#Charlie Slimecicle x Reader

[bio-hazard]

making out with charlie on the couch and the two of you start to move to the bedroom, right? stick with me here. charlie takes the time to keep you going and turn all ur stuffed animals around or covers their eyes. he's railing you into the bed and you gasp and he's like "yeah? you like that?" and you're like "NO BUNNY FELL OFF THE SIDE :((" and he goes and gets the plushie and either gives it to you to hug or puts it back facing away and immediately gets back to it without skipping a beat. he's smiling the whole time he thinks it's the cutest thing ever

[squinch-depraved]

p! link masterlist ✧*̣̩⋆̩☽⋆゜

!!! submissions are open if you have a link you'd like to share !!!

꒰ thank you to everyone who sent stuff for this, i hope to continue adding to it !! ꒱

✦jschlatt:

the one that started it all

sitting on his lap

short but sweet

i could totally see him waking you up like this

he would absolutely film this you can't convince me otherwise

unpaid intern schlatt 1

unpaid intern schlatt 2

vid for this fic

✦ted nivison

him holding you in his lap and playing with you

making him eat you out while you read

just kinda grabbing him

bathroom sex

ted and his stupid little apple watch

✦charlie slimecicle

lazy sex with charlie

slow and romantic

pounding up into you from behind

you cannot tell me he wouldn't be into this

teasing you

jerking him off like this>>>

✦cooper cscoop

this is so cooper coded icl

this is also very cooper coded

buzzcut! cooper coded

this is so fuckin perfect omg

everything about this !!!

✦hasan piker/hasanabi

bulge thread !!

[deadqueerboys]

Charlie Slimecicle (n/sfw links)

NSFW UNDER THE HERE

X Fem! Reader

Spanking.

He was tired, almost too much to handle you tonight. His hands were free, tho, and he wanted to make you feel good. Charlie could feel his dick getting hard inside of his pants while he slapped your ass. His big hands cover all of your cheek.

Mutual touching.

Charlie wanted to make things more special, but you were on your period. He wanted to touch you so bad.. he didn't wait until it was over. He took off your clothes and started to touch you, and soon you started to touch him too. Your hands feel perfect wrapped around his fat dick.

Eating out.

His day was full of stress. After coming back from recording with his friends, he just wanted to make you feel good. He took off your clothes, got on his knees, and started to lick you slowly.

Fingering.

Charlie was good with his hands. You could see that every time he got closer to his keyboard. He tapped so fast that it felt incredible. He tried to show you, but he refused to make it slow. He went fast and aggressive, just how he likes it.

Touching.

He came back from recording with Ranboo, using those slutty and maybe emo clothes. He liked to play with his thighs, which made you want to touch him in those clothes. He took off his pants, staying only with those clothes who looked like a stupid lingerie.

Fast coming.

His body was fully tired, he wanted to relax and cum with you, but you didn't want to allow him inside you. You took off your clothes, staying with your panties so he could see your body while he stays with clothes on. His cock was too hard, he was overstimulated.

[pequins]

IRL P0RN VISUALS 🔗

cont : slimecicle , ted nivison & jschlatt .

MDNI NSFW AHEAD

all vids are from twitter , you might have to log in to see them.

( more to be added when i find them )

SCHLATT

a/n : he looks so fucking good in this video im gonna chew on him

schlatt giving you a punishment for being a brat

( LC ) schlatt jerking vid

teasing / c^nt slapping

sub!schlatt org4sm denial

CHARLIE

c^nt slapping

against the desk

size difference

TED NIVISION

f!ngering

p^ssy eating

size difference

[medlarmeadows]

Hiya! I was wondering if you could do a cc!charlie/gn!reader where they have a friendly sleepover BUT as the night goes on it get more and more romantic :3c and may there be cuddling and kisses please and ty.

P.s have a nice day/night ^-^

i'm so sorry i took basically a whole month to get this done! i hope my writing has done your request justice :) hope you're having a nice day/night!

(also i wrote this with charlie's Another Crab's Treasure vod playing in the background. it was a huge distraction, i don't know why i did that)

-

can i kiss you sleepover?

cc!Charlie Slimecicle x gn!reader

Warning(s): light cursing, one piss joke, they kiss.

Word Count: 1.25k

masterlist | request guidelines

Sleepovers at either Charlie’s or your apartment were pretty common. With the two of you living on opposite sides of the city, all it took was a movie night ending too late or a drink too many in someone’s system to get one of you to announce that a sleepover was in order.

(It was to prevent either of you from having to travel home in the middle of the night, and absolutely not because you both wanted an excuse to spend more time together.)

The night started as most nights did, with you popping over to Charlie’s place for dinner. What surprised you, though, was that instead of your usual takeout, he had decided to chef it up in the kitchen.

“Whoa,” you said when you arrived, inviting yourself in and dropping off the snacks you had bought on the kitchen counter. “So, this is why you didn’t want to grab snacks with me today.”

“I had a lot of ingredients I had to use up,” he replies nonchalantly, giving you a one shoulder shrug. “Thought a change in our routine couldn’t hurt.”

You raise an eyebrow at him, leaning against the dining table while he sets the food down. You try to ignore how pinpricks shoot up your arm when he brushes against your arm.

“Is this how our friendship has devolved? You’re throwing your leftovers at me?”

Charlie nearly trips on the way back to the table with two wine glasses in hand. You double over laughing, and thus fail to catch the way the tips of his ears turn red.

“I’m joking, I’m joking.”

You spend dinner catching up with each other’s weeks, with a few jokes thrown in courtesy of Charlie attempting to serve wine as professionally as he can. It contributes to the slightly romantic atmosphere of the dinner, but you choose not to acknowledge it.

After dinner, you force Charlie out of the kitchen so that you could clean up (it was the least you could do to repay his romantic well-prepared dinner). It’s a few minutes later that you join him in the living room for the official start to your movie night.

Usually, you sit side by side on the couch, not too close and not too far from each other. But the couch feels a little small today as you’re forced to share one blanket (“Sorry, the other one’s in the washer.” “What, did you piss on it? Little piss boy?” “Fuck off.”).

Charlie fidgets throughout the first movie, but you don’t mind it. When the second film starts playing, he moves one arm to rest on the couch behind your head. The hand that rests next to your next starts fidgeting with your hair, making the flesh of your neck goosebump when his fingers get close.

You distract yourself from his antics by stuffing your face with crisps. You were close friends who were comfortable being physically close to each other. You hugged all the time. You spent a lot of time together.

You try to convince yourself that it wasn’t that deep.

Several hours later, it was to no one’s surprise that, when you finished watching the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, Charlie announced that it was too late for you to Uber back home.

“Dude, I can’t believe it’s already 3 am,” he comments as he gets up to throw the empty crisp packets.

“Is it?” you ask between yawns, stretching out over the cushions he had previously occupied. Your eyes are halfway closing when he comes back to unceremoniously yank the blanket off you.

“What the hell!” you yell at him, throwing a pillow at him in hopes to wipe off the cheeky grin from his face.

The pillow didn’t deter him from coming closer, prompting you to pick up another pillow to smack him with. However, he catches you off-guard by snatching the pillow from you. You reflexively tighten your grip on the pillow, causing you to stumble right into Charlie.

Stunned, you look up at him, his wide-eyed gaze meeting yours.

“Hi,” you mumble awkwardly.

“Hi,” he replies, a mischievous grin lighting his face up.

Charlie lightly shoves you away from himself, bending to grab the first pillow you had thrown at him. With a declaration of war, he chases you around the coffee table, the movie credits still rolling on the TV screen providing some dramatic background music.

You feel your inner child light up inside you as you evade Charlie’s grasp, letting out cheerful yelps despite it being the middle of the night and you might get noise complaints. However, caught up in the gleefulness of your mini tag game, you trip on the edge of the coffee table and send yourself hurtling into the couch.

“Holy shi- ”

Behind you, Charlie’s unable to stop his momentum. In a split second, he’s sent tumbling on top of you, the pillow that he was holding somewhat cushioning his fall so he didn’t full body slam into you.

There you lie on Charlie’s couch, caged by his arms which had mercifully landed next to your face and not on it. His messy hair looked even messier after running several rounds around his living room, and you resist the urge to run your fingers through them.

You’re captured next by his blue eyes, still shining with something familiar, but with an added emotion that you’re sure is mirrored in yours. You’re so close to each other you’re practically breathing in each other’s breath, and you can’t help your eyes from straying to glance down at his lips.

When you glance back up to his eyes, you catch him shifting his gaze as well, causing your breath to hitch. You catch the moment he clocks that you’d done the same thing he did as he moves just an inch closer to you.

“Is this okay?” he asks, voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah,” your response is just as breathy.

Charlie studies your expression carefully, almost as though drinking in your features he had never seen so up close before. Then:

“Can I kiss you?”

You blink once. Then twice. Then:

“Yes, please.”

Charlie crosses the space between you two within the blink of an eye. His lips capture yours, and you finally understand how people could describe a kiss as sweet. Because now that you’ve tasted Charlie’s lips on yours, you’re not sure even honey could compare.

You’re not sure how long you stay locked in each other’s embrace. One of your hands come up to gently thread through Charlie’s hair, eliciting a sigh from the man. When you come up for breath, the movie credits are no longer rolling.

“Wow,” you say, breathless.

“Definitely wow,” he repeats, breathing just as heavily as you are.

“Why haven’t we done that before?” you ask in between a yawn.

“I don’t know.” He takes a second to smile fondly at your yawn. “Sleepy?”

You nod, further relaxing into his hold. “Between the movies and the running around, I’m pretty tired out.”

Charlie hums his acknowledgement before getting off you to stand. Suddenly, he scoops you up in his arms, causing you yelp and loop your arms around his neck.

“Charlie!”

“It’s snuggle time!” he crows, carrying you to his bedroom.

The night ends with you and Charlie snug under his blankets. The weight of his arm around your waist and the feeling of his heartbeat against your back slowly lulled you into what could’ve been the most comfortable sleep you’ve ever had.

[unlust-fvck]

"please get off my lap." "but you're so much prettier from this angle."

with chuckle sammy + will (and dreamy weamy if not its ok)

i had so much fun writing this :’) i went OVERBOARD.

schlatt- it was one of those normal work days for him; editing and playing the same clip over and over again until he deemed it perfect. you, on the other hand, found this pointless and decided to go bother him.

“jayyyyyy”

he wouldn’t even move, knowing your exact objective. he’d just let out one of those disappointed parental sighs. you’d peer into the room and quietly patter into the once spare bedroom that was now schlatt’s streaming/editing/whatever-else room. as you walked up behind him, you placed both of your palms firmly onto his shoulders and nuzzled your cheek into his, now longer, hair. inhaling deeply, you pressed a kiss to the crown of his head.

“i’m busy.”

he knew he couldn’t keep you off for long after you let out a pitiful whine. schlatt let out a sigh as his eyes fluttered closed and spun around in his chair to face you. he stared at you with an inquisitive look. you smiled, knowing you had gotten your way as your eyes flickered down to his lap, then back up to his. he shook his head.

“toots, i’m busy.”

he could repeat it until the end of time as you climbed into his lap. he gave in reluctantly as one arm wrapped around the small of your back to keep you steady. as he attempted to finish his video, you whined impatiently as you played with the neckline of his t-shirt.

“can you please get off my lap? you’re distracting me.”

“but you’re so much prettier from this angle”

he couldn’t argue with that.

charlie- as you got ready for bed, you could hear charlie humming to himself in the bedroom. just as you had finished brushing your teeth, you trotted into the bedroom and sat on the bed. you observed charlie as he tidied up the room, still humming to himself. as he laid down beside you, the humming ceased and his head plopped into your lap, his arms behind his head. you chuckled and pressed a lingering kiss to the center of his forehead. when you pulled away, you found him gazing at you. his eyes were so full of love; an adoring grin gracing his lips.

“char, you’ve got to get your head out of my lap, it’s bed time.”

he just continued to look at you as he formulated the perfect thing to say.

“but you look so pretty from this angle- n-not that you don’t look pretty all the time, im just saying that-“

you shut him up with a kiss.

ted- ted was all about domestic moments with you; everything from cooking dinners to going on dates that gave him butterflies though you had been together for years. tonight was movie night, yet you had other plans. instead of watching the movie that ted was very much interested in, you were gazing at him. the way his nose sloped down and was so cute. the way his eyes gleamed in the light of the television. he was perfect. just as you were bathing in his features, you didn’t realize how close you had gotten to him; your face inches away from his cheek. you pressed a small kiss to it and crawled into his lap for better access. before you could go any further, ted chuckled and tried to push you away, his view obstructed.

“honey pot, i can’t see. you’ve got to get off.”

you pouted and stood your ground as you pressed lingering kisses all along his face and down his neck.

“you.” kiss “just.” kiss “look.” kiss “so.” kiss “pretty.” kiss “from here.”

ted smiled and chuckled breathlessly, before taking his glasses off and sliding them onto the table. he laid down and pulled you with him as he pressed a firm kiss to your lips.

he really didn’t care if he missed the movie.

wilbur- will was a sunday morning enjoyer. he’d have his old battered book in one hand and the other drawing mindless shapes across your half asleep figure in bed. just as he was about to flip the page with his hand on you, you whined and pulled it back down. he looked at you for a moment, piecing your features together, before showing a gentle smile and placing his book down on the bed.

“s’wrong, love?”

his voice was sweet and like caramel; dripping from his lips ever-so gently. you could just melt as his hand continued moving across your collarbones and shoulders mindlessly. you huffed and nodded your head to his lap.

“i’m almost done with this chapter, not now, alright?”

you let out a whine in protest as he chuckled quietly and picked his book back up, the movements on your chest growing lazy. you knew you could push him. you scooted your head into his lap, gazing up at him from underneath his book. your eyes shined like stars; he was beautiful. wilbur let out a lighthearted sigh as he set his book down once again;

“darling, d’ya mind getting your head off my lap?”

you just shook your head, your eyes flickering to his slightly parted lips, then back up to his caramel eyes.

“you look much prettier from down here”

masterlist

[showf4lls]

ʚ ― lipstick ; various

info! headcanons, fluff / gender neutral reader

cw! no CWs

includes! chuckle sammy boys

request! lipstick trend

notes! i’m alive! sorry for taking so long y’all; life really hit the fan these past few months. i genuinely really do appreciate everyone’s patience through all of this. i can’t guarantee that i’ll be writing as regularly as i’d like to be since i’m supposed to be graduating at the end of this school year, but i’ll write when i can! glad to be back for now y’all. thanks for having me :]

TED

⎼ it wouldn’t take a lot to convince him. once you clued him in, he would be all about it, little to no convincing required

⎼ would mostly do it for the chance to take cute polaroids if i’m being honest

⎼ ted is in the business of doing whatever it takes to make you happy, little to no questions asked

⎼ he really does love the attention though, you sitting in his lap and peppering kisses all over his face, only stopping to reapply your lipstick. he likes the closeness, the fact that you’re looking only at him, the opportunity to hold you by the waist while he makes heart eyes at you

⎼ you have to do it three separate times at least because at the end of each go he just says, “ya know, i think we should do it again. no yeah, we can definitely do it again. these are all smudged... yeah i think we have to do it again, honey. sorry, i don’t make the rules.” and you cave every time

⎼ doesn’t think about the consequences until it’s actually time to take off all of the lipstick marks

CHARLIE

⎼ would be a little reluctant, if i’m being honest. i would say that he’s the most logical out of all the chuckle sammy boys, so he would immediately realize the consequences of covering his face in lipstick marks

⎼ he would definitely cave after enough asking, though. say “please” all nice and he’s a goner. another man that would do absolutely anything if it meant making you happy

⎼ jokingly agrees under the condition that you let him choose the color(s)

⎼ i have a feeling that the texture would kind of bother him, but he might make himself soldier through it for your sake

⎼ keeps his nose scrunched up the whole time, eyes closed since he can’t see anything without his glasses on anyways

⎼ definitely takes advantage of the opportunity to get some cute pictures with you

⎼ more goofy than lovestruck throughout the whole thing

⎼ as soon as you say that you’re good and finished, he begs you to take off the makeup as quickly as you possibly can

SCHLATT

⎼ really resistant to the idea. it’s an absolute no from him, so if it’s something you really want to do you’re gonna have to be sneaky about it

⎼ you’d have to do it (or at least start it) while he’s busy. maybe he’s cooking, or driving you home, or on a call with some friends and you randomly start kissing his face

⎼ he’s only half paying attention to you, so he doesn’t notice the red kiss marks that he’s slowly accumulating on his face

⎼ like i said though, you’d have to be sneaky about it, so it would probably be best to spread the process out over a couple hours, giving him kiss marks in intervals. he would probably just assume you’re being more affectionate than usual today and not that you’re actively scheming for some tiktok clicks

⎼ you would also strategically have to keep him from touching his face so that he didn’t smudge all of your hard work away

⎼ once he figures out what you’re doing, you better get your video quick because not only is he scrubbing that shit the fuck off his face, but he will find an equally embarrassing way to reign his vengeance upon you

[frostedsugarcookiehearts]

"schlatt forced me to do this" (tumblr's version)

it's a good time to spread love! it was valentines day like ... a little bit ago, right?

so here are my favorite writers, and my favorite fics. each under a nice, neat little category for your viewing pleasure.

JSCHLATT

writers

@burdenandacrop, @memento-rory, @777nicetits

fics

plush obsessed gf x schlatt who punches them when she's not around by @schluttforschlatt *SO CUTE!

these hands can only be gentle by @burdenandacrop *most comforting fic i've ever read. dead dove do not eat fic.

do not disrespect my wife like that. by @amayalul *lore accurate and made me giggle + kick my feet.

angsty bully!schlatt fic by @memento-rory *this one because its ending satisfies me. girlboss reader.

my heart is buried in st. lucia by @memento-rory *being a jschlatt x reader fan and not reading st. lucia is like never reading harry potter. it's a classic. we all love it. we quote it. it is love. it is life. you are cultured if you have seen it and if you haven't go read it !! (ik jk rowling is shit but just the series itself.)

so drunk schlatt/ted can't recognize you by @memento-rory *silly and schlatt's is especially lore accurate. also i am biased towards rory. because rory gives cool older sibling of the jschlatt x reader community vibes.

big guy (headcanons) by @k4lenz *no i am NOT biased because kalen is my little australian buddy. these are cute and kalen just knows how to channel the schlatt voice.

chatting to schlatt's stream by @777nicetits *this is my favorite social media fic, the real users as chatters is just so cute and it felt SOO realistic. seeing a pattern of i like a fic the more realistic it is??

TED

writers

@k4lenz, and... yeah tbh. sorry ted lovahs!

fics

the boy! (headcanons) by @k4lenz *same reason for jschlatt one. has the voice. lore accurate stuff.

chatting on the pod by @phxntomsdusk *needed more ted fics and this one is just cute. really makes you feel like you're on the good ol' pod with The Boys.

it's all a romcom by @obsessivestar *my introduction to ted fics and a GREAT ONE tbh?? suggested by @the-slimebox

SLIMECICLE

writers

@slimeypaws + @lanadoeswriting !!

fics

athlete!charlie x nerd!reader by @slimeypaws *my favorite charlie!au

we could build a home (we could play pretend) by @fullofgutsndopamine *started my charlie obsession!

streamer headcanons by @lanadoeswriting *inspired "you're a part time lover + a full time friend"!

mathteacher!charlie x englishteacher!reader by @slcmml, who's now @slimeypaws *SOO CUTE AND WIHT THE STUDENTS SENDING THE NOTES AHHH

spiderman!charlie x gnbestfriend!reader by @p3achslimes *THIS also got me into charlie omg omg i lvoe this au it's so charlie coded peach has my heart for this one.

and, as is customary, i challenge @slimeypaws and @k4lenz!! to do this. muahhah. good luck!! :D

[slmcclsimpblog]

Divine Favor

God!Slimecicle x gn reader

A shrine sits in the forest. An old and long forgotten remnant of a time long past. It’s covered in vines and plant growth to the point where it’s hard to even see the shrine anymore. The god attached to it has long since accepted that no one will find it, or if they do it’ll be ignored. But still he waited around it. Where else would he go at this point? This is the last one left…

✳️✳️✳️✳️✳️

The forest behind their house had always interested them. It was so large and there weren't any real paths or trails in it. It was a beautiful escape from everything happening in their life. It was hard to put food on the table and a minimum wage job was barely enough for basic necessities. So they decided to just go for a walk in the forest, to get away from everything. They didn’t bring much, just a water bottle and a granola bar. They can make out the faint dirt paths they’ve walked on many times before. But they weren’t here for the same old scenery, they wanted something new. They veer off the path, still keeping where it is in mind. The sight of cobbled and intentionally placed stones surprises them. The stones are covered in moss and plants, but it’s still obvious it was meant to be a path. They follow the path to a small clearing where a small stone structure sits in the middle. It’s hard to make it out exactly, but it looks like a small hut of some kind? They approach it, clearing away some of the vines to get a better look at the structure. Unfamiliar symbols and designs are carved into the stone, but it doesn’t look like someone vandalized it. It doesn’t even look like anyone’s touched it in years. They can’t help but think it’s sad, that something made with such care and intention has been forgotten like this. They did want something to do… didn’t they? Maybe they should fix it up a bit, it’s not like there’s anyone around who would get mad if they did. The forest is public property after all… So they stand back up and go back to their home. Do they even have any gardening supplies? Or anything that could help clear away the plants?

They find some garden shears, gloves, and a small shovel in the back of the garage. They also grab a bucket of soapy water and a sponge. They bring the supplies back to the clearing and get to work. They start with the vines, moving them and pruning them when needed. The more they clear away, the more they can see what the structure really is. It looks a bit like one of those little library boxes people set up in front of their houses, but it’s resting on top of a rock. Instead of shelves, the inside has a small basin and an empty lantern. While they still can’t understand the symbols or designs on the little structure, they are easier to see: etchings of wheat, apples, and food mixed in with characters of some ancient language. They continue to clean up the little shrine until the plant life covers only the rock it sits on. They sit back and admire their work, how much nicer the shrine looks now that all the foliage has been removed. It really does look more like a shrine now, like something people would come to to worship at. They stare at the empty basin that takes up most of the shrine and pour some of their water into it.

“There… now you’re all fixed.” They gather up their supplies and walk back home.

✳️✳️✳️✳️✳️

Charlie The god watches the mortal walk away, a fire burning in his chest. They weren’t even trying to worship him, they had no way of knowing the shrine was to a god at all. But they still fixed it up. And he had to repay the favor somehow, he had to reward his first follower, however unknowing, in centuries. They were a small light in the dark abyss of despair he’d found himself in. They were all he had now, his everything…

“My starlight…”

Is this any good? Maybe but I enjoyed writing it so...

Pls tell me if you want a part two

[aesthetixhoe]

warnings: none! ill make more with nsfw things later !

CURRENTLY THINKING ABOUT my chuckle sandwich head cannons

ted:

loves being called teddy and theo but no one else calls him it :(

loves when you steal his clothes and pretends to not know where they went

forehead kisser

olive theory (or pickles, tomatoes, onion, whatever you like and he pretends not to do you can have extra)

“sweetheart”

“honey”

hugs from behind with head kisses

where he towers over you

the party was…fine. following the streamy awards, the venue being filled with content creators… which you were not. ted went to go get drinks, leaving you alone. a fish out of water. after some time standing alone awkwardly, you pull your phone out briefly to check the time and your notifications. as you’re clearing them you feel two arms come around your middle.

you momentarily flinch, caught off guard, but as soon as you feel a kiss pressed to the top of your head you relax. you turn, looking up and finding ted, craning your neck to meet his eyes.

“scare ya, hon?” he chuckles, feeling you turn around in his arms.

“just a little.” you giggle, taking the glass from his hand. “was fine when you kissed me though…” you smile slyly up at him.

“oh yeah?” he raises an eyebrow, following along with your train of thought. “how ‘bout i give you another hmm?” you beam up at him, nodding. he leans down empty hand pulling you closer by your waist, pressing his lips to yours. you smile against his mouth,exhaling softly through your nose. when you pull back and meet his eyes they’re practically shining down at you with adoration. “love showing you off, sweetheart.”

love language is touch

also words of affirmation

he says “i love you” probably 3 times an hour

loves date nights

takes candid pictures of you often (how can he not, you’re so pretty)

charlie:

when cuddling he holds your stomach so he can feel when you laugh

loves cooking for you

he often wakes up before you so he’ll make breakfast for you to wake up to

loves teaching you how to play dnd (or a different game if you already know dnd)

rock gifter

so many inside jokes

“babe”

kiss monster

“c’mere.” he says as soon as you walk into the living room with your dinner.

“char, i need to eat…” you say, sitting down beside him on the couch.

“just a second, promise.” he smiles over at you. you give him a quick peck on the lips. bad choice. he smiles evilly before you get pushed back in the couch, charlie on top of you stopping you from getting out of his grasp. he has your hands above your head, his lips kissing you wherever he can reach. your neck, your chest, he moves up to your face attacking you with his quick kisses.

you can’t conceal the giggles falling out of your mouth with his cuteness aggression. “char!” you laugh out, but to no avail. he won’t stop until he’s satisfied. he finally pulls back after covering every inch of you with his kisses. “you’re relentless!” you sigh out, getting your hands back and wrapping your arms around his neck. you pull him down to touch your lips to his, a slow, gentle kiss this time. you feel each other smiling against each others mouths.

“i have to reheat my food now!” you groan out, a soft laugh following.

will burry his head in your neck

love language is physically touch or acts of service

schlatt:

loves when you wear his clothes

quickest way to his heart is his cats

isn’t big on pda

but he will have a hand on your back guiding or holds pinkies with you to not lose you

he actually does use toots

but he also uses angel

puts his hands on your waist when standing behind you. which he often does

very introverted and doesn’t go out much

love language is quality time

every other one he brushes off by saying “it’s not big deal” or “it’s nothin’ special”

“oh hey, i got you somethin’. i left in on the counter for ya.” he says simply, walking into the living room. you get up, confused. no anniversary, no birthday… did he get you food?

you get to the counter and sitting in the middle is a long rectangular box. you furrow your brows and open it, revealing a tiffany & co necklace you saw online and really wanted. it just wasn’t in your budget for this month.

“jay… no way you bought this for me.” you half scoff in disbelief walking back into the living room.

“eh, it was nothin’. i saw you eyeing’ it on your phone couple of weeks ago. figured why not?” he says looking up at you, a slight smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. you jump into his lap, tackling him in a hug.

lowkey a sugar daddy…

sings softly around the house and gets flustered when you hear

drive by ruffles your hair

is actually a big cuddler. loves having his head laid on some part of you

[pupslimes]

don't let me in with no intention to keep me...

what if i wrote porn? i asked, and then proceeded to write 2k words of foreplay instead. whatever i will eventually add onto this. everyone say yay if you like mutual masturbation because hi. it is another weakness of mine. also my beta told me they read all rpf slime in edward twilights voice so. coping with that. also also reader is afab but i kinda wanna make them a trans guy because reasons

..................................................................................

A hand drags you into the house by your wrist, grip tight and warm. You kick the door closed behind you, and not thirty seconds later Charlie has your back against it and his mouth to yours. The grip on your wrist doesn’t soften, instead, it tugs insistently until your arm floats above your head, and he pins it to the door above you, grip tightening almost imperceptibly. A small whine tumbles into your mouth as he runs his tongue along your bottom lip, begging you. Another sigh escapes him as you open your mouth, and you swallow it while you meet his tongue with yours, pressing gently into his mouth. The heat is practically radiating off of him, and the grip on your wrist gets more insistent, as you let him explore your mouth until you absolutely have to breathe. “Char…” you gasp out, sucking in air, the stars that gathered in the edges of your vision slowly dissapating.

He’s in front of you, eyes wide and lips glistening, chest heaving like yours, but still looking like he’s barely stopping himself from diving back in. “Yeah…” he whispers. He stares at you reverently, almost uncomfortably, but you cant find it in yourself to feel anything but excitement.

You grin slightly. “Come back here. Please,”

Charlie chuckles. “Planning on it,” he grins as he dives back in, slamming his mouth onto yours. As cool as he was acting you could feel his body almost trembling with need for you. It was your fourth date, and he’d played the gentleman for weeks now, barely kissing your cheek as a goodbye when he dropped you off at your door each time. When you’d expressed concern before leaving the car at the end of this date, wondering if he liked you or not, he raked a hand through his hair. “That isn’t it. I like you. A lot,”

“Then what is it?”

“I think I like you too much. Like if I touched you I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

You worried your bottom lip between your teeth, not sure whether or not to believe him, and the movement caught Charlie’s eye. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands briefly. “You’re too pretty. I’m trying very hard to be respectful right now, and you’re making it very difficult.”

You made a split second decision, and leaned forward over the center console of the car. “Char,” His breath caught in his throat lightly. “I want you to kiss me. Please,” Charlie’s mouth opened slightly, and he seemed to struggle for words. “Don’t you want to?” you pouted lightly. You knew you were teasing him, but you couldn’t help yourself. You’d been waiting for this man to kiss you for weeks at this point, and you were tired of waiting.

His eyebrows furrowed softly, slight worry evident in his eyes. “Well, obviously. But..” You cut him off, leaning in further and pressing your mouth to his gently. When nothing happened, you started to draw away, but he followed you over, chasing your mouth with his, hands tangling into your hair almost desperately. He pulled you back into him, mouth clumsily latching onto yours again. “Fuck,” was muttered against your mouth as he bit down on the same spot that was just between your teeth. He jolted at your whimper, groaning softly. A glance down confirmed he was already growing in his pants. His cheeks flushed slightly at your gaze. “I told you,” he groaned. “You have no idea what you do to me,”

Not pulling away too far, you gently whispered, “Want to come in?” He leaned in as your breath ghosted over his face.

And that’s how you found yourself now, pressed against your front door, one of Charlie’s hands pinning your wrist and the other on your waist, softly bucking his hips as his mouth trailed hot kisses down your neck. He gnaws at you like a starving man, leaving marks that would surely need to be covered up tomorrow, only seeming to double down each time a noise slipped past your lips.

“Char…ah, baby…” you managed to get out, and he looked to you, eyes hazy. You start working off your shoes. “Couch, right now, please,” He nods, releasing your arm as he toes off his own shoes and bolted down the hall, running like he knew where he was going. You hear him slide to a stop at the end, socked feet rustling against carpet as he spun in a circle, wondering with way to go. Sense of decorum lost, you drop your keys on the wood floor, making note to apologize to your cat later before racing after him. As you round the corner, his arms envelop you again, nose pressed into the crook of your neck.

“Fuck, baby. Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to do this?”

“Two months?” you wager a guess, calculating time since your first date.

“Make that three,” It had taken a month for you both to have been in town at the same time after you matched. It turns out getting on dating apps during the holidays to prove to your parents you actually were talking to people didn’t turn out well when you actually wanted to talk to the people. You thank your lucky stars Charlie had held out for you, even if now you knew why.

“So fucking pretty,” he murmurs into your neck, the vibrations sending a shiver down your spine. “Perfect. Wanted to fuck you so bad,” A whimper escapes your lips. “You like that, baby? Like when I tell you how much I wanna fuck you?” A tongue up your exposed collarbone. “Come sit in my lap, sweetheart,” Teeth against the spot where your neck and shoulder met. “You can feel how much I want it,” A kiss on a particularly dark mark on your neck.

You turn the two of you in the direction of the living room, and he takes charge again. You’re suddenly thankful he leads you to the couch and guides you into his lap, legs straddling each side of him. You didn’t think that at this point, you could have done it yourself, knees too weak and legs too shaky at Charlie’s words to get there yourself. “Good baby,” he crooned gently as you settle, and your head falls to his shoulder as you whine again. He chuckled softly. “You sound so pretty when you get all flustered. And it’s so easy yo do it too…I don’t think you’d survive half the things I’ve thought about you,” You shake your head, keeping your face in his shoulder so he can’t see your cheeks warming further. He leans down, and you feel his tongue graze the shell of your ear. “I’m going to tell you all of them anyways,” Your hips buck slightly into his, seeking friction, and you feeel him smile against your skin. “Come back up here and kiss me again,” he murmurd, and obviously you oblige, mouth meeting his. As the kiss grew more and more heated, his hand slips under your shirt, palming gently at your chest.

“Oh, fuck,” you break away, arching into his touch. “Please don’t stop,”

“I can’t,” he breathes, reverently, and slides a second hand onto your skin, rucking up your shirt. “Off. Please. You look so pretty in it but I need it off,” You’d worn his favorite color tonight, hoping he’d notice, and maybe finally have the guts to kiss you this time. You can’t help flushing at the memory now.

You reach down to quickly tug it over your head, hoping the brief cover would hide your burning cheeks. You didn’t need to worry. Before you even had it all the way off, Charlie is mouthing at your chest, sucking hickeys into your tits, spreading his hands over them and tugging at your nipples. “You’re so gorgeous…” he mutters under his breath. You curl fingers into his hair and guid him to where you wanted him, which he was happy to oblige. Red, angry marks smatter across your skin as you gently rock back and forth in his lap, his mouth making its way over you again and again, groans reverberating on your skin occasionaly. There would be no way to hide what had happened tomorrow, as he was incredibly through in his work, making his way up your neck once more, peppering kisses behind your ear when you yelped particularly loudly as he grazed the spot with his mouth. Eventually, feeling rather exposed, your hands drift to the hem of his shirt, and he smoothly tugs it off over his head without missing a beat. Fuck. That was hot. Why was that so hot? You push him back at the shoulders, trying to admire him, but he whineds and turns redder the longer you stare, mouth agape at his toned body. His hair is tousled gently now, sticking up in even wilder directions than it was before you made your way inside.

“Fuck. You’re hot,” Your thoughts echo into the room this time.

“Speak for yourself. Can I please keep touching you?” He strains against your hold. You felt his arm muscles flexing, noting just how easily he could break free from you, and noting the fact that he chose not to, before you nod. You settle for running your hands down his sides as he attacked your chest again, admiring his body through feel alone, digging your nails in whenever a particular spot had you writhing in his lap.

He glances up at you several minutes later, eyes slightly widened, cheeks flushed, panting. “Can you… nghh. Can you touch me? Please?” He guides your hand down, and you feel his pulse in his dick. His head falls into your shoulder as you gently palm it, experimenting with a soft squeeze.

You gulp. “I’ve.. I’ve never…” His head raises from your shoulder and cocks to the side, eyes meeting yours. “I don’t know how to make you feel good. I’ve never touched a cock,” As embarassed as you are, breaking eye contact felt wrong, so you maintain his gaze as you admit to him why you’re so visibly nervous now.

A lazy smile spread across his face. “Can I show you?”

[squinch-depraved]

wennie's masterlist !!!

bold = 18+ (MDNI) !please alert me if a link isn't working!

jschlatt:

schlatt waking you up and using you however he wants

getting caught being a slut on ted's couch

bratty munch schlatt

sex chocolates

ted finds footage of you and schlatt

cnc gunplay with schlatt

double penetration with poly!tedschlatt

breeding kink with schlatt

schlatt hires a hot secretary and can't stay away

giggly sex/mating press with schlatt

phone sex with schlatt

schlatt x fwb!reader hcs

schlatt buys you a maid outfit

schlatt but reader's being a brat (camping p1)

breeding kink but this time he makes your belly bulge

shibari japan fic p1

cnc lc!schlatt

sitting on schlatt's lap when ted walks in

sexy cool reader takes schlatt's virginity (college au)

schlatt eats pussy for the first time (college au)

jealous schlatt (college au)

schlatt steals your panties

hole inspection w/ schlatt

tedschlatt get reader high and take advantage

priest schlatt

spooning and jerking off schlatt

ted and schlatt mommy kink hcs

feederism/eructophilia with schlatt

mild cnc/intox with schlatt

schlatt x single mom!reader (how you met hcs)

schlatt x single mom!reader p1

schlatt catches you humping a rammie plushie

lc!schlatt halloween party intox

schlatt feeds you leftover halloween candy

schlatt short blurb 1

schlatt nsfw alphabet

ted nivison:

getting caught being a slut on ted's couch

smoking with ted and he gets really shy

ted finds footage of you and schlatt

ted shower sex

double penetration with poly!tedschlatt

ted oral fixation hcs

ted cnc stoned reader free use

ted and cscoop three way

sitting on schlatt's lap when ted walks in

tedschlatt get reader high and take advantage

ted and schlatt mommy kink hcs

taking ted's virginity (college au)

ted eating you out with a mustache

tedschlatt:

getting caught being a slut on ted's couch

ted finds footage of you and schlatt

double penetration with poly!tedschlatt

sitting on schlatt's lap when ted walks in

tedschlatt get reader high and take advantage

ted and schlatt mommy kink hcs

cooper cscoop:

ted and cscoop three way

intox + cnc high and scared reader with cooper

soft smut cooper with chronically ill!reader

cscoop sfw & nsfw hcs p1

cscoop sfw & nsfw hcs p2

cooper takes your virginity

cooper taking pictures and videos of you hcs

long distance video call sex with cooper

cuddly sex w/ cooper

cscoop nsfw alphabet

charlie slimecicle:

asking him to take you home from a party leads to more

buying charlie a toy to use while you're gone on a trip

charlie begging to sit under your desk so he can taste you

trying for a baby with charlie

taking charlie's virginity (college au)

making charlie film himself jerking off in a mirror

virgin!college au:

part 1 (taking schlatt's virginity)

part 2 (schlatt eats you out for the first time)

part 3 (taking charlie's virginity)

part 4 (how schlatt finds out about you and charlie)

part 5 (taking ted's virginity)

part 6 (schlatt finds out)

part 7 (foursome...?)

[deadqueerboys]

It's getting cold, but he doesn't care. His hands are on your hips, and use your body to please himself. It's currently four in the morning, two hours ago, he asked you to come over to talk about your relationship. It's been a while since you two were away from each other, all because he got jealous of you with your friends. But now, with his dick inside you while he hides his face on your neck.. that's all he could ask for. You're here. Here with him.. even if it's just for sex.

[slimeypaws]

talk nerdy to me.

pairing — athlete! charlie slimecicle x nerd! reader

summary — after falling behind in class, charlie reaches out to a past group partner for help.

tags — college au; tension, unreasonably rude reader, uhm.. i’m not sure what else.

you’d never really thought about charlie dalgleish.

well — that wasn’t exactly true. you thought about him in the same way you thought about any other frat boy who wandered around campus in school issued athletic gear, always surrounded by his pack of equally loud, equally obnoxious friends. you thought about him in the same way you thought about any guy who coasted through college on athletic scholarships and social capital.

which is to say: you thought he was an idiot.

it was a little mean, sure. a little unfair. you didn’t know him. not really.

but you knew of him.

knew he was a basketball player — a pretty good one, from what you heard. knew he ran around with guys like schlatt and ted, which immediately tanked any good impression you might’ve had of him. knew he showed up to class just often enough to keep his grades passable and his eligibility intact.

you didn’t have any actual proof that he was a dick. but he never really did anything to disprove it, either.

he barely talked to you when you ended up in a group project together last semester. not that you cared — you hated group projects anyway, and you were more than happy to take the lead and get it done without much input. but it was hard not to notice the way charlie never seemed to have much to say to you specifically.

he was fine enough with everyone else. joked around, made the group laugh, pulled his weight (barely) when it came down to it. but you?

you got a grand total of four words out of him and a few hums of agreement the entire project.

“yeah, sure,” when you asked if he could print out the report.

“thanks, man,” when you handed him a copy.

and “uh huh,” when you asked if he was good with your part of the presentation.

that was it.

you didn’t think too hard about it at the time. you just wrote him off as another one of those guys who only paid attention to people they found useful or interesting. and since you were neither — well.

it wasn’t like you were hoping for a friendship or anything.

but it still left a weird taste in your mouth.

so yeah. you didn’t really think about charlie dalgleish. and if you did, it was never anything positive.

which was why you were so thrown when he approached you after class one day, about a month into the semester.

you were stuffing your notebook into your bag, already mentally calculating how much time you had before your next lecture, when you heard his voice.

“hey — uhm, can i ask you something?”

you barely registered it at first. you’d never had a conversation with charlie outside of that group project, and you weren’t expecting one now.

so when you glanced up and saw him standing there — shifting his weight, looking a little awkward, very much addressing you — you actually did a little double take.

“…me?”

“yeah,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “uhm, you got a second?”

you blinked. looked around, like maybe he was talking to someone behind you.

nope.

“…sure,” you said slowly. “what’s up?”

charlie let out a short breath, like he was trying to psych himself up.

“okay, uhm — this is gonna sound kinda weird, but — you’re good at calc, right?”

your eyebrows lifted. “i mean.. yeah?”

he let out a humorless laugh, already looking embarrassed. “cool. uh, do you… think you could, like.. help me out with it?”

you stared at him.

“…help you.”

“yeah. like, tutoring? or — i dunno, just. explaining shit to me. ‘cause i am struggling, dude.”

your brain short circuited.

charlie dalgleish was asking you to tutor him. like you weren’t the same person he barely acknowledged during a whole month long group project. like you hadn’t already decided he was an airheaded frat bro with the depth of a puddle. like this wasn’t the most absurd thing that could’ve possibly happened today.

“you —” you blinked hard. “why me?”

charlie winced. “i mean, you’re.. smart. and i’ve seen you in class and you always get it, and i thought — i dunno, maybe you could help me not bomb this semester?”

you folded your arms across your chest, already feeling defensive. “don’t you have, like, team tutors or something?”

“yeah, but they kinda suck,” he admitted sheepishly. “and, like — no offense, but they’re kinda used to working with guys who are already dumb as rocks, so they just.. oversimplify everything. and i’m not — like, i get it sometimes, i just need someone who can actually, like, break it down when i don’t, y’know?”

your nose wrinkled. “i don’t know why you think i’m that person.”

charlie laughed — a little strained, but still a laugh. “c’mon, man. you’re, like, stupid good at this shit. i remember from our project last semester — you made all those graphs and formulas look like nothing. you’re, like, a genius or whatever.”

you tried not to bristle at the ‘or whatever.’

“and i get it if you’re busy, or you just don’t wanna,” he added quickly. “like, no pressure. i just thought i’d ask.”

you stared at him for a beat too long.

on one hand — what the fuck. where was this coming from? why was he suddenly acting like you were the second coming of einstein after ignoring you for an entire month last semester?

on the other hand — you did need the money.

and if he was serious, he’d probably be willing to pay. then, you could probably put up with him for a few hours a week.

“…you paying?” you asked, carefully neutral.

charlie blinked, like that caught him off guard. “uh — yeah? i mean, if you want?”

“how much?”

“i —” he floundered. “i dunno. what do tutors usually charge?”

you shrugged. “twenty an hour.”

charlie whistled lowly. “shit, okay. yeah. that’s — yeah, i can do that.”

you raised a brow. “you sure?”

“yeah. dude, if it means i don’t fail, i’ll pay you whatever you want.”

you chewed your lip. everything in you still screamed don’t get involved with him. but twenty bucks an hour was hard to say no to.

“…alright,” you said finally. “i’m free wednesdays and fridays. library, five o’clock. don’t be late.”

charlie’s face lit up like you’d just handed him a winning lottery ticket. “oh, fuck yeah, oh my god, thank you. i owe you my life.”

“you owe me twenty an hour,” you deadpanned.

he laughed — a real laugh, this time — and goddammit, it was a nice sound. warm and genuine and nothing like the shallow impression you’d built of him in your head.

you tamped down the feeling immediately.

“right. yeah. twenty an hour. got it.”

“cool. see you friday.”

and then you turned on your heel and walked away before you could do something stupid, like think about the way his smile made your chest feel weird.

you didn’t expect charlie to show up on time.

in fact, you half expected him to forget entirely.

but when you got to the library that friday, five minutes early just to be safe, he was already there — sitting at a corner table, calc textbook cracked open in front of him.

you stopped short.

he didn’t notice you at first, too focused on scribbling something in his notebook. when he did glance up, his face lit up with a smile so bright it almost knocked you off balance.

“hey!” he said, like you were old friends.

you forced a thin smile. “hey.”

dropping your bag on the table, you took the seat across from him, already dreading whatever this session was about to be.

“so,” you said, pulling out your own notebook. “what are you stuck on?”

charlie blew out a breath and flipped through his textbook like he was fanning a fire.

“uh, pretty much all of this,” he muttered. “but mostly the derivatives stuff.”

your eyes flicked to the section he was pointing at. basic differentiation rules.

this was, like, week two material.

“...you’re still on this?” you asked, before you could think better of it.

charlie winced. “yeah, i know,” he said sheepishly. “i’ve been — y’know. busy.”

you hummed noncommittally. you knew what busy meant. extra gym time. late night parties. too many post practice hangouts with schlatt and his crowd.

you didn’t say it, but you knew he could tell you were thinking it.

“i’m not —” charlie started, then shook his head. “whatever. just — can we start here?”

you weren’t going to argue. twenty bucks an hour was twenty bucks an hour.

“fine,” you said. “let’s see what you’ve got so far.”

to your surprise, charlie actually had been trying. his notebook was a mess of crossed out problems and half solved equations, but there was effort there — little margin notes in his awful handwriting, arrows pointing to mistakes he’d caught on his own.

he just wasn’t getting it.

and to his credit, once you started walking him through the steps, he listened.

like — really listened.

his brows furrowed in concentration, jaw clenched tight, pencil scratching fast as he copied down your explanations. he asked questions — good ones. not just the obligatory ones people asked to sound engaged. he paid attention too. repeated things back to you to make sure he was understanding it. when you gave him practice problems, he chewed on his pen cap, visibly concentrating, and when he got one wrong, he didn’t get frustrated — just scratched his head and asked where he screwed up.

it wasn’t what you expected.

and honestly? it was a little annoying.

because part of you had already written him off as some dumb jock who wouldn’t take this seriously — who’d laugh off his confusion, crack some joke, and waste your time.

instead, he was focused. determined. more than willing to sit quietly and figure this shit out.

it was weird.

“so, wait,” charlie said, interrupting your train of thought. “if you’re doing chain rule, but there’s, like, three layers, does that mean you…?”

he trailed off, scribbling something down — then flipped his notebook around to show you.

“yeah,” you said reluctantly. “that’s right.”

“hell yeah,” charlie grinned, pleased with himself. “you’re a goddamn magician, man.”

you snorted. “i just know how to read a textbook.”

“yeah, well, my textbook’s written in ancient sumerian or some shit, so.”

despite yourself, you laughed.

you regretted it immediately.

because charlie’s smile got wider — like that reaction actually meant something — and that weird feeling from before started creeping back in.

you shifted in your seat, suddenly eager to change the subject.

“anyway,” you said brusquely. “if you actually wanna pass calc, you’ve gotta stay on top of this stuff.”

“i am on top of it,” charlie shot back, a little defensive. “why d’you think i asked you to help?”

“yeah, after letting yourself fall weeks behind.”

charlie’s brow twitched. “yeah, well. sorry i don’t have time to memorize a textbook between practices.”

you scoffed. “right. practice.”

charlie’s eyes narrowed.

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

“nothing,” you said, tone flat.

“no, no,” he said, crossing his arms. “go ahead.”

you sighed heavily, dragging a hand down your face. “it’s just — whatever, man. it’s your grade.”

“yeah,” charlie said tightly. “it is.”

the tension sat thick between you for a moment, and you braced yourself for him to call it quits — to pack up his stuff and walk out.

but instead, charlie exhaled hard through his nose.

“alright,” he muttered, flipping his notebook back open. “can we just — keep going?”

you blinked.

“…yeah,” you said finally. “sure.”

the rest of the session was… slow.

not because charlie wasn’t trying. if anything, he was trying too hard.

he hung onto every word you said, asked clarifying questions, double checked his answers with you — but the material just wasn’t clicking fast enough.

and you were so close to losing your patience.

“no,” you said flatly, stopping him as he went to box his answer. “that’s wrong.”

charlie blinked. “what? how?”

you snatched his notebook and jabbed your finger at his work.

“you forgot to apply the chain rule here, again. you literally just did this same problem right two minutes ago. how did you already forget?”

charlie’s mouth opened — then shut. his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

“…right,” he muttered, reaching for his pencil. “my bad.”

you watched him rewrite the equation, a tight coil of irritation winding in your chest.

how was he still not getting it? it wasn’t that hard. this was calc i. he was making it harder than it needed to be.

“jesus,” you muttered, scrubbing a hand down your face. “how are you even passing the class right now?”

charlie let out a weak, humorless chuckle. “i’m… not,” he admitted. “hence —” he gestured vaguely to the notebook. “this.”

you snorted. “well, you’re sure as hell not gonna pass if you keep forgetting basic differentiation rules.”

charlie didn’t flinch. didn’t snap back or bristle at your tone — he just nodded, like he agreed with you.

“yeah,” he said quietly. “right.”

for some reason, that annoyed you even more.

“okay, whatever,” you huffed, flipping to a fresh page in his notebook. “i’m gonna walk you through it again, and you’re gonna actually retain it this time.”

charlie cracked a faint, sheepish smile. “gotcha, coach.”

you ignored the weird heat that flared in your face.

by the time the session dragged into its second hour, your nerves were frayed. you were tired, charlie still wasn’t catching on as fast as you wanted him to, and his unflappable patience was grating on you.

like — why wasn’t he getting annoyed? why wasn’t he cracking a dumb joke or checking his phone or making any of the careless, half assed mistakes you’d expected him to?

instead, he just kept his head down, knuckles white around his pencil as he slogged through problem after problem, brow furrowed in deep concentration.

and the weirdest fucking part?

he still thanked you when you were done.

“seriously,” he said as you shoved your stuff into your bag. “i know i’m kinda… y’know. behind. but this actually helped.”

“great,” you said dryly. “glad i could dumb it down enough for you.”

charlie just laughed. like you weren’t being a dick on purpose.

“see you wednesday?” he asked.

“…yeah,” you muttered.

and you hated that you didn’t hate the idea as much as you thought you would.

© slimeypaws

[medlarmeadows]

i'm in love with you too, dumbass

cc!Charlie Slimecicle x fem!reader

Synopsis: Four times you hid your unrequited love for Charlie, and one time you discover the love is requited.

Warning(s): feelings, some tooth-rotting fluff, angst, kissing.

Word count: 4k

A/N: This is finally done! Sorry it took so long, it became much longer than I expected it to be. Will probably take a break from writing after this, because creative juices have kind of run out recently (part of the reason this took so long. Hope you enjoy it!

masterlist

1.

The chaos of conventions never failed to amaze you. Granted, it was your first time at one, but within the short period that you spent at the convention, you just felt equal parts amused and overwhelmed by everything.

Including Charlie.

It wasn’t that you couldn’t stand his presence – he was one of your best friends, of course you wanted to spend as much time with him – but if you had to swallow down the butterflies in your stomach one more time, you swore you were going to vomit them out.

As it turns out, going on an extended vacation with your best-friend-that-you-are-in-love-with-who-doesn’t-know-you’re-in-love-with-him-and-most-likely-will-not-return-the-feeling was not the best thing for your emotional and mental well-being.

To a certain extent, you were able to hide your feelings behind a camera, what with being his plus one (platonic) and camera woman (he was paying you in food, so who were you to say no?) for the convention. It was pretty rewarding too, watching him interact with fans and other creators.

You were happy seeing him be happy.

However, you were still spending hours on end with each other, so there were bound to be instances that threw you off.

“Hey, I haven’t said this yet, but you look really nice today,” Charlie told you as you were resting on some benches in a quieter part of the convention.

You nearly sputtered water out of your mouth.

“Thanks?” you replied, praying to God that your face hadn’t turned bright red. Panicking, you try for a banter:

“I mean, I look the same as always? Don’t tell me you think I look ugly on a daily basis.”

“For the record, I think you look pretty on a daily basis. You just look prettier today.”

He said it with the sincerest look on his face, his eyes crinkling as he smiled at you softly. So many words threatened to pour out of you in that moment, some suave retort on your tongue, some embarrassing confession behind gritted teeth. But all that came out was:

“You look great too.”

Charlie lets out a chuckle.

“You’re just saying that because I complimented you.”

“Well, was I not supposed to say anything? I don’t know how else I should’ve responded – ”

“How about just take the compliment, dumbass,” he huffs out, but you can hear the affection in his tone.

Affection that was 100% platonic, you tell yourself.

You’re saved from trying to come up with another response as another one of Charlie’s creator friends approaches, launching them into a discussion about something like therapy and a funny video idea.

Just like that, you were back behind the scenes, behind a camera, your pride and friendship protected for yet another day.

-

2.

When you had stepped out the house that day for a picnic, you weren’t expecting it to be so fucking cold.

It was freaking September! Why was it so windy?

You tried your best to pay attention to the story Ranboo and Moonzy were sharing, but half your focus was on not shivering whenever the wind blew through the park.

The other half was trying it’s best not to let your eyes linger on how the wind messed up Charlie’s hair just right.

“Can you pass me the strawberries?” asked Charlie.

It takes you a second to register that he was talking to you, and you give him a stiff nod, not really trusting your teeth not to chatter if you replied verbally. Your fingers seemed to also be stiff as you gripped the box of strawberries and handed it to him.

When he takes the box from you, your fingers brush just the slightest, sending a shiver down your spine that you wish you could blame on the wind.

“Thanks – Jesus, why are your hands so cold?” he exclaims.

In a second, Charlie’s put down the box of strawberries on the picnic mat and cupped your hands in his.

Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic.

“It’s really fuckin’ wimdy,” you blurt out.

It sends your friends into a fit of laughter, Ranboo and Moonzy’s story interrupted as they burst out in giggles over your comment. You’re chuckling along with them, but you’re also still really fucking cold.

“Here, take my sweater.”

PANIC.

“Wha – what, wait – ” The rat running the hamster wheel in your brain is sprinting as you try to salvage the situation. “Then you’ll be cold, idiot.”

If you wear Charlie’s sweater, you think you might combust.

But the stupid, handsome, kind, idiot only shrugs and begins to pull his sweater over his head, before holding it out to you. You stare at him dumbly for a second, still trying to come up with a way to reject the sweater.

“God, stop being stubborn and take it, I’ll be fine,” he sighs, brandishing his sweater at you like a weapon. “We both know I’m better at dealing with the cold than you are.”

He’s right, because every time you watch a movie with him, you’re usually hogging the blanket.

But that’s different from taking his sweater!

As the cogs in your brain keep turning, you hear another sigh from him before your vision goes dark. You yelp and start batting your hands as Charlie forces his sweater over your head.

“Charlie – you fucking – I can’t see – ”

“Just wear the stupid sweater, dumbass,” he chides as he gets your head through the collar. “Now, put your arms through the sleeves, or do I need to help you with that too like the baby you are?”

Your eyes widen and you look away from him in panic. As your gaze shifts away from Charlie, you unintentionally lock eyes with Moonzy, who gives you a knowing look.

(Why was she so perceptive.)

(Why did Charlie indirectly calling you baby make your neck uncomfortably warm.)

“Guys, this isn’t the Ranboo baby stream,” you mumble as you put your arms through the sleeves.

That sends your friends into another fit of laughter and signals Ranboo and Moonzy to continue the story. Now, with everyone’s attention back on the story, you privately settle into the warmth of Charlie’s sweater.

You try not to think about how long the sleeves are as you bury your cold hands in the fabric.

You try not to think about how much bigger the sweater is on you than on Charlie.

You try not to think about how you could smell his cologne on the sweater.

-

3.

You wouldn’t say that you were a very short person. You’d like to think that you were about average height. It wasn’t your fault that most of your friends were freakishly tall.

Including Charlie.

Whose house you were currently in.

And trying to get snacks from the top of his cabinets because of-fucking-course it had to be in the highest cabinet possible.

“I swear to God if I fall, I’m charging him for my medical bills,” you mutter under your breath as you drag a chair over to climb on to. But just as you were about to put both feet on the chair, Charlie walks into the kitchen.

“ – taking so long to get the snacks,” he says as he enters, pausing when he sees you about to hop onto the chair. He stares at you quizzically, head cocked to the side.

“Why do you look like you’re about to climb onto my cabinets?”

“Because you decided to discriminate against me and put the snacks in the highest shelf possible,” you huff, resuming your mission.

But as soon as you’re rising to your full height on the chair, you feel hands place themselves on your waist. You’re lifted off the chair easily and placed back onto the floor so swiftly you don’t manage a reaction in time.

You’re still staring at Charlie dumbfounded by the time he’s replaced you at the cabinet, chair nudged aside, and retrieved the snacks.

“You could’ve just asked me to come get them, dumbass.” Charlie turns around with an armful of chips.

You’re still trying to process what just happened. You point a finger at Charlie.

“Why’d you pick me up?”

He raises an eyebrow at you, amused.

“To stop you from falling off the chair?”

“But I would’ve been fine.”

“Or you could’ve fallen. Ever heard of being safer than sorry?”

You pinch the bridge of your nose, trying to clear the fog in your brain that has randomly spawned. Your cheeks were warming, you needed to get a grip.

You’re snapped out of your head when Charlie brushes past you, turning just slightly to send you a playful smirk.

“Let’s get back to watching the movie. Or you do also need to be carried over like a princess?”

“Shut the fuck up,” you snark back, annoyed at him and also yourself.

You’re grateful that he had turned back around with a chuckle, because you were pretty sure the tips of your ears were turning red based on how warm they were getting.

You spend the rest of the movie as far away from Charlie on the couch as possible. When he asks why you’re so far away (and to stop hogging the blanket), you kick at him and try to play it off as wanting to stretch your legs out.

It’s definitely not because you think your brain would shut down if you were any closer to Charlie.

-

4.

Clubbing was always a fun thing to do with friends, because no matter how many people were crowded around you, or how stinky the place was, it was always fun just jumping around and dancing with your friends.

Of course, it helped when all four of you had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol.

“Let’s dance!” Moonzy squeals, pulling you away from the group and towards some open space before you can object.

The two of you bounce around each other, showing off half-assed drunken movements of really cool dance moves (see: orange justice) and screaming the lyrics of the songs blasting through the speakers at each other.

You’re so engrossed in trying to dip Moonzy without dropping her you don’t notice Charlie come up to you until he’s right next to you, causing you to shriek.

“Jesus – Charlie!” you yell at him, smacking his shoulder for scaring you.

He rolls his eyes, nudging you with his elbow.

“Not my fault you were so caught up trying not to drop Moonzy. I just came over to see what the fuss was all about.”

Your tipsy brain latches on the implication that he was watching you and Moonzy. Your cheeks start to warm at the possibility that he was watching you.

“We were so close before you came over,” Moonzy says with an exaggerated sigh. “You ruined our moment.”

Charlie fakes offense, dramatically placing a hand on his chest.

“I sincerely apologise, fair maiden,” he says in a stupid medieval accent. “However can I make it up to you?”

Moonzy lets out a snort, shoving him playfully before stepping away, saying, “Forget it, I’m going to get us more drinks.”

She shoots you a mischievous look before leaving the two of you. Your brain catches up a second too late for you to retaliate.

Damn Moonzy and her stupid perceptiveness.

Turning towards Charlie, you feel slightly awkward now that your dance partner had left you. But it seems that Charlie didn’t feel the same as he quickly grabs your hands.

“Let me show you how to actually dip someone, dumbass,” he says with a smirk.

Your expression turns panicked for a split second, but you’re not able to object before he’s pulling you towards him sharply. One arm wraps around your waist securely and suddenly he’s dipping you low towards the ground.

You’re acutely aware of how close the two of you are, how snugly his arm fits around your body, and how you could spot the specks of brown in his blue eyes.

As he brings you back upright, your proximity to him remains the same. You let yourself get lost in his eyes for a few seconds, before you realise just how close your faces are.

Nervous, you reflexively wet your lips. Charlie’s eyes dipping from your eyes to your lips catches you off guard, causing your breath to catch in your lungs.

There are words dancing on the tip of Charlie’s tongue. Words you know would ruin you, and your friendship. Because it’s not going to mean anything to him, and it’s going to mean the world to you.

You know what he’s about to ask.

You’re not sure if you have it in you to say no.

It’s as though someone dumped an ice bucket on you as you become uncomfortably sober. You yank yourself away from Charlie, breathing heavily.

“I need to go,” you say breathlessly, eyes darting around for where Ranboo and Moonzy might be.

Charlie’s brows are furrowed, like he notices something was wrong, but he didn’t understand why you were reacting the way you did.

“I’ll take you home,” he says automatically.

“No!” you shriek before you can stop yourself.

The air between you two becomes tense. It doesn’t help that the DJ had changed the song to something slower, no noisy techno beats to diffuse the situation.

“Damn, if I was such a bad dance partner you could’ve just said so,” he jokes, but you can hear the bitterness in his tone.

“It’s not that,” you say immediately. Because it wasn’t his fault. It was never his fault.

How could it be his fault that you fell for your best friend?

“Then?” he questions. “What’s your deal?”

It’s sharp, accusatory, almost like a wounded animal. One hand is clenched and the other is fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

You know your best friend well enough to know that he’s hurt.

You know you’re fucking up your friendship in real time.

“I can’t tell you,” you choke out, cursing yourself internally because you know how flimsy that excuse was.

Charlie raises an eyebrow at you. You know he can see through your bullshit.

A moment passes between the two of you as he looks like he’s mulling over his thoughts. He runs a hand through his already messy hair, something like distress passing over his face.

You could just leave.

You don’t know why you’re waiting for his response.

“Fine,” he says slowly, grinding the word out like he’s forcing himself not to say what he actually wanted to. “But can you text the group when you’re home? Please?”

There’s concern in his eyes, even underneath all the hurt. Your heart drops like a stone because even though you were being a total asshole to him, Charlie was still looking out for your well-being.

“I will,” you promise.

You’re quick to book it out of the club after that. Not even bothering to find Ranboo and Moonzy, knowing that Charlie would eventually find his way to them and let them know what had happened.

That you had left in a hurry after being the worst friend ever.

All because of your goddamned feelings.

-

1.

You avoid Charlie for two weeks.

In fact, you avoid Ranboo and Moonzy too because the guilt of being a bad friend weighed down so heavily on you that you couldn’t bear to see your other friends.

It was isolating and caused you to spiral down a deep dark hole you didn’t know how to pull yourself out of.

You tell yourself you deserve it.

Over the course of the two weeks, you tried to formulate a way to apologise to your friends, particularly Charlie for being rude and running out on him. You spent nights muffling your frustrated yells into your pillow because you don’t know how to tell him that you were sorry without exposing your feelings for him.

Part of you wondered if you should just bite the bullet and confess.

But another part of you tells you that was stupid, and you go back to drafting apology after apology to salvage the mess you had caused.

It’s during one of those moments when you were lying on your bed deep in thought that your doorbell rang. Confused, you creep to the door to check who it was. You hadn’t ordered any food or delivery, and you weren’t expecting anyone to show up –

You spot messy brown hair and blue framed spectacles through the peephole. He’s looking down, but you recognise Charlie regardless.

Your blood runs cold.

Should you let him in? Were you even ready to face him again after you practically threw your friendship in his face? What would you even say?

Knocking on the door interrupted your thoughts. You were taking too long.

“Y/N?” called Charlie. “Please let me in. I just want to talk.”

I just want to talk. Maybe he was coming to demand an explanation. Maybe he wanted to tell you he was uncomfortable and that he didn’t want to be friends anymore. Maybe –

“I can hear you breathing on the other side of the door, I know you’re there,” he says.

You let out a heavy sigh. Your thoughts threatened to overwhelm you once more, but your hand moves before you register it. Suddenly, you’re opening the door and coming face to face with Charlie.

In the two weeks you had avoided him, it didn’t look like much had changed. He still looked healthy, save for slightly darker circles under his eyes.

Did you cause that?

The two of you stare at each other on opposite sides of the doorway. His eyes scan your face, as if gauging your reaction to him being there, before tilting his head as though asking to be let in.

Sheepishly, you step aside and allow him into your home.

The sound of the door closing is far too noisy for your nerves, making you flinch slightly as the two of you move to your living room.

Where you continue to stand in awkward silence.

Fuck, how could you have let your friendship come to this?

Charlie is the one to break the silence, placing a paper bag you hadn’t noticed him carrying on the coffee table.

“I brought your favourite pastries.”

You blink.

“Why?”

He sends you a shrug, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“Thought I might butter you up before asking why you’ve been avoiding my texts and calls.”

There it was.

You worry your lip, hands fiddling with the hem of your sweater nervously. You turn your words over in your head, trying to come up with some semblance of a reason that wasn’t complete bullshit.

When Charlie realises that you’re probably not going to respond anytime soon, he sighs and continues:

“I came to apologise, too.”

That snaps you out of your thoughts. Your head snaps to look at him as you meet your gaze directly for the first time since the club.

“Why?” you ask, cringing when you realised that’s exactly what you had said a minute prior.

Charlie runs a hand through his hair, eyes closing briefly like he’s steeling himself.

“At the club,” he begins slowly, “I made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry for that. I should’ve asked first, should’ve waited for you to respond to dancing together and being that close. I’m sorry – ”

“No, stop. Don’t apologise,” you interrupt him, eyes wide. His expression falls, and you think you see fear in his eyes.

So, you ramble on like a steam train running off track. Your words pour out of your mouth before you can filter them.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t make me uncomfortable – I mean, I was uncomfortable, but that was my own doing. None of it is your fault, I should be the one apologising for avoiding you and – and being a terrible friend.”

You pause to take a deep breath. Charlie’s mouth is hanging open slightly, and you can practically see the gears turning in his head.

You push on before you can stop yourself. Before your brain could tell you that this was a bad idea.

Because you know your next words could change everything.

“I’ve been a shit friend to you because I’m in love with you, Charlie.”

It feels like time stops for you, as you gauge his reaction. You hold your breath without realising and watch him carefully.

This was the moment he was going to tell you that he doesn’t feel the same. That he’s not comfortable being your friend anymore. That he doesn’t want to see you again. That he –

He laughs.

Not a full belly laugh, but a snort that leads to a chuckle. That crinkles the corners of his eyes and fills them with joy.

You feel a pang in your chest, and tears start to prick your eyes. Taking a step back from Charlie, you lower your gaze shamefully.

But then he’s striding up to you and lifting your head up to look at him with gentle fingers on your chin. Charlie’s other hand brushes down your arm to take your hand in his, intertwining your fingers together.

“Don’t apologise,” he says, eyes shining. “I’m in love with you too, dumbass.”

It’s your turn to have your mouth hanging open as you process his words.

“You’re what?” you ask dumbly.

He chuckles again, hand moving from your chin to hold your cheek. You can’t help but tilt slightly into his warmth, revelling in his affection.

“I’m. In. Love. With. You.”

He punctuates each word carefully, sincerely, like he’s making sure that they pierce through your confusion and straight into your heart.

And they do, because the weight lifts from your chest, and the corners of your mouth start to raise into a smile.

Because your best friend was in love with you too.

“Holy shit,” you breathe. “For how long?”

He hums as he thinks, thumb caressing the side of your face.

“Several months, now? Before we went to that convention in LA,” he admits.

“Me too, holy shit,” you breathe, letting out a small chuckle. “Were we just dumb this whole time?”

“Mm, no, I think that’s just you,” he teases, giving your nose a pinch.

You feel your cheeks warm at the action, but you manage to give a sarcastic, “Sure thing.”

Charlie let’s out a breathy laugh at your response, before his eyes turn serious again and he cups your face in both his hands.

“I’m in love with you,” he reiterates. “Can I please kiss you?”

You tell him yes without hesitation, your hands coming up to hold the back of his neck. Because finally you could let your feelings come through as transparent as glass.

He pulls you close and slots his mouth over yours, capturing you in a sincere kiss.

Time stands still again as you embrace. The two of you pour out months of frustration and unrequited feelings (that was really requited the whole time) into the kiss.

When the two of you pull apart, there’s joy shining in both of your eyes. The moment is sweet, before it’s broken by laughter as the two of you consider the stupidity of your situation again.

Charlie spends the rest of the day at your place, the two of you passing stories back and forth when you were hiding your feelings. And when your expression darkens a little as you remember that you have to apologise to Ranboo and Moonzy for avoiding them too, he kisses a little bit of the darkness away.

Finally, you no longer had to hide your feelings deep in your chest.

Finally, you could wear them on your sleeve, as the one you love held your hand.

The end.

[bio-hazard]

Now I've Found A Real Love (You'll Never Fool Me Again)

Charlie Slimecicle x Reader Fake Dating

ladies and gentlefish it's finally done. i think this is the longest fanfiction i've ever written and i cut a large portion of it out just to be able to get it done before christmas so i hope that you guys enjoy this (please enjoy this. i'll cry.)

15k words, only warnings for implied weed and cheating, drinking and a lot of guilt. i don't know why i gave reader anxiety. SFW with a few suggestive jokes but minors please dni with my work !! happy holidays ppl !!!!

. 🎄 . 🎁 . 🎄 .

Christmas time is supposed to be the “most magical time of the year”, with love and joy spread through the hearts of many. Apparently that wasn’t in the cards for you this year. You were supposed to go home for Christmas week with your boyfriend to introduce him to your family. Everything was going so well and you had been hyping him up for months now, bragging about how he was the perfect boyfriend.

Until he made you eat those words a day before you were supposed to leave, sitting among clothes and general things you would need for the week scattered around your bed when your phone buzzed and lit up to show the lockscreen of you kissing his cheek.

“hey so. i hate to say this but i dont think this is going to work out. i dont want to see you hurt and your a great person but i dont think im ready to meet your family yet. i think i should spend time alone to find myself. its not your fault ml”

Your smile fell as you read over the message again and again.

“merry xmas btw”

After a couple hours of coping very healthily and no emotional outbursts whatsoever, you wiped the last of your tears. Okay. This was fine! It was a single day before you were supposed to drive home and see almost all of your extended family for an entire week, and the man you had made sound like a fairy tale prince just dumped you over text!

If you showed up there, heartbroken and alone, you would never hear the end of it from all sides of the family.

…

You needed a new boyfriend.

Running through the list of people you knew would probably be easier than trying to find a stranger within a day, but you quickly ran into the issue that your family already knew most of your friends, and none would be able to easily pass as a boyfriend for a whole week without blowing it. So you moved on to secondary friends. People you had the number of for classes or your neighbours, people in your study group. Nothing. You fell back against your bed and stared at your contact list hopelessly, scrolling up and down as if that would make some new number magically appear. You had to face the reality of the situation; You were screwed.

The next morning you picked yourself up and got ready, showering and packing the rest of whatever items you hadn’t already shoved into a bag. The idea of cancelling on your study group appealed to you greatly, but some part of your mind reminded you that you had notes that a few of the others needed to copy down, and you wanted to stay in their good graces. So you gathered every inch of mental tape you had and held yourself together until you resembled a stable human being, and locked the door behind you as you left.

Walking into the library, the warmth hugged your face and you let out a quiet sigh as you loosened your scarf, kicked the snow off your boots, and moved deeper into the building to find the usual area everyone gathered in. It was a long table toward the back that a handful of you had claimed weekly for study meets. One of your close friends and a few others who had the same class, and a few who just liked the company and atmosphere. You knew everyone there by name and occasionally after studying you would all go out for food. Of course, you couldn’t stop thinking about your dilemma as you sat down and pulled out your books. You wouldn’t be able to focus on work much, but you could at least pretend you were being productive.

Handing your notes around the table, you took a look at everyone again and weighed your options. Either they didn’t fit what you remember telling your family, or they had met your family in one way or another. You sighed and stared down at the still shut textbook in front of you. None of the material seemed like it was near interesting enough to derail your current train of thought. Sitting up to say something to your friend, the sound of approaching footsteps caught your attention.

“Sorry, hope I’m not late!”

Turning your head the other way, you see a dark green jacket and look up at the man holding the back of the chair next to you. “This seat isn’t taken, is it?”

Your eyes widened. Charlie. Of course. He was a newer addition to the group, invited by a couple others you weren’t too close with. You didn’t know him too well, at most having been left alone at the table with him once or twice, but he was nice and funny and.. Well, you’d be lying to say he wasn’t conventionally attractive. He would match what you had told your parents almost perfectly. You just had to figure out how to ask him such a thing. Nothing you came up with sounded normal, or it just made you seem like some kind of creep trying to lie to their family. He’d mentioned doing a little acting before though, hadn’t he? Maybe you would have to bribe him— Before you knew it, everyone else had left the table, leaving you and Charlie alone in that area of the suddenly far too silent library.

He sighed and put his pencil down, closing his book and starting to pack his things. You panicked, cutting him off as he stood up and opened his mouth to speak.

“Can I ask a favour of you?”

He seemed slightly taken aback at how quickly you had spoken, but nodded slightly regardless.

“Sure.. What’s up?”

You took a deep breath and hoped you weren’t about to make an idiot of yourself.

“It’s.. a huge favour, and if you don’t want to, you can say no and we can pretend like I never asked but-” Pausing from nerves, you peeked up at him but he just seemed amused by your nerves, waiting for you to go on so before you knew it you started spilling your guts. “My boyfriend dumped me last night and tomorrow we were supposed to drive home to spend the week and visit my whole family for Christmas, but now he isn’t coming and I just spent the last few months acting like he was gonna be a big surprise so they don’t know too many details but I can’t go home alone or I’ll be embarrassed until the day I die and-”

Charlie waved his hand with a soft laugh and sat back down to be on your level.

“Hey- Hey. Take a breath.” He smiled patiently and waited for you to take a deep breath. “How can I help?”

“I need you to.. Pretend to be my boyfriend for the week in front of my whole family..?” You shakily asked, knowing how messed up that sounded.

Charlie stared at you with a strange look in his eye, but the same soft smile on his face. After a moment he shrugged and nodded. “Sure, why not?”

You blinked.

“Sorry?”

“Honestly, I didn’t have any plans for the holidays anyways so… A week full of free food and entertainment doesn’t sound half bad.”

You felt like your heart might explode. Charlie laughed softly at your reaction.

“Thank- Oh, god Charlie thank you, you don’t know how much this means to me.”

“What can I say, I'm a simple man. Here, I can give you my number and you can text me in the morning when you’re ready to go. Okay?”

You nodded and handed him your phone, ignoring the flutter in your stomach when his hand encased yours to take it. It’s not like you had feelings for him, he was just a nice guy willing to do you a favour. That’s all this was.

You waved as he excused himself and headed out.

What had you gotten yourself into?

The next morning, at a frankly unreasonable time to be awake, you had shoved all your things into your car and parked where Charlie had said would be the easiest to pick him up. The radio hummed Christmas music on the local station as you looked through the messages between you two so far. One of the first things Charlie had sent was a picture of a knitted christmas sweater that looked like it had seen many holidays and a collared shirt that looked ironed, asking what kind of people your parents were. You had to appreciate the dedication to being the perfect boyfriend, and said whatever he’s most comfortable in - But that you probably had a similar looking sweater waiting for you at home somewhere, to which he responded he couldn’t wait to see.

A knock on the passenger window snapped you out of your thoughts and only then did you realize you were smiling like an idiot. Charlie waved through the window, his face illuminated by what bits of moonlight remained as the sky began to lighten before the sun had fully risen, and motioned to his bags. You popped the trunk and hopped out, opening it and going to help him load it all in.

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” He politely waved you off and lifted it in with ease, and you definitely didn’t stare at the way the fabric of his jacket stretched across his arms as he did. He slammed the trunk shut with a hearty clunk before turning to you with a grin. “Shall we?”

You huffed out a laugh and nodded, getting back in the driver seat. He quickly slid into the seat beside you, stretching.

“It’s a long trip… Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Are you asking if I want to do the drive, or do this for a week?”

“I-”

“Because I do.” He nodded, a little too earnestly. “It’ll be okay, I’ll try not to make you look bad.” Charlie winked and glanced at the radio, then at your phone sitting in the cupholder beside you. “Your car, your rules. Who controls the music?”

The way he seemed so unbothered about the situation seemed to put you at ease for now, and you unlocked your phone and connected it to the car speakers before handing it to him.

“Surprise me, will you?”

“I won’t let you down.”

The two of you quickly took off and grabbed something to eat from a drive-through; Stopping to eat now would risk making you late. The weather seemed to be alright for now, but you were a bit nervous something would kick up before you were in the home stretch of your parents house. Charlie managed to calm your nerves every time with a joke or comment that would distract you from your worries. Eventually you two agreed that you needed a cohesive story to pull this off well, so you started by listing off things you remember having told your family about your ex, and Charlie nodded as he seemed to internalize all those traits, though you doubted he needed to fake most of these traits for your sake. Eventually you moved on to your story. How you met, dates you’d been on, mutual friends, and other various stories to sell that you had been close for the better part of a year rather than having maybe three conversations that weren’t purely about schoolwork and studying. Charlie even shared a bit more about himself for you to build on, and it shocked you a little how much you had in common and how little you really knew about him. Talking with him came so naturally, and he was so effortlessly funny that you wondered how you hadn’t become friends sooner. Part of you wondered if it could stay like this after you got home.

The conversation moved to boundaries. Knowing your family, there would be mistletoe somewhere in the house.

“Well,” Charlie hummed, thinking about it as he glanced out the front windshield. “I’m a pretty physical person, and I'm fine with PDA if that’s what you mean.”

You nodded and chewed the inside of your cheek.

“I just.. It’s all pretend, right? I don’t want to overstep-”

“We’ll probably be pushed together at one point or another anyways.” Charlie cut you off, looking at you. “So I’m fine with anything. Let’s maybe keep any kissing to a minimum though. Try to avoid mistletoe, yeah? Oh, and-” He tapped his bottom lip with his finger, smiling. “- No lips.”

There was a sigh, and you realized you had been holding your breath.

“Yeah, of course.”

He let out a little laugh as his smile grew.

“I know, that must be such a disappointment, nobody can resist this.” He sighed, as if this were a recurring issue. You ignored the way your stomach flipped at the thought of kissing him and laughed in response.

At one point you had stopped to refill the tank and Charlie offered to hold the pump while you ran inside to pay and get snacks (but no eggs, despite how many times he asked. You were not making your car smell like whatever gas station eggs must have smelt like.) Grabbing a drink for both of you and a handful of snacks, you plopped them all down on the counter and smiled at the cashier who started scanning the items.

“Is that your boyfriend on pump 2?” She asked, glancing at Charlie, who leaned against the car as he waited for you.

You stopped, and for some reason found yourself unable to answer. You were going to say that no, he was just a friend. …But then again, this was someone you’d probably never see again, and who probably didn’t actually care who he was in relation to you.

“Yeah, why?”

“Let him know that one acts up when it gets cold, he might have to be a little rough to make it work.” She shrugged and typed something into the register. “How much?”

You finished the transaction and walked out with a small bag of items, walking up to Charlie, who looked up from his phone.

“All good?”

“Yeah, she said it gets weird in the cold, be a little rough if you need to.” Charlie laughed a little and bit back a smile, and you felt a slight warmth in your cheeks that wasn’t from the cold.

“I can be rough.”

“Oh my god.” You groaned and shoved his arm as he grabbed the nozzle and pushed it into the car.

You didn’t mention that she called him your boyfriend. You kept it to yourself as you got into the passenger seat when Charlie insisted on driving until the next refuel. You let those words stew in your brain until he got in the driver’s seat and adjusted it to his size, familiarizing himself with your car as you stretched your legs.

After a few more short breaks and another gas station refuel where you took over driving, it’s dark again as you arrive. Charlie is intently watching all the lights on the houses as you drive up and pull into the driveway of your parents house. The whole place was decorated expertly, just as it had been every year for as long as you could remember. The sight was nostalgic.

Movement on the porch caught your eye as your mother and father came out to greet you. You killed the engine and gathered your things inside the car. Charlie was watching you when you looked up to him.

“Last chance.”

His hand slipped into yours with a gentle squeeze.

“I know.”

You look at your hands and smile softly before pulling away and exiting the car with a warm smile for your parents. It’s a moment of you three alone before the passenger door opens and Charlie steps out.

“There he is!” Your mother gasped and put a hand on your shoulder. “I was starting to think you were just making up fairytales.”

You laughed softly and shook your head.

“Mom, Dad, this is Charlie… My boyfriend.” Charlie walked up and wrapped an arm around you, extending a hand to your father, who shook it with a nod. Your mom pulled him in for a hug, and he quickly reciprocated, pulling away with a mirth in his eyes you hadn’t seen before.

“Oh, he’s just as lovely as you said, dear.” Your mother smiled and Charlie shrugged one shoulder as he moved his arm back around you.

“Well, I do my best.” He chuckled. “I gotta say, I'm a huge fan of your work.” Charlie motioned to you, and your mother laughed. “I didn’t believe angels were real until I met this one.”

You flushed and glanced away, which only made your mother laugh more. He instantly fell into rhythm with your family, giving off this perfect charm that made him nearly glow along with the Christmas lights around you all. It felt so genuine, every compliment that fell from his lips and the way he spoke to your parents was nothing short of naturally impressive.

Part of you wondered if it would play out like this if you had genuinely brought him home. If he would have his arm around your shoulders the same, make jokes that enamoured your parents just like he was now. You wondered if he would kiss your cheek and you would be rid of this weight in your chest. This guilt that came with lying to your parents, and soon enough your whole family. Before you could spiral any further into this train of thought, Charlie is nudging your shoulder.

“Oh, sorry- Yeah?”

He smiled down at you reassuringly, squeezing your shoulders as if he could read your mind. You wondered if he could. You wondered if he would leave you if he heard your thoughts now-

“Can you unlock the trunk for me?”

“Yeah, of course.” You reached for your keys and hit the trunk button.

Once again he’s insisting on taking his own luggage, so you grab your bags and bring them inside as your mother talks about the plans she has for the week and your father leads the march inside and up the stairs. You take a moment to admire the house, mostly decorated with little christmas details and festive colours covering every surface. Your parents loved to go all out for the holidays. The bigger decorations were still missing, and you figured they had been waiting for you and your boyfriend to come home and help them with those. Free labour, of course.

Quickly following up the stairs after Charlie, you see him standing in a doorway you immediately recognize. Oh no.

You had entirely forgotten that with extra guests coming over, the guest rooms would be taken up by other family members, leaving you in your old bedroom. Alone with Charlie. With one bed.

That was fine! It was fine, really!

Looking at Charlie’s face, he seemed to have connected the same dots as you.

Your dad left you to unpack and get settled in, saying he would meet you both downstairs and that dinner would be ready soon.

“I’m so sorry, I totally forgot about.. This. I can sleep on the floor if you-”

Charlie cut you off by shaking his head with a flustered laugh. His cheeks were slightly flushed as he looked to you with a hapless smile.

“It’s fine, really. Wouldn’t be the first time I shared a bed with someone. Besides, it's a queen by the look of it. We’ll both fit just fine. Try not to hog the blankets though, I might have to fight you for that.” He moved to the foot of the bed and dropped his bags to the ground, looking around. “So this is your room huh? It’s..” He seemed to bite something back, and it gave you a rush of worry. “It’s nice. I like it.”

You definitely weren’t freaking out right now. You were so normal and were doing fine as he ran his hand over the top of your dresser and looked at all the decorations. Admittedly it was a bit strange to see your room so.. Un-lived in, but it still felt like yours.

“We should probably head down and wash up for dinner.” You ignored the fluttering in your gut as he giddily pointed at a few items he recognized, brushing it off with a smile.

Surprisingly, dinner was rather uneventful. Charlie complimented your mothers cooking and answered a few questions about himself, and the four of you mostly talked about college, what had been going on in the neighbourhood and how the drive here had gone. You told Charlie that you’d help clean up by yourself, but he insisted on helping you clear the table and do the dishes. It felt oddly domestic, especially as you two started flicking water at each other, having to be stopped by your mother scolding you for getting water on her floors.

Your parents retired for the night shortly after that, and you and Charlie figured it would be best to follow suit. Heading upstairs with a quiet conversation, you were faced with a dilemma. You two weren’t about to change in front of each other, and you were not about to just have him cover his eyes and turn around.

“There’s always the bathroom,” Charlie offered, jabbing his thumb back towards the hallway.

“Yeah but- You’re the guest, making you change in the bathroom is a bit rude isn’t it?” He shrugged.

“This is your room, it’s only fair you get to change in here in my opinion.”

You went back and forth a bit more, before Charlie just grabbed his bag and headed to the bathroom anyways. There wasn’t much you could’ve done to convince him anyways, you assumed. A quick change later and there was a soft knock.

“Am I good to come back in?”

“Yeah, come in.”

Sitting on the bed, you went over your options until you had agreed to just bite the bullet and try to sleep on the far sides of the bed to avoid any awkwardness of sleeping with each other. As you stared out the window, the stars glittered, snow fell, and you drifted to sleep trying to guess what was a star and what was a snowflake.

The sun hit your face as you woke up, groaning. You rolled over and threw your arm over your face to shield yourself, only to find yourself now beside something warm. It only took a second to remember it was Charlie, and it took a couple more seconds to pull away and open your eyes to see he was raising an eyebrow at you with a quiet laugh.

“Good morning.”

“... Hi.”

He looked back to his phone in his hand, typing something out before turning it off and putting it down.

“I wasn’t sure when your family got up, I didn’t want to be sitting down there alone.”

“So you sat here and watched me sleep..?”

“No!- No, I didn’t-” Charlie’s eyes widened as he shook his head, only relaxing when he saw you smile and try not to laugh. He sighed, then squinted. “Wait..”

“What?” You sat up to look at him, rubbing your eyes and making yourself a little less dishevelled.

“If you were sleeping… And I was watching you sleep…” He turned to you, doing his best mewing expression. “Who’s watching Foxy..?”

You blinked a few times before dissolving into giggles. Charlie grinned at the praise as you covered your face and groaned. “Wanna go get breakfast now? It’s a little after nine.”

Swallowing down the last bubbles of laughter you nodded and pulled the blanket off of you as you got up. Charlie followed shortly after. Another bout of arguing over who would change where began until he once again moved to the bathroom, and you figured that trying to fight him any more on this would get you nowhere.

Padding down the stairs, you got to looking around the kitchen for something to eat. The only thing you could think of was cereal so you pulled out a box of something plain, and Charlie made a face.

“What?”

“I mean, is there.. Anything else? It’s okay if there isn’t just..”

You look back in the pantry and hummed.

“I don’t see anything. Knock yourself out though.”

Charlie walked over as you moved to your bowl and poured out the cereal. You looked over to see him stuck halfway into the shelves, kicking a foot up before pulling out a colourful box triumphantly. You laughed and recognized it as something you hadn’t gotten to eating before you moved out as he opened it.

“How old is that? When does it expire, even?”

“The bag is still sealed, so it's still fresh right?”

The bag popped open as he pulled it apart and dumped it into his bowl, taking a piece and eating it. “Still crunches.”

You laughed and shook your head, passing him the milk. The two of you sat there, you on the counter and him leaning against it as you two ate and talked quietly as the snow outside reflected warmth and light in the window and made miniature rainbows through the frost and decorations.

Your mother poked her head into the kitchen with a box full of decorations hanging out of it.

“There you are! When you’re done, can I borrow you two for a bit to help me finish getting these decorations up? Your father is out shovelling and handling the front of the house. Lord knows Ashley will have something to say if there’s no wreath on the front door..” She sighed and shook her head.

“Yeah, of course Mom.” You smiled and nodded, and Charlie gave a thumbs up with his mouth being full. She caught a glimpse of the colourful cereal in his bowl and gave it a strange look, but seemed to brush it off as she walked away.

“Ashley?” Charlie looked at you with a raised eyebrow after he swallowed.

“One of my aunts,” You glanced at him, then realized you should probably give him an idea of who he would be dealing with for the rest of the week. Charlie nodded intently as he brought another spoonful to his mouth while listening to you list off family members. “Then of course, there's my Aunt Ashley. She’s… She has high standards.” That was probably the easiest way to describe her eccentricities. “She lives the closest, so she was over a lot with her kids, Bella and Alice. Uh.. Be careful with Alice. She’s a bit of a hopeless romantic.”

Charlie squinted like he was trying to mentally write this all down.

“Don’t worry,” You laughed. “I’ll be sure to refresh you when they show up.”

He nodded, looking incredibly serious before he tilted his head back to drink the rest of the milk in the bowl, and there were a handful of thoughts you couldn’t repeat out loud that went through your mind when he pulled the bowl away and licked the remaining milk off his lips.

“Let’s uh- Let’s go help Mom, yeah?” You swallowed and glanced away, shaking the thoughts from your head. Charlie nodded and the two of you finished up in the kitchen before going through the house to find your mother.

Standing in the den, she was staring intently at the large Christmas tree with her hands on her hips. You knew this stance. She was probably planning out every possible way she could put garland and ribbons onto everything in sight, and would try to execute as many of those plans as possible before settling on one. At least you had Charlie, who was currently staring in awe at what decorations were already out.

“Just wait,” You leaned over and whispered. “It gets better.”

Charlie gave you a wide eyed look.

She quickly got everyone to work, pinning and taping things to the walls, lining each shelf with white stuffing to mimic snow, pulling out box after box of trinkets and little ornaments to set along everything. You wondered how many of these would get broken this year if the younger kids would be running around.

After the den was lathered in Christmas, you moved on to deck every hall and doorway with garland and lights. It would make for a magical walkway at the end, but for now you were watching Charlie struggle to not break a sweat with how much lifting and back and forth your mother had him do. Leave it to her to immediately put people to work when it comes to Christmas.

Taking a short break while she stepped outside to talk with your dad, you and Charlie sat down on the stairs after he finished wrapping the railing with glittering lights and tying bows to every other bannister.

“Where do you guys keep all this stuff year round?” Charlie glanced up to you as you straightened out one of the bows. “I mean it looks great but…”

“Storage containers in the basement. Trust me, getting it all out and decorating is the easy part.” A look of concern flashed across his face, which only made you laugh harder. “Don't worry, we’ll be gone by then.”

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck with a quiet laugh.

“It's nice, though. Like it really adds to the atmosphere and everything. Makes it feel cozy.” He glanced around and flicked at one of the lights gently. “How many people are gonna show up anyways? It’s a big house but I feel like it's gonna get cramped pretty quick.”

You had to think about that for a while. Each side had quite a few people on it, but knowing who would actually be showing up was always a bargain. Humming quietly, you reached into the box of decorations and pulled out a little bell on a string, reaching forward and hanging it on Charlie's ear with a grin.

“I’m not sure. I'll do my best to give you a rundown on everyone before they start talking your ear off though.”

Charlie tilted his head and felt for the foreign object on his ear, giving a confused laugh as he pulled it off and looked at it, then immediately turned back at you with mischief in his eyes.

Your mother walked back in the house to see you two laughing and shouting as you practically wrestled on the stairs to adorn each other with decorations.

She cleared her throat and the two of you quickly stopped to look at her, having been caught. Your mother crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as she looked between you two and the mess of decorations you'd made.

“Having fun?”

After being made to clean up your mess, the three of you moved all over the house throughout the day decorating and redecorating, only stopping to get a drink or small snack. While looking through the remaining boxes, you held up a handful of mistletoe and looked at your mom.

“Do we really have to put all of this up? It seems a little… Much.”

“Of course we do, hun!” Your mother nodded like it was obvious and grabbed one from your hand, moving over to one of the doorways to hang it up among the garland. “It's tradition. Plus, it's nice! That's how you get all the cute candid pictures of people kissing.”

You sighed and resigned yourself to just trying your best to memorize where all of them were hung to avoid while walking around with Charlie.

“Go hang at least one in the front foyer for me, please?” She motioned to the remaining mistletoe in your hand then waved you towards the front of the house. You sighed and dropped the extra mistletoe back in the box, grabbing the stool she had pulled out a while ago and moved to the front of the house.

“Oh, there you are.” Charlie smiled as he walked up to you, watching you struggle to reach the garland to tie the mistletoe up.

“Yeah- Hey-” Reaching further didn’t seem to help either, the stool being just a bit too short to get up to where you needed. After a couple more moments of struggling, you sighed and turned to Charlie. “Care to lend me a hand?”

What you hadn’t expected was for Charlie to wrap his arms around your thighs from where you stood on the stool and lift you onto his shoulder.

Your mind went blank.

Why was that so easy for him??

“Is that tall enough?” Charlie’s voice was enough to snap you out of your daze and hang the mistletoe, trying your best not to think about how easily he grabbed you or about how you two were technically under mistletoe.

“Uh- Yeah that’s- Good- Great. Yeah, thanks.” You stumbled through the words, bringing your hands down to his shoulders to steady yourself before he set you back down and smiled up at you like he didn’t do anything.

Maybe this was an overreaction. Maybe you just had to calm down and he didn’t realize you meant for him to hang the stupid plant. Surely that was it! He was just taking the easiest path for him and there were no hidden intentions in his actions. Charlie was just an acquaintance doing you a major favour, and honestly you had to think about why he would even do such a thing? Someone like him must’ve had a nice family, or at least someone deserving of his charm to spend the holidays with, rather than spend a week keeping up some silly ruse and oh- Oh, he’s talking and you absolutely aren’t listening.

“Sorry, uh- Pardon?” You shook your head and looked down at him from your place on the stool.

“I asked how much you think is left?” Charlie tilted his head and looked around.

You stepped off the stool, silently praying you didn’t fall on him. That was the last thing you needed.

“Probably not much, Mom could handle the rest.”

The two of you walked around the house, collecting and stacking the empty decoration boxes. Hints of your mother’s work popped up around the house, the two of you almost constantly walking into mistletoe. Maybe keeping up with what doorways had it would be a bit harder than you expected.

Eventually everything was decorated and cleaned up, and you were helping your mother start supper. The radio gently hummed Christmas music through the room as you peeled potatoes and listened to your mother speak about some drama or other you had missed and she hadn’t told you about.

Charlie walked into the kitchen and watched you for a moment before resting his chin on your shoulder.

“Oh- Hi, Charlie.” You glanced at him slightly, to see him softly smiling with his eyes shut. He just hummed warmly in response and moved his hands to your waist. You hardly skipped a beat falling back into conversation with your mother, despite the way you felt your face warm. He didn’t move for a while after that either, only pressing his face into your neck after a while, to which your mother gave a look that you waved off. After a while you had to quietly ask him to move so you could keep helping to prepare the dinner, to which he kissed your shoulder and whispered to you that he was going to take a nap. Your mother teased you when you seemed to short circuit after he pulled away. You finished helping and did your best not to think about the warmth emanating from where he had kissed you, and when the oven timer went off an hour or so later, your mother asked you to go wake him.

“Charlie..? Are you awake?” You gave the door a soft knock. There was the sound of some kind of movement in the bedroom, and then the door opened. Charlie’s hair was messy and his eyes were still tired. “Oh. Uh, dinner is ready..”

“Oh, already? Alright..” He yawned and nodded. You tried to ignore the way his tired voice got to you. He had always woken up some time before you, is that really what he sounded like after an hour of sleep?? “I’ll wash up and be down there soon.”

The conversation at dinner seemed to be entirely around Charlie and his interests and history. You wondered if they were trying to do some kind of weird interrogation or shovel talk, but when he started talking about some of his nerdier interests you saw your mother light up. There it was. You definitely knew what this talk was about.

The day ended with your mother telling you that tomorrow would be full of baking and that the sooner you could get up and help, the more the two of you could get done. Mentally preparing for that, you nodded and wished her goodnight. Charlie stayed up a bit later, waking you slightly when he came to bed, apologizing quietly as he moved the blankets. You don’t exactly remember falling back asleep, but you could’ve sworn you felt something warm press against your forehead.

You woke up before Charlie this time, watching him for a moment as his chest slowly breathed. Slipping out of the bed, you grabbed your clothes and slipped into the bathroom to change before you headed downstairs.

It was mornings like these you really missed. The sun freshly risen, pouring onto the tiled floor through the frosty windows, giving the perfect mix of warmth and chill as you padded into the kitchen and quickly made yourself something for breakfast. The birdsong outside melted into the sound of the radio as you turned it on and lowered the volume to a non-disturbing hum. Rifling through cabinets you pulled out the usual cookbooks and recipes you’d need today and any of the usual baking necessities. Your mother yawned as she walked into the kitchen and smiled at you as you tied an apron around your waist

“Someone’s eager this morning. Did you miss this that much?” She laughed quietly and hugged you before making herself something to eat. The two of you quickly got to work after that, making doughs and mixtures, prepping for any later baking. There were a few things she had already gotten the headstart on earlier that she took out of the fridge to check on.

Charlie walked down a while later, rubbing his eyes. He seemed a little taken aback to see the kitchen already so messy, taking it all in. You stopped to admire his tired look, the way the sun glowed against his skin and lit his hair up, the dust roaming the air making him look like he glittered. He moved his gaze to you and gave a lopsided smile before walking up and gently brushing his thumb across your cheek.

“Wh-?”

“You had flour on your face,” He hummed. His voice was tired like yesterday, and it took all of your power to not melt into his hands right then and there. You almost forgot your mother was in the room.

“I have to help with baking all day, so I’ll have to stay in the kitchen, I’m sorry.” Charlie shook his head.

“I’d love to help, if that’s okay. My mom owns a bakery, so I’m not unfamiliar with baking.”

It reminded you how little you actually knew of him. Sure, you could talk for hours but with such little time in general, there was still a lot you were completely unaware of. The sobering pang of guilt that ran through your nervous system ruined the soft moment between you at the thought of it.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded and you found him another apron to wear, but the only one left that was his size was half of a pair for your parents. Your moms had been stained and discarded a while ago. You tried not to laugh at the awful baking pun on the front, but Charlie seemed to light up as he read the apron. He proceeded to make similar puns throughout the day, and no matter how hard you tried to groan and act like you hated it, you couldn’t fight the smile on your face whenever you heard the pride in his voice while he made one.

Your mother handed baking off to the two of you after the first batch, and you had half a mind to assume it wasn’t because she needed to “do things” like she said, but rather that she was just giving you room to be alone with him. Not that you needed it, you were just two just two friends baking together. ..Though you supposed she didn't know that part.

You sighed as you kneaded the dough in your hands against the counter. You’d been working at it for a couple minutes now and couldn’t figure out what was going wrong or why it wouldn’t come together properly. Charlie walked over from where he was mixing icing and stood next to you to peer at your hands.

“It keeps falling apart, I don’t know what I did wrong...” You glanced at him for a moment before squishing it all together again. Charlie hummed and turned to look for something as you tried to start a proper conversation. “You said your mom owned a bakery? I didn't know that.” He walked back over with something in his hands, and you quickly lost your train of thought as he came up behind you and wrapped his arms around you to grab the dough, leaning into your ear with a quiet tone.

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

You were suddenly very glad he was pressing you against the counter, because you swore your knees would’ve given out from under you right then and there otherwise. Your face felt warm as his chest pressed against your back and his arms flexed on either side of your shoulders. His breath was soft against your ear, and you could almost feel his grin despite how hard you tried to avoid looking at him until you remembered how to breathe and wow, was it warm in here? It was really warm. Maybe you left the oven open? God, it was so warm–

“There. You just needed to add a little moisture. Butter works fine for that.” He slowly pulled away, and it felt like you had freezer burn everywhere he had touched. You peeked at him from the corner of your eye, desperately trying to act normal.

“Yeah.. Thanks.” Your voice cracked as you spoke. Of course it did.

Charlie chuckled and went back over to the icing and checked on it before moving over to where the piping bags sat for now. You took a deep breath and reached for the rolling pin, trying to keep your cool. What the hell was that?? There was nobody but you two in the kitchen right now, right? If that was part of the act, who was it for? Did he see something you hadn’t? Some hopeful part of you piped up with the thought that it wasn’t an act. That he wanted to do that. That he meant it. A much more realistic part of your mind suggested that he simply didn’t realize what that just did to you. From lifting you yesterday to what just happened? Yeah, maybe he was just a little oblivious. You couldn’t see the dramatic irony to this.

After you had finally rolled out the dough and put a few batches into the oven, you moved to help Charlie with the icing. He seemed to be lacking a bit, and it was taking up your cooling racks.

“Need some help over here?” You smiled and glanced around at the cookies.

“Uhh,” He started, squinting as his tongue poked out in focus. “Mm.. Maybe. I thought I'd have more done by now.” Charlie stood up and looked across the eight cookies he had so dutifully iced thus far. His eyebrows furrowed. You grabbed one of the other colours and wiped off the excess that had leaked out with your thumb.

“Don’t worry. Worst case, we just eat the rest of the icing and tell mom we ran out.” You shrugged with a playful grin, bringing the icing on your thumb to your mouth — only for Charlie to grab your hand and steal the icing with his own finger. “Hey–!!”

He shot you a grin as he licked his lips, so you squeezed a little more out. This time he grabbed your wrist and pulled it towards his mouth. You gasped and shoved your hand forwards, smearing it on the corner of his lips and onto his cheek. Five minutes later the two of you were messy and covered in icing, bags now much lighter from smearing it on each other and trying to eat the icing.

You only stopped when there was a knock on the door and your mother walked through the kitchen to reach it, stopping to look at you two with a bewildered gaze for a moment, before continuing on when another knock sounded.

You two looked at each other and tried not to laugh, before you ultimately failed and burst into laughter. It only took one warm cloth and a couple minutes to wipe up most of the mess, meanwhile you heard the door open and the sound of shuffling and muffled talking.

A familiar face poked into the kitchen, breaking out into a grin.

“Ohh, there you are!” Isabella grinned and straightened up, walking in with a bag over her shoulder and her arms out for a hug. You gasped and handed the cloth to Charlie before making your way over to hug her.

“Bella! How are you??” You pulled away and looked her over with a matching smile.

“Not as good as you apparently,” She leaned over to look at Charlie. “Who’s this?”

Her younger sister, Alice, came around the corner and nearly fell over as her socks made her slide to a stop. A shout came from where she had been, likely from her mother scolding her for running in the house.

“Oh my god!!” You quickly felt two arms around your waist as she careened into you for a hug, once again unable to stop short due to her socks. “I missed you so much! It’s been like, forever??” Alice stared up at you with a gasp from where she was bent over to hug you.

“You saw me at Easter, Alice.” You laughed and pulled her up to hug properly, where she quickly gasped again.

“Hello there, handsome-”

“Al, give him a chance to introduce himself before you start with that.” Isabella groaned and pulled her sister back by the shoulder.

You laughed at their usual antics and glanced back at Charlie, who was quickly trying to wipe any leftover flour and icing off himself to look presentable.

“This is Charlie. My boyfriend.” The word came out more confident than when you had said it to your parents, but you tried not to dwell on that.

“Your boyfriend.” Isabella raised her eyebrow suspiciously. “The boyfriend?”

A bit of that guilt came back as a burning sensation in your throat you couldn't quite swallow down. Isabella was always the one to see through your lies no matter how hard you tried. You never quite forgave her for telling your mother you were lying when she found the broken TV as kids.

“Not bad.” She nodded approvingly.

You tried not to make your sigh of relief too obvious.

“Sooo…” Alice started, slipping out of her sister's grasp before looking Charlie up and down. “Got any brothers? Maybe some cute friends..?”

Charlie laughed nervously and pushed his hair out of the way, coming up to your side and leaning against you slightly. Alice could be a bit much at first, so you leaned back against him in what you hoped was read as a reassuring movement.

“I don’t know about that..” He smiled apologetically.

“Alice, come help your father with the bags please?” Your Aunt Ashley’s voice came from somewhere closer out of sight, saving Charlie from this conversation for now. He sighed, but you knew better. She’d be back.

A dinging started behind you signaling that the oven timer was through, causing Charlie to pat your shoulder as he turned to get it. Conversation with Isabella came as easy as ever, only for her to fall silent after a minute. You turned and followed her gaze to see Charlie bent over pulling out a rack of cookies. His hair fell over his face and the apron hugged him rather nicely. Any heat on your face was silently blamed on the open oven.

“Nice.”

You scoffed and shoved her halfheartedly. You weren't disagreeing with her, but she didn't need to say it.

Charlie turned and kicked the oven door shut in one smooth motion, raising the tray with a grin as he moved to the cooling trays.

“Bella, was it? Care for a snack?” He motioned to the pile of undecorated cookies, then glanced at the subtle remains of your icing fight and quickly smudged it away with his hand.

Isabella glanced at you, then at him. She didn't need to say it, there was some snarky comment bouncing around up there loud enough for you to hear it anyways. She had always been like this, since you were kids really. It drove her mother mad, but she managed to worm her way out of any sort of punishment every time. You really wished you knew how she did it.

“Yeah, I'll take a cookie.” She shrugged and raised a hand. Charlie looked at you, then around for your mother, and tossed a cookie toward your cousin.

They quickly got settled in, already having usual places from how often they come over for more than a night, meanwhile you and Charlie finished up what baking was left and tidied up the kitchen.

You moved in such sync that it almost felt natural, like this is what you were meant to be doing with your time. It made you feel warm inside, easily passing things to him and sweeping as he wiped the counters down. By the end, the kitchen looked like it had never been touched and smelled like all sorts of freshly baked treats.

The sun had already begun to set, and you had managed to escape the constant questions of your Aunt for now. You loved her, really! But from the moment she had seen you it was a hug, a kiss on each cheek and nonstop questions ever since. Doing your best to answer didn't seem to help much either because every answer opened up a hundred more questions thrown at you too fast to possibly answer them all. Sure, you felt a little guilty throwing Charlie under the bus here by slipping away when he would surely be the next victim, but he had it handled! … Probably.

The front of the house was shoveled to create a simple salted walkway that you followed to the front of the garage to sit on the hood of your car.

“Oh, hey.”

Your attention was caught by Isabella leaning against your parents car, out of sight of the windows and front door. She had something in her hand that she pressed to her lips and pulled away, turning her head to exhale smoke. Oh. That was how she stood her own mother.

“Hey, Bella.” You walked up and leaned against your car across from her, to which she held the pen out to you.

“Hey. Wanna hit?”

“No, thanks. I'm trying to at least keep it together for the week.” You laughed and shook your head a little, putting your hands in your pockets as you looked out across the street at the glittering snow and colourful lights.

“Ohh, yeah. Trying to keep it together for that so-called boyfriend of yours, right?”

“... So-called?”

“Yeah,” She chuckled and nodded. “There's no way you're actually dating him, right?”

“Look, if you have something against Charlie-”

“No, dumbass. He's fine. I'm talking about you.”

You stared at her, confused. So, she continued. “You guys have something going on, but whatever it is, it isn't dating. Not for as long as you say, at least. So either you've been lying about this guy and only recently started dating, or you aren't dating at all and you're faking it.”

“When did you get so perceptive?” You crossed your arms. Trying to lie to her would get you nowhere. “And what's it matter to you?”

She shrugged and took another puff, blowing it into the wind away from you.

“It's not too hard to see. You might have to step your game up though. If Alice catches on it's over for you.” Isabella joked. “I dunno why, though. It doesn't seem like you to pull this kind of stunt.”

Sighing, you figured hiding it from her would only make things worse.

“I got dumped over text by my actual boyfriend.”

There was a beat, and then Isabella broke out into laughter, covering her mouth.

“Over text??”

You gave her an unimpressed look.

“Oh my god- You aren't gonna let that slide, right? You totally have got to kick his ass for that one.” She shook her head, trying to stifle her giggles. After a couple moments she took a deep breath. “Have you even let yourself come to terms with that? I mean, c’mon. When was it?”

“A couple days ago. Just before we drove out.”

Isabella's eyes bulged.

“And you're just? Okay with that?? Acting like nothing happened? Cuz’ you gotta, like, go kick his ass and then properly cry about that or something. You earned it after it. … Can I see the text?”

Sighing, you pulled your phone out and opened the texts, handing it to her. Isabella nodded as she read over it and hissed.

“What an asshole…” There was a minute of silence as she handed you back your phone and took another hit. “I'm sure your man in there wouldn't do the same, though.”

“Oh shut up-” You shoved her, to which she laughed.

“I’m just saying! He seems like prime boyfriend material. You should get on that. Literally.”

The two of you continued talking a little, and you really had to reckon with that thought. Did you like him that much? Surely you wouldn't be having these feelings about anyone else had they come, right? She pocketed her pen and went inside, leaving you to watch the occasional car drive by and the lights on each house flash and change. Eventually you followed her back in and hung up your coat, grabbing a pair of cookies as you made your way back to the main gathering. Charlie was sat on the couch trying to keep up with the conversation, so you just sat next to him and handed a cookie. He lit up at the sight of you and thanked you as he took it, wrapping an arm around your shoulders when you leaned up against him.

Isabella gave you a playful look, to which you rolled your eyes and slightly moved closer to Charlie.

You found yourself warming up to the thought of this being something you could strive for, something reasonable and within reach. When that guilt started to rise again, Charlie squeezed your shoulders and made a small joke. The warmth of his arm and his tone drove away whatever bad feelings there were in your mind. Right now, everything was okay. You and Charlie were warm and happy and having a good time. That's all that mattered.

Considering you had a much earlier start than usual, you excused yourself to bed and Charlie quickly agreed. Isabella made some comment about you two having fun, and you had to try not to laugh as her mother smacked her arm. You walked up the stairs after Charlie and changed in your respective places. After you finished you fell into the bed and sighed, shutting your eyes. There was a knock and Charlie walked in a moment later, seeing you there.

“Tired?”

You nodded, letting out some sort of groan in response.

“Yeah, me too. I'm whipped.”

You peeked an eye open to see him grinning.

“Charlie.”

“Completely cooked. ” He walked over to his side of the bed.

“That doesn't even make sense.”

“I'm just saying…” Charlie followed your lead and fell onto the bed, smiling at you when you turned to look at him. “We really got that bread.”

“Stop.”

“Hey, at least I wasn't like your cousin. She was baked.”

You groaned loudly and shoved a hand into his face, biting your lip to stop from giving him the reaction he was looking for. Charlie laughed and pulled your hand away, continuing to make awful quips until the two of you fell asleep.

In the early light of Christmas Eve, you slowly blinked to life after a dream that was already melting away like watercolours before realizing there was something warm wrapped around you. In your haze, and the chill of the room around you. This didn’t ring any alarms in your mind at first, instead opting to hold it closer. You entwined your fingers with the ones against your stomach before you stopped. Fingers? Blinking open your eyes, you look down and see what you immediately put together to be Charlie’s arm wrapped around you. The world seems to hold its breath as you do, carefully picking up his arm and moving it back onto his own chest. He groans and stretches, and you quickly avert your gaze as his shirt rides up. Looking through your closet is when you hear him yawn and the bed creaks slightly as he sits up. You poke your head out and smile at him.

“Good morning.”

He rubs his eyes and yawns again, looking over to find you, nodding and smiling softly.

“Good morning. Anything planned for today..?”

You hummed and grabbed your clothes for the day.

“I think it’s just going to be a lot of socializing. The kids are all excited for Christmas tomorrow and most of the adults are here. It uh…” You hesitate and glance away in thought, before looking back to Charlie apologetically. “It might be a bit stuffy today. I’m sure we’re gonna get swarmed with those cliche family questions that they’ve been nice enough to hold off on. Once that wine gets uncorked though, we’re in for it. Ashley is well acquainted with how to pour a new glass of wine…”

Charlie laughed and stretched again, standing up and moving over to his suitcase to grab clothes. The two of you split up to get dressed and walked down the stairs together.

The day was warm and filled with your family running about and chatting, but you knew this was tame compared to what tomorrow would look like. Christmas music filled every silence and there were multiple glasses of eggnog laying around. The tree looked more and more full as new gifts were added to the underside, eventually spilling out and off the tree skirt. Conversations felt like the same interaction over and over again, asking how they were, they asked how you were. You’d give the same generic answers over and over with a little extra here and there for flavour depending on who you were talking to. Sure, it was repetitive and a little boring at times, but it was Christmas, and this was the most you’d talk to some of these people all year. It wasn’t that you were distant, they just had their own busy lives.

Charlie would occasionally pop in and join the conversation, talking about his own life when asked, or about one of your made up stories of your supposed love life. That guilt swirled in your gut again, rising like bile in your throat. Your realization last night wasn't helping either, making this even worse. The way he got along with your family so easily, the way they would make remarks when he wasn't there about how lucky you were to have found him. Honestly, you agreed. You couldn't understand how you'd lucked into getting such a wonderful man to ever agree to such a stupid plan, but here he was, playing the part perfectly.

Stepping into the backyard and out of the general hum of chatter in the house, you took a deep breath. The cold winter air stung in such a sobering way that it calmed you instantly. It was just an act, you reminded yourself. You'll go back to school and act like this never happened. Sure, your relationship with him would have changed by now, but what did that matter? It didn't change that this meant nothing. You were just putting on an act for your family.

Your feelings were different, but how could you possibly bring up the thought of actually dating after this? Sure, nothing had gone too wrong - which you were thankful for - but surely it would be awkward to drive home just to ask him out again, right? Considering he had agreed just for entertainment's sake, you figured he probably didn't share your feelings. Sure, he’d been much more forward than you had expected but maybe that was part of his act.

Wallowing in your wishy-washy thoughts, you almost missed the way the door opened and shut behind you, and Charlie stepped out with his jacket on. He smiled and gave a quiet wave as he walked over and sat on the side of the porch next to you, bumping his shoulder into yours.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

You two didn’t say more than that for a while, sitting there and watching the stars in the sky as snow started to fall. It was hard to see the stars normally at home, so you appreciated every moment you could watch them glitter and shine. The snow was small and light as it fell, flashing little shimmers of light caught from the house behind you. Charlie stayed silent in your peripheral vision, and you let your leg fall against his. Sure, this was all an act, but it felt nice nonetheless. Would it be so bad to allow yourself the guilty pleasure of enjoying this just a little?

A shooting star flashed across the sky, disappearing so quickly you almost weren't sure you’d seen it in the first place. You gasped as you pointed to the sky and turned to Charlie, only to see him staring at you.

“Did you see that? The shooting star??”

“Oh,” He breathed and looked up at the sky. “No, I must've just missed it. Are you gonna make a wish? Make sure you get what you want for Christmas?”

You looked at the sky again too and tilted your head. Sure, you could’ve made a wish. You could have wished for a lot of things. Good grades, a better new year, a new car might be nice, but…

“Honestly? I don’t need to.” You shook your head and turned to face Charlie with a smile. “I already got what I really wanted for Christmas.”

“Really? You haven’t even opened any presents.” Charlie laughed a little, looking at you.

There were snowflakes adorning his hair and eyelashes, his cheeks slightly pink from the cold outside. Each breath he took let out a little puff that circled his head and made him glow under the moonlight.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better than you.”

His face changed, ever so slightly, but you kept talking.

“I mean, honestly, you were the best thing I think I ever could have asked for. You showed up right when I needed help and you didn’t turn me away or call me crazy when I asked you to do this with me. My parents love you, I’m sure my aunts and uncles are going to miss you from every other family gathering I attend, and you get along with my cousins like you’ve always been part of the family. You’re an amazing guy, Charlie. You’re funny and sweet and so, so genuine that I just… I don’t know how to thank you enough for this. You saved me from what would’ve been a week of the same question over and over again, having to tell everyone that my ex wasn’t what I thought he was. Embarrassing myself. Stuff like that doesn’t die in this family, y’know? I mean, Alice still gets it from people about this boy she dated in middle school who embarrassed her. I couldn’t handle that this Christmas.” As you finished your ramble, you looked him in the eyes and felt your heart tighten. He looked.. Upset. It wasn’t anger, probably, but he looked conflicted. Maybe hurt? “Charlie?-”

“I..” His hand twitched in his lap, starting to move before it fell limp against his lap again. He took a deep breath and avoided your gaze. “I think I should go.”

“What? Charlie, wait- Did I say something?-”

Shaking his head, Charlie stood up and brushed the snow off of him before quickly going back inside.

Your stomach writhed with even more guilt as the area around you was silent, save for the whistling of the wind that drove a chill down your back. Did you just ruin something? Did you say too much and let your feelings leak through? Maybe you had made him uncomfortable with such an emotional confession. Tears stung your eyes as a lump gathered in your throat. It was Christmas Eve and you had just fucked up.

Snow continued to fall around you, swirling in the wind as you put your head in your arms, trying not to cry. You weren't sure how long you spent out there, but when you couldn't feel your cheeks anymore, you had figured it was long enough that you should probably go inside and warm up before you got frostbite.

It seemed like all of your family had gone to sleep by now, and the lights were slowly being turned out one by one as your mother made her way around the house. She caught up with you in the den, watching you stare at the lights on the Christmas tree. New presents had appeared since the kids had gone to sleep, labeled that they were from Santa. A set of bikes, newly stuffed stockings, even the milk and cookies had been taken from to keep up the magic. The kids would love it.

“Merry Christmas, honey.” She came up beside you, her smile faltering when she saw your face. “What's wrong?”

“I think I messed up, mom.” You sniffled and the sting of tears made themselves known again. Turning to face her, the Christmas lights lit up the room with soft colour and reflected off her face that made the world seem just a bit less real. You figured it would be best to just admit it. “I.. Charlie isn't actually my boyfriend.”

Your mother raised her eyebrows and nodded, leading you to the dining room to sit at the table. The wood was cool against your skin as you tried your best not to choke up or spiral any further. You had already made a mess, you just had to figure out how to clean it up. When your mother sat down across from you and took your hands in hers, you continued.

“He isn't my boyfriend. My actual boyfriend dumped me a day before we drove out here over text because he.. Wanted to work on himself, I guess? I probably should have listened when my friends told me they thought they saw him with someone else at a party. I thought he was good, Mom. I really thought he was different, like everything I said he was. And then he suddenly ended things and- And I wasn't sure what to do, I couldn't come home without anybody. It would've been salt in the wound to be humiliated in front of everyone after letting myself get hurt like that.

And then I found Charlie, and I asked if he was willing to just.. Come and pretend to be my boyfriend and- Honestly I didn't expect him to agree at all. But he did. He did, and he's so..” You laughed tearfully and shook your head. “He's so perfect. He's everything I thought my actual boyfriend was. It's like it all comes naturally to him, like he doesn't even have to try to be funny and make people comfortable. You saw how well he got along with everyone this week, and you said yourself you love him! But I… It was supposed to be easy. A week of avoiding embarrassment with a guy I only sort of knew, and then we would go back to school and I’d tell everyone we broke up. Make it seem like this whole thing where I threw him out and I was in the right. Not dumped over text.

But I don't think I can do that, Mom. I.. I think I’m in love with him? How could I not? He's been nothing but kind and perfect to me and so sweet and I never want this week to end because I know that it means things will go back to normal and I don't know how to ask anything more of him after this- I don't even know why he agreed to this in the first place!! But I tried to tell him how much I appreciated him outside earlier and he looked so… Upset. Like I had done something wrong, and then he said he had to go and came inside. And-” The world blurred and smeared as tears filled your vision. “I think- I think I might've ruined what little I had with him-”

Your mother nodded, listening to you ramble on with an intent look on her face. She squeezed your hands and brought them to her mouth to kiss. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and looked at you until you silently took a couple of breaths yourself.

“Honey… I don’t think you ruined anything. Charlie seems like a wonderful man, he would tell you if you had truly ruined anything. He didn't seem angry when he came in, I saw your uncle ask if he was heading upstairs and he just seemed a little.. lost with himself.” She shook her head and smiled. “I knew from the stars you two weren't dating.”

“What??” Your eyebrows furrowed. Were you really that obvious?

“You had said things about your boyfriend that didn't quite line up with Charlie. Things you wouldn't have said about him, that I'm sure you had just forgotten you said.”

“Mom I’m sorry-” She cut you off by squeezing your hands again.

“Don't be sorry, dear. I knew you had feelings for him anyways.” You gave her a quizzical look, going to speak before she answered your question. “Mothers always know these kinds of things. I know how you act, and I love you, but honey you're not the best actor in the family… I've been watching you two all week, and I’m surprised you haven't said something sooner. I would've kept it to myself, though, because I think you need to see how this plays out.”

“I don't know how I can fix this though, Mom. I- I don't even know what I did wrong!”

She smiled knowingly.

“I don't think you did anything wrong, dear. But if you keep these feelings to yourself I think you'll find yourself worse off than if you didn't.” Your mother squeezed your hands again before letting go and standing up. “I've seen the way he looks at you, too. When he thinks nobody is looking, or when you aren't paying attention. When he thinks nobody but you and him are there.” Patting your shoulder as she walked towards the stairs, she gave you one last smile. “It’s Christmas after all. Maybe you got another gift you didn't know you asked for.”

With that, she bid you goodnight and made her way upstairs to her bedroom, leaving you alone in the dining room under the light. The house was near silent aside from the whistling outside of the wind.

You shut the light off and swallowed as you tried to reason through your mothers words. She was a bit of an optimist, so maybe she was just being hopeful, or maybe she was right. Maybe she had seen something you hadn't yet noticed.

The door to your room was left slightly open when you walked up, giving a soft knock as you pushed the door open. Charlie was under the blankets on his far side of the bed. There was no movement other than the steady breathing of his chest. You changed quickly and walked up to the bed, hesitating.

“Charlie..? Are you awake?” Your voice was quiet and dry. There was no answer from Charlie, and he hardly even shifted. Assuming he was asleep, you sighed and resigned yourself to sleeping on your far side of the bed, trying to ignore the tightness in your chest. Tomorrow would be the busiest day of all and if you had done something to upset him, you really weren't sure how well this would go. Maybe it would have been all for naught if you went and messed things up on Christmas Eve. Drifting to sleep as you tried to ignore the way the soft sound of his breathing made you feel, one final sigh made your exit from the waking world known.

You were woken in darkness, blinking your eyes open to barely see Charlie in the very same knitted sweater he had shown you at the start of the week.

“Good morning sleepyhead.”

You groaned and rubbed your eyes, yawning.

“It's still dark..?”

“Merry Christmas.” Charlie's voice was little more than a whisper, and you felt yourself smile at the pure warmth of the tone.

“Oh… Merry Christmas..”

“Your little cousins are running from room to room, I figured I would wake you up a little nicer than that.”

“You're too sweet, Charlie..” You hummed and looked up at him. Even in the darkness he looked beautiful, and you blearily wondered if you were still dreaming. Having such a wonderful man wake you in your bed to go downstairs for Christmas morning with your family, not a care in the world, seemed like a dream come true.

“I'll go stand in the hall and let you change, I think if someone doesn't stop Elliot he's gonna tear open every package and parcel he can get his hands on.” Charlie quietly slipped out of the room and you immediately heard him make his presence known to the distant chaos you slowly became aware of as you woke up.

… Okay, there were a few cares in your world. The strangeness of last night came back to you slowly. You had expected him to be cold, maybe. Or mad. At least a little upset! But he spoke to you like you were a literal angel, like waking you any faster than your body wanted to would have broken you. It was attractive, to say the least.

A scream from downstairs broke you of your thoughts and you remembered there were gifts with children's names on them, and they wouldn't wait around for you.

Stepping up to your closet, you fished out the sweater you had told Charlie about, smiling down at it. It was a bit old and a gift from your Grandmother, but it still fit nicely and had softened over the years to be a little less itchy. You wore a shirt underneath just to be safe.

With each step down the stairs you had to take a breath and remind yourself that you had an act to put on with Charlie. If you had messed up, you at least owed it to him to keep your attitude nice for the day. You were both adults, you knew any issues you had could be resolved in due time. Charlie wouldn't just let it fester if you had hurt his feelings or said something wrong, right? You had to hope that was the case, at least.

Right as you step off the last step, your younger cousins come running up to you with excitement, shouting about Santa Claus, the half eaten cookies, and the new gifts. You do your best to wave off the lingering sleep in your mind to match their enthusiasm. When that's enough to satisfy them before they can actually open their gifts, they loudly run off to their next victims – You catch Charlie's eye from across the den.

His eyes crinkle at the sight of you, then flick down to your sweater and he sits up, pointing at his own for a moment with his mouth slightly agape, before patting the seat beside him enthusiastically. It takes you a moment to mentally unstick your feet from the floor and walk over to him. It was Christmas morning in front of your family - if anything was wrong, this was probably your last reprieve before things fully went wrong and you could see the damages. As selfish as it sounded, you felt as though you should take advantage of that.

“So you really do have a matching sweater?” Charlie giggled and pulled you down to sit next to him, wrapping an arm around you. “I'm glad you decided to match with me.”

“And leave you hanging? Just wait until you see whatever Mom has got on this year. It's gonna put both of us to shame.” You leaned in to whisper as early morning chaos still reigned.

“Hey lovebirds, say cheese!” Your aunt had her phone out already, and you perked up just in time to smile as the flash dazzled you and Charlie.

“You ready for a whole day of.. That?” You glanced to Charlie, who chuckled.

“Bring it on.”

Rolling your eyes, you waited for everyone to wake up and join the family in the den. The younger kids instantly started opening gifts and throwing wrapping paper everywhere when they were given the go ahead. Eventually your dad started a garbage bag of scraps and tried his best to rally the kids into one area with their new toys as the adults started opening their much smaller gifts.

It was always amusing watching people open gifts, seeing the way even grown adults would get excited over certain things they wanted, or how they tried to hide their dislike or disappointment over certain other gifts. One of your aunts was given an ornate music box that seemed to be hand-crafted, and it seemed like she was ready to cry as she hugged your uncle, thanking him. Meanwhile one of your uncles got a pair of socks with little reindeer printed on them, and you swore you could see him try to set them on fire with his eyes.

Charlie would lift his arm whenever it was your turn to open something, watching you make a neat little pile at your feet of opened gifts. He seemed content to just sit and watch, making little jokes about certain gifts until your father walked over with a small box. He lifted his arm again, but your dad held the box to him a little more insistently.

“Wh.. For me-?” Charlie pointed at himself and sat up, taking it hesitantly.

“Well… We didn't want you to feel left out, but the stores were a bit scarce so close to the holiday when I went to get you something. So we hope it's okay.” Your dad smiled and nodded, stepping back to his place by the tree.

Charlie looked at you a bit bewildered, and carefully tore open the wrapping paper. It was a couple of Pokémon card packs from the store, and a set of six-sided dice. You almost went to say something about how they just did their best to understand, but Charlie's eyes lit up as he pulled them out of the box, carefully holding the dice as he inspected them. It was a set of black dice with white dots, subtly reflecting the lights on the tree.

“You didn't..” He looked up at your parents and shook his head slowly. “You didn't have to get me anything.” His hand slipped into yours, squeezing so tight it shook a little. Glancing at Charlie, you could tell he was trying so hard to play it cool, but the way his lips twitched and fought off a grin was undermining all of his attempts.

Your mother shook her head.

“What kind of parents in law would we be if we left you out?? We’ll get you something better next year, we promise.” She sent a wink your way, and you knew it was more for you than it was Charlie. You tried to ignore the warmth that crawled up your neck at the implication there. Next year. Did she really have that much faith in you to fix things? Did she have so much confidence in her ability to see what you can't that she believed Charlie would come home with you next year?

The next gift was picked, and Charlie turned to you with wide, excited eyes as he held up the card packs. It snapped you out of your thoughts and you smiled at him. You hadn't expected it would make him so happy, but the way he glowed was so much better than you could've imagined.

“I take it you're happy then?” You whispered, and he nodded, flipping through the handful of packs.

“I didn't- They didn't need to get me anything! I didn't expect to get anything..”

“Well,” You shrugged and leaned against him, sighing. “If you're part of the family, they're gonna get you something. I'm just glad I didn't tell them what he would've wanted, in case they got something you would've hated.”

Charlie shook his head as he chose one of the packs, setting the others down in his lap gently.

“I wasn't expecting anything, though. I would've enjoyed just watching you open things.” He fiddled with the wrapping of the pack and you looked down at it, then up at him.

“Well.. Go on.”

“What?”

“Open the pack. I wanna see what you got.”

He smiles and you set your head on his shoulder, watching as he opens the pack and flicks through the cards. He explains each card to you, explaining the differences on each of them, and you were more than happy to let him quietly ramble on as he grabbed the next pack.

“Do you wanna open this one?”

“Nah. All yours.”

Charlie nods, peeling open the next pack. It was impressive how quickly he put you at ease, and you couldn't find it in yourself to worry about what may come later, so long as you could stay in the moment of him explaining the rarity of certain cards. It was cute.

The rest of the day went by in a blur as people showed up and left, some family friends popping in for the day just to visit, a few neighbours showing up to gift some treats that you watched your younger cousins sneak into just a little too early. Your mother walked around at one point with her phone facetiming your grandmother, who insisted on having an entire conversation about you wearing the sweater, to which you just had to drag Charlie into frame to show that you were matching. This started a whole new slough of questions about your relationship, and the two of you had to explain repeatedly that you weren't ready for marriage, let alone kids.

Christmas music played loudly and the sound of far too many conversations loudly filled the air during the afternoon, and after being pulled between so many, you found your head was spinning too fast to keep up with, so you snuck out to the front foyer for a bit of space. Charlie seemed to have the same idea as he stumbled out of the kitchen, followed by the sound of your uncles laughing.

“They aren't getting to you in there, are they? Do I need to go tell them to lay off?” You teased lightly, leaning against the doorway as you took a deep breath.

“Pshh, No..” Charlie shook his head and walked up to you with a warm smile, though you noticed his cheeks were slightly pink. “Just got a little warm in there. Your family is really, uh..”

“Nosy?”

“Thorough.”

You laughed loudly and shook your head as you straightened up. Your gaze drifts up and your face falls slightly.

Mistletoe.

Charlie's gaze follows yours and he freezes. The buzz of the house seems to fade away as you focus on it, as if you found yourself locked in this little bubble with Charlie, and suddenly every guilty feeling writhed under your skin all at once.

“Oh.”

“I'm- I’m sorry,” You start, shaking your head as you turn to step to the side. You had been doing so well acting normal, of course you'd find yourself under the very same mistletoe he helped you hang. “We can move-”

“Wait.”

Charlie's arm stops you, and you look at his face to see him flushed, with the same expression from when you started talking last night.

“I..” He shifts, and you move back to standing under the mistletoe with him, looking at him intently. “I know that when you asked me to help you with this, you were a bit desperate and just looking for somebody to help you, and I’m sure I wasn't your first choice considering how little time we had spent together, but… This week has been the best week of my life I think, and I don't ever want it to end if it means we have to go back to the way things were. I don't want to go another day without hearing your voice, or watching you try not to laugh at my jokes - which I know you think are funny. I know this was mostly to save face in front of your family and that we haven't gotten much of a chance to genuinely get to know each other, but I would love to get to know you better, if I can.” His eyes soften and the confliction on his face fades into something much more vulnerable. Charlie's hands move up to your shoulders, and that feeling of freezer burn starts radiating under his touch again. “I want more of this, if you're okay with that. More of you.”

Charlie's eyes flicker between your own, carefully watching as you stand there, stunned.

“And.. Stop me, if I’ve taken this wrong. If my attempts to get your attention this week have been unwarranted. Stop me if this isn't what you want.” His hand moves to your cheek. “Please.”

You don't stop him, shaking your head and leaning into his hand.

“I won't.”

Charlie smiles as he pulls your face to his, gently kissing you for just a moment. He pulls away, just enough to breathe. You wrap your arms around his shoulders and quickly pull him into a deeper kiss.

The sound of cheers and whoops fill the hall and you pull away to see a handful of family members standing in the hallway, watching you two. Your mom gives you a knowing smile before you stare and silently wave them all off. Isabella is the last one to leave, holding her phone up with a mischievous grin and a thumbs up.

Charlie chuckled lowly and kissed your cheek, and when you were sure your little audience had dispersed, you two smiled at each other and kissed again.

“I told you I’d surprise you.”

“You didn't let me down.”

The rest of the night was full of playful gazes and quick kisses when nobody's looking. Quiet whispers of private conversation passed back and forth with no room for anyone to eavesdrop. Gentle touches and subtle movements, with something a little more genuine behind them – you find that not much changes in these little acts from the rest of the week, as if they've always had the same intent behind them just with more hesitation.

Dinner goes about as well as you'd expect, with one of your uncles trying to stir up some trouble and having to be talked down as a big scene was made. Usually you'd be much more upset about this sort of thing, but whenever you sighed or tensed up, Charlie's hand squeezed yours from under the table, and everything was okay again. You stayed up and drank a little after with the rest of the adults in the family, the conversations around the house a little more soft spoken, albeit a little more loose lipped as well. Those who were either already planning on staying, or had drank more than they meant to, trickled off one by one to their rooms, and slowly the unused lights were turned off until it was you and Charlie alone in the den with the glittering lights of the tree.

Sure, you were a few drinks in, but so was he as the two of you hummed and danced along to the Christmas music emanating from the radio. His arms wrapped around you and it was like there was nothing else in the world you could possibly bring yourself to think about other than the smell of Charlie and the sound of his low hums as he swayed you two back and forth.

You knew there would have to be a proper conversation about what you two were going to do now, about what this meant for your relationship and how it would affect the people around you, but for now, you were content with what you had, which was Charlie in your arms, smiling warmly at you.

The song changed to something more upbeat, and he grinned, laughing a little as he pulled away and spun you to the tune. The two of you kept up with singing along, even if you wavered a little as Charlie pulled you along. It was fun and it was carefree and you were very dizzy by the end, where Charlie leaned you into a dip and smiled down at you.

“Merry Christmas, Charlie.”

“Merry Christmas, Angel.”

He leans down and presses a kiss to your lips, and you chase him as he leans up to press another kiss to his lips. After a couple more chaste kisses, he pulls away and glances towards the stairs then back at you with an unspoken question, and you find yourself quickly pulled up the stairs, giggling and shushing each other all the way to your room.