#gardner langway x reader

[deanscroissant]

has this fandom died out?? i miss writing about joe and pat murray and gardner like-

[zodiyack]

Love At First Package

Pairing: Gardner Langway x Fem!Reader

Warnings: fluffffff

Words: 843

Request: Could I request a fluffy Gardner Langway x fem. reader long oneshot where reader wakes up and hears giggling and finds Gardner in the living room playing with their 2 little girls and reader just gushes over how good of a father Gardner is to their girls and while she’s watching her little family, reader thinks back to how she met Gardner from him being her mailman and it was love at first sight?

Taglist: @matth1w , @redspaceace-writes , @fandom-puff , @darling-i-read-it , @simonsbluee , @sebastianstanslefteyebrow , @livlaughquinn, @bubsonnobx, @bunnyweasley23​

Masterlist | Joe Mazzello Masterlist

Waking to the sound of laughter, she bolts upright and her hands fall onto the bed next to her sides for support. Noticing the lack of another body weight in the bed, she turns to see that Gardner is nowhere to be found. The giggles continue, a high pitch voice as well as some chuckles from a deeper voice. Gardner's voice.

It clicks as she rubs her eyes, a small smile on her lips as she thinks of her baby girls and husband. It had been a few years since she'd given birth to the most recent bundle of joy, Sammy. Two year old Sammy and five year old Alyssia were quite the handful, but with Gardner, she somehow survived.

Getting out of the bed and waking to the living room, her smile grows at the sight she's greeted with. Gardner, in his mailman uniform, is on his knees, Lyssie on his back and Sammy being chased by the duo. Y/N crosses her arms and leans against the wall, deciding she'd rather watch her happy trio a bit longer.

Gardner wasn't the most outgoing person, but his girls got the most energy and attention any of his coworkers had ever seen him put into another human being.

As she thought about his change with becoming a father, her mind drifted further back down memory lane.

The shy, antisocial mailman sighed as he looked at the letters in his hands. He loved his job, he loved stamps, and he loved the routine of his route. Walking to the next house on said route, he noticed a woman sitting by the front door, a box in her lap and a worried look strewn across her features.

"Excuse me?" She spoke when he came into her vision. Her voice was sweet like honey, sending a chill down his spine.

"Yes?"

"Someone left this on my porch, but I'm afraid it's not the right address. I'd hate to have this package not reach it's rightful owner. Do you think you could deliver it?"

A small smirk met his face. What a decent citizen. He nodded and walked over to her to collect the box. However, he froze just as he approached, his face mere inches from her own. He gulped. What was this feeling?

She appeared to feel it too, the way her face flushed as she averted her gaze. They stood there for a few moments before she handed the mailman the box. "Thank you..."

"Gardner. And I'm assuming your name is..." he checked the envelope in his hand, the address reading the same as the one he was at currently, "Y/N?"

Her face flushed again before she nodded. "Yep, that's me."

That's when Gardner did something he never did. He handed Y/N her mail in person. The second their fingers touched, he felt a strange chill run over him, a shiver throughout his body. It wasn't an unpleasant shiver. Rather, it was one he wished to feel again.

"Thank you, Gardner."

With a nod, he turned to walk away. Before he made it past her fence line, he stopped and looked back, "Same time tomorrow?"

The seventeenth time, he'd been counting, that he dropped off her mail, she wasn't home. He'd started hand-delivering hers, just to feel that spark again. A part of him felt down. He couldn't experience it with her being gone, no, but that wasn't the only reason. He'd felt sad that his favorite stop on his route was nowhere to be found for the day. Dare he say, he missed her.

Hesitantly, Gardner stuffed the envelopes in her mailbox. He tried to stall for time, fiddling with his bag, resorting the letters he'd put in the box. Eventually, he realized she just wasn't there, and continued on his route. He cursed himself when he noticed how much time he'd wasted while on the job- he was never late, never missed a box, never forgot a letter. Was breaking his good streak for her really worth it...?

He thought back to that question when he kissed her for the first time. The answer? Yes. It was worth it all, and he'd gladly do it again.

"Hey you." Smiled Gardner. The moment he addressed her, their kiddies whipped around and ran towards their mother.

"Momma!!" They squealed with joy, and a little too much energy for such a lazy morning.

Regardless of her current state of conscious, she returned their smiles and lifted both of the girls up, one on each hip and a loving peck on each of their heads. Then came Gardner's "loving peck", to which the girls audibly complained about, eliciting chuckles from the couple.

Looking back, she's glad she collaborated with the neighbor to make a package that would give her the courage to talk to the cute mailman. After all, she got two beautiful girls and a loving husband out of it. Of course, Gardner lost it, laughing so hard he held his sides when he found out, and he hasn't stopped teasing her since.

[akindofmagic-inmylife]

Which trope irritates you the most or you think is just plain ridiculous?

I’ll start

It’s when rude!guy is getting physically aggresive with female!protagonist at her place of work or somewhere public and male!protagonist gets into fisticuffs with rude!guy (for being rude duh!) yet somehow female!protagonist gets mad at male!protagonist (??????) for making a scene because she apparently had it “under control” even though rude!guy almost practically had her in a chokehold or something

[joe-mazzello-archive]

hey gang, it’s me, regan, your favorite slut. i’m about to hit 500 followers on this blog which is bonkers considering this blog is only seven months old. however my creative energy has been zapped from me almost entirely lately for a few different reasons. so instead of doing prompts or posting a new fic (oh how i wish doj part two was done for y’all!!!!), i’m gonna do something different.

introducing regan’s recommended fic list - part one!

i wanted to give all the writers in this fandom some love. so i’m going to post one of these for each borhap actor/member of queen! maybe i can help y’all find some writers you’ve never discovered before! this is gonna be a long post so imma put it under the cut. ENJOY!

disclaimer: any actors/characters excluded from these lists are excluded simply because i don’t particularly read fics for them. these are just personal recommendation lists! ALSO you should check out the entire masterlists for all of these writers! these are just my favorite fics from them!

first up, of course, is joe muthafuckin mazzello

** = smut, 18+ only. some listed as “(series)” may have 18+ parts, if you’re under 18, please heed writer warnings.

bold = all time faves

NOW UPDATED AS OF 7/3/21

rpf

always something there to remind me (series),  born to love you (series),  between the lines, and you make me feel like dancing** by @deacyblues

baseball**, make you mine**, shooting the moon**, do you remember**, and burning desire** by @almightygwil

a thing for hermia and just a job by @brianmays-hair @/inkwell-musings

a new place to begin (series)**, home sweet home**, and plastic dinosaur** by @supersonicfreddie

none for todd** and drunk in love** by @mrbenhardys

positive reinforcement** by @queenmylovely

truth and kinks**, first time**, and first date** by @m0etenchandon

human connection by @mrhoemazzello

date night** and come on so heavy** by @just-my-sickly-pride

what would it take to think about me any other way?**, you can keep the heart from the heartbreak, i don’t need to leave with a keepsake**, and stuck in quarantine** by @slutforbritdick

meant to go this way and seven minutes in heaven by @fallingprincess

cruel summer (series) by @mistymazzello

act two, scene two** and you’re out** by @doing-all-write

love is strange by @kill4hqueen

seaside rendezvous (series) by @illfoandillfie​

does it hurt? by @gogogolilqueenie​

nutella boy (series) and just like this by @brianprobablywill​

happy birthday baby** by @orwocolor​

what happens in vegas (series) and just go with it (series) by @sohoneyspreadyourwings​

lingerie** by @freddiesaysalright​

drunk & beautiful and you don’t have to be alone by @lunie-lovegood @/mo-d3ans​

stress relief (series) by @a-night-at-the-0pera​

pat murray

cold is the night (series) by @ladyfogg

love with its back turned** by @gardnerlangway @/spreadyovrwings

paper rings (series) and you’re okay by @patmvrray​

gardner langway

lady in red (series) by @gardnerlangway @/spreadyovrwings

calling you by @ai-suru-hito-yo

signed, sealed, delivered, i’m yours by @fairytales-of-yesterday​

and then there were two and with you by @sohoneyspreadyourwings​

tim murphy (that gif gives me adult tim vibes idc fight me)

neighbor by @patmvrray

you make me live**, my love, my life, at sunset, and something new by @drtimmurphy​

six questions by @gotboredwrote​

always been you by @sohoneyspreadyourwings​

[brian-roger-deaky-and-fred]

MASTERLIST 2.0

☆ BRIAN

Here for a Friend *

Groupie *

Thick Skin

Now I’m Here*

Something’s Wrong with Brian

Tiny Dancer

Brian’s Hands HCs*

☆ ROGER

In the ‘Not Friend Way’

Playing Dress Up*

Happy at Home

Big Shot*

All The Places

(Part I) (Part II)

Bed Sharing

(Part I) (Part II)

A Formal Request *

Gizmo

(Part I) (Part II)*

The Basics

(‘The Basics’ was written before FITB, but it’s FITB canon.)

Fill in the Blanks

(Part I) (Part II) (Part III) (Part IV) (Part V) (Part VI) (Part VII) (Part VIII)(Part IX)

Fill in the Blanks: Snapshots

Filling Blanks

(Part I) (Part II) (Part III) (Part IV)

Bed Rest

☆ DEAKY

Family

Oranges

(Part I) (Part II) (Part III)

Refresh My Memory*

☆ DRABBLES

Brian May Having an Insecure S/O

Roger Being Nervous Before a Performance

Roger Teases the Reader at Their Parent’s House*

Roger Getting Upset with Scrabble

Horror Movie Night (Getting Cozy with Rog)

The Boys Reaction to The Reader Breaking Their Wrist

Brian Gets Caught With Shy!Reader 

Roger Likes Getting His Hair Played With

☆ PREFERENCES

Your First Time Sleeping Together

Pet Names

Sharing a Bed with Them

How They Help you Relax After a Bad Day

☆ OTHER

Fast Learner (Ben Hardy x Reader)

Dog Tags (Eugene Sledge x Reader)

Special Delivery* (Gardner Langway x Reader)

***

(* Indicates Smut)

[fairytales-of-yesterday]

A Pirate, Two Hundred Years Too Late

Pairing: Gardner Langway x reader

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: idk it’s really soft, if you’re rowan you’ll probably cry, there’s like.. one? swear word? and references to sex

A/N: Happy birthday, Rowan!!! You’re the love of my life, and I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have a best friend and soulmate like you :’) 

The title is from a Jimmy Buffett song (A Pirate Looks at Forty), I know it’s super long. I’m just really soft and I love Rowan that’s all, here we go, lads.

•

     You awoke to the sound of silence. Something you definitely weren’t used to anymore. Soft morning light peeked through your curtains as you yawned quietly. Stretching, you rubbed your eyes and looked out the window and squinted at the dim sky, realizing it was still extremely early.

     Much too early to be awake.

     If the sun wasn’t even up yet, why on earth should you be? You squeezed your eyes shut once more, trying to hold on to those last few moments of sleep, and rolled over to cuddle up with your husband. At least, you tried to.

     Your brow furrowed, eyes still shut, as you tentatively stuck your arm out and felt around the other side of the bed, as if Gardner was somehow hiding under the sheets. Whining quietly, you gave up and opened your eyes. Sure enough, you were alone. 

     With a small frown, you rolled over again to glance at the clock.

     Five thirty. Christ, what could he be up to?

     You moved onto your back, staring at the ceiling and letting yourself wake up. It was when you finally sat up that you realized you knew exactly where he was.

     Throwing your covers off, you yawned once more and clambered out of bed. You stood for a moment, eyes closed, just listening to the sound of a quiet house. Your kids had been visiting your parents the past few days for a summer visit, and while you were very happy to have a little time to rest, you still found yourself missing them. It had been so long since the house was quiet, empty. You missed their hugs, the way they’d snuggle up next to you on the couch, and even their shrieks as they played pretend in the backyard. Penny, your five-year-old, had a tendency to rope Ben, who was three, into countless make-believe games that left them both in hysterics. They climbed all over Gardner like he was their personal jungle gym, and you were often roped into a piggyback ride as well. Still, as much as you loved the peace, you certainly loved them more.

     You couldn’t complain about the alone time you were getting with Gardner though. You loved your quiet morning cuddles, not worrying about figuring out lunch for everyone, and being able to make as much noise as you wanted whenever you wanted (he always did have a hard time keeping quiet). 

     You played with the hem of your shirt (well, Gardner’s shirt, but that was beside the point), as you made your way into the bathroom, and smiled at your tired reflection. Your hair stuck up in every direction, reminding you of your time with Gardner last night, and you waggled your eyebrows at yourself playfully. You did your best to tame your mane before finishing getting ready for the day. After slipping on some shorts, you headed downstairs. 

     You made your way to the kitchen, grabbing a peach from the fridge and going to wash it. As you ran the fruit under the cool water, you felt a slight pressure against your leg and looked down to find your cat, Tybalt, purring at your feet. You smiled down at him and greeted him sweetly, receiving a happy “mrrap!” in return. He weaved between your legs a few times, his usual morning greeting, and then hopped up on the counter to watch you cut up your breakfast. 

     As you placed the peach slices in a bowl and subsequently gently pushed Tybalt’s face away from them, you looked out the window above the sink and your suspicions were confirmed. Out in the backyard stood your husband and his brother. They’d been at this for days, and while they’d done a fantastic job, you definitely thought five thirty was a bit much. 

     Still, you had to smile. Sure, the man never ceased to amaze you, but his devotion to his children was no surprise at all. 

     You stepped out the back door, breakfast in hand, and breathed in the morning air. The sun was fully up now, the only trace of the sunrise the pink smudges in the clouds. You popped a slice of peach into your mouth as you watched your husband fondly. 

     Before you stood a pirate ship. Or at least, a large model of one. You and Gardner had wanted to do this for a while now, you certainly had the backyard for it, but you’d been putting it off. You’d known it was going to be difficult, and you had no idea what the kids would want. You had considered asking them directly, but you could never find the right time. That is, until last week when you were looking online for some new Fourth of July decorations. Somehow, the two of you got very sidetracked, and wound up looking at playsets. You hadn’t planned on actually buying one until you saw Gardner’s face as he pointed to the pirate ship. 

     Their own boat!!! Like our family one but just for them!!! 

     You had laughed at his excitement, but his words struck a chord. His boat was his home for so long. Penny and Ben knew that, and they loved going out on the river with their dad, playing pirates and helping him navigate, so you could only imagine how ecstatic they’d be to have one for themselves. You just knew you had to.

     It wasn’t an easy task. Gardner and Calvin had spent the past four days working on it. They’d just gotten all the materials and a complicated set of instructions in the mail, so it was basically built from scratch. Also, it wasn’t his fault, but your husband wasn’t too skilled in the DIY department (putting together the ikea furniture for your first apartment with him was a nightmare), so the first day or so was spent teaching him how to use a power drill. However, after you made it over that hurdle, it was relatively smooth sailing. 

     You looked on now with a grin as Gardner and Calvin painted their prized creation. The red paint shone bright in the morning sun, and it looked truly gorgeous. Royal and fierce at the same time. The perfect pirate ship.

     “A bit early isn’t it?” 

     The boys looked up at your shout, Gardner almost dropping his paintbrush in surprise, and you waved. Both waved back, and you began making your way over with a smile. Gardner tossed his brush in the bucket on the patio table he’d dragged to the “construction site” as you walked over, wiping his hands on his pants to get some of the paint off.

     You greeted him with a sweet kiss when you reached him, murmuring a good morning against his lips and asking how he was.

     He broke the kiss and licked his lips, grinning.

     “Mm, peachy.”

     You laughed loudly at that, swatting his chest before offering him a slice that he gladly accepted. 

     You set your bowl down on the table and snaked your arms around him. He grinned and pulled you closer as you squeezed him tight, having missed your regular morning cuddle. He tucked his face into your neck, breathing you in. You stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying being together, but eventually your hands began traveling south and slipped into the back pockets of his paint splattered overalls. Gardner chuckled softly as he realized what was going on but still yelped as you gave him a good squeeze.

     “Mm… you are quite peachy, aren’t you?”

     He giggled breathily at that, but you could hear the blush adorning his face. He nestled further into your shoulder, hiding his pink cheeks, and you shook with a laugh.

     “You better watch those hands,” he mumbled against your skin, “I’m a married man, you know.”

     “At least I know you’re faithful.” 

     You playfully pulled his hair as you said it, and he pulled back to give you a look that said ‘don’t start something you can’t finish.’ You were about to suggest you go inside and continue when a head peeked over the side of the boat.

     You and gardner immediately sprung apart like kids caught getting a bit too handsy, giggling sheepishly. Calvin shook his head with a smile.

     “So did you come out here to distract my brother, or are you gonna help us paint?”

     You laughed, still bright red, and shrugged.

     “I can multitask.” 

     Gardner fondly rolled his eyes as you donned an apron and picked up a paintbrush. You gave him a quick peck on the cheek, making Calvin scoff good naturedly and retreat back to the upper deck. You opened your mouth to ask if you should paint anywhere specific when Calvin shouted from above.

     “You’ve been married for like a decade now and you still act like teenagers!”

     Gardner’s head fell into his hands, embarrassed, as yours fell back in a loud laugh.

     “We didn’t meet until we were in our twenties! We’re just making up for lost time!”

     You heard a yeah, yeah from above and stifled a giggle before pulling Gardner close with a smirk, knowing Calvin couldn’t see.

     “And it’s not my fault you’re so damn delicious,” you whispered, capturing his lips once more. He whined quietly, both out of desperation and out of protest, not wanting to be caught again. Before he could say anything though, you pulled away and smiled brightly. “So where do you want me, sweet boy?”

     You saw a flash in Gardner’s eyes at the implications behind your words, but he quickly regained his composure with an exasperated grin and directed you to an unpainted section. He explained which brushes to use and how many coats to put on with his perfect little focused frown that made your heart do somersaults.

     “The painting is basically all we have left,” he phrased it as a question, like he was just hoping he was correct. “We’ll definitely finish by the time the kids get home tomorrow.” Ever punctual, your husband. And you had to admit, it drove you wild.

     “Aye aye, Cap’n,” you saluted jokingly before getting to work.

•

     The time passed quickly, the three of you making fantastic progress together. By the time lunch rolled around, you were nearly finished. All you had left to do was finish painting the upper deck and then decorate the inside. After a quick break for sandwiches and a few drinks, you set back to work, determined to finish.

     The detail work of the cabin took a lot longer than the painting of the hull, as it called for more precision. You knew that it would be easy to paint it all one color, like the outside, but you just couldn’t. It had to be perfect. Once you were satisfied, the three of you called it a night. All that was left was putting in some chairs and cushions along with some knickknacks once the paint had dried. Calvin stayed for dinner as well, insisting he had to help you finish the playhouse.

     “You two can’t take ALL the credit! I’m the one who had to teach Gardner how to use a drill! Plus, I need all the ‘Cool Uncle Points’ I can get!”

     Gardner choked on his takeout at that exclamation and stared at his brother, genuinely dumbfounded.

     “Cal, you know they think you’re the coolest guy in the world, right? They love you!”

     You watched happily as a blush spread across Calvin’s face at your husband’s words. He tried to play it cool, but no one could deny the fact that he was glowing.

     “Ohhh…” he smiled softly to himself, waving off the compliment slightly, “you know what I mean. Anyone can be the coolest guy in the world. I’m gonna be the coolest uncle.”

     He paused briefly as you laughed, endeared, and his smile widened before he added softly,

     “And I love them too.”

     After the three of you finished your meals, you checked on the playhouse. You’d planned on getting it all done tonight, but the paint hadn’t fully dried everywhere, so you decided to wait and “furnish” the ship tomorrow morning before your parents brought the kids home. Calvin made you promise to call him over help, to which you readily agreed, and he headed home. 

     You leaned back against your husband as you watched Calvin’s car pull out of your driveway and he instinctively wrapped his arms around you, giving you a gentle squeeze.

     “Feeling okay, honey?”

     You smiled softly, trying not to let your favorite term of endearment affect you too much, and nodded. Turning around in his arms, you hugged him properly.

     “Mm, just tired,” you hummed, leaning up to press a sweet kiss to his lips. “And paint-stained.”

     He chuckled softly at that and pulled you closer again, tucking his face into your neck.

     “Yeah, I could definitely go for a nice shower.”

     A sly smile spread across your face.

     “Oh me too… but I don’t know… our water bill was a bit high last month,” you said with a fake frown, “maybe it would be smart to… y‘know, conserve. Shower together.”

     You pulled away to get a good look at the blush you knew had blossomed over your husband’s face, but the second you made eye contact, you both burst out laughing. Though you were nearly doubled over, you couldn’t help but marvel at the way his eyes crinkled at the edges and the way his perfect nose scrunched up in his joy, still awestruck by your love after all these years. You raised up on your tiptoes to press a giggly peck to his nose before quirking an eyebrow as if to say well?

     He turned a deeper shade of red, somehow only now realizing that you were completely serious, but nodded quickly.

     “That sounds like a uh… that’s a… sounds good.”

     You nearly burst out laughing once more at your husband’s terrible attempt at concealing his excitement, but you settled on grabbing his hand and pulling him to the bathroom.

•

     You laid together for a while after your shower (and what it led to), heat still radiating off your bodies. You were on top of him, your face buried in the crook of his neck, having simply collapsed after you both reached your highs. Neither of you spoke, though you knew he wasn’t asleep. You could feel his heart in sync with your own from where your chest pressed against his, their beating the only sound in your quiet house. 

     Lifting your head up, you looked at your husband beneath you. His freckled shoulders, his red hair, sticking out in every direction, his soft cheeks. His eyes fluttered open at your movement, and you smiled gently. Bringing a hand up, you gently moved the still damp hair out of his face, and he sighed at the touch. You brushed your thumb across his cheek and watched him lean into your hand. He nearly melted as you continued your exploration of his features, running the tip of your finger down his lovely nose before pressing a kiss to it. You could feel his soft tummy shaking with laughter under you, and it made your smile widen. He scrunched his nose up before you swiped your thumb across his lower lip and his giggle cut off abruptly. You were about to playfully tug on one of his sweet ears, but your previous touch had struck a chord with him and, before you knew it, his hand was laced in your hair and his lips were on yours.

     You groaned softly into his mouth, your hands cradling his face as he smiled against you.

     “God, you’re insatiable today, aren’t you?”

     He giggled softly, pecking your lips once more.

     “Can’t help it, just love you too much.”

     At his words, you giggled softly, just so full of love, as you kissed him again. Your mouths moved in sync, quiet moans escaping you both.

     Eventually pulling away for air, you leaned your forehead against his. 

     “And I love you too.”

     With one more quick, sweet kiss, you rolled off of him with a small grunt, and he whined at the loss of contact. A laugh escaped you as you pulled on another one of his shirts.

     “I’ll be right back, sweetheart, I’ve just gotta set the alarm and make sure all the lights are out, okay?”

     You heard a soft groan from the bed, but when you turned to face him, he was smiling sleepily.

     “Okay, but be fast please, I already miss you.”

     Giggling, you made your way back to the bed and kissed right between his eyebrows, murmuring a promise that you’d be back before he knew it, and set off downstairs.

     He waited patiently for you as you moved about downstairs, listening to you sing to yourself. He couldn’t help but smile as he heard you have a small conversation with Tybalt. A small giggle escaped him as he heard you reminding your cat to come up to bed when he feels like it, just reminding him to make sure he’s quiet. 

     After a little while, you made your way back to your husband, turning the lights off in the hallway and slipping into bed behind him. Immediately, he cuddled into you, sighing sweetly at the feeling of being back in your arms. A soft smile graced your features as you pulled him even closer. You kissed the back of his neck, murmuring a soft goodnight, and he pulled one of your hands up to his lips, whispering a goodnight back.

    You had worried that you wouldn’t be able to sleep, too excited to see your kids the next day, but holding your husband and feeling his deep breaths against your chest quickly calmed your nerves, and you were out like a light.

•

     Thankfully, you were allowed to sleep in the next morning. You both began to stir at about nine thirty, and you thanked your lucky stars that he hadn’t woken you before sunrise again. 

     You laid in bed for a few extra minutes, gazing at each other and talking quietly, but before long, you were up and at ’em. You got ready for the day quickly, taking another joint shower, and making breakfast. After a bowl of cereal each, you called Calvin.

     You and Gardner were standing in the backyard, simply looking at your creation, when a clap sounded from behind you.

     “Alright! Let’s DO this!”

     You turned to see Calvin walking over, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Gardner nodded, his endearing look of concentration appearing once more as he followed his brother on deck. You weren’t far behind, and as soon as you were up, the work began. 

     You moved quickly, knowing your parents would be there with the kids around lunchtime. Chairs were placed in the cabin, maps were hung up, and you even set up a little bookshelf like the ones on the Dear Sidewalk that they had commandeered for their picture books in recent years. They had their own little working compasses and a rope that rang a bell up above. A pirate’s paradise.

     It was just as you put down the last cushion that you heard a car door. Your heads snapped up at the noise, and you and Gardner immediately rushed out to the front. Your kids jumped out of the car, running at you full speed the second they saw you, and you and Gardner immediately gathered them up in a huge hug. Their little voices rang out, a jumble of excited shouts, telling you how much they missed you and what they had done with their grandparents. You and Gardner listened intently, nearly tearing up just at having them home again. 

     After a little, you broke off from the little group hug and made your way to your parents as your kids continued to excitedly cling to their father.

     “Well, it certainly sounds like you had a good time,” you chuckled as you hugged each of them. They laughed, saying yes they absolutely did, and you knew they, as well as Penny and Ben, would be sleeping soundly that night.

     “You had a nice time too I hope,” your mom smiled, “I’m assuming you enjoyed the quiet?”

     You couldn’t help the blush that rose to your cheeks at the thought of all that you and Gardner had gotten up to in the last few days, but you still smiled.

     “Oh definitely, it was nice not to worry too much about them for a while, but I’m certainly still glad they’re home.”

     You watched with a wide smile as your kids ran circles around their dad, climbing all over him and giggling loudly. He was chuckling as well, lumbering around with them on each of his legs as they screamed in excitement. They certainly took after their father, the sunlight glinting off of their auburn hair and their precious laughter ringing out. He hoisted both of them up, one on each shoulder, and turned to you with bright eyes.

     “Should we tell them?”

     “Tell us what?” Penny asked from Gardner’s right shoulder before you could answer. Her eyes were wide, excited at the prospect of a surprise.

     “Tell us what! Tell us what!” Ben bounced on his dad’s left, always following his older sister. 

     “Why don’t we just show them instead?”

     With a grin, you took your husband’s hand and began leading them to the backyard, your parents close behind, and stopped just before they could see the playhouse.

     “Well, your dad and I-”

     “And Uncle Calvin!” 

     You laughed at  both the shout that came from around the corner and at the children’s expressions as they realized their uncle was waiting to see them. 

     “-and Uncle Calvin, yes, worked really hard while you were on your big kids’ trip,” you paused, smiling at their wide eyes, “and we know how much you love going out on the boat, so…”

     At that moment, you gently pulled them around the corner and revealed the pirate ship in all its glory. You didn’t really know how they were going to react, but it was better than anything you could’ve hoped for. Aside from when Gardner almost dropped them because of how loud they screamed, but even that was funny after the initial shock. 

     Penny sprinted over to the ship as soon as she was on the ground, shouting our own pirate ship! over and over as Ben just stood and looked on in awe. Gardner knelt down next to him.

     “You alright, bud?”

     Ben nodded slightly, mouth hanging open.

     “Daddy?”

     “Yeah, love?”

     He looked up at his dad.

     “Do we get to keep it?”

     Gardner stifled his laugh, not wanting to embarrass him at all, and nodded excitedly.

     “Of course you do! We built it for you!”

     Ben looked at him, shocked, for one second more before running off after his sister. 

     Gardner stood, grunting softly, and made his way back over to you. You leaned against him with a smile.

     “Dad noises.”

     He chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

     “Fitting.”

     You laughed, taking his hand, and watched as your kids dragged their uncle and both grandparents aboard, showing them around. You noticed they had started calling Calvin ‘first mate,’ instructing him to raise the sails and mop the deck, and all sorts of pirate-y things. He was very quick to accept his new title, playing along and doing his ‘chores,’ looking back at the two of you with a huge smile.

     As they began their game, you turned around, putting your hands on Gardner’s hips, and pulled him into a kiss. His hands immediately moved up to cradle your face, and you smiled against him. You leaned your forehead against his and squeezed his hips gently.

     “I think we did good.”

     You felt his good-natured scoff rather than heard it as he kissed you again, murmuring “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

     His arms wrapped around you, and he moved to deepen the kiss, but a shout broke you apart.

     “Pirates don’t kiss!”

     You looked up, startled, to find Penny leaning over the ship’s railing, looking both embarrassed and slightly grossed out. 

     Her expression paired with her words and distressed tone made you double over in laughter, you just couldn’t help it. She put her little hands on her hips and stared at you, brow furrowed, as you leaned in and kissed Gardner again, yelling back, “These pirates sure do!”

     You heard her sigh exaggeratedly, followed by her telling you that she needed you on deck immediately, they were about to shove off, her favorite phrase of her dad’s.

     You looked at your husband, smiling softly, glad to have your little family back together. He kissed your nose, and you laughed before motioning toward the ship.

     “What say we weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen?”

     He sighed sweetly, looking at you in lovestruck awe, like he was seeing you for the first time all over again. 

     “Y’know, I’d marry you again if I could.”

     You kissed his cheek once more, a pleased grin on your face, and pulled him toward the ship.

     “Come on, dork.”

     He took your hand, smiling.

    “Aye aye, Mrs. Langway.”

[justapurrcat]

Fics to Love and Appreciate

Extremely wonderful fics wrote by extremely talented people, simple as that.

... yes, they’re all about Joe Mazzello and his characters. I’m a Joe girl. I’m sorry. Or maybe not.

Series

Joe Mazzello

All is Merry and Bright – @crazylittlethingcalledobsession

Just Go With It – @sohoneyspreadyourwings

My Sweet Lord – @ursoself-satisfying

Natural Selection – Holy Spirit – @mrbenhardys

On the Frontline – @justasupersonicwoman

Stress Relief – @a-night-at-the-0pera

Virtues Uncounted – @a-night-at-the-0pera

Eugene Sledge

Sincerely Yours – @sohoneyspreadyourwings

Gardner Langway

A Bit of Sunshine – @for-my-life-still-ahead-pity-me

Anchored, But Irradiated – Role Reversal – @gotboredwrote

Unconditionally – @ladyfogg

Pat Murray

Cold is the Night – @ladyfogg

paper rings: a series – @patmvrray

One-shots and Headcanons

Joe Mazzello

baseball – @almightygwil

make you mine – @almightygwil

moonlight – @hardyzello

Moving Day – @sohoneyspreadyourwings

Oranges – @rogerina-yee-haw

Sex Ed – @deakyfordays

The Mistletoe Plan – @sohoneyspreadyourwings

Your Former A-hole Friend – @spacedustmazzello

Eugene Sledge

Dance With Me? – @sohoneyspreadyourwings

Dog Tags – @brian-roger-deaky-and-fred

The Lily of Death Valley – @gotboredwrote

Gardner Langway

1600 Kismet Avenue – @gotboredwrote

Long Away – @marielle-heller

Mouse

Of Mice and Men – @writeyourownlifestory

Pat Murray

Never Have I Ever – @sohoneyspreadyourwings

A Whole Lotta Love – @ursoself-satisfying

Love With Its Back Turned – @gardnerlangway

 Tim Murphy

Six Questions – @gotboredwrote

Jungle Love – @39-seas-of-rhye

[spacepigeonsposts]

Cereal and Sweet Dreams

Reader wakes up and notices Gardner isn’t in bed with them. They find him in the kitchen and they cuddle on the couch.

Pairing: Gardner Langway x Reader

Words: 1056

Warnings: fluff, kissing, a little bit of angst

A/N: I couldn’t get this idea out of my head and I’ve been super bored. I wrote this in the middle of the night I hope it’s okay :)

You had been sleeping peacefully when you turned over and realized Gardner wasn’t beside you. Your hand patted his side of your shared bed and you found it to be empty. You sat up, rubbing your eyes, before looking around and not finding him anywhere in the room. Then you heard a noise from the kitchen.

You walked into the kitchen, still groggy from sleep. There you found Gardner returning the milk to the fridge. He didn’t see you at first so you stood against the door frame for a moment, just watching him. He was making a bowl of cereal. He finally noticed you and looked up.

“Oh! I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?” He asked. “I couldn’t sleep so I came in here to get a bowl of cereal.”

“It’s fine,” you said. “I was just wondering where you went.” You gave him a soft smile.

He returned it and asked if you wanted some cereal. You said yes so he took another bowl out of the cabinet. After you finished making yours, you both headed into the living room and got comfortable on the couch.

You turned on the tv while he ate his cereal.

“So how come you couldn’t sleep? I wasn’t snoring was I?” You asked in between a bite of your own.

He laughed lightly and shook his head.

“No I just couldn’t get comfy I guess,” he shrugged.

“Well, you can always cuddle in with me more if it helps,” you said.

“Thanks, honey,” he giggled.

You both sat for a little while, just watching whatever was playing on tv and eating your cereal.

Once you both were done eating you set your bowls on the coffee table in front of the couch.

You held your arms open and he took the hint to lay back against your chest. He settled into your arms and you continued watching tv, now feeling calm and content.

Neither of you could see it but you both held small smiles on your faces. Little moments like these were some of the best things about being together. You were happy that Gardner felt safe enough with you to be vulnerable.

Eventually your hands found his hair. You ran your fingers through the soft locks at the top of his head, and he let out a satisfied sigh.

You continued playing with his hair because it seemed to relax him.

“I love you,” he suddenly blurted out.

It wasn’t the first time it had been said in your relationship but it still made your heart race and your cheeks heat up a little. Plus it was cute when he said something without thinking too much about it first.

“I love you too, angel,” you replied.

He turned his head to look at you. You looked down at his face. He really was an angel. You started at his ginger hair that was messy from your playing. You placed a kiss on the top of his head.

Light from the tv reflected in his hazel eyes and gave them an even brighter glow. Another kiss on his forehead, just between the eyes. He scrunched his face and laughed a little.

Your eyes trailed down to his nose. Gosh his nose. It was long and aquiline and, in your opinion, perfect. You planted a kiss right on the tip of his nose and he scrunched up his face again with a smile.

Finally, your eyes landed on his lips. His lips were beautiful and soft. And of course you couldn’t resist. You leaned down and pressed your lips to his. He placed a hand on your face gently. Yours ended up tangled in his hair again as his lips moved slowly against yours.

After a few minutes, you both moved your faces back to catch your breaths. You locked eyes and laughed. You pressed your foreheads together, still looking at each other. You put your hands on his flushed cheeks and held his face for a little while.

“You know you mean the world to me right?” You asked.

Gardner’s eyebrows furrowed and his eyes looked watery for a moment. He blinked and the tears went away but the little crease on his forehead was still present. You gave it a quick kiss and his face relaxed.

“Sorry,” he started but you cut him off.

“No, don’t apologize. You mean so much to me and you deserve to know it. I love you more than anything.”

The tears were back but now they were falling down his cheeks. However, in contrast to his crying, a big smile was spreading across his face.

You were confused for a moment before realizing he was crying happy tears.

You started smiling too and used your thumbs to wipe the tears away. “You mean the world to me too,” Gardner said.

His voice was uneven but his smile didn’t waver.

You gave him another kiss and embraced him tightly.

When you separated, he settled his head in your lap and looked up at you. You looked back down at him.

“I should tell you,” he began. “The real reason I couldn’t sleep is because I was having nightmares.”

You took one of his hands in yours and held it tightly.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” you said. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He placed his other hand on top of yours and shook his head lightly.

“No. I feel better now. I think I’m okay,” he said.

“Well you can always talk to me if you need to, sweetheart,” you said.

“I know, darlin’. I will, Gardner replied.

He laid his head back down in your lap and looked at the tv.

You smiled down at him as your hands returned to his fluffy hair. He let out a pleased noise and his eyes fluttered shut.

You continued to watch tv while you played with his hair.

A few minutes later, you heard a small snuffling. You looked down to see that Gardner had fallen asleep. You grabbed the blanket at the other end of the couch and laid it gently over him. You leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of his head.

Finally, you closed your own eyes and dozed off.

You both slept peacefully, knowing that you were both loved and taken care of.

[rogers-sweatbands]

tedtalk: joe mazzello’s nose

hi yes hello. as we all know i am your resident joe mazzello stan and that i would literally die for his beautiful, stunning nose. if you’re anything like me, i’m sure you’re curious when his nose took its final form™. throughout the 35 years that he’s gifted the planet with his existence, his nose has seen several stages. come with me as we unpack the journey joe’s nose has taken.

let’s start at the very beginning. joe’s first film (that was listed on imdb) was unspeakable acts (1990). this puts joe in the 4-5 year old range during filming. as you can see from this picture,

he is quite smol and has the cutest lil cheeks that you want to pinch so fucking badly. his nose is still in a cute button-like shape during this movie, thus beginning our nose ~*transformation*~ journey. 

(for future reference, this nose will be referred to as baby nose™).

_____

continuing on, we’re going to skip ahead 3 years to... *drumroll please*... jurassic park (1993). yes, here is where our sweet dino boy began chasing his dino dreams as tim murphy. as we can see in this photo,

his nose has grown a little bit (but not significantly). his nostrils have widened slightly and his nose has come to more of a point when compared to baby nose™. however, this change is not very dramatic. in my opinion, his nose evolved from that of a smol bean to a regular child’s. 

(this nose will be referred to as the og murphy nose™).

_____

moving ahead in our nose evolution, we will be taking a look at the cure (1995). 

exhibit a:

exhibit b:

in the two years after he went on his dino journey, his nose had slimmed slightly when compared to the murphy nose™, but again, these changes were not very significant. however, in order to see these changes, i personally felt that it was necessary to provide two pictures as evidence as they show both a front and side profile. 

(this nose will be referred to as the dexter nose™).

_____

skipping ahead, we begin to see more significant developments in the nose journey. while the dexter nose™ did show some growth, it was not until the lost world: jurassic park (1997) that we saw it beginning to form the shape that we know today. 

also hello zaddy goldblum

as you can see in this picture, the tip of his nose has grown more pointed and his nose has also extended slightly in length.

here it is cropped for easier zooming in abilities. 

these changes are much more noticeable than that of the og murphy nose™ and the dexter nose™.

(this nose will be referred to as the tim II nose™)

_____

while joe did participate in some projects in 1998, he took a brief hiatus from the screen until wooly boys (2001). as you can see here, 

his nose has almost reached its final form. this makes sense as most of the filming for this movie likely occurred when he was 15 (which is right in the middle of puberty). 

(this nose will be referred to as the lamb boy nose™). 

_____

this leads us to the hollow (2004), where you can see the shape finalizing into the beautiful nose we know today.

joe was likely 18-19 during shooting for this movie so this makes sense as boys usually stop growing between the ages of 20-23. 

(this nose will be referred to as the spooky nose™ due to this movie being a horror movie, not because i find the shape to be scary)

_____

so now we arrive at the final steps of our nose evolution, matters of life and death (2007). 

as you can see in the above picture, joe’s nose has reached its final fantastic form.

(this nose will be referred to as final form™)

_____

in summary, from the baby nose™ to final form™, joe has had an amazing and beautiful nose journey. thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

[acdeaky]

the neighbour

joe’s birthday week - part 5

warning: fluff, awkwardness

note: okay, so, this one’s super cute but also slightly awkward, but that’s how our baby gardner is! danny; i hope you like this one ;))

word count: 1.1k

"gardner? that's an unusual name," you comment as trudy pours you a cup of tea. "thank you."

"he's an unusual kid," she comments, sitting down opposite you. "he has a schedule which he follows everyday. if he spends even one second too long at a house, it throws his whole day out of line."

"nothing wrong with being organised," you chuckled. "at least he knows how much time he'll have at the end of the day."

trudy nodded in agreement. "that kid's a little strange, but he's got a good heart. there's more to him that meets the eye, you know."

"sounds like i'll have fun getting to know him, if he can fit me in his schedule."

"i'm sure he will," trudy smiled at you. she hoped that after the whole paige incident, gardner would be able to find a girl who loved him for him: she hoped that would be you. trudy looked at the clock and stood up. "he'll be here in three...two...one." trudy swung open the door. you couldn't see the mailman as trudy's body was covering him. she stepped aside, allowing the mailman to step inside the house. he dropped his bag and walked further inside.

"have you seen the girl who moved in next door?" trudy asked.

"no. i dropped off her mail and that was it. nobody was home." his voice sounded soft and gentle. you could listen to him speak for hours on end.

"she's through there." you heard trudy speak. you stood up, waiting to meet the mailman - gardner. his face appeared from around the corner. he had his blue shorts and shirt on, his black socks pulled almost half the way up his calves and his baseball cap on. you had to admit: he was cute.

"hey, gardner. i've heard a lot about you." you smiled at him. he seemed calm, even though he apparently didn't do too well with meeting new people. but little did you know, his mind was racing 100 miles an hour. meeting girls wasn't his thing. he usually freaked out and had to check 30 thousand things before replying to whatever she had said, but standing in front of you, he felt no worries. he was completely comfortable around you already.

"i hope it was all good things." he spoke slightly quieter than he anticipated.

"of course. trudy was telling me about your schedule and how you like staying on track with time. and i heard a few things about paige, who i'm sorry about." you apologised. even though things were fine between him and paige, you still felt bad about what happened.

"it's okay, we're friends now. i don't see her that often anymore, only while delivering her mail."

"that's good. say, gardner-"

"i've just forgotten," trudy interrupted. "i've got to go and grab something's. we'll have to cut the visit short."

"but what about-" gardner began to speak before trudy pushed him towards the door.

"she'll have to come with you. wouldn't want to mess with your schedule." you knew exactly what trudy was doing, making a small smile appear on your face. gardner did not, unfortunately. he thought his friend was kicking him out to go shopping.

"i'm free," you followed gardner out the door. "if that's okay with you, gardner?"

"sure." he smiled toothlessly. trudy waved goodbye as you two began to walk up to her gate. gardner opened it for you, allowing you to leave first before walking through it himself and locking it. he began to walk in the opposite direction of your house and all you could do was follow him. you didn't know your way around at all, but you were glad to have gardner in your company to show you a few places.

as you walked, you and gardner talked about anything and everything. you found out a lot about him and he found out a lot about you too. even though you'd only met him an hour or so ago, both of you had instantly found comfort in one another. that's probably why you were both sat on his bench, sharing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while staring out to the lake. you two were close for people who had only met a short while ago. your knees were touching which made you feel at home for some reason.

after gardner had finished delivering all of his mail, he began to walk you home. neither of you had stopped talking, desperately wanting to get to know each other. even though trudy had mentioned that he wasn't a man of many words, that was deemed untrue by you. you slowly saw your house coming into view and felt slightly sad that your time with gardner was almost over.

he walked you all the way to you front door, allowing you to unlock it and stand in the doorway. he stood a few feet away from you.

"i had a really nice time today, thank you, gardner." you smiled a genuine smile at the boy you'd definitely begun you have feelings for.

"you're welcome." he replied with the same smile.

"we should do this again sometime, how about tomorrow?"

"i don't deliver on sundays."

"of course you don't," you mentally screamed at yourself, all day you'd been fine and now... "how about we just hang out? i could find my way to yours or you could come here?"

"i wouldn't want you getting lost; i'll come here at 11." he spoke logically and with care in his voice.

"it's a date then." gardner suddenly dropped his head and you noticed a deep blush begin to grow up his neck and onto his cheeks. you placed your hand under his chin and lifted it up. "don't be so shy." you whispered. your head automatically began to leaned forward, and, to gardner's surprise, his did too. your lips met in the middle, a soft and short kiss being shared between you two.

"i'll see you tomorrow." you looked into his eyes and winked, moving away from him and stepping into your house, but not before getting one last look at the mailman.

boy, he was cute.

-

part 2 at some point?

-

TAGLIST: @never-kept-the-same-address @j0hn-deaky @sohoneyspreadyourwings @brian-maybe-not @deakysbabybooty @1001-yellow-daffodils @retromusicsalad @hardcoredisneynerd @painkiller80 @leatherjacketmazzello @scarecrowmax @mebeatlized @seesiderendezvous @alright-mrfahrenheit @someone-get-a-medic @miamideacon @chlobo6 @teenagepeterpan @spacedust1124719 @deakysgurl @forever-rogue @xcdelilahxc @keepsdrawing @hardzellosposts @soulexposed @supersonicfreddie @laedymoon @inthedayswhenlandswerefew @warriorteam1924 @painandpleasure86 @boomerangbassist

[peggingtaron]

Sincerely Yours

 Chapter 1 - Something Lost

Story Description: One day, Gardner comes across the town’s librarian, Audrey Ezra, prompting him to begin a daily visit to the library. Rekindling his childhood love of books, Gardner became intrigued with the mysterious British bookworm he’d observe every morning.

•

Word Count: 3.2K

A/N: So excited to begin this series, I have so many plans for this story ! (p.s. please may the Dear Sidewalk fandom grow just a tad more). Kind of boring introductory stuff in this one, but more fluff ahead !

•

Gardner looked down at his watch. 8:15am on the dot.

In about seven seconds, Mrs. Avery would reach her hand from her kitchen window to pluck an orange from the tree that sat nearby. 

In about twenty-eight seconds, young Jonathan having had slept in yet again would rush out his house in a dishevelled state sprinting towards his bus stop. 

In about forty seconds, Allison, the waitress from the diner off the corner of Clifford Lane would sneakily emerge from the front door of the Bennett’s home. This one in particular was a new routine. Mrs Bennett had been out of town the past couple weeks and a certain Mr. Bennett was rather pleased with this.

It was in between the seconds of Mrs. Avery plucking an orange from her tree and Jonathan sprinting out of his home to rush to school, that Gardner reluctantly acknowledged how mundane of a routine he had fallen into. Sure, it had been long since he worked as a mail carrier. And with that, came the assumption that he wouldn’t always have the same routine — walking the same route, interacting with the same people — every single day. 

But at the very least, he was looking up at his surroundings a lot more than he used to. Mainly because of her... her voice and her words kept resurfacing in his head, “No, don’t look down”. He wondered whether he had slowly begun adopting this habit purely out of the interest of switching up his morning walks, or it was something he did just to shake her voice out of his head.

Morning walks were rituals he would never give up, whether or not it was part of a job. It was the highlight of his day — Not needing to think and letting the patterns of the sidewalk guide his walk and guide his mind to blissful numbness. It was a short debate in his mind whether he should change the routine for the day, whether it be turning a different street, deciding to take the bus somewhere instead, or even going back home to play video games with Calvin. Anything could happen with the slightest change. 

As Gardner turned the corner, his feet stopped just before a crack in the sidewalk. Had he completely broken the habit of looking down as he walked, he wouldn’t of noticed the small emerald ring stuck between the gaps of dried cement. 

Furrowing his brows, Gardner reached down to pick it up. Attached to it was a chain that dangled beside his hand. He observed it closely, admiring the way the sun shone through the tiny crystal in a green tinted beam. It was no doubt a valuable possession. 

Gardner was looking around for any sign as to where it might’ve come from. At first he looked at a few passerby’s that could’ve possibly dropped it, before his eyes fell back the sidewalk. His eyes drifted slightly to the left to spot a tiny maroon leather bound notebook buried under a few strands of overgrown lawn. 

Clutching carefully onto the ring with one hand, he used the other to pick the notebook up, careful not to get any more dirt on it. It fit perfectly his palm and upon observing it closely he realised that the leather had been hand-stitched and beautifully so. Embossed across the front of it was the name A. E. Ezra. 

Gardner let his fingers graze across the surface of the book, feeling the embossed letters as the name escaped his lips in a low whisper. “A. E. Ezra”

He bit his lip as he rummaged his mind for that name. He had seen it before, perhaps through letter correspondence. “Ezra... Ezra... Ezra...” No faces came with the name as he chanted it to himself.

Gardner narrowed his eyes in concentration as he began flicking through the notebook, looking for more hints. Though it didn’t take long for him to realise that the contents of the notebook were indeed personal. Instinctively he put his eyes out of focus as he blurred away what he assumed to be small diary entries. Instead he drew focus to the dates and locations written on the top of each entry. 

This proved to be useful, as no matter how many different dates there were for each entry, the location was always the same — Faith Library.

• 

There weren’t many passerby’s at the library, and if there were, their visits were few — The occasional diligent student researching for an assignment in the afternoons, or the frequent procrastinating student looking for somewhere to print their assignment in the mornings before school commences. Father Deacon would often drop by in the earlier hours of the day to ‘brush up on the scriptures’, though Audrey knew it was a mere guise to occasionally keep her company. It was incredibly sweet of the man, and although she appreciated the gesture, she found herself feeling quite bleak after his pep talks. Trudy was one semi-casual, particularly loquacious passerby whose visits tended to intrigue, yet also concern Audrey as she’d observe the kinds of DIY books Trudy would check out.

Some other people would come in for a quiet read, but barely interact with her. A polite nod or smile as she’d help direct them to certain sections or help check out books for them, at most. But that was the way she liked it. Any more interaction than that would ripped her away from how consumed she was by the story she was reading for the day.

In fact, on one too many occasions, someone would have to tap her on the shoulder after a while of trying to get her attention because of how much a book could take hold of her focus. It was a common misconception that her passionate love of books would’ve made her great at her job, but truth be told it was the very thing that distracted her from getting much work done at all. Though that didn’t matter. Days could go by and no one notice whether work was to be done or not.

Audrey looked up from her book with a quizzical brow as she heard the door swing open with a loud bang. After sighing with relief from the brief scare, she chuckled to herself upon seeing it was merely a strong gust of wind. Only a second had passed where she entertained the idea of someone else dropping by.

Though before she could bury her nose back in her book, her eyes darted to her right to meet a pair of hazel ones.

Taken aback by the sudden contact, she raised her chin to see who had seemingly been observing her for a while. 

Gardner had almost slipped off the pillar he was leaning on as the girl he had been watching turned to face him.

When Gardner entered the library, he had walked right towards the main desk where she was seated. His search was a success as the name tag on her collar spelt Audrey Ezra. Gardner had cleared his throat four times to get her attention with no luck. Afterwhich, it must’ve been an entire minute where he simply stared at her, watching as her eyes trailed across the words in her novel. 

He didn’t mind waiting, though he didn’t expect to be so entranced watching someone do something as simple as reading a book. The way her fingers danced across the corners of each bit of paper in antipation of turning the page. How her chin rested in her palm as her fingers delicately grazed her slightly parted lips. How a faint hum would escape her every now and then as if in response to whatever she was reading. 

Presumably, now that she was facing him, the trance would’ve ceased. Though now that he saw her eyes, her look became complete picture. Doe-brown eyes were charmingly framed with a wavy curtain of brown hair, styled accordingly to the dress she wore which was rather old fashioned with its A-line cut. Though given the 1940s design of the library, he looked more out of place than she did. While admiration was undoubtedly shining through Gardner’s eyes, his fixation was on the confusion of never having seen her before, especially given how distinctive she looked.

“Oh!” Audrey exclaimed as she scrambled her book shut, chiding herself. “Sorry, I hope you haven’t been standing there long.” Audrey shook herself into concentration, adjusting her posture as she greeted him warmly. “What can I do for you?”

And there the trance had broken, though replaced itself with a new one as he heard the soft voice that emerged from her. Gardner’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly, unable to find what to say. “You’re... British.” And having heard what he did just say, he bit his lip believing it best he never tried saying anything at all.

Audrey’s customer service persona faltered slightly as she observed him properly. She fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve as his eyes bore into hers. After a pause, and mustering the courage to make a remark upon seeing how sheepish he was, she countered, “Well spotted.” 

It was a relief to hear her respond somewhat humorously. He allowed himself a slight smile, before clearing his throat and straightening his posture. “I was looking for you, Miss Ezra.”

Audrey, taken aback by his sudden man-of-action demanour, leaned back in her seat slightly. “Why?”

Gardner frowned, rather oblivious to how his tone would’ve caused her worry. “I just...” Gingerly reaching into his pocket, his face dropped. The ring was still there, but as his fingers grasped it, he felt a roughness to the once smooth cut crystal. His fingers stretched out to feel the piece that had chipped off and he closed his eyes in dread. He didn’t know at what point he had damaged it or how, but cursed in his head, realising that his pocket wasn’t particularly a wise place to put it in the first place.

Gardner looked up at her, eyes slightly widened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realise...”

Audrey greeted his words with a perplexed frown, she stood up from her seat, instinctively seeking to help the man who seemed in distress.

“Sir, are you alright?”

Gardner shook his head and sighed. He pulled the ring from his pocket, holding it out to her by the chain, dreading her reaction. Audrey’s eyes gleamed at the sight of it, watching it dangle before her. A mix between a shaky sigh and a delighted chuckle escaped her as she reached her hands towards it. “Oh my— w-where did you find...” Her words trailed off as her fingers caught it from dangling in the air any further. Almost immediately, the unfamiliar rough texture of the ring’s center caught her attention.

Gardner bit his lip awaiting the reaction to wash over her. “I-I should’ve been more careful, it was fine when I found it—”

“Where did you find it?” Audrey looked up at him. Gardner took a moment to process her expression. No glint of sadness or anger, but simply curiosity and even delight.

Gardner pressed his lips together. “It was on the sidewalk. Right by Crawford street.”

“I thought I lost it for good...” She whispered almost to herself.

The corners of Audrey’s lips twitched up as her fingers faintly traced the emerald surface. Her lips pressed together as tears began to prick her eyes. She bowed her head down, hoping for her fringe to silhouette her eyes from the man’s view. She tried to steady her voice. “You...” Her voice faltered as her fingers lingered on the ring.

Gardner hadn’t allowed relief to wash over him just yet. And he believed he was right to do so as he heard a faint drop on the desk in between them. He looked down at the desk to see that a spot of paper had been faintly wet and raising his eyebrows, he looked to see drops of tears escaping her face. He couldn’t get a good look at her, as her head faced down, but he didn’t try to. His first instinct was to stiffen up and back slightly away from her.

Gardner couldn’t recall the last time he dealt with a woman crying in front of him, let alone a woman who cried because of his doing.

“Miss Ezra, I’m so sorry, I— uh...” Gardner rummaged through his other pocket, pulling out his wallet. “I-I’m sure it’s much more valuable than...” He pulled out all the cash he on him, briskly muttering as he counted. “...35 dollars... but, uh, please...” He placed the cash on the desk in front of her.

Audrey looked at the cash sitting on the desk then up at him. Bewildered that the man who had retrieved her most prized possession was apologising for it, she opened her mouth to speak.

Though as the sight of her tear-stained cheeks and glistening eyes came into clear view, Gardner’s jaw clenched in discomfort. 

While Audrey’s tears came from relief and bliss, she realised the man had interpreted it differently. “Oh, no... sir, it’s—”

“No, I...” Gardner didn’t know where that sentence would carry him. He thought only to apologise, but wasn’t certain how to remedy what he’d done.  

“Sir, please.” Audrey took the liberty of carrying the conversation, and Gardner thinking it best for her to speak instead, closed his mouth.

Gardner couldn’t help but furrow his brows being addressed as ‘sir’. Though it was a common polite term, there was something rare and old fashioned about the way spoke and carried herself, particularly the way she held her shoulders back while wearing a warm smile.

Audrey picked up the cash and reached for his hand. She rested the money in his palm and gently curled his fingers so that he was holding onto it. Gardner’s insincts told him to let go of the money, insist she take it and even promise further payment to help with the damage, but his body stiffened, as her hands were holding his closed fist.

As Audrey met eyes with him once more, it struck her. How easily she reached towards his hand, how she has no hesitation shedding slight tears in front of a stranger. It was the wave of joy of seeing her father’s ring again that seemed to repel any nerves for her. But its effect was slowly withering now.

She decided to speak while her gratitude was still helping to dilute her usual shyness. “Thank you.” She smiled. “Really... There really isn’t much damage. None at all, taking into account that I thought I’d never see it again.” Audrey chuckled slightly.

Gardner hadn’t quite processed her words, but his worries about the damage were surely fading. His mind was fixed on the feeling of her fingers clasping lightly around his. His palms began to perspire against the cash he was holding onto. Audrey followed as his eyes slightly flickered to their joined hands. She hadn’t noticed until now.

Audrey let him go quickly under the guise of needing to pull back strands of her hair from her face.

Gardner hadn’t noticed just how much he was leaning into her touch until he felt how heavily his arm dropped beside him as she let go.

There was a pause between them, and Gardner took a moment to listen how the library muffled every sound from outside. He could hear every page turn from the few people that were in here, and each movement they made created a faint echo. No doubt people would’ve overheard every word of their conversation, but it was a place where everyone could be so consumed in their own world that he didn’t seem self-conscious about it.

“Is there anything I can do for you, sir?” His attention returned to the friendly librarian.

Gardner frowned as his eyes trailed down her cheeks. Though she shed tears only briefly her cheeks were still stained and slightly wet. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, holding it out in front of her.

Audrey’s eyebrows raised as she looked at it. “You... carry a handkerchief?” There was some delight Audrey found in the prospect of men carrying around handkerchiefs these days.

“Not usually, no. My friend Trudy stitched it for me the other day.”

“Trudy...?” The corners of Audrey’s lips began to etch upwards as she looked him up and down. Hazel brown eyes, ginger hair, polo shirt, a somewhat stiff demeanour and a fixed frown expression worn for all occasion. Just as Trudy described her strange neurotic friend. “Gardner.” Audrey said slowly.

Gardner’s frown softened upon hear his name coated in her voice. “How did you...?”

Gardner trailed off. Ezra. That name. He heard it in Trudy’s voice this time. Faint recounts played back in his head. How Trudy would describe how Faith Library felt like going escaping back in time. How Ezra, ‘the beautiful basketcase’ was as much part of the library as the bookshelves drilled against the walls.

“Small town.” Audrey replied, taking the handkerchief and nodding at him as thanks.

Audrey dabbed lightly at her cheeks before handing it back to him.

Gardner shook his head. “Keep it for now.” He nodded towards the piles of books stacked on the cart beside Audrey’s desk. “You should probably be getting back to work now, shouldn’t you?”

Audrey looked over and sighed. “Seems so...” she suppose she couldn’t of dragged out her break much longer.

“Well, then I’ll leave you to it.” Gardner said bluntly before turning his heel and beginning to walk off.

Audrey bit her lip, taken aback by his brisk departure. “Uh— sir.”

Gardner turned back around. “Um, Gardner, I’d prefer. Now that you know my name.”

“Right, of course.” She chuckled sheepishly. “Um... just wanted to say thanks... again.”

“You’re welcome.” A sharp nod of his head and he turned his heel again, heading towards the door.

Audrey wanted to call after him again. She wasn’t sure what exactly she would say. But if she didn’t know any better, she’d guess that she wanted to talk to him for longer. A rare sensation she had with people at the library. Oftentimes, gestures and conversations beyond polite requests and ‘thank you’s would have her yearning for solitude again.

Audrey watched as Gardner stepped outside, his hair brightening as the sunlight swallowed him from the dimness of the library. She watched him leave, feeling a slight frown dawn upon her face. Her mind replayed the last couple minutes for her as she proceeded to push her cart, ready to continue with today’s duties.

Gardner stopped by the sidewalk, turning round to get one last look at the building. He hadn’t gone inside for years, and he thought of all the times he almost did in between the last time he did until now, chiding himself for not doing so.

Gardner didn’t share Audrey’s disappointment of having left and possibly not seeing again.

As he continued walking, his hand reached back in his pocket, letting his fingers trace around the leather bound notebook, he had oh-so-foolishly forgotten to give to her. The corners of his lips twitched upwards slightly. Might be too late to go back now, she’s busy working.

Looks like he had to return tomorrow morning to give it to her.

[zodiyack]

Working on a request rn, so here's a look into the current draft.

Waking to the sound of laughter, she bolts upright and her hands fall onto the bed next to her sides for support. Noticing the lack of another body weight in the bed, she turns to see that Gardner is nowhere to be found. The giggles continue, a high pitch voice as well as some chuckles from a deeper voice. Gardner's voice.

[deanscroissant]

j.m. one-shot request (3)

Request: @johndeaconlover​ Hi!  How are you?  If you do not accept such a request, you may send me the answer privately.  Well, although I haven't seen it yet Dear Sidewalk, but I've read some fanfic, Gardner is a cinnamon muffin.  Anyway, could you write something about him based on Taylor Swift's song, Lover?  With a little smut, I'm very thirsty for it!  Please, thanks for your attention! Xxxx

A/n: So sorry this took me so long. I really, really, really hope I fulfilled your wishes. This is my first time writing smut, so don’t come @ me if it sucks lol. If I’ve made any mistakes I apologize in advance. Hope you like it and whoever reads this. Feedback is greatly appreciated! :)

Warnings: fluff, a pinch of angst, and smut (18+)

Word count:  1590

Gardner Langway, the man that used to be a stranger to you now your husband. Last month, in April, was when you two tied the knot and since then you’ve been the happiest woman alive. It seemed like you knew him for years when you first met him. It was like rekindling a friendship you once had. 

When Gardner showed up at you front door as your new mail carrier two years ago you instantly fell head over heels for him. He was different. It was something about him that you couldn’t quite figure out. Maybe it was how shy he was when you communicated. He didn’t talk much at first and you wanted to get to know him more, so you tried for a while to build up the courage to ask him out for coffee or a walk at least. 

But little did you know that Gardner was doing the same behind closed doors. When he first met you he wanted to kiss you right then and there. Your beauty was captivating, but he didn’t seem worthy of being with you. You were way out of his league. He shouldn’t even bother trying. 

But a few days later Gardner mastered shoving the negative thoughts away, all by the help of Calvin, who knew something was up with him the minute he came in the house for dinner that night. Gardner was being in denial, not wanting Calvin to know about his attraction to someone he didn’t know for a least a month. 

And here he was, standing frozen at your doorsteps, anxiety taking over his state of mind. He ran his sweaty palms down his denim-covered thighs as his breathing hitched. “Just do it.” he whispered. He gulped and closed his eyes and counted to ten slowly before he reached to ring the doorbell. 

Meanwhile, you were upstairs getting ready to go over to his house. You sat at your vanity putting on your favorite lip gloss when you hear your doorbell ring. You weren’t expecting anyone today, so you wonder who it could be. When you open your door, there stood the person who stole your heart. He was clearly nervous. You didn’t even need to ask what he was doing here because you just knew what he was going to ask you. So with a blushing smile, you say, “Yes. I would love to.”

From then on the rest was history. You two were inseparable. You did not want to let him go. He was a drug you couldn’t get enough of. The more you were around each other, the more open you began to be with each other. You seem to fall more and more in love with him every time you saw him. You would gush over the little things he would do or say. You’d die of laughter when you would tell him a joke and he would think you were actually being serious, or when he would tell a corny joke and you would try to act like it wasn’t funny, but end up laughing anyways. You loved learning about his favorite hobbies, his favorite foods, books, what he likes and doesn't like, everything. 

You cherish those moments with him. But the memory that stood out the most was when he proposed to you a year later on your anniversary date. You were at the park having a picnic when he popped the question. Everyone who was around watching were so happy for you two when you said yes. You couldn’t stop crying or laughing because you couldn’t believe you were going to marry your soulmate. 

Immediately after the proposal Gardner moved in with you. You asked him about the boat he lived in and he wanted to keep it, but he didn’t know what to do with it. He didn’t want it sitting in front of his brother’s house, so you told him to just keep it and move it to the backyard. 

It took you months to plan the wedding. You both wanted a small wedding with your family and Gardner’s friends and his brother. It was hard trying to find a venue since it was the only thing putting y’all behind. But you ended up finding one, which was way out of town about two hours away. But you didn’t care. It was perfect and it was worth stressing over.

After the ceremony you left for your honeymoon to the Grand Canyon. You wanted to surprise Gardner about visiting the Grand Canyon because all his life he dreamt of being there, so you were more than glad to fulfill that dream of his. “Okay, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” He asked you for the fifteenth time today when the plane had landed, “I think I might combust if you don’t tell me.” 

You rolled your eyes and chuckled at how he was looking with the blindfold you told him to wear, “You’ll see when you get off the plane, Gardner, for the hundredth time!”

And when he finally took off the blindfold when you told him to, he couldn’t contain his excitement. You saw a side of him that you haven’t seen before which definitely surprised you. He was acting a fool from the airport all the way to the hotel. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy watching him fangirl about being in the same state as the Grand Canyon. 

You’d also be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy the kisses he was giving you on the way there. It was oddly turning you on seeing him like this. When you and Gardner finally confessed your love to one another was when you two had sex for the first time. You weren’t a virgin, and Gardner wasn’t either and it honestly shocked you when he told you the story. 

But it was the best sex you’ve ever had, and since then you couldn’t take your hands off of each other. You happen to look down at Gardner to see a bulge in his pants, “Mmm,” you bit your lip as Gardner kissed down your neck, trying not to moan loud so the Uber driver could hear you, “I should surprise you more often.” 

“I would be totally down for that.” he murmured and lightly bit down on the soft flesh of skin. As much as you were enjoying this you had to push him away, “Baby, wait until we don’t have company to do this.” you said softly with a giggle so the driver couldn’t hear. 

But Gardner wasn’t having it. He started pouting and pulled you closer into him, burying his face into your neck, “I need you.”

“We’re almost there.” you wrap your arms around him while kissing the side of his head, “Then we can have as much time as we want with each other.” 

*********

Gardner crawled back up from paying special attention in between your legs and lined himself at your entrance, “Are you ready, baby doll?”

Being high off of your last orgasm you nodded lazily, wrapping your arms and legs around him as you lick your lips, “Yeah. Please, Gardner..”

Gardner nods and slowly enters you. Your eyes flutter close and a soft moan escape your lips. Gardner whimpers into your neck and slowly pulls out, then back in rhythm. Your nails drag down his back as Gardner pulled away from your neck to kiss you deeply. This was what home felt like. Gardner was your home. You two belonged to be molded together, to explore each other and to love each other in different ways. 

You whimpered into the kiss before pulling away to catch your breath. Gardner rests his forehead against yours as he stares into your eyes, those gorgeous eyes that he gets lost in every time you look at him. He moves your legs up more to deepen his thrusts before quickening his pace. Your moans became louder as so his pants. He was getting close. He could also feel you getting closer as you clench around his length. 

“Baby, I’m gunna cum.” you breathed out before sucking on his neck, which made Gardner begin to tremble. “F-fuck, me too.” he says. He reaches for your hands and pins them above you to lace his fingers with yours. Your core begins to tighten, and after a few thrusts you cum as you clench hard around his dick and your legs and arms tighten around him. Gardner’s thrusts falter and cums deep inside you, a mixture of moans and whimpering against your neck. 

You both lay in each other’s embrace as you listen to Gardner’s heartbeat while he softly taps his fingers against your arm with a content smile. Your other hand was laced with his that was placed on his chest, which he would give kisses to it ever so often. This moment was so special to Gardner. He’d never thought he would live to get married. He’d never thought someone would love him as much as you did. He thought the people he knew a long time ago was supposed to love him, watch him grow up, be a family with him, and stay in his life until the day he died. But he has you now to make up for all of that. He wouldn’t even trade you to get any of it back. 

You couldn’t believe this magnetic force of a man was now yours, and you couldn’t wait to spend the rest of your life with him. 

[joe-mazzello-archive]

regan’s 700 follower celebration masterlist!

hey gang! i figured i’d compile all of the blurbs from my 700 follower celebration in case anyone wanted to binge them! thanks again for all of your support!!! i’ll be continuing to update this as i finish the prompts.

joe mazzello

set me free (remotivate me)

a kind of magic

let’s go crazy

lay all your love on me

send her my love

somebody to love

she’s so lovely

moonlight mile

hold the line

dance macabre

songbird

tim murphy

touch

‘39

you

butterfly

telephone line

pat murray

black & white

eugene sledge

sweet is the night

sweet talkin’ woman

gardner langway

everything counts

gwilym lee

la vie en rose

somebody to love

old fashioned loverboy

afterglow

impulsive

new fears

cocoon

brian may

in my life

orchard house

‘39 + part two

secret door

john deacon

moonlight serenade

spread your wings

wake me

dreams

key largo

[stewielover95]

Fic Recommendations

Since LA county is pretty much on lockdown till April 19th, does anyone have a fic recommendations containing the following people:

Joe Mazzello (and all of his characters)

Ben Hardy (and all of his characters)

Gwylim Lee

Brian May

Roger Taylor

John Deacon

Please send them my way! I need some new stuff to read. I’d really appreciate it 😊

[fairytales-of-yesterday]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)

A/N: a late christmas present for one of the best people I’ve ever known :) 

@gardnerlangway​ this one’s for you, my love 

summary: christmas with your favorite mail carrier :)

word count: 4.1k

warnings: none!! simply loving fluff!! (unless you’re rowan, in which case this will make you cry)

(please forgive any typos!!)

“Happy Christmas!”

Gardner blinked. He woke up that morning thinking he knew what the day would bring. He had expected it to be chilly, and it was. He had expected to finish his route slightly early, and he was about to. He had expected to eat lunch at his usual spot, and he did. He had expected to see you, his favorite customer, his new best friend, and there you were. He had been excited to see you, like always. What he had not expected was the carefully wrapped box you were holding out to him. He had also not expected to be this flustered by how beautiful you look in that yellow sweater he’d delivered to you a few days back, but that was beside the point. 

“For… me?” He looked down at the small parcel in awe. You had to suppress a giggle at the little “O” his mouth formed as he stared at your hands. 

“Yes for you!” You laughed, extending your arms towards him even further. He took the box from you gingerly, as if what was inside could break with the slightest touch. 

“I can hold your bag while you open it? If you want?” You offered with a grin. When you saw him hesitate for a second you quickly added, “I’m dead vague about mail carrier protocol, so if that’s not allowed I totally understand! I just thought I’d offer.”

“N-no! No it’s okay,” he blushed a bit, handing back the box before taking the bag off his shoulder and passing it to you. He didn’t miss the way your eyes lit up as you slung it across your body, and he couldn’t help but grin softly at your excitement. 

“Sorry,” you laughed, giddy, “I’ve just always wanted to wear one of these! Makes you feel important, yeah?” 

To say that Gardner was speechless was an understatement. No one he had ever met had even pretended to care about his job, much less actually been curious about it. Granted, this wasn’t the first time you had shown interest in his humble occupation, but it still surprised him. All he could do was nod sheepishly with a pink tinge on his cheeks as you passed him the gift. 

When he had it in his hands again, he stared at it for a moment, not yet opening it. You noticed his gaze.

“I uh.. I tried to find a wrapping paper that matched the color blue you wear, and I know it’s not perfect, but I think I got pretty close!” 

You’d gotten blue wrapping paper. You’d gotten his blue. He laughed quietly in disbelief, and you very nearly had to physically restrain yourself from clutching your heart at the sound. He began to gently tear into the paper, and you watched with eager eyes. When he finally got into the box, he paused with a quiet gasp. Staring back at him was a pile of letters. Old letters. Very old letters. He softly rested his hand on them, only to realize they were sitting atop a pair of soft, dark blue, knit gloves. He looked up at you in shock and you gave him a genuine, soft smile.

“I found the letters in an antique shop a while ago, and they all had such lovely stamps on them! I only know about a few of them, google was kind to me, but the others I couldn’t find.”

Gardner couldn’t even speak. 

“Oh! And I figured that you were pretty sick of having to touch all those freezing cold mailboxes all the time, and I’ve never seen you wearing gloves, so I made those, and all blues just remind me of you.”

Gardner prayed that you thought his cheeks and nose were pink because of the cold. It wouldn’t be wrong, but there were definitely more factors involved in the equation. It took him a moment to even think of what he could say. No amount of words would be able to fully convey how truly touched he was by your kindness.

“Gosh I… Thank you,” he breathed quietly. You grinned softly, very proud of yourself for making him speechless. He looked up at you with wonder in his eyes, and you felt like the air had been knocked out of you. Gardner had only marched into your life a few months ago when you moved to Austin, but he had quickly managed to walk into your heart as well. Every cup of tea the two of you had quickly shared before he set off to his next house, every slight smile and polite wave, every quiet laugh you got from him when you told him a new joke, every evening chat the two of you had on your front porch on the rare occasions he accepted a dinner invitation… you had fallen hard. That sweet, somewhat stubborn, shy mail carrier had somehow managed to occupy all your waking thoughts. He must’ve been exhausted with the way he’d been walking the whole city and running through your head every day. He was just so… him. So kind and gorgeous and passionate and him. God him. 

“Oh, love, of course!” 

His face reddened at the term of endearment, and you smiled even wider. He ran his fingers over the letters, smiling softly to himself, still in complete awe that anyone would do something so nice for him.

“Wait,” he gasped as your words caught up with him, “you made these?” You grinned bashfully as you watched him pull out the gloves in amazement.

“I did! I hadn’t made anything other than scarves in a while, but I’m still proud of them!”

He looked up at you seriously, with a watery smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“They’re perfect.” 

 You beamed and did a mock curtsy as a thank you, drawing out another soft giggle from him. You were enjoying yourself immensely just seeing him so happy, when you saw his brow furrow in slight confusion.

“Hold on, Christmas is a week away,” he said, tearing his gaze away from his gift. Apparently it was your turn to be sheepish, and he watched a slight blush creep over your cheeks. 

“Well, I… I didn’t know when you’d be off for Christmas, and I’ve been trying to find something for you for a while, and then the knitting took a minute, but I wanted to make sure I caught you before you went on holiday or something, and I was really excited to give it to you, so… here it is.”

When you met his eyes again, you had to stop yourself from laughing. He had the most awestruck look on his face you’d ever seen.

“You… you thought about all of that?”

“I mean, yeah! I wanted you to have your gift! Plus, you’ll get to use the gloves!” 

It might have been 30 degrees outside, but Gardner had never felt warmer or happier in his life. 

The soft, nearly dopey smile on his face made you giggle, and he blushed again. He wanted so badly to truly thank you, to tell you how much all of this meant to him, but all he could do was look at you with all the love in the world. He was so in awe of you that he failed to notice the look of mild panic that crossed your face.

“Oh god, have I made you late?”

He was brought back to reality by the alarm in your voice.

“No! No no, you’re my last house. I usually get home in time for dinner, Calvin cooks every night, but he’s got a date tonight, so I’m on my own time.” 

He surprised himself with how willing he was to alter his schedule. His schedule was very important to him. Punctuality made him feel in control and organized. You, however, made him feel… something new. Something different. Something nice.

“Oh!! Well in that case, d’you wanna come in for a cuppa? I have cocoa too if you’d prefer that! I’m in the middle of baking some cookies as well if you want to help!” You gave him the warmest smile he’s ever seen. All he could do was nod, his face red, and follow you into your home.

He didn’t know what he had expected your house to look like inside, but he did know that everything felt just right. The moment he stepped through your front door, he was greeted by a warmth he had never felt before. It was as if the house had welcomed him in with a hug, beckoning him in further. The next thing he noticed was how nice it smelled, almost like tea, but also with something else mixed in. Like you had patented a candle called “happiness and comfort” and it was perpetually burning. The glow-in-the-dark stars that dotted the ceiling brought a grin to his face as he imagined you excitedly putting them up and seeing them glow for the first time. Everything was bright, but in a calm, easy-on-the-eyes way, and Gardner felt himself relaxing, truly relaxing, for the first time in a very long while. 

He followed you into your kitchen, and watched with a full heart as you carefully took off his bag and set it on your kitchen table. With a smile, you excused yourself, saying you needed to grab something from your room, and he smiled at the mess before him. When you said you were in the middle of baking cookies, you weren’t kidding! Every countertop around him was covered in flour or cookie cutters or containers of icing and sprinkles. You hadn’t spared the kitchen from your decorating either, and the tiny christmas tree on your table did not escape his notice. He was just starting to get curious as to where you’d gone when you entered the kitchen once more holding a speaker. 

“I hope you like Christmas music!”

He nodded in confirmation, and with a smile, you turned on a bright song that immediately made him feel even more light. Then, you got down to business. You quickly filled him in on what to do, and it was off to the races. 

The next hour or so went by in a blur of jolly music, loud singing, laughs, and definitely not eating the dough before you baked it, oh no, absolutely not. He impressed you by being somewhat skilled in the kitchen, and he feigned offense when you mentioned it teasingly. He amazed you in a lot of ways actually, as you ended up talking a lot more than you previously had. He seemed unashamedly open in a way that you hadn’t come to expect from him, and it warmed your heart. The trust he had given you, the willingness to show you his whole, true self was the best Christmas present you had gotten. You found him animatedly talking about the importance of his job, something you adamantly agreed with, his passion for stamps, and his love of being a mail carrier around the holiday season. You listened intently as he described the joy on people’s faces when he hands them packages, the smiles when he delivers Christmas cards from friends they don’t get to see often, the kind greetings from people caught up in the holiday cheer.

“It just makes you feel a bit like Santa,” he smiled, “in its own special way.”

You watched as his eyes twinkled, looking somewhere far away and remembering all of the love he’d witnessed on his route in the past few weeks. 

“Well, Santa,” you started with a grin, causing him to meet your eyes with a bright smile, “what do you say we get these last few cookies out of the oven, and then sit down and have some for ourselves?”

You didn’t think his smile could grow any more, but it seemed he was full of surprises that night.

“You know, I think that sounds perfect.”

After getting your cookies out without any burns, you led him to your living room, and he took a seat on your couch. Inhaling again, he could smell the pine from the garland you had hung on the mantle, and he smiled softly. How you managed to make him feel so at home was unreal to him. Your presence just seemed to wrap him up in a warm blanket.

“Still interested in that cuppa?” 

He snapped out of his small trance enough to stammer out that he wouldn’t mind some cocoa, and with a comical bow you left him to his own devices. 

With wonder in his eyes, he gazed at the room around him. You had obviously been very liberal in your decorating for Christmas, and he couldn’t help the quiet chuckle that escaped him as he took in all the lights strung about. Somehow, you had put up just enough so that the whole room was illuminated in their cheerful glow, but also not so many as to strangle anyone that walked in. He also found himself looking at some of your family photographs. He smiled to himself, thinking about you as a child and the kind of mischief you must have gotten into. The photos made him nostalgic, as if he had experienced this beautiful childhood with you. As if he had played in the streets with friends and come home for a good supper with his family. As if he had ridden his bike along the city streets and played along the riverside. However, he suddenly felt a pang in his chest and realized it couldn’t be nostalgia. Nostalgia implies a longing for things once possessed or experienced. And he had lived none of those happy memories. His smile slowly faded.

His thoughts were interrupted as you waltzed back into the room. He perked back up immediately, almost completely forgetting his melancholy, and if you had noticed the slight sadness in his eyes, you said nothing. Instead, you handed him a warm cup of hot chocolate and a small plate of cookies with a kind grin. He took it eagerly, murmuring a thank you and reciprocating your smile.

You, of course, had noticed him staring at your old photos with a mournful gaze, but elected not to say anything. He had told you about his parents over dinner one night, and it broke your heart. You wanted to tell him right there in that moment that you would gladly be his family, you would absolutely have him and hold him for the rest of your life, but you quickly pushed those feelings down, reminding yourself to keep it together. You situated yourself next to him, and lightly bumped his shoulder with yours, a wordless gesture of comfort. You saw him grin into his mug, and felt victorious.

After each of you had tried the cookies (and made some extremely suggestive sounds that definitely made you both feel emotions you weren’t willing to share), you fell into a comfortable silence. That is, until you saw your dvd collection.

“So, you have a favorite christmas movie?”

He looked up at you, surprised.

“I… don’t think I’ve really seen any.”

“What?”

Your mouth hung open in shock as Gardner looked down at his cocoa. He eventually met your gaze and gave you an almost sorrowful, crooked smile.

“I just… haven’t ever gotten around to it I guess.”

He saw a brief glimmer of sadness, maybe even a tinge of guilt cross your face as you realized why, but it was quickly outshone by the twinkle in your eye as a grin slowly spread across your face.

“Well I guess we’ll have to fix that then.”

                                                     ~

You watched Gardner’s eyes dart across the screen. His features were soft, his eyes bright, as he watched the money pile up on George Bailey’s table. You couldn’t help the few tears that sprung to your eyes as the people of Bedford Falls mingled and laughed and sang. 

“Are you okay?”

You looked away from the screen to see Gardner’s concerned face as he realized you were crying. You let out a watery laugh and nodded, wiping your eyes.

“I’m fine! This just always gets me.”

A small smile made its way onto his face, and he bumped his shoulder against yours, mirroring your move from earlier. Your heart melted a bit at his gentle kindness, and you bumped him back.

The credits began to roll, and you turned so that you faced him. 

“So, I think it’s time for the verdict. What’d you think?”

He smiled softly as you looked at him eagerly. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen a better movie.”

He chuckled a bit as your eyes lit up even more.

“Oh!! Gosh I’m so pleased!! And I’m honored that I got to be the one to show you.” 

Looking at your proud smile as you focused again on the television, Gardner found himself wanting to kiss you right then and there. The way the light of the movie danced across your face, the way your eyes shone so bright, the way you swayed slightly to the music, lightly humming along, he was in heaven. He was about to say something, god knows what, when your eyes flitted over to the window.

“Oh, Gardner,” you breathed quietly, “look.”

His heart fluttered a bit at his name coupled with the softness of your voice, and his eyes followed yours. 

“Oh.”

It was snowing. 

Quicker than he could realize what was going on, you pulled him off the couch, bundled him up a bit, and pulled him out your front door. You gasped loudly as soon as your feet hit the ground outside to find it covered in an inch or two of light, soft snow. 

“It must have been snowing for ages now,” you cried with a grin, jumping around a bit. 

Gardner watched with a bright smile on his face as you gazed up at the sky, watching the flakes fall all around you. You took a few deep breaths, feeling the cold sting your nose, and laughed. Then, with little warning, you grabbed his hands and pulled him out into the yard with you. A small yelp escaped him, but he was quickly giggling alongside you. You roped him into a snowball fight with ease, playfully taunting about how his aim should be fantastic if he’s “really as good at horseshoes as you claim.” He chuckled at that, telling you to “bring it on.” You were sure the neighbors were going to come out to complain, but your antics went unbothered. Eventually though, after Gardner narrowly missed the neighbors’ already-flimsy mailbox, a cease-fire was called.

It fell quiet for a moment, the two of you giggling softly to yourselves and panting a bit. You watched him as he caught his breath, looking up at the falling snow. His eyes seemed to dance between the flakes, not quite knowing where to land. In the few months you had known him, he had never looked as content as you had seen him tonight. His gaze found its way to you eventually, and your cheeks reddened a bit as you realized you’d been staring at him.

However, he didn't seem to notice, and he offered you a kind smile, one you returned very quickly. You took a step toward him and gave him an affectionate shove with your pocketed hands. A quiet giggle escaped him, breaking the calm silence of the night. Your breath caught in your throat at both the sound and your proximity to him. It was possibly the closest you’d been. You could see every detail of his face, his eyelashes, the little flecks of gold in his hazel eyes, barely illuminated by your porch light, his faint freckles across his nose and at the corners of his eyes. 

You felt your cheeks heat up as you met his eyes. He gave u another little grin, this one a bit cheeky, and you knew this time he’d caught you. You stepped even closer to him, if that were even possible, and almost timidly took your hands out of your pockets and grabbed his. You watched his eyes widen and his cheeks redden as you laced your fingers together. He looked down at your hands and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it after a second, seemingly unable to say what he wanted to. So you tried.

“Gardner…” you began.

His eyes met yours once more and you faltered. There was so much you wanted to say. You wanted to tell him how beautiful you thought he was, how genuinely gorgeous he looked when his eyes lit up as he talked about his job. You wanted to tell him how much you admired him and his passions. You wanted to tell him how strong he was. He had been hurt so badly, cut so deeply, and yet here he was, loving and giving and laughing and living. You wanted to tell him how much you liked him. Really, truly liked him. Full on fancied him. And still, it was as if you’d forgotten how to speak at all.

“Gardner, the only thing I’m good at is words, and when I look at you, they’re all gone.”

His eyes softened a bit, and he looked down at your hands once more. Then, something new flickered across his face. Determination. He met your eyes.

“Maybe… maybe you don’t need words.”

You were in the middle of debating whether or not you should ask him if he meant what you thought he meant when you realized Gardner’s lips were pressed gently against yours.

It wasn’t like anything you had ever experienced before. It was short, not even lasting two seconds, but it was the purest, most content moment of your life. He pulled away quickly, hands beginning to shake in yours. He didn’t miss the way you chased his lips slightly afterwards, and that helped to somewhat calm his nerves, but he was still terrified at how you were going to react. When his eyes found yours again, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. The smile that spread across your face could outshine the sun. He wanted to say something, anything. He wanted to thank you for his gifts and the cookies and all the kind greetings and the drinks and the dinners and the listening ear. And he opened his mouth to try, but before he even got the second word out, you were kissing him. 

The first kiss had been soft. It had been short and sweet. This one was desperate. He made a soft noise of surprise, but quickly relaxed against you. Your lips moved against his hungrily, trying to make up for lost time. He was making these soft, quiet noises that were like music to your ears, and you knew you would never stop trying to draw them out. Your hands untangled themselves from his and moved up to cradle his face. God, his dumb, stupid, lovely face that you had wanted to hold for so long. To hold and to kiss. You found yourself laughing softly in utter disbelief against his lips. He let out a small whine into your mouth that sounded both like a plea for more and like a sigh of relief, as if he felt like he was finally where he was born to be. 

Eventually the two of you broke for air, and you chuckled gently at the slight smear of your red lipstick on his mouth. You looked into his beautiful eyes, hands still on his face, and smiled brightly.

“What were you gonna say? Sorry, I completely interrupted you!”

Gardner, still breathless, decided his “thank you” could come later.

“Please… please do that again.”

You laughed loudly, feeling on top of the world, and as much as you desperately wanted to grant his wish, you instead gave him a soft kiss on his lovely little nose.

“My love, I’ll do that a million more times, trust me, but let’s get inside first, yeah? Your nose is an adorable, but probably unhealthy shade of pink.”

He thought about it for a second.

“Just one more?”

You giggled softly at that and took his hands once more.

“Alright, pretty boy, one more.” 

After one more lingering, loving kiss, the two of you made your way back inside. After a change of clothes (you into some pjs, Gardner into a soft sweater vest your brother had accidentally left behind once) and a phone call to Calvin to let him know Gardner wouldn’t be home for a while, you both collapsed on the couch. He found himself cuddled up against you, your arms around him, feeling safe and content and truly at home. And when you started describing the Christmas movie marathon he was about to endure, he felt like, for the first time in his life, the feeling would last.