SleepyKinq (X Reader!) One-Shots - COMPLETED

Alfred X Ex! Reader

"This is awkward, right?" I chuckled and didn't move an inch. I only continued to look straight, cool gray streets and fluffy clouds in a bright blue sky.
"Yeah," He coughed dryly, then wore a nervous smile. "It kinda is." His hands gripped the steering wheel with beads of sweat underneath. Our smiles faded.
I couldn't inhale the silence any longer, so I quickly turned the radio on.
"Got quiet." I forced another chuckle and toothy smile.
He looked over to me with those fimilar eyes tilted sightly.
"It's been quiet."
"Right." And once again, our chuckles were a series of nervous wrecks. And then it was quiet again. I tapped my fingertips on my knees, looking out the window from my side. We felt like strangers. We weren't strangers. Gosh, there were moments where we'd- my eyes stung sorely. "How's Kao doing?" I cleared my throat, mostly out of embarrassment. "I know you guys are close. Really close, actually." My shoulders became tight as I thrusted a laugh into the silence. I grabbed my soda from the cup holder, took a sip and rested my lips around the straw.
Alfred could barely chuckle, it was only breathy while he smiled gently.
"Yeah, he's good." He bit his lip. I remember how he did that before. "I, uh- I mean, he kept me busy."
I chortled abruptly. My face grew to a red shade as I wiped beads of tears from my eyes, laughing.
"You know how-" I could barely catch my breath, let alone my words. I began to laugh again.
"Not like that." His ears lowered slightly and his eyelids dropped low. I hushed my laughs, then a sigh pushed through my lips.
"I'm sorry, Al. I just- You- You tend to say stuff like that. I just can't help but hear it a different way." I chuckled a small one and took another sip of my soda.
"It's okay." His eyes pretended to be focused on the road. It was another way of avoiding eye contact. As he began to look for a parking space, I was already unbuckled, my hand inching toward the handle. "Hold on, (Name). We're not even parked."
I obeyed hesitantly, but stayed sitting with my seatbelt off. We finally parked, and Alfred unbuckled, then opened his door.
"Now," He sighed heavily. "You can go." And then I went, my feet anxiously stepping onto the black asphalt. We were at the grocery store.
Before this we had discussed if it would be better to go out and eat or go to his place, cook something instead. And so we did. We just needed a few things and then we'd head back.
We were entering to store. The cold pricked my arms lightly, and I rubbed them softly. Alfred stayed with his mouth closed. He got a basket and began to walk before I stepped in front of him.
"Why are we so quiet? I mean, we used to date, hold hands, and make out. You know, couple stuff."
He chuckled nervously as his lips almost quivered into a small smile.
"(Name), it's been a while." His fingers curled tightly to the basket's handle. "I-" He licked his lips anxiously. "I'm just a little scared of messing up again, you know?"
I smiled thinly and laced my cold fingers in his unoccupied ones. They were always warm with those little beads of sweat in between.
"Right, sorry."
He scoffed lightly and leaned forward.
"(Name), don't apologize for something you don't have control over."
"Then I'm sorry for laughing at your relationship with Kao." We both laughed, mine a little more amused with my face warm. He pulled his hand away to stifle a chuckle with a first closed lightly.
"Apology accepted."
Walking to the frozen food aisle, I felt like I could breathe again. Aside from the distant desire that kept thumping in my chest. It was because of Alfred. There wasn't any doubt. I wanted to act like we never split. Like we never even messed up the slightest.
Gosh, I wanted things back to normal. In the sense where I could peck his soft lips out of the blue, or hold his hand while leaning on his shoulder. I just had to come to the reality of us starting all over again.
As we walked to the aisle of persevered foods, we both attempted to spring a conversation into the atmosphere. I'd say it wasn't all that bad. Alfred managed to laugh at a few jokes (puns to be specific), which was an amusing delight of its own.
"Look." In my hands was a boxed tray of lemon chicken. The advertisement on the TV commercials made it seem like a promising meal, and I was one to fall for it. "This looks pretty filling."
His head tilted gently in disapproval, obviously. He took another box, turning it over to read the ingredients. He chuckled (most likely at the corn starch percentage) and I leaned in to speak softly in his ear.
"If you're looking for healthy preservatives... lemon tell you, they don't exist." Taking a step back, I snickered sheepishly in my clutched hand as Alfred blushed profusely.
"Please don't." He started to chuckle.
"I thought it was quite radishing."
I could tell he tried dissolving his laughs, but they could still be heard as snorts and snickers.
We settled down after a few seconds. In the end, Alfred said he would take the same as I would.
"I'm taking this one. It looks good." It was the same meal from earlier, the one that brought upon the ridiculous puns.
"Alright, put two in the basket." I obeyed modestly while chuckling at his innocent expression.

And then we went to his house. It was quiet with a warm feeling, like it was waiting for our arrival.
"I'll get the table ready while you heat 'em up, okay?"
And then I snorted quietly at his choice of words.
...heat 'em up.
"(Name), stop it." He said with a bashful smile. "I know what you're thinking."
Walking passed him, I quickly pecked his cheek, his face warm and flustered.
"Then you know I'll kindly refuse." His response was a breathy chuckle, nervous and amused. "Just kidding." I began unpacking the meals and setting them and the microwave. And after five minutes, they were done and set on the table.
"You're not eating that much." I stabbed another piece of lemon chicken after finishing my previous bite.
"Nervous, I guess." He smiled thinly, his fingers lightly trembling around his fork. "It's one thing to talk to your ex, casually hang out with them, but it's another to settle down and eat. You know... Rekindle something again, look at them in the silence." Alfred couldn't even look at me, he started wanly at the cherry oak table while picking lightly at his food.
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
Then we looked at each other nicely, with something else. It was old like before. But I remembered feeling like that before, and it was finally here again.
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A/N: This took SO long, sorry. I've been doing a lot of things, my moods everywhere and stuff. I don't really know what to write next, but it's probably going to be another Mystery X Reader, don't know. Let me know what you think. BYE!