Work Text:
Green had known, from the moment they met White, that White had more money than they possibly knew what to do with. I mean, they had several yachts, in spite of the fact that surely one yacht would have been sufficient. Though, Green knew nothing about collecting yachts, considering the fact they didn’t even have the money for one. White appeared to have a tendency to collect highly expensive things like they meant nothing, and somehow ended up throwing Green into the mix of all that.
But what they hadn’t known was that White would be very quick to splurge their money on Green, even though Green hadn’t asked for any of it. A couple weeks into them dating, White had already started buying Green equally as expensive items, tossing them at Green as though it was bird feed and Green was a particularly rare bird species that White had been trying to observe. Green had insisted that something like that really hadn’t been necessary– they would have been okay if White had shown up with nothing at all, but apparently that answer hadn’t worked, and White persisted in their spoiling. Green began to understand that this was something to do with their love language.
Presumably because of what Green knew about White’s parents. At first Green thought that they sounded great– parents who gave their child a job in their company to line their pockets and ease them into adulthood. That was the same thing that Green’s parents had done when they had become an adult, working on the family worm farm and all that. But the more that they heard on them the more their opinion changed– White’s parents tended to just throw money at them and stick an attendant in their face instead of caring for them, so they’re not really sure what else to do to express affection other than to spend money on them.
Green had worked on that with them. Over time, White had gotten less awkward and more comfortable when it came to hugging other people, and even was starting to be able to be more open and honest with Green. But old habits do still die hard.
The voice message that Green had gotten from White stopped them mid-farming. White had invited them out to a fancy restaurant that had just opened up. A place with human sea food and… caviar? Green didn’t know what any of that stuff actually was, but they liked the way that the word sounded. Caviar— silly word. Apparently it’s from surgeon roe? That’s what White said. They also told them about the oysters and scallops… mouth watering sounding enough that they just couldn’t turn it down.
A limousine had pulled up down the country road, with completely blacked out windows sans the one in the driver's seat. All of their little siblings had swarmed the window, squealing and begging Green to let them come with. Green smiled and patted their heads, telling them it wasn’t up to them. Green actually wasn’t too sure if White liked children, though the spoiled, only child air that they had sort of gave the impression that they wouldn’t. But maybe that was something that Green would ask white about later, when they were more open to the idea of meeting Green’s family. All that coldness in their own family… bringing them into the warmth of Green’s may come off as a bit of a culture shock at first.
Green stepped outside after dodging family members trying to add final touches to their outfit. The driver stepped out of the limo and rounded over to the far back door, opening it up and waiting for Green to rush over and crawl through with noticeable eagerness. The door shut behind them and insulated the back of the limo in its cool lighting, and the soft music that was playing from a small speaker in the corner.
Even at the step, this massive interior perpetuated wealth Green couldn’t really process.???
Green lifted their head up, where they saw White sitting to the side on one of the three sofas lining the wall. Those sofas were longer than any of the ones they had at home, Green thought, and there were multiple of them! White looked completely unaffected, as though sofas were another thing that they happened to collect, as they continued to swirl some wine around in a half filled glass. They glance up and then their eyes widen in recognition.
“White! Hi!” Green rushed over and sat down in the seat right beside White, “You look so good!”
Which always sounded like a bit of an exaggeration when it came from Green. If not because of the fact that they always sounded way too excited whenever they said it, but because they said it almost every time that they saw White in a new outfit. They said it so many times that they didn’t even think about when they said it anymore.
But come on, here! The pale pink button up shirt that they wore, with a few unbuttoned at the top, paired with the black blazer and black pants, looked completely stunning on them. What else were they supposed to say?
“Thanks.” There was a noticeable tinge of ‘obviously’ in their voice, almost masked by their fondness, “You look… pleasant yourself.”
“Do I?” Green looked down. They’d just thrown on a plaid shirt and some cargo pants, the only thing in their wardrobe that felt fancy enough to fit the dress code when it came to White’s date nights, “This is just something I threw together. I think the plaid looks pretty fancy, doesn’t it?”
“You’re… sitting very close.” White mentioned. Green realised now that they had been leaning into White when they spoke, and had since crossed the invisible barrier into ‘White’s’ seat.
“Oh! Sorry.” Green murmured sheepishly, jumping back. They pressed their back hard against the plush cushion of the sofa, keeping their hands in their lap to prevent any wandering, “I guess I get a bit carried away whenever I talk to people.”
“That’s alright. You’re just… a lot friendlier than most people I have in here. Usually they sit on one of the other sofas, or at least at the other end.” White explained, raising their hand to gesture to the area.
“Did you want me to do that too? I can totally do that.” Green began to stand up, but they were stopped by White holding onto their arm, giving them one look that immediately made them sit back down., “Okay, right. Getting carried away there, too.”
“You’re fine where you are. It just… makes me feel weird?” White furrowed their eyebrows. Green blinked in response, a little unsure on what they meant, “Not that– you make me feel weird. But when you sit so close to me… my heart starts thumping and my face gets a bit warm? I don’t understand that feeling.”
“I think that just means you’re in love with me.” Green proposed, tilting their head to watch White better.
White snorted, amusement gracing their pretty face. They tilted their head back as they rolled their eyes, answering, “That’ll do it.”
“Anyway,” White reached back behind them, pulling the open bottle of wine they had been drinking from into Green’s view, “Would you like a glass of wine? This bottle is wonderful, let me tell you.”
“That looks really expensive.” Green mentioned, squinting.
“Oh– I’ve got about, five bottles of these in the cupboard. Help yourself, really.” With minimal prompting, White grabbed an empty wine glass and filled the cup almost entirely to the top, not stopping even when Green yelped. Even with the reassurance, Green was worried about having that much of something so pricey, “It’s fine, okay Greenie? I can just buy more. But I’m sure you’ll like it.”
“Really?-- Aah!” The limo turned around the corner, and lurched Green considerably more than it lurched White, almost causing the wine glass to spill over onto their pants– or worse, into White’s leather seating. White continued to stare, much less bothered by this than Green was, just waiting for them to take their first sip. Green glanced between the glass and White with their lips pursed, before bringing the glass up and taking a sip from it.
Green hummed, eyebrows raised, as they tried to figure out one of the ingredients. They soon realised they did not have the slightest clue what any of them could be, as they hardly drank wine in the first place. That was just what they knew ‘wine tasters’ did, and they still mostly saw themselves as a little taste of something different in this life as opposed to something entirely theirs.
White’s, that is.
“Yeah?” White crooned, a knowing smirk on their face. Green gulped their mouthful down and was unable to keep a smile from coming onto their face. Maybe not only because of the wine- though it was definitely wonderful as White had said- but also because White smiling always made them smile right back.
“Yeah! This is great!” Green exclaimed. White leaned back into their seat and chuckled lightly, bringing their own cup to their lips.
“Well, enjoy it. We’ve got a little way out to the restaurant.” They commented kindly.
Green spent a lot of the drive trying to figure out what the appropriate time frame between taking sips of wine was, primarily through watching White and then taking a sip a few inconspicuous moments after they did. By the time that comments were starting to be made that they were almost at the restaurant, Green somehow still had a little under half of the wine still in their glass, and took a deep breath before chugging as much down as they could at once.
“Woah! Slow down!” White exclaimed, holding out their hands and yet not quite touching Green. Because if they ended up coughing any of that up, White was not going to let it get on them.
Green gasped when they swallowed their last drop, gulping down air like they had just drowned themselves, “But I needed to finish it!”
“It doesn’t matter if you finish it.” White insisted, awkwardly patting Green’s back in a way that didn’t exactly help.
“It does!” Green yelped. They both paused, looking at each other for a short while. Green cleared their throat, “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
White gave them another back pat for good measure.
The restaurant was about as much as Green had expected for someone like White. There was soft piano music from an actual pianist, a silky red carpet with golden emblems on the ground, and it was almost completely silent except for some quiet murmuring. This was the kind of place that only made sense to be decorated with people with much, much higher incomes than someone like Green, and admittedly it did serve to make them feel a little out of place.
The waiter that had greeted them took White’s name and led them to a table in the far corner of the restaurant. As they passed the other tables, Green got a mosey at what the other people were eating, then leaned in to whisper to White.
“Do places like these usually have tiny portions?” They asked.
“Well, they use the finest ingredients. They can’t just throw it into a pot and serve it with a ladle.” White responded. When they arrived at their table, the waiter pulled one of the chairs back, which White sat down in. Then the waiter rounded the table and pulled the other chair back, looking expectantly at Green. Green stood completely still for a few moments before pacing forward and plopping themselves down on the chair.
“I just… thought bigger usually meant more.” Green commented once the waiter had moved further away.
White shrugged, “Well, hopefully the five courses make up for it.”
“FI–” Green started, their voice raised. A couple people around them paused what they were eating and looked in their direction, and Green immediately simmered down, repeating in a much quieter voice, “Five? Where do you get five courses from?"
“I thought five was pretty reasonable.” White answered, confused by Green’s surprise, “Though, I would have preferred seven, but you make it sound like five is really high.”
“Because I only tend to eat one? Just… dinner. And a desert if we have any in the freezer.” Which isn’t particularly often, when they give most of their frozen treats to their little siblings. They’re a lot more in need of sugar and sweetness than Green is.
“What? You’re messing with me.” White’s eyes went wide as they reached for their napkin, unfolding it and draping it down over their lap.
Green watched for a few moments before fumbling to do the same thing with their own napkin, “No. I thought you were messing with me.”
“I know, that’s what I’m saying to my cooks.” White agreed, “Only five? It’ll do, but it something to be desired."
Apparently they were not on the same page at all.
The waiter giving each of them a menu did not serve to make anything better. Green took a look at the items on the menu and was immediately appalled.
Even the tiniest of portions probably cost more than one of Green’s toe beans. They look to White for any sort of reassurance that they were reading this wrong, but they have their head completely down in their own menu, making little thoughtful noises as they consider all the ingredients in the meals.
Green stared back down at their menu with such an intensity that other stimuli were scared to disrupt them. That was until White had called their name, and they realised that White had just asked them a question.
“Huh? Uh.” Green’s focus snapped up from the menu and they met White’s, who had now placed their menu down on the table. Green had no clue what they had just said, “...Yeah?”
“Really?” White questioned, and Green made a face. They quickly started to wonder if their answer hadn’t been right, “To what?”
“...” To what. What could Green possibly be something to? Green strained to receive even the most subtle context clue from White, but got nothing, “Sorry, what did you ask me? I– didn’t really process.”
“I asked you if you had any allergies. I completely forgot to ask before I picked a place out. But if you do, we can just tell the guy–” White began to reach up a hand to flag down a waiter.
“--no!” Green rushed to say, “No, I’m… I don’t think I’m allergic to anything. Other than bees.”
“Oh.” White lowered their hand back down onto the table. Should Green have just committed to it? Said that they had an allergy to– I don’t know, strawberries, just so White wouldn’t sound so lost? They didn’t even know at this point, “What were you thinking about?”
They felt far too far into this to say anything now. That this was too expensive, and that there was no way they could afford this even if they weren’t the one paying. They didn’t know the specific number of wealth that White had, but by their own standards, this food felt like way too much of a burden to put on someone’s bank account.
“Nothing, nothing.” Green scratched the back of their neck and read the menu a little closer, their lips pressed together, “I think I might just have– a salad, or something. I’m not really that hungry.”
“I thought you said you ‘couldn’t wait for dinner’.”
…ohh. Okay. Yep.
They hadn’t eaten.
Whenever Green was the one who was scheduling their dates, Green always told White to eat before they came over, since they weren’t doing anything that involved food. But when Green was being taken out to dinner by White, they thought that not eating anything beforehand was the right thing to do. They had been so excited leading up to when the limousine pulled up at their house that they had mentioned this to White over the phone, who’d only laughed and assured them that the food would be great.
They should have seen this coming– that they were going to feel bad about accepting things from White. They usually felt that way– White didn’t know the difference between need and want, and would buy both for Green. It made them happy whenever White was happy, but there was a certain limit of money that Green was able to have spent on them before they started feeling bad. They weren’t able to afford to give White that sort of lifestyle in return, and it made them worry that the gap between the two of them was too big. That White was eventually going to give up on them, someday.
So they tried to be careful about what they accepted from White– but all of this just felt like too much.
“Yeah, but– I’m sure a salad will just be good enough for me!” Green laughed awkwardly, forcing a smile onto their face.
“You were the same person that said that the portions were small.” White squinted at them, “What’s gotten into you? Are you not feeling well?”
“No! No, I’m fine.” Green waved their hands about, “Just– you know… greens! They’re good for you.”
“I thought you’d like some of the sea food options.” White explained, “Have you ever tried a lobster?”
Green blinked, “...You eat lobsters?”
Apparently, the lobster that showed up on their plate was edible. On their fourth plate, that is. White had ordered the full load on their behalf, and they hadn’t been able to stop them from doing so. White had even shown them how to eat a lobster, which was admittedly a little confusing, and they could gradually feel a hole opening up in their stomach trying to swallow them whole.
It was good. Of course it was good– everything that White gives them is good. They’ve got good taste, and an even better eye for the foods and drinks that Green would like. But the whole time, the guilt that was festering inside of them was starting to make them feel a little unwell.
And they were sure that White was noticing it, too. They kept starting up random conversations with Green, noticing that they had gone quiet for an unusually long period of time. Green tried to do their best to hold the conversations, but it became increasingly more difficult the longer that the dinner had progressed on for. Eventually, Green began noticing that White was looking up at them and then looking away, not too sure whether this was a matter that they should press on.
But Green wanted to talk about it. They really did. When the dinner and they climbed back into the limousine, Green began tapping on the neck of their glass with their fingers, nervous and unsure what to do with their hands.
“I’m sorry.” They started.
“You know-- I feel like I should be the one who’s sorry.” White answered. Green’s eyes widened in confusion, “I– okay. I don’t really know how to say this so just– give me a sec. I don’t really do this. But… I feel bad. That– you weren’t enjoying yourself as much as I was.”
“No… I was.” Green answered, their tapping becoming more frequent, “It’s just that… I can’t afford all that stuff. The fancy dinners, the expensive presents… any of it. And I’m not upset with you for getting that stuff for me! But I know that I won’t ever be able to pay you back for all of it, and that makes me feel like I’m a bad partner.”
White took one of Green’s hands, prying it off the cup, “It’s kinda my whole thing,” White snorted, “I buy you all that stuff because I love you, and I want you to have good things. What’s mine is yours… kinda. But you’re worth way more to me than whatever I’m spending on you.”
Green snickered.
“Do not– I’m trying my best here.” White hissed, faux scandalised.
“I’m worth more than your money… romantic.” Green teased.
White groaned, prompting a laugh out of Green, “Okay– okay. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah…” White muttered childishly, “I guess I didn’t even think about how that had to have made you feel. I was… so wrapped up in myself.”
White squeezed onto Green’s hand, “You’re a great partner. I don’t treat just about anyone the way I treat you. So I thought that would mean something. I wanted to show you how much I love you."
Green suppressed the oddly emotional feeling that was coming up, “Really?”
“Most people don’t stick around as much as you do.” White answered, “They think I’m pretentious, or spoiled, and– okay, I guess I am. But I'm not only that. You actually took the time to listen, no matter how self-centred I sounded, and… I wanted to do as much as I could to give back to you. But if you don’t want that–”
“--I want you to feel good about yourself.” Green spoke, “And– if that means spending money on me, then I don’t mind. But so much of it just makes me worry that I need to repay it to you somehow, even if you say it’s not necessary. Don’t you think that maybe there’s some other way to do it?”
“Maybe I should run it by you more before I buy stuff.” White mused, “But… what do you want that to be?”
“I don’t know… “ Green hummed, rubbing their fingers along their chin, “How about we just stick to important presents? Like, you can get me something big on my birthday, or Christmas– or our anniversary! But other times- maybe I’ll tell you if I want something? And if you want to take me out on fancy dates, then I can do something back? Maybe– oh! My family also has fruit trees. I could give you some fruits?”
“You have fruit trees on a worm farm?” White questioned.
“Yeah. The worms like fruit cores!” Green exclaimed, “We grow tons of fruits. Like apples, bananas, pears, peaches… I’ll bring you a bunch so you can try some!”
There’s almost this dazed, out of their depth look on White’s face. But then, realising that this would be them also making their partner happy, they looked a lot more confident, “Just make sure they’re washed.”
“Alright!” Green chirped, giving White a salute.
That evening, after they had kissed on White’s cheek and clambered out the car, they had picked the best apples they could find in their fruit tree.
And they felt a lot happier with this arrangement.