#anyway how are you how is the weather in California

[mrkgrl]

Orange and blue as voted by my followers.

[muteflames]

it’s the third(?) day in a row of raining and our backyard is completely fucking flooded and the roads are fucking washed out, this is not what life in california is abt :(

[octuscle]

Welcome to Overland!

Overland Park in Kansas. I really had to google it first. Where the hell did my father get the idea that I would really study here? I mean, I have offers from Stanford and Cambridge. I'm not going to Overland Park. Kansas! Sure, it might have been a good fit for my dad. My dad is the prototypical corn-fed athlete. He looks dazzling for his 42 years, still a cross so wide that my two younger brothers and I can hide behind it. His mullet is a bit of a show-off, if you ask me. But he seems to go down well with his customers. His car dealership is the biggest in the state. My two younger brothers both have petrol in their blood. They both want to get their MBAs at Overland Park. But I'm much more interested in law. And Harvard would be my dream for that.

Anyway, my father gave me a car for my 18th birthday. A super impractical Dodge RAM. Doesn't suit me at all. And the car came with a gas voucher and a voucher for a mall around the corner. Well, I hope they'll have a Brooks Brothers store. But I'm quietly guessing that they'll only have cowboy boots and plaid shirts… Okay, not to be ungrateful, I'm making the trip to Overland Park in the monster car. I'll also attend his alma mater's orientation event if I absolutely have to. But I'll sign up over my dead body!

The drive to Kansas wasn't so bad. I admit that the car is really huge and comfortable. But the closer I got to the Midwest, the less comfortable I felt. Guys with arms thicker than my legs asked me about the car at gas stations and rest stops. I have no idea how much horsepower it has… I'm not interested either. But here you're obviously only defined by your car. And most of the muscular rednecks here made no secret of the fact that they didn't begrudge me this car. It got even worse when I parked the car in front of the hotel in Overland Park… The valet service looked almost sympathetic when I got out of the car. Tomorrow I'd better take the bus to the information day at the university.

It's incredible how many people are interested in this pathetic campus. It's pretty full in the auditorium. The dean gives a speech that is as boring as the landscape here. And the faculty members either all look like they're coaches of the football team or gardeners on campus. Hillbillies. All of them! The professors introducing each faculty call on the potential juniors who have signed up on the list for that faculty. I didn't put a cross anywhere. All uninteresting for me. And so the auditorium empties out with each professor dragging a train of high school seniors behind him. And at some point, the auditorium is empty. Only three people are still sitting here. A redhead who spends the whole time reading a book. A skinny guy playing with his cell phone and me. I speak to the skinny guy. "No desire to go to Overland Park either?" "Not on your life. I'm not studying thousands of miles from the nearest decent opera." The redhead interjects, "And pretty much everything else you'd call civilization." We laugh and introduce ourselves. Erik, the redhead (how appropriate, I'm not joking), the skinny one is Brayden and I'm Callan. We start talking. Somehow we all have a similar fate. Either our fathers or our brothers studied here. We all have more artistic than sporting interests. We all want to study either in California or New England. Erik suggests that we go out and sit on campus. The weather is nice. It's a good idea. We're sitting in the sun talking when we suddenly hear a voice.

"Hey squad! Finally found you, fam! I've been straight up grinding and hunting all over this place to link up with my homies!" Towards us comes the epitome of everything I loathe about university. An unkempt muscleman, his greasy mullet tamed with a baseball cap on backwards, in a sweaty tank top. Four bottles of beer in his hand. He hands each of us a bottle and says "Yo, yo, yo, what up fam! The name's Ryder, my professor homie spilled the tea that there are three total bros up in here who ain't about that study life, and guess what? Yours truly got the task of keepin' it real with y'all. Haha, I'm the king of slacking off, ain't nobody got time for studying and whatnot. Let's kick back and chill, my dudes!" Ryder stinks of sweat. Disgusting. But somehow also hypnotizing. He opens his bottle and says "Cheers". As if in a trance, we open our bottles and say "cheers".

"Yo, fam, check it out, I'm gonna give you a lit tour of the campus, but not that lame-o typical stuff. Like, forget about the snooze-fest library or whatever. Bro, regular dudes walk in there and walk out looking like they just stepped out of a nerd convention with their thick glasses and wack sweaters. Let's bounce and hit up the real vibes, ya feel me?" Ryder almost chokes with laughter at his own joke, which Erik counters with a fist bump. What the…? "Yo, peep that cafeteria comin' up! It's legit crucial for gettin' in that dank protein intake, ya feel me? And bro, protein is like, the holy grail of gainz. That's the fuel for them epic protein farts, man! Rock on, get that fuel, unleash the beast!" As if on cue, he lets out a fart. Shit, that stinks. Erik laughs. And farts too. Shit, didn't he actually want to study piano? At the conservatory in Boston? Strange behavior for a pianist….

Ryder tells us to wait a minute. He runs into the cafeteria and comes back with four fresh cold bottles of beer. Shit, yes, the beer tastes good. I take a deep swig. And…. BUUUUURP! Ryder and Erik are laughing uproariously. Brayden looks irritated. And I reply ""Yo, it's gonna be, like, forever until those protein farts are unleashed. So, a real dude just gotta let out a mega burp, bro!" Erik and Ryder give me a high five. And Ryder says that he's about to lead us to the source of all protein farts.

You can smell the gym changing rooms before you see them. Erik and I take a deep breath. Brayden holds the sleeve of his jacket in front of his nose. "Yo, bro, it looks like we're getting closer to your second home, huh, Ryder? Watch out for the vibes!" says Erik. Ryder does a double bicep pose and says that Erik can fucking take it. Poor Brayden is standing right next to Ryder. His nose is basically right in the sweaty bush in Ryder's armpit. "Dang, I forgot my gear for the gym! I'm totally itching to pump some iron, man." comes out of his mouth. "Dude, no worries, at our next stop we'll totally score something way cooler for you to rock." says Ryder. "Yo, dude, spit it again - what's your name, pumpin' pal?" Braydon copies Ryder's double bicep pose. I didn't think he had muscles like that. "Yo, my dudes, I'm Beau, like, duh, isn't it obvious? I mean, come on, who else could it be, right? Beau in the hizzouse, representin' like a boss!" The two of them do a chest bump. Erik and I actually look at each other a little enviously. I mean, everyone wants to be best mates with Ryder, the hottest guy on campus.

"Yo, dudes, head to the most lit spot on the whole campus. And watch out! If you think it already smells like sweat and musk, you haven't seen anything yet!" We walk across the student parking lot towards the football field. Past my baby. Ryder raises his eyebrows appreciatively and says that you rarely see cars this cool here. I pose proudly: "Geez, check out this 410 horsepower beast with eight cylinders and 581 Newton meters of torque! My 6.7-liter monster needs that kind of power too. Rocking full leather interior, a massive 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and a killer 750-watt sound system with 17 Harman Kardon speakers. Damn, could never roll in a hybrid after this!" Ryder gives me a chest bump too. Shit, I'm in the club!

Erik thaws out when we're finally in the changing rooms of the football stadium. He takes a deep breath. "Yo, peeps! You feelin' me on this? This smell is like pure home vibes, amirite?" he says. Ryder points to the pile of dirty laundry in the corner. "Yo, dudes, wanna toss some balls around? Let's get our sporty vibes on and slay the game with our rad skills! Let's flex our muscles and show off our mad throwing game. Let's get that adrenaline pumping and have a blast on the field. It's gonna be lit, so don't miss out, fam! Let's do this!" He really doesn't have to say that twice. In no time at all, we're undressed and rummaging naked through our clothes for something to pass. Erik deliberately lets his cock swing for a very long time before putting it into an XXL urine and cum yellow jockstrap. Dude, that boy would make horses jealous! And he can impress Ryder. Out onto the pitch and with a well-directed throw he chases the ball the length of the pitch through the goal. Four-chest bump! Shit, we all can't wait to play for the college team!

"Yo homies, any more burning questions for your boy? The sickest crew on campus is definitely mine - Alpha Phi Alpha, baby! Don't stress, you guys are total Alpha bros, so of course you'll get in. If you're down, we're throwing a lit party at the frat house tonight. Crash on the couch if you want, solo, duo, trio… whatever floats your boat. Just remember, never make eye contact, that's like, no homo!" Beau asks where he can get a cold beer now. Rick has a mega boner. And I can't wait to suck him off right away. Unless Ryder beats me to it. Shit, I'm so proud to be a business major at the University of Kansas on the Overland campus. My dad will be even prouder.

"Yo, so you wanna join the sickest crew of all the raddest universities in the damn USA?" I love the information days on campus. Lots of hot fresh meat. And the premium meat belongs to Alpha Phi Alpha, just like us! "Yo, peep this dude with the sickest Mullet ever, that's my bro Beau. And check out the fiery buff dude over there, that's Rick, the top quarterback of the football squad for real. I'm Cletus, and we 'bout to show y'all the raddest spots on campus. But first, in honor of the hottest dude to ever grace this campus, let's crack open a cold one." We take a big sip. And burp "Ryder" loudly!

[mayakern]

upcoming store stuff & why we're doing a super sale

omg hiiii it's devin again, and this time i'm bringing store news

the short version: we're moving ourselves back to minnesota, and we're moving order fulfillment to a fulfillment center

wow, that's big news! maya and i are so so so excited to be closer to our minnesota friends (and also my family lol). i'm hoping to be back in northeast minneapolis, but let's be real we're probably gonna get priced out and into the suburbs

in addition to that, due to a variety of reasons i'll explain in more detail below, we're transitioning from in-house fulfillment to working with a fulfillment center (or 3pl, short for third-party logistics). we're at an awkward size that makes staffing difficult and have had issues with extended processing time. the 3pl should be set up by september, and we're working on the back end to have fulfillment centers in australia, canada, the UK, and eventually the EU. if tax authorities work with us we should have all that ready by december 2024!

to prepare for that we're doing a super sale. ash told me not to call it liquidation but she said that like 30 seconds after i hit send on the marketing email, sorry about that. items that we don't want to pay to move to the 3pl are discounted by 25-70%, with some of them priced at cost. under no circumstances will anything ever be 70% off again

if you're nosy you can read the q&a i made up in my head while eating pigs in a blanket:

how are the labor protections at the 3pl?

pretty good! we were shocked to find anything even halfway decent in the US; we went looking for a fulfillment center in the EU to handle all international fulfillment, and the one we found just so happened to have bought a US location two years ago.

they're located in ohio, pay $19/hr, and provide health insurance and 401k matching. that seemed too good to be true so we dug through employee reviews on places like glassdoor, and while there were some bad reviews those were all dated prior to when the facility was purchased by this new company. they also have a very low turnover rate which is a HUGE green flag

why are you transferring to a 3pl?

the serious

sometimes we have a high volume of sales, and it makes sense to have two full-time employees plus a part timer! but usually we have a low-to-medium volume of sales. we can float by on that, but it gets risky, and the economy is in a bad enough state that we're concerned about the longevity

related, the 2023 holiday sale showed us some major flaws in our fulfillment process. if the same issues were to happen this year the business probably wouldn't survive

we're moving cross-country in early 2025 and would've had to close this location anyway

the dumb:

i'm sick of dealing with commercial landlords and if i have one more wall leak i'm going to throw it into the river brick by brick

what about your staff?

unfortunately we will have to say goodbye to our office staff. they have been given 3.5 months notice and no-questions-asked PTO for interviews with a small severance

why are you moving back to minnesota?

troy was always meant to be a temporary move. initially the plan was to move to vermont or massachusetts, but after being out here for 7 years we just kinda want to go home. the weather in troy is perfect for us, we love the mountains, and we have some great friends here, but for some goddamn reason we want our eyelashes to freeze together.

will you be returning to midwest cons?

if we return to cons at all it will be with ariel and/or ash running the booth, maya will not be involved. this would likely be in california and/or in the northeast US.

my friends are begging me to go to CONvergence as an attendee so ig you might see me there? maya has pledged death before crowded venues tho

will you do any local events in minnesota?

we might do sample sales. honestly idk what we're gonna do with the samples we have in troy, most of them are terrible. do you want samples of the strangest low rise bell bottom pants ever created? please take them from me. my bush hangs out

also my kid brother has gotten really into library events and if he asks nice enough we might do some of those

is there anything else?

i mean probably, but i started this last week and i haven't had any other ideas on what to include

[twistedchatterbox]

New voicemail

summary: sappy boys being mushy over the phone for you. ft.Riddle, Cater, Vil, Idia tags. Female reader, No Spoilers, Fluff, Cheesy Sappy Lovey Dovey Romance, Slice of life, Spice of life, Smitten Vil, Lovesick Riddle, Cater sings for you, anniversary date with idia, copious use of petnames, no beta we overblot like men.

Wordcount; 1520+ | Masterlist & Taglist

Riddle has cleared his throat thrice, drank water and mentally rehearsed what he wanted to say for this voicemail; however once he hit record, none of that really mattered. "Hi," he whispered, the nearly overwhelming happiness in was audible, it nearly spoke for him. Thinking about the silliness of it, the dormwarden laughed, giggly at the mishap, it really was unavoidable anyway. Riddle took a breather, sighing in a relieved and relaxed manner, "Hi" he whispered with a wide grin, one you would hear vividly, openly adoring, "I missed you." "I missed you so, so much; I want to spend time with you- If you'd have me, we could study together once the exam subjects are announced, if you want to." Riddle murmured, twirling one of the longer locks of hair framing his face with his idle hand; eyes closed, envisioning it. "And then, we could go on a date." He hummed, would you like a cafe date? Karaoke? The aquariu- Well, maybe not the aquarium. Maybe he could take you out on a walk to the district nearby of the internships he picked out, but that sounded too serious. So, a cafe would suffice for now. He would check Cater's magicam page, namely his older posts to see some of the calmer, more relaxing places he could take you to. "What do you think? Let me know once you see- or i suppose hear- this, my lovely." "bye-bye, I love you." And suddenly, time couldn't pass fast enough. ...He supposes he could write his own written permit to stay over, it's not as if anyone could stop him; you had always been ecstatic to see him use the loopholes of rules to be a good boyfriend, after all.

Cater leap onto his bed, giddy and giggly, rolling back and forth while occasionally kicking his feet like a schoolgirl. Lightly smushing and slapping his face with both of his own hands to calm down, he sighs, hugging one of his pillows, looking idly around his room. A love song. He had been giddy and sappy because he heard a love song, it sounded so much like the essence of you. He has already begun memorizing the lyrics, so that he could sing it, maybe he'd learn to play it too. it made him so happy. You made him so happy. He loves you- and he sighs, you really ought to start paying rent someday for living in his head all the time, and his heart too. And then he thought, what if he.. sung, for you? Well that suddenly made him anxious, but ecstatic, he was such a nerve wreck. but it was good. and overwhelming. Cater curses the lack of logistics in him. He thinks back to the comment lingering in the back of his mind, he knows why he's even thought of this- "I love it when you sing" you said, cuddling up to his neck, leaning on him, on his bed, sitting on his lap while he sung a simple tune of a song as he was practicing on his guitar. It was his favourite, his sisters hated it. and you loved it. And Cater soaked it up like a sponge, like a golden retriever, if you will; fetching his phone fast, so that he could do this before his dumb insecurities could catch up to him. Sweater weather. "All I am is a man I want the world in my hands I hate the beach But I stand in California with my toes in the sand Use the sleeves of my sweater Let's have an adventure Head in the clouds but my gravity's centered Touch my neck and I'll touch yours You in those little high waisted shorts, oh-" Cater felt the song and your hands crawl up his body like phantom touch as he sung. it was ticklish, making him end the song halfway with a breathless chuckle and a dumb smile, he knew you could hear it in his tone, but he didn't mind at all. He hoped one day, you'd get to grasp how precious you are to him; he loves you, and he loves everything you love too, somehow inlove with the way you do too. The word doesn't make sense anymore, but it really does too. He feels a lot like love with you, yeah, Cater laughed; it really shouldn't make sense, but he's so thankful it does. Looking back at his phone, he records his final piece. "I love you, princess." Sent. ...And maybe, he grinned- "Meet me in my room for the full piece, maybe? I could pick you up~" Sent.

Vil laid down in bed, normally he wouldn't do so until it was time to sleep, yet he knew he'd cave into something far more off-schedule if he didn't. He laughed, it truly was bizarre; Vil Schoenheit, the renowned actor was missing his girlfriend. That, it was the entire reason. The cause of his simple complicated mood. Well, he knew that if he called you it could get you in trouble; perhaps you were in class, or working on something, he couldn't interrupt you without being a hypocrite. But. Vil eyed his phone on the night stand, maybe he could do something. A playful grin rose on his gorgeous features, mischief, rarely shown in a not overly elegant manner. Vil couldn't give a damn. He reached out and swiped his phone, opening it swiftly and admiring your contacts information. "The love of my life." it made him smile, he was so indecisive about what kind of nickname would fit; he did not want to jinx this by being overly cliche and being soft or off-character, until you so naturally, casually reminded him that for as long as he's off stage, then he's supposed to be off-character. No one besides himself, and you, that's all he really needs. He sighed dreamily, hitting record. "Hi, my beauty, my muse, my dove," Vil chuckled to himself, "My, my my, haa.. I missed your presence so much, if only you knew." He tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, closing his eyes, "Lets remedy this once you are available, okay? We could have a spa day, or, if you can, I can ask my management to pick you up so that you can accompany me for the entire day..." "It's been a while since we got to spend the entire day together, side by side" That was a goddamn lie. "Maybe you can make up to me by joining me on a day-long date and night time spa?" You slept in his room and woke up side by side every day already.

"Let me know when you're free, my dove; " He blew a kiss, a soft click of his lips, "I love you."

Idia sighed, drinking down the cup of water, staring at the mirror reflection of himself on the screen of his phone. "The things I do for you" he thought with a softened, pleased smile. Calming, it was accurate to describe the affect you had on him when he thought of you. Sure he flared up into life from the power of anxiety, love, nerves and his traitorous color changing flame hair the second you stepped foot into 6ft of his physical area of existance, but he had come around to relax so much more as your relationship developed. This will be just another milestone, he said, time will pass either way, he told himself, better do it now than miss a limited edition chance. Idia averted his gaze as he pressed the record button, "uh- Hey, hi, " he fake-coughed into his hoodies sleeves, tugging on the strings of said hoodie with his idle hand. "I missed you, so" He shrugged, mentally smacking himself upside down the head for doing something you had no chance to hear. "So i decided to leave a voice message- Come visit me once you can, okay? I'll order your favourites too, if you want. Or we could cook together, I dunno'," Idia glanced back, looking momenterily at your contact picture, it was one he took while you two were out on a date. Outside for your half-year anniversary, a year ago now. That gave him an idea, making him grin. "I know instant noodles aren't always your thing so I'll treat us to something nice," He 'hummed', pretending to ponder. "..I could take us to that ramen place, maybe? I..I-I think it was nice last year." Idia said, stuttering at the last bit, yet carrying on. "Let me know what you think." "I love you." He said, it was only natural, as everything lovely seemed to be when it came to you. Idia fist bumped the air, letting out a happy victory sound; that actually went perfectly?!- He couldn't help but laugh, loudly and absolutely thrilled, ecstatic. He jumps into his bed and screams into his pillow; Idia sighs, relaxing as if he just ran a marathon (his heart sure did, to be fair.) and a closed eye-d smile made its way to his face without any resistance "I love her so much.." You always make him so happy.

[lfzyxf]

Could you please write some isaac lahey fluff, maybe about reader wearing his sweater?

I'm so excited to write for Teen Wolf again. Thank you so much for requesting this, I hope its to your liking! Masterlist Word count: 1480

It’s easy to forget that even in Beacon Hills, California the weather gets colder during the winter. So easy that you’re now sitting in class shivering and struggling to focus on whatever Coach is saying. You pull the sleeves of your sweater down to cover your hands before rubbing them over your hands, trying to warm yourself up.

After a few more seconds of trying to warm yourself something in the corner of your eye grabs your attention. You turn slightly to see it’s a cardigan being handed to you by Isaac. You’re not that close to him even if you wish you were, you mostly got to know him when he became friends with Scott. But even then, you were too shy to actually try and get to know him better.

You hesitantly move to take the cardigan before smiling softly at him. All he does in response is wink at you before turning back towards the front of the class. Holding the sweater in your hands you feel how soft it is, you recognize it as well. It’s a long grey and black striped cardigan. You recall it being his favourite with how often he wears it.

Finally, you put it on, instantly feeling a lot warmer. The sleeves fall past your hands which makes you roll them up. When you look back up you see Isaac staring at you, a soft smile resting on his lips and his cheeks tinted a soft pink. You smile back at him before finally focusing on whatever Coach is going on about this time.

After an incredibly boring 40 minutes class is finally over. You quickly rush to grab your stuff so you can make it on time for your next class on the other side of the building. You barely make it on time, plopping down in your seat next to Lydia. “Did you run here?” she asks looking at you with a raised eyebrow. “Basically, I don’t know who made my schedule but when I found them-” she interrupts you, pointing at what you’re wearing “is that Isaac’s cardigan?”.

Shocked you look down; you completely forgot you were wearing his cardigan. “I-uh, yeah. I was cold during class, so he lent it to me. I completely forgot to give it back.” You explain while Lydia just stares at you with a smug look on her face. “He just happened to notice you were cold and offered you his favourite cardigan?”

Your cheeks start to feel warm; you shake your head while playing with edge of the cardigan. “I’m sure it didn’t mean anything to him, he was just being friendly I’m sure” you reason. She clearly doesn’t agree as she just shakes her head right as the teacher walks in.

Classes are finally over for today causing you and Lydia to walk back to your lockers with excitement. The group is going over to Scott’s place to hang out for the rest of the day. When you arrive at your lockers the others are already waiting on you. Stiles is leaning against the locker next to yours with Scott next to him, they’re talking to Allison about something. You quickly open your locker, stuffing your books into it. “Is that a new cardigan?” Allison asks confused, pointing at it. You don't get a chance to respond before a different voice responds, “It’s mine actually.”

You quickly turn around, and behind you is Isaac, leaning against the locker next to you, similar to Stiles. He smiles at you before asking, “I hope it kept you warm?” Your brain takes a moment to catch up before you respond, nodding “Yes, yes it did thank you! I’m sorry for running off with it, i had to run to make it to my next class and I just completely forgot about it.” Your cheeks are heating up again as he looks down at you, eating up your every word.

He shakes his head softly “Nah don't worry about it, you look better in it anyway. Wouldn’t want you to freeze either” he says before standing up normally “are we leaving?” He asks nodding towards the exit. There’s a moment of silence before Scott speaks up and we leave to go to his place for the scheduled hangout.

While making your way to Scott’s place Allison and Lydia hang in the back with you. “So, what was that about?” Allison asks smiling. You shrug “I have no idea-” “he clearly likes you” Lydia interrupts. You push her softly before shushing her. “Maybe don’t talk about it so loudly?” you say with wide eyes, glancing at Isaac hoping he didn’t hear anything with his heightened senses.

Lydia simply rolls her eyes while Allison puts her arm around your shoulders. “Why don’t you just ask?” You stare at Allison for a moment before replying, “Are you actually insane? Do you need medical help?” She laughs before shaking her head “You won’t know until you ask.” You sigh softly, looking at the ground “What if he doesn’t like me like that? It would just get awkward between us.” “But what if he does” Lydia responds, she’s smiling softly at you, a comforting look in her eyes. “You can’t let this opportunity go to waste just because you’re scared.”

You take a breath before nodding “I’ll talk to him about it later.” The two girls smile at you until Stiles interrupts the sweet moment “Can you guys walk any slower?”

Stiles is terrible at Mario Kart, that much is clear by the fact that he’s lost 3 times in a row. He still refuses to give up, convinced that he’ll one the next round against Scott. You stopped playing after the 2nd round, your head started to hurt from how loud Stiles screams when playing. Lydia and Allison are sitting on the sofa watching Scott and Isaac absolutely kick Stiles’ ass in the game. Even after another round of losing Stiles is convinced he can win so he goes up against Scott once more. This time Isaac doesn’t play, similarly he complains his head is starting to hurt. “I’m not even that loud!” Stiles retorts, or more so yells. “Yes, you are” all of us reply in turn.

You’re still laughing when Isaac walks up to you, crouching so only you can hear him. “Could we talk for a moment?” He asks looking up at you. You nod briefly, wondering what on earth he would have to say to you in private. “Of course,” you stand up before following him to the kitchen, moving to sit on the countertop with him leaning against the kitchen table.

The both of you stay silent for a moment, tension high in the air. “So, what did you want to talk about?” You ask softly, playing with the hem of his cardigan that you’re still wearing. It takes another moment for him to respond, “You know, when I first met you, I was wondering why on earth you were even talking to me. I was an absolute nobody, I barely had any friends, and I wasn’t doing great in lacrosse.” He sighed before continuing “After Derek bit me I was convinced I could finally ask you out. That you would finally want me like I have wanted you. But even then, I was too scared, I couldn’t get myself to tell you how I felt.”

He moved closer to you, his hand moving to cover your cheek before softly caressing it. “But today I finally had the guts to make a move, and when I saw how adorable you looked with my cardigan on, I knew I had to tell you. But then you ran out of class, and I missed my chance. So, I’m telling you now because I’m not missing another chance.”

He moves even closer, your knees pressing against his legs. He tilts his head down to look into your eyes before he speaks once more “I really like you-” he laughs softly “Honestly, I think I might be in love with you.” You can’t hold back your smile; your hands move to rest on his chest when you ask if he’s being serious. He nods, his head dropping down to rest against yours. “I feel the same way” you laugh, “I was too scared to say anything.” The two of you laugh for a moment. Finding the fact that both of you felt the same way but were just too scared to say anything incredibly stupid.

“Then, could I ask for the honour of being yours?” He asks, smiling at you, his cheeks painted an adorable red. You quickly nod in response, smiling before finally kissing him. His hands move to hold your face, the two of you enjoying the moment until you are once again interrupted by Stiles screaming in victory as he finally wins a game. 

[sugar-omi]

Now you got me thinking of MC who notices cove stealing her panties and leaves the good ones on top for him to find (burying the🩸granny panties at the bottom)

Or she notices the cum on her bikini bottoms and she’s gross like him and just happily wears them as a new way to tease him

HELP NOT THE 🩸GRANNY PANTIES ik thats right. id be furious if he saw those LMFAO

but yes imagine feeding into his fetish without him even knowing...

all your new underwear are your and his favorite colors, and traditionally sexy colors like red, black, or even white.

ohh the white ones would get him going... he'd be so turned on seeing the white underwear. makes him start thinking about what you'd wear on your wedding day

he'd spiral, imagining you in a garter belt and thigh highs. starts thinking about what you'd get up to on the wedding night...

it'd be easy to tell if someones taken your underwear, especially since sometimes i think he gets a bit greedy.. taking 2 pair at a time on occasions...

or you favorite pair coming up missing just as frequently as you wear them.

of course they reappear just as easy as they disappeared. cove is across the street after all, and it's not like he has to fight to get through your door.

so yeah, you may not notice at first. but god when you do it's so easy to see who it is. and the fact it turns you on feels criminal

but you feed into it anyway.

leaving a risqué, lacy panty on top of your laundry. or purposefully bending over in front of cove, letting him see what you're wearing today

and even though he washes them out before he returns them to you, i wonder if they still smell like him, smells like his laundry detergent.

or when he sneaks into your bathroom while visiting or using your shower after a day at the beach, the scent of his cum and sweat soaked is into the fabric, your scents merging together on your undies

it's disgusting. it's so fucking disgusting. so why does knowing that he jerked off with your undies before sitting besides you at dinner turn you on?

and it's just as disgusting that you masturbate with that soiled pair of underwear in your hand, pressing the fabric against your nose and your thighs trembling around your wrist as you try to tame the heat in the pit of your stomach

and when he uses your bikini bottoms to get off.. of course you left your swimsuit laid out on the bed on purpose. an open invitation to use them, stain them. soil them with the musky scent of his cock, stain them with his cum, anything. you just need something in return...

you're stand outside the door while cove "changes", straining to listen to his muffled gasps, his low curses and hisses of your name. sliding your hand over your dress, rubbing at your clit through the thin fabric of your clothes.

you wanna see his face, you wanna hear him moan that pretty, raspy moan right in your ear. you wanna see how his cock twitches and leaks all over you hand...

you really want to bust into your room and "catch" him using your panties, push him on the bed and use him, punish him for doing something so dirty, so fucking disgusting, and pathetic

but you also wanna see how long you can drag it out. see how long it'll take for someone to snap, or someone to make a move...

of course you wait to knock on the door once you hear a deep groan, presumably cut off by cove covering his mouth. and your heart is jumping out your chest when you hear him stumbling around to get dressed

you can hardly contain your excitement. your thrill.

you have cove in the palm of your hand and he doesn't even know.. you see that blush on his cheeks,

he plays it off like it's just the weather. and it is hot today. but he looks way too thrilled to be troubled by california heat. there's a spark in his eyes and he's standing up straighter...

he clearly thinks he's gotten away with it. but even if you didn't leave your bikini out on purpose, you feel the wet patch on your bottoms, you can smell his scent when you bring the bottoms to your nose, the fabric thick with the scent of sex and cum.

you can let him be arrogant for a little longer, eventually, one way or another, cove will come get what he wants without sneaking around

maybe making it harder for him, making him sweat... will make him crack?

[orgasming-caterpillar]

And It's Too Cold//It's Too Cold

Lewis Hamilton/Nico Rosberg | Angst | Smut | 1695 words | on ao3 | in Google Docs

Songfic Based On: Sweater Weather, The NBHF

Nico was in the cooldown room when it happened. Towel in hand, he was wiping the cold droplets trickling down his torso when Lewis burst open the door. (They didn't even use the cooldown room at the same time anymore.)

“Nico.”

The name left his teammate's mouth for the first time in weeks. Nico's throat didn't have to tighten like that— he wasn't going to speak anyway.

“I need to talk to you,” Lewis said, something desperate in his voice that Nico wasn't sure was real.

All I am is a man

Nico’s words were careful, deliberately stern. “What do you want, Lewis?”

I want the world in my hands

“To talk to you- about the race.” Abu Dhabi. 2016. “You won. Congratulations. I still won the championship.”

That seemed to snap something inside Lewis. In a swift motion, he lunged at Nico. But his childhood friend was much too familiar with his tactics, he knew about his speedy attacks and had swift reflexes to match. All those teenage years spent wrestling on hotel beds weren't for nothing.

“I don't fucking care!” Lewis shouted, his collar grasped in Nico's hands, Nico pushed all up against the wall. “I don't fucking care that I won the race!”

“You seemed to care a fuck lot about it on the track, mate,” Nico spat.

Lewis jerked his shoulders, hitting his head on the wall in the process. “Why can't you see, Nico?! Why can't you understand? I can't take this anymore.”

I hate the beach

But I stand in California with my toes in the sand

“Take what, Lewis? Because all I've been doing this year is take and take and fucking take. You haven't taken shit compared to what you've put me through.” His eyes were burning now. He needed Lewis out of here.

“I can't take this— you pretending I don't exist. I will take the accidents and the crashes and the goddamn fistfights, but I can't,” —his voice broke, eyes welling up, and Nico had the urge to wipe them before any tears fell— “I can't take this, Nico.”

Use the sleeves of my sweater

“You really think you're the only one suffering? How self centred, how typical of you, Lewis.”

Let's have an adventure

“...What?”

“You think this doesn't hurt me? this non stop fighting and competition, and never making up? Open your fucking eyes. I don't like this any more than you do.”

Lewis' hands dropped from his shoulders, chest heaving. The air between them was electric, too dangerous to breathe in.

Head in the clouds but my gravity centered

“Then why do you do it?” It was the smallest voice Nico had ever heard.

Because it's better than admitting the truth. Because it has less consequences than saying 'I love you.' “Because you started it.”

Touch my neck and I'll touch yours

Dark eyes trailed from his wet hair to the damn skin of his torso, not in a lewd way, but like a man recalling all that he has to lose. When he looked back up, there was a hope in his eyes that Nico couldn't bear looking at. “And will you stop if I stop?”

You in those little high waisted shorts, oh

This was a terrible idea from the beginning. The Karting, the trip to Greece, the ride-or-die friendship, all of it— terrible.

Oh, she knows what I think about

“Stop fucking thinking so much, Nico, it can't get worse than this.”

It really couldn't.

And what I think about

The answer came in the form of a desperate hand grabbing the back of Lewis’ head to bring him closer.

It was a gunshot, the way their lips met each other's. It was the sweet shock of love after a lifetime of yearning. It was like their first sip of too-strong whiskey at fourteen, knowing they've crossed a line they can never go back to.

One love, two mouths

Lewis’ surprise melted into eagerness in a split second. Nico tilted his head and grabbed his bicep. Lewis had grabbed Nico's face with both hands like he was something dear and precious.

It really was a terrible idea, and nothing could ever fix it; but if they were going to burn they'd go down singing in the flames.

One love, one house

“Take off your shirt,” he grunted. Lewis obeyed.

Smooth brown skin burned under Nico's freezing palms. He grabbed a handful of the pecs, moaning into the kiss.

No shirt, no blouse

“Is this—” Lewis pushed him away. God give him dignity, Nico almost whined. “Is this a confession thing? Or a goodbye thing? Because I have no idea what I'll do with a goodbye fuck.”

Just us, you find out

Nico had no idea either. He didn't want to leave Lewis. But for now, the only thing on his mind was the throbbing heart under his hand. They were here. ‘Leaving’ seemed like something out of a hazy dream. “I don't know.”

Nothing that I wouldn't wanna tell you about, no

Lewis had this look on his face— like he wanted to run away but his feet wouldn't take him. Nico wanted to tell him that there was nothing he could have done to change anything. There was nothing that could have ended up with them anywhere other than where they are. He didn't say anything.

'Cause it's too cold for you here

“Do you really? Or is this another game?” Yes, Nico wanted to yell. He knew what Hamilton was asking. 'Do you really love me?’ and he wanted to yell, Yes, yes, yes. I do love you. I do. I'm sorry. All he could do was nod.

And now, so let me hold

Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

Lewis put a hand on his cheek, kissing him again. Only this time it was so much more gentle, yet hurt so much more. Somewhere in his subconscious Lewis seemed to have realised that this was probably the first and last time they will ever do this; and he did it like he wanted to remember.

And if I may just take your breath away

There was so much Nico wanted to say, and he couldn't say any of it. He wanted to scream.

We will never be the same again, he wanted to say. I will never love another like you. A moan. You've destroyed all that I was. A sigh. Do not destroy what I am. Hands caressed his body, so soft it was painful. Build me a pyre, and I'll still whisper your name as I burn. A prayer. I love y—

“How do you want this?” Lewis whispered, hands working him out of his pants.

I don't mind if there's not much to say

Nico grabbed his shoulders, using the stability of Lewis’ hands on his thighs to wrap his legs around his waist. He relished in the way Lewis groaned, he would never hear it ever again.

Sometimes the silence guides a mind

To move to a place so far away

Lewis was gentle, so gentle. They both loved like an ocean. With Nico it was a tsunami; desire coursing through his veins as he groped, wrecked, swallowed everything that came in his way. And with Lewis it was this; sweet, gentle and relentless like moonlit waves in the darkest hours of the night. What choice did either have but to drown?

The goosebumps start to raise

“More,” he whimpered, arching his back against the wall. The soft gaze with which Lewis was watching him was more violent than any fistfight they've ever had.

And then I watch your face

Put my finger on your tongue 'cause you love to taste, yeah

It hurt— even with how tender Lewis was being. Maybe more so because of that. He harshened the pace at Nico's request, hiding his face in the crook of his neck. Their hearts beat in sync, thudding against the ribcages pressed together.

These hearts adore, everyone the other beats hardest for

Strangling begins with holding. Cannibalism begins with a kiss. They both bring grief and hurt and madness; what is love if not just tender violence?

Inside this place is warm

Outside it starts to pour

He reached the peak of his pleasure first, spilling onto their abdomens. Lewis followed right after.

Coming down

One love, two mouths

They stayed like that for a while; chests heaving, foreheads pressed together, hearts broken like the promises they made at fourteen.

One love, one house

No shirt, no blouse

“Don't leave me, Nico.”

Just us, you find out

Why do you speak to me and why do I try to understand? he thought. We no longer speak the same language.

Not a word was uttered.

Nothing that I wouldn't wanna tell you about, no, no, no

“We can fix this.” That damned hope.

'Cause it's too cold for you here

“Put me down,” was what Nico chose to say. Lewis did, searching his face desperately for an answer.

And now, so let me hold

Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

Nico picked his pants off the floor, pulling them on without another word. Lewis spared them both the pain and stayed silent as well.

'Cause it's too cold for you here

He was wiping his torso with a spare towel when Lewis finally spoke.

“You promised, Nico.”

Nico looked at him, no longer caring about the wet streaks on his cheeks. “We made a lot of stupid promises.”

And now, so let me hold

Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

“You said we'd race together. Forever. You said you wouldn't race without me. Then why should I?”

Wasn't forever such a sweet lie? It wasn't nearly as long as people thought it was.

Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

“I'm leaving racing for good, Lewis.”

And it's too cold, it's too cold

Lewis was silent for what seemed like hours. “I love you.”

With a single whispered phrase, Nico shut the door behind him. “It'll pass.”

The holes of my sweater…

[say-al0e]

Home Run

Rating: PG-13 

Summary: Bradley Bradshaw has been your friend for years, a constant in an ever-evolving life. You’ve always harbored a small crush on him. All it takes is one night to change everything. | Ft. “Are we on a date right now?” requested by @xlostinobsessionsx​ and “Don’t mind me, I’m just enjoying the view,” “You’re getting shy on me now? Really?,” and “Kiss me. Like you mean it.” requested by Anon.

Warnings: Baseball, mentions of anxiety, mentions of deployment, mention of parent death (Goose is mentioned but it’s blink and you miss it), mentions of family issues. I think that’s it but let me know if you see anything else!

Pairing: Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x fem!Reader (call sign Angel)

Word Count: 9k (......sorry)

Top Gun Taglist | Top Gun Masterlist

“What are you doing Saturday?”

Bradley Bradshaw sank into one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs opposite your desk, coffee in either hand as he spared you an expectant glance. Though he shouldn’t have looked so comfortable, at home amongst the stark white of the medical office, he’d become a near permanent fixture since returning to Top Gun.

Years had passed, several of which with only sporadic contact shared, but Bradley had barreled back into your life as if it had only been a matter of days. With the aviators he wore so often hooked into the collar of his undershirt and cheeks tinted pink from the California sun, you could almost believe it - convince yourself that you were the same twenty-somethings you’d once been - as you lifted your eyes to meet his.

“Good morning, Bradley. I’m doing fine, how are you? Gee, the weather sure is nice, though I heard it might rain,” you drawled, tone decidedly unimpressed as you glanced away from your chart to fix him with the blandest look you could muster. The lack of greeting was something he found himself guilty of often - it was nothing for him to drop into a conversation without preamble, leaving you scrambling to catch up - and you had a habit of calling him on it. However, when you were met with little more than raised brows, you allowed yourself a quiet laugh. “Manners, Bradshaw. What, were you raised in a barn?”

“I was raised in Virginia,” he reminded you, shrugging as he did so. “And spent four years in a fraternity. So, do with that what you will.” It took a great deal of effort to conceal your laughter, despite your amusement being his ultimate goal, as he swallowed his own with a sip of coffee. “Anyway,” he redirected, look pointed, “Saturday. Plans?”

With a sigh, you exchanged the pen in your hand for the coffee he slid across the desk - only slightly awed he still remembered your order - and provided Bradley with your full attention. It was clear he was a man on a mission, unbothered by the limited time to waste until training, and wouldn’t leave until he had an answer. So, you settled into your chair.

“Nope. I’m free.” It was clear that he had something in mind, an adventure of some sort he deemed you worthy of joining, but weeks had passed since you last spent quality time together. It wasn’t uncommon but you wanted to tease him, make him spell it out, so you hummed thoughtfully. “Nat’s sister is in town, Bob’s back home on leave, Mickey’s binging Star Trek in chronological order - which I’ve already done -, and Jake’s, well, Jake. So, I figured I’d just go to the beach or something. Why?”

Bradley frowned, an unexpected twinge of something akin to hurt clouding his otherwise bright eyes, as he lifted his own coffee. “I’m not on that list,” he pointed out, brows furrowing as he fixed you with a look you’d been on the receiving end of far too many times. “Why?”

The reaction was a little more serious than you were expecting and it was your turn to frown. One glance at Bradley told you that his inquiry, while uttered as teasingly as he could muster so early in the morning, was genuine. A brief flash of hurt crossed his face, darkened his eyes for a split second, before he hid his frown behind a sip of coffee.

A small pang of guilt needled at your skin. Though you’d meant it to be teasing, a joke, you never thought Bradley would take it as anything else.

“I just figured you’d be with Mav again,” you explained, only a little guilty. It was accompanied by an uncertain shrug as you stirred your coffee, though you knew Bradley could tell how bad you felt. “You’ve been with him the last few weekends and I didn’t want to interrupt the bonding.” When Bradley made a face, brows furrowing as he attempted to recount exactly how much time he’d been spending with Maverick - and when you last spent time together - you laughed quietly. “I think it’s nice, Roo,” you insisted, shooting him what you hoped to be a reassuring smile. “I’m glad you’re getting along. And now that we’re stationed together again, we can hang out whenever. It’s not a big deal.”

“That’s very thoughtful and I appreciate it,” he declared, slipping his foot under the gap in your desk to nudge yours, “but call me out when I get distant. You’re important to me.”

Though your entire body grew warm at the weight of his declaration - the sincerity with which he spoke, the earnest look in his eyes, the soft gravel of his voice - you swallowed the butterflies threatening to escape and shook your head. 

Bradley Bradshaw was one of your closest friends and had been a part of your life for much of your adulthood. You’d seen him at his best - and at his worst - and knew what it meant to love him. He had a tendency to leave a trail of broken hearts in his wake, unintentionally as he’d always been charismatic yet emotionally unavailable, and you’d spent the last ten years determined not to be one.

Instead of allowing yourself to dwell on the feelings you’d realized last time you were stationed together, the feelings you’d spent years questioning and rationalizing and compartmentalizing; instead of allowing yourself to dwell on the warmth, then the chill of realization that he couldn’t mean that in the way you so desperately hoped, you shook your head.

“There’s a difference between being distant and making up for lost time, Roo.”

Bradley waved a hand, dismissing the idea even as his gaze dropped to the cup in his hands for a moment. “Anyway,” he redirected, lifting his gaze once more after a moment of silence. “There’s this new place downtown. It’s a bar but it’s got an arcade, go-karts, mini-golf; all kinds of shit.” He paused, for dramatic effect, you were sure - he’d been spending too much time with Fanboy, you decided, though you managed to keep from rolling your eyes. “There’s also a batting cage.”

The foundation of your friendship with Bradley was built on a handful of shared interests and experiences. You’d both had difficult upbringings, marred by tragedy, and both went to a traditional university rather than the Naval Academy. And, in the pursuit of your degrees, both spent years as student athletes. So, if the grin threatening to lift the corners of his mouth was anything to go by, Bradley knew he had you with the mention of the batting cage.

“Yeah, I heard about it. Fritz took his girlfriend there last weekend. She said it was nice.” Even before her confirmation, you’d seen it online and placed it on a list of ‘to-visit’ spots. There was no question that Bradley would be the perfect companion to enjoy all the bar had to offer but you continued to play coy. “Apparently, they’re working with that brewery, that one with the nice taproom we went to a few months ago.”

For a brief moment, silence settled over the corner of the medical office you called yours. Bradley waited, just until you returned your gaze to his, before raising a brow at you. “You’re going to make me ask, aren’t you?” His amusement was obvious, laughter badly hidden behind his coffee cup as he awaited your confirmation, but he wasted no time giving in to you. “Do you want to go with me, check it out?”

“It’s only fair, since you’ve been avoiding me.” The unamused look Bradley shot you nearly made you break, laughter bubbling in your through - regardless of the pang of guilt you felt earlier, you knew he wouldn’t take offense - but you bit your tongue and nodded. “Yeah, alright. S’long as you don’t pout when I embarrass you at the batting cage.”

A scoff left his lips as he stood from his seat, mission accomplished and ready to finally begin his day. “We were both pitchers, Angel,” he reminded you, rolling his eyes as he gathered his coffee and waited for you to do the same. “Neither of us can bat for shit.”

“Hey, speak for yourself, Bradshaw.” You followed his lead, gathering the items necessary for you to begin your rounds, as you offered him a saccharine smile. “I was a cleanup hitter.”

The word ‘bullshit,’ disguised with a purposefully awful cough escaped Bradley’s lips. When you rolled your eyes, amused at his disbelief, he laughed. “Seriously?”

“Dead serious. I swear I’ve told you this before, but look up my stats, frat boy,” you implored him, not bothering to hide your laughter as you rounded the desk and headed for the door with him close behind. “You were day drinking and I was in a batting cage. We were not the same.”

Silence settled for a moment, broken by the sounds of the medical staff beginning their morning shift, as you ambled down the hall with Bradley close by. Finally, after a beat, he hummed thoughtfully. 

“Guess we’ll see on Saturday, then.” He brushed past you to hold the door, body close enough for the scent of his cologne to overpower the antiseptic and cloud your thoughts, and you felt your breath hitch in your throat as he glanced down at you. Still, you swallowed the butterflies beginning to swarm in your stomach as he proposed, “Fewest hits buys dinner?”

“I’m an expensive date, Bradshaw.” The taunt was nowhere near as strong as you intended, nowhere near as sharp, but if Bradley noticed, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he simply shrugged as you both paused just shy of the exit.

“So am I, Angel.” 

Then, for just a moment, Bradley studied you. Those warm brown eyes raked over your skin, rapidly heating from the weight of his attention, as that amused grin never faltered. His eyes, however, softened considerably as you blinked at him. There seemed to be something on the tip of his tongue, some witty quip that would make you laugh, but before he could speak, the door opened and a handful of nurses streamed into the hallway.

The group, who you knew well and worked with daily, all bid you both a good morning - though you could see from their not-so-discreet stares that you’d be answering questions about your relationship, or lack thereof, with Bradley later on - and the moment was broken.

Bradley spared a glance at his watch, seemed to realize the time, and reached for the door. “I’ll see you Saturday.” And with that, he stepped outside, off in the direction of the hangar, leaving you to shake your head.

Spending time with Bradley was something you’d always adored, regardless of what it meant and where you ended up - whether it was at the Hard Deck, surrounded by the group of pilots you’d been accepted into without question, or out on the beach, alone as you watched the waves roll in. Though you had a tendency to tease, to give him a hard time, you were glad to accept any invitation to make up for lost time.

And while plans made at the beginning of the week always seemed so far away, especially plans made with Bradley, Saturday seemed to roll around far quicker than you expected.

Between new students - some losing the battle against the California sun, others losing the battle against a bottle of tequila - and yearly appointments all seeming to fall within the same few day span, you barely had time to breathe, let alone think about your weekend plans. Bradley was also kept busy, pulled in one direction or another as he prepared for yet another special mission, and your paths only crossed briefly throughout the week.

Though communication was limited - only a handful of words shared in passing, along with a text or two to confirm plans hadn’t changed - Bradley still arrived at your place at six on the dot.

Bradley made it halfway up the sidewalk, ready to knock at your door and greet you with a grin - some witty quip on his lips about how nice you cleanup - before you stepped out onto the small stoop with a bright grin of your own.

“Ya know, I was kind of expecting you to be fashionably late, Roo.”

While he’d never been late for work - Bradley understood the importance of time management, valued his job and wanted to make a positive impression on his superiors - he had a habit of making a grand entrance elsewhere. Most nights, he sauntered into the Hard Deck fifteen minutes after everyone else, dressed in a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans that always hugged his thighs just right. He nearly always showed up to Sunday brunch with a hangover, twenty minutes after the agreed upon time, and already nursing a hangover. 

But the thing about Bradley’s habitual lateness; he’d never been late for you.

If you made plans, agreed to spend quality time together without the rest of the Daggers, he made it a point to show up. Hungover, exhausted, burnt out from a long week - it never seemed to matter. Bradley had never left you hanging and you’d long since stopped wondering when that day would come. Instead, you thanked your lucky stars that Bradley Bradshaw deemed you worthy of his time and attention and grinned at him as you approached the Bronco.

Bradley caught the teasing lilt to your voice immediately, saw the glittering amusement in your eyes, and laughed himself as he shook his head. “I figured I got lucky enough getting you to hang out with me. Didn’t want to push it by being late.”

“Very thoughtful.” In true Bradley fashion, he opened the Bronco door for you, aviators slipping down the bridge of his nose as he took in the outfit - casual, but still nicer than anything you’d wear to the Hard Deck - you wore. You ignored the warmth creeping up your chest at the weight of his gaze, swallowed it in hopes of drowning the butterflies fluttering in the pit of your stomach, as you shook your head. “And chivalrous, too! It’s a wonder you’re so painfully single, Bradshaw.”

The roll of his eyes was playful, unbothered by the teasing jab at his relationship status - something that had become a running joke among the Daggers by this point, anyway - as he rounded the Bronco to join you. “It’s the emotional unavailability,” he defended, shrugging as he turned on the vehicle. “Or something like that.”

“At least you’re self-aware. That counts for something, I think.”

Occasionally, you wondered if the jabs at Bradley’s lack of a love life - or, rather, lack of a committed love life, lack of a steady love life, as he’d had his fair share of flings over the years, though they’d slowed to a complete stop since his return to Top Gun - ever bothered him.

Jake started it all a few months after the Daggers’ friendship became real, shortly after that first mission ended. He made some stupid joke about Bradley’s lack of commitment after he found himself committed to a pretty bartender and it was true enough. Bradley hadn’t had a steady partner in years, not one that he deemed worthy of introducing to his friends, anyway, and you all took turns playing armchair therapist to rationalize why.

Still, Bradley seemed to take it all in stride.

As he always seemed to, Bradley shook his head and laughed quietly as he pulled away from the curb. Instead of arguing, carrying on with the bit as he sometimes did, the conversation fell into a natural lull as he allowed his usual playlist - comprised of eighties throwbacks and the occasional song from his days as a frat boy - to fill the cab of the Bronco.

While it should’ve been uncomfortable, silence with Bradley never was. Even in the beginning of your friendship, back when you were both bright-eyed and overwhelmed with the seemingly endless possibilities your futures seemed to hold, Bradley was was comfortable. And even back then, when your heart seemed to skip a beat every time he smiled at you - every time you were certain your skin would remain permanently on fire, every time you were certain your giddy laughter would give you away - it was always easy.

No matter how much time seemed to pass, no matter how many miles separated you, Bradley had always been a constant. And it seemed that no matter where in the world you found yourselves, when you reunited, there was an overwhelming feeling of returning home.

When you stopped to think about it, that comfort - that feeling of home, that stability - was what kept you from risking your friendship with Bradley.

Though you’d harbored an ever-growing, seemingly never fading, crush on him since the day you met, pushing for anything more came with a risk of losing him for good. Acting on those feelings, acknowledging them outside the confines of your own thoughts, meant risking everything you’d built.

The friendship you shared survived distance, months spent oceans apart; it survived seemingly endless stretches of time with limited communication; it survived deployments, periods of discomfort, moments of doubt, and everything in between because there was no pressure.

With Bradley, there were never any expectations. 

Bradley had always been comfortable because with him, you felt the freedom to just exist. He never expected you to be anything other than yourself, accepted you for the person that you were, and saw the beauty in that. He never judged you for saying the wrong thing or having a bad day, never thought less of you for needing a shoulder to lean on. He never made you feel less than.

There was never a fear of fucking it all up but you knew the moment you crossed that line, the moment you allowed yourself to give in and fall completely in love with Bradley Bradshaw, you were opening yourself up for a heartbreak you’d only had nightmares of.

Before you could spiral further, fall into a pit of despair so deep it would take the rest of the weekend to climb out of, Bradley’s voice cut through the din inside your head. That voice, rasp a balm for your suddenly aching chest, rang in your ears as he declared, “Hate to interrupt your attempt to solve all the world’s problems, but we’re here.”

A cursory glance out the window confirmed his statement and you blinked as you took in the sheer size of it all. “Fritz really undersold this place,” you said, sparing Bradley a quick glance before eying the packed parking lot. “It’s massive.”

“I don’t know what I was expecting but I don’t think it was this.”

A hum of agreement was all that seemed necessary and even that was lost to the ether as Bradley parked and shut off the engine. While you were entranced by all the bar offered, eyes wide as you scanned the patio just to the side, he was quick to round the Bronco and open the door for you. He grinned when you shot him a look, eyes sparkling with a sort of mischief as he awaited your teasing comment about chivalry, but you both remained quiet for a moment as you crossed the parking lot.

The bar itself looked like something plucked from your fondest childhood memories; a clash of past and present with an arcade facade, a mini-golf course, batting cages, and a go-kart track out back, all accompanied by a few bars scattered around, and you were struck by a sudden wave of nostalgia as gravel crunched beneath your feet.

Bradley seemed to be, too, as he gestured to the course with a grin. “I think every mini-golf place I ever went to growing up had one of those bridges.” He pointed to an awkward length bridge, covering the short distance between holes split by a trickle of water meant to represent a river, and you laughed.

“At least they’re useful.” At that moment, a small group climbed single file over the bridge - when they could’ve easily just stepped over - and you hummed. “Well, sort of. All the ones on the Gulf Coast have random alligators.” Bradley’s laughter was cut short as he raised a brow, question of whether you meant real alligators or statues - or maybe both - but you only shrugged. 

Though you hadn’t been stationed together in years, you’d kept up with one another. Any time you moved, packed it all up and traded this coast for that one, you shared the details with one another. Bradley had been sent photos from Florida - pictures of alligators and Disney and stormy beaches - while you were sent photos from Virginia and, after the fact, the middle of the ocean.

The only time either of you kept your relocation a secret was his initial return to Fightertown as it came after yours and he’d wanted to surprise you.

That line of conversation and the following contemplative silence didn’t last very long as Bradley spared you a glance. “What were you thinking so hard about on the drive? Thought I saw smoke coming out of your ears.”

Bradley was often direct with you, asked questions you would sometimes prefer not to answer, but there was no chance you intended to share your line of thinking. He would get it, you knew that, but the conversation was unnecessary as you were doing just fine hiding it all. So, you shook your head and offered him your best smile. “Doesn’t matter. Just a long week.” That wasn’t technically a lie, it had been a painfully long week, but he didn’t need to know that all thoughts outside of him ceased to exist the moment you stepped out your front door to see him waiting for you. Instead, you attempted to redirect by gesturing to the batting cages. “We starting or ending there?”

There was a look in his eyes that made you fearful he would continue his line of questioning, one that said he didn’t believe you, but he seemed to think better of pushing. “I was thinking we end there,” he reasoned as he glanced over and offered you a half-smile. “Build the suspense, you know?”

“Or get enough drinks in that neither of us will be up to our usual.” It was playfully accusatory, teasing in a way that felt so natural with Bradley, and you felt a small sense of triumph as he laughed.

“You were in a batting cage, I was day drinking,” he reminded you, snickering as he repeated your quip from earlier in the week. When you cut your eyes at him, his smile seemed to double in size. “A beer or two won’t have any impact at all on my batting average, Angel.”

“I’d like to say that I’m surprised,” you sighed as you stepped through the front door, “but I don’t think I am.”

Bradley rolled his eyes fondly as he followed you inside, close behind to keep from being separated. “C’mon,” he urged, “first round’s on me.”

Knowing Bradley, every round would be on him. He’d insisted since being reunited, declared he was making up for lost time when he dragged you out on nights he knew you’d rather be in bed, but you knew better. Bradley was better with actions than with words - small gestures, such as buying a round or completing an annoying to-do list task - and used them to show that he cared.

This was a conversation you’d had a dozen times before, a fight he never let you win, so you made no effort to argue as you headed for the bar.

The entire building was impressive, decorated to match the overall theme of childhood nostalgia with neon signs and patterned carpet. The walls were lined with old games - Pac-Man, Space Invaders, pinball machines - and it seemed that everywhere you turned, there was something new to discover.

Little conversation was shared at first as both you and Bradley were too busy marveling at the sheer size of the space. It was almost overwhelming, too many choices in one building, but soon, you were wandering through the vastness of it all in search of your next activity.

Much of the night passed in a blur of bright colors and loud noises. The games themselves were fun, easy enough when you had a drink in your hand - though you and Bradley both kept it light with only one drink each, too busy having fun to return to the bar and wait. Bradley’s presence, however, made it all the better.

Bradley kept you close as you weaved through the crowds, one hand at the center of your back - respectful, but still enough to have your breath catching in your throat with every press of his fingers as you felt the warmth of his palm through the material of your top. 

While you opted against the go-karts and mini-golf, you’d already formulated a plan to return with the rest of the Daggers in tow. You and Bradley mapped it all out between games of skee ball and Crazy Taxi - you’d begin with go-karts, before the group started drinking, and end with the pair of you showing everyone up in the batting cages. It was perfect, silly and fun, and you found yourself forgetting everything that wasn’t the immense joy you were experiencing.

Hours passed in a haze of giddy laughter and jokes traded at the others’ expense before you finally made your way outside. With his hand still at the center of your back, slipping lower with every step, Bradley guided you to the batting cages with a grin.

“Alright, slugger,” he teased, eyes bright and glittering in the overhead lights as he gestured to the rack of bats. “Lady’s first. Show me how it’s done.”

With a playful shake of your head, you stepped away from Bradley and reached for a helmet and a bat. There was no doubt that he believed you - he believed nearly everything you said, whether he should have or not - but he was once a pitcher, too. It was an experience you shared, one few people you saw daily understood, and you knew this was less about you proving yourself and more about finding something you had in common and celebrating it.

The entire night was a way to spend time together doing something you both loved, something you rarely got to indulge in these days, and you were grateful he’d suggested it. Even as you stepped into the batting cage, weight of Bradley’s gaze heavy against your skin, you felt nothing but the giddy excitement you’d been experiencing since stepping foot into the bar.

Had it been anyone else, you might’ve felt nervous. The teasing, the playful jeering as you took a few practice swings, might’ve made you afraid of looking stupid. But this was Bradley. While he could be competitive, it was always playful - with you, anyway. This was fun and you knew he would cheer you on regardless, so you nodded when he asked if you were ready to start.

When the first ball came flying toward you, speed at the max setting, you inhaled deeply before taking a swing. The ball whistled as it soared high, a resounding ‘ping’ echoed through the cages and earned a few glances from passersby, and you felt a sort of relief as it flew into the net before bouncing back toward the return.

Laughter, amused and a little awed, rang out behind you as you caught Bradley shake his head from the corner of your eye. “You weren’t joking.”

“You almost sound surprised, Bradshaw,” you teased, though he didn’t - not in the slightest. “This one’s going to the left, top corner,” you informed him as you shifted your hips and waited for the next ball.

As it flew high and left with another sharp ‘ping,’ Bradley leaned against the barrier and folded his arms over his chest. “Where are we goin’ for dinner?” The question was asked with a smile, bright and tinged with something you couldn’t quite place. “Your choice since I’m clearly going to be paying for it.”

“It’s not over ’til it’s over.” Even as you spoke, words interrupted by a huff of effort as you took a swing, Bradley seemed unconvinced. And, if he’d been as honest as you, he had every reason to be. With a laugh, you offered, “I was thinking about that place by the beach, the one with the cool patio.”

“Sure.” Bradley would’ve allowed you to choose regardless - and wouldn’t have let you pay for him, even if you proved to be an awful batter - because that was the kind of friend he’d always been. The restaurant on the beach was a shared favorite, however, a staple that you visited at least once a month, and you knew you would’ve likely ended up there, anyway. So, you felt little remorse about your choice, even as he continued. “You’re only two balls in but you win,” he relented, laughing as he lifted his soda to take a sip. “Where’s this one headed?”

“Straight up the middle.”

Between pitches, you spared him a glance over your shoulder. You expected him to look bemused, pretending to be put out by your ability, but there was a look in his eyes that you couldn’t quite place. His smile was fond, brighter than you expected, and you almost convinced yourself it was pride that had his shoulders set a little straighter as a passing pair praised your ability.

Even the brief notion that Bradley was proud of you, impressed by your ability in a way few others had been, was enough to warm you from within. Heat flooded your veins, much as it did every time he spared you a wayward compliment, and it took a conscious effort to keep yourself from preening under his scrutiny.

“Why am I not surprised you’re a place hitter?” His question was punctuated with another resounding ‘ping,’ followed by a ball flying into the net, as he shook his head once more. “Starting to think you were grown in a lab, Angel.” 

It was clearly teasing, a soft jab accompanied by laughter, but you couldn’t help the bashful shrug as you readied yourself for another ball. His jokes about your perfection had become more frequent, accompanied by soft laughter, and though you knew he’d witnessed your flaws, it still made your skin prickle any time Bradley saw the good in you.

Still, you swallowed the warmth and tightened your grip on the bat. “Told you, batting cages while you were day drinking.” There was a brief pause as you took another swing, this hit a line drive to the left, before you admitted, “Softball and nursing school didn’t leave much time for fun or friends so, batting cage it was.”

“We would’ve been friends,” he declared, certain in a way you wished you could be - though you were grateful to have met him later in life. You knew yourself well enough to know that you likely wouldn’t have been able to handle the schoolgirl crush you’d formed almost immediately after meeting him, not then. But Bradley didn’t give you much time to dwell as he hummed, “We could’ve been day drinking and hitting the batting cages together.”

“I don’t know if I would’ve befriended frat boy Bradley.” Though you offered him a teasing grin, laughed when he rolled his eyes, you knew that you would have. You were half-certain that you would’ve found Bradley in any life and fallen just as hard, no matter the circumstances of your meeting. But you kept that realization to yourself as you teased, “His idea of fun sounds like it could end in an ER visit.”

“Would’ve given a student nurse some real life experience,” he reasoned, smile growing into something brilliant when you laughed. “But at least you admit it sounds like fun.” Bradley tipped his head then, brows furrowing as he watched you take another swing. “Why’d you play, though? Nursing always sounded hard enough without being an athlete, too.”

Over the years, you’d had more conversations with Bradley than you could count. There were very few topics that hadn’t come up as you shared nearly everything - your career, your friends, your hobbies, your interests, your hometowns - but family was one of them. And, in a long line of similarities, your reason for playing softball and his reason for playing baseball was rooted in family.

Bradley once mentioned that baseball was originally deigned something to do, a task that got him out of the house and incorporated him into the community when he and his mother moved to Virginia after Goose’s death. He once shared that it was something his father loved as a child, an alternate life path he could’ve taken, and indulging in it made him feel a little closer to the father he missed. He admitted that it made him feel weightless - long before he experienced true weightlessness in the cockpit of a jet - but he’d never asked you why.

It was just one of those things that went unspoken until it didn’t.

“Family,” you revealed, not bothering to turn even as he made a noise of understanding. “My grandmother played. She got married and had kids really young. Sports weren’t really a thing for women in her time, anyway, but there was a rec league in town. She was amazing; a switch hitter, place hitter, a damn good pitcher. If she’d been born a little later, she could’ve made a life for herself playing. But she wasn’t and she couldn’t. My mom tried to take after her but she never really got the hang of it. I was the only one who did, so, I guess I figured I had to be the one to live the dream for them.”

The weight of your rationale was not lost on Bradley, you knew that, but he was never one to push for more. That was enough, enough vulnerability for a batting cage in the middle of a crowd, so he shifted. “Do you still play?”

Once upon a time, after a handful of drinks and a few stories about the Naval Academy from the Daggers, Bradley shared the things he missed about college. Baseball was one of them as he hadn’t played since graduation. He’d been asked, a handful of times, to join in on the odd pickup game here or there but it wasn’t the same and you knew that. There was little a pickup game could do to recapture the feeling you’d experienced on a field with teammates but Bradley seemed to realize that you’d at least swung a bat since graduating.

“Sometimes,” you confirmed, finally sparing him a sideways glance. Those brown eyes followed your every move, every shift of your hips or flex of your foot, and you felt your skin prickle under his scrutiny. You shrugged, returning your gaze to the machine, and took a deep breath. “I join local leagues when I can, if I hear about them. It was easier when I was working at a hospital with civilian nurses but most of the time, they don’t really want me joining in. I can never promise I’ll be around for a whole season or that I can make it to everything. I get it, though. They want someone who’s going to be there.”

When the machine finally shut off, you turned to face Bradley. There was a look on his face that you couldn’t read - something contemplative, softer than you expected - as he declared, “Their loss. They’d be lucky to have you, Angel.”

Bradley’s sincerity was obvious, almost achingly so, and you felt your heart clench at his declaration. It meant more than you knew it should but before you could dwell, consider exactly how it made you feel, Bradley headed for the controls.

“Wait,” you called out, before he could press the ‘start’ button. “Don’t you want to bat? I feel like I’ve been in here forever.”

“Don’t mind me.” He smiled, this one real and bright, as he gestured to you. You stood, still inside the cage with a bat clutched in one hand, and lifted your gaze to meet his eyes. “I’m just enjoying the view.”

A storm of butterflies filled the pit of your stomach. Your skin heated, your heart thumped just a bit too hard in your chest, and you had to tip your head to hide your face as you shook your head. There was a slight edge to his voice, a deeper rasp that you’d only heard used at the Hard Deck - locked in conversation with pretty girls you watched him take home instead of you - and you were almost convinced you imagined it. However, before you could question it, Bradley laughed.

“Oh, you’re getting shy on me now? Really?” As desperately as you wanted to make some sort of witty quip, return his teasing with some of your own and hope that your voice didn’t shake, you could only attempt to swallow the warmth creeping up your chest as he pressed the button. “I’m having plenty of fun watching you, Angel. Keep going!”

There was a warmth to Bradley’s comment that seeped into your bones, warmed you from within. Bradley complimented you frequently, sought to make you - and other friends, including Natasha - feel proud, but this was different. There was a weight to everything he’d said throughout the course of the night you’d never felt before.

The weight of his statement, the softness with which he spoke, had your voice catching in your throat as you waited for the machine to start. Your heart continued to thunder in your chest, cheeks heating, but you attempted to disregard the feeling of Bradley’s gaze burning into your skin.

When you finally found your voice, heart still beating just a touch too fast even after the first hit, you shook your head. “One more round,” you relented, “and then you’re up, Bradshaw.”

If Bradley heard the waver in your voice, if he noticed the slight heave of your chest as you fought to even your breathing, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he nodded easily. “Of course. We have to end the night with a laugh,” he reasoned, poking fun at his own abilities. “You gonna be my relief hitter when I strike out?”

“It’s a batting cage, Roo.” It was meant to make you laugh, meant to ease the tension you knew he could see in your shoulders, but it worked as you leaned into a swing. “There are no strikeouts.”

Before he could counter, make some joke that would keep you laughing and fully ease you back into the moment, a passerby - who’d definitely had more than your one drink - yelled, “Damn, man. Your girl’s killing it!”

“Yeah, she is.”

Three words, a simple acknowledgement of a drunken compliment, and you nearly missed the next pitch that flew toward you. It likely meant nothing to him - he likely hadn’t even noticed the man call you his girl - but if you weren’t careful, you knew this moment would play on a loop in the back of your mind. 

It was intoxicating, the idea that someone else saw you as Bradley’s girl, but you made a herculean effort to stay focused on the task at hand as you took swing after swing. A handful of passersby continued to cheer, drunken words of encouragement rang out with every ball you sent soaring, but Bradley kept quiet as you flew through the remaining pitches on the machine.

There were no witty quips, no jokes, and you were grateful for the relative silence as you allowed the repetitive motion to calm your rapidly beating heart.

Finally, when the machine reached zero and you’d reached a state of semi-normalcy, you turned to watch as he grabbed his own helmet and bat.

Bradley approached with a smile, though it was softer than it had been all night - gentle, almost timid in a way you’d never seen him - and brushed your shoulder with his own as you passed in the entryway. Though it was far from the first time he’d touched you, a jolt of electricity flew through your body at the contact and you struggled to inhale deeply as you offered him what you hoped to be a teasing grin.

“Alright, frat boy,” you hummed, voice quieter than you intended but still playful enough, “show me what you’ve got.”

The quip made Bradley laugh, even as he shook his head at the nickname. “Prepare to be woefully underwhelmed, Angel,” he teased, offering you a grin as he settled into his stance.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

With a nod from Bradley, you pressed the ‘start’ button and watched as the first pitch flew toward him. And, with that very first swing, you knew he’d been telling the truth.

Bradley’s first attempt ended in a foul ball, right off the tip of the bat, and the second fell just a little too close to his hands. His third was a complete miss, though he made a decent effort, and you lifted your hand to cover your mouth in an attempt to stifle your laughter. 

There was no telling how much of this was an act - playing up his lack of ability to make you laugh, to make you feel better about your own prowess - but you couldn’t help yourself as you winced when he dropped his shoulder and missed a third ball.

“Nevermind. You really are a shitty batter, Bradshaw.”

“Funny, that’s what every coach I’ve ever had said.” When you laughed, shaking your head at his self-deprecating joke, Bradley took another swing. With another miss, he spared you a quick glance over his shoulder. “This is why I was a pitcher,” he acknowledged, glancing at a ball that rolled past his feet. “Next time, we’ll go to a field somewhere and I can redeem myself.”

“No redemption necessary. I believe you’re a good pitcher,” you promised him, laughing as he jolted away from a ball spiraling too close for his comfort. “Pitchers aren’t supposed to be able to hit.”

Bradley made yet another attempt and you nearly clapped as this one connected and flew into the top right corner. With it, Bradley laughed. “That’s the best you’re gonna get,” he declared, smiling as he spared you another glance. “Press stop for me, Angel?”

With a laugh of your own, you pressed the ‘stop’ button and waited a moment for Bradley to exit the batting cage. As he stepped out, returned his helmet and bat, you took a moment to study him.

Bradley Bradshaw was beautiful. Though you kept your feelings for him a closely guarded secret, everyone knew you found him attractive. You weren’t the only one who thought so, especially on those nights he wore the jeans that hugged his thighs just right to the Hard Deck - especially on the nights he wore his Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned, collar of his undershirt weighed down by aviators and exposing a sliver of sun kissed skin - but you were always struck by just how pretty he was up close.

Though you’d never been much of a fan of the mustache - a commonality on every base you’d ever been stationed at, especially among pilots - it worked for Bradley. It suited him and you were glad he hadn’t been talked out of it yet.

Even on the toughest of days, Bradley always offered you a smile. He made it a point to be honest with you, to tell you when he felt rough or when he’d seen better days, but he always left having shared at least one smile. It was always encouraging, always there when you needed it, and you were grateful that Bradley deemed you worthy of his smile.

And those eyes - warm and beautiful, always so expressive whenever he regarded you - never failed to make you weak in the knees. With every gaze you shared, with every glance exchanged, you found yourself falling deeper into a hole you knew you would never be able to climb free from.

However, as Bradley turned to you, you felt the air escape your lungs as you began to realize that you were alright with never being able to climb free.

As afraid as you were that the comfort you found in Bradley would be lost should you allow yourself to fall completely, you realized that he would never allow that. 

Bradley had been a part of your life for years, there for you through the best and worst moments of your life. No matter what happened, he’d proven to be a constant - a home for you to return to in even the most troubling of times. There was never any doubt that he would remain in your life, even if you learned what it was to love and lose Bradley Bradshaw, and you began to accept that.

In a stunning moment of realization, you came to the understanding that should you choose to give this a try, should Bradley want you in the way that you wanted him, he would do everything in his power to be there for you regardless. And should he not want you - though, as you finally gave yourself the space to consider, you wondered if the things you rationalized as friendship actually meant more to him - he would never leave you out in the cold.

Even if everything that could go wrong did go wrong, even if a relationship happened and ended in heartbreak, you were confident that Bradley Bradshaw would remain constant.

After years of stability, years of love and patience, there was little that could push him away. 

“Angel?” Bradley’s voice broke through the haze, drew you out of your thoughts and back to reality as you blinked at him. He frowned, concerned, and took a half-step closer as he studied your face. “Are you okay? I lost you for a minute.”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” With a smile, you gave Bradley a nod - hopefully convincing him that you were, in fact, alright - before gesturing to the mini-golf course. “I think we played everything inside but there’s always mini-golf, if you want to keep playing. But I’m good if you want to call it a night.”

“I think my pride’s taken a severe enough hit,” he teased, expression relaxing slightly as he glanced toward the parking lot. “Let’s get you home. It’s almost past your bedtime, anyway.”

Though you rolled your eyes, you shook your head fondly as Bradley fell into step beside you and began heading slowly toward the Bronco. 

The question you’d wanted to ask for a long while - whether Bradley wanted the relationship you did, whether he saw you win the same light - lingered on the tip of your tongue. After years of wondering ‘what-if,’ you finally allowed yourself to ask the question aloud.

“Bradley?” Warm brown eyes met yours, soft and still slightly concerned, as he hummed his acknowledgement. “Is this…” You weighed your words for a moment, considering, before you finally settled on a question. “Are we on a date right now?”

A soft, half-smile lifted the corner of Bradley’s mouth as he reached into his pocket in search of his keys. It was almost bashful, the way he ducked his head, and you swallowed to keep yourself grounded as you waited.

“I wanted it to be,” he admitted, voice quiet as the din of the bar began to fade. “I was going to really ask, make it obvious that’s what I wanted, I just…”

Bradley’s hesitation felt familiar. His shrug, noncommittal and questioning, was the same thing you found yourself doing whenever Natasha questioned why you refused to make a move. There was a tinge of fear in the pink dusting his cheeks, in the set of his shoulders as you approached the Bronco, and you held your breath as he shook his head.

“I like being your friend. I’m happy to be your friend,” he stressed, coming to a stop at the passenger side of the Bronco. In the dim light of the parking lot, Bradley’s eyes glittered as they met yours. “I haven’t spent this long being your friend as some sort of consolation prize, worried you didn’t like me back. This isn’t settling and I don’t see our friendship as less than a relationship,” he assured you, soothing a worry you’d buried deep - one he likely sensed all along. “I just… I always knew it wasn’t the right time, we were both trying to establish ourselves. But when we were apart, I thought about you all the time. I missed you all the time, more than anyone else.”

Knowing that Bradley valued your friendship first, believed it to be important - worth as much as romantic love, not something he simply settled for in place of something he’d rather have - made your chest ache as you reached out to place a hand on his bicep.

“I missed you, too, Bradley.” When his eyes met yours, smile soft and gaze so reverential it nearly stole your breath, you couldn’t help but take a half-step closer.

Bradley remained quiet for a moment, as if considering his words, before he smiled bashfully. “I’ve always thought about this,” he admitted, hand lifting to cup your cheek. His palm seared your skin, warm and heavy and a comfort you’d wished for for years, and your breath caught in your throat as he continued.

“Why now?”

It wasn’t a question you needed an answer to, not at that moment - not under the buzz of a streetlight and in the view of drunken strangers - but it seemed important as you struggled to focus on anything other than the warmth of Bradley’s skin pressed to yours.

“Mav. He got his second chance with Penny,” Bradley reminded you, voice soft. “We never lost touch but this was another chance. I couldn’t let this one pass me by.”

“Kiss me.” Bradley smiled then, clearly pleased by your request, and leaned in. He pressed his lips to yours in a soft kiss, a chaste peck, and you nearly laughed at the feeling of his facial hair brushing your skin. His lips, slightly chapped, were warm and you lifted a hand to the back of his neck as you mumbled against his mouth, “Like you mean it, Roo.”

With a half-step, you pressed yourself impossibly closer and released the years of longing you’d suffered into the kiss. Fireworks popped behind your eyelids, blood simmered in your veins as heat engulfed your entire body, and you wondered if every kiss would be this wonderful as Bradley’s free hand fell to your waist. His fingers pressed into your hip, lips working against yours, as everything around you ceased to exist.

Despite the heat of the night, the dimness of the parking lot, you would’ve been content to remain there for the rest of the night. All that mattered was Bradley, his body pressed to yours as years of longing were swept away, but all too soon, a loud cheer broke through the blissful haze.

A group of drunken passersby cheered, whistled and encouraged you both as they wandered through the parking lot to meet an Uber, and you pulled away from Bradley with a laugh. As you tipped your head to hide your smile, mild embarrassment heating your skin, you decided that the moment still couldn’t have been better.

Bradley seemed to agree as he grinned and brushed a thumb across your cheekbone. “I can’t bat to save my life but I think tonight was a home run,” he teased, laughing as you groaned at the pun. “C’mon, let me take you home.”

“Please. Before I decide I’ve had enough of the awful jokes and leave you hanging.”

Years had passed in which you suffered through Bradley’s awful jokes with a patient smile and a disbelieving laugh. There was little you wouldn’t do for him, even less he wouldn’t do for you, but you were still left giddy by his rolling eyes. “There’s no getting rid of me now,” he promised, laughing as he started up the Bronco. “We’re in it for the long haul.”

It was a promise, one that you hoped he’d be able to keep, and you felt a surge of hope for the future.

There was no expectation for the rest of the night, no pressure as you made your way back to your place, and you were content with that. Neither of you said much on the drive, simply allowed yourselves to exist together, and for the first time, you had no worries about ‘what-if.’ Instead, there was only the thought of ‘what could be.’

A deeper conversation had to be had, you both knew that, but there would be time for that later. There was an entire future awaiting you both.

And instead of wishing it to arrive so soon, you focused solely on the moment at hand.

As Bradley walked you up the sidewalk, palm warm in your own, you made no effort to wipe the smile from your lips. The giddy feeling in your chest made you feel as if you were walking on air, excited for the possibilities that now seemed endless.

The unknown was always terrifying and there was no guarantee for the future - no guarantee for anything more than the moment at hand. But Bradley Bradshaw had always been a constant.  He’d been by your side for years, steady and true and loving. He was home, a light in the dark, and he was right; with him, you’d certainly hit a home run.

___________________________________________________

Author’s Note: It has been a Shit week. I’m going to go rewatch Top Gun and lay in the dark for a while. Enjoy the friends to lovers fun.

Taglist: @lulu-noodles, @holachicos, @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth, @withakindheartx, @ssprayberrythings, @verin93, @totalwitch2, @malindacath, @alexparkxr, @hangmandruigandmav, @alexxavicry, @calicokel, @jaymum, @dracosluvbot, @little-wiseone, @specialk6802, @mandylove1000, @julesclues, @archetypesoflife, @oliviah-25, @benhardysdrumstick, @caatheeriinee07, @yvespoems, @chloereidwayne, @flower-name​, @callsignharper​, @peoniarose​, @hangmanscoming​, @rh3tt​, @dakotakazansky​

[urrockstar-xe]

sneaking out - t.c x fem!reader

posted jan 21st, 2024 10:50 am

@dingus85 asked : May I request a Tara Carpenter x fem!reader based on Cruel Summer- Taylor Swift where they have been sneaking out to the beach every night (scenario 5). This time they’re just being stupid, and reader accidentally confesses that she likes her. Somewhere in the fic Tara uses one liner 18.

im so sorry for the wait love, I hope u enjoy.

masterlist

not proofread

wordcount: 0.9k

It was Chad’s idea to have one big group vacation for the summer, a simple nearly 50-hour road trip from New York to California. A few weeks on the beach to help everyone recover from the first semester of college and some time for Sam and Tara to learn how to be away from each other again.

Every small-town kid needs a Beach Vacation, right? Well actually, your plans for the summer were to find a good job but just when you wanted to argue, Mindy pointed out that you could share a room with Tara, and Tara responded by clapping her hands together, smiling at you and

“We’ll have so much fun!” 

How could you say no to that?

Everyone had taken turns driving, except for Mindy, her job was to make sure everyone had enough snacks and to ensure you’d make it to the Airbnb in one piece.

You were lucky enough to find one on the beach, giving easy access to the water and the sand that Mindy soon found to be an incredible nuisance, Anika was enjoying the chance to dress up in different beach weather outfits and there was also the perfect spot to play volleyball which Chad forced everyone to do.

And then there were you and Tara, you had the same favorite part of this vacation and it was the late-night bonfires.

You had only one with all of you involved but the following night you both snuck out together to start up another one, and this quickly became routine for the both of you.

You couldn’t help but enjoy this silly game you were playing in your head even if Tara didn’t realize you were playing at all. Sharing a bed, waking up early enough to make breakfast, making the bed, and taking turns to shower after beach days just to sneak off and come back smelling like firewood. 

It was perfect for you, and maybe it was for Tara too, but obviously, you weren’t going to ask. 

Tonight was one of your last nights in California and none of you were ready to leave, except Mindy, who wanted to go home the first week. But of course, you were most worried about going home, everything would go back to normal and you could no longer live in your little bubble with Tara and her soft smiles and giggly laughs,

and your little sneak-out “dates” that were just for you and Tara.

But that just meant you had to make the most of it, which leads you outside sitting on an old beach towel next to the pretty girl, watching the pit of flames dance before your eyes. 

“I’m not ready to go home yet, I like sneakin’ out with you.” Tara’s voice caught your attention, turning to look at her as she spoke. She was thinking the same as you. “We could always sneak out together back in New York” You spoke in the same quiet tone, as if you weren’t allowed to speak louder than the sound of the sea.

Tara pouted, “It’s not the same, though.” Oh. You nodded in agreement looking back at the fire. 

“I wanna go swimming,” She said suddenly, standing up and taking off her sweater, well your sweater, you had let her wear. “Tara, you’ll freeze” You smiled, knowing she wouldn’t listen anyway as she was already walking towards the water, tossing her sweatpants to you as you laughed. 

You watched amused as she eventually made it to the water, she hesitated, “C’mon, my girl Tara Carpenter doesn’t back down from stupid stuff!” You called out in a teasing tone, hearing her laugh as she threw her head back before running straight into the water, “Holy shit!” she yelled, squealing as she resurfaced.

You laughed as Tara ran back up to you, soaking wet and gratefully thanking you as you put the towel around your shoulders. “That was so stupid” she laughed, shivering slightly as you rubbed her arms, laughing with her as you attempted to warm her up. 

“That is why I like you so much” You had barely noticed the words come out as Tara’s smile softened, staring at you with a tilted head and puppy dog eyes. “What?” Tara’s voice was quieter now, still having a slightly shaky tone as she was still freezing. 

“What?” you repeated the question, you could backtrack, sure but Tara wasn’t stupid, she wouldn’t believe that no matter how well you sold it she saw it in your eyes, 

you’re so screwed, you almost laughed.

“What did you say? You like me?” Tara’s grip on the towel tightened a little, that soft look on her face capturing you the way it always did. You opened your mouth to speak but closed it, not knowing how to explain yourself in a way that made sense but Tara spoke up instead.

“Come here and kiss me, dummy” She smiled, and you didn’t want to waste any time as your hands moved to her face and pulled her in, cold, soft lips hitting yours as if they were meant to be on yours. Tara abandoned the towel to hold your wrists. 

“You are so catching a cold,” You said through heavy breaths earning a sweet laugh in response.

“Yeah, but you’ll take care of me.” you smiled at that because obviously you would.

“Yeah, I will.” You said, Tara smiled back.

“I think I will sneak out with you back in New York.”

[tightjeansjavi]

tea party

A/N: after writing chamomile last night and talking with @morallyinept, I realized that I needed to then write Dieter inviting you over to his place for a tea party date! 🥺 p.s. as a fellow midwesterner, we talk about the weather a lot and therefore I decided to poke some fun at us 🤣 and thank you to @itsokbbygrl for betaing 💗

~word count: 2.8k~

Summary: after meeting Dieter Bravo on the Raya app, he invites you over to his house for a tea party date

Pairing | dieter bravo x f!reader

Warnings: general, fluff, language, mentions of ouid, first date jitters and anxiety, overall soft vibes, reader has no physical descriptions, given the nature of my account, everything I write is +18 minors dni!

“Hey, have you ever heard of Dieter Bravo?” You asked your friend over coffee one morning at the BeachWood cafe in the Hollywood Hills.

“Oh! He’s that actor from Cliff Beasts! The last one was a total train wreck. I heard he’s trying to reinvent himself these days.” She took a sip of her latte, leaning back against the chair.

“Oh? Well, he swiped right on Raya. Do you think I should swipe back? He seems kinda…” you paused, tapping your finger against your chin, “prissy?”

She laughed and shook her head with a small smile. “I heard he’s a total diva, but I think he’s rather handsome in an unconventional, scruffy, almost endearing way?”

You pulled your phone out of your purse and opened up the Raya app, tapping a couple times till you pulled up Dieters profile.

Dieter is awaiting your response.

“I like the heart patches in his beard.” You said with a soft giggle and swiped right on his profile.

You and Dieter have matched!

-

You have one new message from Dieter Bravo

Hey! 😚 How do you feel about tea, and tea parties?

Well, at least he’s not starting off with an unsolicited dick pic!

Hey! Nice to meet you, Dieter. I love tea! I’ve actually never been to a proper tea party however :/

Dieter Bravo is typing…

Oh, shit! I’m so sorry, how rude of me to not introduce myself! Sorry, I’m not very experienced with this whole online dating bullshit. Anyway, you’ve never been to a proper tea party?! My dear, you’re missing out! 😝

It’s okay! Honestly, who cares for the formalities anyway? They remind me of small talk, and if there’s one thing that I loathe most in this world, it’s insignificant small talk. 🙄 anyway, I am sorry to say that I have yet to attend a tea party!

Dieter Bravo is typing…

Fucking thank you! Do you know how many times I’ve had to talk about the fucking weather?? It’s California! It’s always hot, and yes, we have smog. Do you want to attend a tea party with me?

Apparently the weather is the only thing that midwesterns talk about! Can you believe that? Although it might just be a rumor, I’ve heard it enough times to believe it. Anyway, I’d love to attend a tea party with you ☺️

He grins down at his phone, pinching his plush lower lip between his left thumb and forefinger. He feels giddy, like a kid in a candy shop. The last time he went on Raya he had the driest conversation with a new and upcoming influencer. What the dick do, Bravo? ;)

What happened to saying hello first?? 🙄

So…that didn’t turn you on? I thought you fucked everything and anything with two legs, lol.

Not today I don’t.

He deleted the app shortly after that and vowed to never download it again. Well, like most of his ‘promises’, that didn’t last very long. And then he stumbled upon your profile, and he thought you were precious; like dewdrops on blades of grass, or the inside of a geode. He knows he’s a bit weird, but your smile is pretty, and he would love to see it in person.

Great! I’ll send you my address and then we can pick a day that works for you! How’s that sound? :)

His house?

Oh, the tea party is at your house? What if you’re a serial killer? Aren’t there like NDA’s that I would have to sign?

He chuffs a laughs at this.

Well, what if you’re a serial killer? Can never be too careful these days! NDA’s? For a tea party? honey, you’re adorable, and should probably lay off on watching reality TV 😉

Shit! You got me there LOL. Already going and foiling my plans?! How dare you! Who said anything about me watching reality TV? ;) I just genuinely assumed that everything needs an NDA.

Jinkies! We got ‘em, scoob! 😆 good question on the whole NDA thing, sweetheart. I guess technically you should sign one, but fuck it! Let’s be rule breakers. Whad’ya think about that?

Oh, he’s charming. A little dorky, but sweet.

I say yes to us being rulebreakers! So, what is the attire for this said tea party? I want to make sure I show up fully prepared and dressed for the event! :)

Dieter Bravo is typing…

Oh, attire? Hmm. I say that you should wear whatever you feel prettiest in, and I’ll do the same! Also, I meant to tell you this earlier in our initial conversation, but you’re gorgeous. xx.

You feel the heat rise to your cheeks as you read over his message a few times till it’s positively ingrained in your brain like a tattoo.

Perfect! And you aren’t too bad yourself, Dieter ;)

He hearts your message before disappearing for a total of 30 minutes due to his agent calling him back regarding a role that he had recently auditioned for.

Hey! Sorry for my radio silence, gumdrop (I can’t just pick one nickname for you, I apologize!) I had to take a call. Anyway, here’s my address and number because this stupid fucking app won’t let me send you this gif that I think you’ll like!

Yes, Dieter Bravo is certainly very charming.

-

Dieter is an erratic texter and he tends to jump around from conversation to conversation. You don’t seem to mind however, because thus far, there hasn’t been a single dull moment in your conversation. You find yourself stupidly smiling at your phone two days before you’re set to finally meet for this tea party. He sent you a selfie while he was out to lunch wearing his signature black rimmed sunglasses. You could tell from the picture alone that he was trying to take a candid shot of himself without making it too obvious.

What a fucking goober.

Hey! Are we still on for Friday? :)

Absolutely! I can’t wait!

When Friday rolls around finally, that’s when the first date jitters come knocking at your door. Dieter told you to wear something that you feel the prettiest in, so you went with a mid length floral dress that had a sweetheart neckline for just the appropriate dip of cleavage. The dress was flirty and fun, and it was that exact energy that you wanted to embody.

Before driving over to Dieter’s you stopped at Trader Joe’s to purchase a bouquet of fresh tulips and a box of lemon frosted cookies.

All morning Dieter had been scrambling in his house to set up for the tea party date. He was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to first dates, and this was no exception. Maybe, however, he should have held off on smoking a bowl. Oh well, too late now.

The weather broadcast did not call for an overcast sky till late in the afternoon, and yet, it was fucking cloudy!

Of course it was.

He moved the tea party set up to his sunroom instead, and by the time he had finally finished setting everything to his standards, you had sent him a text saying you were on the way.

Time to smoke another bowl before I literally shit a fucking brick on the goddamn floor!

Dieter’s home is tucked away in the Hollywood Hills, and when you pulled up to his front gate, you were expecting him to live inside some massive mansion like his neighbors, but Dieter’s home was the opposite. It was actually quite charming from what you could see.

He buzzed you in moments later while he frantically checked his appearance in the hall mirror.

Maybe I should have shaved? God, no. I look awful with no beard. He thinks.

He leans in close to the mirror, his nose nearly bumping into it as he nitpicked his features with a huff.

Maybe I should have gotten a haircut. He cards his fingers through his soft curls before finally deciding that he looks decent.

The first thing you notice about Dieter Bravo is his attire. Well, lack thereof. Compared to your pretty floral dress, Dieter was wearing nothing but a pair of gray boxer briefs, a tawny, sherpa robe, black crocs with socks and the same sunglasses he was wearing the other day.

“Well, don’t you look lovely!” He chirps enthusiastically and remembers to take his hands out of his pockets and wipes his sweaty palms along the outside of his robe. “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you, gumdrop!”

If it were any other man…you probably would have hightailed it back to your car and blocked his number. But Dieter wasn’t like most men that you had talked to. He was a bit of a misfit, but so were you. And that’s the main reason why you weren’t turned away by his attire.

“Hey! You should have told me that the dress code was casual, Dieter!” You jokingly said with a light laugh. “Had I known, I would have shown up in my lounge wear too! Oh, and these are for you. I hope you like tulips!” You nearly thrust the bouquet of tulips and box of lemon cookies into his awaiting hands.

“Flowers? For me? D'aww. You shouldn’t have! Honey, I told ya to wear what you feel prettiest in!” He stifled a chuckle, “and I feel my prettiest in my favorite robe and crocs.”

“Of course they’re for you! I couldn’t just show up here empty handed, Dieter.” You couldn’t help but giggle along with him. “Well, I like your crocs. I think they suit you nicely.”

He blushes under your compliment before taking a whiff from the bouquet, closing his eyes momentarily as he inhales the tulips sweet scent. “Thank you, gumdrop. I love your dress. Looks like it was made just for ya!” He sets the flowers and box of cookies on the nearest surface. “Shall we get this tea party started, my dear?” He rubs his palms along his robe once more.

It’s comforting knowing that he’s just as nervous as you are just based on his gestures.

He offers you his elbow then like the true trash panda gentleman than he is. You wrap your hand around his bicep, holding it gently as he leads you further into his home.

“Originally I had a plan to set everything up outside, but of course the weatherman was fucking wrong, again! So, I hope you’re alright with it being in the sunroom?” He looks over at you expectantly.

“Oh, yeah. The overcast wasn’t expected, but I’m alright with it being set up in the sunroom.” You reassure him with a gentle smile.

“Great!” He clears his throat, “So, I have just about any flavor of tea that your pretty head could imagine. Is there a favorite that you have?” He was this close to engaging in small talk with you, but then he remembered just how much you loathed it.

“You’re an avid tea collector then? Is this a recent hobby or something that you’ve been doing for awhile? And if I had to pick just one flavor, I’d go with vanilla rooibos.”

“A recent hobby. I uh—well,” he stammers, “I’m trying to reinvent myself and develop some healthier habits. I read that drinking certain herbal teas has a lot of health benefits, and then I recently got into thrifting and found the most adorable porcelain tea set!”

You catch the little twinkle in his eyes when he tells you about his porcelain tea set, and it’s adorable. You’re not used to men being so open about their personal hobbies and the things that make them happy. Dieter is truly like a breath of fresh air.

“Hey, I’m all for self-improvement no matter how big or small. Drinking tea does have a lot of health benefits, but I also find it’s just really relaxing, y’know? I love thrifting! You never know what treasures you’re going to find.”

He grins, shaking his head to the side as he bites down on the inside of his cheek. He forgets how nice it is to just have a real conversation with someone.

Maybe I shouldn’t have smoked a bowl before this. Does she know how high I am right now? I hope not.

“Oh, yes, it’s very relaxing.” He nods in agreement and you find yourself standing outside of two French style doors leading into the sunroom. “If my schedule allowed for it, I would go thrifting more.”

With your hand still clasped around his bicep, he pushes open the doors with his freehand and you’re met with the quantiest little setup in the middle of the room. A table in the middle, covered in a light pink tablecloth with two chairs on either side.

In the center of the table is the porcelain teapot Dieter was gushing over moments ago, and two matching porcelain cups. He even set up a little vase of flowers and a candle as well to really set the mood.

“I have a confession to make.” He suddenly says as he pulls out the chair for you.

“Oh? What might that be?”

“This is my first time hosting a tea party.” He lets out a sigh. “So I apologize in advance if it’s not what you’re expecting. I mean, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to agree to this in the first place. I’m a bit—well, eccentric? I’ve just grown tired of the usual crowd I’ve hung out with, and I wanna—I wanna make some real connections.” He confesses.

“Well, that makes you and I both newbies then, huh? Dieter, I think we’re all a bit eccentric in our own ways. Honestly, I was just shocked that you didn’t send me an unsolicited dick pic right off the bat because for some fucking reason guys seem to think that’s what women, well, anyone for that matter want to see?”

“Wait, is that what people really do on those apps is send unsolicited dick pics? Fuck. Look, I’m a bit of a whore myself, but I always ask first before sending a dick pic.”

Ah, yes. Dieter Bravo is making sure that chivalry is alive and well, folks!

“Unfortunately that is what people do and then I am forced to go about my day knowing what some random man’s cock looks like! No one wants that visual in their head when they’re at work or out grocery shopping.”

Maybe one day she’ll wanna see my—

He pushes your chair into the table gently and takes the seat across from you, and while pulling his chair in, he bumps the table with his knees, cursing under his breath when the vase of flowers nearly topples over. You’re quick to re-steady it and he whispers a quiet, “thank you.”

Dieter is an enthusiastic storyteller and you're fascinated by his ability to talk so animatedly and with so much passion. Your assumptions lead you to believe that it’s only because he’s an actor, but there’s more to the story. You see a little boy who had big dreams growing up. A boy who was dorky, awkward, and reserved till he got up on stage and his true personality came out. He was a one of a kind enigma. The type of character that you would have to read over a dozen times in order to truly understand who he was.

And when you detected his stuttering and that familiar nervous twitch in his eye, you reached your hand across the expanse of the table and found his hand, entwining your fingers together in a soothing gesture.

Your eyes met and he finally released the breath that he had been holding.

Hope I’m not blowing this entire thing down the shitter already.

“Shall we—umm, have some tea now? Before it gets too cold?” He suggests.

“That would be lovely, Dieter.”

He squeezes your hand gently before reluctantly releasing it from his grasp so that he can hold the teapot steady in his palms.

“You remind me of a frog.” You said out of the blue as he began to carefully pour the tea into the porcelain cup.

“..A what?” He sounds confused and a little surprised.

“Like a tree frog. They’re cute, and well, a little weird, like you.” You tease.

“You think I'm weird?" He chuckles.

"Yeah, but in a really good way."

Neither of you noticed that the tea was dangerously close to spilling over the side of the cup.

"Oh. Well uh…that’s good! I like being weird, and freaky. And creepy. Well, not creepy like a stalker, but creepy like—"

"Dieter?"

"Hmm?"

"The tea!" You exclaim and he finally looks down to see that the cup has completely overflowed with tea dripping down the sides and all over the porcelain saucer.

“Oh, good fucking golly!” He huffs while you sit there in a fit of soft giggles. This may be the quirkiest first date you’ve ever been on, but you wouldn’t change a thing. And for the first time in a long time, you’re excited at the prospect of spending more time with this eccentric man.

banners made by the lovely @saradika 💗

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[callsign-dexter]

Allergic Reactions and a House Divided

Summary: An allergic reaction sends Blizzard to the emergency room. Maverick can't get ahold of Ice and a fight occurs leaving a house divided.

Pairings: Maverick x Daughter!Reader, Iceman x Daughter!Reader, Maverick x Iceman

Warnings: allergic reaction, fluff, angst, yelling, hospitals, swearing, medical inaccuracies

A/N: @callsign-minx, @justabigassnerd, @maverick-wingman get your tissues ready! I'm also very sorry for the emotional rollercoaster....

Blizzard

Masterlist

Rain. Rain in California is unusual due to the hotness of the climate. It was welcomed sometimes helping cool the environment off and stop it from being suffocating. When it rains that means all jets are grounded until it clears. Rain meant that Ice, Maverick, Goose, and the Daggers didn't have to go in but they did anyway due to paperwork needing to be done.

Normally Ice and Maverick would go together but Y/N's preschool on base closed due to bad weather and sickness going around so, Maverick opted to stay home while Ice went in. The daycare base let them know the night before so arrangements could be made.

Whenever Y/N got to stay home with one of her daddies she was always happy. When she got to spend it with both of them she was ecstatic. That little girl absolutely loved her daddies and wouldn't trade them for anything. She hated when arguments erupted and when she couldn't have both of her daddies with her at the same time.

The rain started on a Thursday night and hasn't let up and was going to rain for the rest of the weekend. As much as Maverick loved flying he also loved spending time with his little girl and spoiling her to no end. Ice complains that Maverick spoils her more but they both know Ice does it just as equally.

Friday morning rolled around and the rain brought in a storm that further grounded the jets. Although the jets were grounded that doesn't mean teaching stopped, no the top gun cadets still had to learn and so that meant The Daggers and two RIOs had to go in to teach them. Since the base daycare was closed Maverick opted to stay home and even though Ice was a little bit jealous but allowed it.

Maverick and Ice were the first ones up out of the Mitchell-Kazansky household. They started it out like every morning but this morning it was storms and rain. Maverick rolled over to see his husband sleeping peacefully and smiled, thinking to himself how lucky he was and that he should've confessed feelings sooner.

Ice felt like someone was staring at him and slowly opened his eyes to find his husband just smiling and staring. "Staring is rude." He said and Maverick let out a chuckle.

"Not rude if the person you're staring at is handsome and you're married to him." Maverick said and Ice rolled his eyes but smiled and kissed Maverick and then got up and headed into the bathroom. A few minutes later Maverick was following him.

"Blizzard's preschool sent out an email yesterday saying that'll be closed due to weather and the flu going around." Maverick said as he put his toothbrush into his mouth and Ice spit out the toothpaste in his mouth.

"Do you want to take her to work with us or do you want to stay home with her?" Ice said as he wiped his mouth as Maverick spit out his toothpaste.

"I hardly have any paperwork. I'll just stay home with her. If they need me to come in they can call me." He said and Ice nodded, he knew it was true. They finished getting ready and they both started downstairs to get breakfast ready. Once the batch of pancakes and bacon were done it was time for Y/N to get up.

"I'm gonna go and get Blizz." Ice said and Maverick nodded as he focused on getting plates and drinks ready. When Ice got to her room and opened the door he was met by the sounds of soft snoring and when he opened it up further he found her sprawled out, it reminded him of a starfish and her other father. He smiled at the thought as he walked over to her bed and got down on his knees. "Blizz?" He started while stroking her head but she just rolled over to where she was now facing him. He smiled and tried again "Blizzard. Honey. It's time to wake up." He said and she groaned and shook her head. "Don't you want breakfast and to see Daddy?" He asked that got her to slowly open her eyes and nod and he smiled. He stood up and gently picked her up and they headed downstairs. She clung to him like a koala and buried her face into his neck thinking about going back to sleep. Ice didn't let that last because as soon as she thought about it they were downstairs, Maverick smiled at the two.

"Good morning, Blizzard." He said and she popped her head up and smiled.

"Daddy!" She said and made grabby hands towards him and he quickly accepted it.

"You ready for breakfast?" He asked and she looked at him and nodded. Maverick already had the table set so all they had to do was sit and begin eating. Ice was already in uniform so he could make a quick dash to work but Maverick was in jeans and a nice-fitting black shirt that had everyone swooning over the man.

"Blizzard you're going to be staying home with Daddy while I go to work." Ice said as he took a bite of food and so did she chewed and thought about it.

"Why?" She asked and they both smiled.

"You're daycare called and they're going to be closed." Maverick said and again she thought about and nodded.

"Ok." She said and went back to eating they both smiled and shook their head. She could be easy going or she could be so stubborn, a trait she picked up from both of them.

When breakfast was finished Maverick got up and put the dishes and food that would keep away. Meanwhile, Ice was making sure he got everything he needed for work from his and Maverick's office, once he was sure he got everything. When he was done in there he came out to the sound of laughter and he smiled, that's the sound he always loved. Ice walked out to find Maverick chasing Y/N around the island he could see that Maverick was slightly damp. Maverick caught up to her and picked her up and attacked her with kisses and she squealed and then her eye caught Ice's.

"Papa! Save me!" She yelled out with a smile and Ice just shook his head and sat down his papers and walked over to her taking her from Maverick's grip. Maverick fought back playfully but in the end let her go to him. Ice then started to attack her with kisses the same way Maverick was doing to her just a few minutes ago. After he got his fill of his daughter's giggles it was time for Ice to get to work.

"Alright, Blizz. I've got to go to work but you'll be here with Daddy. I love you." Ice said and she nodded her head and he kissed her forehead and then she kissed his cheek.

"I love you too." She said as Ice put her down on the ground and watched as Ice kissed Maverick.

"I love you." They both said at the same time. Ice grab his car keys and headed off to work. Once they heard his car pull out and they saw him disappear out of view from their position by the window that they moved to as Ice walked out the door.

"Alright, what shall we do first?" Maverick asked as he turned to his 6 year old she turned to look at him look much like Ice when she was thinking.

"Blanket fort and movies." She said confidently now looking like Ice for sure and a little bit of Maverick. Maverick smiled and nodded.

"You got it." He said and they began gathering all the stuff needed to make the fort and put it right in front of the TV. The fort took about 30 minutes to make but with them both goofing off, being the same person, and while putting in their own comments, the fort took an hour to make. Their morning started at 7:30 AM and now it was 8:30 AM. Their morning was filled with naps, movies, and snacks.

---------------------------------------------------

When noon came around it was time for lunch. The storms had stopped but the rain was still coming down. As Maverick was getting their lunch ready he noticed Ice had left his and sighed. So he packed theirs and grabbed Ice's and sat them on the counter. Y/N was upstairs changing and getting ready for the rest of the day since Maverick made her go and change out of her pajamas, if she had it her way she would've stayed in them all day. "Blizzard!" He yelled out at the foot of the stairs and he could hear patters of feet coming down.

"Daddy?" She asked with a look of questioning and confusion, an expression similar to Maverick's most days.

"Papa left his lunch here. You wanna take it to him and eat with him?" He asked and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes!" She said excitedly she would get to see her Papa, Uncle Slider, Uncle Goose, and The Daggers. Maverick smiled.

"Ok. Let's go." He said and she descended the rest of the stairs and followed Maverick out the door while he grabbed the lunches. He sent a quick to Ice.

Maverick: You forgot your lunch. Blizz and I are brining it to you and eating with you.

As he waited for a response he got Y/N situated and then got into the driver's side when his phone dinged.

Ice: Damn. Sounds like a plan.

Ice replied quickly and Maverick smiled and then set his phone down. He opened the garage and started his truck and they started on their way to the base. 20 minutes later he was at the gate and showing his ID and then rolling through and parking in his assigned spot. The rain was now to a sprinkle but it was still enough to ground the jets.

Maverick killed the engine and got out and then helped Y/N out he grabbed their lunches and they headed into the building but first they stopped by the lunchroom. "Bradley! Jakey!" She yelled out and they both looked up and smiled.

"Blizzard!" He yelled back and she went bounding over to him and hugged him. Bradley and Y/N were like two peas in a pod despite their age difference. They loved spending time together and nobody could figure it out but they knew. It was probably because Bradley always gave her things and babysat her a lot when his parents couldn't take her. "Whatcha doing here?" He asked when he released her from the hug.

"Hey there Blizz!" Jake said and hugged her and when they released she answered Bradley's question. Jake had also watched her several times because he was with Bradley and they spoiled that girl to no end.

"Papa forgot his lunch so Daddy and I brought it. We are gonna eat with him." She said and the Dagger's swore their hearts melted. That little girl absolutely loved her fathers to no end. She greeted the rest of the squad as Maverick walked over.

"Blizz, let's go. Papa has a meeting in a few." He said she smiled and said bye to them and skipped along to Ice's office. Maverick greeted his squad and then was off in the direction of his husband's office. Along the way she greeted Slider and Goose and even Beau. Beau may act like he hates everyone but he secretly loves that little girl then again everybody loved Blizzard.

Maverick and Y/N arrived at the door and Maverick knocked and when they got the clear to go in, Y/N didn't hesitate and ran in and hugged Ice. "Hi, Blizz." He said as Maverick walked and held up the food. he pulled a chair up and gave Ice his and Y/N sat on Ice's lap and they ate and talked. When lunch was done. Maverick and Y/N headed home to finish out the day.

---------------------------------------------------

It was 3:30 PM and both Maverick and Y/N were sitting on the couch watching a movie when she turned to her dad "I'm hungry." She said Maverick turned to look at her.

"There is some fruit in the fridge in a bowl if you wanna go and get that and we can eat it together." He said and she nodded and got up and walked into the kitchen and to the fridge to retrieve the bowl mentioned. She then grabbed it and brought it into the living room. She took her seat back next to her dad and they began to eat while watching Tangled. What made up the fruit was some apples, coconut, watermelon, strawberries, grapes, and oranges. Neither of them were paying attention to what they were grabbing.

Y/N grabbed a piece of coconut and put it in her mouth and chewed it and then swallowed it. Nothing happened right away but about 10 minutes later her throat became scratchy and she started to cough. Maverick looked at her "You ok?" He asked looking concerned at her. She nodded her head not trusting her voice which was a mistake. He turned back to the movie but before he could get invested in it again she started to couch and wheeze. She felt her throat swelling and it was getting harder to breathe.

"Daddy." She said breathlessly he turned to look at her and his eyes widened because right in front of him his daughter was turning bright red. She was breaking out in hives and she was wheezing. Her throat was also swelling.

"Blizzard. Baby. What did you eat?" He asked jumping into action.

"Coconut." She wheezed out. It was something she hadn't eaten before and now she was having a severe allergic reaction to it. Before he could do anything she vomited and he tried to catch it but wasn't quick enough but he didn't care at the moment, because right now his daughter was close to passing out on him.

"We're going to the hospital." He said and picked her up and ran out o the garage and put her in the passenger seat and buckled her from the driver's side. He opened the garage door and every second he had to wait the closer to his daughter not being awake. He cursed silently to himself but when it opened he turned the truck on and backed out quickly and shut the door once he was clear. The rain had picked up again and the sky was dark and thunder rolled. "You still with me, Blizz?" He asked and glanced over to her and she had passed out and looked like she was barley breathing. Now he was full on panicking. Luckily Miramar Navy Hospital was close by like 20 minutes and little traffic lights. Maverick made it to the hospital in 10 minutes he didn't care if he got pulled over or breaking traffic laws his daughter was in danger.

Maverick through the truck into park in a parking space that was thankfully open nearby. He killed the engine and raced to the passenger side and opened the door and quickly got his unconscious daughter out and ran into the ER. "Help! My daughter is having an allergic reaction!" He yelled out the nurse at the front desk looked up and her eyes widened.

"I need a gurney! Also page Dr. Bailey!" She yelled out and another nurse came out rolling one in. She must've been the head nurse. As Maverick sat Y/N down on the gurney she turned to him "I'm Nurse Avery. What caused this?" She asked.

"We were eating fruit and she ate some coconut. She didn't start having a reaction until 10 minutes later and it took 10 minutes to get her. So, she's been having this reaction for 20 minutes." Maverick said.

"When did she lose consciousness?" Nurse Avery asked

"About 5 minutes ago." He said and she nodded.

"What out in the waiting room. Dr. Bailey is the best pediatric doctor we have. He'll get her reaction under control." She said and he nodded and she rushed off to deliver the information.

As Maverick sat in the waiting room he texted Ice several times and called him. His calls and texts went unanswered so he called Cyclone and told him what was happening and to get it to Ice ASAP.

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Ice was in a meeting that had been going on for an hour and opted to not take his phone in since it was an important meeting. Cyclone nor Warlock were not in the meeting due to it being for only Ice and a few other higher-ups discussing some new training exercises and missions. Finally 20 minutes later the meeting was over and Ice was walking out of the room when Slider bumped into him. "Hey, Blizzard is in the Miramar Navy Hospital." The RIO said to his pilot.

"When did you find this out?" Ice asked

"Maverick called and told me." Slider said and Ice became enraged and stormed off into his office. He grabbed his keys and his phone and headed to the hospital which was also a 20 minute drive but with the rain and traffic it became a 30 minute drive which put Ice into a further pissed off mood. When he arrived he found Maverick's truck and parked next to it and walked in and found Maverick sitting there. The waiting room was practically empty. He stormed over to him and Maverick looked up.

"Oh good you're here." Maverick said and stood up to hug him and kiss him but Ice stepped back and Maverick looked confused. "What?" Maverick asked him.

"I had to find out from Slider that my daughter was in the hospital." Ice said in an ice cold voice and now it was Maverick that grew mad.

"I called and texted you several times and you didn't answer." He said in disbelief that he was having a fight while their daughter was fighting for her life. Ice took his phone out and saw all the notifications.

18 missed calls from Maverick

Maverick: Please call me ASAP.

Maverick: CALL ME. IT'S AN EMERGENCY.

Maverick: It's about Blizzard. We're at the hospital. She had an allergic reaction to coconut. They took her back and are working on her now.

Maverick: You need to get here quickly. I know you're in a meeting but this is important.

"I was in a meeting and didn't take my phone. You could've called Cyclone and he could've gotten the message to me." Ice said

"I did and he didn't answer the phone." Maverick said just as pissed. Before their fight could continue Dr. Bailey walked out and went to the two after Nurse Avery pointed them out.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Bailey. I'm the pediatric doctor and surgeon here. You're daughter had a severe allergic reaction but we got it under control and gave her epinephrine to reduce her allergic reaction in her body. We also have her on some oxygen to help her breathe along with some IV antihistamines and cortisone to reduce inflammation of the air passages and improve breathing along with some albuterol to relieve breathing symptoms. Her hives should reduce under 24 hrs. I'll take you to her room." He said and they followed him into the elevator as they were riding up to her floor he started to talk again "We did have to intubate her because her breathing did stop. We expect to take her off of it in the morning that way we give the medications time to work, so we put her under slight sedation and will take her off in the morning. I want to keep her overnight afterwards just to keep an eye on her and make sure her body is healed and reacting well. She'll be out of it for the next few days this a major hit to such a little body." He finished as the elevator dinged. Maverick and Ice were speechless Ice was still incredibly pissed at Maverick. All three of them walked out and to her room "If anything happens let Nurse Jade know and she'll page me." He said and they nodded their head.

"Thank you." They both said at the same time and he nodded and left they walked into the room and sat on either side of her. Rain was still coming down and hitting the windows. Neither Ice or Maverick said a word.

"I'll let the squad know how she is." Maverick said but Ice didn't say a word. Once he sent the message he got some right away saying they hope she get's well and they'll come see her when she's well. Nothing happened during the night and neither Ice or Maverick slept too worried about their kid. Nurses were in and out of the room take vitals and making sure everything was running smoothly.

---------------------------------------------------

The next morning at 7 AM Nurse Jade and Dr. Bailey walked in and greeted the two fathers. "We're going to be reversing the sedation and extubating her." He said and they nodded and stood up and back. Once the sedation was off and she woke up they explained to her what was going to happen and she nodded and when they removed it she coughed but took a huge breath and Dr. Bailey smiled. "Hi, Y/N. I'm Dr. Bailey. Do you know where you are?" He asked and she nodded.

"The hospital." She said hoarsely, which was to be expected and they all smiled.

"Good. You had a severe allergic reaction. But we gave you some medication to help you out." He said in a calm voice and she nodded. He turned to where he was looking at her and the fathers. "She's breathing on her own which is a very good sign. I still want to keep her one more night." He said and they nodded and then turned to her "I'll be back to check on you later." He said and she nodded and yawned and everyone chuckled and he left the room. Throughout the day she was checked up on and The Daggers, Carole, Slider, and Goose all came by and saw her but didn't stay long just so they didn't overwhelm her. Ice and Maverick still weren't talking to each other still incredibly pissed but put on a good act for their daughters sake.

---------------------------------------------------

The next morning bright and early they got the all clear for her to be released and go home and rest. Dr. Bailey was also giving them EpiPen's and a prescription for more. Once she was changed into her clothing she had the day before they were wheeling her out to the parking lot. "I'll take her home." Ice said and Maverick was gonna protest but one ice cold glare from Ice and he didn't fight it. Ice went and got his car and drove to the entrance. He parked and got out and then helped Y/N into car and then he drove off leaving Maverick standing there. Maverick walked to his truck and got in and caught up to them both quickly. When they reached the house they both parked outside and the rain actually let up that morning. Ice and Y/N were already inside and she was heading upstairs to lay down once they heard the door shut they turned to each other. "I want you out of the house for a few days." Ice said and Maverick was shocked but then was pissed.

"Excuse me? Were you the one that had to watch our daughter almost die? Were you the one that tried to catch her vomit? Were you the one that got to the hospital in 10 minutes when it take 20 minutes?" Maverick asked

"It doesn't matter. You're the one that gave her the fruit." Ice said

"I didn't know it had coconut in it. We didn't know she was allergic to it." Maverick said as he walked upstairs and grabbed his duffle bag and began throwing clothes in. "You know what? Fine I'll leave. I need a break from you anyways, we need to cool down because we just went through something traumatic. I'll go stay with Goose and Carole." Maverick said "It's not like our daughter needs both of her fathers at this time." He finished heading to the garage and walked through the door and into his truck. Ice heard the garage door open and a car pull out and it shut again.

Ice turned when he heard footsteps on the stairs. "Papa, where is daddy?" She asked and Ice sighed.

"He's gonna go stay with Uncle Goose and Aunt Carole for a few days." He said and she looked at him.

"Why?" She asked

"We had a fight and both need to cool off." Ice said and she nodded and headed back upstairs. He went into the living room and saw everything from this morning and afternoon and started to clean up. He saw where she had thrown up and that made him feel guilty but he wasn't going to apologize he was still pissed that he had to find out from his RIO about his daughter being in the hospital. Yes Maverick did try to contact him but he should've called Warlock since he couldn't get ahold of Cyclone.

---------------------------------------------------

It was now Tuesday and the preschool was still closed due to flooding. Maverick had yet been home and it was putting Y/N in a bad mood since she didn't have both of her fathers with her. Ice noticed this but still wouldn't apologize and neither would Maverick. Ice and Y/N did activates together but she wasn't enthusiastic about it The sun was out so Ice took Y/N down to the beach, he had taken the time off just to make sure she was ok, knowing that jets would be flying by.

When they got to the beach they grabbed their stuff and walked to the sand. The Daggers and the Top Gun cadets were flying over the beach and that always excited her. Ice sat back and watched them as well. Y/N was looking around when she spotted Maverick and smiled "Daddy!" she shrieked out that got Ice's attention and when he looked up she was already barreling towards him.

"Blizzard!" He yelled and got up and took off after her. When he reached them she was hugging Maverick and he was hugging her back in a tight hug. She had her head buried into his abdomen. His eyes were closed and head on hers. Ice stood there and watched them maybe he overacted but he was just stressed out. He was zoned out until Y/N's voice brought him back.

"I missed you, Daddy." She said

"I missed you too, Blizz." He said and opened his eyes and they met Ice's blue ones. "I missed you too, Ice." Maverick said.

"I missed you too, Mav." He said as Y/N released Maverick from the hug. "Let's head back to our spot." He said and they began to shirt trek to spot. Y/N nonstop talked about what they did and they reached their spot she had ran out of things to say. "Hey, Blizz. Why don't you go watch the jets further up? But stay away from the water." Ice said and she nodded and headed out of earshot.

"Look I'm sorry I didn't reach out to Warlock to get into touch with you. I was stressed and panicking. I knew you had a meeting and didn't want to be disturbed." Maverick said every now and then looking at Ice but then turning his attention back to their little girl.

"I'm sorry too. The meeting was stressful because they want everyone to learn to training exercises and maybe have a new missions. I should've taken my phone in with me. I'm sorry for making you leave. Blizzard was not happy with not having both of us together. She hardly slept and was just not acting like herself." Ice said looking at Maverick and watched him watch their daughter smiling and waving when she turned around and waved.

"Am I allowed to come back home now?" Maverick asked as soon as he saw their daughter halfway to them and knew she was safe and away from the water. Ice was still looking at him and he nodded with a smiled.

"Yes. Please come back. Blizzard and I would be happier with you back home." Ice said and Maverick smiled and leaned in for a kiss and Ice kissed back.

"Ewww!" Y/N said and they broke apart and looked at her and smiled and then looked at each other and had a silent conversation. They looked back at her and she pulled a confused look. Maverick grabbed her and then started to tickle her and she laughed and then Ice joined in. They attacked her with kisses and tickles. This is what they both needed and missed.

Ice and Maverick promised not to fight and if they did then they would make up before the end of the day. They never want to split up their family they got a taste of it and they didn't like it. They stopped tickling her and attacking her with kisses and they just sat there watching jets fly by as a family. One happy and whole family.

Tag list:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

@grandstrangerphantom

[sserpente]

A/N: Billy Hargrove and a mistletoe. There was no way I wasn’t going to write this.

Words: 1014 Warnings: mentions of bullying

The way to the kitchen was blocked. Well, not really. But there was someone leaning against the threshold that you, under all possible circumstances, whatsoever, were keen to avoid.

All you wanted was some more mulled wine. You’d need an awful lot more in order to get drunk on the hot beverage but you were determined and you were thirsty.

So get it together. High school is over! Mentally slapping yourself, you shook your head and fought yourself a way through the partying crowd in the hallway. Push past, don’t look him in the eye, ignore him, pretend you didn’t see him… it should have been easy. With your heart in your mouth, you turned sideways to fit through the door—a significantly hard task when two people were casually conversing right in its middle—until you were stopped by a strong arm stopping you from entering the kitchen like a bloody human barrier.

“Whoops.”

The nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach only intensified when he spoke up. He was taller than you, of course, looking down at you with an amused expression on his face. His outfit… not only was it unsuitable for the current weather conditions but also direly inappropriate for a Christmas party. And who wore a leather jacket without a shirt on anyway? And why did he have to be so shredded? You knew he worked out but Jesus H. Christ… up close, that six-pack looked even more defined. Why was it always the arseholes who were this attractive? Why couldn’t it be the nice guy next door, the one who took your mail in when you weren’t home?

No, it had to be Billy fucking Hargrove, your own personal high school bully who’d tried to make your life a living hell. Well… more or less. In fact, you were pretty certain he was the very reason you were still single. If Billy Hargrove told you not to date a girl… you didn’t. That’s just how Hawkins worked since the fucker moved here from sunny California.

“Let me through, Billy.”

“You didn’t follow the rules.”

You rolled your eyes. You had no idea what he was on about but you were already getting annoyed. Should have climbed through the bloody window instead.

“Seriously, all I want is some mulled wine. I won’t let my festive mood be spoiled today, least of all by my school bully.”

“Are you kidding me?” He added your name at the end, making you swallow. He never used your name. It’d only ever been nicknames—teasing nicknames that’d had you seethe. “I wasn’t bullying you.”

“Of course not. What else would you call it then, huh?”

“What, are you that daft? I wanted to get with you so bad the whole fucking school knew.”

You blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Oh yeah. You embarrassed me quite a bit, doll. You were the only girl at school who resisted my charms.”

“Charms is a strong word.” You didn’t believe him. Not a word. Or did you? You bit your lower lip. You’d seen him bully others. He’d gotten into physical fights more often than you could count. He’d never… insulted you either, just… teased you relentlessly? The closest you’d come to a physical attack had been when he’d knocked your books from your hands on Halloween. Come to think of it, he’d said the exact same word he’d said to you just now back then when—

“Whoops.” Billy’s shit-eating grin grew wider when you tried to slip past him again. Without any effort whatsoever, his arm came up to block your way yet again no matter how hard you pushed against him.

“Whatever. Should have treated me nicer then… if that was true.” But part of you couldn’t help but wonder… if it was. You thrust forward yet again, eager to escape the situation.

“A-ah. I’m afraid you’re still gonna have to follow the rules, doll.”

“What rules?” you spat, refraining from rolling your eyes at him. Billy smirked with his mouth slightly open, his gaze travelling up above your head. A fucking mistletoe. Of course.

“After all, it’s Christmas.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why?” He grinned. “Are you afraid it could be…”—he leaned in closer, lowering his voice—“…good?”

“I have absolutely no desire—and I mean no desire—to kiss you.” And that was a fucking lie. You’d wondered often enough if he really was as good as the girls whispering about his many talents in the bedroom said he was.

He didn’t listen to you anyway because before you could turn away and flee, his lips were on yours. It wasn’t just a quick peck. Hell, you couldn’t pull away even if you wanted to. Billy wrapped his arms around you in an instant, his palms resting on your hips dangerously close to your bum, keeping you close. Much to your dismay… your eyes fell shut. The sucker knew what he was doing—and he made it so easy for you to kiss him back.

It was a combination of the cheering that got loud around you with a start and his tongue that teasingly slid against your bottom lip that made you break the kiss before it could escalate.

“Looks like she wasn’t immune to your charms, after all, Hargrove!”

You raised an eyebrow, bending back to create some distance between you. “You’re gonna have to do an awful lot more than kiss me underneath the mistletoe if you want to convince me.”

Billy grinned. “Shall we say eight, then? Tomorrow? There’s a nice restaurant just outside of Hawkins I’m sure you’ll love.”

You considered it for a moment. What could possibly go wrong? A, this could be a terrible prank. B, he could kidnap you and chop you to pieces in the woods, or C… he meant it. You sighed.

“Fine. Don’t make me regret this.”

“That’s what I’m talking about, baby. Wear something pretty. I’ll come pick you up.”

“Uh-huh.” You pushed past him again and this time, he let you through. Yeah. You definitely needed more mulled wine after this.

[risriswrites]

Mary's Song

summary: bradley bradshaw is in love with his best friend and it takes them years to figure out how to tell each other how they feel. loosely based on taylor swift's song "mary's song (oh my my my)"

pairing: best friend reader x bradley bradshaw, fem reader

author's note: so this is my first time writing a fanfic and actually posting it anywhere. i'm actually really proud of it so if anyone reads it and actually likes it feel free to like and reblog :)

word count: 7.8k words

She said, "I was seven and you were nine"

I looked at you like the stars that shine

In the sky, the pretty lights

And our daddies used to joke about the two of us

Growing up and falling in love

And our mamas smiled and rolled their eyes

And said, "Oh my, my, my"

It was a sunny summer day in Santa Barbara, California. Carole wasn’t sure if it was going to be a good beach day with the temperature being in the mid 70’s. A subtle breeze could easily take that seemingly beach friendly weather and turn it into a frigid nightmare.

In the end the absence of clouds made her commit to packing up her beach bag, loading up the car, and dragging her only son to the beach to soak up some much-needed sun.

Their lives had changed since losing Nick. Even though five years had passed, the loss still impacted them every day. Thankfully, having Mav around softened the heartache a little.

Pete had given Carole a call earlier that week letting her know he would be in town on his “completely unnecessary” vacation. And after humoring him with some back-and-forth banter and mild guilt tripping, she was able to convince him to come to Santa Barbara for the week.

Carole had never known Mav to have a sister, so when he shows up with a seven-year-old girl in tow claiming it’s his niece, she’s a little flabbergasted.

“It’s just so hard for me to wrap my head around that I’ve known you for years, and never knew you had a sister! Let alone a niece.” Carole squints at him accusingly.

Maverick, who had decided to take full advantage of the California sun, was laying out on an old lawn chair Carole had brought out for him. Peering over his aviators at her he smirked, “I’ve gotta keep some secrets to myself, don’t ya think? Besides, my sister and I weren’t close until a couple of years ago, so there wasn’t much to tell anyway.” He deflected. He wasn’t going to tell Carole the reason behind the reconnection of the two siblings being the death of her late husband.

“Still, when you first brought her out here, I thought you had finally found someone to settle down with and had a kid. Albeit I would have been offended for not getting an invite to your wedding if you had decided to have one, but I digress.” Carole brought the bottle of water she packed up to her lips gingerly, sipping at the refreshing liquid. Turns out she had left the umbrella at home and the sun had taken no pity upon her mishap.

“Definitely not the case. You know how I feel about settling down and it hasn’t really changed since Charlie.” Maverick let out, breathing out a laugh in the process.

Carole rolled her eyes, pushing her sunglasses further up the bridge of her nose, “It’ll happen one day when you least expect it to Mav, I can guarantee you that. Can’t be the heartbreaker forever.” She huffed, glancing over to the two children currently chasing each other on the beach.

Pete followed her gaze and focused on the scene playing out in front of him; hoping to derail Carole from lecturing him about his past lovers.

“She’s gonna have him wrapped around her little finger before the week’s over. I can see it now” he smiled, nodding his head in the direction of the two kids. Mav watched on as his niece looked up at Bradley with a small pout forming on her face, seemingly disgruntled with the game after playing it for so long and is now trying to convince him to partake in something else.

With a soft smile and another roll of her eyes Carole leaned further back in her chair letting her eyes flutter shut, knowing her son was safe with Mav’s own eyes on him.

“I mean seriously Carole, they’re gonna grow up and end up disgustingly in love with each other. Mark my words.” His gaze never leaving the two kids who had stopped chasing each other; after Maverick’s niece had successfully changed Bradley’s mind.

Now instead, opting to dig a tunnel from the water to a little pit they had made further up the beach. Mav had overheard his niece calling it a “hot tub” but he’s certain that whatever they were making had no resemblance to one in the slightest. Bradley didn’t seem to mind though and had gone along with the small build anyway, glancing over to the seven year-old girl every now-and-then to see how she liked it.

Carole didn’t even bother with glancing up at the two when replying to Mav with a very sarcastic “sure Pete” and allowing herself to slip back into brief relaxation.

Oh My My My

*Nine years later*

I was sixteen when suddenly

I wasn't that little girl you used to see

But your eyes still shined like pretty lights

“Relax sunshine, you’re gonna be fine.”

“Bradley, I swear if you tell me I’m going to be fine one more time I’m going to throw the nearest object to me at your head.” You growled.

Bradley glanced at the scene in front of him, his best friend of nine years (and counting) sitting on the floor of her bedroom currently pouting angrily down at her latest grade, with the closest object to her being an old textbook. Cute.

You have terrible aim; he’ll take his chances.

“Sunshine” he breathes out. “I’ve told you before Mr. Greenwood is just a hard-ass who likes knowing his class is one of the most difficult to pass in all of high school.” Bradley sighed.

You let out another huff of frustration swiping a lock of hair out of your face, “I know, I know, it’s just so annoying. I’ve spent weeks preparing for this exam and the most I can show for it is a B-.”

“You’ve only got a month left and you’ll be out of there, don’t stress about it, you’re passing and that’s what matters.” Bradley reassures.

“Easy for you to say, you’re graduating in three weeks, leaving me behind at this poor excuse of a school. Who knows when I’ll see you again! You’ll probably move to another country to become a hippie, learn to speak a different language, and change your name to something obscene like Holden” you sputter out waving your hands around in the process.

Bradley scrunches his eyebrows and wrinkles his nose at the obscene set of words that just left your lips, “I’ll have you know I would not become a hippie.” He pauses briefly before continuing, “I’d be a musician, thank you very much.” Bradley mocks offence.

You finally glance up at him from your spot on the floor, almost instantly regretting that decision. He looks too attractive laid out on your bed like that, it’s almost unfair.

Bradley had filled out a little over the summer, rambling on and on about how he wants to be in top physical condition for when he starts training to become a naval pilot -like his dad had been and consequentially like Uncle Mav. Last time you looked over to him a mere two minutes ago he was laid out on your bed looking up towards the ceiling like it was some humongous puzzle piece.

Now as you look at him, he’s propped himself up onto his forearm; his bicep muscle making itself very apparent; supporting his body weight on it, while simultaneously leaning his head on his fist, gazing softly down at you. Stop looking at me like that or I swear I’m going to fall in love with you.

You visibly swallowed before casting your eyes back down at your paper lying on the floor beneath you.

“I like that you’re more offended by the job title than the name change,” she scoffs.

“Also, there’s no way you’d become a musician, I refuse to believe you possess such a talent.” You threw back, giving your head a shake.

Bradley scoffed before jumping into a spiel of how he’s “like a magician” when he’s on the piano. Lecturing about his many talents and capabilities in an attempt to pull you away from staring at that stupid piece of paper any longer.

A smile pulls from your lips before you let out a few giggles regarding his exaggerated so called “talents”.

Bradley perks up at this and fixes you with a teasing glare, “What are you laughing at? I’m serious! I'm one of the best pianists of all time! I even give Beethoven a run for his money.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do, given that Beethoven has been dead for over a hundred years.” You chortle, tossing your head back in another round of laughs.

Bradley raises his eyebrows in offence, “Oh now you’re in for it.”

You look up between your fits of laughter only to see an eighteen-year-old Bradley Bradshaw launching himself off your bed and tackling you to the ground.

Bradley immediately starts wriggling his fingers up and down the sides of your ribcage, knowing that you’re extremely ticklish, sending you into an uncontrollable amount of laughter. You push away Bradley’s hands a few times in futile attempts to get him away from you; throwing yourself around in the process, before abandoning that plan and instead trying to push at his chest.

You manage to hook your leg over one of his and give his chest a hefty push using all your weight to send him over your shoulder. He grabs ahold of your arm in the process, bringing you with him. Both teenagers now laughing uncontrollably.

Bradley is currently holding both of your arms captive against his chest, laughing at your adorable attempt to try and tickle him. And you joining in because, why did you think you were going to be able to out-muscle him?

You look down at Bradley, stopping your assault and just enjoying the moment. His head is tossed back on the hard-wood floor, eyebrows scrunched while his eyes remain tightly closed pinching at the sides, his mouth is open letting out little breaths of laughter. He’s so beautiful. Your laughs have stopped now, just staring down at him with a soft smile.

Bradley notices your laughs have stopped and chooses that moment to look up. Oh. You’re peering down at him with a smile on your lips and a look he can’t quite decipher in your eyes. Your eyes are so pretty. He gives you a sheepish smile back. It’s too quiet now, and when did his hands move to your waist?

At that moment a loud, shrill pinging rings in the pair’s ears throughout the room. Making both teens scramble away from each other in a mess of “Oh I’m sorry” and “Shit” as your limbs get caught up in your hurriedness to get away from a moment neither of you know what to do with.

Bradley crosses the room in a few long, hurried strides successfully turning the obnoxious alarm off.

He huffs out a breath in mild relief. With the alarm off, your room is once again blanketed in quiet, which funnily enough he’s not sure if he prefers the silence or the pinging of his alarm. He turns to look at you and decides then that he definitely prefers the alarm over the silence. You’re standing at the opposite end of the room; your hair is a bit of a mess and you’ve got a subtle blush to your cheeks making your skin glow a little differently. Fuck.

He swallows, deciding to break the silence “I gotta go. Gotta be up for school tomorrow.”

You nod your head peering down at the floor afraid to look into his eyes, “Yeah” you breathe out. A beat passes, “Yeah of course. It’s late, I’ll walk you out.” You ramble out, before running a hand through your hair, hoping to compose yourself quickly and pray he doesn’t pick up on the massive crush you have on him.

You’re swinging your bedroom door open and stepping out hurriedly before Bradley can even grab his keys and wallet. He takes a breath once he’s got everything and forces himself to follow you out of the room.

You didn’t make it far without him, just a few steps down the hallway of your room before he’s right behind you again.

Before he knows it, you’ve made it to your front door and you’re swinging the cream colored door open for him. “See you tomorrow?” you ask as nonchalantly as you can, throwing him a tight smile as if it were a bone.

He steps over the threshold of your home, putting a little space between the two of you. Something’s different. He glances up at you, eyes wandering over your facial features. It’s still you, but something’s different.

He gives you a soft smile shoving his hands into the pocket of his jeans deciding to let that thought go for the night, “Yeah I’ll swing by to pick you up.”

You glance over at the blue bronco currently sitting in your mom’s driveway. Your eyes quickly flitting from him to the bronco and back to him before you give him a genuine smile, “Sounds great!”

He gives a short nod before he’s pulling you away from the door into a quick hug, giving your waist a squeeze, then begrudgingly letting you go. Bradley turns away from you then, and starts walking down the gravel of your driveway.

You watch from your front door, making sure he gets into his truck safely. Leaning against the doorframe as you call out, “Let me know when you get home!”

He looks back as he opens the door smiling, shaking his head with a short breath of laughter leaving his lips, leaning his weight onto the door tilting his head up as he shouts back to you, “I’ll call you!”

And then he’s climbing into the driver’s seat, starting the car, reversing out of your driveway and speeding down the road to get home to his mom, who no doubt is wondering when her son will be home; he said he’d be back by ten and it’s almost twelve in the morning.

You watch him speed off before deciding you should really close the door and stop watching after him like he’s going to turn around and come back.

With that thought in mind, you grip the door and shut it softly. Leaning against it in hopes to not wake your mom; at least that’s what you’re telling yourself, who’s got a shift at the hospital in a few hours.

“Bradley leave?”

You nearly jump out of your own skin at the sound of your mom’s voice. “Jesus don’t scare me like that! At least make a noise or something before talking, I swear I almost shit myself.” you huff. “But yes, he just left, and I really need to get ready for bed sooo… goodnight.” And with that, you’re quickly making your way back to your room to start your night routine.

Your mom watches you make a quick escape before rolling her eyes and laughing softly to herself.

Oh My My My

*Nine years later*

“I’m just saying, there’s no way you guys didn’t date back then.” Jessie emphasizes, punctuating her statement by pointing an accusing finger in your direction, slurping her strawberry milkshake obnoxiously.

You roll your eyes, glancing away from your friend to look through the window at the traffic piling up outside of the small diner. “Nothing happened Jessie” you huff, mumbling an “unfortunately” under your breath. Jessie doesn’t notice, thankfully.

“Well, you guys had everyone else fooled in school then. I’m pretty sure Kimmy was going to blow a gasket when she asked Bradley to go on a date and he shot her down because of you.” She smirks, swirling a fry into her milkshake before biting into it.

You huff in annoyance, “Okay that was like nine years ago first of all. Second of all, I had nothing to do with that! He could’ve easily gone on that date. He knows I would’ve been fine with rescheduling our weekly movie night.” you follow your statement quickly by sipping from your own milkshake, trying to avoid having this conversation with Jessie for what seems like the billionth time.

“That’s my entire point! He could’ve if he wanted to! But instead, he turned her down to spend time with YOU!” she all but shouts.

You tuck into yourself, scanning the diner to see if anyone was paying attention to Jessie’s loud proclamation. No one’s looking; to your relief, so you quickly return your gaze to her. “Look, Bradley and I have been best friends since we were seven. I’m pretty sure if he had any romantic feelings for me, he would’ve acted on them by now.”

“Where is your loverboy anyway?” Jessie asks, quirking a perfectly arched brow.

Another frustrated huff leaves your lips, Jessie was never the type of friend to let something go. You grab at a fry from your own plate and casually dip it into the pool of ketchup before tossing it into your mouth, “I think he has training today.” You punctuate your guess with a shrug of your shoulders, “I don’t really know, I’m not his keeper.” That’s exactly where he is. He texted you this morning saying so himself.

“Why? Do you want to go on a date with him?” you tease.

“God no! He’s not my type, you know that.” Jessie scoffs.

“Mhm, sure he’s not.” He’s not. You’re just tired of Jessie trying to make something out of nothing. False hope sucks, so reversing the accusations onto Jessie allows you to have the upper hand.

Jessie flicks a strand of wavy black hair out of her face, takes her last sip from her milkshake, then fixes you with a pointed look, “I know you want me to drop it so I will. But please just think about it. There’s something there, and I’m ninety-five percent sure if you were to kiss Bradshaw the next time you saw him, he wouldn’t pull away.”

And with that, Jessie scoots from her side of the booth, grabs her check, and proceeds to walk up to the cash register to pay for her meal, and to flirt with the cashier of course.

With a small smile and a shake of your head, you grab your own check and start to scoot out of the old booth.

Once Jessie has secured the cashier’s number you pay for your meal and you both exit the diner pausing outside to give each other a brief hug before parting ways to your respective vehicles.

Once inside of your car you immediately lock the doors and glance briefly down at your phone. A new message from Bradley has popped up.

Bradley: “Hey sunshine, I’m going to be finishing up here in two hours, do you want to meet up at the hard deck for some drinks?”

Your heart jumps at the idea of seeing Bradley later. Fucking traitor.

You: “Hey!”

You: “Yeah I’m down for that! What time are you thinking?”

You put your phone down in the cupholder of your car and pull out of the diner’s parking lot. Halfway back to your apartment your phone vibrates inside of the cupholder. Knowing that it’s probably Bradley has you going a little over the speed limit to hurry home.

Once you’re safely parked in your designated spot, you grab at your phone, unlocking it to see what he’s said.

Bradley: “7:15?”

You quickly send a quick “that sounds good” text before hopping out of your car and making the trek up to your space.

By the time you’ve ascended the elevator to your room and locked the door behind you, your phone has vibrated again.

Bradley: “Perfect, I’ll come pick you up.”

With a few hours to kill you kick off your sneakers and jeans, throwing on one of your favorite oversized shirts and make yourself comfortable on the couch.

A power nap is just what you need in order to liven yourself up to go out to the bar with Bradley. So, with that thought in mind you set an alarm for an hour and click your phone off, slipping under your old throw blanket and drift off to sleep.

Only to be awakened by the blaring noises of said alarm, what feels like only seconds later.

Sure enough, it’s been an hour. You huff in annoyance throwing the blanket off your face and take a few deep breaths before forcing yourself to sit up from the couch and make your way to your bedroom to pick out an outfit for tonight.

The little yellow sundress you bought a few months ago peeks out from your closet and you quickly pull it from its hanger before you can talk yourself out of it. Discarding your oversized shirt onto your chair you slip the sundress over your head and pull it down to settle at your midthigh.

Glancing at your reflection in the mirror you decide a touch up of your makeup and fluffing of the hair should be enough for tonight.

Once you’re finished, you glance over at your phone to check the time, pressing on the screen making it come to life. There’s a text from Bradley telling you he’ll be at your place in five minutes – four minutes ago. Your eyes go wide, and a panic runs down your spine before you’re scrambling around your room for a pair of shoes to go with your dress and where the fuck did you put your purse?

A few knocks land on your door moments later and you curse under your breath deciding to just go answer the door and forego searching for your purse. Only to see it sittin pretty on your kitchen island.

Swiping the forsaken piece of faux leather off the counter you stride towards the door, opening it in one swift motion.

And there he is.

Bradley Bradshaw in all of his sun kissed glory, hands in his jean pockets looking down your hall before he’s turning to look at you.

He sucks in a quick breath, barely audible, but you heard it.

Fuck, stop looking at me like that.

“Hey” he breathes out.

“Hi” you smile.

A second passes by, both of you just looking at each other before you come out of your daze and decide you’ve been staring for too long.

You breathe out a laugh and step out into the hallway, “ready to go?” you ask.

He takes a small step back from you as you turn to lock your door, giving his head a shake before fixing his gaze. Once you’ve turned yourself back to face him he has an easy smile on his face grabbing your hand in his, leading the way down the hallway, “Just waiting on you sunshine.”

You roll your eyes, he can’t see it, but he knows you’ve done it as soon as you quip out, “Coming from the guy who sets aside time to groom his barely-there pornstache I’ll take as much time as I please, thank you very much.”

He hits the “down” button for the elevator before turning to you and settles his hands on your hips pulling you a little closer to him. Your breath hitches at the action and your eyes widen for a second before you’re forcing yourself to appear normal again, unbothered.

“So now you’re hating on my stache,” he fixes you with a questioning look.

You stick your chin up a bit in defiance, “yes.”

You say it so confidently he almost believes you.

“Oh really? Then who was the one protesting against Nat, just last week; about the ‘stache’ being one of my best features? And how I can’t shave it off,” he raises an eyebrow.

The elevator button dings allowing you a brief escape from his grasp and question. Sidestepping out of his hands into the elevator, you press the “ground floor” button before looking back at him cocking your head to the side smiling, “Wasn’t that Jessie?”

He jumps into the elevator before the doors close and scoffs out a laugh nudging his shoulder against yours, “No sunshine, pretty sure that was you.”

“I don’t recall saying that.” You hum back.

“That’s because you were too busy downing those fruity drinks of yours.”

“Okay first of all, it’s called a fuzzy naval, second of all, it’s not my fault beer is disgusting, I don’t even know why you guys drink that shit.” you scrunch your face at him.

The pair of you step out of the elevator, Bradley once again slipping his hand back into yours, “Don’t worry sunshine, I won’t judge you.”

You decide not to comment on that and just let Bradley guide you to his blue bronco. Seriously, that car just screams Bradley Bradshaw and you’re not sure if you like the car so much because of the way it looks, or if it’s just him.

“Bradshaw, you have got to let me drive her one day.”

Bradley opens his passenger door for you and keeps a hold on your hand, helping you into the bronco. Totally unnecessary but you’ll allow it. One side of his mouth quirks up in a smirk, “in your dreams baby” and then he’s shutting your door and jogging over to the driver’s side.

That’s new.

Before you know it, he’s reversing out of the guest parking space and turning onto the main road to get to the bar of choice, the Hard Deck.

He’s got his window down letting one arm lean out of it and the other has a grip on the steering wheel, looking completely relaxed and carefree. You turn to look out your own window, leaning your head back against the headrest letting the soft sound of ABBA playing through his speakers to be the only thing you focus on.

Once he’s parked, Bradley has already made his way to your side of the vehicle and is opening your door, before you can even reach for the handle. He offers his hand to you again and you take it as you step down and out from the bronco.

You smile at him mumbling out a quick “thank you” before letting his hand go again and start heading towards the entrance of the Hard Deck. He follows behind you quickly grabbing the door for the both of you and letting it swing closed behind him.

The Hard Deck is a little crowded tonight, so Bradley decides to make his way in front of you to make it easier for the both of you to head towards the bar. This time you slip your hand in his as to not lose him in the mass of people.

Bradley’s heart jumping at the feeling of you reaching for him this time.

Once you’ve reached the bar he grabs Penny’s attention, waving her over to him.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite troublemaking duo.” Penny smirks. “The usual?” she quirks a brow.

Bradley smiles before replying with a “you got it”, and Penny glances over to you for a confirmation on Bradley’s request, receiving a small smile and a nod promptly followed by a “yes please”.

Penny lets out a light laugh before heading off to get Bradley a beer and to teach one of her new girls how to make a “fuzzy naval”.

Bradley looks around the bar looking to see if he can find Nat in the sea of civilians and naval aviators. He knew that more often than not, she’d be floating around here once they’d finished up for the day. Most of the naval aviators would come here to destress after training, so it’s not much of a surprise to him when he sees her leaning against the pool table, baiting another civilian into playing a round of pool.

Once he’s spotted Nat, he makes a mental note to head over to the pool table she’s currently occupying. He knows you find comfort in Nat’s company and considering the amount of people crowding around the bar tonight, he can already see that you’re ready to make a run for it.

He slides his arm around your shoulders, trying to provide some comfort before you two can move away from the bar.

Bradley gives your shoulder a light squeeze to gain your attention before he points casually over to Nat. You smile up at him before turning back to the bar, relaxing into his side.

Finally, Penny returns with your drinks, flashing the two of you a smile and giving Bradley a knowing look before she’s turned away and rushing to the opposite end of the bar. Bradley grabs your hand pulling you towards Nat.

Natasha sees the two of you making your way over to her and the grin she had on her face widens even more seeing Bradley holding your hand.

Once the pair of you have reached her, she hits the cue ball towards the black eight ball. Easily slotting it into the pocket, shooting a hand out to the shocked civilian; who she has successfully hustled for the night. He lays a fifty-dollar bill in her hand and walks away in shame before she’s turning and looking at the two lovestruck dumbasses in front of her.

Smiling she says, “Look who decided to drag her ass away from work to make it out tonight.”

You smirk, “How’s the best naval aviator I know?”

Natasha’s smile turns into a smirk, “She’s doing great, already made fifty bucks off the civvy who’s sulking over there in the corner.” She gives her head a nod, gesturing to the man who’s now looking like a kicked puppy, chatting with his buddies.

Natasha turns back to the duo, “Head was a little big when he came over here, figured I’d help him deflate it a bit,” she shrugged.

You laugh and Bradley just looks up to the ceiling with a small shake of his head.

“Good, someone needs to do it.” You say, exasperated, sipping on your drink in the process.

Bradley just let you and Nat carry on conversing with each other, listening in on things that he deemed important, but he was mainly just looking at you. Eyes roaming over your features as you talk.

He is definitely enjoying the view. You’re giggling at something Nat had said, occasionally sipping on your drink, usually followed by flicking a strand of hair out of your face. Don’t even get him started on how the sundress is making him feel. Where did you even get that from? You never wear sundresses. The color complements your skin and makes you stick out in the sea of khaki and jeans like a sore thumb.  

He's suddenly pulled back into the conversation when Nat smugly starts talking about training earlier today.

“Oh, and you’ll never guess who finally got their callsign today” Nat laughs, exaggeratedly leaning over towards you, sneaking her eyes over to Bradley.

You whip your head over to him with widened eyes, “You didn’t tell me that you got your callsign today!”

“It’s not a big deal sunshine,” he smiles warmly at her, happy to have her attention on him instead of Nat.

That statement grants him an eyeroll from you, “sure it isn’t. It’s not like you’ve been wanting to know what your callsign would be since you were five.”

He lets out a laugh, bringing his beer up to his lips and taking a sip, eyes trained on yours.

Your eyes flicker to his lips for a second before you catch yourself and focus back on his eyes again.

He smirks and drags the bottle away from his lips setting it down on a nearby table, “they decided to pay homage to my dad” he breathes out. “So, Rooster is what they came up with,” a small smile graces his lips. “Keeping it in the bird category.”

You smile warmly at him, squeezing his arm, “I like it.”

“Definitely beats Holden by a landslide.” you scoff.

Bradley snorts and glances over to Nat, who’s watching the exchange with a knowing smile.

“Has Nat told you hers yet?” he inquires.

You shake your head before fixing Nat with a questioning stare.

Nat lets out a huff, “It’s a long story”.

“Well, how about you two talk about it while I grab us another drink.” He suggested.

With approval received by both women he quickly makes his way back over to the bar ordering two drinks and a water for himself.

He’s drumming his fingers on the bar waiting for the drinks, casually bobbing his head with the music, when he catches movement out of the corner of his eye. Knowing you and phoenix were in that general area he turns his head to check in on them, only to see some dick, leaning on the pool table attempting at starting up a conversation with you.

He watches as your face, once relaxed and happy, turns sour. With narrowed eyes and pursed lips, you start talking back to the stranger.

Bradley hasn’t moved yet, but the longer the guy stands there talking to his girl, the angrier he gets.

Bradley thinks he could’ve been fine with letting you and phoenix handle the dick who looks like he walked straight off the set of jersey shore. However, the second he put his hand on your wrist Bradley lost all resolve and was moving swiftly from the bar to make his way back towards you.

You scowled down at the unwanted hand on your wrist before yanking it back towards your body, “Yeah, that’s great, glad you’re having a good night, but don’t touch me.”

“Oh, come on sweetheart, I was only being friendly. Let me buy you a drink?” He reached again for your hand, prompting you to take a step back, bumping into a hard, familiar chest.

“Pretty sure she already told you to keep your hands to yourself.” An arm sneaks around your waist, “And I’d hate to have to tell you again.” Bradley’s hostile voice rings in your ears, crystal clear over the music coming from the jukebox.

The Vinny wannabe scrunches his brows at the pair, “hey man, maybe if you don’t want your girl to be approached, maybe you should tell her how to dress. You can see that ass for miles.”

Bradley clenches his jaw and starts to make his way around you when he feels his hand being pulled back. Turning to face you, he gives you a questioning look, furrowing his eyebrows in the process. You mumble out a quick “I’ve got this handled” before moving around him and slapping the greasy-haired asshole.

The sound reverberates through the bar and effectively catches Penny’s attention, and without another thought she’s wringing the bell. You don’t disrespect women or members of the navy in her bar, and from the way both Bradley and Natasha are glaring down at the man in front of them, she’s guessing he did both.

Two naval officers appear out of the sea of people and roughly grab at the guy’s arms, dragging him from standing in front of you, Bradley, and Natasha to landing in the sand outside the bar’s parking lot.

Penny locks eyes with you receiving a smile and giving one in return before directing her attention towards Bradley, who’s glare is still transfixed on the door where jersey shore was thrown to the wayside.

Penny frowns and locks eyes again with you nodding her head towards Bradley before turning her attention back to serving the crowd that has formed at the back of the bar.

You take a step towards him and grab his arm, giving it a subtle squeeze. Bradley breaks his glare from the door to meet your sparkling eyes, and just like that his anger melts away and he refocuses on getting his girl a drink. Nat had started another round of pool with a naval officer so Bradley decided to bring you with him up to the bar, finding one stool unoccupied and allowing you to sit while he stands and waits.

Not much is said between you two while you wait for their drinks, the sound of Billy Joel’s “uptown girl” muffled by the chatter that has resumed throughout the bar.

Bradley’s eyes are scanning the bar, while yours are focused on Penny who is putting the final touches on your drink. And before you know it another fuzzy naval is placed in front of you, along with a brand of Natasha’s favorite beer. With both drinks finally accounted for, Bradley grabs your hand once more and makes the journey back over to Nat.

Casual conversation ensues between the three of you for a few more hours before Penny calls out to inform you that she’s closing up for the night. Bradley closes out his tab for the night and you guys make your way out to the parking lot.

Nat is still walking towards a vehicle that has pulled into the parking lot when she turns her head lazily to face her two best friends, “well, it’s been fun troublemakers, but I need to get back to the base. Early morning and all.” She waves a hand out to them and a small smirk spreads across her face before she calls out, “Rooster, don’t forget what I told you earlier!”

Bradley gives her a mock salute before she’s hopping into the vehicle and riding out of the parking lot.

You look over to him with a goofy smile on your face (possibly from the amount of alcohol you’ve consumed in the past few hours), “what’s that all about?”

Bradley looks down at you and laughs at the ridiculous look on your face. Hooking his arm around your shoulder he leans down towards your ear and whispers, “you wanna walk the beach a little, before I bring you back to your place?” effectively avoiding your question.

Your eyes light up at the idea and you immediately b-line it past the Hard Deck and towards the pitch black sea. Bradley shakes his head before bolting after you, “Hang-on speed racer!”

Giggling erupts past your lips, “hurry up Roo!”

Bradley’s smile faulters for a second as his heart lurches in his chest at the new nickname.

He finally reaches you and grabs for your hand yanking you back to him. You’re all giggles and messy hair with a light flush on your cheeks, definitely from the alcohol.

You place your hands on his chest, feeling the warmth through the white t-shirt lying underneath his Hawaiian button down. Classic Bradley.

“You know my callsign for all of five hours and you’re already shortening it sunshine.”

You push your body away from him, only keeping one hand in his as you lead him further down the beach, “I like it, it’s cute.”

“That is not what callsigns are for. But I’ll let it slide just this once.”

“I don’t know, I’m quite fond of it, Roo” you smile back at him this time, clearly teasing. Teasing is always easier than admitting your feelings after all.

“Makes me think of that cute little kangaroo from ‘Winnie the pooh’. Oh! And you’re tall, and kangaroos can be tall!”

“So, what I’m hearing is, you think I’m cute and tall.” Bradley teases.

You blow out an exasperated breath, “No Bradley, I said that kangaroos are cute and tall.”

“But I remind you of a kangaroo from Winnie the pooh?”

“Yes.”

“And kangaroos are cute? And can be tall?”

“Yes.”

Bradley quirks a brow up at you, “So, by association of being nicknamed after a kangaroo. I’m cute and tall.”

You scrunch your nose up at him, “Not everything is about you Bradshaw.”

You let go of the hand you’re holding and continue your walk forward, hyper focused on the ground as you walk.

“I’m taking it as a compliment anyway.” He states, following after you.

After a few minutes of just ambling down the beach in comfortable silence Bradley decides the two of you should probably start heading back to his bronco.

He quickens his pace to reach for your hand and is once again pulling you back towards him.

Being slightly tipsy though doesn’t forebode well with trying to stay balanced and you manage to trip over your feet, falling into Bradley. He stumbles back trying to keep the both of you upright before he loses his balance as well and is falling into the sand.

“Shit” you breathe out, “Are you okay?”

Bradley has one hand on your waist and one hand cupping the back of your head.

“I’m fine sunshine, are you okay?” eyes currently wandering the expansion of your face checking for any signs of pain or visible injuries.

“Well, I was fine until you pulled me down. I was looking for seashells,” a small pout forming on your lips, Bradley’s eyes instantly falling down to them.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to ask if you were ready to go home.” He whispers out, afraid that whatever spell your under right now will be broken at the mere mention of leaving.

“You coulda just asked? Didn’t have to pull me to the ground to get my attention.” you mumble out.

“I don’t know about that sunshine; you were pretty focused” fingers playing with the fabric of your dress. “Besides, I think I have a great view right now.” His eyes have moved from your lips back up to your eyes.

A beat passes. Your cheeks are flushed pink and you’re painfully aware that you’ve been laying on top of him for longer than what can be considered normal, but you can’t move. He’s pinned you to where you’re at with his honey brown eyes and you’re positive you can’t move away.

You’re holding your breath above him, he’s too close. Too close for you to pretend that you only see him as your best friend. And the way he’s looking at you right now, isn’t helping.

Closing your eyes, you take a breath in, “You’ve gotta stop looking at me like that.”

And then you’re making an attempt at getting up and off of him.

Bradley’s eyebrows furrow before he’s catching your arm and pulling you back down to him. Your eyes are still closed.

“How am I looking at you?” he whispers.

“Like you can see my soul.” You suck in a breath and open your eyes; fuck it, “Like I’m the only person you want to look at for the rest of your life.”

Exhaling the breath you’d been holding you murmur, “and I can’t sit here and continue to pretend it doesn’t do anything to me when it does.” You look up and out towards the sand dunes that lead back over to the main road.

You really don’t want to hear the rejection, let alone see it.

Completely prepared to get up and off of him again you’re about to do just that, when he lets out a small chuckle.

A few tears begin to form in your eyes as you begin to whip your head down to tell him off for being a fucking asshole when you see that he’s still looking at you with the same adoration on his face.

Bradley’s bringing your face closer to his, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, “sounds about right then” he whispers, lips ghosting over your own.

Five seconds is how long it takes for you to understand what he just said before he’s slotting his lips against yours.

The world feels like it’s stopped and the only thing grounding you to it is Bradley and the feeling of his lips caressing your own.

The kiss is tender and sweet, there’s no rush or clashing of teeth, it’s calm and patient. Like the love you’ve had for each other that’s been building over the years. His hand that had a hold of your arm has moved to cup the back of your neck, keeping you close, where you belong. Your body once cool from the sea breeze, now feels as though it’s on fire as you melt into Bradley; his mustache tickling your top lip.

Bradley sits up bringing you with him as the two of you explore each other’s lips for a couple more seconds, before you’re breaking the kiss to get some air. Leaning your forehead against his, you smile, eyes still closed.

Bradley has his own smile on his face as he nudges your nose with his, “Only took eighteen years of being best friends, but we got there.”

You let out a short laugh, “Speak for yourself, I was ready for you to kiss me when I was sixteen.”

Bradley lets out a chuckle, “I think we need to make up for lost time then, shouldn’t we?” he mumbles against your lips.

“Definitely” you whisper before capturing his lips with your own.

You pull away again all too soon for his liking as a groan leaves his lips, mouth chasing after yours.

You laugh, running your fingers through his soft curls and he lets out a hum, “I still wanna know what Phoenix said.”

“Calling Nat by her callsign now huh?” He pecks your lips trying to bring you into another long kiss, before sighing out an, “Okay.”

“She told me to grow a pair and ask you to be my girlfriend. Said something about how she couldn’t keep dealing with all of the sexual tension.”

“Which speaking of by the way, I love this dress on you.” his hand bunching up the material around your waist as he says it.

Giggling you lean forward again, catching his lips, letting out a hum of appreciation, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Bradley leans back and looks you in the eyes again. You’re glowing brighter than the moonlight shining down on you right now, and if the sun was out he’s certain you’d be shining brighter than that too.

“Do you wanna go on a date with me?” a confident look has settled across his face as he bites his lip, waiting for your answer.

You hum again, looking over his shoulder in mock contemplation. Head moving from side to side in an attempt to look like you’re weighing your options. Bradley squeezes your sides earning a squeal from you as you try to block his hands.

He stops long enough for you to catch a breath and look back over to him, “Yes” you breathe out.

His lips quirk up into a surprised smile, “yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Bradley surges forward towards you again and brings you into another blinding kiss.

He breaks the kiss this time, before murmuring, “Any chance I can stay at your place tonight?” his tone hopeful.

“Keep kissing me like that and I don’t think I’ll ever let you leave.” you smile.

He grins at you, “That’s the plan, sunshine.”

Oh My My My

[20nugs]

Snow

chris sturniolo x reader

tw: none?? cussing maybe

fluff

"Chris! It's snowing!"

I call out for Chris as I see snowfall for the first time. Having lived in California for my entire life, Chris bringing me to his hometown was life changing. The weather was much cooler, and I was praying that I could see snow for the first time.

Finally, my prayer has come true. It's early December, and I excitedly look out the window, watching the snow. I feel Chris come up behind me and rest his hands on my waist, grinning at my excitement. "Can we go outside?" I ask, not waiting for his answer before opening the door.

"Woah, slow it there, ma. You'll freeze to death dressed like that," Chris protests, grabbing my hand. He already has my jacket in hand, and helps me put on the heavy snow coat. He already has his on. Chris puts one of his beanies on my head before I pull on my snow boots that I borrowed from his family. I rush out the door, feeling the cold air hit my face. I can see my breath in the air as I look up, squinting my eyes as snowflakes land on my face.

I feel Chris' arms wrap around me as he buries his face in my shoulder. I turn my head and kiss his temple before leaning down to touch the snow.

Its wet and sticks together in clumps as I pick it up. I'm immediately shocked at how cold it is, and yank my bare hand back. "Careful baby, you'll get frostbite if you don't put your gloves on," Chris says, handing me my gloves.

I put on the gloves and pick up the snow again, my hands still cold but feeling better. I stand up and look at Chris. "Can we make a snow man?" I ask with a smile. Chris playfully rolls his eyes.

"Fine, but only if we can go back inside soon. It's literally negative a million degrees out here."

He helps me roll a large ball of snow. It's easy, since the snow is sort of sticks to itself. I make the smaller balls and Chris picks them up for me and places them in a snowman shape.

"Uh, we don't have carrots or coal," Chris says with a soft laugh. "But we do have sticks and rocks." He picks them up, and makes a smiley face with the rocks before handing me the sticks. I shove a small stick into the snowman's face for the nose before putting a larger stick on either side of him for the arms.

"He's not half bad," I say with a smile. Chris kisses my cheek and takes a picture of me next to our snowman before guiding me back inside.

"Oh my gosh, it's so warm in here," he breathes as he shakes the snow off of him. We take off our jackets, boots and hats at the door before Chris runs to grab us more comfortable clothes and blankets. I shiver as I put the kettle on and get out hot chocolate packs. I walk back up to his room as I wait for the water to boil.

Chris hands me a pair of his pajama pants and a t-shirt. I put them on and he pulls a blanket over us.

"Wanna have some hot chocolate? The water should be done by now," I say as we walk down the stairs and back into the kitchen.

"Is that even a question?" Chris says, opening the instant hot chocolate packets and pouring them into our cups. He pours the hot water into them, stirs them, and hands me mine. We cuddle up together on the couch. "What'd you think of the snow?"

"It was nice, but also freezing cold," I say, resting my head on his shoulder.

"You won't be thinking it's nice tomorrow when we have to shovel it out of the driveway for my parents," Chris says with a laugh while I groan.

I HATE WRITING ENDINGS FOR ONE SHOTS ITS SO HARD

Anyways lmk what you guys think 😍

tell me if there are any errors

[toxic3mmy]

Holaa, perdón por no mandarla antes pero andaba ocupada con tareas. Bueno mi idea era que el lector se enferma cuando Quackity esta de viaje en México y se lo intenta ocultar, tipo cuando el la llama ella pretende andar bien cuando no, solo para no preocuparlo pero al final el se entera.

me encanta la idea! gracias por el request!!

prompt: alex finds out that you’re sick while he’s in mexico

lovey dovey, sweet alex bf, you’re feeling sickly, fluff

no warnings, all fluff!!!

________________________________________

it was christmas time. the weather was very cold and it made you feel even more alone. your boyfriend alex was in mexico for the holidays. you were home alone, left to deal with a terrible cold.

it was the second week since alex left and you woke up in a cold sweat. your head was spinning and you felt the worst you’ve ever felt. you grab the thermometer on your bedside table and stick it in your mouth. as you wait for the beep, your body starts shaking and you realize you definitely aren’t okay.

“103.6…. wow, that’s too high” you whisper to yourself

at that same moment, your phone was ringing and you saw it was alex facetiming you. you quickly flatten your messy hair and wipe your sweaty face before answering.

“hi my love… how are you?”

you smile at his voice and respond in a slightly raspy manner,

“hi alex… im fine, i just miss you a lot”

“y/n are you sure you’re okay? you sound like you’re sick.. do i need to come home early? i hate that you’re alone and you seem super sick or—”

“no! um… no im fine! i just woke up so it’s probably why my voice is so raspy. don’t ruin your holiday for me, please? i know how much you love to be in mexico with your family for christmas and new years… i just want you to have fun okay?”

after a few silent moments he finally responds,

“yeah… okay y/n. but i swear to god you better not be lying to me about being sick or i swear…”

“you’ll what? fly back this very instant? haha, very funny” you tease

“oh just you wait chiquita, you won’t be laughing when im… never mind. anyways, i hope you’re doing well and i seriously miss your carita linda y/n. i have to go now but, te extraño tanto”

“i love you… take care baby”

and at that moment, alex noticed something in the corner of the facetime. he saw a bunch of used tissues, mugs with tea, and your thermometer on your bedside table. before the two of you hung up, alex quickly screenshot the facetime and said goodbye.

he looked closer at the image and saw there were medicines there, too. the thermometer, although unreadable from this angle, glowed a red light on the screen indicating that the temperature was feverish. alex was more than worried. as he explained the situation to his family, they all agreed that he should go home to tend to his beloved girlfriend.

back at home, y/n was getting worse. you struggled to sleep because of how badly your lungs were hurting and filling with nasty phlegm. your fever hadn’t gone down one bit. damn those cheap fever pills.

you had planned on showering but you need to work up the energy and so you took a long needed nap.

at the same time, alex had already hopped on a plane and was just about to land in california. he caught an uber to the nearest grocery store and collected everything he needed to help you. he quietly walked into your shared home and heard you lightly snoring from your bedroom.

he got to work immediately. he made the best mexican caldo de pollo con arroz that he could, just like his mother taught him. after a bit, he heard you getting up and assumed you were going to shower and so he continued to cook.

you were feeling absolutely awful now but you figured maybe a shower will do the trick. you stepped into the shower and the hot water felt very soothing. suddenly, you began to feel very lightheaded and see darkness creeping in from your peripheral vision. you saw black all at once.

alex heard a loud thud and quickly ran up to your restroom to see y/n unconscious and passed out in the shower.

“oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck… y/n please! im here, please wake up amor” alex hurriedly changed the water to cold and began to splash you awake. you saw black and then a flash of bright light came over you as you heard the most angelic voice ever.

“alexis?” you whispered in a confused manner

“oh my god y/n! im so so sorry i left you. you passed out and it scared me and i—“

“what are you doing here? you were just in mexico this morning..”

“mi amor,” he began as he wrapped my body in a blanket and ran the bath so i could get clean, “i saw all those things on your bedside table when i called you earlier and the moment i saw that red thermometer, i knew you weren’t okay”

you were in shock, you felt so many emotions and couldn’t even get one word out

“come here baby, sit in the tub and i’ll get your clothes ready okay?”

you nodded and sat in the warm bubbly tub. it felt nice and you didn’t have to waste your energy standing up. alex laid out some comfortable clothes for when you finished and he returned to the bathroom.

“close your eyes mi princesa” you obliged and felt alex scrubbing your long hair with shampoo.

you felt so relaxed and so grateful for your sweet boyfriend. you were too tired to say or do much so you let him bathe you. he soon helped you out of the bath and into some warm and comfortable clothes. he laid you in bed and left for a few minutes.

you closed your eyes and began to drift off into sleep. you woke up when you heard alex come back. he had a little table set up with some soup, a warm tea, and some medicine.

“i’m not upset with you okay? i just wish you had told me you weren’t feeling well… i mean, what would have happened if i weren’t here when you passed out in the shower? i just want you to be okay y/n.. so please, just let me take care of you okay?”

all you could do was nod and alex began to give you medicine for your fever and body pain. then he slowly started to feed you warm soup. it was very delicious. he also helped you drink your warm tea.

“alex… thank you so much for everything. im sorry i decided not to tell you but im really glad that you’re here with me. i feel better already”

alex smiled and continued to feed you. soon he helped you lay down and he tucked you in. he played some background noise and gave you a kiss on your forehead.

“te amo y/n… im sorry youre not feeling well… i hope you get better soon mi amor”

and with that, you fall asleep soundly.