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OSCAR always quite liked dressing up for fancy events. The preciseness of it all was always fun for him: choosing a suit, what color he should wear, tie or no tie. He never really had a reason to do things like that growing up, so it was nice that as a driver now, he had a decent amount of events and ceremonies to attend semi-regularly. However, in this moment, he was having trouble with the smallest decisions that he typically wouldn't care enough about to begin with.
He had opted for, prior to even arriving in Baku, wearing a simple black and white tux with a bowtie, something he picked up from a local suit shop since he wasn't exactly picky with what he wore. The simplicity of the outfit was good, safe, and he wasn't too worried about his hair either, considering it was short enough that he didn't need much to manage it.
But, considering who he'd be having on his arm tonight though, Oscar found himself being a little bit more antsy than usual about his looks.
Fine, fine. He'll admit it. Maia was sort-of, really, definitely gorgeous, and the idea of her in formal wear was not helping his thoughts.
Childhood crushes are hard to let go of, apparently. Or, maybe this was just an Oscar-only problem and he truly did think of Maia the same way after all these years.
He could recall how she looked during the Court Cards premiere back in Vegas, and the short, white dress that made her look like a fairytale princess come to life. Before the anxiety had set in, he was entranced by her—like she had beckoned for his attention and he gave it at once.
And, yeah, he did end up hiding in the bathroom to avoid speaking to her but, it's the thought that counts (kind of).
For the ceremony tonight, Oscar was pretty much already dressed, with his black slacks and white button-up on his body and dress shoes on his feet. The blazer he had packed was placed on his hotel bed though as he tried to get himself in order, the outerwear ready to be worn whenever.
Oscar's shirt was unbuttoned down to his chest, and his sleeves were rolled up as he went from attempting to get ready, to texting Logan, and vice-versa.
captain america: you should compliment her when you see her, you'd totally catch her off guard
Oscar tsk-s as he reads the message, putting down the tie and grabbing his phone. He sits on the bed as he shoots back: "you're trying so hard to be my wingman even though we're only attending as friends"
He then tosses the phone onto the opposite end of the bed, intending to ignore any other vibrations stemming from the American's texts.
'As friends,' he scoffs at the thought, knowing damn well earlier he saw the comment under Maia's post where she told someone 'are we even friends though?'
'We,' as in him and Maia.
Oscar sighs and reaches to button up his shirt, trying to recollect himself before it would be time to leave.
He was getting an award tonight, a meaningful one, and he should be proud and happy and thinking about that more than anything else.
He deserves this.
As Oscar begins to thread the buttons through the corresponding holes, he can barely get one done before he hears a knock echo through the room.
He drops his hands from his shirt and gets up from his place on the bed. Once he opens the door, he finds his breath hitched in his throat, and his mouth going dry.
Fuck.
Holy shit.
Fuck.
Maia was standing there in front of him, wearing what might have just been the most unexpected outfit he could have conjured up in his brain, even though he wasn't really sure what he expected anyways.
A black corset with rhinestones acted as her top, while a matching black, silk skirt served as cover for her legs. Her stomach was showing slightly, and she wore some simple black heels on her feet, making her a decent amount taller than how she usually was. It made it all the more easier to look into her eyes, and he would be dishonest if he said that it wasn't making his heart kick up speed.
He's sure he could give a better description of the visual, really, but Oscar's brain was not capable of coming up with words at the sight of his date.
Date? No. Maybe...partner?
Nope. Terrible.
Companion?
Mm, definitely not. That might just be worse than the other two he thought of first.
"Do..." he begins, clearing his throat and averting his eyes from the sight of her midriff. "Do you need something?"
Maia's eyes looked vacant almost, as if she was studying how Oscar looked. She was most likely preparing some snarky remark about how he looked disheveled and unready or—"Oh! Yeah, um, I just...wanted to ask if you were ready. It's uh, almost 7:10."
Is she blushing?
Her cheeks are tinted a light pink, and Oscar can't tell if it was from her makeup or what.
"Uh, yeah, in a bit," he responds, trying to grab ahold of his breathing pattern once again. "Just need to figure out this..." he gestures to his neck and unbuttoned shirt, diverting his gaze to the open door rather than her eyes. "...situation."
"What's wrong with it?" The woman's eyes dart from his eyes, to his open neck, and back up again.
Oscar breathes out a shallow breath, and he realizes he might be in need of a trip to the emergency room after tonight. It'll be a funny story for the future, when the doctors ask why he's there and he'll have to say it was the fault of Maia Hoang.
He stammers, "Uh, I'm undecided on...my...tie?"
Maia's face returns to its typical look of mischievousness as she squints and tilts her head at the excuse. "You forgot how to tie a tie?"
"I didn't say that."
"Right," Maia lets herself in and Oscar obliges to her actions, closing the door behind them both. "Where is it?"
"On the table," he points to its spot near his watch.
He begins to button up the rest of his shirt, slight haste in his actions as he watches her pick up the piece of fabric.
She examines the small untied bow. "Bowtie. How cute," she says before walking up to Oscar, who was standing stiff.
Maia then flips up the collar of his shirt, and adjusts the fabric around his neck so she could tie it. She was careful with her moves, as she placed one end of the tie under the other, pulling it up from underneath a small gap. Clearly, she knew how to do this, and probably do it well. While she takes control of his accessory, Oscar was wondering where to keep his eye sight.
His gaze lingers on Maia's face while she concentrates, admiring her careful movements and her laser-focused expression as she tied his bowtie. It felt domestic, like he would walk into his parents' room and see his mom doing this for his dad. He wasn't really sure what to think, and he wonders what his parents were going to say in response to him and Maia hanging out again after—Lord have mercy on his soul.
Maia's long nails graze the skin of his neck, and Oscar tries desperately to push down the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach.
"Sorry," she says nonchalantly, and continues on with her work.
Maia was impossible, an otherworldly, unbelievable force standing before him—and Oscar was entirely sure that, to her, he's just the same insensitive, annoying teenager that would run his remote-controlled cars into her ankles when he wanted her attention.
Oscar subtly gnaws on his bottom lip as he feels it again, her fingernails lightly tracing a small line into his neck as she finishes up making the bowtie.
Butterflies. Butterflies that he needed to get rid of as fast as possible.
"Now, was that so hard?" Maia asks rhetorically, crossing her arms and moving away from the driver to take a peek out of the window of his hotel room, probably to compare views.
He clears his throat and flips down the collar of his shirt, adjusting it slightly since the air felt thicker than before. "Thank you."
"Uh huh."
He breathes through his nose as he pulls down his sleeves, and puts on his jacket in front of the hotel room's obnoxiously huge mirror. Finally, he was ready, and they could get going and get out and Oscar could breathe normally once again.
The brunet walks over to the head of his bed and grabs his phone, seeing the plethora of messages from Logan that he had ignored.
captain america: i'm just saying it'd be a good idea if she's still convinced you're a douchey little kid
captain america: sry that was mean LMAOAOAO
captain america: but i'm serious, you gotta be on ur best behavior for her now atp if you rlly wanna make it up to her yk
captain america: i wanna see oscar the gentleman going viral on tiktok 🙏🙏
He sighs, clearing the notifications from his home-screen, opting to focus on the one that really mattered to him at the moment.
joshua: Outside in front of the hotel. Come down whenever you and Miss Hoang are ready.
"Our driver is downstairs," he states, catching Maia's attention. "You ready to go?"
Maia steps away from the window and nods. "Mhm. You?"
"Pretty much," he tucks his phone into his pocket, and finds his way to the door of the hotel room. "You don't have a bag?" He asks curiously, holding the door open.
"Oh!" Maia shoves her hands into the sides of her skirt, revealing two almost-invisible pockets. From them, she pulls out her phone and some lipstick. "My skirt has pockets!" She says excitedly, maybe the most excited since they started talking, and Oscar feels himself slipping again.
So much for a childhood crush, because he's pretty sure that childhood crushes shouldn't make you go this crazy, or make you feel this weak.
NOTES!
denial is a river in egypt and oscar swims in it every day
xoxo, cas