#& reblog : nicely done texas.

[ovaryacted]

TIME CRUNCH

PAIRING: DBF! Joel Miller x fem! reader || WC: 2.7k

SYNOPSIS: The Miller household is hosting a neighborhood barbecue for the 4th of July with your father on the grill. While you're there, you steal a couple of minutes to get much more than beer and cooked meat.

CONTENT/WARNINGS: MDNI/18+. NSFW. [NO OUTBREAK] SMUT. Age gap implied (Joel is 36, Reader is 21+). Kissing. Oral & Fingering (f receiving). Panty stealing. Bathroom shenanigans. Beer drinking. Allusions to secret established relationship/messing around. Joel is down bad & calls reader several pet names. Descriptions of reader wearing a dress & mini skirt. No use of y/n.

A/N: Hi hi. I don't know how this happened, but it just did. The idea came to mind yesterday and I sat down and wrote the whole thing in one sitting lol. Anywho, it's just some fun silly smut with DBF! Joel being a simp cause I love him like that. I imagined HBO Joel specifically for this one so this is a win for Pedro Pascal fans. Reblogs, comments, and likes are greatly appreciated! Not-beta'd cause I'm just real like that. Dividers by @saradika-graphics.

NAVIGATION | MASTERLIST | AO3

The sun scorched the streets of Arlington, and the heat wave warning issued across the state of Texas did little to reflect the overwhelming weather. Coincidentally, it was the 4th of July, a seemingly exciting day for most patriotic Texans and Americans nationwide. You didn’t care much for the holiday, but it was a great excuse to enjoy the day off.

Your father had other plans. He hoped to use most of the weekend to crack open a cold one and fire up the grill. His good friend and neighbor offered to host a celebratory cookout at his place with mutual buddies tagging along, and with the newly available free time, you didn’t have any excuse to reject the offer. 

You found yourself in the backyard of the Miller’s residence, a home you’ve grown quite familiar with over the past few years, and especially since coming back from the college semester in Chicago. Initially, you had travel plans for the summer with friends, but your luck struck out when you landed an internship opportunity in Dallas, and your father was more than glad to welcome you back home.

It has been a busy summer for you since the beginning of June, and the prospect of a four-day weekend was too generous to pass up. You didn’t expect Joel Miller to be a face you saw regularly when returning to Texas, but you didn’t complain. Actually, you were much more content than you should be, and his close friendship with your dad only served as a better excuse to have him around more often.

Nursing a bottle of beer, you brought the lukewarm tip to your lips, sipping away at the tangy beverage as it washed down the thirst settling in your throat. You watched from afar as your dad was in his element, operating the grill like a soldier would his post. He flipped the burgers and poked at the hotdogs with ease, the black smoke surrounding him as he continued to cook.

“Meat’s looking nice.” You told him affirmingly with a smile and a hand on his shoulder, passing him a fresh bottle of beer.

“Nothing I haven’t done before.” He said, graciously accepting the bottle and taking a drink, sucking his teeth at the bitter taste. Miller Lite, it wasn’t his preferred Budweiser, but it will do the job. “Sun’s beating down on my back, though. Not easy to grill in this heat.”

“You’re handling it well, bearing the burden for all of us.” He laughed at that, gently kissing the top of your head in paternal affection.

From your peripheral, you observed Joel coming into his driveway, returning from a pitstop at the grocery store for extra hot dog buns and more beer. His younger brother Tommy strode ahead, carrying the buns in one arm and a bag filled with chips and salsa in the other. Behind him, Joel carried a large box of beer in his grasp, your sight trailing down his forearms to peek at the veins that protruded his skin.

His long legs sauntered over to the coolers near the tables, decorated in red, white, and blue embellishments. Sarah Miller came scampering towards her father, dragging Tommy along to reiterate a joke he had mentioned, playfully teasing her uncle. The next time Joel raised his head, his brown eyes landed on you, prolonging his gaze for a second more and giving you a charming grin before you looked away.

By 2 pm, other residents in the neighborhood and long-time friends of the Miller household flooded through the backyard, busying themselves with eating your dad’s cooking and drinking more alcohol. Some of Sarah’s friends had stopped by, engaging in the girlhood tradition of exchanging gossip or whatever the young kids spoke about in this day and age.

Every few minutes, you’d glance over to Joel to see what he was doing. Whether he was refilling the cooler, jesting with his brother, setting up the stereo, or even reminiscing with your dad, your eyes followed him wherever he went. As elegantly as possible, you approached the pair, politely stopping your dad’s conversation with his friend.

“Going to the bathroom. I’ll be back, Dad.” You told him, darting to Joel and meeting his eyes again before turning your back and walking towards the kitchen.

Stepping through the yard door to reach the stairs, you quickly trekked up to the bathroom down the hall and locked the door. Freshening yourself up in the room, you glimpsed at your reflection to fix the cleavage of your dress, making your breasts more prominent. A minute goes by, and you find yourself waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

At the three-minute mark, you hear a knock at the door, two firm taps followed by three smaller ones. Before opening it, you hid behind the door, allowing Joel’s broad figure to enter the gap and step inside. The click of the lock broke the tense silence in the room, and your lower back was pinned against the edge of the bathroom sink with Joel’s rough hands on your hips.

“Took you long enough. Thought you wouldn’t come up.” You muttered to him, his lips quickly leaving a trail of kisses over the side of your neck and shoulder.

“Sorry darlin’, your dad wanted to have a chat,” Joel said hastily, his mouth occupied with tasting the skin of your collarbone as your hand rubbed the hair on his nape. “Been thinkin’ about you since the other night.”

You beamed at Joel’s comment, the genuine tone of his voice brought comfort after hearing his confession. You didn’t know how this “relationship” with Joel happened if you were willing to call it a relationship to begin with. He wasn’t supposed to be this close to you, to know you so intimately, but the way you’ve inhabited his mind since returning to Texas was almost too much to bear.

He drove you home one late night from a club downtown, not wanting to bother calling your dad or worrying about taking an Uber alone. Ever the gentleman, he kept his eyes on the road and his hands on the steering wheel, trying his hardest not to skim at your bare thighs when your mini skirt shifted higher up your leg.

You thanked him with a drunk kiss on the cheek, drawing away only to have his thumb caress your chin, luring you forward to mesh your lips against his own. The memories of that night were fuzzy, but what you remembered most was the feel of his hand curling around your neck and his cock thrusting in and out of your cunt, molding you to the length of him until you ached and woke up in his bed the next morning.

That happened a month ago. It was meant to be a one-time thing, an accident after too many tequila shots at the bar. But the convenience of having a capable man like Joel across the street was something you wouldn’t find back on campus. It couldn’t be so wrong to fuck your father’s best friend, not when it felt like reaching a high every time he made you cum.

“If you don’t say anything, I won’t either, and your old man never needs to find out. This stays between us.”

He told you that after the second time you “accidentally” slept with him, and since then, you have been around Joel whenever your father wasn’t paying attention. Having to dodge your dad along with Tommy and Sarah on Joel’s end wasn’t easy, but it was doable. You’d usually meet him late at night when you were free, opting to have fun in the backseat of his truck. When you both had the luxury of time, you’d spend the day at his house when Sarah was having sleepovers or when your dad was out of the house.

Any time you weren’t at work, or Joel wasn’t busy juggling his job and caring for Sarah, you spent it with him. So far, your summer has gone much better than you expected.

“You just saw me two days ago.” The smirk on Joel’s face was infectious, his signature dimples poking through as he feverishly kissed you again.

“Still not enough, and your dress ain’t helpin’ my case.”

“What’s wrong with my dress? Thought you liked it when I got dolled up for you.” The lightly colored sundress was a simple addition to your wardrobe, throwing it on for the barbecue. Despite the tame silhouette that hugged your figure, the low neckline sent all the blood in Joel’s body rushing south the minute he saw you on his front doorstep.

“Oh, I like it very much. It’s just a shame I can’t fuck you the way I want.” He pressed his hips into your lower stomach, the dark denim of his jeans doing nothing to conceal the bulge hidden underneath.

“How much time do you think we have before they send over the search party?” You asked him, gasping when you felt a soft nip behind your ear. 

“Five minutes, maybe eight. Your dad’s busy makin’ ribs, and everyone’s occupied downstairs for now.”

Joel maneuvered himself down to his knees, playing with the hem of your dress and raising it to your hips. His fingers grazed over the panties you wore, placing an affectionate kiss on your sensitive mound before tugging them down your smooth legs. He helped you step out of them, discreetly shoving the damp cotton into his back pocket to save for later. 

“You said we had five minutes.” Your breathless voice began to betray you, and you felt him grip your thigh with a large hand to set it over his shoulder.

“That’s all the time I need. Be a good girl and stay quiet for me, yeah?”

That was the last thing he said before he licked a languid stripe over your pussy, your teeth digging into your bottom lip to stifle the mewl that threatened to spill out. One of your hands reached down to clutch at his dark tresses, keeping him in place as he feasted on you like a man starved. 

“Fuck, Joel.” You moaned under your breath, huffing out an exhale and tossing your head back in pleasure. He hummed in reply, spreading you wider and nuzzling his face deeper between your legs, the hair on his jaw scraping your inner thighs.

Joel quickly learned what you liked, how you wanted your pussy to be treated, whether it was by his hand, his tongue, or his dick. Precise circles on your clit, diligent sucks around the sensitive nub, and two thick fingers curling inside to hit the textured spot tucked in the very roof of your entrance. He paid attention to all the signs that would signal the best way to make your body convulse under his touch and excelled in doing so.

Nudging the bridge of his nose against your bundle of nerves, he tilted his head up to wrap his plush lips around it, pulling a suppressed whimper from you with a roll of his tongue. Your hazy eyes opened to watch Joel, maintaining his ravenous gaze and bucking your hips, greedily seeking more friction. 

“That’s right, baby. Take what you need.” He mumbled against your folds, increasing the flicks of his tongue and dipping two thick fingers deep inside you, bending them just right.

The warmth that simmered deep in your belly intensified, coursing through your veins and rushing to the center of your body. Your knuckles turned white from tightly gripping the edge of the porcelain sink, and your throat bobbed to stop yourself from crying out Joel’s name. You were so close, so fucking close, whining as you quickly reached your climax. He didn’t need a warning, already familiar with the cue of your walls clenching around him when you were about to spill over his hand.

Joel gave you a blunt suck and drove the tips of his fingers further inside with practiced precision, sending you tumbling over the edge. Your legs shook from the force of it, his hand on your thigh holding you steady as he coaxed you to ride the wave all the way through. With a gentle yank of his head, he parted from you, placing one last wet kiss on your oversensitive clit before standing up straight with a grunt.

The dopey smile plastered on your face said all that needed to be said, and Joel took it in with appreciative eyes. He brought the two digits that he used on you to his mouth, cleaning off the remnants of your slick without shame. If you two weren’t on a time crunch, you would be on your knees repaying the favor.

“You’re insane. You know that, right?” You expressed with a laugh.

“It ain’t my fault you taste better than the cool beer downstairs, sweetheart.” He kissed you then, the leftover taste of your arousal on his lips made your head fuzzy and your body pulse. “You should go back before your old man wonders where you went.”

He dropped the hem of your dress back down, smoothing out any creases while you adjusted the neckline and fixed up the rest of your flush appearance. The plan was simple: you walked out first, and Joel followed a few minutes later with some eloquent excuse to use for cover. Surprisingly, it usually worked without a hitch, you two had this down to a science after all.

“I’m still seeing you later tonight, right?” You almost didn’t want to ask him that, afraid you’d seem too eager for his attention. But he was always there with the reassuring answer you wanted to hear.

“Yeah, baby, you will. I’ll come by and grab you. Now go, I gotta take care of this.” Joel gestured to the obvious tent in his jeans, your hand reaching for it to caress him with your palm. The rumble of a groan vibrated through his chest, kissing him once more and moving to the door. He spanked your ass before you slipped out of his grasp, turning back to catch his cheeky expression and leaving him in the bathroom to tend to his own needs.

You strolled back into the backyard with a pep in your step and found your dad setting aside a fresh round of cooked hot dogs and burgers for the crowd. He drenched the ribs in a concoction reminiscent of barbecue sauce, closed the grill to leave them to cook, and saw you closing near him.

“You alright, hun? Got worried the beer hit you the wrong way for a second.” Your father’s eyes were full of concern, soothing him with a shake of your head. If only he knew where his best friend’s mouth had been a few minutes ago.

“Nah, the beer is just fine, promise. How about a bite to eat? I’m hungry.”

Munching away at your burger, Joel returned to the yard just as you expected, with no hard-on and more charcoal he was allegedly looking for in the garage. You eyed him as he spoke to Tommy, accepting a new beer bottle and taking an ample sip. He knew you were paying attention to him despite his face remaining neutral, but his eyes told you another story, something only meant for the two of you to understand.

A calm breeze swept through the backyard and up your legs through your dress, forcing you to remember that you were bare underneath the flowy material. The culprit had the evidence safely tucked in one of the drawers of his dresser, away from sight and probably already stained with his release.

You didn’t need to worry, you know you’ll get them back later tonight.

©️ ovaryacted 2024. Please don’t repost, copy, translate, or feed into any AI. Support your fellow creators by reblogging, commenting, and liking!

[russellsppttemplates]

Time off the track (Lance Stroll)

Lance and Y/N enjoy having a long weekend off

Note: english is not my first language. I get all fluttery when I write these pieces! Had some trouble finding friends names (they're very private, and I respect that) so I just made up my own.

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Tw: mentions pregnancy

Tag list: @myloverjk-blog

"Sweetheart", Lance called from his spot on the sofa once he heard you arrive back home from work. "In a minute, just need to take these things off my feet", he heard you chuckle before the small creek from the cabinet where you stored your shoes.

"I'm here!", you walked inside, Lance's eyes doing his overall check-up. He didn't notice he was doing it until Henry pointed it out for him in the last race weekend you went to, but apparently the minute you showed up after being somewhere out of his sight, your husband's eyes checked you out from head to toe, looking for any signs of discomfort and then focusing on your babybump, usually bringing a smile to his lips.

"Sit here, I want a cuddle while I tell you my suggestion", he opened his arms, letting you wiggle around and into a comfortable position.

"Oh, what suggestion?", you wondered after you pecked his lips.

"The guys want to have spend the next weekend doing something fun together. It's a long weekend and it would nice spending time together", he explained, hand coming up to your bump and rubbing the skin under the cotton fabric of your shirt.

"That sounds good, actually. A weekend away that doesn't involve racing", you mumbled.

"There's actually a race, still. They want to go to Texas and watch", Lance offered, not wanting to keep you in the dark.

"What I meant was you wouldn't be racing, so we will be travelling all together and I have you to myself still", you wiggled your eyebrows, "and Texas is a really good idea, me and baby have been craving BBQ", you smirked.

"Other than seeing the race, we can just explore the area a bit, see what comes up and what people recommend we do", Lance added, "it will be good to take a few days off".

"Yes, enjoy the sun, good food, good company. Sounds good to me", you smiled sweetly, kissing his cheek and carrying on talking about each of your days.

.

The group consisted of you, Lance, Anna and her partner Michael, Mark and his wife Evie, Benjamin and Theo, arriving on time like scheduled to the airport, "how are we all feeling on this fine early morning?", Benjamin was the first to speak once you found yourselves by the gate.

"Could've done with a little bit more sleep, if I'm honest", Evie groaned into her husband's shoulder, "but otherwise very excited".

"Me too! Can't wait to feel some sun in my face", you smiled, taking off your jacket since you were feeling hot and giving everyone a show of your baby bump.

"Oh, it's so cute, Y/N! You look great!", Anna gasped, hands in front of her mouth as she got closer to you, "you're glowing!".

"And I also have these sexy things", you lifted your pants to show the compression socks the doctor recommended you wear whenever you boarded flights. You always travelled in comfy clothes, having learned over the years that any other way was simply not the way to go, so you had on a loungewear tracksuit, the flowy pants matching the equally roomy sweater.

"Doctor's orders?", she wondered and you nodded, "I already have issues as it is before getting pregnant, so it wasn't like I didn't expect it. You get used to them after a while", you said, checking to see if everyone was ready to walk to the plane once they checked your passports.

"Would you like something to drink before we take off?", the flight attendant wondered, taking orders from everyone, "could you please get us a bottle of water?", Lance asked, knowing you would forget about it.

"I was going to drink it", you teased, accepting the cup and drinking its content, "I remember what the doctor said", you smiled.

By the time you had been flying for a quarter of the expected time for the whole flight, you got up, walking along the small corridor while rubbing your bump.

"Is this a runway competition? Because we don't stand a chance when you look like that", Theo hyped you up, making you giggle as you exaggerated your walk for a few seconds before feeling your daughter kick.

"Doctor said to keep moving, since the socks can only do so much, and she's been kicking like crazy", you added, tapping the spot over your bellybutton where she seemed to kick harder.

"Hey! If she's kicking, I get privileges!", Lance called, making you stop in front of him as he places his palm where your hand was.

"Do you guys want to go get ready for the pool? I don't feel like doing much else today", Anna suggested, earning nods from everyone before you split into your rooms.

"Lance!", you called, seeing your husband come back from the balcony, "I think I need help taking these off, I can't bend properly", you blushed, not feeling strong enough to pull the socks away from your legs.

Chuckling, he bent down, kneeling on the floor so he could help you, massaging the skin and kissing your calves, "do they feel good?", he asked.

"Thank you", you groaned, wiggling your toes, "yes, it's a nice feeling, I might actually take these up after little one joins us, but they're a pain to get out", you offered, kissing his forehead and helping him get up, "let's go and enjoy the sunny day!", you cheered.

After getting ready, you met the rest of the group by the pool, the guys already in the water while the girls preferred to stay in the sun.

"Are you going us or joining them?", Michael wondered, "I'm going in the water, I've had enough of cold, gloomy days", you said, finding the steps so you could ease into the water. Taking off the cover up and throwing it to your chair, everyone's eyes travelled to your uncovered bump.

"Come here", Lance stretched his arms and beckoned you to approach him, chest and hair dripping wet since he had jumped in. Wrapping your arm around his waist, his right hand went to your bump immediately, "does he ever unlatch from your bump? Or is he always keeping his girls within arm reach distance?", Benjamin chuckled. It was all friendly banter and he was genuinely happy for his friends.

"A good mix of both", you confessed, "It's all new territory and we're going through all of this together. Besides, I've been feeling very clingy and wanting to start nesting, so I'm probably the one attached to him", you blushed.

"I want to float for a bit, your sister said that the best thing she did for her back pain when she was pregnant was relieve the pressure by being in the water", you held your husband's hand, getting ready to let yourself fall on your back.

"We're standing by here just in case you start sinking down like a nail", Mark noted with a giggle, making the boys do a circle around you and Lance as you kicked your legs up.

After a few moments of finding your balance, gravity and all things physics worked as your bump and chest rose up, poking out of the water while you floated, "Y/N! This is such a cute pick! Little one with all her uncles protecting you both!", Evie exclaimed, getting her phone and snapping a few pictures at the moment.

"Now move away, I want to snap a few of just Y/N, she looks glorious", she complimented as the boys swam away, "gorgeous, mama, absolutely gorgeous".

"It feels good", you moaned, "I feel so light weight, like, feather-light", you smiled when you saw Lance look back at you, "we can look into it when we go back home, anything to make you more comfortable, sweetheart", he said, kissing your lips before he held your ankles, moving your body as you giggled, not noticing Evie recording the video she claimed was "for when the little princess grows up and wants to know what love is". Her parents would be the best example and this one of the many moments to show it.

When you got back to the lounging chairs, carefully rubbing sun protection cream on before laying down, the boys started playing Padel in the court the house you rented had, shouts and groans heard while you and the girls got some colour on your skin.

"They're just little boys sometimes, aren't they?", Anna noted, seeing Lance and her boyfriend bicker about a foul.

"In some ways, I guess, but it's good they have eachother to spend time with, Goodness knows I won't play that", Evie sneered, "would you, Y/N?".

"What? Play Padel?", they nodded, "I've played with Lance before, with the other drivers and their partners. I'm not that great, but I'm not nearly as competitive as them, so I just play for the fun of it. Lance was kind enough to invite me out of it when he Charles were fighting for the first place in their Driver's Padel Championship", you chuckled.

.

"I love these dresses on you", Lance complimented, his hand grabbing yours and twirling you around, smiling when you faced him again and kissing your forehead.

"Thank you, my love", you added, seeing Michael return with the passes for the race, "we're all set guys, c'mon!", he nudged, handing everyone their pass before you walked to the entrance, a couple of photographers taking pictures and a group of fans asking Lance for autographs.

"That's where we will be", you pointed to the hospitality, walking in and choosing somewhere to sit. While you, Evie and Anna enjoyed this racing series, you were planning to stay on sofas while the boys were standing against the balcony railing so they could watch the race.

Throughout the weekend, you couldn't help but notice how Lance had been having so much fun with the boys, making a mental note to do these things more often when you had the opportunity.

He said something and loudly laughed, bringing your attention to him before your daughter made herself known, "it's daddy, I know", you smiled, rubbing your bump.

"She always kicks when he laughs?", Evie cooed, "My goodness, if you two don't stop being so cute, I'm next", she let out a groan.

"Yes, or when he speaks to the bump very closely. The books say she's able to recognise his voice, and it's very cute", you smiled, "although the bigger she gets, she'll soon start kicking my bladder".

"Wooo-ooh!", Lance said as you assumed the race was going well, looking back to check on you and blowing you a kiss.

.

The vineyard was truly stunning and, despite not taking part in the wine tasting for obvious reasons, you were having a great time.

"Are you also having lunch here? Our chef has done an excellent tasting menu", the young woman offered.

"We already have BBQ booked", Lance stated, "since my wife can't drink right now, we're giving her one of her pregnancy cravings. Maybe next time we visit", he nodded.

When you arrived at the restaurant, you were guided to the table, placing your things down and looking at the menu.

"Can you order for me, please? I really have to go to the bathroom", you wondered as Evie said she was going with you.

When the waiter came back, to the table, he started taking everyone's order, tapping on the iPad as they went along the table, "Can you just make sure the meat is cooked through, please? My wife is pregnant", Lance told the waiter, "absolutely, sir", before he left.

"You really get a kick out of it everytime you say she's pregnant, don't you?", his friend teased, "don't get me wrong, I think it's cute actually", Mark smiled.

"Of course I do, the woman I love is having our baby", Lance cooed, seeing you walk to the table back from the bathroom.

"And she looks incredibly gorgeous while she does it!", Anna said, "she's glowing, really. You guys are going to be such great parents, can't wait to meet the little princess".

"Neither can we, but soon enough", you smiled, accepting Lance's hand and holding it in yours, "soon enough".

[thetriumphantpanda]

Let Me Love You | Javier Peña (One Shot)

Javier Peña has been the bane of your existence since you arrived to work for the ambassador. When you find yourself at a loose end following an altercation in the street on your way home, Javier is the only person you could turn to which turns your evening into something you'd never dreamed of.

Pairing | Javier Peña x Reader

Warnings | Smut, oral sex (F receiving), Protected PIV sex, descriptions of physical assault/robber, alcohol consumption but nothing else I can think of.

Word Count | 5.2K

Authors Note | Been holed up in bed this weekend rewatching Narcos and this is the result. I hope you like it! Like, Reblogs and feedback are my lifeblood so please let me know if you enjoy this! Just a warning that I am very high on painkillers and this hasn't been proofread so apologies for any spelling mistakes.

Javier Peña wasn’t used to rejection. Whether he liked it or not he was the epitome of a ladies’ man and had no issue in getting whichever woman he wanted that night into his bed. That was until you came bounding into his life with your apathy and disdain towards him. What he should have done was leave well alone but if there was anything Javier enjoyed it was a challenge and you had become a very personal one to him. 

You’d been an assistant to Ambassador Noonan for a few months now – everyone back at home in El Paso had been so proud when you’d beaten everyone else for the role in Colombia, it’s the only time you’d ever seen your father cry. His little girl, all grown up and off to play with the big guns at an overseas posting. 

Colombia had been a culture shock, there was no getting around it. It was busy and loud and all sorts of colourful that you weren’t used to but in the best way possible. When you phoned home each Sunday to catch up with your parents you could feel the desire to go back to your old life fading a little. 

The only aspect of your job you weren’t fond of was Javier Peña. Almost immediately one arrival he’d made it his personal endeavor to conquer you as another office romance. Almost all the office girls had filled you in on his reputation as the DEA’s resident womanizer and you’d done everything possible in your power to avoid becoming just another notch on his bedpost. 

He hadn’t made it easy for you though. It didn’t help that he was just your type. Tall and handsome, with dark brown eyes that pierced right through your own whenever he spoke to you. You’d learnt from the girl who sat on the desk next to you that he was also from Texas and the rumor was that before coming to Colombia he’d jilted his soon-to-be wife on their wedding day. 

“You know he’s got eyes for you, right?” She’d said one afternoon a few weeks ago when Javier had tried to get you to shift the ambassador’s entire schedule around so he could present new intelligence. 

“I don’t care, miel,” Was what you’d replied, using your limited Spanish to call her honey, the pet name you’d fallen on for each other in the short months you’d worked together, “I worked too hard to get here to become just another of the girls Agent Peña has slept with.” 

“Girl, take it from someone who knows, you would not be disappointed.” 

You’d waved her off before gathering a pile of files for the ambassador, using the need to drop them off as an excuse to end the conversation. When you arrived back at your desk, Javier’s partner Steve was waiting at your desk. 

“Agent Murphy, what a nice surprise.” You weren’t lying, you much preferred to deal with Steve when it came to the pair of agents, he was married and you appreciated that unlike his partner, he didn’t openly gawk at you when trying to hold a conversation. 

“Javier sends his apologies, he had to head out to follow a lead…” You shrugged your shoulders at him, “Anyway, he asked me to bring this down for the ambassador and said if you could make sure it lands up on the desk before the end of the day, he would be most appreciative.” 

“You know, if you’d come down and asked without mentioning him, I would have done that, but you can tell him the ambassador is very busy and it’ll wait until tomorrow.” 

“Oh come on,” Steve groaned, “If not for Javi then for me? He’s gonna chew my ass if I don’t get this sorted.” 

“You can tell him if he’s got an issue he can take it up with me personally, surely that’ll get you off the chopping block?” 

“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself in for.” Was all Steve replied with before throwing the file down on your desk and walking away. 

*** 

It was late. Later than you’d normally stay at work, but the ambassador had asked you for some financial reports which were proving trickier to put together than you had anticipated. Everyone else had left a while ago, the only sounds in the office were your pen scrawling across paper trying to make the numbers make sense and the far-off sounds of the cleaners in the hallway. That was until you could hear shoes on the flooring coming towards you. 

“Querida, what are you doing here this late?” 

“I could ask the same of you Agent Peña.” You replied, not looking up from the scrawls of numbers in front of you. 

“I just came back after following up on something and Steve said you wouldn’t give the ambassador our intelligence today?” 

“Ambassador Noonan is a busy woman, what do you want me to say?” You finally put your pen down to look at him, stood in front of your desk in his stupidly handsome leather jacket with his stupidly handsome hands on his stupidly handsome hips. 

“Do you know how important that information is to catching Escobar?” He asked, his eyes boring holes into your own. 

“And do you know how many people stand at my desk and insist their files are the most important thing she’s ever going to read in her life?” You countered. 

You watched intently as he used one of his hands to pinch the bridge of his nose, you could tell he was thinking about what to say next. 

“Listen, I know we’ve not always seen eye to eye,” He began, which earned a scoff from you as if to say no shit, “But this was really important.” 

“Like I said to Steve, she’ll get it first thing in the morning.” 

Without saying a word back to you, Javier turned on his heels and walked away to leave, before stopping to turn back and say two words you don’t think he’d ever said to you. 

“Thank you.

***

Weeks had passed without incident. Javier and Steve hadn’t been around all that much – as far as you’d managed to find out they’d been in and out chasing up leads on Escobar out in the field. You hadn’t even bumped into Javier in the apartment building you all lived at. The only sign of life being the sounds of him and whatever woman he’d bought back that night. It was one of the only downsides to your living arrangement – living right next door to him and having to come up with inventive ways to get to sleep when all you could hear was another woman calling his name. 

You’d worked late again. It was a Friday night and everyone else had left a while ago to the bar just around the corner from the embassy. Some of the girls had begged you to go with them but you wanted to get ahead of the ambassador’s schedule for next week, opting instead to spend your Friday pouring over briefing documents and getting everything in a row. 

It probably hadn’t been wise considering there had been an increase in cartel violence on the streets – but you knew that the narcos were smarter than to try and attack the American embassy or anyone who they watched entering or leaving. As the clock struck nine you decided to call it a night. There was a long bath and a glass of wine with your name written all over it at home. Picking up your handbag and swapping your office heels for something more comfortable to walk home in you started making your way to your apartment. 

You weren’t exactly sure when you became aware that someone was following behind you. You’d noticed the sound of feet on the pavement, but it was a Friday night so that wasn’t all that unusual. Something in your subconscious had told you to speed up a little and you’re sure it was when the footsteps behind you did the same that you began to panic a little. You were only a few blocks away from the apartment building. All you needed to do was make it there and you’d be safe. 

The mysterious person behind you had other ideas. You were a street away from the building when you felt a tug on the strap of your handbag. It dragged you backwards and you came face to face with a man. He was much taller than you and had a heavy build. Your brain immediately deciding that fighting him off was impossible. 

You tried in vain to drag your handbag from his hands, but his strength was obviously greater. You gave a good fight but suddenly felt a sharp sting across your face. Whoever this man was he’d just hit you. Hard. You could already feel the telltale slither of blood falling from your nose and the impact had caused a cut to your lip as well. The force was enough to make you let go of your handbag and you watched miserably as the man ran back off down the street with it. 

You wished him luck – there was a tiny bit of money and the keys to your apartment door but not much else. You tried as hard as you could to stifle a laugh at the situation – a bloody nose, cut lip and judging by the ache behind your eye, a black eye, for a few pesos and a useless door key. 

Thankful that you were just a few minutes’ walk away from your apartment you arrived, ready to down a glass of wine until your headache dulled before realise whoever that piece of shit was, he had your keys. 

You groaned out loud, leaning yourself against your apartment door. Connie and Steve lived upstairs but it was late, and you had no intention of waking their new baby and invading their apartment. There was only one option. Javier. 

You prayed to whichever God out there would listen as you knocked on his front door, hoping that had chosen the comfort of his own home and opposed to a brothel for the night. If he did, it was a lovely night on the floor for you. 

It took a moment, but you could hear shuffling at the other side of the door before it swung open to reveal Javier, top buttons undone and without a belt on his jeans. 

“Jesus Christ, Querida,” He exclaimed, taking in the sight of your face, bloody and already bruising, “What on earth happened?!” 

“Some guy tried to take my bag as I was walking home, when I tried to fight it back from him he hit me,” You explained, “Stupid of me really considering he was at least twice my size.” 

Javier ushered you inside, closing the door behind you before motioning for you to sit on his couch, “Was there anything important in there?” 

“No, I don’t take papers home with me, just a few hundred pesos and my apartment keys.” 

“Okay, that’s good, we can get you a new set keys in the morning,” He spoke over his shoulder as he rooted around in his freezer, “Does it hurt?” 

“Are you seriously asking if my bloody nose, split lip and potential black eye hurts?” You shot back, deadpan as he wrapped some ice in a towel, “Yes, it fucking hurts Javier.” 

“Alright, I’m sorry, just take this and rest it where it hurts.” He spoke, handing over the ice before heading back to the kitchen. 

He returned with two glasses filled with amber liquid which you could only assume was whiskey and popped two pills next to the glass he set down for you, “You know you’re not supposed to take pills with alcohol right?”  “Trust me, I’ve been doing it most of my life and I seem to be alright,” Was his response as he sat down in the chair away from you, “Both will help take the sting away, I promise.” 

At this point you would do anything to get rid of the dull ache behind your eyeballs so, putting down the ice, you popped both pills on your tongue at the same time before draining the whole glass of whiskey in on go. When you opened your eyes, Javier’s were trained on you, staring. 

“What?” You challenged, picking up the ice again, “Never seen a girl shoot a whiskey before?” 

Without a word, he stood from the chair and took a few wide strides before he was on his knees on the floor in front of you. 

“Let me see.” He all but demanded, moving your hand that was holding the ice to your swollen lip. 

Once the ice had moved, he used his hand to lean your chin up so he could see your injuries better. Your breath and caught in your throat at him being so close to you. His eyes were pouring over your face as he turned you into the light to get a better look at each injury. 

“Whilst he did a number on you, hermosa,” Javier spoke, “I don’t think you need stitches.”

“Thank the lord for small mercies.” You replied as Javier walked to the kitchen and retrieved the bottle of whiskey, stopping to pour a shot into your glass before doing the same to his own glass. 

“Do you want to have a shower?” He asked, “You can get yourself clean and I’ll see if I’ve got some clothes you can wear for tonight.” 

You gave a small smile, suddenly feeling quite helpless about the whole situation, “That would be nice Javi, thank you.” 

***

The warm water of Javier’s shower did wonders for loosening the joints you hadn’t realized you’d tensed so much. Watching the blood from your nose wash down the drain was concerning, and you were sure the headache you had was getting worse, but you hoped the pills and the alcohol would do their job soon enough. 

Once you were wrapped in a towel and stood in Javier’s bedroom, you couldn’t help but chuckle to yourself. He’d lain out a t-shirt and a pair of his boxers, the only clothes you think he could find that would fit you. Once you were dry and had slipped on the clothes you took a moment to gather yourself. 

You wondered how many other women had been in this room, wearing his clothes. Granted, you doubted that very few of them, if any, had received a slap round the face in exchange for their bag, but there was a telltale pang of jealously that this felt like something he would do for every girl fresh out of his shower. 

“Hermosa…” Javi dragged out of his mouth when he caught site of you leaving his room, before couching a little to cover up the obvious slip of the tongue he hadn’t meant to let leave his thoughts. 

“Thank you, I feel much better now.” You replied, taking up your old seat on his couch. 

“You shouldn’t be walking back this late on your own by the way.” He offered. 

“It’s never been an issue before,” You spoke softly, taking a sip of your drink, “I know things are getting more dangerous, but it really is only a few streets, and I don’t drive.” 

“Whenever you need to work late you tell me,” He ordered, “I’m usually always around and I’ll drive you back.”  “I don’t need you to be my chauffer, Javier.” You snorted. 

“I’m not asking to be your chauffer, querida, I’m asking to be your friend.” 

An involuntary snort left your mouth when Javier spoke, “You don’t want to be my friend Javier, you hate me.” Was your response. 

A sigh left Javier’s lips, “I don’t hate you querida,” His voice was low, “Quite the opposite actually.” 

“What the hell are you talking about Peña?” 

Another ragged sigh left his mouth as he pinched the bridge of his nose as if to collect his thoughts, “I like you, okay?” He looked you dead in the eyes, “I Like you very much.” 

“But you don’t know anything about me, Javier?!” You exclaimed, not understanding how the man in front of you, who had been the cause of most of your problems since coming to Colombia, was admitting he liked you. This had to be a joke. 

“I know enough to make my judgement, hermosa,” He replied, “I know that you’re one of the only women at the embassy who won’t stand for my shit, I know that you’re fiercely intelligent and that you’d do anything in your power to help those you care about, I know you’re from Texas and that tequila is what you like to drink on a Friday when you want to forget about your week. I know you call your family every Sunday and it’s the part of your week you look forward to the most because that’s what you always talk to the girls in the office about when Steve and I come for Monday briefing.” 

As he trails off you sit on his couch dumbfounded. Javier Peña liked you. Maybe every time he’d tried to coax you into leaving the bar with him hadn’t been for just another conquest. Maybe when the girls in the office had told you he was flirting with you, it was because he was and not because he wanted you to slip his files to the top of the ambassador’s pile. 

“Listen querida,” Javier spoke again, moving so you were caught in his eyeline, “I might not know everything about you, like your favourite colour or how you like your eggs cooked in the morning, but I know that you are the only woman in this godforsaken place that makes me feel anything.” 

“It’s orange.” You spoke without thinking, looking him dead in the eye. 

“Hmm?”  “My favourite colour, it’s orange.” 

Javier chuckled, pushing himself up from his seat to sit next to you on the couch, placing a hand lightly on your thigh, “Mine is blue.” He offered, causing you both to laugh at each other. 

“Jesus Christ Javi, just kiss me already.” 

He didn’t need telling twice. Aware of the injuries to your face, he used his hands to cup either side of your face before pressing a soft kiss to your lips, trying to avoid putting too much pressure on the swelling. He needn’t have worried because almost immediately you snaked a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him in closer, allowing your mouth to open slightly to him. 

Javi immediately accepted the invitation of your open mouth, tentatively using it to tangle his tongue with your own as he deepened the kiss. The faint taste of blood in your mouth had him pulling back. You could tell he was searching your face for any signs of discomfort. 

“Javi it’s fine, it’s a split lip, just…” You trailed off, pulling him back closer to you, “Don’t stop.” 

Instead of latching himself back onto your mouth, Javier used his bodyweight to push you back so you were led on his couch with his body covering yours above you. One of his hands was placed next to your head to keep him held up above you, the other was resting at your hip as he looked down at you. 

“You look lovely like this querida,” He breathed, “Trapped underneath me all breathless and wanting.” 

“It’s not nice to tease, Peña.” Came your response as you bucked your hips towards him slightly, letting him know you needed him. 

He smirked down at you before taking the assault of his mouth to your neck. He pressed open mouth kisses down your throat and along your collarbone as his hand slowly worked the hem of your shirt free from where you’d tucked it into your skirt before tracing his fingers up inside the material to rest just under the band of your bra. 

A moan ripped from your throat as Javier bit down on the skin behind your ear, sucking gently but enough that you knew there would be a mark there in the morning. 

“You like that huh?” He whispered into your ear, “You like it when I mark you?” 

“Mmm Hmm.” Was all you could manage to get out as Javier continued to trail his mouth over your exposed skin. 

“Words, Hermosa,” He stopped, lifting his head to look you in the eye, “Use them.” 

“Ye…yes, I like it whe… when you mark me, Javi.” Came your strangled reply. 

“I bet you do,” He rasped into your ear, “I bet if I slipped my hand into your panties you’d be wet for me, wouldn’t you?” 

“Yes!” You called out without even thinking, “Oh my god Javi please take my clothes off and touch me.” 

You almost expected Javier to tease you more at this point but instead, he pushed himself back so he was knelt between your thighs before making quick work on situating himself on the floor on his knees. 

“Sit up for me hermosa.” He spoke, helping you to move yourself so your ass was only just hanging onto the edge of the couch with your back up against it. 

Almost on instinct your spread your legs wide for him, watching as he bunched your skirt up against your waist, revealing the light grey cotton panties you’d thrown on this morning. If you’d known then that by the evening you’d be baring them to Javier’s face, you’d have picked something sexier. 

You looked down at him between your thighs and saw his chest was heaving slightly with his heavy breathing, “What’s this?” He asked, before brushing his fingers over the material that was covering your core, “You’re soaking already, this little wet patch is giving you away.” 

A light moan left your lips as his fingers moved from the wet patch at your entrance all the way up to where he could touch your clit. His touch was feather light but just like anything he’d done in the past few minutes it was lighting you on fire. 

“I’m going to eat your pussy, darling girl,” He spoke, hooking his fingers around your panties to drag them off, “Is that okay?” 

“Only if you’re good at it, Peña.” Came your response. 

If he wanted to respond to your smart mouth he thought better of it. Pulling your panties all the way off and discarding them somewhere on the floor behind him before bringing his face as close to your pussy as he could get without touching you. He stayed like that for what felt like hours as he watched your wiggle your hips and move about to try and get his mouth to touch you. 

When he finally did put his mouth to you it was like the universe exploded. He licked a single stripe from your entrance to your clit, using the tip of his tongue to tease the bundle of nerves before pulling away. A petulant whine left your mouth but Javier had waited a long time for this so it wasn’t long until his tongue was back to teasing your clit. He switched between light flicks of his tongue to enveloping your clit between his lips to suck on it. Within no time your hands were tangled in his hair and you were grinding your pussy into his mouth, begging him to make you cum. 

“You want to cum, hermosa?” He asked, tearing himself away from your pussy, “You going to make a mess of my face?” 

“Oh god,” You moaned, “Javi please, it’s too much.”  You looked down and watched as he smirked at you before latching his mouth back around your clit. You’d never felt like this with anyone before, you could certainly understand why most of the girls in the office were obsessed with this man if this is what he could do to them in mere minutes. A flash of jealousy seeped into you which you tried to push to the back of your mind. 

Suddenly you felt him push two fingers inside your aching pussy. Your felt him expertly curl them upwards, hitting a spot inside you that you weren’t aware could feel so good. Your hips began moving to meet the thrusts of his fingers inside you as his tongue continued teasing your clit. You could feel the telltale tightening in your abdomen and just silently prayed to god that he didn’t stop.

“I can feel you getting tighter around my fingers hermosa,” Javi groaned from your pussy, “I want you to cum for me.” 

His words mixed with the assault of his fingers and mouth were all you needed at that point. Your thighs tightened around his face as you cried out his name whilst his mouth worked your through your orgasm. 

Once Javi had worked you through most of the aftershocks of your orgasm he sat back on his heels to look at you. 

“I don’t think anyone has made me cum like that,” You spoke breathlessly, “That was insane.” You took the time to look at Javi, from his place sat on the floor. 

His mouth was glistening with your slick and the further you let your eye roam the better the view got, until your eyes settled on the prominent bulge at the front of his jeans. 

“Looks like you’ve got a little problem there, agent.” You teased, pointing to him. 

“Little?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, “You’re going to regret that.” 

He stood, making light work of removing the belt that held his jeans up, “Turn around and lift your skirt up.” He ordered. 

You did as you were told, draping the upper half of your body over the back of the couch, widening your legs so Javier had a view of your ass and your exposed pussy. You looked over your shoulder to find him fishing a condom out of his wallet before shedding himself of his jeans and boxers. Little had been as far from correct as you could have been. His cock was hard and you watched intently as he rolled the condom on swiftly. Your mouth watered at the thought of having him heavy in your mouth. 

“Enjoying the show?” He asked as he moved behind you, letting two of his fingers dip into your pussy, “So wet for me hermosa, you ready for my cock?” 

“Yes Javi,” You breathed, moving yourself back in an attempt to get him closer to you, “I want you to fill me up.” 

“Whatever you want, darling girl.” Was his answer. 

You felt him scoot up behind you, taking your hip in one of his hands, using the other to guide the head of his cock to your wet slit. The friction caused when he started pushing inside of your was delightful. He was big, the biggest you think you’d ever taken but the feeling of fullness was overwhelming. 

You could hear soft grunts from behind you as he pushed himself all the way into you, stilling once he had bottomed out, “You okay?” He asked softly into your ear as the hand at your hip squeezed lightly. 

“Fuck Javi,” You moaned, “You’re so fucking big, it feels so good.”  “Yeah?” He asked, a slight chuckle to his voice, “You like my cock inside of you?” 

“Uh huh.” You managed to drag out from your mouth as he slowly pulled out and thrust back into you. 

The pace was slow to begin with, giving you a chance to get used to his size within you and half because Javier knew if he started his usual bruising pace with you, he would be done in mere seconds. God you felt good around him. 

“Javi please,” You begged, “I need you to move.” 

“You want me to fuck you?” He asked, pulling his cock almost all the way out of your pussy before stilling, “Needy little thing, begging for my cock like that.” 

He wasn’t one to deny a lady what she wanted though so he set about giving you exactly what you wanted. Soon enough he was pounding into your pussy from behind. The strangled cries that he pulled from your lips were enough to let him know you were enjoying yourself – pair those sounds with the way your pussy was clenching around him every time he pushed himself into you and he was ready to come undone. 

“You’re such a good girl for me aren’t you?” He cooed into your ear as the hand that wasn’t keeping him upright tangled in your hair, “Put your hand on your pussy baby,” He ordered, “Make yourself cum on my cock.” 

You did as you were told, snaking one of your hands underneath your body. You used one of your fingers to circle your clit, the wetness dripping from your entrance enough to slicken you. 

“That it’s baby,” Javier spoke in encouragement, “I can feel that pussy clenching around me, you going to cum for me?” 

The entire thing was overwhelming – the filth falling from Javi’s mouth, the feeling of his cock filling you up and your fingers on your clit pushing you to the edge. Your second orgasm creeped up on you, falling over you in waves as you cried Javi’s name. 

“God fucking dammit,” Came a voice from behind you, “Baby I’m going to cum.” 

Words had failed you, but you moaned in approval, doing what you could to push your pussy further into Javi’s hips. A few more thrusts and he stilled within you, letting out a raged moan as his hand squeezed hard enough to bruise at your hips. 

Javier stayed still for as long as he could, letting the two of you catch your breath for a moment before he pulled himself out of you. Without his body to keep you upright you collapsed into the couch, doing what you could to pull your skirt down so you weren’t bared to the room anymore. 

Javi padded back into the room after disposing of the condom in his bathroom. He sat down on the couch, lifting your legs to rest against his thighs. He was still dressed in his shirt and had thrown on a fresh pair of boxers on his way back to you. 

“Javi…” You spoke, drawing his attention to you. 

“What is it, hermosa?” 

“I think we skipped right past friends, don’t you?” 

A laugh erupted from his mouth. You think it’s the first time you’ve seen him properly laugh and you like it. 

“You mean your friends don’t eat your pussy and fuck you like that?” He asked, raising his eyebrows at you. 

You let your hand swat his arm, “You know, I can’t say they do.” 

His eyes darkened slightly as they looked at you, “Does that mean they don’t wrap you up in bed, let you sleep for a few hours and then wake you up to bury themselves inside of you?” 

Your eyes widened at the insinuation. You’d assumed you’d spend the night sleeping on his couch until you could slip out and get your keys sorted. 

“You want me to sleep in your bed?”  “Hermosa….” He breathed, “We won’t be sleeping much at all.” 

[saiyanprincessswanie]

Blue Bonnets

Pairing: Brock Rumlow x Female Reader

Word Count: 1720

Summary: What if Brock left Hydra and retired on a Ranch?

Warnings: Smut & Fluff

A/N: This idea came from @americasass81 and my muse was happy to write it.

A/N 2: Thank you to @lfnr-blog-blog-blog for beta reading this. All mistakes are still my own.

The header was made by me.

Reblogs & Comments are welcomed and encouraged. 😊💜

I do NOT give my consent to have my work translated or reposted on any social media platform, apps, or third-party sites. If you see my work anywhere besides my personal Tumblr & AO3 accounts, it has been stolen. I will NEVER give written or verbal permission to repost or translate any of my fanfics as they’re MY intellectual property. 🚫🚫

The sun was slowly setting over the horizon as Brock sat on his porch and took in the beauty of it all. The bluebonnets were coming in nicely this spring and he wondered how long they would stay. If you had asked him years ago if he would leave Hydra for a simpler life, he would have laughed in your face. Hydra at one point was the only thing keeping him together and gave him what he thought was family. Time presented its moment and he learned of all the things Hydra was capable of doing and all the lives they would take. That was when he was done with them and took off on the run. Brock watched as you rode your horse back to the house you both shared. As you start putting the horse up for the evening Brock can’t help but reminisce on how he got here.

After months of being on the run, he was able to finally make it to a small town in Texas. He was expecting to pass through just like every other town he drifted through but instead, he found you. He remembers the first time he saw you. You were at a local bar with your friends dancing in your dress, cowgirl boots, and hat. He was at the bar in the corner watching as you swayed your hips to the country music that was playing. In his eyes, you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and by the end of the night, he would have your number. 

When you were done dancing you made your way over to the bar. You ordered a beer as you tried catching your breath from all the dancing. Your eyes glanced around the bar and you spotted Brock sitting alone, nursing a beer. He was handsome in his plaid black shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, hat sitting low on his head, and jeans that were hugging him in all the right places. You grabbed your beer and slowly walked over to him.

Brock’s eyes never left yours as you slowly walked over to him. He took a swig of his beer just as you approached him. He placed his beer on the table and gave you a smirk. You then introduced yourself and sat down in the chair next to him. Brock tilted his hat your way and introduced himself. “I’m Brock, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

You instantly know the accent is not from around these parts but you are intrigued with him. As you both drink your beers slowly you make small talk. He gives you a little background that he’s from New York and had a job that just went in the wrong direction with his values. He is currently just enjoying life as a drifter but he may want to see what this town has to offer. The answer was good enough for you and you explain to him you have a ranch just on the edge of town. You were looking for a ranch hand and if he needed some work he could come by in the morning. With a grin on his face, he agrees that he will stop by. 

The rest of the night goes by in a blur and before you both know it the bar is shutting down. Brock paid both your tabs and offered to walk you to your truck. He holds the door open for you as you head outside into the cool night. When you reach your truck you turn to him and say, “I had a wonderful night Brock. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.” You lean in and give a soft kiss on his cheek. 

Brock was taken aback by how gently you kissed him and lord knew he would love to pull you in for a passionate one. But for now, he’ll wait as he knows this is the beginning of something special. You both part ways for the evening leaving him to think about what the future could bring if he stayed.

The next day Brock showed up on your ranch and watched you exit a house. Today you are wearing a lightweight plaid shirt over a tank top, jeans, your boots, and a hat. You looked ready to start your day. You walked over to him, looped your arm in his, and instantly started giving him a tour of your property. You showed him the house you came from which was for the ranch hands for them to stay if they didn’t have a place. Then you showed him the rest of the buildings on the property. The tour took an hour and by the time you were done, Brock was agreeing to be your new ranch hand. 

From then on you two became inseparable, working hand in hand on the ranch. Brock worked hard to prove this was something he could do. No longer was he a Hydra soldier now he was Brock the rancher. He even got to eventually call you his woman after a few months of working together. Life was going in a direction he never imagined and he was in love with you. One night you were both getting the barn settled for the night. When he cornered you near the hay bales. His touch was light and desperate. You jumped up into his arms and wrapped your legs around his waist. He kissed you passionately and deepened the kiss when your mouth parted. It seemed he kissed you forever but he pulled back so you both could take a breath.

“I want you sweetheart so badly. Let me make love to you.” Brock whispered against your lips.

Your head was nodding before you could answer. “Please I need to feel you inside me. I-I have waited so long for you to ask.” You begged him to take you and Brock smiled at you. 

Brock carried you to your house as you placed kisses on his neck while occasionally nibbling on him. Brock couldn’t help the low groans that left his mouth from what you were doing. Finally reaching your bedroom Brock lowered you to your feet and stood there staring at you. “You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I can’t wait to make love to you.”

You slowly start to undress along with him and before you know it you’re both naked. You can’t help but admire his muscles on display along with his large cock. Gently Brock pushes you to the bed and you inch your way up the bed while he follows you. As you fully lay down Brock spreads your legs and lays in between them. Seeing your glistening pussy on display for him he can’t help but go in for a taste. 

The first pass with his tongue had you begging for more. Your fingers slipped through his hair as he skillfully took you apart with his tongue. Every pass of his tongue, every suckle of your clit had you arching into him, moaning his name to the heavens. Brock then pushed two fingers into you, thrusting them in and out while he played with your clit with his mouth. His fingers sped up as he sucked on your clit and that’s all you needed to cum for him. Brock finally stopped when you started to shake in his hold from overstimulation.

Slowly he crawled up your body until he was face to face with you. “How do you feel sweetheart?”

You smiled big at him. “Like I’m on cloud nine. I need more. Please make love to me.”

“Anything you want sweetheart you can have.” Brock wrapped his hand around his hard cock giving it a few strokes before he lined himself up to your wet pussy and started to push into you. Inch by inch he slowly sank into your tight cunt and leaned over you with his arms on either side of you to hold him up. His strokes were soft but firm at times. Your legs wrapped around his waist as he rolled his hips into you. Both of you let out groans and moans with every thrust into you. Brock leaned down to kiss you on your lips, capturing your whimper of how good he was feeling inside you. His thrusts started to pick up and the sound of skin slapping against skin echoed in the room along with your moans. Within moments you were crying out your release as he started to chase his end. A few hard thrusts into you and he was cumming inside you, painting your womb in his release. Both of you were panting from the exhaustion of your lovemaking. You pulled his face towards yours and started to kiss him. Never have you felt this way with another man before. 

A few minutes later Brock pulled out of you and walked to the bathroom to clean himself up. When he walked back he had a towel with him and he sat on the bed cleaning up the mess you both made between your legs. After he was done he threw the towel in your dirty laundry bin. Brock crawled into bed with you and pulled you close to his chest. He kissed your face and settled in. 

“I’m in love with you sweetheart. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Say you will be mine forever. Say it and I promise that you will never want for anything. I will love you until my last breath.”

Your eyes welled up with tears as you answered him, “I’m in love with you too Brock. I promise to stay with you forever. You’re my everything.”

Brock’s arms wrapped around you and you both drifted off to sleep.

This seemed like an eternity ago as Brock watched you pick some bluebonnets with your little girl who was now three years old. Again if you would have asked him if he thought this was his future he would have called you crazy. Today he is happily married and has a daughter that looks just like you. The ranch, no you have saved his life. You gave him a home, a new family, and a future.

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[iamknicole]

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: I doubled back for yall! This chapter flowed more easily than the previous one so I got it done quicker! Pay attention when you're reading😌 ⭐LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG & SHARE⭐ Enjoy!

Warnings: Cussing, 18+ ONLY MINORS DNI

DO NOT REPOST MY WRITING ANYWHERE AND CLAIM IT AS YOUR OWN!

Masterlist

Chapter Thirteen

When Hassan brought Nadine home to meet his parents and little sister he was nervous. His palms sweated profusely no matter how many times he wiped them on his pants, they never dried. His stomach twisted into knots as he walked her through the home to the living room to meet them. But today standing on his sister’s front porch he didn’t feel any of those things. His nervousness was replaced with giddiness, his palms didn’t sweat and his stomach remained neutral. Internally realized no matter how he once felt about Nadine that she was not the woman he should have been with all those years, it was the woman whose hand he held, whose hand he gently caressed as they waited. The door opened and Gabi flung herself at her older brother, hugging him tightly around the neck saying how glad she was to see him as Tamara discreetly pulled her hand from his to give them room. There was a smile on her face as she watched them.

“I missed you too, Gabi. You act like you ain’t seen me in months,” he laughed, squeezing her back just as tightly. “Alright, alright, let me go.”

Gabi squeezed him one more time before letting go. “Its been like two weeks since I’ve seen you and you know that hasn’t happened since you moved back here from Texas.”

He glanced to his right at Tamara then back at his sister. “I been busy but Ima do better. I don’t want you cryin’ to Mama.”

Gabi’s brow raised looking between him and Tamara. “And I know exactly what and who you’ve been busy with. Nice to finally meet you, I’m Gabi.”

Tamara stuck her hand out but was pulled into a tight, brief hug. “I’m Tamara,” she laughed after being let go. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh girl, I know who you are. My brother tells me about you all the time but the pictures he showed me did not do you justice. You’re even prettier in person.”

At that Tamara turned to stare at Hassan. “Pictures? What pictures?”

“Don’t worry,” Gabi laughed, pulling them both into the house. “They were good ones. I mean he is an artist after all. He has never taken a bad picture of anyone. Not even that witch Na,” she was cut off by him clearing his throat.

“Be nice, Gabriella. I keep telling you that.” He warned playfully.

“You’ve been telling me for years to be nice and hasn’t worked yet. Oh … before I forget there’s something I need to tell you two.”

“What did you do?” He asked in an accusatory tone.

She shook her head. “No, no, it wasn’t me. It was your nephews and their big mouths that they definitely got from their father.”

“What could they have possibly told?” He asked, sure there was nothing they could have told Nadine. They didn’t like her and even if they did, he had made sure not to tell Gabi that he was taking Tamara to meet his ex-wife because of her big mouth. He watched her fidget for a second. “What is it?”

“Weeeell they may have spilled that you were bringing Tamara over to meet us.” She said quickly, making Tamara laugh.

“To whom, baby sister?"

Immediately Hassan’s eyes moved from his sister to the direction the other voices came from. He couldn’t help the chuckle that passed his lips.Their parents were there and there was no doubt as soon as Shirley DeBreaux found out about this impending visit she got up right then and made Rome DeBreaux drive her two hours from Columbus to Atlanta to be a part of it Hassan reached out for his girlfriend’s hand.

“It’s okay, Gabi. It saves me a trip,” he admitted with a shrug. “You’re gonna meet my parents as well. They’ll like you but Mama can be a bit much. It’s where Gabi gets it from. If that’s not okay, if you not ready I can take you home. They’ll understand.”

Tamara smiled up at him, her brows creasing a bit. “I don’t why you think I scare so easily but I’m okay. I’m happy to meet everybody, I want to.”

Gabi grinned, grabbing her hand from Hassan, pulling her along leaving him to follow behind them. “See I knew I liked you. You’re way better than that ole raggedy witch Nadine.”

“Gabriella,” Hassan called out over their laughter. “Don’t laugh, Tam. She know that ain’t nice.”

As soon as they entered the living room, Shirley’s reaction to Tamara undoubtedly ended all other conversations. With her hands to her face, she approached Tamara with a wide, genuine smile on her face. 

“Oh my goodness. Girl, look at you,” she gushed loudly, taking one of Tamara’s hands to spin her around. “Aren’t you just the most gorgeous thing I have ever laid eyes on.”

“Thank you,” she responded softly. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. DeBreaux.”

With a playful swat to her leg, Shirley pulled her into a tight hug, rocking them back and forth. “You quit all that ‘mrs’ stuff out, you will call me mama just like the rest of my children.”

“Yes ma’am. You’re so pretty and I love your hair. I kind of feel like I know you already. San talks about you and his dad all the time,” Tamara admitted taking a peak around her to everyone else.

Shirley moved to hug her son then swatted his arm. “Yeah well my son didn’t mention you to me. If Malcolm and Monte didn’t tell me, I would have never gotten to meet you.”

“Mama, I was gonna bring her to meet you and dad. I was just starting with Gabi and her crew first. They live here.” He assured her with a smile.

“I’m only two hours away, see how quickly I got here and I didn’t find out until about four hours ago,” she continued on as she brought Tamara further into the living room. “Alright now this is Hassan’s father, Rome and believe you me they are just alike. It’s almost like he spit him out they act so much alike.”

Rome stood, wrapping her in a warm hug. “It’s very nice to meet you, young lady. How’s my son treating you?”

“Very good. I wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t, Mr. DeBreaux,” she shrugged playfully. 

“Please call me Dad or Rome. You’re family or I assume you will be soon,” he hinted more to his son than to Tamara before sitting back down. Hassan chuckled softly in response as he rubbed lazily through his beard.

Pulling her away from her mother, Gabi turned Tamara’s attention to her husband and kids. “This is my husband, Tyler Scott and our twins, Malcolm and Monte. Boys, this is Tamara. Remember the nice lady I told you about.”

Tyler stood briefly to shake her hand, offering her a bright smile. “Nice to meet you, Tamara. I’m really glad you’re finally here, Gabi has been talking our heads off about you coming.”

“Yeah and making us clean,” Monte mumbled loud enough for the adults to hear. Tyler pinched his son’s arm. “Ow! She did though. She woke us up to that old music and we all know what that means.”

“Right and she only supposed to do that two Saturdays out the month and today ain’t saturday.” Malcolm added with a similar mug to his brothers.

Tamara laughed, reaching to give both boys hugs. “Well I’m sorry she had you up cleaning early. How old are you two?”

“Thirteen,” they answered simultaneously.

“Uncle San, she gon be our new auntie?” Monte asked loudly.

Hassan slowly approached them, wrapping his arm around her waist. “I think that’s up to her, boys. We’ll see how she feels by the end of the night.”

Malcolm groaned. “You never give us real answers, Unc. When Rye comin to visit? She always got the answers.”

Hassan jumped at them playfully, laughing when they jumped back. “Yall gon sell me out for Rye so I ain’t telling yall. How bout that?”

The boys soon started to nag him, trying to jump all over him which he gave right back to them. Soon they were slap boxing with each other. Gabi grabbed her mother and Tamara’s attention, telling them to follow her to the kitchen. She grabbed the open bottle of wine from her refrigerator pouring three glasses.

“Gabi told me that Hassan really liked you while we were waiting and forgiving me if I was a bit skeptical considering Nadine,” Shirley took a small sip of her wine. “He really liked her too or he claimed to. I tried to tell him not to keep being with that girl but he was young, did what he wanted to do.” Tamara sipped from her wine, acknowledging the older woman with a nod. “But once I saw you and him together, I saw what Gabi had been telling me. He loves you. I can see it.”

“Like.” Tamara corrected.

“Oh no, baby.” She laughed with a shake of her head. “I said what I meant. I raised him, I know when my babies are in love.”

Feeling that the conversation may have gotten unintentionally heavy, Gabi butted in to save Tamara from any heat. “You’ve met his babygirl, right?”

Slowly, Tamara tore her gaze away from Shirley, settling on Gabi. “I did. I actually met them both at the same time. I approached him in the mall in Orlando and she was with him. And I’ve talked to her on the phone quite a few times since him and I have been dating. She’s a sweet girl.”

“She is. Thankfully nothing like her mama,” Gabi mumbled, earning a pointed look from her mother. “I’m just saying, Mama. You know I’m right.”

Shirley sighed, sitting her glass down. “Have you met Nadine yet?”

“No ma’am but she knows about me,” she glanced at Gabi, who was smiling. “And She knows that I know about her.”

“You just be careful with her and whenever you cross paths with her. That girl,” Shirley’s voice trails off for a moment, “She got some kinda evil in her. A demon if I ever seen one before.”

“Now, Mama,” Gabi laughed, “She is a terrible person but she not a demon though.”

“The hell you preach. That girl is a demon. The way that she treated my son and his baby. Tuh, lucifer must have placed her on Trenice’s porch cause I know she didn’t raise her that way.”

This is the most honest opinion Tamara’s heard about Nadine so she leaned into the conversation. Although she was in shape or form worried about clashing with her it was important to Tamara to really know what she was dealing with. When her and Hassan discussed his ex-wife, he was still very polite and honest to a point. He never told her the extent of things that she had done to Moriah because he didn’t want to share her business without her permission. The only thing he did tell her about was the abortion during one of their late night talks. When he spoke to her about Angel, he cried like it was still fresh. The loss of his first grandchild and the pain that it caused his only child hurt him and what hurt more is that he wasn’t there to stop it from happening. From what he confided in her, that was the first time he really regretted leaving Texas and not making Moriah come with him. Guilt still ate him up. He wished that he would have just disregarded what Moriah said she wanted and forced her to come to Atlanta with him.

For once, Gia was nowhere to be found in the performance center. From what Bronco heard she had some family emergency so she would be gone for a few days and wouldn’t see them talking to Trick. After the friends decided that they were going to put Trick onto her, they took a couple days to plan out how they were going to do it and now were satisfied. 

On a break from their workout, the two approached Trick who was doing curls. They sat on the floor near the bench he sat on prompting him to sit the dumbbell down and remove his earbud from his ear. He eyed them carefully.

“Yall look like yall up to some shit. What yall got goin on?” He asked picking the dumbbell back up.

“We ain’t up to shit.” Zilla laughed. “We just wanted to holla at you real quick.”

He nodded for them to go on.

“We know you been tryna settle down so we wanted to help you out cause ya game is clearly nonexistent,” Bronco joked. 

He sucked his teeth. “I got game, just ain’t been tryin. That’s all.”

Zilla lifted his hands in surrender. “Aye, mane, whatever you say. But look, we know you want somebody that understand this wrestlin shit and you travelin all the time so we found you somebody.”

“And we heard she think you kinda cute. So all you gotta do is use that nonexistent ass game and ask her out,” Bronco added.

Trick stared at them clearly contemplating continuing with his curls. “Who is it that yall think yall found for me?”

“Gia.”

Trick stared at them, recalling Gia in his mind. “Green eyed girl that do the backstage interviews?” The two men nodded making him smile. “Oh word? She is kinda cute and she be givin me them bedroom eyes from time to time.”

Zilla clapped his hands excitedly.“Aight so when she come back, ask her out on a date.”

“Bet Ima do that. Preciate yall for lookin out.”

The two left him, going back to the locker room to have their conversation in private. To be honest neither of them were a hundred percent sure that Gia would even go for it but they have witnessed Trick talk to enough girls that he at least got a first date. No matter what they planned to stay informed with how their relationship would go. 

“You think that shit gon work out?” 

Zilla huffed loudly, taking a seat on one of the benches. “Shit, I hope so. If it don’t and she keep this shit up, Fat gon whoop her ass. I told you what she asked me Tuesday?”

“Nah. What sis say?”

“Her exact words were ‘did that bitch have her hands on you tonight?’ And shit, it caught me off guard so I’m like who,” he recounted bringing the memory back to the forefront of his mind, “And she was like that frog eyed bitch. So I’m like nah and she basically told me if she don’t stop, she gon beat Gia ass.”

Busting out laughing, Bronco took a seat on the bench opposite of Zilla. His dislike of Gia was mutual among them all so anytime he heard Moriah or Toni dogging her ass out, he was going to enjoy it. 

“Yoooo sis is wild. She called her a frog eyed bitch? You deadass?” He asked through his laughter.

“Deadass, bro. She meant that shit too.”

Bronco went from laughing to scrunching his face at his friend. “Why you smilin like that, fool?”

He shook his head. “It ain’t nothin.”

Bronco watched him until it clicked. “Ayye! My boy! I know what that smile mean! That’s why yall ducked outta there!”

“Hell yeah. I’m surprised Toni ain’t trip about it.”

He waved him off. “Nah, she wasn’t goin to. She was too busy gettin on my ass.”

That admittance made Zilla’s nosey ass ears perk up. He didn’t want to know so he could tell anyone, he simply just liked to be in their business. To him that’s what friends do.

“What you do?”

“She was upset cause Javi was at home by himself but I told her he was straight, he did it all the time before me and her started.” Bronco shrugged. “And he usually with her on Tuesdays but you know she workin nights this week and I was workin so.”

“Oh damn. But Javi like 13 or 14. Ain’t it?”

“Yeah, he 13 but you know T worry so much cause of her job. I told her she hadda relax.”

Zilla stared at him. “You told her to relax? Last time I told Rye to relax she bit my damn head off. Cussed me out for like two hours.”

He laughed. Yeah, she was about to but yall walked back in so shit … saved by the bell. I did have to hear that shit when she got off though. She came straight to my house, made Javi breakfast then yelled at me while I was in the shower.”

“That’s what your ass get,” he laughed while checking his phone. “Shit, I gotta reschedule my therapy session.”

“Rye told you to do that shit two weeks ago. Ima tell.”

“Man,” he laughed, “I been busy. Ima do it though. Remind me when we leave her.”

“Nope, hell nah cause if I do or don’t and you don’t do it you gon throw my ass under the bus right along with you.”

The pediatric floor was quiet for the moment. The children that were on the floor were either sleep or medicated enough that they were in no pain. Dr. Miller took this time to get caught up on paperwork hoping to leave on time and not a minute after 7. This floor was what he always dreamed of, Dr. Harris made it even better for the last six years the older doctor had taken him under his wings and always encouraged him to do the same for others who were newly pinned. While Dr. Miller enjoyed doing this when he could, he did not enjoy one medical student in particular. 

“Dr. Miller, you got a second?”

A sigh escaped him. “Only if it does not interrupt my paperwork, Gardner. I need to be outta here on time, I have family matters to attend to.”

A wide smile stretched across Thomas’ face. “Nah, it won’t take long and won’t take your focus away.”

“I’m listening.”

“A few weeks ago I assisted Dr. Harris with a hernia surgery on a five year old and he told me that the mom called because what she thinks is complications from the surgery,” Thomas explained leaning against the desk.

“Okay,” Dr. Miller drug out impatiently. “What do you want me to do with that?”

“He assured her that it would pass but I … I think something might be wrong.”

The pen fell from Dr. Miller’s hand as he turned to give the younger man his undivided attention. “You think or you know? And be very sure with your answer.”

He shrugged. “I think, I can’t be completely sure.”

“Did you do something wrong that Dr. Harris didn’t catch?”

“If somebody did do something wrong and you think it could cause said complications. What would you do?”

Dr. Miller sighed, from the moment Thomas got to pediatrics he knew the young male would be an issue. It was at this moment he vowed to never take another student or newbie under his wing again, He didn’t give a damn what his mentor would say. Thomas had spoiled it for everyone that would come after him.

“Is it something that can pass or be fixed externally or is it something that needs to be handled internally?”

“Umm I’m sure it can be fixed externally.”

Another sigh. “Is it life threatening for said five year old?”

“It can be, yes.”

“Then you need to tell Dr. Harris what you did or I will. You have tomorrow afternoon.” Dr. Miller ordered turning back to his paperwork.

Thomas’ eyes went wide with panic. “Wait, no. It wasn’t me that did it.”

“Then who did it? And what did they do?” The doctor asked, now irritated.

“It uh it was a nurse. She may have caused an infection.” He spat his lie out quicker than he could stop it.

“Which nurse?”

Praying internally that this would all work out for the better with Nadine’s plan, Thomas utter Moriah’s name quietly. Dr. Miller’s head shot up, his eyes on Thomas not believing a word that was said.

“You know what, I’ll look into it. Don’t worry about telling Dr. Harris. I got it.”

“Are … are you sure? I can tell him.” He stuttered. “It’s probably nothing.”

Dr. Miller shrugged. “It probably is but I’ll check anyway. Unless there’s some reason that I shouldn’t.” He was giving Thomas the chance to backtrack and take ownership for whatever he was sure the man had done. When he shook his head the doctor gave him a final nod. “Okay then it’s out of your hands and into mine. Leave it be. Understand?”

“Yes sir but can you keep me updated?”

‘I’ll see what I can do. Gardner.”

One thing Dr. Miller learned during the time he worked with Moriah on pediatrics, he learned that she was very meticulous and followed the rules down to every period and comma. He knew there was no way it was her that did anything reckless to harm this young patient and he was going to get to the bottom of it. Thomas got the hint that the conversation was over, he grabbed his bag to leave the floor for the day praying that none of this came back to bite him in the ass. After finishing his paperwork Dr. Miller moved over to one of the computers accessing the files. He searched for a few minutes before he found the file he was looking for and picked up the receiver beside him to call the parents. 

“Hi, this is Dr. Miller from Lakeland General. I’m looking for the parents of Nia Jones.” He paused. “Yes, I heard that she was having issues … Yes ma’am … Yes ma’am … I’ll be in tomorrow morning for a little while and can see her then … Yes, 8 is fine. I’ll see her in the emergency department … Okay, see you all then. Have a good night.”

Something wasn’t clean in the water and he was going to get to the bottom of it. Now that he sat up an appointment, he moved on to his next step. Getting to the ED, he texted his family group chat to let them know that he had to change his fight out for the next day instead of later tonight while he waited on Toni. 

“Dr. Miller, what can I do for you?” She called out as she walked in the door.

He chuckled, going to hold the door of their breakroom for her. “How’d you know I wanted something ?” He asked, following her inside.

“Because you only ever come to the ED if you want something from me? So what’s up? I got fifteen minutes before my shift starts and I wanna use ten of those to call my mama.”

Dr. Miller helped her put her things in her locker. “You remember the hernia surgery Nurse DeBreaux helped with some weeks ago?”

“Yeah,” she answered slowly, “That was her first surgery. Why? Did something happen to that little girl?”

“No, no, no,” he said immediately, “Not yet at least.He goes on explaining to her the conversation he and Thomas had and what he had done. “Can you please stay a little longer in the morning to do the check up with me? I would ask Nurse DeBreaux.”

She nodded, finishing his thought, “But you don’t want it to look like a coverup just in case there is actually a complication from surgery. I got it, I’ll stay.”

“Thank you, I owe you. And I know I don’t need to say this but for now lets keep this between us. Don’t even tell DeBreaux.”

“Ooh I know. If I tell her that he’s tryna blame her for his negligence, she’ll kill em. She takes her work very seriously.”

“Trust me I know and I know he does to which is why I can’t understand why he would even try to put this on her.” Dr. Miller admitted.

Toni pulled out her ringing phone. “Trust me you don’t wanna know. I gotta take this, it’s my mama. I’ll see you in the morning.” She said quickly. “Oh and I’m sorry about your auntie.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. See ya.”

“I don’t know how we managed to stay away from each other for so long,” Nadine laughed, adjusting the covers over her nude body. “It’s always so much fun when we’re together.”

“Don’t act like you don’t know. You like to play coy with me and luckily for you, I like it.” 

Dewayne pulled her across the bed to him, moving a few of her drop curls from her face. It wasn’t often that he felt this stress free and calm, it was only when he was in her presence. No matter how many times she turned him down for something more serious, he couldn’t let go of her. When he met Hassan, he could see how much their affair affected him but Dewayne was honest with himself–no matter how much pain it would cause, he wouldn’t stop. The Nadine he knew and the Nadine everyone else were two different people to him. They needed to dig beyond that tough exterior, the armor she wore to the rest of the world and see the sweet, loving, brilliant woman on the inside. 

“I do not play coy with you.” She argued, meeting his gaze.

“You do so. Ducking my calls and texts, only responding when you want to. Youtube me up on my offer to go to dinner every once in a while and then nothing.”

She shrugged. “As you said that’s what you like about me. I’m just giving you what you want, DJ.”

He tickled her sides until she was out of breath and gasping for him to stop. “What I want is for you to stop playing coy with me and just be with me.”

“You’re married.” She answered softly.

“And so were you once upon a time. I keep telling you that all you have to do is say those magic words and she’s gone,” he reiterated, caressing her cheek softly. “I remember the first day I met you. Ava was what five had gone through so many appointments with therapists and shit until finally her doctor sent me to you. You remember that?”

She snorted. “How could I forget? You stormed into my office and demanded for her to be seen right then, instead of ten minutes later. And still ended up waiting the ten minutes because we argued back and forth.”

“I was tired of being jerked around from place to place,” he chuckled, “But you got your way anyway. I was so drawn to that fierceness that I would make her double appointments every week.”

“Mmhm and then after a month you finally asked me out.”

“And you told me it would never happen, that you were a married woman.” He recounted. “That didn’t stop me though. I always get what I want.”

She moved closer to him, resting  her head on his arm. “Hmm not always.”

“I’ll get it eventually. Now,” he sighed, “It’s been two days. Are you ready to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“It’s Moriah.”

“What’s going on with her? I’m surprised she hasn’t called yet. She usually calls when you haven’t been home.”

“She’s not in Texas anymore. She moved to Florida with that boyfriend of hers.”

He smiled. “The doctor? Alright, that’s great. Why don’t you sound happy? Isn’t that what you wanted for her?”

“No, not with the doctor. She’s with your cousin or whatever he is to you.” At that Dewayne frowned. The cousins he had in Florida he was sure were all married or taken in some fashion. “Isayah. Eddie’s son.”

“He’s out of jail?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, he’s been out for two almost three years now. You really don’t keep up with your family. Do you?”

“Not all of them, no. Do you know how many of them there are?” He asked with a chuckle. “But wow … I thought the doctor boy was gonna propose and everything.”

“He was and he did but she turned him down. She was and still is stuck on that jailbird boy.”

He kissed her head bringing her close for a quick hug, his laughter vibrating through his body and hers. “Listen, I know how badly you wanted her with someone else but sometimes as parents we have to let our kids make their own choices.”

“But she’s making the wrong ones and she’s mad at me because I’m trying to help her. Call herself not talking to me. I haven’t talked to her since Thanksgiving.”

“And by trying to help her, you mean trying to make the choice for her. Right?”

“Yes, but–,”

“No buts if she’s happy let her be. This is not that serious for you and her to have gone almost a year without talking, Nadine. I know you miss her and she misses you.”

There were lots of things Nadine neglected to tell Dewayne about, she didn’t want him to judge her the way her loved ones had done. While he knew about the small things Moriah did and how she was punished, Nadine never uttered a word to him about the pregnancy and the things she did because of it. The abortion, Moriah’s and hers, alone would be enough to push him over the edge knowing that he is a die hard pro-lifer. And that was just not a risk she was willing to take.

“I don’t know about her missing me but I do miss her.”

“See? So why don’t you put the need for control in the backseat and put your love for your daughter in the front?” He suggested kissing her neck.

“You mean stop trying to get her to break up with him and let them be together? Even if I know she’s gonna regret it later.”

He chucked, still kissing her neck. “Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Can you do that? If not for Moriah then do it for me. Please, beautiful?”

She stewed over the thought for a few minutes with her thoughts going fuzzy every few seconds because of his ministrations. “Fine, DJ, fine. I’ll lay off.”

“Good,” he cheered, moving to smile widely at her, “Now let me show you just how proud of you I am.”

The next morning as promised Toni waited for Dr. Miller. She stood beside him as he checked the little girl and went over her x-rays with the parents. The only thing he had yet to receive were the results from her blood work.

“Has she been feeling woozy or tired lately? Fever? Vomiting?” Dr. Miller asked, still checking nia.

Her mom spoke up first with a worried glance. “Not woozy but more tired than usual. Fever comes and goes and so does the vomiting.”

“How long after the surgery did this start?”

The parents looked at each other lost for an answer for a moment. “Umm,” the father stuttered trying to think, “Maybe a week or so after. But it started to get worse a few days ago.”

Dr. Miller nodded, giving the little girl a quick smile. “So it sounds like it could just be an after effects from the surgery and all the medicine she was on but just in case it is an infection, I’m gonna prescribe her some antibiotics.”

“How are we gonna know if it is an infection?” 

He gives the mother a reassuring smile. “Her blood work should be back by noon today. If there is anything suspicious in there Dr. Harris will give you a call immediately.”

“Okay, thank you so much. Really, thank you.”

“Just doing my job. Gotta make sure babygirl is able to eat her spaghetti and meatballs,” he joked, lightly pinching Nia’s cheek.

As they left the room Toni and Dr. Miller made eye contact and moved to an unoccupied area of the ED. He folded his arms across his chest waiting to hear her thoughts.

“I’m no doctor but I think she has an infection. Miller.”

“I am a doctor and I’m quite sure she does too. But I think it was caught in enough time to cure it.”

“Don’t you think Dr. Harris is gonna wanna know why he has bloodwork for her after he already told her it would be fine.”

He nodded, huffing. “Yes and I’m about to go take care of that. He’s always here early, I’m gonna go talk to him now before I leave.”

Toni nodded, still feeling uneasy. “I’ll let you know if anything happens while you’re gone. But you know I’m gonna have to tell Rye.”

“I know, just please keep her from trying to kill him until we can sort this shit out.”

Toni threw her hands up. “I make no promises but I will try.”

After only getting three hours of sleep, Moriah was awakened by her boyfriend asking her to bring him his gym bag that he’d forgotten. Declining his favor was on the tip of her tongue from being so tired but she knew he would have done it for her so she begrudgingly agreed. The performance center wasn’t as busy as it usually was and for that she was grateful. Less people see her with a messy ponytail, Zilla’s shirt and biker shorts—aka as a bum. She wandered around the center for her boyfriend, figuring he was busy since he wasn’t answering her calls or texts. About to give up and leave it in the nearest, safest spot she spotted Josh and called out to him. With their distance, she couldn’t hear him suck his teeth as he turned to face him.

“Hey! What are you doing here? Zay didn’t tell me you were in town.” She hugged him quickly, still not realizing he didn’t really hug her back.

“Workin. Came to help out.” He muttered. “Why you here? I thought you was a nurse.”

She laughed, realizing he asked because of the bag. “Oh, I do. I actually should be at home, just got off a few hours ago. Zay forgot his bag so here I am.”

“Mmm. I’ll give it to him.” He told her going to reach for the bag. “You can go back home.”

“Actually, I kinda wanted to see him since I was here. I been working nights so we been missing each other. Can I go with you?”

Josh’s lip turned up a bit at the thought of her staying any longer but he didn’t wanna make a scene so he told her to follow him. Moriah had to almost jog to keep up with him with how fast he was walking which she chalked up to his long legs. They stood in the doorway where the practice rings were located.

“Awe, it’s been so long since I’ve seen him practice. I used to go all the time in Texas.” She gushed keeping her eyes on him.

Josh had no desire to hear her go on about a relationship he didn’t agree with so since the both of them were here without any interruptions, he would speak his mind.

“You ever thought that maybe what yall got goin on ran its course?” He asked softly.

“Um huh?” She was extremely confused by his question. It was weird to her to say the least.

He shrugged. “You know like high school sweetheart shit where you been together so long that yall start to hate each other. Start bein malicious and shit.”

“Oh,” she giggled, “No, Josh. We argue here and there but we’re good.”

“You say that now. Being with a wrestler ain’t easy, Ma. Soon enough he gon be on main roster, traveling city to city without you. It gets real lonely for some of them, so lonely that they start to stray while you at home thinking they faithful,” he explained, keeping his eyes on Zilla in the ring. “And then you start to get bitter cause he’d rather be with them ring rats than you. And the more bitter you get, the more vindictive you get. Take his house, take his kids and treat them kids like shit because you so damn mad at him when you should have left years ago.”

Moriah turned her body to face him, shock and anger on her face. She knew he was alluding got more than just Zilla. He was comparing them to her parents. 

“I know that my mother isn’t a great person but I am not her. And my daddy never cheated on my mama,” she spat seething.

To her words, Josh chuckled. “Your daddy may not have cheated but that doesn’t make any of it better. It makes it worse actually.”

“What? What are you talking about, Josh?”

“Your daddy ain’t cheat so he was being a good ass husband to your mama and she still dogged his ass out which included treating you like shit.”

She rubbed her face out of frustration. “Just spit whatever it is you’re tryna say out.”

He shrugged, “It’s simple. I don’t like you and I don’t want you with my cousin. Shit was cute when yall was kids but it ain’t cute no more. I’m tryna save my cousin from unnecessary hurt.”

“You … you think that I would do any of the shit my mama did?”

“Apples don’t be fallin too far from the tree, ma.You say you love em so love em enough to save him from your bitter, destructive ass genes.”

Not waiting to hear her response, he walked off towards the ring with the gym bag in tow. Feeling herself about to cry Moriah rushed away ready to leave, when she walked out of the front doors she ran face first into Bronco, almost knocking him down.

“Damn where the fire at, sis?” He joked, helping her find her balance. When she lifted her head his smile dropped. “The fuck you cryin’ for, sis? What Zay do? I’ll beat his ass for you, friend or not.” She shook her head frantically at his words. “No don’t beat his ass or no it wasn’t him?”

“It wasn’t him,” she croaked. 

“Then what’s goin on? What is it?”

She broke down right as she opened her mouth to explain it to him. He wrapped her in a comforting hug, rocking her gently. “Tell me whats up? Big bruh can’t fix what you won’t tell me.”

“Its his cousin. He hates me.” She cried.

Bronco pulled back from the hug so he could see her face. “You talkin about Josh? Zay just told you that?”

Again she shook her head. “No, Josh just told me. I came to bring Zay’s bag and he basically told me I’m just like my mom and to save Zay some hurt and leave him. I’m not like her, I’ve never acted like her. I don’t know why he thinks that.”

Bronco used his shirt to wipe her face then hugged her again. “Listen, don’t worry about his ass. You put him in the category with ya mom of people who don’t exist to you. That whole family love you, ya pops love you, me and T old ass love you,” he chuckled along with her, “And most importantly Zay love you. Aight? If he don’t, fuck em. You hear me?”

“I hear you,” she answered softly. “Thank you, B.”

“Ain’t nothin,” he shrugged, smiling down at her, “That’s what big bruhs do but if you really, really wanna thank me you can make some dinner before you go to work tonight. Ima be over there with Javi and you know his ass can’t cook for shit.”

She laughed, punching him in the arm. “He tries but okay, I’ll make dinner. Thank you again and please don’t tell Zay.”

“Oh I ain’t. He’ll take that man head off about you in here. But just know he gon catch that man at some point and I hope I’m there to help.”

Parting ways, they hugged and he kissed her head once more before she left. She headed for Target instead of going home to get what she needed to put together an easy dinner for the boys while Bronco went inside, headed for the practice rings. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Josh, not saying a word to him. He knew the older man could feel the animosity rolling off him and that’s exactly what he wanted.

“What’s up, Uce?” Josh greeted respectfully.

Bronco shrugged. “Nada.”

Getting the hint Josh went back to silently watching the squabble until it was done. When Zila approached them Josh offered his bag to him almost as a peace offering then moved in to hug him which the younger cousin accepted. 

“Fat still here?” He asked, slapping hands with Bronco.

“Nah. She gave me the bag and left.”

Bronco stared at his audacity. He was really about to sit here and lie but he remained quiet after his promises to Moriah.

“She ain’t say shit? You ain’t say shit to her, did you?” Zilla questioned as he unblocked his phone and went through his messages.

Josh shook his head. “Just that she wanted to talk to you since yall been missing each other cause of yall schedules and then something about being tired.”

Zilla nodded even though he was skeptical. “You straight, B? You look like somebody pissed you off?”

“I’m straight, man. People just got a lot of audacity these days. I ran into sis on her way out,” he offered up staring at Josh. “She must really miss you man. She was damn near in tears.”

“Damn, prolly do.” He agreed, missing the stare down. “Me and her ain’t actually seen each other and had a conversation since Tuesday night. Thank God she only got two more days overnight.”

“Right, I just had to remind her that you love her and ain’t shit gon change about that. Not working overnight or nothing else.”

“I appreciate tha–bruh what the fuck is this?” he exclaimed loudly trying to cut the loud video playing from his phone off. His outburst broke Bronco and Josh’s stare. “This shit, man.” They moved to stand on either side of him so they could see his phone. “What the fuck is wrong with her?”

Bronco sucked his teeth. “I know that ain’t who I think it is.”

“Yeah its her ass.”

“Her who?” Josh asked, unable to tell from what he could see of the video.

Zilla sucked his teeth. “You bet not say shit about it to nobody or ima beat yo ass, mane. I’m serious.”

“I ain’t, uce. Who is it?”

“Its Gia delusional ass.”

“How you know it’s her? All you can see is titties and her pussy. Her face ain’t in it.” Josh asked, genuinely confused. Zilla exited the video then went to the messages she sent along with it, Josh read them aloud. “Missing you so much. Wish you were here. This is what you do to me. The hell?”

“And then her ass gon say it was a accident,” Bronco scoffed reading further down. “That shit wasn’t no fucking accident. You gotta tell, sis.”

“Man, don’t tell her shit.” Josh countered earning a stare from Bronco. “Look, if you tell her that it’s only gonna cause more problems. She gonna wanna know how the girl got your number, why she feel comfortable sending that shit, and a bunch of other shit. You wanna keep her ass so damn bad for whatever reason so just delete that shit and act like you never saw it.”

“Aye what you mean for whatever reason, bruh? They in love, that’s why he wanna keep my sis around,” Bronco barked.

“Whether I agree with the shit or not, he know I’m right. Delete that shit or you gon see Nadine ass come outta her quick as hell.”

Zilla pushed his cousin off reflex. He had been being cordial for the simple fact that he was at work and they were family. “Say, bruh. I already told you bout that shit. Watch your mouth about her.”

“Okay and I’m tryna help yo ass, uce, regardless of how I feel about the shit. I’m not tryna steer you wrong,” Josh reiterated, pushing his little cousin’s hands off of him. “Delete that shit and move on so you and her can stay in lalaland for a little longer.”

Knowing his friend, Bronco quickly stepped between them pushing Zilla back. As much as Bronco wanted to beat Josh’s ass, he knew better than to do it at work and with so many witnesses. 

“Look, don’t listen to him. Tell Rye the truth then we’ll go from there. Even if we gotta get Toni to keep her from beat that delusional bitch ass.”

Josh threw his hands up. “Who you gon listen to him or your big uce? I’m telling you delete that shit and keep it movin.”

Booker calling out for all three of them for something unrelated breaks up the back and forth. They act like everything is okay to get through their very long day of practice. 

While Dewayne slept, Nadine snuck out of the bedroom to the bathroom to call Thomas. She weighed her options with Dewayne’s help and decided she would give everything a rest. It was starting to drain her anyway.

“I’m glad you called, I’ve got something to tell you.”

“Uhn uhn, whatever it is can wait,” she whispered.

“No, I promise it’s important, Ms. Nadine. I promise.” He pleaded.

She shushed him, waiting until he was completely quiet to talk. “I’m gonna take a step back from everything and think about things. I sincerely appreciate you for helping me out with this. And I know what you’re thinking I’m not giving up, just taking a well needed break,” she explained softly. “You take a break too. You focus on finishing the rest of your last year. Okay?”

“But I think you should hear this.”

“I don’t, Thomas, It’s okay, I'm not upset, just in need of a break. I’ll talk to you later.” She ended their call ignoring him calling her name. Pausing things felt almost right to her, made her feel a little better about things. Now all she needed to do was get things in order and make a trip or two to the east coast.

Thomas stood frozen in the middle of the aisle in Target, staring at his phone. He knew he fucked up and when Nadine found out about it she was going to hurt him. A cart hitting his brought him out of his thoughts.

“Sorry,” the person haphazardly threw out. Her voice startled him but he smiled nonetheless.

“It’s alright, Moriah. Its actually good I ran into you.’

She turned to glare at him. “If I would have known it was you I wouldn’t have bothered to apologize. Leave me alone.”

“Don’t be like that. I just need a few seconds,” he called out following her to the next aisle. “Please, Moriah.”

“First, I told you to only talk to me at work if you had to. Second, I told you to call me Nurse DeBreaux. Third, I know Zay and Bronco made it very clear that you are to stay your ass far away from me,” she spat not in the mood. With her emotions till all over the place from her interaction with Josh, she didn't need this shit with Thomas to add onto it.

He abandoned his cart, going to stand in front of hers. “Listen, it’s serious. It's about the little girl who had hernia surgery. Both of our careers could be in jeopardy.”

“What?” She snapped. “Spit it the hell out.”

“I think she developed an infection from something we did.”

She laughed like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard in her life, tears ran down her face.

“What’s … what’s so funny?”

“You!” She laughed. “Don’t you dare try to put me in anything that you did, Thomas. I did everything just how Dr. Harris asked me to. You were the one doing things when he turned away.”

“I did not,” he argued.

She glared at him. “You hear what I said. And if you try to bring me into this, whatever Zay promised to do to you is gonna seem like a walk in the fucking park when I’m through with you. Now, move!”

Moriah pushed her cart past him lightly grazing his toes when he moved. She was regretting ever getting back out of bed to take Zilla his bag because then her head wouldn’t be pounding, her feelings wouldn’t be hurt and she would be resting like she wanted. Her mind wondered if it was all really with the trouble, she knew it was though she was just in her feelings. One thing she was sure of was that her and Zilla needed to have two conversations. One about Thomas and the other about their relationship and keeping his cousin out of it.

[inell]

Possibly a dumb question but I saw you reblog a few leverage things recently and you're one of my favorite 9-1-1 writers so I was wondering what you think a 911 Leverage Fusion AU could look like if you were to think about it because their two of my favorite shows

Goodness! Thank you for the compliment. I thought about this during my commute home from work, and this is what I came up with.

We use season 7 of 911. Councilwoman Ortiz is obviously dirty, having used her power to force Gerrard into the 118, and to remove Mara from HenRen’s custody as well as revoking their foster status. That’s all canon.

We pick up with Toni, Hen’s mom, reaching out to these nice people she met when she lived in Portland years and years ago. They ran a gastropub but she also knew about their other business because Alec was a sweetheart who chatted way too much. She contacts the new Leverage HQ in New Orleans looking for Hardison, and she gets Parker. Who is very interested when she hears about the kid being removed and she shares it with the others, research is done, and, because it’s 911 (which tends to be racially cliche), Ortiz ties into the cartel subplot (her son died from illegal drugs, after all, and there’s also the people trafficking subplot that could be linked).

Cut to Leverage crew showing up in LA and meeting Toni, who hasn’t told Hen about her interference. Parker and Eliot fight over who gets to go undercover at the firehouse, because they need to get rid of Gerrard and figure out his connection to Ortiz. Eliot wins, obviously, simply by asking Parker to put on full gear and carry a 200lb weight.

Parker is Not Happy, but Eliot goes undercover as a new firefighter. He and Eddie hit it off with the whole military slash guilt slash PTSD slash dislike of firearms thing, and Buck is suspicious because they don’t have an opening for another member on their team and also why is this guy being so friendly with Eddie and who cares if he’s from Oklahoma which is next to Texas and they bond over TexMex and country music and Eliot tells Eddie he needs to keep his dog on a leash before it gets bit, and Buck really really hates this new guy who oddly has the same name as a character on Star Trek, according to Chim.

Meanwhile, Breana is sent to work at the city council as an intern who is assigned to Ortiz, while Sophie and Harry work on a cover to get closer to the whole drug slash trafficking thing, and Hardison is working on a project in Cairo but FaceTimes Toni and Parker a few times (showing off his muscles that he’s happened to get while geeking out and not because there’s a new movie role he’s filming in RL), and Parker annoys Eliot by being in his ear every shift, listening to everything and watching what he sees through his nifty camera lenses.

Parker loves Chimney, thinks he’s hilarious, and she doesn’t know why Eliot won’t tell Chim the dad jokes she keeps repeating in his earpiece because she wants to know if Chim thinks she’s funny. She’s also working on the whole foster revocation situation with help from Hardison, but bugging Eliot is a lot more fun. She especially likes to make popcorn for the times when he’s chilling in the loft with his new BFF and said BFF’s BFF. She might be neurodivergent, but she’s not even as fucked up as Buck and Eddie and their whole thing. Breana shares the popcorn when she isn’t working for free and trying to suck up to Ortiz.

In the end, they manage to catch Ortiz, the person on the foster system that did her dirty work, the main cartel players connected to her, and they link Gerrard to them. They give Toni the money they got from the deal, which she explains to Hen and Karen as a lucky lotto win when she gives it to them for Mara and Denny. Eliot quits the 118, but not before locking Buck and Eddie up in the supply closet and telling them work out their UST, damn it, and Bobby comes back as Captain.

[downwiththeficness]

Shadow and Veil-Chapter Thirty One

Summary: Eva Moore’s life was a carefully constructed fiction.  Every day, she did exactly what her mother in law, her husband, and his  best friend expected of her. No mistakes. And, that was going pretty  well for Eva right up until a huge complication literally tried to run  her over. Now, she’s faced with trying to keep the pieces of her life  from falling apart while attempting (and failing) to keep her feelings  for her husband’s new business partner at bay.

A/N: This fic is a sister-fic to A Need So Great and A Need Unleashed.  You do not need to have read ANSG or ANU to read this fic, but there  are Easter eggs from those fics in Shadow and Veil for readers with keen  eyes.  This fic is explicit for canon-compliant blood, gore, violence,  and sex. As such, it is intended for an adult audience, only. A/B/O  dynamics come with their own warning. Anyone under the age of 18 should  not interact with this work. I do not consent to reposting this work to  other platforms. Reblog only to Tumblr.  

Word Count: ~2600

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Eva sat in the back of a bar located just inside the border of Texas. She was nursing a glass of red wine and picking at a basket of fries that were hot when they came out of the kitchen, but quickly cooling. There was music playing from the jukebox, a song she didn’t recognize. And, for the most part, the room was empty.

For the first time since Horacio kidnapped her, she was completely alone with her thoughts.

Had it really been less than twelve hours ago?

Time felt strange to her—alternately expanding and contracting so that sometimes minutes felt like seconds and hours felt like minutes. It wasn’t until she dropped down into the booth with her bags tucked beneath the table that Eva even felt how tired she was.

Through the front windows, she could see Horacio standing with federal agents. Eva didn’t know what they were talking about, but Horacio’s hands were on his hips and his mouth was pressed into a thin line. Had something gone wrong? Were all of their efforts about to be undone?

The image of Alexei’s head cracked open on the carpet of The Lounge returned to her. It couldn’t have gone worse than that—unless, Josh was also dead. His anger, grief, and mania might have been enough to push him over the edge, to push him to remove his mask of congeniality. Eva didn’t know how she felt about that notion.

Nothing about what was going to happen next had been explained to her yet. All Eva knew was that she had some of her most precious belongings and five hundred thousand dollars at her feet. There were also very tasty fries on the table in front of her. She could sit quietly and eat while Horacio worked out the details.

Draining the last of her wine, Eva flagged down the waitress and ordered another glass. It didn’t look like Horacio was going to be done with the agents any time soon and Eva’s frazzled nerves needed soothing. She focused on the bite of salt on her tongue and the crunch between her teeth—anything to beat back the inclination to wring her hands.

Halfway through the second glass and most of the way through the fries, Horacio stepped into the bar. His expression was relaxed and she took that as a good sign. In his hand was a manila folder that swung with the rhythm of his step.

With the sun at his back, Horacio was cut through with shadows that did nothing to hide the shape of his body. He moved with purpose, taking up so much space that Eva couldn’t look away. They very sight of him wiped away all her nervousness, gave her a sense of calm that felt almost unnatural.

Had she been frazzled before? She certainly wasn’t now.

He sat down across from her and folded his hands on the table, “How are the fries?”

Eva licked the salt from her thumb, “They’re good. Not as hot as they were when I got them, but I guess that’s bar food for you.” She touched her glass, “The wine is surprisingly nice.”

Horacio laughed soundlessly, “Good. Are you feeling better? You looked...tired.”

She nodded, “Nothing a bit of fried food can’t fix.” Eva hesitated over the next question, but decided to go ahead and ask it, “What did the agents have to say?”

He leaned back a little, and Eva’s stomach dropped with apprehension. She didn’t like that way his face closed off.

“They’re not happy with the way we handled getting you out of the house,” he began, “I’ve been told shooting Alexei set them back in another investigation.”

“There’s another investigation?” she asked, “One that you don’t already know about?”

Horacio shrugged, “Its international. Above my pay grade, as you Americans like to say.”

“Oh.”

“But,” he continued, “the good news is that my last few reports were very detailed.”

Eva sipped her wine and tried not to think about what those reports described. She knew he was working to ensure she appeared to be a victim in the whole scheme, but every ounce of her cringed at the thought of anyone seeing what she spent her whole marriage working to hide.

His hand reached forward to take hers, “They’re going to let you choose what you’ll do from here.”

Brows together, she asked, “What kind of choice?”

“You can stay and see the trial through to the end—don’t roll your eyes, you can’t be made to testify against your husband.”

Eva let out a slow, relieved breath, “Or?”

“Or,” Horacio said. His hand squeezed hers lightly, “you can go…” he searched for the words, “with your plan. Take a plane somewhere.”

She blinked at him, “I didn’t know that was still an option.”

In twelve hours, every plan Eva had ever put together inside her mind seemed have been dismantled completely. Even with the heads up about the warrant, even knowing Horacio’s agenda. It didn’t feel possible that she could simply escape with the blessing of the government.

“It is,” he replied slowly, “an option.”

“Where would I go?”

He looked down at their hands, “You can go with them, or you can come with me.”

Her head cocked to the side, “With you?”

A nod, “I can bring you with me—home.”

Home.

It took Eva several seconds to figure out what the word, ‘home’, meant. Horacio wanted to take her out of the country. To Colombia.

She must have been quiet too long because Horacio let go of her hand and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a familiar envelope. It was creased, but didn’t appear otherwise damaged.

“There’s a third choice. Your friend was very thorough when she got you a new identity,” he said, “You can take it and live whatever life you want. The agents will make sure you get there.”

“Witness protection?”

He hummed in the affirmative.

“I’d have to cooperate for that.”

Horacio’s head ticked to the side, “You’ve already given them almost everything they need.”

Her brows came together, “I have?”

He nodded, and there was a flash of mischief in his eye.

Eva stared at the envelope. Horacio’s hands rested on either side of it, pressed flat against the table. They were nice hands, surprisingly fine boned. With wrists that led to strong arms that kept her upright when she wanted to collapse. They were also tense.

“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked in a low voice.

He nodded.

“And,” Eva continued, “what would that look like? If I went with you?”

His mouth opened, but no words were said. She held very still while she waited for him to answer her question. Half hopeful, half dread. Hopeful that all the things he said to her over the many months were true. Dreading that, with the investigation finished, he had changed his mind.

“It would,” Horacio said, finally, “look like I went to the States on assignment and brought back an American wife.”

Her heart skipping in her chest, Eva ducked her head and smiled. He hadn’t changed his mind, after all.

He tried to catch her eye, “Is that...good?”

Cheeks warm, Eva nodded.

“You’ll come with me?”

Another nod.

His dimples were so cute.

Horacio stood and leaned over the table kiss her briefly, “I need to make a call.”

Bemused, Eva watched him go with a smile that no amount of effort would ever suppress. She had time to finish her fries and a third glass of wine by the time he got back. Warm and just a little tipsy, Eva relaxed into the booth and waited for him to talk.

“Lizzy is bringing us a car,” he said. “We’ll get as far as we can tonight and cross the border tomorrow.”

“I don’t have a passport.”

She didn’t think she needed to pack it with the rest of her belongings, what with the new identity, and all. Taking it would also have tipped off Josh or Alexei that she was going to run. Eva couldn’t take that chance a second time.

Horacio smirked, “Yes, you do.”

When she tilted her head in question, he opened the manila folder and showed her the contents. Eva looked at each, in turn. A birth certificate, a Colombian ID, and a passport. All of them under the name Juliana Evangeline Carrillo. She couldn’t breathe as she stared at them.

“How long…?”

He knew what she meant without having to finish the sentence, “After that first night with you. When you told me you would accept the mark.”

Her mouth hung open, “How did you know I would agree to coming with you?”

Horacio shrugged, “I didn’t. But, I hoped.”

Eva had hoped, too. All this time, she hoped, too. Like Eva, his hope was strong and fervent. He stoked it high so that he could confidently arrange for Eva to come with him to his home—as his wife.

Flustered, Eva wiped away the tears and gave Horacio a trembling smile. He reached out and took her hand. They sat like that, looking at each other with matching grins, until the waitress brought Eva’s check.

When Horacio reached for his wallet, she waved him off, “I gotta spend this money, somehow.”

Eva paid in cash and left a tip that would hopefully pay the waitress’ rent for the month. Then, because she didn’t want to see how the waitress would react, Eva hurried Horacio out of the bar and into the afternoon sun.

The agents were nowhere to be seen, which was fine by Eva. She could live the whole rest of her life without seeing another one of them and die happy. It occurred to her that she might actually be able to make that wish a reality.

In Colombia.

With Horacio.

He’d caught her hand on the way out the door and was currently leading them towards the far end of the parking lot. It was mostly empty, which she supposed was the point. Eva followed along happily until she heard the door to the bar slam open.

The waitress.

Thinking quickly, she dragged a confused Horacio behind a dumpster and peered around the corner. Horacio’s quiet ‘¿qué?’ was cut off by an event quieter ‘hush’. She watched the waitress search the lot frantically with money clenched in her fist.

Eva frowned, thinking that she didn’t look happy at all. The money she left on the table was much more than and server could make in a day’s work. Or, a week. Why did she look so desperate to find Eva? Why did she look so sad? None of the other shop girls had ever looked sad when she tipped them.

The waitress looked her way and Eva ducked back behind the dumpster. Horacio was standing not far from her with his hands in the pocket of his jeans. He didn’t seem to care at all that she was hiding from their server, or why. He just shook his head and waited until Eva thought the coast was clear.

The car arrived a short while later. Lizzy’s blonde hair was tied back with a scarf and her eyes were concealed by aviator sunglasses. She pulled to a park in a spot a few feet from Eva and Horacio, cutting the engine and stepping out of the car.

“Got a full tank,” she announced as she threw Horacio the keys.

Eva loaded her bags into the trunk, noting that there were already several packed inside. Then, to Lizzy, she said, “Thank you for your help.”

Lizzy smiled a crooked smile, “No problem.” Then, “For what its worth, it took us a really long time to figure it out.”

“What?”

“How you did it,” Lizzy replied, “How you hid the money.”

Eva was abashed, “Its really not that complicated.”

With a knowing grin, Lizzy leaned towards Eva and said, “You keep telling yourself that. I am going to be teaching a class on your techniques next semester. You’re going to keep me in my job for, like, the next five years.”

She didn’t quite know what to do with that information, and so Eva chose to smile nicely and nod. Lizzy didn’t seem to mind.

Horacio closed the trunk, “Do you want a ride?”

Lizzy shook her head, “I got one, right...there!”

A sleek, black car pulled around. Eva smiled as she recognized the ride. Marcus waved at them from the driver’s side window. While he looked comfortable behind the wheel, he couldn’t quite pull off the confident asshole aesthetic, like Diego.

Eva waved back and said her good bye to Lizzy. Then, she moved to stand next to Horacio so that she could watch them drive away.

“Amorcita,” Horacio said as he touched her arm, “we should go.”

About a mile from the bar, Eva turned to Horacio and asked, “You remember when you told me that you got picked for this job because your English was so good?”

“Uh huh.”

“How did you learn?”

If she was going to live in Colombia, a place where she had no connections (not a problem) and didn’t speak the language (definitely a problem), Eva thought it might be good to get some tips from someone who had done it already.

Horacio ran his hand over his hair and offered a small smile, “TV and movies.”

Her brows lifted, “Really? Which show?”

He shrugged, “A couple. But, mostly it was movies. There was a theater that played westerns every Saturday afternoon. I used to sneak in through the employee entrance.”

Eva gasped his name in mock offense, “All this time, you let me think I was the only criminal in this relationship!”

“I was ten,” he defended with a good-natured roll of his eyes.

She leaned her arm on the console, “Did you ever get caught?”

“Once or twice.”

“Did they call your mom?”

“Uh huh,” he said, “She made me say fifty Hail Marys before bed.”

Eva’s parents never made her pray as a form of punishment—an aberration from other mothers and fathers in their church. Instead, when Eva acted out, she was made to peel potatoes. To this day, she couldn’t look at a potato without feeling an ache in her fingers.

“Did you go to movies as a kid?”

Horacio’s question broke Eva from her thoughts, “Uh, no. I’ve actually never been.”

He looked at her, “To the movies?”

She nodded, “My parents didn’t believe in them. The Devil’s work, you know? And then, Josh always said they were a waste of time.”

A hand dropping onto her knee, warm and heavy, “Every time I think he can’t be more of an idiot, the idiot proves me wrong.”

Eva smiled and tamped down the urge to defend him. Horacio was right. Josh was an idiot in all the ways that mattered. She guessed that she didn’t really have to worry about that, anymore. In a few days, Eva would be far, far away in a place where he couldn’t reach her.

She covered his hand with hers and turned on the radio. The scenery passed by in a blur of color and sky. Horacio drove until the sun was nearly set before he pulled off the interstate and into the parking lot of a motel. They checked in with cash from Eva’s duffel and keyed into the room. Eva showered first while Horacio made calls from the phone on the nightstand. She curled up on the bed while he went to get cleaned up.

She fell asleep to the sound of the water running.

[bobfloydsbabe]

now that you're close (i feel like coming undone) || robert "bob" floyd x oc

Rating: T+

Prompt/request: Bob and Abby at a navy ball (requested)

Summary: At a navy ball thrown in the Dagger Squad's honor, Bob and Abby reach a pivotal moment in their relationship. Part of the Golden Hour anthology series.

Warnings: Fluff, so much fluff, hot and heavy kissing, alcohol consumption, brief mentions of sex and nudes but neither actually happens, incorrect navy stuff because this is my fic and I can do what I want. Probably other things I've forgotten.

Word count: 3.3k (it was supposed to be a blurb. idk what happened either.)

A/N: First, I know the gif isn't from TGM, but it's perfect for this fic, so leave me alone. Second, I teased this fic endlessly over the weekend, but my perfectionist ass wasn't happy with it, so it took a while to post. Third, thank you so much to Lyra (@natrace) for requesting this. Special shout out to Anna for helping me name Bob's old pilot. Title is from Untouchable by Taylor Swift. Enjoy, friends.

likes are nice, but comments and reblogs are golden.

Technically, Abby wasn’t invited.

The celebratory gala was reserved for the people who actively ensured the success of the Uranium Plant mission, and Abby didn’t meet that requirement according to the higher ups.

So, when she walked into the hall, her arm linked with that of Admiral Bates, Bob nearly choked on his ginger ale.

“You okay there, Bob?”

Bob coughed a few times, his eyes never leaving Abby as the Admiral led her around the room making introductions.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, offering a quick glance at Hangman before looking back towards Abby, whose smile was bright and genuine as they shook hands with a two-star Admiral with graying hair.

The pilot’s eyes followed Bob’s line of sight, and a broad grin spread across his face, realization replacing the confusion. “Ah, your lady’s here.”

Bob’s head whipped back, eyes wide and alarmed. They had done everything they could to keep their relationship private. Of course, the other aviators knew they’d gone on a couple of dates, but besides Phoenix, none of them knew just how deep it was.

Bob opened his mouth to object, to correct him, but Hangman’s raised eyebrow made him close his mouth again.

Phoenix and Rooster joined the pair, champagne glasses in hand. “How the hell the Abby snag an invitation?”

Bob barely paid attention to them. His eyes continued to follow his girlfriend around the room.

The moniker still felt foreign in his mouth. The first time he saw Abby was burned in his mind, and he remembered his heart beating a little faster as he watched her.

She had rounded the corner of the opening to the hangar and walked with purposeful strides toward Admiral Bates. She’d stopped next to him, a small smile on her lips and friendly conversation had flowed between them. Bob remembered that his front seater, Oz, had admonished him for staring.

He couldn’t help it then, and he definitely couldn’t help it now. 

“You’re just mad your girlfriend wasn’t invited,” Phoenix commented to Rooster, making Jake let out a loud laugh. 

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

Bob took his eyes off Abby, his attention back to his friends and their bickering. Almost dying together had brought them closer, and Bob had never felt like he belonged more than with these people. It was a little odd to present them with a ribbon for a classified mission, but they were all here and alive, and that counted for something.

“I didn’t say a name,” Phoenix told Rooster, whose ears turned red.

Jake clapped a hand on Rooster’s shoulder. “Don’t play dumb, Bradshaw. We all know you and Kennedy are a thing, just like Baby on Board and Abby are banging like rabbits.”

Bob’s mouth fell open. “Wha… we’re not… no.”

Natasha had buried her face in her hand. Rooster was looking anywhere but at Hangman, and Hangman himself had a smug and self-satisfied smile on his face.

“Don’t take after Rooster and play dumb with me, Bob,” he drawled, his Texas twang permeating every word. “When was the last time you spent a night on base?”

Heat spread through Bob’s cheeks, all the way to the tips of his ears, and though he wasn’t ashamed that he stayed with Abby most of the time, he was uncomfortable with knowing that someone had noticed. That Hangman had noticed.

Bob adjusted his glasses. “I don’t know how she got an invitation,” he said, assuming Hangman’s question was rhetorical, and even if it wasn’t, Bob couldn’t remember. He enjoyed staying with Abby.

Bob had left her apartment in the early afternoon with a promise to see her tonight after the event. He’d asked about her plans, and she said she was going to the Hard Deck with Kennedy for a couple of drinks since they weren’t invited.

He turned his attention back to Abby, who was still making the rounds with Warlock, smiling widely and shaking hands. Her silky dark hair fell in effortless waves over her shoulders and down her back. Her dress was midnight blue, simple and elegant, with thin straps that crossed delicately in the back. From her ears dangled small golden pendant earrings, and all Bob wanted to do was go to her and be next to her.

“You’re a lucky man, Bob,” Phoenix said, bumping his shoulder with hers, and Bob smiled down at his pilot.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

He sipped his ginger ale and made conversation with the other aviators. He shook hands with admirals and captains, and said thank you when they congratulated him on the squad’s success, all while his eyes were drawn to Abby.

After the mission, they’d all been granted extended leave. Bob had thought about going home to see his family, go back to his small town and see his friends from school, catch up with them. He could have gone home and spent more time with his brother and his niece, who was almost two now. He could have done all of that with his leave, but didn’t.

At first, it was just a couple of days. He wanted more time with Abby, and although they hadn’t had the conversation about what exactly they were then, he knew he couldn’t leave her right away. A couple of days turned into a week, then two weeks, and then he stayed. He FaceTimed with his family instead, and even though it broke his heart hearing his niece ask for Uncle Bob, he didn’t want to leave Abby.

Now his leave was almost up, and the idea of going back to Lemoore alone seemed like the hardest task in the world. It made his chest feel tight, and like his lungs couldn’t get enough air.

Before the Admiral and Abby could reach the squad, they were called to dinner, and Bob was left disappointed not to have a moment to talk to her. To ask how she got an invitation. To feel the warmth of her hand in his, although her hands were usually cold despite the California heat.

After they had cleared the main course from the table and they waited for dessert, Cyclone took the stage to address the gathering. He droned on about how he always had faith in the mission, in the squad. He knew Maverick could teach them and that Ice would be proud of what they’d accomplished.

Bob exchanged skeptical glances with his squad, knowing full-well that Cyclone had tried his hardest to get Maverick pulled off the mission, so he could take over himself. He hadn’t trusted any of them as far as he could throw them.

Then they were called to the stage to receive their ribbon. For a mission that was supposed to be top secret, they made a big spectacle out of it. After plenty of handshaking, a couple of photographs that would never see the light of day, and an awkward Oscar-worthy acceptance speech from Maverick, they were sent back to their seats for dessert.

On his way back, he finally caught Abby’s eye, and she beamed at him, pride in her dark eyes. Heat filled his cheeks again even as he offered her a wink he hoped was subtle enough for no one else to notice.

After dessert, the party spread. People danced to the sound of a string quartet, and Coyote complained it was boring while Fanboy argued it was classy. Payback had taken Nat for a turn about the makeshift dance floor, and Bob stood next to Rooster, who had his nose buried in his phone. Hangman headed back their way with a disappointed look on his face, having struck out with the aircrew member he’d flirted with relentlessly.

The poor girl was snickering with another aircrew member while his back was turned, and Bob smiled, knowing Jake’s charm didn’t win every time.

“Zero better be sending you nudes if you’re smiling like that at your phone,” Hangman said to Rooster once he reached them. “You look almost as love struck as Bob.”

“At least we have someone, Hangman,” Rooster fired back, slipping his phone into the pocket of his dress pants.

Jake opened his mouth to argue, but never got the chance to, interrupted by Phoenix and Payback coming back from the dance floor. “Leave them alone, Bagman,” she said, accepting her drink from Bob, who she’d asked to hold it while she danced. “You’re just mad that poor woman rejected you.”

Bob stifled a laugh.

“Whatever,” Hangman mumbled, stalking off towards the bar. Coyote and Payback followed him to get refills of their drinks, leaving Bob alone with the remaining aviators.

Fanboy joined him and Phoenix. “Isn’t that Abby dancing with Warlock?”

Bob followed his line of sight, and sure enough, towards the back wall among other dancing couples were Abby and Warlock.

Bob admired the relationship between Abby and her boss. They trusted each other, relied on each other, and though they were colleagues, Bob knew she considered Warlock a friend. He had been essential to her leaving Lemoore.

“Just go,” Phoenix encouraged, nudging her backseater in the ribs.

“But–”

“Bob,” she said, voice soft but firm. “Go dance with your girlfriend.”

He nodded with a small smile. Pushing his glasses back up his nose, he made his way through the crowd, weaving in and out of dancing pairs to get to who he was searching for.

Abby and Admiral Bates came into his line of sight, and he stopped a few paces away, watching them for a moment. They swayed together and Abby laughed at something Warlock said; the sound carrying through the room. It was one of Bob’s favorite sounds, and he’d recognize it anywhere.

Squaring his shoulders, he walked the last few steps forward, tapping Admiral Bates on his shoulder, and though every part of him wanted to look at Abby, he couldn’t. He’d lose his resolve to interrupt if he did.

“Mind if I cut in, Sir?” He asked when Warlock looked at him over his shoulder. The older man smiled, a knowing glint in his eyes that had Bob wondering if Abby had let him in on the nature of their relationship.

“Not at all, Lieutenant,” he said, turning his attention back to Abby to thank her for dancing with him. Warlock stepped back from her and then placed a hand on Bob’s shoulder, looked him straight in the eye as if peering into his soul. Bob had to fight the shudder threatening to course through him. “You take care of her, okay?”

Bob’s eyes widened just a fraction. “Yes, Sir.” It wasn’t a threat, but it intimidated him.

“Good man,” Warlock said, tapping Bob’s arm before leaving the dance floor and heading towards the bar.

Bob turned to Abby. Her arms folded neatly in front of her, there was a soft upturn at the corners of her mouth. Bob stepped closer, offering his hand to her, which she accepted. He pulled her in and put his free hand on her lower back, feeling the heat of her skin through the fabric of her dress.

Abby placed her free hand on his shoulder, and they started dancing slowly to the live string quartet providing the music. “Hi,” she whispered.

His smile spread. “Hi.”

Bob pulled her slightly closer. He could smell her intoxicating perfume mixed with the scent of her citrus body wash. This close, he could see all the different shades of brown in her eyes, and the light bounced off her loose, wavy hair. Bob could look at her for the rest of his life and never grow tired of it. 

“You didn’t tell me they invited you.”

Abby chuckled softly, looking down at their feet briefly before meeting his eyes again. “I wasn’t,” she said. “Warlock made some calls, probably yelled at some higher-ranking admirals, and secured himself a plus one. He asked me. I didn’t know until after you left my apartment.”

“That was nice of him,” Bob said, spinning them around lightly.

She nodded. “It was.”

Comfortable silence spread between them as they continued to sway to the music. Over Abby’s shoulder, Bob could see the rest of the dagger squad chatting animatedly. An air of ease flowed around them, making Bob wish they could all stay here a little longer instead of going back to their respective squadrons. He didn’t want him and Phoenix to be split up as a team. He’d never felt more comfortable and safe in the air than with her as his pilot.

“What’s going on inside that big brain of yours?” Abby asked, squeezing his shoulder lightly, bringing him back to the present and the breath-taking woman in front of him.

“Just thinking,” he told her, pulling her closer again. It wasn’t proper for them to be this close, especially surrounded by a slew of superiors and high-ranking admirals who probably weren’t as forgiving as Warlock. “I hate that I can’t kiss you right now.”

Color flooded into her cheeks, and she shifted her eyes away from him, trying to hide her smile. She squeezed his shoulder lightly, and Bob offered her a toothy grin in return.

“Hey,” he said, bringing her attention back to him. Her beautiful dark eyes met his blue gaze expectantly, waiting for him to continue. “I’m going back to Lemoore next week.”

“Yeah,” Abby said, defeated.

They both knew this was coming, and it was the exact reason Bob hadn’t asked Abby out when he was at Top Gun and they’d first met. He would have to leave, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to. This time was no different.

“I think we should…” Bob tried to start, but trailed off. “I mean,” he said, hesitating, “I don’t know what you’ll think, but…”

Abby raised a brow, looking at him expectantly. “But?”

Bob paused their dance. He grabbed her hand, leading her off the dance floor and to a secluded corner at the end of a hallway he’d noticed earlier when he arrived. Here they’d be out of sight from prying eyes and nosy superiors.

“Bob, what’s going on?” She asked, her eyes filled with confusion and alarm. He hated that he was the one who caused it.

He took a deep, steadying breath and cupped Abby’s cheeks lightly. He leaned down and pressed his lips gently against hers in one of those sweet kisses he’d grown so accustomed to over the weeks they’d spent together.

When he pulled away, he pressed his forehead against hers. “I think we should disclose our relationship,” he whispered.

Abby’s breath hitched, and she pulled back from Bob, looking at him seriously. He couldn’t read her in that moment, couldn’t tell if he’d come on too strong and this was the last thing she wanted. “Bob–”

“No,” he said firmly. “I love you.”

Abby’s jaw went slack, her mouth hung open, and Bob could feel the blood rushing in his veins, hear his heart racing, the sensation of his quickened pulse in his neck.

He opened his mouth to explain, to apologize, to take it back, but the words stuck in his throat as Abby’s lips crashed against his. The kiss was breathless and messy, heated and so good. He gently pushed her against the wall, swiping his tongue across her bottom lip, beckoning her to open up for him. Instead, she pulled away, breathing heavy.

Bob took a small step back, determined to give her some space, but she drew him back to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

She peered up at him through her dark lashes that were so long it looked like they touched her cheeks.

“I love you too,” she whispered.

All the blooming anxiety, the discomfort of making such a strong declaration so early in the relationship, melted away when those words passed her lips. Bob grinned. How could he not? The woman of his dreams had just told him she loved him and everything in the world felt right. “Yeah?”

Abby let out a short, breathy laugh before she dragged him down by the back of his neck and kissed him, making him feel lightheaded and like the floor rotated under his feet.

He pushed her against the wall again, pressing his body flush with hers, wanting nothing more than to take her right there. To mark her up as his and his alone. He’d never been a possessive man, but Abby brought it out in full force.

He pulled his mouth off hers and started a trail of wet kisses on her jaw, her throat, that spot right below her ear where her pulse raced against his lips. She threw her head back with a delicious moan, giving him better access. Her hands were on his neck, keeping his mouth against her warm skin.

But Bob’s cap was in the way, bumping against Abby’s jaw, so he reluctantly pulled away.

Their heavy breathing filled the surrounding quietness, and somewhere in the distance, Bob heard the string quartet play a different tune.

He cupped Abby’s cheeks and ran his thumbs gently over her flushed skin. Her wide pupils made her eyes look almost black. “We should go back,” Bob said. It was the last thing he wanted to do.

She nodded, running a hand through her hair to smooth it out from where it had leaned against the wall. “How do I look?”

Bob gave her a quick peck. “Perfect,” he said and offered her his arm, which she accepted. They walked back to the gala where they found the Dagger Squad by the bar, shot glasses in hand, looking a little dazed.

“There they are,” Payback shouted across the expanse of the dance floor when he saw them heading their way.

Phoenix swept Abby into a hug, forcing Bob to let her go. She met Bob’s gaze over her shoulder with a smirk, but he shook his head, knowing exactly what his front seater was thinking.

Bob tried to adjust himself in his trousers subtly, but of course, Hangman noticed. He raised a brow at Bob with an obnoxiously smug smile on his face, and Bob almost flipped him off just to make a point. But Hangman said nothing, so Bob refrained from using the crude gesture. It probably wouldn’t land him on any admiral’s good side, anyway.

Rooster offered Abby a tequila shot, which she happily accepted, and started interrogating her about how she’d gotten invited to the gala while Kennedy hadn’t. The rest of the squad joined in the conversation, arguing that it made more sense for an administrator like Abby to be there than a mechanic like Kennedy.

Phoenix removed herself from the argument and joined Bob where he stood at the end of the bar, watching his friends and girlfriend laugh together.

She offered him a glass of water. “Where’d you disappear to?”

“Nowhere,” he said.

She raised a skeptical brow. “So, you didn’t sneak off to have sex in the bathroom?”

For the second time that night, Bob almost choked on his drink. “What? No.”

“No one would judge you if you did,” she told him, mischievous smile on her face. “But I would owe Hangman 20 bucks.”

“We didn’t,” Bob said, feeling his cheeks and ears grow hot, and sweat beaded on his forehead under his cap. “I didn’t want to risk getting caught.”

Phoenix barked out a loud laugh, and Bob couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him, too. She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, a gesture he’d grown entirely used to in the time he’d known her. “What are you going to do now that you’re leaving?”

“We’ll make it work,” Bob said, voice solemn and serious. They would make it work because he didn’t know what he’d do if they didn’t.

Bob and Phoenix rejoined their friends, and he found his way to Abby’s side, pressing a small kiss to her temple, hoping the other aviators shielded them from view. He wanted to keep her to himself just a little longer.

❋❋❋

taglist (let me know if you want to be added): @arrthurpendragon, @ocappreciationtag, @chrissymunson, @cas-verse, @chickensarentcheap, @asirensrage, @misskatiewrites, @stanshollaand, @raith-way, @eddiemunscns, @wordspin-shares, @veetlegeuse

top gun taglist (let me know if you want to be added): @joaquinwhorres, @fantasias-creativebubble, @lostinwonderland314, @luckyladycreator2, @blue-aconite, @dempy, @alana4610, @littlebadariell, @cherrycola27, @whisperofsong, @another-tblr-fangirl, @flashyourgreeneyesatme, @seymour-cant-read, @wordspin-shares

[content-paparazzi]

i’m currently unable to produce art for a long while thanks to IRL circumstances, but that’s not going to stop me from letting ideas come to my head.

on and off i’m currently thinking of different au designs for moritsune, since half of the fun of making an osomatsu-san character is getting to imagine what role they’d play in a different universe. i haven’t done a single drawing for any of these, but it’s nice to ponder.

for the youkai au, my main idea is a yamabiko or kodama. the idea of soundwaves is a core idea here. i won’t lie, the majority of my love for this au comes from a preexisting love of touhou project, so a lot of my youkai knowledge is very dependent on it. if anyone has a similar youkai they feel encompasses the denpa genre or feels particularly “alien” by even youkai standards, i’d love to hear it.

for the denki mystery au, i actually don’t have a solid idea despite this au’s popularity. i’m thinking of pulling my inspiration from preexisting media such as kusarihime, higurashi, and the like—i’ve lived in suburban texas for over half of my lifespan, but i hope to capture that mysteriously quiet and melancholic village vibe the best i’m able to.

not really an au, but i’ve played around with the idea of moritsune being associated with hydrangeas as a symbolic floral motif. personally, hydrangeas bring to mind the idea of spring rainfall and (again) melancholy, but looking up a list of motifs myself is what actually lead me to make a final decision; hydrangeas (meaning can vary by color) can symbolize a desire to be understood, apologies, heartfelt emotion, sincerity, and pride, which are motifs i’ve been trying to play around with a lot more regarding moritsune’s character, even moreso following previously mentioned circumstances.

for the musical au: ohhh boy. i haven’t thought a whole lot about this au to be honest, but i’ve played around with the idea (take a shot every time i say this) of a retro americana take on what moritsune’s deal is. i’m thinking of either going in a veronica sawyer from heathers direction, or going FULL geek and making them similar to michael mell from be more chill. like the youkai au, it’s mostly just an excuse to create a love letter dedicated to some of my interests, both new and old. i like the nickname “sherwood” for this moritsune, considering it’s just a bastardization of “shinnosuke moritsune”, along with being the actual name of the (fictional) town heathers takes place in.

that’s all i have for now, but i might reblog with more ideas that come to my mind or any ideas by other people i find interesting. i’ve been trying to be more creatively open and transparent on here and i hope it comes across clearly.

[etes-secrecy-post]

Hi, before I explain my post, I want to say something important.

• What you see my blog has become a major overhaul. And despite the changes, I decided that my 2nd account will be now my artwork blog with a secret twist.

⚠️NEW RULE! (W/ BIGGER TEXT!)⚠️

⚠️ SO PLEASE DO NOT SHARE MY 2nd ACCOUNT TO EVERYONE! THIS SECRECY BLOG OF MINE IS FOR CLOSES FRIENDS ONLY!⚠️

• AND FOR MY CLOSES FRIENDS, DON’T REBLOG IT. INSTEAD, JUST COPY MY LINK AND PASTE IT ON YOUR TUMBLR POST! JUST BE SURE THE IMAGE WILL BE REMOVED AND THE ONLY LEFT WAS THE TEXT.

⚠️ SHARING LINKS, LIKE POSTS, REBLOG POSTS, STEALING MY SNAPSHOT PHOTOS/RECORDED VIDEOS/ARTWORKS (a.k.a. ART THIEVES) OR PLAGIARIZING FROM UNKNOWN TUMBLR STRANGERS WILL IMMEDIATELY BE BLOCKED, RIGHT AWAY!⚠️

😡 WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EVER LIKED & REBLOG MY SECRET POST! THIS IS FOR MY SECRET FRIENDS ONLY, NOT YOU! 😡

Okay? Capiche? Make sense? Good, now back to the post…↓

Take a Taste: with delicious meals at the Valenzuela Food Fiesta Christmas Bazaar 2023 [Recorded: Dec. 10th, 2023]

Hello! It’s time for another “Take a Taste”! The series is about delicious food with my two paper dolls.

So uhh... So sorry for the long delay. I have SO MANY photos that need to be upload by the end of 2023. But, because I'm using my mom's laptop and not my custom PC, my life's change... 😟😞 But c'mon, I need to turn my frown upside down because its the spirit of the Holidays 🎄😊, so I want to wipe my negative thoughts away. Nonetheless, maybe January 2024 will be start uploading my 2023 photos once I have my new GPU is equipped, so I can get back we're I left of. Except these photos, so let's go! 😁

If you haven’t seen my previous episode, then please click here → [CLICK ME!].

So, without further ado, let’s get started:

1st to 3rd Image(s): ↑

• So, here we are at the nicely busy night street! 🌃💡 You may wondering, why are the people gathered here?🤔Because of the annual "Valenzuela Food Fiesta Christmas Bazaar" 🎄🍗🍴😋, and on top of that, its my mom's 59th birthday! 🥳🎂🎁👩 So, happy birthday, mom! I love you! 🥰🤗 (From me and my paper dolls) So, in this food bazaar, we can choose any delicious meals from a selected independent food stands before someone else to seat down on the table to occupy. Luckily for us, a lot of people we're leave from the table after their done eating and we're occupy it. Isn't it beautiful lights, you two? 😊

4th & 5th Image(s): ↑

• Hours later, our meal has finally arrived and I ordered a delicious 'Texas Cheese Burger' courtesy of 'Lucky Garage Burger' 🍔😋 (Price: ₱95), and a refreshing 'Graham Mango Shake' from a random shake stand! 🥤🥭😋 Yum-yum! My paper dolls are mouthwatering to see what's inside?! 🤤 Sure thing! Let's open it! 😁

6th & 7th Image(s): ↑

• Whoa! 😮😋 This burger looks scrumptious! 🤤 Let alone, that the sauce was a bit mess but that's alright; It is still scrumptious!😋Don't ya, you two!? Okay, let's not waste our time, and let's dig in! 😄

8th to 15th Image(s): ↑

• [8th & 9th Images] Here's a closer look at my 'Texas Cheese Burger'. It may sloppy because of the packaging, but the BBQ spicy sauce never disappoint my taste buds! 😛 Yeah, I tried their sauce and they used a legit Texas sauce 🤠. My paper dolls certainly tried to taste the sauce, as well. And its pretty BBQ hot! 🍖🌶️ Okay, enough for that, let's have a bite! 😁

• [10th & 11th Images] Mmmmm! Wow! 😋 My tongue sensed that their patty was grilled (which is nice than a traditional flat surface), with their juicy fresh mushrooms, and their smoked bacon spot on! Also, I didn't realized, that their using signature style Pandesal buns for their different burger variants, which is fitting for us. What do you think. you two? Have you taste it? Sure you are, and I know you're enjoying it! 😁

• [12th to 15th Images] Here are more snapshots after numerous bites from my mouth! So tasty, I could have another try, or any burger variant that the restaurant has to offer! Yum-yum! 😋🤤🍔

16th to 19th Image(s): ↑

• [16th & 17th Images] Next, time to washed up my mouth with a sweet refreshment of 'Graham Mango Shake'. It was ordered by my lil' bro and my mom, so thanks a bunch! 🥤🥭 Time to sip! 😋

• [18th & 19th Images] Mmmmm... This ain't bad. Not too sweet, but pretty good! My paper dolls attempts to sip, as well. And they say, they want it add a little pinch of sugar, and some more graham dusts. 🙂 Okay, I get it. You want some adjustments for the mango graham shake, I see. Don't worry, maybe someday we could find the perfect 'graham mango shake'. Promise! 🥤🥭😊

20th to 25th Image(s): ↑

• [20th & 21st Images] You thought, that the graham mango shake is the end of our meal? Nope! My fam ordered us two pizzas from 'Krusty Bites'! 🍕🍕😋

• [22nd to 25th Images] Tada! We have Hawaiian 🍍🍕 and Garlic Cheese Pizza flavors 🧄🧀🍕! Unfortunately, my paper dolls dislikes Hawaiian pizza, despite some mixed reactions after eating it. 🤔😕Yeah, still debacle to this day. But c'mon, let's give another chance, okay? 😉

26th to 30th Image(s): ↑

• [26th & 27th Images] Here, let's have a slice per each pizza flavors! You're gonna love it! 🍕🍕😋 Let's try the Hawaiian, first. 🍍🍕😄

• [28th to 30th Images] Mmmm... Okay... You know, I have no problem eating Hawaiian, but this is bland. 😕 Yeah, I don't think that you're gonna eat it. So, its all mine now (I guess). 😅 As for the Garlic Cheese Pizza, this is decent. 🙂👌 I think, my paper dolls should stick with the latter than the bland Hawaiian one. However, we've ended up take these pizzas to our home as our midnight snacks. 🍕🌙🏠

Overall:

• Bland Hawaiian ✌ Piz-aside ✌(I made confuse pun here), hanging out with my fam at the annual food bazaar while celebrating my mom's birthday was quite relaxing, and enjoying our delicious meals (except one, that I've mentioned). 😋🥳 We wish, that we could do this, not just every year, though. After all, the quarantine is over (for now), and restrictions we're already loose, so we can explore different places. 😊🏙️ Also, the only satisfy my appetite is the 'Texas Cheese Burger' from 'Lucky Garage Burger' 🍔😋, and that 'Graham Mango Shake' 🥤🥭😊. The latter was just right for me, and I promise that we'll find the perfect G.M.S. for my beloved paper dolls, very soon. 😉

SIDE NOTE: Although... Rumors, I have a funny feeling that there's another harmful virus that will approaching, very soon. It'll be much harsher than the OG corona virus. So, be prepared for much tighter pandemic lockdown, when another virus hits the world (, ONE MORE TIME).🦠🤒😷

Well, that's all for now. And Happy Holidays! 😊🎄🎅

If you haven’t seen my previous episodes, then I’ll provide some links down below.↓😉

Take a Taste:

○ 2021 Food Reviews: ○

• Popeyes U.S. Spicy Chicken Sandwich [Dec 6, 2021]

• Jollibee Chick'nwich & Crisscut Fries [Dec 21, 2021]: Part 1 [CLICK ME! #1], Part 2 [CLICK ME! #2]

○ 2022 Food Reviews: ○

• Mini Stop Chicken Fillet XL Sandwich [Feb 7, 2022]

• Minute Burger Cheese Burger(s) [Mar 1, 2022]

• Pepper Lunch Teriyaki Beef Pepper Rice w/ Egg (& Honey Brown Sauce) [Mar 5, 2022]

• Bacsilog’s Sulit Combo Bacon-Tocino & Samgyup Day’s Pork Herbs [Mar 12, 2022]

• Burger King Whopper w/ Sides & Drink [May 6, 2022]

• Marshmello’s Limited Edition Coca-Cola Zero [Aug 26, 2022]

• Cheesy Burger McDo with Lettuce & Tomatoes Meal [Recorded: Sept 16, 2022]

• Mcdonald’s PH McSpicy & Apple Pie (featuring their World Famous Fries) [Nov 14, 2022]

• Mcdonald’s McCrispy Hamonado Sandwich [Dec 31st, 2022]

○ 2023 Food Reviews: ○

• Foods from Delicious Restaurant & 1919 Grand Cafe [Jan 8th, 2023]

• Homemade Churros by my lil’ bro [Feb 12th, 2023]

• Lugaw Sisig from Mang Boy Alfredo Lugawan Restaurant [Recorded: Feb 18th, 2023]

• La Prato Stakehouse [Recorded: Apr 10th, 2023]

• Salt ‘n Light Snack Shack’s Cheesy Bacon Burger & Fries [Recorded: Apr 14th, 2023] (Published on May 5th, 2023)

• Delicious burger meal at Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant [Recorded: May 6th, 2023]

[improper-integral]

So after reblogging this post about a solar eclipse, with a comment about the 2024 solar eclipse, I started seriously considering traveling to go see it since I have the ability and means to do it.

The path of totality gets really close to some great Eastern coast cities (mostly Canadian, like Toronto and Montreal), but earlier this year I was actually planning a road trip to Texas. but I ended up not going. I wanted to go there primarily because I wanted a road trip, but not one that goes across the entire US. I've done that before taking I-40 to Raleigh, NC from SoCal and would absolutely do it again, but that would take a lot more planning and I'm not sure how much my job will allow me to take off at once (despite "unlimited" PTO). But I know 2 weeks is fine, cause I did that earlier this year. I also already decided that would be sufficient time. Of course staying longer would be nice but I'd have 3-4 days in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio each (probably skipping Houston just because the other 3 cities are more convenient to each other and 4 cities in the same time span might feel a little rushed, but I might change my mind later).

So I basically decided it would be easier to just go to Dallas for the solar eclipse. It's on Monday, April 8, 2024, and I thought if I waited too long the hotels might become really expensive because it's in the path of totality, so I just booked a hotel for 4 days in Dallas lol. I haven't made up my mind about which hotels to book before and after that though, but I think I have plenty of time to think about it lmao

[alpacasandravens]

List 5 things that make you happy, then send this question to the last 10 people who liked/reblogged one of your posts.

Thanks for the ask!!

1. Learning new things. I started a summer class in reading German on Monday and it’s so tough but it’s really enjoyable, especially since I’ve never done anything like this before.

2. Episodic TV. Monster of the week shows you are my lifeblood my joy <3 tng xfile spn my beloveds

3. The pool!! The thing about Texas heat is that I can go to the pool almost every day. And so I do <3

4. When my pets sit on my lap 💞💞💞 they’re all terrible and live to cause me problems but sometimes they’re so sweet. The alfinator spends all night knocking over water bottles and hiding my medication and my AirPods but she snuggles up on my lap during zoom class and makes up for it

5. Espressooooooo my sister in law gave us her old espresso machine a few months ago and I deep cleaned it and started using it this week it’s so nice to be able to make myself a coffee in the mornings!

[wintrwinchestr]

listen for the sound

the killer & the sound - chapter 1

summary: your all time favorite rock band, Death’s Head, is going on tour, and you’re a last minute replacement for their opening act. working with cocky and confident frontman Joel Miller proves to be more challenging than expected when he insists on flirting with and flustering you as much as you’ll let him. and if you’re being honest, you’d let him do just about anything he wanted with you.

warnings: 18+, smut, no outbreak au, no use of y/n, rockstar!joel, aspiring rockstar!reader, d/s dynamics but nothing crazy yet, f & m masturbation (separately), daddy & mommy issues, allusion to daddy kink (buckle in for chapter 2), religious trauma, age gap (reader is early-mid 20’s, joel is early-mid 50’s), heavy flirting, pet names (darlin’, sweetheart, baby, etc), some joel pov, shy/anxious reader, reader is shorter than joel and has at least shoulder-length hair, winter’s limited knowledge of how band rehearsal/touring works, let me know if i missed any!!

word count: 9.9k

a/n: the first chapter of rockstar!joel is here!! he’s been haunting mine and kiers’ dreams for 2 months or so, and i’m so happy to release him into the world. thanks for writing him with me pookie :) thank you for reading, nice comments/reblogs appreciated if you enjoyed!!

series masterlist

read this chapter on ao3

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divider by @saradika-graphics

The first time you’d heard his voice, it was through the crackling waves of your little pink radio, sitting on the sticker-covered nightstand of your childhood bedroom. Late at night, after your mother had gone to bed, you’d tune it from Christian pop to the rock ‘n roll station, keeping the volume low so as to maintain your little secret. The newest release from Austin-based rock band Death’s Head, the DJ had announced when he introduced the track.

Your mother had called songs of their genre “the devil’s music”, specifically saying that “those gentlemen need to get right with Jesus. I can’t believe their mothers would allow them to ruin their bodies with all those… tattoos.” Good thing she had never seen the little moth you had permanently inked on your upper thigh, a shoddy recreation of the band’s logo done in the basement of a friend’s birthday party sophomore year of high school. Another one of your little secrets.

Your passion for music had begun with them, on that sweltering Texas evening. The breeze from your open window had carried his gravelly baritone, their deafening drums and shrieking guitar riffs, through the damp air and directly into your very soul, it seemed. Nothing had ever spoken to you before quite like their music, the way they seemed to create it as if they had never been held back from it. Unlike you.

Despite your pleading with your mother to let you pursue music in college, she never gave in. She had disapproved from the very beginning, said it was an impractical dream, that writing and playing music could never be a real job. You weren’t willing to compromise with her, or to compromise on who you were. And so, she kicked you out the day after your high school graduation. You’ve never looked back, and she never bothered to check up on you. You had always suspected she never liked you very much, anyway. It had been just you and her since you were a toddler, when your father had decided he loved pretty young waitresses and booze more than he ever loved the two of you. She needed someone to take her resentment out on, you suppose.

The first time you’d seen his face, it was through the staticky screen of the square little TV you had purchased for your shabby pre-furnished apartment. He was featured on a late night  interview to promote the band’s newest album. You had finally learned his name that night, Joel Miller, and that everything about him was captivating and completely mesmerizing. Even through the fuzzy quality of the broadcast, you could see him, clear as day: the silver that streaked his shaggy hair and scruffy beard, the rugged scar across the bridge of his nose, the silver jewelry that pierced through his left brow and bottom lip, the dark black ink painted across the surface of both arms and hands… including the gothic letters that spelled out DADDY across the knuckles of his left one.

Joel’s legs were spread, head thrown back in laughter as he recounted a story to the late night host. His charming banter and dazzling smile sent an instant swarm of butterflies to your tummy, and you couldn’t help but form a girlish crush on him. To put a face, a body, to the voice that kept you company when it felt like you had no one else in the world who understood you, it felt life-altering. And maybe it was.

After spending 4 years writing songs and performing small gigs instead of 4 years at college, you had finally begun to make a name for yourself as a solo artist. You had secured yourself a deal with a local indie label, and recently returned from a small regional tour after the debut of your first album. Bars, community centers, and even small theaters had felt more like home to you than the house you grew up in ever did. After so many years of feeling isolated and misunderstood by your surroundings, you felt rejuvenated after finding your place among Texas’ rock music scene. You like to think that many of the people you played for had found a place of belonging within you, too, in the handful of songs you wrote about your complicated adolescence, your parents, your hometown.

You weren’t a huge star by any means, but you had amassed a small group of fans, and even had a few local record stores selling your album. You hadn’t pursued this passion of yours for fame or money, of course not, who does? But, you couldn’t ignore the little tug on your heart, some inward longing to become the badass rock and roll darling that you had needed in your childhood. To win awards for your craft, to be recognized, to be valued… To prove your mother wrong? Maybe. But that wasn’t the whole of it.

–

On a lazy day off in your little studio apartment, a few weeks after returning from your last performance, you get a call from your manager, Cat, saying that she wants to meet with you at your label’s offices to talk about next moves for your career. You’re in the middle of giving yourself a much-needed manicure, but you oblige anyway, driving downtown in your beat-up sedan and trying not to smudge your still-wet polish on the wheel.

She meets you at the door, and you make your way into her office to discuss her plans for you. You’re grateful to have Cat on your team, and you find comfort in your relationship with her. The rock and roll scene is still heavily male-dominated, even with female superstars breaking down barriers at every opportunity. You aspire to be like them, and Cat has always known that about you. You’ve always trusted that she has your best interests at heart.

“So, I know you’ve really only just started to recover from your first tour, but… I have something else for you. I wanted to tell you in person just so I could see your reaction.”

A small pause while she looks at you as you sit down across from her, letting you stew in anticipation. 

“Well, are you gonna tell me or what?”

“Not yet, I like making you sweat a little… Tell me, if you could work with any artist in the world, who would it be?”

“What does that have to do with–?” She gives you an exasperated look, and you decide to play along. “Fine, but you already know my answer. Death’s Head, duh.”

“Uh huh…” She struggles to contain her smile while she waits for you to make the connection.

“Wait, no way. You’re not saying–I swear to God, if you’re messing with me right now–”

“Their tour manager called me this morning, he said the band is in the middle of rehearsing for their upcoming tour, and their opener backed out at the last minute. Apparently, he was at one of your shows last month and picked up your album. He thinks you’d be a perfect fill-in, thinks you’d really click with the band and said you’ve got a great sound. Even told me they’re excited to meet you, he played your record for them and they think you’re killer.”

“No way… no FUCKING way! He did NOT say that!” Your heart slams against your ribcage as you spring up from your seat. 

“He absolutely did say that, babe! So… I’m assuming I can call him back and tell him you’ll do it?” She asks playfully.

“Of-fucking-course you can!” 

“Alright, alright, I’ll give him a call back this afternoon. I’m so happy, seriously, this is gonna be huge for you,” she tells you sincerely, still laughing at your animated fit of excitement. 

“Oh my god, I can’t fucking believe it…” you reclaim your seat and hold your face in your hands for a moment, before taking a deep breath and smoothing your hair back. “How the fuck am I gonna talk to Joel Miller in person? Perform in front of him? I had, like, the world’s biggest crush on him in high school. He basically changed my life.”

“I’ll be sure to tell his manager that, I’m sure he doesn’t hear that nearly enough,” Cat jokes, an obviously sarcastic tone to her quip. 

“So, wait.” Suddenly coming out of your exhilarated daze, you realize: “You said they’ve been rehearsing already, and I’m a last minute replacement? How much time do I have?”

“Their manager told me on the phone that if you agreed, you’d have to be in rehearsal with them all morning tomorrow. It’s all the time they have left before the tour kicks off next week. He figured you wouldn’t need much time, since you’ve only got the one album so far and you’ve basically been rehearsing your set all across the state for the past 2 months.”

“Okay, I can work with that… It’ll be fine, right? But wait, what about–” You look to Cat for reassurance, already starting to pick at your freshly dried nail polish and bouncing your leg out of view from where she sits behind her desk.

“Your band?” She cuts you off, knowing exactly where your mind is headed before it even gets there. “I’ll get them all on the phone today, make sure they’ll be there tomorrow, too. And it’ll be great, I promise. You know how much I believe in you. This is what you’ve been working for, right?”

You nod, averting your eyes to the abstract pattern of the carpet while you try to center yourself. 

“And for what it’s worth, some other people I know in the business have all said they’re really nice guys. Never said anything about humble, especially a certain frontman of theirs, but they’re nothing to be scared of.”

They’re fucking rock music legends, but yeah, nothing to be scared of.

When you still don’t reply, fully tucked away inside your own head now, she continues. “You’ll be amazing, I know you will. Why don’t you go home, enjoy the rest of your day off, and I’ll call their tour manager back and tell him you and the band will be at rehearsal tomorrow. He said they’ll have cars come pick you up individually, so just be ready around 8AM with your guitar, and wear something cute,” she tosses you a wink on the last bit of her sentence.

“Oh my god, stop,” you giggle, heat rising to your cheeks at the implication of her teasing words. “Thank you, Cat. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“Hey, you’ve got the talent and the pretty face, I’m just here to watch you take over the world.” 

You both get up from your seats to share a hug, and she embraces you tightly. “Knock ‘em dead, babe,” she says close to your ear before releasing you.

As you practically skip back out to your drab little car, you have a certain adrenaline coursing through your bloodstream, feeling that you’re finally on the precipice of something monumental.

–

The next morning, you’re standing on the curb outside your building with your guitar case in one hand, the fingers of the other occupied by your teeth as they nervously bite at what’s left of your polish. You’ve put together an outfit that you think Cat would approve of without looking like you’re trying too hard: the black leather jacket and Doc Martens that you pair with practically everything, a simple white t-shirt, and loose-fitting black jeans, cuffed at the ankles. You’ve accessorized with a western-style belt and your silver crucifix necklace. It functions more as another thing for you to fidget with than any kind of meaningful symbol, but something compels you to keep wearing it, anyway. It doesn’t feel right to get rid of such a thing, and even though you’re not much of a believer anymore, you still feel a pang of guilt in your stomach every time you consider it.

A few minutes before eight, a black full-size SUV with darkened windows pulls up next to where you’re standing on the sidewalk, and the driver rolls down his window to confirm your name. He helps you load your guitar into the trunk, and when he opens the street-side door to the backseat for you, you’re surprised to find that the space opposite the one you’re about to climb into is already occupied. You were under the impression that it would just be you and the driver this morning, but you’re a little relieved at the idea of not having to make awkward conversation by yourself.

That relief turns to terror in a second when you clock the intricate shading of a moth on the back of the other person’s large hand, and the legendary capital letters adorning the knuckles below it. 

It’s Joel.

You’re getting into a fucking car with Joel Miller.

You thought you’d at least have the ride to rehearsal to prepare yourself for meeting him, for what you’d say to him without making a complete fool of yourself. You hear Cat’s encouraging words echoing around your skull as you position yourself on the cool black leather and buckle your seatbelt, trying to avoid eye contact.

God, you haven’t even fully looked at him yet, but you can see in your peripheral vision how fucking big he is.

Even sitting down, he seems taller in person, legs so long he can’t help but to spread them a little to make himself comfortable. When you take a deep breath in an effort to slow your racing heart, you can smell him: cigarettes, leather, and teakwood. Fuck, he even smells gorgeous.

“Mornin’, darlin’,” he greets you casually, as if his presence isn’t sending you careening to the edge of having a heart attack. He extends a calloused, tattooed hand across his body for you to take.

“H– hi, mornin’.” You take his hand in your smaller one and give it a soft shake as the driver begins the journey to the rehearsal space. You finally work up the courage to look at his face in the brief moment that your hands are touching, and lord, he’s fucking beautiful. The tanned skin that forms into delicate lines around his mossy amber eyes, the tantalizing pink blush of his lips, the glittering silver that streaks his dark hair, he practically looks like a painting. It’s hard to believe that he really exists in front of you now, when you had previously only seen him through hazy television screens and crinkled posters. 

“‘S a cool jacket, looks good on you.” He flashes that superstar grin as he compliments you, returning his hand to its previous resting position against the worn denim covering his muscled thigh.

“Oh, uh… thank you,” you answer quietly, giving him a meek little smile as you avert your gaze again. You swear you catch him giving you a once-over as you look away, probably enjoying the effect he’s having on you.

“You’re welcome, baby. I’m Joel, by the way, not sure if you figured that one out yet or not.”

“Y– yeah, I know. It’s really nice to meet you, I– I’m a huge fan, actually.”

Why did you fucking say that? 

“Oh, are ya, now? Tha’s cute, I appreciate it, darlin’.” 

His close proximity, the charming southern twang in his voice and the names he calls you, the way he looks, the way he smells, it makes you want to crawl out of your own skin, the way it all sets you aflame. You almost wish the driver would start up some uncomfortable small talk with you, just to save you from embarrassing yourself any more in front of the man whose songs you know every word to, could recite them all back to him now if he asked.

You don’t say anything in response to him, just fumble through a smile and nod while you fiddle with your necklace. 

Joel lets a few minutes of silence pass while you look out the window, watching downtown Austin come into view. Taking a moment to look you over proper, he tries to absorb all of your little details and file them away for safekeeping. He notices the cross-shaped piece of silver between your fingers, and wonders what it might say about you. He rakes his eyes over your figure, covered by your baggy clothes, and curses them for hiding what he’s sure is a body made up of pretty curves and soft skin. He hopes he’ll get to see them sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, he continues to make conversation. “S’ what kinda guitar you got back there?”

“Huh?” Snapped out of your trance, you whip your head around to face him again.

“Saw you loadin’ your guitar into the back. Whaddya play?”

“Oh, um… Fender Stratocaster. She’s all white, I call her Angel.” 

He smiles to himself, releasing a light chuckle through his nose. Shy girl with a crucifix and a guitar she named Angel... “Good choice. ‘S a pretty guitar for a pretty girl.”

Surprised by his compliment, you release a girlish giggle in response. “Th– thank you.”

He’s flirting with you, right? Is Joel Miller fucking flirting with you right now?

You wonder if he can feel the scorching heat radiating off your skin, if he’s doing this on purpose, or if this is just how frustratingly charming he is all the time.

“Sweet lil’ thing…” he mumbles to himself under his breath, head turned towards his own window as the car comes to a stop in front of the downtown warehouse.

Joel opens his own door to get out and the driver opens yours, and as soon as your lace-up boots touch the pavement, Joel is handing you your guitar case from the trunk. You offer him a flustered “thank you”, and he returns it with a confident “welcome, darlin’”. The brief brushing of the both of your fingers during the transfer of the case has your knees threatening to buckle.

Once the two of you are safely on the sidewalk, the driver pulls away, and Joel places a large hand on your lower back as he guides you to the building’s entrance. He opens the door for you, of course he does, and you can feel his stare on your ass as you walk inside. When the door shuts behind you, his hand is on your back again, leading you across the concrete floor of the industrial structure to another set of doors.

“Your guys are already here, and the rest o’ mine are, too. They’re real excited to meet you, sweetheart.”

You give him a light laugh in reply, unable to really formulate any kind of coherent sentence with his hand on you. His touch feels like it might burn straight through your thick leather jacket, brand the imprint of his fingers and palm into your skin forever. 

“‘M serious, baby. We were just blown away by your record, really. Y’ got a beautiful voice, sound like a goddamn angel… You sound that pretty in person, too?”

The question almost makes you choke on your own spit, which prompts him to smirk in response and give a little huff through his nose. Jesus, he’s fucking forward. Is this how it’s going to be all morning, for the next few months? Joel uses his cocky bastard rockstar charisma to get you all flustered and nervous, and then gets off on watching you stumble over yourself?

“Oh, um… I like to think so. Guess we’ll find out in a bit, won’t we?” 

You’re trying your damnedest to get better at his game. He’s your coworker now, for fuck’s sake, and you’ll have to think of him as such if you’re gonna make it through this whole thing alive. Not the man whose voice kept you company when it felt like nobody gave a shit about you, not the man whose posters you had ripped from stolen magazines and hidden under your bed, and certainly not the man who you had dreamt for years of meeting someday, wondering if he’d think you were pretty or interesting or cool. You have a job to do, and you’re gonna show everyone what you’re made of, charming pet names and killer smiles be damned.

He removes his hand from its place on your back to open the next set of doors for you, revealing a large rehearsal space already set up with lighting rigs, a sound system, and a dark backdrop with that familiar moth logo spread out across the expanse of the material. You quickly spot Eugene’s signature drum set perched on a platform towards the back of the makeshift stage, sporting that same illustration of the band’s namesake on the kickdrum. Jesse’s rhythm guitar and Tommy’s bass are set on their stands on either side of what you conclude to be Joel’s mic stand, adjusted for his towering height. His own red-trimmed black Cort is propped up behind it, the same signature guitar you’ve seen him play in countless music videos and recordings of live performances.

Your own three supporting band members are sitting together around a small card table in the corner of the space, and you feel much more at ease already knowing you’re not totally alone in this. Before you can make your way over to them, your name is being called in a familiar charming drawl, and you turn to find Tommy making his way towards you with Eugene and Jesse in tow. 

The men each take their turns introducing themselves to you and extending their hands for you to shake, offering friendly smiles and a kind word about your music, or how grateful they are that you agreed to fill in for their previous flaky opener.

“She was just tellin’ me in the car all about how huge of a fan she is, weren’t you, baby?” Joel teases.

“Oh! Well, y’know–” you stall, looking for something to say while trying to play off your embarrassment.

“Don’t let him pick on ya, sweetheart,” Tommy interrupts. “Hope he didn’t hassle ya too much on the ride over, guy practically insisted on seein’ that you got here okay. You’ll catch on real quick that my older brother don’t typically take ‘no’ for an answer.” He claps Joel on the shoulder as he banters, who seems to stiffen next to you. When you chance a look up at his face, his hard expression is difficult to read. You swear that his hand, now returned to its previous resting position on your back, pulls you just a bit closer to his side at Tommy’s words.

You attempt to break the awkward tension with a friendly giggle. “Well, I appreciated the thought. And he’s right, y’all are pretty much the reason I’m even here right now, so… I’m real excited to be playing with you guys.”

“We’re excited to have ya, sugar, that’s for goddamn sure,” Tommy compliments, and the other men hum in agreement.

“Ready whenever you are, gentlemen!” The sound engineer calls out, and you step back from Joel as the other three band members leave your little group to take their places on the rehearsal stage. 

“Why don’t you pull up a chair, baby, gimme somethin’ pretty to look at, yeah?” Joel says, voice low enough for only you to hear. He flashes you a wink as he makes his way to his awaiting guitar, the instrument almost as devilish as he is.

His head stays turned to watch you even as he walks, stare lingering until he sees you reach for a nearby unoccupied plastic chair. Though his request had once again sent a flustered heat to your cheeks, you can’t help but obey him, remembering Tommy’s remark about Joel not liking to take “no” for an answer. You wonder what he meant by that, why Joel didn’t seem to like that aspect of his personality being the punchline of what you thought to be a relatively harmless joke. For now, you do as he asks, and he seems to like that.

A disjointed assortment of cymbal crashes and rapid-fire plucks of tuning guitar strings converge at once when Joel gives a permissive nod back to Eugene, who counts him in to kick off the runthrough of their set.

The confidence you’d been trying to muster as a defense against Joel’s cocky teasing (flirting?) quickly dissipates as the sound of one of their more recent hits floods the room, completely consuming your senses. In all of your reasons to be anxious about the premise of meeting Death’s Head, performing with them, touring with them, you had somehow forgotten that the experience would include watching them play live and in person, in front of your own two fucking eyes.

The front-and-center position of the chair that you’re perched on makes you feel like you’re at your own personal concert, like you’re the only one in the room with them right now, the only person in the whole world aside from them. 

You bring a shaky hand up to hide your dopey grin that’s formed of its own volition, reminding yourself that you’re a professional, god dammit. You wish you could get up to dance and sing along the way you’ve done on a few too many whiskey-tipsy nights alone in your apartment, but you keep your limbs still, anyway.

A certain pair of hazel eyes, you’ve just noticed, are attempting to burn a hole straight through your skull. Your stomach lurches at the split second of eye contact, the focused look on his face now seared onto the backs of your eyelids as you try to blink it away. You flit your gaze onto Joel’s tattooed hands instead, the way they expertly strum out the chords that accompany the notes he sings. God, his voice, you had forgotten about that, too. The way it might sound in person, the way it might infiltrate your entire body and soul, the way its vibrating quality is currently snaking its way into your jeans.

Over the course of the next three minutes, it all begins to culminate in an effect you hadn’t thought to anticipate, one that has you crossing your legs and subtly shifting your hips in your seat. Biting a nail, you snap your eyes back up to Joel’s face again, the lyrics he sings now coated in the satisfied grin he wears. He knows exactly what he’s doing to you, the smug bastard. He quickly raises his brows, a gesture that communicates a wordless that’s what I thought, and lets the final chord of the opener ring out for a few seconds before cutting it off with a sharp slide of his calloused hand.

You shrug off your leather jacket, the room having become entirely too warm to need it anymore, and the movement causes you to feel the dampness that had formed in your panties over the course of the song. Joel finally removes his eyes from you to take a swig of water, and you take the opportunity to collect yourself. Inhaling a centering breath, you adjust your top and brush your hair off your neck, trying not to think about how thoroughly fucked you are.

–

The next hour and a half of their rehearsal continues to play out in a similar fashion: you attempt to hide your girlish excitement as you get to bear witness to another live performance of a song you’ve memorized all the words to, while Joel acts like he’s playing each and every one of them specifically for you. He shows off, it gets you flustered, and you repeat this little call and response of yours until their set ends, and suddenly it’s your turn. The band’s tour manager materializes among the four of them, clapping each member on the back and bestowing his permission for them to call it a day. 

Your shoulders release some tension at the prospect of not having Joel’s eyes on you while you rehearse, until you tune back into the conversation happening just a few feet in front of you.

“Y’all are welcome to stick around if you want, but I’m sure you boys would probably like to get some rest,” the manager says, to which three of the men grumble some affirming response as they begin to pack up their equipment. The remaining member, the one whose personal mission it is to get under your skin, voices his plan for the rest of the day.

“Think I just might take y’ up on that… Lil’ lady was such an attentive audience member for us, only feels right for me to return the favor. That okay with you, darlin’?”

He’s looking at you now, and you do your best to suppress the fresh wave of nerves that just plummeted into your stomach at his words. In the steadiest voice you can muster, you reply, “Sure, fine by me,” and offer him a sweet little smile for good measure. As if he really needs your permission. 

You can still feel Joel’s stare on you as you retrieve Angel from her case and swing the strap around your body, adorned with a pattern of embroidered moths. Joel is still positioned behind the mic stand as you make your way over to him, and you pretend to fuss with a loose thread in hopes that he’ll spare you from whatever smartass comment you’re sure he’s got at the ready.

Of course, he isn’t so merciful.

“Like the moths, real pretty. You pick that one out cause o’ me?” He comments as he eyes you up and helps to lower the mic stand to your shorter height.

You can’t lie to him, because he’s right. How is he always fucking right? On your sixteenth birthday, when your mother had given in to your only wish to let you pick out a guitar from the music store downtown, you had chosen the strap with the glass green luna moths because it had reminded you of him, of Death’s Head. You opt to answer him with the abridged version of that story.

“Um, not really. Mostly just thought it was pretty.”

He hums, “Sure, baby,” and lets you have this one. 

He locks the stand into place as your own band members begin to warm up behind you, and rubs a hand across your upper back. “All set, gimme a good show, yeah?” He throws another wink your way as he crosses the room in long strides to lean against the back wall, tanned arms crossed in front of his broad chest and lips pulled into an anticipatory smirk.

He’s gonna be the fucking end of you, you’re sure of it. 

–

Joel watches your delicate hands as they unfold the setlist you had stored in your back pocket and place it on the ground in front of you. Your chest rises and falls against your white t-shirt, slowly, and he’s certain that the calming technique is a result of his doing. He lets out a light chuckle at that, satisfied in the way he’s been able to rile you up all morning. It’s cute, he thinks, how you struggle to play it off, trying so desperately to get him to take you seriously. This has gotta be some kind of karmic repayment for a good deed he did without his own knowledge, the way the universe has dropped this malleable little thing right into his lap. He’s gonna enjoy playing with you, in more ways than one. 

A sharp chord suddenly pierces the silence of the rehearsal room, and the siren-like tone of your voice follows shortly after. He’s gotta admit, you’ve got a set of pipes on you, that’s for damn sure. Your voice is strong, a little more rasp to it than expected, as it emanates from somewhere deep within you. For how meek and mild you’ve been all morning, doing your best impression of a professional musician, you seem to perform as if you’ve been one all your life. It’s probably helping that you’ve got your eyes closed so as not to be distracted by the way he’s staring at you, at your hands, as they pluck at the strings and dance across the fretboard.

Fuck, what those little fingers would look like wrapped around his cock, the shaft of him so thick that they wouldn’t be able to meet each other. It’s his turn now to adjust himself in an attempt to hide the effect you’re having on him. Maybe he’s grateful that your eyes are closed, after all.

It’s then, as you run through your set, that Joel begins to feel a certain pull towards you. Something magnetic, exciting, something that makes his dick begin to swell and his pupils blow wide. He thought he might have felt it when you got into the car with him earlier this morning, but he’s sure of it now.

He wants you to be his. He wants to touch you, taste you, take care of you.

Poor lil’ thing, he thinks to himself, this industry is gonna chew you up and spit you out, and you got no idea.

You need a guiding hand, maybe a firm one, from time to time, he doesn’t know yet. What he does know is that you’re pretty, it’s easy to make you squirm, and you idolize him. He likes that, even if he shouldn’t, the fact that he’s been playing sold out shows since before you were even born, and he’s got the decades worth of framed tour posters and platinum records hung up on the walls of his house to prove it. It feels like he’s spent a hundred lifetimes in this business, but your time is only just beginning. So fresh-faced and inexperienced, this shy girl with a crucifix and a guitar she named Angel.

Your eyes remain closed throughout most of the next 45 minutes. Every once in a while, you flutter them open, your big doe eyes stealing a glance at his face. You flit them across his expression a few times, quickly, as if you’re seeking some kind of approval in the quirk of his lips, in the way he observes you from underneath his brows. Not wanting to lose focus for too long, you always close them again, and quietly scold yourself for even caring what he thinks. He likes to be a little unreadable, just to see if he can get you to work for it, to beg for it.

He’s getting ahead of himself now. 

When the last lyric of your closing song has finished echoing around the space, he watches as you blink your eyelids open and become the same shrinking violet that he had first introduced himself to not long ago. It’s like you had only just remembered that there were people in the room with you that entire time, this modest little flower who had picked up a guitar some time ago and accidentally became a budding rockstar. 

–

When you catch his stare again, he does grant you the satisfaction of an impressed smile. He shifts his jaw in an effort to conceal it, but it’s there. It ignites a warmth low in your belly, and you step back from the microphone, your fingers finding that cross-shaped charm around your neck once more as your gaze finds the floor.

“Was that, um… was that okay? I mean, should I run it through again?” you ask the tour manager, who had been only half paying attention the entire time, the papers spread out in front of him evidently much more interesting than watching you play.

“Huh? Oh, sounded pretty good to me but, if you wanna, go ahead.”

Joel notices how dejected the half-assed answer makes you, how you shift your feet as you look back at your band for direction. He pushes himself off the wall, rolling his eyes and muttering a “Jesus, man,” as he stalks past the guy, making his way up to you.

“Well, I was right, y’ do sound that pretty in person. Just like I thought you would… got one suggestion for ya though, ‘fore you give it another go.”

You nod up at him, eager to accept his critique.

“Eyes on me this time, yeah? Will you do that for me?”

“Y-yeah, sure, I’ll try,” you answer, unable to form a more intelligent response, his close proximity and the low tone of his voice causing your own to catch in your throat.

“You’ll try? Or you will? Jus’ want you to be confident up there, darlin’, tha’s all.”

“I-I will.”

“Good girl.” He swipes at your chin with his thumb and pointer, and doesn’t miss the hitch of your breath and the way your lashes flutter at the small bit of praise. He adds them to his running list of things to make note of for later.

You finally exhale when he turns to resume his position against the back wall, and the movement of his shoulders as he walks reminds you of the strut of a lion, all shifting muscle and dominance. Combined with the yellow-green glint of his eye and the flash of his canines when he smiles, he truly does resemble a predator, and you’ve never felt more like prey. You’ve known him only a couple of hours at this point, yet you feel ensnared by him, trapped beneath his paws, ready to surrender to anything he asks of you. Especially if he’ll call you a good girl for doing so.

You haven’t had much (favorable) experience with boys, let alone men, having grown up under your conservative mother’s watchful eye. But something about the cocky way he teases you, the way he acts as if you’re already his, has you feeling hazy and far away. You find yourself suddenly having to suppress rapidfire thoughts of what else he might command of you, then follow with that coveted praise. On your knees for me, or show me those pretty tits, or lemme feel that soaked pussy, followed by good girl, good girl, good girl when you obey without question. 

Blinking yourself out of your daze, you find that you’ve been staring at him for at least a few seconds now. He holds eye contact with you like it’s the easiest thing in the world for him, like it doesn’t make you want to jump out of your skin.

“Whenever you’re ready, darlin’,” he permits, and you take a steadying breath before beginning your set again.

You do your best to keep your gaze fixed onto his this time, but you can’t help it when you have to let it stray every once in a while when it gets to be too much. About halfway through your set, when you accidentally examine the expanse of his chest for a measure too long, he gives a quick snap of his fingers before pointing two of them up at his face. When you flick your eyes back to where he wants them, his expression is stern. He raises his brows and juts his chin to the side–What’d I just say? You nod in response–I’m sorry–which seems to soften him, and you continue playing.

When you finish your closer, you feel a bit more heated and out of breath than you did the first time, undoubtedly owing some of it to Joel’s little challenge. He saunters back up to you, grabbing a bottle of water from a cooler on his way, and offers it to you, cap already loosened so your tired fingers don’t have to struggle.

“How’d it feel that time, hm? Better?” He watches your lips as you take a swig, then locks onto the smooth column of your throat as you swallow.

“Was a little harder, but… Yeah, better. Thank you, Joel.”

“You’re welcome, darlin’... See what happens when y’ listen to me? Suggest you make it a habit.” He says that last part a little playfully, but there’s something hidden in his voice that tells you he isn’t entirely kidding. 

“Y-yeah, I will.”

“Good… Well, I think your set’s ready for openin’ night, ‘less you feel like runnin’ it through some more. ‘S up to you, though, sweetheart.” You take another sip of water as he speaks, licking your lips of the moisture afterward. A muscle in his jaw ticks at the flick of your tongue, like he’s holding himself back from pouncing.

“I mean, if you think it’s okay, then–”

“‘S more than okay, darlin’,” he interrupts. “Sound pretty fuckin’ perfect to me... You’re really somethin’ else, y’know that?” Joel takes a step forward, closing the space between you by a couple of inches. He reaches a hand towards you, and for a brief moment, you think he’s going for a lock of your hair. His fingers change direction at the last second, sliding your guitar strap between his thumb and forefinger instead, admiring it. 

“Oh, well, I dunno about that–” you quietly half-chuckle, looking at where his thick fingers are rubbing the silky embroidery between them.

He cuts you off again, gently nudging your chin back up to him with a hooked pointer. “I do… Prettiest goddamn voice I heard in a long time. Play like a fuckin’ pro, too.” He sounds serious, and it might be the first instance all day where he’s trying to be sincere instead of toying with you.

“Th-thank you…” you breathe out, accepting his compliment. The corner of his mouth twitches, pleased that you’ve given into him.

Tha’s right, be good for me, lemme praise you.

“Ready to call it a day, then, darlin’?”

“Uh huh, sure,” you agree. And it’s becoming easy, second nature, saying yes to him.

“A’right, then. I’ll let y’all wrap it up here, I’ll be waitin’ for ya in the car out front when you’re ready, ‘kay?”

Your band is more than happy to end the day earlier than expected, all of you feeling good about your sound, the songs you’ll be playing, how everything flows together. They’re all good guys, a few years older than you, kind of like the big brothers you never had. The group of you are a well-oiled machine at this point, having played your regional tour and recorded your album together. You know you have nothing to worry about for the tour’s opening night, not really, even after only two run throughs. 

But as you place Angel back into her case, closing the top and clicking the locks shut, you realize how the morning is ending the same way it began. In a car with Joel Miller, his wolfish gaze swallowing you whole while you try and fail to maintain some of your dignity. It’s hard to tell if the heavy weight in your stomach is because he makes you feel eager or afraid. You think it might be both, and that he might want it to be. He excites you, scares you, makes you want desperately to impress him and not give a fuck about what he thinks all at the same time. It all begins to feel a little too much, too real, as you try desperately to recall Cat’s soothing reassurances from the day before that everything would be okay.

When everyone has finished packing up their equipment and exchanging “see ya later”s, you pull your jacket back over your shoulders and find your way to the front entrance, where Joel is waiting for you once again in the black Suburban with the tinted windows. The driver takes Angel from you and opens your door just like he did this morning, and you shimmy into your seat. 

“There she is, the lil’ rockstar…” Joel muses as you finish situating yourself. He leans further back in his seat, adjusting his hips to accommodate for those long legs. All you do in response is  force a giggle and roll your eyes, picking at your nails in your lap. Your worried mind is quickly beginning to drift elsewhere as the car starts the journey back to your apartment.

“Hey now, don’t you roll your eyes at me, darlin’. Or we’re gonna have a real problem on our hands.” He chuckles, continuing his little game with you, where his prize is your shy smile and stuttering words. But you can’t bring yourself to play along, not with the way you’re struggling to even out your breath, your nerves winning their battle to get the best of you.

“Hey… y’ alright? Wha’s the matter, thought we were havin’ fun, hm?” He places an inked hand on your thigh as a comforting gesture, but it makes those nerves jump into your throat more than anything.

“I just, um… Guess I’m just a lil’ anxious, is all. For the tour and everything,” you manage, focusing on the back of his hand. He doesn’t press you to look at him, this time.

“Yeah, gathered as much… ‘S funny, the difference between how y’ act around me and how y’ act up there. ‘Specially durin’ that one song you played in the middle, got real passionate about it, kinda fiery... Y’ know the one?”

“Y-yeah, I think so…” You’re hesitant to answer, unsure of where he’s going with this.

“Phew, lemme tell ya. Second time around, thought you were tryin’ to kill me with that stare, all that anger in your voice. Could feel it rattlin’ my damn chest. Was real impressive, baby. Hate to be the fucker you wrote that one about, tha’s for damn sure.”

“Yeah,” is all you offer. 

He can tell it might be a sore subject, but he wants to know you. Needs to know you, if he’s gonna be taking care of you like he wants to. He presses on, “So, uh… who is he? The guy you wrote it about? Shitty boyfriend or somethin’?”

You huff through your nose at that. “My dad, actually.”

“Shit… your daddy, huh?” He whistles low, rubs a hand over his beard. “Tha’s tough.”

The nickname he uses sends a pang of heat down your spine, and you’re reminded of the letters adorning the knuckles of Joel’s left hand, still lightly clasped around your upper thigh. You swear it’s placed a bit higher up your leg now than it was a few moments ago.

You only give him a nod and hum in response, your lips pulled into a line around your teeth.

“Message received... Well, fuck ‘im. He ever comes around again, you let me know. Take care of ‘im for ya, hit him where the sun don’t shine.”

Your pursed expression breaks into a grin, and you giggle at the imagery of his threat. You finally settle your eyes on his face, and find that he’s smiling at you, the silver ring piercing through his bottom lip glinting in the late-morning light.

“Oh, she likes the sound o’ that huh? Yeah, I’ll bet… Well, anyway, what I was tryin’ to say is, you got nothin’ to be nervous about, sweetheart. I can promise you that. You’re a force o’ nature, you are. ‘N I don’t wanna hear nothin’ from you sayin’ otherwise, we clear?”

His complimentary words and joking conversation set you a little more at ease, and it’s the most comfortable you’ve felt with him all day. But it’s making you dizzy, all the back and forth between teasing you then being sweet on you, flirting with you then getting serious again. It’s hard to know what he truly wants from you, or what you want from him.

“Thank you, Joel. It means a lot.”

He makes an accepting noise, bows his head and gives your thigh a pat before removing his hand from you. You miss it as soon as it’s gone. 

He lets the rest of the ride pass in relative silence, save for his occasional hum of a few bars from one of your other songs, his fingers drumming on his thigh to accompany it. You keep your head turned to face the window so he doesn’t see you struggle to hide your proud grin, in utter disbelief that your teenage dreams have led you to Joel Miller getting one of your own songs stuck in his head.

You don’t want him to stop, so you don’t let on that you’ve even caught it. There’s something about you having wormed your way into his brain that you enjoy. It makes you feel closer to him, like maybe you’re affecting him the same way he’s affecting you. But you’re probably reading too far into things, trying to convince yourself that he’ll ever think of you as anything more than something fun to for him to poke and prod and play with. 

–

Your fantasies aren’t too dissimilar from that sentiment later that night, try as you might to push them away. Spread out on your tummy in your lonely double bed, your sheets are askew and your blankets have been thrown onto the floor thanks to this insufferable late autumn heat wave. The temperature had started rocketing up earlier this afternoon, and had only gotten worse as the evening progressed. You’ve tossed and turned for what must be hours now, sleep shorts now long discarded and tank top hiked halfway up your stomach. You’ve experimented with a million and one different positions in an effort to get comfortable, but they’ve all been useless, your ceiling fan’s incessant whirring making a pitiful attempt to keep up with the heat. 

As you shift your hips one last time, thinking that this next try will surely be the one that lulls you to sleep, you finally catch on to the dampness that hasn’t really left your core all day. Maybe that’s part of what’s making it impossible to get any rest: you need some relief.

You flip yourself onto your back, trailing a hand delicately down your abdomen, fingers skipping over the band of your panties until they reach the wet spot blooming in the gusset of them. With two fingers pressed firmly into your clothed clit, you buck your hips a few times and shudder at the sensation. You live alone, but your years of shame living under your mother’s roof still prompt you to stifle your needy whimpers. You’re already so sensitive, have been all day, and you can’t help when your mind immediately drifts to him.

It’s always been Joel, whether you want to admit it to yourself or not. He’s someone you’ve always looked up to as a musician, but you’d be lying if you said you’ve never thought about looking up to him in the literal sense, knelt at his feet.

The dominant charm he possesses is so natural you almost hate him for it. The way he takes up space, commands a room, broad shoulders and long legs and wide chest. Everything about him is big, even the parts you haven’t seen yet. His big hands, fuck, what they would feel like pressing against your aching cunt instead of your own slender ones. The thought makes your fingers rub faster, the movement of your pelvis becoming more frantic.

You hastily pull your panties to the side and slip one finger in, then two, pumping them in and out as the wet squelch of your juices bounce off the walls of your bedroom. You can never quite reach that sacred spot deep inside on your own, but there’s not a doubt in your mind that Joel would be able to without even trying.

You imagine the feeling of his expert fingers scissoring you open in place of yours, stretching you wide in preparation for what you’re certain is a well above average cock. You tried not to stare too obviously today, but if the sizable bulge he was sporting while watching you play was any indication, he’d be a struggle to fit inside. 

As you feel the knot in your belly grow tighter with every thrust of your fingers and cant of your hips, you find yourself thinking that you want him to make it fit, want him to tease you for having such a tight little cunt and praise you for being so eager to take all of him. Ever since he slipped you that good girl this morning, you had found yourself chasing after his praise for the rest of your time with him. You want him to tell you how good, how pretty, how special you are, while he pushes his length inside and gives you the first satisfying fuck of your life.

Despite your shyness and your modest clothing and that little charm around your neck, you aren’t a virgin, truth be told. You had lost it a year ago now, when you decided to say “fuck it” and took some scrawny bartender back to your apartment just to get it over with. He lasted all of thirty seconds, and the whole thing was entirely underwhelming, to say the least. You had kicked him out shortly after he had the nerve to ask if you came, and got yourself off thinking of someone bigger, older, with more tattoos and a deadlier charm and a dirtier mouth.

A few more shuddering breaths and desperate movements of your fingers later, you’re coming with Joel’s name on your lips, trying to conjure his voice in your mind saying there ya go, good girl, comin’ so pretty just for me.

As you float down from your high, you feel a little filthy for having such thoughts about someone you now had to work with for the next couple of months. But it’s not like you would ever actually act on them, everything would be fine if they just stayed locked away in the dark recesses of your mind. You’re sure he doesn’t see you that way, anyway. He was flirty today, sure, but that’s just how he is, it can’t possibly mean anything. It’s all just some big power trip, an ego boost, getting you worked up just to remind himself that he’s still got it. 

You find your way to the bathroom in the dark of night, cleaning yourself up with a damp cloth and splashing some cool water onto your face. Your apartment still feels like a sauna, and you’re now covered in an additional layer of sweat, but feeling too exhausted to do anything about it at this hour. You fall back onto your rumpled sheets and close your eyes, trying desperately not to think of what Joel might be doing right now.

–

As chance would have it, Joel is much in the same position as you were just moments ago. The silk sheets on his king size bed do a better job of keeping him cool than your shitty Walmart bedding, but his skin is still scorching as he fucks into his fist and tugs on his heavy balls. His face is screwed up in concentration, eyes shut tightly as he imagines it’s your hands instead of his, working him over while you look up at him through your long lashes. He thinks about your glossy lips formed into a pout, eyebrows knit as you ask him if it feels good, if you’re doing okay, so that he can whisper doin’ so well for me, such a good job, pretty girl, those lil’ hands fuckin’ made to be wrapped around my cock.

Even shut away in the spacious main bedroom of his million dollar home, platinum records and Grammys lining the shelves, all that’s on his mind now is the sexy little wannabe rockstar he’s going on tour with. His tattooed chest heaves as he gets closer to his release, grunting incoherent praises as his tip gets wetter and angrier.

God, how bad he had wanted rip those baggy jeans from your body so he could drink from you, suck hard on your clit like a piece of candy so he could make you forget all about your nerves and doubts, tear that crucifix from your delicate neck and have you worship him as your new deity. Don’t gotta worry ‘bout a thing, baby, just lemme take care of you, lemme make you mine. You pray to me now.

He wonders if you’ve ever sucked a cock before, if he’d get to be the one to walk you through it, train your lips and your throat to open wide and take him inside. He spits on his hand once, twice, three times, using it to simulate the feeling of your warm wet mouth on his dick, so inexperienced but so fucking eager to make him proud. He wonders if you’d let him come in your mouth, then decides you’d probably do just about anything he asks, because it’s him doing the asking. 

The thought is too much to bear, and he explodes all over his fist, his belly, his sheets, groaning your name and a disjointed string of expletives. 

Unlike you, he’s wide awake now, and takes a cold shower to rinse himself of his spend and to bring his body temperature back down from boiling. Even in the freezing water, his cock hangs long and heavy between his legs, aching for something tight and hot to sink into. 

You’re gonna ruin him, fuck.

He decides he’s had enough of the cold when it starts to make him shiver, and he steps out, rubbing a towel messily over his hair and body, just to dry himself enough so that he won’t drip all over the expensive marble tiling of his bathroom floor. He pulls on a clean pair of briefs and pads back to his bedroom, yanking the ruined sheets off the bed and collapsing onto his mattress, now covered only by a black silk fitted sheet. He’ll deal with them tomorrow, or rather, his housekeepers will. The ones he’s able to pay for thanks to the millions of records he’s sold. 

Letting the air conditioning dry the moisture from his skin, he adjusts the positioning of his head on the pillow a few times until his eyes land on something gold on the shelf, shining in the moonlight: Death’s Head’s Grammy for Best Rock Song, or one of them, anyway. Etched in gold on the award’s black pedestal are letters that spell out “Kiss it Better”, one of the band’s first hit singles, the one that launched them into the rock n’ roll limelight. He owes the success of that song to its distinctive intro, and he’s proud to have come up with the idea for it himself. He recorded it years ago now in some forgettable venue’s filthy excuse for a dressing room with an aspiring groupie whose name has long been ejected from his memory, replaced with yours.

He gets the idea then, begins his plot for how he’s going to get you on your knees for him, begging and whining. He knows that you’re familiar with the song already, if you’re as big of a fan as you claim to be. And when he asks on the first night of the tour if you’ll perform their last-minute opener with them, help him out with the intro, he knows you’ll say yes. So good, so eager, so desperate to make a good impression and prove yourself to him. 

His spent dick starts to kick up again at the mere thought, but he ignores it for now. He’ll have plenty of opportunity to get what he wants after he shows you what it’s like to hand yourself over to him, to surrender to Daddy.

tag list: @beefrobeefcal @iamasaddie @rebel-held @dilfgestivo @zliteraturehoe @joeldjarin @kamcrazy123

[egret-orchids]

I posted 65 times in 2022

That's 65 more posts than 2021!

42 posts created (65%)

23 posts reblogged (35%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@lumiix-art

@donuqx-art

@egret-orchids

@new-lorien-artist

@yae-miko-fan-account

I tagged 65 of my posts in 2022

#omori - 21 posts

#lorien legacies - 13 posts

#hero omori - 10 posts

#omori hero - 10 posts

#i am number four - 10 posts

#genshin impact - 9 posts

#reblog - 7 posts

#mari omori - 6 posts

#omori mari - 6 posts

#kel omori - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 99 characters

#i remember in like primary school kids were reading the books and my dumb 8 y/o brain was just like

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i think this explains everything

16 notes - Posted September 22, 2022

#4

ok so i said in a previous post that id write smthng with the trans john headcanon, so here take whatever the heck this is-

for some context, i like to think that john and henri would talk a lot abt how john felt, which eventually led to both of them realising john was trans, and when they move, john changes his name to something more fitting for him.

We drive in silence for a while, before I remember that, yet again, I'll need another new name.

'Henri,' I say.

'Yeah?'

'How about Ethan Barlow? As my new name?' I ask. I've not had a guy's name before, and considering we'd both realised that I'm not a girl, it's a nice change, and more fitting. Henri laughs.

'That's what you've chosen?'

'Yep.'

'Alright, then. I'll get the documents done in a bit. I must say, it's nice to meet you, Ethan.'

I smile widely. 'I almost wish we could stay in Texas for longer, I'm probably gonna enjoy being Ethan!' I add. Henri nods.

'I wish we could, too, if it makes you happy being him.' he says, smiling sadly.

19 notes - Posted August 16, 2022

#3

See the full post

44 notes - Posted August 7, 2022

#2

hc: hero wears reading glasses sometimes, but usually just wears contacts

mari calls him a nerd many times because of this

64 notes - Posted September 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

OK BUT THIS FUCKING HEARTSTOPPER SCENE

IT HAPPENED TO ME AND MY FRIENDS YESTERDAY LMAO

628 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[bellaireland1981]

Starting Over | 10

Summary: You come home to work to find your husband of three years in bed with your supposed best friend. It’s the wake up call you finally needed to take your two year old daughter and get the hell out of Texas. With nowhere to go you head to your big brother in San Diego. The Dagger squad takes you under their wings, and shows you what having a family means. You get a fresh start… will you find your happily ever after?

Characters: Jake “hangman” Seresin x Sister! Reader, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Seresin! Reader (Eventually), Hangman x Phoenix , Adorable OC Gracie!   The Dagger squad

Word Count: 8658

Warnings: Angst, fighting, cheating husband, emotional abuse, eventual fluff, SMUT, Sweet uncle Jake, Adorable Rooster with a toddler… if I miss any please let me know. MINORS DNI

A/N: I don’t own the characters or storyline for Top Gun Maverick. All OC’s are mine. I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR ANYONE TO COPY OR REPOST MY WORK TO ANY OTHER PLATFORM! DON’T STEAL! Reblogs, likes and comments ALWAYS welcomed. THANK YOU @waywardodysseys​ and  @beyondthesefourwalls​ as always for reading over my work and helping me flush out ideas!!

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CH 1  CH 2  CH 3  Ch 4  Ch 5  Ch 6  Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9

Sunday morning you slipped out of bed, pulling on one of Bradley’s t-shirts and quietly making your way down to the kitchen. You decided to treat him to a full breakfast, letting him sleep in while you cooked. You looked in cabinets, finding what you needed to make him some pancakes from scratch, then opened the fridge to find eggs and bacon to go along with the pancakes. You selected a playlist on your phone, setting it on the counter out of the way and got to work cooking.

You were flipping pancakes, swaying to the music when Bradley wandered into the kitchen a little while later. He stood in the doorway watching you with a smile on his face before making his way over to slip his arms around you from behind and burying his face in your neck.

“Morning, Sweetheart.” He said quietly, before placing a soft kiss on your shoulder, then neck, before moving to your ear and finally your lips when you turned your face towards him smiling.

“I was trying to let you sleep in.” You told him, “Did the music wake you up?”

“No, I got lonely.” He pouted, “My beautiful love wasn’t next to me when I woke up and I got sad.”

“Aw, my poor baby Roo.” You cooed playfully, setting the spatula down and turning in his arms to wrap your own around his neck, “Come here.” You pulled him down and kissed him, your fingers slipping into his hair, loving the soft feel.

“I was looking forward to no more lonely mornings now that this is your home too.” He teased, “Only to wake up to no girlfriend by my side.”

“I promise to make it up to you.” You promised, kissing him again before turning back to the pancakes, “Grab plates though, your breakfast is almost done. I wanted to spoil my boyfriend with a nice breakfast this morning.”

“Your boyfriend greatly appreciates his girlfriend making him breakfast.” He said, kissing your cheek before doing as you asked and grabbing the plates.

“How about we eat then shower together before we go tell Gracie the good news?” You suggested.

“That sounds perfect, Sweetheart.” He agreed. “Jake and I are fully committed to taking her to Disneyland as well to soften the blow that we can’t all live in one giant castle.”

“I think the two of you just want a reason to go to Disneyland and you’re using our daughter to do so.” You laughed, turning off the stove after plating the last of the pancakes. You pulled the eggs and bacon from the oven where you’d been keeping them warm and set them on the counter. Noticing Bradley had gone quiet, you turned to see him set the plates down on the table and turn towards you. Without saying a word he was across the kitchen and had you in his arms, holding you tightly, his face buried in your hair, breathing you in. You wrapped your arms around him, your hands running over his back to comfort him.

“Bradley… Baby, are you ok?” You asked quietly, turning your face to place a kiss to his chest. “Talk to me, Roo.”

“I’m more than Ok.” He whispered in your hair, taking another moment before he pulled back and smashed his lips to your own, kissing you deeply. When the need for air caused you to have to separate, he pulled back enough to rest his forehead against your own, not wanting to separate further just yet.

“Not that I’m complaining…” You said, slightly out of breath, but highly confused, “But… what’s going on in your head, Bradley?”

“You called Gracie our daughter.” He replied softly, his voice gravely from emotions and the heated kiss, “I know it’s dumb that it just now hit me because she’s been calling me Daddy and I’ve literally been saying she’s my little girl for a while now, but to hear you say she’s our daughter… Y/N… I can’t even describe the feeling that hit me. It was better than anything that I’ve ever felt… It was more incredible than the feeling I got the first time I flew in an F-18. I just… got a little overwhelmed.”

“It’s absolutely not dumb, Bradley.” You said, pulling back so you can look him in the eyes. “Anything you’re feeling at any time is never dumb. I want to know what you’re thinking and you’re feeling. I didn’t think it was possible, but I just fell even more in love with you.” You pulled him in, kissing him softly but pouring all of the love you felt into it.  When you pulled away, you were both smiling widely, looking at each other with what could only be described as heart eyes. “Come eat, Baby. It’s going to get cold.”

After breakfast the two of you worked side by side to get the dishes cleared and put away then headed upstairs to take a shower…which ended up taking a lot longer than normal because neither of you could keep your hands off of each other.

Bradley left the bathroom first to get dressed while you were drying your hair and applying your lotion and running through your morning skincare routine. When you emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around you, you found him sitting on the bed, dressed in a pair of jeans and a Philly’s T-shirt looking around the room, deep in thought.

You walked over to him, stepping between his spread thighs and cupping his face to gently lift it to look up at you. You smiled softly, bending down to place a gentle kiss on his lips before straightening back up so you could look into his eyes again.

“What has you so deep in thought, my love?” You asked him, slipping your hands around to the back of his neck and lacing your fingers together.  His hands came up to waist to hold you to him.

“Just thinking maybe we can look at new bedroom furniture for in here too…” He said, “While we’re out letting Gracie pick out her new room, maybe we can redecorate our space too… make it ours. And I was mentally making a list of spaces to clear out so you’ll have room in here.”

“I don’t need anything new or fancy, Bradley.” You assured him, “I just need you… and I don’t have much, so please don’t worry about clearing a lot of space.”

“Sweetheart, you may not need new or fancy but I fully intend to spoil my girl.” He informed you, pulling you down so you were sitting on his lap. “I think it’s important for us to turn this into OUR home. As for you not needing a lot of space, I haven’t forgotten our conversation yesterday on the phone. I am taking you shopping and we are not stopping until you have a full wardrobe that you are 100% happy with because you deserve nothing less than that. You’ve done such an amazing job at making sure that Gracie always has everything that she needs and you take care of everyone else all of the time… Sweetheart… please, just this once, let me take care of YOU.”

“I’m not going to win this argument am I?” You whispered, laying your head on his shoulder. “I’m not really good at letting people take care of me… but I’ll work on it. We can pick out new furniture…and go shopping for some clothes.”

“That’s my girl.” He said, turning his head to kiss your forehead, “I should warn you though, when I said just this once… that was a total lie because I plan on always taking care of you. I love you, Sweetheart.”

“I love you too, Bradley.” You replied, kissing his shoulder.

A while later you pulled into the driveway at Jake’s. Bradley parked the Bronco behind your car and the two of you made your way inside. It was already mid morning by the time you got there. Jake and Phoenix were on the couch when you walked in, Gracie running over with various cups and plates of her plastic food serving them.

“Hi Sweet Girl!” You said walking in the front door.

“Looks like you’re having a party and didn’t invite us!” Bradley said, hands on his hips, pouting playfully at Gracie.

“MOMMY! DADDY!” She exclaimed, dropping the plate of plastic food on the couch and running as fast as her legs would carry her towards him. Bradley laughed, scooping her up and tossing her into the air before hugging her tight to him and kissing her face over and over.

“I missed you my little princess!” He said between kisses. Gracie was giggling wildly at his antics. “Did you have fun with Uncle Jake and Aunty Nix?”

“I missed you too, Daddy!” she said, “We had fun! We pwayed! Unco Jakey wet me have ice cweam with spwinkos!”

“Wow, Ice cream AND sprinkles, Uncle Jakey?” You asked, playfully raising an eyebrow at him. You knew he let Gracie have treats when he watched her and you were fine with it. It was cute that Gracie thought she was getting away with something though.

“I’m the fun uncle, what can I say?” He laughed, “Did you two have a good night?”

“We had a great night.” You replied, beaming, looking at Bradley who was still holding Gracie.

“Anything in particular you’d like to share with the group?” Jake asked, winking. He clearly knew Bradley had asked and you laughed, shaking your head.

“Gracie, sweet girl,” You said, “Sit over here with Mommy and Daddy.”  You  moved to the love seat across from the couch, sitting down and Bradley sitting next to you with Gracie sitting in his lap.

“Gracie, do you remember when we were building with blocks and you built a big big castle so we could all live together?” Bradley asked.

“Yes!” She replied, “You wiv wif us Daddy! And Aunty Nix wiv wif us!”

You looked over at Jake and Phoenix who were both fighting smiles as you and Bradley tried to navigate this conversation. You stuck your tongue out at them when Gracie wasn’t looking causing your brother to chuckle out loud and Phoenix to playfully smack him.

“Daddy  and I looked for a big enough castle for all of us, but we couldn’t find one we’d all fit in.” You said, “Would it be ok if you and Mommy move into Daddy’s house with him and we come visit Uncle Jake and Aunty Nix whenever you miss them?”

“Unco Jakey, will miss us too.” She said, her eyes looking sad. Jake could feel his own eyes start to tear up looking over at his niece.

“Come here Princess G.” He said, opening his arms. Gracie jumped down and went to her uncle, climbing into his arms. “I love having you and mommy live with me so so much. But I think that it’s important for you and mommy and daddy to live together, Princess. You won’t be far away like you were before, Ok?”

“Ok.” She said, “But you be sad here awone, Unco Jakey.”

“I won’t be alone, Princess G.” He assured her. “I’ll still come steal you and we’ll have super cool sleepovers with blanket forts and no mommies allowed!” Then he looked over at Phoenix and winked before pulling Gracie to him and whispering in her ear, “You should ask Aunty Nix to move in with me so I’m not sad.”

Gracie beamed at him, then kissed his cheek and scooted over to Phoenix, crawling into her lap. Phoenix eyed Jake suspiciously, but wrapped her arms around Gracie giving her her full attention. They’d already discussed moving in together in future terms so Jake didn’t feel bad about using his niece as leverage here.

You and Bradley watched the scene unfold before you, stealing a glance at Jake, you caught the wink he sent your way. You could guess what your daughter was about to ask Phoenix and you had to hold back the laugh at Jake’s tactics.

“Aunty Nix?” Gracie asked

“What’s up Gracie Girl?” She replied smiling

“You pwease come wiv wif Unco Jakey so he’s not sad when Mommy and me wiv wif Daddy?” She asked, giving her biggest puppy eyes to Phoenix. Jake hadn’t been wrong. You were in trouble when Gracie was a teenager batting those eyes and dimples at you both.

Phoenix looked up at Jake who was also giving her his saddest puppy eyes and pout, his dimples showing too,  causing her to laugh, and fall more in love with the man. There was no way she could tell him ‘no’, or Gracie ‘no’.

“Will it make you feel better Gracie?” She asked, playing along, “If I come live with Uncle Jakey and make sure he’s not lonely?”

“Yes!” Gracie exclaimed.

“Ok, I will do that for you. I will come live with Uncle Jakey and make sure he’s not lonely at all. That way you and Mommy can go live with Daddy so HE’S not loney.”

“I wuv you Aunty Nix!” She said, hugging her tightly. Phoenix laughed, hugging her back just as tightly.

“I love you too, Gracie girl.” She replied, then whispered in her ear, “You should ask Daddy and Uncle Jakey to take you to Disneyland.”

“DADDY! UNCO JAKEY!” She yelled pulling away from Phoenix and whipping around, “We go to DISNEYWAND?”

“Well played Nat.” You laughed, “These two had already planned to offer that up had negotiations not gone well… I think we should make it a Daddy, Uncle, Gracie outting though…”

“Sweetheart…”Bradley said looking at you with a terrified look in his eyes. Glancing at Jake you saw the look in his eyes matched Bradley’s. “I mean… is that… wise?”

“You’re probably right.” You agreed. “We can send Bob to supervise.”

“Tulip!” Jake groaned, “Gracie… don’t you think it would be more fun with your whole family? We can get all of your uncles and maybe even Papa Mav and Penny to come?”

“YES!” She agreed with her uncle, who looked relieved.

“Well, now that that is settled,” You laughed, “We were thinking of furniture shopping today… letting Gracie pick out some things and apparently we’re getting new bedroom furniture too.”

“If you need her bedroom furniture we can move it…” Jake offered, but you could see he really wanted to keep a room here for Gracie. Bradley picked up on it too and smiled. He knew how much Gracie meant to Jake.

“We figured she’d need it when she’s having sleepovers here… if you’re ok keeping it.” Bradley said, “Was going to have her pick out what she’d like in case we needed to bribe her into the new room.”

“I think keeping a room for her here is a great idea.” Phoenix said, “We plan to steal her often anyway, so she’ll need a place to sleep.”

“Absolutely.” Jake agreed, smiling lovingly at Phoenix. “When is your lease up, Sweets?”

“I’ve actually just been month to month until I decided if I wanted to stay in an apartment or if I wanted to look at housing.” She replied, “So… it’s technically up in 2 weeks if I tell them I’m not renewing next month.”

“Tell them.” Jake said, “I’ll come help you pack.”

“I plan on taking my girls as soon as possible.” Bradley said. He pulled you over into his lap, holding you, “I know this week is going to be a lot…and I don’t want to add any pressure or stress to that. We have court and Gracie’s birthday. How about the following weekend we move Phoenix in here and you and Gracie in with me?”

“I think that sounds perfect.” You replied.”What do you think, Nat? Will that be enough time to get everything packed and sorted out with your apartment?”

“Plenty of time.” She smiled, “I’m Navy… I can move with 24 hours notice.”

You spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon with Bradley and Gracie at the furniture store picking out bedroom furniture and setting up delivery. As luck would have it, the sets you found that you liked were in stock so you just had to find a time that the store had a delivery truck and crew available. After leaving the furniture store you decided to stop at Bed Bath and Beyond to pick out new bedding sets and curtains to go with the furniture before grabbing lunch and heading back home for Gracie to take a late nap.

The week went decently fast. Bradley ended up spending every night with you at Jake’s, not wanting to be away from you and Gracie. Jake stayed at Phoenix’s on Monday and Tuesday night to start helping her pack but had promised to be back Wednesday night. He’d stopped into the Hard Deck Wednesday on his lunch while you were working, bringing you something to eat from In and Out Burger.

“I’m not flying this afternoon, so I decided it was a greasy burger, fries and milkshake kinda lunch day.” Jake said, bringing the food up to the bar and setting it all out for the two of you. “And it’s been awhile since I’ve had a lunch date with my baby sister.”

“Thanks Jakey.” You smiled, “You’re the best big brother in the world. I’m actually starving and this smells amazing.”

“You doing OK, Tulip?” He asked, taking the wrapper off of his burger and taking a bite.

“I’m just kinda nervous.” You replied, “I mean… logically I know that with the order of protection, him facing charges and actual jail time the odds are in my favor that the judge will actually terminate his parental rights, but a small part of me is still really scared something will happen and the judge will side with Trent.”

“Baby girl there is zero chance a judge would side with that piece of shit.” Jake assured you. “In fact, I’m confident that this hearing is just a formality to officially free Gracie from him. Lauren pretty much said as much the last time we met with her.”

“I know… It’s just really hard to trust that my world isn’t going to drop out from under me because everything is so perfect.” You confided in him. “Literally everything is going so well… I’m happy Jakey. I am in love with the most amazing man who is literally perfect. He’s stepped right into being Gracie’s daddy without any hesitation and adores her as if she were biologically his own. I’ve made friends…real friends. We have a whole ass FAMILY Jakey. This is… amazing…and yet… scary.”

“I know what you’re saying Y/N.” Jake said smiling sadly, “I hate that you have to feel this way too. I really tried to keep all the bad stuff from ever touching you, Tulip. I guess that just wasn’t realistic. Here’s the thing though… I’ve learned recently from some VERY smart individuals… It’s ok to trust the good stuff. The world won’t fall out from underneath you just because life gets good. The good stuff is what makes life worth living. Just trust that it’s all going to be OK. You’ve survived all the crap life had to throw at you…now you get the good stuff.”

“Listen to your brother, Sweetie.” Penny said gently, coming in from the office, not wanting to startle either of you. “It’s all going to work out tomorrow. Amelia and I will be over in the morning to watch Gracie again. We might take her to the park if that’s ok with you?”

��Thank you, Penny.” You smiled, “She’ll love that. She’ll be excited that Amelia is coming again, she adores her.”

“Perfect.” Penny replied, “I’m going to go take Mav some lunch, he forgot to bring anything. I’ll be back before you leave.”

“Sounds good.” You said, “Take your time.”

You and Jake finished eating your lunch then with some time left before he needed to be back at work decided to play a game of pool.

“So I know you’re moving in with Bradley and you’re in love and everything is great…” Jake said, “With everything that happened with Trent and with what we saw growing up… do you still believe in marriage and happily ever after?”

You looked up from the pool table where you were about to take your shot, trying to get a read on your brother. You couldn’t tell if he was asking because he wasn’t sure how he felt about marriage and happily ever after or if he was really talking about you and Bradley.  You took a minute to think about it, lining up your shot and taking it, sinking the ball in the corner pocket before standing up to walk over to Jake.

“Short answer?” You replied, “Yes. I do. Despite what we saw from our own parents growing up and what I lived with Trent, I DO believe in marriage and happily ever after. I believe in love, Jakey. Do I believe in the fairy tale love that we see on TV and in movies? No, because that’s not real. Love is sometimes messy, it requires work from both parties. It’s give and take… it’s not always 50/50… sometimes it’s one person giving more because the other person is tapped out. What we saw from our parents growing up wasn’t love. But we did see love Jakey. That sweet adorable old couple that used to buy us milkshakes at the diner whenever we went there to escape the fighting? They were so in love with one another after over fifty years of marriage… they thought one another hung the moon. THAT’S love. Bradley had reservations for us on Saturday night at the Italian restaurant we went to on our first date but when I called having a mini breakdown because I didn’t know what to wear and was hating my wardrobe, he realized I wasn’t freaking out about clothes and that going to a fancy restaurant was the last thing I needed so he canceled and planned a perfect beach date on the fly last minute. THAT’S love.”

Jake stood for a moment taking in what you said, letting it all sink in and processing it through his head.

“And because I believe in love, I believe in marriage and if Bradley wants to marry me someday, I will absolutely marry him.” You said, “But if he’s content with us just being together as a family then that’s what we’ll do because I love him.”

“I would do anything for Nix.” Jake admitted quietly. “If someone came through the door and told me that I had to choose between flying and her… I’d choose. Every. Fucking. Time. I would hand over my wings and sign my discharge papers and walk away.”

“Jakey, that’s love.” You smiled at your brother. “But she’d never ask that of you because she loves YOU. Do you believe in marriage, Jakey?”

“Yes.” He replied, smiling as he thought of the rings he had tucked away at home. He made a mental note to make sure they were better hidden before Phoenix moved in. “Can I let you in on a secret?”

“Of course you can!” You replied, gasping, hoping this was going where you thought it was going. Jake chuckled at the excitement on your face.

“Saturday… when Bradley and I were on a top secret mission….” Jake said, “He went with me to help me pick out a ring.”

“JAKEY!” You yelled, throwing down the cue on the table and throwing yourself at your brother. He caught you easily, laughing as you hugged him tightly, and he hugged you back just as tight.

“I take it, you approve?” He asked, chuckling in your ear. Pulling away you gave him a look like he was an idiot, making him laugh again.

“Of COURSE I approve!” You said, “Nat is literally the sister I always wanted and now I get! She’s also the friend I always wished I had. But beyond that she makes YOU happy and THAT is all I could ever hope for. When are you going to ask her?”

“I’m still working on that.” He said, “You better work on your poker face, Tulip. No slipping!”

“I promise!” You said holding out your pinky to him. He laughed but linked his pinky to your own in a child-like promise. “I’m so so happy for you Jakey.”

“Thanks, Tulip.” He replied, “I told you things are going to be good for us. All good stuff from now on.”

“I just ask one thing.” You said, trying to keep a straight face.

“Anything, Tulip.” He replied.

“You’re not allowed to use my daughter to emotionally blackmail Nat into sayin ‘yes’ to marrying you.” You teased, “Moving in was one thing, marriage is totally different.”  Jake threw his head back laughing.

“Tulip!” He gasped, “We’d already talked about it in general Saturday night because I knew Bradley was going to be asking you to move in with him… I just hadn’t made an official ask yet. I swear I wouldn’t ever use Princess G to manipulate anyone!”

“I know.” You laughed, “I just wanted to give you a hard time. Although now that I think about it… there could be some cute proposal opportunities using her as your little wingman… wing..girl?”

“I’ll let you know if I need to borrow my niece.” He laughed. “For now though, I need to get back to base. I’ll see you after work. Do you need me to get Princess G from daycare or are you good?”

“I’m good. I’ll be out of here at a decent time today. I’m thinking about ordering pizzas for dinner though, that OK, I know we just had junk for lunch?” You asked.

“Of course.” He replied, “Tonight is a no pressure, relax and breathe easy night. Tomorrow night, we will celebrate at home, low key. Friday we’ll be over at Mav and Penny’s house getting things set up for Saturday.”

“Ok.” You smiled, “All planned out.”

“Yup!” He said,giving you a hug. “Don’t work too hard, I love you, Tulip.”

“Love you too, Jakey” You replied, “Be safe doing whatever you’re doing this afternoon.”

“Just instructing.” He laughed, “I’ll be on the ground while they’re doing simulations.”

“Perfect.” You beamed. “Tell my future sister in law I said ‘hi’”

“Will do.” He laughed.

The rest of the day went fast. Penny made it back just in time for you to head to pick up Gracie. Bradley called as you were getting in your car to let you know he was done for the day.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” He said, “I’m leaving base now, are you still at work?”

“I’m just leaving now to go get Gracie.” You replied, starting the car.

“I’m going to run by the house to grab clean clothes and a shower then I’ll be over.” He said, “Do you need me to stop to pick anything up?”

“Nope, we’re ordering pizzas tonight for dinner.” You said, “Unless you want something else…”

“Pizza is perfect, Baby.” He replied, you could hear the smile in his voice. “I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“Love you too. Drive safe.” You replied.

“You too. You’re both precious cargo!” He said.

After picking up Gracie from daycare and getting home, you got her a snack while you pulled out stuff to throw together a quick dump cake. You didn’t feel like cooking dinner but you were never too tired to make a dessert. You knew both Bradley and Jake loved the caramel apple dump cake you made for several of the dinner nights and it was really quick and easy so you didn’t mind.

“Gracie, do you wanna help Mommy make a cake for Daddy and Uncle Jakey?” You asked her. Your daughter loved to help in the kitchen and you loved the quality time with her.

“Yes!” She exclaimed, happy to help bake, especially for her two favorite people.

“Hop on over here my sweet girl!” You said, smiling, pulling up the step stool you sometimes used to reach stuff on the top shelves. You definitely did not inherit any of the height genes in your family. Jake got all of those. You helped your daughter carefully climb up on the step so she could reach the counter better and the two of you set to work dumping ingredients into the glass cake pan.  You had just finished and were putting the pan into the oven when the front door opened.

“Honey, we’re home!” Jake called. You could hear Bradley laughing as he came in behind him. “Where are our girls?”

“Unco JAKEY!” Gracie yelled, jumping down from the step stool and tearing off towards the living room. “DADDY!”

“There’s my Princess G!” Jake said, picking her up. “How’s my best girl?”

“I good!” She replied, kissing him on his cheek, “Unco Jakey, you pway wif me?”

“I will absolutely play with you, Baby girl.” He said, “Let me change quickly first, ok?”

“OK!” She replied, reaching over to Bradley, “Gimme Daddy!”  Jake laughed, passing her over to Bradley before heading to his room to shower and change out of his uniform.

“Hi Princess.” Bradley said, taking her from Jake and hugging her close, “I missed you so much today. Did you have a good day?”

“I missed you too Daddy.” She replied, “I pwayed wif my fwends today and den Mommy bwinged me home and we maked you and Unco Jakey a cake!”

“You did?” He asked, “Thank you, my Gracie girl! I can’t wait to eat the cake. I’m sure it’s the best cake ever.”

“I wuv you Daddy!” She said, grabbing his face and giving him a very big kiss. “We go wiv at your house now?”

“I love you too, Princess,” He chuckled, “We have to wait just a little bit longer. We have to make sure your brand new room is ready first.”

“Ok, Daddy.” She sighed, “You stay wif me and Mommy?”

“Of course, Princess.” He promised, “I’ll stay right here with you and Mommy, Ok?”

“Ok!” She said.

“Someone is turning into quite the Daddy’s girl.” You smiled, coming into the living room.

“Are you a Daddy’s girl, Gracie?” Bradley asked her, tickling her tummy as he held her. “I think you’re Momma’s little angel.”

“I am Mommy’s and Daddy’s pwincess!” She declared.

“Yes you are.” You laughed.

The night is relaxed. Jake and Bradley do their best to keep your mind off the hearing coming up the next day. Jake ordered pizzas to be delivered before he left base so they arrived not long after they’d gotten home. Once dinner was finished the three of you had taken Gracie out to the backyard to let her run around and run off some energy.

“I think you’re going to need to find that castle playsets to put in your backyard Rooster.” Jake said, “Princess G is going to need swings and stuff to play on.”

“I’ve been looking at some actually.” Bradley said, pulling his phone out to show Jake the playsets. You just laughed, shaking your head. You’ve given up trying to reign these two fools in anymore.

After a while you took Gracie in to wash her hands and let her help you dish up the cake the two of you had made and then you carried it out to the back so you could all eat dessert outside. The guys made sure to praise her (and you) for how delicious it was and how much they loved it. Gracie was over the moon that her two favorite people loved the cake so much.

By the time bedtime rolled around, Gracie was worn out. She requested that Uncle Jakey tuck her in and read her bedtime book, which he was more than happy to do.

“Want a glass of wine or a beer, Sweetheart?” Bradley asked, heading to the kitchen.

“Wine please.” You said, sinking down onto the couch.

He returned a minute later with a bottle of beer for himself and a glass of wine for you. Handing you the wine, he sat down, before pulling you into his side, wrapping his free arm around you. You rested your head against his shoulder and took a sip of your wine.

“I can hear your thoughts from up here, Sweetheart.” He teased, gently. “You’re supposed to be relaxing.”

“I am relaxed” You argued, looking up at him and sticking your tongue out. “I just… happen to also be thinking.”

“About tomorrow? Or non-stressful stuff?” He asked, kissing the top of your head.

“Both.” You replied honestly. “I’m mentally preparing myself for tomorrow and thinking ahead for the good stuff.”

“I can accept that.” He replied, “Let’s sort through the thoughts on tomorrow first. What are you thinking?”

“I just keep worrying something will go wrong, so I’m preparing myself in case we don’t get the outcome we want.” You admitted.

“That’s fair.” He said, “Considering everything you’ve gone through up to this point, Sweetheart, I can absolutely understand why you’re planning for the worst. It breaks my heart that it’s your default and I am making it my mission from now until forever to change your default to only expect the best that life has to offer.”

“I love you.” You whispered, turning your head into his chest. “I WANT forever with you Bradley Bradshaw.”

“I love you too, Baby Girl.” He said, setting his beer on the coffee table and using his now free hand to tip your chin up to face him, leaning down to kiss you softly.

“Alright, no making out in front of me.” Jake whined, coming into the living room. “Don’t make me separate you two.”

“Way to ruin a moment, Seresin.” Bradley said, glaring playfully at Jake.

“Sorry, not sorry.” He winked, plopping himself down on the other end of the couch. “What are we watching tonight? RomCom? Action? Comedy?”

“What’ll it be, Sweetheart?” Bradley asks.

“Sweet Home Alabama” You picked immediately, causing both men to groan. “It’s GOOD!”

“Sure…” Jake said, grabbing the remote from the coffee table and turning on the TV.

You spent the next couple of hours snuggled into Bradley watching your favorite RomCom. You started to drift off towards the end, relaxed and comfortable in Bradley’s embrace.

“Come on, Sweetheart.” He said softly, “You’re falling asleep, let’s get you to bed.”

“Goodnight Tulip.” Jake said, “Get some sleep, tomorrow’s gonna be a great day.”

“Night Jakey.” You replied, letting Bradley pull you up from the couch, “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right.” He winked.

The next morning, Jake took care of getting Gracie breakfast and getting her dressed while you got ready and Bradley kept you calm and together. Penny and Amelia arrived with coffee and pastries from the bakery down the road from her house. Once she was there to wrangle Gracie, Jake headed into his room to get ready.

“It’s going to be OK, Sweetheart.” Bradley reminded you before you headed down out to the kitchen, “No matter what happens today, you’ve got me, Baby. Gracie is not Trent’s. She calls me Daddy. She’s ours. I don’t care what the judge says. But they’re going to agree with us.”

“I love you.” You said, wrapping your arms around his middle and resting your head on his chest. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out.” He promised, dropping a kiss onto your head and wrapping his own arms around you. “I love you too, Sweetheart.”

You arrived at the courthouse and made your way through security. Lauren was waiting on the other side to meet with you again prior to going into the hearing. “Good Morning!” She said, smiling, “Let’s head into the conference room and we can go over what to expect today.”

She led the three of you to the conference room across from the courtroom you’d be in for the hearing.

“Has there been any new developments in that asshole’s case?” Jake asked, sitting down on one side of you at the table, Bradley  sitting on the other.

“Actually, I have some pretty good news to share with you all” She replied, “I just got an update when I arrived this morning and then his lawyer requested to meet with me first thing.”

“I’m afraid to ask what he wants.” You said quietly, unwilling to get your hopes up or believe the good news would indeed be the news you were hoping for.

“I understand, given the history, that you’re apprehensive with anything coming from him.” Lauren said, smiling gently, “But, Y/N, I promise you, this is all good.”

“Lay it on us.” Bradley said, squeezing your hand in support, and offering you a smile.

“Alright, well first of all, given the fact that he did violate the order twice and got violent the second time, chances of leniency from the judge will be slim to none. His lawyer knows that and I am sure made him aware of that. Trent is looking at jail time regardless.” Lauren said, “The amount of time is what’s up in the air. His lawyer advised him to work with you and give you what you’d originally asked for ahead of the next hearing date and that it’ll help his image in court. It might go a little ways with that judge, I assure you, it won’t be enough to get him out of serving time. I wasn’t going to point that out to his lawyer though.”

“So… is he going to do it?” Jake asked, “Did the piece of shit finally agree to sign off all rights to Gracie?”

“He did.” She smiled, “I have the signed papers here, saying he’s willingly signing over full custody to you, Y/N. He doesn't want visitation rights.”

“Ok, so I have full custody.” You said, “But he’s still listed as the father on Gracie’s birth certificate. Can the judge change that today?”

“We will still ask for that here today.” She assured you. “With him willingly signing over custody and not wanting visitation, we can certainly take it one step forward and ask that all parental rights to Gracie be removed. In the event that something were to happen to you, he’d have zero claim to her.”

“I want that. I can’t let him get her.” You said, “If something happens to me, he cannot have her.”

“He won’t, Sweetheart.” Bradley promised, leaning over to kiss your head, “None of us will let that happen.”

“I can promise you that, Tulip.” Jake said, “He’d have to pry her from my dead cold fingers, and even then there’d be a whole squad of naval aviators right behind me in line to protect her.”

“And in addition to her many bodyguards,” Lauren said, “If the judge for whatever reason, does not remove him from the birth certificate or revoke parental rights, you can create a Will and specify who will become guardian to Gracie in the event that something happens to you. Regardless of what happens here today, I highly recommend you do that anyway.”

“Ok” You said, “Thank you. For everything. I will never be able to adequately put into words how grateful I am to you for everything you’ve done.”

“Y/N, I am more than happy to have been able to help you.” She replied, “I was lucky enough to have had someone there and able to help me when I was in your shoes and now it’s my turn to do the same. Seeing you get to move on and live the life you deserve and see Gracie get the family she deserves… the Daddy she deserves.. And has found Bradley… that’s payment enough.”

“Well, after all this you’re officially a part of our chaotic family, so we’d love it if you'd join us Saturday for Gracie’s 3rd birthday party.” Jake said, “We…may have gone a little overboard on it.”

“We?” You laughed, “I’ve been doing all I can do to reign you idiots in. But absolutely, we would love for you to join us. I can definitely promise it’ll be a zoo…. And depending on how much these two have been planning when I’ve not been around… the zoo might be literal.”

“I would be honored to come celebrate your sweet little girl turning 3.” She replied, “I look forward to seeing what these two have planned.”

“You might not say that when you see what they’re capable of.” You replied, laughing.

“Alright, let’s go ahead and head into the courtroom.” Lauren said, “It’ll be a closed room because it’s for a minor.”

You filed out, following Lauren across the hall to the courtroom. Before entering you saw a familiar face heading towards you down the hall in service khakis. You smiled, nudging Jake.

“Looks like someone snuck away from base.” You said.

“Sweets, what are you doin’ here?” Jake asked, a huge smile spreading across his face at the sight of Phoenix walking towards you all.

“Wasn’t going to miss this for the world.” She replied, pulling him into a hug when she got to him. “Figured you could all use the extra support, so I got Admiral Simpson to give me the morning off. Mav’s covering for me.”

“I love you, Nat.” Jake said,hugging her back. “Thank you for being here.”

“Love you too, Jake.” She replied, “Let’s go free Princess G.”

“Thank you, Nat.” You said, hugging her before you all went inside. “You’re the best.”

“You’re the first female best friend I’ve literally ever had, Y/N.” She chuckled, “My sister from another mister.”

You all made your way inside the courtroom and took a seat at the front. You sat with Lauren on one side. Trent’s lawyer appeared for him, sitting on the other side of the room.

Once the judge entered and took his place, he quickly reviewed the files in front of him, including the additions placed in the file that morning.

“Ms. Kennedy, have you had time to review the new proposals submitted this morning from opposing counsel?” The judge asked.

“I have your honor.” She replied, “Ms. Seresin accepts the offer of full custody and zero visitation stipulation offered from her ex-husband. Your honor we also are requesting that Trent’s parental rights be completely repealed and his name be removed from the minor child’s birth certificate.”

“Ms. Seresin, is there a reason you are asking for her father to essentially be expunged from your daughter’s history?” The judge asked, directing his question to you.

You looked at Lauren who nodded encouragingly at you, before looking back at Bradley who gave you a soft smile. Taking a deep breath you stood up and addressed the judge.

“Your honor, with all due respect, Trent may have contributed the DNA needed to create Gracie that was where his contribution ended, Sir.” You said, “He has never, in her entire life, shown any interest in being her father, apart from when she could be used as a pawn to control me. He wasn’t there when I gave birth to her, You Honor. He hasn’t been there any time she’s been sick or had a bad dream, said her first words, or took her first steps. She hasn’t asked about him one time since we left Texas, nor has she ever called him Daddy.” You paused, taking a  steadying breath, looking back at your brother and Bradley again. “But, my daughter Gracie does have a Daddy. One that she loves very much, Sir. He may not have given her his DNA, but he gives her his love, he shows up, he loves her unconditionally and has done so since the first day he met her. He’s the one she calls Daddy and who she thinks hung the moon.”

“I appreciate what you’re saying, Ms. Seresin.” The judge answered, “Given what I’ve seen in the files here and from conversations I’ve had with Judge Edwards prior to today, I understand where you’re coming from. Strictly looking at the facts on the paper, Ms. Seresin from the two violations of the protection order already, the second being your ex husband attempting to forcefully remove you and the minor child from your residence, it is of my opinion that it is in fact in the best interest of the child to terminate paternal parental rights and in doing so I will grant your request to have his name removed from the birth certificate. You will, however, need to file that with the county in which she was born, which is in Texas if I am not mistaken.”

“You are correct, Your Honor,” You answered, choking on emotions, “Thank you, Sir.”

“I’m assuming the man your daughter has claimed for her dad is here today?” He asked.

“Yes, Your Honor.” You replied, glancing back at Bradley, smiling through your tears. You noticed, he was wiping his own away from his eyes, smiling right back at you.

“I trust that you understand what an absolute honor it is that this little girl has chosen you to be her person?” The judge asked Bradley. “That her mother is putting her faith in you to be the father her little girl deserves?”

“I do, Your Honor.” He replied, “It’s not something I take lightly, Sir. I’d do anything, give anything to ensure both of them are taken care of, loved, and happy.”

“Will I be seeing you back in here at some point down the line to make your father title official?” The judge asked, smiling for the first time at both you and Bradley.

“I would love nothing more, Sir.” He replied, “But official paper or not, Gracie is my daughter.”

“Good to hear.” He replied, “Alright, Counselor, you can tell your client all parental rights are hereby stripped, effective immediately. Ms. Seresin, I know it’s been a long and rough road for you and that little girl. Once you walk out those doors today, it’s all in the past. Focus on the future and the life you’ve already started on building for you and Miss Gracie.”

“Thank You, Sir.” You replied, choking back a sob. It felt like the entire weight of the world had been lifted from your shoulders. For the first time in a long time you could truly breathe. It was over. You had been freed from the nightmare, and now your daughter was too.

“Congratulations, Y/N.” Lauren said, pulling you into a hug, “It’s all over, Sweetie. You did it. Let’s get you all out of here and across to the conference room so you have some privacy.”

She ushered the four of you across the hall, back to the same conference room you’d been in prior to the hearing.

“I’m going to take care of filing these right now to give you all some time.” She said, “I’ll be back in a bit and we can go over the process to get her birth certificate changed.” She left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

“You did it, Tulip!” Jake said, pulling you into him and hugging you tightly, “You got our Princess G freed from that dickhead! I am so fucking proud of you, Y/N.”

You let him hold you, hugging him back just as tight. All of the lingering stress and anxiety from the last few months seemed to leave you at that moment, an intense feeling of pure relief washing over you.

“He can’t touch us anymore, Jakey.” You whispered, “We’re free.”

“You are.” He confirmed, “You’re so so strong, Tulip. You went in there and didn’t give that judge a chance to even think about deciding anything else. You are one hell of a momma bear. Princess G is so damn lucky to have you for her Momma.”

“He’s right, Y/N.” Phoenix agreed, “You were so fierce and strong this whole time. You’re so much braver than anyone I know… and I fly with some crazy ass people.”

You laughed, wiping the tears from your eyes.

“Come here, Sweetheart.” Bradley said, his voice rough from the emotions he was fighting back. Jake released you, stepping back to place his arm around Phoenix while you stepped into Bradley’s outstretched arms. He simply held you tight for several moments, just needing to have you close and feel you in his arms. You needed the same so you were content to just let him hold you.  “I love you so much, Baby. I can’t even put into words how proud I am of you for standing your ground in there today and not only speaking up about exactly what a useless piece of trash Trent is but for what you told the judge about me… and being Gracie’s real dad. I meant what I said to the judge too… I would absolutely make it official at any point, but papers or no papers, she’ll always be my little girl. I plan to keep showing up, and loving her, and her mom, if that works for you?”

“That works for me.” You replied, smiling through your tears, “I love you too, Bradley… more than I ever thought I was capable of. I don’t know how Gracie and I got so lucky but, no take backs. You're ours now.”

“Strict no return policy, so you’re good.” He chuckled, leaning down to kiss you softly.

“Alright!” Jake exclaimed, “Celebratory dinner tonight. Just us, then we can celebrate with the whole group tomorrow while we set up for the party on Saturday.”

“Sounds amazing.” You said.

“Ok, I’ve filed the paperwork with the clerk.” Lauren said, coming back into the room. “Next steps, Y/N you will need to take copies of all of these to the courthouse in the county where Gracie was born and file to change her birth certificate and name. Once that is complete a new social security card can be issued with her new name. It can take weeks up to several months depending on their backlog.”

“Is it something that can be done through the mail?” Jake asked, knowing you weren’t crazy about going back to Texas.

“Unfortunately, no.” She said, “It’ll be a good opportunity to go through the house and get anything out that you wanted and close out any bank accounts while you’re there though. Use it as the closure that it is, Y/N. Afterwards you don’t ever have to step foot in Texas again.”

“You won’t be going alone, Tulip.” Jake promised.

“Damn straight you won’t.” Bradley agreed.

“I feel as though it’s safe to say that you’ll never be without a strong support system again, Y/N” Laurent smiled.

After thanking her again and giving her all the information for Gracie’s party on Saturday you all said your goodbyes and headed out of the courthouse.

“I’ll see you all at the house tonight.” Phoenix said, once you were all outside. “I have to head back to base.Y/N, I’m so happy for you and Gracie. I love you both so much.” She stepped over to you, pulling you into a hug.  

“Thank you so much for being here, Nat.” You said, hugging her back. “I love you too!”

“I’ll walk with you to your car, Sweets.” Jake said, “I’ll be right back.”

Jake walked with Phoenix over to her car while you and Bradley made your way to the Bronco. Before getting in, he pulled you into his arms, his head dipping down to claim your lips in a tender kiss.

“I love you.” He said, pulling away just enough to rest his forehead against yours.

“I love you too.” You replied, smiling. “Looks like we have a lot to celebrate this weekend.”

“So much to celebrate, Sweetheart.” He agreed. “And we’re just getting started.”

A/N: Phew! Thoughts?? Up next.... BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!! 

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[753398445a]

I feel like designing OC Endbringers, and I might as well share them.

So. How do Endbringers get made? I believe Eidolon's shard mixes concepts on his mind at the time with religious imagery he's familiar with and a powerset provided by Eden shards. This means that the "backstory" requires a specific time and that we know David's thoughts from this time period. On a more Doyalist level, I would also like to keep each one unique, narratively useful, and thematically relevant to Worm.

What if Scion killed an Endbringer immediately after Kevin said to? So like. The Echidna fight happens on June 20th, with Scion burrowing into the Earth and lasering Behemoth on the same day. Then Eidolon attends the June 21st Cauldron meeting from his flashback, and while here somebody adds on "By the way, it turns out Scion just randomly killed an Endbringer yesterday. What the fuck, right? Why did he do that? Should we tell people it happened?" The things on his mind from the fight, from the revelations, and from the meeting would be the building blocks for Behemoth's replacements (I'm giving him two for the record, no idea if that's always the result of one dying but I'll operate as if it were for the purposes of this post).

His own powers are weakening (this seems to be on his mind constantly)

He isn't strong enough to fight Scion (ditto this)

His Echidna duplicate seemed to be at full strength (this appears to have been on his mind ever since it happened)

The scrutiny caused by his clone's revelations (immediate relevance)

Shame for the things he's done (immediate relevance) (assume all unspecified bullet points are also immediate relevance)

The case-53s probably made him think about his role in abducting people, giving them powers, locking them up and/or wiping their memories and releasing them

Echidna's powers

The powers he employed against Echidna: Dessication, gravity manipulation, weird homing electric things, some sort of thinker power speculated to include precognitive danger sense and also knowledge of where to attack without harming civilians, sepia timeslow bubble, unknown power that explodes Alexandria clones

Queen 18.8 featured two Texas Wards named Young Buck and either Strapping Lad or Intrepid dying in front of him. I assume watching children you knew die of a knife to the stomach and immolation (respectively) leaves an impact for at least a couple of days.

The portal to Gimel

Echidna trying to bargain for her targets. (Imagine an Endbringer that does that. Communicates what person or thing its targeting and allows the defending capes to hunt down and sacrifice them "for the greater good". An EB that can be stopped easily harms their collective air of implacability, but also many people would do really fucked up things if they thought it would save a whole city.)

Missile strikes

Therapists

Cauldron's silencing of heroes who would leak information related to them

Being replaced

A lot of pieces to work with there... I would invite you to stop for a second and try coming up with your own Endbringers using this list before reading mine. Reblog with your ideas, even! The world needs more Endbringers (I mean, it really doesn't. But this fandom does).

Endbringer 1 is based on Worm's running idea that giving people powers hastens societal collapse. It takes the 'forcibly giving people powers' idea from what Eidolon helped do to the case-53s and mixes in an offensive power that mixes scrutiny with the shard that Hero, Citrine, and probably Softball got powers from.

Imagine an Endbringer who gives an entire city Codex's power (She was the Ambassador who shot invisible rays that permanently lower their targets intelligence for a temporary boost to her own). Imagine an Endbringer who makes 7,000 Heartbreakers. Or Svetas. Or Kings or Scrubs or Nice Guys or Tritaniums or Burnscars. Distributing a teleportation power that lets somebody chestburster their way out of any person they've ever met sounds horrible, but how much worse is it if the attack its happening on is when this fucker is attacking The Birdcage? What about giving a physically altering power to everybody that shows up to fight it, ruining their secret identities? What about making all the mundanes merge into Case-70s the next time they touch a parahuman?

An Endbringer who causes more problems in the long run is straying a bit close to The Simurgh's schtick, which isn't helped by her on-page attack involving flooding a city with parahumans and providing people with powers. The big difference is how this one fights at the time. Remember Citrine's line in Imago 21.4: 'I can use my power to cancel out the filters that keep someone's powers in their control. I can also remove the filters that keep their power from affecting them.' This Endbringer takes that horror game trope where something has a roving or flashing light, and if you end up in it there's just a cutscene of you dying with no recourse. Batman: Arkham Asylum is the first that comes to my mind, but it shows up in everything from Dishonored to WarioWare. In this case, its roving spotlights that appear to be emitted by the Endbringer's eyes (because being scrutinized by hostiles was on Eidolon's mind). Of course, the Endbringer doesn't actually need its eyes any more than the others do, and is capable of creating these beams anywhere if it wanted to stop going easy.

Now we move on to its appearance, which is a bit tricky. See, the first three used Christian imagery and the latter three used ideas from other beliefs. This could just be a weird coincidence, or it could be suggesting that at some point between The Simurgh and Khonsu David broadened his understand of faiths outside his own. I'm inclined to go with the latter, but that leaves the question of whether its happened at the point my Endbringers are created. I'm going to say it did, just for the sake of giving myself more options. Also, I would like to take this moment to point out that there is no obvious (at least to me) connection between what imagery an Endbringer is given and what their powers or M.O. are.

This Endbringer needs to have some longevity, which means its thick. It needs to be able to use its offensive power effectively: That means lots of eyes, and either being mobile/flexible enough to turn its head anywhere easily or that its eyes are all over its body. Ideally (for the Endbringer) its body should have the ability to do a lot of damage, since its powers can only directly affect people. My idea is a giant tree stump with eyes opening and closing all along the creases in its "bark", and roots that function as both flailing tendrils and as spidery legs. Against all reason I easily found a webpage that lists bible verses with tree stumps in them: the only ones with any distinct imagery are Daniel 4:15 and 4:23, which talk about having 'a band of iron and bronze around it'. This seems to mean circles of it on the ground, but making it be more like stump-bracelets makes for a good visual and obfuscates the inspiration a bit. Sadly the only named tree stump is Jesse (I'm not kidding, Isaiah 11:1 calls one that), which is an abysmal name for an Endbringer, so I had to look further. 'Irminsul' sounds Endbringer-y and was the name of a type of sacred pillar in Germanic Paganism. According to wikipedia, the oldest known description of an Irminsul referred to it as a tree trunk erected in open air. That works.

Endbringer 2: This one is inspired by the mystery aspect of Worm/Ward. It harms anybody who tries to spread information on it, even when dormant, and was naturally the result of Contessa(?) talking about offing whistleblowers in the June 21st Cauldron meeting.

On the subject of how information-spreaders die, we have several options. They could spontaneously combust (like that one Ward), but that's getting in Behemoth's way. Same for being electrocuted. They could suddenly have a knife in the stomach, but that doesn't feel like a Worm power to me and is a bit too on the nose. Likewise for using the missile strike as inspiration. They could be crushed by gravity or dessicated by heat, either of those two would feel suitably different from existing Endbringers but still like an Endbringer power. Annoyingly, I don't believe we ever saw one of these effects provided by an Eden shard besides Eidolon's, which would have made for a good selection method. (I flipped a coin, this is a gravity Endbringer now)

So I suppose that's also how it fights capes directly. Gravity manipulation is somewhat versatile, allowing for Eidolon's crushing effect, Topsy's ability to launch people skyward, even temporary black hole generation to round things out.

This feels like a very fast-acting Endbringer to me, one that shows up, crushes/elevates/black holes the area, and then leaves again (As opposed to other Endbringers, which show up further away from their targets and approach). It operates using the guerrilla strike method that all Endbringers (except Tohu Bohu) canonically adopted after New Delhi. And anybody who tries to report what happened is suddenly squeezed into a quarter-sized ball. Authorities can't warn people its going to show up, nobody can turn on the sirens, even trying to mobilize the heroes who signed up to fight Endbringers without getting crushed is playing with fire. Only figuratively playing with fire though - the coin didn't land on tails.

Its not a tank, so a smaller, nimble form is fine. Its not attacking directly, so it won't need a body that allows it to do so effectively. Its power is not connected to any body part. With no real guidelines as to what form it should take, I'm going to fall back on which religious symbol is the most religious: That's right, this Endbringer is a giant cross. Not really, that would be too silly. Its instead based on the largest religious structure in the world, which the internet tells me is Angkor Wat (its a Cambodian temple/city built in tribute to a Hindu goddess). Apparently it has five central pillars and a moat, and is covered in devatas. That's pretty easy to eldrich-up: Five arms and legs evenly spaced around a torso (the five central pillars), and instead of a head give it the appearance of faces trying to escape from all over its body (the devatas). Have it be blue because moats are blue. (I know technically water is reflective rather than blue, but shards don't care. They'd know that humans associate water with blue and go "Okay, sure. Whatever.")

That leaves the name. I get nothing for five-armed, too much for blue, and looking for religious figures assosciated with secrets only turned up Raziel from Jewish mysticism. Sure, let's go with that. I have been working on this post for four hours now.

In conclusion, my Endbringers are:

Irminsul, a giant tree stump covered in eyes that project rays that are an insta-kill (or worse) on parahumans, and ruins the world by distributing harmful powers. This is a good Endbringer.

Raziel, a five-armed, five-legged, blue torso with faces poking out of it that hit-and-runs with gravity powers that cannot be talked about without dying. I am unsatisfied with this Endbringer.