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fruitcoops · 2 days ago

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Something Wild

Mr. "He looks at you like he wants to eat you". Mr. "Flavor". Mr. "That one time after a win". Are you two aware you live in an apartment building. Finn, honey, you of all people. AKA the aftermath of that one scene in chapter 15. Character credit and Vaincre credit belong to @lumosinlove!

M-rated, roughly. TW for Vaincre spoilers and mentioned prior smut.

Finn was having quite a lovely afternoon, simply put. Leo was going out with Kasey later, but they had time for Finn to take him to breakfast and a walk along the river. It was a pretty enough morning that they didn’t have to drive. They spent a happy half-hour taking up sidewalk space on the way there, Finn’s arm tucked around the slope of Leo’s shoulders. The gold-and-black of his hoodie made his eyes look like crystal waters; he told him as much while their biscuits and coffee settled in the morning breeze, and Leo returned the favor by quite handily taking him to bed soon after.

In the interest of honesty, Finn had been both surprised and delighted that Leo was still up for it, all things considered. Last night considered. Breakfast had been an afterglow extension in many ways. He was pretty sure Leo was thanking him for more than a walk and nice words.

But Leo was in the bathroom now, probably still fucking with his hair and scrunching his nose in the way that made him look so gently displeased. Bliz, downtown, yadda yadda…Finn was glad for his day of no plans and an ever-growing book list. Maybe today was the day he could actually make a dent in the thing. If he ignored the three paperbacks haunting the side table by their front door.

Finn sighed and tilted his head back against the arm of the couch. He couldn’t even remember the titles anymore, and they were too far away to make out even when he squinted. They had just looked so good and yellowed when he ran his thumb down the foredge. That must have been a week ago, now. Two? Definitely two, if he had planned on bringing them as roadie readers.

Logan would rib him with malice and joy if he saw how cramped the TBR shelf of Finn’s bedside table had become. But he couldn’t just leave those poor, abandoned paperbacks by the door. Maybe he could move them to the shelf with the others. He might be able to squeeze one in the main section, and the rest could stack on top if he moved the pretty hardcover from Christmas two years ago to the table itself…

Or maybe he would merely pick up his half-dead Agatha Christie from the ‘ALREADY READ—DO NOT TOUCH’ shelf and call it a day. The painter’s tape label in his own messy scrawl mocked him as he heaved himself up and pulled the book free.

Truly, nobody suffered like Finn did.

“You’re sighing a lot in there,” Leo called.

“Books,” Finn answered by way of explanation. Leo made a noise of agreement; he heard the clatter of a toothbrush and the squeak of their sink faucet.

And a knock at the door.

“Can you get that?”

“Uh, yeah.” Finn paused, halfway to sitting. He wasn’t expecting a package. You come to me, on my nothing-but-novels day, half-cheeked on the couch…

The woman on the other side indeed held no package, only a slight nervous expression that brightened when he opened the door. She gave a small wave. “Hi!”

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good, are you—” Her eyes narrowed a touch, like she was guessing a prize at the fair. “Are you Finn?”

Leo was going to hate that their address had been leaked. “In the flesh,” he said cheerfully. More flies with honey than vinegar, and all that. “I’m so sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Oh, no, I know,” she said quickly. “I’m Jen. Your downstairs neighbor. My apartment’s right below yours, you’ve probably heard me moving around.”

“Oh, that’s—”

Are you Finn? Downstairs neighbor. Right below. Heard me moving.

Last night.

“Oh my god.”

“It’s okay!” Jen said hurriedly as he closed his eyes and let his forehead come its final resting place of the doorframe. His face was on fucking fire, he could feel it. “Seriously, no worries or judgement or anything.”

Finn straightened and dragged a hand down his face. A quick glance over his shoulder told him Leo was still in the bathroom. Thank God for his endless toothbrushing routine. Keeping his hand over his mouth seemed like an appropriate move when he looked back at Jen. “I…am so sorry. Jesus.”

“Really, it’s okay,” she repeated. Finn’s ears were going to rocket off his head and into the stratosphere. “I just wanted to—just so you knew. It’s really not a big deal, just for reference…”

Oh, God. Fuck. Finn’s biscuit made a strong effort to burn through his stomach. “Does it—” He didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to know. “Is it, like, often? I’m so fucking sorry, oh my God.”

“Not at all!” Jen still seemed flustered, but far less nervous. Finn supposed his internal death was probably showing on his face, if anything remained but pure tomato red.

“I’m so sorry.” Twice didn’t seem like enough.

“It’s really not that bad, I just figured I’d come up and say something since my parents are visiting next weekend.”

“I’m so sorry,” Finn whispered against his will.

Jen laughed. Forgiveness? Jeering? She was entitled to do both. “Really, it’s not a problem. Not a frequent issue, I promise.”

Finn bit his tongue against another apology. “Mhm.”

Jen started to speak again, then hesitated. “Can I ask something?”

“I think you’re legally allowed to run me over with your car at this point.”

She only laughed again, like Finn wouldn’t absolutely let her do that before the embarrassment finished burning him alive. “Not at all. I was wondering what your partner’s name is? We’re neighbors, thought it might be nice to know just in case.”

“Leo.” Also known to you as Le, butter, Knutty, peanut, just-like-that, sit-on-my-lap, keep-fucking-going, good-boy-come-any-time-you-want-is-that-how-you-like-it, and it’s-okay-baby-anything-you-want. “Yeah, Leo, he’s—and also Logan is here sometimes, he lived with us before but it was a whole—” Well, you probably remember when someone stopped shouting French through your ceiling. Finn gestured lamely. “Work thing. He’ll be around for holidays. We’ll keep it down, I promise.”

“Oh, okay, perfect.” Jen just smiled, offering a wave. “It was nice to meet you, Finn.”

“Yeah, you too.” He couldn’t help one more, “I’m so sorry, again.”

“It’s really no problem, I figured you didn’t know.” She shrugged. “Apartment living, am I right?”

Finn laughed, though it was weak. “What can you do?”

A peppy ‘see you around!’ was the only absolution he was given. He waited until she made it to the elevator before closing the door and pressing his forehead to the cold wood, then sliding, slowly, in agony, to his knees. And then to the floor itself.

Time passed. Soft footsteps made their way closer. “Hello,” Leo said above him, bemused. “I wasn’t aware we got a new welcome mat.”

Hi Jen. So sorry again for fucking the back wheels off my boyfriend. He really needed it and, quickly frankly, so did I. You see, this year has been epically terrible, and I really needed to grab his gorgeous hips and flip him like a golden pancake so I could drag him onto his knees and backward into my lap. Yeah, he loved it. Yeah, no, sorry, I didn’t tell him to scream my name but I certainly didn’t stop him. Please enjoy this gift basket. It was nice to officially meet you.

Love and shame,

Finn O’Hara

P.S. For the love of god, do not start watching hockey for the next ten to fifteen years.

“Finn?”

“I met our neighbor.”

“Joel?”

“Jen.”

Leo paused. “Is she new?”

“Mm-mm.”

“Shit, I don’t think I know her.”

Finn’s laugh was hysterical to his own ears. “She knows you.”

“Are you okay?”

Leo’s forehead was crinkled with worry when Finn rolled onto his back. He pinched the bridge of his nose against the bright lights, then folded his hands across his belly and blinked up at Leo. “She knew my name. I’ve never met her.”

The worry gave way to irritation, then a rush of genuine distress. “Fuck, did our address get out or something?”

“Nope. She’s our neighbor.” Finn raised his eyebrows. “Our lovely downstairs neighbor.”

For someone who had never lived in an apartment before, Leo put it together damn fast. His hands clapped over his mouth with an audible sound. “No.”

“Yes.”

“Oh no.”

“You’re not very civic-minded.”

“I didn’t—” Leo’s face flushed from his neck to his hairline. He jabbed a finger down at Finn. “You don’t get to make fun of me after everything you’ve done.”

“I have lived here for four years and never once got anything like that, you even beat out Logan—”

“If you hadn’t—!” Leo cut himself off there. His cheek folded like he was biting it hard.

This misery was more fun when he wasn’t alone in it. Finn grinned up at him. “If I hadn’t what?”

Leo scowled, hard and proper. “Oh, you know what you did.”

“I didn’t hear any complaints.” Don’t do it, don’t. “And neither did Jen, apparently.”

Leo’s groan belonged in the history books. His eye-roll was pristine, and the nudge of his foot like Finn was a misbehaving cat was everything Finn needed to feel even a little bit better. “I’m leaving,” he announced, struggling to open the door around Finn’s lax body as he stepped over him. “And Kasey is never hearing about this, and—and I owe Jen a goddamn fruit basket, fuck me.”

“That’s how we got in this mess.”

“And I’m sleeping in the guest room tonight!” Leo added. The door closed with a prompt thud.

Finn waited.

The door opened just a crack. Leo reached around to tap lightly on the inside. “Okay, I love you, bye, be good, I’ll be home at eight-ish but I’ll text if we’re still out.”

“Bye,” Finn called through his laughter. “Love you, too, my beautiful beautiful banshee.”

Leo’s finger pointed blindly at him. He had astonishing accuracy. “You’re a jackass, Finn O’Hara. A dog.”

If Finn barked at him, just once, then it was nobody’s business but their own (and, of course, Jen’s.)

#finn ohara #leo knut #logan tremblay #oknutzy #cubs #sweater weather #coast to coast #vaincre #lumosinlove #my fic #fanfic #noise complaint

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