new. [a devereux]

synopsis: from being strictly friends to being in a relationship, a needs time to readjust themselves to how things used to be.

note: a and blane tied in the drabble vote and since i already had this idea in my head for a, i chose them first. blane will be next and then i'll do a short poll for one between n and rylan <3

The first time you called A by a pet name, they were startled. It took them a second to register that you were calling them. A, who’d been your partner for the past four years. A, who’d been a friend, and nothing more than a friend, during a majority of the time they’d known you.

A, who you were dating now.

It’s taken them a while to wrap their head around the idea. They’d spent so long pining over you that it never once occurred to them that it could become a reality.

They weren’t even sure they were in love with you at first—the line between friends and romance has always been blurry for them. Did they want to spend all their time with you because they liked you? Or did they just enjoy your company platonically? Was that urge to want to step closer to you, to brush the stray eyelash off your face a friendly gesture? Or something else entirely? They went back and forth between the conflicting emotions for months—perhaps even years—but it was only when they realized they wanted to kiss you that it hit them.

Wanting to kiss your closest friend probably wouldn’t be considered platonic. At least, it wasn’t for A.

From then on, they tried not to let anything show. Don’t ruin the friendship, don’t ruin the good thing you have going for your own selfish desires.

But then you wanted it too, and everything fell into place.

Babe. Love. Darling.

All were names A heard fall from your lips in the month following the start of your romantic relationship. They think darling is their favourite, but then you’ll say something else and it’ll change entirely.

“Hey, darling,” you’ll say as you greet them in the hallway. Oftentimes, A will get a kiss pressed to their cheek, causing their cheeks to flush pink. They’re not opposed to PDA, but god, did they look like a fool every time you did anything romantic in public. A lovesick fool.

Thoughts beginning to drift again, A glances at you. The two of you are in their apartment, a place you’re at often now. Your legs are draped over theirs, your thighs touching as you lean against them and scroll through your phone.

“I feel like I don’t call you by enough pet names,” A blurts out.

That gets your attention. Immediately, you drop your phone and flick your gaze over. A can tell you’re trying to figure out if this is some type of joke, but they’re being serious—and soon, you realize that too.

“You don’t need to call me by a pet name,” you tell them.

“I want to though. I just, I’m so used to you being… Name.”

You laugh. “And I’m not now?”

“You know what I mean.” A passes you a meaningful look, fingers tracing shapes on your skin. “We spent so long being friends that calling you anything but your name feels strange to me. Calling you something like babe is… foreign. I don't know, I'm not used to it.”

“Foreign, huh?” You’re poking fun of them now, but A doesn’t mind. They turn their tracing into tickling, only stopping when you begin to squirm away from them. They’re comfortable where they are and they don’t want you to leave. Not yet.

“Stop teasing me. This is a serious topic,” A jokes. They hesitate for a second before adding, “Babe.”

Your eyes brighten, both with amusement and joy. “You’re so cute—” You lean over and press into them, hands on their cheeks. “—but you don’t have to use a word you’re not comfortable with. I like the way you say my name.”

A flush of heat runs through A’s body at the words, but they need to ask you one last thing. “Wouldn’t you rather me call you things like babe though? Your name is what I called you when we weren’t dating.”

“A,” you whisper, voice soft. “It doesn’t matter what you call me. I’m happy with you and that all that matters. We shouldn’t try to erase the history we had before all of this.”

“You’re right,” A breathes out. With your reassurance, they lean into your touch, eyes fluttering shut as you press a light kiss to their lips. You begin to pull away when A goes for a second kiss, and then a third, and then—

Nothing. There’s nothing that A wants more in the world. The two of you continue kissing on their couch until you’re out of breath, laughing and smiling but happy.