Warning: Steamy ending;)
—(Y/N)'s P.O.V.—

Hating Zane Truesdale is proving to be harder than I thought.
Don't get me wrong, not having the urge to punch him in the throat immediately on sight is definitely a feeling I don't miss, but it's harder to hide my meetings with him. And I wouldn't have this problem, but when I come home happier than when I left, Syrus starts to get curious about where I've been.
I just can't afford to tell Sy yet. I just need to know that his older brother's positive presence is going to stick, and hiding my friendship with Zane from Syrus keeps him at a distance and keeps me a step ahead.
But Zane's positive impact is starting to become something I can't hide, and I find myself in a prime example of why this is such a problem.
Zane's texting me, and Syrus is in the room, so when the smile on my face appears, Syrus' eyebrows raise, "Who's that?"
Freezing up, I say, "Someone from The Gutters. Thinkin' 'bout going there later,"
"Uh, cool. Can I come?" As Syrus asks, Nicky comes out of his room.
"Where are we going?"
Nicky's had an obsession with dueling since he could walk, and especially since I got my pro title, so I can't fake out of this.
If Nicky thinks we're going to The Gutters, we're going to The Gutters.
I sigh, "Wanna go watch us street duel?"

.....

I close my door as I hear Nicky's exited footsteps run to his shared room to get his shoes.
Walking over to my nightstand, I pick up my phone and fasten my duel box onto my thigh holster.
I hit the text back option on my phone and respond to Zane.

Z
What are you doing today?

(Y/N)
Me and the boys are heading to The Gutters today if you wanna bump into us
Maybe see Sy duel for fun?
Interested?

Z
Very
What time?

(Y/N)
ASAP
just waiting for Nicky to stuff his laces in his shoes, or force Sy to tie them for him

Z
Who knows, Syrus could teach him how to tie his shoes himself :)
Maybe see you soon

Chuckling at my screen, I put it in my pocket and put my shoes on at the front door, "Boys, are you ready?"

.....

Syrus got into the dueling scene as soon as we arrived, leaving me with an overeager, albeit adorable ten year old.
And though he's adorable, and I love him, I can only see him like this for an hour before I get extremely tired.
"Look over there!" Nicky starts pulling my hand and making a beeline to a random platform where a duel's taking place, "That guy has a Summoned Skull!"
"Yeah, it's pretty cool, huh?" I look up at the holographic demon, "You could have him in your deck one day, then you might be able to beat me," I pull Nicky closer to me before he runs to another platform that has a cool monster on the field.
"Attack points aren't everything, y'know," a voice behind me says, "being a good duelist requires a lot more than the cards in your deck,"
I know that voice. That voice used to send chills of dread down my spine; now, I smile with genuine happiness as I turn around and come face to face with Zane Truesdale.
And I soon as I see his getup, I stifle a laugh in my throat, "What the hell are you wearing?"
Zane is wearing the most intentionally incognito outfit I've ever seen. Black converse with black jeans and a dark grey hoodie covering a black t-shirt; however, the most conspicuously inconspicuous part of his wardrobe has to be the black baseball cap with a black face mask and black sunglasses.
"Did you're middle school crush just reject you?" I ask, and put my hand on my chest in faux pity, "Is your room covered in Fall Out Boy posters? What happened man?" I continue to throw questions at Zane while I walk him and Nicky in the direction of Syrus' duel, much to Nicky's protest.
"I'm trying to be low-key," I'm sure I'd see an eye roll with Zane's comment if his glasses didn't get in the way, "This is the kind of place where I would get recognized a lot. I'm starting to see why you hide your face for duels,"
"I thought I hid because Astor was ashamed of me?" I crack a small smile before I turn to face Zane and pout.
"Why would Astor be ashamed of you?" Nicky asks, "You're the best duelist I know,"
This sends warmth throughout my chest accompanied by an ache in my gut.
"Thanks Nicky," I say as we arrive at Syrus' platform, the duel seeming to be in the home stretch, "But I was just joking. Zane made a joke awhile ago so I was just rubbing his face in it,"
"Oh, ok," Nicky turns back to the duel and starts cheering Sy on.
Zane leans into my ear, "he doesn't know?"
I look at Zane and shake my head, "he already missed out on so many normal things, I just don't  want to ruin his blissful ignorance for a while. It's one thing to have lost your parents, it's another to know how awful they were and how desperate I was to get away from them,"
Zane nods and turns back to the game, waving at Syrus who waves back, "I get wanting to protect your sibling, you're a good sister. Willing to do so much for him," Zane nudges my arm.
I form a small smile and give Zane a side glance, "Wow, that was embarrassing for you,"
At this point, Syrus sees us and freezes up.
The next few moves Sy makes in his duel are self destructive and are taking him farther away from the easy win he was building to earlier. I grasp is eyes and hold them for a moment.
I visually breathe in and out and give Syrus a warm smile, and he knows. He knows, in that moment at least, that it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter if he loses, and it doesn't matter if Zane is watching.
Because if he loses, if Zane sees it all happen, I'll be there.
Syrus' eyes flicker over to Zane, and Zane knows what to do. He pulls down his mask and gives Sy a small smile. Syrus closed his eyes and takes a breath, and when his eyes open, we could see he was ready to dive back in.

.....

Nicky runs up to his now victorious roommate, "That was awesome! Nice comeback, Sy," The younger of the two raises his fist.
The bluenette chuckles and makes his own fist to bump Nicky's. Sy then looks beyond Nicky and waves to me and Zane, before Nicky drags him to another duel platform, insisting that he has to face someone.
I wave back and flicker my eyes over Zane to see his hand is also up.
After Sy and Nicky are out of sight, I turn to Zane, "Did you see that? He was great," as I say this, I look through the platforms and see a pour soul standing on one end of the platform, clearly waiting for someone to fill the opposing slot. I link my arm with Zane's and started to pull him, "C'mon,"
"Why are you dragging me?" Zane let's out a breathy laugh, "Shouldn't we see where Syrus and your brother are?"
"They both have phones, and I trust Sy," I slow my pace as we reach the lonely duelist, before letting go of Zane, "We do this all the time, trust me," When Zane nods in approval, I look up to the boy on the platform, "Hey, you need an opponent?"
"Huh? Oh! Y-yeah, yeah, I was waiting for someone," the boy, clearly unwilling to make eye contact, nods his head. He looks down at his deck but raises one of his arms up to the opposite dueling platform, "Feel free,"
"Thanks," I smile, and turn to Zane, "You can duel yourself if you don't wanna watch my match, and I guess you can go find Syrus, as long as Nicky's with Syrus at all times,"
"Wow, a ten year old chaperone?" Zane snorts, "Nah, I'll stay here,"
"Okay, good luck not getting bored," I smile. When I get elevated to my competition, I get my deck at the ready, "I'm (Y/N), what's your name?"
"I-I'm Julian," the kid stammers, "Ready?"

.....

"Good game, kid," I smile, "You had me there for a bit," as soon as I reach the ground, I walk towards Julian and offer him a hand, "I do think you should have held off in your Monster Reborn until you're Jinzo was in the graveyard, though,"
Julian averts his gaze and puts his deck in his pocket, "Yeah, I know I'm not that good at dueling,"
"Hey, I never said that," I let out a small laugh, "You definitely have a good feel of the game, and you have a strong deck," I kneel down to his level and hold out my hand, "Could you show me your deck? I might have some pointers for you,"
Julian let out a small gasp, "Y-you wanna help me?"
"Sure," I grin, "What's the harm of another good duelist in the world? I could use some competition,"
Julian quickly nods and pulls out his deck, and I shuffle through it.
"Okay," I say, "let's start with your Jinzo,"

—Zane's P.O.V.—

What is she doing?
I walk up to (Y/N) and the kid she was dueling who are now sitting on the floor with his deck spread out and cards in various piles.
By the time I walk up up completely, (Y/N) is already smiling up at me, something I haven't really seen before. Not casually, anyway, "Hey, dude. What's up?"
I shift my head to the series of platforms, "We should go find the boys, shouldn't we?"
(Y/N) nods and gathers up the kid's cards and hands them to him, "Yeah, I should go, Julian," She holds up her hand for him to high five, "See you around?" Julian nods.
I hold out my hand and (Y/N) grabs it to pull herself up. She has a strong grip, and her hands are calloused but warm.
As we walk away, Julian calls back, "See you, (Y/N)!"
I raise my eyebrow and turn to (Y/N), "You told him your real name?"
"Yeah, I don't really hide who I am here," she explains while pulling out her phone and typing on it, "I usually duel here to work out kinks in my deck, and I've been coming here since before I joined any league. A lot of people just know me from seeing me around, so I have no reason to hide," (Y/N)'s phone buzzes and she looks down, "Nicky says Syrus is in a duel by the back. Third platform from the fence,"
"Alright, let's go," I grab her hand without thinking and pull her to the back. (Y/N) grips my hand harder as she catches up to my pace and we weave through the dueling crowds.
"There they are," (Y/N) says as she starts pulling me in a different direction. When we arrive to we're (Y/N)'s brother is, she quickly pulls her hand away.
I heavy feeling sets in my stomach when she does.
"Hey Nicky," She kneels down to his level and points up to Syrus, "What's the play-by-play?"
"Syrus is winning, he's up 1500 life points from him," Nicky points to Sy's opponent, "And his next attack should get him the win,"
"Good for him," (Y/N) smiles, "You've been cheering him on?"
"Who wouldn't?" Nicky smiles, "Syrus is an awesome duelist!"
As Nicky says this, Syrus uses is Cycloid and wins his match. Both (Y/N) and Nicky cheer and clap to an embarrassing degree, though making Syrus smile in the process. When Sy reaches the ground he jogs up and gets monster hugged by his two roommates.
"You were kickass, Sy," Nicky says, separating himself from the hug, "best one of the day, probably,"
"From what I saw you left very little wiggle room for your opponent," (Y/N) laughs and looks over at Syrus' now crying counter duelist, "Not surprising, but still incredible," She lightly punches Syrus' arm and he turns to me.
"What'd you think, Zane?" His eyes are a little nervous but there's still warmth in his smile.
I look down for a moment with a proud grin hiding behind my mask, though I quickly look back up.
"I didn't see much but you were dueling with confidence and decisiveness," I didn't feel the need to filter my thoughts as I pulled down my mask to show a now toned down smile, "You did good,"
Syrus chuckles and looks down at Nicky, "Well, it's easy to be confident when you have a cheerleader. Thanks for that by the way,"
Syrus looks back up at (Y/N), "By the way, I saw Nate earlier and he said that he had tricked out a platform so a new graphic shows up when you summon Fusion Monsters. He told me to send you his way when I found ya,"
At this, (Y/N)'s face lit up, "That sounds really cool! Did you see it yet?" Syrus lightly shakes his head, "Wanna check it out?" Sy nods but Nicky shakes his head.
"Why would I want to see graphics if they're not part of a match?"
(Y/N) just chuckles at this and smiles, "Alright. Me and Sy will go find Nate. Nicky, don't leave Zane's side," Nicky salutes in response and I just roll my eyes.
"Cool, now I'm stuck babysitting,"
(Y/N) just raises her eyebrow, "Yeah, trust me, Nicky's the one watching you," I'm about to laugh, but the look on her face makes it clear that she's not joking. "Okay, have fun!"
With that (Y/N) and Syrus walk off, leaving me with a ten year old.

.....

"Where's your deck?" Was the first thing to come out of Nicky's mouth.
"Why?" I look down at him with a raised eyebrow.
Just because this brat means something to Syrus and (Y/N) doesn't mean I'm gonna be nice to him.
"Why else I would you be here? Duelings the only reason people come here and my sister didn't say you were gonna be hanging out with us, which means you're here to duel," Nicky crosses his arms with a smirk on his face.
Great, he thinks he's Sherlock fucking Holmes.
"I like to scope out competition," Just feeding Nicky the lie I told Shroud when he asked the same question, "Even if they're relative nobodies, good duelists can come from anywhere," I look back up at the duel we're watching, confident I've satisfied this kid's curiosity.
That confidence is short lived, however.
"Are you trying to date my sister so you can steal Syrus?" Was the next thing to come out of Nicky's mouth.
If I was drinking water, I'm sure I'd do a spit take.
"What kind of question is that?" My eyes go wide and I don't know if I'll ever get them to close again, "Why do you think I'm doing that?"
"You're not answering the question," Nicky's eyes narrow, "Are you using (Y/N) to steal Syrus, yes or no?"
"No, god no," I sputter out. How this child has me sweating out of anxiety is still unclear, "Now back to my question, why do you think I would do that?"
"You've made my family cry," Nicky looks down at the ground, wether he's angry or sad isn't very obvious. Maybe he's both, "I don't know a lot about you, and that's because Syrus never used to talk about you unless he had to. Until you met with my sister and Syrus a couple weeks ago, I thought you were tying to kidnap Syrus. They think I don't know, but I do. They came back at three a.m. and Syrus was tired but (Y/N) looked happy," Nicky looks back up, with as serious a face as he can muster, "I saw you holding her hand earlier, she was smiling. She doesn't like it when people touch her, but she was smiling,"
This little kid is fucking astute, "I'm not dating your sister, kid. And I'm not trying to steal Syrus, either,"
"But you were, and you hurt all of my family because you were being selfish," Nicky crosses his arms and looks back up at the duel, "Don't hurt them ever again, or you'll be sorry,"
Though I'm sure Nicky was spouting off nothing more than school yard taunts, his words sent a chill down my spine.
I sigh and look down at Nicky, taking off my glasses so he can see my eyes, "I won't, I swear. But I want you to know that I'll be around more, and that's because I want to reunite properly with my brother," Nicky looks back at me and his eyes soften a little, "I'm really sorry this is how you're meeting me, and I'm sorry for how I've made your family feel, but I really want to make it so that Syrus can talk about me freely, maybe then you can know me better without threatening me," me and Nicky both laugh a little, "Seriously though, genuinely scary stuff,"
Nicky smiles with a hint of pride, "(Y/N) taught me to stand up for myself, and she's said the best way to do that is to be blunt,"
I smile, "Yeah, that sounds like her, she kinda scares me too," Nicky pouts so I reassure him, "In a good way, though. She's strong, she's clearly a good sister that way,"
"Hmph!" Nicky beams a bit and smiles when the duelist he was routing for wins, "She was right, too, you have really blue eyes,"
I freeze.
"What?" I ask as Nicky pulls on my hoodie to drag me to the next duel he's interested in, "What did you say?"
"She said your eyes were really blue," Nicky explains without looking back at me, "When she and Sy came back at 3 a.m. I was in the bathroom and the last thing I heard her say before she went to bed was her mumbling that your eyes were 'so fucking blue'," he lets go of me to use air quotes, but I'm so stunned that I barley comprehend that I'm still walking, or when I stop at another platform, "She was right,"
I nod a little and mumble, "That's what I thought you said," a ghost of a smile spread on my lips without thinking about it.
Nicky just stares up at me.
"Don't kiss her,"
That snaps me out of any thought process I was in, "What?"
"Don't kiss her. Not unless you date her, otherwise that's just a jerk move. And you don't seem like you date people," Before Nicky can keep hassling me, he gets a text, "(Y/N) says to meet them at the last platform by the fence," Nicky reads out before starting to walk, "She says Nate's new effect is really cool," Nicky turns back to me, "C'mon!"
I snort and start walking.
Just because I don't have to be nice to the kid doesn't mean I can't respect him.

.....

Walking up to the platform I find Syrus and (Y/N) with a third person, a man around me and (Y/N)'s age.
When we got close enough, (Y/N) turns to me, "Zane, this is Nate. Nate, Zane,"
Nate holds out a hand but I don't take it, my eyes harden, though my glasses make it so he can't tell, "Yeah, you're a duelist too right?"
"Yes, yes I am," I'm already finding hard to hide my contempt for this man, "Are you?"
Nate shakes his head, "Me? No, I could never really get into the game, not like (Y/N) can, anyway," Nate nudges her playfully and I do my best to hold back my urge to punch his lights out when (Y/N) visually stiffens and forms a tight smile on her face.
She doesn't like being touched, asshole.
Her stiffness doesn't stick around for long when she shakes her head lightly, "Nate may not play, but he's hoping to get into Kaiba Corps programming internship next year. He's an incredible graphics designer," she looks back at me with a new found smile before looking down to her brother, "That's why we texted you guys actually, check this out,"
She and Syrus run to separate ends of the platform, and get ready to duel.

As soon as (Y/N) and Syrus start summoning monsters, Nate starts typing commands on his laptop that's connected to the control panel inside of the holographic field, "See, I've been working on new ways to individualize summoning rituals, and so I created unique graphics for different summons......."
I swear to God, listening to this guy talk is giving me a migraine. 

......

As the duel ends, I find that I have six ways of how to kill Nate with his laptop planned in my head. It's the only escape from his voice.
I look over to Nicky, who is clearly as tired as I am, only he makes his exhaustion much more clear, "Nate, can you please stop explaining yourself, I can't hear my sister's or Syrus, moves," was the only thing I remember hearing during Nate's monologue, and it wasn't even from Nate.
When Syrus and (Y/N) come back down, (Y/N) looks about ready to leave, "Hey, Nate, I think we're gonna head out. But we'll see ya,"
And with that, the four of us walk out of The Gutters.

......

Before I get into my car, Syrus calls out, "Hey, Zane," I look up, "can I have your number? Y'know so we can plan seeing each other instead of bumping into you?"
My chest tightens a bit, "You wanna see me? Regularly?" Syrus nods and I cautiously look over to (Y/N), who gives me a sarcastic look.
"Don't look at me, I didn't ask for your number,"
Laughing a bit I smile, "Sure, Sy. You got a pen?"

......

When I get home I don't get to take off my hat before I get a text from (Y/N).

(Y/N)
Good day?                            9:15 pm

Z
I suppose....                         9:16 pm

(Y/N)
*Dramatic eye roll*         

Z
Wanna meet up for review?
Could use a drink after listening to Nate talk for twenty minutes

(Y/N)
Genuinely surprised you remembered his name
Sure, Scarlet Lady, 20 mins?

Z
You're on

I smile at my phone before changing out of my low key outfit.

......

When I enter the bar, maybe a little exited to see (Y/N), I frown when I can't find her in our booth.
Maybe I'm early?
"Hey, Zane," I turn to the bar to see a familiar wig on the person I'm looking for.
Right. She's Melissa here.
"Booth?" I ask pointing at the corner I've grown used to.
"Not exactly," she smirks holding up a brown bag with a bottle of scotch as its contents, "We're taking this show on the road," she hops off the stool and waves bye to Mary before hooking her arm in mine like she did when we were walking back from The Gutters the first time and pulls me out of the bar, "Ready to go?"
With you? "Always," I smirk back at her, "let's go,"
When we start walking down the street, she pops off the top of the dark liquor, "So you were yelled at by my brother today," she says, matter-of-fact as she takes the first swig before handing the bottle to me, "How'd that go?"
"If you want me to tell you, I'm gonna need more than a sip of this," I laugh while holding up the scotch.
"Then take a gulp," (Y/N) grins back, "'Cause Nicky says he defended me and Sy's honor, and I'm inclined to believe him,"
"He definitely did, he kept saying how I seem to be better to Syrus since our early morning trip to The Gutters," I left out the comment about my eyes, saving that bullet for the right moment. Instead I take a big swig, feeling the bitter liquid warm me up, and suddenly biting my tongue seems a little less important.
"Yeah, we wanted him to stay at a friends house for that night, but he insisted on staying up until we got back," (Y/N) took back the bottle when I offered it, "that kid's stubborn. Takes after our nana and mom,"
I perk up at this, "You don't talk about your family,"
"Yeah, don't take this personally, but you're not the person I would trust with family secrets," she smiles and sips a little more from the bottle, "Actually take it a little personally,"
"Fair enough," I look over to her to see her cheeks are slightly more pink, the alcohol already setting in a bit. I'm sure I look similar, already feeling loose lipped, "Knowing you now, you clearly had your reasons for doing what you did. I understand what it's like going to great lengths for family,"
(Y/N) stops and looks up at me, eyes moving back and forth across my face.
Shit. Did I do something wrong? My eyes defocus a bit with my deteriorating mental state.
"I know,"
Her voice. Her. Focus on her.
My eyes refocus on a beautiful girl with a bittersweet smile.
I blink furiously, as if my vision is the reason I'm thinking this way. Why doesn't someone who looks like this, who acts like this, who goes so far for the people she loves, why is she smiling at me?
"I'm sorry," I blurt out, her smile fading into worry. Her expression just fuels the sentiment coming out of my mouth, "Shit, I just realized, I've never actually apologized to you. I apologized to Syrus, Astor, hell, even Nicky today, but I've never apologized to you. (Y/N), I'm so sorry, for everything I've done,"
I look through my now blurry vision to (Y/N), whose silhouette moves closer to me and soon her hands guide me to a nearby park bench, "Zane I need you to breathe, you're crying. I know from experience that talking a crying will not let air through," Her voice is the clearest thing I'm experiencing until her hand starts to rub my back, "Breathe,"
I close my eyes for a moment and I just focus on her hand and my own breathing. Eventually I open my eyes to a clear depiction of my shoes. I look up to see (Y/N) with her wig askew.
I gesture to her head, "Your hair's a little messed up," I breathe out.
She blinks for a few moments before smirking and taking off the wig completely, "Well, you must be feeling better for that to be the first thing you say after all that," she tucks the light blue fake hair into her bag before ruffling her (H/C) locks, "Remember when you were apologizing to me?"
I frown a little before going back to staring at my shoes, "I really am sorry,"
"Y'know, I'd believe that a lot more if you were looking at me while saying that," she chuckles.
I turn to her and use my hand to nudge her face to mine, the scent of scotch from her is so inviting, it's making it hard to think properly, "(Y/N), for everything I've done, I'm sorry," I manage and then quickly turning away before the alcohol in my system makes me braver than I feel. Though I quickly realize that my hand is still holding her face, and pull that way too, "Shit sorry, I forgot you don't like to be touched,"
(Y/N) shakes her head back to reality, "Wait, what?"
"Nicky told me that you were smiling when we were holding hands while walking around today, and that it was rare for you to do that because you don't like being touched. And when Nate fucking nudged you, you scowled. So, sorry,"
(Y/N)'s confused expression quickly turns to a smile, "Yeah, it's rare depending on the person. I suppose you're an exception now. More of an exception than Nate, anyway," she chuckles and leans back on the bench, "I like that it bothered you that much, though,"
I laugh and lean back too, "Well, seriously, that guy sucks. Why do you talk to him in any capacity?"
"He's not all bad," (Y/N) shrugs, "Besides he's my weed guy, so I gotta be nice to him,"
At this, I snort, "Now  it all makes sense. You just need something from him. I was so confused when you didn't curbstomp that asshole,"
She lightly swats my arm, "Is it so hard to believe I tolerate people that annoy me?" She stops and her expression falls, "Nope, I just heard that out loud, yeah I would be confused too," (Y/N) starts cracking up at the end of her sentence, making me laugh too.

.....

Taking a breather turns to facing each other on the park bench taking about the different duels we saw today. Analysis, who we wanted to win, how Syrus has improved over time.
Taking about Syrus turned to talking about family. Who raised us, who hurt us, who saved us.
"Nicky has definitely pulled me out of of a rabbit hole more than once," (Y/N) smiles, "Him needing me has definitely kept me together, and him cheering me on has made my life enjoyable. Syrus too, actually,"
"Honestly, I owe Syrus a lot," I nod, "Little siblings can definitely make responsibility more manageable,"
"Well, you can tell him that the next one you see him. I'm glad he asked for your info today. Y'know, the first thing he did when you left was give your number to me, so now I don't have to hide your texts anymore," she nudged me and lost balance, so that's how she ends up leaning into me on the bench.
"Well, not every text," I look down at her, "I get why you're being careful, and it's honestly nice to have a relationship with you outside of Syrus,"
"Man, if getting you drunk is all it takes for you to be nice, I gotta carry whiskey with me more often," (Y/N) laughs.
"Shush, you," I use the arm I have wrapped around her to shake her a bit, but that just ends up with her leaning into me more, "I'm barely drunk anymore,"
"Same," she looks up at me and brushes her nose with mine by accident, "but before it all wears off, I gotta add, you're eyes are remarkably pretty,"
"I know," I smirk. With that remark she pulls away from me.
"Wow, that's the last time I give you a compliment," she gives me a raised brow.
"No, I already knew you thought that," I shake my head, "Nicky told me,"
"What didn't that kid tell you?" (Y/N) sighs, "How did he know?" She asks, talking to herself more than anything.
"He heard you mumble it at three a.m."
"Shit, he's got super hearing," (Y/N) rubs her face and stands up, bringing the now empty bottle with her, "I think I gotta get home,"
I nod and stand up, "Walk me to my car?"

.....

"This is stupid," I groan, "I don't need to do this,"
"If you want you keys back, you gotta. The alphabet backwards, please," (Y/N) dangles my car keys in front of her, "Or do you want me to drive you home again?"
"Fine, go ahead," I say as I get into the passenger seat.
"Wait, really? Sweet," She smiles as she turns on the ignition.
"Buckle up,"
"Shut up, Zane,"

......
—(Y/N)'s P.O.V.—

"Welcome home," I make jazz hands at the smiling man next to me.
"When's the last time you had water?" He raises an eyebrow, "If you're gonna baby me like this, I'm gonna make sure you take care of yourself, too. And you strike me as a person who doesn't drink water,"
"You would be right," I laugh, "I think I had a glass this morning..? Maybe?"
Zane smiles and unbuckles is seatbelt, "That's it, c'mon, you're drinking water,"

I genuinely forgot how nice Zane's place is, "Dude, your kitchen is huge," he laughs as he fills up two glasses with water, "When me and Sy hang out with you, insist we have a big dinner in here,"
Zane brings the water over to the couch where I'm residing, "Can you cook?"
"A couple things, but I was thinking we would order from like six different restaurants for this particular dinner," I chuckle.
Zane holds up his glass for a toast, "To eating to much food with the people we care about,"
I meet his glass, "To the people we care about,"
We both maintain eye contact while we drink, but something in Zane's eyes soften, something that's been happening all day.
Out of curiosity and pure want I pull his face closer and I dive as deep as I can into the teal pools that make him so striking.
Zane also leans closer, though he looks a little lower than my eyes, down to my lips.
"You're eyes really are beautiful," is the last thing I say before my lips collide with his.

I relish in the warmth I expected from him. The pro duelist Hell Kaiser, later the man I learned to know as Zane Truesdale. As I continue to move my lips against his, I find it hard to think about anything else other than the warmth that  emanates from him. All I want right now in this moment is to know all of him.
As this desire takes over my mind, my body reacts in turn. I pull Zane closer and continue to keep my lips connected with his as I swing my leg over his and straddle him.
This makes him gasp, giving me the opportunity to sneak my tongue into his mouth.
Before I let my hands explore the rest of him, I pull myself away from his body, pulling a whine from Zane in the process.
"Is this okay?" I search his eyes for any doubt, only to find none.
"Yes, fuck yes," is all he's able to say before diving back to my lips, having one of his hands rise up to hold my hair and the back of my head, pulling me closer. His other hand slides down my back and rests on my hip. Meanwhile, my hands glide down his chest only the climb back up and push his jacket off his shoulders.
Zane eventually pulls away and stares up at me. His breathing heavy, his hair a mess, his lips swollen, and his eyes darkened from pure desire.
I have never seen anything this beautiful.
"Bedroom?" Is all he asks before I nod.
He moves both his hands down to my thighs before he stands up, taking me with him. My legs wrap around him and he walks us to his room, kicking the door closed behind us.

Yeah, it's getting really hard to hate Zane Truesdale.

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Does anyone want smut in the next chapter cause I'm kinda considering it.
Anyway, really long chapter with some major payoffs! Brb, gonna go into hibernation for a minute

Word count: 5966