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thesmokingguns · 1 year

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City of Angels Chapter Two

“Your shoe really fell off like Cinderella?” Bernie was into Disney Princesses at the moment and always seemed to get hung up on the fact that I had taken off my boot. She thought that it was romantic being in the hallway and being caught off guard; I didn’t tell her about what it was like being scared all the time.

“And Axl and Izzy were at the party?” Bennie jumped in.

“You’re not supposed to call Daddy by his name.” Bernie chastised as she scooted closer to me on the bed. I laid a kiss on her temples, smiling as the two of them had their small bickerings.

“My darlings, I can’t tell you the story if you don’t let me get it out. You know there's a lot of twists and turns but you need to let me get there first.” I tickled their bellies, the squeals of joy made me feel warm all over.

When I was a child laughter like this wasn’t common and I had promised that my children would be all laughter and smiles. It was important to me, after the life that I had growing up where children were to be seen as accessories like trophies to parents, to give my children the childhood I was denied.

As a child we were dressed in uncomfortable shoes we were taught to polish, dresses that always came to at least our knees with matching bows and sweaters. Ma’am and sir followed each sentence and only were heard when we were spoken to. As children we were expected to be perfect and if we weren’t well, I promised that my children would have a happy childhood not like mine. My husband had promised that to me. When we had gotten pregnant our children would grow up differently. We nearly died to make that happen but it was worth it.

“Tell us more mama.”

“Please.” I smiled, hugging them closer to me as I laid kisses on their heads as I began the story of how I met their father again.

“In the gardens there grew hedges of lilacs, lavender and white, making the air so fragrant with their blossoms that whoever neared too close to them out be spell bound by their aroma. The lilac queen could watch the people who were captured in her flower essence and…”

July 1989

Enola lived in a small apartment above the florist shop she worked in. A barely finished attic, calling it finished with the non-insulated wood and raw rough edges of sloped walls that would scratch her, leaving splinters on her fingers if she ran her hand over it. It fit her full sized mattress with too many pillows and a quilt she had made herself, a small kitchen area with a stove and a fridge were by the front door and there was one armed chair to eat in that she kept her clothes folded on, opting to stand most of the time when she wolfed down her overnight oats and too hot cup of tea. Her groceries that would have been in a cabinet stayed inside a milk crate on the one counter between the stove and fridge, that she would move to the floor when she cooked. Her fridge, mostly bare except for a glass bottle of milk for her oats and tea, a few packs of ketchup she had saved from a burger joint with Axl, and a loaf of bread or what was left of it.

Her life was simple now and she was thankful for the few things she had and the small cozy apartment that she rented. It was her home. The first place in her life that had the soft charm of safety and cozy reliance. She liked coming home after a night out, cheeks pink from the wind as she walked too quickly on city sidewalks. Kicking off her shoes and falling into bed. Sometimes she’d reach over to the pile of yellowed paperbacks that served as a makeshift nightstand and read a few passages from something she had been forbidden from indulging in growing up or sometimes she’d make a cup of tea to settle the excitement of whatever happened the night before and stand in front of the floor to ceiling window that worked as the light to her apartment.

The florist shop and building was owned by Nadine DeFeo. A sweet older woman who had raised her children on the second floor of the building. Three sons and one daughter, who had all moved away and left their parents alone. Her husband, who had worked as a carpenter and repaired the other five floors and started to work on the attic, had passed away the spring before. Nadine had taken one look at Enola when she walked into the shop, unsure what a resume was and explaining she had taken lessons with her mother and aunts about floral arranging. The strange girl had been given a test instead of a ‘No’ and sent to help a customer where she arranged a bouquet with an eye for detail and understanding for flowers meaning that had touched Nadine, who hired her on the spot.Sensing that Enola was in need she offered the attic as a place to live along with a small salary she was paid in cash each week.

She was carving out a life for herself in LA, the City of Angels.

Axl grimaced as Izzy walked into the practice space. He was still sour about how his bandmate hadn’t heeded his warning about staying away from Enola. No, Izzy had chased after her and spooked the girl. Axl knew this because usually he would have run into her after one of his parties at the small coffee shop she liked but he hadn’t seen her at all this week. Now it was Thursday and they played a show tomorrow, so he had to hope she’d show up at will call and pick up her ticket.

Axl had met Enola by chance. A group of girls at a party had introduced them and he had taken one look at her in the soft lavender sweater over a long prairie dress and wanted to take her home and marry her. She had been new to LA,not used to the short skirts and loud way everyone dressed. Axl liked her, she reminded him of all the good parts of his hometown that he had forgotten existed.

She had started showing up to parties more, opting out of her long dresses and into denim jeans that clung to her legs and these heeled white boots that she polished for two long to make them look new instead of just accepting they were a great Goodwill find. Axl craved her attention, going out of his way to get her to go out to dinner with him.

Enola had accepted a few times, always meeting him at the place and never letting him pick her up or drop her off. That should have been a red flag to the singer but he couldn’t stop himself from being around her. He liked watching her try new things that he ordered for her, the way she talked and would laugh at his stories, her dark hair dancing as her head shook with laughter she gave out freely. Axl adored her but wanted more and more and more of her but Enola gave what she gave and never more.

Izzy was furious with the way that Axl was gatekeeping the girl at the party, not even giving him her name. Izzy had been trying to find out more about her all week, the girl who smelled like lilacs and had eyes that shone like gold in the earth. He felt like he was going crazy as he hit dead end after dead end when it came to her.

Picking up his guitar he didn’t bother speaking to Axl, only lit a cigarette ready to get on with practicing for tomorrow night. There was obvious tension there but all Izzy could think about was lilacs and how he wanted to breathe in her scent as he held her close. He was half drunk from just the memory of her, what was he going to do if he actually found her? Where was he going to find her?

And then it hit him. He knew exactly where to find her.

“Where are you going?” Axl asked as Izzy started to walk out of the rehearsal space, three songs into their set. But Izzy flipped him off and kept on walking until he was at the payphone outside.

He opened the yellow pages there, flipping to the business section as he groaned seeing that there were fifty two florist shops in LA. He was going to call every single one until he found out who she was. He reached into his pocket, swearing when he realized he didn’t have enough dimes to do all this. He’d have to go home and start making calls.

It was as he pulled out front of the apartment he had bought that he realized Nadine’s was across the street. Nadine’s was where Izzy went when he was going to send flowers to a girl he didn’t plan on seeing again.

The familiar bell in the shop, the rich scent of fresh blooms, sticky with humidity. His eyes searched for Nadine but instead he froze. Her back was to him, her shiny brown hair with a green floral pattern silk scarf tying it back into a ponytail, a white tshirt and overalls, and those white boots on.

All this searching and she was right across the street.

“One second.” She had her cheery voice, making Izzy remembered the sound Of her laughter, how easy she made it seem to be happy. How easy it was to smile around her.

“I’m just here for your name.” Her back stiffened as she realized who was behind her. Izzy noticed it, stepping forward as he realized that he had scared her and wanting to apologize.

What was he thinking?

“Izzy.” He looked at Nadine who was carrying something in her arms, “If you’re here some girl is going to call my shop heartbroken over not getting a second date, asking if there was more to the notes you make me write for you.” He bloomed red like a summer rose with too much sun. “Leave Enola alone. I don’t need my girl getting her heartbroken by Mr. One Date.” Nadine was playful with Izzy but he was embarrassed by how much she knew about him.

Enola. He had her name now.

She was turning, looking at him with her brown eyes serious, looking at him with measure patience, wiping her hands that were brown with dirty on a towel.

“I don’t date.” She said it seriously and Izzy wanted to know more about it but he just shrugged his shoulders

in response.

“Apparently I don’t date either.” Something about the way he said it made her laugh.

Nadine looked between the two of them, remembering the way that her husband Alfred had always come into the kitchen Sunday when she was cooking, stressed knowing their house would be filmed to the brim and everything had to be perfect. He wouldn’t care about the way she was flying, sweating around the kitchen, not ready to receive guests with too much to do. He’d take her in his arms, singing his favorite opera songs and swirling them around the kitchen in frenzied dance. She had always tried to be mad at him then but she loved him too much and would laugh. Laugh just like Enola had just done.

“Enola, why don’t you take a break?” Nadine said it without room to argue, her eyes flickering between the young people in the room.

Izzy could see what the old woman was thinking, how she was playing matchmaker. And he was thankful for her.

Enola looked skeptical, not sure she wanted to go anywhere with him.

“I make a really good vegetable pad Thai in under fifteen minutes.” Izzy offered and Enola was curious now, tilting her head.

“You cook?” The idea of a man in a kitchen surprising her. It wasn’t something she had seen growing up. Looking at Nadine, the older woman nodded as if telling her to go. “I am hungry.” Izzy smirked holding out his hand to her, watching Enola look unsure before she grabbed it, letting him lead her across the street to his apartment.

Enola. Wonderful Enola. Stupendous Enola. Was sitting in his apartment at his kitchen table, drinking water from one of his glasses as Izzy cooked.

“Are you sure I can’t help?” She asked for the thousandth time. She was watching him move around the kitchen with a sense of surety that reminded her of her grandmother. He had his sleeves pulled up and was moving around, adding spices like he had made this recipe a thousand times. Enola watching, curious as a man cooked for her.

“You’re my guest.” Izzy’s response was easy, while he worried about impressing her with his cooking.

He kept looking at her at his table. Almost like he wanted to make sure she was really there and not just something he had dreamt up. He could smell the heavy scent of flowers around her and wanted to bury his nose in the scent of her skin. But Enola was skittish in some ways, he saw the way her eyes sparkled with almost fear at times and he knew he had to take this slow.

“Izzy.” She said his name softly and he realized she was right behind him now, “Like this.” She touched his hand, slowly guiding it down on how to cut the carrot he was making. Izzy didn’t care that she was correcting him because she was touching him, pressed against his back so he could feel the warmth of her skin.

He was elated. Wanting to turn and kiss her.

“There.” She removed her hand as he took over, smirking at her as she stood against his counter, crossing her arms and making him aware that she had more to say, “you can’t tell anyone where I work. Please, Izzy. I’m…private.” The way she said the last word, her pretty mouth frowning, he knew what privacy meant.

It meant she was lonely and hiding and needed her solitude to feel better. She needed her secrets to make her feel safe.

“Enola, I won’t tell a soul.” She believed him. Looking into his green eyes as he watched her, the way she nodded before moving back to the table sitting down and watching him finish up cooking.

Izzy was setting the food in front of her, hurriedly sitting across from her as he watched her weave her fingers together, praying over her food silently before picking up her fork and diving in.

When Enola moaned, mouth full of food izzy instantly got hard imagining her moaning with her mouth full of something else. His eyes widening, pulse quickening as he watched the way pleasure looked on her face. Knowing he was in a lot of trouble then.

“This is delicious.” She said, Izzy smiling as he made her happy.

“Well after lunch I’ll walk you back over to work. And maybe when the shop closes you can come over for dinner.” Enola looked at him, curious as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Maybe I will.”

#Izzy Stradlin #Izzy Stradlin fan fic #Izzy Stradlin fan fiction #Izzy Stradlin fanfic #Izzy Stradlin fanfiction #Izzy STradlin imagine #Izzy Stradlin GNR #GNR #GNR fanfic #GNR fan fiction #Axl Rose fan fic #Axl Rose fan fiction #Axl Rose GNR #Guns N Roses fanfic #Guns N Roses fan fiction #80s rock fan fic #City of Angels

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artemiseamoon · 2 years

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Profiles 4 A Lighthouse in the Dark

Fic here

I gave Benny a codename. See below. I know technically he’s not supposed to have one but you know - fiction | astro stuff is a personal headcanon

☀️🌙🏹 (sun, moon, rising)

Amara “Cobra” Benoit (ofc)

Former Special Forces operative

Delta force veteran

Currently: Self defense Instructor

Romantic status: Single

Age: about 36

☀️ Libra 🌙 Pisces 🏹 Capricorn

Will “Ironhead” Miller

Former Special Forces operative

Delta force veteran

Currently: Motivational speaker at Veterans community center

Age: around 37-38

Romantic status: single

☀️cancer 🌙 Aquarius 🏹taurus

Santi(ago) “Pope” Garcia

Former Special Forces operative

Delta force veteran

Currently: Private military advisor , special advisor to grub crimes task force

Age: around 39

Romatic status: He works the time okay, his knees and back are shot. He maybe has time between 3-6 am for some lovin if he doesn’t sleep or inbetween jobs

☀️ scorpio 🌙 Sagittarius 🏹 libra

Ben (Benny) Miller

Ranger?

Currently: MMA fighter

Age: about 34-35

Romantic status: Dating

☀️ gemini🌙 Aries 🏹Leo

Frankie “Catfish” Morales

Former Special Forces operative

Delta force veteran . Pilot.

Current: Pilot

Age: around 39

Romantic status: Married with 2 young kids

☀️ Capricorn 🌙 taurus 🏹taurus

T*m “Redfly” Davis (sorry, not sorry)

Former Special Forces operative

Delta force veteran

Current: Realtor

Age: about 44

Romantic status: Divorced w/ one daughter

My Molly headcanon. She will be mentioned but shown more in a different fic. Under different circumstances.

Molly (Davis) Parker

An: I like to write these for my fics, on a whim deciding to share this one

Age: 42

Currently: florist, floral designer, retired veterinarian (volunteers sometimes)

Romantic status: divorced w/ one daughter

☀️ Virgo 🌙 libra 🏹Virgo

#fic: a lighthouse in the dark #triple frontier #triple frontier au #william ironhead miller #benny miller #frankie catfish morales #santiago pope garcia

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cucumber-pictures · 2 years

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Top 10 Abandoned Webcomics still readable today

It’s been 3 years since Cucumber Quest has been on the dreaded hiatus, so here are the other abandoned webcomics still readable today.

1. Quiltbag

A sequel to the webcomic, Penny and Aggie. It only lasted two chapters, because a man named T. Campbell hated the aesthetics of the comic. http://quiltbag.keenspot.com/

2. Wayward Sons: Legends

A superhero webcomic by Benny Powell, and three Korean authors. It lasted from 2010 to 2013. There was promise that the comic would return in 2015, but as of 2022, nothing has been seen. http://waywardsons.keenspot.com/

3. Blue Yonder

Another superhero comic that ran from 2010 to 2013. It had a Smackjeeves page. There were promises the comic would return, but nothing has happened since then. https://www.blueyondercomic.net/

4. Candi

A slice of life comic by Starline X. Hodge, about a female redhead’s life in collage. It had a good 12-year run from 2004 to 2016, because in the latter year, Hodge burned out. She is now currently the author of Rubi Whipple. http://www.candicomics.com/

5. The Fox Sister

A webcomic written by Christina Strain and drawn by Jayd Aït-Kaci. It’s a Korean folktale that takes place in the 1960s. It lasted only 4 years. In 2017, there was a word that the final chapter was written, and an epilogue was in the works, but they were in development hell. http://thefoxsister.com/

6. The GaMERCat

A webcomic about cats that play video games. It was created by Sam “Celesse” Whitten. (Sam is a girl) It lasted the same runtime as Cucumber Quest. By the way about the two webcomics, they both have cats, both had a runtime, and both are by female authors. http://thegamercat.com/

7. Super Mario Bros 2: The Comic

A sequel to the Bob-ombed Disney movie, Super Mario Bros. It has been abandoned for 7 years. However, you can look forward to Universal/Illumination’s Super Mario Bros. (Hopefully it will be good, but I will not have Mario in a Wreck-It Ralph movie, because I hate Wreck-It Ralph, because it’s Disney’s carbon copy of Shrek.) http://smbthecomic.com/

8. Finder’s Keepers

A comic created by Garth Graham. It is an urban fantasy about Cardinal, Lord of Aspect of the Primary Directions and some other stuff, and Cailyn Asher. It has only run through a prologue and six chapters, while Cucumber Quest ran though a prologue and 4½ chapters. It is currently on indefinite hiatus as of 2012, due to Graham’s citings of professional obligations that took prime concern over the comic. https://www.finderskeepers.gcgstudios.com/

9. Derelict

An abandoned comic by Ben Fleuter. It’s a post apocalyptic comic about a woman, a boat, and sea. It was short-lived. The comic isn’t going to return, due to citings of climate change and racism. Despite this, the spirit will carry on in one form or the other. (If a similar event like this happens to Cucumber Quest, the spirit of it will carry on from one form or the other.) https://derelictcomic.tumblr.com/

10. Zoophobia

Before Hazbin Hotel, Vivienne Medrano made this comic that was short-lived. The reason why it is short-lived is that because of the author’s changes in her personal life. (Gigi DG had it too.) Lucky for you, it is now an animated series, you can check it out. http://zoophobiacomic.com/

Epilogue Cucumber Quest is still on indefinite hiatus, and it will end in illustrated script.

By the way, the author is creating a new comic about a male florist in love with a female clown, and it will be the author’s number one priority, going forward.

(Actually, it’s a visual novel!)

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cloudyangcls · 5 months

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CHARACTER MASTERLIST

( * ) denotes a character that is heavily verse dependent. these characters tend to have multiple faces or careers and i just pick which version of them i think fits the plot we're writing.

clementine ryu. jennie kim cis woman. she/her. 28. bisexual. actress ( lana condor career claim )

jam zamora. coco jones. cis woman. she/her. 28. bisexual. aspiring broadway actress / traveling hair stylist

saiyr zamora. samantha logan. nonbinary. she/they. 27. bisexual. astrologer.

aries zamora. ryan destiny. cis woman. she/her. 29. lesbian. hair dresser.

hunter zamora. zendaya coleman. demigirl. they/she. 25. bisexual. cashier.

* julien zamora. kofi siriboe. cis man. he/him. 29. bisexual. florist or soul searching read: unemployed .

micah zamora. keith powers. cis man. he/him. 31. straight. owner of a landscaping / gardening business

* kenzo zamora. jonathan daviss / lakeith stanfield. cis man. he/him. bisexual. 26 or 30. cartoonist / any job that'll make him a buck

* quest james. michael b jordan. cis man. he/him. straight. 33. boxer or pediatrician .

auggie grey. charles melton. cis man. he/him. bisexual. 30. energy engineer / trust fund kid.

orion grey. tom blyth. cis man. he/him. bisexual. 29. video game developer / trust fund kid .

grey williams. thomas doherty. cis man. he/him. bisexual. 27. "starving" artist / trust fund kid .

* primrose bennett . jisoo. cis woman. she/her. bisexual. 28. manager @ hot topic or a thief .

* rico bennett . kadijah red thunder. demigirl. all pronouns are fine but prefers just rico. 28. queer. career varies widely based on verse.

bennie bennett. madelyn cline. cis woman. she/her. bisexual. 27. event coordinator @ a non profit.

* beau bennett. alex fitzalan. cis man. he/him. bicurious. 29. owner of a bbq food truck or a captain in the air force.

* becca bennett. rachelle vinberg. cis woman. she/her. lesbian. 27. car thief or mechanic .

kaiden st. james. tom holland. cis man. he/him. queer. 25. struggling former child star ( dylan o'brien career claim )

angel rossillo. cierra ramirez. cis woman. she/her. bisexual. 28. trust fund kid ( got cut off ) turned waitress .

dexter lloyd. chace crawford. cis man. he/him. bisexual. 38. actor .

guppy gallo . jeremy allen white . cis man . he/him. heteroflexible. 32 . chef / sommelier

noah shredder. kristine froseth. cis woman. she/her. bisexual. 27. marine biologist / shark conservationist.

* drew shredder. zoey deutch. cis woman. she/her. lesbian. 28. surfer or surf instructor or mechanic .

* bodie shredder. barbara palvin or jenna coleman. cis woman. she/her. bicurious. 30 or 38. stunt double.

* aza shredder. kiana maderia. cis woman. she/her. bisexual. 27. street racer or car thief or mechanic.

* jovie du bois . cindy kimberly or maia reficco. demigirl. she/they. bisexual. 27. grifter or art and documents forager or waitress

** hex paul. mia goth. demi girl. they/she. lesbian. 27. engineer / scientist / weapons maker.

( ** ) i generally only play hex in dark verses. think zombies, murder, horror, apocalyptic, vibes. it's possible she can be moved to other verses but i usually don't have much inspo for her in those settings.

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serotoninhq · 1 year

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the team is thrilled to announce the following mun and muse have been accepted! we’re looking forward to develop this world and its future verses with you.

〔 kola bokinni, 30, cis man, he & him ) samson kande was seen listening to upgrade u by Beyoncé. sam/sonny is a celebrity stylist and known to be affluent & hedonistic ( kass )

〔 barbara lopez, 30, demi woman, she & her ) florence de la cruz was seen listening to try by colbie caillat. Flo is a cosmetic chemist and known to be articulate & projective ( kass )

〔 sam otto, 31, genderflux, any ) remington bhuva was seen listening to who let the dogs out by baha men. Remy is the owner of doggy bakery and known to be creative & aloof ( kass )

〔 romulo estrela, 37, cis man, he & him ) marcos bezerra was seen listening to three little birds by bob marley. marcos is a snowboard & surf instructor and known to be adaptable & sporadic ( kass )

〔 anna leong brophy, 31, demi woman, any pronouns ) chunning zheng was seen listening to some kinda wonderful by betty who. chase is a pr manager and known to be approachable & candid ( kass )

〔 natalie martinez, 39, cis woman, she / her) flor peraza was seen listening to 'nfwmb' by hozier. flor is a physical therapist and known to be self-sufficient & perfectionist ( sol )

〔 karen fukuhara, 31, questioning, she / they) takara sugihara was seen listening to 'the only thing worth fighting for' by lera lynn. kara is a software developer and known to be perceptive & indecisive ( sol )

〔 pinar deniz, 29, cis woman, she / her) zainah osman was seen listening to 'honey' by raveena. zay is a florist and known to be attentive & clumsy ( sol )

〔 adam demos, 38, cis man, he/him ) tate foster was seen listening to paralyzer by finger eleven. tate is unemployed and known to be charismatic & haughty ( abby )

〔 im si-wan, 33, demi man, he/they ) baekhyeon koo was seen listening to human by rag'n'bone man. benny is a paramedic and known to be protective & self-sacrificing ( abby )

〔 jamie lee curtis, 65, cis woman, she/her ) sylvia winters was seen listening to fairytale by alexander rybak. sylvia is a elementary school principal and known to be family-oriented & self-sacrificing ( abby )

〔 matthew lillard, 35, demi man, he/they ) joseph lourdes was seen listening to i knew you were trouble by taylor swift. joey/shaggy is a paranormal investigator & content creator and known to be imaginative & eccentric ( abby )

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queenie-the-court-jester · 1 month

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M'sorry, i mean benny:D stupid autocorrect

Whoever this anon is I immediately love you, silly goober

Tw: suicide mention, abusive, power imbalance, human pet, yandere oc

depending on how unstable Benny is, you get multiple answers

The beginning of the relationship: he'd be desperate, doing everything he can to win your affection. Going over budget on gifts and practically following you everywhere, begging for a second chance

Midway: where he starts to develop aggressive tendencies: he'd simply knock you out and tie you onto his bed. Putting on a collar when you want to use the bathroom. Say goodbye to leaving the house, because now he treats you like a human pet. Gross mf

Near the end of his sanity. Let's say you got tired of him and his abusive behavior, so you somehow managed to escape. No doubt you've called the police so he's on the run. Hunting you down as you think you finally ended that chapter. Only to wake up one night with him hovering over your bed, knife in hand and getting ready to stab. Till death do you both part right? (He killed himself soon after)

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dameronscopilot · 2 years

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I’ll Be Your Bright Side

Pt. 3 - Find Me Where the Skies Are Blue

Benjamin “Benny” Miller x f!reader

Summary: Your trip to New York with Benny unfortunately only served to amplify your feelings for your best friend, because now you can't stop thinking about the way it felt to wake up in his arms—platonically or not.

But try as you might to focus your attention elsewhere for the sake of your fragile heart, you just can't escape the pull of Benny Miller's orbit.

Word Count: 7.3k

Rating: 18+ Content: fluff, angst, pining, feels, (eventual) best friends to lovers, Triple Frontier boys and their antics, protective benny, NSFW sexual content

Series Playlist

Part 2 | SERIES MASTERLIST | Part 4

As much as you positively ached to savor the feeling of Benny’s arms around you for just another moment, when the shrill sound of the alarm on your phone went off to signify that it was time to get a move on if you wanted to catch your flight, you forced yourself to move away from the warmth of his body heat for good. You didn’t so much as toss him a parting glance as you slid out of bed, because a part of you knew that you’d end up doing something that you’d regret if you did.

Even now, drifting in the temporary space between the fact and fiction of your relationship, crawling back over and kissing him in your childhood bed would cross the invisible line that remained. Regardless of his feelings, you had a feeling that he’d still cup the back of your head gently and slot his lips against yours, if only because he knew the fragile, tired state you were in.

And you didn’t think you’d ever recover from the mortification of him kissing you back out of pity.

Though the total lifespan of your faux dating ruse with Benny was hardly even twenty-four hours, once your plane touched back down in Florida, you felt slightly disoriented as you reminded yourself that the boundaries of friendship were now firmly back in place. You willed your mind to focus on steering your rolling suitcase through the airport, rather than the way Benny’s hand was gently curled around the crook of your elbow to ensure he didn’t lose you in the crowds of people that were gathered about.

Frankie was waiting in his truck in the pick up area when you exited, lips pursed in concentration as he fiddled with the radio knob. Benny took your bag, hoisting both yours and his up into the bed while you climbed into the backseat.

Leaning forward onto the center console, you turned to the man in the driver’s seat. “Thanks for picking us up Frankie.”

He smiled, tipping his hat toward you as Benny hopped into the passenger seat and added, “Yeah, thanks Fish. Will got tied up at work.”

“No problem. You guys have a good time?” Frankie asked as he pulled away from the curb.

You blanched slightly at the question, thinking back to the strained goodbyes with your parents over breakfast. “We had…a time.”

Frankie met your gaze in the rearview, and Benny turned back to look at you, his voice laced with feigned hurt when he countered, “I took you out for ice cream, though.”

Rolling your eyes, you grinned and leaned your head back against the seat, gazing out the window as Frankie turned onto the highway.

“Yeah, you did.”

—

Shortly after your return, you learned that Emelie’s grandmother’s health had taken a turn, prompting her and Will to set their wedding date for the following month, rather than next year. They hadn’t intended on anything big or elaborate by any means, so with the help of family and friends, their plans to turn their spacious backyard into a last minute wedding venue were quickly set into motion.

As you joined Emelie on trips to places like the florist and craft stores in the weeks that followed, you were incredibly grateful to have a distraction from the thoughts of ruffled blonde hair and bright blue eyes that ruthlessly plagued your mind. It was bad enough that your dreams about him had increased tenfold as of late, forcing you to constantly wake up panting and frustrated after spending the evening drifting in and out of vivid thoughts of Benny’s large hands on your naked hips and his mouth trailing hot kisses from your neck to your lips.

By no means were you a stranger to these nighttime fantasies about your best friend. At this point, you’d come to accept that you weren’t escaping them anytime soon. The problem now was that actually spending the night wrapped up in his arms had unfortunately served to fill in several blanks that had only existed as a product of your imagination up until this point.

Now you knew exactly what it felt like to wake up in the warmth of his arms.

Now you had heard the quiet, steady sounds of his breathing as he slept with his nose buried in the back of your hair.

Now you knew the hushed, husky way he spoke when his voice was still rough with sleep.

Now you knew the way his breath felt as it ghosted over the side of your neck.

Now you had seen firsthand the way his tousled hair looked fresh off of the pillow.

Now you were familiar with the soft expression that danced in his eyes as he opened them to the morning sun, glancing at you from across the meager space between your faces.

And when you had unconsciously drifted closer to Benny in your sleep, vanquishing the remaining distance between your spooning bodies, it left you flush against him when you woke up. Flush against him and able to feel what you realistically knew was a natural thing to find pressed up against your backside in the morning, but it made your insides flood with heat all the same.

Despite your best efforts, these were things you just couldn’t fucking forget. Especially not when you and Benny fell back into your normal routine in between work and wedding planning, one that often found him fast asleep on your couch after late movie nights. It left you all too aware of exactly how many feet of space existed between the living room and your bedroom as you lay in bed staring at the ceiling in the dark with only the loud, incessant beating of your heart for company. It made your heart ache when you quietly made your way into the kitchen the next morning, willing your death grip on the fridge door to quell your desire to find out if your couch could fit the two of you horizontally across its cushions.

And if some nights—when Benny wasn’t inhabiting your living room—you had your own walk of shame as you snatched his favorite throw blanket off of the back of your couch, well, nobody needed to know you’d suddenly made a habit of falling asleep wrapped up in his familiar scent.

In the years since the budding feelings for your best friend had erupted into an intense, unignorable overgrowth of emotions, you’d yet to actually talk to anyone about it. Part of you held onto the pathetic shred of hope that not speaking the words out loud meant that it would be easier to forget about it entirely. But really, the only people that you’d even consider talking to about it were Frankie, Will, Santiago, or Emelie, and the thought of the pitiful expressions that would cross their faces, knowing that your crush on the younger Miller brother was an unrequited disaster, made you want to puke. Profusely.

Needless to say, you suffered in silence. But now, in the wake of The Shared Bed™, the truth was constantly dancing dangerously like a ticking time bomb on the tip of your tongue. You needed someone to tell you to hang it the fuck up, to put you out of your misery. However, with Will and Emelie’s rapidly approaching nuptials, you’d have to wait a bit longer before spilling a load of your depressing word vomit on one of your friends, because the last thing you needed was to encroach on their big day with the revelation of a secret that threatened to ruin everything.

Carefully laid plans be damned, Emelie nearly beat you to the punch one Friday afternoon a week before the wedding when you were on your way to meet with the caterer.

“Alright, I don’t mean to put you on the spot. But I have to know. Did something finally happen between you and Benny in New York, or what?” Emelie asked in a casual voice, one hand resting on the steering wheel, the fingers of her other hand tapping on her knee.

You nearly choked on the gummy bear that you’d just popped into your mouth, and she glanced over at you quickly in concern. After reaching for your water bottle, you laughed nervously, fingers toying with the frayed edges around a hole in the knee of your jeans. “You say finally like you’ve been expecting it or something.”

Emelie stole another glance in your direction as she brought the car to a halt at a red light, an incredulous look on her face. “That’s exactly why I said it like that.”

You bit your lip, eyes resolutely trained on the road ahead. “We’re…just friends.”

“Yeah, okay,” she scoffed, easing back onto the gas pedal.

You felt a stabbing pain in your chest as you replied honestly, “Nothing happened. Benny wouldn’t want that.”

“You’re joking, right?”

Before you could ask her what she meant, the sound of her phone’s ringtone flooding through the car’s speakers interrupted you, and the conversation was all but forgotten in the midst of a three-way call from her mom and her sister about decorations.

Emelie’s words danced in your head on repeat that evening, leaving you to spiral over the implications behind them. But you couldn’t even ease your way back into the topic later, because the next time that you saw her was on Sunday, when Santiago had insisted that—with the wedding set for the following Saturday—you all needed a relaxing, fun day after weeks of scrambling and planning.

Why Santi thought floating down a lazy river was in any way a relaxing activity for the six of you was absolutely beyond your comprehension, given the fact that fifteen minutes in, Benny somehow managed to pop his float after their ill-timed arm wrestling match. As the bag of Fritos that Benny had brought along with him tipped over and spilled out, an army of soggy corn chips now joining in on your floating party, a splashing match ensued, leaving all of you dripping wet.

And of course, because your float just so happened to be the largest amongst the group, Benny ended up climbing up beside you, his body leaning against yours as the inflatable contracted toward the middle under your combined weight.

“I hope you’re planning on rescuing me when this thing sinks, Miller,” you grumbled, internally willing away the goosebumps that were creeping up your arms at the warm, wet feeling of Benny’s skin pressed to yours.

Benny slung his arm over your shoulder, feigning mock offense. “You think I’d let you drown?”

You shot a knowing look over at Santi and Frankie, both of whom were failing miserably in their feeble attempts to hide the ogling they were doing at a group of girls floating past behind their sunglasses. “You might be distracted,” you teased, though the words felt wrong on your tongue.

“Not a chance,” Benny winked as he took off his hat and placed it on your head, running a hand through his wet hair.

You had all of thirty seconds to overthink every syllable that had left Benny’s lips in the past few minutes before Santi’s tube bumped into yours, knocking you back to reality.

“You ready for your hot date on Tuesday, Ben?” Santiago asked, his tone dripping with implication.

Despite the sweltering heat outside and the surprisingly warm temperature of the river, it felt as if someone had dumped freezing cold water over you.

Benny rolled his eyes, whacking Santiago in the arm. “Fuck off, man,” he chuckled.

Santi wiggled his eyebrows suggestively before pushing off to go and bother Frankie, and both men were completely unaware of the fissure inside of you that had just cracked, leaving a gaping canyon through your fragile heart.

Benny turned to you, a grin on his face as he opened his mouth to say something, but you cut him off and swiftly changed the subject, because every single thread you were barely hanging on by would snap the moment you had to hear about whatever girl he was seeing directly from his own lips.

You scraped through the rest of the day on autopilot, putting on just enough of a front that the man beside you would be none the wiser to the fact that you were on the brink of falling apart. When you were finally free to scramble to your car to lick your wounds in private, you resolutely fought the burning urge to cry over your steering wheel until you were home.

Later that evening, you begged off your plans to watch a movie at Benny’s apartment with the excuse that you had a killer stomach ache. Lies be damned, you did feel more than a little nauseous as you sat wrapped up in The Benny Blanket on your couch, mind running through a million and one miserable scenarios of Benny having a girlfriend for the first time since you’d met him. Though you knew it was selfish, because you couldn’t deny how badly Benny deserved a happy relationship, the realization that you’d no longer fit so snugly into his life sent a fresh wave of bitter panic through your gut. The two of you were far too close and comfortable with one another, and he’d definitely be forced to put an appropriate amount of distance between you when you were no longer the girl he should be spending most of his time with.

You needed to get a goddamn grip.

Swiping furiously at the hot tears that stained your cheeks, you flung the blanket across the room and made your way to the kitchen, digging out a fancy bottle of wine from Frankie that you’d stashed under the kitchen sink for a rainy day. And what a fucking rainy day this was.

As the liquid in the bottle steadily disappeared, you ignored the string of texts from Benny that sat waiting patiently on your phone’s lock screen, opting to instead download that stupid dating app again. Several swigs and a few hiccups later, you were logged back into your account, and your thumbs took control as you searched through your inbox and fired off a message before you could change your mind.

The next morning, you woke up to find yourself curled up on the couch, tucked in with the fuzzy plaid blanket that had somehow found its way back over to you. You groaned at the bright light that filtered in through your blinds, your head pounding from your hangover. Flopping a hand out in the direction of the coffee table, you reached for your phone, but your fingers came in contact with a piece of paper instead.

You grabbed it and held it in front of your face, immediately recognizing Benny’s handwriting.

Brought you pho for your stomach, but you were passed out. Left in the fridge.

P.S. Don’t think wine is good for a stomach ache.

P.P.S. Can’t believe you passed out in the middle of The Princess Bride, wtf!!!

Glancing sideways, you saw your water bottle and a container of Advil had been placed beside your phone.

—

Early on Tuesday evening, you were putting the finishing touches on your hair when you heard the sound of someone walking into your apartment. Well aware of who it was, you rolled your eyes and made no rush to greet him. Didn’t he have a date?

“Damn,” Benny whistled when you finally walked out into the living room to find him sprawled out on your couch, a bag of chips that’d he’d pilfered from your cabinet sitting open in his lap.

Like clockwork, a blooming bud of warmth unfurled in the pit of your chest under the weight of his stare (followed by a chastising remark from your heart to fucking let it go). Worrying your lower lip between your teeth, you spun around, glancing down at the outfit you’d finally settled on. Jeans and a blouse ultimately won out over a dress in an attempt to keep things on the right side of casual, though you’d opted to then put the extra effort into your hair and makeup at the very least.

“Too much? Not enough?” you asked, uncertainty lingering in your tone.

“I mean it kinda feels like a waste for you to look that good if we’re just going to be sitting here eating takeout food, but I’m not complaining,” he clarified with a grin.

Wait, didn’t he have plans?

“I have a date,” you explained, and saying the words to Benny felt so wrong on your lips you nearly started to feel sick.

Benny’s hand froze midway on its journey to his mouth, a piece of a Dorito falling into his lap. “A date?” he asked, dumbfounded.

Willing yourself desperately not to make any self-serving assumptions based on his tone, you put your hands on your hips. “Is that so hard to believe?”

Benny genuinely looked to be at a loss for words, and he nearly fumbled when he finally replied, “No. Uh. Just didn’t know you were dating again.”

I’m not. I just need to stop thinking about you before I lose my mind.

You swallowed down the words you wanted to say, pushing them down deep as you regretfully offered him a different response. “We’re just doing trivia night. Frankie and Santiago are coming so it’s not weird.”

Benny raised an eyebrow, opened his mouth, and then shut it. After a moment, he inquired, “What’s tonight’s topic?”

“Star Wars…” you trailed off, already knowing what was coming.

He balked, jaw threatening to drop to the floor. “You’re bringing Frankie ‘Wait is that wheezing dude supposed to be his dad?’ Morales and Santiago ‘Phantom Menace Bitch’ Garcia…and you didn’t invite me?”

Well, when he put it like that, it did certainly sound like you had set your evening up for disaster. But even if Benny was free, you’d have to have been halfway out of your mind to invite him. The whole point of tonight was to get your mind off of the man you were hopelessly in love with, not to shove a scalding hot poker into your unrequited purgatory by placing his stupidly pretty, smiling face front and center while you were on a date.

“I thought you had a hot date tonight,” you retorted.

Benny snorted, nearly choking on a chip in the process. He coughed a few times and then looked at you, bewildered. “A fucking what?!”

You threw your hands into the air. “Santi mentioned it when we were on the river!”

Benny dramatically dropped his head back onto the arm of the couch. When he lifted it back up, he ran a hand through his hair and laughed. “Yeah, remember I started offering one-on-one lessons at the gym this week? That little old lady that always winks at me and brings me cookies after her pilates class had an appointment with me this afternoon.”

Santiago was a dead man walking.

“So…you’re free tonight…” you trailed off.

“Nope,” he grinned. “I’m coming to trivia to make sure those idiots don’t ruin our team’s winning streak.”

You were interrupted by a knock at the door before you could process the kind of night that you were in for, and you turned to Benny, waving a finger threateningly. “Don’t scare him off!”

Benny snatched a napkin out of the box sitting on the coffee table, primly wiping the chip dust off of his fingers as he said in a mock-affronted tone, “Now why would I do something like that?”

When you opened the door, Dan from the cursed dating app stood in your doorway wearing black-rimmed glasses and a denim jacket decorated with an assortment of enamel pins. Though he wasn’t quite as tall as your best friend, he did indeed still bear a resemblance to Benny in person (albeit a nerdier version).

“Hey,” he said with a smile, handing you a small bouquet of wildflowers.

You thanked him and ushered him inside, watching as he took in the collage of paintings hanging up in your entryway—frames that Benny had spent nearly four hours agonizing over with a laser level when he insisted on hanging them up for you recently.

Speaking of Benny, who was now casually leaning against the kitchen counter and flipping a wrapped packet of tea between his fingers, a cold feeling of mortification ran down your spine when you clocked the exact moment he recognized Dan from the dating app. As if your crush wasn’t obvious enough, bringing home a guy that looked like him would really do the trick.

Dan eventually noticed Benny, and he startled for a moment. Though he was aware he’d be meeting your friends at the bar, he hadn’t known one of them would be at your apartment (and to be fair, neither did you).

“Hey man, I’m Dan. Nice to meet you.” Your date stepped closer to Benny, sticking out a hand.

“Likewise. Benny,” he nodded, offering him a firm handshake in return.

Making your way into the kitchen, you busied yourself searching for the glass vase that you knew was buried somewhere in there. At the sound of glass clinking against something, you looked up from where you were hunched over to see Benny closing the small cabinet door above the fridge, vase in hand.

“Thanks. Forgot about that cabinet!” you chirped, taking it from him to add some water before placing the flowers in it.

You set it down on the counter near the window, directly beside a little tropical plant in a purple pot that Benny had showed up with the other day.

When you finished, you turned around to find Benny staring at the flowers, though his eyes immediately snapped up to yours. He cleared his throat. “I was just heading out, gotta stop back at my place first anyway. I’ll see you guys there.”

Normally, Benny would do something on the way out like ruffle your hair or nudge your foot with his. But this time, he walked right past you, slipping on his shoes and leaving without so much as a brush of your shoulders. And even though Dan was standing right there beside you, your apartment had suddenly never felt so empty before.

You and Dan hit it off well enough on your drive to the bar in his dark blue sedan, a playlist that sounded like something you’d made yourself drifting through the speakers, and you tried to ignore the lingering sense of dread that hovered at the edges of your consciousness.

When your phone lit up from where it was perched on top of your thigh, your heart leapt in your chest as you saw Benny’s name flash across the screen. You bit back a laugh—he’d changed his name in your phone when the two of you were kicking back a case of beer late one night last week.

Benny is so HOT: help!!

Furrowing your brows, you tapped out a response.

Yes?

A series of two selfies taken in Benny’s bathroom mirror came through, and he was donning a different Star Wars shirt in each one.

Benny is so HOT: need to make sure i look cool when we win

You rolled your eyes, smiling to yourself as you told him to wear the second one, an obnoxious vintage green and blue tie dye design that you’d gotten him for Christmas a couple of years ago.

Benny is so HOT: thanks baaaaaaabe

When you walked into the bar with Dan, you were surprised to see Will and Emelie sitting at your usual table for trivia as well.

“Thought you guys were busy?” you asked in surprise.

Emelie smirked, “We finished up early. It’d be a shame to miss Star Wars trivia night.”

“You mean it’d be a shame to miss Benny in full out nerd mode when he yells at Pope and Fish for fucking up half of the answers,” Will snorted.

After introductions were made, you and Dan grabbed the two remaining empty seats at the table, which placed you directly across from Benny—he'd somehow still beat you there.

“So, Dan. You like Star Wars?” Benny asked casually, taking a sip from the soda sitting in front of him.

Dan chuckled beside you, and while it was a pleasant sound, you couldn’t help but think about how it didn’t compare to the comforting rumble of laughter you were so used to hearing from your best friend.

“Oh yeah. My dad basically raised me on the original trilogy,” he answered.

Once the game began, empty glasses began to accumulate on your table. As Frankie and Santi groped for wrong answers, Will and Emelie helped out where they could, and you found yourself playing referee between the other two men at the table, both of whom seemed determined to prove they were the real Star Wars expert. You did manage to shut both of them up when they were too busy getting sidetracked by a debate about a minor, one-off character and nearly missed a question, which you answered yourself while they were distracted.

Eventually, you excused yourself to go order another drink at the bar, your mind drifting as you waited for the bartender to acknowledge you.

Will’s voice shook you out of your stupor. “So…your date looks like Benny,” he commented, eyes fixated on the football game playing on the television behind the bar.

You forced your voice to remain steady as you replied, “Are you insinuating something, William?”

Will raised his eyebrows, putting his hands up in surrender. “Just making an observation.”

The last thing you wanted was to unpack the sordid details of your pathetic, unrequited Benny Miller saga right there at the bar with Will. Will, who was always so straightforward and calculated about everything. Will, who always knew more than he let on. Will, who would be kind, but likely wouldn’t sugarcoat it, when he confirmed your suspicions that your crush on his brother was nothing more than a complete and total waste of time.

“There’s such a thing as coincidences,” you stated mildly, picking up the glass that had been placed in front of you.

“Sure,” he responded as you began to walk away, though he didn’t sound at all convinced.

When you returned to the table, Benny was pointing an aggravated finger at Frankie. “Fish, if you mix up one more answer with Star Trek, I’m tying you to a chair and forcing you to watch all of the Star Wars films on repeat.”

“You’re in a mood, tonight, Benny,” Santiago commented.

Benny whirled on him. “You, too, Pope. You both fuckin’ suck. How did you forget that Luke and Leia are brother and sister?!”

“They kissed, it’s confusing!” Santi complained.

Benny flicked a peanut shell at his face as you settled back down into your chair.

After your team somehow still achieved yet another trivia night victory two hours later, Benny excused himself from the table to make his way over to the jukebox in the corner. However, when the next couple of songs were ones that you knew he wouldn’t be caught dead listening to, let alone paying money to play, you scanned the room for his tall frame in confusion. You eventually found him leaning against a table instead, an easy grin on his face as he chatted with two girls.

Santi, having also seen what Benny was doing, leaned in to mutter to Frankie, “Don’t know why he’s so damn stubborn. He could take both of them home tonight if he wanted to.”

The mental images that cropped up in your head unbidden sent a fresh wave of nausea careening through your stomach.

Without allowing yourself to think too much about it, you turned to Dan, who was idly chatting with Emelie and Will. “Are you busy Friday night?”

Dan looked surprised, and the corners of his lips turned upward in a smile. “Nope. You wanna hang out again?”

You nodded, resolutely ignoring the feeling of your friends’ gazes burning on you. “Benny's an MMA fighter. We all usually try to go out and support him at his fights when we can, and his next one is on Friday."

Dan finished his drink and nodded. “Never been to one, but that sounds fun. I’m in.”

When you all went to leave the bar later, Santiago and Frankie called a cab, and Emelie, who hadn’t had anything to drink, drove herself and Will home. Dan’s car was parked beside Benny’s red pick up truck, and your best friend eyed your date curiously as he went to open the driver’s side door.

“You driving home, Dan?” he asked, his words laced with an odd tone that you weren’t used to hearing from him.

Dan looked up at him from across the roof of the car and shrugged, adjusting his glasses with two fingers. “Yeah, I mean, I only had a few drinks. I’m fine, man. It’s not far.”

Benny gently pushed the passenger door, which you had just pulled open slightly, closed. “Well I didn’t drink tonight. You live far? I’ll drop both of you off, she’s just around the corner from my place.” He gestured to you when he said the last part.

Though he seemed hesitant to accept the offer, Dan eventually relented. “You know what? Sure, why not. My place is pretty close. Thanks.”

Benny’s posture relaxed slightly, though there was a bite to his words when he made his way over to the passenger side of his own vehicle and added, “I know my truck isn’t as environmentally conscious as your little hybrid over there, but at least you guys’ll get home safe.”

You raised an eyebrow, turning to Benny as he opened the door for you with a flourish, his face painted with innocence.

As if everything else that occurred throughout the day hadn’t been awkward enough, all of it paled in comparison to sitting sandwiched in the truck between Benny and Dan. Eager to avoid unnecessary conversation, you quickly fumbled for the radio knobs.

Benny’s right knee hovered against yours as Dan hopped out of the car when you arrived at his house ten minutes later, and neither of you acknowledged the fact that you didn’t bother scooting over toward the window once the passenger seat was vacated.

Between work and wedding scrambling, you didn’t have a chance to see Benny over the next couple of days, and you couldn’t decide if that was better or worse for the confusing mess of emotions that stormed your insides like a vicious tropical storm. While part of you almost wanted to revoke the invite you’d extended to Dan, you told yourself whatever flickers of false hope that you thought you were feeling were nothing more than a fool’s errand. You had to stop reading into things. You needed to fucking get over Benny.

When Friday evening finally rolled around, Benny’s contact photo (a picture of his head thrown back in laughter that never failed to make your knees weak) lit up across your phone screen.

“Hey. Me and Will are gonna swing by to pick you up for the match in like twenty. Sound good?”

You’d neglected to inform him that Dan was picking you up, and for whatever reason, you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him now, either. “Ah, don’t worry about it. I’ll meet you there!”

Though he seemed confused by your response, given that you normally drove with him to his matches more often than not, he didn’t question it further. Because Dan ended up running a bit late, you didn’t get a chance to peek into the locker room to wish Benny luck beforehand, which was unlike you. As you made your way into the rowdy, crowded room where the ring was, you made a beeline for the cage, waving a hand to get Benny’s attention.

The hard expression on his face morphed into something far softer when his eyes caught the thumbs up you were giving him, and he nodded in your direction with a smile. However, you could have sworn his expression flickered for a second when he saw Dan standing behind you.

Although Benny had beaten this particular opponent several times before, the match proved to be a struggle.

“Man, Benny’s really off of his game tonight,” Santi sighed, and you flinched as you watched your best friend take a heavy hit square in the jaw.

“Yeah, he seems distracted,” Frankie commented, scratching his chin.

You chewed at your nails anxiously as you watched Benny stumble. His fighting style was all wrong—it was sloppy and uncoordinated, and there was an erratic edge to it that prevented him from falling into his normally focused rhythm.

Blood streamed down the side of Benny’s face when he eventually strode out of the ring, bristling with irritation over the loss. You stood with intent to follow him to the locker room, but Will came up beside you and laid a hand on your shoulder.

“He’s in a mood tonight. I know he hates losing, but he usually doesn’t get this riled up. Let me knock some sense into his thick head, you go enjoy the rest of your date.” He nodded toward where Dan was sitting on one of the benches beside Santi and Frankie.

It felt wrong to drive away from the parking lot without checking on Benny, the sharp tug on your heart pulling your eyes to the side-view mirror of Dan’s car as if you’d see him standing there waiting for you to turn around. Dan could likely tell your mind was elsewhere, and both of you wordlessly acknowledged that he’d be dropping you off and nothing more when he pulled up to the curb beside your apartment building.

Shortly after settling in on your couch in more comfortable clothes, you texted Benny to see how he was feeling and if he was home yet. You’d probably head over there if he was. However, when another two and a half hours passed and several of your messages went unanswered, you began to grow concerned.

You lifted your phone to your ear, listening to the steady ringing noise as you tried to call Benny for the third time. When it went to voicemail again, you groaned in frustration, dropping the device onto the cushion beside you. Benny never ignored your texts and calls, where the fuck was he? The unkind corner of your brain readily supplied an image of Benny with one of the many various girls that liked to enthusiastically cheer him on from the sidelines at his matches, and an undignified noise escaped your mouth as you pressed the palms of your hands to your eyes in frustration.

A moment later, you were startled by the sound of a knock at your door. Who would be showing up unannounced this late? Normally Benny would be the only answer to that question, but he didn’t knock. He had a key.

You strode over to the entryway and peered through the peephole, surprised to see your best friend standing there with his hands in his pockets. Confused, you opened the door and immediately asked, “Since when do you knock, Miller?”

He fucking reeked of alcohol, and he swayed slightly on his feet. Ignoring your question, his eyes focused on the living room behind you as he asked, “Where is he? I wanna tell him that he’s not good enough for you.”

What?

Your heart stumbled in your chest, and you gripped the door handle in an attempt to ground yourself.

“Dan isn’t here,” you said simply, stepping aside and opening the door wider as you gestured for him to come inside.

Benny’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he paused in the middle of his ungraceful attempt to kick his shoes off and indignantly exclaimed, “He didn’t want to hang out with you after the match? The fuck is wrong with him?”

You cleared your throat before grabbing his forearm and tugging him in the direction of the kitchen. “I didn’t want to hang out with him after. I actually wanted to check on you and see if you were alright, but you’ve been ignoring my texts and calls,” you snapped.

He at least looked slightly embarrassed as you opened the fridge and shoved a bottle of water into his hands. “Sorry. I…had a few drinks after Will dropped me off, and I lost track of time.”

You shot him a judgemental look. “You do realize that the wedding is tomorrow, and Emelie’s going to kill you if you show up looking like hell with a hangover.”

Benny scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know, I know. I fucked up.”

You sighed. “The ceremony doesn’t start till four, at least. You need to get some sleep. Go take my bed, you’ll probably roll right off the couch like this. I’ll sleep out here.”

Though you could tell Benny looked like he wanted to say more, and everything inside of you was screaming for you to ask him why he thought he could judge who was and wasn’t good enough to be with you, this wasn’t the time or place to open a door that you might not want to step inside of. Not the night before his brother’s wedding. However, when you turned to go back toward the living room, Benny stopped you by wrapping a hand around your wrist.

No. He was drunk. Benny was always even more touchy with you than usual with alcohol in his system; this was nothing new. It didn’t mean anything.

Another night in his arms would fucking ruin you. You couldn’t.

But your resolve was hopeless up against the pleading expression on his face. You were so fucking weak for this man, it was pathetic.

And that’s how you found yourself tangled up in the warmth of Benny’s sleeping embrace once again, though it felt inexplicably more intimate when you were entangled under the sheets of this bed now. The bed that you slept in alone each and every night. The bed in which you’d entertained far too many fantasies starring the man beside you to even bother trying to keep count. For all that you thought that the first time was going to leave an aching dent in your heart, you knew that this was infinitely worse.

You dozed in and out of sleep, hyper aware of the way Benny’s steady breathing occasionally rustled your hair. The way his fingers lingered gently on your shoulder. The way he hooked his ankle around yours and pulled it closer in his sleep.

Hours later, when your phone screen read 4:15 a.m., you slipped out of bed and tiredly shuffled into the kitchen for a glass of water. As you returned to your bedroom and laid back down, Benny’s blue eyes cracked open.

“‘m sorry,” he said, voice slightly muffled by the pillow.

“It’s okay,” you assured him gently.

Benny propped himself up on an elbow, still slightly drunk but far more sober than he’d been when he collapsed in your bed. “S’not. I was jealous.”

Your blood rushed in your ears as your heartbeat accelerated at his admission. “You…were?” you asked carefully.

“Yeah. I know it was real fuckin’ immature of me to show up here drunk off my ass. But…you deserve better than that guy. You always have.” His eyes burned into yours.

“I’m just tired of being alone, Benny,” you sighed.

Benny was quiet for a moment until he replied, “I’m right here.”

“That’s not what I mean…” you trailed off, self preservation refusing to let you twist his words into something that wasn’t there. Pillow talk with rose tinted glasses was a fucking dangerous game.

“I know what you mean,” Benny said firmly, reaching out to tentatively rest a hand against your cheek.

“Do you?” You wondered if the rapid beating of your heart was reverberating across the mattress.

“I do,” he breathed out, his breath hot as it fanned over your lips. When had your faces gotten so close?

You didn’t know where’d you unearthed the stroke of bravery that allowed the next words to leave your mouth. “Then show me.”

The cacophony of noise and thrum of anxiety in your brain hushed to a muted hum as Benny slid his hand to the back of your head, and anticipation shot up your spine as his nose brushed against yours. Your hand drifted to the collar of his shirt, thumb brushing over a frayed edge before sliding upward to thread into his tousled hair. There was an audible hitch in his breath, his lips parting slightly.

“Yeah?” His lips ghosted over yours as the belated question fell from his mouth, one last chance for you to step back from the ledge.

Instead, you finally let go of the frayed rope you’d been clinging to for years and jumped.

“Yeah.”

And then Benny’s lips crashed into yours in a bruising kiss.

Kissing Benny felt like freefalling. It felt like finally giving in and swimming into the pull of an insistent current. It felt like the first vivid rays of sunrise and the last glowing winks of sunset.

It felt like coming home.

You didn’t know how much time passed as your mouth moved against his, charting new territory that you wanted to memorize until you were breathless. And as the kiss grew more heated, you pushed yourself impossibly closer into Benny’s arms, your body flush against his, allowing you to feel the evidence of the erection that strained against the front of his sweatpants. Nerve endings already alight from the desperate, needy way his lips were engulfing yours, you pressed your hips into his, a flood of pleasure curling in your belly as your hot core pressed against his hard shaft.

“Fuck,” Benny moaned against your mouth, deepening the kiss.

You keened as he reciprocated the action, firmly dragging his length along the apex of your thighs, where your underwear and sleep shorts were quickly dampening with arousal.

“Benny,” you whined, letting his name fall from your lips in a way that only the four private walls of your bedroom had become quite accustomed to during many a lonely night.

He groaned huskily in response, hands flying down to grip your waist as he rolled onto his back and pulled you on top of him. As he returned one hand to your head to pull your mouth back down to his, his other remained firmly planted on your hip as he rutted up into you.

His kisses grew sloppier when you rolled your hips against him, your tongues sliding together, his teeth grazing your bottom lip. The coiling tension in your gut made you quiver as you felt the thickness of Benny’s shaft drag against your throbbing entrance over your clothes, your slick folds sliding easily over your soaking wet underwear.

Benny whispered your name roughly, and you opened your eyes to meet his gaze just as the fire in your abdomen unfurled in a wave of white-hot heat, your climax washing over you. Gasping at the pleasure that flooded your body, you stole another kiss, and Benny moaned into your mouth, arms wrapping around you tightly as his own orgasm punched through him.

You carefully rolled off of him as you both caught your breath, but Benny pulled you sideways back to his chest, holding you close and pressing a kiss to the top of your head, too tired to make his way to the bathroom to clean himself up.

There were too many things you wanted to say. Too many things you needed to tell him.

But instead, you gave in to the tide of exhaustion that tugged insistently at your consciousness, and you fell into a dreamless sleep in Benny’s arms.

When you woke up back up later as the sun was pouring in through the parted curtains in your room, you found that you were alone in your bed. Alone in your apartment.

There was no note on your nightstand from Benny.

No text messages.

No missed calls.

There was nothing.

He left.

—-

Feedback in the form of comments, reblogs, and/or asks is always greatly appreciated!

Part 2 | SERIES MASTERLIST | Part 4

*Benny's POV during Dan's arrival at your apartment

#I'll Be Your Bright Side #IBYBS #Benny Miller #Ben Miller #Benjamin Miller #Ben Miller x reader #Benny Miller x reader #Garrett Hedlund #Garrett Hedlund fanfiction #Benny Miller fanfiction #Triple Frontier #Triple Frontier fanfiction #dee writes

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oflowtides · 1 year

Text

closed starter for @ncnchalantly location: the park

“So, obviously I know thought goes into flower arrangements you buy,” Benny started, gesturing to the flower beds. “But what about stuff like that? Do florists get paid to make up flower beds in public spaces?”

#benny poynter ; threads #benny and raine 1

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whiskeyshoneybee · 2 years

Text

Know when to hold “em

Pairing Frankie Morales x F! Chef

Rating: teen for language

Summary: Chef and Frankie meet and have some quality time at poker night

A/N: Thoughts are italicized. Talks of insecurity, Frankie and chef are insecure. Talk of food.

Word count: 3K

After spending three days cooking like a madwoman, the spread for the event was complete. And calling in all the favors you had there was enough waitstaff to work. It was still nerve racking. Sure, a soft launch would have been nice but this was a wonderful opportunity and you had to jump in feet first. The event space would provide table cloths, cutlery, dishes, and glasses. Hannah being an absolutely wonderful person had gotten centerpieces donated from a florist she had worked with before. All you had to do was bring the food and the rest would fall into place. It took both yours and Hannah's cars to load up everything. Maybe you over estimated how much food but after a quick google search hockey players are tall thick giants who probably eat a large amount of calories a day. There is nothing worse than running out of food before an event is over.

The staff meet you in the back of the parking deck to help unload and begin the final prep for the day. Everything was going swimmingly, almost suspiciously so. Like any good momager Hannah dragged you from the kitchen to take a break and soak in the success of the event. Backstage, the event hasn't started yet. They were taking the kids and their hockey partner down the runway to make everyone feel more comfortable and have a good practice before the nerves of the real thing. You quickly texted the staff to bring a table backstage so you could set up some food for all the stagehands and hungry kids, everyone should get to enjoy good food today. Plating and arranging the last items you couldn't help but overhear the hushed whispers of admiring fans.

“Oh my god, it's the Miller brothers, they are so handsome. I like Santi more, he is such a good fighter.”

You resisted the temptation as long as you could to look in their direction, not wanting to give them any satisfaction. People swooned over them all the time but they were just dudes. Your eyes were met with 4 attractive men. The two blonds had to be brothers. One long and lanky with a hint of trouble in his eyes. The other powerful, quiet with the look of contemplation across his face. The next man had wild dark curls and oozed confidence, this must be the fighter. But who was the other man? There was something different. He looked strong, sturdy, solid but with a softness. His brown curls threaten to break out of the carefully coiffed gel style. His eyes were amber with honey, he was beautiful.

And he caught you staring. He flashed a smile. The warmth of embarrassment worked over your whole body. Those yucky intrusive thoughts started again in your head. I bet he smiles like that at all the girls, in fact he probably isn’t even looking at you, there must be some glamazon behind you. Returning your thought to the task at hand you were finishing up the last adjustments.

“Shit this looks beautiful, what is all this?” Turning to face one of the blonde giants, you explain what the different types of food are watching as he samples each one. His eyes roll to the back of his head. “Guys you gotta try this!” He waves over the rest of his posse including Mr.Dreamy eyes. Act natural. They all take curious looks at the assortment of food. The other blonde dives in practically inhaling the small platter. “ This is amazing. Do you cook for parties? We do a poker night and I’m sick of being the only one who can contribute.”

“ I’m Will, this is Benny, Santiago and Frankie.” So Mr. Dreamy eyes has a name, Frankie.

“ I do, let me get you my business card.” Checking the absurd amount of pockets in the chef's clothes results in nothing, Hannah magically appears out of thin air with a stack of cards.

“ She is great, you should check out her Instagram for more of her work.” She introduces herself before running off to do styling and take more pictures.

“ I am not as culinary inept as Will makes me seem.” Frankie replied while sticking his fidgety hands in his pocket.

Don’t say a bad food pun don’t say a bad food pun.

“What kinds of food do you like to make?”

“Mostly everything, I love spicy food. Anything with green chili and I’m all over it, I have a big sweet tooth that’s why I look like this.” He motions to the barley there hit of a tummy.

“ I think you look great.” Shit did I say that out loud? You feel the heat of embarrassment once again on your face. What is it about this man that makes you feel like a dorky teenager again.

“ Oh my god I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean that.” He closes the distance between the two of you.

“ That's a bummer, I was hoping this suit looked good.” Frankie laughs showing a gorgeous dimple you didn’t notice before. The other men seemed to have dispersed with their hands full of food. A kid in a fluffy princess dress runs up to Frankie. A stressed out stagehand following closely behind.

“ Hi Mr. Morales this is Isabella your partner for tonight, you are up next on the catwalk. Please follow me.” He crouched down to be more eye level with her“ Hi, Isabella, you are a beautiful model, I’m so lucky to be walking with you.” He took the boutineer from his suit and gave it to her. Shit. he is funny, hot and nice to children . The three of them leave you to practice and be alone with thoughts of Mr. Dreamy, Frankie. The food table looks like it was hit by a tornado and needs to be restocked. The guys took all the food.

*******************************************************************************************

The show went off without a hitch. The kids had a wonderful time, the money raised would help so many kids with different medical procedures. Standing at the back of the room you were watching from afar to make sure there was food and drinks at the tables, food was being cleared. Thankfully the estimations on the amount of food was right and there wouldn't be too many leftovers. The adrenaline from the day was weaning away and a wall of exhaustion was threatening to hit you but it was time to pony up and head home. The woman in charge of the event had left a large envelope in the now spotless kitchen. Eagerly tearing into it, you find the check almost too beautiful to deposit. The first taste of success was making your chest well with pride. A small piece of paper was clipped behind the check.

Thank you so much for covering this event on short notice. We want to show our gratitude and would love to have you work future events.

Best,

Linda.

There were two season ticket passes in the folder. This hockey stuff was starting to rub off on you.

*******************************************************************************************

The loft apartment was eclipsing the sky. Gray and upscale it felt like you did not belong. Truthfully you did not belong here because it is Will Miller's apartment. Goalie for the Mudbugs. In general when most people say I’ll call you for work they don't mean it. That's why it was a shock that you stood outside this behemoth building. Will had called a few days after the event and was so enthused with the menu possibilities. The consultation call lasted well over an hour with him changing his mind. The star of the menu was carne asada tacos, paired with jicama salad, chips, salas and flan.

Shifting from one foot to the other trying to build courage you rang the intercom for 3B trying to balance the heavy box.

“Hey, its me, your Uber eats.”

“Very funny, come on up.”

The apartment was very open in contrast to how the outside looked like a gray building out of Gotham city. Floor length windows with a view of downtown, cream and pops of navy were surrounding you. You were at a loss for words at the kitchen. Large appliances, and counter space for days.

“It's not much but it gets the job done.” Will said, rubbing the back of his neck acting modest about his not so humble abode.

“Its beautiful. You must do a lot of entertaining”

“In the off season, even then it's hard to find the time. That's probably why I spend so much time with the boys cause we're all on the same schedule. Game night became a way for us to wind down without the worry of parties or paparazzi.”

It must be lonely, spending so much time away from home, and being so locked into a schedule you're isolated .

“It must be hard to be on such a strict schedule.”

“It’s not so bad when you get to do what you love. I'm gonna get outta your way, holler if you need anything!” He made his way into one of the back rooms and turned on the tv.

Unpacking and pulling out the cooking schedule you get to work. Benny, who you learn is the younger brother, arrives early no doubt to spend time with Will and to sample the food before everyone gets there. He is wearing one of those green plastic casino visors for poker night. He asks questions and steals bites full of food when he thinks you aren't looking. Santiago is the next to arrive. He brings the booze and the poker materials.

“Well, well, well. This is a lovely surprise. If you're here that means Will won't be complaining about cooking for once. What's on the menu ?”

Santiago, also takes his turn to inspect the food much like Benny, while you are explaining what is what, hovering next to you in the kitchen. Frankie is last to the party and is even more handsome in jeans and a T-shirt than a suit. How is he so broad?

They look cozy, naturally of course Pope is the smoothest why wouldn't she want to be near him.

He greeted you cheerfully flashing that dimple making his way to the kitchen, the last one of the boys to give their stamp of approval. “Is this what I think it is?” his finger dips into the green sauce and his eyes roll back in their head. “ It's green chili salsa.” For a dinner that Will organized she remembered one of my favorite foods. Frankie could feel a cozy kind of warmth seep into his body. Santiago was opening the beers for everyone, yourself included. “Oh, thank you but I don't wanna intrude.”

“Come on, you can’t do all this work and not stay for a while.” Santiago says waving the beer to you. “ Are you guys sure I don’t wanna be a bother.” Your eyes were looking into the four pairs in front of you looking for any sign of hesitation. Will hands you the bottle. “Stay a while, have some fun.”

Several rounds later in the smoky haze from the cigars, your walls came down. The guys were super competitive. Benny is a sore loser, threatening to leave and take all the chips after losing a good hand to Santiago. Frankie is a card shark winning the most he has ever had in their ongoing game night, he owes it to you, his good luck charm sat next to him. It had been some time since you had played poker and Frankie had been patient explaining the rules and leaning over to whisper about the guys' different tells. Frankie is an expert at reading people and was happy to see your body language opening up during the night. He couldn’t help himself, wanting to keep whispering in your ear and catching a whiff of your sweet smelling shampoo. Looking over to Frankie on your turn he gave you a wink and you called Will’s bluff.

“Fish, no cheating!” Will slammed his cards to the table and ventured into the kitchen for another beer. “Cool off Ironhead, let's take a break.”

Excusing yourself to the restroom to have a brief respite from the testosterone storm, you looked in the elegant mirror in the bathroom.

What am I doing here playing cards with these hockey hunks, Hannah is never going to believe this. Frankie and Santiago were in the kitchen finishing up the last bit of chips and salsa.

“She is incredible Fish, but if you keep helping her win, Will and Benny are gonna lose it.”

“I know, I know. You just don't wanna lose your winning streak.” he said, jabbing him in the ribs. “She's cute and a good cook. You should go for it” Santiago said, wiggling his eyebrow. Frankie could feel the blush creeping on his face and took his hat off to scratch at his curls. “She’s something man. I just don't know if she would like me.”

“Quit gossiping in there and let's play!” Benny shouted from the table. Everyone filtered back into the room. “Let's make this final round interesting.” Santiago flashing mischief in his eyes while shuffling the cards.

‘Strip poker?!”

“ Ben no, we don't need to see more of you. Loser cleans the kitchen.” Santaigo's eyes dart to Frankie. Cabron really would do anything to keep his winning streak. “No, you guys don't have to do that I'll clean up my cooking mess.” Will looks over to you “I'm sure the loser can handle a few dishes.” Two beats of silence pass, “Okay, you're on.”

Then there were three, Frankie, you and Benny. You were staring Benny down, trying to figure out if this golden retriever was being honest or bullshiting you. A warm hand grazes your thigh lightly spelling “do it” from the corner of your eye you look at Frankie who is laser focused on Benny. “ I raise you Benny.” A puff of air escapes his lips

"Damn it, I fold….okay lets see those cards.” Frankie looks at you giving you a puppy dog look. “Three of a kind.” You hold his gaze, chewing the inside of your lip “ Five of a kind.'' The rest of the guys are hollering and cheering that you beat Frankie. “ You better get in there Scullery Maid Morales.” Santiago tapped Frankie on the back.

“As always its been fun boys, you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.” Will says as he leaves the table headed into the back of the loft. Frankie had started clearing the plates from the table bringing them into the kitchen, while Santiago and Benny left. “If you wash, I’ll dry.” You offer to Frankie, which he gladly accepts. You couldn't deny that Frankie looked good, his sleeves rolled up and his large hands making easy work of the dishes. Getting lost in the motion of his hands hypnotizing you thinking about how good those hands would feel. The conversations flowed easily. Talking about family, friends, food and eventually hockey. “ So, who's your favorite team?”

“Total honesty, I've never watched a hockey game.” Frankie pauses, his hands stopping in the soapy suds to give you his full attention. “So you know nothing about hockey or anything about the Mudbugs?” Looking at the waffle fabric in the drying towel trying to not meet his eyes, you felt small and unsure. “ No, I just know cardshark Frankie, not hockey player Frankie. How did you get so good at cards?” returning your gaze to his handsome face. “I spent a lot of time with my Abuela, helping her around the house and we would always play cards together, she helped me learn math that way.” Yet another reason Frankie was too good to be true. He was taking his time to wash the last pot, trying to prolong spending time together to learn more about you. He reluctantly passed the pot to you and pulled out cleaning supplies from under the sink to wipe the counters down. “Your making my job way to easy.” You gently nudge his shoulder “It's the least I can do since you beat Santi, he rarely loses and he needs to be humbled from time to time.” You had started putting your things away into the box, noting the envelope Will had snuck in there. You didn't want to leave. “Thank you for helping..with the game and cleaning up.” Meeting his deep brown eyes. “You did great tonight….It's really icey out, can I help carry this out for you.”

You were ogling him. His shirt pulled tight against his back accentuating the muscle and his biceps. Praying to the elevator gods that it would run smoothly because to be trapped in an enclosed space with this man would be a test of all your willpower.

He was just being nice, he didn't think of you in that way. You didn't even know anything about hockey, his entire livelihood. You quickly changed the subject hoping he wouldn't mansplain the importance of the game.

Walking to your car Frankie was right, you nearly slipped three times before he demanded that you link your arm into his to keep you steady. He smelled too good, smoky from the cigars, pine, lemon and something masculine unique to Frankie.

This is it. Don't be an idiot, you need to make a move but not a big move or she will think you're a creep. She is so warm tucked into my side trusting me to keep her safe, protected.

“ This is me.” You say patting your car lovingly opening the truck for Frankie to place the box inside. “I had a really nice time tonight, I hope we didn't scare you away. Game night can get intense.” He eyes holding contact with yours. “ I had fun, everyone was so nice. Thanks for letting me join.” You were making your way to the car door trying not to slip. “ I’ll see you next week.” Confusion painted Frankie's face. “ I have tickets to the game, hopefully they won't throw me out for not knowing the rules.” You responded with a laugh. Frankie caged you in with his hand on the hood of the car. His voice dropped on octave. “Just make sure you cheer for number 10.”

Thank you for being patient, the next chapter is the big game!

Tag list: @icanbeyourjedi @xoxabs88xox @theewokingdead @agingerindenial @itspdameronthings @hotchlover @girlwholoveswords @lowlights

Previous chapter Masterlist Next chapter

#pedro pascal characters #frankie baby #francisco catfish morales #francisco morales x reader #francisco morales x you #francisco morales x f reader #triple frontier #triple frontier au #benjamin miller #benny miller #santiago garcia #santiago pope garcia #Will Miller #will ironhead miller

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softboywriting · 3 years

Text

Mi Alma | Santiago “Pope” Garcia

Summary: After years of tension, you and Santiago finally get together at your best friend’s wedding. [Film: Triple Frontier] [Post-Film] [Flirting] [Making Out]

Word Count: 6.7k

|Masterlist In Bio|

Frankie and Tiia's wedding is unlike any other you've been to, and you've been to a few. You're the last of your friends to get married, if it ever happens. You're picky with your men, have high standards. It's fine. You don't mind being alone for a while. Drama and games are not in the cards for you so you won't settle for someone. But this isn't about you and your love life, or so you think.

The couple was never quite normal. Frankie coming from a Catholic upbringing and since shunning it to become his own man and follow his heart. Tiia has always been a free spirit and very much into the unknown and world around her. They make an interesting yet perfect match and their wedding is no run of the mill church ceremony with a bunch of people in pews for hours on end. No. They have quite the opposite.

For starters the wedding is outdoors, a forested area just behind the house Frankie and Tiia bought last year. It's beautiful, the trees in full bloom, greenery as far as the eye can see. There wasn't a ton of prep to be done for the ceremony, just setting up chairs and arranging flowers among the natural foliage. Orange and yellow, those are Tiia's colors. Roses, carnations, peonies, you name it. She took everything the florist could get her in those colors. Frankie didn't care, he said he would love anything she loves. There is an arch made of wood that a friend of yours specially crafted just for the happy couple. It's their wedding gift from him, as Tiia will put it in her garden after the ceremony.

The day Tiia showed you her dress you knew that the wedding would be magical. It's non traditional of course, very Greek goddess meets fairy queen. Draped white and cream fabric, gold accents, braided embellishments. It's incredible and she looks completely stunning in it. It isn't until the day of the wedding that you see her veil, natural colored faux antlers made into a crown like setting atop her head. She is beautiful.

You find yourself on the day of the wedding getting ready and waiting for the ceremony to start. You've not been told who you are to walk with. Tiia said she didn't tell any of the bridesmaids who they're walking with because she didn't want to cause any problems. Honestly you're not sure what that means, you only know that your friend Caiti would have a problem if she was paired up with Benny because of a past relationship. You check your reflection in the small mirror decor beside the door you're meant to go out. You look fine. Good. Great actually. You twist your finger around a loose bit of hair by your temple and smooth the top of the dress that matches Tiia's flowy one. Damn good.

"You're up." Says Tiia's brother, opening the patio doors for you.

You take a deep breath, pull up the hem of your dress and step out. The plan is that you meet your groomsman at the end of the wrap around deck and you walk to the forest together. You can't help but wonder who it will be. Any of the guys would be great, you're familiar with them all. Benny? He is single currently. Will? No, his fiance is in the bridal party. Frankie's brother? Maybe but...no. Santiago. Oh Lord have mercy. If it's Santiago you're going to have to reach deep into yourself and find some inner calm. Every time the two of you are together with the crew it's like fire. It is undeniable the way you connect but you have never- shit.

At the end of the deck is Santiago. He looks insanely...tempting. You say a prayer to any force listening. Did he have to look so good? Tailored slacks, a deep blue button down, no tie and sleeve rolled up, even the watch on his wrist is sexy. Fucking hell you could just turn around and run back into the house. Demand another partner.

"Hermosa..." Santiago mutters as you approach.

"What's that?"

Santiago snaps his eyes to yours and smiles warmly. "Nothing, I was just thinking out loud." He offers his arm and you take it.

"What does that mean? Hermosa?"

He leads you carefully down the steps into the grass. "It means beautiful."

"Oh...oh!" You flush, heat rising from your chest. "Thank you."

Santiago chuckles softly and lifts your hand to kiss it. "Every woman should be told they look beautiful."

"You're a sweet talker today."

"I've had a drink or two. Frankie and I had a talk before the wedding, pre marital nerves."

"I can't imagine. I've never gotten that far into a relationship."

Santiago's eyes meet yours as you glance over to gauge his reaction. He raises his eyebrows and you raise yours. It's always like this. Silent conversations. They're louder than any words you've ever exchanged. "Are you excited for Tiia?"

"Through the roof. She hasn't shut up about Frankie since they met. I'm glad she's found her person."

"Me too." He stops as you arrive at the archway. "You never know when you'll meet the right person."

"Yeah, I guess so."

He steps away, touch lingering on your hand as he parts. "Who knows, maybe you've already met them."

You look at him and he says nothing more, just gives a little smile. He knows exactly what he's doing. Fueling the fire. That's it. This wedding, you're getting Santiago Garcia.

______________________

The entire ceremony you stared at each other and it is unlike ever before, there was no conversation in your eyes. It was just a game of who could out stare who. Until Frankie began reading his vows, then Santiago's gaze changed. It flicked between you and Frankie, soft and loving.

There were tears, actual tears when Frankie began to talk about how he felt about Tiia and their bond. All of the guys were crying, proud of their best friend to be so happy and excited to take this step in his life. But Santiago...he couldn't look away from you. You try not to look away from Tiia and Frankie, knowing they deserve your undivided attention and not Santiago. It's hard. Santiago's eyes...they're undeniable, irresistible, commanding. He is making it hard not to think about what it would be like to be in your friends shoes, or lack thereof because she is actually barefoot under that dress. What would a wedding with Santiago look like? A beautiful tailored suit, beard grown out a bit for sure, messy curls, bowtie or regular tie. Hmm. And your dress, white or blush? Formal or fun? You've never thought about your own wedding and yet here you are just-

You snap out of your dream world when the guests begin to clap, the ceremony is over. You raise your hands and clap, smiling at your friends. Santiago gestures for you to join him as the bride and groom walk back down the path. You're meant to follow after, being in the wedding party and all.

Santiago's hand slides across your lower back the moment you're in reach. You swear you can feel your skin tingle all the way up to the back of your neck. "That was incredible."

"It was a very pretty ceremony."

"Are you feeling well?"

You frown and look at him, he raises his eyebrows. "Yes? Do I look ill?"

He shakes his head. "Not in the slightest. You looked...distracted."

"Can't say I wasn't."

Santiago gives a soft knowing hum in response and nothing more. Kindling. He's throwing kindling into this fire now. The son of a bitch. No. You would never call him that. He's too good. "Ride with me?" He says and you realize you've walked together to the front of the house where everyone is parked.

"I-...Benny."

"Benny?"

"I promised Benny I'd ride with him. I'm supposed to be his DD tonight and care for his truck should he get a little out of hand."

Santiago smiles softly. "I see. I'll meet you at the hall then?"

You nod.

He lays a hand on your cheek and presses a kiss to the opposite side. "Drive safe."

Your heart threatens to explode and you're stuck standing there like a deer in headlights. There is no way you're going to survive this wedding.

_____________________

The reception is when things really kick off, it usually is though isn't it. The reception is held at a party rental hall in town, their house not being ready for so many guests and a large dinner and dancing. You ride with Benny, having to just take a moment and figure out what your next move is with Santiago.

"You and Pope, huh?" Benny says, looking over at you. "When's that happening?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on anyone with eyes could see you two tryin’ to undress each other up there."

You stifle a noise of protest because you know that if you make a scene about it then Benny will be even nosier. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah alright sweetheart." Benny laughs to himself, a quick breathy little chuckle. "If a girl looked at me like that for an hour, we'd be kicking boots in the back of this truck right now."

"You're gross Benny."

"Never said I wasn't." He grins and does a little tongue click. "Pope is a good man, the best I know. Give'em a chance."

"Sure, thanks for the pep talk Benny."

"Anytime sweetheart."

Once you arrive at the reception you immediately run into Santiago. No, literally you smack into him when you step in the doors. He seemed to be on his way outside as you were going in. His familiar spicy cologne flls your nose and your eyes cross for a moment. You know it's him before he speaks, before you see his face.

His hand comes up, steadying you with it on your back. "Easy there, honey."

Honey. Fuck. You're so fucked. "Sorry, I was just trying to go in."

"Mmm. I forgot my phone in the car, I'll be back."

"I'll be seated?" You say awkwardly.

He chuckles and steps away from you. "Go on, don't wait for me."

"I wasn't going to?" You step in and look around for your table. It should be near the front. You look for the names and sure enough there you are right next to... Santiago. "Great."

"Is something wrong?"

You jump and Will chuckles. "No, I'm fine."

"Where'd Pope go?"

"His phone."

Will nods. "Have you seen Benny?"

You shrug. "We drove together but I've no idea where he went. Check the bar?"

"I checked there, I bet he's out back." Will sighs and heads for the emergency exit door that's propped open at the far end of the building.

You take a seat and Santiago returns, sliding behind you and taking his seat next to you. The chairs are close, the table being a little small for the amount of people seated at it. You can feel Santiago's warmth, his scent filling your nose. Oh how you love that cologne. It's one of two he's worn since you met and this one just nails it right on the head. If you knew the brand you would buy it and drown yourself in it.

His hand comes down on your thigh and you feel like the world has stopped and begun to burn around you. It is absolutely no mistake, he knows what he's doing. His fingers flex against the loose fabric of the dress and it falls open a bit along the side split, exposing your skin beneath.

Will stands from the end of your table and taps his glass a few times. He is going to make a speech. Of course, it's Will and he is the best speech giver you've ever met. You try to distract yourself, wondering how many wedding speeches he has given. If you ask him he will know. If you ask him how many of anything he has or does he will know. You smile to yourself, eyes flicking to Santiago. Will is the reason any of this is happening. If he hadn't given Santiago the coordinates to the ravine with Lorea's money, Santiago would have never gone after it, never gifted the wedding fund to Tiia and Frankie.

Santiago's hand shifts and you're acutely aware of its position further up your leg, his pinky finger brushing your tender inner thigh. Should you tell him to stop? He didn't ask to touch you, and you didn't tell him yes or no. Did he need to ask though? Honestly you don't mind aside from the fact that it's driving you crazy. He must know what he is doing to you, how you feel. He has always been physically affectionate with everyone, hugging, cheek kisses, hands on arms and backs. His love language is very obviously touching.

Will begins to wrap up, and you raise your glass with everyone else to toast. Santiago grabs his glass with his non dominant hand, not letting your thigh go. "To many years of love, happiness and joy. Mr. and Mrs. Morales!"

"I'm up next." Santiago says, giving you a squeeze that makes your stomach jump.

You watch him stand and he taps his glass. You have no idea why but your heart is pounding in your chest. His ass is in perfect view, his thighs...oh his thighs. You decide to get a little retribution for the thigh touching and you lay your hand on the back of his leg, just above the bend of his knee. It's not much, just a gentle touch and nowhere near sexual. You're sure he's burning up though.

"Tiia, the day Frankie met you I knew his fate was sealed. I had not once seen my brother so engrossed in a woman than when he talked about you. When you and I finally met, and I saw that red hair of yours, I knew there was something special. Hermana, eres fuego. You have made Frankie a better man, a calmer and more gentle man. Without you I don't know where he would be." Santiago raises his glass higher. "I hope to find a love like yours someday. Cheers to new family, life and a beautiful union!"

Your hand falls from his leg as he sits down and he slides his back over your thigh. "That was a nice speech," you whisper.

"Thank you. I know it wasn't nearly as long and detailed as Will's but I tried." He swipes his thumb back and forth. "Even if I had a little bit of a distraction."

You smile and give him an innocent look.

"Malo..." He mutters softly and tears his gaze from yours to Benny who's standing at the table opposite.

You reach out and run your hand over his shoulder, settling with it on the back of his neck. Your fingers slip into the curls there and he lets out a subtle shaky breath that you don't miss for a second. Two can participate in his game of touches and you're going to play hardball.

Benny makes his speech, short but sweet and meaningful. Tom's wife is up next. Before she stands you make eye contact with Tiia. You could feel her stare before you caught it. She gives a little smirk.

"Honey, you're going to make me fall asleep." Santiago whispers, ducking his head close to you after a minute or two.

"That's not quite my goal."

He slips his hand down your inner thigh and you feel heat swell between your legs. "What is your goal?"

"What is your goal, Santiago."

"I-"

"Thank you everyone for coming and for your well wishes. It means the world to Tiia and I that we're surrounded by so much love." Frankie says and everyone cheers softly. "Let's have dinner and cake!"

"Bride or groom?" Santiago asks, close to your ear.

"H-Huh?"

"The cakes. Bride or groom's cake?" He points to the table with the two cakes on it. "I'll get you a piece."

You try to remember what kind they both are but you're drawing a blank. All you can focus on is Santiago and you feel bad. This day should be about your friends and here you are wetting your fucking pants for Santiago Garcia. Christ.

"Honey?" He purrs and your mouth falls open as he squeezes your thigh. "I'll get one of each."

"Y-yeah. "

Santiago stands and leaves the table. The lack of heat on your leg is a shock. You're still burning up but it's nowhere near as bad as when he's close. Tiia comes over and leans against your table, she grins knowingly at you.

"How's it going over here?"

"Fine? Should it not be?"

"Is he being nice?"

"Santi?"

You flush and lean your head into your hand. "Santiago. Yes, he's being nice. Why? He is always a sweetheart."

Santiago returns with two plates of cake and sets them on the table. He grabs Tiia's cheek and gives her a kiss to the temple. "Hermana."

"Problema." Tiia giggles and Santiago rolls his eyes.

"I am not trouble." He takes his seat beside you and gives a pointed look at Frankie nearby laughing with Will and Benny. "Hay problema."

Tiia pushes Santiago's head and he laughs. "Frankie is not trouble! He's a good boy."

"Mmmm." Santiago says, raising his eyebrows. "Good boys don't have the most fun." He catches your gaze and winks.

"You're insufferable. Enjoy the cake, lovely." Tiia says to you and heads off to meet her new husband.

Santiago dips his fork into the slice of white and yellow frosted cake, the bride's cake, and brings it up to your lips. "Try it?"

"I can feed myself," you giggle and he bumps the frosted bit against your lips. You open and take the cake in. It's delicious and you remember now. It's an apple spiced white cake with caramel cream center.

"Good?" He asks, cutting a bit for himself. "Oh wow that's amazing."

You nod and reach for your own fork but Santiago pushes it away. "Hey-"

"I got it." He smirks, cutting a slice of the groom's cake. Chocolate with butter rum filling. "Open up."

"Give me my fork, Santiago."

He shakes his head and you reach for it. He knocks your hand away and holds your wrist loosely. "Ah, I said open up."

"Santi..."

His eyes go darker than you've ever seen and you imagine they must be lust filled to be so heavy. "Open up." He says once more, but this time with more authority.

You open your mouth obediently and he presses the fork down gently to your tongue as he slides it out. "Mmmm."

"Better than the last one?" He asks, cutting another piece and holding it up for you. You take it in as well and he smiles.

This is far too intimate. What the fuck are you doing? You're not even together, you're not dating, neither of you have explicitly said this was happening. Not to mention you're at your friend's wedding, in front of people and he's... he's driving you insane.

"Excuse me." You mutter softly, pushing away from the table and leaving a very confused Santiago behind. You head for the emergency exit and take a deep breath of the cool spring air as you step outside. You need to breathe.

___________________

Minutes tick by as you sit on the fence post that blocks a patio area from the parking lot. You figured Santiago would have come for you by now, but you didn't expect it. He's too sweet to impede upon your personal space when he knows you definitely needed it because of his actions. Footsteps behind you draw your attention away from the passing traffic on the road nearby. It's Will.

"What're you doing out here all alone?"

"Getting some fresh air."

"I can understand that." Will takes a seat next to you. "I saw you head out here earlier. I figured I'd give you a little bit before coming to check on you."

"Thanks. Am I missing anything?"

"Tiia is going to throw the bouquet soon. Do you want to catch it?"

You laugh softly to yourself. Do you want to? Do you want to be the next friend to marry? You're the only one not married besides Benny. The rest of the guests are family or friends who are married. "Maybe Benny should give it a try."

Will snorts and you laugh at the sound. "You'd need tempered steel to tie that man down. He's too wild, too free to settle down."

"Yeah, Benny is...Benny."

Will taps your arm with the back of his hand. "C'mon, let's go see who gets the bouquet."

"Alright." You slide off the fence and head back into the hall with Will.

Inside you see a crowd of people near the bride and grooms table. Tiia has her back to the crowd and you watch as she swings the bundle of flowers backwards. There is a collective gasp and you strain to see who caught the flowers.

As the crowd clears you see Santiago standing there with the bouquet. He's laughing, saying something to Frankie's aunt nearby and then he sees you. Your heart races. He gestures for you to come to him.

"Why did you-"

"For you." He holds the bouquet up and kisses your cheek. "I thought you might want them."

"Thank you. They're pretty."

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, why- oh. When I went outside. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just run out on you." You lick your lips and look down from his gaze. "I just needed some air."

Santiago cups your cheek. "Hey, look at me."

You look at him and it's a mistake. Your heart pounds, threatening to break through your ribs. "Yes?"

He leans in whispers, "Did I go too far earlier?"

"The cake?"

He nods.

"It was unexpected, but no." You can feel a flush rising in your chest. "I mean you've always been affectionate but we haven't really...talked about it."

Santiago chuckles softly. "I suppose we haven't. It's always been there but we've never acknowledged it. Are you uncomfortable? I know I'm a few years older and-"

"Santiago."

"Yes?"

"We're in the middle of a wedding. Maybe we should discuss this later? More privately?" You look around at the crowd that's pretty much dispersed.

He cracks a sheepish smile and tucks a bit of hair behind your ear, gliding his fingertips along your cheek before bumping your lip with his thumb. "Mas tarde, cariña," he murmurs.

You lick your lip where he touched and he doesn't miss it, eyes snapping to your mouth. "You know that I know limited Spanish."

"I said we'll talk later." He puts his arm around you and guides you toward your table. "Let's clear the way for the married couple's first dance."

_____________________

The first dance doesn't happen right away. The removal of the garter happens first. For those unfamiliar, it's like the tossing of the bouquet but generally for the men. The husband removes his wife's garter, a thin band of fabric worn around the thigh, and tosses it to the crowd. The one who catches it is said to be the next to marry. It's a symbol of good luck.

You watch as Tiia takes a seat in a chair brought out to the center floor. She is bright pink and you can't help but laugh a little. Frankie comes around the chair, taking her hand and kissing it gently. He says something you can't make out, but Tiia smiles.

"Come on Frankie!" Benny hollers.

"Oh be quiet Benny!" Frankie quips, flipping off his friend. "Not like you want it!"

"The hell I don't!"

Everyone laughs.

Santiago's hand slides over your knee, pushing the dress aside and allowing it to fall open. He can't keep his hands off of you it seems.

Frankie kneels down and pushes Tiia's dress up to expose her legs.

Santiago's hand inches up your leg, massaging his fingertips tenderly into the soft skin. You spare him a glance and his focus seems to be on the married couple like everyone else.

Frankie leans in and grabs the garter with his teeth and the guests cheer him on. You attempt to clap but your brain is elsewhere, short circuiting on the arousal nerves between your legs.

"Do you want it?" Santiago purrs in your ear and you shiver. Why did that have to sound like such a loaded question. Do you want what? Him? The garter? His attention?

"W-what?"

"The garter."

You turn your head to look at him and reply when suddenly you're smacked in the face with something. You jump, startled by the sudden sensation, and look down at the table where the white garter is sitting on it.

Somewhere Benny is hollering wildly, and Frankie says something along the lines of how you're the lucky lady. You don't hear it really because Santiago grabs the garter and rubs it between his fingers, smiling at you playfully. His other hand is still on your leg, farther up and dangerously close to your underwear.

"I'd love to see you in this." He says, fingers flexing on your skin. "And nothing else."

"Santiago!" You whisper sharply and he leans in close.

His lips meet yours and your heart stops. The world stops. His hand leaves your thigh and slides around to your hip, the other cradles your head, angling your face for better access.

It's like years of tension have finally broken and now it's coming out like breach in a dam. You reach for him, not sure what to grab but you land on his hair and his shoulder. He deepens the kiss, tongue pushing past your lips to roll against yours. He tastes like minty gum and you can't get enough.

He grips your hips with both hands and hauls you over onto his lap. The chair creaks under the weight of two bodies. You can't care, this is a dream come true. You don't want to stop kissing him because if you do, it feels like it might never happen again.

"Baby," Santiago groans into your mouth as you roll your hips down against his lap, desperate for some release. "Baby we gotta stop."

"No," you lick into his mouth desperately and he chases your lips, biting gently to slow you down.

His hand finds your hair and grips firmly, pulling you back. "Listen to me."

You stare at him, eyes locked on to his. They're so full of promises of what's to come. He looks as wrecked as you do, you're sure. "Yes?"

He grins slowly, leaning in for a soft kiss. "God you're beautiful like this."

You try to return the kiss, chasing his lips as he pulls back but his grip in your hair is firm.

"We're still at the wedding." He says softly. "I don't think we should be grinding on each other in such a public setting."

You lean back, settling yourself back on his thighs. Reality comes creeping in, a cold rush of embarrassment rising up your spine. He's right. You're at the wedding still, everyone can see you right now. You got so caught up in the euphoria that you forgot where you were.

"Santiago, you son of a bitch." Benny says from behind you. "You finally did it."

You turn and look back while Santiago leans over to see Benny. "Go away."

"Oh I will, I'll leave you two to face suck like teenagers. I just wanted to say it's about time. How was it?"

"Benny." Santiago says warningly.

You look between the two of them. "How was the kiss?"

Benny nods.

"Good, really good? Why?"

Santiago groans.

"Do you know why we call him Pope?" Benny asks and you shake your head. "It's because he brings you closer to God when he gets his hands on you."

"Benny! Fuck off!" Santiago shouts and throws a fork on the table at him. Benny dodges the projectile and runs off laughing. "God damn menace."

You run your hand through his curls, brushing your thumb over a little spot of grays peeking through. "Is that true?"

"Is what true? The Pope thing?"

"Yeah. Is that why they call you Pope?"

Santiago smiles softly. "It is. It's stupid and childish but-"

"I like it." You slide off his lap and lean in close to his ear. "You took me closer to God with a kiss, I can only imagine what more will be like." You grab his hand and before he can respond you step back, pulling his arm up. "Dance with me?"

_____________________

You and Santiago dance for a long time, slow and sweet. After about the tenth song he kisses your temple and says he needs to take a seat, his knees are killing him. You part from him and he goes to sit with Will and Frankie who are near the bar. You turn and head to the bride and grooms table to sit with Tiia.

"Hey you," Tiia says with a playful smirk. "I thought you were gonna get eaten alive earlier."

"I'm sorry." You sink down into Frankie's chair and she laughs. "I just lost my mind for a few minutes there. Was everyone staring?"

"No, everyone got up to dance and get food from the buffett. I noticed, obviously, because I've been watching you all night."

"Creepy."

Tiia pushes your shoulder. "Oh shut up. I set you up, but I never could have guessed this outcome."

"You set me up?"

"Yeah? I picked Santiago to be your best man. I knew the two of you have had chemistry since you met. I just gave you a little nudge in the right direction." She looks smug as she takes a sip of her wine. "You're welcome."

"You're a troublemaker."

"Matchmaker, thank you."

You roll your eyes. "Maybe too good of a match maker. I sucked face while you had your first dance."

She laughs, nearly spitting out her wine. "I don't need everyone to watch me dance with my husband to validate our marriage. You're my best friend, the fact that you are just as happy on my wedding day as I am, that means the world to me. You deserve a good man, and Santiago is a very good man."

"You really aren't mad I didn't pay attention?"

"Nope, because I can guarantee you I'll be all over Frankie at your wedding."

"My wedding? Yeah we'll be in our sixties before that happens." You pick at a spot on the front of your dress, directing your focus elsewhere in hopes of ending this conversation. "No one wants to marry me."

Tiia kicks you. "Bullshit. If you asked Santiago right now to run away and get married at a little chapel in Vegas he'd say yes."

"No he wouldn't. He's not reckless."

"Yes, he is. When it comes to you there is nothing he wouldn't do."

"Whatever."

"Whatever," she says mockingly. "Do you have any idea what he has told Frankie?"

You narrow your eyes. "You're lying."

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"Once. A birthday present that I figured out."

Tiia rolls her eyes. "That doesn't count."

"Why would Frankie tell you about what he and Santiago discuss?"

"Because I'm nosey and I ask. Plus, you're my best friend and you two have obvious chemistry."

"So what did he say?"

Tiia points to Santiago as he makes his way across the room. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Tiia!"

"What's my two favorite women chatting about huh?" Santiago smiles and hands you a glass.

You look down into the glass. You can't drink today, you're Benny's designated driver.

"It's non alcoholic, don't worry."

"Thank you."

"She doesn't need alcohol to get a little crazy." Tiia teases, elbowing you from her seat. "She has a better drug, right Pope?"

Santiago chuckles. "You're never going to let us live that moment down huh?"

"Never. I was surprised you didn't just take her to the bathroom."

"Tiia!" You shove her and she cackles. "God!"

"I'm teasing you. Seriously, if you guys wanna get out of here and have a little fun I'll get someone to take Benny home." Tiia looks across the way at the table where Benny is telling some animated story. "Or he can sleep on the couch at me and Frankie's house. We'll drop him off before we go to the hotel."

Santiago shakes his head. "I'm not stepping out on your wedding, and I'm sorry for the behavior earlier. It's not the right time or place."

"You two are a match. She said the same thing when she came over. I'm not mad, I'm happy you're happy." Tiia stands and walks around the table to stand before Santiago. She lays a hand on his cheek before giving it a hard pat. "Problema."

"Un poco."

"Oh no you're big trouble, not little trouble." She says and shoves his head back playfully. "Go, make my girl happy."

Santiago smiles and kisses her forehead. "You heard the lady." He offers his hand to you. "Can I take you home?"

"One more dance?"

"I think I can manage that."

You follow Santiago out onto the dancefloor, hand in his as he lays his other on your waist. A slow song comes on, one you've heard a few times on the radio but never paid much attention to.

"I'm sorry about earlier." He says softly out of nowhere.

"I'm just as much to blame."

"I just got a little ahead of myself, like Benny said, I felt like a horny teenager."

You giggle and lean your head on his shoulder. "It's been a while, and we built this tension to a boiling point. We were bound to snap someday."

Santiago runs his hand up your back and cradles your neck loosely. "Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight?"

"Yes, but I don't mind hearing it again."

He drops his head to your ear and places a little kiss on the outer shell. "You'd look even more beautiful in my bedroom."

A hot flush warms your cheeks. "Santi...cool it."

"I can't help it." He grins and you hear rather than see it. "I just want to eat you up."

"We can stay a bit longer." You kiss his throat and he lets out a quiet groan that you relish in, grinning big ear to ear against his skin. "It'll do you good to wait. You'll want it more."

_____________________

The sound of a cell phone ringing rips you from a deep sleep. It's unfamiliar, not your ringtone but shrill and annoying nonetheless. The room is bright, the sun shining through the cream colored blinds and past the sheer curtains. Everything is familiar but like you had seen it in a dream, nothing was quite the same as you remember. You sit up and look around. Yes. It's the same as last night, the lighting makes things look different is all.

"Make it stop," Santiago groans from beside you.

"I don't know where it is." You pat around the blankets, trying to find the source of noise. "It's your phone."

"Fuck." He sits up and you get a full view of his strong, bare back in the bright daylight. There are a few scars, but one big one just behind his shoulder gets your attention. It looks strange, like a paint splatter of pink skin against his tan complexion.

You reach out to touch the scar, trace it curiously. What on Earth made a scar like that. "Santi?"

"Just a minute baby." He leans over and your hand falls to the bed. He comes back up with the phone in hand and swipes the screen to deny the call.

You lay back and he crawls under the covers beside you.

"Now, good morning." He grins, touching your nose and you sniffle. "I hope you're not too sore."

"Me?" You giggle, rolling to face him head on. "I'd be more worried about you."

Santiago chuckles. "Because of my knees?"

"Yeah and your back." You slide your hand over his shoulder and explore the scar with your fingertips. "What's this one from?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Mmhmm."

"A bullet." He takes your hand away and threads his fingers between yours. "A sniper when I was twenty seven. We were on a mission somewhere in the Ukraine. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and boom." He chuckles softly. "It went straight through. I suppose I'm lucky, they were clearly aiming for something more vital and missed."

You play with his fingers and he watches. What do you say? Sorry? Wow? You know Santiago and the guys are ex military special forces. You know they all have their scars and close call stories. You've heard the others tell them over and over but Santiago...he has always been quiet.

"It's a lot to take in." He murmurs, bringing your knuckles up to kiss.

You laugh softly, more to yourself than anything. "I broke my leg falling out of a tree once."

Santiago chuckles. "Bet that hurt." He kisses your knuckles again and lets his lips linger. "It's okay if you're not sure how to respond."

"Thank you," you mutter sheepishly.

His phone starts ringing again and he sighs. He rolls over and grabs it, bringing it back to lay between the two of you. "It's Frankie."

"Answer it."

"Should I? You don't mind?"

You shake your head. "He might need you."

Santiago swipes to answer and presses the phone to his ear. "Buenos dias pendejo."

You smile and he gives you a cheeky grin. That's a little bit of Spanish you do know. "Be nice."

He mouths a quick, 'No' before speaking again. "Why are you calling me after your wedding night? Shouldn't you and Tiia be sleeping? I didn't give you that money to wake me up at the crack of dawn when you're meant to be boarding a plane to Hawaii for your honeymoon in a few hours."

"Hawaii sounds good." You snuggle down into the blankets, imagining the warm sun on your body.

"Yes she's fine." Santiago chuckles softly. "Did you want to talk to her?"

You raise your eyebrows and he gives you a wink.

"Here you go." He passes you the phone and you press it to your ear.

"Hello?"

"Did that dick make you stupid?" Tiia asks through a laugh.

"Shut up!" You laugh, rolling over onto your back. Santiago's arm snakes across your waist and he pulls you close, face in your shoulder. "I'll hang up on you."

"Really though, did you guys have a good night? I just wanted Frankie to call and make sure you got home okay."

"Yes, we got home okay. It was a good night."

Santiago hums against your skin, biting playfully at your jaw. "It could be a better morning."

"Which one of you said I love you first?"

"Tiia."

"I know it happened."

"Goodbye Tiia, I'm hanging up now."

"Oh you-"

You toss the phone into the pillows and close your eyes. Santiago lazily kisses your neck, his short beard giving you a bit of a burn on your shoulder.

"It was me." He whispers between kisses.

"Hmm?"

"I said it first."

"You could hear her?" You shift around and lay so you're face to face agan.

He nods. “Do you remember?"

"Mmm. You said I love you, mallma?"

He presses a kiss to your lips. "It's mi alma. Do you want to know what that means?"

"Yes."

"It means, my soul." He runs a hand through your hair and brings you close for another kiss. "It's a pet name for someone you really care deeply for."

You grip his back and press your forehead to his. You give a sheepish smile. "How do you say I love you again?"

"Te amo."

"Te amo, Santiago."

He grins and chuckles softly. "We'll work on the accent."

"Good thing I have the best teacher."

"Yes you do."

"Until then," You tuck your face into his neck and he threads a hand in your hair. "I love you."

"I love you too."

End

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Header by delicate-venus

Dedication: To delicate-venus, because you let me write your dream wedding for you with your dream man as inspiration for this fic.

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*****Note: none of my works should be posted anywhere outside of my linked accounts. I do not give permission to repost with or without credit to my accounts. Please notify me of any reposted works.*****

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