Manifestation of Manipulation - Vance Hopper x Male Reader

Aid - 46

TW: mentions of panic attacks

Vance's POV:
Y/N cried the whole way to his house, quietly, because Mis. Blum had to drive us here. She dropped us off, helped me take him inside and get him to calm a bit before she left. Now I'm toasting waffles and digging through the cabinets looking for syrup. Y/N is in sleep clothes and wrapped in a blanket, softly sniffling on his couch. The school called his parents, who should be here any minute. Both him and I got the day off, no homework or tardy points.

The waffles pop up as I set the syrup down, I grab the hot waffles and put them on a plate I set out. I grab a fork, pick up the syrup and the plate and hurry to the living room. "Here you go." I say softly and set down the food in front of the puffy eyed man. He sits up and slides down the couch to the floor. "Thank you, Vance." He thanks me and gestures his blanket open for me to sit with him. "Yeah of course." I reply and quickly take the spot next to him and let him wrap his blanket around me. I grab his hand as soon as I can, intertwining our fingers. "I'll be here until you don't need me anymore." I tell him, he sniffles, laughs a bit and drizzles syrup on his waffles.

"I'll always need you, dork." He says, leaning his head on my shoulder. I bite my lip and squeeze his hand tighter to comfort him. His soft sniffles break my heart, I know what it's like to feel like this. "I hope so." I whisper, rubbing circles on his hand gently. He pulls my hand up to his lips and then lets go to eat his waffles.

*** Time Skip ***

Y/N and I have been relaxing on the floor and watching TV for about 20 minutes, he's calmed down a bit and only cried once after he was done eating. Even then it didn't last for long, he's doing better then I'd be doing if I found out my biological father killed my biological mother, whether they were horrible people or not.

I pull away from Y/N at the sound of the front door opening, I stand up and awkwardly look to the actual parents of the tried man beside me. "Hi-Uhm Mr. And Mis. Westly, I'm Vance Hopper." I introduce myself and shake Mr. Westlys hand as Y/N's mom runs to his aid. "Thank you for taking care of him, Vance. It's highly appreciated." He thanks me and pats my arm before letting go of my hand and moving to talk to his son.

It feels awkward to sit in on this type of conversation without being told it was ok, so I eye the situation and make a decision to clean up his empty plate. He and his parents talk for awhile, ever so often Y/N breaks down. I itch to aid him, to comfort him, to kiss him and tell him it's going to be ok but I have to hold back. It's not my place, and he needs his parents more than me right now, I understand that. To kiss him..? What is going on with me..? If I keep fucking thinking about him like this I'm going to have a serious problem.

But finally, finally his parents have to head back to work, and I have him back to myself. I don't mean to sound selfish, but it's my turn to help him. "Vance, uhm.. I need to shower, I feel.. Gross. If you want to head out, you can." Y/N tells me, setting his blanket down on the couch and hugging himself.

"I don't want to leave. You need someone here with you. I'll sleep in guest room if you want to be alone, but I want to be here if you need me." I protest in the calmest way possible, he smiles at me softly and nods. "It was just a suggestion, of course you can stay. We can share my bed, I don't mind. I'm going to shower, you can pick out sleep clothes and clothes for tomorrow if you'd like." I nod happily and hurry to his side, gesturing for a big hug. He collapses onto me and hugs me close.

"Thanks again for helping me." He whispers, I hug him back hard and kiss the top of his head. "You're welcome." I mumble, I don't want to let go of him but I know that I have too if he wants to shower. Shit shit shit. I like him. A lot. My heart is running a mother fucking marathon.

*** Time Skip ***

I breathe in deeply, the smell of Y/N's laundry detergent and a hint of weed fills my nose. I hadn't meant to take in the scent from his sleep shirt but it smells so strongly. I lift the shirt to my nose and purposefully breathe it in, it's a nice scent, not too strong. I drop his shirt down, my stomach slightly out, the box fan in his room brushing cold air over it. I close my eyes and relax into his bed, which also smells pretty strongly of cheap cologne, outdoors and weed.

His bedroom door swings open and there he stands, black boxers on and a blue and white striped beach towel on his head. "Tired?" He asks and closes the door behind himself. "Mhm." I hum back, eyeing him as he dries his hair with his towel and nods. "Me too." He smiles and moves to pull open the closest doors. "Hmm, what to wear." He thinks out loud, crossing his arms and standing confused. "Don't wear anything." I suggest, sitting up as he turns back to me smiling.

"Haha." He fake laughs and uncrosses his arms. "I'm serious, I don't mind." I smirk back at him, he raises an eyebrow and moves to sit on his knees, on the bed in front of me. "You're starting to convince me those condoms were supposed to be for us." He smirks and leans in closer to me.

I bite my cheek and pull back a little, he moves closer again and smirks in my face. "What if they were?" I mumble, he laughs softly and lets his head hang low. "Then you should've told me, before you lied repeatedly." He says, pecking my cheek fast before getting back up and moving to grab clothes out of the closet.

"I'm not dense Vance Hopper. Unless you're seeing someone, they are meant for us." He says, I sigh quietly and lay back on his bed sideways. "I know you're not, and I not seeing anyone else. I bought them in case we do, not because I wanted to- I don't not want to, but we were going down that road." I explain to the very well listening man, he sighs when I'm finished and moves to lay next to me, now fully clothed. Fuck I slipped up, I hope he didn't notice.

"I know, I just wanted to hold it over you." He teases me and lays his arms crossed under his head. "I also wouldn't be opposed to it, by the way." He adds, I roll to lay on my side facing him. "Me neither." I say calmly, he smiles over at me and chews his lip. "What would your boundaries be, if we did..?" He asks, my cheeks waver from hot to cold as he looks at my lips.
He feels it too, I can tell. That look he gives... I'm not dense either, Y/N Y/L/N.

"The normal stuff, like.. No gross shit or weird stuff like knives, and blindfolds sound scary." I admit, laughing a bit as he nods and listens with intent. "Sure, I'm not into that either. Hair pulling on the table?" He smirks at me, I blush harder and shrug.
"Yeah I guess, do you like being choked?" He shrugs and nods a bit. "Yeah depends, not to the brink of passing out." He laughs and pushes himself to lay on his side facing me as well.

"I wouldn't want to see you like that." I mumble, sliding my hand over his cheek. He smiles and leans into the touch, his eyes closing softly. "Safe word, pineapple, if it ever happens." He tells me, I nod and nervously lick my lips. "Ok.." He notices my nervous reply and opens his eyes.

Y/N's POV:
Vance looks nervous, his hand falls from my face it lay between us. "What's the matter?" I ask him, he shakes his head and scoots closer. "Nothing, I'm glad to be here with you." He smiles softly and leans close to kiss me, I press back and feel him smile softly.

He pulls away and lets his smile disappear. "How are you holding up?" He asks, I shrug and crawl over him to lay down properly, he does the same and gets under the covers with me. "As well as you'd think I would." I smile at him and lay on my side, once again facing him. This time I close my eyes immediately and don't open them again. "Alright... Wake me up if you need anything." Vance says, getting comfortable right beside me.

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Authors note:
I'm a wee bit sick and I'm krona fazing in and out re-reading this, very loosely edited, I hope y'all enjoy anyhow :) <3

I've got a few chapters to edit (like 5 or so) so I don't think I'll be missing many days, if anything I'll be missing a few editing days if there more mistakes in my next few chapters than usual I am so sorry 🫶😭