Imagine

You're at your place of work, maybe your job or your school, and you're walking through the halls. You have plenty of time to get where you're going, so you're taking your time. A leisurely stroll. And the hallways are empty and quiet, save for a squeaking of shoes here and there from adjacent hallways.

Until you get close to where you're going, your office, your classroom. From around the corner you hear a whispering noise. You stop to listen, just for a moment. Someone is mumbling to themself, it almost sounds like they're encouraging themself?

You peek around the corner, and it's someone you know looking extremely nervous. They're holding a little stuffed plush of your favorite animal in their hands. Their face is flushed and they keep wiping their palms on their pants.

Curious, you resume your walk to your destination. And on the way there, they see you and quickly hide the plush behind their back before awkwardly waving. You walk up to them, and they start anxiously stammering. It's a little hard to make out, but it's something about how they've been wanting to talk to you.

They take a deep breath, steady themself, and tell you they have something they've been meaning to give you. You act surprised and delighted, the delight isn't an act though. Closer up, the plush is extremely soft and the perfect size for carrying around.

They say something along the lines that they heard you talking about what your favorite animal is and how much you love it, and they just happened to see a plush on their way home one day.

They emphasize that it's not a big deal, though you can tell it's a big deal to them. But you don't show it, and accept their gift gratefully. They look utterly relieved if a little flushed.

You walk into the room together, chattering and laughing. You didn't react too strongly to the gift at first, you didn't want to worsen their nerves, but inside you're melting at the thoughtfulness.

Imagine

You're getting ready for bed. You put on your pajamas, brush your teeth, plug in your phone, you do all the things you need to do before you get yourself tucked in and ready to go to sleep.

And when everything is done, you get cuddled up in warm blankets, lay your head down on a comfortable pillow, and you reach over and grab the plushie you have of your F/O.

While it's no substitute for the real thing, this plushie gives you comfort. No matter if it's big or small, you hug it with the same amount of love you would hug your F/O with.

You think about your F/O, you tell them about your day and imagine what their reactions and thoughts would be. You imagine what their day would be like, what they would tell you about. You imagine them holding you back, their arms around you, their chest against you, their warmth lulling you to sleep.

And you do eventually fall asleep. Maybe a lonely feeling or an emptiness lingering, but you fall asleep nonetheless. It's a peaceful sleep.

You wake up groggily and in your half awake state realize that you're not holding your plush anymore. Eyes closed, you check on and under your pillow, you check under the blanket around you, and no dice.

So you roll over and begin to sweep the bed's surface. But before you can even fully extend your arm, you feel something. It feels like... an arm?

Your eyes shoot open and it takes you a moment to process what's in front of you. It's your F/O...!?

They're laying on their side, head on the pillow next to you. It seems they've been awake a while longer than you, just waiting for you to wake up. Suppressing a grin, they stay quiet at first, letting the scene sink in.

It has to be them. The same hair, the same eyes, the same nose, the same face. Their outfit, their body, their expression. It's all them, it has to be.

You've never been together in person before but it's all so familiar. You've imagined this scene a million times and it's exactly as you pictured it but a thousand times better.

Hesitantly, you put your hand on their face. It's solid. Warm. Inviting. You're completely sure you're not imagining it now.

Your F/O allows themself to laugh a little at your bewildered expression. They lean into your touch and look at you with all the love in the world.

After a couple more minutes of processing, it really sinks you and you lunge into them. You hold them so tightly, and they hold you right back. You take in their warmth, their voice, their smell, the way they hold you. You take it all in and you savor it, you commit every last beautiful, excruciating detail to memory.

And you just lay there for a while. Tears run down your face but your F/O doesn't acknowledge them, they just hold you tighter. Their hands run softly through your hair, their thumb rubs circles on your back. They're taking in your presence as much as you are theirs. They've just had a little while longer to process and understand.

After what seems like minutes and hours at the same time, you reluctantly pull back a little, but you don't let go. You're not sure if you'll ever let go.

You ask them rapidfire questions, do they know how they're here, how long have they been here, how are they doing. And they answer and they ask you some in return.

The conversation is easy, you get along as well as you knew you would. And it's all just so easy. So comfortable, familiar, normal. It's not awkward or stilted, it's just... easy.

You're not sure how things will go from now on. How your life will change, how your F/O will acclimate to their new life. But you have each other. You have each other, and you can get through anything.

This was so much fun to write omg. Literally I think about this every single night lmao.