aria725

[aria725]

Oscar Isaac at "D23 Expo", 2019

[aria725]

Even though I wanted to karate chop Frank in the face, he was so sweet to Lily and that’s the only thing that matters. I couldn’t imagine having the first interaction with him, especially with the way my nerves are set up wheeeeww! He’ll be in the doghouse for a bit.

Neighbors [Chapter 1]

Pairing: Frank Castle x Fem!Reader Word Count: 4.6k

[Series Chapter List and Summary]

Warnings/tags: 18+; contains friends to lovers, violence, fluff, eventual smut, angst

a/n: Finally chapter one is here after that initial prologue! And so is Frank in this part! Feedback is always appreciated!

Tag list: @danzer8705 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @mycobrakai1972 @stilllivindue2spite @luvr-bunnyy @pone21

Keeping your hand steady, you continued to write out the new seasonal menu on the chalkboard hanging by the coffee shop's register. Every beginning of the month you'd change the specialty lattes over to some different flavor combinations that you'd come up with which you felt were fitting for that time of year, and this morning it was time for that list to change.

You had been focused on what you were doing for the past fifteen minutes now, teeth biting down on your lip in concentration, until a noise coming from the back of the coffee shop caught your ear. Your hand momentarily paused on the ‘B’ you'd been trying to write as you attempted to decipher the sound, beginning to feel slightly on edge. Despite the fact that your shop was bright and airy inside, full of natural light from the large shop windows that allowed for the varying plants you had everywhere to thrive, you always found yourself a little nervous when you were here alone. It was always a fear of yours that something would happen–even if this was generally a friendly small town.

Turning your head, you focused on the door that led to the backroom as the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder. Your hand tightened around the bit of chalk you were holding, your body tensing. Seconds later you spotted Allison making her way through the doorway. Quickly relaxing at the sight of her, you felt ridiculous for having been on edge thinking it could've been anyone else.

Of course it was just Allison, you told yourself. She was on the schedule to open today.   

She sent you a smile when she saw you standing in front of the chalkboard. “Good morning, boss!” she greeted you.

“Morning, Aly,” you replied, attention returning back to the chalkboard. “Do you mind unlocking the front door so I can finish working on this?”

“Already on it!” she replied.

She made her way around the counter, grabbing your keyring from off of the top of it as she passed by. You heard her make her way over to the front door and stick the key into the lock as you finished up the second line on the seasonal menu. You lowered your hand, taking a step back and eyeing your handiwork, trying to see if the lettering looked even enough by your perfectionist standards. 

“So I went on that date last night,” Allison told you.

“Oh yeah?” you asked, head turning to the side as your eyes narrowed at the spacing of a few words. “How'd the second date go?”

Allison placed the keys back onto the counter near you before she made her way back around it. With a sigh you finally figured the second line looked perfect enough and you began to focus on starting the third line.

“Awful,” she told you. “I don't think I've endured so many awkward silences in my life. I mean, it's like he lost the ability to make small talk entirely this time!”

“Maybe he was just nervous?” you told her, focused on the ‘L’ you had begun writing. “You are a big personality after all.”

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Allison grab an apron from off the back wall and throw it on. Chewing on your bottom lip again, you tried to perfectly space out the next letter with the lines already written above this one. If anything was just slightly off, you knew it would bother you all month long. 

“Yeah, maybe,” Allison said with a sigh, coming to rest her forearms onto the countertop near you. “But I like my men bold and outgoing, you know that.”

You laughed lightly, nodding your head. “That I certainly do,” you agreed. “But maybe someone more subdued could ground you sometimes. Never hurts to give people a chance.”

“Speaking of giving people a chance,” Allison began, the tone of her voice causing you to stop writing and shoot her a side-eye, “when are you going to let someone take you out on a date?”

“Never,” you told her, focusing back on the chalkboard. “I like my men nonexistent. I don't have time to date, you know that, Aly. Besides, there's not a decent option in this town near my age who's still single and doesn't slog it up at The Crooked Antler most nights.”

“You do know there's a thing called the internet, right?” she asked. “That's what dating apps are for.”

“Dating apps are mostly for hook-ups, Aly,” you pointed out, focused on spelling out the word ‘lavender.’ “I'm not looking for that. Or anything. I'm busy enough with the shop and Lily right now.”

“Okay,” Allison said, drawing the word out suspiciously. “But what if you happened to meet a guy in person? Could there be someone who might change your mind?”

“Considering I don't leave this town hardly ever and I've already said there's not many prospects here,” you replied, “I find that highly unlikely.”

Out of your peripheral you saw Allison shrug, her attention fixed on the front of the shop. You continued to work on the third line of the chalkboard, knowing full well Lily would want to decorate it this morning when you finished with it.

“Well what if a really hot guy just walked into Common Grounds looking like a tree that needed to be climbed?” Allison asked casually. “Like a really, really hot guy?”

Your eyes narrowed at her, your hand hovering over the ‘E’ you'd just written. “I'd say that'd never happen and sounds like its bordering on inappropriate work talk.”

Aly rolled her eyes at you. “Only because you don't like to talk about your love life,” she said.

“Because it's not up for discussion,” you stated, turning back to the chalkboard. 

“If you say so,” she sing-songed under her breath.

Beginning to draw out the ‘R’, you heard the door to the shop open behind you. You half-expected to hear Lily’s excited voice greet you along with the cold blast of wind from the early spring morning, but instead you heard heavy footsteps making their way over to the register.

“Good morning and welcome to Common Grounds!” Aly cheerfully greeted the customer. “What can I get you today?”

“Just a large coffee,” a deep voice rumbled out. “Black.”

Finishing the letter you were working on, you couldn’t resist glancing over your shoulder at the man standing in front of the register. He was broad-shouldered under the black jacket he was wearing, his presence easily commanding the space he was in. He stood with almost perfect posture as he focused on swiping his card through the reader once Aly had read off his total. 

The slight head gesture Aly was making at the man when he wasn't looking caught your eye and your attention shifted over at her. She mouthed out ‘he's hot, get his number’ to you and you immediately shot her a pointed glare in return, shaking your head. Aly abruptly straightened back up, plastering a smile onto her face as if nothing had happened when the man looked up at her, sliding his card back into his wallet.

“Your coffee will be ready in just a minute,” she told him.

You watched as Aly turned around, beginning to work on making the man's black coffee. For a moment you stood there, silently eyeing him as he waited patiently for his drink. You had to admit, Aly was right. He was attractive. He had a chiseled profile with a prominent nose, and thick dark hair on his head that you wouldn't mind running your fingers through. A bit of dark stubble covered his jaw, accentuating his cheekbones. He even looked well-built beneath his jacket as he stood with his hands clasped at his waist in front of himself. But the more you observed him, the more you were positive that you'd never seen him in town before. Before you could stop yourself, the question was already leaving your mouth. 

“I haven't seen you in here before, are you just passing through or visiting?” you asked.

The man's full attention shifted to you at the sound of your voice. There was a faint scowl on his lips, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he briefly looked you over. A sudden self-consciousness washed over you under his gaze and the surly, unfriendly expression on his face.

“Neither,” he answered gruffly.

“I just say that because I'm usually great with remembering faces and coffee orders,” you continued, hoping to ease the awkwardness with a friendly smile, “and I don't recognize either with you.”

“Look, I'll be honest ma'am,” the man said, that dour expression never changing, “I’m not one for small talk. It's been a long week and I got a long day ahead of me. I just want some coffee.”

He took a couple of steps farther down to the end of the counter, turning his back slightly towards you and abruptly ending the conversation. Your eyes widened in disbelief at his rudeness, your eyebrows rising up onto your forehead. That wasn't common in this small town. 

Shaking your head at his back, you were about to return to your chalkboard menu when the door to your left once again opened. The sight of Lily beaming at you as she dragged your brother into the coffee shop had a smile instantly returning to your face.

“Good morning, Nini!” Lily happily greeted you. 

“Morning, coffee bean,” you greeted her back. “You ready to help me here this morning?”

Her index finger landed on her chin, tapping it lightly as she glanced up towards the ceiling as she often did when pretending to be in thought. A smile tugged at your lips as you exchanged a look with your brother. You both knew what was coming next–a pastry request.

“If I help, can I get a cinnamon sugar scone?” she asked, her eyes going wide and doe-eyed as they landed back on you.

“Of course, coffee bean,” you answered, taking a step forward and reaching a hand out to ruffle her hair. 

She giggled, beaming back up at you. Just as you were about to say something more to her, the man who'd been rude to you made his way towards the three of you congregating near the door, his large coffee in his hand. Your mouth closed again, your lips instantly thinning into a straight line along your face at the sight of him and that still grumpy expression.

“‘S'cuse me,” he muttered, head ducking down.

He slipped past the three of you, accidentally bumping into your shoulder as he headed towards the door. Your eyes narrowed at his back, watching as he made his way out of the shop and down the sidewalk. 

“Who was that?” Jaime asked curiously, a thumb gesturing over his shoulder. “He doesn't look like one of your usuals. Never seen him around here before.”

Your attention returned to your brother as you shook your head. “Don't know,” you answered. “But he sure was grumpy. Anyway,” you continued, not wishing to spend anymore thought on the stranger's rudeness, “I'll drop her back home at half-past five tonight? As usual?”

Your brother's eyes darted down to his feet, his hands slipping into his jacket pockets. He suddenly looked almost nervous.

“Is it possible you could watch her until eight?” he asked. “I've uh, pulled some strings and got some extra time at work tonight.”

Your head tilted to the side, brows knitting together. “At the Antler?”

“No uh, at work,” he answered, his eyes still avoiding yours as a hand slipped out of his pocket, awkwardly running over the back of his neck. “There's a project that is being rushed and my boss was accepting a few volunteers to work more hours to help speed things up.”

“Yeah, sure,” you replied, curious as to why he was acting so strange about this. “I can drop her off by eight. Maybe we can order pizza for dinner,” you said, glancing down and shooting Lily a wink.

At the mention of pizza, Lily instantly perked up. She began bouncing up and down as she clutched her stuffed husky to her chest. You smiled, your mood instantly lifted by her presence.

“Thanks, sis,” Jamie murmured. “You don't know how much I appreciate your help.”

You waved him off with a dismissive hand. “Don't worry about it, we're family,” you told him. “And I love having my little coffee bean helping me keep things running smoothly here.”

Jaime nodded, shooting you an almost sheepish smile before he turned and knelt down towards your niece. The pair of them exchanged their usual goodbyes along with a hug before Jaime made his way out of the coffee shop without another word. You watched him leave for a moment as he headed back towards his car, still curious as to why he’d seemed so off this morning. 

“So, Lily,” you began, eventually tearing your eyes away from your brother and focusing back on your niece, “why don’t you go fill that watering can in my office while I finish this sign? And then after you’ve finished watering the plants I can grab you that scone to enjoy. By the time you’re done with that I should have this month’s menu written out and you can decorate it. Does that sound good?”

“Yes, yes!” she exclaimed, excitement shining in her eyes. “I’m going to draw butterflies and bunnies and flowers on it!”

Grinning, you gestured your head towards the back door of the coffee shop. “Sounds perfect, coffee bean. Why don’t you get started with that watering can?”

Without being told twice, she darted off through the coffee shop and around the counter, disappearing through the doorway and down the hall towards the back office. Allison was smiling after her, pointing a finger in the direction she’d disappeared.

“If only someone could bottle up that energy and brew it into a coffee,” Allison joked. “I’d like five of those.”

“You and me both,” you agreed.

Heading back to the chalkboard, you tried to focus on finishing it, but you could feel Allison’s eyes on you. With a sigh you turned towards her, an eyebrow shooting up questioningly.

“What?” you asked her.

“That guy might’ve been hot, but his attitude?” she said, shaking her head and making a face. “Wow. I was not expecting that. Definitely no longer Allison-approved for you.”

You shot her a cheeky smile as you teased, “Especially because he despises small talk so much?”

Allison laughed, shaking her head. “Yes, that too. I guess it’s true when they say looks aren’t everything.”

“No, they certainly are not,” you agreed with a sigh.

Once more focusing back on the chalkboard, you began to start on the final line. You wanted it finished before the usual morning rush appeared in a few minutes. But as you were drawing an ‘R’ on the board, you heard Allison speak again and the comment she made had you botching the letter.

“Bet he’s still good in bed, though,” she said, just loud enough for you to hear.

Your face heated as a brief mental image of that man in a more intimate setting flashed through your mind, but you quickly tried to push it away. It had been far too long since you’d last been with someone and you didn’t need to start thinking about that right now.

“Alright, Aly,” you lightly scolded her. “Lily is just down the hall. Let’s keep it PG for now, alright?”

“You got it, boss,” she answered.

But you didn’t miss the tone of her voice that told you she’d noticed your reaction to her comment. Clearing your throat, you focused twice as hard on your chalkboard in silence.

Hanging up the call on your cell phone, you set it down on the small kitchen island. “So Lily,” you called out, turning around and making your way out of the kitchen and back towards the living room. “I just finished ordering us a large pepperoni pizza from Francisco’s and–”

You stopped dead in your tracks as you entered the living room at the sight before you. Both Lily and your dog Penny were perched at the front window, faces pressed to the glass and looking out of it. Presumably the pair of them were once again staring at the neighbor’s driveway–something you'd scolded her for doing a few times already now. 

“Lily, what do you think you’re doing?” you asked her, arms crossing over your chest.

Both her and Penny looked back at you simultaneously. The sight was almost laughable with how much of a pair they always made together, especially with the matching looks of guilt on their faces. You fought to keep a fairly stern expression on your own face at the sight because she’d been trying to watch the neighbor all evening ever since his truck had pulled up and she had told you that he'd been unloading it. The only way you managed to pull her away from the window for any length of time earlier was when you told her she could plate the cookies she’d made for him. Which of course turned into her picking out a leftover plate from Valentine’s Day, one that you’d used when the pair of you had baked heart cookies and handed them out to neighbors and friends the other month. You'd reluctantly helped her plate them, your embarrassment at the prospect of dropping the cookies off only growing with her plating choice. But at least she was coming with you, because there was absolutely no way in hell you’d have delivered them yourself.

“Seeing if he’s done unpacking,” Lily answered guilty. “So that we can go give him the cookies.”

“Lily, you can’t be staring at people outside,” you told her. “It’s rude and people don’t like that. Don’t be a nosey Nancy.”

“But he just grabbed the last box!” she whined, turning around towards you. “Can’t we go give him the cookies now, please ?”

Sighing, you glanced down at the watch on your wrist. It was getting late now that it was nearing six. Any later and it would be incredibly rude to go knocking on his door to drop off cookies. And if it was the last box that he’d taken out from his truck, you hopefully wouldn’t be interrupting him too much, but maybe you’d have an excuse to hand him the cookies, welcome him to the neighborhood, and then run away back to your place and hide from his reaction since he’d need to finish unpacking.

 “Alright,” you relented with a sigh. “We can go drop off the cookies.”

Lily let out a shriek of excitement before she bolted past you, tossing her stuffed husky onto the coffee table as she raced to the kitchen. Penny darted excitedly after her, her nails clacking across the wood laminate floors as she went. You rolled your eyes, shaking your head as you made your way over to the entry closet, pulling out shoes for you and Lily. 

When you turned around, you saw her carefully carrying the plate of cookies in both of her hands out of the kitchen, the vibrant pink and red heart pattern on the plate impossible to miss even with the plastic wrap holding the very pink and sprinkle-covered cookies in place. Internally you cringed, but the look of pride on your niece’s face had you smiling back at her instead. Because admittedly it was a very sweet gesture she’d thought of all on her own. Even if you still wished she’d just wanted to make regular chocolate chip cookies for the man instead.

It took the pair of you a couple of minutes to get your shoes on before you stepped outside onto the small front porch you shared with your neighbor. Lily walked a step ahead of you, proudly carrying the plate of cookies in her hands down the short distance between you and your neighbor’s front doors as the light waned outside. The sun was near setting behind the row of houses across the street now and it wouldn't be long before it was completely dark outside.

Inhaling a deep breath in as the pair of you came to a stop in front of the neighbor’s front door, you reached a hand out and knocked firmly three times against it. You kept internally hoping this man wasn’t about to make some sort of asshole-ish comment to your niece about the cookies, desperately hoping he was as polite and gentlemanly as Cora had made him sound. But a few moments later when the door unlocked and swung open, your eyes grew wide and the smile completely fell from your face. It felt like the air had been knocked out of your lungs at the sight of the rude man from Common Grounds this morning standing before you. The very same one who’d refused to make small talk and then bumped into you on his way out. All your hopes of him being friendly and polite to your niece immediately disappeared, leaving you with nothing but a sinking feeling of dread.

The scowl you remembered from this morning was still on his face as his gaze landed on you first, his eyes narrowing just a fraction in something like suspicion as he scanned your face. You were still trying to figure out what the hell to say to him when Lily finally spoke up.

“Look, Nini!” she exclaimed, finally catching the man’s attention, “it’s the grumpy man from the coffee shop!”

You swore your heart stopped beating in your chest, embarrassment flooding you completely. Slowly the man’s eyes returned to you, one of his dark brows raising up onto his forehead. Swallowing hard, you’d never wished you could disappear into thin air more in your life than right now.

“Grumpy man, huh?” he asked.

An awkward laugh slipped out of you, a nervous smile sliding onto your face. “I suppose we’re all a little grumpy before our caffeine,” you awkwardly replied. Clearing your throat as his hardened stare only grew your discomfort, you quickly pressed on. “Look, we didn’t mean to disturb you, we just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.” Pointing to yourself, you gave him your name in a rush before gently placing a hand atop Lily’s head. “And this is my niece, Lily. She’s often with me and she was the one who wanted to bake you cookies when she heard I was getting a new neighbor. So we just–just came by to drop those off real quick.”

The man’s expression shifted slightly as he focused back down on Lily at your side. An emotion crossed his face so fast that you almost didn’t catch it, but you had. Curiously you noted he'd briefly looked pained, but then the unthinkable happened–he smiled .

“Well is that right?” he asked, crouching down to your niece’s height. “You made me cookies, sweetheart?”

“Yes, they’re heart cookies,” she told him, holding the plate out towards him. “Because heart cookies make me happy, so I thought they’d make you happy. Nini and I made them yesterday.”

He reached out, accepting the plate of cookies from her little hands so gently while the smile only widened on his mouth. As you watched the surprising interaction play out, you had to actively make sure your jaw hadn’t dropped onto the front porch floor. Because whatever you’d been expecting him to do or say in reaction to receiving those cookies had most certainly not been this.

“Did you pick out the pink frosting?” he asked her, examining the cookies.

“Yep!” Lily answered proudly. “Pink is my favorite color! And so is purple and green.”

The man glanced up from the plate in his hands at your niece, a genuine smile still on his face as he nodded. “Well those are good colors, but I think you chose well with the pink,” he told her. “And I like the sprinkles.”

“Thank you!” Lily said, beaming and twirling a little back and forth in excitement before him. “So what’s your name?”

He chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm, his focus solely on her. The unexpected and pleasant deep sound of it warmed you, especially with the sweet way he continued interacting with your niece.

“My name is Frank,” he told her. 

Lily nodded her head, still smiling her heartwarming smile at the man. The look on his face had you realizing maybe you’d completely misjudged him this morning, though you worried he wasn’t going to like you much after Lily’s initial comment about his grumpiness. Hopefully that wouldn’t make things strained between the pair of you, especially with being neighbors.

“It’s nice to meet you, Frank!” she chirped.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, too, Lily,” he told her. Gesturing his head towards the plate of cookies in his hands he added, “Thank you for these. Been awhile since anyone’s brought me baked goods.”

Lily’s eyes lit up at his words, a surprised gasp leaving her. “Well in that case,” she began, her excitement somehow increasing further, “maybe we can make you brownies next! And Nini makes the best cinnamon rolls!”

“Hey, coffee bean?” you said, quickly cutting in. 

She looked up at you, all innocent eyes and bright smiles. You sent her a tense smile in return, ignoring the way Frank’s gaze falling back on you was beginning to make you feel multiple confusing things all at once.

“Maybe we should let Frank get back to unpacking and settling in, yeah?” you suggested. “He just moved in, remember?”

The expression on her face slightly fell at your words, but she nodded slowly. In the doorway, Frank began to rise back up to his full, intimidating height. Swallowing nervously, you focused back on him, sending the tense smile on your face his way.

“Sorry to have bothered you this evening, I'm sure you're busy,” you told him. “But welcome to the neighborhood. I’m uh, just next door if you ever need anything.”

He nodded his head curtly in reply, muttering out a quiet ‘thank you.’ You gently nudged Lily’s shoulder with a hand, attempting to direct her back towards your duplex with you. But as you turned and began to make your way back home, you overheard Lily speak up one last time.

“You know,” her little voice said, “you really aren’t so grumpy after all.”

Your eyes snapped shut as you sucked in a sharp breath, momentarily pausing mid-step. Why did kids always have to say whatever was on their mind?

“No,” he agreed with a soft chuckle, “no, sweetheart, I’m not. Thank you again for the cookies and I hope you ladies have a good night now.”

Cheeks straining from the awkward smile you plastered back onto your face, you glanced at him over your shoulder, sending him a partial wave. He shook his head, laughing softly to himself before he turned and closed his front door. Lily skipped happily over to your side as the pair of you made your way back to your front door, entirely unaware of your current embarrassment.

“How much longer until the pizza gets here?” she asked.

“Soon, coffee bean,” you answered, opening your front door.

Hopefully soon enough for me to bury my face in it and forget about that awkward encounter, you thought, hurrying back into your place. Because that was uncomfortable. Hopefully we don’t run into each other all that often.

[aria725]

Omgggg Frank is the perfect person to receive heart cookies agggghhhh!!!! I love this story already! It’s so different 😍

Neighbors [Prologue]

Pairing: Frank Castle x Fem!Reader Word Count: 1.9k

Summary: Between running Common Grounds, chasing after your escape artist husky, and helping your financially struggling brother out by watching your niece, your days are always busy. But shortly after a new neighbor moves into the other side of your duplex, you start receiving mysterious threats. Surprisingly, you eventually find safety and comfort in the reclusive neighbor whom your niece and dog have both come to befriend.

Warnings/tags: 18+; contains friends to lovers, violence, fluff, eventual smut, angst

a/n: This is just a short prologue to this little fic and unfortunately there's only mentions of Frank, he doesn't make an appearance until the first chapter. Also yes, Reader has a family, but I try my best to keep physical descriptions nonexistent and allow for y'all reading to either view Reader as biologically related to her brother, or to view her as adopted at birth. Feedback is always appreciated and the chapter list for future updates can be found here!

Tag list: @danzer8705

“Alright, coffee bean,” you said, opening the back door of your car, “what’s first on the agenda for this afternoon?”

A bright smile lit up Lily’s face as you leaned into the backseat, beginning to unbuckle her from the carseat. Her feet swung back and forth in her pink shoes as she waited for you to undo the restraints, a thoughtful ‘hmm’ coming from her as you undid each buckle. Though you already knew what she was going to say, because it was the same answer every time.

“First we need a snack,” she answered.

“Oh we do, do we?” you asked with a grin.

“We always start with snack time, Nini,” she stated matter-of-factly in her small voice.

Your grin grew wider at the nickname she still called you after all these years. When she was younger, she'd struggled to properly say ‘auntie,’ instead the word coming out as ‘nini.’ So Nini you happily became.

Finished with undoing her buckles, Lily slid out of her seat, grabbing her backpack and stuffed husky–the plush that was almost an exact replica of your dog that she carried absolutely everywhere with her–from the seat beside her. While she began to climb her way out of the car, your attention was drawn away by the sound of your neighbor’s front door closing. Glancing over your shoulder and past your driveway over to the duplex beside yours, you spotted your landlord, Cora. Her back was to you as she continued to lock up the duplex next door to yours. 

You’d been wondering why her car had been parked in the neighboring driveway when you’d first pulled up. She hadn’t mentioned anything about stopping by for anything today to you, so you figured her visit had something to do with the neighboring unit. Curiously you wondered if she had finally gotten a tenant for that duplex, because you knew it had been empty for the past couple of months. Not many people wanted to move to a small town in Michigan. Though it wasn’t like you’d been complaining about the lack of noisy neighbors for the past couple of months. The peaceful silence of not sharing a wall with someone had been great, and so had been having the entire shared backyard to yourself.

Lily’s small hand grabbing onto yours broke you from your thoughts, your focus shifting back down to her now standing at your side. She was grinning up at you, her purple backpack on her back and her husky clutched tight to her chest with her other arm. 

She’d just finished preschool for the day today, and as usual, you’d picked her up afterwards. She attended preschool three days a week for only half a day–paid for by you, because your brother was struggling to make ends meet as it was being a single dad in debt. He sometimes even worked a second job at a bar in town at night, and on those nights Lily stayed with you. 

Your brother Jamie was truthfully a great father, but he had been struggling financially even before Lily came into the picture. It didn't help that Lily’s mother had bailed on the pair of them almost immediately after giving birth, leaving Jamie all alone to figure everything out.

All alone except for you, of course. Because there was no way in hell you'd let your brother and his poor little baby girl suffer. Since Jamie couldn’t afford traditional daycare, you had offered to watch your niece whenever he was working. And it had been that way for years. Nowadays that meant sometimes you’d take her down to Common Grounds, the coffee shop you owned downtown, and let her help you out or work on her own activities while you finished whatever you needed to. Other days you’d find ways to keep the pair of you entertained at your place or around town. It was an arrangement you didn’t truthfully mind because Lily was a fairly well behaved four year old and you genuinely loved spending time with her. You knew you'd miss her constant company when she finally started kindergarten in the fall.

“And what do you think we should have for a snack?” you asked her.

“Apple cookies!” she exclaimed instantly. “You make them better than daddy!”

“Well you're in luck,” you told her, closing the car door, “because I just bought fresh strawberries yesterday.”

Beside you, Lily happily jumped up and down, emitting a squeal of delight. The sight of her had you laughing as she began pulling at your hand, beginning to drag you up the length of the driveway. But the pair of you didn't get far before you heard your name being called out. Turning towards the voice, you spotted your landlord Cora. You sent her a smile and a wave in greeting.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Phillips!” Lily cheerfully called out, waving her stuffed husky enthusiastically at Cora.

“And good afternoon to you, Lily!” Cora said, stopping at the edge of the neighboring driveway and leaning down towards the girl. “How was preschool today?”

“Good!” Lily exclaimed. “Nini and I are going to make apple cookies for snack now!”

“Oh you are? Well those sound yummy,” Cora told her. Her eyes returned to you, a warm smile on her face as she straightened back up. “And how're you doing, dear?”

Laughing lightly, you shrugged your shoulders. “About as busy as always,” you replied. “But that's better than being bored, I suppose.” You gestured your head towards the duplex she just left. “Did you finally find someone for the unit?”

Cora nodded as she said, “I did, actually. So it seems you'll finally be getting a neighbor. Just one, though. But he seemed to be a very polite gentlemen from the few times we have spoken at least.”

Your heart sank at the news, but you did your best to refrain from letting the disappointment show on your face. So not only were you getting a neighbor again, but it was a single man. Probably a bachelor of some sort. You only hoped he wouldn't be bringing many dates back to his place. Not just because you didn't want to hear anything through that shared wall, but you didn't want Lily to overhear anything on the nights she stayed over, either. 

“Oh?” you asked. “When uh, when is he moving in?”

“He moves in tomorrow actually,” Cora told you. “He seemed eager to get settled in as soon as possible and I couldn't quite complain. I've been needing to fill that place for a while now.”

Lily began to tug impatiently at your hand. Glancing down at her, you saw the slight frown on her face. She was tired of the ‘adult talk’ already, you could see it on her face. 

“I suppose I'll be meeting him soon then,” you said, focusing back on Cora. “But I should probably get Lily inside and get going on those apple cookies of hers.”

Lily resumed enthusiastically hopping from one foot to the other at the mention of her favorite snack. “Yes please, Nini!” 

“Alright dear,” Cora said, that warm smile still on her face. “You girls take care. And let me know if there's any problems with the new neighbor, okay? You know I worry about you two.”

Taking a step back in the direction of your front door, you nodded. “I'm sure everything will be just fine, Cora,” you told her. “But I'll be sure to let you know if anything comes up.”

You sent her a final wave before turning around and continuing up towards your own front door, Lily once again tugging at your hand. As the pair of you neared the front window of your duplex, you could hear the distinct happy barks of greeting from your husky. She was standing at the front window, her tail wagging enthusiastically as faint whines penetrated through the glass in between her impatient barks.

“Penny! Penny!” Lily cried out.

The little girl released your hand, bolting over towards the window. Penny's whining only increased in response to your niece as you finished making your way to the front door, searching for the correct key on your keyring. Placing your key into the lock, you twisted it just before the sound of Penny's feet frantically racing over towards the door met your ears. Seconds later Lily was back at your side, excitedly bursting into your place in front of you the moment the door was opened. Her arms were wrapped around Penny's neck in a hug by the time you stepped inside, giggling as your dog began to happily lick the side of her face.

“Lily, shoes off please!” you called out to her.

Reluctantly breaking away from Penny, Lily made her way back over to where you were taking off your shoes in the entryway. As she sat down to take hers off, you placed yours in the entry closet. 

“So what should we do after snack time today?” you asked her, turning around and helping her remove her shoes. “We have a couple of hours before your dad comes to pick you up. Should we watch a movie? Color? Find a craft to do?”

You grabbed Lily’s shoes from her, turning back around to place them in the closet beside yours before closing the door. When you focused back on her, she was contentedly scratching Penny's ears and watching as the dog's tongue lolled out of her mouth in sheer bliss, Penny’s eyes partially closing. 

“No, I don't want to do those today,” Lily told you, shaking her head. “I want to…bake!” 

“Okay,” you said, making your way through the living room and towards your kitchen. “What do you want to bake? Brownies? Cookies?”

“Cookies!” she replied. “For your new neighbor!”

You paused at the entrance of your kitchen, your back to your niece as you heard her little footsteps and Penny's following after you. You hadn't expected that to be her answer. 

“Alright,” you said slowly, dragging the word out. “So…you want to make cookies for the new neighbor moving in tomorrow?” 

“Yep!” she answered. “It’s nice to bring people cookies, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah,” you replied. “So should we make chocolate chip cookies after snack time, then?”

“Uh uh,” she immediately replied. “Heart cookies.”

Your eyebrows shot up even further onto your forehead. She wanted you to make heart shaped cookies for your new, single male neighbor? 

“Coffee bean,” you began carefully, turning around to face her, “it's not February anymore. We don't–”

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, stomping one foot down in defiance as she stared up at you. “I want to make him heart cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles, Nini.”

You stood there for a moment dumbfounded, your gaze holding her unwavering one. When she didn't back down, your eyes shifted over to Penny who was standing beside her. The dog's head only tilted to the side as she sat down, somehow seemingly mimicking your niece's defiant posture. With a sigh you turned back around, heading over to your fridge and feeling outnumbered.

“Okay, okay,” you relented. “After snack time we can make my new neighbor heart shaped cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles.”

“Yay!” Lily cheered, running over to sit at the kitchen table, Penny darting off just behind her. “They're going to be so beautiful! He’s going to love them!”

And hopefully this new neighbor is truly as nice and polite as Cora said , you thought as you grabbed an apple from out of the fruit drawer of your fridge. Because I don't know how a grown single man is going to react to receiving heart shaped cookies with sprinkles as a welcome gift…but so help me he better not hurt her feelings.

[aria725]

Who’s here for this???? Meeeeee 👹😈

Neighbors Chapter List

Pairing: Frank Castle x Fem!Reader

Warnings/tags: 18+; contains friends to lovers, canon-typical violence, fluff, eventual smut, angst (more possible warnings/tags to come)

Summary: Between running Common Grounds, chasing after your escape artist husky, and helping your financially struggling brother out by watching your niece, your days are always busy. But shortly after a new neighbor moves into the other side of your duplex, you start receiving mysterious threats. Surprisingly, you eventually find safety and comfort in the reclusive neighbor whom your niece and dog have both come to befriend.

Chapter List

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4 {Coming Soon}

[aria725]

Not Jax turning into a lil stalker. Jax is pretty but he comes with major baggage. It’s also extremely difficult to say no to him.

Part 1 | Part 2

Female reader x Jax Teller MAJOR SPOILERS!, & explicit language If you're under the age of 18, haven't finished the show or dislike any of said topics, please read no further.

Jax walks with heavy steps, leading his best friend to his final ride. The rest of the club carry Opie in silence, their faces touched with grief. Jax’s face is unreadable but he hasn’t cried yet, he can’t. He just stares ahead, like if he lets himself blink, he might just fall apart.

Tara stands off to the side, her arms folded and eyes locked on Jax. There’s distance between them, has been for a while now but Jax still chooses to ignore it, brush it under the rug, act as if everything is okay, he knows why it feels like there's a brick wall between them though, and Tara? she suspects it, just hasn't had the guts to confront him yet. Either way, she has secrets of her own. Trying to protect the boys by any means necessary so the fact that Jax has been so distant recently only makes it that tiniest bit easier.

The boys lower the casket into the back of the hearse Jax’s eyes lingering on the black wooden box, just enough to feel like he was doing right by his best friend one last time. Then he slams the door shut. Hard and final, the echo hanging in the air of the lot.

Jax sits on the rooftop, silent and still watching as the hearse drives away.

The last goodbye.

Below him, the rest of the club gathers, exchanging quiet condolences. Hugs, nods, the occasional exaggerated back pat that says more than words ever could. Lyla sits beside Gemma, her shoulders shaking and her face buried in her hands. Gemma’s leant in close, whispering something he’s sure is suppose to soothe Lyla. Tara's standing away from the crowd, her facial expression tight. She’s muttering something to Unser, passing him some sort of paperwork, though Jax can’t quite work out what it is.

All he does know, is he doesn’t want to be down there. Doesn’t want that kind of comfort. Not from his Mom, his club or his wife. He pulls out a fresh writing pad from inside of his kutte, his last one placed with Opie in his casket. He lights a cigarette before pulling out a pen and starting to write. Because keeping these journals going? It’s the only thing keeping him sane.

"You good brother?" Chibs' voice snaps Jax out of his own head, stopping his pen mid sentence of his thoughts. He glances over his shoulder as the Scotsman approaches, tucking his little book back into his kutte.

"No" Jax mutters, his voice rough, the words weighing in his chest. He takes a long drag trying to keep it together, but he's finding it so fucking hard. He stops himself before he can say anything more, shaking it off. Chibs gives him a heavy slap on the back, the kind that says he's not alone, but he isn't going to press any further.

"You know we got this yeah?" Chibs growls, a promise laced within his words. "This pope shit? we got it handled. And those... assholes. Who did this to our boy? their time's comin".

Jax nods slowly, because he knows just as well as Chibs that those fuckers? dead. He climbs down the ladder, walking straight over to his old mans bike, pressing his hand to the tank for just a second before turning back towards the main clubhouse.

It's quieter inside, Gemma's already there, waiting. She steps out grabbing his wrist like she's trying to anchor him. "You okay baby?" she asks, her voice low and steady, like she already knows the answer, she's just trying to find the cracks. "Tara's looking for you" she adds like she’s trying to test the water. She feels it too. The way him and Tara are different now, how she’s so focused on work and those boys she has little attention left on Jax. She feels it, but hasn’t said anything, yet.

Jax pulls his arms back gently, brushing back the sweat from his head as he tilts it slightly “Where is she?” He questions reluctantly.

It’s been just over two months since that night Jax walked out of your apartment, and still as much as he twisted your entire soul, as much as you know it was messy, toxic and wrong. You can’t get him out of your fucking head.

‘The best way to get over someone is to get under someone new’ your bestie told you with a smirk, zero remorse in her words and they’ve been playing on a loop in your head ever since. So tonight, you finally took her advice.

You’re sitting across from some guy you barely know in a dimly lit restaurant somewhere just outside of Charming. The candlelight flickering against your wine glass. You’re dressed to distract, body hugging outfit and matching heels that force you to strut. You’d forgotten what it felt like to get dolled up for someone, actually make an effort. And the guy? He’s not bad. He’s actually kinda cute. Tall, clean cut, good manners. He holds the door open, laughs at your sarcasm and keeps the conversation flowing.

You didn’t expect to enjoy yourself tonight, you thought you’d sit here dwelling on everything that’s been happening. But here you are, smiling, laughing, letting someone else have your complete attention. But no matter how good this guy smells, he doesn’t smell like leather and cigarettes. He doesn’t look at you like he wants to ruin you, and he doesn’t carry that chaos in his eyes, the sort of chaos that you had come accustomed to.

You return to the table after slipping away to the restroom, smoothing down your dress before sliding back into your seat. The bottom rising up just slightly but you don’t bother to adjust it, your dates already watching you like you’re the only woman in the restaurant.

“Your phone hasn’t stopped going off” he says, nodding towards your purse. Not in a suspicious or angry way, just letting you know.

“Oh, really?” You murmur, reaching for your bag with a raised brow and pulling your phone out. The second you see the name on the screen, your heart gives a traitorous thud. Because of course, the one time you finally weren’t thinking about him, he sure as hell was thinking about you. You skim through the texts quickly, and yeah he sounds fucked. Wrecked, even. Your stomach sinks instantly, the words hitting different. Not calculated or trying to get under your skin, just lost.

But you've been here before, and every time you've paid for it in ways he'll never understand. So even though part of you wants to reply, wants to know what the fucks wrong, you lock it without responding. You tuck your phone back into your bag, sitting up a little straighter and smile at your date, like you're not cracking under the hem of your tight dress.

His car eases up to a stop outside your building. Your mind is anywhere else but here. You hadn't answered the texts, haven't even re read them, tried to push Jax to the back of your mind, and focus on yourself for once. Your date looks over to you, his hand resting lightly on your thigh, waiting for some kind of cue. He's been nothing but respectful all night. Easy conversation, soft touches and gentle smiles.

The way his grip tightens snaps you out of your thoughts. "You wanna come up?" maybe you ask out of loneliness, maybe spite or maybe you just wanna feel something that wasn't this.

The question hangs in the space between you both, he raises his brow slightly, almost surprised at the question "Is that what you want?" he questions, keeping his eyes on you as you leave the car, he follows shortly circling around to meet you at your side. You don't answer with words, instead you lean in to him, kissing him. And when he kisses you back, you smile into it.

Down the street, Jax is sat slouched in the drivers seat of his car, hood up and a cigarette burning between his fingers, half forgotten. He hadn't told anyone where he was going after the wake, he couldn’t. The minute he had a moment alone, away from the club, away from Tara, he slipped out without a word.

And drove here, to you.

No plan, just basic instinct. What he didn’t expect, was to see another man's car parked out front. To see you slide out of the passenger seat, laughing softly and then leaning in to kiss someone who wasn't him. He watched as you lead him in to your building, his hands clenched around the steering wheel, watching with those dark eyes, his stomach twisting with pure fucking jealousy.

But he pushes it down, because he knows he has no right to be angry, you were never his, not really. You fucked behind closed doors, behind his marriage, behind his club and behind all the lines he swore he wouldn't cross but did anyway. But the idea of someone else being in your bed, touching you in ways only he used to, hearing how you sound when you come undone makes him want to fucking snap. Still, he didn't move. He told himself he'd wait, wait until the guy left, even if it took all night, because he needed to see you. He didn’t deserve to, and he knows that, but he needed to anyway.

You let your date undress you with slow hands and soft kisses, the kind of intimacy that's more about escape than connection. No wild passion, no urgency just movement. Its the first time you've done this with someone who wasn’t Jax. Maybe that’s why it feels so strange. Not wrong, just...different. Unbeknownst to you, just a few floors below, Jax is stewing in the drivers seat, the cigarette long burned out, grief sitting heavy in his chest, alongside rage and something uglier, maybe betrayal, confusion or even guilt.

Back inside, you try to stay in the moment, focusing on the weight of another mans hands, the rhythm, the sounds filling the room, but your mind keeps drifting back to the nights laced in leather and danger. To the low sound of Jax's voice in your ear, the way he used to hold your wrists down in place like he knew exactly what you needed before you could even ask. And no matter how hard you tried to shake it, it was him that your body craved.

Eventually, you just wanted it to be over. You arched your back, gasped in all the right places and gave your best impression of something only Jax had ever been able to pull from you. And your date, he didn't notice, didn't ask, just finished alongside you.

Jax perks up the second he sees movement from your building entrance. He sits forward, eyes narrowing as the guy you went up with, now returns. His hair messy, shirt half buttoned and still adjusting his belt. The sight makes his jaw clench and his chest tight. He watches as the guy strolls casually towards his car completely unaware of the eyes on him. Only once he was out of sight did Jax move, shoving the car door open and doing a light jog across the street. He doesn’t know what he’s going to say once he gets to you, but it didn’t matter, he just knew he had to see you.

The sound of the door buzzing pulls you from your spiralling thoughts. You were still in nothing but your favorite oversized tee. Skin warm, face still flushed from earlier. Part of you wishing you left your date downstairs. Wishing you hadn’t tried to chase comfort in something that only left you feeling… even emptier.

You step towards the door with a sigh, pulling your tee down just a little as the intercom buzzes again. “Great…not only is the sex boring but he’s a forgetful bastard too” you mutter under your breath, picturing your date coming back for whatever it was he couldn’t keep track of. You swing the door open, fully expecting to see him standing there.

But it’s not him.

His eyes are red and tear streaked. He wasn’t even trying to hold it together. This isn’t the Jax you’re used to. Even the last time he had been here, frustrated, torn and full of guilt, he didn’t look like this.

This was something else entirely. “Jax…” your voice cracks a little, quiet and careful “…what’s wrong?”

He opens his mouth like he had the words, like he wanted to say something. But nothing comes out. His lips tremble as his throat tightens. And then, still without a word, he braces his arm against the door frame, and begins sobbing into it. His shoulders heaving like everything just snapped all at once.

“Come here” you say softly, guiding him to the couch. He doesn’t resist, but still doesn’t speak. You sit him down, moulding himself into the sofa as you sit beside him, close, but not touching. Giving him the space he needs to fall apart.

Your chest also tightens at the sight of him. You fucking hate seeing him like this. This isn’t Jax, he doesn’t cry for no reason, he doesn’t do this for attention, he doesn’t do this at all. He’s hurting, and you can tell. But no matter how much time has passed, no matter what fucking bullshit he’s dragged you into, you know pain when you see it, and it’s written all over him.

And for a while, he doesn’t say a thing. Just sits there, his hands clasped and his eyes fixed on the floor like he’s looking for the right thing to say.

Eventually though, he drags his hands along his face as he lifts his head slowly “Op…Opies dead”.

You never knew Opie, but you didn’t need to. You knew enough from the way Jax spoke about him, that rare softness in his voice when he did. The stories, the loyalty and the bond than ran deeper than blood. Opie wasn’t just a friend, he was his brother, his constant.

And now? He’s gone, which makes perfect sense as to why Jax looks like he’s one second from a complete fucking breakdown.

“Jax…I’m so sorry” you say quietly but genuinely. Because you are sorry. You hesitate a second before reaching out, your hand settling on his knee. It’s the first time you’ve touched him in months and you can feel the shift in his body immediately. How it eases under your touch. Enough to remind you that even after all this time, he still finds comfort in you, whether you want him to or not.

“We just said our goodbyes…” he whispers, “…had a little wake at the clubhouse…I, fuck. I feel like I’m gonna….” his knee bounces beneath your hand, and you can feel it, how close he is to breaking.

His voice cracking and his breathing becoming uneven. “He was my moral compass” he chokes out “I went to him with shit I couldn’t say to anyone else, not the club… not T…” He adjusts his position now, taking in a deep breath, his way of pushing the emotions back down.

“Sorry for showing up here, messing with whatever shit you had going on” his jaw ticks, the thought of you with another man, but he continues.

“We were inside Stockton…” he begins telling you what happened, the short version, the version he has to tell to people who aren’t part of the club. “…workin’ somethin', with a guy, carries weight, big name and money. Thought he would get us out of this shit we’ve been buried in” He stops, his jaw flexing as he adjusts his position on the sofa “he wasn’t suppose to be there. Got himself arrested to be inside with us” he holds his chin in his hands, deep in thought.

“There was a pipe in the other room, made us choose. One of us wasn’t getting out” his lip trembles, like he’s reliving it all again. “They beat him to death right in front of me” he says it like it’s still happening, like he can still see it, still hear it. “I couldn’t fuckin’ stop it” the tears flow again.

You don't say anything, not with words anyway. You just place your hand over his, gentle but still unsure. His hand is cold, but you squeeze, just enough for him to feel it. Just enough to say you still care. You pull away your hand before he can react, walking towards the kitchen.

There's an aching throb in your chest that wont go away. The kind that comes when you've used your body for the wrong reasons, when you've given someone else part of you, that deep down you know you only want one other man to receive.

The Jameson is right where you left it, the bottle that only ever gets touched when Jax Teller is around. You hate the stuff, usually. But tonight, things are different. You grab two glasses, bringing them back and setting them on the table. Jax doesn't say anything but his eyes flick to the bottle, then the glasses, finally landing back on you. He watches as you pour, heavy handed and unapologetically. The silence is loud now, heavier and sadder.

"Not like you" he mutters, nodding towards the bottle on the table, the faintest smile finally tugging at the corner of his mouth. It's not much, but its something.

You glance down at the glass in your hand, giving a half hearted shrug "Yeah, well...been doing a lotta shit that's not like me lately" You swirl the last of your drink.

You've both been talking for a while now, both looser, the edge worn down by the alcohol. The tension softening under the weight of everything you've been through in the last hour, or maybe the last two months. He hasn't said anything in a while, just sitting there, his eyes glazed over, watching you a little too hard. Then his voice cuts through the quite.

"Last time I was here..." he pauses, like he's unsure whether he should continue "...I told you I couldn't leave Tara or my boys"

You shake your head immediately "Don't..." you mutter, "...you're not here to talk about that"

"I meant it" he says, ignoring your warning "I still mean it"

You exhale sharp through your nose, your patience wearing thin and the whiskey running low.

"I'm not tryna reopen shit y/n...I just need you to know why I said that" he turns to look at you, his jaw clenched tight. "Tara's got ties" he sighs "Legal ones, she's a doctor. She's clean, smart...I'm a patched up criminal with a club full of felons" he lets out a humourless laugh "If she wanted to take those boys from me..." he trails off, looking away "she could…most days we don't even speak. I come home, kiss the boys and count down how long till they're asleep. It's like we aint even pretendin' anymore"

You press your lips together, trying to keep your own emotions in check. "So why stay?" the words come out like a whisper, like part of you didn't actually want to ask out loud.

"Cause I'm scared if I dont... I'll lose em for good"

You understand what he's saying. You've always known what Jax carries on his back. His kids, the patch, his own demons. You're not heartless, and you'd never outright ask him to throw away his world for you. But still, it feels unfair. So you decide to drop something on the table, something to balance the scale.

"I slept with someone tonight"

He doesn't move at first, not even a twitch. But you see it, the way his jaw tenses, the way his grip around the glass tightens. His eyes don't meet yours, not yet. They hover over your bare thighs, then somewhere past you, like if he doesn't look at you, he won't feel it as much.

"Yeah?..." he says, he leans back on the couch, not saying anything else, not asking questions, just taking it all in. You wait for a reaction. Anger, jealousy, a stupid comment, but neither come. He's just silent. And that? that's worse, because Jax doesn’t do silence unless he's trying real hard not to say something he cant take back. Finally, he licks his bottom lip, letting out a breath "Did it work?" He arches a brow, the question written on his face.

"No" you say softly, almost embarrassed "thought it would though".

He nods slowly, like the confession eases something in him, or maybe it makes it worse, you can't tell.

"You fake it?" he asks, his mouth twitching at the edges, like he's trying not to smile.

You laugh under your breath, rolling your eyes. That's all he needs to know that you did. "He didn't even notice" you add, slightly proud but there's a flicker of something hollow in your eyes.

Jax tips back the rest of his Jameson, wincing as it goes down "Shit…" he mutters, setting his glass back on the table.

You both laugh, that worn out familiar kind of laugh. The kind that used to fill your apartment before love started creeping in through the cracks you both swore didnt exist.

"I came back so many times" he lets out, his thumb brushing over his jaw. Your head turns sharply, caught of guard. He's not looking at you though, he's staring at his empty glass like it might just judge him. "I'd be parked just down the street...engine still runnin, thinkin' about comin up, but I'd just...I'd just fuckin ride off"

You laugh again, this time its not so forced "Thought I was going crazy...I knew I heard your bike some nights"

"Yeah...that was me" Its quiet after he says that, not awkward or angry just the kind of silence that lingers when two people have said everything without really saying anything at all.

You hesitate before you ask, your fingers fidgeting with the rim of your glass, your eyes stealing glancing at him. "Can I ask you something?" you almost whisper, like you're afraid the question might break the moment. Jax's nod gives you the green light. "Did you ever...tell Opie...about us?"

He doesn't respond at first, stretching out the silence full of things you don't quite understand but you can definitely feel. "Yeah. I told him..." He finally breaks the silence, low and rough. "Told him I was seein' someone, that it wasn't clean, or simple. But it felt... right"

You don’t say anything, you just watch him, noticing the way his shoulders curl inward like he's trying to protect something. "He never judged me, but he didn't say much. He liked to let me figure out my own shit' but I could tell he knew I was tangled up in somethin' I'd struggle to walk away from" He shifts, rubbing the back of his neck "He knew me better than I ever knew myself"

You reach out without thinking, your hand brushing away the smallest trace of a tear "I’m glad you told him"

He nods again, slower this time. "Me too" he holds your hand against his face "He would've liked you". The words fall from his mouth naturally and somehow, that means more than you expected it to.

Tara sits at the kitchen table, the house is dead quiet. The kind of silence that forms a humming sound. There’s a glass of wine sitting next to her, untouched.

She tried looking for Jax after the wake had settled. Waited around the clubhouse until the sky turned dark. Checked the lot, the chapel, the garage, even drove to crematorium, hoping that maybe he just needed some space.

But he wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Her phone rings, shaking her out of whatever day dream she was sat in. Unknown number. She hesitates, letting it ring once more before finally picking up. “Hello?”

“Tara Knowles?” The voice is calm, but a hint of sternness travels through it. “This is D.A Tyne Patterson. I believe you and I have some unfinished business”

Tara closes her eyes, inhaling sharply, the weight on her shoulders suddenly feeling heavier. “Why are you still calling me?” She asked but part of her already knows.

“You say you want out? You want to keep your boys safe? Then help me stop him before this war spreads further than Charming”

Tara says nothing for a long time. The air is thick and she can hear the clock ticking louder now. And then she speaks. “What do you need?”

“Everything” Patterson voice doesn’t change, the same sternness as before peeking through.

Tara nods, wiping a hand down her expressionless face but her heart splitting beneath the surface. “Okay”.

Photos & gifs do not belong to me 🐦‍⬛ Ugh. ngl I struggled with this one, it ended in so many different ways. I couldnt fucking think of a way Tara would just be like ok cool you're with someone new? Take the boys I’m off! bye see ya! so it got deep & as much as I LOVE angst I wasn’t even planning on them being in the same room again, BUT I acted on the vote that I took, and you all wanted to see them back together again, hehe. So will deffo be a 4th (& final) part but it’s gonna take me a while to weave that shit in. Also, I’ve got like 3 other things I’m in the process of writing which probably isn’t smart but that’s my brain for you lol.

Thank you all for the love & constant support. Honestly means so much, the comments, the likes, the reblogs, everything. This fandom, though small (in comparison to others) honestly, is the fucking best. Love you all 🫶🏽

xoxo secretly samcro

[aria725]

Jax is so spoiled omg. I can’t take him seriously sometimes.

Female reader x Jax Teller Explicit language, adultery & possible spoilers If you're under the age of 18, haven't finished the show or dislike any of said topics, please read no further.

TILL IT'S GONE PT. 1

It started with the missed calls. Then the texts. one, two, ten.

All left unread.

Jax Teller wasn't the kind of man used to being ignored, and yet for the past week, you've done exactly that.

At first, he brushed it off, maybe you were pissed off, maybe you were just trying to prove a point. But when days passed and you still stayed silent? it started to sink into him.

He knew, he fucked up.

A week of silence. A week since you called him out on his shitty behaviour. A week since you told him you were done being his dirty little secret. But now, he wanted to talk, the guilt eating away at him.

"Fuck off" you hiss to your phone as it continues to ring, then it stops. This time, another text.

Jax: Open the door y/n

You groan in annoyance, you expected this to happen, just not so soon.

Maybe he's finally grown a spine, coming here to end this shit properly or maybe he just wanted to fuck his way out of another mistake.

You unlock the door, yanking it open, keeping all your emotions in check, or so you thought. He stood in the doorway, his kutte hanging loose over his hoodie, looking like he hadn't slept in days. His eyes were dark, like there was too much on his mind, like he was carrying something heavy.

Good.

"You weren't answerin'" he mumbled, his voice rough with something, guilt, anger or maybe a little bit of both.

You roll your eyes, letting the anger lace your words "Maybe take the hint".

Your eyes slide over him. Fuck. he looked good. But that was the problem, he always looked good. Always looked like he gave a shit, even when he didn't.

He took a step closer, but his eyes dropped, like he couldn't bring himself to meet yours.

"You really done with me?" His words hit you harder than he expected and for the first time, he wasn't the confident, cocky Jax teller. He was vulnerable, raw even. Something you didn’t actually expect.

Before you could even open your mouth, he spoke again, cutting through the silence.

"Can we just talk y/n?...please" You could hear it. The desperation in his voice, and you fucking hated it. You didn't want to care, didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much that 'please' fucked with you.

Jax steps into the apartment like he had no place to be, but the moment you shut the door behind him, it was like the world stopped.

His eyes were tired, his shoulders slumped. He wasn't angry, he wasn't anything but broken.

You didn't say anything, just stood there, arms crossed your entire body exhausted from the last week of silence, waiting for him to make a choice.

A choice you knew he was never going to make.

"I never meant to..." He starts, his words clumsy, too slow. He shakes his head, trying again. "I never meant for any of this to happen" He just stood there, hands by his sides, the guy you'd spent so many nights with. The guy you thought you knew, but really, you didn't.

You swallow hard, holding your breath. "Stop, Jax. Just stop" you move across the room, looking out the window, your back now facing him.

"What you said the other day..." he began, looking at the floor as he fidgeted with his hands "Its been playin' on my mind"

You stood there, still refusing to look at him and your body, so fucking tense.

"about you being my escape..." he continued, his voice lowering in tone, like he was testing the waters "I can’t..."

You turn to stare at him, waiting for him to finish because you knew where this was going.

"I cant leave" he says suddenly, his hands rubbing away at his face, the frustration creeping back into his voice.

"I can't leave Tara. I can't leave my boys" He walks closer to you, "I cant turn my back on them just to make this..." he gestures between the two of you "...whatever this is work"

The words stung more than you expected. You knew he had a family. You knew all of this, you knew it was fucked up, but so did he. You knew it would end like this, Jesus Christ, it had to end like this but hearing him admit that it will never be anything more?

Fuck, it hurt.

"Then leave me alone!" you interrupt, your voice raw with frustration, the anger slipping into something deeper, more painful. "Stop draggin' me into your bullshit. Stop calling me, stop texting me"

"You think I don’t know how fucked up this is?" he whispers, moving closer to you, “You think I planned on falling in…” he doesn’t finish his sentence, instead his hands hover just over you, wanting to touch you but before he can make contact, you throw your hands up instinctively, a clear gesture to keep him away.

"Don't" you say, your voice forceful.

He freezes, his fingers barely an inch from you, but the space feels like fucking miles. His breath hitches, his eyes searching yours, trying to figure out what the fuck to do now that you've put this wall up, one he didn't expect.

His face tightens with guilt, and for the first time his eyes are truly meeting yours. He looks vulnerable, lost even. He's breaking in front of you, but still, he won't change his mind. "I don't know how to fix this y/n" the tough exterior he usually wears, starting to slip.

Tears begin to slip down your cheek, you don't even bother wiping them away. "This can't be fixed" its suffocating. The words breaking as they leave your lips.

"I'm sorry" he says, his voice so quiet you almost don't hear it. He steps forward in desperation, his hands shaking as he reaches for yours. His fingers gripping your hands tightly, pulling you towards him,

"I never wanted to hurt you" his voice full of emotion, like he's begging you to understand. He pulls back, but you don't let go. Your grip tightens around his hands, clinging to him as if you're unintentionally trying to make him stay.

No matter how hard you try to hold on, his hand slips from yours, slow and reluctantly, like it's the hardest thing he's ever had to do. You hold on as tight as you can, like you know the moment your hands stop touching, it will all fall apart.

But the truth is, it already has.

He stops just before he gets to the door, his back facing you. For a second, you think he might turn around, but he doesn't. He just stands there frozen, as if he's savouring these last few seconds being in your presence.

You stay stood where you are, your chest heaving up and down, you want to say something, want to tell him to stay, but you know you cant make him choose you.

Jax lets the door slam shut behind him, muffling the sounds of your sobs.

And it’s fucking heart breaking.

He knows he’s messed up, played with your feelings, led you on. And now, just like that…it’s over.

Jax unlocks his front door, the house quiet and dark. Tara’s asleep, the kids both tucked in. He drags himself into the kitchen, exhaustion weighing him down. He collapses into a chair, his body sinking into the wood as he lets out a sigh.

For just a second, he lets himself break. The tears escaping as the guilt, the pain and everything he’s been holding in comes rushing to the surface.

He refuses to let the rest fall. Then, the switch flips. His expression hardens, pushing the emotions deep down where they can’t touch him. His mask is back on, as if nothing even happened.

Both of you, torn apart by something that never should have started.

Photos & gifs used are not mine, only edited to fit the story.

ngl it took a lot for me to not end this in smut and actually do the right thing!!!!! But I did, I’m growing lol

feel free to send in requests! I’m on pause with inbox requests at the moment only because I wanna get some part 2’s finished, but will carry on with them soon 🖤

PART 3: THE LOST BOY

Jax Teller Masterlist

xoxo secretly samcro

[aria725]

Damn she has balls. I could never lol!!

In Till it’s Gone, how did Jax and reader meet? Like it doesn’t sound like she’s part or knows anyone else in the club. It’s cool if there’s no answer, I was just wondering 😊

The place was barely alive. A flickering ‘OPEN’ sign buzzing in the window, hanging on by a thread. It smelt like burnt bacon and grease, but you didn’t come for the food, just the quiet.

There were only two other people inside, the half asleep trucker slumped at one side, and the man in the corner booth. You clocked him immediately, blonde, broad shoulders, sitting like he was trying to disappear. Handsome in away that felt dangerous, like he didn’t just carry trouble, he was trouble.

Still, you found yourself walking over, sliding into the booth across from him like it wasn’t even a choice. He looks up, blue eyes landing on you slow, but he didn’t tell you to leave, didn’t ask what you were doing, just cocked his eyebrow slightly.

“This seat taken?” You ask, even though you’re already sat in it.

“Would it matter if it was?…” He replies, a dry smile tugging at his lips. “…this your thing? sittin’ with strangers at 2am?”

“No, you just looked like you might say something worth hearing” you smile a little, forcing a full one from him now. “Rough night?” You add, taking a sip from your coffee.

His eyes drop to the table as he lets out the smallest scoff. “Rough year”

You lean back casually, studying him over your mug. “So…what’s her name?”

He blinks, taken back by your bluntness “what makes you think there’s a her?”

“You’ve got that look…like you’re tryin’ to work out what the fuck you’re about to walk back into” you say, also gesturing to the wedding band on his finger.

He nods slowly, looking out the window before answering “Tara…my wife”

“And…” you poke a little more.

“And…it’s got to the point where I’m sat in a diner at 2am telling some stranger about my problems”

You laugh, and so does he “well shit�� you say, adjusting positions in your seat, before offering out your hand towards him. “y/n”.

“Jax” he says, his voice low and rough like it’s been a long night, and a longer life. His hand wraps around yours, warm and solid. The coldness of his rings brushing against your skin. You notice the way his thumb grazes lightly against yours skin before he pulls back, and the way his tongue flicks across his bottom lip like he’s already thinking things he shouldn’t.

You stay seated together, no pressure and no expectations. The conversation happens easy, natural, like neither of you were planning to talk to anyone tonight, but the stars had different ideas.

The two of you begin to open up just a little. He mentions his wife again, tells you things aren’t great. Doesn’t get too into it, but you can tell by the look in his eyes he’s already halfway out the door.

“You ever think about just…walking away?” You ask softly.

His jaw flexes “More than I probably should, but I got my sons to think about too”

You share some of your own shit too, not trying to impress him, or trying to be cute, just being real. And he likes that, you can tell by the way he leans in when you talk, the way he watches you like he’s trying to figure you out. You both laugh a little, flirt a little. Nothing over the top, just enough that you can both feel the charge in the air.

When you finally stand to leave, you feel the hesitation in your own body, like you’re pulling away from something already trying to consume you.

“I hope whatever’s broken at home figures itself out” you say gently, “but if you’re ever here again…I’ll keep you company”

He watches you closely his eyes tracing your face before that slow knowing smirk appears “see you tomorrow, same time?” It’s not a question, more like an invitation.

“Same time” you echo, confirming the start of what’s about to turn into something so much deeper.

TILL IT'S GONE SERIES MASTERLIST

[aria725]

I love the boundaries being set yesssssss!!!

Female Reader x Jax Teller Slight violence, slight smut, explicit language & adultery If you're under the age of 18, haven't finished the show or dislike any of said topics, please read no further. Till it's gone - Yelawolf Played: Season 7, Episode 2

“Damn it, y/n, it’s not that easy!” Jax’s voice echoes through the confined space of the van that’s currently parked in your usual location - a secluded area of a underground parking lot, frustration and anger lingering in the air as he turns to look at you.

Jax’s words were heavy…growing increasingly frustrated with your need to ask the same question over and over.

Jax isn’t a stupid man, he’s fully aware that cheating on Tara is wrong, but he also knows that leading you on is just as bad.

He found himself in this constant vortex of wanting -no, needing to end things with you but forever being unable.

“I’m not a fool Jax, there’s no need to pretend” you shake your head in disbelief laughing slightly. “I know I’m just your escape when things get bad at home”

“Then why bother asking y/n?” Jax growled, his voice rumbling, he displays his anger by punching the steering wheel, the sound of his ‘SO’ and ‘NS’ rings clanking against the wheel breaking the deafening silence.

“Become a man jax!” You say mockingly “handle your own for once” you knew your words would do nothing more than stir the rage that had already risen.

Jax’s struggle to contain the bubbling anger was evident as his eyes darkened with intensity. Grabbing your face. He forcefully turns your head to meet those darkened ocean eyes, refusing you the chance to look away.

“Watch your damn mouth y/n” he warned his tone sounding possessive.

Reluctantly, you pull your face away. Fighting back tears, recognising Jax’s temper. Even though you’d experienced little glimpses of his aggression during your secret intimate moments, you’ve never witnessed it out of that context - not directed at you anyway.

“I’m fucking sick of this Jax…you only ever call me when you want to get your dick wet, other than that I don’t hear from you”. Your voice quivers slightly, Jax can almost hear the anger and hurt. “I ain’t the stepping stone to be stepping on Jax, you need to sort your marriage out and leave me out of this…I ain’t nobody’s crutch”.

Jax’s gaze remains fixed forward, avoiding eye contact. He fidgets restlessly whilst sat in the drivers seat, running his fingers through his hair and adjusting his kutte. “Ain’t much I can do” Jax lets out a deep sigh, sounding uncharacteristically less confident, his voice tinged with a hint of defeat. “Unless you’re looking to check out”. Jax finally made eye contact with you again, his gaze locking with yours. The weight of his unspoken thoughts lingered behind the intense stare.

Despite knowing (whether he’d admit it or not) that Jax was only using you as a way to release his pent up stress from his marriage, the thought of bringing an end to this intimate arrangement left you feeling strangely saddened.

Deep down, you knew it was for the best. Staying in contact with Jax who’s only been using your pussy as comfort, isn’t fair on you. You’ve already been putting your life on hold for him, to be there for him, to comfort him, falling for him… when to him, you were just a warm place to seek pleasure without the weight of emotional connection.

“I guess I’ll never be the needle in the haystack that you finally found” your words echoing a previous conversation shared between the two of you where you both confessed a wish to have met under different circumstances.

Jax remained completely silent, nervously biting down on his lips as he starts the engine. His rough hand moving to rest on the back of the seat you currently occupied as he begins to reverse out of the parking lot. He refrains from speaking, keeping his pristine white air force 1’s on the gas pedal driving directly to your house.

Jax silently brings the van to a stop as he pulls up to where you live, switching off the engine whilst his lips remained sealed. The air between you both growing thick with tension.

You waited a brief moment, hoping for him to break the silence and say something, but as the seconds ticked by and his stubbornness persisted, the realisation had settled in that Jax had no intentions to speak.

Pulling yourself together, you take a deep breath and then clear your throat softly… “Well you know what they say Jax…”

He doesn’t utter a single word, but his eyes shift in your direction silently waiting to hear what it is you have to say.

“You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone”

With your final words spoken, you step out of the van. Forcefully closing the door behind you. Without even acknowledging Jax, your footsteps disappear into the night as you make your way to the entrance of your home. The conversation still lingering heavily in the thoughts of you both.

Gifs, photos & music do not belong to me.

PART 2

Jax Teller masterlist

xoxo secretly samcro

[aria725]

Congrats and well wishes to your beautiful family ❤️❤️❤️❤️!!

Celebrating my husband and I's six year anniversary today! I've been a bit quiet on here the past couple of weeks because I have been busy planning this day, birthdays for both my sons, celebrating father's day last week, and my husband had family all the way out from Alaska this weekend who we haven't seen coincidentally since our wedding and then our honeymoon in Alaska six years ago. So I'm clearly looking forward to our little spa/sushi/coffee day out near the city (& it's been since our last anniversary after I just gave birth since we have gone somewhere without the kids 🤪).

I have no damn clue where the time went from us dating in high school, to him going off to university in Alaska and us losing touch for five years, to hearing him tell our almost 5 year old son last week that he knew he was going to marry me when he first saw me in that stupid algebra class all those years ago. But his ass wasn't wrong because here we are!

[aria725]

OSCAR ISAAC Behind the Scenes of ESQUIRE (2022)

[aria725]

Loool

[aria725]

Oscar Isaac as Blue Jones in "Sucker Punch", 2011

[aria725]

This makes the brat in me really happy loool! Everyone would hate me during this time. I’m craving cuddles? I’m interrupting the meeting and taking Jax home. I want some ice cream? Jax get a phone call and a text. I saw some cute flowers? 2 hour phone call with Jax about it🙂‍↕️

for @theeternaloptimistt

original post

Jax Teller x Pregnant!fem reader

suggestive content. +18 mdni

the moment jax finds out reader is pregnant, he'll get his shit together for her n the baby, quickly books doctor appointments, gets her vitamins and anything pregnant women need to stay healthy during the pregnancy. he also gets extra protective and some chemicals in his brain shifts where his sense of danger and threat is heightened, or maybe he's just paranoid, but whatever it is, it makes him lowkey dangerous to be around when it has to do anything with his pregnant wife.

he doesn't tolerate mistakes or slip ups when it comes to her, if she's served a beer or something with raw fish in it. and he made sure everyone in the club knew she was pregnant and to be extra careful around her, is that so hard to understand? 

His behaviour gets worse the more she starts to show, he won't even let her walk in the bar anymore because he doesn't want her to inhale the tobacco in the air, or be around stinky sailor-cursing bikers, no offense or anything. But also he really doesn't like how some men look at his wife while she's round and carrying his baby, he knows she's beautiful, a ray of sunshine, and worst of all, even in pregnancy she glows and looks so adorable, and he's a selfish bastard, so he doesn't want to share her with others. 

The only person who can really pry his pretty wife off his hands is his mum, Gemma, and she's so excited to be a grandma. The moment they broke the news to her, she was over the moon, so excited and happy for her son to become a dad. So, at the earliest convenience, she kidnaps Jax’s wife literally out of their bed, while Jax is all groggy and pissed off, hair sticking in all directions, shirtless and georgous. Gemma is literally dancing in their bedroom, with a glass or orange juice in her hand, “Come on, rise and shine, I'm taking you shopping today!”

Jax’s prettiest girl is confused as she sits up in the bed, “How did you get in?”

“Mum, get out,” Jax is not happy at all, glaring at his mum while sitting up in the bed, making sure the sheets stay above his belly button while his wife accepts the glass of orange juice and drinks the whole thing, “Thanks, Gemma, I was thirsty,”

“You were?” Jax rasps, voice deep from sleep, holding his wife's hand in his, trying to blink the sleep away from his eyes. 

“Hm, I was,” His wife nods and he hums, “I'll get you water bottles to keep in the bedroom at night,”

“Thank you,” She smiles and stretches, he watches her stretch her arms above her bed, arching her back and rolling her neck, he suddenly gets the urge to kiss her silly but remembers his mother was still in their bedroom, “Get out!”

“I will! I'll make breakfast, your favourite, so don't go back to sleep,” Gemma says, holding her hands in the air in surrender and slowly backs out of the room, closing the door behind her. 

“How did she even get in? I locked the door yesterday,” Jax asked, running his hands through his hair. 

“You gave her a spare key in case of emergencies, remember?” She says, getting out of the bed and going over to the windows, cracking one of them open to let in fresh air. 

“Does it look like we're having an emergency?” Jax grumbles, annoyed at being woken up before he wakes up on his own, he was planning to sleep in, spend time with his wife and do some planning for the next months but that's all thrown out of the window now because his mum was too excited to call. 

Jax sighs, his shoulders slumping, then he looks up at his pretty wife, wearing one of his old ratty t-shirts and underwear, the fabric hiding the small bump he knew was there. She stood barefoot on the carpet, the sun shining behind her, looking so soft and cute he wanted nothing more than to drag her back in bed and bury himself inside her until they're satisfied. And with that, he feels tingling in his groin and he's reminded of his morning wood, great.

“Do you want to shower together? I'll take care of you,” She smiles and he wants to scream out of the window about how he's the luckiest bastard in the world. So he quickly gets out of the bed, almost tripping on the sheets making his wife giggle. Then he grabs her by the waist and pinches at her sides, making her squeal and laugh, “Stop! Your mum will hear!” 

Jax sighs, right, they had a guest. 

She immediately notices the change of his demeanour and cups his face, “I know you'll talk to her, set boundaries, she knows better than to do that again.”

Jax covers her hands in his, then turns his head, kissing her palm, “Okay, darling,”

“Okay,” She says and he grabs her hands, takes them down from his face and pulls her in the bathroom.

. 

. 

. 

Jax gets cute aggression the bigger his wife gets, and he's shameless with it too, squeezes her tight in his arms, keeps kissing and squishing her cheeks in his hands, bites her thighs when they're at home and coos at her, talks to her like a baby when they're alone, because he enjoys her annoyed reaction to them, but also because he can't help it! When he especially annoys her, she tells him that she's a grown woman who's pregnant because his dick was inside her, and all he does is laugh loudly. 

He's also sweet and patient when she starts to get quickly tired, when her muscles ache and when her feet get sore, also when she's constantly hot and sweating, and all Jax does is buy her more and more of her favourite soaps, shower gels, lotions and shampoos in her favourite scents to make her feel better about the changes in her body. He still loves her either way, and his dick always gets hard when he looks at her, even if she's sweaty and smelly as she claims, but something primal in his brain only understands that she's pregnant, healthy, and his, and that, he really likes. 

As much as her mood swings give her a hard time, with the changes in her hormones and all, Jax finds himself secretly enjoying them, not in a twisted sick way, but in a “my wife cries and I'm the only one who can comfort her” way.

This happens a few times, where he's busy with club activities while she's hanging out with his mum and the other old ladies, then he gets a call from his mum, saying that his wife is crying, sobbing and is on her way to the club, that they tried to stop her but she left anyways. And the first things Jax asks is; is she alone? how is she coming to the club? is she driving??? 

Before any of his questions are answered, he hears her ask for him and he but leaps out of his chair, leaving the meeting they were having and she's right there, dressed like the prettiest thing in the world, her cheeks tender, her nose runny and her eyes glassy and a bit red from crying. As soon as her eyes land on him, she sobs and he quickly goes to her, gathers her in his arms, making sure not to squeeze her bump between them and shushes her, stroking her back, kissing her wet cheeks and letting her burrow in the crook of his neck. 

He ends up sitting somewhere private with her in his lap, sniffling and hiccuping, and Jax doesn't like to see his baby cry, but then he's not too bothered because she's pregnant and if anything bad happened, Gemma would have told him at least.

So he finally asks when she's less frantic, “Why are you crying, babe?”

She freezes and he frowns, squeezing her thigh once, “Are you alright? You can tell me,”

“You'll think it's stupid,” She whispered and he immediately hugged her to his chest, “I'll never, baby, I promise.”

“It's– I read in a magazine about these orphan baby monkeys-” Her voice catches in her throat and she starts crying again, Jax coos, patting her back through her devastated sobs, “There's so much pollution– The poor babies, they're– They're so tiny-” 

“Here, here, I'm sure they'll get rescued and put in a zoo or something,” He says, a small smile on his lips. 

[aria725]

Wheeeeewww! Mr Teller is something else!

+18 content. mdni

jax teller x poc fem!reader

when her sweet voice hit jax's ear, "Come over, nobody's home." He thought he'd get some loving in the sheets. he was excited. had something to look forward to when he finished running errands (beating people up) for samcro. a reward. but when he showed up to her house, he somehow ended up in her bath, surrounded by the smell of exotic fruits he can't name and hair tied at the top of his head in a shiny scrunchy. cheeks pink and knees poking from the bathwater, surrounded by bubbles.

he really didn't expect this. when she opened the door she looked so damn pretty. dressed in warm oranges and pinks, in a thin strap dress, the kind that shows everything, the kind you're only meant to wear over a bikini on the beach. But there she was. the sun shining behind her, from the kitchen's window, a soft orange glow kissing her skin. she looked so perfect. like an angel.

Jax drank her in like water. her soft tan skin. her dark curls and bright smile. his eyes trailed down a little and when he saw the faint brown of her nipples under the thin fabric, he felt himself grow in his jeans. then he pounced. He kissed her, gathered her in his hands and closed the door with his boot all at the same time, almost falling over as her laugh rang in the house, sweet and refreshing, like a bird in the morning, lulling you back to the waking world in a melody known and etched into your very bones.

"Wait, Jax! I have to show-- hmmmm--" He kissed her hard, "I have to show you something!" She gasped and laughed when he ran his mouth straight to her neck and shoulders, hungry, starved. When she finally managed to escape his hold, he threw his Kutte on the sofa and started slipping his hoodie off, eyes watching her every movement, as if she'd take off and leave him hanging.

"It's in my room, okay?" She said, still grinning and panting. Then she took a step towards the stairs, up where her bedroom was and he stood in front of her, she erupted in a fit of giggles, "Jaaaax! Let me through!"

He kept watching her, now down to his t-shirt, jeans and white nike's, pinning her with his intense gaze. He smiled a little and stepped aside. She sighed a breath of relief and slowly walked to the bottom of the stairs, staring at him all the while, in case he decides to jump her. Jax's eyes sparkles in mischief as he watched her go up the stairs, one slow step at a time, then he smirked and her smile dropped, "Jax, no!"

As soon as he leaped she shrieked and scrambled up the stairs, Jax hot on her trail. They were loud, their combined running and her screaming, then her bedroom door getting slammed open and the two falling on her bed, well, Jax tackled her to the bed, as gently as he could manage while all she did was a combination of trying to crawl away, shrieking and laughing when he squeezed her waist and buried his nose between her shoulders blade, his beard and long hair tickling her.

Then he flipped her on her back, kissing her cheeks, nose, eyelids then her plump lips. And he went lower, over her sternum, her chest over the thin fabric, then down her stomach and stopped when she buried her fingers in his hair and pulled, "Jax?"

"Hm?"

"Take your clothes off?"

Thank you, Lord.

.

.

.

"I feel deceived," Jax mumbled, his girlfriend humming, her fingers rubbing his soapy scalp, washing his hair.

"What?" She said, twirling one of his blonde strands with her finger, making it stand straight, like an antenna, she smiled at the sight. Jax looked like a teletubbie. She giggled under her breath and Jax frowned, pouting a little, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, you just look cute," She giggled, then bent down to place a kiss on his cheek. "What did you say earlier?" She asked, taking a break and resting her head on her arm, on the edge of the tub, looking at him.

"You've deceived me, baby." Jax said, "I came over because I wanted to be with you, not do this,"

"But you're with me right now, Jax." She frowned in confusion.

Jax's face suddenly looked pained, he felt bad because she was taking care of him, he doesn't remember the last time he even took a bath, too used to showers, methodical, come in and come out, not this. With fancy bath bombs, fancy oils and whatever expensive shit she bought just for him.

His girl loved him and all he could think of is emptying his balls.

"Nevermind," He quickly said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the folded towel she put there just for him.

"What? Jax, tell me!" He heard her move, and her voice was closer to his face, she smelled really nice.

"Hm, later." He lied. He'd rather sleep with blueballs than upset his girlfriend for being a horny pervert. He didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Jax, please! I promise I won't judge!" She begged and Jax felt his resolve immediately start to crumble. It's not him! It's the hot water making him weak! It's all the chemicals from the soaps getting to his head!

"I thought when you called--" He sighed, opening his eyes, "Baby, I thought you wanted me naked in your bed."

"Oh, you can fuck me later if you want." She said it so casually, shrugging and dipping her soapy hands in the water, trying to rinse them out, then giving up and getting to the sink instead. Jax thought he misheard her, but his dick did not.

"Darlin' I don't think I can wait for later, my dick hurts." Jax gulped, his hands gripping the side of the tub as if he'd fall. Or just so he won't furiously jerk himself off under the water.

"But I have to put your facemask on, it's good for you-"

"Baby, please, I just need your hand and you can finish your-- your--" Jax felt dumb. desperate.

She wiped her hands with the towel, turned around and smiled at Jax, "Okay, then facemask."

"Alright," He nodded, ears turning red and feeling himself getting harder and harder each passing second.

"Just keep your hands to yourself, you're not pulling me in the water with you, Jackson."

Jax nodded and she sat on the mat, by the tub, on her knees. She leaned forward, kissing him, pecking his lips over and over again, smiling at his shaky moan when she finally dipped her hand in the water. Then giggled when a gutted moan escaped his lips when she finally wrapped her fingers around him. His eyes rolled back and Jax was gone.

[aria725]

Sorry Gemma. I’m the new HBIC now 🙂‍↕️

jax teller & praise kink

suggestive content mdni

he won't say it out right. but from the moment he started getting complimented and praised by his girl. his brain chemistry started to shift. he would grin and laugh it off when he was praised for fixing something for her. or if he just took our the trash. then he started to look forward to them. everytime he did something good, like, stopping himself from breaking someone's face, he'll look at her w big eyes and she'll grin, "Good job, Jax. You did so well, I'm so so proud of you, baby."

it makes him feel warm. fuzzy.

and it's even better when he gets kisses w the praises. he gets his hair played with. head scratches. then he'll be told he's been good. he's doing his best. and she appreciates it. she's proud of her handsome boy. and his eyes are closed. he feels good. blissed out. allowing himself to be cuddled. praised and coddled by his girl.

he starts to feel like a well trained guard dog. obedient to her. vicious at her command. Gemma hates it. how he would listen like a good boy to a random girl that showed up and captured his heart with big honest eyes. the club doesn't like it either. no one really says anything in fear of getting their shit rocked. but there's an underlying feeling shared by everyone. thinking. waiting for the day he'll betray the club for her. when he won't listen and run off into the sunset w her. leaving everything and everyone behind. they keep thinking abt it even tho jax's girl hasn't done anything to the club. doesn't pull jax away. but it's just the power she holds over him that makes everyone a little nervous. unnerved.

[aria725]

jax teller x fem!reader

how to get jax teller wrapped around your finger 101: easy, really. the nicest girl in town did it. she always smells the same, clean, fresh and sweet. coconuts and tangerines. she always says hello when they meet. always w a pretty smile. she also says hello to his gang. is nice to odd and peculiar personalities. takes everything with a welcoming smile and gaze. she cares abt people. like to ask things. do small things. not too much, because she doesn't have all the time in the world, after all.

she likes to keep sweet treats and snacks in her bag, just for jax. the sweeter, the better. so when he gets an itch to smoke, she just hands him one. and she did so many times, everytime he wants to smoke, he looks around, expecting her to be there and hand him one. a small chocolate bar. a tiny cupcake. a single packaged brownie. and his stomach rumbles. feels the lack of sweetness of his tongue. starts seeing the treats she gives him at the gas station and instantly thinks of her.

when they exchanged numbers. she made a habit of calling him on the same day, at the same time every week, just to say hello and check up on him. and he unconsciously grows to anticipate her calls. gets excited. and when she forgets to call, he gets confused and shows up at her house. he feels like a teenager all over again. laying in his bed, staring at his phone, just for her name to flash on his screen.

the longer they keep meeting and seeing each other. the shorter her skirts and shorts gets. Jax doesn't notice at first. how she started with jeans. complaining that the seats of the bar were always sticky and she hated the texture against bare skin. then her skirts started getting shorter and shorter, and jax at first tried wiping the seats for her, then realised those chairs are a lost caused, so much layers of unknown liquids on them. so he just offers his lap now. she says he's comfy and she smells real nice on him, so it's a win.

and when the smell of the bar gets too much, tobacco and weed and other illegal plants wafting through the air, mixed with sweat, beer and the stench of piss around the radius of the toilets, he just shoves his nose in her hair, inhales long and deep, his own little paradise, right there, on his lap. and it has gotten to a point where if she isn't there on one of those nights, to occupy his lap, he quickly gets a headache of the smell and stuffiness and goes out to take a break, outside, in fresh air. he gets irritated. annoyed. and complains about how people need to start using deodorants.

and the small changes in his behaviour are caught on. the smell never bothered him before she came in his life. but he doesn't want to hear it. doesn't care. especially when he can go to her house. where it's quiet. and gets tucked in her fluffy soft comfy bed, after taking a shower and using her own shampoos. and he gets a kiss on his forehead and cheeks. chokes hugs the life out of her squishmallows and closes his eyes, resting his bruised up body under covers of safety, tangerines & coconuts.

[aria725]

OMG I LOVED THIS SO DAMN MUUUCHHHH!!!!! This is the best fic I’ve read in a while!!! Woooow you had both of their personalities down perfectly!!

Close asshat cousins Jax Teller and Benny Miller swinging at one another (or others wink wink) in the ring for babygirl's giggles, smiles, hands, body, WHATEVER, would be so HILARIOUS and hawt at the same, mama—I mean, WHAT.

WHO SAID THAT.

Vanilla Milkshake

Jax Teller (SOA) x fem!reader | Benny Miller (Triple Frontier) x fem!reader

/!\ the smut only happens with Benny. Jax has a crush on reader.

+18 mdni

10.5k words

tw: Jealousy, Protective Jax, Not Beta Read, Banter, Flirting, Making Out, Strength Kink, Frottage, Dry Humping, Oral Sex, Cunnilingus, Squirting and Vaginal Ejaculation, Vaginal Fingering, Coming Untouched, Fighting, Attempt at Humor, Aftercare, Fluff, Hair-pulling, Soft/Sweet Benny, Bathing/Washing, Jax Teller and Ben Miller are Cousins, Dom/sub Undertones, Teasing, Scents & Smells, One Night Stands, Out of Character (possibly because it's been a while since I watched the movie, and I'm almost done with s1 of soa and It's been a while since the last ep I watched), Crossovers

summary: Jax invites the prettiest girl in town to a fight, where she meets a handsome stranger that makes her feel all sorts of exciting things. Jax's not too happy about it, especially since it feels like a personal betrayal, considering the stranger's his damn cousin.

Reader is referred to as Tangy (nickname by Jax because she smells good, like tangerines), pronouns are she/her, genitals are referred to as hole and pussy.

a/n: this is for my baby @reveluving <3 I really hope I was able to deliver what you wanted. Also im sorry for any spelling mistakes. Thank you for pulling me out of writers block. Sometimes I felt a little rusty writing this, so I hope it doesn't show! :) Here's another one for the garrett girlies! Cheers!

Charming is usually quiet, especially at night. But that is if you aren't anywhere near the Sons of Anarchy.

Every week or so, the Sons gather up to throw a boxing match, usually just to bet to try and make some money, drink a shit ton of booze and watch their friends get the shit beaten out of them. They tend to get really rowdy, and immediately scatter if the police ever showed up, which doesn't happen as much as it should for some reason.

It also means that people from out of town show up looking to make some cash on their fighters as well.

Jax used to fight, a lot, when he would burn with excess energy and would try to get in as much trouble as physically possible. And when he couldn't for whatever reason, he'd beg to be put in the ring and come out with two black eyes, a busted lip and a shit-eating grin on his face. It satiates him for a good three weeks until he gets the itch to punch and get punched until he sees stars.

Jax's special girl never comes to these things, but tonight he invited her. She agreed after he assured her there would be a bench for them to sit, apparently she didn't want some drunk idiot stepping on her shoes or spilling his beer down her back, not like Jax would let it slide if that ever happened, she may not be technically his girl, but soon (he hasn't even asked her out yet).

That night outside, behind their local gym, the boxing ring was set up and a generous amount of people were in the audience. The girl was sitting with her bag in her lap, and Jax was sat with his body angled towards her, their knees and shoulders touching. He really didn't need to be that close but apparently, how else is he meant to sit to be protecting her? It was strategic! Totally innocent and very serious because he'd hate for anything to happen to her, and especially since he likes to feel the heat of her body radiating off her and to be so close that he can smell her fruity shampoo off her hair and see the shimmer of her lipgloss.

She was so damn adorable, she was frowning a little too, clearly concerned about the health and safety of the fighters.

"Hey," Jax couldn't help but smile, throwing his arm around her shoulder and squeezing her to his side.

"What?" She said, still staring at the referee explain the rules to the two men before they start punching each other.

"What're you looking worried for, baby?"

She shrugged and finally turned to look at him, Jax watched her inhale sharply and squeeze her thighs, lifting and dropping her bag back on her lap, trying to pretend like his little pet name didn't make her tingle. "Well, I don't see the appeal in getting your shit rocked for sport,"

"Well, it's for sport,"

"Yeah, but it can't feel good the next day,"

"Sure, but it's like— It's like sex, it can feel good, but, if can also hurt so bad it feels good," Jax spoke right in her ear while the audience shouted and cheered around them as one of the men hit the ground with a thud, dripping with sweat and a little blood from his brow.

"Sex and getting punched by Mark the lumberjack is not the same," She rolled her eyes and huffed when Jax leaned down and dug his teeth in the crook of her neck. She wasn't really annoyed and Jax knew that, so when she pushed his face away with her hand, he laughed and licked her palm making her squeal in juvenile disgust, "Jax! Ew!"

She made a show of wiping her wet palm on his thigh, over his dark denim while he laughed.

The girl sighed and Jax quickly planted a kiss to her cheek, "Sorry,"

"Get me a drink, I'm thirsty," She said and Jax immediately stood up, "What do you want?"

"Whatever's good," She shrugged and Jax nodded, "Alright, stay here,"

She had a small smile on her lips when Jax turned around and left to go fetch her a drink. When he was out of sight, she turned back to the fight and opened her bag without looking, when her fingers felt plastic she dug her fingers inside it and finally glanced down. After a couple of seconds of looking around, she grabbed a lollipop, the one that was Sour Apple flavoured. She looked back at the fight right as the two fighters are trying to choke each other out.

When she couldn't open the package with her fingers, she huffed and started gnawing on the plastic covered hard sweet. The plastic finally ripped and she pulled it apart with her fingers, shoving the wrapper in her bag and right as the lollipop hit her tongue, a dark figure obstructed her view of the ring.

With her tongue out and the round green lollipop on it, she slowly trailed her eyes up, and when she couldn't make up a face she shoved the lollipop in her mouth and moved it to inside of her left cheek, then grabbed the bench with one hand and the other on her bag as she leaned back, tilting her neck to make out the face of the idiot blocking her view.

When her eyes readjusted to the change of light, she just glared up at the man until a weird feeling fluttered in her stomach, "Do I know you?"

"Uh, no, I'm sorry if I scared you," A deep voice answered and the body finally lowered to her level, squatting right in front of her.

The man was ridiculously tall, if she had to guess, maybe as tall as Jax, or maybe a little taller. His hair was blonde under his backwards cap, the same as Jax, his eyes were even of a lighter colour, not the same as Jax but pretty close, a grey-green, the type of colour that constantly changes with the sunlight, sometimes it's green, other times turquoise, or perhaps grey? Or grey-blue? Who the fuck even knows, they're pretty eyes and they're staring straight at her as if he knew something she didn't.

"You don't look awfully sorry to me," She said, squinting her eyes at the man.

He chuckles and the sound goes straight to her stomach in the form of traitorous butterflies, he was handsome. The man had a boy-ish charm to him, the sheepish look fits him like a damn glove as he rubs the back of his neck with one of those huge manly hands. His bicep bulges at the movement, and his short-sleeved button up wasn't even horribly tight that it'd look it'd burst at the seams under the pressure of those muscles, but she could still see how strong he was.

He wasn't massive by any means, he didn't look like he was on steroids, he looked homegrown, and that was bad, really bad because the girl was a sucker for homegrown and homemade things, including men if that even makes any damn sense.

She almost squeals when she realises he caught her staring a little too long at his bicep, and she whips her eyes below his chest, trying to bury her feet in the dirt, and that was a mistake because she can see that his thighs looked really good in those stupid cargos he was wearing.

She swallows a mouthful of sour apple flavoured saliva, and takes the little stick from her mouth, licking the sugar and lipgloss off her lips.

"You got one for me?" He smiles and his dimples pop, making her stomach flip as she starts rummaging in her handbag without a second thought.

"Which one do you want?" She asks and this time tries very hard to keep the eye contact steady, he bites his lower lip, still smiling, "Which one are you having?"

"Sour Apple," She replies.

"Sour Apple it is," He nods and finally stands to his full height.

She's almost worried he's just about to leave, even though she came here with Jax, but it's not like she's Jax's girl, or they're even really talking, the man just likes to uhh— Doesn't matter, they haven't even fucked because she knows how much Jax goes stupid for sweet pussy, so if he wants to date her, he has to prove himself responsible and capable. So for now, she can play with other boys, it won't kill him (just a little).

"Can I sit?" He nods at the empty spot next to her and she nods.

Once he sits, he tries to make a little bit of space between them, out of respect of course, but there isn't much space with people on both sides, and the man has stupid broad shoulders and long legs, so that doesn't help much either. So their bodies are pressed from shoulder, to down their hips and thighs.

She hands him his lollipop and he accepts it with a whispered thanks that makes her flush a little, his voice deep and pleasant, making her tingle every time he opened his mouth. The man immediately brings the plastic covered hard sweet to his mouth and rips the plastic with his teeth, pocketing the wrapper and she smiles a little as he pops the sweet treat in his mouth, humming, "I'm Benny, by the way,"

"Tangy," She answers with the nickname given to her by Jax, the one that was quickly adopted by half of Charming because he can't keep his mouth shut. It's not like she hates it, she thinks it's cute, it's just that he tends to get a little carried away when he's face to face with a pretty girl, I mean, he did admit to be a sucker for a pretty face on more than one occasion, so when he thinks he likes a girl, he's probably just in love with what's between her legs, and Jax tends to confuse that a lot. So as much as Tangy entertained the man - a little attention from a handsome fella never hurt a gal - she was aware enough to know she had to keep him waiting on her, just to see if her effect on him will wear off and maybe he'll realise he actually loves her, or he just loves being with her. She was a pretty girl after all, and a lot of guys do want to be with her, and Jax is not immune to the feeling you get when a gorgeous girl wants to be seen with you.

"Tangy? Your mama saw you in that hospital and decided to call you Tangy?" Benny teased and Tangy made a face, scrunched her nose, "No! It's a nickname!"

"Aw, alright, and what does it mean?" He grinned, leaning a little closer.

She shrugged, "It means tangerine,"

He frowned, confused, and held his chin in his free hand, "Why?"

"Cuz I smell like them,"

Benny stares at her without saying anything and her eyes fall to his lips, realising his lollipop was long gone, and he was now chewing on the little white plastic stick. He must be one of those people who chew on lollipops because they're too damn impatient. He takes it out of his mouth with his left hand and leans in, grabbing a strand of shiny hair between his fingers and Tangy holds her breath. Benny doesn't break the eye contact when he brings the hair to his nose, inhaling.

His eyelashes flutter and he gently lets go of her hair, "Well, if I'll be damned, you do smell tangerine sweet,"

Benny doesn't straighten up, instead his head is still tilted down and super close to hers, Tangy can feel his left hand on the bench behind her back, and she could smell cologne and Sour Apple and just feel how warm he was, or maybe she was the one burning up, hard to tell.

His stare was intense and she didn't dare to speak. Her heart is beating fast in her chest and she feels a little vulnerable under his gaze, like she was naked, in a good way, in a thrilling way.

She was wearing an off shoulder mini dress with boots, but Benny was looking at her like she was lathered in cream and sprinkles. Tangy gulped and watched how Benny ever slowly brought a hand up, to give her a chance to pull back or run away if she didn't want him to touch her. But Tangy sat still, looking at him with huge Bambi eyes until he caressed her naked shoulder with his knuckles. She shivered and his eyes looked darker then, his pupils blown as he leaned in even closer, tilting her chin up with his thumb and index finger, "Jesus, look at you,"

His hold on her chin trembled a little and he looked a little pained. Tangy frowned in concern, "What?"

Benny laughed, finally pulling away and took his hat to run his fingers through his hair and put his hat back on. Tangy watched him pull at his shirt to try and cool his skin and started pulling down at his short-sleeved button up, as an attempt to cover his crotch.

Tangy looked a little confused until she saw his red ears, "You okay, Benny?"

"Hm, yeah, I just—" Benny cleared his throat and ran a hand down his face, looking at her with heavy lidded eyes, "Wanna get outta here?"

Tangy didn't say anything, she looked down and thought about it. That would be a dick move to just flake out on Jax like that, but also, where the fuck was he, anyway?

"I came here with someone…" Tangy said, sounding apologetic.

"Where's he then? He's your boyfriend?" Benny asked and Tangy shook her head, "He's not my boyfriend and he left to get me a drink,"

"He's taking an awful lot with those drinks, it's not nice to leave a lady hanging like that," Benny said and stood up then, looking around and back down at her.

Tangy was almost tempted in making an excuse for Jax, but he was taking way too long with those drinks, God knows what he's up to, and she wasn't his old lady or his damn pet, so if she wanted to up and leave with a hot stranger, she would.

"Ah fuck those drinks," She grabbed her bag in her right hand and got up, pulling down at her short dress down, bringing Benny's eyes down at the movement. He tries not to stare, acting cool and dragging his eyes further down on the ground. But even then, he can't wipe the grin from his face. Tangy notices, because of course she does, "Benny,"

"Hm?" He lifts his eyes to her pretty face and his heart skips a beat when she sticks her hand out, palm facing up. Benny doesn't hesitate to place his bigger hand in hers. As soon as she grips his hand, she turns around and pulls him through the benches and the crowds while he's smiling from ear to ear like a damn fool.

His own name rings in his head like an echo too, her voice was pretty and his name sounds so good coming out of that mouth. He'd love to hear her say it again and again right in his ear until he can hear it even in the dark of the night, when he's alone in bed.

Benny's a little distracted staring at her soft, smooth thighs when her back hits his firm chest and he quickly stops in his tracks, his hands on her shoulders now.

"Oh, hell no!" Jax is standing right there, with two beers in hand as he glares at Benny. He looks a little disgusted too.

Tangy doesn't say anything, instead she crosses her arms over her chest and steps a little backwards, and Benny realises she was trying to mold her back to his chest, to make sure he wasn't going anywhere, and he'd rather break both legs before he even gets the chance to suck the sour apple flavour off her lips.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Jax is pissed, glaring at Benny and Tangy realises they must know each other, so she whips her head, hair hitting Benny's chest.

"Sightseeing." Benny rolls his eyes, "I came here to check on my favourite cousin,"

"Fuck you, Benny," Jax scoffs and Tangy looks at him and back at Jax in shock, "You're cousins?" No wonder they look similar.

"I love you too, Jax, now, I'll come say hi to your mom later in the week, I'm busy right now," Benny says and grabs Tangy by the arms, about to herd her out of the place.

"Busy doing what, you unemployed asshole?" Jax seethes.

"First of, I'm retired, you dirtbag! And I'm—" Benny just looks down at Tangy, Jax clenches his jaw and Tangy knows he's about to punch Benny in the face so she raises a finger in the air, "Don't you fucking dare, Jackson!"

Jax freezes in place and Tangy glares at him, "I'll be leaving with Benny now, good night,"

Tangy doesn't wait for him to speak when she grabs Benny by the hand and pulls him away from the man. Benny's a smug bastard and he doesn't even have to look back to know that Jax was furious. So Benny squeezes the hand in his and grins when the prettiest girl he's ever seen looks over her shoulder and smiles back at him.

.

.

.

That night, Benny led them to his truck and opened the passenger door for Tangy, she climbed and buckled herself in. She immediately noticed a lot of things when the man got in the truck and turned the ignition on. She couldn't see the truck that well in the night, but once inside, it was clear it was a new truck. It was modern and spacious on the inside. She wasn't a car person by any means but she has an inkling that this vehicle must've cost him a pretty penny, if the heated and comfortable seat she was on was anything to go by. Benny had a friendship bracelet hanging off the rear view mirror too, with "BENY" spelled on the beads, clearly made by a child who can't spell very well. It was cute.

Tangy grinned and leaned forward, thumbing at the bracelet, "Cute, made that yourself?"

Benny snorted, "Is that a military joke?"

"You're in the military?" She asked, genuinely surprised.

"Not anymore, retired," Benny answers, "Aren't you gonna ask where I'm taking you?" He's now on the road, driving past the gym and the parking lot.

"Probably back to the motel where you're staying," Tangy answered with a shrug and Benny was surprised she got it right, "Yeah, that's right," He chuckles a little.

"Benny?"

"Yeah?"

He sees her shuffle in the corner of his eye, and he quickly glances at her, Tangy is now facing him and looking at him with her teeth in her lower lip. Benny just blinks at her and then looks back at the road, waiting for her to speak. "I'm not promising anything tonight, I've got limits and I expect you to respect them,"

"Of course," Benny nods.

Usually he goes straight to foreplay and fucking on one night stands, he's never had anyone really talk to him before, maybe some dirty talk, but never like this.

"So, Benny, all I ask is for you to listen and do what I say, that is if you're comfortable, of course," She speaks steadily in his rumbling truck and Benny shifts a little in his seat.

"Alright," Benny nods.

"You think you can do that for me?" She asks right in his ear this time and he shivers, "Yes, ma'am,"

"Okay," He feels her grin against the side of his face and she presses a quick, sticky kiss to his cheek over his stubble.

He inhales sharply and presses his foot a little harder on the gas pedal, trying to get faster to the motel.

Once they get to the motel, Benny's room is at the end of the building, Tangy is barely inside the room when Benny immediately drops to his knees and grabs her thighs in his big hands, squeezing and nuzzling his face on the soft skin, scratching her with his facial hair. Tangy squeals, dropping her bag on the floor and taking his hat off, throwing it on the floor and grabbing his blonde hair tight in her hands, she pulls and Benny moans, the sound travelling up her legs right to her pussy.

His head is thrown back and his Adam's apple bobs, then he blinks quickly and looks back at her, he looks so desperate on his knees, with his eyes shiny and his hair mussed up, the tips of his ears were red and his chest was rising with each breath he took. Tangy tilts her head to the side, staring at the man at her feet as he ever so slowly drags his hands higher up her soft thighs, the calluses on them making her breath come out a little shaky.

Benny doesn't drop the eye contact when he slowly pushes the hem of her mini dress higher and higher up her thighs, with every millimetre of newly exposed skin, his hands are migrating closer and closer to the back of her legs where his fingers make contact with the swell of her ass and the soft fabric of her panties. Benny closes his eyes and pushes his head closer, burying his face right between her legs, right on her covered pussy as he groans and paws at her ass like a starved man.

Tangy lets him. Her hands on his hair as a makeshift leash as he shakes under her, breathing her in like he's never had pussy in his life.

Benny starts moving his face around, absolutely shameless in the way he tries to bite the fabric of her panties to try and pry them off, his beard rubs on the sensitive skin on the inside of her thighs, making her hiss, "Benny!"

She pulls at his hair and he looks up, gaze heavy and a little stupid, "Hm?"

"Your beard's scratchy," She says with a small smile, enamoured with the big man at her feet.

"I can shave it," Benny blurts out without thinking and Tangy gapes at him, surprised.

She sees the moment his brain comes back online and he realises what he just said, flushing a pretty pink, "Uh, I mean— I could, if you wanted me to, it grows fast anyway,"

Tangy starts laughing, bringing a hand to her mouth, trying to control her giggles while Benny watches her with big honest eyes. He's smiling too at least, loving the sound of her giggles due to his antics.

"No, uhm, you don't have to shave anything, honey," She says in between giggles, shoulders shaking.

"Okay," He nods, his thumbs simultaneously rubbing at her skin while he just waits for her to tell him what to do.

"Benny, baby," She coos and bends down a little and cups his face in both hands. Benny holds onto the back of her legs, over her boots and she kisses his forehead, then the bridge of his nose and finally his mouth. Benny's insides are turning in excitement, his groin is tingling and the hairs at the back of his neck are standing straight.

He raises a little higher on his knees, neck bent back to accept everything she was giving him. And Benny was over the moon when he realised her mouth still tasted like sour apple and everything he's dreamed of in dark barracks, rainy days curled up under mud and stone, and scorching heat hugging the back of his sweat slick neck like a noose. She tasted like heaven in the flesh.

When Tangy pulls back, her lips are wet with spit and she speaks right in his mouth, "Take me to bed and kiss me like you mean it,"

Benny does just that, quickly getting back on his feet and lifting her body off the ground with his hands on her ass. Tangy immediately wraps her legs around his hips and puts her arms around his shoulders. The bed was just three steps away, but the raw display of strength made it so that her pussy throbbed with every step he took with her in his arms.

Benny makes quick work of dropping her on the bed on her back, she bounces a little on the old mattress and she's still got her boots on.

Benny practically rips his shirt off and she's glad he's not wearing anything underneath it. Her eyes zeroed on the light hairs on his chest, he doesn't waste time when he gets on the bed and hovers above her body, grinning when her hands go straight to his pecs, shamelessly feeling him up.

"You like whatchu see?" Benny murmurs, leaning down to nuzzle her neck.

"Yeah, I do," He can hear the smile in her voice and he feels her hands trail down his back, running over his skin, making their way to his cargo's waistband, he feels her grab tight on the fabric and pulls. Benny gasps when he feels her knee between his legs and her hips lift off the bed, grinding onto his.

Benny locks their mouths together then, making out with her like it was the last time he'll ever do it, sinking his body as low as he could without squishing her under his weight. She was warm and soft, and smelled so heavenly. She did smell like tangerines. In truth, as soon as he first stood in front of her, he could smell her, he just didn't say anything, and boy was he glad, because then he had an excuse to get close to her.

He also knew she was with Jax that night, before he even spoke with her. He didn't even contact his cousin to let him know he was dropping by Charming for a short visit. He planned on surprising Jax over at the fight and have a beer with him, maybe even jump in the ring if they felt like it. But as soon as he saw Jax with Tangy his plans were scrapped.

He watched Jax look at her with a hunger akin to a lion who hasn't eaten in weeks. He also knows that in no way she was Jax's old lady, if she was, the news would've already made it back home, no way Jax can resist the temptation of mentioning her, especially with how gorgeous she clearly was.

Benny just wanted to say hello, but he was a bastard, and when he saw Jax get up and leave, he had to strike. He knew if Jax was around, he won't really have the chance to talk to her properly. Especially since his cousin was a greedy motherfucker. And who wouldn't? When she was sitting right there, looking like an angel in her mini dress and boots.

And now he was asked to take off the same dress and boots in the darkness of his motel room. Benny doesn't need to be told twice when he grabs the hem of the dress and pulls it higher and higher, over her head. His breath hitches when his eyes land on her naked chest, and then down to her panties, baby blue with tiny lace trims. Benny slowly lets the dress drop down on the floor, by the bed, and he holds her hips in his hands before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss.

His gentleness surprises her a little, but she quickly recovers and wraps her arms around his broad shoulders, pulling him in closer. He smiles in the kiss and pulls away, she makes a sad noise and he quickly pecks her again, "I have to take your boots off,"

"Okay," She sighs, as if his attention wasn't 1000% on her, and her alone. Tangy lays back down on the bed and lifts one of her feet up. Benny chuckles and takes it in his hand, unzipping her boot to reveal white socks. He drops the leg, drops the boot beside the bed and takes the other one off, this time Benny kisses the side of her knee, then bends the leg towards her, she gasps and Benny places a warm kiss to the inside of her knee.

"What're you doing?" Her laugh was breathy and a little shaky as he peppers her legs in kisses.

"Saying thank you," He murmurs against the meat of her thighs and opens his mouth, digging his teeth in the flesh a little to feel her jump.

"Aw, you're so sweet," She bites her lower lip and holds his hair in one hand.

Benny stares at her when he closes his mouth and lets her leg go, then he starts unbuckling his trousers off and tries to push them off his hips while he's on his knees between her legs. He tries to get them off and huffs when they don't fall off in half a second.

"You need to take your boots off," Tangy smirks and Benny grumbles, moving to sit on the edge of the mattress as he pulls the laces of his boots loose. He tries to toe them off multiple times, which takes him longer to take off rather then just making sure his laces were loose enough, now at this point Tangy was watching him on her side, her head resting on her hand while she laughs.

Benny was flushed in embarrassment as he slips his cargos off and throws them across the room, making her squeal and laugh even louder.

Benny never felt so clumsy or just plain stupid on a one night stand before in his life. So he's struggling a little here, his heart was hammering in his chest and his dick was hard as a rock while the prettiest and sweetest sight was right there on his bed, half naked, and laughing at him. Benny takes a deep breath and runs a hand down his face, running his fingers down his short beard as he tries to breathe a little, to calm down.

He feels the mattress dip next to him and the sweet scent of her hits his nose, he closes his eyes and sighs when she wraps her hands around his chest, from behind.

"You need a minute?" She asks, her breath hitting the crook of his neck as she squeezes her body to his, her bare chest to his muscular back and Benny shivers. His hands grabs hers and she hums, pressing in even more, curling her body over his back and now he can feel her thighs press at his back, she was warm and her sweet, fruity scent was enveloping him in a cocoon he almost never wants to come out of.

Benny remembers she just asked him a question so he tilts his head up, looking at her upside down, "How about you give me another kiss?"

Tangy smiles and she leans down, kissing him, her chin to his nose. Her lips were soft and Benny was addicted.

At some point, Tangy ends up on her back again with Benny on top of her, and this time he was kissing her all over her neck and chest. He goes lower and lower until he reaches the waistband of her panties. She grabs his hair again, he humps the mattress and shakily slips her panties off. And once they're off, something in Benny's brain shifts and he drags her towards him by the legs, she yelps and he doesn't say a word, eyes stuck to the tantalising sight of her wet pussy.

He pushes a pillow under her hips and gets in the sniper position between her legs. She barely gets a warning before Benny locks his mouth over her hole and filthily sucks her lips. She tries to talk to him, to maybe ask him to slow down, but all that's coming out of her mouth were debauched moans and sighs. Her hands were holding onto his hair firmly as he ate her out with a passion and drive like no other. She squirms in his hold and Benny just holds her still with his hands, no shy with using his strength to push her down and harder on his face.

Tangy was too engrossed in trying to keep her soul in her body instead of flying straight to space to even notice the cacophony of noises Benny was making against her pussy, and out of it too, playing it like a musical instrument. Even with a mouth full of pussy, he was still desperate, so desperate he couldn't even take his hands off her skin to jerk himself off. Instead, Benny was humping the bed faster and faster, his eyes watering with how much he wanted to come, but mostly have her come in his mouth.

Tangy was panting, trying to take in oxygen more than the pure pleasure that was coursing through her veins. Her back arched off the bed and she was frantic, eyes watering with the rush of pleasure, "Bennnnnghhhh,"

She tried pulling at his hair to catch his attention, to warn him, that she felt like she was about to make a mess, "BennyBennyBenny—"

But Ben didn't look up, didn't slow down or even stop, if anything he went faster, harder, pushing his tongue in as deep as he possibly could inside her, his nose knocking her clit and his facial hair rubbing her in her most intimate places. Tangy couldn't even call his name another time because when he finally pulled off, he pushed a finger inside and the sound her pussy made was so wet and filthy she turned her head to the side and tried to bury it in the pillow. Benny didn't waste a single second and immediately started thrusting his middle finger in her slick hole, and when he deemed her wet, and loose enough, he shoved another and went to town.

Benny held his body up with one muscular arm as he fingered her faster and faster. He wasn't giving her even the chance to breathe or process when her trashing got more frantic, so Benny quickly lowered himself back down and sucked her clit in his mouth while fingering her. Tangy's body couldn't hold on anymore and her thighs closed around his head, squeezing him as she loudly came. She throbbed and squeezed tight around his fingers, spilling warm juices and even then, Benny didn't slow down, her breath hitched and she clenched her jaw, eyes unable to open back up as she started squirting all over his face, sobbing with her whole chest.

Tangy's body was tingling all over, her cells singing with pure, zesty pleasure. Her skin was warm to the touch and slick with sweat, her ears were ringing and her eyelashes were wet and clumped together. The bed's old, cheap sheets felt like silk at her back, and the rickety mattress felt like the softest, cotton candy cloud. And she never felt so naked before. So when her soul settled back in her body and her brain came back online, she opened her eyes with difficulty and when she met Benny's honest eyes, she smiled.

Benny grinned, his facial hair darker with her slick, panting and his hair a mess from her abuse, sticking in all directions.

Tangy tried to get up but her body failed her, not moving a single inch, so she sadly whined, desperate for a kiss and a cuddle.

Benny somehow was able to read her mind and hovered over her body, pressing a kiss to her forehead, then on her mouth.

He smells like her.

He smells like her pussy and her body lotion.

Tangy has never tasted or smelled anything so right before.

.

.

.

Tangy stays over that night, not like she even had a chance to get her legs to work. And Benny was over the moon, so excited, like a kid on his first sleepover.

She complains about being sticky when she's half asleep and Benny's in the bathroom, washing his face, but he catches her scratchy voice still. Once he's done, he goes back in the room and gathers her in his arms like a baby, sits her on the toilet seat and tells her to go ahead and pee. Tangy is still naked, and frowns at him in confusion and in sleepiness, "What?"

"I'll wait right here," Benny says with his arms crossed over his chest.

The woman whines, resting her head on her knees, nothing happens at first, and then after a minute, the sound of a light trickle gets heard. She lifts her head back up to look at Benny, she's pouting now, "Can you look away?"

Benny doesn't tease her like he wants to and instead turns around, slipping his ruined boxers off and throwing them in the hamper. He grabs his toothbrush and starts brushing his teeth right as he hears the sound of the toilet flushing. He glances behind his back and she's still sitting on the toilet seat, looking at him like a kicked puppy, "I can't stand,"

Benny's heart squeezes in his chest, but also he feels his ego inflate and it feels so damn good.

He quickly leaves the bathroom and comes back with a new spare toothbrush, still in the packaging. He opens the thing and runs it under the sink, squeezing toothpaste on it before offering it to the girl so she can brush her teeth. And she does, after thanking him in a small tired voice, once he's done brushing his own teeth, he grabs her arm and throws it over his shoulder so he can help her up. He helps her get to the sink where she spits and rinses her mouth, once she's done and the toothbrush is next to his in the little cup hanging off the wall, Benny gets them inside the shower.

"Am I heavy?" She asks while Benny fiddles with the water tap and water starts trickling down the shower head.

Benny turns his head to look at her while she's pressed to his side, arms wrapped around his neck, "Ain't nothing heavy about you," And he says it so gently, so softly, as if he always knew her, and that makes her want to cry a little, but she doesn't.

"How hot do you like it?" Benny then asks as he fixes the water.

"Really hot," She says and Benny grins, "Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am, we only have mildly hot, and just a little hot in here, which one would you like?"

Tangy grins against his chest and squeezes him tighter, "I'll have it the hottest it gets,"

"Okay," Benny kisses her on the forehead and turns the hot water to the max, waiting for it to heat up a little, and when it does, he walks them a little closer to the wall, under the water spray.

"Water pressure's shit," Tangy mumbles and Benny snorts.

"Water pressure at my place is much better, it's strong and got all sorts of fancy settings," Benny says as he grabs his body wash and the loofah, he holds it out for the woman when the thing's all covered in foam.

"Why're you telling me about the water pressure at your house, mister?" She starts rubbing the loofah all over her skin, starting with her neck, arms, chest and then down her body while Benny watches, well, mostly holding her up because her legs were still shaking like hell after the mind numbing orgasm he pulled out of her.

"I don't know," Benny shrugs, staring at her breasts while she soaps them up, "Maybe I'm trying to give you an incentive to do this again with me,"

"What makes you think I want to do this again?" She raises a brow and Benny rips his eyes away from her nipples to look at her face.

He makes a face, like he thinks she's trying to be funny, but then he says, "Okay, raise both of your arms right now,"

Tangy frowns in confusion, and when she realises if she even lets go of his neck with her other hand, she'll eat the floor, she glares at him and slaps his chest with the soapy loofah, "Do my back,"

"Alright," He chuckles and grabs the loofah. She hugs him, chest to chest and Benny covers her back with soap all thanks to his long arms, and because he's a little shit he goes the long mile to cover her ass too, taking longer than he should, just squeezing the flesh in his hands like she was his own personal stress toy.

"Benny, what's wrong with you?" She whines, trying and failing to push him off when he's the only thing keeping her standing.

"Appreciating you, baby,"

"Well hurry, I'm tired,"

Benny does hurry up and washes her legs and feet without her having to ask. He washes her hair too fo good measure and he washes himself as fast as he could with her cheek squished to his arm and her weight on his side.

They're done sooner than later and Benny does a quick job of drying them. He, of course, carries her back to the room and places her on the chair next to the bed. He changes the sheet as fast he could, itching to just hop in bed and go to sleep with her in his arms. He throws the old sheets next to the door and he contemplates getting under the new sheets naked, but decides against it. So he quickly slips on a new pair of boxers and fetches the woman one of his clean t-shirts out of his duffel bag, the softest one he could find.

Tangy hums in satisfaction once she's enveloped in soft cotton and then in warm, muscular arms and finally under the sheets with Benny. The man lays on his back and he pulls her closer by the waist, so she could rest her head on his chest, her hair was still drying but it didn't bother him as he leaned down and kissed the crown of her head.

He relaxes on the mattress, and his eyes fluttered shut, ready to sleep when he felt her move a little and call his name, "Benny?"

"Hm?"

"Did you get to come?" She sounded confused and a little worried.

Benny cracked one eye open, "Yeah, why?"

"What- When? I don't remember," She said and he could hear the pout in her voice.

"It happened right after you squirted on my face,"

"Oh,"

Her voice came out smaller then, she sounded shy and that made him smile.

"Good night, sweetheart," He said, squeezing her arm once and closing his eyes back up.

"Night, Benny," She yawned and nuzzled her face on his chest.

.

.

.

The next morning Benny drives Tangy back to her place, and she tells him to be a good boy and wait outside for her. Benny listens, even though he really wants to go inside. He's leaning against his truck, hands in his pockets when she comes back out, after 20 minutes, dressed in a new outfit.

Benny straightens up like he's back in the army, high on alert, eyes glued to her and only her.

She decided to swap the mini dress and boots with a cropped t-shirt, low-rise jeans and a pair of converses. Tangy grins and walks right past him to get to the passenger' seat, "You promised me breakfast, come on!"

The diner they end up in is at least a hundred years old, the type that's run by a local family and got waitresses who know everyone and everything going on, and the food happen to be really delicious.

So Tangy and Benny get settled in a booth by the windows by an older woman with gorgeous braids falling down her back, "Hey, sweetheart, who do we have here?" She greets Tangy and raises her eyebrows at Benny, who's already got the menu in his hands.

"That's Benny, my friend," Tangy answers with a glint in her eye, and Benny looks at them with a small smile.

"Uh-huh, I'm sure, honey," The woman nods knowingly and fully turns to Benny, "First time in town?"

Benny puts the menu down, "No, ma'am, I just haven't been here in a couple of years,"

"The military does that to you, hm," She nods and Benny nods in understanding, arms crossed over his chest and leaning back in his seat.

Tangy looks at Benny then back at the waitress, "How did you know?"

"I just know these things," She shrugs, "Welcome back to Charming, Benny,"

Benny tilts his head in courtesy, "Thank you," He glances down at the name tag on her chest, "Thank you, Jamila,"

Jamila grins and looks at Tangy, a hand over her mouth, "He's handsome, girl!"

Tangy laughs and Benny grins, "I like your name, it fits you,"

Jamila and Tangy stare at him. Jamila pops her hip out, "Is that right?"

"Yeah, it means beautiful in Arabic," Benny nods and Jamila squeals, "It does! How did you know?"

"I just know these things," He shrugs, mirroring her previous words and Jamila giggles, throwing one of her long braids behind her shoulder.

"Tangy," She turns to the woman, "You have to keep him. Marry him, tie him down, don't let him leave Charming,"

"Uhhh," Tangy feels her skin warm up as Benny laughs, head thrown back and all.

"I'm just joking with you, unless," Jamila smirks and looks between the two with a knowing look.

Once Benny and Tangy calm down a little, Jamila takes out a pencil out of her pocket, and a notepad, "Alright, do you know what you two want or should I give you time to decide?"

Benny looks at Tangy, "What do you want to do?"

Tangy smiles, "I'll be getting two sunny side up eggs with cherry tomatoes on the side, please,"

"Hm, alright, how about you, baby?" The older woman turns to Benny, who smiles, "Can I have a stack of pancakes, and a cup of coffee, black, please?"

The waitress nods, jotting down their order, "Coming right up, lover birds,"

"Oh, can I have some water too, please?" Tangy says and the waitress nods, "Yeah, of course," She then leaves, going straight up to the counter to shout their order to the kitchen.

Benny sighs, relaxing a bit in his chair, staring at Tangy sitting from across him, "So,"

"So?" Tangy repeats, playing with a napkin and not meeting his eyes.

Benny crosses his arms over the table and leans forward on it, "How are you feeling?"

Tangy looks up at him, "I'm okay, you?"

"Better than okay," He licks his lower lip, his eyes falling down to her lips then back up at her eyes.

"How long are you staying in town for?" She asks, resting her cheek in her palm.

"A week until I have to leave and go back to work," Benny answers.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a boxer," Benny says and Tangy makes a 'ooh' sound.

"Like professional?"

"More like semi-professional," Benny answers with a small smile.

"Jax fights too, sometimes," She says ripping the napkin in half with one hand and Benny feels the corner of his mouth twitch at the mention of his annoying cousin.

"Illegally," Jax adds and she nods, "Well, yeah, he's fucking crazy but he's good at it,"

"I don't know, last time I saw him fight was when we were ten and it was behind the dumpsters by the Goodwill with some other kids," Benny sighed and Tangy snorted, "He told me about that, didn't mention you though,"

"Well, he did fall on his head that day," Benny says and Tangy chuckles, the sound making him smile.

"Did he mention how when one of the older kids threw him in one of the dumpsters, he grabbed a rat and threw it at them?" Benny says and Tangy squeals with laughter, shoulders shaking.

"No!" She laughs and Benny laughs, "Yeah, and I had to pull him out of the dumpsters and we beat them up before a cop saw us and we had to run home,"

The two keep giggling like children, Tangy's feet intertwined with Benny's under the table, but really, his legs were too long and Benny had no choice but to have her legs between his, their knees touching. Their food came soon enough, with a smiling Jamila who poured them coffee and water. Benny thanked her with a charming smile and she couldn't resist ruffling his hair.

They ate in relative silence, comfortable to just focus on their food and hum when the food was especially good. It wasn't anything special but for some reason it tasted much better than what you could make at home. Maybe it was just because they were having a great morning, and someone else was doing the cooking, whatever it was, Tangy and Benny were having a great time.

However, their peace didn't last long when the diner's door swung open with a ding and a shadow was cast over their table.

"Morning, Jax!" Tangy greeted with a smile, not feeling guilty in the slightest for leaving him yesterday at the gym.

Jax looked her up and down, then looked at Benny, who kept on chewing the last remains of his pancakes with a raised brow. Jax then sits on the bench, next to Tangy, "Move over,"

Tangy sighed and grabbed her empty plate, moving further into the booth as Jax sits right across from Benny, "You betrayed me,"

"Okay, I didn't, though," Benny shrugs, not giving a rat's ass while Jax glares daggers at him.

Tangy looks around, noticing that the patrons are looking a little uncomfortable with Jax glaring at his cousin like he pissed on his bike, so she rolls her eyes and raises a single hand, catching Jamila's attention, "Can I have a vanilla shake?"

Jamila nods and Tangy smiles, "Thanks!"

"You knew she was with me that night and you still went ahead and took her," Jax points an accusatory finger at him, speaking in a low voice.

"She's not with you though, not her boyfriend," Benny crosses his arms over his chest.

"He didn't take me, I went with him," Tangy glares at Jax.

The two ignore her as Jax glares at Benny and Benny just raises his chin in defiance, daring his cousin to do something about it.

"You're leaving Charming today," Jax says and Benny bursts out laughing, "Oh, oh, or what? You gon' run over my foot with your bike?"

Jax growls and leaps across the table, grabbing his cousin by the collar, making Tangy jump in surprise, "Hey!"

Benny smiles at Jax, and holds his wrists in his hands, "Go on, I dare you,"

"No! Jackson Teller! You want to break someone's nose, you do it outside my diner!" Jamila glares at them, pointing at the door with Tangy's vanilla milkshake in the other.

Jax stares long at his cousin before he pushes him back and gets up from his seat, leaving the diner with his hands in his pockets.

Benny then shoves his hands in his pocket and takes out a couple of bills, sliding them under an empty glass and gets up, "Benny, what are you doing?" Tangy asks, a little worried.

"Don't worry about it," Benny grins and follows his cousin outside.

Jamila comes over to the table, counting the money left and hands Tangy her shake, "You alright, honey?"

"Yeah," Tangy nods and thanks the woman, following the men outside the diner, the door closing behind her with a ding as she watches Jax run his hands through his hair in frustration, "Okay, what did you?"

Benny looks a little surprised, "Excuse me?"

"Last night,"

Benny snorts, "Oh buddy, I wouldn't tell you in your condition,"

Tangy has never seen Jax move so fast before in her life, he throws a neat punch to Benny's jaw, who stumbles back with a grunt.

She doesn't even gasp, but she does wince at the hit, cold milkshake held with both hands as she takes sips while watching them fight.

Benny quickly gets his bearings back and he buries his hands in his pockets, taking out his wallet, keys and phone, handing them to Tangy. She takes his things, and looks behind her to the stairs by the diner's door, she sits down on the side, so people can still come and go without stepping over her. She puts his things next to her and looks up at Jax who throws his kutte over her lap without saying anything.

The two men start circling each other with their fists up, Jax looks pissed and Benny looks amused, "That really grinding your gears, Jax, didn't it? I never knew a girl like that would even look your way and look how things played out for me. I never, and I'm being serious, never tasted anything better than what's between her le-"

Jax lunges at him and this time tries to punch him in the stomach, Tangy tries to keep up but they're fast and Benny wraps his arms around Jax's midriff and slams him on the ground. He gets on top of him and tries to punch him in the face as Jax uses his arms to protect his face. He suddenly raises his hips and throws Benny off balance, he even kicks him with his knee on his ass and Benny falls forward on his hands. Jax rolls from under him and gets back on his knees, wrapping an arm around the man's neck and pulling.

They're really going at it, kicking up dirt and pebbles, but Tangy can't help but notice that even though they sometimes hit each other in the face, Jax's not really trying to really hurt Benny. She's seen how he fights when he tries to kill someone, and it isn't a pretty sight, so it's relieving that Jax is not looking to seriously injure the man but to just drag him through the dirt for getting his hands on her before Jax could, because sure, Benny doesn't know, but Jax knows that he hasn't even gotten the chance to taste what's between her legs, the closest he got was kissing her and feeling her up over her clothes. So Jax was pissed, knowing Benny met her for one day and managed to get personal with her body. It pissed him off.

So Tangy sips more of her milkshake, enjoying the sweet drink on the stairs, sitting pretty while they pull and punch at each other in front of the diner, giving the patrons a free show behind the windows.

She looks down at her drink, pulling out the straw to bring the bottom of it up to her mouth, liking the bits of ice cream stuck to it, she tries to be careful but a chunk of ice cream still falls on her chin and on her chest, over her t-shirt. She whines, bringing a finger to scoop the ice cream off her chest and lick it clean. She looks up then, freezing with her finger in her mouth when she meets Jax and Benny's eyes, the two staring at her while panting, knees covered in dirt and hair mussed with sweat. Benny's left eyebrow was quickly swelling up and Benny's got blood down his chin, from his nose.

A laugh bubbles out of her throat in disbelief and she takes her finger out of her mouth, swiping the sweet ice cream from her chin with her finger, to then suck it off with a hum. Jax blinks out of the hypnotising sight before Benny and punches him in the shoulder.

Benny doesn't even wait a second before kicking Jax square in the ass and Jax shouts. He jumps to grab Benny by the hair, about to headbutt him when Tangy's laugh distracts him, he turns to look at her and she's almost on the floor now, hunched over with one arm over her stomach, laughing with little tears at the corner of her eyes.

"Let go, asshole," Benny grits through his teeth and Jax lets go of his head with a grumble.

She keeps giggling as Jax rubs at his ass and Benny tries to wipe the blood off his chin with the back of his hands and failing. Then the door of the diner opens behind her, she looks back and Jamila's standing there with two towels and two ice packs. Tangy thanks her, grabbing them and handing the woman her empty milkshake glass.

"Get them home before they scare off all of my clients," Jamila says, tilting her chin towards the two men.

"I will," Tangy nods and Jamila sighs, turning around and going back inside the diner.

Benny and Jax squeeze themselves next to her, on both sides of the small stairs, she makes a face, "Guys, you're sticky with sweat,"

None of them care as they try to sit as much as possible on the stairs, which doesn't work. She's squished between them and Jax glares at Benny, "Move over,"

"No, you move,"

Tangy sighs and wraps the ice packs in a towel each, then hands them to the men.

Benny starts wiping the blood off his chin and nose, and Jax hisses when he presses the cold towel to his eyebrow and immediately takes it off his brow to wipe his forehead and neck.

"No, Jax," Tangy sighs, grabbing the towel off his hands and holding his face in one hand, and holds the towel to his brow, "You have to keep it on so it doesn't grow to the size of a golf ball,"

Jax licks his lips, staring at her like she just told him she'd heal him with the wave of a wand, then because he's a little shit, he glances at Benny without moving his head and smirks at the other man.

"Fuck off," Benny glares at Jax while holding the towel to his nose.

"Stop that," Tangy huffs, leaning down to kiss Benny on the forehead, and before Jax even has the chance to open his mouth and complain, she smacks a sweet kiss on his forehead too.

The two men melt at the same time, calming down while Tangy holds the towel to Jax's forehead, and checks on Benny from time to time. They eventually calm down and Jax takes the towel from her hold and pulls his shirt up, to look at his red side, and he pressed the ice pack to the area. Tangy looks at Benny, who's running the towel on the back of his neck and when he meets her eyes, he grins and winks at her. She rolls her eyes and stands up.

"Where're you going?" Jax immediately asks.

"Nowhere? Calm down," Tangy puts her hands on her hips and looks down at the two men sitting on the stairs.

"So, did you get that out of your system? Or should I expect you to fight everyday that Benny's here?" She's looking at Jax, but really, she's talking to both of them.

Jax leans back a little on the stairs, "Oh, I'm good,"

Tangy doesn't really believe him, but she looks at Benny, and he flashes his pretty dimples at her, "I'll behave, but you can't blame me if I have to fight anyone for you,"

The woman gapes at him, speechless, and Jax looks at him, "What's wrong with you, dude?"

"What? Look at her and tell me you won't fight anyone for a chance with her," Benny throws his hands in the air and Jax can't fight him on it. He already has fought for her, now and then, behind her back because he can't stand anyone talking about her like she's a piece of meat and not do anything.

Right in that moment two men show up, wearing kuttes, not like Jax's, so they have to be out of town. They're walking up to the door of the diner but their eyes are glued to Tangy standing there. One of them shamelessly lowers his sunglasses down his nose and looks her up and down. She glares at the men and crosses her arms over her chest, moving away from the door and that's when she sees Jax and Benny look at each other and stand at the same time.

Her heart jumps in her chest at the menacing look they were wearing, and especially when Jax slips his kutte back on and moves to stand next to her, snaking a hand around her waist to hold her.

The two strangers don't get in the diner even when Benny and Jax got off the stairs, staring at them without saying a word. Tangy's getting a little nervous when the men stare at Jax's kutte for a long time, and back at her face.

When no one moves or speaks, she moves and walks away from them and the diner, throwing a, "I'm going home!" over her shoulder. She was not interested in being in the middle of a fistfight, or worse, a shoot out.

Luckily Jax and Benny both run after her, "Hey, wait!" Jax calls, but she doesn't stop, trying to get away from those men as far as possible.

A hand grabs her arm and she yelps when she hits a firm chest.

"I'll drive you home," Benny says and Jax frowns, "I'll take her home,"

Tangy wants to groan but Benny says, "I said it first, though,"

"I know where she lives," Jax glares at him.

"I took her home so she could change this morning?" Benny scoffs.

"You can't even remember how to spell your own name, Benny," Jax snarks and Tangy looks at Benny in confusion, he immediately flushes, "I was six! And it was one time!"

"Don't believe him," Jax whispers to Tangy, like Benny wasn't right there.

"I'll kick your teeth in, Jax, I swear," Benny threatens and Jax grins, "I'd love to see you try, boy scout,"

Tangy's head is starting to hurt standing in between these two, so before they start fighting again like they're in elementary school she grabs both of them by the arm, "Enough!"

Jax and Benny's mouths click shut and they look at her with big eyes.

"Rock, paper, scissors. One round. Whoever wins drops me home." She says and when Jax opens his mouth, to probably complain, she raises her brows and he doesn't say anything, shoulders slumping and holding his fist behind his back, Benny mirroring him.

Jax throws scissors and Benny a rock.

She's swept off her feet by Benny then, who spins her around and is cheesing like he won the lottery. And if a small grey cloud could materialise on top of Jax's head and rain on him, it would.

.

.

.

(i remember @anime-lover-forever-1127 asking to be tagged for any jax fics, this is technically a crossover fic, but if it's not your cup of tea, just ignore it, much love <3)