#danny wagner angst

[builtbybrokenbells]

Guilty Pleasures

Due to a strong foundation of trust and a willingness to share, a situation which would normally be catastrophic, seems to turn out to be quite rewarding.

Pairing: danny wagner x f!reader, jake kiszka x f!reader

Word Count: 20.4k (i am so sorry)

Warnings: SMUT 18+, threesome, unprotected/protected sex, rough sex, anal sex, double penetration, oral (f!receiving), oral (m!receiving), face fucking, fingering (f!receiving), dirty talk (lots and lots of dirty talk), choking, biting, name calling, praise, slight impact play, daddy kink, dom/sub, voyeurism, degradation, jealousy, mentions of cheating/thoughts of infidelity, arguing, asshole/shit disturber Jake, angst, fluff, sorry if i miss any!

this is pretty much pure porn. plot at the beginning, but mostly just sex. took a break from gdw for a little while just to straighten my thoughts with it, and came up with this idea and could not stop myself from writing it. it’s super long and very lightly edited, so I do apologize for that. please don’t judge me too hard for this one 😭 as always, be kind, enjoy, and don’t mind any grammar mistakes!

also! italics are the memories/past, everything else is present! thought I’d try something new this time 😁

The chime of the bell above the door signalled the entry of the newest patron of the bar. Normally, you would have eagerly greeted whoever walked in, but tonight, you were caught up in the chaos of the already crowded room. Dollar bills were waving in front of your face, hands raised in the air to catch your attention, and the occasional shout from an impatient customer filled the already loud atmosphere. Beer bottles were flying across the sticky wooden countertop in exchange for cash. Margarita and shot glasses were lined before you, only empty for a moment before they were shoved in the proper direction, too. You were working faster than you could comprehend, barely hanging on but surviving from the thought of your coworkers starting shift in a few minutes.

You took the early shift, thinking that you could breeze through the night with minimal stress and effort. For the most part, you were correct in thinking so. Unfortunately, when the clock struck eight, the city’s nightlife took a dramatic turn. As a result, the bar was quickly overrun with guests desperate for a buzz. Some were understanding, kindness oozing from them as long as they had a drink in their hand. Others were not, but you couldn’t blame them. There were far too many people in the bar for only a single bartender, and that wasn’t really a management issue, either. You were an establishment that was plagued with long time regulars and middle aged men in search of companionship. Every now and then a group of older women would check the place out, but rarely anyone under 30. So, you were confident in saying that it was unusual for you to house so many people in a single night, let alone all at once.

You rushed through your last few customers, serving everyone who had been waiting in hopes that they would still be generous enough to leave a tip. For the most part they were, and for that you were thankful. When the last person retreated, happily sipping on their beverage of choice, you took a moment to breathe. With both hands planted on the countertop and your head towards the floor, you took a much needed minute of rest. When a body presented itself in front of you once more, you thought you might shed a tear just at the thought of fixing another drink. “What are you drinking tonight?” You asked, aiming to sound as cheery as possible.

“You don’t know by now?” At the sound of the familiar tone, your head snapped up in surprise. “I’d be lying if I said that doesn’t hurt.”

“Shut up,” you landed a playful smack on his arm, your first genuine smile of the night fighting its way on to your lips. “Of course I do.” The words fell from your lips as you reached under the counter for a glass. You scooped a few ice cubes into the cup, the sound ringing nicely to his ears. You turned, grabbing a whiskey bottle from the top shelf, wasting no time pouring a double shot over the cubes. “Top shelf whiskey, always. Doesn’t matter the price, as long as that’s where it’s from and it’s a double.” You smirked, turning to place the bottle back in its place. “Three or four ice cubes. Not enough to water it down, but enough to keep it cold.” You continued, reaching for a citrus peel neatly arranged into a spiral from a plastic container beside the glasses. “And something to make it look pretty, as long as it doesn’t change the taste.” You arranged it neatly on the rim with a hint of cockiness seeping through your pores. “And served with a smile, because that’s what makes it taste the best.” You placed it in front of him, paired with the sweetest smile your cheeks could adorn and a soft wink.

“You really do know me, trouble.” He picked up the glass, swirling it around so the ice could cool the liquid. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

“You should be, Jacob. I wouldn’t be a very good bartender if I forgot my favourite customers’ order.” He took a small sip, fighting the urge to dish out another compliment. He knew better, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t tempted.

“Busy spot tonight,” he noted, looking around at the bustling room. The booths and tables were so full that people had taken to standing by the walls, content with being seatless and lost in chatter with each other. “Suppose you actually had to work, not just sit here and look pretty.”

“Nothing wrong with doing both.” You reminded. “Although I don’t think you’d know too much about the working class.”

“Right,” he chuckled, taking a seat on one of the stools. “But I do know a thing or two about looking pretty.” You gave him a shrug, not willing to play into his ego.

“Where’s the rest of your company tonight?” You changed topics, careful not to tread too deeply. “Not like you to stag it.”

“On their way. I’d give them about ten minutes, then I’ll worry.” He assured you. “Maybe I just wanted you all to myself for a night.” He posed the theory as if he had never divulged in the glory of seclusion with you. You ignored him, unwilling to admit that you didn’t mind him on his lonesome.

“What can I get for you, darlin’?” You asked, barely looking up from your hands.

“Whiskey, top shelf. You can pick.” The voice rang through you as if it was blessed with the grace of god himself, settling in your chest and warming your soul. You finally broke your focus from your lime cutting, curious to see if the face matched the beauty of the voice. As if it were some kind of sick joke, the sight of his face seemed even more heavenly than the sweet tone of his words. “Only a couple ice cubes, though. Don’t want to water it down too much.”

“Top shelf?” You asked for clarification. Normally, nobody even eyed the liquor that far up in fear that it would break the bank.

“Price doesn’t matter, sweetheart. Quality does.” As beautiful as he was, he did seem a tad cocky. You supposed you could brush it to the side unless it became a real problem. You scooped a few ice cubes into the cup, turning to the wall of liquor to pick his poison. You used the step stool to reach for a bottle on the far left. You brought it down with caution, returning to him with a raised eyebrow. He glanced at the label and gave a nod of approval.

“Single?”

“Always a double.” You could hear a smile hidden in his tone. You poured the whiskey over the ice, the crackle striking him with curiosity. “Ice usually goes in last, does it not?”

“Been doing this a long time,” you chuckled “tastes better this way.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” He hummed. As you turned to place the bottle back in its original place, you could feel his eyes burning into you. When you turned back to him, your suspicion was confirmed. He seemed shameless about his unwavering stare. “Got anything to make it look pretty?” You let out a sigh, pondering what you could add to it. You pulled out a citrus twist, showing it to him. “Will it change the way it tastes?” He smirked.

“Unless you’re planning on eating it, no.” You teased, garnishing the rim with it. “Probably wouldn’t be very pleasant if you did.” You passed it to him, smiling at the peculiar interaction.

“That smile will make it taste even better, though.” He noted, eyes still glued to you. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Y/n,” you said, feeling a hint of a blush plaster your cheeks. “What about you? Never seen you around here before.”

“Sweetheart suits you better.” He noted. “I’m Jake.” He replied, taking a sip of the beverage. He gave a nod of approval paired with a little smile, one that stole the air straight from your lungs. “Just moved here, thought I’d check the place out.”

“Satisfied so far?” You weren’t shy in admitting your question was laced with filthy undertones. You were certain you would let him take you right then and there with no guilt at all. He was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen, and his interest in you was very apparent.

“Incredibly,” he let out a small laugh. “What about you, trouble?”

“What about me?” You shot back, thankful that the bar was nearly empty. You thought it would be worse than torture, having to cut your conversation with him short.

“Are you satisfied, sweetheart?”

Jake was the devil in disguise, and that you were certain of. His charm was like no other, but his intentions were his downfall. He would do anything for a night of fun, but that’s where his involvement ended. He was quick with a joke, always trying for a laugh. Compliments were steadily flowing, and his gaze was always the same; attempting to undress you with his eyes alone. You were sure Jake could make a great friend if you allowed him to get that close, but it was much too risky for you to entertain. You had fallen victim to him once, and had never fully recovered. To step in time with him was assurance of certain death, and that was something you could never forget. Although beautiful, his love was not something desirable. Despite knowing that, you seemed desperate to convince yourself of the fact every time you were near him.

“Aren’t you always trying to get me alone?” You chuckled, hearing the door chime once more.

“Always trying, never succeeding.” He shrugged, taking a long drink from his cup. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“I wonder why that is, Jacob.” You rolled your eyes. The conversation came to a halt as soon as the words left your mouth. Danny, Josh and Sam had joined you two at the bar, taking a seat beside their brother while still amidst their own conversation.

“I wonder, too.” Jake said, always needing to get the last word in. You clenched your jaw, already finding yourself annoyed with him despite only being in his company for a short time.

“That’s it, beautiful. Just like that.” His desperation was evident, heavy breathing sounding through the room and staining the walls with sin. It was a sin you would never be able to forgive yourself for, one that was made in a moment of weakness and left an air of suffering in its wake. “Does that feel good?” His fingers were knotted in your hair, laced around the strands like a snake settling in for a kill. No verbal response could compare to the vulgarity of your moans. “Tell me how good it feels, baby.”

You broke your stare from his face, feeling a wave of indignation washing over you at the vile memory. It was something that plagued you, seeming to poison every pleasant thought and ruin it indefinitely. To him, it seemed like a typical Sunday afternoon activity. Jake was always dripping with sex appeal, and sex was his favourite pastime. It was a horrendous pairing of traits. He had no remorse for his actions, none at all for making you fall for him and then disappearing as if he never existed at all. You were a one night stand, and he left your apartment that night with no intent of ever speaking to you again. You were a fool for him, in love by the first touch, and you were nothing more than a conquest to him, a challenge with little significance, and you were one he proved so easily forgettable.

You never wanted to see him again, almost happy he had vanished after the initial shock wore off. You vowed if you were to see him again, you wouldn’t even cast a glance in his direction. You did well; the first few times he came back around the bar you barely even acknowledged his existence. That struck a nerve in him you didn’t even realize he could have. Emotion was very low on Jake’s list of priorities, but you seemed to invoke every single one in him. It bothered him so much that he refused to return to the bar you worked at for many months in fear of facing rejection again. He avoided you just long enough for you to meet a fantastic person, one who seemed very willing to give you the love you were looking for. One that found himself sitting in the same bar seat Jake had once sat, staring just as longingly at you as Jake did. This time, the patron was in it for more than a hookup, and had fallen for you far beyond anything Jake could ever comprehend feeling.

It was fantastic; a dream come true, even. Someone who loved in the same way you did, adorned the same outlook on life, and had the same morals and passions. It was so fantastic that it seemed too good to be true. “Hey, beautiful.” Danny leaned over the counter, placing a kiss to your cheek as you sat a beer bottle in front of him. “I missed you.”

Correction: it was too good to be true.

“I missed you.” You smiled, eyes fluttering closed at the feeling.

“Ten more minutes and you can join us on the other side.” Sam joked, eyeing the clock.

“Oh, I know. I’ve been counting the seconds.”

Jake had done such a good job at disappearing that he had dug his own grave. Instead of mustering the courage to confront you, to apologize and make amends for his actions, he gave you ample opportunity to fall in love with his best friend. As if it was some type of sick joke, a repercussion for the sins you committed with him, you had no idea that they were so close until it was far too late. You were already falling fast for the curly haired boy who appeared to be the exact opposite of Jake Kiszka. You were so desperate to purge Jake from your life that you failed to realize Danny was a sure way to allow him right back in.

“My friends are gonna join me, tonight. Is that okay?” Danny was nervous, that much was obvious. But, he was cute when he was nervous, and you couldn’t imagine why meeting his friends would cause any kind of problem.

“F’course it is, handsome.” You smiled, handing a bottle to him after ridding it if the cap. “You know, draft would be much cheaper. And better for the environment.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he smiled, finding it impossible to stop admiring you. “They can be a lot, sometimes. I just don’t want them to scare you away.” He chuckled.

“I like you, Daniel. I’m dating you because I like you, not because of your friends. Besides, crazy never really bothered me much. I work at a bar, so I’m sure I’ve met worse.” He laughed, nodding along to your words.

“Suppose I can’t argue that.” He agreed. “If you like them, we can properly hang out sometime. I just thought that if you didn’t, you could pretend to be busy with something else.”

“Thoughtful, but not necessary. I’m sure I’ll love them.” You leaned over and placed a kiss to his cheek. “You worry too much.”

“I like you, what can I say?” He smiled, appreciative of your attitude. “Plus, they keep pestering me about coming here all the time. Figured I couldn’t keep you a secret much longer.”

“Oh, so I’m a secret?” You teased, sending him a wink.

“Not like that,” he rolled his eyes, but he was laughing as he did so. “If I could, I’d keep you all to myself for the rest of my life. What if you like one of them more than me?”

“Impossible.” You assured him, sending look of finality to show him you were serious. “I’m going to clean off the booths, give me a shout when they get here, okay?”

“For a kiss,” he smirked.

“That just comes with the service.” You giggled, leaning forward and capturing him in a moment of sweetness. “That better not count as my tip.” You joked as you pulled away.

“I’ll give that to you after work.” He assured you as you shuffled out from behind the counter.

“I’m counting on it!” You replied, already busying yourself with clearing away empty bottles and glasses. By the time you finished the line of booths, your tray was full to the brim. You hummed along to the music playing over the sound system as you returned to your post, barely noticing your surroundings as you discarded the tray full of clutter. When you swung around, you noticed there were more people at the bar than there were previously. Danny had a smile stuck on his lips as he found himself in mindless conversation with his company. You even found yourself smiling, too, looking over the new faces in attempt to familiarize yourself with them.

The first two looked strikingly familiar, both showcasing features that were not only perfectly suited for their face, but also had an air of similarity. You figured they must be brothers. You and Danny had yet to discuss much other than each other, as the relationship was quite new. You were certain in its strength, but meeting friends was a huge step forward in the process of loving each other. You didn’t stare for too long, realizing that there was another friend you had yet to see. Your head turned down the line of boys, landing on someone who had already made quick work at staring at you. Your stomach dropped, quickly understanding the reason for the other boy’s familiarity. You felt like the ground was stolen from underneath you, that the universe was wrapping its cold fingers around your neck and slowly strangling the life from you. Your palms were sweaty, head spinning with no sign of stopping.

“Remember my order, sweetheart?” He murmured, glancing to his side to make sure Danny hadn’t noticed your volatile reaction.

“Of course I do.” Your words were paired with a scowl, at a loss for ideas on how to dig yourself out of the hole you were in.

You threw your apron in the laundry bin, counting out the cash tips to mark them down in the book. Once it was recorded, you let your hair down from its elastic, running your fingers through the mess of knots the nights stress had created. Once you were able to rid yourself of the aura of darkness that was looming over your head, you managed to force yourself back out into the bar. The noise was immediately overwhelming, seemingly much louder now that you were on the other side of the counter. “Whiskey sour, please.” You gave your coworker a smile, silently thanking them for showing up on time.

“You staying?” He asked, immediately springing to action at your words.

“Guess so.” You sighed, placing the change on the counter. “As if I’m not here enough.” You grumbled. “Danny thinks we should spend our free time here, too.”

“At least try to have fun,” he laughed at your grim expression. As soon as the drink was in front of you, you took a long sip.

“You too.” You chuckled, turning your head to scan the crowd. You noticed that the boys had claimed a booth in your time away, settling in with little hesitation. You walked over, grabbing a chair from a table and placing it at the end of the booth.

It had been years since you and Danny had started dating, and it had been phenomenal. You didn’t have a single complaint aside from Jake, and neither did he. A year or so prior, you had even moved in together. You adored him, and he was your whole world. You had no doubt in choosing him as a life partner, but you did wish that you had never given in to the temptation of Jake. Because even years later, he still looked at you the same way he did that first night he showed up at the bar. Even with no hint of success, or an idea that he would ever have you like that again. He was relentless, and it was excruciating.

Even as in love with Danny as you were, you couldn’t lie and say that Jake was not attractive. You had fallen into bed with him once, and for good reason. You had no desire to be with him, no need for him in any way that mattered, but he was like a parasite, begging to leech life directly from the source. He flirted as if you weren’t practically married to his best friend, as if he didn’t care about hurting him in the crossfire. You shot him down most of the time, but even the best of people had their moments of weakness. There were some nights, albeit few and far between, that you found yourself tipsy enough to entertain him for a moment before the crushing guilt took over.

Danny was not ignorant to what happened between you and Jake. In fact, he was quite aware of Jake’s intense infatuation with you. It would be untruthful to say that it never caused any issues, but there was no world in which it wouldn’t. Danny was quite trusting in you, confident in your love and knew you respected him enough to never stray. That was wholeheartedly true, and being unfaithful to him was never a thought that crossed your mind. Sex with Jake, even as mind blowing as you knew it was, was not worth risking a lifetime of love with Danny. It was futile, and you knew that one night with Jake would always be just that. He hated the thought of commitment, and would never settle down. It was not worth losing everything that Danny gave to you.

“We have to tell him!” You spat, palms landing flat on his chest and pushing him backwards. You were not one for physical violence, but Jake always seemed to bring out the worst in you.

“Fine, then tell him!” He barked back, neither of you caring about your volume or presentability. “Why does it have to fall on me?”

“Because you’re the one who started it! You finally got me to have sex with you, and then you left! You disappeared! You got what you wanted, like always, and now look at the problems it caused!” You exploded. “I’m not risking losing him over someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” He chuckled, looking at you with a fierce shield of carelessness, as if your words hadn’t cut him deeper than a knife. “Fine, we’ll tell him. I’ll go in there and tell him just how good you look from behind, or how beautiful those slutty little noises sound, especially when my name was stuck on those pretty lips. I’m sure he’d love to hear about all of that.” He smirked, lighting a fire in you like no other.

“Fine, I’ll go in there and tell him how you spent weeks getting me to fall for you. Came in here every night so desperate for attention that you couldn’t leave until we kicked you out. You wanted me so bad that you drank us out of liquor, and when you finally had me, you broke my fucking heart. Would you like me to tell your brothers, too? ‘Cause I can talk all night about how terrible of a person you are.” His eyes changed; the defensive nature he previously held was obsolete. He knew he had done wrong, but he had no idea how badly he truly hurt you. He was at a loss for words, so he said the only thing he believed held any meaning.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered. The cold air of the night was nipping at the tip of your nose, but the wind hitting you was unable to compete with the slap of his pathetic apology.

“Fuck you, Jake.” You shook your head, grimacing at the thought of him being apologetic about his actions. “I’m telling him. I really like him, and he deserves the truth. Dishonesty isn’t really my thing, even if it is yours.”

And tell him, you did. It was a tearful confession, an admission of guilt for something you didn’t really need to be ashamed of. He was almost too understanding, showering you with comfort when you felt like he should have walked out. It did sting for him to hear, but he was not willing to blame you for a choice you made months before ever knowing him. His willingness to accept you as is was more than enough for you to fall in love with him. He appreciated the truth, and from there on you two had built a loving life with each other. The thought of Jake was less daunting and more manageable. For the first little while, Jake backed down with the understanding that he was in the wrong. He allowed you to live your life, pretending as if he never knew you until Danny introduced you to each other. It was the amicable thing to do, but unfortunately Jake had no idea how to maintain that outlook. It only took a few months before his insufferable personality made its inevitable return.

“You’re quiet, tonight.” Danny nudged you, sending a soft smile your way.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. It was a long shift. I’ve never seen it this busy in here.” You said, taking a long drink from your glass. It was nearing the end, and you were itching to go for another one, just to escape Jake’s burning stare for a moment.

“That’s okay,” he placed his hand on your knee under the table, sending a jolt of comfort through you. “We don’t have to stay out for long.”

“It’s okay,” you assured him, placing your hand atop of his. “We can do whatever. I’ll be happy as long as I’m with you.” He gave you a lingering stare, one that told you he felt the same way, but he wasn’t sure if he completely believed you.

You weren’t certain as to why Jake was bothering you so much more as of recent. Bothering was not the proper term, really. He never bothered you; his advances were not uncomfortable or troublesome. Infuriating by times, yes, but he was harmless in every sense of the word. He was affecting you more, and that was a strange feeling. You had spent the last few years managing to ignore almost every sly pass or risky comment. It had become routine, Jake capturing you in a moment of seclusion and doing his best to make your loyalty falter. It was always the same story; a few eye rolls, a scoff, and maybe even a playful shove that had incredible amounts of hidden frustration behind it. Jake was the master at flirtation, and you had mastered rejection. It grew increasingly easier over time, and now it was barely a chip off your shoulder. The beginning proved tough, but you persevered to a point where it barely bothered you in any way that mattered. Lately, it seemed like it was more impactful than your typical game of cat and mouse. His touches held more emotion, lingering for a moment too long. His eyes held unspoken words, and his moves were no longer meant to maim; they were aimed to kill.

You found yourself playing into him more, entertaining the idea before ultimately shutting it down after the crushing guilt took over. You would never do that again, and even more so, you would never do that to Danny. You repeated the mantra in your head until the words seemed to bleed from the walls. As firm as you were on your stance, Jake had a devastatingly intoxicating attitude, and you weren’t a stranger to his temptation even long after his initial strike all of those years ago.

“Making drinks even on your days off?” The dulcet tone caught your attention, unexpected and causing you to stutter with your movements. The bottle of vodka moved off target and caused a small spill on the table. You didn’t look up to the perpetrator, no need to see him to know who it was.

“You know me, live to work instead of work to live.” You chuckled. It was true; you were so invested in working that a social life had never been a priority for you. Money was a wicked motivator, and even if the bar was not typically bustling, your regulars were quite generous with their tips. You’d been working at the same bar since you had moved out of your parents house and you had no imminent plans to leave. The owners were nice, they had given you a promise of a manger’s position if you ever wanted it, and you thoroughly enjoyed your coworkers company. The wages weren’t awful and the tips were great. You saw no issue with working, and made it a point to do it as much as you could.

“Makes me think that you don’t want to be at home.” Jake theorized, taking a step closer to you as you swiped away the spilled alcohol. “Is everything as fantastic as you make it seem, or is being tied down not all it’s cracked up to be?” He was beside you, now. His charm was radiating from him, inviting you in without you even noticing how badly it burned. You could feel the warmth from his body slowly surrounding you, a feeling that you hadn’t experienced in a long time. You finally looked towards him, trying to maintain some semblance of passiveness with his advance.

“I’m quite content, Jacob.” You said, holding his stare with no intention of backing down. “Makes me think that you’re projecting.” He let out a chuckle, shaking his head at your need to argue.

“Was just a thought, sweetheart.” He looked towards the table. “Is it such a terrible thing to be worried about a friend?”

“Considering you and I are far from friends, and I know you’re not worried about anything other than sex, yeah.” You also looked to the table, pouring the mix into the three glasses before you. You placed straws in each of them, giving a slight stir as you did.

“I didn’t know it was a crime to enjoy sex.” He shrugged, a smirk toying at his lips.

“It’s not. Think lots of people do.” You snipped, looking towards him. “It’s a crime to want it from your best friends girlfriend.” He chuckled, shamelessly enjoying the fire in your tone.

“Not if I had you first,” he reminded, thrilled by the shift in your expression. Talk of what came before Danny had been strictly forbidden, and you both had done well adhering to it after the initial blowout of the truth. His hand slipped to your waist, fingers dangerously dancing close to parts of you he was no longer allowed access to. The tips of his fingers settled just near your ass; not close enough for an offence, but clearly toying the line between right and wrong.

“That never happened, Jake. Remember?” You prompted him to recall the harsh boundaries you had put in place months prior.

“Oh, I remember,” he smiled, pulling you in to him a little closer. “I think about it all of the time. How could I forget?” It was clear that the two of you were not speaking about the same memory. There was no space left between your bodies, your chest pressed to his and his lips hovering over your own. “Do you remember?”

“Jake,” you warned, knowing that this was far beyond any level of comfort for anyone. He was pushing every possible boundary, and you weren’t sure if it was because he wanted you, or if he just wanted to see you crack under the pressure. Most of the time, anything Jake did seemed more like a punishment or a test rather than anything positive. You wanted to believe he was genuine, but you knew him to be sly and willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted. You could feel him pulling you in despite both of you being as still as possible. It was just how he was; his eyes were inviting, as was every other physical aspect of him. The only deterrent was his personality, and even that wasn’t completely horrible by times. But it was a trick, as it always was, and as much as your body wanted to fall for it, you knew it was more than wrong. It was despicable.

When his nose was touching yours, brushing together with a million sparks of electricity, you finally came back to reality. You raised your hand, pressing it flat to his chest and pushed him backwards. You were livid at yourself for allowing him to get so close, but even angrier at him for trying so hard to make you fall for it. “What’s wrong, sunshine?” He smiled. The air was still laced with notes of whiskey. It radiated off him as if he used it as holy water. At one time, the scent was alluring, deadly when mixed with his cologne. Now, it seemed repulsive. “Not even once, for old times sake?”

“Never again.” You snapped, unwilling to believe that he truly thought you would agree to his request. “You’re hammered.” You noted, feeling the choke of tears in your throat. “Go home.” The regret for even allowing him near you was debilitating.

“All alone?” The smirk he held was infuriating.

“Go home, Jake.” A third voice broke through the tension in the air. You both turned to the entryway of the kitchen, seeing Danny standing with his arms crossed. He didn’t seem angry, more like he just wanted to put an end to the chaos and move on. Jake raised his hands in surrender, casting one more sideways glance at you before shuffling towards the door.

Sam sat a third drink in front of you, prompting you to utter a small thank you for his kind gesture. You were already tipsy, before you even joined them for a drink you could feel your head swirling from exhaustion. Alcohol certainly did not help you wake up, nor did it help the incessant memories from the past. You wasted no time bringing the straw to your lips in attempt to wash down the bitter aftertaste of remembering. You closed your eyes, desperate to focus on anything other than the ache of knowing Jake in any other way than surface level. Even the burn of the whiskey was preferable to the burn of him.

“Maybe you should slow down, baby.” The concerned tone was less of a comfort and more like a stab to an already open wound. You set the glass back on the table, eyes flickering to your boyfriend. You bit the inside of your lip, trying to focus on him and him alone. You could feel Jakes eyes searing into the back of your skull, begging you to look at him instead. Had it been a battle for affection, a challenge of courtship, you could be more sympathetic for the boy, but everyone was painfully aware that Jake was not after you with intentions of marrying. Sure, he liked you, but it was in a way that only Jake could comprehend. To everyone else, it seemed like he viewed you as a conquest, thinking he would have gratification like no other if he was able to steal you back for just one more night. It was vile, and no matter how much you tried to stop it, it only seemed like he was even more mesmerized by you.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.” You nodded, fidgeting with your hands on your lap. You looked guilty, even if you had nothing to be guilty about. There was never an instance between you and Jake that Danny was unaware of. He was the first to know, and he knew it all. Perhaps your guilt was not accredited to your night spent with Jake, but rather your deepest desire for the chance again. It was horrendous to even consider it, but Jake was unlike anyone else. Again, you had no desire to be with him in any way that mattered, and in truth, sex did not necessarily matter. At least, not in any way worthwhile. You knew that you were undeniably attracted to Jake, and you likely would jump at the opportunity to have sex with him again, as long as it didn’t hurt anyone else. Knowing that it was implausible to invite Jake in without disaster, you shoved that idea as far down as humanly possible. For a long time, it never seemed to resurface, but every time he attempted to ignite the old flame, it seemed to push forward a little more. Tonight, it was impossible to ignore.

By times it seemed like guilt was the only emotion you knew how to feel. Guilt for past mistakes before Danny ever came in to your life, and for being in his life after said mistake. Guilt for giving into his temptation, even if it was just slightly, and even more so for rejecting him while knowing you would accept if the circumstance were different. There was no possibility you could bring the idea up to your boyfriend, and you weren’t sure if you even wanted to. The desire was strong, but not nearly enough to risk losing everything. Instead, you opted to suffer in silence. It was always better that way, anyway. A problem could only be true once it was spoken into existence.

You knew you were incorrect about all of your conclusions, but you chose to continue on the path, anyway. It didn’t matter if you kept it silent; Jake Kiszka was very much a problem, and that would never go away unless it was dealt with directly.

Perhaps it was the decade of friendship that made the predicament so troublesome. You would never bring the situation to an ultimatum, mostly because it was wrong to make him choose between you two, but a small part of you was afraid that you would not win that battle. Your relationship was strong, and had been since the very beginning, but you were unsure if you could compete with a lifetime of friendship, nor the bandmate bond. Jake was going to be a part of Danny’s life indefinitely, and not just in a social setting. They were family, coworkers, and friends. You knew that if you wanted to be in his, too, you would have to learn how to cope with the reality.

“You okay, trouble?” Josh smiled, pointing his gaze at you. You gave a nod, trying to look as pleasant as possible. Even the sound of the nickname made your stomach churn, even if Josh used it in a much better way than his brother did.

“Oh, yeah. Think I just need to get out of the work zone and into the fun one.” You chuckled.

“So what’s with that, anyway?” You asked, handing the whiskey glass to the boy in hopes that you would be lucky enough to brush fingers with him. Any contact was worth the world, even if it was minuscule.

“What?” Jake grinned, doing just as you hoped he would. As he received the glass, he let his fingers rest on yours for just a second too long.

“Why do you call me trouble?” You laughed, unsure of where his nickname originated.

“Oh, I forgot your name. Had to think of something on the spot.” He joked, taking a sip of his drink and watching for a reaction. You rolled your eyes, knowing very well that it was a lie. “You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” He sighed, leaning in a little closer.

“I would appreciate it.” You gave him a sweet smile, coaxing the answer from him.

“It’s my indirect way of saying I like you, sweetheart.” He hummed, eyes never leaving your face. He was revelling in the blush that dusted your cheeks. “Plus, a girl as beautiful as you is nothing but trouble.”

“Don’t flatter me, Jacob.” You brushed him off, but felt yourself leaning closer to him over the bar top.

“But it’s my favourite thing to do.”

“I’m going to grab another drink.” You announced, standing as you looked over the table. “Anyone else?” All of the boys put in their orders, thanking you for the offer. Just as you were about to turn, Jake stood, too.

“You’ll need someone to help carry them,” he said in response to your pointed stare. Without argument or agreement, you turned and walked towards the bar. You didn’t have to see him to know he was following; you could feel it. You took post at the bar, waiting for the bartenders to come to you. Jake joined you, wasting no time placing a light hand on your back. “What’s bothering you, sweetheart?” He asked, voice low enough so only you could hear him.

“I’m just peachy, Jake. No need to worry.” You grumbled, pulling out your card to pay for the order.

“For some reason, I don’t think that’s true.” He also pulled out his wallet, ready to race you for the bill. “Usually you already would have threatened to throw a drink at me. Tonight, you won’t even look at me.”

“It would be a waste of a perfectly good drink.” Your response was short and sweet, clearly showcasing your desire to end the conversation.

“Have I got you that bothered, tonight?” You could hear the smirk in his tone before you even looked at him.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” you scoffed, finally looking over to meet his eyes. The sight of his face was enough to make your heart skip a beat, so beautiful that it was almost haunting. The parallels of the two universes were debilitating when you thought about them for too long; one in which Jake would trip over himself to flatter you, and one where you would kick him to the ground before he could try.

“Don’t have to; you do that for me.” His smirk turned into a smile, his hand still lingering on your lower back.

“How many times do I have to tell you this is never going to happen?” You sighed.

“When you actually mean it.” He chirped back, wasting no time.

“I think I’ve been pretty clear.” You argued. “You know, like the the million other times I’ve told you.”

“Right,” he nodded, but mischief was dancing in his eyes. “So you don’t like it when I stop by to see you before everyone else? Or when I tell you how pretty you look?” He chuckled, already knowing the answer. “I think that you do like it, just not when Danny’s around.” And he was correct, as disgusting as it was. You had said a million times that you didn’t care for his antics, but he could see the dishonesty as if it were written all over you and stamped on your forehead in big, red letters.

“I think that you should learn how to listen, Jacob.” Even as you spoke, you could feel yourself leaning into his side ever so slightly, wordlessly inviting his attention and touch.

“I’m listening, y/n.” He assured you, mouth leaning in closer to your ear. You were enveloped in a cloud of alcohol, both of your inhibitions lowered and the primal pleasure from the touch was undeniable. “I’ll listen to you all night, if you’ll let me, but I don’t think you’ll be doing much talking.”

“Jake, I’m in love with your best friend.” You reminded.

“I’m not asking you to be in love with me.” He said, lips barely hovering over your ear now.

“This is wrong. You have to stop.” You muttered, but the warning was feeble, barely any strength behind it. He had finally gotten ahead, and he was relishing in his victory. “He’s your best friend, Jake. This is despicable.”

“Fine,” he seemed like he was going to bargain, but knowing Jake, his bargain was not worth the time or energy. “If you won’t let me take you home, you can go over there and bat your eyes, give him a sweet little smile, and ask him if he’ll let me join.” The idea struck you like a blow to the gut, settling in your bones and engulfing any existing thought in your brain. It seeped under your skin and into your veins like poison, diluting any healthy rationale and suffocating any moral. You had been so volatile at the thought of Jake that it had never even crossed your mind to think of that possibility. He could see it in your eyes, the flash of excitement at the suggestion. “See? I knew you didn’t mean it, trouble.” He tightened his grip on you slightly as he watched the elation deflate from your eye. He wasn’t suggesting it, he was only offering the idea to prove his point. “You want me, but you don’t want to hurt him.”

“Yeah, because the only use I have for you is sex. I’m in love with him.” You snapped, furious that he had played you in such a way.

“That’s all I wanted to hear, sweetheart.” He grinned. “But, if you do want to ask him, I don’t mind sharing.” He hummed. “I’d do anything to have you, again.”

“Fuck you,” you brushed off his comment, turning to the bartender and ordering the list of drinks that the others had requested.

“You’d like to,” he teased, paying for the order before you could even think of doing so. He gave you one last smile before grabbing two glasses from the counter and making his way over to the table. You tried to satiate the bubble of anger as you waited for the rest of your order, but it proved nearly impossible. You walked back to the table with a sour taste in your mouth and an overwhelming urge to go home. Worse than anything else, when you returned, the distant pained look in Danny’s eye made the interaction all the more disturbing. He knew, like always, and there was no way to hide it. When you looked to him, he averted his gaze towards Sam, who was sitting on the other side of him.

“I don’t know what to say, Danny!” You exploded, tears prickling your eyes. “I love you, and I want to be with you. Always have, and I’ve known that from the minute I met you.”

“I feel that way too, so I just don’t understand what’s so special about Jake! If you want to be with me, and you love me so much, why does it seem like you cling to the attention from him?” He ran a hand through his hair, not wanting to be upset with you but having no other way to express his feelings.

“If I could have it my way, I’d never speak to him again! I never wanted to, and then I started dating you and he magically appeared!” You tried to word your frustration as best you could. “I’m not trying to entertain him, but it gets a little hard to ignore him when he’s always around and doesn’t want to leave me alone!” You took a seat beside him at the table, silently begging him to look at you. “Danny, you have to know that I would never do that to you.”

“I know!” He snapped, causing you to recoil from the harshness. He finally looked up at you, remorse evident in his eyes. “I’m sorry, y/n. I know you wouldn’t.” He assured you. “Do you have feelings for him?”

“No, baby.” You reached out for his hand. It was not a lie; you did not have any romantic feelings or anything of the sorts when it came to Jake. You were attracted to him, and you knew that he knew as much. You didn’t have to remind him. “I only feel that way for you.” You assured him.

“It’s just hard, y/n. He looks at you sometimes and I wonder… I just wonder when the day will come when he finally grows up and realizes that he wants to settle down, because I know you’ll be the only person he’s looking at.”

“Jake will never grow up.” You shut that idea down, both of you quickly realizing how blasphemous it sounded. “And it doesn’t matter if he’s looking at me, because I don’t want that with him. I had feelings for him a very long time ago, and he hurt me really bad. There’s no part of me that feels like that way for him, now. I fell in love with you, and fell for a reason. I want you to know that you’re the only one who has my heart.”

Danny was fidgeting with his hands, a sure sign that he was upset. You couldn’t blame him; if it were the other way around, you would be, too. You wished you knew how to ward off Jake for good, and in turn suffocate any of the remaining sexual desires for him. You hated that amidst the struggle, Danny felt hurt enough to doubt your love for him. Of all the things that you have felt, or imagined about Jake, they didn’t hold a candle to Danny. Under the table, you reached out for his knee. You rested your palm on his leg, thumb gently running over the fabric of his jeans. You could feel him relax under your touch almost immediately. His eyes flickered towards you, seeing the sincerity in your face almost immediately. He leaned back in the booth and slipped his hand atop of yours, a silent show of affection.

You motioned your head towards the door, pleading with him for a moment alone. He nodded, standing first and allowing you to lead the way. You both headed outside, hand in hand with no regard for anyone else at the table. When you broke out onto the patio, the cool evening stung your skin. You were almost nervous to look at him, unsure of what to say. “I know you’re attracted to him, y/n. It’s not a secret.” The words weighed you down as if you were buried in cement.

“I don’t love him, Danny.”

“No, but you do feel something for him.”

“Not in any way that matters.” You took a step towards the wooden fence of the entryway. He followed, looking down at you as he took your side. “Not in any way that compares to you.”

“I know.” He assured you. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.” He shrugged.

“I know.” You felt your chest ache at the proclamation of pain. That was something you never wanted to cause him. “I don’t know what to do. He’s… persistent.”

“Yeah, always been that way.” Danny explained. “Guess it didn’t matter as much before because I’ve never loved someone as much as I love you.” You looked to the ground, the weight of shame making it impossible for you to look at him. “Look, I’m not mad at you.” He said, his hand snaking around your waist. “I knew that this would always be an issue, but I love you enough to work through it.”

“I don’t think that’s fair, Danny.” You sighed, closing your eyes at the feeling of his touch. It was the most comforting thing to ever exist.

“Listen, you’ve never actually done anything with him, have you?”

“Of course not.” You shook your head, unable to imagine betraying him in such a way.

“He’s a dog, and I’m sure you know that. I’m not really worried that you’ll leave, or anything like that. I think maybe in the beginning I was, but I know that after this many years, if something was going to happen, it would have happened already.” He pulled you into him, allowing you to rest your head on his chest without actually having to turn to look at him. “I don’t think you slept with him and then got with me as revenge. If so, you’ve played a fantastic game.” He laughed, and you did too. “You’ve told him him to back off, and I have, too, but I don’t think he would have stuck with it if he didn’t believe there was a chance.” You closed your eyes, bracing for the impact of a breakup. You wouldn’t blame him if he did. “It’s okay to be attracted to him. You’re human, and it’s a normal human thing. I also know you enough to know that you wouldn’t have gotten with him at all if you never felt anything for him.”

“It doesn’t make it right.” You were fully willing to take blame, to understand that this was a despicable thing for you to be feeling.

“No, but what I’m saying is, I continued to date you knowing the history. Still do. You were always honest with me. You’ve never lied to me, and I respect that more than anything else. I see you two together; I know that spark is there. I’m not going to punish you for that because you’ve never tried to hide it or lie about it. It’s normal for you to be attracted to people, and it’s normal for me to be hurt about it. But I think our spark is a hell of a lot bigger, and I love you far too much to not try and work this out.” You finally felt a tear slip from your eye as you wrapped your arms around him.

“I wish I never met him. I wish I could have met you, first. I don’t want to feel this way.” Your words were muffled from your face being buried in his chest, but he got the message. He held you to him, placing a kiss to the top of your head.

“I know, and part of me does, too.” He whispered. You both sat there, holding each other in hopes that it would take all of the bad away. “I think that you need some sleep, because I can see how tired you are. We can figure out how to get through it, and I know we can, but it should be in the morning.” He said, cupping your cheek in his hand and guiding your head up to look at him. He swiped away the tears with his thumb, giving you a small smile to let you know he meant everything he said.

“I don’t deserve you.” You mumbled, completely lost in his eyes. The more you stared, the more things seemed to feel better. He was home, and he always would be. He was the love of your life, and you were more certain of that than anything else. “I’m sorry that I caused this. I wish I could go back in time and make some different decisions, maybe we wouldn’t be here.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t know you at all.” He theorized, and that was the worst thought of all. “It’s been four years, bug. We can make anything work. I know you love me, and I trust you; I always have.” he leaned down and placed a kiss on your lips, the feeling more soothing than any words shared.

“If it means I get to keep you, I’ll never look at him ever again.” You swore to it, knowing deep down that when it came to your relationship with Danny, you would go to the ends of the earth to salvage it.

“I don’t think we’ll have to go that far.” He chuckled, placing another kiss to your lips. “And you do deserve me. I know that you do, because after four years, you’ve never given in to him. If he flirted with me like that, I’m sure I would’ve cracked by now.” At the thought of it, you both dissolved into a fit of laughter. “Jake has always been Jake. I think he feels like he lost, and he never really got over it.”

“He did lose,” you laughed “if it were ever a competition between you two, he wouldn’t have even made it to the starting line.” You leaned up for another kiss as you finished, so incredibly grateful to have someone so understanding. Danny was the best in every sense of the word, and you had known that long before that night.

“I think after so long of you brushing it off and telling me it was okay, it was just routine. At first, him and I had plenty of words and none of them were polite. After a while, I saw that you could handle your own, and you always told me not to worry or fight with him. I trust you, but I probably shouldn’t have been so passive about it.” He explained. “If I ever thought he pushed it too far, or if he had made you uncomfortable, I would have killed him. Still would, actually. But you always seemed to laugh it off. Every time I mentioned it, you never seemed to care about him flirting, just about hurting me. I think we’ve all known for a long time, and I think that it just became so normal that we chose to ignore it.”

“Jake never bothered me.” You shrugged. “He’s harmless, and I know that. Think everyone else does, too. He just loves to flirt, and he loves attention. Sometimes, it’s actually kind of funny to see him try so hard and make a fool of himself. I care about Jake as a friend, and I do quite like him for company, but I guess I never wanted anyone to fight about it because I knew he could never be you. I think we all just let it go too far without talking about it.” You said, allowing your fingers to dance with his. Your eyes scanned his face, noticing how beautiful it looked in the dim moonlight. You felt stupid for ever having a shred of attraction for Jake, because Danny was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen, inside and out. You had the world in your hands, and you took it for granted. “I never wanted to hurt you. I never want to hurt you. You’re the most important person in my life, and I love you with every ounce of my being.”

“I love you, and I know you love me. I know we love each other enough to make anything work.” You knew he was right, because there was nothing you wouldn’t do to keep him by your side.

“Thank you for being the best.” You whispered. “And for wanting to work it out. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“I know you will.” He placed a kiss to your head. “You don’t have to thank me for anything.” You rested in his arms for a moment, and the longer you spent there, the more things seemed to look up.

“I’m gonna head home. I think I need to go to bed.” You told him, pulling back slightly.

“Do you want me to come with you?” He said, looking down at you with concern.

“No, please stay and enjoy the rest of your night. I ruined it enough already.” You shook your head. “I’m just going to take a shower and go to sleep.”

“I’d enjoy it with you, too, you know. And you didn’t ruin anything.” He told you, looking more serious than he’d ever been.

“I know, baby.” You assured him. “I’ll be okay. Go in and have a few drinks, and have fun. I’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready to come to bed.” You smiled, standing on your tip-toes to place a kiss on his cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you.” He hummed, stealing one last kiss before you made your departure. “Call me if you need me, or even if you just want to say hi.”

“You know I will.” You gave his hand one last squeeze before taking a step away. He blew you a kiss before you turned out of sight, and as always, you pretended to catch it. He only went back inside once you were out of sight.

Luckily for you, your home wasn’t too far away from the bar. You normally walked to and from work, and it was almost your favourite part of the day. It allowed you a few moments of peace, and you could decompress from any of the day’s excitement. As you made your way down the street, you felt the weight on your shoulders lift. You felt better knowing that Danny was aware Jake was no more than a guilty pleasure, and that he was the love of your life. Part of you still felt dirty for even feeling as such, but the knowledge that you were both willing to work through it was more important than anything else. As you tumbled up your porch stairs, you wasted no time unlocking the door and bustling inside. You were eager for a shower to wash the stress of the day off, and your stomach was begging you for a bite to eat.

You kicked your shoes off and immediately went to the kitchen. You rustled around in the fridge before you found leftovers from last night’s dinner. As you warmed it up, you unbuttoned your jeans and slipped out of them. You placed them on the back of a chair and made a mental note to throw them in the laundry basket later. You ate in silence, enjoying the sound of nothing after hearing the constant buzz of a bar for hours on end. You threw your dishes in the sink and made your way upstairs to the bathroom. After you showered, you felt like a brand new person. You took extra time to do your skincare routine, and blow dried your hair before climbing into bed. The sheets were welcoming, still lingering with the scent of Danny’s cologne. When you nestled your head in the pillows, you were surrounded by the smell of his shampoo. It was the epitome of comfort, and you wished you never had to leave. It didn’t take too long until your eyes grew heavy, and the thought of sleep was too tempting to resist. You pulled the blankets up to your chin and drifted off into a slumber.

When you woke, it was still dark outside and the bed was still very much empty. You thought it was strange, figuring Danny would be back and asleep long before then. You rubbed your eyes, looking to the alarm clock on your beside and noticing that it was well into the night, now. You figured that Danny was the safest with his brothers, and you need not worry about someone over a foot taller and much stronger than you. You were about to close your eyes and fall back to sleep, but you heard the distant shutting of a door and muted chatter. Danny must have invited the boys over, which he so often did. You figured now that he was home safe, you could sleep soundly.

You settled back into the pillows, lax against the mattress and welcoming of any slumber that was willing to come to you. The sound of the same chatter began to fill the hallway, striking you as something even more strange. If you were sleeping, Danny aimed to keep the house as quiet as possible. It was unlike him to be speaking so loudly, especially so close to the bedroom. You sat up again, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Before you could even think to speak, or stand and confront the disturbance, the door of the bedroom creaked open. The chatter was obsolete, now, and the hallway light pooled in through the opening. You saw Danny, immediately prompting a smile on your face. Once he saw you were awake, he took a step inside. “Hi baby.” You crooned, excited that he was home. He didn’t respond, just took another step further into the room.

Behind him was another body, one that you couldn’t recognize through the darkness. When he turned and the flash of light reflected off the walls just right, your stomach dropped. “Hello, trouble.” You could hear the smirk in his voice.

“What’s…. What’s up?” You looked between the two boys, unsure of how to react to the situation.

“Mind if we turn a light on?” Jake asked. “Hard to see your beautiful face when it’s so dark in here.” The words settled in the pit of your stomach, making you unable to form a coherent response. Even in the simplicity of the statement, the tone of his voice alone sent a rush of arousal straight to your core. You were too close to sleep to have any inkling of right or wrong.

“Y-yeah,” you stuttered, looking to your boyfriend for an answer. Even in the minimal light, you could sense an air of mischief on his features. You shuffled around, searching blindly for the lamp on your nightstand. Once you located the switch, you flicked it on. A soft yellow hue decorated the walls, illuminating both boys in all of their beauty. “Better?”

“Much.” Jake smiled, but it was all but genuine. You weren’t sure if you were in a dream, mind crazed from the days whirlwind of events and fabricating some sort of twisted narrative that you wished was real. Although you seemed awake, the haze of dream and imagination nowhere in sight, the situation seemed too odd to be true. You watched the two, curious as to what they were doing, and even more so about what they were thinking. If you were in reality, they were acting more out of character than they ever had before. “Did you get some sleep, sweetheart?” Jake questioned, eyes lingering everywhere except for your own. He looked as if he was already imagining what lie beneath the mountain of blankets.

“Yeah,” you nodded, figuring the best way to find out what was happening was to play along.

“That’s good,” Jake nodded, looking to his counterpart. “You’re definitely going to need it. Long night ahead.” He gave another smile, but this one radiated excitement. You looked to Danny, silently pleading with him for an answer.

“What?” Danny asked, tone only moderately harsh. You could tell the softness was dancing behind his eyes, waiting to be seen. “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?” He took a step towards the bed.

“What is this?” You pried, unable to answer without more information.

“Come on, sweetheart. You’re smarter than that.” Jake urged you to answer your own question. You looked between them, studying each of their expressions for a moment. When you did, your eyes widened, mouth slightly agape in shock. You recognized both expressions far too well, and one was something you hadn’t seen in a very long time. “There you go.” Jake gave the small utter of praise, happy you were on the same page.

“I figured if you want him so bad, I’ll let you have him, but I’ve gotta have my fun, too.” Danny murmured, also looking at you with a hunger in his eyes you had only seen a few times. You were gazing at him in wonder, as if he’d given you the gift of life, unable to imagine a better way to rid yourself of the horrendous things you were feeling about Jake. “That sound okay to you, baby?” He asked, moving to your side. He looked down at you, the streak of dominance that he had a tendency for was incredibly apparent. As he waited for a reply, there was no doubt in your mind that he was more than serious. It was grievous, the fire dancing in his pupils. There would be no backtalk, no bargaining, nothing of the sorts. He was kind enough to let you have a taste of your own guilty pleasure, but it was under his authority. He was in charge, and you didn’t have the power to be anything other than obedient.

“Yes, daddy.” You spoke, in utter awe of the power he had over you. Jake looked to Danny, his expression showing nothing short of elation at the sound of your words. Danny took a glance over at him, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. You could smell the alcohol from both of them, understanding that within their drunk ramblings, you must have came up in conversation. In attempt to settle the score, this was their conclusion.

“I told you.” Was all he said.

“Told him what?” You squeaked, almost embarrassed at your own willingness to submit to him.

“I told him all about you, baby.” He assured you. “Told him how well you listen, and all about how much of a whore you can be.” The ache between your legs was growing more intense by the second, still unable to comprehend the situation you had found yourself in. “But he’d know all about that, wouldn’t he?” His comment was snide, but you didn’t let it bother you. Your eyes flickered to Jake, a nervous jitter rushing through you. You were quite familiar with Danny’s character, and when the whole thing was over, he would go right back to the sweet boy you saw most of the time. He reached out, grabbing your chin in his hand and guiding you to look back at him. “I’m talking to you, not him.”

“Y-yes,” you nodded, agreeing with his statement. “He does.” You felt no shame in it, now. What was usually the elephant in the room was now nothing more than a driving force for the nights events.

“It was so good that you’re still thinking about it, yeah?” You nodded against the force of his hand, a small noise of confirmation sounding from your chest. “Better than I can make you feel?” He raised an eyebrow, but in no way were you willing to engage in his trap with both of them holding so much authority over you. “He’s going to get you off, and then we’ll see if you can give me an answer.” Your cheeks burned red, now nervous at the thought. You knew that Danny and Jake had likely discussed this in depth before coming home to you, but you weren’t sure if Danny really knew what he was getting himself into.

“I-I don’t-“

“What?” He snapped. “Been inviting him in for years, but now you’re too shy?” He taunted. “All talk, no action?” He could see the spark of indignation in your eye, happy that he’d pressed the right button. “Don’t worry, I’ll get my turn, too. So, you just keep your mouth shut and do as you’re fucking told.” He said, no debate about the matter.

“Okay,” you agreed, eyes never once straying from him. Although you had desperately wanted a moment like this with Jake, you still seemed to be plagued with guilt over the matter even with Danny’s explicit permission. He noticed it in your eyes as he moved to sit on the chair you had placed beside the bed. When you put it there for the intent of reading, you surely never thought it would be used for such a vulgar showing.

“It’s okay.” He assured you, his tone much softer than it was a moment before. “I’m okay.” You were both locked in a staring contest, but as he uttered the profession of comfortability, your worried gazed turned into a silent profession of love. Under the hard exterior, he let a loving smile peek through. You let out an exhale, content with knowing he was okay. With that, you turned to look at Jake, unable to deny the flutter of excitement in your belly. When he saw the hopeful gleam in your eyes, he couldn’t help but smile down at you, too.

“Never thought I’d get to see you like this again, trouble.” He stated, taking a step towards the edge of the bed. You sat patiently, waiting for an order from him. Although long ago, your night spent with him left you aware of his love for control, too. “Are you going to be good for me, too? Listen to me just like you do for him?”

“Yes, sir.” You nodded, entranced by the thought of him touching you again. He took a deep breath, the sound of the words washing over him like a shower of relief. He was more than thrilled that you had remembered him so well, thrilled that after so many years the experience for you was still so memorable in your mind.

“Come here, angel.” He beckoned you towards him, expecting immediate action. You slipped out from under the blanket, rising to your knees and moving towards him on the bed. When you were within arms reach, he cupped your cheek in his hand, peering down at you with adoration. He wasn’t shy to admit that he was elated to have you again. As much as his tirade was about mischief, the need to make you admit you wanted him, it also had a lot to do with his own need for you. He leaned down, wasting no time in pulling you into a kiss. It was hungry, desperate to make up for years of abstaining from the feeling. His other hand found your hip, fingers inching under the t-shirt that was covering you.

The sensation was unexplainable, the pleasure derived just from kissing him was overwhelming. Paired with the feeling of his hands on your skin, it was driving you insane. He used his wrist to hold up the fabric as his palm drifted towards your ass, he let his hand rest there, the cool metal of his ring he adorned on his finger sending a shiver through you. His grip was tight and showcased exactly how excited he was for the ability to have you again. He broke from you but didn’t move too far away. His nose was still ghosting over yours, almost as if he was scared you would disappear if he moved too far away. “Seems like you were waiting for us,” he noted, his finger slipping under the thin material of your underwear. “Were you hoping that we would come and take care of you?” He cooed, his sympathy clearly false as his lips drifted towards your jaw.

“G-god yes,” you let out a shaky sigh as his lips ghosted over your neck. He was making it a point to show you how well he remembered the sensitive spots, finding them with ease in hopes you might let a moan slip past your lips. He’d been yearning to hear it for so long that he wasn’t sure he could wait any longer.

“Let me take this off, angel.” He hummed, letting his hands snake under your shirt. As if the realization truly hit you as to what you were doing, you froze at the request, quickly looking to Danny with a hint of panic in your eye.

“It’s okay, baby.” He said, noticing your worry. He was sitting in the chair, observing the sight without a worry in the world. “This was my idea. I’ll tell you if I’m uncomfortable.” He said, hoping to crush your fear once and for all.

“Let me take care of you,” Jake said, also attempting to ease your worry. You looked back to him, giving a slight nod. With that, you allowed him to slip your shirt over your head. The cool air hit you immediately, but Jake was quick with his hands to warm you back up. His thumb brushed over your nipple, the light touch sending a jolt of electricity through you. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to see you like this?” He asked, taking a moment to admire the sight before him. You bit the inside of your lip, nervous about being on display for both boys at once. “It was terrible, only being able to dream about it.” He muttered, leaning forward for another kiss. Perhaps it was because of the incessant need for him that had been eating away at you for months, or maybe because you were finally realizing that he wanted you just as bad, but you were a mess before he even took your clothes off, and you were desperate for him to keep going. He pulled your bottom lip between his teeth, gently biting down as his hand continued to explore your breast. The friction from the pad of his thumb was delightful, even if he was barely touching you. You let a small moan slip into his mouth, immediately sending him into euphoria.

“Did you miss me?” His fingers trailed down your torso, ticking the skin as he familiarized himself with you.

“Yeah,” you admitted, all sense of shame disappearing long ago. He moved back slightly, ridding himself of his shirt.

“Let’s get rid of these, okay?” His fingers slid under the side of your underwear, pulling it back and releasing his hold so it snapped back against your skin. You nodded, laying back on the bed and removing the flimsy fabric from your body. Jake moved towards the side of the bed, casting a sideways glance at Danny as he did so. “If you ask him nicely, do you think he’d give us some alone time?” Jake smirked, raising an eyebrow at you as he asked. “You always seem to get your way.”

“Watch it.” Danny warned, clearly not a fan of his joke.

“Just thought I’d try.” Jake said, brushing off the harsh reaction.

“Can’t perform under pressure?” The snide comment was used for show, Danny making it a point to let Jake know that he was not the one in charge of the situation.

“Feeling left out, Daniel?” Jake asked as he undid his belt buckle. “Jealous, maybe?”

“Haven’t really seen anything to be concerned about, yet.” The argument only proved that Jake was invited over solely for the sake of you. After four years of strictly monogamous dating, Danny never seemed to have an interest in sharing you with anybody. You knew he would never do anything that would put a strain on your relationship, or anything that he was blatantly uncomfortable with, but you were certain he was likely struggling a little bit with the situation. When you turned to look at him again, his eyes didn’t seem angry at all; he was relaxed, sitting as if this was a normal occurrence. You realized then that Danny wasn’t worried at all about competing with Jake, because he knew there was no need. He just wanted Jake to know that the situation was reliant on his generosity, and he could put an end to it if he wanted to do so.

When you looked back, the comment seemed to spark a flame in Jake’s eyes. One that spoke loudly about his love of competitive sport, and to him, this was exactly what the situation was. He opted not to respond, instead climbing into bed on the opposite side of you, ensuring Danny had a perfect view of what was coming next. You watched your boyfriend for a moment, searching for any signs of discomfort, but he was perfectly pleased with watching you fulfill your fantasy. You assumed it was because he knew that Jake would only have you for a moment, and he was promised a lifetime. Danny was never one for jealousy, and it was evident that not even in this situation did it bother him. The conversation you both shared earlier had allowed him to settle any fear and open his mind to possibility. Jake and Danny had shared an in depth discussion before even uttering the idea of him joining Danny. Rules, boundaries, and the knowledge that if someone was uncomfortable at any point, it would be over. The harmless banter was inevitable, but they were both on the same page; they were in it to please you, and that was it.

Jakes hand slipped between your legs, his fingers immediately running through your folds to gather the arousal he’d been causing you. As if it was something he did so often, something he knew so well, his fingers immediately found your clit. He traced circles into the sensitive bud, sending a rush of emotion through you. It had been so long that you had almost forgotten how fantastic it felt to be touched by him. He kept the pressure light, but his motion steady. He barely had to do anything to pry a moan from your lips. “Just like that?” He asked, looking over your face with a distant longing behind his eyes. “Does that feel good?”

“So good,” you breathed, eyes fluttering closed. You could feel his erection strained against his jeans, begging for any type of relief. You were eager to touch him, almost more so than you were for him to touch you. From what you remembered, Jake was not one to take things slow, but you wondered if he was pacing himself in fear of crossing any boundaries. He had spent years pining after you, always being shot down and eventually he had to understand that he would never get an opportunity to be with you again. Now that you were here, with his hands on you, and his name rolling so beautifully from your tongue, he wanted to savour it.

He increased the pressure, gaze never faltering in hopes to sear the memory into his brain forever. You let a gasp out, your hips raising from the bed to meet the movement of his thumb. He gave you a small smile, content at the reaction. “Give him a show, sweetheart. Make some noise, thank him for being so kind.” Jake purred, eyes flickering up to Danny for a moment. Your eyes followed the same direction, catching your boyfriends gaze just as Jake slipped a finger inside you. You held his stare, feeling a moan rise in your throat. You weren’t sure if it was from Jakes movement, or the carnal desire that was written all over Danny’s face. His jaw was hard set, chest heaving with his breath, but his eyes were not angry; they were half-lidded, clouded with enjoyment from the sight.

Jake gave a slight curl of his fingers as he began pumping them into you, his thumb drifting over your clit each time. The feeling was intense, only made worse when he leaned down to pull your nipple into his mouth. Your pleasure was impossible to hide, the work Jake was doing was intensified because you had the opportunity to watch Danny. With his eyes locked with yours, you felt a great need to reach out and touch him. You thought he looked quite lonely, and you were overwhelmed with the desire to have him, too. He noticed the look you were giving him, quite elated at the knowledge you still wanted him even with Jake so accessible to you. You saw him palm himself through his jeans, clearly worked up and desperate for relief, too.

Jake let his teeth sink into your nipple, just slight enough to catch you off guard. Although he would never admit it, he did feel a spark of jealousy upon noticing your disengagement from his actions. He sped his fingers, pulling you back into a cloud of euphoria. Your eyes fluttered closed, your head resting back on the pillow as your mind swirled with the threat of an orgasm. Abruptly, he stopped his movements, violently tearing you away from the dream-like state. You turned to look at him, barely catching his eye before he was slinking downwards on the bed. He settled between your legs, guiding one over his shoulder. You let a sigh of delight out as he brought his mouth to your cunt, running his tongue through you to get a taste of his own hard work.

“F-fuck,” you gasped, his tongue making quick work at circling your clit. Your hand instinctively reached for his hair, fingers tangling in the roots and giving a slight tug every time he hit a particularly pleasant spot. He added his fingers to you, resuming his earlier pace. You were thrown into a whole new dimension of bliss, already close to a climax with little effort. His tongue was just as devilish as his personality; every move was calculated, aimed for maximum impact. He was desperate to get you to an orgasm, needing it more than he needed water to survive. His own enjoyment was almost overshadowing yours, every now and again he would let out a moan against you just to show you how happy he was to be of service to you. “Jake, m’gonna cum.” You warned.

“Look at me.” Danny spoke, now. The order ran through you, his voice sending a new type of pleasure through you. You let your head fall to the side, more than willing to follow the order. The look of longing in his eyes was stronger than you’d ever seen from him before. It was strong enough that it immediately sent you over the edge upon noticing it. Your climax hit you hard, all of your muscles tensing as you let out a slur of moans and curses. The walls were decorated with your sounds of pleasure, the memory sinking into the foundation with intent to stay forever. The obscene display was almost too much for Danny to sit through, his need for you too great to be ignored.

“Taste even better than I remember, sweetheart.” Jake’s voice echoed in your ears, but you were too far gone to cognitively understand what he was saying. You barely had time to come down before Danny was on his feet, barking an order at Jake to get up.

Your head was spinning, trying to focus on something other than the residual energy of your orgasm pulsing through you. At Danny’s request, Jake stood without argument. Your orgasm was glistening on his chin, adorned like a trophy of his most proudest moment. Without another word, Danny stripped himself of his clothes and took the position that Jake had previously held. He wasted no time, immediately placing soft kisses to the inside of your thighs in attempt to convey his love for you. Danny was not jealous of Jake because he was pleasuring you; he was just eager to do it himself. “I told you I’d get my turn, baby.” He mumbled, lips still ghosting over your skin. Jake was watching you, almost seeming unsure of what to do with himself. “Do you want me, beautiful?” His fingertips grazed the outside of your thighs, selling on your hips in a firm hold.

“Yeah,” You nodded, reaching out to cup his cheek with your hand. You let your thumb drift over his cheek, showcasing the love you had for him in the small gesture. He turned his head slightly, placing a kiss to the pad of your thumb.

“I want to hear how bad you want it,” he muttered, his voice low and his order clear.

“Please, daddy. I need you. I need you so bad.” Your shameless begging was put to good use, as usual. Danny was always willing to give you what you wanted, but there was a few things he liked hearing. You were never one to deprive him of his desires, mostly because they were few and far between. He let out a hum of satisfaction, pleased at the sound of your words.

“Okay, baby.” He sighed, as if your begging was tireless and brutal. He was so quick to give in to you that it even bothered him, sometimes. “You know I’ll always give you what you want.” He was inches away from you now, so close that it was near painful to wait any longer. “But you have to take care of him, too, since he was so good to you.” Without looking up, Danny nodded his head towards Jake. The thought was thrilling, to be used by both boys however they wished. You thought that there was no better idea in the world. Your eyes fluttered towards Jake, looking expectedly at him, as if you were waiting for him to tell you what he wanted. The expression was crippling for him, the innocent aura engraved into your face tainted with your willingness to do whatever he pleased. “Show him what a good little whore you can be.”

“Yes, sir.” You breathed, nearly vibrating with excitement at the thought of Jake taking the rest of his clothes off.

“She always been this obedient?” Jake asked, a hint of humour in his tone.

“Took a while,” you could hear the smirk in Danny’s voice without even looking at him. “But I think it paid off.” You bit the inside of your lip, holding back any snide comments you wanted to convey about his jabs. You knew better, and in truth, he wasn’t lying. It was very rare for you to talk back in the bedroom, and even more so for you to contest his authority in any way. Danny was so kind and catering in every aspect of every day life, but during sex, his kindness was limited and his word was final. You learned quite quickly that if you chose to challenge him, it only made it harder for you to get what you wanted.

Jake hummed an agreement, an unspoken praise for Danny’s work. As he unbuttoned his jeans, Danny prompted you to shift closer to the edge of the bed. Jake kicked the rest of his clothes to the side, uncaring about where they landed. The sight of him naked began to form another knot in your belly, promoted without any touching at all. Jake was gorgeous, and it seemed like he had only gotten more so over the years. “Open,” he commanded, stepping closer to you. You did as he asked, turning your head to the side and opening your mouth, welcoming him to do as he wished. At the same time, Danny lowered his mouth to your cunt, resuming what Jake had been doing earlier. Jake wasted no time thrusting into your mouth, immediately letting out a hiss of pleasure. He started at a slow pace, not wanting to push you too far too soon. You let out a moan, muffled by his cock in your mouth. It was your way of telling both boys you were more than content with the current situation.

Danny slipped his fingers into you, curling them to hit the spot he’d grown so familiar with. Jake was phenomenal, but it was no comparison to your boyfriend. He had spent nearly half a decade memorizing every like and dislike, and undoubtedly had the power to bring you to an orgasm in seconds. Both sensations were equally intense, Danny’s tongue was focused intently on your clit and sending waves of pleasure through you, while the knowledge of pleasuring Jake was euphoric all on its own. Jake let out a groan, unashamedly admitting his enjoyment as he began to move his hips a bit faster. You closed your eyes, aiming to keep your breathing steady and your body relaxed.

“Fuck, y/n.” Jake hissed, his head falling back as he spoke. “Look so pretty with my cock in your mouth.” His words sent another rush of arousal through you, seeing every nerve on fire. The praise was heavenly, so good that you realized you could survive off the sound alone. The position you found yourself in was more than just unexpected, but something you never would have imagined possible. Although your processing of the information was difficult, it was incredibly welcomed. Just because you had never thought it possible did not mean you hadn’t dreamed of it a time or two. You almost felt in debt with Danny, knowing that his permission and kindness had given you something so fantastic. You weren’t sure if you could ever thank him enough.

You let out another strangled moan as Danny’s fingers hit the perfect spot, sending another wave of pleasure throughout your body. Paired with the feeling of his tongue, you were dangerously close to the edge once more. You couldn’t verbally warn him, but he knew the signs all too well. His fingers were searing into your hips, holding you to him as he let out a hum, just to let you know that he knew you were close. It was a permissive gesture; he had no intention of stopping or withholding anything from you. Jake was lost in his own world, barely able to comprehend the feeling of fucking you again, even if it was only your mouth. He was hoping you would finish soon, just so he wouldn’t have to pull away first. Danny felt you tense under his hold, now speeding his movements in hopes to bring you to an orgasm. Although he didn’t find himself jealous that Jake was touching you, he did find himself envious that he wasn’t the one behind the moans falling from your lips. He was eager to please you, wanting the gratification of your orgasm like he needed it to survive.

“Are you gonna cum, angel?” Jake managed the words out through gritted teeth, still blissfully lost in the feeling of your mouth. You looked up to him, both of you knowing that you couldn’t respond. He smiled down at you, liking it much better that way. Instead of tormenting you further, he continued to fuck your mouth so you couldn’t get the chance to speak. You watched his face, in awe at the beauty of his expression. Although the scene was far from graceful, he managed to encase gracefulness despite the lack of it within the room. You felt the knot in your belly tighten to a point of no return, and without further warning, another orgasm washed over you. Your muscles tensed as your eyes squeezed shut, and your moans, although silenced, filled the room. Both boys were elated at your performance and were more than ready to move on to the main event.

Jake pulled back from you, letting out a sigh of discontent at the loss of the feeling. “Good to know that you can use your mouth for more than just back talk.” His voice was hoarse, strained by his own need for you. He was eager to fuck you, so much so that he wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait.

“You want him to fuck you now, baby?” Danny asked, mouth still hovering over your cunt. If he could have his way, he’d stay between your legs all night. If it were any normal day, he would have. Your eyes flickered towards him, unsure of how to answer. “It’s okay, you can say it.” His gruff tone made him seem more confident than he truly was; in fact, this was the part he had been dreading all night. Everything that had happened so far was fine, and he was more than willing to admit that he didn’t mind sharing you at all. In the previous context, at least. He’d been struggling with the idea of Jake fucking you, and he was nervous about the possibility of you enjoying it more than you enjoyed him.

“C-can…” you trailed off, looking between them both. You were anxious to speak, not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings. That was the last thing you wanted to do, especially after both of them being so good to you.

“It’s okay,” Jake said, joining in on the conversation. “Whatever you want.” You nodded, knowing that it was likely painful for him to say that. It was vicious, Jake’s need for control in the bedroom. You’d only been with him once, but you remembered it well. For Jake to take the lowest rung of the ladder and realize he had the least important opinion was likely very hard for him to comply with. But it didn’t seem like he had any disdain on his face, nor any trouble with accepting it. In truth, it didn’t bother him at all. He was just elated to be there.

“Can you fuck me?” You asked Danny, a hopeful gleam in your eye. His fear of being obsolete was diminished within a second, the question settling over him like a warm embrace.

“That’s what you want, sweet girl?” He crooned, fighting back a grin.

“Yes, please.” You assured him, the corner of your lips turning upward into a soft smile.

“We can do that,” Danny breathed, rising to his knees. “Come here.” He held his hand out for you. You took it, making a move to sit up. You shuffled to your knees and he immediately brought his hands to you, fingers dusting across your skin as he pulled you into a kiss. He was ecstatic at your question, but he didn’t have to say it for you to know. He was worried that you would rather fuck Jake, but the whole ordeal had only seemed to make you fall in love with him more. He was a phenomenal partner, one that loved with his entire heart and soul. You had nothing to ever complain or worry about with him, and the fact that he was willing to potentially risk his own comfort to give you something you wanted was something you could never expect from him. But, he had done it valiantly and with no hesitation, and he seemed to be enjoying it, too. Your guilty pleasure had opened your relationship to a whole new world of possibilities.

He pulled away, moving to the other side of the bed. “Come here,” he beckoned you towards him. You didn’t need instruction to know what he wanted from you. You kneeled in front of him with your back to him. You placed your palms on the edge of the bed, giddy with excitement. His hands took to your waist, and you looked up a Jake with a hopeful expression. The look alone could have sent him to his knees. “Are you going to be good for us, baby?” Danny asked, lining himself up with your entrance.

“Yes, daddy.” You were quick with a response, eager to continue. “So good, I promise.”

“That’s my girl,” his words came out in more of a growl. Jake took a step towards the bed, gently grabbing your face in his hands.

“You tap my leg if you want to stop.” His order was firm. “Even if you just want me to slow down. I want you to be comfortable.” His eyes showed heaps of concern as he spoke. You barely knew Jake to be caring, but perhaps in the years of lusting after you, he had grown quite fond of you. You thought it would be hard not to, even if you were a heartless creature. You wouldn’t describe Jake as heartless, but definitely careless. His affection was much different than a typical persons, but it was still phenomenal, nonetheless.

“Yes, sir.” The words sent a shiver down his spine, thrilled at the thought of fucking you again. He didn’t even care about penetration; he was more than content with the idea of your mouth for the rest of his life. Danny and Jake shared a look, both agreeing that they could continue. Without any further hesitation, Danny pushed himself into you. You let out a groan, already overwhelmed by the feeling. You didn’t have time to think much about it, because Jake had snaked his hand toward the back of your head, grabbing a fistful of your hair. He held your head in place as he brought his hips forward, resting the tip of his cock on your lips as he waited for you to open your mouth. You didn’t make him wait; your lips fell open, an invitation for him to continue as he pleased.

Danny started slow, his thrusts steady but not powerful. Jake was the same, both of them wanting you to get used to the feeling before pushing you any further. Their caution was endearing, but you were too far gone to care for it. You pushed yourself back on Danny, a silent show of your desire for more. A fire flashed in his eyes, the movement sending him into a state of ferocity. His grip on you tightened, and the power behind his hips increased. You let out a moan, the tip of his cock slamming against your cervix as he fucked you. The vibration from your moan sparked the same reaction in Jake. Both boys quickly realized that you were perfectly happy being used by them, and they were happy to utilize it. Jake held your head steady as he set a pace with his own hips, the first moment of sweetness quickly replaced by primal desire.

Jake hit the back of your throat, the feeling coming as a shock to you. Your throat constricted around him as you fought back a gag, but it only drove him further. Danny was lost in you, unable to find any more worry. He brought his hand up and landed it with a sharp smack on your ass. The lingering sting from the impact was irritating, but pleasurable all at once. Your fists were gripping the edge of the mattress, holding on tightly as you bounced back and fourth between the two. “Such a good little whore,” Jake hissed, his grip in your hair tightening further. “God, you take it so well.”

“Feel so fucking good, baby.” Danny agreed, the praise from both sides almost too much to bear. Danny reached around your waist, bringing his fingers to your already sensitive clit. He traced circles as he fucked into you, holding you firmly with his other hand so you could keep your balance. The speed at which Jake was thrusting into your mouth was almost too much to keep up with, but the beautiful sounds that he was singing were all the motivation you needed to keep up with him. Tears were stinging your eyes, falling and making a mess on your cheeks. Every so often, the urge to gag was too strong to hold back, but you persevered mostly because of the pleasure you were receiving from your boyfriend. Your skin was tingling with the threat of another climax. The release you needed was urgent, but you had no way to express it to him. Instead, you let out a slur of muffled noises in hopes that he would recognize the message.

Thankfully, Danny knew you well enough to recognize any message you were trying to convey; he could read you like a book, even in his sleep. “Cum for us, baby.” He demanded, but he was pleading with you. He couldn’t keep up the pace much longer either. His own orgasm was close, too. Jake was on the same page, noticing the state of both of you and recognizing it was similar to his own.

“Cum all over his cock, angel. Show him how good it feels.” Jake joined in on the fun of encouraging you. They had stopped viewing the night as a competition, and rather as a team effort. His words settled in your stomach like iron, the weight too heavy to withstand. He slowed his hips slightly, respectful enough to let Danny take over for a moment. Danny noticed his withdrawal, taking the opportunity to pull you back on him. As he did so, Jake pulled out of you entirely, wanting to give you two the moment of intimacy. Now, with the freedom of your voice, you let out a cry of pleasure. The moan tore through your chest, coating the walls like an obscene decoration.

“Fuck, Danny.” You croaked, unable to find the energy for anything more than that. Within seconds, you descended into another orgasm. Your limbs were trembling, threatening to give out from underneath you. Danny held you up, making sure you knew you were secure as you rode out the high. When the intensity began to fade, he slowly withdrew from you. His chest was heaving, but less from lack of oxygen and more from his carnal need for you. He caught eyes with Jake, sharing a silent thank you for his kindness in letting you two share each other for a moment.

“His turn, baby.” He spoke lowly, now understanding that he would be more than selfish to deprive Jake of an experience like that. His fear was satiated, no more anxiety about losing you or being forgotten. He was aware that there was never a need for the worry to begin with, but your performance and enjoyment spoke louder than any verbal reassurance. Jake looked to Danny as if he granted him the opportunity of a lifetime. Before anyone moved, Danny quickly glanced towards the table by your bedside. He moved towards it, rummaging through the drawer before finding a condom. He flashed it towards Jake, who reached for it with no hesitation. You were all under the same knowledge that Danny called the shots, and you were both more than willing to comply.

Jake slipped on the condom, immediately taking to you to help you stand. With his assistance, you steadied yourself on your feet. He guided your chin upwards and brought you into a kiss. Your hands landed on him, holding him to you in hopes the moment would never have to end. Years worth of pent up frustration and desire was all fizzling away to a dramatic end. When you had imagined the lifetime of torment to be over, you never thought it would be in such a fantastic way. No guilt, nor shame. It was the best possible outcome for a normally grievous situation. He parted from you, but ultimately leaned in for one more kiss. The temptation was too hard to resist. Once he managed to will himself away from you, he took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Danny moved to join you both, standing in front of you in anticipation for the next move. Jake guided you backwards towards him, slowly bringing you down to meet him on the bed. He lined himself up with you and used a hand on your shoulder to pull you down on him. Immediately, he let out a sigh of satisfaction. He had no way to express his gratitude for being granted the opportunity to have you again, so he opted to show you, instead. He used his hands on your hips to set a pace, prompting you to eventually take over. “That’s it, angel.” His mouth was just next to your ear, his breath tickling your neck. “Waited so fucking long for this.” He purred, happy when you continued to grind your hips down on him. “Be good for him, sweetheart. Treat him the same way you did for me.” He ordered, placing a kiss to your shoulder. “He’s been so good to you, letting you be a little slut. Thank him for it.” He let his teeth sink into the same spot his lips were kissing you.

The position was much more gentle than the last, allowing you to recover from the roughness. You looked up to Danny, giving him a smile that was all but sexual. It was your way of saying I love you without having to speak it. Your eyes told him all he needed to know. Danny brought his hand to your face, wiping away any tears still littering your skin. He gave you the same smile, both of you caught in a wordless conversation that was dripping with affection. Jake slipped his one of his hands to your front, fingers settling on your clit. He traced slow circles, causing a whimper to fall from your lips. His other hand came up to your throat, his fingers wrapping around it like a snake going in for a kill. You gave Danny a few innocent bats of your eyelashes, inviting him in with vulgar intent. You opened your mouth as Jake’s grip on your neck tightened. Danny moved forward, and you bent down slightly to meet him.

Danny let you set the pace, understanding that as bad as he wanted you, there was a lot of stimulation on you. You brought him into your mouth as you moved your hips on Jake. You took him as far as you could, feeling him slide down your throat. The pressure from Jake’s hand made it all the more pleasurable for Danny, the already constrained space becoming all the more apparent. Danny let out a groan as you bobbed your head down on him, gradually increasing your speed as you worked. Jakes fingers were working tirelessly at your clit, his own moans filling the air as you came down on him. He had his forehead rested on your back, eyes screwed shut in pleasure as he attempted focus his attention to his hands.

Jake shifted slightly underneath you, allowing him to reach a little deeper into you as you gyrated your hips. The new sensation caused a moan to tear through you. The vibration caused a stutter in Danny’s slow movements, the sensation almost bringing him to an orgasm. All three of you were desperate for a release, but both boys were aching for relief. As much as they loved pleasuring you, they were dangerously close to the edge. Your head was swimming, swirling with lack of blood-flow, which only made the pleasure all the more intense. Jake could feel you tense against him, your walls constructing around him, the feeling sending him into a frenzy. He let out a raspy moan, the sound shooting through you as motivation. You had never once imagined Jake could sound so desperate, so needy for someone or something. To know that it was for you was one of the best feelings in the world. His fingers tightened around your neck once more, the blood supply cut off completely. Danny took it upon himself to pick up his own pace, a slur of curses falling from his mouth at the tightness of your throat.

Without warning, another orgasm took hold, seizing every inch of your body. You wanted to cry out, to scream in response to the overwhelming amount of pleasure, but it was as if your brain short circuited. You couldn’t focus on a single thought; you were completely lost within both of them. Jake let out a growl, finding it near impossible to stop himself from orgasming at the sight of the state you were in. He held on just long enough for you to regain your mind, and he loosened his hold on your neck. Danny pulled back, also dangerously close to cumming. The two boys looked at each other, sharing one single coherent thought. They had no idea how they were going to end the night, and they weren’t sure if they even wanted to.

“What do you want, angel?” Jake said, holding your hips so you wouldn’t continue your movements. “How do you want us to finish?” Danny was appreciative that Jake asked, because they both knew it was in their best interest for you to decide. You lifted your head, a mess of spit decorating your chin and more tears prickling your eyes. You looked exhausted, barely able to hold yourself up, but you knew you wanted them to finish, and you knew exactly how to do it.

“I want…” you trailed off, taking a long inhale to slow the spinning in your head. “I want you both.” The boys shared a look, wide eyed and in shock at the idea.

“B-both of us?” Danny stuttered, unsure if he heard you right. “Like, to fuck you?”

“Mhm,” you hummed, unable to speak from the sheer excitement of the thought.

“Are you sure, trouble?” Jake’s comment proved that he had been yanked out of the cloud of sex, his rationality returning to him momentarily. “Don’t do it just because you think that’s what we want.”

“Im sure,” you nodded “that’s what I want.” A rush of excitement ran through both of them as they glanced at each other. Danny immediately went back to the night table, grabbing a bottle of lube from the drawer. With a small smirk on his lips, he tossed it to Jake.

“You heard her.” He said, knowing that you would never suggest it if you weren’t comfortable.

“Has she… I mean, have you?” Jake asked, still processing the request. Danny gave him a nod, answering any questions that he had with one swift motion. As if he wasn’t shocked enough, the thought settled in his bones like lead. After a few seconds, a smirk began to grow on his lips, too. “Kinky little thing,” he noted “sounds like I really missed out.” Danny’s apprehension of Jake’s smart comments had completely disappeared. This time, he found his words almost comedic. Jake helped you to your feet once more, immediately prompting you into Danny’s arms. “Guess we have to give the lady what she wants.”

Danny leaned down, placing a kiss to your lips. As he did so, he placed his hands on the back of your thighs and scooped you up as he straightened his back. You instinctively wrapped your legs around him, holding on to his arms for support. Jake moved closer, his chest pressing against your back. You leaned into him, accepting his presence with warm welcome. “I’m going to go slow, okay? Tell me if you’re uncomfortable.” He explained. You gave a nod, already aware of the process. After four years, you and Danny had grown quite experimental in the bedroom. The only shock was that it was somebody other than him doing it. Jake placed a few kisses to your exposed neck, starting his exploration with his hand. He started with his finger, slow and cautious in fear of making you uncomfortable. The feeling was new, something you didn’t experience all that often, but it was enjoyable. You let out a whimper, closing your eyes and eager for him to continue. Jake locked eyes with Danny, both sharing a silent agreement of comfortability.

With Jake’s support, Danny slipped his arms under your thighs as you leaned back into Jake. When Jake felt you were comfortable enough, he moved his hand to allow himself access to you. Danny used one hand to line himself up with your cunt, and Jake did the same with your ass. “Ready, baby?” Danny asked.

“Yeah,” you sighed. Danny moved first, slowly pushing inside of you. Jake was more hesitant, but gently brought his hips forward. When he didn’t hear a single utter of discomfort, he continued. When both boys were inside of you, you let out a sigh of relief at the feeling of fullness.

“This is what you wanted, angel?” Jake murmured, already victim to the pleasure. “You just wanted to be a whore for us? Let us have you however we wanted?”

“Yeah.” You gasped, pivoting your body slightly to wrap an arm around Jakes neck. Your other hand was holding Danny’s shoulder, keeping yourself anchored in place as they began to move.

“Is it everything you dreamed of, baby?” Danny asked, matching his movements with Jake’s. They weren’t moving fast, but they were pulling you down on them as they moved, increasing the pressure building in your belly.

“God, yes.” Your head fell back, lost in the feeling of both of them inside you.

“It feels so good, doesn’t it?” Jake growled, his fingers digging into your hips. “Tell us how good it feels.”

“S-so good.” You whined, squeezing your eyes shut. The feeling was transcendent, more powerful than anything you had ever experienced. “It feels so fucking good.” You couldn’t contain your moans any longer, every sound that was begging to come out did just that, painting the room with sin. It was pornographic, the scene absolutely vulgar, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. The obscenity was fantastic, and you never wanted to leave the moment. If you could, you would have stayed there and fucked them for the rest of your life, just like that.

Both of the boys had been teetering the line of their own orgasms for the entire night. They had no idea they would enjoy the evening as much as they did, and they too were dreading the inevitable end. As much as they wanted to climax, they weren’t willing to do so without one last orgasm from you. “Can you give us one more, sweetheart?” Jake hissed, picking up his pace. Danny followed suit, using his strength to pull you down on them.

“You can do it, baby. I know you can.” Danny encouraged you, hopeful that you could do as they were asking. Most of it was due to his need for you to be fulfilled, but some of it was because he was scared he couldn’t hold himself back any more. “You’ve been so good for us, just keep it up for a little bit longer.”

“So proud of you, angel. Doing such a good job. Taking it so fucking good.” The combined praise was exhilarating; you had never felt so appreciated by anyone in your entire life. “One more, beautiful. I know you have it in you.” Jake pleaded.

“Fuck!” You exploded, the word followed by a guttural scream of pleasure. You couldn’t bite back the sound; it tore through you with a ferocity you had never felt before. “I’m gonna,” you assured them, a long jumble of curses flowing from your mouth, following the statement. Jakes hands were burning into you, Danny’s grip on your thighs tightening even more. They aimed to keep their movements synchronized, not wanting to jeopardize your ability to climax. The muscles in your abdomen tensed, your grip on them growing stronger as the burning in your belly reached its peak. You let out a shriek of euphoria, every nerve in your body ablaze with the relentless pleasure. You felt like you were ascending to another dimension, completely unaware of anything other than the feeling of them inside you. Your body was exhausted, and your mind was, too. You were completely fucked out, and they knew that. Before you came down, they both let go, too.

The room was filled with filthy sounds, swearing and slurs of names. The climax was intense for everyone, nobody could comprehend the emotion of the high. You all floated back to reality together, sleep calling to you before the bliss even came to an end. Euphoric was not a strong enough word to describe the feeling lingering throughout your body. After a moment of rest, both boys carefully withdrew from you. You all shuffled to the bed, Danny laying you in the nest of pillows and blankets, his body radiating with an air of love. They shared a look, scared that they might have pushed you too far, but after a moment, a smile began to creep on to your lips.

“How was that, angel?” Jake asked, hand resting on your thigh as a loving decoration.

“It was… phenomenal.” You breathed, finally able to sort your thoughts. “Just… yeah. Phenomenal.” You reiterated your point. They both let out a chuckle, happy that you were content and feeling the same way. “So, did you guys just decide this at the bar? Friendly talk over a few beers?” Their light chuckles turned into full laughter at your question.

“Think the thought was bouncing around for a while. Time was finally right.” Danny said, collapsing beside you.

“Saw that look in your eye when I brought it up, earlier. Couldn’t really resist that.” Jake added, thumb brushing over the skin that was littered with finger shaped bruises.

“I don’t mean to sound greedy… but was that a one time thing, or…?” You trailed off, finally opening your eyes to look between the two. Jake looked to Danny, knowing that he had the ultimate say in the matter. After a moment of silence, Danny gave a shrug.

“Suppose we could try it again, sometime.” He smirked. “If it would make you happy. You know I’d do anything to make you happy.”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” You confessed, a smile breaking out on your lips. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Jake said, adding a touch of humour to what would normally be an awkward moment. The aftermath should have been dripping with an uncomfortable nature, but it seemed perfectly right. There was no discomfort present at all. You rested your hand on top of his, giving it a gentle squeeze. You reached your other one out to Danny, lacing your fingers together.

“I do think it’s bedtime, though.” You stated, feeling a yawn start to surface.

“Right, we did interrupt, didn’t we?” Danny asked.

“Glad you did.” You hummed.

“So, what now? Do I get to sleep in bed, too?” Jake joked.

“Not a chance.” Danny shook his head, paired with a laugh. “Sorry, man.”

“Have some hospitality,” Jake feigned offence, but his smile told the joke for him. “Couch?”

“Definitely.” You and Danny mumbled, already feeling sleep settle in your bones.

“Understood.” He stood, giving your leg a gentle squeeze. “Hope you’re not too sore in the morning, trouble.” He said before gathering his clothes and disappearing into the hallway. Once he was out of sight, Danny pulled you into his arms.

“I love you,” he mumbled.

“I love you.” You said, relaxing into his hold and resting your head on his chest. “More than anything.” You placed a gentle kiss to his chest. “Thank you, baby. I don’t even know how to tell you how fantastic you are.”

“Like I said, bug. Anything to make you happy.” And he meant it; if allowing you access to Jake every now and again meant that he could keep you happy and have you forever, he would. It was something he could learn to live with, because he knew deep down that Jake was just a guilty pleasure, and he was the love of your life.

#gvf #jake kiszka #greta van fleet #sam kiszka #sam gvf #danny wagner #jake gvf #gvf fic #josh gvf #danny gvf #jake kiszka fic #jake kiszka gvf #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka smut #jake kiszka fanfic #danny wagner fic #danny wagner fluff #danny wagner smut #danny wagner x reader #danny wagner angst #jake kiszka angst #daniel gvf #gvf smut #gvf angst #greta van fleet angst #greta van fleet smut #greta van fleet fic #josh kiszka #builtbybrokenbells #greta van fleet fluff

[goldenlikedayl1ght]

scott street - d. wagner

a/n: i am feeling super normal about my relationship with my dad! and i just need a little comfort right now. reminder that you aren't your parents, and step parents can be either your actual parent or the worst in the world! i would know. warnings: big angst, huge. reader and danny sneak off to fuck, and then again at the end of the fic, domestic abuse, divorced parents, step parents, neglect and trauma, cursing, uhhhh yknow. daddy issues, but i hate that term bc of tiktok, enjoy ! word count: 3.1k summary: he's your danny, even while putting the pieces back together. paring: danny wagner x fiance!gn!reader now playing: scott street - phoebe bridgers "do you feel ashamed/when you hear my name?"

It happened before your mom got remarried. You were back from school on summer vacation, after your stepdad helped you move out for the summer. It had been the end of your freshman year.

For weeks, you tried to convince your dad to help move you out, begging him to be somewhat active in your life. He hadn’t seen you since winter break, and that was only because you had to go over to his house. Because your brother begged you to give him a shot. But this time, he refused to help you move out. You don’t go to college that far from home, but he tells you he wants to save himself the trip if you’re just going to be home a few days later.

You don’t even have to ask your stepdad. He offers.

And this is what makes it not a big deal when he buys a car decal from your campus bookstore. It has your school’s logo, and says the name of your school, with ‘Dad’ next to it. You laugh and talk your whole trip home, and it doesn’t seem that deep. I mean, your dad has neglected you for years, treating you like a toy on a shelf, and you don’t even have to ask your stepdad if you can grab a snack for the trip home.

It’s just easier for you to be around him, and he really acts the way a father should. He isn’t even married to your mom yet, and you feel this great swell of love for this man, knowing that he’d be the one to be there without hesitation.

Your brother manages to convince you to go with him to get dinner with your dad a few days into your trip. In a few days, you’ll have people over. Your extended family, your brothers’ friends, and your friends from high school.

Well, your friend. Sam can’t make it; he’s having a root canal done.

But Danny will be there. Your Danny. Being in college hadn’t been enough to push aside your crush on your best friend. You suspected the summer would probably make that even more difficult. But you hadn’t seen him in a few months, and you missed him desperately. You focus on him to get you through the dinner from hell.

Your dad picks you up from your moms, your stepdad not yet home. You sit awkwardly in the front seat, anxious for a reason you can’t quite put a finger on.

But really, dinner goes sort of well. You push through the awkwardness of it all, and it’s not that bad.

Until he pulls into your driveway to drop you off. He sees the sticker on your stepdad’s car and starts screaming at you.

You scoff, telling him you find it rich that he’s making comments about your mom’s boyfriend when he let his wife absolutely torment you and your brother for years.

Before you can blink, he grabs you by the hair and smashes your face against the dashboard. He’s still screaming at you when you come to about ten seconds later. Your brother is screaming too, telling your dad to stop, and he’s pulling you out of the car. Blood runs down your face, staining a shirt you got from Danny. It makes you start to sob as you run into your house. You hear the slamming of car doors, and your brother follows you quickly, holding your bag and sweatshirt.

Your mom swears she’ll kill him, but you keep crying. You’re too sad to be angry. But you decide right then and there, you’re done with him.

When you go to the ER, they tell you that your nose is broken. They set it back into place and bandage it up, telling you to take it easy for a few days.

When you see Danny a few days later, he’s immediately concerned.

He holds your face gently, asking you what happened. You’re tired of explaining it to everyone.

“My dad. He banged my head into a dashboard a few days ago. Broke it.” You sighed. You see him tense.

“I’ll fucking kill him.”

“You’ll have to get in line.” You tell him. You take a sip of your beer. You move on from the subject quickly, asking how he’s been, what he’s been up to. He tells you that the band he had joined with the Kiszka’s is starting to pick up. You’re thrilled for him.

It’s hard to stay away from your attraction.

The night goes by smoothly, until there’s a knock on your front door. Your mom goes to answer it, and after a few minutes, she calls you over. Your dad stands there. He has a pile of papers in his hands.

“What do you want?” You ask, putting down your drink. He looks past you. Danny leans against the doorway to the hallway. You don’t ask him to leave.

“To give you these. I’m signing over my parental rights.” He tells you. It hurts more than the broken nose. You stay quiet. Inside you, you feel the ghost of your ten-year-old self screaming for her daddy, telling him to take it back. But you take the paper, and see he’s already signed and notarized them. “It’s been a long time coming.” You laugh, biting back tears.

“Fuck you. Get out of my fucking house, I don’t want you here.” You tell him, angry now. You want to yell, because he waited until three weeks before you turned eighteen to do this. It’s an extra punch to the gut.

“No more Christmases, no more birthdays, no more support, other than what’s mandated by the court.”

“Go to hell! You were never there for any of that shit!” You tell him. He just stares. “You broke my nose, if you care.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you, but I need to do what’s best for us.”

“Have a good fucking life.” You slam the door in his face. You ignore your mom’s gaze. You ignore Danny’s. You start to cry as you walk quickly through the house, dodging your family members. You make it outside to your backyard, where sobs rack your body. Someone says your name from behind you, and you know who it is.

You let Danny hug you, hold you, as you cry.  You cry for a long time, and he stays just like that, refusing to let you go. When you finally calm down, you’re laying your head on him when you ask him a question, and it breaks his heart into a million little pieces.

“Why doesn’t he want me?”

He just hushes you softly. But, you want an answer. You demand it of him, and he gives you one.

“Because he’s a fucking moron. You’re the best, you’re kind, and gorgeous, and fucking funny. You make me laugh constantly, and for so long you’re going to date men who remind you of him, because you’ll long for his love. But he doesn’t deserve your love. And what he does… That isn’t love. One day you are going to meet someone who never questions why you don’t talk to him, and they will be his exact opposite. You deserve that type of love.” He tells you.

You just look at him for a few minutes. Maybe it’s the alcohol. Maybe it’s the pain.

You kiss him. It lasts a few moments, and he kisses back. Then he’s pulling away, mumbling no…

No?

“We can’t. You’re drunk, you’re upset. I won’t kiss you just because you’re sad. I’ll kiss you when the time is right and you’re happy. I’ll kiss you when I know we’re both ready and in love.” He tells you. You feel betrayed. You know, somewhere deep down, that he’s right. That you both deserve a first kiss that isn’t full of angst and drama.

But you’re angry. Angry at your dad. Angry at Danny. Angry at yourself. Angry at God, who you haven’t prayed to since you were nine. You pull away from him, wiping tears that remain on your face.

“I think you should go.” You say softly. He knows you don’t mean it. But he respects your wish.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” He tells you. “Don’t be a stranger.”

He leaves, and for a second time that night, you’re crushed that a man has left you despite telling him to go.

It’s been five years since that day. You’ve graduated college, and you spend most of your days waiting for Danny to get home from the studio or from a tour.

He finally kissed you again when you graduated college, promising to never let you go ever again. Promising to never let any other shit for brains guy hurt you because you wanted to be loved. He promises to hold your hand while you put yourself back together. He never insists on doing it for you, but he always supports you.  

You’ve been in therapy for a long time, and most days, you don’t think about your dad. You have your mom and stepdad. But somedays, it hurts. And it doesn’t hurt you, it hurts that same ten-year old who lives inside you.

But you ignore it. You focus on your career, your life, your boyfriend.

And one day, a few months before your brother’s wedding, he asks you to marry him. You say yes. It seems so natural; you’ve only been dating for just under two years, but you’ve been in love for as long as you can remember.

You love being engaged. You love thinking about him as your future husband. For you, there are few questions about the wedding. You’ll get married in early fall, you’ll have your mom walk you down the aisle, you’ll have red velvet cake, and Josh will sing your first dance song as well as officiate.

All these things seem very natural to you.

They’re not as easily answered as your brother. When his fiancé got pregnant right before your engagement to Danny, he began questioning whether he’d have your dad there. You couldn’t say you didn’t understand it. There were times you considered reaching out. And with a kid on the way, you knew why he would want his dad in his life again.

It doesn’t stop you from booking an emergency session with your therapist when he tells you he’s coming to the wedding.

He won’t be part of the wedding party, and he’ll have no part in any speeches or traditions. He’ll just be there to support your brother and his wife. You’ll barely notice him; Danny reassures you of this time and time again.

The wedding went well. You focus on your brother and his wife, your sister-in-law. You’re so proud of him. Danny watches you the whole time. He thinks about how you’ll look at the alter of your own wedding, and he melts a little at the thought. Your engagement ring looks lovely with the flowers your sister-in-law picked out.

During the cocktail hour, in between the reception and the ceremony, he can barely keep his hands off you. He’s pulling you out of the crowd, kissing you against the walls, telling you how pretty you are. You don’t really think about your dad.

You sneak off with him, and he takes you into a nearby empty room. An employee from the venue almost walks in on the two of you. You can’t stop laughing. You tell him you love him again and again. There’s something about someone so close to you getting married that thrills you in preparation for your own wedding.

You sit with your mom, stepdad, and your sister in law’s immediate family. Danny holds your hand as your sister-in-law’s sister makes her maid of honor speech. You make a speech too, your brother dubbing you his best man, regardless of your gender. Your sister-in-law dances with her dad. Your brother dances with your mom.

Your stepdad asks to dance with you to Goodnight My Angel, by Billy Joel. You oblige. While dancing, you tearfully ask him to dance with you to it at your own wedding. He agrees, happily. The photographer takes a photo of you during the dance.

And that’s the last time during the night that you’re truly sober, and you spend the rest of your night dancing with your mom, and with your fiancé. You love calling him that. You slow dance to your favorite songs, and that night, you decide your first dance song will be a Loggins & Messina song.

You’re getting a drink at the bar when he finally says something to you. Your father. His first words to you are as follows:

“I saw you dancing with him. To that song.” You laugh spitefully.

“With Danny? Yeah, I’m gonna dance with him, he’s my—”

“No. With your stepfather. Why would you disrespect me like that?”

“You left. You abandoned me. You wanted nothing to do with me. You have no right to comment on my relationship with my stepdad.”

He stands up to face you.

“You were disrespectful. Rude. Horrible. Out of control, I couldn’t deal with you!” You glare.

“You’re so full of shit. He was always more of a dad to me than you were.” You can tell he’s ready to hit you, but you feel a hand on your arm from behind. Your head whips to see Danny. Your shoulders slump. You’re immediately calmer. Your other hand goes up to lay on his hand, where his thumb is gently rubbing your forearm. It’s then that your father sees your engagement ring. You go to say something, but he cuts you off.

“Engaged?” You realize he didn’t know.

“Yeah. You remember Danny.” Your fiancé says nothing.

“Of course, I do. You always were in love with him.” It almost makes you smile, the way your dad remembered your crush on him. But you just as quickly remember when he called you a slut for having two boyfriends in a year. You just as quickly remember him leaving you and your brother for hours, days, at home with your stepmom who refused to let you eat any food. You just as quickly remember the pain from the broken nose, and the worse pain of him showing up at your door to sign away his parental rights.

“Yeah. I always was.” You grab your drink and take Danny’s hand properly now. “Have a good night.” You tell him, and you lead Danny away from him, leaving your father at the bar, where he was always meant to end up.

Danny says your name, asking you softly, “Are you okay?” You let out a shaky breath, taking a sip of your drink. Tears brim your eyes.

“I love you, Danny.” You tell him weakly. He can tell that that’s a no. He guides you away from the party, this time to not make love with you, but to comfort you. Tears run down your face as you lean against the wall in the hallway, feeling the thump-thump of the music from the party. He frowns and wipes your tears, shaking his head. “I thought seeing him wouldn’t hurt anymore.” You say quietly.

Sometimes the child that yearns for your father slips out. You can’t keep them inside in this moment.

“I know, baby.” He says gently. “…Do you want to talk to him more after this? Invite him to the wedding?” He isn’t coercing you, isn’t forcing you to. He’s only laying out your options.

“No.” you tell him. “I don’t need him. I’ve got you. I’ve got mom. I have Mark, and my father be damned, I have a fucking dad. Not that asshole. I have a dad, and it isn’t him.” You tell him. Danny nods.

“You have grown into an amazing young adult. I’ve been in love with you for so long, and I am so proud of you. You’ve grown so much, and you’ve made yourself a damn good life.” He tells you.

“Damn good.” You confirm, your voice breaking.

“Damn good. You’re right. He’s not your dad. Dads don’t do the things he’s done to you. He might be your father, but he isn’t your dad. And it’s okay to miss him, but you have an amazing life without him. And we’re gonna get married. And we’re never going to make his mistakes. You are nothing like him. We’ll get hitched, and have sex every night, and we’ll die in our nineties after a long life of Rock n Roll, Sex, and love. We’ll dance to Loggins and Messina at your wedding, our kids will call Patrick ‘pop’ and he’ll never have a second of your life.” He tells you. You kiss him gently, unable to form the words to tell him how much that means to you. When he stops kissing you, just for a second, he tells you, “We’ll make a new home, with just the two of us. We’ll host holidays, and you’ll never cry on Christmas again.” He tells you.

His words heal something in you. He won’t let you be hurt by your father ever again. The war is over, and now you’ll try to heal, try to move on.

Danny wipes your tears and asks you to come dance with him. You oblige. You dance through the night and focus on your future.

And it’s just as your fiancé describes. You get married. You dance to ‘A Love Song’ by Loggins and Messina, sung by your officiant, Josh.

Sam is Danny’s best man, and your brother is your maid of honor.

You dance with your stepdad to that Billy Joel song.

On Christmases, Danny kisses you under the mistletoe and holds you close.

He’s nothing but romantic and good to you.

On Father’s Day, a particularly hard holiday for you, he brings you home a cake before you go out for dinner with your mom, stepdad, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew.

It’s white, and has small hearts all over it, and in red frosting, it reads, ‘You can’t choose your father, but you can choose your daddy.’ It makes you laugh, and you ruin your hair and ruffle your clothes making love before you leave for dinner.

That night before he goes to bed, he kisses you and tells you that he loves you. That he can’t wait to live the rest of his life with you.

It takes you a long time to fall asleep, thinking about your dad, your Danny, and your stepdad. You wonder if you’ll ever have the courage to have children, out of fear of fucking them up like your dad did with you. You wonder if Danny and you really will live a long, happy, sexually vast life. You realize he is your soulmate, and that he’ll always be your husband.

You decide you’ll be alright.

#danny wagner x you #daniel wagner x reader #danny gvf #daniel wagner x you #greta van fleet #greta van fleet x reader #greta van fleet x you #josh kiszka x reader #josh kiszka x you #sam kiszka x you #sam kiszka gvf #sam kiszka #danny wagner #daniel wagner #jake kiszka #jake kiszka x you #jake kiszka x reader #danny wagner angst #dana vents for 3.1 k words

[obetrolncocktails]

Scarlett | Vampire!Danny Wagner X f!Reader | Part 1

Warnings: Stalking, Murder, witness of murder, heavy gore, intense depictions of murder/dying, smoking, alcohol consumption, gaslighting, compulsion/mind-control, magic, foreboding/uneasy tension.

Work Count: 4093

A/N: I've never written something quite this spooky, so I hope you guys enjoy! I present to you, Vampire Danny!

Summary: Danny' has spent fifteen-hundred years on the prowl, using and discarding thousands of bodies once they've served their purpose. There's no use to give feeder's personalities or learn about their lives. Since being turned, people hold little to no significance except to feed upon. It's the blood that matters. And, as much as he tried, animals never satiated his thirst. The truth is the truth. Humans always taste better. Be careful or you're next...

Her blood pounds through her veins, the sound of it in my ears like rushing water through a broken levee. I can sense her presence. Somewhere in this city, she lives innocently, unaware that I know of her, though I don’t know her name or her history. If you believe in destiny like I do, I listen to the ether and whatever draws me to my subjects. 

She is vivacious. I can feel the energy licking over my body with naive vitality, and I know. I know that it’s her I must find, that I must possess. 

My veins burn as if exposed to capsaicin, the throbbing ache launching me from this emptying parking garage to move deeper into the city to find you. To watch you. To want you. I take one last glance at the darkening cityscape before lowering myself into my corvette. The sky lunges into dusk, and I know that time is of the essence if I hope to find you tonight. I use my senses to pull me through the piling traffic. I take back roads, taking turns using my intuition to guess who you are, and where you may be spending time.

You’re young.

I can sense it easily in our connection. Good. The young ones are my favorite, and they taste the best, too. I feel my canines lowering as I fantasize about you, the sharp fangs scraping against the meat of my lower lip. I enjoy the sensation, feeling most like myself when I can let my mind wander, igniting my adopted instincts. I feel my eyes focusing harder now, my awareness intensely heightened. 

I never liked the city lights. To me, they’ve always been one of the more annoying inventions since the Industrial Revolution. The one thing they do provide for me, though, is the distraction, especially in a big city like this one. It’s ironic really. You’d think ample lighting would keep darkness from invading, but it’s quite simple. Bad things happen to good people no matter what. It’s a vicious cycle, but even put more simply, it’s called strategy.  I’ve known for fifteen-hundred years that with a keen sense for human nature and with just enough charisma, you can do almost anything and get anything and anyone you want. Marquee lights and logos pull gazes upward while I strike from behind. They never suspect me. 

✠

“Scar, what are you waiting for? Get your ass in here, ” one of your best friends, Jordan, practically yanked you inside of the nightclub. Something in the air felt sinister, and though you couldn’t put your finger on exactly what it was, your attention was still drawn to the darkness beyond the brightly-lit sidewalk and entrance to the nightclub. A loud, muffled beat thrummed through your body as you stepped into the large room, deafening your ears to nearby voices. The room was equipped with fog machines that casted a thick, low-hanging blanket of smoke. Bright lasers sliced beams of light through the haziness from one end of the venue to the other. From where you stood, the room was electrified with what seemed like every color of the rainbow. Somehow, though, aside from the laser show, the room itself was not brightly lit. What seemed like hundreds of bodies touched, groped and danced on the floor as you waded through the narrowing walkway. 

“Grab my hand!” Jordan shouted over the music. You weren’t quite sure what she had said, but you took her hand anyway, letting her direct you through the crowd toward the dance floor. So many people this close to you made you feel extremely claustrophobic, but you silently attempted to push the feelings aside in hopes that you’d reach a pocket of open space shortly. Then, the same feeling that previously flooded your body was back again–the feeling of something watching, as if you were its prey. No one would understand what you were experiencing, and hell, you felt stupid for being so paranoid. As your gaze flicked up toward the bar, a strike of energy surged through your body, searing your vision with blinding light. Every inch of your body felt like it was burning from the inside out until you opened your eyes. 

And there he was. 

A man stared at you. Into you. From where you stood, you were frozen in place, staring into his eyes while people jostled you about. 

“Move!” A disgruntled man growled at you, shoving past. 

“Sorry…” You muttered distantly to him in apology. The man who stared at you from the bar was incredibly handsome. So much so that his beauty seemed otherworldly–like if you dared to look away from him, you’d never experience that type of attraction again for as long as you lived. He sat with a confident stoicism that struck you as being out of place, as if he were a moving statue brought to life out of a world-famous art museum. He was tall and muscular, but not overtly so. His hooked nose was Romanesque, curved in an aquiline shape. His dark hair coiled neatly around his face, making him look more like a Roman God than some unassuming man in a club. His eyes were dark and sinister and as they swept over you, it felt as if he had stripped you bare and could see all of you at once–your entire life, your family, your aspirations, your deepest fears and greatest desires. You were pulled out of your trance when Jordan tugged on your hand. 

“Hey! You’re in peoples’ way. We have to move in deeper–” she shouted, but you protested. 

“Wait–” You spun to look back at the man through the cluster of moving people, and when you did, he was gone. You whipped your gaze around, trying to process where he could have gone so quickly, but when you saw no evidence of his presence or his exit, you forced your legs to move forward with Jordan toward the DJ. 

“D-Did you see that?” You called after her. She turned her head toward you, but her face scrunched with confusion. 

“What?” She yelled over the music. 

“That man!” You said, rushing up closer to her. “He was staring at me.” Jordan shook her head and shrugged. 

“Probably thought you were hot as fuck!” She grinned, her perfect teeth glowing purple under the blacklight overhead. You offered her a thin smile in exchange. “Maybe you should go talk to him!” She said, beginning to move with the music. She pulled you close so she wouldn’t have to shout anymore.  “Rachel should be here soon. I’ll dance with her instead. You suck at it, anyway.” She smirked at you with a wink and released your hand. “Go! Have fun and be safe. Keep your phone on you at all times.” 

The freedom to find the mysterious man felt exhilarating, and though you wouldn’t admit it to Jordan, his gaze filled you with fear, but also with unexplainable longing. “Okay,” you told her. “Are you sure?” 

“Go! Get railed or something,” She chuckled. “Oh wait,” She paused, reaching into her bag. “Take these, just in case.” She reached for your hand and opened it, tucking in two condoms. 

“Jordan!” You gasped with a wide grin. 

“Have fun!” She winked, and filtered deeper into the crowd without you. A wave of anxiety rolled over you as soon as you were alone. The music continued to pound in your ears, and for a moment you felt quite inebriated though you hadn’t taken a single sip of alcohol yet. 

✠

For hundreds of years now, I’ve been able to cloak myself within plain sight, only revealing my true identity when my subject is within seconds of death. Others that have known me more...intimately, have usually served as my feeders. I’ve had men and women in my bed throughout the last fifteen-hundred years, many of them truly incredible lovers, but unfortunately, they’ve all ended up dead. Turns out I have very poor impulse control. I’ve gone to mortal therapists, and they’ve all told me the same thing, besides being a psychopath of course, that I’m a narcissist. I beg to differ. I believe in hedonism. I desire the finest things in life, and being immortal just gives me more time to enjoy it all. 

 I make eye contact with you and know that I’ve ensnared you, though you aren’t aware of it just yet. Those beautiful bright eyes staring back at me like a deer in headlights. It’s not hard for me to return your gaze. I feel no anxiety, only determination. I shake the ice in my half-empty old fashioned and consider how the rest of my night will progress. Seems as I’m just getting started, I abandon my drink and hunt, knowing you won’t leave without finding me. 

My eyes roam in and above the crowd, looking for loners–people with nowhere to be, and no one to wait for them back at home. I lock my gaze onto a young man who looks to be about my age. He’s wearing thick glasses, his hair slicked back awkwardly. He looks out of place and anxious. He holds his arms close to his body like he’s used to being viewed as an annoyance to others. Why is he here? I ask myself silently, but given that I don’t have any context, I choose to follow him instead. I like it that way. He’ll end up dead soon enough, either way. In the time being, I’ll write my own story of his life, knowing very well how it will end. I feel my fangs begin to scrape against my bottom lip, and I know that I must feed soon. 

I follow the man further into the dark venue and realize he’s heading toward the bathroom. Perfect. I round the corners silently and trail him into the back, dimly-lit hallway. Back here, the noise is minimal, which makes it important to stay quiet. I’m quick, but the only way to stop people from screaming is to kill them, and I’m not interested in compelling an entire night club to forget everything. I watch as the bathroom door swings shut behind the guy, and, taking one quick look behind me for anyone watching, I disappear into the bathroom behind him, hoping I’ll get a lucky break by no one else being in any of the stalls. 

Sure enough, he’s the only one inside. Standing at the urinal, he unzips his pants and relieves himself, and, being the gentleman I am, I let him finish as I pretend to use the urinal beside him. I do not look at him. I wait for him to zip up his pants and turn toward the sinks before I lunge for him, reaching to sink my teeth into his perfect neck, directly into his jugular. 

“What the fuck?!” He shouts as I bite down, his hands darting upward to attempt to peel me from him, but he can’t. He is powerless under my grip. I siphon the blood from his veins quickly, feeling my body becoming revitalized with every passing second. He still manages to scream loudly, and, in the moment, I should have regretted being lazy and choosing to not compel him before feeding. I make eye contact with him through the reflection in the mirror as he looks up with horror. He’s realized that I’m all over him, my face and neck covered in his blood. He also knows that most likely, he will die. I can’t help but grin. 

“If you keep screaming, you’ll be dead in the next thirty seconds,” I warn him. He doesn’t listen, of course. They never do. 

“Fuck you!” He screeches, kicking against me with all of his might. They never learn, I tell myself. With a wicked grin, I reach just under his jawline with both hands, and mercifully, I throw my hands upward, decapitating him easily. It’s a shame. I watch his body fall to the floor, his face still wide-eyed with terror. His mouth still moves as I watch the life drain from his mortal eyes. Blood spurts everywhere, in every direction, and I lament over the waste of a meal. I drop the head to the tile floor, watching it roll away from me. The floor pools with delicious blood, and, if I didn’t have standards, I would have saved every drop for myself. 

Someone is coming. 

I turn slightly over my shoulder as I hear the hurried footsteps. Wiping my mouth with my forearm, I turn toward the door. And there she is. 

As beautiful as any creature I’ve ever seen, I watch her eyes widen and her jaw drop as she takes in the scene in front of her. It’s actually quite comical to think about, and I wonder if she’s ever seen this amount of blood at one time. My hands are covered in it, my leather jacket practically dripping from crimson spatter. 

“Oh my God! What the fuck!?” She screams at me, her face draining of all color. And just like that, she’s on the run, prey in the eyes of the hunter. 

✠

You weren’t sure how your feet kept up with your body in the moment. All you could remember was seeing so much blood. The man that caused it all was the same man that was staring at you earlier from the bar.  You knew better than to rush through the crowd again, knowing you’d get stuck on the way out. Instead, you booked it toward the employee only area and searched for a service entrance. You turned to peer over your shoulder far too many times, because you knew he’d be searching for you, and like the dead man in the bathroom, you knew that you’d be his next victim. 

“There you are,” a man’s voice slithered into your ears as you landed on the pavement outside of the club. You realized instantly that you’d made a grave mistake by choosing this back exit. Now, no one would bear witness to your murder, and even worse, you doubted anyone could hear your screams over the noise of the club. He leaned casually against the brick wall of the building across from you. His face was shadowed in darkness. You froze in place, horrified to even ponder how he’d beaten you out of the building.

“I have a knife!” you warned. “Stay away from me!” In truth, you had nothing to defend yourself, but figured it was better to lie than to die. 

“A knife?” He asked matter-of-factly, pushing himself off of the wall. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a pack of cigarettes and pulled one out, placing it between his lips. “Want one?” He asked, tilting the box in your direction. You flinched, stepping back. He lifted one hand to his mouth to shield from the wind as he lit the end of the cigarette. You could see the drying blood on his hands. “And what exactly do you plan to do with that knife, darling?” He asked, taking a long drag of his cigarette, the cherry glowing bright red.“Surely not to stab me.” You stood in place, trembling from head to toe. You flitted your gaze from him over to each side, considering how to exit. “You poor thing,” he teased, his voice wafting through the air like velvet. His tongue clicked  “You have no idea, do you, hm?” You watched as he took a step forward toward you, and you jumped back. 

“Don’t!” You shouted at him. 

“Don’t do what?” He asked slowly, cocking his eyebrow upward with curiosity. He was devastatingly beautiful, and though what you saw in the bathroom filled you with terror, something inside of you considered staying, even though your intuition should have told you better. “What are you scared of, little one? Why aren’t you running?” He asked with a knowing grin.  

“I–I–” You stuttered, your eyes darting left to right as you considered where to go. “You’re gonna let me go?” You asked him, your fist bunching at your sides. 

“Run along before I change my mind,” he responded matter-of-factly. 

As quickly as you could, you sprinted down the dark alleyway away from him, the gravel crunching under your shoes as you ran. And then he was in front of you, smirking. When he opened his bloody mouth, you saw the fangs as they glimmered under the street lamps.

“Too slow,” he almost sang. You halted in place, and considered turning to run the other way, but as you spun on your heel, he launched forward, clawing at you with his arms outstretched. In his clenched fist, he caught your ponytail and looped it around his fingertips, yanking you backward, where you landed on your back. The force knocked the wind out of you, and your scalp ached from his grip. 

“Don’t–” you begged quietly, your voice sounding foreign as it left your mouth. “Please.” 

“Don’t worry, Darling,” the man said, lifting his gaze to look into your eyes. You watched as his pupils dilated, and then returned to their normal size. His gaze pierced through you as if altering your brain chemistry. 

“You’ll forget everything that happened to you. You drank too much. No one touched you. You will go back to your friends, and you’ll forget what you saw in the bathroom. You’ll forget me once I finish feeding.” His hands gripped tightly around your body as he spoke. His face was crusted with dark blood, and even so, he possessed a haunting  beauty that unsettled and awoke something that lay dormant in your soul for your entire life. Feeding. He said feeding. Before you could process, he lunged forward and pinned you against the earth. An unearthly shriek exploded from your lungs as his fangs sank into your neck. In a moment of inexplicable clarity, you felt every sense ignite, your entire body burning from the inside out with literal flames licking off of your skin, illuminating the dark and grimy alleyway. Your scream morphed into a deafening howl that made even your ears ring. The roar that left your body initiated a moment of pure power and supernatural defense. In a moment that seemed to last a lifetime, you felt your entire being morph into something otherworldly, siphoning all of the energy in the atmosphere to harness this incredible, volatile power. Your captor hissed and yelped from the burns searing his body, yet he still hauled himself on top of you. An incredible calmness overrode your terror, and with simple instinct, you lifted your hand to your side, and closed your eyes, manifesting the man’s image in your head. The scene played out in your mind before it happened, and once you were satisfied, you opened your eyes, your powers having run their course, ripping his body off of yours and leaving him floating high in mid-air in the middle of the alleyway. 

His eyes widened in surprise, but not necessarily from fear. They had shifted from a deep shade of chocolate brown to that of molten gold, his hair spiraling around his head in glorious display. He was terrifying, yet inarguably captivating; and yet, you were the one with power now. In one motion across your own throat with the tips of your fingers, you manifested that you’d slit his throat, and, just like before, you watched as your power took hold and echoed the command upon his neck, slicing one deep, fatal gash from one ear to the other. You watched the blood messily pour from the gash, spilling onto his clothes, down his arms, off of his body and onto the pavement below, painting it bright crimson. You watched with relaxed determination as he began to gurgle and choke on the blood, his eyes becoming half-lidded with weariness, his body beginning to convulse and seize where he hung. Power filled your body with dignified confidence, and in the moment, you didn’t worry once about the blood. You wanted him dead. Annihilated into dust.  

Looking down at your hands, your mind began to return to that of human instinct. Your sudden lack of compassion had disturbed you as the power leached from your grasp.  You’d grown up having powers—you knew you had them, but it had been years since they’d appeared, and even so, you’d never been capable of harnessing this much energy before. It hadn’t been unusual for you to be able to make certain objects float, or make things move on their own. You’d kept this gift to yourself all of these years, never revealing the truth to anyone. This instance, however, was something very new, and, without a single drop of alcohol in your system, you knew two things were true. You were sober and that this was very, very real, and the man hanging in the air above you was most definitely not human. 

You lifted your gaze up at him, half-expecting him to be dead. And when you did, he opened his eyes, smirked, and then laughed. You watched as he spat the blood dismissively at the ground before he straightened easily and stopped trembling from feigning death and began to cackle as if he’d seen something incredibly amusing. When you made eye contact with him, he grinned widely, his teeth painted deep maroon as blood dripped out of his mouth and off of his chin. His fangs glinted off of what little light was expressed from the street lamp on the path behind the club. 

“Wow,” he finally said, scoffing. “I don’t know what I expected, but it sure as fuck wasn’t that,” he admitted with a chuckle. “Color me impressed!” You watched in horrified confusion, speechless as to how the man hanging in front of you could still talk, let alone breathe.  Peering down at your hands, you silently questioned how you were able to defend yourself from him. 

“What are you?” You asked him maliciously, balling your fists at your side. You watched as he casually crossed his arms across his chest. 

“I could ask the same thing about you, sweetheart.” He smirked widely, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Are you a witch?” He asked. 

“I–I  don’t know,” you answered defensively. “What are you?” You asked again, venom laced between every word. He huffed a chuckle through his nose.

“You haven't figured it out yet? I took you as being much smarter than that, Scarlett.” Your attention snapped upward as he said your name for the first time. 

“How the fuck do you know my name?” You asked him, practically hissing as you spoke. 

“Was it a secret?” He asked, his lips turning upward in a smug expression. 

“Who the fuck are you!?” You shouted lifting your arm in front of you, ready to will your power back in place. 

“I’m Danny. Daniel if I’m in trouble,” he answered simply. “Friends call me Danny.” He spoke as if he’d sat down for a cup of coffee with you. How could someone so malicious and evil be so careless? You let silence drift for a few moments. “Let me walk you through it, Darling,” he sighed. “Can you let me down first?”

“No!” You answered immediately. 

“Do I still scare you?” He asked. “It’s the fangs, isn’t it?” You watched as he opened his mouth, noticing the prominent canines that protruded into sharp points at either side. Then suddenly, they morphed back into normal, human shape. “And the blood?” He asked. “You can use your witch powers to clean it off, can’t you?”

“You’re a fucking murderer,” you hissed through your teeth, squeezing your hands into fists at your side. “I’m not doing shit for you. I should call the police.” 

“Honey, if you wanted an aftershow, you really should have just asked. I’m hungry anyway, and, while I was about to feast on you, I don’t prefer witch blood.” 

“I’m not a witch,” you spat at him. He chuckled menacingly. 

“And I’m not a fucking vampire.” 

With as much power as you could muster, you closed your eyes and imagined him being slammed into the earth. Hard. You turned and prepared to walk away before opening your eyes and letting it be done, hearing a loud thud on the ground behind you. Something in you had shifted, the terror morphing quickly into amusement, a wide grin plastered across your face as you walked away from him, listening to the moans and groans that escaped from his body as he picked himself up from the pavement.

End of Part 1.

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[madneedshelp]

Hiraeth - Danny Wagner x FReader

Hiraeth: a deep longing for a home to which you cannot return

Summary: You thought life would hurt less if you broke off your painful long distance relationship, but it turns out that’s quite the opposite, and now you have to fight to reclaim the home you once had in him.

Warnings(i guess?): language, breakup, angst to comfort, happy ending bc I’m a softie

“You can’t lay in bed forever. Your boss is bound to fire your ass if you don’t get it together, babe.” 

You looked up at your best friend as she stood above you. She was right. You were a grown woman, and here you were wallowing in bed over a breakup that happened two weeks ago. 

“Just leave me alone. I appreciate you trying to help, but I just need to be alone.” You grumbled and rolled over. 

Things had been okay for a while. Right after the breakup, you had went about life as normal. That lasted for about a week. Then you started realizing that you felt so much worse than you had before you ended your two year relationship with Danny. 

It made sense to breakup. He was a drummer in a famous band, which meant he was always gone, and you felt the connection between the two of you fading. It took a lot of debating, but you finally came to the conclusion that you should end it. 

Now you were starting to think maybe the connection hadn’t been fading, but you had just stopped trying to make it work. 

“Please just get dressed and go get some coffee with me. I need to see you get out of the apartment. You’ve been holed up in here for a week.” Your friend pleaded. 

“Are you really not going to leave me alone?” You sighed, turning to face her again.

“Nope.” She stated firmly. She was a law student, and very very good at getting her way. 

“Fine.” You pulled the cover back and crawled out of bed. “Let’s get a coffee then.” 

She grimaced and scanned your rumpled appearance. “How about you shower and change first?”

You looked down at yourself and accepted that she was right again. Another wave of sadness hit you as you thought about how you let yourself get in this state. You had to fix things. 

An hour later, you were showered and dressed and on your way to get coffee. You made sure to put some effort into your appearance because you thought it might make you feel better. It didn’t, but at least you didn’t look as bad as you felt. 

“Isn’t this better than staying in a fetal position under your comforter?” Your friend sighed and took a sip of her iced latte. 

You shrugged and sipped your own drink. “I don’t know. I guess.” 

She shook her head. “You can’t keep wallowing. I love you, but this is not healthy.”

“I’m not wallowing!” You fumed, but she raised and eyebrow and you caved. “Okay, maybe I’m wallowing, but what else am I supposed to do? I royally fucked up with Danny, and now I go home to an empty apartment from a job I hate, and I feel so lost. I don’t know what my endgame is anymore.”

“I keep saying you should call him! If you feel this bad and you genuinely think the breakup was a mistake, you two should talk about it. At the very least, you’ll have closure.” She folded her arms and leaned back in her chair.

You ignored the growing uneasiness in your stomach. “I don’t think I can just call him up and say ‘sorry I dumped you, but I still love you and I fucked up’ out of the blue.”

Your friend leaned over and put a hand on your arm. “Listen, babe, I’m gonna level with you right now. I have not liked any of the guys you’ve dated before, except for Danny. He’s a good one, and if you think there’s a chance to save things and if that’s what you really want, I think you should try.”

“But it’ll still be long distance, and clearly that didn’t work before.” You huff. 

“I’m not going to tell you how you should conduct your relationships, but I will say that he did make an effort to visit you and call you. I know you, and I know that you like to shut down when you’re hurting. When you called me and said you felt like you were in a rough patch, I could tell that you were already telling yourself it was over. All I’m saying is that if you both really try, I think maybe you could make it work.” 

You looked down at the drink in your hands. She did have a point about the shutting down. It was a defense mechanism that you put in place after one too many douchebags treated you like shit, but it honestly wasn’t fair that you deployed it on Danny. 

He sent you flowers when he couldn’t be home in person. He called you almost every day, and texted if he couldn’t. He flew home to see you as often as possible. He was a good person. You were just scared. 

You couldn’t be scared if you wanted him back. He felt like home to you, and you’d never felt so alone with him gone. If you wanted to change things, you had to fight. What was that thing his brother Josh liked to say? ‘Fuck fear…’ something something? Whatever, you just had to be brave and go fix the mess you made.

——————

That’s how, several hours later, you found yourself just outside of Nashville. The drive was long, but you were a little grateful it gave you some time to plan your speech. You would’ve bought a plane ticket, but you couldn’t really drain your savings, so the drive it was.

Danny had a place near Nashville, like the rest of the band. He didn’t stay there too often, only when he had work. He mostly stayed at your apartment when he was off, but you still knew where to find his place. You just hoped he’d be there when you showed up. 

You pulled in the driveway and shut off the engine. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you forced your door open and made yourself walk up to the door. You came all this way to talk to him, and you couldn’t let yourself get too in your head. 

You rang the bell and waited. There was a long moment of silence, but then you heard a light shuffling inside. You knew you should’ve been relieved that he was home, but your heart seized up. 

It’s just Danny. You’ve talked to him for thousands of hours. You love him. No matter how many times you repeated that in your head, you still felt like you could either pass out or burst into tears. 

The door swung open and you were met with the sharp brown eyes of the man you still loved. 

“Hi,” you croaked, practiced speech immediately leaving your head. 

As he stared at you, his eyes seemed to soften slightly. God, you loved his eyes. Oddly enough, you even missed them. 

“What do you want?” He practically whispered.

You swallowed thickly. It seemed you were leaning closer to the burst into tears side of things, and you were trying so hard not to do that. “To talk. If that’s okay.” 

He nodded and stepped aside so you could enter. He shut the door quietly and led you into his living room. It seemed a little messier than usual, and it looked like maybe he’d been sleeping on the couch. 

“Do you, uh, need anything? I’m guessing you drove and I know it’s a long trip.” He asked.

“No, I’m good.” You shook your head, trying to keep your voice from quivering. 

He sat down on the chair opposite yours and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “So what did you want to talk about?” 

You hated how nervous you were, and how unprepared and scattered it was making you feel. “I just…I don’t know where to even start…I guess I should start with I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Dan, I’ve never regretted anything more in my life. I ran from you instead of talking. I’ve been a shitty girlfriend, and that wasn’t fair. I’m just so sorry for all of it…and I miss you. I miss you so badly that I don’t know why I thought ending things would fix my hurting. I messed everything up so much, and I wish more that anything that I wouldn’t have…wouldn’t have…have left…”

You broke off the end of your rant unwillingly as sobs took over and you couldn’t keep going. You felt pathetic, and you were sure that’s what he was thinking too. Here you were, having driven all the way to Nashville, groveling and crying in his living room. He had to think you were a crazy ass mess. 

In the midst of your mental spiral, you felt the seat dip down next to you. Warm, strong arms wrapped around you and pulled you close. Danny didn’t say anything for a while. He just held you against his chest and let you cry, which you honestly needed. 

“I miss you too.” He murmured into your hair.

You pulled back enough to look up at him. “You do?”

His own eyes were a little watery, but he seemed to be doing a better job of holding it in than you were. “I do. So much, honey.”

“Do you think we could try again? I know I need to work on a lot of things with myself, but I promise I will be better. I won’t shut down and I’ll make a better effort at communicating. I won’t take it for granted. I love you so much Dan, you’re my home and I can’t lose that.” You met his eyes, hoping and praying that you had a chance. 

In answer, he leaned forward and kissed you. It had been entirely too long since he’d pressed his lips to yours, and you felt yourself melt into him. 

He broke away, just for a second. “I love you too. I know I travel a lot, but it only feels like coming home when it’s you I get to come back to.”

You felt a great relief sweep through you and a fresh wave of tears began to trickle down your cheeks. This man was your whole world and you intended on spending the rest of your life making sure he knew that. 

“Hey, don’t do that. It breaks my heart when you cry.” He swiped some tears away with a brush of his thumb. 

“They’re good tears. Not like the psycho begging tears from earlier.” You added with a shaky chuckle. 

He chuckled softly with you before pressing a kiss to your cheek. “I don’t think those were ‘psycho tears’.”

“Really? I drove all the way here to ask for you to take me back, that doesn’t seem crazy to you?” You laughed, snuggling into his side.

He seemed to hold you closer too. “Love makes you do crazy things sometimes, I guess. But honestly, no, I don’t think it was crazy.”

“Why not?”

He nodded towards the front door. “See that bag? I packed that right before you got here. I have a plane ticket to go see you for a flight that leaves in an hour.”

Before you started to cry again, you leaned up and kissed him again. It brought you some comfort to know for sure, even though you already knew deep down, that you’d always come back to one another. 

#danny wagner x reader #greta van fleet #fanfic #x y/n #danny wagner #imagines #josh kiszka #jake kiszka #sam kiskza #danny gvf #danny wagner angst #danny wagner blurb #danny wagner gvf #danny wagner imagine #danny wagner x you #danny wagner x y/n

[jordie-gvf]

everybody loves somebody, danny wagner

warnings : angst, fluff, arguing, language, suggestive language

word count : 1.7k+

When you were invited to your sister's wedding, you and Danny were still together. Now, you and Danny had been broken up for about four months. Six years, down the drain.

You had no idea who to bring with you as your plus one, but Brittany said you could come alone.

After the ceremony, Brittany and Michael had their afterparty. You were across from Danny at the bride’s table. Danny was at the groom’s table. Your back was turned towards Danny, so you couldn’t see him or the rest of his party. 

You felt a tap on your shoulder and turned to see Hazel, Sam’s girlfriend. You stood up and hugged her, she was your best friend before you and Danny called it quits.

She pulled away and asked if you wanted to get a drink. You followed her from the bar and sat with her as you waited for your drinks.

A girl with long brown hair came up and sat next to Hazel. “Hey Hazel! Who’s your friend?” the mystery woman asked, flagging down the bartender to order a drink.

“This is my best friend, Y/N! Y/N, this is Sheila, Danny’s date.”

“Oh. Hi! It's nice to meet you Sheila!”

You saw Danny get up out of the corner of your eye and come over to where the three of you were at the bar. 

He walked up next to Sheila and put his hand on your lower back. “Sheila, would you like to dance with me?” 

You heard the song that was playing, Everybody Loves Somebody by Dean Martin. That was your song. Every Friday night, you and Danny would slow dance in your living room to that song.

He knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to upset you, and he was very successful. She grabbed his hand and they walked away to the dance floor. Your eyes followed them as they walked together, hand in hand. Hazel put her hand on your shoulder as Sam walked up to her and asked her to dance.

She apologized for leaving you alone and you told her to go. You were now alone at the bar, nursing your amaretto sour. 

You could sense a presence next to you. You knew that Dior Sauvage from anywhere. You refused to look at him, but he kept staring at the side of your head. 

“Please, leave me alone Danny.”

He wouldn’t move from where you were and tried to grab your hand. You swiped your hand away from his and kept it in your lap.

“Please Y/N, look at me.” 

You shook your head and grabbed your drink, leaving him alone in the bar. You walked back over to the bride’s table and sat down next to your little sister, Abby. 

You put your drink down and she laid her hand on your shoulder. You heard him laughing at his table. You turned, wanting to see his beautiful smile again, but soon regretted it. 

He was laughing, with Sheila. You downed your drink and scooted the chair out, grabbing everything you came with and left the venue. 

You got back to your apartment and you were greeted by your dog, who was happy to see you. You pet him a few times and went into your bedroom. 

You quickly shook off your dress and showered, rinsing off the entire night. You finished and got out, going over to your bathroom sink to do your skincare and your hair. 

You opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed some product for your hair. You put it on the counter and lifted your head back up, something had caught your eye.

You looked in the cabinet and saw a pair of silver earrings, which belonged to Danny. It had quickly occurred to you that he still had stuff at your apartment. You had them in your palm and held onto them. 

You got dressed and went into Danny’s side of your closet. You grabbed a duffle bag and set it open on your bed. You grabbed all his sweaters, pants, and underwear that he had at your house. You gathered his jewelry and delicately put it in the bag. 

You zipped it and put your slippers on, going to return his clothing. You opened your front door and saw Danny, standing there in the matching sweater you got him, along with some sweats.

“Hi.”

“Hey. Here, you left these here.”

“Keep it.”

“I don’t want it.”

He sighed and asked you, “Can we talk?”

You nodded and moved to the side, letting him in. Hanz started barking and ran over to Danny, jumping up onto his legs. 

You closed and locked the door, turning to see Danny sitting on the floor petting the dog. 

“Hi, Buddy! I missed you too!”

You walked into your open kitchen and asked him, “Can I get you anything? Coffee?”

He stopped petting the dog and looked at you, “Do you have any of the banana soda I like?” 

You nodded and grabbed the banana cream soda and grabbed him a cup of ice, pouring it into the cup for him.

He got off the floor and sat at one of the barstools. You handed him the soda and turned to make yourself a cup of coffee. 

“You still have the Nespresso I got you?”

“Daniel, coffee is coffee.”

He laughed and cleared his throat, trying to avoid the awkward silence between the both of you. 

“What did you want to talk about?” 

“Tonight. Us. We have a lot to discuss.”

You sipped your coffee and said, “No, we don’t. We aren't together anymore, you moved on, so have I”

“No, you haven’t. Or else you wouldn’t have walked out of your sister's wedding after seeing her and I laughing.”

“I don’t know what you thought you saw, but it wasn’t because you were laughing with her.”

“Why’d you leave?”

“Forgot to feed Hanz.”

“No you didn’t, you always feed him before you leave.”

“Why are you here, Danny? To interrogate me?” 

“No, Y/N. I came here to talk to you, about tonight, about us. By the way, I never said I moved on.”

“Have you?”

He clamped his hands together and put his head down. “No, I haven’t. I try to forget what we had every night before I go to bed, but I can’t. I can’t stop thinking about you. The way you loved me for me. You put up with my long studio nights for six years, I can’t just forget about that.”

“What is your point, Daniel?” 

“The point is, I still love you and I never stopped.”

You scoffed and took another sip of your coffee, not knowing what to respond with. 

“I’m serious. I love you, goddamn it. As much as I try to forget, I can’t fucking get you out of my head.”

“Danny, please. I can’t do this right now.” 

“No! Listen to me,” he put your coffee mug on the island and grabbed your hands. You looked at him and let him continue.

“I still love you and I want us to try again. I know I wasn’t home, which caused us to break up, but we are finished with the album and the single, please. Please, I am begging you. I miss you so fucking much.” 

Your eyes watered and you shut them, not wanting him to see you cry. 

He let go of one of your hands and wiped your tears. “Don’t cry, Baby.”

“I don’t, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don't have to say anything, just listen.” You opened your eyes and lifted your head to look at him again, silently telling him to continue.

“I was at my happiest when I was with you. I find myself unable to sleep without you next to me. I wake up and feel around on your side, only finding nothing. I miss when you would bring dinner for the both of us to the studio and we would sit and eat together. I loved when you would wash my hair after a long day. I miss you.”

You cried harder at his kind words and he stood up, pulling your head to his chest. He wrapped his arms around you and held you as you cried, stroking your hair. 

You pulled away from his chest and he grabbed your face and kissed your forehead. He let go of you and walked over to your record player. 

You heard the familiar beginning of Everybody Loves Somebody and felt him come up behind you. He turned the stool away from the island and towards him. 

He extended his arm out to you and asked, “Will you dance with me, Dove?”

You nodded and wiped your tears with your long sleeve shirt then took his hand. He pulled you off the seat and walked with you into the living room.

He let go of your hand to move the coffee table, pushing it closer to the window. He grabbed your hand again and pulled you closer to him. You wrapped your arms around his waist and held your face close to his chest. 

He enclosed you in his arms and rocked both of you back and forth around your living room. 

He kissed the top of your head delicately, swaying you to the music. You tilted your head up at him and rested your chin on his stomach. 

He was looking out the window as it started to rain. You were looking up at him when he turned his head back to look at you. 

“Hi, Dove.”

“Hi, Danny.”

He moved one of his hands to rest it on your cheek. His golden honey eyes were looking into yours as he slightly moved his head down to yours, his eyes gazing down at your lips. 

You lifted your head to meet him halfway and carefully placed your lips upon his. He pulled away from you and rested his forehead on yours. He licked his lips and kissed you again, a little harder this time. 

He laughed and stopped to say, “Mm vanilla, my favorite.”

You laughed at his words and moved away from him. “Sadly, I have to work in the morning and it's almost 1 AM. You're welcome to stay here if you want,” you said and headed for your bedroom door.

“No, I’ll leave. I don’t want to intrude,” he gathered his keys and leaned down to pet Hanz before standing back up.

You sighed and turned around to face him, “Daniel, are you gonna take me to bed or not?”

#danny wagner x reader #danny wagner angst #danny wagner fic #danny gvf #danny wagner fanfiction #danny wagner fluff #greta van fluff #greta van fic #gvf fic #danny wagner one shot #danny wagner imagine #greta van fleet fic #greta van angst #gvf fluff

[jankandjonch]

Reasons for Waiting

This was requested by my sister. You can blame her for the pain. *Based off of Dorothea by Taylor Swift.

words: ~1000 content warnings: sad, friends to almost-lovers to strangers

_______________________________________________________

“Hey, honey?”

“Yes, Daniel?,” you huffed. He knew you didn’t like him calling you that in front of anyone. Let alone his whole family, and all of the Kiszka’s too. Not that they could hear, you’re definitely out of earshot and he’s speaking low and slow.

“Are you gonna miss me?,” he sounds hopeful, but still so sad and small.

“Of course I will, Danny. I’m going to miss you every second of every day. That’s not even a question,” your hand found his, tangling your fingers together.

He was the lucky one. He was going to have constant distractions, being on the road and traveling the world, being around his brothers and meeting millions of… girls. You’ll be stuck here, back home in Michigan. Waiting around for him. It’s not like you could ever move on.

“We were so close, weren’t we?,” he’s got tears in his eyes now, to match the ones in yours.

“And so, so far,” you let out an unamused laugh.

“So far from where we wanted to be, but we still had a good run, right?,” he brushed a tear off of his cheek with the back of his hand.

“We did. I guess it wasn’t really a run, though. Since you never pulled the trigger,” you dropped his hand from yours, instead favoring to tickle his side a bit to make him laugh, before wrapping your arm around his back.

“You didn’t either!,” he laughed, tears still streaming out of his eyes. He lets a beat of silence go by, just enjoying the feeling of your fingers as they find the hem of his shirt and skirt underneath it to touch his warm skin. “Long distance would be a really, really tough way to start a relationship, honey. I don’t think either one of us is strong enough for that.”

“I know, baby. I know.”

“I wanted to give it all to you, you know? I pictured us getting an apartment out in Saginaw. Working some dead end jobs, just to make a life together work. I never pictured this. I never thought the band would actually make it,” he’s crying in earnest now, you are too. Chests heaving for breath, clinging tighter onto each other. “I almost want to just..”

“Daniel Robert, don’t you ever say that. Music means so much to you, and I would never allow you to throw it all away for me,” you had a hand on his face, making him look into your eyes. Sharing just how much hurt was hovering between the two of you.

“I know,” he mumbles, dropping his face into your neck and taking a shaky breath. “Look, it doesn’t have to be forever, right? I’ll wait for you if you’ll wait for me. Me and the boys, we can go to Nashville and get the band really going. Make some good money, and I can afford to support us both with it. You can move down there with us,” he knows he’s dreaming, but damn does it feel good to have a sliver of hope somewhere in his heart.

“Yeah,” you smile softly against his forehead, knowing it was a farfetched dream too. “I’ll always wait for you, Dan.”

You knew you meant those words. It’s not that he didn’t mean his too, but you weren’t naive enough to think that him launching a rock n roll career was going to keep him humble and waiting. You knew he would do his best to keep in touch, for as long as possible. It’d be a month, maybe six, maybe a year. But it would fizzle out. He’d make new, interesting, shiny, musician friends. You’d keep him as close as possible for as long as you could, though. Vowing not to waste a moment.

~

It was four months, one week, and 4 days.

He started out FaceTiming you every day, showing you his moving in progress into his and Sam’s apartment. Taking you grocery shopping with him so you could remind him what ingredients he needed to make that stir fry you always made him that he liked so well. Propping his phone up in the studio, just to feel your presence while he and the boys played, something they all seemed to enjoy — waving at you, asking you how you felt about a certain lyric, and of course Joshua asking you to take his side in every argument.

It shortened about a month in, to texts every day, but FaceTimes maybe once a week. Then those turned into empty promises of calls, and eventually around month three it was only sporadic texts. Albeit they were lengthy, filling you in on days or weeks worth of information at a time. Month four was when you knew it was going to end soon. You had seen the video a mutual friend posted on instagram, Danny in the back corner laughing and play fighting with a girl. You weren’t jealous, not even sad. You had known it was going to happen.

Above all else, you were ready for the end. To be able to finally let out the breath you had been holding onto for all these years. The boy that was never yours, who almost was, only when it was too late. One week and 4 days later you got text, assumably a drunken one.

“Just wanted to say thanks for always being there. You made my roots something to be proud of. I’ll carry a piece of you with me forever.”

You found yourself smiling as you cried, mourning the death of the friendship you had with him, but feeling so, so incredibly proud of the man you watched him become.

“If you’re ever tired of being known for who you know, you know you’ll always know me. I love you, Daniel.”

#danny #danny wagner #daniel wagner #daniel r wagner #daniel robert wagner #gvf #greta van fleet #danny wagner angst #danny wagner blurb #gvf angst #gvf blurb #greta van fleet angst #greta van fleet blurb

[gretavansteph]

without you d.r.w

enjoy these crumbs i wrote them for you 🥹🤲🏼

-

The argument lasted longer than usual, to the point where neither of you could remember what had even been the reason that sparked the argument in the first place. You just knew you were upset, and you knew Danny could see that.

He could feel it, he always could.

 He would always say, "If you're happy, I'm happy. If you're sad, well, you're not allowed to be because I hate seeing you sad." and he meant it.

Your connection was that strong that whatever either of you felt, so did the other person. Sometimes it was nice, you know, being on that level of understanding. Feeling seen, feeling heard, your feelings validated. But sometimes, like tonight for example, where both of you were just fuming to the point of raising your voices at each other, it wasn't so fun.

 "Look, just drop it, okay." you snapped, a deep sigh following your statement.

Danny heaved a sigh of his own, closing his eyes for a second before he spoke. "Y/N, I don't want to just drop it. Not until we come to a joint solution."

You hated how nice and understanding he could be. Sometimes you just wanted him to scream at you, tell you you were being bratty or tell you you were being an asshole. You knew you had your moments, you would always admit them, but Danny never would. He couldn't. He loved you too much to ever even think of you in any way that wasn't sweet, and kind, and loving. Gentle, as you always were with him.

 The both of you had never argued this way before. Yeah, you had had your disagreements but who doesn't? But you never said anything unkind about one another, never. You would express your dislike for the situation and your actions, but nothing was ever thrown directly at one another.

 So, truth be told, you didn't actually hate how nice he was, you adored him for it. It's what made you fall in love with him in the first place. He was so tall, and dreamy, arms that appeared so strong you felt they could protect you from anything and everything. And they did, you came to find out later on. But before, he just came off as strong, in every sense of the word. And then you got to know him, and realized he was the biggest softie in the entire world. He loved to be cuddled, more often than not he was little spoon. At least when you went to bed, when you would wake up he was behind you holding you tightly against his chest. He liked it when you played with his hair, as well as when you experimented with different hair styles on him, letting you even put his hair up in pigtails once. He didn't leave the house that day.

No matter the disagreement, the both of you always seemed to calm down enough to solve the issue before the night was over. But not tonight.

 "Look," you sighed, meeting his eyes as he stood across the kitchen, perched up on the counter top. "This isn't going anywhere, we're just running in circles and I'm exhausted, I just want to shower and got to bed."

His eyes softened at your words, and he felt guilty. Guilty for upsetting you, guilty for wearing you out, and guilty for failing to mend the turbulence you were currently experiencing. He knew he needed to give you space, it would be hard for him especially having you so close, but for the night he decided to give you your space.

"Okay," he mumbled quietly. "I'll sleep in the guest room...tonight."

You swallowed the lump in your throat, not trusting yourself to form a coherent sentence so you simply nodded, and made your way out of the room before he could say anything else.

A couple hours later you found yourself snuggled up on Danny's side of the bed, nose deep into his pillow as you breathed in his scent, trying to lull yourself to sleep but it was of no use, you couldn't do it. Not without him. For the entirety of your relationship you had shared a bed, safe for when he was away. Any other time, you slept together. In his bunk, on a pullout, on the floor of a hotel room when they messed up the groups reservations, didn't matter where. You were always together.

 The both of you knew you needed to give one another space, it wasn't good to just jump back into things right away and just forget, no matter how badly you wanted to. You could talk it out and fix the problem, but space was still needed, as to not smother one another. If it was up to you you'd be inside of his skin, and you knew he felt the same, but space was something the both of you valued before your time together, and even now.

But was that going to stop you from kicking the covers off and heading towards the bedroom door? Absolutely not.

Your hand hovered over the doorknob, a second away from turning it but someone was already doing that from the other side.

 You pulled the door open the rest of the way, your heart immediately turning to mush at the sight in front of you. There stood Danny, in all his gentle giant glory in nothing but his underwear, a blanket halfway strung over his shoulder as he fiddled with the ends of the blanket.

 "I was just coming to look for you," you admitted.

His shoulders visibly relaxed, a small sigh leaving his lips.

 You shared a knowing look, and that was all he needed as he followed you back to bed, flicking the lights off and shutting the door once again. You snuggled up into his side as much as you could, and he let out a quiet laugh as your breath tickled his neck. He pulled you as close as he physically could, and then some. Legs a tangled mess, the covers halfway on but the both of you collectively let out sighs of content. You laid in silence for a while, and you began to think he had fallen asleep until he spoke.

"I couldn't sleep," he mumbled into your hair. "Not without you."

You smiled into his neck, placing a small kiss there as you scooted even closer.

"I can't sleep without you either," you responded. "Not ever."

Nothing else was said for the rest of the night as you held each other, whispering your love into the darkness of your shared bedroom. Your argument long forgotten for the time being. You would work it out in the morning, as you always did.

 His soft hums and the warmth of his hand running down your bare back pulled you under, easing all of your worries. You were okay, you were fine.

And you could finally sleep.

#gvf #gretavanfleet #greta van fleet #greta van fluff #greta van angst #dannywagner #danny wagner #daniel wagner #danny gvf #dannywagnerblurb #danny wagner fluff #danny wagner angst #greta van fic #greta van fleet fan fiction #greta van fleet imagine

[joshkiszkasgothgf]

crushcrushcrush - Daniel Wagner (Enemies to Lovers)

What happens when your nemesis becomes the only person you can rely on?

Warnings: 18+, Angst, cursing, mention of assault but someone stands up for you 👀, choking (not in the way you think), talks of a panic attack.

(Please let me know if you know who’s pic this is. Also should I write more to this?)

✨Masterlist✨

Daniel fucking Wagner.

Bane of your existence. A stolen guitar pick in kindergarten turned a lifelong friendship into a different kind of commitment. It was your lucky guitar pick and that curly haired, brown eyed asshole knew it. The last thing you had from your dad and Daniel lost it.

Sam thought the whole deal was over dramatic and above his pay grade. The lanky bassist tunes his acoustic, speaking to his older brothers like the pair of us don’t exist, and if he sees us glaring at each other he hasn’t said anything. Cunt. You huff and move to pour yourself something stronger.

Now, one of the many blessings curses the universe gifted you was a bull like stubbornness. You could mean mug and stare with the best of them and many a man had tucked tail and run in the wake of your anger. It seemed to have one exception though. A 6 foot Adonis of a man with the sweetest heart, yet he’s staring you down like you’re about grow snakes from your head and turn him to stone.

The inner child who yearns for their friend weeps at this cruel twist of fate, but the hardened young adult you’ve become has no problem stuffing the feelings down. Out of sight out of mind, like mother always said you think bitterly.

Now you wouldn’t openly admit how many times you’ve thought of Danny as something other than your mortal nemesis since that fateful day in 2005, but it’s definitely more than 0, which is what it should be. It brings you no end of shame. It’s embarrassing how much time you spend watching him when you know he can’t see.

Not in a creepy way!

This isn’t a ‘YOU’ situation, just a -parish the thought- a crush. Have you stuffed the feelings way down and locked them up with chains and spikes and booby traps along with your heart and your vulnerability? Yes. Would your therapist advise that? Probably not, but it hasn’t backfired yet.

The boys’ manager interrupts your staring contest with Daniel as he announces the boys have 5 minutes to show time. Sam stands from the couch, walking over to clap his partner in crime on the shoulder, wrapping his arm around him.

You look on in envy.

Why couldn’t he have been more careful? I trusted him, your inner child seems to wail. You rub your eyes, forcing away the tears pricking there. You had tried to let it go time and time again, had even tried to apologize for over reacting. It just ended in a fight.

“Hey, kid! Happy birthday,” Jake rasps, wrapping you in a hug. He had already done this earlier, but you assume he could sense your discomfort with Daniel no longer occupying your vision.

“Thanks. 23, I’m a quarter of the way to 30, woo!” You tease, holding your hands up in mock celebration before dropping them around him in a tight hug, pouring your gratitude into it.

Jake laughs, giving you a squeeze as if to say ‘I feel you. You’re not alone.’ He pulls back, his hands holding your biceps at arms length. “Let’s look at you,” he says in his Oliver Reed accent, “Yes, wonderful. Your working out to be a fine human being, darling. We’re grateful to have you.”

The comment makes you misty eyed and the laugh that follows is watery as you muster an “Aw. Thank you,” wiping away a few errant tears.

What you don’t see is how Daniel’s jaw clenches and his shoulders tense. A muscle in his cheek twitches as he watches the scene as discretely as he can manage.

Jake notices, but doesn’t call attention, just pulls you forward to press a brotherly kiss to your forehead. “You’ll always be family and we’re lucky for having met you,” he leans in whispering, “even Daniel,” turns on his heel and marches away to torment his twin.

A hiccup of surprise works it’s way out of you and you almost feel MORE surprised at that than Jake’s brazenness. You mull it over a moment more then file it away for later, deciding it was time to talk to Sam. Taking a couple deep breaths you make your way over. This has been the closest you and Daniel have been since the day.

“Break a leg, guys,” your voice is firm and encouraging much to all three of you’s surprise. You even manage a small smile and an awkward wave at Danny. Without waiting to hear them respond, you breeze off to take your place at the barricade.

The guy’s security guard leads you out to be in front of the barricade and the crowd screams excitedly. You wave and say ‘Hi’ taking pictures of the crowd and capturing their excitement and anticipation.

It’s not long before the guys are running on and the curtain is dropping. You capture some of Josh’s theatrics and Jake’s sweet smiles to people in the crowd, even manage to snag a couple good ones of Sammy interacting with the crowd.

You attempt to snap a couple of Danny from the pit but they never turn out right. All of them are blurry or over saturated. Cursing you snatch up your equipment and run around to the side to climb on stage just in time for the drum solo to begin.

You’d watched Danny do this quite a bit now, but something about tonight was different. Like he has something to say that he can’t formulate in words. He plays like he has something to prove and it’s a mesmerizing sight.

Keeping the camera to your eyes you move around snapping tens if not hundreds of pictures of Daniel in his element, doing what he loves. You don’t worry about checking them now, looking at them could mean missing a good shot.

The entire solo is captured on your SD card and you take a big breath as you realize just how much you’re gonna have to sift through tonight. Laughing you just happen to see the last picture you captured out of the corner of your eye before the preview disappears. Gasping you fumble with your camera, pulling up the gallery and selecting the last one.

You’re convinced you will never capture another photo more beautiful in your life. Daniel is standing after his solo, a proud smile on his face. He looks so overjoyed… and absolutely fucking jacked, holy shit.

Your jaw drops and you pull the camera a little closer to check that it’s actually there when Josh clears his throat, scaring you.

“You’re standing in my spot. Don’t you know the stage is all mine,” he teases, smirking knowingly.

“Shut up,” you mumble, scurrying away to take pictures of Sammy at his piano.

The rest of the set rushes by fast and before you know it the boys are saying goodbye and heading back. You snap some sweet moments between the boys and the fans, dropping your camera to hang around your neck as you follow them back towards the green room.

You’re about to reach the end of the barricade when some guy grabs your camera strap. He’s drunk and belligerent and clearly oblivious to the fact his grip on your camera is choking you. He’s slurring and drawling about how you’re the prettiest person he’s ever seen and he hopes you’re single cause he wants you.

Arms flailing, hands slapping at the man, trying desperately to loosen his grip you feel your head begin to swim and black pricks at your vision, then suddenly gravity takes hold and your gasping and spluttering in the floor.

Shuffling and yelling sounds around you and you curl up a little trying to stay out of the way as you cough and regain your breath. You hear the sound of bone and flesh meeting bone and flesh and a pained grunt followed by angry yells and exclamations of support for the person who threw the punch.

Just as you’re getting your bearings they’re torn away again as you’re lifted up and cradled in someone’s arms. Looking around you gasp when you see a mess of curls. “Daniel, what are-“

“Shut up,” he grunts. Seventeen years he hasn’t spoken to you and the first time he does it something so very…

“Rude,” you grumble, “I almost died. Least you could do is treat me with better bedside manner,”

Daniel snorts, shaking his head. He looks down in a way that causes his hair to obscure his face from where you are in his arms. “You okay?” He asks simply.

Taking a moment to assess your current state you immediately have a panic attack as the adrenaline finally wears off, tears begin to stream down your face as sobs tear through you. Your hands clutch at Daniel like you’re falling and you’re scared.

“There it is,” Danny cradles you tighter, glaring at anyone who tries to get in his way. He finds the first empty room and closes the door pressing his back up against it. He slides down it, maneuvering you so you’re sitting up, face buried in his neck. “Let it out. You’re safe,” he whispers, dropping a kiss to your head. “Breathe.”

His hand rubs your back in soothing circles and he breathes in and out slowly and methodically until you begin mimicking his actions. “Good,” he coos, patting your back.

You realize the room you’re in is a dark closet and you silently thank Daniel for finding the one place you’d feel most comfortable in this situation. Sitting up you take a bigger, deeper breath. It’s shaky and a little sob leaves in the exhale, but it’s stronger.

Danny watches you closely, making sure you’re coming out of it okay. “How are you feeling?”

You shrug, slipping from his lap and to the floor a little bit away from him, picking at your nails, “Like something traumatic just happened and the one person I wanted in that moment was the one person who got to me quickest.” It’s scary to admit, but it feels freeing.

Daniel smiles at you softly for the first time in almost 2 decades, remembering some far off time -a time just like this a million years ago when a curly haired, brown eyed asshole found you hiding from the fireworks and held you much like he had tonight. “I’ve missed you,” he whispers, barely audible and you would have missed it if you weren’t centimeters from him.

Two paths stretch out in front of you. You appraise both choices and choose the one you’ve been passing up for too long now. Fuck it. It’s my birthday, you think. “I’ve missed you too.”

Daniel laughs in relief and you find yourself laughing as the weight lifts off you to. It’s not gone, but it isn’t so hard to bear on two sets of shoulders.

✨Masterlist✨

#greta van fleet imagine #greta van fleet #danny wagner #Daniel wagner #danny wagner fanfiction #Danny Wagner enemies to lovers #danny Wagner angst #danny Wagner imagine

[vanfleeter]

Bloodshed: Part 5 - Danny

Author's Note: We return with another installment of Bloodshed. Apologies for the long wait but now we get into the good stuff. A huge secret gets revealed.

Warnings: Pretty tame but still 18+. Language. Secrets. Lies. Fire. Anger. Yelling. Mentions of war. Injury (if you squint).

Bloodshed Master List (Get caught up!)

Awoken the next morning to the shouting of David outside of his window, Danny grumbles and pulls himself out of bed. Ever since dreaming the nightmare, he had a difficult time falling back to sleep. He kept still, not wanting to keep Irridessa awake at his expense. So he lay there in bed all night, willing sleep to come and take over again. But to his dismay, he’d cat nap and then be awake even longer.

David’s hands grab hold of the window frame and he lifts himself up. “Daniel, get up!”

“David! Not the window!”

“Well you weren’t answering your door! Come on, get up!”

“Why?” Danny groans as he staggers over to the window.

“We’re going to check out the Winter Realm! See your new palace and meet the people! Father wants Winter and Spring to create a new treaty with each other. Winter will no longer rely on Spring but we still want to be able to trade and commune together.”

Danny sighs and runs his hands down his face. “And why you? Why not Sam?”

“Oh uh.. I have nothing planned until later today when I travel with Joshua to the Mining Realm. So I offered Father my presence in accompanying you to the Winter Realm for the morning.”

“Are you even prepared for the Winter Realm?”

“I have at least five layers of clothing on and I packed an extra fox fur hat just in case I need it.”

“Mm..” Danny hums. “Alright, give me ten minutes to get ready and I will meet you outside!”

“Aye aye, your majesty!”

“Don’t call me that..” Danny mumbles.

“Uh, right.. Sir?”

“Just get off the window!” Danny says as he shoves David off the sill. “Meet me out front!”

Flinging the door open, not even ten minutes later, Danny emerges from the cottage and adjusts his knitted hat over his head. He looks over at David who simultaneously looks like he’s going to go hike the tallest mountain while also sweating buckets because of the Spring warmth. Danny slightly scoffs and shakes his head.

“You look like a buffoon..” Danny says as he adjusts his sword to his hip and slings his pack onto his back.

“Won’t you be cold?” David says, pointing out Danny’s light layers. Just like David, he’s starting to perspire along his forehead. The warmth of Spring slowly heated him up, more than normal. Guess that comes with the territory of now ruling the Winter Realm.

“David, I have ice flowing through my veins now.. This heat is practically melting me.”

“You’re telling me..” David pulls at the scarf around his neck. “I’m getting a bit toasty underneath all of this.”

“Well you won’t be once we reach the border,” Danny says. “So stay close. I won’t be responsible for losing you in the winter woods.”

He doesn’t want to be responsible for David’s death at all. Unknowing what the vision was from last night, he fears taking his eyes off of David for even a second. So he makes him walk ahead of him so he can keep him in his sights at all times.

This war that he had dreamt of, has been at the forefront of his mind. Who knows if this adventure to the Winter Realm begins the rippling effect into this war and ultimately David’s death. But he isn’t one to find out, so keeping in close steps with David will ensure his safety into the Winter Realm and back to Spring still alive and intact.

As they begin to cross over the border and into Winter, Danny can feel his body adjusting to a comfortable temperature. Cold. He can feel the ice rebuilding in his veins. He flexes his hand, watching as his skin pales in comparison to David’s. His once perfect tan was now diminishing as the cold settled into his body. But he isn’t cold, he just feels comfortable.

“Woah..” He hears David gasp. Danny looks over at David, his jaw falling open as he watches Danny transform from his former Spring-self and into his new form–King of Winter. “That is incredible.” Danny flips over his hands as he still examines himself. “If that happens to you, I wonder what it’s like for the other rulers. How awesome would it be to have fire blazing through your body in the Autumn Realm?”

Danny scoffs and adjusts his clothes on his body. They’ve become a little tighter and slightly uncomfortable. He turns to Spring’s youngest prince and straightens out his shirt. “There’s one thing you should know about the Autumn Realm.” He says. “They do not have magic.”

The youngest prince’s brows furrow together as confusion covers his face. “They don’t?”

Danny shakes his head. “Long ago,” He begins the story as they continue on their journey through the Winter woods. “Before you were even born, there was a war between the Autumn Realm and the Spring Realm. About what? No one really knows the full story behind it, still to this day. Or so one thinks..” He inhales and continues on with the story. “Powers were abused.. You know how Spring has the gifts of growing plants, creating new life and the gift of shapeshifting. Summer can fly, they soar on the summer breezes and they can use levitation. Note to self, don’t piss off a Summer dweller or else you’ll end up with a vase being thrown at you.”

David’s eyebrows perk. “And did you?” He smirks. “Piss off a Summer dweller?”

Danny chuckles. “It was very benign and she hasn’t forgiven me since. Anyways–Autumn used to be gifted with healing as well as fire.”

“What did they do that got that taken away?” David asks.

“It’s not what they did..” Danny says. “It’s what one of them did. According to the legend of this war, one rogue healer from the Autumn Realm was having an affair with someone in the Spring realm, which is forbidden.”

“Scandalous..” David chuckles. “How did they find out?”

“The rogue healer was caught sneaking around the village. He was tortured by the King’s men until he confessed the truth of him having this affair.”

“So because of him, the whole realm was punished? None of them have powers?”

Danny shakes his head. “Not a single soul in that realm can heal by their hands or conjure fire. A forbidden rule was broken, one that was agreed upon between all four realms.”

“So did he ever confess who he was having an affair with?”

Danny narrows his eyes at David. “You’re asking an awful lot of questions.”

David shrugs his shoulders. “There’s a lot of things that I know nothing of.” He says. “Mother keeps the history of Spring locked up in the library.”

“Think she might be hiding something?” Danny winks.

David rolls his eyes. “She has been secretive about it. Telling me not to pay mind to it, it’ll scare me.” He scoffs. “I am twenty-two years old, Daniel. I can handle one scary book.”

Danny smiles and nods his head. “I’m sure you can, but Spring has an awful history. It’s best if you don’t know about it.”

“Do you know what it is?”

Danny shakes his head. “I know only what the realm speaks up–which is mostly gossip and myths.”

–

The two of them finally reach the edges of Winter’s village. People are bustling around and chatting with one another. But a few slowly pause as Danny and David make their way down the roads. Some were confused but others bore smiles and relief when they recognized Danny. David took notice of the attention and he stayed as close to Danny as he could.

“There he is!” A man shouts from the window of a village cottage. “He’s here! Sir Daniel from the Spring realm has arrived!”

Suddenly they were flooded with the village people. Some were excited to see Daniel and meet their new king and ruler. Others stood by, grumbling and groaning about how Winter doesn’t need a new ruler and they were surviving perfectly well with Spring as their aide.

David laughs cheerfully as his arms are being filled with food and clothing, weapons, and all kinds of gifts. They all seemed to think that he was Danny’s footman.

Not wanting to lose sight of David, Danny keeps a tight hold on the strap of David’s pack and guides him through the crowd. He gives the people his thanks, shaking their hands with his free hand. Eventually they make it to the gates of the palace, which stood tall atop of a snowy mountain with a long, winding road leading up to it.

“We have to walk all the way up there?” David says as he adjusts the load in his arms.

“No,” A male voice says behind them. They turn around to see a carriage with a male sitting on top of it. David’s eyes bug out as he gets a good look at it. It’s completely made out of ice, even the wheels themselves are ice. Pulling the carriage are two horses, all white with piercing black eyes like coal. “Your majesty, I am the driver of your stagecoach. Would you like a ride up to the palace? It would be a nasty walk otherwise.”

“Yes, of course.” Danny says. He’s starting to think he might just get used to this realm fairly quickly. Although he’ll miss Spring and his brothers, and keeping his eye on David, he just knows this is right for him.

The ride up the road to the palace was smooth. Pine trees covered in ice and snow line the road all the way up. Danny thought he was imagining things when he thought he saw a creature bolting between the trees at an alarming rate. But he isn’t imagining it at all. Running up beside the carriage on either side is a pack of wolves. They howl in unison and follow the carriage all the way up to the palace gates.

“Wow..” He hears David gasp. “I know this is Winter but is everything made of ice?”

Danny chuckles. “Not everything.” He says.

Once the carriage comes to a stop within the palace grounds, he opens the door of the carriage and steps out. He helps David with the multitude of items in his arms. Coming out of the palace and rushing over are three servants and who Danny can only assume is the butler.

“Be careful of the butler,” David mumbles under his breath to Danny. “It’s usually the butler who did it..”

Danny jabs his elbow into Danny’s side causing him to laugh. “Quit listening to Jacob’s stories..” David snickers and shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

“Welcome, Sir Daniel, to the Ice Palace.” The butler says as he approaches. “Do let the servants handle all of that for you.” He says.

Danny and David both hand off the items to the servants who quickly rush with them to the palace. “Is this palace really made of ice?”

“David..” Danny warns. “Knock it off.”

“What?” David exclaims, his voice pitchy. “This is amazing! I’ve never been outside of Spring yet, so I find all of this fascinating.”

“I do apologize if I sound rude, but who are you?” The butler says, turning his attention to David.

“This is David, Prince of Spring.” Danny introduces him. “He’s joining me this morning.”

“Oh wonderful, it’s been a while since we’ve had any Spring royalty visiting this realm.” The butler says. “If I recall, I do believe the current king was the last to visit. How is he?”

“He’s seen better days,” Danny says as the butler begins to lead them inside the palace. Hopefully David will get some warmth. He can already feel his toes beginning to freeze and that is never a good thing. “His health isn’t what it used to be.”

“I can assume the twins will be vying for the crown?” The butler says. “I do hope Prince Jacob is given the throne. I very much like him better.”

“Everyone does..” David grumbles. Danny, once again, shoves his elbow into David's side and gives him a warning look.

The butler shows them around the palace and eventually brings them to the library where a fire is already burning inside the fireplace. Danny grabs David’s attention and nods his head towards the fireplace. David takes this opportunity and goes to warm himself up.

“This library holds all of the history of Winter. Everything you’ll need to know is right here in this room.” The butler turns on his heels and begins walking towards the door. “Please do make yourselves comfortable and I will send someone up with a warm drink for the young prince. Winter is never kind to Spring.”

“I couldn’t agree more..” David says as he shivers.

There was something about the fire. It made him feel lively and refreshed his body, but it was not the warmth filling his body but a different feeling. Strength and power–as if the fire longed to exist within him, to make its presence known.

Danny, who stood on the other side of the room and reading the titles on the spines of the books on the shelves, glances over at David. He’s frozen there, his eyes fully locked on the flickering flames. Something has its grip on David. Walking over to him, he notices something flickering in his hands. A small but warm glow. The warm beverage hadn’t been brought up yet so the fire’s light couldn’t be reflecting off of anything in his hand.

Stepping closer, he sees a small flame dancing within the palms of David’s hand. His eyes are still focused on the fire in front of him and not his hands.

Fire?

He can conjure fire?

Danny’s eyes widen and he quickly lunges for David’s hands, sizzling out the flames with his icy hands. David’s trance dissipates and he looks up at Danny. His eyebrows knit together. “Are the drinks here?”

Danny shakes his head and pulls his hands away from David. “No, not yet..”

“Well, let go of me so I warm up,” David chuckles. “Unlike you, I don’t do well with the cold–in case you haven’t picked up on that yet.”

“David.. I need to know..” Danny says as he sits down cross legged on the floor beside David. “Have you ever done that before?”

“Done what?” David says. “What did I do?”

“You..” Danny pauses and looks around to make sure no one had quietly slipped inside of the room. Once he knows that no one is around, he turns back to David. “You conjured up fire.. I saw it–in your hands.”

David’s eyebrows once more knit together and he shakes his head. “You’re nuts, Daniel. I didn’t do anything.”

“I know what I saw, David.” Danny says. “If you can conjure fire then that means..” Slowly his eyes grow wide and he pulls David off of the floor.

“Daniel, what are you doing?”

“There’s gotta be something here that talks about the war between Spring and Autumn.”

“I don’t understand,” David says as he begins to shiver again. “Can I please go back to fire?”

“No!” Danny snaps. He freezes in place when he sees a maid stepping into the room holding a tray with a steaming, hot cup of tea and freshly baked brownies. He quickly apologizes to her, making sure that she knew he wasn’t angry with her. She shyly nods her head and quickly leaves the room. Danny inhales deeply to calm himself before turning back to David. “You cannot, I repeat–cannot–repeat any of this to anyone.. That includes your brothers and your parents.”

He starts to shuffle through the books on the shelves until he finds a book spine labeled in a gold print. War: 1703-1705. “Aha!” He exclaims as he grabs the book. “There’s gotta be something in here that will say what really happened to start this war.” David walks over and peers over Danny’s shoulders, his eyes flickering over the pages as Danny whips through them. Clicking his tongue and reading through the pages, Danny skims his index finger down the page until he finds what he’s looking for. “Oh..”

“Oh?” David says from behind him. “What do you mean, by ‘oh’? What did you find?”

“Remember when I said that you cannot repeat any of this?”

“Yes?”

“I mean it.” Danny moves over and slides the book into David’s view. “The affair that I told you caused the war between the two realms?” David nods his head. “It was between the rogue healer and your mother..” David’s jaw falls slack. “What makes this even more ridiculous? This is all around the same time you were born. The war began when the affair was discovered in June of 1703. You were born–what, nine months later?”

“Ten..” David corrects him. Danny perks up his eyebrows. “Normally a woman’s gestation period is ten months.”

“How do you even know that?”

“I help out at the hospital occasionally and I’ve learned some things.”

Danny shakes his head. “Makes sense why you would be there–because if this is true, you’re a healer who can still conjure fire. You’d be a halfling.”

“A half-what?” David slides down into the chair next to Danny and leans against the table.

“Halfling.” Danny repeats. “It means you’re born of two realms–which rarely happens. Last time a halfling was born was over two hundred years ago. Born of Winter and Autumn–you can only imagine how well that went over. Fire and ice? Not a good combination.”

“At least the Autumn dweller is a healer, eh?” David winks.

Danny groans and smacks the palm of his hand to his forehead. Why have none of the brothers been born with any sense of humor? “Anyway..” Danny says, bringing the conversation back to the subject at hand.

“Okay, okay..” David says as he leans back in his chair. “So this means that I’m a halfling, made of Spring and Autumn and I can conjure fire and heal people?”

“Along with the powers of Spring.” Danny says.

“That makes sense now because I may or may not have healed Samuel yesterday.”

Danny slowly turns in his chair to face David. “You did what?”

“I kind of knew that I could..heal..people..”

“Did he even notice?”

David shakes his head. “He thinks that Joshua’s fencing sword never touched him–both him and Joshua think that.”

Danny raises his hands in the air before standing up from his chair. He begins pacing back and forth as he digs a hand into his curls. “Okay..” He sighs. “Here’s what we’re going to do.. We are not going to speak of this to anyone.”

“I think we’ve established that twice already–three times if you count just now.” David says, turning around in the chair and leaning his arm over it.

“Well that’s the first thing.. Second. Stay away from fire and stay away from the hospital. If someone, namely your brothers, gets injured again, it will stir up questions.”

“How so? They’d never notice..” David says. “Time tends to slow down when I do it.”

Danny’s eyes bug out of his head and his arms flail in the air. “SAMUEL WASN’T THE FIRST?!” He shouts. David slowly shakes his head as he sinks in on himself, beginning to feel the rage spilling from Danny’s pores. “That is incredibly dangerous, David!” He lowers his voice and steps closer to David. “If this gets out that you’re the halfling, this could be the start of another war, David…”

“I can’t control it half the time,” David says. “I get this feeling that someone is injured and they just kick into overdrive.”

Danny sighs and rubs the heel of his palms into his eyes and begins his pacing again. “Stop doing that.. Immediately.. Use natural remedies.”

“Are you seriously giving me a set of rules now, Daniel?”

Danny stops pacing and glares at David. “This is to protect you.”

“Protect me?” David stands up from his chair. “I don’t need protection! I’m tired of always being protected! I can handle this!” As he screams, the fire in the hearth grows bigger and bigger making Danny lunge himself at David.

“Look!” He says pointing to the fire. “This is why you have to stop! Not only will you be putting yourself in danger, but you’ll put someone else in danger!”

David simmers down and the fire simmers too. “I want to go home.”

“David–”

“I want to go home! Now!”

“But David, we need to–”

“We don’t need to do anything! I have a job to do with Joshua!”

David storms out of the library leaving Danny alone in the room. Grabbing the book, Danny stuffs it back into its place on the shelf before running out after David.

Ripple effects. They can make good things happen. Or in this case? Deadly things. Danny only hopes that David will listen and keep this contained.

_____________________________________________________

tag list:

@freefallthoughts @gvfmelbourne @lvnterninthenight @vikingsisthenewsexy @fleet-of-fiction @writingcold @watchingover-hypegirl @losfacedevil @ignite-my-fire @ohgodthefeeling-gvf @writingcold @jaketlove @mackalah @lexii-nv-c @em-gvf01 @katiegvf @joshkiszkaenthusiast @takenbythemadness @jakekiszkasmommy @objectsinspvce @gvfmarge @heckingfrick @bluemeadows77 @laneygvf @sacredmachine @jordie-gvf-admin @gvfpal @killerqueengvf @jaketlover @jordinlkiszka @alwaysonthemend @hellowgoodbye @anythingforjtk @hi-hi-hello11 @anthemofgvf @gretasfallingsky @songbirds-sweet @wildbluesorbit @klarxtr @stardustsecret @sunandthemoontwinflames @everyglowinthetwilightknows @sinsofstardust @sparrowofthedawnsworld @josh-iamyour-mama @dannys-dream

(Combining lists for a general one to keep my brain straight lol)

See you all next week!

#jake kiszka #greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet #greta van fleet fanfic #gvf #danny wagner #sam kiszka #bloodshed #fantasy #greta van fleet angst #angst #fluff #danny wagner angst #danny wagner fanfiction #danny wagner fic #danny wagner fanfic #danny gvf #josh kiszka #josh gvf #sammy gvf

[kissthesun-gvf]

Backyard Blues

Desc: After a falling out with Danny, you turn to Jake for some advice

Warnings: dannyxreader angst, mentions of cheating, alcohol consumption

Authors’ note: wellll it’s been a good long while since I’ve written anything, but this little idea came to me and I decided to go with it. That being said, I still have no clue how to end it?? So there’s def a possibility for a part two, but first I have to decide what I want it to be :/ 

“Hey, you,” Jake mumbles as he sits across from me on the patio furniture in Sam’s backyard. The party inside is just background chatter now; both due to your distance from the group and the blurry thoughts taking up your mind. 

“Hey, Jakey,” you sigh and force a hint of a smile as he settles next to you and takes a sip from his beer.

“I’m gonna be honest, I’m a little surprised you’re here…”

Your eyes widen slightly at Jake’s comment, but honestly, you’re surprised you showed up too. It had been nearly a month since you and Danny had broken up, but somehow you found it in you to get yourself together for Sam’s little get-together. Even if you and Danny weren’t on the best of terms, being around the guys did usually cheer you up.

“Yeah, I’m a little surprised I showed up too. I thought it might be awkward, you know… considering most of the conversations I’ve had with Daniel recently have been a little hostile. But Sam still invited me, and I figured he wouldn’t have done that without asking Dan about it…”

You sigh and lean your head back onto the chair behind you, taking a deep breath and trying your best to clear your head.

Between the look on his face and the jittering of his hands, you know Jake is considering saying something, but won’t.

“Come on, Jake. It’s still me,” you nudge him with your elbow and smile, “whatever it is, you can say it.” 

He shakes his head and smiles, leaning back in his chair. “I’m just not sure it’s my place…” he pauses a moment, waiting for your reaction. But you want to hear what he has to say, regardless of if you’ll like it.

He lets out a breath and begins: “I think you and Dan should give it another go…” He glances up at you for a fraction of a second before staring down into his nearly empty beer bottle while he gauges your reaction, which is nothing more than a slow nod.

“I mean…” you begin, the lump in your throat forming instantly. “It’s not like I don’t want to be with him, I just… things were really hard, Jake. Even before he cheated,” the last word burns in your throat as you say it, but you keep going. “The turnaround from one tour to the other took a toll on us, one I don’t think either of us was expecting, and then when he-” 

You cut yourself off there to stop more emotions from surfacing. Jake knew where you were going with your thoughts anyways. He sets a hand just above your knee, rubbing small circles on your skin, also giving him a second to think of a fair answer.

“Trust me, I know how hard it can be to keep a relationship healthy when one of you is constantly busy on the road, but I- we all, really, thought the two of you were it for each other. You fit so well in every way…” 

He trails off, not wanting to hurt you more with his comments, but the tears are already flowing. 

“I thought that too, Jake. I really did. Which is why I still can’t wrap my head around what he did… why I can’t fully forgive him, even if I want to.”

There’s a moment of silence where you both sit in thought. You know how close Jake and Danny are, and the last thing you want to do is cause a rift between the bandmates, regardless of the circumstances. 

Jake is finally the one to break the silence.

“He knows what he lost. He won’t make that mistake again, trust me. I’ve talked with him a little, he’s losing his mind over this, sweetheart, really.”

The anger in your head fights the hurt in your heart as you hear him say this.

“You and Josh have both made it through almost your entire musical careers without cheating. How was it any different for Danny? I mean.. God, did I do something? Did I invite this somehow??”

Jake takes your hands in his and cuts you off from your thoughts, looking you in your eyes.

“Danny was the idiot here, not you, you hear me? He’s the one who blew it. He may be my brother, but don’t think I’m not pissed at him right now too.” 

You squeeze his hand before stopping to take a breath and wipe your tears.

“Do you think- honestly- that he’d want to try things again? Because we tried to talk things out, we really did, but it was hard to not turn it into a screaming match. We both said things we didn’t mean, things we can’t take back, I just… I don’t know how we could come back from this…” your voice catches as you force in a breath, and Jake lets you sit with your thoughts for a moment before turning at the sound of the sliding door opening behind the two of you.

 You expected to hear him ask Sam or Josh to leave the two of you alone for a bit, but instead… 

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” he speaks softly before rubbing your shoulder and standing to face Danny, who’s behind you looking pale as a ghost.

#danny wagner #danny gvf #danny wagner angst #greta van fleet blurb #greta van fleet angst

[builtbybrokenbells]

belladonna | i

Too beautiful to resist, and too deadly to survive; the tragic tale of belladonna in all its glory.

Masterlist | Taglist

Pairing: Danny Wagner x f!reader, f!reader x OC

Word Count: 12.5k

Warnings: mentions of toxic/abusive parents, mentions of/toxic relationships, mentions of criminal activity/criminal records, poverty, mentions of physical violence, mentions of blood, mentions of AA/NA, addictions, use of/mentions of drugs, mentions of drinking, mentions of hookups/sex, smoking, depression/anxiety, mental health struggles, swearing, sorry if I miss any!!

hi everyone! I’m so so excited for this one. I will forewarn you that this series will touch on some pretty heavy topics. i’ve been using this as therapy to avoid paying actual therapy bills 🤭 i hope that you enjoy this as much as I do, and I really hope that this series does for you what it does for me 🤍 as always, enjoy, be kind, and don’t mind any grammar mistakes!

March 31st, 2022

The sound of the radio hummed through the air, wrapping you in a blanket of comfort as you wiped crumbs from another dirty diner table. Your tattered converse were covered in spills and specs of food and your apron was stained so completely that the baby blue color no longer existed. The line cook in the back was whistling every time you bent over one of the booths, causing a blush and a slight smile to pull at your lips. Every so often, he’d make an obscene comment, just to see if you’d turn around to face him so he might be able to catch a glimpse of your cleavage underneath your black v-neck. Derek knew his limits, but he loved to push them.

“Don’t you have a job to do?” You glanced back at him over your shoulder, pushing your hips out slightly to entice him even further. He would never have the chance, but it was fun to let him believe it, sometimes.

“Yeah, actually. Why don’t you come back here and keep me company?” He sent a wink your way, causing you to chuckle. He was around your age, and undeniably attractive. His neck was littered with the peek of tattoos from his chest, and a gold chain hung around them to accentuate the detail. He looked permanently stoned, but he had a killer smile and a certain charm despite his vulgarity. His arms were strong and despite his constant flirting, you knew he would never make an unwanted advance. The only reason you refused to indulge in him was because of his very extensive criminal record, but even then, the temptation grew stronger every day. He loved poking fun only because you seemed to enjoy it so much.

“You’d like that too much.” You rolled your eyes, chucking a dishcloth through the kitchen window at him. He caught it midair, giving you a cocky smirk.

“Anything else you’d like to throw my way?”

“Leave the poor girl alone, Dylan.” The second line cook gave him a shove, pushing him out of view and popping into your line of sight. “Give me a chance, would you?” Not long after the words left his mouth, a playful wrestling match ensued on the other side of the wall. Instead of engaging in their antics, you turned and cleared the dishes of the last table of the night.

“Vincent!” You scolded, watching them battle for your affection. “If you guys break anything else back there tonight, I swear to god I will not cover for your asses!” Just as you spoke, the wrestling came to an abrupt halt, and Vincent’s head peeked up from the window. He raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side slightly. His loose brown curls hung down over his forehead, and the veins in his forehead were protruding slightly, showing you how much energy he’d put into getting Dylan to the ground. His skin was flushed red, partially due to the heat of the grills, but mostly because his blood pressure was always peaked. His emotions got the best of him, no matter good or bad, and his heart was ready to give out at the ripe age of 22.

“You wouldn’t do that to me, would you sweetheart?” He flashed you a smile, his eyes softening the longer he looked at your face. Your heart gave a small flutter at the expression. Dylan was attractive, but Vincent was completely captivating. You wish you could say that you had enough strength to abstain from both of them, but it just wasn’t true. Way back in the beginning, you’d fallen victim to Vincent’s intoxicating charm and fell into bed with him. You blamed it on being new to the city and lonely, but you knew it was all because of him. You were certain that Dylan did not know of this, because if he did, it would crush him. Also, you had cut it off pretty quickly after it started once learning about all of Vincent’s baggage. Save for a few drunken nights, the two of you were nothing but friends.

It was easy to tell yourself that, but every so often, when your eyes lingered on each other for too long, you could feel the energy in the air.

Although it was clear that Dylan’s only intent was to get in your pants, sometimes you had to question if Vincent actually felt more for you than physical attraction, or if you were just making it up in your own head. Then again, you knew he looked that way at every girl who stood before him, and you wouldn’t allow yourself to feel special (again). Also, upon learning about his aggravated assault charge from a bar fight in his late teens, you found it much easier to keep your distance after the initial hookups.

Although you hadn’t seen the criminal side of either of the boys, you knew that they hadn’t learned the right lessons from their brief stays in jail; they just got better at avoiding the cops. You made it a point to stay straight when you moved to the city, and you were intent on keeping the promise to yourself. Involving yourself with those two would be nothing but trouble, and you had grown to hate trouble with a passion.

Besides the painful flirting, they were good company to pass the time, and when you all spent so much time working together, it was impossible not to form some kind of bond.

The Foxhole was a fabled place, and after decades in business (albeit, with many changes), it was still one of the most popular diners in the surrounding area. It sat just outside of city limits, drawing in attraction from travelers and all of the concrete jungle dwellers, too. New York was a large place with many different types of people, and after a year and six months of living there, you were still trying to find your place in the world. When you moved, you had little money in your pocket and lots of hope in your heart. You had a backpack full of clothes and personal items and nothing else but a dream, running as fast as you could to get away from the curse of being your mothers daughter.

Eighteen months later, it felt like you were still running.

You went to a public library and printed off a million copies of your resume (which was incredibly bleak, with only one previous job and a reference stated previous employer, but was really your best friend from high school) and you applied at every bar, restaurant and corner store within walking distance of your low income rental. The Foxhole, although not your dream job, responded within days to schedule an interview. You showed up with a smile and kindness, but quickly realized that not even friendliness was a requirement to be a server there. John, the (third) owner, asked if you had a criminal record (with a follow up question of ‘if you do, how extensive is it?’). Not ten minutes later, you had an apron in hand and you were scheduled for the upcoming week.

Not long after starting, you quickly gauged the environment of your new workplace. The Foxhole, although popular with the public, was an absolute shithole (You soon learned that this was actually the nickname your fellow employees referred to it as). In the seventies, it started as an old tavern. It was popular with middle aged men who hated their families, but not many others. It ran for just under a decade before the original owner stopped paying his mortgage and filed for bankruptcy, and the whole establishment flopped. It was then purchased by a younger couple in an estate sale from the bank in the early eighties, who decided to keep the bar theme. Instead of marketing themselves to middle aged, miserable men, they painted it bright colors and added a dance floor, trying to push the disco theme. To nobody’s surprise, they followed in the same footsteps as the original owner.

Although they did try a bit harder, and the proof remained to this day. You could see bolts in the floor of the old dancing area, signifying a stripper pole was once installed. They put in some more booths and tried to push a menu, but eventually, it went belly-up. Before the banks could foreclose a second time, John stepped in and made the purchase, which ended up changing his life. From the stories you’d heard, you could not gauge if it was for better or for worse. John gutted the whole place and painted over the abhorrent neon colors, placed an old jukebox in the corner and refinished the interior. He named it Foxhole, and seemed to strike gold despite the building causing nothing but shit for previous owners. With a small menu and cheap food, he’d been milking the success for over thirty years.

Success meant little when it equated to making only enough money to keep the doors open, though.

Employed at the Foxhole was four female waitresses who were older than the building itself, five line cooks (three who had a criminal record), two busboys, and four young women who waitressed the overnights (including you). John worked nearly 24/7, and his wife sat in the office and yelled at him all day. They capitalized off employing older women who had nowhere else to go, struggling students, and ex-convicts and addicts. That way, they could offer employment to the desperate and still pay them much less than anyone else. Plus, shared tips were a great selling point. Besides, how else would you find staff for the only 24-hour diner in the area?

You took the Thursday-Sunday overnights with a girl named Katie, while the other young waitresses took the rest of the nights. The older waitresses split the days, and the line cooks worked according to a similar schedule. Vinny and Dylan almost always worked with you, and a part of you was grateful for it. Although they had their flaws, you had grown to enjoy their company, and could honestly say that they were the only real friends you’d made since moving to the city.

“You gonna go home and write your silly little poems?” Vinny asked, his Brooklyn accent nearly grating as he hoisted himself up on the counter. As he waited for a response, he gave you a smirk. You rolled your eyes, dunking your hands into the steaming water in the industrial sinks. It was nearing 5, which meant you only had an hour left to go.

“Yeah, all about me.” Dylan cut in, leaning against the door of the walk-in freezer.

“Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart.” You could only manage a half-smile as you spoke, the thought of writing nearly tearing your heart in two.

“What’s wrong, dollface?” Vincent asked, picking up on your withdrawal. “You better still be writing. That’s the whole reason you came here. That’s your ticket out of here.” His lips turned down into a frown.

“I… I am, yeah.” You nodded, drying your hands on your apron. You didn’t have the heart to look him in the eyes, nor could you admit that writing was the last thing you wanted to do. Inspiration had run dry, and now you were stuck wondering if this really was the end of the road, or if your mother was right and you would come home with your tail between your legs. For the last year and a half, you wrote about everything; the way the trees looked in the sunlight, the skyscrapers, the way the birds chirped, and even the cracks in the sidewalk. You found inspiration in your own sadness and fear, and your own happiness when it came along (even if it was rare). You wrote about failed relationships and lost friendships, and most of all, you wrote about the broken kinship between you and the woman who gave birth to you.

Writing was your safe space, but now that the motivation had passed, you were left feeling unsecure and lost. You feared that you had written every single thing that your brain could come up with, and that the desire would never return. Since the decline began, you’d been desperately searching for something to give you that spark back. You sat at the grocery store for hours, overlooking the produce, brightly coloured yet blemished. You looked between the cracks in the city stone, finding moss rooted and peeking out from the concrete. You looked at the sprouts of weeds in the sidewalk, and the crying babies and laughing children as they passed you on the street.

You searched everywhere for just a hint of an idea, but you were left with nothing. The feeling was gutting, and you feared that you did not know how to live without your pen pressed to paper.

You’d heard stories of writers block, and lately, even found yourself reading articles about it, but you had come to one, horrible realization; you had never experienced it before, and you were unsure if it was truly just a bout of writers block, or if it was a permanent, more serious issue. After twenty three years, you had never felt this way, and you were beginning to believe that it was just the way life was, now. You went home after work, sleeping for hours instead of your usual routine of writing until your eyes forced themselves shut. You couldn’t look at your laptop, and your journal was a stranger.

You came to New York to write a book, but you feared that you were now stuck in New York with nothing but a wasted dream and crushed hope.

“I’m definitely no palaeontologist, but I think you might be lying.” Vinny raised an eyebrow, pointing a finger at you.

“P-palaeontologist?” You asked, stifling a laugh. “Do you by any chance mean… a psychologist?”

“Oh, fuck off with all your fancy words.” He snipped, getting defensive. For a moment, you could see the vein in his forehead pop out again in frustration. “Clearly you know what I fuckin’ meant. You know I didn’t graduate.”

“No, no, I think you have me misunderstood. I’m actually quite impressed you know that word.” You assured him.

“Yeah, but I don’t really know what it means.” He calmed down, laughing at his own stupidity.

“That’s okay, darlin’.” You reached out, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “I guess I am lying.” You shrugged, looking towards the floor. “I haven’t really been writing much at all, lately.”

“Why not?” Dylan joined, immersed in the conversation now that the laughter died down.

“I don’t know,” you sigh “guess I just haven’t had much inspiration. Hard to write something meaningful when I know nobody is ever going to read it… or fucking care about it.” You grumbled.

“Listen, I know we can’t read very well, but I’m sure the two of us could piece it together.” Dylan gave Vinny a pat on the shoulder, smiling over at him. Vincent nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, we care, sweetheart. Don’t we count?”

“Of course you do.” You chuckle, finding your cheeks heat with a blush. “It’s just… weird, right now. I usually want to write about everything, no matter what. Emotions, memories, places I’ve visited, but now I don’t feel like anything is worth writing about. I don’t feel like it’s interesting enough.” You tried to explain it. “Feels like I’m just putting words on a paper, and nothing more. Think maybe I’ve been in my head a little too much. Sad and angry, and all of that… fuck, I don’t know.” You groan, running a hand through your hair.

“Why don’t you write about that, then?” Vincent offered. You looked up at him for a moment, contemplating his words. “If you’re feeling all of that stuff, then maybe it’ll mean something more.”

“Yeah,” Dylan agreed. “Go home tonight and write about not wanting to write. Maybe it’ll help you figure your shit out.” You looked between the two, giving a soft smile. After a few moments, you gave a slow nod.

“Yeah, maybe I will. Think you guys might finally be right for once.” You teased, trying to keep the conversation light. Vincent’s face lit up with a grin, happy that you thought it was a good idea.

“What can I say? I’m more than just a pretty face.”

April 3rd, 2022

You stood, top half leaned out the back door of the building as a cigarette smoldered in your hand. The night was darker than usual, and the city was much quieter, even for a Sunday. You took a long inhale of smoke, puffing your cheeks out and pursing your lips as you blew it outside in the direction of the dumpsters. As you did so, you felt a hand on your lower back as someone reached to open the door a little more. Vincent leaned his head out beside you, just over your shoulder as he gave you a cheeky smile and raised an eyebrow. Without any words exchanged, you rolled your eyes but brought the cigarette to his lips. His eyes fluttered closed as he took a drag, waiting a moment before he exhaled through his nose. His hand remained on the small of your back, the gentle touch sending a shiver down your spine.

“You can use your words, you know.” You tried to sound stern, but there was a smile on your face as you continued holding the cigarette to his lips.

“Why should I? You already know what I want, sweetheart.” He shot back, taking another haul.

“I do,” you chuckled. “For some reason, I don’t think it’s a cigarette, though.” His grip on you tightened for a moment as he shot you a sideways glance.

“What do you think I want then, Miss know it all?”

“An excuse to talk to me?” You raised an eyebrow, offering the idea. He stayed silent for a moment, but eventually gave a slow nod. A smile began to break out on his lips, knowing he’d been caught.

“So what? You have a problem with that, sugar?” His body was closer to you than it had been in a long time, and you wondered if he was taking his shot while Dylan was preoccupied with the freezer inventory.

“No,” you whispered, shaking your head. “Unless I should have a problem?”

“Nope,” he popped the p, shaking his head. His head was still turned to face you, his lips unbearably close to your own. He watched as your gaze flickered down towards them, but he didn’t move any further. “Goin’ to the Pony after this, if you’re interested?”

“Are you actually, or is it just an excuse for me to let you sleep at my place?” You questioned. The Pony was a bar just around the corner from your apartment complex, and it was in just as poor shape as the Foxhole. The drinks were strong and cheap, but it didn’t have much else to offer (except for smoking inside, which was a rare thing to stumble upon). There were a few old slot machines in the back, and they played blackjack in the main room on Tuesday’s.

It was mostly occupied by gangbangers who were looking for a new client to sell to, and 70 year old men who chose drinking over starting a family. Vincent went quite often, but you feared that it was for one of two reasons; he was still caught up in his old habits, or he was trying to find an excuse to wiggle his way back into your life. He lived on the other side of town, and once he had a few beers into him, the drunk calling started, and you were never one to let him drink and drive. He knew this well, and he used it to his advantage.

There had been many nights where he came knocking on your door, or when you stumbled out into the darkness to find him drunk, leaning against his car with a grin but no intent to drive. His brown eyes would sparkle in the moonlight, and his soft lips would invite you in. He wouldn’t have to speak a word to get you to open your arms, inviting him in for a hug before you inevitably invited him upstairs. He spent many nights on your couch, but a few in your bed. As much as you wanted to scold him for pushing his luck, you knew you were the only one to blame; you invited him in every time, and you woke in the morning with a sense of freedom and happiness, like you’d just broken free from the chains you had placed so tightly around your own wrists.

You wanted him, and somehow even after convincing yourself that he was bad for you, you never felt a shred of regret for what you did with him. He wasn’t all that bad, but you knew that distance was your best option; he did not seem to outgrow the bad habits you had tried so hard to keep yourself away from. That did not make him a bad person, nor did it make him any less important to you, but you knew that if you wanted to keep yourself on the right path, a relationship with him was out of the question.

“If I wanted to come over, I would ask, and you’d say yes.” The cockiness radiated from him, and you hated that it only seemed to entice you further.

“Vincent…” you warned, giving him a sad stare.

“Oh, would you cut that shit, y/n?” He snapped, the withdrawal seeming to sting him. “You make it seem like I’m a monster.”

“That’s not… that’s not what I meant, and you know that.” You felt the fire burning in your chest, but you managed to swallow it back.

That was another reason to stay away from Vincent; he always seemed to bring out the worst of your emotions at the drop of a dime.

“Then what do you mean, doll? ‘Cause I don’t seem to be understanding.”

“Fine, Vin. You want me so bad, get clean.” You snapped, just the thought of it irritating you. “I’m not going through rehab all over again ‘cause you want to fuck me.” The words seemed to hurt him, but you were unsure of the reason. Part of you wanted to believe it was because he was appalled that you would ever think that he would let you backslide, but the more logical part of you knew it was because he hated your rejection. He had a taste of the sweetness you had to offer, and he couldn’t stand the idea of never having it again, but it came between you and his lifestyle, you knew what the priority was. “The Pony’s a shithole anyway. Wouldn’t want to waste my morning there.”

He looked like he wanted to fight, but instead his lips turned into a tight frown as he gave a curt nod of his head. “Once an addict, always an addict, right?” He said, moving back from you completely.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” You rolled your eyes, turning to face him.

“It means,” he said, narrowing his gaze at you. “That’s all you’ll ever fuckin’ see me as.” You swallowed the sour taste in your mouth, scowling at him as his chest heaved with his hurt. Vincent’s biggest flaw was not the addictions, nor his history with the law, but how every emotion he felt always seemed to dissolve into anger, and his ability to turn every conversation into a fight. “At least getting high never makes me feel the same way you do.” With that, he turned on his heel, storming off to join Dylan in the freezer. You tried to hide the look of hurt on your face as you tossed the cigarette butt in the bucket, slamming the door with enough force to shake the walls. You threw your lighter down next to the pack of smokes sitting on the metal shelving unit, walking back out into the main area to keep cleaning.

When you walked out the swinging half-door, the other waitress, Katie, leaned against the counter while scrolling her phone. She looked up at you just for long enough to give you an expression of distaste, almost biting her tongue hard enough to hold back a snide comment.

“You planning on working tonight, or are you just going to make the whole place smell like cigarettes?”

“Yeah, ‘cause you sure look like you’re fucking hard at work.” You grumbled, kicking the rolling mop bucket out from behind the counter. The dirty mop water sloshed from the sides, spilling over onto the floor and inevitably pissing you off even further.

“You have another fight with your boyfriend?” She smirked, the sneer in her tone making your skin crawl.

“Do you ever take a night off from being insufferable, or is that a permanent kind of thing?” You grabbed the blue metal handle, ringing the head of the mop out before swinging it over the side. It landed on the tile floor with a squelch, and you wasted no time in cleaning up the mess you made. She didn’t respond to your jab, instead making a move to restock the jam holders at all of the tables. You worked hard scrubbing the grime from the floor while she took her time making sure the single-serve condiments were organized. Every so often, you shot a piercing glare at the back of her head, wondering what it would be like if you threw the whole mop and bucket at her.

Katie was undoubtedly the worst part of working at the Foxhole, and you considered it a victory when she called in sick for her shifts. It was a regular occurrence, and since you were hired, you’d heard that it only became more common. Your distaste for being around each other was shared, and you knew hers stemmed from your ability to get along with Vincent and Dylan. Or, perhaps, their ability to get along with you.

From the beginning, it had been clear that you were not the only one who’d fallen victim to Vincent’s charm, yet you seemed to be the only victor when it came to his heart.

When you first arrived, Katie did not seem all that miserable. She was timid, but smiled at you and taught you the ropes. You would have to be blind to miss the nervous stutters and blushing cheeks when she was around Vincent, and it made you think the two of them had something beyond what it looked on the surface. You quickly learned that was not the case, and her schoolgirl crush resulted from a lazy hookup in his car after a long night shift, and after that, his interest in her greatly declined. When you both walked in the front door of the Fox one day, standing a little too closely with matching hickeys on your neck, her smiles became scarce and her desire to get to know you fled.

You did not know the history between the two when you first hooked up with Vincent, nor did you know much of anything else. It did not take long for her to do whatever she could to make you miserable, starting with explaining Vincent’s criminal record and (required by parole guidelines) his AA/NA meeting combination. Instead of jumping the gun and shutting him out, you approached him with the new found information looking for an answer, and after some heavy avoidance, he admitted to all of it. It was a long night shift with many conflicting emotions, but you eventually came to the conclusion that you had to stay away for your own sake, despite already falling for him beyond anything you’d felt before.

Even after you ended things, Vincent and you remained close friends, and every so often, broke the boundaries you had set in place. Katie still hated you, despite your efforts to apologize and make amends, and Vincent seemed like he struggled to comprehend the fact the two of you could not be together. It was a shitshow, yet it was oddly comforting. You weren’t sure if you could handle it if something were to suddenly change. Even when your misery got the best of you, you knew that Katie would always hate you and her snide remarks would keep you on your toes, that Vincent would always trip over himself to flatter you (which would eventually lead to a fight), and Dylan would never know the true extent of the situation and serve as comedic relief.

As you finished mopping the corner tiles, relieved that most of the dirt was lifted from the floor, something light struck you in the back of the head. You furrowed your eyebrows, letting out a small huff as you turned in the direction it was thrown from, first looking at the floor to find a balled up piece of receipt paper. Then, you saw Vincent looking at you, a playful smile on his face, but regret in his eyes. You placed the mop back in the bucket, using the handle to wheel it along with you as you walked towards the back. Vincent’s eyes followed you as you moved towards him, but he didn’t speak. When you joined him in the kitchen, wheeling the bucket towards the mop closet, he followed close behind.

“You have something to say?” You grumbled, opening the closet door as you flipped the bucket upside down on top of the grate covering the drain. You were still upset, and he could see that. His words, like always, had a huge impact on you. You wished he would think before he spoke rather than speaking out of anger and trying to apologize ten minutes after the fact. For someone who claimed he cared, he wasn’t very good at showing it.

“Sorry, sweetheart.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking down at his feet. “Shouldn’t have said that.” You held back a scoff as you let the closet door fall shut, not straining yourself to soften the slam. “Do you ever think that maybe, instead of turning straight to insults, you should bite your tongue for a second and fucking think about what you’re saying?” You brushed past him, grabbing the spray disinfect and a new rag. This time, he didn’t respond, which only seemed to piss you off more. “I’m not out to get you, Vincent. I’m protecting myself.”

“From what, y/n? You keep saying that, and I don’t get it.”

“I moved here to purse my dream of being an author, but I also came here to get away from the life I made for myself at home. I spent six months in rehab, and the minute they let me go, I packed my stuff and I ran. I thought that once I got here, I could start over.” You paused for a moment, spraying down the metal countertops. You took a long breath before speaking again. “I like you, but I don’t like that lifestyle, Vin. I’ve already fucked up too many times, and I’m scared that if I do it again, there’s no going back. Besides, I can’t pay for another detox at the hospital.” You chuckled at the thought, knowing that the seven days of torture was not worth the thousands of dollars, even with insurance coverage (which the Foxhole definitely did not provide).

“Okay,” he gave a slow nod, looking across the kitchen to gather his thoughts. “So… if I get clean, you say you’ll give me a shot?”

“Sure, yeah.” You forced out the words, the pained look on your face clear. In a perfect world, that’s how it would be, but you knew that he’d never stick to the promise. You couldn’t force him sober, and he didn’t really want to recover. Even if he did, you weren’t sure if you could trust him enough to believe he would stick with it. The conversation went the same way every time, and clearly no progress was made, hence why you were sitting in front of him explaining the same things for the millionth time. You could not allow yourself to get your hopes up, and you could not trust him while knowing that making a promise to stay sober for any person other than yourself is a terrible idea.

“I think… do you think that I don’t care?” You stopped for a moment, your whole body freezing as you wiped the lemony-smelling cleaner from the countertop.

“What?” You asked, looking back over your shoulder at him. His brown eyes looked sad beneath the tough exterior he’d built up. His cheeks were red, irritated from the cold of the freezer. He was only a couple inches taller than you, but in the moment of high emotion, It felt like he was towering over you. For once, anger did not seem present in his face.

“I know… I’m not the best at the whole emotions thing, and I say shit I don’t mean, but I care if you’re sober too, doll. I mean, your last detox was… it was hell. I don’t want you to go through that again.” You swallowed hard at the thought of the relapse, and the thought of his concern.

“You just hated working without me.” You forced a smile, trying to lighten the mood. When focusing on your own addictions, you began to panic. The fact that he knew that part of you so well scared the shit out of you, but also made you feel like he should understand why you were setting the boundaries. There were many things you didn’t understand about Vincent, the biggest one being his long list of red flags, yet his huge heart that cared about everyone so deeply. You knew that it was not entirely his fault; he had no guidance growing up, nor did he have anyone to help him correct his mistakes, but that did not change the fact that he was a 22 year old man that did not know how to hold himself accountable for anything.

Vincent was many things; a son born into a family who did not care if he lived or died, a child who was never loved the way a child should be, and a hurt little kid who grew into a man that was angry, lost, and trying to bargain with his crushing disappointment over his own failures. He struggled with the law, but more than anything, he struggled with his own demons. He had an addiction he could not face up to and overcome, and monsters in the closet that all looked like his father with a belt in his hand. He had a criminal record which stopped him from pursuing the things he once dreamed of, and was destined to be stuck working at the Foxhole until he could either clean himself up, or he died.

He was vindictive, sly, arrogant, and naive. He was raised by drug dealers who taught him all of the wrong morals, and who always made it a point to show anger before any other emotion. He was taught how to evade the law, and how to use fists instead of words. He picked himself up off the ground every time he fell, and grew a nasty amount of independence. He relied on nobody but himself, and would not let anyone take that away from him. He did not know how to trust, nor did he know how to love, but god did he want to. He felt like he needed to, especially when his eyes landed on you.

Despite his struggles, he was not a bad person. He cared deeply for the people that were important to him, and he would die for them on any given day. He was funny, and he was goofy, and he was great company. He was easy to fall in love with, but that was the danger. Although all of those things were true, down to the core, what he said earlier was correct; he was an addict, and worse than that, an active addict. Nothing was more important than a fix, and it turned him into the worst version of himself. You were no stranger to the evils of substance, but now that you were sober and intent to stay that way, you could finally see the monsters it created. His irritability and his lack of control over his emotions was staggering, and his inability to understand the harm he was putting on to others was catastrophic. He was selfish, and so much so that it constantly hurt others in the crossfire.

You could not judge him too harshly, because you knew all too well that it would take little for you to become that person again, too.

Even though you saw him for all of his flaws, you saw him as a human being, too. You saw him as the charming man who only had to smile in order to make your stomach fill with butterflies. You knew him as the boy who would drive you around as needed, or would lend you his car if he needed to be elsewhere. You saw the man who showed up at your front door with a wrench and a smile when your pipes burst in the kitchen sink and your landlord did not care enough to fix it. He was your friend, and he was someone you cared deeply about. His addiction was not who he was, but rather what made him be so hard to digest sometimes. You knew that if he managed to get clean and stay that way, he could be that person all of the time.

Unfortunately, you did not have the courage nor the ability to help him get there, and the thought of that alone nearly killed you.

Helping him was all you wanted to do, but you knew better than anyone that the only person who could help Vincent was himself.

“Don’t look so sad, sweetheart.” He said, reaching out and laying a gentle hand on your arm. You looked down as his fingers connected with your skin, the touch sending jolts of electricity through your whole body. You caught his eye, your lips turned down into a frown. You wished so bad for it to be easy, but after twenty three years, you knew that this lifetime was never meant to be kind to you.

Before you could speak, you heard the familiar chime of the bell above the door. You looked between Vincent and the empty dining room. As if she knew, Katie peeked her head back into the kitchen, giving you a look and a raised eyebrow.

“They’re in your section.” You could hear the distaste in her voice. Unlike usual, you didn’t have a witty comment or a sarcastic response to shoot back at her.

“You… you can have it. Take the tip, too. Don’t care.” You muttered. “I’ll finish cleaning.” For a second, you thought you saw a shred of humanity in her eyes when she caught sight of your pained expression. Without any further words, she turned and left the two of you alone again. Before Vincent could continue your earlier conversation, Dylan pushed open the door of the freezer and stepped out, shuddering at the sudden rush of warmth on his skin. The tip of his nose was burning red and his teeth were chattering together.

“Cold enough for you, dumbass?” Vincent asked, baffled and Dylan’s refusal to wear anything other than a t-shirt while he did inventory.

“Keeps me awake.” He said, doing a couple small jumps in his spot to get the blood rushing through him again.

“No, makes you look stupid.” You corrected, wiping at the counter again. “Is that grill on? We’ve got a customer.” You nodded towards the blackstone grill that looked awfully cool. No billows of black smoke were filtering into the air, telling you they definitely turned it off in anticipation of having no more customers for the night. Dylan rolled his eyes, but flicked on the heat to the max, hoping to get it hot before Katie brought back the order.

“Who the fuck goes out to eat at,” he paused, looking at his watch “two in the morning on a Sunday?”

“Obviously them, and enough people that John decided to keep us open 24 hours.” You sighed, knowing you would have to clean the dining room all over again.

“Okay, miss know it all.” Dylan put on a mocking smile as he walked to the window to grab the order slip. Once you deemed the kitchen clean enough, you sat atop one of the counters you’d just scrubbed clean. Vincent seemed to be keeping his distance, now. You weren’t sure if it was because you had hurt his feelings, or he was too afraid to show his emotions around Dylan. Katie hung out by the window, using the soda machine just underneath to pour the customers their drinks. “You write about not wanting to write, yet?” Dylan asked, throwing a veggie burger on the grill.

“No, not really.” You chuckled, looking down at your hands. “I mean, I did, but it was terrible.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, doll.” Vincent said, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yeah, no, it definitely was.” You gave a slow nod. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Feels like I can’t write anything anymore.” You sighed. “I’m trying to find inspiration in anything, but it all just seems… bleak.”

“It’ll come, always does.” Dylan assured you, flipping the food with the thin metal spatula.

“Yeah,” you noded, trying to believe it. You ran your hands over the hem of your apron, pondering your lack of a muse, when suddenly it seemed like the universe was laughing at you.

No, it wasn’t the universe laughing; it was something far more beautiful and melodic than something that was normally so sinister.

Your head snapped up and your heart pounded against your chest. The sound was so powerful that it seemed to shake the whole building, making the rotten foundation quiver and threaten to give way. More than powerful, it was breathtaking, and you were desperate to know where it was coming from. You looked out the window, peeking into the dining room to see what the commotion was, and why it was so striking that it made your heart skip a beat. Your eyes soon landed on the corner booth, taken by the only two customers in the entire store. Sat in the very corner, shoulder pressed against the window that onlooked the road dimly lit by street lamps, was a man who was certainly the most beautiful you had ever seen.

The smile was still lingering on his lips and the ghost of his laugh hung thick in the air. His hair, long and curly, hung down over his broad shoulders to frame his beautiful crafted face. A tattered band shirt with the sleeves cut off and a worn out logo magnified his strong arms. His jawline was sharp, angling down into a soft chin, and although large, his nose was stunning. His eyes, even from far away, managed to make your stomach flutter with curiosity.

Whoever he was, he had turned your entire world upside down in an instant. The warm embrace of his presence was more profound than anything you had ever felt before, and as you sat staring at him, you were aching to know him. His beauty was blinding, and his laugh seemed to strike more inspiration in your heart than you even thought was possible.

It was in that moment that you realized a muse was not something you could search for, but rather something that finds you when the time is right.

After weeks of feeling defeated, wondering if your entire life had lead to nothing but disappointment, or spending hours in bars and coffee shops trying to find inspiration yet met with nothing, it only took a split second for your hands to beg to be wrapped around a pen. You needed your notebook, or your laptop, because the sight of his face prompted enough emotion for you to write entire novels about the feeling.

Dylan served the two plates in the window, and you watched as Katie walked it to the boy and his company. Whatever his friend said prompted another laugh that blossomed straight from his chest, echoing off the walls and making home in your heart. His friend seemed loud, definitely more talkative than the curly haired boy. He was facing away from you, his long brown hair falling down his back. You did not even truly care what he looked like, because you were certain he would pale in comparison to the boy who already managed to steal your heart. You sat, completely immersed in the sight with no shame about your staring. You hung on to every small detail and miniscule expression, hoping to sear it into your memory for the rest of time. Every time a laugh fell from his lips, butterflied erupted in your stomach.

He did not notice you, but god did you notice him, and so much so that it was hard to see anything else.

When you finally broke from the trance and looked back into the kitchen, Dylan and Vincent’s eyes were both burning into you. Dylan was smirking, like he already knew what was running through your head without you having to say a word. Vincent, on the other hand, was definitely not even close to smiling. His jaw was hard set, the vein in his forehead protruding slightly as he clenched his teeth together. He knew exactly what you were thinking, and it absolutely gutted him. Your cheeks tinged red as if it were the cherry on top of an already catastrophic disaster, and you wanted the floor to open up and swallow you whole. Instead of speaking, Vincent grabbed the pack of cigarettes the three of you shared and walked out the back door, making sure to slam it for extra salt in the wound.

You swallowed hard, looking back at Dylan with a flicker of anxiety in your eyes. He shrugged it off, clearly not understanding the extent of the situation and leaned against the counter beside you.

“So, are you gonna go talk to him?” He asked, giving you a goofy smile as he gazed out at the man in question. You looked back towards the dining room too, your eyes shining with wonder at the two unnamed men. You have a slow shake of your head, knowing that you would never, but wishing that you would.

April 4th, 2022

You woke with a start, your head pounding as the sun shined brightly through your large panel windows. You shifted in your position, immediately wincing from the aches and pains that ravished your body. You blinked a few times, trying to focus your eyes as you took in your surroundings. You were on your living room floor, head propped up against the couch with your journal still laying atop of you. You must have fallen asleep writing, as your pen was still clutched tightly in your hand.

You quickly located the source of the disturbance, seeing your phone ringing loudly and irritatingly beside you. You picked it up, focusing your eyes on the screen to see who could be calling. When you saw John’s name on the screen, you felt your stomach drop for a moment. You swiped across the screen, accepting the call as you hit the speaker button.

“Hello?”

“Hey, y/n.” He said, almost sounding pained to be calling you.

“What’s up, John?” You asked, stretching your limbs out to rid yourself of the pain lingering in your joints. Sleeping on the floor was definitely a bad call, even if it was only for a few hours.

“I hate to ask this, but could you come in and cover the lunch rush? I know you worked overnight last night, but Linda had to leave; her husband fell and she had to take him to the emergency room.” Linda was one of the older ladies who worked the mornings. You quite liked her, even if you did think she smelled like the basement of an old Catholic Church. “I’ll pay you time and a half.” He offered, hoping to bribe you with the extra pay.

“Yeah, that’s no problem.” You would have agreed anyway, but the offering was not something you were willing to refuse. “Give me about thirty minutes and I’ll be down.”

“Thank you, darlin’. You’re a lifesaver.” You could hear his relief through the phone.

“Love you too, John.” You chuckled, ending the call and making a move to stand. You quickly ran to the bathroom, jumping in the shower and washing away the night shift that was still lingering on your skin. You washed your hair and took an extra minute to condition it and sit under the warm water, then rinsed off and jumped out. You blow dried your hair and styled it slightly, dusting on some light makeup. You always made sure to look nice for a busy serving shift, because it made the older men much more generous with their tips.

You ran to your bedroom, pulling out a pair of black leggings and an old Zeppelin shirt that once belonged to your brother. One thing you liked about the Fox was that the dress code was nonexistent. You could show up in your pajamas and John would just be relieved that you showed up at all. You stuffed your purse full of the necessities and grabbed your phone from the couch as you passed by. You locked the door as you made your way into the hallway, throwing your keys in your bag and slinging it over your shoulder. As you walked down the stairs of the creaky old apartment building, the sun already began to hurt your eyes before you even reached the door. You pushed open the front door and took a long breath of air, the coldness filling your lungs and making your chest ache for a moment. Spring was just around the corner, but winter still seemed like it was trying to hang on.

As you slipped your headphones in your ears and hit shuffle on your playlist, your eyes noticed something familiar across the street. You furrowed your eyebrows, your lips turning into a frown as you recognized the rusted out body of the 80’s model car. As you walked a little closer, you noticed the silhouette of Vincent, sleeping soundly in the driver's seat. You approached the vehicle, raising your fist and rapping it against the glass with force. It only took a second for him to shoot awake, looking around to try and figure out where he was. With a defensive stance, his head whipped towards the window. As always, he looked ready for a fight, but when his eyes landed on you, his expression softened. As you pulled your jacket closer to your body, he rolled the window down.

“What are you doing sleeping in your car, Vin?” You asked, clearly displeased with his actions. “You know what type of people hang out around here.”

“Drank too much last night,” he grumbled, rubbing his face in his hands as he squinted at the sunlight. “Knew it was best not to drive.”

“You could have called.”

“Thought you didn’t like it when I did that, doll?” He cleared his throat, the rasp of cigarettes still heavy in his tone.

“I…” you paused, shifting your weight between your legs. “I'd rather you be safe.”

“I’m safe, don’t worry sweetheart.” He chuckled, his cockiness peeking through. Vincent loved framing himself as unafraid of anything, but it simply was not true. He thought he was invincible, even if you knew he was just a man. “What are you doing, anyway?”

“John called me in, something about Linda’s husband falling. She had to leave.” You explained.

“That guys always fucking falling. Should get him one of those little stair elevators, you know? Like in the commercials?” You laughed at his idea, nodding in agreement.

“They probably would if they weren’t poor.” You reminded him.

“Yeah, aren’t we all?” He leaned his head against the headrest, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to keep the hangover at bay. “You want a drive over?”

“Sure, if you’re headed that way.” You agreed, walking around to jump in the passenger seat. He started the car, the old engine turning over a few times before eventually sputtering into a slow start. The interior immediately began to smell like gasoline, but you ignored it. It was one of the most charming quirks about the vehicle.

“You sleep last night? It’s awfully early to be going back in.” He noted, looking down at his watch. The radio system in his car no longer worked, including the digital clock (it read the wrong time when it did work anyway, so it did not really matter).

“A little, fell asleep on the floor of all fucking places.” You chuckled, pulling your jacket closer to your body again. He rolled the window up, noticing your small shiver. “I’m only going in for a few hours, so it doesn’t matter much anyway.” He did not respond to this, instead pulling the car around and driving out onto the highway. The rattle of the engine filled the stale air, and you looked out the window as he drove.

“You’re going to miss NA.” He stated, glancing over at you for only a second. “You didn’t go last week, either.”

“I know, I know.” You sighed. “I’ll catch the Wednesday meeting instead.”

“You promise?” He pushed, not willing to let it go. You bit your tongue, knowing he was the last person in the world who should be scolding you about missing your meetings.

“Yeah. Are you going today, or do you want to come with me on Wednesday?”

“I’ll come with you.” He said without hesitation. You were the only thing that made the meetings bearable for him. You did notice he was slightly withdrawn, and he did not even attempt to reach over and put his hand on your thigh.

When you turned your head to look at him, you finally noticed the details you managed to overlooked before. His eyes had dark circles underneath, and the whites were bloodshot. His pupils were blown, nearly engulfing his irises, and if you squinted hard enough, you could see the red ring of blood lining his nostril. He was still coming down from the high the night before, and the thought almost made you sick to the stomach. The emotion was not because he chose to do drugs, but because in the moment of seeing him like that, you could remember what it felt like so vividly that it made your head spin. Your hands went clammy and your fingers began to tremble as you bargained with yourself to just make it to the diner.

He clicked on his turn signal, cutting sharply into the parking lot and pulling up to the door so you wouldn’t have to walk through the parking lot. “Thanks, Vincent.” You choked out, still trying to distract yourself from the idea of his endeavors the night prior.

“I’ll see you Wednesday.” He said, forcing a smile. The come down had hit him hard, and you could tell his whole body felt like lead. His eyelids were heavy, and he would likely park in the empty lot next to the diner for a while to get some more sleep.

“Yeah,” you nodded, forcing him a smile, too. You jumped out of the car, pulling a half smoked cigarette from your pack to smoke before you went inside. You stood a few feet away from the door, and finished it as fast as you could. You crushed the butt beneath your old ratty converse and took two large strides to the entrance, pulling the door open and stepping inside.

The chatter in the room was immediately overwhelming, and the smell of the deep fryer hit your nose almost instantly. You rushed behind the counter and through to the kitchen, grabbing a clean apron and an order pad. You shoved the book and a pen in your front pocket, and knocked on the door of the office to grab a cash float. You heard John tell you to come in, and as you opened the door he sent you a smile. He already counted the cash and had it waiting on the desk for you, which you shoved in the second pocket.

“Thanks again, darlin’. You only have to stay for the rush.”

“Don’t mention it.” You smiled, closing the door behind you. You moved back out to the dining room after punching in a time card. John had not yet moved to an updated system, because computers were not his forte. Nobody complained, because you got paid all the same. Betty gave you a wave as she dropped off some order tickets at the window, relieved to see you there.

“Linda has the back section, and there’s a couple people who haven’t been served yet. You mind starting there?”

“No problem.” You assured her, grabbing a stack of menus to bring over with you. You stopped first at a booth with a family. They had two small kids with them who seemed to be getting impatient. The mother held the baby in her lap while the little boy sat next to his dad. You handed out the menus and took drink orders, stopping to crouch down and talk to the boy who looked to be only five.

“And how old are you, baby?” You asked, giving him a warm smile as he played with his tiny model car on the table.

“Four and three quarters!” He grinned, looking over at you.

“Three quarters?” You exclaimed, matching his excitement. “That means your birthday is coming up soon?” He gave an eager nod. “That also means,” you stopped and checked the front of the menu to make sure of the policy before saying the wrong thing. “You get to eat for free today!” You glanced up at the mom, sending her a gentle wink. Not often did you serve kids, because you usually only worked at night. According to the menus, kids under 6 ate for free. “So you can have all of the Dino nuggets you can eat.” The prospect seemed to excite him even more as he looked to his dad, hoping he would verify if you were telling the truth. “I’ll be back in a few to take your orders and bring your drinks.” You told the woman, who was smiling at you while bouncing the baby in her lap.

You moved on to the next table, an older couple who was sweet and already knew what they wanted without even having to look over the options. You wrote it down, knowing they were likely regulars. You assured them it wouldn’t be long before moving to the last table. You barely looked up as you made your way towards the corner booth, but when you did, your heart nearly jumped straight from your chest. The curly hair was unmistakable, and the outline of the big nose made your stomach twist with anxiety. You hated to admit that he noticed you and spoke long before your brain could formulate a word, ultimately leaving you looking like an idiot.

“Hey, mind if I have one of those?” As if it were some sick trick from the universe, his voice was just as heavenly as his laugh was the night before, and his eyes were just as soft and warm, inviting you in even further. His teeth were white and impossibly straight as he smiled at you, and it made your heart thud dramatically against your chest.

The boy that you’d spent all hours of the morning writing about was in front of you, sitting in the exact same seat he was when you had seen him for the first time.

“Y-yeah, f’course.” You forced a smile, your cheeks burning red as you handed him a menu from the dwindling stack in your hand. “You, uh… what brings you here?” You asked, internally facepalming at the stupid nature of your question. It was a diner; obviously he was there to eat.

“Uh… food?” He raised an eyebrow, smiling at you as he answered. He didn’t seem concerned about your nervousness, and if anything, it sparked an intrigue in him.

“Yeah, obviously, sorry.” You chuckled, shaking your head as you tried to straighten your thoughts. “I mean, you were here late last night, too. I know the food’s not that good, so it has to be something else bringing you here.” You flashed a real smile, your wit seeming to find its way back to you.

“Oh, yeah.” He laughed, nodding. “I’m not from here, actually. My friend and I are traveling. We booked an Airbnb for a few months, so it gives us some time to explore New York. Our flight came in late, and this was the closest spot last night…. And this morning.” He explained.

“The truth comes out,” you chuckled, cocking your head to the side. “Where you from?”

“Michigan.” He replied, trying to read over the menu, but his attention seemed to only want to be on you. “What about you? You definitely don’t have the accent like the rest of the city does.”

“Utah,” you grinned, surprised he picked up on it.

“So how the hell did you end up here?” He smirked, seemingly very interested in the conversation and uncaring that you were working amidst a lunch rush.

“Long story, sweetheart.” You laughed, brushing it off. He didn’t really want to know, and you didn’t want to bore him.

“I’ve got all the time in the world.” He shrugged, motioning to the empty both. You pondered his words for a moment, biting the inside of your lip. He was completely enamouring, and you barely even knew him. From the twenty seconds of conversation, you felt compelled to keep talking to him, wanting to know everything you could.

“Why don’t I take your order, and if you still want to know, we can make that happen.” You offered. He thought about it for a moment, finally seeming to realize you were working. He was so enthralled in your face and your words that the whole world around him seemed to disappear.

“Yeah, that’s probably a better idea.” He nodded. “Any recommendations?” He asked, completely ignoring the menu in his hand in hopes that you would keep talking.

“Breakfast or lunch?”

“Breakfast.” He confirmed.

“Omelet is good, vegetarian or not. Can never fuck up one of those.” You explained, smiling down at him.

“Sure, one of those, however you like it.” He said, his brown eyes lingering over your face. “And a coffee, please.”

“Sure thing.” You gave a soft smile, reaching down to pick up the menu again. “I’ll be back.”

“Can’t wait.” He shot back, keeping his eyes glued to you as you walked away. As you went to drop off the order tickets and collect the drinks for your tables, your cheeks were burning and your chest was filled with curious excitement. You didn’t know him, but you wanted to, and it was almost hard to believe that he seemed to want to know you, too.

You did not want to get your hopes up, because men had always let you down, even if they had ample amounts of promise. Then again, he seemed different than anyone you’d ever spoken to before. He didn’t seem creepy, nor did his eyes travel anywhere other than your face. He was friendly, soft spoken, and kind. He didn’t think your anxiety was strange, and he didn’t even mention it in efforts to keep you comfortable. You didn’t know him at all, but he seemed better than anyone you’d ever laid eyes on, looks and personality-wise.

You never know unless you try, and try was the only thing you knew how to do. You were determined to know him, and only then you could truly judge his character. Even if he turned out to be an asshole or disappointing in some way, he would at least be nice to look at in the meantime.

You dropped off drinks at your other two tables, then doubled back to brew his coffee. You tapped your foot against the floor in anticipation, hoping it would speed up the process. When the coffee maker sputtered the last pathetic spurt of liquid, it let out a tired groan as the button and lights clicked off. You poured a mug and grabbed a milk and cream dish. You carefully walked it over to his booth, setting it down in front of him with a sigh of relief. You were known as the coffee spiller amongst the staff, and you finally seemed to deliver one successfully.

“Thank you,” he smiled up at you, the sight nearly taking your breath away. “I’m Danny, by the way.”

“Danny…” you pondered, the corners of your lips tugging onwards. “I like it. I’m y/n.”

“Pretty name for a pretty girl.” He smirked, tearing open a sugar packet and dumping it into the steaming cup. Your cheeks dusted red again, your entire body heating at the compliment. “So you said you were here last night, but you definitely weren’t the one who served me. She seemed a bit…” he trailed off, trying to find the proper words.

“Bitchy?” You offered, raising an eyebrow. He let out a laugh, so similar to the one you heard last night. It nearly made you weak in the knees.

“Sure, yeah.” He nodded. “That’s not how I would word it, but that’s probably the best way to say it.”

“I shouldn’t be so mean,” you sympathized with the girl, even if she wasn’t standing there to hear it. “She’s not the worst person in the world, but she is hard to get along with sometimes.”

“Yeah, I can see that. She was giving Sam dirty looks the whole time.” He chuckled at the memory. “I get it, though. Sam’s loud, and he’s a lot to take in. I’m sure you guys weren’t expecting that at two in the morning.”

“We’re usually a bit busier at night, but last night was super slow. Think she was just doing it because technically you were sitting in my area, and I was busy.”

“Busy, but still concerned with who was sitting out here?” He questioned. You prayed your cheeks would stop rushing with blood as you tried to think of a proper response.

“I’m nosy, what can I say?” You shrugged.

“I must have left an impact, cause you recognized me today.” He pointed out, taking another sip of coffee. You gave a slow nod, a smile pulling at your lips.

“Yeah, well, we definitely don’t get too many cute boys in here. Usually just drunkards from the old tavern and teenagers who snuck out.” You explained.

“Cute?” He pressed, liking the sound of the term. You rolled your eyes, playful but sweet.

“Yeah, yeah, get over yourself.” You gave a soft laugh.

“No, actually.” He shook his head. “I’m sure I’ll be thinking about that for a while, especially coming from someone as beautiful as you.” You smiled, biting down on the inside of your lip again. Instead of continuing the conversation, you decided to play hard to get.

“Your food shouldn’t be too much longer.” You gave a smirk, adding a little pep to your step as you turned and walked away. Again, he watched as you disappeared behind the counter, waiting for your plates to be served.

Soon enough, the meals for the family of four were served on the windowsill. You grabbed the ticket and brought them their food, letting them know to just give a holler if they needed anything else. You went back and retrieved the plates for the older couple and dropped them off to them just the same. Eventually, Danny’s meal was served and you had to stop for a moment, regaining your composure before you brought it over to him. You picked up the omelet, carting it close to your body as you walked to the corner booth, being mindful of your steps so you did not trip over anything. When you reached his table, he gave you a smile as you placed it down in front of him.

“Looks good,” he commented, happy with the recommendation.

“Definitely not a Michelin starred restaurant, but we know how to make an omelet.” You grinned.

“Seems so,” he gave a nod of approval.

“Let me know if you need anything else, sweetheart.” You said, looking over your shoulder as more customers filled up the seats in your section.

“I will for sure.” He promised. “Thank you.” You didn’t respond, but gave another smile as you walked to greet the new customers.

After a while, the buzz began to die down. People were leaving with smiles on their faces and full bellies, and the tips were flowing generously. You brought the debit machine from table to table, allowing people to pay so they could make their way home. Every time you saw a customer out, you checked to see if Danny was ready. He seemed to be taking his sweet time, but you didn’t mind at all; it saved from another person replacing him in his seat, and it gave you something pretty to look at. If you could have it your way, you’d never let him leave.

He was intriguing, and you seemed to like every exchange of words more than the last. He was someone you wanted to keep talking to, and someone you wanted to share things with. He was interested in everything you had to say, and you hung onto every word that fell from his mouth. He was the most interesting person to ever sit in the diner, in the best way possible. You wanted to ask for more, to see him again, but your fear was stopping you. Rejection terrified you, and embarrassment was not any better. Instead, you stole glances at him and hoped that he would ask first, or that he would at least come back once he decided it was time to leave.

When most of the crowd filtered out, John let you know that you could head home, and that he convinced the night waitresses to come in a little early to cover the dinner rush. You nodded, letting him know you had one more customer to see through and then you’d be on your way. He thanked you again, wasting no time returning to the office. You liked John quite a lot; he was friendly, nice, and didn’t really care much about what you did during your shift as long as the job got done. He was old, and he was tired. The diner had given him a run for his money, and he was excited to retire, but realistically he knew it would never happen. You felt bad for him, but at the same time, you were happy to know he would be running the show for the foreseeable future.

You walked over to Danny, hoping to catch another quick conversation with him. He seemed to be pleased with your decision to join him again, smiling as you advanced towards him. “Back again?” He asked once you were in earshot.

“Just couldn’t stay away,” you smirked. “You all finished?”

“Yeah, think so.” He nodded, draining the last of the coffee from his mug. “Trying to get me out of here?” He asked.

“No, but the sooner you leave, the sooner I get to go home.” You explained. He gave a slow nod, picking up on the situation, now.

“If that’s the case, I’ll get out of your hair.”

“No need to rush.” You assured him, hoping you didn’t come off as rude. You’d stay all day if it meant you got to talk to him.

“I know, I know,” he chuckled. “But Sam’s probably wondering where I am, so I probably should get back.”

“Yeah, no problem. I can grab your bill?” You offered.

“Sure,” he nodded. “Mind if I borrow your pen for a second?” You grabbed it from your pocket, handing it over to him before running to the counter to print off his receipt. You brought it back over to him, placing it face down on the table.

“Shit, do you need the debit machine?” You asked, remembering that you hadn’t asked him yet. You were too caught up in the beauty of his smiling face.

“No, cash is fine.” He promised, flipping over the bill. You mindlessly watched out the window as he pulled some money out of his wallet, leaving it on the table as he made a move to stand.

“Oh, hold on.” You stopped him, eyeing the fifty dollar bill with unease. For a second, you thought you might have charged him wrong. “I’ll get your change.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he smiled. “I’ll see you again sometime?”

“Danny, that’s way too much-“

“Ah,” he cut you off, shaking his head. “Whatever happened to the customer is always right?” He raised an eyebrow. You let out a sigh, knowing that it was best not to argue with him.

“Thank you,” you said, feeling guilty for accepting such a large gesture. The tip was nearly four times his bill total.

“No need for thanks, the service was excellent.” He assured you. “You said you work the overnights here, right?”

“Yeah, usually.” You nodded. “Thursday to Sunday.”

“I’ll have to stop by sometime.” He noted, slipping on his jacket. Your eyes lingered over the muscles of his arms shown off under the sleeves of his t-shirt. You swallowed hard, trying to push the thought away.

“Guess so,” you agreed, nodding slightly. “Have a good rest of your day.”

“You, too.” He said, his shoulder gently brushing with your own as he passed by. The contact sent a shiver down your spine, and you turned to watch as he walked out the front door, wishing that you had the courage to follow after him or ask him to stay. Instead, you saw him disappear from view, and you were left with a sinking feeling in your stomach and regret looming overhead.

You turned to the table, grabbing the cash he’d left and your copy of the receipt. He’d penciled in the tip total, but what caught your eye was a napkin laying underneath that had black pen scribbled on it. You picked it up, bringing it closer so you could read the messy handwriting. As your eyes drifted over the words, your stomach filled with butterflies and your cheeks began to ache from the smile that took hold.

It was fantastic meeting you. If you ever have the time, I’d love to hear about Utah.

Below that, he left his phone number and a series of X’s and O’s. You bit down on your lip, slipping the note in your pocket to save for later, turning away to count your tips. As you went to the register, you couldn’t help but notice the excitement filling you, and how eager you were to get home and use the number he’d left, even if it was just to tell him about Utah. For the first time in eighteen months—no, for the first time in years, your happiness was genuine and you were eager to see what the next day would bring.

TAGLIST: @imleavingyoufornewyork @itsafullmoon @bladenotblaze @jessicafg03 @dont-go-home-without-me @peaceloveunitygvf

#gvf #greta van fleet #danny wagner #danny gvf #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #jake gvf #sam gvf #josh gvf #gvf fic #daniel gvf #gvf fanfiction #gvf smut #gvf fluff #gvf angst #gvf series #danny wagner series #danny wagner angst #danny wagner fluff #danny wagner fic #danny wagner smut #danny wagner x reader #daniel wagner #greta van fleet angst #greta van fleet fluff #greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet smut #builtbybrokenbells #belladonna

[dannythedog]

Always There - Danny Wagner x Reader

Masterlist

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Warnings: mentions of weed, being sad, bad writing

I'm feeling angsty so I thought I could channel my feelings into this instead of actually doing something healthy and I know the title doesn't make sense I couldn't come up with anything

~

Sitting on Danny's couch reminded you of all the good things you two had together. You met freshman year of high school as you were in a group with him and Sam for a project. You two hit it off because your personalities were much calmer than Sam's and you actually did your portion of the project.

Two years later you find yourself hunkered down in his basement, listening to him strum away at his guitar as you studied for the SATs. Danny was always a good study partner, quizzing you at random intervals, giving you new methods of studying, reminding you to take breaks. Some of your favorite times were studying with him.

The way he took care of you made your heart flutter. Gentle touches as he guided you to the basement made your skin burn. His warm, kind eyes gave you butterflies. Safe to say you had it bad. But this was Danny. He was kind to everyone and treated you no differently.

He plops next to you on the couch, guitar still in hand. "Hey, why don't you take a break for a minute? Sing this song with me."

You shoot him a playful horrified look and set your books to the side. "No way, you know I get way too nervous. Plus, I probably don't even know the song."

"You know it," he nods and plays the opening chords. "See? Blue Spotted Tail."

Fleet Foxes was one of your favorite bands at the moment, so of course Daniel would pick that song. You two had a mutual love for the band and even attended a concert earlier in the year.

"Please? I'll sing with you. It's just us here, no one will judge."

Your heart panged in your chest as you looked at his pleading face. You knew he'd never judge you, but singing seemed so vulnerable. When his arm brushed yours as he leaned closer, you knew you were done for. "Okay," you give in. "One song."

His grin grew and that alone made potentially embarrassing yourself worth it. Your voice was shaky and cracked a few times, but Danny never laughed. He just kept playing and sang along with you. The proud look in his eyes burned into your memories when you finally looked up at him. You'd never hear this song the same.

-

Senior year was rapidly coming to an end and to say you were terrified was an understatement. You were going to college soon and had no idea what you wanted to major in, you could barely pick a college, and Danny's band was being signed to a label. You were so beyond proud and you knew it was selfish, but you couldn't stop your heart from breaking a little bit.

He noticed your change in behavior. Of course he did, he was ever the observant one. He made you aware when he asked you to go for a drive late one night. These were always the times you guys were most open with each other.

Danny picked you up at 10 pm, not caring that it was a school night. "I brought weed," he grinned and held up the baggie.

"But you're driving. You can't be under the influence and make it home safely," you chuckled, but kept your face serious enough to let him know you meant it.

"We'll pull over somewhere." For now you two just drove. The air was warm so he kept the windows down and played music just loud enough for you to hear it over the wind. The atmosphere was comfortable, but there were undertones of melancholy.

You admired him while he wound his way through the back roads, eyes traveling from his frizzy hair that blew around everywhere, down the slope of his nose, and came to a stop at his lips.

Your body grew warm as you thought of leaning over to kiss him. How easy would it be to peck the corner of his mouth or to turn his head slightly to feel his plush lips against yours. The tingles in your chest turned into a flurry of feelings, almost convincing you to do it.

His eyes met yours briefly and a soft smile was flashed your way, killing your fantasy. "We go on tour pretty soon after graduation," he breaks the silence. "We'll have two week after graduation and then we go. We're spending our last week here preparing, so I want to spend the other week with you."

You'd never felt tingles die so quickly. "Yeah," you say softly. "I'd like that."

He pulls over to a park that's dark and hidden by trees. "Hey, I'm not gonna abandon you," he says seriously. "You're important to me and touring won't change that."

"I know," you sigh and pull the joint from his baggie. "It's just gonna be hard going from seeing you nearly everyday to hardly seeing you at all."

He gives you a sad smile and lights the joint for you. "I know. It'll be a tough adjustment for all of us, but we'll get through it. I promise I'll bring back cool souvenirs for you."

His promises and the high bring your spirits up some, leaving you feeling hopeful.

-

When school started, you threw yourself into your studies. You regretted not telling Danny how you felt that night because now it was damn near impossible to catch him in a spare moment. Your classes and extracurriculars didn't line up with his schedule at all.

You halted your march to the library when you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. It was Danny.

"Hello?" You answered, slightly out of breath simply from the fact he was calling.

"Hey!" His cheery voice sounded through the phone. "You busy right now?"

You hoist your bookbag further up your shoulder and start your trek again. "Just heading to the library, so I have a minute to talk. What's up?"

"Can you go back to your dorm? There's a surprise there."

Your confusion grew and you stopped in your tracks again. "What? A surprise? Did you send me a package or something?"

"Would you just go back and look?"

"Danny, I really have to-" you cut yourself off when you heard your roommate's voice in the background of the phone call. "Danny, you're not," you say lowly when you register what's happening.

"Will you come now?" he chuckles. You don't even respond, you just hang up and sprint back to your dorm. Your heart was pounding and those tingles took root in your chest again.

The door was opening as your roommate slipped out, presumably to give you some space. You blew through the threshold and took in the sight of Danny lounged across your bed so casually.

"Shut up!" You squealed and tossed your things to the ground. Your only focus was to get Danny in your arms as soon as possible. "I can't believe you're here!"

"We had a break and I thought it would be fun to surprise you," he explains as you crawl into your bed with him.

That day was spent just like you were in high school again. You blew off your classes to get pizza, watch movies, and just catch up on everything. As you watched him munch on a slice of pizza, you knew you couldn't waste this opportunity again.

You clear your throat and sit up a little straighter. "Hey, um, could I talk to you about something?" Your heart felt like it was in throat and your palms grew considerably clammier. Concern flashed through his eyes and he matched your posture.

"So, I wasn't completely honest with you last summer. Of course I was upset because I was gonna miss you and college had me nervous," you begin, eyes darting around the room. "But I have a confession to make."

"You murdered the chem teacher for giving you a C on that project, didn't you?" Danny tries to joke, but grows serious when he sees it didn't land.

Your hands shake and your breathing becomes ragged. For a few moments you're silent, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Look," you finally muster. "I like you."

"I know," he nods, curls bouncing so cutely that you think your heart might explode.

"No, like, I have...feelings for you, Danny. Like honest to god, gut wrenching feelings for you and I have for a long time. I wasn't sure how to tell you because you're my best friend and I didn't want to make it weird and I especially didn't want to get shit from Sam for the rest of my life," you ramble, word vomiting everything you've been holding back since you were fifteen. "So, yeah, I like you."

Danny is quiet for a moment, his face growing somber. "I know."

Your gut drops and you can feel your face pale. Nerves and tingles were gone, you were wholly being consumed by dread. "You do?" you whisper.

He only nods, finally casting his gaze to the floor to give you some reprieve. "Well?" Your throat is tight and dry as you bore your eyes into his forehead.

He's quiet again before he clears his throat. "Well, like you said, we're...friends. I've known for a while now."

A sharp breath is the only sound you can manage right now. Your body feels hot with shame and tears of embarrassment cloud your vision. "Oh," you rasp out and stand from your spot. "Oh."

"Y/n," he tries and reaches his hand out to you. "Come on, just sit for a minute, okay?"

You shake your head and wipe at your face frantically. "No, no, I just. I have to go. Good luck on the rest of your tour."

You don't bother to look at him as you rush back outside. There's a family bathroom on your route to who knows where, so you duck inside to let yourself feel. You didn't know where this left you and Danny, but you did know that you hoped he wasn't there whenever you decided to go back.

~

Tag list: @groggyvanfleet @barbariansgvf @heatmyfleet @doodle417 @ageofsam @theothersideofthesun @jackiidk @busybusybusyb @shawnsthighs @sunshinelukee @theweightofstardust @basiccortez @allieboop @fleet-prodigy @bumblebeeswrite @stardustingold @bigberkinbagholdfive @mywaygvf @llightmyllovee @myownparadise96 @t00turnttrauma @loofypoofy @seventieswhore @celestialfauna @agirlwithmanytastes @trafficwasabitch @crazybabysworld @hayley1623 @alwayssotiredbutneverofyou @fatefellshortthistime @notthedroidz @gretavancreep @gretasmokerising @gretavanfleas @weightofdreamz @s-u-t @lacuna-moon

#greta van fleet #gvf #danny wagner #danny gvf #daniel wagner #danny wagner angst #danny wagner imagine #danny wagner fic #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet imagine #sammy kiszka #sammy gvf #sam gvf #sam kiszka #josh gvf #josh kiszka #jake gvf #jake kiszka

[obetrolncocktails]

Ignition | Danny Wagner X f!Reader X Jake Kiszka | Part 4

Warnings: ANGST, Danny fluff, JAKE TEARS.

Word Count: 3,284

Summary: With things moving forward with Danny, it feels like you can finally let go of the sadness tied to Jake. Danny intrigues you: he's sweet, thoughtful, funny as hell, and so, so sexy. He's effortless, and he has no clue.

“So?” Sam asked after launching his pool stick into the cue ball on the billiards table, breaking up the rack of other balls. Danny and Sam had nothing better to do than to go to one of their favorite bars and play another game of pool, just like they had done since moving to Nashville. 

“So…” Danny echoed, stepping around Sam to take the next shot, sinking a solid ball into one of the pockets. 

“Oh come on,” Sam urged his best friend. “You’re gonna pretend that the grin that’s been plastered to your face this entire time is for no good reason?” Danny relaxed his expression, becoming acutely aware of his own smile. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts inevitably wandered back to you. “It’s Y/n, isn’t it?” Sam asked while Danny prepared his next shot. Another ball in a pocket. He hit another in his next turn and watched it bounce back without sinking, and he stepped away from the table. Danny shot Sam a look, the corners of his lips turning upward guiltily.. “I knew it!” Sam said with excitement. “Finally.”

“Shh,” Danny scolded him. 

“Daniel, it’s not like you haven't been in love with that girl for-fucking ever. It’s about time you got it in,” Sam took his shot, sinking a ball into the pocket, before accidentally landing the cue ball into the pocket as well. “Damn it,” He cursed under his breath. 

“I didn’t ‘get it in,’” Danny rolled his eyes. We did go on a date on Tuesday, though,” Danny explained, his lips curling upward again, his cheeks flushing softly. 

“How’d it go?” Sam asked, stopping for a moment to take a long swig of his beer. 

“So good,” Danny admitted, turning and leaning against the billiard table. “She’s great,” he said, turning to his brother. “Like, there’s just something about her that has always stumped me in the past. She’s always been guarded, but now she’s opening up to me,” he explained. “And honestly, I can’t get enough of her.”

“Have you talked to Jake about it?” Sam asked, raising his brows over the rim of his cup as he took another swallow. 

“Do I need to?” Danny asked, avoiding eye contact for a moment, knowing the answer. 

“Uh… Duh, man. Y/n and Jake are best friends. I think that would be kind of shitty if you didn’t have a conversation with him. He’s pretty much your brother.”

“I just don’t know where they stand with each other right now, you know? Did you see what happened at rehearsal?” Danny asked. 

“I couldn’t hear, but it didn’t look like it went over exactly well,” Sam admitted, sighing deeply. “And Jake didn’t leave rehearsal very happy, either.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Danny agreed. “I just don’t want things to be weird after.” 

“I think it would be weirder if you didn’t speak to him first. At least you could walk away knowing that you were honest.” 

Danny nodded, turning to line up his next shot, placing the cue ball in the position of his choice. “I’m sure he’ll understand, and maybe her spending time with me will cool down things between them, you know?” 

“Maybe. You just gotta do the talking,” Sam insisted. 

***

“So I wanted to talk to you about something,” Danny began, coming to sit beside Jake as he scrolled through his phone. Jake looked up over his sunglasses. 

“Sure,” he answered, crossing one leg over the other. Danny wasn’t sure if he was imagining awkward tension in the room or if it was just his nervousness speaking. “I’m guessing it’s about Y/n?” Jake asked, pushing his sunglasses up his nose. 

Danny nodded, squeezing the drumsticks in his hand for comfort. “Yes,” he answered, reaching up to knit his fingers through his hair. 

“Mm,” he nodded. “And what about her?” He asked, his composure concerningly nonchalant. 

“Well, we’ve decided to date,” Danny continued, the words coming out more awkwardly than they should have. “We realized that we had mutual feelings for each other, so…” The room was silent for a long moment, Jake nodding slowly, his eyes cast down to the floor.  “Is that a problem? You don’t have feelings for her, right?” Danny asked. “From brother to brother, it’s cool?” 

“It’s fine,” Jake answered with a shrug, reaching for his guitar to idly whisper his fingers over the frets, pretending again like he was practicing. He knew that there was something going on between you and Danny already. 

“Are you sure?” Danny asked again, sitting back in his seat, crossing his arms across his chest. 

“Just like you said, Daniel. It’s ‘cool,’ okay? I don’t really care what you do with her.” Danny didn’t like the way Jake spoke to him, but he wasn’t prepared to address it directly. I don’t care what you do with her. The words spun uncomfortably in his mind. He let silence linger for an awkward moment before continuing.

“Y/n really misses you, you know,” Danny explained, moving in another direction. “I think you should reach out to her– maybe go grab a coffee or something. She could use her best friend.”

Jake pulled his sunglasses up to rest on the top of his head, sighing deeply as he gazed at Danny. He nodded slowly, biting his bottom lip out of nervousness. 

“Eh, she probably hates me anyway,” he shrugged, putting his guitar pick in between his teeth, hiking the guitar on his knee. He didn’t seem bothered, but Danny knew him well enough to know that wasn’t the case. 

“She doesn’t hate you,” Danny shook his head. “But she is very angry at you.”

“For not liking her back?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow, his expression laced with annoyance. 

“For being a fucking asshole, man,” Danny countered, his tone steeped with annoyance. Danny wouldn’t have usually spoken to Jake in this way, but if it had to do with you, it felt personal to him. Jake scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“You ghosted her completely,” Danny added, raising his eyebrows in question. “You completely abandoned her.”

“She could have reached out when she was ready. I told her I cared about her and to take care of herself. I don’t know how I was responsible for all of this.” Jake argued defensively. 

“Well you don’t seem to give much of a fuck by the looks of it,” Danny said, half-scoffing as he addressed his brother. “While you’ve been gone, I’ve been the one she’s been crying to. So trust me, I know.”

“I do care,” Jake said, sighing deeply. “I just don’t know what to say,” he continued, scratching his chin. 

“Well, maybe instead of saying nothing at all, Well you could start by pulling your head out of your ass and going to apologize,” Danny said, his tone coming out with a sharp edge. “You owe it to her.” Jake was silent for another moment before nodding. 

“You’re right, you’re right,” he agreed. “I’ll talk to her,” He continued. 

“She misses you,” Danny repeated. “Like, a lot, Man.” 

“I know she does,” Jake replied with a deep sigh. “I’m sorry.”

The rest of the rehearsal went by with relative ease, and Jake packed up quickly, heading out of the space without much of a goodbye. 

***

You raced around the house as you heard your phone ringing, dodging furniture and tight corners to grab it in time. As Danny’s contact flashed across the screen, your face lit up instantly. 

“Hi,” You answered, smiling brightly through the phone. 

“Hey there, pretty girl,” he greeted you softly. “I was thinking about you. How’re things going today?” 

You leaned against the kitchen counter. “Good,” you told him with a gentle sigh. “I got off work a little while ago. I’m about to make some dinner and get settled down for the night, I think.” 

“Well, could you use a little company? I just got out of rehearsal, and I’m in town. If not, it’s alright of course,” he chuckled nervously. His tone was hopeful, and it made your heart leap knowing that he wanted to spend time with you, even if there was no organized plan. 

“Always if it’s you,” you assured him. “Come over! Have you eaten?” you bit your lip as you waited for his response, twirling idly back and forth like a little girl. “Maybe we can have dinner and watch a movie?”

“That sounds great, I’m starving. I’ll be over in an hour,” he said. “Don’t run away in the meantime.” 

“I wouldn’t dare,” you told him with a smile, hanging up the phone. 

Excitement rocketed the time forward as you busied yourself by tidying the kitchen and living room, brushing your hair and touching up your makeup to look good for him. However, in the last moment as you looked at yourself in the mirror, you decided you’d wanted to be one hundred percent genuine with him, feeling the urge to wash it all off. Something about Danny felt like a fresh start, and one where you wouldn’t have to work so hard to dress yourself up in the beginning, only to eventually learn how to shed away the layers of protection you’d cocooned yourself beneath. You removed all of the makeup, cleansing your face and gathered your hair into a loose ponytail, satisfied with feeling clean and ready to wind down. 

Danny showed up slightly early, ringing the doorbell with a bright, cheerful smile. “Hi,” he said, bending to kiss you softly. You lifted your hands to rest on his chest as you urged him to kiss you longer than he’d originally intended. “You look beautiful,” he murmured, still half-pressed to your lips. 

“I’m not wearing any makeup,” you chuckled once, half-surprised at his comment. 

“And you look beautiful,” He repeated, caressing your cheek with the pad of his thumb. He spent a long moment observing your features. You felt radiant beneath his touch, watching his eyes wander over your face. After another moment, he snapped out of it and broke the silence, clearing his throat. 

***

Jake had been very particular with the way that he dressed, changing clothes after rehearsal into an outfit that made him feel confident and pulled together. He had debated for a while whether to get you flowers in his attempt to apologize, and though he wrestled back and forth (knowing you loved receiving flowers), he bought them anyway, even if the occasion wasn’t exactly one of happiness. Nervousness coursed through his body as he prepared something to say to you, trying his best to manifest somewhat of a script. Every time he did, he’d mince his words or trip over them. Eventually, he decided he’d swallow his pride and do the right thing. He’d go to your house and apologize in person without the protection of a rehearsed response. 

He knew the drive by heart, but it felt incredibly strange now that he was enroute to your place. He’d isolated himself from you for almost a month now, and he knew that words would do little to adequately excuse his behavior. It didn’t mean, however, that he wouldn’t try. 

Despite his nervousness, he did know what he wanted to say. He’d wanted to say these words for the longest time, but he’d buried the terrifying truth so deep that once the vulnerable feelings had been uncovered, he’d panicked and broken your heart in the process. Stopping at a local grocery store, he picked out the nicest bouquet of flowers that he could find. Once he purchased them, he drove directly to your house. 

Getting out of his car, he reached for the bouquet and turned to walk up your stairs, silently going over what he was going to say to you. He froze in his tracks when he heard Danny’s voice coming from inside of your house. Through the open glass storm door, Jake could see you and Danny standing in the living room, hooked within a loving embrace.

“Hm?” You asked, looking up at Danny, unaware of Jake’s presence. 

“Come here,” He repeated with a smirk. 

“What?” You asked flirtatiously, reaching out your hands to take his as he pulled you closer.

“I just wanted to touch you. I don’t know,” he shrugged. He swayed with you in the silence. 

“It’s okay,” You smiled, squeezing his hands. “I love the way you look at me.” You bit your lip as you studied his gaze.

“You do?” He asked, looking down at you, his thick, dark lashes casting his gaze with such sexy innocence.

“Mmhmm,” you admitted with a pleasant smile.  

“I really like you, Y/n,” he admitted. “I have for a really long time.” 

“You do?” You asked. “I mean you have? For how long?” A wave of surprise rolled through your body, summoning a layer of goosebumps over your arms and legs. 

“Probably since the first days when Jake and I would go to the record store— when we moved here.” He seemed nervous, but empowered at the same time. “I thought Jake had feelings for you. I really did,” he chuckled nervously, reaching to pull at the curls at the back of his neck. “He’d always make these extra trips to see you, and he wouldn’t tell me,” He continued with a shrug. You broke eye contact with him for a moment as he reminded you of the pain you’d thought you’d gotten over. You silently pushed it back down. “So I took a step back,” he explained. “I let him be that person for you.”

“Why?” You asked him, squeezing his hands. “Why didn’t you try? We could— Maybe we could have been–” Danny shook his head. 

“It wasn’t the right time then. I don’t know exactly how or why this happened–why we happened like this,” he explained. “But I know that it feels right. You are worth waiting for.”

His words set your skin ablaze, like after a hot summer day well-spent lounging by the pool. You practically glowed with excitement. “Maybe Jake isn’t my person,” you admitted quietly with a shrug, surprisingly feeling a moment of relief. You watched as Danny gazed at you intently. “Maybe it’s you, Danny. And I know that it’s super early to say that, and we’ve just gone on our first date, and it’s crazy to say– but–” he cut you off, freeing his hands from you in order to lift your head gently as he caressed the contour of your jaw. 

“And what if you’re right?” He asked you, his amber irises moving from left to right as he gazed into your eyes. “Does that scare you?” He continued. 

“Not at all,” you answered almost instantaneously. It was the truth. He didn’t scare you. He filled you with promise.

Your words, however, sliced through Jake like an irreparable slash through the sail of a ship doomed to sink. ‘What if Jake isn’t my person?’ He repeated incessantly in his mind. His brows furrowed with emotion; a mixture of heartbreak and fury crackled through his mind, body and soul, betraying his confidence with a thin, angry line of hot tears. Silently, and without a word, he crouched down, laying the flowers delicately on one of the final steps to your front door, taking one painful last look at you kissing Danny before wiping away his tears, retreating to his car and speeding away. 

His knuckles had become bloodlessly-white from how hard he gripped the steering wheel, the tears blurring his vision as he drove. He swiped at them, embarrassed. He shut off the radio, leaving the cabin of the car painfully silent except for the quiet whir of the outside wind whipping against the car as he drove home. He had made the worst mistake, and now he was paying for it double, losing his best friend, and the possibility of more without a chance for redemption. Why did he have to turn you away in your most vulnerable moments when he most definitely felt the same way about you? Why, when he could have been honest with you and could have tried for more, he threw it all away like a coward, refusing to even tell you the maddening truth: that he was painfully in love with you, and it scared the shit out of him. He’d vowed to never tell you, because, like his past relationships, most of them had ended painfully. As close as you both were, he chose to lie and protect the longevity of your friendship, destroying the chance for love in the process if it meant he could selfishly have you forever. He didn’t expect, however, for it to tear him apart in the end. 

Watching you kiss the wrong lips filled him with a darkness that burned away the final vestiges of the sweet, charismatic disposition he’d led with for so long. It would take time, but he’d pull you back in again, and once he had you, he wouldn’t let go—even if the means in doing so weren’t exactly the most respectful to Danny.  

***

“Did you drop these?” You asked Danny, seeing the forgotten bouquet of flowers on your doorstep. They were cold from being left outside for a while, but they seemed like they had been deliberately placed there. 

Danny inspected them briefly. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Wasn’t me this time,” he admitted, his gaze rising to look around at the road in front of them, his eyes scanning in each direction. 

“They’re beautiful,” you remarked, caressing the soft petals of the flowers with the tips of your fingers. “Free flowers!” you said with an enthused grin. 

“Sounds like you have a secret admirer,” Danny added, pulling you into his side, wrapping his arm securely around you as he stepped toward his car, kissing you goodbye before being on his way. “Good luck, because you’re all mine,” he said, kissing the tip of your nose before lowering himself into his vehicle. 

“Drive safe,” you told him with a smile, leaning through his open window. 

“Like my life depends on it,” he said, pursing his lips once more, tilting his head upward to meet your lips. 

“Hey,” you said after a moment, a thought dancing on your tongue. “What are you up to tomorrow night?” You asked him.

“Not a thing.” 

“How would you feel about spending the night?” You asked him, raising your eyebrows. 

He looked up at you with a surprised, but understatedly excited expression. “Spending the night…like?” He asked, his tone finishing the sentence for him. 

“I’m putting no pressure on anything,” you said gently, moving to discuss the idea of sex. “I say we take it naturally. If it happens, it happens. If not, I’m cool with that, too. I just want to hang out with you,” you shrugged. “And it’s my favorite when I don’t feel pressured to go out and plan for an adventure. Don’t get me wrong, they can be fun, but I really love snuggling in bed, watching TV, and just—“ you paused, searching for the right word. 

“Coexisting?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Exactly,” you said, breathing deeply. He just understood. 

Danny echoed your expression.  “I’m definitely interested,” he said with a soft chuckle. “And I’m excited,” he continued. 

“Regardless of if anything happens,” he blushed, “I’d love to stay with you,” he finished. 

“You’ll just have to bare witness to my hair routine,” he grinned widely. “These curls don’t happen overnight.” You watched as he purposefully shook his head, his curls bouncing around his face.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll sacrifice pretty curls for something a bit more…” you paused, finding the right word. “Sexy.” 

“I think you make the perfect point,” he agreed.

--

End of part 4.

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#gvf #greta van fleet #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet fanfiction #Danny Wagner #Danny gvf #Jake Kiszka #Jake gvf #Danny Wagner x reader #Jake Kiszka x reader #Jake Kiszka angst #Danny Wagner angst #Danny Wagner smut #Jake Kiszka smut #Jake Kiszka fic #Danny Wagner fic #gretavanfleet #danny wagner gvf

[madneedshelp]

Hello!! Can you do a Danny from Greta one shot where you 2 are friends and you both realize you are in love with each other?! Maybe some Angst to fluff

Please and thank you!

Oh this is a delicious ask, this one was so exciting to write, enjoy 😉

Burnin’ For You - Danny Wagner x FReader

Summary: You and Danny had been friends for a couple years, and you’d been hopelessly in love with each other for most of that. While it may be obvious to everyone around, it seems it’s going to take a series of unfortunate events to open both of your eyes.

Words: 2.4k

Warnings: language, drinking, some good ol’ jealousy, friends to lovers, angst with a fluffy ending

You sighed as you looked down at your outfit. This was ridiculous. You were just meeting Danny and some friends for a drink after work, yet you had taken a great deal of time to get all dolled up.

The ridiculous part was that you knew you wouldn’t have done any of it if Danny wasn’t going to be there. It shouldn’t have mattered. He was one of your closest friends. Nothing was going to happen, so it was honestly pretty pointless to spend so much time getting ready.

But it was Danny, and you were embarrassingly in love with him.

You sent him a quick text to let him know you arrived and then started to gather your things. As you stepped out of the car, he responded to let you know he was inside.

Ignoring the little flip your stomach did, you went in to meet him. The feeling only got worse when you spotted him near the end of the bar. He was in black jeans and a button-up that had enough buttons undone for you to see chest hair. Not that it mattered, Danny looked good in whatever he wore.

His face lit up when he saw you and he gave a little wave, which you returned with a smile.

“Hey, how was work?” He slid a glass your way. Your usual. Of course he already ordered one for you, he was just thoughtful like that. He made it really hard for you to stop falling for him.

“Thanks, and it wasn’t too bad today. You?” You clinked your glass with his in a mock cheers before taking a sip.

He took a sip of his own and shrugged. “It was pretty average today. Nothing too wild, which is nice sometimes.”

“Amen to that,” You chuckled. After finishing nearly half your drink, you realized the two of you were still alone. “Hey, where are your friends?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Sam should be here in five or so, but Jake got held up and won’t be here for probably another hour. Josh can’t make it.” Danny sighed. “They’re always late.”

“Yeah, I’ve gathered that.” You remembered the first time you’d met Sam. He was about an hour late to the small dinner Danny held at his home. You’d never met Jake before, but Danny had already told you he was Sam’s brother so you figured bad punctuality might’ve been genetic. “I’m sure they’re worth the wait, so no worries. I liked Sam last time we hung out, and I’m sure Jake is just as delightful.”

Danny laughed at that. The little dinner party could hardly be called that. It wasn’t formal in the slightest, and you’d all gotten entirely too drunk and a little wild. “Yeah, they’re something all right. Good thing I have you to keep me grounded.”

He gave you a little wink and you felt your cheeks warm slightly. Damn it, you cursed yourself and downed the rest of your drink.

Thankfully, you were saved from your feelings by the arrival of Sam. In a flurry of greetings, more drinks were ordered and a sea of conversation overtook your group.

As the three of you caught up and chatted, more drinks were ordered. And finished. And ordered again. Before you knew it, the three of you were a little tipsy and feeling spectacular.

“Well, fuck Jake, I say we party without his late ass!” Sam threw an arm around your shoulders.

You laughed and leaned into him. “I think you might be onto something, Sammy boy!”

Danny eyed you with an odd expression for a moment. You couldn’t quite tell what was on his mind, but he just shrugged. “I don’t know, guys. Jake should be here any minute now.”

“Come on, Danny, dance with me! And Sam! We should all go out there together!” You reached over to tug on his arm lightly. Okay, maybe you were all a little more than tipsy.

At first he seemed to grin at the suggestion, but as soon as Sam was mentioned in the dancing, his grin faded. You didn’t even notice. Not that he noticed your flushes and smiles earlier. The obliviousness was unfortunately contagious.

“You guys go ahead without me, I’m just going to wait at the bar for Jake.” Danny nodded toward the small dance floor area.

The tequila you’d recently consumed dulled your ears to the tinge of bitterness in his voice. “Okay, well don’t be too long.”

Danny watched in slight disdain as you led Sam away. He wasn’t sure where this was coming from. He knew Sam would never make a move on you, he knew how Danny felt about you. Hell, all the Kiszkas knew, they were his brothers. He also knew that you and Sam were just friends, but you and him were also just friends and look at the way he felt about you. What if all along you’d been waiting for Sam? You did ask where he was pretty quickly after you arrived.

Danny tried to put the thoughts out of his head, but the worry kept coming back. The fear that it might all be one-sided was all-consuming.

For a fraction of a second, just out of the corner of his eye, he thought he glimpsed you arriving next to him. Maybe you had come back to get him. When he fully turned his head, he was met with the sight of another girl. Not you, but she definitely held a resemblance.

She asked what he was drinking tonight and put a hand on his arm, and he felt himself slip into a dark place.

Meanwhile, you and Sam were absolutely thriving in the crowd of people. You danced with each other, with strangers, it was practically a free for all. It had been a while since you had really let loose.

The elation started to ebb after a while, though. You’d remember Danny was still waiting on Jake by himself and you’d feel a ghost of sadness that he wasn’t with you. After all, he was your favorite person to dance with.

“Can’t believe Dan is just over there alone and not out here with us!” You shouted to Sam over the music.

“Right?!” Sam laughed, craning his neck to try and spot his friend. His eyes caught on something and his expression faded.

You frowned at him. “What’s with the face?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Now you had to know. “Sam, what is it?”

“He’s over there, but he’s not very alone.” Sam winced.

You turned around and through the crowd you were able to see a flash of what he saw.

Danny. With another girl. More specifically, Danny making out with said girl.

Instantly, your mood was flattened. Danny had been single for a while, and he’d not shown interest in anyone for that while. You hoped that maybe that meant you had a chance, but it appeared he wasn’t thinking about you after all. You weren’t entirely sure why you ever thought he might’ve been.

You looked over to see Sam watching you with sad eyes. Your sadness was quickly turning to irritation. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m fine! Why would that bother me? I’m just in need of another drink to keep me going.”

As you made your way away from Sam, you weren’t exactly sure what you were doing. It’s not like Danny was owed to you, and it’s not that you wanted him to never date and die alone. You just felt upset and you hated that.

That’s what led you to the conclusion that maybe you needed to kiss someone too. Get your mind off of Danny (hopefully) and then it wouldn’t hurt so badly when he inevitably moved on to an actual relationship. Maybe Danny had the right idea kissing a stranger.

While you were waiting on a drink at the other end of the bar, a safe distance away from Danny and the mystery girl, a guy walked in and met your eyes. He was handsome, with longer hair and a sort of mysterious air around him. He also worse a barely buttoned button-down. Not too shabby, he would do perfectly fine. You gave him your best flirty grin and hoped your “come talk to me” eyes still worked like they did in college.

You must’ve done something right because he made his way over to you and took the seat beside you. Neither one of you introduced yourselves, the conversation was set up to where you both silently understood what you wanted from the interaction. You didn’t need to get to know him, and vice versa.

Before you knew it, his lips were on yours and your hands were tangled in his hair. He was a good kisser. Honestly, one of the better ones you’d had. Still, you didn’t really feel that spark.

Just as you were telling yourself to fuck the spark because it wasn’t always about that, the kiss was suddenly ended.

“What the fuck, Jake?!” Danny’s voice shouted at the guy across from you.

Of fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. So this was Jake. You glanced over and it appeared Jake was having the same realization you were and you both cringed. This was not what was supposed to happen.

Then Danny whirled to face you. “I cannot believe you.” He all but spat the words at you and stormed outside.

Sam had made his way to you all now and was looking mildly confused. He looked from you to Jake to the closing door Danny had just left from.

“What the fuck happened here?” He murmured.

Jake could catch him up. For now, you had to go talk to your best friend. You started out toward the parking lot, a new rage building within you.

So he could go around and kiss whoever, but you weren’t allowed to kiss anyone? Sure, you wouldn’t have kissed Jake if you knew it was Jake, but what right did Danny have to blow up at the two of you for it.

On the bright side, your anger fueled your stomp out to the parking lot and you caught up to Danny relatively quickly.

“You kissed Jake!? What the fuck?” Danny shouted once the two of you had made it to the parking lot.

You threw up your arms in annoyance. “How the hell was I supposed to know that was Jake? I’ve never fucking met him before! Besides, why does it matter so much that I kissed him?”

“It just does, okay?” Danny seethed.

A bitter laugh escaped your lips. “Oh, so you can shove your tongue down some random girl’s throat, but the second I kiss someone I’ve gone too far? Does that sound fair to you, Daniel?”

He stiffened slightly at the use of his given name. You never called him that. It was always “Dan” or “Danny” or something ridiculous that went back to an inside joke.

“Maybe it’s not, but I still don’t think you should be kissing one of my best friends!” He knew he was being irrational, but he just couldn’t get the image of the two of you out of his head.

He broke things off with that one girl fairly quickly. About three seconds into kissing her, he became acutely aware of how not-you she was. He ended the kiss and when he went to find you, he found you with Jake instead. Any potential jealousy he felt toward Sam immediately flung itself to Jake and it took over.

“Well then who should I kiss?” You shouted, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Your question startled him, but his answer left his mouth before he could consider what he was about to do.

“Me! You should fucking kiss me! You should be with me!”

Now it was your turn to be thrown off. “What?” You blinked at him. Surely you couldn’t be hearing him correctly.

He sighed and looked at you with those soft, brown eyes that melted you. “I only kissed that girl because she looked like you, and she laughed like you, and I’ve wanted you so badly for so long. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but I don’t think I can keep being your friend and feeling this way.”

There was a painful beat of silence.

“I don’t want to be your friend, Danny.” Your voice was now so flat and emotionless that it made his heart sink.

“You don’t?” He asked quietly. Panic was threatening to claw into him.

“No, I want you to shut up and kiss me so I can tell how badly you want me.”

At your blunt statement, his head flung up to look at you. Your cheeks were red and you looked so beautiful in that moment that he wasn’t sure how he kept himself from confessing everything to you the moment he met you. He loved you so deeply, and from the look in your eyes, you loved him too.

It only took a few hurried steps forward between the two of you before his lips were crashing into yours, hungry and passionate. This wasn’t one of the forget-me-later kisses you both had shared with other people earlier in the night. This was needy and desperate and full of all the words you couldn't say.

Time didn’t exist in your worlds for a while. You weren’t sure when you broke apart, but you found yourself immediately missing the feeling of his lips on yours.

“You know I love you, right?” He asks, slightly breathless.

Despite the way your heart stops in your chest, you grin and nod. “I do.”

He kisses you again, briefly this time, and leans his forehead down to rest on yours. “I never should’ve kissed that girl. I didn’t feel anything for her. I promise. I’m so sorry that I did it, and I’d give anything to undo it.”

“It’s okay, I believe you. Trust me, I didn’t feel anything for Jake either. I was upset because I’m so in love with you, Dan. That still doesn’t mean I should’ve kissed him, and trust me I regret that too. You know I love you, right?” You echo his words back to him.

He chuckles and mimics your nod from a second ago. “I do.”

#danny wagner x you #danny wagner x reader #greta van fleet #josh kiszka #jake kiszka #danny wagner #sam kiskza #fanfic #x y/n #imagines #danny wagner imagine #danny wagner x y/n #danny wagner blurb #danny wagner gvf #danny wagner angst #danny wagner fanfiction

[jordie-gvf]

gone pt 2, danny wagner

warnings : fluff, angst, language

word count : 2.5k +

pt 1

Jake had consoled his brother as he sobbed in his arms. Danny pulled away from Jake and tried to speak through his choked sobs.

“I fucked up, man.”

“Lets go over to the couch and we can discuss this entire situation, okay?”

Danny nodded and let Jake help him up onto his feet. Jake helped Danny walk over to the couch and sat him down.

Jake sat closer to Danny and let Danny rest his head on his shoulder. Jake stroked Danny’s hair, trying to comfort him in this sad moment.

Meanwhile, Y/N had decided not to go to Michigan, but was halfway to Alessandra’s house, who had been Y/N’s best friend since high school. The two started cheering at the same time and instantly became best friends. 

Y/N had called Alessandra and let them know what was going on. As always, they welcomed Y/N and Montana into their loving home. 

When Y/N had arrived at Alessandra’s house, they met the two Wagner girls outside. Y/N walked straight to Montana’s side and grabbed her car seat. She had fallen asleep as soon as they left the house.

Y/N went straight into the arms of her best friend, in the same way Danny had done Jake. Alessandra did their best to comfort Y/N.

Alessandra directed Y/N inside and said to get the bags later. Y/N and Alessandra walked upstairs to the guest bedroom and sat down on the bed Y/N would be sleeping in.

“Tell me everything,” Alessandra said, as Sam, who was Alessandra’s boyfriend, went outside to grab your bags from the car.

Y/N’s POV:

As soon as you left the house, you regretted it. You regretted leaving Danny there by himself in his lonesome. 

You had contemplated turning around and seeing if he even noticed that you left. A few minutes after you left the house, your phone started to blow up. You had a number of phone calls and text messages from Daniel and Jake. 

When you arrived at Alessandra and Sam’s house, you turned your phone off. Alessandra had set up the guest bedroom for you and Montana, making you feel at home for the next few days. 

Montana had fallen asleep in the bed as soon as you laid her down. You grabbed her thin blanket and covered her. 

“Tell me everything,” Alessandra said, getting up to close over the bedroom door. They came back over and sat with you on the bed, placing a loving hand on your knee.

“He’s never home. When he is, he's either asleep or in his studio. I never see him anymore.”

You got teary eyed at the words you were speaking. You loved Danny and you knew he loved you, but he loved music more.

You wiped your eyes and continued talking, “He comes home from either being at the studio recording or he’s out with everyone at a bar somewhere. He's out till 2 or 3 AM and comes home to eat cold food and goes to bed, and he does it all over again.”

“As you know, tonight was our anniversary. We’ve been together for 7 years and he didn’t even remember our anniversary. I made him pierogies, which is his favorite thing and he never ate them warm. It’s a vicious cycle and I can’t keep doing this to myself. The worst part, he is never home with Montana.”

You had laid your head on their shoulder and they rubbed the side of your head. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. I love him and I just want him to be around. I miss him. I miss my Daniel.”

You had started to drift off to sleep while you laid on Alessandra’s shoulder. You opened your eyes and asked them, “Can we talk about this in the morning? I’m real tired.”

They nodded and stood up off the bed. They walked in front of you and kissed the top of your head, then made their way to the door to leave you be. 

Sam must’ve brought everything in for you, because your purse, your suitcase, and Montana’s bag were placed outside the door. 

Alessandra brought them into the room and you unzipped and laid the suitcase out on the floor. You grabbed your favorite pajamas, which happened to be a pair of linen pants and a shirt, and went into the bathroom to change. 

You were too tired to wash your face and take off your makeup, so you focused on Montana. You put her bag on the bed and changed her while she slept and put warm pajamas on her. 

You put everything back onto the floor and decided you would pack everything away tomorrow morning. You untucked the comforter and the top sheet off the bed and got under the covers.

After tossing and turning, you finally fell asleep.

Surprisingly, Montana slept all through the night. You woke up around 8 and got out of bed to arrange everything in the empty drawers.

Once all of Montana’s clothes were in the drawers, you started on yours. You were close to putting everything away, when you noticed one of Danny’s sweaters in the suitcase. You most likely packed it by accident, but you still decided to put it in the drawer.

You ended up putting the sweater on and inhaling the scent of your sweet boy. You had finished unpacking and grabbed a ring sling from your diaper bag. Montana was still sleeping and you had changed her when you first got up. 

You wrapped her around you and headed for the kitchen. You wanted to thank Alessandra and Sam for what they did for you last night, so you made them some breakfast.

You started a pot of coffee and then continued cooking. You made blueberry pancakes, eggs, and sausage for the three of you and cut up some kiwi and banana for Montana.

You finished everything up as Alessandra had come downstairs. 

“What is all this, ma’am?!”

“I made you breakfast.”

“For?”

“For letting her and I stay here.”

“You’re welcome here anytime, you know that.”

Sam was trudging down the stairs as he heard the two of you talking, “What smells so good?”

Alessandra turned to him and said, “Our house guest decided to make us breakfast, can you believe her?”

Sam piped up and said, “Can Y/N stay here forever?”

You laughed at him and responded, “Sorry, I’ve gotta go home eventually. I need to get my phone, make sure he’s all right.”

Alessandra went into the room you were in and grabbed it from the nightstand, “I put it in there last night for you.”

You smiled at their kindness and turned your phone back on. Sam grabbed a cup of coffee and a plate of food and sat down at the kitchen table. 

“Y/N, I don’t know if you noticed, but I brought her high chair in last night. Here, I'll take her,” Sam said, and grabbed Montana out of the ring sling and placed her in the chair. 

Once Alessandra, Sam, and Montana had their food, you grabbed yours. Your phone had been turned on by now, so you looked at your text messages, about 50 from Jake and a whopping 300 from Danny.

You looked at Danny’s first, which most of them were asking where you were and if you were safe. By 11:30 PM, the texts stopped, which means he must’ve fallen asleep.

You had finished eating when the doorbell rang. Alessandra looked at you confused and went to go get the door. Sam had a bashful look on his face when you turned and looked at him.

“Sam, what did you do?”

“I might’ve told him where you were. I wasn’t expecting him to come here.”

You sighed and grabbed Montana out of her high chair. You hid in a spot where Danny couldn’t see you, but you could still hear him. 

Alessandra opened the door and there he stood. Hair disheveled, clothes hanging halfway off his body, and dark circles under his eyes.

“Please, I need to see her. Give me five minutes. I need to know that they're okay. That’s my daughter in there.”

You turned the corner and took a good look at him. He noticed his sweater donning your body. Alessandra turned to you and you nodded. 

They let him in and Sam got up and gravitated to Danny. Alessandra came over to you and asked, “Do you want Sam and I to take her out to the park?”

You nodded and handed Montana to them and went into the bedroom you were in to get your diaper bag. 

You went back out to the living room and saw Danny sitting on the couch of their home, waiting for you.

Sam and Alessandra took Montana to the neighborhood park, leaving you and Danny alone. You motioned your head towards the guest bedroom and closed the door behind you. You took his sweater off and told him to get in the shower. 

He listened to you and went into the bathroom as you went upstairs to get some clothes for him. You went back into the bedroom and heard him crying in the shower. You peeked into the bathroom and saw him sitting on the shower floor.

You got undressed and went into the bathroom to sit on the floor with him. He was startled by the shower door opening, so he whipped his head around and looked at you. 

You sat right next to him and didn’t care about your hair getting wet. You hugged your knees and he rested his head on your shoulder. You let go of your knees and wrapped your arms around him, letting him cry into you. 

You stood onto your knees and embraced him tightly. He grabbed onto you and sobbed into your stomach. You wrapped your arms around the back of his neck and pulled him closer to you.

You had shed a few tears for your lover and the two of you eventually ended up laying on the shower floor, letting the water hit you. He laid on his back next to you and you were laying on your side, stroking the side of his face.

He had stopped crying, but was still sniffling. He tried to lighten the mood by saying, “How dirty do you think this shower floor is?”

You laughed and told him, “I really don't care how dirty it is, but we should get out, I got you some clothes.”

You stood first, extending your hand to Danny to help him get up. You turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the hook. 

You dried off and grabbed your comfiest sweat set, followed by your slippers. Danny had gotten dressed as well and asked you, “Can we talk about last night?”

You opened the bathroom door and nodded, going over to sit on the bed. He followed your steps and sat right next to you. 

You could tell he was getting emotional, because he wouldn't meet your eye. You put your hand on his shoulder as if you were telling him that everything was going to be alright. 

He rested his head on your hand and nuzzled into it. 

He inhaled, “Listen, I love you. I love you more than I love myself. You are my best friend and I don’t know what I would do without you. I haven’t been a very good boyfriend, and on top of that, I haven’t been a very good father. I remember when she was born, how excited I was to finally hold my little girl.”

He started crying again, so you scooted closer to him and held him in your arms. He sniffed and continued talking, “I love her so goddamn much and I’m never around her. My own daughter doesn’t even know who I am. I’m never home, I never spend any time with either of you. I’m always at the studio or I’m out with the guys.” 

He stopped to take a breath and then choked on his sobs. You rubbed his arm and told him, “Danny, I love you. And Montana loves you. We both love you. I have supported you for seven years and I would never try to stop you from doing what you love.”

You had started to cry from seeing him cry, so he put his hand on your thigh and rubbed your clothed skin with his thumb. 

You took your hand off his shoulder and grabbed his face and turned his head to look at you. He looked in your eyes and spoke again, “I’ve been so busy with the guys I never thought about you guys. The single came out and I wasn’t focused on you when I should’ve been. I missed our anniversary and I can never make that up. I just hope you aren’t too upset with me, I would be nothing without you.”

“Daniel Wagner, it was very upsetting, but I could never leave you. I wouldn’t do that to Montana.”

He grabbed your chin and lightly kissed you. “I love you Y/N, so very much.”

“I love you too, Danny.”

He stood up off the bed and kneeled in front of you. He pulled something out of the nightstand drawer, a blue velvet box.

“Bluebird, I am so undeniably in love with you. I could never live my life without you. I wouldn’t survive. I can’t imagine what life would be like without you, so will you be in it forever?”

You put your hands on his shoulders and nodded profusely. He took the ring out of the box and delicately placed it on your left ring finger.

He leaned into you and wrapped his arms around your waist. You pulled him on top of you and kissed him graciously.

You laid back on the bed and shimmied your slippers off to lay in bed with him. 

NO ONES POV :

Sam and Alessandra had arrived home with Montana to a quiet home. Alessandra grabbed Montana and walked over to the guest bedroom. They lightly knocked on the door but heard no answer.

They opened the bedroom door to Danny and Y/N lying in bed together, asleep. Alessandra smiled and walked over to your side of the bed. They shook you awake and told you that they were putting Montana in the bed. 

You moved over so Alessandra could put him in the bed. Danny woke up from the commotion and lightly pulled Montana close to him. He laid on his back and put her on his chest. 

You cuddled into his side and he wrapped his arm around you. Alessandra saw your hand and gasped, grabbing your hand and looking at it. 

Once they were done admiring your ring, they left the room. Danny kissed the side of your head as Montana fell asleep on his chest. 

“I love you, Danny.”

“I love you too, Mrs. Wagner.”

#danny wagner x reader #danny wagner angst #danny gvf #danny wagner fic #danny wagner fanfiction #danny wagner fluff #daniel wagner #danielrwagner #greta van fic #greta van fluff

[jankandjonch]

Reasons for Waiting, Part Two

probably my most requested piece. gather your tissues. read part one before reading this. word count: 2.7k

*

“You said you would wait for me, that was the loudest lie I’ve ever been told.”

“Okay, drama queen, just take your turn already,” Jake rolled his eyes at his older brother. 

“Oh, guess who I ran into today,” Josh spoke slowly as he moved his Monopoly piece across the board, his eyes lulling to stare at Danny. Subtlety has never been in his genes.

“Who’s that?,” Danny spoke around the beer bottle raised to his lips.

“Y/N.”

A splatter of the liquid landed on the corner of Josh’s mouth, making him chuckle as he reached to wipe it. Sam reaching for a napkin to clean up the rest of the beer that had been spat out of Danny’s mouth.

“Like from home? Where the fuck did you see her? Is she here? In town? Where did you see her? What did you- what did she say?”

“I’d love to tell you all of the details, if you’d shut the fuck up, my beloved Daniel,” Josh laughed along with his brothers at the shock the simple confession had put Danny in. “I ran into her at Publix. She said she’s doing great, she’s in town visiting her fiancé. She’s still doing photography. She’s got purple hair. Lots of tattoos. This really cute nose ring,” Josh rambled on, waving his hands about.

Fiancé. Danny’s heart was sitting in his lap. He didn’t hear any of the other words Josh’s mouth was spewing out at him. Staring at his lips as he continued talking, all Daniel could hear was blood rushing in his head and the hammering of his heart. His body moved faster than his mind, scooting his chair back a little too aggressively as it slammed into the wall behind him. His legs carried him out the door, he leaned over the banister of Jake’s back patio, feeling lightheaded and nauseous. 

What the fuck is wrong with me? I haven’t seen her in six years. I haven’t spoken to her in five years. Why do I care? Who the fuck is she engaged to? Did she have an engagement party? Did she think about inviting me? Will I be invited to the wedding? Holy fuck. A wedding. She’s going to get married. It won’t be me.

“Babe? What are you doing out here?,” her voice was shrill and it went ran a shiver down his spine. “Are you alright, what happened?” Her hands felt like flames against his skin, burning straight through his shirt.

“I don’t want to be with you.”

“Excuse me?,” her touch turning icy cold. “Like, you need some air, some space?”

He laughed, tearful and gruff, at how hopeful she sounded.

“No. Like I do not want to date you. It’s over, it’s done. I’m in love with someone else,” his voice was stern, even while it wavered as tears streaked his cheeks.

He let out a breath of relief when she left without another word. He didn’t have the strength to argue right now. A rush of wind blew through, Danny closed his eyes, leaning into it. The breeze drying his tears as the moonlight washed over him. He could picture it so vividly in his mind, your presence next to him. 

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He’s 18, it’s his last round of golf on the high school team. He’s oddly emotional, feeling stupid as his eyes begin to water. One glance over at the crowd and his eyes find you, your hand waving him toward you, the other reaching into your bag to get his sunglasses out. He jogs over, so grateful for your over packing tendencies. Slides the oversized glasses on, hiding his reddening eyes from the other players. A kiss to the back of your hand, and he’s back on the fairway. 

He’s 16, his dad is behind him in the mirror, teaching him how to tie his tie. Dan is smiling at his son, his little boy is growing up. Junior prom came in the blink of an eye. Danny’s hands were shaking, growing more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by. He was awaiting your arrival with bated breath, knowing you would look the most beautiful in your dress. His heart stopped, his jaw dropped, his stomach hurt. The rose gold gown you wore caught the setting sunlight in the most glorious way. “Aphrodite,” he called you for the entire evening.

He’s 12, feeling what he could only explain as his first ‘real’ heartbreak. The girl he finally worked up the courage to ask to be his girlfriend had told everyone she only said yes as a joke. He hid in the gymnasium, skipping three classes in a row. The door swung open and he dropped between the bleachers, hoping it wasn’t a teacher and if it was, that they hadn’t seen him. “Daniel, come out of there,” his cheeks glowed red when he heard your voice. Lifting himself out of the bleachers, he saw you approaching him with the worried look of a mother on your face. “You can’t run away from all of your problems, you know?” He didn’t need to, just this one. You understood, and held him in your arms while he cried of how embarrassed he was. You skipped the rest of your classes for the day, walking home with him after the final school bell rang. You made sure he had a glass of water by his bed before you left him as he fell into his bed. His mother gave you a hug before you left, whispering in your ear “you will be such a good wife some day.” 

He’s 7, sat huffing on the side walk with two skinned knees. Unsure if he’s crying because he’s angry, or angry because he’s crying. That stupid jerk from the 9th grade had pushed him while he was trying to skateboard, stealing his board and leaving him bloody and humiliated. He didn’t want to walk home, knowing his mom would give him the fifth degree for losing the board she didn’t even want to buy him in the first place. “I thought you were doing a good job before,” you muttered as you plopped yourself down next to him. “You’re better than that idiot, that’s probably why he took your board. So he could practice some more. He’s a loser.” He stared at you in confusion. “I’m Y/N, by the way,” he stared at your hand outstretched to him. “I’m Daniel. You can call me Danny, though.” He shook your hand.

He’s 24, understanding just how big of a mistake he had made with his life.

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“Did she say where she was staying?,” Danny was panting, out of breath from crying harder as he ran back inside to find Josh again.

“Uh, not specifically. Just said her fiancé lived near the river. I’d guess those apartments by- hey, Dan, wait, don’t-“ Josh couldn’t finish his thought as Danny was sprinting out of the front door, jumping into his car. 

He drove to the river, looking at GPS on his phone, seeing all of the apartment buildings in the area, all of the houses and condos, he felt his shoulders deflate with defeat and his eyes fill with tears once again.

A knock on his window startled him, his head springing up to look at the passenger side of his car. 

“Daniel?”

“Holy fuck.”

“Hi, Daniel,” you laughed, mostly in disbelief as he scrambled out of his car.

“I missed you so fucking much,” he crushed you against his chest, fingers not able to sit still — squeezing into your sides, tangling into your hair, grasping at the back of your sweatshirt, like he thought you’d vanish if he let you break away from him.

“Yeah, I missed you too, Dan,” you did, that was true. The bitterness that you sat with for a while had vanished long ago. “It’s been so crazy to watch your career. I am so fucking proud of you,” you pushed him away from you to look into his eyes, showing him you really meant it.

“You have purple hair,” his eyes were roaming over your appearance, he’s taking so much in at once and he’s overwhelmed.

“Indeed I do, thanks for observing,” you laughed, pushing him further away from you. “Would you like to come in?” You waved your hand in the general direction of the apartment complex across the street.

Hm. Even with no address, no idea of where he was going or what he was looking for, he had found you. He felt proud of that, universal pull or intuition or soulmate attraction or something.

“I’d love to but- I don’t want to- Josh told me-” he didn’t want to say the words again.

“Josh told you that I’m engaged? What a fucking rat. Um, yeah, so, this is actually his apartment but he’s out of town so. Yeah, no worries about running into him or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He simply nodded, letting you lead the way. 

“What were you doing in this area anyway? Josh said you live all the way on the other side of town,” you left him to get comfy on the couch as you grabbed some drinks from the kitchen.

“You asked him about me?,” he stared at the tattoo on your wrist as you handed him a beer. The letters scrolled honey across your skin.

“Okay, I know a lot of time has passed but I think I still know you pretty well and I know this conversation will go absolutely nowhere because your brain is scattered right now. So, ask what you want to ask. Say what you want to say. Get the elephant out of the room, okay?,” you could hardly look into his eyes, knowing he had been crying, wondering if you were the reason why his face was red and puffy.

“You’re engaged? Who is he?,” Danny was quick to spit it out, the question fucking killing him since he heard Josh utter the word.

“His name is Jason, he’s a wonderful guy. Everything you always told me I deserved. Here,” you scooted the photo album that lay on the coffee table closer to him. He realized he hadn’t even taken in his surroundings, snatching up the book and flipping it open so he could see who this man was.

“I didn’t tell Josh where I was staying,” you mumbled. He left that unanswered as he thumbed through the photo book quickly, absorbing as much of these memories as he could, seeing so much of your life that he had missed out on.

“When did you guys meet?,” he needed to know how long this had been happening, somehow he thought that might ease the ache that was spreading in his chest.

“2018. He worked at the tattoo shop that I started going to, and he sat with me in the parking lot one night after a tattoo and we talked for hours. He wanted to know why I was in such a rush to change myself, asked about the word I had him put on my wrist,” your thumb mindlessly brushed over the area as you spoke. “I told him all about you.”

Danny’s eyes snapped up to meet yours, breaking away from watching the motion of your fingers. “What?”

“Well, it was you, after all,” you laughed. “God, I loved you so much Daniel. I really, truly thought it was going to be us. The day you told me you were leaving, I knew. I would never be enough. You were going to have this huge, spectacular life, and I’ve just been happy to see it from the sidelines. I really am proud of you,” you reached over to wipe his tears before you wiped your own, forever putting him before yourself.

“It is us, honey. I swear it is. That’s why I found you tonight,” a sob fell out of his mouth, “I love you. I love you so much and I always have and I’m so fucking sorry I let you go. I should have never sent that last message, it wasn’t what I wanted but I thought it was best and now I’m a fucking wreck because you’re engaged and I can’t watch you marry someone that isn’t me.”

The silence the two of you sat in was full of pain, yearning, regret, and worst of all - disconnect.

“Daniel, I’m in love with Jason. I haven’t been in love with you in a long time. You coming here and making these statements isn’t going to change that, honey.” 

“Can I come?,” his voice was weak, he sounded like a child just shot down from getting his favorite treat.

“To the wedding? You don’t want that, Daniel,” your voice was still full of intent, getting your point across, but shaking as you let your emotions take root.

“You think you aren’t enough for me?”

“What?,” you let out a light laugh at his not so subtle questioning. His mind truly is everywhere and nowhere tonight.

“That’s what you said, a minute ago. You said you knew you would never be enough. You’re wrong. So fucking wrong it’s despicable. You’re everything. You were too good for me, always were too good for me. From the first day we met and you cared more than my own mother about my banged up knees and making sure I wasn’t upset about what that dick Greg O’Connell said to me- you cared about me. Far more than I ever deserved, honestly. Far more than I ever showed you how much I cared. I did, though, I do. I always will care so much about you. I’ll always find you, GPS be damned. Your soul rests with mine and that is something no one can ever take from me. He can take you, marry you, make a family with you. But your soul will always be for me. We’ll find each other again. Maybe the next trip around the Sun. I want to go to the wedding, I want to know and feel that pain, let it hurt enough that I remember it the next time. In the next life, I’ll remember that knife in my fucking chest and I’ll never be selfish enough to let you go again.”

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As much as everyone, yourself included, agreed it was a bad idea, the following summer you invited Danny and the guys to the wedding. They sat third row from the back on your side, they cheered the loudest when you kissed your husband for the first time. Never able to mistake Josh’s loud whoops or Jake’s wolf whistle for anyone else. As you walked down the aisle to your future, you locked eyes with Daniel. The smile on his face was genuine. So were the tears rolling down his face. You scrunched your nose at him, he returned it immediately. A signal through the years of silently saying I love you, and in this case a thank you for all of the years passed and growth done.

Three weeks later, you sat on the floor of your living room watching a shuffling playlist of music videos on YouTube, sifting through and opening gifts that were left for you and your husband at your wedding. A stack of blank thank you cards sat on the coffee table, writing a personalized one for every person. Opening a sky blue gift bag, pulling out the white stuffing paper, your eyes landed on a white card envelope first. Only your name scrolled across the front, you opened it to begin reading- interrupted by a quick glance toward the TV where ‘Light My Love’ by Greta Van Fleet just begun to play.

Beneath it, encased still in the original plastic box, the boutonniere that he donned the night of Junior prom. A pink rose, dusted with gold, now dried and partially crumbled. You hugged it to your chest, rising from your spot on the floor and wandering to the bookshelves across the room. Ever so gently, as not to jostle it anymore, you reached up on your tip toes to place the gift on the shelf. Right next to the framed photo of yourself and Daniel at graduation.

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