; Summary: Xander Matthews Is So Nice To Arei Nageishi! It's Obvious That He Should Be Since He's Her

ˢʷᵉᵉᵗᵉˢᵗ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ; ˣᵃⁿʳᵉⁱ ⁽ᵈʳᵈᵗ⁾ Summary: Xander Matthews is so nice to Arei Nageishi! It's obvious that he should be since he's her boyfriend, duh, but the way he's this nice to her because he wants to be makes her start thinking about their relationship differently. Word Count: 2,758 A/N: This was inspired by a pin on Pinterest that said, "Why is my boyfriend only nice to me when I'm sleeping? He'll cover me up with a blanket, kiss me on the forehead and sometimes come and cuddle me but when I wake up he calls me a stupid bitch." This was meant to have pre-sleep fluff and end with Arei starting something that makes Xander call her a "stupid bitch," but angst somehow got in when I specifically said that this was supposed to just be trashy fluff. This doesn't even end with the "stupid bitch" comment because the angst makes it look out of place, but we're just going to roll with it. I want to get more motivation to write more Xanrei but don't have it. Maybe posting one shots here will give me it :p

you're so nice...

Arei Nageishi was a wonderful human being! Who could ever say otherwise? Well, maybe Xander Mathews, but he got a free pass. Was it because of favouritism? Obviously! You had to be a special person to get away with calling her insults others called "constructive criticism," and as her boyfriend, Xander was very special.

Arei had a long day today. Going bowling with Ace Markey, annoying J Rosales, hanging out with Xander, annoying J again, studying for an upcoming test with Min Jeung and Eden Tobisa, annoying J for a third time... She was just a very busy person. Xander offered for her to stay at his place for the night, which she, as usual, accepted.

"I'm so tired," Arei said through a yawn as she entered Xander's apartment. She kicked off her shoes and took off her winter coat as she made herself comfortable on his couch. They had been dating for almost a year—longer than the bets Teruko Tawaki and Charles Cuevas made on "when" they would break up—so she could treat his apartment however she wanted. It was basically her home now anyway. She stayed at his place more often than her own. In her defence, it always felt more comfortable here than her apartment. Hers didn't have enough Xander.

As Xander put his winter coat away, he said, "You can get ready for bed. I need to call Whit first."

"Okay then. Goodnight, Xander!" Arei waited until he told her goodnight back before she went to his bedroom.

Xander's apartment had two bedrooms. He lived alone, so the other bedroom was a guest room in case a friend wanted to stay over. When Arei first stayed over almost a year ago, he was ready to prepare the guest room for her when she joked about them sleeping in his bedroom together. Arei received a flustered Xander as a reward, which she enjoyed more than she thought. She wasn't all too aware of her feelings back then, and apparently, neither did he. But, before they knew it, they were dating the next morning. Not like she was complaining.

Unfortunately, he was used to her sleeping in his bedroom with him by now. She wouldn't see him flustered with that anymore, but it was still nice being in his bedroom than the guest room. Like her apartment, the guest room didn't have enough Xander in it. It was always more comfortable surrounded by him—but she would die in a ditch before she said that out loud.

Arei stepped inside Xander's bedroom, closing the door behind her. If she was being honest, his bedroom was her favourite place in the world—her happy place, if anyone ever asked her what it was. Everything was so Xander. From the messy bed to the curtains to the posters, she loved it there. It was the reason she wanted to sleep in his bedroom when she first stayed over. His bedroom looked so safe and comfortable, and it reminded her of him. Even with how he could be stupid and reckless, he knew how to make sure others felt safe. And it always worked.

Arei reached up and let her hair down, blue strands falling over her shoulders. She had some of her own clothes left at his apartment—whether they were by accident or not was something only she would know—but she normally wore Xander's spare clothes to sleep in. She liked to tease him about his clothing style, but they were nice enough to sleep in. He never told her that she couldn't wear them anyway. She knew from the moment she saw how red his ears got when she first wore his clothes that she could wear them whenever she wanted, but she felt something else along with happiness at the realization.

She laid down on the bed with plenty of soft pillows. He bought the pillows a few months after they started dating. While he could sleep wherever if he tried, she needed at least two soft pillows to sleep comfortably. He found that out soon, and so he bought more for whenever she came over. She was surprised that he noticed that, and he was even more surprised at how he casually brushed it off as if it was nothing. Like doing that was just to be expected.

Buying the pillows and letting her wear his clothes showed that he was more considerate that she thought he would be. It wasn't like she had low standards for him; she saw how he cared for their classmates, even if he was reckless at times. She was more surprised at how caring he was specifically to her and her alone. From their relationship prior to dating, she thought he would be a little more hostile. It made her start thinking about how they acted in acted in their relationship, and it stuck with her even now.

Xander hated corrupt people. She listened to him rant about them enough to know that for a fact. She was sure that by his standards, she was one of said corrupt people. How he could stand to date her, she didn't know. How she could stand the niceness he gave her when she was sure she didn't deserve it from him, she also didn't know.

Arei turned on the bed so her back would be facing the door and closed her eyes, forcing herself to stop thinking about it. If she wasn't tired before, she certainly was now. Xander could just do that to her.

. . .

Arei felt a hand on her cheek. She recognized who it was from how the hand felt alone, but she still opened her eyes a crack. She still wanted to see him.

Her eyes found Xander's face almost instantly. Seeing her awake, he quickly said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine..." Arei found her eyes closing again. He always did this whenever she stayed over. He'd cover her with the blanket, kiss her goodnight, and cuddle with her until they both fell asleep. It was always so gentle, and the reminder of it refilled her mind with the two questions she had for months: Why was Xander so kind to her, and why wasn't she as kind back?

Just as she thought, she felt the blanket climb higher up her body. The bed shifted under Xander's weight as he sat next to her. His hands ran through her hair, brushing her bangs aside. She could feel his gaze on her, and she knew that if she opened her eyes, she would see a gentle look in his eyes. It was a dumb look, but she loved knowing someone could look at her like that. Then, she would remember who was looking at her and why he shouldn't, and she found herself hating hey still loving it at the same time. It was so stupid.

He would leave soon for a bit. She knew that was probably coming. Then, he would come back and finish the rest of what he usually did. Just the thought of it made her stomach twist as she wondered what she had done for him. She had to do something if he treated her like this, right? But she couldn't figure out what for the life of her.

It was probably better to ask now than later. She couldn't have this with her during their one-year anniversary, could she? Arei opened her eyes halfway and said, "Hey, Xander...?"

"You're still awake?" he asked, his voice quiet. Why did she have to fall for someone with such a calming voice? Even his British accent she loved to make fun of was working so well with his voice.

"Obviously." Arei's voice didn't sound as snarky as it might've if she had more energy in her. "Just...had a question."

"Is something wrong?"

"Yeah. Why are you so nice to me? It makes no sense..." Again, her voice didn't sound as snarky and it might've. She decided to blame it on her tiredness.

Even in the darkness, she could see a frown form on Xander's face. "What do you mean?"

Of course she had to explain the obvious to him. Why did she had to find that endearing? "Exactly what I said. Why are you so nice to me?"

"Well...you're my girlfriend."

"That doesn't mean you have to be nice."

"Are you...asking me to be mean to you?"

Arei sighed. "Never mind. Forget I said anything..."

"No, don't go to sleep now...!" Xander gently shook her back awake. "Arei, what's wrong?"

Stupid Xander being so caring. Couldn't he just care even just a little less about her? He was just adding fuel to her questions. Idiot!

But Arei still found herself sitting up by herself to prevent sleep from coming. She avoided making eye contact, which was hard with how brightly yellow his eye colour now was. Words starting coming out of her mouth without permission. "Why are you so nice to me? I'm not stupid, you know; I know how I acted before we were dating. I know how I act while we're dating. You've always been...nice and considerate, and it's weird. Why aren't you at least a little mean to me?"

Xander stayed silent as she talked, and he stayed silent after. She didn't like it. Couldn't he just say that she was delusional and move on?

"I'm nice to you for a lot of reasons. I'll give you three right now," he finally said. "First, you're my girlfriend."

"That doesn't mean—"

"Let me finish." His hands went over top of hers, and he started rubbing circles on them with his thumb. "First, you're my girlfriend. Second, I don't like being mean when I don't have to be. Third, everyone deserves kindness—especially you, Arei."

Again, words came out before she could stop them. "Do I? You know how I treat other people—how I treat you. But you still somehow thought that I can be a worthy girlfriend who deserved...this. Why? Why do you even like me in the first place?"

She hated how she sounded. Her words and voice were pathetically needy. So weak and vulnerable. That was not who Arei was at all. Why did she have to talk in the first place? Just pretending to be asleep until he left wouldn't have caused this.

Xander was silent for a moment after she asked that. Eventually, he said, "I...honestly don't know why I like you."

She felt her shoulders sag as her fingers curled into her palm. That was literally the most obvious answer. She didn't know what she expected.

"But that doesn't change the fact that I do," he added. "And because I do, I want to treat you right."

"To prove to everyone that we can have a relationship that lasts more than a few months?"

"And because I want to."

"But also because of that."

"I'm not going to deny it..."

Despite herself, Arei found herself smiling a little.

"Why are you against me being nice to you though?" he asked slowly. "Just do you know, I'm not going to be mean to you just because you want me to be."

"That wasn't even what I wanted—" Arei stopped herself before she said it. She changed it to, "Xander..."

"You can say it," Xander said with a smile. Was she that easy to read?

"If I say it," she replied, "then I'm just proving my point—and that's not what you want."

"It's fine. Just say it."

Well, if she had permission, she might as well say it. "That wasn't even what I wanted, stupid. Do you even listen to anything I say? Why am I even wasting my time on you?"

That came out a lot easier, but almost too easy. It was just what she was used to, and that was a bad sign, wasn't it? He didn't flinch while she said it—he was actually smiling—but she was sure it did something to him. It had to, right?

Xander lifted one of Arei's hands to his lips. Even though their one-year anniversary was coming up, she still felt tingles spread from where his lips touched her skin like how it was when he first did it. When her hand was pulled away, their eyes met. She pulled her other hand free from his grasp to put it under his chin and lift his head and kiss him.

Arei took note of how the kiss was gentle and nice. That was how she would like to be with him all the time. Even with all her pride, she could say that was what he deserved. It was so confusing why someone like him would pick someone like her when there were plenty of other people who were fitter to be his lover than her. Why would he want to be with a corrupt person when he hated them?

She leaned back, reminding herself to keep even breaking the kiss gentle. Kissing him when she knew that his opinion on her was going to change the moment he found out who he was truly dating was too uncomfortable. He wouldn't want to be with her after he found out what she did to her sisters on purpose. Who cared about how they treated her? No one did before. She was definitely a corrupt person in his book, and that meant a breakup would be very soon.

All of their classmates were right about doubting they could last long in a reltionship. They almost made it to a year only because Arei never told anyone her past. But she should tell Xander before their one-year anniversary. He shouldn't have to know that he wasted a whole year with someone like her.

Xander's hand pushed a strand of her blue hair behind her ear, staying on her cheek. He leaned forward and kissed her other cheek before resting his head on her shoulder.

Arei took his hand and held it. Could she ever get used to how trusting he was of her?

To distract herself from her thoughts, she said rather quietly, "You better not fall asleep on me again like last time. You're way too heavy for me."

His voice was just as quiet when he responded. "I'm not that heavy. Besides, you're the Ultimate Bowler. You should have some strength in your arms, right?"

"That doesn't mean I want a whole elephant laying on me, Alexander. It's even worse that this elephant's British."

"Hah. Hah." He made no move to get off her.

Arei didn't actually mind that he didn't. His weight was comforting, almost like a heavy yet warm blanket. She laid down on the bed, Xander shifting on top of her just to make them both more comfortable. His head remained nestled onto her shoulder, and her arms wrapped around him to keep him close.

She listened to his breathing, feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath. Her focus was only on his warm body that encompassed her. This was her boyfriend for a few months short of a year. An actual boyfriend who wanted to cherish her. How did she manage to get this far and not realize that? How stupid was she to not know how lucky she was?

"Hey, Xander?" she whispered, not wanting to break the silence.

He didn't respond. From his steady breathing, she guessed that he fell asleep.

"Goodnight, Xander," she told him quietly. After a second, she added, "I'll try to be a better person for you. Even if I know you'll breakup with me once I tell you about my sisters."

Arei was going to add that Xander was dead to her if she was awake the whole time but was only pretending to be asleep, but she stopped herself. Even if she didn't like being that vulnerable around anyone, it felt more natural to not say anything. It was a baby step in becoming a better person.

Arei was going to follow through with it. If he actually was asleep or forgot about it in the morning, she hoped Xander would notice her changes. He was so kind to her, and it was about time she returned it. Then, he could decide if he wanted to breakup. She was a corrupt person, so there was no judgement on his part if he did. She just wanted him to know that she could truly be a good person.

; Summary: Xander Matthews Is So Nice To Arei Nageishi! It's Obvious That He Should Be Since He's Her

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