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sc0tters · 7 months

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Flights and Fights | Matthew Tkachuk

summary: after a week of radio silence Matthew wants to show you how much he missed you.

request: yes/no

warnings: sexual themes, oral (fem receiving), p in v, swearing.

word count: 1.94k

author note: okay so soft couple sex is officially not my thing. But this was actually sort of cute. Let’s keep Matty requests to a minimum though until he learns how to use his mouthguard 🫶

This week was rough on the both of you.

It was stupid but after the fight you two had just before his week long road trip started. Usually you two would have communicated during his time away but you were both stubborn and swore that the other was wrong. You had a business trip to Kenya coming up in July and wanted your boyfriend to come with you. But Matthew wanted to stay home and spend that week at his families lake house, when neither one of you backed down it caused the biggest fight of your three year relationship to come out with Matthew walking out of the front door and he hasn’t been home since.

You were both far too stubborn to call once during the week so you were stuck in radio silence until he got home.

The apartment was quiet was the soft sounds of Taylor Swift came from the kitchen. Matthew dropped his bags by the door as his feet took him to noise where he was met with the sight of you swaying your hips along to the music.

A total sight for sore eyes as your back continued to face him as you wore his old shirt that looked like it should have been a dress.

He leaned against the doorframe taking in the view before he made his way in smiling to himself “hey baby.” Matthew mumbled wrapping his hands around your waist.

You kept quiet as you continued to focus on your lunch that you were cooking “please acknowledge me.” He whined leaning down to kiss your neck but you stopped him as you picked your shoulder up pressing it against your neck.

It began to frustrate the boy as he furrowed his eyebrows “I’m cooking Matty.” You reminded him in an irritated tone.

You were trying to put up a strong suit and that worked until Matthew placed his hand on your chin forcing it up as you stared at him. The hockey player leaned down to kiss your lips quickly forcing you to forget about why you were still irritated with him “Matty.” This time it came out airy like a needy moan.

The hockey player didn’t waste any time bringing you onto the empty space on the kitchen counter as you now faced him “missed you baby.” Matthew mumbled as he kissed your lips again with his hand on the back of your neck.

He smiled seeing your shirt as it was his old USA camp shirt from years ago “you look so fucking pretty.” The boy blurted out as he dropped to his knees lifting the shirt up to see your bare pussy staring back at him “no panties?” Matthew smirked as your face turned red.

You nodded watching with anticipation as the boy blew his warm breath against your core “you know I don’t like sleeping with them.” Your voice was shaky as he nodded wrapping his lips around your clit “shit Matty!” You groaned locking your fingers in his hair.

If there was one thing Matthew was good at it was using his tongue to get you off “please M,” you began bringing your hips up to meet his tongue “you liking this baby?” He asked smiling as your eyes locked with his “s-so much.” You nodded trying to force your thighs shut but the boy took it as a challenge wrapping his arms around your legs as he forced you closer to him.

His tongue trailed down to your core sliding in as you cried out in pleasure “don’t stop.” The smell of your burning food didn’t seem to phase either of you as you two sat there with his main objective being to get you off.

Matthew’s noise hit your clit making you jump “is my pretty baby gonna come?” The hockey player smirked replacing his tongue with his fingers as you nodded “please Matty,” you forced his head back down.

The boy focused his attempt on your clit as his fingers formed a come here motion thrusting into you “I’m going come fuck.” You announced legs shaking as they wrapped around his head almost squeezing the life out of his head.

His free hand tapped your thigh motioning to you that he wanted you to let go. Your orgasm came thick and fast as your eyes screwed shut painting your eyelids with white stars as your body shook when Matthew didn’t let his tongue slow down on your clit “Matty no,” you shook your head trying to force his face up to meet yours.

Deciding to go easy on you Matthew listener bringing himself onto his feet “so sweet.” He groaned shoving his fingers into your mouth so that you could taste what he was talking about “see?” Matthew asked as you wrapped your lips around his fingers sucking them like it could have been his cock in your mouth instead.

The hockey player felt his pants grow tight as his cock hardened “think we should move this to the bedroom?” Matthew proposed as he slipped his fingers out of your mouth.

Before you could nod the smell of burning food invaded your nostrils “the food!” You gasped pushed the boy away as you got off of the counter quickly pushing your attention to your pan of food that was now fully burnt.

It made Matthew groan “you can’t save it now baby.” He pointed out moving the pot away from the live hob before he turned the stove off.

For some reason your lips formed a frown as you looked up to your boyfriend “but I made it for you.” You mumbled breaking his heart in the process “we can make something new?” He proposed before he realised that you had made his favourite dish for lunch “c’mere.” Matthews voice was soft as he wrapped his arms around you pulling you into a hug.

You looked up to see his face full of concern as you smiled “I love you,” you blurted out leaning up to peck his lips.

The action was repeated two more times before he gave you a deeper kiss “I love you too,” as your feet went flat on the ground you realised that his bulge was against your stomach “let’s move this to the bedroom.” You nodded watching him cock his head “you sure?” He asked thinking that your sadden state sort of ruined the vibe.

You leaned up again as you placed your hands on either side of his bed “take me to bed and fuck me like you missed me Matty.” You ordered kissing his lips.

Matthew took less than a second as he picked you up hooking his hands under your legs “fuck baby.” He groaned as you moved your lips to his neck as you began nipping at the area of skin.

The boy smiled as you looked back up at him as you formed your lips into a kissy motion as he walked you two back into your room “miss me baby?” Matthew smirked as you nodded making him listen to your request before he placed you onto the bed “I think you missed me more.” You motioned to his bulge that was now eye level with you.

He took his jacket off throwing it somewhere in the room as the boy began undoing the buttons of his white shirt “can’t blame me for that.” Matthew smiled as he hooked his fingers under your jaw “looking so pretty like that,” he added as your eyes took in the sight of his abs “you like what you see?” The boy asked as you nodded.

Your fingers ran over his belt undoing it in the process “I’m not gonna last long baby and I wanna come inside of you.” Matthew confessed as your fingers hooked into his boxers pulling both down as he kicked his shoes off with both pieces of clothing “now it’s not fair that you are still in clothes is it?” The hockey player asked leaning down in between your legs as his nose hovered over yours.

A smile formed on your lips “what are you going to do about it then?” Shivers were sent up your body as his cold fingers drove up your stomach bringing your shirt off of your head in one movement.

It didn’t take long for Matthew to bring your body further up your bed so that he could properly have his way with you “can I put it on?” You asked motioning to the condom wrapper that was in his hand.

Matthew always loved watching you do that “sure thing baby,” he nodded ripping the wrapped open as he held out the condom for you to grab.

Watching you innocently smile as you rolled the latex material over his cock was something Matthew didn’t think he would ever get tired of “fuck y/n.” The boy groaned as you brought his cock over your clit “want you Matty.” You mumbled onto his lips letting him kiss you as he let your cunt swallow his cock.

It was hot watching your mouth form an o as you adjusted to his sheer size “move please.” You ordered as he nodded pulling his hips away before he brought them back to meet yours “missed this god.” Matthew reached out to lock his fingers into yours “just me in this room baby.” Your giggle was quickly cut off as his hands brought your legs up around his waist allowing his cock to slide deeper into you.

Matthew couldn’t help but smirk “not so strong now are we?” He cooed as you picked your hips up to meet his “let make you feel so good.” It almost sounded like he was asking you as he slipped his hand between your bodies so that he could rub your clit.

The room was hot as your breaths were panting “want to be good for you.” You cried at the new level of pleasure that shot through your body.

His lips were down on your neck as you dug your head into the mattress “you always are.” Matthew mumbled making sure to suck on the skin to the point where he knew that you would be having large hickies on display within the next few days.

Sounds of skin slapping and moans bounced off of the walls of the room as you both edged closer to your highs “I’m gonna-” you cried clenching around his cock.

The boy nodded “let the whole floor know about it.” Matthew ordered as he moved his head to kiss your jaw.

Your second orgasm of the afternoon hit you harder as your whole body shuddered under Matthew’s “shit shit right there oh!” You moaned face scrunching up over the sheer pleasure that you felt as your cunt sucked the life out of his cock bringing his orgasm out “so good baby.” The hockey players words were short as he kissed you.

As you both recovered from your orgasms he smiled letting his cock slide out of your cunt “I’m gonna go get a wash cloth.” Matthew got out of bed drawing your attention to the white piece of paper that was sticking out of his suit jacket.

You let your curiosity get the best of you as you leaned down and grabbed it reading the information over as you quickly realised that it was a flight ticket “you’re coming with me?” You asked with a smile forming on your face as you looked up to see your boyfriend nod.

Matthew sat next to you as his grin matched yours “can’t let you see those elephants without me now can I?”

#matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk x reader #matthew tkachuk smut #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #nhl oneshot #hockey smut #nhl smut #imagines #oneshots #nhl imagine #amber writes fics

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lovinbarzal · 8 months

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GREATEST LOVE STORY | TZ11

trevor zegras x hughes! sister

masterlist | everytime this silly little country song plays, i can't help but think of trevor!!! idk why but i do lol | part two

They said I was nothing but a troublemaker never up to no good / You were the perfect all American girl wouldn't touch me even if you could

October 2017

Trevor Zegras. Team USA's playboy. Y/N Hughes. Team USA's Golden Girl aka Jack's sister.

The Hughes twins only ever had one rule for each other, FRIENDS ARE OFF LIMITS!. Y/n never had trouble with that rule.

Until Trevor Zegras came into play. Trevor was Jack's best friend and line mate.

The two met in their junior year. Y/n was studying in the living room with The Maze Runner playing in the background. It was quiet in the house. Quinn was at UMICH, her parents were having a date night, and Luke was upstairs probably playing video games. She was enjoying the peace until a group of 5 boys came running into the house. She knew all of them. Matt Boldy, Cole Caufield, Alex Turcotte, her brother, and- Wait...She thought. Who was this other guy?

"Jack!" Y/n exclaimed as the boys jumped all onto the couches crushing her exam books.

"Yes?" Jack innocently turned to his sister who glared at him.

"Mom said no friends." Y/n scolded crossing her arms.

"Hey guys!" Luke said coming down the stairs but was quick to stop as he saw Y/n's glare.

"Luke Warren Hughes, it is past your bedtime. Get your ass back to your room." The boy slowly turned to walk up the stairs before Jack stepped in.

"Luke, it's fine. Come on." Jack waved the boy down before Y/n punched his shoulder.

"No, Jack. I am not getting in trouble because of you." Y/n shook her head.

"Come on, dude. Take a chill pill." The unknown boy said.

"Do I know you? Didn't think so. Do you live here? Also didn't think so. Luke, go to your room." Y/n said pointing to his room.

"Be nice to my friends." Jack said as Luke went up the stairs.

"Whatever, Jack. I'm going upstairs." Y/n gathered her things before turning to the known boy, "I'm sorry for my comments earlier but never disrespect me in my own house."

"Goodnight Alex, Matt, and Cole. Fuck you, Jack." And with that the girl was already gone and up the stairs. Trevor watched as she walked up the stairs.

"What's up with her? She's usually nice." Matt asked as Jack went to change the tv.

"She's probably got a stick up her ass." Jack answered.

"I like it." Trevor said with a goofy smile on his face.

"Good luck with that, Trev. Jack never lets her date any of his teammates plus it looks like she already doesn't like you." Alex said pulling his phone out.

"I love a challenge." Trevor shrugged looking to Jack who rolled his eyes, "Come on, Jack. Let me be the exception."

"What? No. Plus she hates you and doesn't even know your name." Jack explained as he continued to flip through movies.

"How do you know she hates me?" Trevor exclaimed sitting up from his seat.

"She only apologizes after saying something to tell somaeone off if she dislikes you." Cole clarified with a shrug.

"Come on, man. Give me your blessing, Hughesy." Trevor got on his knees in front of the blond.

"Fine, Zegrase. If she falls for you than you have my blessing to date her." Jack shook his head before clicking play on Fast and Furious.

"Yes!" Trevor said pumping his fist in the air.

"Can't believe he just gave a TEAMMATE permission to date his sister." Cole said to Alex.

"That's cause she's not gonna fall for him. They're too different." Jack said as Trevor was doing a happy dance.

God, did Jack hope he was right.

But you was sneaking out your window everynight riding shotgun in my car / We go to the river and find us a spot and we probably went a little too far

Two Weeks Later

"Come on, Y/N/N. One chance! Please!" Trevor begged as Y/n shut her locker.

"No, Trevor." In the last two weeks, she learned his name and was constantly dodging his attempts to get with her. She knew his reputation.

"Please. I'm begging!" He said following her as she walked to her next class.

"Ugh! Fine! One date! That's it. One chance. Don't screw it up." She said before walking into her class. His smile widened as he walked to his class that he shared with Alex.

"What's got you so smiley?" Before Trevor could answer honestly, he received a text.

From: Y/N/N 💓

don't tell anyone. if we're doing this, we're doing it secretly.

"Oh, nothing." He said before replying.

To: Y/N/N💓

whatever you want, doll😉

From: Y/N/N💓

never use that emoji again.

He smiled as he put his phone in his pocket.

From: Trevor Zegras🫤

i'm outside

Y/n took a small breath before climbing out of her window.

She walked down the street to where she told Trevor to park. She wished she brought a jacket as it was cold. She saw Trevor sitting in his car looking at his phone.

He smiled when he saw her walk up to his car.

"Hey." She said getting into the car.

"Hi." He said with a giddy grin.

"Where are we going?" She asked putting her seat belt on.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." He said pulling out from his parking spot.

"Can I play some music?" She asked reaching for the aux cord. Trevor nodded. She played her shared playlist that she had with her brothers thinking Trevor would like some of the songs but of course the first one to play was Taylor Swift's Speak Now.

"Oh my god." Trevor exclaimed as Y/n's eye widened with worry thinking he didn't like the song, "I love Taylor Swift."

Trevor reached to turn the song up and sang along. Y/n watched with a smile. Maybe going on this date with him wouldn't be too bad.

The two continued to sing along to the songs before reaching their destination.

"The Lake?" She questioned looking at the lake in front of her.

"I thought we could have a picnic." He said reaching into his backseat for the basket and blanket.

"And here's this." He added handing her one of his USA hoodies. "You looked cold."

She took the jacket with a smile before putting it on.

"Thanks." The two got out of the car.

Y/n slipped her hand into Trevors making his smile widen as a blush overtook her cheeks.

The two found a spot and ate the snacks that Trevor had packed. The two found themselves getting lost in conversation.

"Thanks for this." Trevor said looking at the girl.

"For what? You're the one who planned everything." She said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"For saying yes." He said making the girl blush.

"I'm sorry for being so mean to you." She said scooting closer to him.

"It's ok. I was also a bit annoying." He said as the two leaned in.

"It's a bit annoying that you haven't kissed me yet." She said before slamming her lips on his. A simple kissed turned into a make-out which led to more.

By the time Y/n snuck back into her room, it was time for her to get back up for volleyball practice but she didn't even care how tired she was. She was more focused on what was to come with the boy.

Cause I was gonna be your forever / You were gonna be my wife // But I was what you wanted you were what I needed / And we could meet in between / We were gonna be the greatest love story this town had ever seen

Thanksgiving Day 2017

"We need to tell Jack." Trevor said to the girl as she walked back into her room. He was laying on her bed.

"Are you sure?" She said plopping next to him.

"Positive." He said pulling her close to him.

The two sat in silence until she broke it, "You're gonna be my forever"

"And you're gonna be my wife." He replied.

"So you're for real about telling Jack." Trevor nodded and Y/n sat up.

"Let's tell him tomorrow, then. Quinn comes home tonight so then if Jack tries to kill you, Quinn will be there to stop him." She said making her laugh.

"He actually said I had his blessing." Trevor said with a smile.

"Did he really?" She asked with her brows furrowed.

"Yeah. That night I met you. I knew you would be mine." Trevor said pulling her back down next to him.

"We are gonna be the greatest love story this town has ever seen" He said kissing her temple.

So you went off to college and I got a job I was working that 9 to 5

The Draft Day ended up coming faster than the two had thought. The two had been avoiding the question of what would happen when Trevor gets drafted to Anaheim.

Y/n had been accepted to UMich and Trevor was gonna play for Boston before going to the Ducks.

Y/n sat next to Jack while Trevor sat a couple rows back. Y/n was a wear a simple black dress with heels and her hair was pinned back in a half up half down look.

She turned in her sear and sent Trevor a smile as the ceremony started.

As expected, Jack went first overall to the New Jersey Devils. He hugged his twin as soon as his name was called.

Then came the moment that the couple was dreading, Trevor Zegras went 9th overall for the Ducks. As Trevor came down the stairs, Y/n met him and took his jacket as well as gave him a hug.

"We'll talk later." He whispered in her ear and she nodded as he made his way to the stage.

Screaming for the days when you were coming back, no couldn't come to soon

The two called it quits the next day. Trevor was playing for Anaheim and Y/n was studying to become a nurse in Michigan.

The two both knew it had to happen so it was mutual but that didn't mean it didn't hurt the two any less.

They partied that night as if everything was gonna be okay.

They knew fate would bring them back together because both of them knew they were gonna be the greatest love story the world has ever seen.

#trevor zegras #trevor zegras x reader #x reader #jack hughes #luke hughes #quinn hughes #hughes! sister

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kryptonitejelly · 2 years

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Flyboy (Part 6) | Jake Seresin x Reader Top Gun: Maverick - Jake Seresin x Reader Genre: romance; fluff; angst; best friends to lovers Warnings: tw: food / eating (one mention of the phrase “you are eating too little”); general hangman being hangman; sexual tension; general cursing; will contain mentions of a break up / previous relationship; general use of pet names; fem!reader; pining; general naval / flying inaccuracies; geographical inaccuracies. Length: Mini-series, chaptered - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Epilogue

Summary: Jake gets called back to TOPGUN the same time you’ve been granted a sabbatical from work. He invites you, his purely platonic best friend of years, to live with him for 6 months and you accept. Just two best friends kicking it back for 6 months in San Diego, Fightertown USA, right?

A/N: Well, Part 6 is here……. I don’t know what to say; but I teared writing this at some point, and I am insanely nervous (Idk why) about posting this, so please let me know your thoughts? We still have the Epilogue, so this baby is not done. I have blurbs / one shots / Flyboy asks that will follow - I’m not sure if the taglist wants to be tagged in the blurbs / one shots that are original (i.e. not asks), please let me know?

As usual, THANK YOU ALL <3 for loving Flyboy, I LIVE for your comments, tags, reblogs, and it has been an utmost pleasure reading them. KISSING EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU.

Flyboy | Mini-Series Masterlist (If you haven’t already seen them - blurbs and asks (one-shots coming soon) are also listed on the Flyboy masterlist!)

Flyboy - Part 6

PART 5 <<

Approximately 6.4k words

“Sooo,” the sound of Phoenix’s voice catches you off guard, and you jump as you straighten up from the bend you had been in, in your attempt to reach towards the back of Penny’s fridge to grab four bottles of beer, spinning around to face her.

“I didn’t even hear you come in.” You say, and she smiles, almost too sweetly as she helps you shut the fridge grabbing two of the beer bottles you had wedged between the fingers of one hand from you.

“You and Hangman,” she says pointedly, staring intently at you.

“What about it?” You question, trying to be as casual as possible, while you pull open one of Penny’s drawers, searching for a bottle opener.

“Is something going on,” she leans against the counter of the kitchen, forcing you to look directly at her. Truth to be told, you and Jake had hid it pretty well. Perhaps not to Penny, Mav, or any other third party who saw you both together, but to the clueless bunch of Naval Aviators who, despite being the few to spend the most time with you both, had not made much of it.

The physical tells were something they hadn’t made much of to begin with, a sure result of having seen Jake flirt his way through too many women and situations over the years. However, the near fight at The Hard Deck where they had seen him at his most protective ever, pure, white hot rage radiating off him - only for you to dispel it so easily, coupled with the subtle, but sure shifts in Jake’s demeanour, had started to arouse suspicion.

“I’ve never seen him like this before,” she continues.

In all the years since she had known Jake, Phoenix had never seen him this way - more at ease, more open, happier. It wasn’t to say that his personality with the rest of them had changed drastically, Jake Seresin, was still very much Hangman, boisterous, confident, cocky (particularly in the air), always ready for a challenge, to show and tell that he was better than you, and to say whatever the hell he wanted, but he was also different, somehow happier, with the undercurrent of an unobvious calm and peace to him that they could just feel. It was unnerving to say the least, because it wasn’t something they had seen before, were used to, or had ever known Jake to be.

Bob had noticed it first, the Monday after the week Jake had cancelled fried chicken Friday, after days of sharp but silent observation. It had resulted in Bob telling Phoenix, who then told Rooster, who had went on to relay the message collectively to Coyote, Payback and Fanboy. A group decision was made one afternoon by way of a show of open hands or fists, resulting in Phoenix being the chosen messenger to broad the subject with you.

The difference in Jake had managed to be both outwardly noticeable, and yet not, all at the same time. On the surface, Jake was still Jake, swagger in his step when he walked around TOPGUIN, extolling his own virtues, taking little joking digs at all of them when he could, particularly when they were in the air - “C’mon Rooster, thought the chicken finally learnt to fly.” / “Trace, what does the baby on board in your backseat see?” / “Try to keep up Trace.” / “Aaand, the Relic is off the ground, that ladies and gentleman is called a Pete Mitchell” / “Payback? You mean the thing you can’t dish?” - but come dinner, when they had trooped back home and to you, Jake was somehow different.

The comments were still there - “Sorry boys and girls, I know it must be tough trying to match up to me.” / “Like how Trace and her baby on board fumbled today.” / “Thought Bradshaw was trying to hatch some eggs with the amount of time he was nesting.” / “Garcia and Fitch are always just taking it.” - but at the same time, Jake’s smile was wider, genuinely hitting his eyes and making his greens sparkle; his laugh louder, natural with nothing held back; his body language more open, any tension that he held during the day seemingly having melted away.

More importantly, as they had all come to notice, Jake never left you behind - whether it was purposefully falling behind everyone to bring up the rear just so he could fall in step with you; watching you out of the peripherals of his eyes the moment you left his side at The Hard Deck, right up to the moment you returned just to make sure that you weren’t waylaid by unwanted attention; or even the simplest act of making sure your order never got lost among the barrage of orders of the group; or that you were never cut out, lost or disengaged in the conversation when it dragged on to more Navy-orientated topics which you weren’t as familiar with.

Sure, Pheonix and Bob had caught sight of you and Jake running around the compound one Saturday afternoon, with him sprinting ahead in the last stretch in absolute glee, you yelling at him while trying to catch up, leaving you, quite literally, behind and in his dust - but even then, they had seen with his own eyes, Jake Seresin standing at the finish point, eyes fixed solely on you, waiting for you to meet him, as you yelled and protested your way to the end.

You pull the bottle opener out from the drawer, popping open the caps of the bottles in her hands, and then in yours, before dropping it back, and pushing the drawer shut with a hip. You beckon to Phoenix to exit back out into Penny’s backyard with you to rejoin the group and she follows, her question still hanging in between you both.

You step back out into Penny’s backyard, the cool evening air hitting your skin, your eyes meeting briefly with Jake’s as he looks up in the middle of his conversation with Rooster.

“You’ve only seen Hangman before,” you finally say, you both still out of earshot from the group, before you take a few steps towards the table, “now you get to see Jake.”

She opens her mouth to push her question again, determined to draw out a clear answer or confession from you, only for Jake’s voice to cut in above the chatter, making Rooster turn his neck to glance at the both of you as you return.

“Trace, you got that dog with a bone look on your face,” he starts, “do I have to take you out for harassing my girl?” Jake’s voice is loud enough that it carries across the table, pausing the chatter among the group for a second.

You feel your face heat as you hand a beer bottle off to Bob who receives it with a “thanks”, as he exchanges a look with Fanboy who is seated across the rectangle shaped table, before you settle back into the chair flanked by Jake, and Coyote who is waggling an eyebrow at Payback.

You see a smug, triumphant grin on Phoenix’s face, her question finally answered, as she hands one of the bottles to Rooster before sliding back into her seat beside him.

“Finally,” Penny breaks the moment of silence, throwing up her hands at the confirmation of what she knew, but had been waiting for, for the longest time, Amelia grinning wildly beside her.

“Hear, hear.” Mav raises his beer, to which Bob also does, and the group follows, cheers erupting from Penny’s backyard.

The attention makes you groan, and you hide your face in your hands, turning your body into Jake’s. You had talked about it after the other night at The Hard Deck, and had decided that it was time for the rest to know, directly from you both. You can hear the rumble of his own laughter in his chest, Jake clearly unfazed and not the slightest bit embarrassed at the attention, as he snakes an arm around your shoulders, securing you against him. It only makes the cheers louder, with Coyote sending a loud wolf whistle your way.

“Uncle Jake!” The roar of a little voice greets you both as you step through the doors and into the lobby of the hotel. You see a small blonde head sprinting at top speed towards you both, barrelling itself into Jake’s arms which had opened just in time to catch him.

“All this excitement just for me?” Jake exclaims back as he swings his nephew, Kyle, around in the air, before squeezing him tightly against his chest, only for the little boy to squirm in delight.

You see Emma, Jake’s older sister approach, her husband, Liam, and toddler Layla, approach.

“Full attire, really, Jake?” She scoffs taking in Jake’s uniform, but clearly teasing, as she takes reaches out to hug you hello, before coming to a stand in front of her brother.

“Not all of us are on vacation,” Jake shoots back as he sets Kyle down on his feet, before the siblings embrace each other, “some of us still have to work.”

“You only wear it for the looks you get,” Emma retorts with a snort, but being well aware that he had just come from work, as Jake and Liam thump each other on the back in a hug, before Liam reaches out to hug you hello as well.

“Well you gotta agree, I look good.” Jake smirks, not missing a beat, while bending to pick Layla off the ground, hoisting her in an arm and tickling her belly, the toddler shrieking with glee. “Can’t deprive the world of all this now, can we?” He coos the question at Layla who only giggles, patting her uncle’s cheek with her hand.

“I don’t know how you put up with him,” she looks at you as you ruffle Kyle’s hair in a hello, the boy beaming up at you, before slipping his hand into yours, tugging you around in a circle in his excitement.

“None of us do,” the familiar voice of grandma Doris interjects as she and Grace Seresin née Walton, walk into view.

“She’s too sweet to be putting up with your brother,” Grace chimes in, with a glance to her son, who just shrugs, a lazy, self-assured smirk plastered to his face.

Emma tugs Kyle out of your hands, for grandma Doris and Grace to greet you with hugs of their own, before they move onto Jake, who embraces them each with an arm, Layla still nestled happily in his other, her head resting between the crook of his neck, thumb now in her mouth.

“Thank you,” Emma grabs your hands in an exaggerated fashion, clutching them dramatically as she throws a look to Jake, “for putting up with my brother’s clown ass.”

The words coming out from Emma, a grown woman, with perfectly coiffed hair, and designer clothes and shoes that cut a stylish figure, makes you burst out in laughter.

“Just doing my bit of charity for the world.” You manage to say, before grandma Doris links an arm with yours, pulling you towards the door of the lobby, a signal for the rest to follow.

“I’ll cut him out of my will and put you in,” she tells you in a loud stage whisper. You don’t turn back, but if you did, you would have seen Jake grinning broadly, a fond look in his eyes, his niece still cuddled up against him, as he takes in the sight of you and his grandmother walking arm in arm.

“You know,” you turn to face Emma at the sound of her voice, clearly directed at you, “he cares about you.”

You both are seated at the end of a table, in the corner of the hotel lobby’, watching as the other members of your party are crowded around the massive cake display case to a side, Layla in her Grace’s arms, and Kyle in Jake’s, Liam and grandma Doris flanking them, as the children attempt to decide which sweet treat to pick.

“I know,” you say, small smile on your lips, as you focus on Jake, before looking back at her.

You and Jake had been mindful of yourselves around the Seresins, not because it would have been an issue, but because you had insisted on not wanting to overshadow their time together with Jake. He had tried to convince you that there wouldn’t have been any overshadowing involved, but you had, with a little help of your hands and mouth, had managed to capture his undivided attention, and be extremely persuasive, to which Jake relented. You weren’t sure if Emma knew, or suspected at the very least. You had always known her to be astute.

“He would probably kill me if I told you this,” she begins, as she leans back in her seat, folding her hands in her lap, “but slightly over three years ago, when you had told him about Dan, that guy you were seeing, he was noticeably…” she pauses, searching for the right words to use, “worked up.”

“I didn’t know,” you start, as you find your gaze wandering back to Jake who is now squatting beside Kyle, both blondes peering into the bottom layer of the display case. “He never said.”

“We were both home during that period,” she recalls, “and staying with grandma, and I found him in the gym abusing a punching bag. His knuckles were raw, eyes like a man crazed.”

She pauses, as you look back to her before continuing.

“I had Kyle with me, he was still just a toddler at that point, and it took him crying for Jake to stop. He told me, quite angrily I might add, that Dan wasn’t good enough for you”, she says as she unfolds her hands from her lap to reach out to squeeze your forearm, “and you deserved so much more.”

She meets your gaze, squeezing your forearm gently again, before adding after a moment of consideration, “I think he meant himself.”

Her words make your jaw slacken, your lips part slightly, as you remember Jake’s words in the car from the other day when he had only said “less so” since you had started seeing Dan.

“My brother can be a dick to a lot of people,” she starts again, a rueful shake of her head, “but not to you, never to you. He’ll never hurt you.” Emma says as she offers you a final smile, as you hear the voices of the group returning to the table.

“We got chocolate and a red velvet,” Jake says, as he slides back into the chair beside you, Kyle clamouring from his lap into yours. He finds you looking at him curiously, a strange expression on his face and he tilts his head to a side, asking silently if you are ok, before darting his gaze to Emma who immediately turns her attention to Liam.

You nod, with a slight tilt of your ahead, signalling that you are fine before you turn your attention back to Kyle who is describing to you, in vivid detail the chocolate cake that he chose.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with?” Jake asks you for the tenth time since you had both left the house, “you’re already in the car.”

“I don’t,” you shake your head as you watch him glance out the side mirror, checking for cars, before he makes the turn. “You should spend some time alone with them before they go back.”

It had been a Seresin filled week, with you spending almost all of your time with grandma Doris, Grace, Emma, Liam, Kyle and Layla during the days, with Jake joining the group only in the evening once he had managed to get out of work. He had however, managed to spend an entire full day with the group yesterday, a Saturday, which largely comprise of him and Liam, chasing Kyle and Layla around the beach, while you, Emma, Doris and Grace watched on, chatting idly.

Emma and her family had left earlier in the morning, but his mother and grandmother who had booked themselves into a later flight, scheduled only for the late afternoon, had asked Jake to meet them for breakfast.

Jake opens his mouth to say something as he glances at you, and you shake your head again, pre-empting his response, your tone firm.

“No Jake, they deserve your undivided attention.” You knew you were always welcome with the Seresins, but you had wanted to give grandmother Doris, Grace and Jake the time they deserved together. You hadn’t made mention of it to Jake, but had gathered from their previous trip to see you in New York (sans Jake), that they missed Jake more than they cared to let on. It wasn’t easy having a grandson and son far from you; what more one that was a Naval Aviator who could be deployed for 6 months, to an undisclosed location at the drop of a hat. You had missed Jake yourself, worried about him during his stints of deployment over the years, even if were both already separated by state, so it was easy for you to empathise.

The seriousness to your voice makes him shut his mouth, choosing instead to reach across the center console and place a hand on your thigh, fingers squeezing lightly in understanding.

“Do you want me to wait for you?” You ask, and Jake shakes his head no.

He had sent his truck off to the workshop, only to have it grounded for a couple of days. You had tried to strong arm him into taking your car, seeing that he was due back to TOPGUN for an afternoon of flights, despite having been able to wrangle a few hours off to spend with his mother and grandmother before they left, but Jake Seresin, if anything, was a stubborn man, who had refused, not wanting to leave you inconvenienced. You had both reached a comprise, being that he would drop himself off to meet the Seresins, and grandma Doris would get her car to drop Jake back at TOPGUN before she left. It wasn’t the smartest solution, but it was the most he would budge on it.

He pulls up kerbside, in front of the hotel his grandmother and mother were staying in and shifts the car into park. You both exit, and Jake waits for you beside the door of the driver’s side, holding the door open, while you step in and up into the seat and buckle yourself in.

“See you later?” He asks, a rhetoric question, but you nod anyway and he kisses you swiftly on the corner of your lips before shutting the door on you and jogging over to the kerb. You duck your head to peer out of the window on the passenger’s side and he winks at you. You press a kiss to your fingers, blowing it at him, and it earns you a wide smile, the sides of his eyes crinkling. You let yourself take it in, Jake smiling, with his hair combed back, uniform hugging him in the right places, before you lift a hand in a wave and drive off, thinking to yourself, god was he handsome.

“You’re eating too little.” Grandma Doris asks, eyeing the bowl of yogurt, and granola in front of her grandson.

“Don’t want to be throwing up mid flight.” He explains before popping the spoon into his mouth. “I’ll have more for dinner.”

She hums in acknowledgement, settling back into her chair, while taking a sip from her tea cup, eyes studying her grandson.

“So,” she starts casually, almost too casually for her, and it makes Jake drop his spoon as he leans back to take her in, “were you planning on keeping your poor grandmother in the dark forever?”

Jake knows what she is referring to, but opts for raising brow, waiting for her to elaborate.

“That you both finally became more than just friends.” Grandma Doris stretches out the word finally, and Jake raises his glass to his lips, but his smile is barely covered.

“What gave it away?” He asks, after taking a gulp of water and setting his glass down.

“You did be blind not to know,” Grace scoffs, taking a sip of coffee. You both had hid it well, but a mother always knew her son.

The relationship you and Jake had, was something that had always been special - he was more himself around you, more the Jake that Grace had knew, loved and known from the first day she had held him in her arms, and you, well, you somehow managed to tolerate him, during the good and the bad, accepting him for both his good and bad; but this time, this was different.

Grace had always seen a glimpse of something more in her son’s eyes when he looked to you, only when he knew that you weren’t watching, but this time - she had seen it in his eyes, when he had looked directly at you, and had seen you meet his gaze with the exact same look, of equal intensity in your eyes. She had seen the quiet, content, smile that flickered briefly across both your features, and she just knew.

Her suspicions had been confirmed the night before when Grace’s own mother had nudged her and motioned out the window of the hotel lobby, both of them watching, just in time to catch you run a finger over the the sunburn blooming along the bridge of Jake’s nose, laughing about something they couldn’t hear, to which Jake only reached out to pull you towards him, your face colliding with his chest, body shaking with laughter as he planted his lips on the top of your hair, while saying something that caused your shoulders to shake even more.

“Weeks,” he says vaguely, not bothering to count the detailed specifics, not because Jake didn’t care, but because he didn’t need to with you - not when he was sure you were his forever. He had expressed outrightly that you were his girl - because even when you hadn’t been, you had somehow, always been his in one way or another - and Jake hadn’t asked you explicitly, the question of “will you be my girlfriend?”, but it hadn’t mattered to either of you; the question seemingly unimportant and trivial, when you both already just knew.

Grandma Doris observes grandson from her perch across the table, the light in his eyes that she had always saw when he looked at you had finally come to the front, and it was dazzling. She places down her teacup, fingers of her right hand working to slide the ring she had the fourth finger of her right hand off. It was the simplest of the rings which adorned her fingers, a plain band, holding a single jewel, with the words “timeless” scratched onto the inside of the band, the engraving now dulled from years of wear, but still visible. She places it on the table in front of Jake, who looks down at it, and up again at his grandmother in surprise. He had never seen her take it off since he could remember.

“Give it to her,” she says simply, the implication behind her words clear - marry her. To anyone else, it might have been strange, but grandma Doris understood, it was Jake and you - she had watched quietly, as you both danced around each other for years. “There isn’t any reason to wait when you’ve already known something your whole life.” She say simply.

Jake picks up the ring, flipping it in his fingers, running the pad of his thumb over the engraving on the inner band, before reaching into the shirt of his uniform, tugging out the chain with his dog tags, before undoing it and stringing the ring on.

“Well, this is me,” Jake bends down and kisses Grace’s cheek while engulfing her in a hug.

“Come back home soon,” Grace orders and Jake raises a hand to his head to giver her a mini salute.

“Yes M’am.”

“Everyone misses you,” his grandmother says as Jake bends in turn to hug her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Your grandfather and father miss you.” His mother says, and Jake meets her gaze in understanding with a small tip of his chin.

Jake stands back, with a last wave, watching as his mother and grandmother enter the car, before the driver shuts the door.

Tash: Your man is an idiot.

You swipe open the message from Phoenix to come face to face with a picture of Jake and Rooster’s side view, each man decked out in their flight suit, sunglasses on their face, middle fingers flipped up at each other. It makes you roll your eyes as you shoot back a text.

Is Bradley an idiot as well?

She replies almost instantly.

Tash: The biggest.

You grin, shooting back a reply.

Lies. By the way, do you know what time you’ll be done? My idiot needs a pick up.

Tash: Come now, I’ll get Mav to abuse his “power” and sign you in.

“I’m not betting those 200 push ups today,” Fanboy’s voice crackles over the comms as the three planes, him and Payback, Mav and Jake push through the air. It was the last scheduled flight of the day, not entirely necessary because there weren’t any trainees scheduled into the slot, but it hadn’t stopped the four men from jumping into the plans to run the same training simulation of the day. Mav’s time old favourite, dogfighting - two against one.

It earns a laugh from Mav, and Jake snorts.

“C’mon boys, wussing out?” Jake drawls over his comms as he levels his jet with Fanboy and Payback, grinning out the window towards the two. It earns him double middle fingers from the duo.

“I’m not letting you hang us out to dry, Hangman.” Payback says disgruntled. It was undeniable that Jake had proven himself to be a team player from the uranium mission, but it didn’t change the fact that Hangman, being Hangman, still enjoyed blazing his own trail, particularly during simulations such as this where a run was just a run, and nothing was at stake. He would have them eating his dust whenever he could.

“How about a beer instead boys?” Mav asks, grinning lazily out of the window of his jet.

“I could live with that,” Payback jumps and latches onto the lower stakes, before clarifying the safety of his own wallet, “just among us four.”

“Game on,” Jake hooks his mask to his face.

True to her word, and you are not entirely sure how, Phoenix gets you signed into TOPGUN, meeting you at the guard house, and jumping into your car, directing you onward. She ends up leading you towards the control room, which she informs you, is filled with themselves and the trainee group today due to the afternoon long simulation flights they had been running. She scans her pass against the electronic lock and holds open the door for you while gesturing you in. You slip into the control room ducking your way past a few trainees, to come to a stand beside Hondo, who is flanked on his other side by Rooster and Bob.

“What did I miss?” Pheonix asks, and Hondo points towards the screen.

“They just bet Mav a round of beers if they beat him.”

“Do we all benefit?” Phoenix asks, hopefully.

“Payback made it very clear that it’s just between them.” Hondo grins, and it earns a dismissive snort from Phoenix

You can’t see the Naval Aviators up in the air, apart from the diagrams of little jets beeping on the radar alongside a counter, and a whole host of numbers you don’t understand; but you can hear them over the speakers in the control room, the sounds of breathing, and chatter.

“Where is he?” Payback asks.

“I can’t see him,” Fanboy.

“Probably hiding beneath us,” you hear Jake, “old man never changes his tactics.” He says, a jab at Mav, and the tone of his voice, makes you shake your head slightly; even you knew, to someone who didn’t know any better or who wasn’t used to him, Jake could very well rub people he didn’t know well the wrong way with his words.

You hear a set of three yells and curses, as Mav’s diagram reappears on radar, a set of numbers alongside the screen rapidly jumping as Mav angles his jet to shoot up between the other two.

“And yet, this old man’s tactics work every time.”

It earns a fist pump from Hondo, and you lean over towards the older man.

“Does he truly do that every time?”

“Works like a charm,” Hondo says, leaning back over to you simultaneously, headset still nestled in his ear, with a nod of his head.

“And they don’t learn?” You ask in slight disbelief at the fact that some of the best Naval Aviators in the country would fall for the same trick more than once.

“Kids,” Hondo laughs with a shrug and a waggle of his brows, and it makes you laugh out loud as you think back to a scene where you had been sitting with the lot, after dinner, watching them argue over which superhero, as portrayed in the movies, would come out on top, because you couldn’t agree more.

Jake hears it, clear as day, as he rights his jet, holding back on the acceleration into the planned tactic he was going to go into, even though it was just a soft crackle over the background his comms. He thought he had been dreaming that he had heard your voice, until the point he heard your laugh - he would recognise that laugh anywhere - your laugh.

“Babe?” He says into his comms, and it has Payback and Fanboy looking at each other within the confines of their plane, Mav looking out of the window from above, down towards Jake’s jet, the men all holding in the air, surprised at the sudden call from Jake. All heads in the control room swivel towards you.

Hondo slips the headset off his ear and passes it to you, nodding for you to take it, and you do, slipping it onto your own ear, taking a step forward, closer to the screen even though you can’t see him.

“Jake?” You say, your eyes focused on the mini green outline of his jet on the screen, his call sign flickering beside it.

“Yeah babe?” Jake says again, louder, more sure this time, his face breaking into a wide grin beneath his mask. In that moment, Jake feels like he is at the top of the world, despite having just been spun around in the air by the force of Mav’s jet - he is seated in a jet high above the ground, doing something he had willingly devoted his life to, with your voice in his ear at real-time, knowing that you were watching him.

“Give him hell.” You say, and you hear a roaring laugh of response through the headset in your ear, loud, open, unadulterated, genuine, every note of it being entirely Jake. It is familiar to you, but the heads moving back and forth in the room, eyes coated in surprise, tells you that it isn’t for everyone.

“For you darlin? Anything.”

It earns a whoop from Coyote who is standing to the right of the control room. Jake, who is up in the air grips his center stick, wide grin still on his face. He can feel the ring, dangling from the chain beside his dog tags, a cool circle pressed against his chest. He takes a deep breath.

“Alright boys, hope you’re ready, because Hangman’s coming.”

“Tone!” It is a span of mere minutes, where you hear a mix of shouts, grunts and yells coming from the four men in the air, before you hear a loud prolonged beeping sound, and Jake’s voice crackle over the comms, shouting out the single word with a whoop. It earns wide eyes from around the room, and approving nod from Hondo who is behind you, a “yes” from Coyote and a clap from Bob.

“Fucking Hangman,” is what you hear Rooster murmur from behind, clearly impressed.

“Well I’ll be damned.” Tash mumbles as she walks up to you, before clapping her hand on your shoulder. She knew Jake was good, heck - everyone knew, despite having only been selected as Dagger Spare for the uranium mission, he was the only one among them (not counting Mav) who had a count of two confirmed air combat kills, but to get tone on Mav, something none of them had yet to be able to achieve - now that, was impressive.

“Can we get her in the room everytime he flies?” You hear Cyclone mumble to Warlock from his position in the centre of the room, arms still crossed over his chest, eyes fixed on the green on screen.

It makes you smile.

You make your way down along with the rest of the group, the only civilian amongst the group of Naval Aviators, hanging to a side with Coyote, Bob, Rooster and Phoenix as the jets grind to a slow stop and into a park. You can hear the chatter of the trainees, standing around as you watch while the top of Jake’s jet pops open, before he hoists himself out of the seat, stepping onto the wing to hop down onto the ground.

Jake yanks his helmet off his head, and you see him, grinning widely, from ear to ear, his hair sticking up, a sheen of sweat across his forehead, in his element, euphoria unmatched. It’s infectious and you feel your face break out into a matching grin, as Jake begins striding directly to you, helmet in his hand. He moves like a man with a mission, focused entirely on you, and the smattering of trainees move to a side as he approaches, it being clear that he has no intention to stop for anyone in his way.

You see him unzip the top of his flight suit, and reach beneath the black shirt he has on underneath, fingers pulling his dog tags out before he tugs them over his head.

“Jake?” He is three steps away from you, and the group behind you has involuntarily taken a step back, not sure of where this is going, allowing you both your space, and then, it happens.

Jake drops his helmet to the ground, the object rolling an inch away before it settles on his side. You are forced to look down as Jake drops a knee to the ground. He leans his elbow on his other knee, which is bended, propped up by a boot that is pressed flat to the ground, and raises his hand towards you, fingers holding out a ring, still hanging from the chain of his dog tags, with a single jewel as the centrepiece towards you. You recognised the ring at once, having seen it as a permanent fixture on grandma Doris’ finger.

“Jake what are yo-” You start to say, but he cuts you off, answering your question at the same time.

“Marry me.” He says, a statement, not quite an ask as his eyes search yours, a smile, genuine, excited, earnest on his face. “Marry me, because I don’t want to have to spend another day not being able to call you mine.”

It’s a big ask, after only weeks, you both jumping the step where he had even asked you (officially) to be his girlfriend, but this was Jake, the man you knew better than anyone else; the man who you understood, and who understood you, without having to even use words; the man who you would do anything for, and who would do anything for you; the man you had spent the past few weeks finally getting it right with; the man you would say yes to in a heartbeat.

You search his face, his eyes now fixed on you, watching as you take it in, take him in. Jake has never been so goddamn sure of anything in his life. He had been sure the moment his grandmother had slipped the ring onto the table; sure from the moment he had kissed you at Annie’s wedding; sure from the moment he had asked you to come out to San Diego for 6 months; perhaps even sure from way before; but hearing your voice over comms, just your voice, pulling together his focus, grounding him, both literally and figuratively propelling him to greater heights, made him realise that he had already taken too goddamn long to do this, and that he would be a fool to wait even a second longer.

“I’m already yours.” You breathe out, pushing out the breath of air you hadn’t even been aware you were holding. It is enough for him, and Jake reaches forward to tug your hand towards him before he slips the ring on. It fits your finger like a glove, his dog tags still dangling from the other end of the chain still attached to the ring, like a part of him to you. He stands, holding your hand in his, pulling you close so that your body is flush against his. Jake smells of jet fuel, sweat and soap. He reaches up with his other hand, to cup your jaw in his palm, a thumb running over your cheekbone.

“Jake?” You say, softly, as he leans in an inch.

“Yeah.” It makes him stop, face slightly apart from yours, but so close that you can feel the tip of his nose brushing against yours, and the warmth of his breath on your skin.

“I love you.” You say out loud for the first time, and you see the wide smile break across his face as he presses his lips to yours. You love him, you’ve loved him, just as he love and has loved you.

“I know baby.” Is what Jake says first against your lips, in true Jake Seresin fashion and you can still feel his smile, as he finally says, “I love you too.”

You hear the thunderous sound of cheers in the background, the loudest coming from the group of Naval Aviators you had come to know and love. A plane flies past, roaring overhead in the sky, and you kiss Jake back, one of your hands still gripping his, the other on the back of his head, feeling the damp roots of sweat in his hair, pulling him into you. You feel like your heart is soaring, your flyboy in your arms.

>> EPILOGUE

Series taglist: @blue-aconite @rosiahills22 @luckyladycreator2 @britty443 @yanak324 @rule107 @fuckyeahhangman @spidey-d00d @dempy @barista-library @alexwinchester23 @shakira-sasha @bxwitched @lumenseal @obiwankenobis-lap @prettybiching @littlebadariell @actuallybarb @beaner-life-23 @coco-loco-nut @criminalyetminimal @tragzerus @alana4610 @tkmarvel-divergentbish @kilojulietsierra @imagineyneyjr @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @ive-got-more-wit @fuzzy-panda @helloimhereforabit @meowimakellysaurusrex @t-rexs @iangiemae @shawnsthighs @cxit-writes @shanimallina87 @dempy @mell-bell @saynotononsense @justsplendidd @dont-talk-me-down @the-cranck-hobbit @blindedbyyourgrace17 @fandom-life-12 @bxwitched @indynerdgirl @hope-love-equality2 @fangirlofallthings22 @alistocats @callsign-marlie @bellamy1998 @slayry @bladed-planes @turningtoclown @double-j @shanimallina87 @chiffondaydreams @capswife @averyhotchner @unordinare @smokey102 @tallrock35

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max1461 · 3 months

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I despise all the family life uwu mother gaia knows best big multigenerational household all natural ~european~ (as opposed to american) natalistic you're actually SUPPOSED to live at home till you get married thats what wrong with the usa SHIT. I HATE IT. It's fine for somebody, it's fine for you if it works for you. But god damn it fucking squicks me out. My parents shut up about my fucking reproductive habits respect my bodily and reproductive choices challenge impossible challenge 2024. You'll get grankids if you get grandkids. Ironically enough I've always wanted to be a parent eventually but this shit makes it less likely because you are SQUICKING ME OUT.

#at least they've done this less recently

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dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice · 10 days

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The Grim Reaper's Guide to Breaking Every Rule of the Universe /// Chapter 3

Ok so I decided to cut down the next chapter so I could get something out before I take a small break, but the next one is over hlaf-way done so it'll be out soon. Enjoy!

Summary: When touring America for the sake of it, you go to stay with your aunt in New Orleans for a while, taking up a peaceful part-time job restoring objects. But a few weeks in, a package arrives containing an old radio that's seen better days, along with a note seemingly written by someone who thinks they could fist-fight the Devil.

What you didn't know, was the hell of a path that was now set out in front of you. Not fist-fighting the Devil, but instead a very smug radio host who would have no problem spending the rest of his days driving you up the walls.

But two could play that game.

Tags: Demiromantic-Asexual Alastor x Demiromantic-Asexual OC/Reader - 1920s/30s New Orleans - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Violence (It's Alastor what else)

Word Count: 5942

Warnings: Period-typical sexism, Period-typical attitudes towards neurodivergency, Swearing, Mentions of murder. MC'S RACE IS DEFINED DUE TO PLOT REASONS (also because she is based off my OC)

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

Now available on Wattpad and AO3 (please let me know if links aren't working)

< Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4 >

PART 1: Chapter 3

I'd rather be unemployed.

Fimble-Famble (Definition): A really lame excuse for not wanting to do something. (Noun)

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – Monday, 9th December, 1929.

“And he told me that we needed the money so I had to take it!” you cried as you slumped in the armchair.

Agnes gave you a look over the top of her glasses, the book she was reading now long forgotten since you stormed in that evening practically red in the face as you ranted to her about the whole radio fiasco. Knowing your tirade wasn’t over, she placed a bookmark between the pages and snapped the book shut, reaching over the arm to place it on the side table with a sigh.

“Well he is your boss.” She explained calmly, and you slumped down further, edging your sock-clad feet towards the fire. “If he believes you can do it, then I don’t see any reason as to why you can’t. Besides,” she gestured to the bag of books by your feet. “Those books he gave you are about radios for beginners – having that knowledge could open up further job opportunities for you.”

All you did was stare at the bag with a frown, before you kicked it over with a whiny grunt. Agnes sighed again.

“You’re going to get rude customers wherever you go, so when you’re the one representing the business, you be the better person and take the challenge calmly.” She pressed, peering over at you with a stern expression.

Silence.

She squinted slightly. “You.. did take it calmly, didn’t you?”

When you continued to narrow your eyes at the ground, she sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Christ, no wonder the twins grew up to be as crazy as they are.” She muttered. “Look, if Mr LeBlanc has asked you to take on this repair, and allowed you to take the pay for the extra labour hours, then I see no reason for you to refuse this man’s request – at least, not without cause.”

You sat up straight, prodding the cushioned arm with your finger. “Oh, I have cause. It is because I hate him!” You exclaimed.

Your aunt tilted her head, regarding you with a tired look. “My lovely, you’ve only had one conversation with him over the phone.”

You pouted, crossing your arms. “Two, if you count the letters.” You growled. “Besides, I think Ralph only told me to take the job ‘cause he knew the guy.” Agnes raised a brow. “I said it was a Mr A. Boudreaux, and he almost choked to death from coughing his lungs out. I told him he was rude to me but he just kept saying that I had to.”

“Did he say please?” she asked, a small knowing smile on her face.

“…Yes.”

“There you go.” Agnes concluded, reaching over to give your knee a few rough but assuring pats. “I don’t know who this Mr Boudreaux is, but if Ralph wants it done, then you can at least try. Besides, I’m off work until next Monday, so I’ll be home for a whole week to give you a hand if you need one – I know how those equations and diagrams make your head go all fuzzy.”

You sighed dejectedly, then gave your aunt a small smile. “Thank you. If anything, I’m doing it for this guy’s mum, not him.”

“Awww, at least he’s sweet to his mother.” She smiled, before turning towards the door and raising her voice slightly. “I do hope I get that treatment when I’m older!”

All she got was a loud farting noise echoing through from the other room.

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – Friday, 13th December, 1929.

The patio double doors hung wide open as you laid your head on the kitchen table, staring at the technicolour marbling of the setting sun. Tools, wires and random pieces of springs laid scattered on the wooden surface around you, along with several books opened to pages of diagrams you had spent the last week trying to understand but to no avail. You had sent a letter on the Tuesday, informing Mr Boudreaux that your boss had decided that the radio would be taken on.

You refused to call him again, lest you face the humiliation of that faceless smug bastard as he found out that your boss had sent you back with your tail between your legs to tell him that you were in the wrong – something you adamantly avoided stating in your letter, instead half-hinting that Ralph had miraculously recovered overnight (he hadn’t), and took the project on personally (he didn’t do that either).

It also seemed that the good luck spell you and your aunt had performed that Monday evening worked - after you had collapsed on your imaginary chaise-longue and wailed to her about the dilemmas of the day, she had dragged you to her room, going on about how you hadn’t been keeping up with your practice for the last seven months. She made you bring your grimoire from your room, and you both spent around an hour resetting and cleansing energies, also setting up a small bowl of different herbs and trinkets that symbolised good luck, making you put it on your bedside table along with a new incense burner she had bought you. Honestly, if your aunt wasn’t around, you probably would’ve spontaneously combusted by Wednesday.

Agnes had also sat with you every evening, reading through the radio books, and slowly helping you work things out when the words started to blend together and you found yourself trying to read a paragraph as much as you could, but to no avail.

It was times like this when you wish you were back home, when everything was normal. When people weren’t giving lingering looks to your aunt as she traipsed about the village like every other innocent woman. When your uncle was telling you about his family and his way of living in Japan to his sons, and to you whenever you had the time to stop by. When you were treated as a well-respected, intelligent woman, who was freshly graduated from university at the top of her class. Not whatever those men had said to you when they came to your door after the local doctor had practically snitched on you. If only that dinner hadn’t happened. If only your aunt’s maid hadn’t gone snooping where she shouldn’t. Within a year everyone had been torn from each other.

But there wasn’t much time for mourning. You had less than two weeks to get this radio looking like it did when it was fresh off the shelf, otherwise you risk disappointing your boss for the first time ever, which would have you unconsciously doubting yourself for the rest of eternity.

Your head still on the table, you pinched a spring coil between your fingers, holding it up against the orange-purple sky as you glared at its silhouette. Rustling came from beside you as your aunt flipped the pages of the books, eyes flitting between them and the notes she was taking in her notebook.

You felt her glance at you a couple times, until there was a sound as she shifted, then silence. Feeling a finger tap your shoulder lightly, you slowly sat up to face her. She was facing you, an uneasy look in her eye as she took her time coming up with what to say.

“So..” she began hesitantly. “I understand your busy right now working full time at the shop, but since we got the news yesterday that Ralph was getting better, I was going to ask you,” she waved her hand about in thought. “If you’re going back to working only two days, would you consider looking for another job?”

You sat up straight, confusion clouding your face. “You want me to quit on Mr LeBlanc?”

“NO, no no!” she cried, waving her hands to dismiss the obvious miscommunication as she laughed nervously. “I meant look for a second job? I felt awful even thinking about asking you, but with the free time you’ll have, I just think it would make surviving this crash easier if we both had a steady wage coming in? I mean, as steady a wage that two women during this time an get.” She looked at her hands as she twisted them, hesitance and guilt written all over her face. “I want the boys to have a completed education, and it’ll crush me if I force myself to take that away from them.” She turned to you, trying her best to hide the tears threatening to build up. “I know you’re only here temporarily, and I’m not going to make you do anything you’re not comfortable doing, but –” she took a shaky breath. “as humiliating as it is, I need your help.”

Moments passed as you stared at the woman before you. The woman who used to be so full of life and love when she was surrounded by family – who loved the village she grew up in and the city she moved to – who loved the husband she fought tooth and nail to marry – now sat in a house in an unknown city she never asked to be in, a country she never asked to move to. Torn from her sister to an unknown place on the other side of the planet. All because her stupid maid couldn’t keep her stupid mouth shut.

Reaching your arm out, you grasped her hand with your own, waiting until she looked up at you, dark eyebags you never thought you’d see underlining her eyes like a curse. You knew she wasn’t sleeping enough.

“I’ll start looking tomorrow.” You stated quietly but firmly, squeezing her hand affirmingly.

Her eyes glistened as they widened, regarding you with a desperate hope, until she let out a loud sniffle and dropped her head onto your shoulder, trying her best to conceal her own shoulders as they jerked up and down slightly with her light sobs. Resting your head on top of hers, you both sat there in silence as you listened to the clock tick along with your aunt’s quiet sniffs as she attempted to calm herself.

“There’s an assistant’s job going down near the French Quarter.” She muttered. “I know the guy who runs the place and he said he would be happy to interview you?”

You perked up at her suggestion. “Ok, what kind of company is it?” Your aunt remained silent for a moment. “Agnes?”

“It’s a, uhhh… radio station.”

Jerking your head off hers, she quickly sat up as you gave her a deadpan expression.

“C’mon,” she pushed with a watery giggle. “I said you we’re learning how radios work for a repair, and he seemed excited that you would have some knowledge before you applied.”

“Unwanted knowledge.” You pressed. “He’s gonna have to offer a decent salary if he wants me to be within a ten mile radius of a radio ever again.”

Your aunt gave a throaty laugh in response. “Oh, don’t worry, I made sure of that before asking you. I can give him a call if you’re willing to interview?”

Making sure to let out a very long and tired sigh, you looked at you aunt’s pleading face, before slowly nodding. Letting out a cry of relief, she clapped her hands, then grabbed your face as she squished your cheeks, moving your head from side to side as she let out a string of ‘thank yous!’.

Eventually after her tirade of affection, she got up, flipping her twin plaits over her shoulders as she approached the sink, rinsing both of your mugs to make the fifth cup of tea that evening. You went to reach across the table for a book when your ears perked up at the sound of a small ‘psst’ from your right side.

Glancing over, your eyes landed on the archway that led into the hallway, and you were able to see all the way down to the front door from where you were sat, though half of your view was blocked by the underside of the stairs. Peering down the long hall, you leant back in your seat until a dark mop of hair peeked around the staircase banister.

Quickly flicking your eyes to Agnes, you made sure she was still facing the sink when you turned back to make eye contact with Ollie, who was precariously perched on the bottom step as he manoeuvred his upper body to curve around the wooden post to face you. Another mop of lighter hair joined him, as Allie stuck his head between the ceiling and the railing from where he was further up the stairs. Reaching one arm round and the other through the banister posts, Ollie began waving and pointing his fingers about, signing the most ridiculous gestures as he tried to convey a message.

‘What??’ you mouthed silently, frowning as you shook your head slightly in confusion.

At this, your cousin tried again, jabbing his fingers about a bit harder as he repeated the message.

You stared, eyes darting to the side then back again, and you simply shrugged. At this point Allie had thrown a dirty sock at his brother, and you barely heard him hiss at Ollie to make it simpler.

Rolling his eyes, Ollie shifted until he was fully facing you. With frustrated, wide eyes, he pointed at you. You nodded. Then pointed upstairs. You nodded again. Then jabbed his thumbs at his chest as he mouthed ‘my room’, then held his hand up with all of his fingers splayed out, ‘five minutes’ he said silently. Nodding once more, you watched as your cousin froze at the clatter of mugs as your aunt moved about, before quickly darting back round the banister, crawling on all fours as he soundlessly disappeared back up the staircase like some shadow creature along with his brother.

Sighing with a roll of your eyes, you returned back to the mess in front of you, thanking your aunt as she placed a fresh steaming mug of tea down. Picking it up, you bathed in the hot vapours rising from it before sticking your tongue out slightly to test the temperature. Quiet slurping sounded from beside you as your aunt returned to her seat, sipping from her own mug. Glancing at you, she placed it down to pick up a book.

“So,” she said as she casually turned a page. “What did the boys want?”

You took a large sip.

“No idea.”

Five minutes later, you took it as a well-earned break, trudging upstairs to see what the twins wanted to yap at you about.

“What’re you two up to now?” You sighed as you pushed open the door that had the sign saying ‘Ollie’s Room’ nailed to it. You looked up, only to stop in your tracks as your eyes landed on the two hunched over a very large corkboard, though, the cork was hardly visible with all the random pieces of paper, newspaper clippings and string pinned to it.

“Whaaaat is that?” You said slowly, brows furrowing as you stared at the board with wide eyes.

Ollie practically crawled his way over to the door, hands on the floor as he lifted a leg like a dog taking a piss, to kick it closed before scurrying back to his twin’s side, who was busy looping glittery wool string around another pin.

“A corkboard.” Allie simply said, not even bothering to look your way.

“I can see that.” You deadpanned, making your way over. “I’m asking what is on it. And specifically HOW you got pictures of dead bodies.” You pointed out, stepping closer to see the black and white photographs of body parts and corpses that you knew definitely shouldn’t be in the hands of your underage cousins. (Though they were 17 now, and clearly the closer they got to adulthood, the more excuses they had to do crap they weren’t allowed to.)

Allie snipped the end of the string, his voice lowering as he regarded you with a dark look. “If we told you, we’d have to kill you.”

“Not if I kill you first.” You hissed, raising a leg to kick him. “Explain.”

“Okayyyyy fine!” he whined, shuffling out of the way to avoid your attack with a pout. “The son of the Sheriff is in our class, and we pay him to enlarge photos from the crime scenes that are suspected to be the Bayou Butcher.”

Your mouth flung open. “You WHAT?!?!” You yelled.

Ollie swiftly raised his hand to cover your mouth. “Shush, if mum hears you, we’re all dead!”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Reaching your hand up, you slapped his away. “We’re all dead regardless!!” You hissed. “Has the thought crossed either of your microscopic brains that what you’ve done is, like – I don’t know – super illegal??”

“It’s fine.” Allie shrugged. “If we guess that someone is onto us, we burn the evidence.”

Your looked between the two of them with wide eyes. “What if mum finds it when you’re both at school? What then??”

Allie sighed. “She won’t find it. Promise.” He stretched his arm up to the top of the board, flipping it over to show another side with random drawings and knick-knacks pinned to it. “We just flip it over and stick it in the wardrobe.”

“What, and pray she doesn’t get the urge to do her usual chores and find it as she’s hanging up your washing??” You contradicted.

“Yea pretty much.” Ollie replied.

You glanced between them worriedly, shaking your head. “You two are treading on thin ice here.”

“Yea yea but we didn’t bring you here to moan about everything.” Interrupted Ollie. “What we were trying to say before you rudely changed the subject was that this was our theory board.”

“Your illegal theory board.” You poked, crossing your arms.

Allie simply frowned up at you from where he was knelt on the floor, and you sighed.

“Fine. I’m guessing it’s about the Bayou Butcher?” You asked, before scrunching your face. “Why am I even asking? Of course it is.”

“Yep.” Ollie replied, his demeanour now more excitable. “Every grisly murder that matches his M.O. – well – our idea of his M.O. Along with every newspaper article about him, and maps of places the bodies have been found.” He explained, pointing each thing out. “We’re currently trying to figure out a potential pattern, but to no avail at this point.” He turned to you with a determined look in his eye – something you should be seeing on an actual detective, NOT your dingbat of a cousin. “But we will. At some point.”

You nodded slowly, absorbing the information. “Ok, so, why am I here?”

They both looked at each other, before facing back to you.

“To help us.”

“Absolutely not.”

Allie pouted. “Aww c’mon! We thought you liked this sort of stuff?” he whined, gesturing at you.

“Yea, from an outsider’s perspective! Not when there’s a potential for the police to come after me! Hell, this Butcher guy could find out you’re onto him and come after you himself!”

They rolled their eyes. “Ok, mum. No need to get your knickers in a twist.” Jived Allie. “We can guarantee you, no-one’s gonna find out.”

You raised an eyebrow. “How, then?”

“By not being stupid?” Ollie said as if it was the most obvious thing.

You sighed, thinking to yourself for a moment. “…Fine.” You held a finger up when their faces brightened. “But if anything gets dangerous, I’m burning it all myself.”

They both nodded excitedly, beckoning you over as they began to explain everything.

You knew at some point they would both be the death of you.

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – Monday, 16th December, 1929.

The sun was still yet to melt the snow when you walked into town with your aunt that morning, arms linked as to not slip on the compacted ice as you both tried to step onto the trams that were miraculously still running. Your arms remained linked as both made your way to a wide, busy street just off the outskirts of the French Quarter, about a twenty minute walk from where the antique shop was.

Mr LeBlanc has graciously given you the day off, as a thank you for running the shop. His cough had receded, and was determined to return to work. Though his wife insisted on joining him in the shop for a couple days to keep an eye on his health, despite his grumbling.

“I can assure you Mr Durham is lovely.” Agnes said with unwavering confidence as she patted your arm with a knitted glove. “The interview should be over in fifteen minutes or so – you’ll be in-and-out before you even realise it, so there’s no need to worry.”

You gave her a shaky smile. “Hopefully. Though I haven’t been in any interviews to know if it’ll go well.”

“It will.” She stated firmly. “Now, do you remember what we went over when answering interview questions?” You nodded, and she slowed you both to a stop. “Brilliant. We’re here.” She gestured up to a relatively tall building, the brickwork looming over you as the wall above the doors displayed the words ‘W.A.D RADIO’ in bright, white paint.

Peering up at the five-storey building, you felt nerves creep up your spine as you began to sweat slightly.

“Oi, look at me.” Muttered Agnes, reaching out to gently take your shoulders as she turned you to her. “No matter what happens in there, it’s not the end of the world, I can promise you that.” She assured. Glancing her eyes across your face, she reached up to straighten the simple blue cloche hat she had let you borrow. “There should be a receptionist at the front desk, just go in and tell her your name and that you’re here for an interview with Mr Durham, ok? I’ll be waiting out here for you.”

The air in your throat stuttered as you took a deep breath, your nervousness a stark contrast to the anger-fuelled confidence you had when answering that phoner. Nodding silently, you returned your Aunt’s smile before stepping away and pushing the door open, hoping the ‘Good Luck!’ she had whispered to you would give some assist.

You could sense the receptionist staring at you as you sat staring blankly at the tiles on the floor ahead. Picking the non-existent dirt from under your nails, you felt the sickening nerves in your stomach ease slightly when you had sat on the worn, leather-clad bench, the conversation with the woman at the desk having gone as smoothly as you could make it, luckily without your mind going blank or stuttering on any words.

“Where did’ya say you were from again?” You heard, and you raised your head to see the receptionist leaning on her elbows on the desk, chewing on a pencil as she looked you up and down. “You’re English, but’cha don’t sound quite like those gents on the radio?” she questioned, her slightly nasally voice cutting through the air as she bore you down with her gaze.

You blinked. “…I’m from the North-East.”

She furrowed her brows, the wood of the pencil clacking on her teeth. “North-East a’what?”

“Of England? You know there’s over forty different accents used in the UK, right?.” You explained.

She looked you up and down once again. “Huh.” Was all she said, before she shrugged her shoulders, turning back to the paperwork she was pointedly ignoring, and you returned to fiddling with your hands, now choosing to pick at any loose lint on the hat laid on your lap.

About five minutes later, the sound of shoes clicking against tile tapped against your ears, and you looked up to see a man donned in business attire round the corner. He was rather tall and large, but in a soft muscular kind of way. His murky brown waves fell loosely over his forehead, peppered with streaks of grey along with his thick beard, and he still retained the tan from the summer, but his pale shade of skin was starting to show through again, softening the piercing blue of his eyes.

Speaking of eyes, it didn’t take him a second to scan the room before they landed on you, the cerulean if his iris’ turning an almost baby blue under the lights as they brightened at the sight of you.

“Ah! There you are!” He exclaimed, arms spreading wide to welcome you. “I was wondering when your aunt would drop you off!” His white teeth glistened as he gave a handsome, warm smile. Approaching where you sat, you quickly stood to take his large, outstretched hand, the warmth from him enveloping your snow-frozen skin. “I’m Mr Durham, co-owner of Watson & Durham Radio.”

You could see why your aunt let him take her out for dinner.

“– and you’ll be here Wednesday to Friday, from what your aunt said on the phone.” Mr Durham rambled on. You had been interviewed in his office on the third floor, but he had insisted on taking you on a tour around the expansive building. At first, he showed you your potential desk, positioned just outside his office, facing the rows of other desks that spanned the large room ahead.

Now you were taking the stairs to the fifth floor – ‘where the magic happened’ – according to the spritely man.

“These are the radio booths – each host gets their own.” Mr Durham explained, gesturing down the wide corridor.

Strangely, his pace seemed to quicken as he led you past the windows, but you tried your best to peer into each one. Some were dark, as no-one was in. Others were presenting, the ‘ON AIR’ sign above their door glowing bright, the rest were either chatting amongst each other, or alone in their booths, scribbling down in notebooks or on sheets of paper.

“– David, Jeff, Al, Brian, and Ol’ Timmy are all here – ‘cept the rest who have the day off.” Mr Durham listed off, pointing out each man as he rushed you by. “Though-” he lowered his voice a little. “- if you take the job, it’s best we keep you on the third floor.” You furrowed your brows at his odd comment, to which he spotted, quickly giving an explanation. “The boys can be a bit of a distraction you see. Being on the radio means you have to be charismatic, and I want you to settle in comfortably before I introduce you. A few can be quite… nosey. And overwhelming – some more than others.” He muttered, glancing into one of the booths near the end, and you looked over to see the back of a man’s head, his hair styled neatly from what you could see, and you watched as he gently tapped his foot to whatever was playing through his headset whilst he jotted away in the notebook on his desk.

As Mr Durham’s large shadow cast across him, he began to turn his head, and you managed to catch a glimpse of a pair of thin glasses before you walked out of sight of the window.

Thinking nothing of it, you followed the boss round the corner at the end of the hallway, and he continued to tour you around the building, pointing out the odd thing or person here and there.

The chill of the winter air hit your face once again as you pushed the front door open, and you scanned the street for your aunt. Glancing to the spot where she left you, a frown crossed your face as you found it empty, but barely a moment passed until your name was called out, and you looked up across the street to see your aunt stood outside the door of a café, waving for you to come over.

Cursing out America for having their jaywalking laws, you quickly searched for a crossing, speed-walking as fast as you could over the road despite the slippery snow as you jogged up to your aunt.

“So? How did it go?” she breathed excitedly as she led you inside to a small table, where there was already a steaming cup of tea waiting for you.

Grasping the warm beverage in your hands, you relayed the events of the last half hour to the woman bouncing in her seat across from you.

“Ok, but, were you happy with what you saw?” Agnes asked once you had finished.

You nodded. “Yea, pretty much.” You answered. “That Durham guy was already talking about me settling in before he offered me the job.”

Her back straightened. “He did?? Did you accept?” She gasped.

Looking at her over the top of your cup, you felt a smile grow on your face. “Mhm, I start Wednesday.”

Your aunt threw her hands in the air. “Oh thank god!” Her eyes darted about in frantic thought. “Oh! We’ve got to go shopping for some proper work clothes for you! Mr Durham is quite flexible with workwear but we’ll still go.” She rambled, pulling a piece of paper and a pen out her purse to start jotting things down, mumbling under her breath. “There’s a shop down the main street, and you’ll be needing some smarter trousers –”

“Speaking of Mr Durham,” you interrupted with a small smirk, watching Agnes accidentally jerk her pen across the paper as her wide eyes looked up at you. “He seems oddly fond of you. He asked me how the twins were getting on at school before he asked for anything about me.”

She froze, and you raised a brow.

“It’s also not like you to let some guy take you out. For dinner.” You added.

She glanced away, then back at you, slowly placing her pen down as she chewed the inside of her cheek.

“It’s not like that –”

“Sure it’s not.”

She sighed your name in exasperation. “We’re both regulars at this café, and we met back in January and have been friends since. Happy?” She explained rather curtly.

You narrowed your eyes at her. “Do the twins know about him? You know how protective they are over you since their dad passed.” You questioned gently.

Agnes closed her eyes, raising her hand to rub at her forehead. “They know, but they haven’t met him yet. Even if it does end up being ‘like that’, it’s been almost a decade since we lost Hiro, and it gets hard trying to raise two very energetic boys and keep a steady roof over their heads.” She stared into her drink with a faraway look as she recalled her late husband. “This world wasn’t built for women to be alone, and as infuriating as that sounds, I’ve been backed into a corner so many times that I only see someone like him as my one ticket out.”

Silence stretched between the two of you, as you let the words your aunt spoke about your uncle sink in. She hardly ever spoke of Hiro, so mentioning him now meant how serious she was.

“Alright.” You said softly, and her head raised to look at you. “I know I have no place telling who you can and can’t talk to, but please make sure both the twins and you are happy and safe. The last thing I want is a repeat of these last two years.”

A dark shadow crossed her face. “Oh believe me, it won’t.” she assured in a low tone. “If I knew the police weren’t going to show, I would have strangled Beatrice before she stepped a foot out the house.”

Nodding, you sighed, finally relaxing back in your seat as a natural silence fell over the two of you. Bringing the tea to your lips, you bathed in the fumes, watching passersby as they fought against the onslaught of the oncoming blizzard, and pondered about the possibilities of your first day at the radio company that sat on the opposite side of the street. Eyes unfocused, you stared blankly at the double doors that led into the towering brick building, thinking about when spring would come round and you could start to wear your summer dresses, but you focused back in when the double doors opened, and you watched as a man stepped out.

You couldn’t see his face, as it was lowered against the wind, but you recognised the mop of neatly styled, dark, brown hair that you had spotted earlier, but that was quickly hidden by the fedora he placed on his head, and your eyes caught the light of his round glasses, as they glinted in the dying light of the cloud-smothered sun, before he turned his shiny heel and strode down the street, seemingly not at all worried about slipping on patches of icy, packed snow.

What caught your eye the most, though, was how insanely tall this man was, and you figured – even at your tall height – that the top of your head would barely reach his nose, even on your tiptoes.

(Though, there was always the option to jump up and collide your forehead with his – if the need arises, of course.)

Unfortunately for you, however, this lanky ladder of a man was crossing the street.

Right towards the café.

Right towards you.

And you were basically turned in your seat to stare the demons out of this guy.

The brim of his hat began to raise, and you practically spun on the spot, the tea in your mug sloshing about, and you came face to face with your aunt, who had clearly seen the one-sided staring match you had had with the stranger.

Feeling the eyes of the man boring into the side of your temple, as you assumed he had seen you move at the speed of light to avoid looking at him, you smiled sheepishly at Agnes, who was not-so-subtly darting her eyes between the two of you.

A few seconds ticked on by at the speed of a snail, and it wasn’t until you aunt muttered a ‘He’s gone’, that you felt yourself deflate in relief, slumping in your chair as you gingerly put the mug in your hands back down on the table. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the back of the man’s trench coat as he carried on down the street out of sight, and you faced the woman in front of you.

“Sooo,” she began as she tried to hide the growing smile on her face. “Who’s that?”

“No clue.” You stated bluntly, eager to move the conversation along, lest your aunt turned into one of the women in your village, who would talk non-stop about their sons and grandsons when they found out you weren’t being courted. Or they would pester your mother about it. Either way, getting married was definitely not on your bucket list – and you wouldn’t be surprised if that lasted your whole life – you were quite satisfied with the thought of surrounding yourself with cats instead.

“Oh nuh-uh.” Agnes deadpanned, wagging a finger. “You don’t get to prod at me about men and not let me retaliate. Besides, Mr ‘No-Clue’ seemed an awfully pretty lad~”

You huffed. “Well I wouldn’t know, I’ve only clearly seen the back of his head, and according to Mr Durham,” you explained, lifting your hands to count on your fingers. “His name could be either David, Jeff, Al, Brian, or Ol’ Timmy.”

She raised a brow at you. “He looked like a David. Either way.” She smirked. “Your mum wouldn’t mind having someone like him as her son-in-law.”

You pouted. “Agnes, please.”

All your aunt did was laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gonne be uploading some art of MC soon >:))))

I hope you've enjoyed what I've given you so far, see you soon for Chapter 4!!

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leveloneandup · 1 year

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Tobin Heath | Inspiration Summit 2023

You have transitioned to also being an entrepreneur, so tell the audience... I'd love for people to hear a little bit more about re—inc, how it came about, what you're trying to acheive, and what you want people to know about it.

We were fighting against structures, and we wanted to kind of switch up that narrative. We actually love the tension of fighting against things and also fighting for things at the same time. We believe that that's where progress actually exists. Progress is never perfect, and it's really challenging but I really believe it's found in that tension of fighting for and against at the same time. And that's where we were born.

It's interesting because we went into 2019 and we were defending our World Championship because we had won in 2015, but at the same time, we were fighting for equal pay. We had sued our employer, so we had basically thrown all the chips on the table and we said, 'You know what, it's like win big or nothing.' At the time, it was a really complicated relationship. We were suing our employer and we were also playing for them and trying to win a World Championship. And you know, people always say, particularly with athletes, the whole idea of 'Just shut up and dribble.'

If the US Women's National Team had just shut up and dribbled, we would have never filed out pay equity lawsuit, we would have never achieved equal pay, we may not even have won that World Cup because who knows? I think they were tied together in everything. I think this was the destiny of the US Women’s National Team and for whatever reason, I do believe in the vehicle and the power of sport to be able to transform and to create progress, I believe that firmly. And I think we had a unique opportuniy in a country that has a lot of progress to be able to share that with the rest of the world. Global Football, we touch every part of this planet, so for some reason, we were given this torch with the US Women’s National Team and it was our job and our responsibility to carry that torch as far and as high as possible for the sake of women's equality.

And I really preface this with, the biggest kind of catalyst to this thing is, we go into the World Cup final and we win the World Cup. And in a moment where you think the whole stadium would be chanting 'USA,' the whole stadium is chanting 'Equal Pay!' And this is a global movement. If there's anything that every single person felt in that moment and can relate to, and every women can relate to, across the world, is being treated and paid unequally. That's the thing that we can all— we have a shared experience.

In that moment, it was powerful and I think it's a catalyst for everything that we're doing in reimagining the world and reimagining the status quo with our company is that we saw in that moment that women's sports isn't just about sports and it's not just about women. It's about progress, it's about equity, equality, inclusion, and we have a real opportunity to use it as a vehicle to, I believe, change the world. And I think, looking forward to what is next, what are those next world cups, I think it is in creating companies and structures that look and feel more like us, and I'm happy that I get the opportunity to kind of lead that and build one of those structures.

#tobin heath #inspiration summit #re inc #uswnt

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chelseachilly · 1 year

Text

king of my heart - pt 6

my baby’s fit like a daydream walking with his head down i’m the one he’s walking to

pairing: reader x ben chilwell summary: a new season for chelsea means an exciting new chapter for ben and for your relationship warnings: chelsea winning a game 🫢, smut :) (18+) word count: 2.6k

author’s note: hi! i’m currently on vaca for a week in the carribean (this was prewritten) so i prob won’t post again for a week or so, enjoy this bit of fluff and smut in the meantime 💗

You’re practically bursting at the seams with excitement as you sit on Ben’s couch, waiting for him to return home.

The Chelsea jet landed almost an hour ago and you know he’ll be back any time now. He’s been gone for two weeks for the summer USA tour, officially the longest you’ve been apart since you began seeing each other, and it’s been torture.

You tried to FaceTime as much as possible, but the time difference and your busy schedules made it challenging, so you feel like you’ve hardly even talked to him since you kissed him goodbye two weeks ago.

You stayed at Ben’s while he was away to watch his dog Oscar and water the plants. He would typically hire people for that, but you were happy to do it, and staying at Ben’s huge house was hardly a burden for you.

There was also the advantage of being able to raid Ben’s wardrobe - more specifically, his dirty laundry basket - for hoodies smelled like him. One of which you’re currently wearing as you sit on the couch, curled up with Oscar, watching The Office reruns.

It’s getting pretty late, and you had a long work day, so you feel your eyelids getting heavier by the moment as you wait for your boyfriend to get home.

Eventually, you’re unable to stop yourself from drifting off on the couch. You don’t know how long you’re out for, but when you wake up, you feel a gentle hand caressing your face.

“Hey there, sleepyhead.”

“Ben?” you yawn, eyes still shut.

It takes you a moment to come to your senses, but when you open your eyes and see Ben’s bright blue-green ones staring back at you, you fling yourself at him. He’s crouched on the floor next to you, and he shifts back onto his bum so he can pull you into his lap and hold you close.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he mumbles into your neck, his low voice and breathy whisper completely intoxicating you. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” you say, your hands clutching at the material of his t-shirt. “You have no idea how long those two weeks felt.”

“Oh, trust me, I do,” Ben says, pulling back so he can take your face in his hands and kiss you firmly.

You missed his kisses like crazy, how his lips feel like a drug as they capture yours. You can’t get enough of him, especially after all these days apart.

You’re interrupted by Oscar joining the two of you on the floor, nuzzling Ben for some attention. You really can’t blame the dog - you know he missed him too.

“There’s my boy,” Ben says with a smile, petting Oscar. “Thanks again for watching him, Y/N.”

“Of course, babe.”

You smile, moving to stand up, but Ben swiftly wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you down to the couch, covering your face and neck with more kisses as you laugh loudly.

“I love you wearing my clothes,” Ben murmurs, slipping his hand under the hoodie to caress your bare back. “But I also really wanna take this off you right now, if you’re not too tired.”

“Please, I’ve been thinking about this for two weeks straight, and those Instagram photos of you training the other day drove me mad,” you say, watching him grin for a moment before pulling him in for another searing kiss. “Take me upstairs, Chilly.”

Ben happily complies, scooping you up by your thighs so you can wrap your legs around his waist and beginning to carry you to his bedroom.

yourusername via stories

charlottewright via stories

benchilwell

📍London, United Kingdom

liked by yourusername, reecejames and others

benchilwell There’s no place like home 💙

tagged: yourusername

yourusername 😘

charlottewright so adorable!! (I’m talking about Oscar ofc)

jackgrealish Nice one mate 😊

You only have a couple of days to enjoy your little bubble of reunion bliss before Ben is back into the thick of training at Cobham.

His first match of the season is a home game at Stamford Bridge, and you can’t wait to see him playing for the club again after a couple months off.

The morning of the game, you and Charlotte get ready in your matching Chelsea shirts - yours with Chilwell on the back, hers with Mount.

It’s a different experience entirely being at the Bridge now that your relationship is known to the public. You can feel many eyes on you and Charlotte as you make your way to your seats.

It’s an exciting match against Leeds, with the score tied 1-1 at halftime. You’re happy to see Ben is playing very well, among one of the best performances you’ve ever seen from him, and even assisted a goal for Conor in the first fifteen minutes.

You’ve always cared about football, about your club winning, but never like this. You’re so invested that it’s like you’re on the pitch yourself, wincing at every bad pass and jumping up in your seat every time the ball reaches the penalty area.

Your brother texts you during the break, and you can’t help but chuckle at his message.

Max - 3:48PM Your boy’s on fire 🔥

You - 3:49PM Yeppppp 💙

Max - 3:50PM You’re whipped sis 😉

Although you roll your eyes and ignore your brother’s message, he isn’t wrong. It’s almost frightening how much Ben consumes your every thought, how you have to force yourself to concentrate on work throughout the day rather than the way he touched you the night before or the sweet texts he sends you while he’s at training.

You’ve almost told him you love him a couple times now, but you keep chickening out at the last minute. You know it’s true from the very bottom of your heart and the depths of your soul, but you’re terrified of saying it.

Things are getting pretty serious between you two, there’s no denying that. You definitely get the vibe that Ben feels the same way you do, but he’s still a twenty-something and a professional athlete and, frankly, a super fit guy.

Despite how it may seem, you can’t help but feel a bit worried that it will all end, that he’ll get sick of you and move on to the next girl or decide he needs to focus on football.

“You alright?” Charlotte asks you as the second half begins.

You quickly snap out of your train of thought and nod, focusing once again on the match.

Things remain heated as the game continues, with Chelsea playing a strong defense but struggling to move forward. As they move into added time, it’s looking like it’s going to be a draw - not the result you hoped for, but a point nonetheless.

It happens so quickly you barely have time to react, but one moment the Leeds defender has possession and a second later, Ben has the ball and is running quickly toward the goal. The other team tries to stop him, but he deftly avoids their efforts to tackle him and kicks the ball toward the net.

Your breath catches in your throat as you wait to see if it went in, and then the stadium erupts with cheers.

You and Charlotte both jump up and down and hug each other tightly, overwhelmed with excitement at such an incredible goal in the final moments.

“Shit, I think I might actually like football now,” Charlotte laughs as you settle down a bit.

The both of you run down to the tunnels, trying to beat the foot traffic of the many fans exiting the stadium and get to your boys as quickly as possible.

There’s an electric atmosphere in the changing room when you get down there, one of the assistant coaches recognizing you and letting you in. The boys are blaring music and passing beers around, obviously happy with this great start to the season after struggling in the last one.

Ben thrusts his beer bottle into Reece’s hand when he sees you and runs over to you. You meet him halfway and jump into his arms. The excitement has both of you a bit carried away, as you immediately start kissing passionately in front of all his mates.

A few of the lads - and Charlotte - wolf whistle as you kiss him, running your fingers through his sweaty hair, but you couldn’t care less.

“Oi, Chilly, get a room!”

Ben breaks the kiss, probably to tell the guys to bugger off, but another thought seems to occur to him as he takes your hand and leads you down the hall and into an empty physio room.

He dives in to kiss you again, and after a few quick pecks, you pull back and hold his face in both hands.

“What is it, love?” Ben asks you, a smile still on his face.

You admire his bright eyes, his winning grin and contagious energy for a moment, moving your hands to his biceps and squeezing softly.

“It’s just…you,” you admit shyly, your cheeks a bit rosy. “You were so incredible today, and I always love watching you play, but this match was really something else. You’re so special, Ben, both on and off the pitch, and I just-“

“I love you,” Ben exhales, his wide eyes staring into yours.

You stare back at him from a moment, trying to process his words. “You…”

“I love you, Y/N,” he repeats, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

The grin on your face is blinding as you wrap your arms tighter around his neck, replying those words over and over again in your mind.

Ben loves you, and everything is perfect.

“I love you too, Ben,” you say softly, brushing your nose against his.

He smiles just as bright as he leans in to kiss you again, this time holding your waist tightly and bringing you flush against his body.

It’s a bit of a challenge to kiss at first with how much you’re both smiling, but then Ben starts to trail kisses down your neck and your breath hitches.

Without a second thought, you instinctively reach down to tug his shirt off, wanting to feel every inch of his skin against yours.

“Is the door locked?” you mumble as he helps you remove his shirt and then reaches for yours.

“Yeah,” Ben breathes against your lips, squeezing your waist. “Are you sure? I don’t have much time, I need to shower and go do press-“

“We’d better be quick then,” you grin, pulling the shirt with his name on the back up and over your head.

Ben stares at you in complete awe for a few seconds before reaching out and hoisting you up into his arms, carefully setting you down on the physio table.

He helps you out of your jeans quickly before pulling down his shorts, and you can see how hard he already is for you. You know you’re ready for him, too, feeling the familiar ache between your thighs as his strong arms maneuver you so you’re at his entrance.

“You ready, love?” he mumbles against your lips as he pulls your knickers down.

You nod once and he slides into you, both of you inhaling sharply at the contact. He begins to quickly thrust into you as you cling to his shoulders.

“You feel so good, baby,” Ben moans into your neck. “Can’t believe - can’t believe you’re mine-“

“I’m all yours, Ben,” you say, cutting yourself off with a high-pitched moan as he hits a particularly sensitive spot inside you. “You looked so good out there today, I couldn’t wait to have you inside me…”

“Fuck, Y/N,” Ben groans, your words obviously encouraging him as he begins to thrust harder and faster into you. “I’m not gonna last long-“

“And when you scored that goal…you made me so proud, Ben,” you continue, kissing his shoulder. “I love you so much-“

“Babe, I’m gonna-“

Ben lets out a low moan as he comes, his face buried in your neck. You run your fingers through his hair as he rides it out, him leaving little kisses on your collarbone before eventually pulling out of you and grabbing a couple tissues to clean both of you up.

“Sorry, baby, couldn’t help it,” Ben laughs softly, leaning in to kiss you on the lips before tugging his underwear back on. “You talking about the match like that, and telling me you love me…”

He stares at you in disbelief for another moment, and you pull him back into your arms to rest your forehead against his.

“It’s alright,” you smile. “You deserved a little reward for that goal. And because I love you.”

“I love you too,” Ben says again, a massive grin on his face.

He begins to trail kisses down your breasts and toward your stomach, and as much as you don’t want it to stop, you place a hand on his shoulder and gently push him away.

“I can’t leave you hanging, babe!” Ben protests, and you just lovingly roll your eyes.

“You’ve got interviews, and you really need a shower first,” you tease him, making Ben furrow his eyebrows in response. “You can finish me off later.”

“Oh, I intend to,” Ben smiles. “Many, many times.”

With the anticipation of that happening when you get home, you rush to get dressed and get Ben back into the changing room as soon as possible so he can get any press he has to do over with.

“There’s our man of the match,” Kai chuckles as you walk back in, clapping Ben’s shoulder.

Ben is still holding your hand, and Charlotte and Mason rush over to you guys, Charlotte discreetly reaching out to fix your hair. You realize it must still be visibly messy from your little rendezvous, meaning it’s probably fairly obvious what you and Ben just did - if it wasn’t already.

“Looks like Chilly scored twice today,” Mason jokes, only loud enough for the four of you to hear, and you elbow him in the ribs as Ben glares at him and Charlotte laughs.

“Shut it, Mount,” you roll your eyes before turning back to Ben. “Go shower, I’ll see you after the interviews.”

“Okay,” Ben smiles, jogging off to the showers.

You watch him go before turning around to chat with Charlotte and Mason, trying to tame the blush arising on your cheeks. You’re not really that embarrassed, though - you and Ben have been together for months now, and you’re not ashamed to reward your man for such a performance.

As you’re asking Mason a question about the game, you feel a hand grab your waist, and before you can react you’re being pulled into one more kiss.

“Ben,” you chuckle against his lips, “what’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing, I just love you,” he says casually but loud enough for everyone to hear, planting one more kiss on your lips before running away again.

All the boys laugh and cheer as Ben disappears once again into the showers, leaving you standing there completely smitten and totally overwhelmed by how much you love this man.

You feel like you’re floating on a cloud, and at this moment, you don’t think there’s anything that could bring you down.

benchilwell

📍 Stamford Bridge

liked by yourusername, masonmount and others

benchilwell Good start to the season back at the Bridge 💙

tagged: chelseafc

yourusername Amazing game 💙💙💙

chelsfangirl Omg they are so cute

bluesforever If Chilly having a gf means he plays like that then I’m here for it

yourusername via stories

hope you enjoyed the fluff...before the storm 🤯

next chapter 💙

#ben chilwell #ben chilwell x reader #ben chilwell x y/n #ben chilwell imagine #chelsea fc imagine #bens got a bit of a praise kink in this one hahah #komh

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punk4ndisorderly · 11 months

Text

light on

The one where Y/N is the daughter of a legendary Team USA coach and used to attend the development program with the boys. 8 years after they last saw each other in person, a reunion brings Jack and Y/N back into each other’s lives... and hearts.

if you keep the light on, i'll keep the light on

XVI XVII - fools rush in (where angels fear to tread) XVIII

Y/N Y/L/N wasn’t one to run away. She never turned her back on a challenge or a problem. Nothing made her take a step back, not even the stickiest of situations. The infamous coach's daughter always grabbed the bull by its horns. But, as soon as Jack Hughes confessed having feelings for her, she shut down. From that moment on, all she could hear was static, as his lips continued moving, until she blurted out a simple oh.

The look on his face was one Y/N would never forget, as they gazed at each other under the moonlight and billions of bright stars. He stood there waiting, hopeful she’d add something to the discourse marker she’d managed to muster at first.

A quick I have to go escaped her mouth, turning away from her friend in a haste, fastening her pace in fear he’d catch up.

As she approached the log trellis, the teacher realized he hadn’t been following her. From afar, Y/N could distinguish his tall frame by the tree where, less than a couple of minutes before, they had shared their first kiss.

Their first kiss.

Her mind was racing a thousand miles an hour, his taste still imprinted on her now semi-smudged lips, a red flush staining her cheeks and her heart thumping loudly in her chest. She felt like a deer caught in headlights, completely blindsided, not by the kiss and Jack’s words, but by the way they had woken in her the need for more. More kisses. More gentle touches. More embraces. More heartfelt speeches. And, god, did that mortify her.

Celebration, by Kool & The Gang was playing in the speakers, as the live band was given a well-deserved break. Y/N glanced around the venue, spotting several of her friends. Finding River on the dancefloor, hopping around in a circle with little kids, she rushed to his side, tapping his shoulder to get his attention.

“Do you mind if I take off? Dad is driving you guys to the airport, right?”

“Yeah, dad’s got us covered. It’s still so early though, what happened?” her brother inquired, seeing the distressed look on his little sister's face.

“I need to get home to my girl…” the doctor lied. “She called asking me to… I’m sorry.”

“Ugh, moms.” the groom jokingly groaned, hugging his maid of honor. “Alright, go. You know what to do with David’s car, right?”

“Yes, take it back to your place, park it in the garage, lock up.”

“Keys?”

“Home.”

“Not your set of my house keys, you dork. The car keys. Do you know where they are?”

“I- ”

“Our room, in the bedside table’s first drawer.”

“Thanks, Riv… It was an amazing wedding.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” he smiled proudly, bumping hos hip against Y/N's.

“Absolutely.” the doctor replied, preparing herself to leave.

“Hey!” River called out, waiting for his sister to stop and face him again. “Thank you. For everything.”

Y/N acknowledged hid gratitude with a small smile, moving to quickly say goodbye to her parents and her friends, pick up her bag and David’s car keys from the cabin and get on the road.

The doctor desperately needed to clear her head and process the turn of events. A wave of remorse washed over her as she reached the gated community’s exit and drove past them without looking back.

What was she doing? What was he thinking? How was she supposed to handle the storm of emotions brewing up inside her at that very moment?

Seeing that David’s car was running out of fuel, Y/N exited the highway to pull up at a gas station. The cool breeze brought her out of the current state of self-induced shock forcing her to take a deep breath and slow her heart rate. While the helpful employee filled up the tank, she turned on the radio, hoping loud music would help drown out the sound of Jack's words, which were still resounding in her ears.

Skipping through several radio stations, the doctor settled for the only one that wasn’t playing sappy love songs.

Jack stood there, helpless and frozen, as the woman he had professed his affection to walked away from him, quickly disappearing from his sight, back to the ever-growing party in the trellis.

The Devils' player thought he’d feel crushed if she rejected him, but he was surprised to discover that inside him resided a glimmer of hope. The only thing he wasn’t sure of was whether it was hope for something more or simply just hope for normalcy. Maybe he hadn’t completely screwed up their friendship. Y/N had always been the reasonable one and he knew that, above everything else, they were good friends.

For a moment, while the brunette man held her face in his hands and their lips were connected in a kiss, he believed her heart had ignited as his did. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking.

Running his fingers through his grown-out hair, Jack let out a deep sigh. The relief he had felt once the words had rushed out of his mouth was replaced with concern for Y/N. There was no denying his confession had left her stunned and speechless. He fought the natural instinct to hide after his ego was bruised and headed back to the venue, wanting to make sure that she was okay. As soon as he stepped foot inside, Trevor put him in a headlock, cheering triumphantly.

“My man!”

“Jesus, Z, let go of me.” Jack grunted, struggling to free himself from his friend’s tight hold.

“Damn, dude, I didn’t think you had in you… Thank god you found a pair of balls!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” the Devils' player huffed, untangling himself from Trevor's embrace and scanning through the crowd, looking for Y/N.

“You told her! I know you did. She came in here all red and disheveled, telling everyone she was going home.” his friend stated, making quotation marks using his fingers. “But I saw her sneak into the cabin a few minutes ago. You’re fast on track, aren’t you, you dirty bastard?” he teased, elbowing Jack's side.

The brunette man slapped Trevor in the back of his head, annoyed over his bad timing and apparent lack of sensibility.

“Okay, okay, I won’t make any remarks about your sex life again, chill.”

“You said she was at the cabin?” he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah. If you need protection, you know where to – okay, you’re walking away. Very polite.” the blond man grumbled, stirring his Long Island iced tea with the small umbrella that came with it. “Ellen would be appalled!”

* Jack swung the front door open, after nearly tripping while skipping three steps at a time to get there. The living room was empty, not a flicker of light inside illuminating it, encouraging him to check the bedrooms.

Their room appeared to be untouched, every trace of her presence erased from it. By that time, Y/N was probably long gone.

The Devils' player sat down on the edge of the bed they had slept in the night before, his head deciding to replay the entire weekend again. The laughter, the confessions, the stares, the adoring smiles. Whatever happened from that point on, he’d always remember the way he felt when his lips touched hers, when her big eyes looked into his, when her tiny frame fit perfectly in his as they slept.

“Jack?”

He glanced at the door, finding Leo peeping through it with an inquisitive look on his face.

“What’s up, little man?”

“Are you okay?” the little boy asked, coming in, accompanied by River and David’s three dogs, who ran up to the Devils' player excitedly, placing their paws on his legs, waiting for him to pet them.

“Hey, guys! Aren’t you all fired up?” he laughed at his furry friends, that were now competing for his attention, their tails wagging rapidly from side to side. “Yeah. I am. Why wouldn’t I be, Leo?”

“Y/N left and she looked worried, you came after her and now you’re sitting here like you’ve been grounded.”

“You followed me inside to come check up on me?” Jack prodded, receiving a simple nod in response. “Do your parents know where you are?”

“No…. You were walking really fast.” Leo admitted, looking down at his feet.

“You shouldn’t have done that… Your mom must be losing it by now, buddy. Come on, I’ll take you back to the reception.” he offered, getting up and leading the seven-year-old by his shoulders, followed closely by their three furry companions.

“I know…” the boy uttered. “Sorry, Jack.”

“For what?” the hockey player raised an eyebrow, as he accompanied Sean's son to the venue.

“I know you like Y/N and you’re sad she left. I’m sorry about that.”

Jack looked back at the cabin one more time, forcing himself to walk away. “Me too, Leo. Me too.”

The doctor held her daughter’s sleeping body in her arms as she hurried inside to get her to bed, struggling to carry her luggage as she did so.

Giving her ex-husband nothing more than an I just missed her and I’m really tired as an excuse to have left River and David’s wedding that early, Y/N drove to her house, at two in the morning, wanting nothing more than to be with her girl and her girl only. Back to normal. If everything went back to the way it was before the reunion she wouldn’t get hurt. She couldn’t get hurt. Not again.

Laying Joey on the bed and pulling the covers over her tiny frame, the petite woman immediately took off her shoes, heading to her room, where she hastily undressed herself, jumping into the shower.

Her beautiful hairdo fell apart as she took off the tiny bobby pins that held it in their restraints. Y/N's locks cascaded down her bare shoulders, while she washed off the physical remnants of Jack's touch from the skin he had traced with the tip of his fingers throughout the day.

The burning hot water relaxed her tense back muscles and tired legs, but it couldn’t ease her mind. It raced even faster than before, now that there was no music, no sound to be heard other than the antagonistic voices in her head. There were mostly thoughts of incredulity, confusion and denial but, a tiny little voice in the back of her mind reminded her that, before she pulled back, she had lingered on his kiss and reveled in the way his lips felt against hers. Taking a deep breath, the doctor got out of the shower, dripping her dripping wet, naked body in a soft towel.

Running her hands through her damp hair, Y/N looked up at the vintage mirror above the washbasin, her eyes meeting her reflection.

“Shit!” she cursed out once she saw the black streaks of her eyeliner and mascara staining her cheeks.

She had neglected to remover her makeup before taking a shower, which went against every rule she had established for herself when it came to skincare. She took pride in how well she treated her skin and how it still resisted the toll the sun took on most people’s complexion.

Taking the makeup remover and a pad from a drawer, applying the baby blue liquid on the cotton, Y/N ran it softly all over her face, avoiding rubbing it in. Ending her nighttime routine by brushing her pearly white teeth, her hair, and then lightly tapping an overnight mask onto her skin, the teacher padded to her large, empty bed.

All she could hear now was the steady rhythm of her heart, demanding her to feel something. Anything.

Reaching for her phone, buried deep in her carry-on, she quickly dialed a number she’d known by heart for years.

“Hello?” Jack answered his phone, a hint of uncertainty laced in his voice.

“Baby!”

“Oh…” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose yet again, hearing a cheery female voice coming from the other end. “Hi mom.”

“Gee, no need to get that excited when you get a call from your mother!” Ellen chuckled.

“Sorry.” the brunette man muttered, clearing his throat as Alex walked by, obviously determined to do his best to disrupt his call, as usual. “It’s…” he stopped to take a glance at his wristwatch. “Really late. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I’m just playing cards with dad. He's kicking my ass.”

“As usual.” Jack teased, now in a lighter mood.

“Ouch! Seriously?”

“We all know dad is the best player in our family.”

“Yeah… I know…” the older woman agreed. “Anyway, just wanted to check in on you. “How’s the wedding going?”

Alex was now prancing back and forth in front of him, dancing the tango with a nonexistent partner. Dipping the make-believe dancer, he proceeded to kiss them passionately, making loud noises as he did.

“Oh, Jack, yes, kiss me. Kiss me right there.” his friend moaned in a pitchy voice.

The Devils' player rolled his eyes jokingly, stretching his leg to lightly kick his behind as his way of ordering him to go away.

“It’s going great, yeah.” he answered his mother.

“How’s Y/N?” Ellen Hughes prodded not-so-subtly.

“Oh, I see what this is about.”

“What?”

“Trevor's your mole, isn’t he? He told you about what happened.” Jack stated.

Alex stopped fooling around, his curiosity peaking at that very moment, wondering what Trevor has been babbling to Jack’s mother about.

“Well, Trevor keeps Luke posted, and Luke, as you know, isn’t that hard to bribe.” his mother admitted.

“Did you make him pizza for dinner?”

“Chocolate chip cookies as well.” Ellen added, glancing at her husband, who was shuffling the cards with his eyes set on her.

“Are you guys still betting on my love life?”

“Of course not!” the older woman protested, feigning hurt. “Well, kind of. But you know it’s just our competitive nature coming out. We all love you and want you to be happy.”

“You guys are hopeless… I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Love you.” Jack said softly, too tired to fight his doting mother, hanging up after she bid him goodbye.

Shoving his large phone in his pocket and doing the same with his hands, he walked around the venue, watching everyone having a good time from the outside.

The guests continued to go about the celebration, oblivious to the turmoil inside the hockey player's head. Should he call her? Text her? The worry he was feeling clouded his judgement as he looked up her number on his phone.

“No, you’re not doing that.” Trevor stated, grabbing the mobile device from his hands. “I’m keeping this in my possession to stop you from being clingy.”

“I was just going to check if she’s okay, alright? I think I scared her off.”

“Give her time, man. Junior will reach out to you when she’s ready to talk, don’t worry.”

Jack showed his friend a small smile, patting his shoulder.

“You’re kind of wise at two-thirty in the morning, hu?”

“Call me Trevoda.”

“What is a Trevoda, exactly?”

“Me as Yoda. Duh.” Trevor explained, as if it was obvious.

“Oh, yeah. Definitely, Tr-” the singer stopped himself, a smirk playing on his lips. “Trevoda.”

“Mock me all you want, I may become bigger than Deepak Chopra one day.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Y/N Y/L/N wasn’t one to run away. She never turned her back on a challenge or a problem. Nothing made her take a step back, not even the stickiest of situations. The doctor always grabbed the bull by its horns. But the morning after one of her closest friend’s wedding, Y/N felt like the bull had run her over with such violence she swore she had bruises all over her soul. The confusion, the craving of something more, the history she couldn’t rewrite. They all took a toll on a soul that had been nearly crushed years ago and had, since then, wanted nothing more than peace.

The doorbell rung loudly, announcing Cole's arrival. When Y/N called him in the early hours of the morning, Cole could tell by the tone of her voice the conversation they were about to have wasn’t supposed to happen over the phone. Wherever they were, whoever they were with, they had always made sure to be there for each other in times of need, and he assured her he'd come over in the morning with breakfast to discuss whatever had happened at River and David’s wedding.

Rubbing her tired eyes with the back of her hands and looking away from any mirrors or reflective surfaces she crossed paths with on her way to the front of her house, the teacher used the peephole to confirm the people waiting outside were Cole and Olive, her friendholding several paper bags in his hands. She quickly unlocked the door, opening her arms wide to immediately hug the friendly dog. “How’s my favorite doing today?” Y/N, kissing her head.

“A little bit tired, but I’m okay…" Cole replied, jokingly. "Where’s Jo?”

“She’s still asleep. Let Olivia loose and I bet she'll get her and the pup up."

The blond man did as suggested, telling his faithful partner to go get Joey and Finn.

The coach's daughter turned to him, one eye closed and a lopsided smile on her face.

“Hey.” his friend greeted her, setting the bags he had brought on the floor.

“Hi.” Y/N sighed, being pulled into a tight hug.

The pair stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, finding comfort in their decade-old friendship. Loud shrieks were heard from the stairwell, letting them know Joey wascoming down to get their sugary breakfast, followed closely by a very excited Olive and Finn. Y/N turned to them, placing both of her hands on her hips.

“I was thinking you could have breakfast in the living room today… Spongebob’s probably on right now… What do you say?”

Joey nodded, smiling up at her mother.

“You’re the best, mommy!” her daughter cheered, hugging her legs.

“Alright, lovebug, come on, let’s get you some food.” she chuckled in response, truing to walk to the kitchen with a five-year-old attached to one of her lower limbs. “Come on Olive. Let's go, Finn."

Leaving the milk carton in the living room for her daughterand handing her a colorful mug, along with the Lucky Charms and donuts Cole had brought, the doctor quickly put the Moka pot on the stove, brewing up the hot beverage to the distant sound of Monday morning cartoons. She then proceeded to go about her normal morning routine, sliding the back door open for her small companion to go outside if needed be.

Her friend watched her attentively, picking up the fried dough confectionery she had been craving for hours from the paper box that rested on the kitchen island and silently devouring it. He knew Y/N coping mechanisms all revolved around keeping herself as busy as she could. She eventually stopped running around the room, leaning against the counter and eating without saying a word.

“I need to paint." the coach's daughter blurted out after a couple of minutes, picking ip her mug and heading upstairs.

“Jesus, Junior.” Cole fretted, going after her.

“What?” she muttered, while washing her face and securing her hair up in a bun.

“You need to tell me what went on last night. Trevor won’t open his mouth for once in his life, you look like you haven’t slept at all and haven’t stopped to talk since I got here."

Y/N took off her pajama shorts and Rolling Stones t-shirt, putting on a sports bra, her old grey sweatshirt, and paint-covered sweatpants, before glancing at her blond friend and gulping down a bit more of her coffee.

“Come outside.” she hummed. “If you need a change of clothes, I have a couple more things I use when I’m painting in my closet. They’re the last ones on the right. They probably fit you.”

Ignoring the owner of the house’s offer, the hockey player treaded behind her, wondering what the hell had happened for Y/N to be this eager to paint just twenty minutes after getting out of bed. Stepping out into the side of the house, where the doctor kept her painting corner, he waited patiently as his friend sorted out the colors and picked up a white canvas, which she set up on her easel.

Y/N bit the inside of her cheek, dipping the tip of her brush on the glass of water beside her, taking a deep breath before finally saying the dreaded words out loud for the first time.

“Jack kissed me last night.”

Cole stood there, his mouth wide open and a huge smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“God, yes!”

The doctor stopped mixing the colors in the palette, raising an eyebrow. “God, yes? That’s your take on what happened?”

“Well, yeah! I think you two would make a great pair, you already knew that!” her friend replied, observing the way Y/N stroked the paintbrush over the canvas. “What went down next?”

“He said he liked me and he gave me all these reasons why… And I froze, like a complete idiot.” she admitted, not daring to meet Cole's inquisitive eyes.

“You froze?”

“Yeah. And when I could finally move I literally ran off.”

“Oh, Y/N…” the hockey player groaned, covering his face with his hands. “What the hell? Why didn’t you - ”

“You know I can’t, Cole.”

“Why not? Seriously, give me three good reasons why.” she demanded. “You don’t like him?”

“Of course I do. Jack's amazing. But I can’t – I can’t do it again... These past few weeks we’ve been reconnecting, and it’s been wonderful, but I won’t allow it to go any further than a friendship. He just… He just took it too far.”

“Oh, come on! Are you twelve? You like him, he likes you. Give it a go!”

“You know damn well why I’m like this! Did you ever stop to think about what I went through for years while you’re out here fantasizing about a possible relationship between Jack and I? Hu?” the doctor raised her voice, the movements of her brush becoming quicker and more erratic. “I couldn’t speak my mind, I couldn’t spend my money on whatever I wanted, I was estranged form my parents, my friends. My soul was beat down, pushed around and nearly crushed. I was only left with a tiny amount of strength and I had to will myself to use it to ask for a divorce and raise my daughter on my own. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I was a mess! A complete, insecure mess, dependent on another person’s twisted version of love. Do you know what it’s like to be belittled by the person you love? To feel so small you could literally vanish? Thank god Joey was too small to remember the person I was becoming back then… When Jack kissed me, I wanted more and I promised myself not to want more anymore. I am not going to lose sight of who I am. I can’t risk having to go through that much heartache again. I won’t.” she croaked out, her voice shaking with raw emotion.

“Jack isn’t Charlie. You can’t just write about him on your little journal. And pretend like that way you’ll forget what you went through. I know it’s your therapeutic take on these things, but you can’t do that again. You’re still hurting, I know. It takes time, it takes love. You’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, you’re so brave. You’ve been through hell and back because of the first man you fully gave your heart to but I won’t let make that the reason why you deny yourself to let love in from this point on. Y/N, you have to give yourself permission to be free. Set yourself free from all the moronic demons from your past, all the voices in your head that make you believe you shouldn’t give a wonderful man a change to make you hap – well, happier.” Cole pleaded, holding his friend by the shoulders, pulling her away from the half-done painting she had managed to work on while pouring her heart out.

Y/N took a moment to let her words sink in.

“I don’t know, Cole. What if- ”

“Life’s too damn short for your what if’s, Y/L/N. I know you feel like you owe Jack an explanation, even though you don’t. If you do decide to talk to him, and you will, because I know you, you should tell him exactly what you told me.”

“How?” she spoke quietly, feeling like she was a little girl again.

“I don’t know… Draw him a picture.”

In this world Cole has custody of olive pawfield and is spending some downtime in NY... bear with me

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