Work Text:
“TH1S 1S S0 B0RING.”
“You said you wanted to spend time with me.”
Brad groaned, leaning back in his seat on your comfortable bed.
When he said he wanted to do something fun with you — this wasn't what he meant at all. He thought about skating, or pranking his old man like you always did when you were younger. Just imagine what fun he actually would have had if he had gotten out of the house today.
But no, of course not. Not with you.
Right now, he was sitting in your room - on your bed - watching you shuffle cards.
His eyes fixated on the way your hands shuffled them effortlessly, making it look like it was the easiest thing to do in the world. When he gave it a try though, they fell down every single time until he was too annoyed to even bother picking them up again.
“N0T WH4T3V3R TH1S 1S.” he mumbled out, straightening his posture again when you finally stopped dealing with the cards in your hands.
Setting the cards down on the bed, you turned your attention towards him again.
He blushed. He hated eye contact.
Especially with you.
“Think of a question.”
“WH4T?”
“Just do it.”
He averted his gaze, seemingly thinking about an appropriate question he could be able to ask. Something too personal wasn’t like him at all — you know this ever since you’ve met him. He doesn’t like to talk about his feelings very much.
You noticed his hesitance, how his eyes seemed to be staring at the ceiling of your room and how he subconsciously brought his fingers up to fumble with his lips, lost in thoughts.
Cute.
“You don’t have to tell me the question, if that's what's making you nervous.” you chuckle, giving him that gentle smile that always makes him stammer out his words.
Uh….Uh…
„1 4M N0T N3RV0US.“
You only giggle.
What were you even doing? His brain was about to short circuiting, for sure unable to come up with even a simple question that was fitting for whatever you wanted from him.
You sighed, running a hand through your hair. Leaning your chin against your palm, you gave him suggestions.
“Like, how this year will be for you. Or if you’ll finally get a job.”
He already knows the answer to both of these. This year will be the same as any, and he will definitely not search for a job any time soon. Both of you know he’s too lazy for any kind of employment, rather lazing around in his room on his computer all day and night. Man, he really wasn’t built for any of this witch stuff you were so interested in.
…
…
What if he asked about his love life?
Brad's face flushed involuntarily.
Absolutely not.
Asking something like that was too…risky. Too cliche. That’s a really stupid idea. He shouldn’t be so direct, or at least ask someone else who can read tarot cards, but not you. He already took down the posters of his favourite anime girls when you started hanging out at his place after you teased him about them — he can’t be asking you this kind of stuff!
But you were getting impatient. And he could tell. The way you seemed to stare at him intently, like you were studying him to the fullest — watching how his eyebrows furrowed and the way he kept biting at the skin around his fingertips.
Until his mind came up with something.
His blush worsened.
Slowly meeting your gaze, he shot up his hands like he was caught stealing in a store.
“F1N3, 1…1 H4V3 4 QU3ST10N. F0R Y0U. F0R TH1S.” he growled, watching the way your bored face turned into one of amusement as you grinned at him.
You picked up the cards again, sprawling them out on the bedsheets in a perfect straight line for him to choose whatever card he wanted.
His hand immediately shot out to pick one up, before you smacked them away with a particular sharp slap. It was unintentional, really.
Brad yelped, his face one of mild frustration.
“0W! WH4T TH3 ####?” he snarled, staring at you with his face scrunched up like you actually just hit him.
You clicked your tongue.
“Not with your right hand. Always use your left one, that's what my mom said.”
He sighed dramatically, rubbing the red skin where you just smacked him.
“WH4T´S TH3 ####### D1FF3R3NC3? Y0UR´3 JUST 4DD1NG US3L3SS RUL3S.”
You seemed more offended by that than he intended to.
“It is not useless or unimportant! Your left side is where your heart is, and that's the point! Choose what your heart tells you!”
Mentally stopping himself from starting an argument with you, he finally reached out with his left hand to pick out a card. Studying the cards below him, his eyes seemed to fixate on the first one on the left, before he stared at the one right next to it. Uncertainty crossed his mind, eyes flickering to the first and the next one on and on.
He remembered what you told him just seconds ago.
With your heart.
Not listening to his brain, but to what his intuition was telling him.
He let out an uneasy breath, before picking up the first card his eyes landed on and handing it to you.
You took it gratefully from his slight shaking (was he really shaking over this?) hands.
Quickly gathering the remaining cards into a neat deck again, you placed it on your nightstand before carefully turning it over to see what he picked out.
Laying it down on the bedsheets, the both of you lowered your heads to see what his intuition seemed to want the most. He was definitely more nervous about this than you, noticing the way sweat slightly gathered on his forehead and how his heart started beating faster.
Oh wow.
The card was beautiful even to someone like Brad, who was completely uncreative in any kind of arts.
Ten cups were sprawled out at the top, almost looking like a rainbow above the sky.
Two adults seemed to hug each other on the ground, each reaching out with their arms to the sky. Next to them, two kids danced and moved in a circle.
The cups seemed to shine. Almost like a specific kind of aura radiated off of them to highlight how fitting they were into the picture. Red light shined at the top, yellow at the bottom, Brad had no idea what this even meant.
Laughing at the sight, Brad looked up only to be met with your grinning face.
Whatever that means, it's something positive.
It made him smile too. Almost cockily at that.
“Well I've got news for you!” you chuckled again, covering your mouth in an unsuccessful way to be modest.
He liked your smile, or your laugh.
Especially when it was unfiltered, when you were thinking nobody was keeping an eye on you.
But he always did.
“Y34H N0 ####! T3LL M3 WH4T 1T M34NS.” he beamed, excitement written on his face and how he desperately wanted — no, needed to know what it meant.
“This is one of the most positive cards you can possibly get, Brad. Whatever your question was, it's gonna work out.”
He couldn't help himself at the way he barked out a laugh, pointing his finger at you like he just beat you in a game of Uno.
He seemed so proud of himself for his little victory, which made you grin in slight confusion.
Completely oblivious to the fact he just asked you if you liked him back.