His Princess ( FP Jones x Reader )

After Hours

Written by: http://bubble-tea-bunny.tumblr.com/post/176356858674/after-hours-fp-jones-x-reader-authors-note

You see him today.

He comes by the Wyrm late in the afternoon, late enough that the sun is just beginning to disappear behind the horizon and give way to night. But you don't notice his presence right away. The open and closing of the door is easy to ignore, for you're occupied at the Mortal Kombat cabinet, taking down Liu Kang with several well-placed combos. (You've been brushing up on your Raiden lately and it's paying off in leagues.) It's only when someone calls out FP's name in greeting that you tear your eyes away from the screen.

Your retinas are straining as you turn your attention to your low-lit environment. You hadn't realize just how long you'd been playing. He doesn't make it very far into the room before he's stopped by someone else to chat, and you observe the two of them for a moment. As if feeling your stare, he meets your gaze from over the shoulder of the one in front of him, and you smile a little, until you hear the sound of Raiden struggling, defenseless and receiving an onslaught of attacks in your period of distraction. Quickly you twist back around, barely managing to dodge another one of Liu Kang's moves.

The screen flashes, telling of your victory just as he reaches you. He leans against the side of the cabinet and your eyes slide away from the character selection to find him with arms crossed and a grin on his face.

"So the big day is tomorrow," he begins. "You excited?"

You smile widely. "I am. I get to spend it with everyone here. Just not sure if I'll feel any different, like everyone says happens."

He chuckles. "Maybe you will a little. It's a big milestone." He spots someone coming this way and stands up straight, glancing back down at you. "Looks like you've got a competitor. I'll get out of your way." With one more grin and a pat on your shoulder, he leaves and makes his way over to the bar.

You're left staring at the back of him in those seconds between his departure and the arrival of your friend Brandon, who has been adamant for weeks now to kick your ass at Mortal Kombat. The leather jacket stretches taut over FP's broad shoulders, the two serpent heads on the back even more menacing in the dim lights of the Wyrm, all slitted pupils and forked tongues and you swear you can hear the hissing in the back of your brain. He leans against the bar as he talks to Hog Eye and rests one of his boots on the foot rail. One hand comes up to run through dark hair, long fingers brushing back loose strands that have fallen out of place. And you don't really consider it coincidence the way your mouth has dried in these few moments only represented by a few of the ticks of the seconds hand on the analog clock hanging on the other side of the room. He laughs at something Hog Eye says, and you feel your chest tighten at the sound. You swallow hard.

"I mean it this time, [Name]. You're going down." Brandon comes up next to you, effectively blocking your view of FP.

"Not even in your dreams..." you mutter as you turn back to the screen, and you can't help but laugh when he exclaims Hey! He grabs a quarter from his pocket and you listen to it clank its way through the inside of the machine as he drops it in the coin slot.

He picks Scorpion. You pick Sub-Zero. The first match of the evening starts, the voiceover announcing Round One: FIGHT!! More people are coming in and the noise behind you increases. This place always becomes livelier at the end of the day. But you pay it no mind, both of you focused fully on the game at hand. (And as is to be expected, you leave the Wyrm a few hours later undefeated.)

When all the lights in your room are switched off at night, you can't see anything. The guest room on the opposite side of the hall has windows that catch some of the reflection of the street lamps, but your own is situated facing the backyard, where, for the most part, there's no outside illumination to be had. The only exception is when your neighbor's security lights turn on for a few seconds at the presence of a raccoon scuttling through their yard, but that's more annoying than anything due to how harsh of a glare it is. At least the street lamps have a soft glow about them.