fluff fluff fluff!

warning: sexual themes!

*

Andy stops by her dorm building to drop her stuff off before going to Rhysand's.

But now she sees it might have been a bad idea.

There's a mop of brown and strawberry-blonde hair on MJ's bed. Andy gasps as soon as she comes in, slapping a hand to her mouth. Her other hand drops the bag she's holding and it lands on the floor with a loud thud.

The brown hair raises his head. His eyes are barely open. "Are you Andy?" he rasps quietly.

"Y-yeah," Andy says, blinking. "Who are you?"

"Sorry," he mutters. "But don't wake her up. She needs sleep."

Her shoulders slump. "Are you Adrian?"

"Yeah." He smiles sleepily. Wow, that is charming. "MJ didn't know you were coming back today. Sorry, this must be so awkward for you."

As quietly as she can, she tiptoes inside the room and sets her bag on her desk. Adrian watches her. "What about the contract?"

He blinks. "Huh?"

"The contract you and MJ had," Andy clarifies, crossing her arms against her chest. "You said no hooking up."

He smiles, chuckling once. "We're, uh." Adrian runs a hand through his messy hair. "Figuring our shit out. We want the contract void."

"I see." Andy bites her lip. "I'm leaving, anyway. So stay here as long as you—she wants."

MJ stirs in her sleep and snuggles closer to him.

Adrian shoots Andy a sheepish look. "Thank you," he whispers, cradling the back of MJ's head.

Andy reminds herself that what they do and have is not her business. Her friend knows what she's doing, and all she needs to do is to be there for her when things go south.

Rhysand curls his fingers in her hair. "Are you still thinking about them?"

Andy huffs and turns over on her stomach, propping her chin on top of his torso. "It's just—it's so confusing. Isn't MJ scared he's going to hurt her again?"

"She loves him," Rhysand says, shrugging. "And she wants to trust him again. Maybe that's what's happening right now. You said it's been two years since they broke up, and MJ hasn't moved on. Neither has he."

Andy scrunches her nose. "I guess." She sighs. "Well, it's up to MJ, anyway. My job as her friend is to be there for her."

Rhysand hums and brushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "What do you want to do today?"

She hugs him around his waist and pretends to think about it real hard. It's a Sunday, and it's one of the few days that Andy has Rhysand's complete attention because he's free of any work. Andy cherishes these days, but she feels like she's neglecting the other resident in the house. "I feel like we're third-wheeling Jenner a lot," she says, smiling up at him. "He helps me do the laundry around here, you know."

He raises an eyebrow. "Is that a jab at me? I cook and clean."

Andy laughs. "It's not, babe. I just want to hang out with him with you. Without, you know, rubbing it in his face that we're together."

"So...as friends?"

Andy nods. "As friends."

"No."

So they take Jenner with them, who, at first, grumbles about being the third wheel again, but Andy promises and makes Rhysand promise that they're all hanging out together as friends. Jenner brightens and hooks his arm with Andy and Rhysand, and pulls them along for a game of laser tag.

And turns out, Rhysand doesn't care about Andy when he's being competitive.

Andy's crouching, hiding against the wall and bracing her laser gun against her chest. She just ran away from one of the three other people they're playing against, and she's been hit. Badly.

She stands up, ready to hunt to gain her points back, but Rhysand is standing a couple of feet away, pointing his gun at her. "Don't move."

Andy raises her palms hesitantly. "Rhys. You wouldn't."

He takes a few steps forward. "Sorry, Sanford. We're friends, remember?"

She reaches for her gun, but Rhysand has already hit her multiple times before she can even aim her gun at him. When she can finally take the shot, Rhysand is gone.

"Asshole," Andy mutters, pouting.

So it's no surprise that Rhysand wins the game. Jenner follows after him with a few points short. Andy comes in second to the last.

Jenner's laughing. "Rhys, you're ruthless."

"And petty," Andy huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's so mean."

Rhysand shoves his hands in his pockets and looks at her, eyes twinkling. "What? You said we're hanging out as friends. If we were friends, this is what I would've done."

"But if we weren't?" Andy asks, narrowing her eyes at him.

"If we weren't, I would've kissed you and helped you not come in last." He shrugs, walking off.

"I'm not last!" Andy half-yells after him, frowning.

Jenner's still laughing. He throws an arm over Andy's shoulder. "You know I don't care if you guys are all couple-y and shit, right? I was rooting for you both since the day Rhys begged me to go with him to campus so he doesn't look like a stalker."

Andy wraps her arm around his waist and narrows her eyes at Rhysand's figure. "I know. But this just became personal."

Jenner snickers. "Yeah, like you would do anything against Rhysand."

He eats his words later, mouth hanging open. "Andy. You—"

She dusts off her hands and gives Rhysand a sweet smile. "Sorry, friend."

It's a two out of three match, and Andy won the first two, racing to five goals before Rhysand can even score more than one point.

Jenner throws his head back and laughs loudly. "Fucking—she crushed you, bro!"

Rhysand exhales heavily with his jaw tight. He stands up straight from leaning on the foosball table and mutters, "Let's eat."

"Good, I'm starving." Andy grins and drags Jenner out of the arcade.

The rest of the night has Andy and Rhysand kicking each other under the table, and they've resorted to calling each other 'friend' in pettiness ("Pass me the salt, friend." "Get it yourself, friend."). But while Jenner goes to check out a new video game, Rhysand faces Andy with an eyebrow raise. "You don't wanna kiss me and cut out this bullshit?"

"You started it," Andy argues, grinning.

"You proposed it."

"We are ending this night as friends. You can kiss me when we're home."

Rhysand does—hard. Pushes her against the door of his bedroom, slipping his hands under her shirt. "You're fuckin' insufferable," he mutters against her lips, then tilts his head to move to her neck. "So annoying."

"You're infuriating," Andy breathes in return, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, leaning her head back. Rhysand traps her to the door. "So cocky..."

"I can't believe you beat me at foosball," Rhysand rasps, sliding his hand under her skirt. "Where the fuck did you learn to play fuckin' foosball?"

She lets him pull down her underwear and pants heavily. "Dad taught me. And I didn't just beat you—I, ah, crushed you—"

"Gonna make you regret it," Rhysand says. "Color?"

"Green, green, Rhys—"

It's only until she's a whining, sobbing mess that Rhysand lets her reach her release.

When Andy takes a shower, her legs are still shaking. Rhysand laughs softly and pulls her to him. "Should I apologize?"

"No," Andy says shyly, shaking her head. "I liked it."

"Good." He kisses her head. "Go to sleep."

"Love you," Andy mutters sleepily.

Rhysand tangles his legs with hers. "I'm sorry about laser tag."

She grins and buries her head deeper into his chest. "No you're not."

"You're right, I'm not." He's smiling. "Night, baby. I love you."

*

Andy's application as a volunteer gets accepted.

She's supposed to come in to school thrice a week and assist in classes, in the library, lunchroom, and school office. Besides this, she's supposed to tutor and mentor students, and to help teachers prepare their learning materials and assist them in school activities and events.

Andy is excited.

Rhysand makes them both coffee as soon as she's dressed and ready to leave. Thankfully, the elementary school is on the way to Sterling, and Rhysand can drop her off before going to work. She feels giddy that she can spend mornings with her boyfriend like this.

It feels domestic. It's nice.

"How do I look?" she asks, twirling around. For her first day, she chose a blush-colored blouse that matches her nails, tucked in a cream short skirt fitted around the hips. Her hair is down and curled over her shoulder.

"Like a teacher I'd fuck," Rhysand answers, leaning against the counter.

Andy flushes and takes a seat. "Always so foul-mouthed."

"Beautiful, then." He sets her tumbler in front of her. "I like the colors."

"Thank you." She smiles brightly at him and takes a sip of her coffee. "Did Jenner leave already?"

"Yeah, the buffoon has a meeting at ten." He picks up his own tumbler and bag. "Ready to go, sunshine?"

She nods and jumps down the stool, bringing her coffee with her and shouldering her bag.

He kisses her before she steps out of the Jeep. "Watch your skirt," he says, raising his eyebrow. "And you're done at five, right?"

Andy nods, reaching out to brush his hair briefly with her fingers. "Yeah."

He catches her fingers and presses a kiss on her knuckles. "If I can, I'll pick you up."

"No need." She sticks her free hand in her bag and pulls out a lollipop. "MJ is picking me up after work and we're going to Sabina's. I'll text you, babe. And don't smoke and don't forget to eat."

Rhysand grins and takes the lollipop in his mouth. "Have fun on your first day."

Andy kisses him one last time and opens the door. "Thank you for dropping me off. Bye!"

She waves at him and watches the Jeep drive away. Then, she takes a deep breath, runs her fingers through her hair quickly, and walks in the school.

Mrs. Florence, the secretary, welcomes her warmly as soon as she steps inside the office. "Andy, is it? Good morning, love!"

"Good morning, Mrs. Florence," she says, smiling so wide and accepting the hug. "And yes, it's Andy."

She's plump, wrinkles all over her face, but her smile feels so warmhearted and kind that she looks younger than her years. "We've been so excited waiting for you! How are you feeling? Come, sit!"

She walks Andy through the process—she'll need to sign in and out in the office every morning and afternoon, and she'll be assigned different tasks for every day she comes in. The students, she tells Andy, are lovely and adorable, and if she's good with kids she won't have a hard time at all. The teachers are also approachable and ready to take Andy under their wing for assistance, so she can gather as much experience and insight into becoming a teacher herself.

She's excited. Mrs. Florence gifts her a pen with the school name written on it for her first day, and then she's sent to the teachers' lounge to assist Ms. Nguyen, the science teacher.

It's bustling with quiet noise of papers when she comes in. They raise their heads, and Andy steps in with a shy smile. "Good morning. I'm Andy Sanford, the new volunteer—"

"Good to have a new face around here," one of the male teachers says, eyes twinkling as he reads her from head to toe. His nameplate on the desk reads Mr. Campbell.

"Lovely to meet you!" a voice shouts from another cubicle, grinning widely and waving her hand. "I'm Rose Mitchell!"

"Andy, over here," a small voice calls, and Andy's head whips around to face Ms. Nguyen. She's also wearing a warm smile. "You're mine for the day, aren't you?"

She laughs and makes her way over. "Yes, I believe so, Ms. Nguyen."

Her desk is cluttered with artworks and stacks of papers, coloring materials and books. She has a mug beside her laptop with a picture of her and a baby. "Please call me Olivia," she says, pulling out a chair and gesturing for Andy to sit. "We'll get to know the rest of the teachers later on. You wanna see the lesson plan first?"

Andy nods and scoots closer to the desk. "Yes, please."

Olivia lets Andy know everything she needs to know for her classes for the day and what she needs to do to assist her. "There are some kids in my two o'clock class who have a hard time grasping the concept," she explains, looking at her. "I already informed their parents about tutoring lessons, so maybe we can start with them tomorrow. Have you tutored before?"

"Not kids," Andy answers honestly. "But I can do it, Ms. Ng—Olivia. I'm great with them."

She smiles. "Good, I'm glad. They're going to love you. Our first class is at nine, so you can look over these materials first. I'm going to get coffee, you want some?"

Andy raises her tumbler. "I'm good, Ms—Olivia." She laughs, catching herself. "I'm sorry, I'll have to get used to calling you by your name. And thank you for asking."

She chuckles and stands up. "You're so polite, Andy. I like you already. I have a feeling we're going to work well together."

Andy hopes so, too.

And apparently, Olivia was right—the kids love her. As soon as she walks in, they crowd around her like a couple of bees and Andy's heart warms and fills with joy looking at their excited faces. The teacher laughs and sends them back to their seats before placing a hand on Andy's shoulder. "Kids, this is Andy. She's going to help me with my classes today. What do you say?"

"Hello, Andy!" they all cheer collectively. Andy wants to coo—they're so cute!

"Now, I know she's pretty, but focus on our lesson today, okay?"

Andy flushes. The kids yell back an, "Okay, Ms. Nguyen!"

And the rest of her classes go on that way—Andy has a hard time leaving each classroom because of how they hug her legs, asking her millions of questions. Olivia shakes her head with a grin and pulls Andy along for lunch. "It's been a while since we've had a volunteer. And the last one wasn't as bright and cheerful as you."

Andy follows her with a grin. It's only been half a day and she loves it already. "They're so excited. And they listen to you so well."

"They're smart," the teacher says with a wink. "Come on, the food in the cafeteria is good. You can meet the other teachers."

Andy eats with Olivia and the math teacher, Rose, who's so easygoing as she looks that Andy has a hard time following her flow of conversation. Mr. Campbell from earlier, the language teacher, insists on calling him Lucas. He doesn't talk much and regards Andy with a quiet stare. In the lounge, Andy meets Michael Turner for social studies, Mia Campbell, Lucas's wife, for art and music, and Benjamin Cook for reading. There are part-time teachers who come in thrice a week, too.

Mrs. Florence asks Andy to help Amelia in the lunchroom with the kids before her two o'clock class. Rose comes with her.

"You have a partner, Andy?"

Her straightforward question almost makes her choke on her saliva. "Um, yes."

Rose gasps, eyes widening. "I figured. You're so pretty. How long have you been together?"

"Thank you, you are too. And a year and a month," Andy answers quietly, smiling. "What about you, Ms. Mitch—Rose?"

"I'm married!" she exclaims, grinning from ear to ear, shoving her hand in Andy's face. A gleaming silver band is on her finger. "Emma and I are talking about adoption, but we haven't settled it yet."

"That's great!" Andy says honestly, staring at her ring. "Wow, congratulations."

"Thank you so much!" Rose hooks her arm with Andy's and leads the way to the lunchroom. "These kids are very messy when they eat, so we have to look after them. Your next class is at two, right?"

When MJ picks her up, Andy is exhausted. Her friend is biting her lip, looking her over, as she settles in the passenger seat and buckles her seatbelt. "Rough first day?"

"It was amazing, actually," Andy says tiredly, leaning back against the car seat. "The teachers and the secretary were so nice and I love the work. But kids have so much energy. I'm beat."

"You look like it," MJ says, snickering. She pulls over to the main road. "Sabina said she cooked for us, so let's eat and go home. I had meetings all day, too."

Andy takes out her phone to message Rhysand. "What happened between you and Adrian?"

MJ shushes her, placing a finger on her lips. "We'll talk with Sab, bub, so she can smack me in the head and yell at me for being stupid."

Andy laughs and types her message. Babe, going to Sab's now I'm so tired but I had an amazing day and I love the kids and they're all so nice :( <333

Rhysand responds immediately. Happy for you, sunshine :) Let me know when you're going home.

Andy sends him a kiss emoji. Rhysand sends a heart back.

"Look at this!" Andy squeals, thrusting her phone in MJ's face, forgetting she's driving. "Rhys sent me a heart!"

MJ slaps it away. "And what about it?"

"He always sends a smiley face." Andy can't stop smiling. She hugs the phone to her chest. "He sent a heart!"

The ginger sighs and shakes her head fondly.

Sabina does smack MJ in the head, but she doesn't yell at her. She only says, "I told you you'll be jumping his bones. That contract was bull."

MJ chugs down her glass of wine. "I want him back."

"Surprise, surprise," Sabina says to Andy. "At least she got her shit together. After having her guts rearranged."

MJ tackles Sabina on the couch.

They talk about her new job, and MJ's work as the Chaucer heir, and Andy's volunteering experience. It's nearing midnight when they finally leave, and Andy throws herself headfirst on her mattress when they get home.

Rhysand calls her.

Andy reaches for her phone with difficulty and answers it, closing her eyes. "Hi," she mutters sleepily.

He's smiling when he says, "Tired?"

Andy hums.

"Take off your makeup first, baby. And change your clothes."

"Don't want to." Andy groans, not wanting to move from her position anymore.

"You'll wake up annoyed if you don't," Rhysand tells her. "Come on, up."

Andy groans again and heads to the bathroom. "Fine," she grumbles, eyes blearily blinking at the light. "Wish you were here to take it off me."

"The makeup or the clothes?"

"Both," Andy says, facing the mirror.

Rhysand chuckles. "You're so sleepy."

Andy nods and bends down slowly to grab her makeup remover and pads. "Stop working and go to sleep, okay?"

Rhysand hums. "Night, sunshine."

"Goodnight." Andy smiles. "Thank you for the heart."

"It's yours now, anyway."

"You're so cheesy," Andy whines, covering her face with her hand. "Why did I ever think you were scary and intimidating?"

Rhysand scoffs. "I still am."

Andy laughs. "Okay, big guy. Go to sleep."

"Night, baby."

Andy goes to sleep smiling.

*

everything's so fine and dandy they're so cute :''''') 

thank you for all your comments, they make my day so much :c see you on tuesday!!