Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

• Miranda claims that she doesn’t get jealous, but she definitely does.
• She gets pouty and then murderous.
• She continues to pout throughout the day, even after you assure her, and it’s easy to tease her about it.

-

When Miranda first brought ______ with her down to the merkingdom to visit, she got accustomed to stares. Snobby nobles who didn’t think that the royal family should stray from tradition and that don’t think that Miranda should ‘date,’ she should wait for some random suitor to come along. Miranda wasn’t bothered by it, and soon enough, it started to not phase ______ anymore either.

However, Miranda felt like this kind of stare was different.

To celebrate Miranda’s brief visit, her family threw a dinner party, which was a bunch of royals and nobles gathered in one room, most of them not eating the food that they demanded the serfs prepare the entire day. Since Miranda didn’t eat, she instead spent the dinner showing different kinds of cutlery to ______ while they ate variations of different fish food. Miranda had just moved to knives when she spotted them out of the corner of her eye. A noble around their age who was here with her family, captivated just by watching ______ eat food.

Miranda hated it. She even stopped midsentence and looked back at them, which prompted ______ to look back at the girl too, who started blushing and looking away. “What was that about?” ______ asked, looking back to Miranda.

“I’m sure it was nothing,” Miranda said, a smile on her face but her words full of venom. Before she could move back onto the topic, the girl started switching seats until she was sitting across from them. Miranda sighed, gripping the current knife she had in her hands a little harder. “Can we help you?” she asked, looking over at the girl with a glare.

Despite Miranda’s tone and the glare on her face, the girl didn’t loose courage, smiling at ______. “I haven’t seen you around here before. My name is Adore! Do you go to the same special boarding school as Princess Miranda?” she started, asking the question with a happy disposition.

“Oh, uh, yes,” ______ responded, kind of nervous. They had only been down to the merkingdom a few times with Miranda, and so meeting her subjects was still slightly nerve-racking. Miranda’s hand was starting to change color with how hard she was gripping the knife. Seeing someone else start to flirt while ______ was oblivious was painful. She knew ______ had to be oblivious, they always had been when it came to someone having feelings for them.

“That’s so cool! I’ve been wanting to go there, so I’ve been considering it more and more,” Adore took one of the napkins and ripped it, taking a bit of squid ink from the person next to her and using her long nails as a pen to write her number. “You should call me and show me around sometime.”

“Oh, sure,” ______ said quietly, beginning to reach out when something else happened.

Miranda, without giving anything a second thought, grabbed the fish knife and drove it through Adore’s hand, pinning it to the table. The girl let out a scream and started trying to pull it out, but Miranda drove it deep into the table. “I’m afraid ______ will be busy that day hanging out with their girlfriend, me. Find someone else to escort you, sweetie.”

Miranda ripped the knife out and Adore ran away crying, probably trying to find some bandages. Miranda simply wiped off the knife with a smile and turned to ______. “This is the fish knife. If you simply must stab someone at the dinner table, it’s customary to use this knife.”

______ was shocked about what they just saw unfold, and more shocked that none of Miranda’s relatives or close family friends seemed to notice or care. This was an average Vanderbilt dinner to them. “Are you sure you shouldn’t rename it the jealousy knife?” ______ asked. “That’s what it was just used for.”

“I was not jealous!” Miranda defended. “I simply cannot stand girls who flirt across the dinner table. It’s distasteful!”

“I’m sure,” ______ told her, teasing her and grabbing the knife. There was still a little blood on it from Adore’s hand. “You know, this one might be my favorite knife so far.”

Chapter Text

• Damien would claim he doesn't get jealous, but that's bullshit.
• He doesn’t usually get jealous, but when he does, it’s obvious.
• You can tell he’s getting jealous when he’s easily irritable.

-

Damien, as it is, already has a short attention span when it comes to trying to study. Unless the subject hooks Damien in, it can be hopeless to get him to buck down and pay attention. However, with finals coming up and his dads wanting him to try a little harder, he saw no choice but to try and ger serious about school. ______ promised they’d help, so everyday for a few hours after school, they’d head to the library and get to work on a certain subject.

However, today, he just couldn’t seem to bring himself to care about The History of Monsters. He was too distracted with ______. More specifically, their phone. He didn’t know how they did it, but they were razor focused as their phone went off with message after message, all from the same guy: some guy named Floyd. He sent ______ message after message.

Floyd Padovan: Hey ______! Just texting you to make sure you didn’t give me a fake number, hah.

Floyd Padovan: This is the handsome fae from Intro to Haunting class, btw ;-)

Floyd Padovan: JK – my looks have nothing on you, honey.

Floyd Padovan: Jokes aside, text me back when you can so I can officially add you into my contacts.

Floyd Padovan: Hello? ______? I’m starting to think that maybe you did give me a dud number.

Damien was about to set their phone on fire. Why was ______ taking an intro class anyways? They’ve been here for at least two years! Who the fuck texts like this? One message is enough. In fact, from this guy, one message was more than enough. While fucking Floyd blew up _______’s phone, they were meticulously making their way through the worksheet. Damien was amazed how little they cared about responding. Finally, he couldn’t take it. “______, some guy named Floyd is not leaving you alone.”

______ looked over, read the message previews, and shrugged. “He’ll get bored and leave me alone. He’s just some dumb freshman in the intro class I’m aiding for extra credit,” they turned back to their worksheet, focused again.

Damn, that’s cold-hearted, Damien thought, a smile on his face. He loved it. However, this guys shameless flirting and keen interest in ______ brought up an itch in Damien. Whoever this guy was needed to calm down, back off, and learn that one text is enough to send a fucking message. Damien looked over at ______, razor focused, and casually grabbed their phone. They didn’t even notice.

Damien opened their phone (he figured out the passcode a month ago when ______ was too lazy to get their phone from across the room and order a pizza) and opened the camera. He gave his best shit-eating grin while trying to look as intimidating as possible. He opened the conversation to Floyd.

_______: ­[img 236_04]

_______: You have the right number. ______ is busy right now, but this is her boyfriend. Want to talk?

It wasn’t even a minute later when Floyd responded.

Floyd Padovan: Sorry dude.

Damien laughed, catching _______’s attention. They finally noticed their phone missing. “What’s so funny?” they asked.

Damien just flipped the phone and kept laughing. “I guess he didn’t want to talk to me.”

______ focused on the screen. “Damien!” they exclaimed, facepalming as Damien’s laughter just got louder. They didn’t have time to get mad, though, because his laughter was too contagious. Soon enough, they were both laughing. “I swear, though, if you do this again, I will stop committing arson with you for a whole month.”

Worth it, Damien thought, finally being able to focus on his homework again.

Chapter Text

• Scott doesn’t show his jealousy in an obvious way, and if you blink, you could miss it.
• He becomes suddenly protective and will spend most of his time around you.
• Showers you in the most affection he can muster!

-

When it came to ______, Scott was used to keeping a level head. They brought out the best in him, they made him happy, it brought a wonderful feeling. That’s why he didn’t really understand the twist in his stomach he was getting right now.

He and ______ had been invited to one of Polly’s parties. It wasn’t just any party though – it was one of the parties she threw on one of her three suspected death days. There were three days out of the year she suspected she died on, so on each one, she used it as an excuse to throw a huge party. _______ wanted to dress up a little more than usual, and Scott knew they looked amazing, and other people at the party were starting to notice it too.

That’s when the feeling in his chest started. Especially when people kept coming up to _______, flirting, and asking them to dance as if Scott weren’t standing right there. The gall! It didn’t bother him at first, but as the night progressed, it kept happening. ______ was acting nonchalant about it, and Scott felt like his heart was going to fall out of his chest.

It was about an hour into the party when ______ started to notice the difference in Scott’s behavior. He draped his arm around them and had kept it there, talking and laughing to everyone while holding them tight. When they danced, he pulled them as close as possible. They weren’t about to complain, the closeness made them happy, and being with Scott was making this party bearable.

Around eleven o’clock, ______ and Scott had retired to a table, sitting, trying drinks and laughing. Suddenly, a guy who had asked _______ to dance with him earlier came strolling up, doing his best to ignore Scott. “Hey, I was wondering if I could buy you a drink,” he admitted. “I know you didn’t want to dance earlier, but I wanted to talk to you, try and get to know you.”

______ looked away. Earlier, trying to be polite, they hadn’t told him that they were here with their boyfriend. Now he was asking to buy them a drink right in front of him. Being gentle didn’t feel like an option anymore. Before ______ could decline though, Scott stepped in, his voice as happy as ever, “They’ve already got some drinks!” he told the guy with a smile that seemed like he didn’t know the implication of what this guy was trying to get at.

The guy raised an eyebrow at Scott. “Who’re you?” In actuality, there was a very low chance that the guy didn’t know who Scott was. He was just trying to put on an act to scare him off, not knowing that ______ and Scott were an item.

Scott wasn’t completely clueless when it came to flirting. Sure, it took a while for him to realize that ______ had been flirting with him for weeks, but once he did, he knew how to recognize someone who’s flirting. This guy was relentlessly flirting with ______. So, Scott, with the same smile, looked into the guys eyes and said, “Oh, I’m Scott, _______’s boyfriend.” He draped his arm over them, pulling them close and kissing them on the forehead.

The guy scoffed. “Nice to meet you. Well, I’ll see you two around then!” he gave up, walking away looking a little annoyed.

______ looked at Scott. They felt like Scott was acting a little weird, but they couldn’t pinpoint it. Was he jealous? “I could’ve told him that I was here with you,” they told him. “I should’ve said that in the first place. I hope that wasn’t awkward.”

“It wasn’t! I’m just confused why he was offering you a drink when we have, like, ten at this table,” Scott gestured to the empty bottled around them. Most of them were just fancy bottled waters that Scott brought for himself. ______ smiled. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Just Scott being Scott.

For the rest of the night, they weren’t bothered again, and Scott was by their side the entire night, holding them and kissing them whenever he had the chance.

Chapter Text

• Oh, Liam firmly denies ever getting jealous. Jealousy is for those who know they’re uncool.
• However, there are certain times you’ve gone out on dates and gotten hit on by people Liam feels less than.
• He usually leaves these places, claiming they’re lame, when really, he just can’t stand to see you get a lot of attention from those who aren’t worthy of you.

-

Obscure 80s/90s trivia nights were when Liam was at his most powerful. He knew those eras like the back of his hand, so when one of his favorite low-key cafes were holding a trivia night for the early-90s movie Career Opportunities. It was one of the overlooked romance movies of the decade, which meant it was one of Liam’s favorites on obscurity alone.

______ decided to dress a little nicer for the occasion since they knew it was a pretty exclusive café with a non-verbal dress code. Liam lived by it, but ______ had to adjust their style a bit to fit into it. They ended up wearing a beanie, a hoodie with a band that no one’s heard of on it (the band was fake, but that’s none of your business!), a dark-wash jean-jacket and corduroy pants to match, cuffed and worn with boots. Liam couldn’t help but stare at them in the completed outfit, his jaw would drop if it wasn’t held up by his pride. “Like what you see?” ______ teased him.

“You should dress like this more often,” Liam told them, taking their arm in his. “Ready to go, ______?”

“Of course,” ______ told him, and they were off to the café. It was reached by first going to a popular ice cream place, heading out the back way and sliding down an alley for a minute before reaching the door to “Lost and Found,” aka, the café. As soon as they walked in, Liam knew it was busier than usual. There was even a total of five people here tonight, and just Liam’s luck, he recognized a certain vampire, Stine.

Stine was a wanna-be hipster vampire who used to follow Liam around and copy his every move. Then, because Stine fit the more conventional look of a ‘beautiful vampire’ he got attention and rose out of obscurity, which is not hipster. He profited from being a fake hipster. Things with he and Liam didn’t end well after Liam made a scalding blog post about phony hipsters. Stine smiled at ______, looking past Liam completely. “You look like a person in need of a quarter,” Stine said with an excruciating impression on his voice.

“Excuse me?” ______ asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s just quoting the movie,” Liam told them, taking a step closer to them. “The scene were Josie was riding the mechanical horse.”

“Liam De Lioncourt, is that really you?” Stine asked, a dumb smile on hid face. Liam could feel the inauthenticity. “Didn’t really expect you to be the kind of person to show up to a trivia night.”

“When it’s about one of my favorite movies, how could I resist?” Liam asked, not returning the smile. He turned to ______, hoping they’d save him from this awkward situation. “Do you want to grab a seat?”

“Oh, sure,” ______ said.

“Can I join you two?” Stine asked.

______ hated being confrontational, and Liam wasn’t ready to tell the guy to screw off yet, so for the next half an hour, Stine and Liam were having a ‘friendly competition’ at the movie trivia. Stine was great at remembering exact numbers, but Liam knew more about the actors and history of the movie more than anyone else. It was half-way through the quiz when Stine found a better way to get under Liam’s skin than beating him at 90s trivia. He turned to ______, his charm turned up all the way. He’s given up on the quiz. “So, A Heart Between Voids. How’d you feel about their latest album?”

______ knew right away Stine was talking about their shirt, and it was clear he had no idea it was fake. “I’m not really sure, I’ve heard really mixed reviews. How about you?”

“Well, the second track is unbeatable,” Stine looked over at Liam, who was trying to focus harder on the trivia to ignore the conversation but was failing. “You and I should have a listening party sometime. It’d be worth another listen to their entire discography. Are you free anytime this weekend?”

Liam turned over to _______, not enjoying the fact that Stine had been low-key flirting this whole night and now just flat-out asked them on a date in front of him. “______, I think this trivia is too easy. I should’ve known better than to trust another trivia night. Want to get out of here?” he asked, reaching over and grabbing their arm affectionately. “I think we can better spend out night actually laying in bed and watching Career Opportunities.”

“I agree. Stine, you have fun listening to A Heart Between Voids. Better yet, look up their merch. Maybe you’ll find something to match,” ______ said with a smirk, leaving the café.

Liam turned to them when they got outside. “He had no idea the band was fake, did he?”

“It’s funny to see him try,” ______ told Liam, leaning in and kissing him. “Especially when he was sitting across the only one in my world I care about.”

Chapter Text

• Calculester runs on ~vibes~ when he’s in a new situation and tries to focus on identifying emotions in himself and others.
• That’s when he recognizes the feelings of jealousy rise in him quicker than others. However, he also doesn’t want to acknowledge them
• He convinces himself that when he wants to get out of a situation, it’s all for your comfort, of course.

-

Calculester always considered going out on dates during the day just as fun as going out on dates at night. In fact, most times he preferred it. There was a lot of things he wanted to do that were better during the daytime. For example, today Calculester decided to treat ______ to a round of mini-golf and froyo. He didn’t get anything, of course, but he always bought something for ______ to enjoy on his behalf. They were sitting at a window seat, talking about school and plans for the upcoming holiday when someone came right up to ______, ignoring Calculester’s existence.

“Hey, I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?” the guy opened with, and Calculester knew where this was going. When he googled pick-up lines in his own time, this was one of the cheesiest and most common he had found. He was surprised that the guy had the gall to say it right in front of Cal, ______’s boyfriend, who was sitting right there.

“I don’t think so,” ______ replied, starting another sentence that didn’t last long. “Do you go to Spooky-”

The guy interrupted them, finishing with, “Oh! Never mind, I remember now. You were in my dream last night,” the guy smiled and Calculester thought his system was about to overheat with sudden frustration. “Remind me of your name?”

“Oh, it’s _______,” they told the guy, their voice quieter from their usual tone. Just slightly, but Calculester picked up on it right away. ______ wasn’t exactly known for their confrontation, and Cal knew they weren’t going to tell the guy flat-out to go away if they were uncomfortable, but something in Cal was freezing up. He usually was fine with stepping in, but he felt like he couldn’t move, like a virus hit his system.

In the end, he was close to his first comparison. Jealousy felt a lot like a virus, and the first step was the sudden dull ache of inadequacy. Calculester thought his bell would go off since he found a new emotion, but this wasn’t an emotion to celebrate. He was looking back and forth from ______ to the guy who had introduced himself as Steven. Why would you be surprised the guy didn’t notice you? You’re just a computer. Just machinery. The next two that ran through his system came from when he tuned back in and heard Steven say something about Calculester. “Oh, I had no idea that you were here with a friend,” he finally noticed. “From a distance, I thought you had just brought an entire computer set-up here for some reason.”

That’s when Steven trigged two other strong emotions: protectiveness and light anger. Who was this guy to decide why you should be here? You can do whatever you wanted here, even set up a whole computer station! There’s no doubt he’s bad news. Calculester thought. ______ started to speak again. “Oh, this isn’t my friend, this is-”

This time, Calculester was the one who interrupted them. “My name is Calculester, and I’m ______’s boyfriend!” he exclaimed happily. “______, I checked my internal clock and our movie is going to start in half an hour, so we should get going so we’re not late.”

We’re going to a movie? ______ thought. Man, I need to listen better when Calculester is breaking down the day’s plan. “Oh, right,” ______ stood up and turned around, grabbing their things. “It was nice to meet-”

By the time they turned back around, Steven was gone and Calculester just stood there with a smile. “It looks like Steven ran off,” Calculester stated. The next moment, he snaked his arm around ______, pulling them closer than he usually did in public. “I have to admit, I have no movie planned, but I thought we could go and do something anyways.”

Chapter Text

• Vera doesn’t get jealous often, so when she does, it’s easy (and kind of fun) to poke fun at.
• She’s usually good at hiding her jealousy, but you can still detect it.
• She’s quick to show you who’s the boss, in the most loving (and hot) way possible.

-

Business dinners with other mob bosses were never boring. Vera was easily one of the youngest there, and easily the most intelligent. Once she got into the game, there was nowhere her reach didn’t stretch. However, she was still underestimated, and shown very basic disrespect. After the series of assassinations after the last dinner, she thought she took care of that, but she was wrong. This time Larry, one of the mob bosses, was adamant about getting under her scales.

You see, Larry had many suspicions that Vera was behind the assassinations of mob bosses (which, of course she was, but everyone had chosen not to address it). Vera was collecting power by ruling the jurisdictions they left behind, and Larry had enough of it, but he wasn’t ready to die. He wasn’t going to confront her, he was a coward, but he was going to get under her skin by trying to get his way with her most trusted advisor. It didn’t end well with him.

What started with flirting, which Vera deterred and ______ laughed off nervously, became him trying to seduce them, even offering them a glass of wine that Vera didn’t trust from the moment she saw it. When ______ took the glass, Vera slapped it out of their hands and splashed it all over Larry, making a hush fall over their section of the table. “We’re leaving,” Vera announced, taking ______’s hand and leading them out of the restaurant.

______ didn’t understand at first. Vera was the one who wanted to come to this dinner in the first place, and now she was leaving early? She didn’t even try giving an excuse back there, she just pulled them out, which was uncharacteristic. Even though Vera hated every single one of them, she still played nice and suffered the monthly dinner. “Hey, what’s going on?” ______ asked as soon as they got outside, and Vera was ordering their limo to come back around.

“I was growing sick of seafood,” Vera lied quickly, not looking up from her phone while seeing how long it was going to take the limo to arrive. It was going to be a few minutes, and Vera groaned, but she was willing to wait for luxury.

_______ took a step closer to Vera, examining her face. Vera suddenly looked slightly nervous, even breaking a sweat. ______ smiled, they knew what was going on. “You didn’t like the way he was flirting with me, right?”

“I don’t like the way men flirt in general,” Vera retorted. “The male gaze is one of the most dehumanizing looks of them all, and I’m the one who can dehumanize anyone with just a look.”

“You were jealous,” ______ started to tease, bumping against Vera. “You’re practically green with envy.”

“That joke wasn’t funny,” Vera blushed, looking away. “Besides, this is a double standard! If I get jealousy, you tease me and insinuate it’s cute and it’s fine, but when guys get jealousy it’s controlling. I mean, look at the facts, my sex gives me a pass to act however I want when it comes to this relationship.”

“That sounds like an admission to me,” ______ continued their teasing, then took Vera’s hand and kissed it. “Come on V, you know that I’d never leave you for anyone, least of all Larry. He runs his business like a game tycoon and he’s mediocre on a good day. You’re stunning all the time. Now, on the other hand…”

Before ______ could finish their sentence, the limo had arrived, and Vera was glad it was early. When the door was opened for them, Vera cut ______ off with a kiss and nudged them into the limo. “I know that I’m the best you’ll ever get, because I’m the best around,” Vera whispered in their ear, running her hand under their clothes and rubbing their shoulders. Then she gave them a tight squeeze and hushed ______ with another kiss. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you flirted back just a little. I’ll show you who’s really in command here.”

Chapter Text

• Polly is extremely affectionate and not scared to talk about anything in public, so no one will usually out-right flirt with you while she’s around.
• Sometimes, though, she can still get a little jealous for different reasons.
• Can get clingy and over-affectionate when she’s starting to feel a little jealous.

-

Polly was, as usual, at a party on her Friday night, but for some reason she wasn’t really feeling it that night. When she got invited, she was excited, but now that she was here, something felt… off. She kind of wished that for once she had picked a quiet night at home with ______ instead of trying to drown in as much cheap whiskey and coke as possible.

There was nothing particularly wrong, she just wasn’t feeling like flipping the switch from ‘regular Polly’ to ‘party Polly’ right now. Believe it or not, there was a switch. She wasn’t always high as shit, contrary to popular belief, but most of the time she only showed her more mellow side to ______. They loved her for all of her, never trying to put a label on her.

Speaking of ______, Polly noticed that they’ve been in the bathroom an awful long time. She got up and went to find the host of the party. “Hey, where are your bathrooms?”

The guy vaguely pointed. “Past the lounge, in the hall, second door on the right,” he muttered.

Before Polly could thank him, the guy was grabbing a cut-up straw and snorting the last remaining braincell out of his head. Great company, Polly thought, heading towards the lounge. Now that she thought about it, this was the part of the house she hadn’t really seen anyone go into. When she opened the door, she saw exactly why.

The lounge was being used as the ‘make-out’ room, although some people were doing far more than making out. There were people on couches, chairs, just the floor. Anywhere two people could get comfortable, they were going at it. Good for you guys, Polly thought, crossing her arms and rethinking her decisions again. I prefer a bed, but right now, I can’t even find my partner.

Right as Polly was about to head to the door leading to the hall by stepping over a couple who seemed to have passed out holding each other, ______ walked through the door. “Polly!” they called out with a smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting, the host gave the wrong directions and I got lost.”

Polly smiled at them. “It’s fine!” she assured them, scanning the room again. Despite being at a party, everyone in this room was managing to find time for their partner, or at least finding a way to please themselves and a stranger at the same time. Polly wished she was just in ______’s arms right now, or getting lost on their lips while lying in bed, and suddenly all these happy couples making out was beginning to feel bittersweet and an awful feeling crept onto her: jealousy.

______ didn’t miss the look in Polly’s eyes when she was looking into the crowd of people making out. “Polly, did you want to leave?” ______ suddenly asked. “You haven’t really seemed like you want to be here, and honestly, I just want to lay down and watch something with you.”

“Netflix and chill?” Polly asked excitedly, feeling energized for the first time in a long time as she jumped into ______’s arms. The prospect of being alone with ______ for the rest of the night was enough to snap her back into a bubbly personality. She started leaving kisses all over their face and giggling loudly, the alcohol suddenly hitting her. A few people turned to them, but she didn’t particularly care. “______, you’re a mind-reader. Also, I’m suddenly super hungry, do you feel like eating out?”

Knowing Polly, that was definitely a euphuism. Ghosts don’t eat, ______ thought, smiling and laughing. “I don’t think that’s a horrible idea. Let’s go home.”

Chapter Text

• Zoe doesn’t really deal with jealousy head-on. She’s non-confrontational.
• However, she will kind of make her discomfort obvious by taking you by the arm and removing you from the situation.
• As soon as you’re just hers, she showers you in all the affection she can muster.

-

Comic-Con was the event of the year for Zoe. Nothing could compare. If anyone thought getting to take her to prom was a challenge, she had even higher standards for the people she took to comic-con. ______ filled all of the boxes (but let’s be honest, when it came to anything, ______ would fill the boxes).

Zoe thought about throwing a cosplay together last minute, but she decided that seeing all the really fucking good cosplayers was better than trying to pull off a half-assed one herself. Instead, she sported her nerdiest outfit and even picked something out for _______ to wear to: a shirt from the anime that Zoe had convinced them to watch. It was actually one of Zoe’s shirts, but it fit ______ way better.

Zoe and ______ were at one of the artist booths, and Zoe wanted to commission a portrait of the two of them by one of her favorite web-comic artists, so they were sat in a char for a while as the artist started sketching out details. She assured them that once she got started, she planned to be done in an hour. Faster than she usually did, but she would clean it up at home and send a more polished version to Zoe via email. Zoe couldn’t be happier; this was turning out to be an amazing day!

Suddenly, ______’s attention was turned by a cosplayer who was dressed up as the character on their shirt! What were the odds of that? I mean, the odds were high since this was comic-con, but that was besides the point. ______ smiled and bumped Zoe, nodding to the cosplayer. “Look!” they said happily.

This simple action grabbed the attention of the cosplayer, who turned to the two of them with a smile. “Hey, nice shirt!” they said with a smile. “You have a great taste in anime.”

“Your cosplay is amazing,” ______ complimented them, fawning over the outfit. “Seriously, where did you get those boots? They look exactly like the ones in the show!”

Suddenly, Zoe didn’t hear anything but murmurs. She was in a world of her own, suddenly envious of the cosplayer. Their outfit was amazing, admittingly, and she knew they were just being friendly and talkative, but Zoe couldn’t help the feeling rising up in her. It hurt to see ______ look at someone else with that much adoration in their eyes, even if it was justified. Zoe turned to the artist she commissioned. “You have my email, right? Are we good to go?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” the artist smiled at them. “If you want to come back and see the progress, feel free to, but I’ll send you the finished version either tonight or by Sunday night.”

“Perfect,” Zoe at her, then grabbed ______ by the arm, suddenly grabbing their attention. “Hey love! I just remembered that there’s a really cool booth we didn’t get to and I told myself we’d get back to it but totally blanked out until now. Want to head over?”

“Sure!” ______ smiled at Zoe, not even realizing the diversion. They turned back to the cosplayer. “It was really great meeting you; I hope you have a good day!”

Before ______ could hear their response, Zoe was excitedly rushing to the booth in mind, looking at all the pins and plushies they had skipped before. “Look at this cutie!” Zoe said, picking up a plush of a demon cat. “It’s adorable, just like you. I’m going to buy it for you!” she declared, leaning over and kissing ______ on the cheek.

“You don’t have to,” ______ assured her. Zoe had already paid for the tickets in, which cost much more than ______ expected, and paid for their portrait to get done.

“I know, but I want to,” Zoe assured them, handing them the plush. It was soft to the touch. Zoe leaned over and planted a kiss right on their lips, causing a blush to rise to ______’s face with the sudden PDA. Luckily, this booth wasn’t as popular as the other ones. “I like buying you nice things. Besides, if you hold it at night and think of me, that makes it even more worth it than ever before.”