coffee stains || dreamnotfound

thirty

the familiar scent of vanilla and coffee floats through the air, bringing back bittersweet memories to the pair as they enter the shop side by side. the smaller one greets the barrister with a warm smile, feeling happily nostalgic at the scene.

the tall blonde chuckles, running his hands through is hair to calm the nerves he knows he shouldn't be feeling, "you didn't have to pay, you know." he tells the brit, a playful scowl prominent on his features.

shrugging, george reminds him that he never gets to pay, and it's his turn now. this earns him an eye roll, as the blonde tells him he wanted to do it. when george responds with a quiet giggle, he finds himself relaxing slightly, his tense muscles easing as he calms.

the two take a seat in the dimly lit corner of the coffee shop they decided would be perfect; and almost ironic for a first date- even if they don't call it that yet. clay isn't the nervous type, but he can't help the bubbling pit of anxiety when it comes to george, and this used to bother him dearly.

george on the other hand, is used to the feeling, and manages to play it off with his laughter and fast talking. he's good at rambling on about unimportant things, and it makes him appear less anxious than he really is to most; however clay notes the faint blush he's sporting and senses that he's feeling akin to him.

clay adores the small sparkles in george's eyes as he talks about how they first met, "who were you texting that day?" george asks, curiosity hidden in his tone.

"when you were moving in?" he asks, pausing as george hums in response, "who do you think?" he replies, sarcastically, a grin plastered on his face.

"nick?"

he nods in return, confirming george's question. "my turn, what was your first impression of me?"

the smaller's blush grows at the question, "intimidating." he states in a hushed voice, to which clay chuckles. george makes a face this, leaning over to poke his tongue out as if he were a child. he settles back down, and takes a short sip of his hot drink which scalds the roof of his mouth and he pouts at the coffee cup.

for a moment, a silence washes over them aside from the quiet chatter of other people in the shop as fond memories fill their minds. george takes this moment to pull out a box he had been hiding in his jacket.

the other eyes this, watching him carefully as he hands it to him. the blonde frowns, but opens it excitedly. inside, lies a simple yet pretty necklace. a small green crystal hangs from the end.

"like your eyes." george informs him, smiling softly as his partner sports a small blush. he thanks the other, still in awe at his thoughtfulness. mentally noting to find something for the other later.

his gentle hands work to put the necklace on, and he looks down at the emerald with a glint in his eyes. he loves it.

another short spurt of silence settles among the two as they sit in an admiration for one another.

"was i good neighbour?" clay asks playfully, seemingly out of nowhere. george peeks at him, nodding almost absentmindedly in return.

"move in with me."

george's full attention snaps to clay, shock written on his face, "what?"

"i mean it." he states, not breaking eye contact with the boy opposite him. another short, quiet moment passes as george seems to debate this question. "oh, come on. you're living in alone in another country in some small ass apartment; move in with me." he pauses, "it doesn't have to be serious- we could be like, roomates."

george takes in his convincing words, excitement buzzing gently within him as he agrees, deciding it would be a fun idea. "roomates?" george can't help but tease, mocking his partner who scoffs back at him.

until now, george was being careful, not rushing anything due to him being the first and only guy clay has been really interested in. he wanted to play it slow, but now they're going to be living with each other, so something has to change. these first date nerves can't continue when they're living together, so george decides to be bold.

he gulps, a mischievous grin on his face as he leans in toward clay. with a whisper, he asks, "do you want me in the ways i want you?"

obviously, george knows just how deeply this sentence has affected clay. those same careless, drunk words quickly turned into a bizarre question of sanity as it led the two down a dark path, infatuation and insomnia taking over them both as they began to over-think that very question.

however clay is filled with a sense of deja- vu, an unsettling feeling as he stares at george in almost disbelief. vague memories of sleepless nights find themselves stuck in clay's brain as he's left frozen at georges words.

of course, he knows the boy is only joking; but the level of truth that came with clay's reply to this, had previously left him confused and completely taken aback by his own response which he had chosen to write out and send to george knowing there was no taking it back. knowing that george's question was just a drunk thought; but clay took it as a confession, and wrote his own back completely sober- even though he wasn't sure what he was feeling toward george back then.

that same question, simple words on a screen sent probably jokingly by a friend who had clearly drunk far too much that night. the same question that caused a stutter in clay's heartbeat, even though he didn't understand it. that same question that left clay unable to sleep, night after night, as it took ahold of his every thought. the same question that provoked a response from him, so deeply true he wasn't even aware of it until months later;

"of course i do."

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word count: 1148
*in editing*
please vote!

hi(: this officially marks the end of this story, i really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it! some of this chapter might not make sense, but i'll get around to editing it later if that's the case, so please lmk if it's confusing.

also, i'm going to be writing a few more new stories based around dnf, some will be here, on wattpad, but some will be up on my ao3 which is @/tearyangel. i'm working on a few right now that should be up in a while, so if you liked this, consider checking those out because i've got a lot more ideas that i'd really like to write. (:

anyways, thank you for reading! i love you! <3