Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Slime is always searching for something to do on weekdays, he either stays at home gaming— on call with his friends—, playing D&D, or he finds something to do outside. On a random Wednesday, he decides to drive around town and see if he can find a nice place to visit since it was a nice sunny day. He parks his car and walks around the street—simply exploring the area—, he finds a small local café that has a few people in it, a simple café seems nice. He opens the door as it jingles with a small bell, people look over for a second then continue with their conversations and coffee. It was a really cute café, pastel decor with posters and paintings on the walls, small tables and just a row of booths along one wall…there even seemed to be a small upstairs area. The space just felt cozy, what a nice place to be on a calm day. He looked up at the menu on the wall, it was simply written, but there were many options so he stared at the list for a while. 

After a minute or two he was at the front of the line, and he hadn’t made up his mind yet—still looking at the list. The worker at the register gave him a little extra time before asking, “Do you need help deciding?” He looked at the person in front of him and was going to respond but he ended up just staring at him. This man was beautiful to him, dark hair, deep brown eyes that he could get lost in, large feathered wings, and an accent that he couldn’t quite place. Slime eventually shook it off, “Yes, I’d like help— there’s a lot of options” Slime fidgeted a little with his fingers, he felt stupid for randomly thinking that way about a stranger. “I personally like the mango peach boba, it’s not too sweet— and if you want a treat at all, the strawberry tarts, mini key lime or pecan pies are also good.” he responded calmly, there was a few times that a customer couldn't decide, the menu is very large and it’s easy to get overwhelmed so he understood. “Oh, alright, I’ll try the boba- and the key lime” he hesitated a little, feeling kind of awkward from his own thoughts. “Alright, If you come again I can recommend something else for you depending on how you feel—“ he chuckled slightly, “The total is $9.55.” 

Slime gave him a smile and took out his wallet, he took out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to him, casually looking at his name tag. Mariana was hand written on it, with a few little flower stickers around it— a poppy, rose, some sunflowers and a tulip. Mariana put the bill into the register and handed Slime his change, and Slime handed it back to him. “You can keep that— a tip for uh- recommending stuff to me.” Mariana looked at him awkwardly, “It’s a bit much though? It’s about 10 dollars extra.” Slime smiled, “It’s alright, you can keep it.” Internally, Slime was screaming, I'm embarrassing myself aren't I?  “Alright then… What’s your name by the way? For the order?” Slime hesitated a bit, almost as if he forgot his own name, “Uh.. It’s Charlie, friends call me Slime so you could use either”  Mariana looked at him almost as if he spoke an alien language or something, “I’ll put Charlie for you.” 

There was a small pause of silence as Slime got handed his receipt, all he got out was “Thanks.” and then he moved to the side to wait for his order. He had just realized how long the line had gotten and he was holding it up. He felt awful for holding up a line and ordering only two things. Once he received his order, he sat down at a table by the window, looking out at the pretty day outside, and occasionally glancing at Mariana working, seeing as he smiled with every customer— that man had a lot of patience. Slime ate his pie, it was pretty good, he wasn’t usually a fan of lemon or lime flavored things, but he surprisingly liked this one. The boba was just as Mariana described it, sweet, but not too much, he could taste both the mango and peach which was interesting since usually one overshadows the other. He sat there for about an hour, just zoning out and relaxing in the calm environment. 

Everyone spoke with a whisper and was either working quietly on a laptop or talking about their days to their friends. For just a moment Slime felt a little lonely, just a little. He put his head down on the table, ending up completely staring at Mariana, it wasn’t at all discreet. After the line died down and Mariana was free for a while, he noticed Slime staring, looking back at him. Slime had done it once again… stared at Mariana… this time he just turned around and looked out the window instead. Mariana didn’t just ignore him and instead walked over to where he was sitting, “Did you need something?” he asked. Slime was startled a bit and lifted his head up from the table. “Oh, uh, no… not really.” He didn’t expect Mariana to come up to him. “You were staring at me though.” Mariana lifted a brow, wondering, “You sure?” Slime just nodded and avoided eye contact. Mariana sighed and walked back over to the counter to see if there's other work to do.

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CHAPTER TWO: WAIT FOR ME

Slime looked at his phone for the time and realized how long he had been there, getting up and throwing away his garbage. He looked back at Mariana and then left the café. Maybe I’ve found my new favorite place to be?  Time flew while he was there and he stayed there two hours without realizing. The view outside the café was nice, there was a park right outside so there were many trees and flowers growing there. He also enjoyed the view inside, the cozy atmosphere and Mariana definitely made him stay longer than he expected. As Slime arrived home he threw himself on his couch face first, “I thought having a crush like this is only for high school or something, how can I feel this way about a man I literally just met?” he mumbled into one of the couch cushions. Love at first sight is so dumb, he just found this man attractive immediately.

Slime eventually got over it and made dinner. It was only 7pm but he felt like going to bed earlier— he somehow stressed himself into exhaustion. Slime cooked himself a Cacio e Pepe recipe he got from the internet, it was surprisingly pretty good, the recipe was made for two servings so he put away the leftovers for another time. After eating dinner and drinking his juice, he takes the dish and cup to the kitchen and washes them, placing them onto the drying rack. He sighed and went over to the couch, he watched a random movie to pass a little time, then went to his room for bed. He laid in bed for an hour—trying to sleep— so he ended up sleeping at 10pm.

In the morning, Slime really wanted to see Mariana again, so he decided to have breakfast at that café, just to see if he was there. Slime brushed his teeth, washed his face, and got dressed to go out… eventually driving to the place again. Today, the café was weirdly more packed than before, I guess some other people found the chill environment nice as-well.  He looked past the line and saw that Mariana was there again, he hoped this time to not be as awkward. 

Mariana POV: 

It was 10am, Mariana had been at work for about an hour, a pretty calm day so far… The majority of those that ordered something just came in for a simple coffee to-go. Then Mariana hears the little bell of the door jingle once again, glancing at the door— it was Charlie again. He shrugged it off, continuing taking people's orders. At the back of his mind he thought, ¿Qué debería recomendar hoy?, what should he recommend to Slime today? He honestly didn’t think Slime would be visiting again the next day. He decided to wait for him to reach the front of the line, maybe he’ll decide on his own this time. After a few minutes, Slime had reached the front of the line and he gave him a smile, “Hello again, you decide what you want this time?” Slime laughed a little, “Yeah, uh, I’ll try the french toast today, and the cookie dough coffee seems interesting” Huh, El escogió algo este vez, he chose something this time.  “Alright, iced or hot? And would you like a side with the french toast?” Mariana smiled at Slime, he felt strangely proud of him for choosing something, maybe he was just having an off day yesterday? 

Slime POV:

“I’ll have it iced, and uh I’ll have it with some eggs— sunny side up” I practically scripted this interaction on my way here, just to not mess up. “Alright, that’ll be 19.29” Slime took out his wallet and gave him the money, once again allowing Mariana to keep the change. This time Mariana just accepted the money, he didn’t leave as big a tip this time, just a five dollar tip. Slime walked over to the side and waited for his order as Mariana took the order of the next person in line. Slime had this stupid smile on his face, he was so proud of not messing up this time. Eventually his name was called and he took his order to the table he sat at last time, thankfully no one sat there. He sat down and ate his food, the french toast was really soft and buttery, it was probably one of the best french toast he had ever tasted— or he over exaggerated it due to him looking at Mariana again— he could be eating garbage and it would taste good at that moment. 

About half an hour passed, and Slime just sat there looking out the window sipping his coffee. He daydreamed of actually having a conversation with Mariana, but he obviously won't do that since he’s working…he needs to figure out when he has a break or is off work… But he wasn’t gonna do that either or it would seem stalkerish. Slime over thinks a lot, he thought of every single scenario while in the car— just so he wouldn’t hold up the line again. He wondered what Mariana thought of him, even though they've only interacted with a few words and he didn’t make the best first impression since he got nervous. Slime finished his coffee without even realizing, he just heard the sound of an empty cup when the straw had nothing going through. 

Slime looked at the time on his phone, yet another half hour sitting there, just looking out the window and at Mariana, quite literally just enjoying the view. This day so far has not  been productive at all. He finally decides to throw out his garbage and such, looking at Mariana again, but this time they have a moment of eye contact— so Slime just waves and walks out the door quickly, he was being way too awkward, he needed to somehow gain some confidence if he ever wanted to even be friends with Mariana. 

How could he be so interested with Mariana when they barely spoke?

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CHAPTER THREE:  INTERESTING?

One Month After Slime Meets Mariana

Quackity POV:

Quackity is a teacher, he isn’t the best with kids but he loves to teach them, even though they don’t really enjoy his company— One in particular he really doesn’t get along with, but that’s not important right now.— Quackity’s co-teacher, Badboyhalo, would sometimes be absent and he’d need to call someone to substitute— the principal allows it to be one of his friends since the co-teacher was really there just to help, not teach anything. Quackity had a select few friends he would pick, but this one occasion everyone was busy, so he rang his good ol’ friend Charlie Slimecicle, to see if he was free. Quackity doesn’t really know much of how Slime is with kids at all but Slime seems to be his only option at this point. “Heeello?” Slime responds quite quickly, he probably isn’t doing anything important. “Uh, Hi Slime, are you busy at all today?” Quackity asked him kind of awkwardly, he wasn’t really sure of this decision to be honest. “Uh no, I’m just at this local café I keep returning to— You need something?” Slime sounded kind of Sad? Quiet? He was probably just being quieter due to being in public. “Bad couldn’t come to work today, again, he’s been kinda sick— I was wondering if you’d  just come over to the school and just be there, I find it tough with the kids sometimes so having an extra pair of hands is helpful” Quackity was desperate, if he didn’t find someone now, he’d probably be alone for the day, and the last time that happened he could barely keep the class quiet. “Oh, uh, sure I can come over, you need me right now right?” Slime questioned. “Yeah, it’s best if you come as soon as you can, class starts soon.” Quackity even sounded desperate over the phone. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, just send me the address just in case, I don’t want to get lost.”

Slime POV:

Earlier that day,

Slime had strangely woken up pretty early, somehow didn’t struggle to sleep last night. Work wasn’t that tough yesterday I guess… He usually woke up late on Mondays, exhausted from working the day before… Today was different for some reason. He shrugged it off, getting dressed and heading out to the café once again. Upon arrival he saw that Mariana wasn’t there today, he was kind of sad, but he ordered something anyway— the food was actually good there anyway. He sat down at his usual table, and ate his food— until he got a phone call.

Later,

Slime arrived at the school, getting a pass to enter and such— Quackity had already told the staff he’d be coming thankfully. The staff gave him a slip of paper saying the room number and such, so he followed that to Quackity’s classroom. Once he arrived at the classroom, Quackity was there waiting for him. “Seriously, thanks for coming, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t to be honest—“ Slime interrupted, “You would’ve worked either way, you’d have figured it out probably.” Quackity looked at him like he was crazy— He’s been getting that look a lot lately. “You have no idea how much I suffer, these kids hate me.” Quackity has never been so serious, “Okay, okay, I get it.” Slime didn’t think Quackity could even be that way. 

Eventually class started, Quackity left Slime in the classroom so he could go get the kids, and then he returned. Almost all the kids ran into the classroom, only a select few walked quietly into the room. Quackity yelled for everyone to sit and calm down, Slime just sat there, not knowing what to do. Slime hasn’t even been in a school for a while, the environment was a complete opposite of that cozy café he was just at. Quackity gestured toward Slime to introduce him, he wasn’t sure what he wanted the kids to call him, so he left that up to him to tell. Slime felt awkward, it was literally like the first day of school and he knew nobody— except Tilín, his wonderful niece— Tilín waved at Slime with a smile while they sat in their seat. They probably did that just to make him feel more at ease. 

As the day went on, Slime got more comfortable with the kids and Tilín introduced him to their best friend, Juanaflippa. “This is my Tío Slime!” Tilín seemed a bit too excited to introduce her best friend to her “favorite uncle” — she says that to all her uncles to be honest. Juana was a bit shy at first, she didn’t know what to say. All she got at that moment was “Hi.” Slime was okay with that, he also felt awkward too. “My name is Charlie, but all my friends call me Slime, what’s your name?” He tried his best to try to break the ice with simple small talk. Juanaflippa looked at him with astonishment, she seemed very happy to hear that for some reason. “I’m Juanaflippa!” she had the brightest smile, it practically made the whole room light up. Wonder what made her so happy all of a sudden… “Well, it’s nice to meet you Juanaflippa” he smiled back at her, this kid was a ball of sunshine. 

After hours the day was over, and it seemed to have ended pretty quickly too. Slime actually enjoyed hanging out with and helping the kids. The kids found him funny, instead of looking at him like he was insane he actually got laughs from them. He sat at the front of the room as the parents of the kids came to pick them up, eventually it was just Tilín, Juana, Slime, and Quackity in the room. Tilín and Juana were building a puzzle on the floor, Juana definitely wasn’t expecting her parents to come on time and was used to this. Slime noticed this and questioned Quackity about it, Quackity just shrugged and said that was the usual, her parent usually made excuses like traffic and such for being late, he hadn’t questioned it any further. Slime shrugged and asked if he should leave now since he technically didn’t need to be there anymore, and Quackity told him he could go, so he did.

Quackity POV: 

Quackity sat at his desk, just watching the kids play, this was routine at this point, and he could technically message Mariana to see what the hold-up was, but he didn’t bother. Tilín and Juana have had countless playdates and such, so they aren’t necessarily strangers. Once Mariana finally arrived to pick Juana up, Quackity didn’t even question it and just allowed Juana to go, having them clean up the mess on the floor and they all left together. 

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CHAPTER FOUR: ARE YOU KIDDING?

Slime POV:  

Slime hadn’t realized how exhausted he was until he arrived home, the kids were a handful to deal with, at least Tilín, Juana, Lullah, and a select few weren’t as bad. Slime sat on the couch of his living room, taking out his phone to find what to make for dinner this time. Planning early isn’t something he usually does, but he’s gotten into the habit now because of him planning basically everything now… He plans what to order at the café whenever he goes, and tries to make a plan on how to talk to Mariana more— those always don’t work though. 

The next morning he decides that he won’t  go to the café, since he didn’t see Mariana yesterday, he came to the conclusion that maybe he only works Wednesday to Friday or something— since those are the only days he’s seen him. Slime decides it’s a day to stay in, he’s been going out a lot lately.  Slime makes himself breakfast and then goes into his office to play some games. What to play today?  

A few hours later,

Slime finishes playing and logs off for the day. It felt kind of off, even though that was basically his whole routine before— had he really gotten that used to going to that café? He seriously needed a way to talk to Mariana more, but every plan he makes doesn’t happen because he gets too nervous. Maybe he could ask one of his friends if they know what to do? No, they’d probably laugh at him. He went out of the office and into the kitchen to prepare dinner, taking out the recipe he looked up earlier, Flautas seemed simple enough. 

After Dinner, Slime decided to watch a random movie again, sitting on the couch, wrapped up with a blanket like a burrito. Once it had finished he went off to bed, he stayed in bed for an hour and a half, unable to sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about Mariana, about the kid that was so happy just to hear his name, how he actually helped Quackity not go insane that day, how he actually played with the kids and they enjoyed his company. He never thought of having kids at all, but the good experience with them made him kind of wonder about it.

In the morning, Slime stretched a little, he was honestly surprised he got any sleep last night. He grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and wiped them with his shirt, putting them on and looking at the time... It was the afternoon. He sighed and went to the bathroom, washed his face and brushed his teeth, usual routine. He then realized It’s Wednesday, that immediately gave him the energy for the day, he was going to see Mariana. Slime went back to his room and got dressed, grabbing his phone and seeing a missed call from Quackity— he hoped it wasn’t anything important. Slime sent a message to Quackity, just in case.

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S: Hey Q

S: I just woke up

S: Sorry I missed your call

. 

. . 

. . .

Q: oh it's alright, i just was wondering if you were busy today

Q: nothing important this time, just wanted to hang out since it's been a while

S: I'm not busy today, i was just about to go to that café I told you about

S: Again

Q: you really like that place?

S: Yeah, it’s cozy

Q: alright, can i join you this time then?

S: That'd be great, i'll send you the address

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Slime arrived at the café before Quackity, so he decided to wait for him.  He sat down at his usual spot, looking over at the counter… and there he was. Mariana noticed him and smiled, giving him a slight wave while taking someone's order. Slime smiled back, just seeing Mariana smile made him happy as-well… Reminds him of Juanaflippa, when she smiled and looked so pure, so wholesome. Slime hadn’t felt this kind of joy in a while, of course he’s happy with his friends and such, but this was different. Slime looked out the window at the park, this time noting the people with their families being so full of joy, instead of just zoning out looking at the nature he also looked around the café, noticing that most people there were there to be with a friend or work, he was the only one that came there without an obvious reason. At least this time Quackity was coming.

Ten minutes later Quackity arrives, late, might I add. Slime stared at him like he committed a crime, how dare he make me sit here like an idiot. Quackity apologized for being late, he got lost somehow. Slime sighed and got up, “Well, I’m hungry, I haven’t had breakfast at all.” “You could’ve gotten something while waiting though?” Quackity reasoned. “I need you for moral support though.” Slime complained, he seriously was going to depend on Quackity so he can have at least a little more confidence. “Moral support? To order food?” Quackity once again made that face, the one that judges his life choices. Slime gestured towards Mariana, hoping Quackity would get what he meant. Quackity glanced in Marianas direction and back at Slime, “You’ve got a crush on the cashier?” Slime blushed a little, and just nodded. Quackity sighed, “That’s why you’ve been coming here a lot?” “No, I just- Yes and no, The food is actually good here, he’s just a bonus.” it wasn’t entirely a lie, but Quackity shook his head at that answer. They both eventually got in line, Slime already knew what he wanted but he let Quackity decide on something from the huge list of items they serve.  

Quackity eventually decided on what he wanted, since there were so many options he chose some of the simplest things. Slime and Quackity got to the front of the line, Slime smiled to hide any nerves, that was his tactic at this point to not mess up at all. “Bit late today, eat breakfast somewhere else?” Mariana laughed a little at his own joke. “Nah, I just woke up late today, I’m gonna have breakfast now.” Slime somehow confidently said that, it made him sound proud of it, which he didn’t want. “Alright, what are you gonna order?” Slime instantly thought of his little script in his brain, “I’ll have some Avocado Toast with egg” Mariana smiled at him, “Sunny side up?” Oh he went off script,  “Yeah, and I’ll have a kiwi fruit smoothie” Slime then looked over at Quackity so he could order too. Mariana looked at Quackity and Quackity looked at Mariana. They stared for like two seconds but it was noticeable, “I’ll just have a grilled cheese with a side of fries, and an apple juice” Quackity just ordered quickly, avoiding anything unnecessary. “Okay, your total is 36.54, are you paying together?” Slime and Quackity looked at each other and shrugged, “I’ll pay, it’s fine.” Slime insisted, Quackity nodded, and Slime took out his wallet, paying for the food and once again letting Mariana keep the change as a tip. Both Slime and Mariana said “Thanks” at the same time and laughed. Slime and Quackity eventually went over to the side to wait for their orders. 

Once they received their orders they went back to that one table by the window. As soon as Slime was sure that Mariana was busy, he spoke, “I always want to say something more but I never get to that, just basic interaction.” Quackity took a sip of his apple juice, “I know him.”

“What? Really? How?” Slime was surprised, what a small world. Quackity took another sip, “His kid is in my class.” Slime just froze for a moment, questioning everything, “Oh.” It was silent for a bit, he just ate his food, and so did Quackity. “Then can you tell me more about him?…” Quackity made that one look again, “You do know there’s a thing called privacy  that exists right? I can’t just tell you information about him.” “Please, I’ve known him for like a month now, and I’m beginning to feel like this is never gonna go anywhere, just pleeeeease tell me— I’ll pay you.” Slime was desperate he wanted to interact with Mariana outside of just ordering something and random small talk. 

Quackity put his hand out on the table and Slime immediately placed a 20 dollar bill in his hand. “His kid is Juanaflippa, he’s Mexican and is more fluent in Spanish than English, and uhh he’s a single parent.” Slimes face went through a variety of expressions, he felt happy when he learned that it was Juana, interested when he learned that he doesn’t usually speak English, and relieved when Quackity said he’s a single parent. “What can you even do with that information?” Quackity raised an eyebrow at him. “I could learn simple spanish and try talking to him with it?” Quackity laughed at him, “You’re gonna learn a language just to talk to him?” “Well, I mean, yeah, if it’s the language that is more comfortable for him, why not?” Slime definitely wasn’t joking about this. “You have truly fallen for him, haven’t you?” Quackity asked, he probably knew the answer, just wanted Slime to say so. “Yes, yes I have”, Slime drank his smoothie, glancing at Mariana then back at Quackity.

Mariana POV:

Once the line died down and there was no one ordering, Mariana glanced over to Slime and Quackity, Slime seemed off for some reason, he kept looking at him and then avoiding looking at him at the same time. They were definitely talking about him, he just had a feeling. Mariana debated on actually going over there, but the last time he did that Slime really didn’t want to chat. Either way, more people started to walk into the café again, once again he was busy with work. Mariana always greeted people with a smile, even when he feels bad— or the customer is being rude— he always wants to smile, in hopes that others smile too. He learned that from Juanaflippa, she is always looking on the bright side of things, and she really knows how to make someone feel better about themselves. 

Mariana wondered to himself how Slime and Quackity know each other, what a coincidence that Juana’s teacher- and his friend- is friends with the guy that comes to the café everyday. Mariana had slowly become more and more excited to see him everyday at work, from what he’s seen Slime seemed like a really nice guy, kind of awkward, but he found that charming. Juana always asks him how his day went when he picks her up from Roier’s, so he’s told her about Slime multiple times— she seems to really enjoy listening to his little work stories.  Mariana has thought about talking to Slime more, but he’s always busy working or Slime doesn’t seem to be in the talking mood. Maybe he could ask Quackity or something? Honestly, he doesn’t even know how he feels about Slime, all he knows is seeing him makes him happy. 

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CHAPTER FIVE: ME AND YOU AND AWKWARD SILENCE

Slime POV:

A week had passed since he and Quackity went to the café together, and Slime did a language learning app daily— with Quackity for moral support and help on his pronunciation.  Slime continued going to the café like normal, the only conversation with Mariana was when he ordered and that’s it. Eventually he started to feel kind of bad that he knew more stuff about Mariana than he knew about him, even though it was like three things. Slime constantly contacted Quackity, asking him about how to say things in Spanish— he was one of his only Spanish speaking friends, so he had no one else to bug about it. At some point, Quackity had dared him to say a pick up line in Spanish to Mariana, Slime really didn’t want to do that but —looking at it from an outside view— it would be kind of funny.

Today was the day he was going to do Quackity’s stupid dare, just because it seemed funny. He didn’t expect to say it right at all, or for Mariana to even understand it. He felt pretty confident about doing this just because he doubted anything would happen. Slime planned it out in the car ride there, he also called Quackity just to make sure his pronunciation was horrible, he wanted to embarrass himself for fun, but not that much— He wasn’t about to make a stupid pick-up line the way he and Mariana talk outside of the café. Once Slime arrived, he did the usual stand in line, occasionally glancing to the front of the line at Mariana… That’s when the nervousness hit, he physically shook it off, he wanted  to do this. He was going to purposely make himself look stupid for funsies. 

Slime smiled at Mariana, and instead of saying his usual hello, he said the thing. “Aystas pordrido polkeal cheilo ey on lorgo camnino dede ki'.” Mariana looked at him, smiled, then laughed, “What?” Slime just laughed as-well, that was so stupid, “Quackity told me to do that, I agreed cause it sounded funny” Mariana smiled and shook his head, “Of course he did.” After that it was silent. The joke ended and it was just awkward now, they both laughed pretty loudly as the café wasn’t that loud— Slime didn’t embarrass himself because Mariana witnessed that, but because of how it came out of nowhere and made a few people look at him. Slime eventually ordered his food, like usual, almost trying to pretend that didn’t happen— they were both smiling throughout the whole exchange though. 

Slime sat at his usual table, he stared at Mariana like usual, but this time he didn’t care if Mariana noticed. Just from Mariana’s reaction to him being stupid, he definitely would be fine with it— and that he was. Mariana looked back at Slime and smiled, he really liked it when he did that, they haven’t interacted too much outside of smiles and waves, and Slime really liked the little things that would happen. To be honest, that joke was probably the most they’ve said that wasn’t talking about his order for the day. Slime was so happy, maybe that joke was all he needed to be a little more confident with him, Mariana reacted pretty positively to it. 

Slime let his mind wander, he thought about everything that’s happened since he’s been coming to the café. He realized that a lot of the things he did weren’t without him thinking of Mariana. He realized that even going to Quackity’s school he interacted with his daughter. Every time Slime was alone with his thoughts he is who he thought of. He didn’t know why he always got so nervous around him, I mean, sure, he likes Mariana, but he hasn’t ever struggled with being nervous like that— he used to be so confident, heck, he would flirt jokingly with people casually. Oh, that was it. He was serious this time. 

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CHAPTER SIX: DEJA VU?

Five Months Since Meeting Mariana

Slime found what to do on weekdays—at least Wednesday to Friday— that small local café that has a few people in it. That simple place was nice… it was a really cute café, with a really cute cashier, it felt almost like a home away from home. It really was a nice place to be. He practically memorized the huge list of things on the menu, just so he could know what to order before even entering the café. He loved that place, he loved Mariana, and he was happy with just that.

It was a Wednesday, Slime did his daily routine of getting up, and getting ready to go to the café. He smiled the whole time— that was also routine. Once Slime got to the café, he sighed as he opened the door, hearing that familiar little jingle of the bell. He closed his umbrella and Mariana waved at him as he entered, and he waved back. Slime smiled— he never stopped smiling since he got up this morning, his cheeks were starting to hurt a little, but he didn’t mind it. Slime waited in line like usual—there were actually more people in the line this time so he waited a little longer, but nothing to complain about. He still smiled, and glanced at Mariana.

Slime got to the front of the line, both of them were smiling. “Well, hello stranger, what are you gonna order today?” Mariana jokes. “I’ll have a mango peach boba, and a key lime pie” His smile literally couldn’t be wiped away. “Alright, want anything else?” Mariana basically always followed the script. But this time, Slime wanted to change something, “Your number would be nice.” Slime said it so casually, with a smile still on his face. Mariana paused for a moment, trying to process what he just heard— maybe he just misheard? “What?” Mariana asked. “Your phone number, uh, numero di telephone-o” Mariana stared at him for a solid 5 seconds, then he smiled. “Alright.” 

Slime could barely hold in his joy, he was so close to giggling and breaking his calm. “Total is 9.55” Mariana went back to the script. Slime handed him a twenty dollar bill, and smiled. Mariana unfolded the bill to put it in the register and saw a little folded paper in it. Slime gave him his number— he put the paper in his shirt pocket. Mariana got Slime’s change and handed it to him, Slime looked at him like he was crazy, “You know that’s yours.” Slime laughed. Mariana laughed too, of course it was. Mariana got Slime’s receipt, but instead of just handing it to him, he grabbed the pen from his shirt and wrote on the receipt, then handed it to him.  Slime continued to smile, and so did Mariana. Slime walked over to the side to wait for his order, it’d probably be pretty quick since he ordered two things. Thankfully there was no one behind him, and he didn’t feel bad for spending a bit more time there. 

Once he received his order, he sat down at the usual table, looking out at the rainy day outside. The rain was nice, it just added to the already cozy atmosphere, he was so full of joy. Slime looked around the café, not much had changed since the first time he was there. He even saw a few of the same people, he noted that every time he came to the cafe someone with a polar bear hat and someone with purple hair sat together—  he remembered how seeing people with their friends made him lonely before, but this time it just reminded him of what he has. He was reminded that he has friends, they're just not there, and he has someone he loves, he just doesn’t know if he likes him too. Then he remembered the receipt, taking it out of his pocket, Mariana wrote his number and a little heart next to it. Slime smiled at it, glancing over at Mariana— he was still smiling, how does his face not hurt?  Slime took his phone out of his pocket, adding the contact to his phone. He debated on sending Mariana a message now just in case Mariana forgets or loses his number. He stared at Mariana while he worked, he partially wanted Mariana to notice so he could ask him— but he was working and he wasn’t gonna distract him. 

Slime completely zoned out while watching Mariana, he already finished his drink and pie so all he did was look at him. He let his mind wander, not even he knew what he was thinking about. Eventually his wandering gets interrupted by Mariana standing directly in front of him. Slime jumps back a little, he honestly didn’t even notice him coming over at all. “Do you need anything?” Mariana knew he was probably daydreaming, but he honestly wanted to give Slime a chance to say anything. Slime looked at Mariana, almost as if he didn’t believe he was real. “I uh, I wanted to ask if I should send you a text now— just in case you lose the paper or something—“ Great, I’m sounding all nervous again. 

Mariana smiled, taking out his phone, making the contact, then showing Slime. Slime looked at his phone and felt like he was gonna cry, Mariana put his contact as Slime — not Charlie— and he put a little heart emoji with it. Slime eventually realized— “Wait, aren’t you working right now? You probably shouldn’t be over here right?” Mariana gestured over to the counter, Oh, someone else took over for him, that’s good. “I’m on break now, I wouldn’t have come over if I had work to do”  Mariana then gestured to the seat next to Slime, “Can I?” Slime nodded and suddenly felt really awkward— are they actually going to talk outside of the ‘small’  amount of times they’ve interacted? 

Mixed POVs:

Mariana sat down and held eye contact with Slime for a solid 10 seconds, he honestly didn’t realize Slime had those greenish-grayish eyes, “Tus ojos son como los pinos en el bosque.” Slime tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy, “My eyes are what now?” “I just complimented your eyes, they’re pretty.” Mariana smiled again, it made Slime smile too, “You’re pretty.” Marianas smile actually stopped for a moment, he didn’t expect that at all. “I am?” Mariana honestly just wanted Slime to repeat himself, “Nah, Juanaflippa is prettier, she just happens to take after you.” Mariana’s face was filled with confusion, “How do you know Juanaflippa?” 

Slime sighed, “I helped Quackity at the school one time and I met her, I didn’t know she was your kid until Quackity told me she was.” Mariana was relieved that it was just Quackity being an idiot and telling him— not Slime stalking him or something. “Why did Quackity tell you?” Mariana was both curious and wondering if he had a solid reason to scold Quackity at all. “I asked him— well, paid him— to tell me.” Slime felt embarrassed, honestly he shouldn’t have done that in hindsight.  “Why?…” Mariana made eye contact with Slime again, and Slime avoided it a little. “I don’t know, I was just… desperate.” Mariana scrunched his face, almost as if he was trying to understand what that meant, “Desperate for what?” Slime sighed and stopped avoiding eye contact, “I wanted to know you better.” Mariana sighed, and smiled once again, “Was it seriously that hard to just ask me?” “Yes, yes it was. I planned to ask you things or say something almost every time I came here, but every single time I got too nervous or awkward.” Slime fidgeted with his hands, “I’m not normally this awkward and stuff, I just get this way when I see you.” Slime felt pretty embarrassed about this, but he really wanted Mariana to know. 

Unlike Slime, Mariana seemed as calm as ever, — sure, his expression changed from a smile from time to time— but he never really seemed nervous or anxious— at least that’s how it seemed. Mariana was really good at masking how he truly feels, hiding behind a smile. Everyday, before work, Mariana looked forward to seeing Slime. He made sure that literally nothing could possibly be wrong— even when he was at work, he would be so aware of his surroundings, waiting for Slime to show up. Slime noticed Mariana was zoning out, he wondered what he was thinking of, “Mariana?…” Mariana took his glasses off—cleaning them with a small cloth— then put them back on, I guess that was his way of resetting. He didn’t think Slime ever called him by his name before, he only knows Slime’s name because he needed a name for the order the first time they met. “Yes?” Mariana finally responded. “You got all quiet after I said that, did I say something wrong?…” Slime looked kind-of sad when he said that, it broke Mariana’s heart a little. “No, no, you didn’t say anything wrong, I just, uh, was thinking.” Slime stared at Mariana, he was smiling, but something felt off, “About what?” 

Mariana relaxed his face and sighed, “I was thinking about how much I—cómo se dice— wanted, how much I wanted to see you… esperaba verte todos los días que tenía trabajo” Slime didn’t understand much Spanish, despite trying to learn, but the tone of it told him all he needed to know. For that single moment, Mariana was being genuine, he wasn’t covering how he felt with a smile.  Slime gave Mariana a gentle smile, “You have no idea how happy it makes me just to see you, or how much I think of you on a daily basis.”  Mariana froze, he honestly wanted to respond but couldn’t find the words. Slime and Mariana stared at each other for a while, then Slime spoke again, “Is it weird I kind-of want to kiss you right now.”  Slime laughed, he honestly was  telling the truth, but he just wanted to break the tension. Mariana laughed with him, as his phone played a tone— it was his alarm. “I better go back now, talk to you later.” Slime pouted, “Awh, okay, I’m definitely texting you later— what time are you off work?” Mariana smiled “3:30”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER SEVEN: ONCE MORE TO SEE YOU

Slime POV:

When Slime got home from the café he set an alarm for 3:30, just so he could remember to text Mariana. This felt like a dream, he actually did what he planned for once. Slime wanted to tell someone about it, but he didn’t think anyone would care or be able to even answer since most of his friends worked today. Slime wondered if he should do something productive, or just sit in his room and do nothing. He had about 2 hours before he could text Mariana, so he needed to find something to do. Slime opened Youtube and was recommended a paper flower tutorial. He thought why not, getting all the materials he needed from a closet, he made a mess on the floor. He shrugged and said to himself he would clean it later. Slime made a whole bouquet of flowers, then searched up more random things to make with the paper. He made paper hearts, butterflies, more flowers, and other little things. He looked at the time and only about an hour passed. He decided to play a random mobile game while he waited yet another hour. He honestly couldn’t stop thinking about Mariana, so he couldn’t have any fun with it. Slime opened his language learning app and decided to do more Spanish lessons, he already did it earlier, but he decided to do a few more.

Eventually his alarm went off, he practically ran to message Mariana. At first he hesitated a bit, wondering what to say,

———————————

S: Wassup :P

It took a bit for Mariana to respond, he probably was busy doing something.

M: Hello <3

Slime had a stupid smile on his face, he never thought this could be happening.

S: You just got off work, right?

M: Yeah, I just got into my car. <3

Oh right, He’d probably have to wait again to text him— he can’t be messaging when he drives.

S: Coool, how long till you get home?

M: Not for a while, I need to pick up Juana, she’s at a friend’s house. <3

Slime frowned, he’d have to wait even more to talk to him.

S: How is she by the way? 

M: She’s been good these days, sometimes gets herself involved in Tilín’s shenanigans though.<3

S: What shenanigans would tilin be up to

S: Tilins usually pretty well behaved

M: Tilín? Well behaved? You haven’t truly met them then. <3

Slime hasn’t seen Tilín that many times, but when he has, she usually was one of the more chill ones, he didn’t think Tilín could cause any trouble.

S: I guess I haven’t

S: You probably should be going, right? 

S: You’ll be late to picking her up

M: Yeah, if you want you can call me, that way I can drive. <3

Slime wrote yes, but then he didn’t know what he’d even say- I mean, they’d probably just continue the conversation through voice, but what would happen if they run out of things to talk about? Or if it gets awkward again?

M: Don’t overthink it, it’s fine. <3

S: Ypu sure? 

S: You*

M: Ypes <3

M: Yes* <3

Slime laughed, he definitely did that on purpose. 

S: Oki, give me a min

M: Call when you’re ready, I’m gonna start driving now. <3

————————————-

Slime just needed a moment, just a moment, to process this. He honestly felt like he was gonna get awkward again, anytime they were face to face and when he heard his voice he would get nervous. He crossed his fingers and clicked the call icon…  Mariana picked up almost immediately.

After about 30 minutes Mariana arrived at Roier’s house, allowing Slime to stay on the phone. Slime could hear Mariana knock on the door and Roier opened it, eventually hearing loud yelling in the background.  Mariana and Roier spoke in Spanish, but Slime didn’t pay too much attention, he was more concerned about the yelling. Eventually he tried to hear what they were saying, but only catching one, two, or zero words— it sounded mostly gibberish to him. He really needed to practice Spanish more. Then, Slime heard a really loud yell, “ESOESMIJUGETEPORQUEMELOQUITASTE” it sounded like Tilín maybe? Or some other kid, he really couldn’t tell since he hasn’t heard them yell before. Slime couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the yelling, little kids arguing seemed so funny. 

Mixed POVs:

Once Mariana got Juana in her seat and made sure she had her seatbelt on, he went over to the driver's seat, putting the phone back on speaker and hearing Slime laugh. Juanaflippa was gonna ask about it but Mariana cut her off, “What are you laughing about?”

Slime stopped laughing, “It’s nothing, I just heard the kids arguing. I see what you meant by me not knowing how Tilín really is.” Mariana shook his head and Juanaflippa finally spoke, “¿Con quién hablas?” Mariana smiled and told Juana that it was Slime, she smiled back, “HII MISTER SLIME!” Juana was so happy that the person her dad was so obsessed with, is finally on call with him.  

Mariana eventually started driving and they chatted the whole drive home. Slime felt euphoric, he was finally talking to Mariana casually and his daughter already seemed to like him. Slime thought maybe he was being delusional, but maybe he and Mariana could have a date or two— maybe be boyfriends… maybe he could be another parent to Juana… He loved Mariana already, he barely knows much about him, but the little interactions were enough to make him enamored. Slime and Mariana are finally getting to know each other, finally getting to know each other’s interests and aspirations, and they are both so infatuated with each other they support each other immediately. Juanaflippa was so happy that Mariana had finally found someone like this, she’d been adopted by Mariana for about 5 years and Mariana had one partner during that time and they broke up pretty quick— Slime seemed to be different, from what Mariana said, and from their conversation in the car. 

When Mariana arrived home, he still kept Slime on call; they somehow couldn’t run out of things to talk about at that moment… probably because they hadn't ever had a full conversation until recently. They spoke about whatever topic popped up and the awkwardness had somehow faded away. Eventually Mariana had to make dinner— and so did Slime, so they ended the call, still sending each other texts when they weren’t busy for a moment. Eventually they both finished their dinners and texted even more— talking about what Slime does for work, about what they do in their free time… they found that they both played Minecraft and decided maybe they should play together some day. Time eventually passed pretty quick and it was Juana’s bedtime so Mariana tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead good-night. She was so interested in what they spoke about over text that she asked Mariana after every message— she was really curious. Mariana eventually went to his bedroom, sitting on his bed and continuing to message Slime.

—————————————————

M: She’s in bed now <3

M: I’m in my room <3

Slime waited for her to go to bed just to ask,

S: Soo, you’re off work monday and tuesday right?

M: Yeah, why? <3

Mariana could kind of guess where this was going, but he wanted to play along. 

S: Idk maybe you want to 

S: maybe

S: Go out somewhere?

S: With me?

Mariana genuinely smiled at his phone, he wanted to scream yes, but he didn’t want to seem that desperate so he went with a simple,

M: Of course we can go on a date. <3

M: It’d probably have to be in the afternoon since I have to drop Juana off at school then pick her up. <3

Slime’s face lit up, he was so enamored with Mariana and he actually agreed to a date. Slime was practically kicking his feet in joy.

S: Yeah, that’s not a problem, I dont usually wake up early on a monday or tuesday

S: I work saturday and sunday so monday im usually tired

S: the one time i did wake up early on a monday Quackity called me to help out at the school

M: Oh alright, so would Tuesday be the better choice? <3

M: So you can rest on Monday? <3

S: I guess, but i don’t mind having it on a monday

S: I usually feel well rested once I wake up

S: I just don’t wake up really early, like 7 am or something 

M: Hm, whatever works for you <3

M: I think either day would work for me, no matter what it’s the same schedule 

M: <3

S: We can have it monday

S: I’ll have enough energy for it

S: and you dont need to go to work the next day

M: Oki, I think the time I’m free is probably 9am to 1pm. <3 

M: Since I have to drop Juana off earlier than that and pick her up later than that. <3 

M: What exactly do you have planned for us to do? <3

S:  I have a few ideas

S: but i think maybe we can do something simple for our first date

S: We can meet up at 10am if that’s okay

Slime couldn’t believe he just typed that out, it’s happening, he’s going on a date with Mariana for the first time— and he’s practically planning the next hundred more. 

M: Yeah, I think that’d be fine. <3

Mariana smiled at his phone like an idiot, he honestly was happy that they were going on a date at all. They could have a date just sitting there doing nothing and he probably would enjoy it as well.

S: Was thinking of maybe going to this karaoke place but since we should do something more simple instead maybe we could go for milkshakes somewhere

S: I honestly dont know if you even like singing

S: Or did you have an idea?

And once again Slime felt awkward, he felt like it definitely showed in his text and he sighed, he sent it in the moment and he was regretting it.

M: Oh I do like karaoke, we totally could go for another date then <3

M: Going for milkshakes sounds like a nice simple one <3

Or maybe not, he was probably overthinking it.

S: Yeah

S: Was thinking we could chat more

S: do a little more getting to know each other

M: Yeah, that sounds nice, I like talking to you <3

S: Me too

S: I'm glad I actually asked for your number after months of wanting to talk to you lol

Mariana laughed, Slime really wanted to talk to him for that long? 

M: What? Have you wanted to talk to me since you first saw me or something? <3

Slime hesitated for a moment, then sent.

S: Yeah, you seemed like a cool person at first sight

M: Aw, that’s sweet. <3

M: You’ve always been really awkward when you talk to me. Like you said, you aren’t usually like that, right? <3

Nevermind, Mariana noticed it. Of course he noticed how awkward he’s been.

M: It’s okay, I find it charming. <3

M: It’s cute <3

Mariana didn’t really want to be so straightforward with that but it just happened. Oh well. He tried to salvage it with spamming messages. Slime didn’t know how to respond at all; he wasn't expecting that.

S: thanks 

S: you are right about the awkward part, i honestly am usually more 

S: confident

M: It’s okay, we’ll probably get more comfortable with each other as we go <3

S: I hope so, I want to be able to have a conversation with you without embarrassing myself.

Slime really meant that, he hoped they could at the very least behave like friends— behave like they've known each other for years. And honestly that’s what it started to feel like. Mariana was really  patient with him. 

M: I think we’ll be okay. <3 

M: Take your time, Slime. <3

S: I think I’m gonna try going to bed now, you should as-well, you have work in the morning

M: Yeah, good idea, Goodnight Slime <3

S: Goodnight Mariana <3

Chapter Text

CHAPTER EIGHT: EVERYDAY

Slime POV:

Slime got out of bed like normal, stretching as he got up, putting his glasses on, and walking over to the bathroom to wash his face and such. He stared at himself in the mirror for a solid minute, that wasn’t a dream right?  He and Mariana would be having a date on Monday… and today was Thursday… He’d have to wait four days counting this one. How can he wait that long? He just got the motivation to ask and it had to be the day farthest from Mariana’s off day. Slime finished up in the bathroom so he sighed and walked back into his room, picking up his phone. There was a notification from Mariana and he smiled. He got a little “Good morning”  text from Mariana, and he slept through it since Mariana sent it at seven in the morning. Slime thought Oh well, and texted back even though it was ten now. 

Slime got no response, but he expected it, Mariana is at work right now. He really wanted to see him but he felt like maybe it’d be more awkward since he actually asked him out. What would he even say? Would he say nothing of substance and just order something? Maybe he could give Mariana one of the little origami he made? That’s simple enough, just a little paper flower. Slime eventually got dressed and walked out, locking the door. He gently held a small paper poppy in his pocket, trying to not crush it. As he drove to the café, he kept repeating in his head, Amapola. He wanted to use his minimal spanish knowledge to at least say a single word— he wasn’t about to try a whole sentence yet. 

When Slime arrived at the café, he strangely didn’t feel nervous at all, maybe because this time he wasn’t planning on anything crazy…Maybe the big thing that was keeping him nervous was the fact he hadn’t asked him out yet? Maybe he’d be normal for once? They both waved at each other like usual as Slime waited in line. Slime double checked that the little flower wasn’t crushed in his pocket— it wasn’t— he hoped that Mariana would like the flower since he remembered that he has a little poppy sticker on his name tag; He probably likes poppies even a little bit. 

When Slime was nearing the front of the line, he realized something… he didn’t plan on what to order today. He looked at the menu, then at Mariana, and thought oh well, maybe Mariana can give him a recommendation? The first time he was there Mariana gave a good one, so this is probably no different. His mind began to wander a bit as he waited, then he realized that someone sat in his usual seat. I guess the routine is gonna break quite a bit today?

Slime got to the front of the line and smiled at Mariana. “Hello Slime, what would you like?” Mariana gave him that warm smile, the one that makes Slime want to melt right then and there. “I actually didn’t plan on that today, so I was hoping you could tell me…”  Slime wasn’t nervous again, he could actually talk to Mariana… he was relieved. “Oh sure, do you want something small or a meal?” Mariana was a bit surprised that Slime hadn’t planned anything, but he was casual so he didn’t make a big deal of it. “Uhh, I think something small for now, just a drink and something would be fine.” Mariana thought for a moment, almost as if he was looking through files in his mind to find the perfect thing— he didn’t even look at the menu behind him once. “There’s cherry limeade, and eggs benedict, I’m thinking of things you haven’t ordered yet, so…” Slimed laughed a little, “I usually stay in my little bubble and order from a small list of things, there's a lot I haven’t ordered.” Slime smiled, “I’ll try those though, couldn’t hurt to try” Mariana put the order into the register, “You want anything else?” Mariana went back to the script, Slime didn’t want that, “I want to give you a little Amapola” he took out the flower from his pocket and handed it to Mariana. 

Mariana smiled at Slime and put the little flower in his shirt pocket. “Thank you, qué linda amapola” Slime laughed a little, “I was distracted thinking about how I’d give you it, so I didn’t plan on what to eat.” Mariana shook his head a little, smiling, “Of course, that’s the reason.” Mariana finalized the order and told Slime the total, doing their usual routine. Like always, Slime left Mariana with an unnecessarily high tip. Eventually Slime walked over to wait for his order, thankfully Slime was the last one in line so no one was watching that whole interaction or waiting for them to be done- Slime somehow has been timing his visits so that happens coincidentally… pretty good luck.

Once he received his order and he looked around the café, he was reminded… his seat was taken and he had to find another place to sit. He was so close to just leaving the café just because of that but that would be stupid. He went to another seat, this one did have a window but it didn’t have that really nice view of the park across the street. The seat itself was fine, practically the same as the one he always sat in, but he did feel the loss of the scenery outside. This seat was a bit closer to Mariana, so there was zero way for him to be subtle in staring at him instead of the window. At least Mariana seems pretty okay with the staring most of the time. 

As Slime ate his food, the only good scenery was Mariana at this point. He watched Mariana interact with the customers and such. He was actually hearing what they say now, but honestly they don’t say anything interesting, it’s just normal ordering conversations. Slime felt special, he was probably the only one that has had conversations with Mariana while he’s at work— besides his co-workers and boss. In-between customers Mariana would glance and smile at Slime, it made his heart skip a beat at times since he somehow forgot that he’d done that and got caught off guard. Slime was so in love already, just that smile made his face warm up. Once he finished his food and drink, the routine was over. He threw away the garbage and such, waving goodbye to Mariana with a smile. Mariana, of course, waved back, like usual. Slime left the café, planning the next visit.

The next day, routine once again. Slime woke up, washed up, got dressed, and went off to the café. This time he brought a sunflower origami just so he could have a mini conversation with Mariana again. Slime entered the café and stood in line — it was short, so that meant people will probably walk in behind him so he won’t have seemingly infinite time with Mariana. Slime was almost upset about it, but he didn’t plan anything crazy, he’d just give the flower with the money like it’s nothing. The mini conversation will probably be just that— mini. Slime honestly wouldn’t wish for any more, he loved just seeing Mariana. 

When Slime reached the front of the line he smiled and they did the usual greeting and ordering, Mariana having that genuine smile he loves so much the entire time. As soon as Mariana gave him the total, he brought out his wallet like usual but also carefully took out the — thankfully — un-crumbled sunflower origami, handing the money and the flower to Mariana. Mariana acted surprised and laughed, “Gracias, I love sunflowers.” as he put the flower in his shirt pocket.  Mariana put the money in the register and acted like Slime would accept his change, attempting to hand it to him… Slime shook his head, and gave him a big smile, “I guessed that you may love them, since the majority of your little stickers are sunflowers.” Mariana looked down at his name tag and back at Slime, “I honestly forgot those were there for a second.” They both laughed a little. Eventually Slime came to reality and said goodbye so Mariana could keep working, “See you Monday.” Slime smiled as he walked over to pick up his order, and Mariana smiled back. “See you.”

Slime sat at his table, the one he usually sat at and learned to appreciate since he lost it yesterday. The change in routine was interesting, and honestly he didn’t mind the change too much. Maybe the routine change was good, maybe he should just accept the changes and such— if he never wanted change he wouldn’t have even gone to this café those months ago, and that was probably the best decision of his life. Slime looked out at the scenery he missed yesterday, it really was pretty— maybe some-day he could actually go to that park, maybe go with Mariana— he could even bring Juanaflippa… Okay that’s enough thinking of the future, this is now. Right now is the last day he’ll see Mariana before their first date. Part of him hoped that his work days could change to the days Mariana doesn’t work so he could be free on the weekends… when Mariana doesn’t work and Juanaflippa doesn’t go to school so he could get to know her more— I mean, he’s gonna be dating her dad, he should get to know her. Maybe he could ask Quackity if he could help out at the school again? No, that was exhausting the last time he did that. Slime sighed to himself and realized that he finished his drink— as the only thing going through his straw was air. His stay at the café was over, and he’d have work the next two days, until he spends more time than he ever has with Mariana, on a date.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER NINE: SOMEONE TO SPEND TIME WITH 

The drive back home from work was full of thoughts. Work always drains Slime’s energy, but he really wanted to just get to bed. The date with Mariana is tomorrow and he wants it to be tomorrow already. But he has to drive home, eat dinner, waste some time, then sleep and finally wake up much earlier than he usually would on a regular Monday. As he drove he received a notification, he glanced at it then back to the road— all he noticed was that it was a text message. Slime sighed and hoped it was Mariana, just so he could talk to him after a long day of work.

When Slime arrived home he parked the car in the garage of his apartment, grabbing his keys, bag and phone— remembering the text— he looked at the notification. It actually was Mariana, but he didn’t want to have a whole conversation sitting in the car so he shook his head at himself and decided to read it inside. Slime walked into the building, going upstairs and finally unlocking the door and going in with a relieved sigh that he was finally home. Slime locked the door and took off his shoes at the door, placing them in the shoe organizer. He hung up his bag on a hook above the organizer and eventually sat on the couch, finally opening the text message.

—————————————————

M: Hi Slime, I think you said that you get off work around this time? <3

.

..

…

S: Yeah, I’m home right now, didn’t respond earlier since I was in the car. :P

. 

M: Oh oki, welcome home then. :P 

M: I just wanted to ask, are we meeting up at the place?  I kinda need the address, if so. <3

S: Oh right yeah I’ll send you it in a sec

Slime sends the address to Mariana after searching for it for a minute, saving the address as-well.

S: Its a kinda local place, a few blocks away from where you work

M: Great <3

M: Also, how was your day? <3

S: It was alright, a normal work day, Im pretty tired but talking with you i feel much better :)

M: Aw, I like talking with you too. <3

M: You should probably rest if you feel tired though. <3

S: I will, I just gotta eat dinner and stuff first

M: Go eat, then we can continue talking, don’t allow me to delay that <3

S: awh okay, I’ll go make dinner

S: but not right this second, I honestly just want a moment to relax 

S: I also gotta change out of work clothes and such before that

M: Alright, just don’t delay actual sleep too much <3

S: I wont :)

M: Anything in particular you want to talk about? <3

S: Yeah, i was wondering how Juanaflippas doing

M: She’s alright, she’s an angel with me and such, but Tilín and Bobby always get her into things. 

M: Thankfully she behaves in school and such 

M: Since Quackity is literally the teacher, Tilín behaves, making Juana behave as-well. <3

S: I still find it so crazy that Tilín isn’t innocent, that one time i could hear them yelling proves me so wrong 

S: Im glad Flippas doing good

M: I mean, Tilín can be really well behaved, it’s mostly Bobby that enables that troublemaker part.

M: Bobbys a really good kid, he’s just a little mischievous at times.

S: Yeah, I met Bobby in Q’s class, I think i know what you mean

M: I forget that you’ve met the kids sometimes, it's probably because of how separate our lives have been

M: It’s been months and just recently we’ve decided to actually talk outside of the café

S: That is completely my bad, I honestly wanted to ask you out for ages and just never could, until one day I decided to just go for it and here we are

M: You say that like you’re the only one that could’ve said something

M: I could’ve asked you or something but I didn’t 

M: It’s both our “bad”

S: I guess youre right, but what happened is what happened

S: At least were talking now?

M: Yeah, and I’m very happy to be <3

—————————————————

Slime eventually got changed, made dinner, and spoke with Mariana a little more, before going to bed. Slime could barely sleep, he was excited and nervous about tomorrow. He wanted to force himself to sleep because he wanted to make sure that the alarm woke him up in the morning. Slime stared at the ceiling, he really wanted to spend time with Mariana, he told himself he’d sleep. It took about half an hour just to get to sleep, he honestly should've taken melatonin or something to sleep faster, but he already got to bed and he didn’t want to just give up on doing it on his own. He was finally asleep, tomorrow will be there as soon as he wakes up. 

Chapter Text

CHAPTER TEN: THE PERFECT PAIR

The loud sound of an alarm sounded into Slime’s ear, he woke up a little irritated and turned off the alarm, then he remembered… Today is the day. He made sure to set the alarm early so he could be ready and if something goes wrong he has time to fix it. Slime got out of bed and got ready, it was just a casual date at an ice cream shop that is known for its milkshakes, so at least he didn’t have to worry about looking fancy at all.

He wore some casual clothes, nothing crazy. He put on a t-shirt with a small two and a half heart image in the middle of his chest, and a green, open, zip-up hoodie, and just some black jeans. 

Slime decided to leave a little early just so he wouldn’t arrive late, and of course something had to go wrong. His car wasn’t starting. It worked just fine yesterday and decided to act up today of all days, it’s never had problems and they start today?  Slime sighed and shut the car, guess he could take the bus or something… Slime debated on telling Mariana but he didn’t want to bother him with it. Honestly it probably wouldn’t bother Mariana to pick him up but oh well, he felt too anxious to ask after saying they’d meet up there. 

On his way to the bus stop Mariana texted Slime, asking if he left for the shop already… Slime responded back saying he may be late because of the whole car situation. As expected, Mariana immediately responded that he could pick him up and Slime stopped walking. He wasn’t even a block away from his apartment building yet and Mariana was offering… He did feel some unreasonable shame toward saying yes, but he did. So Slime eventually sent Mariana his address and he walked back over to the building and sat on a bench outside. The apartment building is thankfully pretty close to the shop so it wouldn’t take long to get there by car, it’s pretty far to walk there though. Slime’s apartment building also was on Mariana’s route there so it wouldn’t make them much later than planned… they’d still have a lot of time

Eventually Mariana arrived and they went off to the shop, it was kinda quiet on the way there and it felt kind of awkward. Once they went inside and sat down —eventually ordering their milkshakes— the awkwardness went away and they were casual again. It felt like a dream or some kind of movie… maybe even a story written by an insane person… how they met, how long it took them to finally be here, the random car trouble… It felt so odd yet kinda nice. They finally were spending time together outside of Mariana’s work, outside of that café… Maybe the delusions that Slime was having all this time could actually come true? Maybe they weren’t that crazy after-all? 

Eventually their orders arrived and they continued to chat and just enjoy each-others company. “What flavor is yours again?” Slime sipped his own milkshake. ”Uh, Oreo Strawberry Cheesecake? It’s a mouthful to say” Mariana laughed. “Interesting, I honestly haven’t ordered any of the crazier flavors before— even though they have a lot of those” They both smiled at each other, “Well, at least you didn’t go for basic chocolate, it has brownies.” Mariana shrugged and continued to sip on his milkshake. “Yeah, but it isn’t three things mixed in one, like yours.” Slime laughed. “You wanna try some?” Mariana asked and Slime thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, why not, you can also try my ‘basic’ option.” They both laughed a bit and swapped cups. “That is… an interesting flavor. I mean, it tastes good, but I never would’ve chosen to mix oreo, strawberry, and cheesecake— I get oreo and strawberry, or strawberry and cheesecake— but all three?” Slime jokingly judged the milkshake like he was a professional at milkshakes, while Mariana shrugged. “Yours tastes like chocolate overload— chocolate sauce, chocolate ice cream, chocolate chunks, brownies— I honestly didn’t expect it to be so much.” They both laughed and swapped cups again. “I honestly don’t usually order this, I choose the more basic ones but I decided why not try something a little less basic… since trying new things is somehow what I do now” Slime shrugged and sipped at his milkshake. “So am I, I honestly wouldn’t have ordered this if I was me a few months ago.” Mariana also sipped at his milkshake, as Slime couldn’t help but smile, “I’m happy to be trying new things with you.” 

Eventually time was up since Mariana had to go pick up Juanaflippa… One thing led to another and Slime ended up going with Mariana to pick her up. They chatted the whole ride, occasionally singing along to whatever song the radio chose. It felt like they knew each other for years, like they both had hoped for. They both couldn’t stop smiling, the world seemed so perfect just because they had each other. 

Chapter Text

CHAPTER ELEVEN: SOMETHING NEW

Eventually they arrived at the school to pick up Juanaflippa, for the first time in a while Mariana arrived on time to pick her up. At first Slime just wanted to wait in the car but Mariana insisted that it was fine if he went into the school with him, it wouldn’t be Slime’s first time in there either. 

Mariana practically dragged Slime into the school, holding his hand on the way in— so there would be no backing out. Mariana spoke to the security at the front desk, Slime could only understand a bit of spanish so he was completely lost on what he was saying. Eventually Mariana signed a sheet of paper, likely the sign out sheet to pick up Juanaflippa. Slime felt kind of awkward just standing there, but Mariana was still holding his hand and he liked that, so he didn’t try to go back to the car. Slime looked up at Mariana… Has he always been this tall?  Slime reached around Mariana’s ear in height— how did he not realize? Eventually Mariana looked at Slime and smiled, leading Slime over to some seats in the school lobby to wait for Juanaflippa. They sat next to each other on a two person sofa.

Slime felt his palms sweat and his leg was bouncing— He wasn’t quite sure why—  but Mariana gave his hand a small squeeze and smiled at him. Slime couldn’t help but smile back, but Mariana could tell something was up.  “Is something wrong?” Slime shook his head, “No, just feel a little, uh, anxious, I guess.” Mariana sighed, “Why?” Slime looked at his leg and stopped moving it, then looked back at Mariana, “I honestly don’t know, I guess I’m just not used to this?…” Mariana looked down at their hands, intertwined. “Holding my hand? Or being here to pick up Juana?” Slime forced a small laugh, “Both, I guess.” 

Juanaflippa came down the stairs laughing, she seemed to be talking to Tilín as they went down. Eventually she got eye contact with Slime and he let go of Mariana’s hand— not really knowing why exactly— Juanaflippa ran over to them, Tilín running directly after Juanaflippa, saying  at the same time…. “Hola Mamá, Hi Mr. Slime!” “Hola Tío Mariana, Hi Tío Slime!” Both Slime and Mariana laughed…“Hola Juanaflippa, Hola Tilín.” Mariana responded, Bad eventually catching up to Tilín and Juana, “You two know you shouldn’t run, you could’ve fallen down or something.” Slime didn’t look surprised, “Oh come on, let them have a little fun, it was a short run.” Bad looked at Slime, raising an eyebrow, “Since when did you come over to the school? Also, I obviously have more experience with kids than you Slime, if they fell down it wouldn’t be fun.” Slime shook his head, “Don’t be such a buzzkill, they didn’t fall—-“ “—And, he’s here to pick up Juanaflippa with me.” Mariana interrupted. 

“I didn’t know you two were together, let alone knew each other, that’s cool.” Slime and Mariana looked at each other and back at Bad, “We literally just started dating Chico Malo.”  Mariana said, Slime staying silent. “Oh, sorry for assuming, I guess you two just seemed so comfortable together that I assumed you’ve been together.” Juanaflippa and Tilín grinned at each other, whispering, and Slime noticed, “What are you two laughing about?” Slime raised a brow. “You're going to be Juana’s Dad,” Tilín giggled.  

Silence.

“Don’t tease them,” Bad laughed. “But it’s funny, look at their faces!” Tilín kept giggling, Juana joining in. “Yeah it is funny, but you’re still in school so behave yourselves,” Bad decided. Tilín pouted and Juanaflippa raised her hand— because they were still in school— asking, “But how is saying that Mr. Slime is gonna be my dad misbehaving? What if I want him to be?” Bad sighed, “It isn’t up to you, Juana.” Slime looked at Mariana, Juana, and back to Mariana a few times… “Well, I mean, I wouldn’t mind it— being called your dad— but it’s way too early for that.” Juanaflippa frowned, “But I can call you it later?” Slime looked over at Mariana— Mariana smiled— “Eventually, but not so soon. Give us, say, a few months, maybe? More or less.” Juana kept frowning, “But, but that’s so looong, how about a week?” Mariana laughed, “Por lo menos un mes, no lo apures” Juana pouted at Mariana, “¿Un mes exacto?” Mariana shook his head, “Un mes a lo menos Mami, puede ser más.”  

You could see the awe in Slime’s face, he knew that Mariana spoke Spanish, but he hadn’t heard it in person, it caught him off guard a bit. He knew the most minimal Spanish at the moment, with Quackity helping, that language learning app, and random websites and videos he’s only memorised a few words… All he caught was mes—month— so he assumed he’s probably somewhat repeating what he said but in Spanish? Whatever it was, Slime began to feel a bit uncomfortable— they’ve been inside the school for a while and they just went there to pick up Juana— Not that he’s complaining, he loves that he’s with Mariana outside that café for a change. But, boy, was he starting to get anxious. It seemed that Mariana noticed, because he eventually said his goodbyes, holding Slime’s hand again. Slime said goodbye as well… as Mariana, Juanaflippa, and him went off to the car. 

Juanaflippa opened her mouth to say something, but looked at Slime then thought a bit, “Ma, is Mr. Slime coming home with us?… Can he stay for dinner?…” Mariana sighed, “I don’t see why not, but that’s Slime’s choice.” Slime laughed, “I’ll let Flippa have this one, we’ve seen her frown too much for one day— I don’t mind.” 

And they were off, Juanaflippa having so many questions about their date and about Slime… only a few were answered…Juana didn’t seem to know boundaries (At least she asked like she didn’t). Juanaflippa eventually gave up asking Slime since the questions were getting no-where, So she asked Mariana. “Maaaa” she practically sang. “Si Mami?” Mariana sighed. “Are you going to be together forever?” Mariana physically reacted, paying more attention to driving and biting his lip. He hoped to himself yes, but that’s not something you can promise— Slime right next to him and JuanaFlippa wanting an answer… It made him anxious, at least not enough to make him unable to drive. Slime noticed how anxious the question made Mariana, but he didn’t know how to respond to the question either… The car became quiet. JuanaFlippa spoke again—“That was a bad question, wasn’t it?”— Causing Mariana to sigh, “No, no, it’s reasonable for you to ask that— but it’s hard to answer, no?” Mariana relaxes a bit, “I would love to say yes, but that’s not something you can predict… We just started dating, you can’t tell how a relationship is going to go just by the beginning.” 

JuanaFlippa nods, she partially regrets even asking the question… frowning a little. “I understand you want to know if we’ll be together a long time, probably because my last relationship didn’t last… but… yeah… I do love Slime very much, but I can’t say we’ll be together forever just because of that fact.” 

Mariana looks over to Slime for a moment, then back at the road… realising what he just said. Part of Mariana wanted to apologise but what he said wasn’t a lie— it just was really  early to say love… Eventually the small silence was filled when JuanaFlippa spoke again, “Am I allowed to hope you will be? I really like Mr. Slime.” Both Mariana and Slime laugh a little, “You can hope whatever you wish, I love Mariana too, and I also hope to be together forever as you say.” Slime responds.  

JuanaFlippa cheers— a huge smile on her face… Well, everyone had a smile on their face. The car ended up in a comfortable silence, the conversation drifting off to be brought up another time. 

Chapter Text

CHAPTER TWELVE: JUST NEED A QUIET PLACE TO SCREAM 

The car ride ends as Mariana pulls into the driveway…. For having a simple café job, Mariana has a really nice house, honestly it’s so much better than Slime’s apartment.

— The only reason Slime never bought a house is because he didn’t think it was necessary, he lives alone, he’d probably feel more alone in a whole house to himself.

They all get out of the car, Mariana taking his keys out his pocket and locking it as they get to the front door. Slime fidgeted with his hands a little, staying behind Flippa and Mariana as the door was opened. Mariana and Juana took their shoes off at the door and placed them to the side, Slime followed that. Mariana locked the front door and told Flippa to change out of school clothes and check if she has any homework and such.. she complies easily, probably routine.

Slime fidgeted, it’d been a while since he’s gone to anyone's house and it felt like he forgot how to act. Mariana laughed quietly toward Slime, “Are you okay?” Slime looked at Mariana and huffed, “Don’t laugh.” Mariana smiled and gently grabbed Slime’s hand, pulling him out of the house’s entrance. “You’re the one that accepted Flippa’s offer to come over, now you’re awkward?” 

Slime sighed, “I haven’t been to anyone's house in a while, much less someone I like.”  

Mariana led him to the kitchen, “And I haven’t had anyone over in a while, you’re lucky I cleaned the house.” 

Slime shook his head, “I doubt your house is ever that  messy, you’re just two people.” 

Mariana laughed, “You have no idea.”

 Mariana squeezed his hand gently before letting it go, “You wanna help me make dinner? It’s early, but that just means we can take our time.” 

Slime looked at Mariana’s hand with a sad look before nodding, “What are we gonna make?” 

Mariana smiled, “No idea, we can check what I have or ask Flippa what she’d like.” 

JuanaFlippa POV:

Flippa changed out of her school clothes, pulled out her notebook and folder, checking for anything she needed to do. Thankfully she found no homework and just a paper she had to give to Mariana. She quickly put everything away before leaving her room, heading to the kitchen since she could hear them talking in there. She quietly watched them, gently holding the paper she needed to give to Mariana.

 “So, Flippa’s vegan and you’re not?” Slime asked as he helped Mariana cook something, Flippa honestly couldn’t see what they were doing. “Well, I guess, yeah. I’m more vegetarian than vegan since I sometimes eat animal products like milk and eggs”, Mariana shrugged. 

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have offered milkshakes.” Slime sighed. “It’s fine, I agreed to it, if it was that big of a deal I would have said no. My diet isn’t as strict as Flippa’s. She has a lot of allergies and… how do you say…. She’s sensitive to a lot of things.” Mariana reassured. 

“I’m allergic to detergent.” JuanaFlippa says as she stands right next to them, Slime and Mariana slightly jump— not noticing that she was there. “What?” Slime asks as he didn’t even process what she said. “I’m allergic to the surfactants in detergent, I’m allergic to detergent.” She clarifies. “Oh,” Slime laughed a bit, “You just came out of nowhere to say that?” She laughed too, “No, but I didn’t know how else to… join the talking.” 

Mariana sighed, “Do you need something Flippa?” JuanaFlippa lifted a paper to Mariana, “I got a trip slip, I don’t know where I should leave it. I would wait, but I always forget. I was supposed to give you it last week.”  Mariana smiled, “Just put it in my room, on my bed or something so I don’t forget”, he laughs.  JuanaFlippa nodded and ran off, quickly placing the paper onto Mariana’s pillow then heading back to the kitchen. 

Slime and Mariana are laughing…

 “What’s funny?”  Flippa asks.

 “You ran off so quickly.” Slime chuckled.

 “Well, I wanted you here. Mamá always talks about you and I met you once. I want to play with both of you.” She smiled.

 “Awh, I want to hang out with you too.” Slime gently rubbed Flippa’s head as she giggled. 

…

..

.

Slime POV:

Eventually, they were cleaning up after dinner, Slime and Mariana are now washing dishes together. Mariana washes a plate and hands it to Slime to dry.

“I have a question.” Slime looks at Mariana. “What?” Mariana tilts his head.

“Why… uh… Why does Flippa call you Mom?…” Mariana looked at him for a moment, then started laughing, “I never told you, did I?” Slime smiled subconsciously, seeing Mariana laugh. “No? Tell me what?” Mariana looked in Flippa’s direction—she’s in the dining room— then back at Slime, “I go by him and her, Slime. I’m… Bigender.” Slime’s face looked confused for a moment as he processed that, “You are?” Mariana nodded, “Mhm, I thought I’d told you before— I mean, we’ve known each other for months— I thought I told you at some point... It, uh, isn't an issue, is it?” Slime shook his head, “No, no, it’s not an issue at all. I mean, I like you, that doesn’t change anything. I also, uh, I like men and women— and uh, you are both.” Mariana laughed as Slime paused for a moment, “Wait, so, would that mean you’d be my boyfriend or my girlfriend? Like, uh in the future I mean, we just had our first date and—” Mariana smiled and interrupted, “Whatever you’d want to call me, I’m comfortable with either.” Slime smiled back, “Okay.” They both fell into silence as they eventually washed and dried two more plates and three cups.

JuanaFlippa ran into the kitchen as they finished, “Mr. Slime, Mr. Slime,” she yelled. Slime dried his hands on a towel, “Yeah? What is it?” He laughed a little. She lifted up some paper, “Could you pleaaase show me how to make those little flowers you gave my má? I want to make some for Tilín.” Slime smiled, “Yeah, sure, I’ll teach you.” Juana giggled, going to the living room with Slime. Mariana followed them and sat on the couch as they sat on the floor with the paper. “What flower do you want to make? I know how to make a few of them, not just the ones I gave Mariana.” Flippa acted as if she were thinking really hard about what flower to choose, “Just the amapola is fine,” she held some red construction paper. “Alright, first we make the paper into a square,” he folded the paper into a triangle, then cut the excess off.

Mariana POV: 

She sat on the couch with a smile on her face as Slime and Flippa made flowers. It made Mariana absolutely joyous that her favourite people are finally interacting. Honestly, Mariana never thought this would happen, he honestly thought that he and Slime would just stay acquaintances that only know each other in that café. Just seeing Slime and Juana in the same room felt like a dream. 

“Do you want to make one too, Mariana?” Slime looked up at her, breaking Mariana out of thought, “Hm?” 

Slime chuckled, “I asked if you wanted to make one, you're kind of just sitting there watching.” Mariana chuckled after him, “Sure, I’ll make one”, getting up and sitting on the floor with them. Both Slime and Juana taught Mariana step by step, as Juana recounted what she just learned. 

.

..

…

The night ended gradually, Flippa slowly nodded off to sleep as they sat on the couch, finishing watching a movie that Flippa insisted on showing Slime. Mariana sighed with a soft smile as she picked her up and carried her to bed as Flippa mumbled in protest, “Noo, I don’t wanna go yet.”

“Mami, you’re falling asleep, it’s time for bed. Besides, you have school in the morning.” Mariana chuckled.

“I don’t want to go to school tomorrow….” Flippa complained.

“You don’t want to see your friends?” Mariana set Flippa on the bed, un-folding the blanket and covering her with it. 

“I do…” Flippa sat up in bed, “But I want to stay up longeeer” 

“Slime is going home as well, he needs rest too. He works until pretty late and he woke up early to hang out with me today. You need to wake up early for school so you’re not tired.” Mariana explained to Juana, trying to get her to listen to reason.

JuanaFlippa hummed, upset, “Okay.” She laid back then rolled onto her side. “I’ll try to sleep.” 

“Buenas noches,” Mariana turned on Flippa’s little egg-shaped night light.

“Noches, Mamá,” She looked at her room’s doorway, Mariana looked back at it as well.  “Good night Mr. Slime.” She smiled at him. 

Slime looked kind of surprised, then smiled ,“Night, Flippa.” 

Mariana couldn’t help but smile as well, eventually walking out the room and shutting the door of Flippa's room. 

Slime POV: 

Slime stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. He just smiled at Mariana as she smiled back. 

“I can drive you home before it gets too late, I’m not sending you off to get home by bus or something.” Mariana began to walk to the front-door. 

“Oh, uh, okay.” Slime walked after Mariana. He honestly didn’t want to leave yet, but Mariana had to wake up early as well, to take Flippa to school…. And now that Mariana mentioned it, he felt pretty tired. He isn’t normally a morning person and he woke up pretty early.

 “Thank you, by the way.” Slime says quietly as they leave the house and Mariana locks the front door.

“For what?” Mariana goes down the steps of the house. 

“Everything.” Slime smiled warmly. 

“Everything? What exactly?” Mariana chuckled. 

“For going out with me, letting me come over, cook with you, have dinner with you and Flippa, hang out… I uh…” Slime’s cheeks warmed up as they shifted to a green hue. He felt more embarrassed the more he spoke. “I’m happy.” 

Mariana smiled that genuine smile that Slime loved so much, “I’m happy as well.” Mariana came a little closer to Slime.  “Can I… hug you?” 

Slime looked up at Mariana like he maybe misheard him or something, but he slowly nodded anyway. 

Mariana chuckled and pulled him in for a hug, his glasses getting squished against his face. Slime laughed a little as he took his glasses off and held them in his hand as he hugged Mariana. This felt like a dream, he felt so warm and safe in Mariana’s arms. 

Mariana squeezed him gently before letting go a little, just smiling and looking into Slime’s eyes.

Slime’s vision was blurred, the only thing that was clear was Mariana in front of him, holding him. Slime felt like kissing him so bad, but that was moving pretty fast isn’t it? He looked down a bit, embarrassed. 

Mariana chuckled a little, letting go of him. “Come on, we're not standing here all night.” 

Slime let go reluctantly, putting his glasses back on, letting out a slightly forced laugh, “Yeah.” 

They walked over to the car, Mariana getting in the driver’s seat as Slime got in the passenger.

 They fell into a comfortable silence as Mariana drove. Eventually, on a red light, Mariana set her right hand on the center console, palm facing up. 

Slime looked at Mariana, then her hand, gently placing his own onto Mariana’s. They both interlocked and held hands the rest of the ride.

They looked at the road and sidewalks, not many people being out. 

It is a school night, so it made sense. But it wasn’t even that late, it was like… 8pm?  It’s pretty early to sleep, Flippa was probably exhausted, maybe she had a long day? Or did Flippa normally sleep this early? Honestly, getting to know Flippa and Mariana more felt amazing, but there honestly is still so much he doesn’t know.

As they arrived at Slime’s apartment building, Mariana squeezed his hand gently. “Good night, Slime. It was fun to see you today, I can’t wait for our next date.” 

Slime smiled at Mariana, “Me too, see you again soon. Good night, Mariana.” 

Slime let go of Mariana’s hand, opening the car door and heading out. 

“Have a safe drive home, it isn’t too far, but still.” He chuckled. 

“Of course,” she laughed with him, “I miss you already.” 

“Oh yeah, we totally won’t see each other again for months or something, I never see you at the café.” Slime joked.

“We’ll have to make our next date… perhaps next week at the same time? If you’re up for it. Or we can make it Tuesday so you’re not running on empty.” Mariana asked calmly. 

“Nah, I’m not running on empty, I just don’t normally wake up early”, he sighed, “I need to fix my sleep schedule, I can start tonight. Maybe you’ll see me eat breakfast at a normal time.” Slime chuckled. 

“Hm, maybe I will.” Mariana smiled. 

“Next week at the same time will be fine, we just gotta figure out what we’re going to do.” Slime shrugged. 

“Well, we have this whole week to figure it out. I’ll see you Wednesday?” Mariana questioned like he possibly won’t.

“Of course, I’ll see you then.” He smiled.

Slime waved as he shut the car door. He needed to leave or he’d end up standing there talking more for an hour. Mariana waved back and stayed parked there as he entered the building. Eventually, making his way to his apartment, unlocking his door, taking his shoes off and locking the door. 

He walked to his room, changed out of his clothes, etc… Before laying in bed face first. 

He adjusted himself in bed, covering himself with his blanket and looking up at the ceiling. He processed everything that happened that day… it was… a lot. 

He and Mariana spoke a lot, he learned quite a few things…  honestly he felt like the more he learned, the more he fell in love. 

He and Mariana shared milkshakes and—

 They shared milkshakes. 

Was that an indirect kiss or something? He put his mouth where Mariana’s was and didn’t even think about it until now? Really? It’s probably fine, I mean, Mariana didn’t make it a big deal, why should he? 

Slime rolled onto his side, whispering to himself, “Yeah, it’s probably fine, I mean, Mariana’s been so calm and collected and I just keep embarrassing myself. She probably didn’t even give it a second thought.” 

He went silent again, thinking to himself.

She.

He hummed. 

His mind accepted that Mariana goes by both so quickly, honestly, Mariana suited both so it’s not like it was crazy. Honestly, it’s his bad for not asking her what she went by at all. 

But the way he learned also felt special… so he didn’t regret it too much. They cooked, ate, and cleaned dishes together… it felt so…. Domestic. 

Huh, Family… 

He hadn’t spoken to his family in a while. Mike probably forgot he even exists, he should probably message him some day, catch up… that’d be nice. 

Well, that’s for another day.

 His mind has wandered enough. 

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and such.

Eventually, Slime went off to bed. His mind, full of thoughts, especially the unnecessary ones. 

.

..

…

Mariana  POV: 

Mariana watched as Slime walked into the apartment building.

The second that Slime was out of view Mariana sighed and leaned over the steering wheel. She finally stopped holding her breath. “Esto me va a terminar matando.” 

“En serio tengo que mostrarle que yo tampoco sé que estoy haciendo…” He complained to himself in a whisper, just talking to himself out loud.

“Él obviamente no se dio cuenta… quería decirle que lo amo…”  

Mariana eventually shook it off, sighing.

She sat up and got out of the parking spot, driving back home. Flippa’s home alone right now, after all.