pairing — lee jeno x (fem.) reader genres — fluff, angst if you squint, comedy but only a little. aus — childhood best friends to loverz, next door neighbor au, (mentioned college au) disclaimers — swearing, underage swearing (?), shirtless jeno, legal alcohol consumption. length — 19.3k
synopsis:jeno decides that, this time around, he would rather risk heartbreak than love you in silence for seven more years.
a/n: i am unsure as to why you would spend your christmas reading this heckin long fic, but in the case that you do, i hope that you enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it. it’s longest fic i’ve written thus far (though only by a hundred or so words) so happy reading <3 and i’ll see you around :D
sidenote: i got my info from the home depot website and pinterest, don’t come at me if it’s not spot on.
jeno’s glad his mom’s asked him to go to the grocery store, a two minute walk away, to grab some eggs, a tub of sugar-free yogurt, and a breath of fresh air—the most welcome change of pace to his stuffy bedroom or the dust of the stale garage. he thinks he’s the first of his high school graduating class to arrive back in town for the winter but it’s here at the store that jeno sees you for the first time in years. his hand, the right one, clutching an empty basket goes limp and he’s two steps away from being fully unconcealed by the far end of the dairy aisle. surely, he must look like a creep with only his head peeping out.
it’s been years. your hair is now a faded silvery brown, presumably dyed, and gathered into a messy ponytail. the ends of your hair fight with the hood of your sweatshirt, a distilled blue and loose fitting atop a pair of gray sweats. and the basket, looped upon your left elbow, is as empty as his own but you’re overturning a can of condensed milk in your other hand, eyes scrutinizing the packaging for the expiration date, the later the better.
he would go and say hi, maybe even strike up a conversation, ask you how you’ve been, but he can’t bring himself to because he’s wearing that one bright green shirt from his seventh grade math competition that is certainly not up to your liking nor preference. really, it’s not that he thinks you’d judge him, knowing you, you’d probably get a good laugh from it and move on, but things have changed since then.
Summary: How to ruin a perfectly good mid-autumn lanterns festival by putting on the wrong show.
Or
The earth master still accidentally passes the wine cup to Xie Lian, but what starts playing on the stage isn’t a newly written romantic drama; but a memory from a long, longgg time ago. (spoiler: It’s about that time he got stabbed a hundred times.)
