Projection (Male reader x Female OC)

050

Double-checking the locks on our car; it would be a pain in the ass if we both woke up tomorrow wondering why the parking spot is either empty or they exchanged our rustbucket with a trolley from Walmart.

My phone rings as I yank on the doors one last time. "Hello, Mom?" I answer the phone, resting against the side of the car.

"Just checking up, have you two made it to the motel?"

"Hmm mhm." I glance up at the room we rented for the night. "Place looks a lot better than my perception of motels, then again it isn't like games paint a good picture about real life."

"What an interesting revelation, (Y/N)."

I chuckle, "Sure sounds like you miss me already."

"You know I always will," she chuckles, but I can tell she means it. This is quite sombre, but it would have come to this sooner or later, just need to make sure we stay in contact. I am all my mother still has when it comes to family, I will not let my vacancy be the reason she is alone.

"Maybe it is time you find yourself a new man of the house?"

"Please," she scoffs. "I don't need my son to tell me that."

"I mean-"

"Yeah?"

I shake my head, stopping myself from saying something stupid. "Nothing. We should be there at the house three or so hours after waking up, will send a message to let you know if we settled in at all."

"I just need to know if you two got there safe. Rin's dad just as much if not more."

Smiling to myself, "Yeah, will make sure to let you both know. That is if Rin doesn't do it before I get the chance to."

"How is she doing?"

"Nothing changed there," I state. "Between being dramatic and a bit of a baby I am going to say I have my hands full with her, but when it counts, she always pulls through with a somewhat level head so if I start breaking down she'll be taking over."

"Way to put my heart at ease," Mom jokes. "I won't keep you for the rest of the night-"

"I'm not fussed."

"Get some rest," she insists. "Goodnight, love you."

"G'night. Love you too." She cuts the call and with that, I glance at the vehicle one last time before heading up to the room. We moved all our luggage into the room because we don't want to give thieves a reason to break into the damned vehicle.

Up the stairs, I catch Rin looking at the distant mountains with a can of soda in each hand. "What a view, like a streak of blue is left over the horizon."

She offers me a can and I sit next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. "It's called the blue hour."

"Yeah?"

I nod. "Yep."

"Made that up?"

"No."

"Was that part of our curriculum?"

I shake my head again. "You know you learn about a lot of things if you go beyond just school, with the classes you are taking a few months from now you are going to have to take it further than just the bare minimum."

"Let me just enjoy my blue hour without you shoving reality down my throat, without my consent," she sneers at me.

"Sorry, ma'am."

"Hmm," with a low groan, she asks, "What's the opposite then? Golden Hour?"

"Lucky guess?" I can see her frown deepen. "Good guess."

With a nose exhale she groans, "Kiss ass. So are you done worrying about us being robbed after you forced me to carry up all those bags?" I squeeze her tighter. "You know affection doesn't change the fact that you are a paranoid fuck."

"How would that be," I glance at her and she shoots me a confused stare. "A paranoid fuck."

With a deadpan stare, "Probably a mix of, does this girl want to harvest my organs in the morning? Is she pretending to moan? Did she cum? Is this guy really into this or am I not moving a lot? Am I just a dead sack right now? Is he into slut shaming? Is she into slut shaming?!"

"Thanks for including both genders and not projecting all of my shortcomings."

With a shrug, "You are welcome."

"What's up?" I couldn't help but be bothered by her attitude. "You look so... dead-"

"Tired. Dead tired." She sighs before snuggling closer to me, finally cracking open her drink she takes two big gulps before burping.

"Disgusting pig."

With a nod, "You like me like this."

"I don't know."

"You don't? A bit too late now so you should do your best to figure it out, okay?"

"Kay." I kiss her on the temple. "Odds are that the next year will be rough on us, but if we just..." I find myself suddenly at a loss of words. As if I lost my train of thought completely.

"Don't think about it, (Y/N). The more you think about the future, the odds are that you are going to freak about what comes next and what comes next is the complete opposite of what you wanted. And in the end, it works out the best that way."

"You know that through experience?"

She nods. "You don't have the slightest idea how much of you, how much of our relationship is the complete opposite of what I wanted things to turn out. And yet, here I am, preferring this over whatever my fucked up depressed head could think of."

"Rin-"

She unwriggles herself out of my hold and grabs me by the jaw to shut me up. "Shush. Don't do that. Don't you dare start with that shit?"

"What shit?" I manage to force out, her stern expression breaks and she laughs at me.

"I just know you were going to say something stupid. Just don't. Okay. I am happy with the outcome-"

I grab her wrist, pulling the hand away I silence her with a kiss instead. I whisper to her, "Are you sure you just aren't scared of what question I will ask you? Or that I might take offence that a depressed Rin had an entirely different idea in her head when it came to me?"

"It..."

I pull away and gesture at the room. "Come on, I am pooped."

She lowers her gaze to the ground. "It's not fair."

"Hmm?"

"Why do you get to read me like a book? When I am the one that went through a massive transformation?"

I lift my shoulders with a shrug, "I am just comfortable enough with you saying those things knowing that you won't chew me out. Besides, you act like I haven't had some dark thoughts of my own, that I never had that feeling."

She sighs, "I guess." She instantly fixes her attitude and pulls me in after her into our room. "Come on, let's shower and then cuddle for the rest of the night until one of us confesses our sins to the other thinking they are asleep."

"You first," I joke.

"More than likely, you asshole."