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if you told yourself a few months ago that one night at a bar would lead to you meeting what could possibly be the love of your life, you’d laugh and say “bullshit.”
it wasn't supposed to happen like this, not this quickly, but those kind blue eyes and crooked smile pulled you right in like a moth to a flame. you had many drinks that night, but nothing could make you forget that way your heart danced inside your chest with each word he spoke. his voice was silky smooth, deep, (surprisingly british) and it drew you in so methodically that you wondered if he'd cast a spell on you.
nights at the bar were usually for you to sizzle down from a stressful day, to be left alone, to drown your sorrows with whiskey. and usually you’d ignore the men that tried to strike up a conversation. but he just clicked , like a missing puzzle piece. you didn't even know how the conversation started, but before you knew it you’d been at the bar for hours, enamored by this stranger.
michael, michael was his name. you almost hadn't caught it with how dazed you were, absolutely struck with his entire presence. and it seemed he felt the same way, because a few more drinks and hushed, giggled conversations led to bringing this man you'd just met into your home. needy, drunk kisses that didn't land just right, but still felt wonderful through both of your intoxicated giddy.
just one night, one night was what it was supposed to be. he was supposed to finish and say goodnight and leave you on your lonesome, not kiss you once more and tangle his hands in your hair in the most sensational ways, not lay down on your side and listen intently to your drunken rants, and definitely not sleep next to you through the night and wake you up the next morning with soft words and a hand running through your hair.
by god, you were smitten.
you met up a few more times, how could you not? he was the only thing on your mind the following days, it should be illegal for any one person to occupy so many thoughts. you couldn't help it, thinking of his touch or loud laugh or soft brown hair or his sometimes awkward demeanor (which endeared you to inhuman extents). he made your days, when you were with him you couldn't tell how many hours had gone by until it hit two am and he had to run home because he had work the next morning.
those were the only times you’d rush him to say goodnight and go, every other time you’d prolong his leave as much as you could. or at least until he just stayed the night.
the two of you had officially begun dating one snowy feburary day, more particularly, valentines day. you usually hated days like this, rejecting any overly romantic or cheesy actions with people you were interested in. but of course, michael convinced you with his neverending charm. you were sipping coffee at a small café and talking about god knows what, because with him you could talk about anything. you both had finished your drinks and were set to leave, about to pay when the waitress serving you asked if you'd like a couple's discount.
as far as you were aware, you weren't a couple yet. but michael ran that thought down the moment he said “yes please,” and gave you the warmest of smiles. one that made heat rise to your face and your heartbeat accelerate just a little. when you both left, you hooked an arm around his and said:
“so i'm your partner now? is that it?”
michael’s hand intertwined with yours, and he said matter-of-factly “yes, yes you are.”
that was how you ended up like this, running a hot, bubble bath and being enveloped in michael's arms. you stayed up late with him, doing so because a new episode of his favorite tv show “the immortal and the restless” had finally aired. you didn't care much for dramatic romantic shows like that one, but you lived for michael's reactions. he didn't seem like the type of person to enjoy it, hell, at moments he even appeared quite edgy to the normal person. but you were swiftly proven wrong the first time he sat down with you to watch it, shaking you every time a new plot twist or secret was revealed.
( “I can't believe that son of a bitch doesn't think the kid is his!” he said once, it made you laugh hysterically for unknown reasons.)
after the newest episode, you went to take a bath since you were struggling with an aching back recently, that's when michael asked to join you. and now there you sat in front of him, his hands massaging your shoulders as he rambled about that newest episode.
“i’m not sure where they’ll take that new plotline, that's gonna be hard. i mean, a long lost twin? that's excessive.”
“excessive indeed.”
he gives your shoulder a slight squeeze and rests his chin atop your head. “you aren't listening to a thing i’m saying, are you, love?”
you smile, a dopey one. “i am, i am.”
you lean back and place the back of your head against his chest, sighing and closing your eyes. “something about twins…and...yeah.”
he chuckles at your airheadedness, tracing the bubbly water that covered you both.
“what's on your mind?”
“nothing, i’m just thinking.”
“of?”
you open an eye and look up at him, it was an odd angle given your resting position, but he still managed to look breathtaking. the underside of his jaw is so sharp that you imagine it being able to slice through wood. you reach a hand up and trace it absentmindedly.
“of how much i love you.”
michael doesn't blush, not like other people do. he’s good at hiding his emotions when he tries, but you’ve learned to see through the cracks. you notice the fondness in his eyes and the slight way his lips quirk up, and, you'd never tell him this, but you noticed the way his ears turned red with embarrassment.
he grins. “you said you hated cheesy things, didn't you?”
another sigh, laced with dramatized defeat. “i did, i did, but you've made me fond of them.”
michael gently tilts your head to face his, eyes half lidded and staring you down with pure adoration.
“have i?” that tone, that cocky yet sweet tone that he used with you oh so often.
“you have.” you lean in and kiss him, tenderly, slowly, like you had all the time in the world to show him your deepest affections. and you try to, running your fingers through his damp brown hair and scratching his scalp ever so slightly, because you know how much he likes it. you cuddle up impossibly closer to him, because nothing would ever have you close enough to him. and you nip at his bottom lip just a little, because you love the way it catches him off guard, making him flinch for a second before kissing you once again, smiling into it.
he pulls away, forehead touching yours and noses nudging against each other. you hoped you could freeze this window in time and live in it forevermore, not having a single worry about anything outside this foggy bathroom.
“while i’m flattered you love me so much,” he begins, taking your hand and placing a chaste kiss on your knuckles. “i’m afraid i love you more .”
you scoff and roll your eyes. “not possible.”
“ very possible!”
“how much more? i’m sure your... english measurements would be off anyway.”
he raises a brow and laughs boastfully. “more than your mind could even begin to comprehend.”
you gasp, placing a hand against your chest much like the actors in the shows you both would binge. “are you calling me stupid, michael?”
he shakes his head. “oh no, if anything i’m the stupid one here,” he dives deep into the dramatic, love stricken character he’s playing, putting a hand against his forehead and closing his eyes. “stupidly in love!”
you burst out laughing at his foolishness and hit his chest without any real force behind it, curling up and hiding your face because you know it's bright red, and that was something michael would never pass up an opportunity to taunt you about.
“you’ve watched too many romcoms!” you giggle, staring up as his smile widens even more.
“i fear i have,” he kisses your temple and walks his fingers down your arm. “we both have, we might as well be the new clara and drac, hm?”
“oh no, you wouldn't leave me like that vampire asshole, would you?”
he grabs your hand and holds it out in front of you both, rubbing his thumb across it. it calms you and makes you sink into him even further.
“not in a million years.” he says, running his thumb across each of your fingers before landing on a particular one. he stares at your ring finger for a few seconds, thinking the same thing you were, and then he says it.
“a ring would look nice there, wouldn't it?” he says it low, almost like it was supposed to stay a thought but it slipped past his lips before he could reel it back. you try to ignore the way your stomach flipped, or how you broke out into a toothy grin at the thought. Y/N Afton had a nice ring to it (no pun intended).
“slow down, lover boy,” you whisper gingerly, taking a hold of his hand. “give us a bit more time, will you?”
he hums. “that's hard when i’m with someone so wonderful.”
oh you wanted to hate him for the way he turned you to absolutely mush.
“i mean, it’s unfair, isn't it?”
“what is?”
“that i’ve landed with someone as amazing as you but you landed with someone like me.”
there’s a tinge of sadness when he says it. michael dealt with a lot, he opened up as much as he could about his childhood and the many struggles he had to face. and even then, you knew he hadn't told you half of it. so you knew that whatever preconceived ideas he had of himself were rooted deep, and it'd take a long time to dig them out. and that was okay, because you’d remind him whenever you could that he was more than what he was taught.
shaking your head, you cup his face and look into his impossibly soft blue eyes, they held bags under, which only made you want to coddle him more.
“the fact that i ended up with you makes me the luckiest person in the world, michael. never forget that.”
he smiles, like those words were all he ever wanted to hear. he leans down and kisses your forehead sweetly.
“i won't.”
“good. now, let's get out of this tub, the water’s turning cold.”
and so both of you do, and as you lie in bed with him, pulled into his chest so comfortably and neatly, you dream about how grateful you are to have met someone like him, even if it wasn't how you expected.