#can always count on this boy for a lovely reprieve from shenanigans | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

forever-rogue · 5 years ago

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Not a Chance

Summary: Y/N’s caught the eye of one particular Ben Jones (Hardy), but she’s not too smitten, while he’s very keen on her. Winter cuteness and shenanigans ensue!

A/N: This is my gift for the lovely @acdeaky for @borhapparker‘s Secret Santa event. Katie, you’re so sweet and kind, and I really, really hope you enjoy this! As always, thoughts and feedback are encouraged and welcome :)

Word Count: 6.5k

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader

Warnings: None

MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

"Psst," you tried to ignore her and continue on cleaning the dirtied counter, but you knew she wasn't about to let it go. She had that tone in her voice and you knew exactly what that meant. When she realized you were blatantly ignoring her, she stood right next to go and tugged on the sleeve of your sweater, "psst, I know you're ignoring me. It’s going to work forever, you know.”

"What is it, Nicole?" you finally hissed, throwing the rag down and raising an eyebrow at her. The grin on her face stretched from ear to ear as she looked pointedly over your shoulder.

"In the corner," she said quietly, looking between the corner of the small cafè and you. You rolled your eyes dramatically, signaling that you weren't to give in and look, "just take a peek. I promise you won't regret it! Talk about babe o’clock.”

"Babe o’clock, really? What could possibly be so important that it's got you so excited?" you acquiesced to her demand, otherwise you just knew you’d never hear the end of it. Turning around and scanning the almost empty place, your eyes quickly landed on what Nicole had been playing at. You let out a long sigh - more of a combination of a ground and exasperation than anything before turning back to her, "that was what you wanted me to see?"

"Umm, excuse me?" her eyes widened with shock and surprise at her lack of excitement at her discovery, "have you gone blind? He's absolutely gorgeous! Look at that hair, and those dreamy eyes, that smile!”

"He's average at best," you lied, trying your best to keep your face neutral and keep yourself from sneaking another peak. She was right though - he was definitely gorgeous, and you were sure that he knew exactly what hold he had over women, "I go to university with him. I know exactly what he's like. And it's not something I'm interested in."

"Complete asshole?" her expression wavered as she grabbed your discarded rag and took over the cleaning. Whatever matchmaking scheme she had come up with had been quickly dashed. You shrugged lightly as the bell over the door jingled, and a few other boys came in, talking loudly among themselves before heading over to babe o’clock. You scoffed before mentally bracing yourself to deal with the rowdy bunch. They looked exactly how you pictured his friends would look.

"Not exactly," you responded to her, flicking your eyes back over to the table, and you founded him staring back at you. He smiled lightly before raising his hand and giving you a small wave. You didn't return the gesture and instead turned back to Nicole, "just not my style or crowd. Plus, his friends seem...a little annoying. Do me a huge favor and deal with them?"

"Seriously?" she didn't try to hide her annoyance. You nodded as you started to take off your apron and tossed it onto the counter, making it a point not to look back in their direction. As much as you wanted to admit you had thought he was attractive for the longest time, you weren’t about to admit that out loud.

"I'm off in less than five anyway," you grinned at her, "I think you can handle it! Just turn on the charm - they’re rowdy uni boys, it’s not going to take much to impress them.”

"You're the worst, Y/N!" she groaned at you as you headed into the back to clock out for the day. You knew she was joking so you have her a big grin and mouthed a soft thank you. The bullet was dodged for now, and hopefully forever.

You’d never seen him come in here before and you’d been working at the little coffee shop near your school for several years now. You wondered what suddenly had made him come in after all this. Not that you cared...not that much anyway.

»»————-　♡　————-««

Over the next several weeks, things were largely uneventful, except for the uptake in business, since Christmas was just around the corner. The cold weather always caused people to stop whenever they got the chance as it provided a nice reprieve from the cold and allowed them to enjoy a delicious coffee or tea as they de-thawed from the biting weather.

The one constant that you hadn’t expected came in the from of one Ben Jones. He’d started to come around on almost daily basis, or at least whenever you seemed to work, head usually buried in a book or hands flying furiously across the keyboard of his laptop. He made it a point to sneak glances at you, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was shamelessly staring at times.

Nicole kept encouraging you to go and talk to him, that he was clearly smitten with you, but were insistent that he was just studying for winter finals. He could easily do that at home or the library she kept reminding you, but you played it off, sure that he just wanted the warmth and comfort of the small cafe.

But sometimes you weren’t so sure yourself...but surely he wasn’t there for you, right? And you still weren’t about to confide in anyone that you found him attractive with his pseudo-ethereal looks, glowing smile, and whimsical laugh. He was from a different crowd from you, and you weren’t about to overstep and try to become a part of his world.

You sighed and looked at your watch, getting discouraged when you saw that it was still almost another hour before you were off. It was a Friday night and the cafe was open late, but business was slow for the first time all week, and time was dragging on. There was only so much wiping and standing around you could do before it got boring.

“Y/N,” your boss, John, interrupted your thoughts, waving his hand in front of your face. He was a kind man, a retired musician who had decided to open a small little shop in his golden years. You always enjoyed working with John, usually finding yourself listening to him talk about his youth and all the shenanigans he and his friends had gotten into. You snapped back into attention and gave him a shy smile, “go on and clean down the tables and everything in the back. It’s slow enough to justify some deep cleaning, don’t you think?”

“Deacy,” that was his nickname and he loved when people called him by it; it always brought a smile to his face. You swallowed the lump in your throat when you realized the spot he had indicated; it was right by Ben naturally, “it’s Friday night, is it really the time for torture?”

“What else are you doing to do right now?” he asked, and you realized he was right, “I can handle the customers that come in. Besides, the time will fly by if you’re actually doing something.”

“Haha,” you rolled your eyes at him before ducking under the counter and grabbed a few cleaners and rags to get going on your assignment, “I’d tell you shove it, but you are the boss man.”

“You’re lucky you’re my favorite,” he winked at you as you begrudgingly made your way over to where Ben was. You had already decided that if he was going to try and speak to you, you’d only provide simple one word responses. Short, sweet, and to the point. A perfect solution to your little predicament.

Humming slightly under your breath as you started to clean, you trained your eyes on the table. Ben’s eyes had wandered over to you as soon as you had started walking over and prayed that his paper or whatever he was working on would be more enticing. But once again, you were proven wrong.

“Hi,” it was soft and you weren’t sure at first if he had said anything, but the way his green eyes met yours told you he did. You suddenly found yourself lost for words, opening and closing your mouth a few times, “I-I’m Ben. I don’t know if you remember-”

“You’re in four of my classes,” there was your voice, and you internally cringed a little bit at your outburst, “I know who you are. Everyone does.”

“Oh,” his smile flickered ever so slightly at your response and you felt bad. It hadn’t meant to come off as condescending, but apparently you had, “I just...we haven’t really spoken much, so I wasn’t sure if you knew...”

“Do you even know my name?” you weren’t sure if he knew the answer, but you were genuinely curious. You remembered you were wearing a name tag and quickly covered it up, giving him a cheeky look, “no cheating!”

“Y/N,” he answered quickly, “Y/N L/N.”

“Well, you’ve got that correct,” interesting you thought to yourself. You weren’t sure he’d ever paid much attention to you at all. He smiled, clearly pleased with himself, “is there anything I can get you? I’m, ugh....pretty busy and don’t have time to chat.”

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow at you, and realized that the excuse was pretty lame. You bit your lip and nodded weakly as you scanned the almost empty place. John was intently pretending not to watch the two of you as he whistled to himself.

“Uh huh,” grabbing the rag, you scrubbed the table, “sorry!”

“You can get me one thing actually-”

“Oh?” you momentarily wondered if he was going to be cheesy and ask for your number. Not that you’d give that to him...not at this point anyway.

“What’s your favorite color?” it was a surprising question and you definitely weren’t expecting it. You put your hands on your hips and stifled a small laugh, “what?! I’m being serious.”

“Seriously serious?”

“Dead.”

“Yellow,” you answered honestly, watching his face light up. It wasn’t a color most people favorited, but it always managed to cheer your up and brightened your day.

“Yellow’s a pretty one,” he replied, “like you.”

“Very subtle, Ben,” you groaned as a light blush crept into his cheeks, coloring them a soft shade of rose, “now get back to studying. I’ve got work to do anyways.”

You quickly scurried away from him, and back behind the safe refuge of the counter, heart thumping wildly in your chest. John was bemused, and just shook your head at him.

“He fancies you,” he stated simply, cleaning under the items on the counter. You sighed heavily at his astute observation.

“Not a chance,” you answered, biting the inside of your cheek in order to keep from smiling too much, “he’s just a customer.”

“Mhmm,” he wasn’t discouraged, “a customer that comes whenever you’re working and just told you that he thought you were pretty. All very subtle signs.”

“Stopppp,” you groaned at him, “otherwise I’ll quit here and now!”

“Okay, okay,” he laughed, “no need for the theatrics. I’ll stop for now...just remember, no making out on the job. No one needs to see all that PDA!”

“JOHN!”

»»————-　♡　————-««

You were working a morning shift, a rarity for you since you generally had classes in the morning, but Nicole had asked you to cover a shift for her and your class had been cancelled, so you figured you might as well. It was a chilly morning, a fresh layer of soft snow covering the ground, and a few people milling about, drinking their coffees and eating pastries.

It nearing Christmas and you had the spirit running throughout your body, so much that you had even decided to let Christmas music flow throughout the cafe. John had decked the place for the holiday, no corner left un-decorated, and he’d decided to be extra, just like his old friend Freddie had always been, and put up mistletoe in several strategic places. You had sighed and complained heavily at him, but he had carried on, a smirk on his face as he blissfully ignored your grievances. You knew exactly why he did it too. You had no doubt that it was all for a certain customer named Ben Jones.

He’d continued to hang around the cafe, and by this point you were sure it wasn’t just for the study environment. It was often crowded and loud at the times he came, times you generally worked, and you could tell he wasn’t that deeply engrossed in his work. The semester was pretty much over and since you shared a lot of classes you knew there weren’t many more assignments left, only a few finals coming up, but you knew those would be easy. Maybe Nicole and John had been right in the first place...what if he was there for you?

At this point, you didn’t even mind seeing him almost every day; he’d become the most steadfast part of your day and as it turned out, he was often the best part.

Sometimes when it was really busy there would only be a few rushed exchanges, but if it was slower, there’d be deeper more intimate conversations, which, truthfully, you didn’t even know he was capable of at first. He’d ask you all sorts of things about yourself, like your favorite flowers, songs, movies, what your family was like, what you wanted to do in life, what you planned on doing after graduation, and what kind of pizza you favored. At first you had played it off and tried to seem disinterested, but soon enough, you weren’t even bothering to hide how happy you were to see him. There was something about him that you just couldn’t get enough of, and you wanted to everything about him too.

“Not a chance, Y/N,” you whispered to yourself as you set a freshly prepared cup of coffee onto the bar for whoever had ordered it, “he’s not here for you.”

“What was that?” the voice that had become oh so familiar over the past several weeks interrupted your thoughts as your eyes flicked up to meet Ben’s. Both of his hands were behind his back, and unless you were hallucinating, you were sure he seemed nervous.

“Nothing,” you lied, trying to figure out what he was hiding, not even bothering at this point to hide your smile, “whatcha got, Benny boy? Something good I hope?”

“I hope you like them,” he finally revealed what he had been hiding from you. It was a beautiful bouquet of all colors and shades of daises, the majority of them were a wonderful yellow. Your heart seemed to burst as you looked between him and flowers, “well...do you like them?”

“Yes,” you admitted as you walked around the counter and stood in front of him, taking them out of his hands and giving them a good smell before clutching them to your chest, “I love them. Thank you so much...but to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“No reason in particular,” he said sheepishly, “just felt like doing something special for the prettiest girl.”

“Oh? Who should I give these to then?”

“Shut up,” he joked, nudging your arm slightly as you both laughed, “I dunno...just wanted to give you a little something special.”

“They’re lovely, really. Thank you, Ben,” you weren’t sure if you should hug or kiss him, not wanting to overstep your boundaries. So you shyly stuck out your hand, settling on giving him a handshake. He was just as surprised as you at the lukewarm response, but he took your hand in his and gave it a firm squeeze.

“I guess I should let you get back to work,” he said quietly, not wanting to end the conversation, but not wanting to drag it out either.

“Guess I should go and work,” you could feel a pair of eyes on your back and you just knew that John was watching what was going on, probably silently celebrating since this is what he had expected to happen all along. You grabbed his coffee and handed it to him, hand trembling slightly with nerves, “well, I hope you enjoy...”

He took it with a grateful smile, about to turn away and head to the table that had become his unofficial spot, but something compelled him to turn around and stay, “Y/N?”

“Yeah?” your heart was starting that same rapid beating, butterflies all in your stomach. There was something about damned smile and those gorgeous eyes that made you weak in the knees; you had sworn you wouldn’t give into him, and yet here you were, putty in his hands.

“Are you free tomorrow evening?” he blurted out suddenly, his voice climbing about an octave higher than normal as he anticipated your response.

“Yes,” you answered before you could even think about it. Even if you had thought about it, it wasn’t going to be a no anyways.

“Great,” he bit his lip and you thought you had almost died and gone to heaven. You were sure there was almost no better sight in the world, “then it’s a date...”

“It’s a date,” you repeated, feeling like your face was about to break in half from the giant grin, “oh! Actually I work till 6, but we could do something afterwards?”

“Absolutely.”

“Great! Is there someplace you wanted to meet? ‘Cause I kinda feel you’ve got this whole thing planned.”

“How about I pick you up?” he suggested, “and if you must know, I do have something in mind. It’s only taken me what...about two months to pluck up the courage to actually ask you out? Needless to say, I’ve had plenty of time to think about all of this.”

“I knew it!” John had somehow inched his way closer and become privy to your entire conversation. The two of you turned to face him, and as much as you tried to be annoyed, the both of you couldn’t help but giggle. John gave you a gaptoothed smile before going back to the espresso machine, pretending to be engrossed. I guess they were right after all you thought to yourself.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” you turned back to him and he bobbed his head up and down, “thank you again for the flowers. I’m sure Deacy is going to arrange them perfectly in a nice vase for me, aren’t you?”

John played deaf as you exchanged a look with Ben. Ben reached over and brushed a lock of hair behind your ear, his fingers brushing lightly against your cheek and causing a jolt of electricity to flow throughout your body, “see you tomorrow, love.”

He turned on his heel and left, turning around to shoot you one last wink before disappearing outside and into the lightly swirling snow. You watched him go, rooted in your spot as you swayed lightly on your feet. Was this real life or fantasy?

“I hate to say I told you so, kid,” John reached for the flowers so he could store them properly for you, seemingly approving of Ben’s choices, “but I told you so. He is completely smitten with you.”

“How do you even know that?” you followed him behind the counter, your face feeling warm, “he just seemed so...”

“Interested?” he suggested and you wrong nonchalantly as you hopped onto the counter, “how was it not obvious to you? No man comes to the same place to study as frequently as he did.”

“Oh. Oh?”

“Besides that,” he started arranging the flowers, “he asked about your schedule ages ago. And about what your favorite flowers were.”

“He what!?”

“Don’t act so shocked,” John seemed right pleased with himself as you tried to keep yourself together, “maybe you should have listened to me.”

“You’re the worst, Deacy,” you shook your head at him, wondering when and how you had warranted a wing man such as him, “the absolute worst.”

“Whatever you say,” he snorted, “you know, all this reminds me, I should go and get some flowers for Veronica. We’ve got a date this weekend, but I think she’ll enjoy some now!”

“That’s disgustingly cute,” you reminded him. He always beamed like no other when he talked about his wife, or any of family; he really was the gentlest soul, “tell her I said! And Cam and Luke! I’ll hold the fort down until next shift comes in.”

“You’re the best kid!”

»»————-　♡　————-««

The rest of the day, and the next day if you were being honest, were filled with nervous anticipation as you tried to figure out what Ben had possibly planned. For a second you wondered if this was some sort of colossal mistake and he was planning on kidnapping you, but you quickly pushed that out of your mind.

Was it something formal or fancy? If you dressed up would it end up being over the top and ridiculous? But if you went too casual would you look silly and out of place? You let out a long sigh as you flopped onto your bed and buried your face into your pillow. You never would have cared this much with anyone else, but suddenly with Ben you were over-analyzing every little detail. Who would have thought?

After calling your best friend and trying to get her reassurances and opinions, you settled on a silver dress that had some gold details on it. That way you figured it was ever so slightly festive, and could be either casual or more dressy. If you continued to think about it anymore, it would drive you crazy, so you decided to let it be. Whatever happened at this point would happen.

“My, my, my,” Nicole was practically beaming at you when you walked into work, looking way more done up than necessary for a regular shift a. You shrugged lightly before turning around and giving her a twirl, “you look stunning!”

“Really?” you asked her nervously, “I probably spent way too much time thinking about this stupid outfit. I’m actually nervous!”

“Just relax,” she encouraged you, “it’s just Ben. And it’s not like you haven’t already spent ages talking to him.”

“I know,” you walked behind towards the back to go and clock, hoping the time would go by quickly, “and yet that’s why I’m nervous!”

“You’re a bad ass, babes,” she reminded you. You gave her a nervous little smile as you ducked into the back, “you’ve got this!”

The majority of the afternoon was busy and it didn’t give you much of a chance to indulge in your own thoughts as you flitted from customer to customer. Busy was good, but it did make the time go by quickly. And as the time for Ben to pick you up came closer, your nerves grew exponentially.

“Hey,” Nicole whispered under her breath as she gently nudged your arm. You looked up to follow her line of sight, and immediately felt like the wind was knocked out of you at the sight. Ben had come in and he looked even better than he normally did, if that was possible, brushing a few flakes of snow from his golden hair. She sighed wistfully before turning back to you, “you are so lucky.”

“I suppose I am,” you responded, looking back down at the counter, trying not to get caught staring, even though you knew it didn’t really make a difference at this point.

“Go on,” she pushed you towards and him but you reminded rooted in your spot, “Y/N! Go say hi, I can cover the counter!”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive!”

With that, you tiptoed around the counter and walked over to Ben, who was sitting near the back, a smile etched on his face as he scrolled through his phone.

“Hey stranger,” you joked softly as you waited for him to notice you. It only took a millisecond before he put his phone and looked at you, eyes widening in surprise. You could feel your entire face heating up under his gaze.

“Wow… you look beautiful,” he jumped up almost instantly and tucked his phone into his pocket, giving you his full attention. He looked just as handsome as ever, all done up in a button down and dress pants, his golden mane expertly tamed. Had he always been so good looking?

“So do you,” you managed to blurt back at him, “well handsome anyway. I’m glad I decided to dress up since you haven’t exactly told me what we’re doing.”

“It’s all a surprise, love,” he shrugged as he raised his eyebrows at you. He paused for a moment before casting his eyes upwards. It took you a moment before you realized what he was doing, but followed his gaze and spotted what had caught his eye: a beautiful fresh bundle of mistletoe.

“Of course,” you laughed nervously, “all courtesy of John.”

“You know what mistletoe means, right?” his voice was low as he stepped closer and grinned at you. You nodded as you felt yourself leaning closer into him, your body naturally responding.

“I think it means you’re supposed to kiss me,” you whispered back at him, the two of you grinning at each other like shy little schoolchildren. You were sure that you had everyone’s eyes on your back and you thought about turning back and telling them to go away, but decided against it, too enthralled in the moment.

“Is it okay?” he asked quietly and you found yourself only able to nod in response. He put his hand on the side of your face, skin so much more delicate than you would have thought, before you leaning down slightly and gently pressing his lips to yours.

You thought your heart might burst with happiness as you leaned into him, not wanting the moment to ever end. He tasted sweet, almost like cocoa, his plush lips softer than your dreams even, to put it simply: perfect.

“Wow,” whether or not it accidentally came out, you weren’t sure but you found your hand going to face as he just grinned at you, “oops?”

“No oops,” he said as you heard the sound of clapping coming from behind you. You turned on your heel and found Nicole and John watching the two of you chattering among themselves, “umm...I guess they’re supportive?”

“They’ve been waiting for this moment, I think,” you admitted as you shook her at them and gestured for them to go away, “should we go...before they decide to come with us? Last time I checked this was supposed to be a date, not a friendly outing.”

“Sounds perfect,” he agreed, giving you that million dollar smile you already adored, “I’ll wait outside for you. Do you have a coat?”

“Yes,” you answered, “I’ll be there in just minute!”

Rushing back behind the counter you dashed into the back and quickly clocked out, taking your apron off and hastily grabbing your stuff, throwing your coat. You shook your head at your boss and friend before shouting, “I swear there better be no stalking on this date, or I’ll quit and never speak to either of you again.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Nicole grinned at you, giving you a cheery wave as you dashed out and in the chilly evening, “have fun, lovebirds!”

Snow was lightly falling from the sky as you stepped outside, Ben waiting there for you. It was the perfect, if not overly cliche, moment, “hey!”

“Hey,” you beamed as you almost skipped over to him, taking his outstretched hand in yours. He wasted in no time in lacing his fingers through yours, “so what did you have in mind for this evening?”

“I was thinking, and tell me if this horribly cheesy or not, that we could go and look at all the Christmas lights and displays,” he swallowed the nervous lump in his throat, “and then we can go and get dinner? I have this place I really like and I think you’d enjoy it too.”

“That is all terribly cheesy,” you agreed as you stepped in stride with him, body pressed against his as much as closely as possible, “but I love the sound of it all. Lead the way Mr. Jones!”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he seemed visibly relieved, “but first, we need to make a stop at my favorite, well second favorite, cafe. They had amazing everything there, and I think you’d like it. You said you like cocoa, right?”

“I did,” you grinned, happy to see that he remembered all these little things about you, “I’m impressed, you actually have quite the memory!”

“Don’t let this pretty face fool you.” he threw his back with laughter, “I’m actually smarter than I look.”

“Please, carry on and continue to impress me,” you said as he came to a stop in front of a small, quaint looking little shop. It looked old, like it was straight out of a vintage Hollywood movie, and you could already tell you were to like it, “okay, I’m already impressed!”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he opened the door for your and ushered you inside, the delicious smelling space, “now let’s this date started properly.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

The next several hours were spent walking around hand-in-hand as Ben led you around the best Christmas and light displays around downtown London. It was almost as though he had intricately planned every step and turn and made sure you were going to be dazzled, and you definitely were.

There were moments when you weren’t sure if you were more amazed by the lights or Ben; the way he talked about anything and everything that crossed his mind, or how his face lit up at every little display of lights, how he actually had paid attention to all the things you had told him over the last several weeks. It was all like it was almost meant to be.

“Y/N?” you hadn’t realized you had tuned out of what he was saying, just staring at him as he told you a story. You shook your head and tuned back in and turned to him, “thought I lost you there for a moment.”

“Sorry,” you felt your cheeks heat up, “I was distracted by...”

“The lights?” he teased, but you both innately knew what you had actually been distracted by, “I can understand. The...lights are quite beautiful.”

“The lights,” you bit your bottom lip and Ben couldn’t help but stare, enthralled by your every move, “are pretty.”

“It’s getting chilly,” he swayed lightly on the balls of his feet, “are you ready to go and get dinner? It’ll definitely help us warm up.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“This is your favorite place?” you asked, looking around the quaint little restaurant. It was cozy and had a warm feel to it, and you were mildly surprised to find that he liked a place such as this. It seemed out of character for him, but you realized that there was a lot to him that you didn’t know yet. The more you got to knew him, the more he realized how much you actually did like him. He was much different than you had originally thought he would be.

“Is it that surprising?” he teased, nudging your leg with his under the table. You just shrugged at him, “did you really think I was just some silly jock?”

“I mean...kind of?” you admitted, poking around at the food on your plate. Needless to say your first impression of him had been wrong, very wrong. He was much more than just a pretty party boy, he was a kind and gentle soul who genuinely cared for you. You finally met his sage eyes and found him watching you curiously, "I guess I was wrong after all. You have definitely proven me wrong in all the best ways possible."

"I'm glad to hear that," he took a sip of the wine he had picked and shot you a wink, which made melt in your set a little bit, "you have not proven me wrong at all."

"Oh?" you snorted lightly as you sat back in your seat and waited for him to expand further.

"Nope," he took a bite and chewed it as slowly as possibly, purposeful with every movement. You crossed your arms over your chest and raised an eyebrow at him, and he finally swallowed, with a little bit of laughter, "I always knew you were smart, funny, wonderful, and pretty."

"Shut up," you blurted out without even thinking about it, garnering the attention from the people at the nearby tables. Ben's shoulders shook with laughter as you cleared your throat, "I mean, what, really? I'm just...me. I'm nothing special."

"See, that's where you're wrong," he insisted, leaned in from across the table, "you are amazing though. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean that others don't. I don't necessarily think incredibly highly of myself, but the why you make me feel is incredible."

"Oh? Really?" your voice cracked ever so slightly as your stomach seemed to do somersaults, "I mean, I like you, obviously, so yeah."

"I like you too, obviously," he confessed, although at this point it wasn't really much of a confession, "at the beginning there, I wasn't sure if you were ever going to actually going to give me the time of the day!"

"So you did come all the time for me," you realized that John hadn't been lying the whole time after all. Ben's face couldn't have been redder has he nodded and stared at his plate, "holy shit."

"Holy shit good or bad?"

"Holy shit good," you grinned at him, "definitely good."

"I mean, I thought it would be obvious that I wasn't studying that entire time!"

"It was...but you know, you can never really tell," you stuck out your tongue at him, "what if you had been there for someone else?"

"Who else was there?!"

"I dunno, Nicole?" you tried to downplay how excited you were, knowing guys like Ben usually went for all the other girls, not you generally. But the fact that you were here with was evidence that not everything was at it seemed, “she’s pretty, funny, nice.”

"That may be trust, but she’s not you. It was you," he said, "always you."

"That's super cheesy," you found yourself shyly giggling at him, "like mega, almost Hallmark status. But it's cute. You're cute."

"Yeah?" he seemed unsure of himself at first, but the grin that was pulling at the corner of his face suggested that he was indeed very pleased, “like honestly?”

"Obviously,” you took your wine glass and clinked it against his before bringing it to your lips and taking a sip. You took your time tasting the liquid before washing it down, “I’m a busy person, Ben, just like I know you are, and I don’t like having my time wasted or wasting my time. And this? This is definitely not a waste of my time.”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” he let out a low sigh of relief, his nerves visibly calmed, “because I really don’t wasting time either, and you are definitely not a waste of time either. I like giving you my time....this is cliche? This is terribly cliche, isn’t it?”

“The most cliche thing I’ve ever witnessed,” you agreed, “but it’s Christmas time and life is all sort of a big cliche, isn’t it? I think we should toast to that.”

“To Christmas time cliches?” he asked as he held up his glass and you followed suit. You nodded and tapped your glass against his, letting a pleasant sound ring between the two of you.

“To Christmas time cliches,” you agreed and the two of you drank hearty sips before setting the glasses back down, “to this one and hopefully many more cheesy cliches to come.”

“I like the sound of that.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Well, this is me,” you had made to the front of your apartment building much faster than you would have liked. The walk back from the restaurant had been pleasant, a peaceful quiet falling between the two of you as you walked hand in hand, Ben occasionally humming along to the Christmas music that flooded from every shop and home.

“You live close to me,” he mused as you started to make your way up the steps, “I live a few blocks down. Good to know I can come and bother you pretty much whenever.”

“Ha ha,” you waggled a finger at him, unsure of what to say, but also not wanting to end the evening. If you could have had it your way, it would never have ended. He seemed to notice your reluctance in letting him leave, so he took a step up so he was almost eye level with you, staring at you with such an intensity that you were sure he could see into the depths of your soul, “well...I guess this is it.”

“Don’t make it sound so permanent,” he joked, subconsciously licking his lips, which you definitely noticed, “it’s just for tonight. If you’re working tomorrow, I have a lot of studying to do, or if you’re off, I have a lot of movies that need to be watched, and blankets that to be used sooo....”

“It just so happens that I’m off tomorrow,” you grinned at him, “and I think that a movie marathon sounds pretty good. It just so happens that I can make a mean bag of microwave popcorn.”

“Oh?” he threw his head back with laughter.

“Oh yeah,” you tried to keep a serious expression on your face, “you know, unwrapping it, sticking it in the microwave, and pressing the button...it’s hard work. But I’ve got it down, pretty well, not to brag or anything.”

“I’ve very much like to see those skills in action.”

“I guess you’d better come and pick me up tomorrow, huh?”

“How does noon sound?”

“Perfect to me,” you bounced on the heels of your feet, “I’ll see you then.”

“Yes,” he took a deep breath before giving you a small wave and turning to leave, “good night, Y/N.”

“Good night Ben,” you said quietly as you watched him leave, while you didn’t mind the sight, you still didn’t want him to go. When he was almost halfway down the block, you ran off the stairs and after him, “Ben!”

“What’s wrong?” he asked as turned to find in front of him, breathless.

“Nothing,” you admitted, “it’s just-”

Before you could say anything, Ben’s hands were on your hips and he pulled you into his body and crashed his soft lips onto yours, giving you a passionate kiss. You only took you about a second to respond, snaking your arms around his neck and keeping him pressed against your lips.

When you finally pulled apart, you were both red faced and breathless, a dusting of snowflakes covering both of you.

“This might be the most cliche thing of all,” he laughed as he brushed some of the flakes from your locks, “you actually came after me-”

“You kissed me,” you reminded him, raising a eyebrow, “technically. You just beat me to it.”

“And it started snowing,” you reached up and wiped some of the snow out of his locks, “almost too disgustingly cute.”

“But perfect,” you whispered softly.

“But perfect,” he agreed, “absolutely perfect.

»»————-　♡　————-««

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