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sillyrabbit81 · 3 years

Text

Tropesville

Summary: Mikaela owes her neighbour Sy a favour so when he invites her to a wedding, she can hardly say no. Why would she want to say no when she has had a crush on him for years? The weekend wedding turns out to be more complicated than either of them bargained for. Would the budding romance be over before it even begins? When will the tropes end?

Pairing: Captain Syverson x OFC (Mikaela)

Word Count: approx. 2.7k

Warnings: None this chapter. Don’t worry, there will be smut in future chapters.

Authors note: I got a prompt from @omgkatinka and I started it as a one-shot and thought, nah, I could do heaps with this and it just kept expanding. Anyway, I hope you all like it.

Thanks to @amberangel112 @henryobsessed and @blakerogue for all their help on this.

Prompt from @omgkatinka

Ages ago, when you just moved into your fixer upper home, your neighbour Sy helped you with some emergency repair at your house. You back then told him, you owed him big time. Considering he got deployed shortly after that, you basically forgot about it. Up to now, that he's standing on your porch and requesting you to go with him to some distant cousin's wedding as his date since you owe him...

Masterlist

Chapter Two

Tropesville

Chapter One

Mikaela POV

I woke up with a start and felt a pounding in my head. I put my hand to my temple and I realised the pounding wasn’t coming from in my head but was coming from the front door. Whoever was knocking must have been there for quite a while. For the millionth time, I reminded myself I had to get a doorbell. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes and groaning, I rolled out of bed pulling my robe on as the knocking kept going.

“Hold on!” I yelled at the door. “Keep your shirt on, I’m coming.”

Opening the door, I had to blink several times, the morning sun was eclipsed by the huge frame of a man in my doorway. I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the brightness and was surprised by who stood there.

“Sy?” I asked the dark figure. “That you?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” the body said with the smooth drawling baritone of my neighbour.

Taking a step forward the angle of the sun changed and I could see that it was him. “Hey!” I shouted, pleased and surprised. I had thought I’d never see him again after I saw his girlfriend Liza and a bunch of moving guys outside his house about six months ago. I thought they had decided to move while Sy was on deployment, maybe to the bigger house Liza always wanted. “When did you get home?” I put my arms out for a hug and obliging, Sy bent a little and wrapped one of his huge arms around me, giving me a little squeeze.

I let him go, but he held on a moment longer. I didn’t mind, he gave great hugs. I always felt warm and safe, it was like hugging a big bear. Eventually, released me and said, “I got back the day before yesterday.”

Getting a good look at Sy’s face I stifled a gasp. I almost reached out and touched his face, so shocked was I at the new thick, unkept beard he had grown. His curly hair was gone and his hair was cut so short it stood like little spikes all over his head. I’d never seen him like this, and while it was a shame to cover up his handsome face, I couldn’t deny that the beard and military hair cut made the bullish Sy look even more brutish. I bit my lip and chastised myself for thinking of him that way. Hoping to cover up my thoughts, I tried to sound casual as I pointed to his face, “This is new.”

For a moment it looked like Sy had no idea what I was talking about, so I rubbed my cheeks and chin. Sy chuckled, a smile broke across his face and I saw that you could still make out his dimples underneath the coarse hair. “Yeah, well I normally shave it off before I come home, but I figured I didn’t see the point this time.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I shrugged it off and indicated to Sy the porch chair. “Do you want some tea or coffee?” Then with a smirk, I said, “I suppose even for you it’s too early for beer.”

“Yeah, I reckon it is,” Sy said taking a seat and returning my smile. “I’m fine, Darlin’,” he added and my heart skipped. I can never not react when he calls me that. The fact he called most women Darlin’ didn’t matter, it was the way he said it that made me tingle.

Sitting on the porch swing and giving myself a little push to get it going I said, “It’s a good thing you came to visit. I’ve been collecting your mail since you guys moved out. I was close to taking them to the post office and returning them to sender. I would have thought Liza would have come to collect it by now.”

Sy looked a little confused. “Why would she get my mail?” It was my turn to be confused until I processed that he had said ‘she’ not ‘Liza’. The sudden comprehension on my face must have been obvious because Sy said bitterly, “Yeah, she broke up with me a few months back. She moved out, I’m still livin’ here.”

“I’m sorry,” I didn’t know what else to say. I felt bad for him. It would suck, having your girlfriend break up with you while you were on deployment. I had always thought Liza was a strange match for Sy, she had seemed both clingy and possessive while also not caring what he did. She also didn’t seem to have the sense of fun that he did, the sometimes silly and boyish humour he had.

We sat in uneasy silence for a while, watching the cars go by while Sy picked at his fingernails. He moved suddenly and said, “The house looks good by the way. Although, you really ought to get a door bell.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve had other priorities, Sy.”

Sy gave me a smirk I would have thought was flirtatious had it come from anyone else and said, “What’s wrong, Darlin’? Did you have another shower incident?”

My cheeks burned as I remembered running out of my house wearing only a sopping wet towel that clung to my body, doing nothing to hide my figure, while I frantically searched for the mains water shut off valve. Sy happened to be coming home at the time and he had quickly jumped out of his truck thinking I was in serious trouble. He had laughed his ass off when I told him what the problem was. However, once he had finished laughing at me, he not only turned the water off but after I had dried and dressed he had taken me to the hardware store and helped me fix the busted pipe that had exploded while I was showering.

Since then, he had often offered to help with my old fixer-upper cottage. He’d see me on the weekends doing a bit of painting or something and offer to help. At first, I’d say no, thinking it’s probably inappropriate considering he had a girlfriend, but after a conversation with Liza, she said Sy hated being bored and she was happy to let him help me. Looking back now, I see Liza was probably just happy to have Sy off her hands so she could do other things. I’d always have a beer or two in my fridge for him after a few hours work and we had sort of become friends.

“No,” I tried not to giggle, I always laughed when I was nervous or embarrassed, which onky increased my self-consciousness. “I suppose I’ll have to find a way to repay you one of these days.”

Sy’s smile became a little forced. “That’s sorta why I’m here.”

“Is everything alright?” I asked concerned.

“Yeah, Darlin’,” Sy said, but he shifted his position in his chair and I didn’t believe him.

“Do you need me to help you with something?” I prompted. The suspense was starting to get to me. What did he want from me?

Sy took a deep breath then, like a geyser, his words fell out in a torrent, “A cousin of mine is getting married and because I didn’t tell them I wasn’t bringin’ anyone they already paid for my plus one and the fiancé is a real bridezilla type and is insistin’ I bring someone.”

“Oh,” I said, still not sure how he wanted me to help him. “Do you want me to set you up with one of my friends?” Sy gave me a strange look. “What? A few of my friends think you’re cute. I’m sure they’d go with you.”

“I’m not explainin’ myself well here, am I?” Sy said. I shook my head and shrugged. He grimaced and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. He looked imposing like that, his short sleeve t-shirt showed off his arms and I tried not to stare while his muscles flex as he waved his hands around. “I was hopin’ you would come with me?”

“Ha!” I laughed. Sy looked a little hurt and I immediately regretted my outburst. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to suppress my amusement. “But that sounds like the beginning of a Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson movie.”

“Who are they?” Sy asked.

Sy’s lack of pop culture knowledge only made my struggle not to giggle worse. “Just some actors in romantic comedies,” I said.

Letting out a chuckle, Sy ran his hand over his short hair, “Yeah, I suppose it does.” Then he looked at me with sincerity and something in his look stopped my laughter. “I just thought we’d have fun, you know. Better you than someone I don’t know at all considerin’ it’s a whole weekend thing.”

I looked down at my hands and picked at bit of misplaced pink nail polish as I mulled the proposal over. He was right, we did get along, but I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. “I don’t know, Sy.”

“Are you datin’ someone?” Sy asked. “Is that why you don’t wanna go?”

I shrugged, “I’ve been on a few dates, but nothing serious. I don’t see a future with any of the guys.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Sy asked a little gruffly.

I wasn’t sure what the problem was. Was it because I had a crush on him since I first saw him get out of his truck and start hauling boxes into his house two years ago? Was it that I had buried those feelings deep within me so that our neighbourly relationship remained respectful? Was it that I hated the fact that he hadn’t asked me on a date but on an ill thought out campaign to not get in trouble from a stressed out bride? Probably all three I admitted to myself. “I don’t know.” I said again. “When is it? The wedding I mean.”

Sy grimaced and said, “Next weekend.” I spluttered and Sy went on, “I know, it’s not giving you much time, but as I said, I only got back a couple of days ago.”

“But, where is the ceremony? What kind of wedding is it? Formal? Cocktail?” I asked, my head whirling, “I don’t think I have anything to wear.” I could feel my stress levels rising, thinking of all the new people I would meet and how awkward I would feel every time they ask Sy if I’m his girlfriend and I’d probably meet his family and… I felt sick already.

“It’s about three hours away,” Sy said. “I was gonna drive there Thursday night, Friday afternoon is some rehearsal, family dinner thing. Wedding’s on Saturday and come home Sunday.” A whole long weekend. With Sy. My stomach flipped at the thought. I glanced at him, he was giving me an encouraging smile. “C’mon. Say yes. It’ll be fun. I ain’t close to that side of my family, especially since Mom passed away. It’ll be an excuse to get as drunk as Cooter Brown. I ain’t had a chance to do that for a while.”

I laughed thinking about the few times I had seen Sy drunk. The worst was the time he had helped me replace all my light switches and I’d had to get Liza to help me carry his ass next door. He was a good drunk though, funny, a little flirtatious, a little touchy feely, but never crossing the line or getting aggressive. “I don’t know if that’s convincing me, Sy,” I teased. “Besides, I still don’t have anything to wear.”

“Yeah, you do. What about that green dress you wear on dates sometimes?” Sy said and my head whipped around to look at him. “You wear that white cardigan with it too. You always look real pretty in that.”

For a moment I was speechless. How the hell did he remember what I wore on dates? “I suppose I could wear that,” I spoke slowly, but my mind was racing and my heart thudded in my chest. Guys don’t remember shit like that. Maybe Sy was just one of those people that were good at memorising details, I suppose being in the military having good observation skills would come in handy. But on the other hand, maybe it meant something more that he remembered an outfit of mine and thought I looked pretty.

Sy’s face brightened, “So you’ll come?”

“I guess,” I said resigned. I had the feeling it would be the best weekend of my life or the worst.

“That’s great, Darlin’. We’ll paint the town and the front porch.”

Chortling at his Southernism, I looked down, trying to get control of my emotions. I didn’t want Sy to see my growing excitement, nor did I want to read too much into Sy’s invitation. It seemed a flimsy excuse, needing to take a plus one, but it could be the truth. My sister had been a bride like that, every small thing became a huge drama and we all did things to placate her. Maybe Sy just didn’t want to deal with her bullshit. Maybe. But maybe he wanted more.

Chancing a glance, I looked at Sy. He was staring at me and for a moment our eyes met. I wanted to tear my gaze away but his clear blue eyes held me as his lips pulled back into a grin.

“It’s good to see you again, Mikaela,” Sy said, warmly. My breath caught as he said my name and I looked away quickly, hoping he wouldn’t see my blush. He almost never said my name, and never had he said it in such a deep and rich tone.

“You too,” I said and added shyly, “Noah.” My eyes flicked briefly to his and it seemed that his smile had gotten bigger, but I couldn’t be sure. Feeling a little uncomfortable I stood quickly. I swayed, woozy as my heart briefly struggled to pump blood to my head.

Sy’s hands were on my hips steadying. His face was in mine asking, “Are you ok, Sugar?” He was so close and as my vision stopped swimming, it took everything I had not to try and kiss him. I blinked, getting a hold of myself. What was I thinking?

I let out an embarrassed titter. “Fine,” I said, sidestepping out of Sy’s hold. “I just stood up too quickly is all. I get low blood pressure in the mornings, especially if I haven’t eaten.” Sy didn’t look quite convinced but nodded. “I’ll be back in a second, I’ll just grab your mail.”

Quick as I could I got the surprisingly thin bundle of mail and handed it to Sy. There wasn’t much there for six months’ worth of bills and correspondence.

Sy was standing near the door when I returned and I passed him the envelopes. He thanked me and stood there, hitting them over the palm of his free hand absentmindedly. The silence between us was growing awkward so I asked, “What time should I be ready to leave on Thursday?”

Sy looked relieved as he said, “Is five okay? That way we can check in around eight and grab a bite to eat.”

“That sounds good,” I assured him. I would have to juggle a few things at work, but it would be fine.

Grinning again, he said, “It’s a date then.” I felt my eyes widen and Sy smirked. “If you want it to be, anyway.” My mouth worked as I tried to think of something to say. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.” Sy bent down to kiss my cheek and I closed my eyes as his warm lips pressed against me and his beard grazed my skin. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He had kissed my cheek like that before, but it felt different now. He had said a date, right?

Sy left then, walking down the porch stairs and across my yard, stepping over the short fence that separated our houses. He waved as he did, my wave back was probably a little lacklustre, I could hardly concentrate on standing, let alone waving. But he was smiling as he went, seemingly a little pleased with himself. I chuckled then, his smug smile pulled out of my daze, he was a cocky bastard.

As soon as he was out of sight, I ran back inside, slamming the door behind me. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to sink to the floor or do a happy dance. I jumped up and down as I allowed the feelings I had suppressed for nearly two years to escape. I couldn’t contain my excitement as I let out a small squeal.

Chapter Two

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