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Player doesn’t know why Engineer of all people makes his chest flutter. There’s just something about the guy, he’s so nice to Player. Granted, he’s nice to everyone, but Player isn’t used to people being so nice to him. It makes him feel funny. Sure, Captain is nice to Player but he’s too much, it just makes Player uncomfortable. Engineer is just the right amount of nice.
He’s never really paid attention to Engineer, but he just can’t seem to get the guy off his mind now. Obviously, not in a romantic light! No, no, never. He couldn’t just… be into his friend's boyfriend like that! Gnome is one of his top 4 friends on his list in his mind, he couldn’t do that to her if he did that he’d might as well kick a baby and kill a dog because that’s what he’d be doing to Gnome.
Why is he thinking about this right now? He has better things to do than yearning —not romantically— for his friend's boyfriend. Player snapped out of whatever was up with him, to Captain waving a hand in front of his face.
“Bestieee? Heyyyy?” Captain poked Player's face, and Player swatted his hand away.
“You’re not dead!”
Captain pulled Player into a hug, patting his head. Why is he doing that? What’s wrong with him?
“....Hey, Captain.”
“Captain, dude. Leave him alone.” Veteran spoke up, shoving Captain away.
“Hey! That’s not how you treat your Captain!”
“Not my Captain.”
Veteran looked over at Player, who looked like he’d just had the worst nightmare ever.
“What’s up with you, you were zoned out for like five minutes.”
“Just thinking…”
“Yikes, don’t hurt yourself, dude.”
Player ignored that.
“Veteran! Be nice to him!”
Veteran rolled his eyes, elbowing Captain in the side, which earned a very overexaggerated sound of pain.
“Kay. Well, me and Cap are gonna go.. And leave you to whatever you’ve been doing for the past 10 minutes. Don’t forget about that sleepover tonight.”
Sleepover? OH. THAT sleepover.
Player nodded absentmindedly in reply while Cap and Vet left.
Player watched them leave the house, and he immediately fell back onto his couch. Can he stop thinking about Engineer. He doesn’t even talk to the guy that much. Engineer is nice to him a few times and all of a sudden he’s all Player can think about! He should eat something, he’s so hungry what the hell. …Nah, he’ll do that later. He doesn’t remember his couch being so comfortable.
Player woke up without even knowing he had fallen asleep. His phone was ringing. He would assume that’s what woke him up if it wasn't for the 23 other missed calls. And like 55 messages, all from Captain.
Oh. He is so late for that sleepover. He didn’t even bother grabbing stuff to go, he just shoved his shoes on and left. Does he want to drive right now? No. He does not. He’ll walk. It’s not even that far, Captain lives like 3 streets away.
It took him 30 minutes to walk there. He is such a dirty liar. He knocked on the door, and it was Blue who opened it.
“Oh. Hi, Player.”
Player waved, “Uh. Hi.”
Blue let him in and closed the door behind them. Blue had disappeared before Player could say anything else. Player fiddled with the strings of his hoodie, looking for who to talk to. He WOULD talk to Veteran but he was busy with Captain. And he’s too tired to be around Captain right now.
“Hey, Player!” Tek waved at Player.
Player… vaguely knows Tek. They’ve talked once or twice.
“Hi, um.. Tek, right?”
“Yep, one and only!” Tek held his hand out for Player to shake, in which Player very hesitantly accepted.
Tek pulled his hand away and put his hand above his eyes, looking around. He spotted Hunter, Flamingo, and Clogsworth sitting on the couch, and dragged Player along with him. Oh. Okay. Guess that’s happening now. Sure lets 3rd wheel 2 couples whatever tsk not like Player cares. Obviously.
Tek sat down next to Clogsworth, hugging him. Player sat off to the side, he hardly talks to any of these people. Maybe he should have just stopped being lazy and talked to Veteran and Captain.
He sat there for 10 minutes in silence. He was so not in the mood to 3rd wheel, he should just kill himself while he has the time. He was saved by someone, he wasn't paying attention to who, yelling that everyone's going to play a game.
Everyone had to sit in a circle. Spin the bottle, apparently. That made him feel a little sick, but that’s okay. A lot of the couples were sitting on opposite sides for better chances of getting to kiss. Speaking of people sitting on opposite sides for a better chance, why was Veteran directly across from Captain. Is he overthinking this or does he not pay enough attention to Veteran and Captain. Who was across from Player? Oh. Aiden, apparently.
Aiden looked more nervous than Player. He doesn’t actually know anyone here, he was invited by association with Player.
Player wasn’t paying attention when anyone spun the bottle. The only thing he saw was the bottle landing on Bday during Happy's turn. Then it was his turn. He grabbed the bottle. He didn’t want to do this. He should leave. He should get up and leave.
He spun the bottle anyway. He watched it spin, and spin, and spin. Then slowly come to a stop. And stop at Engineer. Oh. Yeah. That’s fine. Sure. Whatever, man. Player and Engineer met in the middle of the circle. When did Player start shaking? Why is he shaking? Stop that. Engineer seemed to very quickly pick up on how nervous Player was.
“We do not have to kiss if you don’t want to, Player!”
Player shook his head, “No, ‘s fine.”
Engineer didn’t look very convinced, but opted to ignore it. Player reluctantly put his hands on Engineers shoulders and pressed a kiss to his lips. He felt Engineer return the kiss and felt sicker than he did before. Engineer pulled away and Player almost whined at the loss. Almost. They both went back to their spots in the circle. Player went to put his hand up to his lips but stopped himself, instead shoving his hands in the pocket of his hoodie.
Veteran was saying something to Engineer across the circle, Player couldn’t hear, but it was pissing him off. He swears he saw Veteran look at him. He should go home. He really doesn’t want to be here. He stood up to leave and saw Captain immediately get up.
“Player? Where ya going, buddy?”
“...Home. ‘M tired.”
“Didn’t you walk here? If you stay I can drive you home when everyone's calmed down!”
“Let him be, Cap.” Veteran spoke up from the circle. Player sighed in relief.
Captain frowned, looked at Veteran, then back at Player, and sat back down.
Player barely got over to the front door before Engineer put a hand on his shoulder,
“Player? Would you like a ride home? Gnome planned on staying, and I was gonna go home anyway! And, I’m a little worried about you, you’ve seemed pretty out of it all night.”
Ride home? From Engineer? That shouldn’t sound as pleasing as it does. Wait, did Engineer say he’s worried about him? He’s just doing this out of pity, Player got his hopes up for no reason. Well.. Eugh. He doesn’t really want to walk home.
“Player?”
Oh. Player forgot where he was for a second.
“Yes. Or- Sorry. That’d be… nice.”
Engineer nodded, opening the front door for Player. He and Player walked out, and Engineer led Player to his car. He opened the passenger side door for Player, Player hesitated before he got in. He still doesn’t know if he actually wants a ride, but he got in anyway.
Player wasn’t paying attention during the ride home. Engineer was talking, but Player wasn’t listening. He was piecing together what Engineer was talking about through random keywords. He was exhausted.
He has no clue when they pulled up to his house. He only realized when he almost fell out of the car after Engineer opened the door for him.
“Oh! Sorry, Player!”
Engineer helped Player up, Player stayed leaning against Engineer for a second too long.
“I take it you’re tired?”
Player shook his head, “...Just a little out of it.”
Engineer nodded, walking Player up to the front door.
“You’re okay, right? Do you want me to walk you up to your room or anything?”
Why is Engineer so nice to him? He’s gonna drive Player crazy.
“I think… I wanna be alone right now.”
“Okay. You can always talk to me if you need to, you know right? I know we don’t talk much, but I’m here for you!”
Player opened his front door, giving a half-assed nod to Engineer. He closed the door before Engineer could say anything else. And then immediately felt bad and opened the door again.
“Sorry. You.. drove me all the way here you can.. Come in for a bit.”
Why’d Player say that? Why would he do that?
“Oh, thank you!”
Player held the door open for Engineer, who took his shoes off before entering. Aw, polite. Engineer has only been in Players house once or twice. Even then he only ever sat in Players room, never looked around. It was dark, a bit messy. That’s fine. Player said he’s been pretty out of it. Engineer should clean it for him!
“Sorry.. Haven’t had the time to clean…” Player mumbled, closing the door.
“It’s fine! I understand.”
Player hasn’t had anyone other than Veteran and Captain over in a while, so he never really has to put in an effort to make it look nice. Well, now he’s embarrassed. Engineer probably thinks he’s gross or something.
“Um.. I haven’t.. Gone shopping.. I probably have food, though. If you’re hungry.”
Engineer shook his head, “I’m alright, I ate at Captains.”
Player hummed. He actually has no clue what to do. He only hangs out with Engineer with Gnome around. Oh, that’s sad actually. He can’t keep his mind off a guy he doesn’t even know how to hang out with. He should figure out what Engineer actually likes because this is just pathetic. Oh my God, Engineer is still in his house. How does he keep forgetting when he has people in his house?
“...I don’t actually know what to do.” Player played with the strings of his hood.
“Me either. We don’t hang out one on one much, do we?”
“Nooo…?”
Player sat on his couch, gesturing for Engineer to sit down as well, which he did. Wow! This is the closest he’s been to Engineer since literally kissing him. He needs to stop thinking about that. That shouldn’t be a recurring thought. Player looked over at the clock on his wall. It’s only 11 PM. It’s not that late.
“Eng?”
“Mhm?”
“Nevermind.”
Engineer looked confused, but he didn’t push it. Eng. That’s a new one. Player’s giving him nicknames now? That’s sweet! Should he give Player a nickname as well? No, no. That’s not like him, he doesn’t give nicknames. He should just start calling Player Simon. He really likes Players actual name! It’s pretty. Then again so is everything about Player. He was so gifted in terms of looks, at least Engineer thought so.
Players hair is what Engineer likes the most. He loves how it frames his face. Engineer can’t help but notice how Player keeps toying with the drawstring of his hood. That’s a very common nervous habit.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh..?”
“You’re fiddling with your drawstring.”
“...Oh.” Player pulled his hands away, putting them in his lap instead.
Why’d Engineer notice that? No, why’d he have to point it out? Now Players just embarrassed. Player was really tired all of a sudden. Whatever, he can sleep later. He’s with Engineer right now, this is important.
It is painfully quiet. Player can hear Engineers breathing. God, can Engineer hear his? He hopes not. He’s practically hyperventilating.
“You have nice hair.” Engineer said.
Player sputtered, “I- What?”
“It’s nice! I like how it frames your face.”
Players breath hitched. Does Engineer just compliment people like this?
“...Thank you? Um.. I like your freckles.”
Engineers freckles are hardly even visible. Why’d he say that? That’s just a giveaway that he looks at Engineer more than he needs to. That seemed to get to Engineer, because he brought one of his hands up to his face, feeling where some of his freckles are.
“Ah. You do?”
“Um.. Yeah..”
“I think they look funny. Oh, you’re so nice! Thank you, Simon.”
Player could swear he stopped breathing for a second. Simon? Simon?? Oh, he could die right now. He loves how Engineer says his name, especially right now. All tired and breathy. Players face was probably so red right now. Thank god his house was dark.
“...Eng, could we kiss again?”
“Sorry?”
“Nothing, nevermind.” Player should crawl in a hole and die.
“I mean, I’m not… opposed to it?”
What. The fuck. Maybe they’re both just tired.
“Oh.”
You know, Player is in his own house. Why is he so nervous? He moved over to Engineer, putting a hand on his shoulder. Oh my God, the way Engineer was looking at him. He could die right now and he wouldn’t even be mad about it.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Simon.”
Jesus Christ. Player doesn’t even know how to kiss that good he has kissed like 4 people in his life. And one of them was his mom when he was little! He took a deep breath in, pressing a kiss to Engineers lips for the now second time today. Engineer cupped Players face, running a thumb over his cheek. God, Player felt sick again.
Player pulled away for a second, then went right back in. Engineer kind of tasted like coffee. Not that Player was complaining. Engineer moved one of his hands that were cupping Players face to rest in his hair. Player let out a soft groan, this time it was Engineer who pulled away.
“You’re very pretty, Simon.”
Players face was burning. He doesn’t know how to take a compliment, instead he moved to Straddle Engineers lap, shifting until his hips were comfortable.
Engineer sighed, wrapping his arms around Player's waist, kissing him again. Player wrapped his arms loosely around Engineers neck. Engineer pulled away again. Can they stop having such short kisses?
Engineer moved his head to Players neck, pressing a few kisses down. Player whined, tilting his head to make room for Engineer.
“So perfect, Simon...”
He said in between kisses, with each one he’d also give a small bite. Not hard enough to leave a mark. It felt way too hot for Player to be wearing a hoodie all of a sudden. He pushed away from Engineer,
“..’S hot.”
He muttered, taking his hoodie off, throwing it somewhere on the ground.