Archive of Our Own ^beta

The buzzing in Foolish’s head is relentless. It’s been a while since he drank this much and it’s honestly starting to hurt. It’s almost 4 am, the after after party is almost at its tail end and Foolish feels like he’s physically fighting through it. He’s not drunk, per se, but he does feel tired. He climbs the stairs to his guest room, half in mind to just fall to his bed and not even change. The moment he reaches the top of the stairs, Tina appears in his line of vision. 

“You’re sleeping?” she asks him and Foolish blinks. 

Fuck, she is a vision to behold, even after a whole night of partying. Maybe even especially. She ditched her silver heels already, her makeup a bit smudged, and her hair is almost all over the place. She looks wild for her own standards and Foolish likes it a little too much. 

“Not gonna lie, I just might face plant on my bed,” he replies as he traces his eyes over her form. His inhibitions are down and the self control he takes pride in is harder to grasp. Foolish blames the alcohol in his system.

“I think I might sleep soon, too… m’tired,” she yawns as she walks pass him in the hallway, heading down the stairs.

“Tina,” he calls out quietly, stopping her in her tracks. She turns to face him, looking at him with her big brown eyes.

“Hm?”

“Your dress, it’s… I like the color a lot,” he tells her lamely and Foolish wants to kick himself. Tina laughs.

“Hey, thanks man!” she replies with a grin before turning to walk away again. He grabs her arm gently to stop her. She looks back at him again in question.

“I mean, your dress reminds me of those Greek goddesses. Almost other-worldy,” he tells her, directly glancing into her eyes. He sees her face redden as her eyes widen.

“O-oh!” She starts, biting her lips, clearly taken aback. Foolish likes her reaction so much so he decides to dig the hole a little deeper.

“A moon goddess who appears only at night and rivals Aphrodite’s beauty, something like that.”

Foolish can feel the buzzing in both his head and veins as he watches the flood of both surprise and embarrassment on her face. She’s so pretty.

“I’m so proud of you,” she exclaims out of the blue and Foolish blinks in confusion before chuckling.

“What for? We’re both losers as you recall,” he answers.

“No, for presenting on-stage. I saw your hand shaking,” she tells him as she walks closer. “I know your tells, Foolish Gamers. I know you enough to know that you were nervous as hell but you still did amazing. I am so proud of you.” 

Foolish laughs as a reply but he could feel his face warming up, her compliment making him want to smile nonstop. He could feel butterflies building up in his stomach. 

“Hey, that means a lot coming from a moon goddess,” he teases her as thanks and Tina rolls her eyes at him. “Thanks, Tina.”

Foolish then catches her tired drunk eyes staring at his lips and he couldn’t help but lick them, self conscious. Tina gasps, as if catching herself. 

“Sorry, I-“ “What? What’s wrong?” Foolish asks before realizing that his hand is still grabbing her bare arm. He lets go quickly. He fiddles with his hand, trying to relinquish the memory of her soft and smooth skin under his palm and fingers. Tina continues to watch him before reaching out to fix his turtleneck, her fingers and nails slightly grazing the skin of his neck. Foolish inhales. 

“I- I would like to face plant on your bed, too… my room is too far,” she says almost inaudibly that Foolish takes a second to register it. His eyes widen.

“Wait, what?”

“Never mind!” She takes a step back, pulling back her hand from his neck. “I’m drunk, I don’t know what I’m saying. Also, I need to remove my makeup and do a whole shower routine so I definitely have to go back to my room.” she says before laughing nervously. He could feel his mind almost imploding in itself with her suggestion, but even in the chaos and the relentless buzzing, Foolish knows what he wants, and what he wants is wrapped in a Periwinkle ruffle dress.

“I’ll walk you down, then,” Foolish says.

“No, you don’t have to,” Tina argues.

“And maybe I can face plant on your bed instead?” He adds casually. 

“Oh!” 

Foolish grins at her shocked face before leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “That is, if you want to.” 

Tina looks at him before nodding, the sweetest smile on her face. “Yes, I would like that.” 

Bzzzzt bzzzt bzzzt 

Foolish’s eyes open, the still darkness of his room greeting him. He was halfway into slumber already but the sudden vibration of his phone shook him awake.  He grabs it while he rubs his eye, trying to clear his vision. He blinks at the name, confused. He knows that the whole LA house went out tonight and he really wasn’t expecting a message from Tina until tomorrow. But here she is, calling.

“Hello?” he answers, his voice a little croaky from disuse.

“Hi Foolish,” she says in that tone. A little too giddy, a little too flirty.

“Of course you’re wasted,” Foolish chuckles and she answers back with her own giggle. He rests his head back on his pillow, his eyes closing. “How was it?”

“It’s still as bad as I remember it,” Tina declares passionately. “I gave it a chance, I really did. But even God can’t save those drinks.”

Foolish laughs, knowing her distaste for the said establishment. He can imagine the exact expression on her face while trying the drinks again, a mixture of pure disgust and disbelief.

“At least you’re sure now, no more space for doubts,” he answers with a stifled yawn. “You do know it’s almost 6 AM here, right?”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t stay up this late,” she says and Foolish could hear the pout in her voice. “And you answered, so….”

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t mope around if I don’t answer.”

“Fine, drop the call then if you’re too sleepy to talk to me—”

“If I don’t answer, you sulk. If I answer, you still sulk. We can never win here,” he tries to stop the smile on his lips but he couldn’t help it, he finds it funny when she pouts. 

“I just wanted to tell you that I miss you, asshole,” Tina says. “Come back.”

“You’ll see me soon enough. Tinacon, remember?”

“I want you here, now.”

“You’re talking to me right now.” Tina sighs in the other line and Foolish waits, as always. Drunk Tina’s thoughts are as all over the place as sober Tina, just less filtered and less fast. “I—“

“Yes?” He encourages gently.

“I want tv time…” she confesses under her breath, so quickly he almost misses it. His already stuffy room suddenly doubles in warmth. His eyes shot open again.

“Yeah?” he says unsurely. 

“Anyway, I just took a shower before I called you and the living room song played on my phone and all I could think about is you should be here in LA with us right now,” Tina continues normally as if her previous statement didn’t just set his body heat ablaze. “Thinking about it now, you would probably like those god awful drinks—“  

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t just say what you said,” he laughs. 

“Huh, what? What did I say?” “You want tv time?” Foolish reiterates, a fiendish smirk forming on his lips.

“Umm, did I say that?” she tries to backpedal but Foolish already caught her. “I mean, maybe? I think?”

“Me too, Tina.”

“Then why aren’t you here?” She whines.

“Because my mom asked me to stay longer, remember?” He reminds her quietly. “Because I missed mother’s day.” 

“Oh, god, you did,” she says in horror and realization. “And it was because of me!” Tina is right but Foolish decides to not answer knowing she would feel too guilty if he confirms. “You know I’ll be there soon,” he tells her instead, “Just be patient, kid.” 

“Okay…” she answers sulkily again making him laugh.

“I promise we’ll have tv time,” he says with a cheeky grin on his face. “…maybe even more, eh?”

“O-oh!” Tina replies and Foolish could easily imagine the embarrassed look on her face, how her eyes would have widened and the blush of her cheeks. Foolish adores it.

“You know what…I would like more, I think,” she says slowly in that tone again and he feels his own face warm up. Trust Tina to dig the whole deeper and trust Foolish to fall for it— willingly— every time. “I think I would like it the most, actually.”

“Yeah?” he says almost breathlessly. 

“So come back sooner so we can have all the tv time we want,” she tells him with a suggestive giggle and Foolish reflexively double checks the dates mentally, how soon he could leave Ohio and fly back to Tina.

“Anyway, I’ll let you sleep man!” she suddenly tells him, catching him off guard. “I forgot that I’ve been lying here completely undressed after my shower while talking to you—“

“What?! No way, Tina, wait—“ 

“Good night, Foolish! Come back soon!” She drops the call quick and a groan of frustration slips out of him. The image of her fresh out of the shower is now visually present in his mind and he could feel his body temperature rising. He laughs in complete disbelief, covering his eyes with his arm as he tries to regulate the disarray in both his heart and brain. 

“She got me,” he mutters to himself. “That idiot.” 

Tina as a friend is fun and silly, it’s always a good time with her around. But Tina as a girlfriend, Foolish realizes, is not for the faint of heart. Good thing he always loves a challenge. 

Noah Brown knows of a Christina Kenyon, he thinks. He’s heard of the girl with brown hair who uses the art room after his ceramics class. Mrs. Miller, his art teacher, has specifically mentioned her to him before. One time, there was an easel he wanted to move to the corner of the classroom when Mrs. Miller told him, “Oh, be careful! I think one of its legs is wonky, Christina tripped on it, you see.”

Noah laughed because how can someone even trip on such a big, obvious thing like an easel’s leg. 

“You don’t know Christina,” Mrs. Miller laughed back, an amused glimmer in her eyes. “She’s a walking bundle of clumsiness, that one. She would trip on her own legs. I bet she already did at some point of her life.”

He tried to recall what this Christina looks like but his mind went blank. He could only remember the impression of long brown hair. “I’m afraid I haven’t met her yet, Mrs. Miller.” He said and his teacher stared at him for a long few seconds, a funny look in her eyes.

“I think you’ll get along with her her actually, Noah. She’s a funny girl,” She told him with a grin. “She’s very cute, too.”

Noah chuckled while he finally moved the easel to the side. “Stop matchmaking, madam. I like blondes.”

“Pity,” she answered with a sigh. “Well, you might not be her type anyway. You’re too much of a jock.”

“Excuse me? I didn’t create my beautiful blueberry pie creation only for you to call me too much of a jock, Mrs. Miller.” 

She laughed in response, the wrinkles on her face disappearing for a few seconds in pure amusement. Noah laughed along with her. 

That’s the only complete conversation he’s had about this Christina, but Noah has heard her name mentioned a couple more times. There was an incident of her screaming at one the seniors named Josh Bingle for being shit at production design. Or that one rumor that she was caught trying to take home one of the science club’s hamsters, crying over the inhumane treatment they’re experiencing, to which the club members cleared up that the hamsters were only there for behavioral observation studies, not for dissection. 

Either way, all Noah knows is that she’s mad weird. 

Noah opens the door to the art room still in his football jersey, sans helmet and pads. He went straight from practice when he realized that he left his phone here and he’s been waiting for a text from Lexie, this pretty blonde cheerleader from another school he met in one of their games. 

He stands still the moment he spots the figure by the window trying to reach up and fix the drooping decoration hanging by the sill with the help of a very unstable stool.

“Do you need a hand?” He asks, amused at how short the girl is and how much she’s struggling.

“Oh!” Said girl turns around and Noah feels his own breath hitch.

In front of him is the loveliest creature he’s ever laid his eyes on. Big brown doe eyes look at him in curiosity, her cute lips parting. Noah traces her face instinctively, she’s so pretty he thinks he just might die on the spot. He could hear his heartbeat pumping louder in his ears in pure panic. 

Then she smiles and his mind just goes white. 

“Some help would be lovely,” she says and even her voice is attractive, making him panic even more, which is dumb because he’s never reacted like this to a girl before. “I have this huge disadvantage of being short, you see. But this droopy thing has been bothering me for hours.”  

“Y-yeah, let me,” Noah says, stiffly walking towards her, now self conscious about his sweat and the state of his hair. 

“I already put on new tape, you only have to press it up there,” the girl instructs and Noah tries his best to follow. She moves aside to let him work on the spot and he catches the remnants of her scent in the air and oh, god, she smells so good, soft with a hint of apples. Noah loves apples. 

“Perfect, thank you!” She exclaims and he turns to look at her. She’s a full head shorter than him and Noah’s about to lose it because how is she even lovelier up close? 

“No problem,” he struggles out before shaking his head, trying to clear his mind and regain his cool. “You’re lucky I was dropping by or else you would have toppled over, I think.”

The girl laughs. “You don’t know that. I could have handled it.”

“Maybe, but probably with a bruised knee after. I could see the stool about to tip over, you know.”

“No, it wasn’t. You’ve got no proof.”  

“What? Yes, it was. Proof was my own two eyeballs,” He quips, entertained by this silly, pretty girl. 

“Alright, whatever you say, Noah,” she says with a knowing smile and he feels his eyes widen.

“Wait, you know me?” he asks in disbelief because if she knows him then how come he doesn’t know her? 

The girl doesn’t reply. Instead, she walks to one of the tables to grab something. She turns around to show him his phone, the screen flashing another text notification from Lexie.

“It’s been constantly buzzing and I promise I didn’t mean to read one of the text but I saw one saying “Hey, Noah” and I’m assuming this is the reason why you’re here?” She tells him before giggling. “With how you reacted, you’re definitely the Noah.”

Damn, she’s smart too. 

“Alright, miss detective. In exchange for reading my private texts, you have to tell me your name then,” he says as he grabs his phone from her. “A fair price, I suppose. My name is Tina. Tina Kenyon, nice to meet you.” 

“Tina Kenyon… Oh, you’re Christina!” Noah exclaims and everything finally clicks. The long brown hair, the disastrous tilting of her stool, and the whimsical way she talks. “Oh goodness, don’t call me Christina, I prefer Tina,” she says, her face scrunching up in aversion. Noah laughs, he quite likes that expression on her.

“You should probably text back now. Your girlfriend has been sending a lot of messages, I think,” she tells him as she goes back to her bag on the table, her art supplies scattered around it. 

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he clears up quickly and Noah doesn’t know why that came out so fast. She turns back to him, a brow raised. 

“I swear I really didn’t mean to read her texts but I’m sure I saw something about a date this weekend,” she says. “Don’t tell me you’re playing with this poor girl’s heart.” 

“What? No!” He answers defensively. “I just met her last week and a friend of hers gave me her number the other day. We’ve barely been talking.” 

“Oh, I see,” Tina blinks then gives him an apologetic smile. “My bad for assuming the worst, your fellow jocks have a reputation of breaking hearts, you see.” 

Noah moves towards her table, taking the seat in front of her while Tina watches him, her face plastered with curiosity. 

“It’s bad manners to judge a person based on other people’s actions, you know,” he teases, his head tilting. “Tell me, did you really try and steal a hamster?” 

Her face reddens in an instant, her eyes wide in shock. She definitely didn’t expect him to mention that incident and Noah cackles because her expression alone is hilarious. 

“What— how, what?! How’d you know that?!” She asks, her brows furrowing in embarrassment. “I was misinformed and quickly apologized to Leslie, okay? All is well.”

If he remembers right, Leslie is the science club’s bubbly president. “Anyways,” Tina says, trying to steer the conversation away from not one of her finest moments.  “Do you need anything else? Aren’t you supposed to go back to practice?” 

Noah smirks. “Trying to get rid of me?” “Of course not,” she says unconvincingly, her cheeks turning pink again. Noah stands, getting off the chair. “I’m just kidding, Tina. I’ll leave you be,” he says before walking towards the door. “But it’s nice to finally meet you. Mrs. Miller has mentioned you a few times before.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel unwelcome—“ she panics, following him towards the door. 

“It’s fine! I’m not offended,” Noah laughs at her sincere expression. “I need to go back to the lockers, anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” He answers genuinely, his eyes scanning her face, taking ever detail in. So lovely in every sense of the word. 

“Okay,” She nods while looking up at him. “Okay.”

“I’ll see you around then, Tina,” He quips, turning around to exit the room. “Don’t trip on easels while you’re alone, okay?” 

“Wait, what!?” Noah closes the door instead of answering, cackling.

… 

The supposed date with Lexie falls through. When asked by his teammates why, Noah could only answer, “Just realized I might not be into blondes after all,” with a casual shrug. 

It’s been almost a week since he saw Tina in the art room and he has started to wonder if he just imagined that whole thing. Maybe she was just a figment of his imagination, maybe a girl as pretty as her just couldn’t be real. Scanning the hallways for the five foot something girl proves to be the hardest challenge ever, and when he finally gave in and asked Mrs. Miller for her whereabouts, the art teacher only gave him a raised brow and said, “I thought you’re not interested?” Which was no help at all. 

Coincidentally enough, one of his classmates in his History class is a guy named Nathan Blau— Leslie’s boyfriend. The couple are talking outside the classroom and Noah takes this chance to ask for her because god knows when he’ll get an opportunity again. 

“Oh, Tina?” Leslie repeats her name with a grin, her face curious. “Why are you looking for her?” 

“Nothing, I’m just—“ Noah stutters “I met her last week and,”

“And now he’s obsessed,” Nathan interjects, patting his shoulder.

“No, I’m not! I’m just curious!” Noah answers defensively. Leslie and Nathan laugh as he feels his face warm up.

“You’re good, Noah. She’s quite a cutie pie, huh?” Leslie answers. “She’s probably in the basketball gym right now. She’s in charge of the banners for next week’s game, I think.”

...

Noah opens the gymnasium doors and there she stands, on top of a ladder trying to hang a banner, on the verge of toppling over once again. He quickly runs to her, grabbing its legs to stabilize it. “No way we’re meeting like this again,” he says with a chuckle of disbelief. “Tina, what the fuck?” She looks down at him, blinking in surprise and relief. “Dude, I think you actually saved me this time,” she says with a laugh. “I owe you one.” 

“Good,” Noah says as he helps her climb down. “I would like to have your number, please.”

“What,” She says dumbly, looking up at him the moment she steps on the floor. “Come again?” 

“Your number, or your socials, whichever you’re comfortable with sharing,” he says with a grin. “I would just want a way to reach you.” 

“Oh!” She blinks at him before smiling back. She’s wearing glasses today and he never thought he’s into girls with glasses but maybe he is. Or maybe it’s because it’s her. “Sure, I’ll give you my number but what for?”

“I enjoyed our conversation last week, and I thought it would be fun to hang out more.”

Tina’s eyes sparkle for a moment, her lips parting. 

“You actually mean that?” She asks in a quiet, unsure voice. 

“Huh, why wouldn’t I?”

“I mean,” she mutters, looking down while playing with the seams of her shirt. “Some people have called me weird before, and, well—“

“Dude, you are weird,” Noah answers with a chuckle, making Tina gaze up at him. “And I like that about you. I like that about you a lot.”

“Oh, oh wow,” she says, the sparkle in her eyes returning. She laughs. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or not.”

Noah grabs his phone from his pocket, nudging it in front of Tina for her to take. 

“Well, then?” He says, watching the expression on her face. He sees her staring at his phone before looking up at him, her bright brown eyes glancing directly into his before grabbing the device. 

She enters both her phone number and her snapchat user. 

“Tinakitten?” He repeats, a smirk of amusement appearing on his face. How silly, it fits her. 

“Shut up, I made it when I was like twelve years old man,” she answers back quick. 

He immediately adds her, sending off a notification to her own phone. Tina takes it out of her back pocket then laughs when she reads it.

“Foolish Gamers?” She looks up at him, her face filled with surprised delight. “No way, you’re actually a nerd.”

“Oh, wow pal! I didn’t judge you for yours and then you turn around and laugh at mine,” he exclaims dramatically but Noah realizes that he quite likes her laughter. He likes her laughter a lot. 

“I’m sorry, sorry—“ she struggles out between her giggling. 

“Didn’t know you were a rude little thing,” he teases.

“Wow, you did not just call me little—“

“I did, live with it.” Tina looks up at him as their giggles die down, and the easy air between them fizzles into something else, something like realization. Her eyes carefully trace his face and Noah feels his breath hitching. “I’m gonna keep you, I think,” she declares quietly and Noah chuckles because what the fuck does that even mean? 

“Like a dog?” he asks. “No, idiot,” she grins widely before turning around to go back to her work, climbing the ladder again. “As my person.” 

“Oh,” he says dumbly, following her to hold the ladder steady. His gaze follow her movements, entranced. He coughs, looking up at her with the most earnest impression he could muster. “I mean—“ he starts, and Noah could feel his chest wrenching in both hope and exhilaration. “I think I would be very much into that. Being your person and all.” 

Tina looks down, the sweetest smile on her face.

Noah believes that there are moments in a person’s life that makes you realize what everything is about, and he wonders if this exact minute might be one of his. He was created to be here, holding down her ladder, looking up at her in complete reverence. To exist near her, oh what a life that would be.

“Deal.”

Tina is not a virgin. But there are things in her past that she would rather keep in the deepest recesses of her being, locked up with chain, until she’s ready to face and process it. Every small instance of her sexual experience she inadvertently recalls about just feels wrong, like ink marks stains from a bleeding pen. She could picture it, her hands and body smeared with the opaque black of something permanent. Maybe it’s anger. Maybe it’s shame. 

Foolish kisses her neck while roaming his huge hands on her waist and she could feel her blood simmering. His body is hot, like the heat of a summery day on bare skin, and she relishes in it. Tina loves summer days. 

“May I?” He asks, lifting her sweater, his dark eyes waiting for confirmation.

Tina nods, dazed and horny, and he chuckles in reply. He gives her a kiss on her lips before undressing her, baring her naked before him. Their first time together was a struggle for Tina. Shame threatened to take over every step, but Foolish is patient so he waited, adjusted, and continued to love her in every step of the way. 

He lays her down with nothing in between them and her hands touch his neck, down his chest, then back to his face. She looks at his dark eyes— her most favorite eyes in the world, and reflexively thinks he’s beautiful it’s unfair. He looks at her with curiosity, like he wants to peek inside her mind, and he grins.

“You’re thinking of my eyelashes again, aren’t you?” He quips with a smirk, making her roll her eyes. 

“I’m gonna steal them when you sleep,” she says. “I’m gonna cut them and glue them to mine.”

He laughs then proceeds to kiss down her body again, making her moan in the process. “You know I would have given them to you if it’s possible.”

He would, Tina thinks in awe. He would give her the world if she asks him to. Tina feels the sudden urge to cry. 

He lifts her legs, his mouth tracing the underside of her knees, making her shiver. His body is so warm, like sunlight finally touching her skin after a long cold winter. His lips roam her limbs as if he navigates the veins underneath, as if he knows her inside and out, and Tina thinks he just might. She wonders if that’s what happens when years of friendship and love intermixes. 

Tina discovers that him and his oral fixation is quite a handy trick when put into good use. Foolish devours her and makes her fall apart a couple of times, and she thinks she might be seeing imaginary stars after. His mouth on her feels so otherworldly good that there’s no more space to feel anything else other than pleasure. And love. 

Foolish is sunrise and sunset and everything in between. He holds her like she means more than she is, and the longer they’re together, the more she believes it. More than her past and what it means, more than the ink stains on her skin. 

He enters her and instead of dread Tina feels alive. Only the sun can make her feel this way. Only he can make her feel this way.

“Noah,” Tina calls him, gently, like his name is a sacred thing spoken only between them. “Noah.”

Foolish touches the part of her that sends pleasure to her every limb and she comes apart once again before he follows soon after. She listens to him call her name out in between desperate gasps and kisses, as if being inside her isn’t enough, as if he needs to feel her everywhere, and Tina thinks he just might. 

He lays his head on the crook of her neck, lying down on top of her in spent energy. He’s heavy but Tina likes the weight of him on top of her. They both smell like sweat and sex and Tina feels satiated and sore in the best way possible. 

“You good?” he asks as his pants slow down. “No,” Tina answers with a soft smile. “I’m more than good. I’m great.” He chuckles as Tina moves the hair from his forehead. He closes his eyes, enjoying the feel of her touch. Beautiful, beautiful man with the earnest intentions. The sweetest creature with the kindest soul. Tina wonders if love is supposed to hurt when it’s acknowledged, surely this overwhelming feeling in her chest isn’t a bad thing, right?

“Why are you crying?” he asks in sudden panic the moment he opened his eyes. “Huh?” Tina touches her eye and felt the trail of tears. She did not even feel them forming. 

“Nothing, I just—“ she whispers back. “I’m so happy I met you.”

Foolish smiles that bright, wide smile she adores. Just like the sun. “I’m glad I met you too, Tina.”

Miyoung lies sprawled on her couch, enjoying the rays of sunset passing through her floor to ceiling windows, her speaker playing a smooth tune while she scrolls through her phone. She’s waiting for her bread to finish baking, excited to taste this new spice combination she got from Tiktok, when her notification displays a big bold caller ID on top: FOOLISH 🫨

Now, why in the world is this man calling her? Tina told her he’s currently in Ohio with family.

“Hello?”

“Miyoung, I need your help—“

“Woah,” the girl answers, alarmed by the panic in Foolish’s voice. “Calm down, man. What happened?” 

“I did something stupid,” he replies and Miyoung’s stomach tightens in knots. This can’t be good. If Foolish is calling her specifically, this can either mean it’s about work or Tina. But based on the dread in his tone, she’s guessing it’s got something to do with Tina. He’s not using his unserious whiny voice, he actually sounds terrified.

“Okay, what happened?”

“Why’d you end stream? I told you it’s fine!” Tina exclaims harshly the moment Foolish steps outside his stream room, holding her bleeding finger close to her chest. He saw the cut multiple times already and still isn’t entirely certain if they need to go to an urgent care so he has to make sure. The amount of blood he saw a bit ago made him short circuit in panic and he just could not focus on streaming anymore. She told him to go back to work and Foolish tried but he couldn’t stop himself from stealing glances of her through his opened door, mind frantic in both worry and trying to seem unaffected in front of his live audience. His trepidation was palpable enough for Tina to notice it, get fed up, and walk up to the door to shut it in his face. That spurred him into decision. 

“Can I see it again?” He asks gently, walking around her mahogany dining table to reach her. Tina backs away, her eyes lit up with both defiance and tears. 

“No!” She answers vehemently, like a wild animal hurt and scared. “I told you I’m gonna handle it myself. Get away from me!” 

“Tina, can I see?” He says again patiently. He knows her well enough to recognize her lashing out.

“Get—“

“Please?” He whispers as he walks closer to her but this time she stays in place, her stiff shoulders relaxing a fraction. She cranes her face up at him with pained, unsure eyes as a teardrop rolls down her cheek and Foolish has the nonsensical urge to punch something, maybe a wall. Maybe himself. 

“Okay,” she surrenders meekly and shows him her hand, a bloody kitchen towel wrapped around the finger. Foolish’s own hands tremble as he uncovers her injury and he tries his hardest to maintain a calm facade even when the panic in his guts is threatening to spill over. He needs to remain calm for Tina. 

He already saw her injury multiple times before and the more he sees it, the surer he is that she doesn’t need to go to an emergency. The amount of blood made it look worse than it is and Foolish is thankful, Tina doesn’t need any stitches it seems. The bleeding has also stopped and that’s a good sign. 

“It stopped bleeding, thats good,” he says while wrapping her small finger again. Tina bites her lower lip, nodding. 

“I’m sorry, Foolish,” she mutters quietly now. “I feel so guilty, you didn’t have to end stream. I feel so bad now.”

“Tina, it’s okay,” he reassures her softly before grabbing her shoulders to guide her back to the chair she got off from. He takes a seat in front of her and glances over the scattered first aid kit on the table. Tina was attempting to clean and wrap the wound herself and the image hurt his heart; he’s an idiot for not ending stream sooner and he hates himself a little bit because of it, but there’s no use wallowing in self derision, he needs to focus. 

Foolish gazes up to look at her face again and his chest clenches; her cheeks and nose are stained red from crying and her eyes remain watery. He doesn’t want to see her in pain ever again.  

“It hurts, Foolish,” she tells him with a sniff so he reaches out to cradle the side of her face. She leans into his hand and Foolish moves his thumb across her soft cheek. “I’m know, Tina. I’ll wrap it up for you, okay?” 

She nods and he does his best. The cut is scary looking, especially compared to the size of her finger, but the cleaner it got, the less severe it looks. He puts on an antibiotic cream before grabbing the biggest available bandaid, tearing it open then gently wrapping it around her finger, making sure the cut skin are pressed together. Not seeing the cut itself made Foolish breathe easier.

“I overreacted,” she says apologetically, cradling her injured hand with the other. She looks so distraught, the guilt so apparent on her face. “And now you ended stream even though it was unnecessary. I feel so terrible.” Foolish stares at Tina, the woman so deeply entrenched in his being, and wonders how will he make her understand that there’s nothing in this world he wouldn’t do for her. 

“Tina, it’s okay,” he tells her, grabbing her chair closer to his, his legs now on either side of hers. She glances up for a bit before looking down again, biting her bottom lip. 

“Foolish— I,” she starts, playing with her uninjured fingers. “I’m sorry for being like this, for being a mess. I know you didn’t sign up for this and I thank the heavens everyday for your patience.”

Foolish gently grabs her wrists, enveloping both her hands in his much bigger ones. He leans in and places a lingering kiss on her knuckles, closing his eyes for a good couple of seconds before looking back at her. Tina looks confused, blinking with eyes wide. “You don’t get it, do you?” He says in the spaces between her fingers, his mouth and nose still hovering her skin.

Tina slowly shakes her head, her eyes still on him. “I— what do you mean?” 

“Tina, I am in love with you,” Foolish tells her quietly, his eyes burning steadily into hers. Tina’s jaw slacks, taken aback. Her eyes start shining again. 

They’ve spoken about their feelings before and have said those three words once or twice. But never like this, never a direct declaration of what he wholly feels. He is so deeply love with her he could physically feel it in the hollows of his ribs, the organ he calls his heart beating louder every time he as much hears her name, let alone is near her. What he feels for Tina has overshadowed whatever immature definition he thought love was; something he relearns every damn day he spends with her in this apartment they’ve slowly turned into a home. 

“I am very in love with you and I don’t care if you panicked or overreacted, only that you’re alright,” he states, his brows furrowing in an attempt to let her know the entirety of his emotions. How does one relay this overwhelming emotion that he still hasn’t fully grasped himself? 

“I—“ Tina starts but her face crumples into tears again, making Foolish panic. 

“No, no, why are you—“ he stutters, holding her face.

“I am in love with you too,” she confesses back, rubbing her eyes with her uninjured hand. “You… you make me feel like I matter so much, and I believe you’re the kindest, most patient man alive.”

“I’m not,” he tells her as he smiles fondly, moving her hair away from her face. “But you make me try my best to be.”

Foolish moves closer to give her a kiss on her forehead, closing his eyes as he takes in the soft smell of her shampoo and the warmth of her skin. He could feel Tina relaxing into him, a silent sigh from her lips, her shoulders loosing up.  

A distant siren rings amongst the sounds of honking cars and moving vehicles. Beyond the floor to ceiling windows the view of Los Angeles at night stands before them, chaotic and alive and, at times, overwhelming. Foolish opens his eyes to the reflection of just the two of them on her window, she looks so small compared to the breadth of his shoulders, so easily hurt. A wave of protectiveness comes over him, over this girl who holds his heart in the palm of her hands. Her small, wounded hands. 

He stands up and he brings her with him, placing his palm on her back. “Let’s get you to bed,” he says as he guides her into her room. Tina follows him willingly.  An inkling of terror rises in the pits of Foolish’s stomach upon the realization that to love is to open oneself to possible wreckage; to love is to stand aside and watch his heart exist outside of his body, in the form of the girl with long brown hair and amber eyes, and know that he’s as vulnerable as the tiny finger of her left hand. 

Tina heads towards her bed and buries herself into her pale green blanket as Foolish walks towards her switch to turn off her lights. The shimmering night skyline of the city illuminates her room before she reaches out to turn on her night lamp by her sidetable. Foolish stays by the foot of her bed, waiting. “Will you lay with me?” Tina asks him unsurely, her eyes still so bright in the dark. 

“Of course,” he tells her as he moves towards her, towards his very soul. “I will do anything for you.” 

Tina’s eyes shine with tears again as she nods in acknowledgement, “I will do anything for you, too.”

end. 

The projector lights up Tina’s dim bed room along with the view of of Los Angeles at night, the city lights glistening outside her floor to ceiling windows. They’re about to finish the first season of Game of Thrones and Foolish can’t concentrate. The plot is escalating, the main family getting betrayed left and right, yet Foolish can’t put his head into the show. Not when the soft smell of apples and something he can’t pinpoint are penetrating his senses.

She has her head on his shoulder, hugging one of her pillows with her pale green blanket on them both. He watches her through his peripheral, her eyes stuck on the show in front of them and Foolish thinks she’s breathtaking. She’s bare face with no make up in sight, her eyes framed by her glasses that she only uses when she truly needs to, and her lips look so soft because of the lip mask she put on before they started watching. and Foolish cannot concentrate.

“Tina,” he says, making her look up at him before pausing the show with the remote. “Hm?” she tilts her head at him, her eyes wide in question. “Yes?” Foolish wants to bite something, his girlfriend is the most adorable being to ever grace the earth. “Did you change your shampoo?” “Oh!” She reacts. “I’m trying a new body soap, I’m surprised you noticed.”

“It smells good.”

“You wanna try it?” She offers enthusiastically with a smile and Foolish chuckles before shaking his head.

“No, I just really like the smell on you,” he leans his face down to bury his nose into her hair on the side of her head. Tina jumps a little as he softly inhales. “Apples and… something, what is that?”

“Y-you seem to like the smell of apples,” she tries to say as casually as possible but Foolish moves his nose and mouth slowly towards her ears, tickling her with his breath, making her shudder.

“I do, it’s my favorite,” Foolish replies nonchalantly, his eyes closed as the path of his face continues on towards her neck. Finally. He inhales again, and Tina trembles.

“Foolish!” She whispers sharply, her hands finding purchase on his shoulders. “We’re almost in the finale of season one, I think the dad’s about to get executed, concentrate!”

“I am concentrating,” he answers against the juncture of her neck and shoulder, the scent more dominant there. Apples and what? he thinks in contemplation, his brows scrunched in concentration. The scent is almost earthy and quite familiar.

Tina squeaks helplessly, her fingers slightly shaking on his shoulders.

“Foolish, it’s just apples and—“

“No, don’t tell me! I almost got it!”

“D-dude! I’m—“

He presses his nose and mouth against her skin more, inhaling harder as he does, and Tina couldn’t help but gasp. His eyes pop open.

“Cinnamon! It’s apples and cinnamon!” He exclaims excitedly, backing off instantly with his eyes bright in wonder and hope. “Oh tell me I got it right!”

“Yes, you idiot, it’s cinnamon,” she says breathlessly, her breathing heavy and her eyes stuck on him. Her face is flushed, and Foolish recognizes the expression instantly. His girlfriend is turned on. Oh, fuck. Now he’s turned on.

“I— I need a minute, you are so dog-coded,” Tina mutters as she tries to turn away but Foolish grabs the side of her face softly, his eyes trailing the way she bites her lips in reflex. Oh, she’s so sweet, he wants to devour her whole.

“I really like apples and cinnamon,” he whispers quietly while his thumb caresses down her neck again and she leans her head back a little, giving him permission to touch her more. Foolish moves his face closer, his lips now hovering her own.

“Is this okay?” He asks, and Tina dazedly nods, her hands snaking around his neck and shoulders. Foolish grins before kissing her.

Making out with Tina is a wonder he’ll never get used to, Foolish thinks as his tongue traces the entrance of her mouth, her lips opening to give him permission. Her smaller tongue greets his and Foolish couldn’t help but groan and gently push her down her bed, coming down with her, their mouths still interlocked. She always tastes so sweet and Foolish guesses it’s probably the mouthwash she uses because they share the same toothpaste and it doesn’t taste sweet at all. He licks the roof her mouth and Tina moans then fights back with an attempt to do the same. Foolish chuckles before giving her a tender kiss on the lips then backing off a little to look at his work.

His girlfriend pants prettily beneath him, her eyes half closed like she’s drunk, her glasses skewed. Aroused Tina is the hottest sight Foolish will never get tired of, ever. What a privilege it is to be the sole person to witness it and he’s gonna make sure it stays that way.

“But, what about the execution…” she says out of the blue and Foolish couldn’t help but cackle. Oh, right, Game of Thrones.

“Tina, do you really want to watch a guy get beheaded right now?” He teases with a knowing grin and Foolish couldn’t help the fondness seeping out from his tone. He might be the one on top of her but they both know she got him in her clutches, one word from her is all it takes to get him moving in whatever way she wants.

“Not really…” She responds with an exaggerated resigned sigh, her tone displaying complete surrender, before saying, “I would rather make out with you, Noah.”

She only uses his name during their intimate moments and the effect on him is visceral, like an electric pulse shocking his senses awake, his heart skipping a beat in his chest. It’s ridiculous how much hold this woman has on him but Foolish is always a willing victim.

“Good, good,” he says in satisfaction as he reaches up to remove her glasses from her face, folding it neatly to put on her side table. “I’d rather make out with you too, baby.”

Tina’s eyes widen, the blush on her face turning deeper. He’s been attempting to call her that endearment every now and then and it’s obvious that Tina’s still not used to it but he likes how much it catches her off guard, likes how it makes her shy. He dives into her again, capturing her lips, loving the way her fingers comb through his hair and the way her thighs rub on his sides. She’s so warm, so soft, and Foolish could feel himself getting harder, their touches starting to be more rushed and sloppy.

The episode suddenly plays behind them, sounds of horses running surprising them both into stopping. They both look back to see where the remote is and Foolish chuckles while reaching back to hit the pause button, making Tina laugh along with him.

“How do we always end up in this position?” Tina laughs in amused incredulity. “We’ve been struggling to finish this season the past three days, Foolish.”

“Is it a crime to want to kiss my girlfriend every night?” He challenges with a smile. She really is his girlfriend huh, he thinks to himself in awe and disbelief. Lucky bastard.

Tina giggles again, shaking her head, eyes bright in both joy and lust. And love. Mostly love. And Foolish knows that the same expression is displayed in his own face. He can’t help it, he’s so desperately in love.

“Kiss your girlfriend now, then. Finish the job and make me missing the finale worth it,” she challenges cheekily, making him e laugh.

“My god, so bossy and demanding,” he answers back before moving down to kiss her again, not giving her smart ass a chance to think of another quip to bestow upon him. Not that he minds her little quips and her smart ass.

There is infinite joy to be found in loving so tremendously and being loved back in equal measure; such as finding another reason to like apples and cinnamon and missing season finales, it seems.

End.

1.

Foolish lays on Tina’s bedroom floor, head empty, and learns that she’s tumultuous in all the ways possible. She’s currently walking all around the room, over him, expeditiously crashing out, and Foolish wonders how a tiny body could contain so much emotions. It’s sorta ridiculous— the situation they’re currently in, and he wants to laugh but he doesn’t think it’ll help her calm down at all. Tina and her period are an impressively lethal combination he’s come to learn.

“Foolish, I— I can’t take this anymore,” the girl wails and if Foolish is being honest with himself, he doesn’t even remember the cause of her dilemma. He’s currently at the 100Thieves compound, the place he’s staying at while visiting Los Angeles, and Tina’s having a crash out. Well.

“Tina, it’s going to be fine,” he tries to tell her. Surely, that won’t set her off?

“You don’t know that!” she exclaims heartily, then starts walking in circles again. “Of course a man would think that, so easily said than done! You don’t know what we go through—“

Foolish couldn’t stop himself, he lets out a chuckle, that then in turn becomes laughter, until it turns into guffaws. He covers his face with his hands and Tina slows down, watching him in confusion and disbelief.

“Tina, you are extraordinary,” he says in between his wheezes and Tina stops, a smile forming on her face. Foolish sounds like a broken bagpipe, losing himself on the floor, and Tina starts laughing herself.

“You are an idiot,” she tells him as she giggles and Foolish agrees. What on Earth has he gotten himself into?

2.

They’re in all hanging out, and Foolish realizes that he has a crush. Okay, he’s always known he has a crush but it wasn’t anything serious, really. Not until now. Tina is arguing with Karl on where to eat, as she does, and Foolish couldn’t fight the grin on his face at her expression, entertained. Tina is the most particular person he’s ever met and somehow that enchants him. Nolan then suddenly appears to clasp him soundly on his shoulder, making Foolish jump a little. “Breathe, dude,” he says, a worried look on his face. “She is not going to disappear.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Nolan?” He chuckles, pushing his roommate off him. Foolish feels his face burn in embarrassment at being caught.

“You are so fucked, man.”

Yeah, he kinda is.

3.

One late movie watching night, Foolish opens his eyes to Tina, her angel-like face so close to his it makes him panic. He quickly sits up, making Tina back off with an amused smile.

“Good morning,” she says quietly, head tilted and charming and Foolish is getting dizzy; he’s not sure if it’s because of his sudden movement or the woman in front of him.

“Tina, what the—“ he mutters out, rubbing his eyes, thinking that this is a dream and she’s somehow an apparition in it. To be fair, she’s been a recurring visitor in those rare fleeting fantasies and Foolish feels guilty.

Tina stares at him for a few seconds, taking in his face before saying, “You fell asleep during the movie. Miyoung and Ellum already went back to their rooms.”

Ah, that would make sense, Foolish thinks in relief. “I see, thanks for waking me up then.”

Tina continues to gaze at him and he’s not usually the type to feel self conscious but she’s caught him unaware and he’s at a disadvantage. Foolish covers his mouth, wiping his face, before asking, “What?”

Tina reaches towards his face and he fights the urge to flinch at her actions. She lightly grazes her fingers on his left cheek and grabs something off his face, yet the burn of her touch remains on the surface of his skin, tingling.

“An eyelash,” she grins, showing him her loot proudly. “They say when an eyelash falls out you have to make a wish.”

Foolish feels himself relaxing, endeared by this strange girl whose mind he cannot comprehend yet wants to anyway.

“Make a wish, Foolish.”

Foolish does.

4

Riiing. Riiing.

“Foolish?”

“Hey, you busy?”

“I’m kinda getting ready,” Tina tells him through the call and Foolish could hear her moving around, the sounds of make up products landing on her desk. “I’m going out tonight.”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, just a party. Emma invited me to join, she said she’s going to introduce me to some friends.” Foolish feels something in his gut wrenching again. Another night of her unavailable, another week passing without playing with just her. “I see, sounds fun.”

“Did you need anything, Foolish?” she asks, her tone distracted. “Nah, I was just wondering if you’d be down to duo Valorant tomorrow.”

“I’m not sure…” “Listen, no pressure,” he tells her as casually as possible. “But the offer’s there if you’re available.” “Okay, thank you,” she whispers. “I—“

“Yeah, Tina?”

“Sorry, I gotta go. I’ll let you know tomorrow, man. Bye, good night!” She ends the call without waiting for his goodbye and it’s been like this for weeks. He’s not lacking for company at all, he’s surrounded by friends who would love to play with him but he’s come to realize that it’s never the same without her.

What the fuck happened, why did a sudden distance appear between them? “Damn it,” he mutters to himself, staring at the screen of her username. Foolish has never felt rejection this profoundly before and he could feel it in his chest, an ache so sharp it’s gnawing.

“Damn it.”

5.

With a sleep deprived headache pummeling his skull, Foolish books the flight the moment he ended his sponsored stream. Tina and Ellum’s late stream the night before is rattling his mind and the feeling of restlessness is clawing his insides. Foolish isn’t jealous, not really, but the urge to see her soon is now a pit stuck in his throat, choking him until he can’t breathe anymore.

Foolish acknowledges that his feelings for her has grown rapidly over the months— years, and he’s come to the realization that he’s desperate. And a desperate man makes desperate decisions, including flying to Los Angeles within less than a week’s notice. He needs her to know where he stands, that he’s willing to take whatever morsel she gives him, that he is hers for the taking.

6.

They come back from their outing with his sister and Tina kisses him in the kitchen underneath the dim evening lights as their house is empty except for them. A week filled with tension and physically teetering over the line between friendship and more has finally come to this moment and Foolish’s mind blanks.

“Is this okay?” She asks quietly as she backs off, terrified that she’s made a mistake, “…are we okay?”

Foolish doesn’t know what to say so he grabs her waist and face instead, pulling her near him again, before capturing her lips with his fervently. She moans in surprise and Foolish consumes the sound into his heart.

“Yes, Tina,” he whispers against her lips, in between heated kisses. “This is okay. More than okay.”

7.

“….I don’t think I’m ready.” “That’s okay. We take our time.” “I— I don’t know, I don’t want you to wait for so long.” “You know I will wait for as long as you need me to.” “No, you won’t.” “Try me.”

8. Tina shows him that whatever impression people have about her is wrong and the sexually deprived part of Foolish is thrilled. She is no innocent, not when she works her way down his body like she owns it. (she does, she does, it’s been hers for a long time)

She makes him feel loved in the ways he’s never felt before. Sex for him was mainly for physical gratification, something to have when his body needs release. But now his body feels like it’s burning from the inside out, with her hand gripping him and her lips trailing soft angel kisses on his sensitive skin.

He whimpers out her name and she does something with her mouth and Foolish sees a burst of colors behind his lids, like silent fireworks and a distant lightning, and he feels his heart palpitating against his ribs.

The moment he enters her she softly calls out his name, her voice gently saying, “Noah, Noah, Noah.” like a chant against his lips. His blood hums underneath his skin, his insides warming up in delight.

Foolish inevitably falls in love with her again that night, as the law of nature intended, as it’s meant to be. (He was intended to be hers, there’s no other explanation)

9. They’re all out having dinner and Tina scolds him for not finishing his plate to which he reluctantly but obediently eats the leftovers, as instructed by her, and their friends call him domesticated. He argues that no, he’s just in love. The whole table erupts into teasing and cheering, and Tina shrieks in embarrassment.

“You are whipped, dude!” Ellum claims with a bark of laughter, clasping him on the back heartily. “Good man, good man!”

Foolish just chuckles, watching his girlfriend cover her flustered face, and realizes that he is a man deep in love indeed. Why else would he find obedience to her wishes as easy as breathing?

Rae corners him as they all prepare to leave and not one to hold back what she thinks, she grabs his arm and says, “Don’t hurt her. Don’t you dare hurt her.”

Normally, Foolish would have laughed it off but there’s something about the older woman’s expression that stuns him silent; a genuine look of concern, and not anger. “I would never.” he answers instead.

“I think you will, you do,” Rae says in worry and before Foolish could deny, she continues, “you hurt her every time you leave LA, you know.”

Now, that hits the mark. Sharply.

He asks Tina about it later that evening, in the quiet of her apartment, as they climb into her cream blanket and pillows. The confusion on her face makes him uneasy so he tries to explain himself more until Tina stops him.

“I do get sad when you leave,” she starts quietly, reaching out to hold his arm. “But I think this is healthy for us. I don’t mind that you have your own space and I have mine.”

He nods, reassured beyond belief. Then Tina grins a smug little smile, looking at him with possessive eyes before saying, “And I don’t mind you leaving because I know you’ll come back to me the moment I ask you to. Like a good dog.”

He gently hits her with a pillow as she giggles but Foolish knows she’s right.

10.

Foolish lays on their bed, head empty, and relearns that she is tumultuous in all the ways possible. She’s currently getting ready, has changed her outfit at least three times already, and Foolish wonders how a woman could look cute in all the outfits she wears yet still decides she’s unsuited to go out. She is ridiculous and indecisive and Foolish is fascinated. He laughs. “Why are you laughing!?” She asks in disbelief, “Are you actually finding joy in my misery?”

“Tina, we are going to be late,” he chuckles before sitting up to look directly at her. “And every outfit you wore looked great.”

“That is no help at all, Foolish Gamers! Anyway, how about this one?” She asks as she closes up the zipper of the checkered skirt she’s trying. How can he tell his girlfriend that he prefers her with no skirt at all whilst trying to be helpful?

“Tina, you are extraordinary,” he says instead. In all the years that he’s known her, that fact remains unchanged. She is particular and peculiar and wonderful the way she is.

She turns to look at him with bewildered, furrowed brows and he just smiles at her, making her smile in turn.

“You are an idiot,” she tells him fondly as he leaves the bed to walk towards her. He plants a soft kiss on the crown of her head, his hands on her small shoulders.

“Yes, but I am your idiot.”

Tina laughs loudly at that, her voice sounding like wind chimes in his ears. She says, “And I am yours, heaven help you.”

Foolish cackles, heaven help him indeed.

End.