#His VD is Just 13 minutes of “I see we’re doing this ‘me being a human being’ thing now. Can we cut that shit out?”

[psicheanima]

Miss these guys more each passing day, some of the most drastic hilarious character development in history and then some of them are just like “a toothpick changes everything”

[ravenbrenna09]

Jij Verliest - Chapter Seven: Clip 5&6

master list

...

note: I’m sorry, I’ve given up on actually making the texts. Also I didn’t italicize the texts because everytime I do, Tumblr doesn’t always get them all for whatever reason.

...

Maandag 11:52

Chat: Broerrrs + Luc

13 July, 11:52

Jens: ROBBE. IJZERMANS. What part of ‘text us about it’ did you not understand?

Robbe: Lucas. You could’ve warned me at least.

Lucas: Sorry.

Aaron: What happened to ‘Chill Jens’?

Moyo: Caps lock must’ve been on. 

Jens: Caps lock was on. Didn’t feel like changing it though. It served a purpose.

Moyo: What’s going on?

Aaron: Yeah, what do VDS know that we don’t?

Lucas: Um, do you want me to tell them?

Robbe: I can’t have one blissful Monday afternoon, can I?

Aaron: Of course not, it’s Monday.

Lucas: Robbe had a *visitor* this weekend. Someone who showed up on Friday night. And didn’t leave until this morning 👀 Should my sources be correct… 

Robbe: Zoë or Milan?

Lucas: My sources are confidential.

Moyo: Please tell me it was Sander.

Robbe: Yes, it was Sander.

Moyo: Thank god. Wait, are you being serious?

Jens: Yes! And *someone* forgot to tell us.

Robbe: I’m sorry, I was busy.

Aaron: Yeah, we know what you were doing all weekend.

Robbe: Cuddling and watching Harry Potter?

Moyo: You’re boring.

Robbe: Haha 🖕🏻 Sander didn’t think so. Also, who else would it be, Moyo?

Moyo: Worst case scenario? Thomas. Best case scenario? A random one nightstand.

Jens: Thomas? As if.

Moyo: That’s why it was the worst-case scenario.

Lucas: If it was Thomas, none of us would be able to stop Jens. And I’m thankful it’s not because I’m sick of his face. And my boyfriend isn’t in jail.

Aaron: Seconded.

Moyo: Third.

Jens: You guys know I almost always agree with Lucas. But I am also sick of Thomas’s face. And I would need bail money. 

Robbe: Yes, I know. I have a rotten ex-boyfriend. Luckily, I have a new one that’s ten times better.

Jens: Yes. Did he explain why he was distant?

Robbe: Yes, he did and I forgive him. I would’ve forgiven him anyway, but he did explain. And we’re together now.

Jens: Good. That’s all that matters.

Robbe: So, since we all know what *I* was doing this weekend: how were all of your weekends?

Lucas: the Netherlands was fun. Got to see Isa and the girls again. Plus, Mom kept trying to force-feed Jens. She told him he was too skinny.

Jens: She said the same thing to you. Why are you singling me out?

Aaron: Amber and I went out to lunch with her mom on Sunday.

Moyo: My girlfriend’s roommates were out on Saturday night. So we ended up cooking together. The first try was a bit of a disaster, but we managed to make something good the second time.

Robbe: That’s great. I’m glad everyone had fun.

Lucas: When are we going to meet this mystery girl, Moyo? You seem smitten.

Jens: Yeah, you do. And you call me whipped. You should see you.

Robbe: But you are whipped.

Jens: I’m not denying it. But he’s also whipped.

Lucas: You are.

Moyo: When are we going to meet Sander? As your friends, he’s just as important as you are.

Robbe: I don’t know. Probably about the same time that you introduce us to Noor.

Jens: Wait, Noor is your mystery girl?

Moyo: Aaron!

Aaron: I DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING. I haven’t even told Amber!

Jens: Wait, Aaron knew about this and not me? I’m offended, bro.

Lucas: I’d like to know how Robbe knew. Because if Aaron didn’t tell Amber, he didn’t tell Robbe.

Robbe: My source is confidential.

Moyo: Robbe, I hate you.

Robbe: Don’t hate me. She’s a great girl. Plus, it’s not like you two are sly. At our movie night, you two were far more comfortable than you should’ve been.

Moyo: Yeah, you’re right.

Jens: I feel like my entire world has changed. 

…

Dinsdag 17:45

When Robbe had stepped into the tattoo parlor a little before 17:00, Alicia had leapt over the edge of the counter and bounced across the empty lobby. She had tackled him, nearly causing both of them to crash onto the floor, and her electric blue ponytail smacked him in the face. Robbe recoiled slightly from the accidental slap before sinking into her embrace. Once she pulled away, she bounced on her feet, looking like she might explode from excitement. 

“I’m so happy to see you here again!” she said, grinning. “I was starting to worry that I would have to deal with grumpy Sander for the rest of my life.” Robbe chuckled and Alicia smiled proudly. “But I’m glad to see that you two have made up—you did make up, right? He has just seemed happier today and yesterday and I’m assuming it’s because of you.”

Robbe laughed. “Yes, we did.”

Alicia bounced again, still grinning. “That’s great! His shift is over in a few minutes…” She trailed off, eyeing him suspiciously. “But I have a feeling that you already knew that.” While Alicia continued to eye him with playful suspicion, Robbe shrugged and grinned. “Sorry, my mom always tells me that I seem strange to people who don’t know me. It’s just I’ve heard so much about you from Sander and he’s practically family so I’m pretty protective of—”

“No, it’s okay, I understand—”

As if on cue, Sander stepped out of the hallway. Even after a long day of work, his bleach-blond hair was still immaculate and pristine. Today, he was wearing another black shirt but this one had Emilie’s Tattoo Parlor printed across his chest. He looked tired, but Robbe wasn’t surprised. He had worked the early shift. 

Stopping at the desk, he placed down a binder and adjusted the strap of his bag a little higher on his shoulder. Glancing up, his eyes caught Robbe talking with Alicia. As soon as he spotted them, he grinned brightly over at them, all tiredness fading from his face, and said, “Alicia, leave my boyfriend alone.” His tone was light and teasing as he crossed the room. Sander wrapped Robbe in a hug before moving towards the parlor door. “I only have him for an hour before he has to go to work.” 

“Oh right,” Alicia said, smacking her head like she forgot. She grinned at Robbe, waving goodbye at the two of them. “Have a good dinner!” 

“Tell Britt hi!” 

Leaving the tattoo parlor, Robbe collected his bike before following Sander down a well-tuned series of turns to their destination. With one arm around Sander’s waist and the other steering his bike, Robbe felt like he was right where he was meant to. Robbe didn’t know where they were going—just to some restaurant that Robbe had to try—but he followed Sander’s gentle tugs and guidance with ease. Once they arrived at the hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Robbe locked his bike up and let Sander drag him inside. 

Robbe didn’t know what he had been expecting from the small restaurant, but it was one of the best pizzas that he’d ever had. As soon as they walked in, the cashier recognized Sander and proceeded to tease him about taking too long to bring his boyfriend around. When the cashier brought them their pizzas, moving before Sander could get up to get them, they were hot to the touch and fresh from the oven. 

As they ate their food, Sander would reach out to feed Robbe a bite of his or brush a hand on his thigh beneath the table. Every time Sander did something, paid attention to him, his heart grew three sizes. Even so early into their relationship, he felt so cared for. Robbe tried to do the same. He would reach out to hold his knee or hold Sander’s hand beneath the table. And Sander never shied away from Robbe’s touch. In fact, he seemed to blossom with it. 

As they left the restaurant, hand in hand and laughing, the cashier tried to say it was on the house for their favorite customer and his boyfriend. Robbe blushed profusely at their comment and Sander merely chuckled, thanking them. As soon as the cook called the cashier’s name, Sander quickly dropped the money to cover the order (and more) into the tip jar before dragging Robbe from the restaurant. 

Even though it wasn’t that long of a ride, Sander insisted on driving Robbe back to the flatshare. Their only trouble was getting Robbe’s bike in the car, but they managed to make it work by tilting it a little. The ride itself was short and relaxing. Sander drove with one hand on the wheel and the other was wrapped gently with Robbe’s hand. As he weaved through the traffic, Sander talked in vivid detail about a tattoo that he did earlier this afternoon as Robbe listened intently. 

As they pulled into a stop outside the building, Robbe got curious. “Hey, Sander.”

“Yeah?” Sander asked. 

“What were you thinking about, that night at the bar?” Robbe asked. 

It had been a question on Robbe’s mind for a while. His thoughts of the night were abundantly clear—okay, maybe slightly buzzed—that the random stranger with an armful of tattoos who sat down next to him and offered him a smoke and gave him an impromptu therapy session was hot. As he nursed his hangover the next morning, Robbe had briefly entertained the thought of meeting him again but Robbe had thought it was an impossible feat. Seeing Sander walk in that bar less than a week later… it had felt like a sign.

One that Robbe had been simultaneously curious and terrified of. 

When Sander was quiet, simply staring at the steering wheel with a small smile on his face, Robbe added, “I’m sure that it must’ve been one hell of a crappy impression.” 

Sander glanced up at him with a small look of disbelief and a scoff. “What makes you think that?” Sander teased. 

Robbe turned in his seat, facing Sander with a mischievous smile on his face. He placed their joined hands in his lap, running his finger over the back of his hand. “I don’t know, but if I saw a guy sitting quite dramatically on the floor—I think that was your wording,” Robbe said and Sander laughed, “and lamenting his ex-boyfriend, it wouldn’t have been the best first impression I’ve ever made.”

“I don’t know,” Sander said. He put the car in park before turning to Robbe, who was waiting impatiently beside him. Sander tugged their joined hands back into his lap before turning Robbe’s over so the palm was facing upward. Sander trailed a finger along the lines of his palm, leaving Robbe squirming in his seat. “I think you made quite the first impression.”

This time, it was Robbe’s turn to scoff. He leaned against the leather of the car, relishing in the feeling of Sander’s doodles on his palm. “You know as well as I do, I could’ve done a lot better than bitching about my ex with someone—”

“No,” Sander said, interrupting him lightly. His voice was quiet like he was having a private conversation with himself and Robbe watched on, biting down on his lip. “That wasn’t the time I meant.” 

Robbe’s eyebrows pulled tight, staring at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Sander’s eyes darted up to meet Robbe. He could see the panicked expression in his eyes, like he didn’t expect Robbe to hear his secret confession. Quickly, his expression shifted to nervous. A small lopsided grin formed on his lips as he tilted his head to the side. Sander’s hand fidgeted around his and Robbe twisted his hand around to grasp at Sander’s fingers. 

“Sander,” Robbe said. “What is it?” 

“Um,” Sander said, biting down on his lip. “Last August, I went to the bar with my roommates after a long day at work. While I was waiting for them to show up, I spotted this beautiful man standing at the bar talking with the owner like he did it every day.” 

Sander’s eyes raised, catching his brown ones in an instant, and Robbe was certain his heart stopped in his chest. Him, Robbe realized. Sander had seen him before. 

“Before I could work up the nerve to talk to him, to get the name of this beautiful man who turned my world upside down in an instant, his boyfriend showed up and whisked him away from me. I thought that was the end of it—that I missed my chance until…” Sander trailed off. 

Robbe felt his stomach flip, nervous and excited. Bringing Sander’s hand to his mouth, Robbe placed a kiss against his knuckles. Sander followed him with a heavy gaze in his eyes and the corners of his lips quirked up nervously. “Until?” Robbe asked, his lips brushing against Sander’s knuckles. 

“Until…” Sander continued. Robbe scooted closer to him—or as much as he could in the small confine of the car. He was practically leaning over the console, trying to get as close to Sander as he could. Sander glanced at Robbe nervously. “Until last month. It had been a rough few months, but I was starting to come out of it. It was my first time out of the apartment other than for work for a month and I looked over and saw the beautiful man in the bar again.”

Robbe giggled. 

“As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was the one. My mother used to tell me that there was no such thing as a coincidence,” Sander said, reaching up to wipe a thumb across Robbe’s flushed cheeks. “She used to go on and on about how ‘what is meant for you won’t pass you by’—”

“Is that what the quote on your side is?” Robbe asked, quietly. Sander paused, staring at him. “I saw it on Saturday but your arm was covering most of it.” 

Sander grinned. “Yes, it is. Now, back to the story—” 

Robbe mumbled out a quiet ‘sorry’ and Sander gave him a stern look. 

“When I saw that beautiful man for the second time, I knew that the universe was trying to give me a sign and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. When I saw him head outside to get some air, I followed. But I only managed to learn his name before the universe ripped him away from me again.” He let out a heavy sigh and slumped his shoulders. “But, lucky for me, I managed to find him again, not even a week later, and I knew that I couldn’t let him get away from me again.” 

“Wow,” Robbe said, breathless. Sander looked up at him with nervous eyes, staring at Robbe intensely. He let out a breath, reaching up to take Sander’s face in his hands. “You really saw me that long ago?”

“Yes,” Sander whispered. “Since the moment I saw you, I’ve wanted you, Robbe IJzermans… even before I knew what your name was.” His eyes scanned Robbe’s face. “Are you mad?” 

Staring at Sander for a few seconds, Robbe hastily undid the seatbelt around him. He could see the worried look on Sander’s face, like Robbe was going to climb out and never look back, but Robbe simply climbed on the seat. His knees dug into the leather as Robbe leaned across the center to press a deep kiss against Sander’s lips. He clung to the strands of Sander’s icy blond hair, holding on for dear life, as Sander let out a grunt. 

Since the beginning, Sander had always seen him. Whether it was last month outside the bar or last year inside the bar, Sander had seen him. He had seen Robbe in the comfort of his bed, in the disarray of a friendly gathering, desperate in a tattoo parlor, and so many moments in between. Robbe wanted Sander to see him in all of his moments and moods, just like he wanted to see all of Sander’s faces and facades. He wanted all of Sander, everything he could get them. 

Sander’s words from last Friday came rushing back: Robbe IJzermans, since the moment that I first saw you, I have wanted you. 

“So you’re not mad?” Sander asked, breaking their kiss. 

Robbe shook his head, practically panting against Sander’s mouth. “No, I’m not mad.”

“Good,” Sander said, quietly. “I was worried you might be.” 

“I’m not. I promise.” 

Robbe moved to kiss Sander again. Robbe wanted to kiss him a little harder. Robbe wanted to pour every single emotion bursting out of his chest into the kiss for Sander—for Sander to taste—at the same intensity Robbe was experiencing from him. But, at the last second, Sander pulled away a mischievous smile on his lips and Robbe couldn’t help the whine. “What were you thinking the night that you first saw me outside the bar?”

Robbe chuckled. “I could only think of one thing—” Pausing, Robbe leaned forward. His knees were strained from this position, but he didn’t care. Stopping a hair away from connecting their lips fully, Sander glanced up at Robbe with a mischievous look in his eye as Robbe grinned. “—Fuuucccckkk, he’s so hot.”

Sander laughed but his laugh was muffled by Robbe’s lips pressing against his. 

[azozzoni]

VDS part 13.

*

“You’ve got to stop,” Kes said as he skated up to Lucas, kicking his board into his hand and plopping down on the side of the ramp next to Lucas.

“Stop what?”

Kes gave him a look and Lucas could only sigh, clicking out of his text messages. There was nothing there. No response from Jens even though it had been two days since Lucas had sent his last message, told Jens to choose.

“He still hasn’t responded?” Kes asked, nudging Lucas’ foot with his own.

Shaking his head, Lucas tucked the phone away with a sigh. “Guess that means he chose.”

He didn’t know what he’d expected. After all, what he and Jens had been doing was mostly making out, sharing joints, a one-time blow job that Lucas had thought had been pretty amazing. Apparently not amazing enough. He shouldn’t have expected that to be enough for Jens to actually want to be with him.

“Well, he chose wrong,” Kes said simply, reassuring, but it didn’t make Lucas feel any better.

Looking away from Kes, Lucas pushed a hand through his hair, raking his curls in front of his eyes. He didn’t really want to talk about Jens or how stupid he felt for thinking they might have had something real.

“I should get going,” he said when neither he nor Kes continued the conversation. “Make sure my mom’s okay.”

Kes watched Lucas climb up from the edge of the ramp, dusting off his jeans and zipping up his jacket. “We should do something tomorrow, just you and me.”

Lucas smiled slightly at Kes’ offer. A few months ago, it would have been the only thing he wanted to do. But now, the idea of wallowing at home all day by himself was equally desirable.

“I’ll text you,” he said instead of agreeing, and Kes nodded slowly.

“You’ll find somebody great,” he said, and Lucas didn’t scoff despite how stupid it sounded. As if he would ever find anyone. Jens had been a fluke, a chance meeting at a cafe with Ralph there, bold enough to shove Lucas into oncoming traffic. It wouldn’t happen again.

Lucas left the skate park, taking the long way home, frowning as he passed by the cafe. He purposefully avoided looking inside, shuffling faster towards home.

“Luc!”

Lucas was turning the corner onto his street when a voice behind him stopped him. His heart nearly stopped when he turned to see Jens heading towards him. He had his hoodie pulled up over his head, hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his jacket, a backpack on as if he’d come straight from school.

Staring, Lucas opened his mouth but he couldn’t find the words between all the thoughts jumbling around his head. What was Jens doing here? He hadn’t even bothered to respond to Lucas’ text from days ago. And now he was stepping up to Lucas on his grey street, eyes darting down him as if to make sure it was really him.

“Hey,” Jens said finally as Lucas just stared at him. He actually sounded a little out of breath, as if he’d been hurrying to catch him.

“What,” Lucas managed to get out, shaking his head. “What are you doing here?”

Jens jerked his shoulders, scrunching them up in the cold, and that wasn’t an answer. Not for Lucas, who had been staring at his unanswered message for two days.

“I fucked up,” Jens said, and it wasn’t the answer Lucas was expecting. Blinking, he frowned up at Jens, the way the chill breeze blew his hair in his eyes, but Lucas didn’t suggest they go inside, walk the few feet down the block to his house.

“You fucked up,” he repeated slowly, biting his bottom lip as he tried to work out what that meant exactly.

It was only the second time Jens seemed something other than confident. In fact, he seemed nervous as he pressed his fists into his pockets, sweatshirt straining against the pressure.

“I thought that I didn’t want a relationship,” he said after a minute, cheeks red, but that might have been from the wind. “My last one, well, I kind of fucked that up too.”

Lucas shook his head. “When did I ever say I wanted that?”

“You didn’t,” Jens admitted, lifting his gaze to Lucas. Lucas wanted to be mad. He wanted to be angry that Jens had ditched him with a shitty excuse, gone hot and cold on him all at the same time. But Jens standing in front of him, shoulders hunched, looking guilty and regretful, it made it hard to stay mad. “I got stuck in my own head. When you said you’d come out, that your friend told you to ‘lock it down,’ I panicked.”

“You panicked?” Lucas repeated, surprised. The Jens he knew was cool and suave and didn’t panic over things like relationships. Maybe he didn’t know as much as he thought.

“Robbe kept asking about what we were doing, and I didn’t know. And last time, I lied, and she cheated, and it was a mess. I was afraid it would be the same.” Jens looked away, over to one of the neighbor’s houses. The lights were off, nobody home, and Lucas watched Jens instead. “I thought if I could prove that I didn’t care about you, things would be fine.”

“That’s nice.” Lucas scowled, but Jens seemed to realize he’d said the wrong thing as his eyes went wide.

“But I was wrong,” he said quickly. “I went to that stupid party without you, and all I kept wishing was that you were there.”

For a long moment, Lucas didn’t speak. It was getting bone-chillingly cold as evening fell, but he didn’t invite Jens in. Not yet.

“Coming out was hard,” he said finally, meeting Jens’ gaze, the uncertainty in his face. “But I wanted to tell my friends about me, about you. And then you turned around and acted like we weren’t anything.”

Jens grimaced. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Lucas hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at his house. His mom was probably inside, wrapped up in her covers, unable to move. He had to go check on her, try to get her to take her medication. He couldn’t stand here all night in the cold.

“I don’t have time to deal with relationship drama,” he said finally even though his heart throbbed as he said it. “With my mom and everything, I can’t deal with it.”

“You said, either we’re doing this or we’re not,” Jens said, reaching for Lucas before he could turn away, before he could go through with it even though he really didn’t want to. He really didn’t want to walk away from Jens, the only guy he’d ever felt anything like this for before. “I want to do it.”

“You don’t even know what it is,” Lucas said, shaking his head, watching Jens and wondering why everything had to be so complicated. Couldn’t they have just gone on doing what they were doing? Would they have eventually stopped? Or would they have eventually become real boyfriends without all this drama? Lucas didn’t have an answer.

“Neither do you,” Jens pointed out, stepping closer to Lucas. Lucas could feel the warmth of his body, and he closed his eyes for a second. It would be so easy to just give in, to Jens’ slight smile, the way he smoothed his fingers down Lucas’ arm, anchoring in his jacket sleeve as though he wasn’t going to let Lucas walk away. “We could fuck it up together.”

Lucas could hear the smile, the hope in Jens’ voice. He wanted to frown, to shove Jens’ hand away and tell him he was being stupid. Maybe he was being stupid. Maybe this was a bad idea in the first place. But Lucas did none of those things. Instead, he felt a ripple of hope in his stomach, rising into his chest as he gazed up at Jens, the sincerity in his gaze.

“Why didn’t you just text me back?” he asked after a minute, and Jens seemed to let out a breath, as though Lucas’ words were enough to reassure him.

“It seemed like more of an in-person thing,” he said, smiling finally. “That and if I’d done it over text, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

He leaned in slowly, cold hands coming up to Lucas’ jaw as he kissed him. It was like being transported somewhere else, to a place where Lucas didn’t have to think about his mom or the past couple days of anxiety twisting his stomach every time his phone vibrated with a notification.

He licked his lips slowly as Jens moved back, still close enough that Lucas didn’t open his eyes right away.

“I have to go check on my mom,” he said finally, hearing Jens’ exhale, almost defeated.

Opening his eyes, Lucas moved back, watching Jens chewing on his tongue as if trying to think if there was anything else he could say to change Lucas’ mind.

It might have been a mistake, Lucas thought as he pulled his hand from his pocket. It might have been, but he was willing to take that chance.

“Come on,” he said, holding out his hand to Jens, who stared at it for a second before his eyes flicked to Lucas’ face, checking if he was serious. “It’s cold.”

Jens’ fingers wrapped around his and Lucas turned, leading the way down the street towards his house. As the door closed behind them, Lucas caught Jens’ gaze, the smile there. Inside, Lucas pulled off his jacket and waited for Jens to do the same, eyes gliding down Jens’ chest. As he met Jens’ gaze finally, he had only one thought: this time was going to be different.

*

A/N: There are a few more little codas to come, but you could take this as the end if you wanted. I hope you all enjoyed and had a good time!