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#dolan twins fanfiction
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Heyy hun! What if the reader has a child from a previous relationship! And Grayson steps in to help raise the baby. Can you pretty please write something about his reaction to when the baby calls him daddy/dada for the first time?! I feel like he’d be so soft and teary like in the vid when Ethan got him the watch as a housewarming gift!! 🥺🥺 thank youu love you so much!!
Thank you so much for the request, I love you so much 🥺<3 sorry for the longest wait ever
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Grayson did more for you and your baby in 10 months than your ex didn’t in 8 long, dreadful years. Of course, the two of you did share some joyous memories – some even etched into your brain for many years to come. But those few memories would never be enough to override the haunting recollections of the relationship. What a shit show. You have no idea why you stuck around for so long.
“So where’d you wanna head first?” Grayson asks as he buckles his seat belt in, getting ready to drive to your desired destination.
“‘DONAWS!” your son screeches from the back seat.
Both you and Grayson chuckle in unison at the overly excited boy.
“Mcdonalds?” you raise a brow in surprise. “Don't you wanna go to a toy store first?”
Your son nods his head vigorously, kicking his feet excitedly into the back of your seat. Usually, this would irritate you but for this time, and this time only, you let it slide. It was his birthday, after all. 
Again, you chuckle. “Which one is it then, little man? ‘Donalds or Toys?” 
The boy pauses to debate the choices in his head. His brows furrowed in concentration as he began to stutter in a panic as if his life depended on him giving the correct answer.
“I- I- I dunno. I don’t weally wike pickin–”
Before the poor boy could get himself in too much of a predicament, Grayson steps in. 
“How about–” Gray twists in his seat to face your son. “How about we do both? At the same time! How awesome would that be, huh?!”
“Gray– you can’t take food into a toy store–”
“NUGGIES!”
Grayson looks at you with a smirk. 
“If that’s what the birthday boy wants, then that’s what he’ll get.”
*
“Where do you want to look first?” you ask as you and your son walk into the gigantic toy store, hand in hand. “Dinos? Teddys? Oh- what about the Nerf guns? There are so many cool ones to choose from–”
Even with all of the options you stated, your little boy only had his mind set on one thing. 
“Mommy, where’s Daddy?” he questions with furrowed brows, looking behind him in search of him.
You halt in position and scrunch your brows together in confusion.
“Daddy didn’t come with us today, baby.” you remind him, gently tugging his hand to keep him moving so the two of you don't hold up other customers.
“Yeah, he is! He dwiveded us here!” the boy explains in frustration, continuing to look back at the entrance in case “daddy” walked in.
Sighing, you kneel down to come face-to-face with your son. With care, you hold his face between your hands to keep his attention locked on you.
“Do you think the man that drove us here is your daddy?”
The boy nods hesitantly, watching your facial features drop as your heart plummets inside your chest. You had no idea how you were going to break the truth to him. 
“What’s wrong, Mommy? You look sad.” your son mirrors your actions by holding your face in his tiny hands. This causes your heart to melt in adoration. 
“Uh–” A lump forms in your throat causing it to tighten in discomfort, making your voice unsteady. “Gray– he’s not your Da–”
“DADDY!” Within seconds, the young boy is leaping into Grayson’s open arms, humongous grins plastered on both boys' faces. 
You couldn’t help but mirror their expressions; a smile creeping its way onto your face, spreading from one ear to the other. 
“Did you get da nuggies?” Your son whispers loudly into Gray’s ear with a mischievous grin.
“Sure did, buddy!” 
Gray holds the brown paper bag in the air, above his head, mimicking the famous scene from the lion king and sending your little boy into a fit of giggles. 
Noticing curious staff members nearby, Grayson shoves the brown paper bag into his hoodie pocket, making sure to leave enough space to be able to reach his hand in to grab a nugget when instructed to. 
The three of you begin to walk through the great toy store, searching for the perfect toy for your little boy. 
You scan the shelves thoroughly, looking from top to bottom, left to right, in a calm, relaxed manner when suddenly the perfect toy pops right into view.
You turn your head in search of your son to see him and Gray whispering. Shortly after, Gray pulls a golden nugget out from his pocket and passes it to the small boy beside him, followed by placing a finger over his lips and shushing. Your son nods and giggles in excitement before cramming it into his mouth as he looks around to check no one was plotting to confiscate his mouth-watering lunch.
“So yummy,” the little boy exclaims as he scoffs more food into his mouth. “Daddy want some?” 
“No, I – huh?” Grayson’s pace comes to a stop. He looks down at the small boy with furrowed brows. “What was that?”
“You heard him right,” you confirm with a sigh. “He thinks you’re his daddy. I’m so sorry Gray, i tried to tell him but he’s convinced you are and–”
“He is!” the little boy demands, grabbing hold of Grayson's hand. “You are my daddy, aren't you?”
The look on Gray's face spoke a thousand words. He looked as if he was about to cry.
“Is that what you truly want?” he asks softly, kneeling to his height. 
Your son nods eagerly before throwing himself into Grayson's body. “You’re my daddy.”
That lump in your throat had come back as tears threatened to spill from your glassy eyes. You were managing to keep them at bay until you look at Grayson. 
Shamelessly, Gray’s face was drenched in tears as he silently held back sobs. He sniffles and wipes his face dry with the back of his hand before pulling away from your little boy. He didn’t want him to think he was sad. 
“Did I make you sad?” the little boy asks in worry, noticing how puffy Grayson’s eyes had become. “My eyes do dat when I get sad too. It’s okay to cry, Daddy. Mama cries all the time when –”
“And that's enough of that –” you cut him off, putting your hand on his shoulder. “Go and pick out a toy before all the good toys go.”
“Otay!” Your son waddles off down the aisle, looking all over the place for the perfect birthday toy. 
You turn to Grayson to see him standing with his arms folded across his chest and his brows raised.
“You have some explaining to do.”
After toy shopping, Grayson takes you all back to his to have a little nap. After putting your son down to sleep in Grayson's bed, you walk down the hallway to hear the twins conversing.
“Dude, you should have been there! He was all like “you’re my dad, right?” and then he practically tackled me and cuddled the fuck out of me. It was the cutest shit ever, i can't even –”
“Bro, you’re gushing – chill! You really love the little guy, huh?” Ethan queries with a little chuckle.
“I love them both” he corrects. 
“And we love you too.” 
296 notes · View notes
farfrombuck · 9 months
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now that the dolan twins are back I really CRAVED a fic I read a long time ago, it was about grayson flying to Positano and finding a love interest there, does anybody remember it? did they delete them all?
It was so well written my God!!! I will always remember it
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buddiedaydreamer911 · 7 months
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everytime i’m writing fanfiction and i accidentally write Ethan instead of Eddie, i automatically get war flashbacks to when i did nothing but read and write dolan twin fanfics for a few years straight
(now that i read buddie fics on AO3, it makes me wonder if AO3 has dolan twin fiction on there but i’m scared to open that rabbit hole again lmao)
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cluelessred3 · 8 months
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when did everyone start reading fanfiction? cause it got me thinking and i’ve realised i started when i was 11 years old 😅 ofc it all started with one direction and the dolan twins
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ghostgirlluna · 3 months
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henlo (pls read + introduction)
☾ ⋆・゚:⋆・゚。゚・° 。‧˚⋅₊ ˚ ✩ 。˚ ˚☽
hi, im luna ! 𓆩♡𓆪 im 22 and ive been writing off and on since i was 11-12. i wanna make friends so my dms and messages are always open !!
couple things before you can go:
as my bio says, im a multi-writer meaning, i write about whoever i want, im not limited to just one fandom, going off on that, i have a lot of short lived obsessions so my writing will be all over the place and ill be writing about completely different people that have zero connection to each other. (check tags for current obsessions)
2. im very mentally ill and unhinged and delusional so i like writing about really fucked up stuff so this isnt gonna be a sweet lil wholesome acc, sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. with that being said MINORS DONT INTERACT!!! this is an 18+ acc and my all work is 18+. minors will be blocked, no exceptions!
3. i take requests!
thats it i think, thank u for reading ! ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა i hope you enjoy! social links are in my bio
☾ ⋆・゚:⋆・゚。゚・° 。‧˚⋅₊ ˚ ✩ 。˚ ˚☽
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thestinkyrat · 1 year
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Thinking about when I was in middle school and I wrote Dolan twin fanfics.
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teapartyprincess4two · 2 months
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☆teapartyprincess4two☆
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INTRODUCTION ✨
Hello!! Welcome to my blog where I’m currently writing fanfiction (KEY WORD: FICTION) for:
☆ The Sturniolo Triplets
☆ Johnnie Guilbert
☆ Jake Webber
☆ That Mexican OT
☆ Lip Gallagher (Shameless)
☆ 5 Seconds of Summer
GET TO KNOW ME 🧸
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MUAH hello honey bunchessss my name is Sam & I’m 21 years old (PISCES RISE!!) here are some fun ways to learn about me:
☆ Accurate Representations Of My Personality:
1. Snooki (Jersey Shore)
2. Tara Yummy (that Tara Yummy mindset 💋)
3. Christopher Sturniolo (when he’s on his yap rants)
4. Poppy (Trolls; small, pink, and ANNOYING)
5. Sokka (ATLA; older sibling who won’t stop yapping)
6. Fiona Gallagher (Shameless; protective older sister)
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☆About Me:
I love anything pink and girly, which is why my blog is pink/coquette themed hehehe, but I’m an enthusiast of ALL aesthetics. I have a wide variety of interests and have learned to appreciate different genres of music, movies, and shows. So, although I’m extremely girly, my playlists consists of anything from reggaeton, rap, and pop. Also, I’ll watch Narcos while I paint my nails idgaf.
I’m a Latina from Texas🤠which I’m sure you’ll figure out from my favorite lists below 👇🏻lmaooo
I’ve written fanfiction for as long as I can remember, but I stopped writing once a lot of the people I would write for stopped putting out more content. Some of the people I used to write for were the Dolan Twins, One Direction, and 5SOS. 5SOS never stopped putting out music but at that point I lost inspiration to write.
So, join me on this journey as I once again hyper fixate and write my little heart out 😭
Also, because I’ve gotten this question a lot, I’m a ✨Matt✨ girl 😋
TOP 10 FAVORITES 🦢
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Here are lists of my top 10 favorites for each topic. I was going to do top 5, but that’s too hard lololol. They’re not organized in any particular order, but No Doubt and Gwen Stefani are my top in music for sureeeee.
☆ Music:
1. No Doubt/ Gwen Stefani (LOVE ANGEL MUSIC BABY!!)
2. 5SOS
3. That Mexican OT
4. Jack Harlow
5. Peso Pluma
6. Café Tacvba
7. Calle 13
8. Lady Gaga
9. Korn
10. Kali Uchis
☆ Movies:
1. Nacho Libre
2. Freedom Writers
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. American Ultra
5. School of Rock (nostalgic reasons, but also a good movie)
6. Avatar & Avatar: The Way of Water
7. Mean Girls
8. Confessions of a Shopaholic
9. Don’t Worry Darling
10. Legally Blonde
☆ Shows:
1. Shameless
2. Orange Is The New Black
3. Narcos
4. The Last of Us
5. Bob’s Burgers
6. Bojack Horseman
7. Rick & Morty
8. Bridgerton/ Queen Charlotte
9. Jersey Shore
10. Glee
HAVE FUN READING🎀
Thank you for reading this short introduction about me, I hope you all enjoy reading! Don’t forget to send in messages and requests. Click the tags below to find your requested fic or an anon response!
KK HONEY BUNCHES LUV U BYEEE😋
- L.A.M.B👼🏻💗
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ohtobeleah · 11 months
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i instantly recognized the titles Roughing It and Roses and was like “why does that sound so familiar???” I used to read ur dolan twins fics like i was reading the bible
We don’t speak of that era. Stfu. (I’m kidding) Yeah I brought a lot of those stories back from the dead for another go around.
-> The Marksman
-> Roses
-> Roughing It
-> Kink.com
-> Concussed In Love
-> An Angels Discretion (kinda of, the premise was the same)
Are all re-writes. And I think more people who wrote fanfictions should do that. I’m sure there’s stories upon stories I’d read from my fav moots that they’ve written for other fandoms or years ago that could be dusted off and revamped. Like why not right? 🤷‍♀️
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jjkeverlast · 10 months
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Heloo miss🤍
I want advice 🫠 been thinking for a while that I want to start writing poems or songs but I dunno how to start can you share your story how did you get into writing and what made you think to be a blogger? how did you start?
How do I start what do I write😭
hiiii~~
omggg how exciting!! i looove poems, i always get so impressed when i read them on tiktok and just think to myself, how can people be this talented??? that’s incredible that you want to do that!! 🥹🥹
how i got into writing: (i’ll put it under the cut cause it’s long)
i think i was around 13 when i got introduced to the fanfiction world by my big sister and i just fell in love with the idea of creating your own worlds, characters, stories and share them with people! so i started writing on wattpad for around 4-5 years and afterwards i stopped for a little while. i’d say it’s because i had other interests but then i actually fell back into it when i got introduced to bts!
i had tumblr since i was 15 but never really used it other than to read fanfiction about the dolan twins 💀💀💀 good times lmaoooo but then i noticed how there’s a whole community here on tumblr regarding writing and it just kicked the interest for me again to do it. i started uploading my work, got to know other writers, talked to them, sent them asks, reblogged their stories and step by step i formed my own lil circle of mutuals and friends 🥺🥺
i actually hadn’t planned to become this very active blogger. i was mostly just there to upload my stories in the beginning but as my following grew, i became more interactive with the people who follow me so they could get to know me and think of me as a friend! but yeah i’ve been active on here since end of 2021!
my advice to you is to just go for it, you’ll never know whom you interact with, follow, and such. don’t overthink it too much cause that ruins the fun!! just share your work because you want to, do this for you okay? that’s what’s gonna keep you motivated and active for a long time!! but also remember that you’ll have some days where you’re not motivated, or where you start doubting yourself and that’s all a part of it.
i’m sure you’ll be fine anonie!! i’ll cheer you on already!! 💖
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onlyyyariii · 2 years
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Secret Love
Liana’s point of view
*******
"Guys, we need to collab! People have been commenting on my Twitter and Instagram asking me if y'all are still my friends. Which is extremely stupid because, I don't have to post about someone constantly just because I'm friends with them." I say.
"E, did you hear that?"
"Sure did Gray."
"Liana, this ain't Texas you don't need the y'all." Grayson says, in a very bad Southern accent.
"Seriously Grayson Bailey?!"
"Ooh she pulled out the midde name Gray. You're in trouble."
I glance over at Ethan, "Ethan I wouldn't start."
"Okay jeez. We can collab. What ideas do you have?"
"Um mukbang, shopping haul, q and a, uh reading fanfiction-"
"Stop! That's a good one!"
"Which one Gray?"
"Fanfiction. We could do that for our channel."
"Yeah that's awesome Gray!" Ethan exclaimed.
I watch as they hug then do their handshake.
"Mhm definitely,” I roll my eyes, “what about my channel!?"
"Oh the q and a sounds good for you."
I roll my eyes. Of course it does.
"So are we going to film yours first since I'm already here?"
What they didn't know was I had already filmed the first half of my video at home before coming over. It was a get ready with me. So my video will be half 'get ready with me' and half q + a.
"Sure."
We walk to their filming room. They go sit on the purple couch as I stand behind the camera.
"3, 2, 1, go!"
I press play on the camera.
"What's up guys we're back!" Grayson screams.
"And today we had no idea what we were going to do."
"We ended up calling a friend over. Because she has so many video ideas."
"Liana, come on in."
I walk in and sit between them, throwing my arms around their necks.
"Wait we should totally do a skit for Liana."
"Definitely bro. Skit time."
We cut the camera for a few minutes to think of the skit idea.
"What should we do?" Grayson asks.
"Gray you should have some ideas. You're the one who wanted to do a skit!"
"Calm down Li, let's think."
"Um maybe E can ask Gray what you should do for a video and he flips out and you flip out and I ring the doorbell, you answer and I just say-"
"Fanfiction!" they screamed together.
I rub my ears.
"Yeah."
"Great let's do it."
I walk outside. I hear Grayson start screaming then Ethan follows.
"Grayson I always come up with the video ideas!"
"Are you kidding Ethan? I came up with last weeks and the week before that!"
I ring the bell. Ethan opens the door a few short seconds later. Grayson appears by his side.
"Liana, what are you doing here?" Grayson asks.
"Fanfiction."
We stop filming to go back to the couch. We set the camera back up and press start.
"God that was so cheesy." I say, laughing.
"Aren't they always?" Grayson asks.
"True." we all laugh.
"So for today's video Liana, Gray, and I have searched up some fanfictions that all of us are in."
"Ethan found one where him and Liana are together and I have one where she and I are together."
"Obviously I'm just here for reactions," I laugh, "Nah I searched up some video edits of us and we'll be watching them a little later."
"I'm going to go first. This one is called 'Just Friends?' and its by xxeverythinglianadolanxx. There's a summary down here," he scrolls for a few seconds ," 'The Dolan Twins are always shutting down dating rumors between them and Liana Summers. Although during filming their lie detector test video when Grayson asked Ethan if he ever liked Liana, Ethan just sort of shrugged and chuckled. So are they really just friends?'."
"That's an intriguing summary." Grayson says, glancing over at Ethan.
"Oh I agree." I nod.
"Alright it's in my point of view so bear with me here." Ethan says, slightly laughing.
*******
New series ?? Hope you guys like this one. It’s my first ever story so I’m not going to edit it much.
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strangerquinns · 3 years
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hi ever! can u write something about grayson giving you the silent treatment all day and at night u decided to sleep in the guest room but he came find u!
Grayson Dolan x Reader
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The day started normally like it always does. You woke up, showered, got dressed, then made breakfast. You chatted with Ethan as you made breakfast as Grayson came in from his morning workout. Everything was normal. But for some reason something that you had done along the way of the day caused Grayson to be mad at you. Because since he came out from his shower - he'd been giving you the cold shoulder and silent treatment.
Sometimes tried to see what it was. Maybe you'd left a mess in the bathroom after your shower? But normally with stuff like that he'd tell you. Or maybe he made plans for the two of you, but never got to say cause you went off on your own? No, that couldn't be it.
And each time you tried to talk to him, touch him, or even be near him it seemed to annoy him more. Grayson's scowl became deeper and the silence more suffocate. So towards the end of the day, you kept your distance and hung out with Ethan most of the day. Ethan could tell that his brother was in a mood, but knew that he would need space. Because when Grayson got into a mood - he had to bring himself out of it.
But when Grayson got into his moods he never pushed you away. If anything he pulled you closer cause you brought some happiness to him.
"You always make me better, angel," Grayson spoke one day as the two of you laid in bed together. "Any time the pressure of stuff starts to become too much, I just need you with me."
It seemed like this wasn't one of those times that he needed you.
After a few movies with Ethan, the need for sleep started to become too much. Grayson has gone to the bedroom about an hour ago, so you stood outside the door debating on if you even wanted to go inside. Your mind battled back and forth for a while but settled on sleeping in the guest room.
A heavy sadness weighed on your shoulders as you walked into the guest room at the end of the hallway, getting in and under the cool, white sheets. The house fell silent as you rest in the unfamiliar bed. But a couple of rooms down Grayson laid in bed waiting for you. He knew that he'd let his mood get to him again. Grayson could see the frown on your face any time you came near him. And as much as he wanted to pull you closer, his mind wasn't letting him.
His eyes darted towards the time on his phone once again. Grayson was confused cause it was nearly an hour past the time you two usually went to bed but you hadn't come back. He heard you earlier in the living room with Ethan, but he'd heard his brother go into his bedroom.
After another thirty minutes, Grayson pushed back the comforter lying on top of him and walked through the house. He checked the living room. The kitchen. The lounge room and even the backyard. He couldn't find you. He looked out the front and saw that your car was still in the driveway.
"Where are they?" He whispered to himself, before turning back towards the bedrooms.
But just as Grayson moved to go back into your room, his eyes darted towards the end of the hall. He hadn't checked the guest bedroom. Slowly he walked towards the room and opened the door, peeking inside. Grayson sighed deeply with relief when he saw you bundled in the guest bed.
A deep frown formed on his face as he saw your sleeping form moving towards you quickly. He made sure not to move the bed too much, not wanting to wake up. But it was like the moment that Grayson was close enough, your body knew that he was near. Also, you weren't in a deep sleep since you were sleeping somewhere unfamiliar.
"Grayson?" You whispered with sleepiness in your voice, your eyes barely opening as you looked up towards him.
His frown deepened more, "Fuck, I tried not to wake you."
"Wasn't asleep," You shrugged your shoulder slightly. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't come back to bed."
You sighed softly, "Well...after today I didn't think that you wanted me near you."
Grayson internally cringed and felt a shame come over him. "I'm sorry, I...fuck, I shouldn't have done that. Of course, I want you with me."
"Did I do something wrong?"
Your bottom lip jutted out in a pout as you looked up towards him. His shame pressed down on him a little more.
"God no. You did nothing wrong," Grayson moved to lay beside you and wrapped his arm around you. "I was just in a mood and lost in my mind. I never intended for it to come off that I was mad at you."
Grayson's hand caressed your cheek before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. You relaxed under his touch and leaned into him more. The heaviness of the worry you were feeling lifting off of you.
"Come back to bed with me, can't sleep without my baby beside me."
You pulled back slightly to look up towards him, "Ok, let's go back to our bed."
The two of you headed back into your bedroom and got into bed beside one another, Grayson wrapping his arm around you and holding you close. You slept soundly feeling safe within his arms for the first time in the entire day.
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vinylhazza · 3 years
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For Keeps (G.D)
Summary: Jesse knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to say it, or rather demand it. Grayson, who carries respect and dignity like a shield of armor, walks the line of being the vanilla boyfriend he always thought she’d want, or the guy that listens to the devil on his shoulder and embellishes on the fantasies that won’t leave him alone every night. There is a first for everything, a time and place to try something -- or some one new. There is a chance to set the fire in motion. He might just take it.
Word Count: 4.9k
Warning: Strong sexual content, giving head, fingering, spitting, explicit language 
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          There is a first for everything.
          The first time you ride a bike, the first time you try your favorite food, the first time you win an award, the first time you hear your favorite song, the first time you talk to the person you’re meant to spend the rest of forever with, the first time you overcome your worst fear, the first time you read your favorite book, the first time you travel to a different country, the first time you have thoughts that should damn you for eternity and for some...there is even a first time for eating pussy.
         It’s an embarrassment he’d never wanted anyone to discover let alone put to the test. Sure his friends had their time to talk about their extensive knowledge on female anatomy, but whenever the topic of him and Jesse doing anything outside the box he himself had placed them in, his lips were sealed. For one thing it wasn’t their business, for two he’s not entirely sure what he would say. He knew the time would come. He didn’t view their relationship like a race and he knew Jesse didn’t either. They’d been friends for too long and knew each other too well for him to base their relationship off of sex. 
       Grayson keeps his eyes glued to his hands holding Jesse’s hips tight -- unsure of what to do now that he’s got her beneath him and wanting him to have his way with her. He knows what he wants, but doubts that he has the courage to pursue it within him. He’d watch her with careful eyes as she peeled off each article of clothing before pulling him close by his belt loop and on to the bed to kiss her rough busy day away. A picnic was nice, but his complete and undivided attention was better. Even if his eyes trailing up and down every part of her body made her nervous. 
          He’d done plenty of things with his ex before Jesse, but none of those things had involved his lips and tongue anywhere beneath the waist. Not anything like he’s inevitably about to do. 
         “Cat caught your tongue?” Jesse had snickered minutes ago, a sly smirk lacing up her ruby red lips from so much kissing -- moment’s before he’d gotten them both all hot and bothered. He couldn’t help it when he was with her, his self control falters and he’s drunk off her touch once again, swimming in a pool of despair he can’t control. All he can think about is her. Wanting her. Needing her. Touching every single inch of her velvety skin. Wanting to do things to her. Wanting her to do things to him. Things he would blush at in the future.
         Jesse was a woman with desires he’d only dreamed of women having. She was shy at times but the devil danced in her bright eyes. Grayson knew she wanted things she’d never had the guts to say out loud and things she only wanted from him alone. It all made him a fierce kind of nervous, but gave him an electrified thrill. A challenge for him to explore the workings of her body and all the ways he can make her more satisfied than she’s ever been. He didn’t plan on letting her go anytime soon - and if he wanted to do her right, he had to go outside of his comfort zone for her.
         Knowing Jesse was more experienced did things to him that he couldn’t begin to hide -- but more than anything it made him jealous of every set of hands that had ever touched her skin before his. It made him reckless and competitive, focused and haughty. He was better than them, he could be better than them.
         He could rapture her into a whirlwind of pleasure that would ruin her image of every man except him, wanting no one's mouth but his, daydream of no one’s lips but his own, beg for no one else’s touch, want no one else’s hands but the ones holding her now. It wasn’t about him, this wasn’t about his pleasure for once, it was truly all about her. 
         Pulling him back into the flames, he’s burning up under her intense stare, waiting for him to do something, do anything. Anything but watch her long enough to find something less than stellar, less than grand, less than exceptional. With her fears unfolding she pulls him down for a kiss of her own, a soft feather of a thing he can feel all the way to his toes. She’d always been good at that, giving  him more to miss when she’s away. The way she hugs him close is one of those things.
         Grayson fell hard into love—which wasn’t particularly unusual for the hopeless romantic he was, but he always knew Jesse was set apart from the seasonal heartthrobs. He was truly bewitched by her creativity, wanderlust, unapologetic confidence, patience, and beauty.
         An enchantress she was, beautiful beyond anything he could ever deserve. Drop dead gorgeous with the personality to match, there wasn’t a head that didn’t turn when she walked into a room, not a man that didn’t fumble over their words at any opportunity to talk to her, not a woman who didn’t want to be her friend. Sure her beauty was undeniable, but her benevolent heart beat it all.
         He may never know why Jesse had leaned in to kiss him seven months ago save for three days in a hidden corner in Café Verona -- a quaint treasure he’d always hold dear to his heart. Fairy lights criss-crossed along the ceiling, soft Jazz waltzing with the beat of his heart, emerald green leather bench pressing into his thighs. But he’s glad she did. He’s glad she leaned in to kiss him when he’d been building up the nerve for weeks. So afraid to go there but more afraid of not knowing what would happen if he didn’t. He’s glad she took his chin in between her fingers to hold him still enough to feel her lips press to his securely, a warmth swarming in his chest where the heart shaped hole once was.
          If he flipped through the pages of his memory, he would remember a statue-like stillness about him before he sunk into her touch, caging her head in his large careful hands. Feeling the gasp she tried to hide, the smell of grapefruit shampoo and the way her flushed cheeks felt under his stroking thumbs. He would see himself fall into her, around her and through her, off the edge of the rocky cliff and into the dark blissful deep of nothing but her.
          He’d be eternally grateful she looked at him with utmost sincerity and whispered with a raw kind of intensity that he’d “driven her mad you see” -- and he’d heard it then, the brittleness of her voice because fear rattles her to the core, and she had been scared out of her mind. A crack that tracked through her careful confession and to the root of him. Jesse was scared of what he meant, what he was in terms of her heart, what he could be if she continued to kiss him the way she was.
          In that quiet moment he remembered what made her so deeply rooted in his heart: the laugh that rattled him, the soft smell of peaches and vanilla, the way she never drives without sunglasses because her mom who passed away much too early did the same, the dance she does when she finally eats the first bite of food after damn near breaking the world in half in hanger, the way she punches the roof of her car after making it through a yellow light because her best friend in high school did the same, the way she always turns her spoon upside down when eating ice cream, and the way she always has answers for everything no matter what topic, even the way she laughs entirely too hard at Family Feud. 
         For that reason alone he waited for the physical parts to come when they may. It was new and exciting sure, and he’d always loved her heart of course, but her body was uncharted territory. He was patient, yes. A gentleman guarding some assumed virtue, even if he knew better than to think she was anything but a seductress. Patient enough to tell her no when she’s had one too many drinks and not enough discipline. They’d been friends before anything else - the best of friends with a foundation of trust. He’s spent years trying to gain that trust and he vowed to keep it.
          Of course he could have been that guy on many occasions: possessive, selfish, greedy and crude. He could have played his cards and dealt his dirty hand at the wrong moment and still pulled out ahead. I mean hell, how often do guys get out of the friend-zone? But he wasn’t that guy. No matter the relationship status — they weren’t ready.
         They hadn’t been ready to cross that carefully drawn line in the sand, not until now. With the strawberry White Barn candle burning in the corner on the cluttered desk one could expect from a college student and a half full can of Arizona tea on the night stand...her face lit with a mystical kind of magic he’d only ever seen the day she leaned back after their first official kiss. 
         “Hold my hair.”
         Grayson found the words slipping off his tongue easier than they’d come all night. All he’s planned on was a simple date in the park that was tucked away and secluded from all the people that could interrupt, he’d even brought her favorite book and laid back on a soft patch of grass to listen to her melodic voice read to him. He’d planned to come back and share a peck or two while watching a new episode of Daredevil and holding her through the night. She’d had a long day full of texts to him, trying to get him to give her the okay to walk out of her low-paying job and not look back. He never planned on laying her down on his bed and caressing every inch of her skin until he was finally delving into a place he’d never been quite like this.
          He was nervous but he could do anything, be anything with her hand in his hair and her kind eyes watching him defile her. He just knew from this moment on he would have a reputation to uphold, as cocky as it sounded. He had to prove he wasn’t as lost as he felt. He felt like a virgin all over again, like he was doing something raw and real and scary. A secret only the wrinkled sheets would remind him of later.
          Her touch, her soothing him through something that frightened him has always been a crutch for him to lean on. When he got in a fight with his brother, she was there to comb through his hair and talk him through the proper apology, when he decided to change majors and had a breakdown so crippling he couldn’t breathe she rocked him through it until his breath was even once again, when he wrecked his new car on the way home from a party he never should have been at she was right there to give him a kiss on the cheek and help him call the insurance company and his erratic mother who loved her like a daughter. She led him through the rough parts of life and then some.
           He never imagined she would be leading him through something so sensual, but he needed her bringing him back to earth all the same.
          Jesse obliged with a grin of her own, feeling him shuffle down to trail a string of kisses across her torso and down to the base of her need and desire. The fireball of want burned in her stomach, turning her rational thoughts brown and charred. He was good at that, making her need him fiercely. She’d never wanted anyone so much, and even if she thinks back to past flings - she’d never been satisfied like she was with Grayson, and they’d done much less.
         “What are you thinking?” Jesse wonders, distracted by his soft supple lips and his nibbling at her hip, but wanting to hear the inner workings of his brain. Her fingers fidget, wanting to push him by his brown mop of hair down lower - just to feel him at last. She needed this distraction, she just needed his help to forget. Not that she hadn’t been waiting for months for this exact moment, there was just urgency in the way she’s stripped herself bare before him. 
          She almost expects him to wait for her direction, but jerks against him when he takes the lead all on his own. How could he not with her as his complete mercy, giving him the fuck me eyes and twisting a lock if hair around her finger? 
          Grayson thinks on that as he trails his mouth down, down, down to slick his tongue up the base of her, smirking to himself when she wiggles against him. “I’m thinking that I like you this way.”
          The contact was a shock to her nervous system and a promise of what was soon to come if she kept tempting him the way she was. She was a heathen with angel eyes. Someone infatuated with his innocence (at least he was more innocent than she) and curiosity to learn every curve and dip of her body. He made her feel powerful, unstoppable, undeniable. She craved it as much as he craved her own lips tracking across his skin - in the heat of the moment or in the still of the night.
          “Naked you mean?” She laughs then, trying to keep herself at least somewhat under control now that he’s grown some balls and taken the first step. She’s shocked momentarily that she didn’t have to practically order him into touching her.
           She grips her breasts at another bold swipe of his tongue. Rolling her hardened nipples between her fingers and tensing at the sparks flying up her center. The feeling of him spreading her open, blowing against her throbbing clit is almost too much to bear. Jesse curses then, a soft “fuck” she tries to reel back before he gets too big of a head. She knows it fell on eager ears when he delivers another bold stripe of his tongue up her center -- slow and deliberate. 
           “Unguarded,” he finally grumbles, rubbing away the goosebumps that pepper her thighs. She thinks for a moment that she could gave turned off the ceiling fan circling over top of them, but feared she might burn up if it wasn’t for the white blades blowing on her crown of hair going every which way on the pillow. 
          She ignores how right he is - that she’s never been this vulnerable with him before, but instead rolls her eyelids shut to feel him really delve into her - opening his mouth and pressing his tongue to her flat. This is just what she needed, her favorite person trying something new and succeeding at it. 
            For someone that’s never given head, he was pulling it off. He was going to ruin her.
           Glancing down at the yellow glow of the lamp illuminating the right side of his face, Jesse curled her fingers into his plush head of hair once again, somewhere between heaven and hell with no real knowledge of the difference.
           She moans at his lips wrapping around her, the suction to her lower region and the way his thumbs dig into her skin to hold her in place. No running this time, she had no choice but to feel it all. This is what she wanted right? 
          “This feel okay?” he teases, tentatively trailing the tip of his tongue around the place she wanted most. He loved to see her eyes alight with that devilish incomprehensible lust. He was truly winging it, doing anything he’d heard from friends or watched himself late at night, anything to further her soft pants and moans tumbling out of her O shaped mouth. She was too good to be true and felt like one lucky bastard. 
           Nodding down to him she groans, wanting him latched to her. “M-more than okay just keep going.”
          He never knew it could feel so pleasurable to be the giver and not the receiver nine times out of ten. He didn’t know how selfish he’d been and the opportunities he'd missed to feel compliant and...obedient. He liked it. He loved it. He loved the position he was in - her looking down at him like the goddess she was and always had been, him crouching down at the end of the bed to devour her in the best way he could, his hair disheveled, eyes dark with hunger, hands gripping her tight.
          He lets instinct take the wheel, peppering kisses to her clit and bringing his own  hand down to slip in a finger to add extra stimulation - pleased when Jesse releases another string of curses. Fowl language huh? Wonder what she’d do if he stopped-
          “You’re such a dick-“ she tugs at his roots, rolling her hips into his mouth that savors  her now, lips slick with her wetness. She tasted good, he’d concluded. It wasn’t anything like what he imagined it would be, no, it was better. It felt better than all of the horror stories he’d made up in his head. He’s sure if he wanted to - he could stay right down between her legs for hours -- until his lips were sore and his tongue tired. Stopping wasn’t an option. Not when she’s been waiting so long, fantasized too often. She huffs out again “Thought you’ve never done this before.”
            That must be a good sign, right?
           “Never,” he slurps at her, shaking his head and groaning into her core. He felt the slickness of her on his cheeks now. Bowing down to eat her out was harder than it looked, especially with back problems as it was. 
            Focused and drunk on Jesse’s gentle hip thrust into his mouth he hugs her thighs and stands upright, just off the edge of the bed, bringing her lower half up in the air with him. He can feel her trembling now, wide eyes gleaming at him with surprise and delight at the new and better position.
            She was losing it. She’d had him compliant at first, her soft-hearted boyfriend trying something new...but damn he was tugging the ropes from between her fingers and leading her to a path less traveled. Quick learner he was.
           “Grayson put me down! Have you lost your mind?” Jesse squealed, grinning at his closed eyes and moving lips, deaf to her antics. She was expected something quick, maybe even simple, but him switching up positions was not in the game plan as great as it was. 
           She could see it now, the guy that was always hiding just beneath the surface. She could see how her sounds urged him on and made him try harder. She could see his arms shaking from the weight of her legs and the effort it took to hold her pussy as close to him as he could. She could feel the heavy breath fanning out across her pelvis from his nose. She could feel the tickle of his hair dangling down and whispering across the skin of her stomach. She could feel that same ball of fire seated in her stomach slip lower and lower with each passing second - until the words that fell out of her mouth were nothing but strings of profanity would make a sinner blush.
             It was going to sear her in half, that fucking ball of fire. Hot lava stirring up a flood she couldn’t stop. It was splitting her in half just as his digits were now, pumping into her hard and fast, curling at his knuckles. His rings gleam from the yellow lamp-light and shock her when they touch her dewy skin. She had lost all sense of control.
            Hearing his own moans, hearing how desperate he was to keep eating her pussy and make her feel better than anyone had, got her inching towards the edge. It was a low kind of growl itching at his throat.
            The taste of her blurred his senses, the soft smell of her making his mind spin out of control, the tightening walls of her cunt around his fingers fucking her fast, the light sheen of sweat that glowed in the dim light of his room - he was a madman with no direction but forward. He had to keep going, for stopping would surely break them both. He would love to tease her, but knew if he stopped one more time she would kill him in a heartbeat. 
          “Open your fucking eyes and watch me.” He barked down to her, stopping only for a moment to glare at her. His fingers continued their fast paced in and out, in and out, in and out.
                         He’d figured if he was going to take it all the way, he needed to pull every string. Needed to pull out the nasty daydreams and make them a reality. This is something he would have for keeps. Something he’d want to do over and over, something he couldn’t wait to do again. Something he’d want to remember. 
          Peeling her eyes open she sobbed at the sight of him spitting into her pussy with a smile, staring at her darkly. Light eyes blacked into pits he ruined her through and through. He had to be lying, he just had to be.
          “Fast learner,” Grayson sneers, leaning forward to smear his saliva around her slick folds, arms circling her midsection to hold her close again.
           “ Fuckfuckfuckfuck- keep fu- keep going!” Jesse begs, barely holding on to the light threatening to slip away into the fire burning her up. “Doing so good Gray, so fucking good.”
             She had discovered soon in the relationship and the minimal sexual acts they’d indulged in that Grayson was a man that adored praise. He wanted someone to tell him how good he was doing, even if he already knew it. He wanted someone to look him in the eyes just as she was doing now and watch him succeed. He wanted complete undivided attention, verbal acknowledgment. 
              He sucked at her still, sliding his tongue into her quickly then — remembering someone in a poorly shot amateur porn video did the same to the tatted up blonde he was practically fucking to death, and hoped it would have the same effect on his beautiful princess begging for him to keep going. He kept note while he watched the video, knowing one day he would be standing where he is now relishing in the gold mine that belonged to him. He fucker her with his tongue, humming into her cunt for the added stimulation. 
               Fuck all she was the end of him. “Pretty pussy all wet for me, yeah? Want to cum? Bet you doubt me huh? Thought I wouldn’t do you right…”
               He chucked at the vigorous nodding of her head, the eyes rolling in the back of her head, the hand that leaves his hip to pull at her own hair. Her eyes squeezing shut in panic now that she feels the tip of the iceberg coming up fast. 
               “Don’t even know how crazy you drive me, how long I’ve wanted to do this to you.”
               Hearing him admit it only made her thighs quiver against his strong arms, only made her want more, made her creep dangerously close to the edge she was for once in her life afraid to fall off of. The crash into the sea would be the biggest shock she’s ever had. Jesse tried to focus on her breathing, trading the heaving for squealing when he dipped his tongue in her entrance to give her something to fantasize about. She’d never had someone tongue fuck her, let alone stair into her soul while they did it. 
              Fuck he was good. Too fucking good.
             “Baby you have t-to slow down,” she warns, the big splash terrifying and so close. He was a wicked man for doing just the opposite, spreading her legs wider and shaking his head against her again, eyes squeezed shut like he knew what would happen in only a few seconds.
               “Grayson step back,” she tried to warn more firmly, afraid of the unfamiliar feeling of something new about to happen, embarrassed already but too worked up to stop it. “Shit - Grayson step back!”
                And there it was, the strongest orgasm she’d ever had and certainly the wettest. Her release soaked the bed beneath, sheets spotted with her arousal and breath stolen from her lungs. She’s not sure when Grayson had dropped her, or whether her convulsing body wiggled out of his grasp during the black out she’d just had. She was spread on the bed in her own mess, her chest flushed, damp hair stuck to her forehead in waves, vision blurred, eyelids drooping in exhaustion, hand somehow in Graysons.
              He’s there then. He’s everywhere and nowhere all at once, his hand a ghost on her forehead brushing away those tendrils of hair, his thumb rubbing over her knuckles with tender care, his lips smoothing the furrow of her brows. Grayson is lifting her without a word, caging her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, and smoothing her head against his chest to feel the weight of her there - just to feel the heat of her consume him.
              “Holy fuck,” she breathes, spent. 
              “I hope it wasn’t too much,” he whispers into her hair, hand smoothing over the locks while rocking her around the room, mind racing with every image of what he’d just done and the feeling of complete bliss flooding his body.
                He’s almost worried she fell asleep in his arms until he feels the shaking he can only assume is laughter, before she’s hugging him tighter. “Idiot. I can’t believe you’ve never done that. And I can’t believe I’m this tired. Feel like a rookie.”
               “Guess I passed the test then?”
               “Flying colors.”
                Jesse nuzzles in as far as she can, tucking in her arms against his chest and letting the state of Nirvana wash over her. With a sigh Jesse thinks over the shocking events of her boyfriend being 100% nastier than she’d initially thought — not that she’s complaining.
               She barely remembers Grayson running a bath, or setting her in the steaming tub with a kiss, or waiting for him to strip the bed with a giddiness sitting in his chest at all that they’d done, barely remembers him joining her in the tub and catching soap in the calm of his hand to smith the suds over her post-sex body. That’s the only way she would describe herself in the moment, her skin felt sensitive to the touch, sparks still shooting through her with the feeling of his hands on her.
             What Jesse does remember is laying with Grayson in a bed freshly made, arm draped over his stomach, head resting against his arm, lips peppering kisses against his chest randomly through-out the night. She remembers the feeling of adoration and understanding. What they’d done was both the most foul thing she’d ever done, but also the most liberating and beautiful experience. To lose yourself in another person in such a way that you’re utterly consumed by them was...foreign to the pair laying together in the still of the night.
              Jesse waited until Grayson was softly snoring until she said the only thing she’d never had the guts to tell him in the months they’d been dating. He’d been waiting on it patiently. It was different between friends, but it meant so much more when you don't want to say it to anyone else for the rest of your life. The moment she says it, she can’t ever take it back. Maybe that’s why she chooses the early hours of the morning to lean in and press her lips against his feather soft, blinking back the mist clouding her vision. 
              “Don’t know if you could tell...but I'm kind of in love with you...so just be patient with me please I’m trying for you.”
              Maybe she would get the guts one day to say the words while he’s awake, maybe face to face or with the lights off because she has some kind of comfort in the dark, or maybe it would slip out on accident. In any way that it happens, she hopes he will smile. She hopes that he knows how insanely incandescently happy he makes her each and every day, and how honored she feels that she got to experience another first with him.She hopes he will be comforted that his feelings are 100% reciprocated. She hopes that she gets to see that beautiful  smile he wears on special occasions -- the true smile that he doesn't show too often. For now she presses her lips to his once again, smiling softly as the slow ride and fall of his chest, arm holding her close, the ring she won him out of a shitty machine in the corner of a tattoo shop he’d stopped into on a whim secured on a thin chain around his neck, and the fluttering of his eyelashes while he dreamed. 
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houseof-harry · 3 years
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Christmas Miracle | G.D.
A/N - anddddddd I’m back! Idk why, but I thought it was necessary for us to have a cheesy ass, Hallmark ass one shot that is filled with all the fluff and cuteness. So I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday moment and you enjoy the disgusting fluff I’m offering up
Word Count - 7.4k
Summary - Christmas in New York can be seen in one of two ways. It’s the most magical time of the year, snow falling, lights glimmering, joy rampant in the air. Or, the influx of tourists and people trying to sell you things ruins the entire month of December. Y/n tends to lean towards the latter. That is, until she get’s her Christmas miracle.
***
Your friends were lucky you loved them.
When they had first brought up the idea of you showing them around New York City during one of the most popular times of the year for tourism, you shut them down immediately. The holidays were difficult enough without leading around a group of lost puppies who would be acting like they had never seen Christmas lights before.
But they were convincing people, and were quick to offer you the many ways in which they could brighten your few weeks at home and possibly even change your view of the last few weeks of the year.
So, as you balanced finals and all of your other responsibilities as the semester came to an end, you and your friends planned out a trip through NYC that could honestly make a pretty decent Hallmark movie. They even convinced you to spend New Years in Time Square, despite your continued protest. You never saw the appeal of being packed into small gated areas for hours with a bunch of strangers to watch a ball drop, but they claimed that it was necessary to get the full experience. You also bargained that you would get to pick where spring break was if you went through with all of their plans.
You never liked feeling like Scrooge, but the holidays never brought positive memories back for you. Everything felt somewhat fraudulent to you. Fake smiles, meaningless gifts, ignoring the happenings of the rest of the year to act as though family was more important than anything, everyone suddenly devout Christians. You were a big advocate of always being true to who you are, and how you feel, year round. Not just when it is socially expected to do so in some performative, public way that puts up the facade that your life couldn’t be better.
You hoped your friends were right, that they could change the way you felt about the holidays. That maybe it would somehow feel more genuine with them.
So far, they've had some almost successful attempts. You indulged in gingerbread cookies, wore your fluffy winter jacket as you walked around with them to shop for your secret santa. You could even feel a bit of excitement as you picked out the perfect gift for Gia. She’d always say how much she loved leather watches, that she hoped to be able to afford one after graduation to wear to her first job. The smooth brown band you picked out earlier in Saks sat safely in your bag as you led everyone to one of the main attractions of their visit.
Soon enough, the massive, lit up tree came into view.
“Welcome to Rockefeller Center,” you announce as you turn to face everyone, hands held out as you watch them marvel at the scene in front of them, a scene they’ve only seen through screens.
“Wow,” Colin mutters under his breath. You swear you can see the lights from behind you twinkling in their eyes, and you can understand better why they wanted to come on this trip. Maybe you had become a bit numb to the Christmas happenings of the city after so many years of being around it. The obvious wonder on everyone’s faces made you wish you could see the tree for the first time all over again.
You turn to walk forward, afraid of bumping into the swarms of people that stand between you and the tree. As you do so, you feel Gia’s arm wrap around your shoulder to fall in step next to you.
“I knew we’d be able to get a smile on your face,” she teases as her free hand comes to your face to squeeze your cheeks.
You chuckle, wrapping your arm around her waist to keep her close as you squeeze your way through the crowd to get closer to the tree. “Just because I hate the holidays, doesn’t mean I don’t like seeing you guys happy. Even if it’s for a stupid tree.”
“It’s not stupid and you know it.”
You let out a dramatic sigh, your rebuttal interrupted when you hear a squeal from behind you.
“We need a family picture in front of it!”
You turn around at Jo’s request to see her already getting her camera out from under her jacket.
“Here, I’ll take some,” you offer, holding your hand out.
“But then you won’t be in it,” she pouts.
“I have so many pictures of myself in front of this tree, I don’t need any more.”
She huffs, but knows you’re too stubborn to change your mind. She turns back to your group, who now stand in front of you, positioning everyone next to each other.
You bring the camera up to your face, making sure to get everyone in the frame, along with the tree. You start taking pictures of your friends, and you can’t stop the smile that spread across your face as you watch them genuinely enjoy the moment.
“I can take pictures of all of you if you want,” a gruff voice comes from your left, and your attention goes from the camera to the person standing close to you now.
Your eyes have to drag up from the man’s chest, him having a significant height advantage over you. He has a five o’clock shadow that covers his chin, a sharp jawline underneath. His smile shows off his white teeth, that same smile causing the corners of his eyes to wrinkle. Those same warm eyes are looking at you still, waiting for a response.
“Uh, I don’t-”
“Yes!” Jo responds for you, swinging her hand at the two of you standing there.
He holds his hands out, and you carefully place the expensive camera in his hands.
“Don’t drop it.”
He nods at your command as he inspects the buttons.
“Or steal it.”
This breaks his attention from the camera, his smile spreading wider as he chuckles. “I won’t.”
You let out a huff as you nod once, crossing your arms and turning to walk to your friends. You go to the end of the line, tucking yourself under Colin’s arm.
“Don’t drool all over me.”
You scoff, looking up at him. “What?”
“You’ve got heart eyes for our photographer, I’m surprised you couldn’t feel your jaw dragging on the floor as you came over here.”
“Shut up,” you mumble, hitting his chest as he laughs at you.
“Stop talking and smile!” Jo chastises, and you listen in the hopes of Colin dropping it.
You look back at the man who has the camera, and feel your cheeks blush as you make eye contact with him. You opt to look at the camera instead, trying to forget the fact that his eyes were undeniably on you.
He snaps a bunch of pictures of you guys, and as the mom friends Jo even made you do what she deems a “silly” one.
Once Jo is satisfied, she runs up to him, grabbing the camera with a quick and uninterested ‘thanks’ as she immediately starts scrolling through the pictures. Everyone gathers around, laughing and pointing at each other on the tiny screen.
“Thank you,” you say, standing next to him as you watch your friends leaning over Jo’s shoulder.
“No problem,” he smiles, also watching your group. “I hope they’re good enough for a Christmas card.”
You laugh, probably too loudly for how lame of a comment it was, but he seems to appreciate it.
You shake your head. “Knowing Jo, I’ll have an entire book of pictures by the end of this that she’ll insist I keep on my coffee table the rest of my life.”
He chuckles, his hands sliding into the pockets of his jacket. He’s got a beanie covering his ears, and you can’t help but notice he looks better in it than you ever could.
“It’s nice having friends that feel like family. I’m glad you get to have them around for the holidays.”
It’s weird how that comment seems to sit with you. He knows nothing about you, but he’s right. How he knew you needed to hear that, you don’t know.
“Yeah,” you nod, biting your lip as you take in a breath through your nose to ground yourself. “Thanks again, uh…”
“Grayson.” One of his hands leaves his pockets, hanging in the air between the two of you. You take it, letting his fingers fold around your own hand. His skin is warm against yours, a nice change to the cool winds that have been gusting around you the entire day.
He raises his brow at you, and for a second you don’t know what he wants. He keeps your hand engulfed in his, and it hits you that he’s waiting to hear your name.
“Y/N.”
“Y/N,” he says, almost testing it out as he lets your hand drop. “I like that.”
You giggle, your cheeks blushing as you realize the involuntary reactions he’s pulling from you. You’re not a giggler.
“Yo Gray!” Another deep voice comes from over your shoulder, and you turn to see someone who could be a clone of the man standing in front of you. “We gotta go.”
You’re not sure if you make up the sigh you think you hear come from his lips, hoping he was disappointed he had to leave, too.
“I hope you like the pictures.”
And as suddenly as he had appeared next to you, you were watching him jog over back to his own group of people as they disappeared behind the crowd.
“Don’t worry,” Colin’s grip was on your shoulder again as he stepped next to you. “Love is in the air this Christmas season. If it’s not him, it’s someone.”
“I’m Jewish.”
“And Christmas is barely about being Christian anymore. Everyone gets some Christmas joy.”
“Yeah, whatever,” you shake your head, leaning into him a bit. You appreciated his positivity, despite your pessimism. If Christmas miracles were real, your life would have played out very differently.
***
Cold.
That was all you could feel, think, see.
After your adventure at the tree, you planned to go ice skating. You had to, according to Jo. It would be a waste to be there and not go.
When you tried to get out of it, claiming to want to keep Kam company seeing as he had an ankle injury and couldn’t skate, everyone including Kam called you on your shit and made you get out on the ice.
Which you were pretty sure they were regretting now.
You’d never been confident on the ice, only skating a few times in your life. You couldn’t leave the edge, holding onto the side for dear life as you moved slowly around the rink. Your friends took shifts staying with you the rest skating at a more reasonable pace as they continued to lap you.
That is, until Colin and Gia start arguing about who’s better and decide to race, Jo trailing behind them to make sure they don’t knock any children down.
Despite your tight grip on the wall, without the help of your friends your balance fails you and before you knew what was happening, your feet were flailing beneath you. You’re surprised the ice didn’t crack as you fell, your body colliding with the cold, hard ice as your hand trailed down the wall.
You laid there a moment, partially in shame but mainly from the exhaustion of trying to keep yourself upright. You only open your eyes when you hear a chuckle from above you. When you do open them, however, you’re met with an unexpected sight.
“You alright?”
That same charming smile was looking down at you, Grayson’s hand held out in front of him in an offer to help you up.
You scramble to sit up, taking his hand, the other going to the ice as you start to slowly stand up. What you don’t expect is the amount of force he would use to help you, feeling the tug on your arm as he quickly gets you back to your feet.
It’s so quick that you can’t seem to get your footing, your skates scrambling on the slick ice again. Before you can take another tumble, though, his hand is leaving yours as you feel his grip on your waist. He manages to steady you, your palms resting on his chest to do your best to stay still for a moment. Your breathing is a bit jagged as you try to collect your thoughts, your brain jumbled from the events of the past minute, the close proximity to Grayson not helping.
“Uh.” Your mind is racing a mile a minute in order to catch up to where you were right now. Still against Grayson’s body, his face close to yours with a concerned look. His eyes seem to be tracking your own expressions as he tries to figure out if you’re hurt. “Yeah, think I’m good.”
You lean back against the wall, and he takes it as a sign to let go of you. Despite your multiple layers that separated your skin from his hands, you somehow feel a bit colder without him touching you.
“Bit of a hard fall there.”
“Yeah,” you chuckle, nodding your head as you flush, realizing he saw the whole thing happen. “I’m not the best skater.”
“Interested in a lesson?” He holds his hand out to you.
You raise your brow, not moving from the safety of the wall. “You want to teach me?”
“Yeah, Y/N.”
You’re not sure why hearing your name from his mouth unprompted affected you so much, but you felt almost as if you were in a trance. It was like you couldn’t control yourself anymore, your hand falling easily into his.
“Why?”
For the first time since you met him, Grayson seemed to be a bit flustered. “I, uh, think it’s important everyone knows how to skate. It’s definitely a life skill,” he justifies, nodding and pursing his lips. “Plus, I used to play hockey. So I know what I’m doing.”
“I’m not looking to learn how to body someone on ice.”
His laughter is loud as he leans forward a bit, his body closer to yours once again. His grip on your hand tightens, and it’s suddenly hard to believe you’ve gone your whole life without hearing him laugh. You can’t help your own laughter that falls from your lips in response to him, your eyes unable to leave his face.
“I’m just gonna teach you how to not fall,” he reassures through his smile. “I’ve seen people get seriously hurt falling.”
The reminder of possible injuries not only makes you aware of the dull ache you were feeling from your most recent fall, but also of the fact you were far away from the door of the rink.
Grayson notices the change in your attitude, his smile quickly fading. “Or I can just help you off the ice.”
His voice brings you back to reality as you take in a breath and look up at him. Despite the fear bubbling inside of you, the tendinitis in your joints screaming for you to stop, you can’t help but think about what Colin said before. Maybe this was your Christmas miracle.
“No, you’re right. It’s totally a life skill.”
The corners of his mouth turn up as nods before situating himself sideways next to you. “Alright, first things first you gotta remember to bend your knees.”
You uneasily push your body off the wall, your hand still gripping it. “Actually, first things first I have to turn the right direction.”
He chuckles and nods, standing there expectantly. You realize he’s waiting for you to do it yourself.
“I don’t know how.”
“Oh.” He switches his hands so you’re holding one farther from you. His now free arm reaches around your waist. “Can I?”
You nod, and you feel his firm grip on you once again. As soon as he starts to maneuver you, you squeal, tightening your hand on his as your other flies from the wall to cover his grip on your jacket.
“Sorry,” you mumble. “I’m not usually such a little bitch.”
He laughs, and that’s when you realize how close you are again. You can feel his warm breath on the side of your face, and you can’t bring yourself to look at him in fear of totally freezing from making eye contact. You can’t remember the last time someone made you feel so nervous yet so comfortable at the same time.
“You’re not a little bitch, you’re just getting used to the ice. You’ll be lapping me in no time.”
It’s your turn to laugh as you shake your head. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’m pretty sure my only goal should be to not eat shit.”
“We got this, then.”
Surprisingly enough, you guys managed to stay standing the whole time. After your first lap around, and partially to your disappointment, you were able to skate without his arm around you, the only support you needed coming from holding his hand and the occasional grip of the wall. The only time you came close to falling was when he taught you how to pick up speed, but even then you managed to stay on your feet.
What caught you most off guard, however, was how easily being around him was. Somehow it felt like you had known each other for years, your comfort level increasing every minute you spent together. You were able to laugh together, never a dull or quiet moment as he continued to guide you around the rink. You lost track of where your friends even were, nevermind how the lights around the rink were seemingly getting brighter as the sun went down.
“So who was that guy from before that looked like you?”
“My twin brother Ethan.”
At this point you two were skating at a normal speed, staying close to the wall for your sanity, but the only support you needed was him holding your hand.
“You guys are close?”
“Oh my god,” he laughs, shaking his head. You look over at him, smiling as you watch him try and put into words what he wants to explain. “Probably too close. We do everything together.”
“That’s gotta be nice, though.”
“It is. It’s good to always have someone like that,” he agrees. “Do you have any siblings?”
You nod, looking forward again. “Yeah, two brothers.”
“So you already know how to body people, it was just the on ice part you struggled with.”
You laugh. “Exactly, you just caught me in my moment of weakness.”
“Oh, so you would have bodied me otherwise?”
You look back over at him, letting your gaze go up and down his body as if you’re sizing him up. “Totally.”
Before he can respond, your body is being jerked as you feel Gia’s arm fall over your shoulder. You grip Grayson’s hand hard to stay standing.
“As much as I hate to be the party pooper, I’ve gotta steal you away. Jo’s freaking about us being late for the dinner res.”
Both Grayson and Gia stop skating, but you move forward with the momentum you had built up. Stopping hadn’t been a part of the day's lesson.
You fall backwards between the grip they both had on you. You’re not even sure what your hands start reaching for as you flail around, expecting the cold of the ice under your body just like before.
Instead, you feel two strong arms under you. When you open your eyes, Grayson’s face is so close to yours you’re sure you would see any imperfections if he had them. His eyebrows are high on his forehead as he searches your face just like last time, looking for a status update.
“Oh my god, I’m totally ruining the Christmas miracle right now, aren’t I?”
Grayson does what he can to keep a straight face due to the concern he still had for you, but he can’t stop the snort that comes from him as you groan and cover your face in embarrassment from Gia’s comment.
“Giovannina, I swear on my life, I will literally-”
“I’m sorry!” Grayson stands you back up making sure you’re steady on your feet before letting go of you. “Jo’s got her murder eyes, you know the ones, and she’s been looking forward to this restaurant all week and we waited as long as possibly because-” she looks at Grayson. “You seem fabulous, truly. So cute. But,” she looks back at you, puppy dog eyes fully activated. “You know how Jo gets.”
You let out a sigh, nodding your head. “I do.”
She sheepishly holds her hands out for you, and you bregudgely take them, making sure you exaggerate your frustrations. It’s not Gia’s fault, or even Jo’s that your time with Grayson had to get cut short, but that doesn’t mean you won’t throw a fit about it.
“Thank you for finally teaching her how to skate. She’s a woman of many talents, but being on ice is not one of them,” Gia chuckles, her smile genuine but your annoyance only building. Gia’s intentions are always pure, but god damn she was a bad wingman.
Fortunately, Grayson smiles in agreement as he looks at you. “It was a rough beginning, but I think you’ve got potential.” He nudges your shoulder with his lightheartedly, but you tense in fear of falling over.
“Sure, lots of potential,” you mumble, letting Gia slowly start to pull you to the exit.
“Hey, is there any way I could-”
“Y/N!”
You all turn to see Jo standing in front of Colin and Kam, and you’re pretty sure you can also see the vein popping out of the side of her neck in distress as she tries to rush you along. You make a mental note to figure out who has her for secret santa to tell them to get her a voucher to a spa.
You turn back to look at Grayson, both of you standing there somewhat speechless, not sure what to say and not wanting to speak over the other.
“Thanks for looking out for her again!” Gia interrupts, tugging you along and forcing you to turn back around.
You let her pull you along in silence, disappointment quickly settling in the pit of your stomach.
This wasn’t you. You were very intentional with who you let in your life, and even more intentional with who you liked. You were notoriously single, always prioritizing everything and everyone before putting yourself in a position to get hurt. You let rationality rule, emotions only ever proving to cause pain and heartbreak.
So why the fuck were you so caught up in Grayson?
***
You did your best to not think about him, the illusive man you met one day two weeks ago. You had so much to distract yourself with, too. Between the Christmas celebration you guys did, the other activities Jo had planned around the city, and just spending time with people you loved, you should have been able to forget Grayson in a day, go back to how life was before he offered to take pictures for you.
Even Jo picked up on how you were off. You were going through with every stupid craft or activity she made you do, without a complaint. She knew something was up.
Which is why she conceded on one of her biggest wishes, one she knew you were not looking forward to.
“So I found us a house party for New Years.”
You look up from your phone at her declaration, brows furrowed. “What?”
“Instead of going out on the street for New Years, we’ll go to a party in one of the apartments nearby.” She’s got everyone's attention now, Kam pausing the show on the TV to listen. “We’ll still be able to see the ball drop, but we’ll be inside.”
“How’d you find a party? Those apartments are mad nice, only rich people live in them.”
“You know how my sister’s out in LA trying to be a model?”
You nod.
“Well, it’s kind of working. She’s gotten herself a group of influencer friends, successful ones. They’re here for New Year’s, so she got us on the list.”
“Holy shit,” Gia mutters.
“Is Madison Beer gonna be there?” Kam asks.
You laugh, shaking your head. “Dude, even if she is, there’s no way she’d fuck you.”
Kam scoffs, flipping you off. “Don’t be an ass just because your Christmas miracle was a fail. Some of us don’t hate the world.”
“There’s no such thing as Christmas miracles, Kam. Plus, it’s past Christmas.”
“Alright, alright,” Colin interrupts, holding his hands up between the two of you. “First off,” he points at you. “Christmas miracles are definitely real, you’re just a Grinch. And,” he turns to point at Kam. “Madison Beer is way out of your fucking league.”
“Ha!”
“However,” Colin cuts you off. “If she did fuck you, I would classify that as a Christmas miracle because it is still holiday time and therefore the rules of Christmas miracles still apply.”
You throw your hands up in confusion, but Jo beats you to it. “What are the rules of Christmas Miracles?”
“Oh jesus,” you mumble under your breath as Colin sits up straighter and clears his throat.
“The rules are as follows,” he holds up a finger. “If you can find a shitty, holiday themed movie on the Hallmark channel, it’s Christmas-time and therefore a Christmas miracle can happen. They usually run through New Years, so you both-” he points at you and Kam, “have the opportunity for your Christmas miracles.”
“I cannot believe-”
“Second,” he interrupts you, holding up a second finger. “Christmas miracles come to people who deserve them.”
“Oh, so that’s why Y/n’s didn’t work out?” Kam murmurs, and you flip him off.
“Kam, your already low odds of fucking Madison Beer are dwindling by the second.”
“Fine,” he holds his hands up in defeat. “Keep going.”
“Y/n is totally deserving of a Christmas miracle,” Gia defends you. “She puts so much time into making sure we’re happy. Just because she doesn’t like Christmas, doesn’t mean she’s not deserving.”
“Exactly G,” Colin nods in approval, before putting up a third finger. “And lastly, you have to believe you deserve the Christmas miracle.” It feels like he’s staring into your soul when he says that one.
You all sit there in silence, individually deciding how much you want to believe what Colin is saying.
Of course it sounds like a load of horse shit. But, it didn’t feel like horseshit when you were with Grayson.
“Whatever,” you declare, standing up. “I need more.” You swirl your now empty mug, walking over to the hot chocolate and peppermint vodka on the counter.
“A little joy never hurt anyone, Y/n,” Kam comments, holding his empty mug out to you as you walk by. You take it from him, putting them down on the counter once you reach it.
“You’d be surprised.”
***
You’re not sure how Gia convinced you that a skimpy outfit was the perfect idea to wear for New Years, yet here you were, shivering to the bone as you walked down the street.
You don’t even like wearing heels most of the time, out of fear of falling down. Gia claims you look confident when you wear them, which you reveal to her is fake. That’s always been your motto: ‘fake it ‘till you make it.’ That didn’t seem to sway her, though, so the stilettos that now dug into your pinky toes were what you committed to for the entirety of the evening.
Colin’s arm around your shoulder wasn’t helping to warm you any, your faux fur coat letting the cool breeze still brush against your skin. Your small black tank top tucked into your matching black jeans were not made to be worn in the 20 degree weather. You kept your body close to him, your arm wrapped around his waist with your free hand in Gia’s.
“We’re gonna have the best night!”
You smile at Gia’s excitement, her eyes seeming to sparkle with the lights that line the street. Other groups of partiers and New Year’s Eve celebrators make it hard to hear her over their loud screaming and excitement, and you can’t help but let that energy invigorate you a bit. You guys were getting closer to the end of your break, reality would be setting in soon, and you’d be buckling down with school again. You wanted to enjoy the time you had left with your friends.
“I’m so excited to see who’s there,” Kam agrees.
“You can’t be weird about it, though,” Jo warns. “My sister said we have to act like we’re supposed to be there. This is a private thing, they want to have a normal New Year’s Eve.”
“I promise I’ll be my normal self,” Kam holds his hands up in defense, a smirk on his lips.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” she mumbles, causing Kam to give her a light shove as you continue to make your way down the street.
When you finally reach the entrance of the building Jo’s sister told you to come to, you’re all speechless. You could see the lobby of the building through the glass doors, and it was fancier than any hotel you’d ever stayed in before.
Jo makes the move first, opening the door and walking in. Kam grabs it from her, holding it for the rest of you as you file in behind her, like a group of ducklings following their mom blindly across the pond.
She speaks with the woman at the front desk, who points you to the hallways where you assume the elevators are. None of you speak as she walks you over and presses the button.
When an elevator finally arrives, there’s an attendant waiting for you inside. You’d had the opportunity to indulge in many extravagant things in life, and have taken those opportunities, but this was a whole other level of fancy.
Jo has a similar conversation with the attendant that she did with the woman at the front desk. He does something on his Ipad before smiling at you all and pressing a button that prompts the doors to close.
“Holy. Fuck,” Colin whispers in your ear, and all you can do is look at him with wide eyes and an open mouth.
When the doors open in front of you, the silence from the ride up in the elevator is immediately permeated by the bustle of the party in front of you.
“Have a good time!” The attendant says as you all slowly step across the gap in the floor and into one of the nicest apartments you think you had ever seen in your life.
There’s a few dozen people working their way around the room, no more than 50. You can appreciate the smaller crowd, knowing that being on the street would have been significantly more uncomfortable with the amount of people who gather there every year.
“Jojo!” Katherine’s high pitched voice breaks through the music as you see Jo’s bubbly sister make her way over to you guys.
“Hey Kath,” she murmurs, already being suffocated in a hug.
Katherine pulls away, keeping her hands on Jo’s shoulder in order to keep her close. “How are you? Haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I know,” Jo grimaces. “That’s what happens when you move across the country and rarely call anyone.”
Katherine almost misses a beat, but instead turns to the rest of you.
“It’s so of nice you guys could come! I can’t imagine what it would have been like...out there,” she trails off, looking towards the large windows that overlook Times Square.
Jo mutters ‘“authentic” under her breath as Gia cries out “cold!”
“Exactly!” Katherine turns back to you guys. “I knew I always liked you, Gigi.”
“It’s Gia.”
“Whatevs, Jojo. Go in and get cozy! And don’t embarrass me, please.” It’s scary the smile Katherine has on her face as she disappears back into the crowd. It would look genuine to the naked eye, but she almost looked dead inside when you took a closer look. But, in the wise words of Katherine herself, ‘whatevs.’
“I see the bar,” Colin nods his chin in the opposite direction that Katherine went, and you’re grateful you won’t have to see her so soon again.
“Please,” is all Jo squeaks out before making a beeline for the counter where the bartender stood.
You chuckle, following closely behind.
“The usual?”
You shake your head, stepping up next to Jo to order your own drink instead. “A moscow mule, please.”
You can feel all eyes on you, curiosity peaking at your change of heart. You never strayed from your normal order.
“What?” You ask defensibly, as you turn around to confront their questioning looks.
“Going rogue?” Kam asks.
“Trying out the holiday joy you suggested, Kam. Any objections?”
“Nope.” He pops the ‘p,’ his smile widening as he realizes you’re letting your walls down for once.
That doesn’t last long after your drink is in your hand, however.
There’s Grayson. Your Christmas miracle. Sitting on the couch, a girl in his lap and a smile on his face. He looks good in a turtleneck, you note, but that doesn’t stop the queasiness settling in your stomach. You knew Christmas miracles were horseshit, but this just felt like a cruel trick.
“What’s with the frown?” Kam asks, standing next to you as everyone else situates themselves with a drink.
“Don’t look right now, but behind you is my supposed Christmas miracle with a girl in his lap.”
Kam whips his head around, scanning the room.
“Dude are you kidding? I said don’t turn,” you grip his arm, forcing him to turn back, but not before he’s spotted the cozy couple. The look of pity on his face unsettles you.
“I’m sorry.”
You shake your head, taking a sip from your drink. “Don’t be, I knew him for an hour. I will, however, be calling Colin on his shit later.”
“What shit?” Colin asks, coming to stand next to you.
“Your Christmas miracle bullshit.”
A laugh bubbles up from his chest as he quirks a brow. “Oh really?” “Yeah, Grayson’s over there with a girl-”
“Damn, for how quickly obsessed you became with the kid, you really are forgetful.”
You give Colin a question look, waiting for him to continue.
“He has an identical twin. Your Christmas miracle is standing against the staircase. He’s been looking at you since we got to the bar.”
Your turn your head and sure enough, your eyes are locked with Grayson’s. He’s just as captivating as last time, his warm smile on his face once he realizes he’s been spotting. Unlike last time, however, instead of shying away from the eye contact, you can’t seem to stop looking.
“Remember, you have to believe you deserve the Christmas miracle,” Colin whispers in your ear before giving you a not so gentle shove in Grayson’s direction.
“You’re lucky I’m not a violent person,” you say over your shoulder, before making your way over to him. You can feel the excitement tingling in your fingertips that grip your drink as you do your best to be polite to the people you bump into on your way.
Once you’re close enough, Grayson pushes himself off the banister, creating a space for you to stand between the wooden sticks and his large body.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
His voice is deeper than you remember, more delicious if possible. It feels familiar hearing him speak, a comfort you didn’t know you had been missing.
“You’re supposed to say that when you expect to see someone, not when you’re actually surprised.”
He lets out a low laugh, nodding in defeat. “Okay, true. It’s a good surprise, though - at least for me.” He seems a bit less smooth than last time, too. You can feel the nerves coming off him, his confidence lower. You wonder if it’s got to do with the environment you’re in.
You smile up at him, licking your lips in order to drag out the unknown a bit longer. You can’t give it all up right away.
“Yeah,” you finally agree. “A real good surprise.”
“Good.”
“Although, you know I gotta ask it.”
His smile falters as he raises his brow. “I think I gotta ask the same thing.”
“You first,” you nod your chin at him, crossing your arms.
“Ethan and I are a friend of a friend to one of the host’s friends. We’re normally not in Jersey for New Year’s, so when they found out we’d be celebrating alone in our mom’s house, we got an invite.”
“A Jersey kid?” You feign disgust, making him laugh as he leans his arm over your head. He smells good, his scent overriding your thoughts for a moment.
“Is that a bad thing?”
You shrug. “Usually. I guess I’ll overlook it, though.”
“Don’t knock it ‘till you try it,” he answers cockily.
You giggle, shaking your head at the cheesy comment. “Are you offering me somewhat of a free trial?”
“More like endless coupons with no expiration date.”
This makes you fully laugh, him chuckling with you as you feel your cheeks heat up at the implication of his words.
“You barely know me,” you counter, still unable to look away from his eyes. “What makes you so sure about offering such a good deal to me?”
He shrugs. “Call it a gut feeling.”
You feel your own stomach go crazy at that, the confirmation that he was feeling what you were only heightening how his warmth seemed to radiate off him, everything Grayson flooding your senses.
“Your turn.”
“Hm?” You hum, bringing your drink to your lips.
“What’s gotten you into Madison Beer’s apartment?”
You choke on the liquid you intended on swallowing, coughing to clear your throat. His brows furrow as he brings his hand from above you to your back, rubbing it.
“Oh my god - sorry - I just,” you take in a big breath before standing up straight again, more confident in your lungs. “This is Madison Beer’s apartment?”
“Yeah,” he chuckles, looking around the room. “You didn’t know?”
You shake your head. “Jo’s sister -”
“Murder eyes Jo?”
“Exactly. She’s been out in LA modeling. When she heard we were gonna be in New York for New Year’s she got us in. This -” you gesture to the room, noticing the more familiar faces you’re seeing now that you’re paying attention. “Totally not my normal scene.”
“So you’re giving everything new a shot right before the year ends?”
“Mhm,” you bring your gaze back to him. “In case I want to take it back and act like it never happened.”
He laughs, licking over his teeth. “Sounds like a solid plan.”
***
It was stupid how well you got along. You didn’t even see any of your other friends the entire night, Grayson keeping you tucked in the corner. You hoped Kam had somehow ran into Madison at some point, but you weren’t inclined enough to leave Grayson to help him with it.
It felt like you guys were somehow meant to be there that night together. Maybe Colin was onto something, maybe this was your (belated) Christmas miracle.
“It was total fate, I’m telling you. The odds we were able to get Mando on our team in the first place, nevermind him being one of the most important people in our lives now.” Grayson shakes his head as he recalls the memories, a reminiscent smile on his face. “You believe in all that, right?”
“What?” You hum, admiring his positivity. Every story, every glimpse into his life he’s given you throughout the night, has all ended in a positive twist. He managed to see the bright side of every situation, despite the horrible shit that’s been thrown his way.
“Fate.”
You sit up a bit straighter, your elbows leaving where they rested on your thighs. Your knee was touching his, your proximity close on the couch due to the amount of people who were sitting there with you. You felt like you were in a bit of a bubble, though. Despite the loud chatter from all around you, the only thing you could pay attention to was Grayson.
“I’m not gonna lie to you,” you set your cup down before leaning back against the cushion. His arm that was resting on the top of that cushion drops, landing on your shoulder casually, but you can feel the warmth it immediately brings. “I never really did. I’ve always been the pessimist of the bunch. However,” your eyes find Colin, who’s sat to Grayson’s back. He gives you a wide smile and two thumbs up. You can’t help the smile that makes its way onto your own face as you look back at Grayson. “I’ve recently become a bit of a believer. Why?”
He shrugs. “I mean, what are the odds we not only had the same skate time at one of the most popular skating rinks in the world, but we also then end up at the same New Year’s Eve party?”
You huff, starting to think. “Well, statistically speaking -”
“No,” he laughs, nudging your leg with his own. “Fate isn’t about statistics, or probability. There’s nothing explainable about it.”
“My friend Colin is calling it a Christmas miracle,” you admit.
“So that’s what your friend meant when she interrupted us on the ice?”
“Oh god,” you groan, covering your face in the same manner as last time, shaking your head. “Don’t remind me.”
“Hey,” he chuckles, grabbing one of your wrists to expose your face to him again. “Don’t worry about it, it was funny.”
“It shouldn’t have been funny, though,” you whine, a pout forming on your lips.
He cocks his head to the side, a smirk settling on his face. “What should it have been?”
Before you can respond, the countdown from 60 begins, and suddenly everyone is standing and chanting around you, buzzing to start the new year.
58, 57, 56, 55
Grayson stands, holding a hand out for you to take. You place your hand in his, standing right next to him, there being little room for you two between the couch and the coffee table causing your chests to be pressed against one another. You look up at him, the same warm eyes he’s had for you meeting your gaze again.
“Romantic.”
“Huh?” He leans closer to you, his ear so close to your mouth that you were tempted to nip his earlobe.
“It should have been romantic.”
24, 23, 22, 21
He lifts his head so he can look at you again, close enough for his nose to brush against yours. One of his hands reaches around you, finding a resting spot on your lower back. His other hand comes to your cheek, his thumb rubbing the skin there. You grip his sweater at his sides, keeping him close to you.
“Ten, nine, eight,” Grayson starts counting down with the rest of the party, and you follow suit.
As everyone screams around you, celebrating the new year, you feel Grayson’s lips on yours. It feels like a movie, like the world is celebrating how amazing you guys feel right now as you finally physically connect with the person it feels like you were always meant to be with.
His lips are warm and smooth against yours, his every intention clear as he kisses you with a passion you’ve never experienced before. Your every nerve is on fire, your heart in flames as you keep yourself grounded by the grip you have on him.
He only pulls away as you feel champagne fall on the both of you, the confetti that was launched now sticking to you from the liquid. You can’t help the laugh that comes out of you at the craziness of it all, the fact that you just kissed the man in front of you, the man still in your grip, the man who still had his hands on you hard to comprehend.
Colin was right. Christmas miracles were most certainly real, and you deserved this one.
Grayson smirks down at you, leaning down to peck your lips once more before speaking. “Romantic enough for you?”
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vintagedolan · 3 years
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mixtape | track twelve
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Indy wondered why people in her life seemed to fixate on sunshine, as if it somehow fixed things. When she and Charlie were small and the sun was out, her parents were ushering them outside to get some fresh air, telling them it was good for them. Her first day of high school, when she was nauseous in the passenger seat at the thought of a new place with a new class schedule, her dad had said ‘at least it’s warm today’. The day of Nicole’s funeral, between the sympathetic smiles and awkward glances, Indy had lost count of the amount of people who commented on the beautiful sunshine outside that her mother wasn’t there to see. It grated on Indiana’s nerves, and she found herself enjoying the rainy days more in the years after her mother’s death, when the clouds were heavy and wet, booming with thunder she could feel shaking her floor. She sat at her windows and watched it fall, watched the world have to shift to accommodate a change in the sky, change in a way that it never did for her when she needed it to. 
The week before Bekah died, it rained every day. 
Monday marked seven days without treatment, and the effects were starting to show. Bekah had lost more weight, which Indy wasn’t even sure was possible. She kept her blankets on her at all times, the Christmas and Halloween ones layers on top of each other. 
She still shivered.
The rain fell outside the window, and Indy sat on the sill, thankful for the cold glass against her arm. It kept her in the moment, kept her mind in the room instead of in Los Angeles, wondering what was going through Grayson’s head that made him continue to ignore her calls. She didn’t have the energy to be pissed at him for leaving her abandoned - instead she was just worried, worried about the guilt she knew would overtake him when she finally was able to get ahold of him. 
Indiana’s schedule was PRN - meaning they only called her into the hospital when she was needed. She couldn’t tell if they actually did need her and were too nice to say, or if they were fully staffed, but they didn’t call her. Patrick had put his foot down with her hours at Jet’s too, and said he’d keep her on payroll as long as he could so she kept her benefits, but that he wasn’t putting her on the schedule either. 
So she put her skills to use for Bekah, and Bekah alone. Anything she needed, Indy knew where to get it on the floor. She funneled every ounce of energy into the girl in front of her, trying to take any of the burden off the Newcombs that she could. If Bekah needed ice chips, she was at the nurses station. In the supply closet to get fresh linens, the laundry to get clean hospital gowns. She helped her get changed, get showered as best she could - it was less mortifying for Bekah to have Indiana help her than her parents, who were nervous enough they would hurt her as it was. 
When Bekah was awake, she was trying. Putting on her brightest smile, doing her best to perk up for her parents and Indiana. But when her parents would leave, which wasn’t often - only to go get fresh clothes, or grab dinner in the cafe - Bekah would deflate. She’d sigh and lean back against her pillows and try to catch her breath. They went home that night to eat a real dinner with promises to bring some back for Bekah, and as soon as they kissed her goodbye, she relaxed back and closed her eyes. Indiana watched her for a moment, and reached out to hold her hand.
“It’s okay Beks. They know you’re tired, you’re allowed to show it.”
“Says you,” she muttered. “Haven’t seen you sleep since I went off meds.”
Indy swallowed. “I sleep when you sleep.”
“Liar.” 
“How do you feel?” She changed the subject.
“Like I’m dying.”
Indy choked, and Bekah laughed dryly. “C’mon, that was a good one. And don’t say it isn’t, cause you know I’m right.” 
It took all of Indy’s strength not to try to coat it all in some toxic positivity, tell her it wasn’t that bad, that she would feel better, that she would get better - the things she’d been telling her all the years she’d known her. 
They weren’t true, and she had to be okay with that.
“I really do think it’ll be this week,” Bekah said, picking at balls of lint on her blanket. 
“Why do you think that?” Indy kept her tone as neutral as she could.
“I feel it. Feels… different. I want to go in my sleep, if I can. Think it’ll be easier for everyone that way. Is there a way to make that happen?” 
Indy put on her hospital smile. “That’s usually how it goes babe, when you let someone go naturally. Your body gets tired, and you sleep, and then you go.”
She pondered on that for a moment, sat with it, and then she nodded, firm and confident.
“Okay. Good. That’ll be good.”
Indy hoped that one day she could have half the bravery of the girl sitting in front of her, with her thin arms and her purple head scarf, her small smile and stern gaze. 
“Can we have milkshakes? And watch some of Grayson’s videos before my parents get back?”
Indy swallowed. “Of course. I’ll go get them, you rest.”
She was glad she could pull strings - the kitchen was usually closed to requests after dinner, but Daniel downstairs was always nice when she called. Sure enough, by the time she’d swiped through all the doors and made it to the kitchen, he had two vanilla milkshakes with extra whipped cream, and sprinkles on Bekah’s. 
“Thanks D!” 
“You’re welcome other D,” Daniel smiled. The hole in Indy’s chest rubbed raw, and she turned quickly before he could think he did something wrong. She breathed, timed her inhales with her steps as she traversed the halls.
It didn’t help, because when she walked into Bekah’s room she heard him.
Only this time, we’re getting sinus surgery
“Ooo, sprinkles!” Beks smiled and reached out a hand, waiting for Indy to pass her the milkshake. 
She did, and she settled next to her on the bed with her own, leaning just far enough back so that Bekah couldn’t see her face.
The videos were always harder. He was still all over her social media, pictures and screenshots and people tagging the two of them on tea pages. He was still in her phone too - the outgoing calls, the photos in her camera roll. But the videos were the worst, because it was him. His mannerisms, his eyebrows that curved when he talked, his tongue that peeked through his smile when he laughed just hard enough. 
She watched anyways, let the ache fester and make her feel something. She stared at his sunburnt nose, and listened to him talk about his once deviated septum that they didn’t actually fix - he still snored loud enough to wake her up some nights. She missed it. 
Bekah laughed at every funny comment the boys made under their anesthesia in the video, and it was music to Indy’s ears, heartwarming enough for her to be able to stomach watching. By 15 minutes in, Bekah had abandoned her milkshake, the whipped cream dissolving down into the ice cream as her head lulled onto Indy’s shoulder and she fell asleep. 
With a shaky hand, Indy checked her pulse. 
Slow, but steady. 
She turned off the TV.
In California, the fight didn’t start until Tuesday night. The house had been full of tension for almost a week, and the usual LA sunshine didn’t help to lighten the mood.
Grayson had become a recluse. He’d fallen back on the earlier method of locking his phone in a box in an attempt to save his sanity, which was even more fragile from the doom scrolling he’d found himself doing as people speculated every single detail of his life online. The black metal cube sat on a table in the living room, and he only saw it on the few occasions that he ventured out to the kitchen for food. 
Even in his limited excursions, he felt the awkward energy radiating from his twin and Eden. They’d had their spats in the past, just like any couple, but there was something different about this one that had Grayson glad he was out of the room when Eden finally cleared her throat and looked at her boyfriend.
“Are we gonna talk about this?”
Ethan picked at a scab on his forearm - he’d been longboarding again as an excuse to get out of the house. 
“Talk about what?”
“Talk about why we aren’t talking,” she huffed. “You’re mad at me.” 
“Correct,” Ethan said. 
“Tell me why then.”
He looked at her incredulously. “You have to ask?” 
Eden swallowed down her anger, knowing it wouldn’t help anything. She waited. They sat in stalemate for a moment and she watched it boil up in Ethan before he sighed and turned in his chair towards her.
“Being hateful to me when you’re upset is one thing, because I signed up for that. But to my brother? When he’s doing pretty much as bad as I’ve ever seen him? Not okay. At all.” 
“Ethan-”
“And I’m all for the tough love approach or whatever, but that was fucked up. He was just starting to do a little bit better and now look at him.” 
“Better? You thought that was better?” 
“He was eating at least, and still trying to work a little bit. Now, he’s barely able to do the podcast, much less anything else.”
“You all were already going to cut the main channel, that’s not because of this,” she argued.
“I’m talking everything else Eden. The businesses. Figuring out what the fuck we’re gonna do. He said the other day we could split time between here and Jersey, which really means here and New York if we only do the podcast.”
“And he didn’t think of that as an option before he broke up with Indiana? Makes sense.”
Ethan ignored her and kept going.
“At least he’s thinking about the future, which is better than before. I need him. But I need him, and you yelling at him set him back to square one.”
“If you thought he was even close to out of square one you’re blind.”
“Don’t act like you know my fucking twin better than I do,” Ethan snapped, and if it wasn’t for the protective nature in his tone, Eden would have lost it. 
“Ethan.” She waited until he looked up at her, and she saw some of the anger leave his eyes when they met her. “He wasn’t getting better, because he was holding on. Fuck, he still is!”
“Telling him to let go isn’t going to make him let go! Have you met him? He’s the most stubborn fucking person on the face of this fucking earth! He already wants to go back, he’s not gonna let go!”
She could think of one person that could rival him for the title, but she kept it to herself. 
“He’ll do it if he thinks he’s doing it for her,” Eden explained. “Don’t you see that? That’s why he did all of this. In his head, somehow, he thinks he’s doing what’s best for Indy. But he fucked her over, royally.”
“He knows that,” Ethan said. 
“Okay, great! But he has to let go of her, because she won’t. Indy is an optimist if I’ve ever fucking met one, and she will always hope that he’s gonna come back, so he can’t do anything to feed into it. That’s torture, for both of them. And they both deserve better than that.”
Ethan couldn’t find a grip hold for an argument - one of the many reasons he hated arguing with Eden. So he sat in silence for a moment and accepted his defeat.
“You didn’t have to call him a moron,” he added.
“Anyone who let’s Indiana Cross slip through their fingers is a moron,” she muttered, shoulders relaxing as she realized the fight was over. “But yeah, that was probably a little harsh. I’ll apologize for that one.” She sighed, glad that everything was out on the table for the time being, smiling when Ethan patted his thigh once for her to sit on. She climbed up and nuzzled into his neck - she’d missed being so close to him the last few days. She soaked in the moment, running her fingers over the neck of his henley. 
“Is it weird that I miss her? I mean, I know I haven’t known her very long, but she really felt like part of the family.”
“I miss her too,” Ethan sighed, pressing a kiss to Eden’s temple. 
She pondered her apology to Grayson as she relaxed into his arms, but it was futile.
Grayson had been listening, standing in the hallway outside his door.  
There were no tears; just an overwhelming numbness that had settled over him in the last few days. Eden’s words were the final nail in the coffin - he couldn’t reach out to Indy, though it got more and more tempting each day. He’d promised not to hurt her more than he already had, and he was going to stick to his word. Someone important had taught him that. 
He retreated to his room and sat on the edge of the bed before he spoke. 
“Hey dad.” 
He always waited, just for a moment. Just in case. The silence was always loud, but it was deafening as he curled in on himself, staring down at the grains of wood in the floor.
“Dad I think I really fucked up this time,” he whispered. He willed the tears, but they didn’t come, though his eyes still burned. “I wish you were here. I wish you could have met her.” 
As he sat, he remembered what his dad had said in those last few days, in the few hours that he was awake, when he fought off the pain and the fatigue to be there for his kids and his wife. I’ll always be there, you can always talk to me. Just say whatever you would if I was right there beside you, cause I will be.
So he did. He spoke as if he could feel the weight of his dad on the bed beside him, feel his arm around his shoulder. 
Grayson sat on the edge of his bed and told Sean everything about the girl that he still loved. Her intelligence, her laugh, her smile, the way he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to love someone else. He lost track of how long he talked, run on sentences and gestures that only made it more obvious that his dad wasn’t there to tell him to slow down and take a breath before he talked himself into a pump from his inhaler. When he ran out of words, he did the only thing he knew to do when all else went wrong; turned his shower on as hot as he could stand it, sat down on the bench so the water ran over him, and thought of Indy. 
The storm rolled into the city on Wednesday - unprecedented and angry, snarling the clouds in swirls of dark, heavy gray and dumping down over the skyscrapers of New York. 
Indiana was watching the monitors. Her eyes jumped with each pulse of Bekah’s heart, which was beating faster than her usual. Her blood pressure was low, her breathing more irregular. Indy could see the textbook page in her head - actively dying. She’d learned the vital signs to look for, and how to fix them, what medicines to push. 
But she wasn’t supposed to be making Bekah better, and that was the hardest part.
Thunder shook the room, and Bekah shivered. Mrs. Newcomb wrung her hands, and her husband ran a hand along her shoulders. 
“She hasn’t woken up all day,” she murmured. 
“She’s resting baby, it’s okay.” 
Bekah’s monitors began to beep a bit faster. Her heart rate slowly rose - 82, then 85, then 90. Indy watched, her nerves prickling, eyes darting to the clipboard at the end of her bed, with DNR in bright red block letters - do not resuscitate. Bekah whimpered, her head turning into her pillow as her breathing got quicker, her heart working in overtime to try to keep her body afloat.
Mrs. Newcomb rushed to her daughter’s side, running a hand over her cheek as she began to cry.
“Bekah, sweetheart breathe, just breathe baby, don’t go yet, don’t go,” she pleaded, and Indy bit back her cries. Two nurses showed up in the doorway, waiting. There was nothing they could do but watch, and answer questions if they were asked.
Bekah’s father turned to the corner.
“Indiana, Indiana what’s happening to my baby?” He cried. It was enough to break Indy out of her trance, and she moved over to the bedside, resting a hand on Bekah’s leg. 
“Her body is trying to decide what to do. It’s tired, and with her blood pressure going down, her heart is work harder to move her blood around. That’s why it’s faster,” she explained. “She’s not in pain right now, her medicine should still be working. It probably just feels a bit scary.” 
Mr. Newcomb took her hand, and squeezed. Indy looked back to the monitors, unable to bear looking down at Bekah. She watched the blips on the monitor start to regulate again, sinus rhythm reappearing, allowing both of them to breathe easier. Bekah groaned a bit and settled into her covers, and a broken sob made its way out of Mrs. Newcomb’s throat. 
“I need a minute,” she said, and then she was headed for the door with a hand over her mouth. It was the second time she was sick that day. Mr. Newcomb took her to the cafeteria to get a Sprite, and Indy took her usual spot, perched on the edge of Bekah’s bed. She took her hand, tensing a bit with how cold it was. She rubbed it, bringing it up to her lips to blow warmth into her palm as best she could.
Bekah stirred, and her eyes opened for the first time in many hours.
“Hey,” Indy said quietly, not wanting to startle her.
“What was all that noise?” Bekah’s voice was croaky, but she shook her head when Indy offered her a drink of water.
“Your monitors. They’re loud aren’t they?”
“Yeah. Annoying as hell,” she mumbled, then opened her eyes a bit wider, scanning the room for her mother. 
“Language,” Indy teased. 
“Why were they going off?” 
It took all of Indy’s strength not to lie.
“Your heart rate picked up because your blood pressure went down. That’s something that happens…”
“Oh. It means it’s getting close isn’t it.”
Indy nodded and squeezed her hand. Bekah took a moment to process, and then she turned her head back to her friend.
“Is Grayson here yet?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Well, he better come soon if he wants to see me. Tell him to hurry, since I’m dying and shit.”
“Language,” Indy whispered it so her voice didn’t crack. Bekah played with the edge of her blanket.
“Am I supposed to be scared?”
“There’s no right or wrong way to be right now Beks. You just do what you need and feel how you feel, and we’ll be here the whole time, okay? We’re right here.” 
“You need to not be here,” Bekah said, and Indy’s breath caught in her throat. 
“Oh.”
“You need sleep, and a shower. I won’t die while you’re gone if I can help it. Promise.” She wrapped her pinky around Indy’s as best she could.
Before she could refuse, the Newcombs appeared back through the door, delighted to see their daughter awake. She sat up a bit straighter in bed and put on her best smile, Indy’s heart tightening at the sight. 
“Go,” Bekah whispered through her smile. She squeezed her hand one more time, and then let go, walking up to Mrs. Newcomb.
“I’m gonna go get freshened up and grab some clean clothes, but will you text me if anything changes? I live right down the street, so I can be back here really quick,” she explained, trying to ignore the growing look of pity in her eyes. 
“Of course dear. But you go home for the night, we’ll be alright. I’ll call you if anything changes, you need your rest. You’ve been here so long, have a night of normalcy at home and come back fresh tomorrow, okay?”
Indy nodded - it was all she could do. She blew Bekah a kiss and walked out the door, pausing when she noticed something had changed. 
A small blue heart had been placed by her room number - a signal that made Indy’s heart sink. Bekah was officially dying, and it was there for every nurse and visitor on the unit to see, to signify they needed to respect privacy and be quiet when they were close by. 
It made no sense, for that to be her breaking point. She’d known. She’d seen it, in her vitals and her demeanor and the fact that just their conversation was enough to have her ready to sleep for another 8 hours. 
But that little blue heart was her undoing, and she clutched her chest for the entire walk out of the hospital, down the stairs and out into the pouring rain. The thought of her empty apartment, with no Grayson and no Charlie and no Devin was too much - instead, she found herself running down the sidewalk past the lobby to the parking garage, shoes sloshing with water by the time she made it under the concrete. 
The valet didn’t ask questions when she passed over her key, shivering as she waited for him to bring her car out. As soon as she climbed in she hit the gas, ready to drive somewhere, anywhere, that wasn’t her home. The road was blurry despite the rapid back and forth of her windshield wipers, but she trudged on, just coherent enough to keep her tires between the white lines as she fled the city. The river was swollen when she drove over the bridge into Jersey, and she let herself zone out, let her mind take her wherever it wanted to go. 
She knew where she would end up.
The crunch of gravel was familiar under her tires when she turned off the winding road. It was a comforting sound, though it was muffled by the rain, and it wasn’t until she was close enough to the white house to see that the kitchen light was on that she realized what she was doing.
She put the car in park, ready to shift it to reverse until a small figure appeared on the front porch, waving her inside. 
Her earlier words rang in her ears. My door is always open.
She hoped it was true as she flung her car door open and bolted for the protection of the porch. 
Lisa was waiting for her, standing in her pajamas with worry written all over her face.
“Indiana? Sweetheart, are you okay?”
All Indy could do was sob. She hated it, and the voice in her head berated her over and over, reminded her she had no place there anymore, that she was putting Lisa in a terrible position. But the feeling of a mother’s arms around her wasn’t something she could fight against, and she crumpled into her and let herself be held. 
“Shhh. Shhh, you’re okay,” she hummed, running a hand over Indy’s blonde hair that was soaking wet. “Let’s get you inside and get warmed up.”
Indy let herself be led in, shoulders relaxing a bit at the familiarity of where she was until she spotted Grayson’s work boots in the corner and recoiled back. Lisa sat her down in a chair in the kitchen and squatted down until they were eye level.
“Are you hurt?”
Indy shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Is everything okay?” Her tone gave away that she already knew the answer, but Indy shook her head again anyways. Lisa patted her leg and sighed quietly, reaching up to brush some of her hair back.
“Does Grayson know you’re here?”
The squeak that escaped Indy’s lips was the only warning before she let out a sob so loud that Gizmo yelled in shock. 
“I’m s-s-s-orry,” she choked, crumpling with her face in her hands.
“No, no no shhh, it’s okay sweetheart. It’s alright, you’re okay.” Lisa pulled her to her as best she could, rocking just barely as she held her. 
“No, I shouldn’t have come, I don’t want to make things difficult for you with - him.” Indy couldn’t get herself to say his name and Lisa just shook her head. 
“Babe I told you that I would be here for you no matter what, and I meant it, okay? I won’t tell him you’re here unless I need to. You can stay as long as you need, you hear me?” She used her thumbs to wipe at Indy’s tears, frowning at the dark circles she found.
“Sweetheart, when was the last time you got a good night’s sleep?”
Indy’s silence was enough. 
“Well, it’s late, and I think sleep is the first thing you need. We can talk tomorrow, but right now, you go up and climb into bed okay? They’re all made up, you can sleep wherever you’d like. Do you need anything, or do you remember where everything is.”
“I remember,” Indy whispered, taking in a shaky breath. “Thank you Li.”
“Of course. You’re a part of this family, always. Now, get some rest. You know where I am if you need me.”
She kissed her forehead and disappeared up the stairs. Indy wasn’t sure how long it took to get herself together and muster the energy to climb those same stairs, take a left into the room she’d been in so many times before. 
It still smelled a bit like him, and she couldn’t help but to take a few deep breaths, closing her eyes and pretending he was right there, sprawled out in bed with the blanket held up for her like the first time she’d slept over. It was the same blanket when she opened her eyes again, and the thought of climbing into it without him waiting for her made her sick to her stomach. She couldn’t look at the bed any longer, so she turned to the closet, sighing when she saw all the warm clothes that were far too much fabric for LA, even in the winter. It was almost unconscious, the way she found herself in front of his shirts, running her fingers over the various fabric until she landed on a familiar flannel. Checkered, with blue, white and black squares. Thick and warm, he’d worn it once when they went out to check on the progress of the tiny homes, and she’d woven her arms underneath it when she reached around him to hold on as he drove them through the trees. 
Before she could stop herself, she snatched it off the hanger and pushed her arms through the sleeves, eyes prickling at the realization that she felt close to him for the first time in weeks, yet he was still so far away. She retreated back to the bedroom, grabbing one of the pillows and carrying it downstairs, all the way to the couch in the living room. The blankets were still in the basket in the corner, and she grabbed her favorite one before she curled up under it on the cold leather, pulling the flannel fabric up around her chin and closing her eyes. 
In the kitchen, Gizmo turned on her perch and cocked her head.
“Dee,” she said, but Indiana was already asleep.
It was the best sleep she had in weeks - the peace of knowing that she wasn’t truly alone enough for her body to force her to catch up. Lisa was surprised to see her still curled up on the couch at 9:30 the next morning when she got ready for work as the rain continued outside. She watched her sleep for a few moments, heart tight at the way her eyebrows were still furrowed and her face buried in the collar of a shirt she was sure was her son’s. 
She didn’t know the details, but she knew Grayson well enough to put together the pieces. But she also knew he wouldn’t let Indiana suffer this much if he truly knew how she was doing. It had to be bad if Indiana even considered coming out to the house, and it gave Lisa a level of mom anxiety she hadn’t had since the boys had picked up longboarding again. She wondered how he’d let it go on so long in the first place, and after a moment of debating, she scribbled down a note for Indy, went out to her car as quietly as she could, and called her son. 
His phone sent her straight to voicemail. She tried again. Voicemail. With the third dial tone she couldn’t help the pit that grew in her stomach, an automatic mom reflex when your child is unreachable. 
Instead, she called Ethan. It rang four times and then she heard a muffled groan and rustling before his voice came through the line.
“Ma, it’s 6:30 in the morning,” he grumbled, voice raspy and dry. “You okay?”
“Why isn’t your brother answering his phone? Are you two okay?”
Ethan sighed, annoyed. “He’s fine Mom, he’s just doing a detox from his phone. People were being shitty. He’s asleep down the hall, not dead in a ditch somewhere,” Ethan chuckled. Lisa wasn’t amused.
“Well, wake him up and un-detox him. He needs to call Indiana. Now.” 
Ethan sat up in bed.
“Indy? Why, what’s wrong?”
“That’s for him to figure out. All I know is, she’s not doing well and he needs to call her. Now.” 
“What happened?”
“Just make sure he calls her, alright? I’ve gotta get to work, I love you.”
“Alright, love you too.”
As soon as he hung up, he was on his feet, rushing down the hallway and throwing Grayson’s door open. He ran to the edge of his bed, shaking his shoulder until he groaned and opened his eyes. 
“The fuck do you want,” he grumbled.
“You need to call Indiana, I just got off the phone with Ma. Something’s wrong.”
Grayson felt sick. 
“What happened? Is she safe, is she okay?”
“I don’t know, you just need to call her.”
“You don’t know? You don’t know? The fuck do you mean you don’t know Ethan?” Grayson was yelling, but he was on his feet as he spoke, headed down the hallway in search of the lock box. He rummaged through the kitchen drawer until he found the key, hands so shaky it took three tries to unlock the metal contraption. 
His phone was dead when he pulled it out, and it took all his willpower to keep from chucking it at the glass doors.
“Yours, give me yours.”
Ethan was a step ahead of him, already having Indiana’s contact pulled up. Grayson snatched it and hit the call button, heart pounding in his ears as he waited for her to answer.
Indy woke up to the buzzing of her phone against her arm where she’d tucked it the night before. Her eyes flew open - it must be Mrs. Newcomb, calling to tell her that Bekah had gotten worse. She sat up, rubbing at her eyes until she could read the name on her screen.
Ethan.
Her heart sank. She’d thought to call him more times than she wanted to admit, but she figured calling your ex's twin when said ex didn’t want to talk to you was crossing some moral line. Though as she sat on his mother’s couch, she figured it was time to get over the morals and do what she needed to do.
She swiped to answer. 
“Dee? Are you okay? Are you safe?”
She couldn’t breathe. Her mouth opened and closed again as she tried to find something to say to the only person she’d wanted to talk to in almost three weeks. She hadn’t had time to prep herself, to give her heart a warning.
“Baby talk to me, tell me you’re okay,” he pleaded, and the pain in his voice was enough to snap her out of it. 
“Grayson?” was all she could say.
“Yeah, it’s me. What’s wrong, are you hurt?”
“No, no I’m okay, I’m fine.”
Grayson took a breath for the first time since she picked up the phone. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure what to say, the panic dissipating and leaving his brain blank. Luckily, she spoke.
“I’ve been trying to call you,” she said. 
“I know. Indiana I’m sor-”
“It’s Beks.” 
His heart skipped a beat, and the silence rang in his ears as he clutched onto the back of the couch. Ethan, who had been eavesdropping from the kitchen, moved closer. Grayson waited for her to speak, to say it so he didn’t have to ask. 
“Is she-”
“No.” Indy’s voice broke. “But…”
“Oh god. Fuck. Fuck Indy.” His knees wobbled beneath him. 
“She isn’t in any pain, we’ve been keeping her comfortable. But it’s probably gonna be in the next few days,” she whispered between sniffles, her voice squeaky and small as she fought to get the words out.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to have to tell you over the phone but... “ she trailed off. “She asked when you were coming to see her, and I didn’t know what to say.”
The tears were burning as they slid down his cheeks. He squeezed his eyes closed, fighting the imagery of Bekah in her hospital bed, calling out for him.
“Indy-”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what to say so I just said you’d be there soon. If you can’t come she probably won’t remember, but I just wanted you to know, in case you wanted to be here. To see her, before…”
“I’m coming. I’ll be right there okay? I’m going to the airport now, I’ll be right there.” 
Indy was silent for a moment, her eyes flickering to the rain outside. 
“Fly safe. It’s storming here.”
“I will. I’ll see you soon okay? Just hold on, I’ll be there.” 
“Okay.”
That sat in silence for a moment until Indiana finally hung up.
“I’m going with you,” Ethan said. He didn’t need context - all he knew is his brother needed him. Grayson nodded once, passed him his phone and headed straight for his room. He packed blindly, throwing things into his suitcase without bothering to fold them, just desperate to get on the road to the airport and get back to New York. Ethan was two steps behind him when he finally made it to the door, his phone pressed to his ear as he tried to explain the situation as best he could to a very worried Eden. Grayson loaded the bags as Ethan climbed into the driver’s seat, leaving the charger open for Grayson’s still dead phone. Ethan practically peeled out of the driveway towards LAX, the cab filled with silence apart from the hum of the engine and the quiet sniffles from Gray when his phone turned back on and he saw all the missed texts and calls from Indiana who had been trying so desperately to reach him. The guilt made him queasy, and Ethan’s driving didn’t help as he hopped lanes and sped on, praying no cops were on the road. 
Grayson’s knee bounced impatiently as they waited in the line for parking, paying an astronomical amount seeing that they didn’t know when they would be back. Then they were running, dragging their bags behind them on the asphalt and beelining for the front desk. The attendants eyes went wide when they requested the next flight to New York at the exact same time. It wasn’t taking off for three more hours, much to their dismay, but they accepted it and headed towards security with their heads low and phones in hand.
The next flight doesn’t leave until around 10 but we’ll be on it. I’m sorry.
He watched the bubbles appear and disappear three times over, and then her response came.
nothing to be sorry for. I’m back at the hospital with her, she’s resting. I’ll keep you updated. the storm is still really bad here, please be careful
He wished he could reach out and hold her hand, ease her anxiety about his flight. He couldn’t imagine the emotion of that on top of everything else, so he said all he could think to.
I’ll be safe, and I’ll be there soon. 
He typed I love you and deleted it before he sent it. 
And then, it was a waiting game. The boys kept their hoods up and their heads down in hopes they wouldn’t be recognized. It seemed the universe was in their favor for the time being, no one bothering them while they waited, but it took a turn when their flight was delayed for weather not once, but twice, pushing their departure time to 2pm instead. He apologized again, agonizing over the thought of Indy sitting in the hospital by herself, but her response was the same.
she’s still resting, it’s okay. just be safe.
“We’re doing everything we can,” Ethan tried to reassure him, but he knew it was futile.
“I should have been there. I should have never left her in the first place Ethan, I’m an idiot.”
“You couldn’t have known this was going to happen. You told me she was getting better.”
He thought his brother was still talking about Bekah, and the queasiness returned. 
“She was.” 
They sat in silence as the hours crawled by. Ethan bought them lunch from a vegan salad shop down the terminal, even got his brother one of the protein coffee drinks he liked. Grayson picked at the lettuce and left it abandoned for his twin to finish. His only solace was his headphones that he kept pressed far into his ears with a constant stream of Cudi to keep him sane. After what felt like an eternity, they called for boarding. He texted her again to let her know he was on his way, and in a cruel play of the universe or whatever it was, Teleport 2 Me Jamie began to play. 
His eyes were blurry as he followed Ethan to their seats, climbing in by the window and readjusting his hood so it folded around his face as much as it could, hiding. Ethan leaned forward and acted like he was reading the SkyMagazine he found in the back of his seat, shielding his brother from view as best he could. 
They’d been on a flight like this before. January of 2019 - it had been raining that day too, but they had both been crying that day. So he stayed strong for his brother as best he could, got him a gingerale when the flight attendant passed by, and left Grayson alone. 
Indy wished someone would talk to her. She wished Bekah would wake up again - it had been hours of silence apart from the beeps of her monitor and the footsteps of the nurses outside the door. It was never truly silent in a hospital after all. But she was glad that she slept despite the loneliness. She hoped it would mean that she had energy for when Grayson made it to the hospital.
Grayson.
Her brain didn’t have the space to process that he would be there in the next six hours. His text that said he had boarded barely even registered in her mind, but her body was aware. Her anxiety picked up ten fold, her leg bouncing until it cramped, her lungs tight and fingernails bit down to the nail beds. The rain was relentless, as if the city were drowning already and it decided to add more for the fun of it, to watch the humans run around like ants in their multicolored raincoats. The universe was sick that way. 
Mr. Newcomb returned from the nurses station where he’d insisted on dropping off some cookies he’d bought at the store. He was quiet as he came into the room, eyes on his daughter until he finally peeled them away to look at Indy. 
“Do you think she’ll be asleep a little while longer? We were hoping to take some of her clothes home and wash them, so she has her choice from all her favorites for the next few days.”
“I think so. My… friend is coming later. Her other buddy, from the program. We’ll keep her company if you guys need to eat and get some sleep for a few hours. I can text you if anything changes.”
“I’ll see if I can convince Martina to get some shut eye I will,” he laughed, giving Indy a grateful smile and taking one more glance at his girl before he gathered her laundry and left. It only hit Indiana when he stepped out that she had never known Martina’s name until then. Bekah’s father was named Tarin, she knew that much. But she’d never even gotten to a first name basis with Martina. In all the years they’d known each other, and all the hours in hospital rooms and tears shared, she’d never been anything but Bekah’s mom to Indy. It wasn’t uncommon for Indiana to keep mom’s at an arm’s length from her. A protective mechanism she’d never consciously implemented, but it prevailed nonetheless. 
She wondered if Bekah would have wanted to be a mom someday. When she was 13 she’d insisted that men were trash and that she’d never get married even if she made it through all her cancer, but as she’d gotten a bit older she loved to talk about all her celebrity crushes. Indy looked in her side drawer and smiled when she found the little picture of Harry Styles she’d given her during her last round of treatment - she’d taken it with her to every room since. 
Indy paced the room, her anxiety to high to allow her to sit. She thought of Grayson on a plane somewhere, the metal tube rocking in the sky, cutting through the clouds. When she would get to the window she’d look up, hoping to see the lights from the wing of a plane somewhere, hoping it was his and that it was coming down safely. 
She paced for two more hours before her phone buzzed. 
Landed. I should be there in about 40. She still asleep?
Indy took in her first deep breath in hours.
yeah, she’s still out. I’ll meet you in the ocean hallway so you don’t have to buzz in, just text me when you’re close.
Will do.
Ma is picking us up so as soon as we get out we’ll head straight there
Ethan is with me but he’s just gonna go home with her for now
sounds good 
She didn’t have much to say, her stomach fluttering against her will. Her emotions were too unbalanced for her to even know what was happening. Excitement, and fear and grief and anxiety and anger and confusion, all at once somehow. She wrapped her arms around herself to try to hold it together and went back to pacing.
Grayson was soaked by the time he made it into Lisa’s car, scurrying into the backseat and barking out directions harsher than he meant to.
“I already have it in the GPS. Calm down,” Lisa said, giving Ethan a side eye in the passenger seat. 
“Sorry,” Grayson muttered, ringing his hands.
“S’alright babe,” Lisa sighed, reaching an arm back to pat his leg where she could reach. They drove in silence, listening to the rain smack against the roof and the windshield until Ethan spoke up.
“Did Indy call you? Is that how you knew something was wrong?” He asked Lisa. He hadn’t said anything, but he was worried too. 
Lisa debated it for a moment, and then she sighed. 
“She was upset, and she needed to get in touch with Grayson,” was all she said. “The rest of it, she can tell you.”
Gray didn’t have the energy to be annoyed. Every ounce he had was involved in the visuals flipping through his mind like a viewfinder; Indy in the ocean hallway, Bekah and her halloween blanket, the tiny homes, Indy’s tears in the airport. He hadn’t imagined that the next time he saw her would be like this. He wanted it to be different. Better. He wanted everything to be better. 
When they finally made it to the hospital, Lisa pulled to the curb and turned to her youngest son with a serious look.
“You take care of her, but you take care of you too, okay? I love you.”
Grayson’s nose burned and he nodded once before he ducked out into the rain. 
Indy stopped walking, and breathing, when her phone buzzed again. 
Here. Omw up
She liked the message, fixed Bekah’s blankets and headed out into the hallway and through the doors. The smiles of the marine life were haunting as she waited for any sign that he was close. 
Her head whipped up when she heard the familiar clammer of the far doors being pushed open.
He was wearing his yellow Cudi hoodie, but it was the wrong color. The fabric was darker than she remembered, darker than the picture she had of him in it, the one she’d taken in Jet’s once. It didn’t process that it was because it was wet until he was halfway down the hall. His hair was a bit longer than it had been, without Lisa there to trim it up. And his beard was full and scruffy and dark, hiding away his jaw line. She could still tell that his teeth were clenched though, his nerves palpable as he got closer and closer to her.
His shoe squeaked when he stopped in front of her. Neither of them breathed for a moment. They just stared at each other. He shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets to keep himself from hugging her, from crossing a boundary that he wished he’d never set. 
“Hi,” he said. 
Breathe in. Breathe out.
“Hey. How was your flight?”
“Long, but not too bumpy.”
Another painful beat of silence.
“How is she?”
“She’s still asleep, but we can wake her up. Meds are coming soon, just stuff to keep her comfortable. Her vitals are still okay, she’s just a bit groggy. But she’s excited to see you.” Indy offered him a small smile, and it had his knees ready to give out beneath him.
“And you? Are you okay?” He asked. 
Indy’s smile faded, and she looked at the jellyfish.
“That doesn’t matter right now. C’mon, let’s go see her.”
Indy used her badge to swipe into the door, but Grayson’s throat was too tight to ask her about it. Instead he just followed her down the familiar hallway, trying to avoid the looks of pity from the nurses who recognized him. 
Indy caught his wrist before he walked into the room.
“I didn’t… she doesn’t know about… us. I didn’t want to upset her, and it never really came up. I’m sorry,” she whispered. She sounded ashamed, but all Grayson could focus on was the feeling of her hand on his skin again, even if it was just a few fingers.
“Okay. That’s okay.”
“Okay.”
Indy walked into the room, the most hesitant that Grayson had ever seen her.
Beks looked cold. Even cuddled under her blankets she looked like she was freezing, and Grayson had trouble breathing. Indy went to the side of her bed, ran her thumb across her cheek and over to her shoulder where she squeezed gently.
“Beks, hey. Bekah,” she used her most gentle voice until the youngster stirred. “Someone’s here to see you.”
Grayson pulled it together in the last moment before Bekah opened her eyes.
“Earrings,” she sighed, a small smile on her lips. It was the most expression Indy had seen all day. “You made it.”
“Of course I did sweet girl,” he chuckled to hide his pain, moving beside Indy and crouching down so Bekah could see him easier. “Sorry it took me so long.”
“S’okay. We all know you’re slow,” she teased. “Hey, no tears. No crying in Bekah’s room.”
He hadn’t even realized he was until she said it, and he used his hoodie to wipe his eyes.
“Sorry Beks. Just missed you is all.”
“Yeah, well we missed you too. Did you convince my parents to go home?”
“Yeah,” Indy answered. “They’re getting some rest and bringing you some clean clothes.”
“Mmm, good. I think that black hoodie is a good one to die in,” she said, body shaking just barely with a laugh that turned into a cough.
“Pardon the death jokes, you’ll get used to them,” Bekah smiled at Grayson and the shock on his face once her throat cleared enough.
He thought of Sean, how he had pretended everything was fine until the very end, and he smiled. 
“Don’t you think a black death hoodie is a little on the nose?” He said, and Bekah laughed. It sounded the most like her real one since she’d been off her treatment, and it warmed Indy’s soul.
“Fair point. Maybe I should go with blue. You think someone will let me into heaven if I’m in blue or will I just blend in with the sky?”
“I don’t think anyone has to let you in,” Indy said with a laugh, crouching down next to Grayson. Their knees bumped together. “Pretty sure you just end up there.”
“I hope so. There’s no one there to find me anyways.” The playful edge was gone from her voice, and Grayson frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m the first one. I mean, I guess my grandma is up there but I never knew her. Everybody always talks about how their family will be there, when they go.” She paused, taking a few deep breaths to get her energy back. She hadn’t talked so much in days, and her heart rate was rising from the exertion of it. The pair waited patiently, giving her the time she needed to finish her thought. 
“I don’t have anyone to die for, anybody waiting on me. I gotta find my way in there alone.”
The innocence of it was enough to rip Indy’s heart in half, and she couldn’t find the comforting words that she wanted to give. But Grayson cleared his throat.
“You won’t be alone. I know of at least two people who will be right there waiting for you.”
She perked up a bit, eyes opening wider from where they’d started to close. “Really?”
“Yeah. My dad. He looks kinda like me, but shorter, with a better beard. His name is Sean.”
Bekah smiled. “Whose the other one?”
“A tall blonde lady named Nicole. Indy’s mom. Looks just like her, you won’t be able to miss her. They’ll help you, and keep you safe.” The sincerity in his voice was enough for Indy to realize he desperately wanted it to be true. She turned her head to hide her tears, clinging onto the bed rail to keep herself steady. 
“That sounds nice,” Bekah breathed, her eyes slowly closing. “You all want me to tell them anything, when I get there?”
It was Grayson’s turn to lose his voice.
“No babe. We can tell them when we get up there.” Indy answered after a moment too long.
“That better not be for a long time. I gotta have some entertainment. Watch you all grow up and get married and have kids. You better name one after me too,” she sighed, her voice getting quieter as her heart sped up. 
“You bet,” Grayson said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead as her breathing slowed and evened out again. It was slower than it should be, and Grayson realized his own breathing was fast… too fast. He brought a hand to his chest, then his other to cover his mouth and keep himself quiet.
“Shh, shhh hey, you’re okay, here, c’mon, you’re okay.” Indy’s voice was in his ear, her arms under his to try and guide him up to his feet, then out to the hallway. She held his arm and pulled him over into a supply closet that she swiped into, letting the door shut behind them.
“Breathe Grayson. It’s okay, just breathe.”
He fell to pieces in her arms, his back curled painfully so he could bury his face in the crook of her neck and sob. They were ugly sounds, wet and snotty and raw and she didn’t care. She just held him together as best she could with her small hands, let him relax into her and get it out of his system. His shoulders stilled eventually, but his arms stayed locked around her like a vice.
Neither of them moved until the motion sensor light clicked off, covering them in darkness. 
They didn’t speak. They untangled themselves and let the light turn back on before they headed back into the hallway as if nothing had happened, back into Bekahs room. Her heart rate was perpetually high now, fighting to keep the blood pumping.
Another sign that the end was coming soon. 
Indiana and Grayson sat down on the couch beside each other, just close enough for their shoulders to graze occasionally when they shifted. Indy watched the monitors and Grayson watched her, reading her expressions as best he could over what felt like an eternity. He looked at all the things he’d missed - the freckle by her ear, and the baby hairs that sat by her temple and never seemed to grow. 
It could have been minutes, or hours. No one was sure. But eventually Indy’s posture slumped slightly, and with a final sigh she leaned over to the left, her head resting on Grayson’s shoulder. 
He stopped breathing, only allowing himself shallow inhales that left his torso perfectly still so she could rest. He didn’t know how to feel, and against his will his eyes prickled at the realization that despite the fucked up situation they were in, she was there, leaned against him. Beside him. Something he wasn’t sure he was ever going to get ever again. The way she shifted and mumbled in her sleep let him know she wasn’t comfortable, but he let himself be selfish for a few minutes and soothed her back down so she stayed, relished in the weight of her on him and resisting the urge to wrap his arm around her shoulders. 
He moved as carefully as he ever had to press a tiny kiss to her hair.
She sighed and settled down further in her seat, moving her head onto the back of the couch and freeing him. 
The angle of her neck looked painful, and he scanned the room, noticing that they’d brought in two recliners, presumably for her parents. He stood up carefully and dragged the chairs away from the wall, lining them up like he had in his dad’s room. He hunted down a few extra pillows from the nurses, blankets too, and brought them in, making little makeshift beds for the two of them. 
He felt guilt waking Indy up, but he didn’t want to pick her up without permission. Instead, he shook her shoulder gently until she stirred, panicking for a moment until she realized everything was okay. Her heart fluttered at the realization that Grayson was still there. 
“Sleep over here, it’ll save your neck.” He nodded towards the chair and she stood up slowly, groggily moving over into one of them. She sighed as she settled in, exhaustion taking over. Grayson liked to think that she felt peaceful enough, safe enough to sleep because he was there, but he didn’t let himself believe it. So he simply moved her blanket up over her torso before he climbed into his own chair that faced the other way so they could see each other. 
He watched her sleep for a moment, and then her hand moved just far enough down the arm rest. She wiggled her fingers until he got the message, slipping his hand into hers before he too fell asleep. 
When they awoke the next morning, their hands were still intertwined, and Bekah’s parents were coming in the doorway. Indy woke up first, sitting up straight and squeezing Grayson’s hand.
“Grayson. Gray, hey, wake up.”
He grumbled until he was able to open his eyes, wiping his mouth with his hoodie sleeve as he came to and realized where he was. He was quick to stand, to introduce himself to Bekah’s parents with firm handshakes. His hair was a mess, and Indy bit her fingernails to keep from reaching out to smooth it out. 
The day went by, measured by the heart rate monitor beeps that got quicker and quicker, and the rattling of Bekah’s breath as the fluid settled in her lungs. Martina and Indy changed her into her blue hoodie, and fixed her favorite scarf - one with tiny blue lightning bolts - over her head. 
Indy and Gray didn’t have the energy or stamina to try to figure out where they stood, so they chose together, for the time being. She kept her arm wrapped around his, the way she used to when he walked her down the street. He traced over her fingers where she held onto him, chewing her lip while she watched her vitals grow worse and worse, all the red flags she would be trying to fix if that was the goal. Around 3pm, the nurse came into the room. The way Indy tensed was enough for Grayson to know something was happening.
“We’re gonna give her a bit more sedation to keep her comfortable. With the current levels of her vitals, it might slow her down enough to let her pass peacefully. There are no guarantees, but it is possible.” 
Martina began to cry into her husband’s shoulder. 
“So we should say our goodbyes then?” Tarin asked through a tight throat. The nurse nodded.
“We’ll administer it and then give you guys some privacy.”
“She won’t be in any pain, right?”
“No sir. It’ll just be like falling asleep.”
Indy watched as she set up her IV and stepped out of the room. 
Grayson and Indy followed her out quietly, giving Bekah and her parents the moment that they needed. Indy’s breath was shaky, and she held tighter to Grayson as they waited in the hallway. He looked up towards the light in an attempt to stop the tears, and a few moments later, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
It was Martina, her eyes red and cheeks blotchy.
“You all are family. She would want you here with her.”
Grayson’s feet wouldn’t move until Indy guided him back into the room. 
Bekah’s parents stayed on either side of her bed and held her hands while Indy and Grayson stood at the foot of her bed and watched her take her last breath. 
Indy didn’t cry. She stood watch, only moving when the nurses came in to confirm time of death. She went and turned the monitors off, cutting the monotonous tone out abruptly as they removed Bekah’s IV. Grayson’s quiet sniffled and muffled sobs were almost enough to tip her over the edge, but she held it together. She hugged Martina, then Tarin, and then retreated into Grayson’s side yet again. 
There wasn’t a signal, or anyone that told them it was time to go. But they found themselves outside in the hallway eventually, and they walked arm and arm. They signed out at the desk for the last time and walked out the doors of the pediatric oncology ward, through the ocean hallway and down the stairs.
The rain had stopped.
They walked the streets in silence, holding onto each other tightly as people passed them on the sidewalk, completely unaware of what had just happened to them. The world continued to turn, the city continued to bustle, and they continued to walk, one foot in front of the other until they made it to the elevator of her building.
Indy watched the numbers go by as it climbed. She didn’t say a word when they got to her floor, or through her door or over to her couch. Grayson sat down beside her and took his shoes off. She stared over his shoulder out the windows, an overwhelming numbness settling over her entirety. 
“Indy, why don’t you take your shoes off,” Grayson whispered. 
She didn’t look at him.
“Indy?”
He waited. The blues in her eyes were dark, and his heart sank. He knelt down and untied her shoes, sliding them off her feet gently. He took her socks off too - she hated sleeping in socks. 
“I’ve got you. You’re safe, it’s okay,” he said, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. She swallowed hard, and that was enough for Grayson to justify picking her up and carrying her into her room. He sat her down and pulled her covers back before he got her into bed. 
Once she was settled he stood up, waiting for just a moment before he spoke. 
“I’ll be on the couch if you need me okay? I’ll be right here.”
Indy blinked hard, and then she shook her head.
Grayson went to his knees beside her in an instant, ready to do whatever she needed. 
“Stay.”
That was all he needed. He circled around the bed and climbed in behind her, coiling his arm around her torso and crushing her back against him, pressing her into him everywhere he could. He willed himself to shield her, from the pain and the reality of what had just happened. He pressed a kiss to her hair and closed his eyes and he held his girl until morning.
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poguesholland · 4 years
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Public | Grayson Dolan
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Where Grayson shows off you’re his in front of your friends.
Warnings: fluff, cursing??
After washing your hands and fixing yourself up in the bathroom, you dry your hands then exit. You walked back to where your friends were sitting, about to sit next to Y/F/N. Everyone laughs about something and you laugh along, having heard the last bit of the joke. A hand wrapped around your waist and abruptly pulled you down to sit.
A squeal left your mouth that no one noticed because they were way too engaged in their conversation. Thankfully. You turned around to give Grayson, your boyfriend, a scolding look. He only laughs at your attempt at being angry before squeezing your waist lightly, making you give up your act.
“Sit next to me, baby" Grayson mumbles only to you. He hides his face in the crook of your neck, tightening his grip on your waist. He pulled you closer to him, but you were used to always sitting close to him.
You blush profusely and he pulls away from your neck. A smirk finds its way onto his face at how easy it is to make you so flustered. You playfully shove him lightly making him chuckle, resting his head on your shoulder.
“Aww, I feel so single" Y/F/N sarcastically coo's at the sight of Grayson and you. Both of you laugh and so do the others, your cheeks turning a bit red in embarrassment. You rest your head on Graysons shoulder as you take out your phone to check your notifications.
He doesn’t remove his hand that was on your waist, only sliding it under your shirt to rub circles on your waist. The little things, like this, that he does as a habit make you love him even more. He doesn’t even notice that he’s doing that, far too busy debating with your friends about something that’s probably stupid.
While everyone was talking, you opened snapchat to check streaks and everyone’s stories. You screenshot the streak that one of your friends had sent of Grayson and you in the car earlier. In the picture, Your friend took it from the outside of the car window. Grayson was in the drivers seat after having already parked. You were leaning in to squish his cheeks and kiss his cheek, a silly look on his face. It was beyond adorable.
You nudge Grayson lightly so he can look at your phone. “Hmm?” He mumbles, looking down at you. You show him your phone and he smiles, telling you to send him the picture. He hugs you a bit tighter in admiration. You send it to him and set it as your lock screen. It quickly became one of your favorite pictures together.
His head rests on yours, and you take notice that he was looking at your streaks. Grayson’s hand reaches and swipes for the camera, taking a video. You giggle and look up at him as he leans down to kiss your cheek several times, making you squeal.
He laughs before you cuddle up to him and hide your face in his neck. He leaves a kiss on your head and ends the video, smiling at it. “You're so cute." Grayson awe’s while watching the video. You couldn't help the small that appeared on your face. "I love you" You say as you look up to face him.
Grayson teases you and lifts his hand up to his ear, playfully. "Sorry, I can't hear you" Your cheeks turn red and you lightly push him, not affecting him considering how built he is. "Shut up” you drag on shyly. He laughs and moves his head down to press a kiss on your blushing cheek. "I love you too, baby”.
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livelongdolan · 4 years
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Fruit Loop (G.D.)
Summary: Grayson confesses his feelings to his best friend Morgan, scared of how she will react but things go surprisingly well. 
Word Count: 4.5k (literally the longest i’ve ever posted asdjask)
Warnings: just like the dirtiest thing i’ve ever written tbh, squirting, ass eating, the works
A/N: Morgan ( @vinylhazza​ ) is my precious lil fruit loop (hence the name) so I wrote her this fic with gray and i’m VERY nervous to post it but lmfao here we go 
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You had moved to Los Angeles, just like many others, to chase your biggest dreams but little did you know that you’d be finding much much more than that. It started as just a joke between a few of your friends really, seeing some youtubers you liked growing to fame living in LA and talking about how interesting it would be to be youtubers yourselves. After a bit of joking, you had decided to make a channel, quickly amassing about 500 subscribers within a month due to your fun-loving and positive nature. You spoke about all different kinds of things, ranging from serious topics to simple and fun videos about your favorite things. After a few more months of gaining subscribers (now at about 1.5k) you decided to move to LA yourself, unfortunately leaving a few friends and family behind but it was worth it considering they were just a phone call away. You were now living in LA with a small but nice apartment and a job at a vegan bakery just to get some money saved up while your channel grew. Within a few months, you hit 3,000 subscribers but still worked at the bakery where you noticed the same two guys coming in every day.
     The first time you noticed them it had been kind of a slow day, they had come in looking like they recently came back from the beach; hair wet, swimming trunks on, and flip flops on their feet. They ordered from you very sweetly, making sure to be polite as they requested a black coffee each as well as a couple of the featured scones. They waited as you were almost distracted by how familiar the two were, studying their faces as you handed them their order. They thanked you and left, coming back almost every day after that. Taking their orders every day made you realize that they were youtubers, the Dolan twins actually, who you weren’t a viewer of but rather a few of your friends back home were so they’d be shocked to hear that you had been serving up their food for the past couple weeks. Eventually you became closer and closer to them, getting their numbers and even going out to lunch with them a couple times. After about a month of knowing them your subscribers had skyrocketed to 10k and you could officially bring in enough income to quit your job. You loved your coworkers and would hate to leave them but you let your boss know and went on your way to fulfill your true dream. 
    The twins had thrown you a small party at their house when you hit the big milestone, getting you balloons and getting a pint of your favorite ice cream for you all to sit down and eat together. Afterwards a movie was put on and you ended up falling asleep with your head on Grayson’s lap where he was sitting on the couch. He was still awake but you looked so precious when you slept that he just decided to go to sleep right there with you, leaning his head back to the couch cushion to be comfortable. The three of you woke up the next morning, you being the first as you rose off of Grayson, stretching your limbs out to get rid of the sleepiness in your muscles. You walked over to the kitchen and got a few things out to make breakfast, your time at the bakery really paying off in making some fresh bread and muffins, all vegan of course. Soon after you put the muffins into the oven Grayson woke up and walked over to you.
“Good morning Morgs. Surprised you’re the first one up.” He laughs, moving around you to grab a couple mugs from the cabinet next to you before pouring you both cups of coffee. 
“Yeah yeah Mr. early riser. Just be grateful I’m making something so delicious for you two.” You smile, returning to the muffins after the oven made a beeping noise and taking them out carefully. You had a purple oven mitt covering your hand but accidentally bumped your wrist against the hot rack that they had been set on. You almost throw the tin down onto the counter, moving your other hand to quickly grab the spot on your wrist where you were burned. 
“Fuck Morgan be careful.” Grayson put down his coffee as soon as he saw what had happened and pulled you over to the sink, forcing the burn under the cold water that soon became soothing. 
“Sorry Gray I just didn’t realize-” He interrupts you.
“No no it’s okay I just don’t want you getting hurt, you’re my best friend ya know? Don’t want anything happening to you.” He smiles but there’s a look in his eyes hidden beneath the normal caring of a best friend. You brush off your thoughts and just give him a small smile, your wrist still aching with a slight pain. Grayson whisks away to grab a bandage and brings it back to you, rubbing a small piece of tissue over the burn before placing it on you. He brought your hand to his face and pressed a small kiss on the bandaid. 
“There,” he smiled, “all better.” He moved the muffins onto a plate for you, not wanting you to get hurt again and also removed the bread from the oven since it had finished while you were being bandaged up.  You thanked him, he brushed it off as no big deal as always and Ethan woke up and wandered into the kitchen. The three of you sat at the dining table for breakfast, telling Ethan what had happened to get those muffins and just making small conversation. The boys thanked you and went on with their days, fixing up a few things around the house with your help and just doing some chores they had been putting off. You stayed until about 5 pm, when you unfortunately had to bid them adieu and go back to your own home. You made the drive over, unlocking your door and making your way to your room to film a new video for your subscribers. After finishing up with the bedtime routine video you decided to do, you cleaned up your filming equipment and went to bed. 
                                                           ***
The next morning you went over to the twins house again, it had really become your new routine. You would wake up, grab some breakfast, and go to their house to just hang out. After all, they were really the only friends you made in LA so far since many of the people you met had been extremely toxic, only there to make connections and get famous for the wrong reasons. So as always you walked right in, you had a key to the place after all, and made your way to Grayson’s room. He was sitting on his bed shirtless just scrolling through his phone. 
“Grayyyy” You whined. 
His head shot up at your voice and a smile spread across his face. 
“Morgaaaaaan.” He mimicked your tone and rose from bed, walking over to wrap his arms around you in a hug. You reciprocated the hug, laying the side of your face on his bare chest and just inhaling his natural scent of general nature. 
“Wanna do something today.” You mumbled, finding comfort in his large arms squishing you into him. 
“Then let's go somewhere. Go ahead and get Ethan while I get dressed.” He pulls away from you, placing his hands on your shoulders before lightly pushing you away to go talk to his twin. 
You walked into the living room where Ethan was sitting playing some video games and tapped him on the shoulder, slightly scaring him.
“Morgan I didn’t even know you were here.” He laughs. You simply smile in return.
“I wanna do something today so c’mon Grayson is getting dressed and you’re already dressed apparently so let’s go get the car started. “ You started making your way to the door before he could even give you an answer. 
“I don’t wanna go anywhere today, do I have to?” He groaned, pausing his game to pout his lips at you.
“I mean like you don’t have to, I just figured you’d want to spend time with your two best friends but it’s fine.” You jokingly sass him before yelling to Gray that you’ll be in the car and making your way out.
“Thank you Morgs.” Ethan yells out the door, returning to his game. 
“Yeah, yeah.” You yell back, shaking your head and laughing. Alone with Grayson. It wasn’t the first time as the two of you had gone out to breakfast together when Ethan was still sleeping on some days, but it was definitely different this time. It was the middle of the day, and you’d probably spend the entire day together. You sat in the Porsche and Grayson joined you, placing himself in the driver’s seat and starting the car. 
“Well, where do you wanna go?” He asked, turning his head to look at you. 
You simply turned back to him and placed a hand on his shoulder dramatically. 
“Surprise me.”
The two of you made your way about three hours, going to a large forest containing a river as well as many different hiking trails. After taking a few water bottles from the trunk, you two made your way up to the medium difficulty trail, just walking and talking your way up to the top of the mountain. Once you could overlook the valley as the sun set, it felt extremely romantic for a pair of best friends. That’s when the two of you sat on the bench placed on the almost edge of the canyon and took a rest, just absorbing the atmosphere around you and the cool evening air. Grayson rested his head on your shoulder, something the two of you normally did but it felt different this time. You were just thinking about it when you felt him move his head to look up at you. You turned to him and that’s when it happened. He moved forward a bit and connected his lips to yours, soft plush skin melding together in the perfect kiss. You reciprocated, softly and slowly allowing yourself to get lost in it all as a warm breeze swept past the two of you. 
     Grayson pulled back first, looking into your eyes and letting his tongue glide across his lips. You gave him one more kiss before finally pulling away to gather your thoughts. 
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.” He admits, a slight blush rising on his face. 
“I’m glad you did.” You smiled before the two of you returned to watching the sunset, hands intertwined. 
                                                          ***
     For the next week you and Grayson kept your new found relationship hidden from Ethan, wanting to make sure that all would be okay before confessing what had happened. Today was the day though, so the two of you decided to talk to Ethan and tell him all that had happened. The three of you now sat in the living room, you and Gray sitting a little too close to be friends and Ethan giving the two of you a look of suspicion. 
“So, Ethan, we wanted to just tell you…” You began. 
“Me and Morgan are together!” Grayson blurts out, a large smile spread across his face. 
Ethan opens his mouth in fake astonishment before just laughing. 
“You think I didn’t see how close you guys have been being? I woke up early to go to the bathroom the other day and Grayson smacked your ass in the kitchen.” He continues laughing at the fact that you guys believed that you actually hid your relationship from him. 
You and Grayson look at each other, embarrassed, but laughing along with Ethan before getting up and going into the kitchen to get some water alone. You can hear the two of them talk while you’re in there, pausing to listen in on their conversation. 
“Damn Gray look at you go, how long did you have a crush on her before you finally did something? Like six months? Or was it when you first saw her at the bakery?” Ethan teases. 
“Shut up E, at least I did something about it.” He playfully shoves his older brother, laughing as he dramatically flops down on the couch. You walk back in with a bottle of water, laughing at the boys’ behavior, and tap Grayson’s shoulder for him to sit down so that you could perch yourself on his lap. Together, you two are just enjoying each other’s company and watching movies for the rest of the day.  
                                                         ***
     About a month in, the two of you have slept together many times but it was always the same. It wasn’t that it was bad or anything but you wanted to venture out and try new things, but both of you were too nervous to say anything about it. That’s when you decided, with the help of talking to your best friend, that you were going to try something new tonight. 
     You walked over to where Grayson was sitting on the couch in the living room, laptop on his lap to edit the newest video. At the sight of you, he lifted his head a bit to give you a smile but soon went back to the work at hand. You sat on the couch directly next to him and rested your head on his shoulder before turning your head up a bit to press kisses on his neck. He leans into it at first, loving the feeling of your lips pressed against the thick muscles in his neck but quickly pulls away. 
“Baby, you know I need to finish this video. The fans are expecting it tomorrow.” He puts his full attention towards the video again, deleting and moving parts around to form something he knew everyone would love. 
You moved closer to him, letting your hand rest on his thigh and rubbing it gently. Slowly, you moved your hand closer and closer to where you knew he truly wanted you. He whined, letting your hand cover the bulge in his shorts as you gripped him slightly. 
“Fuck this.” He moves his laptop off of his lap and on to the table in front of the two of you and grabs you up off of the couch,pulling you into his body. He kissed you harshly, taking your ass in his large hands and squeezing. You moaned into his mouth before allowing his tongue to take dominance over yours. 
“Gray,” You’re already almost breathless as you speak to him, “wanna do more. Want it rougher.” 
He looks you straight in the eyes, almost not believing what you’re saying. 
“Are you sure sweetheart?” His voice goes soft.
“Mhm. I don’t think I’ll need it but the safe word will be strawberry.” You smile up at him. 
“Okay Morgan. ‘M so fuckin lucky to have you baby.” He smirks before grabbing your face and pressing a rough kiss on to your lips again, guiding you slowly to walk towards his bedroom. Once you entered the room, he pushed you back harshly on to the bed before ripping your leggings off from the middle seam that ran between your legs. 
“Gray-” You try to reprimand him for ripping your leggings but he quickly stops his actions and looks right up at you. 
“What, slut? Have something to say?” He growls, making direct eye contact as he kneels down in between your spread legs. 
You just shake your head, biting your lip. 
“Good girl.” Grayson praises you, making his way up your thick thighs with slight bites and kisses against your milky white skin before reaching right where he wanted to be. He ran his tongue against you roughly, collecting your wetness on his tongue before plunging it directly into your tight pink hole. You let out a high pitched moan, legs almost closing around his head before he grips both thighs tightly, pushing them away from his head and giving you a stern look. 
“Morgan?” He asks, a sharp glint in his eyes. You simply look down at him. “Don’t just look at me, fuckin talk.” 
His demanding tone sets something off in you. 
“Yes sir.” You practically moan out the words, his fingertips still diggin into the flesh of your soft marked up thighs. 
“Don’t fuckin move your legs or you’ll get nothing.” He demands. 
“I’m sorry Grayson.” You pout your lips and you can see his dominance falter a bit before returning. 
“F’kn better be.” He mumbles, returning back to licking up all your leaking juices before moving his hand up and plunging two fingers deep into you, causing you to clench around him and make your hole even tighter than it was before. 
“Gray-please please can I cum? Please Grayson lemme cum.” Your eyes are tearing up at the fast pace he’s achieved while he completely ignores you, going even faster. The sounds of him moving in and out of you are so dirty but simultaneously are like music to your ears. Fingers moving in and out of you as fast as they can go, Grayson places his tongue on your clit and gives the softest of licks at a consistent pace. The combination of fast and soft set you off and you’re cumming around him, but instead of stopping there he keeps going. You’re too sensitive and you’re scared of doing something you’ve never done before. 
Until it happens. 
Grayson’s fingers are deep into you after your orgasm, hitting that spot in just the right way and you feel something break inside you. Next thing you know you’re squirting all around his fingers, almost blacking out at how amazing it feels before he’s pushing his cock into you. He bottoms out completely, balls slapping against your ass as you writhe on the bed and grip the sheets as tight as you can. 
“Fuck Morgan that was so hot, squirting all around me like a little whore. My little slut, so so sweet baby so nice. Feel so good around me.” He’s letting words just fall from his mouth like a waterfall at this point, feeling your pussy clench around him so nicely that he cums right then and there. His hot cum pumps into you and he pulls out, watching it slip out of you and dribble down onto the bed. His eyes follow his own cum for a moment before he gets an idea. Grayson’s tongue moves directly to your hole and he scoops up the mixture of the two of you and holds it in his mouth before straddling your body and grabbing your cheeks to open your mouth. You stick your tongue out a bit as he spits into your mouth before closing it and swallowing the sweet concoction. 
“Grayson that was so good.” You say, completely out of breath. 
He plops down next to you on the bed and laughs, smiling and looking over at you. 
“Yeah it was. I’ll buy you some new leggings this weekend though. Promise.”
                                                           ***
The next few weeks go on as normal, trying out different things in and out of the bedroom. You had a deal that each new thing that you did with friends or just together, you’d also do a new thing regarding your more personal lives together. So since the two of you went to a bonfire with a group of friends, Grayson tied you up that night. And since Grayson took you to a new place to eat another day, you rode him that night while his hands were handcuffed above him. What you really wanted to try though, was what you had been waiting for today. The two of you, including Ethan and a couple other friends all went surfing. You had been reluctant to go, particularly because you didn’t know how to surf. The twins both offered to help but you were still wary about getting swept up by any waves. Anxiety ate away at you until Grayson finally convinced you to go, promising that if you wanted to stop at any time you could. 
So here you were, standing in a wetsuit on the beach with a blue surfboard in your hands. Grayson showed you a few stances to take on the board while you were still on the sand before having you swim out a bit into the water on your board to watch him. You took in the way he quickly moved his feet up and into the middle before slightly crouching to ride a pretty decent sized wave. When it was your turn, your stomach was in knots but you had promised to try for Grayson. So you did as he said and got hold of a small wave, pushing you up and over it and closer to the sand. You almost tripped a bit at the end but you caught yourself, looked back at Grayson and raised your hands in victory. He swam over to the shore where you were and gave you a huge hug. 
“Morgan! You fuckin’ did it! I’m so proud!” He’s shouting his congratulations as the rest of your guys’ friends clap for you out in the water. Your face goes red as Grayson hugs you and you mutter out a small thanks, a smile spread across your face. The rest of the day goes on spending time surfing, laying on the beach, and eating some good food from the snack shack on the beach. But since you went through all of that for Grayson he should reciprocate, right? 
That night the two of you were laying in bed when he started playing with your hand, then moving his hand down to under your shorts, rubbing you through your thong. You moaned a bit at the feeling but quickly moved his hand away, looking at you in confusion. 
“Baby you said earlier you wanted to do something tonight, did you change your mind?” He asks, a bit upset but understanding if you’re not in the mood to do anything anymore. 
“Gray no I still wanna do something I promise. But I’m in control.” You smirk as his eyes get a little wider, knowing he’s in for a treat. Grayson never really showed his more submissive side, wanting to be a “real man” for you, but you knew he secretly loved being bossed around. 
“Strip.” You demanded, getting up on your knees on the bed to watch him. He got off and stood on the other side of the bed and took off all of his clothes before returning back in front of you. 
“Get on all fours.” At your request, he looks a little wary so you give him a kiss before placing a hand between his shoulder blades to lightly guide him down. You had seen him shower right when the two of you got home, washing the sand and sea from his body, so you decided right now was the best time. You crawled around to be behind him, his eyes focusing on the dashboard while yours focused on the way his ass was up for you, giving you access to his tight little hole. Hand reaching around to stroke him, you leaned forward and gave small kisses to the back of his thighs, rising to his butt before giving a harsh bite on his right cheek. A squeak jumps from his mouth at the surprise as he lurches forward a bit. 
You simply grin, stroking him a little more before pressing one soft kiss on his tight ring. He gasps, surprised by how good it feels. 
“Like it Gray?” You ask, genuinely wanting him to let you know how he feels since you always want him to be comfortable. 
“Mmmm” He hums, “Love it Morgs. Feels so good.” You can almost hear the smile on his face at his words. 
“Good.” You lick a stripe across the forbidden entry before blowing on the spit left behind for a cooling effect. He lets out a soft moan before pushing his ass back towards you for more. You lick around him in a circle before plunging your tongue into him, slowly fucking the soft warm muscle into him. The entire time the hand not holding you up is stroking Grayson’s cock, precum leaking on to your hand. You switch hands and pull your tongue away, letting your finger covered in precum gently slip into him before sliding it right back out. You reach behind where you are sitting and grab a small bottle of lube that you had secretly placed there before everything got started, squirting a generous amount both on Grayson’s tight ring of muscle and your finger. 
Gently and slowly, you slide your finger back in before working in another one. Your other hand is stroking him in the opposite direction of your fingers working inside of him as you quicken the pace. He’s now groaning almost animalistically at how good it feels, pushing back on to your fingers as you leave kisses all over his left cheek. Hands moving even faster on both ends, you can hear his whines get louder and louder as he cums on your hand. You remove your fingers from him as well as the hand that was wrapped around his cock and lick off the cum. Quickly going to the bathroom right next to the bed, you grab a towel and wipe off your lube covered hand. Grayson has fallen forward on to the bed, cock still aching at what just happened. He finds himself getting hard again, rubbing himself on the soft blankets beneath him before you notice what’s going on. 
“Oh baby,” you almost feel bad for how needy he looks grinding against the blankets, “I’m right here there’s no need for the blankets. Wouldn’t you rather be inside me?” 
He immediately stops, turning his head towards you with bright eyes before getting up quickly and allowing you to lay down on your back. You spread your legs and he pulls you to the end of the bed, immediately sheathing himself inside of you. You groan as he fucks into you, tip just brushing your cervix light enough so that it doesn’t hurt you too bad. 
“M-morgan you’re so- fuck- tight, so pretty, so nice w-wrapped around me.” He stutters through his sentences, plunging himself in all the way before cumming inside of you. Grayson pulls out slowly, trying to keep all of his cum inside of you. He quickly gets on to his knees, eye to eye with your pretty pink hole. 
“Push it out. Wanna watch it drip from your cunt.” His voice is almost a growl as you obey him, contracting your muscles and letting them relax to allow his cum to drip from you. Soon you feel his warm tongue licking up the mix of his cum with yours and you whine softly. After he’s done, he gives you a soft kiss. 
“We should do that more often.” He gives you a soft sweet smile, completely contradicting all of the dirty things you two had done. 
“We really should.” You smile back at him, spending the rest of the night cuddling in bed before falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms. 
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