The Artists Next Door (SKZ x F!Reader)

Chapter 12

Baby 🤗
Hey, I'm five minutes out from your house!
Just wanted to let you know you can bring
Brownie!

Y/N
Okay! I'm sure he'll be happy to get out 😊

I grab Brownie's harness, quickly putting it on him as I attach the leash to the harness. I lace up my shoes, and grab my purse just in time for the doorbell ring.

I get a hold on Brownie's leash before opening the door to see I.N.'s happy smile. He gives Brownie a quick scratch between his ears before he moves in to give me a hug.

"Hey Y/N! You ready to go?" He tilts his head to the side as he reaches out his hand for me to grab onto.

"Yep! Let's go!" I place my small hand in his large one. I follow him out the door, making sure to close and lock it behind me before letting Brownie in the backseat of Innie's car and moving to the passenger seat where he already opened the door for me.

After getting in, he puts my seatbelt on me before closing the door and jogging back to the driver side.

As soon as he gets in the car, I can't help my self from saying it, "What a gentleman." I look over at him and giggle when I see his smile.

"Chivalry doesn't have to be dead, Y/N." He gives me a look, before he puts the car in reverse, his right hand finding purchase on the back of my head rest as he begins to pull out of the spot to start our drive towards our destination.

"So are you gonna tell me what you've chosen for us to do today?" I give him an exasperated look. He can't help but chuckle after glancing at my face.

"We're gonna go on a picnic, I've got everything in the trunk. I wasn't gonna tell you but I can tell the surprises, while being good surprises, have gotten tiring." He keeps chuckling, his right hand now having found a spot on my left thigh, not too high and not too low.

"Thank goodness, I don't know how many more surprises I can take in my life. I need a 6 month break from them." I can't help but joke with him, wanting to keep the cute smile on his face.

We continue talking, getting to know a little bit more about each other. I asked him a little bit on how his classes were going, and he told me he's doing really well, and he can't wait to graduate soon.

In about ten minutes, we made it to the park he decided to have our picnic at. It was a fairly common park in our area, but there were only a few people out today and made it feel so calming.

After parking, he jogs back around the car to open my door for me, holding his hand out for me to pull myself out on. After readjusting my clothes, I open the backseat to grab Brownie and his leash while Innie goes to the back of his car, grabbing a cute wooden basket with a picnic blanket folded on top of it.

He once again reaches his hand out and I decided to link my pinky finger with his instead of interlocking our hands entirely. I catch him glance at our hands and a small smile grows on his face.

We find a spot under a large oak tree, laying out the blanket and taking our spots on it. I call Brownie to lay down with us as Innie starts to bring out a few wrapped sandwiches, some fruit, cookies, pink lemonade, and plates and cups for us.

I took a peek in the basket and also saw that he brought a ball for Brownie, but decided to leave it in there for after the meal.

"Thank you for this, I can't remember the last time I went on a picnic. Probably when I was around 5 years old with my parents..." I thought back fondly to my parents.

"I'm glad I could bring you. What are your parents like?" He looks up at me as he stuffs half of a sandwich in his mouth. I giggle a little as I reach over with a napkin to wipe some mayo off the side of his lips.

"My parents are super supportive of my current path. My dad is actually the reason I got into baking in the first place. He always wanted to own a bakery but he never got the chance because of expenses and the technical part of owning a business. So, I started my own bakery in honor of him. They were actually there with me to cut the ribbon on opening day. They're truly my biggest motivators." I gush about my parents. I couldn't thank a higher power enough for how lucky I am to have them.

"That's good. I love my parents too, although sometimes they can be a little much," he chuckles, "do you have any siblings?"

"An older brother, although I don't get to see him very much. He's always traveling. Last time I saw him was when I graduated from college." I kind of deflate at the thought of my brother. He was my protector growing up but ever since he went off to college, I hadn't been able to see him much other than on holidays, and that's only sometimes.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I hope you get to see him again soon." Innie gives me a cute little smile before we fall into a comfortable silence, eating our delicious food and enjoying the blue sky and small breeze floating through the area.

After we finished eating, we pulled the ball out of the basket and played fetch with Brownie. The sun bad started setting when we decided to lay down and stare at the sky for a while, just enjoying each others company. Our hands had met in the middle of our bodies, Brownie laid down at the top of the blanket above our heads, his heavy panting being the only other noise than the passing cars.

"Thank you for giving us a chance. I know it's a very non-traditional relationship and most people would have been weirded out by it. We're truly lucky to even have a chance to get to know someone as amazing as you." He turns his head to look at me as he says this.

I turn my head to look back into his eyes, "I'm the lucky one. Eight amazing guys all see something romantic with me and are putting in effort to get to know me. I've always had trouble making friends. I've stuck to my comfort zone the most of my life, and only ever made friends with people who approached me first. You guys make me feel safe and comfortable again."

He has a slight blush growing in his cheek before he sits up and I follow him. He reaches his hand out to place it on my cheek, slowly leaning into my face. He glanced down at my lips a few times, while glancing back into my eyes as if asking for permission. Instead of giving a subtle nod, I reach my own hand to grab his cheek and pull him in to me, our lips meeting in a soft, slow kiss.

Pulling away, we let our foreheads rest against each other before we hear a whine come from the top of the picnic blanket. We look to see Brownie begging to be let into the love. We both let out a small laugh before immediately petting him, turning him onto his back and rubbing his fluffy belly.

After spending another ten minutes watching the sunset, we begin to pack everything back up, heading towards the car to head home.

I know exactly what my decision is going to be.

I mean, they've become my safe space in the two months that I've known them.

I don't want to lose them now that I've found them.

A/N: SURPRISEEEEE!!!! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I really got struck with inspiration for this final date so I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I love putting out chapters for you guys and hope I can do it more regularly now that the hardest part is over! Let me know if you guys have anything you would like to see and I'll see about putting it in! Also please let me know if you guys find any typos, I literally just write it and hope autocorrect fixes it for me. Also love reading y'all's comments because they're either super funny or super relatable! I hope you guys are doing well!!