Requester: HappyHappiny, ao3
Prompt: #11, "It's not a double date. We're just third and fourth wheeling."
Gender: F
Word count: 2817
Deep breaths, you think to yourself. Don't panic. Don't overreact. He only suggested something really fucking crazy. No big deal. York stood in front of you, grinning brightly. He seemed proud of himself. You mull over his words in your head, debating them and wondering if his proposal could work.
"Well, (L/N)?" You snap out of your thoughts, looking at him. "What do you think? Me, Carolina, you, and Wash. We can go to the nearby bar, or to a nice restaurant." You hesitate.
"I- hm... I don't know. Wash and I aren't dating... So I don't know if it would really count as a double date. Maybe you should ask someone else-"
"Nonsense, (Y/N). You don't have to be dating. I mean, Carolina and I are together and maybe that's why you think you have to. But, I mean. Most people who go on dates aren't together at first. That comes later." He winks, and you look away.
"I don't want to be with Wash, York. We're just... Really close friends." You see his doubtful look and sigh. "Fine, I'll try to convince David. But I'm not going anywhere near Carolina."
"Deal!" He agrees eagerly.
You sigh, shifting your weight mildly as you sat on Wash's bed, watching him play some FPS on his console. You're still coming to terms with the fact that you agreed to York's idea of a double date. You haven't even said anything to Wash yet, just asked to come over and hang out.
So here you were. You notice him glance towards you during a moment when he's given a break by a death screen. His eyes are curious, and a little concerned. It's cute.
"Are you okay, (Y/N)?" He asks, turning back to the screen as his character respawns. "You seem distracted. You know you can tell me anything. We've been best friends for years." Best friends. You sigh again.
"I'm okay. I'm just... Thinking," you respond lightly. You know what he'll ask next.
"Thinkin' about what?" There it is. You take a deep breath, calming your nerves. He's your best friend, for God's sake!
"York invited us to go with him to some restaurant or bar. He calls it a double date, but I don't... If you'd rather not refer to it as a date between us, that's cool. I don't mind." You manage, as calmly as you can. He pauses the game(which seems a little redundant) and turns to you. You want to mention that his game isn't actually paused since it's online, but he probably knows that, so you stay quiet. He stares at you for a long moment, and you wonder if this is how York felt when you stared at him after the original suggestion.
"Sure, I'll go. We don't have to consider it a date if that makes you uncomfortable. We can just be two friends hanging out with mutual friends who happen to be dating." He smiles at you reassuringly. "Besides, it'll be nice to see York and Carolina again. It's been a while. When is it?" You're staring open-mouthed at Wash with such surprise that you hardly register his words as a question. He begins to turn red, and you see him start to fidget as he starts to question himself, so you quickly snap out of your state of shock and place your hand on his shoulder to steady him.
"It's, uh... It's this Saturday, later in the evening. York wants it to be something really nice, so I don't think our usual jeans and a t-shirt will work. Do you want me to help you pick something out while I'm here?" You offer, trying to change the topic, even if it's only a slightly different path. He calms down as you answer him, and picks up his controller, exiting the match and shutting down the system. He gives a tiny nod.
"Maybe we can match?" He asks, smiling at you. There's a sense of shyness about him that you've never really seen before, and you wonder if he's just as nervous as you are.
"I don't know. Would that give York the wrong idea? I don't want him to think we're dating or anything... I mean, plus, what if you meet a girl? She'll think you're taken." You laugh softly and get off of Wash's bed. You make your way to his closet, perfectly comfortable with navigating Wash's home as if it were your own. Wash doesn't respond to you for a while, so you go about your business with finding nice tops to go with a good pair of pants for him.
The two of you spend the next few hours deciding on an outfit. It's such a long process, and you've still got to pick your own.
It's going to be a long week.
When Saturday arrives, you shoot Wash a quick text.
Me: hey, you ready for tonight? c:
Beffren: yeah! Super excited to see York and Carolina again!
Me: York was super happy when you agreed.
Me: do you think Carolina will be her usual self? Or maybe York convinced her to loosen up?
Beffren: idk. Hopefully she's nicer today. It'll really make the night suck if shes not :/
Beffren: anyway, im gonna get ready. Is carolina picking us all up? Since york can't drive n all?
Me: i think so. I'll have to check. Will get back to you.
Beffren: got it!
You smile at your phone for a moment and then switch gears to text York about when to expect a ride, and who to expect it from. He gets back to you with a quick response, which you relay back to Washington as a screenshot. Wash responds with a thumbs up.
A few hours later, there's a loud car horn, and you're making your way out the front door and down the stairs to Carolina's car, where she and the other two guys are already waiting. You wave to them all as you get into the vehicle, and Carolina takes off.
"You look good tonight, (Y/N)," York comments with a grin. He looks at Carolina and says, "doesn't she?" You see Carolina glance at you through the rearview mirror and give you an approving nod. You smile.
"Thanks. You guys look great, too," you return. "You too, David, but I already knew that." You see the tiniest hint of a grin pull at Wash's lips, and it makes you feel warm inside to know that you were the one who caused it. You reach and place your hand on his upper arm to comfort him silently, figuring he's probably nervous. He gives you a grateful look.
A few minutes later, Carolina parks the car outside a nice restaurant, and the four of you get out of the car, looking up at the building.
"Do we wanna get pictures?" York offers. "It's our first night out together since the end of school. Isn't that crazy?" You glance at Wash, who's staring up at the building in front of him. You nudge him gently with your shoulder. He looks at you, his eyes shining in the light from the restaurant. Your cheeks flush and you're suddenly glad for the darkness.
"I'm up for pictures," Wash says finally. You nod next to him, and all three of you look to Carolina, who sighs and agrees.
"We can do the four of us together and then just the couples," York says happily. He seems excited to be here. You glance at Wash, who won't meet your eyes.
"Um," you interrupt. "It's not a double date. We're just third and fourth wheeling." You gesture to yourself and Wash and watch the blond male's shoulders relax. York frowns and looks at you for a long moment.
"Even if you guys don't individually consider it a date, for the sake of simplicity can we just call it a double date?" He pleads. You glance at Wash" who gives a heavy sigh and nods.
Your heart kind of feels tight and it hurts a lot, but you don't say anything and instead change the subject.
"Um, pictures," you say quickly, pulling out your phone. "C'mon, guys, get close. You too, Carolina!" You smile brightly.
The night goes by slow and easily. Carolina gradually loosens up and gets a little more fun as the four of you have more to drink. York starts telling stories and jokes as he remembers them from when you all went to school together. You see Carolina smiling fondly at York, and wonder where the two before you went so right with each other. Then you glance at Wash and see him involved in York's storytelling, and you feel yourself give a little sigh.
The night was almost over, and Wash was still unwilling to refer to this as a date... Your half-drunk mind was coming up with all sorts of reasons. Was it because he didn't like you like that? Probably. What if he was just nervous that you'd think he was weird if he wanted to consider this a date? Doubt it. You idly swirl the drink in your cup as you listen to York and Wash chatter. You feel Carolina's stare more than you see her staring, and after a moment, you pick up her voice breaking into the conversation.
"Hey, (Y/N)," she cuts in, "your lip stick's coming off a little bit. Here, come with me. I'll let you borrow mine. Excuse us, boys." She grabs your arm and leads you to the bathroom, shutting the door behind the two of you.
"(Y/N), are you alright? Do you need to go home?" She asks, concern lacing her voice and clouding her eyes. You sigh heavily.
"I dunno, Wash doesn't wanna refer to me as his date... I dunno if it's because he doesn't like me that way, or because he's got some secret girlfriend that I don't know about... It's just one night, but he gets all awkward whenever York calls us a couple... We're best friends, why does he care so much?" You stare at your feet, shifting your weight uncomfortably.
"Maybe he thinks you don't want to be referred to as a date. Maybe he's afraid that you'll think less of him if you get the idea that he likes you as more than a friend. You never know unless you talk to him. I'll arrange something and have you dropped off at his place. Make up some excuse or something. And then you two can talk it out without York to tease you both. How's that?" You adjust your dress slightly and nod a little.
"Okay... Is my lipstick really coming off or was that an excuse?" You look at yourself in the bathroom mirror.
"It was an excuse," she admits. "Don't worry, (Y/N), you look fine. Come on, come enjoy yourself. It's our first night together since the end of school. We all deserve to enjoy this night." You take a deep breath and nod.
"Okay."
The rest of the night goes smoothly. You felt a lot better after your talk with Carolina, but the anxiety was really coming at you hard as Carolina drive Wash back home. You could see her glancing outside, and assumed it was part of her act. Finally, she speaks up.
"Hey, Wash, it's getting really late. We all stayed out way longer than we should've. York and I should be heading home as quickly as we can. Do you mind if we drop (Y/N) off at your place for the night?" She glances at him through the mirror. His eyes light up.
"Oh, sure! I don't mind at all! It's been a while since she spent the night." York and Carolina glance at each other, and you notice the exchanged expression of "uh.. Okay?" before Carolina turned her attention back to the road. She pulled up in front of Wash's place a few minutes later and pulled into a space for the sake of staying out of the way of whatever cars might come by.
"Alright, you two. Out you get," Carolina says. A bit quieter, she bids, "good luck, (Y/N)," and gives you a reassuring smile. York, on the other hand, leans his head out the window and loudly announces, "don't forget to use protection!" It's immediately followed by a loud whine as Carolina smacks his thigh and tells him to "get back in the car and stop being an idiot." You sigh and look at Wash, who stands beside you and smiles brightly.
"Come on, it'll be just like before! I'm pretty sure I've got some old pj's you can borrow so you don't have to wear your dress in bed," he says enthusiastically, pulling you towards his house. When you get inside, he continues to pull you around, chattering happily about how nice it is to have you over again since the last time you spent the night was when you were studying together for final exams.
You stop, and he stops too, looking at you with concern. You look at him for a moment and then lower your eyes. You felt tired and sad. And your heart hurt. But you had to say something before Wash could change the subjects again and again.
"Wash, why didn't you want to consider tonight a date?" You ask, blurting the question as confidently ad you could. He drops your hand and takes a step back, his body language reading extreme discomfort as he crosses his arms and avoids looking at you. He doesn't answer for a while.
"I didn't think you wanted it to be considered one. You were the one who said it didn't have to be considered a date... I figured you weren't comfortable with it. And since you weren't, neither was I..." You sigh quietly. Deep down you knew it was your fault... You should've just asked him on the date as any normal person would've...
"I... I was afraid that if I asked you to go on a date with me with Carolina and York that you wouldn't like me... We've been best friends for so long, I didn't want to ruin that... So I said what I thought would make you the most comfortable," you respond quietly.
"(Y/N)," Wash says softly, "I'm never going not to like you. You said it yourself, we've been best friends for years. Even if I did just so happen to not return any romantic feelings, I wouldn't hate you, and I certainly wouldn't leave you. Developing feelings for someone after being around them for so long is..." He cups your cheeks gently, and you realise he's been approaching you as he spoke. His hands gently tilt your head up, and you meet his eyes, which shine brightly under the lights in his house.
"It's only natural," he finishes gently, pressing his lips to yours softly. Your face heats up quickly, but your body reacts on its own. Your arms wrap around his shoulders and you feel his hands move to your waist, pulling you close against himself. Your eyes slip shut, and you melt into the kiss, wondering just how long you've each been waiting for this moment. Finally, he pulls away, and you follow his lips for a moment before pulling back and letting your eyes open slowly.
His face is a dark red, but he's smiling so brightly and his eyes are shining with such a contagious joy that you can't help but feel happy too. You hide your face against Wash's chest, feeling your eyes start to water despite how happy you are. He pets your hair gently, humming softly.
"I... It's... That's something that's been in my dreams for years, (Y/N)," he admits. "But I don't think any single one of my dreams could ever compare to that." You blush darkly, holding onto Wash tightly. After a long few moments that the two of you took to calm down, you give a short laugh.
"I guess this means I can't sleep in your bed with you like we used to," you mention. Whenever one of you spent the night at the other's house, even when you were younger, you always slept in the same bed. Now it has a bit of a different notion to it.
"I mean, we could..." Wash trails off. "Do you doubt my self-control? Or is it your own that you doubt? We can just snuggle. Like we used to." He seems reluctant to spend the night alone. You give in.
"On one condition," you hold up your finger to prevent him from getting over-excited again. He looks at you curiously. "I get more kisses?" He laughs and presses his lips to yours again.
You could definitely see yourself getting used to this.