#I think just quietly adoringly staring at you with a slightly dopey maybe but loving smile for a while would fix me ngl

[the-red-hoodlum]

hehe ^^ <3

I MISSS YOUUUUU

HIIII TULIIII!! miss’t you too lovie :3

[peaceoutofthepieces]

chapter 27.5 (part II)

When I Live My Dream (Please Be There To Meet Me)

This is the second part to go with chapter 27! This is for @dreamy-slytherin @icnthndlemylifesorry and myself, along with the rest of the VDS nation. I wrote this all today and really thought I wasn’t gonna get it done, but it’s here and I hope it’s okay. Leonie, your tags were ridiculously close, and this whole part is primarily for you. Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you, and I hope you all find your Even equivalents, in every universe. Also, 27.5 (part I) is Sobbe’s day, if you missed that!

Jens does not get nervous. 

Jens’s hands are sweating. Jens is about to shit his pants. 

Jens doesn’t get nervous, except, maybe, for a blue-eyed boy from the Netherlands, who’d moved into Jens’s heart the instant he’d moved to Belgium, carving out a place for himself and leaving no possibility of resistance. He makes Jens feel nervous, and excited and warm and out of control. Jens could never have been prepared for him and the shift meeting him would mean. He doesn’t regret a second, and he wouldn’t change a thing. 

Except maybe making Lucas run around Antwerp for an hour instead of going straight to him and spending the entire day in his arms, where he should be. He only hopes Lucas will find it as romantic as it was supposed to be, and that it won’t take him much longer, because he’s like ninety percent sure in another ten minutes their ice cream is going to melt entirely. Whilst he himself is beginning to freeze. Typical. 

He paces back and forth underneath the shelter a few more times, convincing himself this was all a good idea, until he sees a flashlight shining around the corner and stills himself, a smile tugging at his lips unconsciously. Lucas comes into view in increments, barely lit by the light of his own phone and the spotlight torch Jens has set up, shivering and beautiful. His hair is damp and extra curly, obviously caught in a plump of rain, hoodless in his pink sweater and usual denim jacket. He’s an instant mood lift, sending Jens’s heart fluttering and lighting up the empty skate park. He smiles when he catches sight of Jens, shaking his head slightly. But his steps speed up, and his smile only gets wider when he finally stops in front of Jens and takes in the bouquet in his hands. 

“You got me flowers?” he asks, incredulous, and Jens grins. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he shrugs. Lucas bites his lip and it doesn’t even slightly hinder his smile. He gives another shake of his head and lowers his phone to accept the flowers, letting himself be pulled into a kiss, long and languid. Jens wraps him in his arms and trails kisses over his jaw, relishing in the tiny laugh Lucas lets loose. His arms are around Jens neck, the flowers dangerously close to being crushed against his shoulder. Jens wants to fold himself into his chest and never move. 

Lucas presses his lips to the top of his ear and whispers, “Happy Valentine’s Day.” Jens doesn’t even know what the feeling in his chest is anymore. It’s too immense to describe. “What made you think I’m a flowers-over-chocolate person?”

“Your Instagram, flower boy,” Jens retorts, pulling back with a huff and another short kiss. Lucas narrows his eyes, but tilts his head as if to say ‘that’s fair’. “And what makes you think you can’t be both?”

Lucas blinks at him, and Jens steps away entirely to duck into the corner of the shelter and retrieve their ice creams, thankfully not yet seeping through their cups and very clearly covered in chocolate sauce, with a flake sticking out of Lucas’s. A better sort of cherry-on-top. The instant grin that lights up Lucas’s face makes it worth every penny. “I didn’t forget your sweet tooth. I pay attention.”

Lucas makes grabby hands for his ice cream and then has none left for Jens. It doesn’t stop him from carefully drooping his arms around his shoulders once more and pressing an exaggerated, smacking kiss to his mouth, bopping their noses as he smiles brightly. 

“You are an excellent boyfriend,” he says, surprisingly earnest, genuinely dreamy. Jens’s responding smile is dopey and jaw-breaking. “But you did make me walk around Antwerp for an unnecessarily long time. It rained on me.”

“Poor baby. That’s just what you get for never wearing a hood.”

“That’s a complete lie. I just happened to know this is your favourite sweater of mine.”

“Oh?” Lucas hums. “And you aren’t scared I might steal it?”

Lucas examines him with an overly thorough once over and simply answers, “You’d look good in it. But what I meant to say is I know it’s your favourite on me.”

Jens sighs. “Caught.” Lucas comforts him with a smug smile and a nod. “The jacket might possibly be one of my preferred items, too.”

Lucas hums questioningly and Jens gives an affirming one in return, and then they’re kissing again. He only remembers why it’s not allowed yet when the cool condiment still in Lucas’s hand brushes the skin of his neck. “Our ice cream’s gonna melt,” he gets out between presses of their lips, words lost in Lucas’s mouth, but it’s enough to make the other boy pull away. He sits down against the back of the shelter, laying the flowers carefully at his side. He swallows three scoops of ice cream before looking back up at Jens, still rooted in place, unable to do anything but stare adoringly at this boy. His boyfriend. 

Lucas beckons him over, and Jens has no choice but to go.

~^~

They’d spent too much time in their little safe haven, until their hands went numb from the cold and their lips from the kissing, and then they’d collected themselves and made their way back to Lucas’s. This, again, took them longer than it should have, with one or the other distracted by the urge to steal another kiss in the more private sections of the streets. Now, though, they’ve finally confined themselves to the safety of Lucas’s bedroom. 

They’ve abandoned their jackets and shoes to collapse side by side on Lucas’s bed, curled up facing each other, legs tangled and hands never really leaving each other. The flowers are tucked in a glass of water on Lucas’s desk, with a vase not to be found anywhere in the apartment. Jens hates how appealing Lucas looks like this, soft and relaxed and only inches away, there for Jens to touch and kiss as often as he likes. He realised a while ago that Lucas is tired, that there’s a heavy exhaustion weighing behind the light in his eyes that he hadn’t noticed earlier. It leaves Lucas lethargic and smiley, receptive to Jens’s affection even as he’s slow to reciprocate. 

Jens doesn’t care. He could happily lie here and just look at Lucas until the day he dies. 

“I actually enjoyed the scavenger hunt,” Lucas mumbles suddenly, into the hair’s breadth of space between them. “In case you were spiraling and thinking it was a bad idea. You put a lot of work into it and it was incomparably sweet and I kept all the notes.”

Jens’s lips pull into a slow smile. “Really?” Lucas nods and their noses brush. Lucas leans up to give his a tiny kiss while smushing his cheeks. Jens laughs quietly to mask the fact that he’s melting. “Good. I wanted you to enjoy today.”

Lucas kisses his cheek. “I always enjoy being with you.”

“Yeah?” Lucas hums. “Good. That means you won’t leave anytime soon.”

At that, Lucas pulls back to look at him. Now, he looks much more awake. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere. Ever.” Jens raises a brow. “And if I do, I’ll always come back.”

This is a little outside Jens’s usual comfort zone, a little beyond their usual level of seriousness. It makes his heart swell and his stomach clench. He’s lying down, and his head’s spinning. He never imagined having something like this. He can’t imagine living without it. 

Jens pulls him into his arms and kisses the top of his head. He feels high, leisurely drunk on the love Lucas offers so freely, on the love brimming over inside his chest, on the love so evident in every touch and kiss and look, given and returned over and over without either of them ever realising it. Because that’s what it is. Jens is overwhelmingly, undeniably in love with him. 

He swallows down the urge to say the words then and there, no matter how romantically cliché it is, no matter how sure he is that Lucas would probably say it back. Jens has ruined too many good things by going in too hard too fast. He can take his time with Lucas. Neither of them are going anywhere. 

“Me too,” Jens promises for now, hugging him closer. Lucas simply kisses his neck and snuggles deeper into his hold. Jens tangles his fingers in his hair and cards them through the strands, completely unable to wipe the smile off his face. 

“What would you have done if I couldn’t find you?” Lucas questions. 

“You keep swearing you’ll always find me. I wanted proof. Now I know you always will. And I’ll always be there, waiting for you.”

Lucas presses his face harder against his shoulder. Jens thinks he might be hiding. The thought only makes his smile widen. He presses another kiss to Lucas’s head. Then Lucas asks, “What if you hadn’t found me? If you hadn’t tagged me in that comment, we might have never met.”

“I would’ve approached you eventually.”

“But you didn’t know who I was.”

Jens licks his lips. He can’t admit the full extent of his feelings, not yet, but it’s possibly time for this small bit of truth. Probably. He feels safe enough divulging it now, at least. “I did.”

Lucas starts to pull away. Jens debates tightening his grip, keeping him in place so he can tell this secret to the air. He lets Lucas move until they’re face to face again, until he can see Lucas’s confused expression and the question in his blue eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t accidentally tag you. I didn’t first see you through your Instagram.” Lucas’s lips part, and Jens’s attention is brought to them briefly before he continues. “I saw you on your first day. Across the courtyard. You didn’t even look in my direction.”

Lucas blinks, the beginning of a smile playing at the edges of his lips. He shakes his head. “No. But it wasn’t the first time I’d seen you, either. You were at a party with your friends. I went to try to make friends. Then I saw you, and I was fucked.” Jens laughs, and Lucas joins him for a second before finishing, “I didn’t have the guts to go to you, but you ruined me for everyone else, so I just went home.” Jens laughs some more and brings his hand to Lucas’s jaw. He pulls him in until their lips are just brushing, teasing, and then he kisses him hard and slow, unable to resist. 

Lucas clutches at his hoodie, mouth slackening under Jens’s, letting him in without protest. Lucas’s hand slips under the jumper only to catch in the fabric of the t-shirt underneath. Lucas groans quietly and gives the material a tug, humming once he’s peeled it away enough to get his hand on Jens’s skin. Jens buries his hand in his hair and hums back, unbearably pleased. 

The only thing that makes him stop is the insistent buzzing of his phone behind him, and he has to ignore Lucas’s whine of protest and the hand now on the small of his back to reach around and pick it up. He rubs a hand over his face and unlocks it, seeing the notifications are only from their ridiculous group chat, alongside one of a new post from Robbe. It’s only as he clicks into it that he realises how late it is, already after ten, and that he had no idea he’d been here that long. The photo that comes up then brings a smile to his face, and he shakes his head. They are annoyingly adorable, he supposes, and he loves seeing Robbe finally happy, almost as much as he loves how Lucas is currently pressing his nose to the underside of his jaw, pleasantly clingy. He’s shifted to remain against Jens’s side now that Jens has flipped onto his back, and Jens moves his hand back into his hair, idly playing with it. Jens tilts the phone to show him and Lucas huffs a laugh, reaching behind him and fumbling to lift his own phone off the nightstand. 

“He made it really easy for you, huh,” Lucas muses. “He talks about these people a lot.”

Jens shrugs. “They became a thing a while before he came out. I’ve always assumed they helped him a lot. It’s kinda sweet.” Then, “Just don’t tell him I said that.” 

He likes the photo and leaves them a content, smiling at it once more before locking the phone and dropping it on his chest, settling his hand on top. He turns his head to nose at the top of Lucas’s forehead, the ends of his hair, and Lucas shoots him a smile. “He did make it very easy,” he continues their conversation. “I saw the opportunity and I took it. It was somehow less embarrassing than actually approaching you and saying hi like a normal person.”

Lucas smirks. “So you just let me think you were a dumbass the whole time instead?”

Jens rolls his eyes. “Well, you know now, so you can feel all smug or whatever.”

“Mmhm. I know now. You definitely are a dumbass. Biggest one I’ve ever met.”

Jens only wiggles his brows. “Biggest how?”

Lucas snorts and rolls away from him, pushing at his shoulder. Jens laughs. “You’re disgusting. I don’t know why I like you.”

“Mmm but you do. You like like me. You like me better than ice cream.”

“Well, now,” Lucas denies, “I really like ice cream.”

Jens twists onto his side again, sliding his hand around Lucas’s waist. “But you like me more,” he says, firm, bumping their foreheads together lightly with an easy smile. 

Lucas returns it slowly, eliminating the space between them in the same fashion. “But I like you more,” he agrees, decisive, and Jens might burst. 

“It still surprises me, sometimes,” Jens admits quietly. “How I feel about you. I haven’t felt anything like this, ever.”

Lucas swallows, and Jens loves his serious face as much as his teasing one, as much as his sarcastic smile and his smug smirk and his genuine amusement and his loving grin. “Me neither.” Then they get lost in kisses again, and Jens forgets about everything else. 

It’s only when they stop and Lucas is replying to messages from Kes that Jens remembers there was something he wanted to ask. “Luc,” he attempts to get his attention. Lucas pauses and looks up at him, one hand holding his phone and the other tucked under his head. Jens snaps the photo and smiles, heart warming in his chest as Lucas’s smile turns to one of exasperated fondness. “I wanted to ask you something.”

Lucas nods. “What’s up?”

“Can I,” he hesitates. “Can I post this?”

Lucas blinks. “Oh.”

“You can say no,” Jens rushes to add. “I get it if the answer’s no. But I’ve been thinking about it. And everyone that really matters already knows, right? And I know like the internet is a completely different thing and I hate it sometimes and it’s a lot more people but I just...a really big part of me just wants everyone to know. That I’m yours and you’re mine and it doesn’t matter what anyone else has to say about it because it won’t change a thing. My heart’s still gonna freak out every time I see you and chill out every time you kiss me, every time I’m reminded I get to have you. I just want to be with you, without wondering if anyone’s watching and worrying that it’ll mean people finding out. That’s just...not an issue if everyone just knows.” 

Lucas stares, first blankly and then in wonder. He takes a slow, heavy breath, eyes roaming all over Jens’s face, as if looking for a crack, a sign that he isn’t really serious. That he doesn’t really love Lucas with his entire heart, that he doesn’t want to tell the world he does before he’s even told Lucas. Like he can’t quite believe he’s someone Jens would want to show off. Then he says, “Okay.”

Jens raises his brows. “Really? Are you sure? Because just because I’m ready doesn’t mean—“

“I’m sure,” Lucas cuts him off. “One hundred percent sure. Yes. Post it. Fuck it,” he laughs. 

“Yeah?” Jens didn’t think his smile could get any bigger. Lucas nods, quick. “Okay. Fuck, yeah, okay.”

Lucas laughs at him again and turns back to his phone. “I’ll be the first li—holy shit. That Lucas guy commented on Robbe’s post.”

Jens blinks. “What? Are you kidding?”

Lucas shakes his head. “And he and Eliott both liked it. They must follow their tag? Or one saw it and told the other probably. That’s fucking insane.”

“What the fuck. Robbe must have freaked the fuck out.”

“It looks like he did,” Lucas laughs. He raises a brow at Jens, now a full on challenge. “You gonna freak him out some more?”

Jens grins. Then he posts the photo. 

He doesn’t have to wait long for a response. Lucas is the first to like it, adorably, and then Robbe’s there to scream at him and Jana to tease. He watches the likes and comments roll in, not a single one negative, and then Lucas’s name is on his screen again. Jens grins and taps out a reply to his comment. Lucas kicks his leg lightly, happily, and Jens tosses his phone to the side to pull him in again, only to have Lucas set his hands on his shoulders, keeping him at a distance. “Wait. I have something for you.” 

Jens raises his brows. “You do?”

“Yeah,” Lucas says, both amused and defensive. “Did you think you were the only good boyfriend here?” Jens can only shake his head and watch him more over to the drawers on his desk, opening the top one and producing a box. Jens pushes himself up to sitting as Lucas drops down next to him, holding the item out in offering. 

Jens takes it carefully, flicking his eyes up to Lucas’s face before lifting the lid. Inside lies a keyring with a little skateboard attached, alongside a small silver circle with an ‘L’ engraved in the middle. Jens lifts it out slowly, letting it fall against his fingers, and the smile coming over his face is the barest, most genuine one yet. It’s obvious, here, so obvious to Jens in this tiny gift and in the apprehension on Lucas’s face, that this is the person that he’s meant to love that loves him just as much in return. That, despite not knowing him all that long, knows him inside out. That has witnessed his insecurities and his mistakes and his faults and has accepted them alongside his passion and his confidence and his heart. 

“You like it?” Lucas questions, after Jens has been sitting silently for too long, lost in all the emotions coming over him at once. “It’s actually a chain but I wasn’t sure if you’d want that so I switched it onto a keyring. But we can change it back. If you like it.”

Jens sets it safely back in its box and pulls his boyfriend into a kiss. He mumbles, “I love it,” against his lips, and hopes Lucas understands he means I love you. “You’re a great boyfriend. Best boyfriend ever.”

Lucas huffs a laugh. They’re both downright giddy. “I’m your only boyfriend ever.”

“Mm, I hope so,” Jens says easily, kissing him again. “I’m yours, too.”

“You are. Which is why I may have got one too.”

“No,” Jens pulled back. “No way you did.”

Lucas wanders back to his desk and then returns right to Jens’s arms, almost in his lap as he brandishes another box at him. He flips the lid open and shows Jens the contents. A silver chain with the same small skateboard, and the accompanying circle engraved with a cursive ‘J’. “Fuck,” Jens says. “You’re so fucking adorable. How are you that fucking cute and so hot at the same time?”

Lucas laughs, loud and unadulterated, and Jens takes the chain out of the box and clasps it around Lucas’s neck. Lucas brings their faces close and kisses Jens’s cheek. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he says simply. 

Jens’s response is to tug him into his lap and kiss him senseless. Lucas’s hands find their way to his skin easily this time, brushing over his stomach and roaming his back and making Jens arch into his touch. When Jens’s hands find the hem of Lucas’s jumper and begin dragging it up his sides, Lucas lifts his arms and lets him pull it all the way off. His breath hitches as Jens trails a burning path down his neck to his chest with his lips, keeping him close with his hands at the small of his back. Lucas’s hands drop from Jens’s hair to pull off his hoodie and then his t-shirt, huffing at the extra layer and melting the instant Jens’s mouth returns to his skin. His nails scratch over Jens’s shoulders and then he’s tugging him back by the hair just to return the treatment, sucking and nipping at Jens’s skin in a way that’s bound to leave bruises. Jens is unbelievably turned on by it. 

“I think,” Lucas says after a moment, breath hot against Jens’s collarbone, “there’s something else I’m ready for. If you are.”

His blown pupils and the intensity of his gaze leave no room for misinterpretation, and they’re surely mirrored on Jens’s own face. Jens grins, pulls him into another deep kiss, and in one swift movement, flips him onto his back. It knocks a gasp out of him as Jens covers his body with his own, leaning down to kiss him until he’s sunk boneless into the mattress. Then he trails a new path down, over his neck and his collarbones and his chest and his stomach. 

Then, after settling himself between Lucas’s legs on his knees and shooting one last questioning glance up at him, he pops the button on Lucas’s jeans.