KEEP A PLACE FOR ME // Wilbur Soot X Reader

15

You opened the door of the flat and shrugged off your coat, leaving it on one of the hooks by the door, along with your hat. Somehow the wind had only gotten worse throughout the day, and it had taken you longer than usual to get home - traffic was piled up around downed trees and branches in the roads. 

Still, the ride hadn't been too bad. The traffic had given you time to actually listen to all of Wilbur's album... twice. 

You were just making sure you knew all the lyrics for the show. 

You pulled the envelope out of your bag as you headed into the living room, where you could hear the gentle hum of the bluetooth speaker playing some soft sappy song. Maddy and Jazzy were sprawled out on the couches - Maddy working on her crochet, and Jazzy with her legs propped up on the wall as she left her head fall towards the floor, reading a book. 

You stopped in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

Maddy didn't even look up from her needlework. "Crocheting."

"Not you." You said. "Jazz."

Jazzy glanced away from the pages, looking at you upside-down. "Reading." She said. 

"No-" You laughed, gesturing at her. "Why are you sitting like that?"

"Oh." She said, going back to her book. "S'comfy."

You just shook your head. "Right... sure." You said, plopping down next to Maddy on the couch, settling your bag next to you. 

"How was work?" Maddy asked.

"Good. Quiet." You said. "Wilbur wasn't in today, so I actually ended up getting stuff done." After a long and arduous battle with the constant distraction of the tickets that lead to thinking about... other things, of course. 

"That's good." Maddy said. "Leftovers for dinner tonight."

You hummed, stretching your arms above your head to get rid of some of the tension that had settled in your shoulders over the day. "I actually have something for you all." You said as your brought your arms back down. 

Jazzy perked up at that, peering at you from over the edge of her book. "Oh really?"

You hummed, digging a hand into your bag and pulling out the envelope. You tossed it onto the coffee table where Jazzy snatched it up, closing her book and setting it aside. 

"What is it?" She asked, flipping so that she was sitting upright now.

You just shrugged, smiling. "Just a little something."

Jazzy popped open the envelope and took out the tickets, reading them over quickly. "Wait... these are front row seats for a show that hasn't been announced yet. How did you get these?"

"Wilbur dropped them off for us." You said. "I think it's sort of an apology thing-"

"I thought you said he wasn't in today?" Maddy said, putting down her crochet so she could take one of the tickets from Jazzy, turning it over in her hands. 

"He left them with Oscar." You said. "I guess he wanted to make sure we got them-"

Jazzy sighed. "I want that."

You paused, quirking an eyebrow. "There's three tickets. You have one."

"No, not the tickets - well, I mean, yes the tickets - but no, the romance, Y/N!" Jazzy said, flopping backwards into the couch dramatically. "That he brought you tickets to his show, and that he's super tall and that he plays the guitar and wears beanies and sweaters-"

"He's just being nice." You argued. "I mean, after months of being a nuisance, I think it's deserved."

"You're wasting a perfect opportunity to get a boyfriend here." Jazzy whined. "How can you just willfully throw this away? He obviously fancies you-"

"We work in the same building." You said. "I've only spoken to him for more than five minutes two times, and the only nice things he's done for me are to apologize for being annoying. It's not romance, it's basic human decency."

Jazzy frowned. "It could be romance if you weren't too busy sucking off that magazine to see it-"

Maddy snorted. "Jazz, you can't say that-"

You bit back a laugh, not wanting to give her the satisfaction. "I know that I'm a little busy with work and things, but that's just a crude exaggeration."

Jazzy shot a look at Maddy, and Maddy sighed. 

"I don't know, it doesn't seem like that much of an exaggeration to me." Maddy said gently. "I mean, you spend about seven hours working at that office every day, and sometimes you work here as well, not to mention helping around the flat and cooking and that sort of thing. The last time you went out with either of us was almost a month ago now."

You hadn't really thought about it too much, but maybe they were right. You were always working - even in your off hours, doing things around the house. The last time you had truly taken an break had been the few hours you had spent in Wilbur's office laughing at nothing with him. 

"Yikes." You said, laughing slightly. "I didn't even realize it."

Maddy smiled. "I think front row seats at a show will be good for you, whether its just to be nice or something else."

"I'm still a firm believer that it's in that 'something else' category." Jazzy said, putting the envelope back down on the coffee table and getting up from her seat. "I'm going to go heat something up to eat - anybody else?"

"Ooh." Maddy said, turning on the couch to call to Jazzy as she headed into the kitchen. "If there's any bangers and mash left I want some!"

 You sat back on the couch, resting your head against the cushions so that you gazed up at the ceiling, turning the conversation you had just had over in your head again. Maybe you needed to take a break... but could you afford to? It was hard enough balancing jumping from gig to gig and maintaining an income as it was - taking a break would throw a whole other wrench in that process.

You sighed. After this gig you would take a break. The extra pay should be enough then...

After this gig.