Zayne:

“I need a man like that.” You muttered to yourself as you sat on one of the benches in Akso hospital’s garden. You were all alone, eating your pathetic tuna sandwich you made just before your appointment this morning, when suddenly a gorgeous couple appeared. Right across from you, was a handsome, tall, raven haired, and hazel-green eyed man dressed in a lab coat walking around with a bombshell of a woman. The woman had a slender and sculpted figure, fair skin, brown hair and eyes, and was strapped in what seemed to be a hunter’s uniform. You almost gasped when you laid eyes on them. They were both stunning. It was as though you were witnessing a romantic drama in real life. 

You tried not to watch, but your gaze followed their angelic presences. You watched as the doctor and hunter walked the garden, chatting and laughing together. You even noticed the man momentarily glancing yearningly at the huntress when she wasn’t looking back. You couldn’t help, but sigh from your own self-pity. When were you going to meet your super hot and rich doctor boyfriend that looked at you that longingly? 

If you stayed longer, you would have probably kept starring, but luckily your phone alarm snapped you out of your trance. It was time for your appointment. You left the garden, and headed straight to your doctor’s office, Dr. Greyson’s. Typically, the doctor didn’t have many patients in his regular roster. He was more focussed on cardiac surgeries and his job as an assistant to the renowned Chief Cardiac Surgeon and Deputy Chief of Surgery at Akso Hospital, Dr. Zayne Li. However, he made an exception for you because of your status as his childhood friend. A friendship that spanned a decade. Though despite you both being close, you hadn’t met him in person since he started medical school. In fact, your appointment would be the first time you’ve seen him face to face for a long while. You were nervous, especially with the recurring heart palpitations you’ve been experiencing. What if things were awkward between you both? Or worse, what if you were dying?!

With your nerves high, you walked into the surgery department and spoke with the receptionist. She was a young brunette in a nurse uniform with a sweet looking face. As she checked you in, you couldn’t look into her friendly eyes. You’ve always had issues with eye contact. To ease your nerves, you stared at the nurse’s name tag instead. Once she finished, she gave you back your IDs, and kindly instructed you on where to go. You nodded timidly and replied: “Thanks Yvonne.”

She smiled cheerfully back as you left to head to Greyson’s office. As you faced the office’s door, you were hit with another wave of anxiety. You found your hands shaking as you reached for the doorknob.

Come on Y/N, you can do this! There is nothing to be nervous about, Greyson is one of your closest friends.

You took a deep breath, and opened the door. You expected to be greeted the moment you went inside, but instead you were greeted by a quiet and empty room. Your doctor wasn’t currently in.

He’s probably busy doing something else. 

Him not being there didn’t bother you, in fact it was a relief since it gave you time to adjust to the new space. Here on your own, you decided to explore around. Unfortunately, the room was pretty bareboned. Barely any decor was inside, only the standard hospital posters, and the teddy bear you remembered Greyson loved so much as a kid. 

“Dang Greyson, you really need to add more color in your office.” With nothing new to see, you sat on the examination table and waited for almost half an hour. Mainly passing your time by scrolling on your moment’s page on your phone, though a part of you whispered that you must have made a mistake with your appointment. Before you could continue to question your memory, you heard a knock on the door.

“Can I come inside?” The voice was deep and stoic, nothing like Greyson’s.

“Uh, sure!” The office door opened, and instead of seeing the brown shaggy haired man with the wire frame glasses as you expected, it was the black haired doctor you watched earlier in the gardens. Your heart began to race.

Oh no, why is he here? Where is Greyson? I look like a mess, oh man this is so embarrassing. I need to leav-

“Good afternoon Ms. L/N. I am Dr. Zayne Li-”

The renowned Chief Cardiac Surgeon and Deputy Chief of Surgery of Akso Hospital, Dr. Zayne Li?! First off, I didn't know Zayne would be this hot and young. Also, why is he here, oh no am I dying? Why would-”

As you panicked and blanched, Dr. Zayne had stopped his introduction and instead placed his hand on your shoulder. He probably wanted to soothe you, but his cool touch made you even more flustered.

“I don’t mean to alarm you Ms. L/N. I am just here to cover Dr. Greyson for your appointment. Unfortunately, his morning surgery is taking longer than anticipated. Since I was free, I offered to handle his appointment with you. However, if you are uncomfortable, I can send you back to Yvonne to schedule another time when Dr. Greyson is free.” 

You shook your head vigorously. After gathering the courage to come here to figure out what was happening to your heart, you couldn’t back out.

“I’m okay, thanks for the offer.” Dr. Zayne replied with a small soft smile before sitting down on the desk chair.

“Alright, so I read his notes that you came in because you mentioned having heart palpitations. Is that correct?” “That’s correct. I’ve been experiencing them for the last year on and off. It’s been worrying me a lot.”

“And have you been feeling any pressure, or pain in your chest?”

“No.”

“How about dizziness, or shortness of breath.”

“A bit, but I’m not sure if it’s really bad.”

“I see. Now, I’ll need to listen to your heart.” Dr. Zayne stood up and approached with his stethoscope in hand. “Could you lift up your shirt for me?” You could feel your cheeks heating up, but still you did as instructed. You lifted your shirt, exposing your bra covered chest and flabby stomach. You were shy showing him your most insecure spots, but Dr. Zayne didn’t react. He only gave a quiet thank you for your assistance, before continuing. He put the stethoscope’s eartips in his ears and pressed the metal round piece to your chest. It was cold and made you involuntarily shiver.

“Take a few deep breaths and try to remain as calm as you can.” You took a deep breath, but feeling the chill from the metal didn’t let you relax. It also didn’t help being able to see the golden specks on the irises of the doctor’s hazel green eyes as the man looked down at your chest. You gulped and closed your eyes, praying your heart rate wasn’t skyrocketing. After a minute, he removed the piece from your chest and returned the stethoscope to his neck.

“Thank you again, though I must ask, do you have white coat syndrome?” Your heart started to race and your eyes became saucers.

What does that mean? Am I dying?

Dr. Zayne gazed at you concerningly.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you with that question. I just asked because some patient’s readings come up more elevated than normal in clinical settings. That’s what white coat syndrome means.” You laughed at your own ridiculousness.

“With how embarrassingly I’ve been acting, probably.” The doctor’s gentle smile returned.

“Don’t be embarrassed Ms. L/N. A lot of people get nervous around doctors. Especially with my face, I am aware I can be intimidating.”

“There’s nothing wrong with your face, it’s a very nice one!” 

Why did I say that?

The young doctor looked down briefly, the tips of his ears turning pink.

“Thank you” He answered hesitantly before coughing. “Now back to business. I think I may be able to give you some answers.” He sat back down on the desk chair. “Considering your answers earlier, and looking through the results from the monitor they requested you to wear for 24 hours and your journal, I might have a possible source of them.”

You felt your heart skip again.

“What is it?”

“Anxiety and stress.” You immediately exhaled and slumped. You were ashamed, you were scared and made all this effort for something so mundane.

“Are you sure?”

“We could do further tests to double check, but each heart palpitation was attached to a moment of high levels of stress. I can prescribe you a Benzodiazepine, or a medication that can help with you.” You groaned.

“I don’t really want to take any, but if it’ll help.” The doctor turned around, began writing on a prescription form on the desk, turned back and handed it to you. Looking down at the piece of paper, you realized Zayne must be perfect at everything. Most doctors’ handwritings are messy and unreadable, Zayne’s resembled calligraphy.

“This is an initial dose, but if needed, we can increase, or decrease the prescription. I would recommend checking back with Dr. Greyson every few months.” 

“Thank you, but I wanted to ask. Are there other things I can do to help lessen my anxiety and stress?” Dr. Zayne pinched his chin, before looking back at you and answering:

“There are numerous things you can do. You can implement more exercise in your routine, you can add activities that will help you relax, and another great resource is seeing a mental health professional, or a therapist. Hopefully one of these will be helpful to you.”

You nodded, grateful for the help.

“I’ll give those a try. Thank you doctor.”

—

After your appointment, you trudged into your dark and small apartment and went immediately to your bedroom. You groaned as you undressed and put on your fuzzy pajamas in front of your mirror. As you stared at your reflection, slowly removing your clothes, you realized you no longer recognized the woman. For the last few years, you’ve been coasting. Following the flow and immersing yourself completely in your schooling and now work. Unfortunately, while pursuing your career, you let yourself go. You’ve gained weight, looked sloppy, and didn’t have many friends, or family you could rely on. Today, looking at the gorgeous couple and your appointment was your wake up call. You didn’t want to keep neglecting yourself. You had to start working to mold yourself into the woman you know you should be. A woman that would finally be desirable and deserving.

“Come on Y/N.” You muttered to yourself as you grabbed your laptop. “Time to start your new life.”

—

A Week Later…

You ran as fast as you could from the parking lot to your gym. You couldn’t believe after hyping yourself the whole week before, even wearing the cutest gym set you had, you were about to be late for your first drop-in Dance class. Once in the building, you scanned your gym card, and jogged to the recreation room where your lesson was being held. Luckily, you were only a few minutes late when you entered the room. At that time, the class hadn’t started. Most of the participants were scattered around, chatting. You sighed in relief and quickly sifted through the large crowd of students to find a spot for you to dance. You finally found a space, and stood upright in it. 

“Welcome everyone to Beginner’s Dance! First, we will start our stretches!”

As instructed flamboyantly by the teacher at the front, you started stretching when you heard a familiar voice next to you call. You froze.

“Ms. L/N?” You looked at the source of the voice in shock.

“Dr. Zayne?!” The last man you wanted to see was standing right next to you, wearing a white long-sleeved compression top that accentuated his large biceps and pecs and grey jogging pants that showed off the rest. He looked absolutely stunning. He put on a friendly smile and shifted his body towards you as he continued his own warm-up.

“Seems you have followed my advice.” You awkwardly giggled and blushed.

“Yeah, I did. Thank you again for giving the advice to me.”

“No thanks needed, I was just doing my job.” You tippy toed closer to him.

“Though I am curious, why would you join a dance class? Stress?” Zayne rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yes, and I was recommended by MC to go. She said I was “stiff”.” He emphasized moving his fingers to create the quotation mark. You laughed.

MC must be his girlfriend.

“Well it’s always good to listen to your girlfriend. You know what they say, happy wife, happy life!” The doctor raised an eyebrow at your remark.

“MC and I-”

“Alright class, time to start our first track!” Your attention was immediately redirected from the man next to you to the lady in the front. “Alright, to those who are new, just follow my steps.” As she finished talking, upbeat music began to fill the room from the speakers. Your heart thumped along to the rhythm.

“One” The instructor took two steps.

“Two” The instructor waved her arms.

“Three” The instructor twirled around with her arms in the air.

“Your turn!” You slowly followed the same moves and it felt easy. You felt momentarily exhilarated before the teacher’s pace went faster and faster. Suddenly, you could no longer catch up. You wobbled your body around trying to match the instructor’s movement, but your clumsy steps were not matching the professional’s at all. Occasionally, you glimpsed at the man next to you, and although Zayne seemed winded as well, he was matching the teacher’s pace and moves, looking radiant from the glow from his sweat.

HOW???!!!

You were embarrassed by your stiff movements, but you had to at least finish.You kept going, but you suddenly felt a gravity shift.You cried a faint “Ah” before falling. Going backwards, you thought you would feel the wooden floor, but instead you felt two strong muscled arms holding you up from behind. You were left out of breath.

“Are you alright Ms. L/N?” Zayne caught you! Your face turned red as you could feel his solid pecs on the back of your head.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, let me go please.” 

“Of course.” Holsting you up by your armpits, he effortlessly lifted you up and back on your feet. 

Wow.

You were impressed, but mostly mortified. All of it made worst by your instructor’s holler:

“Great improvisation you two! I promise more partner dances in the next tracks.” You and Zayne turned to each other. The doctor mouthed: “Partner dances?”

—

After the last track ended, you were left exhausted, slumped and struggling to breathe. Meanwhile, Zayne stood nearby taking a few heavy breaths of his own. The doctor was clearly in great shape.

“Alright, now I want you all to partner up. The next tracks will require a partner.” Your heart dropped. It reminded you of gym class all over again. You panicked as you looked around the room, hoping you could find another chubby shy girl like you on the side lines. Then unexpectedly, you felt a tap on your shoulder. It was the tall man next to you.

“The teacher already announced us as partners, do you want to continue partnering up with me?” Zayne asked earnestly. You were nervous partnering up with the intimidating figure, but if he was willing why not?  

“Sure” You answered nervously, inching a bit closer to him.

“Wow what beautiful couples!” The instructor praised as she clapped and looked at you and Zayne’s direction again. Your face reddened more from the comment. “Alright, so the first step, leads! Put one of your hands on your partner’s back and your other hand should be clasping your partner’s.” Taking the lead position, Zayne walked to you cautiously.

“Before I start, are you alright with me touching you?” Zayne asked, staring deeply into your eyes. You were incredibly anxious, but you were resolved to not let your fear get the best of you as per usual.

“Go ahead Doc.” The man smiled at you and did as what was instructed. Your heart started to pound as your bodies closed in and his hands held your back and hand. You involuntarily shivered from his cool touch.

“Are you still ok?” Zayne asked with a worried look on his face. His proximity and concern was too intimate.

“I got this!” You responded with an exaggerated thumbs up from your clasped hand, pulling another grin from the stoic man.

“Wonderful!” The instructor continued. 0Your hand moved to land on his shoulder, but you paused.

“Are you alright with me touching you?” Zayne snickered. 

“Of course Ms. L/N.” You placed your palm on his sturdy shoulder, resisting the urge to squeeze.

“Alright fantastic! Now, follow me.” The instructor, pretending to be dancing with an invisible partner, simulated the moves. “First, we will sway, sway, twirl, dip.” You grinned hesitantly at Zayne, worried your weight may break his back as he dipped you, but Zayne didn’t appear to have the same concern as you. Confidently, he guides you through each move, swaying and twirling with you in his arms. Then when he dipped you, he showed no sign of struggling. His strength left you amazed. A small “wow” escaped your lips, before you recovered and you dramatically lifted your connected arms. After the dip, he pulled your body close to his. You swore you couldn’t breathe looking up at his sharp face.

“Zayne I-”

“Now faster!” Zayne guided you back to your original position and moved with you more quickly. Though the speed didn’t help. Like before, your clumsy movements couldn’t catch up. On one turn, you accidentally stepped on your partner’s toes. Zayne hissed in pain and you immediately bowed apologetically, though your bow accidentally hit him in the chest.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry!” Zayne laughed and smiled wider than you’ve ever seen.

“It’s alright, let’s keep going.” You returned his pep and continued on. Your new attitude didn’t stop you from fumbling, but there was no space for shame, only laughter and warmth between the two of you. After a quick hour, the class ended, and you sadly had to let the man out of your hold. Your proximity together was so brief, but you found yourself already missing being in his arms. However pathetic that may be. You shyly peeked at him, and while swaying back in forth said goodbye:

“I really enjoyed dancing with you Dr. Zayne, take care!” The doctor made a small nod towards you.

“You as well, Ms. L- I mean Y/N.” You couldn’t help the dorky smile on your face when he called you by your first name. He waved hastily at him.

“BYE!”

—

When you returned home, you couldn’t help the ecstasy you felt. You found yourself dancing on your own replaying the memory of being in his embrace. Though slowly, your bliss decayed to shame. You sighed melancholically. You had a huge crush on the stoic gentle man, but you shouldn’t. He already had a girlfriend. A girlfriend who was significantly better than you, and who he chose and loved. 

“Oh well.” You murmured to yourself. Again, as you did last week, you grabbed your laptop and searched online. You enjoyed the dance class today, but it was mostly because of Zayne. You could feel your heart yearning to see him again, but you refused to be a homewrecker (even though you knew he would never choose you over his beautiful lover anyways). Still, despite your 0% chance with him, you knew it was wiser not to entertain this relationship further.

“Time to look for a new class to join.”

—

One Week Later…

“Welcome to Baking 101, thank you all for joining! Now please pick a baking station and partner up.”

Partners again?!

You groaned as you watched all the participants quickly form into teams, leaving you alone. You couldn’t understand why you needed a partner. You were decent enough at baking, you could work alone. As the instructor walked around, you raised your hand, getting her attention. She came closer to you the moment she noticed your hand.

“Yes?” The older woman in a wool sweater asked inquisitively.

“There is nobody else here who can be my partner. Can I do this class alone?” The teacher pursed her lips together.

“Well we recommend having a partner, though since there is nobody-” Before your instructor could finish, the classroom door opened cautiously.

“I apologize for my tardiness, could I still join the class?” You recognized the voice instantly.

What, it can’t be! What freaky dimension did I fall into?!

In front of you was Zayne once more. This time wearing a black dress shirt and pants, with a brown trench coat draped on his broad shoulders. 

Why does he look like a romance lead again! Man, his girlfriend is dressing him up so well!

“Perfect timing! You can partner up with this young lady right here.” The teacher exclaimed while clapping excitedly. Turning to you, Zayne’s face froze in surprise, but he quickly morphed into a familiar soft smile and he nodded in your direction.

“Of course, I would love to.” He walked next to you, behind your shared baking station. As you stood awkwardly next to him, he looked at you and whispered:

“It’s wonderful seeing you again Y/N. Do you always go to this many classes?”

You sighed and answered snarkily:

“Normally no, but unfortunately a Doctor made the suggestion. So now you are stuck with me again.” Zayne playfully smirked.

“In that Doctor’s defense, he didn’t say the only way to relax was to go to recreational classes. I am certain he recommended other activities.” You pouted.

“Well that’s what I like to do so stop following me.” You both giggled before the teacher called for attention from the chattering students.

“Quiet down please!” Once the room turned silent, the instructor continued. “Today, we will be making a Fruit Cream Cake. Now, for those that are new, this is a free roam class! The recipe is on your station, as well as the ingredients you need. If you have any questions, or need help, just ask!”

Quickly after, the chatter started up again as the teams worked on making their cake. Immediately, you grabbed and put on the apron on the counter, quickly glimpsed at the recipe, and turned to your partner who was putting on his apron too. 

“Okay, looks like we can add any fruit we want. What do you prefer, berries? Mangoes? Strawberries?” The doctor gulped. 

Is he salivating?

“They all sound amazing, maybe mangoes.” A large smile grew on your face.

“Great choice, I love mangoes too! Now, let’s make the batter first! I’ll grab the ingredients and you watch the mixer!” One by one, you added all the needed ingredients and put it inside the metal mixing bowl, meanwhile Zayne assisted. It was all going fine until you noticed Zayne pouring almost half of an overflowing cup of sugar. You grabbed his wrist before he put in the rest. His eyes widened, shocked by your sudden contact.

“Sorry Zayne! I already put in the 1 and ½ cup of sugar needed for the recipe.” The doctor cocked his head to the side and looked at you with furrowed brows.

“I did see that, but I don’t think that’s sweet enough. I think another two cups would be perfect!” Your eyes and mouth were agape.

“That would be too sweet!” Adorably, the man pouted.

“It’s better to be too sweet than not sweet at all.” You guffawed.

“I thought as a doctor, you would be advising there to be less sugar.”

“I’m not acting as a doctor right now. And me, as Zayne, says more sugar.” 

“Compromise, only one more cup of sugar!” He sighed.

“Agreed.” You felt proud of your compromise, but noticed Zayne still had the crammed cup of sugar in his hands.

“But wait, not that full-” But before you could stop him from pouring in the ungodly amount of sugar, it was too late. He quickly poured in the sugar in the mixing bowl. You groaned.

This cake is going to be extremely sweet.

“Bad doctor! You didn’t let me finish!” You jokingly complained as you stomped your foot. “Now, since I can’t trust you with the batter, you are now assigned to whip cream and fruit duty.” Your partner chuckled before grabbing the equipment he needed for his part and moved to the other half of the station. Your eyes lingered in his direction, staring at his adonis back briefly before you caught yourself.

Come on Y/N focus!

After the oven was done pre-heating, you poured the batter into a parchment covered cake pan and put it in the oven to bake for almost a half an hour.

Sweating from the oven’s heat, you wiped the sweat from your brow and returned to your team mate. 

“I’m just waiting for the cake to finish baking, do you need help with anything Zayn- I mean Doctor-” Zayne lightly flicked your forehead. “Oww”

“You don’t need to call me by my honorifics outside of the hospital. Zayne is just fine.” You bit your lip, excited by the prospect. You were making a friend!

“Of course, Dr.- I mean Zayne. Sorry, give me time.” Zayne grinned before giving you a chopping board.

“Can you help me cut mangoes and make the mango filling?”

“I would love to.”

—

After a half hour of quietly working on the cake’s filling. Many ovens, including your own, beeped. Notifying you both that the cake was ready. Happily, you walked to the oven and opened the door with your baking gloves on. As the oven was opened, a deliciously sweet aroma filled the hot air around you. Looking down at your cake, you could see it was a beautiful golden brown. You delicately grabbed the cake and placed it on the counter.

“Look at our baby Zayne!” The man walked next to you and stared at the cake lovingly. Though, you noticed his ears were rosy colored.

“It’s beautiful, but could you not refer to the cake as our baby.” You dramatically gasped.

“Why? Do you not want to have a baby with me!” You meant it as a joke, but after the words slipped out, you realized the implication. You looked at his sheepish face horrified.  You waved your hand around, humiliated by your own tongue. “I didn’t mean it like that!” Zayne chuckled at your distress and put his hand on your arm and lightly squeezed.

“It’s alright, I didn’t mean it like that either. I just would rather not say I want to eat our child.” 

“Haha fair enough.” Before you could say anything else, the instructor called back everyone’s attention.

“Bakers! The cakes will need another 2 hours to cool off, we’ll take our lunch break now. I’ll see you all in two hours.” The whole class, including you and Zayne, dispersed out of the room. While in the hallway, outside of class, you looked eagerly at your phone for a nearby restaurant to eat alone, but you noticed Zayne following behind you.

“Did you want to have lunch with me Y/N? There's a bubble tea place nearby I love.”  A whisper in your mind reminded you that you shouldn’t, but-”

“I love bubble tea!”

—

After ordering your drinks and food, you and Zayne sat across from each other waiting. The atmosphere between you was awkward. Both of you didn’t speak, just sat staring at the workers behind the counter. You tried swaying around the rotating stool you were on, but after almost falling, you decided to try to make small talk.

“So, Zayne.” Zayne instantly focussed on you the moment you called. “Why did you decide to join a baking class as well? Did MC recommend it too?” Zayne rubbed his shoulder.

“No, I wanted to join a baking class for a while now actually. I love sweets so I spend a lot of my earnings on baked goods. So, I thought since I have more free time, maybe I should learn how to bake, and add all the sugar I want.” You chuckled at his response.

“Still, not over the sugar huh?” The man shrugged and was going to speak further when your orders arrived.

Both of you ordered the same salmon bento box, but with different drinks. He got a simple brown sugar milk tea with 100% sugar (obviously), while you got a creme brulee strawberry smoothie, though with only half the sugar. You sighed contently as you dug into your food and drink. Both were immaculate. For a bit, you both enjoyed your food in silence, but you started to notice green eyes staring at you, or specifically, your drink. Who knew the perfect doctor had such an affinity to sweets. You offered Zayne your beverage.

“Did you want to try it?” Zayne’s eyes widened and glowed.

“Are you sure? I have my own.”

“Nah, it’s all good, go ahead! Though I should get you your own straw-” Before you could get up to get a clean straw, without a thought, Zayne grabbed your smoothie and started guzzling from your straw. You were already far past your teenage era, but you couldn’t help squealing internally.

An indirect kiss?!

A grin grew on the man opposite of you’s face as he sipped and handed you back your smoothie.

“That was wonderful, though it could use more sugar.” You rolled your eyes.

“Of course you would want it sweeter. Still, did you want my drink? We could trade?” Zayne looked away, looking contemplative before returning his gaze to you.

“It’s alright. I’ll order it next time we come here.” You blinked rapidly.

Next time we come here?!

You would have been overjoyed by all of this, the whole date vibe, going out again with such a handsome man, but he had a girlfriend! The inner girl’s girl in you demanded you shut this down immediately. You didn’t know anything about MC, but you had the primal urge to protect her.

“Anyways! MC, let’s talk about her. How did you both meet?” Zayne looked surprised by your subject change, but followed along.

“We met when we were kids. We were childhood friends, though we didn’t grow up together. I moved away and we only reconnected recently.”

“Aww adorable! I’ve never met her, but she's the breathtaking brunette Hunter, right?” 

“I might not call her that myself, but that sounds accurate. When did you see her?”

Crap! I can’t say while I was watching you both in the hospital garden a few weeks back!

Hesitantly you answered:

“I think I saw her while visiting the hospital. She is extremely beautiful by the way. You are incredibly lucky. I wish I could meet someone like her too!” Zayne didn’t speak for a moment, seeming to be processing what you just said.

“Oh, so do you like women primarily?” 

Waittt does he think I’m gay????

“No! I mostly date men, or only men, though some women maybe, I don’t- I mean-” You realized you were babbling nonsense, so you grabbed your drink and chugged a bit before continuing. “I mean, I tend to prefer men. Why do you ask? Is there a handsome rich doctor you can set me up with?” Zayne’s eyes went up and down your figure, before he gave you a small smile.

“Something like that?” You were mixed between wanting to know more, and completely shutting down the conversation. Before you could find out which, your phone alarm rang. 

“Ooops class is on soon, we gotta go!”

—

“What happened?!”

When you and Zayne returned, you were faced with a flat, lopsided cake. It didn’t look like that when you took it out of the oven. The teacher looked at you both apologetically.

“I am so sorry guys. There wasn’t enough space in the fridge, so we had to stack the cakes together. Yours was on the bottom.” You frowned, shrugged your shoulders, and looked up at your partner.

“It’s alright, our cake will just have more character, right Zayne?” Zayne smiled back.

“Yes, we got it.” 

“Thank you both.” The teacher bowed before walking back to the front.

“Okay Zayne, I am determined to make this cake beautiful. Pass me the whipped cream you made and the mango and mango filling.” Zayne bit his lip nervously before grabbing what you requested. You looked at the ingredients and they looked perfect, except, the bowl with the whipped cream had only ⅓ of the cream you needed. 

“What happened to the cream? Did someone take the rest of ours by mistake?” Zayne looked away, before shamefully returning his gaze to you.

“I might have indulged in a bit of it.”

“A bit of it? A majority of it is gone.” Zayne peered at you awkwardly and glumly apologized:

“I am so sorry, I’ll make more.” You shoved his shoulder gently.

“Don’t worry about it. I was just giving you a hard time. I’ll just remember this for next time.” Zayne smirked back.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

You took what you had, a lopsided cake, barely any whipped cream, and a lot of chopped mangoes and mango filling, and made the prettiest cake you could. In the end, it was ugly, but cute ugly. There was only enough whipped cream for the center and the very top, the mango jam was leaking from the center, and the only decorations were unevenly chopped mangoes (mostly uneven because of you). Despite your ugly cake, you couldn’t help, but feel prideful. You took out your phone and took a lot of pictures including selfies. You smiled dorkily on each photo and noticed Zayne stiffly standing on the side, you beckoned him over.

“Come here Zayne, we need to commemorate our cake baby.” Zayne chuckled and stood next to you. You smiled as prettily as you could as the timer on your phone counted down, but in the middle, the doctor put his arms around your shoulder and pulled you closer to him. Leaning your body on his. You almost gasped from the sudden heat, but continued to smile wobbly as the phone camera flashed. Once the picture was done, you quickly removed yourself from his arm and looked at the picture taken. Unsurprisingly, Zayne looked handsome while you appeared skittish and messy. You wished you looked better, but even so, you had to admit, it was an adorable photo of you both. 

“Look at us.” You said proudly as you showed him the photo on your phone. Zayne peeked at you and grinned.

“You look cute.” You blushed at his compliment and scratched the side of your cheek.

“Thank you! And thanks for baking with me. I had a lot of fun. Well, I guess I will see you around.” You shot finger guns in his direction and were reeling to leave, but as you were turning away, Zayne held your arm.

“Before you go, can I give you my number so that I can get a copy of the picture?” An alarm began blaring in your head. You shouldn’t take the number of an attached man, but, is it alright just to give him a photo?

“Sure.” You answered conflictedly as you opened your contacts and handed your phone to the man. Zayne swiftly took your phone and added his number in.

“Thanks in advance Y/N. I hope I can see you again.”

—

A Month Later…

You had wanted to join more classes, but work was more hectic than normal for the last month. You had to deal with an onslaught of terribly rude clients, unreliable coworkers, and overbearing and harsh higher ups. It was a struggle, but finally, after a month of dealing with hell and working non stop, you got yourself a few days off. The first free day, the only plans you had was to lie around, eat snacks, and binge your favorite shows.

As you chomped down on your chips, with crumbs covering your pajama shirt, you heard a soft chime on your phone. You groaned in disgust, it was probably a coworker demanding help, or a boss overstepping again. You grabbed your phone and looked at the screen. Your shock made your hands tremble and almost drop your phone. Glaring back at you was a text from Zayne:

Dr. Zayne: Hi Y/N, how have you been?

You felt a wave of panic. This was the first time since you sent the picture that Zayne has ever texted you. You quickly unlocked your phone and went straight to your messages to respond.

You: Hi Dr. Zayne, it’s been awhile! I’ve been alright despite work being horrible! Hbu?

Dr. Zayne: Sorry to hear about that. Hope you haven’t been dealing with a lot of stress and heart palpitations. If you need to see a doctor let me know. Me, I’ve been fine. The hospital has been hectic as well. I haven't been able to go back to the dance or baking class unfortunately.

You: Haha, me as well. I miss them though. I had a lot of fun hanging with you. How has MC been?

Dr. Zayne: She’s fine, haven’t been able to see her much either lately.

You: Aww that sucks. Are you going to be off soon?

After a few minutes of no answer, with only a grey bubble with dots, indicating he was typing on the screen, a new message popped up.

Dr. Zayne: Yes, actually that’s why I wanted to contact you. There’s a painting pottery workshop I wanted to try tomorrow. Would you want to join me? I can sign you up for you?

Your heart skipped a beat. You were surprised that he would want to hang out with you alone. What about his girlfriend? Why would he want to be alone with a single woman? Unless he doesn’t see you as attractive enough to be considered a romantic threat, that would be harsh, but fair. Yes that had to be it. Still, you didn’t want to be stealing MC’s time with her beau and possibly cause conflict between the beautiful couple.

You: That sounds like fun! Why don’t you invite MC with us? I can invite a friend, it can be a double date!

The grey bubble with dots reappeared and stayed longer than last time. Your nerves peaked. Just to escape the growing anxiety, you were about to switch to another app, when a new message came up.

Dr. Zayne: I checked with MC. She said she could join.

You sighed in relief. This felt like a thumbs of approval from MC. You didn’t have to worry about breaching any boundaries in their relationship. Now you can just enjoy your platonic friendship with Zayne and perhaps add MC to your growing list of friends.

You: Excited :D! I’ll ask my friend to come with us! I’ll see u tmr!

Dr. Zayne: Excellent, the class starts at 11am. I can pick you all up, just provide me with your address.

You: Sure :) !

You smiled at your conversation, then it quickly dissipated when you were hit with a dreadful realization: you had to find a friend!

You scoured your phone’s contacts and realized you didn’t really have anyone to invite. All your friends were either out of the country, you knew was working, or you barely spoke to them in years.

Why did I offer to invite a friend?! Now I’m going to look like a loner!

After going back and forth on your phone, you realized you only had one person left, but he would most likely be unavailable. Even so, you had to try. You clicked your friend’s name and waited as your phone rang until a warm voice answered:

“Hello?” 

“Hi Greyson! Are you free tomorrow?”

“Wow, uh not sure why?” You sighed at his non-committal response. 

“I’m going on a double date, I need a friend.”

“Ummm I’m not really interested in dating, I mean-”

“Please! I don’t want to be a third wheel with Zayne and MC! Plus you missed our appointment, so you owe me!” “Hey, I was saving someone’s life! Also, did you say Zayne, my boss, and MC? They’re dating?!”

“Yeah, you didn’t know?” 

“I didn’t know, but I guess it should have been obvious. Man that sucks, I really liked-” He suddenly stopped. “Anyways, sure!”

“Wait- Liked?! Who, MC?!” Before you could extract any answer from the uneasy doctor, he started to rush to end the call.

“I’LL GO BYE BYE BYE!”

“I’LL TEXT YOU THE DETAILS!”

—

Next Day…

You decided since this was just a hangout with your friends, you didn’t have to try too hard with your appearance. Glaring in the mirror, all you could see was a sloppy looking girl wearing a grey hoodie and black ripped jeans. Luckily, you didn’t look completely gross or dead because of the light amount of makeup you applied that added color to your face. Still, you couldn’t stand to scrutinize yourself any longer. Anxious, you waited in your living room until you heard the ringing of your doorbell.

“Coming!” You hollered as you ran to the door. Almost out of breath, you tidied up your messy hair and opened the door. On the other side was Greyson, looking snazzier than usual in a white polo shirt with beige capri pants. The man seemed just as nervous as you. Standing at your doorway, his foot tapped rapidly on the ground.

“Hi Y/N. “

“Wow Greyson, you look fantastic!” The doctor gave you a shy smile.

“Thanks Y/N, I tried.” You guffawed.

“I certainly didn’t. Now grab a seat, we’re waiting for Zayne and MC to pick us up.” You noticed the man slump before putting on a small pout and falling into your couch. Something was bothering him. You sat next to him and turned your body to face him.

“Are you alright Greyson?” The man bit his lips before answering.

“I’m alright.” You furrowed your brows.

“Does this have to do with your unrequited crush on MC?” Greyson stared at you completely aghast. His eyes and mouth were hanging open.

“How did you know! I never told anyone!” You shoved his shoulder.

“I guessed and I am so sorry!” Greyson groaned, lied on the backrest of your couch, and covered his face in his hands.

“Don’t pity me! I know the whole thing is pathetic.” 

“NOOO!” You laid your head on his shoulder. “You aren’t pathetic. A lot of people deal with unrequited crushes. Heck, I’m going through it right now.” Greyson peeked at you from between his fingers with a frown.

“Who?”

“Dr. Zayne.”

“Yeah, everyone does.” His hand rubbed your shoulder consolingly. “Still, I’m sorry Y/N.”

“We’ll both be alright. I got your back.” Greyson’s frown turned to a grin, when suddenly you both jumped at the sound of the doorbell ringing again.

“Alright, it’s time.” You said enthusiastically as you patted Greyson on the back and walked to your vestibule. After taking a deep breath, you opened your door and were immediately pulled into a tight hug. As you were held, long brown hair tickled your face and a delightful fragrance of blossoms filled your nostrils. After a few minutes in her embrace, MC released you and looked into your eyes.

“Oh my gosh, Zayne spoke so much about you! I am happy to finally meet you.” It took you a bit to speak. You were taken aback with how beautiful MC presented up close. Her skin was unblemished and smooth, her chocolate colored hair was silky, her body was lean and muscled and shaped in a perfect hourglass. She reminded you of the models you would see in magazines or screens, the ones you would painfully compare yourself to. You felt a pang in your chest, an ache tinged with jealousy. You could understand why both Zayne and Greyson wanted her.

“I’m happy to meet you too. Zayne spoke to a lot of you as well.” The hunter dressed in an endearing white, flower patterned dress, swayed around, her arms behind her back, and a playful smile on her face.

“Well not surprising considering I am one of his childhood friends. Anyways let’s- Wait! Is that Greyson?” The brunette man immediately turned his head when he heard his name and answered:

“Oh, hi MC!” The girl’s smile widened as she scampered to Greyson. As she passed you, you looked up at Zayne. As usual, the man was dressed impeccably, wearing a white dress shirt, a grey waist coat and dress pants. Though you couldn’t help chuckling to yourself. It was kind of hilarious how the man couldn’t spend a day without looking anything but professional. You leaned your body on your doorway.

“Are you not worried about paint splashing on your fancy clothes?” Zayne looked down at himself before smirking.

“This is just my casual attire. It’ll be fine if paint gets on it.”

“These are your casual clothes? Wow, you are definitely more fancy than me. This outfit is my version of casual.” You mentioned as you gestured theatrically towards your clothes. The doctor sized you up and answered with a grin:

“You still look cute.” You would usually blush and smile, but you knew he was just being polite. MC’s appearance far exceeds yours. Yet, you didn’t want to be ungrateful, so you nodded and smiled politely. “Thanks. Anyways, we should probably start going.” Zayne’s grin shrank as he shook his head in agreement.

“Agreed, let’s go!” MC chanted as her and Greyson joined you both.

—

Right in front of your apartment building was Zayne’s black BMW, and as you all walked to the car, MC, ahead of the group, instantly instructed:

“Alright, Y/N, you sit shotgun next to Zayne.” MC grabbed Greyson’s arm, making the smaller doctor turn red and gulp. “And I’ll sit in the backseat with Greyson.” You couldn’t understand the odd arrangement? It would be too awkward sitting in front with Zayne while his girlfriend and the guy who liked her were in the back. 

“Actually, would it be alright if I sat in the back with Greyson?” MC stared at you puzzled.

“Oh, are you sure your don’t-”

“Actually.” Greyson gently retreated from the woman’s grasp. “I agree with Y/N. I’ll sit in the back with her.” Briefly MC eyes dimmed, but recovered and she replied with a small smile.

“Whatever makes you both comfortable.”

—

The whole car ride started uncomfortably. Initially, MC tried to make small talk, but the conversation quickly simmered and all that was left were soft tunes from the radio. At least that was the case until the car passed a familiar kitty cafe. You were so surprised that your middle school hot spot was still open that you moved your whole body towards the car’s window to look.

“Wait! Is Paws still open?” Greyson stopped staring outside and turned to you.

“Is it? We haven’t been there since middle school.” You smirked as a flash of memories came to mind. Back when you both were so youthful, naive, and hopeful. Not the cynical adults you were now.

“Do you remember when you tried to steal one of the cafe’s cats?” Greyson glared at you, mortified. There was a part of you that felt guilty for mentioning the embarrassing story, but it was too hilarious not to.

“I didn’t! We both know that kitty chose me! I was just respecting the cat’s decision to come home with me.” You playfully rolled your eyes and giggled.

“Is that why you hid the kitten in your school bag and got caught!” Intrigued, MC spun from her seat, focussed on you both and asked:

“Wait, what happened?!” You bit your cheek and laughed as you pushed Greyson’s shoulder. His eyes darted between the two ladies staring at him predatorily. 

“Um, well I don’t really want-”

“Come on Greyson, tell us what happened!”

“Come on Greyson!” MC joined in, showing her best puppy eyes. The cornered man whined and began telling the story. Throughout the whole tale, you continuously laughed and pushed him around while adding in your own perspective. Meanwhile, MC stayed silent, but you could see her engrossed gaze towards Greyson as she giggled along. As you listened, your gaze subconsciously rose from the shy doctor to the car’s driver. You expected Zayne’s eyes to be focused on the road, but from the rearview mirror, your eyes met his hazel green eyes staring at you. Flustered, you shifted your eyes away and tried to ignore the heat in your cheeks.

—

After driving for almost half an hour, you finally made it to your destination, the pottery workshop. The moment you all went inside, you were greeted by friendly employees wearing light brown aprons and pastel colored walls and tables. 

“Hello!” A teenage girl with one of the shop’s aprons greeted. “You guys can start painting right away, just pick one of the items from the shelf and sit at one of our craft tables. All the supplies will be there, and you can order food and drinks at the counter.” You all thanked the girl and began browsing at one of the shelves. The shelf was covered in clay statues of cute animals, mugs, bowls, and jars, all lovingly crafted. After several minutes of perusing, your whole group struggled to pick anything, you especially. You couldn’t focus as you felt Zayne’s warmth as he stood directly behind you, almost pressing himself against you. Your heart fluttered, but you did your best to ignore it and focus on the items in front of you. As you all continued to search, MC spoke up again.

“It’s too hard to pick, but I have an idea to make this easier! Why don’t we paint something for our date and give it to them.” Your heart ached, that was such a romantic idea! Too bad nobody would ever want to do anything like that with you.

“That’s a great idea.” You said as excitedly as you could. “I’ll make something for you Greyson.”

“Oh thank you Y/N. I’ll do the same.” You and Greyson returned your gaze to MC after your sullen agreement. You had expected her to eagerly proclaim her anticipation, but instead she seemed gloomy and confused.

“Oh, you and Greyson?- Okay! Sure, I guess I’ll make something for you, Zayne.” Zayne didn’t say much either, he just quietly nodded. He didn’t appear happy about your idea as well. Did you say something wrong? You grabbed Greyson by the arm.

“I want to check the stuff on the other shelf, come with me.” Eyes wide, the timid man shook his head and followed your lead.

—

Zayne’s POV:

Zayne was a rational man. He knew you and him were nothing more than friends, or perhaps even that was too generous of a title. Still, despite having zero entitlement to your time, he couldn’t help, but feel jealous. Watching you walk away, holding Greyson’s arm, he felt a terrible urge to pull you away from the other man and take his spot, but instead he ignored the itch. 

This whole time he foolishly thought when you offered the double date, you would be his date. Thinking back, he should have known better. Your voluntary distance from him and your closeness with Greyson made the reality of you two dating obvious. Besides that, if Zayne was being honest with himself, he understood that Greyson would be a better fit for you. You deserved someone warm and kind, not closed off, intimidated, and cold as he was. 

As he sadly browsed the same shelf, he felt panicked pokes on his back and whispers:

“Zayne, Zayne, Zayne, Zayne, Zayne.” He groaned and turned to see MC pouting. “You lied, you told me Greyson was single.”

“The last we spoke, he was.” MC frowned further and shook him by the shoulders.

“I can’t believe this. Your girl stole my man!”

“She wasn’t ever mine.” MC groaned and hit his shoulder with her forehead.

“She could have been, but ugh how we fumble so hard Zayne!”

“I don’t know, but we need to respect their relationship.” The girl glared at her childhood friend.

“I know that! I’m not a homewrecker, but you have to admit this sucks, Zayne.” Zayne sighed and ruffled MC’s hair.

“It sucks, but let’s do our best to have fun. For them.”

“Fine.”

—

Your POV

As before you were mesmerized by the couple’s interaction. Watching Zayne cutely ruffle MC’s hair, you couldn’t help, but wish it was you. You cringed, it was a disgusting thought.

“Y/N how about these ones?” Greyson’s question snapped you out of your trance. You followed the brunette’s gaze and it landed on two fuzzy clay bears, wearing matching knitted scarves and tuques.

“Oh my Gosh Greyson! I love them, let’s do it!” Greyson grabbed the two bears and followed you to the table. You both sat on the table and began painting your bears. As you both painted, Zayne and MC picked their own items and joined you both. As you greeted them, you peeked at the figures in their hands and noticed that like you and Greyson, the other couple picked matching statues. Zayne had a chubby snowman, while MC painted a penguin wearing winter gear.

Why do they have to be so cute?!

“I love your snowman and penguin, they are so cute together!” MC smiled gleefully at your praise.

“Right! I love your two bears, I’m jealous!” As she finished her sentence, a glint of mischief appeared in her eyes. “Sooooo how long have you two teddy bears been together?” You squinted your eyes as she pointed at you and your childhood friend.

“What?” You asked hesitantly as MC scratched her cheek. Before she could continue, Zayne gently bumped his elbow on her arm as he started: “MC, it’s none of our-”

“I mean they don’t have to answer! But come on nothing’s wrong with just asking! So, before I was RUDELY interrupted, Y/N, how long have you been dating Greyson?” You were too stunned to respond, you turned to Greyson and could see his expression matched your own.

“What? No NOOOO! I mean no offense Greyson you are great and handsome but-” One of MC’s eyes twitched as you called him handsome. You looked away from MC’s intense eyes, coughed and continued: “I’m-, I mean we’re not dating, absolutely no interest in each other. We are like siblings and I’m not into inces- I’ll stop now.” You looked down at your lap as your hands laid on your thighs. Momentarily, there was silence, until MC guffawed. Confused, you stared at the woman across from you as she was bent over laughing.

“You guys scared me!” MC immediately stood up and grabbed Greyson’s arm, lifting him up to his feet. Greyson gasped with his eyes wide and disorientated. “Okay, Greyson and I have to talk. Here is our share for the bill, enjoy your date you two!” MC instantly pulled out bills of cash and slapped it onto the table counter. After, MC interlocked her hand into your friend’s and bolted from the workshop, leaving both you and Zayne alone.

“Uhmm, did your girlfriend just steal my date?” Zayne peered at you incredulously.

“Wait, did you still think MC was my girlfriend? I thought I told you before that we weren’t together?” You started to blush.

He told me?!

You tried to re-think all your interactions with Zayne, but you couldn’t pinpoint a single time he told you his relationship status.

“I-I can’t remember you telling me.” Zayne stared at you mortified.

“Oh, I was sure- Either way, I am unattached.” You were rattled to your core. Shocked, you moved your hands on the table and fiddled your fingers. Unsure of what to say or do after this huge bombshell. This whole time, you had reserved yourself to the idea that he was completely unattainable, already taken and in-love. Still, despite his status, that didn’t change a thing.  You weren’t entitled to him, especially with who you were currently. Besides your flaws, you are certain you saw yearning in his eyes when he gazed at MC. Is this a case of unrequited love? You opened your mouth to speak, but the moment Zayne gently placed his hand on your much smaller interlocked hands, you froze. His touch was cool, but you felt anything but cold. “Y/N I’m sorry-”

“It’s alright, I shouldn’t have assumed-”

“No, I’m not apologizing for the misunderstanding, though I should have been more direct. I’m apologizing for not being clear with my intentions.” 

“Intentions?” Zayne put one of his hands between your two locked ones, separating them and held your right one firmly between his hands.

“I really like you Y/N, and I truly enjoy being around you. Would you consider dating me? I am aware I am not the warmest person, that I seem intimidating and unfriendly, and please don’t feel obligated to return my feelings, but I would be privileged if you would give me a chance.” You were left in complete disbelief. How could such a kind, handsome and intelligent doctor think you of all people would reject him. You would be over the moon if he chose to date you, but what if you were only a rebound to his true love? You frowned, feeling your heart pounding.

“I really want to accept Zayne. I really like you too, but I don’t know.” Zayne smiled hesitantly, and lightly squeezed your hand.

“What’s stopping you?”

“It’s just hard to believe someone as incredible as you would want a nobody like me. I’m not exactly a model, or a cool hunter with an amazing evol. I’m just a regular woman. I don’t have any evol and I work in a mundane office. Would you want to be with someone so unextraordinary? Are you just rebounding because MC likes someone else?” Zayne frowned and squeezed your cheek. “Oww”

“Y/N, please don’t speak about yourself that way. You’re beautiful, fun, warm, kind, and someone I know is worth getting close to. I don’t need you to be MC. A long time ago, I thought I loved her, but after meeting you, I realized what all I truly felt was infatuation. She’s still important to me, but I don’t love her. And it may be too soon to say, but I see myself falling completely for you. So, would you be willing to give us a chance?” Zayne pulled your hands to his mouth and placed on the back of your hand a delicate kiss. Your mouth widened from the dorky smile you couldn’t control. You never felt so ecstatic.

“Then, I would love to give us a try!” Zayne’s smile wasn’t as large as yours, but as he looked into your eyes intently, you swore you could see his eyes tearing up. Perhaps, it will all work out.

—

Months Later…

Every night, Zayne was tortured by the same recurring nightmare. It would leave him in cold sweat, jolting out of bed, and gasping for air.

In his dream, Zayne woke up not as a prestigious cardiac surgeon, but an alternate and crueler version of himself. A murderer that went by the name: Dawnbreaker.  In his unconscious mind, he found himself alone in a deserted wasteland. Nobody was left alive in the post-apocalypse Linkon. It was only him and the endless hoard of wanderers he dedicated his existence to destroying, desperately hoping his mission would cleanse him of his sins.

One day, as he traversed the abandoned city, he heard a scream. However, unlike any other he has heard, the scream was human. He ran to the direction of the cry, and that’s when he met you. You were tiny, but fierce. Screaming while hitting a wanderer with a baton, barely doing any damage. He sighed and before you could be impaled by the wanderer’s sharp claws, he dispatched the monster. Piercing the beast with a wave of sharp icicles.  After his effortless save, you looked at him with adorably large eyes. You jumped towards him and held him tightly in your arms. Your warmth was the first he felt in a long time. Still, he couldn’t completely trust you. Your existence in this dead world was an anomaly.

He attempted to leave you there, but like a pup, you followed behind him and refused to leave his side. Blabbing on and on about your origins. Apparently, he was right, you weren’t from his world. You were an interdimensional traveler, a researcher that traveled to alternate universes and sent your information to your higher ups. Unfortunately, you entered, or more like crashed into this world. During your abrupt arrival, your ship was destroyed, trapping you in this nightmare with him.

“As the only human left, you have to help me!” You begged earnestly. “If you help me fix my ship, I’ll bring you back with me. My world is more pleasant!” The prospect of leaving this empty world was tempting, but there was something or someone he wanted more.

“I don’t want to go back to your world. There’s a woman, MC. I have dreams, I know she exists in another universe. Promise me to bring me to a world where I can finally be with her, and I will help you.” He remembered you cocking your head with skeptical squinted eyes before smirking and shaking his hand.

“I promise.”

That promise started your two’s partnership. Together, you both worked endlessly on your broken ship that was in chunks. With the damage, it took you several years to fix it. It took so long that as time passed, your relationship slowly shifted from strangers, disgruntled partners, friends, to perhaps something more. 

Neither of you claimed ownership of the other, but that didn’t stop you both from using the excuse of needing companionship and warmth to fully indulge in each other. Kisses placed on every part of your bodies, you both fully sinking and becoming one. Initially, it was supposed to be only physical, but the connection evolved. The hours of conversations, sprinkled with jokes and more personal talks, spending time leisurely instead of tickering with the ship, hours of playing games, reading books, exploring the world, having picnics, and so much more. Suddenly, Zayne’s tiny and dark world was filled with light. He found himself needing you. The traveler found a way to nestle herself into his heart. Was he in love with you? He wasn’t sure. The idea of falling for you was daunting. It felt like a betrayal to the woman he dreamed each night of. The one who stood by his side when he was a kinder man, a doctor.

So, he never put a label on his feelings for you, and never said the shattering 3 words. He could tell, especially during those quiet nights, when he held you against his naked chest, that his silence hurt you. He expected you to say something, but you seemed alright with the current status quo, being second place in his heart, at least that’s what he thought.

Closer to the end of his dreams, a few years later in his nightmare, you both were finally able to complete the ship’s revival. It was perfect, except a horrible truth came out. You never had any intention of getting him out, at least together. Your ship could only accommodate one passenger. Your plan was to travel to your world alone and send him a ship to go on his way. It would have worked, though you both would be apart, but a new problem arose after a few tests were done. To fully activate the ship, you had to use a large amount of protocore energy, this would attract wanderers to your area. Meaning, someone had to protect the ship while it was transported away and this would most likely kill the person left behind. 

He remembered your panicked face as you explained all this. He didn’t feel the same fear as you. In his heart, he knew he would die on this unforgiving planet. The reality that crashed into his face should have hurt, his dream of being with MC being annihilated, but instead he felt peace. He got to live his last years blissfully with you. He would be honored to die for the woman he cherished.

“Let’s do it.” Was all he said. You looked at him mortified, tears in your eyes, but agreed. The next morning, after a final night in each other's embrace, the ship was activated. The moment the ship turned on, he could hear the cries of wanderers. His end was near, but he wasn’t afraid. He was ready to fight for you when you called him.

“Zayne, can you look at this quickly, something is wrong with the ship.” There was a tremor in your voice. This had to be serious. He rushed to your side and peered inside the small pod. Everything seemed fine he thought before he felt your delicate hands on his back, shoving him inside. The moment he tumbled inside, the ship sealed, making him unable to escape, unable to save you.

“Y/N WHY!” He shouted while banging the ship’s door, although it could set him free. You tried to smile happily, but he saw your lips wobbling and your tears that stained your cheeks. Before saying a word, you removed the bandage on your arm, the one you refused to let him inspect. Under the bandage were small protocore fragments penetrating your skin from the inside. One of the symptoms of late stage protocore syndrome. How did he miss it? How did he fail to protect you? “Y/N”

Suddenly the room began to vibrate as the ship was slowly activating and the wanderers' cries approached. This couldn’t be happening. As much as he could move in the small space, he fumbled around the screen to stop the ship from teleporting, or to open the ship’s hatch, but everything was locked. It was hopeless. All he could do was continue banging the door and begging. You were unmoved, instead you smiled wider while placing your hand on the window between you.

“Zayne, it’s alright. I’m dying. If you stayed, there would be two bodies instead of one. I need you to live on. Find your true love MC and enjoy life. I set up the coordinates to send you to her. Good bye Zayne.”

Before he could say anything, a large group of wanderers came in, stealing your attention from him. He shouted for you, but you ignored him, instead you advanced towards your death with only a single pistol in hand. He wanted to reach you, he wanted to fight beside you and die with you, but all he could do was watch as the ship glowed, signalling its near departure.

“I LOVE YOU Y/N!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. You didn’t react, didn’t acknowledge his words. Did you hear him? He doesn’t know. The last glimpse of his beloved traveler was her being pierced in the chest by the claws of a wanderer, blood pooling at your feet.

After your death, this is when he begged for the dream to stop, but it never did.

When Zayne opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital gown with a shaggy haired brunette doctor he remembered from his dreams, staring at him concerningly. He expected the man to question his alien presence, instead he worried about his brain.

“We are so glad you are awake, Zayne. You were in a terrible car accident. Do you remember what happened?”

“No, I don’t remember the accident.” It was a lie, but what could he say? Nobody would believe he was an imposter teleported here by his now deceased partner. So, he played his new role, the kind-hearted cardiac surgeon. Luckily, he was able to adjust to his life fairly easily. He didn’t understand how his beloved’s ship worked, but now he had all the memories and skills of the Zayne he replaced. Further luck, MC was in his life. She visited him in the hospital, she was his emergency contact, and telling by how she blushed and looked passionately into his eyes, she wanted more. A decade ago, this reality would have been his heaven, but without you, without his light, his life felt as meaningless and cold as the wasteland he was once trapped in.

Consequently, even knowing you would be disappointed in him, he rejected any further relationship with MC, and decided to lay low and try to forget you. Though nothing worked, you were forever etched into his soul. He had nothing but regret accompanying him, and he had nobody else to blame but himself.

If only he could have another chance. If only he could only make things right. 

Y/N I’m so sorry-

—-

He woke up again, unable to breathe. 

Please tell me she is still here?! I didn’t lose her again did I?

He turned to the spot next to him on the bed, but you weren’t there.

No, please, it can’t all be a dream. You came back to me!

Abruptly the doctor opened the door of his bedroom and he ran to the living room. 

“Y/N!” 

“AHHH!” You screamed at the man rushing to you. You were just cooking breakfast leisurely for the man you love and yourself to enjoy, dressed in only your underwear and his pyjama shirt, not expecting a sudden ambush from your beloved.

“Zayne.” You whined, your heart pressed to your chest. “You scared me.” You were annoyed until you noticed the man’s teary eyes. You immediately held him tightly in your arms.

“Another nightmare my love?” He kissed your bare neck and whispered a yes. You leaned your head into his. “Did you want to talk about it, my love?” He shook his head, and swayed around with you in his arms.

“No, all of it was from the past. I just want to focus on you now.” You kissed his cheek, pulled away from his embrace, and held and squeezed his fair and soft face.

“I want to take care of you too, Zayne.” You pressed your lips on his, moving against him, savoring him and the sweetness on his tongue. You felt his smile on your lips as he returned your cravings with his own. You both stayed interlocked, until you both were out of breath. You pulled away, needing to breathe, but his lips chased your own, he needed to feel every part of you. To reassure himself you were truly beside him, that you weren’t a cruel illusion. You needed it too, but there was a question irking you. You put your forehead on his to stop him and ask:

“Be honest, do you think our relationship is moving too fast? We’ve only been dating for a few months and we already live together. Should we slow down?” The doctor softly chuckled before holding your face and placing multiple kisses on your face. First on your forehead, your fluttering eyelids, your nose, your cheeks, and lastly, your lips. Though on your lips, he lingered, he was tempted to continue, but with the small amount of self-control he had left, he parted from you.

“Maybe, but honestly I don’t care. All that matters to me now is making sure you know each day how much I love you. However, if it would make you happy, I’m willing to go slow.” He placed another desperate long kiss on your lips, before separating one final time. “Going slow, would just mean I get to savor you more.” You moved your hand to his firm chest, feeling his racing heartbeat on your palm.

“I don’t care either Zayne, I just know that I love you too.”

His scent clings to each fabric like ink soaked into paper. The air itself has the hushed quality of turning a page, soft curtains blocking the harsh lights of the city to create a space filled with the glow of midnight. And being with him here is like that chapter you always return to, the one that never loses its magic, no matter how many times you read it.

"Don't forget I'm meeting you at the hospital after work tomorrow," you chime quietly when you feel the mattress sink under his weight next to you. You don't move though, you can't remember the last time your body even ventured to "your side" of the bed. Not since you discovered Zayne's warm body is your favorite pillow.

Zayne’s reply is a low noise in his chest, facing your form against the headboard and absently stroking your calf.

"Then we can finally go to that new restaurant everyone's been telling me about."

“Mm. Sounds good.”

You pause and glance from your phone to him. Hazel eyes study his hand gliding on your leg. "You don't sound very excited."

The soothing motion stops and he looks up with a small, reassuring smile, "Anything we do together is exciting to me."

"I get that, but you've been like this every time I mention this restaurant. Do you not want to go?" You lean forward, confused. You don't want to force him to go somewhere he doesn't want to go, but, "I checked the menu. It has everything you usually like to order."

"Does it?" The corner of his mouth twitches. "It seemed to be missing something quite important, in my opinion."

You give him a look and open the website again. You enjoy the feel of Zayne's hand resuming its movement on your calf as you flick through the tabs, not seeing anything out of ordinary. Lunch menu, dinner menu, coffee menu, even the cocktail menu was robust, not that Zayne ever drank when you went out, he much preferred-

Oh. A small bubble of amusement expands in your chest, threatening to escape as a laugh.

Zayne much preferred dessert.

"I see now," you say, biting on your cheek to stop yourself from smiling. "No dessert menu."

Zayne nods giving your leg a squeeze before settling himself on his side next to you, jaw propped on his palm, eyes solemnly gazing up at yours. "How can we trust their dinner to be good if they forgot to add a whole course to their menu selection?"

You pull your lips into your mouth to compose yourself looking back down at him. "How about we have dessert at the bakery afterward? We'll have a bigger selection than any restaurant."

"I don't think we can consider it a restaurant. I've never seen a reputable dining establishment not serve dessert."

A giggle finally breaks free and you slide down to come eye-level with him, mirroring his pose. “Of course that's your deal breaker. Everything else is supposed to be amazing though!”

"I refuse to let either of us lower our standards." He shakes his head, unimpressed, though this time you also catch a flicker of mischief in his eyes. "Let's go to that spot near the Association instead. At least they know dessert is required to finish a meal."

"Zayne." You cup his cheek, and though his hand instinctively comes up to cover yours, you smooth your face into a serious expression, mimicking the doctor tone you’ve heard him use on you countless times. “I’m afraid you have an addiction to sweets.”

"Everyone has preferences, this just happens to be mine." His brows arch, moving your hands from his face to the mattress between you.

"I don't think other people's 'preferences' have bakeries across Linkon remembering them by their order," you counter, grinning wickedly.

Zayne narrows his eyes. "I was under the impression it was good to support small businesses."

You’re laughing now as you unabashedly needle him, enjoying the glint of warning in his eyes when he leans forward. "Face it, Zayne. You’d marry the macaron display tower from the bakery around the corner if it proposed to—"

The mattress dips and shifts and suddenly his body is over yours, knocking your phone over the edge of the bed, pinning you down. The shadows thrown by the streetlight slanting sharp across his cheekbones. His hand firmly cups your chin, guiding your face closer to his.

“I recommend you stop now,” he urges, dragging a warm thigh up between yours. The resulting heat that pools beneath your belly only serves to fuel your attack.

"Oh, I see." Your eyes dance as you feign wide-eyed realization. “You only get this defensive when someone threatens the true love of your life."

A swell of heat dilates his pupils and his hand expands from holding your chin to your jaw, maneuvering it exactly how he wants. Before you can react, his mouth devours yours, sucking, licking, and nipping your lips with punishing force as you giggle and hum and pant. He swallows one sound into another deeper kiss that leaves you dizzy, dragging your bottom lip between his teeth.

Two of his fingers trail up the inside of your thigh as he whispers, “Last chance.”

You gust out a big sigh into his mouth, doing your best to ignore the rivulets of warm liquid that trail from your center in anticipation. "I'm jealous, if only you showed me as much passion as you do—"

His fingers turn ice cold the instant they hit your slick clit, sending a shudder of pleasure and gooseflesh racing up your torso, shooting straight to the back of your throat where it turns your sentence into a moan. His words are spoken into your lips. “You only have yourself to blame."

For the next few minutes, he settles into a symphony of movements that leaves your mind reeling and your chest heaving. Alternating between freezing fingers and warm ones. Between knuckles and fingertips. Rubbing and stroking. Hard and gentle. Penetrating and withdrawing. Plucking and soothing. A musician playing his instrument.

The unpredictability of it all, his refusal to settle into a rhythm, is a heavenly sort of agony that pushes you toward the precipice until you’re strung so tight it feels like one more stroke, one more wet sound from his fingers, one more "Yes. Beautiful" against your whimpering lips could push you over the edge.

But just as that edge approaches, just as the pressure of Zayne's knuckles intensify to create a swell of heat between your legs, there's—

Nothing.

A brief, confused pause leaves your whole body shivering with the sudden loss, a broken, whimpering sound catching in your throat. You choke on it, trembling, and Zayne only hushes you with a soft, coaxing “shh.”

"Z-Zayne."

Through the haze blurring your vision, you catch sight of him bringing his hand up — his tongue trailing from inner wrist to the tips of two glistening fingers, which disappear into his mouth all the way to the last knuckle. His lips close around them, sucking them clean in one slow drag.

"Zayne."

By the time your addled mind catches up, he’s already withdrawn, settling back into the pillow with that deliberate, grounding calm. His mouth presses gentle kisses along your temple, then your forehead, stitching you back together with his lips, piece by piece.

You’re boneless in his arms as he maneuvers you easily into your favorite position for the two of you to sleep in — legs slotted together, face to face, chest to chest.

You suddenly hate your favorite position.

All you can feel is the pulsing ache in the pit of your stomach, his own arousal between you, both of you abandoned by his cruelty.

"Why are you doing this to me. To us," the pitiful whine slips from your tongue as you writhe against him, your voice breaking into increasingly cajoling pleas for him to finish what he started.

His hand drifts up, fingers sliding through your hair and down the side of your face. The incendiary look in his eyes and the way he leans toward you floods your chest with heady victory.

Until his mouth finds the crown of your head and he murmurs a single, authoritative command.

"Sleep."

You want to protest, to tell him he’s cruel for leaving you like this, but your body feels impossibly heavy. The week’s long schedule has caught up to you, dragging at your body even as your nerve endings spark with leftover tension. Your muscles that had been coiled tight now melt against him, each heartbeat slower than the last, each breath a little deeper, a little more forgiving.

The sharp edges of your anticipation dull into a languid haze, a warm fog that pools behind your eyes and seeps into your limbs. But just as you're about to give into the pull of sleep, you realize Zayne's breath wasn't evening out like yours.

You tilt your head slightly to glance at him, your forehead brushing against his. He catches your eye with a flicker of curiosity, but in that heartbeat before he can hide it, you see it: a furrowed brow, a depth of serious, private thought etched across his face.

“Everything okay?” you murmur, letting your palm rest lightly on his neck.

He hums softly, a small, distracted sound. “Yes… just lost in thought.”

“Is this… about the dreams you’ve been having?”

He exhales a resigned sigh. "You know."

Your thumb reaches up to rub back and forth on his jaw. "Of course. Just like you, I won’t let anything threaten the love of my life." You flash a small, cheeky smile. "If only the love of my life felt for me the way he feels about sweets."

“That’s enough out of you. The love of my life is way better than pastries,” he scolds, gently flicking the tip of your nose. He wiggling his index and middle fingers between you. “More delicious too. And I’d protect her from anything and anyone that threatened her.” His voice drops to a low promise. “Even myself.”

Your foreheads lean together, breaths mingling, eyes fluttering closed as the teasing and tension of the night dissolve. Every exhale slows, every heartbeat drifts toward the same rhythm, and though there's still a faint hum of pent up lust simmering within you, the exhaustion of the week settles into your bones.

Faces close, fingers entwined, the world outside softens into a distant hum, until the two of you are suspended in the gentle pull of sleep.

You float under the pool of sleep, your dreams flowing over you, muffling every thought and sense. You feel yourself rise toward the surface until only a shallow film of unconsciousness covers you, clinging to your skin like silk.

A presence shifts behind you, warm and strong. You pause, brows scrunching over your closed eyes in confusion. Why is he behind you? You could've sworn you two had fallen asleep facing each other… But instinct takes over logic and you nestle your shoulders into the bare chest. Let your back mold into his front. Let your hips slide down. The swell of your ass wiggle into his crotch.

A low, sleepy sound rumbles through your back and a thigh slots itself into the snug space between yours, thick and muscular and warm.

Just like that, the mental ropes of restraint Zayne had used to hold you together when you fell asleep unwind, releasing all the energy from your denied lust earlier that night like a hot wave.

You shift for a better angle and start rocking against his thigh, small motions first, then bolder, more demanding drags as hot liquid starts to trickle and lubricate the friction. Another low rumble reverberates from his chest, vibrating through your spine as he places a hand on your hips to guide your movements.

The hot breath of a sigh stirs the fine hairs behind your left ear, and his thigh raises, presses harder into the soaked center of you. A whimper escapes your lips as you realize he's not slowing you, or holding you back, or depriving you at all, he's… letting you chase what you want.

You take full advantage. Continuing your sliding motions back and forth, the pressure mounting. His lips descend from behind your ear, sucking on the sensitive skin inch by inch until he reaches the juncture of your clavicle.

Suddenly your jaw is scooped into a large (more calloused than usual?) hand and tilted back to face him. Soft lips slot between yours and you both start to devour. Mint and the faint sweetness of chocolate hit your tongue and you can't help but chase the flavour, licking into it further, tasting, savouring, exploring. A satisfied hum pours into your mouth in response.

Your eyes, which have been half-closed this whole time, flutter open at the sound, the film of lust unfogging slightly when you see… him. Eyes drunk, cheeks flushed.

“It’s… it’s you?” you pant, your hips stuttering their movement at your surprise.

The moment you say it, you instinctively turn around and face forward. Reaching for Zayne in sleepy, horny confusion-

He swipes down your top and covers your breast with his palm, pulling your lips into a shorter, much less satisfying kiss that leaves you wanting more while he presses and kneads. His other hand travels between your thighs and you can hear when his knuckle drags over your slippery clit with a punishing pressure.

"I seem to recall telling you to sleep," he rasps. Only he could make it sound both gentle and scolding at the same time.

You suck in a breath as his first knuckle, then his second makes it's way inside you oh-so-slowly. The ache beneath your belly starts to grow again, inflating like a balloon.

"You woke me up," you breathe.

Zayne barely gets out a brief, confused “hm?” before you lean forward and blindly capture his lips in another kiss. This time you taste the strawberry sorbet you both had earlier that evening mingled with mint and you miss the change in flavour, too consumed by your hunger for more of his sweetness.

Instead, your nails scrape gently over the gooseflesh on his bare stomach until they dip beneath his waistband and reach the root of him, the springy hairs there tickling the pads of your fingers. Your fingertips trail over the hot length, rounding from the ridges at the top to the vein on the bottom, squeezing when they reach the flared out end.

His groan cuts sharply through your lips. “Insolent," and it's not so much a growl as it is a gravelly hum.

A retaliatory surge of cold flares between your legs and your lips break from his on a startled inhale.

Your head falls back at the polarizing sensation and you feel the scrape of teeth meet your neck again. Warm puffs of breath and the drag of a tongue at your pulse point. At your responsiveness, a warm hand sneaks between your ribs and the mattress to envelope your other breast. A pinch on your nipple makes your hand release Zayne's cock and grasp for the presence behind you-

Your fingers slide between soft strands of hair and fist, instigating one of those rumbling groans again. One that makes your lust-addled mind briefly grasp onto focus. “What’s going on?” you ask breathlessly, almost to yourself.

You don’t expect an answer. But another knead of your breast is followed by Zayne’s voice.

“A dream.” He says it with wonder, like dreams aren't familiar to him. Or, maybe like only nightmares are. “You’re always in my dreams.” The words are reverent and worshipful and they're paired with a hot and roughened finger sliding into you.

Whatever response you start to form dissolves from your mouth and mind at the sensation of two fingers now stretching and curling inside you. The staggered pace in which they're moving feels so different, so deep, that your body reacts with a convulsive shiver.

Distantly, you hear a murmured, "That's it. Beautiful," but your long, whimpering moan drowns it out as your hips start writhing around that expanding balloon within you, the one that's pressing right against your-

"Not yet," Zayne cuts in sharply, gusting the command over your forehead right as the muscles between your thighs start to tighten and clench around his cold finger.

"Why not?" you pout, reaching for him again, squeezing the head with every word. “Feels s’good.” Your mumble slurs against the skin of his jaw, soft and needy.

And it does. Gods, it does.

Every sensation dances through your body like a lightning storm: warm lips brushing your forehead and the side of your neck. Two fingers — one hot, one cold — pressing against the perfect spots within you. One hand on your breast, pulling your back into his chest, another on your thigh, dragging it forward over his hip. Sweat-dampened skin in front of you and behind you and under you and over you.

Surrounded by him.

Suddenly, the cold finger vanishes. A gasp rises in your throat at the sudden loss, but before you can even register the loss, your chin is tilted upward and you hear his command, "Look at me".

Your eyes flutter open and get tangled into irises the colour of forest vines. The look of starvation in them ensnares you, but his lips don’t claim yours right away. First there’s the brush of his thumb between your legs and something wider, hotter that presses against the open, slick center of you.

Just as the realization hits you, he whispers his answer to your earlier question, "This is why."

That balloon that had been slowly expanding in your core is nothing compared to the sensation that fills you when he pushes in with the most Zayne-like precision. It's slow, methodical, the deepest it can possibly be, and it leaves you both exchanging moans, the sound waves ricocheting between your open, panting mouths.

“Zayne,” you whimper, but your voice cuts off when teeth sink into the nape of your neck and-

Your hand flies to the rough one groping your chest, fingers lacing with his as you squeeze, dragging those hard ridges of scars and scabs across your soft, tender breast. You savour the contrast like it’s the only thing holding you together.

“I'm here,” he sighs, answering your plea against your skin, words damp from where his mouth lingers. It’s a sound of relief, of devotion, like water pouring over parched earth. “Always here.”

You gasp when he bites down again, lips closing over the sting to suck the promise into permanence, before he adds, "Always waiting for you."

At the same moment, the calloused hand on your hip moves lower, cupping and pulling your ass higher, opening you even further. You barely even register it, the feelings and motions and overwhelming stimuli surrounding you slowly starting to consume the little awareness you've had.

But you do feel another slide of a slippery and hot head press into your core. Where the other one was agonizingly deliberate and steady, this one is hard and all-consuming, merciless in the way it ignites the center of you, ignites your cry of euphoria, so quickly.

"That's it," he whispers. The praise coils around your spine like silk and he immediately picks up the pace, pressing into every piece of your back with his chest, as if there isn't any time to lose. "Let it out. Let go for me."

And you do. Crying out incoherent demands, pleas, and benedictions as your body encounters another crossroads of mismatched but synchronous sensations.

Fast and slow, sharp and soft, big and bigger, hot and hotter.

And, finally, the precipice. That edge you were pulled away from before you fell asleep, approaches you once again, prickling every inch of skin from your ankles to your forehead.

But as you tighten your thigh, you feel the bone of a hip and a grip squeezes the point of your chin and-

"Wait. For. Me." The two words are gritted out between slow drags that each drive you higher on your pillow.

The lucid part of you — the one that's not shivering and sweating and swallowed up in a consistent pulsing sensation between your ears and breasts and thighs — basks in his inability to string together more than a few words.

Especially when you moan your despair, give his lip a final bite in rage and revenge, and start chanting, "Now Zayne. Z-Zayne. N-now, Zayne. Now."

You keep shouting the words, but it's more of an incoherent, fractured sob and a breathless invocation than it is a command, an unraveling litany that barely holds shape as it tumbles out of your mouth.

Your body convulses, belly clenching so hard it curls you inward against him. Sawing breaths rip through your lungs. Broken cries spilling past your lips.

Your arms lock tight, muscles straining, while your stomach and thighs spasm with the force of release. At the very center of you, deep in your core, the pulsing bursts outward, relentless waves crashing through you, shaking you until you can hardly recognize any limb of your body.

Your eyes squeeze shut, head thrown back, and in that white-hot blackout of sensation, the world bends.

Two disjointed voices, both the same and yet so different, tear through the fog and cry your name into your skin. One into your neck. The other into your open mouth.

Two bodies shudder around you, twin groans vibrating through their bones straight into yours. You feel them both, pressed against every glistening facet of you, pushing and pumping until they finally spill, hot and intense and leaking, between your thighs.

You feel tremors all around you as your wrung out body, trapped between two furnaces, finally sinks into the damp sheets beneath you, every nerve alight with the echo of their voices braided into your skin.

Your breathing slows, limbs loosening as the storm of sensation fades away, your body finally satiated and calm. Muscles that had trembled now melt into the mattress, your stomach softens, your thighs fall open, and the pulse at your core eases to a lazy thrum.

A quiet, blissful heaviness fills you, the kind that comes when everything inside and out has been met, fulfilled, and tucked away for the moment.

So when the bodies shift closer, sheets rustling as you're drawn tighter into warmth, and two low, husky murmurs of “Beautiful” brush your ears, you’ve already drifted fully back into sleep, a satisfied, molten warmth curling through you, untouchable even by their lingering presence.

You wake to morning light the colour of osmanthus flowers seeping through the curtains, soft and thin, like watery paint washed across the walls. The bed is vast around you but empty. Something you’ve grown used to with Zayne’s schedule often pulling him away from you before dawn fully breaks the sky open.

Still, you never get used to the absence, the coolness of the sheets. Especially mornings after you and Zayne had sex, when you just want to wrap yourself around him when and enjoy his caressing fingers, his steady breaths, and the peace in his eyes.

Your hand drifts to the nightstand, fingers brushing over the edge of your cell. The screen blooms to life under your touch, and your lips curve at the staggered trail of messages waiting for you.

Z: 5:06 Have a good day off.

Z: 5:42 Might I suggest you spend some of it looking for a real restaurant for us to go to? See: Zayne's definition of restaurant.

Z: 5:43 I'll meet you down in the lobby this evening to check your work.

Z: 6:09 Be good.

Your thumbs move before you can stop yourself, your sleepy grin turning into a cheeky smile.

You: 7:02 Considering Zayne's definition was quite literally drilled into me, I think it's safe to say I've learned my lesson.

You: 7:02 Any restaurant without dessert isn’t a restaurant at all.

You pause, delighted when an animated text bubble dances on your screen.

Z: 7:03 [Facepalm emoji]

Z: 7:03 What did I say?

You: 7:04 You know better! I've never been good a day in my life [kiss emoji]

You set the phone back on the table and stretch, arching your spine, a dull tension within your belly reminding you of the ache from last night. Your thighs are tender too, sore from the exercise of clenching and unclenching over and over again. The soft giggle that fizzles into the room is involuntary, your smile spilling wider the more your mind drifts back to the memories of two lips, two fingers, two bodies, and two… well.

Maybe you should stop teasing Zayne about his love for sweets because having a dream of another version of your boyfriend fucking you in addition to the original was a whole new level of obsession.

You turn toward the window, toward the empty expanse of “your” side of the bed, and let the sunlight stroke across your skin. The glow is gentle and you soak it in like a lazy house cat. For a few minutes, it feels good to be slow and languid, to be nothing but body and breath before you sit up, hop out of bed, and head to the bathroom to start your day.

You don't notice the streak of dawn light washing across rumpled sheets on a side of the bed that was never slept in.

You don't notice an imprint the size of a head dipping into the empty side's pillow.

And you don't notice the single bruise, a mottle of red and purple, stamped like a claiming mark into the nape of your neck.

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