#i am. just glad i got this out on time even after spending a weekend fucking around at ax

[harlequin-wheels]

cc 11

#hwheels draws #arknights #i'm not going to tag all these characters sorry #i am. just glad i got this out on time even after spending a weekend fucking around at ax #(read: having a good and fun time

[hellfire--cult]

Edit of Eddie: Sofiiel

Stripper!Eddie x Shy!Fem!Reader

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 (End)

WC: 14k

⚠️ +18 MDNI, Stripper!Eddie, nervousness, fluff, self doubt, soft touches, mentions of nausea, signs of anxiety, angst (i won't spoil any more of the chapter)

Plot: You thought you were cursed with your shyness, but after one embarrassing night, you decide it's time to change, and you believe someone might be able to help with that.

Summary: Was it all how it seemed? Whatever doubt you had, you find the answer to, and it is time to move forward.

A/N: And we reached the end... I never thought this story would blow up they way it did, but I am so grateful for every single one of you that always reblogged, commented, messaged me to know when the next chapter would be out... I cannot thank you enough. This story is very dear to me, and I already have a few requests for these characters! Hope you all still follow me through the next stories I will post!

You can always support me by hitting the reblog button with tags, and I always enjoy reading your comments!

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PART 8 - FINALE

Robin Buckley was in cloud nine at the moment. 

After a successful date on Friday, she had spent the entire weekend with Vickie, consuming their love with their first kiss, their first time together, and realizing that they both were stupid idiots who didn’t make a move because they were too scared to do so. 

So now, on Sunday morning she finally is back in her apartment, singing in the shower as she washes her body from the weekend’s activities. She finally got the girl she had been desiring ever since she met her. Vickie was not far behind, but Vickie had confessed to Robin that it would be her first official time dating a woman. Robin was more than glad to be the first one to do so.

When she got out, she was still humming, starting to dress herself for the day, and then her phone dings, making her grab it and smile widely as she reads the notification. Vickie had messaged her ‘Miss you already :(‘ and Robin couldn’t help but giggle at it and jump up and down in her excitement. She cannot wait to tell the girls, to tell you, to tell Steve. She had disconnected herself from her phone the whole weekend because she just wanted to spend it with Vickie, entirely. 

She whistled as she stepped in her boots, replying to Vickie as she did, saying she missed her too and it was the truth. They were entering the Honeymoon phase already, and she cannot wait to go on that ride. She went into the messages she has with you, and instantly messaged you.

“Hey, you up?” After a few minutes, there was another response.

“Yeah, I am.” Robin smiled at that and replied back to you as excitement ran through her veins.

“I’m going up and we can go get a cup of coffee!” She didn’t even wait for your response, she just got up from her bed and grabbed her wallet to pull some bills out and put them back in her pocket. She walked out of the room, shaking her wet hair from side to side to dry it a bit and have a little bit of movement. 

How were you going to react? Are you going to be happy? You probably will, and she can’t wait to tell you everything Vickie and her had done through the weekend, except for some details that remain private. She can’t wait to tell you how they got together, how the confessions occurred, and what they ate on Friday night. She was rocking back and forth on her heels as she went to pick you up. She knew that she had to pick you up to get the coffee so that you would move. Many times you declined because you were lazy, but Robin always made you get up from the couch, and you didn’t have a say in it.

When she reached your floor, she walked towards your door whistling softly. She knocked on your door in a happy tune.

“Wakey wakey!” She says through the door for you to hear. She licked her lips as she waited for you, still rocking back and forth on her heels. Some seconds passed making Robin become impatient and she started knocking on the door again. “Come on, let’s go!” 

“Alright, alright!” She hears your muffled voice on the other side, unlocking the door and you get out of your apartment through a small gap in between the door and the frame. Robin got confused at that because you didn’t open your door entirely, but she dismissed it with a shrug. What confused her even more was what you were wearing.

“Well hello to you too, cranky.” Robin says and you yawn, shaking your head at her and that’s when Robin noticed the bags under your eyes, and how red they looked. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just tired, didn’t sleep an inch last night.” You say to her and she hummed, still worried about how you were looking as the both of you started walking to the elevator. You had make up, and when you didn’t sleep you always put some concealer on after learning how to properly use it. Maybe you just didn’t have the time or energy to do it this morning. Once the metal doors closed, Robin talked again.

“I think I haven’t seen that shirt or those pants in ages.” She says and you look down at yourself, a gulp passing your throat as you fix the ponytail you were wearing.

“I threw everything else in the washer.” Was your short reply, and Robin’s heart accelerated because something didn’t feel right, but she was hoping it was just a wrong hunch, just something that she was overthinking probably. “You didn’t message me all weekend.” 

And that was the queue for Robin to smile widely as she started talking nonstop about her date. You were faintly smiling at her as she told you how Vickie had tripped when walking in the street with her and she took the opportunity to hold onto her hand. She told you how it was Vickie the one that confessed in the diner that she felt something else for her, besides friendship.

“And then, outside of the diner, I just grabbed her and kissed her. I was just so impatient, maybe too anxious, but I couldn’t help myself! She just looked so pretty under the neon lights…” She continues saying as you both slowly walk down the street. Your face was down towards the floor all the time as if you were watching your steps. 

“Doesn’t explain why you didn’t talk to me all weekend Robs.” You try to let out a giggle, but it comes out as a small huff, which Robin barely noticed as her eyes lit up in excitement.

“I– well, she kind of invited me to her apartment… Afterwards.” Robin was blushing now, rubbing the back of her neck, not noticing the pained expression that had crossed your features. 

“That’s… Great Robs, so you just spent Saturday at Vickie’s?” You ask to keep the conversation going as a man is walking your way. Robin didn’t notice how you traded places with her, putting yourself closer to the street as the man passed between the building and Robin.

“Yeah… I just wanted to be with her, you know? And yesterday we could talk more calmly about what we were, where we were standing.” She explains, her whole face red as the memories keep flashing in Robin’s mind, blissfulness all over her body.

“And where are you both standing?” You ask her, now looking towards the ground again. Robin’s chest filled with excitement and giddiness again, twirling in her place as she walked with you.

“We’re dating!” Robin smiles dumbly and completely dazed as you two keep walking. She really can’t wait to tell the other girls, wait till they know that she and Vickie finally made it work. She can’t wait to tell Steve that he can eat his words, telling her she had no balls to tell Vickie what she felt… Though, Robin believes Steve was doing it to give her some sort of boost, and impulse.

“I am so happy for you Robs.” You try to sound enthusiastic, you really are trying because you are happy. You are happy for your friend. 

But everything else was just numb. 

“Thank you! Okay we’re here! Should we get our table on the corner like we always do–” Your eyes drift up and into the coffee shop. The green eyed young man was at the counter, already waving your way because for the past month you have been getting coffee in this family business. His name is Adam.

And your eyes looked down at the floor again.

“I– I prefer to go back home Robs, I don’t feel all that well…” You excuse yourself and Robin turns to look at you with an eyebrow raised up in worry.

“Are you okay? Shit, you should have told me you felt sick…” Now Robin felt guilty for not giving you the chance to tell her that you were feeling like this. She acted out of selfishness on wanting to tell everything to you that she didn’t think about you or your feelings at the moment. You look at her and you shake your head desperately not wanting her to feel guilty.

“Yeah, just tired…” Robin nods at that because she can see the bags under your eyes, she doesn’t know why you were tired. You probably ended up playing games till late like you always did. 

“Alright, then let's get the coffee to go.” She says, giving one step inside the coffee shop. Your nervous hand reaches quickly to her sleeve, making her stop in her tracks and give you a puzzled look.

“Um… There’s another coffee shop, called Sunflower!” You say to her, almost desperately, only getting a confused frown from Robin’s part.

“It’s like– five more blocks away! Let’s just get coffee here and go back.” Robin turns and you let go of her sleeve, standing still in your place as you look down to the floor. She felt that you weren’t following her, so she turned around again, examining you. A weird feeling sat in her stomach, something along the lines of dread, of worry. She waited for you to talk, waited for you to say the words she was fearing of hearing again from you, words that she was happy you finally let go of, or— that’s what Robin thought.

“U-Um… Can you get my order?”

Those words that you only said when you couldn’t buy something because a man was at the cash register. Milkshakes you asked Robin to buy for you because the big man behind the counter had winked at you. Coffees that Robin had to drive and get for you because no female baristas were working at any close coffee shops. Robin’s eyes widened as she slowly turned to see the puzzled look of Adam, looking at you both as he took the order from an old man that was sitting in a corner. 

“Please… tell me that you didn’t just ask me that.” Robin’s eyes looked for yours but you were looking down at the floor, maybe in shame, maybe in fear, maybe in complete embarrassment, maybe in sorrow, maybe in despair. Robin’s heart crumbled in her chest as she pulled you away from the coffee shop’s entrance, grabbing you by your hand and dragging you a couple of steps away.

“Robin– You’re hurting me–” Robin let go of your hand and made a sharp turn with a frown to her eyebrows, tears prickling in her eyes as she shook her head at you. 

“What happened!?” She asks you and you gulp heavily, shaking your head at her. Robin wanted answers, she needed them, and you were not giving them to her. What happened this weekend for you to act like this again? What happened to you? What made you go back to the starting line?

“N-Nothing, I don’t know what you mean–” You started but you could already see Robin’s hair almost frizzing up in anger, or in confusion.

“Don’t play fucking dumb with me! The clothes!? The lack of makeup!? Your hair in a loose ponytail and you didn’t even comb it!” Robin was breathing heavily now as your eyes didn’t focus on her face any longer, just looking to the side as tears started filling them. “And now, you couldn’t even LOOK at the guy you’ve been ordering coffee from for the past month!” 

“I just feel weird today, that’s all.” Was your short answer, and Robin tilted her head at you, her brain trying to work but she didn’t want to lose you. She didn’t want to lose the you from the last two months, and she was feeling like your brain shut that person out. She remembers how you didn’t let her see inside your apartment at all, and she straightened up, turning to start walking back to the complex. “Robin?”

“Come on.” Was her only command. You were confused as you followed her, walking the streets at a quick pace, making your breathing grow heavy. Once you got to your complex, you both got inside the elevator and you let out a sigh but then your eyes widened when Robin only pressed the button of your floor.

“Aren’t you going home?” You ask, nerves already creeping up in your body, a cold sweat invading your fingertips, and you felt yourself growing more desperate the sound of passing each floor dinged inside the elevator. “Robs, I feel sick, really–”

“Shut the fuck up.” You jumped at her words. She never cussed at you, she actually almost never did in any circumstance. The metal doors opened, and your eyes widened, walking quickly to reach your door before Robin could catch you, but she was quick to grab onto the handle of your door, looking at you.

“Um… It’s a mess inside–”

“Open the door.” You blinked at her and you slowly shook your head. She can’t see it. She can’t see what you did. You will just disappoint her. You know it. Robin’s eyebrow twitched and she took a deep breath in, trying to calm herself. “Open the door.” 

She wasn’t going to leave, and you knew that. There was no escaping this confrontation, and you weren’t going to win it. You could run away, but Robin would sit and wait for you to come back and open the door. She wasn’t going to leave. She wasn’t going to give up on you, on this, even if you had already given up. You took your keys out of your pocket with a trembling hand, and Robin held your hand and helped you guide it into the keyhole, opening the door.

Robin walked in, turning the light on. She looked around and everything seemed to look the exact same, except… The trash bags that sat outside your room, piled up one next to the other. Robin’s eyebrows twitched, fear settling in her chest as she walked towards one of the bags. You closed the door behind you and your eyes widened when Robin bent down in one of the bags.

“What the fuck…” You hear her say and that’s when your mind started spiraling again. Everything was coming back to you as she slowly raised up again, and she turned to look at you with the purple dress in her hands. “Why… Why are all your clothes in trash bags?”

“I–I was doing some… Marie Condo cleaning thing.” You lied, but it came out as a tremble, your eyes scanning the dress in Robin’s hands, memories flashing over your eyes and your brain was just telling you how delusional you were being. How stupid you were for trying to be someone like that. You knew you were never that, you knew it, and you weren’t going to ever be. 

“Cleaning my fucking ass!” Robin yelled, making you jump again. Why was she so mad? Why isn’t she happy that you went back to your old self? Why is she acting this way with you? “You made so much progress! So much! Why are you going back!?” 

“I– I don’t understand what you’re saying, I never changed–” 

“You fucking did! You changed into who you actually are! You changed into someone that knows what they like, knows what they want! So what is all this shit!?” Robin motioned to all of the trash bags that contained your new stuff, and you felt your heart shrinking at each word that came out of her mouth. You shook your head at her as your tears started to burn your eyes.

“This is who I am. The things in the trash bags were just costumes Robin, they are something I am not!” Robin couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There must be a mistake, everything was fine on friday night, everything was incredible, you sounded so happy, you sounded and looked like you were glowing. She didn’t ask why you looked like that, but she feels like she might know why. She has a feeling inside of her that tells her that is right.

“This is not who you are! THIS is who you shaped yourself to be in order to feel safe!” You flinched at the word ‘shape’. You didn’t shape yourself, you didn’t put this skin to protect yourself, she was wrong. Everyone is wrong. 

“Why can’t you accept me for who I am!? Why does everyone want to mold me into what they want!? Into what society wants!?” You weren’t looking at her, your eyes looking at the counter. Your voice was loud, taking Robin by surprise, but something in your words caught her attention. 

Everyone? 

“I accepted you, always! But the past months I felt like I actually got to know the real you! For the fucking first time!” At her words you rolled your eyes as a tear fell down your cheek.

“Right, because I started dressing myself with short shit? Because I started talking to guys? Is that the ‘normal’ for you?” You were in complete defensive mode, and Robin knew that, but she was taken aback by your response. You two never fought, ever, and this would be the first big fight you two would have, but Robin wasn’t going to lose it.

“No! Because you let yourself go! You started doing shit you actually wanted to do, and you even voiced it out! You got stuff that you wanted, and then you learnt to not ask for a second opinion on it! You liked stuff and you got it!” She motioned to all of the trash bags again, her voice breaking from how loud she was starting to get. “Everything that’s in these bags, are things YOU picked! No one else did for you!”

You flinched at her words. You did pick those clothes, you did pick the makeup yourself, you did pick many of the accessories yourself… But you picked them probably because you knew what everyone might like, driven by that, more than what you actually enjoyed wearing. You were driven by what he might like. What he might enjoy. What he always looked at every time he went to work. 

“Robin, I don’t want to listen to you any longer, if you can’t accept–”

“Accept who you are, I always did! And I always will! This part of you–” She motioned to your body, your clothes, your hair. “I accept, AS WELL, as this side of you.” She then motioned to all of the trash bags in the living room. 

“You are not fucking showing it.” You spat at your friend with venom in your voice. Robin was not going to let you walk out of all the progress you made, she wasn’t going to give up on you, she wasn’t going to let you give up on yourself.

“What the fuck happened? What made you revert into your past self?” Robin walked towards you, slowly, as if she were approaching a scared dog. You blinked at those words, turning to finally look at her. 

“You mean, why did I stop pretending something I’m not? They’re two different things.” Robin saw it in your eyes, there was an emptiness, as if someone had punched a hole somewhere in your body and your blood was slowly draining out from your body. There is something behind your eyes, something behind your defensiveness, something behind your quivering lip that simply broke you.

Something happened this weekend. Something definitely happened to you. 

“You need to tell me… what happened. Did someone hurt you? Did someone make you feel bad?” Robin didn’t know what to ask because you weren’t giving anything out. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary except for the bags, and she had to know what was going on in your head. You simply had to talk to her.

“Nothing happened. I just realized many things.” You were looking down at the floor again, and Robin’s hands slowly raised up to land on your shoulders. Your eyes were different now. They weren’t empty no more. They were hurt. Completely and utterly hurt. Your eyes were going back and forth as memories kept flashing in them, moments that you thought were real, moments that you thought were created with honesty, with the truth. 

“Baby… What happened?” Robin said softly, her voice trembling slightly because you weren’t responding. You weren’t answering, and she was going insane about it. She wants to help you, she needs to help and she doesn’t know how. 

“I need to be alone.” Robin shook her head, not wanting to do what you were asking, but you sent her a look that sent shivers down her spine. “You need to leave.” 

“What–” She couldn’t finish her sentence, as the tears in your eyes were starting to pool on the water lines, and your breathing turned heavy. You pushed her arms away from you, and walked to the door, ripping it open. 

“Get out!” You yelled at her. You actually yelled at her and Robin knew you were far gone. You weren’t going to listen, you weren’t going to talk, you weren’t going to let her in. She choked up on her own words, swallowing them as the anxiety of the situation was eating her at her stomach. Robin took a deep breath in and walked towards the door, giving you a final look.

“Please… talk to me when you’re ready.” You simply glared at her as tears rolled down your cheeks, and the moment she was out of the door, you slammed it shut, locking it as quickly as possible and your hands were pressed against it as the breathing turned almost painful.

Through the entire morning you had been holding back tears, holding back the emotions that were swirling in your mind. How can you tell Robin that Eddie tricked you? How do you even explain to her that you also feel like she knew? Steve was the one that told you about it, and her and Steve were almost best friends now. It’s impossible for her to not know about their second jobs.

You tried really hard to keep yourself together this morning, you really tried. You didn’t want to cry anymore because you felt like you were drained, only for more tears to appear out of nowhere. You could hear your phone buzzing in your pocket and you clenched your eyes tight. He hasn’t stopped calling, he hasn’t stopped messaging you, he hasn’t stopped asking if you were okay even when you told him you needed some time alone this weekend.

He wouldn’t leave you alone.

And that was confusing you, not understanding why he still wanted to talk to you when he already got what he wanted. He already tasted you, so what else does he want? The worst part is that he got everything now. He had you in every shape and form, in body and soul, and he doesn’t even know that. He just wanted the physical part and he doesn’t even know that he got more than just your body. And he will never know.

For the past two days you couldn’t even bring yourself to throw the bags out of the apartment. There was this string holding you back, it was invisible, yet you knew it was there. You wanted them out of your house because the pain of seeing them there is just too great, but you couldn’t even lift one bag up. You couldn’t even imagine putting a bag for donation because the pain becomes even bigger than having the bags in your house.

You slammed your back against the door as the tears kept coming down your cheeks, sobs ripping out at your chest. You slid down all the way and onto the floor, pulling your knees up to your chest, hugging them tightly as you pressed your face into them. You didn’t know what you wanted. You don’t even know if letting go is the right choice because you still hurt either way. But that’s life isn’t it? Letting go to move forward.

Your nights were sleepless, your pillows very much stained with all the tears that went through their fabric, yet you didn’t change the bedsheets. You didn’t, even if you should have. You didn’t let go of those sheets. You didn’t let go of that night. You didn’t let go of his scent. You didn’t let go of what he made you feel. You didn’t want to let go, yet you knew you had to.

Because it was all a lie.

Why is life this hard? Why is everything this way for you? Why can’t you just be happy with who you are? You’re a fucking hypocrite, telling Robin to accept you as you are when you can’t even do it yourself. You were torn between knowing who you are and who you wanted to be. You didn’t know anymore. You just didn’t. You were feeling as if something was ripped away from you, and you didn’t know if it was your heart, or that you that laughed when you tried to teach Billy how to braid hair, that you that danced around the living room with Steve twirling behind you, or that you that kissed a man because she really desired to do so.

A man that wrapped you around his finger, to then engulf you into his whole hand, crushing you bit by bit as he squeezed. You don’t want to keep going like this. You don’t want to give him any more trophies. You don’t want to remember anymore, you want your memories to vanish completely, yet you don’t want them to at the same time. You had to let go. You had to let him go.

Today you’ll throw the bags out.

Robin was breathing heavily as she paced around in her apartment. 

She couldn’t talk to anyone about this because no one knew what you did the past two months. Robin didn’t even tell the other girls that she had a new friend called Steve. She didn’t even tell Vickie yet, and now Robin was losing her mind on who to talk to about this. She needed help.

She was trying to remember if you said anything on Friday, anything that would give her any kind of lead. She cursed at herself because she just remembers being too excited about her date with Vickie that everything else was being blocked out. Focus Robin, focus. She was at the mall when she called you, and she does remember you glowing, but what did you say?

Robin was slamming her hand on the counter as she tried to recall every second of that call. She went into a store, she remembers looking for a shirt, and then you had asked her how did she know she liked Vickie. Something about attraction. Something that made Robin look at you with knowing eyes. She straightened up, freezing.

Groceries. You didn’t go to the grocery store.

Robin’s hands immediately rushed to get her phone, not caring that it was ten in the morning and her friend might probably be asleep right now. She remembers Steve being home on friday because he was sick, very sick, so she has to know if you went to their house that night. She immediately started calling her friend, her phone raised up, waiting for him to answer.

No answer was coming and Robin Buckley was desperate. She needed to talk to Steve, she needed to know where you were that night. She cursed under her breath and grabbed her car keys from the counter. She doesn’t like driving much, but for you she would drive 9 hours straight if it were necessary. She was flying out of her complex in the matter of seconds, and in the matter of minutes, driving by many red lights, she got to Steve’s building. 

She parked the car as best as she could in her hurry, knowing she might get a ticket for how badly it was sticking out but it was the least of her worries right now. You didn’t look fine, and she was scared. She ran to the intercom, pressing her finger in his apartment number repeatedly, not stopping at all until a very tired Billy Hargrove answered on the other side.

“I swear to god, whoever it is–”

“It’s Robin! Let me in!” She says in a hurry as her legs start making her bounce up and down in her anxiety. 

“Robin, it is too early–”

“It’s an emergency!” She almost yells and Billy could sense the high pitch in her tone. Robin heard the buzzer going off and she rushed inside the building, and she sighed a thank you to whoever was above that the elevator was already in the lobby. She was tapping her foot repeatedly as she kept pressing the desired floor button, even if the elevator was already dinging that it was going up, as if it were going to make it go faster.

Once the metal doors opened, her legs immediately stomped towards the door, knocking onto it at a quick pace, her breathing heavy as she waited for anyone to open the door. At the small turn of doorknob, she was pushing herself in, making Billy stumble backwards, his eyes widening at the gesture as he sees the tornado Robin is leaving behind in her rush.

“Is Steve up!?” She turns to see Billy closing the door with worried eyes, a frown in his eyebrows as he keeps looking at Robin. Her answer came quickly when she heard the metal clinking of the stairs as someone headed down. She turned to see Steve in his blue robe and boxers, rubbing his eye with one hand as he held the phone with the other.

“Why do I have 10 missed calls from you Robin?” Steve says with a grunt as he finally reaches the bottom of the stairs. She immediately rushes towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders as his eyes widen at her.

“Something is fucking wrong, I don’t know what even happened but you need to tell–”

“Robin!?” Her head snapped almost as it turned to look at Eddie, running down the stairs, skipping a few even and almost falling in his hurry. Robin frowned at his yelling as she let go of Steve and Eddie rushed towards her. She could see bags underneath his eyes from lack of sleep, his hair was a mess and scrunched up into what looked like a bun and he simply seemed drained.

“Eddie, jesus fuck, you have to help me!” Robin lets go of Steve who was now very much awake and aware that something wasn’t right. He looked at Billy for answers but the blonde boy simply shrugged at him, still with the worried frown in his eyebrows. 

“First, you fucking help me, she is not answering to any of my texts or my calls! She told me she needed time alone!” Robin winced at his words, shaking her head at him as she put her face in her hands in despair. You wouldn’t even talk to Eddie? How can he help you if you cannot even talk to him?

“She regressed.” The three boys were looking at Robin for more explanation, but Eddie’s heart was already at his throat. He was hoping that it didn’t mean what he thought she meant. He was hoping that this was not happening, not with all the progress you made. He was hoping that this was not happening, right before he got the chance to–

“What do you mean she regressed?” Billy dared to ask. He was looking at Eddie, not even at Robin because he was worried about his friend, his friend that was looking at Robin with fear in his eyes. His friend that hasn’t slept since friday. His friend that is going to have a heart attack if he doesn’t speak to you soon.

“She’s back to square one.” She puts her hands down as she looks up at Eddie with tears in her eyes. “I don’t know what happened, her new clothes are all in trash bags, as well as her make up I think? We went to get coffee an hour ago and she couldn’t even fucking look at the guy behind the counter.” 

Eddie’s world crumbled.

His shoulders sagged as his breathing stopped, feeling as if his soul was coming out of his mouth. No… No, no, no. That couldn’t be right, everything was fine friday morning, everything was amazing friday morning, everything was perfect friday morning. It cannot be, it surely cannot be… Did he do something wrong? He talked to you later that day and you didn’t respond, not until midnight where you told him that you needed time alone to think about stuff.

That had already stabbed him once in the chest. Did you regret what happened? Did you regret him? Did he overstep? Did he read the signs… wrong? But now, knowing the reason why you didn’t want to talk to him was enough to actually kill him. How could it happen? How did you regress? Did something happen to you on that day? Did he say something in the morning that wasn’t to your liking? Was it because he had to leave? Did you think he was done because he left for work?

“Robin… Please tell me it is a joke.” Robin simply looked up at Eddie, dropping her hands from her face with her eyebrows meeting in the middle. She shook her head at him, and he huffed as he brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he tried to think rationally. He had to go see you. He had to meet with you. He had to talk to you. Fear was crippling all over his body at the thought that he was the reason for your regression.

“No… And I don’t know what happened…” Robin’s eyes lit up as she looked at Eddie who was still clenching his eyes together in thought. Fridays. “Did she come here on Friday?” Eddie opened his eyes with a confused frown in his eyebrows.

“I wasn’t here on friday, I was working.” He shortly replies and Robin blinked and tilted her head in confusion. Fridays were Eddie’s day off, she clearly remembers because you were always excited about Fridays coming up. You were always preparing your next Friday night with Eddie as soon as last Friday finished. So that leaves–

“Shit.”

Everyone’s eyes landed on the brown haired man that was standing in the living room with a lost look in his eyes as he stared at the floor, a frown in his eyebrows as his head slightly moved as if he were remembering images of a movie inside of his head, and then, his eyes clenched as if he were in pain, running a hand along his face in complete despair.

“Steve?” Robin was afraid of what was happening to her friend, not liking his movements at all, not as if he is remembering something that he is regretting at this very moment.

“Shit… Shit, shit, shit.” Steve started pacing back and forth, his fingers running up into his scalp as he held tightly onto his hair. Eddie was immediately on his ass, stepping closer to his friend as his ears started tingling with anticipation, with even more fear than before, knowing something definitely happened now, and it had nothing to do with what happened between the two of you.

“What is going on? Steve?” Billy’s voice was strong, but it was mixed with nervousness now because Steve looked anything… but innocent.

“Fuck, she told me to not tell you she came over, I was fucked up in medication and–” Steve was breathing heavily as his memory started to become clearer each second it passed and he cursed at himself at each word he remembered. 

“Steve, what the fuck did you say to her?” Eddie sounded nervous, afraid, and Robin caught on that, looking at him with a confused frown in her eyebrows. Steve let a heavy sigh out of his lips as he looked at Eddie with pity written all over his face, as well as regret.

“I’m so sorry Eddie, I– Fuck, it was before you told us about it, and… shit, she couldn’t even look me in the eye and I didn’t fucking notice–” Eddie’s mind was racing. You came here on friday, the day you always knew it was his day off, and he wasn’t here, and Steve–

“Please tell me you didn’t.” Eddie almost whispers, but not quite, it was more of a threatening tone towards his friend, and Steve could only look at Eddie with regret flashing into his eyes.

“I told her… I told her that you were at your second job.” 

Everyone froze. Everyone except Robin, who was confused, looked back and forth between the three men. Second job? What did he mean? Why are the three of them completely frozen? Why is Eddie turning whiter at each second that passes? Why is Steve looking so guilty? 

“Second… job?” Robin dared to ask and Steve winced, clenching his eyes shut as he gulped and looked down at the floor.

“I didn’t want you to judge me… So I never told you about it…” Steve licked his lips as he looked up at Robin this time, not daring to look at Eddie, not right now, not this second. “We sometimes… fuck our clients… sometimes for money, sometimes–”

Everything was interrupted when Eddie let out a big scoff, almost as if what he just heard was unbelievable. Steve told you that, Steve fucking told you that right after Eddie slept with you. Nobody knows about you two, and if they do, it wasn’t thanks to his mouth. He didn’t talk about you in that way with anyone, and he now sees how fucking stupid it was to do that.

If he had told his friends about what was going on with you sooner, they’d understand and encourage it. If he had told his friend about what happened between you two, they would know what they could say and what they couldn’t. If he had told his friends about his decision sooner, rather than yesterday night, Steve wouldn’t have opened his mouth the way he did with you on Friday. 

But he couldn’t blame his friend. Yet, the anger was still deep in his chest as he shook his head at Steve, who only gulped as he looked at Eddie. 

“Eddie, I didn’t know… I didn’t even know you didn’t tell her–” But Eddie couldn’t hear anything else any longer. His only thought was you, he needed to get to you, he needed to see you, to talk to you, to clear things up, to tell you what he feels for you, to make you understand him, hoping you would. 

“Steve, if I don’t fix things up with her, I am shaving your fucking head.” Eddie was already marching up towards the door after grabbing the keys from the keyholder next to the door. He could hear Steve sighing behind him and Robin’s mind puzzle was slowly putting itself together, and as it did, she rushed towards Eddie to stop him, grabbing onto his arm, making him look at her with a frown to his face, only to be met with rage behind Robin’s eyes.

“If what Steve said is right, then you are the fucking reason for her regression!” Robin was enraged. She knew that you felt something for Eddie, and she also knew about you going out with him on thursday. She also knew you two had kissed, because of course Steve was not going to not tell her about how he kissed you himself and that you didn’t even flinch, telling her how amazed he was with your progress. She knew, and she knew now that Eddie had fucked up.

“Robin– It’s not what you think–” Billy tried to stop Robin but she wasn’t having it, not letting go of Eddie’s arm at all.

“He is just going to keep hurting her, so don’t you dare fucking go Munson.” Eddie’s eyes were still locked into Robin’s as his face scrunched up, guilt and anger mixing together as he looked down at her.

“I never meant to hurt her. Not even once. You’re not the only one that cares about her, not anymore Buckley.” He replied back in the same manner that she was talking to him. They were both glaring at one another, invisible daggers being thrown and Robin was still not letting go of Eddie’s arm. 

“Robin…” Steve slowly approached her and put a hand over her shoulder, making her look at him with anger in her eyes. “Let him go. Let him talk to her please…” And everyone noticed that guilt that was pooling in Steve’s mouth, and everyone could see it in the pained frown that took place in his eyebrows. Robin’s eyes softened as she looked at her friend, and then turned back to Eddie. Eddie’s eyes were different now, almost begging her for something, and Robin slowly let go of his arm.

“She won’t answer you.” Eddie licked his lips as he looked at the door, thinking of a way to talk to you, to get you to open the door for him. His eyes lit up, looking back at Robin.

“But she will answer you.”

You finally decided to take a shower, after these past few days you did not want to leave your bed at all. You were rubbing the towel on your wet hair as you walked to your drawers to throw on your grey leggings, a plain white shirt and a long oversized white hoodie over you. You looked at yourself in the mirror as you started combing your hair with your fingers and god… Your eyes.

They were puffy, too puffy, and the bags under them were not helping the situation. You just looked like a monster, a very tired monster. You dragged your feet towards your dirty laundry basket, throwing the towel in there. Your eyes then scanned over the sheets on your bed, making you wince almost in pain. You have to. You have to do it. 

So first, you took the covers off your pillows, then your sheets, then the fitted ones, throwing them into the basket as well. Okay, that’s done. You walked over to your closet and tiptoed to reach up into the tallest shelf to retrieve new sheets. Your heart was tugging at you as you dressed your bed in its new soft fabric, the smell of softener just filling the air and the sweet cologne was already gone. You wanted to have just one more smell as you put the comforter over your bed, looking at the laundry basket. You shook your head at how creepy that was.

You gulped loudly as you walked out of your room, seeing all the trash bags still resting against the wall, waiting for you to take them out. You took a deep breath in as you pressed a hand against your forehead, your belly turning at every moment it could, the memories just coming back, your brain reminding you of how naive you were, the nagging feeling of what could have been, and the grief of losing a dear friend. 

How were you going to move on from this? Is there a possible way to mend your heart back? To return to your old self? Because even that person is broken. Even the person that you were before all of this is completely shattered, and it’s like you don’t know yourself any longer. Who are you? What do you like? What do you look for? What are you yearning for? What is going to happen to you?

You felt lost. Completely, and utterly lost.

The ringing of your phone brought you back to reality, The Shire filled the room with its calming tone, not at all matching with the storm that you had inside yourself. You walked towards the coffee table to grab onto it, seeing Robin calling. Should you answer? Should you talk to her? You don’t even know what you could possibly talk to her about, knowing she was just going to keep pestering you about everything.

It stops ringing and you sigh, almost in relief, only for it to start ringing again. Now worry was filling your chest because maybe something happened. She was probably hurt or something, so now you didn’t doubt when you pressed the button to answer her call, a heavy breathing Robin already on the other side.

“Robs–”

“I can’t believe I already got into my first fight with her!” You hear your friend on the other side, her breathing invading your ears, and you straighten up at the sound of her distress. 

“What? Are you okay Robs?” You asked her, and you knew that she wasn’t okay at all, not by the sound of her breathing against the phone.

“No, no, I’m not… Please tell me you’re home…” Her voice softened and you blinked and looked at the door, rushing towards it to unlock it.

“Yeah, I unlocked the door, just come on up!” You tell her and you can hear a soft thank you from her before she hangs up. You started at your phone as you processed the events in your head. Robin got together with Vickie and something already happened between the two? You shook your head and you walked towards your room to look for your scented candles.

Everytime something happened to one of your friends, you always prepared the place with scented candles, incense, anything that might calm them. You didn’t have ice cream this time though. Shit. Maybe you can go later on with her to get some. It could also be that Robin was exaggerating because she has liked Vickie for a long time, so maybe the most minuscule of things might have happened with them two, and she was just elevating it all to a hundred.

You walked out of your room, your back towards the door as you placed the candles on the coffee table. You chose rosemary and lavender, to have some fresh and cleansing energy in the room. The door opened and closed, and you sighed, straightening up and turning around to greet your friend. Only for your air to be knocked out of your lungs, as if a punch was thrown right into your chest.

Why is he here?

Your heart was beating into your ears as your whole body froze as you stared at him. He was breathing heavily, as if he ran the flight of stairs all the way to your floor. His hair was completely messy even if it were in a bun, his jacket was on his hand, his arms on his sides, the shadow of his beard all over his jaw, over the top of his lip as well. He was just staring back at you with a frown in his face, but his eyes caught the bags on his peripheral vision, and that’s when you snapped out of the trance, giving your back to him.

You clenched your chest tightly as you felt nausea in your stomach, your body slightly trembling at how close he was, and the room was shrinking on you. What is going on? Robin was the one coming up, so why is Eddie here? Why? Did Robin lie to you? Why would she do this to you? Why would she deceive you like this? After what you told her just a few hours ago, how could she do this to you?

This is not right. This is not okay. Your breathing was heavy as dizziness filled your head. So many emotions were running through your body, sadness, nervousness, anger, happiness, excitement, and you don’t know which one to focus on. Your guts were turning at each second, each breath you heard from him as the world stood still for the both of you. 

You asked for time, you asked him to leave you alone, and here he is in the flesh, barging into your home. Barging into the home of a friend he lied to. Barging into the home of someone he deceived and shaped to his own liking. Barging into the home of someone he said he cared about and slept with, only to cleanse his body afterwards. You didn’t want the reminder of it, you didn’t want him to make excuses, you didn’t want any of that. 

You just wanted him out of your house.

“What the fuck?” He called out your name, and you didn’t turn around, not when you heard his voice since Friday happened. Was it possible to miss someone’s voice? How could it happen? Why is it happening? Why does it give you a warm feeling despite the pain he made you go through? Why does he have this much effect on you? You know what he did, you know what his plan was, so why does his mere voice make you happy?

You heard his footsteps going closer to the bags, and your panic settled in. He is going to touch that stuff, the stuff he said looked good on you. The stuff you bought that might catch his attention. The stuff that he recommended to you, and you went and bought it for yourself. Stuff that he didn’t even know you bought. Stuff that you decided that looked good on you at that time and simply got it, but you know that those tastes were settled in your brain by him. 

“G-Get out.” You muster to actually get your voice out of your lips, and you heard Eddie’s steps stopping. He was looking at the back of your head, a storm settling inside of him on hearing those words from you, how shaky you sound, how your body slightly trembles. But he wasn’t going to follow your orders.

“I am not leaving until you listen to me.” He states and your ears were ringing. He never went against your wishes, and that was making the anger elevate a little bit more. He was always patient with you, following your rhythm and now he is denying your request.

“I-I don’t want to talk to you!” You clenched your eyes as your shoulders raised up a bit to brace yourself for anything that he might say. His eyes hardened on your form, and his right eye twitched as he looked at the bags again.

“What are these bags?” He asks you, but he knows the answer. He just wants to know how much damage was caused, and from what he could see, quite a lot. Everything was in the bags, from your makeup to your jackets. He clenched his own eyes as a sting of pain shot through his heart, the purple dress peeking out from one of the bags.

“I said get out!” You screech again and Eddie’s patience finally breaks. He was always careful with you, always listened to you, and now you don’t want to listen to him. He understands your pain, he understands what your mind went through this past weekend, but he will not take it today. He will not let you run away, drive him out of your house, even if you call the police on him. 

“I told you I am not leaving until you fucking listen to me!” Your eyes widened as your body froze up. This was the first time Eddie had cussed at you. This was the first time that Eddie raised his voice towards you. You didn’t like it, you really didn’t like it. Why is he mad? Why is he the one that’s angry? After what he did? 

“I don’t want to listen to you!” You yell back, annoyance now mixing with your anger, and your nerves were slipping out of your fingertips as the walls just closed more on you. Eddie slammed his jacket onto the counter, patience gone by now, and it made you flinch, jump on your spot.

“You will listen to me, because I am not leaving at all until you do.” Eddie’s feelings were everywhere. He was scared and saddened by your reaction, from what Steve said to you, for how you acted towards it, and he was sad your mind was your worst enemy. But he was also angry by the fact that you wouldn’t even listen to him. That you don’t even give him a chance, letting your mind cloud every single patch of sun there might be, that there once was. 

It was not of Eddie to be this persistent. You wanted to turn around and look at him, but you knew that it was a bad idea. A very bad idea to look into the eyes of a man that looked at every part of your body, the eyes of a man that looked into yours, telling you that he had wanted you for a long time. The eyes of a man that you thought shared the same feelings as you did, only for everything to be an act, to be a lie, to be a complete trick that you stupidly fell for.

“I said I don’t want–”

“Did everything that happened between us mean nothing to you?” You straightened up, wondering if you heard him right. What? “Seriously, I thought you trusted me enough to come talk to me about this, not let your mind race like it did!” What the hell… What the actual–

“I said get out!” You yelled again, and your heart was a turmoil of emotions right now, feeling the nausea just building and building, your head now lightweight with dizziness as it spiraled.

“Jesus fuck.” Eddie took a deep breath in. He needed to calm himself down because even if he was hurt too, your pain was greater than his and he has to understand that. He understands that it must have not been easy for you, hearing that right after you two slept together, and Eddie honestly can’t blame anyone but himself for it. “That night–”

“NO!” Your hands immediately shot to your ears, covering them, your eyes clenching tightly in an attempt to block him out, not wanting to hear it from his mouth. Hearing it from Steve was more than enough and you do not want to relive that experience. Eddie knew you weren’t going to listen to him willingly, but there’s no chance that he is walking out of your apartment without talking. He took more steps towards you, standing behind you for you to listen to him despite your ears being covered.

“I know what Steve said to you.” He begins as his heart wants to come out of his throat, looking up at the ceiling. “I was at my second job.”

Your ears buzzed at the confession, your eyes now burning with incoming tears as your heart broke even more if it were possible. Why is he doing this to you? Why is he clarifying what you already knew? Is he just rubbing the salt on the wound for pleasure? Does he think that everything is going to be better just because he explains it all himself when he should have done it when he met you?

“I don’t want to hear–”

“I did hide it from you… As I hid it from everyone else, even Steve.” Your eyebrows frowned at that, his words not making any sense at all. Steve was the one that told you about his second job, Steve was the one that told you he was with a client. What does he mean? Why is he confusing you this way? You shook your head in between your hands, not wanting to hear him any longer.

“Please, stop–”

“Before I met you, I did, in fact, sleep with clients for the money… It was a good income, an extra one…” He took a deep breath in as he looked at the back of your head again, seeing your shoulders shake slightly, and all he wanted was to hold you close to him, caress you, soothe you and calm you down. “But after meeting you… I started declining calls, offers…”

A tear rolled down your cheek as you heard him talk. Is he telling you the truth? Does this mean that he wasn’t with a client on Friday night? Does this mean that he never got together with a client right after meeting with you? Your heart was painfully beating inside your chest now, as confusion was making your body heat start to increase, blood just pumping all the way to your fingertips and your head.

“I don’t get it…” You softly say to him. He gulped heavily as he licked his lips, looking down at the floor to try to make his nerves calm down, even if a little bit.

“I was at work on Friday.” What? That wasn’t right, Eddie’s friday nights were his day off. Was he lying to you again? Was this another trick? 

“You don’t work on Fridays.” You reply to him, almost bitterly and you hear him sigh behind you.

“I do now, because I am not on stage any longer.” That made your hands drop from your ears, shock just making you freeze in your place as you took in his words, trying to make them make sense in your brain. On stage? He works Fridays now?

“Wh-What do you mean?” Eddie’s breathing grew heavy as he pushed the gulp of nerves that was trapped in his throat. He was hoping that his words were getting through you because this is the scariest thing he has ever done. The feelings that are deep inside of him frightened him everyday.

“For the past month, I’ve been training for another job at the club. Bartending.” 

Your eyes were fixed forward, looking at the window, feeling his presence right behind you. Nothing was making sense. Nothing at all. How could he hide that fact? Why didn’t he talk to Steve or Billy about it? How did they not notice this? How was it all possible? The need to turn around to face him was slowly increasing, wanting to see his features, read him, know if he was being honest.

“How– Why didn’t you tell me?” That was the first question that left your mouth, not caring about the rest. Why didn’t he tell you this? He still hid something from you, even if it isn’t as painful, he still didn’t tell you about it, and there must be a reason for it. A reason that you might not like and that’s why he didn’t say anything.

But you were wrong. You were so wrong. Eddie’s hands trembled as he took the ponytail off his hair, letting it down so he could run his fingers through it in complete nervousness. His breathing was deep, trying really hard to control it but it was impossible, because here is where he is going to take the leap. 

This is where everything between the two of you actually changes.

“Because… I was waiting for it to be official… for you.”

What?

What did he just say?

Did you hear him right?

You stood still, eyes wide, blood completely gone from your body and you don’t even know how it’s even functioning. You don’t feel your hands, your feet, your heart, nothing. You were frozen, from head to toe. You knew that your brain was yelling something, you knew there was a buzzing in your ears, a very distant one as you slowly started to process his words, and when you did, your body started to turn by its own accord. You weren’t controlling it. It was as if you were magnetized to him.

Your eyes finally met his, and you saw him. His brows were slightly furrowed, nervousness all over his features, his brown eyes searching for yours, desperately. His face was flushed, cheeks in a tint of red that you were sure was spreading to his ears. You felt your heart working again, starting at a slow pace, only to increase in a matter of seconds, and you felt the fingertips of your hands start to tremble once again. 

“W-What?” It’s all you could say. It’s all you could ask. You don’t know what is going on any longer, and Eddie knew that you were confused. Too confused, but his heart now hurts from seeing the red puffy eyes that had bags underneath them, almost mimicking his, and knowing that he was the cause of it, was cutting him like a knife. 

“I really wasn’t planning on doing it like this… The call I received that morning– It was Joyce. I forgot I had the bartending afternoon shift.” The gears in your brain were going and going, processing every word, every eye movement, every breath that was coming out of his mouth, and every piece of information that he was giving you. Joyce… His boss. His boss was the one calling him that morning. It wasn’t a client. It wasn’t someone else.

“I–” You were speechless, you really didn’t know what to say, you have no idea how to even digest this information. Eddie sighed at your lost eyes, but he had to be honest with you, just put his heart on the plate for you, pushing the fear and nervousness away because the only thing that mattered to him right now, was you.

“I didn’t tell Steve, nor Billy. I lied to them saying… I was going to see clients but I was going back to the club to train… Shit.” He looked down from you as he stepped back to start pacing, slowly, because he was feeling as if his heart was just beating all over his body. “That’s why Steve said what he said on Friday.” 

This… is this real? He is actually saying this to you? You are not making it up? How is this happening? You didn’t notice that a tear was rolling down your cheek as your gear suddenly turned, stopping from going backwards, and they started going forward again, almost at a rapid pace, making you slightly dizzy at the amount of information that it was processing in a single moment. 

“I– I don’t understand…” Eddie sighed as he looked at you, his shoulders sagging slightly as his guts turned and turned, knowing he had to explain himself even further, say words that he was afraid of saying for a long time, but it would explain everything he did. Everything he did in order to be suitable.

“Sweetheart, I–... I didn’t do it just because I didn’t have the extra income of…” He shook his head, deciding to not mention that part of him any longer. “I wanted to have a chance, and I knew that I would do anything for it.” 

“A- A chance? For what?” Your heart was almost exploding, not only because of your nerves, but because there was something in his eyes that was making you feel alive again, making you feel like yourself, making you tremble with all of those feelings you have for him, those feelings that have yet to be said, but for some reason… His eyes are something that makes you hopeful, and this is what you were anticipating. 

“Angel, I… I fell for you, in ways you cannot even imagine.”

Time froze. 

The world stopped turning.

The moon stopped gravitating around it as well. 

The entire galaxy, including its stars, including its milky ways, including the expanse of nothingness, everything just simply stopped.

Those words out of his mouth, those simple yet strong words were everything you anticipated. Everything you had been waiting for. That feeling of wanting more, and more, and more, it wasn’t just physical, it was because you wanted him, in every form, in soul, in any way he had to offer. This was the ‘more’ that was chanting in your head everyday and at every minute that you looked at him. 

Your hearts could be heard across the room, beating rapidly at the same time, as the two of you simply stood there, looking at one another, breathing heavily with your chests going up and down. Eddie had a nervous frown on his face, while you were just frozen in place. Patience returned to him, and he waited. He waited for you to answer, for you to say something, anything at all. And even in your own bliss that was beginning to blossom, eyes burning from the incoming tears from the emotions you cannot handle any longer, there was still an insecure side of you. A part that didn’t let go quite yet.

“You– for me? Or–” Your eyes traveled towards the bags, and he followed your gaze, and he now understood. He now got the idea of why you put everything away, another sting of pain shooting into his heart that navigated all the way to his feet. He turned to face you again, his eyes looking into yours and you had to know. You had to know his thoughts.

“I found you beautiful back when you first sat down in front of me at the coffee shop… The day we went to the bar together and you started rambling about Harry Potter just…–” A small laugh left his lips at the realization of how deep his feelings were for you. He knew they were big, but he is realizing it all just now that they’re just huge, not quite love, but still surprising from it happening so fast. “When I saw you in your purple dress, I just, I didn’t think you could get more beautiful but– Fuck, you proved me wrong sweetheart.”

Your eyes were burning from the intensity of his words, and they were simply attaching themselves in every inch of your body, soaking them into your flesh, into your brain. You didn’t think that he found you attractive since before actually becoming friends, since before you started buying other clothes, before you started wearing make-up, heels, making your hair look nicer. 

“R-Really?” You sounded so small, so fragile, but he was going to make sure to get his feelings across with you, he was going to make sure that you knew that you were indeed beautiful, confident, and that you are your own person despite what your head might think.

“Really… Even when I came here to watch movies with you and Robin, and you were with your Pikachu sweatpants and a plain shirt, I thought you looked so cute… In the sense of– I wanted to kiss you so bad that night Angel. So fucking bad.” You blinked at his words, remembering that night. It was still on your early outings, getting to know each other, and Robin was always present at those. You were on your period and all you wanted to do was wear comfortable clothes. 

“B-But that was before we…” And he nodded, knowing what you were meaning, a red tint covering his cheeks as he looked at the floor.

“Before we even kissed. I know… And when we did, you seriously have no idea how much I had to hold myself back with you. I curse the moment that Billy and Steve walked through that door and interrupted us.” He gulped loudly and your fingertips were burning, almost itching with the need to grab onto him, of pulling him into you, your heart just pumping blood loudly into your ears.

“But when… When Steve–” More words were coming out of your mouth now, as the desperation of your excitement was getting the best of you. Your happiness was slowly returning to you, as euphoria burst from your ears, from your pores, from every single cell your body possibly has.

“Don’t get me started on that. I never wanted to rip a friend’s head before, but my fingertips almost went through the cushion I was sitting on from how bad I was clenching my fist… And then the fucking date–” He rapidly says as a hint of annoyance was found in his voice. He was jealous. He was jealous that Steve had kissed you, and you didn’t notice. You didn’t see it. 

“Why– Why didn’t you say anything?” You took a step forward to him, very small, but he noticed, and his heart could not contain its joy as it began jumping inside his chest cavity.

“I didn’t want to scare you off. I wanted to make sure that… You knew what you wanted, that you had a choice that you could make yourself…” His eyes were looking into your once lost ones. They were focusing even more, at each word his mouth let out. Your breathing was almost trembling as you kept looking at him. 

“And when… When did you…” Your face was flushing all over, heat invading every single part of your body as you looked down from his face. A soft smile appeared on his cheeks as he took one small step towards you.

“When you called me beautiful.” Your eyes widened as you locked them with his, surprised by his words. Your stomach turns with the information, trying to process it fully and let it sink that this man, this amazing man, actually feels something for you, and that it’s in the same magnitude as your feelings.

“T-That long?” Eddie’s eyes were intense as he looked at you, another step being taken as your face started to morph into that of a happy surprise, a happy excitement, and you were just glowing and Eddie knew. Eddie knew you felt the same way now, making him think that this must be a dream. This cannot be real. The girl he’s been wanting for the past two months wants him back, in the same way he wants her. 

“Angel, do you have any idea how hard it is to find someone like you?” You were now gazing at him, completely entranced by his face, his voice, his scent, everything simply invading all of your senses, and you were loving it. You were adoring it. You were bathing in it. And Eddie, even if confident because he was looking at your body movement, he had to know. He had to make sure that this was real, that this was happening to him. “What about you?”

And that is the question that made you freeze again. This was another turning point, and the path that was ahead of the both of you now looked foggy, not knowing where it was headed, not knowing if it would be worth the dive or not, not knowing what the two of you might be like later on, what you two will be doing, or what you two will encounter.

But that was the adrenaline of it all, because despite all that fear, all that insecurity, all that uncertainty, you still wanted more. You wanted more, with him. You wanted the normal, you wanted the eccentric, you wanted the happiness, you wanted the sadness, you also wanted the possible little fights you two might have, and you wanted those nights where you would be tangled into one another’s arms. It’s always more, and it will never be enough. Not with him.

“I– I want you.” 

Eddie’s breathing almost stopped at your words. He wanted to sigh out of happiness, out of relief, out of excitement. His ears were not deceiving him as well as your eyes that were looking at him with intensity like never before. This was the most certain you looked. This is something you were confident on, and you were showing it. You were confident that you wanted him.

“Like…?” He asked one more time, and this was the first time that you saw Eddie lose his confidence. This was the first time that the roles were reversed. This is how you looked before meeting him, and you now realize how desperate you are becoming to not let him think that way. You were desperate to show him what your feelings were. You didn’t want him to doubt you or himself. So you took a step forward, and now, you were just inches apart, and you looked up at him, stained cheeks and red eyes, as a soft smile crossed your lips.

“Like I want to make chocolate chip pancakes for you every morning.” 

Eddie’s face immediately lit up at your words, a big dimpled smile spreading on his lips, red cheeks that beamed down at you, as his hair cascaded all around his shoulders, just like that first night you met him. His face mirrored yours, and the only difference was the tears that were rolling down your face, and these tears were different from the ones you wasted these two days. Those were tears of someone that didn’t trust in herself, tears of someone that didn’t have confidence even in her own confidence. 

But now, your tears are those of a woman who knows what she wants. A woman that is confident that the man before him feels the same as she does. A woman that is willing to fight for her desires and her dreams. Tears of pure happiness as this new feeling envelops the two of you and just swallows you in for god knows how much time. Hopefully, a long, long time. 

His hands raised up to hold onto your face, wiping your tears away with his thumbs as they softly caressed your cheeks. Your breathing heavy as his was, your hands traveling to his waist to grip onto his shirt tightly as you inched forward to him and he didn’t even hesitate when he leaned down, not wanting to waste another second apart from you, and he pressed his lips against yours. 

Sparks flew all around you, stars rained down on you as the world started spinning again, slowly, time started ticking, the galaxy was once again moving and the moon was rotating around earth. This time, everything was moving with him, every step the two of you took was going to be a journey, together or by your own.

Your lips moved with his as the kiss grew deep, wanton, but not desperate, not rough, not lustful, at least not yet. You were both tasting each other, tasting one another’s feelings, tasting what you were both missing for the past two days, even for the past month because you didn’t know how to describe your feelings, and he for not talking at all. He pulled away, but didn’t leave the space of your lips as he talked.

“You–” A deep peck. “Have–” Another one and this time it caused you to giggle in your throat. “No idea–” A series of soft pecks, moving his head from one side to the other, making you smile against his lips. “How long I waited for this.” You were both breathing heavy as he stayed hovering over your lips, and you gulped, looking up into his eyes.

“I– I would have never made you… Quit– You didn’t have to do that…” You say to him, and he knew it was the truth. Even with your feelings, all this time, you never questioned him about his job, you never said anything about it, and even if you two got together, you probably would have never told him to quit.

“I know… I know you wouldn’t have… But that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t bother you, and honestly, the last thing I want is to hurt you, in any way, and that includes you feeling insecure.” Your eyes teared up at his words, because he was right. You would have felt that way, you would have felt insecure but not because he would cheat, but because you knew the women there were more voluptuous, more feminine, more pretty, richer… 

“But, won’t Billy and Steve miss you?” Eddie smiles at you as a soft chuckle vibrates in his throat, making you gulp from how beautiful he is sounding right now to you.

“I will be bartending near them… I still have to do some stripping over the bar, but I cannot be touched. All the money goes into the tip jar… And let me tell you, I will make more than when I stripped on stage.” You stare up at him, not believing that this man had changed his job for you, to be suitable for you, to have the chance of giving you a peaceful mindset when being with him.

“So…” Your face flushed as you tried to speak, ask him that important question that, once again, will change it all. He grinned down at you, making your heart skip a beat.

“Hmm… You’re mine and I’m yours… How does that sound?” Your heart almost exploded at those words, a smile spreading on your face as you jumped from your feet, and his eyes widened but a laugh escaped his lips as your legs wrapped around his waist and your arms around his shoulders. His arms wrapped around your frame as he tilted his head back to look at your face.

“It sounds like we can have Mario Kart nights while eating anchovy pizza.” He groaned with delight, rolling his head all around as he heard those words out of your mouth, making you laugh at his antics. 

“Fuck yes… and then we can have desert…” He smirks as he leans his face towards your neck, planting a soft kiss on your skin as you gasp slightly at the touch. You bit your lip as you closed your eyes, diving into the feeling of him being close to you again. His warmth mixing with yours, both of your scents lingering in the air, and this is everything you could have wanted.

And possibly more.

“Robin!” You suddenly screeched, making Eddie’s eyes widen and pull away from you, looking all around for the girl mentioned.

“What’s wrong with Robin?”

“She said she got into a fight with Vickie! I should call her to–” Eddie couldn’t help but laugh, throwing his head back, and you tilted your head completely confused as you looked at him. “What’s so funny?”

“Angel…” He looked at you, trying to hold in his laughter as he raised an eyebrow at you. Your gears worked, and worked, and it clicked. Your eyes widened as your face turned into that of an offended one and you slapped Eddie’s shoulder, making him wince through his laughter.

“You tricked me!” He was about to reply to you, but then you both heard a shuffling at the door, and some mumbling. Suddenly the handle moved down, and the door opened, only for Robin and Steve to tumble down to the floor after Billy had opened the door from the side. Both you and Eddie stared at the situation as Robin rubbed her hip as she stood up and Steve rubbed his chest, getting on his own two feet.

“Jesus fuck, that hurt Hargrove!” Robin shrieks and Billy simply rolled his eyes and nodded towards you and Eddie, where you were still hugging him tightly with your whole body while he held you up. Robin and Steve turn to look at the both of you, and their faces blush a deep red. You immediately jump off Eddie, and he looks at you to see your face, waiting for the embarrassment to appear, but the only thing he sees is an angry frown, making him tilt his head in confusion.

“So, uh, you guys cleared things up?” Steve says with a nervous smile as he gulps while looking at you. 

“Steve!” You took steps forward towards the brown haired guy and he yelled slightly, running towards your kitchen as you tried to grab him. Eddie snorted to then laugh at the scenario of Steve using Billy to shield himself from you, as the blonde man groaned in annoyance.

“First I gotta babysit you two eavesdropping and now I’m a fucking shield!?” You huffed in exasperation as you glared at Steve while he peered at you from over Billy’s shoulder. Your sight moved towards Robin who had a small smile on her face. You immediately rushed towards her, arms wrapping around her as she reciprocated the hug, holding you close. 

“Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Robin softly says into you and you could only nod. You were so blind by your feelings for Eddie that you forgot your own. You forgot who you were, who you’ve become, and how much you loved that person that you turned into. How much you enjoy her, how much excitement she brought to your life. 

“Can everyone leave so I can spend time with my girlfriend?” Eddie says with a groan as he walks over to you and Robin, and the blonde girl rolls her eyes as she lets go of you. Your body heated up at his words. Girlfriend. You were his, and he is yours. Your boyfriend. You have a boyfriend you actually have feelings for. A boyfriend you are attracted to. A boyfriend that no matter how many times you see him in the week, in the day, you wouldn’t get tired of, ever.

“Don’t you hoard her. She was mine first.” Eddie rolls his eyes at Robin, and wraps an arm around your shoulders to pull you back into his embrace, a smile appearing on your lips as your chest hits his. He smiles down at you and Robin couldn’t help her own lips as they turned upwards as she looked at you. “Also, remember that we have to tell the girls now about… this.” She motioned at all the boys and you winced at that.

“Right…” You say to her, knowing that is going to be another big step, and you don’t know how your other friends will react, but hopefully they aren’t too angry with you. You could only hope.

“So, all forgiven?” Eddie and you slowly turned your heads to glare at the brown haired boy and Steve immediately grabbed Billy and Robin’s hands and started dragging them to the door as he gulped in fear. “We’ll leave!” 

“Hey– But I wanted to–” Billy starts and Steve shushes him as he pushes them both out of the door, but before he could close it, Billy yelled. “I knew it, Munson! All along!” And the door closed, leaving you two alone in the apartment once again. You blinked at those words and slowly turned to look at Eddie who was blushing a deep red. He turned to you with a wince on his face.

“Billy is very perceptive.” For the ease of your mind, he didn’t tell you that Billy had actually heard you both that night. You hummed at that, still confused, but you were alone with him again, and his wince turned into a soft smile, leaning down to nuzzle his nose with yours. “You know what I feel like?”

“What?” You ask him with a small smile on your face, he leans to hover his lips against yours.

“Beating you at Mario Kart.” Your eyes open like plates as you pull away from him, and give him a squint. He chuckles at your reaction and you bite the inside of your cheek as a smirk appears on your lips this time.

“If I win again, you will watch the entire saga of Harry Potter with me, chronologically.” He throws his head back in laughter but still nods. He was planning on doing that with you anyway, the one thing you both have right now, is time. A lot of it.

“And if I win?” He asks in a sultry tone and your knees tremble at his voice, your heart in your throat as you tiptoe to plant a small peck on his lips. 

“You won’t.” And your boyfriend’s eyes lit up with a new fire, with something that was burning you inside out.

“It’s on Angel.”

Do I wanna know? If this feeling flows both ways.

The End.

A/N: I am sobbing right now. It's the end of it all, but I won't let go of these two that easily. I thank everyone who interacted with the story, and recommended it, and was simply supportive of it. It was going to be a three part thing, and now we're at 8 and at the end!

I hope to keep giving you guys this same excitement with my other stories!

I repeat, always reblog your artists! That's the only way that engagement works on tumblr!

Taglist: @katethetank @mynameismothra @emxxblog @steph-speaks @fantasticmacaroni @aysheashea @sweet-villain @eddiemunsonthoughts @emilyslutface @bookshelf-dust @justheretostalk @vintagehellfire @trixyvixx @steeldaisies @bitchyseawitch @seventhlevelofhell @leelei1980 @kbakery @corroded-hellfire @poofyloofyy @nightonblogmountain @gothvamp1973 @hideoutside @mrsjellymunson @honey-eyed-munson @sarcastically-defensive17 @narutofan249277 @siriuslysmoking @hereforshmut @venuslayla23-blog @ghost-proofbaby

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fics #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x y/n #fanfiction #eddie munson fandom #eddie munson stranger things #eddie x you #eddiemunson #stranger things eddie #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x fem!reader smut #stripper!eddie munson #stripper!eddie #do i wanna know #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #stripper!au #shy!reader #stripper!billy hargrove #stripper!steve harrington #diwk

[starkwlkr]

my love | cillian murphy

The media and fans went crazy when photos of Cillian and Y/n were posted online. Everyone wanted to know more about them, every single detail. Y/n knew what the next interviews would be like.

“Cillian this, Cillian that. How did you meet? How did he ask you out? Are you getting married soon?”

Thank god she had some time off before she was hit with a bunch of questions regarding her relationship. She decided to spend that time with her family and Cillian. Her family immediately welcomed Cillian, which she was super glad about. Her mother was happy to see her daughter happy with someone.

After spending a week with her family, Cillian took her to Ireland to meet his family. Y/n was nervous, but once she met his mother, her nerves had disappeared. Of course every family visit was filled with embarrassing childhood stories and baby pictures. Cillian’s mom even promised Y/n she would send some to her without Cillian knowing.

When the couple got back to Y/n’s home in New York, the first thing they did was sleep. They loved meeting each other’s families, but the jet lag was starting to get to them. That night, Cillian fell asleep with only one thought on his mind.

He needed to find the perfect ring for her.

“Have I told you how much I love your food?” Cillian pressed a kiss to Y/n’s lips. It was a new day and Cillian knew that when Y/n made breakfast, he would spend the rest of his day happy.

“Only every day, but I love it when you remind me.” Y/n smiled as she placed several plates on the table with different foods then gave Cillian his own plate so he could pick out what he wanted to eat.

“Any plans for today?” He asked, sitting down next to her.

“Well I have an interview with vogue at three and a meeting with Holly. That’s pretty much my day, what about you?” Y/n questioned. She grabbed a piece of toast and started to eat it.

“Nothing too big, just asking the love of my life if she would accompany me to a movie premiere this weekend. I’m hoping she says yes.” He casually said which caused Y/n to choke on her toast.

“This weekend?”

“Unless you’re too busy. . ”

Y/n playfully rolled her eyes. “I’m never busy for you. Oh god. . I have to get a dress and do my hair and makeup! What am I going to wear? Shit, I have nothing.”

“Relax, darling. I have it covered. I asked Holly to get you a dress and take care of everything you need while we were in Ireland. I don’t want you to stress about anything.” Cillian told her.

Y/n didn’t know it was possible, but she fell more in love with Cillian. How could a person be so perfect? She was definitely the luckiest woman in the world.

“I really love you so much.” Y/n spoke.

“And I really love you too,” Cillian replied. “I’m going to tell you something crazy. I really want to marry you.”

Y/n scooted her chair closer to his. She smiled brightly and leaned in as if she was going to tell him a secret. “It doesn’t sound crazy because I want to marry you too.”

Then Cillian kissed her lightly. “You know what’s an even crazier idea?”

“I’m listening.” She cupped his cheek with her hand.

“How mad our families and friends, especially managers, would be if we went to Vegas and got married by some guy dressed as Elvis. Crazy, right?”

“So crazy…”

TAGLIST

@leclercloml @butterfly-skinnylegend @rockerchick05 @agustdpeach @celesteblack08 @probablypossesedbysatan @kittyrumbl3r @electrobutterfly @knpgituloh @butlersluvbot @captainwans @bellstwd @theekyliepage @marti-su @multifans-things @ceruleanrainblues @litterallnobody @barnes70stark @astheni-a @jackierose902109 @sinarainbows @cosniffee @thatgirlthatreadswattpad

#cillian murphy series #cillian murphy #cillian murphy one shot #cillian murphy imagine #cillian murphy fanfic #cillian murphy x reader #barbenheimer series

[cuubism]

physical therapy, part 6.

--

Hob's been wavering on things like timeline with Dream because, well, he doesn't want to push, but he does obviously want more. There's a lot that he wants, and he thinks Dream wants it too. But Hob can be patient. Definitely. For sure. He's the epitome of patience.

In any case, after a few more dates which are oh so very patient, and in which Dream seems to be gradually coming more and more out of his shell, Hob finally takes the plunge and texts him:

If you want, come over to my place this weekend and I'll cook for you, and adds his address.

He paces nervously while waiting for a response. Dream coming over... he doesn't know how that would end. Well, it would hopefully at least end in Dream eating a proper meal, but other than that...

It's really not so long before he gets a response, though it feels like an eternity.

Okay, writes Dream, with a smile. 🙂 Should I bring anything?

Just yourself, writes Hob.

A shame, for I was planning to arrive incorporeally.

Hob smiles to himself at the comment. Dream is so much brighter once he decides he’s allowed to be.

On the agreed-upon date, Hob spends a truly excessive amount of time getting ready. He’s not even cooking anything elaborate, as he felt convinced he’d wind up fucking it up out of nerves if he did. But really, the quality of his food isn’t the wild card. What he’s nervous about is Dream’s response to being in his home. To being alone. Whether he’ll be okay with it. He doesn’t want to make Dream nervous.

But Dream arrives on time, and he’s smiling when Hob opens the door. He’s also carrying a huge canvas.

Oh!” Hob says, distracted from even kissing him hello. “What have you got there?”

“It is for you,” Dream says, and turns the canvas around so Hob can see it.

It’s a large painting of a rather clever-looking cat, bright colors and bold swathes of paint. It reminds Hob of Dream’s finger paintings, actually, but far more precise in technique. It’s lovely. It’s so cute. And much more playful than Dream’s older art, the pieces he had shown Hob from before his injury.

“Oh, it’s gorgeous,”  he says, and Dream smiles shyly. “I take it your grip’s been feeling steadier, then?”

“Somewhat,” Dream says, following Hob deeper into the flat, as Hob takes the painting and sets it on top of a low bookshelf, propped against the wall. Later he’ll have to hang it up properly. “I am. Enjoying painting again. I think.”

It’s so good to hear. Each time Hob sees Dream he seems incrementally better. Less frozen. More outgoing. And it always makes Hob realize that he’s only gotten to see a fraction of the life that truly exists inside of him.

“I’m so glad to hear that, darling,” he says.

It hurts to think of the version of Dream that might have been there before being hurt. But Hob likes the Dream that he gets to know now.

He leads Dream into the kitchen and bids him to sit down at the table while Hob serves their food, which is staying warm on the stove. Normally, when he invites someone over, he’d offer them wine, but he doesn’t want Dream to get the wrong idea. God, he’s probably massively overthinking things. He’s being totally paranoid, he knows it. But it feels so important that it be right. He’d never forgive himself if he made Dream feel unsafe around him, even if it was by accident.

“I am curious what you’ve prepared to attempt to persuade me to change my habits,” Dream says, after taking a sip of the water Hob’s handed him.

“Something with a lot of butter,” Hob says, and Dream laughs softly. Dream needs it, though. He needs something that’ll stick to his bones.

What he has is tarragon chicken—fried in, truly, an excessive amount of butter—served over rice with string beans. If this can’t encourage Dream to eat real meals, nothing can.

And, gratifyingly, he’s right. Dream devours it, and has seconds. As he eats his own serving more sedately Hob wonders when the last time was that somebody actually cooked for him.

They barely even talk, but Hob doesn’t mind. He just wants Dream to eat.

“You can cook,” Dream says, and Hob laughs.

“Was that in question?”

A light blush graces Dream’s cheeks. “When you first mentioned cooking for me, I had the thought that you were a catch. For that reason among others.”

Hob can’t help himself from smiling—and perhaps blushing a bit, too. “I’ll have to keep it up, and maybe you’ll keep me.”

Dream looks down at his food, but murmurs, “I would like to.”

So Hob takes his hand on the table and squeezes it.

Later in the evening, when they’ve been ensconced on the couch for a while watching mindless telly, Dream’s head on his shoulder, Hob says, “You can stay over if you want. No expectations. Just don’t want you walking home in the dark.”

He’ll walk Dream home if that’s what he really wants, but it’s already midnight and it really might be easier to just stay put.

“Am I allowed to stay over in your bed?” Dream asks, and Hob’s pulse jumps.

“That’s what you want?”

Dream nods.

So, heart still beating hard, Hob says, “Alright. Come on, then.”

And Dream takes his hand as Hob draws him up.

He gets Dream situated with some of his pajamas, which are far too large on him, and with a spare toothbrush and so on, and when they’re finally ready he tries not to be too awkward or nervous as he climbs into bed and gestures Dream to follow, saying, “Come on, love.”

He expects Dream might hesitate, but he doesn’t, just crawls into bed after him and presses himself all up against Hob’s body, laying his head on Hob’s chest. And— God. He’s really decided that he trusts Hob. It puts a lump in Hob’s throat.

He feels like a fucking teenager again, stomach all fluttery just at the feeling of Dream lying against him. In past relationships, Hob had mostly jumped in sex-first, questions-later. But maybe there are more benefits to taking things slow than he thought. It makes every tiny thing feel monumental.

“Comfortable?” he asks, and Dream nods, hair brushing Hob’s chin.

“Yes, thank you.”

Hob pulls the blankets up over them, pets his hair. Dream lets out a long, happy sigh, and snuggles closer.

I’m going to keep you, Hob thinks. “Goodnight, Dream,” he says.

#a nice moment before ANGST #you didn't think we were done with angst did you XD #physical therapy fic #dreamling #my writing #tarragon chicken is a family recipe--thin chicken cutlets breaded and fried in butter with white wine wash and tons of chopped tarragon #i recommend

[lvis44]

Sweet Escape - Epilogue // LH44

Lewis Hamilton x Y/N

Warnings: Smut 18+ MINORS DNI, Alcohol Consumption, Swearing, Light Angst, Not Edited

Word Count: 9.4k+

Summary: Paradise is supposed to be fun and relaxing... a Sweet Escape, but when unspoken feelings and jealousy rise to the surface, everything can be turned upside down in the blink of an eye.

Notes: Alas, here is the long awaited Epilogue. Thank you everyone for being patient with me, this became a bit of its own story and I had to stop myself from continuing (read my note at the end and let me know your opinions, I won't ask here as to not spoil anything.) I have loved writing this and I can't wait to continue this little journey with all of you wonderful babes. Thank you so much for all the love on this story, I'm glad you all seem to love it as much as I do!

I am not a professional writer and all of this is a work of fiction and is strictly for fun. Enjoy! xxx

Previous Sections: Prologue - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven - Part Eight

Colorado was one of your favorite places to be with Lewis, especially when it was just the two of you. You spent so much of your relationship flying around the world and stealing moments to be alone together. It could be difficult at times, especially race weekends. Lewis had a tendency to become a different version of himself from the first step into the paddock on Thursday to the second he left on Sunday evening, there was a hard shell around him most of the time, determined and focused. It was never a bad thing, simply something to navigate. He always found ways to make sure you knew how grateful for you he was, even in the simplest ways. When you would both arrive in Colorado, tucked away in the mountains, every guard he had built would come down, it’s when you got the utmost access to the love of your life. That's why you were shocked when he had sent you your travel plans for the week. You had talked with him multiple times about meeting him in Colorado for his time off, spending time just the two of you after too long being apart. Without consulting you he had changed your plans, scheduling another family trip, another trip to the Caribbean. You hadn’t been back to the island since the beginning of your relationship, almost exactly a year ago. Your anniversary would be coming up in the next week and you wanted to spend it with him, however life and work got in the way, forcing you to be apart from him for an already two week stretch. That is why Colorado had been the perfect plan, just the two of you only a few days after your anniversary, now you would be with all your friends in a place you had many mixed emotions about. You understood that he didn’t have the same opportunities to see everyone, rarely being in town for parties and dinners, but selfishly you truly didn’t want to share him. 

The second you received the surprise email with your travel itinerary you were on the phone. It only rang once before he picked up.

“Hey baby, I’ve only got a second. What's up?” He sounded out of breath through the line and you wondered if you had interrupted his training, not that you cared at the moment.

“We’re going to the island?” You got straight to the point.

“Yeah, I mean I bought the house, we might as well use it.” He chuckled, ignoring the fact that your plans had been drastically changed. 

“I know that, but I thought we had plans.” Your voice came out whinier than you had meant it to, unable to hide your disappointment.

“Yeah, shit, I’m sorry babe. I meant to talk to you about it but Charlotte and Miles were on my ass about another family trip and I just scheduled everything for the next second I had off.” He tried to reason, not helping your disappointment. It was strange for him to not consult you about plans he was making, more often than not he would check in with you more than necessary. 

“I know you want to see everybody but I wanted to spend time with you, celebrate our anniversary together.” You knew you were fighting a losing battle, everything was set in stone and he wouldn't disappoint your friends.

“We’ll still be together sweetie, we’ll have more than enough time to celebrate our anniversary, I promise.” His words were soft and you could tell he was trying to end the conversation. There was no point in continuing the argument.

“I know, I know, I just miss you.” You conceded.

“I miss you too, more than you know, but in just over a week I’m all yours. Gonna give you the biggest fucking hug.” He sighed, also feeling the effects of not being together.

‘You’re not going to be all mine, that's the problem’ you thought to yourself, deciding not to say anything, it wouldn’t help the situation in any way.

Before you could respond he was already saying his goodbyes, “I gotta go, m’sorry, but I’ll call you later and I’ll see you soon. I love you sweetheart.”

“I love you Lew.” You said solemnly, wishing for just a few more moments with him, even if over the phone.

…

The next week and a half dragged on for what felt like a year, communication from him was slim, even on your anniversary. He had messaged you a picture of the two of you from a few months ago, it was a selfie taken in some random hotel overseas, you were pressed up against him with your face in his neck, a massive smile across both of your faces. His message had been simple and cheeky “Thank you for giving me a chance and putting up with me for a whole ass year, I love you more than I could ever let you know xx.” When you messaged him back it had gone unanswered. You couldn’t understand what was going on with him, his lack of communication was incredibly out of character and it was starting to irritate you.

By the time that you arrived at the large vacation house, your mood was sour. Your flight was long and lonely, your friends flying out at different times and from different places. When you arrived everyone was already there. You were irritated with Lewis and his lack of communication and care for the wrench in your plans. Seeing the house again as you pulled into the driveway brought very mixed emotions, on one hand it was the place you finally found the love of your life, on the other it was the place where you spent a week fighting with your best friend and thinking that you had lost him. When you stepped out of the car, Lewis was already there waiting for you, a big smile on his face and open arms ready for you.

“Well hello there pretty lady.” He said, engulfing you in a hug before you even had the chance to close the car door.

It was hard to stay mad at him as he wrapped himself around you, his embrace feeling like coming home. He buried his face into your neck as he squeezed you so hard you thought you were going to burst.

“Hi.” You answered softly, taking in his familiar scent.

When he finally pulled away he didn’t go far, his large palms coming up to cradle your cheeks. His smile was so big it looked like his face would split in two.

“God I fucking missed you.” He sighed before pulling you in for a heavy kiss. It was like he was trying to pour every kiss you would have received in the last few weeks into one.

You're not sure how long you stood there kissing him, enjoying being with your partner after way too long. It wasn’t until you heard a gagging sound from behind you that you pulled away from him.

“Jesus, I’m all for you two being in love and shit but damn, I don’t need to see all that.” Miles complained from behind you while grabbing your bags.

“Oh fuck off, I haven’t seen my girl in two weeks, I’ve got shit to make up for.” Lewis laughed, his hand coming down to firmly grab your ass.

“Two weeks? I ain’t seen you in two months, where the hell is my kiss?” Miles continued in a jokingly distraught voice.

“Come and get it.” Lewis teased him, puckering his lips like a child, still not letting go of you.

“I’d rather kiss a frog,” Miles deadpanned, “now let go of Y/N so I can give her a hug.”

Lewis very reluctantly parted from you, not going far as Miles wrapped his broad frame around you, squeezing you tight with a kiss to your head that made you giggle. The second Miles let you go, Lewis was already grabbing your hand, lacing his fingers with yours and giving it a squeeze. When you turned to look at him he was already staring at you, a soft smile on his face and a look in his eyes you couldn’t quite place. You gave him a questioning look but all he did was shake his head and lean down to peck your lips quickly before ushering you into the house after Miles.

‘Well look who’s finally here!” Charlotte's voice came through the kitchen loudly the moment she saw you.

It only took a few seconds before you were wrapped in yet another tight hug, as if you hadn’t seen her only a week ago. You two had gotten lunch shortly after Lewis had changed your plans, and while you didn’t want to complain to her, you did try to get any information possible as to why Lewis had been acting so strange. She hadn’t said much, simply brushing it off by saying he must be busier than usual, but you could tell she knew something else and it had been eating away at you.

After saying your hellos to everyone you found a moment to quietly excuse yourself from the kitchen, heading down the hall to the room Lewis had stayed in last time, the room you had ended up moving into the night you finally got together. When you got to the doorway you paused, seeing unfamiliar luggage in the room. You had traveled with Lewis enough at this point to pick his luggage out from the most packed carousel in the world, and his was nowhere to be seen, neither was yours. As you stood there confused, a pair of strong arms came around your waist, pulling you back against a firm, warm body. You turned in his arms, his chocolate brown eyes coming into view.

“Sorry, I forgot to mention we’re not staying in here, Miles and his girlfriend are.” Lewis said softly.

You had met Miles’ girlfriend a few times now and you had to say she was one of the sweetest people he could have ever found. You were very happy for him but at this moment you were slightly irked at that concept.

“Not to sound like a bitch, but really?” You said with a huff, making Lewis chuckle.

“Babe, it’ll-” He started but you cut him off.

“No, Lew, I mean, it’s your house and we’re supposed to be celebrating our anniversary. I don’t even want to be here, I wanted to be in Colorado with you and just you but I didn’t want to sound ungrateful or anything. I know you don’t get to see everybody all that often but I feel like you don’t even care that it’s our first anniversary together, it seems like it’s an after thought for you, if it’s even a thought at all.” You rambled your emotions to him quietly, not wanting to offend anyone.

Lewis frowned, his brows furrowed in concern, “Hun, I absolutely care, and I’m sorry for changing our plans like that,” He paused, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, “but if you’d let me show you something I think you might change your mind about being here, just a little bit.”

You let out a sigh, shrugging, still not fully feeling like your anniversary was a priority to him.

“Hey, look at me, we’re going to have an incredible anniversary week together, in the place we first admitted we were in love with each other. There’s a part of the property I didn’t get to show you last time we were here, come with me and then you can decide if you still hate the idea of celebrating here.” He didn’t wait for an answer, grabbing your hands and urging you to follow him.

“Are we gonna see you two again tonight?” Charlotte called out teasingly as Lewis pulled you through the back doors.

“Maybe, maybe not, don’t count on it.” Lewis yelled back over his shoulder with a laugh.

You gave him another questioning look but he just told you to hurry up and pulled you quicker behind him. He took you to the forest, near the path you’d always taken down to the beach but this time veered off on a different small path that you had never really noticed the last time you were here. You were now walking next to him, his hand firmly grasping yours as you started to see a trail of sparkling lights illuminating the small path as the sun was going down.

“Watch your step love, there’s a few steps down right here.” Lewis’ voice pulled you out of the trance you had fallen into while admiring the pretty lights.

He held your hand while you took the few steps down before he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, pulling you under his arm, making your walk slightly clumsy.

“I know you would rather we were in Colorado, just the two of us, and I’m sorry, I really am. I wasn’t thinking when I booked this trip in all honesty, and I know that sounds bad, Charlotte yelled at me as soon as she saw the dates. Just, I wasn’t really thinking about the fact that it was our anniversary, it doesn’t feel like it could possibly be our one year because I feel like we’ve been together forever. So I know I fucked up, but I’ve also had this plan for bringing you back here for quite a while and I’ll be honest when Miles mentioned coming here for vacation I jumped on the opportunity, I needed to. And I know this isn’t exactly what you envisioned or what I promised and I’m sorry for that but I was hoping that maybe this could be our little sanctuary, make us forget that anyone else even exists.” Lewis’ apology is sweet but leaves you with more questions, wanting to know what his need to be back here so badly was.

You round the corner with him, walking out onto a part of the beach you hadn’t seen before, nestled into an alcove you hadn’t previously explored. That's when you see a small bridge, leading to the most beautiful bungalow sitting atop the water. You gasp, seeing it lit up with beautiful lights, making it sparkle.

“It’s technically supposed to be the guest house,” Lewis begins quietly, “but I figured it could be our little vacation from the group vacation. Somewhere it can be just us.”

You turn toward him, your eyes glassy, “It’s beautiful Lew, thank you.” You lean up to press your lips against his softly.

“Another bonus is you can be as loud as you want down here.” He whispers cheekily against your lips, pecking them once more.

“Lewis!” You laugh, swatting at his chest as you blush.

He catches your wrist with a big smile, pressing a kiss to your pulse point before grabbing your hand and pulling you along down to the bungalow.

“God, do we have to hike it all the way back up there to get our luggage?” You groan, realizing you have nothing with you.

“Nope,” Lewis laughs, “Miles decided to be helpful and already lugged it all down here, I unfortunately owe him.”

When he opened the door, you found yourself speechless. There was a small kitchen directly through the front door, nothing fancy but enough that you would never have to leave if you didn’t want to. As you walked past the kitchen and down the short hallway the room opened up. There was a bathroom with a large shower and a large soaker tub to your right and a lush king size bed to your left. Large windows lined the whole left side of the bungalow, a small seating area just below them. Straight ahead of you were large sliding doors that Lewis was already moving to open, once he did, the whole front wall was open.

“There’s a screen we can shut if it gets too buggy but I want you to see it like this first.” Lewis explained, already knowing you would be worried about strange bugs in your bed.

He outstretched his hand to you once again, pulling you out onto the patio. What you were met with amazed you even more than the inside. There was a hot tub off to the side, already bubbling away, more sparkling fairy lights lining the pergola that covered part of the patio. There were two large chaise lounges overlooking the endless view of the sea. He was already guiding you down another small set of stairs where you were met with a small infinity pool, just beside the pool was an outdoor shower. You spotted another set of steps that appeared to go off directly into the sea.

“Babe, it’s-” You were at a loss for words as you turned to him, not quite knowing how to sum up how incredible everything was.

He smiled, stepping in front of you and placing his large hands on your waist, “I know it’s not exactly what you envisioned, but I do want this to be special. I’m so sorry I fucked up our first anniversary, I promise I’ll do better with every single one to come.”

“It’s not what I envisioned, and I am still annoyed you forgot our anniversary,” You tease before becoming more serious, “but Lew, this is perfect, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“Hey, I didn’t actually forget, it was a momentary lapse in judgment.” He playfully defends himself, pulling you closer to him.

“Whatever you say mister,” You laugh, “but I love it. I love you.”

He wastes no time in pressing his lips to yours, mumbling “I love you too, so much more than words could ever explain.”

“As much as I want to stay right here and kiss you forever, I really want to take a shower, I feel disgusting from all the flying.” You say when you finally separate from him.

“How about I run us a bath and we cuddle up and start to enjoy our belated anniversary celebrations.” He suggests, having you immediately nodding.

“Okay, you stay here and enjoy the view, I’ll come get you in a minute.” He says, squeezing your hip as he presses a kiss to your temple.

As he makes his way back up to the bungalow you settle into one of the comfy chairs overlooking the beautiful view. There’s still a slight annoyance in the back of your head at his admission of not even thinking of your anniversary when he planned this trip but you can’t help but be grateful that you will at least have him to yourself in some way this week. It may not be exactly what you had envisioned but you’re just happy that you will get to spend time with him. You understand what he was saying earlier, it doesn’t seem like it should be your one year anniversary, you truly feel like you’ve been with him forever. You practically live together, the most you possibly can with his ridiculous schedule. You’ve loved him far longer than you’ve been with him, and you’ve had the support and care of a partner from him since the day you met him. You know you’re going to be with him forever, nothing else would make sense, you could never fathom the idea of not being his now that you have him. You get lost in your thoughts as you wait for him, staring out over the beautiful ocean as you play through memories of your relationship like a highlight reel in your head. The first time he took you on a romantic getaway, the first time he introduced you as his girlfriend to his family, your first christmas together, your birthdays. Everything about him has felt like a fairytale.

“Hey baby, the bath is ready.” His soft voice startles you with its close proximity, you hadn’t even noticed him sit down on the arm of the chair next to you.

He chuckles when you jump, soothing his palm over your back, “Off in your own little world, were ya?”

“Oh shush, I was just enjoying the view.” You laugh along with him, moving to get up and follow him to the bathroom.

When you step into the bathroom you find yourself speechless yet again. The tub is up against a large window you hadn’t noticed earlier, giving you a spectacular view. He’s opened the window to let the warm breeze in, making the flames of the candles he’s placed around the room flicker in the wind. He has soft music playing and the tub is full to the brim with bubbles that smell like heaven. The lights are off except for a small light giving off hues of sunset, dimly illuminating the room. His hands are on your hips from behind, hiking up your shirt as he places soft kisses along your shoulder. He crouches down ever so slightly, kissing your spine as he pulls down your shorts and panties all at once. He places the softest of kisses to the back of your thighs before standing once more. When you turn to undress him, he’s already taken his shirt off, leaving you to push his shorts down his toned thighs, chuckling when you see he’s gone commando. He just shrugs, giving you a cheeky smirk before pulling you in to kiss him tenderly. For a moment you wonder if you will even make it to the bath as his hands roam your body, taking handfuls of the flesh that he loves to knead in his large palms. He eventually parts from you, leaving soft pecks all over your face before stepping around you and sinking down into the tub with a soft sigh. He simply stares at you for a moment, his face showing nothing but love and adoration, finally he outstretches his hand to help you in.

You lean back against his chest, reveling in the feeling of the firm muscles under his soft skin. His chin hooks over your shoulder, placing a kiss to your cheek as his arms snake around your waist to pull you in closer to him.

“Happy anniversary my love.” He whispers against your skin before he’s reaching over the edge of the tub to grab two glasses of champagne you hadn’t noticed before. He hands you one, clinking his glass against yours before rubbing his nose along your jaw up to your ear, “This has been one of the worst seasons of my career, yet one of the best years of my life, only thanks to you. You have made me happier than I ever knew possible and I hope that I have been able to reciprocate that for you. I plan on spending every day trying to make you the happiest, most loved woman on the face of this earth, because that is all that you deserve in life. You are the most remarkable human I have ever had the honor of meeting, Y/N. Thank you for letting me love you, and thank you for loving me the way that you do.”

By the end of his speech there are tears in your eyes. Looking at him you see the same glassiness mirrored in his own, knowing just how much he meant each and every word he whispered into your ear.

“I love you more than life itself Lewis, and I will never stop loving you. I’m sorry I was moody earlier, I was being petty. All I need to be happy is you, as long as you’re around, I am the happiest I can ever be. I’m already the happiest woman on earth simply because I get to say that I am loved by you, it’s truly something I don’t think I could ever explain to anyone. Thank you for all of this, it’s perfect, truly.” You tell him sincerely, your voice thick with emotion.

“Don’t apologize sweetheart, you had every reason to be annoyed with me. I hope you know it wasn’t remotely intentional, and I should have talked to you about it, even if it was after I’d made the plans. I’m sorry I’ve been a bit MIA this past week.” He further apologizes, holding your eyes with his to show just how serious he is.

You can see the remorse written across his face, never one that was good at hiding his emotions once he’s let them be seen for the first time. It’s as if once the floodgates that are Lewis’ emotions are opened to you, there is no closing it, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. He wears his heart on his sleeve.

“Have you been okay?” You ask him, adjusting in his lap so you can look at him better, bringing your hand up to stroke the short stubble at the side of his jaw.

He furrows his brows in question, “Yeah, I’ve been fine. I’ve just been really busy these last few weeks, been planning something that I need to get perfect.”

“Oh? And what exactly have you been planning Sir Hamilton?” You ask him jokingly, yet always wanting to know what he’s working on, always interested in the amazing things he does.

He looks down, averting his eyes from you, looking suddenly shy, “You’ll see when the time’s right, soon, I promise.”

“Mm’kay.” You hum out, taking a sip of your champagne before nuzzling into his chest, resting your head on his shoulder.

He just chuckles, the sound vibrating through your body, tightens his arm around you to rest his cheek on the top of your head.

“I love you, happy one year.” He whispers to you.

“I love you, happy one year.” You repeat as you grin into the skin on his neck, placing a chaste kiss there.

If anyone had asked you how you thought you would be spending your one year anniversary with the love of your life, this would have never been your answer. The two of you cuddled in the warm bath, listening to the sound of the waves crashing, hidden away from your friends in your own private Caribbean bungalow. You had expected him to make a move while you were in the tub, but he didn’t, leaving you slightly shocked but not entirely disappointed. You hadn’t seen him in nearly three weeks and you could feel him pressed against your leg, hard and begging to be touched, it was unlike the two of you to not immediately pounce on one and other the second you were alone. Yet something about the moment with him in the tub felt more intimate than sex ever could, the two of you just enjoying being in each other's arms, each other’s presence, knowing you had more than enough time to reunite later on.

“Where do you want to be in five years?” Lewis asked quietly, breaking the comfortable silence as his hand traced slow circles on your hip.

“Five years?” You asked, lifting your head to look at him.

“Yeah.” He shrugged like he was trying to play it off as a casual question, his face giving him away.

“Well,” You start, pausing to think a bit, “I want to be with you-”

“Well obviously.” He cut you off with a playful smirk.

“Hey, you didn’t let me finish.” You laugh.

“Sorry, I’m usually good about that,” He winks, “continue.”

“Idiot,” You mumble through a laugh before continuing, “I want to be happy, surrounded by people I love. I’d like to be in a different job, I think, something where I have more flexibility. I just want to be someone that me now would be proud of.”

He smiles fondly at you, evidently content with your answer.

“What about you?” You prompt him, genuinely curious.

“I think I want to be done with racing, moving on to a new chapter of my life, with you by my side obviously.” He says quietly.

“You really think you’ll be done in five years? I know you’ve mentioned it before but, do you really think so?” You ask.

“Yeah, we’ve been going over my contract a lot these last few weeks and I think my mind is finally set. I obviously want to get the eighth title, but if that doesn’t happen in the next five years, maybe it was never meant to.” He explains.

“It’s always been meant to, if anyone can it’s you Lew.” You argue.

“I don’t mean that in a way of me giving up, I’m gonna fight like hell until the last possible second. I just mean that maybe now there are more important things for me to start focusing on, other purposes out there for me where my attention and time will be more valuable.” The way he says his words sounds like he’s talking about much more than a career change and it makes your stomach flip in anticipation, imagining your future with him.

“Whatever you end up doing, I’m positive it will be incredible, everything you do is tremendous. And I will be right there supporting you the entire way.” You tell him sincerely, leaning in to press your lips to his.

The kiss is slow and savoring, it mutes everything in your head, making the world revolve around him and only him.

“The water’s starting to get a bit cold, why don’t we get out. I’ve got some ways I can warm you up.” He murmurs against your lips.

“There he is.” You laugh, pulling away.

“What do you mean?” He giggles.

“You’ve been rock hard against my leg for the last thirty minutes and haven’t made a single move on me, I was starting to get worried about you.” You tease him.

“Oh, believe me, I’m well aware of how hard I’ve been.” He playfully rolls his eyes, “I was trying to be romantic.”

“Mmmm, I see.” You hum.

“Genuinely though, I was just enjoying cuddling with you, didn’t want to ruin the moment. But I need you. Now.” His voice gets lower as he finishes his statement, picking you up and standing abruptly.

His quick movement makes water slosh over the edge of the tub, causing you to squeal. He grabs a towel, not using it to dry either of you off but throws it down on the bed before dropping you on top of it.

“You know we could have done this exactly where we were?” You laugh at him as he crowds up against you, already placing hungry kisses down your jaw.

“Maybe, yeah, but it would be a bit hard to pin you down in the tub, I don't really want to drown the woman that I love.” He chuckles against you, grabbing your wrists to bring them above your head.

This is one of the things you’ve always loved with Lewis. You can be in the middle of something so erotic and intimate, yet still be laughing and making jokes with him. He truly is your best friend in the form of a lover.

His lips are trailing down your bare skin, causing your laughter to halt and goosebumps to erupt over your whole body. He doesn’t take even a moment to tease you, immediately diving into your core, licking a hot stripe from your opening all the way to your nerves. You gasp as you arch into him, a throaty groan coming from deep inside him. He always wears you out when you’ve been apart for some time, as if he’s making up for lost time.

“Always taste so fucking good. God I missed you.” He mumbles against your heat, the sound vibrating through your body.

He works his tongue in the way only he knows how, circling your clit perfectly before sucking it into his mouth, nibbling just enough to have your toes curling. You feel one of his fingers slip into you, already soaking wet from just being so close to him. His finger curls, expertly finding the spongy spot inside of you that he knows so well.

“Fuck, Lewis, yes, right there.” You breathe out, your head tilting back into the towel underneath you.

He slips a second finger in, scissoring them to get you ready for him, before returning to a steady ‘come hither’ motion inside of you. He knows he needs you to come at least once before he finally takes you, it’s been too long and he never wants you to be uncomfortable, and he’s doing everything in his power to get you there. Fast.

“That feel good babygirl? You missed me making you feel good?” He asks, already knowing the answer from your flushed cheeks and mouth hung open.

All you can do to respond is moan and buck your hips up toward him, your ability to speak already gone from the moment he put his lips on you.

“Yeah pretty girl? You been trying to make yourself feel good while I’ve been gone?” He continues with his questions, evidently enjoying how difficult it is for you to respond as his thumb finds your clit, flicking quickly.

You nod, turning your head to the side as you let out a loud moan when a third finger slips inside of you.

“Poor baby, it doesn’t feel this good does it? Doesn’t feel as good as me inside of you, can’t make yourself cum the way I can?” He’s moved up so he’s hovering above you, his fingers still working overtime to get you to your peak.

You feel your stomach tighten at his words, knowing he’s right, and then your orgasm rips through your body, soaking his hand. He barely lets up with his movements as he works you through it, kissing your throat, your cheek, your forehead, anywhere his lips can land to work you down from your high.

“You know how I know it’s not the same?” He asks, his voice deep and filled with lust.

You hum, barely able to keep your eyes open.

“Because it’s never the same for me either. No matter how many times I wrap my hand around my cock, it will never come close to the feeling of being inside you. Nothing makes me feel the way you do, nothing will ever come close. I always need you, nothing but you.” His words are mumbled against your skin as he draws his lips up your neck before finally attaching them to your own.

You don’t know where you find the strength but you manage to wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly close as you open your mouth for him. He licks into your mouth, his tongue toying with your own as he rests most of his weight on you, something that you have grown to love. You find yourself bringing one of your hands down in between the two of you, grasping his hard cock. He groans into your mouth at the simple touch, evidently pent up from the time in the tub. You work him in slow strokes, savoring the feeling of his silky, hot skin. Your thumb swiping over his swollen tip to collect the leaking precum. He whimpers at the feeling, his head falling into the crook of your neck before he's grabbing your wrist.

“Y/N, baby, I’m gonna need you to stop or I’m gonna cum before I even get the chance to be inside of you.” His voice sounds pained as he pins your wrist up next to your head.

Within seconds he’s readjusting and you feel the fat head of his cock pressed against your opening. He stares deep into your eyes as he pushes in slowly, both of your mouths falling open in pure ecstasy at the feeling of finally being connected. It’s truly a feeling like no other, it feels like coming home after a long stressful week, it feels like falling into the comfiest bed, like being wrapped in a hug by someone you love. It completes you. His forehead falls to rest against your own as he stills inside of you, finally bottomed out.

“Please.” You whimper, bringing your legs up around his hips.

He lowers himself down onto you, bracing himself on his forearms on either side of your head, “I’ve got you baby, I know.”

Slowly he starts to pull out before thrusting back in with a certain force that quenches every need in your body. You grasp his bicep next to your head, your hand not able to reach all the way around it. He’s crowded over you, making you feel small and fragile, his strong broad frame engulfing you entirely. With every thrust he has your head spinning more and more. His eyes are trained on your face, always obsessed with seeing how you fall apart underneath him. His calculated, practiced moves make sure you will do just that. You can see the veins starting to pop out in his strong neck, using all his restraint to not cum before you, his whimpers becoming more frequent. You aren’t prepared, unaware you were so close to your orgasm, when it shoots through your body, even more violent than the first.

“Fuck, squeezing me so tight Y/N, I’m gonna-” His words are cut off with a guttural moan, his thrusts becoming sloppy before he’s spilling into you. Hot spurts of cum lacing your walls as you feel him twitch inside of you, a feeling you’ve become obsessed with.

He’s still pulsing inside of you as he relaxes down onto your body, momentarily crushing you but you welcome it, finding some semblance of strength to rub your fingers up and down his back. He peppers kisses along your neck, mumbling sweet nothings that you can’t hear through the ringing in your ears. The first thing you hear as you come back into yourself is a mumbled “I love you”. You lay there together, his weight bearing down on you as he stays deep inside of you, a frequent occurrence after time away, never ready to part from each other. Finally after some time he raises up to slip out of you, making you wince.

“I know baby, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He’s whispering, pressing light kisses to your cheek.

“I’ve really missed you these last few weeks.” You confess to him, your post orgasm brain feeling more open than usual.

“I know sweetie, I’ve missed you like crazy too. I’m sorry it was so long this time.” He says, kneeling in front of you, massaging your thighs.

You take a moment to admire him. A few of his braids have fallen from their usual bun, framing his beautiful face. The moon is shining in through the open window behind him, making him glow as though he truly is an angel placed on earth. His tattoos are dark against his tan skin, swirling black that you’ve spent hours tracing as you fall asleep or wait for him to wake up. He is your person and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Look, I know we just took a bath, but what if we hop in the shower really quick and get properly cleaned up and then I can make us a snack.” He offers, pulling at your ankle.

You just nod, letting him maneuver you up and out of the bed and into the shower. While this may not be the anniversary you had expected with him, you are more than content in this moment, just happy to be with the man that you love, and that loves you so much.

. . .

The moment you arrived back up at the main house you had been teased endlessly for not coming back up the night before. You had blushed like a highschooler but Lewis seemed proud, not having a care in the world that all of your friends were well aware how you two had spent the night.

“Ya know what? It’s our anniversary week, let us fuck in peace.” He had said pointedly at Charlotte when she had finally gotten on his nerves.

You felt bad for Miles' girlfriend, Cleo. She hadn’t spent much time with the group before, much less Lewis, and was evidently unprepared for just how little filter there was with everyone. She sat at the island with wide eyes as Lewis and Charlotte bantered about your sex life. You had shot her an apologetic smile as you tried to redirect your boyfriend onto a new topic. After that the day went smoothly. You ended up laying around the pool, everyone occasionally going for a swim or throwing around a football, just enjoying finally being away from their hectic lives.

You ended up sitting with Cleo for a little while, hoping to get to know her a little bit better. You already quite liked her, finding her to be a great fit for Miles. If she was dating your boyfriend's bestfriend you only found it fitting that you learn a little bit about her. You ended up chatting for quite some time, noticing that both Lewis and Miles would glance at you both from time to time, content smiles on their faces that their girls were getting along so well.

“Miles really likes you, ya know?’ Cleo had said, surprising you.

“I hope so, he’s one of my best friends.” You laughed.

“Well yeah,” She laughed with you, “but I mean for Lewis, if that makes sense.”

You gave her a questioning look, urging her to continue.

“He talks a lot about how glad he is that you two are together, that he’s never seen Lewis this happy.” She continued, “I don’t really know Lewis that well, I’ve only met him like twice, but from what I can see he really loves you. Nobody looks at somebody like that unless they’re head over heels.”

Her words made you blush, not expecting her to say something like that, “I really love him too.”

“I can tell.” Cleo responded with a smile.

“Alright, who’s ready to go out and get drunk?” Steph yelled from behind you, ending your conversation with Cleo.

Your mind immediately flashed back to the last time you had all been at the islands club together. You couldn’t help but wonder if Miles and Lewis would even be allowed back in. Your eyes flicked over to Lewis who was rolling his eyes and already making his way over to you.

“I’m gonna steal her if you don’t mind.” He said politely to Cleo as he was already pulling you up out of your seat.

“As much as I would love to go just to see Mariana-” You start.

“We’ll go see Mariana while we’re here, but some other time. They can all go out and get drunk, I have other plans for us tonight, if that’s okay of course.” He easily cuts you off.

You let out a sigh of relief, immediately nodding.

“Good, now I’m gonna go figure out how to let Steph down easily.” He laughs, pressing a kiss to your forehead before stepping around you and making his way over to your friend.

“Come on Lewis, it’s been forever since we all went out.” You hear Steph argue with whatever he says to her.

“First off, do you remember the last time we all went out here? Didn’t go too well. Second-” Before he can continue his rebuttal he’s being cut off by Charlotte who is shockingly on his side.

“It’s their anniversary week, tonight is very important Steph. Remember?” You can tell Charlotte is alluding to something that you are clearly out of the loop on.

You watch as Stephs eyes go wide before nodding quickly while Lewis mutters to Charlotte “Real subtle Char’.”

You look at Cleo who just shrugs her shoulders, obviously not aware of what's going on either.

Everyone eventually calms down and starts getting ready, heading inside to pregame as you and Lewis say goodnight. He is promptly pulling you back down to your private bungalow for whatever he has in store for you tonight. When you get inside, he is pulling the shades closed on the windows that overlook the beach. You give him a look, knowing it’s not for your own privacy.

“Okay, I want you to take a nice long shower or bath or get in the pool or something for a little while. I’m gonna go take care of some things and then I’ll come join you and we can get ready.” He explains vaguely.

“What exactly are you taking care of?” You question him, still rather confused.

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll see soon enough. Just trust me, alright?” He shakes his head.

“Okay weirdo. Why’d you close the blinds?” You continue to question.

He lets out a small huff as he shakes his head with a smile, “You never stop with the questions, do you? Just trust me. Off you go.” He says as he turns you around, patting your butt, making you giggle.

You decide to spend some time in the pool, hearing him leave the small bungalow as you change into a different suit. When you slip into the pool you can feel the water cooling your toasted skin. You let yourself look out at the beautiful view, taking in the sounds and the scents that envelope you as you bask in your real life fairytale. You never thought that you would have this kind of life, being in beautiful places with an even more beautiful man who loves you so unashamedly, so wholeheartedly. You let yourself day dream about your future with him, how many kids you might have one day, where the two of you will inevitably settle down, what your wedding day will be like. You stay in the pool for what feels like a solid hour, still no sign of Lewis. You end up getting out, heading to take a shower when you hear other people's voices outside. Everything inside of you wants to run over to the window and peek at what might be going on outside but you restrain yourself, not wanting to ruin whatever it is that Lewis has planned for you. You end up staying in the shower much longer than usual, just enjoying the feeling of the water cascading through your hair and down your spine. A pair of broad arms wrapping around your waist surprises you, you hadn’t even heard him come in. He giggles at your shock, pressing a sloppy kiss to your cheek. Wordlessly you step out from under the water, letting him shower, letting yourself admire him as you so frequently do before stepping out and wrapping yourself in a towel.

“Hey, I wanted some company.” He complains from under the shower head.

“If I stay in any longer I may turn into an actual prune.” You say, making him laugh

He’s much quicker with his shower than you had been. Coming into the bedroom as you stare at your suitcase.

“You know, it tends to be easier if you actually put the clothes on rather than just try to will them onto your body.” He teases you, pinching your hip.

“Well if I knew what I was getting dressed for it would be a hell of a lot easier.” You say to him, suddenly feeling stressed.

“Hey,” He says, sensing your unease, “wear whatever you're comfortable in, it’s just you and me.”

“But this seems special, I don’t want to mess it up.” You say, rummaging through your suitcase.

“It’s special because it’s us, doesn’t matter what you wear. There’s very little you could do to screw this up, I promise.” He says. 

You feel a small weight lift from your shoulders when you look up to see him slipping a t-shirt over his head. Part of you wonders if he did it just to make you feel better. You give him a soft smile, finally deciding on a sundress that is the perfect combination of cute and casual.

“Ready?” He asks, his hand outstretched, waiting for yours.

“Always.” You smile, taking his hand.

As he leads you out of the bungalow you feel your breath catch in your throat. If you thought the beach was beautiful before, you’re not sure quite what word you would describe it as now. He has had the beach lined with lights and candles, torches lining their way up to a beautifully set yet simple table. You can see that there’s a meal already waiting for the two of you on the table.

“Still trust me?” He asks quietly.

You just nod, looking around at the beautiful scenery, amazed that he made all of this happen. When you finally reach the table in the sand he is pulling your chair out for you.

“Madame.” He says playfully, gesturing for you to take a seat.

You giggle as he places a kiss to your cheek, moving around to his side of the table. He grabs the corkscrew off the table, taking the bottle of wine that was already waiting for the two of you.

“I wanted tonight to be special, and I wanted to be able to surprise you somehow. Sorry I locked you away for a bit.” He chuckles toward the end.

“Ah, how dare you lock me away in literal paradise.” You tease him, making him smile.

“You like it?” He asks and you can tell he’s nervous, not meeting your eyes as he pours you both a glass of wine.

“I love it Lew, it’s beautiful, thank you.” You tell him, reaching across the table to take his hand in yours, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“I wasn’t sure how to exactly pull off making you dinner without you noticing so I kind of cheated and hired someone, well I actually hired Mariana, she’s quite the cook. She was upset she couldn’t come in and see you, I promised we’d come see her later this week. I did the lights though.” You can tell he’s still nervous, rambling things quickly.

“Well I have to say the lights are incredible, and I’d love to go see them.” You say with a light tone but absolutely meaning it, you feel like you're in some sort of wonderland.

He finally pulls the cover off of your meals, making your mouth immediately water, it looks incredible. Lewis has taken you on endless incredible dates, but this one has to take the cake, the effort alone making you swoon. 

Once he is convinced that you are just as happy as you say you are, you can see him visibly relax. His whole demeanor shifting back to the light hearted, loving man that you know so well. Dinner carries on as usual, your conversations seamlessly going from joking banter to important life topics, the flow that you’ve always found yourself so comfortable in with him, even before you started dating. Once you’ve finished eating he’s bringing his seat closer to yours so he can wrap his arm around the back of your chair, pulling you into his warm side.

“You know last night when I asked where you wanted to be in five years?” He asks you quietly.

You hum, leaning your head against his shoulder.

“Well, I left something out of my answer.” He says, confusing you. “I know I said I wanted you by my side, obviously, but I didn’t really elaborate enough.” He’s only confused you further.

Before you can question him, he’s standing from his seat and moving his chair back. You swear your heart stops when you look at him. He’s down on one knee in front of you, reaching into his pocket.

“Lew.” You croak out, not sure what else to say.

“I know, I know that to every other person on the earth, this probably seems insane. It probably seems so fucking quick, and hell it is, but Y/N, I know what I want, and what I want is you, forever. I have loved you far longer than I’ve ever let you know and I think the same goes for you. Since the day I met you I knew that you were going to be monumental in my life somehow, I just didn’t realize exactly how or quite how much. I love you more than I have ever loved anything before, I love you in a way I didn’t know was possible, in a way I didn’t even know I was capable of.” He pauses for a moment, finally opening the small box in his hand to reveal the most beautiful ring you have ever seen in your life, “I’m not asking you to marry me tomorrow, we can still take our time, we have so much ahead of us. All I’m asking is that tonight you make me a promise, that one day you will be my wife. You’re my forever Y/N Y/L/N, let me be yours.”

There are tears streaming steadily down your face, not sure how to process everything he’s saying. You want to nod your head, you want to say yes, but you’re frozen, until those words finally slip through his lips.

“Y/N, baby, will you marry me?” His own voice catches in his throat as he asks the question, obviously nervous and overwhelmed.

“Yes,” you finally choke out, “oh my god of course, yes, fuck of course.”

Your cries are now turning into almost laughter, overjoyed and overrun with emotion.

“Yeah?” He asks, sounding as if he doesn’t truly believe what he’s hearing.

“Oh my god, yes.” You cry through your smile as he stays frozen on his knee, his face breaking into a smile. “Kiss me you idiot.” You laugh.

Within seconds his lips are on yours, pulling you up out of your chair to hold you as close as humanly possible. You can taste the salt of your combined tears as you both laugh into the kiss, giddy with excitement.

“I know it’s so quick but I feel like we’ve been together so much longer than we really have. We can wait as long as you want, there’s absolutely no rush. I just need to know that one day you’ll be my wife, and I want the world to know that too.” He rambles when he finally pulls away.

“I know, I know, of course,” you laugh, kissing him again, “now give me my ring!”

He laughs at you, fumbling with the box slightly through shaky hands before finally sliding the ring onto your finger. It fits perfectly and you can’t help but wonder if Charlotte helped him. The diamonds twinkle in the fairy lights surrounding your table as you admire the look of your engagement ring sitting on your finger.

“So do I have to wait to become Mrs. Hamilton?” You ask.

“Y/N, I would marry you tomorrow if you let me.” He says, kissing you again, your teeth clashing through your smiles.

“What were you going to do if I said no?” You ask him with a teasing tone.

“Honestly? I have no idea, but I was pretty confident you’d say yes.” He says, smirking.

“Is this why you needed to bring me back here?” You ask him, staring at your new ring.

“Yeah, it only felt right. Full circle.” He whispers, “This is also why I’ve been so awol recently. I was making last minute changes to the ring because it needed to be perfect and I was trying to plan this. I’ve been so excited and I know myself well enough to know that I would have let it slip if I was talking to you too much. I’ve never been able to lie to you.”

You can’t help but laugh at the fact that not only is that true, but the reason you had been so annoyed with him the last few weeks was actually a side effect of him planning the most beautiful, loving thing you could think of.

“Everybody knows, don’t they?” You giggle, knowing he wouldn’t have been able to keep it from at least Charlotte and Miles.

“Yeah, they’ve known for a while, longer than I’ve even had the ring.” He blushes.

“Lewis, I love you so much. Thank you, I can’t wait to marry you, I’m so glad you’re the man that will be by my side for the rest of my life.” You tell him sincerely, feeling yourself get emotional again at the thought.

“I love you too my darling, I wouldn’t dream of going through life with anyone else.”

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

Final Note: I had to stop myself from continuing on with this and adding a time jump and their wedding day, it was so tempting. Let me know, does anyone want a one shot of their wedding day at some point? Some cute pre-wedding jitters, vows, wedding night, etc?

I hope you all enjoyed!

#lewis hamilton #lvis44 #lh44 #lewis hamilton fanfic #lewis hamilton imagine #lewis hamilton x reader #f1 x reader #driver x reader #f1 drivers #sweet escape #sir lewis hamilton #lewis hamilton smut #lewis hamilton one shot #formula 1 #f1 x you #f1 #mercedes amg f1 #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic #lh #team lh44 #formula one #fanfic #f1 fic #lewis hamilton fluff

[landwriter]

Desperate Measures | Dream/Hob | 1.2K | G v silly and fluffy, literally 90% air, dream attempts a romantic gesture, hob is a sap and forgetful, human au, part text fic

for @domaystic drabbles, Day 6: Under the Same Umbrella

---

Dream woke up to 26 texts from Hob. He put on his glasses and began his morning read. It’d replaced Times for him. The editorial quality, he thought, was far superior.

Hob (7:19 am) heading out, gave you a wee forehead kiss and you didn’t even stir. sleeping bloody beauty. love you disgustingly much x

Hob (7:26 am) couldn’t find my umbrella anywhere can you take a look if it’s not too much of a bother? feel like i’ve gone mad

Hob (7:30 am) christ it’s bucketing down!! standing under the eaves just to tell you how much it’s bucketing down

plants will be happy at least so will my goth boyfriend ;) hope your writing goes well today love. extra atmosphere!!

Hob (8:42 am) nevermind don’t look for it remembered that i left it in my office told johanna she can use it since i’m at the archives all day anyway glad i’m not the only one who’d forget their own head if it wasn’t screwed on :) :) :)

Hob (10:11 am) you should’ve seen the look lisa gave me when i showed up had to dry myself off in the men’s w half a forest of paper towels there goes my carbon offset from walking i said christ you’re probably still in bed asleep warm dry!! lucky bastard

wish i could come back already and drip puddles all over you

Hob (10:37 am) if this keeps up i’m going to look like mr darcy in the rain on your doorstep tonight don’t worry i promise not to propose marriage while insulting you xx although i do love you most ardently

...elizabeth

Dream smiled, read them all again, contemplated, and then sent his reply.

Dream (11:01 am) Sir, I appreciate the struggle you have been through

Hob replied moments later.

?? you sound like a customer service agent wait you’re quoting the film you can’t reject me if i’ve not proposed to you!! yet!!!

Dream snorted. 'and I am very sorry I have caused you pain' went the line. They’d watched it last weekend. Hob had cried, and Dream had privately decided that if Hob proposed, he’d say yes. Even if it was poorly done. It wouldn’t be, though. Not if Hob was doing it. He sent a second text.

...and I am very sorry you were drenched by rain.

Then he got out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen. His phone buzzed anew as he made tea and toast. He smiled at the sound. On their first date, Hob had warned Dream that he had a bad habit of annoying boyfriends over text. Dream, on his first date in six years, had wondered what it might be like to be so effusively charming that you could have enough boyfriends to form habits around them at all. He hadn’t known what to say, and Hob had ducked his head, grimacing a little, and said, “Just tell me to piss off, please, if I do? I know I can be a bit much.”

Dream believed it, because the man was telling him about his habits with boyfriends after one date. Not that he minded. And three months in, Dream had yet to tell him to piss off.

Turns out, a bit much was exactly what he’d wanted. Needed, in truth. Someone to tether him to the real world. His phone had become a modern-day lodestone in his pocket, a comforting pull of Hob-ness that would always point him back to life whenever he’d emerge, blinking and disoriented, out of the mire of his work. Work that he loved - creating worlds out of nothing, writing stories that would change people - but, coming on the age of thirty with nothing to show for it but recurring wrist strain and an upmarket flat that never had any guests, work that had also made him spend so much time apart from the rest of humanity that he was sometimes unsure how to rejoin it.

The tipping point had been when his eldest sister had found out that he hadn’t spoken to anyone else in between two of their regular dinners. Which were monthly. It had been mortifying. She’d smiled sadly, which was excruciating enough, and then gotten the gleam of a plan in her eyes, which had been far worse. “I’m setting you up,” she’d said. “I know just the guy. We go way back. I think you’ll like him.”

He had. Now, when his phone buzzed, he found himself frowning if it wasn’t Hob. (An exceedingly rare occasion.) But this time it was, of course. Four short messages sent one after the other:

hahahaha ok fine that was v good enjoy your day x

Five hours later, not even the curtain of rain awaiting him outside could douse the anticipation in his belly. An idea, he knew, was a powerful thing. Dream didn’t have an umbrella - Hob always shared with him, and would’ve apologetically nicked his if he had - so he would make the first leg of the journey as Hob did. He intended to go and get something nice, but once in the cold downpour, his resolve failed him almost at once, and he ducked into the first shop that had umbrellas in the window.

“Hiya,” said the girl at the counter without looking up from her phone.

Dream ignored her, blinking the rain out of his eyes, belatedly registering all the merchandise had a unifying theme and that he’d made a terrible mistake, borne of sheer desperation.

“Would you happen to have any other umbrellas? In black?” he asked. Hidden behind the counter, perhaps. If only you knew to ask.

The girl looked at him with an air of disbelieving reproval only accessible to teenagers and the very elderly. “You could try Boots, you know. It’s just down the street.”

Dream looked out the window. Rain torrented down. Commuters hurried past with their sensibly coloured umbrellas. From places exactly like Boots.

“Or we’ve got rain ponchos,” she added. It sounded like a threat.

“Nevermind,” said Dream quickly. “I’ll take it.”

“Enjoy your visit in London, sir,” she called out as he left.

He stepped outside and flicked open the umbrella with slightly more force than necessary.

Dream waited a few paces outside the archives, wanting to surprise Hob properly. Two separate pairs of tourists had thought he was their London Ghost Tours guide, and he was beginning to regret not holding out for longer, drenching be damned. Then Hob emerged, striding out and immediately stopping to pull out his phone. He was smiling at it. Dream smiled too, in anticipation.

A moment later his own phone buzzed loudly in his coat pocket, and Hob looked up in surprise.

“Oh my god,” he said. Then he said it again.

“I heard you needed an umbrella,” said Dream. He’d had the line already, since he got the idea. It had been very dashing and romantic in his head. It was somewhat undermined by the dreadful costuming choice that had been forced upon him.

Hob looked between Dream and the umbrella, bafflement melting into a happy laugh. He ducked underneath, pecking Dream on the lips. “I’m not sure I needed one quite this badly. Did you rob some poor tourist?”

“Unhappily, I paid for this.”

“Oh no,” said Hob, pulling away and pretending to inspect him for injury. “My poor darling. Your dignity.”

Dream sniffed. “I will recover.”

“Here,” said Hob. “I’ll carry it for you. You’ll only be guilty by association, then.”

They began walking, a bobbing Union Jack in a sea of blacks and greys. After the chief sin of ugliness, it was also a little small for two grown men, but Dream found he didn’t resent that at all, as Hob tucked him tightly into his side to keep them both dry. People gave them a wide berth. Tourists could never be trusted with umbrellas.

“You’ve rescued me, you know,” said Hob, nuzzling into his cheek.

“It wouldn’t do to have you dripping puddles all over the floors,” said Dream.

“Even if I looked terribly handsome, all wet and ardent?”

Dream bit his lip and smiled a little. “Perhaps you can be wet and ardent in the shower. Instead.”

Hob laughed again. It was Dream’s favourite sound. “Much warmer than the rain anyway. Deal.” Rain drummed down on their private nylon ceiling. “I was thinking chicken tikka masala for dinner?”

And so they made their way home, and although the rain never let up, Dream was so content and warm that he might’ve sworn they were walking in the sun.

#dreamling #domaystic2023 #this is DISTRESSINGLY sweet you've been warned #the sandman #three days in a row! #new record for actually doing a monthly prompt thing #continuing to just write about today's weather and call it a fic #my writing #the sandman fanfic

[from-the-clouds]

texas sun - joel miller x f!reader - vol. iii

series masterlist | series playlist | writing masterlist | previous chapter | gif credit

chapter summary: Somehow, you realize you've accidentally ended up spending almost every weekend for the last month and a half with either one, or all of the Millers. pairing: pre-outbreak!joel miller x f!reader words: 8.7k chapter warnings: some angst, alcohol consumption, marijuana use, suggestive thoughts (but no smut), referenced parental neglect, implied age gap. reader has daddy issues (shocker!) & a fear of intimacy. a/n: this chapter is so disgustingly sweet it might give you a cavity. truly. but its also a little self-indulgent because joel is in my dream blunt rotation :/ please be patient with updates because i have a career/social life/apartment, and am a perfectionist! i promise i will always (try) to make the wait worth your while. Also, here's a link to the song Joel plays on guitar, since it's not on Spotify so I couldn't add it to the playlist.

-April 19, 2003- 

“Well, that was awkward.”

Obviously, Joel thinks to himself as Sarah turns to watch the retreating form of her teacher, while Joel stares straight ahead at the crowd in front of him. At first, he had thought she was just being polite. It was the right thing to do, to say hello to a parent and a student if you see them outside of class. But…they were seeing each other at a bar. And she’d asked him to dance. 

We just got here, maybe later? Joel can’t even remember what he had said, something along those lines. It wasn’t a flat-out refusal, but he had been acutely aware of Sarah’s eyes boring into the back of his head from where she sat beside him, and he sort of blacked out, couldn’t recall what had caused her to get the hint, to walk away. 

Joel grunts an affirmation to Sarah, and drums his fingers against the tabletop. There’s a dance floor full of people in front of him, all under various levels of intoxication, all of them dancing. 

“Do you believe me now?” Sarah asks. 

“I never said I didn’t believe you.”

How he had allowed Tommy and Sarah to talk him into coming here tonight, he’s not sure. Probably, it had something to do with how much he loved them both. How he would, ultimately, do whatever they asked if he knew it’d make that happy. But still, honky-tonking is the last thing he wants to be doing at the end of a long week. 

There was pretty much only one decent bar in town, so he wasn’t exactly shocked he had run into someone he knew. Everyone came here – to dance, to drink, to eat, or to drown their sorrows. To see their friends, or even to find someone to take home for the night. And over the years, as a frequent customer, Joel had used this place to do all those things.

Tonight was special though, a little more family friendly. It was swing night. It happened once a month, and Joel had always made a point to take Sarah a couple times a year. When he was young, his mother had taught him and Tommy to dance, and he felt it was only appropriate to pass the skill along, even if it was almost obsolete. He hoped Sarah would be able to do the same someday, if she ever had children of her own. 

“Will you dance with me, at least?” Sarah asks.

“Of course I will,” Joel answers.. “But let’s wait for Tommy, he’s ordering our drinks.”

“You mean your drinks.”

“No, you got a Shirley Temple.”

Sarah narrows her eyes. It’s the same expression that Joel has only seen her use recently, and he actually prefers it less to the eye roll. This time, he’s glad it hasn’t come with a question from her, because when it does, it’s always a little more frightening. “Come on, you know that’s not the same.”

Before Joel can respond, he’s cut off by Tommy’s voice. 

“Look who I found.”

This is what he and Sarah have been waiting on, and Joel turns to sees Tommy with all three of their drinks in hand. Over his shoulder, there’s a woman who looks vaguely familiar, wearing daisy dukes and a plaid shirt. After a second, he realizes it’s you.

Most of the time when Joel sees you – from across the street, of course – you’re in a power suit, a pencil skirt. Sometimes, it’s more casual – athletic clothes. There was also that black silk robe he can’t seem to shake from his memory. But this is so…different. It’s clear you’re trying to blend in with the crowd, but you don’t. Not because you’re not pulling it off – you definitely are, effortlessly – he’s just pretty sure if he walks into any room you’re in, his eyes will always be drawn in your direction. 

Joel doesn’t see, but rather feels – Sarah recognize that you’re in front of her, because when she does, she’s tapping him on the arm before he can utter a greeting. “Dad, can I get out and say hi?”

He’s standing to let her out just as you step closer to the table, and you come chest to chest. “Hey,” he says. 

“Hi, Joel,” you say, a soft smile on your face. Your eyes remain locked on his just a moment too long, before Sarah is wrapping you up in a hug, and you’re focused on her when she draws back. “How are you?” you ask. 

Joel doesn’t hear Sarah’s response, because his brother is pressing a drink into his hand - a Jack and Coke, same as what you and Tommy are drinking. 

“Sit down, please!” Tommy encourages.

“Are you sure?” you ask. “This looks like a family thing, I don’t want to-” 

“Please!” Sarah exclaims. 

“What she said,” Tommy seconds Sarah’s sentiments.

For a second, you seem to contemplate the offer, and then you accept the invitation, sliding into the booth across from where Sarah has settled back next to her father. Joel makes eye contact with his brother, sitting next to you. Tommy’s eyebrows are raised suggestively, and there’s a playful smirk on his face when he tilts his head in your direction. Joel gives him nothing, already irritated by his brother’s goading. 

“Is that a Shirley Temple?” you point to Sarah’s drink. When she nods, you continue. “I haven’t had one of those in forever,” you say. 

“Want a sip?”

“Sure,” Sarah slides the glass across to you, and you sip from the straw, pondering. “I should’ve gotten one of those instead. They were my favorite growing up.” 

“Can I have a sip of yours?”

“No,” you and Joel say at the same time. 

“You’re not gonna like it,” he adds.

“You always say that, but how can you know?”

Joel sighs. “Okay, fine. Try mine.”

Sarah seems pleased to get what she wants. When the bitterness of the whiskey registers, the triumphant expression leaves her face completely. 

“Told you,” he says. Sarah grimaces, accepting defeat, and returns to her beverage. 

Tommy leans forward, urging Joel to start making conversation as if this is a date and it’s his responsibility. But before he can think of anything, Sarah pipes up. 

“Guess what?” she asks you.

“What?”

“My teacher’s here.”

“Yeah?” you ask. Joel takes a long pull off his drink, hoping it’ll loosen him up a little. 

“Yeah, she tried to hit on my dad.”

Joel feels the cocktail of whiskey and soda get caught in his throat.

“Oh….” you sound intrigued, and you lean forward. He wonders if this is the dynamic between you and Sarah when he’s not around. Like you’re two friends, engaging in some harmless gossip. “Really?” Your gaze flickers between him and Sarah. 

Sarah bobs her head once. “She has a thing for him. I can tell.”

“What makes you think that?” his brother joins in, moving closer to Sarah, crowding you between himself and the wall and putting his elbows on the table. Joel feels a flash of envy when you shift your attention towards Tommy.

“She just asked him to dance.” Sarah looks over her shoulder, nods her head towards the woman in the corner of the bar who’s probably already focused on his table anyways. Joel already knows what you’re seeing. Miss Davis is pretty, bubbly, outgoing. Probably about your age, if he had to guess, though it’s hard to say how old you are. He imagines he has ten years on you, give or take a few. And for all intents and purposes, Sarah’s teacher is the type of woman he should be interested in. 

“She’s pretty,” you say it like you’re appeasing Sarah, but you’re looking directly at Joel. He’s not sure why you kind of frighten him a little. You’re sweet, he knows, even if you’ve tried to tell him otherwise. But there’s something else there, enigmatic and alluring, that continues to draw him in. 

Tommy chimes in. “So are you gonna dance with her, Joel?”

“Uncle Tommy,” Sarah says dramatically. Her face drops for a second, though, her shoulders slumping as she angles herself towards him, lowers her voice. “I mean, if you want to, that’s fine, I guess. But I….I don’t know.”

Joel is taken aback by how long this conversation has gone on with absolutely no input from himself. Not to mention how honest Sarah is being. She doesn’t usually have much to say about his choice in women – he can usually just tell what she thinks. For her to express something so directly makes him realize how serious she is. But at the moment, he can’t find words to assure her everything will be fine. 

It must be his lack of response that causes you to lean across the table and speak to Sarah. “You know, that’s valid,” there’s a tenderness to your tone. It dawns on him that you’re trying to comfort her. “It is kind of a conflict of interest.”

“Right?” Sarah perks up, just slightly, you’ve given her some support. “It’s one of those things you said you had going on at work the other day an….an ethical…” 

“An ethical dilemma?” you finish her thought.

“Ethical dilemma! That’s it.” Sarah turns back towards Joel. “I think it's an ethical dilemma.” 

For just a split second, he wonders why he’s been letting his already-precocious child hang out regularly with a lawyer. He’s accidentally creating a monster. But thankfully, Joel is finally able to find his voice. “There is no ethical dilemma, because I wouldn’t ever consider it.”

That seems to placate Sarah, and hopefully everyone will decide to drop it. Joel catches your eyes, and there’s something akin to wistfulness there, chin propped on your hand, before you blink once and focus back on Tommy, who's asking you a question. “So, are you here alone?”

“Is it that obvious?” 

“Not at all,” Tommy smirks, not dropping his eye contact with you. “...It’s just surprising, is all.”

Joel stiffens.

“Oh, well…” you smile a little. “I’m just trying to get to know the town a little better. Trying to engage in the community, I guess. But…I’m not sure if I am doing that great of a job fitting in.”

“You are,” Joel interjects, and maybe it’s a little forward, but he’d rather say it before Tommy does. “That’s a nice flannel.”

“Thanks,” You look down at your oversized plaid shirt – the sleeves rolled up to the elbows – that hangs open over a tight white tank top. Joel can see a sliver of the black lace bra you’re wearing that pokes out above the low neckline. He wonders what it might feel like to press his face there, to feel your fingers carding through his hair, but does not allow himself to entertain the idea for very long. Not the time. “I actually had to go and buy it because I didn’t own any plaid. And by the looks of it,” You gesture towards the dance floor. “I need to invest in some cowboy boots, too.”

“One thing at a time, right?” he asks, and you agree.

“So what are you all doing here? Family outing?”

“We actually had to drag this one kicking and screaming out the door,” Tommy points to Joel. 

“You did not,” Joel defends himself.

‘We kinda did,” Sarah says. “Do you know how to dance?”

You shake your head no, look at the people twirling and dipping and dancing in pairs. “Not like that.”

“It’s really easy! I can teach you. My dad taught me.”

“Cute.” Joel looks towards Sarah, and catches you staring instead. Your eyes flit back immediately to his daughters. “But I’m not sure I’ll be any good.”

“You’ll be fine,” Sarah says like it’s already settled. Joel knows he’s spoiled her, that she ultimately gets what she wants. He worries sometimes that others won’t find her quite as endearing. 

“Sarah,” he warns. “You’re making it sound like she doesn’t have a choice.”

You hide a smile behind the rim of your glass. “It’s okay. You can teach me. Might as well learn, if I’m trying to fit in.”

Sarah seems satisfied.

“Joel tells me you grew up in New York City.” Tommy says it, and Joel notices you raise your eyebrows at the implication. He’s talked to Tommy about you. And now you know. He’s pissed at himself for doing it, but at the time he’d been drunk, a little more chatty and vulnerable than usual, and had mentioned you more than once. Too much to be a coincidence. The issue was, Joel had never expected you would talk to Tommy again. If he’d known you would, he wouldn’t have said anything. He doesn’t want to imagine the damage he had done when it was just the two of you, alone at the bar. But even now, he’s completely at his brother’s mercy. 

“Yep,” you nod. 

“You don’t have much of an accent,” Tommy remarks. 

“Not everyone has them.” 

“That’s fair.”

“I did, uh, go to a boarding school in a different state, though, so I wasn’t around it too much.” 

“Boarding school?” Sarah turns to Joel.

“Basically you live at school,” you answer her question. ”Kind of like college, but earlier. I started going when I was nine.”

Sarah frowns. “Wouldn’t you miss your family?” 

“Yes, and I did.”

“So why would you go?”

“Well…” you trail off, shift your weight. “It wasn’t up to me. My dad worked a lot, so it made sense.”

“What’d he do for a living?” Asks Tommy. 

“He’s a criminal defense attorney....owns his own firm and it does pretty well, so…” you shrug. “He was very busy.”

“And that’s why you’re a lawyer? To work for your dad?”

“At one point, that was the plan, yes."

“What happened?”

The question appears to make you uncomfortable, you cross your legs and glance down at the table. “Uhm….pass.” Joel sees your face go blank for a split second before you look up with an easy smile. It’s like the desolate look you’d been wearing was never there, and you point to your drink. “I’ll need a few more of these if you want that story.”

“Might as well order another round,” Tommy flags down a waitress.

You have one more drink, but you don’t really touch it as the four of you continue to talk. Joel has two more, and Tommy has three, because he’s Tommy, and also not driving. Both you and Joel also have to vehemently refuse his request to do a round of tequila shots. 

After a while, Sarah gets bored, then insists on teaching you to dance. You agree, but seem awfully reluctant. Joel wants to pull you aside and let you know that you don’t have to entertain everything Sarah offers, but once you’ve stood up, and he watches her arm link through yours as you both walk to the dance floor, he can’t bring himself to intervene. 

He’s never seen Sarah be so taken with someone before, and he’s filled with a vague sense of regret. He always thought that she was content with just him and Tommy. Maybe she has always needed more. It’s partially his responsibility, Joel thinks –  what could he have done to stop her mother from leaving? Even if he could’ve stopped it, they would’ve been a miserable couple…which might have been more damaging to Sarah than her mother not being around at all.

Once you’re long gone, Joel can sense what Tommy is thinking before he even opens his mouth. 

“Shut it,” Joel says before he can even hear his brother's ribbing. 

“I wasn’t even gonna say anything about that!” Tommy raises his hands, but Joel knows he’s lying.

“We should go over there,” Joel says. He trusts you, but in a bar full of drunk people isn’t interested in being far away from Sarah for too long. Both he and Tommy abandon their booth to mosey their way towards the dance floor. 

Sarah has taken you into a back corner, far away from the band playing, where the crowd has thinned a little. There’s room for him and Tommy to lean up against the wall and watch you both. 

Both your hands are clasped with Sarah’s, and she’s teaching you the counts, the steps, while you study the way that your feet move.

Joel has a feeling that if it weren’t for his daughter, you wouldn’t have hung out with his family for so long. It’s just like the hike, and as usual, he feels more like a third wheel than anything else. You’re right that you do look a little out of place here. Maybe you don’t belong,  but he likes it. You’re wearing a pair of beat up hi-tops, which are a sharp contrast to Sarah’s baby blue cowboy boots that are covered in rhinestone butterflies. He’d gotten them for her for Christmas that past year, and she only wore them during special occasions like this.

Joel is doing the best he can not to think about the way your legs look in those fucking daisy dukes. All on display, and he wonders what it might feel like to drag his tongue up the soft skin of your inner thigh, feel you quiver and whimper as he works his mouth closer to– Enough. He’s disgusted with himself for thinking about you like that right now. 

“Dad, look!” Sarah says, and it seems you’re catching on all right, but none of it looks graceful. Sarah’s trying to lead – which she has never done – so she falters often, and also can’t quite reach all the way above your head when she tries to spin you around. “Oh no, look at his face!” Sarah points. You turn his direction, and Joel realizes he has to neutralize the grimace that has crept onto his visage. “We definitely aren’t doing good.”

“I’ll get the hang of it,” you turn back to Sarah, assure her. “You’re a good teacher.” You’re being nice. Too nice, humoring her and laughing it off, even if she’s making a fool of you both. But you don’t seem to mind, because it’s making her happy. 

All of the sudden, the toe of Sarah’s boot catches on the scuffed wood floor and she lurches forward. Joel immediately pushes himself off the wall as though he could close the space and catch her before she faceplants, but he can’t, and he can already see a vision of himself sitting in the emergency room at 2 a.m waiting, while Sarah holds an ice pack on her nose. But you reach out before the image is fully realized, arms wrapping around her shoulders. “Careful!” You warn. And even though you shuffle forward with the weight of her, you keep her from falling. Once she realizes she’s safe, Sarah giggles and throws her head back, her eyes catching your own. 

He’s not sure what makes him do it. It could be the liquor, the way you look, the unspoken pressure from Tommy. Or maybe he’s just been wanting an excuse to be closer to you. Most importantly, at this rate, he feels like Sarah is going to hurt herself and also you in the process. Regardless of what the reason is, Joel decides to step in. He walks onto the dance floor.

“Alright,” Joel says once he’s gotten closer, looking at Sarah. “I can’t watch this anymore.”

“What?”

He halts in front of his daughter, jerks his hand. “Move. I’m takin’ over.”

Sarah rolls her eyes, but smiles a little, and drops her hands from your shoulders. Joel offers you his hand. “You mind?” 

You look between Joel and Sarah, and she gives you an encouraging nod. “He taught me, he does know what he’s doing.”

“Well okay,” you take Joel’s hand. “You better not embarrass me,” and then you actually fucking wink at him. Already overwhelmed by the delicate weight of your hand in his palm, it almost sends him over the edge. He’s lucky he’s in public, with his family, because he doesn’t think he’d behave himself otherwise.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Joel answers. “Besides, I don’t think anything could be worse than what I was just watching.”

You giggle, and step forward when he tugs you just closer to dance, taking you fully in his arms. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sarah dragging Tommy onto the dance floor. Everyone is taken care of.

You’re smart. And because of it, you’re a fast learner. Even people who can’t really dance can usually figure this out, himself included. But in Joel’s opinion, it’s always been less about getting the steps right, and more about who’s keeping him company. 

And you’re great company. 

Eager, willing, gentle…soft. He’s embarrassed at how long it’s been since he’s been this close to an adult woman, and normally he might be a little nervous, but instead, he just feels…comfortable. 

But Joel is a selfish man. He always wants more. Wants the band to play a slower song, so then he’d have an excuse to pull you closer. Wind an arm around your waist, whisper things in your ear that no one else could hear, and feel your breath hitch when they register. But this isn’t really the dance for that, and the rest of his family is just steps away. He’ll have to compromise – which he doesn’t like. 

“I’m going to dip you,” Joel says, matter-of-factly.

“No you’re not.”

“I am,” he insists. “It’s essential.”

“I seriously doubt that.” 

“Look,” he tilts his head to Tommy and Sarah, and the latter is laughing as she pitches all her weight backwards into his arms. He nearly drops to one knee to catch her, she’s still so petit, but their form is actually pretty good. And they aren’t the only people in the room doing it. 

“Okay,” you say, and give him a warm smile for a split second before becoming stone-faced. “But if you drop me-”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Joel drawls.

He puts his arms around your waist, one of them catching the middle of your back, the other on a patch of exposed skin on your hip – your tank top has ridden up slightly with all the movement. You dig your fingers into his biceps, cling to him like he had hoped you would.

And even when he draws you back up, eyes locked with your own, your grip remains the same. You stay close. 

“My turn,” Tommy interjects, and Joel can’t help the dirty look he gives him over your shoulder. He’s playing the annoying little brother, doing everything he can to piss him off. His brother wants to see Joel break, but he’s not going to give him the satisfaction.

Plus, Joel is happy to dance with Sarah, which is the whole reason they came here in the first place. She’s so excited to be there, and he wonders if there will ever be a time when she’s too grown up for things like this. He hopes not. 

He ignores the sound of Tommy’s laugh mingled with your own. You were not laughing that much with him, and that causes a pang of jealousy. Joel doesn’t like acknowledging it, but he’s always resented Tommy for his ability to be the charismatic one, the charming one, the happy-go-lucky one. Even when they were kids. That’s what it’s like to be the oldest sibling. Never as fun, always more practical, more serious, the voice of reason. Always in service to their siblings, all in the name of love. 

Eventually, you and Sarah are back dancing together, and since you’ve had some practice separately, it’s not as sloppy as before. It allows Joel and Tommy to return to their post against the wall, just out of earshot.

Joel feels his brother’s eyes on him as he watches you and Sarah. “Dude,” he finally gives in, looks over at Tommy. “Just ask her out already.”

Joel rolls his eyes. “Tommy-”

“You’re into her.” 

“Maybe,” Joel says, because he knows it’s pointless to lie. “But she’s got a boyfriend.”

Tommy elbows him. “So what?”

“I know you’re alright bein’ a homewrecker but I-”

“It makes sense Joel. She’s fuckin’ smart, and funny, and pretty. And Sarah fucking loves her-”

In any other situation, he would’ve acted weeks ago. But he’s starting to understand why he’s dragging his feet. Tommy’s right. Sarah adores you. Joel will fuck something up, it’s inevitable. And when you decide you never want to speak to him again, Sarah will lose you too. He’s already let her down enough. 

“I should’ve never fuckin’ told you–”

“Take her to drinks, to the movies, dinner, show up at her house with a bottle of wine, hell, something. If you don’t ask her out already, then I will.”

Joel punches his brother on the shoulder. It’s not enough to incite an actual fight, but it’s definitely not playful. “Ow!” Tommy grips at his arm. “What?” When Joel doesn’t answer right away, he rolls his eyes. 

“Speaking from experience, I’m surprised you haven’t already,” he raises an eyebrow.

“Once, Joel. That was one time. Will I never hear the end of it?”

“No,” Joel says. “And I see what you were doing tonight, too. Don’t think you’re slick.” he hopes to change the subject, and it seems to be working. 

Tommy sets them back on track. “Well, I was just trying to get you to wake the fuck up and see what’s in front of you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What happens when Sarah grows up? Goes to school, leaves the house? Then, what are you gonna do? You’re just gonna be alone?”

“You are treadin’ on some mighty thin ice, Tommy,'' Joel hisses. ““You barely know this woman-”

“I’d like a family, too, Joel. When that happens I won’t be able to keep you company anymore. You might want someone else. And maybe it’s not her, fine. But there should be someone.”

For as much as he hates to admit it, Joel knows Tommy is right. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

-April 25, 2003- 

It’s six at night. and you’re already in your pajamas. 

A couple years ago, you would’ve thought that was pretty sad. These days, it’s only a little sad. You prefer things this way. That’s the perk of being an adult living alone. If you want to put on pajamas before the sun sets on a Friday night, you can. If you want to get stoned on the back porch of the house you bought yourself, you can. If you want all those things to happen while you watch the sunset and listen to yacht rock, you can. And you’re going to. 

You’re toying with the new digital camera your brother bought for you. Vincent likes to argue with you, but he always feels guilty after a conversation gone wrong. Rather than use his words, however, he just buys you gifts. You had apologized over the phone a few days ago…this was his way of doing the same. The shutter clicks as you snap a photo of your backyard, and you look at it in the viewfinder before discarding the camera on your coffee table.

Martini is on the porch with you, doing that thing where he stands just out of reach but chirps at you until you pet him. When you reach out, he moves away. He’s not great at accepting what he wants. Maybe it’s why he’s sort of the perfect cat for you – you’re the same. 

You light your bowl, and you’re mid-inhale when you hear someone call your name. 

“Hey!” 

At this point, you’d recognize Joel Miller’s voice anywhere. You don’t want to admit it’s because you’ve tried to commit it to memory, daydreamed about how it might sound for his smooth lilt to read you a book until you fall asleep, or listen to him take a phone call in the other room. 

Realizing it’s him, you inhale sharply, forgetting what you’re in the middle of and taking a much bigger hit than you had intended. You begin choking violently on the smoke while simultaneously scrambling to hide your piece and the related paraphernalia sitting out, and manage to do so just in time for him to round the corner. 

You scramble to hide your bowl under the pillow of the outdoor couch you sit on, just in time for Joel to appear at the screen door. 

“Hey,” you say, covering your mouth. Your throat burns, and you cough again. Stay cool, stay calm. Everything is good. “What are you doing here?”

“Sorry, I tried your front door and you weren’t answering, so I thought I’d see if you were back here.” It’s hard to see him from here, through the door, and he’s backlit by the sun that’s shimmering behind his dark hair, catching it in a golden halo. 

You rise to open the door, and when you do, he continues. “I’m here to pick up Sarah’s soccer jersey.”

Right. Of course he was. She had left it a few days before, and you had assumed she’d come get it before her game on Saturday but it didn’t dawn on you until now that she ever had. 

“I would’ve sent her, but she’s at a sleepover tonight.”

“Oh yeah,” you nod, standing in place. You’re trying so desperately to act normal, words evade you.

Joel squints at you, a slight smirk on his face. “I didn’t catch you off guard or anything, did I?’

“No, no, not at all,” you lie. “Come on in.”

Joel steps over the tiny dish of cat food you’ve left on your back step for the stray you feed, and into the screened-in porch. Now that he’s under the dim light, you get a better look at him. A loose-fitting flannel hangs open over a worn green t-shirt that barely meets the top of his jeans. His hair is damp, like he’s just showered, and he smells clean. In any other situation, you’d want to climb him like a tree, and he’s not even trying. But right now, you’re just doing your best impression of a sober human that is definitely not doing anything illegal. The truth is, you should’ve made him wait outside.

“This is nice,” Joel says, looking around. And you really wish he wasn’t because you notice that you left the clear plastic baggie containing your weed out on the couch. It sort of blends in with the green floral pattern, so you hope for the best, because there’s no way for you to sneakily grab it without drawing his attention. “I didn't know this was back here.”

“The last owners added it on,” you say, because that was the type of thing the realtor had said to you about the features of this house. And you supposed a carpenter or contractor would probably be interested in it. It was a good distraction.

“I can tell. Looks new,” he looks up towards the wooden beams that span the ceiling. The top of the porch is still covered, so during the few times it’s rained, you always sit outside to listen.

“I’ve got her jersey in the kitchen,” you tell him. “Wait here.”

It doesn’t take long for you to pick out the bright blue athletic gear from your pile of dry cleaning. It stands out against all your neutral-colored pantsuits. Joel has his back to you when you return, one of his hands clenched into a fist. 

“Here,” you say, and he turns. 

“You had it dry cleaned? You didn’t have to do that.”

“I kind of wasn’t sure if it was safe to run through the machine,” you explain. “But now that I’m thinking about it….it wouldn’t make sense to give a bunch of 11-year-olds dry clean only jerseys.”

“It wouldn’t. But it’s probably more convenient than scrubbing the grass stains out yourself.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Unfortunately. But again…thank you.”

“Of course.”

This is where Joel should leave, walk across the street, and go home. And he does, well, at least, he starts to. He steps away, reaches for the handle to your back door, and then pauses. “You know,” he says, glancing over his shoulder. “The Watsons were tellin’ me the other day you’ve been complaining about a family of skunks living under your house?”

You freeze, recalling the lie you’d come up with on a whim when your sixty-year-old neighbors had started asking too many questions. 

“Well, it does smell a little over here.”

“Uh-huh,” you give him nothing.

“Something like that….you should really call animal control. Get rid of the problem,” Joel’s facing you now, eyebrow raised. 

“If I call animal control…they’ll just kill them,” you answer. “And I don’t want that. So…I think I’ll just have to live with it.” 

“That’s fair,” Joel says. “But you know, Sarah’s over here all the time, and I’ve never heard her mention it.”

At this point you know he’s just fucking with you. But years of remaining stone-faced through business negotiations and family dinners has prepared you for this, so even if you’re a little stoned, you’re not going to let him win. 

“Yeah, it sounds like a coincidence. But they’re never around when she’s here,” you say, in your own defense. “Ever,” you add for emphasis. 

“I guess that’s good.”

You both stare at each other for a second, and your blood buzzes slightly because even though this is just a playful standoff, you’ve never made such intense eye contact with him. It feels electric. After what feels like an eternity, Joel lifts his hand from his hip, and you see what he’d been holding in his fist, now pinched between his thumb and forefinger. He raises an eyebrow.

When you see the plastic baggie dangling in front of your face, you purse your lips. “Alright, you got me,” you lift up your hands, but snatch the bag from him. 

“And here I thought you were such a good girl.”

You don’t even want to acknowledge the full body chill that runs down your spine at the sound of those two words, coming from him. Snatching the bag back from him, he gives you a cheeky smile. “If you give me a hit, I won’t tell anyone.”

Your jaw drops, and you look up at him. “Oh, you’re trouble.”

“I’m not the one lyin’ to my neighbors.”

“And I’m not the one snooping through my neighbors' things.”

“It was right out in the open.”

Joel doesn’t seem bothered at all. But it’s Texas, so you can never be sure. “Okay, fine,” you say. “If you want….I could roll us a joint. Unless you have other plans.”

“The alternative is a house to myself for the evening and some chores, so…yeah. Whatever you’d like.”

“Great.”

Joel follows you to sit on the couch. As you settle on opposite ends, he speaks up. “So you think you could explain to me why my daughter keeps tellin’ me she wants to be a lawyer?”

You snicker. “Believe me, Joel. I’ve tried to talk her out of it already.”

He chuckles. “It’s okay. Probably a more lucrative career than what I’m doing. She’s really taken a liking to you, you know that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her warm up to anyone so quick.”

“Well, I’m the first adult she knows that’s not an authority figure.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”

“I remember being that age,” you look down at your work. “It’s nice to have someone older to relate to, who you can talk to without being afraid of getting a lecture.”

“She probably needs it,” Joel says. “She told me you talk about girl stuff. I’m not so great at that.”

“I don’t know,” Your tongue darts out to wet the edge of the paper and finish rolling the joint. You put it between your lips, and rummage through the drawer of the coffee table to find your lighter, gesture between the both of you. “This is about ninety percent of how I spent my time with my friends at her age…and so far you’re doing alright.”

“Now you’ve got me worried about what’s going on at that sleepover.”

“Okay, well, I was maybe a little older. And with her? You’ve got nothing to worry about,” you shake your head. 

He rubs the back of his neck, and his eyes glow with the reflection of your lighter as it’s flicked on. “I don’t know.”

“She’s fine, Joel,” you say, bringing the lighter closer and shielding the flame from the calm breeze of the evening. “She’s great. Really.”

“She is,” he agrees. You inhale, let the smoke settle in your lungs for a moment, before exhaling. You take your time, feeling warm from the weed and the feeling of Joel’s eyes on you, and he accepts the joint when you pass it over.

“I really didn’t really expect this from you,” he exhales, studying your handiwork before taking another puff. “You’re pretty buttoned up.”

“This is hardly rebellious.” Instinctually, you like the idea that he thinks you’re buttoned up. Deep down, however, you don’t actually want him to.

He looks so dreamy, the smoke curling though his eyelashes, tracing along his defined jaw, and then up, up, where it settles and shifts under the porch light, before disappearing completely.

Martini, who has been in hiding, hops up on the couch, and Joel reaches out, your cat nuzzling its face into his palm. “Didn’t know you had a cat,” he mumbles. And then, like some sort of magic, the cat plops down on Joel’s lap. 

“I do…but…” you say out loud, then trail off because you’re in such shock. You glance up at Joel, who looks confused. “I’m sorry, I’ve just never seen him do this.”

He passes the joint back to you. “Do what?”

You take a final puff, and then put it out in an ashtray. It’s only about half smoked, but you can get into it later if either of you wants to. Plus, you’re more interested in what’s unfolding in front of you. “I kinda want a picture of this.”

“What?”

“I’ve had him for five years and he’s never sat on my lap like that,” you say, and you can’t keep the resentment from dripping into your tone. “What makes you so special? I’m a little jealous.”

“Of me? Or the cat?”

Something honey-thick drips down your spine at his words. You can’t conjure a witty response, opting instead for: “Shut up.”

You snap a couple photos while Joel’s still laughing, one hand on his chest, the other on Martini’s back, and then put the camera down, and lean against the back of the couch, curling your feet underneath you. 

“You’ve got a nice view of the sunset,” Joel says softly.

There’s a distant fear you might never get to see him like this again, and you want to take him in fully before you drag your eyes to see what he’s looking at. Your backyard slopes down into a small patch of woods, the sky opening even wider to let in the aureate light. 

“I know,” you agree. “It’s why I spend so much time back here.” The high continues to settle over you, strokes your shoulders, tugs at the corners of your lips.

“Surprised you like things that are so peaceful…being from the city and all…”

“The city is peaceful,” you say, thinking of the leaves swirling from the trees in the fall, and the snowflakes falling onto your family's porch in the winter, melting on the tip of your nose as you lean over the balcony to see the glittering lights below, car horns and engines and sirens piercing the darkness, white noise. “In its own way.”

“You miss it?”

“Everyday,” you say. 

“What do you miss the most?”  

“Uhm…probably the bagels,” you lie. Well it’s true. But it’s not what you miss the most. You think of your brother, flopping onto your bed on a Saturday night – a rare weekend when you visit home – and you’re trying to read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn for school but he’s begging to take you around the corner to get a milkshake. It’s the image of him you’ve so desperately tried to cling to and the recollections you share with him have only gotten more and more unpleasant as time goes on. “The bagels here suck.”

“Really?” Joel seems amused by that. 

“And uh…I don’t know. It’s part of me. I have a lot of friends there, a lot of good memories,” you smile to yourself, lean forward towards him. “I had this apartment before I graduated, right? It had the best view of this little Italian restaurant, and I’d sit and watch people through the windows, eating and talking. I was supposed to be studying, but…it was great. I loved it.”

“What’re you doing here, then?” Joel asks, and you look back at the sunset. Here you are, waxing poetic and you’re sure he can hear it in your voice. “You runnin’ from something?” You look over to find he’s staring at you. Like he knows you aren’t being honest, and he’s asking you to stop lying.

So you do the only thing you can think of, which is to ask him a question in response. “What makes you think I am?”

Joel considers this for a moment. “I don’t know. I grew up in Austin. All my friends are here, my family. If I ever moved someplace else….it’d have to be for a good reason. And even if I did, I’d be lonely.”

You stare down at the floor. “Maybe I am.” Lonely? Or running from something? The answer is both, you know, but you’re not going to clarify. “My family. Things are pretty fucked. I thought distance would help, and it does, a little. But….that shit still follows you anyways. They’re always with you, no matter what.”

Joel nods. 

“But… I have a life here. When I lived downtown, I definitely did. I don’t mind the quiet, and….I have friends.”

Joel looks at you. “You got a boyfriend, don’t you?”

Why would he think that-oh. You had tried to forget it, the morning he’d caught you still wrapped up in your robe – not the fluffy fleece one you liked the most, but the one you specifically only wore when you had guys over, cause they loved that shit.

“Oh, right,” you say. “Bradley. Yeah, uh. He’s…he’s….not my boyfriend. But…” you shake your head. “It’s a little complicated.”

“I’m sure it ain’t that hard to explain.”

“I mean…” you avoid his eyes. “He’s kind of an asshole, but we’re not really commited to each other in a meaningful way. Plus, he’s not around that much which is kind of perfect…for me.”

“Really?”

“Less to worry about,” you answer, purse your lips. “But…I don’t know. I sorta wish he got my heart rate up a little more.”

“He’s not your type?”

“I don’t really have a type,” you shake your head. “I like what I like.”

Joel rasps. “I feel the same,” and he’s made sure your eyes are on him when he says it.

You swallow, nod, smooth your hair back. “Anyways. Why’re you asking me all this?”

Joel doesn’t seem to find an answer right away. You narrow your eyes at him, studying his face, looking for something that will give him away. It’s a trick you’ve learned…silence…a bit of skepticism. It makes people uncomfortable. And Joel shifts his weight, squirming beneath your gaze. Until something in his face shifts, and he smiles….just a little. 

“So that’s where Sarah learned that.”

“Learned what?”

“That look you’re giving me.”

“What look?” 

“Like you can see right through me.”

“Can I?” You narrow your eyes further.

“You’re tryin’ to.” 

He’d done a good enough job of avoiding your question, and you’re not gonna ask him again, and instead opt for a different one. “So what about you, then?” you poke his knee with your foot.

“Oh, I’m not answerin’’ that.”

“What? I just told you, that’s not fair.”

Joel runs a hand along his jaw, ponders. “Most women don’t want to be with a man who already has a kid so…things on that front are not always easy.” 

“I have a hard time believing that. I mean, don’t you have an upcoming date with Sarah’s teacher or something?” you tease.

“That’s not happening,” he assures you. “But….I work so much these days I don’t have the capacity for much. So I get what you mean, sometimes it’s easy to not get emotionally involved but…I’ve never really been great at that.”

“You’re a relationship guy?”

“I mean, Tommy has been pestering me about this lately. Says at this rate, once Sarah’s grown, I’ll end up old and alone. Annoys me to hell, but he’s right. I wouldn’t mind…some kind of companionship. Someone to tell you you’ve done alright at the end of the day.” 

“You sound awfully romantic,” you at him blink slowly.

“I can be, when I want to.” Joel rolls his eyes. “But right now…I think I’m just stoned.” 

That makes you giggle. So he’s just being honest. “I didn’t really see much great come from settling down when I grew up, so I’ve always been a bit of a pessimist when it comes to love. What you’re saying….it’s a nicer way to think of things.”

You rarely connected with the men you dated. You chose to date douchebags, to date cheaters. It was better that way, to know up front what you were getting yourself into. The best ones didn’t ask for much, just the odd fuck here and there for a couple months, and you’d step away when things were no longer fun, if they evewere to begin with. 

Actually getting married, settling down, didn’t feel like a real possibility for you. So you’d never allowed yourself to indulge in what seemed like a fantasy. Some women aren’t meant to be a part of a family. Your father had told you once – during one of few times he’d attempted to comfort you after your mother didn’t call on your birthday – as if it excused his own neglect. 

“Yeah, and it hasn’t all been bad. I mean, I’ve had a couple good girlfriends over the years. They were sweet, fun. I enjoyed the time I spent with them, they just…never made it through the real litmus test.”

“Sarah?”

He nods. 

“It would be hard, I imagine. For her. Accepting someone new into her life.”

“Yeah.”

“You really care about her,” you say. “About how she feels. It’s nice.”

“I’m doin’ my best.”

The way he talks about Sarah makes you nauseated. It’s something pure, and you can’t help but feel bitterly nostalgic. 

“I wish my dad would have been like you.”

It slips out, and you immediately regret it. It’s been too long since you’ve gotten stoned with someone else, and you’ve forgotten your filter. And even though you’ve already divulged more to him about you than you normally would, this feels like too much all of the sudden. 

This isn’t something you can backpedal, and before you know it, Joel is leaning towards you. There’s concern written in his features, he wants to comfort, and you thank God for what happens next, or it all would’ve been too much.

His shift in weight causes Martini to jump off his lap and sprint to the door of the porch. He stares at you and then meows. 

Even though Joel isn’t touching you, you have to tear yourself away from the hold he’s got you in. ““I gotta let him in, or he’ll get annoyed.”

You move to open the door, and the cat slips inside.

“Is that a guitar in there?” Joel asks, catching a sliver of the gleaming body in the dim light.

“Yeah.” 

“You play?”  He questions, and you come to sit back on the couch. 

“Not anymore. It’s more of a decoration. How about you?” 

“A little.”

“A little?”

“A lot.” Joel smiles, looks at the ground like not sure why he’s telling you this. “I actually uh, used to want to be a singer.”

“What?” you ask. “You’re kidding.”

“No,” Joel shakes his head. 

“Joel, what?” you put a hand on his arm and lean forward, then look at the guitar.

“Why not?”

“I was…young when I had Sarah. And I had to do something that could actually help us get by.”

“Okay well, you have to play me something, then,” you rise to step inside and retrieve it off the wall. 

“No, no-”

“Come on, please?” you ask. “Don’t be a tease.”

Joel just stares as you bring the guitar out to him. 

“Although this might be out of tune…” you strum once, and wince at the tinny sound it makes. “Definitely it is.”

“Here,” Joel takes it from you. “I can do it.”

It takes him a moment, but he’s plucking the strings in a way that feels so instinctual, purposeful, you can already tell he knows what he’s doing. Once he’s finished, he strums a few chords, and everything is magically in tune. 

“Alright,” you prompt, when he hesitates. “What are you gonna play me?”

“You know any Neil Young?”

“Of course,” you answer. 

Joel nods once, looks down at the guitar, and starts playing. You’d recognize the opening chords to anywhere, but he somehow makes them sound even moodier, and bittersweet. 

Come a little bit closer, hear what I have to say…

He can sing. You’re taken aback. You’re not sure what you expected, but it’s definitely better than that. Deeper, raspier, and now you have new information about him that’s going to bounce around your brain when you’re bored during meetings at work, while you’re lying in bed at night, trying to sleep. 

Because I’m still in love with you, I want to see you dance again…

You shift your weight, sling your arm over the back of the couch, and rest your chin on your hand. Suddenly, you’re feeling a little tired. He’s all-but putting you to sleep and, somehow, that feels like the highest compliment you can give. It could be because you’re stoned, but you feel warm all over. You close your eyes, just listen, until he’s finished.

Even after he’s finished, you keep your eyes closed, settling. Until you feel something graze against the back of your hand. Joel’s. He’s matching your own pose, facing you, but reaching out…

“That was nice,” you say, earnestly. You’re good.”

Joel smiles bashfully, tugs your hand from beneath your chin and pinches your index finger between two of his own. Your nails are painted a glittery purple, and Joel studies them. Sarah had painted them earlier this week when she’d hung out after school, and had picked out the color. 

“So are you,” he shifts closer. 

He’s not quite close enough to kiss you himself. But it’s enough…he’s just giving you the chance to lean in, to close the gap. The proximity makes you dizzy, and you’re a little overwhelmed. It’s too much. It’d be too much. You can’t. You’re afraid of what he might do to you.

“We should be good, then,” Gazing at him from under your lashes, you pull back just enough. It’s not a rejection, and you can tell he doesn’t see it that way either. There’s a mutual understanding, you’re on the same page, but you aren’t quite sure what it is. The warmth of Joel’s hand leaves yours, and a part of you is filled with regret.

And then, like it never happened, the two of you spend another hour talking. He’s engaged, intuitive, thoughtful, funny. By the time he excuses himself, long after the sun has fully dipped below the horizon, you feel like he’s an old friend. An old friend you want…badly, but, you know him on a level you hadn’t before.

“Gotta be up tomorrow for a soccer game, otherwise I’d stick around,” Joel says as you’re guiding him to the front door.

“It’s alright,” you say. “You’re welcome to do this anytime.”

“You sure?” he tilts his head, leaning against the doorframe on his way out. “You might regret offerin’ that….”

“I won’t.”

--

part iv

taglist: @yaskna@venomous-ko@lomljigg@yeehawbitchs@ay0nha @eldahae @lol-im-done@melancholicmelanin@reggies-floatie @omniscientqueer@superflymaterial@mikkorantanev@zbeez-outlet @nadja-antipaxos @strawberri-blonde @jabbajambler @ponyboys-sunsets @kyuupidwrites @r4efromvenus @loveatfirstsight-atlastsight @korianderbandit @nicoleoeoeoe @hotgirlsshareaccounts @madisonred88 @crustyrustydusty @sflame15-blog @issybee0611 @darkemeralddiamond @grandmana @totallynotastanacc @ay0nha

#are you feeling the slow burn yet? #also #i fully think i am not just writing for hbo joel but also game joel #ive had a lot of thoughts about game joel lately #and i really need people to understand i try to represent both in the story #so imagine who you want ;) #Joel Miller x reader #Joel Miller #Joel Miller x f!reader #joel Miller imagine #Joel Miller series #joel miller the last of us #the last of us #the last of us fanfiction #Pedro pascal #troy baker #TLOU HBO #TLOU fanfic #pre-outbreak! joel miller #texas sun

[mrsevans90]

Puppy Love

Captain Syverson x OFC Emma Miller Part 12

Summary: Austin Syverson has returned to Texas after retiring from the military and starts his own contracting business. Syverson is used to being alone and thinks he prefers it that way. While at work he stumbles upon an injured and abused puppy. When he meets the new veterinarian in town, Emma Miller, he is immediately smitten with her. It turns out Emma has some baggage of her own. Will they be able to make it work? Or is it just a case of fleeting puppy love?

Pairing: Henry Cavill as Captain Austin Syverson x OFC Emma Miller 

Warnings: mentions of sex, anxious Sy, Nana (because her sassiness is a warning), language

MINORS DNI! Must be 18+

I do not authorize any copying/pasting, stealing of my work, or using my words as your own. 

This story is not beta’d. All mistakes are my own.

A/N: I am an imperfect person who makes mistakes. All that I ask is to please be kind and if you enjoy it then please comment and REPOST! I appreciate any love, comments, and reposts more than you could know. Thank you for reading! 

Part 11

Emma and I spent Sunday together in pure domesticity. We grocery shopped and then went back to her house so that she could start meal prepping. She cooked loads of food and then divided them in little containers for the both of us. I spent as much time sampling little bits of the food when she wasn’t looking as I did with my hands wrapped around her waist. She was so cute humming to the radio in her tiny short shorts that I couldn’t help myself but to touch her. I guess I wanted to just feel her since our routine was going to be off. The next week, Emma is busy preparing her house for her parent’s upcoming arrival. I knew I wouldn’t get to spend the weekend with her, so I was already dreading it. I’ve become so used to having her in my bed all weekend and spending time with her that I felt like I was going to have withdrawals from her. The plan was to have brunch with her and her parents on Saturday where she would introduce me as her official boyfriend. God, I’m a grown ass man about to meet my girlfriend’s parents and I’m nervous. I know her dad’s approval means the most and I’m not certain he’ll feel comfortable with his little girl being with the big, gruff army captain. Plus, the term “girlfriend and boyfriend” feel so juvenile at this point. About midday on Wednesday, while I’m installing flooring at a jobsite, my phone chimes with a text.

Mills’ Mama: How do you feel about weeknight sleepovers?

Sy: Sounds like the best damn idea you’ve ever had. Yours or mine?

Mills’ Mama: Maybe we can swap back and forth? Mine tonight and yours tomorrow? I’ll cook you dinner!

Sy: I’ll be there after work, Sugar, with the dogs and my bag. Can’t wait to see you.

Mills’ Mama: Can’t wait to kiss you.

Sy: Is that so?

Mills’ Mama: Mmhmm. Maybe even more. 😉

Sy: Darlin’. We still got 4 more hours of work, you better quit teasin’ me.

The afternoon rolls around and after a quick shower and packing some clothes and toiletries in my military duffle, I load the dogs up and head to Emma’s house. I’m nervous about sleeping somewhere else since I’ve been retired, but I need to get over it eventually. Emma met us at the door and after loving on the dogs she pulled my cheeks down into a deep kiss. Dinner was on the table when I made it inside and it smelled delicious. I went and set my bag down along with the dog bed I brought for Aika to help her arthritis in her bedroom and smiled as it was immaculately clean with the bed made. I felt Emma’s arms wrap around my waist and squeeze.

“Mmm.. I’m so glad you’re here.” She murmured.

“Me too, Sugar. Ya had a good day?” 

“Busy.” She mumbles into my back and I chuckle. 

“Ya gonna let me go so I can see that beautiful face?” I chuckle and feel her shake her head with a mumbled “no” into my back. I reach back and tickle her sides which has her instantly let go and jump back.

“There’s my girl.” I say as I lean in to kiss her. I try to deepen the kiss but she pulls back. 

“Supper’s on the table.” She reminds me before grabbing my hand and leading me to the table that the dogs were already corralled under, begging for scraps. 

We enjoyed our meal sharing relatively bland aspects of our day before quickly retreating to the bedroom. I was a little nervous about sleeping over for fear that I might have a nightmare, and reluctantly told Emma so when she asked me what was bothering me. She promised that if I was too uncomfortable she would understand, but I didn’t want to wimp out. Emma promised to distract me and before I knew it, she was quick to undress herself and show me a sexy little dark green lingerie number she told me she was wearing just for me. My worries momentarily forgotten, I spent the next hour of our night thoroughly fucking Emma and bringing her to a total of four orgasms. Sweaty and exhausted, we showered together and then climbed in bed. I wrapped Emma’s body tightly against my own and exhaled a sigh of relief.

“You feel okay about sleeping here?” Emma murmured sleepily.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be okay as long as you’re in my arms, Sugar.” 

“My favorite place to be.” She sighs.

Just like that, we fell asleep wrapped in each other and I got one of the best nights of rest I’ve had in a while surrounded by Emma and the scent of her perfume.

The rest of the week went well and before I knew it, I was getting ready to meet Emma and her parents at the diner for brunch Saturday morning. I of course, arrive about 10 minutes early because the military man in me can’t seem to break that habit after years of having it engrained into my personality. I go ahead and get us a table before shooting a text to Emma letting her know where I’m at. A few of the local people I know stop by the table to say hello, or catch up which helps my anxiety about impressing her parents and before I know it, they’re here. I catch sight of Emma in a pretty pink sundress with a smile so bright that has my heart aching and my pants feeling a bit tighter. I politely stand up when Emma makes her way over to me and presses a light kiss to my lips which surprises me. I extend my hand immediately as she introduces us.

“Mom and Dad, I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Austin Syverson.”

“It’s nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you as Emma has been looking forward to your visit.” I say as I shake hands with her mother and father who introduce themselves as Diana and James.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Austin. Emma has told me bits and pieces about you but she keeps a lot of things to herself so we were itching to meet you.”

“My descriptions wouldn’t do him justice.” She replies.

We all sit down in the booth and take a look at the menus before ordering and handing our menus back to the waitress.

“So, Austin, tell us about yourself.” James says and I take a deep breath before responding.

“Well, I’m a retired military captain who decided to open my own contracting company when I got back to Texas. I didn’t initially plan on it but I bought a house that needed a ton of work and found a lot of appreciation for fixing up myself. I ended up liking it so much that I decided to start my own company which is doing pretty well. I’m really close with my grandparents who own a farm about ten miles from here, and I have two dogs that I care about a lot. That’s how I met Emma, was taking my dog to the vet.”

“Interesting, Emma said you were in the military but didn’t say you were a captain. What division?” James inquires.

“Army, Special Forces.” 

“Damn. I’ve bet you’ve seen some things.” You don’t know the half of it.

“Yes sir, but I try not to focus on it. Easy to do with work, my dogs, and spending time with this pretty girl.” I say as I smile down at Emma.

“She did tell me that you were very helpful in getting all of the security installed at her home, so I appreciate that. Especially after that idiot stalked her all the way out here.” James says.

“I was happy to help out, and it gave me piece of mind that she would be safe at all times. Most importantly that she continued to feel safe at her home. That was my number one concern.”

“I agree. We tried to convince her that she should move back, at least closer to home, but she’s not budging. I guess we now know why, seeing as she has you here.” Diana replies with a smirk.

“She is sitting right here, you know.” Emma says and I chuckle. Sassy girl doesn’t like being talked about.

“I’ve told you, I’m happy here and I’m not going to run away from my problems. I’ve started a new life for myself and it makes me happy.”

I beam at her proud of her for not backing down when it’s her life and her decision.

“All I ask is that you take care of her. I know she’s grown, but I look at her and still see my little girl dancing in a princess dress to her favorite Disney movie.” 

“I promise, sir. Emma’s safety and happiness are my priority.” I look him dead in his eyes and he nods. Emma intertwines our fingers together under the table and squeezes my hand tightly.

“So, tell us more about your family. Parents?” Diana asks and Emma immediately interrupts.

“Mom, no.”

“No, darlin’ it’s alright. My father left when I was a toddler and remarried and I don’t have any contact with him. My mother passed away from breast cancer several years ago. I have an older brother, Mark, who is happily married and they have a little girl. They live in Tennessee so I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like. My grandparents and I are extremely close though and I see them every Sunday for lunch.”

“That’s lovely. I’m so sorry to hear about your mother. Cancer is such an awful thing.”

“It sure is.”

The conversation quickly moves on to how hard Emma worked to get the guest bedroom ready for their visit, where she praised me for doing the heavy lifting, before shifting to Emma’s veterinary practice. Emma explained in more detail how we actually met when I found an abused Mills behind a property I was working on.

“We are huge animal lovers; I guess that’s why Emma became a veterinarian. You’ll have to introduce us to your dogs at some point.”

“I’d be happy too. Mills doesn’t have the best manners yet, but he’s still a pup so he’ll get there.”

“We’ll have to introduce you to his Nana and PawPaw at some point too. His nana is an absolute trip! She is your typical southern sassy woman and I adore her.” Emma boasts and I smile. I know of a way to make Nana really happy if Emma wants to introduce them.

“Y’all are welcome to join us for lunch tomorrow. I know Nana would be tickled pink.”

“Oh my gosh, really? That’s not too short notice? I wouldn’t want to impose.” Emma responds excitedly.

“You know that woman will be absolutely thrilled if you and your parents join us. She always overcooks anyway. I’ll call her to make sure just for your peace of mind but I promise she’d love it. They don’t get many visitors these days so it will give her something to look forward too.” I smile, glad that the two most important women in my life seem to want to spend time together.

We finish eating and I pay for our entire meal as I had discreetly requested from the waitress when I arrived before everyone. James seemed absolutely shocked that I had done that but gave me a strong handshake and thanked me for the meal. I feel like I made a good impression but it’s likely too soon to tell. Diana hugged me quickly before Emma wrapped her arms around my neck and pecked a chaste kiss to my lips before they left to go explore the town with the promise to call me in a bit. I got in my truck feeling good about the experience before calling Nana.

“Well hello my darlin’ grandson!” She answered as lively as ever.

“Hey Nana. How y’all doing today?”

“Just as well as ever. We’re still kicking so at our age that’s all we can ask for.” She jests.

“What about you? I missed our Sunday lunch last week. Please tell me Emma’s coming tomorrow?”

“Emma’s parents are in town visiting, but I figured if y’all were up for it they could all come?” 

“Well I’ll be damned!” She crows and I have to hold my phone back from my ear slightly.

“Now, what do you mean by that?” 

“My sweet grandson is finally getting serious about a woman! Enough to let us meet not only her, but her family as well? Hot damn!”

“D’you curse like that in church, Nana?” I joke, making fun of her southern Baptist persona.

“Only if the sermon’s good enough.” She retorts.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

“Of course! Oohh now I gotta be thinking about what all I’m going to cook.”

“Don’t go to any trouble, Nana. This isn’t some big thing. Whatever you had already planned will be perfect.”

“Nonsense. We need to make a good impression so her daddy will agree to let Emma marry you.”

“Slow down, woman! It’s not that serious yet. We haven’t even said I love you. Emma was telling them about you and PawPaw and it just came up. Promise me you won’t scare them off.”

“Boy, don’t make me smack you. I will be my typical charming self and they will love me. That’s not what I’m worried about. I need to make a good impression for you.”

“I met them and I think they like me.”

“Well, I’m going to make sure they love you.”

“I’m regretting this already, Nana.” I sigh. 

“Is PawPaw around?”

“Yes, let me get him…JOE! Austin’s on the phone!” She yells away from the receiver and I can’t help but shake my head and smirk endearingly.

“Hello?”

“PawPaw, how are ya?”

“I’m just fine, son. What have you done that’s got your Nana all in a tizzy? She’s running around crazier than a betsy bug.”

“Well, I’m bringing Emma and her parents to lunch tomorrow.”

I hear a low chuckle into the receiver.

“All I can say is, you’ve done it now. Hope you and Emma are prepared for an overzealous ole’ woman chatting her parent’s ears off tomorrow.”

“What was I thinking, PawPaw? Do me a favor, try to get her to be on her best behavior. She doesn’t listen to anyone but you.”

“Son, that woman doesn’t listen to anyone, myself included. Just take a deep breath and hope she doesn’t pull out the baby books.”

“Jesus. Hide them for me, please PawPaw.”

“Will do. Try not to worry. See ya tomorrow.”

“Alright, love ya Pops.”

“Love you too, Son.”

I take a deep breath and place my head on the steering wheel as I think about what I’ve subjected myself too. I ought to warn Emma’s parents before we get there tomorrow.

I meet up with Alex since I haven’t seen him on the weekends since I’ve started dating Emma and caught up with him. We played a few video games at his place before I grabbed some dinner on the way back to my house. I hated how empty my house felt without Emma there. Already she was this presence that I craved and even found myself wishing she left some of her things here so that I could more easily imagine her in my home. We had texted a few times throughout the afternoon but I wanted her to enjoy her time with her parents since they would be leaving Sunday afternoon. Emma had even invited me to go out to dinner with them but I just didn’t want to monopolize their time together. After my shower, I was trimming up my beard when I saw Emma facetiming me.

“Hey, Sugar. How was your afternoon?”

“It was good! I took my parents to the clinic and showed them everything before we went to the little town museum. After that, we did a little shopping for my house and I bought patio furniture for the backyard which will be great. Then we went to dinner and came back here to relax a bit. I’m exhausted.” She says dramatically while flailing back on her bed.

“I bet, you had quite a busy day.”

“What did you get up too?”

“Not much, just hung out with Alex. Played some video games with him before grabbing take out and coming home to the pups.”

“Wish I was there.” “Me too. I really found myself craving your presence here, Sugar. You’ve gotten me spoiled by staying here every weekend.”

“Aw, I miss it there too. I really liked our weeknight sleepovers by the way. I suggest we just start staying together every night.” I smile at her.

“You sure about that?” 

“Mhmm. I sleep so good cuddled up to my big teddy bear.” 

“I sleep the best with you too. Even though you put your ice-cold feet on me.” I say and she giggles.

“You’re always so warm! I’ll freeze tonight without you here to warm them.” She giggles while stifling a yawn. 

“Sugar, you’ve had a long day. Why don’t you go ahead and get some sleep. I’ll see you at mine tomorrow before going to Nana’s?” I ask and she nods.

“Okay, goodnight baby.”

“Night, Darlin’. Sleep well.”

The next day, I woke up at my usual time and after some breakfast I went ahead and gave both of the dogs a bath. Mills has turned into such a water loving dog, and I could hardly keep him from chasing the water hose while I cleaned him. After that, I decide to get a decent work out in my garage/makeshift gym. Since I’m already sweaty, I then cut the grass with the lawn tractor since I have such a large yard before heading inside and cleaning up a bit. Emma’s parents are going to be coming with her to mine so we can all ride together so I want to make sure everything looks good. Fortunately, the military is strict on tidiness, so other than wiping down the counters and taking out the trash there wasn’t that much to be done. Lastly, I cleaned myself up with a shower and put on some fresh clothes. Emma texted that they were on their way and so I played with the dogs a little bit before their arrival. When I heard Emma’s jeep pulling down the gravel driveway, I met them out on the front porch. My house was something that I was really proud of, taking a broken down, weathered Victorian style home and making it new and beautiful again was special. I just didn’t look like the type of person who owned a beautiful historic home with a wraparound porch. I know that Emma loves my home and I hope her parents do too. 

“Austin, your home is absolutely gorgeous!” Diana praises as she steps from the car. Emma walks up and hugs me tightly.

“Thank ya, ma’am. I’m pretty proud of it.”

“It must be worth a fortune.” She says and Emma rolls her eyes.

“It certainly wasn’t when I bought it. Roof leaked, porch was entirely rotten, plumbing and electrical were both in need of repair and a tree had fallen on the southwest corner from a storm. It sat abandoned for years. I grew up here and always thought it was such a shame because it had great bones, just needed a lot of work. When I moved back and saw it was still here, I jumped on it without giving it too much thought. I was needing something to keep me busy and it certainly did.” I say.

“Well, I’m sure it must’ve taken so long to do but you did well.” James adds.

“Thank you, I worked on it for about 10 months before I could get it to where I could live in it while repairing it, before I moved in and spent another year and half making all of the repairs and updates that it needed. Come on in, I’ll show you around and let you meet the pups.” 

Emma and her parents come inside where Mills races towards them. All of them, including Emma’s dad squat down to allow Mills to assault them all with puppy kisses. Aika’s a bit slower and not as forthcoming, but she of course comes straight to Emma who gives her all the attention and ear scratches.

I give them a short tour of the house before it’s time to head to Nana’s house. We all ride in Emma’s jeep but I drive and Emma enthusiastically tells them about my grandparents. I feel like it might be a good time to warn them about Nana. 

“Just so ya know, I love her very much but my Nana is one of a kind, in a very exuberant way. She thinks because she’s old she can just say whatever comes to her mind, but she’s been like that my whole life. Hopefully she won’t offend anyone. PawPaw is a very quiet, taciturn man but I figure he has to be to have been with Nana for as long as they have.”

“I’m sure they are just lovely, Austin.” Diana chirps from the backseat.

Emma reaches over and grabs my hand before winking at me. We quickly arrive and I help Emma out of her car before we head inside.

“Nana?” I yell as I open the door.

“Ohhh, Joe! They’re here!” I hear Nana chirp before she comes fluttering towards the front door that we’ve all entered.

“Hi! I’m Daisy! This is my husband Joe, and we are Austin’s grandparents. I’m so glad y’all could join us for lunch today.”

“Nana, this is Diana and James, Emma’s parents.” They shake hands and Nana wraps Emma into a tight hug.

“It’s so nice to meet you. Thank you for having us out here on such short notice.” James says.

“So nice to meet the parents of the most wonderful woman. Emma here is an absolute gem!” Nana dotes and I can’t help but smile. PawPaw gently slaps my shoulder and winks at me without anyone seeing.

“Aw thank you, Emma just adores you and tells us that you are a wonderful cook!” Diana adds.

“Oh that’s just the sweetest, but really I cook everything in butter or lard so it has to taste good!” Nana says and they all laugh. 

“Y’all come on in and make yourselves at home. Lunch is on the table. I’ve got southern fried chicken, steamed broccoli and carrots, mashed potatoes, and cornbread. I also have plenty of salad and fruit in case any of you are allergic or not a fan of meat.” Nana explains and I feel my stomach rumble. It all sounds so good to me.

“That sounds absolutely mouth-watering.” James says and I quickly agree with him.

We all sit down after stacking our plates sky high as Nana goes about filling drinks for everyone. Nana asks PawPaw to bless the meal like she usually does and the room is silent as he does so. My PawPaw has always been a man of few words, but he commands a room when he does speak and I almost feel like he saves those moments for times he considers most meaningful, like this.

We all get tucked into our meal and Nana is absolutely loving the constant praises of her cooking. She knows she’s an amazing cook, but she’ll never hesitate to take a compliment for it. We make light conversation throughout the meal talking about Emma’s parents in Alabama and where they work, etc. 

“Tell us about Austin growing up. I bet he helped a lot here on the farm.” Diana asks.

“Oh, he’s always been the hardest worker. We knew Mark never wanted much to do with the farm, but Austin took pride in even the worst jobs like mucking horse stalls even as a kid. Joe and him spent plenty of time out there building fences, sheds, feeding and watering the animals. He’s been such a help to us over the years.” Nana said as she pats my hand on the table.

“I was going to pull some photo albums out to show you all but I can’t seem to remember where I’ve put them.” Nana admits and I subtly glance at PawPaw whose expression of steel doesn’t change but I know that I owe him for that. 

“I’ll keep looking and show them to Emma next time she comes around. He was such a cute boy with wild curly brown hair like his mama. I feel like every time she bought him new pants, he’d hit another growth spurt. We couldn’t keep up!” Nana chuckles and I blush slightly.

“Tell us about Emma as a kid. I bet she was the cutest.” I interrupt and Diana quickly jumps in to brag about her beautiful daughter, not that I could blame her.

“Oh, Emma was just the prettiest little thing, but always very independent. She was stubborn but only about things she really cared about. She once rescued a baby squirrel, Pip, who she found covered in ants on the driveway and almost dead. She was about 11 and was adamant she was going to nurse it back to health. She fed it formula from a syringe every few hours and I swear, that thing would come back to her when she called it like a dog. We knew then, she was serious about becoming a veterinarian. She’s always been very compassionate and had a love for animals.”

“How sweet! What else did she do growing up?” Nana urges.

“Well, she was in high school and competitive cheer. She also did a few pageants and won some of them before she begged to stop.”

“I didn’t know you were in pageants?” I ask her and she blushes.

“I don’t usually tell anyone that. It was in an effort to get scholarship money towards college but I just couldn’t deal with the catty dramatic girls.” She says timidly.

“I can’t blame you for that! Teenage girls can be just awful, especially in that setting. Little poisonous bitches!” Nana says and Emma busts out laughing which causes us all to start cackling. Oh nana.

After we eat lunch, Nana has us all come out to the back porch to digest a little bit before slicing into the strawberry cake she made. I felt like I was going to puke if I ate another bite, but I’ve never turned down Nana’s strawberry cake. It’s delicious. We all continue chatting about different things with the occasional goat bleating or cow mooing in the background. I couldn’t be more relieved at how down to earth Emma’s parents are. Her dad accepting me was one of my biggest concerns, but we found ourselves in easy conversation about all sorts of things. I was also relieved that they seemed to flock to Nana just like she predicted. By the time we needed to leave, Nana had packed everyone a plate of food to take home and was hugging Emma’s parents like they were old friends. 

“Y’all better come visit us for lunch the next time you visit!” Nana hollered at James and Diana who readily agreed.

“After a meal like that, we may just come back to visit you and Joe instead of Emma and Austin!” James joked and they all just cackled. Emma leaned against my arm as she had a hand on my bicep and smiled up at me. I kissed her forehead before opening her door and thought Nana was just going to float away in her excitement. 

Everyone thanked them again for having us and I promised that I’d call Nana in the morning with a peck to her cheek.

I drove us straight back to Emma’s so that I could see her parents off with her. After lots of goodbye hugs and kisses from Emma and a surprise hug from them both to me, they drove away seeming relaxed and supportive of the life she has built herself here. 

Emma pulled me back inside and kissed me deeply.

“They love you. Thank you for being so wonderful.” She said.

“They’re great people. It’s easy to see why I like you so much, because they raised you. So thank you for being the best girlfriend I’ve ever had.” I tell her. Mushy but true.

Emma turns and walks to her room and I’m a little surprised because she walked away so abruptly. Did I say something wrong?

“Sugar?”

“Sugar, did I say something wrong?”

“Nope, never. I’m just packing a bag so I can go home with you.” She smiles as she throws a clean pair of vet scrubs into the bag.

“I sure like the sound of that…home with me.” 

“Me too.” She smiles and kisses me softly.

Ten minutes later, we are back in her jeep headed to my house to be together with the dogs and it feels so right.

Part 13

Taglist: @shellyshellshell, @henryownsme, @caramariehurst, @beck07990, @mollymal, @kingliam2019, @syversonswife, @identity2212, @starfirewildheart, @hannah9921, @wa-ni, @kneelforloki, @cutedoxie, @enchantedbytomandhenry, @foxyjwls007, @geralts-yenn, @courtlynwriter, @corrie1013, @squeezyvalkyrie, @summersong69, @livisss, @mayloma, @uunotheangel, @warriormirkwood, @sofiebstar

Authors Note: SO sorry this took so long. My kid brought home a stomach virus from school and it slowly went through each family member. I didn't think it was ever going to end but we are FINALLY feeling better and no longer cleaning up vomit. Hope y'all have a great week!

#henry cavill characters #captain syverson #captain sy #captain syverson fanfiction #captain syverson fic #captain syverson smut #henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #captain syverson fluff

[papercupids]

good good night - kim mingyu

pairing -> mingyu x gender neutral reader.

word count -> 0.6k

summary -> mingyu has made it a habit to bail on his friends to not spend more than even a minute than he has to, but he soon regrets it

warnings -> mentions / implied use of alcohol and drinking but that’s about it.

a/n -> this is literally the third or fourth time i've tried to publish this because tumblr loves fucking w me (it didn’t save my last drafts). anyway, i love writing these little mingyu pieces so much i might even convert it into a series or something.

the bell rings and you pause watching, even though you just started watching the movie, gathering all the snacks and drinks and finally sitting down to watch it. and you think about who it could be since you don’t have any parcel deliveries scheduled for today and neither has mingyu.. or does he? 

when you open the door, it reveals not your boyfriend’s package but he, himself, standing in all his 6’3 glory. 

“hey, you’re back!”

“i am,” he walks past you, almost too glad to be home. 

“wait, didn’t you leave like just 2 hours ago or something? mingyu, did you bail on them again?” you ask as you slowly close the door.

he sits down on the seat next to the shoe cabinet, and removes his shoes and smiles at you. he looks drunk but not as drunk as he is everytime. 

“...no I just had enough of the drinks and i was super tired and i just. wanted to be home with you,” he’s done removing the shoes and he holds out his hands, signaling you to come closer. “kinda missed you,” you wrap your arms around his neck and he pulls you further in, rubbing his nose to yours.

“aw, as sweet as that is, you know you shouldn’t bail on your friends everytime right?” he’d been doing this for the last few times, coming back too early, saying he preferred to spend his only free time, the weekends, with you. you walk up to the sofa and he joins you there after he changes into his home clothes.

“i think they were too drunk to notice. and besides, aren't you happy to have me home?” you look up and grin at him, a grin he’s kinda afraid of you, a grin that means that you have ulterior motives. 

“ofcourse! trust me there's nobody happier than i am.” you play the movie you paused as eerie music starts playing.  “a new horror movie just came out on netflix and i was about to start it so i'm so so happy you came home early so we could watch it together.” 

mingyu attempts to get up quickly but your hands grab at his quickly and he gives you a pleading look. 

“no baby, you can't escape now,”

“i think they're calling me though….”

“too late, baby,”

a bit later though, as the tv sounds go on and on filling up the empty house with the lights off, as you both lay asleep on the sofa, with your face on his chest and his hand lying limp on the floor with the remote still clasped.

he shakes awake slowly, due to some noise in the tv and struggles to slowly move the remote and turn it off without any movement because he was too scared of waking you up.

you had obliged into watching a romcom for the sake of mingyu but deep down he did feel like it was because after a jumpscare or two even you were kinda scared, not that you would ever admit it. 

he strokes your hair gently so if he moves it doesn't wake you up suddenly and scare you, and then he gets up from under you as silently as possible and makes sure you're asleep, which thankfully, you are.

he steps inside the bedroom, turning on the lights and sets up the bed, complete with the blanket on the side folded away to accommodate you and then to be over you.

and he comes back, and again gently kisses your forehead before picking you up, scared that it will wake you up but sleeping on the sofa is a 2 days worth of back pain because of the cramped space and he does not want that to happen to you again.

when he lays you down, you curl up to snuggle yourself and he tucks the blanket to cover you. 

admiring the scene just standing there for a bit.

and then he got into bed beside you, pulling up the covers above his shoulders and facing your side. 

goodnight.

#i say 4-5 times but i've been trying to post this for a fucking month so its more than that ugh #anyway god goodnight its 5 am here i'll go sleep now #mingyu fanfic #mingyu angst #kim mingyu #mingyu x reader #mingyu #mingyu x y/n #mingyu x you #mingyu fluff #mingyu scenarios #mingyu x oc #mingyu imagines #svt imagines #svt reactions #svt fanfic #svt x reader #svt fluff #svt scenarios #svt headcanons #svt hhu #seventeen fluff #seventeen imagines #seventeen headcanons #seventeen x reader #seventeen soft hours #seventeen scenarios #hhu x reader #mingyu headcanons #kpop x reader

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: still kinda blown away by the response to my svech fics! thank you!! 🥹 like i said before, gonna keep riding this writing wave as far as it’ll take me. i’ve got at least two other lil fics up my sleeve after this one! also it’s been a month and a half since the asg weekend so don’t blame me if some of the timing on stuff is weird. i tried to hit all the major cute svech moments! this got obscenely long, my apologies and i kind of hate it but nothing to do about that 😂 i’m off to the isles/leafs game, so enjoy and i’ll be reading your tags while i eat a pretzel and cheer on my island boys!

word count: 7.6k (weird, felt longer while i was writing it 😵‍💫)

tw: yeah this one’s smutty. it’s drei in miami, so what do you expect? plus google-translated russian, so ya know, reader beware.

summary: all-star weekend and bye-week with andrei

The fact that this year’s All-Star Game is taking place - in Florida! - during your “spring” break is a blessing from God. The semester is barely started, but you’re already over it, senioritis hitting like a freight train. The entire week before you leave for Florida, Andrei is bouncing around the apartment like a sugar-high child. His grin is infectious and you can’t help but smile every time you look at him.

“Solnyshka,” he says over dinner on the Monday night the week of the All-Star break, “I’m an All-Star. The league picked me.”

It’s been weeks since the initial announcement and he’s still just as excited and disbelieving. You lean over and kiss him, “of course they did! Drei, you’re literally the best player I know.”

He laces your fingers together. “I’m glad you’re coming. And my parents and Geno. It will be the best weekend.”

“And the best part is that you’re on bye week after that,” you sigh, thinking happily of all the time you’re going to get to spend in the Miami sun with a shirtless, beachy Andrei. Yeah, you’re definitely excited for this year’s All-Star Game.

Andrei nods, looking you over with soft eyes. He grins, but it’s really more of a smirk, “what are you packing?”

When you raise an eyebrow, he continues, “I just want to make sure we are not going to accidentally bring the same things.” His face falls into a mask of pure innocence and you laugh out loud.

“Unless you,” pointing your fork at him, you start, “plan on bringing half a dozen bikinis in neon colors, then I think we’re fine.”

“Oh,” Andrei shakes his head, “I think I’m going to have to repack my bag then.”

Another laugh startles from your chest and you picture Andrei in all of his 6’2”, muscled glory wearing one of your bikinis and start giggling hysterically. “I’m sorry,” you gasp out between laughs. You’re always laughing with him and Andrei looks so proud of himself for making you laugh and smile all the time. He really is one of the happiest people you’ve ever met.

“I am thinking hot pink,” he grins, continuing the joke further. He leans back in his chair, kicking out his feet to nudge them against yours, always looking for a point of physical contact.

Still giggling, you manage, “that’s going to look really good with the inevitable sunburn that you get.”

He can’t even dispute that since he regularly burns any time Raleigh sees more than two or three days of sun. With a shrug, Andrei replies, “good thing I have you to put sunscreen on my back.”

After dinner, you decamp to the bedroom so Andrei can finish packing and so you can start packing. They’re playing at home tomorrow, but are off to Buffalo for the next night and then the All-Star weekend starts on Friday. Andrei’s planning on flying straight from Buffalo to Florida and you’ll meet him there on Friday after classes. He’s a surprisingly chaotic packer and you watch him toss items into his suitcase, knowing you’re going to tidy it up for him. You set your own suitcase next to his on the bed and start pulling clothes out of your drawers and fold them methodically.

While you’re digging through one drawer, Andrei comes up behind you, crowding your space and snaking his arms around your body to pluck a handful of lacy underwear out of the drawer. “Here, all packed,” he teases, pressing a kiss to the side of your neck. The lacy scraps of fabric look even more insubstantial in his hand, thick fingers wrapped in the fabric.

You lean back against his chest and angle your neck so you can look up at him. “You know I’ll be spending quite a bit of time with your parents, right?” You reach for a few pairs of more modest cotton panties and wave them in the air. “I need my clothing to be opaque at least.”

“Only when you’re with my parents,” Andrei says, trying to be serious and lasting for approximately ten seconds before his dimple pops out. “It’s Florida, you’ll be hot otherwise.”

“Thanks for caring about my temperature regulation,” you deadpan, turning in his arms and leaning up to kiss the edge of his jaw. A few days worth of stubble scrape against your lips and you loop your arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. “I know I’ve said it, but, I’m just really proud of you, Drei. This is so exciting.”

He smiles a little sheepishly, the tips of his ears going pink, and drops his head to rest his forehead against yours. “I’m glad to share this with you and my family,” he says quietly, shrugging a little. “They deserve as much as I do.”

That had been something that had surprised you when you first starting dating Andrei - how much he loved and respected his family. Your initial impression of him - tall, gorgeous, accented professional hockey player - had not included a thought or inkling that he was the sweetest, most respectful, mama’s boy in the greater Raleigh area. But as you’d learned more about his childhood and upbringing, his personality makes so much sense. Getting to see his relationship with his parents and Geno is one of your favorite things. Especially his relationship with his brother. Geno’s two and a half years older than Andrei and practically a superhero to your boyfriend. They text constantly and FaceTime at least once a week, usually more, and if you were less secure in your relationship you might have been annoyed that Geno was Andrei’s first call about being chosen as the Canes’ All Star. You’re mostly just used to waving at Geno when Andrei wanders past the couch while he’s talking to his brother. It’s sweet.

“Let’s make it a weekend to remember, huh?” you ask, leaning up into another kiss. Andrei gathers you into his arms and backs you up to the bed, pulling down your sweatpants with one hand and holding your wrists above your head in the other. You shimmy a little, helping him get your sweats off and surrender to his lead - definitely starting the weekend right, even if it is only Monday.

Andrei’s up early the next morning, getting in a quick workout while you get ready for class. You’re prepping a smoothie for yourself and a protein shake for him when he comes back to the apartment, red-faced and sweaty. “Spasibo,” he takes the offered shake with a kiss to your temple. It’s gone in three large gulps and you watch Andrei’s throat move as he swallows, feeling a little dry-mouthed from the sight. You shift, pressing your thighs together, and lean against the counter, dipping at your smoothie.

“Pozhaluysta,” you reply, practicing your extremely basic Russian. You’re not even sure if you’re saying it right, but Andrei’s face splits into a proud grin and you figure you must be close enough.

“I love when you try the Russian,” he says, stepping into your personal space and nuzzling his nose into your hair. “It’s hot as hell.”

“Right back atcha,” you tease, pushing away from him a bit. “You’re all sweaty. I have to go to class.”

Andrei laughs and wraps his arms around you, making you shriek and protest. “I won’t see you until Friday! You’ll miss me,” he argues, holding you tight.

Wiggling away from him, you shoot back, “you, maybe. Not your gross, sweaty shirt!” But you’re not really mad at him, not when he’s so cute and smiley and you really will miss him until you see him on Friday. “You’re all packed right?” You ask, back against the counter.

Andrei nods, “all ready to go. I even have extra space, if you want to shop with my mom in Miami.”

Your heart melts at how thoughtful he is and you clap a hand over your heart. “My hero,” you tease. “You really know me so well.”

“You should have plenty of room,” he teases, eyes crinkling at the corners, “since your bathing suits are so small.”

“I’m leaving,” you laugh, leaning up to kiss him again. “I’ll see you on Friday.”

Andrei catches your wrist in his hand, tugging you back a few steps and kisses your shoulder. “Fly safe, solnyshka,” he says and you melt again. Twisting your fingers in the hem of his shirt - God, it really is so sweaty - you nod up at him.

“I’ll do my very best, Drei.” A slow smirk and a wrinkle of your nose. “My pilot’s license is a little outdated, but I’m sure it’s fine.”

It takes a second for your joke to land, Andrei’s face morphing from confusion to amusement, and he swats gently at your ass. He flounders for a word before settling on “derzkiy,” which you make a note to Google Translate later. “Off to class then,” he shakes his head, nudging you to the door. You let him push you along, gathering up your phone and backpack as you go.

Once you’re at the door, you push back against the hand in between your shoulder blades and look up at him with wide eyes. “A kiss for the road?” you pout gently, pulling one of his favorite moves.

Andrei sighs, pretending to be exasperated, and kisses you once, quickly. It’s barely a brush of his lips and your mouth falls open. “That’s it?” You complain. “I won’t see you for three days and that’s the only kiss I have to keep me warm during the cold, lonely February nights?”

“If I kissed you the way I want to kiss you,” Andrei replies, voice lowering a bit as he leans in, his forearm resting on the doorframe, “then you will miss class and I will miss the games. We will both miss the All-Star Weekend too.”

“Oh,” you blink at the intensity of his tone. “Well,” you pat his chest, “keep that energy ready for Friday then.”

He swats at your ass again, sending you out into the hallway with a loud giggle.

The rest of the day slips away into a blur of classes, school work, and meetings with advisors. Before your night class, you text Andrei in your usual pre-game ritual - a string of emojis (red heart, white heart, black heart, and the tornado). He replies a few minutes later with his usual string of incomprehensible emojis, this time they have an abundance of suns and palm trees in the middle of the string. You smile at the message, hearting it and setting your phone back in your bag.

The game is a win and you talk to Andrei on the phone briefly before he gets on the plane. He’s still buzzing from the adrenaline of the game and you can barely hear him over the sound of the boys celebrating.

“I love you,” you grin down the line, burrowing under the covers. “Break a skate tomorrow.”

“I love you,” he replies. There’s a beat and then, “what are you wearing?”

You laugh loudly and answer honestly. “Old sweatpants, thick socks, and one of your sweatshirts. I’m fucking freezing.”

“At least you aren’t going to Buffalo,” Andrei shoots back on a laugh. “Who will keep me warm there?”

“Your boyfriend, Pyotr, of course,” you reply, blasé.

“His hands are not as soft as yours,” Andrei shoots back, laughing.

Someone on the plane calls for him and you blow kisses down the line, letting him go.

Wednesday is much of the same, except your excitement for Florida is building and making it hard to focus. You get in some more studying before the game, text Andrei, and finish a paper while you watch the boys beat the Sabres. After the game, he texts a little more, getting ready to head down to Florida. You make sure the remind him about sunscreen before you get down there.

On Thursday, he sends a series of selfies from the beach while you sit in class, wrapped in a down coat and scarf.

You: I hate you

Andrei: No you don’t.

Andrei: I miss you

Andrei: I need someone to rub sunscreen on me

Andrei: 🤩🥰😌🤤🩳🌞☀️☀️☀️🍆🍆🍆

He’s insane and you love him.

Once class ends, you still have the rest of the afternoon and you head back to the apartment to clean up. The idea of coming back to a freshly cleaned apartment after a week’s vacation is definitely a motivating factor. While the sheets are in the wash, you empty out the fridge and make a dinner from the salvageable leftovers. The bathroom gets scrubbed and all the dishes are washed and put away. Once you’re done, you light a candle and settle into do a little self-care. If you’re spending a week in Miami, you don’t want to have dry skin and messy cuticles. You’re not even sure you’ll be able to sleep, despite your early flight, you’re just really excited to see Andrei again.

Airports are probably your favorite place. They’re lawless and chaotic and literally anything goes. Your best friend is a saint and drives you to Raleigh-Durham at 4 a.m. so you have plenty of time before your 7:30 a.m. flight.

“I don’t understand why you insist on being a suburban dad about air travel,” Kate sighs, then yawns.

“Because I have anxiety?” you counter, deadpan. Sue you for wanting to make sure you’re on time for the flight. So many things can go wrong with flying. Why not cut some of those problems off by being early and adaptable.

“You’re insane,” she says, pulling up the the curb at departures. “Have a safe flight, immediately bang that fine specimen of a man when you get to Florida. Love you!” She blows a kiss at you after giving you a one-armed hug over the console.

“Hah, thanks. Love you too!” you shout over your shoulder, pulling your suitcase and duffel bag out of the backseat. You wave once more before heading into the airport.

It is predictably chaotic, even so early in the morning, but you get through security smoothly and find your gate before going off for a coffee and breakfast. You explore the shops, picking up three cartoon-covered romance novels and a more serious looking contemporary fiction. The books fit easily into your duffel and from there it’s just a matter of waiting to get on the plane.

The flight to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport is smooth and before you know it, it’s 10 in the morning and you’re exiting the plane and traipsing through the airport in search of the taxi stand. While you walk through the airport, you look around, people watching, and your gaze lands on a familiar figure holding up a sign that says “SOLNYSHKA” in chicken-scratch handwriting.

Andrei’s face is split into a wide grin and he gives you a little wave when he sees that you’ve spotted him.

“Oh my god!” You yelp, running for him. “Drei!” Your suitcase and duffel bag fall to the floor as you take a running leap and jump into Andrei’s arms. He drops the sign and catches you, arms wrapping around your waist as your legs lock around his. “I wasn’t expecting you!”

You cradle his face in your hands and kiss him deeply, ignoring the sounds of the people around you. His tongue slides over your lower lip and you open your mouth for him, angling your head and deepening the kiss. His hands shift and grip at your ass and you press closer to him. He pulls back a little and then kisses you again, softer. Still holding you in his arms, Andrei says, “I wanted to surprise you. I couldn’t wait another minute to see you.”

“God, I missed you,” you nuzzle your nose against his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin. Andrei sets you back down on your feet and picks up your bags.

You learned early on not to argue with him about carrying luggage. If he has the hands free, Andrei’s always going to carry your bags. So, you fall into step next to him, practically skipping with excitement. “So what did you do yesterday? Have you relaxed a bit?” You ask as you head for the parking lot.

He shrugs, “I spent time on the beach. Mama and Papa got to Miami last night and will be here around lunch, so I was talking to them. Mostly, I missed you.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “The bed is very big and lonely without you.”

“You really miss me hogging blankets and clinging to you like a koala?” You grin. “Wow, you must really love me.”

Andrei holds your hand for the entire thirty minute drive from the airport to Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, where the players are staying in a hotel and the league has set up a beach festival for fans and the players’ families. The hotel is gorgeous and Andrei’s room looks right out onto the beach.

“Oh, this is nice,” you look around the room, making a beeline for the balcony. “A girl could get used to this.”

Andrei’s right behind you, holding you close, face buried in your hair. “Better that you’re here now.” He kisses down the column of your neck, stubble scraping at your skin. You lean back against him, feeling the hard ridge of his cock against your ass. You wiggle a little, deliberately teasing him.

“How long did you say until your parents get here?” you ask on a breathy gasp. Andrei’s sucking a bruise behind your ear.

“Plenty of time,” he replies, sliding a hand into the front of your leggings and grunting when there’s not that much space to work with. You wiggle again, pulling at the stretchy fabric with both hands to get the waistband down around your thighs. Andrei’s fingers flex against you and you arch you back into his touch.

“Good,” you sigh. “We have three days worth of time to make up for!”

Forty-five minutes later, you’re both sweaty and tangled in the extremely comfortable bed sheets. Your legs feel like jelly and you’re sore in all the best possible places. Andrei rolls onto his side, already half-hard - again! for the third time, Jesus Christ - and kisses your shoulder. “Shower?” He asks, with a curve to his lips and a twinkle in his eyes that you know means he plans on making sure you have at least one more orgasm before you head out to the beach festival to meet his parents.

“Shower,” you agree, shriek-laughing when Andrei gathers you in his arms and makes for the bathroom. You laugh and soap each other up, kissing and touching and making the shower twice as long as it has to be.

Finally clean, you slip into a pair of cut-off shorts and a nicer top, ready to head out. Andrei texts his parents as you make your way out of the hotel and makes plans to meet them at the main entrance to the park. Once he’s done texting, he slips his hand into yours and you enjoy the stroll from the hotel. “Have you seen any of the other guys?” you ask.

“Not yet,” Andrei shakes his head. “Everyone is getting in at different times. It was quiet, some of the guys from the west coast came in yesterday, but,” he shrugs, “I don’t know them. Kirill and I had dinner.”

“Andreyusha!” A familiar accent calls Andrei’s nickname and you grin when he entire face lights up. His mom and dad are suddenly in front of you, both pulling their son into a tight embrace.

You hang back just a bit, not wanting to interrupt the reunion since he hasn’t seen his parents since Christmas. But after she’s done with Andrei, Elena turns to you and pulls you into an equally tight hug. “Ah, nevestka, we’re so happy to see you!” She presses kisses to both of your cheeks and you love how much she care about you too.

“I’m so excited you guys could come,” you reply, getting a nod from Igor. He’s much less effusive and demonstrative with his affection, but you don’t mind. He’s warm enough when you talk and Elena gives enough hugs for the both of them.

Andrei has his arm draped over his dad’s shoulder and he looks so happy to be with his parents. “You’ll see the fun, silly hockey tonight,” he says, starting to explain the Skills Competition.

Elena loops her arm into yours and you all begin to walk around the park. “We will look for Andreyusha’s puck,” she decides, gesturing to the giant decorative pucks that dot the park with each player’s picture on them. “By then, we will have to send Andrei back to get ready for the show, yes?”

“The red carpet arrivals, right,” you agree, smiling to yourself at the idea of your boyfriend on a little red carpet. “He’ll have to get even prettier than he already is.”

Andrei shoots you a playful glare and you stick your tongue out at him, laughing. He and his dad fall into step behind you and Elena, talking in rapid-fire Russian. Elena starts telling you about all the fun shops she and Igor had seen in Miami, “- I think we will go shopping next week, yes? That will be fun, but of course you and Andrei will have time alone. Don’t worry that Igor and I will be around all the time.” She laughs knowingly. “Kids do not want mama and papa around all the time.”

Your cheeks heat up with Elena’s implication, but she doesn’t seem to notice, having spotted Andrei’s puck off in the distance. She pulls you and Andrei in that direction and takes multiple pictures, handing her phone off to you so you can take a picture of her and Igor in front of the puck.

While you snap pictures, Andrei looks down at his phone. He frowns a little, “I have to go get ready.” He presses a kiss to the top of your head. “Have fun with Mama and Papa and I will see you later.”

“Okay, have fun. Make good choices,” you tease, ducking away from his groping hands knowing he’s going to try and tickle you.

He calls out to his parents that he’s leaving and Elena gives him another hug, patting his cheek when she pulls away. “Comb your hair, yes?” She nudges him and Andrei nods.

“Yes, Mama.” He gives you a soft smile, not embarrassed in the least about his relationship with his parents. And then he’s gone, walking back towards the hotel, leaving you alone with his parents for the first time essentially ever. Sure you’ve spent time with them over the year you’ve been dating Andrei, but never alone and never for such a long period of time.

Luckily, Elena is a warm force of nature, so she steers the afternoon perfectly, guiding you and Igor to the beach festival proper for cocktails and to people watch a little. She asks about your classes and your family and takes an interest in your thesis project. It’s actually really nice being the center of her attention. She and Igor treat you to dinner and before you know it, you’re in FLA Live Arena, finding your seats to watch the Skills Competition. The arena is crowded, but not packed and you love looking around and seeing the mix of jerseys in the stands.

The players are getting announced and you and Elena stand and cheer wildly when Andrei skates out, both of you taking plenty of pictures. You honestly can’t believe that you’re here watching him. The custom jerseys for the game are amazing - black with pink and mint green accents - and seeing Andrei in the non-typical colors makes your stomach flip a little. He looks unfairly good in the jersey. You’re glad that jersey is coming home with him.

It’s fun to watch the guys mingle on the ice and you spot Andrei standing with some of the guys from the Metro and Atlantic. From your spot in the stands you see the group - Andrei, Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, and Alex Ovechkin - that you’ve been mentally referring to, with affection of course, as the Borscht Belt. Andrei’s always said how nice it was to have so many Russian players in the league to chat with, so you’re glad he has this little group to enjoy the games with.

Soon enough, it’s time for the Fastest Skater competition and Elena chuckles when Andrei is announced. You look over at her and she explains, “Andrei, so fast on the ice, but that is nothing compared to when he was a child. Running from vegetables, from baths with his golaya zadnitsa out, Geno chasing him and encouraging the bad behavior.”

You giggle at the mental image of naked toddler Andrei running rampant, trying to ignore the fact that more often than not he’s wandering your apartment naked too. You’re sitting with his parents, you force your thoughts to be less dirty.

“Was he always a handful?” You ask, watching Cale Makar blow a tire and wipe out on the ice. You wince a little - that can’t have been fun, but at least it gives Andrei a better chance of winning.

“Always,” Elena confirms. Igor cuts in, “but with a smile, so can’t be mad at him.”

On the ice, Andrei gets started and all three of your turn you attention to him. He’s got a big old smile on his face, pumping his fist when he stops with a time that’s faster than you thought it would be. You’re on your feet, stamping them and cheering for him. He waves to the crowd and you feel a rush of love for him. He looks like a little kid living a dream.

Hours later, Andrei has the title of 2023 Fastest Skater and he’s bouncing with excitement when you meet him outside of the arena. Fans swarm him and he signs everything with a huge smile. You hang back with his parents, watching. Once the fans disperse and he sees you, Andrei makes a beeline and gathers you in his arms, spinning you around. “The fastest man in the NHL,” you laugh in his arms.

He kisses you and sets you back on your feet, clearly still buzzing with adrenaline. His parents get hugs too and they congratulate him before saying good-night so they can take an Uber back to their hotel in Miami proper. It’s already nearly midnight - you hadn’t realized how long you were waiting for Andrei to shower and sign autographs. He kisses his mother’s cheek and hugs his father again, before they get in the car. His arm is wrapped around your shoulder, fingers playing with the ends of your hair, and you lean into his side, shivering a little now that it’s cooled off.

“I don’t think I can sleep,” he admits once his parents are gone.

“How about we take a walk before getting a car back to the hotel?” You suggest. “It’s a nice enough night.”

“Or a walk on the beach? I’ll call an Uber,” he already has his phone out and there’s a car in front of you within five minutes. You slide into the backseat and buckle up, tangling your fingers with Andrei’s.

You’re both quiet on the ride to the hotel, even though Andrei is clearly vibrating with energy. You nudge his ankle with your foot and he looks over at you. “Proud of you, Drei,” you say, feeling like a broken record.

He beams at you. “Being with all the guys, is a different experience. I’ll have to rub it in Geno’s face, now that I am officially fastest. He always thought he was faster, growing up.”

“Save it for dinner when he joins us next week,” you snort.

“Eh, I already FaceTimed him,” Andrei smirks, looking like such a cheeky little shit. “He challenged me to a race.”

“Brothers,” you roll your eyes affectionately.

Turns out, Andrei’s proclamation that he wasn’t tired was dead wrong and he passes out the second he climbs into bed, wrapping his body around yours. You snuggle into his warmth and have the best night’s sleep. You both sleep in late the next morning since the only mandatory event is the actual All-Star Game and Andrei doesn’t have to be at the arena until 1:00 for that. He’ll end up getting there early, since Rod is the coach and he doesn’t want to look bad in front of him. But the morning is yours to enjoy.

Andrei rolls onto his side, burying his face into your shoulder. His body is flush against your side, his erection hot and hard against your thigh. You happily slide your hand over his side, down his hip and around his front. He jerks in your hand when you wrap your fingers around him. His skin is velvety soft and you run your hand over his length a few times without any real intention.

“Solnyshka,” Andrei’s voice is a sleepy rumble at the back of his throat, “you’re teasing me.”

“Mhm,” you confirm happily. “Do you want me to stop?” You move your wrist a little faster.

“No,” Andrei groans, one arm slipping under your back and the other bracing at your hip so you come with him when he rolls onto his back. You land on his thighs with a little exhale and look down.

“Hello,” you grin, resting your palms flat on his lower stomach. His hands are tight on your hips. “Do I get to take control this morning? Are you feeling a little tired after yesterday?”

“Not tired,” Andrei grins up at you. “I just like this view best.” His hands skate up your sides and under the oversized shirt you’re wearing, coming up so he can cup your breasts in his hands, thumbs flicking at your nipples.

“Ohh, okay,” you sigh, sliding forward and leaning up on your knees so you can position yourself over him. You both let out matching groans of pleasure as you sink down on him, inch by inch. Once he’s completely inside of you, you rotate your hips, Andrei joining you and meeting you thrust for thrust. You brace your hands on his chest and bend a little at the waist, changing the angle. Andrei keeps a steady hold on you, murmuring in Russian and English.

Heat coils low in your stomach and Andrei’s hand finds where you’re joined, pressing his thumb against your clit. You moan, arching into his touch, curling your toes. “Fuck, Andrei, more please,” you babble, falling apart. He lifts his hips into yours again and again, grunting when you finally fall over the edge with a shout. He continues fucking into your for a few more thrusts even as you’re boneless, draped over his sweaty chest.

He comes in you, hot and hard, and you’re extremely grateful for birth control. His arms are strong around your back, hugging you close and burying his face in your hair. “What do you want for breakfast?” He mumbles the question into your skin and you giggle. Always eating, always hungry, your Andrei.

The rest of the day is a blur of laughter and tanning on the beach before you make your way to the arena to watch the actual hockey games. The Central-Pacific match is a little boring, and really only confirms your biased belief that the really impressive hockey is being played on the East Coast. Metro-Atlantic is much more entertaining, but you’re left a little bummed for Andrei that the Atlantic takes the win. You don’t really care that much about the final Central-Atlantic match-up and use the time to get a snack and wander the arena.

Andrei doesn’t seem that upset by the loss, when you see him after the game. He’s upbeat, full of just-happy-to-be-here energy. “That was fun!” He says immediately.

“You were so good, Andreyusha,” Elena smiles, patting his cheek, eyes sparkling with pride. “Now you get to rest. Papa and I will take you to dinner and then go back to Miami.”

“Thanks, Mama,” he says, holding your hand when you fall into step behind his parents. He nudges your hip with his and leans down a little to whisper, “there’s going to be a little party in the hotel later. Will you be my date?”

A surprised and delighted little gasp leaves your mouth. It’s not like Andrei has to ask you to be his date, but it’s a surprisingly sweet gesture and you nod happily. “Yes, of course I’ll be your date,” you giggle and there’s an extra spring in your step.

The party - all of the young players and their girlfriends and wives crowded into the suite that the Tkachuk brothers rented explicitly for this purpose - goes until the early hours of Sunday morning. You barely remember anything other than winning several rounds of beer pong with Andrei, a round of spirited karaoke doing a duet with Jack Hughes, and spending at least forty-five minutes with Andrei’s tongue down your throat in a corner of the room. In short, you have a raging hangover when you wake up on Sunday morning and Andrei has to peel you out of bed and into the shower.

“How are you alive?” You mumble, pressing your lips together to fight a wave of nausea.

He shrugs, “I’m Russian. Alcohol doesn’t bother me.”

You hold your face under the lukewarm shower spray and mutter, “damn giant man tolerance.”

Showered and marginally more alive, you and Andrei check out of the hotel and get into Andrei’s rental car so you can drive down to Miami for your week of actual vacation. The sun and salt air help your mood immediately, as does the giant iced coffee and breakfast sandwich Andrei places in your lap. He keeps one hand on your upper thigh as he drives and you can’t help but heat up at his touch. God, you’re excited to get on the beach and get your hands on him.

The new hotel is on Ocean Drive, with the beach just a few feet from the entrance. You do a little dance next to Andrei when he checks in, excited to lay out in the sun. He laughs at your excitement, crowding you as soon as you get in the elevator. “What are you so excited about, solnyshka?” His eyes dance with mirth.

“Oh, seeing you in those five-inch inseam bathing suits, of course,” you shoot back.

And boy, he doesn’t disappoint. The five-inch inseam seems even shorter on his muscular legs and your mouth waters when he changes. “Oh, yep, now it’s vacation time,” you grin, rubbing sunscreen on your legs.

Andrei takes the tube from you and starts rubbing the cream into his arms. “I could use a nap,” he admits.

“It’s vacation, baby,” you throw your arms out to the side. “Nap as much as you want!”

“I think I need to work up an exhaustion first,” he says, looking you over from head to toe. The bikini you’re wearing just barely covers the important parts and you feel warm despite the air conditioning in the room.

You snort a laugh through your nose. “How about we wait until the room stops spinning for me before you start tossing me around the bed, huh?” You smile wryly. “Plenty of time for the fun acrobatics when I’m not violently hungover.”

The first two days of vacation are spent on the beach, tanning and reading the books you bought at the airport. Andrei insists on rubbing sunscreen on your ass every hour, making the argument that he doesn’t want you to burn, but his fingers slide under the fabric too often and with too much deliberation for that excuse to be valid. You order drinks and lunch, sitting together on a towel, knees touching, while you eat. Andrei forgets to reapply and his nose and cheeks turn pink, matching his pink-polarized lens Ray-Bans.

He fingers you in one of the hammocks, the fabric swaying between two palm trees. You bury your face in his chest, his hand hidden in between your bodies. A third finger slides into you, his other hand palming your ass, and you bite at his shoulder to muffle your shouts. You’re not even sure how the hammock is holding both of your combined weight, but you’re not arguing and you can barely think coherently. Andrei whispers dirty words in your ear, “come on, baby, come on my hand. Make a mess of my fingers. Want to see you lose control,” and smiles smugly when you yelp his name, breaking off into a groan. His hand is a mess and he sucks his fingers into his mouth, cleaning them off.

“Fuck,” you mutter, red-faced and sweaty. His answering chuckle vibrates his chest under you and sends another spike of arousal down your spine.

If you could spend every day in the sunshine, tangled up in Andrei’s arms, you think you could die a happy woman.

Of course, it’s not just a couple’s vacation, and you’re happy about that too. Mid-week, Geno gets into town and as soon as Andrei sees his big brother in the hotel lobby, he runs from your side to wrap his brother in a bear hug. They haven’t seen each other since Christmas and you know that Andrei’s missed his brother, even though they talk nearly every day.

They do the bro-hug, smacking each other’s shoulders, talking in rapid-fire Russian. When they’re done hugging, Geno turns to you and wraps you in a big hug too. “Beautiful as ever,” he greets you with his signature missing-toothed smile.

“Charming as ever,” you grin back, loving that Drei is going to have his brother around for a few days. Having Geno around actually feels a bit like having a big brother too, so you’re always happy to spend time with him.

“So, what have I missed?” He asks while he gathers his bags and the three of you head up to his room. “Mama and Papa say you lied and stunk up the ice during Skills.”

Andrei shoved his brother playfully. “Liar. You would’ve been slower, old man.”

They bicker playfully, essentially unaware of your presence, but you don’t mind. You sit on Geno’s bed, crossing your legs, while they catch each other up on the last few days. Geno’s thinking about proposing to his girlfriend and asks both of your opinions, but emphasises, “don’t tell Mama. She’ll ruin the surprise.”

Andrei laughs and agrees easily. “Mama,” he explains to you, “cannot keep a secret for her life. Papa is like a vault. You could not torture information out of him.”

“Oh yeah,” you smirk, “your mom was really a wealth of information about your childhood.”

Andrei raises an eyebrow at you. “What did she say?” He sounds curious and a little nervous.

“I’m keeping some of those stories to myself,” you grin and Geno points at you.

“Did she tell you when Drei was little, he collected bugs? She found his collection in a drawer and screamed so loudly he cried and said she was scaring the bugs!”

“Oh, that’s sweet!” You squint at the brothers. Andrei is shaking his head, laughing.

“Then I made her have a funeral for the bugs,” he admits. “With prayers and everything.”

The mental image of tiny Andrei having a full church service of a funeral for some dead bugs is really just the cutest thing you can imagine. “I think it’s adorable and kind,” you reach out to squeeze Andrei’s fingers. “But if you ever bring a bug into our apartment, I’ll kill you myself.”

Geno laughs loudly and Andrei nods, agreeing that your apartment will remain bug free. You have plans to meet Elena and Igor for dinner, but the afternoon is time to relax on the beach. Geno falls asleep almost immediately and you scoot your towel out from under the umbrella so you can angle it over his body. You’re reclining on your stomach, flipping through a book, when Andrei starts rummaging through your beach bag. He pulls the tube of sunscreen out and you think he’s going to start reapplying, but instead he draws a smiley face on Geno’s bare chest, grinning like a Cheshire Cat the entire time. You watch him, shaking your head a little.

“You’re going to get yourself into trouble, Mister Svechnikov,” you murmur, smothering a little laugh with the back of your hand.

“He won’t sleep that long,” Andrei waves a hand i. the air. “It won’t be that bad.”

Geno sleeps for an hour and is definitely not pleased to find the smiley face on his chest. He grumbles playfully and chases his little brother right into the ocean. You watch them wrestle in the water, taking a few pictures and video for posterity. Eventually, they mellow out and start floating, which is your cue to join them. Now that you know you’re not going to get accidentally drowned, you make your way to the water, diving under quickly to get used to the temperature and float lazily next to Andrei. “I wish we were at the beach all the time,” you mumble, tipping your face back to soak up the sun. “I’m going to need a tropical vacation during the off-season.”

“Hear that, Drei,” Geno teases. “Start saving up.”

The lazy afternoon fades into evening and the three of you trudge back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. It’s sushi at some fun, fancy restaurant Elena found. It’s walking distance, so you head over a little bit before the reservation, listening quietly while the brothers talk. It’s been a long couple of days and the time spent in the sun and sand is starting to get to you a little. Andrei keeps a protective arm around you as you walk, in tune with your surroundings even as he discusses hockey with his brother.

When you get to the restaurant, Elena lavishes the boys with more hugs, Geno especially since she’s already seen Andrei this week. “Come, come,” she says, ushering you all to the table. “I am so happy to have the whole family together and to celebrate Andrei.”

She’s sitting with Andrei on one side of her and Geno on the other, but you know from past experience that the seating arrangements with shift around as dinner goes on, and you’re right. By the time you’re two hours deep into dinner, Geno and Andrei are talking with their dad and you have Elena’s undivided attention again.

“My girl, you are going to come with Andrei back home this summer, yes?” She pats your hand and takes a sip of her cocktail.

You hadn’t discussed summer plans with Andrei, not really. In the abstract, you don’t want to plan further than June, superstitious about the playoffs. And you’ll be starting a Masters program in late August, so you definitely want to be back in Raleigh before then. Of course there’s training camp to think about. So that really leaves July and part of August. You’d love to see Andrei’s home country, but he hasn’t said anything about it. Something must show on your face, because Elena laughs lightly and continues, “he is focused on hockey right now. But he will suggest it, I know. You should say yes and come. It will be a good visit.”

“I…yes, okay. If Andrei asks,” you smile carefully. “I’d love to come visit you.”

Hearing his name, Andrei looks over and smiles, dimple popping. He can’t have heard what you said, but he winks at you and you flush. There’s so much affection in his eyes. Elena nods knowingly at your side. “He will ask, and you will say yes,” her voice is firm, tone final. Case closed, you think, amused.

Food and drinks flow during dinner and you take photos of Elena with her sons and Andrei next to the inexplicable Daniel Craig wax figure by the door, laughing when he strikes a series of cheesy poses before grabbing you and dipping you into a femme fatale pose. By the time you leave to go back to the hotel, your face hurts from smiling so much and you’ve bullied Andrei into giving you a piggyback ride. He has his hands hooked under your thighs and you rest your cheek against the back of his head, bouncing pleasantly in his arms. The movement must cause you to doze off, because the next thing you know, you’re being gently set on your feet, Andrei’s arms holding your back to his chest.

“I love you,” you murmur sleepily, head lolling to the side.

“I love you, too,” he replies softly.

“This has been the best week,” you sigh. “Can we move to Miami and just be beach bums forever and have sex in hammocks?”

Andrei hums above you, apparently giving your tried, tispy thoughts some consideration. His hands splay over your stomach and he rests his chin on top of your head, “how about after I retire we become snowbirds? Six months in Miami, six months in Raleigh.”

You giggle a little. “I don’t think we could be considered snowbirds going from a warm climate to an even warmer one, but I am definitely on board with that.” Something about the vague planning for the future, even if it’s a fiction, makes your heart flutter in your chest.

“It’s settled, another twenty years in Raleigh and then Miami, here we come,” his laugh vibrates your whole body and that future doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world.

#andrei svechnikov #andrei svechnikov imagine #andrei svechnikov x you #andrei svechnikov x reader #carolina hurricanes

[ln4-llingforu]

Hey!! Specific request for you :) meeting Lando at a post Vegas GP party. You message back and forth as he goes to Abu Dhabi, but then he surprises you and flies to your hometown to spend his first week post season. You get to show him around and introduce him to your family and friends, etc?

There's Something So Magic About You

I love this idea!!

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Your Tiktok had blown up in the past few months, with breaking down and generally commentating on the ongoing of F1 both on and off of the grid. This had led to you getting invited to the brand new Las Vegas grand prix with Ferrari. But it wasn't the boys in red that were catching your eye, it was a certain British boy in his 'papaya-esque' uniform, he'd been growing out his facial hair all season and was now starting to look a lot more mature. Little did you know you'd caught his eye aswell, he'd seen you on tiktok breaking down his great overtakes and massive progress McLaren had made throughout the season.

Sundays race hadn't went amazingly for Ferrari with one driver DNF-ing mid way through the race and the other receiving multiple penalties during qualifying leading to a very difficult start to the race, they had not ended where they had wished, some who did however, was a certain Lando Norris who had came second, his best result all season.

Obviously, with it being Las Vegas, the after party was huge, drivers, friends, mechanics even a few team principals had shown their faces. The drinks were flowing, the music was booming and the whole club was alive, you were simply observing until you felt someone tap you on the shoulder.

"Hi" you heard, shouted over the music by a voice you'd come to know very well, "I'm Lando, its a pleasure to meet you"

"I'm very aware of who you are" you replied, you words slightly slurred after what was maybe one too many drinks.

"So do i get a name? Or am i just gonna have to call you 'the girl that would look 100x better in orange?" He added, a slight of hope in his voice.

"I quite like that actually, it has a bit of a ring to it, guess if you want a name you're gonna have to work for it, papaya boy" you replied, in a half-serious way, as you turned to walk off into the night, he grabbed you by the waist pulling you back in .

"If i can't get a name can i at least get a number??" He was almost starting to sound desperate.

You complied, exchanging numbers and sending a quick text just to make sure they were right. At this point you knew you'd had one too many, you could both tell this as Lando, who had also had a few too many tonight suggested you shared a ride back to the hotel.

When you arrived you parted ways and got in separate elevators. It was then it hit you, not only did he notice you, he wanted you.

The week between Vegas and Abu Dhabi went by in a blur with you and Lando barely leaving each other alone, going from awkward hellos to spilling secrets and learning about one another so quickly it was hard to remember a time before you knew him. Sadly, for both of you, you couldn't attend the finale race of this season, promising Lando that you'd watch every second and call him when he was alone.

The weekend went by, Lando had done well by all means, but he didn't win, he'd made it into P4 which was still amazing, but Lando seemed very upset and you felt horrible that you couldn't be there. You asked if he was doing any celebrating to which he said he had some 'important business' to attend to and honestly, you were too afraid to ask.

And oh, were you glad you didn't, on Monday morning you were woken up by a loud knock at your door, expecting it to just be a package you had ordered, you put very little effort into making yourself look presentable so when you opened the door and saw a smile you had longed for for so long, it took you a minute to even process what was happening.

He almost luged at you hugging you tighter than you'd ever been hugged, you asked what he was doing here to which he replied that he wanted to spend time with his new found favourite person.

You spent the week visiting different places in your hometown, your favourite restaurant, the park where you learned how to ride a bike, he even met some of your friends.

It got to Friday, almost time for him to go, though it was likely you'd go with him at least for a little while. Casually, while you were getting ready to go for your weekly family dinner, which Lando had begged to go to until you asked your mum who was delighted to have him over, he said he wished you two could be more, something serious, you asked why you couldn't, he didn't give you a direct answer, he simply asked if you would be his girlfriend, of course you agreed.

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I hope this fit what you imagined :))

If you have any other weirdly specific requests please send them :))

Masterlist

#lando norris #lando norris smut #lando norris fluff #lando norris x reader #f1 x you #f1 fluff #f1 mclaren

[non-stop-imagines]

Part Two: Everyone Knows

One Part Two Three Four

Pairing: Mick Schumacher x Freelance Journalist Black Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.4k (w/ some social media au)

Warnings: My own terrible example of Twitter environment, everybody basically feeling physical pain watching Mick and Y/n, hopefully thinking for the rest of the season

A/N: Part 2! We've got a part 2! This was so fun to write, you guys have no idea. The social media stuff took quite a bit of brain power (now have even more respect to writers that do smau a lot) but I think I got it, kinda. Be kind to me there, okay, it's my first time doing something like that. But I'm proud of the job I've done with this and I hope you all like it too!! Love you all!!💖💛💖💛

Tagged: @thisismeracing @omgsuperstarg

Masterlist

Silverstone

   Mick let out a sigh of relief as he saw you strolling toward him, a bounce in your step that causes your hair, which was down today, to sway with your movements. The smile and little wave that you gave him once you spotted him made his chest tighten and the act of breathing more difficult. He waved back, then lowered his hand slightly when you were stopped by the same woman who you were thanking last night while coming out of the press room. She hands you what looks like a pass and then a business card before briskly walking to the next place she needs to be. You finally reach Mick and give him an exaggerated wide smile.

   “You’re not wearing your glasses.” He now had an unobstructed view of your alluring brown eyes as they looked at him innocently.

   “Yeah, when I know I have more writing and note taking to do, it's just nicer to be wearing my glasses.” You stopped your words and rolled your eyes at your own bluff before looking back to Mick, who sported adorably scrunched eyebrows. “And...I also actually gave myself time to get ready this morning so I was able to put in my contacts. This was also partially because I realized, like, half way back to my hotel that I had no idea what time we were meeting and that I wasn’t able to ask you because I didn’t have your number.” Your hand movements got more vigorous as your explanation went on, which was highly amusing to Mick who wished you would keep talking just so he could keep watching you. “So, that was my night and morning. Plus getting my article done and sent to the website I am writing for this weekend.”

   “Wow, busy night…and morning.” Mick got lost for a moment, tracing the ends of the silk wrap that you had tied like a headband and how it draped with your locs that reach midway past your shoulder blades. He shook himself back to the present. “Uh, here’s your pass.”

   “Oh, thank you. I also got one to get into media pit after the practice sessions, qualifying and the race, I think, from Julie...the girl I was just talking to. She was so sweet and let me stay in the press room to get all of my notes and stuff together after everything was done and she gave this to me just because I helped her straighten the room up.” Watching you gush about this encounter makes Mick’s heart warm, glad that his new friend has had a positive experience at her first race so far. That’s right. You're his new friend. That’s why his pulse starts to race at even the thought of you. Why looking into your eyes is just as good as getting a hug. Why he can’t help but smile when you smile, and wants to be the reason for it. This is what happens when you make a new friend, right?

   “That’s awesome! I’m glad your day started on the right foot.” Mick’s smile was bright and genuine. “Um, let’s exchange numbers real quick so you won’t have to worry about when to get ready next time.” Next time. Something in you reacts at the thought of being able to spend another race weekend with Mick looking after you. He has been very friendly over the past day. You hope that there will be a next time, because you want nothing more than to be closer friends with Mick. To be able to spend more time with him.

   After exchanging phones to input phone numbers, you and Mick enter the Mercedes motorhome, saying hello to people who pass and being introduced to anyone that stays long enough to talk. That’s all that Mick wanted to do. Introduce you to anybody and everybody you two come across, but this feeling conflicts with a flint of selfishness from wanting to keep you to himself and stay in the intimate cocoon you guys were the previous night. Still, he introduces you and eventually things calm down for a while and you guys get some time to talk. It was just comfy small talk sprinkled with important details about yourselves. After the 45 minute lull in Friday festivities you knew more about Mick’s sister and her competitive horse riding and what he does when he goes home to Switzerland, and he knew about your recent move to LA and a bit about your journey to becoming a freelance journalist. There were also an ungodly number of dog pictures shown between the two of you. The commotion picked up a bit suddenly which caused you both to automatically look towards the door to see Lewis enter. Through the automatic glass door you can see George and Carmen, exchanging a few more words before giving each other a kiss goodbye and going their separate ways. George inside the motorhome and Carmen off to some other area of the paddock, waving in through the window before leaving.

   You and Mick stand from your seats to head over to the two Mercedes drivers, but you trailed behind Mick, nervous to be so up close and personal. You listen and them exchange brief hellos and bro hugs, and give a polite grin when Lewis looks towards you, his face instantly letting you know that he recognized you. “I remember you from yesterday, uh, gosh I’m sorry I don’t think I remember your name.” From the face Lewis had, you could tell that he was racking his brain to remember, but you just reach out your hand to introduce yourself.

   “Y/n Y/l/n. It’s nice to see you again.” As you were introducing yourself, Mick guided you just in front of him, standing slightly off to his left but close enough to feel his body heat radiating, warming your legs which were exposed since you were wearing shorts. You could feel his eyes on you as you shook Lewis' and George’s hands.

   “Yes, that’s it. Geez, I’m sorry. The question you asked yesterday was good though.” A large smile popped on your face at the compliment. You adjusted the cream colored tote bag on your shoulder to occupy your hands that wanted to find Mick’s that you knew were somewhere close.

   “Woah, your shoes! Those are quite cool!” George’s comment sends everyone's attention, including your own, to the custom Air Force 1’s you wore that had a sunflower design on the toebox and along the swoosh. Your most recent splurge, sans the British Grand Prix trip.

   “Your entire fit is rocking actually! Yesterday’s too.” As you partially shy away from the compliments that were being thrown your way, Mick takes the moment to get a good look at you. He saw how you had your hair when you got to the paddock this morning, but his focus on your face kept his eyes away from the black cropped halter top you wore underneath a cream colored linen button up that remained unbuttoned and your jean cutoffs that worked wonders for your legs. You swapped the larger hoop earrings you wore yesterday for smaller ones, still gold to match the layered necklaces you wore. You shift your tote bag further up your shoulder.

   “Yeah, you look amazing today.” Even though all three Mercedes drivers were complimenting you simultaneously, your attention immediately went to Mick upon the sound of his voice.

   “Thank you.” You voice was soft and accidentally went up an octave, but neither of you noticed as sappy grins grew on both of your faces. With you two in your own realm for the moment, Lewis and George were both left to watch the longing between you two then, after looking at each other with the same knowing look, Lewis cleared his throat to bring you guys back to Earth.

   “You gonna be in the garage all weekend, Y/n?” You couldn’t help but smile with Lewis’ gapped smile, but look towards Mick briefly, telepathically asking if what he gave you was a multiday pass.

   “Oh, yeah. The pass is for the rest of the weekend.” Mick stuffs his hands in his pockets, which seems to be the only thing he can ever think of to stop himself from wanting to touch you.

“I guess I am.” You laugh, shrugging then grabbing onto your bag handle with both hands.

“Alright! I guess I’ll see you later then.” Lewis shakes your hand and turns to go further back into the motorhome, waiting for George.

“It was very nice to meet you Y/n.” George 

   Once they were out of earshot, George lightly elbowed Lewis to get his attention. “You saw what I saw, right?”

   “Yeah, I did.” Was all Lewis could muster. He knew that this was going to be excruciating to watch.

ynthewriter

Liked by mickschumacher and 2,673 others

ynthewriter An exciting race and new friends are what the British grand prix is about 🏁

Also my article for @motorsportcom is up now!!! "Should Red Bull be Worried about Mercedes' Hastened Improvement?"

view 124 comments

chels2001 Came for the black F1 fan representation, stayed for Mick being your "new friend"

schumimick Us Merc fans gotta stay delusional together

mickschumacher It was lovely meeting you yn! Hope we can hang out again soon! 😊

↳ mercfanf1 ARIANA! WHAT R U DOIN HERE!? HAHA

↳ ynthewriter Thank you for the navigational help! And I've already started to plan our next hang out 🖊️📒

tanirose98 I was so glad to see @kymillman add a black girl to his Women of the Paddock post!!! Her fit was so cute 🥺

Spa

   You leaned your head onto Mick’s shoulder while laughing at the joke bouncing between the two of you, Esteban watching the interaction from across the table. Esteban took a bite of his food before interjecting sarcastically. “No, no. That’s fine. Laugh at my misfortune.”

   “How can we not laugh at a video of your kart just drifting out of frame…” You couldn’t finish your explanation as you began hysterically laughing, Mick and Esteban joining into the angelic, contagious sound. Mick saw tears starting to fall from your eyes due to your laughter and swiftly grabbed a napkin for you, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Esteban.

   “It was wet! They're lucky that I didn’t take everybody behind me out too.” You chuckle at his hilariously disgruntled rebuttal and take a drink from the wine glass in front you.

   “That’s true. But to be fair, that would have made it ten times funnier.” Mick jokes with his friend then reaches around the back of your chair, moving one of your locs off of your shoulder before ultimately resting his hand on the chair. You all take the well needed lull in the moment to eat some more of the food in front of you guys, look around at the quaint Belgian restaurant you guys decided to have dinner at Wednesday night before the race weekend began.

   “That motorsport article was good. A lot of good insight on how not just Mercedes, but most of the grid is starting to catch up to Red Bull.” You smile at the acclaim given to you by Esteban, briefly turning your head toward Mick when you feel his hand rubbing your shoulder for a moment. 

   “Thank you. So many comments are saying that I’m delusional, but they’ll see. Motorsport obviously published it for a reason.” You start to dab at your eye when it starts to feel like something was in it and excuse yourself to the bathroom after politely turning down Mick’s offer to look for the offending object himself, leaving just Esteban and Mick at the table.

   “She’s nice. But, I feel like I’m sensing something between you two.” Esteban flicks a finger from Mick to the direction that you went.

   “We’re just friends.” Mick flashes an innocent, unknowing smile. “She’s nice to have around and talk to, and I hope she thinks the same about me.”

   Esteban’s eyes widened in shock at the genuine comment from his friend, surprised at the naivety. “Okay.” He gives an exaggerated nod, deciding not to say anything else as a means to keep his own sanity, grinning at you when you return and sit back down, Mick’s attention completely on you.

Monza

   “You what!?” You walk out of the bathroom of your hotel room, face still lathered with face wash as you stare at Mick sitting on your bed.

   “I’m racing this weekend.” You gave him no reaction at first, going back to rinse your face off, put your glasses on and stand in front of him, staring at him, analyzing his facial features. His eyes that you have recently noticed look at you with a certain sense of longing, smile lines next to the mouth grinning up at you, hair flopped back due to his head positioning and messy due to his participation in the second practice session that day. You get back to the matter at hand.

   “One more time. In my good ear, please.” You exaggeratedly flip your locs away from your ear leaning closer to Mick, making him chuckle. Your close proximity allows him to get a whiff of your sweet smelling hair.

   “I’m racing this weekend. George is pretty sick and so they decided that it would be best for me to drive tomorrow. And since I would be driving in qualifying, they decided I should just drive through the rest of the weekend.”

   “Wow. I mean, I’m sorry to hear about George, I’ll need to text him.” You sidebar, looking around from your stationary position for your phone, quickly giving up. “But that’s awesome! What!” You instinctively wrap your arms around Mick’s neck in a hug, having to bend down for a moment as he was still seated on the bed in front of you, but he gently stands up, slowly changing the angle of the hug.

   “I know. I feel like I should be nervous, but I’m really just excited, you know?” The way he looked at you displayed the pure joy that he was feeling, and you couldn’t help but share that joy, wanting to make sure he keeps this joy. About 30 seconds into the quiet moment of you two, you realize simultaneously you were still embraced, your arms draped over Mick’s shoulders and Mick’s arms wrapped around your waist. You guys break apart, pausing for a beat before Mick continues. “I, uh, also was wondering if you wanted to head to the circuit with me tomorrow?”

   You were about to agree, but then Mick’s unsure smile to the request reminded you that he has been riding his motorcycle to the track the past two days, hence the reason you haven’t arrived with him. “On that death machine? No.” You shake your head, your locs shaking side to side.

   “Please? I would think if I were to have a good luck charm, it would show up with me.” His smile was now more convincing, boyish, like he’s trying to convince you to give him some ice cream.

   “Good luck charm, huh?” You try to keep a straight, skeptical face as Mick comically nods his head. On the inside, though, you were mush at the thought of Mick saying you were his good luck charm. You sigh. “I guess flattery gets you some places, Schumacher. Fine, I’ll do it.”

   “Thank you, really. I promise I’ll be careful, but you’ll be surprised at how fun it is.” He brings you into a hug as he speaks, cradling your head briefly before pulling away. “And if tomorrow comes and you really don’t want to get on the bike, that is okay.” You guys exchange mundane comments and goodbyes before Mick leaves your room to head back to his own, leaving you with a feeling in your heart that you shake off before finishing your night routine.

__Friday, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza___

   Mick stops his bike near the paddock with you still clutching his waist, before your ears registers the lack of sound from the bike. Though the ride itself was adrenaline riddled, you were comforted by Mick’s scent surrounding you, not only from hugging him close as he steered, but also from having to wear his backpack during the ride. You climb off and remove your helmet, regaining your composure as you wait for Mick to remove his helmet to hand him his bag and rearrange your tote on your shoulder that hand to be sandwiched between you two. You guys then begin to head toward the paddock entrance, stopping to say hello to fans standing nearby, then entering, which happened to be at the same time as Toto and Susie Wolff. They’re attention was initially on someone explaining a piece of business that you didn’t pay attention to, but then Toto called Mick over, leaving you and Susie to greet each other.

   “You must be Y/n. I have heard a lot about you.” You shake the hand of the lady in front of you, starstruck.

   “Mrs. Wolff, it’s so nice to meet you. I hope it’s all good things you’ve heard.” You give her a spritely smile, and though she returns the gesture, your nerves still get to you.

   “Trust me dear, it’s all been great. And call me Susie, please.” You see that her attention moved to just behind you which prompts you to turn and look, seeing Julie hesitantly approach as to not rudely interrupt the conversation.

   “Hi, sorry. I just wanted to give you these. Just a little thank you for helping me out with set up and clean up and honestly with basically everything else.” She hands you two 4-day press passes that you smile at, confused. “For Vegas and Abu Dhabi.” You go to thank her, but with a wink, she swiftly leaves to her next task.

   “Oh, those are a hot commodity.” Susie’s voice inflection makes you feel even more special than Julie’s gesture as you wrap up straps around the passes and place them in your tote.

   “I know. What she was talking about, you know helping her, it's just...it's easy to get bored hanging around the track all day so I usually find her and  help with whatever she’s doing. I didn't expect this, just wanted to help. I’ll need to find her and thank her later. ” You look in the direction she sped off to then look back to Susie, eyes briefly crossing the path of Mick who also took that moment to look at you. You guys grin at each other, which causes onlooker Susie to smile in amusement.

   “Your recent article about Ferrari’s unexpected win in Zandvoort, was good.” The accent laced in her flattery was like music.

   “Thank you! I’m glad you liked it. You have no idea the number of comments there's been about me being impractical about the course of the season.” You tend to reach a certain level of passion when discussing your writing, rightfully so, and the familiar tone in your voice doesn’t go unnoticed by Mick who turns his head slightly to see you, this time peaking Toto’s interest.

   “It’s because you have the balls to challenge Red Bull’s dominance.” Her words briefly shock you, but once you realize who you were talking to, you both laugh at the comment that was undeniably true. 

   “And considering everything, I definitely need to find Julie to thank her because I only see both championships being decided in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi.” At this point, Toto and Mick had came and stood behind their respective lady, Toto wrapping his arm around Susie and Mick standing extremely close, messing with your hair a bit before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

   “You need to spread that optimism around the paddock.” Chuckles echo around the group at Toto’s comment.

   “I’ll try, but I think I need to get past everyone thinking I’m crazy.” You giggle, making everyone smile. Mick shifts his stance and crosses his arms, not in a way that signifies annoyance, but more in an attempt to physically keep himself together as he stares at your hair, locs up in a high ponytail.

   “Trust me, no one thinks that. You’re like a vigilante.” Toto’s oddly worded compliment makes you feel warm and fuzzy, and when he takes a peek at his watch you also check the time on your phone.

   “Oh, I guess we better get going. I’m sure we all have somewhere to be.” You comment, everyone agreeing as scattered final remarks are said.

   “It was very nice meeting you Y/n.” She pauses for a moment, eyes flashing at Mick and then back to you. “I’m gonna figure out a way for us to work together in the future, okay?”

   At first you just look at her in shock, having to tell yourself to reach out and shake her handat first. “Okay, that would be amazing! Thank you! And it was great meeting you, too, Mrs- Susie. Susie." You correct yourself, then wave and say bye to Toto before heading further down the  paddock with Mick, leaving the two Wolff’s to debrief on the undertones of the conversation.

   “She’s a sweetheart. And a lion with a pen.” Susie comments, Toto’s arm now removed from her shoulders as she turns to fiddle with her husband’s appearance.

   “Oh, very nice girl, strong minded. But besides that, you saw them, right? I know I don’t usually concern myself with this stuff, but-” They begin to walk toward the Mercedes motorhome, waving at people as they heard they’re names.

   “Oh yeah. They’re in love.” She didn’t even look back at Toto when she spoke, sure of her observations as she stepped into the motorhome.

#black reader #f1 x black!reader #mick schumacher #mick Schumacher imagine #mick schumacher x black!reader #formula 1 x black!reader #formula 1 #formula 1 smau

[archangeldyke-all]

More tattoo artist sevika pls

Maybe our first date or something 👀👀👀

ur wish is my command bb

men and minors dni

so since you asked her out, you're under the impression that you'll be planning the date.

that is not the case.

once sevika's away from you (and no longer hypnotized by your presence) she snaps out of her lovesick haze and rushes to text you.

"i'm taking u out, btw."

"absolutely not, i asked u!" you text back.

"yeah because i couldn't get my brain to fuckin' work while i was looking at u. i'm taking u out. shut up about it."

and then, "ur tit pic nearly gave me an aneurysm, btw."

she picks out a quiet little restaurant with great drinks, reserves a table for you, and gets there thirty minutes early. she has two drinks before you arrive-- nervous as shit and desperate to be cool once you show up.

she's not.

you show up wearing a low cut top and skin tight pants. she chokes on her drink when she sees you.

you have to pound her back while she coughs and sputters.

she hides her face in her hands in embarrassment as you sit across from her once her breathing is under control. you laugh, endeared by how nervous she is around you.

"you're really cute." you say.

she groans. "you make me stupid with how pretty you are." she mumbles.

it's a great first date after the initial awkward bumble. sevika relaxes when she realizes you're teasing her just so she won't tease you-- because her teasing you leads to you getting so flustered you can't even look her in the eyes.

you guys have a few drinks and split a few appetizers. you take turns trying to fluster the other between asking questions about each other and getting to know one another.

your chemistry is off the charts. you've never met anyone you click with quite as quickly as you click with sevika. by the end of the night the two of you are laughing with each other like you've known each other for years.

you end up sitting at the table chatting for hours, until the restaurant closes forcing the two of you to leave. outside the restaurant, sevika awkwardly asks you if you'd like to take a walk with her. you enthusiastically agree, nowhere near ready for the night to be over.

sevika grins when you agree, and you decide to be bold and take her hand in yours. she trips over her own feet, awkwardly laughing when you help her straighten out.

"nervous?" you ask her. she hip checks you gently.

"shut up." she grumbles. you smile and stop walking. she turns around, ready to apologize, and you cut her off by pressing a kiss to her cheek. she's blushing when you pull away.

"you make me nervous too." you say, biting your lip and smiling. "good nervous, though."

"yeah." sevika says with a sparkle in her eyes. "good nervous."

the two of you walk for hours, circling the same block and talking about any and everything.

she tells you secrets she's never told anyone, you tell her practically your whole life story.

you point to her most eye catching tattoos, ask her the story behind each one, what made her choose the design.

it's only when the sky starts to get light that sevika realizes how much time has passed.

"oh fuck." sevika curses, looking down at you. "i am so sorry, i had no idea it was getting so--"

"it's okay." you cut her off. "i did. i just wanted to keep spending time with you." you watch sevika melt, her eyes getting wide and her face going soft. you giggle. "plus i got all my steps in, so that's good."

"probably enough steps for the whole week." she says.

"speaking of... are you free this weekend?" you ask. sevika grins.

"yes." she says, nodding enthusiastically.

"you gonna let me take you out this time?" you ask. she shakes her head no.

"never." she says. you roll your eyes.

"walk me to my car." you demand. sevika does.

when you get to your car-- the only one left in the parking lot besides sevika's, you turn around to hook your hands over sevika's shoulders.

"i'm really glad you asked me out." you whisper.

"i'm really glad you came to silco for your nose piercing." she says.

"i had such a good time tonight." you say.

"me too."

"sevika?" you ask, blinking up at her. her eyes are focused on your lips.

"yeah?"

"can i kiss you?" you ask. she grins.

"yeah."

she leans down as you lean up, your lips meeting in a gentle kiss. something warm and sparkly bubbles in your stomach, and in a moment you're grinning against her lips. she pulls away with a shy smile of her own, clearing her throat and scratching the back of her neck.

"text me when you get home safe." she says. you nod up at her.

"you too." you say.

sevika turns to walk to her car and you watch her go, raising your eyebrows when she stops and turns back around to stride up to you, a determined look on her face.

she scoops you up into her arms and kisses you fiercly, a ray of sun cutting through the sky to illuminate the two of you as you moan into each other. she sets you down three minutes later, much more satisfied with that kiss than the one before it, and then walks backwards all the way to her car, grinning and giggling at your flustered face the whole way.

#sevika #sevika imagine #sevika x reader #sevika arcane #sevika x you #soft sevika

[roxygen22]

Bottled Up

"My Little Cocoa Bean" Series

Summary: Ben/Bean (age 12) battles a bout of nerves before the school play. Willy tries to get his mind off of things.

A/N: See if you can spot the reference to Dune Part 1.

<><><><><>

You were preparing dinner in the kitchen when you heard the front door fly open and fast, erratic footsteps echo throughout the house. "Mamma?!" you heard Ben shout.

His loud, brazen entrance startled you. You were glad that you had already finished chopping up the vegetables and put away the knife, or else you may have accidentally cut yourself when you jumped. "In the kitchen, dear," you called back.

Ben sprinted through the kitchen door, nearly sliding into the table in his rush. "Mamma, Mamma! I got the part! I got the part of Peter Pan!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, Ben! That's fantastic!" You jumped up and down and clapped your hands with glee. "I'm so proud of you! All of those hours of practicing paid off." You wiped your hands on your apron (and the tears from your eyes) before wrapping him in a big hug. At just twelve years old, you and he nearly saw eye to eye. He was going to be tall and lanky like his father, who arrived at the house a couple of minutes behind Ben. The boy had apparently run ahead after he visited the chocolate factory after school, eager to share his news.

"There's my thespian!" Willy announced proudly with a big grin on his face when he caught up to the two of you in the kitchen. He joined your hug and wrapped his arms around both you and Ben.

Charlotte and Brownie came running in from playing in the backyard to find out what all the fuss was about. "What's going on?"

"Bean got the lead role in the school play!" Willy informed her as he opened his arms to invite her into the group hug.

"Great, now we have to listen to him practice the whole show, not just that one piece?" The sassy 8-year-old rolled her eyes but then smiled and hugged her big brother. "Good job," she mumbled into his side.

Ben had obsessively practiced in the weeks leading up to the audition and continued to do so until the day of the event. Willy enjoyed spending his evenings running lines with the boy, and even offered tips for dramatic flourishes. What he didn't enjoy, though, was watching Ben be so hard on himself. As the big day neared, he would practically fall apart if he couldn't remember a line or deliver it perfectly.

"I- I can't do this, Papa. They should have picked someone else for the role," Ben lamented after a particularly rough rehearsal. He sat on the front porch of their house with his head in his hands. Willy seated himself next to his son and put a hand on his back, gently rubbing in a soothing circular motion.

"I really think you need to take a break. I never thought I would say this, but you have to get your nose out of that book. You've been practicing nonstop for days. Weeks, even. Your brain needs time to rest or else you will stay in this fog," Willy said in a low, calm tone.

"But there's only a week left until the show!" Ben shouted, his voice strained from holding back tears. Willy's hand stilled at the uncharacteristic outburst.

"Bean. I am serious. I respect how you are putting your heart and soul into this performance. But it shouldn't come at the expense of your health." He paused. "I don't want you to look at that script this weekend."

"But-"

"No buts, Benjamin. We are going to find something fun to do to get your mind off of things. I can almost guarantee you'll feel better by Monday."

Ben knew he had lost the argument when his father used his full name, which was rare. "Okay, fine," the boy grumbled.

"Besides, it will help you get into character. Peter Pan is a carefree spirit, after all," Willy joked as he ruffled Ben's hair. "Say, that gives me an idea. How about we go out in the boat? With the wind in your hair, you'll feel like you're flying, just like Peter Pan!"

Ben offered a closed-lipped smile and nodded in agreement. Willy clapped him on the back before going back inside to brief you on the plan. After some discussion, you thought it best if you took Charlotte into town for a girls' day while Willy took Ben out on the boat. She had a knack for winding Ben up, as siblings do, which would be counterproductive in his current state. Besides, you were overdue on taking some one-on-one time with your daughter.

<><><><><>

The weekend came, and Ben and Willy made their way to the docks early Saturday morning. Willy noted Ben's posture as he walked ahead toward the boat. Slumped. Defeated. Weary. He was more determined than ever to help his son out of these doldrums.

They loaded their supplies in silence, and Willy navigated them to the beach they had first visited many years ago when Ben was only three. The boy's curly hair flowed behind him as he faced into the wind. He looked back and smiled at his father as they neared land. Ben loved this place. Willy shined a hopeful smile in return.

Once the boat was tied off, the pair started aimlessly ambling along the shoreline. Willy stayed silent, wanting Ben to take the lead when he was ready to open up. It didn't take long. Ben paused to stare out at the sea.

"I'm scared," he said flatly, without looking at his father.

"I know." Willy stayed a step behind, watching his son stare off into the distance. "Want to talk through what exactly you're scared of?"

"That I'm going to mess up my lines and make a fool of myself and my castmates. That I wasn't the right choice for the role." Ben sighed and ducked his head.

"I see. So you think Ms. Harper makes poor decisions?"

"What?! No, she's the best teacher I've ever had!" Ben replied defensively.

"Then perhaps you should trust that she made the right decision about you. Now, of course, I might be a little biased, but I have seen you practice. You own the role so well that you transform, Bean. I no longer see my son, but a mischievous, adventurous scamp who fights pirates and flies to distant worlds on nothing but faith, trust, and pixie dust. You transport people into the story by making it so believable. Not just anybody can do that." He laid a hand on Ben's shoulder and squeezed. "And if you don't get a line quite right, the audience will be none the wiser. Especially if they are enchanted by your delivery. They won't have the script in front of them."

Ben looked to the side at the hand on his shoulder and covered it with his own for a moment. Willy responded with just a light squeeze, then the two continued their trek down the beach.

They eventually made their way up to a grassy hill where they decided to sit a spell. Ben laid back to watch the clouds drift slowly. Willy sat next to him, legs bent so he could rest his arms on his knees and look out across the water.

"You know, this reminds me of the day we spent together before your very first day of school. We went to the park, ran around, and watched the clouds float by. You were nervous then, too," Willy reminisced.

"Yeah? Seems to be a theme," Ben scoffed.

His father chuckled. "Perhaps. But you faced that first day head on even though you were scared. You didn't let it stop you. I have a feeling you will tackle this in much the same way. Even if the play is a disastrous flop - which it won't be - you're still the only thing I ever needed you to be." Willy looked down to make eye contact with Ben. "My son."

The boy's lip trembled. He sat up and wiped tears from his eyes. Willy wrapped an arm around and pulled him into his side. Ben buried his face into Willy's shoulder, and the floodgates to his tears opened. The poor boy had bottled up so much stress. In time, his sobs subsided, and he pulled away from his father to sit up straight again.

"Thank you, Papa," Ben said softly as he wiped his red, blotchy face. "You were right, as always. I do feel better."

"I'm glad I could help." Willy clapped him on the back then pushed himself off the ground, brushing the dirt off his pants as he stood. He held a hand out to Ben to help him up. "We better get going if we want to get home before dark."

On the walk back to the boat, Willy noticed the boy walked a little taller with a bit more spring to his step. There's my boy, he thought.

<><><><><>

The rest of the week passed quickly. Ben was still nervous but not to the point of incapacitation like before the trip. On the evening of the play, Willy handed Ben a box full of giraffe milk macaroons for him to share with his castmates. In the box, you included a note that said, "Break a leg and have fun!" Ben kissed you on the cheek, shook his father's hand, and left early to get into costume.

You, Willy, and Charlotte arrived at the auditorium and took your seats. Willy's leg bounced up and down with nerves until it was time for the show to start.

"Are you alright?" you whispered.

"Just a little nervous for him. I know how much this means to him."

You squeezed his hand and turned your attention to the stage as the curtain rose. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Willy mouthing lines throughout the performance and holding his hands to his mouth during the most dramatic scenes. He was the first to jump up to applaud when the curtain fell, triggering a standing ovation. The cast and crew came out once more to take a bow.

"Bravo, bravo!" Willy yelled, catching Ben's attention, who smiled at his family and waved excitedly. Willy looked over at you with glossy eyes. "He was perfect," he whispered.

"He's a natural showman, just like you."

"My little cocoa bean."

<><><><><>

Masterlist

Tag List:

@croatianprincess

Message me if you'd like to be added!

#my little cocoa bean #timothée chalamet #wonka #willy wonka #wonka 2023 #timothee chalamet #timmy!wonka #wonka movie #timothee chalamet x reader #timothée chalamet x reader #dad willy wonka #wonka is a family man #willy wonka x reader #willy wonka x you #willy wonka imagines #established relationship #female reader #mom reader #papa willy wonka #papa!wonka #papa wonka #willy wonka and the chocolate factory #wonka x reader #wonka x you #timothee chalamet x you #timothee x reader #timothee!wonka #timothée x reader #timothee chalamet fanfiction #drabble

[cybrpwup]

ᴏʙʟɪᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ || ɢʀᴜɴᴋ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

grunk x f!reader !

Warnings: none Summary: Grunk and Y/n are the only ones oblivious of their feelings. (You are Isaac younger sister to wtvr hence why you’re living at the house) requested?; yes !

Y/n crawled from where she had been sitting to perch on Carl's lap. He rested one hand on her hip and the other cupped her cheek as they both leaned forward to kiss each other. It felt oddly surreal.

Grunk was the first to pull away, pressing his lips together. He was looking at her as if studying her expression to see how she felt about it.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long.”

y/n couldn’t help but giggle slightly at his words before she caught his lips in hers once again.

She could feel Grunk’s fingers beginning to curl into the flesh of her hips as he held her there, kissing her for every second he couldn’t before now.

"Breakfast!!"

It took a moment for Grunk to remember where he had fallen asleep; he was in the guest bedroom of the group chats house, the morning after last to leave vc 3 where he’d been dared to fly out and was now spending the weekend.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, taking a seat on the couch; where most meals were had. Only a couple of the other guys were up even though it was almost the afternoon.

"Good morning, Jack." Y/n greeted the boy as she placed a plate in front of him. He ruffled his hair and gave a smile back.

Tanner appeared in the stairwell, "I am starving.”

“I’m gonna bring these up to Nick and Blake since they’re obviously not going to be getting up anytime soon, your plates right there." The female huffed as she carried 2 plates up the stairs, Grunks eyes on her the whole time.

Suddenly she was standing in front of the brunette, waving a hand in his face, “Are you here with me?” She laughed as he snapped back to reality.

“Hi. Yeah, hello.”

“You’re on the remote, silly goose.” She pointed to the remote that was tucked under his leg; he inched over letting an apology slip past his lips.

She plopped down into the spot he’d just moved from, their shoulders touching. A comfortable silence broke out between the two as they ate and focused on the tv. “I’m glad you’re here, we need to hangout more,” Y/n finally spoke, her eyes never leaving the tv. Maybe because she was really into the show or she simply couldn’t say it while looking at him.

--

y/n would be the first to admit. Grunk wasn't as bad as she thought he would be when they first met. On the contrary, he was way better than she anticipated. He could be weird and goofy sometimes, but things were always fun with him.

There were obvious feelings for each other, the group was constantly teasing him for the way he got all excited when y/n came around.

They were currently lying on the front porch after Y/n had suggested to get away from the chaotic house. It was getting dark, a couple stars already speckled the sky as the two of them babbled on about anything they could think of.

"Do you know what that star is called?" Grunk asked, his hand pointing up at the sky.

A small huff of laughter passed her lips, "Huh? How would I know?" She questioned, looking up at the star.

"Dunno. You seem like the kind of girl who would know." He shrugged, glancing over at her for a quick moment.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

A calm silence settled between the two as they continued to stare up at the sky. She could tell Grunk wanted to say something to her; god, she could almost hear his thoughts beside him. She turned her head to look at him, perhaps initiating another conversation to pull him out of his, evidently, troubling thoughts. However, she found that he was already looking at her; she felt her face heat up at the intense look on his face.

She let out a small laugh and hit his chest lightly, "What?"

He hesitated for a moment as if he didn't know if he wanted to say what he was thinking, "I keep dreaming about you- us." He finally blurted

y/n felt her heart pick up at his words and her cheeks flush, "Really? What happens?" She asks, curious as to what mischief he could get into in his head.

He ran his fingers through his hair and licked his lips, letting out a laugh as he recalls his dream, "Usually it starts off with us uh kissing," He replied, sitting up and turning his body to face her, only for her to do the same.

"Oh?" She lifted an eyebrow, a wave of insecurity washed over her as she messed with her hair.

He couldn't help the nervous smile that broke out at her reaction, not hesitating to ask her, "Can I show you?"

Butterflies erupted in her stomach, wondering if he was joking with her, "I uh- yeah sure. yea." She cringed at the way she stuttered, but didn't have long to think about it as Grunk leant in and caught her lips on his own.

It was always exciting to kiss someone new. The first shy touches of yet to be claimed lips, leading to soft sighs and deepening feelings. The feather light touch on her lips made her feel warm and safe as he pulled her into his lap.

"I've been wanting to do that for so long." Grunk spoke once they both needed to come up for air.

y/n couldn’t help but giggle slightly at his words before she caught his lips in hers once again. She could feel Grunks fingers beginning to curl into the flesh of her hips as he held her there, kissing her for every second he couldn’t before now. "Then what happens?" she spoke, rubbing her thumb over his bottom lip, eyes flickering from his lips to his eyes.

Grunk rolled his eyes at the question, letting out a nervous laugh and rolled her onto her back, hands entwined and giggling like the pair of lovesick teenagers that they were. Neither of them wasted anytime, attaching their lips to one another picking up where they left off.

Why hadn't she done this with him sooner?

They were so lost in each others touch that they never heard the front door creak open, “alright, that’s enough.” Isaac nudged the two with his foot; his overprotective brother coming out, “your door is staying open for the rest of the weekend. Come inside.” He swiftly went back inside with a chuckle, calling to the others, “guess who’s making out on the front porch?”

Grunk flopped down beside her, chests heaving and loud breaths and giggles coming from them both.

none of them wanted to speak and ruin the moment and they sat like that for a while. Ultimately it was Grunk who spoke first, “I knew I would love kissing you, but this was…”

“Even better than the dream?”

“Yes.”

Y/n let out a hearty laugh as Grunk reached across and pulled her into his arms.

#grunk x reader #grunkkk #the group chat #the group chat x reader #the groupchat #the group chat podcast #isaacwhy x reader #grunk

[variety-fangirl]

Our Baby / Rafe Cameron x fem!reader

Part 1 here Part 3 here

Summary: Rafe has a change of heart after seeing his ex and son, his whole world changing.

Warnings: 18+ NO MINORS daddy Rafe 😉, gentle face fucking, oral (receiving and giving), unprotected vaginal penetration, swearing, fluff, and a bit of aftercare.

Author's note: I'm so glad everyone wanted a part 2, so here it is! This is definitely one of my favourites so far 🥺 hope you enjoy! Liking, commenting, and reblogging allows me to improve and gain feedback on how I'm doing. It is greatly appreciated. I stayed up till 4am to finish this, I was invested in writing I got carried away :D.

Word count: 2.3k

You spent the whole weekend at your parent's house, allowing them to spend time with both you and Hunter. You were expecting to have a quiet weekend with family but were surprised when the next morning came and Rafe asked you to go for breakfast with Hunter. You immediately agreed, wanting Rafe to bond with his son. You wanted your child to have a relationship with his father, even if you couldn't.

You were still in love with him, that was going to take a while to move on from. With time you hoped that your heart would heal and the feelings would fade. You went to a little café nearby, ordering breakfast for you both. Hunter was wide awake, curious about who this person was holding him. You couldn't help but smile as you watched Rafe interact with your son, he seemed a natural with him.

Although he didn't have the best track record when it came to being kind to others, you knew deep down he would be a wonderful father and would love his child unconditionally. Of course, he'd made mistakes in the past but everyone does, and you didn't hold that against him. He had always been kind and sweet to you, of course, you had the odd fight now and again like most couples did and would always be resolved by the end of the day.

Neither of you liked going to bed angry with each other, so you'd always make up and end up having hot make-up sex. Your relationship hadn't been perfect but it was pretty good and you balanced each other out perfectly. You weren't sure anybody would ever be able to top Rafe, he'd ruined you for anyone else.

"What are you thinking about?" Rafe asked with a smile as Hunter fell asleep peacefully in Rafe's arms, handing him back so that you could put him in his pram to sleep. You grab your son and tucked him in, "nothing really, I was thinking about what time to leave tomorrow." you lied, not wanting to know you were thinking about him.

He looked at you with a look you couldn't decipher, "hmm... you'll have to give me your house address so I can come by and see you guys." He smiled, seeming to push away his thoughts. You nodded, "sure. I'll text it to you later. Feel free to come by whenever." you weren't expecting him to come by much in all honesty, he enjoyed his drinking and partying too much.

-

"So how come you had a change of heart and came to my parent's house yesterday?" you questioned, taking a sip from your drink. "Something just clicked, I already felt terrible about how I handled that day but just couldn't figure out what to say to you. I am sorry for how I acted, you deserved better than that. But I'm here now and I want to be a part of Hunter's life, I've already missed so much." he explained thoughtfully, a look of regret flashing across his face.

You smiled gratefully, "I appreciate you apologising, thank you for that. Of course, I want you to be a part of his life. He deserves to have both parents in his life." Rafe looked relieved and happy at this, seemingly worried you would deny him seeing his son. You wouldn't do that to him, you wondered how often he would come by to see Hunter though.

Oh how you'd been wrong, Rafe ended up coming by four times a week for the past four weeks to spend time with Hunter. You thought he would come by every now and again but not as much as he was, not that you were complaining. Hunter would recognise and be happy to see Rafe if he kept this up regularly, the thought made you smile.

You were grateful that he was putting in the effort, your son having both parents around was extremely important to you. You quickly came to see how much Rafe had fallen in love with your little one, bonding with him quickly. Rafe adored the fact that he looked like a miniature version of himself, already talking about putting him in matching outfits.

During the first week, two days after having breakfast that first morning, Rafe dropped by (with your approval of course). He had brought a stuffed bear teddy as a present for him, Hunter immediately smiled and screamed in excitement. This made you both giggle at your son, enjoying his excitement. During the second week, Rafe wanted to go start going out for family days together, to do fun activities and bond more.

You took Hunter to the beach, to introduce him to sand and to get him used to being in busy crowds of people. Hunter ended up attempting to eat the sand so you had to move him onto your lap securely. During the third week, ended up staying for three nights to help you care for Hunter whilst you were a bit unwell. It luckily last long, only about four days but Rafe refused to leave you on your own. You had been so thankful and able to catch up on some needed sleep.

Hunter had started to get somewhat into a routine, before long you'd be able to start getting more sleep in the nights. The nights were the toughest, being on your own with a newborn and breastfeeding was hard and tiring but you wouldn't change it for the world. Sarah had popped over to see how you were doing on one of the days you were sick and was surprised to see Rafe there.

Sarah regularly popped over and met up with you to see both you and the baby, she adored her nephew. She had grilled you for an hour straight for details of how your relationship was, whilst Rafe put Hunter down for his afternoon nap. During week four, the weather was amazing, so you decided to have a lazy pool day. Rafe came over with swim shorts and a change of clothes for after, excited to see you both.

You put on a cute yellow bikini with your hair in a messy bun, you'd lost a little bit of baby weight but still had a little bit left over. You were comfortable in your skin, knowing Rafe wouldn't be judgemental of the extra weight, you knew he'd be understanding that it wasn't a miracle to lose it all straight away. Rafe had always made you beautiful no matter what you looked like, dressed up with make-up or first thing in the morning or on days you looks really unwell.

You stepped into the pool with Hunter in hand, a little bucket hat on his head and waterproof sunscreen to protect him. You looked up in time to see Rafe walk out in his blue swim trunks, abs on full display. "Fuck." you whispered to yourself, unable to tear your eyes away as you walked over to the ladder, not wanting to scare or splash Hunter by jumping in.

You quickly looked away as Rafe stepped into the pool and made his way over. Hunter happily smacked his arms and legs around in the water, you made sure to keep him above the water a decent amount. Rafe lightly tickled his sides, causing Hunter to squeal happily. You smiled at the two, feeling extremely blessed and lucky. The love you had for your son was immense, you never knew you could love someone so deeply with your whole being.

And you knew Rafe felt the same, just the way he stared at your son with a wide smile and played with him, you knew he felt the same. You could feel Rafe staring at you intensely, you looked up at him with a smile, "what's up?" you asked curiously. He shook his head with a smile, "nothing. I'm just admiring your beauty, you are an amazing mother." you instantly felt tears prick at your eyes and your cheeks burn red.

In the current, you had just taken a hot shower whilst Rafe put your son down for the night. It was around 7pm, which was his usual bedtime. You showered in the guest bedroom whilst Rafe put Hunter to bed in his cot in your bedroom. You were honestly so grateful for the help, being able to eat properly, get some sleep and shower because of Rafe's continuously regular help. You walked out of the bathroom in your towel, your pyjamas on the bed ready where you'd left them.

You stood in front of the bed and released the towel from your body, letting it fall to the floor. You'd already dried your body, you towel-dried your damp hair and let that drop to the floor also. You were just about to get dressed when the door suddenly opened, "hey he's finally do-" Rafe stopped, you span around quickly with wide eyes. You gasped, quickly grabbing your towel from the floor.

Rafe's eyes stared at you the whole time, trailing up and down. "Rafe!" You lightly called, careful not to be too loud. His eyes shamelessly trailed up slowly, finally meeting your eyes. He placed the baby monitor on the desk by the door, the light indicating it was on. One moment he was by the door, the next he was kissing you passionately and pushing you down on the bed.

Your towel was on the floor, your naked body on full display for him. You moaned into his mouth, pulling him closer to you. You yanked his shirt up, wanting it off of him. He pulled back to remove his shirt, your hands immediately went to his shorts and pulled them down along with his boxers. "Fuck, are you sure?" he breathily questioned, he was already rock hard. You leaned forward and grabbed his cock, and licked the head, "does that answer your question?" you looked up at him through your eyelashes and bit your lip.

He nodded, seeming unable to answer you with your hand slowly pumping him. You took him in your mouth, swirling your tongue around the head and traced the vein on the underside. Slowly bobbing your head up and down, you set a comfortable pace as quiet moans escaped Rafe. He stared down at you as he collected your hair into his fist and gently fucked your mouth, you moaned in agreement and looked up at him.

You watched as his mouth opened, watching in amazement as you sucked his cock perfectly. You still knew exactly how to please and tease him, nobody compared to you. His head went back in pleasure as you hollowed out your cheeks and sucked hard, a quiet "ahh" escaping him.

"Lie back, baby," Rafe ordered softly, stopping his delicious assault on your mouth. You instantly obeyed and lay back on the mattress, your damp hair fanning out around your head. Rafe pulled you by your thighs to the edge of the bed, his body knelt on the carpeted ground. He softly kissed your stomach, slowly making his way up and down each thigh. You moaned breathily as his mouth latched onto your clit, your hands fisting the duvet beside you.

Your back arched as he licked a long line with his tongue up your slit, sucking your clit as he reached the top. He gently added a finger, pumping in and out slowly while he sucked on your clit. You grabbed the hair on his head and pulled, a groan leaving him as you did so. He quickly added a second finger, a cry almost leaving your mouth as he did so.

His pace quickened, your walls clenching as you felt your orgasm build, the knot forming in your stomach. "Fuck!" you moaned quietly, your hips moving of their own accord. "Come for me, baby," Rafe mumbled against your core, attaching his lips to your clit again. That was all it took for your release to hit you, you covered your mouth to stop yourself from moaning too loudly. Rafe made his way on top of you once you were finished, easily lifting you and scooting you up the bed.

Rafe positioned himself at your entrance, his lips attaching to yours. You tasted yourself on him, moaning as his tongue entered. You both moaned as Rafe entered you, he began slowly thrusting in and out. He grabbed your hands and put them above you, interlacing his fingers with yours. Rafe placed his forehead on yours, staring deeply into your eyes, "I love you." he breathily moaned.

"Fuck, I love you too." You cried out softly, wrapping your legs around his waist. Rafe placed his head in the crook of your neck, kissing the area. You pressed your mouth against his shoulder, biting the area to keep your quiet. Rafe picked his pace a little, the only sound being loud mixed breathing and light skin slapping together. You could feel yourself get close, the knot forming once again.

You whimpered as your walls clenched around him as he began fucking you harder and faster, "shit. I'm close, come for me, baby." Rafe groaned, kissing you passionately. You moaned into his mouth as you came hard, this one was stronger than the first. The feeling intensified as Rafe came with a breathy groan, riding you both through your highs.

Taglist: @itsmytimetoodream @onmykneesforrafe

Rafe pulled out and made his way to the bathroom to get you a washcloth to clean you, he returned quickly and cleaned you up without complaint. "That was amazing" Rafe smiled as he helped you up, pecking your lips. You smiled and nodded in agreement. You both got dressed and made your way into your bedroom, snuggling into bed whilst Hunter stayed soundly asleep in his cot.

You and Rafe faced one another, "so does this mean we are back together?" Rafe asked with a smile. You smiled in return, "only if you want to." he pulled you in for a gentle kiss, the kiss holding more meaning and feeling. "Of course I do, I never should have let you go in the first place." You nodded, "then we're back together." a huge smile forming on his face. Now everything was the way it should be, you had never been happier. Your family was complete.

#rafe cameron x reader #y/n #fluff #outer banks #rafe x you #rafe obx #rafe cameron #rafe cameron smut #rafe fic #father rafe #mother reader #rafe smut #outer banks smut