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Chapter Text

The story begins at the famous mysterious forest where our protagonists live: Cordelius and Lily. They weren't exactly the people to chatter and gossip like other brawlers, both of them were reserved and harmful when socialising.

Brawlers were scared of the forest they live in and avoiding it because of its unique odd appearance and of the unknown that is living there. In Starr Park were rumors about how terrible that place is,convincing others,who didn't know much about the Enchanted Forest that those things are indeed like that. It sounds pretty dumb,doesn't it?

Well,for most of the people that overheard these things were considered normal, even though it wasn't like that. Nobody came to tell them that the forest wasn't that creepy and the only person they should avoid was the caretaker of the forest,Cordelius.

Obviously,Cordelius and Lily were perceived as weird for spending most of their time in 'their' forest. The only exceptions were when Cordelius went to buy some food,groceries and ilegally sell his mushrooms and Lily to talk with her bestie,Tara. It seems fair that most of the brawlers already had portrayed them and I say 'most',because there was Doug and Buzz whom accepted them as they were and had conversations with them whenever Cord and Lily left their forest.

Currently,they've decided to visit Doug and Buzz. It's been a while since they talked. As you can guess,they didn't meet frequently,Cordelius and Lily rather chose to stay in their forest most of the time. But not now.

Both were heading to Velocirapids,Buzz and Doug's worl place where they had planned to meet. Cordelius comes out of Shadow Realm,covered in smoke,followed by Lily,walking slowly and carefully to them. Doug grins when he sees them and Buzz keeps scrolling on his phone on Tik Tok,completely oblivious to their arrival.

"Greetings,my dudes!" Doug says cheerfully.

Cordelius puffs more smoke from his blunt and then shakes Doug's hand,saying with the same tonality:

"Hi Doug,bro!" A smile appears after his mask.

Despite his intimidating appearance,he had a similar personality and energy as Doug.

They keep chatting while Lily whispers a hello to Buzz. She wasn't speaking too much usually and, when she did, it was in a low,shy tone. He barely notices her and responds:

"You scared me",even if he wasn't scared at all. Buzz looks away at how Doug and Cordelius' conversation is going rather back to Lily. He knew how she uses to stare right into people's eyes. Not a thing everyone likes in general and,obviously,he was one of them.

Doug turns to them and says in a mocking tone:

"Buzz,why aren't you just having a normal conversation with her? Are you afraid of girls?"

Buzz,irritated,responds:

"No,shut up. What am I supposed to talk with her if she barely speaks?"

"Don't start insulting people again,Buzz. We've talked about this already..." Doug gasps at Buzz's answer and looks over at Lily. She doesn't seem affected by any of it,looking like she has experienced this before aswell. "We need to keep going on and focus on the reason why we met here today. Let's go to Barley's Bar." He continues with a smile on his face,looking forward to what will bring this day to them.

"Yeah,let's keep going." Cordelius takes another blunt for Doug. "Here,take one."

"I didn't ask for any-"

"Take it."

Doug keeps refusing it as Buzz and Lily just watch the scene. Buzz silently tells him that if he'll accept from Cordelius,he won't be speaking to him again(he's exaggerating, he will come to him after a week or so, but he will still be mad over it) and Lily walks over to Cordelius and takes it herself. She tells silently to Doug to thank her,which he did right away.

The group heads to the bar,walking side by side, Doug not missing to tell Cordelius and Lily the most recent gossips from Starr Park. They listen,paying attention to it mostly because of how much Doug wanted them to know it. They weren't the type of people to gossip,but they were really good at just listening to someone else telling his thoughts.

Chapter Text

Barley's Bar is a very crowded place,especially at night,when everyone is drunk and just want to have fun. It seemed to be the perfect place for people like them: Doug as the life of the party,Cordelius selling his drugs to anyone and then spending the money on whiskey,Lily drinking whatever she feels like and Buzz keeping an eye on all of them. He's taking his job very seriously and he cares about his friends' safety. He didn't go witht he flow in the parry,preferring to remain strong and check on his friends.

Meanwhile his bro was having the time of his life with Surge. Even if he was Super City's protector, he assisted at each party,being loved by everybody. Doug was one of his closest friends,having a similar personality and attitude.

With a smile hidden under his mask and his pockets full of money,Cordelius was chatting with his 'costumers' about the mushrooms he sold them.  They were satisfied by his shrooms and told him they're going to buy more of them. Despite the price he sells them,he gets a lot of people who want to try,willing to pay Cordelius as much as he says. The conversation soon finished, Cordelius' 'costumers' saying that they need to meet someone else.

He gets back to his friends' table and sits on his chair,noticing that Lily was still here,focused on looking at someone. Cordelius glances at how her outfit fits her so good and at her eyes. For a moment he thought her eyes are beautiful,until he's been interrupted by her looking back at him. He didn't want to get caught by her, so he showed complete desinterest when she gazed back. They stayed just like that,no one wanted to start a conversation for a long moment. Both of them were sure the other didn't care at all about them and barely noticed their existence. Usually,they did their things without talking to eachother. There were rare moments when they did say a few words to eachother. There were rare when they did say a few words to eachother and that implied strict subjects.

It hasn't been a lot since she was living with him in the woods. he accepted her,because she's silent,he didn't expect to care and check up on her whenever she wasn't with him. The excuse he always brought up whenever she caught him following her was his mushrooms. He almost never wasn't sane, because of his mushrooms.

"You two are okay?"Doug asked them when he walked to their table to grab his glass of wine. "We came here to have fun,not to silently judge eachother. Cordy,have you sold any mushrooms?"

"Of course I did." He shows him the money he got from the mushrooms and then puts it back in his pocket,with a proud look on his face.

"Duude,that's a lot... How many have you sold so far?" Doug asks with pure curiosity.

"17." He waits for a second and then continues:"Why,do you want?"

"No,I told you I don't want..."

As they continue going on,Lily is satisfied she doesn't have to continue staring in the crazy small man's eyes and walks away from their table. She walks a bit into the crowd of people dancing and having fun until she sees a woman with her head hidden under a mask,explaining the meaning of the cards she's put on the table. She slowly walks to her until she can see her better,including the group of people staying close and paying attention to whatever she says. the woman seems to be so focused on her cards and explanations,that she doesn't observe Lily came to her. Once she's done explaining she turns her head into Lily's direction,seeming to be interested in her now. She pays close attention to her appearance and says:

"You must be the girl that lives in the woods with the drug dealer."

"I'm a woman." Lily says in an almost neutral tone.

"I see. I'm shocked you can talk."

"What's your name?"

"Tara. Nice to meet you."She shakes Lily's hand."And what's yours?"

"Lily."

Tara has her visible eye widen,including the one on top of her head .She wasn't expecting this answer,she thought this girl didn't have such a beautiful name. Few people knew her name,others called her something like:'the woman that lives in the woods with the crazy man'.

"Thanks for sharing...I wasn't expecting such a beautiful name."Tara locks her gaze on her cards. "So...what brings you here?Wanna know your future,your future lover or something more specific?"

(...)

"This is where you've been hiding!" Doug says as he finally sees Lily and Tara chat so freely. "You're really good at Hide and Seek...wait,Cordy always talks about this-"

" Just come straight to the point!" Buzz chimes in with an aggressive tonality.

"Chill,chill. I came to tell you that maybe it's better if you're standing with us."

"Why? You missed me?" Lily raises an eyebrow.

"Not me." Doug laughs." You know who..."

"I'm not going back there. I'm staying with Tara." She says sincerely.

Doug gives Buzz a quick glance and then he nods.

"Alright,alright..." He dissappear into the crowd long Buzz.

Tara and Lily watch them go while staying together until they're not visible anymore. They choose to pay attention at how the brawlers struggle to show off their dances, Draco,Stu and Poco playing their instruments in the middle of the dance floor. After a while Tara asks:

" Why does that crazy man want you to stau there with him?"

"He's always doing these kind of things..." Lily responds nonchalantly. "It's because of the mushrooms. He's never sane."

Tara hugs Lily:" It mustn't be easy for you to deal with such a drug addict..."

Lily hugs her back,looking at something on the table,but focusing more on her words:" He's afraid of me."

"Afraid of you? I don't think he does that because he's afraid of you." Tara looks into Lily's eyes.

"Then why?"

"It must be some more than that..."

Chapter Text

Cordelius was watering the plants like any other day in his beloved woods,still thinking of the conversation he had with Doug last night at Barley's Bar. His friend didn't bring Lily to him because of...Tara? Since when Lily had friends other than himself?

The way he looked at him was still on his mind,like it happened some minutes ago. Doug looked sincere when he came back to tell him about Tara,the woman that Lily seems to have as a friend.

And,in another way to put words,why was Cordelius feeling a bit ill when he heard she'd rather stay with Tara? He takes a seat next to a tree to calm down his racing mind. He knew he was always lonely,why be mad if the girl that lives with you in the woods found someone else to spend her time with. It wasn't like she chose to stay with Cordelius all the time (on the contrary,she preferred to be alone).

So he started smoking a blunt,his mind wandering back at her constantly. If he would close his eyes,he could almost see her,standing beside him,having a nice conversation, her whispering whenever she wanted to tell him something...

"Cordelius?" He hears his name being called in a whispery tone by a known voice. It makes him open his eyes almost instantly. As a response,he stares back when he sees Lily seating next to him.

"Yes...?" He awkwardly responds,blowing off smoke from his blunt.

"What are you thinking about,here,all alone?" She lays back on the tree,extending her hand to request a blunt from him.

"Nothing,really. " He looks forward,giving her what she requested.

"It can't be nothing...tell me." Lily looks into his eyes. Cordelius feels her glance on him and he can't resist to not glance back.

"My thoughts?" He sees her nod. " Why are you curious so suddenly?"

"You can't keep them all to yourself. It's bad."

Cordelius looked back at her skeptically. "-I've done this all my life,what's bad in this?-" he thinks.

" I've did that since I know myself." He responds.

"As I thought. You don't trust anybody enough to have conversations with them."

Cordelius nods. "True. Can't trust anybody with anything..."

"Am I anybody to you?"

He feels a knot in his stomach and he almost wants to respond in that moment to fix the situation,instead he chooses to hesitate,telling her something else.

She sighs. "You're avoiding the question. You okay?"

He nods fast. "Yes. Don't worry." He looks away from her,thinking of something else to calm down.

His words only make Lily to worry a lot about him. "Hey...look at me...who hurt you?"

He does as she wanted and responds. "Everyone. Why do you think I'm here,taking care of my beautiful forest alone?"

"You're not alone. I live here with you."

-

Cordelius opens his eyes wide,tapping the surface around him to know where he is. He looks back,the tree is right there,but where is Lily? Has she ran away from him again? He liked the conversation and he wanted to continue it. She was so kind with him... as he looks around him,something still feels odd about those moments,they were too perfect,almost unreal.

And then he realises.

He just fell asleep and dreamt of her.

-

Tara's Bazaar wasn't always crowded on the afternoon,only when a group of people came there so Tara could read their future. Many believed it was true,that she was predicting what would happen,but the rest thought it was funny and weird to even consider those believable.

For now,the place was empty,only the soft sounds of the cards slowly being structured into their place by Tara. She always took her time to make her home clean and organised all the time. It was a necessity for it to look perfectly good,she would get more positive feedback from her visitors.

It seems that Lily chose the ideal moment to meet with Tara. She told her she'll visit sometime soon and she guessed this was the right time to visit her friend. Lily cautiously opened the door to the small room,looking around her for Tara,finding her standing in the middle of the room.

"Oh. Hey!" Tara greeted Lily while she got past the entrance and sat on one of the armchairs."You really came."

"I did. I thought we can spend time together?"

"Sure." Tara sat down next to her. "What happened,you don't chat with the mushroom man and came to me instead?"

"You're... more like me. You understand me."

"Yes,I agree." The room goes silent for a few moments. " Why you want is to spend time together?"

"I feel comfortable around you. I don't usually do it with anyone..."Lily hesitates when responding,avoiding her glance.

"I see." Tara pays attention to all small gestures that Lily does. "Not even with the small man?"

Lily looks into her eye. "Why you keep bringing him up now?"

"He's living with you,he saved your life,he gave you a home in his own house. He definitely cares about you,in at least a way. Haven't you noticed?"

Lily looked super confused. Of course Cordelius didn't care about her at all,when she was there around him he ignored her,moved his head in another direction and didn't say anything to her. Most of the time.

"He doesn't care at all about me,what are you talking about?"

"He doesn't?" Tara chuckles."He keeps an eye on you."
.
.
.

The words were echoing in Lily's head as she walked back to her mushroom home. She never saw him keeping an eye on her,she's only seen him avoiding her. At any costs.

So what the things that Tara said implied at all?

On her way,she saw Cordelius going to the same place as her. She called his name only to see what he will do. He waved at her,looking at her for a second and then at the grass. She thought that this was one of the reasons he didn't like her at all,if he couldn't even look at her then why be interested?

But the truth was that he wasn't ready in any way to even look into her eyes after the dream.

Chapter Text

Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six. Twenty-six bucks for today."Cordelius mumbled and put the money in his pocket carefully. He moved his gaze up,looking around him,at the street. It was pitch black,the street lights barely relieved the surroundings and the path he walked on. Nobody was on the street anymore,all the guys he sold his drugs to were back to their homes or somewhere else,like Barley's Bar,so he slowly made his way back to the forest.

Yesterday he refused to make any contact with Lily,he didnt even ate the dinner with her in their house,which was strange of him. They usually ate pizza,pancakes,tarts made of his mushrooms from the forest by Lily,but now he wanted to stay in his room,doing whatever to distract him from the real world. He did hate the real world with a passion and that's what he thought was the reason he took drugs in the first place. It wasn't easy to keep going when you were all by yourself for more than 10 years,living in your own misery of decisions you made when you were a teenager. Back then,he thought it wouldn't be such a problem if he didn't pass any of his exams,he will still get a great job he will enjoy. He had very high expectations then: he trusted that his parents will finally understand he doesn't like maths or physics enough to spend his life in a room full of computers,analysing and solving equations. He never liked any of that,the sound of spending so many hours daily in a room tapping on a keyboard and looking at a screen was so exhausting and boring at the same time. He wanted them to also understand his connection with all kinds of plants and how close he is to them. It was such a fascinating feeling,to take care of flowers,trees and all kind of different species of plants around him,the soil where it all grew and it's unique smell.

Its good he still got this house in the woods. It was the best option after all. He's got his plants,mushrooms,flowers and his garden here. It's more than he could ask for.

And there was Lily. The girl who suddenly decided to stay with him in his woods. He would lie if he would say he wasn't amazed by her decision.Even if she constantly passed by him,completely ignoring him and not acknowledging his presence, he still looked after her,wanting to see what she was doing,but at the same time he didn't want to disturb her from her activities. He didn't think the solution to this would be to stalk her whenever he didn't take care of the plants,reflected on his past or being high.

As he walked deeper into the woods to his house he heard a noise. Weird. There weren't any noises at night,the forest was so silent you could hear your own thoughts scream in your head. He turned around,searching for the source of it,not finding anything. Not even the smallest animal,hidden somewhere in the bushes. He kept walking,not wanting to take a break and lay down,because he knew he would fall asleep and dream about her again,which he strongly avoided. He knew he couldn't have her so why make his own life harder on purporse?

Something,rather someone,touched him lightly on the shoulder and stepped back. Then the person said in their usual sweet and quiet tone,mostly mumbling to themselves:

"What are you doing here now?"

He could recognise this tone anywhere,didn't matter the place,the time or what was happening. He looked back at Lily,hiding his excited gaze and replacing it with a nonchalant one. He didn't want her to know how he felt when she was near him so he always seemed unbothered and nonchalant when she was there.

He remembered he needed to respond to her question,because that's how it works. Questions need answers. Lily wanted answers and he will give them.

"Selling drugs." Cordelius gazed into her eyes,keeping eye contact. "I was coming home." he added,analysing her hair that fell next to her deep brown eyes,looking at him intensely. He wanted to touch her forehead and put those strands of hair away from her eyes and admire them...

"How much money did you get?" Lily made conversation,looking at the hands on his pockets. She suddenly wondered why he always had them hidden in his pockets. Did he always had a lot of money with him? Or wasn't the money he had there but rather..?

"Enough to get some food for a few weeks." he sighed and looked away,his gaze uneasy and tired.

Lily noticed how wearied he was,but she didn't say anything. She thought he doesn't even have time enough for his work and she didn't want to tire him out even more. He most probably hasn't got a good sleep in a very long while,having that long face and sleepy eyes. She wasn't wondering why he didn't look at her more than a few seconds,he wanted to be alone,all by himself and she was taking his time. That was the most logical explanation to why he was always avoiding her,not looking at her and doing whatever he was doing ...

She also had this one question: What was he doing usually by himself?

This was the reason why she was here now,an hour or so past midnight,asking him some questions she thought she'd keep to herself.

"Oh,yeah,good..." she said,searching his gaze.And then,mostly for herself: "Okay. Didn't want to disturb you."

Did he heard her right? But it couldn't be,she couldn't have said that. She was so perfect in his eyes,the most beautiful girl he saw. He knew from the moment she laid her eyes on him,the look in her eyes ,even if for just a fraction of a moment,she was going to be the death of him.

He gazed at her from the side,the affection for her clear and he felt sorry for what he was about to do.

First,he hid the affectionate gaze with a nonchalant,disinterested one and said quietly:"Okay." ,then in his mind: "You're never disturbing me." He looked away,not being able to keep looking at her deep gaze that held long conversations (he was still shy to have an actual conversation with her and he'd rather avoid those eyes).

She looked away aswell,not wanting to make him feel bad,knowing they didn't held eye contact more than 3 seconds. After a few moments,when she looked back, she didn't find him there anymore.Even when she searched for him for a bit around her, he couldn't be found.Now she wasn't sure to either go for him or leave him alone,like she thought earlier.

Only when he reached his little house deep in the woods he didn't stop running. He went straight to his bedroom and leaned comfortably on the sheets,not bothering to cover himself even a bit. He closed his eyes,releasing a breath he didn't realise he was holding,just taking a break from everything.

"Hey-"

His eyes opened immediately,recognising her voice. How did she find him so fast?

"Hey..." He gazed at her,finding something slightly different in her appearance. She had the clothes she usually wore,long tight pants and a shirt without sleeves,both a vibrant purple. They looked so damn good in his eyes,just like she generally was,but now there was something different...

She walked closer to him,now at the door of his bedroom.

"What are you doing here,now?" She looks around the room only to find his black clothes everywhere and the place where he had his drugs,next to his bed.

"Resting."

She reached a hand towards himself. He was sure she was going to either play with his hair or slap him.

He closed his eyes again.

Chapter Text

The hand remained suspended in the air like she wasn't truly sure what to do. She knew she had two options,but couldn't think which one to choose from.

She wanted to tell him the truth,the question that persisted in her head: "Why areyou always either resting or doing something on your own?" but she couldn't,for some reason.

So she responded in a calm,cold tone: "The dinner is still on the table."

When he opened his eyes she wasn't there any more. "Not surprising",a thought came on his head as he still leaned on the bed. Why would she think she was distracting him,she was not. On the contrary,he had something new to cope on,the dreams and fantasies he had with her: which were way more interesting and exciting thanany drug he consumed. And they were constantly in his mind too, like they belonged there. He had so many dreams about her in the past few days that he thought he maybe was living in his dreams more than in his life.

"Or maybe it's because you pay more attention to them ig." His best friend lifeguard responded with a hint of amusement. He was always amused over anything, making
everything seem funny or easy.

Cordelius was at Velocirapids,standing on a louge chair,having a chat with Doug. He was supposed to be at his stand,but he managed to convince Buzz to be a lifeguard and hotdog seller at once,just for the time he was talking with Cordelius.

"You think so? Last time i had them,Lily was over me. She got me having all sorts of thoughts..."He says,looking far at some very high slides that had a line of people waiting to go down,each of them laughing and enjoying themselves.

"What thoughts?"Doug searched Cordelius' gaze and watched the people. "Seems you had fun only thinking about it." he adds with his usual smirk.

Cordelius drags from his blunt,keeps it in for a few seconds and then releases,keeping his gaze far away. "My thoughts are very obscene,Doug. You already know that."

"Can you not act all mysterious and dangerous all the time? Just for once?" Doug suggests,talking more to himself since cordelius was in his thoughts again. He g ets an interesting idea and plans to do it. He gets behind cordelius and asks him close to his ear: "How is she standing right now?(in his mind)"

"AGH,FREAKIN' GAY YOU ARE-!" Cordelius shoves Doug away aggressively,not standing him. "Not your bussiness how damn good Lily looks."

Doug smirks more,taking advantage of cordelius not noticing what he just said about her. He just says innocently: "Okay,fine." .

After a few moments he can't take it and laughs histerically. He can't get out of his mind what Cordelius said.

"What IS your problem??!"Cordelius burst,almost throwing the cocktail away from the table. When he was drunk,he got angry very easily over the most simple things,not being patient over anything.

"I don't have any problem,bro. Maybe you do-" Doug suddenly stops,looking at a specific person. "Nah,no way, Cord. Did you make her appear with your intense fantasies? I usually don't see hallucinations when I drink cocktails and I don't think it had that much alcohol you know..."
As Doug continues with his banter, Cordelius can't take his eyes out of her. She wore a swimsuit with a variety of flowers which complimented her name,showed off in all right parts and made him forget where he was. Maybe in his mind,again.

"I wonder why is she here tho. Is she trying to find you,since you're not in the woods?" Doug jokes, noticing him glancing at Lily."I dont think she ever came here before without you. It's like you kept her captive in the woods."he laughs at his own opinion.

"SHUT.UP. I swear I'll put a tape over your mouth one day."

"Cordelius?"

Lily walks to him,ignoring what Tara was saying next to her.She didn't want to make it seem like Tara was pushing her from behind into having an actual conversation.

" Hey." Cordelius adopts his intimidating self,trying to seed disinterested by Lily's presence (it was all that mattered now for him)

"Relaxing in here?" She says as she stays in front of both Doug and Cordelius. "You two seem comfortable."

Doug chuckles while looking at Cordelius,letting him respond. He was curious what Cord will say,but didn't do anything to help him. As a response,Lily got only a nod and him gazing away.

"Come on bro, say something. Gotta impress the girl." Doug encourages him quietly,the grin on his face never leaving. He had the time of his life watching them trying to have a normal conversation.

Cordelius gives him a dirty side eye and then focuses on what he actually needed to do now."I do. Yeah." he responds casually,not bothering to look away at Doug to ruin the moment. He knew all he could do was enjoy her presence,how her question made him think she cared about him and wanted him to relax. How the bangs stayed on her face and her eyes gazed in his,carefully. And longily he hoped.

Inside Lily's mind was the actual wonder of what he was thinking now. Why he was staring like this? How did he not look away this time and pretend it never happened? She had so many questions with no answers. She always wanted to have conversations with him,to get to know him better and find out if he was feeling like her: so deeply attracted to his character. Was it okay if she would just look down at him and avoid those deep eyes like she did now?

"Hey guys. I'm going. See ya." Doug said,not realising that he interrupted their moment.

"CAN'T YOU JUST GO?" Cordelius yelled back at him,but Doug was already far gone,running to embrance his sweet partner Buzz. Of course he didn't want Doug to show affection in public,not that he knew already,but the tall man didn't bother, so...

"Ok,ok,now stop. Not here." Buzz said,trying to hide how embarrased he truly was by the scene Doug was causing.

"Shh,stop moving around." Doug just hug him tighter.

"Are you disgusted by how physical they are in public too?" Lily asked Cordelius quietly,noticing how he still looked at her face. She hoped she'll get an answer and not him averting his eyes away from her and then run away.

"Oh,uh,sure. I am." Cordelius responds akwardly. He didn't listen to what she said,but he paid all his attention to the movement of her lips. How full them were. He wanted to know how good would it feel if he touched it.

Then the question slapped him on the face.

"Why do you stare at me like that?"

Chapter Text

"How do you see me?" Lily asked without any more hesitation. She was truly curious about his answer,knowing it will change how they perceive each other. The way he was treating her was confusing to her and she wanted to know his true opinion on their interaction.

Doug was looking at Cordelius with a face that said: "Come on,tell her. It's your chance. Don't chicken out now,bro."

"I was looking at your eyebrows. Yeah. They're cute ig." Cordelius replies akwardly,looking away after that.

Doug's face was priceless. He never laughed more in his life. Even Buzz was smirking,enjoying the scene.

Lily was looking at him strangely,she obviously didn't expect such response from the man she admired. Maybe she had too high standards for a gardener who spend all his time in his forest.

And about Cordelius... he's never been more ashamed of himself. He wanted to run away from the whole scene,as that would have worked. Why was confessing what you felt so hard? Why did he expect a bold move from the start? It turned out bad,yeah,but maybe it'll be better next time...when he has the chance.

So,instead of actually doing something to completely say what he felt towards her,he shoot Doug a dirty glance to stop his laughter.That's when he felt something soft on his cheek. He was overwhelmed by how close she was. Did she actually do that? It must have been one of his dreams where she always used to kiss him some way. In those, he ,somehow,was aware it was just one of his fantasies, but now it was different.She had a cute smile on her face like she enjoyed it and nothing weird actually happened. Lily considered it something cute and decided to surprise him. Did she mean the kiss? Or was it just for fun?
Either way, she was happy. She has done what she wanted for a long time and he enjoyed it. More than
just the feeling.

"Lily just kissed Cordelius"Buzz says with his usual disinterested demeanour,like they've ever done that before.

"SHE WHAT??CORDY, YOU GOT HER!!" Doug screams,feeling extremely proud for his friend.

Lily giggles quietly but doesn't say anything. Cordelius tries not to touch the place where she had her lips a moment ago. It was real,not a piece of his imagination so he must as well not wash that side of his face.

"It was only on the cheek." Buzz continues with the same tone, emphasising 'only'.

"ITS A START! Y'all are oficially a couplee!"

"He isn't even with us is he? Cordelius?" Buzz calls him,but gets no response.

"Hey?" Lily touches his cheek to take his attention and he needs to not lose his mind and grab her somewhere quiet. Now all he focuses on are her eyes and her lips that were as close as before. She hesitates and he takes advantage taking her face into a very messy kiss. He had no idea how to do it so he kissed her nose on his way too. Lily noticed so she took the lead,making the kiss more comfortable and enjoyable. He just now realised how bad he was at this,he didn't know how to keep a kiss to last even more,if that was even possible after not breathing for so many moments. His hands have slided down her back to her hips to take a stronger hold,to make sure she doesn't run away as she had her arms around his neck. She moved her head a bit in their kiss and one of them made a muffled noise.

The scene was getting more intimate and Buzz and Doug were struggling to keep quiet to not disturb them. It was harder every moment,Buzz wanted to throw up (straight people disgust him) while Doug was ready to celebrate it like it was someone's birthday.

"Buzzie, a moment and then we'll celebrate...Buzzie?" Doug whispered as he glanced at his boyfriend. He wasn't surprised when he found Buzz next to a trash can,trying to throw up. "Come onn... You don't get to see this everyday."

" Thank GOD."Buzz was very happy to hear this. He didn't want anything more than them to stop.

Cordelius and Lily felt like they were in a paradise,just them together and nothing else. Lily completely forgot she was in the aquapark with her friends and she let Cordelius treat her how he always wanted:kisses on the cheek and lips,caressing her waist, her low back and telling her sweet words(mostly obscene, that he never told anyone,making Lily question his usual indifference). He felt so good after letting her know how he felt and told her the thoughts he had...that he wanted to do something more than this. Maybe even suggest to cuddle together? He was still a bit shy to ask it,so he masked it,acting nonchalant.

A sharp whisper surprised him in the best way possible: "Have you always been so dirty?"

Cordelius looks at her,realising how he's gripping her and just keeps staring into her eyes, giving her a silent answer.

"I wouldn't have ever guessed you are so emotional over these little things." she says in a low tone, more to herself.

"Gotta surprise you from time to time."

"Didn't know bro was so clingy." Doug focuses on their interaction until he hears someone throwing up. He looks back and sees Buzz trying not to hold onto the trash as he balances himself. "HEY YOU ALRIGHT??" He moves Buzz's head upwards with both of his hands to see him better.

Lily and Cordelius look at the scene unfolding near them confused. They don't understand why Buzz suddenly felt ill, when they came here(an hour, they believe) Buzz was perfectly fine.

"Is he fine?"

"Not sure. But i don't think he matters right now." Cordelius holds both of her hands in his and gazes at her with affection. "I am what matters."

"Selfish boy..." Lily mutters and smiles. "Why are we still here with them?"

"You're right, we should go." He hurries to take her bag and holds her hand. She notices it and gives him a kiss on the cheek, leaving him with his mouth open. She giggles at his expression and makes a gesture that she's ready to leave.

They walk away from both boys, hoping that Buzz will be okay with Doug's help.

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Bonus:

While Lily and Cordelius were walking on the streets of Super City, Lily couldn't help but wonder again about their friend, Buzz. Yes,he was very annoying all the time and didn't care about anyone besides Doug, but he was still their friend.

"Do you know if Buzz is feeling better?"

"Nah,but I could message Doug." Cordelius says,adding into his mind "only because my gorgeous girl asked".

Doug gets the message instantly coming with a loud noise from his phone as he gives some tissues to Buzz to clean the mess.

"- He's good. Only his pride is hurt,the people who passed by and saw him throwing up have a different perspective on his lifeguard job. I don't think it's that bad tho yk? He should cool it down a bit. Ima send you a pic of him real quick so yk what I'm talking abt." Doug messages back and takes a picture of Buzz when he was calm.

Lily looks at the photo amused. Cordelius on the other hand... he is bored and doesn't really care what Buzz is going through,the only reason he's doing this being Lily so he tries to make her decide they should move on and just walk together side by side,smoking their blunts.

"Always with those. Do you even breathe without smoking these?" She says as she takes a long drag,feeling instantly better not only from how strong it was ,but also from Cordelius' affection.

Chapter Text

With the hair laying on her back,detangled and shiny, she was looking into the makeup mirror from the desk. Her reflection was more gorgeous than ever,although it didn't really looked like her. The minor differences on her face: the pink lipstick,mascara and blush, were making her different in a way that she could barely recognise herself.

"You don't wear makeup, Lily?" Tara asked while working on the slight changes on her face.

"No. I don't need it." Lily was mostly thinking about Cordelius. Was he ready by now? Or maybe he's getting annoyed at Doug for not letting him be ready faster with his annoying jokes. Either way, she was sure he is trying his best to look good for their date. It wasn't planned in such a crowded space like Bull's Diner,because both of them loved peace and quiet. So they chose a different place: Swamp of Love. Yes, it was cheesy and lovey-dovey, but it provided them what they needed. It also is right next to their forest, meaning they'll feel like they're right next to their home and will feel free and casual.

"You know you don't have to think too much of him. This is more about you,how you'll see the situation and how you'll act around him. Also if you'll want to discuss about boundaries with him-"

"How do you know so much about relationships? I've never seen you with a boyfriend."

Tara slowly looks away from her and then focuses back by adding setting powder on Lily's face. She sure had too many secrets.

———————

From the crowded room full of drugs and cigarettes on the table, three boys were talking and joking about the one that was standing I'm front of them,presenting his outfits (that were "perfect" for a date).

"Do you think that's fine to wear to a date? That's what you wear everyday ,Cord!" Doug encourages his friend to try and change a bit his demeanour. "Those black shadowy clothes don't work everywhere."

"How do you know ? Were you in this situation,having the opportunity to hang out with your crush?"  Cordelius combs his hair more than usual and with an actual comb,not his fingers. Only the thought of how beautiful she must be now was making him lose focus. Maybe he shouldn't have taken those drugs to amplify the feeling that he's finally going to a date.

"Yes, I was." Doug responds without any resigns.

Cordelius turns at him in shock,while Buzz slightly pays attention to them. He realised something happened and he moved his gaze away from his phone.

"You didn't know that I had a girlfriend too?" Doug responds like it was the most normal thing. Buzz looks back at his phone,hiding his irritation and jealousy that he wasn't Doug's first relationship.

"You were the whole time bisexual??" Cordelius is genuinely paying attention now,forgetting his fantasies about Lily for the moment.

"Yup. Surprising,right? Well,as you know, I like to discover. I don't stick to things." He continues casually.

Buzz doesn't like the conversation and tries to determine Doug and Cordelius to change it.

"Aren't you getting ready for a date?" He asks grumpily. "She's not gonna wait for you."

—————————

The sun was about to set as everyone was walking back home from work. Cordelius was just waiting in a corner,watching everyone walk past him,being too busy with their own things to notice him. Some of them do,only because his perfume was strong,mainly of him reapplying it. He was anxious about a lot of things in this moment: what if she won't like that he dressed in black like he always does? Will she like the chocolate he bought for her or only consider him cheesy? Would she notice how clean and brushed his hair looked?

As he was thinking about all these questions while looking down at his shoes,someone he knows walked past him,giving him suspicious glances. The person continued walking on their path,looking forward,pretending nothing happened. But Cordelius knew who that person was. He tries to gaze back at them the same they did to him.

"Cordy?"  He hears the voice he was waiting so much to hear today. Lily was standing behind him. He gazes back without any more hesitation.

She was gorgeous in a pink tight dress,long black boots and white gloves. Not to mention the makeup,that almost made Cordelius think she was another person. It amplified the thing that she was usually  beautiful.

Lily realises he forgot to respond so she runs a hand through his hair to make him pay attention. He understands and just tries to ignore the fact he hasn't even greeted her yet. To feel better, he holds her head and slowly kisses her with his lips (he wore two lippies from Doug) in an attempt to get better at it. She accepts and gives him free access to her lips,guessing that he needed to try something different: to hold her chin as they kissed. Cordelius got even more passionate from that moment on, not letting her go for a second. They both took air after what felt like hours of smooching.

He was for sure surprising in a lot of ways Lily admired. For example,to kiss so obsessively in public that all the people who passed by glanced at them. Or how he didn't care when a group of people were loudly disgusted by their shower of affection. She didn't know she was attracted to this kinda guys until she was in front of the man she loved in a reserved place: Swamp of Love. They had their own table and chairs in the middle of a lagoon,with no one but Mandy as their cook in an improved kitchen( and Chester assistant,although he was more curious about how they got together and how Cordelius has finally got a girl for himself. Matter of fact,he was ready to make jokes and tease him to no end).

"This place is pretty. And quiet." Lily mutters,her voice being louder in the silent atmosphere of the swamp. Cordelius is glad she broke the silence, all the way to this place neither one of them said a word,both reflecting on the scene they made in front of all those people...

"Just how you like it." He responds smugly, extending a hand over the table with the chocolate for her. "I got something for you."

"Oh,cute of you..." she takes it and eats half of it. "It's delicious."

Cordelius keeps fixing his gaze into her eyes, unable to stop the naughty thoughts that run through his head.

"Hey guysss! How's it going,lovebirds?" An annoying voice pops in right next to them. The couple glances at the direction of the voice and recognise him: Chester. Cordelius has known Chester for a long time,since he was doing drugs in Cordelius' forest and Mandy was red of anger because of that...

"Chester? That you?" Cordelius looks with disinterest. "Came for more drugs to get beaten by Mandy?"

"Nah,bud! I'm happy that you finally have someone to spend your time with!"

Cordelius tries not to facepalm as he closes his eyes. "Just get lost. Let me alone with Lils."

"YOU ALREADY HAVE A NAME FOR LILY??" Chester jumps in joy as he screams louder than intended.

"Yeah ,say it louder for everyone to hear you dumbass." He stands up,ready to slap Chester to stop his annoying talking.

"There's no need to... you don't have to do that,Cord..." Chester backs away,both of his hands forward to protect his face.

"Then quit getting on my nerves. It ain't no joke." Lily holds his hand to calm him down a bit. He smiles and kisses her hand. All of this affection was going to suffocate her one day.

"Cordy,you should calm down a bit." She says in her usual low tone. Cordelius walks to her and supports himself on her chair as he admires her with a lot of love. She looks up at him,at his face. "You want to stay next to me?"

He can't deny the thought. "Yeah." He requests Chester to put his chair next to her as he was kissing her fingers. Chester does that as he giggles quietly.

"Here." He says before remembering why was he truly here. "Oh. I had to give you the menu." He rushes to get it and puts it on the table,gazing at how deep they were kissing.

It seemed that each time they were doing it,it became more and more obsessive. It was clear they wanted to claim their territory by grabbing the other in specific places as Lily struggled to still stay on her own chair,he was constantly trying to pick her up on his legs.

Lily tried to remain there, she has done all her best,but in the end she only felt his hot body in front of her. Her legs were slightly parted,as much as her dress allowed it while she stayed close to him on his lap. An intense blush was on her face.

Cordelius laughed in satisfaction while gazing at her,his hands everywhere on her,he was in advantage. He avoided some parts where she stiffened and/or moved her body slightly away from him. Was he dreaming? Was this all true or another fantasy of his?

"Tell me something, I need to know I'm not sleeping." Cordelius asked her in a low tone,rubbing circles on her back.

"Cordy,youre not sleeping. This is as real as those drugs you take daily."

That made him question himself even more if he was sleeping. She always used to say that in his dreams. Even if this wasn't real,he wasn't ready to leave the dream whatsoever. It was getting too good.

"Im having a hard time believing that,Lils." He was leaning his head on the chair as Lily looked back at him,playing with his hair.

"Did you take drugs? Youre acting crazy again." She notices.

"I might've. Why?"

"Do you guys wanna order anything?" Chester comes back with a notebook and a pen.

"Damn. Not you again." Cordelius looks away as Lily takes the menu. She chooses a simple dish: spaghetti. "Ill get the same as her."

Cordelius smiles as he tries not to take too far the contact he has with her. Physical contact wasn't easy for him to control,especially around her. But he will do anything for her.