Authors note: the MC in this is going to have Lepidopterophobia, the fear of butterflies. I have it so I'll try my best to describe the feeling well ^^
(Side note: highkey don't lOve this chapter but it's important for story purposes so bare with me <3)
Song: hits & Mrs by Frank turner
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A gentle rapping sounded at your front door. 'Yuu is here!'
You opened the door to see yuu with a bright smile, carrying a bag of movie snacks. "Movie night!" He beamed, holding the bag above his head.
"Movie night! But also... I have some updates!"
Yuu immediately dropped the bag, staring at you with wide eyes. "Tell. Me. Everything!"
You gave a soft chuckle, picking the bag up off the floor. "I will, come inside first you weirdo."
"Right!"
The two of you sat down on the couch, yuu stared at you intently, waiting for you to speak.
"So... I sorta have a date."
"Really?! The last time you told me about a date was in high school! Can I help you pick an outfit?! Oh oh and you need to tell me who it is!"
"Okay well first of all you are way too exited about this. Second, yes you can help me pick an outfit. And third... you know him!" You finished with a slight smirk.
"I know him? Who?! I can't take the suspense!"
"It's lev haiba, he was on nekoma back in the day."
"That's wonderful y/n! He was always super nice! Also, 'back in the day'? Don't talk like you're old dork!"
"So... when's the date?" Noya asked.
"Tomorrow evening... I'm so nervous!"
"Well I never! Y/n l/n is nervous over a date? I never thought I'd see the day!" Yuu spoke like an old southern woman, clutching his imaginary pearls.
"Okay first, shut up. Second, first."
[time skip//tomorrow evening]
"remember to let me know if you need a fake emergency call! I'll happily break my own arm if you need a way out of this date."
Yuu beamed, shoving your bag into your arms.
"Alright yuu, I feel like I need to clarify this. You don't actually have to be in a hospital to make a fake call from a hospital. So on the off chance that I do need you to call me, absolutely do not hurt yourself."
"Oh yeah totally not! Wink..." he replied, winking at you.
"You literally just said the word wink out loud... I'm gonna punch you."
You noticed a soft knock on the door. "Oh shit that's him! I'm not ready for this... what if I die?!"
"You're not gonna die! Probably... just go!" Noya urged, shoving you towards the door before running out of sight.
You pulled the door open to see lev with a nervous smile
"Hey lev!" You chimed
"Hey y/n! Here, I picked these up on my way over." He chimed, holding out a bouquet of daffodils and pink azaleas.
Azaleas... the same flowers kei always used to buy you. They represent love and gentleness. And daffodils represent new beginnings... fitting, isn't it?
"Thank you! Mind if I go put them in water real quick?"
"Not at all, go ahead." He smiled
You quickly ran back into the apartment, noticing noyas wide smile. "I'll put them in water for you, go have fun."
"Thanks yuu! There's packets of plant food in the cabinet above the sink, pour one in the water please."
Yuu gave a fake look of shock. "Using your plant food for this guy, things are getting serious already~!"
"Shut up dork, I'll see you, remember to lock up my house when you leave, if I get robbed I'm totally gonna kill you!" You chimed, heading back to the front door to get lev.
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"So, where are we going?" You asked.
"Well there's this cool garden thing not too far from here. It's like a big indoor park and there are birds and stuff flying around all over the place!" His excitement was adorable, reminiscent of kei when he'd tell you all about the dinosaurs at the museum... he always looked so happy when he got to talk about them.
"That sounds lovely!" You beamed
The two of you got into Levs car and drove to the garden. From the outside it looked like any other building, the inside however, was covered wall to wall in plants. You could hear the sound of birds cawing somewhere in the building.
"Woah... lev this is beautiful!"
"It gets even better! We did a photoshoot in here a few months ago, the inside is stunning."
You made the way through the front room of the building, eventually reaching a large set of glass doors.
"M'lady." Lev opened the door for you.
"M'lord." You gave a slight curtsy, walking into the large open space.
"Woah, this is..." There was a small stream running throughout the area, koi fish swimming inside. Tall trees connected by never ending strings of vine. Flowers of all different kinds painting the room in a mirage of color. "Beautiful?" Lev finished, though he wasn't looking at the room. His eyes were on you. 'She looks so cute!'
[first person]
This whole place was breathtaking, though there was one problem... butterflies were all over the place.
I could feel my skin crawl at the sight of them. Damnit... why do people love these things so much?! They're just spiders with fancy wings!
Alright it's fine... I can get through this, don't panic. Just take deep breaths and ignore the erratically moving insects.
I wasn't always scared of butterflies, I used to feel more indifferently towards the things. Though after visiting a butterfly dome, my mind changed... since then, every time I see one I feel pinpricks shutter across my body. I start to panic that they're crawling all over me.
It can be hard to explain the overwhelming fear I feel, the need to escape. I start to feel like the world is closing in on me... like the breath is being forcefully pulled from my lungs.
~third person~
"You alright y/n?" Lev asked, concern filling his voice.
"Huh? Oh y-yeah I'm f-" the girl was cut off when she noticed a butterfly uncomfortably close to her, making her panic.
"Holy fucking shit no ew!" She blurted out, backing away from the insect.
"I'm so sorry I can't do this." She muttered, quickly walking back through the doors.
'What the hell just happened..?'
Lev took a moment to process the whole situation before following in the direction that she ran off.
~second person~
You rushed out of the building, leaning against the front wall.
'Fuck that was embarrassing!'
"Y/n, are you okay? Did I do something wrong..?" Levs voice called.
"Of course not! You didn't do anything wrong, I'm so sorry!"
Lev approached you with a sweet smile. "You don't have to apologize, what happened."
"Well uh... damn this is embarrassing. I'm scared of butterflies..." you mumbled.
Lev held back his laughter, covering his mouth. "S-sorry I don't mean to laugh, it's cute is all..." he said through chuckles.
You gave a soft sigh "Is there any way I could try to salvage this..." you Asked with a slight smile.
"How about we go to a real park, that should have less butterflies."
Your face lit up as you looked at the man "I'd love that!"
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The rest of the night went surprisingly smoothly. The two of you walked around the park and talked for a few hours. It was relaxing... it had been so long since you'd had such a nice time with another person.
"Thank you for today lev, I know I sorta ruined your original plan but... this was really nice." You spoke softly, taking your eyes off of the sunset to look at lev.
"You didn't ruin anything. If you enjoyed today that's all that matters." He gave you a gentle smile
"plus what kind of date would it be if you were evading the butterflies all day?" He chuckled
"I'm never gonna live this down" you sighed, leaning your head onto his shoulder.
Lev brought his hand up to pet your head gently.
'This... feels safe. It feels comfortable.'
Once the sun had fully set, lev drove you home. Walking you to your door.
"Thank you again for today lev, this was lovely." You smiled warmly
"In that case... would you want to go on another?" He gave a nervous smile.
"Absolutely!" You chimed
'Damn I don't want this to end'
"Goodnight y/n." Lev smiled, turning to go back to his car.
"Wait!" You called.
"Hm?" He hummed, quickly turning to face you.
"I uh-" you stood on your toes, pecking lev on the cheek then retreating with a small but proud smile. "Goodnight~!" You chimed, slipping into the house before he could see how flustered you were.
Lev stared at your door for a while, a dark blush dusting over his face.
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'I can't believe I did that!' You leaned back against the wall, hands over your heated face.
It had been so long since someone made you feel anything close to this.
'Damnit, I feel like I'm in high school again... this is so weird!'
A fond smile tugged at your lips and you felt warm and flustered...
'I guess it's about time I moved on.'
Moved on... that almost sounds wrong.
[to be continued]