#captain syverson imagine

[ramp-it-up]

II Most Wanted Pt.I: And I don't know what you're doin' tonight…

Pairing: Syverson x OFC Reader "Buttercup"

Summary: The feeling and flashbacks you get when you saw your high school boyfriend Jake Syverson at your 20 year reunion was quite the unexpected twist in your orderly life.

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. RPF. S MUT, Angst, pining, body image issues, flashbacks, horny teenagers doing horny things (over 18 tho) heavy petting, fingering, mentions of teen pregnancy, mentions of breakups, teenage mean girl behavior, the Powerpuff Girls, old automobiles, mentions of drug abuse and difficult childhoods, 20 year high school reunion, drinking, swearing. Explicit description of sex acts. Read at your own risk.  Not Beta’d. All errors my own.

A/N: This is the first installment of II Most Wanted. This is also my first fic in nearly half a year. If you like it, please reblog and comment.

I don't have a taglist. Please follow @rampitupandread and turn on notifications to learn when I post! 😘

I Do NOT Consent to my work being reposted, translated or presented on any other blog or site other than by myself.

-------

June 2024

The visceral reactions started as soon as you entered the parking lot. There it was, Sy’s 1978 white Ford Bronco. Not thinking, you pulled into the space right in front of it, wanting to look inside. You almost lost it when you saw the old charm hanging from the rear view mirror. You couldn’t believe he still had that.

Especially with everything that happened since you put it there.

April 2004

“I claim this ancient truck as my throne!”

You were lit and in love, parked with Sy at the lookout. You were also silly and giggly from smoke and hormones.

“Mmmmm, careful Buttercup.” 

Your boyfriend growled in your ear, making you shiver against him. His attempt at menace was thwarted by the smile you felt against your neck, where he was busy marking you up, a sure sign later for everyone to know who you belonged to.

Sy was known for making bloody the face of those who expressed hate for his beloved Betty Bronco. But you had him whipped.

“It’s a classic, but I’ll let that slide...” 

He wished that you would let him slide, but you were adamant that you weren’t ready to be a parent. He was adamant that that didn’t have to be the outcome, but beneath the red blooded country boy was a gentleman. Sy would never do anything you didn’t want to, not that it stopped him from trying to convince you to admit that you in fact, wanted it as much as he did.

He wasn’t wrong.

You sighed as you placed the Powerpuff Girl necklace you got from Hot Topic on Sy’s rearview as you sat on his lap, giving him a treat. He had you in his grip by the hips and he was subtly moving you against his boner. The attraction between you two was heady, and he almost got what he wanted plenty of times. But you were a romantic and wanted it to be special. You promised him prom night, and Sy couldn’t wait.

“..Driving me crazy, Baby. You can put anything on my rear view as long as you let me get your rear view in the back seat….”

You giggled.

“You’re so corny, Sy.”

You whispered as you turned your head and kissed him over your shoulder. 

“Hmmmm. And you’re so sweet.”

Sy’s sea blue eyes gazed at you as he licked his lips.

He was crazy for you. And you were for him. You felt it. And you just knew you’d be together forever. You grinned as you climbed over him into the back seat. Didn’t hurt to fool around a little, even if you weren’t gonna give him the p that night.

——————

You shook out of the memory as a warm June breeze whipped your short skirt around your thighs. You pulled on the yellow and white designer dress as you contemplated driving back to your hotel and changing. This dress was not a good idea. The triumphant feeling of serving looks when you appraised yourself in the mirror was replaced with anxiety. The dress was too short and you were not the same size you were in high school. Thighs you considered pretty and thick in the mirror just an hour ago seemed massive and you tugged at the deep plunge of the neckline without a bra.

You sighed as you tried to center yourself. You told yourself that you were growing out of negative self talk, especially in the last seven years since your divorce. You were reminded of your promise to never care about the, male gaze again. It just wasn’t worth it.

But you hadn’t been under Jacob Syverson’s gaze in 20 years.

——

Sy posted up at the bar, blue eyes taking in the scene of his former classmates reuniting. He downed his two fingers of Maker’s Mark and asked for another. His heart rate was up as he scanned the room, eyes going back to the door again and again. He was waiting for you. No use in denying it to himself. He wanted to see you again, and more. It was his one objective. An objective he was unsure of attaining.

He was more nervous about being in a hotel ballroom tonight than in Afghanistan. 

Christ, he felt like that 17 year old kid again who first laid eyes on you.

——-

August, 2003

Sy knew what he wanted the moment he saw your face. 

You stopped the world when you first stepped into his British Literature class the first day of senior year. He was seated and talking with his best friend and wide receiver, Jeremy Atkins, when the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He let the conversation about which route they should run at the scrimmage that afternoon slip as his eyes lighted on your face. You were anxious, but trying not to let it show. Those eyes held fire, and your lips…

…well your lips besides being everything he dreamt of, he just knew the words that came out of your lips would light someone up as well. He could tell you had spirit by the way you carried yourself.

Your hair was wild and shoulder length, bangs swept aside for vision, and you couldn’t hide that body under your baggy clothes. He lasered in on the fact that you weren’t wearing a bra underneath your graphic tee, and power that  the strip of skin between your shirt and your baggy jeans was not lost on him. He was a 17 year old male, after all.

Sy shifted in his seat as he leaned back and grinned to himself when you scanned the room, glaring at anyone who looked askance. He tapped his pencil on the desk to try to get your attention but you just ignored him as the group of seatless students surrounding you dwindled. You were left alone under the scrutiny of soulless cretins, otherwise known as teenagers. 

You gave each one brazen enough to stare at you a side eye, but you stopped when you finally noticed Sy smirking at you. You stuck your tongue out at him, causing him to choke on a chuckle.

Becca Ferguson, Sy’s girlfriend, kicked him in the leg after noticing that not only Sy, but Jeremy were openly staring at you. Shit, he’d forgotten about her. He caught the way her eyes cut over to you, and he knew what came next. He tried to distract her with a flip of the shelf of his blown out curls and a smile, something that had worked many times before. 

But you were a threat to Becca now; she had to do something about you.

You raised your head high as you walked to the seat that Mrs.Beatty pointed out. You passed down the aisle between Sy and Becca, who scrunched up her face as if she smelled something bad. Sy got a whiff of you and you smelled divine, like that Sweet Pea bath gel stuff that he played off sniffing when he went to the mall with Becca. 

His head turned.

Becca glared at him and he turned toward the front of the room, where the teacher had started to pass out the syllabus. 

—--

June 2024

Just like lunch on the first day of school at Central High all those years ago, Carla and Tiffani engulfed you and took you under their wings when you walked into the Marriott, the venue for your reunion. They crowed over you; your hair, your dress, your glow. You forgot any anxiety that you were feeling about how you looked. These were your best friends. Your Bubbles and Blossom.

These women filled the gaping place in your heart torn open from attending 10 different schools from K-12, following your mother’s loves and whims when she didn’t take her meds, or when she self-medicated. They were your soul sisters. And you still kept in touch even though distance separated you.

Carla had that grin on her face while Tiffani expressed her excitement that you were in town.

“Girl! I am so glad that you made it!” 

Tiffani was the gentle one.

“Yeah, I owe Tiff a c-note, because I was sure you’d chicken out.”

Carla laughed at you while you scowled at her.

Tiffani tskd at her bestie, and took your arm while Carla took the other and they ushered you through the doors of the ballroom.

“Well, she has a new job in town and everything, she had to come.”

“Yeah, she had to come to town, but coming tonight is a wholeeee different story.”

You laughed.

“I don’t have the job yet, Tiff. Interview is Monday. And why wouldn’t I come tonight?”

The familiar banter was back, as if 20 years was no matter at all between you and your girls.

You heard someone clear their throat behind you and Carla peered over her shoulder and then smirked at you. She jerked her head back.

“Because of that.”

You looked over your shoulder, smiling right before your stomach dropped.

There was Jake Syverson, all grown up, and staring at you as if all this time hadn’t happened.

—-

Sy saw you enter the ballroom and he almost wanted to run away. Being in country on a dangerous mission was nothing compared to the thought of actually facing you again.

At least he was trained for war. 

Love was another thing entirely.

He took a deep breath as he focused on you. You had always been beautiful, but now, as a grown woman, you were absolutely gorgeous. Your hair was sleek and your face was perfectly beat with makeup that accentuated your natural beauty. You were glowing and that smile was…everything.

As he leaned on the bar and scanned the rest of your body in that dress, he took another drink. Sy indeed felt 18 again, because his body was reacting as if he were a randy teenager. Your body was everything he remembered, and more. More of everything he remembered loving and lusting over 20 years ago. 

“Damn.”

He said it out loud and the bartender replied.

“Agreed, Brother.”

Sy looked at the young man admiring you who couldn’t be over 25, and threw down some money.

“Watch it, kid.”

That little bit of jealousy fueled Sy’s bravado, and he found the courage to step to you. 

—--

You froze like a deer in headlights. 

Over the years, you imagined seeing him again, in all different kinds of scenario, and you thought you could handle it, but the reality of the situation just about knocked you on your ass. Time stopped as you stared at him. 

Sy was more handsome with age, if that was possible. His eyes, his shoulders, his hair! His gorgeous curls were short and a shock of hair was growing from his chin. Your body reacted as your traitorous brain instantly thought of how his beard would feel on certain parts of your body. He looked good in a suit, but he was massive. You had on heels, but Sy seemed bigger than you remembered. He wasn’t the lithe high school quarterback you remembered.

You unconsciously walked closer. 

He was taller. 

But he was also huge: bigger muscles, thicker limbs; his body seemed more powerful all the way around.

Heaven help you.

And the way he was looking at you as if he still owned you, as if all everything that happened hadn’t happened. As if all these years…

Your arms went out to Carla and Tiff beside you for some support, but they were gone, and you stumbled a bit. Sy grabbed your arm quickly as you laughed to play it off.

“Hey Buttercup. You good?”

Goodness, his voice!

How could that damn drawl be deeper and sexier than you remembered? And his touch on your skin felt familiar, yet strange, like a touch from a dream. What was happening to you?

“I need a drink.”

Sy was silent for a bit as you got your drink and had a sip. The way you licked your lips made him want to fall to his knees and beg.

—--

May 2004

“Please, please, please Buttercup. Just let me put the tip in. I promise I won’t move. It wouldn’t really be doing it…”

Sy was whispering in your ear and you were mute, waiting to hear more as your pussy pulsed in your jeans, the grind against his crotch delicious torture.

“I dream about it, Buttercup. I feel you, Baby. So fucking wet for me. I just know that it would feel so, so so good. I’d slip right in.”

It was midnight on your 18th birthday and you were in the Bronco, letting Sy feel you up under your panties for the first time. Your head was thrown back and your eyes rolled at how good it felt. You didn’t know how you would hold out. But it was just three weeks until Prom.

You were sat on his lap and he had one hand down your jeans and one up your shirt.

He pistoned his hips up, causing your back to arch against his chest. You could feel his heart beating a mile a minute.. Sy’s voice lowered to a whisper.

“‘M Gonna taste my fingers, Buttercup. Watch.”

You opened your eyes as Sy pulled his fingers out and brought them to his mouth. You whined when he closed his eyes and moaned. You throbbed. It had never been like this before.

“You are so delicious… Need more…”

Sy pushed his hand back down into your pants to get you to do that arch again. It sent him feral to see that for some reason.

His fingers found the source and circled it, causing your body to tense up and your fingers to grab his arms.

“Oh my god! Sy!”

You’d come close to this feeling before just grinding with him on the back seat, but this was incomparable.

Your fingernails sunk into his forearms, creating marks for sure. This fueled him even more as he continued his ministrations at your core. He toyed beneath your bra and your mouth opened to seek oxygen as the feeling in your belly continued to tune you to a fever pitch.

“Yes…. Baby….. fuck… You gonna cum on my lap?”

“Hunnnh, hunnh, hunnnh!”

“You’re so fucking hot… I’m about to jizz in my pants… cum for me, Baby…”

Sy grinded against your bottom, and you stiffened while the world’s most wonderful feeling washed over you. You cried out as Sy pinched your nipple and you came, feeling as if the Bronco was caught up in the Wizard of Oz Twister. The world was certainly now in color when you could open your eyes.

Sy held you, watching your beautiful face as you pouted and came back to earth. When you did, your smile was worth all the gold in the world to him. He kissed your temple and slipped his hand out of your pants, sucking your juices off of them again.

You were about to jump him, but Sy interrupted your thought.

“Now that you’ve got a preview of Prom night, let’s get you home, Buttercup. Gotta get your beauty sleep for the festivities later on tonight.”

—-

Sy cleared his throat after staring at you silently for a solid three minutes. The way you licked your lips clean and focused on him was some powerful magic.

“So. How have you been, Sy? How is the family?”

You tried to keep any bitterness out of your voice. The fact that Becca Spurgeon ruined your prom (and your relationship with Sy) by announcing that she was pregnant with Sy’s baby after she was crowned Prom Queen and he Prom King was something you’d tried to get over for 20 years. 

Sy straightened up and looked over your shoulder. You glanced in that direction to see Carla and Tiffani hovering protectively. 

“Well, now Buttercup, that’s a long story. I know you want to hang with your friends. And I don’t know what you’re doin’ later tonight, but I would like to go somewhere quiet and talk about it.”

——

If you like it, hit Reblog!

Next part here.

[dungeonpuppykai]

|| Triumph Of The Beast ||

Description: Captain Syverson learnt that the only way to have her was to ask her hand in marriage. So he did just that. And she was all his now, both to hold and to possess.

Pairing: Soft-Dark!Captain Syverson | Sheikha!Reader.

Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own Captain Syverson. This is a mature story with dark undertones so kindly browse at your own discretion. Please note that this piece is only a work of fiction that in no way aims to reinforce or propose any stereotypes to any ethnicity or race. Minors do not interact. 

Warning(s): Soft-Dark!Syverson, he is lowkey messed up, smut with plot (I am sorry), possessive behavior, his obsession with her chastity, naive!reader, size kink, biting (it's Henry and his canines ffs), boob play, manhandling, power imbalance, arranged marriage, fingering, handjob, dirty talk, m!dom, f!sub, he's a man, misogyny, age gap (reader is 20's, Sy is early 40's fight me), he's lowkey intimidating, slight spanking, allusion to bondage, manipulation, slow burn-ish, maybe more dialogue than necessary, p-in-v penetration, corruption kink, no use of 'Y/n'. 

Note: Her father is not the mean Sheikh from the movie lmfao. Reader doesn't even have to be Iraqi, just Eastern that you can TOTALLY imagine yourself as because it's a frickin' story for God's sake! Ps, This blocked me so hard mid-write I nearly abandoned it lmfao, I need a break! 

.

Captain Syverson had always thought the notion of the first touch buzz to be foolish. To quote him in his own words, the electric touch that people claimed their beloved aroused within them was nothing more than a steaming pile of horseshit. 

Until now. 

As his thick and coarse battle hardened hands cupped the side of the tender face of his dear wife, the Captain's thumb darted out to quickly glide across the perfect arch of her cheekbone before it moved down to the bow of her lips, his body combusting into a thousand flames of raw desire. 

Her skin was so tender he feared it may come off if he pressed on it too hard. The structure of her body that adorned her traditional wedding attire seemed so fragile in this moment next to him and in his big old bed that the thought of ever manhandling a thing as delicate as her terrified him. The contrast of her usually confident and intelligent countenance was striking in quality to the humility with which she now offered her submission to him. 

His suspicions against his body and strength increased by the passing minute; he felt petrified to even breathe too easily near her. The fear that it may damage her in some way haunted him and filled his lungs with dread. It was not that she was the most petite thing that he had ever seen or she held resemblance to an adolescent in terms of size or any of that weird shit, no. 

It was instead the way in which her head bowed in just the perfect way so it indicated respect and submission; not so high that it would seem that she was trying to deny him his station but not so low that it became off-putting. It was an acknowledgement to his power in their dynamic; an agreement of a lifetime. 

The man could swear he was going crazy. 

There was simply no way he was going to make it through the night with his sanity intact. 

It was just the effect she had on him. 

If there was anyone to blame it was her. 

Because even though he wanted to hide this girl so safely in his arms for the rest of his days that not even a harsh breeze would be allowed to touch her, the erratic way in which his boiling blood sizzled its way through his veins, The Captain wanted nothing more than to just turn her around, press her breathtaking face into the mattress and take her over and over until she was swell with his litter. 

Or press his bigger body against hers and take her deep and raw until her mind gave up on consciousness  

Perhaps place her between his own legs and feel her mouth around him until his seed spilled from her nose. 

Maybe make her mount him and slap her ass that he just knew would be perfect over and over to keep her going even when she didn't want to. 

The possibilities were endless from where Syverson was standing. 

And he was determined to try his hand at all of them, and more. 

His eyebrows furrowed just a little when she awkwardly pecked his lips for the fifth time in a straight row and refused to give him more, cringing away when he attempted to deepen the kiss. The girl that giggled and covered her mouth on which her red lipstick had already smudged was a dead leaf echo of the confident and liberal sheikha -prized daughter of the sheikh supreme- that critically watched the foreign Captain everytime he was around with her bright and vigilant brown eyes so full of scrutiny that it made him, a grown man, blush. It wasn't his fault, really. Her eyes had the most attractive gleam of intelligence to them and the black khol that lined them only accentuated their beauty more. 

She had always been so elegant Syverson knew he was a goner the first time his eyes had been granted the pleasure of looking at her. Sat aside her father basking in her confidence, silk scarf draped around her head and body in the most perfect way, a form he could only describe as agreeable always clad in decent clothes, fingers adorning rings with colorful stones and modesty dripping off of every single mannerism of hers. 

How could a man not look twice?

And then not consider looking away utterly blasphemous on account of being unappreciative of such godly beauty?

"I- I do not know how to…" Her accent turned his gears just right. "K- Kiss, Captain" oh. 

Of course. 

Blood rushed to his cock that hadn't throbbed like this in a long time. That was, if it ever had. 

And then his sweet, chaste wife just had to call him Captain.

Fuck. 

He was going to tear her apart. 

And she had no idea.

The obedient daughter, who was never afraid to voice her thoughts and outsmart every man who dared stand against her with inadequate knowledge of the debate at hand, had happily bowed down to her father's wish that she marry the charming and noble Captain -to them a warrior who was not afraid to fight for his country; a man truly admirable- after said Captain had asked for her hand in marriage when he had realized that that was the only way to have her. 

Mind, body, soul… heart. 

Sure, it had taken Syverson and his rather daft attempts at impressing her some quick-witted answers and astute responses by a rather critical her to realize it.

But she was his bride now.

And that was all that mattered. 

"Well, ain't that just dandy?" Syverson realizes just how heavy his breathing really is when his words come out gravelly and almost forced. She is unable to hold his eyes for very long so she stares at his chest instead, a most remarkable coy smile across her lips. The fact that she looks every other man with a taught unaffected sternness but has blushed everytime their eyes have met after the wedding just drives him all the more insane. 

Her dark eyebrows furrow as she lightly tilts her head to the side. He has noticed that she has some trouble understanding his dialect. So he caresses her cheek again, this time in a reassuring manner;

"I know you'll figure it out soon. You're a clever lil' thing, ain'tcha?" She looks up just long enough to nod with a meeting of their eyes. 

"Yes, Captain" god, even her way of speaking has softened.

The knowledge that he was the only man in this whole wide world whom she treated like this made him want to worship her with his love and devotion in every way possible. 

Because The Captain was naturally a very possessive man who did not appreciate ran through goods.  

"Alright now, just trust your husband and sit back like a good lil' bride, alright?" It was taking him all of his focus to not just push her back and have his depraved ways with her all night long.

"Y- Yes, Captain." 

"Atta girl," before he leaned back in and brushed his lips against hers just long enough to whisper, "now hush and don'tcha try to keep them pretty lips shut on me" he felt her going breathless against him when his mouth fit against the slot of her parted one perfectly; as though it had been created just for him. 

She did her best to keep up with as much obedience as her modesty would allow her to muster but the sensation of his mouth against hers, the scratch of his coarse beard across her delicate skin, the wetness of his tongue that took its time swiping against her bottom lip and the way that he didn't have to break the kiss to know that she had extended her had in his direction to take a hold of him to deal with the intensity of it all, the sheer desperation with which he reached out his fingers and clutched hers in an affectionate way that also had a territorial tinge to it was all too much for her to handle.

An unfamiliar thrill that she had been a stranger to until this moment began to patter through her bloodstream. Her heart pounded, her sweat glands soaked, her face burnt and her stomach fluttered. 

"Captain" was all she was allowed to whisper in the two second interval the man allowed them to recover their breathing. 

"Well, I'll be damned, darlin'" Syverson husked through rushed kisses as he hurriedly helped her lay down with her attire still intact, both too desperate to strip her and wanting to take her as she was, for tonight she looked the most stunning he had ever seen her. "You're so dang pretty I can't even fathom stayin' off ya now that you're mine" a hush of cold breath rushed past her flush lips as her thick eyebrows drooped upwards in reaction to him dipping his face in the curve of her neck.

"I am all yours to do with whatever you please, my C- Captain" her soft hands flew to grab at his shirt as the foreign sensation of a man's body against her skin sent an electric bolt down her spine. 

His body was heavy above hers as he groaned at her response and grinded his bulge against her covered sex, peppering kisses all over her skin. "God damn, baby. Your mama sure raised you up right, didn't she?" A loud squeak resonated in the air when the new husband simply could not hold back his passion anymore and bit down on the inviting flesh of her shoulder, letting out a stomach churning moan at her taste and squeezing her sides as the smell of her fragrance oils hit his nose. 

"Fuck, baby" it took him all of his willpower and the promise that he could go back for more only easier to part from her. "I can't–" sitting up to kneel over her, Syverson pulled his shirt over his head before tossing it somewhere in the room. "I can't hold back no more" as he leaned back down and placed one hand beside her head to keep himself from suffocating her, the way she looked up at him with wonder, timidity, need, sent a pang of pain to his cock. "Talk to me, darlin'" he gathered her wrists in one hand before placing them above her head, now reaching for the clothed bump on her chest. "You feelin' anything?" A soundless breath left her and she shuddered in such a way that her boobs trembled feverishly. 

"S- Strange… a- and… oh my God!" She had to shut her eyes and turn her head to the side when he suddenly manhandled one of her breasts out of the deep neckline of her wedding night dress. Her hands rushed to cover her chest by instinct but her husband's authoritative swat was much quicker and stronger. 

Syverson chuckled at the defensive gasp she let out, a crazed darkness floating in his eyes as he pinnned her feverish hands out of his way, coarse palm now feeling up her other breast that was freed as he spoke. "Ain't no God 'round these parts tonight, baby. Just me…" His lips enveloped hers in a right and hungry kiss. "'N you" the way she nervously gulped when he pulled back to stare into her eyes only added to the fire in his body. "Say, baby" he trailed gentle kisses down her chin, along her throat and then down to the fluffy cushions of soft flesh dotted with flush, erect nipples in the middle. A surprised cry jutted out of her mouth and her fingernails tried to claw at his hand that confined them above her when he pressed one wet kiss on each nub. "Ain't this just somethin' else?" 

The girl had no idea what possessed her to say what she did, but her hips moved faster than her brain could catch on and her lips worked before reticence could hinder her communication. "I- It is, Captain. T- Thank you" of course she had felt arousal before. Of course she had been wet before. Some of those times she had a certain handsome American Captain to thank for, not that she would ever willingly admit it. But she had never known how to relieve herself of it other than a cold shower. 

Her mother had warned her that not every feeling that transpires in one in times of idleness should be chased and she had listened.

But this was not solitary boredom, this was not a devilish lure, her mother wasn't here and it was her wedding night with a man she was slowly becoming sure she would be able to call her dear husband one day. 

If her husband was kind enough to be considerate about what made her feel what she could only identify as exciting, she deemed it a stupidity to refuse the treatment. 

"Aw, baby" Syverson's hands only part from her breasts so his mouth can greedily latch onto them, his bearded lips pressing all over them before his hand nearly snatches her skirts out of his way since the layers seem to be never ending. "To think that I ain't even begun with ya and you're already thankin' me like a sweet little lady" now his mouth traveled to her stomach and the only word he had for its appearance was perfect. A shudder set in her shoulders when his beard scratched her navel before his teeth softly nibbled away on her skin. 

"W- Would you like me to get up and t- take my clothes off, dear?" God damn.

He really had hit the fucking jackpot. 

"Hold on now, darlin'" he husked as his fingers caressed her nubs, his hot mouth littering its kisses over her skin further down south. "I wanna take you like this first" the readied rise in the middle of her shoulder blades smoothed out and she settled back into the mattress again wordlessly. "Well now, are you gonna be good and keep them arms up high like a good lil' thing or am I gonna have to tie 'em up?" A drawn out moan sounded from deep within her throat when his chin deliberately brushed against her clothed sex, coarse fingers twirling her nipple between them.

Syverson felt an unconscious clench in the muscles of her thighs upon his words finally registering in her clouded mind. "N- No, I- I'll be good, husband. I promise." 

"Atta girl" he praised in a satisfied tone before letting go of her wrists. 

It was after that that his hands roamed free and wild all over her form. The Captain kissed, sucked, nibbled, pinched, groped, licked and bit all to his desire, the growing moans of his bride only encouraging him further. 

"God damn, if these ain't the sweetest damn legs I've ever seen" Syverson licked away the thread of spit that previously connected his mouth to her now bruised hiphone that he had successfully marked as his territory. The fact that no man had ever seen them and the plan that he made to never let anyone do so either was making his ears hot. His sides were becoming sore with need like he was the virgin. 

"And this– fuck, c'mere" he couldn't hold it back anymore. The Captain had always been an ass man and the fact that he was yet to see his wife's backside was making him mad now. Her yelp morphed into a confused giggle when he bundled her ankles in one of his rough hands, having already rid her of her panties, and easily raised both her legs up until her lower half dangling by his hold on her. "Hmmm, I just knew you had a perfect lil' rump stashed in there" his free hand felt her soft cheeks up before he traced his index finger down her crack, cursing at the way they clenched in defense. Then his depravity got the best of him and he wound his hand back and gave a handful of strong blows to her poor behind that started blushing in an instant. 

"Oh– ouch!" Her next nervous giggle made him raise an eyebrow as he divided an ankle between each hand and parted her legs to look down at her. 

"Think this is funny, do you?" The girl quickly stopped herself nervously. "You know who that's for?" He didn't even mind the giggles, if anything they were rather endearing to him. But the timidity in her eyes was way too sweet for him to pass up. She shook her head no. "Bad little girls who make fun of their fellas, that's who." It was the cock hardening way in which her bottom lip wobbled sensitively that dried his throat. 

A young woman once so strong, all commanding and authorative now exposed in such a submissive manner and completely at his mercy. 

"S- Sorry, dear" he hummed, reaching for the mound between her legs to roughly feel her pussy up in blunt gropes. 

"You can consider those as payback for all them times you thought you could get slick with me in front of my boys just 'cause you were the Sheikh's daughter" her eyes widened and she blushed harder than before. 

"I- I–"

"Yes, you" though Syverson's words were crisp, his kiss on her nether lips was tender and perhaps that was the sole reason why she didn't tear up from being reprimanded when she was so vulnerable and hypersensitive like this. "Thought I'd just forget all that brattin' of yours?" 

She had to hurriedly sit up for that one and reach for his hands affectionately. "Oh, no" the pure care in her eyes made his melting heart feel as though it had risen into the sky. "It was only that you were not my husband back then, dear," she tried to make him understand, aware that there were cultural differences that needed overcoming, "mother said good girls owe it to their husbands to treat every other man with a serious attitude and indifference!" 

She was breaking his fucking heart. 

It was officially official. 

Abel Ford Syverson was in love. 

Soul crushing, earth shattering, sky tearing love. 

With a woman who was not only intelligent and gorgeous way past his league but one that respected herself with an unwavering devotion towards her spouse. 

"Well, I'll be damned!" He exclaimed with faux surprise that she did not catch up on, much to his expectation. "So that's what it was all about?" Of course he knew. 

He just liked her to say it.

It boosted his depraved ego just right. 

She apologetically nodded with sincerity. "I swear, my heart." The translation of the endearment caused for his blood to pump through his ears only harder. 

Syverson gave her a small smile before sighing a little. "Well, you see, darlin', it did still hurt my feelings a tad" her eyebrows furrowed in regret so he added just to rub it in that much more; "got me a bit of pride to keep up, y'know?" 

Now she pouted. "I am sorry, love…" Before a bulb went off in her head and she jumped a little to express her excitement, the action causing her naked boobs to jiggle. "Is there a way I can make it up to you?" There. 

"Why, of course!" Fuck, he sounded more eager than a middle schooler. "You gonna have to show that you can make a good little wife" her cheeks flushed as she bit her bottom lip in embarrassment. He continued, aware she was as clueless as a virgin.

Because she was one. 

Syverson loved the thought.

He wished there was a way to preserve it -her- all as it was.  

"Anything you want, my dear" she replied sincerely as she earnestly pressed his hand that she held to her chest. 

The man swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat as his eyes flickered down to where their fingers were intertwined; the valley of her perfect breasts. 

"Good girl" his voice came out much deeper than usual. "Go on 'n' take it out, then" the bride's eyebrows raised to express her confusion as she tilted her head to the side. 

His dick whimpered and spilled a thick drop.

"U- Um…"

Syverson was getting impatient. "That means my pants, darlin'." He chuckled to lighten the effect of the edge that his tone had held. "I mean, can't exactly make love to ya with 'em on, now can I?" Something pulled taught in her chest and she went to avoid his eyes out of embarrassment. 

"Oh… yes" she was breathless as she reached for his fly, face angled downwards. 

"Yeah…?" He drew it out on purpose teasingly, dipping his own head earthwards to try and meet her gaze cockily. "Yeah, yeah?" The man kept going unrelentlessly until she had no choice but to respond. 

"Y- Yes…" Her nervous fingers slipped over the button of his pants many times but she managed to free him at last. 

"Go on ahead now, sugar" he coaxed sweetly, tone in stark contrast to his intentions. "Take it out and let them pretty lil' hands get a feel" her legs instinctively tried to close due to the shame she felt but her husband's huge body hindered her attempt to somehow cover herself. "Well?"

Her eyes darted up to him from where her fingers gingerly rested against the waistband of his boxers and Syverson suspected that she was about to decline because of the way her mouth moved to let out some phantom words. But when he raised a questioning eyebrow in response, she seemed as though it had reminded her of her place against him and she quickly dipped her digits inside the undergarment to reach for his thumping cock. 

The first feel of her fingertips connecting with his hard skin was… indescribable. It was as though time ceased, stilling everything else with it and he was enveloped into a cocoon of pure sensation. She was everywhere and inside. Her heat filled him to the brim. Each brush of her delicate skin against his rougher one felt like the stroke of the flesh of an outworldly nymph. Shivers of ecstacy cascaded down his lower back and he was floating already. 

The girl nearly jumped out of her skin at the unfamiliar feeling, the moan that he let out along a whispered praise pulling her back in the moment and away from her recoil. The bride's mind reminded her of her duty to her husband and she used her other hand to hold his clothes away so she could uncover his impaler. 

"Just like that, darlin'. Just like that" one of his hands went to tangle in her hair. "Go on and rub it for me, baby. You're doin' real good" his free hand reached for her own sex that had secreted its natural moisture in reaction to the sensations she was being subjected to. He groaned at the feeling of her warm pussy and squished his finger through her plump nether lips. "Tell me what you see" her own body was getting feverish by the second, hips and cunt trying to shrink in on themselves due to how violating his sense tingling touch was.

"I- It's…" She raked her mind for an appropriate answer. But it was all too much for her to handle; the pressure to impress her new husband, touching him the way he wanted properly, obeying him, submitting to his handling and then dealing with his intense gaze. "V- Very pretty, husband. Thank you" so she played it the safest she knew. 

And the girl could swear she felt him twitch in her palm at that, a pang of pain rising in her wrist as she awkwardly pumped him in a vertical manner. 

"Pretty, huh?" A cunning grin spread across his handsome features as he slipped one finger deep within her folds and being the retired playboy that he was, the Captain easily found her pure entrance. "'N' what about the size?" He could not help but moan at the feeling of her balmy walls clinging to his finger. "Ever seen anythin' like it?" Her thighs quivered as his thumb glided over her folds. 

"N- No, husband" she answered timidly, afraid to bruise his pride with an inappropriate or unsatisfactory answer that may pose a threat to her chasteness.

"That's right" now he began to speed up his intrusion of her insides. "'Cause you're all mine, ain'tcha?"  She quickly nodded, letting out a whine as her eyebrows furrowed at the ache his twisting of one of her nipples caused. "Now tell me," he leaned forward to reach for one of her nubs with his teeth, "did ya ever think you'd land yourself a fella with a cock this big?" He spoke through a mouthful before sinking down on her tender boobs, the tips of his sharp canines digging into the soft cushions of her flesh. 

"N- No…" The girl was gasping as she struggled to keep up with his leaking and twitching cock. "T- Thank you, dear!" She added for good measure despite how overwhelmed she was becoming. 

"Tell me, baby" the man loved how his naive wife's features scrunched in discomfort but she still sped up her fist that was wrapped around his cock because he prompted her to, hoisting himself further up next to capture her lips against his. "Do you think yourself lucky that you get to have this here cock all to yourself for the rest of your days?" He could not help but fuck into her hand at the sight of the spit string dangling by a corner of her bottom lip as it connected to the wad of spit that she had just released on his cock after being ordered to do so. He felt her cringe at the feeling of her fingers touching her own saliva as she spread it over his cock. But her resolve to obey him did not falter even once regardless of how shy or uneasy she felt.

And that was how Syverson knew he had found himself his perfect little homemaker.

"I- I do, husband" her voice nearly broke. "Thank you so much" the fact that all of this was visibly strange and even uncomfortable to her because she was not familiar with any of this… 

The Captain could swear that alone was enough to finish him off.

She was his sacred lamb; a temple undefiled. 

Nobody's leftovers; whole in every sense for the beast to take. 

What could he say? Colonel Syverson's prized son always won, no matter what. 

There was a brighter way of looking at his promiscuous dating history that was in stark contrast to his wife's nonexistent one; it could easily be considered as his physical sacrifice in order to realize and reach his full potential as a man for his future lady's well being as well as pleasure. 

A lady that he had found at last. 

"Say it" his command was heavy and the rough skin of his finger was like gravel against the buttery tissue of her slick walls. "Say that you're the luckiest lil' bride for landin' yourself the best damn dick you could have ever hoped for" she began to subconsciously move her thumb out of sync with the rest of her digits to swipe it over his tip each time her hand rose to his apex and he couldn't believe just how close he was already. 

The Captain was usually a man of stamina and endurance.

But then again it was impossible for the beast to resist his tempting lamb for very long, wasn't it?

"I- I am the luckiest…" She licked her parched lips needily. "L- Little bride for l- landing myself the best d- dick…" Embarrassment burnt her cheeks but pleasing him was more important a priority to her. "T- That I could've ever hoped for…"

He deeply moaned in satisfaction. "My good girl" a quick peck was given to the tip of her nose. "Now tell me, baby. How ya feelin'?" As if on cue, she clenched around his finger with a moan.  

Fuck, Syverson had never really preferred a clueless woman until now.

He could literally demand whatever he wanted from her and she would believe him out of her naivety. 

His perfect pretzel Princess that he could twist into whatever shape that he pleased. 

Or make her do as he desired, for that matter. 

With no one, not even his wife herself, to question him or his ways.

He loved the thought. 

"... S- Strange… P- Pain… but– hnnn!" Her back arched as she suddenly writhed, nearly going white at the feeling of getting her special spot getting tickled for the first time. It was an ability her husband took a lot of pride in; the  renown that he had held in college for being able to find gspots with his fingers alone. 

"Feels real good too, don't it?" The Captain snickered heavily as he began to rock his hips into her hand, feeling himself nearing the brink. 

"Mmh!" She did her best to respond despite the sensory overload, groaning softly when he forces her band of muscles to expand further by adding another finger to her pussy and repeatedly jabbing her sensitive nerves with their blunt tips, the sound of his skin fucking in and out of her liquids getting louder by the minute. "W- Weird… but…" A drop of sweat trickled down the side of her face as she gasped, eyes widening when her spine jolted at a particular wave of pleasure. "M- More, please." 

In the blink of an eye, Syverson had pushed her on her back before crawling up her body like a predator. Before her body could process his fingers leaving her into an orgasm denial, his eager cock was pushing into her. The pained moan that escaped her as her body twisted under his was muffled by his mouth clamping over hers. The Captain grunted as his cock struggled to push its way inside her virgin entrance despite the preparation that he had done. The girl's bottom lip pulled away from the rest of her mouth due to the way he bit down on it to withstand the overwhelming pleasure that sparked everywhere within him.  

"Your wish is my command, my darlin' sheikha." 

Syverson found himself praying for the first time to any god, deity or entity that may be listening; to freeze time right here in this very moment and never set it free again.

For he could stay like this for eternities and beyond; buried inside his dear wife and protectively enveloped in her loving arms that had never held another like she did him and never would whilst she moaned below him in a pained ecstasy, clenching and nearly knocking out as she experienced her first ever orgasm.

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Reblogs and feedback are much appreciated <3

[gummydummy19]

A year in apartment 6B

Summary: You find an ad for your dream apartment and decide to give it a go. Apartment 6B is everything you've ever wanted: high ceilings, an open floorplan, and a 6ft4 grumpy army captain...

Warnings: (every chapter will have separate tags so please read those too!) fluff, angst, smut (holy trinity), grumpy Sy, roommates to lovers, semi-slow burn, jealousy,...

A/N: Im so super duper excited about this!!!! I hope you guys enjoy it and please feel free to leave feedback anytime :) Some of these chapters might be regular fic length while others are gonna be just drabbles. If anyone has a request for this AU please let me know and I'll see what I can do :)) <3

apartment 6B floorplan

Month one (May): Moving into 6B

After finding your dream apartment in the paper, you decide to take the change and move in.

Month two (June): What dreams are made of

You have a very interesting dream about Syverson...

Month three (July): Letters to Juliet

You decide to write a letter to Syverson

Month four (August): Laundry day

You've been so caught up with work and stuff that you've gotten behind on your laundry....maybe you can borrow something from Sy's closet? just this once? What he doesn't know can't kill him, right?

Month five (September): Early bird

Sy comes home from his tour early.

Month six (October): Army nurse

Sy is too grumpy and proud to ask for help, so you do what needs to be done.

Month seven (November): shower me with love (coming soon)

Sometimes, a cold shower is needed.

Month eight (December): Sticky fingers (coming soon)

Sy notices some of his hoodies have gone missing. What on earth could you be doing with all those hoodies?...

Month nine (January): Night owl (Sy's POV)(coming soon)

Sy went out for drinks with his friends and comes home late.

Month ten (February): Date night (coming soon)

Your neighbor Mason from the apartment above you asked you out on a date...

Month eleven (March): baby, please don't go (coming soon)

Tension gets high in apartment 6B

Month twelve (April): a year in apartment 6B (coming soon)

It's been a year since you moved in and a lot has changed...

taglist;

Taglist;

@metalbuckaroo

@princessayveke

@montsepliego

@scxrletrecsmarvel

@hopelesslyrogers

@eclecticpatrolroadlawyer

@tfandtws

@vicmc624

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@fictional-hooman

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@jamneuromain

@tryingtoliveonmywishes

@mrsevans90

@daybreak96

@tiredqueen73

@fallingforunrealisticromance

@identity2212

@randomweirdoss

[lainiespicewrites]

Electric Summer Ch 3.

AHHH I'm loving this story so much!!! Here's chapter 3! I couldn't stop writing this lol

Summary: Sy and Lainie get ready for the campers to arrive. Everyone gets to know each other. It's a perfect summer day until...the weather takes a turn.

warnings: light cursing.

Reblogs and comments ALWAYS welcome! Please let me know what you think!!

Link for Ch2

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That night I barely slept. Buzzing with all of the energy from the day. The adrenaline and excitement and the butterflies. All of it ran through me like a high I didn’t want to come off of. But still I was skeptical. Was this the universe at play or was it just a coincidence? No, it couldn’t be. Not when all of my emotions seemed to be even stronger in his presence. And as much as I’d like to deny it, I still thought about him often. I had tried to let all of this go. But it’s like he had this grip on me. Everytime I tried to go out with someone new or go on a date. Or let someone touch me. It felt like I was betraying him. I knew that wasn’t true. I know Sy. He never really wanted me to wait forever, I don’t think either of us ever thought we’d see each other again. And if I had seen someone or been with someone he’d never hold that against me. But I just couldn’t do it. 

At some point I must’ve drifted off to a restless sleep. My alarm woke me at 6:30AM. After our dip in the lake yesterday I definitely needed a shower. After a quick morning shower and getting ready for the day. In just some simple workout shorts and a t-shirt. It was supposed to get hot today. I decided to start working on decorations for the cabin before breakfast. I remember one year our counselor made signs with  our names on them to hang over whatever bunk we’d chosen. I loved that idea. 

I went through the roster becca had given me when I’d checked in yesterday and got to work carefully drawing each name and fun summer designs on each one. I wasn’t much of an artist but I was genuinely pretty impressed with myself. 

Then I started to hang the garland letters sign I made for our door. Each year camp has a theme. And our counselors would come up with a name for our group or our cabin before we got there. It was always fun guessing and anticipating what cabin we would get. This year’s theme was classic movies. I smiled proudly to myself as I taped the string to the door after checking one last time to make sure it was straight. We were the “Pink Ladies” I may have a serious obsession with the film Grease. 

I’d decided that if we were paired with one of the boys cabins we would be the pink ladies and I’d convince the boys counselor to be the T-birds. Luckily, Sy didn’t take much convincing. We talked about it yesterday before we started going over the icebreaker games. Although he did briefly try to change my mind and talked about the boys doing a “Top Gun” theme but he conceeded when I pouted. I made both our signs last night. After about an hour of trying to fall asleep I gave up and sat on the floor cutting the letters out of cardstock. I planned on taking the sign over to him  after I figured out how to hang the fairy lights over the rafters. I climbed up onto the top bunk and started there making my way around the perimeter of the cabin. But there was still one long beam across the middle I started on the top bunk in one corner of the room but that only got me so far. I Pulled the little table in the center of the room over and climbed up standing on top of it. It was just tall enough for me to be able to toss the lights around and catch it on the other side of the beam. Just as I’d moved the table and climbed back up to start another section I heard the screen door open. 

“What are you doin?” He asked an edge of panic in his voice. Sy was leaning against the door frame watching me. 

“Hanging lights.” I shrugged, turning back to the task at hand. 

“You’re gonna get hurt,” He said. Walking over to the table staring up at me to meet my eyes. I looked down shaking my head. 

“I am not! I’m almost done once I finish this part I’m gonna climb onto the other bunk.” I explained wrapping the lights around one more time before starting to get down. I felt Logan’s hands on my waist steadying me and helping me off the table. “Thanks” I blushed turning away from him quickly it was to early for this. 

“Anytime darlin, you want some help?” He asked. I shook my head as I climbed the ladder to the top bunk diagonal from mine. 

“Nope this is the last part!” I said as I finished wrapping the lights around the beam. “Did you need something?” I asked. Looking down at him.

“Yeah you not to give me a heart attack!” He joked. I chuckled. 

“I was fine Logan!” I argued. He shook his head. 

“I was actually coming to see if you were ready to head over to breakfast?” He asked I looked down at my watch and looked back up. 

“Is it 8:30 already?” I asked. He nodded. 

“Sure is!” He smiled. I hopped down from the bunk laughing when his eyes went wide again. 

“Jesus woman,” He laughed. “Would you stop trying to get hurt!” He chided. 

“Oh so you can go of overseas and fight in a war, but I can’t do a little home decor without you threatening to put me in a bubble?” I raised an eyebrow. 

“I don’t mean you aren’t capable of doing it yourself darlin, it’s just if I remember right you tend to be accident prone.” He chuckled. 

“That was 7 years ago! I was 17, I was a little clumsy. That’s all.” I defended. 

“Sure,” He smiled. “You ready to go eat?” He asked. I nodded. 

“Just let me grab some shoes!” I slipped on a pair of vans and we headed out the door. 

I was so glad we took the time to sit down and enjoy breakfast because the rest of our morning and early afternoon went by so fast. 

We had another staff meeting about greeting campers. And meeting parents. Dealing with home sickness. A crash course on first aid. The first day’s schedule. Luckily Sy and I were with the older kids. High school age. So our day’s weren’t quite as structured. But somehow that made me more nervous. What if they just brushed us off and none of our effort was even worth it. 

I didn’t have time to think about it. At 1 pm right after lunch and after we finished. Some staff bonding games of our own it was time for check in. It was kind of a long process if I remember so I still had maybe 20 minutes before any of my campers would be there but I was still so nervous. I went and sat out on the picnic table writing down the schedule and some of the games Logan and I had talked about trying one last time to get all my thoughts organized. At one point when I looked up I saw him across the lawn standing on the porch of his cabin finally taping the sign I’d made to his door. 

Better late than never I suppose. I giggled to myself. To be fair it’s a miracle the boys cabins ever participated in those sorts of things anyway. They never were ones to decorate. And their cabins always had a certain…smell to them. I shook my head and looked up again just in time to catch his eye across the lawn. I smiled sending him a little wave. I saw him grin and he waived back. Just as I thought about walking over to chat, a young girl and what i’m guessing is her mom stopped in front of the cabin. 

“Cabin E?” The mom asked smiling. I nodded. Standing up to greet them. 

“That’s me!” I smiled. “Welcome to camp!”

“Thank you!” She said. “This is Emma,” she gestured to her daughter. 

“I can introduce myself mom,” she chided her mother. “I’ve been doing this for 4 years now.” Ah so she was a seasoned camper. She should be fun. 

“It’s nice to meet you Emma, I’m Lainie, do you need help bringing anything inside? I asked gesutring to her bags. 

“Oh I can help her!” Her mom jumped in. Emma rolled her eyes. 

“Mom I love you, but you’re hovering. I got it from here.” She assured her. The womans face fell but she nodded. 

“Alright I get it, it’s time for me to go.” she said. I gave her a sympathetic look. 

“Hey Emma no one else is here yet why don’t you go choose your bunk and get settled in, I always liked to get here early too so I could get the bed I wanted.” I told her. 

The girls eyes lit up and she nodded. She quickly hugged her mom and grabbed her bags walking toward the door. 

“It’s just two weeks mom! I love you!” she said before she walked inside. Her mother smiled sadly and looked back to me. 

“She’s so independent, I don’t know when that happened. She grew so fast. I’ll only get to do this with her one more year.” Her mother explained. 

“She’s just excited, I remember these days. I was a camper myself not to long ago. But trust me, about half way through the first week. I would start to get a little home sick. We alway miss our mommas.” I told her. 

“Thank you,” She smiled. “Sounds like she’s in good hands with you Lainie. I’d better go check on my son My husband is dropping off her twin brother Ethan. And they can both be a handful.” I laughed. 

“I know the type,” I chuckled. She smiled before heading off in the direction of Sy’s cabin. When I looked over there was a boy, and an older man standing outside talking with him. Emma’s mother joined them. The boy had blonde hair just like the girls. Must be her brother I thought.   I didn’t have much time to watch as two more campers and their family’s arrived. One whos name was Nicole she was also a camp alumn been coming just as long as Emma. It didn’t look like they knew each other very well though. Must not have been in the same cabin before. Nicole was a spitfire. Right out the gate. She walked right in claiming her bunk signing her name on the wall next to it, another camp tradition. She dismissed her parents right away as well. They stopped and talked for a bit but they’d done this before they didn’t have many concerns. The other girl  was much more timid and shy. She reminded me of myself my first year of camp. She was about a year or 2 younger than the other girls. Her name was Ryleigh. She was quiet when she introduced herself. Her mother talked to me about concerns of her being social and making friends. She was worried about her. I understood that. But I also understood the way that this place had a tendency to open people up and make them feel safe. What I told her was. I’d keep an eye on her. She’s gonna have a fun summer. I promised that. Another hour had gone by and all of my campers had arrived. I had 8 girls in my Cabin. I welcomed them all and gave them each their sign to put up by their bunks. 

“These are so cool!” Nicole said excitedly quickly climbing up to her bunk and taping it up immediately. 

“I like these!” Emma said, “Is it okay if we add more drawings or sketches to them?” She asked. I nodded 

“Absolutely they’re yours to do whatever you want with!” I smiled. “But if everyone is all settled in I think the boys are ready to meet up with us. Are you ready to meet everyone?” They were pretty excited to get things kicked off by this point most of the girls had been to camp at least once. They were ready to get the summer started. 

Sy and I had decided that we would meet up on the lawn and just sit out on the grass as a group to start things off. When we walked over Nicole immediately ran over hugging one of the boys, must be old friends. They immediately sat next to each other in the grass as Sy and I told everyone to form a circle. 

“Alright,” Sy spoke loudly getting everyones attention. “First we’d like to introduce ourselves. The boys have met me but ladies, I’m Logan, a lot of people call me Sy. I’ll answer to either one.” He smiled. I looked over and a couple of the girls were whispering to each other. I knew that face. I’d been the one making it years ago. Probably even still now. They thought he was cute. It’s so innocent those camp counselor crushes. I’d been there too. Once when I was 13 we had this counselor his name was Tanner. He was really nice and he played guitar and he sang. I was a sucker guys that were into music. I just smiled to myself, and realised it was my turn to talk. 

“We’re so excited to have you all here, I’m excited to meet all of your boys as well Sy! I’m Alayna but for most of my life and especially around here, everyone has always called me Lainie. Sy and I are so happy to be back here, we were campers ourselves but it’s been 7 years since we’ve been to camp.” I said. I stifled a laughed watching a few of them try to do the math in their head to calculate how old we were. 

“My family and I have been coming to camp since my dad was a kid,” Sy added. “I’m sure there are things that have changed since we’ve been here but there are some traditions that never wil!” He smiled. “You guys ready to kick off this summer?” They all cheered excitedly. 

“Okay,” I spoke. “Some people love this and some people don’t but there are 16 of you, there’s no faster way for us to learn all of your names and you who you are than some icebreakers.” a few of them groaned. “I know, I know we’re gonna make this as painless as possible, we were campers too remember? We went back and tried to find the games we had the most fun doing. 

“Everyone know how to play 2 truths and a lie?” Logan asked. Most of them nodded but we still explained the rules as a refresher. “But after we all guess.” He added. “We want you to talk a little bit more about one of your truths to us. Or explain why you chose that lie.” That seemed to really pique their interest. Beckett one of the boys in Logans cabin started the game. 

“Alright,” he started. “I’m a lifeguard, One time when my friends and I were on a college campus tour we played a pick up game of football with some of the college players. Or as a senior prank we stole our math teachers car.” Everyone started laughing. This kid had charisma. I could already see some of the girls eyes getting all dreamy. He was funny too. Sy was going to enjoy having him as a camper. 

“Did you still graduate?” Emma laughed. “No way you did that and didn’t get caught!” she said. 

“I graduated,” He nodded smirking proudly. 

“What position did you play?” Sy asked, talking about football. 

“In school I was wide receiver.” He answered. A few of the others went around asking questions. And then we all made our guesses. We all for sure thought he was lying about the car. 

“We got to sit in the stadium and watch them practice.” he said about the football. “But we didn’t get to play. I’d love to play in college though!” He added. The boys started laughing and the some of the girls shook their heads. 

“No freaking way,” Nicole said “How’d you pull that off, How’d you steal the car?” He smiled proudly, this guy was going to be our camp clown for sure. 

“One of my buddies TA’d for him and he would ask him to get stuff for him out of his car sometimes. So we came up with the idea that when he asked we would meet down there and move it to the student parking lot. He was a super chill guy. He thought it was funny! After he found his car anyway!” We all laughed. The game continued on. They all had a lot of fun with it. Some of them coming up with really strategic lies. Or just basic stuff they wanted us to know about them. It turned out great. It was Ryleigh’s turn last. I could see she was nervous she’d been avoiding going the whole time. 

“Uh, I’m Ryleigh,” She spoke softly. “I’m in band, uh I-I really like to read, and one time in middle school I won a rollerskating contest at our roller rink,” She was playing with her fingers looking at the ground. 

“What’s your favoirte book?” I asked her. She looked up for a second giving me a nervous smile. 

“Uhm Thousand Words by Jennefer Brown,” She said. I smiled 

“I’ve read that Its really good!” one of the girls said. I watched her face light up a little bit. 

“What instrument do you play?” Sy asked. 

“I play guitar.” She said. He nodded giving her a soft smile. One of the boys asked about the roller skating thing and a few other questions and we all guessed. 

“I don’t think you roller skate,” Ethan, Emma’s twin brother said. 

“I do!,” she smiled surprised she had fooled most of us. “I’m actually not in band. I do play guitar though! My dad taught me.” she said. 

“That’s so cool!” Beckett said. “Did you bring your guitar with you? You could totally play at campfire!” He said. She blushed and nodded slightly. 

“I did.” she said. 

“Sweet!” He smiled at her.  

Our afternoon was going really well. We talked to the kids about what things they wanted to make sure we did as a group this summer. What traditions were important to them. The boys were so excited to help Logan start planning for the prank war. At somepoint we were going to play flashlight hide and seek. That was always fun. We always set that up right after it started to get dark. They wanted to do a camp fire breakfast. We made them promise they were going to get up early to help us with it. But they were mainly just excited to hang out with their friends and do whatever we had planned. They were such a great bunch of kids. It always seemed like no matter the generation. We always reverted back to a state of innocence when we were at camp. Leaving technology behind and just being present. 

It was turning out to be a perfect first day. We had the kids make their name tags and  were playing a few more group games before dinner. But just as we were finishing up our last game it started to sprinkle. We gathered everyone up to head over to the dining hall and the sky let loose. It started to rain steadily. We all ran over from the Cabin’s making it inside just before it started to down pour. 

“Well,” Logan said from behind me making me jump, He chuckled. “Didn’t mean to scare ya darlin, but I bet they cancel the welcome campfire tonight, it’ll be way to wet now.” He said. I nodded. 

“That sucks. Some of the girls were looking forward to it. They had friends in other cabins they wanted to see. I had no idea it was supposed to rain.” I said. 

“Yeah, I was checking the weather on my way in yesterday. Could Possibly turn into a pretty rough thunderstorm.” He added. 

“Oh,” I said softly, biting my lip. I hated storms. Especially at camp. The cabins always felt so small and so thin. Like they wouldn’t hold. It was the one time I didn’t feel safe. But I played it off. “Guess we’ll be inside the rest of the evening then!”

During dinner they did infact announce that they were canceling the big welcome camp fire. It was for all the age groups at camp to welcome everyone all at once. And then each night each of the age groups had their own campfire. But we’d be doing neither of those things tonight. So much for the perfect first day. After dinner we decided to run over to the rec room. There was a pool table, and darts. Foosball, card games, board games, all of the inside entertainment we would could ever hope for. A few of the other cabin groups decided to head there too. So the campers had a lot of fun. Most of them reunited with old camp friends and made some new ones. Some of them sat down to play some pretty intense card games or board games. Some just chose to sit and talk. I was feeling really good about our first day. But then I saw Ryleigh sitting by herself. My heart broke for her. I understood how having anxiety could make these situations so difficult. I was just about to go talk with her when Sy approached. 

“She’s a real sweet girl,” He said. 

“You noticed too, huh?” I asked. He nodded. 

“Yeah, hate to mention it but, kinda reminds me of you, in our days here.” He said. 

“I was just thinking the same thing. I was gonna go talk to her, see if there’s anything I can do to help.” I sighed. 

“Not yet, give it a minute.” He spoke. I raised an eyebrow. 

“What do you mean?” I questioned. 

“Just trust me, give it a minute.” He smirked crossing his arms. I stared at him confused for a moment. What did he know that I didn’t. But it very quickly made sense. 

“No you guys go ahead and start the next round I’ll be back,” I heard one of the boys say from the table where the campers had a big Uno game going. It was Beckett I watched as he stood from the table and nervously ran his hand through his messy hair. But then his demenor switched as he put on a charming smile and a confident mask. He walked over to where Ryleigh was sitting on a beanbag in the corner doodling on a piece of paper. He plopped down next to her. 

“Whatcha doin?” He asked her. She jumped startled not expecting anyone to be there. 

“Just, sketching…” she answered.

“You draw?” He asked. She shook her head. 

“Not really but…” I stopped listening. Letting them have their own conversation. I wouldn’t want someone to eavesdrop on a moment like this if I were her. 

“How did you…?” I trailed off. Sy chuckled. His shoulders shaking with laughter. 

“He noticed her a while ago. I’ve been watching him try to work up the nerve to go over there for the last 10 minutes.” he laughed. I smiled. 

“Wait, so you think he likes her?” I asked.

“Oh, he definitely likes her. If the military taught me one thing. It’s how to be observant. He’s had his eye on her since we all met up this afternoon.” he smirked. 

“That’s so cute,” I smiled

“I was the same way with you!” He admitted. I almost choked on air.

“I never noticed that,” I said. He shook his head smiling.

“Yeah, cause you were so quiet and stuck in your own head to realize what was going on. You didn’t even realized you liked me back until the second year we were at camp together.”  He laughed. 

“You did NOT like me first!” I argued. 

“Did too, Just because you didn’t notice doesn’t mean it wasn’t true.” He smirked. I opened my mouth to argue but there was a loud crack of thunder making me jump. I swallowed hard and looked down at the floor trying to hide the panic in my eyes. 

“Still don’t like storms huh?” He questioned. I bit my lip looking up at him and shook my head. 

“Hate them,” I said. Another roll of thunder and I felt myself tense. Sy put his hands on my shoulders making me look up at him. 

“It’s arlight we’re safe inside.” he assured me. I nodded. He and I walked over and sat with a few of the other counselors talking for a bit and keeping an eye on our campers. About 20 minutes later the weather alert went off on the radio in the rec room. We were under a severe thunderstorm warning. We could hear the rain pounding against the roof. My heart pounded in my chest. And the thunder was getting closer. Louder. 5 minutes later. The power went out. 

Sy immediately jumped up to take control of the room. 

“Everybody stay calm,” He spoke softly. I heard a zipper and some rustling. He’d pulled out a large flashlight from his bag. One of the counselors walkie talkies went off. Sy lifted his to his ear to listen. 

“Okay guys, just relax we’re gonna stay here until the storm lets up. Hopefully the power comes back on. Until then weve got some lantern flashlights to set up around the room. Just keep hanging out we’re alright.” He assured them. Sy and one of the other boys counselrs went into a supply closet finding the LED lantern lights they had 5 of them and set them out throughout the room illuminating it just enough for the kids to see and still be able to play cards or board games or talk. Some of the girls were a little nervous so I put on my best brave face to go over and talk to them. 

“Are you sure we’re safe in here?” Emma asked. I nodded. 

“We’re shielded from the storm and there aren’t many windows in here. We’re perfectly safe.” 

“I hate this.” another girl said. 

“I know, it’s not fun but it’ll,” another loud crack of thunder and I jumped. My breathing shaky, “It’ll.. It will uhm…” I started but I couldn’t get the sentence out the panic starting to take over. 

The girls both had nervous looks on their face. I was worrying them. Shit. I suck at this. 

“It’ll pass soon and we’ll head back to the cabins for the night.” I heard Sy say behind me. His hand softly pressed to my lower back. “Don’t worry we’ll get out of here and right back to all the fun stuff tomorrow.” he gave them a reassuring smile. 

They nodded. And I felt Logan gently leading me away. There was a small hallway that was out of the way and he pulled me to the side. “You alright?” He asked. I shook my head starting to feel myself shaking. 

“I-I can’t I can’t do this. I, how am I supposed to help them when I’m too scared myself and, I just I hate this.I feel like I can’t breathe!” I sniffed. He pulled me into him wrapping his arms around me gently shushing me. 

“Shhh it’s alright. You’re gonna be okay.” He said, holding me to him. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.” He soothed. 

“I’m sorry.” I breathed. 

“Don’t, it’s alright.” he whispered. “Just keep breathing for me,” He talked me through it. And when I calmed down we walked back out sitting on one of the couches again. I stayed quiet a moment watching the room. 

“Sy,” I spoke finally. Just as I went to thank him his radio was going off again. We were cleared to head back to the cabins. The heavy part of the storm had passed but it was still raining. We ran back and Sy and I parted on the lawn getting our campers settled. He got the boys back to his cabin and they settled in. He made sure they all made it back 

“Alright boys I’ll be right back I’m gonna go check on the girls make sure they all made it!” he told them. He ran over across the lawn and knocked on our door. I answered quickly and let out a deep breath when I saw it was him. 

“You girls alright?” he asked. 

“Yeah!” some of them answered. I smiled 

“We’re okay.” I said softly. He smiled and nodded for me to join him out on the porch. I turned back to the girls “I’ll be right back ladies, go ahead and get ready for bed, lights out is in 30 minutes!” I told them. I closed the door behind me. And let the sceen door slam shut. 

“Are you okay?” He asked after a beat of silence. 

“Yeah, I am,...Thank you for helping me back there,” I said. 

“This isn’t our first storm together honey,” He smiled. “I’ll always be there to help ya.” I blushed. 

“You’ve always been such a gentleman. You’re mama raised you right.” I smiled. 

“Nah, just with you, comes naturally,” He said. I felt my cheeks heat up even more and I looked away trying to compose myself. 

“So, was that…all?” I asked. He stepped closer to me until I was leaning against the picnic table. 

“No,” He smiled. “There’s one other thing.” He brushed his thumb over my cheek his eyes staring down into mine. I couldn’t take it anymore. We’d drawn this out for too long. 7 years too long. I wrapped one arm around his neck the other hand gently resting on the back of his head pulling him down to me. He responded immediately pressing his lips to mine. His other hand found my waist pulling me close holding me against him. All of the air left my lungs as I kissed him back with everything I had. I whimpered softly when he pulled away. 

“Shit, “ He smiled breathless. “Only took me 7 years but I uh..” He breathed “just wanted to kiss you goodnight.”  I nodded still cathing my breath smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. 

“One more for good measure?” I asked blushing. He smirked. And pulled me in again kissing me softer this time. It was slow and sensual. He leaned his forehead against mine when he pulled away. 

“A man could get addicted to that,” he said. I smiled slowly trailing my hand from his should and down his chest. 

“I wouldn’t mind.” I laughed. He chuckled and pecked my lips one more time. 

“Goodnight Darlin’” 

“Goodnight, Sy” I watched him run through the rain back to his cabin and I stood their for a moment regaining my composure before I went back inside. Just as I was about to open  the door. I heard the one of the girls say

“No, I’m serious you guys I think they’re married!” it sounded like Nicole

“Nikki, Neither one of them is wearing a ring!” Emma said. 

“Okay well dating at least, They’re like super in love! You should’ve seen them in the rec room! I had to pee and they were in the hall by the bathrooms. He was like holding her it was so cute!” 

“Aww that’s so sweet, she was definitely scared! I felt so bad!” One of the other girls, Chloe added. 

“I know, OH MY GOD! Do you think they’ll let us call them Mom and Dad? Remember last year when we had Carrie and Andrew and they were married? That was so cute they literally treated us like their kids!” nicole squealed. 

“I hope so!” Emma said “I really like them! They’re both so nice, and I really hope they’re dating if they’re not they need to be, because they’d be so cute together!” I chuckled to myself before opening the door and they’re attention turned to me but they went quiet. 

“Okay girls gossip time is over! Time for lights out!” I said. They groaned. 

“Okay but wait, are you and Logan Married?” Nicole asked. 

“Nicole do you see a ring? What did I just say? But you two are dating right?!” Emma added. I chuckled to myself and shook my head. 

“Goodnight girls.” 

“Ugh fine be like that girl,” Nicole pouted. 

“Goodnight Lainie!” Emma called. 

“Goodnight,” Ryleigh said softly. The rest of the girls settled in and I turned out the lights and climbed into my bunk. I bit my lip and smiled to myself holding in an excited. Squeal. Maybe this was still the perfect first day after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[ilyrafe]

𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 ✧ 𝒄. 𝒔.

likes to give: acts of service

sy is a man of action

he likes to build things, remember that time he built you a bookshelf?

exactly!

actually, he just can’t be quiet for a few minutes, he needs to be doing something and most of the time he’s fixing things, working on his car or whatever.

there is nothing more satisfying than hearing a genuine “thank you”, the fuzzy feeling in his tummy makes him feel so useful :(

you call him your personal handy man and of course he made tons of dirty jokes about it.

he fixes your car himself ‘cause he doesn’t want you getting overcharged.

actually, he takes the time to explain you a few things, just in case you need it and he’s not around (but he’s always around)

it’s funny ‘cause he teaches you things but never lets you do them

“i don’t want you to get hurt, sweetheart.” “but you just told me how to do it!”

you literally don’t need to worry about carrying heavy stuff, cleaning broken glass, changing lightbulbs, anything of the sort.

he might come off as condescending sometimes but it’s purely unintentional, he just really doesn’t want you risking getting hurt.

“you know i can do this, right?” you tell him. “i do, but you don’t have to when i’m here.”

he likes the feeling of solving inconveniences for people, he feels important.

likes to receive: quality time

his own version of heaven on earth is being on the couch, watching a movie with you until you both fall asleep.

syverson really doesn’t need a lot to be happy, if you’re there he’s good!

he enjoys to spend time alone, watching some game, having a beer.

or, if he’s with you, a meal and a movie is his absolute favorite thing to do!

when his friends are around, he likes to do a BBQ and catch up.

you know how much he loves simple dates, so every once in a while you cook his favorite food, put on his favorite movies and you both binge a bunch of them until it’s two in the morning.

you know he loves slow mornings, so you both get up early, slowly make breakfast and stay in silence in each other’s presence as you watch the sun rise.

he’s seen so much and has been through so much, he values the little things in life such as a sun rise.

when he’s by himself, he tends to do things slower. everything is so rushed these days, when he has the time, he takes a lot longer to make his own food, or clean his room.

you’ve introduced him to bubble baths and he was very reluctant at first, but now loves them.

“see, i knew you’d like it!” “you know damn well i’m just here for the hot naked lady.”

but he really loves it! he loves your fancy stuff, loves when you massage his back and his scalp and he goes to bed feeling light as a feather.

[livingbreathingdreams]

❤︎ at the corner store

Captain Syverson x Reader drabble

A/N: Inspired by this prompt on a list I once saw on Pinterest: “met while buying condoms at the corner store”

It was only supposed to be a quick trip to the corner store to stock up on some supplies. You hadn’t planned on talking to anyone but the bored college girl behind the register. Dressed in your best plaid pyjama pants and pink fluffy slippers you gathered what you needed and were on your way to pay.

Rounding the corner, you didn’t pay attention to where you were going and promptly bumped into someone. Someone tall and big. The impact sent everything you were holding tumbling down to the ground.

First, you were annoyed at the inconvenience that would be keeping you away from your bed for longer. But then the man you just ran into chuckled, after looking down to the ground between the two of you. “Interesting assortment Darlin’. Someone’s paring the red sea then.” I wasn’t formulated like a question, but rather a statement that seemed to be very amusing to him.

You finally looked up at the guy and nearly choked on your own spit. “I I’m…” Your stammering was embarrassing but not as embarrassing as the fact that even after only just meeting him, you were certain that you very much would let this man part the red sea. He looked rugged in his washed-out band t-shirt, cropped hair, and wild-looking beard but there was something about him. He was a man exuding BDE. Built like a brick shit house and the sparkle of mischief in his bright stormy eyes.

After clearing your throat, you decided to be brave and started over. “No. No candidates for a voyage that treacherous just yet, I’m afraid. But my friend has recently been talking about manifestation a lot and how you should act like you already have what you want. This is me doing exactly that.” The handsome stranger was crouching down, looking up at you to hand you the condoms, tampons, and bar of chocolate you had dropped with a devilish grin on his face. “I wouldn’t mind.”

[dolce-cavill]

wish you were here

captain syverson x fem!oc

12.8k words

summary: after an unexpected phone call from her best friends brother, not even thousands of miles of separation can stop new feelings from developing

🎧 Click here for the fic playlist

warnings: mentions of war/deployment (idk if that needs a warning), language, fem!oc but no physical description given, small age gap (6 years), use of pet names (mostly darlin), mentions of alcohol/drinking, angst, implied smut, if i missed anything let me know!

i headcanon his first name to be travis so that is the name i will be using

closing my book and tossing it onto the nightstand, i rubbed my eyes as i flopped backwards onto the bed. glancing to the left, the red glow of the clock stared back at me displaying 1:57 am. i’d always been a night owl, but i’d recently fallen into the habit of staying up far later than usual, sometimes being chased by the sunrise by the time i finally got ready to sleep.

swinging my stiff legs over the edge of the bed, i padded down the hall to the bathroom. after brushing my teeth and washing my face, i switched off the light and began to walk back to my bedroom, when i heard my phone ringing. i thought it was odd, as it was seldom that anyone ever actually called me rather than just texting, nevermind the fact that it was two in the morning, and immediately worried that the strange occurrence meant something was wrong. moving faster towards the ringing phone, i noticed the number wasn’t saved in my contacts as i picked up the call, bringing the phone up to my ear.

“hello?” i greeted the unknown caller, pacing nervously around my room.

“hey…layla?” the voice was familiar, but not one i had heard in years, nor expected to be on the other end of the call.

“…travis?” i asked. travis syverson was my best friend beths older brother, who was currently (at least as far as i knew) stationed in iraq; perhaps one of the last people i would’ve guessed to be calling me at this hour, if at all.

“yeah,” he laughed. “sorry- i …. beth didn’t answer and yours is the only other number i could remember, ya know, from you an’ her always hanging out,” he explained. it had been about six months since i had last seen him, at one of the going away parties beth insisted on throwing every time travis was deployed.

“no need to apologize,” i assured. we had never been super close but we did spend a lot of time together considering how growing up i basically lived at their house with how much i hung out with beth. “it’s nice to hear from you.” i admitted. “how are you? is everything okay- i mean all things considered.”

“i’m alright- you know me. same old same old here; we’re tryna help and we’re getting shot at for it,” he sighed heavily. “sorry, i don’t need’a scare you with that crap.” the anger in his voice leaving as he spoke. “what did you get up to today?” i laughed lightly.

“i’m gonna bore you ta death,” i teased, thinking of how mundane my day had been.

“darlin’ lemme tell you somethin’- i am surrounded by nothing but sand for fuckin miles,” he insisted, and i laughed again.

“okay okay,” i surrendered. the nickname probably would’ve made me blush if we weren’t from the south; it was just something i’d gotten used to him calling me. “i did the dishes, i went to the grocery store-“

“what’d ya buy at the store?” he asked.

“uhh just cereal.. coffee creamer… fruit. do you regret asking yet?”

“no- over here things are so crazy it’s kinda nice just to hear about everyday things ya know?” i smiled sadly.

“i hadn’t thought of it like that.” i admitted. there was a comfortable silence for a moment before he spoke again.

“shit i didn’t wake you up- did i?” he asked, as if he had just considered the almost ten hour time difference between us. “what time is it where you are?”

“it’s around two in the morning,” i laughed. “but no you didn’t wake me up; “remember beth used to always fall asleep first at sleepovers and i’d just be stuck sitting awake by myself.”

“yeah i remember- you’d come bother me, wanting to see what i was doin,” he laughed.

“you make me sound like an annoying little kid,” i replied, and he laughed again. i pictured him in my mind, at least how he had looked when i had last seen him, his hair cut short since he was shipping out but his beard still intact. i thought about how his blue eyes crinkled when he laughed, and imagined they were doing that now.

“you were; you and beth,” he snickered. “you grew up to be tolerable at least,” he teased, and i could tell he meant nothing mean by it.

“yeah well you’d stopped bein’ fun to bother when you stopped playing video games and started working out all the time,” i countered.

“yeah but ain’t i more fun to look at now?” travis had always had an aura of confidence to him that i admired, and i had to admit; he was damn good looking. around the time i was 17 i had started developing a little crush on him. nothing too serious, but i definitely noticed that he had been putting more work in at the gym. however, if the fact that he was my best friend's brother wasn’t enough for me to never mention it, the fact that he was 23 at the time and probably thought of me as his little sisters friend and nothing else was.

before i could agree or disagree, he spoke again.

“hey i gotta go- other people gotta use the phone, but it was nice talking to you, layla.” i found myself feeling slightly disappointed that he had to go so soon, but i understood.

“yeah; it was nice to hear from you,” i admitted. it wasn’t a long conversation, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. “if beth ever doesn’t answer again…”

“i’ll call you,” with that the line cut off, leaving me wishing i could’ve told him to be safe at least, although kind of redundant considering where he was.

i sighed contently as i set my phone down, switching off the light and crawled under the covers. thoughts of travis flooded my mind as i tried to fall asleep, secretly hoping that i would hear from him again soon.

-

it was only a week or so before i heard from travis again, this time around 9pm as i was getting ready to leave work. there were only about 15 minutes left in my shift when my cell phone started to ring in my pocket, and i glanced at my coworker who was stood at the counter next to me. she nodded as if to say “take the call,” and i gave her a smile as i walked to the break room so customers wouldn’t see my on the phone.

“hello?” i answered as i shut the door and sat down at the small table.

“hey darlin,” travis’s voice drawled through the phone, and a smile spread across my face. “how was your day?”

“it was alright, i’m just finishing up at work. how about you? are you having any luck winning over the locals yet?” i teased lightheartedly, knowing he wouldn’t take offence to it. he laughed deeply on the other end of the line.

“na- no such luck just yet,” he admitted. “we’re tryin though, that's what matters. is now a bad time? if you’re at work i don’t wanna keep you-“

“no it’s okay- you’re more important. we’re just about closed up anyway.” i answered honestly.

“i’m flattered,” he chuckled. “you still working at that cafe- the one on main street?” i was a little surprised he’d remembered.

“yeah- it pays the bills. they’ve expanded the menu since you left to have some deli sandwiches and stuff so i even got a pretty good raise earlier this year.”

“i’ll have to try them when i come home,” he replied.

“you talk to beth lately?” i asked, wondering if she ever answered his call after last week. i hadn’t told her that i had talked to travis; there was no specific reason- it just hadn’t come up when i saw her last.

“yeah i called her yesterday and she actually answered,” i could hear the smile in his voice as he teased his little sister. “you see her recently?”

“i saw her the other day- she’s picking me up from work any minute now actually,” i explained.

“she doing okay? i mean- she tells me she’s fine, but i know it’s always been hard for her when i leave,” he asked, in a sincere manner; as her older brother he had always been protective of beth, and me as well by association.

“she sure does know how to worry. but she’s good-honestly. she got her hair dyed the other day; it’s kinda of a copper colour now,” i smiled. “and we both worry about you when you’re gone.”

“you worry about me?” he teased mischievously. i felt heat rise to my cheeks.

“of course i do.”

“i appreciate it but i’ll be fine- always am.” he said, trying to reassure me; but as much as i wanted to believe him i couldn’t shake the anxious feeling in my chest. i thought of how last time we spoke he had to hang up rather quickly, so i decided to say what i wanted to say before i missed the opportunity again.

“just- stay safe okay? as much as that’s possible i mean?” i pleaded. he chuckled softly.

“i will darlin’ - since you asked so nicely.” he promised, and my chest tightened again knowing that it wasn’t something he could really guarantee. i didn’t have many people in my life that i cared about, or that cared about me, and i couldn’t bare the thought of losing any of them. “i gotta go- i’ll call you soon.” he said, and once again i found myself wishing we had more time to talk.

“i’ll look forward to it,” i replied.

“goodnight darlin,” he said, before hanging up the phone. i set my phone down on the table and ran my hands over my face, letting out a sigh. my eyes snapped open at a knock on the door, and my coworker lisa, peeked her head in.

“i’m locking up- can you come count the till?” she asked. i nodded, putting my phone in my pocket and following her back to the front of the store. she locked the front door and closed the blinds as i counted the cash in the till, making sure it had the correct amount and taking out any cash we received today.

“not that it’s any of my business, are you seeing someone and you haven’t told me?” lisa asked playfully. she was one of the nicest people i knew, and wasn’t someone to pry, so i knew she was only trying to make friendly conversation. i shook my head, slightly confused.

“no- what makes you think that?” i asked, curious as to what gave her the idea that i, who had been single the entire time i had known her, was dating someone.

“i was just wondering, since your eyes lit up when you got that phone call earlier. i thought maybe it was someone special,” she explained. i blushed- had i really seemed that excited? of course i was happy to hear from travis, but i hadn’t realized it had been written all over my face.

“just an old friend. we reconnected recently,” i answered truthfully.

“mhm.” she hummed teasingly. “if you say so.”

“lisa-“ i protested, although i knew she was only joking. “he’s just a friend.”

“i’m sure he is.” she smiled. somehow, even though she was only a few years older than me, lisa always seemed to know more than me, her few years of seniority she had over me making her wiser than i was. “it’s nice to see you happy though.”

“you say that like i’m usually not,” i laughed.

“i didn’t mean it like that.” she defended, and i think she was worried she had offended me. “i just meant i’m happy for you if you’ve found someone, and even if they’re just a friend, they must be something pretty special for you to look that happy just to hear from them.”

“i know- it’s okay lees.” i smiled. “and yeah- he is pretty special.” deciding that i needed to stop thinking about him, i tucked the now counted cash into an envelope and carried it back to the office. when i returned to the front of the shop, i saw beth’s car outside, and glanced at the clock- 9:02pm; perfectly on time. i grabbed her a muffin from the display case (they would be thrown out tomorrow anyway) and said goodnight to lisa, as we both left the shop.

“you can tell me more about this mystery man tomorrow!” lisa called as i opened the passenger door to beth’s car. i silently wished she hadn’t said that, since i knew beth would ask me about it if she heard, which to my dismay, she indeed had.

“hey- how was work!” she asked enthusiastically as i shut the car door and did my seatbelt.

“it was good- not too busy but not slow enough to be boring. the last hour was pretty quiet though,” i answered. it had been a pretty good day, even if i wasn’t sure i wanted to tell her what made the last 10 minutes so enjoyable. i knew she wouldn’t mind me talking to travis- that wasn’t the issue, since deep down i knew lisa was right- and my teenage crush had never truly gone away. how was i supposed to explain to my best friend that i thought i might have a crush on her brother? and that he had been calling me from across the world instead of her?

“what’s this i hear about a mystery man?” she teased, and gone was any false hope i had that she hadn’t heard was gone. i shook my head.

“nothing- i was texting my cousin and lisa got the wrong idea,” i lied, and she seemed to believe me.

“nathan? is he asking for money again?” i laughed at her. it would not be unusual for my cousin to ask for money, but i didn’t want to throw him under the bus and have her call him out; i would get too caught up in the lie and not be able to dig myself out.

“no, not this time actually.” thankfully she didn’t ask anymore questions, and the rest of the car ride was spent listening to her talk about her day. i didn’t mind, but beth tended to talk more than she listened. i tried to pay attention, but as i stared out the window, looking at the stars whizzing by as we sped down the road, my mind couldn’t help but wander, thinking of a different syverson sibling than the one sat next to me.

-

three months went by, with travis calling me almost once a week, as he still called beth as well. a few weeks after he first called, it came up that i hadn’t told beth that we had been talking.

“i haven’t mentioned it either, now that i think about it.,” he replied when i told him it hadn’t come up. “maybe for the best- she might think i’m tryna steal you from ‘er.” i wasn’t sure what he had meant by it, but regardless, it made my stomach flip with butterflies, and i was grateful he couldn’t see that i was blushing.

“are you trying to steal me from her?” i decided to tease him a little, our conversations having become perhaps the slightest bit flirty recently.

“if i wanted to i think i could, don’t you darlin’?” i laughed. yes, you could, i thought, feeling slightly guilty that i had spent more time lately talking to him than i had my best friend.

“i don’t know, you know how protective she is,” i argued.

“you think i’m not? i’m worse than she is.” that shouldn’t have made the blush on my face darken, but it did. “remember when you were dating that guy- what was his name?”

“ben?” i groaned, remembering my first boyfriend from high school. he ended up being a total arse who dumped me after i wouldn’t sleep with him.

~ flashback ~

beth and travis had been throwing a party since their parents were away, and i had brought ben as my date. we had been together for about a year, and when i wouldn’t go with him to one of the bedrooms upstairs he flipped. the alcohol in his system made things worse, and when travis heard him yelling at me, he had threatened to kick his ass.

“oh look, layla, your boyfriends here!” ben yelled, shoving travis, which didn’t even make him stumble.

“what are you talking about?” i asked, tears threatening to fall from my eyes, the liquor making me a little more emotional.

“oh come on, i’m not stupid, you’ve obviously got a crush on him.” ben spat. “i bet you’d fuck him if he asked, or maybe you already-“ travis swung his fist into bens face before he could finish his sentence, sending the smaller man crumpling to the floor.

“travis what the hell?!” beth yelled, not having heard the conversation, only coming in from the backyard in time to see the fists start flying. travis picked ben up off the floor by the front of his shirt, slamming his back into the wall.

“you shut the fuck up- you don’t talk to her like that. get out of my house before i really kick your ass,” travis threatened, and ben sniffled, a trickle of blood coming from his nose as he huffed, before turning and leaving with his ego bruised to match the one that he would surely have on his face tomorrow.

“are you alright? what happened?” beth asked, coming over and wrapping her arms around me. i nodded, looking at travis who still stared towards the door after ben.

“thank you,” i said, and travis finally looked at me, with an anger in his eyes i had never seen before. his gaze softened when his eyes met mine.

“i’m gonna get some air,” he said, before walking out of the house, the door slamming behind him.

“what happened?” beth asked again. i sighed.

“ben was being a dick, and travis punched him,” i explained, leaving out some of the details since i was embarrassed. “i’m okay beth- i promise. i’m just gonna go check on him.” she let me out of her grip, quickly getting pulled away by some of the other guests as i went after her older brother. i found him sitting on the front step, and cautiously sat beside him. he glanced toward me to see who it was, and seemed to relax a tiny bit. his eyes locked on something down the street, and i looked to see ben drunkenly stumbling down the sidewalk, not having made it very far from the house yet, but far enough that any conversation had wouldn’t be heard.

“what are you thinking about?” i asked. travis sipped the beer he was holding before speaking.

“i’m thinkin’ about whether or not i should go after him and beat the shit out of him for what he said to you,” he answered, and i appreciated his brutal honesty.

“he’s not worth it,” i said, trying to convince him not to get himself in trouble, especially on my behalf. “is your hand okay?” i asked, gently grabbing his large hand in mine and inspecting his knuckles, a layer of red forming over them already.

“you’re worried about my hand?” he laughed. i couldn’t help but laugh with him. “are you okay?” he asked more seriously. i nodded, placing his hand back in his lap and tiredly leaning my head against his shoulder.

“thank you,” i hummed, my eyes closing, suddenly exhausted, and the alcohol starting to give me a slight headache. his arm pulled me closer and i felt his press a kiss to the top of my head.

“anytime.”

~ flashback end ~

“yeah i remember- he turned out to be a dud, huh,” i joked.

“i’ll say.” there was a hint of anger in his voice, as if he was remembering the same night you were.

“i’ve never seen you as angry as you were that time you punched him in the face.”

“he deserved it,” he said, defensively.

“i don’t disagree, travis.” i assured him, worried i had given him the wrong idea. i’m not sure if i was just feeling vulnerable, but what i said next was something i never thought i would share. “he was right though- i did actually kinda have a thing for you back then.” that seemed to change his demeanour for the better, his voice no longer angry, now more surprised.

“you did?” he asked. “shit, that would’ve been nice to know at the time,” he mumble the last part, so quiet i barely heard him, and assumed i heard him wrong, and decided not to ask him to repeat it.

“yeah, i mean i was like 16 and you were my friends cool older brother,” my face was red as a started to regret mentioning it, but thankfully he didn’t make a big deal of it.

“are you saying i ain’t cool anymore?” he laughed. “oh shit, times up darlin’- i’ll call you soon,”

“okay- stay safe, travis.” i said. it had become a habit of saying it every time he had to hang up, as pointless as it was to say.

“will do.”

as i set my phone down on my dresser, i realized just how deep of shit i was in. i was falling head over heels for my best friends brother, who was halfway across the world; with no idea when (or if) he would be home again. the thought of travis never coming home, of getting the news from beth that something bad had happened to him kept me up at night. what made it worse was that no one knew how much i had grown to care for him in the last few months. what had started as friendly conversation had quickly developed into playful flirtation, or at least i thought it had. maybe i was delusional or maybe he was just bored, and he would come home and pretend it had never happened, or he’d tell me i got the wrong idea all along.

these thoughts kept me up most of the night, and i surely had dark circles under my eyes when i walked into work the next morning. lisa, never one to miss anything noticed right away and gave me a worried look.

“honey, have you been sleeping alright?” she asked, pouring me a coffee from the pot she had already made for the morning rush. i knew it would be useless to try to lie, as it was quite literally written all over my face.

“not really. i’ve just had a lot on my mind lately,” i answered honestly, just leaving out any details. i sipped the coffee, clocking in on the till and tying my apron around my waist.

“i won’t pry, but if you want to talk about anything you know i’m here for you,” she offered. usually i would’ve brushed her off, but considering the person i would usually talk to about this kind of thing was beth, and i couldn’t tell her, i actually thought about asking for lisa’s advice.

“thank you. i really appreciate it, lees. maybe after work?” i think she was surprised i actually wanted to talk about it, but she smiled and nodded.

-

after we closed down the store, the door locked and the blinds closed, lisa took off her apron and carried two coffees over to the table i was sat down at. i thanked her as she placed one in front of me and sat down.

“what’s on your mind, layla?” she asked. i took a deep breath.

“you remember a few months ago, i said i had reconnected with an old friend?” i asked, not sure if she would’ve remembered. she nodded, paying close attention.

“well, we’ve still been talking all this time, and i think maybe it’s becoming more than just friendly,” i explained, omitting details once again. she didn’t know a ton about my friends outside of work, but i didn’t want to reveal too much and have her figure out who i was talking about; it was unlikely but i wanted to be careful nonetheless.

“is that a bad thing?” she asked.

“not necessarily, except we have a mutual friend who … i’m not sure how they would react if things became romantic between us,” i explained. “and this person is also far away, so it would be long distance, at least for now.” lisa nodded, considering what i had said.

“i see. this mutual friend- don’t you think they would want the two of you to be happy?” she asked. i thought about it. beth was one of the most understanding people i knew, she could be feisty at times, but she always seemed to want the best for others around her. however, i still wasn’t sure if she would like the idea of me being romantically involved with her brother, especially after we’d been talking behind her back for months.

“i do- but the circumstances make it… difficult. this friend doesn’t know we’ve been talking again.”

“did the person you’re talking to do something to hurt your friend?”

“no- nothing like that,” i sighed. “i don’t know how to properly explain without you knowing all the details.” i admitted.

“you can tell me as much or as little as you want, i promise i won’t judge you and it won’t leave this room. i won’t pressure you for more details but i agree- it is difficult for me to understand the situation completely without knowing more.” as much as i didn’t want her to be right, i appreciated her honesty.

“you swear you won’t tell anyone?” i pleaded. she promised again, and i took a deep breath.

“okay. so the guy, he’s… beth’s older brother,” i admitted, my eyebrows scrunching together as i winced, saying it out loud made it worse i decided.

“i see,” she replied. “is that all?” i laughed audibly.

“isn’t that enough? i’ve known beth since we were 5, and now i maybe have feelings for her brother.”

“did you ever have feelings for him before now? or is this completely new?” lisa asked.

“i mean i had a crush on him as a teenager but it was nothing serious- he was too old for me at the time. but things are different now and - ugh i don’t know talking to him just makes me feel so warm inside. is that weird?” she giggled.

“no, it’s not weird. how did you two start talking again? you said he’s far away?”

“he’s stationed in iraq,” i explained. “which means that i worry about something happening to him all the time,” i sighed for the millionth time; it did feel good to finally get some of this off my chest. “he called me one night a few months ago. he said beth didn’t answer and my phone number was the only other one he could think of - from when beth and i would hang out all the time and call each other. that was about a week before he called me here that day and you asked about it.” i felt a weight off my shoulders, now that i wasn’t keeping all of this inside, and i knew that i could trust lisa not to tell anyone. she seemed to be taking in all the information for a moment before she spoke.

“layla, i think you’re worrying too much about this. worrying about his safety is understandable, and unfortunately there’s not much i can say to make you feel better in that regard. however, i will say- i don’t know beth very well but from what i’ve seen and from what you’ve told me about her, she loves you very much, and i think she would be happy for you. can you think of any reason she wouldn’t want you to be with him, other than the fact that he is her brother?” i considered what she said.

“no, i can’t. if he was just a guy i’m sure she would be happy for me. he’s funny, protective- and i think i’m really falling for him, lees.” i admitted.

“does he know you feel this way about him? and does he know you’re so worried about beth finding out?”

“no- i mean maybe he knows i’m interested. the last few weeks we have definitely been a little more flirty when we talk, but we can never talk for very long, usually just 5 minutes or so. i told him last night that i used to have a thing for him and i thought he said something like it would’ve been nice to know at the time but i may have just heard him wrong,” i sipped my coffee again. “then after we got off the phone i couldn’t stop thinking about the likely possibility of him never coming home-“ i choke on the words as i said them, and tears fell from my eyes.

“oh honey,” lisa said, getting up and coming to my side of the table, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. i cried into her shoulder, as she held me in her arms. “i can’t imagine how hard this is, but i think you need to tell him how you feel. keeping this inside isn’t good for you, and as much as i appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me, there isn’t much i can do to help, that’s up to you and him; and beth.” i nodded.

“you’re right, of course.” i laughed, as she once again proved she was wise beyond her years. “what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”

“that’s unfortunately a risk you have to take, but from the little bit you’ve told me, he sounds like a great guy, and i’m sure even if he didn’t feel the same way, he wouldn’t be a dick about it.” that didn’t make me feel a whole lot better, but i knew she was right; if travis thought it was weird for me to have a crush on him, he probably would’ve said something last night when i mentioned that i had a thing for him before. at least, that’s what i was telling myself.

“thank you lisa, i feel better now that i’ve talked to you about it,” i admitted.

“you’re so welcome, layla. feel free to keep me updated if you want, but i think you’ve got this.” she smiled. “do you need a ride home?” she asked. i shook my head.

“no, i drove today. i’m supposed to hang out with beth tomorrow; maybe i’ll work up the courage to tell her. i think it might be better to wait until i know for sure what’s going on between travis and i though.”

“he has a name!” lisa teased playfully. i giggled.

“if you ever need to talk, i’m here for you layla.”

“thank you. the same goes for you- but i think you’ve got your life together way more than i do.” we both laughed, and i hugged her one more time before heading out to my car and driving home.

-

three weeks went by with no word from travis, and it was safe to say i was losing my mind. the endless possibilities of why he hadn’t called had me pulling my hair out; had something happened to him? did i freak him out when i said i used to have a thing for him and now he didn’t wanna talk to me? any confidence i had gained from talking to lisa had dwindled away as i sat waiting for the phone to ring every night.

beth had invited me for dinner tonight, and as much as i didn’t want to go, i knew i needed to get out of the house. i finished getting ready, not putting too much effort into my appearance, but enough that it looked like i had been sleeping like a normal human. i drove the short distance to her apartment, and after she buzzed me into the building, ai took the elevator up and knocked on the door, a bottle of wine in my hand.

“hey! come in,” she greeted with a smile on her face. i shut the door behind me as beth took the wine from my hand so i wouldn’t drop it. she pulled me into a hug, as she always did, and i reciprocated it happily. “how have you been?” she asked.

“i’ve been okay,” i answered. i couldn’t really tell her that i’d been stressed about her brother for the last few weeks, so i decided not to elaborate. “how about you!”

“i’ve been good- just working as usual. i finally got a huge project finished at work this week, so we’re gonna celebrate!” i smiled as she opened the bottle of wine and poured each of us a glass. “the project at work was a nightmare- i’m so glad it’s finally over. what’s new with you?” she asked, sipping her drink. i shook my head.

“nothing, just working as well. there’s one regular who keeps trying to ask me out, he won’t get the message that i’m not interested.” i rolled my eyes. he wasn’t an unattractive guy, just not my type; besides the fact that i was interested in someone else already.

“maybe a date wouldn’t be a bad idea,” beth said, which took me by surprise.

“he’s not my type-“

“no i didn’t mean with him- but when was the last time you went out with someone? or were even interested in somebody?” she asked. she was right, i had been single for a while. there were a few guys i had dated in my early twenties, but never anything really serious, all of the relationships fizzling out after just a few months, if not less.

“i don’t know- i don’t know if i’m really looking for that kind of commitment right now,” i tried to brush off the subject.

“i didn’t say you had to marry someone, i just thought it might be nice for you to meet someone,” beth clarified.

“i know. i’m just not really looking right now.” i answered honestly, leaving out the tiny detail that the reason i wasn’t looking is because i had already found someone i wanted.

“what about you? how are things with you and jacob?” i asked, once again thing to change the subject from me to her; which with beth, always worked.

“things are going well actually. he’s really sweet, and he’s a good listener, which we both know you need to be to put up with me,” she laughed at herself and i smiled, happy that my best friend had seemingly found a good guy. they had been seeing each other for months now, and i had met him once or twice before, but never had any extended conversations with him. “i’m gonna order pizza- i think i have a coupon somewhere,” she said, as she got up and began to dig through one of the kitchen drawers.

“sounds good,” i sipped my wine again, not wanting to rush through the glass as i still had to drive home and i didn’t plan on drinking more than one.

it was around 20 minutes later when the phone rang, and beth got up to grab it off the counter.

“it’s probably the pizza- i told the guy to buzz this suite when he gets here,” she explained before greeting the person on the other line with a simple “hello,” a surprised look came over her face, before she spoke more cheerfully. “hey! god it’s really good to hear from you, i was starting to worry,” she said, and my heat skipped a beat. “i’ve been good, how about you?” i couldn’t hear the person on the other side of the call, but i was pretty sure it wasn’t the pizza delivery guy. whoever she was talking to, they carried on a short conversation before beth’s phone buzzed in her hand, signaling that she’s received a text. “oh shit, i ordered pizza and the guy just texted that he can’t buzz up to get in the building since the line is busy- i’ll have to run down and grab it.” she said, after glancing at the message she had received. “sorry to run away on you travis- i would make him wait out there but it’s cold outside. layla is here, i know you guys aren’t close but do you wanna talk to her?” suddenly i was being handed the phone as beth called over her shoulder that she’d be right back, before running out the door with her keys in hand.

“hello?” i answered, putting the phone to my ear.

“hey darlin.” travis’s voice sounded through the phone, and i felt the butterflies in my stomach again.

“hey travis. it’s really good to hear your voice,” i said honestly.

“yours too. i’m really sorry i haven’t called, baby, things got a little crazy over here and we had to go silent for a few weeks.” he explained, and i was so in shock to hear from him i almost didn’t catch the nickname.

“i’m just really glad you’re not hurt… or-“ i trailed off, not wanting to say it.

“i’m sorry to put you through all this. i hope you haven’t been too worried,” he sighed. “what have you been up to?”

“just working mostly, nothing too exciting. beth and i were just having a girls night to celebrate a project she finished at work, but i’ll let her tell you about it when you talk to her next.” i didn’t want to steal her thunder, since i knew how excited she was to have done it.

“is she back yet?” he asked, lowering his voice a little.

“not yet, but i’m sure she will be any minute now- why do you ask?”

“does she know about us yet?” he asked, and i froze.

“us?” i asked hesitantly, not sure if i was reading too much into his choice of words.

“layla, i really like you. i’m sorry if that’s weird but-“

“it’s not weird.” i assured him, feeling like i was on cloud nine. “i really like you too, travis.”

“that’s a relief.” he said, laughing slightly. “believe me, i am so happy to hear you say that, but i don’t think we should tell beth, for now at least.”

“i agree- i don’t know what she would think,”

“i think she would tear me a new one, for stealing you from ‘er and all, but i think eventually she’d come around,” he joked. i could see that, but i still worried about how she would react. “i mean it though, layla- i wanna give this a try,” he said seriously.

“so do i, travis,” i heard the door opening down the hall, and beth walked in with the pizzas. “your sister is back, i’ll let you say hi to her again.” i said, getting up to trade the phone off to her. she was still far enough away that she wouldn’t hear travis on the other end of the call, which i was grateful for as he spoke softly.

“alright, darlin’. i’ll try to call you tomorrow,”

“okay,” i smiled, as beth turned the corner into the kitchen and i handed her the phone, taking the food from her as she used up the last minute or two travis had with the phone.

“i hope you didn’t bore her while i was gone.” i smiled to myself as beth teased her older brother, my back thankfully turned to her so she couldn’t see the blush creeping over my face. i tuned out the rest of their conversation, before she said goodbye and set the phone on the counter again, as i turned around with plates from the cupboard.

“sorry to leave you stuck talking to him, but he doesn’t get to call very often, so i didn’t want to just hang up.” she joked, and i couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty. i was part of the reason he didn’t call her as often, and i wondered what he had told her if she had asked why his calls were less frequent. i knew he used to call her almost every week, but now that usually i heard from him once a week, i wondered if he still got to talk to her as well.

“it’s okay- it was nice to hear from him actually,” i said honestly, although she didn’t know just how happy i really was to talk to him.

“it’s been a few weeks since i heard from him actually, i was starting to worry a little.” she admitted, putting a slice of pizza on her plate. i felt the guilty feeling again, wishing i could tell her i knew how she felt. it was kind of funny, in a sad way; here i was sat next to my friend, both missing the same person, and i couldn’t talk to her about it. i wanted to comfort her, and tell her i understood, but i knew that it was for the best to keep what travis and i had a secret, at least for now.

“i’m glad he’s okay,” i agreed. “do you have any idea when he’ll be back?” i asked, but she shook her head.

“not really. when he left they said anywhere from six to eighteen months, so it could be tomorrow or it could be a while longer. i guess we’ll just have to wait and see. he’s been gone almost a year now.”

“that’s a long time,” i commented, not knowing what else to say. she nodded.

“enough talk about travis though- i don’t wanna be bummed out all night. i’m just glad i finally heard from him. and it’s nice he got to talk to you- i think he gets bored of talking to me sometimes, which is fair. sometimes we don’t have anything to update each other on when he calls.” she laughed. i smiled, feeling a little better knowing that she was happy with the idea of us talking; without the romantic feelings at least.

we both finished eating our pizza and chatted about our lives, just catching up and joking around, until i had to get going.

“you’re sure you don’t wanna just stay over? i don’t mind.” beth offered, and i considered it, but eventually shook my head.

“i would, but i have to work early tomorrow and my uniform and stuff is at home. next time.” i promised. she smiled and hugged me goodbye. i drove home, feeling conflicted. i was very happy with how things were between travis and i, but i felt even worse now about lying to beth, since i had now done it straight to her face. i sighed heavily as i pulled into the garage of my apartment building before heading up to my suite.

i crawled into my bed, still in my jeans and sweater, and started to cry. i cried because i missed travis, and i cried for my best friend, who was also missing her big brother, and for how awful i felt for keeping secrets from her.

-

my eyes were puffy when i looked in the mirror the next morning, my makeup from last night in streaks down my face. i hopped in the shower, the hot water helping me relax a little. i washed off the traces of makeup that the shower didn’t, the cool cloth thankfully taking down the swelling of my eyelids at least a little. i managed to cover the rest of it up with some concealer and mascara, before grabbing my gab and heading out the door.

lisa thankfully didn’t comment on my appearance when i arrived, just said a friendly hello as i walked to the back to get my apron on and wash my hands to start working.

it was pretty steady with customers for the first few hours, and i didn’t notice one of the regulars lingering around the counter even after getting his order. i looked up to see that it was the guy who kept asking for my number, and i sighed.

“was there anything else i could get for you today?” i asked, in my best cheerful customer service voice.

“actually, i really want to order your number, but i don’t see it on the menu….” he trailed off, and i had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

“i guess you’ll have to order something else then,” i would usually politely decline, but i particularly wasn’t in the middle to entertain his advances today.

“damn… i was really craving a date with you.”

“i’m flattered really. but i’m not interested.” i said finely but still polite enough to hopefully not piss him off too much. lisa seemed to notice him not leaving, but was with a customer and couldn’t come check on me, so she gave me a glance as if to ask if i was okay. i nodded at her, and turned back to the customer, who was still trying to convince me to go out with him.

“again i’m really flattered, but i’m just trying to do my job. and not that it’s any of your business but i have a boyfriend.” i told him, getting annoyed with him at this point. he looked a little shocked at how stern my voice was.

“you could’ve just said that at the start.”

“me saying no should be a valid reason, i shouldn’t need to be with someone for you to accept that i’m not interested.” i defended. he seemed to finally get the message, and took his coffee and left, shaking his head as he walked out. the store was basically empty now, as lisa wrapped up the transaction with her customer, who thanked her and dropped a small handful of change into the tip jar.

“why don’t you go on your break? the store’s quiet enough and you deserve a breather after having to deal with that guy,” lisa suggested, walking over to me. i nodded, grabbing a cookie out of the display and heading to the break room, sighing heavily as i sat down. with impeccable timing, my phone started to ring in my pocket, and i saw travis’s name flash across the screen.

“hey!” i answered cheerfully, my mood improving greatly just from his call.

“hey baby, how is your day goin?” he asked. i smiled at the nickname once again, deciding that i liked the way it sounded coming from him a lot. my smile faltered slightly as i thought of how my day had been so far.

“it’s alright; i’m just on my break at work after one of our regulars kept asking for my number.” i sighed.

“do i need to come back home and kick his ass for you? because i will if you ask me to,” he said, and he almost sounded serious.

“no- it’s okay. i told him i had a boyfriend and he finally got the memo that i wasn’t interested.”

“boyfriend huh? what’s he like?” he joked, and i could tell he knew damn well that i had meant him, and i was grateful he didn’t make it weird that i had called him that. we hadn’t officially put a label on things yet after all, having only confessed our feelings last night, but i don’t think he minded.

“he’s tall, very handsome, built like a tank- but he’s very far away right now,” i replied, and travis laughed.

“he sounds like a keeper,” i could hear the smile in his voice. “and i’m sure he can’t wait to get home to see you. did you have fun at beth’s last night?”

“i did. i definitely didn’t expect to hear from you while i was there. we talked about you afterwards- she really misses you. i wish i could tell her i miss you too.” i admitted. i didn’t want to make him feel bad for keeping our blossoming relationship a secret, but i also didn’t want to lie to him and give him the impression that i enjoyed lying to her.

“i know darlin’- i want to tell her about us too, i just don’t know how or when. i hate lying to her too.” he said, and i felt a little better knowing he felt the same way i did. “i have some news- and i don’t know anything for sure yet so i don’t want to get your hopes up, but it sounds like we might be finishing things up here soon. maybe just a few more weeks to fix the pump station and then the village’ll have water again.”

“that’s great, travis!” i exclaimed. “does that mean you might be coming home soon?” i asked hesitantly.

“it’s possible- i don’t know anything for sure yet, though.”

“keep me updated?” i asked.

“i will, baby,” he assured me. “i really miss seeing your face. i know things were different before- i mean things are different now, but…”

“i really miss you too,” i confessed.

“i gotta give up the phone now, but i’ll try to call soon, okay? and if that guy gives you anymore trouble you tell me okay?” he added, causing me to laugh.

“i will, i promise.”

“good girl,” he said, before hanging up. i couldn’t help the smile that was plastered to my face. travis had a habit of calling when i needed to talk to him most, and he definitely cheered me up. i quickly ate the cookie i had grabbed before heading back out into the store, which was still pretty quiet thankfully; i would’ve hated to leave lisa on her own during a rush.

“hey, you look like you’re having a better day already- was the cookie really that good?” she asked as i joined her behind the counter again.

“i talked to travis-“

“that explains it,” she smiled. “you finally heard from him?” she asked, knowing that i hadn’t heard from him for a few weeks.

“yeah, i actually talked to him last night too. i was at beth’s and he called her, but she had to run out so she passed him off to me. she had no idea how happy i was to talk to him, and we kinda confessed our feelings for eachother.” i admitted.

“that’s great- does beth know yet?” she asked, and i shook my head. “that’s okay; one step at a time, right?”

“exactly. and travis knows how i feel about lying to beth, he feels the same way i do. i’m sure we’ll tell her soon,” i explained. “i called him my boyfriend,” i blushed.

“what did he say!” lisa prodded excitedly.

“he didn’t seem upset about it,” i smiled, and she hugged me.

“oh layla, i’m so happy for you,” she insisted, and i couldn’t stop smiling. i felt like a teenager again, talking to her friend about her crush at a sleepover or something, and i had to admit, it was kinda fun. “now hopefully he comes home soon, so you can introduce me to him.”

“yeah, hopefully he does.”

-

two more weeks went by, and i was counting the days obsessively, since i had received the news from travis that he would be coming home in a month. that meant i would only have to wait three more weeks until i would get to see him. he had told beth as well, and she had told me, not knowing that i was already aware.

“what kind of cake do you think we should get for the party this time?” beth asked. i was at her apartment, helping her plan the welcome home party.

“hmmm - what kind is travis’s favourite?” i asked.

“i think just vanilla- he kinda stopped eating junk food and stuff when he started working out to join the military,” she recalled. i remembered when he had first mentioned it, beth and i had thought he was joking, or at least wouldn’t actually go through with it; we realized pretty quickly he was actually serious about it. we were about 19 when he actually left for the first time, and it was really hard for beth, and it was difficult for me, even back then.

“i think that’s a pretty safe choice. there won’t be too many people, right?” i asked. usually when beth threw going away / homecoming parties it was only a few close friends, and i was hopeful that would be the case again this time. i was nervous about having to hide the fact that travis and i were dating from more people, and i knew that the fact that i would have to act like we weren’t together was going to be a little difficult. regardless, i was still looking forward to the party, and i had offered to help beth with it this time around. thankfully she was happy to have my help, and wasn’t suspicious of why i was interested.

“no, the same as usual. i’m considering inviting jacob, but travis doesn’t know him, so i’m not sure if it would be awkward,” she admitted.

“i don’t think he would mind. have you told travis about him yet?” i asked, knowing that i had mentioned that beth was seeing someone to him, but i wasn’t sure if she had told him herself.

“yeah- he gave me the whole ‘if he hurts you i’ll kill him’ speech,” she laughed. “i swear i’ve never met anyone as protective as he is. i wonder what he would do if you started dating someone,” she said. i puzzled look crossed my face.

“what do you mean?” i asked her.

“well he’s always been just a protective of you as he is of me, maybe even more. he never punched any of my boyfriends in the face to defend my honour.” she said lightheartedly.

“i’m sure he would’ve if they deserved it,” i laughed, kind of surprised she remembered that.

“ya know, i actually kinda thought maybe he had a crush on you after that night, but i guess not; i’m sure he would’ve said something about it if he had.” my heart was beating incredible fast, and once again i was happy to be turned away from her so she could see how warm my face was getting.

“i doubt it- i’m sure he was just being a good friend,” i tried to brush it off.

“regardless, i know he cares about you.” she said. “and i hope he finds someone someday, i know his job makes things complicated, but i want him to be happy, you know?”she said genuinely, and i smiled at her.

“i’m sure he will; he’s a great guy. any girl would be lucky to have him.” i replied.

“you will find someone too, layla. i know you said you’re not looking right now, but one day i mean, when you’re ready,” she assured me, and i pulled her into a hug.

“thanks, beth. i hope you’re right.” she wiggled out of my grip and continued looking at the website of the bakery she had found online, at the various cake options.

“hey, if you both get really desperate, maybe you and travis could get together,” she teased, and i tried to just laugh it off. “you guys might actually be a good couple, now that i think about it.” i was more than relieved to hear her say that, and at that moment i really did think about telling her about travis and i. i ultimately decided against it, not wanting to let the secret out without asking travis first. i’m sure he wouldn’t have been mad, since we both wanted to finally tell her, but i figured better to be safe than sorry.

“you think so?” i laughed.

“yeah actually,” she said, more serious now. “oh! look how pretty this cake is!” she said, thankfully changing the subject as she pointed to a cake on her laptop screen.

“that is really pretty- wow,” i agreed. it was a white cake with plain white frosting, but there were cherries on top and space to add writing if you wanted to.

“i think i’m gonna order it,” beth stated, and i nodded.

“i can help you pay for everything- i’m sure with all the food and everything these parties can get quite expensive.”

“you don’t have to do that-“

“i want to, beth. what can i pay for?” i insisted. she seemed to think for a moment.

“actually, there is something you could do.”

“for sure-“

“my boss wasn’t able to give me the day off for when travis gets home, so would you be able to pick him up from the airport? i know it’s a lot to ask-“

“it’s not a lot to ask beth. i’ll do it.” i smiled.

“thank you so much, layla. it’s only about an hour drive so it shouldn’t be too bad.” she explained, although secretly i was happy that i would be getting at least a little bit of time alone with travis. it would maybe make it easier to pretend we were just friends if i got to see him one on one first.

“i’m sure it will be fine,” i assured her.

“you’re the best,” she smiled.

“anything for you,” i replied. little did she know how happy i was with the task i had been given.

-

it was a few days before i heard from travis again, and i got to tell him that i would be picking him up at the airport. i would’ve kept it a surprise, but i hate surprises, so i decided not to just show up when he was expecting his sister.

“hey baby,” travis’ voice sounded through the phone, bringing a smile to my face.

“hey you,” i replied, sitting down on my bed.

“what are you up to?” he asked. i always appreciated how he was interested in my day.

“i was just looking through my closet for something to wear for when you come home.” i answered honestly. i wasn’t planning on dressing too fancy or anything, but i obviously wanted to look nice.

“yeah? whatever you choose you’ll look great, darlin’. what are the options so far?” he asked, and i was surprised that he sounded genuinely interested.

“i’m trying to decide between a dress or jeans and a sweater. did beth tell you the slight change in plans?”

“she didn’t; should i be nervous?” he laughed.

“no need to be nervous. she wasn’t able to get the day off when you come home so she asked me if i could pick you up from the airport,” i explained. “if that’s okay with you- i mean.”

“of course that’s okay, darlin’. in that case, as much as i’d love to see you in a pretty dress, you’d probably be more comfortable driving in jeans, yeah?” i blushed, and agreed.

“you’re right. thank you,” i replied. “beth and i had an interesting conversation the other day actually.”

“you’re scaring me again, layla,” he teased.

“we were talking about relationships and stuff; she’s worried about bringing her boyfriend to the party when you get home- since you don’t know him,” i explained.

“i’ll have to ask her if she’s bringin’ him, then she won’t feel weird about it.” he noted. he really was a good big brother, and i could tell he really cared about beth having jacob there if she wanted to. “was that all?” he asked.

“no, actually. she started talking about how she hopes both you and i find someone someday, and then said if we don’t we should just get together- she’s decided we’d make a good couple,” i smiled.

“that’s great- maybe she won’t be too upset when we tell her we’re already together then. unless you already told her?” he asked.

“no, i thought about it, but i didn’t want to without asking you first. i didn’t think it would be fair.”

“i appreciate that. she’ll find out soon enough; i don’t know how i’m gonna keep may hands off you when i get home,” he admitted, and i felt my face getting warm.

“yeah? well, we’ll have an hour in the car on the way from the airport….” i trailed off.

“you’re killin’ me, baby. i don’t want you to get the idea that that’s all i care about, but you’re not making it easy to not think about,”

“don’t worry, i’m thinking about it too.” i confessed. i wanted more than anything to be able to kiss him, to touch him, just to have him close to me.

“how many days we got left?” he asked.

“seventeen,” i said. “sixteen if you don’t count today,”

“the longest sixteen days of my life,”

“i know,” i sighed. “i can’t believe it’s almost been five months since you first called me,” i admitted.

“has it? best decision i ever made. in a way it feels like longer, but shorter at the same time,” he said.

“yeah, i know what you mean.”

“but hey, if four months can fly by, so can two weeks,” he said, and i tried to be as optimistic as he was.

“you’re right. i just really miss you,” i admitted.

“i miss you too baby,” he said; and i decided i would never get tired of hearing him call me that. “i gotta go, i’ll call you soon, okay?”

“yes, sir,” i replied, to which he was silent for a moment.

“lord, you really are tryna kill me,” he groaned, and it sent a shiver up my spine.

it was gonna be a very long two weeks.

-

it was finally the day, travis was coming home. i had talked to him the night before, and he let me know when and where to meet him at the airport. his flight was supposed to arrive at noon, so i was out the door by 10:30 in the morning to make sure i was on time to pick him up.

getting dressed in a pair of comfy jeans and a dark red sweater, and just doing some casual hair and makeup, i had breakfast and got on the road. i had spent the majority of yesterday stress cleaning my apartment; as travis and i had decided that after the party we would sneak back here, since his house had been empty the whole time he was away, and wouldn’t be in a state to host guests; not that i cared.

my hands hurt from gripping the steering wheel so tight as i parked at the airport, about 30 minutes before travis’ flight was supposed to arrive. i sat down outside the baggage claim area and checked my phone to see a text from beth.

let me know when you’ve picked him up! and thank you again! 💖

i smiled, replying to let her know that i would, and that once again, i didn’t mind. i tried to calm my nerves as the minutes ticked by, travis’ flight now only supposed to be 10 minutes away. i had to remind myself that while things were different between us now, he was still the same travis i had known almost my whole life, and i didn’t need to be nervous around him. it helped a little bit, and i managed to turn my nerves back into excitement; finally i was seeing the person i dreamed of being near for months.

when finally about 20 minutes later he came into view, his large backpack over his shoulder, i felt my eyes start to water. i had promised myself i would try not to make a big scene in public, and i intended on keeping that one. when he was finally within reach, he set his bag down and pulled me into his arms, picking me up off the ground, and my arms looped behind his neck.

“hey baby,” he said softly, and i found it incredibly hard not to cry; finally being in his arms after so long. it felt like home.

“hey,” i replied, not letting go of him for a solid minute. he finally set my feet back down on the ground, and pulled away to look at me. i’m sure i looked like a mess by now, my eyes wet with tears that i was trying desperately to keep in. his hands went to the sides of my face and the pads of his thumbs gently wiped the droplets from my eyes.

“don’t cry darlin’- im here.”

“im just really happy to see you,” i confessed, hugging him again, this time my arms around his torso. his large biceps almost fully encased me against his chest, as he kissed the top of my head.

“i love you, layla,” he said softly into my hair, and i could’ve melted on the spot.

“i love you too, travis,” i spoke, my voice muffled by his muscular chest, but i could tell he heard me, since his arms tightened around me. he loosened his grip on me enough that i could look up at his face. his eyes were even more blue than i remembered. his beard was longer than when he left, but it looked like he had trimmed it recently, probably before flying home. his hair starting to grow out as well, no longer buzzed short, and i could start to see the start of his curls coming back in. “can i kiss you?” i asked timidly, and a smile broke out on his face.

“of course you can, baby,” he answered, and tilted my chin upward with his finger gently, until my lips met his. i had kissed people before, but it was never like this, and i realized that i had never felt for anyone the way that i felt for travis. when he kissed me it felt like i was breathing air for the first time, like our lips were perfectly molded to fit together. when we separated, travis placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.

“ready to go?” i asked. he nodded, swinging his backpack over his broad shoulders and taking my hand in his. “i have to text beth and let her know i found you.” i said remembering that i told her i would message her once i had picked him up.

“any chance you could tell her we can’t make it to the party?” he joked, and i smiled, hitting his chest playfully. “i’m only joking- sorta.”

“there will be plenty of time for just us later. your sister and your friends missed you too, ya know,” i teased. the guest list for the party included beth, jacob, and a couple of guys travis had been close with in high school and stayed in touch with after graduation.

“i know, darlin’,” he said, dropping my hand as we got to the car in the lot. “can i drive?” he asked.

“you don’t wanna just relax? i don’t mind driving.” i assured him.

“i haven’t gotten to drive a normal car in over a year, and you already drove all the way up here. you get to be the passenger princess from now on,” he smiled, extending his hand for me to give him the keys. i smiled, placing them in his hand and letting him open the passenger door for me to get in, making sure i had all my limbs in the vehicle before shutting the door. he adjusted the seat to accommodate his height and got in the driver seat, quickly adjusting the mirrors before placing the key in the ignition. “ready?” he asked, to which i nodded.

the drive was nice, an old lynyrd skynyrd cd playing quietly through the speakers, as travis drove with one hand on the wheel, the other placed on my thigh just above my knee, occasionally giving it a gentle squeeze.

“have you thought up a lie for why you need to take me home yet?” i asked him. “do you think people will be suspicious if we leave together?”

“not since you picked me up, no. we could just say you’re driving me to my own place. no one’s gonna check if i’m actually there or not.” he suggested.

“we run the risk of beth offering for you to spend the night at her place though.”

“that’s true. we could tell them the truth,” he suggested. that was always an option.

“it’s up to you. i’m fine with what you want to do, but if we tell them there’s gonna be a million questions… meaning we’ll have to stay longer…” i let my sentence trail off. “which seems like a shame, when there’s other things we could be doing instead.”

“fuck- yeah we can’t tell them-“ he decided quickly, and i giggled. “that’s the most beautiful sound i ever heard.” he stated, looking at me and smiling. i kissed him quickly, so he could turn his eyes back to the road. we were nearing beth’s apartment now, and i realized it meant for the next few hours, travis and i would have to act like we were just friends. it was definitely doable but that didn’t mean it was gonna be easy, especially since now he was looking at me like he was about to pull over and tear my clothes off, which i honestly wouldn’t have minded.

“ready to pretend to be platonically acquainted?” he teased, as if reading my mind, and i sighed.

“yes- but not looking forward to it.” i admitted.

“we’ll tell them soon, i promise. okay?” he said, i knew he wasn’t happy about it either.

“okay,” i said, defeated. i finally had him and now i had to act like i wasn’t head over heels for him.

“good girl,” he hummed, squeezing my thigh again. okay, that definitely didn’t help, i thought. we pulled into the parking lot at beth’s apartment complex, and travis kissed me softly before we got out of the car and headed inside.

-

the party was now nearing an end, and as happy as i was to see beth and travis reunite, it had been as anticipated; very difficult to act like we weren’t together. the food and cake had been great, and i was feeling the tiniest buzz after the wine cooler i had earlier, but i had to pretend i was too drunk to drive home so travis had an excuse to give me a ride. we had decided that was the best option to get us both out of here.

“you okay, layla?” travis asked, walking over to me, where i pretended to sway a tiny bit where i stood. i nodded.

“yeah, i’m okay. i think i’m gonna head home though. it’s really nice to have you back,” i said, which was the truth. he gave me a friendly looking hug, and i walked toward the kitchen to say goodbye to beth. i found her tidying up some of the snacks left on the counter.

“hey beth, i think i’m gonna head home - it’s been a long day,” i said. she smiled.

“thank you for coming! and for picking travis up for me, you’re a life saver.” she pulled me into a hug, which i returned; i truly loved my best friend.

“it was no big deal,” i assured her. i turned around to see travis walk into the kitchen from the other entrance and leant against the doorframe, smiling. “he insisted on driving on the way back here anyway, so i only did half the work.”

“i appreciate it regardless, darlin’,” he laughed. i said goodnight to the siblings, and pretended to stumble a little as i walked toward the front door to put my shoes on.

“are you okay to drive, lay?” beth asked, and i assured her i was, but bumped into the wall lightly to sell that fact that i was supposedly a little tipsy.

“let me drive you home, layla.” travis offered. i started to protest, but he interrupted me. “it’s the least i could do, after you picked me up today.”

“thanks travis,” beth said, deciding for me that it was a good idea; thankfully she didn’t suggest me staying the night like i worried she might.

“ready to go?” travis asked, sliding his boots on and taking the keys from my hand. i nodded, saying goodbye to beth as travis led me out of the apartment, a gentle grip on my shoulder as we walked down the hallway. once we got in the elevator, travis barely waited for the door to shut before pressing his lips to mine, and i returned the kiss eagerly. my back hit the wall with a soft thud as he stepped toward me, effectively pinning me in the corner of the small elevator car.

“i swear, that was the longest 6 hours of my life,” he breathed, forehead resting on mine as his hands fiddled with the bottom hem of my shirt. “you’re a pretty good actress, you actually looked tipsy for a minute there,”

“i’m motivated,” i answered, pressing my lips to his again, only separating when the elevator beeped to say the we had arrived at the main floor. the door opened and he led me to the car, before driving to my apartment with the help of my directions, his hand on my thigh once again, this time higher than before, causing my heart to beat quickly. after the longest 15 minute drive ever, we pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building, and travis parked the car before walking around to open my door for me. taking my hand, we walked to the front door, his lips dancing across my neck and shoulders as i fumbled with the keys trying to unlock the front door.

“you’re very distracting,” i chastised, finally unlocking the door and leading him inside. it was just a single flight of stairs up to my unit, and i quickly unlocked that door as well, before we tumbled inside. i dropped my purse to the floor and travis shut the door, my body positioned between him and it as he locked the door and kissed me again. my hands found his chest, sliding his jacket off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor, and pulling him closer by the belt loops of his pants. he groaned into the kiss, before pulling away slightly.

“you’re not actually drunk, right? i don’t want to-“

“no, i’m not. i only had one when we got to the party.” he nodded, before his lips found my neck, leaving lazy kisses up to my ear, as he toyed with the bottom of my sweater again, silently asking to remove it.

“travis…” i whined as he gently nipped at the skin on my jaw, his tongue soothing the sting of his teeth.

“are you sure? it’s been a while, darlin’- i can’t promise i’ll last very long..” he hesitated, his hands at the button of my jeans, waiting for permission to go further.

“i’m sure travis,” i reassured him. “i need this.” with that he kissed my lips again, and let me guide him to my bedroom.

-

i laid next to travis, our legs entwined under the sheets keeping our bodies covered, my head on his chest that rose and fell quickly as we both caught our breath. his arms wrapped around my waist as i moved to face him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

“i love you,” i said softly.

“say that again darlin’” he smiled, his eyes closed.

“i love you,” i repeated, and he looked at me, before kissing me deeply. i laid my head back down on his chest, and one hand gently caressed my hair, the other delicately drawing patterns on the bare skin on my hip.

“i love you too baby,” he replied, and i felt more content than i ever had; in the arms of the person i loved most in the world after being apart for so long. a thought crossed my mind, which made a sinking feeling grow in my chest.

“do you know how long you’re home for?” i asked him quietly, afraid of what the answer might be. he sighed.

“you really want to talk about that right now?” he asked.

“i knew going into this that your job wasn’t gonna make this easy. i want us to be honest with each other. and i want you; that means everything that comes with you,” i explained. he held me tighter.

“i don’t know for sure, but usually 3-6 months.” he said. i obviously wished it could be longer, but i was just happy to have him home with me for any amount of time. “we can worry about that later though. we gotta worry about something a lot scarier first-“ i looked at him, my eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, not sure what he meant, but he just smiled.

“we have to tell beth about us.” he said, his tone serious as if he had said we had to climb a mountain.

“i think that’s doable,” i laughed, the happiest i had been in a very long time. “but not tonight; i want you all to myself for one night.” travis kissed me, and i smiled against his lips as his arms held me close to him, and i could feel his heart beating against mine.

“you’ll have me for as long as you want, darlin’”

[doll-r-t]

Butterflies in your stomach

Syverson x autistic!reader

Just a small thing I thought about.

TW: fluff

Masterlist pinned on my blog

gif by demicampirew

You had met Syverson when he moved in with Jay, his best friend, after he was done with the military. Jay brought him to the bar, your friends and you would usually hang out. He was so handsome and immediately you had a crush on him. He was very much your type. Broad, muscular but with a layer of fat, not clearly defined muscles but clearly strong. They were functional muscles and you could only imagine how he could lift you up, carry you in his arms. Or easily lift the heavy things you had problems with. You dreamed about him coming up behind you taking the heavy things from you and easily carrying them to wherever you needed. And as a cherry on top he had a beard, giving him a rough, rugged look that made your heart flutter. Yet, what truly enticed you was how kind and caring he was, joking around even if it was on his own expense. He was cocky but not arrogant. 

Yet, you had no idea how to go about your crush, no idea what kind of woman he would be interested in and if you fell into that category. You spent countless nights wondering, thinking about him. Your heart would beat faster and faster when you knew you would see him whenever your friends would go out in the evening. You were not in the habit to regularly go out but the fluttering in your stomach gave you enough energy not to miss one outing and the chance to see him.

Your best friend found this quite odd that you would willingly go to every gathering. And finally only a week after you had realized you like Syverson you told your best friend. You were never a person who was ashamed of your feelings. Not understanding the secrecy around having a crush. 

Even though it would make you sad, very much so if he did not like you, you would be okay. At least you would know and could try and move on. 

However, as much as you tried you struggled with making conversation with him. It was always difficult for you. You either talked too little or too much. You did not know what to say, when and how to say something and eventually the conversations would die down and you were just not interesting enough for people to stick around. This got even worse when you liked someone. Trying to think clearly ignoring how hard your heart was beating and often your sentences were disjointed. While at times when a topic would arise you had previously been fixated on or were currently interested in. You would info dump and even sometimes correct people when they said something not entirely true. This was the biggest reason you struggled with finding a partner. You were just out of your depth with social interactions. And no one had ever caught your attention as much as Syverson. All you wanted was to be wrapped up into his arms and make him laugh, enjoy the rumble in his chest and the amazing feeling it gave you when you would make someone laugh. Especially laughter of happiness, this was the greatest joy for you. 

You would always smile at him. When you first saw him you could not help but let the biggest broadest smile take over your face. Squishing up your cheeks until it would look like your eyes were closed. Yet, during the time you would spend with your friends at a bar or at someone's house having a BBQ you would shyly smile at him whenever your eyes met. No idea how to strike up a conversation. You could hardly look him in the eyes. Whenever you have intense emotion it is hard for you to look people in the eyes. No matter bad or good emotions. Your heart would race so hard that it would hurt if you also had to look directly at the person's eyes. Which was a shame as Sy had such beautiful eyes. You tried making conversation with him. You voice soft and tentative trying to curb the anxiety you felt talking to him, hoping he liked you. 

You could not see how soft his eyes were when he looked at you. The encouraging smile when he saw the nervousness whenever he talked to you. At first he thought you might be a bit scared of him but soon he realized that you had taken a liking to him. He had talked to his best friend, asking if he knew something you were interested in. So he could coax you out of your shell. It was a bit hard to hold up the conversations at times but he did not mind leading the way throughout the chats you two had. It was superficial at first and he caught on quickly that you struggled a little with social interaction. So when his best friend said he would ask his boyfriend, a guy from your friend group he saw you get along easily, Sy felt encouraged that next time you two saw each other he would have something to talk about with you. He wanted you to feel included in the group and now that Syverson was retired and was so kindly taken into the friend group he did everything to be a part of their little found family. 

When his best friend's boyfriend was over at their place he gave him some pointers not only on you but other people in the group. Yet Sy especially listened to what he said about you. You liked cartoon drawings, had a high level of education and loved learning new things. You tried to learn different languages, loved books and storytelling. You were closed off at first until you got a basic understanding of a person. But once someone would get through your shell you would open up. As Syverson understood from what the boyfriend said, you were honest, kind, gentle but stood up for what you believed, fighting for your loved ones. Syverson  thought long and hard about what the boyfriend had said about you. He remembered the way you made sure everyone was okay, that they had drinks and food. How you ran after your friend when she forgot her hat at the bar even though you would see each other tomorrow. Saying: "I did not want her to be cold or panic searching for her hat." It brought a smile to Syverson's face. The more he thought about you the more he wanted to get to know you. 

He slowly and so gently fell in love with you. When you two talked and he brought up a book he knew you liked, Syverson fell full force for you. The way your eyes lit up, how you stumbled over your word because you were speaking so fast, how you would gesture with your hands and smile up at him in excitement. 

However, you surprised him when your group of friends left the bar. You turned to him, a little nervous and asked him if he wanted to have coffee with you. "Just us two. I like you and would love to get to know you better. If that is okay with you." He had never been asked out, well so direct and honest. He liked that. You seemed so fearless while doing it. Letting him know what you want but making sure you would be okay if he refused. Normally Sy was the one asking out the woman and the caveman at him was annoyed you had beaten him to it. Yet the war tired man in him was relieved to have such directness. No dancing around, straight and simple. 

Finally he smiled at you, "'course darlin'. Would love that." He pulled out his phone to give you his number. Although you two were in a group chat with all your friends he wanted the experience of giving you his number, making it feel more like a romantic start. You beamed up at him pulling out a piece of paper. His lips quirked at this. He knew you had your phone on you. But you looked so cute, with the piece of paper in your hands holding it out excitedly to him. 

Giving him the piece of paper he saw you had written your phone number on it and your name. He took it happily. "Let me know when you wanna grab that coffee. I am free most of the time." You went on, still smiling up at him. "You got it sweetheart." He hesitated a bit. He thought of your honesty so he gave himself a push. Screw seeming too eager! Who cares anyway? 

“How about tomorrow at 3pm.” He smiled down at you. 

Your friends had walked a bit further away giving you two some space but couldn’t help but look at the two smiling at each other. You two are so cute, your best friend thought. 

“We could go to the small cafe with the vintage furniture, the one couple streets down the road.” He pointed his thumb behind him. You nodded eagerly. He knew you loved that cafe. 

“Of course, I love that cafe. They have the option to put vanilla sugar into the coffee!” You exclaimed excitedly. “Well then it’s decided. I can pick you up and we can park by O'malley's pub then walk downtown.” You nodded once more. “See you then.” You hugged him. Burying your face in his chest, he enclosed you in his arms, almost swallowing you whole. He could get used to this. You lifted your head looking up at him, with sparkling eyes. Taking your face in his hands he kissed your forehead. “See you then.” He whispered. Watching as you and your best friend walked down the road to your car. 

Both of you went home that night with butterflies in your stomach and a smile on your face.

Taglist:

@tumblnewby @irishprincess89 @wheretheriversrunintothesea @amberangel112 @sofiebstar @omgkatinkaa @enchantedbytomandhenry @snowbellexx @daddys-littlewhitegirll @pjkimrnn @zealoushoundd, @lunedelorient​, @tragicphoenix13​, @alexa-fangirl-forever​, @vhjlucky13​ @bourbonwithicee, @lunedelorient, @identity2212

[fivequartersoftheorange]

"To die by the thigh is the way of the warrior.", Syverson nods thoughtfully. "If you're not willing to suffocate for it, can you really call yourself a man of honor?"

ASDBXHEUEJSHDB I'm not really sure what this is. Humor me. 🤣🤣🤣

[angywritesstuff]

Feeding the U.S Army

summery: You’re a Masterchef contestant, and during the team challenge you and your team have to cook for 100 army men. Easy right?

Pairing: Captain Syverson x reader

Warning: very bad english, no proof-read. ENGLISH IS NOY MY FIRST LANGUAGE SO IF THERE ARE ANY MISTAKES I’M SORRY.

I don’t even know what this is but I hope you like it

Masterchef! You had just passed the last selection and finally were going to cook in the Masterchef kitchen.

You didn’t really know what you were expecting when you send in your request to partecipate to the new season of Masterchef, the only thing you knew was that you loved cooking.

You had started cooking when you were really young: you were only eight when you helped your mom baking your dad’s birthday cake for the first time and you hadn’t stopped ever since.

It could seem strange for some people but, growing up in a farm, it was normal for anyone to help as much as they could: you had started with tidying up your room, you had learnt how to collect the eggs from the chicken goop first things in the morning, you had gone with your father to take care of the cows; but as soon as you and your family had found out how much you enjoyed spending your time in the kitchen, that had become your kingdom. You still helped with any other task if help was needed, but most of the time everyone left you do what you did best and what you loved the most: cooking.

So yeah.. you loved cooking: you cooked when you were happy, wou baked when you were stressed, you cooked when you were stuck in your own head, you went to the kitchen when you needed a moment to yourself knowing that very few people had the guts to follow you in your place in the house. 

Anyway the idea of participating at Masterchef first come out while the previous season of the show was on air: you were in the kicthen (surprise surprise!), you were preparing everything for that night gathering; your father was keeping you company while preparing a fruit salad (the only thing you had given him permission to touch, he had pretended to be fed up with your behavior but you both knew it was just for show). You were talking, the tv was on in the background when a new episode of Masterchef had began and your father had stopped answering your question.

“Dad?”- you had asked while still chopping the onions; there was so much to do in so little time you didn’t have time to pay attention to what your father was doing

“You are so much better than him”- your father hadn’t been making any sense

“What are you talking about?”- you had taken your attention from the onions to finally look at your father

“You should try and get on Masterchef”- your father had insisted still looking at the screen where Joe Bastianich was talking to a man in a black apron.

“You’re crazy”- you had simply said before getting back to your cooking. 

You hadn’t talked about it again that day, but the idea had lingered with you and even though you had kept your thoughts to yourself, your father knew you better than anyone else, so one day you had found the Masterchef application on your bed with a post on it 

‘I know you can do it honey- dad’- the post had said 

You had had a lot of fear: the fear of dissapoint your family, the fear of being on national television, the fear of leaving your family that needed your help at the farm every day, the fear of not suceeding, the fear of not being good enough,the fear of not pass even the first selection. Your father had come to your help once again “Honey the only way you could lose is if you didn’t even try. What’s the worst that could happen? that you don’t get in? Who cares? You will always be our favorite chef”

Your father’s words had been the push you needed, so you had send you application and when you had been called for the selection you had been excited.

You had survied the first couples eliminations and now you were going to be the captain of your team, the red team, in the first team challenge and you were scared shitless: not only you could go home if you made any mistakes, but the future in the competion of your team mates depended on you too, and as if that wasn’t enough you had to feed one- hundred army man. So yeah you were panicking and trying not to show it because you needed your team to trust you and to be calm enough to serve good food.

You took a deep breath and focused on what the judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Aaron Sànchez were saying.

“Each  team will have to devise a menu that includes a protein, two vegetable and a sauce”- Joe said

“Now remeber, at the end of the day one of you will be eliminated and this will be last time he will be cooking in this competion”- Gordon’s words kept your anxiety spiriling but you tried to keep your focus- “All right, are you guys ready? let’s go”

You and your team sprinted as soon as Gordon had done talking. Once what you wanted to cook had been decided, you gave a task to each and everyone of your team mates and you all started cooking.

Managing between doing your own prep and making sure every team member was doing ok and didn’t need your help, wasn’t easy but you made it; the judges tasted your dish after half an hour and, aside from some suggestions to make it better, they liked it.

So you were on cloud nine: the judges liked the dish your team had devised, your prep had gone alright, your team was doing ok. But then service started and YOU PANICKED: you had to serve 100 army men and women and you had no idea how to prepare 100 dished that were perfect and that looked all the same. Your team was looking at you for direction but you had no idea what to do: you had never worked in a restaurat, none of you ever had, and when you cooked for your family gathering everyone made their own dishes, you were so out of your comfort zone. 

And that’s when things started to go even worse: service had started, the army men and women had arrived and had a very clear view of your stations, you had no idea how you wanted to plate the food and Gordon Ramsay came to you and he didn’t look happy.

“Red team come here, all of you, RIGHT NOW! We need a system, your tray is cold, the food is cold, I’m not letting you serve fucked up food. Take your food back in, warm it up, warm your tray. Y/n come here. YOU ARE THE TEAM CAPTAIN, SO FUCKING WAKE UP, DECIDE HOW YOU WANT YOUR FOOD ON THE PLATE AND START A PRODUCTION LINE. RIGHT FUCKING NOW Y/N”- Gordon pratically screamed in your face, you knew he just wanted to make sure the food that came out was perfect, he only wanted for you guys to succeed, but you had never liked when people screamed in your face even if you knew they didn’t mean any harm. Your eyes watered but you weren’t going to cry, you were going to do this, but when you thought things couldn’t go any worse..... you found out you were obviously very wrong.

“HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?”- a voice boomed behind Gordon and once you raised your gazed to see what was going on, you saw a mountain of a man, dressed in uniforme, coming towards you.

It was clear not even Gordon knew what was happening

“Can I help you, sir?”- Gordon asked, you couldn’t sure but his voice sounded a little bit unsure

“You wanna help me, why don’t you start by not screaming at a woman?”- the army-man’s voice was much calmer now but he wasn’t any less intimidating. Gordon didn’t know what to say and you knew it, so you took a step forward

“It’s really not a problem.. ehmm”- you read the name of the man on his uniform - “Captain Syverson, sir. Chef Gordon was just giving me a pep talk, everything is good. We will be serving you your food very soon”

As soon as you had started talking the man’s eyes had moved from Gordon to you and for the first time, since he had come over, you noticed how bautiful they really were. His eyes had become gentler when he had started looking at you, you had almost shivered when his attention had been on you and you only.

“Mhhm”- Captain Syverson said like he was still assessing the situation before deciding - “You can called me just Syverson”- he said before turning around and going back to his men.

You stood there for another second, all eyes were on you and you were sure your cheeks were burning

“Back to work guys”- you said. There was no way you weren’t sarving your best food to that hunk of a man.

Everything had gone smoothly after that, you had felt eyes on you some time during service but every time you had looked up you had never been able to pin point who was looking at you, so you had always gone back to work.

Once the judges had annouced your team had received 70 votes against the 30 of the other team and you had won you couldnt’ been happier, you had been sad for the contestant that had had to leave the show, but it was a competition and that was how it worked.

You were still celebrating with your team when you heard someone clearing their throath behind you

“Hello”- captain Syverson was behind you

“Oh Captain, hello”- what was happening?

“I thought I told you to call me Syverson, or Nathan if you prefer, but none on that Captain crap”- his raspy voice was doing things to you that shouldn’t be possible when you had just met the man.

“Right. Was everything ok with your food?”- you asked because why would he be here, if not because there had been something wrong with his food

“The food was amazing, you’re a fantastic cook, sugar”- he said and your cheeks burned once again at the name. What was this man doing to you

“Oh thank you, it was a team effort”

“Well you are the team captain, so I think you deserve some credit, sugar”- he said before looking back where a man was calling for him - “I need to go, but I really hope to see you again sugar”- he winked at you before leaving.

“uh”- you stood there staring at his back not sure of what had happened.

Everyone had joked about what happened between Gordon and the captain for the rest of the season, but you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the man that had screamed at Gordon Ramsay (GORDON- FUCKING- RAMSAY) for you.

The competition had gone on and without even knowing how you had arrived to the grand finale and to your surprise YOU HAD WON!

So yeah when you sent your application for Masterchef you didn’t know what you were expecting, but in the end it was clear you had left the show with so much more you had even though you could win.

liked by masterchefus, gordongram and 234,567 others

itsMeYN When I sent the application for Masterchef, because my father conviced me to, I never thought I would even passed the first selection, let alone win the finale. This journey has given me so much, I learnt from every single one of the other contestat, some of which have become really good friends. I don’t even know how to start thanking the judges, Gordon, Joe and Aaron, They have taught me so much and always known when I needed a nudge to wake up and start believe in myself. Thank you, thank you this competition has given me so much 

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yourmominsta I’m so proud of you honey 

jennifer So happy for you, I was rooting for you since the first episode

haley234 Congrats! can we please talk about the team challenge with the army man ;)

austin  Oh my god! that episode was the best, that army captain was totally hitting on her

felicity Does Captain Syverson have instagram? Please does anyone know?

austin I dont think so, I’ve been looking for him too

rachel  Guys I was watching her story the other day and I swear there was a very familiar scratchy voice in the backgroud

yourbestfriend Oh my god... @itsmeYn I think you got busted

itsmeYn @yourbestfriend shut up

haley234 wait what

liked by masterchefus, gordongram, yourbestfriend and 345,678 others

ItmeYn Had the pleasure to dine at @gordonndram restaurant, and wasn’t that an experience. Also I think the second meeting between Gordon and at certain someone went a lot better

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austin “Certain someone”... yep she is totally dating Captain Syverson. Is it normal being so obsessed with the idea of them together when I have only seen 5 min of them together on tv?

haley234 Same sis, same.... and maybe it’s not normal but who cares

gordongram We still yelled at each other so I wouldn’t say it went so much better

itsMeYn “We” is the key word here, you yelled at Sy too, i think it’s mostly out of love now 

austin Sy... I repeat she wrote Sy... My ship is real

Yeah Masterchef had given you so much…

Masterlist

All around taglist: @jwspiter​

Henry Cavill and characters taglist: @xxxkatxo​ @mansaaay @thorins-queen-of-erebor​ @maan24​ @grounded-in-light​ @omgkatinka​  @xprettyqueenx​ @marytudorbrandon

[ramp-it-up]

II Most Wanted Pt. 3: Drivin’ you crazy...

Pairing: Syverson x OFC Reader "Buttercup" (w/ Betty Bronco)

Summary: Sy tells his story and you tell yours. And all of that pent up feeling has to go somewhere, right?

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. RPF. S MUT, Angst, pining, fluff. Mentions of teenage pregnancy, cheating, deception, divorce, breakups., self-destructive behaviors, fighting, promiscuity, mentally abusive relationships, miscarriage. Army life. Old automobiles, a 20 year high school reunion, a drive-in, red meat and french fries, dirty talk, voice kink, mentions of masturbation, fingering, oral sex (male and female receiving), grown ppl getting NASTY in the back of a car, graphic depictions of sex acts.

Read at your own risk.  Not Beta’d. All errors my own.

A/N:  This is the third installment of II Most Wanted. I'm in love with these two; they are bringing my cold dead writer heart back to life. If you like it, please reblog and comment.

I don't have a taglist. Please follow @rampitupandread and turn on notifications to learn when I post! 😘

I Do NOT Consent to my work being reposted, translated or presented on any other blog or site other than by myself.

Previous part

—--

You let Sy’s arm go and settled in for the ride once you got to State Route 405. The window was down and you were making waves in the wind, just like you used to do all those years ago. 

Sy looked over at you and felt something that he couldn’t name at that moment, and the feeling intensified when you reached up and pulled your hair out of the chignon, letting it go wild in the wind. 

He didn’t know he made a sound in his throat as he admired how you looked in the moonlight. You looked back over at him, hair whipping around your face; gorgeous.

“What?”

He realized that he was grateful that you agreed to come with him at all. He said something instead of what he was feeling.

“You hungry?”

You looked out to the highway and smiled at the road.

“Looks like you already know the answer to that.”

Sy nodded at you, a slight smile on his lips. He felt the familiar rhythm of you two falling back in sync. Didn’t seem like two decades at all. 

“Just checking.”

After a comfortably silent ten minute ride, you pulled up at Cardin’s Drive-Thru, an institution in your town. You grinned at Sy.

“The world is your oyster, order anything you want.”

He waved his hand toward the menu on his side of the car and you giggled at the familiar phrase. You scooted closer to him on the bench seat. 

“Sorry. I wear glasses now. Didn’t bring them.”

Sy didn’t know why the image of you in glasses got him hard. You glanced at him as you leaned over him to look at the menu to see if it had changed. He took in your breasts as you gave him a view of your cleavage as you leaned over his lap. Lord, give him strength.

“No worries at all, Buttercup.”

His voice was gruff and you felt his breath on your face as you closed your eyes and took a whiff of burgers and fries and Sy.

Sy was practicing all of his restraint as you stayed close to him to look at the menu.

“I want…”

That voice did something to Sy, and he had to shift in his seat. You and that damn cute look of curiosity didn’t help the situation in his pants either. 

“I want… a Smokey Burger and a chocolate shake please!” 

You were as happy as a clam.

“Y’know. I’ve had dreams about Cardin’s burgers, especially since I stopped eating red meat two years ago. But you know what, tonight seems to be all about “Fuck It!” 

Sy raised his eyebrow at you.

“You just ordered a burger with double patties and bacon.”

“Yep,” You popped the p. “I know.” 

You grinned at him and he shook his head.

“Still living dangerously, I see.”

You raised your chin.

“I’m still living,” you replied.

An understanding passed between you.

“Amen.”

Sy stretched his long arm out of the window to press the button and order, and you were staring at his forearms again. Don’t be such a slut, you thought.

“Yes, we need a Smokey Burger, a chocolate shake, a Huge Burger, no onions, and an extra large Frenchy fries, with a large Dr. Enuf.”

He smirked at you after the order was confirmed.

“It’s a given that you would come for my Frenchy fries.”

Sy gave you a short history about the ownership of the legendary drive-in, and how the new owners were long time residents who vowed to restore its former glory, including the world famous Frenchy fries.

“Well, Cardin’s fries are legendary, but I have to be careful. ‘M not the same size I used to be.”

You smoothed your dress down as much as you could while seated. Sy followed the path of your hands on your body and licked his lips.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You look damn good to me.”

Sy arched his eyebrow at you and you laughed nervously.

“I’m dead serious. You look even better than I remember, Buttercup. You were always so pretty.”

You were quiet as you looked into his eyes. He was being sincere.

“Sy, that’s sweet.”

He moved toward you, getting into your space. You couldn’t breathe, and your primal brain was kicking in.

“If you only knew what thoughts I’m thinkin, Buttercup. You wouldn’t call me, “sweet.”

 His eyes ran over your body posessively. 

“You are still the finest woman I’ve ever seen.”

You were locked in, ready to ask him what he was thinking and let him ruin your life all over again. You parted your lips to lick them and speak when you heard the metal of the drive-in tray connect with the open window behind Sy and your focus shifted as Sy moved away.

“Got your food here!”

Sy ran his hand through his short curls. He looked annoyed. At the interruption, his hair, maybe both?

“Haven’t had my hair this long in a while. Growing it out.”

You reached out and arranged an errant curl.

“Looks good on you, Sy.”

He just grinned and then turned to get the food. 

Once the food was in the car and paid for, he asked, “Wanna take this up to the Lookout?”

You looked at him skeptically.

“Only so we can tailgate and talk and stretch our legs. And look at the view.”

He smiled that rogueish smile at you. Some things never change, you thought with a smile. You sipped your shake, which was still really too thick to drink, and nodded.

“What the hell. You only live once, right?”

“Ya damn right, Buttercup.”

— 

You sat eating Sy’s Frenchy fries under the star light as country music played and Sy looked at you thoughtfully, Beyonce playing in the background.

Il tuo fedel

Sospira ognor

Cessa, crudel

Tanto rigor

Ooh

Ooh

“You ready?”

You hopped off the liftgate and stood in front of him, prepared to hear his story.

“Let’s go.”

Sy took a deep breath as you waited and listened. 

“Well, the fact is, you told me so.”

“What do you mean?”

“You asked me if I was sure that the baby was mine. Then I got mad and that made things worse. And that was the last time you spoke to me.”

“Yeah.”

“And after you broke up with me, rightly so in that situation, I decided to be there for my family. Becca and I got married at the courthouse before the baby came, and I enlisted in order to have an income and health insurance for the baby.”

Your heart clenched.

“I shipped out right after little Jeremiah was born.”

There was a wistful smile on Sy’s face that warmed your heart.

“Becca stayed with her parents while I was on tour, and for two years we were apart. It was hard bein’ away, and Becca and I didn’t have the best relationship, but I was set to make it work for our kid, ya’ know?”

“I wouldn’t have expected anything less, Sy.”

He looked at you long and hard.

“Becca broke the news to me when I came back. The baby was Jeremy’s, but he didn’t want to accept responsibility at the time, and she knew I would.”

“What?”

Your mouth dropped open. 

“Jeremy Atkins. Your best friend Jeremy?”

“Unhhunh.”

Sy looked as hurt as if it just happened.

“I am so sorry Sy.”

“It was a helluva blow. And I was so angry. At myself for believing the lie, you know? For getting attached to the idea of being a parent.”

Your heart broke for Sy. You moved closer to him.

“I was so self destructive. Got into fights with everyone at every bar within a 50 mile radius. Then, I went right back to Afghanistan, acting as if each one was a suicide mission.”

Sy’s voice lowered.

“Came home in another two years and screwed up the courage to ask Bubbles about you. She told me you were engaged to…”

“Scott. Yeah…”

You couldn’t look him in the eye, but Sy lifted your chin with his fingers, causing you to look him in the eyes.

“And you know what? Thinking that you were happy calmed me down a little. I was proud of you for getting your degree and moving on, so I decided to do the same. Went to college, mostly on line, and then Officer’s Training School, joined Special Forces. Went back to the front and became a leader. Immersed myself in the cause while keeping perspective of my role in it. But a couple of years ago I got injured,”

He saw the look on your face.

“It’s my back. I’m mostly fine. But it allowed me to retire early.”

Sy looked around at the view, the twinkling lights of the town.

“I started a business with a partner, and I volunteered to be the offensive line coach for the high school in my spare time. I even got to coach Jeremiah his senior year. He’s turned out to be a good kid.”

He looked at you, and time seemed to melt away. He was the same Sy you fell in love with 20 years ago. But with so much more wisdom. 

“I live a good life, Buttercup. Don’t feel sorry for me.”

You moved to sit beside him again on the tailgate. You were silent as you tried to think of what to say.

“I don’t feel sorry for you. I’m sorry this happened to you. I forgive you for what I held against you. Sy? D’you forgive me?”

You needed his answer like air.

“Nothing to forgive, Buttercup. Like I said. I can’t complain about my life.”

You looked up at Sy who was looking up at the stars with a wry smile on his face. You looked up, too. He looked back down at your profile.

“What about you? How has your life been?”

You took a deep breath, contemplating that question and the stars. You decided to tell him everything. Well, almost everything.

“I was angry too, Sy. You know that. Angry that all my well laid plans were turned to dust in a moment. When I went to college across the state, I decided to stop caring so much. So, I fucked everyone in sight.”

Sy winced. You chuckled.

“I calmed down in a couple of years and met Scott. He seemed so steady? He was in law school, and his father was a partner in a big firm. He said that I didn’t have to finish my degree; I could just go home with him to New York City, have a couple of babies and be a society wife. Seemed like a good idea, so I did. I left just two semesters shy of having my degree in architecture.” 

You shook your head at your gullibility.

“My mom was elated, thinking I’d hit the jackpot.”

You got up again and started pacing, hands wrapped around yourself as you thought back to that time in your life.

“It was not good. Two miscarriages, 3 mistresses, and 8 years later, I finally found the courage to leave with Carla when she came to visit. I vowed never to go back to that headspace again.”

Sy stood up then, fists closed at his side and his jaw clenched.

“I didn’t know. I asked about you, but neither Bubbles nor Blossom told me that. I would have come for you, Buttercup.”

You smiled at him. 

“They knew better than to say a word to you. Seven years ago I didn’t want anyone to know. And I didn’t need rescuing. I rescued myself.”  

You smiled again and Sy just wanted to hold you.

“Went back to school and finished my degree. Lived life on my own terms.”

You looked him in the eye again.

“So yeah, I guess I have a pretty good life, too.”

“I’m glad, Buttercup.”

Sy sat down again and your eyes moved down the length of him. Why did brown dress shoes get you so hot? You had a problem.

“You sharing this good life with anyone?”

Sy’s voice made you nervous all of a sudden. You looked at your hands.

“Not at the moment, no. I’m single.”

Sy seemed to let out a breath. 

“Me, too, been single ever since I retired.”

You didn’t know what to say. 

“Oh.”

Sy stood up and walked in front of you. You were still looking at his shoes.

“Ya know, I’ve only felt like I’ve been in love once, no. Twice in my life.”

“Hmmm.”

You were afraid of this conversation and you couldn’t fully participate. 

“Please look at me Buttercup.”

You did as he asked. His eyes were burning right through you.

“The first time I felt that was 20 years ago, with you. And the second…”

Sy moved toward you and took your hands in his.

“Hell, we’ve wasted enough time, Buttercup. The truth is,when I saw you tonight I realized that I’m still in love with you now.”

—-

The wind was knocked out of you. How were you supposed to respond?

“Sy, I- I can’t survive another hurt. My heart is in pieces.”

“I know, Buttercup. But I promised you that I will love you until the day I die. I meant that shit. I still mean it.”

He moved closer, and he slotted himself between your thighs. His hands went to your hips and he pulled you close.

“Won’t you let me make it up to you? These last 20 years?”

You continued to look into his eyes as you considered his request. You put your hands on his chest as you made your decision.

“No, Sy. I can’t let you do that.”

He looked hurt and his eyes were cast down as his cheeks dusted pink. He thought he blew it. Then you spoke again.

“The past is the past. It’s done. We can try and work on today. And tomorrow. One day at a time. I’d like to try with you.”

Sy’s brow furrowed, but his face softened as he realized what you were saying. He gave you a soft smile.

“Fair enough, Buttercup. Let’s work on today. And tomorrow. I’ll give you some time.”

You thought about how Sy was always a gentleman with you, never pushing you to do anything you didn’t want to do, always putting your needs first. Well, you needed him now.

Your hands were fisting his shirt now, pulling apart so that you could see his dog tags against his chest hair, and that image sent you feral. You pulled him toward you. Sy sucked in a breath as you left a soft kiss on his lips, his beard tickling your cheeks. He seemed frozen as you pulled away. 

“Mmmhm.”

Sy grunted in his throat and his hands came up to your waist. His cock was swelling and he felt on the edge of control. 

“I wanna kiss you again, Buttercup. And not in a ‘sweet’ way.”

“Do it, Sy. We’re grown now.” 

You were breathless at the emotion and lust in his voice. 

Sy moved his hand to the back of your neck and you shivered as he carded his fingers at the back of your scalp, tugging on your curls to make you look up at him.

“‘M not sure you are ready for all that I want, Buttercup.”

And his mouth descended on yours, his thumb came around and ticked your jaw open for him to invade your senses with himself. He kissed you like he owned you, and his hands ended up on both sides of your head as you moaned your way through the kiss. He pulled away, looked at your lips, then went back in to kiss you again.

“Ya got my mind runnin’ baby. Those lips. Fuck. I’m down bad.”

Sy’s cock was hard and aching, and his hands were on your body: those thighs, that ass as he pulled you closer to him. Then he stopped and leaned away, searching your face. Your eyes were dilated and those lips were parted.

Holy fuck, was he a goner.

You whimpered and pulled him closer, your hands going to his ass as he kissed you again. He was laughing at you as he pulled away this time.

“Look who’s getting spicy no-”

Sy stopped talking when you ripped his shirt open, buttons flying everywhere. You were disappointed when you saw the tank he was wearing underneath.

“Sorry Sy. I ruined your shirt. I don’t know what came over me.”

You looked up at him under your lashes and he couldn’t tell if you were being facetious or not. You toyed with his dog tags, imagining them waving in your face as... Shit. What were you doing?

Sy stepped back and pulled the shirt off, and pulled the tank out of his pants, then came back to you immediately, hands moving up your thighs, pushing your short dress up even further.

“I know what came over you. Same thing’s that’s been possessing me for years, Buttercup.”

Sy leaned down to capture your eyes and you were stuck. You were locked in on him as he proceeded to destroy your sou.

“You’ve been drivin’ me crazy for years, running around my mind as I did a lot of things. Thought of you when I was training, eating, doing things around the house. When I was in-country and alone in my tent at night. When I…”

Sy stopped and licked his lips as his hands reached the tops of your thighs, long fingers toying with the waistband of your panties. You squirmed in his grip.

“Shit, Buttercup, do you ever think of me when you touch yourself?”

You were mute, mouth open to breathe, and Sy knew you were in the zone. 

“Cause I sure as hell do. Do you know how often I’ve imagined you wrapped around me when it was just my hand?”

Sy whispered it in your ear, but pulled back to see your reaction, which was wide-eyed lust. You licked your lips and nodded, ready to hear more. 

“Time and space is nothin’ to fight this powerful magic that is the thought of you, Darlin’. I imagine you, imagining me while you touch your pretty little pussy, circling your little clit with your delicious wetness. I dream of you getting off because of me, just like I cum so fucking hard just thinking of you. Every time.”

Sy watched your eyes close and your chest heave as you tried to regulate. He continued with his seduction.

“...But I know it’s nothing like the real thing.”

Your own fingers ventured below his undershirt, finding thick abdominal muscles there, and a dense happy trail. His stomach clenched in response to your touch.

“Mmmm. Can I touch you too, Buttercup? Are these panties soaked? Can I check to make sure?”

You were nodding as your hands went up his pecs, grabbing them, your fingers ghosting over his nipples. Sy moved his hands at a glacial pace it seemed, because you wanted him instantly where you needed him most. 

He found your sodden center over the gusset of your panties and you pressed into his light touch. He groaned as he started rubbing up and down your clothed seam and pressing the now sticky material into you. You leaned forward and started licking and sucking the veins that popped up on his neck. He moaned.

‘You got me so far gone, baby. I wanna…’’

He grabbed the side of your panties and you whimpered with need.

“Just say the word, and I’ll stop. But right now I can’t help myself. Need to feel you, touch you, taste you.”

“Don’t stop, Sy. Been waiting so long.”

Sy put his forehead against yours, breath huffing in time with yours. You again asked for what you wanted.

“Sy. I need you. Need to feel y-”

Your words caught in your throat as Sy pulled your panties to the side and sunk his fingers into your wetness. The obscene slosh of you made Sy pulse in his pants. He trailed up and down your cut, shaking his head and clenching his jaw.

“Why?” 

He looked up at you as if you had wounded him, blue eyes blazing.

“Why are you so fucking…so fucking wet? How do you expect for me t-to f-f fuck! T’ function when…?”

The stutter did you in.

“‘S’all you, Sy. Got wet when I first saw you t’night…”

Sy pulled his fingers out and tasted them, moaning, then growling, and then took a hold of your waist and practically threw you in the back of the truck. He leaned over the gate, pulled your thighs apart, then tore your panties off, causing you to squeal.

“You’re so fucking pretty. Gotta taste you, Buttercup. Can’t believe it’ll be my first time.”

“Go for it.”

You winked and smiled at him, but the look was wiped from your face as he dove into your crease, tongue licking a rude stripe from the bottom to the top of you. You put your hand over your mouth as you moaned.

Sy looked up at you, offended.

“Don’t keep your sounds from me, baby. Need to hear the real thing instead of my imagination.”

He went back to work kissing your clit, then sucking it into his mouth with increasing intensity. The slight burn from his beard was delicious. You got a grip of his hair as he manhandled your thighs, keeping you in place as you writhed and arched beneath him. He moaned against you while talking to your pussy. 

“So fucking good for me.” 

“Taste like a jar o’ spicy honey...”

“Hmmm. Beard’s all soaked now. That’s my girl.”

“Gettin’ even wetter for me, that’s what I like. Gimme.”

“I love this pretty little pussy.”

His proclamations were punctuated by kisses, licks, and sucks and finally, he pushed one thick finger into you as you called his name. The cunilingus, penetration, and praise had you teetering on the precipice.

“Syyyyyy!”

“That’s it. Let me hear you. Damn, you’re so fucking hot and so godamn tight. Dream about giving you my cock, but I don’t know if you can take it…”

He knew he had you as he leaned back down to suck your clit like taffy candy again. You watched him and moaned. Then he added another finger. You stiffened. Then he crooked his fingers, telling you to come to him, and you did. And all over his face.

Sy took off his tank and wiped his face with it, then unbuckled his pants and fisted his cock, crawling in the back of the truck with you.

“Don’t have any condoms, just let me… just let me rub one out…so fucking hard for you Buttercup.”

Sy was so far gone, his mind was mush.

“C’mere, Baby…”

You reached for him as he shuffled near you on his knees and started stroking, admiring the large mushroom cap of his cock glistening from pre-cum in the starlight. You fell in love with the way his length curved into the curls on his abs, and the way his breath hitched as your hand tried to close around him. You pressed your nose into his belly to inhale his scent, careful not to stop what your hand was doing. 

It was your turn to pleasure him.

“I do think about you, Sy. I imagine deep throating you while you play in my pussy. Makes me cum so hard against my little bullet.”

You pressed a kiss near his belly button as his cock jerked in your hand and his abs clenched. His hand went to your hair. You could tell that he wanted to move your mouth to his dick, but that he was holding back. You lifted your hand, jacking him faster as you kissed his balls, which were so tight against him.

“Wan’ you to cum all over my stomach, my tits…”

Sy groped your chest, searching for and then twisting your taught nipple when he found it. He was outright panting as you talked him through it.

“.... my ass, my lips, Sy…”

His groan was louder now and his knees were shaking as you licked a stripe up the underside of him, pausing, to purse your lips and gloss them in the clear fluid at his tip. You gazed up at him as you stuck your tongue out and kitten licked him.

“Truth is, I’m a slut for you. Fuck my face Sy,”

“Shhhhhitttttttt….!”

Sy grabbed your head and used your mouth while you concentrating on taking his thick length and breathing. 

“You’re a slut, hunh? My slut?”

You nodded as best you could, only to have your eyes roll as he pushed down your throat.

“Dream about swallowing my cum? D’ya? Like a good girl?”

“Ummhnnghhh!”

There were tears rolling down your face and saliva dripping down your chin.

“So fucking pretty swallowing my cock. Fuck….here it… fucking… comes….. Fuckkkk!”

Sy roared as his dick pulsed cum directly down your throat and you received it, letting your jaw go slack. Sy groaned as he pulled out and stroked the last of his spend on your outstretched tongue.

“So fucking nasty, Buttercup, who woulda thought?”

He beamed at you as you showed him his handiwork. He closed your mouth and you swallowed before he pulled you in for a filthy kiss. He cleaned your face with his tank top, straightened your clothes and his, and then pulled you to him.

“That was…”

You were hoarse, and you laughed. Sy laughed with you.

“That was hot.”

“Yeah. It was great.”

“I love you, Buttercup.”

There was silence on your end. You shivered as you thought about what was holding you back.

Sy didn’t want any awkwardness. He kept it moving.

“It’s getting chilly out.” 

He climbed out of the back of the truck and picked up his shirt, flicking any dust off of it and put it on you. Then, he put his tank top back on.

“Sy! That’s… Dirty.”

You blushed as you thought of your fluids all over it.

Sy lifted it and smelled it, then grinned back up at you.

“Yeah, smells like your pussy. Don’t think I’ll ever wash it.”

“Jacob Syverson!”

You swatted at his chest.

“Don’t act all shy on me now, not after what we just did, Buttercup.” 

He lead you back around to the passenger seat again and buckled you in. You bit your lip wondering what came next. Was this really happening? 

In a few minutes you were back at your car. The parking lot was empty except for your rental. Sy jumped out and opened your door. When you were back in your car, he leaned through the window and kissed your lips. 

“You’re here until Monday, yeah?”

It was Friday night. There was a weekend of activities for the reunion planned.

“Yeah. I’ll be at the cookout tomorrow, and church and brunch on Sunday. And I have a job interview Monday morning.”

Sy raised his eyebrow at that last bit, but didn’t ask for an explanation.

“Can I see you tomorrow night? Dinner?”

“Okay.”

Why were you so breathless?

Sy was anxious at letting you go.

“I’ll follow you to your air bnb. Just to make sure everything’s safe.”

You smirked at him. 

“Alright.”

Sy followed you to your old neighborhood, which now seemed to be gentrified, got out and checked out the house. Then, you walked him back to the front door. He leaned on the door frame and towered above you.

“G’night, Buttercup."

He licked those sinful lips of his.

"Sweet dreams.”

He leaned down and kissed you and then straightened up, eyes on you hungrily. He was driving you crazy, looking like a sex god. You thought about the amount of time you had left and you made a decision. You grabbed his shirt and pulled him into the house.

“Get your fine ass in here, Sy. I’m not done with you tonight.”

----

Next part Here

If you like it, hit reblog!

[dungeonpuppykai]

Some Sy tonight?

[gummydummy19]

Hi Gummy!<3

You shared that awful experience and I imagine...

Captain Sy and his insubordinate younger brother. His brother (let's say, Jim?) flirted with you in a pub. You don't really spark and he seemed a bit too slick for your liking, but Jim is persistent and (gradually annoying). It was not long before Captain Sy came barging in and took his younger brother home (and surprise surprise, Jim isn't reaching his drinking age yet XD), which is how you met. Maybe you met him again a few days later in the same pub, maybe you worked on a project that involves the military (hence Sy)

And somehow one of the worst encounters you have had in your life turns out to be the one in which you met the love of your life :3

Just a lil thot :3

JDHDKHCB JAM WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST IDEAS I absolutely freaking love this oml

How I met your mother

Content Warnings: fluff, swearing, unwanted flirting (from Sy's brother)

Word Count: 1.9k+

A/N: Since we're in the middle of the holidays, I decided to give this a little holiday twist :)) Imagine this as a throwback to how you met your hunky husband Sy... In the throwback Jim is 19, Sy is 27, and the reader is 23. In the present Sy is 42, reader is 38, Jim is 34.

Alright? All clear? Everyone good? Let's get this party started then

The entire family was gathered around your beautifully decorated dining table. It was well past midnight, and everyone was stuffed full of delicious food and the expensive wine you saved for special occasions. Sy had his hand resting on your thigh as you both listened to his dad share stories of when he was in the Navy.

"Fuck!" you heard your 13-year-old son yell from the couch behind you, waking up your 9-year-old daughter who was dozing off on her dad's lap.

"Jacob!" you snapped your head back at him, but the boy just rolled his eyes at you.

He was playing some new zombie-murder-call thievery videogame he had gotten for Christmas, courtesy of his uncle Jim.

"Don't you roll your eyes at your mother", Sy stepped in, "and watch your mouth, or that game is going on the shelf till summer."

"But dad!" he whined

"No buts!"

Now it was your turn to put your hand on your husband's thigh, giving him a sweet look to let him know you'd handle it.

"Jake, why don't you come sit with us for a little bit, hmm? Haven't you played long enough?"

"Oh come on, let the kid have some fun", Jim chimed in, earning an angry glare from his brother Sy.

"Yeah and who better to teach him that than his uncle Jim, right?" Sy spat.

"What's that supposed to mean?", Jim shot back.

"You know damn well what that means."

"Dad?" your little girl tugged on Sy's shirt.

"Yes, princess?"

"Don't you think Uncle Jim is fun?"

"Of course I do, Maya, it's just that Uncle Jim used to give us a whole lot of trouble, just like your brother gives us right now."

"Hey!" Jim and Jacob groan simultaneously.

"Oh, I think Jim caused quite some more trouble than our Jakey", you defended your son, who had finally sat down next to you at the table. You gave him a loving ruffle through his brown curls, remembering what Sy's hair used to look like before he started buzzing it off.

"Yeah well, give him a couple years", Jim joked.

"What kinda trouble did Uncle Jim get into?", your little girl chimed in again.

The three of you exchanged some looks before you finally spoke up. "Oh, I can think of a few things, but my favorite one is the story of how your father and I met", you smiled.

"Oh god", Jim groaned, "Can't you just tell them about the pranks I pulled in college or something?"

"No no", Sy chuckled, "I quite like this particular story".

"I love storytime!" your daughter yelled out excitedly.

"I'm kinda intrigued now too," Jake agreed, grinning at his uncle.

Sy's mother gave her husband a look as she sipped from her herb tea and you knew she loved this story too.

"It was 15 years ago", you started, "Me and my friends had just graduated college that summer. By wintertime, a couple of us had started working, or even gotten married, so we decided to catch up right before the holidays"

Flashback

"I can't believe it's almost been six whole months since we've all gotten together" your friend Sarah chided before taking a sip of her cosmo. “I know, I’ve missed you guys like crazy!” You said honestly. The five of you sat there and talked for what felt like hours, sipping on cosmo’s and sharing the juiciest stories from work or dating drama. It was like no time had passed at all.

“Alright girls, I’m gonna go get another refill anyone else need anything?”, you asked as you got up to walk towards the bar. The drinks were definitely starting to get to your head, but you didn’t care in the slightest. This was the most fun you’d had in weeks.

With a fuzzy head, you made your way over to the bar, still giggling at a joke your friend made 10 minutes ago. Leaning against the polished wood, you managed to catch the bartender's attention. "Um, two... wait, no, three more of these," you mumbled in your slightly tipsy state as you shoved your empty glass toward him.

You were patiently waiting for your drinks when a young, arrogant-looking guy slid up next to you, "Hey there! What are we drinking tonight?" he asked and you rolled your eyes.

"Just a couple drinks with my friends" you replied curtly, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Just you and your girls, huh? No boyfriend?"

"Nope."

"Are you looking for one?"

"Nope."

"Hmm I see, more a hit and run kinda gal, huh?" he smirked.

Damn, this guy was annoying.

"Look pal, I'm trying to have a good time with my girls, alright?" You finally turned to look at him. He sure wasn't ugly, but not your type. Besides, he looked a little on the young side you thought and you started to wonder if he should even be in here.

"That's alright baby, I'm all for good times", he stated with a proud grin, making you roll your eyes again.

The bartender slid over your drinks and grabbed them quickly "I'm not your 'baby', now if you will excuse me", you pushed passed him but his hand gently grabbed onto your waist.

"Oh come on, don't be like that...", if your hands hadn't been full you would have smacked him in the face for sure. You looked down at his hands on you and then straight into his eyes.

"You have about two seconds to get your hands off me before you get covered in Cosmo's and my knee introduces itself to your crotch."

"I just-" he started and you got ready to throw your 30 dollars worth of cocktails in his face.

"JIM!", a loud roar sounded through the bar, grabbing everyone's attention, including yours and the guy holding onto you.

He quickly dropped his hands and took a step back from you as the man who just entered stalked towards him. The entire movement made you drop your drinks, but you were too startled to care.

"L-logan....the hell are you doing here, man?", the boy stuttered and his whole demeanor changed in a split second.

"Me? What the fuck do you think you're doing here?!", you let your eyes roam over his body as he yelled out. He was clearly older than you. And definitely older than the arrogant guy. It was obvious that they knew each other. You wondered how. They seemed like two very different guys. The older one had a casual confidence whereas the younger one had made up arrogance.

You stayed frozen in place as you watched them yell at each other. The more you looked at their faces the more you started to notice similarities. The older one was bigger, with quite a bit more muscle to him, but they had the same strong jaw and nose, and their eyes were the same gorgeous shade of blue. Could they be...

"Miss, I'm really sorry for my brother."

"I uhm,...okay, that's okay", you mumbled.

The man gave you a friendly look before sticking his hand out.

"I'm Logan Syverson, but everyone calls me Sy. And that's my little brother Jimmy. I'm really sorry if he gave you any trouble, he's been acting out a bit lately."

You shook his hand without breaking eye contact. The second your skin made contact with his you felt your stomach drop...weird.

"Hey, I'm not a fucking kid!" Jim yelled out, earning an angry glare from Sy.

"Then maybe you should stop acting like one, Jimmy. You really think I wouldn't notice you taking my fucking bike? Huh?", Sy yelled, "You're taking the truck back home. Gimme my fucking keys back."

Reluctantly, Jim gave Sy the keys to his bike and Sy gave him the car keys in return.

"You didn't drink, did you?" Sy asked with a raised brow.

"No, Logan, I fucking didn't. Okay?!" he snapped before turning around and storming out. While you heard the car door slamming closed and the engine starting outside, Sy turned back to you.

"I'm really sorry about all that..." he scratched through his brown curls before his eye fell on the puddle of Cosmo's on the floor, "Oh christ, uh, here, please let me buy you a new round," he said, already pulling out his wallet.

"Oh no, no it's okay really, you don't have to", you assured him.

"No, I insist. I promise I won't stick around to bother you or anything, but just let me pay for them, please?"

Now how could you say no to that?

"Alright then, if you insist", you gave him a sweet smile.

The two of you walked to the bar and as you waited for your order, you couldn't help but give him a once-over. He was wearing a dark pair of jeans and a black shirt with some old writing on it. He was much taller than you, and big...very big. With a mind that was still half tipsy, you couldn't help the words that left your mouth next.

"You know...", you started, getting his attention, "I wouldn't mind if you did stick around for a bit...to bother me."

You swore Sy's eyes twinkled for a second as you looked up at him. Of course, he found you attractive. You were probably the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Scratch that. Not probably, definitely.

But still, the gentleman in him wanted to politely refuse, given your clouded state and what his brother made you endure already, but then your hand touched his arm and your eyes found his. "Please? I insist", you pleaded, and Sy caved. "Alright then, if you insist...", he was only a man after all, and he could only take so much.

Meanwhile, at the girl's table, everyone was far too drunk and caught up in whatever story they were telling to have noticed what just went down. But all the giggling came to a quick stop when a tall handsome man towered over them with four cosmopolitans in his hand.

"Ladies, this is Sy", you introduced him, holding three more drinks, "My savior of the night, and the buyer of our next round."

End flashback

"Aww, dad was her hero!", Maya yelled out.

"He still is", you smiled, leaning into Sy and pressing a kiss on his shoulder.

"Hold on. So, you tried to hit on mom?", Jake turned to his uncle, "That's gross, dude."

"Alright, okay, I remember that story a little differently", Jim spoke up, looking even grumpier than before.

"He was just a teenager", you defended your brother-in-law.

"I was almost twenty", Jim stated.

"Yeah, that doesn't exactly help your case, bud", Sy spoke up, wrapping his arm around you as you tried to stifle a giggle.

"So what happened after that?", Maya asked curiously.

"Well, your dad was too nervous to ask for my number, so I asked for his."

"Hey! I was just trying to be a gentleman", Sy defended argued, giving your shoulder a squeeze.

"Sure thing, hun", you grinned, "The week after we met up again in that same bar, and the rest is history."

"Is that bar still there?", Jacob asked.

"Actually, they turned it into a restaurant, but it's still called Mickey's."

"Hey, isn't that where...", your son started

"Where your dad proposed to me, yeah." you smiled fondly. "and we still go there every year on our anniversary..."

The end

Taglist;

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[lainiespicewrites]

Electric Summer Ch 4

I’m sorry this took me so long! But I finally finished my math class and had the time to write!

Summary Big day with the campers big day for Sy and Lainie, and a hurt camper 😭

Let me know what you think comments and reblogs always welcome!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My morning starts with a shake. I open my eyes slowly to find Emma standing next to my bunk. Her little hand gently rocked my shoulder. “Emma? You okay?” my voice groggy as I leaned up on my elbows. She nodded

“Yeah, sorry,” she whispered. “ I just wanted to tell you I’m heading to the showers in case you woke up and I was gone. I didn’t want you to worry.” I nodded fully sitting up in my bunk reaching to check my phone. It was 6:27 my alarm would be going off soon anyway.

“Go ahead,” I told her. “I’ll be heading that way myself soon. Thank you for telling me.” I kept my voice quiet. I wouldn’t start to get everyone else up until I got back. She smiled and left the cabin walking off toward the bathrooms. I’m so glad that I was with the older kids. I wouldn’t have any issue escorting them around or making sure everyone had a buddy to go with. But it was nicer just having an honor system and giving them their freedom.

Standing from the bunk I stretched pulling my bag from the Bunk above me. None of the girls decided to sleep up there so I used it for storage. I grabbed my shower bag. I grabbed another pair of shorts. It was going to be a chilly morning because of the rain so I searched for a sweatshirt and found an old highschool sports hoodie. There was a light earthy smell outside of the cabin. The storm last night made everything damp. The sky was just becoming light. To the west it was a dusty blue and to the east where the sun was rising there were beautiful orange hues. There were a few showers running creating a soft white noise to the background of my morning. I let the water wake me and gave myself a fresh start for the day ahead. When I got back to the cabin 2 more of the girls were starting to get themselves around. Taylor was just heading out as I was coming in and Ryleigh was just standing out of her bunk.

“Good morning,” I spoke softly and smiled. My towl was still wrapped around my head. She gave me a tired smiled and mumbled back a sleepy

“Morning,” I watched her for a moment as she rooted through her bag finding what she was looking for. I straightened up my bed quickly before I sat down criss-cross, towel drying my hair and brushing it out.

“There’s plenty of showers open if you’re headed that way!” I told her. She nodded.

“I was gonna go for a walk first if that’s okay? She asked.

I checked my phone, it was 6:45 “Breakfast is in a little over an hour, so just be back before then okay?” I smiled. She nodded and thanked me before throwing on a sweatshirt and some sneakers. She walked past me and I heard the cabin door slam.

I smiled to myself as I pulled out my notebook looking over our schedule for the day. Today was going to be really fun! The “Leaders” groups, Aka the high school aged kids, had a huge scavenger hunt set up all across camp. During the storm last night while Sy and I were talking with some of our fellow counselors we decided to make it a battle between all the individual cabins instead of our “family” cabins. Which meant we were in competition with the boys. Anything that ended up being a battle of the sexes was always a blast! We always seemed to play harder, but there were never any hard feelings. Although the boys were much more likely to be sore losers. And far more likely to rub it in if they won. We hadn’t told our campers yet. But they were going to love this.

I had the inside door slightly propped open and the windows were up so there was a slight breeze coming in through the screens. Off in the distance I heard a voice that was unmistakably Sy.

“Come on Ethan don’t give up on me already man!” He called. I had no idea what they were doing, surely they weren’t already up to no good before 7am. I let some more time pass as a the rest of the girls got up and got ready for the day. Well almost all of them.

“Nicole.” I said softly shaking her arm, standing on my toes to reach the top bunk. She groaned.

“5 more minutes.” She grumbled. I chuckled to myself. This was the third time I’d tried to wake her.

“Come on sweetheart, you told me yesterday you wanted to be up by 7 its 7:25,” I said gently. I wasn’t necessarily a morning person myself. I understood where she was coming from.

“Well why did it have to come so early,” she sighed throwing her pillow over her head.

“It’s just the way the world works girly. Trust me when I was a camper I hated it too.” I giggled. “But I promise if you get up and get ready there will be coffee at breakfast.” I smiled. That got her attention. She sat up slowly. Her messy hair falling into her eyes.

“Ugh fine,” she said. “But none of the boys better say anything stupid, I’m not responsible for anything that comes out of my mouth before at least 9am!” I chuckled softly.

“Understood.” I said. And left her to get ready for the day. A few minutes before we needed to head over I had the girls meet me outside just to make sure everyone was accounted for. Of course Nicole was my last one out. I smiled to myself. When I saw the boys walking over to join us. A couple of the boys hunched over walking slowly with their hands holding their sides. When they stopped in front of our cabin Ethan dramatically “fell” and laid on the grass

“Morning ladies!” Sy smiled.

“Good morning!” I smiled back. And a few of the girls greeted them as well. “What’d you do to those poor boys?” I laughed.

“Nothing they didn’t ask for.” He chuckled.

“It was torture!” Ethan groaned lifting his head up to look at me from the ground. Beckett looked down at him shaking his head.

“Bro we just went on a run.” Beckett smirked.

“Exactly torture!” he groaned. Sy shook his head.

“You didn’t have to go bud, you coulda slept in,” he chuckled. Ethan sighed dramatically and took the hand Beckett offered him to help him stand.

“Can we go to breakfast now? We get it Ethan you don’t run, I want coffee!” Nicole said playfully pushing past him and walking toward the cafeteria.

“Good morning Nikki,” He called after her a little smirk playing on his lips.

“Shut up,” She bit back without turning around. To be fair she had warned me. I just shook my head holding in a laugh. Sy raised an eye brow and I just smiled as we all started to head in that direction.

“She’s…not a morning person.” I said answering the question hadn’t asked.

“I see that,” He chuckled “Everything go okay for you girls after the storm last night? I uh, I kept thinking about ya,” He smiled. I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. Truth be told he was all I was thinking about every second my brain had the free time to wander. I tossed and turned for a while last night trying to shake the giddiness so I could just fall asleep. Being here with him. The way he’d kissed me last night. I felt like I was a teenager again. But with the girls around I had to play it cool. I had to be the remember I was the adult here. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Finally I nodded.

“Yeah the girls were fine, I think I was more shaken up then they were. Everything went pretty smooth this morning!” I said. “I didn’t know you were taking the boys on a run, how’d that go?” I asked. He laughed, keeping an eye on the campers that were now all ahead of us.

“It was good, I like to go for a morning run, so I asked the boys if they wanted to come with, I told them they could tell whoever they wanted to come with us. Couple boys from Tanners cabin showed up. They mostly enjoyed it. Ethan… just likes the attention he gets from putting on a show. Seems to be a good kid though.” He smiled. We walked in silence the rest of the short walk to the building where they served breakfast. There was a deck that came off the back of the building and overlooked the playground. I felt Sy’s hand on my back as we started walking up the steps. I bit my lip softly, embarrassed that such a little touch made me feel so much.

It was something he always did. He wanted to make sure I didn’t fall. Because I did once. When we were younger. It had rained that moring and the steps were slippery. I fell up the steps in front of everyone. My face had gotten so red. I remember being so embarrassed about it. Logan immediately ran over and helped me up. He said something to make me laugh to make me forget about it.

And ever since then he always did the small gesture as support. I didn’t think he’d remembered. But they do say old habits die hard. We caught up with our campers and joined them at our table. Nicole had already managed to get some coffee.

“Aw it’s our first breakfast as a family,” Emma said smiling at the two of us as we sat with them.

“Em don’t make breakfast weird!” Her brother called from across table.

“I’m not the cabins are literally called family groups! You’re the one that makes everything weird!” She argued. These two were hilarious. I found out very quickly, even just having been here a day, it’s best to just let them have their little twin spats. It’s usually over pretty quick.

“How was you’re walk this morning Ryleigh?” I heard Beckett ask as he slid into the seat across from her setting his plate down. She startled a moment not expecting someone to be infront of her and then realized what he’d said.

“Oh, it was good thanks,” She smiled shyly. “How, uh how was your run?” she asked him.

“It was nothing, I’m used to way more than that with football practice.” He shrugged. “You should come run with us next time,” He smiled. She blushed looking down at her pancakes.

“I don’t really run,” she responded.

I looked over at Logan who was grinning at me. He’d heard them too. I raised an eyebrow.

“Did I miss something?” I asked him. He just shook his head and chuckled.

After breakfast the kids had a bit of time to themselves before we started any activities. All of the cabins were supposed to meet on the field next to the park in about an hour or so. A few of the girls went back to the cabin to get the supplies to make friendship bracelets. And some of the other campers had a game of four square going.

Since most of ours were spread out around the park playing games, sitting on the grass talking, or making crafts I decided to sit on the old swings and journal. I didn’t have to watch so closely but I felt better keeping an eye on them. Ryleigh has still been pretty quiet and a couple of my other girls have taken some time to warm up and come out of their shell. I wanted to be close incase they wanted someone to talk to or just to sit with.

The last time I’d looked up Logan had joined the four square game and had worked his way up to the king square. I watched for a minute before I started writing. It wasn’t long before I got lost in my writing and everything in the background turned into white noise. Some time had passed I’m not sure how much but when I looked up again Sy was walking in my direction with a soft smile on his face.

“Hey darlin,” He said as he sat next to me.

“Hi!” I said cheerfully. “They finally kicked you out for being too old?” I teased. He gave me a slight pout before he snickered.

“No, I left the game because I kept winning.” He grinned proudly.

“Mhmm,” I mused. We sat like that for a moment sy had one arm on the back of the swing and he was rocking us slowly rolling his heel.

“Dad!” one of his boys called from across the lawn. Sy perked up and chuckled at the name before he responded.

“What’s up Zach?” He asked.

“When do we have to meet for the scavenger hunt thing?” He asked, still calling from across the park.

“11!” Sy called back checking his watch “You got a little over an hour,” He told him. Zach gave him a thumbs up and it was clear they were starting another game.

I couldn’t help the laugh that came out,

“Dad,huh? When did that start?” I raised an eyebrow. His chest shook with laughter.

“Last night when I got ‘em all corralled back into the cabin, I think Ethan started it and now they’re all doin’ it.” He shook his head. I giggled softly and we fell back into a comfortable silence. It was cute the boys seeing him as a father figure. I’m surprised the girls haven’t started calling me mom yet. I remember doing it when we were here too. It’s what gave this place that sense of home away from home. I liked that Idea. The kids calling us Mom and Dad. Like Sy and I were husband and wife…I blushed. I felt Sy’s eyes on me and my blush deepened. “You wanna go for a little walk with me? Get away for a second?” He asked.

I looked over at all of our campers. They were all preoccupied. All of them intermingled with kids from other cabins. Another group's counselors were sitting in old rocking chairs on the deck chatting. It’s not like we had to be watching over them at every second. They were old enough to know to come get us if something was urgent. Finally I looked back at him and nodded. “Okay,” I answered. I put my journal back in my backpack and slid it on as we started to walk.

“Ethan!” Sy called as we walked past. The boy's head snapped in our direction hearing his name, eyes wide like he was afraid he was in trouble. Sy chuckled and I watched Ethans shoulders relax a little. “Lainie and I are gonna be walking the trail, if you guys need anything you can come find us! I’m trusting you to let the others know .. that includes the girls.” He told him. Ethan nodded and gave him a big smile.

“You got it Dad! I won’t let you down!” He said. I shook my head as we kept walking.

“They adore you!” I laughed.

“Yeah well, I know how to have a good time!,” He smirked. Playfully nudging my shoulder with his. I blushed and pulled my sunglasses down to hide my eyes.

“Don’t I know it!” I replied, trying to keep up. This man was going to be the death of me. He looked over at me for a moment as we crossed the lawn between the cabins and kept going past them. That smirk still plastered on his face.

“You don’t yet Darlin, but you will,” he answered. I didn’t think my face could get any hotter. I looked around to make sure no one had heard our conversation.

“Good lord Logan, you trying to get us into trouble?” I whispered and smacked him playfully on the arm.

“I’m teasin’ baby,” He chuckled. “But we sure as hell wouldn’t be the first ones around here to sneak off and have a little fun.” He wiggled his eyebrows and I snorted.

“Yeah I know! You don’t have to remind me about the Cait and Josh situation. I can’t believe you helped him with that!” Back when we were campers Cait and Josh were friends of ours. They dated over the summer. They’d “break up” and then get back together every summer. It was such a mess. Josh was such a player and Cait knew it but she didn’t care.

One afternoon we were all off on our own. I was hanging out at the park and noticed Logan and one of their other bunkmates “Standing guard in front of the entrance underneath the big pirate ship on the playground. I was super confused because the guys were usually off playing some sort of sport or something. Sy caught my eye and I raised an eyebrow. He just shook his head with that signature smirk on his lips. But then they moved and Cait came crawling out, her hair was a mess. At first I was more confused, then Josh came crawling out behind her. That stupid satisfied grin on his face. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at them. And then ignored Logan the rest of the day. Just because. Of course we made up the next day, but I was annoyed with him for doing it.

Logan chuckled, pulling me back from the memory. “I was stupid teenage boy back then, you can’t hold that against me. When my buddy had an opportunity to get some, I wasn’t gonna stand in his way!” He stated. I rolled my eyes.

“You boys can be real pigs sometimes, you know it?” I said. We finally made it to the trail walking in the woods. The sun peeking down through the trees. It was so pretty but perfectly secluded when you needed it to be.

“I know, but I’ve never been anything short of a gentleman with you Darlin.” He argued.

“Oh so you throwing me in the lake the other day was an act of chivalry?” I questioned.

“You looked hot, thought you might wanna cool off.” He smirked.

“I think you were just being a dick.” I retorted.

“Mmm” He hummed still smirking and grabbed my hand leading me off the trail. “You're a lot feistier than I remember,” he challenged. He stopped and slowly walked me backwards until my back was pressed against the nearest tree. I bit my lip softly trying to keep my composure. I wasn’t going to let him win so easily.

“Yeah, What's so wrong with that?” I raised an eyebrow. He shook his head staring down at me, his eyes flickering to my lips before meeting mine again.

“Ain’t nothing wrong with it baby, just making it even harder for me to keep my hands off you.” I let out a shaky breath. Okay so maybe I would fold that easy. Shit that was smoothe. “The way you kissed me last night Darlin’” He paused, eyeing me hungrily. “I’m not so convinced you want me to.” He drawled. My breath hitched. I felt jittery all over. He had one hand next to my head leaning against the tree pinning me in place without even touching me. I swallowed hard.

“We should get back, the campers might…need us.” I said nervously. It was a lame excuse. Especially because I’d just convinced myself they’d be fine. But suddenly all the attention he was giving me felt like too much. His eyes softened and his smirk faded into a gentle smile. He brought his hand up caressing my cheek with his thumb.

“They’re big kids honey, they’re okay, tell me what’s really on your mind.” he cooed.

I took in a deep breath taking a small step away from the tree and resting my forehead against his broad chest.

“I’m scared.” I admitted. That’s the one thing I hated most about myself. People told me all the time I was confident and so brave. But I didn’t see how. I was so afraid all the time. So scared of everything. Scared of the dark, scared of falling, of getting hurt, of falling in love with a man just for him to leave. A lot of people have left. I guess that’s life, we grow up and we grow apart. But I don’t want to be left stranded with a broken heart. I’m scared that he’ll get hurt. What if I disappoint him and after all this time I’m not the girl he waited 7 years just to kiss. I don’t want to feel so damn scared. The thing is back then, when I was with Sy, all of that fear went away. And he’s proved all over again that he still knows how to fight my fears with me. But right now being with him is causing them just as much as it is fighting them. I feel like I’m stuck on an upside down roller coaster and there’s no ride operator to stop this thing.

“What for,” he asked, his fingers brushing through my hair, pulling me back from my emotional spiral.

I stood up straight and looked into his eyes. “Because I want to be with you so bad it physically hurts. In two days you’ve managed to make me feel more for you than I did all those years ago. But what happens after this? It’s no different than back then. What happens when summer’s over and we go our separate ways? I can’t do just another summer fling with you Logan. I fully intended to move on this whole time but against my own will I still waited for you! Like somehow I knew we’d come back to each other. But I can’t accept fate if you’re just gonna let me fall again.” I hiccupped through a silent sob.

Sy grabbed my face in both hands staring down at me intently.

“I never knew I hurt you so bad baby,” He said softly, swiping away my tears with his thumb. There he was using that word again. Claiming me as his before I have the chance to run myself.

“Y-you didn’t…it’s just…” I trailed off, my eyes shifting to the ground.

“Lainie Look at me,” hearing him say my name with such intensity broke my heart. I met his eyes again and I could see how much it had hurt him to know that I had been so sad all this time. “There isn’t a demon in hell that could keep me away from you. I’m not leavin’ you. I don’t know what I'm gonna be doin’ at the end of this summer, but I do know wherever I go it won’t be far from you. I’m not asking you to give yourself to me Darlin’ not if you ain’t ready. But just let me show you I never stopped wanting you.” His eyes were pleading and I would do anything I could to heal the hurt in his eyes right now. I nodded. Still holding my face he leaned down and crushed his lips to mine. I let out an involuntary whimper as I clutched his t-shirt pulling him closer.

The force of his kiss pushed me back against the tree. I felt his tongue push against my bottom lip and let him in lazily swiping my tongue against his. The taste so undeniably Sy. He let go of my face and held my waist against the tree and then pulled my bottom lip between his teeth. He groaned into my mouth as I ran my hands down his chest. And under his shirt desperate to feel his skin. I loved the way the soft hairs of his stomach and his chest felt under my fingertips. He pulled back from my lips and started trailing kisses across my jaw and down my neck. I moaned softly as I felt his teeth graze my neck soothing it with his tongue. If it weren’t for Sy holding me up I’d have melted into the ground by now. I needed to feel his lips on mine again. I took his face in my hands pulling him back to me. Meeting him in another heated kiss. I whined when he abruptly pulled away pouting softly. He chuckled but put a finger to his lips keeping me quiet.

In the distance down the trail I could faintly hear voices.

“Easy Darlin,” He smiled. “Sounds like one of our kiddos,” He spoke in a soft whisper. I strained to listen and he was right. It was very obviously Nicole… and

“Man I hope they aren’t far,” Ethan’s voice said from a few feet down the trail.

I looked up at Sy and he nodded grabbing my hand leading me back onto the trail.. We both came to the same conclusion, they were looking or us. And it sounded like they need help.

“Hey you two,” Sy said softly as we met up with them around a bend in the trees. Nicole’s eye’s went wide and she let out and exasperated breath.

“Ryleigh’s hurt!” she blurted out without explanation.

“What happened?” I asked them quickly.

“She and beckett were playing football and he was like teaching her how to throw and stuff and she tripped running to catch the ball.” Ethan answered.

“I think her ankle’s broken it’s like really bad!” Nicole added panicked. Sy took the lead running back on the trail having Ethan lead him back to Ryleigh and the others and Nicole and I jogged behind. She started to tear up a bit. “I’m sorry Lainie,” she sniffled. “I swear we were being good while you guys were gone we all wanted to give you two time together and.. We messed up,” I stopped her there. I laid my hand on her shoulder giving her a gentle squeeze.

“Nicole it’s okay, This is what we’re here for, you did the right thing coming to get us sweetheart.” she assured her.

“Is Ryleigh gonna be okay?” She asked. I nodded and gave her a gentle smile.

“We’ll make sure of it! Come on!” Nicole and I joined the others and Sy was already kneeling next to Ryleigh’s assessing the injury. Becca was there too, She must’ve been close by when it happened. I could see the tears streaming down Ryleigh’s face. The poor girl was in a lot of pain.

“It’s not your fault man,” I heard Logan say, Beckett was sitting in the grass next to her his hand on her shoulder the other nervously raking through his hair. Becca looked up at me when I approached.

“Do you think you two can get her too the nurse? I’ll stay here with your campers, and check in with everyone.” We both nodded.

“Can I come with?” Beckett asked. “I feel so bad,” He admitted. We looked to rebecca and she gave us a nod.

“It’s not your fault Beck” Ryleigh sniffled.Sy stood assessing the situation for a moment.

“Can you stand at all Darlin?” He asked her. She tried but immediately let out a whimper holding in her cry of pain.

“It’s okay hun,” I told her

“I’m gonna carry you, is that okay?” Logan asked. She nodded and he scooped her up off the ground and the three of us quickly started to walk to the nurses station. It was likely she would have to go to the hospital but we’d have to let the nurse asses it first.

“It’s nice of you to come keep her company.” I said giving Beckett a reassuring smile. He looked at me nervously and nodded. “Beckett,” I said softly. “It was an accident, you play football right, you see this stuff happen on the field all the time. She’s gonna be alright. She might hurt for a little bit but she’ll heal!” I said. He smiled a little and nodded.

“Thanks Lainie.”

At the nurses station they told us exactly what we had expected. They didn’t have an xray machine or anything so best they could tell was it was severely sprained and she’d need to go to the hospital to get it x-rayed to see if anything was broken. We called it in over our radio to Becca. She had to call Ryleigh’s parents to let them know and then she’d be there to wait for the ambulance to come take her. We checked with her to make sure if it was alright that we left her and Beckett alone to wait. She agreed that it’d be fine. Once we assured them again just to sit tight and everything would be okay we headed back to the rest of our campers.

“You okay?” Sy asked as we walked back. I let out a shaky breath.

“A little shaken up but I’ll be alright. You were great back there! I Couldn’t have done it without you,” I smiled. He put his hand on my my shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze and kissed my forehead.

“You did just fine darlin.” he smiled.

When we got back to the kids I noticed all the other family groups gathering on the field. The scavenger hunt I’d almost forgotten. We called all our kids together and had a group meeting.

“Okay, I know today has been kind of hectic,” I started. “But we’re gonna keep moving forward. And have a fun day!”

“Boys,” Sy said. “Todays all about competition and we’re gonna take the girls down!”

“Ladies, Sy’s an idiot and has no idea what he’s talking about! We’ve got this!”

It was time after our crazy chaotic stressful moring it was finally time for the fun to begin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[cinebration]

I Told You (Captain Syverson x Reader) [Request]

Hi! I hope you are doing well ☺️ May I request a Captain Syverson x reader? I was thinking maybe that Sy was meeting reader's parents for the first time? Thank you!!—Requested by anon

Warnings: none

Gif Source: beyondthefold

Sy wouldn’t admit it, but he was nervous. It wasn’t the subconscious nervousness, the mounting anxiety, that built during the quiet moments between firefights. It was more alive and noticeable, buzzing beneath his skin and filling him with energy he couldn’t displace or sublimate.

As you finished getting dressed for dinner—what was taking you so long? Your parents had seen you in everything growing up, did it matter what you looked like?—Sy paced his den, feeling the seconds tick by. You had briefed him—he had insisted on it—about your parents and the performance of previous boyfriends you had introduced to them.

Aside from a silly high-school fling, you hadn’t brought any SOs over.

That made Sy doubly anxious. On the one hand, your parents had no one to compare him against, no previous boyfriend they may have liked better and were sore over you dumping. On the other hand, they had no experience meeting new boyfriends, so they could have outrageous expectations.

In other words, the briefing had done little to allay his fears or give him actionable intel to ensure he made a good impression.

You found him wearing holes in the throw rug on the floor. Smothering your amusement, you feigned deep concern. “It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

He stopped his pacing, shaken that you had snuck up on him so easily. He nodded, squaring his shoulders as he passed an appraising eye over your outfit.

You could have spent twenty minutes less in the bathroom, he figured.

Shaking your head at his obvious glance, you snatched up your keys and slung your purse over your shoulder. “Let’s go, meathead.”

“Hey.”

You snickered.

~~

At the front door, Sy squared his shoulders again, not quite at attention but definitely not at ease. Beside him, you looped an arm through his and squeezed reassuringly.

“Just be yourself,” you advised. “It’ll be fine. They’ll love you.”

Shaking his head, he countered, “I have been called abrasive.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t the military. You’re out in the civvy world.”

All the more to be concerned, he thought, but he grunted rather than voiced it.

The door opened on well-oiled hinges, revealing a woman who was clearly your mother. Beaming as she laid eyes on you, she swept you into a hard hug. “It’s so good to see you, sweetie!”

“I need to come by more often, I know.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I heard it anyway,” you laughed. Disengaging the hug, you stepped back and looped your arm back through Sy’s. “This is Sy.”

Your mother swept a critical eye over him, eyebrows arching as she took the measure of his stature. Pausing on the broadness of his shoulders, she finally met his gaze with a haphazard smile, caught between welcoming and cautious.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, her hand hesitating mid-gesture in a handshake before she aborted it, her gaze arrested by his thick hands.

“Likewise,” he answered, the response gruffer than he had intended.

Smile faltering, your mother waved you both across the threshold.

“Brunch smells amazing,” you cried, the savory smells of your mother’s cooking floating out of the kitchen. “You should have let me bring something, though.”

“Nonsense. It’s my kitchen, my food!” Your mother threw a critical glance over her shoulder. “It’s a good thing I made extra.”

Heat burned the back of Sy’s neck. Clearing his throat as quietly as possible, he let you lead him into the living room while you and your mother chatted. He paid as much attention to your mother as was appropriate, nodding and making the expected noises. Your mother didn’t look convinced, but she appreciated the effort.

Sy glanced around the room, cataloging the photographs hung on the walls and lined along the mantel, pictures of you smiling with your family. He knew what both your parents looked like thanks to the briefing, but seeing them in the flesh was different enough that he felt yet again inadequately prepared.

“There’s my girl!”

Your father’s bullish roar set Sy on edge as you left his side and let your father hug you.

“You should be coming by more often,” he admonished, notes of laughter in his voice.

“Mom already gave me the spiel.”

“I most certainly did not!”

As they chuckled, Sy shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Familial displays of affection—any displays at all, really—made him uneasy, not having experienced many in his own upbringing. He half expected your father to yank him into a group hug, your mother teetering on the edge of that decision.

Instead, your father drew himself up and extended a rough palm to Sy. Sy grasped it and shook it firmly, meeting your father’s scrutiny levelly. This he understood and knew how to navigate, though it took all his effort not to rise to the implicit challenge in your father’s eyes. That was normal and to be expected; if he failed this test, it would sour the whole evening.

“Well, then,” your father said at last, breaking the sudden quiet tension with his loud voice. “So you’re the captain.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Used to giving orders, then?”

“Only after getting some,” Sy answered carefully.

The corners of the man’s mouth quirked into a faint smile. “That’s good.”

“Sometimes.”

For a split second, Sy wanted to take back that word, the faltering expression on your father’s face making his stomach clench.

Then your father burst into a laugh, nodding heavily. “Very true, very true.”

The tension in Syverson eased as you and your mother took up your father’s laughter. Having passed this first test, Sy hoped the others were just as easy.

Taking his arm, you smiled up at him, allaying his fears further as your parents led you both into the dining room.

“See?” you said, “I told you.”

[hc-kerr]

Hey guys I wrote a book! It’s a three to one love story and one of the main characters are based on C.Evans character human torch, the other two are lookalikes for Henry Cavil’s character Sy and august. I’d appreciate if anyone with a spare £4 to read my book or for free on kindle unlimited 💖💖

P.S there’s also a dicktionary to find all the smutty parts first 🌶️🥵