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beauvibaby · 3 years

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single mom – j.benn

a/n: this was a super random idea that just came to me, well really it was the grocery scene but it just clicked so

Your daughter, fast asleep on your lap, her head resting on your chest, you let the tears fall. You shifted her off of you and into her small bed, tucking her in before rushing out of the room, not wanting to wake her with your cries. You left her door cracked open, just how she had insisted she likes it, your mind racing back to the conversation you’d just had with her.

“I want daddy!” Jade shrieked at you, throwing her stuffed animal–from her father when she was first born–down onto the ground in protest. You looked at the three year old in warning, “Jade, honey, it’s time for bed.” You tried to push past the subject, you knew it was the wrong thing to do, but you had a long, exhausting day at work and you didn’t have the patience to have the conversation with her again that her father wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. He seemingly decided that she was suddenly too much for him, leaving her at your fathers house with a letter for you and then disappearing entirely. You knew, when she was born, it would only be a matter of time until he abandoned her, already blaming you for getting pregnant. “I don’t want you! I want daddy.” She snapped, not only shattering your heart, but also making you grow frustrated. “You don’t say things like that, it’s mean, you hurt my feelings.” You told her as calmly as you could muster, she huffed, but didn’t say anything as you continued pulling out her clothes for school tomorrow. “Mommy, I’m sorry.” She whispered after a moment, clinging to your legs, you nodded down at her, not trusting your voice for a moment.

You trudged to your room, finally being able to remove those constricting work clothes. An office job, which you hated, but it was the only thing that worked with the hours you needed for Jade. You cried yourself to sleep that night.

***

“How much longer mommy?” Jade complained from her spot standing on the side of the cart, “we just need your snacks and then some cereal.” You assured the fussy girl, knowing she hated going grocery shopping with you. “Do you want fruit snacks or–Jade?!” You had only turned for a few seconds, to see what they had on the shelves, but now she was gone. “Jade!” You called, eyes darting around the aisle, you yanked your purse out of the cart, abandoning it in a panic of searching for your daughter. You ran up and down the aisles, trying to figure out where she could have gone. Cereal, the cereal, you turned around and all but ran to the other side of the store, praying and hoping that somehow she had found her way there. Your prayers were answered as you rounded the corner and you saw Jade standing beside a fairly tall man, “Jade!” You gasped, running over to her, yanking her up into your arms quickly. “You can’t do that, you can’t just walk away from me like that!” You rushed, not even noticing the guy standing there holding the exact box of cereal you were going to be buying. “I’m sorry, mommy.” Jade looked at you with wide eyes, never seeing you like this, because she’s never pulled a stunt like this.

“Umm, excuse me?” The man spoke up, making you turn towards him, Jade still being in your arms, “yes?” You answered him, trying to calm your racing heart. “I believe she was looking for this.” He held out the box of cereal, shaking it lightly, Jade smiling at him with her biggest smile. “Mr Jamie got it.” She told you, looking proud of herself for having help in getting the cereal off the top shelf. You let out a soft breathy laugh, “thank you, Uh, Jamie, I guess.” You spoke lightly, “anytime…” he trailed off, not knowing your name. “Y/N.” You called over your shoulder, beginning the trek to where your cart was hopefully still left.

Once you’d gotten back to your cart, you put Jade in it this time, despite her protests, “no, you did the one thing you’re not supposed to do.” You told her, not giving into her pout, she huffed and dramatically crossed her arms, not speaking to you for the remainder of the time in the store. She only spoke when you buckled her into her car seat, before loading the groceries into the trunk. “Can you play frozen?” She asked sleepily, you nodded at her tired face, turning the car on and playing the frozen soundtrack off of your phone, her eyes shutting as she hummed along to let it go, falling asleep nearly instantly. You glanced up at the sound of someone walking past, Jamie, of course, he didn’t notice you as he walked, but that was short lived as he walked up to the truck parked next to your car. You stayed silent, only smiling when you felt him looking over at you, “it’s not really polite to stare you know.” You quipped, shutting your trunk lightly, not wanting to wake Jade. “I wasn’t staring.” He defended, smirking softly, leaning against the side of his truck, his small amount of groceries already packed away. “Mhm, thank you for the cereal by the way, I’m sorry she bothered you.” You responded genuinely, realizing you were too worked up in the store to thank him. “It wasn’t a bother, she’s adorable.” He assured you, smiling as you glanced into the car at her. “She is.” You agreed, finding yourself wishing you had more conversation to have with Jamie.

“Have a nice day, Jamie.” You bid him goodbye, shoving your cart into the designated spot, “you too, Y/N.” He responded, eyes lingering as you got into your car.

***

Jamie watched as Tyler looked at him with a shocked expression, “you met a girl?” Tyler gaped at him, the two of them talking while getting ready for the game, “no, well yes, but no.” Jamie stumbled over his words, not even entirely sure what to say. “It’s a simple question, yes or no?” Tyler smirked, halting his process to give Jamie his full attention. “Ugh, ok I was at the store, and this little girl came up to me, asking if I could get her this cereal, then her mom came running around the corner looking for her.” Jamie explained, “they were both so sweet, and her mom, she was just stunning.” Jamie added, feeling his cheeks turn pink. “Did you get her number?” Tyler asked, as if it was so simple. “No! I don’t know if she’s got a boyfriend or anything, I can’t just assume she’s a single mom.” He rushed, making up excuses, “she was younger than me for sure too.” He added, as if that would be reason enough to not have an interest in you. “Oh come on, who cares if she’s younger, if you see her again, by some miracle, you have to make a move.” Tyler insisted, and they left the conversation at that.

“Dad, are you sure she’s not too young?” You asked for the hundredth time, adjusting your daughters loose jersey, he had become your go to babysitter, and he insisted on taking you and Jade to a hockey game, saying that she would watch them on tv when she was with him. “She’s not too young, she’s going to have a blast!” He laughed at your concern, taking her from you, he had gifted you both with plain, non player jerseys for the team, your father wasn’t loaded by any means, but he had worked hard in his life, and now that your mother had passed and it was just him, he sold the house and got a small condo, using the extra money to buy himself tickets to see his favorite team. “Alright, alright, let’s go.” You gave in, following him into the arena.

The seats were better than you had thought they would be, and you couldn’t deny how it made you a little extra excited. “Go down to the glass, see if you can get her a puck.” Your dad insisted, sending Jade with you, once you reached the boards, you lifted her up to be on your hip, they were doing warm ups, some of the players not bothering with helmets, one in particular caught your eye. He’d skated by so fast, but something about him looked vaguely familiar, you couldn’t place your finger on it, but you pushed it to the back of your mind as you told Jade to wave at them, hoping one of them would be kind enough to send a puck over for her. A few of them went by without even noticing you guys, then the familiar one came to a stop, ice flying up, making Jade giggle, she shocked you by knocking on the glass, causing him to turn around. You went wide eyed, and so did he. You watched as he held up a finger in a hang on motion, Jade laughed, watching him skate quickly across the ice, doing something quickly behind the bench. He rushed back over, making sure to send some ice up again for Jade as she grinned, he pointed to her through the glass and tossed a puck up in the air, you caught it and gave it to her. Then he pointed at you, tossing another puck over, except this one had writing scribbled on it.

“Can I have your number?”

You read it with a blush, looking up to see him shifting his weight back and forth on his skates, you nodded, sending Jade to your dad who was standing in the aisle watching, she rushed over to him, excited to show him the puck. Jamie tossed a silver sharpie over to you, a grin etched onto his face, you motioned to the puck, and he nodded. You wrote the number down, sending the sharpie and then the puck back over for him, giving him a short wave as he skated back to the bench, a few of the guys nudging his shoulders. Your dad was watching skeptically, “I’ve been told that you know, Mr Jamie.” He quoted your daughter, smiling fondly when you turned pink. “We met in the grocery store.” You went on to tell him the story until the game started, all three of you getting sucked in to the sport as it went on.

Once your dad had dropped you and Jade off at your home, you were exhausted, and carrying her up the stairs to your apartment was only more tiring as the elevator was currently out of service. Jade didn’t make a peep as you laid her down in bed, a smile on her sleeping face, you kissed her forehead lightly, “sweet dreams, baby girl.” You whispered.

Your phone vibrated on your nightstand as you got ready for bed, an unknown number on the screen.

“I’m glad Jade liked the puck, you could definitely pay me back by going on a date with me.”

It was a bold move on his part, but you didn’t mind one bit. You read the message three times before coming up with your response,

“Wouldn’t I just owe you more after you pay for me?”

Your smile widened as the three dots came up right away, you couldn’t help but bite your bottom lip in anticipation.

“I have a feeling that time with you will be priceless.”

If you weren’t already daydreaming about him, you definitely would be now.

***

“Are you sure?” You asked your dad for the third time since he got here, Jade happily eating her dinner while you two talked just out of her earshot, “I’m sure, you deserve to go out and have some fun.” He assured you, “she’ll be fine, worse comes to worse, you can say you had dinner with Jamie Benn.” Your dad added, smirking at the end. You lightly whacked his shoulder, “thanks for having faith in my ability to have a good date.” You joked, earning a deep laughter from your dad. “You’ll be fine, honey, now say goodbye to Jade and get going!” He pushed you towards your daughter, smiling as she looked up at you with a messy smile. “Where did you learn to eat?” You teased her, squatting beside her, wiping her face with a napkin, “kiss.” You demanded with a laugh, grinning as she pecked your cheek. “I love you.” You told her, getting a muffled one in response as she continued munching away on her food. “Promise you’ll call me for anything.” You pleaded with your dad as he pushed you out the door, “yes, I promise, have fun.” He shut the door before you could continue, giving you no option but to head out for your date, your nerves growing with every minute closer you got.

“Y/N!” You heard from across the parking lot, your head snapping up as you slid your purse onto your shoulder, “hey, Jamie.” You called as he approached, a smile etched onto his face. “You look great.” He grinned, looking over the dress you’d chosen, a casual dress, nearly maxi length with a light floral print. A Jean jacket over top. “Thank you.” You closed your car door as you spoke, “you look great too.” You complimented him, smiling as he offered his hand as you stepped up the curb. He shot you a toothy smile in response, opening the door to the restaurant, a cliche first date, but the effort he put in was very much appreciated. You couldn’t say in full honesty that you’d ever been taken on such a proper date, Jade’s father had really been your first true relationship, and it wasn’t the best at times. Or ever, really. “Two please.” Jamie spoke to the hostess, you had zoned out slightly, taking in the slightly eclectic look of the restaurant. Jamie pulled your seat out for you, only making you blush more. “Thank you.” You whispered as he took his seat across from you, “of course.” He smiled, picking his menu up, peering over it at you as you both browsed silently. You shifted a little nervously as you looked at some of the prices, Jamie glanced up at you, unsure if he should ask if you were alright. “So, what’s good here?” You asked, breaking the silence, he let out a laugh, setting the menu down. “Can I be honest?” He raised an eyebrow at you, your head falling into a cautious nod, “I’ve never been here before, some of the guys said I should take you here.” He looked a bit pink in his cheeks, you bit your lip to stifle back a laugh, “you know, Jamie, I’m perfectly fine with more of the typical burger and fries type of place.” You giggled, watching his smile falter, before it widened again, “let’s go.” He abruptly stood up, his chair making a noise in the quiet restaurant. He rushed you out the door, laughing the entire time as you looked at him in shock.

“We could’ve eaten here, I wasn’t trying to be–“ “Y/N, just live a little, I’d much rather go get a burger than whatever was on that menu.” He cut you off with a grin, “well,” you paused, fishing your keys out of your purse, “I do know a great little hole in the wall place a few blocks away.” You grinned at him, watching as he matched your look. “Shall we?” “We shall.”

“Thank you, Jamie, I had a great time.” You smiled up at him as you stood between your cars, he reciprocated the gesture, “so did I.” He mumbled, “we should do it again sometime.” He added, watching as you nodded slowly, easing his nerves significantly, “I’d like that, a lot.” You trailed off, meeting his eyes, you could tell that he saw the concern on your face. You hadn’t done this yet, since Jade, and now you weren’t sure how it would work. How long did you date before you introduced him as something other than just Jamie? What if you never made it that far? What– “Can I kiss you?” Jamie interrupted, chuckling when your jaw dropped for a moment, not expecting him to be so abrupt. You barely finished whispering a yes before his lips were on yours, his hands on either side of your face, you melted into them, your hands resting on his sides as you kissed him back. He let out a sigh of content as you pulled away, “yeah, we’re definitely going to have to do this again.” You mumbled, laughing along with him as he was caught off guard by your comment.

***

That was three months ago, somehow the two of you had been making it work in the middle of his busiest time of year, Christmas had just passed, and it was finally time to introduce him to Jade, properly, as your boyfriend, not just as the guy you’d met in the grocery store. “Where are we going?” Jade asked, holding your hand tightly as you walked with her through the tunnels that you quickly learned to maneuver, Jamie having you come to a couple of games so far, and insisting you come down afterwards. “You’ll see.” You assured her with a giggle, she bounced happily beside you, eyes going wide as she saw Jamie leaning against the wall, she’d seen him a couple of times, but totally oblivious to what was happening between the two of you.

“Jamie!” She shrieked, releasing your hand and running over to him, he easily squatted in front of her, smiling as she gave him a little hug. “Hey, Jade.” He murmured, glancing up at you as she began rambling about her day. “I like your shirt.” He told her when she finished, and she looked down to the stars jersey you’d slipped her in to, the same plain one your dad had gotten her, you on the other hand, had on your Benn jersey. Something Jamie had insisted on the second you two decided this was a serious committed relationship. “It’s just like the one you wear!” She told him, as if he didn’t already know. “Wow, that’s crazy.” He gasped, looking at it closely, as if it was new information, she laughed girlishly at him. “Jade?” You questioned, kneeling beside Jamie, suddenly terrified that your three year old would shame your relationship. “Jamie and I are dating, so you know what that means?” You asked her, Jamie glancing between the two of you. Jade tilted her head to the side, “that means you love him.” She answered, as if that was the correct answer, you smiled at your daughter, glancing over to Jamie, you hadn’t said it to him yet, but you were certain that you were in love with him. He stayed silent, but the grin on his face told you everything you needed. “Does that mean we’ll live together? Like you and daddy used too?” Jade gasped, suddenly excited at the idea. This time you were the one who stared and Jamie spoke, easing any nerves you had, “hopefully one day.” He assured her.

Jade was watching a quick video on your phone while you spoke to Jamie before the game, “I think that went well.” He shrugged, not really as concerned as you had been. “It did.” You sighed, hugging him quickly, knowing he had to get going, “Jamie.” You got his attention, cupping his jaw and leaning up to kiss him. “I love you.” You whispered, slowly stepping away from him, “I love you.” He grinned, “gonna play great now that I know that.” He shot you a wink, before going on to score two goals that night, one of them being the game winner.

Taglist: @vinceduhn @makarsy @kempe @literarycharleton @josty @mrs-ana-wayne @kiedhara

#Jamie benn #imagine #imagines #Jamie benn fic #Jamie benn imagine #Jamie benn blurb #Dallas stars

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theonetheycallhannah · 3 years

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The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter 20: Second Assist

Characters: Captain Logan “Sy” Syverson, Shane Benton (OFC), various other original supporting/secondary characters

Summary: Shane reunites with friends and family, hashes out some feelings, and gets real with Sy. Can their relationship survive her trauma? And the threat that still looms above them?

Romance and Smut Abound HERE!

Word Count: 4500

Warnings: Mention of rape, alcoholic beverages, violent imagery…feels out the butt.

Author’s Note: You guys are so splendid and beautiful! I can’t thank you enough for your support and encouragement to finish this piece. First, welcome to new readers! I know poor Henry’s injury and subsequent physiotherapy has driven some of you here, and while I’m sorry for him, I’m glad I can consider myself something of a pioneer in this particular genre and provide you some help for your newfound thirst. To my OG readers, it is to you I owe this entire work, parts written and incomplete, and I hope an eventual book deal. I mean to mention you in my acknowledgements, should this ever reach a willing publisher. You’ve inspired me so supremely that I cannot quantify it, even with the words I hold so dear.

Since my last chapter was posted, we’ve said a relieved goodbye to 2020 and a tentative hello to 2021. To be honest, this year has started out worse than last year. Lots of bad weather in my area this winter, my sister is currently on her way to a new life in another state, and my grandmother, the last grandparent I had, passed away in February. Those last two things have been especially difficult to shake off and recover from, both coming to fruition pretty suddenly. Amongst all that, I’ve been pretty distracted by my other fandoms, especially Marvel, and I’ve been reading a killer book series that I’m utterly in love with. (The Throne of Glass novels by Sarah J. Maas. 10/10 recommend.) But I knew I needed to get back into Shane and Sy’s story, especially given the new and rekindled interest in the subject matter. In all honesty, I’ve had most of it written for months. It’s just been a matter of finishing it off to set up the rest of the story.

I really hope you all enjoy Chapter 20, Second Assist, and would love your feedback and notes. You are all so important to this story, and your notes, reblogs, and comments are cherished. Thank you so much for reading! Love from Hannah!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism. This is an original work by me, Hannah. Please reblog if you wish to share. Please do not repost either in whole or part, as the work of anyone but myself. Thanks so much for reading!

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If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@

Shane woke in her warm bed, late morning sun streaming in through her sheer curtains, the heavier drapes parted to let in the light. She wished she'd remembered to close them before now. She really was not ready to be awake.

She was sore. Achy. Her sleep had been fitful and full of shadowy nightmares and muffled screams. Beyond that, she didn't try to remember images or events. She knew the general premise of the dreams. It would take a lot of time, effort, or a miracle to make her forget those traumas she'd been through in the last week. Not even forget. She knew she never would. But move on from them. Accept them. And heal from them…even that seemed a mighty obstacle. One she was not sure she could surmount.

Through the open bedroom door, she could hear Lynyrd Skynyrd and the clanging and sizzling of pans, and she could smell bacon and freshly brewed coffee. Sy had left the room, but had not, it seemed, gone far. She gingerly sat up, stood from the bed, and donned her robe as she walked out into the hall and down the corridor to the kitchen.

The sight before her warmed her heart. There was Sy. In only his boxers, daringly frying the notoriously dangerous breakfast meat. Upon her entry to the kitchen, she could also smell pancakes, and she thought syrup, as well. He seemed to be warming a bottle of the maple unction in a pot of hot water. He turned as she stepped on a squeaky floorboard, and grinned widely at her.

"Mornin' sunshine." And she was struck by the irony of someone with such a radiant smile calling her sunshine. Especially when she didn't feel much like beaming. But she couldn't help return the expression, even through her pain.

"Mornin' bear. Did you go to the store?" She knew she couldn't have any bacon in her fridge, and she doubted her eggs and milk were still good at this point. But she also couldn't think that he would leave her for any reason.

"Nah, some of the guys brought over some provisions. Matt worked on your car all night, too, and filled up the tank. It's as good as new. He and Nate brought ‘er over as well as the groceries. I just had ‘em get stuff I knew your family wouldn't be bringing later. They've had tons of food given to them this week, and they're ready to share. You should have seen your mom loading me down with sandwiches and chips and whatnot when I visited them."

"I still can't believe you met them. I really wanted to introduce you personally." Shane's face fell. She would never be able to get that back. She wanted to cry. Sy had poured her a cup of coffee and sat it in front of her with her favorite creamer.

"Darlin' I’m so sorry. I had to talk to them."

"I know." she sniffed. "I'm not mad. Not at you. Just…"she didn't want to say Elliott's name. "I'm disappointed that the experience was stolen from me." That so many things had been stolen from her. By that monster. There was no other way to describe him. Sy growled. As if he could read her mind. He really just knew her well enough and shared her thoughts.

"Well, don't worry, we'll have a nice dinner with them one of these days, and we can pretend. Sound good?"

"Yeah, and I can feign nervousness." she laughed.

"And I'll pretend too. That I'm scared to meet your dad." he chuckled. "What if he threatens me with his shotgun?"

"I'll pull the ol' 'Daddy, no, I loooooove him!' line, as I throw myself between you!"

"That oughta work." he laughed and kissed her on the forehead as he stepped toward the stove and flipped a pancake.

As they sat eating their late breakfast, Shane's mind wandered. Nothing had changed on the surface, but everything was different now. This cozily mundane breakfast with her boyfriend felt like an out of body experience. As delicious as it was, as wonderful and comforting as it should feel, her guard was up. Even through her amiable façade. She was not the person she was two weeks ago. She was not the same woman who said goodbye to Sy at the base. Maybe that was the real transformation. Maybe that was why nothing felt normal. It wasn't the world, but her own self coming back into it.

"Shane?" Sy asked, gently, but it felt like he was speaking through a megaphone directly into her ear. She was so startled, she nearly dropped the half full mug of coffee that was paused midway to her lips. A bit sloshed out onto the table and splashed her shirt.

"Shit!" she chided herself. It wasn't a big deal, but she felt stupid jumping at the sound of her own name.

Sy reached for the closest towel, hanging from the oven handle, grabbed it and started for her clothes with it. She stopped him. But she couldn't think about why the intimate act made her uncomfortable.

"No, don't, it's fine. These clothes have seen better days, anyway." She pulled the towel from him and began to mop up the small puddles of coffee around her plate.

Sy seemed to note the stains already present on the shirt, as if trying to divine their history. She was something of a messy eater, so the battle wounds of many a barbecue, spaghetti dinner, and hurried breakfast peppered the now off-white SATB club tee she'd gotten her second or third year in college choir. She thought back to a huge room with high ceilings. White, cinder block walls, flecked tile floors, a beautiful, glossy, black baby grand in front of a long whiteboard with black lines to resemble sheet music. She thought about the mnemonic device she'd learned to help her remember what notes appeared on each line, and in the spaces between them. She pondered the deeper meanings and implications of these devices. EGBDF…every good boy does fine. She thought about the "good boys" in her life. She knew many. Her dad, her brother Ethan, Sy, obviously, her many male coworkers and friends…and honestly they did far better than "fine." They were wonderful. But she was letting the "bad boys" she'd encountered dictate her mood. Permeate her psyche. Tear her down. She didn't want to be like this. Then FACE came to mind, and above their purpose of indicating the notes between the lines on the staff, they called her to action. To face these newly minted demons with all the strength she knew she possessed, and she too would "do fine." But as with almost all actions, this was easier said than done.

She felt a warm presence on her left hand which had paused it's torture of the now coffee-infused kitchen towel. Sy's hand was squeezing hers gently.

"Shane." he uttered, barely above a whisper this time. She looked at him through tears that she had not realized had formed. He continued.

"Shane, what can I do, darlin'? I'll do anything."

"Babe, you're doing everything you can, and more. This…this is all going to have to come from me. I…don't know when I'll be myself again…" she paused, tears streaming now. "I'm…I'm different."

"You're not though." he reached for her face, but she pulled away.

"I am, damn it! Sy, I was…" Words had power. And the one she was thinking of had more power than she thought was warranted. She knew that uttering it would take away it's power…and yet mustering the courage and strength to actually do so…seemed impossible. She took a deep breath, and disassociated herself from the statement, even though it was about her own past.

"I was raped." She refused to cry. She felt it all again. She had never said the words. She had never thought it necessary. Everyone understood. Sy, his friends, and she was sure her own loved ones had made the connection. But she knew she needed to say it now to drive home the points she was about to make.

Sy, looked at the table, nodding, not needing to be told in so many words something he already had surmised from the clear evidence. He remained silent. She went on.

"I love you, Sy. I have since the day we met, on one level or another, and I believe that I always will. But I…right now I can't be a proper girlfriend to you. I can't…be with you, touch you, be touched by you, in the way we used to be. In the way you deserve…and I don't know when…or even if…I ever will. Not that I don't want to. That's ALL I want in the world. To go back. To be the woman who fell in love with this…incredible man. To make love with you, but…I can't."

Sy's eyes were full of tears, their predecessors already descending his round cheeks and disappearing into his thick, dark beard.

"Sy, I don't want to lead you on and keep you tied to a relationship with no life in it. You deserve someone who's whole. Someone who can be a fully invested partner for you, and not this broken, damaged--"

"You stop that, Shane. I won't hear no more of this kinda talk. Y'hear? You're my girl. My woman. My person. No matter what. You gotta know I'd never leave ya just cuz you aren't ready for sex again. You don't think that I would, do ya?"

"Well, you went to Virginia…you took that job…knowing the distance it would put between us. Literally and figuratively."

"Biggest mistake of my life." Shane raised her eyebrows in surprise as Sy elaborated. "I couldn't focus on my classes without wishing you were there. Wishing I could team up with you for discussions and hand to hand combat training…that thought got me a little too excited, if you catch my drift." He smirked, pulling a sheepish smile from Shane. "Then in that forest. I dreamt about you every night. I thought of you constantly. I could barely breath sometimes, I missed ya so damned much. I was an idiot. I was insane to think that I needed anything other than you. Any MORE. There IS no more. You're it. You're the MOST! The most important thing in my life."

The declaration hung like vapors in the air, more felt than seen. Tangible yet ethereal.

"And when I found out that you were missing…I was…well, I think I looked like death…and not warmed over. You can ask the program director I met with after I got the news. She could tell I was just sick over it. And as I thought about it on the way home, pieced things together, started thinking about who'd taken you, I got murderous. Shane, I have been in dozens of battles, skirmishes, firefights, you name it. War. But…the sheer bloodlust I felt thinking about what you could be going through…I've never experienced anything like it. Everything was red. Everything. For days. Until I saw you, alive. And then it went red again when I saw the fear and damage on your face." she could tell he was doing his best not to talk about the farmhouse and that basement, but she still flashed back to the moments before and after his appearance there. The moments when she simultaneously prayed to live and hoped to die.

"You don't owe me anything, Shane. I just want you in my life, and I don't care what your presence looks like. Romantic, platonic, or somewhere in between. I'm here for you. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Shane felt the urge to wrap her arms around her boyfriend, but could not seem to move more than one arm to place her other hand on top of his. She hoped the gratitude and love behind the small, but heartfelt gesture landed. It was all she had in that moment, no matter how abundant her affection.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shane's family's arrival was a complete blur to her. It was joyous, tearful, and the happiest she'd been in a long time. The moment she opened the front door for them, she was surrounded, engulfed with hugs from her parents and siblings. They stood in their affectionate huddle for several moments before Peg waved Sy over with marked insistence. He'd been standing by, observing happily, but not wanting to intrude on the familial reunion.

When they finally dispersed, John asked the two younger men to help him bring in groceries. The women headed into Shane's bedroom for a more private setting in which to talk. Shane filled her mother and sister in the best she could given the rawness of the wounds left on her mind by the events.

She leaned against the headboard cuddling with Gabby while her mom rubbed her feet. She had insisted on doing this thing that had always comforted her children, and made them feel much better when they were younger.

"Well, I'm very proud of you, pumpkin." The girls both looked at their mother, who rather uncharacteristically hadn't spoken in some time. Shane was nonplussed. Peg elaborated.

"You survived something that many women don't. You're talking about it now, which even more women don't. You may think you're broken, but you're just a tree damaged by a storm, but standing stronger than ever." Trust her mom to lay such wisdom on her. When she felt like giving up. When she just wanted pity. When she could only see defeat. Her mother had always found a way to encourage and buoy her and show her the victory.

"Mom's right." Gabby affirmed, and it was Peg's turn to be nonplussed, as the two women, though similar in so many ways, never seemed to see eye to eye. "It's true. Shane I've seen a lot of women come into the clinic in shoes very much like yours. And trust me…some of them…they don't make it to this point. You've got a long way to go before you're fully recovered, don't get me wrong, but you'll get there. You have us. And you have Sy."

"And then there's Sy." She diverted. "How am I supposed to plan any sort of future with him when…" She looked at her mom, and hesitated. Peg rolled her eyes.

"Shane, I know what the two of you get up to when you're alone. You don't have to be shy with me."

"Still…" she took a breath and spoke. "When I can't bring myself to…sleep with him?"

"Look at him, you're kidding, right?" Gabby chided, insensitively, but recanted at the pained expression on Shane's face. "Sorry, sis. Trying to lighten the mood a touch. Too soon. But seriously, I don't think this reluctance you feel will be permanent."

"And even if it is," Peg took over, "that man is out-of-his-mind in love with you, Shaney." She kissed Shane's toe before putting a sock on her foot. "He almost seems to worship you. Now, you know how I feel about using that term outside of religious context, but that is exactly the kind of love I want for you. Devout, and unconditional."

"But, mom, I can't--"

"Did you hear me? I said 'unconditional,' sweetie." Peg interrupted. "No matter what. No matter the obstacle. No matter the distance. No matter the circumstances. Love unwavering. That's what Sy has for you. I've seen it in him. Trust the momma."

The insistence her mother placed on trust had always ruffled Shane's feathers. Gabby's too, who she could feel stiffen slightly beside her. But Shane, for once, really wanted to trust her mother, hoping against hope that she was right. And that she, herself wouldn't screw up the best relationship she had ever been in or was likely to ever be in again.

The girls had begun talking about some of the coworkers who'd brought food in the past week, and Peg couldn't resist remarking on the character of her favorites and judging the ones she didn't care for…oddly enough, getting more or less, the correct measure of them, as Shane saw it.

After what must have been an hour from the time they'd arrived, they heard a knock on the slightly ajar bedroom door. John poked his head in.

"Ladies, we've put a casserole in the oven, and completed various manly projects around the house--"

"Oh, daddy, what projects?" She cringed. She hated that the men had felt the need to "fix" things.

"Babe, your guest bathroom had not one, but two leaky faucets, your kitchen table seemed to be more of a teeter-totter, and half the light bulbs in the living room were out. Among other tiny things. You're welcome." he smirked his crooked smirk so similar to her own, and she returned it as if he was looking in a mirror.

"Thanks, dad."

"Anyway, lunch is almost ready. So, when you've finished your confab, let's eat."

Dinner passed amiably, Shane found a reserve within herself to allow some quasi-normal behavior, as long as you didn’t look too closely. She was talking animatedly with her siblings, making their parents and Sy laugh riotously. Shane noticed some odd looks passing between Sy and her father, but chalked it up to paranoia. She wished at least Gabby and Ethan could stay, but Heather would be over soon, and she deserved her own dedicated time. Shane wanted to give that to her.

She said her farewells to her family with promises to visit them the next day, and at least one more time before her siblings went back home, if she could work it out.

Sy was so wonderful the whole time. Standing by her, a hand resting lightly on her shoulder as they waved goodbye to the departing vehicle. He made her feel so safe. They went into the kitchen and cleaned up from lunch. Well, Sy cleaned. Shane was texting Heather about when she'd be over.

"Heather says she'll be here in about a half hour. She's picking up wine and pizza." Shane told Sy without looking up from her phone. She could see out of the corner of her eye, though, that he had just closed the dishwasher and was selecting a cycle.

"Sounds great. Do you want me to get out of here? Give you guys some time, one on one?" He asked as he dried his hands, wet from preparing dishes for the machine.

She thought about it, and shuddered. She played a scene in her head that startled her. In her mind's eye, she saw Sy leave and then moments later heard a knock on the door. Presuming it was Heather, she opened the door with abandon, only to see Elliott standing there under a flickering porch light, smirking maliciously at her and ready to overpower and abduct her again. She shook the thought from her head, but remained uneasy as she answered his question.

"Uh, no. Thanks. I'm sure she'll want to talk to both of us. She likes you." Shane grinned softly at Sy in an attempt to mask her trepidation over the thought of him leaving her alone for any period of time. She thought it had worked.

"Okay, well, whatever you think, sunshine. I don't wanna get in the way." He was wiping down the countertops. She felt so impossibly full of love for him, she was starting to wonder how she hadn't yet burst with it. She couldn't bear the thought of holding him back from a fulfilling relationship. He deserved everything she couldn't give him right now. And she knew she should make him leave her. Cut him loose. But she was, as she'd been since she'd met him, a weak woman. She couldn't stand the thought of being without him. Of him no longer being hers. And somehow worse, of not being his, herself. She would always need him for so many reasons, not least of which being her love for him. Maybe one day, she'd recover from this trauma, and be able to be who he deserved. To give him what he needed.

"You're never in the way, bear." She walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed him as tight as she could. He placed a loving hand over hers, sighing and smiling, though she had no visual proof of the latter. It was just a feeling.

Heather's greeting was no less exuberant than that of Shane's family, but it was more joyful and less emotional, even though she was immensely relieved to see her best friend after so long. They talked as if no time had passed, and Shane mustered up the dregs of her former self to have one more interaction for the day. Thank God it was Heather and not someone who would require more. She wouldn't have it to give.

"I am so glad you're okay, Shane! Things around the clinic have been bleak as fuck. Susan is loosing her mind, Anita is beside herself with concern, and the rest of us just plain ol' miss the hell out of you. And not just because of all of the overtime everyone has been pulling to get your patients seen."

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize…wow, I'm awful. I didn't even think---"

"That you'd be missed? Think again, sister. The place would fall apart if you ever really left. But don't feel guilty. It's the least everyone can do, and they've all said it themselves. We all love you, and know that you'd do the same for any of us if you could at all. Hopefully you won't have to, though!"

Shane nodded, eyes wide in agreement. She wouldn't wish the last week of her life on her worst enemy. On the worst person in the world. Except maybe the people responsible. Tit for tat.

"Well, I'm sorry my absence has caused extra work for all of you." Shane looked into the deep glass of Chardonnay Sy had poured her from the bottle Heather had brought. She felt about as small as the air bubble making it's way up the sloping curve of the stemless vessel. She felt a guilt that she knew was fully void of logic. It made no sense for her to feel guilt for being kidnapped. But she had always had this notion, this nagging voice in her head that told her that her misfortunes were a direct result of her decisions. That she'd inadvertently stepped on the butterfly that resulted in the monsoon she was currently experiencing, and whatever cataclysmic events she would face next.

"Why in God's name are you apologizing for this, Shay?" Heather's tone was kind, but still mildly scolding.

"If I'd never been with Elliott, none of this would have--"

"Bitch, are you a fortune teller?"

"No, but--"

"Soothsayer?"

"No."

"Time traveler?"

"I wish!" Shane chuckled. But she really did wish.

"Have you any real and proven success at consistently predicting the future?"

"I don't, but--"

"No. No buts. No howevers. You had no idea what becoming involved with Elliott could have done. Were there signs, sure. But you can't look on the past as a rubric to judge the quality of your decisions. You know that. You can only learn from your mistakes. And you have."

"Heather's right, sunshine. You really have learned. You look for Elliott's behaviors in mine and shut me down quick if you see 'em. You're not going to let yourself go down that road again. And I'm proud of you for it."

Shane silently worried her wine glass. It was hard to argue with such truth. But it was hard to agree when her own feelings were in such stark opposition. So she did neither.

"Well, I've preached my sermon for the day." she laughed. "I've taken up enough of your time. Oh, your phone. It's in my purse. I think it's fully charged, but I turned it off."

Shane thanked her friend, then Heather hugged them both and took her leave.

"Y'okay, bug?" Sy asked her after what she surmised was several minutes of silence. Minutes she didn't notice as they passed.

"Mmm…" she trailed off.

"Can I do something for ya?" And she really thought about the question. He could probably do a lot of things for her. He could make love to her until she felt whole again, even if it hurt her at first. Not an ideal option. He could probably get them both some new identities and enough money to spirit her away to somewhere her past wouldn't follow. If she became someone new, literally, would she have to bring that old baggage, those old scars, with her? Again, suboptimal. But he could definitely take the source of all grief and turmoil in her life far into the Missouri back country, somewhere not even the hunters would venture, some fallow field or forgotten cistern, and end him. Snuff out his spark of life like a candle caught in a tornado. Spill a fatal amount of his monstrous blood onto the unforgiving earth and send him to the Hell to which he was undoubtedly destined. But did she want that? Did she want another soul as a scar on that of the man she so deeply cherished? He'd say it was worth it. He'd say he'd take a thousand more for her. A million. That was Sy.

"Nothing comes to mind." She lied. And he knew it was a lie, but didn't push it. She was so grateful that he respected her, not for the lie itself, but for the reason she wasn't giving him the whole truth just now.

His phone went off and he picked it up as he stood from his seat at the table. She could only hear that it was Matt, the guy she thought she understood had the car place, before she heard tension in Sy's voice. Even from the next room, she could tell something was wrong, though he was talking too quietly for her to make out words.

She heard him suddenly shout a stream of profanities that he rarely said at all around her, at least, let alone together. There was a bang, and the walls of her kitchen quaked like the tectonic plates beneath them were shifting.

Sy walked back in, his face was red, as were his knuckles. He was shaking an injury out of his hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked, deep concern at his appearance and demeanor, suddenly ominous.

"I need to fix your wall in there." he grumbled, evading, without success. She'd be doing therapy on his hand, next.

"What's really wrong?" she repeated, sternly.

"That was Matt. Elliott's…escaped, somehow. He's in the wind."

Shane's heart became so heavy, she could almost feel it smashing through the kitchen floor and burying itself deep in the cement floor of her basement.

"Oh, God! No! What if he goes to the police!?"

"Fuck that, I'm more concerned about him coming after you!"

The two stared, faces full of equal measures of concern for the other.

Up Next: Chapter 21-Patient Education

#netflix #netflix sand castle #captain syverson #Captain Syverson x OFC #captain syverson fanfic #sigh for sy #henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x reader

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be-ready-when-i-say-go · 3 years

Text

Inked

Still on hiatus. But I found an old piece of writing and I revamped it just a smidge! It was originally published in 2018 on calumh-excess. Which is now deactivated. Hooray for finding pieces!

Calum's been watching Jay for a while. She's cute, talented, but a bit of mystery. Should he really give into her? What will it take for him to admit he has a crush?

Enjoy my masterlist (on hiatus)

______________

He watched her sometimes for far too long. The way her tongue stuck out as she pulled the skin and her hand worked steadily with the needle made it hard for him to resist. Her face always seemed to catch the harsh fluorescent lights and reflect it back so that it twinkled against her skin. A slight sheen, but nothing just of ethereal. He wasn’t even interested in any new ink, not seriously anyway. He had slowed on the ink train, but the shop his tattoo artist owned was a nice place to hang out sometimes. When he wanted to get out of his house but didn’t want to actually go somewhere, he could hang out here, listening to the buzz of the tattoo gun, poke his hand at trying a design here or there. They weren't great. He hadn't considered him this kind of artist, but the shop felt like a second home.

Besides, having her around was a more than welcomed bonus.

He wasn’t even sure what it was about her. She showed up about a year and a half ago, under an apprenticeship. Calum’s artist was unsure of her, much like everyone else that asked to work under him. A hazard of the job, according to the job, according to Calum's artist. However, her drawings spoke volumes; the colors and line work were impeccable. She had talent and knew it without being cocky about it. Well, sometimes she wasn’t. Calum watched her run into the occasional asshole that tried to belittle her; she always put her foot down in those situations. He didn’t fault her.

Today’s no different. When Calum walks in, he greets the guy at the front desk, eyes searching for her. He spots her in the back with her oversized frames creating a small glare over her brown eyes. He never quite got the appeal of the grandma-shaped glasses trend, but on her, they worked. She looked wise but soft. The glass pulled him in, felt like she was seeing into his soul. Maybe she was; maybe the pain made people more vulnerable than they anticipated--entrusting someone, a stranger in some ways, to permanently mark you and not fuck it up. Whatever the reason, looking at her felt timeless. Like she had seen it all, and you are just waiting for you to spill all the secrets.

“You finally going to get some new ink?” Calum’s artist teases.

Calum shakes his head, turning his attention away from her. “You finally took her training wheels off?”

“Your girlfriend’s got mad skills. I couldn’t baby her forever. Jay works hard on each piece, learned fast. Got a steady ass hand and pretty gentle for handling a needle.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Yeah, because you haven’t hardly even talked to her. Go for it, you wuss. What’s the worst she says? No?”

Calum exhales a chuckle. "I mean, the worst she stabs me with the tattoo gun. But considering the ink I'm already sporting, I doubt that's really all that bad.”

“Jay would not do that unless you asked for it, ff course. But really, go on, ask her out.”

Calum glances back at Jay. It’s a nickname. No one in the shop calls her by her full name. The only reason Calum heard it was when a client came asking for her. Jay was quick to correct them.

She wipes, clearing excess ink, before dipping back into the small cup. Jay smiles up at her client. Calum's sure they appreciate the reprise. Getting tattoos weren't always fun, but bearable enough to forget about it and get more.

Calum turns his gaze away. “I recommended you to a friend,” he says, hoping that he’ll escape the teasing. It’s not likely to happen. But at least he tries to minimize the ridicule.

"I appreciate it. Are they a first-timer?"

"A second-timer, but they're visiting town and want some new ink. I figured best not to fuck them over."

The two men laugh before Calum's escorted back to look through some new designs. Just in case something sparks his interest. Calum's visit is supposed to be short, but there's not much else on his to-do list for the day. He could kill a few hours here.

When Calum comes out from the back, after spending too much time pretending art was ever a talent of his, he looks for Jay again. She’s not in her corner, nor is she at the front. Calum shrugs, figuring she might have gone for lunch, or home depending.

As Calum walks to his car, he checks his phone. Nothing major's happened.

“Leaving so soon?” A voice states. Calum knows that voice, a little gravelly, mostly sweet. He’s dreamt of it every so often. He prays to hear it when he visits the shop.

He turns to Jay, who leans against the bricks. A vape is wrapped in her fingers. “Gotta get some dinner, maybe make a run to the grocery store," Calum returns. "I've gotten lazy."

She nods. “This reminds me that I can't survive off BLTs forever," she laughs.

"You could try, but I think you'd need other vegetables and some fruit in that mix too."

She pushes up on her glass with a nod. "Ah, yes, gotta get the whole food pyramid." It goes silent between them and Calum gives another nod, raising a few fingers to signal his departure while still keeping his phone in a secure enough grip.

"Hey, wait!" Jay calls out again, taking a half step forward. Calum turns to her. "Can I give you something before you leave?”

Calum nods, not trusting his voice. What would she give him? She nods back to the front door, taking back that initial half-step. “It's inside. Give me like two minutes.”

She disappears inside and Calum stands, his phone still in his hands, staring at the spot she once stood. Just as quickly as she disappeared, Jay reappears. In hand is her portfolio. She flips through before stopping and slides the heavy-duty drawing paper out.

Calum stares down at the green and black drawing. It’s his face, for the most part, that stares back at him. It’s distorted by a crystal ball that glows green. Inside are some instruments and something else, but right now he can’t really put it all together. His eyes keep moving over the lightning bolt, the crystal ball, the uncanniness of his face on a piece of paper, his three-dimensional face somehow translated perfectly into a 2-D space.

“Holy shit, this is amazing,” he breathes. “Thank you,” he says looking back up to her.

She shrugs with a smile. “You’re welcome.”

“Seriously, this is so fucking awesome. I’m going to frame it,” he gushes. He’s too excited to be nervous, or be embarrassed. "What are the dimensions?"

“I'm just really glad you don’t find it too creepy. I was watching you a couple weeks ago when you stopped by. It just sort hit me, the image of the crystal ball and lightning bolt; I had to draw it,” Jay elaborates. "And it's 8.5 by 11--standard printer paper size."

Calum shakes his head, staring over the drawing again. It feels so delicate suddenly in his hands. It’s almost like Jay recognizes the change in his handling. She shuffles her load in her hands and pulls out an empty plastic over. “Here,” she laughs handing it over. “So it doesn’t smudge or anything if you're worried."

Calum slides it in. “Thank you. Again. Seriously.”

“You’re welcome, Calum. Good luck with your grocery store trip and dinner,” Jay nods and then heads back inside. Calum watches the way the denim stretches across her hips, the way her hair billows just a little in the breeze of her strut.

For a moment, Calum can't move. The weight of the paper in his hand is hardly ounces, but it holds him--traps him to the point of the sidewalk. Jay thought enough of him to draw him. What did it all mean? Should he have found the courage to ask her out? He could walk back inside. But what if she didn't like him like that? Would it be too weird?

Calum blinks up into the hardly settling sun and thinks to himself, the second he can come back here, it better be with a bit more courage and possibly a gift certificate. No one can be made about free food, right?

It’s months before Calum can visit the shop again. The tour is a whirlwind and he only gets a few days off between legs. Not long enough to get back home or feel like he had any energy to drive out to the shop. But now that he's settled back in at home, he knows exactly where he's going.

It’s not his typical practice to just walk in and ask for a tattoo. But given the ink already on him, worse things could happen. When he pulls open the door, he notices it's kind of slow. Jay greets him at the front desk. “Hey, stranger,” she grins.

“Hey, how are you?” he asks in return.

“Pretty good. How was it? The tour? See any cool places?”

He nods. “Yeah, got to explore a few cities.” He taps his fingers against the wooden desk. “Do you have an appointment anytime soon?”

Jay shakes her head. “My 2 o’clock had to reschedule. I’m here until 4 before I see anyone. Why? What's tickling your fancy?”

“I was wondering if you could do a tat for me? I know this is very last minute and if you need me to come in another day this week, I totally can.” His words run into each other; his palms start to sweat. He wipes them on his jeans.

Jay laughs, holding up a hand. “Whoa, pump the brakes. One, what are you looking for?”

“You know that drawing you did for me?” She nods. “I was kind of hoping you could create something with just the crystal ball and lightning bolt. I know the drawing itself is kind of big.”

A grin lifts her cheeks; Calum’s heart settles for a second. “I think I can do that. Where are you thinking to put it?”

“Inner bicep.” He watches her gaze land on his arm. The t-shirt is baggy, he at least thought about that with enough advance.

“Give me 30 minutes to come up with some sketches.” Jay pushes away from the front desk and heads to the back, but not for calling to the shop to watch the front desk.

Calum slides into the seat at the front, leg bouncing as he settles down. This isn’t even his first tattoo, but the nerves flood his body. His scalp tingles. The thirty minutes move by too fast, but also too slow simultaneously. The seconds feel like hours but move by milliseconds.

Eventually, Jay resurfaces, waving him over to her. He walks back and looks at the sketches she places out in front of him. There are two different ones. One’s a bit more minimalistic, which is her style, with the lightning bolt in the background and a simple crystal ball at the point. The other is a bit bolder, the ball has a slightly warped edge where it connects to the bolt. It looks like the bolt is melting the glass ball.

“I can whip up more if neither one of them are quite right. But I wasn’t sure if it wanted something a bit more crisp and sharp or not,” Jay explains.

Calum admits that most of his tattoos are more cleaned up and sharp. He likes the idea of playing with a new style. “I like the second one,” he says, tapping it.

“You sure?” He nods, he’s never been more sure of something in his life. “Which bicep? Let me line it up and make sure it’ll fit.”

Calum lifts his left arm up for her. Laying the stencil over his skin, Jay notes she has to make a couple small tweaks. But after that, she’ll be ready. They discuss full color, or just outline, or shading, price, and a few other details before Jay concludes with, “Hop in my seat. I’ll be there soon.”

Calum nods and walks over to her station. Her stuff is already laid out, probably for her canceled 2 o’clock. It’s about five more minutes before Jay returns with the final stencil. Calum rolls up the sleeve of his shirt before she places the stencil. Happy with the placement, he stretches out on the table.

Jay gets herself ready before she brings the needle over his skin. The first puncture always makes him jolt a little, the first jab of pain causes his heart to race. “Do you plan on relaxing now that you're back home?"

"Yeah, for a little bit. I might go see my family, but I know we'll be back in the studio soon. Anything exciting happen while I was gone?"

"I mean exciting things happen every day at this place. But it's not like I could recall them all now."

Calum hums, acknowledging her statement, but not quite sure what to say next. Luckily, Jay's faster to fill in the silence. "You do realize you didn’t have to get a tattoo to have a real conversation with me?” Jay teases, pushing up her glasses.

Calum’s cheeks heat. “It’s not like that,” he chuckles.

“Well, that’s how it seems.”

“You were always busy when I stopped by. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Not always,” she laughs. “But it’s alright. You’re going to have plenty of time while I’m stabbing you to say all those things you didn’t.”

A chuckle escapes him; of course, Jay would have this sense of humor. “Wow, I can’t believe I’m paying so much for people just to stab me and act as a therapy. Maybe I am a masochist.”

“So are a lot of people. Sometimes you just take the emotional pain out in the physical realm.”

“I always imagined people that worked in a tattoo shop to be more heavily tatted,” Calum hums, taking in scattered ink across her arms and one pokes out from the V in her t-shirt.

“I focused it more on my back and legs and not so much my arms. I’m getting there. So, why this one today?”

Calum goes to shrug, but stops himself as he hears the gun nearing his skin again. “Not really sure. It looked cool. I guess it also serves to remind me that fate isn’t linear. There’s going to be twists and turns, maybe some trouble. And that’s okay. Don’t be afraid of the journey. Also, it's really fucking cool art.”

Jay hums her laugh, “Why thank you. Wise brain you got there. Besides, it seems like you also have people you keep close to you.” She eyes the initials and the name under the bird. “Whoever they are to you, I hope you all stay close.”

“Those are my parents' initials,” he explains. “And my sister’s name. They’ve been with me through it all--I love them dearly.”

“So sweet. I wish my parents and I were closer. I tattooed my brother’s jersey number on me. It was my first tattoo.”

“What did he play?”

“Soccer, or for your kind, football.”

“Hey now, it’s played with the feet, it makes much more sense.”

Jay laughs, wiping off excess ink. She cocks her head to the side a little, then goes back in for the black ink. “I’m only teasing. Us Americans are so dumb sometimes. Like why is our football not called something else? Literally, the only thing that happens with the feet is the running. We carry the fucking ball.”

“I’ve wondered that as well!” he laughs. "Does your brother still play?"

“Yeah, the whole knucklehead still plays for his college.”

“What position?”

Jay laughs. “I'll have you know my job as the older sister is to show up and cheer him on. Something defensive? I don’t remember off the top my head.”

“I’ll give you credit for that. I’m sure he appreciates it.”

“He does until he sees with me in face paint on and then he’s acting like he doesn’t know me. Oh, oh wait, I think remember what he does. It’s defensive,” she pauses, lips pursed together, “something fielder.”

“Defensive midfielder?” he asks.

“Yeah, that. But like I said, I show up when I can and scream. That’s it. When he’s old enough, I’ll buy him a beer after his games too.”

“How old is he?”

“Nineteen, we’re three years apart.”

“The only sibling you have?”

“Nah, got a baby sister too. She’s fifteen. If you’re impressed by my eyeshadow thank her. Because she’s the one that taught me how to do it.”

Calum finds himself staring at the red and gold coloring her eyelids. “It looks really nice,” he breathes.

“Why thank you.” She pauses to bats her eyelashes. “I even managed to get those godforsaken falsies on right too. They look good, but the raise hell.”

“I think you’re the first woman I’ve met in LA that’s not obsessed with makeup,” he notes.

“Oh, you were doing so well. There are a lot of people of who aren’t huge in the makeup scene.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he tries to backtrack. “I’m sorry. In my experience, it’s not like that. They’re hiding the fact they aren’t wearing makeup--embarrassed by it or something.”

Jay nods, pushing up her glasses yet again. “Yeah, it’s not easy. We’re told to be perfect, but in reality, we’re just like everyone. We’re human, imperfect and flaw-full and beautiful.”

“Not in spite of, but because of.”

“Exactly,” she chuckles. Silences settles in around them. Calum wonders why she said she was closer to her family, but the way she talks about her siblings doesn’t match. She’s cheering her brother on at his game; she’s sitting down to learn makeup with and from her sister.

“Can I ask a bit of a personal question?” he asks.

“What kind of personal? Do I get a lifeline?”

Cal exhales a laugh. “You can always say no.”

“Hit me with it.”

“Why say that you’re family isn’t close but you clearly take a lot of pride in your siblings?”

“An observant one on my table, I see. It’s my parents. They don’t like that I’m pansexual, say I’m going to hell. My siblings don’t fucking care. I’m still the crazy-ass sister that loves and supports them.”

With a hum of acknowledgment from Calum, it goes quiet again around them for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. He knows it doesn’t really fix anything for her; it doesn’t take away the potential years of her suffering. It’s the only thing he can offer her though. It feels right to say.

“Oh, no need for you to be sorry. It’s not like you threw me out of the house.”

“Ouch. You’re making it though right?”

“Yeah, now that I work here, things are on the up and up.”

“That’s good; I’m glad.”

“Thanks.”

“Favorite tattoo you’ve done?” he asks, wanting to hear her voice again.

“This one,” she laughs. “Though I had someone ask for a pin-up witch, which was also pretty fucking cool to do.”

Calum remembers seeing that on her Instagram. “That one was amazing! Her lips looked so good; I know that’s a strange thing to admit.”

“Don’t worry. I am quite proud of that myself.”

“Do you have a favorite tattoo on you?”

“The blue jay on my shoulder. My parents would take me on walks when I was still an infant. According to the legend, while they were sitting on a park bench a blue jay landed on me. I didn’t cry; it didn’t hurt me. It just landed for a second and then flew off. They called me Blue Jay ever since. I just shortened the nickname as I got older.” She gives one more wipe. “Finished. Check it out.”

Calum sits up, walking over to the mirror. He grins seeing the melting ball sitting against his skin. He grins over to Jay. “It looks amazing. Thank you.”

“No problem.” They head back over to her station. Jay cleans it and wraps the fresh ink. Calum carefully gets his sleeve back down with a little help from Jay. He pays their agreed price with his card, but slides two fifties over to her. “You do know that’s more than double a twenty percent tip right?”

Calum shrugs. “Is it? I’m bad at math,” he grins. “Treat your sister to a new palette or something. Treat yourself to something.”

“Thank you. Now next time, you come by, I hope we don’t talk while I’m stabbing you repeatedly.”

Calum shakes his head, a grin still on his face. Of course. He had forgotten to get the gift certificate. But possibly asking Jay to dinner wouldn't be such a bad idea. “Give me your number and I can promise the next time we talk, it won’t in your chair.”

She holds out her hand, waiting. He hands her his phone, after unlocking it. She puts her number in. She goes to hand the phone back but just before his fingers touch it, she draws it back. "I mean it--actually text me. I adore memes, dogs, TikToks, your favorite songs."

"I'll actually talk to you. I promise."

Jay hands over his phone with a smile. Calum steps outside the glass doors. Why should he wait? He could do it now. For fuck sake, the last hour had been the groundwork for a clear sign a date was absolutely an option. His fingers hovering over her name. He taps it, and then presses for a call. Holding the phone to his ear, he listens to it ring for a second.

“I can still see you, you know?” Jay laughs.

Calum turns around, catching her leaning against the front desk. “I told you the next time we talked you wouldn’t be inking me.”

“What can I help you with, Calum?”

“Dinner, tonight-- I may have ordered too many appetizers for just little old me."

Her laugh trickles in over the speaker. She drops her head, giving it a shake before looking back up to him in the afternoon sun. “I think I can help you with that. Give me the time and place."

Calum rattles off the name of a restaurant that he had been wanting to try. Nothing too upscale, but not something that would be too casual. "How does 8 sound?"

"I love it there. I'll see you at 8."

“Bye, Jay.”

“Bye, Calum.” As he walks to his car, his phone buzzes yet again. This time a text from his artist, I’m being fucking replaced, I see. I can’t be too mad since it’s Jay. Calum laughs as he slides into his car. Maybe he is getting replaced; maybe he’s not. Calum’s not sure. He is sure that he needs to figure out if he can make reservations and what to wear for tonight.

#calum hood #calum hood fanfic #calum hood blurb #calum hood imagine #calum hood 5sos #calum 5sos #5sos fanfic #5sos imagine #5sos fic #calum hood fic #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer fanfic #5 seconds of summer fic #5 seconds of summer imagine #h writes

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lilbabycee · 4 years

Text

groceries // chris evans

↳ request: If requests are open, can I have a bratty reader who openly flirts with another man in front of Chris (with some condescension and degrading calling her a whore etc)

↳ relationship: chris evans x reader

↳ word count: 1.6k

↳ author’s note: requests are open but other than that, i am still a whore thank you and goodnight x

oh here we go i’m excited:

you and chris both enjoy the domesticity of grocery shopping a little more than you’d like to admit

your pouty lips are like sugar and voice like honey when you beg him to get that candy or those cookies you love so much

he likes to pretend that he won’t cave into your pretty eyes and longing gaze by telling you “no, sweetheart” and walking right past it

but he knows he can’t resist you for long, your glassy eyes threatening tears and he can’t bear the thought of seeing you cry

(although he knows that you’re just being a brat)

and so there��s nothing sweeter than his acquiescence: “okay, baby, go back and grab it”

and you won’t ever act like it, but any public outing provides you with the prime opportunity to mess with your boyfriend

your arms are overflowing with an assortment of fruits that chris sent you ahead to get while he was looking at the wide assortment of vegetables two aisles behind you

and although you cockily insisted that you didn’t need the cart or a basket, you’re definitely regretting your unnecessary stubbornness right about now

the strawberries and the grapes fall from the bottom and your eyes fall shut as you groan loudly, ready to have to go back and get new ones when the heat of a body crowds yours and you don’t hear the telltale sound of plastic against the linoleum

you assume that it’s chris coming to save you from yourself but instead, a mop of curly black hair almost tickles your nose and a pair of pretty lips curve into a smile

he’s got these light brown eyes that come close to knocking the breath out of you and you think that he’s gorgeous

(but still not as attractive as your man)

“i think you dropped these,” he teases, lifting a thick eyebrow as his eyes flit over your face appreciatively

“yeah”, the word comes out breathless because you can’t stop looking at his face but you still manage to smile shyly

and so he tells you his name and you tell him yours and he can’t stop talking about how pretty you are

before you know it, it’s been a full fifteen minutes and chris - who told you to come back when you were done - thinks that you’ve been gone for a suspiciously long time and comes looking for you

he’s expecting to find you with your arms crossed over your chest pensively or your face between your hands because you can’t decide what you want

(either way he thinks you’re the cutest thing he’s ever seen)

but then he rounds the corner and almost trips over the cart because you’re standing at the end of the aisle next to some guy that he’s never seen before holding an armful of what he assumes is your fruit, and he can’t help the way that his brow furrows and his mouth sets in a hard line

he can’t describe the incensed feeling that grows in his chest but he knows that it’s more that jealousy because you’re letting this man stand so close to you and touch your arm like that

a part of him knows that it’s the lingering insecurity that lives deep within the pit of his stomach but instead of letting it cripple him, he allows it to fuel his anger, virtually stomping down the row of shelves towards you

you reluctantly turn your head at the noise of feet walking in your direction, a lingering smile still on your face that immediately drops when you meet the eyes of your furious boyfriend

trepidation seeps into your bones, a poison that corrodes at the marrow and causes your limbs to go completely slack

it’s when all of your produce drops to the floor that the handsome stranger finally stops staring at you, spinning around only for that same stare to land on the very angry brunette coming your way

“chris,” you can’t help but cower slightly when his thundercloud of rage looms over you.

he says nothing but he shoots you a murderous glare before pulling you into his side roughly, hand immediately coming to rest on your butt

you expected this but not the searing kiss that he bruises onto your lips, leaving you breathless as he squeezes the flesh of your ass in his palms

“hi, i’m chris,” he sticks his hand out with a raised brow, the warning look in his eyes a complete contrast to the warm smile on his face

he’s glowing with pride and he’s so hot but you can’t stop staring at the discarded fruit on the floor so as to not have to meet the eyes of the curly-haired man in front of you

“oh, i didn’t realize-”

“that’s okay, buddy,” chris smiles tightly. “thanks for helpin’ my girl out.”

and that’s all he says before snatching up the fruit from james? jonathan? jonah?’s arms and strolling cockily back to your abandoned cart

you walk quickly behind him, gnawing on your lower lip and refusing to acknowledge josiah? jamie? jared?’s parting remark

“i guess i’ll see you around-”

“no you won’t,” chris calls over his shoulder, grabbing you round the waist again after putting the fruit down and pushing the cart around the corner

the rest of the shopping trip goes off pretty much without a hitch

(save from a small disagreement over milk)

but you don’t prepare for what happens when you’re finished loading groceries into the car and sitting quietly in the passenger’s seat, staring out of the window contently because you’re so sure that you’ve gotten away with it

it’s when chris slides into the car and doesn’t say anything that you look over at your boyfriend, audibly gasping at how blown his pupils are

“is my little whore ready to go home?” he says nonchalantly, looking away from you to turn the key in the ignition

“what?!” you exclaim indignantly (except you’re not mad because a thrill runs through you at what you know is coming next). “i-i was a good girl-”

“don’t lie to me, baby,” he coos, engine on but he evidently has no intention of going anywhere just yet. “i saw how much you liked talking to that boy. being a little slut right in front of daddy- what, you tryna make me jealous, babygirl?”

“no- he was my friend-”

“okay, honey,” he says, still not moving and looking deep into your darting eyes

“really?” you ask, confused and a little disappointed because is he just going to drop it?

but you should know by now that your man isn’t like that

“of course not,” he sneers and the butterflies in your stomach come alive all over again. “stupid little slut - think i’m gonna let you get off with bein’ a whore in public? hmm, baby?”

“no, sir,” you reply, licking your lips and shifting in your seat, heat pooling in your core as you try to hide a smile by squeezing your lips together

“my bad little girl,” a large hand falls on your thigh and you shiver, placing your hand over his as he rubs tenderly at the skin there. “such a dumb baby, huh?”

you nod eagerly, attempting to school your features into an expression that projects innocence and repentance because you know you’re going to get the punishment of a lifetime when you get home

“maybe i should fuck you right here,” he muses, hand absent-mindedly trailing to the inside of your thighs to press the heel of his palm to your clit

your legs automatically fall further open and you arch your back into the pressure while he runs a sole finger over the seam of your cunt

(no, you’re not wearing panties under your dress because he told you not to and you always listen to your boyfriend)

“so eager, sweetheart,” he hums, eyes focused exclusively on the task at hand. “did you wanna show that boy what an eager little slut you are?”

you plan to answer - you really do - but his finger dips into your pussy and your brain forgets how to function

almost directly after, another finger joins the first and your boyfriend is casually finger-fucking you in a semi-crowded grocery store parking lot

(the jury’s still out on whether or not this makes you even more horny)

“oh, baby,” chris laughs, eyes now locked on yours that are staring right back at him. “you’re so close already - i didn’t realize how much of a whore you were for that boy... or is this all for me? are you making a mess all over my car seats because you like getting fucked in the parking lot of a grocery store?”

(you decide that yes, this is absolutely why chris is going to need to thoroughly clean his car when you get home)

but you can’t articulate any of that so you just nod again, making chris laugh and causing a combination of pleasure and shame to wash over you

he leans over the console, attaching his lips to your neck and continuing his assault on your pussy - he’s sucking a trail of dark bruises into your skin and you love it, eyelashes fluttering rapidly as his lips move to your jaw and then your ear

“go on, baby,” chris smiles against your cheek. “cum for me, it’s okay. i won’t make you beg this time - i know that once anything gets in this tight little pussy, you don’t know how to act... that’s okay, honey. you can cum, it’s okay.”

and so you do, his voice coaxing you over the edge and the moment you do, chris gasps right into your ear and then chuckles deeply

“look, sweetheart, there’s your little friend - say hi!”

you meet those brown eyes and your entire body heats up in shame - the look on his face would be hilarious in literally any other situation but it makes you feel a little sick and slightly aroused (?)

once you’ve finally come down from your high and jules? jake? jasper? manages to tear his eyes away from the two of you (chris waves at him and you smack him on the arm because what the fuck)

your boyfriend promptly sticks his fingers into his mouth as you peel your sticky body from the leather seat beneath you - you’re panting and unsure if you’ll even be able to walk when you get out of the car

meanwhile, chris adjusts the mirror and his hands land on the wheel before he shoots you a disapproving glance

“seatbelt, baby.”

tagged: @literaturefeen @donutloverxo

#chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #chris evans blurb #chris evans blurbs #chris evans headcanon #chris evans headcanons #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #chris evans smut #request

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apriorisea · 3 years

Note

Grocery shopping with BTS pls? 💕

--I love this idea so much, thank you for the request!! I hope you like my take on it~~ 💕💜

Seokjin:

When it’s time to grocery shop, you always clear a few hours on your schedule

Because when you shop with Seokjin, it’s an event

He has to test at least 4 shopping carts to find The Best One

You’re never exactly sure what his criteria is for The Best One, but trust his judgment completely

Once the cart has been chosen, he very calmly leans against it and waits until you tuck your arm through his before beginning the journey

No shopping list needed

He loves to take his time in the store

The two of you wander up and down every aisle, grabbing whatever you need or want

You never skip an aisle--NEVER

Pet aisle? Check. Toys aisle? Of course. Household cleaning? Definitely. Automobile accessories? Duh.

The two of you don’t even talk that much

You just enjoy shuffling around the entire grocery store together, grabbing things off the shelves as needed

When you’ve made your way through every aisle, he stops and turns to look at you. “What do you think, Princess?” he asks with a small smile. “Did we get everything we need?” You glance at the cart and grin. “I sure hope so!” “Should we go home then?” You lean up to kiss his cheek. “Yes. Let’s go home and make that pasta!” He tucks your arm back through his and guides you both towards the checkout lines.

After you load the groceries into the car together, he always wraps his arms around your waist and kisses you before you go home

Yoongi:

“Here, sweetheart,” he says, handing you his phone. “Did I miss anything?” Smiling faintly, you take the device from him and scan the list. “Nope. It looks good to me. Are you ready to go?” “...You didn’t look at it for very long.” “Yoongi, I---” but you cut yourself off at the sight of his disgruntled expression: he’s too cute to be annoying, you decide. Shaking your head slightly, you look at the shopping list again. “I promise, baby, it looks good. You never miss anything!” He seems more satisfied as he takes his phone back. “I made a new category this time,” he adds as you both go to put your shoes on. “Different types of vegetables.” You smile, unable to hold back how much you love this absolute nerd of yours. “I saw, baby. It’s genius.” You lean up to kiss his cheek. “Just like you!”

Since he loves to cook so much, Yoongi takes shopping pretty seriously

He always has a plan for what meals he wants to make/eat for that week, and uses that to create the most detailed shopping list you’d ever seen

It’s got everything: organized sections, subsections, items sorted by category, etc etc

Because he’s so organized, shopping trips never take very long

The two of you move from one aisle to the next with perfect efficiency, following his list easily

While you shop, you talk: about his day, about your day, about politics and the weather and gossip and plans for the week

The only time you don’t talk is when he has to choose something, like a piece of produce or cut of meat

He takes his time, wanting to get the absolute best

While he studies the stalks of broccoli, you slip behind him and wrap your arms around him, absently kissing in-between his shoulder blades while he deliberates

When he finally makes his decision, he always turns to show it to you

Though he’s the expert, he waits until you approve before putting the item in the cart

He also definitely has his own way of organizing the things in the cart, so that when you reach the checkout, everything is ready to go

He won’t admit it out loud, but as the two of you drive home, you can tell how secretly pleased he is with the venture

Hoseok:

He always starts the shopping trip with perfectly clear intentions

As you drive to the store, he happily chatters away about the things you guys need to get and what brands are best

But every single time, without fail, the plan falls apart as soon as the actual shopping begins

It’s not always the same item or aisle, but there’s always something that catches his interest and derails the entire plan

“So we should probably get the veggies first,” he’s saying cheerfully, walking alongside you as you push the cart. “And then---” You can’t help but grin as you hear him fall silent abruptly. “Hobi? What is it?” “Angel...” he tugs the cart in a different direction, leading you towards the meat section. “I know we were going to do salad and pasta tonight, but...” His eyes are wide and he’s practically salivating as he looks over the prime cuts of beef. Swallowing your laugh, you bump your hip against his. “Do you wanna do meat instead?” He turns to you with puppy-dog eyes. “Can we?” The laugh breaks through, but you reach up to kiss him at the end of it. “We can do whatever you want, my hope.”

The rest of the shopping trip is centered around the side dishes that will accentuate the newly chosen main dish

Sometimes he ends up buying the things needed for the original plan anyway

He doesn’t like to push the cart, mostly because he gets distracted easily

Sometimes you feel like a mom taking your kid shopping, because he’ll wander away from you to investigate something for a bit

But he always comes back and holds on to the side of the cart again, letting you tow him along to the next stopping point

You’re not entirely sure why, but he really likes to pay in cash for groceries

On the way out to the car, he steals the cart from you and hops up on the back to go for a little ride

All the way home he’s chattering about how excited he is about the new plan

Namjoon:

He is one of the most brilliant men on the entire planet, you’re certain

But grocery shopping is one of his kryptonites

The entire shopping trip is literally just kind of a mess

Without a set plan, Namjoon’s quick mind races ahead of his logic

So you start in the grain aisle

But suddenly he decides you have to go to the frozen section all the way across the store for some ice cream

After the ice cream, he remembers you need vegetables, so you go back to the opposite end of the store

You guys hop from aisle to aisle at a whim

This usually means you have to double back sometimes

It also means you frequently go down the same aisle more than once, because he forgot another item the first time

“Okay,” you grin, putting the loaf of bread into the cart. “Bread - check!” “Perfect,” he grins back. “Now...oh! We definitely need eggs.” Trapping you in between the cart and his broad chest, the two of you make your way to the refrigerated aisle for eggs. After the eggs are secured, you look up at him. “What now?” “Hmm...” he thinks for a moment. “Oh, Jin-hyung asked us to grab some bagels, too.” He whips the cart around, angling it back towards the aisle you had just left. You can’t suppress your laugh. Looking down at you as he turns back down the bread aisle, he can’t help but grin at your giggles. “I know, I know,” he grumbles playfully. “I forgot earlier!” You squirm out of his arms to grab the bagels, placing them in the cart and looking back up at him. “What now?” Arching one eyebrow, you tease, “Cheese?” “No,” he says, shooting you a dirty look. “Next we need...” His confidence melts away. “....mimph,” he finishes with a mumble. “A what?” You press, returning to him and wrapping your arms around his waist. “I couldn’t hear you.” Exhaling heavily, he lets go of the cart and wraps his arms around you, kissing your forehead before saying explosively. “Milk! Okay, we need milk.” “Milk? You mean...the milk that’s back by---” “---by the eggs, yes.” “...You’re lucky I love you.”

No matter how messy the actual shopping trip is, the two of you always end up with exactly what you need

And you always have the best time getting it done

Jimin:

Like any other activity the two of you do together, Jimin can’t keep his hands off of you, even while you shop for groceries

Throughout the trip, he is constantly peppering you with little kisses

On the cheek, the forehead, your shoulder, your arm, the back of your neck, the top of your head, etc etc

Anytime you stop for an item, he pulls you into his arms somehow

He loves when it takes a while to decide which can of corn to grab, because that means he can wrap his arms around you from behind and rest his chin on your shoulder for a long time

Even though he’s clingy, he’s the perfect little gopher for you and will do whatever you want

“Jiminie?” you say, without looking up from the list on your phone. “Can you go grab me a good bag of apples?” He plants a final kiss on the crook of your neck and straightens. “Absolutely, my babygirl. Any certain kind you want?” He squeezes your waist. “Just get a good one. No bruises.” “Yes ma’am,” he agrees, leaning in to brush a kiss to your cheek before disappearing. While he’s gone, you maneuver the cart to the next thing on your list with one hand, keeping most of your attention on your list. Just a few more things--- “Babygirl!” You feel gentle but strong hands wrap around you, pulling your hand away from the cart. One arm still wrapped around you, Jimin puts the bag of apples in the cart and then pulls you against him. “I push the cart, remember??” You scoff a laugh, looking at him playfully. “I didn’t push it that far!” He pouts. “That doesn’t matter. It’s my job.” “Okay, okay.” You reach up to put your hand on the side of his face gently. “I’m sorry, babe. Can you grab me that bag of marshmallows?” He eyes you. “Are you going to stay right here?” “Yes.” “And not touch the cart?” You laugh exasperatedly. “Yes!” “Okay, then.”

He always insists on pushing the cart

AND getting all of the heavy things

Though he never says it outright, you can always tell he’s just a little disappointed when the shopping trip is over

Any time he gets to spend with just you, uninterrupted, is his favorite time

Taehyung:

Two words: secret shopper.

The two of you start out with a list and a plan

And he’s the best at helping you fulfill that plan

He’ll grab things off the shelves without being asked or reminded

Most of the time he remembers to grab things you’d completely forgotten about

But every single time, without fail, when you get to the register and are unloading the items onto the belt, there are numerous things you don’t recognize

“Tae!” You hold up the box of Poptarts for him to see. “What is this??” He studies it for a moment. “It’s a box of Poptarts, honey,” he answers innocently. You sigh. “I know what they are, Taehyung, but what are they doing in our cart??” He shrugs, coming to you and taking the box out of your hand, squeezing your wrist before placing the treat on the conveyer belt. “They looked good.” “I didn’t even see you put them in there...” you mumble, watching the box zip towards the cashier. Turning back to the cart, you reach in---and find yourself holding a fluffy chicken-shaped dog toy. Turning to him, you simply hold it up wordlessly. “For Tannie,” he says, his boxy smile crawling across his face. “Look---it squeaks!” You can’t help but smile back. “I’m sure he’ll love it.” You put the toy on the belt. “I’m just concerned that I never even noticed it was in there...” When you turn back, he’s holding a box of your favorite candies---another item that definitely wasn’t on the list. “Here, honey-love,” he says, innocently, pushing the box into your hands. “I also grabbed these!”

Though you always end up with far more than you meant to get, he always makes sure to “secret-shop” you a couple of things you love too

When they’re in season, he always secret-shops you a bouquet of beautiful flowers

When using the self-checkout option, he always puts all of his secret-shop items into one bag

So on the way home he can randomly pull out little treats or surprises you might have missed

When you get home, he always leans across the center console in the car and kisses you seriously. “I love our shopping trips.”

Jungkook:

Grocery shopping with Jungkook is pretty simple, really

He always likes to wear one of his giant, oversized hoodies

He drops you off at the front of the store then goes to find a parking spot so you don’t have to walk in the cold

You guys always push the cart together

He frequently sings along with the occasionally-corny music

The two of you work really well together, taking turns grabbing the things you need from each aisle

He always grabs the heavy things

But sometimes likes to make you struggle for the things on high shelves for a bit before stepping in to help you

He’s actually really good at making decisions

So anytime you’re stuck between two different kinds of pasta or two brands of milk, he’s always willing to step in and help you choose

The only real quirk he has about grocery shopping (and it’s tiny, really) is his undying and all-encompassing LOVE for the snack aisle

“All right,” you say, looking at the almost-full shopping cart. “I think that’s everything.” “Okay, cool,” he says, pretending like it hardly matters.”Soo....” “Soo...” you copy him. “Are you ready to go home?” His face falls. “Baby.” You laugh, reaching up to kiss his cheek. “I’m kidding, babyboy. Let’s go to the snack aisle!” His bright, bunny-smile fills his whole face as he grabs the cart with one hand and your hand with the other and directs you guys towards his favorite place in the whole store. As he peruses the aisle very seriously, you watch him with a fond smile. “What would you do if I weren’t kidding, though?” “Hmm?” he asks, too engrossed in his search. “What if...” you say, moving closer to him, “One day I genuinely forget about the snack aisle?” He scoffs, reaching out blindly to snake an arm around your waist. “You would never do that, darling.” “Oh?” you grin. “And how do you know that?” “Because that would be breaking The Rule,” he says confidently, finally selecting a snack and tossing it carefully into the cart. “And you’d never do that.” “The Rule?” you repeat. “That sounds so fancy.” Giving you his full attention, he says very seriously: “Whenever we go to the store, we both have to leave with at least one tasty snack.” A tiny smile peeks through. “It’s The Rule.” “Ohhhhh...” you grin. “That rule. So did you choose your snack?” “One of them,” he winks, releasing you to study more items. “Choose yours, darling!”

After you have both selected your snack for the evening, he cheerfully steers the cart to the checkout stand

He always makes sure that the cashier leaves out the snacks so you can both enjoy them on the drive home

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thetomorrowshow · 3 years

Text

Slower Than Words Ch. 26

First - Previous - Next

Me, writing this chapter: I am going to create a situation that is so awkward,

cw: food

~SHARON~

welcomes you

Remus eyed the sign suspiciously as he drove past. It was set low in the ground, as if it had sunk a bit over time. It didn’t look familiar at all—none of this did. Did he have the wrong place?

Patton shifted a bit in the seat beside him, looking around with interest. They’d reached their destination, after all. Remus couldn’t help but doubt himself. There were other Sharons in the country, after all. Maybe they’d just gone to the wrong one.

Something about this city called to him, sure. But that didn’t mean anything—the cult had called to him too. Remus’s instincts weren’t the best.

He was roused from his thoughts when Patton softly tapped his shoulder. They were passing a grocery store—Save A Lot. It was time for lunch, wasn’t it?

Remus pulled left into the parking lot of the store, which was fairly empty for midday Friday. Only three cars, and a fourth pulling in at the same time as them. Remus parked in between two of the other cars there (mostly because he could) and hopped out, taking a moment to stretch before entering the store. Patton got out too, walking around to the driver’s side while Remus continued to reach toward the sky.

Patton led the way, holding the door open for Remus, who looked up as the bell jingled. An older man waved from behind the counter. A shopper milled about in the nearest aisle. Classic rock played quietly in the background. It was nice, in a weird way. Very peaceful. Very easy.

Pat headed for the bathroom and Remus watched him for a second, before turning down one of the aisles at random. They probably needed some fruit or something. He followed the aisle through to the small produce section on the other side of the store. Another employee leaned against the meat counter on the other side of the section, eyes glued to his phone. Remus froze and stared at him, waiting to be told that he wasn’t allowed back here. Nothing happened.

Remus fully exited the aisle and checked out the fruit. Oranges, apples, different apples, a handful of pineapples. The oranges were the cheapest, and Patton needed citrus too. There was a vitamin in citrus, right? Vitamin D? C?

Whatever it was, he was pretty sure that Patty needed it. He needed every vitamin, actually. Remus picked up an orange, about to pull a plastic bag from the roll.

“Oh my gosh. No way!”

Remus dropped the orange, spinning on his heel and straightening up. His heartrate spiked, breathing quickened, and he stood at attention, keeping his eyes on the linoleum floor.

“Remus?”

He chanced a quick look up, forcing his eyes almost immediately back down. He saw . . . a woman. Young, probably about his age. Tall. A shopping basket over her arm (probably why he hadn’t heard her coming. No squeaky wheels). Smiling. She was completely unfamiliar, but by now the watery reflection of the lights on the floor had gotten into his head where he was. In a grocery store. In his hometown. Not back there.

With effort, Remus wrenched his head up, meeting the woman’s eyes. “H-hey,” he said, clearing his throat. “What’s up?”

“So it is you!” The woman laughed a little. “I haven’t seen you in years. How’re your parents?”

This woman knew him. So he had definitely lived here. But this wasn’t a very big city, and if she knew him, then she had to have known his family, right? Why would she have to ask him how they were? Had they moved away? Cold clutched at his heart as he considered that option. They can’t have. He can’t have lost them before he even found them.

“I-I dunno, just got in town. Haven’t even dropped by yet.”

The woman nodded. “Where do you live now?”

“Other side of the country,” Remus hedged, “Desert-y place.”

“Oh, I grew up in Arizona,” the woman said, almost commiseratingly. “So hot. There were days that I’d just go stick my head in the freezer.”

Remus laughed nervously. “Yep, wish—wish I coulda done that.”

“Mhm. Really, I haven’t seen you since—gosh, since we graduated! You didn’t even come to the graduation itself, I heard that you skipped town practically the day after school got out.”

Okay, someone he’d gone to high school with. Remus remembered being sorta close with the other kids on the soccer teams, but he mostly hung out with the stoner kids to annoy his parents. He couldn’t see how he would know this chick. Maybe they’d been lab partners? Or maybe she’d been someone he hung out with?

The woman seemed to be casting around for something to say, her eyes eventually falling on his face. “Wow, that mustache has really filled out, huh?”

Remus’s hand flew up to smooth it unconsciously. “Yep, this is a couple years’ hard work,” he boasted. The woman chuckled.

“No offense, but it used to be this terrible shrimpy little thing,” she said. “I remember prom night when you picked me up you were all grumpy because your mom made you shave it off. You didn’t even talk to me until we got there!”

Oh shoot.

Oh no.

This was an old girlfriend.

Remus hadn’t dated anyone in years. He’d tried for a while, those first months in the cult. But the gals weren’t interested and the guys were too scared, so he’d given up. He hadn’t really minded it, honestly—he had dated all through high school, but looking back he only did it to make his parents mad. They didn’t want him steady dating until he was an adult, and definitely didn’t want him dating dudes and stoners, so he had done both over and over again between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.

Now, though?

Maybe it was just the cult stuff talking, but Remus wasn’t interested in a partner. The romance part sounded cute (he’d never admit it, but part of him really wanted to curl up with his partner and watch a romcom, teasing each other lightly), but the rest of it sounded like way too much of a hassle. He didn’t have the time, not when he was carrying the load of three different people’s trauma. And while he had a feeling that the commitment might help ground him, he just wasn’t interested in the rest of it. If that made sense. Heck, this was his own head and it didn’t really make sense.

Anyways, he remembered this woman, just a little. Not much about her, or how well they worked together, or if they had truly been in love. He mostly remembered that he had left without breaking up with her, without even telling her goodbye.

“Yeah, I was a terrible kid,” he said, secretly waiting for her to agree with him. Instead she shrugged.

“Sure, you were always hanging out with weird people,” she replied, “but you were very kind. I definitely don’t think we were meant for each other, but I had fun with you.” She winked and Remus almost physically recoiled. He didn’t like when people winked.

A hand tapped his elbow and Remus jolted, turning his head. Patton was there, smirking a little bit.

The woman’s eyes traveled between them, clearly trying to figure out their relationship. “Boyfriends . . . ?”

“Kidnapper and victim,” Remus said, turning back to her fully and smiling toothily. He felt a little bit more in control now. She barely seemed uncomfortable, instead sharing her own smile.

“Right. Well, tell your parents I said hi,” she said, waving slightly. Remus noticed the ring on her wedding finger, but before he could ask, she answered.

“D’you remember Claire, from the swim team?”

Remus opened his mouth to lie, but she continued to talk.

“Well, after you left, she comforted me and helped me decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and the answer turned out to be her!” the woman laughed at her own joke, and Remus laughed along, not quite sure why. It was obviously a practiced line, and he didn’t really find it funny either.

The woman reached out and patted him on the shoulder, a warm look in her eyes. “Seriously, it was great to see you. Everyone was really worried about you, we thought you’d died in some ditch. Take care!” And with that, she was turning down another aisle, quickly out of sight.

“Who was that?” Patton asked as soon as Remus turned to him. The smirk was gone, his eyes now wary.

“A friend from when I was a kid,” Remus signed distractedly, looking at the oranges again. He grabbed two, then a third one just in case and led the way back to the cash registers. On the way he snagged a package of beef jerky, grimacing at the price.

That was the weirdest encounter he’d had, probably ever. At least it was proof that they were in the right place.

“No clue where we are,” Remus sang under his breath, checking the street signs as they passed a church. The area looked vaguely familiar, so that had to mean something, right? Apparently not, because after the grocery store experience, everything looked familiar. He pulled to stop in front of a stop sign, patting Logan’s car as it groaned. For a moment, he let his eyes close and his head rest on the steering wheel.

Patton tapped his arm, waiting for him to look. “Trust your instincts,” he signed, finger-spelling the last word. He smiled softly at Remus, then turned back to the window, pulling the patched hoodie closer around his shoulders. Remus took a deep breath. He could do this. He’d survived a cult. He’d saved a whole kid from the same cult. He was awesome.

Remus took his foot off the brake, letting the car carry him from street to street, waiting for something to happen. If this didn’t work, then he’d go street by street, knocking on every door until he found his parents and brother.

Then, as he turned right in a somewhat busy intersection, his hands spasmed. Muscle memory took over, and he turned right again onto a smaller street. Memories of driving this road far too fast in the darkness of late nights and early morning flooded his mind, overlapping and playing simultaneously. In the memories, he followed this street through, then turned left at the end of it.

So he did, his arms turning the wheel almost without conscious input. Another two turns, and he was Euclid Ave, a street name that made his heart jump into his throat. Just two houses down, there it was.

150 Euclid Ave.

Suddenly, the home phone number was on the tip of his tongue—he’d memorized them together. He recalled his parents, sitting on the sofa, clapping for a miniature version of him reciting the full address and phone number.

He stared at the house so hard stars appeared in his vision, surprised to feel almost nothing. It was familiar of course, just like everything else, but it was also . . . normal. It almost felt like he’d never left. Or like he’d gone back in time, back to when this was right. Back to when this was who he was.

“Home?” Patton asked out loud, the middle of the word slurring a little. Remus’s eyes misted a little bit.

“Yeah,” he managed. “Home.”

Knock-knock-knock.

Remus rocked back onto his heels, shooting a reassuring smile to Patton. He could do this. No sounds came from inside the house, but there were two cars in the driveway, so someone had to be home. Hopefully both were his parents, then he could see everyone together.

But his brother could drive now, right?

They were five years apart. When he’d left, his brother had been in middle school. Now he was probably in college. If he was away at school, he wouldn’t be home right now, would he?

Remus knocked again.

Now there was sound from inside, the creaking of footsteps on floorboards, the running water. Adrenaline suddenly pumped through his veins, and the wild thought of running back to the car crossed his mind. He could get out before they ever knew he was here, just leave and nothing would change.

Did he want it to change?

Click-click. The door unlocked.

Swung open.

Remus composed his face the best he could, trying to smile and look as normal as possible. He could do this. He could do this.

He looked up.

A face, lined, clean-shaven, framed with close-cut dark hair that was greying at the ends. A face that Remus saw from the stage of a talent show, sitting in the audience, smiling and clapping along with his clarinet rendition of Jingle Bells.

The shoulders were broader than Remus ever thought his own would be, proved otherwise by time. Remus saw the shoulders from the closet of his parents’ room, where occasionally on Sunday afternoons the boy was allowed to try on suit coats that swallowed him completely.

The left hand had a simple silver band, one that Remus could see resting on the aluminum foil ring holder he’d made in class as a Father’s Day present. He’d always been afraid that it would catch his fingers when they played the hand stacking game.

Remus’s eyes traveled back up the arm, the shoulder, the neck, the face, back to the eyes. Blue, almost grey, a color that neither he nor his brother had inherited.

“Hey dad,” he croaked. “I'm home.”

The eyes widened.

Taglist: @enragedbees @gotta-love-alejandra @bunny222 @basiic-emo @patt0n-sanders @rosiepupper @fangirlgeekandfreak @dn-fan21 @that2000skid @remy-the-lemon-berry @itsadastraperaspera @xionbean @sanderssides-angst @hell-yea-we-gay-tonight @maybedefinitely404 @broken-pencils @thewhimsicallibrarytech @doomllily @hereissananxiousmess @judyismydog @arodynamic-enby @at-that-one-nerd @therapysides @awkwardandanxiousfander @thekitchenpan @im-an-anxious-wreck @larkiaquail @anteonnix @fantasticfander21

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sevenstarsinning · 4 years

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Summary: Raditz loses his mate when Planet Vegeta is destroyed and finds himself working alongside Prince Vegeta. When he comes to Earth to recruit his brother, he’s dealt another devastating blow when Goku refuses to join and leaves him near death. He’s found by a human and attempts to adapt to life on Earth.

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4

Chapter 5

Morning dew coated the outside of the pod and birds chirped on the tree branch nearby. It was way too cheery for early morning. Being awake at that time usually meant you either couldn't sleep at all or woke up long before you should have.

That morning you woke up too early but it was entirely Raditz's fault and you were more than okay with that.

Sometime during the night he wrapped his tail around your waist and pulled you up to sleep on his chest. That was where you woke up and that's where you remained, listening to him purr while his body heat kept you warm. The rise and fall of his chest was like a gentle rocking putting you completely at ease. That was no easy feat and there he was making you feel safe and content without even trying.

You lifted your head up to see he was awake. It felt like a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttered in your stomach when you realized something was different.

"You're awake... and you're still purring."

His eyes locked onto yours and the butterfly feeling spread to your chest and throat leaving you seconds from saying something you probably shouldn't say.

"I'm comfo-"

"You're beautiful," you blurted. Your eyes widened and you let out a nervous laugh.

His brow raised in surprise, mouth slightly ajar. For a moment, you expected him to push you over to your side of the pod.

Instead, he smiled and struggled to keep his eyes on yours. He was nervous and you had no idea why.

"I've been called many things but uh... that's a new one," he finally said, breaking the anxiety inducing silence between you.

"Was that a bad thing to say?" You asked, unable to hide the worry in your voice and on your face.

"No, not bad at all. Just new."

When you saw the smile that spread across his face, you realized making a complete fool of yourself in front of him didn't bother you at all. In fact, you were willing to let it happen more just to see that smile. It was like a potent dose of serotonin and you needed more.

"I think I have a solution to our housing problem," you revealed, changing the subject to avoid doing something incredibly stupid.

His tail tightened around your waist and you knew he wasn't letting you up anytime soon.

Later that day, you and Raditz embarked on your first journey away from the house together. He usually stayed back when there were errands to run or groceries to buy. He wasn't a small guy by any stretch of the imagination and walking side by side with him downtown drew the gaze of many people passing by. It wasn't just his size that made people take notice, it was also his gorgeous mane of black hair that nearly touched the ground and his bulging muscles stretching the material of his t-shirt and jeans. It was Raditz in general, all the way down to the way he carried himself and the air of confidence he seemed to be naturally gifted with.

"This is definitely the place," you said, opening the door to a white dome shaped building.

Raditz shuffled in behind you, almost filling the doorway completely. A purple haired girl with the Capsule insignia on her shirt approached.

"Welcome to the Capsule store, my name is Lynn. Is there anything I can help you find?"

Her eyes drifted over to the huge saiyan next to you. He tilted his head, curious about her. Then it struck you, Raditz had little to no experience around other humans.

"Yeah, my house was half demolished when a... plane crashed into it." You knew exactly how ridiculous it sounded but saying a space pod carrying a hot alien crash landed on your house was out of the question.

"Was it a... an alien ship?" Lynn asked, glancing up at Raditz.

"How do you know that, human?" He said, stepping closer to the much smaller human.

"My boyfriend- " Before she could finish her sentence, an alarm blared and red lights flashed overhead. The ceiling opened up but before you could see what was happening, the tail tucked under Raditz's shirt flung out and coiled around your waist, pulling you safely behind him.

"You're supposed to be dead!" A voice called out amidst the chaos.

You peeked around Raditz to see an entire row of artillery from the ceiling aimed at him. A teal haired woman standing on the other side glared, not the least bit intimidated.

"Hey, can you get the insane security to stand down, he's not going to hurt anyone," you yelled back, waving your hand.

"Is that... is that a human behind you?" The woman asked, trying to get a better view.

"Help me out, big guy, your tail won't let me go," you said. Your heart felt like it might beat out of your chest. Everything happened so fast you barely had time to react.

"And put you in harm's way? No, you stay back there, this is Kakarot's friend," Raditz growled.

"Wait... you mean Goku?" Lynn said from behind a shield that went up around her automatically.

"Raditz, calm down. They haven't attacked, we can talk to them," you whispered. It was hard to hide the panic in your voice over the predicament you found yourself in.

"Human, where is Kakarot?" Raditz asked, turning his attention to Lynn.

"Enough!" The other woman shouted. "If you promise to keep him on a leash, I'll disarm security."

"Raditz, please?" You begged, lightly scratching the back of his head to soothe him.

He let out a little growl and loosened his tail. "Fine."

The red lights retracted along with the row of weapons and disappeared into the ceiling.

"All I have to do is hit one button and those will come back out, so don't try anything," the woman said, approaching him without a trace of fear.

"I'm Bulma, I'm assuming you're the one taming the saiyan?" She stepped around him to look at you.

"Trying to," you laughed nervously. Raditz still had his tail around you, protecting you even without an immediate threat.

"Come on, let's go out back and talk. Lynn, close up and go home. Make sure Goku knows about this," Bulma said, giving out orders as she guided you and Raditz towards the back of the dome.

The back door led to a shaded patio with a row of tables and thick, beautiful foliage lining the sides to offer privacy to anyone sitting out there.

"Raditz can sit there," Bulma said, pointing at the first table, "we're going to the back table."

"No, I'm staying with her," he snapped, his tail coiling tight around your waist again.

"It's okay, big guy. I'm safe, this is like the smartest and richest woman in the world," you said, nodding towards Bulma. He eyed her wearily but relented and loosened his hold.

You gave him a reassuring smile before following her to the last table.

"Sorry about the security system in there, it's not even loaded with ammo, it's just a deterrent. What did you come in for?" Bulma asked, taking a seat at the last round white table.

"A house. His pod wrecked mine when he landed. We've actually been sort of living in his pod and it's not very roomy," you explained.

Bulma was unfazed by all of it and that piqued your curiosity.

"You've been sleeping in the pod with him? Has anything happened?" She leaned in and kept her voice low.

"Not really. It was a little rough at first but he's adjusting," you said in a hushed voice.

"That's good. He's definitely a lot less hostile than I remember." She glanced past you at Raditz. You could tell her mind was racing, sorting through the chaos that just came back into her life.

The two of you talked for a while, you filled her in on Raditz and she told you about Goku and the little bit she knew about saiyans. You were looking forward to meeting him at some point and even though it was a long shot given the history, maybe Raditz and Goku could at least talk. That could be a step towards him finding happiness on Earth.

"I'll make you deal. If you keep an eye on him and tell me if anything weird happens, I'll give you a capsule house." She said it like she was giving you a piece of cake as opposed to a whole house.

"Bulma, no. That's way too much, let me pay," you countered.

She reached in her pocket and pulled out a handful of capsules. "How many bedrooms were you thinking?"

"Just one, that's all I can really do at the moment."

She settled on a pink capsule and placed it on the table in front of you. "That's a three bedroom. It's one of the models we used for photos so it's fully furnished and you're not paying for it."

"Bulma, you don't even know me. I-"

"Your saiyan back there came to Earth to recruit Goku. The only reason he's here is because of my friend which means your house is gone because of this. It's the least we can do for you," she said, pushing the capsule closer.

"And remember, call me immediately if anything feels off with him, okay? This is a direct line to me," she said, passing a business card to you with the Capsule logo shimmering on the top left corner and a phone number scrawled across the bottom.

"At least let me pay you something for this, please?" You pleaded with her.

"Absolutely not. Just come to my next party, I’ll introduce you to Goku," she said, refusing to take no for an answer as she headed back inside the building.

On your way back to the car, Raditz remained silent. There was no good way to approach the subject of his brother. That had to be weighing on him.

"What's that place?" He finally spoke, pointing towards the small building on the other side of the road.

"It's a bar. One of my favorites actually," you replied, coming to a stop at a four way intersection.

"What's a bar?"

"A place where people usually drink strong tasting liquids that make them feel funny."

"Strong liquids?" He raised an eyebrow and sat forward just enough to see past his hair which had taken up residence between the two of you.

"We call it alcohol. It's how I ended up in that field the night I found you."

"Libations. That's what we called them."

Instead of continuing straight through the intersection, you made a quick left followed by a right and pulled into the parking lot.

You entered the old, dimly lit bar with Raditz in tow. The evening crowd was starting to trickle in.

Raditz found a table while you ordered drinks. You leaned back against the bar while you waited, watching him mess with the phone you gave him. It looked so small in his hands and he looked adorable navigating what he called primitive technology.

After very carefully walking back to your table, you sat a tray full of drinks in the middle and pulled out a chair.

A big, strong arm wrapped around your waist and the next thing you knew, you were sitting in Raditz's lap. You were already so used to cuddling with him in the pod that you didn't think anything of it.

As the day turned to night, you introduced Raditz to all of your favorite drinks and even some you didn't like just to see his reaction. Aside from trips back to the bar to order more drinks, he kept you in his lap with an arm around your waist.

He required a ton of alcohol to even get a buzz and you were content sipping and never getting totally drunk. One of you had to stay a little sober to avoid bad decisions.

"What is this one?" Raditz asked, holding up a pint glass of blue liquid.

"That is your last drink of the night, big guy." You grabbed it and took a quick sip before handing it back.

"It's called... last drink of the night?" He stared at the glass, confused by the weird name.

"It's called an Adios Motherfucker."

"Say that again but... slower," he said with a big goofy smile. Drunk Raditz wasn't too different from the sober version. The thing you noticed the most was the sadness in his eyes. You watched it slowly fade until it was gone completely. His smiles lit up his entire face and he laughed louder.

"Can I have another one of these?" He asked, holding up his empty glass.

"Dude, I've already had to drag you to my house once, we're not doing that again," you chided.

"Human... sweetheart- just one?" He stuck out his bottom lip and pouted.

"Human sweetheart. That's a new one," you laughed, shaking your head at how ridiculously cute he was.

You relented and bought him one more drink. The expensive bar tab made you feel sick but it was worth every penny to see him finally shed the darkness that enveloped him. Even if it was only for a night.

As soon as the chilly night air hit your face, you regretted not bringing a jacket.

"Saiyan, give me your warmth," you said, ducking underneath his massive arm.

"We not driving?" He asked, lifting you into his arms like a child.

"I've had one too many drinks." You buried your face against his neck and settled in for the walk home. Luckily it wasn't far and you liked getting carried by Raditz, especially with his hands on your ass to hold you up.

"You smell good," he said in a sleepy voice as you neared your half destroyed house.

"You can still smell my perfume? I figured that would've faded by now."

"No... not that," he muttered, burying his face against your neck to sniff you. If it was anyone else, you probably would've freaked out.

"Your scent, the normal one."

You pulled back and smiled. “Wait, do you have some kind of heightened sense of smell that I don’t know about?”

“Yeah, it’s a saiyan thing. We can pick up on scents and changes in scents we’re familiar with. Particularly with females we’re close to or want to be close to.”

He crossed the lawn to the backyard and lowered you to the ground. “How does this capsule thing work?”

You pulled it from your pocket, clicked the small button and tossed it approximately where you wanted your new house to be.

“Holy shit, Bulma,” you said in awe of the beautiful house she gave you. It was far too much and you were already trying to figure out ways to pay her back. You and Raditz explored the house briefly before calling it a night, exhausted from the day.

You tossed and turned even though the new bed was the most comfortable thing you had ever laid on. The temperature in the room was perfect and it was dark enough, but something still wasn't right.

You knew what it was but you didn't want to acknowledge it. Lines had already been crossed on multiple levels with your unexpected roommate. You shared the pod out of necessity, nothing more.

Minutes ticked by and you only seemed to get less sleepy. You finally got annoyed enough to get out of bed and go to the living room, but you didn't make it there. You ran straight into a wall of saiyan at the end of the hallway.

"Holy shit! What the hell are you doing out here?" You stepped back and saw him carrying a glass of water.

"I can't sleep so I got a glass of water. That a crime, you tiny pain in the ass?" He asked with a little smirk.

"No, it's not a crime, you giant pain in the ass," you said in a mocking tone.

"Can I sleep with you?"

You knew he meant actual sleep, but your brain processed it in a different way entirely and it left your panties wet.

"Sure," you said, against your better judgement.

He followed you back to your room and walked around to the other side of the bed while you got back under the covers on your side. He laid down and turned on his side to face you.

"Bedroom not comfy enough?" You asked, scooting closer to him. He draped his arm over you and started to fade right away.

"Not that... just didn't have you," he said before drifting off to sleep.

You were wide awake until he started purring, head rested against your shoulder. It didn't matter how much you tried to fight off the feelings you were having for him, they weren't going away. The last thought you had before you finally fell asleep was the realization that you needed Raditz by your side to fall asleep.

A loud crash outside made the entire house shake. Raditz was up in the blink of an eye checking the window to see what it was. His tail fluffed up and moved wildly behind him.

You scrambled out of bed to look for yourself but there was nothing, just the backyard.

"What's wrong, big guy? Are you seeing something I'm not?"

"I need you to stay behind me and if anything happens to me, run," he said, effectively scaring the hell out of you.

"What? You can't just say that with no explanation! What's going on?" Your anxiety skyrocketed as he moved past you to head towards the living room.

"Raditz- "

"Behind me," he snapped.

Before you could protest, the front door was kicked completely off the hinges and left in a mangled heap on the floor. A tall, muscular guy with short, spiky black hair walked in. One eye was covered with some kind of device you had never seen.

"This is what you've been doing, huh? There's something incredibly wrong about a domesticated Saiyan," the man said with a cocky grin.

A shorter man stepped in behind him, black hair shooting towards the sky like small spires. He also had the same device covering one of his eyes and he somehow looked even more intimidating than the bigger one.

"Prince Vegeta, Turles," Raditz said, giving them each a nod.

#raditz x reader #raditz #let you go fic #supremeleadershitlord

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samwritesforyou · 3 years

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Booked (pt.2)

Summary: you decided to go grocery shopping since the amount of people in your house significantly grew and diego keeps you company. after that crazy hargreeves family prompts you for a beach trip?

Warnings: gender-neutral reader

Wordcount: 2.1k

A/N: this fic is making me feel things, i cant quite place it. like... whenever i write it i feel weirdly at home?? idk :D feel free to share your thoughts either in tags or comments! its Very appreciated and motivating, actually! have a lovely day! <3

part one can be found here!

“Okay but if we kill them, nobody will have any questions, will they? We just bought a house and they moved somewhere far away!” was the first thing you heard, as you have awakened from your “nap”, deciding to keep your eyes shut just for a moment longer, not to lose it again.

“Five!” seems like everyone else said that in unison, grunting and groaning.

Okay, they don’t want to kill you. That’s great. You think it’s safe to open your eyes now.

You were laying on the king-sized bed upstairs, all siblings huddled up around you, watching intensely.

All the chatter between them came to a stop when they noticed that you woke up.

“So.. you’re like all superheroes or something?” you said tiredly, despite feeling rested.

Your mind still felt fuzzy from that info, hearing about such thing only from the tv series or sci-fi genres.

“Guess so,” Luther piped up, shrugging his massive shoulders and offering you a small smile.

Your eyes slowly drifted towards the kid standing by the frame of the bed, wearing a serious expression.

He sighed and frowned at you.

“To be clear, I’m not a kid and I’m actually older than all of you here. I’m a time traveller and I witnessed more in my life than any of you,” his passive-aggressiveness was directed at you, but by the choice of words it felt like he was talking to everyone who was present in the room, “There’s going to be an apocalypse by the end of the summer and our job is to stop it. We failed once, but we won’t fail twice. We rented this house, thinking it would be a good place where we can practise our powers without anyone interfering with us, so please,” his face turned into an exaggerated, wide smile, “don’t get in our way nor mention it to anybody. Thank you,” and as he finished his angry monologue, the blue colour filled the space around him as he disappeared in the thin air, right in front of your eyes.

Hm. Okay?

Only two seconds passed after that, when another sibling started talking to you.

“And I can talk with the dead!” he said happily, spreading his hands in the air like so monk preaching.

“We have a dead brother who’s named Ben and one day I will definitely let you two meet once I learn how to properly conjure him,” he concluded, very pleased with himself.

“Hi, Ben,” you just said with a warm smile on your face, somewhere into the air next to Klaus.

He literally cooed at your action, coming over to you and giving you a quick hug with a pat on the back.

“Okay, maybe we can reveal all our powers later, but let’s leave (y/n) to rest a bit, alright?” Allison proposed, rushing everyone out of the room and then just sparing you a wave and an apologetic smile, closing the doors and leaving you alone.

Maybe you can get used to all this madness. To this family.

You really rested after that.

A room had a roof-window, so laying on that bed allowed you to look up at the sky and lazy, white clouds that every so often rolled along with the blue background.

Soon enough you heard muffled chatter downstairs, this old house being absolutely the worst in being soundproof.

It all reminded you of simpler times, actually, no matter the crazy circumstances.

But enough was enough, and closer to the middle of the day you managed to get out of the bed and descend to the first floor by the wooden stairs, looking around.

Suddenly it seemed quiet.

You shrugged at that and just made your way towards the door, energetically jumping down the few stairs from the veranda and felt your feet hit the hard tartan surface.

Since it was six (plus one spiritually) more people than you were used to having in your home, you decided it was only logical for you to go and buy more food into the local store.

You almost reached the gate to go outside of your property as you heard some fast steps behind you, catching up to you.

When you turned around, you saw a man with longer hair and almost expression on his face.

“Uh... hey, you’re going somewhere?” he asked, brushing the back of his neck.

“To the market, why?” you asked, tilting your head sideways at him.

“Well.. don’t laugh, but I wanted to jog a little, but got concerned that I might get lost..” the end of his sentence was almost inaudible already as he lowered his voice, “so.. mind keeping me company?”

That kind of surprised you and as you slowly realised the meaning of the said words that came out of his mouth you bit the inside of your right cheek *hard*, just not to laugh.

What a silly guy. Getting lost in this hole?

But sure, why not keep him company.

“Be sure to catch up with me though,” you teased as you basically broke into the run, opening the gate and hopping straight onto your bike and starting pedalling really hard to get as far away from him, finally bursting out laughing at the significant distance.

“What?!” was the only thing you heard from him and then you felt the breeze from the hot summer air caressing your cheeks as you were passing your neighbours in the well-known road.

“You seem happier than usual today, darling!” some granny said to you from her garden and you just waved in reply with a huge grin plastered on your face.

After spending last years of your youth more or less alone, you couldn’t even phantom the thought of people your age living with you for the eternity of one summer.

You could never complain about a life you had here, it was all you ever wanted, but the connection with the people of the similar age to you was really lacking sometimes.

And the absolute joy that was washing over you right now was the witness.

You slowed your pace after some time, pretty soon being followed by jogging Diego, beads of sweat rolling down his muscular hands.

Your gaze lingered for a second longer than necessary and you quickly tore it away from him, a slight blush creeping on your cheeks as you now looked straight ahead of you at the road.

“I’m not the best runner, but also not the worst, hun,” he said between the breaths as you continued your ride/walk and you just smiled.

“Pretty decent, I’d say,” you finally stopped at the market’s “parking lot” where there were two spaces for cars and at least a dozen of handles for bikes.

You put yours into one of them, not even bothering to lock it. Everyone knows each other here and everyone knows you.

A young person in the village mostly consisted of people in retirement.

“Alright, what do we have here,” said Diego as he followed you into the store that reminded him of something out of the 70s, really old school design and brands that he never heard of before.

“Everything is mostly homemade here,” you answered, making your way towards the fridge with cold drinks, opening it and throwing him a cola can, “except these bad boys.”

“Hell yeah,” he smirked and then looked around, but his gaze kind of kept wandering back at you, while you were too busy picking the right type and amount of groceries.

Why would you live here all by your lonesome?

“So..” you finally heard him say, as you checked out and we’re both putting the groceries into the deep basket on your bike, “you seem pretty chill with us being.. abnormal.”

You briefly looked up at him when your fingers accidentally touched between the cans of soda and glasses of milk and then your hand moved the other way, eyes too.

“Well.. who’s to say what’s normal and what’s not in this world, honestly?” you jumped on your seat when you were done with loading and started your ride back.

“I know,” he agreed, jogging way less intensely now as your pace appeared much slower, “but seven siblings all having some weird shit powers is... kind of crazy, don’t you think?”

That made you nod, “Yes, of course. But still, I’m not too baffled about this. What are the odds that a village person like me would even get into a situation like this?” you asked rhetorically, gaze fixed on the rocky-sandy road ahead, “You should accept life as it is! Confusion and denial are a waste of time,” you concluded and extended your left hand as you were driving past an apple tree and managed to rip two fruits at the same time, offering one to Diego - all while still riding a bike.

“I have my superpowers too,” you laughed a little and winked at him, making him flustered as he tried to hide it by biting into his apple.

“What do we have here?” Klaus welcomed both of you at the entrance to the summer house, topless and in a skirt.

��We just bought some groceries since we’re capable of eating the whole fridge out in a day,” Diego deadpanned as he - despite your protests - unloaded your bike storage and went into the house to put the bags there, his arms showing extra muscle that’s normally hidden when his body is relaxed.

Your stare lingered for longer than necessary and Klaus *definitely* picked upon that.

“Darling, if you want to get Diego, be a bit more straightforward with him. He’s a dum-dum,” with the last word he knocked on his own head with a finger and rolled his eyes, giggling playfully afterwards and smacking you on the shoulder.

You defensively did the same, blushing and looking anywhere but at Diego nor Klaus.

Hmmmm, such interesting trees you’re having at your own garden all of the sudden.

“But hey, we’ve all decided that before we start training for the inevitable doom of us all, we would take a break for at least a few days and just go to the beach. When we were coming up we noticed the sea behind all the forests, like.. four kilometres from here?” he looked at you with question, “Have you ever been to the beaches there? Could you guide us?”

You gave it thought only for a brief second and then nodded with a confident smile.

“Sure! I haven’t been there in a year or two but the beaches are still the same, I bet,” you answered and put your hands on hips in a cool posture.

“Thank god!” he impulsively hugged you and let go that instant, “otherwise Five said he wouldn’t let you go with us,” he pouted and then sighed, making his way towards their rusty turquoise-ish car.

You followed him, his words piquing your interest.

“Why does he hate me so much? And why is his name Five?” you narrowed your eyes, plopping yourself on the front seat and sat sideways so you could look at Klaus while talking to him.

“Well, darling...” he started, animatedly throwing his arms in the air, “Five was always a strict man, especially after he came from the future, where he spent like billion years and now he’s 50 year old and always shoves this fact into our young baby faces,” he clearly complained and with annoyed expression continued, “and he’s Five because my name is “officially” Four, but Five was the only one of us who disappeared from the house before our dad even bothered to give us names instead of numbers,” he finished but then remembered and continued, “Actually, it was our AI robotic mom Grace who gave us names,” now he was finished, from somewhere materialising a bottle in his hand and taking a sip from it.

“Anyways, beach trip, babeyyyy!”

“Huh..” you just blinked a few times at him as you heard a hoard of different voices going your way.

You wanted to get out of the car to let them sit however they wanted - you were the odd one out after all - but then they all hoarded in there so quickly that you couldn’t even react, being left in the front seat.

Driver’s seat next to you was empty for now.

As you looked back, Klaus was sitting right behind you, next to him Vanya and on the other side Diego, looking out the window.

Behind them was supposed to be a storage area but they apparently turned it into some diy seats as well, Luther and Allison sitting there, not minding the small space.

Soon the blue sort-of-teleport appeared next to you at the driver’s place and Five briefly threw his gaze at you, swiftly starting the car.

The whole inside of the vehicle roared and you were on your way towards the beach, with you as a main gps they had.

Lovely taglist: @radcloudenthusiast @spacenerdpascal @white-wolf-buckaroo @a-girl-who-loves-disney @undead--ghost

NEXT PART→

#diego x reader #diego hargreeves x reader #tua diego #diego reader insert #the umbrella academy #tua fanfic #umbrella academy x reader #diego hargreeves #number two #number two x reader

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creampuffqueen · 3 years

Text

Just Like This | Chapter One

Summary: Rayla and Callum have been best friends since elementary school. Now, years later, Rayla is discovering new feelings for her best friend. The only problem: she's about 99% sure he doesn't think of her in the same way. Not willing to risk their friendship, Rayla continues to hide her feelings for Callum. How long until the truth comes out?

a/n: Hey everyone! Here it is, the greatly anticipated Rayllum high school au! Please please please reblog this, because Tumblr won't show this post in the main tags due to an affiliate link! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Word Count: 3372

Warnings: Language

Read on Ao3

~~~~

Sunday, September 30th, 2020

Katolis Supermarket, 5:31 PM

“Who wrote this list?” Rayla complained loudly, stalking behind Callum at the grocery store, shaking the piece of paper in his face. Her fellow sophomore was pushing a cart around, eternally focused on the task ahead.

“Well, Claudia suggested it, but everyone else added on,” Callum replied, not even looking at her. Stopping in the middle of the isle, he grabbed a 12-pack of soda and loaded it in the cart. “What’s next?”

Looking over the extensive list again, Rayla frowned. “Uh, it says… ‘those little animal cookie things with sprinkles, you know the ones’.”

Callum finally turned to look at her, a wide grin on his face as they both said “Soren,” in unison.

“Jinx,” Rayla giggled, “You owe me a soda.”

“Okay… just take one from the pack when we get home?”

Both teenagers continued through the store, Rayla getting bored of walking and hanging off the front of the cart, laughing as Callum made a big deal of struggling to push them around.

She supposed they should be hurrying. Evening was approaching quickly, and soon all their friends would be over at Callum’s place to study. Callum had dragged her off to the grocery store to get snacks for their cram session, considering she lived only a street over and had a car.

“We’re all going to be sick by the end of the night,” Rayla sighed, loading more snacks into the cart.

“Well, at least we’ll be awake,” Callum, ever cheerful, turned his head around to grin at her.

At his smile, Rayla felt her heart give a small wayward flutter, though she squished it down quickly. Tonight was important; she needed to pass this test to keep her grade up, and it wouldn’t help if she spent the entire night mulling over how cute her best friend’s smile looked.

“Yeah,” She chuckled, trying to pull herself back to the present. Keep it together, Rayla.

They got their unhealthy amount of junk food, collectively winced at the price, bought it anyway, and set about loading it in the backseat of Rayla’s car.

In no time at all Rayla was driving, Callum reclining in the passenger seat. With the radio cranked up, neither felt the need to talk, content to sit in the comfortable silence.

It was hard to believe that they’d been friends for eight years now. Rayla could still remember the first time they met like it was yesterday.

She was eight years old, in second grade, having just moved to a new school after her parents left on a military tour and she went to live with her uncles. Her first day of school had gone off without a hitch.

That is, until she met Callum at recess.

Content to play by herself, Rayla had been making use of the free time by pretending to build a fort under the slide. While pretending to hammer in nails, she noticed a small group of kids nearby. Two boys and a girl.

While she couldn’t make out all the words, the body language she saw was more than enough. The bigger boy, a head of blond hair, was pointing at the smaller, brown-haired boy, and laughing. The girl, black hair tied in two pigtail braids, was looking between them, unsure of what to do.

Curious eight-year-old Rayla snuck up, for she’d always been good at sneaking, and listened in on the conversation.

“Soren, shut up, he’s going to cry!” The girl said.

“Oh, so little Callum’s a crybaby now?” The boy, Soren, taunted.

“I’m not a crybaby, Soren!” The other boy shouted, though he couldn’t hide the sniffle at the end of his sentence.

“Oooh, Callum’s crying! Who’s gonna help him, his dad? Oh wait-”

Soren didn’t get to finish his sentence.

Well, she thought as she sat in the principal’s office twenty minutes later, Runaan will be happy to know that I’m learning something in my karate class.

All four kids were in the office, sitting in chairs in front of the desk. Callum and the other girl, Claudia, were both still sniffling from residual tears. Soren, fresh from the nurse’s office, was holding an ice pack over a rapidly blackening eye.

The door opened, and in came the principal, shaking her head with a sigh.

“You three again?”

“We didn’t do anything!” Soren shouted, voice whistling through the new gap in his teeth. Oh yeah, she’d knocked a tooth out as well. “She started it!”

“Well you were being really mean to that other kid!” Rayla protested. She and Soren glared at each other from their respective chairs, accusatory fingers pointed straight out.

“I wasn’t being mean, I was just joking!” Soren explained, “Callum’s my friend!”

“Well Soren, what you said was really mean-” Claudia interjected, but the boy, who Rayla had learned was her brother, interrupted.

“Callum, you know I was joking, right?”

“Well…” Soren’s face fell as Callum dropped his gaze to his lap. “It did kind of hurt my feelings, Soren…”

“Wait, you’re friends?” Rayla exclaimed, glancing curiously between both boys. “I thought he was bullying you! And my parents and uncles always said you have to stand up to bullies and-”

“I’m not a bully!” Soren shouted. Voices began to rise between them again, and the principal was forced to interject.

“All of you, quiet down. I’m going to talk with you each individually, and we’ll see what happens then. Callum, come with me. The rest of you: play nice.”

In the end, Rayla got suspended for two days for fighting, and Soren got one day for bullying. Despite the massive lecture Runaan and Ethari subjected her to, Rayla couldn’t help but feel like she’d done the right thing in the end.

When she returned to school, she was surprised to find Callum approach her at recess, a little paper bag clutched shyly in his hands.

“Sorry my friends and I got you in trouble,” He said, passing the bag to her. Opening it, Rayla’s face split into a huge grin at the sight of two tart-things waiting for her, filled with jelly.

“Soren’s usually pretty nice,” Callum continued, “But he doesn’t know when to stop talking. If you hadn’t stepped in, he would have said something mean without thinking, I’m sure. So you kind of helped both of us, in a way.”

“Oh. Well, you’re welcome, I guess. And thanks for the tarts.”

She was about to turn away and enjoy her spoils, but then Callum kept talking.

“Do you want to come play with us? Me and Claudia are pretending to do magic, and Soren’s a knight. You can do magic with us, if you want.”

Well, this game was certainly right up her alley. “I’ll play,” Rayla conceded, “But only if I get to be an elf.”

Callum grinned broadly, pointing to where the two siblings were playing. “Of course.”

~~~~

“The snacks are here!” Rayla called into the house, arms laden with shopping bags. Callum shut the door behind them, similarly burdened with the case of soda.

The pounding of feet sounded overhead, and several heads poked over the stairwell to glimpse the pair in the kitchen. “Finally!” Soren cheered, racing downstairs to try and rifle through the bags Rayla was carrying.

“Not yet, you lump,” Rayla scolded, pushing past the senior boy, “We’ve got to get upstairs at least.”

“Thanks for going to get snacks,” Claudia called, and her thanks was echoed by the other kids there. Callum and Rayla both shrugged, and made their way upstairs to the game room, where they’d all be studying.

Sitting on the various bean bag chairs and couches, the rest of the study group cheered when the food and drinks arrived. Andromeda, Callisto, Ram, Skor, and Marcos all leapt up to snatch the snacks they wanted. When everyone was sitting again, food in hand, Callum gave a dramatic clearing of his throat, turning all the heads in the room towards him.

“So, uh, thanks for coming over. Hopefully we can all actually get some studying done, since, you know, that’s what we’re here for.” He fixed a firm glance on the two couples in the room. “Ground rules: no making out in my house, don’t be super messy, and also please actually study. Soren, no idea what you’re doing here since you’ve already taken this history class, but okay.”

The older boy shrugged, taking a big gulp of his soda. “Moral support. A welcome distraction.”

Callum clapped his hands together once. “Okay then. I actually made a schedule for this, and if we follow it, we can cover all of the sections by… midnight, I think. 11 pm if we work really fast.”

“You made a schedule for studying?” Callisto asked in disbelief. Andromeda laughed, throwing an arm over her partner’s shoulder.

“Yes, I made a schedule for studying, I think it’s going to be very helpful!” Callum defended, crossing his arms over his chest. Even talking with the other two people, his green eyes somehow still managed to find Rayla’s.

She met his gaze, just for a second, heart pounding, before she looked away again. “Well, guys, if Callum wants to make a study schedule, good for him. Let’s just get started; I really need to pass this test.”

“Since when have you been worried about grades, Rayla?” Skor snorted, reclining in a beanbag chair, dumping spicy chips into his mouth.

“Since I’m in four extracurriculars and if I don’t pass, I don’t play.”

“Try-hard,” Soren coughed from his seat. Rayla just flashed him her middle finger, eliciting wild laughter from the rest of the room.

“Guys,” Callum whined, “I’m trying to be productive-”

“Okay, let’s start,” Claudia said, placing a gentle hand on Callum’s arm. It took everything Rayla had not to glare at the other girl, biting back the unwarranted flash of jealousy.

That’s all in the past. We figured it out.

Usually, she could forget just how close Callum was with Soren and Claudia. But then, something like this would happen, and she’d be reminded that before he met her, it was the siblings who were his best friends.

Having known them his whole life, it was no surprise that he’d developed a massive crush on Claudia in middle school. And he never shut up about it.

His confession at the end of seventh grade had very nearly torn their friend group to shreds. He wanted to ask her to the end of year dance, and when Claudia accepted he was ecstatic. Rayla had been happy for him, and just hoped that when they started dating, they wouldn’t be weird about it and make her and Soren uncomfortable.

But as it turned out, Claudia only thought of Callum as a friend. When she told him, Callum was crushed.

Rayla could still remember opening up her front door to see her best friend standing there, tears streaking down his face.

“Rayla, I just- I can’t believe how stupid I am-”

She pulled him into a fierce hug, and didn’t relinquish her grip on him until his mother came to pick him up. At school the next day, nobody could stop her wrath as she stalked up to Claudia and demanded answers.

“How could you?! You know how Callum feels about you, and you led him on anyway!” Rayla shouted.

“I didn’t want to hurt his feelings!” Claudia insisted, “And I do know how he feels and I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea-”

“No, I know what flirting looks like, and you led him on! He believed that you felt the same way!”

Claudia looked on the verge of tears, and some sick part of Rayla was glad for it. Let her feel bad for her actions, let her feel the same way Callum was feeling.

“Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings. I just… I don’t see Callum in that way.”

“Then why’d you keep flirting with him?” Rayla’s voice was dangerously low. Their shouting match had attracted a small audience in the school cafeteria.

“I…” She was at a loss for words.

“You know what?” Rayla snapped, “Save it for someone who cares. Explain yourself to Callum, not me. It’s him who needs the apology.”

The next few weeks were tense. Hardly any of them spoke to each other. Even though Soren was in high school and had nothing to do with the drama, he still sided with his sister, like Rayla knew he would.

Things worked out. Slowly, but surely, they worked out. But not without a lot of tears from everyone involved, a lot of yelling, a lot of accusations. Things worked out.

But even after Claudia and Callum were on speaking terms again, he decided to ditch the dance. Rayla, who never was going in the first place, was more than happy to offer up her couch for a night of movie watching and junk food eating. And sure, Claudia’s Instagram photos were cute, but for Rayla, nothing could beat the fun she was having with her best friend, right here.

Rayla was pretty sure that was when she’d started to fall in love with him. Or, more accurately, when she realized that she already had fallen in love with him.

However, confessing your love to your best friend after a recent heartbreak seemed like a bad idea. So she kept it to herself.

Which, she supposed, was how she found herself here, three years later, still madly in love with her best friend who was none the wiser, getting jealous over a relationship she both knew was purely innocent and also she had no claim over anyway.

Cool, Rayla, very cool.

Shoving down her stupid feelings, Rayla listened as Callum went over his plan for the evening. Review through chapter 2, take a 15 minute break, review through chapter 4, continue pattern until they got through all the chapters they needed.

The plan was met with a loud groan of complaint from Soren’s end. “Callum, why are you even doing this? You literally have a photographic memory.”

“Well, you guys don’t, so really I’m helping all of you!”

“I mean…” Rayla snorted, “Soren does have a point. Why are you so worried about studying, Callum?”

The teenage boy scratched at his neck awkwardly. “Well, uh, it’s kind of embarrassing, but… I’ve only skimmed for answers this entire time. I need to actually read the passages to remember it.”

Rayla just rolled her eyes. “Callum. Everyone on earth just skims for answers. We know you’re all goody two-shoes, teacher’s pet, but chill. You’re going to be fine.”

“How are you so chill, Rayla?” Callum demanded, “Weren’t you just freaking out, like, two seconds ago? Hello, Miss I’m-in-every-sport-imaginable?”

“Changing the subject!” Rayla declared loudly, “Open up the textbook, Callum!”

~~~~

“Time check,” Ram moaned from where his face was pressed into one of the beanbag chairs, “How much longer?”

“We’re at-” Callum attempted to respond, but was cut off by a yawn.

“Chapter six?” Rayla asked, though she wasn’t too sure herself. All the words were beginning to jumble together on the pages. At some point her notecards had gotten mixed up, and random dates and events were scattered all over the room.

“No, the time,” Ram complained. The other boy sat up, brushing his shaggy white hair from his eyes. “What time is it? My curfew is 11:30.”

Callisto grabbed their phone and took a glance. “11:15.”

“Ok, let’s review,” Callum suggested. However, the entire room gave a loud groan of complaint.

“My brain is melting!” Soren cried, dramatically tossing his head into Marcos’s lap. His boyfriend rolled his eyes at his antics, though he threaded his fingers through the other boy’s blond hair.

“Soren, you don’t have to take this test tomorrow!” Claudia snapped, “Don’t start whining!” The girl looked almost ready to start pulling her hair out.

“Alright,” Andromeda sighed, “My mom’s calling; she’s probably here to pick me up. Thanks for this, Callum. If I find a quizlet I’ll send it in the groupchat, okay?”

“Yes!” Skor cheered, “Quizlet is my lifesaver!”

“Pass me some Doritos, Rayla,” Callum muttered in quiet defeat. Rayla hummed in agreement, grabbing the chip bag from the pile of snacks nearby. Her friend was so tired that he didn’t even complain when she took a couple for herself.

One by one, the room began to empty. Callisto’s dad came to pick them up, Ram agreed to drive Skor home, and Claudia, Soren, and Marcos piled into Soren’s little car to drive off into the night.

That just left Rayla. And Callum. Alone.

“Place is a mess,” Callum sighed, taking in all the damage. Although they’d started out pretty clean, as the night wore on everyone got lazier and started just piling the trash where they were sitting. Crumbs spilled over the carpet, and empty soda cans rolled about.

“Let me help clean,” Rayla offered, “I mean, some of the mess is mine.” She gestured to the notecards spilled everywhere. Her mind was a bit fuzzy from exhaustion, but she was pretty sure she and Soren had started throwing them at each other at one point.

“No, it’s fine-” Callum sputtered, but Rayla just rolled her eyes.

“Let me help. Then we can both go to bed and you won’t get in trouble for the mess.” She left no room for argument, and started gathering up all the garbage and stuffing it in the empty grocery bags.

They worked in companionable silence, just tidying up the room. Rayla knew his house well enough to know where everything went, and tossed out all the garbage and swept up the lingering crumbs. Soon enough, the room looked nearly spotless again.

“See, fast!” Rayla chuckled. She glanced at her phone. “Just in time, too. Runaan’s asking where I am.”

Callum surprised her with a sudden hug, catching her off guard for a moment before she returned it, trying to calm her fluttering heart.

It’s just a hug. Friends hug all the time, don’t get all excited.

“Thanks for coming,” Callum said, a tiny bit breathlessly, “I know you were worried about the test and I wanted to help, sorry it got kind of out of hand.”

“You… organized this all… for me?” Rayla hoped her face wasn’t as red as it felt.

“Well, yeah,” He laughed, “Even though you probably didn’t need it. You know all the material really well.”

“Only thanks to you, and you know that,” Giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder, Rayla couldn’t contain her grin. “I do feel better prepared, though. I’ll pass. If my brain doesn’t turn to mush first.”

“You’ll ace it,” Callum assured her, “I’m sure of it.”

His green eyes were so bright. And his smile so genuine. Rayla returned it, albeit with less enthusiasm. “Thanks.” Her voice sounded stupidly high-pitched, even to her.

He held her gaze for another long moment before glancing down, at the buzzing phone in her hand that she hadn’t even noticed, too caught up in staring. “You should go. Get some sleep for the test tomorrow, huh?”

“Yeah,” Rayla breathed, “You too. I’ll see in English tomorrow.”

It was an effort to leave the room. To walk down the stairs, quietly so she wouldn’t wake his parents, and out the front door. To open up her door and get in the car, turn the key in the ignition.

The entire street was silent. That’s how it always was, she supposed. The first to arrive and the last to leave. A glance up told her Callum was staring out his bedroom window at her, watching her leave.

With a heavy sigh, Rayla put the car in reverse. Pulled out of the driveway.

She wasn’t naive. Callum had always been big on physical contact, and it had never meant anything more than he cared. She wasn’t willing to put her heart on the line like that, not when she was sure he didn’t like her that way.

Rayla was a risk taker. Always had been. But this? To risk the relationship she already had with her best friend? That was one risk she would never be willing to take.

~~~~

a/n: Poor Rayla! I would like to apologize to everyone in advance; the pining is not going to get better for a LONG TIME

Tag List: (comment to be added or removed)

@hipster-rapunzel

#the dragon prince #tdp #mal writes stuff #rayllum #rayla x callum

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maaaaaatryoshka0325 · 4 years

Text

It Isn’t Home Without You - Bang Chan

Warnings: angst, fluff

You leaned your head against the window of the plain, your eyes watching as Korea disappeared from your view and all that was seen was ocean. You clutched Chan’s hoodie in your lap, tears brimming your eyes from the fight the two of you had gotten into. It was the worst fight, and it made you want to go home.

- Flash Back -

You walked into the dorms, being greeted by Minho, who was sitting at the kitchen table.

“He’s in his room.” He told you.

You nodded and walked up the steps, stopping outside of his door. You took a deep breath and knocked, not surprised you didn’t get a response. You slowly pushed the door open to see him sitting in a chair, his hair messy, eyes bearing heavy eye bags. He had headphones in, his laptop placed on the desk by his bed.

“Chan?” You called.

Chan turned his head to look at you, eyes unfocused as he did so. You slowly stepped in the room, walking towards him. He turned back to his computer, messing with the audio of the next song. You placed your hand on his shoulder and he tensed, making you pull your hand away.

“Chan, have you eaten?” You asked.

Chan didn’t respond, he just kept his eyes on his laptop.

“Chan.” You said again.

He let out a frustrated groan and ripped his headphones out, turning around and looking at you.

“Y/N we’ve had this conversation before, don’t bother me while I’m working.” He grumbled.

“I’m not trying to bother you Chan, I’m trying to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. You look terrible.” You said, scanning his face.

“I’m fine Y/N, go home.” He said, turning back and putting his headphones back in.

“When did you last sleep?” You asked.

He ignored you, hitting a few keys on his laptop. You popped one of his headphones out, making his eyes snap towards you.

“Chan when did you last sleep?” You asked again.

“Don’t worry about it Y/N.” He mumbled, pulling the headphone from your hand and putting it back in.

You pulled it out again, this time a little harder, making his lap top fall into his lap and close. You had released the headphone in shock from accidentally making his laptop fall, your eyes wide. Chan lifted his laptop off of his lap and slammed it on the desk before whipping around towards you.

“Are you fucking serious Y/N?” He yelled. “I worked all night on that track and it might be gone now! Happy?! You have my attention, what the fuck do you want?!”

The way his voice boomed made your body tense up, tears filling your eyes.

“I’m sorry Chan I didn’t mean to-“

“Sorry isn’t going to fix this!” He yelled. “I worked so hard on that track! I was almost finished! What you had to say couldn’t of waited?!”

Your lip trembled as you tried to speak, but his booming voice kept cutting you off.

“Go home Y/N! Now I have to redo a whole track and I’m already stressed out and you just made it worse! Don’t fucking bother me again!” He yelled.

You back away from him as tears began to spill past yours eyes.

“Fine.” You said shakily. “I won’t fucking worry about you or bother you again.”

You ran out of the dorms, your heart shattering as you did so.

- Flash Back Ends -

Your plane landed and you grabbed your luggage, hauling it to the exit. You had asked your mom to stay the week, as your boss gave you the okay to take your paid week off. Your apartment was almost empty by the time you packed all of your clothes and threw out all the food that would spoil by the time you got back. Your mom pulled up to the airport, her eyes sparkling as she met you half way and hugged you.

You couldn’t help but hug her tight as tears began to pour down from your eyes.

“Y/N? Why are you crying?” She asked, pulling away from you.

“Can we talk at the house?” You asked.

She nodded and helped you load your belongings into the trunk of her car, before you both got in and headed back towards your home. When you got back, you smiled when you saw your room the same way it was when you had left.

“We’ve missed you.” Your mom said, standing in the doorway.

“I’ve missed you guys too. Where’s dad?” You asked.

“Business trip. When one comes home, the other leaves.” She chuckled.

You smiled and looked down at your hands, playing with your fingers.

“Did something happen?” Your mom asked.

You sighed as she sat down beside you, watching your face.

“Chan and I got into a really bad fight. He’s really stressed out and I guess I made it worse. I came home because I need time away from the stress of work and worrying about him...” You sighed.

“Has he tried to talk to you since?” She asked.

“I don’t know... I kept my phone off besides when I bought the plane tickets and called you. Then the service I have doesn’t work here, so if he has been, I wouldn’t know.” You said.

“Maybe it’ll be an eye opener for him. Stress gets the best of us, but I’ve seen the way that boy looks at you. I know he loves you.” She said reassuringly.

You hugged her tightly and smiled.

“Thank you, mom.” You thanked her, feeling comforted by the smell of her perfume.

“I’m always here Y/N.” She said, rubbing your back.

Sleeping in your old room was difficult that night. You missed your bedroom in your apartment, and you missed the chances of Chan coming into your apartment and sliding in your bed with you. You missed him so much, and it’s only been three days since you last talked, before the argument.

The image of him angry, of him yelling at you, made tears well up in your eyes. You were only trying to make sure he was taking care of himself, as you knew he neglected himself at times like these. You didn’t mean to mess up the new track, and guilt was starting to eat at you. You had just ruined it for not only him, but the other members too.

Your mom woke you up with breakfast the next morning, and she noticed you just picking at it.

“Are you okay? You look like you hardly slept.” She said, rubbing your shoulder.

“I messed up a track he was working so hard on. Not only did I ruin it for him, but the other members too....” You sighed.

“Honey, people make mistakes. I’m sure they’re bummed about it, but it can be fixed.” She said.

You gave her a soft smile and nodded as she stood up.

“Now hurry up and finish your breakfast, we’re gonna do some shopping today!”

Your mom loved nothing more than to windowshop. Picking things up, and putting them back, then staring at other things she didn’t need.

“Isn’t this cute Y/N?” She asked, lifting up a patterned shirt.

“Yeah, as a table cloth.” You laughed.

“Whatever.” She giggled, putting it back.

You both picked out a couple outfits, and she insisted on paying. You both walked through the small town when the cafe you used to spend most of your time at caught your eye.

“I’m gonna go in.” You said to your mom.

“Okay, I’ll meet you at the car.” She said with a smile.

You stepped into the cafe, and the barista you used to have a huge crush on was behind the counter.

“Do my eyes deceive me, or is that really miss Y/N?” He asked, laughing loudly.

“It is I.” You giggled.

He came around the counter and gave you a hug, and then pulled away.

“How is it in Korea? Or are you coming back?” He asked.

“I’m just here for a visit, and I love Korea.” You said with a smile.

He smiled at you and nodded.

“Find a boyfriend?” He asked.

“I did.” You said with a smile.

The events from a few days ago flashed in your mind, but you quickly shook them off.

“Ah, does he have a good job?” He asked.

“He does, he’s always busy though.” You sighed.

“Does he treat you well?” He asked.

You nodded with a big smile.

“Then that’s all that matters.” He said.

You waved him goodbye as he gave you a cup of (favorite cafe drink) and you met your mom at the car.

“Feel good being home?” She asked.

“Of course.” You said with a smile.

You helped your mom put away the groceries as she was getting ready to cook dinner, when you both heard a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it.” She said, walking by you.

You continued to put away the groceries, keeping the ones that you needed for dinner, when your mom called your name.

“Yes?” You called.

“It’s for you.” She called.

You walked towards the door in confusion, and your mother passed you on the way to the kitchen.

“I’m gonna continue making dinner.” She said as she passed you.

You stepped towards the front door and looked up, almost gasping.

Chan stood in front of you, a bouquet of your favorite flowers in his hands. His tired eyes met yours, and you noticed it look like he’s been crying.

“Chris? What are you doing here?” You asked, pulling him into the house.

“A friend of mine works at the airport and said you bought a one way ticket here... And when I went to your apartment it was so empty...” He said, his voice cracking. “So I came here hoping to get you back... I don’t want to lose you Y/N. I really don’t....”

Tears began to slip down his cheeks, his tired eyes red. You took the flowers from his hands and gently put them down, swallowing the lump in your throat. When you turned to him, his eyes were scanning your face.

“Please don’t leave me... Please.” He whispered.

You stepped into his arms and buried your face into his shoulder, his arms wrapping around your tightly as a small sob left his lips.

“I could never leave you, silly.” You whispered as your tears soaked his hoodie.

He hugged you tighter as he buried his face in your shoulder. You both sat like that until you calmed down. When you pulled away, his eyes were on yours, and you gave him a soft smile as you stretched your hand out and slid it on his cheek, wiping away a stray tear.

“I love you too much to leave you Chris.” You said.

“I love you too Y/N, so much.” He said back.

“But I messed up your track..” You said.

“No, you didn’t. When it fell, something added to it and made the beat better. You saved the track, Y/N. And I’m so, so sorry for what I said. You don’t bother me, I know you just worry, and I’m sorry for worrying you.” He said with a soft smile.

You smiled and stepped back into his arms, your face in the crook of his neck. He stroked your back, placing a kiss on your head.

“Will you come back home with me?” He asked.

“Of course Chris, it isn’t home without you.” You said as you pulled away and smiled at him.

“Why did you buy a one way ticket? Did you plan on moving back?” He asked.

“No, I just didn’t know how long I was going to stay, and I didn’t want to rush myself.” You giggled.

He sighed in relief and smiled at you before wrapping his arms around your waist and bringing you into a sweet kiss.

“I missed you.” He whispered.

“I missed you too.” You whispered back.

“So I’m assuming your staying for dinner Chris?” Your mom asked.

You both giggled and pulled away from each other, and he gave your mom a polite smile.

“If you’ have me.” Chan said politely.

“Of course! Come sit down and eat.” Your mom said with a smile.

You held Chan’s hand as you led him to the kitchen, and in that little gesture, you felt like you were home.

#bang chan #bangchan #bang chan stray kids #stray kids bang chan #stray kids chan #chan stray kids #skz bang chan #bang chan skz #skz chan #chan skz #straykids #stray kids #stray kids angst #stray kids fluff #bang chan angst #bang chan fluff #stray kids imagines

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amara-scott · 3 years

Text

Unexpected Journey

Movie: Triple Frontier Characters: Tom "Redfly" Davis x Reader Categories: some Angst, yelling, a lil fluff (good ending?)

"Could you pass me the salt?" I ask, stirring the sauce while keeping my eyes on the recipe that is written in this old book my mom gave me last month. She said even her grandma used it for cooking. Definitely looks and smells like that. I sigh, glancing up and see Tom staring down at his phone. "Earth to Tom?" I swing the tea cloth over my shoulder and lower the heat of the stove, seeing as the sauce is done anyway.

I take a couple careful steps toward his figure, him leaning against the countertop a few feet away. He is chewing his lower lip, deep in thought. His fingers moving across the screen as he types away.

"Hey there." I say, tilting my head slightly, trying to take a better look at his face. He finally meets my eyes but only shortly, looking back down onto the screen.

"Hey." He replies. At least. I throw the towel onto the counter next to him and stroke his upper arms.

"What's up?" I ask, not trying to come off as too nosey. He sighs, locking his phone and placing it onto the counter beside him before fully paying attention to me. He sends me a small smile. A tight one that doesn't reach his eyes.

"Nothing, all good." I hum at his reply, raising a brow, not believing him. He wipes at his face, gulping and turns to the side, my hands falling off his forearms I kept stroking with my thumbs.

He walks over to the pot, stirring and tasting with a spoon, his eyes squinting. "Needs salt." He holds out his hand to me and I grin, shaking my head as I see his smirk growing.

___

"-And I told her, you can't just walk up to him and say that! He'll think you're insane!" I giggle as I tell him about last weekend where I went out to drink cocktails with my best friends from high school. It's been way too long since I've seen them, us all having lives but all kept living in the same town we grew up in together.

He chuckles along and takes another bite of his potatoes, dipping them in the sauce. He seemed distant all day. Especially after that text conversation earlier.

"So, what's going on, Tom?" I try again, gently.

"Nothing, why?" He looks up, sitting up straight and takes the napkin to wipe his mouth before taking a sip of his beer.

"Just- you seem distant and like something is bugging you or someone-"

"-(Y/N), everything is good. Don't worry, okay?" He tries again but I don't get that reassuring feeling whenever he says 'it's all good'. Quite the opposite actually. The more I hear it, the less I believe it.

I place down my fork and clear my throat, drinking my wine. I place the nearly empty glass back down on the table and sit back, crossing my arms. Eyes boring holes into the table cloth.

"It just doesn't seem that way, is what I'm saying-"

"Seriously, let's drop this, okay? Nothing is the matter, you're about to make a big fuss over nothing. Just- don't." I look up at him as he uses his stern voice, like he's scolding me. I frown at him, rubbing my thighs, the topic really itching me and he knows it.

"But if something was the matter, you know you can talk to me, right?"

He sighs, closing his eyes, jaw tight. He stands up then, taking our plates and walking into the kitchen. I look after him and regret saying anything. My eyes back on the table, the rain outside catching my attention next. Loud, whistling wind and hard droplets coming down on the windows.

What a great date night. I stand up with a heavy sigh and take our glasses, following him into the kitchen. He's loading the dish washer as I walk up next to him to empty our drinks and he steps aside, giving me room to add the glasses to the dish washer. I close it and when I turn around he is gone. Way to avoid me now. After grabbing two bottles of water for us I head up as well.

I enter the bedroom but he's not here, neither in the bathroom. So he's in the study. I roll my eyes and place the bottles onto our night stands, getting ready for bed. I thought we'd have a romantic dinner and maybe even have sex but- I guess not. I am mad at myself for ruining this. But also disappointed, he clearly keeps something from me that is bugging him. But I realise it's probably for the better to just give him space.

I pull my dress over my head and glance at myself in the mirror as I take one of his shirts from the drawer. My new lingerie set. I huff, pulling off the black lace bra and throw it into the corner, missing the chair but I don't care right now.

"Tom, you coming to bed?" I ask down the hall as I enter the bathroom.

"Yeah, in a few." So, no. He won't. He will wait until I'm asleep.

Once between our comfy sheets I lie there, staring at the ceiling and listening to the rain. Soon my eyes drop closed and I drift off.

Light kisses to my neck stir me half-awake but I don't move, nor do I open my eyes. I feel him cuddling up to me, arm around my waist as he pulls me a bit tighter against him, breathing down my neck. I shift my hand up, placing it above his' and lacing our fingers. His thumb running across my hand as he leaves a kiss on my shoulder.

"I love you." He whispers, his beard tickling my neck. He told me one day that he hates going to bed without telling me at least once. I smile into my pillow but don't answer. Hoping he believes I fell back asleep already.

___

The next couple days we don't talk as much. Silent smiles and quick kisses. That's all. But I want to give him space. I remind myself every day. I know I would want the same.

We sit at the table, eating breakfast in silence. I choose to make his favourite for him while I eat cereal. Not really in the mood for anything fancy. The radio is playing in the background softly. The window open, allowing fresh air to enter our kitchen and the morning sun warming my skin.

"Santiago wants to come over later." He says and keeps his eyes glued to the newspaper beside his plate. I take a sip of my orange juice and nod.

"Does he want to stay for dinner? I wanted to make fresh homemade pizza." He nods, sending me a small smile.

"Sounds good." Conversation over. I hold back a sigh and stand up, clearing the table off dirty dishes and grab a few bags from under the sink.

"I'll go get some groceries, I'll be back later." I kiss his cheek, leaning over his shoulder and he places his hand on mine that rests there. His lips brush against my knuckles.

"I love you." He says, glancing at me over his shoulder as he lets go of my hand. I smile and kiss his cheek again.

"Love you more." I walk into the hallway and put on my shoes, grabbing my keys and phone, throwing both into my bag.

"Do you need anything else, Tom?" I call out but he says no, so I walk out the door, taking the silver pick up to get shopping.

Once I'm done I make my way back, parking in the driveway, another car already there. Santiagos. I smile, finally someone else to maybe get Tom back to his usual self.

I step outside and open the backseat door, taking a glance at the five bags and deciding I only want to walk once. I got this. Once I have all of them in my hands and arms I turn to the side, kicking the door shut with my hip, but it didn't close fully. I roll my eyes, sighing. Can't change that now.

"Need any help?" I nearly drop a bag at Santiago's voice but turn carefully, smiling at him through the paper bags.

"Hey you! How are you?" I say but slowly feel my arms getting heavy. He jogs over and takes the bags easily.

"Gimme those- I'm good, what about you? You look good." I wave him off, smiling and close the truck again. Walking toward the front door with him.

"You charmer, I'm good- you're staying for dinner?" I ask and he nods, grinning.

"Wouldn't miss (y/n)'s famous homemade pizza for anything." I open the door for him and take my shoes off after closing the front door once he's inside.

"Oh, you're in for a treat mister." I joke and follow him into the kitchen.

"Yeah? I sure hope so."

I see Tom outside in the backyard, drinking a beer and tell Santiago to go back to his playdate. He pinches my side and I flinch, playfully glaring at him as he exits, taking a couple cool beers with him on the way.

I store everything away and prepare the dough already, prepping all toppings and making the sauce. Once I'm done the men both walk back inside, Tom walking up behind me and kissing my cheek.

"How was the store?" I sigh thinking back.

"Damn crowded. For whatever reason. It's a sunny Friday afternoon."

"I feel like grocery stores are always crowded. No matter the day or time." I agree with Santiago as I pop a strawberry into my mouth, I offer them some after washing them and they happily start munching.

"So, what's the occasion for your visit? Just stopping by?" I ask as I sit down with them at the table. Must be torching outside.

"Yeah, something like that." I nod, not pressing the subject.

"Actually-" He starts again, glancing at Tom who shakes his head at him. "-come on man, you have to tell her eventually." He sighs, rubbing at his face.

"What's going on?" I ask, folding my arms and looking between them both.

"Nothing, it's-"

'-no, Tom, I'm actually tired of hearing that."

He looks up at me, hard face. "Let's not do this right now."

"When? Later? Tomorrow? In a week? Tom, I've been waiting for at least two weeks now. Giving you space, not pressing the subject- but I'm drained. I'm constantly worrying, my head is full of scenarios and none of them are any good. You either tell me or I will squeeze this out of Santiago."

There's a moment of silence before Santiago stands up. "I'm gonna be outside guys, Tom should be the one telling you." He pats my shoulder on the way out and closes the door to the backyard once he's outside.

My eyes are glued to Tom but he is just staring at the table, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"It's a bit more complicated." He starts and I sigh, relieved. He's finally telling me. At least that's what it feels like.

"I don't care how long you need or if you have to start over and over again. I'm right here, right beside you." I take his hand from his head and hold it in mine on the table. I send him a small smile, hoping I could encourage him to tell me everything that's been resting on his big heart.

He gulps, nodding. "You know that Santiago and I used to work together. Back in my military days." He pauses, looking at me. I nod, remembering him telling me on one of our first dates because I mentioned that a man in a uniform is instantly more attractive. He wanted to brag. But I also admired him. His bravery. I still do.

"Him and a few others I served with are going on a mission again." He continues, eyes not meeting mine. I stop stroking his hand but don't pull it off. I gulp.

I also remember telling him no matter how hot a guy is in a uniform, I could probably never be with a soldier, the constant worry, the goodbye. Not knowing what might happen.

I slowly nod, glancing over to the backyard, watching Santiago talking on the phone. I look back at Tom who finally meets my eyes.

"And you're joining them?" I state, even though I wanted it to be a question. He sighs, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

"I'm not sure." I pull my hand away and rub my eyes, standing up and walking toward the sink, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. I gulp it all down, setting the glass back down on the counter, hanging my head a bit. I close my eyes, then feel him behind me, running his hands up and down my arms.

"That's why you've been ignoring me?" I ask, turning back around, his hands falling to his sides.

"I needed to think. I had to weigh my options."

"What conclusion did you come to?" I ask, trying not to sound disappointed or sad. But it's hard.

"That I have to do this-" I want to interrupt him but he holds up a hand. "-I have to. If I want to be able to give you what you deserve. Provide for you. Have a good future with you. I can't even fucking afford a new fucking truck right now. How am I supposed to offer you a good, happy, carefree life if I can't even do something as simple as that?" He stops, seeming frustrated with himself and shaking his head at himself. He's avoiding my eyes now. "I fucked up my first try at a family. I don't want to loose you too."

I wait for a moment. Watching and waiting. But when he doesn't add anything I step closer and hug him, pulling his head down to my neck. I stroke his scalp and his arms go around my middle, pulling me even tighter. I feel a warm and wet sensation on the shoulder where his head is laying on.

"It's okay, you're okay." I whisper and can't hold back my own tears anymore. Seeing him break down like this was never something I'd want to witness. But I'm glad he opened up to me. Finally. The shows me he trusts me enough to let me in.

"You don't have to do any job for me, earn any money for me, dress a specific way for me- hell I don't even mind the truck. I love him. I call him Chuck the truck sometimes. You refused to name him, so- I had to get creative." He chuckles into my shoulder before lifting his head, shaking his head at me.

"I don't deserve you." He says, cupping the right side of my face and running his thumb across my cheek.

"Wrong. You deserve everything, Tom." He sighs, looking down between us before finding my eyes again.

"I don't." He argues but I can't respond before he kisses me, holding my face with both hands now. I melt against him and my fingers wrap around his wrists.

"I can come back another day-" We pull apart and look over at Santiago, holding up an empty beer bottle while grinning.

"No, you'll suffer for what you started."

With that Tom kisses me again, grinning against my lips as I giggle, hearing Santiago groaning and walking back out.

#imagine #tom davis x reader #tom davis imagine #triple frontier #triple frontier imagine

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captainjimothycarter · 3 years

Note

steggy + 17 :) thamks !!!

this is just...so bad and it makes no sense

“That was incredibly stupid of you,” Peggy sighed out of her nose, all the while glaring down at the blonde curled up (to the best of his ability) inside of the wheelchair. “Not only was it incredibly stupid - what-what if you had gotten hurt, Steve? Worst than that! What if you had bled out and died in my arms?! What if-”

She only stopped her rambling, well-deserved rebuke when a car pulled up and Sam swiftly walked around to help load the scrawny bastard inside of the car.

“I don’t think he’s listening to you,” Sam pointed out as they managed to buckle the guy inside. “Steve’s out like a light. The hell did they give him?”

“Enough pain meds to shut him up,” Peggy grumbled, walking around so she could sit in the passenger seat. Her arms folded across her chest as Sam got back behind the wheel and he started to slowly ease them back into traffic.

“You know...when you called to tell me Steve was stabbed outside of your bar, I wasn’t worried.” Peggy shot him a look and Sam’s shoulders shrugged. “Look, I was it’s just...Steve gets into these fights every day. Every other day. A stabbing? I thought it was just...well, it wasn’t real. That you or he were pulling my leg. I’m glad to see he’s okay. The doc say anything useful?”

“Plenty useful, I just don’t know if Steve heard any of it.” She sighed and rubbed a hand over her temples. Sam didn’t miss the show she glanced back to the slumped over blonde. “I was so worried when he started to...bleed out. I didn’t think. I used the damn trashcan lid he had and beat the guy senseless, stole his wallet, and took Steve to the hospital.”

Sam almost stopped the car for that one, making Peggy flinch. Her hand reached back to steady Steve and at least their driver had the decency to look apologetic. “I’m sorry - you stole the guy who stabbed Steve’s wallet?”

“Yes, and?” She raised her brow at him. “It was foolish and I wasn’t thinking, but I wanted some information on him to give to the police. I was more thinking of getting Steve to the hospital. Thankfully the doctors said it was a shallow wound and just required a few stitches and a hell of a lot of pain medication. He wasn’t even complaining of being in pain, just...just apologizing over and over again.”

“And the ranting earlier?”

“Me letting steam out since I have no idiot to punch.”

Sam sighed just as loud as she did, drumming his fingers onto the wheel. “Do I need to say it?”

“Say what?!”

“Carter, you ain’t stupid.” His eyes set on hers as they pulled into the parking spot outside of her apartment. “Steve might’ve been stabbed, but it was to protect you. Or the building. Or who knows, a three-legged kitten. Who’s to say why those idiots were fighting him. Either way, the kid likes you. He apologized because he knew it upset you. Don’t...don’t let this go and upset you even worst, okay? Steve is a brat sometimes, unmistakeably stubborn, but when he likes someone or is even friends with them, then he has a fierce protection streak.

That being said…” Sam shrugged and let a small smile fall on his lips. “He does like you.”

Christ, as if she didn’t know. Or worst, as if she didn’t like him enough as it was.

She knew Steve was stubborn. No matter how many times she turned Steve away from her bar, not because he was annoying patrons or playing White Knight, but just so he could go get some sleep or take care of himself, he always found a reason to stay. They’d met at her bar months ago, when he stumbled in from the rain, claimed in some stumbling over the manner of his own words that he liked her bar. He’d found excuses to come back, despite he’d said he couldn’t drink. He stayed to protect innocent college girls from creepers, to make sure no one lingered around the bar to hurt her. To fill in for waitresses, chefs, even help her clean at night.

And by the end of the night, when they needed to go home, he always hesitated to say something. Once or twice, Peggy found herself so close to just grabbing him and kissing him. Instead, he’d stumbled out something about a good night before running away.

Just to come back the next day.

“Don’t I know it,” Peggy sighed. “Frankly, I like him too. I just…” She shrugged slightly. “I should just ask him out already. Put an end to this dancing around. I don’t know what’s stopping me. My own reserve? Worry for...dragging him into the bar life? Fuck, he got stabbed because of me!”

There came the crashing guilt, the guilt and pain she’s put off for hours. That she was too focused on holding Steve’s hand, ignoring her own anxiety over the whole manner. Her fist slammed down onto her thigh and she found Sam’s arms tightly around her.

Damn this bastard and his ability to read her. Damn him for giving good hugs.

“I know, I know,” he purred, rubbing up and down Peggy’s arm as she cried into his shoulder. “Well, now you can ask him out once he’s not hyped up on some pain meds. Come on, I’ll help you get him inside.”

Sam was a good man, a good friend. She didn’t know what she’d do without him.

“Are you sure you don’t mind taking care of the bar for a few days?” Peggy asked him after Steve was tucked into her bed, a glass of water nearby.

“I don’t mind. I could do with the experience,” Sam mused, leaning into the doorway. “I promise I won’t let Clint drink all the beer.”

“Or Bucky,” she pointed out.

Sam’s lips broke out into a grin, pulling her up for another hug. “Take care of the kid, alright? Stubborn bastard.”

Sam was right. She’d danced around Steve for far too long and why? She wasn’t oblivious to her feelings for him. She liked him. Christ, in the right circumstances, she loved him. She loved to watch his eyes light up when they got to discussing art or even politics. She loved how opinionated he could be. How fierce he was in his opinions. How righteous he was. How he fought for the little people.

She loved how caring he was, paying more than enough food to give out to the homeless people nearby despite she did that out of her own pocket. She loved how he took care of old people and helped them with their groceries.

Christ, she was in love with Steve and denied it the entire time.

Maybe...maybe she denied it because she didn’t want him in this life. She sunk her whole savings into this bar, ran away from home, took the first job as a waitress in this bar, and kept it up and going until the owner signed it over. Now it was one of the best gay bars in town. It was friendly and open and while it was classified as a bar, she knew Clint and Angie next door ran the bakery and cafe to stay open just as late for those who didn’t like the bar scene.

She loved how Steve tried to be in both places at once to help.

Christ, she loved him.

It was Steve’s soft grunting that made her look up from pouring over the police files and the doctor’s notes. She turned around from the counter and frowned at the scrawny thing, in one of Sam’s borrowed shirts, hobbling to her. His face was flushed, with freckles standing out. He was covered in sweat and smelled like the hospital as he reached her.

She was stunned as he kissed her lips and Peggy sunk into it.

Until it struck her. He was high on pain meds and possibly wouldn’t remember this.

“Steven?” She breathed, gently eased him off of her. “Are you okay? Why are you out of bed? Did you-”

“I love you,” Steve interrupted her. His face turned to the color of a tomato at this point. “I love you, Peggy. I-I heard you and Sam talking in the car. I love you and I”m sorry for everything. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before. I’m sorry that I didn’t just come inside when you told me. I-”

He was silenced by her kissing, kept to a bare minimum given the fact he was still holding onto his side.

“How out of it on meds are you?” She asked, touching his face.

“I ain’t. I told you, I got a high pain tolerance, especially to drugs. They took the edge off is all.” His face was covered in sweat and he looked green as if to prove a point as he shrugged. “Pegs…”

“No,” she breathed, shaking her head. “Let’s get you cleaned up first, then we can talk.”

It took some maneuvering to get Steve back to bed and using a cool washcloth to clean the sweat off of his body. She inspected the sound to be sure no stitches were torn and breathed a sigh of relief when they weren’t. She retreated to the kitchen, just to bring back leftovers heated up for him to slowly eat.

“You worried me,” she told him, sitting on edge of the bed. “Worried isn’t even the word I can use right now. You...christ, Steven, I was terrified! I thought I was going to faint when you started to bleed out! I was so terrified that he-he had killed you! What made you do that?!”

“I heard him and his buddies threatening to kill you because you’re…” He stopped and swallowed the bite of fried rice. “Because you ran the gay bar. Let’s just put it that way. I didn’t think, that’s the problem and I think everyone in my life will agree I ain’t never had a thought in my life. I just...saw red. I know you can protect yourself but all I could do was...protect you.”

At least Steve looked almost ashamed but that’s not what Peggy wanted. She didn’t want him to be ashamed or guilty. She wanted him to just understand how close she came to losing him and how terrified that made him feel.

“Steven…” She saw the way his shoulders squared in what he thought was a lecture to come, she was lectured out. “Look at me, darling, by no means am I...happy about this. I don’t need saving, but I am thankful for what you did. Beyond means that I can express. I am also so glad that you’re alive and okay and…” She took the empty containers and set them to the side, crawling up his frame so she could lay on his good side.

“And,” she continued. “And...I want...to go further...about us. We don’t have to talk about it now because we’re both utterly exhausted, but I’d...like to discuss it in the future.”

“Oh good,” Steve breathed, his cheeks flushing a bright pink. He tucked himself into her side, too tired to continue this topic of how wrong and right he was. “Because I like spending time with you.”

#Steggy #StevePeggy #Steggy Prompt #if-we-had-a-monkey

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chincilla-on-the-moon · 4 years

Text

“Nice To Meet You Too”-Connor Murphy X Reader (Soulmate AU)

Word Count: 4,164

A/N: Hey everyone! It’s been a hot minute but here’s my second fic, I made the reader gender neutral so more people could enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who reads this and everyone who read my last fic, it is very much appreciated! Hope you have an amazing day! :)

Everyone was born with a tattoo on their inner left wrist with the first words their soulmate would ever say to them. These tattoos would disappear after the words had been said. Some people just had a simple “Hello!”s or “Excuse me!”s and nothing else, others had things such as totals from various purchases and what not but you were lucky, yours included your soulmate’s name. It read, “Uh, I’m Connor, nice to meet you too.” Connor. It was a lovely name but there were also a lot of people named Connor which led to you constantly getting your hopes up. You always went out of your way to introduce yourself to people named Connor and probably looked a little insane while doing so. A few of your friends had met their soulmates in elementary school but as high school went on more and more people were meeting their partners for life while you were still alone. You became a little discouraged but knew that yours was out there and you were going to meet them eventually. Then came some of the best and worst news of your life. You were moving out of state at the end of junior year a couple of weeks after school got out. You were partially overjoyed because you had already interacted with every single Connor in your area but it also meant you were leaving your home of almost eighteen years. Your junior year went by faster than you would have liked and the time came to say goodbye to your childhood best friend Quinn. They came over to help your family pack as they were like the second child your parents never had and once the last box was put into the U-HAUL truck the two of you broke down crying and gave one another the biggest hug.

Once the breakdown was finished you gave each other one last tear-filled smile before you got into the front seat of your parents’ car and pulled out of the driveway of your childhood home. As you were sitting in the passenger seat with your earbuds in you though of Quinn and how you met. The two of you were in the same preschool, on the first day during playtime you were sitting alone and they came up and declared you two were going to be best friends for forever and the rest was history. You were indeed best friends and were almost never seen without the other. You soon became sad so decided to try and think of something else. You knew Quinn was going to be okay because they had recently met their soulmate so they weren’t going to be alone during this transition period for the two of you. You, on the other hand, were not so sure how you were going to cope. Sure facetime was a thing that existed but it definitely wasn’t the same as Quinn just busting into your house at random times and your parents just being okay with it. You slowly fell into a dreamless sleep for the majority of the rest of the trip.

When you woke up again your mom informed you that you were just about two hours from your new home. You got out at the gas station you were currently stopped at and went to the bathroom and got a few snacks for you and your mom to share. You started to stare out the window and soon your thoughts went to your soulmate, Connor. You hoped that you were going to get to meet him soon as this was currently the only thing keeping you going. You finally arrived at your new house about an hour before sunset. You and your parents began to unload everything from the U-HAUL truck. It took a lot longer without Quinn and you ended up having to finish in the dark. While your dad was returning the truck you and your mom decided to unpack the necessities then leave the rest for tomorrow. When your dad came back the three of you decided to get something to eat and just drive around the town.

You got food from Mcdonalds and took in the sights of your new home. It was a nice town, not too big or small, it looked like there were a lot of things to do and places to eat. The last stop on your sightseeing tour was the town’s high school. It looked a lot bigger than your previous school and you thought that building was hard to navigate so you could tell this was going to be a nightmare. On your way home you noticed a park right by your house. You could tell just by looking at it that it would be the perfect place to walk to at 3 AM when you couldn't fall asleep and just wanted to forget about all your troubles. Once you got home you found the box with your sleeping bag and pillow in it and found your new room. You set up your sleeping bag in your empty room, your furniture wasn’t supposed to arrive for a few days so you were stuck sleeping on the floor for the time being. You stared up at the textured ceiling and tried to fall asleep because you knew tomorrow was going to be filled with loads of unpacking but for some reason, you just couldn’t so you were going to call Quinn to just check in but decided against it since you remembered they were hanging out with their soulmate tonight. So you did what you always did when Quinn wasn’t available, imagine what your soulmate looked like. You really didn’t care what ‘Connor’ looked like it was just fun to try and put a face to a name. Slowly you fell into a dreamless sleep.

Your mother came into your room at about 8:30 so you could start unpacking. You finished the living room, kitchen, and bathroom before lunchtime. You finished doing the rest of your house just before dinner time. You stood in your room, it was painted a nice light grey and you had hung up some of your posters and pictures and strung up your lights which made you feel more at home. Your dad called upstairs to tell you that he had picked up dinner on his way home from work. While the three of you were eating he talked about his new job, he was a lawyer and had gotten an amazing opportunity at a pretty well-known law firm, which is why you guys moved. He told you about his new office and some dick named Larry he worked with. Once dinner was finished the three of you talked for a couple of hours about how everyone was feeling about the move, as the conversation was winding down you felt yourself growing tired, you bid your parents goodnight went upstairs to bed. Thoughts of how you were going to arrange your room filled your head, the furniture was supposed to arrive the next afternoon and you couldn’t wait to finally finish setting up your room. That night you had a weird beauty and the beast-esque dream filled with talking furniture.

The furniture truck arrived around 12:30 that afternoon and you finished setting up your room at about 3, you decided to facetime Quinn to show them your new room. They helped you decide where to put a couple small things then after that the two of you just caught up, they told you all about how amazing their soulmate was and you couldn’t help but feel a small pang of jealousy, they asked about ‘Connor’ and you told them you hadn’t found him yet. You lied and told them your mom was calling so you could stop talking about soulmates cause it was making you upset. After you got off the phone you and your mom decided to get lunch at a locally owned diner which made you feel a lot better about not finding Connor yet, before you went home you stopped at the grocery store and picked up somethings so you could begin making food in your own kitchen. Once you got home you decided to take a nap until dinner was ready. You woke up around 5:15 and saw that Quinn had sent you a message so you responded and told them about your lunch, just as you hit send on your message you heard your dad come in and your mom called up to you to tell you dinner was ready. Dinner was good and your dad said work was good which made you feel like maybe this move was a good thing.

The next morning your mom barged into your room and told you to get up and get ready to go tour your new school. You begrudgingly got up and dressed, you then went downstairs to meet your mom. The two of you headed out to her car and on the way put you grabbed some fruit so you wouldn’t be cranky during the tour. Once you arrived and found the main office you met your principal and she gave you your schedule and then introduced you to your tour guide, Alana Beck. She was very pretty and you could tell she was smart just by looking at her. Once your principal set you loose so the tour could actually begin Alana became much more talkative, not in a bad way, of course, it was nice to not have to worry about keeping the conversation going. As the tour progressed you felt your anxiety melting away, the building actually wasn’t that hard to navigate and your classes were easy enough to find. You and Alana found your way back to the principal’s office but before you went in Alana gave you her number that way if you had any questions about anything you could always text her. It was nice to know you already knew someone at school and wouldn’t be going in with a completely clean slate. You went into the office and said good-bye to Alana and your new principal. You walked out of that building feeling oddly calm. You and your mom went out to breakfast and you got one of your favorite diner foods. Your mom dropped you off at home after breakfast because she had to go to her first day at her new job.

You decided to walk down to that little park you saw on your drive around the town. You put in your earbuds and started walking. It took a little while for you to find it but you did eventually. When you arrived you saw that there was another person there. They were sitting on the swingset. You decided to walk around the block to try and avoid human contact at all costs. When you looped back around to the park you saw the tall figure still sitting on a swing. You were tempted to take another lap around the block but there was a feeling in your gut telling you not to. So you didn’t. You decided to just sit on the farthest swing from the person. You decided to sneak a peek. They had wavy brown hair that reached their shoulders and were wearing all black, just like you. You chuckled to yourself, maybe a little too loudly cause the person turned and looked at you. FUCK! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK! Why did I have to fucking do that! It wasn’t even that funny!” you thought to yourself. They continued to look at you. “Wow, they’re pretty. WAIT, not the time you idiot! Holy shit what do I do? Should I say something?! I should say something. Right?” before you could even contemplate what to do you felt yourself opening your mouth and saying “Sorry, I just noticed we’re both wearing black and thought it was kinda funny. Anyways, I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you.”, you awkwardly stuck your hand out for them to shake.

They hesitantly took it and said, “Uh, I’m Connor, nice to meet you too.” You swore you died right then and there, you could not believe your ears. The two of you just realized what happened and said “Holy shit” in perfect unison.

“HOLY SHIT!” you squealed. You ran over to Connor and gave him a gigantic hug, you could tell you scared him with this sudden physical contact but eventually hugged back just as tight as you. At some point, you had started crying out of pure happiness because OH MY GOSH you just met your soulmate! The two of you eventually pulled apart and you just looked at him and soaked in his beauty. You noticed that half of his left eye was a rich dark brown while the other half and eye were a light blue. You noticed how angular his face was and how nice his lips were.

“Soooooo,” he said in a very dragged out manner. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know I’ve never met my soulmate before,” you say, hoping to lighten the tension. “I guess get to know each other if that’s cool with you.”

“Yeah sounds good. What do you want to know?”

“Why have I never seen you before?”

“I just moved here a couple of days ago with my parents. My dad got a good job opportunity at some law firm around here so we moved.”

“Wait is your last name L/N?”

“Yeah? How’d you know?” you asked, suddenly growing very aware of the fact you and Connor were alone in the park.

“Holy Shit, calm the fuck down. I’m not a creep I swear,” he said getting kind of angry with you, you guessed your internal freakout was showing on the outside. “My dad works at that law firm and mentioned something about a new hire.”

“Oh okay. Sorry for freaking out dude. It was just kinda weird that someone I just met knew my last name regardless if we were soulmates or not.” you said in a very sincere manner, you really didn’t want to mess up your relationship in the very beginning.

“It's all good, don't worry about it,” he says, tension leaving his body. “My last name is Murphy if you were wondering.”

“Well nice to finally meet you, Connor Murphy.”

“Nice to finally meet you too Y/N L/N.”

You and Connor sat in the park until dusk just talking about anything and everything. He told you about his family and how school was hell for him and you told him how anxious you felt moving here. Maybe it was because you were soulmates but the two of you just felt so comfortable around each other already. Before you left he gave you his phone number and you gave him a promise to text him. On the walk home, you felt as if you were walking on air. You quickly whipped out your phone and texted Quinn telling them all about Connor. They let you rant over text about him for most of your walk home, they were so happy for you. You decided to text Connor before you went into your house. As you were walking in the front door he texted you back and you had a gigantic dopey grin on your face. Your parents stopped talking as you walked into the living room, your mom asked, “What’s got you so happy?”

“Oh nothing,” you said over dramatically. “Just met my soulmate that’s all. No biggie,” you said shrugging your shoulders and biting your lip in an attempt to hold back your smile.

“Oh my gosh honey!” your mother said practically jumping over the couch to reach you. “When? How? Where? What does he look like?” she asked, barely breathing while doing so. You wanted to keep them in suspense for a little bit but decided against it as you didn’t want your mother bursting a blood vessel.

“Earlier today. After you dropped me off and went to work I decided to walk to that little park not that far from here and that's where I met him,” you said suddenly feeling shy about the whole thing, you weren't a fan of being bombarded with all these questions from your mother. Once you satisfied your mom with adequate answers you went up to your room and continued to text Connor. The two of you were planning your first date, well more like Connor was planning your first date because you didn’t know anything to do. Connor suggested getting dinner and seeing a movie in the town next to yours and you thought that was a lovely idea. The date was set for Saturday which was still a few days away from now lucky for you because it meant you had a couple of days to figure out your outfit and get advice from Quinn. You and Connor were texting for hours before you looked at the clock on your nightstand and realized that it was four in the morning, you bid Connor goodnight and went to bed with a stupid grin on your face.

When you woke up you immediately texted Quinn to tell them about your plans for this weekend. They were so happy for you and they agreed to help you pick out an outfit. You were on facetime for hours modeling different outfit choices before you picked one, it was casual but still looked like you were making an effort. Once the outfit situation was figured out you started talking about the actual date, you started freaking out a little bit because ‘oh my god’ what if he didn’t like you but Quinn was quick to reassure you that he was literally your soulmate and you two were meant to be together. You spent the next few days texting Connor and waiting for Saturday.

Finally, after much anticipation, Saturday arrived! You could barely sleep the previous night you were so excited. It was like the night before going on a big field trip in elementary school, you had your clothes laid out and made sure literally everything was perfect. You woke up early to get ready, you showered, did a face mask and painted your nails to kill time while waiting for Connor to pick you up. Once the time that was decided upon rolled around you saw a black truck pull up in front of your house. You didn’t even need the text saying he was here to know that it was Connor’s. You said goodbye to your parents and practically ran out to Connor’s truck. Once you reached it Connor told you to wait while he got out and opened the door for you with a blush on his face. He quickly went around to the driver's side and got in, he reached into the back seat and pulled out flowers which you found very sweet. “Ah so chivalry isn’t dead,” you said while laughing lightly.

“No it isn’t,” he said while smiling. The drive over was filled with the sound of a playlist Connor made, conversation was scarce as both of you were scared to mess this up. You pulled up to the restaurant and Connor quickly got out and opened the door for you again. You thanked him and fixed your disheveled outfit. The restaurant was a nice little diner with an ice cream place attached to it when you walked in Connor got the two of you a booth. The booth was in the back corner of the restaurant, the seats were a little worn down but still comfortable. Once the two of you got settled in, a nice middle-aged woman came over and got your drink orders, you guys looked over your menus and silently decided what you were going to get to eat. You decided you had enough of this awkward silence and started a conversation.

“Soooo, how was your day Connor?”

After that, the ice was broken and conversation between you two came naturally. You talked about things such as your favorite TV shows, movies, and books. The service was fast and soon after placing your order the food came and it was pretty good. Once your waitress dropped off the check at your booth Connor insisted on paying much to your dismay, after that two of you got some ice cream before heading to the movie theatre. This time Connor let you have the AUX Cord and you played some stuff from your favorite artist, he had only heard a couple of their songs so he asked you about them which resulted in you rambling about them for almost the entire 15-minute car ride to the movie theatre. Once you were done you had realized how long you’d been talking and started apologizing and blushing immensely. Connor only laughed and told you it was fine with a huge smile on his face, what he didn’t tell you is that he found it extremely cute. Once you arrived at the theatre you bought your tickets and headed in. Although you two just ate dinner you decide to get some stuff from the snack bar. After getting your snacks you found your theatre and settled into the somewhat uncomfy seats just in time for the previews to start. Neither of you were particularly interested in the movie but you still watched it nonetheless. About halfway through the movie Connor “smoothly” put his arm around your shoulders and you leaned your head into him. Now neither of you wanted the movie to end now but alas it had to, on your way out you grabbed Connor’s hand and didn’t let go until you had to to be able to get in the car but once you clicked your seat belts Connor reached across the center console and put his hand out for you to hold if you wanted to, and you wanted to. On the way home you talked about the movie then somehow you got on the topic of soulmate tattoos.

“Do you know how insane I went going out of my way to introduce myself to every single person named Connor?” you say while laughing. “I literally introduced myself to every single one of them in my old town and even the surrounding counties!”

“I’m sorry my parents named me something so basic I’ll be sure to scold them for it,” he says while pretending to be serious.

“I think I’ll have to fight them when I meet them!” you say still laughing. This is what cracks him and he begins to laugh with you.

“Oh my god please do!” he says with a gigantic smile on his face.

After that, the two of you calm down but still have dumb grins on your faces.

“How did you feel walking around with the stupid thing I said to you on your wrist for seventeen years?”

“It was comforting knowing my soulmate was an emo piece of shit like me,” he says with a grin.

“Hey! I’m not emo! I just happen to like the color black,” you say pouting.

“Okay whatever helps you sleep at night sunshine,” he says with an overdramatic eye roll. After that, the two of you fell into a comfortable silence which was nothing like the one on the ride over. Sooner than you would’ve liked Connor pulled up in front of your house.

“Here we are”

“Yup,” you say, not wanting to get out just yet. “Thank you for tonight I had a really amazing time.”

“Of course,” he says, turning to look at you. Once he does so a small smile appears on his pretty face. You decided this would be a good note to leave on, you reluctantly let go of his hand and began to collect your things. You look at Connor and don’t know what possesses you but you give him a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll text you tomorrow, okay?” you ask, your cheeks on fire from what you had just done.

“Mhm, sounds good,” he says, barely above a whisper. Face beat red, he puts his hand up to the place you had just kissed. “Good night Y/N.”

“Good night Connor,” you say while opening the door of his truck. You shut the door and smile at him and walk up to your front door. You wave at him to let him know you got in okay and as a final goodbye for the night. Your parents were out for the night so you didn’t have to deal with your mom’s bombardment of questions about the date until breakfast the following morning. You went upstairs and changed into your pajamas, still smiling. You texted Quinn and let them know how perfect the date went, making sure to let them know every single detail. That night you dreamed of Connor, your future together and how happy you were to meet him.

#connor murphy #Connor Murphy x Reader #connor murphy fanfiction #connor murphy fanfic #dear evan hansen fanfic #dear evan hansen #dear evan hansen x reader #alana beck #broadway x reader #musical x reader #Broadway #musicals #broadway fanfic #musical fanfic #x reader #character x reader #character x you

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shuahoonie · 4 years

Text

you. [tom holland] - five.

PAIRING: tom holland x female!celebrity!reader

SUMMARY: ah, to be young and in love. it sounds great if only you and tom were actually dating out of pure love and not for the sheer reputation of your careers. it also should be great if you two actually got along, but life isn’t that easy.

WARNINGS: mostly swearing! sexual innuendos are present kids! a bit of fluff, a bit of angst. it’s haters to lovers / fake dating au so take that information as you wish! this is definitely a filler chapter tho.

WORD COUNT: 3761 words

SONG INSPO: hard times - paramore

A/N: hiya babes! sorry if i skipped a two weeks-worth of an update, got caught up from uni & my part-time job. been writing for uni a lot, and ngl yall kinda wanna cry! anyways, the amount of love i’ve received for this series is wild you guys!!! thank you so much for the kind words! i know i suck at replying but please know that i really appreciate it you guys and y’all make me feel soft and so loved 🥺 sorry again for the late update, hope this makes up for it!! enjoy part five & happy reading x 🥰💛

UPDATES EVERY SATURDAY 11 PM CST

gif credits: @thwip

You woke up by the sun beaming on your face. Already dreading the day, you pulled the covers over your head and buried yourself in the pile of pillows that were taking up most of the space on your bed. God, you were exhausted from yesterday.

See, yesterday- yesterday was a blur. Everything happened so fast. You and Tom were trending on Twitter for god-knows how many hours. Headlines about you two dating were plastered everywhere.

It made you roll your eyes. Do people care that much? And they do. People cared a lot about you two. People said that you two look great together, while a handful said you were in it for the clout. Technically, we both are.

So, now that you got the people’s attention, what’s next?

Well, for starters, they started tracking yours and Tom’s relationship from where and how it started. They wouldn’t find anything because you two aren’t really dating in the first place.

However, they did compilations of possible hints that you two were dating-or maybe was just getting to know each other. Luckily for you two, you followed each other on Instagram for quite a while now so you got that foundation to build up.

You liked some of his photos before, as did he. You actually found Tom quite adorable back then. The first time you saw him was when you saw Captain America: Civil War with your friends. You and your friends bonded over watching Marvel movies and once you saw Tom Holland as Peter Parker on screen, it was safe to say that you weren’t just crushing on Sebastian Stan anymore.

However, you did convince yourself that nothing trumps over your crush on Sebastian Stan. You also convinced yourself that you were crushing on Peter Parker-not Tom Holland. Peter Parker was sweet and kind, Tom Holland was not.

You pushed off the covers and finally pulled yourself out of bed. After doing your morning routine, you threw yourself into the couch with a coffee in hand while a toast on the other.

Today was your last day off before you went back to taping so you were expecting a pretty dull day today- that is until your phone kept on buzzing.

You looked at the caller ID before letting out a huge groan, “Zoë, Please for the love of God, it’s my day off.”

“Good morning to you too, Y/N.” Your manager said on the other line. “And I know it’s your day off, I just wanted to check up on you.”

You furrowed your brows. “That sounds oddly suspicious, what are you planning to do, Zoë?”

“Would you relax, Y/N? I was just asking if you have anything to do for your day off.” She replied.

“I’ll probably do a bit of grocery shopping later, but other than that I might bury myself in blankets and watch movies in the living room.” You answered and took a bite of your toast, frowning as you tried to swallow your sad and bland breakfast.

“Okay, that’s good to know-Oh, and I also wanted to tell you that your taping tomorrow has been moved for the next two days. Apparently, Alissa won’t be back till tomorrow.”

“Oh, thank god,” You sighed, relieved to hear that you have another day off. “Thanks for the heads up, Zo. I’ll see ‘ya soon.” You hung up the phone and finished the piece of toast.

You watched a few episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine before you gathered up the will to get yourself ready. After taking a well-deserved warm bath and doing your extensive skincare routine -watching videos about Koreans sharing their skincare routine on Youtube really got the best of you and your bank account- You put on a plain white shirt and paired it with your favourite pair of mom jeans.

As you grabbed your keys and your wallet, ready to bust out the door, you heard your phone ring.

“Are you home?”

“Yes, I am, Ronnie. Why are you asking?” You asked her.

“Cool. Can you open the door please?” She asked on the other line.

Confused, you opened your front door and sure enough, Veronica was standing in front of your apartment wearing her university sweatshirt and denim jeans.

“Oh thank god you’re ready, I had the most awful day at school. I just received my paper for my 400-level political science class and let’s just say that the mark I got, I haven’t done it in bed for a while now.” Veronica ranted off, taking her shoes off before placing her books on the coffee table.

It took you a solid minute before you just realized what she just said. “Ronnie, I don’t want to know about your sex life-” You said before you fixed your hair. “Or lack thereof.”

“I could really use some good fucking, ‘yannoe?”

“Jesus Christ, Ronnie-” You sighed as you handed her shoes back to her. “C’mon, I have to do some serious grocery shopping.”

“Okay, but I’m driving,” Ronnie said as she grabbed her car keys. “You’re a horrible driver.”

“Works for me,” You shrugged and locked the front door.

The travel to the grocery store was typical: you two belting One Direction songs the whole time. You and Veronica were strolling the yogurt aisle when she asked about your whole love life situation.

“Oi, I thought you and Tom weren’t dating?” She asked as she put an assorted pack of yogurt down the cart.

“I’m never going to eat that,” You pointed at the yogurt. “And we aren’t.”

“I will eat it whenever I stop by unannounced at your place,” Veronica argued. “Then what’s with that photo that I’ve seen with you two holding hands yesterday?”

You looked around, checking if there was anybody within-distance that could hear whatever you were about to say. “We’re not actually dating.” You murmured.

“Come again?” Veronica asked, completely lost.

“We’re just doing it for publicity.” You whispered loud enough for Ronnie to hear.

“I’m sorry, but how exactly did it escalate to that?” She asked, totally confused.

“Remember that stunt I pulled at the club the other day?”

“Yeah, you were all over the news.”

“That was the reason as to why it had to escalate to me and him dating.” You answered as you pushed the cart again.

“Yeah, no, I need a cup of coffee before we do this, I’m all caffeine-out,” Veronica said before she bid of herself off and went towards the Starbucks that was found near the entrance of the store.

You rolled your eyes playfully at your friend and carried on completing the least stressful adult task for you.

It was actually quite serene. You managed to finish your shopping without people noticing you-well, that’s a stretch. People did notice you. Most of them gave you an acknowledging nod followed by a small smile, some of them asked for a photo, and only a few just stared at you-which you didn’t mind.

You were paying for your things when Veronica appeared right beside you with a cup of coffee in hand. “What? Did the line at Starbucks reach the parking lot? What took you so long?”

“No, but a cute guy bought me a drink.” She beamed, taking a sip of her coffee.

You chuckled. “Good for you, Ronnie.”

“Y/N, girl, I swear- he has the most gorgeous eyes.” Ronnie carried on, the smile was stuck on her face. “Oh, he was so sweet.” She sighed happily.

You were happy for your friend since it’s not every day she meets someone that she’s completely enamoured with. However, she can express her liking for this guy while helping you load the grocery back in the cart. “Ronnie, that sounds great and all, but can you help me with the groceries so we can leave now?” You practically begged.

Veronica nodded and helped you load the groceries back in the cart, immediately speeding up the process. Taking too much time fixing your groceries at the till always gave you anxiety, especially when there’s a long queue behind you.

“Oh my god, Y/N,” Veronica gasped as you two were walking towards the parking lot.

“What? What happened? Are you okay?” You asked, completely baffled.

“I forgot to tell you that he has this amazing accent,” She sighed, making you roll your eyes.

“Ronnie, I swear to god I will fucking kill you.” You grumbled as Veronica opened the trunk of her car and started handing you the groceries for you to put in.

“I forgot to get his name though,” She mumbled. “which is a bummer because he was honestly a godsend.”

All you could do was roll your eyes as you were lost for words.

“Oh, quit rolling your eyes at me. Just because you have a boyfriend, doesn’t mean I don’t deserve to have one.” Ronnie pointed out.

“As if I actually have a boyfriend,” You countered, finishing up with the groceries.

“Whatever,” Veronica mumbled and shut off the trunk of her car. “I’ll just put this cart back and-”

“Hey, Veronica, was it?”

You and Veronica both turned your heads towards the person who just called Veronica’s name. As soon as she saw who the voice belonged to, it gave her extreme delight.

“Yes,” She beamed at the brunette with insanely blue eyes. “We talked earlier but I didn’t get your name.”

“Sorry ‘bout that. I had to take a phone call and when I got back, you weren’t there.” The guy explained. You took a good look at him. He seemed familiar but you couldn’t exactly put your finger on it.

“No, you’re okay! I had to go back to my friend here-which reminds me,” Veronica pulled you closer “This is my best friend, Y/N, Y/N, this is-”

“Harrison,” The guy smiled at you and extended his hand for you to shake. You politely shook his hand and after what seemed like an eternity, his eyes widened. “Wait, You’re Y/N L/N, right? From the Alchemist?”

You gave him a small nod, still trying to figure out who he is. “You’re also Tom’s girlfriend, I presume?” He asked a bit shyly.

“Great. I can’t believe I have to live with that label attached to my name now.” You thought to yourself.

You weren’t exactly sure if and how you were going to answer his question. Where are you with this stunt anyway? Are you and Tom supposed to be vocal about your relationship or were you two just blatant and left the people to figure out for themselves?

Harrison seemed to take notice of your hesitation in regard to the question. “It’s okay,” He says softly. “I know.”

“Pardon me?”

“I know the real deal about you and Tom.” He whispered.

There was a look of panic in Veronica’s eyes. “Yeah, that they’re totally in love.” She said defensively. You, however, seemed unbothered. You were also curious. You’ve seen Harrison before but you couldn’t point out where you’ve seen him.

“Harrison, you’re Tom’s best friend, yeah?” You asked him, starting to get a picture of how familiar he is.

Harrison nodded. “I wasn’t really expecting for our first meeting to be like this.” He chuckled.

“Eh, it’s alright,” You shrugged. “Much better for us to meet this way and in our own circumstance, considering your friend makes everything ten times more unbearable.”

Harrison let out a small laugh, “Tom’s not that bad once you get to know him.”

“Oh trust me, I know him plenty and so far, I’m not liking it.” You argued quite defensively. “Well, I’ll leave you two to chat for a bit as I put this cart back in its place.” You said as you gave Veronica a short look, in which she beamed at you in return.

You purposely took your time with returning the pushcart back in its rightful area. You fumbled with your phone for a bit, checking your Twitter only to find out that you’re still trending and people still have no idea what to feel about you and Tom’s relationship.

“Why did I pour my drink all over him again?” You asked yourself in frustration.

As you walked back towards Ronnie’s car, you saw your best friend and Harrison talk animatedly around each other with their smiles never leaving their faces.

The tad bitter side of you wondered if their mouths hurt from all that smiling, it also made you wonder if it’s even okay for a normal person to smile that much. However, the better part of you was glad that your best friend was happy. Veronica needed to be happy.

Soon after, they bid their goodbyes, not before exchanging phone numbers. Harrison gave you a friendly wave-goodbye before he walked towards his car.

As soon as you sat on the passenger seat of Ronnie’s car, you were already greeted by a huge smile on her face.

“Okay, don’t get mad-” Ronnie began.

You groaned. Knowing your best friend, you knew that she did something that will get you mad. “Ronnie, what did you do?”

“Okay, so I know that tonight was supposed to be our movie night but I just couldn’t help it! You know me through thick and thin, Y/N! You know how I do things impulsively around guys that I’m interested in. I’m like a mindless machine around them! I don’t even know why I’m talking this much when I usually have everything under control but Harrison-”

“Ronnie sweetie, breathe,” You said with your hands placed on top of her shoulders. “You are babbling and I need you to get straight to the point.”

Veronica took a deep breath before she said the words that almost made you want to smack the living daylights out of your friend. “I invited Harrison for dinner and I told him he can bring Tom too.”

“Could you stop?” Veronica threw the kitchen towel at you as you continued to glare at her. “You’re being childish, hon.”

“I am not being childish! You’re being childish.” You argued, crossing your arms.

Veronica just stared at you, her face seemingly screams that she’s absolutely done with you.

“Okay, so maybe I am being childish,” You admitted. “But you threw the towel at me so I’m not the only one here with an attitude.”

Veronica rolled her eyes as she finished setting up the table. You two were supposed to have pasta over dinner and have a Harry Potter movie marathon while eating junk food. Well, you two were still going to do it, except this time you’re joined by Harrison and Tom.

“This is the worst thing you’ve ever done to me,” You said dramatically.

“Y/N, hon, you’re exaggerating. I’m pretty sure this evening’s not going to be bad.” Ronnie commented.

Veronica left the kitchen and proceeded to the living room to check her makeup in the mirror that was propped over the wall. You followed her into the living room and threw yourself on the couch.

“Ronnie, why did you even invite them? Don’t you have classes tomorrow? Also, aren’t you supposed to be writing your paper for your social class?” You asked as you watched Ronnie retouch her makeup.

You were trying your best to cancel this dinner. You tried to reason with your best friend though because this is your house in the first place. However, she pulled the “This is my chance in getting myself a love life” card and she has moaned for years that she really wants to meet someone. You’d do anything for Veronica’s happiness. You’d also do anything to keep your best friend quiet about how she wants to date so bad.

“I already have my draft for that paper, just need to edit it,” Ronnie replied as she applied a coat of mascara. “Besides, I don’t have any classes on Mondays, you knew that.”

“Right,” you mumbled. “Still think this is a bad idea though. Things got so unbearable with Tom yesterday, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle another day with that guy ever again.”

After your whole lunch scene with Tom yesterday, it felt suffocating. It was unbearable. He was back with his usual snarky attitude and it drove you mad.

You learned one sure thing about your set-up though: He was only charming around other people, but if it’s just you two? He was a jerk.

Not even a minute later, the doorbell rang. You got up and checked who was at the door and sure enough, two familiar faces filled up the screen.

“Speaking of the devil,” You muttered before opening the door and was greeted by Harrison who gave you a hug.

“Thanks for having us over, Y/N” Harrison said as he pulled away from the short hug. He then proceeded to give Veronica one, and it was obvious that his intentions were solely focused on her anyway.

“Uh, yeah. No problem.” You said almost awkwardly as you gave Ronnie a look, who in turn mouthed a grateful ‘Thank you’.

You turned back to the door and saw that Tom standing there, a stoic look on his face. He looked like he came out of a photoshoot based on the clothes he was wearing: slouchy black button-ups and a pair of denim jeans. “Holland,” You greeted him as you opened the door a bit wider.

“Y/L/N,” He said as he gave you a once-over. “You look...” Tom seemed like he was really trying hard to think of a nice word to say.

“Don’t strain yourself,” You said as you rolled your eyes.

You were wearing an oversized band shirt -that was tied in a knot at the front- and paired it with high-waisted patterned pants. You and Ronnie shared a small argument on what you should wear for dinner.

She insisted that you should dress for your comfort while looking presentable and you argued that that is the outfit that gave you comfort.

You also argued that Ronnie and her guests should be glad that you weren’t wearing sweatpants like you anticipated before Ronnie invited people for dinner.

“Good because I wasn’t planning to,” Tom nagged, sending you into absolute overdrive.

As soon as he had his back turned on you, you resisted the urge of strangling him right then and there.

Unbeknownst to you and Tom, Veronica and Harrison caught the frustration painted on your face causing them to chuckle amongst themselves.

You and Tom had only known each other for two days at most, and yet you already had the most confusing relationship that existed in this world.

“If this carries throughout the evening, the world will know me not as Tom Holland’s girlfriend, but as the girl who killed him.” You muttered to Veronica as you passed by her.

“Relax, Y/N,” Veronica chuckled as she put a hand over your shoulder. “Dinner wouldn’t be that bad.”

Saying that dinner wouldn’t be that bad would be an understatement. Dinner was horrible.

Veronica and Harrison were pretty much occupied during the entire meal. They mostly had their attention to each other, which didn’t surprise you. Ronnie and Harrison were smitten for each other, it actually made you snort.

You and Tom, though, were a different case. You two were seated across each other and you two wouldn’t stop bickering.

It started when Tom accidentally kicked your foot underneath the table.

“Ouch!” You yelped. “Why did you kick me?!”

“It was an accident,” He said defensively.

“Psh, right” You scoffed. “Accident my ass.”

The “I accidentally kicked you underneath the table” carried on for the entire meal, with you and Tom exchanging kicks every few minutes.

You two also shared glares throughout the dinner.

“Why are you mad at me?!” Tom argued.

“Because you’re here!”

“Well, why did you invite me then?!”

“I didn’t! It was all her!” You hissed as you pointed at Veronica who was rather talking intimately with Harrison, and was also very much oblivious to the argument unveiling in front of her and Haz.

“God, why did I even think coming here was a good idea.” Tom moaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously annoyed.

It didn’t even end there, as you all moved from the kitchen and into the living room to start the Harry Potter marathon, you and Tom started bickering over a piece of furniture.

As Ronnie and Haz went to the loveseat sofa, you claimed the larger couch so you could lay down while watching the film and leaving Tom with nothing to sit on. You didn’t have much furniture considering you’re the only one who lives in this apartment.

“Scoot over, Y/N.” He said as he approached the couch you were laying on.

“You can sit at the ottoman.”

“And have nothing to rest my back on?”

“God, you are such a diva.” You grumbled. “Just sit on the floor then.” You replied as you pulled the faux fur blanket over you, keeping you warm and cozy.

“I don’t want to sit on the floor for hours,” Tom argued as he tried to pull you up from your position.

“Fine, I’ll get you the floor cushion.” You said in defeat.

“I want to sit on the couch, Y/N.”

“I am not moving, Holland. You can’t make me.” You said rather childishly.

“Fine,” Tom sighed and pulled the ottoman closer to the couch. He pulled up your feet and sat on the end of the couch as he propped his feet on top of the ottoman. He placed your feet on top of his lap, as you claimed you weren’t going to get up from your laying down position. “Then don’t move.” He dictated, leaving you to roll your eyes.

And as for the cherry on top, you had your manager nag you to post something about your evening. You didn’t even know that Veronica filmed a quick story for her Instagram until you received a message from Zoë saying: “A couple of fans that follow Ronnie saw her story. Share it on your Insta too, it adds foundation to our story.”

Ronnie’s Insta story showed the television playing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone, and it panned to Harrison who was smiling softly at the camera and then, panned to you and Tom who were sharing the couch. You two were watching intently and from the looks of it, you looked like a very believable couple.

Your manager was right and that irked you. The devil works hard but Zoë works harder.

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