Little Taps.

Little Taps.

a vds one shot. you can find more on my ao3.

( @ apolloswords )

feel free to comment/message me any suggestions for one shot ideas!

Actors Jens Stoffels and Lucas van der Heijden get interviewed for their upcoming movie. The most pressing question? Their relationship.

The bright studio lights blinded Lucas’ eyes, but since this was the fourth or fifth time around, he was able to tolerate them a little more. He hoped he didn’t look so nervous. While he had done a fair share of acting and such, interviews didn’t always come along with the job. But since he was starring in an upcoming film adaption on a popular queer romance story, fans all over the world were dying just to meet the two actors who were about to bring their beloved characters to life.

“Welcome to the show our guest stars, Lucas can see Heijden and Jens Stoffels. These two young men are portraying the leads in the upcoming move, Solar Eclipse of the Heart.” Their interviewer, Ariel announced to the audience. She turned her body towards the two boys. “Would you like the introduce yourselves and your roles?”

Out of habit, Lucas looked at Jens, who already knew what was coming. Smiling at him, he gave Lucas a small smirk, knowing what to do next. Out of the two of them, Jens was more of the outgoing one, often taking the lead and reassuring Lucas. Lucas couldn’t help but think someone like him was just made to be a star, and he had just gotten lucky.

“Well, the story revolves around a coming of age experience between two boys. The movie is set up in three acts, the first one being in my character’s perspective, the next one being in Lucas’ characters perspective and eventually, how the outside audience or ‘world’ supposedly views them.” Jens began to explain confidently. “The whole premise is to feel like you are going on this journey along with them and experiencing what they feel, only to get the external viewpoint at the end as though you are only a passerby.”

“I see,” Ariel nodded off to Lucas. “And how would you describe this sort of story telling?”

“Uhm,” Lucas thought about the question for a second before responding. “I think it dives a bit deeper on how queer people having this whole realization about who they are and who they are to the world. I think it’s able to show all the insights of how one may struggle with finding love and themselves, from internal and external factors.”

“That was what critics highly raved about when the book was first released.” She smiled at them, before prompting another question. “Now, when ur comes to the characters, how do you feel connected to them? Are there any similarities or did you feel like you had to be an entirely different person?”

“Well the beautiful thing with acting, is that you can be an entirely different person.” Jens joked, as Lucas tried to hide the smile on his face by slightly covering it with the microphone in his hand. He knew how the eventual recording of this interview would surface the internet, and even the slightest of reactions coming from either of them would send the fans into a frenzy.

“While I do think there are differences between me and my character, it’s all mostly due to the background. We see my character have more of a struggle with bisexuality because his parents don’t fully understand the other terms under the queer umbrella.” Jens continued to explain. “Eitan, my character, feels like a fraud because he doesn’t know if his sexuality is true or not. But many of his interests, like music and skateboarding are things I still do so it sort of feels like an extension of myself.”

“I think Theo, my character, is probably the most similar character that I’ve played.” Lucas responded honestly. “I looked at the script and pretty much went ‘Hey, isn’t this just my life?”

The audience laughed in response, which made his nerves calm down a bit. He felt Jens’ foot slightly tap on his, reaching over his chair as a little touch of affection. He hoped the camera angle wasn’t that low, or else the action might be read as more than he had intended.

“So was playing the role of Theo hard for you? I mean, Theo wasn’t easily accepted by his family and I understand that can hit close to home. Did it ever make you question why you considered this role?”

“Uhm.” He could feel his chest tighten a bit. It wasn’t that the question was hard to answer, but Lucas just never felt like he ever had the right words to say. Another tap on his foot seemed to send a sense of security over him, and he sat up straighter while clearing his throat.

“It was hard, to be honest. There were some scenes where I felt like I wasn’t even acting anymore because I knew everything Theo felt in that moment.” He tried to avoid the shaking his voice. “But at the same time, it’s unfortunately a story that happens way too often. I’m lucky that myself and Theo have a great support system in the end, which kind of shows hope for those in the same situation.”

Another tap on his foot. He pressed his lips into a thin smile, hoping his cheeks weren’t blushing outrageously. Maybe he could blame it on the lighting.

“Well I think that’s also what makes this film so special.” Ariel said. “Over the years there have been many criticisms over non-queer people taking the lead roles as queer characters and people feel that gives a sense of false representation. But here, we have both of you who identify within the LGBTQ+ community who are also playing the roles of like characters.”

“Same sexualities too.” Jens laughed, and Lucas let that specific noise wash over him, calming himself down a bit.

“Same sexualities too.” Ariel repeated, laughing alongside with him.

“So the both of you clearly have the fans’ stamp of approval after just seeing the teasers and trailers for the film. People truly think you embody these characters to their fullest and think your chemistry is off the charts. How did you hit it off the first time after you had both been casted?” She asked.

They both looked at each other quickly, trying to stifle a smile. But Lucas knew the look on Jens’ face. With the way his tongue was pressing against his cheek as he widened his eyes a bit, this was definitely a dead giveaway that their publicist would probably lecture them later for. But neither of them couldn’t help it. After spending so much time together, filming and on the road doing interviews, there were just some reactions that were pure instincts.

“Well, Luc is an amazing actor.” Jens began to say, looking back at Ariel and repositioning himself in the chair. “And on top of that, he’s a great guy so it wasn’t at hard at all to get that chemistry going.”

“I think we did like three screen tests or something and that was it.” Lucas added shyly.

Jens gave him a small smile, obviously proud that he was adding more to the conversation without being directly coaxed.

“Yeah, it was a very small amount of screen tests between us.” He agreed. “To be honest, it’s kind of weird how our paths didn’t cross sooner. I did start out more in the music industry before playing the acting field and Luc was always casted for music videos around that time.”

“Maybe because I was in the Netherlands and you were in Belgium.” Lucas teased.

Jens let out an airy laugh, tilting his head back a bit. “Oh right, that would be why, wouldn’t it?”

They gave each other a small smile, hoping their microphones covered their mouths at just the right angle. Lucas ducked his head a bit, trying to avoid Jens’ gaze.

“But you guys filmed the move in Amsterdam, which I heard is close to where you grew up Lucas. But Jens, Antwerp isn’t that far away from the Netherlands either, did you have a hard time adjusting?”

“There is a little bit of a culture shock because while it is very close, it’s still a different environment.” Jens explained. “But one day, when we had a day off from shooting, Lucas took me to Baarle-Nassau. It’s like this really small town that has the Belgium and Netherlands border running through it. I think we spent an hour just jumping over the little marks.”

Lucas felt his face grow warm as he recalled the memory. It was a few weeks into shooting and while he and Jens had gotten along fairly well, they hadn’t spent time off set together really building their relationship. But after he decided to invite Jens on a day out, things had changed. Lucas first noticed it in the train ride, where he and Jens talked the entire two and a half hours there. Usually Lucas wasn’t a very social person, which was a bit ironic as an actor. Whenever he could, he liked to keep to himself, listening to his music or doodling, or even just looking out the window and imagining stories in his head. Train rides were good for that. But when he realized how long he was able to talk to Jens for, to feel so in tune and invested in the conversation that he didn’t even realize time go by.

“Yeah, that was a fun time.” He added, though it sounded more like he was saying it to himself rather than the whole audience. “We kept jumping over the marks saying that we were in each other’s country and how we were closer than we thought.”

“Well you guys are obviously very close now.” Ariel said and Lucas swore she saw a glint or even a wink in her left eye. “I do have a pressing question from the fans however, and I think we’re just all dying to know the answer.”

He let out a nervous laugh as Jens raised a brow. There were a lot of pressing questions from fans recently, flooding the comment section on social media posts or direct messages. But there was a singular question that seemed to take the spotlight.

“How do you both feel about everyone conspiring that you’re both in a relationship together? Has it effected your friendship in any way?”

“Uhm.” They both said in unison, trying to stifle the pressing giggles.

He felt Jens’ foot tap against his again, this time in a continuous pattern, like he was finding amusement in the question. Ariel looked at them weirdly, wondering why their reactions were so bashful.

“Well,” Jens began to say, clearing his throat, while still eyeing Lucas. “It’s not something really bothers us. I get why some people might think it’s a little invasive but I’m comfortable with our relationship and showing what they say are affectionate gestures is just something I seem to do without thinking when it comes to Luc.”

“It’s cool with me too.” He replied, sitting up straight and giving a small smile. “I’m not overly bothered by it. I think it’s nice that Jens and I can have a rather affectionate friendship.”

“So none of you are bothered at all about the speculations?” She asked, rather surprised. “It doesn’t affect actual private relationships you may have?”

“Nope.” They said at the same time, and Lucas covered his laugh with his hand.

“And to put on record, it doesn’t affect actual private relationships because we don’t have any.” Jens winked.

Still trying to stifle his giggle, Lucas squirmed a bit and gently kicked the bottom of Jens’ foot. Jens’ shoulders reacted to the action, but he still had that look on his face. The smirk, halfway lifting the right side of his mouth while his eyes looked at Ariel, and the audience, with a sort of charm. Jens had charisma when it came to hiding his reactions while Lucas always felt like he was so awkward.

The interview seemed to go by smoothly, answering more general questions without completely tripping over his words. When Lucas wasn’t fully paying attention to the conversation, he found his focus being on Jens again. Either slightly angling his body to get more of his angle in his peripheral vision or feeling the way Jens’ foot tapped against his. He watched the way Jens’ tongue rolled around the inside of his cheek when he was amused at something or the way his shoulders flinched slightly when another question about their relationship was asked. Lucas wasn’t sure if anyone was paying attention to his actions as closely. If they were, they were probably a dead giveaway to the feelings he had to hide away from outside eyes.

Eventually the interview came to a close and Lucas breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard the camera stop rolling and the studio lights dim down a bit. He let out a few deep breaths, shutting his eyes tight before he felt calm enough to stand up. Before he did, he saw Jens already getting up as he tapped on his leg three times. Lucas gave him a shy smile and slightly nodded, while Ariel and the rest of the crew were finishing up.

This time, nobody’s eyes were on them.

Lucas headed backstage, to the small dressing room he was assigned to. Closing the door gently behind him, he sat on the small couch and continued to take a few deeps breaths. He always found it kind of funny that as an actor, he often felt most nervous when he had to play himself. It wasn’t like he had to do anything for the “role”, but it was harder to showcase who he was to an audience than showcase a character he was playing.

After a few minutes, he heard a knock on his door. Three gentle knocks. Little taps. Bouncing up on his feet, he practically skipped across the room to open it.

“Hey.” Jens said softly, after Lucas opened it.

“Hey.” He replied back, feeling his heart get caught up in his chest.

He opened the door wider, so Jens could come in. As he closed the door behind him, Jens made his way towards the couch, flopping down on it with his arms stretch out. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, while Lucas made his way over.

“Tired?” He asked gently, as he sat down facing him. He felt Jens’ arm and hand against his body, the slight touch sending flutters through it.

“Mm hmm.” Jens hummed, still keeping his eyes closed.

Reaching out, Lucas gently brushed back a few strands that had fallen down his face. He saw Jens’ lips curl up into a smile as he hummed with relief, like it was only now he was able to relax.

“You’re really good at all of this.” Lucas said softly, still gently brushing the hair back. “It’s like you were made to be a star.”

Opening his eyes, Jens’ brows furrowed as he stood up a bit straighter. He let his fingers still brush around his dark hair, feeling how soft and plush they were against his fingertips.

“You’re just as good.” Jens said with a slight frown. Lucas knew he hated when he felt condescending about himself. “Just because you’re a bit shyer doesn’t mean you don’t have just as important things to say.”

“Yeah, but you’re so natural about it all. I feel like I’m acting when I do these interviews and I’m not. I don’t know, it just takes a bit getting used to.”

“Well, I’m with you through it all right? All our interviews so far have been together and even if they’re not, I’m not that far away.”

Jens snaked his arm around Lucas’ body, slightly pulling it closed. Lucas sighed and let himself fall into it, feeling his hand trail up and down his back in soft caressing strokes. He let his head rest on Jens’ shoulder, allowing himself to calm down after all the energy he had to give out today. He loved his job, acting was his dream. But some days, it was harder to keep up with all its expectations than others.

“I like when they ask us about our relationship.” Jens lightly chuckled, letting the vibrations pass through both of their bodies.

Lucas snorted, burying his face into his shoulder. “I don’t know why they keep asking.”

“It’s because you seriously have the hots for me.” Jens winked.

He shook his head, which only made Jens laugh again and their bodies vibrated even more.

“I don’t have the hots for you.” Lucas groaned, using his shoulder to bury his face even more to try and hide his smile.

“Yes you do.” He teased, pinching his cheek. “You don’t see all those videos or pictures that get tagged and titled on the way you look at me? You’re so obvious Luc.”

“Listen, you have just as much posts about the way you’re smirking at me and shit.” He lifted his head up and raised his brows. “People think you’re just as obvious as I am.”

“Guess we’re both pretty bad at hiding it, huh?”

They laughed, finally letting out the reactions and expressions they had been holding in all day. Lucas felt Jens pull him into his chest, positioning them so he was laying on top of him. Jens reached up to gently stroke Lucas’ cheek while gazing into his eyes.

“You know, you always have this sort of blush in your face.” He whispered quietly, continuing to stroke his cheek. “Even in the brightest of lights, there’s this beautiful pink glow. It’s like a part of you.”

“You just want me to admit your flirting works, don’t you?” Lucas teasingly rolled his eyes.

He pulled him in closer, and tighter, which made Lucas erupt in a giggle.

“Stop being so smart with me. I know those lips are good for something else.”

“Ew.” Lucas wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Jens pouted. “Not like that. Not that I don’t want that but also, not that.”

“I’m just teasing.” He brought his face down a bit, lowering it so his forehead was pressed against his and their noses were brushing against each other.

“Do you think they’ll ever find out?” He whispered. Lucas could feel his lips moving so slightly against his.

“God, I hope.” He snorted again. “It’s so hard having to control myself during interviews.”

“The fans are going to lose it when they find out. They’re going to have to cast us for another movie.”

“Hey.” Now it was Lucas’ turn to pout. “I don’t want to have to act just to kiss you.”

“Me neither.”

He pressed his lips against his, feeling his smile against his own. Jens’ hand snakes up Lucas’ back, playing with the back of his head and letting his fingers mess around with his curls. Lucas used his hand to tilt Jens’ chin up, to deepen the kiss just slightly.

When they pulled apart, the grins on their faces would be impossible to wipe off. Lucas already knew the blush was on his face but this time, there was no need to hide it.

“You know, I think the fans are definitely going to know sooner or later.” He whispered and Jens gave him a confused look.

“What makes you say that?”

“You called me Luc the entire interview.” He gave Jens a smirk, while he covered his eyes and groaned.

“Fuck.”

you were my crown

chapter 8

~^~

Instead of heading straight back to the castle the following day, they passed through Lucas’s village. Sander and Robbe must have noticed they were going in the wrong direction, but Robbe only frowned slightly and looked to Jens in question. When Jens gave a subtle nod, they followed along without a word.

Lucas didn’t notice until they were almost there, and then he turned to Jens in surprise. “Why are we going this way?”

Jens shrugged. “I didn’t promise I’d be back by a certain time, just that I’d be back today. Might as well make the most of it while we can.”

“That’s all?”

“I thought you’d want to see your friends.”

Lucas considered him for another few seconds, then focused on the road ahead again with a faint smile. Jens was probably too pleased with himself for the minor accomplishment, but he’d learned Lucas’s quietest joy seemed to be his truest. That minute expression spoke volumes. Jens imagined it would only expand further when he actually saw his friends.

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What Would You Recommend?

a vds one shot. you can find more on my ao3.

( @ apolloswords )

feel free to comment/message me any suggestions for one shot ideas!

The last place anyone would expect Jens to work at would be a bookstore. But when a new barista gets hired to work at the store's cafe, he figures that maybe he is in the right place after all.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Yes actually," The girl with the bright eyes answered. "Could you show me where to find some books on Greek Mythology?"

"Aisle four, the third shelf to your right should be filled specifically with Greek Mythology." Jens answered politely.

"Thank you!" She replied cheerfully before heading over to where he had directed.

He smiled back at her, before returning back to the boxes of books he had to unpack and place on the shelf. The whole thing was kind of ironic. Actually, it wasn't kind of ironic. It was ironic.

Jens wasn't the type to work at a bookstore. He wasn't really the type to read, ever. Unless he had to. The only books he could name off the top of his head were whatever books were assigned to his high school classes. And even then, he often jumbled up the titles and barely remembered the plot.

He did, however, flip through a cookbook once. That seemed pretty riveting, until he realized his mind was only processing the pictures of food and not the actual recipe.

But a job was a job. And if he wanted to keep up with funding his Vettige Vrijdag, skateboard accessories and anything else he could justify getting himself without extra commentary from his parents, well then working at a bookstore was going to have to suffice. It wasn't the worst job in the world anyway. Most times he kept to himself by organizing and unpacking books, occasionally interacted with the really nice customers and checking up online orders and inventory. It was pretty low maintenance and it didn't require too much of his attention. Most of his shifts were spent with his mind wandering. Daydreaming.

Daydreaming about the cute barista in the cafe and lounge area of the store.

He had arrived a few weeks after Jens had been hired. At first, Jens hadn't really taken much notice towards him. He did know there was a new barista when he ordered a coffee on his break, but the boy's back was turned against him so he didn't know what he looked like. But after a few more visits on his break, he had finally seen what he looked like. And he didn't know he would look so pretty.

Jens almost forgot about his cup of coffee when the boy turned around to pass it to him. And as his fingers hesitantly took the cup from this boy, he felt his fingers tingle when they brushed against his. Jens hoped he wasn't obviously staring at the boy, and hoped to death his jaw wasn't hanging open like an idiot.

Luckily, the boy didn't seem to take much notice. He simply handed Jens the coffee smiled politely and in his melodic voice, he told him "Have a nice day!". Jens did feel himself answer with a simple "Thank you", before letting his eyes dart towards the name tag on the boy's light brown apron.

Lucas .

And with a small smile, he knew his shifts at the bookstore were about to change. Gone were the days where he was counting down the hours, minutes and seconds of his shift. Now, he found himself getting excited for his shifts, even heading straight to the store after school in hopes to see him before he had to actually start his shift. Jens thought that maybe Lucas was going to be a new kid at his school, considering the school and the bookstore were in a close vicinity. But after searching the halls, which his friends had called him out for, there was no sign of Lucas. At all.

The more Jens had arrived to his shifts before schedule, the more he picked up more hours and the more he volunteered for random tasks, he realized the more he saw Lucas. It seemed like their shifts were beginning to align together, and sometimes, he would see Lucas wander over towards his side of the store. At first, he felt hopeful. Maybe he had wandered over to see Jens, like the way Jens began wandering over to the cafe on his every break. He liked coffee, but probably not enough to drink almost five cups a day and spend half of his shift's pay cheque.

But he noticed the way Lucas did wander over towards the books. He had one hand swinging on his side, tapping his fingers gently on his jeans while his other hand gently touched the rows of books, until his finger landed on one that seemed remotely interesting. Then he would pick it up, read the back of the cover and open it up. Jens watched as he read a few pages, before either nodding with approval or wrinkling his nose with grimace. But he always placed it back on the shelf, before wandering around towards another aisle. And before he knew it, Lucas would check the time on his phone and chewed the inside of his cheek before heading back towards the cafe and slipping his apron back on.

So Jens eventually realized that Lucas' little visits weren't for him. Each time he saw the curly brown hair tip back with the tilt of his head, the blue eyes searching and seeking, lips humming out a small tune and flushed cheekbones that made up this cute barista, he felt like he needed to break this cycle of just watching him. It probably came off as creepy with the off chance that Lucas did ever notice Jens.

The endless crushing and gazing from afar eventually caught up to him. He needed to make a move one way or another.

"Jens," His manager, Ralph, called out to him. "Can you come upstairs into my office for a second? I need to double check your work schedule before your exams."

"Sure." Placing down the box of books towards the side, he brushed his palms on his jeans and followed Ralph upstairs.

When they arrived in his little cozy office with the ambient lighting, Jens shifted on his feet as Ralph sat down in his chair and flipped through a big binder of planned out schedules.

"Your exams start when?" He asked while looking at a calendar.

"Middle of June." Jens replied. "About five weeks from now."

"Right right right," Ralph mumbled under his breath while making some 'tsk tsk' sounds. "You and Luc have the same schedule."

Jens didn't know if he heard that correctly. He also didn't know if he was supposed to even hear that in the first place considering Ralph had said it so low and quiet, that he had to just have been speaking for himself.

"Me and who?" He asked, hoping his voice didn't sound as shaky or cracked like he had thought.

"You and Lucas, the barista in the cafe." Ralph explained, setting the binder to the side. "You're both the only high schoolers we schedule on a regular basis, so I guess we would need more coverage during the weeks you need to study and take your exams."

"He's in high school?"

"Uhm, yes?" Ralph laughed, like he couldn't believe Jens didn't know that. "Do you not know who he is?"

"I think I've seen him." He lied.

"Well then you clearly know he can't me older than you. My friends and I used to say he looks like a fairy straight out of the gardens, so delicate in his nature."

"You're friends with him?" Jens asked surprisingly, and with a little more interest than someone who "supposedly" has seen him.

But Ralph didn't seem to show any indication towards his change in behaviour. "Well," He shrugged, "Yeah, we're friends. But he's also my roommate so there's that added bonus."

"Oh." He wanted to ask further, maybe figure out what high school Lucas went to. But he didn't know if that seemed invasive or not.

"Yeah but his schedule is a little different from yours." Ralph spoke again. It sounded like he was saying this to himself, but with the clearer annunciation and louder tone, it also seemed as though he was trying to tell Jens instead. "He's taking some online classes for now. Didn't finish his courses last year and is just trying to catch up so he can graduate with the rest of your year."

Asking why Lucas didn't finish his courses last year definitely seemed invasive so Jens knew better than to ask that.

"So he's in my year?" He asked instead.

"Yeah, yeah, well working to be in it again." Ralph smiled and checked the little clock on his desk. "Oh, well your break just started. Grab yourself a drink or snack from the cafe. It's on me, you've been working really hard."

"Thanks." He said with a small smile, before giving Ralph a small wave and heading out of the office.

As he jogged down the stairs, his mind wandered about Lucas. After this tidbit of information, his small crush on Lucas seemed to have grown a curiosity for the boy. Even though it was clear to him that he did have an interest, he didn't know Lucas as a person yet. But now it felt like he knew a little bit about him, even if it did raise some questions.

"Hi, can I take your order?"

Jens shook his head out of his daze and blinked, surprised to see Lucas in front of him. He was also just as confused to find himself standing in line, like his body had just brought him here out of habit, out of thought. At least there was nobody behind them so he didn't look so lost in front of a group of people.

Just the boy he had been crushing on for weeks now,

"Uhm," He blinked, finding his mouth go dry as he tried to rack his brain for an answer. "What do you recommend?"

Now it was Lucas' turn to blink and rack his brain for an answer.

"Uhm," He finally said. "I don't know."

Jens furrowed his brows. "Don't you work here?"

"I do." Lucas said quickly as he waved his hands in front of him. "I just, I just don't like coffee."

The answer, and his cute reaction, made Jens bite his lip as he tried not to show his amusement. But a small laugh escaped him anyway, and Lucas' cheeks blushed.

"You work in a coffee shop and you don't even like coffee?" He repeated. "Isn't that apart of the portfolio?"

"Well I guess that depends on the shop. Luckily the owner gave me a free pass on this." Lucas replied with a grin. "I could recommend you a tea latte though."

That would probably be a good change and break from all the copious amounts of coffee he had been drinking almost everyday now.

"Sure, that would be good." Jens smiled. "Surprise me and put it on Ralph's tab."

Lucas laughed and the sound rang through Jens' ears like the tinkling sounds of wind chimes in a soft breeze. "Okay, I'll make sure it comes out of Ralph's bank account. Your order will be right over there, see you Jens."

His heart skipped a beat as he waved at Lucas, who shyly waved back before continuing with the next person who must've fallen in line somewhere between their conversation. He noticed the way Lucas just barely let his eyes linger over him, before turning away. The pretty pink blush was still bright on his cheeks and if Jens squinted, he knew there was a smile on his equally pretty pink lips.

But Jens knew he had just the same reaction on his own face. He knew that right after Lucas had let his name roll off his tongue and past his lips, that he was equally guilty of having the fluttery feeling through his entire body. And when he picked up his cup of whatever tea latte was in it, after the first sip of the smooth and sweet drink, he knew the warmth radiating from his body wasn't only coming from the drink recommended by the cute tea-drinking barista.

It was coming from the cute tea-drinking barista.

Eventually Jens' break was over and he was back to his usual tasks. The next two hours passed by fairly quickly, but by the last hour, he was ready to leave. He could only stay in a bookstore for so long.

Just as he was just finishing up reorganizing a shelf of Thriller Mysteries, he felt someone approach the aisle.

"Hey." He heard a familiar voice say to him.

Smiling, Jens looked up from where he was kneeling. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Uhm," Lucas replied as he glanced at the aisles of books around him. "Do you have any recommendations?"

Jens had to laugh at the irony.

Getting up, he leaned cooly against the shelf, crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at Lucas.

"I would." He replied. "If I read."

Blinking and taking several seconds to let Jens' answer process in his brain, Lucas stared at him. Then he tilted his head and furrowed his brows at Jens.

"You work at a book store and you don't read? How does that even work?" Lucas asked with bewilderment.

Shrugging, Jens opened his palms up. "Beats me. I mean, I've gotten this far, haven't I?"

"Well what happens if people ask you for recommendations?"

"I've been lucky with that one." He chuckled. "Until you came around and ruined my good luck streak."

Lucas snorted before looking away with a small smile. "Sorry about that."

"No, no. no," Jens assured teasingly. "It's all good. Completely fine. But if you tell me what you like, I could direct you where to find it."

"Uhm." He replied, sounding even more shy and hesitant than earlier. "Tell you what I like?"

"Yes." Jens leaned in a bit, so he could lower his voice and be even more flirty with the smaller boy. "Tell me what you like."

"Uhm," He mumbled. "Tall."

Jens stared at hum, who's face was pink all over. "Tall?" He repeated. Sure, Jens may not read a lot of books but he was at least aware enough to know there wasn't such a book category labelled as "tall".

"Yeah, uhh, tall." Lucas said again, his voice barely audible at this point. "And dark hair, dark brown eyes, really cute and attractive, always focused on his work at a bookstore, comes in for at least five cups a coffee a day and always comes in with his skateboard and maroon hoodie, on or just hanging out of his backpack." He rambled on.

It took Jens at least a minute for these words to register in his brain. Mainly because Lucas had said them so softly and so quickly that it was impossible to figure out what exact words he had strung together. But Jens' subconscious seemed to acquire them for him, and as he let them replay in his mind, he felt a smile grow on his face.

"So you wanted to know what aisle that was in?" Jens replied cooly.

"Yes?" Lucas bit his tongue.

Looking up at the aisle sign above his head, Jens looked back down at Lucas with a grin.

"I think you managed to find that yourself."

This made Lucas grin, his face bright and so totally smitten by Jens. But this was when Jens let himself take a closer look at Lucas. His eyes sparkled like glitter under a bright light, the blue in his eyes almost seemed magical, like the colours of ball gowns in fairytales. The curls on his head looked sculpted to perfection, but even Jens knew that they would be the softest things his hands ever had the pleasure of touching. His features were delicate, just like Ralph had mentioned. Lucas really did look like fairy straight out from the gardens.

"Tell you what," Jens said. "How about we find some time where we're both not stuck here and go out. Ralph told me we pretty much have the same exam schedule and wee could study together if you wanted."

"Oh yeah that would be great!" His response was excited and eager, but he suddenly frowned. "But uhm, there's not really an easy way to say this but I'm not exactly in your grade. I missed a bunch of school last year because of shit and I failed the grade so I'm kind of doing a bunch of catching up right now and-"

"Hey, hey, hey," He said softly and assuringly, cutting Lucas' ramble off. Lucas took a breath, holding it like he was expecting the worst answer from him. But Jens only reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently in attempts to calm him down. "You don't need to explain yourself so much. It's all good I promise. I'm don't really care about that, I just care about if you want to do it and all that."

Smiling, Lucas exhaled a high of relief. "Okay, yeah, of course. Yes, I would like to do that. A lot."

"I'm glad." He smiled back at him. "I have some extra notes from last year I could bring along if you wanted."

"That would be great."

Both of them stayed there, smiling softly at each other, Jens' hand still on his shoulder. None of them said anything else, both of them feeling too much of a high.

"Jens!" Ralph's voice called out from a few aisles them, startling the both of them.

He turned around as Lucas looked over his shoulder to see Ralph emerging.

"Your shift is done." He told him, before noticing Lucas was there as well. Looking at him confusingly, Ralph nodded towards him. "Luc? What are you doing here? Your shift ended half an hour ago."

"Uhm." Was all Lucas could muster and Jens was equally as speechless.

Looking between the two, Ralph noticed the hand on Lucas' shoulder, their close proximately, both of their blushed cheeks and nervous smiles. Ralph took a few more seconds to asses the scene, until he finally clapped his hands and gasped.

"Fucking finally!" He exclaimed. "You guys took forever to finally ask each other put, I was beginning to think it wasn't ever going to happen."

"Ralph!" They both cried in unison.

"What!" Ralph said, in defence. "You both are hopeless. You think your shifts lining up was coincidence? No, that was my doing babes. I was starting to think you didn't even consider that to be a coincidence."

"We didn't." They both said again as Ralph just rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, seriously?" He said in disbelief. You guys aren't very subtle with your staring and trying to wander off during your breaks. Luc, you're my roommate. Every shift you had where Jens even made one visit had you coming home in the best mood, even on days you dealt with the worst customers. It made me want to schedule you more. And Jens, you have never came early or even on time for a shift until Lucas. That was a character change for you, but it did benefit your hours."

"Well thanks for that." Jens snorted and Lucas placed a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

"So when's the date?" Ralph asked excitedly.

Taking a look over at Lucas and smirking slightly, he quickly winked at him before turning around to face Ralph again.

"Well, it is a Saturday evening and me and Lucas are both off now so," Looking back at Lucas, he smiled. "How would you feel about going on a date right now?"

"Would you recommend me to say yes?" Lucas responded teasingly.

"Depends, do you actually like what you're about to get into?"

"This time? Yes." Lucas giggled before taking his turn to wink at Jens. "You're my cup of tea."

Jens had lost the rest of the brothers.

He isn’t quite sure how it happened but since none of them had returned his text messages or phone calls (Sander and Robbe probably too lost in their own little world and Moyo and Aaron probably too busy being dumbasses in the red light district) he decided to go visit the Van Gogh museum. Jens hasn’t always wanted to go there, but he’s developed a greater appreciation for art since he started making his own music, finding inspiration from paintings and drawings.

So, that’s where he finds himself right now: In awe in front of Van Gogh’s sunflower painting, wondering how a simple vase with yellow flowers can be so beautiful that he doesn’t want to stop staring at it. The audio guide he got is softly speaking into his ear about Van Gogh’s use of colour and pointing out that even though some flowers seem to be dying, it only makes the painting more authentic and grounded in reality.

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When you get this you have to answer with 5 things u like about yourself, publicly. Then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) 🐥🌸

ily <3 (also shoutout to @skam-luart-mix for sending me this as well, ily2 <3)

(also had to ponder on this a lot because idk what i actually do like about myself)

1. my handwriting is nice to look at i think- i do wish it was a little different in terms of its style but it’s quite cute

2. i like the way i romanticize little things about life. it makes life way more enjoyable and it helps put things in a more optimistic perspective, especially when i’m more drawn to pessimism.

3. i like how in touch i am with my culture, even though i’m born in a western country and can’t speak my mother tongue. but i love participating in traditions and practices, eating/making cultural food and being able to understand my mother tongue fluently.

4. i like the fact i’m very confident with having short hair. as an afab, i’ve been told many times that my short hair doesn’t look good because it makes me look less like a “girl”. but even before i identified as non-binary, i was always in love with having short hair and the femininity i felt along with it.

5. i love the way i decorate my bedroom(s). i love maximalism and over decorating my space with things that make me happy and i love how colourful and vibrant it all is. i love the little trinkets i keep and all the posters i have hung up. i love when my surroundings represent me.