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You sat back as you watched Angel and Ez bicker once again.
“Angel, I’m telling you,” EZ shook his head and pointed at the cards in front of them. “You cannot put a ‘Draw four’ on a ‘Draw two”. That’s not how you play the game!”
“Yes, you can!” Angel rebutted. “That’s how we’ve always played!”
“Just because that’s how you’ve always done it doesn’t mean that it’s right,” EZ replied.
You’d given up on playing with them a few minutes ago. They couldn’t play any type of game without arguing with each other.
“Y/N!” Angel yelled. “Tell him that he’s wrong!”
You shook your head, “I’m not taking any sides this time.”
Angel pouted, “But you’re my girl, you’re always supposed to take my side.” he flashed his puppy dog eyes at you.
You bit your bottom lip, “I mean, I don’t see why you have to change the rules now, EZ, if that’s the way you’ve always played.”
Angel winked at you and laughed when EZ threw his hands up in the air. “You’re a weakling, y/n,” he chuckled. “I can’t believe you fell for the puppy dog eyes.”
The two continued to play and you watched them for a little while longer. EZ stood after checking his watch. “Shit, is that the time? I gotta go.” he made his way over to you and pulled you in for a hug before turning to Angel.
“This was fun, Angel, we gotta do it again,” they clapped hands and pulled each other into a hug. “I love you, Angel.” EZ Pulled back and smiled.
“Shut up, Ezekiel,” Angel playfully pushed him away before EZ headed out the door.
You watched on with curious eyes. You’d noticed that every time EZ told Angel that he loved him, Angel would always tell him to shut up or push him away as if he didn’t believe it. Hell, he did it with you too. You knew all about how he felt that he grew up in EZ’s shadow even though he was the older brother, and you knew that had something to do with how he took compliments. You wanted your man to feel like he deserved all the love and compliments in the world because he did deserve it.
You wanted to be able to tell him that you loved him and not be rejected. Not that you’d told him that you loved him yet, you were working up to that.
When Angel came back from walking EZ out, he smiled down at you as you laid on the couch. He kneeled next to you and twirled one of your braids around his finger.
“You spending the night?” he asked with a soft smile.
You nodded and took his hand when he held it out to lead you to his room. The two of you quietly changed into your night clothes, him in his boxers and you in one of his old shirts, before you climbed into bed. Angel wrapped one of his arms around you and you laid your head on his chest. You drew imaginary pictures with your fingers on him as you waited for sleep to claim you.
“I’m in love with you, Angel,” you whispered it so quietly that you barely heard yourself. After a few more moments of silence, you figured that Angel hadn’t heard you because he had fallen asleep. You let out a sigh before you closed your eyes.
Your eyes flew open when Angel laced his fingers with yours. You looked up at him and shivered. His face was illuminated by the moonlight and he had never looked more beautiful.
“Say,” he cleared his throat. “Say it again.” his eyes were full of unshed tears as he waited for you to repeat yourself.
You pulled your hand out of his and cupped his face and smiled. “I’m in love with you, Angel,” you repeated.
Angel stared at you unblinkingly for a moment before he pulled your face up to his and pressed a kiss to your lips.
Open up your heart, you’ll find love.