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iwillneverforgiveyousunghanbin · 11 hours

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airp2ds

read part one of airpods here!!!

wc: 2k reader: femme!afab (matt calls reader a "pretty girl", is called a "young lady" by their uncle-- it's meant to feel derogatory ofc, reader is wearing a skirt, reader dances at a strip club in stilettos) warnings: smut 18+; MINORS DNI!!! -- specific warnings under the cut -- less of a bonkers scenario, but some really rich and fun plot development this time; funny & angst & fluff surprisingly-- stepcest obvi and we discuss it summary: after (y/n)'s little stunt a few days ago, their whole family gathers for an anything but peaceful dinner. rivalnewstepbrother!matthew has no interest in helping you out of this awful situation. or does he? yooooooo this only took 4 months to post, but it's perfect so hope you'll forgive me!! i TOLD you i'd do it eventually. and i did. missing organ and all. ilyyy thanks for bearing with me ੈ✩‧₊˚

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warnings: 18+ explicit smut, stepcest and we don't ignore it, p-in-v penetrative sex, brief heavy petting/fingering, not entirely safe cum destination lmao, unprotected obviously (do what you want, be smart), reader is a dancer at a strip club and their family is appalled, swearing... this one made me feel again yay

you stick your fork in a potato and pop it in your mouth, chewing and swallowing as you stare at your plate. your entire extended family converses around you at the long, glass dining table, celebrating your new stepdad’s birthday with your mom’s locally famous honey ham and roasted potatoes.

everyone’s having a goodman ball.

everyone except... you.

after suffering such a devastating defeat a couple nights ago, you’d been avoiding matthew like the plague. tail between your legs, you’d stood up from your stepbrother’s bed after he left you high and dry— sulking all the way back to your room.

you’d been avoiding matthew so diligently since then that this dinner was the first time you’d seen him since his fingers were inside you. he’s eating a little too well and talking to all of your family members, oozing respect and likability.

you’ve never hated anyone more.

“now matthew,” you grandmother starts, reaching out her hand to him, “please tell us more about what you’ve been doing abroad. it all sounds so important from what your father’s mentioned!”

matthew smiles humbly. “i’ve been pursuing a career in performance in seoul! it’s really not all that important in the scheme of things, but it’s definitely been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

“don’t be too humble, matthew,” your stepdad calls from the head of the table. “he works tirelessly day and night to accomplish his goal! he’s such a great kid.”

“we’re so very proud. i never imagined having a child with such passion and drive!” your mom chimes in obliviously. her eyes widen when she realizes what she said and she clears her throat awkwardly. “i mean, a son, that is.”

you close your eyes, stabbing a roasted red potato and letting your fork clatter onto the fine china plate.

“(y/n), how are you doing?” your uncle asks quickly. “have you found a better job yet?”

“i’m doing fine, thank you,” you answer through gritted teeth. “and i like my job. i’m not interested in finding one that society would categorize as better at this time.”

“but a young lady like you shouldn’t be—.”

“but what i am interested in finding a better version of,” you interrupt, picking up your glass of wine and downing the remaining contents, “is a family. one that doesn’t judge me or compare me to my new stepbrother— who, if i’m to judge from how you all indulge him, is jesus christ reincarnated! how divinely exciting!”

“(y/n),” your mother scolds, grabbing the empty wine glass out of your hand. “don’t be so cruel to your brother.”

“he’s not my brother,” you assert, snatching the wine glass back. in a flash, it slips from your fingers and shatters onto the dining room floor.

“you always do this,” your mother sighs, shaking her head in disappointment. she can’t even look at you. "you get so jealous when anyone is doing better than you are. i’m just so tired of your selfish immaturity.”

“perhaps it's time for you to get your own apartment and stop freeloading off of us,” your stepfather says with a sigh. “then you’ll find the motivation to stop working at that indecent bar and start making a proper living.”

your stomach flips at the threat. “i grew up in this house. you moved in a year ago after the mortgage was already paid off. doesn’t that make you as much of a fucking freeloader as i am?”

“(y/n), stop this right now,” your mom tries again to quiet you.

“you talk like that and you think you could ever be as well-liked as my son? the—”

“dad,” matthew says, trying to interrupt the rant that’s already begun. he should know by now it’s too late.

“—reason that no one here ever boasts about your accomplishments is because you have none. the reason no one ever praises how respectable you are is because it would be a lie. you—”

“dad,” matthew says again, louder this time but it still doesn’t reach the ears of the valentino-suited man turning red in the face.

“—are an ungrateful brat of an adult child that doesn’t even have enough vision for their life to stop working at a strip club.”

everyone at the dinner table gasps. so the truth has been set free: ‘bar’ had been the code word your ashamed mother and stepfather had been using in place of ‘strip club’ for the past year.

guess their resentment had finally outweighed their shame.

your gaze travels down the table, landing on matthew. he’s staring at his lap awkwardly.

“if you’ll excuse me,” you say, standing up from your chair and giving a big, facetious curtsy. “the whore will leave the table now.”

——

you slam your bedroom door behind you, storming over to your bed and picking up your favorite plushy— the one your dad had bought you for your high school graduation before he... it’s a baby fox, pink blush across his smiling face. usually the only aggression you feel towards him is that of cuteness, but suddenly you find yourself filled with rage.

how had you not noticed before just how much barnaby foxworth iii looks like your stupid fucking stepbrother!?

you turn around, hurling baby foxworth across your room with a scream. your eyes widen as the plushy lands in the hands of his human twin. you hadn’t heard him come in over the blood rushing in your ears.

matthew looks at the plushy, brow furrowing as he studies it. “i feel like i’ve seen this face somewhere before.”

“get the fuck out of my room,” you growl, walking over to him and grabbing baby foxworth. you frown as matthew holds onto him, not letting you pry your own plushy from his hands. “let go of him! what the fuck is your problem!?”

“i distinctly remember you stealing something from me a couple days ago and making it quite the fucking challenge to get it back,” matthew argues, pulling a little harder. “besides, how much can you really want something that you just threw across the room?”

you continue a tug-o-war for your beloved baby fox until you hear a sudden ripping noise. matthew lets go instantly, fear splayed across his face. you take baby foxworth in your arms, finding the fabric tear at the base of his little neck.

“i’m so sorry,” he apologizes quickly. “i really didn’t meant to—.”

“you’re sorry?” you repeat, jaw clenching as you step towards him. “sorry for what? sorry that you mamed barnaby foxworth iii? sorry that you barged into my room without knocking? sorry that i’ve made yet another mess out of a family celebration?”

“(y/n)…”

“sorry that all you do while they ridicule me is sit there and stare at your plate? sorry that your dad married my mom?”

“wait, (y/n)—…”

“sorry that i work at a strip club? sorry for what we did the other day?”

“i—…,” he stutters hopelessly. “i—.”

suddenly, your lips are on matthew’s— his body tensing at the unexpected action. you pull back, eyes meeting his.

they’re wide, shocked, confused. his hand reaches towards your face quickly and you think for a moment he’s going to slap you with it, but instead, he cups your jaw.

holding you still, he brings his lips back down to touch yours again. it’s a slow, languid kiss that, in and of itself, feels like an apology. a genuine one.

it’s overwhelming. it challenges everything you thought you knew about this stranger you were now forced to call family.

you step back, clutching baby foxworth tighter to your chest.

“they were so impressed when you told them you’re a dancer,” you whisper, tears beginning to spill over. “why were they so disgusted when i told them i am, too?”

his face falls as he thinks about your words. “i think you know why.”

you press your lips together, a sardonic huff of a laugh escaping you. did you really think you’d get sympathy from him?

“but it’s not fair,” matthew continues. “it’s not fair that they treat you that way.”

you’re afraid to look up at him, eyes remaining fixed on the tear at your plushy’s neck. “i didn’t even think you’d noticed.”

“i’ll admit, i didn’t see it at first. it’s not like i’m here that often,” he replies with a sigh. “and i guess i did think you were the problem. and i do still think you’re part of the problem, don’t get me wrong.”

you roll your eyes, looking down at the floor.

“but maybe you’ve forgotten that no one knows what my dad can be like more than i do,” matthew says, wrapping his hand gently around your upperarm. “i thought maybe he’d finally changed for the better after marrying your mom, but i know now that’s far from the truth. and i can try my best to help you from now on, if you’ll let me.”

“thanks,” you say quietly as your eyes meet his. he smiles softly at you before you promptly brush his hand off your arm. “but i still don’t like you.”

your hostility just widens his smile. “i thought you’d say that.”

you turn, walking back to your bed and placing baby foxworth by your pillows. you think about what your family must still be saying about you around the dinner table. your thoughts are halted, however, when a warm, muscular chest is soon pressed against your back.

“i was just wondering,” he says softly against your ear, arm snaking around your waist. “there has to be something about me that you like, right? i mean, you're the one who wanted my face in your cunt. and don't think i haven't heard you call me perfect a few times now.”

��i meant it as an insult,” you breathe as a hand reaches underneath your skirt— fingers beginning to pad delicate circles over your panties.

“was screaming my name while cumming all over my fingers also supposed to be taken as an insult?” he asks, knee against the back of yours until you tumble gently onto your bed— his arms catching you and flipping you on your back to face him. “you must’ve really been trying to offend me.”

matthew shimmies your skirt and panties down your legs and you find yourself assisting to kick it off with your foot onto the floor. he laughs much too smugly as he unzips his slacks and discards them onto the hardwood. you hover your foot over his groin, brow raising in a threat.

“okay, okay,” he admits in defeat. as a grin stretches across your lips, he bites at your thighs hungrily and sighs. “god, i wish i wasn’t your brother.”

“matt!” you screech in horror and he takes the opportunity to sink himself inside you. you gasp at the sudden stretch, a protest turning to a whimper as he smirks at you. “matt...”

“no need to worry, baby,” he coos, tip of his cock reaching your backmost wall. “it’s pretty obvious there’s a divorce on the way. my dad’s already let it slip to me about how he secretly blew all the money in their joint savings on a third yacht.”

“my mom’s been fucking her tennis instructor for two months,” you reply, trying to hold yourself together as matthew increases his pace. “and her golf instructor. and her pilates instructor. and her business lawyer. and her—.”

matthew’s lips meet yours. “you’re so fucking hot.”

you run your hand up his chest, tugging at his shirt until he pulls it off over his head. it’s a shame to admit it, but... he is perfect.

“but if our parents get divorced, we’ll never see each other,” you say with a pout. you shake your head quickly, realizing what you just said. “which i’m totally fine with. but you’d probably be really upset.”

a particularly rough thrust sends you reeling— crying out in pleasure and totally blowing your act.

“yeah, it’d be really hard for me,” matthew patronizes, mimicking your pout. “g’nna cum for me, pretty girl? hm?”

“fuck,” you whine, nearly at your peak. you honestly had no idea how good at dancing matthew was, but if he was half as good at dancing as he was at fucking, then even goddamn dick van dyke would be proud. your walls flutter around him, a chorus of moans as he pushes you over the edge.

“oh my god,” matthew rasps as you reach your climax, his thrusts growing more desperate and sporadic. “pussy’s so fucking perfect, baby. made me want you so bad, i—.”

he pulls out quickly, a few pumps before painting your cunt with his cum as he moans under his breath. he stares at the sight for a few moments before his head tilts thoughtfully and a smirk upturns a corner of his lips.

“something to share with the class?” you ask, one eyebrow piquing.

he laughs, shrugging at your prodding. “i was just thinking about how i definitely wouldn’t be the golden child anymore if anyone knew about this.”

“i dunno. i think somehow you’d still come out unscathed,” you say, shaking your head. “i must’ve tempted you. coerced you. blackmailed you.”

he smiles at you sadly. “listen, i know that... i know things must suck for you right now and—... i mean it when i say i’m gonna try my best to fix—.”

“matthew!”

you both freeze as the sound of your stepfather’s voice rings from downstairs. matthew clears his throat, calling back, “yeah?”

“come downstairs! aunt bethany wants to talk to you about visiting seoul.”

“okay!” matthew answers. he rolls his eyes. “i hate your aunt bethany.”

“you and me both, kid,” you reply, sitting up on your hands as matthew hurriedly gets dressed. “have fun.”

“come with me,” he requests, picking up your skirt from off the floor and holding it out to you.

you consider it, but shake your head. “tell me if you hear any good gossip about me. i have to get ready for my shift anyway.”

“really? you’re gonna go strip after this?” matthew asks, lips parted in surprise.

“dance,” you correct. “i’m gonna go dance.”

he smiles. “when do you get back?”

“around one,” you answer, standing up and walking over to your vanity. “why?”

“my flight’s at midnight,” he says, biting his lip. your mascara clatters to the table as a tiny, annoying ball of disappointment forms in your chest. “so i guess i’ll catch you another time.”

you don’t say anything— just continue doing your makeup as you try to ignore that growing ball.

“okay then,” matthew says finally, opening your door. “bye, (y/n).”

“my mom’s birthday is next month.”

the words slip out of your mouth before you can stop them. you don’t regret it.

“she likes you more than me, so,” you continue with as much nonchalance as you can feign. “she’d probably want to see you.”

matthew catches your eye through your mirror. he just smiles.

~ EPILOGUE ~

you clamber through your bedroom door in the dark, stilettos still on as you stumble into bed and flop onto it in exhaustion. you clap your hands— bedside light turning on as you reach for baby foxworth. you cradle him under your chin, squeezing him tight. suddenly, you remember the tear in his neck from when matthew had ripped him after dinner.

you feel around for the hole, but are surprised when you find a crinkly, purple sticky note instead. on it, is written:

told you i’m gonna try to fix everything. — your favorite brother ;)

“disgusting,” you mutter under your breath, turning your attention back to baby foxworth’s neck hole. except...

there is no hole.

okay, matty, you think with a smile. let’s see what you’ve got.

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zackmartin · 2 years

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hang on im having a vision. ok. florist!henry and mechanic!zack. zack leaves an oil handprint on hens workspace and it ticks him off and then other stuff happens and then they kiss and then ride off into the sunset on zacks motorcycle that he has now

Okay, sorry this took me legit over a whole ass month, my body hates me but. The way you’re literally a genius, like truly a visionary of our time. Like, I’ve legit been thinking about this au this entire time. “on zacks motorcycle that he has now” the way that you literally Get Him. (but seriously, I always give him a motorcycle in the future because he had one at least one point in his life. Like, he just did)(and I had (have?) a one-shot for Christmas where Hen is visiting Boston for the holidays and Zack’s dad gives him his old motorcycle as a Christmas gift and Zack’s so excited about it he wants to drive it right that second and he asks Henry to go with him and Hen’s like “right now? When it’s like, 10 degrees outside?” and idk why I’m telling you that but I am so.) ANYWAY. Just as a warning before I get into it, this is probably going to be kinda messy and rambly because I have really severe brain fog from my new meds like, it’s BAD. So, I apologize in advance, hopefully I’m not TOO incoherent lmao

send me an au and i'll tell you how i'd have it play out!

Lizzie, I am. So SO sorry for how long this ended up being. You activated that part of my brain and I went absolutely NUTS but I obviously don’t expect you to read all this, just know i had so much fun with it 💕

I think Alyson Stoner’s Max should work at Zack’s auto shop with him. No real reason why, I just want her too. I want them to be mechanic besties, and i want Max to make fun of Zack when she figures out that Zack is crushing on the florist next door

OKAY, SO. Henry’s a florist that owns this little, modest flower shop in Swellview and one day an auto shop opens in the vacant spot right next door

But, Henry doesn’t actually meet his new “neighbor” until the grand opening of their shop when he comes strolling into his flower shop, and despite the fact that his auto place has only been open for a few measly hours, his overalls and work boots are already covered in gunk, and he smells like a nice mix of oil, gasoline, and a hint of sweat, which is already a bit of a turn off (but like. His outfit reminds henry of schwoz because it’s literally the same outfit schwoz always wore, just long-sleeved and covered in grease LASKJDF so like. Zack’s just. Got too many things working against him right now)

(Also, just as a side note, Zack’s also wearing a worn out baseball cap, sometimes backwards, pretty much every day while at work. Idk why, but it’s happening in this au, and no I don’t take criticism)

But, this guy’s obviously trying to be nice, so Henry tries too, despite the fact that Zack’s putting his grease-covered hands all over everything, leaving gross fingerprints on the glass counter Henry just cleaned

He introduces himself, and Henry, in a fit of annoyance, is very sarcastically like “I never would’ve guessed” considering it’s literally stitched in giant, white lettering on his overalls

I want Zack to call Henry “flower boy” in this AU just as a fun little reference to the fact that we call him “flower boy Henry” whenever we discuss the iconic flower camp line. I will not be taking any criticism at this time

Zack tries to be helpful by pulling a rag out of his back pocket to wipe up his mess, except the rag also has stuff all over it, and it basically just spreads the grease around, so now instead of a few tiny fingerprints, there’s a giant smeary circle that takes up like a ¼ of the counter

Henry’s just staring at him like “........really?”

And that’s when Zack’s like “maybe I should go” Henry: “maybe you should”

As Zack’s backing out, he accidentally bumps into a display, knocking a few potted plants over, and ofc, they break

Zack offers to pay for them, but Henry just,,,, does not want him to cause anymore damage so he’s just like “I will forget everything if you please just leave. NOW”

But, despite the fact that Zack literally left the worst first impression, Henry’s dealt with wayyyy worse customers, so once he’s cooled off, he’s decided not to hold a grudge (or. So he thinks)

But, the thing is. Henry doesn’t need to have peace and quiet all the time, because, I mean. He practically grew up with Piper’s screaming temper tantrums, and Ray’s temper tantrums, and the chaos that was the Man Cave, and even the chaos that was Kid Danger missions, so it’s not like he needs it to be quiet 24/7 but like. This particular auto shop is. Very loud

Between the whir of the tools and the fact that they always have the radio turned up as loud as it can go 24/7 is enough to drive anyone insane

(And to make matters worse, the music they always play is literally the worst music Henry’s ever heard in his entire life)

And there’s just that one day where Henry’s having one of those mornings where everything that can go wrong, will go wrong; like, his alarm didn’t go off so he’s late, and he spills his drink all over himself and his car on the drive to work, and he gets stuck in traffic, and he has a raging headache. One of ThoseTM days, ya know?

But much to his relief, this is one of those rare mornings where the auto place doesn’t have the radio on, so the only thing he hears is the occasional sound of the louder tools

And his shop is kinda slow, so he’s able to just go through the motions of doing arrangements and trimming

Except, around noon, the radio goes on. And it’s not like they turn it on and gradually turn it up. It always starts out full blast, and it startles Henry to the point where he accidentally clips the top of a rose clean off

And that’s kinda when he has his “that’s it!” moment of just being,,, completely tired of this shit

So he storms over to the shop and finds Zack, who's currently sprawled out under a car

And Henry tries to get his attention just by calling his name, but it’s so damn loud in there

So Hen has to kinda,,,tap his boot to get his attention (except. It’s a little harder than just a tap. Like, not enough to hurt him, ofc, but it’s more than just a nudge lmao)

And Zack rolls out, completely unaware that Hen’s been stewing in annoyance towards him for the past few months to where he now completely despises him, so Zack’s just like “:) hey, Flower Boy. What’s up?”

Hen: “first off, don’t call me that. And secondly: really, with the radio? Do we have to do this everyday? Haven’t you ever heard of headphones? Or…spotify?” Zack, scoffing, like this should be the most obvious thing in the world: “We can’t use headphones with these power tools. I need to hear if someone comes up behind me.” Henry: “...........you literally couldn’t hear me yelling when I was standing right here!”

Zack just shrugs at this

Henry: “Whatever. If you’re going to insist on playing this everyday, can you at least pick something good, instead of this garbage?” Zack, now standing up at the speed of light: “Garbage?!? This isn’t garbage! Bro, these are classics!!!!”

Then Hen does that like, scrunched up face he does (the like, wtf face. Idk how to describe it, and I’m too lazy to find an example, but hopefully you know what I’m talking about alksdjf) “Don’t call me bro. We’re not bros. And it’s garbage. Please, just….pick something different.” Zack: “Well, what would you suggest?” Henry, who wasn’t prepared to offer an alternative: “....Not that!”

And then he’s storming off again. And ofc now Zack’s annoyed, cause this dude just came waltzing into his garage just to demand he change his radio station, and how dare he call the classics garbage?!?!?! Buuuuuuuuut….there’s just something about him that Zack can’t help the little ghost of a grin that’s creeping onto his face and he literally can’t stop himself from watching Henry go. Like, he would never admit it out loud at this point, but he’s just the tiniest bit attracted to that fiery side of Hen

and ofc in this au, Henry’s car is a clunker (three guesses as to where I’m going with this alskdjf). It gets him from point A to point B, but just barely

There’s one night where Henry’s driving home after finally getting one of his every-few-months hangouts with Jasper and Char where they all catch up and it’s like, the wee hours of the morning, and he’s on a back road (because the two of them live a few towns over, so the three of them always have to drive a bit to meet at a town in the middle) (luckily he’s back in the Swellview city limits, tho) And what should happen?

If you guessed “his car breaks down”, you are correct!

Henry’s been….kinda neglectful about getting maintenance on it, because there’s only one (1) auto shop in Swellview that he doesn’t want to take it to for obvious reasons and he’s just been too busy (and honestly, too lazy) to take to a different shop in another city, so he really isn’t shocked that this happened

But ofc it had to happen on a back road where he gets no cell service, at a time of night when hardly any (if any) cars go by

He pops the hood, just to see if maybe it’s something he can fix on his own, but that man don’t know shit about cars

By some lucky twist of fate, about a half an hour later, this motorcycle pulls up

And motorcycle guy asks Henry if needs help, and ofc Hen is like “yes, please. Thank you so much” and he feels so relieved because, up until this point, his only options were sleeping in his car or making the million mile trek back to town, and considering he’s not a teen anymore, either of those options would probably result in several body parts being wildly sore tomorrow lmao

As they’re shutting off their bike and putting down the kickstand, Henry’s like,,,,struggling to see them in the dark (even with the flashlight on his phone) so he can’t tell who it is right away (but it doesn’t matter, cause they’re wearing one of those helmets that hides their whole face anyway).

The only thing he can really make out is the guitar shaped case that strapped to their back that they take off and set down next to their bike, and the jeans and leather jacket they’re wearing, and even tho Hen hasn’t seen their face yet, the bike and the guitar and the jacket makes Henry have a very fleeting thought of “hm. Kinda hot”

Listen. I know it would be super corny and stupid. I know, I KNOW. BUT. I really need Zack taking off his helmet to be like that scene in jatp when Willie takes off his helmet in slo-mo. And as he’s doing it, Zack’s like, “So, don’t recognize me without the overalls and grease, huh? 😏”

And ofc Henry’s having an “oh NO” moment, because the thought doesn’t go away even after he finds out that motorcycle guy is Zack, so now he has to reconcile with the fact that Annoying Auto Shop Guy is also Hot Motorcycle Guy

But, Henry doesn’t want him to know that ofc, so he’s gotta try to be cool (or. As cool as henry can be asldfjk)

Zack: “Man, how lucky are you that the person who finds you on the side of the road at this time of the night just happens to be a mechanic? :)” Henry, sarcastically: “Yeah, I feel super lucky right now” Zack: “Must be fate 😏” Henry, through gritted teeth: “It’s…certainly something.”

Zack goes to look under the hood and he just says out loud “so, what seems to be the issue?”

And Henry, who doesn’t know SHIT about cars, decides to just throw out the first car sounding word he thinks of: “I think it’s the…..carburetor”

Zack: “I’ll give you fifty bucks right now if you can point to the carburetor. Actually, you don’t even need to point to it specifically, just the general area of where it is.”

Henry takes a shot in the dark and points to a random spot, but Zack makes this like, loud buzzing noise to indicate that he’s wrong. Henry tries two more times, with two more loud, obnoxious buzzing noises from Zack, before he’s very impatiently like: “alright, then why don’t you just tell me where it is if you’re such an expert?!”

Zack, lips slowly curling into a shit eating grin: “It was trick question, Flower Boy. This car doesn’t have a carburetor.”

Henry, scoffing: “I know. I was just testing you to make you sure you know what you’re doing. You passed.”

Zack just rolls his eyes and breathes out a laugh before he looks under the hood to see if he can find the issue, and he’s just like, “Man…when was the last time you changed the oil on this thing?” Henry: “You’re supposed to change the oil?” Zack, whirling around to face him, looking like he’s about to have a stroke: “Please, tell me you’re joking” Henry: “Pfft! Of course I’m joking. I know you’re supposed to change the oil”

Anyway, it ends up that it’s an issue that Zack can’t fix right there, so he drives Henry home on his bike that night (much to Henry’s dismay) and has the car towed to the shop the next morning

And when Henry goes over a few hours later after Zack’s had time to really run a diagnostic, Zack has to tell him that the cost of fixing the car is wayyyy more than the cost of the car itself and it would be MUCH cheaper in the long run to just get a new car

But like. Henry’s had this car since he was young, like he drove Piper to her high school graduation in it, and he and Charlotte and Jasper took a road trip in it the summer after they graduated college before they all started their careers and went their separate ways, and even though Henry’s not really in contact with Ray anymore, Ray was the one that helped him pick out this car since Henry doesn’t really know anything about them, so in a weird way, it’s kinda like his last connection to him, so he really can’t bring himself to give it up just yet

And for some weird reason, henry ends up telling Zack all of this because he’s basically having a breakdown about having to get rid of it

And Zack can definitely understand that, considering the only person from his past that lives in Swellview is Max, and even though he would never ever admit it, he misses his brother and his parents and his friends

So, he promises Henry that he’ll fix it, and he’ll even offer him the hefty friends and family discount, but only if Henry agrees to let Zack show him how to fix it

And ofc now Henry’s really confused because that just seems like a really bad business decision lsdkjf

But Zack’s just like: “I would just feel better knowing that you’ll know what to do if you end up broken down on the side of the road in the middle of the night again. It’s solely about your safety” (It isn’t. He obviously just wants an excuse to spend time with the cute Flower Boy) Zack, King of terrible jokes: “I can’t always be your knight in shining leather”

Ofc, it’s bad enough for Henry just having this shop right next door, but having to spend a few hours after work learning how to fix cars from Zack just sounds like absolute torture (especially now that he’s like, the tiniest bit attracted to him)

Zack: “Either you spend this little time with me now, or you spend every few months bringing it in for maintenance. Either way, I win.”

And that sounds wayyy worse to Henry, so he begrudgingly agrees

If I was gonna write this, I would have to include a scene where this like, ridiculously flashy pink limo shows up (there’s some crazy shit in Swellview, but even this is pretty wild for downtown), and this girl in a sparkly outfit that looks like she belongs on rodeo drive rather than main street steps out, a blonde girl in much more casual clothes behind her

Henry’s been in his back office up till this point, but his employees and even a few of the customers are excitedly chatting about something, so much so that it piques his interest, so he goes to see what’s up, and one of his co-workers is very eagerly like “London Tipton is outside!!”

(the only reason Henry even knows that name at all is because Piper and Jasper were both obsessed with her web show aldkjf)(Henry, on the other hand, has been a bit turned off to web shows ever since Frankini LASKDJF)

And much to everyone’s even bigger shock, London and her blonde girlfriend she’s holding the hand of (obviously it’s Maddie. I literally would not pair London with any other girl but Maddie. They’re soulmates, your honor), step right into Henry’s shop

London tries to skip the line, but Maddie gently holds her back

On the other side of the counter, Henry has to quietly tell some of his employees to chill, cause they’re practically buzzing lmao

When the two girls finally get to the front, London is like “I’m looking for Harry-” “Henry,” Maddie corrects

Henry, who is now thoroughly confused: “That’s…. me?” (Like, he doesn’t even know what London’s doing in a place like Swellview to begin with, let alone his little modest shop, but now he’s trying to figure how the fuck she knows of him enough to literally ask for him by name. Almost. like he’s wracking his brain to figure out what obscure connection they may have)

Anyway, they’re there because they’re getting married, and Maddie wants to use all small businesses for it (like for the cake and the catering etc) so they want Henry’s shop to do the flowers

And ofc, Henry’s thrilled about that, because London Tipton’s wedding is a huge deal (like, it’s literally being covered by like E! News alsdkjf)

After the meeting when they’re getting ready to leave, Henry’s curiosity finally gets the better of them, and he just asks how they heard about his place and they’re like “You came very highly recommended by a friend :)”

But that really does nothing to help Henry figure it out, because he doesn’t know what friend they might possibly have in common

Anyway, after they leave, Zack meets them outside on the sidewalk (so, Henry can see them through his shop window). Zack gives London this big bear hug (despite her obvious protests considering he’s all covered in gross stuff)(Maddie, however, happily accepts his hug) and that’s when it finally ClicksTM for Hen

So, when Henry goes over that night after work to work on his car, he’s like “So. I met your friend London today.” and then he sort of defensively is like, “you know, I really don’t need you doing me any favors” Zack, scoffing loudly: “You think I care about doing you a favor? I believe in your business, Hen. I figured you could find the perfect balance between London’s flashy taste and Maddie’s more modest one. That’s all.” Henry, unsure of how to take a compliment from Zack, of all people: “Oh…..Well, thank you.”

And now there’s a kind of tension in the air because this is the first conversation they’ve had since they met where they aren’t lowkey bitching at each other (and this is kinda the turning point where those annoyed feelings start turning into genuine “I really like this person” feelings)

One night, when there’s a sort of lull in the conversation, Zack asks Henry if flowers really do have their own secret language

At first, Henry kinda just gives one word answers, partially just to be spiteful, and also partially because, usually when he starts talking about this stuff with others, they quickly grow bored (the only one that really listens is Charlotte, and that’s because I LOVE Nesha’s HC about Char being a plant Mom that has like, a whole forest in her apartment.)

But, Zack keeps gently pushing him to keep going until Henry finally caves (if you were to ask Zack directly, he would say he just wanted to know because he was bored of the awkward silence between them, but it’s actually because he’s starting to view Henry as a legit friend and he’s got a lil’ crush, so he wants to share in something that Henry is obviously passionate about)

So, it basically becomes a situation where there’s a trade off: Zack teaches Henry something about fixing a car engine and Henry teaches Zack something about flowers

Anyway, Zack starts flirting using flowers lasdkjf Like, henry goes into work a little late one day, and one of his employees is like “oh, by the way, a customer left a gift for you. It’s on your desk ;)” and it’s a single flower that Henry told Zack the meaning of, and it’s basically supposed to be like, a symbol for admiration

Zack sometimes gets it wrong but Henry can usually piece together what he meant

(and sometimes he gets it very right, but Henry thinks he got it wrong. Like, he sends one where he’s pretty much trying to tell Henry in no uncertain terms that he’s super into him, but Hen thinks he just messed up again. Like, he couldn’t possibly have meant to send such a strong message)(even though it gets to a point where Henry is also super into him, so he’s desperately wishing that’s what he meant)

(they’re idiots to idiot lovers in all universes, your honor)

Sometimes he sends one back, so it gets to the point where they’re having a whole secret conversation using flowers

Anyway, there’s one night a few months later when they’re so smitten with each other, and Zack’s showing Henry how to do something, and Henry’s pretending like he doesn’t know how to use a wrench asldjkf so that Zack will have to put his hand over Henry’s to show him how to do it (like those really cheesy scenes where a guy is showing a girl how to hit a golf ball, so he puts his arms around her, and guides her through it; same deal here, just with a wrench instead LSJDKF)

And the closeness from that kinda leads to their first kiss. It should be the most unromantic setting, what with them literally standing over an old engine, in a dingy garage, but they somehow make it work

Zack: Sooooo, uhhh…..what kinda flower would you use if you wanted to ask someone out? Like….on a date? 👀” Henry tells him that there isn’t one that means that EXACT phrase (if there is, I’m sorry, google was wildly unhelpful lsdkjf), but red roses are pretty well known for being romantic in nature, so you can’t really go wrong with them

So, ofc when Henry goes into work the next day, there’s a single red rose on his desk

And, that’s pretty much it! They go on a date, they fall in love, they ride off into the sunset on Zack’s motorcycle

Oh! And I meant to say this wayy earlier but like, okay. Gays stick together, this is a fact laksjdf so like, even though it isn’t on purpose, a lot of the people that work for Henry and Zack are LGBT in some way, so they all end up becoming friends with each other at one point, and they eventually get a pool going on how long it takes for Zack and Hen to get together

Like, they’re all just getting a drink after work together one day, and they’re talking about a fight Hen and Zack got into that day and one of them is just like “they need to just kiss already, this is getting ridiculous”

Zack and Hen eventually figure this out, though, so like, they keep pretending to hate each other just to mess with them LSKJDF

Like, Zack goes storming into Henry’s office one day, and he slams the door shut behind him, and all of Hen’s employees are looking at each other like “👀😳” cause obviously they think they’re about to have another knockdown, drag out fight, but they’re actually just, having lunch together lajksdf

They would find out eventually, tho, cause Zack’s not shy about PDA and he would either forget, or one of the employees would walk in on them giving each other a kiss goodbye or something, and then it would be all over, because that would spread like wildfire through that little group alskdjf

The only one that knows from the very beginning is Max, and that’s not because Zack told her, she literally just knows him really well and she can tell he’s lying and she also can see the literal hearts in his eyes whenever Henry is around sldkjf

A few more HCs just cause I’m obsessed with this AU:

They still send flowers back and forth to each other every once in a while, just because that’s a thing that’s so exclusive to them and they like it

There’s a time after Henry’s been riding Zack’s motorcycle pretty regularly, where he goes through this phase of wanting to throw himself into it by wearing the leather jacket, and the fingerless gloves and shit, and his outfit basically ends up being the one he wears with the sunglasses in the Danger Force episode Return of the Kid (if you don’t remember it, or for anyone else that might be reading that doesn’t know what I’m talking about, if you google that episode, it’ll will show you the exact outfit I mean)

And Zack has to very gently be like “Baby. No.” cause let’s be real, that outfit looks fucking ridiculous anywhere outside of dystopia alskdjf

He basically gets Henry down to just the leather jacket and the shades but Henry’s still like “I’m keeping the fingerless gloves”

Zack, after letting out a HUGE sigh: “Fine.”

Although, there is a huge part of Zack that loves the wardrobe change, because he thinks his boyfriend looks very hot in leather jackets

If Zack and Hen are in Zack’s garage during work hours, and they give each other even a quick little goodbye kiss or something, every single one of Zack’s employees will whistle or whoop or something. Every. Single. One. (because Zack just has that type of friendship with his employees, like there’s a definite camaraderie in that garage) (also it happens every single time)

Max literally will not let Zack live down the fact that he’s now hopelessly in love with the flower shop owner he used to make fun of

I didn’t say it earlier in the fic, but Zack is a part of a band in this universe, but just as a hobby, and they sometimes play at bars. And when Zack finds Henry on the side of the road, he’s actually coming back from one of those gigs

they play that music that Henry can’t stand, but actually, it’s good when zack does it alksdjf

Zack and Henry are a cheesy couple in every universe lasdkjf Sometimes Zack will sing/play directly to Henry (like they’ll just lock eyes, and it’s like they’re the only two people in the bar) and their friends around them are definitely standing there like “🙄🙄 really?” but they all secretly think it’s cute. They WILL relentlessly tease them both about it, tho

There’s two constants whenever Henry goes to see Zack play: 1. He always gets tipsy lasdkjf and 2. He always turns to the random strangers around him to very proudly declare: “that’s my boyfriend! He's in the band. :)”

Zack does it too, though. Like, they’ll be at some random wedding, and Zack’ll point to the floral centerpiece and just be like “Do you see this? My boyfriend did this :) He did all the flowers. He’s so cool 🥰”

Anyway, I gotta stop myself here cause I’ll just keep going on forever if I don’t, but. thank you, Lizzie, for this gift, I’m literally having a BLAST thinking about this universe 🥺🥺🥺💓💓💓

#asks #au ask game #lizzie tag 🐸#anyway. lizzie is one of the like. three people i trust with zack cause they Get Him #this game is so so fun for me #because I either get to think about an au i've never thought about before. like this GOD TIER au. thank you lizzie 💓💓💓#or I get to ramble about one of the bajillion aus I already have #and i have some that are truly wild compared to canon #so i'm playing this game forever. like y'all can send me an au at literally any time and i will be thrilled #this made me so soft cause like. my dad was a mechanic. so it gave me a happy sense of nostalgia 🥺💓💓#like I can literally smell the shop he used to work in lmao #anyway. I might add more to this later cause I have serious issues aslkdjf #and things keep popping into my head

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