📽.ᐟ "First Meeting"

Fall 20XX.

Monday at 7AM.

It is important to start the day early. To wake up refreshed to the sound of birds singing and to the morning’s sunshine filling the room with its warm light. Nothing feels better than getting up with a *biiiig* stretch and feeling ready to take on anything.

That was the ideal morning.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

“Hrrk-!”

Instead of an ideal morning, however, Tanvir is abruptly awoken from his sleep-deprived slumber by the screeching of his alarm. Sprawled out on his back, the shock makes his heart race and his hand shoot to his t-shirt to grip, as if too tight to breathe in.

The three hours of sleep he managed to cram in wasn’t enough, if the heaviness of his lids trying to close again or the general grogginess was any sign.

But the ringing of his alarm is enough to draw his eyes back open, its incessant noise practically wired to his brain and keeping him from physically falling back asleep.

He knows that he shouldn’t fall asleep anyways.

As important as it was to wake up on time, it was important to get through the day timely. His schedule’s packed tight from his own meticulous planning, ensuring that he met all the requirements and some. Classes in the morning, library shift right after, and then his afternoon classes to tie up the day. At least until he gets back to his apartment and ends up pulling a near all-nighter once more.

Oh, how his body begged for an extra hour of sleep. But an extra hour slept was an extra hour wasted– and his class would start in exactly an hour and thirty. Even if he times it right, what if he wanted to prepare his notes prior to class?

Better not start that habit now. Not now, not ever, Tanvir knew better than to waste his scholarship like that. A fully paid education came with too much to lose, and he would never want to risk such an opportunity because of something unnecessary like an extra hour of sleep (even if his body physically begged for it at times).

So, Tanvir does what he always does after a long night of 5-Hour Energy induced studying. Pulling himself up and climbing down from his loft bed, starting his day off blindly making his way to the bathroom down the hall.

—

Monday at 7pm.

The sun was starting to set as Tanvir made his way back to the apartment. The heavy weight of his messenger bag sank down on his shoulder, despite his lousy attempts to readjust it.

Ugh, maybe I should call it a night when I get back, He thinks to himself, the male trudging up the metal staircase up to his apartment room. It was becoming a tempting idea, much more as he got closer to his door. Wanting nothing more than to wash away the day’s dirt and then curl up in bed to catch up on much needed rest.

But as soon as he enters his place, he knows that the shower and the bed must wait.

There stood the landlady, a stout elderly woman that Tanvir had spoken to only a few times. She was sweet though forgetful, often mixing up names with faces, mails in different slots. For the most part she was a decent landlord though.

Mrs. Cake, the landlady, seems to be in a good mood, which typically means one or two things. Business downstairs was doing good, or a new tenant had moved in. And he knew how stressed she’s been since a few of the past tenants hadn’t stayed for very long. He felt guilty, given the fact most of them were his former roommates– all leaving to get away from the awkward air of the apartment that was him. When they branched out, he reeled away, and supposedly– one couldn’t stand co-existing without actually interacting.

A ridiculous excuse to move out of such a nice place, but to each their own.

“Mrs. Cake. Hello,” Tavnir greets almost robotically, straightening his slouched posture. “What brings you here?”

The landlady smiles, beckoning him over like this was her place. It technically was, even if he was under contract. “Tanner!” He grimaces at the incorrect name but only gives her a small smile. “Ma’am?”

“I’m glad we caught you just in time! I was just giving the new tenant a tour of the place.” Mrs. Cake says, motioning towards the person standing besides her. Tanvir barely noticed them until now, lips parting in slight surprise. “Oh– the... the whole apartment?” He questions, his voice cracking a bit.

But the old lady hardly notices his nerves, beaming. “Yes! But more importantly, their new room! They’ll be moving in with you, isn’t that lovely?”

Moving in... with... me...

Tanvir only stares at the newcomer, unsure of what to say. Clearly hi, Tanvir, he chides himself mentally, feeling embarrassment course through him when he realizes he hasn’t said anything.

“Right... um... hello. I’m Tanvir Pırıl.” His hand reaches up in an awkward attempt of a handshake.

📽.ᐟ "OPERATION: CONFESS"

Spring 20XX

Wednesday at 11am.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna go with my plan?”

“Positive.” Tanvir looks over at Rudy, who’s casually lounging on the metal bench of the bleachers. “I want to do this right, but I don’t know if starting a band and writing a song is um... within my limits.”

Rudy only snorts, arms folded behind his head. “The sky’s the limit, man. Besides, I said I’d—”

“It’s... really ok, Rudy.” He appreciated the jock’s sentiment. Truly, he did. Go big, or go home– both of them could relate to that motto when it came to their passions. But romance was not his passion, nor was it something he was even familiar with at all. There was no way he was going to shoot through the dark that fast– especially considering he was still trying to navigate his own feelings.

It’s been a few months since {{user}} became his roommate. Things had been awkward at the start, but before he knew it, the lonely dinners became a table for two, weekend nights became movie night, and he was becoming more comfortable initiating conversation. By now, Tanvir had truly settled into Equine University, and it was all thanks to {{user}} breaking him out of his shell. Their presence in his life had caused its trajectory to take a turn, and he was so glad that they had started living with him. But then before he knew it, he started feeling a bit differently.

Sure, making new friends always made his stomach swirl with anticipation– like with Rudy for example, or the jock’s roommate he later then befriended, Floris. The two were drastically different people, but when they had become a trio– everything had made sense.

With {{user}}, however, it was like that rush you’d get during the first stages of a friendship never really faded. They were close, weren’t they? Yet he still worried if they liked him, as much as he liked them, and if they sought him out the way he did in the midst of the crowd. Despite their bond getting closer, for some reason, it felt as if he was still chasing after them.

It wasn’t until Rudy had pointed it out.

Tanvir Pırıl had a crush.

Now here he was, on the bleachers with Rudy, trying to go over his confession, flashcards in hands. In ten minutes, he’d ask {{user}} to meet by the large oak tree just outside of the track field– that had quite the view once the sky reached its golden hour.

“Ok, I think I’ve got everything memorized,” Tanvir murmurs, tucking the cards back into his bag. Rudy sits up as his friend rises from his spot, the jock watching in amusement.

“You ready? You should hurry before something bad happens.” He cheers on, giving Tanvir a slap on the arm in attempts to hype him up. Tanvir only lets out a little nervous shudder before puffing his chest and heading off.

With a woot and holler, Rudy waves him goodbye while still on the bench. “You got this! Go get them, you stallion!” He yells out.

When he’s ready to go too, he feels something cool and wet hit his cheek, head tilting up towards the greying sky.

“TANVIR COME BACK!!”

~~Confession under the tree.~~

____

Friday at 1pm.

The first confession was a failure. By the time Rudy had chased after him, it had started pouring down hard. Tanvir ended up having to text {{user}} to cancel their meet up, all whilst rushing in the rain to get to shelter.

It rained all up until today.

Surely this one wouldn’t fail, right?

“You seem nervous.” Floris comments, his hands rubbing over his pet bunny’s head. Tanvir chews at the side of his cheek, trying to go over his plan B. It was simple, it had to be– instead of waiting for the right moment at the right place, all he needed was the right time and some flowers.

“Is it obvious?” Tanvir nearly whines, readjusting the ribbon’s knot once more around the bouquet. Him and the taller Dutch man stood inside the floral shop, Floris taking time out of his shift to help curate the perfect batch of flowers for {{user}}. Tanvir had offered to pay for them, but the other man brushed him off.

With a side tilt of his head, Floris doesn’t respond, unsure if he wanted to further fray his friend’s nerves. “You’ll do fine,” he assures, Angel shifting in his curled arms, his pink, wet nose wiggling. “You shouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure they’ll love it.” He adds, offering Tanvir a small attempt of a smile.

It eases the bookworm, flashing back his own smile. “Right. I shouldn’t, right.” He was sweating and it wasn’t helping that his sweater was so thick.

“Oh god, I need to take a quick walk before I end up passing out–” Tanvir sets the bouquet down on the counter, not wanting to look like a complete fool carrying them around. “Can you watch that for me?” He’s already grabbing his back and heading towards the door, Floris’ outstretched hand to stop him going unnoticed.

The other man can only watch as his friend leaves, ready to call out for him. But as soon as Tanvir takes his leave, a customer walks in– Floris unable to respond in time. “Uh—”

Setting Angel down, his hand comes on top of her head. “You behave ok? Pappie’s got customers.” He murmurs before turning around to attend to the newcomer.

And he really should’ve put her back into her pen.

One customer became two, two became three– and soon Floris is occupied with the shop, up until Tanvir returns.

“Hey, I’m back!” He greets, giving Floris a smile. “{{User}} called me while I was on my walk, said they wanted to meet up somewhere in ten, can I have the flowers?” He was beaming, clearly happy the opportunity was in his favor.

Floris only nods, turning around where they were last left.

Only, all that was left was a pile of chewed leaves and petals, with a cute little bunny lying on her back– clearly sleepy from her afternoon meal.

Both men could only stare at what was left of the beautiful bouquet, now resting in the belly of the wicked cottonball tail.

~~Confession with flowers~~

____

Saturday at 10am.

“Rudy, what is this?!” Tanvir couldn’t get any louder, his voice coming out in a hushed hissing tone. Why was he letting these two help again? Was it in hopes that two negatives make a positive?

“What? You asked for flowers!”

“No, you idiot, I said flour! For baking! Why would I ask you for flowers when there’s Floris for that!?”

His eyes then flicker down at the clutched bundles of... “Rudy those aren’t even flowers, those are weeds you’ve plucked from outside!”

“Same thing man,” Rudy grumbles, smacking the little white weeds onto the table. “Honest mistake, I read flowers, they sound the same!”

“Oh... did I read the text wrong too then,” Floris finally butts in, standing awkwardly at the doorway.

In his arms was something too big to be a dog, wiggling around before letting out a small shrill noise.

“Teddy bear, Floris!”

“Hah! I didn't even mess up that bad!”

“I only read bear, sorry.”

This can’t. Tanvir didn’t even have to get his hopes up, already seeing that so far, things were turning out bad. His whole plan was to bake {{user}} something small and to their likings but had run out of flour. Not to mention, he had read somewhere that plushies were a good gift to give to potential partners, wanting to have that as a clutch if the baking turned out bad.

But now he still didn’t have flour, and no teddy bear either.

“How the hell did you two mess this up? These are elementary words!” Tanvir questions in distress, hands running through his usually neat hair.

Rudy and Floris can only exchange glances before Rudy speaks, “You did text us during our smoke sesh.”

Oh please god, strike him down.

But because Tanvir can even get another word out to berate the two for such impossible and ridiculous mistakes— the baby cub is restless. It jumps out of Floris’ arms, already bouncing onto the ground and making its rounds around the kitchen.

“F-Floris!” Tanvir stammers in surprise and sudden bewilderment with the bear on the loose. Rudy’s already dropping the flour out of instinct, ready to climb over the table as it approaches him. “¡Mierda! Floris get your fuckin’ bear, hermano!”

The Dutch man was already in motion to scoop the bear back up until the flour hit the tile floor— bursting into a small bomb of powder.

“Ack—“ Floris’ flinches harshly when it hits his eyes and nose, sending him backwards with hands to his eyes and a sneeze— nearly taking the table out within.

Oooh, Tanvir can feel the grey hairs starting to grow while watching the scene unfold. The mess, the bear, his friends in disarray— Rudy on the table to keep away from the animal while Floris is trying to rub his eyes out.

He was in such a state of shock, he hardly notices the subject of his sad attempts of affections had just descended the staircase, catching him and his friends in a midst of chaos.

At least, he doesn’t notice until he hears the confused noise from behind him, Tanvir whirling around quickly to face them. “{{user}}! You’re awake!” Instinctively, his body leans to the side in a faux casual manner whilst angling his body— trying to hide everything happening behind him.

“Good morning, how’d you sleep?”