#part time office jobs sydney

[wannabeschyulersister]

lovelorn and nobody knows

Sometimes it felt like you had the words “I’m in love with my boss” written on your forehead in big capital letters.

As much as you tried to hide it, you couldn’t help but marvel at him. He was truly amazing at his craft and seeing him so passionate made you want to do it as well.

There were times that he acted a little like a jerk but he’d redeemed himself recently. Thanks to Sydney.

And to Claire.

You were surprised when you learned he was seeing someone. He brought Claire around when the restaurant was practically falling apart. It was such a weird moment. You physically could feel the awkwardness in the air.

She seemed really nice but part of you still disliked her just because she could call Carmy hers.

You avoided being around them as much as possible. It hurt just looking at the way he smiled at her.

Every part of your being wished that were you.

You wished you were the one he confided in after a long day at the Bear. You wished that you were the one he walked around the city with hand in hand. You wished you were the one that had his heart.

You felt like a lovesick fool.

Instead of subjecting yourself to seeing the happy couple, you started to back out of any group activities unless it was absolutely necessary.

The group would often go and get drinks at a nearby bar at least once a week. You stopped going as soon as you heard Claire was a regular now. People would ask if you were going and you always had a lie ready to go.

As much as you loved working at The Bear, you knew that it would probably be best if you removed yourself from the situation. It hurt every time you had to be around Carmen and Claire. You didn’t want to constantly put yourself in heartache.

There was a popular Italian restaurant across town that needed a sous. You had a friend of a friend that recommended you. It was the fresh start that you needed.

When you got the job, it was bittersweet. You should’ve been happier than you were.

So, you drafted up a letter of resignation, took a deep breath, and walked into Carmen’s office after closing. He was busy looking at an invoice when you knocked softly on the doorframe to make yourself known.

He looked at you and smiled a little, “Hey, stranger. We missed you last night.”

“Yeah, sorry I missed it. I uh- have something to give you.” You wanted to get this part over with.

“Yeah? What’s that?” He reached over and grabbed the letter that you handed him. You hoped he didn’t notice the slight shakiness of your hand.

You didn’t answer him because you didn’t trust your voice in that moment. Carmen quickly read through your letter and you watched the expression change on his face.

“What the hell is this? You’re leavin’?” Carmen stood up from his seat and placed your letter down.

“I got a job opportunity that I couldn’t say no too. I’m sorry that this puts you in a situation where you are short staffed but I’m giving you a two weeks notice.” You explained to him.

“I don’t understand. You’re happy here, aren’t you? D-did something happen’ that I’m not aware of?” Carmen questioned.

Yeah, you fell in love with someone else.

You shook your head, “No, nothing happened. I just think I’m ready for a new challenge.”

Carmen didn’t look like he bought your lie. “(Y/n), you don’t think that I’ve noticed that you’re distant and-and you haven’t been coming out with all of us?”

Shit.

You’d hoped that maybe he was so busy with Claire that he hadn’t noticed you slipping away from the group at all.

“I’ve just been busy with other things.” You lied again.

“What’s going on?” He questioned.

“Nothing is going on, Carmen.”

He crossed his arms against his chest and it took everything in you not to stare and drool. Even when you tried to be strong, his biceps made you feel weak.

“I don’t believe you.” He stated.

“That’s fine. I just wanted to do the respectable thing and give you an adequate notice.”

Carmen stared at you and it made you feel like he could read your mind. Like he knew the exact reason on why you were leaving.

“I don’t want you to leave, (Y/n). I think you’re amazing and- and you have a bright future in this industry. I think it’s a mistake.”

Your chest ached at his kind words. “I’m just ready for something new.”

He sighed and looked away from you as someone knocked on the door. You turned and saw Claire holding a takeout bag, “Thought I’d surprise you with dinner.”

“Now isn’t a good time, Claire.” Carmen told her.

She looked disappointed, “Am I interrupting something?”

You quickly shook your head, “No, the conversation is over. Have a good night.”

“(Y/n), wait!” Carmen called out to you but you left his office without another look back.

Even thought it killed you to walk away from him, you had to put yourself first.

#carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto imagine #carmen berzatto x (y/n) #carmen berzatto x you #carmen berzatto #the bear x reader #the bear imagine #carmy x reader #carmy berzatto

[ilongfor-the-arts]

Hi! Can I request a Carmy fic? I would love a confident reader who is maybe Sydney’s friend who comes to visit her at the restaurant. Asks her “who’s that?” when she sees Carmy in the background and tells Syd she has a hot boss (and Carmy overhears and likes her too). You can take it from there (with hopefully some smut)….I think Carmy would be emboldened if he knew that someone clearly liked him

More Than Friends

Pairing: Carmen Berzatto x fem! Reader

Warnings: language, talking about sex, smut, oral (m! Receiving), office sex

Summary: *in req*

Word Count: 2.8k

When I heard Sydney had gotten a job at "the best restaurant in the world," I imagined something a little more refined than The Original Beef of Chicagoland. Standing in front of the filthy sign, cluttered windows, and peeling facade made me question my decision to meet Sydney's "friends." I can only imagine the types of people who would gladly work here.

“Alright, I know it doesn’t look like much. But I promise, once you taste the food, you’ll never wanna eat anywhere else.”

I dragged my gaze across the unassuming appearance of "the best restaurant in the world." I'm not one to pass judgment based on appearance, but a dirty facade is not something you want to see in a place where food is being prepared for your consumption.

"Alright, Syd,” I say with a sigh, “I’m choosing to trust you on this one.”

Syd grasped my hand, tugging me through the threshold.

“Great! You won’t regret this Y/N.”

I permit Sydney to lead me into the restaurant. My nose was immediately filled with wonder. Considering the facade, the smell was impeccable.

“Woah.”

I said, staring aimlessly at the unkempt kitchen because the smell didn't match the appearance.

“What?”

Syd asked, worried something was not to my liking.

“I just- wow, it smells unbelievable in here.”

Sydney’s face broke into a pearly white smile.

“I know right! God, I was so worried you were gonna hate it!”

I looked all around the restaurant. It was shabby, dirty, and a little stuffy. In the corners of the room, the paint was beginning to peel. On the counter, a thin film of dust had accumulated. However, there was something that was quite adorable. For instance, it seemed as if this would be a great place for a first date. It appeared to be a location where many happy memories were stored.

“Hm.”

I hummed, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I don’t wanna speak too soon, but this certainly feels promising.”

“Oh my God just wait until you meet the crew! They are gonna love-”

“Sydney?!”

A moving figure that appeared behind the counter caught my attention.

Oh my God.

“Who is this?”

He pointed towards me.

“This is Y/N, the friend I was telling you about?”

His eyes landed on mine. He was gorgeous, God. I was almost angry at Sydney for failing to inform me about her sexy coworker.

“Oh, this is Y/N?”

Alright, now was the time to take command.

“Hey, I’m Y/N.”

I strolled over and optimistically extended a hand for him to take. His shocked gaze lingered over my friendly gesture.

“Oh- Um, hi Y/N, I’m Carmen…”

As Carmen clasped my hand in his, his voice drifted off. He had a powerful handshake. We were off to a fantastic start.

“But, um-my friends just call me Carmy.”

I grinned, shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans.

“So, is it alright if I call you Carmy?”

He raised his eyebrows in surpirse.

“Well, I mean-um-that depends? Do you think were gonna be friends?”

I scoffed, my grin morphing into a subtle smirk.

“Y’know, I don’t know if I wanna be friends.”

It took a minute for him to get it, but once he did, the reaction was instnat. Carmen’s lips parted, a faint shade of pink creeping onto his cheekbones.

“Well, um-”

He looked to Sydney for solitude. She chimed in.

“Hey, um, Y/N, we only have about an hour until we open.”

She came around to my side, wrapped her arm around my shoulder, and led me to the kitchen. She was directing my attention away from Carmen.

“How ‘bout we take a look around and then I can make you some food to take home?”

I nodded.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

I removed myself from the uncomfortable blanket of awkwardness once we were in the kitchen and a considerable distance away from Carmen.

“Okay, what the hell Syd? Why didn’t you tell me you had a hot coworker!”

Sydney pressed her finger to my lips, hushing me. Her face was filled with fear. Was my flirtation really that petrifying?

“Sh! Y/N, he’s not just a coworker he’s my boss!”

My jaw dropped to the floor, my eyes widening.

“No way in hell! He’s your boss?! The man I just talked to is your fucking boss?!”

“The man you just flirted with is my fucking boss!”

I scoffed loudly, my tone creeping well above a whisper.

“Sydney you have a hot boss!”

“Y/N!”

She exclaimed sternly.

“Please! I beg of you! Try to keep the flirting to a minimum!”

I rolled my eyes.

“Jesus Sydney why don’t you just cut off my leg while you’re at it!”

I flung myself atop a kitchen coutner playfully, dangling my legs.

“I mean, you have this absolute hunk of a man bossing you around and hanging over your shoulder 24/7. You are lucky!”

Sydney crossed her arms over her chest, her lips pursed.

“Please, can you just not flirt with my boss.”

I groaned.

“You are no fun.”

I gnawed on my lower lip, staring into the nothingness past Sydney, letting my mind drift. When a burning question popped into my head, I quickly jerked back into reality.

“Alright, but, can I just ask one thing?”

Sydney sighed.

“What?”

She inquired, exasperated.

“Have you ever tried to-”

She waved her hands through the air, hastily dismissing my question.

“Oh my God please no more of that! No! The answer is no!”

I held my hands up in defense.

“Hey! Don’t attack me! I was just asking!”

Sydney rolled her eyes, her annoynace bubbling within her.

“Look Y/N, Carmen is a really lonely guy. He isn’t like one of those jocks you’re used to flirting with-”

Sydney's tone was tinged with judgment. I had to chime in.

“Woah, okay, when did this turn into criticizing my romantic choices?”

Sydney shook her head, restarting her thought process.

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying you are a confident girl and he is very much so a not confident guy. And, I know you’re just screwing around, and even though you might think he knows you're screwing around, I promise you he does not.”

I stared off into space, appearing to carefully consider my next ideas even though I was only messing with Sydney. I mean, really? Don't flirt with her hot boss? Was she for real?

“Alright, so what you’re saying is make it obvious I’m not screwing around before I fuck him?”

Sydney groaned, her eyes virtually rolling to the back of her head.

“That’s absolutely not what I’m saying!”

“Sydney! Get your ass over here I need your help with something!”

Another voice, not Carmen's, reverberated around the kitchen walls. Sydney raced over to me, her voice barely above a whisper. I recoiled, surprised at her sudden closeness.

“I’m saying don’t fuck him! Please!”

She took a step back, placing distance between us. Sydney took a deep breath, steadying herself.

“Now, I gotta go. Are you okay hanging here for a second?”

I nodded, trying to conceal my annoyance.

“Sure. I’ll be okay.”

“Hands to yourself!”

Sydney exclaimed before vanishing from sight. I assumed she'd only take a few minutes, but after about ten minutes of waiting, I decided to go exploring. I stumbled upon an appealing door that was closed off from the rest of the restaurant. I glanced from side to side, ensuring no one was around to witness my snooping.

I flung open the door, eager to discover the secrets of the hidden room. What I didn't expect to find was Carmen hunched over a desk, scribbling on a scrap of paper. When he noticed I was in his office, a look of shock wafted over his features. He blushed.

“Oh! Um, Y/N, what are you doing here?”

I shut the door behind me. Now, it was just me and him, in his office, alone.

Perfect.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you, I was just exploring and this door was closed so it excited me.”

I motioned to the door behind me.

“Huh. Do-um, do things that are off limits entice you?”

I strolled over to his desk, trying not to overwhelm him with my seductive attempts.

“Yes. When someone tells me I can’t have something, it makes me want it real bad.”

“Yes. When someone tells me I can’t have something, it makes me want it real bad.”

Carmen scoffed.

“What? Like your friend's hot boss?”

Oh my God.

He heard that?

His cheeks flushed an even brighter shade of pink. He was taken aback by his own self-assurance.

“I mean, um, I didn’t-uh, I-I wasn’t eavesdropping I promise.”

He averted his gaze, suddenly becoming preoccupied with the numerous bills on his desk. I shrugged casually.

“It’s alright. Honestly, I don’t really care. It’s your restaurant after all. You have a right to know what’s going on.”

Carmen scoffed.

“What? Like your friend's hot boss?”

Oh my God.

He heard that?

His cheeks flushed an even brighter shade of pink. He was taken aback by his own self-assurance.

“I mean, um, I didn’t-uh, I-I wasn’t eavesdropping I promise.”

He averted his gaze, suddenly becoming preoccupied with the numerous bills on his desk. I shrugged casually.

“It’s alright. Honestly, I don’t really care. It’s your restaurant after all. You have a right to know what’s going on.”

Through his lashes, he looked up at me. Except for the soothing hum of the air conditioner, there was complete silence. The dim lighting created an intriguing ambience in the space.

“Uh-well, I’m still sorry.”

I grinned, his awkwardness was incredibly adorable.

“Did you happen to hear what Sydney said? Yknow, about the whole…”

I waved my hand through the stuffy air, hoping he'd finish the sentence for me. If Carmen was as unaccustomed to female interaction as Sydney suggested, I would not bring up the subject of sex.

Carmen raised his eyebrows.

“Uh-yeah, I-um, I heard most of it.”

He laughed awkwardly.

“Please don’t fuck my boss.”

He tried to mimic Sydney's tone of voice. I laughed, delighted by his attempts at humor. I trailed my finger down the uneven wood of the desk, attempting to appear nonchalant as I entered unfamiliar terrain.

“Yknow, we can still have fun and not fuck.”

Carmen shifted in his seat, tightening his grasp on the armrests. His knuckles had turned a pale white.

“We don't-y’know-we don’t have to do anything.”

I nodded.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do. But, honestly, do you think I’m attractive?”

The breath hitched in Carmen’s throat.

“Yeah, I do.”

He said, voice cracking slightly. I smirked, fluttering my lashes suggestively.

“Good, cause I think you’re attractive.”

I moved my gaze down his body, enjoying the sight of his toned torso being softly hugged by a white shirt. God, his hands, what I’d give to have them around my neck.

Baby steps.

Baby steps.

Carmen shifted once more in his seat, the bulge in his jeans becoming increasingly more difficult to conceal.

“And, if you’ll let me, I’d love to take care of that for you.”

Carmen’s eyes widened.

“Oh-um, you don’t have to-“

“Well, I’m aware I don’t have to. But, yknow, usually when two people are attracted to each other they act on it.”

I slowly dropped to my knees in front of him, staring at him through my lashes. I shuffled closer, settling myself between his spread legs. The gentle smell of sweat and smoke wafted through the air.

“I mean, what’s the point of being attracted to someone if all you do is beat around the bush?”

God, this angle made me want to fuck him even more. He looked extra sexy when he was all hot and bothered.

“Yeah-um, I guess.”

I reached for his jeans, slowly unbuttoning his fly.

“Is this okay?”

Carmen gulped, his lips falling open as his breathing became audible.

“Yeah, this is okay.”

I tugged his jeans down his thighs, exposing his black boxers. Carmen’s erection was growing with every subtle touch.

Jesus, he was big.

I hooked a finger in the waistband of his boxers, pulling them down to join his jeans in a pool on the floor. His cock sprang free, beads of precum already collecting on the swollen tip.

“Oh Jesus.”

Carmen murmured under his breath. His knuckles were white. I playfully cast a glance upwards as I wrapped my hand around his length. Carmen shuddered. His entire body convulsed as I began to pump his erection. A few stray curls fell onto his forehead, and his chest heaved with each strangled breath.

“Try to be quiet, alright? We don’t want Sydney to think I’m fucking her hot boss.”

With that comment, I slipped the tip of his cock into my mouth. Carmen grit his teeth, suppressing the noises that threatened to spill past his lips.

“Does that feel good?”

I asked before hastily resuming my previous actions. Bit by bit, I took Carmen’s thick cock into my mouth. But he couldn’t help himself. Carmen thrusted his hips forward, his tip slamming into the back of my throat. I gagged, his visceral reaction was incredibly unexpected.

“Shit,” he whispered, “I’m sorry. Uh-yeah, yeah, that feels really good. Please, please don’t stop.”

Oh, I was not stopping.

Carmen's tanned body was covered in a thin mist of sweat. Moisture had adhered to the loose curls on his forehead. His pupils had been blown, and his dreamy blue eyes had turned nearly entirely black with passion.

Carmen's chest continued to heave as he attempted to recover control over his own body. He threw his head back, his Adam's apple now exposed.

God, he was sexy. I wanted nothing more than to place a hickey on that lovely neck of his.

The sound of footsteps hurried past the office door. Carmen's eyes widened in disbelief. He placed his fist in his mouth and bit down hard to conceal his desire.

Oh God, the thought of Sydney bursting through the door to find me on my knees with Carmen’s cock in my mouth frightened me. So, I gently took Carmen’s free fist and placed it in my hair, hoping he would take the hint and manipulate me to his liking.

Thankfully, his desire was so prominent that he pushed away his apprehension. He quickened my pace, moving me along his cock more rapidly. I relaxed my body, allowing myself to become a tool to help him achieve his release.

Carmen gripped my roots with such force that I feared my scalp would be pulled from my skull. Nevertheless, I pushed past the pain and discomfort in my knees and worked to bring him to an orgasm.

Carmen instinctively bucked his hips into my mouth, his cock twitching on my tongue. His salty precum coated my taste buds. I dragged my tongue over his swollen tip, his length now twitching more rapidly.

“Fuck! Jesus, I’m gonna-“

Carmen’s voice morphed into a pornographic moan as his hot cum coated my throat. He released his death grip on my roots, taking a few loose strands of hair with him. I gently dragged my lips along his cock a few more times in order to bring him down from his high. When he grew completely soft in my mouth, I removed my mouth from his length with a subtle pop.

I stood, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“You alright?”

Carmen hastily shoved his cock back into his boxers.

“I’m uh-I’m great.”

He threw his jeans over his hips, tattooed biceps rippling as he redid his fly.

He has nice arms.

I bet he could throw me around really easily.

“I just-um-we open really soon and I-um-I need to get ready there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Carmen pushed past me. Before he could throw open the door, I placed my palm atop his hand, halting his movements.

“Would you wanna get dinner with me sometime?”

His eyes had returned to their lovely blue.

“Sure, um… I’m super busy but I think I can make something work.”

He grinned softly. He had a beautiful smile. God, this guy needs to get laid.

“Sounds good.”

Carmen and I crossed the threshold into the now-busy front of the restaurant. Employees rushed back and forth. A crowd had gathered around the front door. Carmen tapped my shoulder to attract my attention.

“Could I, um, maybe get your number?”

He asked, chuckling. I crossed my arms over my chest. I grinned devilishly.

“Sorry, I don’t have my phone on me right now,” I began, “oh! But, Y’know who does have my number who you could ask?”

Carmen tilted his head to the side, intrigued.

“Who?”

My eyes crinkled as I grinned sincerely.

Oh, this was gonna be fun.

“Sydney.”

#carmen berzatto smut #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto #jeremy allen white x reader #the bear fic #the bear fanfiction #the bear fx #the bear #the bear season 2 #carmy x reader #carmy smut #carmy berzatto #carmy the bear

[leviathanspain]

part 2 of i wanna be your please 😭 i need to know they’re together 😭

just wanna be yours

carmy berzatto x reader

part 2 to i wanna be yours

synopsis: men being men.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

it all happened so fast.

the restaurant had been closed for the night, everyone but carmy and richie had left, even you after you had tried to quit. claire had made it in by knocking on the window, catchin richie’s attention as he counted the drawer.

“claire.” he greeted her, slightly distracted, “cousin’s in the back.” he signaled to the kitchen and claire passed through, finding the office door wide open, only seeing the yellowing light’s reflection.

“carm?” she called out, and heard some rustling in dry storage. she neared it and found carmen frantically counting the inventory.

claire laughed slightly, “isn’t that someone else’s job? i’ve been waiting for you to get off for almost an hour, i called you so many times earlier-“

carm blinked, “yeah, i saw.” he rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on his count.

claire scoffed, “you saw them and didn’t pick up? why are you even doing this, it’s someone else’s job, carmy-“

it was like something had finally clicked, “i know it’s someone else’s job, claire! it’s y/n’s job but she tried to quit and i told her no so i’m doing it because i felt bad!” he shouted, clearly frustrated with claire yapping at him.

he was met with utter silence.

claire stared at him in disbelief, “she tried to quit and you didn’t let her?” she repeated his words and carmy nodded, “why, carm? because she doesn’t remember being rude to me and suddenly i’m the bad guy?” claire had remembered their argument from before, where carmy confronted her tales to be lies.

carmy shook his head, “no it’s not that.” he scoffed, and claire laughed, “what else could it be then? hmm?”

carmy shrugged, unable to believe what he was about to say, “i like her. i like having her around, i like who i become when she’s working. im sorry if i don’t want one of my employees to quit.” he threw in that last sentence in hopes to save himself but claire saw right through him.

“you didn’t even hire her, carmy.” but she didn’t linger to argue, taking in her defeat as she strode past him to exit through the back.

carmy blew out a breath of air as he continued his count, repeating the number he had left on in his head as she spoke.

“carmen.” it was the end of another successful night. you had thought about talking to him, mulling it over with sydney who had encouraged you to talk to carmy, especially with what had happened last night.

carmy had been sitting outside, his pack of cigarettes slowly dwindling through the night. he could blame it on the stress of the restaurant, but he knew it had all to do with breaking up with claire that morning. he tossed and turned until the sun rose, in which he called her to break whatever it was off.

“y/n.” carmy turned to see you, scooting down the concrete step to make some room for you. you sat down, thanking him quietly. he offered you a cigarette but you shook your head, pausing before you spoke.

“did you figure out why you don’t want me to quit?” you smirked at him, a devious smirk as if you were sure he had a good reason. perhaps you were too valuable, too skilled…

“no.” there was something different about him. an air that you hadn’t noticed before.

you grazed his shoulder, “what’s wrong?” you should’ve asked him this earlier, clearly he had been off all night. he had messed up a few orders before they even went out.

carmy shrugged, “claire stopped by.” he whispered, and by the furrow in his brows, you could sense something was wrong.

“are you alright?” you didn’t know how to comfort him, youve never had a boyfriend so you couldn’t help through self experience.

he nodded, taking a deep drag of his cigarette, “yeah. yeah.” he sounded far away, as if he was thinking about something else as he spoke.

there had been a mutal silence between you, until you called his name. he stared at your face, as if taking in all your features. “i’m- imma start heading out.” you broke yourself out of every little thought involving carmy and your tongue, blinking as you stood up.

carmy nodded, not turning as he waved goodbye.

carmy stared at the ground. a week since he and claire had decided go on a break, and a week of cigarette conversations with you. you had picked up smoking, after spending so much time with him after a shift, it had become second nature.

“carmy.” he had gotten a little loud with you earlier, and he hadn’t expected you to talk to him at all, let alone come out here.

he stood up, turning as he found you outside with him. he sighed, “i’m so sorry about-“ he shook his head in shame, his hand balling into a fist of frustration. you put a hand on his chest, “don’t worry about it, carm.” you could feel the thumping of his heart, frantic and full of anxiety, “i forgive you.”

carmy leaned into your touch. his heart had stopped thumping so hard and now settled at a good resting rate. but your hand hadn’t left his chest, your eyes lingering on his face as your mind played out all your fantasies.

sydney spent the majority of her shift convincing you that carmy had a thing for you. you had denied it hard until you found yourself daydreaming about it. now he was all you could think about.

yet you couldn’t do it.

you wanted to kiss him, feel his body on top of yours, tasting his sweet taste.

but he was your boss.

and just a month ago, he hated you.

carmy couldn’t do it anymore. you were standing there, as if waiting for him to kiss you.

then he did it. he kissed you, and for a moment he got scared until you reciprocated his kiss. you leaned into him, feeling his hands wander your back, trailing dangerously low.

you bit his lip slightly, before tugging on a curl of his hair. pulling away, you stared at him with dilated eyes. but something settled in his eyes.

claire.

he was on a break, this would be okay. wouldn’t it?

you shivered as you could see thoughts fluttering in his mind. he looked mesmerized after that kiss, but now it was regret.

“i’m sorry.” he whispered, “y/n, i-“ you didn’t let him finish as you stormed off, not back into the kitchen to finish the rest of your shift.

you wouldn’t listen to his rejection, not after everything.

sydney hadn’t expected you to answer. she had tried calling you five times over the weekend, and monday morning had rolled around and you still hadn’t come back to work.

carmy was a mess. all the emotions over you and claire were building up, and he was a ticking time bomb. “i already called her like seven times, cousin! fuck you want me to do?!” he yelled at richie, letting the office door slam behind him.

sydney tore her eyes away from the scene and faced the locker room walls, “y/n.” she spoke your name into the phone, and was met with silence.

“uh-“ she laughed nervously, “i hope everything’s okay. did you quit or?” her question dropped off and you pursed your lips on the other end, wondering what yoj would say.

“no.” the first word came to mind before you could even process, “i just need time. im sorry.” you hung the phone up before she could even say anything.

carmy knew your address from all the times he had walked you home. he lived far from your house, but never once did he object to take you home.

after days of radio silence, and officially breaking up with claire, he knew he had to make it right. apparently you weren’t quitting, and that was his sign to beg you to forgive him.

the knock at your door was the first thing to alert you. you stood up cautiously, you lived in a sketchy part of chicago, and you never knew what lingered in your building. you checked the peephole and saw him, face bowed as he waited.

you sighed, knowing he would be unavoidable.

“carmen.” you opened the door, holding it as you stared at him. he looked beautiful, cheeks red from the cold, but his eyes were bluer than ever.

he looked up as you had said his name, “y/n. can i come in?” he looked past you and into your apartment. he had never seen the inside, always opting to drop you off.

you stepped aside and he walked in. there was a coldness that you exchanged, letting the door slam behind him. he turned around and you crossed your arms, standing firm by the door.

“i-“ he began, “sydney told me you aren’t quitting.” you laughed slightly, of course she told him.

“yeah, well.” you shrugged, “i just said that so she would stop calling. i still haven’t made up my mind.” you admitted, brushing your arms gently, “you came here to what? tell me directly to my face that kissing me was a mistake? because i got that message already.” you wouldn’t tell him how you cried until your chest heaved, or how your neighbor knocked on your door to check on you, after hearing your cries. he had destroyed you, and yet you couldn’t be happier to see him.

but you played the bitter part, knowing he was bad for you made you want him even more.

carmy shook his head, “it wasn’t a mistake, y/n. it opened my eyes and made me realize that i want to kiss you, every waking moment for the rest of my life.” he panted, hands shaking as he brought them up to brush his hair out of the way, “i-“ he laughed, “im sorry. please,” he walked closer to you, “come back.”

you stepped closer to him, bridging the gap as you pulled him into you, resting your head on his shoulder, you stayed silent.

a moment passed and his hand reached up to gently brush your hair, a repeating motion as you stood there with him.

#carmy berzatto x reader #carmy angst #carmy berzatto angst #carmy berzatto fluff #carmy fluff #carmy the bear #carmy x you #carmy x reader #carmy berzatto #the bear #the bear angst #the bear smut #carmy smut

[nolita-fairytale]

Carmy as your Baby Daddy | Social Media AU & Headcanon Series | part seven

a/n: may write a 'carmy & you as parents' headcanon. may also add another cute graphic/social post, however, for now... this is it, folks! enjoy our darling dearest baby daddy au which is pretty much just leaked dms between me and @carmensberzattos.

part six | masterlist

your life with carmy and baby bear:

first, baby bear has so many different cutie little nicknames: jo, joey, joey-bear, phinnie, and richie's personal favorite: toni-bear.

since you have the privilege of going on maternity leave, you do a lot of the day to day heavy lifting while carmy is at the restaurant. while he's pulled back a little at the restaurant, you know that carmy needs a little chaos in his life to feel at ease.

you parents decide to come to chicago to help with the baby for a few weeks. while baby bear's nursery is all set up, you don't exactly have a guest room. you're in tears over changing the nursery into a guest room last minute, so carmy enlists both richie, fak, and pete to do the job so that you don't have to. sugar and syd decide to take you out for a girls' day at the spa, and when you come home, you can't believe those four idiots managed to pull it off. (do i need to write this oneshot because i think i need to write this oneshot)

the proverbial 'they' say it takes a village, and it sure as hell does. you feel so incredibly lucky to have a village that shows up: marcus organizes a meal train and is one of the first to come over and spend time with his goddaughter; sydney is more than happy to pop back into shifts at the bear every now and then, just to give carmy so reprieve; and tina is ALWAYS down to babysit if she's got the time.

ava, richie's daughter is obsessed with baby bear, and is so excited that she finally has some cousins to play with. "boys are gross" -- ava, about baby michael and why she likes baby bear more lmao.

some nights, when baby bear wakes up in the middle of the night, it's not technically his 'turn' but carmy insists on getting up to put baby bear back to sleep. one restless night of sleep, you wake up to the sound of him watching anthony bourdain's no reservations. when you bring it up later that morning, carmy confesses to you that it's the only thing that will get her back down because he used to turn it on when you fell asleep, instead of the classical music you insisted was better for the baby while you were pregnant with her. while you pretend to be upset, you usually thank carmy for getting up when it's 'not his turn' with morning head that you're more than happy to give him before he goes off to work.

you always have a go-to table when you and baby bear go visit daddy at the bear, and no matter what, he always makes it a point to come out and say hello to the both of you.

while the first few months you and carmy both survive on nothing but takeout, meal trains, and stuff carmy's brought home for the restaurant, he diligently meal preps week after week for baby bear by making her homemade baby food packs. "you sure you don't mind? we can always pick something up from the store, babe?" you ask him. "no, it's just like a puree. i got this."

on the days that you're purely exhausted and at your wit's end, you and sugar commiserate via text and sometimes facetime, because you're not sure how she's doing life with a new baby AND another baby on the way.

the night before you go back to work, you spend most of the evening sobbing because you're simultaneously ready and exhausted, while you can't imagine being away from baby bear either. but you go back on a hybrid schedule, two days in office, three at home, so it helps, even though it's still a huge adjustment.

on the days that you are in office, carmy takes those days off, wanting to pull his weight as you guys go through this transition.

carmy is an amazing dad, something he wasn't sure he could be, considering he barely grew up with one. he's surprisingly patient and he's totally in love with baby bear. like the day she was born it broke his heart into pieces because it broke open an entirely different kind of love that he wasn't sure he was capable of.

even though it's hard work, you and carmy both agree that this is the best decision you've ever made together and carmy can't get over the idea of trying for another soon. "let me take a nap first, and then we can talk. unlike you, the rest of us can't survive on 30 mins of sleep, babe," you tease him.

okay hear me out: when baby bear is a toddler, the two of you love spending saturday mornings either going to the farmer's market, or picking up mochi donuts (think: the cute kinds with little animal faces) to bring back to the restaurant and share with daddy, even though he's slammed with brunch service. baby bear comes running into the restaurant on the sweetest, chubby little legs and richie, fully in his suit picks up her and spins her around while greeting her with her signature nickname: toni bear!

eventually, you and carmy move out of the apartment and start renting a house that you plan on renting for the long term. you're not entirely sure either of you want to be home owners yet, but you're anxious to get baby bear into the garden with you as soon as possible. baby bear spends the early spring planting fruits and veggies with mom, and the late spring/summer when they're ready to harvest in the kitchen with dad. neither of you have strong feelings about baby bear becoming a chef, but you do want her to understand the ritual and special place that food plays in your lives.

hosting big outdoor dinner parties for the whole framily. when she gets a little older, baby bear and baby michael run around while ava goes through her 'too cool for school' phase. any and everyone is invited, and for once, for both carmy and nat, it feels like being a berzatto isn't such a curse.

#carmen berzatto x you #carmy berzatto #carmy x oc #the bear hulu #the bear fx #jeremy allen white #carmen 'carmy' berzatto #carmy berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto #carmy berzatto headcanon #the bear headcanon #carmy berzatto imagines #carmy berzatto fluff #comfort and chaos #still into you #make my heart surrender #Carmy as your baby daddy #social media au

[wasawattpadkid]

Housewife

Part - 19

Summery: Billy and Stu have been planning these murders for quite some time. Everything is going to plan until you show up. What happens when they meet someone who is just as mentally deluded as they are?

Pairing: Poly! ghostface x fem!reader

Warnings for this series: murder, blood, smut (will be more in depth on smut chapters), power dynamics, a dash of sexism, knives, stalking, perverse behavior, cheating,

Part 1

Dewey looked at the boy with pity. Billy's right hand was wrapped in a white cast. He had spent an hour in the hospital setting his broken hand back in place. It was way worse than getting stabbed according to him. The officers on duty all thought the boy was hilarious. The makeup paired with the outfit he was a walking joke. Dewey only made matters worse. His coworkers almost died laughing watching the deputy sign his name on Billy's cast.

"I hear Batman is getting released," Todd said leaning on Dewey's desk. "Yes, Billy is being released I already called someone to pick him up." The deputy left his seat on his way to talk to the inmate.

"Stu said he's on his way," Dewey said taking a seat outside of the holding cell. Billy hadn't spoken much. The few times he did it was to give his statement on what happened or ask if you were okay. He didn't care about anything else. Billy was too busy planning on killing the fucker that laid his hands on you. "Did he say how Y/n was doing?" The boy's gaze stayed glued to the moldy ceiling. "No, just that he'd be on his way to pick you up. I told him about your hand." Billy looked at the deputy with a scoff. "That's great."

"What did you think he's going to miss that when he shows up to get you?" Billy had begged the doctor just to set his hand and leave it be. Turns out they can't do that. Now he was stuck with a heavy cast with Dewey's name on it. He didn't even agree to that the deputy just grabbed a marker and did it.

"I know seeing that mask set you off. That and what happened to Y/n. Look, you're not in any trouble. If Daniel decides to press charges the county won't prosecute you. It'd be a waste of time. You were protecting her and after all that's happened you don't need to worry about this." Dewey's change of heart confused Billy. Every time he's run into the officer he's been met with nothing but disdain and hostility. Now Dewey wants to act like his friend. "What happened to you? You hated me just days ago." Billy sat up on the bench making eye contact with the man.

Dewey realized what you said that day in the office was true. The three of you needed to look out for each other. At the end of the day, he felt bad for all of you. The ghost of the massacre would follow the survivors for as long as they lived. They were just kids. No one deserved what happened to them that night. Dewey hated himself for living through it and he was sure the three of you felt similarly. Survivor's guilt they call it. He read a book about it.

He pulled off his hat sitting it neatly on his lap. "It's been 26 days since I lost Tatum... Even less since the funeral. I can still hear her sometimes." His eyes focused on his shoes as he talked. "I couldn't save her. For a while I blamed Stu. How could her boyfriend who loves her let that happen? I know that Neil was the one who took her but I guess I needed someone else to blame." Dewey leaned forward looking up at Billy through the bars.

"I care about Y/n like I know you do. I treated you and Stu poorly because I saw what happened to the people you loved. That was messed up, I get that now and I'm sorry. I don't want her to go through what my sister did. You did a damn good job of taking care of her tonight."

Billy sat in silence. He didn't feel bad about what he did to Tatum. Neither did he feel bad about what he did to Sydney. It was necessary to move on with his life to start over. He felt It was fair considering what the Prescott family took from him. Maureen's choices shouldn't have fucked up his whole life but they did. Billy just leveled the playing field.

Listening to Dewey's sob story almost made the boy sick to his stomach. He didn't feel bad about what he did rather he felt horrible that he didn't care. Dewey wasn't his friend or his brother, he shouldn't care about his feelings. Yet here he was feeling sorry for the officer. "I can't lose her," Billy spoke in something akin to a whisper. His voice was broken almost as much as his hand.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders. You won't. After the stunt you pulled tonight I'd say she's in good hands." Dewey did think it was odd that Billy was able to move on so quickly from Sydney. He guessed that the boy was trying to fill the hole that abruptly appeared. Dewey couldn't blame him. He was doing the same thing. Where did that leave you though? After all of this, he didn't want you to get more hurt than you already had been. "You think so?" Billy asked loving the idea of protecting you. What he did at the party felt good. Feeling that fuckers bones crack beneath his hand was exhilarating. Of course, he wished he didn't have to do it. He hated the fact he let it happen. The details of your attack were lost on Billy. All he saw was the masked boy pining you to the wall as his hands pulled at your dress.

"I do. Just maybe take it easy for a while?" Dewey smiled lighting up the conversation. "I'll try." Billy nodded. "Deputy, Can I speak to you for a moment?" Another officer called Dewey away leaving Billy alone in the cell.

Billy looked down at his cast trying not to pick at it. He didn't like having it on. It was a nuisance to put it lightly. The doctor told him he'd have to wear it for at least six weeks. Frankly, he didn't think he could make it that long mainly because of the name written in black ink on the cast. "Billy?" Dewey spoke walking into the room. His keys jangled as he opened up the cell door. "Stu's here to pick you up."

Once all the paperwork was done and signed Billy was finally allowed to leave the county jail. "Oh, she's going to kill you," Billy said looking at your car in the parking lot. Stu was upset. Billy hadn't said one word to him. Not a "thank you," "glad to see ya," "go fuck yourself," nothing. "Me? What about you?" Stu spat getting into the driver's seat.

"What about me? I saved her from that creep." Billy thought he was your knight in shining armor. You kept him fed and he kept you safe. After all, that's what you wanted right?

"You told the whole town you two were dating. Billy, you knew she wanted to wait." Stu drove while Billy rolled his eyes. "They were going to find out eventually. Everyone already thinks you two were fucking behind Tatum's back." Stu kept his eyes on the road. "Don't talk about her." After his talk with Dewey, Stu felt differently about a few things. "Jesus, what crawled up your ass tonight?" Stu hit the brakes making Billy's head hit the dash. "What the fuck!" The boy yelled holding his now bleeding head. "It's four in the morning. I just had to drive across town to pick you up from jail and you haven't said thank you. I begged Dewey not to call your dad to save you from the fight that was bound to happen and still, no thank you. Do you give a shit about me at all? Cause lately I feel like the only one you pay attention to is little Miss Betty Crocker. If I have to put on an apron for you to give a fuck I will. Is that what it's going to take?"

Billy's head pounded and Stu's yelling didn't help. "I'm sorry. Is that what you want to hear? My fucking hand is broken and you're upset that I didn't say thank you? You didn't even give me the chance. Where were you when she was getting attacked?" Stu's demeanor changed as he seemed to shrink. "You told me to get water-"

"That's right you were getting her water because you just had to give her alcohol. If you would've just gotten me and you a beer none of this would've happened. Don't jump my ass because all of this is your fault." Stu's face was red as tears weld up in his eyes. He gassed up the car driving in silence. The streetlights were smeared by his tears making it harder to see. This was his fault. That was what he told himself over and over. He was the one being selfish. He hadn't even noticed the bright white cast covering his partner's hand.

While Stu beat himself up over something he had no control over Billy cursed himself for yelling. "I'm sorry for shouting." Billy broke the silence. Stu sniffled trying to compose himself. "I'm sorry for jumping your ass." He responded quietly.

Billy turned towards the driver sighing at the sight. "It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault it's Daniel's." Stu rounded the corner sending a glance to Billy. He didn't know his partner knew your assailant. "Daniel?" Stu asked. "Daniel Lawson. I heard Dewey say his name when talking to some other asshole." Stu looked over at his friend seeing that gleam in his eyes he hadn't seen for a while. "What are you thinking?" Billy smirked already having a plan. "I'm thinking we're about to have one less student attending Woodsboro high school."

By the time Stu pulled into the garage both men had smiles on their faces. Stu was happy to have his partner in crime back. It was probably unhealthy that the time he felt closest to Billy was when they were planning a murder. This was something only the two of them shared. Billy didn't want to include you because he saw you as too innocent to partake in such a depraved act. Even after what you did that night at Stu's place. To put it simply it was men's work.

Stu didn't want to include you because he had Billy to himself. It was their little secret this time. Stu would make sure you wouldn't find out about it. It was a win for everyone involved. Your attacker would disappear and Stu got to spend quality time with his boyfriend. It was a win win scenario.

"I'm going to take a shower and get something to eat before I head to bed." Billy pulled his boots off sitting them by the door. Stu stood behind his lover starting to kiss his neck softly. All the planning had stirred something inside of the short-haired boy. "Stu..." Billy warned not really in the mood. That didn't stop him however as his hand slowly slid down the front of Billy's outfit. "I'm tired." He spoke trying not to hurt Stu's feelings. His hand slipped underneath Billy's pants making him pull away. "Enough, alright? I'm tired and I'm hungry. I'm not in the mood right now."

Billy's hand was still killing him and his stomach was fighting for attention. Not to mention the throbbing headache he now had thanks to Stu. The last thing on his mind was sex unfortunately for his partner. Billy didn't mean anything by it. It wasn't personal but Stu took it as such.

"Whatever I'm going to sleep. You'll probably have more room on the couch than the bed." Stu walked upstairs leaving Billy with a headache. He was used to Stu's mood swings they happened ever so often. That along with an occasional manic episode. If he was lucky Stu would wake up in a better mood. Billy rubbed his face stopping halfway realizing too late he had makeup on. "Fuck..." He cursed.

Billy walked into the kitchen fixing himself a sandwich. He decided he would eat first and then take a shower. It was a funny sight. The man covered in makeup and blood stains was sitting at the kitchen table trying his best to eat a sandwich with his left hand. Once it was gone he put his plate in the sink, he'd wash it later. Billy decided to use the downstairs bathroom not about to suffer Stu's wrath once again.

Showering was more difficult than anticipated. The more he struggled to get his shirt off the more aggravated he got. "God damnit!" He cursed a little too loud. "Stupid..." He whispered to himself. With a couple of deep breaths, he went into the kitchen grabbing a pair of scissors. It wasn't an easy task to cut the shirt from his body. The doctor at the hospital cut the duct tape and the sleeve of his shirt off leaving room to put on the cast. Funny enough he left Billy to suffer with the rest of the fabric. His hand fumbled with the scissors struggling to get them to cut anything.

His yelling had woken you up. You could still feel the effects of the alcohol coursing through your veins. Thankfully it was less aggressive than before. Stu was laying sideways in the bed drooling onto your pillows. "Guess everyone had a rough night." You grumbled pulling yourself up from the bed.

You threw on your robe before heading down the stairs. Billy was home. His cursing and mumbling gave him away. "What are you doing?" Your eyes were squinted, offended by the white light in the bathroom. "Babe thank fuck. Cut this." He held the scissors towards you while you just stood confused. It took a moment for your eyes to adjust.

"What happened to your face?" You moved forward to run a finger over the dried blood. "Police brutality." He raised his eyebrows at the joke which didn't make you laugh. "Your arm..." You noticed the cast branded with Dewey's name. Gently you reached out inspecting the cast. "Don't ask." Billy shook his head at the signature. "How bad did you break it?" Just like that the whole scene replayed in your head. For a minute or two you watched your boyfriend turn into something you couldn't describe.

It was scary. You remembered how he looked when he was chasing you in the mall a few days after you moved. It was that same terrifying look just directed at someone else.

"They said I broke four knuckles, nothing too horrible." It was horrible. Some of the worst pain that boy ever felt but he wouldn't tell you that. You huffed a laugh. "How are you feeling?" He asked running his left hand over your head. Billy's eyes looked you up and down. You knew what he was wondering. "I'm okay. He didn't get that far if that's what you're asking." Billy shook his head. "It doesn't matter how far he got Y/n he shouldn't have touched you at all."

You grabbed the scissors slowly cutting the fabric off his body. "Are you upset that he touched me or are you upset that he hurt me?" The question was asked calmly. Billy didn't understand the difference between the two questions. To you however the difference was great. You seriously doubted Billy would've acted that same way if it was some other girl.

Billy chose his words carefully seeing you had scissors and all. "I'm not upset, I'm furious." His fingers grabbed your jaw lifting your chin. Your hands stopped, waiting for him to say something. Billy's eyes wandered your face his heart squeezed at the thought of anything happening to you. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you tonight. I didn't know what he was doing. I heard you say my name and I saw his hand under your dress. I blacked out for a second." It was a bullshit excuse. He remembered every thought that flew through his brain. Billy could recite the boy's pained pleas if you asked him to. Now was the time to play up the boyfriend act. As days went on it got easier for him to do.

His eyes softened as he spoke. It was funny how things came full circle. You met Billy because of some bully trying to see down your shirt. That was the first person he ever hit. Now look at the two of you. Both of you were broken but somehow you were looking out for each other.

"You think you embarrassed me?" You pulled away from his touch. Everyone would be talking about it. You knew that, but Billy almost killed a man with his bare hands and he's worried about the scene he caused.

"You're not embarrassed?" Billy cocked his head to one side. You started to peel off the cut up shirt as you spoke. "No. I'm scared, I-I'm worried but I'm not embarrassed. Do you think I'm embarrassed of you?" That was one of Billy's concerns. That after tonight you wouldn't want anything to do with him. He knew if the roles were reversed he'd probably never leave his house again. Fearful of what people might say. You looked the man up and down. He looked broken literally and figuratively. "The guy wanted to see my scar. I think he had more to drink than I did." You laughed trying to make a joke out of the serious conversation. "It was scary, I thought... something bad was going to happen and it might have. I don't know. You stopped him before anything seriously fucked up happened so thank you."

You tossed the ripped pieces of the shirt in the trash almost falling over from spinning too fast. "Baby," Billy said as he grabbed your arm stabilizing you. "Still feeling it huh?" He smiled. "I'll never do this again." You promised but Billy doubted that. Billy knew by the way you and Stu danced that you two would have partying in common.

"I bet." He said turning on the shower so the water could warm up. "Make sure you scrub your face good. You don't want to break out." Billy nodded at your advice. "Are you going back to bed?" You yawned at the mention of sleep. "I'm exhausted. I'll save you a spot in bed okay?" Billy watched you walk into the hallway. "Okay, I won't be long." You shut the bathroom door behind you going back up to your room.

You tried to be normal about it all. Part of you swooned over what he did. In some sick twisted way, you enjoyed seeing him defend you the way he did. It made you feel invincible which was a dangerous feeling. The other part of you however feared the man you began to love. He could keep you safe from everyone but himself. Stu's behavior at the party was unsettling as well. The violence was more important to him than you. He rushed to your side but his shouting didn't stop. The fight was thrilling for Stu.

With a heavy heart and head, you threw your robe over the chair crawling into bed next to Stu. "Scoot." You shoved the boy forcing him to move to the side of the bed. Stu rolled over his back facing you. Deep in sleep, he grabbed your hand pulling your arm over his waist. With a small smile, you pulled him in effectively snuggling up to the man.

You didn't know how things would go. The headache you had could've been the alcohol or your overthinking. You were scared of the future. For too long you had lived on a day-to-day basis. It was nice for a while but eventually, you'd have to face the music. Something had to give.

Billy pulled on a pair of boxers along with a t-shirt before heading to bed. Stu had you wrapped in his arms leaving plenty of room for Billy. Carefully he climbed into bed not wanting to wake up either of you. He wasn't happy with the way things played out. Daniel should be dead not just concussed with a broken nose. Billy didn't give a shit about the details of your attack. That son of a bitch laid a finger on you, the one thing Billy promised to prevent. Daniel didn't know it yet but he was a dead man walking.

Taglist (closed): @katie-tibo @agustdeeyaa @bowlofceral @gonnapermashift @tati-the-fangirl @kozumewhore @tatijoestar @illyanam1011 @c4rved-pumpk1n @msghostface @gojosbucket @sammanna @lokigirlszendaya @reneki @fetusharryluvr @kadu-5607 @pumpk1n-writes @zeysartzone @life-of-music3 @flyestvenustrap @littleblondesoprano @loomiscorpse @nicciekawegosblog @reneemunson @miss-puregotti @ksgsfsgaj @zoleea-exultant @briefwinnerpersonaturtle @mistydreamscape @l4venderia @nex-crowley @ashreblogsnow @brynaa223 @your-desire666 @billyloomiswhore4 @holyladyofsorrows @megluv1 @ellieswifeiya @yoluvrz @forallthstarsinthesky @madsothree @youcantbesirius @lubunnii @captainhowdysseptum @geekygremlin @madneedshelp

#scream #billy loomis #ghostface #scream 1996 #scream fanfic #stu macher #ghostface x reader #billy loomis x reader #billy loomis ghostface #billy loomis masterlist #billy loomis smut #scream x reader #scream smut #scream fanfiction #stu macher imagine #stu macher fluff #stu ghostface #stu macher x reader #ghostface x female reader #poly ghostface smut #poly!ghostface x reader #poly ghostface #poly!ghostface #ghostface x fem!reader #smut #fanfiction #housewife #billy loomis x reader smut

[opposums-love-arson]

Scream Queen Book 1: Conventional Final Girl

Chapter 4

Chapter 3 / Chapter 5

Stu Macher x Reader x Billy Loomis

 “Did you find them?” Sid asked, referring to mom and Neil who were supposed to have arrived at the expo today, like they told us. 

“Are you sure it was the Hilton?” Dewey asked, looking between us two. 

“Mhm,” She said and we both nodded to him. 

“They’re not registered there.” Dewey looked at us sympathetically, “Could they have stayed somewhere else?” 

“I don’t know, I guess.” Sid said as she rubbed her head for the millionth time. I pulled her hand away from her face and held it in mine. 

“Don’t worry girls, we’ll find them, okay?” Dewey reassured us as he put his hand on Sid’s knee. 

An officer walked by placing a paper on Dewey;s desk and saying something about the mask. Dewey said he’ll “Be right back” as he pushed in his chair and walked off. “(Y/n), what if they can’t find (m/n) and dad?” Sid asked in a sad and quiet tone with little sniffles. Smiling up at her the best I could right now I said, “Hey, just like Dewey said, they’ll find them Sid. I bet mom and  Neil are okay wherever they are.” Pushing her hair back from her face she responded, “Wouldn’t he want us to know that though?” At this point I just looked away. I didn’t know what to tell her. Right when I turned my head is when I made direct eye contact with Billy, a chill ran down my spine and all over my arms. He was pleading to me with a silent voice. “Hey tell em, Sidney, come one, (y/n), tell em!” Billy finally shouted as they led him out of the room. Sid refused to look and see but me? I had a clear view of his pleas for help, part of me felt bad. Right when Billy was dragged out Tatum walked in and right to us. She rushed right to Sid’s side holding her close saying, “Oh Sid, I’m gonna getcha out of here. Okay?” Nodding in response, Sid just sniffled and cried a little. 

  Watching these two in front of me made me realise just how much of a family we really… aren’t. I mean the way Sidney might view it yeah for sure, we talk to each other and spend time together but when it comes down to it they’ll leave me in the background while they huddle to protect her. If this were a horror movie I know I wouldn’t be the final girl, Sidney would. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I overheard Dewey and Sheriff Burke. They’re talking about how it’s hard to track the buyer for the costume and they won’t be able to access the phone account until tomorrow. I couldn’t hear anymore after Tatum just groaned, “Ugh come on,” as she stood by Sid. I’m really hoping it wasn’t Billy, I care about him a lot even if he can be a little… menacing at times. He does his best for Sid and that’s all that matters.

 “Hey Dewey, can we go now?” Tatum asked her older brother, impatience written all over her face. 

“Hold on a second,” He said, pointing his forefinger up in our direction. 

“What did mom tell ya? When I wear this badge you treat me like a man of the law,” Dewey basically whined out to Tatum. 

“I’m sorry deputy Dewey boy but we’re ready to go!” Tatum shouted in a huff as she gathered her things, “Now, okay?!” 

“Uh take ‘em out the back way, avoid that circus.” Burke said as he patted Dewey’s back and pointed towards the back door. 

The whole station was laughing at Dewey and Tatum’s bickering as we rushed for the doors. 

“There she is, Sydney!” Oh well I guess the Devil will always seek you out when you least expect it. “Hi, some night, what happened, are you alright?” Gale asked, shoving the microphone in Sid’s face. 

“She’s not answering any questions alright? Just leave us alone,” Tatum said in a tired-of-this-shit tone. 

“No no, Tatum it’s okay she’s just doing her job, right Gale?” Sid smiled and lightly pushed Tatum back towards me. 

Judging by her voice, Sidney is about to throw down. 

“Yes that right,” Gale nodded, still shoving the microphone in Sid’s face. 

“So how’s the book?” Sid asked, a sarcastic and scorch sound to her voice. 

“Well, it’ll be out later this year.” 

“Oh, I’ll look for it.” Sid said, he voice cracking for the tears and sobs trying to escape. 

I whispered over to Tatum, “Grab Sid. Now.” Tatum did exactly as I said. 

Just in time too since Gale said, “I’ll send you a copy!” 

Sid went to turn around and punch her but Tatum held her back with all her strength. This allowed me to take her place and land a clean right hook to Gale’s left cheek pushing her back and down into her camera man. Words could be heard from all the people behind her but I wasn’t listening. 

Dewey ran up to us and escorted Tatum, Sid, and I to his patrol car. 

“Where’d you learn to punch like that?” Dewey asked as he held onto my arm. 

“Mom was a boxer before she got with Neil,” I said as I slammed the car door. 

“(Y/n) why did you do that?” Sidney asked me, looking in confusion. 

“What, you think I’m going to risk my sister facing legal action in the middle of this shit show? I’d rather land in the slammer than you Sid,” I said as I placed my head on her shoulder. 

“See Tatum why can’t you be like that?” Dewey whined from the front seat. 

“Because you’re my big brother Dewey you’re supposed to defend me!” And so the sibling bickery ensued once again. 

  Once we made it to Tatum’s we got dressed in our pajamas and just lounged around Tatum’s room. I guess my clothes weren’t up-to-par with the latest fashion because right when I walked in I earned an “ugh” from Tatum. “What?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning on the doorway with a goofy grin. “Well one, you always wear those ridiculous shirts, and two, change whatever you’re doing.” Standing up straight I tug down at my shirt, it was just a Pet Sematary shirt, I guess I do wear a lot of horror stuff. “I get why you don’t like the shirt but what’s wrong with what I was doing?” I asked in a genuinely confused tone. Tatum got up to cup my face and squeeze it. “You’ve been spending too much time with Billy and Stu, we need to re-acclimate you to society.” She said and she pouted her lip, feigning pity for my accidental new traits. While Tatum was shuffling through her drawers I looked over at Sid. I mouthed, “Aren’t you going to do something?” Sid shrugged and mouthed back, “What am I supposed to do?” I tossed my arms up in the arm and mouthed, “Anything.”

   Tatum then threw something purple and soft right at my face. “There, go put those on then come back so I can braid your hair!” Tatum excitedly squealed. “We’re going to take cute pictures so hurry!” She shouted down the hall. Rushing to the bathroom I turned on the light, releasing a breath I held in… I’m just a little scared after tonight, I don’t know what’s lurking in the dark places anymore. I examined the set of small shorts and a smooth satin sleeping hirt. I quickly threw them on before heading back to Tatum’s room. When I came back I heard Tatum laughing. 

“God I loved it! I’ll send you a copy, BAM, bitch went down!” Tatum imitated the event. Punching her stuffed rabbit. 

Moving to sit up she again said, “I’ll send you a copy, bam! (Y/n), super bitch!” Tatum exclaimed shoving her arms out to the side. “She is so cool.” 

I moved over to her vanity, careful not to make any noise because I wanted to bask in the fame. 

Dewey walked in saying, “Thought (y/n) might want some ice for that right hook” Just had to run it Dewey. 

“Over here Dewey,” I said as I sat at the end closest to the door. 

Dewey tossed me the greenish ice pouch before I said, “Thanks.” 

“I’ll be right next door, try to get some sleep.” Dewey said as Tatum waved him off. 

I hopped onto the same bed as Tatum, I wanted to give Sid her space since she’s going through a lot right now. 

Turning to me Tatum asked, “Do you really think Billy did it?” 

My heart was telling me to say no but all that came out of my mouth was, “He was there Tatum…” 

“He was destined to have a flaw, I knew he was too perfect.” Tatum said as she bobbed her head. 

Hearing the phone ring in the other room just gave me instant chills, so did the knock at Tatum’s door right after. 

“Telephone honey,” Tate’s mom walked in.

“Who is it?” Tatum asked as we turned to look at Mrs. Riley. 

“It’s for the girls,” She said, making Sid turn her entire body. 

“Is it my dad?” Her question was eager with hope in her voice. 

“I don’t think so,” Tatum’s mom said as she gave a sympathetic smile. 

Sid turned back over, having no interest in the matter anymore. 

“Take a message,” Tatum said, leaning back against the headboard. 

Getting up I said, “No it’s okay, I’ll answer it.” It might be something important, even if it isn’t our parents. 

As I walked out I could hear the pitter-patter of Sid’s sock covered footsteps follow me to the phone. 

“Hello?” I asked, crossing my fear arm over my chest. 

“Hello, (y/n).” Oh no, the voice was obviously the ghost masked man from just hours ago. His words were drawn out just hoping for a reaction. 

I gave him exactly what he wanted, “No! Stop, stop this now!” I wailed out.

Sidney came to my side, along with Tatum and her family. 

“Poor Sidney’s Billy boyfriend, that guy doesn’t stand a chance with her.” This Ghostface said in mock gossip as if he were one of the girls. 

“Leave me and my sister alone! You Jack Torrance sounding creep!” I exclaimed, shaking from the pure rage and fear that swam through my body. 

“Looks like your sister fingered the wrong guy, again!” The masked murderer snarled on the other side of the line. 

“What are you talking about? Who are you?” I asked in complete confusion by his words. Tatum and Sidney were begging me to hang up the phone. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough, I promise.” He said before letting his line go dead. 

“What?!” Dewey exclaimed as he rushed out to us a little too late. We were already walking back to the room 

  I couldn’t sleep for the entire night, neither could Sid and Tatum. We tried keeping our minds off of things by doing light hearted girly stuff like braiding each other's hair, painting our nails, taking cute pictures with Tatum’s instant camera. I just wasn’t ready to leave the warm security of our friend’s home tomorrow morning. 

#scream 1996 #scream fanfic #billy loomis x reader #ghostface x reader #stu macher x reader #billy x reader #scream #scream x yn #stu x reader

[miley1442111]

poached- sydcarmy

a/n: came across this idea by @the-real-bruce-banner and fell in love!!!

please don't read if you have emetophobia!!!!

summary: carmen said some terrible things, can he fix it?

pairing: sydney adamu x carmen berzatto

warnings: mad angst, carmen is so mean, heartbreak, feelings of disappointment, talks of vomiting, no happy ending :(

Carmen slammed the door of the office so hard, he was sure he’d broken it off the hinges. 

It had been a gruelling four weeks. Everyone could see it. Carmen had flown off the handle, again. 

He felt uncontrollable, his life unmanageable, and his restaurant? Broken. 

What was it this time? You may ask. Well, it all started with that damn poacher. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

He looked so fucking smug. His nice suit, his expensive glasses, his gucci shoes- in the kitchen of all places. He was supposed to be looking around the kitchen, looking around for a new Chicago restaurant that was meant to be interesting, more of an experience than a meal. But he was paying too much attention to the staff. To Sydney. 

Carmen’s fists balled and the tension in his body rose. Why was she talking to him? She had no reason to. Then again, she had no reason not to. Who was he to stop her? They were meant to be business partners. She could talk to whoever she wanted, he wasn’t her father, nor was he anyone who should dictate her life. 

So why was she talking to that guy? 

“He’s a poacher,” Ritchie puffed out a large cloud of cigarette smoke. “I’ve seen what those guys do. They just sweep in and take your people, just like that.”

Carmen’s blood boiled.

“People like working here, we’re a family. He’s not getting our people.” Fak reassured the both of them. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’d be worried,” One of the new wait staff, Lindsey chuckled as she stamped out her cigarette. “I heard they were offering Chef Sydney her own restaurant.” 

She walked inside as Cramen’s eyes glazed over and his ears started ringing. 

Sydney. Sydney leaving him. Sydney, his Sydney, leaving him. She would go off, she’d be amazing- better than him. She’d made the menu she wanted, not the one he did. She’d call the shots, she could do it too. She did it on opening night. She was more than capable. She was the perfect person for the job. 

Fuck. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was late. 1:07 am to be exact. Carmen thought he was the only person left in the building, too busy reading over bills and bank statements, while simultaneously thinking about how he could even try to run the Bear without Sydney. She pushed him to be better, to do better. 

What would he do without getting to see her face in the morning?  

A knock sounded at the door and pulled him from his thoughts. He called ‘it’s open’ without thinking. And there she was. Standing in front of him with her jacket on, and his in hand. 

“Hey,” she smiled softly, he rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah?” He asked, a rude part of him emerging. Sydney was taken aback, why was he speaking to her like this?

“I was just wondering if you wanted to get out of here? I know this place that’s still open now, it’s pretty good-”

“If you want to leave, leave. I don’t need you. Just leave,” Carmen blurted out. Sydney stared at him. The tension in the room grew, Carmen eyes trained on hers, daring her to say something. 

“What?”

“I don’t fucking need you. I don’t fucking want you. Leave.”

He was livid but his voice was unusually calm. 

“Ok, fine,” she scoffed, throwing him his jacket. 

“Don’t come back here. I don’t want to fucking see you again,” he seethed and slammed the door behind her as she nodded, irritation and anger behind her eyes. 

How could she betray him like this? How the fuck did he trust her? 

He vowed to never trust anyone again that night. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four weeks without Sydney. Four weeks of hell. 

The restaurant wasn’t the same, everyone blamed Carmen for leaving, everyone hated him. He hated himself. He was brought out to serve a dish, some bullshit influencer he didn’t care about, but he was willing to put on a brave face and smile for their pictures, when a certain poacher caught his eye. He stalked over, irritation and discomfort clouding his better judgement. 

What was he doing here when he’d already taken the best chef? 

“Good evening sir,” He smiled at Carmen, his ridiculous British accent pulling at a nerve in Carmen’s brain. “Can I help you with something?”

“What are you doing here?” He asked. Point blank, he wanted no bullshit. “You both got what you wanted.” 

“I’m here to enjoy my food, might as well try what I missed out on,” He scoffed. “You have some very loyal people, Berzatto. Even Chef Adamu didn’t take my offer of her own restaurant. It’s such a shame.”

Carmen’s world came crashing down. “What’re you talking about?” “Chef Adamu? She turned down the offer, she stayed, am I correct?” He asked. Carmen didn’t answer. He was too busy trying to get to his office bin in time, before he vomited. He’d fucked up. Sydney didn’t leave him, he’d kicked her out. He’d been so mean. He was fucking horrible to her, and she had wanted to stay. Even after getting kicked out, she didn’t take the offer. 

Fuck. 

Once Carmen stopped spewing his guts into the small office bin under his table, he got up and picked up his damn phone, dialling her number.

Voicemail. Straight to voicemail. 

“H-hey Syd. Look, I-I kn-know I fucked up. I was so s-shitty to you, a-and I deserve to be fucking… I-I don’t even know. I was so fucking arrogant, and fucking rude and just f-fucking m-mean to you. I- I didn’t know what to do. I thought that you were l-leaving me and I-I just went into fucking a-autopilot, I was a total ass and I’m trying to say I’m sorry.” He went quiet for a full minute, his brian finally slowing down. “I’m sorry.” 

“This user has blocked you.” Read in the chat between the two of them. 

His voicemail wouldn’t send. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that brings us to now, slamming the door so hard it probably broke. 

He’d really fucked up. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

#sydcarmy #syd x carmy #syd adamu #carmy #ayo edebiri #carmy berzatto #the bear #carmy x sydney #the bear fx #sydney adamu #the bear fanfiction #the bear fic

[weemsfreak]

Miranda Hilmarson x NamedfReader

Presenting my first ever piece for Miranda Hilmarson!

Follows Top of the Lake China Girl, Miranda survives. ~3.8k words

➤ Inspiration for this story No Children - The Mountain Goats

Part 1 of 2

Warnings: cigarettes, alcohol, a few Top of the Lake spoliers, men slander, bullying

◇◆◇◆◇◆

Hateful.

That's what you were.

That's who you were.

But you hadn't always been like this.

At one point, you had awoken from slumber and greeted each day as if you could make the world yours.

At one point, you believed that there was some good, and that maybe you could help to make the good prevail.

But, that was a long time ago. And since then the world has thrown absolute shit at you time and time again.

You started to believe that even the good was not good,

and you eventually became bitter at the world.

You became hateful.

◇◆◇◆◇◆

Adrian left. Coward. You knew the man was weak. His office, now yours, hadn't a trace of him left, you made sure of it.

You had only spoke with him at occasional meetings back when you worked in Germany.

He seemed competent, but not very smart. You didn't know him all too well, but, he was a man.

And when this man left willingly, you moved to Sydney and took his job.

When he left, he left a woman, and a baby, you were told.

He packed up his family and left, you weren't sure why.

Everything you had heard about him and this woman sounded like a clusterfuck, honestly.

The woman was a constable who worked for you, now. But, you didn't know her yet, as Adrian had given her six months paid leave to look after her baby and recover.

Apparently she had gotten shot and almost died.

Under the guidance of Adrian.

Apparently she had a surrogate that ran, so Griffin found her baby and brought her home while the woman was in the hospital recovering.

Who did nothing to help? Adrian.

Apparently Adrian made sure that the baby would be looked after by the help of others.

He had a big heart, was a big softie, looked like one anyway; but you begged to differ.

Careless Adrian.

And then he left.

You hadn't met this woman yet, Constable Hilmarson, her name was, but you were sure when you did, she would be a mess.

◇◆◇◆◇◆

A tall woman in uniform entered your office and offered a hand for you to shake. You instantly knew who it was.

"Constable Hilmarson. A pleasure to meet you Detective Sergeant Schulze."

Your gaze directed to her slim hand before it moved up, and up, to her face. She was pale, blonde, void of makeup, and plain.

She was not what you had expected, yet exactly what you would expect at the same time.

She was boring and mundane, yet there was something about her that made her shine.

You understood why Adrian would, well whatever happened between him and this woman, but she was, at the same time, just so plain.

You assumed she would be a mess, you assumed she would be heartbroken, dragging her ass around in self pity.

But here she was, first day back at work, smiling wide down at you.

You had half a mind to ignore her gesture and tell her to sit, to wipe the smile off her face; alas, you had to be professional.

So you stood, noticing that you were rather short next to her, and took her hand in yours.

"Likewise."

◇◆◇◆◇◆

The months went by, as they do, and everything seemed to be going rather well. Griffin and Hilmarson worked on small cases, nothing too crazy had happened. The men were working well with each other, though they could be doing more. They always could be.

The only thing that you were having a hard time with was some paperwork that Adrian left for you.

This man was fucking disorganized, which made sense, considering how many other things he was obviously preoccupied with.

Maybe someone would know what he wrote here? What the hell was that supposed to say?

Shit.

You made your way out into the office, asking the men if they could read it. Of course they all attempted, until they quit.

"Griffin, can you make out Butler's writing?"

She took the paper from you and stared at it for a moment, "No, sorry." She paused, "Maybe Hilmarson can."

Your eyes flit to her empty desk, "Where is she?"

"Smoke break" Griffin replied.

 Rolling you reyes with a groan, you made your way outside.

"Hilmarson!"

When she heard her name and caught you moving fast towards her, her eyes widened and she threw her cigarette behind her.

"Sorry Sarg, I'll get back" she said, turning to walk past you hastily.

"No."

She stopped and stared down at you, her eyebrows furrowing.

You grumbled, "I don't care if you smoke, I need help with something."

She slowly moved closer to you and pulled out another smoke.

Hilmarson one hundred percent believed that you were annoyed with her, that was until she offered you a cigarette and you took it.

"Adrian's writing is messy as fuck." You pulled out the paper and passed it to her.

"What does this say?"

She scanned his writing, hate filling her heart at the thought of him.

"It says 'Stally and Carson reported to Bondi beach'."

You took the paper from her, squinting your eyes at the names. You never would've guessed that said 'Bondi'.

You gazed up at Hilmarson as she looked to her feet, seemingly lost in her own head.

Her cigarette burned itself out between her fingers, eyes failing to blink.

You hadn't failed to notice the amount of comments and 'jokes,' as the men called them, that were thrown her way. You were aware of the banter and harmless fun between coworkers, especially police, but you had heard a few things that were not within the confines of your definition of harmless jokes.

Miranda hated hearing of that beach, Bondi beach. She hadn't been to a beach in so long. So, so long.

She also hated hearing of Adrian. She hadn't seen him in so long.

Good.

She watched as you took a drag and squinted down at the paper in your hand.

She heard what they called you; a bitch, bitter, boring, hateful.

And although you were grumpy, grumbly, not very personal, didn't say thank you, and never smiled a real smile, she liked you.

Your emotion and intentions were usually direct, you didn't beat around the bush.

And for that reason she thought that maybe you liked her too.

You accomplished things, you didn't care what people thought of you.

You weren't scared to talk back, you weren't scared to stand up for what was right.

Actually, you didn't seem scared at all, of anything.

She wished she could be as careless as you, she wished she could stand up for herself.

Sometimes, she even wished she could be hateful.

◇◆◇◆◇◆

A call came in, letting you know that a suspicious box had been found at Bondi beach.

Interesting, you had just learned what that place was the other day.

Your eyes traveled to the window of your office, expecting to catch Griffin at her desk, before you remembered she was off today.

"Shit" you groaned.

Grabbing your things, you exited your office, deciding you would go yourself. If this turned into a case, you'd rather give it to her over the men.

"Hilmarson, you're coming with me to investigate."

She was up from her desk in a flash, grabbing her hat and following you to the door.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Bondi beach" you answered, reaching for the door.

She stopped dead in her tracks as a small gasp escaped her lips.

"I-um, I actually just remembered that I have to do something important this afternoon, I-I forgot."

You turned to find her staring down at her hands, fidgiting with long fingers.

"It can wait" you demanded.

"N-no it's really important, I'm sorry" she murmured.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked her up and down, you watched as she bit her lip, nervously standing her ground.

"Are you really disobeying my order constable?"

At this, her wide eyes met yours, but you could see something unusual in them.

Fear.

Some of the men were listening, letting out "ouuuu Hilmarson" when she refused your order.

"Quiet!" you barked.

Was she really refusing? Was she really going to make you take a man?

Fine.

You pointed to constable Brown, "You, you're with me."

◇◆◇◆◇◆

Looking out over the ocean and popping the top off of a beer bottle, you watched from a cliff as the night turned darker, the waves beginning to crash a bit harder.

As the night turned darker, it seemed, you also began to crash harder.

Today you read her file.

You read her file and then decided to drink away your sorrows.

You understood now why she wouldn't go to Bondi beach.

You understood now why you saw fear in her eyes.

See, there wasn't much that scared you anymore, but, there was one thing.

You were forever guilty, forever wounded, forever hateful for what had happened to her, your love.

It was a simple mistake, really, but it cost you your happiness, and her, her life.

She was tall and slim and strong.

She had the widest smile, one that made her cheeks puff out, adorable.

And she was brave.

It's almost like you could picture her, standing down there on the boardwalk, looking out over the never-ending expanse if water; just like you.

Together again, one last time.

Hell.

Hilmarson?

You blinked, placing your beer onto the rock and scooting closer to the edge.

If your brain wasn't playing tricks on you, which it very well could've been, she was stood on the walkway, hands tucked in her pockets, eyes squinting as she looked out over the water.

But it couldn't be her, it wouldn't be. She was too fearful.

You stood and sat further away, hoping she couldn't see you from her spot.

She did.

As you were admiring staring at her questioningly, she happened to look your way. A small smile lit up her face, then she turned and started running.

You watched as she ran down the walkway and up the path to the cliff.

You couldn't help but let smirk lightly at her clumsiness, why was she running?

"Hi" she murmured, climbing the rock to sit beside you.

You turned your gaze to the water and sipped your drink, "I thought you were avoiding the beach."

Hilmarson faced you and tilted her head in question, "Why would you think that?"

Placing your beer bottle into your bag, your eyes never left the ocean.

"I know why you refused my order."

You heard her take a deep breath in and exhale.

"Okay, please don't be pissed at me. I'm sorry about that. I can't- I can't go onto the beach, it makes me, um, nervous. I can look at it though, from far away."

You turned to her with a look that said 'seriously?'

She pouted, "It's different."

"I suppose" you deadpanned.

She looked to the ocean in contemplation as your gaze stayed focused on her.

She had soft alabaster skin, way softer than yours could ever be.

She had eyes that sparkled like the snow on the most blue winter day.

They showed fear, fear and sadness and betrayal.

And, she had your heart, the ability to melt it like fire.

The ability to dig herself into your flesh and pull out your insides, until you didn't know who you were any longer.

Until you were a shell of a person.

Until you were hateful.

She had the ability to do all of this, when she died.

You reached into your bag and pulled out two bottles of beer, passing one to her.

◇◆◇◆◇◆

Walking past the desks, you did a double take when you got to your office door.

Hilmarsons desk was an abomination, papers and random things scattered everywhere. You scoffed when you noticed multiple coffee mugs and spoons littering her desk, and you wondered if her home was the same.

Was that a carton of milk?

"Hilmarson, clean this shit up" you demanded, walking to her and scanning your eyes over the paperwork.

She looked up at you in surprise, then nodded her head in shame before stacking the papers sloppily into a pile, "Sorry sarg." You turned and headed back to your office, closing the door in attempt to get some work done.

However, after five minutes, you couldn't help but peer out your office window to find Hilmarson dropping the stack of papers onto the floor, scattering everywhere. You watched as she crouched down, picked them up, and attempted to stand, hitting her head on the underside of her desk.

You shook your head, standing and opening your office door. "Hilmarson, see me in my office."

She sheepishly entered, closing the door behind her.

"You are extremely careless and clumsy" you stated.

She smirked slightly before it disappeared.

"Is this one of those 'clean your shit up or I'll fire you' talks?"

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, what was she talking about?

"Have you had one of those talks before?"

She looked to the floor and nodded.

You sighed, "Well then why haven’t you cleaned your shit up yet?"

Her gaze travelled back to you with a proud expression, gesturing wildly with her hands.

"I'm doing better. I'm not as messy as I have been, and I haven't broken anything lately."

Just as she said this, she swung her arm dramatically over a shelf, knocking a small vase onto the floor.

You sighed and placed your head in your hand. "Hilmarson, just go."

She winced as a frown overtook her face, then she turned quickly, leaving pieces of vase on the floor.

You sat at your desk and asked yourself what Adrian saw in this woman. Were you missing something here? Did she posses something in which you had to learn to appreciate? Did he see it? Did he know how?

◇◆◇◆◇◆

Hilmarson was sat on Griffins desk, her phone in Griffins face as she smiled, eyes watery.

When Griffin saw you enter, she almost pushed Hilmarson off of the desk, telling her to get back to work.

You walked up to them as Hilmarson sat and plunked her phone onto her desk with a frown.

You raised a brow at her, "What's so amusing, Hilmarson?"

She looked up at you as her mouth opened in confusion, her brain running a mile a minute trying to differentiate sarcasm from serious.

A smile lit up her face again.

You watched Griffin shake her head out of the corner of your eye, and then a phone was in your face.

A picture of a baby dressed in pink. The baby, hair so light you questioned it had any, was crawling on the floor playing with an empty beer bottle.

You were no mother, but that probably wasn't safe.

She then swiped to the next photo and you found Hilmarsons signature smile staring back at you.

Your eyes flit between the photo and her, she smiled wide up at you with a glimmer in her ocean eyes.

You sighed, knowing that you usually wouldn't give a shit about a child, especially some baby photos.

The fact was, Hilmarson was slacking off, and you wanted to be a bitch about it.

You wanted to tell her to get back to work, you wanted to say 'get over it, it's just a child'; but for some reason you couldn't.

So you nodded, "She's definitely yours, Hilmarson."

Locking yourself in your office, you sat with your head in your hands. You didn't understand why she was so happy all the damn time.

A shitty job, a shitty town. Adrian had left her, after all.

But the more you thought, the more you realized that she must be grateful.

For she had her baby and she was alive. She was alive.

◇◆◇◆◇◆

You finally packed up your mornings work and headed to the break room, eager to eat your sandwich.

Nobody said a word as the men finished up their work and headed out for lunch, you were used to it.

Eagerly you reached the break room to find Hilmarson leaving with a bowl of cereal, letting the door close with a thud.

She nodded at you with a small grin.

As soon as the door to the room shut, you opened it.

Stally laughed, "Hilmarson as a mother!? What a joke."

"Yea, her and her one good egg" Carson replied.

Your eyes widened as you froze, hand gripping the door knob with fury.

You turned quickly, watching as Hilmarsons gaze spun your way, a frown instantly overtaking her face.

Her bright eyes became dull as the lines between her eyebrows and around her lips deepened.

It was saddest, most pathetic you had ever seen her.

"Stally, Carson, are you seriously insulting a fellow officer?"

The men turned to you, startled by your sudden presence.

"Schulze, it was- we were just joking" Carson stuttered.

You stared at them with the heat of a thousand suns.

"It's not a joke unless it's fucking funny" you seethed.

The men looked at each other, then back at you, they were screwed.

As soon as Stally opened his mouth to say something, you stopped him.

"My office, NOW!" you hollered, swinging the door open for them to exit.

As you followed the men to your office you kept your gaze to the floor.

You slammed your door shut and demanded they sit.

"If you think for a second I will tolerate slander, insults, shitty fucking jokes, or bullying of another officer…" you pointed to your door.

"Walk out that door now and never, ever, show your good for nothing faces here again."

You crossed your arms, standing your ground as you stared them down, their eyes on the floor in silence.

Stepping closer, you leaned down, your lips just above their ears.

"I don't know your stories, but I do know that if you had went through half of what Hilmarson has, you wouldn't be here right now. Would you?"

If they were going to act like children, you'd treat them as such.

"No Sargant" Stally mumbled.

You stood and backed away. "Are we clear?" you asked in a sickly sweet tone.

"Yes"

"Good. Open the door" you demanded.

Miranda couldn't help it, she was used to being made fun of, but her heart fell when you opened the breakroom door. When she watched you basically push the men into your office and slam the door shut, confusion washed over her.

So she sat at her desk, which wasn't far from your office, and listened.

She was thankful that most of her colleagues were gone to lunch, so they didn't have to see, or hear, any of what had happened. Or, what was happening.

She could hear you through the door, through the walls, your voice reverberated off of her skin, and at the same time seeped into her cells and spread throughout her body.

Tears formed in her eyes as warmth spread with it, and she realized what you were doing.

You were standing up for her.

"Hilmarson!"

She stood instantly and appeared at your door in three strides.

"Sargent" she nodded.

"Come in, close the door."

You paused, looking between the men and Hilmarson. She looked at you, they looked at the floor.

"This is absolutely ridiculous" you mumbled. "Stally, Carson, stand."

They stood.

"Turn to Hilmarson"

They turned.

"Apologise to her for acting like privileged twelve year old's, for god knows how long."

They did.

"Now get the hell out of my office" you spat.

You sat and stared at the wood of your desk, sighing before looking back up.

Hilmarson was still there, watching you with a toothy grin and watery eyes.

You knew what they called you, a bitch, bitter, boring, hateful.

But, none of it mattered. None of it mattered because it was you, and because it was true.

Hilmarson, on the other hand, had most likely been bullied for years.

The tall one, the woman, the odd one out, the leftover.

Adrian had to have noticed, he must have known. He was the only one who could've put an end to it, the only one with real authority.

Yet, he didn't.

And so, Hilmarson smiled down at you with thanks in her bright eyes, and you felt your heart…do something.

Her smile almost made all the bullshit you went through worth it.

"Thank you."

You averted your gaze back to the desk as you nodded.

"Do me a favour?"

Hilmarson stepped closer to you, "Of course."

You sighed and ran your hand through your hair.

"It seems when I leave my office I walk into a playground run by men. I never liked playgrounds, or men."

Hilmarson chuckled, you almost did too.

"Get me my sandwich from the fridge? I haven't eaten all day."

You didn't know their stories, true. You didn't know what any of your colleagues had really been through, just as they knew nothing of you.

But as their boss, you had their files, and that was enough to have leverage.

It was enough to understand.

When lunch was over, you stepped out of your office and demanded everyone's attention.

"I don't know what kind of place some of you think this is, but it's NOT fucking junior high. I don't know what Adrian let some of you get away with, but I will have no bullying, no misogyny, no sexism, and no bullshit in this office. I hear and see EVERYTHING, and if you decide to test that theory, you'll soon find out."

You looked around the room, finding everyone's attention turned to you, annoyed.

Except for Hilmarson, who smiled.

"Get back to work"

◇◆◇◆◇◆

She was near, you could feel her presence.

You hadn't felt it in so long.

Like the warmth of the sun, the smell of the rain, the sound of waves crashing against the shore.

She was there.

And oh how warm, how beautiful she was.

You had forgotten.

Her, in all her glory.

You, in all your misery.

Your soul combined with hers, one goes nowhere without the other.

But that was wishful thinking. Wishful dreaming, perhaps.

Because that wasn't the case. No, not at all.

The case was that she was frowning, extremely unlike her, unfamiliar to you.

You could only remember her smile.

The case was that you had fucked up, a mistake, really.

The case was that she was dead. A bullet.

And suddenly, you remembered what you had said to her that day.

It was your fault, it was all your fault.

…And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away

And I never come back to this town again

In my life

I hope I lie

And tell everyone you were a good wife

And I hope you die

I hope we both die

The words spill like venom, involuntarily. You slap your hand over your mouth, but it's no use.

You watch with bated breath as your wife starts to spill tears like a waterfall, and turns to scratching at her own flesh, blood and tissue dropping onto the floor,

until…

Miranda.

Your heart fell as Miranda stared back at you.

She was frowning, extremely unlike her, unfamiliar to you.

You could only remember her smile.

You could only remember her happy.

God, you just wanted her to be happy.

#miranda hilmarson #miranda hilmarson x reader #adrian suckzzz #top of the lake #gwendoline christie #gwendolineuniverse #wlw #top of the lake china girl #miranda hilmarson fanfic #miranda survives

[tooneys-russo]

BOOTS AND BROKEN HEARTS

Previous Parts: Chapter 1

Summary: Alessia and her UNC coach Willa have a bit too much chemistry. Only downside is that Willa has a girlfriend.

Chapter 2

As Willa walked towards her car, she saw a black BMW with its lights on a little bit away from her car. He knew that car belonged to Jennifer. As she got into the car she noticed that her girlfriend appeared to be extremely pissed off. “You seem to be loving the college girls still.” Willa sighed, he knew exactly what was coming. “I am a coach, she wanted to know about forward movements and I have to make them better.” Jennifer turned towards Willa. “Yeah make them better players, you don’t need to flirt with them and try to fuck them.” Willa felt some anger rise in her chest. “My god I can have a fucking conversation with a girl without wanting to fuck her.” Jennifer gripped onto her steering wheel as she pulled out of the car park. “So you don’t think that blonde is hot?” Willa rested her head against the headrest and sighed. “She can be pretty without me wanting to fuck her.” She was exhausted, Jennifer was always picking these pointless fights. They had a similar fight every few weeks, they would make up and she would be standing next to her at some event the next day. As they arrived at Willa's apartment Jennifer did a once over, checking that there was no sign that there had been another female in the room. Willa’s apartment was on the fourth level, where you could see the North Carolina Soccer Stadium. It was a two bedroom, with the second bedroom being utilised as her collectors room, there was a collection of Batman figurines, costumes and comics, Newcastle United memorabilia as well as her UCLA memorabilia. Willa also had her gaming consoles, gaming collection, tv and desk filling the room. It was perfectly organised how she liked it, alphabetically and separated based on collection. Jennifer hated the room, she used to call her a teenage boy who needed to grow out of the kid shit. It ate away at Willa each time. Jennifer finally sat down on the couch that she had picked out, and turned on the tv. Willa went to sit down, “Gross no, go shower.” Willa sighed and went to shower. She let the water fall onto her body, releasing the tension from her muscles. It was her break from Jennifer for the night, she took every single second at her disposal. After she was done he put on some old UCLA shorts and sat next to Jennifer who had put on the newest season of Real Housewives of Beverley Hills, Willa had a little laugh along with the drama that was unfolding. Jennifer went on about how important the game was this weekend to her, having Orlando Pride pick her up was huge for her, and Willa knew that. But Jennifer wanted Willa to give up everything. After she listened to Willa’s analysis of her team and what she was thinking for the season's opening game they went to bed, they had sex as they always did when they were together. It seemed for both of them now that they were just going through the motions and there was a lack of love and intimacy there. 

The following morning Willa made Jennifer her favourite breakfast, avocado on toast, with two poached eggs and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. She took it into the bedroom so her girlfriend could eat it in bed. Willa had to head off in an hour and Jennifer had to head back to Orlando Pride for training that afternoon. They both knew that it would just be a night together every couple weeks but they agreed to do it because it was the best for both their jobs. Willa had a shower and got into the North Carolina uniform ready for another session before the scrimmage the following day. She kissed Jennifer and told her she loved her. Part of Willa still loved Jennifer, but perhaps she just loved the idea of her, the safety of the relationship. 

When Willa got to her office he noticed that Sydney, one of the players on the soccer team was waiting for her. “Hey Sydney, everything okay?” She nodded. “I just need some help. I don’t want to talk to Dorrance because I don’t want him to think I am an idiot.” Sydney explained that she didn’t understand some of their set plays, she was getting confused with the signals. Willa smiled and nodded, this was an easy fix. For the next hour she and Sydney went through each play on her office whiteboard, a couple of other players ended up joining in, apparently the signals and the movements of each player were being confused. After two hours she had most of the team in her small office watching her closely. It made her feel really good to be asked to help players understand more about their plays. She did notice that Alessia wasn’t there, she must have been in class or still in the gym. Once the impromptu coaching session was done Willa made her way to the gym, Alessia was doing some lower body work on the leg press. Willa jumped up onto the pull up station and easily lifted her body. “How are you feeling?” The blonde was startled by the northern accent. “You scared that shit out of me.” She turned to the older girl. “Sorry.” Willa dropped off the pull up bar and walked over. “Just had most of the team in my office asking about the set plays and the signals.”Alessia got off the leg press and moved to the hamstring machine, “Oh the one arm, two arm, movement to back post, offside trap and the false press?” Alessia replied with ease. “Guess I know why you didn’t need to show up then.” Alessia smiled. “I know how to deal with signals, I just struggle with movements sometimes.” Willa nodded. “Don’t go too hard today in the gym, the scrimmage tomorrow will be big. Season starts next month and I want the team in prime condition.”Alessia stood up in front of Willa, their eyes locking, nothing being said for what felt like an eternity. “Don’t worry I will be ready.” The blonde finally said, then walked past the now nervous brunette. But it was fine, Willa didn’t think about that little bit of tension at all. Not for a single second. Not even when she watched Alessia walk out of the gym, focusing on the smaller shorts that the blonde was wearing. Willa loved Jennifer, Alessia is just a pretty girl who isn’t at all judgemental or using her. Just a pretty girl.

For the scrimmage Willa was coaching the light blue team, Anson was coaching the white team. Alessia was put on the light blue team and Willa laid out the game plan, she wanted Alessia to play as a holding forward, moving into the midfield to lay the pass off to a winger then sneak inside. She was unsure of how to feel about the other Brit’s plan considering she had always played as a strong attacking player, dribbling into the box. Willa went around to each player giving them three goals to work on during the game, she didn’t focus on particular plays, only individual game performance. Willa handed the Captain’s armband to Lotte Wuben-Moy, another Brit who had gone through the Arsenal academy and similarly to Alessia had turned down a pro contract to develop their football. The teams took to the field, it was a strong start by the white North Carolina team who were playing their regular style of football. Willa’s light blue team were focusing on their new plan, Alessia had finally gotten the ball to her feet. She passed it out wide and snuck in behind the defenders who were too focused on the other players getting into the box. Lois ran down the edge of the box towards the goal line and crossed in the ball. Willa watched as Alessia rose above the other players to get her head on the ball, it was an almost perfectly aimed ball, only going over the crossbar by inches. Alessia threw her head back and groaned. She ran towards the halfway line for the goal kick. The half continued to be hotly contested with light blue getting so close to scoring and white trying to counter. At half time, Willa and the light blue team went into the changerooms, she stood by the whiteboard. 

“Hey, take a seat. How are you feeling with the setup?” Willa looked around at the players. “Lois I can see you are getting free down that wing. We can do a quick one, two with Alessia. That will open her up to loop around the back and free up the box. Lotte, your delivery from the backline and your command is perfect, it is exactly what we need. Right now they will be looking at how we set up in that half and try to adjust, I want us to change it up slightly. We keep our formation, but hit Alessia, she’s got the height and can get away from those defenders.” Alessia watched Willa closely, she was so expressive and was captivating to watch. Alessia could feel some butterflies in her stomach, she put it down to just admiring the older girl. The second half went exactly as Willa had predicted, Anson and his team shifted their tactics, but so did Willa and her team. Alessia did exactly what Willa had said, she lost her player going around the back of the pack as the cross came in. She rose above other players and headed the ball into the back of the net. Her team cheered and Willa clapped the blonde. It was a heavily contested second half with Willa and Anson’s tactics being put to the test. By the final whistle of this inter club game, Willa had won 2-1 against Anson. He shook her hand and she smiled wide, she felt so proud of herself and how her studying of the players paid off. The girls hugged her one by one as they went into the changeroom to shower and get ready to leave. Alessia was the last player to hug Willa, purposely waiting to the side. “Guess you were right coach.” Alessia stepped forward. “There are a few things I know. Football happens to be one of them.” Alessia and Willa stood looking at each other, there was a little bit of tension in the air, Alessia broke the stand off and hugged Willa. The blonde’s arms going around Willa’s neck and the brunettes arms wrapping around Alessia’s waist. Their bodies were pressed against each other, they didn’t want to let go it felt right to hold each other. Willa came to her senses and pulled away. “Um great game again, you did phenomenally.” Willa grabbed her clipboard and walked down the left hallway, a few seconds later she walked past Alessia again. “Wrong way.” She mumbled to herself, her face red. Alessia watched Willa walk into her office, biting her lip as her coach closed the door behind her. They were both in a bit of trouble.

The weekend finally came with Willa avoiding being alone with Alessia the whole time. Willa had Lotte, Sydney and a couple of the other players one on one to discuss tactics and movements. Alessia tried to get the coach alone, maybe getting just one more hug or a sneaky hand touch, just something, but nothing worked. Alessia asked for a quick chat but Willa was on her way out, heading to the airport after their film session. “Sorry Alessia, look text me if you need me or anything happens. I am heading to Orlando Pride, Jennifer has her first game and I promised that I wouldn’t miss it. I will see you when I get back.” Willa handed Alessia a post it note with her number, Alessia immediately put it in her phone and texted her coach. ‘Hi Willa, it’s Alessia from UNC.’ In her Uber Willa smiled at the text. ‘Hello Alessia from UNC. Sorry about not being able to chat for long, we can chat when I am back.’ Willa would have loved to have been sitting with Alessia chatting about football and everything that they could think of, but she had to go to her girlfriend. Willa put her phone away not looking at it when it pinged, knowing that it was a text from Alessia. 

Once she got off the plane in Orlando she saw the girlfriend she should have been missing. Jennifer jumped into Willa’s arms and the coach wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist. There were a few paparazzi taking pictures with hype surrounding the number 1 draft pick and the UNC coach. Their bodies didn’t fit as well as Willa and Alessia’s, but Willa pushed that from her mind. On the way to Jennifer’s apartment Willa barely got a word out while Jennifer continued to talk about how awesome the new girls were and the facilities. Willa zoned out a little while Jennifer spoke, she was proud of her girlfriend but she was so tired from everything she struggled to pay attention. Jennifer’s apartment looked like it was from an interior design magazine, Willa followed her girlfriend and sat down on her couch. Not once did Jennifer ask how Willa was going, while they watched a movie Willa finally checked her phone and there was a text from Alessia from a few hours before. ‘I would love that, I will see if I can see you on the tv tomorrow.’ Willa smiled at the girl’s text and put her phone away. The media had started posting the pictures from the airport, Alessia saw the pictures and rolled her eyes. Jennifer and Willa’s fans were reposting the pictures and commenting how cute they were together. Alessia tried her best to not continue scrolling on the comments, but she couldn't help herself. Everyone kept saying how cute the pair were together, that they were the perfect couple. She knew she could make Willa smile wider than the polite smile that graced the coach’s lips in the photos. 

In the morning Jennifer and Willa went for a walk to a local cafe, the barista knew Jennifer’s order, a soy double shot with a little bit of hazelnut syrup, Willa got a soy hot chocolate apparently she was lactose intolerant but she didn't bother getting a doctor check she thought the stomach pain after a milkshake was explanation enough. “It means so much that you’re here baby.” Jennifer held Willa’s hand as they walked. “I will always support you.” Willa kissed Jennifer’s hand. “I’m sorry I was a bitch when I came and saw you. I just get jealous when I know you are alone with those girls, to be honest you’re very hot and if you were my coach I would do everything that I could to get you.” Willa smiled at her girlfriend. “Yeah no I get it. I’m sorry that I have been distant and so focused on UNC.” Willa and Jennifer stopped by a bench in a park and sat together. Willa looked at her girlfriend as she drank her hot chocolate, there were moments where she looked just like the freshman she fell in love with, she didn’t know what happened to that girl and where this self centred attention seeking woman came from. Willa leant in and kissed her girlfriend’s cheek, Jennifer pulled out her phone, “Babe do it again.” Willa kissed her again and Jennifer took a picture. It was quickly posted and suddenly their moment of connectedness had disappeared as Jennifer worked out the best caption, Willa moved her arm from behind Jennifer and looked around at the other people in the park trying to avoid thinking about the captivating blonde UNC striker.

Chapter 3

#alessia russo #woso #woso fanfiction #woso community #woso fanfics

[metalmonki]

Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited) Part 2

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

4.5k word count

Summary After completely ignoring Deans warning you find yourself reunited with the Winchesters after a perplexing case brings them back down under.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers

Warnings mention and description of death

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

It has been a year since I met the Winchesters. I tried so hard to get back to life as it was before the Winchesters but knowing there were things out there that could kill me at any moment made it difficult for me to concentrate on anything else. So, I decided to hit the road. I packed up my most important belongings into my car, dropped out of university and began looking for other hunters. It’s not like the Winchesters left me a how-to guide on hunting monsters. I travelled around leaving messages for hunters everywhere I could think of monster books in libraries, on notice boards, online chat boards everywhere. It took 2 months, but I was finally contacted by a guy named Johnny. Johnny owned a roadhouse out near Broken Hill which was one of many hubs for hunters. Johnny gave me a list of known hunters’ hubs, a list of tools I would need and a job to get me started. ‘An easy find and burn’ he said. He recommended I stick to jobs at the hubs for now and that I would slowly learn what to look for to find my own jobs. Which is how I got to the job I was working today.

I had driven through the night to get back to Sydney to the suburb of Blacktown where my story began. This was the first time I had been back since everything that happened with the boys. It was also a similar case that brought me back. A ghost was causing accidents at the local pool and had so far caused 11 deaths. Something needed to be done soon. The latest incident occurred the week before. A kid who was paraplegic had seemingly stood up from her wheelchair climbed up onto a diving board and drove headfirst onto the cement below. The ghost was ramping up putting the case at the top of my list. Before I got working on the case though I wanted to book into a hotel, have a hot shower, eat and sleep. I found a hotel close to the pool with vaccines and pulled in. I pulled up to the office and hopped out of my car. I walked in and managed to book a room quite quickly without much fuss. I walked back out to my car and drove over to my given room. As I parked a certain car caught my eye. Everything else was quickly forgotten as I ran to the room the car was parked in front of. I stopped to catch my breath before knocking on the door.

“Well, well look who we have here” Dean crossed his arms as he opened the door smirk on his face.

“Hay Dean” I smiled.

“Y/N is that you?” Sam asked.

“In the flesh,” I said, “What brings you two back to town?”

“Working this case, a friend of ours called us after he got a call from a friend here, some ghost killing a bunch of people at a pool,” Dean said.

“What a coincidence I’m working that case too, it’s been on my radar for the last 3 months but it’s really ramped up in the last month so I figured I should probably get my ass back here and take care of it”.

“I thought I told you to stay away from all this” Dean suddenly got mad.

“I tried Dean, I really did I just couldn’t shake it, I was second-guessing everything and everyone and I felt like I needed to do this to feel safe” I recoiled at his words.

“I told you there were other people like us doing this job so you could be safe, trust me this isn’t the life you want”.

“You packed up and went back to the States, you left me here where there are barely any hunters what do you expect me to do?” I snapped back.

“I expected you to listen to me” Dean yelled jabbing a finger to the ground.

I flinched away from Dean. Something he immediately noticed. I could tell from the look on his face that Dean regretted his actions. He tried reaching out to touch my arm, but I moved back away from him. He sighed and moved out of the doorway allowing me into the room. Sam motioned for me to come over to the sole table in the room where he was busy working away on his laptop. Dean on the other hand moved to sit on his bed on the opposite side of the room. Sam ran me through everything they had found so far. He told me about a friend of theirs named Bobby who had been contacted by a hunter here who was in over their heads on the case. It was something I had noticed too and had only served to motivate me more to become a hunter. I had found myself over the last year picking up the harder cases that other hunters struggled to complete. I had made contacts in all the hunters’ roadhouses in Australia and had hardly had a day to myself since. I told Sam about Johnny a name he instantly recognised, apparently, he had been the one to call Bobby to request the boy's help after many other hunters had come up short.

“What have you found so far?” I asked Sam.

“Well, I found out that the earliest accident recorded at the pool was 2 months after it opened,” Sam said.

“I found that too during my initial research, she was running, slipped on the wet floor and became impaled on a sign pole, not a nice way to go but doesn’t seem like something to create a vengeful spirit either”.

“My thoughts exactly” Sam sighed “But I can’t find anything about the place being built on a burial ground or sacred site or anything”.

“So, what you saying is there is no reason for these deaths to be amping up at this joint?” Dean finally joined the conversation.

“Well, none we can find” I said, “This is why I avoid the case for so long, every time I’ve looked at it I haven’t been able to find a reason, nothing I know of could be causing this, nothing Johnny knows of could be causing this, maybe Bobby might know something?”

“I’ll call him,” Sam said.

Sam grabbed his phone and left the room. I looked at Dean with confusion. We were working this case together so why would Sam leave the room? Dean mumbled something about Sam thinking best when he was walking around. I just shrugged and stayed at the table waiting for Sam to come back. Dean and I had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. I knew he wasn’t happy with me being here and giving everything up to be a hunter, but I didn’t see any other choice. I knew the dangers; I knew a life as a hunter was a short life but if it meant I made a difference while I was still here then so be it. Dean needed to know this.

“Dean…”

“Save it, I know I’m not going to be able to change your mind, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you leave my side” Dean looked over at me “I wanted to save you from this life, I wanted you to walk away and never look back, I don’t want you to end up broken like me”.

“It’s not like I have anything to lose, my father abandoned me, my mother and I barely talk, and I don’t exactly have any other family, just friends and as far as they know I came into a small fortune and I’m off travelling the world” I sighed.

“Sounds like every hunter origin story I’ve heard before” Dean chuckled coldly.

“Why what’s your story?” I asked.

“Mum died, Dad abandoned us then he died, I’m one of the lucky ones though because I got Sammy and I guess now I have your dumbass to look out for too”. Dean smiled over at me.

“You make that sound like a bad thing” I laughed.

“Oh, it is, you’re a pain in my ass” Dean laughed too.

“Who me? Nah I’m delightful”.

It was then that Sam walked back into the room. He was greeted by the site of Dean and I laughing our asses off completely different from how he had left us. He looked between us before awkwardly starting to explain that Bobby would investigate the situation, contact some other hunters in the area he knew and call Sam back if he found anything. Until then Dean decided it would be best if we grabbed some food and called it a night. Dean left Sam and me to clean up the table while he went to get the world’s smallest McDonald’s burgers. Sam and I just shook our heads at him and continued to clean the table. We talked about what the guys had been up to since they were last here and everything I had done. He was quite impressed at just how quickly I had learnt to look for signs that something was out of the ordinary and my ability to research and remove the problem. Turns out they had heard from Bobby that there was a badass new hunter on the scene out here but had no clue it was me. It didn’t take us long to clean off the table and for Dean to return with food. He dumped the bags on the table and began tossing burgers at each of us. He then started cursing when he reached for the fries to find they had all fallen out in the bag. Sam and I just shook our heads at Dean and started on our burgers while Dean fixed the fries. After we had eaten, we all agreed that we should get some sleep while we waited for Bobby to get back to us. Sam went off to shower first while Dean kicked off his shoes and flopped into bed. I on the other hand moved for the door planning on sleeping in my car for the night.

“Where are you staying?” Dean suddenly asked stopping me in my tracks.

“Probably going to sleep in my car until this one is over why?” I asked turning towards Dean.

“You can’t be serious”.

“Well, normally I would look for a free camping ground but we’re in the middle of a city, luckily I recently found this really cool blow-up bed thing, you move your seats forward and put it in the back seat and it acts like a real bed, it's comfy to sleep on too” I started to ramble.

“Like hell you’re sleeping in your car, take my bed and I’ll take the couch” Dean grumbled getting up from his bed.

 “Dean I can’t kick you to the lounge again” I sighed.

“Nonsense hunters need a safe place to sleep”.

“We don’t exactly get paid Dean; I do odd jobs in the towns I’m in between or sometimes even during hunts just to get enough to eat and to put fuel in my car I can’t afford a hotel room”.

“And that’s where credit card scams come into it” Dean smirked.

“How? I mean you would need fake IDs and birth certificates not to mention the limits, eventually they would cut the card off”.

“Bobby hooks us up with a whole host of fake IDs cops, FBI, CIA, you name it, the trick with credit cards is to get the card with the highest amount of money on it, for instance, a card with a limit of $10,000 before repayments are needed then use it for the case and before you get out of dodge you withdraw the remain amount, that way when they come looking for Mr Hector Rodriguez it looks like he never left the town”

“Jesus Dean that’s insane”.

“That’s the life” Dean shrugged making himself comfy on the lounge.

I took my shoes off and made myself comfy on the bed while waiting for Sam to be done with the shower. The plan was to use the bathroom to change but I guess I must have been more tired than I thought because I nodded off. I awoke the next morning to an empty room. Dean’s Impala was gone too. They must have heard back from Bobby and had headed off to chase a lead. Kinda sucked that they didn’t wake me up first but nothing I could do about that now. I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV mostly for background noise before heading to my car to grab a change of clothes. Clothes in hand I headed for the shower. I always found the shower to be the best place to organise my day. I turned the water on, making the heat as high as possible before it became intolerable. As the shower screen fogged I began to write out my plan for the day. First I would need to find some breakfast, then I would need to find the guys. The hang-up there was I didn’t have either of their numbers to call them and I certainly wasn’t going to be driving aimlessly around a huge ass city to find them. I washed myself down and begrudgingly turned off the water. I exited the shower and went to grab a towel when to my horror I realized there were only 2 towels. I dug through the room but came up empty-handed when it came to another towel. I returned to the bathroom and looked at the two towels on the rack. At this point, I was almost dry so I grabbed the obviously unused towel and quickly dried what wasn’t dry, hanging the towel back up as neat as possible when I was done. Once I was dry and dressed I grabbed my phone and keys before heading out to my car. I was honestly quite surprised that Dean had managed to pick which car was his and which was mine. The engine revved to life as I made myself comfortable in the car. I drove to Mcdonalds' to grab a breakfast deal. Once I had a full stomach I figured I might as well continue investigating the case on my own. I went through the drive-through and was told to wait for my food to be ready. As I was waiting I pulled out my phone to continue my research. It was then I noticed I had a text message from Dean which caught me off guard considering I never put his number in my phone.

Hay sleeping beauty when you get this give me a call. If I don’t answer I put Sammy’s number in your phone too.

I chuckled to myself before hitting the dial. After a couple of rings, Dean picked up.

“Hay enjoy your sleep?” Dean laughed

“It was great thank you, your bed is very comfy”

“At least someone is enjoying my bed” Dean chuckled

“Yeah you should really try it sometime, it's so comfy and warm, would put you straight to sleep” I taunted

“Pfft who would want an awesome bed when they have a perfect lounge to sleep on”

“Where are you anyway?” I laughed on the phone

“About to head to the pool” Dean sighed “We’ve exhausted the library they have nothing on the pool that we didn’t already know so seems the only place left is the pool”

“Have fun with that, I’m getting breakfast, oh look and here it comes” I squealed winding down the window

“Yeah, yeah stuff your face then get your ass over here” Dean chuckled hanging up the phone

I took my food with a thank you before pulling around into the parking lot. I parked my car before starting my breakfast. It didn’t take me long to finish my food. I tossed my rubbish in a close by bin and began the short drive to the pool. When I arrived I parked towards the back of the lot and headed inside. It annoyed me more than it should of that I had to pay to enter the pool even though I had no intention of swimming. But being that I was on my own it would have been weird to pay to watch. I walked down the ramp into the main pool area which consisted of a wave pool, splash pool and two 25 meter pools. It wasn’t overly busy so it didn’t take any more than a quick glance to spot Sam and Dean. It also helped that they were the only people in the build in suits. They were standing near the wave pool controls speaking to a lifeguard. I started making my way towards it but was quickly halted when I heard the lifeguard giggle. It was a giggle I would know anywhere, it sent an ice-cold shiver down my spine. I almost wanted to turn around and run back to the safety of my car and wait for Sam and Dean to be done. The only thing that stopped me was that Dean had spotted me and gave me a wink causing the lifeguard to look over her shoulder towards me. I tucked my shoulders back, held my head high and wandered over to them. Upon reaching them, however, my mouth began spewing out words before my brain could filter them.

“Hay Babe” I pushed myself against Dean's side “I thought I would come for a swim while you do what you need to do but I don’t have any swimmer” Oh the cringe I cringed. “Oh hi Rachel haven’t seen you since graduation, still lifeguarding I see”

“Y/n yes I am it pays quite good money how did you end up with such a handsome man?” She crossed her arms and gave me a dirty look

“Oh well as you probably heard I’ve been travelling the world and it was during a trip through America that I found this handsome man” I smiled up at Dean

“Lucky you” Rachel scoffed

“Yeah lucky me” I smiled up at Dean

“Anyway baby here is my card go get yourself some swimmers and have a good time”

“Thank you” I took the card and gave Dean a quick peck on the cheek before running off.

“Now if you don’t mind we would like to ask all the staff about the incident” I heard Dean say before I was out of earshot.

I went to the main counter and purchased a swimsuit. It was honestly one of the things I left behind when I packed up and left because I didn’t think it was something I would ever use again. Once I had the swimsuit in hand I went to find Sam and Dean again to return his card thank him for the help and apologise for putting him on the spot like that. I wandered back into the main pool area and began looking for Sam and Dean again. I quickly found Dean standing at the edge of the splash pool speaking with a lifeguard. I was about to start walking towards him when a hand suddenly came down on my shoulder. I jumped and spun around ready to punch whoever had touched me.

“Wow easy there” Sam chuckled

“Sam why would you do that” I slapped him on the chest

“I didn’t mean to scare you just figured I should fill you in before you blow anymore of our cover story”

“Yeah sorry about that” I dropped my head

“Oh it’s fine no harm done” Sam smiled “Anyway we were researching the deaths this morning and one of them happened to be a young girl on a holiday from America so Dean and I thought we could come in and ask some questions under the guise of being from the American Embassy investigating on behalf of the parents”

“That’s actually pretty smart, I will go change into these swimmers then and stay out of your way, oh also can you give Dean back his card” I handed it off to Sam “I feel kinda bad for taking it”

“Well it’s not our money anyway so nothing to feel bad about” Sam smirked

I laughed at that statement and walked away with a wave towards the female changing room. Only two other people were in the changing room when I walked in. Two young girls likely no older than 18. It looked like they had been for their swim and were getting ready to shower and change. I ducked into an empty changing booth on the opposite side of the changing room from them. They were giggling and whispering between themselves when I walked by. If only they knew what was happening here. Happening in the world. I quickly slipped into the swimsuit, no easy feat when you and the suit are both dryer than the Sahara desert. Just as I bundled my clothes up in my arms and was about to open the door the room was suddenly filled with a blood-curdling scream. I dropped my clothes and quickly threw open the door. One of the girls from earlier was now pressed up against the wall on the opposite side of the room while the other girl lay motionless on the floor. I ran over to the girl on the floor dropping down by her side. I assessed her for any signs of life. She was gone, her neck broken. I stood up and walked over to the other girl as other people began pushing their way into the bathroom. Sam and Dean were among them. When they saw what had happened they began pushing people back from the room and asking for someone to call emergency services. I took the other girl into my arms and shielded her face from the sight encouraging her to look away while nodding to Sam and Dean. I knew they would have to leave the building quickly but quietly while I stayed behind to answer questions. I tried asking the girl what happened but all I could get was the word why spoken in a whisper between sobs. I just stood there holding her rubbing circles into her back while waiting for help to arrive.

It seemed to take forever but was likely no more than 15 minutes before the police and ambulance were on the scene. The police stood back and allowed the paramedics to do their thing. Once they had confirmed there was nothing they could do for the girl on the floor they turned to her friend. They checked her over before walking her out of the building to a waiting ambulance. The police followed them making sure I stayed put in the room first. I went back to where I had discarded my clothes. I gathered them up and sat on the bench that was running the length of the room. I held my clothes to my chest suddenly feeling naked in the now empty room. This wasn’t the first time I had seen a dead body and living the life I chose I knew it wouldn’t be the last. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t still jarring to the sense. The absolute motionlessness of her body. No rise and fall of her chest, no little jerks that would be expected from someone playing dead, the normal pink hue you see in living people gone, just like that in the blink of an eye. I closed my eyes and prayed she went quickly.

The quiet of the room was soon broken by footsteps. I looked up to see crime scene techs and coroners entering the room. They completely ignored my presence and went about looking over the dead girl and the room. The only contact any of them had with me was a woman who came over and asked me for my clothes. I asked her why in confusion since they had been nowhere near the girl but she insisted it was needed just in case and they would get them back to me as soon as possible. I handed her my clothes with a sigh and filled in the paperwork she handed me in return. I had no choice but to give her my mother's address to return the clothes to as I had nowhere else to send them. I watched as the coroner bagged the girl's body up and removed her from the room while the techs continued to take pictures and talk amongst themselves about theories of what had happened.

Eventually, after what must have been 30 minutes the police came back into the room to speak to me. They asked me many questions but they all blurred together. Did you know the victim? No. Did you see what happened? No. Do you know Samantha? Was that the other girl, no. What where you doing here? Changing to swim. On and on, question after question. For an hour or more, they questioned me. It was a waste of their time though I knew nothing, I saw nothing. Before they let me go I asked them what the other girl, Samantha had said had happened. They gave me the usual we can’t tell you much but before telling me what they were told finishing with the investigation will tell us the truth line.

I thanked the officers and left the room. I went into a sort of autopilot mode at that moment. Before I knew it I had walked out of the pool, climbed into the car and driven back to the hotel without so much as remembering a second of the trip. I parked next to Dean Impala. As soon as the engine shut off I began to shake. I took a few shaky breaths and squeezed the steering wheel between my hands. I climbed out of the car and walked over to the room door. I knocked and waited for someone to answer. When the door finally did open it was Dean standing on the other side.

“They took my clothes” was all I managed to get out before the weight of the day hit me. In my year doing cases I’d never once seen someone die or had to look at a body. I had only read all about it making it easy to distance myself from the true horrors. But I guess it was only a matter of time. The only dead body I had seen before this was that of my grandmother. She was the first and I had hoped the only person I would have to see die in my life. Today had brought back all those memories for me and emotions I tried so hard to bury. As I broke Dean pulled me into the room and closed the door. He pulled me into his arms creating a safe, warm place for me to let my emotions go.

#supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #dean x reader #supernatural x you #supernatural x reader #castiel #castiel x reader #Sam Winchester x reader #Sam x reader

[brienneoftarth1989]

Undercover Part 3

Miranda Hilmarson x fem reader

Previous / Next / Series

Summary: It was Miranda’s first day in your gang and you were teaching her the ropes. She was very nervous but you just put it down to the fact she was working for the most powerful gang in Sydney

Warnings: threatening, torture, violence, gangs

Requests open

———————————

Today is another brand new day and you were slightly excited about your new recruit starting. Normally you would put training the new recruit on Raphael because you didn’t want to do it. However this time you actually wanted to be a part of the training.

Was it because you thought Miranda was attractive or was it something else? Who knows but you were going to find out on this journey ahead. You were currently sitting in your office trying to work out the plan for the day and what was going to work best in training Miranda.

You jotted down some notes in your notepad highlighting some stuff that you knew you needed to go over with Miranda. You also found yourself clock watching until Miranda got in which was only making the time drag even slower.

After a while you had done everything you needed to do in your office so decided to make yourself a coffee as you definitely couldn’t start your day without caffeine. You grabbed your ‘world's best boss’ cup before pouring yourself a coffee.

It was only going to be a waiting game from here so you went back to your office to enjoy your coffee and watch some Netflix on your phone. After a while of just chilling with your hot drink you finally heard someone knock on the door.

You looked up at the clock to see it was 9:00. Shit where did that time go? You thought to yourself. “Come in” you shouted from the other side of the door. You watched the door slowly open before revealing a very shy Miranda.

“Oh come in Miranda. Don’t be shy. I don’t bite” you laughed as you encouraged her to come into your office and take a seat to which she complied. “Don’t worry! Your first day will be piss easy plus you’re going to be spending the day with me. I won’t be asking too much of you straight away. Today I will give you a little tour of the place and get you started on some little jobs around here” you told Miranda before sitting back in your seat.

“Before we start, would you like a coffee?” You asked Miranda. “Oh no I couldn’t. Thanks for the offer but if I have coffee you will have to peel me off the walls'' she said as she let out a small giggle. It was infectious and you couldn’t help but to let out a little laugh as well. Jesus what was the woman doing to you?

“Well let’s start this tour then” you said to Miranda before standing up and getting ready to show her around the place. She stood up immediately waiting for you to show her the way. “Ok so this is my office which I know you're already aware of. If you can’t find me I am normally in here. Also speaking of not being able to find me, here” you said as you tossed a burner phone over to Miranda.

“That has everyone’s contacts that you need including mine. Think of that phone as your business phone and you shouldn’t use it for anything else. We don’t want to be leaving a digital trail for the cops do we?” You laughed slightly.

Miranda just looked tense before she let out a shy little laugh. It must be down to nerves. Hopefully she will snap out of that quick as you can’t be dealing with a ticking time bomb on your hands. “Come on. Let’s go” you said as you left your office.

You took Miranda around the base showing her all the important places that she would need to remember and you made sure to show her everywhere.

“Ok so this is the main hangout area. This is where we load up the cars mainly but a lot of the lads like to chill around here for smoke breaks so it has turned into the main hangout. There are benches and tables in certain corners. Feel free to do what you like there. Some people eat their food. Some like to play card games and make bets. You will find your friends in this crew. Trust me” you said as you walked through the hangout.

That’s when you caught Raphael out of the corner of your eye. “Raphael! Over here” you shouted. “Coming boss” he shouted as he made his way over to the both of you. “I know the two of you have already met but I want you to have a more formal introduction. This is Raphael. He is my right hand man. If I’m not around Raphael is in charge so you listen to him. Is that understood?” You asked Miranda.

“Yes y/n” Miranda responded. Raphael cleared his throat before talking. “Don’t be so fucking disrespectful. You respond with ‘yes boss’” Raphael shouted. You watched as Miranda jumped out of her skin. You quickly interrupted before things got too intense. “Actually Raphael I said that Miranda could call me y/n” you told him.

You watched as his face went bright red. “Sorry boss. I didn’t realise” he said, looking at you before turning to Miranda. “Consider yourself very special Miranda. The boss doesn’t let just anyone call them by their name, especially newbees” he smirked looking between the two women.

“Come on. Let’s continue this tour” you said as you made your way around the large building. “Sorry about Raphael. He can be very protective of me sometimes” you said apologising for his behaviour towards her. “If you don’t mind me asking, why is he so protective of you especially as he seems old enough to be your father?” Miranda asked. You took a deep breath at the thought of the subject.

Miranda could tell she had touched a nerve. “Sorry if that was asking too much. Don’t feel like you need to answer that question” Miranda said, trying desperately to change the subject. “No, no it’s fine. Really” you told her.

“My father was originally the leader of The Wildlings. He was unfortunately caught by the Feds which led to a death sentence. I was 10 years old when he died. I never even got to say goodbye. Raphael was my dads right hand man and my dad made Raphael promise to look after me and help me run the gang and that’s exactly what he did” you told Miranda trying your best not to show too much emotion.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. It must have been tough on you!” Miranda said to you. “Yeah. I never even wanted to take over but when he died this was all I had left of him and I wanted to be with him as much as I could so I took over” you told Miranda as you continued to show her around.

“So what did you want to do?” Miranda asked. “I wanted to be a writer. I do write in my spare time but I wouldn’t dare try to get it published as I’m scared it will get me caught. You should read it some time. Some of my crew love to read some of my stories” you said smiling at Miranda.

“Yeah I would like that” Miranda responded. You continued to show Miranda all the important rooms in the building leaving the worst till last. “So this is my torture room. Unfortunately it does get used more than I would like but if people didn’t get on my bad side then it wouldn’t happen. Hopefully you will never find yourself on the other side of this door” you said laughing trying to make a joke out of the situation.

“Why don’t you show me what’s inside?” Miranda asked somewhat curious about what was on the other side. “Normally I would but it is currently occupied. I’m waiting for them to go insane as hopefully they will tell me what I want to know” you said pulling Miranda away from the door.

Miranda didn’t respond. Probably because she didn’t know what to say. “Well that’s the tour over. So let’s get you started on doing some jobs for me. Nothing too complicated today. A couple of the trucks have come back from doing some drug runs so the whole car needs to be cleaned inside and out. We need to make sure no evidence is left behind. All the equipment you need is by the trucks. Any questions you have can be diverted to Raphael but if you really need me I will be in my office” you told Miranda.

“Understood y/n. I will get started on that straight away. What happens once I’m done?” Miranda asked. “Oh don’t worry there will be more trucks coming back this afternoon so you will be spending most of the day cleaning. Shift finishes at 19:00 so about 18:50 start wrapping things up and you can pick up where you left off tomorrow” you told Miranda before leaving her and heading to your office.

You made your way to the office before looking out of the large window that looked down into the large warehouse. Raphael caught your gaze and winked at you. He could tell you liked Miranda. You just hoped that maybe she felt the same way. You didn’t want to get caught by Miranda so you made your way to your desk to get on with some paperwork.

Back down on the warehouse floor Raphael turned to Miranda. “You know she likes you,” Raphael told Miranda. All Miranda could do was quickly snap her head towards him. “Really? Are you sure you are not just imagining it?” Miranda asked genuinely confused if you did like her.

“Oh she definitely does. The boss doesn’t let anyone call her by her name and she sure as hell doesn’t always keep glancing at her crew. She definitely does like you. So I’m warning you now. If you two become serious don’t go breaking her heart as we will break you” Raphael threatened

“Don’t worry I won't hurt her, Raphael. That would be the last thing I would want to do” Miranda told him, trying her best to get on with the task at hand. “Good” he responded before getting on with his job.

Shit this was the last thing she wanted to do!

#gwendoline christie #gwendolineuniverse #fanfics #constable miranda hilmarson #miranda hilmarson #miranda hilmarson x reader #top of the lake #top of the lake china girl #police #undercover #undercover series #gangs #gang leader #violence #threats of violence #brienneoftarth1989

[spideryves]

fuck you carmen

warnings; language, sexual mentions, angst, fluff if you squint

ding!

the ringer from her phone went off about 3 times in a row before y/n rolled over to look at it. she squinted at the brightness, her screen shining the bold letters stating it was 3:37 am.

a part of her didn’t even want to answer it, but considering it she didn’t even try to go to sleep until about 45 minutes ago, it’s not like she was that tired.

have you heard from carmy?— sugar

y/n raised a brow, confused.

why would i lol

cuz he’s moving back to town tmw…— sugar

that exchange was over two weeks ago, and although it would’ve been nice to know prior, readjusting to being in his presence was a lot easier than expected.

of course, there were still some negatives.

first of all, she got “demoted”. technically, y/n never had a real position. she loves cooking but loves baking more. that’s why michael hired her to work with marcus after she couldn’t find another job in the area. when she got bored of that, she was on dish duty with angel & manny. and then after manny flung soggy bread in her hair (which he claims was an accident) she begged him to give her a different position.

michael jokingly called her a brat, and then told her to just shadow him. for months that was their dynamic, and eventually she was put on family, where she finally felt like herself in the kitchen.

until carmy arrived and fucked her over.

she showed up late when he was having a bad day, and suddenly she was back washing dirty dishes while her replacement, sydney, was doing her job.

you see, carmy and y/n had history. they dated all of high school, and up until he got into culinary school and she didn’t. their relationship was ruined, and with some harsh words and tears shed carmy was out of her life.

she wouldn’t say she hated him, but he definitely wasn’t her favorite person. and the feeling was definitely mutual.

“you’re staring again.”

y/n whipped her hair around, angel smirking at her with his dumb grin.

“you should just tell her off.”

“and piss off carmy even more? please, he’d have me and my brother fired for upsetting his little protégé.”

the two of you glanced over at sydney, who looked frantic as she couldn’t find the onions she was just cutting. ‘she always looks like she’s about to cry,’ y/n thought.

putting the last dish down, she dried off her hands and turned to face angel completely. “besides, i give it a week before he does something to make her quit anyway.”

angel chuckled, stepping closer towards you. “you’re feisty today,” he said “more than usual.”

“can you blame me? i’m washing dishes when i should be on family. plus i got marcus and his dumbass roommate cramping up my apartment, and let’s not forget the big and bad carm—“

“y/n.”

they both turned to see carmy standing right next to the sink, neither of them hearing him make his way over there.

her cheeks instantly warmed, a little embarrassed he heard her rant. of course, she crossed her arms and raised a brow to feign innocence. “yes?”

“can i talk to you in the office?”

“i’m kind of in the middle of—“

“shit talk isn’t necessary to wash a fucking dish, y/n. my office, now.” carmy didn’t give her a chance to retaliate, before shooting a glare at angel and heading towards the office.

once they were both in the tiny room, papers scattered across the wood desk and the scent of tomato sauce filling the air, carmy shut the door behind her.

this was the first time since he’d been back that she actually got a chance to look at him, and although it pained her, she had to admit, he’d never looked better. of course, the lack of sleep was evident in his eyes and the mysteriously stained apron he dawned made her wish he’d take it off— but she was reminded of why she found him so attractive in the first place.

too bad she was about to get fired.

she crossed her arms again, ready to stand her ground. “if you’re gonna get rid of me or give me another shitty job then just do it so i can go.”

“that isn’t why i called you in.”

he ran a hand through his hair, nervousness plastered on his face.

“then what do you want? i have a job to do.”

he rolled his eyes. “does that job require calling sydney a kiss ass and flirting with angel?”

y/n scoffed, knowing exactly where this conversation was going.

“you jealous?”

“of angel? yea not a chance. but michael didn’t hire you to hook up with your coworkers.”

he delivered the line with a lot more aggression than intended, which pissed her off even more considering she knew how mad he could get over the silliest things.

marcus must’ve mentioned the month where her and angel dated, which ended as them only being occasional friends with benefits. it upset her how her own brother told him, but she wasn’t shocked. he had a big mouth.

right now, carmy and y/n’s faces were a little too close for comfort, so she moved towards the door, ready to just leave and ignore him.

“michael hired me because he didn’t fucking want you. and whoever i choose to screw stopped being your business when you decided to become my boss, got it?”

she opened the door from the office and slammed it behind her, causing sydney and tina to jump, and marcus to peak his head out from behind the kitchen mixer.

‘this is gonna be a long shift,’ she thought with a sigh.

#the bear #carmy berzatto #carmy x reader #carmy berzatto x reader #carmy x black!reader #black reader #carmy the bear #the bear fic #the bear fx #carmen berzatto #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x y/n

[hypno-cc]

HYPNOVEMBER DAY 3: BUNNY SUIT

This month, C&C will be doing a micro story every day based on a Hypnovember list curated by Robohypnoo on Twitter. Day 3’s prompt was “Bunny Suit”.

It all felt a bit demeaning. Sydney had been looking for a new job for so long that she was in no position to refuse any opportunity that came her way, but seeing her new uniform, what little there was of it, had her second-guessing if applying to the Flip-Hop Cafe had actually been a good idea.

The Flip-Hop was the newest internet cafe in town, highly rated by both customers and employees as a great place to work and a great place to hang. Sydney hadn’t necessarily wanted to work there, given the skimpy bunny outfits that the girls who served the customers were required to wear, but she had enough confidence in her body and enough need for the cash that she at least threw her hat in the ring. But now that she was in the office, looking at that tiny suit, she was having second thoughts. 

“It’s okay.” Robert, her new to-be manager, walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “A lot of the girls who come in here look at the outfit and have their worries, but it’s a big part of the success of our cafe. The more money we make, the more we can pay y’all, and the happier the employees are. I’m sure you understand that showing a little skin tends to boost the tip and sales numbers.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Sydney looked away from him and shrugged off his touch. “I get it, but man, I’m gonna look ridiculous. And it feels a little bit weird to go out in front of a bunch of strangers in what’s basically just a bikini with big fluffy ears on your head, you know?”

“I understand, Sydney. How about this? I’ll get you through the new-employee orientation, no need to go out in the costume a single time. After you’ve gone through the training and videos and all that, we’ll see how you’re feeling. I think you’d make a stellar addition to the team, so I’d like you to at least consider it.”

“Well, I guess.” She had never been great at saying no. 

“Excellent. Let’s get you through the video orientation first, okay? It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Okay…” Sydney dropped her head and allowed herself to get led into the other room, costume still in hand.

Robert walked over to a large monitor and double-clicked on a .MP4 file on the desktop. “I’ll see you in a minute.” 

She looked behind as he exited the room and fixed her eyes on the screen. The bar showed only 7 minutes of video, so she knew it would at least be a short video. “Well, I can leave after t-aww!”

The monitor showed something that didn’t seem related to the job at all, a scene of a couple of fluffy gray rabbits frolicking in a field. Two of them began to nuzzle into one-another as the rest bounced around joyfully in the dew-covered grass. Sydney couldn’t help herself: She was immediately invested. For as little as she wanted to take the job, she was a sucker for a good cute animal video. 

“I… It’s so cute… I love them…”

For several minutes, the bunnies continued to mess around in the grass, and Sydney forgot that she was supposed to be watching an employee orientation video. It was just too cute for her to take. She hardly even noticed as the screen began to flicker, at first a few times every minute at the start and then far more frequently as the time passed.

“So cute…” She couldn’t find any other words. Her eyes were glued to the screen.

She was completely lost in the video, watching the adorable bunnies hopping around in the grass as her eyes began to glaze over. Had her senses been with her, she’d have noticed that the screen had gone darker and that text was flashing quickly above the video she was so infatuated with. Eventually, the video stopped entirely and she was far too lost to realize it.

“So cute…”

“Yes, yes you will be.” Robert took her hand from behind her and lifted her to her feet.

“I… cute?” Sydney’s synapses were fried from the flashing video that had numbed her brain.

“Of course. Don’t you want to be cute, love?”

“Cute…”

“Just put this on and I’ll show you exactly how you can be the cutest, Sydney.”

“Yes… sir…” Sydney looked at the skimpy suit in her hand, ready to be the cutest bunny that she could possibly be.

#bunny #transformation #hypnokink #hypnotic video #mind control #our stories #hypnovember

[welightthefire]

Table For Two ~ Part Ten

In collaboration with @allieboop

Jake Kiszka x OC x Josh Kiszka

Summary: "What started out as a new job unexpectedly became more for Sydney Baker. There's only room at the table for two... How will she navigate her feelings and come to a decision? How can she choose between two sides of the same coin?"

Warnings: tad bit of jealousy, soooo much fluff, crying, smut [unprotected penetrative sex, oral (f!receiving), praise, hair pulling (m!receiving🤭), possessiveness??]

Word Count: ~14.2k

taglist // playlist // masterpost

A/N: it's a long one, but it's been a long time coming. please tell us what you think!

Part Ten

It was nearing the end of the Saturday night shift, and Syd was finishing up jotting down her last order. Danny had already flipped the internal locks on the front doors and gone to hide in the office to do paperwork for the next several minutes. Through the serving window, Sam and the twins’ laughter could be heard as the brothers bantered about God knows what while the ever-familiar rotation of blues music played in the background. 

She told her table that she would get their order in right away and be back in a bit. It wasn’t anything crazy- just a few baskets of fries and two burgers they had wanted to split. When she reached the window, she tapped the button atop the silver bell to get Jake’s attention. 

“One last table, Jake, then you’re done cooking for the night.” Syd beamed as he walked over to retrieve the meal ticket from her outstretched hand. 

“Oh, thank God- wait.” He stopped short as he glanced down at the ticket in his hand and called over his shoulder to his twin. “Four fries, Josh.”

Syd allowed her eyes to glance over at his twin who nodded his acknowledgment before she responded. “What’s the matter?”

“We’re still on for tonight, right?” 

Syd feigned confusion as she looked at him. “I’m… not sure what you mean.”

Jake’s face fell. “You know… me coming over? Cooking dinner?”

“Ohhh, yeah.” Syd let her eyes wander up towards the clock on the wall. 

9:37pm

“I mean, I guess so.”

“We don’t have to… Really. I just thought-“ he rushed. 

Syd couldn’t keep up her act any longer, a shit-eating grin painting her face. “Jake, I’m kidding. I’ll be damned if I have to wait for the next family meal to eat your food.”

“I hate you.” Jake sighed, even though he couldn’t help but smile at her antics.

“You love me,” she declared, her eyes beaming. 

Jake rolled his eyes at her. Little did she know, he thought. 

“Really, I’m excited. And hungry.” She reached out and poked the tip of his nose. “So you should hurry up so we can get out of here sooner.”

Jake nodded. “Sure thing. Let me get a drink and I’ll be right on it.”

Syd reached to her side and grabbed a paper cup from the stack of to-go items. “Nope, I’ve got it. Shoo.”

Jake shook his head and laughed, slapping a palm down on the steel counter and turning on his heel with the ticket in hand. 

By the time he prepared the burger patties, Syd had assembled his drink, a simple cup of ice water. She maneuvered back to him, watching him work from afar with a smile on her face. He caught the movement in the corner of his eye just as he had put the burgers on the grill and moved to the sink to wash his hands again. His mouth twitched into a sheepish smile as she presented the cup as if it were some grandiose meal. 

“Your water, sir,” she spoke in an elegant accent, making his grin widen. 

He backed away from the sink just enough so she could snake the cup to the front of him while he continued washing his hands. 

She slowly brought the cup to his pursed lips, watching as they connected to the rim and his eyes flickered to her. He caught on to her staring, making his smirk return before the cool liquid reached his mouth. 

She tilted the cup, just barely, and admired him as he drank. His cheekbones seemed to have become even more defined and prominent. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the water. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration on not spilling the drink, although he had ultimately no control over that. 

Syd pulled the cup away when he barely nodded, indicating that he was done with the drink. In the process, a stray droplet of water escaped his lips and was dribbling down the side of his mouth. Without thinking, she reached out and wiped it away with her thumb. 

She kept her eyes on him as she let her hand linger there, letting it graze over the features she had come to admire. Something that began as a good deed - simply her lending a helping hand - had become something much more intimate, and she felt her cheeks pinken because of it all. 

“Better?” She knew the word came out breathlessly, as it was almost a whisper. 

He smiled and let his eyes drop to her lips for a moment. “Much.” He resumed washing his hands, mumbling an extra quip. “Now I have clean hands and a clean face.”

She was annoyed, but incredibly endeared, that such a lame joke made her laugh the way it did. She rolled her eyes at him, and as a form of payback, reached under the steady stream pouring from the faucet to splash a bit of water against his apron. He snickered at her dramatics and began drying his hands.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” she softly voiced and set the cup down on the coated steel shelf next to the clean plastic baskets.

As Syd turned to make her way back to the dining room, she caught Josh watching her from the other side of the kitchen. Sam was going on and on about a jazz show he had tickets for, but his older brother couldn’t have lost interest any quicker once he had taken note of Jake and Syd’s exchange. 

She threw up her hand in a small gesture, sending him a meek smile and mouthing the words ‘hi’ from across the room. Josh smiled back with a nod, however, it didn’t reach his eyes in the way it normally did. 

—

Syd paced around her living room in her towel anxiously as her eyes darted around the clean space. Jake had told her that he was gonna stop at home and get some things together before he headed over to her place which gave her time to sit with her thoughts. However, her thoughts weren’t proving to be very good company. 

She kept noticing things that wouldn’t typically bother her, such as the wrinkle in the fuzzy grey blanket draped over the back of her couch, or the one dim light amongst the rows of golden Christmas lights that lined the wall of her living room. She noted that one of Delta’s feather toys was laying under the coffee table, left when he had lost interest in it, which then led to her realizing she had left a glass of water next to the book she was currently halfway through. 

The young woman sighed to herself and let out a low groan as she balanced herself up along the arm of the sofa to push the small bulb back into its socket, creating a consistent row of glimmering light against the ivory hue of the wall. She then grabbed the glass of water and brought it over to the kitchen to dump out, simply wiping the rim clean with the bottom hem of her towel and setting it on the corner of the stainless steel sink for later. 

Her eyes landed on a smudge of grease along the black surface of the induction stove top and took a dry paper towel to wipe it clean. She didn’t know why she was so obsessed with all of these small details. Jake wouldn’t notice, and if he did, he wouldn’t care. 

Syd flipped off the lights as she left the room, turning the corner to walk down the hall towards her bedroom. She crossed the room and switched on the lamp on her bedside table before she sat down on the edge of her unmade bed. 

Great. Another thing to take care of. 

She sat there for a moment, running her fingers through her damp waves, thinking about what she wanted to wear. Was this a date? Was it just a night with a good friend? If what Sam said was true, about Jake feeling the same, would their night together change things? If it did, would it be for the worst or the better? What if nothing changed at all and she just kept pining after him hopelessly?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and stood up, letting the towel fall to the ground as she retrieved a pair of panties and slipped them over her thighs. Syd grabbed a pair of comfy grey cotton shorts and a black tank top, forgoing a bra for comfort’s sake, and dressed in silence. Still, in her uneasy state, she felt bare. She pushed her arms into the sleeves of her favorite cream cardigan and picked up her towel, tossing it across the room into the hamper beside her dresser. 

After she had completed the task of making her bed and had straightened and fluffed all the pillows to her liking, she reached over and turned off the lamp before she made her way back out to her living room. Delta had come out of his hiding place beneath the record player to lounge on the seat of the sofa and looked up at her with squinty eyes. 

“What do I do?” She asked her feline companion, knowing full well he couldn’t answer her. 

“I really like this guy,” she continued, moving to sit next to him and pull him into her lap. “You know he’s been here before, and I wasn’t in the best shape, but why do I feel so much pressure this time?”

Delta pushed his face up into her neck in response and rubbed the edge of his jaw against hers. 

Syd closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, inhaling the comforting scent of his fur. “He’s so sweet, and caring, and nice, and funny, and kind of an ass but in a good way and-”

The sharp rap of a knock on the door stopped her dead in her tracks. Delta’s ears perked up at the sound, causing him to leap off of her lap and go perch atop the side table near the door to inspect the visitor. Syd stood up from her spot and walked a few steps over, twisting the brass knob and pulling back the door to reveal Jake standing there with various grocery bags in his left hand and a sheepish grin on his face. 

His hair had been freed from the braid he had worn at work earlier that night, air-dried kinks in his grown-out waves shining in the soft glow of the lights inside her home. He had worn a pair of simple black jeans with that same white Church of Rock N’ Roll T-shirt he had on that night in the pillow fort, and had completed his look with a light denim button-down, completely unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. 

“You gonna let me in, or just gawk at me?” A teasing smirk plastered his face while he gently pushed past her as she moved out of the way to let him in. 

“I wasn’t gawking, by the way,” she chirped as she closed the door and followed behind him towards her kitchen. 

“Whatever you say, Slip,” Jake chuckled, setting the bags on the counter.

He got to work setting out the various ingredients he had picked up, presumably earlier in the day. Oranges, sprigs of rosemary, salmon filets, red potatoes, and various bottles of different herbs filled the space on the kitchen counter by the time Jake was done. He hadn’t mentioned what he planned on making, he just said it was simple.

As Syd stood back and watched him get to work, she instructed him on where the pans and cooking utensils were. She thought about offering to help, but honestly, the young woman survived off of instant noodles and fruit. There was a reason she took the serving position and not one in the kitchen at the diner.

Jake, however, seemed to move effortlessly around the space. The way he simultaneously pressed the buttons on the stove to the correct oven temperature while setting two baking sheets on the stovetop was unlike how Syd had seen him work at the diner. He moved fluidly to chop the potatoes and arrange them spaciously on one of the baking sheets before he lightly shook the different seasonings over them, coating them evenly.

As he popped the first sheet pan into the oven, he turned to face Syd who was still leaning against the edge of the counter with an eyebrow raised as she watched him. He shot her a grin and leaned back against the marble ledge, matching her position. 

“What?” He questioned, his eyes searching her features. 

Syd crossed her arms over her chest as she quipped back. “I would ask if you need me to do anything, but…” She let her eyes dance over the cutting board that was decorated with orange slices and trimmed herb stems. “You look like you have all of this under control.”

“Why don’t you put on some music, and I’ll get this all in the oven? I have a surprise for you,” he stated. 

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” Syd laughed and turned on her heel to head towards the living room. 

While Syd was busying herself with looking through her small record collection, Jake paused his task of preparing the salmon to dig in his backpack for the bottle of Chardonnay he had kept in his refrigerator at home during their shift at the diner. He opened the cabinet he had found the cups in before, from that night after Green’s, and pulled out two crystal stem glasses. 

The bottle wasn’t anything fancy. Hell, it was a thirteen-dollar bottle of wine with a screw cap. He just knew the generic dry taste paired well with the fish and Syd would enjoy it after a night at work. 

Jake quickly wrapped the filets in aluminum foil with the oranges and rosemary sprigs and placed them three inches apart on the second baking sheet. When he opened the oven door, he was met with the sound of sizzling olive oil and a wave of heat on his face. He set the pan on the top rack and got to work pouring out the wine. 

Syd came back into the room after the first few notes of a guitar and a steady beat filled the atmosphere around them. She wore a blissful smile on her face as she locked eyes with Jake. Her expression was replaced with a look of contented surprise when she noticed the glasses in his hands. 

“For the lady,” he beamed, offering out his right hand to her. 

“Wine?” She questioned, delicately taking his offer and bringing the glass to her lips to have a taste. “What’s the special occasion?”

“Nothing in particular,” Jake took a sip from his own glass. “Just thought you might like it.”

“That was thoughtful of you,” she replied, her voice soft as she looked down with a sheepish smile on her face. 

The two stood there in comfortable silence for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company. 

Jake studied the beautiful woman before him, taking the time to admire the subtle rosiness of her cheeks, the way she held the body of her glass in both hands. She stood there with her legs crossed at the ankles, her peaceful presence accentuated by the way she softly swayed to the music. The slightest hint of a smile on her cheeks just so happened to reach her eyes more so than it was physically displayed. He was captivated by her existence. 

Yet again, he was alone with her. The feeling of pure infatuation was in the air with every passing second that transpired. The same feeling he had when he was taking care of her that night after Green’s. When he took his time to prepare the pillow fort. When he told her about the special jersey quilt. When he played her that song he wrote about her. 

He thought back to his previous conversation with Sam the night before. His younger brother had gone out to join him in the back lot on his break and had taken it upon himself to dive head first into Jake’s relationship dilemma. 

Jake let out a deep breath and spoke aloud as he set his glass down on the counter. “Hey, Slip?”

She lifted her gaze from where it was transfixed on a spot on the patterned linoleum. “Yeah?”

“I think we both owe each other a dance.”

“I think you’re right,” she smiled, twisting her side to set her glass down behind her. 

Jake stepped away from his spot against the counter and reached out to take her hands in his. The soothing muted melody of Leon Bridges’ “Coming Home” played through the speakers in the next room. He carefully brought her palms up to his neck, releasing them there. His own palms eased their way down to settle on the curve of her hips, his fingertips teasing the soft patch of flesh where the hem of her tank top didn’t quite meet the waistband of her shorts. 

As the pair began to sway side to side, their feet barely moving at all, Syd couldn’t bring herself to keep eye contact with Jake. It wasn’t out of discomfort or embarrassment, but rather introversion stemming from the intimate proximity. The feeling of his fingertips against her skin was distracting in the way it caused ripples of awareness up the sides of her body and goosebumps along the length of her arms. 

It was different from any other interaction she had experienced with Jake before. It wasn’t fueled by a drunken want to have fun and get her body moving. It was created in a space of tender appreciation. It was innocent, it was romantic, it was slow. 

Syd briefly thought back to the week before when the vodka was running rampant through her veins and she had shared a much faster, rushed, heated moment with Josh that almost led to her complete unraveling. She didn’t want to allow herself to go there, to revisit those awful feelings she felt in the aftermath in the midst of such a sweet moment with Jake. 

Jake was experiencing a slew of thoughts in his mind as well. Sam’s words kept replaying in his mind. Quit being a pussy and just do it, he had said. This was the way he had to do it. This was the way he would be able to break the ice and tell her everything he had grown to feel for her in the past few months. 

His nerves weren’t hidden from himself as he tried to play it cool. He had to mentally tell himself to relax, to breathe through the moment as he hyped himself up for what he was about to say. The thing was, he just didn’t know how. 

“Sam bought this album for my birthday last year.” Syd randomly mentioned, pulling him back to the present. 

This is it, Jake thought to himself. 

“Ya know,” he started. “He talked to me yesterday.”

Syd’s eyes widened while she stood wrapped up in his arms. If he wasn’t looking down at her, he would have missed it. “H-he did?”

Jake huffed and let a chill grin display across his cheeks. “Yeah, he told me to get my shit together.”

Syd laughed out loud, wondering about all the possibilities of that statement. “What does that even mean?”

Jake merely shrugged and let out a soft chuckle in response, suddenly doubting his ability to follow through with his original plan. 

Syd stepped just a little bit closer and rested her head against his chest. “I really fucking hate him sometimes.”

“I don’t know how you’ve willingly chosen to be his friend for this long.”

She pulled back to peer up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Willingly?”

He laughed at her mockery. “He’s told me stories about you two. Even before you started working with us.”

Syd shoved her face into Jake’s shirt as she replied, her voice muffled by the fabric. “Oh god, that’s terrifying.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Jake objected, resting his cheek atop the crown of her head. “Especially now that I get to put a face and person to a name.”

Syd was silent as she listened to the gentle hum of his voice reverberating through his chest behind the steady thumping of his heartbeat. 

“I do believe that some of the stories are a bit exaggerated, though.”

Syd’s body slightly shook with laughter in her response. “Sam? Exaggerating? Never.” She scoffed, causing Jake to laugh as well with her well-crossed sarcasm.

“I’m sorry your precious time with your brother is filled with stories about me.”

The conversation came to a pause as the two stayed there within that peaceful moment. Jake snaked his arms around Syd’s back, holding her tighter against his front as they danced, if it could even be called that. He took the silence as an invitation to breathe her in, to think about what he wanted to say, and to actually do it. 

Syd became deaf to the music, instead focusing her attention on the rhythm of Jake’s heartbeat as if it were a soundtrack curated specifically for her. She was glad that he wasn’t able to feel the pulse of her blood racing through her veins. However, she was surprised when the thump thump thumping in his chest started to speed up. 

And then she felt his body shift. 

Jake pressed his lips to her forehead, holding them there for a moment until she realized exactly what had happened. What was said in between the space of his lips and her skin. 

She pulled her cheek away from him and turned her face up to look at him. Not just to see him, but to observe him. Search within his features for the confirmation she needed. 

He simply smiled at her. A small, yet sweet close-lipped smile that led up to the most loving pair of eyes she had ever seen. He released his grip from her waist and brought his fingers up to brush a few stray strands of hair off her cheek, trailing them along the curve of her ear and tucking them into place there. 

“Everything is irrelevant next to you,” Jake muttered, so low, that Syd wasn’t even sure if she heard him correctly. 

Syd’s jaw went slack as her bright emerald eyes gazed up at Jake. He moved his hand back to settle his palm along her jaw and ran his thumb gently across the plane of her cheekbone. 

He moved on from the sentence as if it hadn’t been uttered at all. “He also told me something else.” 

“Jake…” Her voice was but a whisper, barely audible except for the space between them. 

“He said I needed to figure out what I wanted. And to do something about it.” Jake let out a deep breath he wasn’t aware that he had been holding in. “So I guess this is me finally doing something about it.”

And then it happened. 

Jake let his head fall, tilting Syd’s face up to meet his by his hold on the soft line of her jaw. Their lips met, and for the first time, Syd felt wanted. Not wanted in a way that would leave her heartbroken after one night. Not in a way of immature infatuation that would inevitably fade as soon as it arrived. Not even in an empty sense of passion that most kisses exuded. There was more to this. 

There were months of mutual desire that spoke against their lips. There was an aching burn of affection and intimacy that seeped through his fingertips as he held her chin. There was a deep sense of craving and yearning in the way his grip tightened on her hip. An even greater sense of weakness and vulnerability in how his breath shuddered as they pulled away.

He was shaking, ever so slightly, as they stood there soaking in the realness of what just happened. He rested his cheek against her temple and held her impossibly close. He just hoped she would say something to break through the nerves and panic that he was feeling. 

“Jake, I-“ Syd stuttered. “I didn’t think you wanted me… like this.”

“Are you kidding?” He pulled away from her slightly to look into her eyes, her brows furrowed together. “You’re all I ever wanted since your dumb ass walked into the diner.”

Syd couldn’t speak as he searched her face for a response, oblivious to the pounding of her heart as it echoed in her ears. 

He liked her. He wanted her. 

The fluttering feeling in her stomach was ever present as she thought about all the sweet little instances that led up to this one singular life-changing moment. All of the moments she thoroughly enjoyed, but didn’t think twice about. All of the moments that seemed insignificant at the time. 

The subtle touches across her back in passing. 

The sheepish grins when she caught him staring through the service window. 

The little giggles and laughs that seemed to be reserved for her, and her only. 

“Syd,” Jake spoke, pulling her out of her mind. “You’re fucking intoxicating and you don’t even know it. Your laugh is the sweetest melody. You have a way of lighting up a room just by existing there.”

He took a deep breath before continuing. “You look down at your hands when you’re nervous. Your eyes light up like a little kid on Christmas morning when you’re excited. You’re the softest, most innocent soul when you’re exhausted and all you do is seek comfort.”

His deep amber eyes darted from her eyes, to her cheeks, to her lips, and back to her eyes again. The way she looked up at him with such an awestruck expression, irises glistening with the threat of tears, lips curling at the corners with the hint of a smile that couldn’t quite make it to the surface… 

Jake leaned down and softly pressed his lips to hers once more, letting them rest there for but a moment. 

“I really like you, Slip. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Syd’s voice was quiet as she replied, “I really like you, too, Jake.”

Their admissions weighed heavily in the air around them, emphasizing the notion that things between them wouldn’t be the same as they were before. It wasn’t nerve-wracking, but rather comfortable, new, and exciting all at once. 

On one hand, Jake felt an insane amount of pressure release from his chest. It was as if he had been suffocating under his growing love for Syd over the past few months, unsure of the sheer strength and power of his emotions. All those nights he had laid awake unable to sleep, scared of what his feelings meant; and more so feared what would happen between them if they ever came to light. 

He often found himself lost in his thoughts on the drive to work every day, knowing she would be there, envisioning her angelic smile, her soft touch, her melodious laugh. He would wonder if she would walk in on time with a glowing grin on her face as she walked through the dining room, greeting the regulars before she made her way back to the kitchen. Or if she would rush into the kitchen in a frazzled state, her hair tied up in the messiest of buns that she probably had slept in, dark circles under her eyes, a tumbler of lukewarm coffee in her hands. 

In his eyes, she was beautiful no matter the day, the weather, if she was giddy and upbeat, or tired and a bit grumpy. He would still tease her just to see that rosy smile reach her big, green eyes, and he would still help her out around the dining room at the end of the shift. 

Jake was so caught up in her. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else needed to. 

She was always so sweet to him. It didn’t matter where they were, what they were doing, or who was around. That heart-warming light that glistened in the depth of her gaze never faltered when he caught her looking at him. 

Through all those long shifts and endless nights alone, he had hoped that she would reciprocate his feelings, yet he wasn’t sure if her tenderness was merely a facet of her personality or her way of displaying her affections. 

Until that moment. 

On the other hand, Jake felt a sense of achievement. He knew Josh had started to grow feelings for Syd, and still, he couldn’t find it within himself to blame his twin. Syd carried herself in such a way that she seemed like the perfect partner for anyone. From his perspective, he couldn’t understand how anyone couldn’t be in love with her.

After that day in the diner when Syd asked him about Josh, he was moved that she had grown to care so much about him. The rocky start to their friendship was undesirable, to say the least, and not just for them, but for everyone around them too. Jake was happy to see that they had mended things of their own accord, but the longer time went on, the more uneasy he began to feel with each interaction he had to witness.

It was like a sick and twisted competition between the twins to see who could win over the young beauty torn between them. Jake didn’t want to take anything, or anyone, away from his brother, but the feelings he had been harboring seemed to cancel that out.

Jake wanted to feel bad. He wanted to feel selfish, as if he had betrayed his twin. However, as he stood there with Syd wrapped up in his arms, he couldn’t bring himself to. The pure bliss was blinding brighter with every small glance she made towards him and every subtle touch of her fingertips against his skin.

Syd’s thought process couldn’t be more different. While she felt an overwhelming sense of peace with the entire situation, it was as if every piece of the puzzle she had been stuck trying to figure out was finally falling into place. She didn’t harbor the fear of finding herself too close to Jake anymore. In fact, his admission granted her the acknowledgment that maybe her definition of ‘too close’ was never really close enough.

She had found a new comfort within her reality, a new place of sanctuary. Her home had always been her own space, something she was more than willing to come back to, but with Jake there, it felt as though it had finally become ‘home’. The comfort came from his rough fingertips against the soft skin of her hip, the warmth that was so undeniably him. It floated through the room around her with the savory scent of a fresh meal and the sound of soft bluegrass music playing in the background. It warmed her heart from somewhere deep within her that she had yet to discover, yet was seemingly coursing through her veins as if it had been there the entire time.

The simplicity of the moment was her favorite. Surrounded by her own things and safe in Jake’s embrace, nothing else mattered except the two of them there, in that singular speck of time, pausing in the peace found within the grand scheme of things. 

The pressure of his palms against the plush space between her hip bones and rib cage.

His chin pushing into her temple, the warm stickiness of flesh against flesh created from the contact.

Her heart was beating rapidly while the kaleidoscope of butterflies threatened to move its way out her throat.

The soft fabric of her tank top brushed against her skin as Jake adjusted his grip.

It was almost as if, at that moment, with her admittance, Syd was inviting Jake into everything that was unequivocally her. Nothing hidden. Not a thing in her life sheltered by the reserve she put up for everyone else, not even Sam.

“How about we sit down to eat, yeah?” Jake’s chest hummed as he spoke. “I’ll make some plates.”

“Sounds good to me,” Syd breathed out, slightly disappointed that she had to leave Jake’s arms.

She took a minute to retreat to the living room and flip the record as the clanking sound of pans resounded from the kitchen. Upon making her way back, Delta had run past her to see what the commotion was about. Jake was using a spatula to remove one of the filets from the sheet pan just as Delta perched his two front legs against the cupboard door below the counter in interest. 

Jake chuckled as he peered down at the curious feline twitching his nose eagerly. “Sorry buddy, I didn’t make enough for the three of us. I’ll have to make it up to you next time.”

Syd found her glass of wine and leaned back against the counter as she watched the interaction. “If you wanted to make it up to him, there’s a cup of yogurt in the fridge…”

Jake’s eyes darted up to meet hers, an excited smile on his face.

“It’s his favorite,” she stated, bringing the glass to her lips.

Jake briefly abandoned his task of making the plates to scour over the contents of the refrigerator. His eyes landed on the singular plastic cup of yogurt that was covered with a bit of cling wrap and held it up to Syd to make sure it was the right one. When she nodded in confirmation, he removed the makeshift cover and found a spoon in the drying rack before he knelt by Delta, who had now moved to sit on his hind legs.

As Syd watched the pair, she couldn’t hide the smile that overtook her features. Delta moved towards Jake with no implication of hesitance as the man spooned a bit of the yogurt out and held it down for his new furry friend. He lapped it up carefully, with eyes closed, and while Syd was nowhere near close enough to hear it, she knew Jake could hear the loud purrs escaping the cat’s chest in pleasure from the surprise treat.

Jake’s eyes never left Delta’s contented face as he ate, a wide grin plastered on his cheeks. Syd couldn’t help but admire how innocent and pure the interaction was. It proved to be yet another invitation from Jake into her space as she shared experiences with him that she had only ever saved for herself.

Once the spoon was licked clean, Jake rubbed his palm along the top of Delta’s head in the flat space right between his large ears. 

“That’s all I’ve got for you, little man,” he muttered as Delta rubbed against his legs and let out a scraggly mewl.

Jake stood up and replaced the clear film atop the container and put it back in the fridge. He resumed his task of placing the filets down on the plates with the potatoes to the side before the pair sat down to enjoy their meal.

After light conversation, stolen glances, and empty plates, Jake and Syd started the task of cleaning up. With their bellies and hearts full, Jake had taken on the duty of washing while Syd dried and put the glassware away. Once they got down to the last plate, Syd reached towards the cupboard to put the piece of ceramic away. Jake had other ideas, though.

In her distracted state, he grabbed the plate from her hand and held it over her head, wearing a shitty grin on his face.

“Jaaaaake!” She whined, leaning her chest against his as she stood on her tiptoes in a fruitless attempt to retrieve the plate.

“It’s not my fault you’re so short,” he teased.

“That’s not fair, and you know it,” she huffed, placing one hand on the side of his ribcage for support while she pushed further into him for leverage.

“I think you may be enjoying this some, yeah?” He joked as his free hand found its way to settle on her waist.

Syd playfully slapped Jake in the chest with the back of her hand, reaching once more for the plate. “Enjoying what? Being bullied by you?”

“Being all pressed up against me.” He shook his head and brought the arm holding the plate past her shoulder to place in the open cabinet. “And it’s not bullying.”

Syd jutted her bottom lip out as she felt a blush creep its way up her neck. “Stop that,” she mumbled, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Sorry, slip,” he sighed, snaking his other arm around her waist to clasp his hands together. “I guess I’m trying to prolong my stay.”

It was all Syd could do to simply look up into his chestnut irises, searching his face for truth in his statement, even though she didn’t have any reason not to believe him.

“I just wanna spend more time with you before I go home,” he muttered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, allowing his lips to linger there.

“Then why don’t you stay?” She had found the words escaping her before she had even realized what she had said. There was no use trying to cover up what she had asked, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. 

She missed being so close to Jake. She wanted to spend the night wrapped up in his arms again, lulled to sleep by his heavy breathing. There was a longing for it after only having spent the night like that just once. 

And Jake missed her. Her sweet, groggy innocence that came when exhaustion overcame her. The way she would nuzzle into his side for more warmth. How their legs tangled together seamlessly in a mess of jumbled limbs.

Syd heard Jake swallow thickly as he nodded his head. He wasn’t nervous, but the opportunity for him to stay the night wasn’t something that he had anticipated. He simply thought that they would enjoy a nice meal together and maybe watch a film after and then he would go home and hopelessly await the day where he could call her his and staying the night would become a normal occurrence for them.

But that was before he had told her how he felt. That was before everything had changed, but nothing had changed at all. There had been an invisible shift in their relationship, something that came with new, unspoken rules and freedoms. Something like staying the night.

He detached himself from her and upon saying that he would be right back, excused himself to walk out the front door of her home. Syd looked around, spotting the half bottle of wine on the counter, and topped off her glass. She quickly downed the contents and spoke aloud to Delta who was eyeballing her from the corner of the room.

“Shit,” she stated, feeling the butterflies flutter in her gut again.

—

Jake stood in the doorway of the darkened room while Syd pulled back the covers on her bed and laid down. She watched him observe his surroundings in the dim light from the lamp on her bedside table. He took note of the tall bookshelf against the wall opposite her bed, lined with rows upon rows of books, the pile of fuzzy blankets and spare pillows in a wicker basket in the corner, the neatly organized desk he had written a note on that one night all those weeks ago.

There were framed drawings hung up on the walls depicting beautifully stippled nature themes mixed with what he assumed were watercolor accents. A verdant, vining ivy grew lush in a hanging planter in the corner, suspended from the ceiling just to the right of the singular large window. A string of unlit icicle lights hung above the wall over the headboard of her bed, as if they were framing the large painting of a forest scene that was hung completely center.

There was a lot he hadn’t noticed the last time he was there, due to the new perspective of the space. It screamed her name in the most peaceful voice, a perfect reflection of the quiet reserve of her existence. Both comfortable and inviting in all of the best ways.

Jake’s eyes landed on her body as she laid atop her mattress, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. The large bed made her look even smaller than normal, her dark hair strewn across the plush pillows. The powder blue hue of the blankets somehow illuminated brighter against her tanned complexion as they threatened to swallow her whole in the soft glow emanated from the singular light source.

He slowly crossed the room to join her, closing the door behind him. The denim overshirt he wore was discarded haphazardly on the back of the desk chair in his venture. He let himself hover over Syd for just a moment to place a tender kiss against her lips before he rolled to the side next to her. In her weary state, she didn’t waste any time curling up to his side. She wrapped one arm around his waist and tangled her barren legs within his, now covered with the comfortable fabric of well-loved sweats.

Jake reached over her body, pulling the duvet up around them. It was easy for his eyes to meet hers as he looked down to see her searching his face. Syd brought her fingers up to gently push the soft strands of hair back off his forehead, seeming to memorize his features as if he would disappear before her.

Jake closed his eyes as he took the serenity of the moment to admire how her fingers felt as they danced along the surface of his skin. How her sweet vanilla scent was so flirtatious in the way that it lifted from the soft waves of hair surrounding her, enticing even. How comfortable and new and normal it felt for the two of them to be there, in her bed, together.

He had only ever thought about this instance, almost regretting that night after Green’s when she asked him to lay with her and he declined. He hadn’t wanted to leave her. God, did he want to stay and fall asleep within her embrace. Now that it was there, a reality curated to sweet blissful perfection, he wanted to soak it all in. Cherish it for all that it was and hope - no, know that it wouldn’t be the last time he would find himself tangled in her sheets with her cold toes tucked between his exposed ankles.

Her gaze trailed along the soft curve of his cupid's bow, up the slightly crooked slope of his nose. She traced along the peaks of his cheekbones as if they were the easiest mountains to climb and finally, grazed her thumb across his brow where she spotted the slightest indentation in the shape of an imperfect circle just above his right eyebrow near the center of his forehead.

She hadn’t noticed it before. In all the times she had been near Jake, close enough to break that unspoken boundary that existed before their admission, she had never been able to steal a glance anywhere else except for those warm chocolate eyes that made her heart race. 

“What’s this?” She softly questioned, using her thumb to trace over the soft divet in his skin.

“Hmm?” He opened his eyes to peer down at her through his lashes. “Oh, the scar?”

“Yeah,” Syd sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth. “What happened?

Jake chuckled, deciding in a split second to mess with her as he absentmindedly ran a palm up and down along her side. “Got that back in my youth.”

“Jake,” She stated, raising an eyebrow at him.

“It’s true!” He countered. “I was a feared man, Slip. No one messed with-” he paused, watching her roll her eyes in disapproval.

Jake sighed in defeat, deciding to give up his act. “Sam broke a ukulele over my head.”

“What?!” She squeaked, shocked at his admission and then letting out a surprised giggle at the mental image that played through her mind.

“I’m really surprised you haven’t heard this story before.”

“Sam told me about the broken window and the toy jeep but-” she looked at Jake quizzically. “A ukulele?!”

“One of his finer moments, I must admit.”

“Tell me about it,” she smiled, urging him to continue.

Jake moved his hand up to the soft curve of her jaw as he thought about where to start, moving the hair off her neck. Syd used her free hand, vacating the planes of his facial structure to fumble around with the frayed cord of his bracelet instead.

“It was back one summer when we were in high school. We were having a cookout with Danny’s family, and I had brought out the uke to the trampoline to kill some time away from everyone else. Big family, lots of noise, ya know?”

Syd nodded, paying attention to every movement of his lips as he spoke, soaking in every word of his memory.

“Well, the week before I had scratched one of Sam’s records when I borrowed it. Sargent Pepper’s, one of his favorites, and I just gave it back without telling him about it. You know Sam…”

“Yeah, I do,” she giggled, imagining his reaction when he went to play the record. “I’m guessing he found out that day?”

Jake chuckled and nodded. “He came out of the house screaming out a bunch of bullshit about how much of an ass I was and yanked the ukulele right out of my hands and bashed me over the head with it. Three stitches, and we both got grounded for a week.”

“That’s intense but… very Sam.” Syd erupted in a fit of laughter as the image of Sam wailing on Jake with the small instrument played into her mind.

“Did you do anything stupid when you were younger?” Jake pondered, watching Syd’s fingers move from his wrist to his own.

“Not really,” she smiled. “I was a relatively quiet kid. One time though, my grandma was baking a shit ton of cookies for Christmas and I ended up sticking my tongue to the bird feeder. My grandpa came outside to get me and he found me crying. She had to come out with a cup of warm water and defrost me.”

“That’s-” Jake cracked up, earning him a soft blow to the chest. “I was gonna say that’s definitely something you would do.”

“Shut up,” she pouted, although the smile on her face couldn’t be hidden.

“Come here,” Jake cooed, pulling Syd closer to his chest. 

She laid her cheek against the cool fabric of his t-shirt, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Jake snaked his arms around her waist, rubbing soft circles into the flesh at the bottom of her spine. Neither were sure how long they laid there like that.

Soft hums turned into slow and steady breaths as their eyes closed and the sweet blanket of sleep drifted over them. There wasn’t a specific time when either realized it, there was just the peace and utmost comfort of the late night soaking in each other’s affection. It was serene. It was happy. 

—

Syd was the first to wake, opening her eyes to a sun-filled sky peeking into the solace of her home. The light illuminated the room and bounced off the walls and furniture. But when she looked down at Jake, it seemed to soak into the tan complexion of his skin, making him more vibrant and enticing than ever. 

He still had one arm wrapped around her while she was cuddled into his side. His fingers still gripped the fabric of the worn tank top over her skin, holding onto her as tightly as he could, even in an unconscious state.

He looked so peaceful. So content.

She basked in his presence as the events of the night before replayed in her mind. The teasing, lighthearted nature of the evening naturally and seamlessly shifting ito something more honest. 

Syd laid there for what seemed like hours watching the soft roll of Jake’s eyes behind his closed eyelids. She traced the scar along his forearm absentmindedly while she watched his lashes flutter as he dreamed. 

Until they opened, his golden gaze warm like honey. 

“Why are you up already?” His voice croaked, husky from sleep. 

“Well good morning to you, too,” she giggled, softly poking his nose with her fingertip.

“Mornin’,” he cleared his throat. “You do realize we have the entire day to sleep, right?”

“I don’t want to sleep,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. “I want to lay here, but I don’t want to sleep.”

Jake chuckled dryly and pulled her closer within his embrace. “That doesn’t make too much sense, Slip.”

“I don’t care,” she breathed. 

She gratefully welcomed his arms as they tightened around her, pulling her arms up to her chest to accommodate the comfortable lack of space. Jake pressed a soft kiss to her forehead as his breath began to even out under the blanket of unconsciousness once again. 

“Did you sleep well?” She spoke, tilting her head back against the pillow to try and see his face. 

The corners of his lips turned up in a sleepy smile. “I am sleeping well, thank you.”

“Jakey-“ she whined, jutting out her bottom lip. “Don’t go back to sleep-“

“Shh,” he hushed as his slender fingers moved through the strands of hair at the back of her neck.

Jake opened one of his eyes to peek at the silly girl in his arms and let out a laugh. “Don’t give me that look.”

“Why not?” She questioned, innocently. 

Jake simply let out a hum in response, letting his eyes fall closed again as his mind wandered. 

He thought of the many lonely nights and early mornings where Syd was inevitably on his mind. Those countless times where his thoughts had grown more… salacious. A stark contrast to the innocent desire for her attention and company. 

The times when he couldn’t control his urges, and the times when he had delved into his imagination while his hands worked himself. It was always that same look that brought him to his precipice - her perfect lips pouted, eyes wide, cheeks flushed. Yet, the only difference was that he seemed to imagine her below him, on her knees, head tilted upwards to look at him through her lashes. With that damn look. 

He thought of how pretty she’d look in such a situation. How polite she’d be, waiting patiently to wrap her delicate hands and beautiful mouth around him. 

And every time he looked at her like that, he had to groan internally and act as if she didn’t make him think in such ways. 

She was incredibly clueless as to what she did to him. And that made it so much more enticing.

“Cause,” he finally answered with a smug smile. 

The vague response seemed to be enough for her, as her mind had already traveled elsewhere since she last spoke. “I want to kiss you. Can I kiss you?”

The only verbal answer she received was a husky chuckle from Jake, if you could even call it an answer at all. He was amused at the fact that she had asked, so nicely, to kiss him. She asked, as if he wouldn’t give up everything in the world to kiss her every second of the rest of his life. 

He pushed gently on her back, a gesture that she took as permission to come closer. She shifted in his arms and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, caressing the soft skin before bringing her lips to his.

Somehow, this kiss seemed different. Their first kiss, as perfect as it was, seemed to have the qualities of a question mark. A gesture that asked for confirmation and acceptance. A sign that he was still unsure that this was all real, that he was really making the move he had dreamt about for weeks. 

Kissing him this morning felt more like the usage of a comma. Something that indicated the expectations of something more. A notion that signified there was an agreement, with much more to come as time passed. That there was a future in store for them both. Together.

Both sighed into the slow, languid kiss. Unhurried, barely moving, just… feeling. 

And when Syd pulled away for air, it wasn’t long before she felt Jake’s fingers in her hair, tugging her back down. 

An exclamation point. This time, the kiss was a declaration, and a proud one at that. An assertion of his sincerity, a promise of his dedication. With this, he was professing his loyalty to the young woman, even though she had him wrapped around her finger for as long as he could remember. 

In his drowsy state, Jake could only focus on bits and pieces at a time. His mind bounced from how soft her smiling lips felt against his, how her body pressed into his from eager desperation, and how she would let out sweet giggles here and there, more when he would return her expression with a sleepy smile of his own. 

Syd, however, felt as if the weight of the moment could crush her down. With every stroke of his thumb across her cheek, she felt like putty in his hands. She wanted to live here.

Inhaling one another, exhaling shaky exhilaration. 

She repositioned so they could be closer, but at this point, she was essentially lying on top of his chest. His heart fluttered under hers, increasing in speed as he moved his hands to the small of her back. He knew she was straining her neck trying to reach his lips, and the new grip allowed him to make a conscious decision to turn their bodies over. 

Jake gently lowered her so she could rest against the soft mattress under them. He braced himself as best as he could in the new position, but he made sure to keep a hand glued to her hip. 

He almost didn’t realize they were no longer kissing. Her hands were still attached to his cheeks, lips still extremely close to his, but they were just there. 

“Was that enough of a kiss for you?” He joked, finding himself more breathless than he anticipated. 

She breathed out a laugh and blushed as she let her fingers trail the sides of his neck to rest at its base. Taunting him with the same pout and whiny voice that drove him wild, she answered with a simple “No.”

He rolled his eyes with an amused huff, shaking his head at her persistence. 

“All I wanted was a couple more hours of sleep,” he teased. Upon hearing another giggle, he placed a kiss on her forehead, followed it up with a peck on the tip of her nose, and concluded the series by claiming her lips once more. 

Syd’s arms wrapped around his neck on their own volition, an absentminded gesture to hold him close. His body weight felt comfortable on top of her, and she was quickly becoming accustomed to it. She hitched a leg onto his hip to make the position more comfortable for them both, but the movement eliminated what little space existed between them. 

It made his grip tighten, and his lazy kisses grew sloppier. And soon enough, he completely gave up on trying to remain focused on her lips. He traveled to her cheek, her jaw, before letting the kiss drop to her neck. 

She sucked in a shaky breath at the sensation, losing herself in the way his hair draped over her and how the cold metal of his medallion necklace pressed against her warm chest. She could feel the soft tickle of his breath against her neck as he sighed, savoring the moment while his lips and tongue explored the skin. 

This was certainly new for them. Sure, the general act of kissing was still fresh, but this… The heavy breaths. The neediness. 

This was uncharted territory. 

As was the first few inches of skin that lay stowed away under her shirt. The skin he dared to let his fingers traverse once their lips locked. A gesture that made her whimper into his mouth. 

He pulled away as soon as the sound reached his ears, only putting enough distance between them that he could look into her eyes. 

She didn’t look as pained as the noise made her sound. In fact, she looked almost excited. Her chest was heaving, panting as she tried to catch her breath from the kiss. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes bounced around Jake’s features. 

It wasn’t until then that he realized just how close they were, physically and emotionally. They both seemed to stare at one another with bated breath, waiting for what would come next. 

“Is this okay?” He whispered, afraid to disturb the serenity with a louder volume. 

She nodded and tugged him down to rid the space that existed between their bodies. His lips, she decided, were addicting. Hypnotic in every way. She was in a daze, and the only thing she wanted to focus on was kissing him.

Jake let his calloused fingers knead into the soft skin that covered her ribs while his lips brushed against her neck. This time, when she pressed her chest to his, he could feel the hardened peaks of her breasts through the thin layers of their shirts. The contact made him groan.

With that, his hand dipped under her arched back, resting on her spine so he could raise both of their bodies. She was essentially sitting in his lap as he relaxed on the backs of his calves. His lips stalled, and he let his forehead fall to rest against hers. 

From the position, Syd could do very little but watch him. She watched his heavy breathing, eyes closed, lips pursed. She watched the hand that wasn’t holding onto her back gripping onto her bare thigh. She watched a bead of sweat trail down the side of his neck and absorb into the cotton of his shirt’s neckline. 

Her heart swelled with love and adoration for Jake, and as her thoughts ran wild, the faster her heart started to beat. She found her hands moving on their own accord, her thoughts soon becoming her actions. However, the lovesick daze she was in made it seem as if she were moving in slow motion. A juxtaposition to the frenzy of her emotions.

As if they were moving through sweet molasses, her hands slid across his shoulders, over his pecks, and down to the base of his shirt. The bottom portion of the garment soon was bunched into the palms of her hands, and she paused, waiting to see how far Jake would let her take things before he stopped her.

But once she looked up from her hands, she found his now-open and half-lidded eyes looking right back at her. She found permission in his comforting glance, and bit her bottom lip as she continued with her motions. 

As soon as his shirt was tossed aside, Jake ran a thumb over her lip, freeing it from her teeth. In one swift motion, he returned his mouth to hers as he leaned her back onto the mattress. 

There were hungry desires resting deep in Jake’s mind, but he easily suppressed them. He usually found himself desperate, greedy in situations like this, and he had imagined nothing would change if he ever had this opportunity. He had craved Syd’s touch to the point he felt famished. But somehow, he found it easy to carry on with the easygoing, relaxed pace that the morning had set out for them. 

This moment was far too perfect to rush, and he couldn’t risk wasting perfection because of recklessness.

Instead, his lips slowly glided from her mouth to her neck. He advanced past her collarbone, using his teeth to move the thin straps of her tank top off of her shoulders before leaving a nip on the exposed skin.

Her grip on his shoulders tightened, and a shaky mewl bounced on the walls around them. She pushed her chest forward, allowing him more skin to kiss, space to work with. Her body was his canvas, and she wanted him to paint it as he pleased.

She was glad when she felt his hands grab onto the hem of her tank, but he hesitated before removing it. His lips soon pressed against the shell of her ear, his staggered breathing sending chills down her spine.

“We can stop if you need to, okay?” He whispered. “Just tell me, and I’ll stop.”

Her face dropped, and an immediate whine erupted from her. “I don’t want you to stop.” She knew this moment would eventually end, but the idea of it ending prematurely upset her. Her hands fell on top of his, hoping that with the contact, he’d continue. She fumbled with his fingers, but they didn’t move. He wouldn’t, not until she gave him her consent.

“Shh,” he purred, making her urgent hands slow. “Tell me you understand.”

She sighed, finally heeding his sweet voice. “I understand.”

His lips grazed against her temple. “Good girl,” he muttered, applying a final kiss to her head before he lifted the shirt off of her torso. 

She didn’t have time to feel self-conscious about her stripped body before Jake’s lips reattached to her, this time in the valley of her breasts while his large hands worked against the sensitive buds of her nipples. His touch, as well as his praise, had her mind in a lovesick daze. Her fingers danced in his hair as she squirmed underneath him. He was worshiping her, declaring her as the idol of his dedication, with every kiss and lick against the pebbled flesh. 

He spent an insurmountable time there before leaving trails of kisses down her soft stomach to the waistband of her shorts. His fingers hooked under the elastic, and shudders of anticipation were released from them both. Within moments, she was completely bare before him.

She was gorgeous. She had always caught Jake’s eyes, in every way possible. Even in her work clothes, smudged and dirty from a day’s toiling at the diner, she was nothing but beautiful to him. But with her here, like this, she was ethereal. The vulnerability of it all. The trust took for her to let him get to this point. It made him fall in love with her, much more than he had ever fallen for anyone.

The more he admired her, the more his heart raced. He wanted her, in every way he had ever imagined, but he was devoted to making this about her.

Jake bent back down, kissing the tops of her thighs as he kicked his pajama pants off. She watched him fervently, letting out a sweet, delicate giggle at his excitement. Once he was rid of the garment, he shifted to lie on his stomach, between her legs and with a firm grasp on each hip.

Things didn’t progress for a while. Instead, they lay there, gazing at one another with glossy eyes and lovelorn hearts as he placed a few extra kisses along her skin. She continued to run her fingers through his messy head of hair, letting the thoughts of him - and the realness of the situation - add to her arousal. 

His stare was heated, yet loving, and the slightly condescending nature of it made her softly giggle to herself.

“What?” Jake asked with a curious grin.

Syd shook her head and laughed again, louder this time. She unconsciously bent her legs, only realizing after the fact that it put his face that much closer to where she needed him most. 

“Nothin’,” she spoke with that shy smile never leaving her lips. She felt a little silly for thinking such pure thoughts in such a compromising position, so she was hesitant to tell him what was on her mind. But when he chuckled against her skin, his lips on the inside of her thigh and extremely close to her heat, she realized that the apprehension was unnecessary.

“You’re just… really pretty,” she murmured, still stroking his brunette hair.

He laughed again, but not the kind of laugh that he’d make after a lame joke or seeing her trip over nothing. A laugh that was used as a response when words failed. A laugh that showed her just how hard he had fallen for her. She even thought she could see a new shade of pink on his cheeks.

“Says you,” he retorted. “Look at you.” His lips were back on her thighs. Inching closer and closer as he spoke each word individually. “So. Fucking. Beautiful.”

And then he paused. Face hovering over her wetness. Looking up at her through his lashes. Watching her as she waited with her breath stuck in her lungs. Letting his warm breath fan over her as he spoke the last word.

“Mine.”

The eye contact paired with the slow, languid stripe through her folds could’ve been enough to make the dam break right then and there. The anticipation of this moment had made the sensation that much more intense. She groaned at the feeling, moaning a single word of agreement as she let her hips buck up to his mouth on their own accord.

“Yours,” she choked out. 

At that moment, something shifted between them. Everything unspoken, everything once denied, had finally come out. There was a newfound sense of plurality. A ‘them’. 

His tongue rolled against her, and he kept a bruising grip on her hips as she writhed beneath him. It wasn’t long until she felt that familiar pressure building up, all thanks to Jake’s doing.

He was able to read her. From day one, he had always been able to look at her and know when to speak and when to not. When to joke and when to take things seriously. When she needed to be left alone and when she needed an extra push. Like now. 

He was reading her arousal. He paid attention to each movement, each noise she made. He was reciting it in his head, not only to document it to his memory, but to know what exactly made the coil tighten. And once he found it, he didn’t deviate from it.

With every fluttering glide of his warm tongue, she was a mess of breathless cries and bliss. Syd could feel herself being pulled under, and she was quite literally pulling him with her by her ever-tightening grip on his hair. Out of fear of hurting him, she released the locks from her hold, choosing to fist the tangled bedsheets around her. 

That’s exactly when he let go of her hips. She could feel the burn of where his fingerprints once were, but it was easily forgotten about as she focused back on the pleasure he was granting her. One of his hands had become busy alongside his mouth, thumb circling her clit while he lapped at her entrance. The other hand had reached towards her, palm up and outstretched, asking for her fingers to intertwine with his. 

She smiled a lopsided grin at him as she obliged, squeezing their palms together while he brought her much closer to her peak.

“Jake,” she breathed in between shaky moans. “I-I’m gonna-”

He cut her off with a low groan, the vibrations rattling through her. The noise was out of approval, his permission for her to finally let go. He wanted to see it. He needed to. 

He needed to see if she looked just as he had envisioned she would. He needed to hear the sweet moans and whimpers that he had imagined would accompany her heavy breaths. He needed to hear her say his name.

Once she dissolved into the pleasure Jake had brought her, she had trouble holding back the tremors that wracked her body. And as he looked up at her, he was able to see her pursed, swollen lips form a perfect ‘O’ as her back arched and her grip on his hand tightened. He watched the soft skin of her chest - flushed just as he had imagined - rise and fall with each deep, shattering breath. Her eyes were squeezed shut, head was thrown back against the plush pillows behind her. He felt as if he was witnessing the essence of her for the first time, all over again.

Eventually, her praises and sobs turned to satisfied hums as he coaxed her through her climax. Her eyes opened, immediately searching to make contact with his once she regained focus. She seemed frantic, eager to see him after her heightened state, and desperate to know that this wasn’t some vivid dream of hers. But once her wide, emerald eyes locked on him placing extra kisses along her pubic bone, she sighed with contentment. She adopted a crooked, almost fucked-out smile and used their clasped hands to pull him towards her. 

His lips were back on hers in an instant, and Syd could feel the smug grin on Jake’s features as she tasted herself on him. His hands wiped against her forehead, pushing the strands of hair that had become even messier than when she awoke. He pulled away from her, sitting almost completely straight up, but still stroking her cheeks with his thumbs as he gazed at her in awe. He wished to capture this moment, to see her like this when he craved her touch, when he craved her. 

She looked back up at him with the same expression, but there was still a hint of desire that lay laden in her bright eyes. She wanted more, and he was more than willing to give it to her. 

He slowly retreated to the edge of the bed, prolonging the eye contact as he stood. Syd watched his fingers dip under the elastic of his boxers, pausing before he removed them to see if there was still any ounce of hesitance in the young woman’s eyes. 

When he found none, he slipped the fabric down his legs and began to crawl back into his initial spot over Syd. 

“Wait,” she breathed, making him cease any and all movement. He looked at her with an eyebrow raised, wondering if he had crossed some boundary with her. However, a bashful smile flashed briefly across her lips before she continued. “Just… let me look at you for a minute.”

His cheeks pinkened at the request, but he did as she said. He waited, sitting with his legs tucked underneath him. His hands were placed gently on her knees on either side of him as he awaited her approval to continue.

She felt as if she was in a hazy fugue as she tried to take in his beauty at once. He had eased her into it, stripping pieces of clothing away before fully exposing himself to her, but she still hadn’t been prepared to see him for the first time. His muscles were taut, skin a glistening shade of bronze. The sweat that had originally collected in his shirt - now tossed away - trailed down the plain of his torso. It dripped lower and lower, and she let her eyes follow it. All the way to the shaft of his painfully hard cock. She almost tore her eyes away from him, too embarrassed to be looking at him in such a vulnerable state, but she continued, although sheepishly.

Her flustered expression made him chuckle softly to himself. He found it endearing how much she wanted to admire him, yet found herself in a state of mental torment with each lustful glance in his direction. He attempted to bring her out of her thoughts, trailing one of his hands up the silken skin of her stomach, attaching to the pillowy flesh of her breast. A curse came out as a rasp from her throat, and she instinctively arched into the touch of his wandering hand.

He reached under her again, lifting her to rest on his lap as she had before. She sat, wrists crossed behind him, her body wrapped around him in all ways but one, as they looked at each other earnestly. His fingers felt like lead on the small of her back, weighing her down and grounding her in the heat of the moment. The incredibly intimate position made her pulse quicken and her breath falter.

Jake placed a chaste kiss against the corner of her mouth. “Remember what I said, okay? Tell me if I need to-”

“I remember,” she cooed, brushing away the loose strands of hair from his face. “I want this, Jake.”

An honest, grateful smile graced his lips before they shared another passionate kiss. Everything that they had been feeling in private, for months on end, was now something they were able to express. And they had much to make up for. 

The kiss broke just as one of his hands detached from her. Syd raised herself as best as she could while he worked to align himself with her entrance. She gripped his shoulders to balance herself, squeezing gently as she felt him push, just barely, into her. 

She winced at the stretch, burying her head into his neck to release a strangled cry while he inhaled sharply against her shoulder. 

“Shh, you can take it,” he husked. “You’re doing so good. Relax, baby.” 

Syd whimpered at the encouragement, feeling her knees buckle as her breathing turned to shallow pants. She swallowed hard, attempting to rid of all the noises that threatened to sputter from her before she sank down onto him. 

“There you go.” His soft voice had turned into something that could only be described as a growl. The praise seemed much more sinful once paired with his ragged, gravelly tone. “That’s my girl.”

He peppered gentle kisses on whatever stretch of skin he had access to, his fingers splayed on her body as they massaged the doughy form of her hips, while he waited - ever so patiently - for her to adjust to him. 

And when she was ready, she pulled back from the crease of his neck to watch him as she slowly began to rock her hips. 

It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Sure, she had her fair share of hookups and failed relationships, so she definitely was no stranger to the act in general. However, she had never felt this whole, this complete, with any other partner in her past. This moment meant so much more to them both due to the connection they had made and the affection they had garnered for one another. 

“F-fuck,” Jake murmured. “You feel so fucking- shit.”

He had seemed to be in control of himself, and the situation, for the entirety of the morning, but with the sensation of being buried inside of her, he was quickly losing himself. He released her hips, choosing to lean back and watch her work against him. 

His heavy breathing, fluttering eyelids, and perfectly pouted lips spurred her on and encouraged her to keep the same sensual pace she had started in. His head jerked to the side, almost as if he were shaking his head in disbelief that the pleasure had made him lose his composure so quickly. Syd felt a sense of pride upon seeing him unravel, but he regained his footing almost as soon as he had lost it.

He leaned forward and let his arms circle her waist, holding her much closer and tighter than before. He didn’t change the rhythm or timing, only moved to hold her in his arms again. The angle and depth made her tremor, but he facilitated her movements with each push and pull against her hips. While one arm returned to wrap around his neck, the other dropped to Jake’s arm as she tucked her head into him. She clutched onto his forearm in an attempt to anchor herself in the rushing waves of satisfaction.

The whimpers and moans that escaped from her mixed with the lewd sounds they created together, arranging a beautiful symphony of passion. 

“...Sound so pretty,” Jake panted against her. His hot breath was a precursor to the feeling of his mouth on her once again, sucking and nipping against the skin under her ear. “So, so pretty.”

“Oh, god.” She was quickly falling into the foggy blur of ecstasy. If Jake pulling her hips to meet his didn’t bring her there, his praise and murmurs would. She found herself in a slew of pleads, begging for something she was unsure of. 

With each word, though, Jake seemed pleased with her. And himself. He groaned with each cry. “I know it. I’m right there, baby. I’m right fucking there.”

All she could do was whimper into him. The rolls and snaps of their hips had them both facing the golden gates of release, and they were desperate to get there together. And soon enough, they did.

Foregoing the process of warning one another, they came in unison. She couldn’t see him - the sensation strong enough to make her vision go blank - but she could imagine what he looked like. She could tell his head was tipped back by the way his hair fell across her arm and how his moans reverberated on the walls and ceiling around them. She imagined his muscles were tensed based on the grip on her hip and how his thighs felt taut under hers. His eyes were probably closed simply because of how loud his groans became. Even in her imagination, he was a masterpiece. 

Jake began to guide her hips in a slower - yet still sloppy - manner, bringing them both down from their peaks to avoid overstimulation. And as soon as he could, he reattached their lips in a passionate, loving kiss. 

As they stilled their movements, they sat there for a beat longer, embracing each other as if they had lived seas apart for eternity. 

Without detaching from the young woman, he leaned her back so she was resting on the mattress once again. His lips paused in the kiss, as he removed his softening cock from her. He moved his hands to cup her cheeks, still warm from exertion. When he pulled away to look at her, eager to meet her lopsided smile with his own, he instead found a watery-eyed Syd looking back up at him.

His smile dropped as he spoke with haste. “Hey, hey, did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?” 

Her lips turned upward as a tear slipped. Her soft palms met his hands still on her cheeks as she answered him, her voice raspy. “No, Jake, I’m okay. I just-” she paused. “Thank you.”

He breathed a laugh at her, confused yet relieved that she wasn’t hurt. “Thank me? Slip, I-” 

“I can’t believe we’re here. You’re here. With me.” Her explanation was nothing close to expressing each of the racing thoughts she had, but she hoped it put his mind at ease. 

His bright smile returned, and he swiped away a stray tear that had fallen along the pink of her cheeks, kissing it for good measure before he spoke. 

“And I’m not leaving.”

—

In the late morning sunlight, Jake lay there, drawing simple lines and curves against the surface of exposed skin on Syd’s back with his fingertips. The languid movements of his hands had ultimately lulled her back to sleep, yet he couldn’t bring himself to escape the moment of serenity he had found after they had made love. Her sleeping form curled up against his body, one leg hitched over one of his thighs and entangled with the calf of his other leg. The back of her small hand adorned with a mixture of silver and golden rings rested against his collarbone, just next to where her face tucked into the curve of his neck. 

In the span of the last several hours, his adoration for the girl wrapped up in his arms had somehow grown tenfold. Everything he had ever dreamed of had come to fruition but was more perfect than anything he could have ever imagined. The past weeks of innocent flirtatious banter had turned into whispers of sweet nothings and loving stares in each other’s arms. 

Something more true than either of them had ever experienced with another person made itself known in the nonexistent crevices between their bodies as they came to journey that sweet sense of blissful euphoria together. The event was more than an escapade into the adventurous throes of lust.

It was the cementing connection that bound them together by words unspoken. Everything that was and had been between them had surmounted to the possibility of everything that would be. Infinite. A future for them. 

Jake laid there, lost in his sweet, sweet love drunk haze, watching as his fingertips circled the soft ball of Syd’s shoulder. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was. In all of their encounters, all of the little moments he was fortunate enough to share with her, led them to this exact moment in time. 

A moment where Syd was blissfully unaware of just how deeply he felt for her. Words couldn’t begin to describe how both insanely fascinated and stupidly comfortable he felt around her. It was as if he had known her his entire life, yet every little detail she shared had opened a new and exciting window of opportunity for him to explore what made her… her. 

There wasn’t a marathon, a rush, a chase to get to the finish line. Their friendship, their relationship was a casual stroll in the park on a breezy spring day. It was the relaxed feeling of watching a movie beneath a carefully constructed pillow fort. It was a slow dance in the kitchen at two o’clock in the morning just because the moment called for it. 

Jake couldn’t pinpoint the moment he had started to fall for Syd. Hell, after that night on the curb, he wasn’t sure if there was ever a time when he wasn’t falling for her. She made it so easy for him. 

The barely there freckles dotted across her nose. 

Her bright, forest eyes gleaming with kindness. 

The lilting laughter that escaped her lips and caused her eyes to wrinkle at the outer corners. 

How she would sit and stare off into space with her tongue grazing her upper lip, daydreaming about God knows what. 

The soft touch of her hand on his arm when she passed by. 

The look in her eyes when they were alone. 

His mental list could go on forever.

 Infinite. 

There were so many things that Jake could think about that made him admire her. Things she did that held power over him he wasn’t so sure that even she was aware she possessed. 

A sharp knock on the door caused Jake to jump slightly, immediately pulling him out of his reverie. He chose to ignore it. It wasn’t his place to answer a door that wasn’t his. He risked taking a peek at the sleeping woman in his arms. She was still sound asleep, completely unfazed by his sudden movement, only curling tighter against him.

Another knock. 

Jake sighed to himself, beginning to unravel himself from the mess of limbs gingerly, as to not wake Syd. He figured it was a delivery driver dropping off a package she must have ordered, assuming that by the time he went to retrieve it, the worker would be gone. 

He successfully managed to get out of the blankets as Syd rolled over into his warm spot, hugging the pillow he had used to her chest. A sleepy smile crossed her lips as she adjusted herself for comfort, the tanned planes of her curves seeming to glow in the sunlight that streamed in through the window. 

Jake tore his eyes away from the beautiful sight in front of him and found his sweatpants in an inside-out mess on the floor at the foot of the bed, exactly where he had left them. His boxers were lost somewhere in the mess of tangled sheets, but he couldn’t care less as he fixed the clothing and pulled the fabric up over his hips. 

After carefully padding across the floor and quietly opening the door, he made his way around the corner towards the entryway. Delta was hiding beneath the record player in the corner, ears perked up in high alert at the visitor. Jake smiled softly in passing, enjoying the cat’s quirks for a second. 

“What do you think she ordered, buddy?” He whispered to the feline. “Better be a new toy for you, right?” 

He chuckled at his joke and reached forward. The doorknob felt cold against his palm, and he knew the spring air would warm the room as soon as he opened the door. The domesticity of the situation - on top of everything that had occurred in a day - made his heart feel content. Walking through her space comfortably, answering her door, possibly spending a moment’s conversation with her local mail person. It was almost surreal, too good to be true.

However, he had forgotten what day of the week it was. 

Mail services don’t run on Sundays.

------------

part 11>>>

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[ncisfranchise-source]

Acamera sweeps under Sydney Harbour Bridge, to the right is the Opera House and then we’re at Fleet Base East in Woolloomooloo. It could be an ad for Tourism Australia, except soon there’s a dead US sailor floating in the water. It’s not so much, “Where bloody hell are we?” more “What the bloody hell is going on?”

Now, it’s here. And for that, you can thank AUKUS, the contentious nuclear submarine deal between Australia, the US and the UK, which provides a great excuse for getting NCIS agents on Australian soil.

“That’s what the show is piggybacking off,” says Todd Lasance, who plays Australian Federal Police agent Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey who is called in to investigate the sailor’s death. The catch? Because the sailor was a US citizen, NCIS also has jurisdiction over the investigation.

Mackey (Swann) and JD (Lasance) face off over who gets to investigate the death of a US sailor in NCIS: Sydney.

Enter Olivia Swann, who plays NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey. “She’s a very straightforward woman, she’s here to get a job done,” says Swann. “She’s here to do things her own way, she follows her own rules. So having to join forces with these larrikin, laid-back Aussies is not her ideal way of working.”

It’s a big swing and one I have been so curious about since the show was announced last year. Back then, it seemed ludicrous – how could NCIS even operate here? Would every dead body have a major tourism landmark in the background? How many times can they visit Bondi? Would they throw another shrimp on the barbie?

NCIS: Sydney is a throwback to the kind of police dramas we used to do so well, such as Rush, starring Jolene Anderson, Rodger Corser and Callan Mulvey.

But, you know what? It works, it really does. It’s zippy and light on its feet, with a distinctive Australian twang. It’s a throwback to the type of police action dramas we used to do – Police Rescue, Water Rats and Rush. Yes, it’s still slightly absurd that the AFP would team up with the NCIS crew and that AUKUS would be the catalyst, but it’s the back end of a rank 2023, so let’s go with it.

“With NCIS, the audience comes for the crime, but stays for the characters and chemistry,” says Lasance. “And that is very true for our series. It centres around interesting and well-rounded and nuanced characters, and when they come together, it’s just exciting stuff. They’re flawed people, but also so lovable.”

‘I wonder why they haven’t done this?’

Part of the enduring popularity of NCIS is that it’s the opposite of every cult, word-of-mouth, zeitgeisty show ever made. It’s easygoing, almost daggy TV. Everyone knows how it works – mysterious death in the first five minutes, some office banter, investigation of said death, a scene or two in the autopsy room or forensic lab, a red herring, then a chase, suspect is caught, more banter and cue credits. And repeat.

“My very first reaction was: I wonder why they haven’t done this already?” says O’Neill, who created the ABC series Les Norton.

So he watched a lot of NCIS – the Washington original, plus the Los Angeles, New Orleans and Hawaii spin-offs – and realised that far from creating a carbon copy of the “mothership”, each spin-off worked because it had its own identity.

“They expanded the universe, but they never made the same show twice,” says O’Neill. “So the original show, which is now in its 20th year, is a really unique show. It has its own swagger, its own tempo, its own tonality. But when they came to make NCIS: LA, it wasn’t the same show. They really took a step to the side and a couple of steps in a different direction to make sure that it stood out as a distinctive version of a show that shares a lot of DNA, but isn’t the same.”

And while these building blocks may seem creatively restrictive, O’Neill found them liberating.

“There is an expectation from the audience that this is going to be a quirky family, where you have these archetypes that exist within it,” says O’Neill. “Fortunately, we have those archetypes in Australia, and they’re not really the same as the ones that America has.

The other ingredient O’Neill wanted was humour. Whereas the US versions are cheesy, at best – Mark Harmon couldn’t crack a smile if he tried – NCIS: Sydney burrows into the culture clash between the US and Australia. The slang for yanks, “septic”, has to be explained, as does our coffee. There’s drag queens at Bondi and mustachioed hipsters in Marrickville, while a chase through a narrow terrace house is one you won’t find in Los Angeles.

“What I think makes this show such a behemoth – someone was telling me they reckon there’s four and a quarter trillion minutes of this show that has been viewed around the world since its inception – is that at the core of its success is the fact it’s fun. There’s a wink to it, there’s a twinkle in its eye,” says O’Neill.

‘Just be still’

One of the other main building blocks of NCIS is that each episode opens with a death – the sillier the better (one recent one had hairy body chunks falling from the sky onto a child’s birthday party). But what I want to know is, how do you play a dead body?

“You know, I had the same question,” says Michael Jupp, a stunt performer who was asked to, well, play dead. “I’ve done my fair share of acting and stunt work, but I’ve never played a dead body. So the first place you go, as anyone, is Google, to have a little look at the experiences of other people. I asked a few of my actor friends, and they’re like, ‘Just be still’.”

Jupp’s character has a fairly pedestrian death by NCIS standards – a drug-induced heart attack – but it required him to stagger while running before eventually collapsing. He then had to lie on the ground for a few hours while filming carried on around him.

“You’re just still and you try not to breathe with your chest, so you don’t look alive,” he says. “And if you do need to take a breath, go deep in the belly.”

Jupp also spent a couple of days on the autopsy table. “They make you super pale, with purpley dark bits under your eyes to make you look a bit lifeless,” says Jupp. “Then, because it was an investigative autopsy, they had to put prosthetics on my chest. The first thing we did was the sewn-up version, with the big Y-shape and stitches.

“Then there was a prosthetic change, where they put the open chest on. And that was like a massive build, from hip to shoulder. I couldn’t move at all, they were like: ‘If you move, it’ll break the seams and we’ll have to start again’.”

And the best thing about being a dead body? “It was a lot of getting paid to lie down,” says Jupp.

‘All sorts of sticky situations’

If O’Neill has his way, there’ll be plenty more opportunities for actors to play dead. “I can imagine a couple of [future] episodes shot up in Darwin,” he says. “There’s a huge port up in Darwin that houses a continual marine rotation unit, of anywhere between 3000 and 4000 Marines who get in all sorts of sticky situations up there.”

What about other US TV franchises, does O’Neill see a future with Law and Order: Melbourne perhaps?

“Melbourne can have Law and Order and then we can keep NCIS: Sydney and we can just co-exist,” he says. “The world is in a pretty dark place right now. I was just talking to one of my story producers and she said it’s actually good to come to work and be thinking of stories that are slightly escapist, where you can tell a story and wrap it up and actually love the people for what they’re doing. And I hope audiences feel that.”

NCIS: Sydney streams on Paramount+ from November 10.

#ncis sydney

[everythingeverywheresblog]

Stars and Migraines - Chapter three

Chapter three

Sydney's POV

“I don’t like to be followed around. I’d appreciate it if you kept your distance.”

Encouraging words to hear from one of your bosses on your first day, am I right?

Probably not, but that’s what I got from Daniel. Well, that and the occasional blank stares every time I entered a room he was in for at least two hours. I didn't know how to act, what to do. The smiley, giddy man I was used to see from afar or from everywhere on the internet was not what I came across and that sort of...freaked me out, got me all disoriented and stuff.

Today I am prepared, though. I know what's the deal, who I have to deal and I know exactly how to handle it. It's my job, my dream, a huge career opportunity and a personal milestone and I won't let some minor bump to get in my way.

In the McLaren motorhome, I have a small space that I'll call my office as we travel around the world. It's not a room, it's not separated by any walls or anything. It's more like, part of a desk in a small corner of a much bigger room that's used for more important things than what I go to do there.

Yet I enter the motor home with a wide smile and a greeting for anyone who happens to walk by me.

Well, everyone but one.

He wants professional, I'll give him professional.

I walk by my office to set it up and leave unnecessary items I've been holding to make room for the important shit, and I make my way to Daniel's room. As a decent human being that I claim I am, I knock on his door and wait for the "Come in" before I walk in.

"Good morning." I greet, testing the waters with my sweet voice and welcoming smile but when all I get is a low hum, my voice drops an octave and looses the color in it. Everything on me screams professional; my facial expressions, my movements, even the way I stand in his room.

I'm not hurt by the way he came across yesterday; anyone could have a bad day, especially people like him with packed schedules and cameras pointed at twenty hours a day. He has every right to want to be distant.

That's just my way of showing him that I am not interested in anything but doing my job, which is keeping him out of trouble from the media and making sure he's everywhere on time.

"I left today's schedule on your desk and if you're ready, we can head out for the interviews."

Daniel nods his head as I talk him through his tasks but stops once he hears me talk about the interviews.

"I thought the media stuff was done."

"It's the first qualifying session of the season, Mr. Ricciardo. People are excited." His whole face sours.

"My name's Daniel." He says and walks past me.

"Alright."

- - - -

And Daniel Ricciardo is on pole! The Aussie is back on top for the first Qualifying session of the year. I mean, who doesn't love that?

Fist pump in the air, driving with one hand at 250 KM/H, hearing the cheers from every single fan calling his name.

That's gotta be heaven.

Daniel jumps out of is car and everyone can see his smile even from under his helmet. It's not a race, so he doesn't run to his team. He can do that tomorrow. Now he takes off his gear, calmly walks to the people wearing orange behind the barriers, and lets them hug him and slap his back.

That girl is there too, recording everything with a phone and smiling. His press officer, or...social media manager? He doesn't know what she does, doesn't even know her name. Damn, that's rude. She's here congratulating him and he doesn't even know what to call her.

Daniel doesn't let himself get distracted for too long, walking off to shake hands with the other drivers that got into the top three and then to complete his media duties after giving the interview as the official pole sitter of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

One step closer.

- - - -

I lead Daniel through every single media pen and am I astound by the way he manages to give honest, unique answers for the repetitive questions they shoot at him; all the while he holds back on spitting anything I told him not to.

It's fascinating how he hasn't given me the time of day, too. He seems to be throwing smiles everywhere there's a camera, a person wearing papaya orange or his merch. Even opposite team members get more attention from him than I do.

Still, I keep professional despite the fact that I'd like to stick him very hard on the shoulder with my pen.

"Hey there, lovely." At the sound of George's voice I stop dead at my tacks resulting in Daniel stumbling into me. He looks up from his phone and glances at George and I.

Meanwhile, my smile happens to grow ten times bigger and I throw myself on my friend's open arms. "Black suit looks good on you." I tease him as he lets me go.

"Well, I wish I could say the same about you. Orange makes you look pale." I chuckle at the same time Daniel lets out a scoff. "How's McLaren treating you?"

I don't hesitate to answer. "A dream come true, you know that."

Daniel behind starts to tap his foot on the ground and I take that as my que to end my short conversation with my George and head to his room. So, with a small smile and a quick see you later, Daniel and I start walking again.

Once we enter his room I keep a safe distance, deciding to stand directly on the threshold of his door as I read to him some key points of tomorrows schedule and suggest some neutral answers that wouldn't make headlines; in a bad way at least.

But I get interrupted midway though my speech.

"Where do you know George from?"

His question startles me. Not only is it most likely that he's been ignoring me the whole time I've been speaking, too lost into his own thoughts I presume, but it dawns on me that he really has no idea I have been working in Formula one for over three years. Sure, I haven't changed the way the sport works and my name isn't paraded around, but I believed my work was something special.

Maybe it's the last crumb in the motorsport pie, but it still makes me feel like I belong here and that I had done and could do great things.

But two words from him and that's all gone.

"I worked with him." Is all I say before I go on. Now my defenses are on and my voice seems more curt, and my eye contact holds no softness.

I don't know how he did it, how he managed to make me feel so shit in so little time, with minimal effort. Maybe I've given him too much power, considering how highly I valued him since his arrival at McLaren.

I need to get my shit together, and I need to do it now.

------------------------------------------

Author's note: Action is coming soon I swear 😭 I just want to ease into it, plus I'm nervous.

Soon tho.

#f1 #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo fic #dr3 #f1 imagine #imagines #f1 fic #daniel ricciardo x oc #daniel ricciardo fanfic #f1 one shot