What's in a Virtue (Kyle "Gaz" Garrick x Reader)
*GIF not mine*
Summary:
Gaz wants you, but the hotel bar you work at has rules; when a bartender calls dibs, all others have to back off. It's how the peace is kept, and as the new girl just trying to rack up some savings, you're not willing to rock the boat.
But Gaz doesn't take kindly to you avoiding him, and he's never been one to beat around the bush. From confessing his love on the first night you met to shouting your name seven times from across the bar, he's not letting you off the hook that easy. Not when he's seen the proof that you've fallen just as hard for him.
A/N: idk man i accidentally googled who ghost was like a week ago and fell so deep into the hot cod men rabbit hole so here we are. Enjoy!
Word count: 8261
Gaz is pretty sure he’s in love with you.
It’s a surprising discovery at 11 pm in an American hotel bar drinking the worst scotch he’s ever had. It’s even more surprising because he just discovered you existed all of thirty minutes ago.
He’s got his glass swirling between two nimble fingers, trying to find that line between hating his drink and actually putting it down. And he’s watching you.
You’re the same bartender who’d asked him (in a horrible imitation of his accent) if he’d wanted his neat scotch “shaken, not stirred.” You’d flushed after you said it and promised to leave him joke-free for the rest of the night. He’d laughed, a bit hollow from his circumstances, and told you it was all right. That he liked it, and that made you flush a little more.
Now, you scuttle like an ant past the other worker, a blonde who’s been making eyes at him all night. Your face is split into this unabashed grin, grippable hips bouncing off the counter as you sweep by and reach below for a bottle, giving him a view of the enviable dip between your breasts.
At first, he thinks it’s just that. Too much American booze, not enough inhibitions; both sending him into that post-mission spiral that makes him touchy and want to touch all at the same time. And he finds it’s nice to watch you rattling glasses and wiping up spills; it’s soothing, the way your eyes are alight with life in this ritzy place, seemingly unbothered by the high level of customers. He especially likes the way you mock the spoiled sods when you can get away with it.
The hotel must be experiencing the perfect storm of weddings, proms, and business meetings—not to mention one very unfortunate layover for one very unlucky special forces sergeant.
He watches as teens keep stumbling back to the counter with pink cheeks, flashing their IDs every time they ask for a new drink. Despite their prom getups and obvious ages, they swear they’re just guests from Mr. and Mrs. Weddington’s ceremony.
The girl you’re with now, stumbling from her heels but selling it as though she’s tipsy, begs and begs for another lemon drop before she “goes back to work on Monday.”
You nod either way, and he watches as you make a display of pouring alcohol into one shaker and juice into another, swapping them out when the teen looks back towards her friends.
You send her on her merry way with a sugared rim and a lemon rind, saying something like “Go easy” as she wanders back to her table. You smile to yourself, amused at this little game you’re playing with half the customers here.
You must feel the heat of his gaze, because you glance at him then. He hopes it’s burning you up as much as it looks, that nervous pinkening of your face as you give him a shrug like what else was there to do?
And Gaz, again, thinks it’s just that. Lust. He thinks about wiping that small smile off your face with his lips, stumbling with you into his hotel room, frantic fingers peeling off clothes. He thinks about how it would be—giggly, probably, despite his surprising coordination when he’s plastered. It’d be you and him swapping words back and forth, back and forth the whole time, silence only filling the room when you’re kissing him and when you feel so fucking new it steals your and his words away.
He doesn’t know why he latches more onto the idea of the moments afterward, the biggest thing being that you decide to stay. Then it’s more back and forth, hobbies and pet peeves and every little thing that’s been on your minds since the 2000s. He gets to know you inside and out, inside again a few more times even as your conversation runs on.
It’s no longer lust at that point. He knows that.
He’s ruthlessly torn from the fantasy by the blonde bartender who, judging by the looks you’re swapping with her, has gotten the entirely wrong idea about the direction of his stare.
He swears to God he was being obvious about it. It was you—it was fucking you that whole time.
But he’s noticed a couple things about you.
The first is that you’re quiet when your customers aren’t overwhelmingly sloshed; awkwardly so, for a bartender. You’re something of a mirror when they are, far more relaxed, laughing easy and cracking jokes, like you preferred your real self be forgotten the next morning.
The second is that you’re soft. Around the edges, all pillowy at the hips and thighs, a sloping curve down each side. And you were soft with your words, no yelling, no arguing with customers, just easy little jabs that no drunk mind would ever cotton onto.
You were only snappy with him the second his head started growing fuzzy.
He wants more of it, even as the pretty bartender makes friendly conversation.
She asks about his day, then his job, then his adventures. Three of the last things he wanted to think about tonight, let alone discuss with a stranger who wants in his pants. However, because she “loves a man with a British accent” and he’s too damn polite to give her the boot, he reveals a little.
Yes, his job is hard. Yes, he’s jumped from an airplane. Yes, he’s killed someone. Of course they were bad.
Until they weren’t. But he won’t tell her that.
However, above all things, Gaz is a planner. And though he’s caught the wrong fish with his bait, his plan B is working excellently.
Gaz glances at you, brushing your hair behind your ear in the increasingly crowded room. The wide array of customers spread out among the limited seating are starting to flood the bar. You can’t pass out beers and shake cosmopolitans at the same time, and a wonderful warmth blossoms in his chest the second you glance at him too, growing desperate.
There’s something like an apology in your eyes. You’re sad you have to ruin your friend’s chances; meanwhile, he thinks it may just be the best part of his night.
The third thing he discovers about you: you’re trying to be the wingwoman for your pretty friend here, and Gaz won’t have it.
You’re going to have to come over here. Beg for help from your friend.
Ruin this little flirtation she’s got going on—what a shame.
You’re too damn polite, just like him. The second he talks to you when you make your way over, you’ll think you have to stay. Humor him for a bit. He’ll ask you for a drink, forcing you to come back a second time around, when the bustle has slowed. He’ll rope you in for the rest of the night by then, and the wait’ll be over.
He feels like a damn schoolboy when you take that first step toward him, and he’s practically vibrating when you get close enough that he can hear your voice for the second time today. It’s far less grating than your friend’s, he’s certain of it—he wouldn’t mind if it was you badgering him, is what he means.
After all, Gaz was on leave, and when Gaz was on leave, he liked things slow. Fresh off a mission, he liked to roll through the motions, order drinks and let the memories turn into static from the corner of the bar. He’d planned on calling Price and damning him for saying it was a blessing to get trapped in the US, set up at a posh hotel on the task force’s budget.
But you stop before him, contrite eyes softening, and he’s getting better at seeing the upside of it all.
“Hate to interrupt—I know you two are trying to get all cozy in the dark over here, but I could use your help, Jeanne. ‘Hugh Janus’ is asking for another beer and our non-alcoholic tap just ran dry.” You look off into the distance, frowning slightly. “I fear we may have genuinely drunk teens on our hands soon.”
Jesus, was her name Jeanne? Gaz hadn’t caught that.
On the bright side, he’s able to confirm one of his sneaking suspicions. Your eyes really are fucking gorgeous up close, and they’re so expressive that he can read you like a book.
But he hates the way you say “you two.” It’s so nonchalant.
Was it too much to ask for a little envy? Just a hint of spite, to prove that some part of what he’s feeling, even a little speck of it, isn’t one-sided?
Your friend— Jeanne , apparently—gives him a disappointed sigh, looks at him like he and her are two conspirators planning on eloping any second. “Duty calls. I’ll be right back.”
He nods, trying to find that balance between polite understanding and absolute relief, but his head grows foggier by the minute and all he can manage is a “sounds good.”
You dive into an explanation when the pair of you are far enough away to inspect the taps, gesturing at a couple of them, and then discreetly at a group in the crowd.
From here, he can see it a little more clearly. You’re younger than the blonde, probably just by a couple years, which means you’re newer here. Younger than him, too, since he pegs Jeanne at around his own age.
The blonde disappears into a storage door wedged between two shelves loaded with glass bottles and illuminated white-blue. A manager, maybe.
Only thing he knows for certain from observing this quick interaction is that you’re finally alone.
He flags you down, and his chest floods with that warm, fuzzy feeling all over again when you hustle over, genuine smile on your lips—because you’re so damn easy to read.
“Know you’re busy, ’nd I hate to bother you, darling, but can you get me another scotch? Shaken, this time, if you please.”
The pet name lands perfectly. Even through all the chatter and music, he can hear the quick stutter in your breath. Then you laugh at his joke, like you think he deserves it.
It’s cheap of him to force that laugh out of you with a shitty joke like that, but he’s feeling a little needy. Wants a preview of what the real thing would sound like.
Fucking music, surely.
“I’ll go get it—”
Not yet. I need more time.
“Not right now. I’ll finish this one off while you work through that fresh hell–” he nods toward the anxious crowd “–then you can come back to me. You’ll find I’m pretty patient.”
A little less so, when it comes to you, but you don’t need to know that yet.
The slight slur to his words must be comforting, because you give him that small smirk you’ve been conservative with all night. “I’ll hold you to that. I’ve heard Brits are perfect gentlemen; be a shame if you proved me wrong.”
“I’m all that and more, darling.” He winks. “You’ll see.”
He could be the bloody worst man on the planet, too, if you wanted.
And he could come out and say that to you, all the things he could be for you tonight, if he wasn’t so keen on the instant change in you.
Because here’s what he expected: a few more little flirtations back and forth, everything kept light and easy. He’d keep you smiling and smirking like that, comfortable in your own skin for just a little bit longer before you have to go back to the other customers and slither back into your shell. He’d get to see that breathtaking blush of yours, pink splotches that tell him he’s on the right track. And then he’d get your rapt attention for the remainder of your and his night, quite like he’s given you his.
But that’s not what happens.
Instead, you’re instantly sheepish, finding yourself leaning a little closer, so close he could reach out and run a finger along the back of your hand (a small touch, but it would certainly floor him).
And then guilt. Pure, heart-wrenching guilt, like you’re taking every word of his to heart in the worst possible way.
Gaz panics.
But you’re not wearing a ring, so no husband, no fiance. He guesses boyfriend or some long-standing crush he can’t—shouldn’t—burrow his way in front of. It’s a disappointing discovery, something he’ll be stewing on for the rest of the night or maybe week, depending on how long he’s stranded here.
He’s not a fan of infidelity, and he sure as hell isn’t changing his opinion on that anytime soon. So he settles himself for a night at the bar cut short. Maybe he’ll order drinks up to his room from now on, praying the task force won’t try and shift the bill onto him. He can’t imagine coming down to the bar and seeing you will be nearly as satisfying anymore.
“I shouldn—I mean, Jeanne really likes y—I mean, we kinda have this rule where we, um,” you fumble with the rag on the counter, suddenly invested in a stain he’s been avoiding all night. You swallow. “I’ll just, uh, bring you your drink later. As promised. I should go help her.”
And you dash off as fast as you can between the counter and the precarious wall decor, almost running into the storage door the other bartender whips open while dragging out a new keg for the tap.
Meanwhile, Gaz…
He has a question.
Were you feeling all that guilt over some “dibs” rule at your bar?
He wants to laugh. The whole first-come, first-served thing makes you look as guilty as if you clubbed a baby seal. So what if Jeanne wants to ask him out? If he says no, does that mean he gets you?
Then he actually laughs a little, because it’s so ridiculous that it’s honestly cute. You care about and respect your coworkers, and support them when they’re hitting on guys at bars. So cute. You’re like the ultimate wingwoman, he’s sure, but that’s not going to change the fact that he wants you.
But the night drags on, and this half hour of patience Gaz promised you becomes paper-slim when you pass off his drink to Jeanne and avoid his end of the bar for far longer than is acceptable.
But you’re still giving her reassuring smiles and manning the bar as she lays her interest on thick, asking how long he’ll be staying and telling him when she gets off.
Gaz isn’t laughing anymore. And that little thing you do where you back off and play wingwoman? Definitely not as sweet as he’d thought it was.
Fuck, it might be the one thing he hates about you.
Because you avoid him for the rest of the night, and he still can’t take his eyes off you.
Not to worry, though. Gaz is a patient man. More importantly, he’s a planner.
He’ll find a way.
He always does.
~~~~~~
Gaz barely sleep that night. Too busy thinking about the mission, the lives that were lost, all that blood that had coated his hands just three days ago.
The way it bothers him comes and goes in phases. Some missions slip off him like rain water over a slick road, rivulets down drives, and he sleeps just fine.
Others soak into him, further than skin deep, where his body becomes a subcutaneous cache of nightmares and gunpowder, and he wakes up choking, smoke filling his lungs, tearing at the tissue of his throat enough that water can’t soothe the burn.
Mornings like this is where he fights fire with fire.
The hotel bar is unsurprisingly destitute but still oddly open at 11 am on a Thursday morning, and he takes a seat more daringly center-staged than he had last night. He glances around, letting thoughts of you, a bartender whose biggest issue was a dibs rule on men, swathe around him.
Admittedly, a lot of it is foggy. He remembers wanting you—a lot , actually. Too much, he might even say, but after all he drank he’s surprised he even found his way back to his room. But the place, a little more aglow with the open windows (that make his head fucking spin, by the way), looks the same as last night, which means he can still envision you wandering over every inch of it.
And he thinks no, you probably weren’t that attractive. Maybe your snipes weren’t that funny, and he’d had no reason to get so upset with you over a rejection. And every little wish he’d had that you were the woman who could warm his bed while he was out on missions and greet him when he came home was a bit over the top, even for drunk Gaz.
Sober Gaz knows better. Sober Gaz knows that no other human being can have that much of an effect on him anymore, because he’s had to rebuild himself after joining the military, after seeing the most honorable and dishonorable things humans can do, and he’s just not fit for something unconditional.
Drunk Gaz, though….
Hammered and horny. That’s all it was. A terrible mixture, and he’s damn ashamed that an innocent girl like you became the target of it. God, did he even tell you his name? Or was it just instant come-on and creepy watching from the corner of the bar?
Gaz notices he’s not alone as he lets his eyes wander; there’s a group of three elderly women jabbering in the corner, waving too-friendly when he spots them. He tosses them a dashing smile, the one that makes his grandmother’s friends burst into titters and giggles.
It has the same effect.
“Who knew you’d be just as charming sober?” a familiar voice rings out.
Gaz’s heart thump-thump s forcefully.
“In all fairness, you do have a shot with them too, if you really wanted to take it.” You lean a little bit closer over the counter, one-ended smile pulling at your lips, and when he catches a trace of that same perfume, his chest twinges.
Fuckin’ hell.
“She’s newly widowed,” you nod to the gaggle again, demeanor conspiratorial, “and happy to be, apparently. Why am I not surprised you’re popular to all ages?”
He’s got no clue what you’re talking about. Damn, he’s not even listening. Your lips look too soft to him right now, and it’s downright unfair how domestic you look in morning light, placid and playful, like the last thing you were made for was exacerbating nightlife.
“All ages?” he mumbles, because he can’t quite think straight, and the best thing he can do is repeat the last few words he’d heard you say before his train of thought had caught fire, derailed, and crashed explosively against brick wall.
He’s struck still, is what he means. He can’t quite think past the idea of you, coming a little closer to him, letting him trap you against his chest. Letting him breathe in the scent of your hair as you tell him about your day—boring, maybe, if it wasn’t you who was telling the story.
But your voice and tone, that playful edge that sounds like the sweetness of cotton candy and would taste like fucking everything to him, it draws him in.
Gaz comes to the conclusion that not everything was a drunken haze last night.
And he realizes that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t quite the fisherman he thought he was, trying to catch you. If anything, he was the fish snapping after your line, bait or no, wanting to be yanked out of the water and gutted until everything he ever was was bare for those pretty eyes.
And he’s that very same fish this morning, gaping and blinking wide-eyed.
Fuckin’. Hell.
“My God, those teenagers last night? And then Jeanne, and the bridesmaids? And, okay, I shit you not, even the bride. You’re a menace in this bar, you know that?”
“Are you included in all that?”
If he remembers anything from the night before, it was the way you clammed up after he made his first move. You’re the spitting image of it now, pursed lips and antsy fingers, even after all that big talk.
It’s an absent thought that flies past him in that moment, but he recalls that you were only loose enough to joke around with people already tipsy. He lets a small consideration tag along, a half-thought, really, that maybe you felt as comfortable around him as he did around you.
That, or he still looked smashed from last night.
You dodge his question completely.
“So what can I get you this morning…?” You let the tail end of the question drag on a bit, and he decides it’s because you can’t remember his name. He tries to stave off the gross pinch in his stomach by recalling there’s an all too real chance he never even told you.
“Kyle.”
You shake your head quickly, mumbling, “No, I—I remember.”
Gaz, though he can’t help but feel like an asshole for it, grins at your stutter.
“Surprise me, then.” He sits back, not remembering when he made the decision to lean a bit closer. “YN,” he tags on, smiling a bit more at your nervous laugh.
You look him over, some short glance that stuffs his head full of cotton, and start working on a concoction with a small grin.
He’s patient, minds his own business and fiddles with his phone as you shake and pour.
No messages from Price, and Gaz shoves down any distant panic that he might have sent an aggravated text or two in his state last night.
But no messages means no updates, which means it’s safe to assume he’ll be marooned at this hotel for another two weeks.
Not as bad as he thought it would be, so far.
You step away with a tray of drinks and return empty handed. Then you slip a glass in front of him, frosty and golden, slowly seeping red by a single maraschino cherry.
He guffaws. “Mai Tai? What, no umbrella?”
You slip a mini umbrella into his drink. “You underestimate me.”
His headache is killing him. The sun’s too bright, and he’s thanking God that the music in here isn’t nearly as pounding as it was yesterday. The memories still haunt him, horizoning his mind. Every drop of blood, every plea, every blank-eyed stare.
And then there’s you. Just you. You read like a sheet of paper, and you’re soft around the edges, and you couldn’t even comprehend half the things he’s seen.
You spoon another maraschino cherry out of the cooling jar and pop it into your mouth, laving your tongue over it before biting down, the juices dying your tongue red.
Fuck.
Gaz wants to kiss you.
He wants you to taste the Mai Tai on his tongue and sigh happily, eyes rolling the exact same way. He might die if you don’t.
“It’s on the house, only because you were true to your word.”
He gets peeks of that red tongue of yours and shifts in his seat. “What d’you mean?”
“You were patient, as promised, and I’m afraid I’ll need a little more of that today.”
Any of it. All of it, for you. Fuck, he could be so patient for you.
Gaz furrows his brow anyway. “Didn’t know you were so greedy. Why d’you ask, love?”
“I guess you couldn’t tell from last night, but I’m a pretty shitty bartender. That’s why they got me working mornings.”
He glances at the Mai Tai. “So you’re sayin’ I’m shit outta luck.”
“I’m saying that if you’re going to let me pick your drink, you’re going to keep getting whatever’s left in the mixer from formerly Mrs. Jones’ group of three. I should warn you, they party hard.”
Gaz sighs. “What’s next on the menu?”
“More mimosas. That was their warm-up. You wanna catch up?” You frame a carton of orange juice in your hands enticingly.
Fruity drinks from here on out. Gaz doesn’t exactly mind the idea, though he’d come down to the bar for something with more of a kick. But he’s wondering how long your shift runs if you’d worked the night before and the morning after.
He’s got a chance here; without your friend present, your guilty conscience must feel balmed.
Gaz shakes his head, tearing a finger at the mini umbrella’s ridges. “I’ll stick to their schedule. Have a feeling I should be pacing myself with that crew.”
“Good feeling,” you nod.
The air of silence that settles is comfortable. There’s the rattle of ice and champagne, the slow slosh of orange pooling in three going on four glasses, and Gaz watches you through it all. But he can see the way his gaze makes you nervous. Your movements are all rickety, and you can’t quite find that rhythm between shaking the mixer and making eye contact.
Gaz wasn’t lying. Most if not all the women he’s met (sans a few of his targets) agree: he’s a kind man. Chivalrous, soothing, amiable.
So he’s not sure why seeing your nerves gets a lovely thrill rattling its way down his spine. Sure, he wished you felt a smidge less timid, a lot more loose and sunny in his company. But, he guesses, it’s because with you, he’s willing to settle. Take what he can get; it’s not unlike a stakeout, really. He’s parked here, waiting for you to come out of your shell on your own time.
Can’t really help that he’s greedy when it counts, though, and when you set the mimosa in front of him, he reaches before you can pull away, getting that warm slide of your fingers against his.
“So what are you doin’ here, in a place like this, if you’re not a good bartender?”
He has to salvage your courage before you slip into the backroom for space to think. He can’t let that happen, overthinker that you are, and you’re too nice to abandon him mid-conversation.
He’s okay with manipulating you that much.
“Gap year. Several actually, but I don’t like to think about that.” You’re fidgeting with a rag, twisting it until the damp cotton creases under your fingers.
“What are you gappin’ to?”
You huff out a laugh. “Med school, hopefully. Grad school, possibly. Just want to do something more, you know? Since apparently a bachelor’s gets you nowhere nowadays, and I’m just thirty grand in hole for nothing.”
“It’ll work itself out. For you, I’m certain of it.”
And he thinks he’s nailed it.
Look. Look at all he can say and do to make you feel comfortable. And look! He can make you laugh and smile. And his touch was nice, right? Warm, gentle, everything you’d want. He’s got it right here. Waiting for you.
And then you blink, long and slow, eyes on the counter. Then…
“You know, I’m really jealous of Jeanne. I mean, she has it all figured out.”
Gaz fights the urge to grind his teeth, but he drops his elbows to the counter and cups at the mimosa. Not good enough, doesn’t burn enough. Too easy on the champagne, and he distantly wonders if you pull what you did last night all the time.
That thing where you go easy on drinks by coming around less, or neutering them completely before you pass them out.
That thing where you’re trying to do better for everyone , where you think you know better. He can only guess that it’s come so often with a cost to you that it’s all you know how to do anymore—giving, no taking. Helping always; never, ever hurting, no matter what you want.
“C’mon,” he mutters, but you’re reaching for another red cherry. Chewing on it as it dyes your teeth pink.
“She’s one of the managers here, did she tell you that? And she’s only a couple years older than me, and she’s just… she knows what she wants. And goes for it, too.”
Is that what it was? You weren’t willing to go for it?
He’ll build that bridge for you, dammit. He’d hold you hand across the whole fucking way if you’d just let him.
“She’s the only person in the whole area willing to give me a chance, even though I’d never bartended before.”
He lets you ramble, lets the sound of your voice sink into him, gives encouraging responses when he has to.
Jeanne likes to go hiking.
Jeanne likes to swim.
Jeanne loves nights out.
Sure, yeah, okay. But do you like any of that?
You don’t. You hate it all, actually. You even have a fear of drowning, heights, the whole works. You’re very much a homebody, curled up on your couch reading, drinking tea—not a huge fan of wine, or alcohol, actually, but don’t laugh! It was the highest paying job you could find, and yes, you do see the irony. Yes, you make a good cup of tea. Why?
Trying to find out even that much about you was like playing a damn tennis match. You won’t stop shoving the topic away, getting all insecure when he asks what you like. What you want.
He plans to change that.
But for now? Fine. You won’t talk about you. But he’s not going to let you talk about Jeanne.
So you’re talking about him.
“We don’t get much of your type around here.”
“Special forces?”
“British.” You give up on wiping the counter, instead leaning on two hands and watching him sip at the piña colada you’ve just made. He’d offered you the pineapple slice. After you’d said no, he watched you watch him bite in, wiping off the juice off his lips with his thumb.
He had to remind himself that it was patience you were looking for, even with your lips parted in a daze like that.
“Special forces, though, huh?” You glance around with faux wariness. “Should I be worried?”
“Depends. How many people round here are up to no good?”
“I mean, there’s the occasional bad tipper but, between you and me,” you lean in, give a small shrug, “I deal with them in my own way.”
Gaz raises a brow, smile growing. “Maybe I’m the one who should be worried.”
“Depends. Are you going to be rifling around for a five or a twenty-five dollar tip in that wallet of yours?”
Gaz sighs, “The best company always comes with the highest price, don’t it?”
“Not as high as you think,” you laugh.
If there was ever a groove to find between you and him, he’s finally located it.
Five minutes too late, it seems.
You’re glancing at the clock when you hear rustling in the storage room, and the blonde bartender that’s bloody haunting him now pushes through the swinging door.
“Jeanne.” You voice is a wonderful mixture of fake enthusiasm and slight disappointment. “Look who’s here.”
Trapped. That’s what he is.
And you leave without a goodbye or a glance in his direction, too.
He tells himself you’re shy, insecure, delicate little thing that he keeps pushing the boundaries of, trying to find the edge of having you and scaring you off completely.
Like taming a wild animal.
Fucking patience. For all his years, all his adventures, he never knew he’d run out of it in the most civilian of circumstances.
He sticks around a while longer, humors Jeanne’s interest. Amazingly enough, they have so much in common, who would have thought?
And who would have thought that after last night, that was the last thing he’d ever want.
~~~~~~
You’re doing that thing again, where you ignore him.
He’d think it’s cute, how shy you were, if you only didn’t sic your friend on him each time you did it. He’s fairly certain his interest is clear.
He’s been going to the bar for the last few days. Sometimes he sees you, sometimes he doesn’t. He prefers the former, and when it’s the latter, he’s reminded of just how shitty the alcohol is in the US, and that he’s trapped here, and how it’s starting to become hell.
But he won’t tell you that. That your home and this hotel are the last places he wants to be on the whole planet, present company excluded.
Despite the fact that present company feels like she has to include her friend in every conversation. He loves how selfless you are, no man left behind and whatnot, but he wishes you could see the failing attraction right before your eyes.
You try to slip off, leave the pair of them alone, but Gaz won’t have it. If you wander too close, he’ll drag you in, call your damn name across the bar if he has to, wrench on that ever-guilty, ever-pleasing heart of yours to go and answer him, talk to him, pay him the attention he needs nightly, apparently.
As of late, you’ve started playing this game. Gaz’ll bring up a topic, anything from the horrors of war to butterflies.
And you think there might be some upsides to the horrors of war, maybe. And butterflies are ugly and gross, always.
Gaz loves how beautiful the mountains are up north; you despise them. They look cold.
But he thought you loved cold weather?
Well, you don’t like cold weather when it’s… on mountains. You guess.
An interesting play, he quite thinks. Such odd tactics you have running in your mind. But you’re trying so hard to be this good, loyal friend. You want so badly to find the middle ground here, please Jeanne and Gaz, let them both be happy.
But when push comes to shove, Jeanne had dibs. And Gaz has to bear the brunt of it.
Two weeks have gone by before Price contacts Gaz again. Tells him the 141 had lain low long enough that he can come back home and get some well deserved leave. The news makes him fucking ecstatic when he first hears it. Thank fuck he’ll never have to use the launderettes here again, never have to listen to the damned click-click-click of the aircon or the mini fridge.
He misses so many things from home.
Shepherd’s pie. Good cigarettes and tea. A whiskey sour from that bar just three blocks down from his flat.
And his flat. His bed. His sofa, the kitchen he barely uses, the door that whines because he can’t bring himself to oil it; gone too long, too often for it to really matter most days. The toaster he doesn’t plug in ever because it damn well almost burned down his flat last time he was out for two months.
All of it empty. Cold and bare. Too unused to really miss.
Gaz slows while packing his things. He stops, grabs his phone, then lowers to the bed. He stares at the recent calls list, Captain still at the top, call ended twenty minutes ago.
Home has a different taste in his mouth than it used to. Not horribly bad, but different enough to notice.
It’ll be quiet. Gaz used to love quiet.
Being here has changed something in him.
Nothing big—all small things, in fact.
A pondering floats down on him, comes to his mind and makes the rest of his body tighten, a coiled spring waiting, wondering. It’s such a small question, too, but things with you always seemed so small and insignificant, until he got a moment of quiet to consider it.
Do they sell your perfume in the UK?
It’s not a huge thing if they don't.
Really, it’s not life-changing. He’s just trying to consider never having it again, never having it flood his senses when you get too close, lean a bit closer to slide him his drink.
Then it’s you not leaning in close ever again. Then no you, ever again.
Gaz can’t quite make it make sense.
Home is good. Hell, he misses it.
But home is no set place anymore. Home could be two poles repelling each other but attracting him, pulling at each half of him, waiting to tear him down the middle while he tries to decide.
Two fucking weeks? Gaz has to check his phone to make sure. Has that really all it’s been?
Bullshit.
Tell him why it feels like it’s been years. Tell him why he can’t imagine going home as anything other than a misstep, one bad fucking decision away from sealing his fate.
A slice of shepherd’s pie and a nice cup of Earl Grey—it can wait.
A little longer, at least. He needs some time to make certain on some things. A month, maybe. On his own dime now. After all, what’s four thousand dollars compared to a missed opportunity for something better?
…He’ll see if they have deals on extended stays.
~~~~~~
“YN.”
Nothing.
“YN.”
Still nothing.
“YN!”
You’re avoiding eye contact and maintaining a six-foot radius at all times, like he’s got the damn plague.
It’s been the same setting for the past four weeks; corner of the bar, closer to the same dark shit that swirls in his glass now, aiming for privacy and good company.
He used to think he was a good shot, but his accuracy’s been bloody terrible as of late.
Twelve times. He’s tried asking you out twelve times.
After the most recent attempt crash-landed with you interrupting to tell him about your sister’s obsession with popping zits, he considered it. Oh boy, did he consider giving up, asking himself why the hell he ever got so desperate in the first place.
Tonight was supposed to be some last hurrah of sorts. His flight leaves tomorrow morning, and his patience with you has become so thin it could snap with a single breath.
But he gets here, sees you.
Sees you bustling around the bar—which, in his mind’s eye, is his flat. And you look right at home, by the way. Wandering in and out of his room, his kitchen, the living room. Curled up on the settee, your soft thighs winking at him from beneath his own sweatshirt. Then you’re dancing in the same way, hips swaying to the obnoxious beat, leaning in closer instead of pulling away when he grabs onto you like he ought to.
For all that’s good and pure, you never distance yourself like you do now.
There’s no easily spooking the you in his head that wants him just as badly as he does you.
Your name falls from his lips an unavoidable number of times from the corner of the bar, and you finally fold.
See—wasn’t so hard, was it?
Not so painful if you’d just give in and go on a date with him now, too.
You saunter over, a world-weary sigh falling from your lips. “My God, Kyle, you sound like a damn cockatoo over here. Or my mom, which was a bit unsettling. Need I remind you I regret telling you my middle name.”
“Then you won’t be surprised to know you’re getting a good scolding, with the way you’ve been avoiding me.”
That same look takes up your features, pouty lips and wrinkled brow, like he’s barking up the wrong tree all over again. Might be his favorite expression of yours, second only to that little grin when you see him each day.
The same one that keeps him barking.
“You know it’s for a good reason, Kyle. I’ve told you this.”
“Remind me again, darling. Is it a boyfriend?”
You huff a sigh. “No.”
“Husband?”
You roll your eyes. “No.”
“Lesbian?”
“What?” You stare at him wide-eyed, and he shrugs.
“Just makin’ sure my bases are covered. So what is it, then?”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I’m also dead fuckin’ serious,” his voice raises when you try to walk away. He can barely refrain from swatting out at your wrist, spinning you back around to look at him. Over the weeks, he’s discovered your biggest weakness is his eyes, and he puppy-dogs them now. “Out with it. Please.”
His white-knuckled hands ache from where they grip under the bar’s ledge, and he’s trying blessedly hard to keep still as you look him over. Every scar, every bag under his eyes, every premature wrinkle. You can see it all and more, probably even see the nightmare he had three days ago, where it was you tied up, enemy’s gun pointed at the pliable skin of your temple, your cries echoing in the empty warehouse.
Where, a building over, in sniper-position, Gaz’s frozen. His fucking trigger finger won’t twitch, and he can’t breathe, can’t move even as the gunshot lit up your skin, and he rolled out of the same hotel bed, coughing on the floor, wheezing.
He tops off his eyes with a dashing smile, pleasant like his mind hadn’t painted the picture of you bloody and dying, still haunting him.
Gaz isn’t as easy to read as you are. You wouldn’t be able to tell.
“You’re looking at me like that again.”
“Like I’m whipped?” As if he could look like anything else.
“No, like…” You bite your tongue, and Gaz would give anything to know what you’d planned on doing with the hand you’d raised toward him just then, only to let it drop down at your side. “Never mind.”
“C’mon.” God , his hands ache. “Just tell me. Thought we were friends?”
“We are friends, Kyle.” You ignore how smug he gets, fixing him with a look. “But that’s all we are.”
Gaz scoffs, “I don’t get it. Just because your friend has, what, a li’l crush on me, and she doesn’t even know me, this can’t happen?”
You know what this is. He knows you know what this is. And he knows you want it, too.
“It’s…” you bite the inside of your cheek while avoiding his gaze, and he knows it’s because you can’t think when he looks at you like that. Pleading. Desperate. And so damn breathless at the sigh of you that it makes it that much harder for you to say you don’t want him. “It’s a whole big thing we agreed on when I started working here. It’s how the peace is kept, not just between Jeanne and me—but for everyone. That’s just how we do it.”
“YN…”
You ignore him. “And I like this job, Kyle. I do. I don’t care that I’m horrible at mixing drinks, and that I can’t handle drunk people to save my life. It feels good to have something to do when I don’t know what else to do with myself, and I can’t have some little lover’s quarrel ruin that.
“And Jeanne is a great person. And I know you don’t like it when I bring it up, but it’s true. She saw you first and called it. So I’m stepping back, not getting in the middle of it because I owe it to her, and I don’t get why you won’t just do me that solid and give her a chance. You two are a much better fit than you and I would ever be—”
“You hate camping.”
You fall silent, staring at him in confusion. “What?”
“You hate camping. And the woods. The outside, really. You told me that. Then you told me your daily circuit is the bar, then your home, sometimes to the café down the street from here, but that’s rare. And that you like books, but I know s’not the cute, adventure-y ones you pretend to like. I googled a few of yours, ones I caught you sneakin’ on your breaks—dirty little bird, you are, by the way. But I like that about you. All of it. Everything you think you have to keep under wraps.”
“Kyle…”
“I like the way you say my name, too. And how soft your skin looks, and those thighs—fuck me. Is your perfume cherries, by the way?”
“Peaches,” you mumble. He nods.
“That too. I mean, every little thing, darling. I swear, I want it. Don’t care that we’re complete opposites, that you’re scared of what I do, what I’m built for. I need you to know that I want you because of that, not in spite of. I don’t need you all the time, I promise. But I don’t think I could handle it if I didn’t have you at all.”
You want him. He can see it. You’re melting into a goddamn puddle before him, wandering nearer and nearer like you can’t help it.
What else can he say? What the hell else does he have to do to prove that he wants you so bad it’s driving him up the walls? Gaz is wrenched so tight in his seat that he could snap and hurdle the counter, drag you out of here and show you everything he’s willing to give.
He needs a promise before he leaves. Something.
“God, Kyle, I didn’t…” your breath stutters, but you won’t pull your gaze from his. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know you were so serious about this.”
You didn’t know? You couldn’t fucking tell? After a month of him puttering around here, begging for your attention, doing anything he could to get you to look at him—
“I thought you were just…”
Fuck.
Gaz shakes his head.
Fuck.
Messing with you? Teasing you? That’s all you thought it was?
He tips his head back, locking onto the ceiling.
What could he have said during the past five weeks that would make you think that?
He runs through every conversation, every interaction, every whipped, needy look he couldn’t hold back because he couldn’t stop them around you.
And then he thinks about Jeanne. How you’ve been pushing her on him. And how he’s a perfect fucking gentleman and entertained her interest with polite conversation.
Then there’s you, his shy little rabbit watching from the other end of the bar, so damn skittish that he can only draw you back in after she’s long left him alone. Not even surveying or passively watching, but crafting wildly inaccurate conclusions in your little overthinking head.
No.
No, no, no, because, fickle as you are, you’re a giver.
And Gaz’s been stealing that role from you this whole time.
He hasn’t let you show your worth. He doesn’t need to see it, no, but you think you have to prove it. You like your trials by fire. You don’t like winning by default.
You don’t think you could be wanted for wanting’s sake.
In all fairness, Gaz didn’t think he functioned like that either—unconditional terms and all that. So he thought he’d had to give back. Give back so much that it frightened you, and you couldn’t hold up what you thought was your end.
A bloody fool. That’s what he is.
His little American rabbit plays by different rules. In the UK, women in bars are so straightforward, so honest.
What a fuckin’ sod he is.
His flight leaves in nine hours, and he hasn’t packed, hasn’t slept.
Too busy thinking about you. How much of a wrench you’ve been in his plans.
He didn’t think wanting you would be like asking the world to spin the other way.
And, hell, what’s he supposed to do when he does leave, gone off on the mission Price’s hinted to him, the one that’s halfway across the globe, and you’re back here, trying and probably succeeding at forgetting he exists.
Fuck.
You not knowing he exists.
Him having never met you.
The ideas make him sick.
But Gaz…
Gaz is a planner. Above all else.
And if you want an opportunity to show what you can give him, he’ll give you just that. While he’s on a mission, mind on worse, far more horrible things, he’ll give you that chance you’ve been itching so hard for.
“Your phone.”
You’ve been watching him go through phases, even refilled his glass while he was out. Scotch on the rocks, this time. Like you thought he had to start taking it easy from here on out, like you think he deserves it.
“What?”
“Let me give you my number.”
“Kyle… that’s not a good idea.”
“Don’t care, love.”
To your credit, you have a healthy amount of wariness. In several jerky movements, you pull your phone from your pocket, open it to a new contact, and pass it to him, eyeing up every little thing he types.
Kyle (Hot Guy from the Bar) Garrick.
His phone number.
Then he texts himself quickly, saves your number too, and holds your phone out.
When you grab at it, he holds tight, tugging for your attention.
Like he hasn’t, in a most wonderfully heady way, already got it.
“No funny business with this, love.” His features turn grim. “No giving it to your friend so she can woo me—”
“Woo you?”
He gives you a stern look. “A phone call. A text. A fuckin’ pocket dial, I don’t care. But I want it from you, or no one, yeah?”
Only after you nod, slow and unsure, does he push himself out of the barstool for the last time, nodding to you. Eyes soft as he whispers, “Have a good night, darling.”
Your eyes don’t leave him as he walks away, phone still gripped tightly in your hand.
~~~~~~
Part 2
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FUCK MARRY KILL -
[ot7 x reader]
GOLDEN OUT SOON
8 participants - 8 online
———————————
jin: just googled what champagne confetti means and wtf????
jimin: the fact that you had to google that 💀
namjoon: it’s been how long since the song came out?
y/n: wow jin ur really old as hell
💀💀💀💀💀
jin: IM NOT
hobi: bro had to google champagne confetti 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
jin: A LOT of people don’t know what that means
tae: a lot of old people 💀💀💀
jin: can you stop with the skulls
jimin: 💀💀💀💀
jin: i bet jungkook doesn’t even know what that means
jk: i do
why would i say it if i didn’t know it stupid
hobi: jungkook just called u stupid 💀
jin: bye
y/n: i’m turning evil
hobi: yesss feminism 💞💞
jin: how?
y/n: i just am
stay out of women’s business
jk: no guys it’s true she didn’t make me breakfast today 😰😰😰😰😰
yoongi: are you 5? why does she make u breakfast
jk: love
you wouldn’t get it
tae: i love an evil woman
they get me going
if you know what i mean
wink wink
y/n tell them what me you and namjoon did yesterday lol
namjoon: shut up
y/n: if you keep talking i’m going to block
you
tae: baby 💔
she doesn’t mean that guys
jimin: what did you guys do?
y/n: nothing important
hobi: i’ve decided that enhypen are my biggest enemies in life
I HATE THEM
jk: i love jikjin ❤️
namjoon: that was treasure
jk: no
namjoon: ok
jimin: what did enhypen do to you
hobi: exist
i’m not fucking with them
the vibes are off
and there are too many australians
y/n: isn’t it jake the only australian one?
yoongi: why do you know his name
y/n: because i’m nice and remember people’s names
hobi: i’ll literally kill jake like wdym oh naur??? like only i can say that
fucking bitch
UGH
i hate him
jimin: wow ok
namjoon: hoseok be the bigger person here they are kids
hobi: i’m skinny
bigger person?? absolutely not!
jimin: he kinda real for that idk
y/n: LMAO
jin: i’m saying fuck enhypen AND newjeans
hobi: literally
y/n: haters
jimin: NO FUCK NEWJEANS FOR REAL HAD ME DANCING TO ETA
LIKE I’M A MAN
jin: ha
jimin: what’s funny?
jin: 😚
jimin: i literally agreed with you idk why ur trying to fight me rn
jin: i didn’t even say anything
jimin: you didn’t have to
namjoon: ok both of you stop
jk: what if i was a giant meatball
yoongi: that’s nasty
tae: no cuz i get it
are you the meatball or is the meatball you
if you know what i mean
jk: i know
tae: no bro
we know
yoongi: ur sick
both of you are extremely sick
hobi: wish enhypen was sick
with the plague or something
y/n: that’s not nice :(
hobi: i would say i’m sorry
but i’m not
and i don’t lie
i just don’t
jk: guys can we cook rocks
y/n: no
jk: why not
y/n: they are rocks
jk: ok but have you tried
y/n: shut up
jk: yes
hobi: i could so play alexander hamilton
jimin: isn’t that the guy who drives the fast car?
jk: the fast and furious man?
tae: vin diesel????
yoongi: lewis hamilton you fucking idiots
hobi: i’m talking about the founding father
jk: what did ur father find???
namjoon: isn’t that an american thing?
jimin: finding fathers?
y/n: i can find mine
jin: so can i
and last time i’m checked i’m not american
tae: does america think koreans are fatherless?
yoongi: you act like u are don’t blame them tbh
hobi: no guys don’t you know the musical??
jin: about fatherless koreans?
jk: or the car man?
i thought that was a normal movie
did i miss the singing part???
y/n: omg didn’t jimin do a song for fast and furious??
jimin: OMG I DID
namjoon: wait i’m confused
hobi: lin-manuel miranda???
tae: wtf is that
jin: a sauce?
y/n: is that not the lip bite guy
hobi: YES
yoongi: give up hoseok
hobi: i have faith in them
yoongi: don’t
hobi: ur right…
jimin: anyways
tae: thinking hard rn
namjoon: i’m impressed
tae: thank you its the first time i’ve ever done this
i’m fucking with it lowkey
yoongi: go away
tae: can someone ask me what i’m thinking about
jimin: no
tae: since you asked i’ve got a really important question
jk: i’ll answer
tae: no you won’t
hobi: y/n do you want cookies?
y/n: PLEASE
jin: can i have some
hobi: no
jin: :/
tae: y/n
y/n: what
jk: 😍
tae: fuck marry kill
like out of us
rn
this shouldn’t be hard
y/n: ur right it’s not
fuck jin marry hobi kill jimin
tae: just fell to my knees
jimin: kinkyyyy
hobi: 🥺
jin: real!!!!!!!
jk: wait what
yoongi: lol
tae: clutching my chest
namjoon: would you all get a grip
tae: i have a grip on my heart
i’m having a heart attack
ohmygod
it’s fading to black
help me
beep beep beeeeeeeeeeeppp
(i’m dead)
yoongi: thank god
jk: y/n you can kill me yk?
won’t even be mad i swear
like fr
as long as ur thinking of me ha
idm!!!
y/n: but i picked jimin to kill
jk: oh lmao yeah!
you picked jimin
silly me lol
yeah
ur right lol
ha
jimin
yeah
jin: you wanna fuck rn lol?
yoongi: shut up
jin: ur mad
yoongi: i’m not
it’s just a stupid game 😂
jin: EWWW YOONGI JUST USED “😂”
i could throw up
someone kick him
jimin: when you kill me can you do it by strangling me
i feel like that would be the best way to go
namjoon: gross?
hobi: i think we should have a spring wedding that would be SAURRRR cute
y/n: NAURRRR ur so right
jk: ha ha
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
jimin: wow he’s insane
jk: i could die better than you
i would die instantly
i wouldn’t fight back
i wouldn’t struggle
i would just die
jimin: the struggling is the best part
namjoon: stop
yoongi: fucking freaks
tae: she’s in love with me i know it
y/n: did you not just have a heart attack?
tae: can you kiss me like yesterday
y/n: absolutely not!
tae: wow u want me so fucking bad
jin: yesterday?
jimin: let’s a have threesome
hobi: bro can’t count
jimin: no
i just don’t vibe with jin fr
jin: ur such a hater it’s crazy this is why she’s killing you
and fucking ME
jk: LOL
LOOOOOOOOOOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLLLLLLLLLL
y/n: guys can we talk about rn gojo pls I’m feeling sentimental
namjoon: who is that?
y/n: sighs looks out window
yoongi: don’t let her start
y/n: gojo was a hero to many a enemy to some a teacher to a few but to me
to me gojo was everything
jin: already don’t care can you come over lol
y/n: you want an in person gojo explanation???
jin: if that is what people are calling head now absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!
y/n: jin i could cry
i’ll be there 😭🙏🏽
tae: me and joon are here
well like more me than joon but he can come if you want
i’m here babe
pls
don’t go to jin
jimin: wtf are you talking about 💀
jk: she didn’t even kill me guys
wow
like
wow
she didn’t even kill me….
hobi: she married me
jimin: ur clearly not on her mind bro
jk: no ur right
why would i even be on her mind anyways
i’m just a stupid idiot that no one loves
or wants to kill
y/n: get a grip
jk: grip gotten
yoongi: ur all dumb as hell
y/n: don’t be mad i didn’t pick you
yoongi: i’m not
jimin: iM nOt
yoongi: she literally killed you stfu
jimin: so?? at least i was on her mind
jk: WHY DIDNT YOU PICK ME OHMYGODDDDDIDJDJJDJJz nxbsjsh
tae: ok but be fr did you forget how to spell my name y/n be honest
tae: my name is tae
y/n: i know!
jk: i thought it was taehyung?
tae: CAN YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP RN WE HAVE BIGGER ISSUES
jk: i’m sorry ur right
no one loves me
hit me in the head with a shovel
tae: ok LOOOOLLL but out of the remaining people who would you fuck?
y/n: joonie 🙏🏽
yoongi: u think ur so funny
y/n: ?
sorry for speaking my truth
jin: literally
tae: NAMJOON FR????
AFTER ALL I DID
and you pick the man that basically sat behind you the whole time
jin: wait
namjoon: taehyung
tae: WHATEVER
jin: waittttttttttttttttttttt
y/n: let’s not wait actually
jk: y/n are you sure you don’t want to kill me
jimin: shut the hell up
tae: AHHHHHHHZHSHSHSUDUDH
UGHHHHSYSZHSSBDBDN
YOU WANT ME
i hate life
you want me so bad
i know it
FUCK YOU
tae left “GOLDEN OUT SOON”
yoongi: wtf
jimin: wow
hobi: didn’t know it was that srs
jin: i have a theory
namjoon: you don’t
jin: no i definitely do
y/n: shut the fuck up
jin: wow u guys are nasty
yoongi: ????
jk: y/n did you change ur mind?
jimin kicked jk from “ GOLDEN OUT SOON”
—
tags: @piw6n @jvmisvu @birdie-vhs @kooksmilitarywife @hob3loveofmylife @jujubiism @bloopkook @ratchetpizza1 @myntalks @arloo00 @watamotee33 @y2kcy3brz @taiwan0618 @indigobsessed @freyadanvers @gguksbeloved @raetf @bbsantc @winuvs @medicinemybish @bxnnyhime @leleluvsbts @baetukki @zyaaaszn @thelilbutifulthings @yojaschill @k4ngelz @junghoseokshusband
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