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Sylus grabs your shoulder, steering you back onto the sidewalk and away from the window displays. You’d been adamant on walking this way, even though your apartment is in the direct opposite direction. When asked why, repeatedly, all you did was giggle and say it was a secret. He can’t tell if that mischief stems from who you are as a person or the alcohol warming your blood.
“Come on, sweetie. We should be getting you back home.” He plants his feet, tugging on your arm to try coaxing you back the way you came.
You whine. You stumble over your feet trying to get free from his hold. “Nooo~ We need to keep going this way!”
He sighs. The amusement he found in your inebriation faded about a block ago. “If you’d tell me why we need to keep going this way, it would help me figure out what you want so badly.” You trip into him. He huffs as he catches you, holding you in a loose hug until your head stops spinning. “Feel like talking, kitten?”
“Hmm…” You let your arms go limp by your sides and drop your forehead to rest against his chest. Closing your eyes isn’t really helping, but neither is staring at your feet. Still, your feet are far more interesting to look at right now as you try playfully stepping on his toes. “I just- He’s gotta be this way! Cuz he said he was gonna go to the bakery after work, but I forgot! And- urgh, Tara dragged me out ‘n then I remembered!”
“Who are you talking about, kitten?”
You sigh heavily. You lift your head to look at him, chin pressing painfully against him. He doesn’t react more than quirking a brow at you. “This really cute guy I like,” you admit. Seemingly out of nowhere, tears start to pool in your eyes.
Sylus is starting to regret answering the desperate call Tara made to him, begging him to take you home. He can understand her desperation now.
“He- He’s taken, though! I like him so much, Sy! But he’s not single anymore!” You hiccup pathetically, face crumpling with emotion. “And he’s so, so pretty, and I- I wanna kiss him soooo bad, Sy. What ‘m I supposed to do?”
He pats your back awkwardly, scanning the stores down the way. “Look, the bakery is right there. Why don’t we sit down and wait for him, hm?”
You sniffle, wiping at your eyes with your wrist. “Okay…”
You follow along like a pouting child, holding his hand as he walks you the rest of the way to your destination. Outside of the display window, dense with cakes and other sweet treats, haloed by the orange light from within, is a wooden bench, blessedly unoccupied. Sylus sits you down first, ensuring you’re not gonna run off and cause trouble. He sits at the other end, his elbow resting atop the bench as he props his head up. He nods to you, resigned to his fate. “Tell me about him.”
You perk up, wet eyes lighting up as you wiggle giddily in your seat. “Oh, he’s so cute, Sy! He’s like, really tall and he wears cute sweaters sometimes. And! And his eyes are like-” You mimic starburst explosions coming from your eyes. “You know?”
“I can’t say I do.”
Ignoring him, you keep rambling. “His hair is soooo soft, too. I don’t know how he does it, cuz he doesn’t do anything to his hair, but it’s just- it falls so perfectly. ‘N it smells really good, too. I’m so jealous. I wish my hair was that perfect.” You pout, fussing with your hair. It doesn’t help that you can’t see it, but you certainly try. In the end, you’ve created the perfect mess on your head.
The door to the bakery jingles as it opens. A customer takes two steps outside before stopping. “Y/N?”
You look up, eyes glazed over, blinking dumbly. Slowly, your eyes focus in on him, like you’re just waking up from a dream. You gasp and rush to your feet. You fall into him more than you purposefully hug him, but he wraps his free arm around you all the same.
You turn toward Sylus, still lounging on the bench. “Sy, this is the guy I was telling you about! Look at his hair!”
Zayne easily deflects your clumsy attempt to mess with his hair. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“I’m just a friend. You can call me Skye. You must be their boyfriend.”
“Wait!” You stare up at Zayne with wide eyes. “You’re taken by ME?!”
“How much did you have to drink?”
“Too much,” Sylus answers for you. He stands up, thumbs tucked casually into his front pockets. “They were crying on the way here about you being ‘taken.’ I trust that I can leave them in your capable hands?”
Zayne looks the man up and down. He doesn’t recognize him among the countless stories of friends you’ve told him about before. Something about him sets Zayne on edge, but he just nods stiffly, lips pursed. “Thank you for escorting them here,” he says, but it lacks the warmth of true gratitude.
Sylus smirks as he nods in return. You turn to wave at the tall man. “Goodnight, Sy! Say hello to Mephie for me, m’kay?”
“Of course, sweetie. Good luck sleeping off your hangover.”
With that, he turns and heads back down the street. Zayne watches him leave, arm tightening around you. Something stirs within him uncomfortably: the unmistakable twist of jealousy. It calculates every small glance, touch, glimmer of anything where there’s nothing, tossing it into a burning fire in his system. But now is not the time to address it.
“Hold this,” he says, with all the patience of a doctor dealing with a crying three-year-old.
You take the bag of treats from him without hesitation. “Oooh, what’d’ya get?”
Before you can peek in, your feet are being pulled out from under you as Zayne lifts you into his arms. You hold the bag in your lap with one hand. The other wraps around his neck to keep you secure. “The bakery had some seasonal desserts to try, so I got some of each. If we don’t like them, I also bought a couple of our usual favorites.”
The bakery is close to the hospital where he left his car parked. People give him odd looks as he passes by, but he’s more focused on the intense look you’re giving him. Intense not for any strong emotion behind it, but because of the unyielding way you stare at his face.
“What’s on your mind?”
You sigh dreamily. “Can’t believe I get to date you,” you hum. You groan quietly, pouting at him. “I wanna kiss you, but I know you don’t like that in public. Can I kiss you when we get back home?”
His lips quirk into a small smile. “You can kiss my cheek tonight,” he says, voice low, private. “Tomorrow, when you’re feeling better, you can kiss me properly.”
“I’m not gonna be able to survive until tomorrow!” you whine dramatically. “Just one small kiss? Pretty please? Pretty, pretty please with sugar on top?”
That stirring emotion in his gut is rapidly settled with your pleas. He sets you carefully back on your feet beside his car. The parking lot is empty, and almost every window in the hospital is dark or dim. You hold onto his arm with your free hand, preventing him from grabbing his keys until he answers.
He sighs softly, amused. Your face is so beautiful in this light. “Okay,” he agrees. “One small kiss.”
The way your face lights up is blinding. You dance awkwardly on your feet in your excitement, letting go of him as you try getting into the still locked car. “C’mon, c’mon! I got the prettiest man in the whole world to kiss!”
What did he have to be jealous about when he was the one taking you home? The one being pulled into kisses by you over and over again while he tries to get you ready for bed? The one you wake up to, groaning and wishing for death after drinking too much the night before? He doesn’t have anything to worry about at all.