y/n: your name

u/n: username

tws: swearing, drinking

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y/n's pov *

"i wanna take you on a date," clay said nonchalantly, and i turned to look at him.

"aren't we on a date right now?"

we were currently crouching on two oak stairs in the dining room of our minecraft survival world, a flowerpot lively with a red poppy set atop our scaffolding dinner table to set the mood.

clay tossed a single cooked mutton at me before eating his own.

i gasped. "lamb chops? really breaking the bank with this one huh dreamy poo?"

he snickered but brushed past the nickname. "i could take you to get real lamb chops you know. fancy restaurant, two different forks, classical music.."

"mmhm.." i hummed, lips quirking into a smile as he trailed off trying to plan a date for us.

"or—" he laughed in that 'heheh' type of way, cutting himself off— "or we could.. like.. go play laser tag. or arcade games. or something dumb. and— and i could kick your ass and then take you to dinner as.. as loser's compensation."

"loser's compensation? really? if you think i'm the loser in that scenario then you are sorely mistaken big man."

"oh really? i would totally beat you at laser tag. try and prove me wrong," he said, sounding smug as ever as his voice dipped into that deep, cocky tone it did when he was dead-set on winning.

i narrowed my eyes at his minecraft character and punched him once. "i will then."

"alright." i heard his mouse click a couple times as he logged out of the game. "i'll meet you in the living room then. bring the red dress."

"wait, now? we're going now? and why the red one, what?"

"because you'll need something to change into when i take you to that compensatory dinner. and because you look really good in red."

i hummed once, glaring at my monitor despite my smile. "fine, okay. only if you wear that one button-down."

"which button down?"

"please, you know which one i'm talking about."

he chuckled under his breath, humored by the fact that we were both on the same page. "maybe i do, maybe i do."

"mmhm, yeah. and what— what kind of bet even is this? literally either way we go to dinner."

"true, true, but like— it's about the bragging rights."

"ohhh yeah the bragging rights, how could i forget!" i shook my head, smiling. "see you in thirty idiot."

i left the discord call and then spun around in my desk chair excitedly, knees to my chest, before promptly planted my feet to the ground as i stared into the unorganized mess of my closet thinking of what to wear to the arcade.

sweats and a hoodie was the usual.

but this was kind of important was it not?

maybe i'd call naomi in for a little style help just this once.

. . .

"this tank top, these jeans, and this jacket. boom," naomi said, shoving the folded up clothes at my chest.

"this is a more casual choice than i was expecting from you," i mused, running my hands across the varying fabrics.

"you're gonna sweat your ass off if you're trying to kick his ass, so casual is the way. besides, you don't need the glitz and glam to look hot. i could literally stick you in a paper sack and you'd model it."

"well i'm putting on the glitz and glam later since we're going to dinner too," i smiled, holding up the red dress for her to see.

naomi gasped. "wait, is that my red dress? girl i'm so fucking proud of you right now." she wrapped me in a brief but tight hug before breaking away to look me dead in the eyes. "wait, if you're going to dinner i need to do your eyeliner or something, oh my god."

"won't i just sweat it off?"

"we use waterproof in this household baby. waterproof," she tsked, digging through her makeup bag and pulling out an eyeliner pencil. in a matter of seconds she had me sitting on the edge of my bed across from her, her palm gently resting on my cheek as she drew on the dark brown liner for me.

after a moment of focused silent, she capped the pen and leaned back to look at what she'd drawn, nodding contentedly.

"what— you're done? and it's not fucked up?" i whirled, reaching for the small hand mirror resting next to me.

"no it's not fucked up. i'm the queen of eyeliner, sheesh."

"damn. how'd you get it so perfect?"

"it's a power all bisexuals have," naomi smirked, zipping up her makeup bag. she looked me up and down one last time, assessing. "change into the outfit and you'll look hot as fuck. or hotter as fuck, i mean. my job here is done."

i smiled, finishing up the final touches of my makeup. "you're the best nomi!"

"i know it!"

as she shut the door on her way out, i quickly hopped off my bed and changed into the clothes naomi had picked for my date. they were cute in a comfortable, casual way, and i felt like for the first time in forever i was pulling it off in that effortless way the clothes-owner did. the tank top was a light grey color with subtle ruching up the sides, the jeans were that slightly faded pale shade of blue, and the jacket was just some soft off-brand sports company zip-up that soothed the chilly goosebumps pricking up my arms. i paired the outfit with a good pair of athletic sneakers and decided i was ready to go kick some ass.

i stepped out into the living room to see clay slouched on the couch, and when he peeked up from his phone to look at me, i immediately spun to show off.

"ahhh," he mused, leaping off the couch to drape his arms over my shoulders, "is this the outfit you think you're going to beat me at laser tag in?"

"it is," i replied, smug. "might as well go ahead and put it on the billboards baby."

i caught my laugh in my throat.

oh shit oh fuck oh god i just called him baby.

the stupid alliteration was so tempting!

god fucking naomi rubbing her platonic baby's off on me—

but i guess it really wasn't so platonic when it was with clay was it?

he smirked at the name and kissed the top of my head, linking my hand with his. "alright baby. let's go see who's claiming bragging rights tonight."

. . .

with clay's speedy driving, we arrived at the arcade in under thirty minutes and whipped into a tight parking space outside the building.

clay quickly turned off the car and grabbed his backpack and phone before practically sprinted out of his seat and to my side of the car, tugging the door open and offering me his hand.

"what the heck, you're such a dork," i teased, but laced my fingers with his anyway, warming at the gesture.

he shut the car door behind us and lead me into the fry-smelling, disco-light-lit, game-buzzing place, scanning his eyes across the room with an excited but assessing gaze.

"arcade or tag first?" he asked after a moment, leaning down to get close to my ear so i could hear him over the blaring pop music. the rumble of his voice tickled my skin, and i shivered at the contact and turned to face him instead— practically nose to nose— which wasn't any less flustering. i don't even think he realized what he was doing.

"arcade," i decided instantly, leaning over to speak into his ear just as he had done to me, "i don't think you're ready to handle me in tag yet."

"oh come on," he smiled, pulling back to see my face, "and you call me cocky."

"you're right, i do, cause you are. cocky."

he narrowed his eyes but broke out into a grin anyway, voice deep with smugness as he talked. "that's because i never lose."

"oh yeah?" i looked around the room at all the different games being played by cheering kids and teenagers. this place was busy. but, despite that, i spotted a single machine not being played by grimy chip-dusted hands and i smirked. "win something out of that claw machine right there."

clay followed my gaze and dropped his smug expression and his confident laugh in a second. "nobody wins anything out of those things."

"well i do," i mimicked, and skipped towards the dingy machine.

"cocky, cocky," he chastised, tailing behind me.

i confronted the game with full confidence and slid four quarters into the designated slot. immediately, the bright bulbs within the stuffed animal container went alight, casting a rainbow of colors against the glass window separating me from the fluffy prizes.

clay loomed close behind me, studying my hands as i placed them over the controls and started maneuvering the claw.

"which one do you want?" i asked, eyes fixed on the plushies and not bothering to glance back at the blond boy.

i had this in the bag.

"there's no way— if you get one of these—"

"time's ticking dream," i hummed, peeeking at the red timer in the middle of the control panel.

he took a moment to peer into the stuffed animal pit and pointed to one in the corner.

"the bear. so your djungelskog has a friend."

i smiled at that and moved the claw to the left, making small adjustments here and there as i lined up. when i was sure i had it in the right spot, i smacked the red 'drop' button with a confident hit and let the claw fall and grasp at the cotton limbs of the stuffed bear. it raked through its brown fur and finally snagged beneath its legs, lifting it up and out of the pit and over to the deposit bin where a shoot at the bottom of the machine spat him out.

i presented the bear to clay and he gently took it in his hands, flipping it over and over as if it wasn't really real.

i chuckled and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "oOh, nObOdY wiNs aNyThiNg oUt oF tHoSe tHiNgS," i mocked when i pulled away.

"oh, shut up," he said through laughs, adjusting the bear to sit on his shoulders after a moment.

content with my win, i started heading off towards another game, but an announcement rang out over the speakers and clay grabbed the handle of my backpack to stop me in my tracks.

laser tag starting in ten minutes, laser tag starting in ten minutes.

we shared a glance.

"is it that time?" i asked, and he quirked a brow, dropping his hold on my backpack.

"let's go play some tag."

we weaved our way out of the busy arcade and lined up outside the laser tag room so we could get our tickets, leaving our backpacks with our formal outfits for later in a cubby by the door. once we paid for the game, we stepped inside the black-lit room and listened to the brief, alarmingly unenthusiastic explanation from the guide on how to play. when that was over, the attentiveness died down and chaos ensued as all the players filed into the final room to put on vests and get their guns.

and this was where clay and i parted.

"manhunt, but it's real life," i said loud in an announcer-like voice, and clay peeked over the shorter people surrounding him and beamed at me from across the room.

he stepped out of line and away from his team to quickly come over to kiss the top of my head, cupping my cheek in his hand as he bent down to speak into my ear. "see you on the battlefield baby," he hummed, and then the doors opened and everyone sprinted out into the arena, and i lost sight of the lanky blond boy before i could even blink.

"shit," i muttered, and dashed behind a wall to take cover as teammate after teammate was downed. i shifted so i was crouched on my heels and peeked out around a corner, shooting one, two, then three opponents as they all tried to run together towards the point. i looked down at the digital screen on my gun and smiled at the leaderboard. first place.

and then second, because u/nwastaken was beating me with five kills.

oh he did not.

three more kills but i was still in second place.

he was try-harding.

i needed to down this bitch.

i fled my hiding spot and wandered between walls, spending as little time as possible in the open but still making it obvious that i was looking for him. the arena was cleverly built and had lots of nooks and crannies to hide in, but a lot of those nooks and crannies lead to dead-ends, and none of those dead-ends seemed to have the person i was looking for hiding in them.

"clayyy!" i called out through cupped hands, mildly lost, "clayyy blockkk! green boyyy!" i paused in the absence of a response, stifling my own laughter. "daddy dreammm!"

a quiet cough and wheeze sounded from nearby and i whirled to face the direction of it.

easy.

following the noise, i tiptoed down a suspiciously quiet hallway and jumped around the corner with my gun raised, expecting one particular freckled-face blond boy to be waiting there in hiding.

but the corridor was empty.

KO, my vest rang out, and the lights whirred red as the timer for my respawn started to count down.

i spun to see clay standing at the other end of the hallway, toothy grinned, gun raised and pointed at me. the neon green light from his vest cast an ominous shadow on his face, and i thought for only a brief moment about all those tik tok edits of his dream smp moments because maybe, just maybe, him playing the villain was hot, and maybe, just maybe, him standing here right now in front of me as my opponent was only confirming that.

"daddy dream? really?" he wheezed, and my daydream dissolved.

"i knew you'd respond to that one," i smiled back.

"there's fuck— there's fucking children in here, and you're just calling out for some 'daddy dream' man—"

my vest lit up blue again and i raised my gun in instinct to fire at him, but he shot me down again, cutting off his own wheezes with the action.

"oh, ha, i'm not done with you yet," he grinned, and took a few strides towards me.

"what— is this the dream villain arc? daddy dream villain arc?" i joked, trying to keep my cool even though my heart was pounding. i naturally wanted to take a few steps back, but i was only met with the soft foam of the arena walls blocking me off from running back to my team.

dead-end.

my vest blinked blue again as i respawned, and this time clay just swatted my gun away and pressed his directly to my chest, laugh tipping into mania as he got another kill added to his name.

"pew," was all he said as he did it, and i groaned.

he tilted his gun to see the digital screen and smiled. "hey look, i'm in first place again."

"you're trash, you're garbage, this is exploitation—" i listed off.

"hm? oh, yeah, well, you can go now, i just wanted to make sure i stayed on the leaderboard," he said dismissively, suppressing his smile, clearly very pleased with himself.

i narrowed my eyes at his smug face and didn't even take one full step forward before he snaked his arms behind my back and lifted me off my feet and into a slow, triumphant spin.

"i will make sure you make it back safely," he explained casually.

"oh yeah, says the guy who just killed me three times."

he stopped spinning and propped me so my back was supported by the wall while i sat atop his arms. "only i'm allowed to do that though."

i took in the precariousness of my position and my lips quirked into a smile. "are you sparing a member of the opposing team?" i asked, leaning imperceptibly closer to him.

"maybe," he said, doing the same.

"enemies to lovers who?"

"hey, idiots, play the game," a snotty, childish voice said, and clay didn't even look to see who was talking, just raised his laser tag gun and pulled the trigger with his eyes still focused on my lips.

friendly fire, the kid's vest announced, and he whined and stormed away.

"oh, betraying your own team for me too! how romantic!" i tried to say with a straight face, but it didn't really matter what kind of smile i pulled because clay finally closed the distance between us and pressed his lips to mine with a newfound passion. it sent an electric jolt down my spine. he tasted like spearmint and smelled like cologne, and as the kiss deepened and i brought my hand to his jaw, i ran my fingers over the prickly stubble that was too blond to be seen by the eye and smiled.

"you growing your beard out caveman?" i teased when we parted for air, eyes flicking to meet his glimmering green ones in the close distance.

"you're such an idiot," he said, breathless, and met my lips again, arms tightening on my waist as i pressed harder against the wall the more intense the kiss grew to be.

our guns slipped out of our grasps and fell to the ground with a clatter, and we didn't even care because we were caught up in the moment, just enjoying the warmth of contact and kissing.

oh to stay in such a bubble forever.

but bubbles tended to pop after a while.

"u/n?"

clay and i parted instantly and looked at each other wide-eyed.

oh shit.

he awkwardly unpeeled his arms from around my waist and dropped me to my feet, and we both slowly turned around to see three teenagers standing behind us with the biggest, happiest smiles on their faces.

and they were all in dream team merch.

oh shit again.

"it is you right? u/n? or i guess i should say y/n since you're standing right in front of me. or is that weird?" the girl standing closest rambled.

"no, no! it's— um— fine!" i said, glancing up at clay for reassurance, but he was staring straight ahead, face bright red and lips pursed as he tried to hold back a laugh.

"who's your.. uh.. friend?" the other girl asked, tugging on the strings of her hoodie.

"friend. yeah, nice one amy."

"well i didn't want to assume!"

"i think them sucking face in the back of a laser tag arena pretty much clears that one up!"

"wow— uh— sorry about them!" the boy spoke up, clearing his throat and placing his hands on the girls shoulders. "what did you say your name was again dude?"

"frank."

"robert!"

"the third.. dude," clay finished, and i gave him a look that said 'what the fuck was that?' and he just shook his head, flustered.

"the third. fancy," the boy repeated, impressed.

"can we get a picture with you y/n?" the girl named amy asked.

"oh, sure! totally!" i smiled, feeling excitement bubbling in my chest as i stepped towards them and settled beneath one of the neon arena lights. "i've never been recognized in public before, so this is really cool of you guys."

"that makes sense. we're so sorry about what happened with your whole face reveal leak thing. that was awful. you're super pretty though."

"wow— uh— thank you!" i chuckled, lining up for the photo and cheesing at the camera.

the boy angled the phone in the middle of us all and hovered his thumb over the screen, but paused, casting a sidelong glance to clay. "you can get in on the picture too if you want frank."

"what? oh— i'm fine. i'm good. i'm not very.. photogenic," he fumbled, and i could see on his face that he was cursing himself for that excuse.

"i don't know, you look pretty hot to me."

"nat!"

"what? i'm right!"

"good god, can you two stop simping over random men for two seconds and smile at the camera," the boy intervened again.

"oh please spence, don't act like you're not simping too."

"just taking the flippin' picture please!"

the girls huffed and plastered on a toothy grin, hands raised in matching peace signs.