#Then suddenly my mom and aunt were watching Goblin and one of the OSTs were playing

[b1a4seeyou]

“Promise of Protection” (Zen x Reader)

Summary: Feeling lonely is one of the reasons for a person to hang around with someone they trust. That’s what makes you to visit your childhood friend. Until lately, he’s gotten busy with his work and the loneliness overwhelms you inside. What will you do for those feelings to go away?

Genre: Maybe considered angst but it’s mostly fluff.

Rating: None

Note: Finally finished writing this. A late @mysmesecretvalentines gift for @angelsdoexist ! Picked out the ‘firefly’ prompt because it’s much easier for me, I guess. This is a childhood friend AU, just a heads up haha. And I recommend you reading while listening this song here to add up the mood! I hope you enjoy! /o/

“Hey, Zen? Do you want fried eggs instead?” I asked him. “Nah, I think that should be enough.“ As he looked up from reading the script. I prepared simple french toasts as breakfast for the both of us. I placed our plates and sat across from him. Once he saw the food, he folded the corner of the page he’s reading and set it aside, “Thank you for the food.“ Then he started digging in. “Mmm! It’s so good! I never have any doubts on your cooking, MC.“ I’m glad that he loves my cooking. It’s the least I can do every time I came to his place.

Ever since I started living alone, I can’t help but feeling a little empty inside despite there’s no one to talk to or help out the chores. Luckily, I happened to live nearby Zen’s place, my childhood friend! We’ve been known each other since we’re neighbors. Knowing him, his handsome and odd features attracted people’s attention, he was well-known in the neighborhood! But sometimes he was looked down by certain people, and that’s where I came in! I was his protector on every negativity and supporter of his dream, just like any friend would do. And now, he’s an actor of a musical play like he always dreamed of. Back to what I was saying, Zen let me stay for a few hours or sometimes sleepover in his place so I could get some company from the loneliness. Him being generous is the Zen I know very well. So as repayment, I helped him out with some small chores and help his practices.

We both chatted about our days while enjoying our meal. Zen’s stories never gets bored about getting the main role and how people reacted to his skills and looks. That’s so Zen. A day without complimenting him is a sin to me. Haha, kidding. Once we’re done with our meals, I was just about to take his plate but he held out his palm, “Uh uh uh! Let me do this.“ He then took mine and went to the sink, “No, wait, Zen. Let me do it!“ “Nope, you’ve done a lot for me already. Let me help this out for once.” “But-“ “No buts! You know, I sometimes feel bad that you have to do everything for me. So let me help you out, okay?“ And gave me a playful wink and a chuckle. The fact I suddenly felt hot on my cheeks, I realized that I can be read so easily. I know he just playfully did that but I can’t help feeling that’s specially for me. Yeah, it’s pretty obvious. I’m developing feelings towards my one and only best friend. And the more reasons why I kept coming here. Even though I’ve been keeping these feelings, I’m afraid if we don’t have any mutual feelings. Feeling friend-zoned is much more painful than being rejected. And the fact he kept saying there are a lot of pretty actresses and fangirls came to him, the jealousy inside me just kept growing. But I rather let this friendship continue on, rather than making ourselves awkward if it didn’t work out well.

We both cleaned the table and after he finished washing the dishes, he went back to his seat and continue reading the script. While he doesn’t notice my attention on him, I observed his expression whenever he tries to imitate a certain line. His gifted acting skills is what made him special, adds up with the hardwork. I smiled to myself, thinking I’m really lucky to see him everyday, even though he has a fan club. He paused for awhile then suddenly his expression changed, as if he remembered something. “Oh, MC. I just thought you should know, my schedule might gotten a little tight so I may not be home or some sort.” “Oh. I see.”, I replied, a little disappointed but tried to hide it. “Well, you are an actor. Tight schedules are pretty common these days haha. So don’t worry, I’ll let you know if I do come by.” “Are you sure? I don’t want to keep you waiting for me. I’m not sure if I’ll get back-“ “It’s okay. I don’t wanna bother your work, Zen. You’ve worked hard to get that role so I think you should focus more on it. I’ll just...come by and help you clean your apartment.“ I laughed it out, though it was just a cover up from my disappointment. He heaved out a sigh, “If you think that’s okay with you, then I’m fine with it. You have the spare key so you can drop by whenever you want.“ I gave him a salute pose, making him laugh. Seeing him smile makes me happy but it hurts, knowing he won’t be here if I do give a visit. I shake my head, letting out those bad thoughts and having my hopes on seeing him again.

The next few days, I came by to his apartment after my work shift, with the key in hand and opened the door. “Heyya, Zen! I’m-“ Then I realized, this place is a little quiet with no presence of living. I entered his room, calling out his name several times but no response, until I saw a small folded paper on the dining table. I unfolded and read its contents.

“If the person reading this is MC, the director called us to stay in the theater for practice reasons so I won’t be there for a few days. You can stay in my apartment if you like. Just make yourself at home!

PS: Don’t force yourself to come by. And make sure the door and windows are locked. I’ll get worried if something happens to you. ;;”

He must have known that I’ll be coming here since, well, I do come here pretty often. I’m guessing this must have been planned the last few days. The folded lines can be seen quite well. I sighed. Alrighty then! I have decided, I’ll stay here for the night! It wouldn’t hurt since he did said so himself in the note. I did some personal things like eating, browsing the Internet, a little cleaning...But, it doesn’t last for 3 hours. After a quick shower and dressed, since I brought some here before just in case if I did plan to sleep here, I was humming and about to open my mouth but once I opened the door to the living room, my expression dropped. Right, he’s still not home. I sighed and fell down onto the sofa. I thought that maybe if I stayed here, I could at least feel his presence and lessen the loneliness, but it’s the same from staying alone. “Maybe I’ll text him? Letting him know I’m here.“ I stood up and grab my phone on the desk. I opened a messenger app and see if he’s online, but to no avail. The sadness gotten stronger inside me but I shake it off and text him.

And just like that, I dropped my phone to my face and sighed. My chest is hurting from not seeing him. At least let me see him once before he went of to the theater. I..miss him. I miss his voice, I miss his jokes, his laugh, his undying narcissistic self. I miss all about him. Even though it’s only a day, I wanted his presence so I could fill this need for him. Even though my heart is screaming at me to confess, I still don’t have the courage to even say those 3 words. I rolled on the sofa, having these complicated thoughts in my mind is frustrating. Maybe getting some night fresh air could do the trick. Thankfully my clothes are appropriate for an outside walk so I grab my cardigan and head out. Aaaand locking the doors and windows, I don’t want Zen to get worried about it.

A few miles away from the apartment, there’s a central park with a beautiful scenery so I walk towards it and take a stroll. There aren’t any people in this park, probably because of the busy construction nearby but it doesn’t bother me much. It’s night time so not much people are coming here anyway. Walking further to a pond, I stood nearby a tree, admiring the sparkling lights from the water with the images of the moon and stars. Tonight’s a beautiful night, would be more special with someone you love. I heaved out a sigh and spotted a bench at the back so I sat on it. I covered my face with both of my hands, mumbling whatever I want to let it out. As I looked up from my frustration state, my eyes widen as a tiny floating light came to view. My eyes then came to focus on the pond, a swarm of tiny lights are floating in the park. I looked around, never expecting fireflies coming out with my current state. I held out my palm and a firefly landed on it without any hesitation nor fear. Suddenly, I recalled a distant memory from the back of my mind.

“Look! Fireflies!“, a little girl exclaimed while she tried to catch one. “Hmph! Where are you going?! Come back here!“ The girl shouted with determination filled inside her and chase after the one little bug. “MC, don’t run too far!“ A voice of a boy called out to her as he joined along the chase. “Your parents will get worried.“ “Don’t worry! It’s gonna be A-Okay! Zen, help me out,“ She then told him to try catching at least one firefly and put it in a jar. Both of them were energetic and determine to catch one, until then, “I caught one! MC, look!“, the boy ran towards her and showed the jar with a firefly in it. “Uwah! It’s so beautiful!“ “Well, not as beautiful as you, MC!“ “Z-Zen!“ “But you are! I’m not joking. Even though you beat up those mean baddies and scared them away, you’re still beautiful and awesome!“ He said with those sparkling eyes. MC was a little flustered with his compliment so she grinned and thanked him. “Oh, but what are we gonna do with this? We’re not gonna keep it forever, are we?“, little Zen said as he looked at the poor creature trapped in the jar. “Nope, let’s keep it for a night! Oh! How about you sleepover at my place? We can watch it together. Once it’s morning, we’ll let it fly away to its home!“ “Oh, that’s a great idea!“ The both of them asked their parents for permission and headed to their houses. Little Zen came to her house with the jar in hand and went straight to her room. They both laid futons on the floor and placed the jar between them. Once little MC turned off the lights, the light from the firefly emitted even brighter like the stars above. “Wow, it’s so pretty!“, she exclaimed in awe. Little Zen had been quiet for some time, admiring little MC’s excited expression. He took a deep breathe and said, “Hey, MC. Can I say something?“ She looked up from the jar, “Sure. What’s wrong?“ “I-. I wanna become stronger and protective like you. You’ve been protecting me ever since and I don’t wanna be a weakling like the others called me. Once I become a man, I wanna protect you from any danger and be by your side like you did for me.“ Little Zen’s eyes stared into hers as she was in shock. “I promise. I’ll save you from anything that’s on your way. I wanna be the man you can depend on.“, he continued. Little MC was still quiet, then suddenly a smile appear on her lips. “If you want to be a man, you have to grow up first. We’re still kids, but let’s protect each other to make it fair.“ “Promise?“, he held out his hand and pulled up his pinkie. “Promise.“ Then they both crossed their pinkies as locking their promise.

“Promise...“ Now that I remembered it, that was a really distant memory, we both might have forgotten about it. The firefly might have been the reason for it. That said, the little creature on my palm started to fly away, joining its group. Then, a thought came to mind. What if I catch one of them like last time and showed to Zen like it’s a welcome gift! I nodded at that thought and stood up to catch one of them. This may sound childish but no one’s looking and this is just only once so I followed the firefly and tried to catch it. Using my hands is the hardest but determination is in my veins, no one can stop me! A firefly bluntly flown passed me so this is my chance! I quietly tiptoed to the firefly and my hands already raised to catch it but suddenly, my foot slipped on a slanted part and fell into the pond. I haven’t realized that I’m near the water! I gasped for air, screaming for help, knowing there’s no one in this area. My eyes started to blur and before my eyes were closed, a blurry figure came to me. I can hear the water splashed, the figure was here to save me. I can feel the grass on the ground, brushing my hands and my abdomen being pushed. “Come on, MC. Wake up!” Seconds later, I spitted out the water and coughed. I sat up, still coughing and looked up at the source of the voice. “Z-Zen?!“ “Oh, thank god. Oh you got me all worried right there.“ I-It’s Zen?! But isn’t he supposed to be-? Zen noticed my shocked expression so he covered me with his coat and started explaining, “I happened to take a stroll here. I read your messages, saying you’re staying at my place and thought that I could come back. The rehearsal was finished, thankfully so I can finally get to see...you....“ He scratched his cheek with embarrassment but he shook his head, “Then I heard a scream nearby and...” He sighed and put his head on my shoulder, “I’m just relieved that you’re okay.“ He suddenly looked up to face me with his worried expression, “What were you thinking?! If I weren’t there, y-you could have....“ He stroked bits of my wet hair as if it’s the most precious thing and touched my forehead with his while sighing. “God, you made me so worried. You’re lucky I’m here, I thought I might lose you.“ “I-I’m sorry, Zen. I was just...trying to catch them.” “Them?“ I pointed towards the fireflies. He was looking up in awe and a smile appeared, enjoying the view, “It’s beautiful, but...what for?“ “Remember the promise we did when we were kids?“ “Promise? ......Oh.“ His face was in shocked and he suddenly covered his mouth in embarrassment, “What about the promise?“ “I thought that maybe if we could be like those days, I might actually get closer to you.“ “Look-“ “The truth is-!“, both of us said in sync. “You go first.“, I said. “Oh no, no! Ladies’ first.“ “Alright, alright.“, I chuckled, “I...hope you don’t mind me saying this. I don’t wanna make things awkward but I’ve been holding this feeling for a long time and the more I’m keeping it, the more painful it gets. So, Zen.....I...I love you, ever since that day.“ I said it, I just said it! But his shocked expression told me the answers already, “I-I know you don’t like me either but I just can’t help it so-“ He suddenly embraced me in his arms, completely surprised on what this means. “God, I thought I was gonna say it. Damn, that was embarrassing.“ “W-What do you mean?“ He broke our embrace. “You remembered the promise, right? About me being the ‘man’ for you? I thought I already proved you enough. Letting you stay in, keeping you safe even though I’m away. But then again, I thought to myself, that isn’t how you protect her. So I thought, maybe I could stay in the theater for awhile, trying to understand what does protect means to everyone. Then, after I saved you, I finally understand. Protecting is making the person you love safe from any danger, no matter how small it is, and stay by their side forever.“ He cupped my cheeks with his hands and leaned his forehead on me, making sure I have enough warmth. He then whispered, “From now, I promise, to protect you however I can so you won’t get hurt anymore.“ “Hehe, alright, Prince Charming. But, question. I thought you knew how protecting means.“ “You know kids with their determined sayings without knowing what they meant.“ “Pft, come on. You’re not that blunt.“ “Alright, alright. I do know what it means but seeing you like that, I don’t think I’m not letting you go.“ He nudged our noses, pouring every affection to show that he, “I love you, MC.“