Stawp - Blog Posts

Sugary Ice & Ferris Wheels—Alexei x fem!reader insert

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**spoilers for stranger things season 3**

summary; an alternate universe where alexei lives and he can't but visit the fair to see his favorite person working at his favorite booth.

warnings; an au fic that isn't plot heavy, just pure fluff and alexei. he may be a tad bit ooc (?) but I enjoyed writing this.

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"I could use some help over here."

The pads of your fingers were growing numb by the second, thanks to the occasional drippage from the plastic cup you filled to the brim with sugary ice. Your coworker huffed in response, mumbled something about "five more minutes", and then disappeared into the back to finish his cigarette.

Rolling your eyes you turned back to face the sea of mundane faces that belonged to irritated adults who gripped on tightly to the hands of their impatient, snotty-nosed children. But behind a tall man you noticed a familiar face.

The two of you made eye contact briefly before you turned back to the task at hand. For the next ten minutes you worked diligently until you got to the end of the line.

"Another one?" You said, already searching for a large plastic cup to fill with cherry flavored ice. It was the third time this evening he had visited your booth—the third Saturday in a row you had served him a a large cherry slurpee at the county fair.

You smiled as he nodded shyly, his tinted red lips forming into a mischievous grin. He fumbled around in his pocket for a crumbled dollar bill and a few quarters as you set the cup under the machine. Slowly, the ice trickled down in the cup, the machine nearing its end for the evening.

"You're going to run me out of ice if you keep coming here like this," You said, jokingly to which he only grinned and shrugged. You leaned forward against the counter and counted the loose change he set in front of you. "But you know what?" You gathered the assortment of quarters and dollar bills and gently slid them back. "This one's on the house, okay?"

A wave of confusion passed over his features. Being a man of little words, he lifted an eyebrow, shook his head, and reached out to slide the money back towards you. His fingers brushed against yours, a zap of electricity making you forget where you were for a moment. He pursed his lips into a hopeful smile.

"Seriously, Alexei, don't worry about it." With gentle persistence, you slid the change forward before turning around to prepare the icy treat. You snapped the top cover securely on the large cup once it was full before slowly turning around to set it on the counter. "As long as my boss doesn't find out—"

You were met with a nervous smile stained in red. A stack of crumbled carnival tickets stuck out from his breast pocket. He was shifting back and forth on his feet, his mouth parting slightly as he mumbled something in Russian. Something you could only interrupt as a question.

You knew very little about him but he had piqued your interest the first time he finished a large cherry slurpee in three minutes flat before ordering another (all while enduring a debilitating brain freeze with ease, of course). There was a mutual understanding that language would be the barrier between you two, but that didn't dampen the excitement you felt every time he came to his favorite person at his favorite booth. What he lacked in verbal communication, he made up for in miniscule but sweet, unexpected gestures.

Hence, the crinkled piece of paper that laid flat on top of a mountain of loose change. It read:

Ferris Wheel?

"Please?" He said, gesturing behind him to the massive circle that spun slowly as it changed from colors ranging from red, white, and blue.

His question alone was enough for you to say yes.

It took you a minute to shut the booth down. You donned the front with a sign that read, 'Be back in ten minutes' before you walked around out front, standing in front of him.

Alexei, seemingly unsure of what to do with his hand—the other being occupied by his favorite drink—looked at the ground nervously. With the two of you being too shy to make the first move, you stuck with walking next to each other in the direction of the Ferris Wheel.

Seated next to each other, your knees brushed against one another as the ride took a slow flight. You pointed out your house when you made it to the top, his hand resting gently on your knee while he sipped on his drink.

By the end of the night both of yours hands with fully with carnival tickets, stuffed animals, and of course, slurpees.

"Again?" He said, his hand latching onto yours while a stuffed bear was pinched underneath his arm.

"Alexei..." You glanced at your wristwatch. Those ten minutes had turned into three hours. The fair was starting to shut down and you were most likely going to have to stand in the unemployment line after tonight. "Maybe next weekend?"

He lifted a brow in confusion.

You chuckled and flipped his hand over so his palm was facing up. Gently you tapped the pads of fingers as you counted out loud to the number seven. You extended your thumb and index finger to represent the last two days.

"Seven days from now. Seven days," you said, slowly.

When he finally understood, he frowned in disappointment and you couldn't help but laugh. "Seven days from now, we can do this again. We can meet here." You pointed to the ground, indicating the dead patch of grass you were currently standing on. You were most likely fired, so there was no point in showing your face at the booth next week.

Before you could explain it even further, Alexei took your hand, turned it over, and pressed his lips to the back of it.

"Seven days," he said before giving your hand one last squeeze and turning to leave.

Flustered and flattered, you watched as he jogged to the exit, leaving you struggling to juggle the stuffed animal prizes he had won for you.

southern furries: ny'all