is that cool with you? - zuckles x reader

chapter one - moving up (and moving on)

i wish i could put you in a photograph

use your heart like a map

eyes are like windows to the soul

so open yours - and i'll bring you home.

.. june 18th, 2020 ..

"Would you just let go of me?"

"I'll let you go when I put you in the fucking ground, you worthless -"

An alarm blares from her bedside table, pulling her from the nightmare to reality. Y/N slams her hand onto the clock, silencing the sound. Her subconscious tainted, she leaves her bed - only to trip over her backpack. Swearing, she tosses it onto the bed and dresses in her orange Misfits hoodie (courtesy of Swagger), charcoal grey sweatpants, and black fuzzy socks. Shambling out to the dining room, her mood lifts slightly at both the warm bacon and eggs resting on the kitchen table - and her dad waving at her from the kitchen.

"Did you sleep at all last night? I could hear you tapping away at your keyboard until I fell asleep." Her dad jabs, setting a hot tea kettle on a cooler burner.

Y/N pours a mug of hot water and honey, dropping a decaf green tea bag inside. "About two hours. Swagger managed to get me in first class for all of my flights, so hopefully, I can catch up on what I missed."

"Good, good. You know, I'm really proud of you," Her dad praises. "You've just turned 18 and you're already moving halfway across the world for your dreams. I can't wait to see what you create."

Y/N gives her dad a watery smile, her throat tight with unshed tears as she admires her nearly unchanged childhood home. "I can't believe I'm actually doing it. It feels like a dream."

Her dad ruffles her hair and sends her to the kitchen table. "Eat up, Peanut. You've got some long flights ahead of you."

After breakfast is inhaled, Y/N wanders back to her old room, looking at the bare walls longingly.

"Even after all these years, I still feel right at home in this room," She mumbles, hefting her backpack on from the floor. A few spare tears leak out from her eyes, quickly swept away by shaking hands. "I'm really going to miss you, Dad."

Her dad leans in the doorway. "I'll miss you too. But there's always video calls, and you can always come home. I'm just a few flights away."

Tears pour from her eyes now, and she tightly wraps her arms around her dad. He hugs her back, becoming the rock to lean on that he always knew he could be.

"Now, let's do this," He sighs, a warm smile on his old face. "You ready to fly, little bird?"

Once the last tearful goodbyes were said, and she watched her dad drive away from the terminal, she knew that there was no going back. Clambering through the TSA was no issue, but the antagonizing wait was the killer. With nothing to do but wait, she called Swagger.

"Hey, Y/N! Just the lady I wanted to hear from. How are you?"

"I'm exhausted as shit, mate," Y/N jokes, Swagger's laugh echoing on the other end. "It's 5:30am here and I can't wait to get these flights over with so I can finally see you scuffed fuckers in person."

"Everyone's really excited for you to get here. Your stuff got here yesterday, so all your boxes of shit are currently sitting smack in the middle of your floor. We gave you a bed, a dresser, a desk, a bookshelf, and there's a built-in closet."

"Sounds awesome, Swags. Where's my room in the house?"

"We put you next door to Mason. I hope that's alright with you. Actually, you really don't have a choice - Cam picked the only other empty room in the house."

"It's all good, dude. I'm sure Mason and I will get along just fine."

"You say that now - get your hands off the phone, Mason! " Swagger yells away from the phone, Mason's manic laughter bubbling out of the speaker. "- but you might change your mind."

"Mason's there? Let me talk to him, dude!"

"Alright, fine!" Swagger barks, his voice growing faint. "Here you go you fuckin' ape, now keep your goddamn hands off -"

"Y/N!" Mason hollers into the microphone, making Y/N pull the device away from her ear. "I can't wait for you to get here! Imagine all the trouble we can get into!"

She laughs, watching as her departure time ticks ever closer. "Real smart of you to say that with Swagger right next to you, Mason."

He lets out a startled noise, and a loud clatter follows as he scampers to hide in the bathroom. "Don't mind the noise, just knocked over a chair. Anyway, I seriously can't wait. It's been lovely talking with you over the internet for the past year, and I think meeting you in person is just gonna tie it all together."

"Damn bro, getting sappy on me."

"I - wh - never!"

"Haha big dumb idiot, now give Swagger his phone back. I need to discuss a couple more things with him before my flight leaves."

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Mason grumbles, his voice fading as he leans away from the phone. "Y/N wants to talk with you again!"

"Thank you, you dumb bitch! I thought I'd never get my phone out of your slimy little hands. Give it here. Hey!"

"Hey, Swags. Listen, uh, how am I gonna get to the house? I feel like we discussed this but I just can't remember for the life of me."

"Oh, the whole crew is coming along to pick you up from the airport. Just look for a giant sign that says 'scuffed crew' and you'll see us."

"Not gonna put my name or 'Y/T/N' ?"

"Nah. Who knows how many fans might be at the airport? We want to be as discreet as possible, that way we can get home nice and easy."

"That's fair. Hey, listen dude, I'd love to keep talking with you, but I'm gonna be flying for the next few hours, and my flight's boarding as we speak," Y/N chirps, slinging her backpack back on. "I'll send selfies from each airport."

"Alright dude, see you in a day!"

Turning airplane mode on, She stuffs her phone into her pocket, flashes her travel slip, and boards the plane.