Cater would gladly take it, whatever way he could.

It started with a DM on his MagiCam account. At first, Cater didn't think much of it. He thought it was some fan trying to ask him out. But on second thought, he decided to open it. Who knows? Perhaps it was some kind of threat that he needed to report?

Instead, he got a simple message: Hey, I like what you post! You're really cool!

It didn't say much, really. Cater got those kinds of comments all the time on his posts. But this was a direct message. And for some reason, it felt more sincere and genuine. It made his heart stutter in his chest.

So of course he had to tell Trey all about it! He spent an hour overanalyzing the content of the message over and over and over again, trying to get an idea of what prompted the person to message him. It also didn't help that he spent at least twenty minutes scrolling through their account.

When Trey mentioned he should message them back, Cater freaked out and went on a thirty minute tirade on why he simply could not do that! The person who messaged him, they were cool and charming and absolutely way out of his league. To DM them back, that would be like breaking the ultimate rule! However, Trey eventually got to say that it was also impolite to leave someone on read.

So for the next hour and a half, he painstakingly crafted the perfect message to send back: Thanks! I like the stuff you post too!

After he sent it, he hated every word.

But almost immediately, he got a message back: Aww, thank you! Hey, do you know the address of the cafe in your third photo? It looks amazing!

And just like that, he sparked a conversation with the person who DM'd him. There wasn't a second in the day he didn't have his nose in his phone, typing message after message to the random person who messaged him first. At first, the others thought it was kind of sweet he found someone he liked so much and could relate to. But the longer it went on, the more Cater got obnoxious about it.

"Oh my Seven! You know my friend on MagiCam loves that kind of dessert!"

"My friend on MagiCam just sent me the funniest joke! I have to show you!"

"I just found out my friend on MagiCam is studying to be a mage too! Isn't that so cool?"

Riddle was the one who told Trey to pull Cater aside and tell him to do something about his friend on MagiCam. The Heartslabyul dorm leader wasn't one to condone relationships, believing they interfered with school work, but even he could see that Cater's work was suffering by not being in a relationship.

Trey decided to take the easy and subtle approach. He invited Cater into the kitchen and made him a snack before casually asking what kind of snacks his friend liked. Obviously, he turned it into a whole lecture of what they like and don't like to eat. When he could finally get a word in edgewise, Trey asked if he would consider inviting them over for some food or something like that.

Cater froze at the insinuation. "Oh no, I can't do that! That's a thing couples do! You should know that, Trey!"

"But don't you like them like that?" He countered.

His friend blushed. "N-no."

"That's what I thought." Trey rolled his eyes before placing a comforting hand on Cater's shoulder. "You like them. They like you. At the very least the two of you should meet in person. See if you still like each other outside of MagiCam and could possibly make a relationship work. It couldn't hurt to try."

"It could ruin everything! What if I don't like them in person? That could ruin our entire friendship!" Cater wailed.

"You won't know if you don't try. Besides, I know you. You will always be curious about what your friend is like no matter what. Might as well take the leap now."

After much debate and consideration, Cater decided to do the impossible. He messaged his friend to meet him for tea. And of course, they said yes.

In the time leading up to the fateful meeting, Cater was an absolute wreck. Ace often joked that he was like Riddle right before an Unbirthday Party. But he couldn't help it! He was about to meet the person he harbored secret romantic feelings for! How could he not be nervous?

When the day came, the garden was immaculately decorated and Cater was wearing his best clothes. He kept playing with his hair and chewing on his bottom lip as he waited for them. He was worried they were going to be late or not even show up.

But right when the clock struck tea time, there they were. Or rather, there you were, in your Royal Sword Academy uniform. Even in real life, your eyes were still as bright and your smile still as adorable. You were like a MagiCam post come to life. And it gave Cater some relief.

"Hi!" You cheerfully greeted him. "It's an absolute treat to meet you in real life, Cater!"

His heart flipped at your voice and he nodded, trying not to get too tongue-tied. "It's a pleasure to meet you too. Shall we?"

He felt his mouth go dry as you took his arm and smiled at him so bright, it almost blinded him. "Lead the way, Cay-Cay."