Aris Jones X Reader One Shots

Early Mornings (Part 1)

Tradition is important. I think so at least. Having something to look forward to keeps us going through the day, even if we don't quite understand why. Maybe it's just having some motivation to make it to that tradition. Maybe it’s seeing how doing the exact same thing at the exact same time will change.

I have a few traditions, but my favorite is one I do every morning. Even if I’m tired. It's a good way to start the day. It gives me hope that things will actually stay this way. Hopeful. Happy. Fulfilling. It's a way to try and remember the Safe Haven really is safe, even if nothing else in life ever has been.

I was running late this morning. Between having to find my coat for the cold weather that was starting thanks to the winter season coming up, to realizing I lent it to someone else, to not knowing where my shoes were, I was rushing.

Eventually, I made it out of my house and to the shore though, where Aris was already sitting, drawing in the sand that now had small bits or ice with a stick.

“Sorry I’m late,”I apologized, rushing to sit beside him.

“I was beginning to think you wouldn't show,”He shrugged, erasing whatever he had done with his hand before I could see.

“I always show. You know I wouldn't miss our thirty minutes together.”

“Well, it's twenty now.”

“And I said I was sorry.”

“It's fine. Just had to give you a little bit of grief for it,”He shrugged again, back to drawing in the sand. I absentmindedly rested my head on his shoulder as I watched him draw stars, my hands buried in my pockets.

“Where’s your jacket?”He asked quickly, glancing over at me.

“I let someone borrow it.”

“When winter was coming up?”

“Yeah. They needed it.”

“It's gonna start snowing eventually. I’m pretty sure you need it too.”

Seeing as I can see my breath every time I speak, he's definitely right.

“It’s fine,”I shrugged.

He gave a halfhearted sigh as I pulled my knees to my chest, looking out at the ocean and setting sun. Stuck in this trance of admiring the beauty, I didn't actually comprehend him draping his jacket over my shoulders until it was rested on me.

“Aris, now you're gonna be cold. You can't-”
“I’ll be fine. As fine as it gets. Okay?”

Shaking my head a little at home, I moved closer. Leaning my head on his shoulder again, I took his freezing hands in mine, holding them tightly.

“You’ve always been so selfless. Always,”I whispered.

“Maybe not always,”He mumbled.

“Always. Always, always, always,”I repeated, meeting his eyes. His gaze was soft, gentle even.

Besides the crashing of the waves and chirping of birds, there was complete silence, just me looking at him and him staring back before his eyes glanced towards my lips. I found my heart stopped beating for a second as I did the same, the same thought crossing my head that I'm sure is crossing his.

What happens if we kiss?

I looked back up at his eyes, my heart now racing in my chest. Without a word, he took his hands out of mine to cup my face. There was no need for the jacket anymore as my entire body seemed warm and tingly. Especially where his touch laid.

“Can I-”
“Y/N, I've got your jacket!”

In a flash, we pulled away, him facing the front as I looked at my friend. Completely oblivious to what she had interrupted, if there was another to interrupt, she handed it to me before skipping off.

Staying there, I looked at the jacket in my hand that was suddenly much less appealing than the one I had. Not really knowing how to say that or what to say at all, I stayed silent as I faced the front, not daring to look at him. Even when our time was up for today, I stayed put as he left.

I could have left earlier, but that would be breaking the early morning tradition. Something I just can't bring myself to do, no matter how long those minutes seemed to drag on or how tense things were.

I like tradition. I don't like change. My whole life has been changed, and that scares me.

Is there such a thing as good change?

Did our entire dynamic just change? Is that good?