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juliebowie · 1 year ago

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Unlocking the Path: How to Become a Data Scientist

Summary: Mastering technical and soft skills is essential for aspiring Data Scientists. Certification courses provide industry recognition and prepare individuals for competitive job markets. Embracing continuous learning and networking maximises success in this dynamic field.

Unlocking the Path: How to Become a Data Scientist

Introduction

Industries crave Data Scientists. In today's data-centric universe, Data Science reigns supreme. Ready to explore the path to becoming a Data Scientist? Let's dive in. Ever wondered how to become a Data Scientist?

Look no further. Certification courses in Data Science pave the way. But first, let's understand the demand. Businesses hunger for data-driven insights, and Data Scientists satisfy this craving.

They decode complex data puzzles and unearth valuable insights. This introduction sets the stage for our journey. Buckle up; we're about to unravel the secrets of Data Science."

What Is A Data Scientist?

Data Scientists build insights, transforming raw data into actionable intelligence. They possess a unique blend of analytical prowess, technological proficiency, and domain knowledge.

Defining The Role Of A Data Scientist

At its core, a Data Scientist is a problem solver, leveraging data-driven approaches to tackle complex challenges. They extract, analyse, and interpret vast datasets to extract meaningful patterns and trends. With their keen analytical skills, they uncover hidden insights that drive informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Key Responsibilities And Tasks Performed By Data Scientists

Data Scientists are tasked with many responsibilities, including data collection, preprocessing, and analysis. They develop predictive models and algorithms to forecast future trends and behaviours. Moreover, they collaborate closely with stakeholders to communicate findings effectively, translating technical jargon into actionable insights that drive business growth.

Differentiating Data Science From Related Fields Like Data Analysis And Machine Learning Engineering

While Data Science, Data Analysis, and Machine Learning engineering share commonalities, they serve distinct purposes. Data Science encompasses a broader spectrum, integrating statistical analysis, Machine Learning, and domain expertise to extract insights from data.

In contrast, Data Analysis focuses primarily on descriptive analytics, summarising historical data to derive actionable insights. On the other hand, Machine Learning engineering emphasises developing and deploying Machine Learning models to automate decision-making processes.

Data Scientists serve as the linchpins of data-driven innovation, bridging the gap between raw data and strategic insights.

Scope Of Data Science

In today's digital era, Data Science permeates diverse industries, reshaping traditional paradigms and fostering innovation. Let's delve into the myriad sectors where Data Science is making profound impacts.

Data Science In Industries

Industries across the spectrum, from healthcare to finance, are harnessing the power of Data Science to drive decision-making and optimise processes. Predictive analytics and Machine Learning algorithms revolutionise patient care, enabling early disease detection and personalised treatment plans.

Transforming Finance With Data Science

Data Science is indispensable for risk management, fraud detection, and algorithmic trading in the financial realm. Advanced analytics tools sift through vast datasets to identify patterns and trends, empowering financial institutions to make real-time informed decisions.

Data-Driven Marketing Strategies

In marketing, Data Science fuels targeted advertising campaigns and customer segmentation strategies. By analysing consumer behaviour and preferences, businesses can tailor their marketing efforts for maximum impact and ROI.

Future Prospects And Emerging Trends

Looking ahead, the future of Data Science is brimming with possibilities. With advancements in artificial intelligence, Machine Learning, and big data technologies, the scope of Data Science will continue to expand, unlocking new opportunities and challenges across industries.

Skills and Qualifications Required

In the rapidly evolving field of Data Science, possessing a blend of technical expertise and soft skills is crucial for success. Here's a breakdown of the essential skills and qualifications required to thrive as a Data Scientist:

Technical Skills

Mastering critical programming languages such as Python, R, and SQL lays the foundation for effective data manipulation and analysis. Python's versatility and extensive libraries make it a preferred choice for tasks ranging from data cleaning to Machine Learning model implementation.

With its robust statistical capabilities, R is indispensable for in-depth Data Analysis and visualisation. SQL proficiency is essential for querying databases and extracting valuable insights efficiently.

Data visualisation skills are indispensable for communicating complex findings to stakeholders effectively. Data Scientists can use tools like Matplotlib, Seaborn, or Tableau to create visually compelling representations of data, aiding comprehension and decision-making.

Machine learning expertise is increasingly in demand as organisations seek to harness the power of predictive analytics. Understanding various Machine Learning algorithms, their applications, and the ability to implement them using libraries like Scikit-learn or TensorFlow is essential for building accurate and scalable predictive models.

Soft Skills

Critical thinking skills enable Data Scientists to approach problems analytically, identify patterns, and formulate innovative solutions. They can uncover hidden insights and make informed decisions by questioning assumptions and evaluating evidence.

Practical problem-solving skills are fundamental to navigating the complexities of real-world data challenges. Data Scientists must be adept at breaking down complex problems into manageable components, devising systematic approaches, and iterating solutions based on feedback.

Strong communication skills are essential for conveying technical findings to diverse audiences, including non-technical stakeholders. Data Scientists must articulate complex concepts clearly, tailor presentations to the audience's level of understanding, and translate technical jargon into actionable insights.

The Importance Of Domain Knowledge And Continuous Learning

In addition to technical and soft skills, domain knowledge is crucial to Data Science success. Understanding the context and nuances of the industry or domain in which one operates allows Data Scientists to ask relevant questions, interpret results accurately, and derive meaningful insights.

Continuous learning is imperative in a rapidly evolving field like Data Science. Staying abreast of the latest tools, techniques, and methodologies through courses, workshops, and self-study ensures that Data Scientists remain competitive and adaptable to technological advancements and industry trends.

Certification Courses in Data Science

Embarking on a journey towards becoming a proficient Data Scientist often begins with acquiring relevant certifications. These certifications serve as milestones, validating one's expertise and readiness for the dynamic field of Data Science. Explore renowned programs, each offering unique pathways to mastery and career advancement.

Data Scientist Certification Course By DataCamp

This certification program from DataCamp equips you with the skills to collect, analyse, and interpret large datasets using Machine Learning and AI techniques. The course emphasises effective communication of analytical results to business stakeholders.

Key Features

Industry Recognition

Enhanced Professional Credibility

Expanded Career Opportunities

Stay Ahead of Industry Trends

Approved and Recognised by Industry Experts

Job Guarantee Program By Pickl.AI

Pickl.AI's Job Guarantee Program in Data Science offers a comprehensive curriculum covering ten modules and 246 lessons. With an emphasis on practical learning, industry-relevant projects, and one-on-one expert mentorship, this program ensures job readiness and placement assistance.

Key Features

Online Bootcamp Format

Access to Cutting-edge Data Science Tools

Comprehensive Curriculum covering ten modules

Job Guarantee upon completion

Placement Assistance and Career Growth Opportunities

Data Science Bootcamp With AI Program By UpGrad

UpGrad's Data Science Bootcamp with AI program prepares you to become a skilled and job-ready Data Scientist. With revamped content that integrates AI concepts, this program offers a comprehensive curriculum and practical hands-on experience through capstone projects.

Key Features

Job-ready portfolio of 17 capstone projects

Complementary AI Engineer Bootcamp

Mastery of MS Excel and Programming Concepts

Extensive Live Instructor-Led Sessions

Placement Support and Career Planning

Each certification course offers unique benefits and features tailored to different learning preferences and career goals in Data Science.

Whether you're looking to enhance your skills, expand your career opportunities, or secure a job in the industry, these programs provide the necessary training and support to succeed in the dynamic field of Data Science.

Challenges And Opportunities In Data Science Career

Embarking on a career in Data Science presents both challenges and opportunities. Aspiring Data Scientists must navigate hurdles like skill development and market demand in a fiercely competitive job market. Yet, within this landscape lie diverse career paths, from Data Analysis to Machine Learning, each offering avenues for growth and success.

Navigating the Job Market

Data Science is highly competitive, with many aspiring professionals vying for limited positions. Securing a job in Data Science requires more than just technical skills; employers often seek candidates with practical experience and a demonstrated ability to solve real-world problems.

Additionally, the rapid pace of technological advancement means that staying relevant requires continuous skill development and adaptation to new tools and methodologies.

Seizing Career Opportunities

Despite the challenges, the Data Science field offers many career opportunities across various industries. From analysing consumer behaviour in marketing to optimising healthcare systems through predictive analytics, Data Science applications are virtually limitless.

Roles in Data Analysis, Machine Learning, data engineering, and beyond allow professionals to specialise and carve out fulfilling careers tailored to their interests and strengths.

Maximising Success in Data Science

To thrive in a Data Science career, aspiring professionals must proactively overcome challenges and seize opportunities. This entails honing technical skills and cultivating soft skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication.

Networking with industry professionals, participating in Data Science communities, and pursuing continuous learning through online courses and workshops are essential strategies for staying ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Become A Data Scientist?

Becoming a Data Scientist involves mastering technical skills like Python and SQL alongside soft skills such as critical thinking and communication. Enrolling in reputable Data Science certification courses can provide structured learning and industry recognition.

What Are the Key Benefits of Data Science Certification Courses?

Data Science certification courses offer industry recognition, enhanced professional credibility, and expanded career opportunities. They provide the essential skills and knowledge required to excel in the competitive field of Data Science.

What Challenges Await Aspiring Data Scientists?

Due to market competitiveness and evolving technological landscapes, aspiring Data Scientists may face job security challenges. However, continuous skill development, practical experience, and networking can help overcome these hurdles.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the path to becoming a Data Scientist is paved with rigorous learning and continuous skill development. Data Science certification courses offer structured training and industry recognition, preparing individuals for diverse career opportunities in this dynamic field.

#How to Become a Data Scientist #data science #pickl.ai #data analyst

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mitcenter · 1 year ago

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How to Become a Data Analyst | Complete Roadmap for Career Success

The demand for qualified data analysts is rising across all industries in today's data-driven society. If you're intrigued by numbers, patterns, and deriving insights from data, a career as a data analyst could be an excellent fit for you. Whether you're just starting out or looking to transition into this dynamic field, here's a comprehensive roadmap to help you to understand how to become a successful data analyst.

1. Educational Foundation

A strong educational background forms the cornerstone of a data analyst's career. Start by earning a bachelor's degree in a related field such as statistics, mathematics, computer science, economics, or information technology. These disciplines provide essential knowledge in data manipulation, analysis, and interpretation.

Consider pursuing advanced degrees like a master's in data science or analytics for deeper expertise. While formal education is valuable, self-learning through online courses and tutorials is also beneficial. Platforms like Coursera, edX, and Udemy offer courses in data analysis, statistics, programming, and data visualization.

2. Master Essential Skills

To excel as a data analyst, you'll need proficiency in key technical skills:

Statistical Analysis: Master statistical concepts such as hypothesis testing, regression analysis, and probability theory.

Programming Languages: Learn languages like Python, R, SQL, and tools like Excel and Tableau for data manipulation, analysis, and visualization.

Data Wrangling: Acquire skills in cleaning, transforming, and organizing data to make it suitable for analysis.

Data Visualization: Develop the ability to create meaningful visualizations to convey insights effectively.

3. Gain Practical Experience

Hands-on experience is invaluable. Look for internships, co-op programs, or freelance projects where you can apply your skills to real-world datasets. Participate in hackathons or data competitions (like Kaggle) to solve challenging problems and showcase your abilities.

4. Build a Strong Portfolio

Create a portfolio showcasing your projects and analyses. Include detailed descriptions of the business problems addressed, methodologies used, and insights derived. A robust portfolio demonstrates your practical skills and problem-solving abilities to potential employers.

5. Network and Connect

Networking is crucial for career growth. Attend industry events, workshops, and webinars. Join professional associations like the Data Science Association or attend meetups related to data analytics. Engage with peers and professionals on platforms like LinkedIn and GitHub.

6. Continuous Learning

The field of data analytics is ever-evolving. Keep up with the most recent methods, tools, and trends. Follow thought leaders, read industry blogs, and enroll in advanced courses to deepen your expertise.

7. Certifications

Consider earning certifications to validate your skills and enhance credibility. Certificates like Certified Analytics Professional (CAP), Google Data Analytics Certificate, or IBM Data Science Professional Certificate can boost your resume.

8. Job Search and Interview Preparation

When you're ready to enter the job market, tailor your resume to highlight relevant skills and experiences. Practice interview questions focusing on technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and data interpretation. Be prepared to showcase your portfolio and discuss your projects confidently.

9. Start Your Career

Apply for entry-level positions like Junior Data Analyst or Data Analyst. Be open to different industries as data analysts are needed in finance, healthcare, marketing, tech, and beyond. Once hired, continue learning on the job and seek mentorship from experienced professionals.

10. Career Advancement

As you gain experience, explore opportunities for advancement. Specialize in areas like machine learning, big data analytics, or business intelligence. Aim for senior roles such as Data Scientist, Data Engineer, or Analytics Manager based on your interests and career goals.

Conclusion

Becoming a data analyst requires dedication, continuous learning, and a passion for working with data. By following this roadmap, you'll build a solid foundation of skills, gain practical experience, and position yourself for success in this rewarding field. Embrace challenges, stay curious, and leverage opportunities to carve out a fulfilling career as a data analyst in today's data-driven world.

#how to become data analyst

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river-taxbird · 10 months ago

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AI hasn't improved in 18 months. It's likely that this is it. There is currently no evidence the capabilities of ChatGPT will ever improve. It's time for AI companies to put up or shut up.

I'm just re-iterating this excellent post from Ed Zitron, but it's not left my head since I read it and I want to share it. I'm also taking some talking points from Ed's other posts. So basically:

We keep hearing AI is going to get better and better, but these promises seem to be coming from a mix of companies engaging in wild speculation and lying.

Chatgpt, the industry leading large language model, has not materially improved in 18 months. For something that claims to be getting exponentially better, it sure is the same shit.

Hallucinations appear to be an inherent aspect of the technology. Since it's based on statistics and ai doesn't know anything, it can never know what is true. How could I possibly trust it to get any real work done if I can't rely on it's output? If I have to fact check everything it says I might as well do the work myself.

For "real" ai that does know what is true to exist, it would require us to discover new concepts in psychology, math, and computing, which open ai is not working on, and seemingly no other ai companies are either.

Open ai has already seemingly slurped up all the data from the open web already. Chatgpt 5 would take 5x more training data than chatgpt 4 to train. Where is this data coming from, exactly?

Since improvement appears to have ground to a halt, what if this is it? What if Chatgpt 4 is as good as LLMs can ever be? What use is it?

As Jim Covello, a leading semiconductor analyst at Goldman Sachs said (on page 10, and that's big finance so you know they only care about money): if tech companies are spending a trillion dollars to build up the infrastructure to support ai, what trillion dollar problem is it meant to solve? AI companies have a unique talent for burning venture capital and it's unclear if Open AI will be able to survive more than a few years unless everyone suddenly adopts it all at once. (Hey, didn't crypto and the metaverse also require spontaneous mass adoption to make sense?)

There is no problem that current ai is a solution to. Consumer tech is basically solved, normal people don't need more tech than a laptop and a smartphone. Big tech have run out of innovations, and they are desperately looking for the next thing to sell. It happened with the metaverse and it's happening again.

In summary:

Ai hasn't materially improved since the launch of Chatgpt4, which wasn't that big of an upgrade to 3.

There is currently no technological roadmap for ai to become better than it is. (As Jim Covello said on the Goldman Sachs report, the evolution of smartphones was openly planned years ahead of time.) The current problems are inherent to the current technology and nobody has indicated there is any way to solve them in the pipeline. We have likely reached the limits of what LLMs can do, and they still can't do much.

Don't believe AI companies when they say things are going to improve from where they are now before they provide evidence. It's time for the AI shills to put up, or shut up.

#ai #anti ai #chatgpt #openai #ed zitron #llm #large language model #enshittification #machine learning

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vlruso · 2 years ago

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How to Become a Data Analyst in the USA?

📢 Calling all aspiring data analysts! 📊📈 Did you know that the demand for data analysts is skyrocketing in various sectors in the USA? 🌟 From cell phone service to banking and medical care, businesses are investing in big data and expanding their analytics teams. Want to know how to become a data analyst in the USA? 🇺🇸 Check out this informative blog post that provides valuable insights and solutions for those looking to kickstart their career in data analytics. 💡 Read it here 👉 https://ift.tt/q9aLI0p Don't miss out on the exciting opportunities in this rapidly growing field! 🚀 Feel free to share with your network and let us know your thoughts. 💬 #DataAnalyst #DataAnalytics #CareerAdvice List of Useful Links: AI Scrum Bot - ask about AI scrum and agile Our Telegram @itinai Twitter - @itinaicom

#itinai.com #AI #News #How to Become a Data Analyst in the USA?#AI News #AI tools #Analytics Vidhya #Innovation #itinai #LLM #Productivity #rachel2387215 How to Become a Data Analyst in the USA?

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hope-for-the-planet · 27 days ago

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From the article:

Pakistan, home to more than 240 million people, is experiencing one of the most rapid solar revolutions on the planet, even as it grapples with poverty and economic instability. The country has become a huge new market for solar as super-cheap Chinese solar panels flood in. It imported 17 gigawatts of solar panels in 2024, more than double the previous year, making it the world’s third-biggest importer, according to data from the climate think tank Ember. Pakistan’s story is unique, said Mustafa Amjad, program director at Renewables First, an energy think tank based in Islamabad. Solar has been adopted at mass scale in countries including Vietnam and South Africa, “but none have had the speed and scale that Pakistan has had,” he told CNN. There’s one particular aspect fascinating experts: The solar boom is a grassroots revolution and almost none of it is in the form of big solar farms. “There is no policy push that is driving this; this is essentially people-led and market driven,” Amjad said.

The rapid shift to solar in Pakistan is particularly interesting in that it is being primarily driven by individual families and communities rather than the government--so individual solar panels are dispersed throughout communities rather than big solar farms operated by utility companies.

A large driver of this transition is the rapid increase in the cost of electricity in Pakistan, which is unfortunately something that the solar panels may make worse in the short term since fewer people are paying for electricity from the grid. However, the adoption of solar is also bringing electricity to families who would have had very little reliable access to it before. The article gives the example of several families pooling resources to use solar panels to operate their community well instead of relying on a diesel pump.

#solar #solar energy #solarpunk #hopepunk #hope #good news #climate change #renewable energy #green energy #clean energy #global warming #electrification #grassroots #bottom up change #solar panels

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ajay--sharma · 4 months ago

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Wondering how to become a data analyst or is data analyst a good career in India? Well, we're here to help with our step-by-step guide. In the modern digital world, data is referred to as the 'new oil' and from small to large industries everyone is using it. In such a situation, a career as a data analyst has emerged as an excellent choice for people all over the world and the best thing is it will only grow in 2025 or the upcoming years. So, let's deep dive into it and find out how to become a data analyst with no experience in it.

#how to become a data analyst

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throttleheart · 3 months ago

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⸻ ⸻ ⸻ Lucky Charm

Pairing: Lando Norris x fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Slow Burn, Light Angst

Word Count: ~3.1k

Summary: You’ve just started your dream job as a performance analyst at McLaren, determined to stay professional. But when Lando starts treating you like his personal good luck charm, lines blur, and feelings get complicated.

⸻ ⸻ ⸻

Your first month at McLaren is a whirlwind of data reports, race simulations, and trying not to trip over your own feet in the garage. You’ve worked too hard to get here—countless nights spent studying telemetry, endless practice interviews, a degree that felt like it stretched a lifetime. And now? Now you’re standing in the middle of the paddock, heart pounding as the team rushes around you before qualifying.

You’re supposed to be focused, analyzing Lando’s sector times, but then—

“Hey.”

You look up just in time to see Lando grinning down at you, still in his race suit, hair damp from the heat. His blue eyes flick over your tablet screen before settling on your face. “Anything good in there?”

You clear your throat, suddenly hyper-aware of how close he is. “Uh—yeah. Your Turn 3 exit is a bit sketchy, but overall, you’re—”

“Fast?” He wiggles his eyebrows.

You roll your eyes, shoving the tablet against his chest. “Decent.”

He laughs, bright and carefree, before giving you a casual tap on the shoulder. “I’ll prove you wrong.”

And he does.

Lando qualifies P2.

After the session, he finds you again, a little breathless, still in his suit, curls sticking to his forehead. “Told you.”

“Alright, alright.” You shake your head, unable to stop the small smile tugging at your lips. “Maybe you’re not completely hopeless.”

The next time he talks to you before a session, he places P3.

The time after that? He wins a race.

It becomes a thing. A ritual.

Before every session, Lando seeks you out. A quick chat, a joke, sometimes just a simple fist bump. And every time, he performs well. The team jokes about it, calling you his good luck charm. At first, you play along, chalking it up to coincidence. But then—

“You know,” Lando says one evening after a particularly chaotic race, “I think it’s actually working.”

You glance at him, raising an eyebrow. “What is?”

“This.” He gestures between the two of you. “Talking to you before a race. Feels… right.”

Your heart stutters in your chest, but you force a chuckle. “So what, you’re just using me for luck?”

His smile falters for half a second—so quick you almost miss it. Then he shakes his head. “Nah,” he says, softer this time. “I think I just like talking to you.”

And suddenly, it doesn’t feel like a superstition anymore.

It feels like something else entirely.

Something real.

⸻

Lando’s words linger in your mind long after he’s left.

“I think I just like talking to you.”

It shouldn’t mean anything. He’s a driver, you’re an analyst, and the garage is always buzzing with adrenaline and post-race emotions. But something about the way he said it, the way his voice softened, makes your heart beat just a little too fast.

You try to shake it off. Professional. You need to be professional.

But Lando doesn’t make that easy.

⸻

The next race weekend in Monza is a blur of heat, strategy meetings, and endless streams of data. You tell yourself to keep your distance, but Lando doesn’t get the memo.

“Where’s my lucky charm?” he calls out before FP3, scanning the garage until his eyes land on you.

The team laughs. You roll your eyes. “You realize this isn’t real, right? Your performance is based on skill, not—”

“Blah, blah, blah.” He waves you off with a smirk before leaning in slightly, just enough to make your breath catch. “But just in case, got anything for me today?”

You huff but play along, pretending to inspect him. “Mmm… helmet’s a bit crooked.”

His hand flies up instantly, adjusting it. “Better?”

“Perfect.”

“Good.” He grins before jogging off to his car.

The worst part? He takes P2 in qualifying. Again.

⸻

By Sunday, the entire paddock seems to be in on the joke. Every time Lando does well, someone—whether it’s a McLaren engineer, a journalist, or even another driver—mentions you.

“Guess we know who to thank if Lando gets another podium!”

“You traveling to every race now, or just the ones where he wants to win?”

You laugh it off, pretend it doesn’t affect you, but Lando? He leans into it.

After a chaotic race, he finishes P3. Instead of celebrating with the team first, he finds you. Sweat-soaked, grinning, energy still buzzing from the adrenaline rush.

He stops right in front of you, eyes bright. “Told you it works.”

Before you can respond, he pulls you into a hug—quick, warm, and entirely unexpected. Your breath catches as his arms tighten for just a second before he pulls away, still grinning.

“Thanks, lucky charm.”

Your face is burning, but before you can say anything, he’s pulled away by his engineers.

You tell yourself it’s nothing. Just Lando being Lando.

But then, later that night, your phone buzzes.

Lando: Dinner? Just us? No luck involved.

Your stomach flips.

Maybe… maybe this is more than just a superstition after all.

⸻

Your fingers hover over the screen, heart hammering.

Dinner? Just us? No luck involved.

Lando’s text stares back at you, casual yet completely not casual at the same time. You should say no. You should remind him that you work together, that you’re supposed to keep things professional.

But your thumbs betray you.

You asking as a friend or as a driver trying to secure another podium?

The response is almost instant.

Lando: What if I’m asking as a guy who just really wants to take you out?

Oh.

You swallow, staring at the message for longer than necessary before typing back:

Fine. But if you lose the next race, I’m blaming your bad dinner choices.

Lando: Deal. Pick you up at 8?

Pick me up? We’re literally in the same hotel, Norris.

Lando: Details, details. See you soon, lucky charm.

⸻

You spend way too much time trying to figure out what to wear. It’s not a date. It shouldn’t be a date. But when you open the door at 8 p.m. sharp and see Lando standing there—hoodie, jeans, hands stuffed into his pockets, but with that ever-present grin—you start to think maybe it is one.

“Ready?” he asks.

“As I’ll ever be.”

He takes you to a small, tucked-away Italian restaurant, far from the usual tourist spots. It’s dimly lit, cozy, the kind of place where the staff greets him like they’ve known him forever.

“You’ve been here before,” you note as you slide into the booth.

He shrugs, smirking. “I like to keep my secrets. Besides, had to impress you somehow.”

You roll your eyes, but your stomach flutters anyway.

Dinner is… easy. Surprisingly so. Lando makes you laugh more times than you can count, telling ridiculous stories from his karting days, his voice animated, hands gesturing wildly. You talk about work, sure, but also about everything but work—movies, music, the worst travel mishaps you’ve ever had.

Somewhere between the second glass of wine and Lando dramatically recounting the time he almost missed a race because he lost his passport (“Listen, I had one job, and I still screwed it up”), you realize something.

This is dangerous.

Not because of the job, not because of the jokes about being his good luck charm. But because this feels natural. Too natural.

And natural things have a way of turning into something real.

⸻

As you leave the restaurant, the cool night air hits your skin, a welcome contrast to the warmth still lingering in your chest. You walk side by side, and for once, Lando isn’t filling the silence with jokes.

He nudges you lightly with his elbow. “So… does this mean I get extra luck next race?”

You shake your head, laughing. “I don’t think it works like that.”

“Hmm.” He pauses, then looks at you, more serious this time. “What if I just wanted an excuse to take you out?”

Your breath catches.

“You wouldn’t need an excuse,” you admit softly.

Lando’s eyes search yours for a moment before a slow smile tugs at his lips. “Good to know.”

And then, without thinking—without overanalyzing like you usually do—you reach for his hand.

Maybe this is more than superstition after all.

⸻

Lando doesn’t let go of your hand.

Not when you weave through the quiet streets back to the hotel. Not when you step into the elevator, the air between you thick with something unspoken. And definitely not when you reach your floor, lingering in the hallway like neither of you really wants the night to end.

His thumb brushes over your knuckles absentmindedly, and you wonder if he even realizes he’s doing it.

“So,” he says, voice softer now, “are you gonna admit it?”

You blink up at him. “Admit what?”

His grin is lazy, teasing—but there’s something else beneath it. Something real. “That maybe, just maybe, I was right about you being my good luck charm.”

You roll your eyes, but your heart isn’t in it. “I think you just like having an excuse to talk to me.”

Lando steps in just a fraction closer, the space between you vanishing. “Maybe,” he murmurs. “And maybe I don’t need an excuse anymore.”

Your breath catches.

This is it.

That tipping point between something playful and something real, between superstition and whatever this is.

And then—

The sound of distant voices echoes down the hall, a group of engineers heading toward their rooms. Lando takes a small step back, exhaling like he’s resetting himself.

“Guess I should let you sleep,” he says, but he still doesn’t let go of your hand.

You squeeze it lightly before finally pulling away. “Night, Norris.”

“Night, lucky charm.”

You don’t miss the way he watches you as you walk away.

⸻

The next morning, the paddock feels different.

Maybe it’s just you. Maybe it’s the way your skin still tingles where Lando’s fingers brushed against yours, or the way your mind replays the moment in the hallway over and over again.

Or maybe it’s the way Lando keeps looking at you.

It starts early. During the strategy briefing, he sits directly across from you, chin resting on his hand, watching you with an infuriating little smirk. When you finally glare at him, he just winks.

Then, during practice, he makes a beeline for you the second he hops out of the car, barely even acknowledging the engineers first.

“Alright, how’d I do?”

You glance at your tablet. “You lost three-tenths in Sector 2.”

Lando groans dramatically. “Maybe I should’ve held your hand before the session.”

Your breath stutters, but before you can respond, one of the mechanics chimes in. “Careful, mate. If you start relying on her too much, you’ll have to bring her on the podium with you.”

Lando’s grin is immediate. “Not a bad idea, actually.”

The team laughs, but you can’t shake the way he’s still looking at you. Like he’s already decided something.

Like this is more than just a joke to him.

⸻

Race day comes faster than you expect.

You tell yourself to focus, to push aside whatever’s happening with Lando and just do your job. But then—

“Lucky charm!”

You barely have time to turn before Lando jogs over, race suit half-zipped, curls slightly damp from the heat.

“You’re really sticking with that nickname, huh?” you tease.

“Obviously. It’s science at this point.” He leans in slightly, voice lowering just for you. “Besides, it’s the best excuse I have to talk to you before every race.”

Your chest tightens.

“Lando—”

“Just—wait here a sec.”

Before you can ask why, he jogs off. You watch, confused, until he returns seconds later—this time holding his spare driver’s cap.

“What are you—”

He lifts it, placing it carefully on your head. His fingers linger at the brim as he tilts it slightly, like he’s adjusting it just right.

“There,” he says, stepping back to admire his work. “Now it’s official.”

You blink up at him. “Now what’s official?”

His smile is softer now. “You’re part of the pre-race ritual.”

Your heart is definitely beating too fast now.

“You better win, Norris,” you manage to say.

Lando just grins. “For you? Always.”

And then he’s gone, jogging toward his car, leaving you standing there in his cap, completely and utterly screwed.

Because if it wasn’t obvious before…

It sure as hell is now.

This isn’t just a ritual anymore.

This is real.

⸻

Lando wins the race.

Not just a podium—a win.

You barely register what’s happening when he crosses the finish line first, the team around you erupting into cheers, engineers shouting, mechanics throwing their arms in the air. The McLaren garage is a blur of orange, people hugging, champagne already being popped somewhere.

And yet, in the middle of the chaos, all you can think about is him.

The moment Lando climbs out of the car, he’s swarmed—by the crew, by cameras, by the world. But then his eyes find you, and it’s like everything else disappears.

You barely have a second to react before he’s running toward you, still breathless, still high on adrenaline.

“Lando—”

But you don’t get to finish, because suddenly, his hands are on your waist, lifting you off the ground, spinning you in a dizzying circle.

“You’re actually insane,” you laugh, gripping onto his race suit.

“Insanely fast,” he shoots back, grinning.

When he finally sets you down, his hands linger—one resting against your back, the other still holding onto your arm, like he’s making sure you’re real.

His voice lowers, just for you. “Told you it works.”

Your heart stutters. “Lando—”

“Let me have this moment first, yeah?” he murmurs, eyes flicking between yours. “Then we’ll talk.”

There’s something unspoken in his gaze, something that makes your stomach flip. But before you can respond, the team is pulling him away, dragging him toward the podium.

You stand there, dazed, as you watch him climb to the top step, the anthem playing, the trophy lifted high. The whole world is watching him—but he keeps looking at you.

And you realize, in that moment, that this was never just a superstition for him.

Not even close.

⸻

The celebration lasts all night.

The McLaren team floods the paddock club, drinks flowing, music blasting. Lando is in the center of it all—laughing, dancing, letting everyone pour champagne on him. But every so often, his gaze flickers to you across the room, like he’s making sure you’re still there.

You try to keep your distance. Not because you want to, but because you don’t trust yourself. Not after what happened in the garage. Not after the way he held you like that.

But Lando doesn’t let you avoid him for long.

“You’re hiding,” he accuses, sliding into the seat next to you.

“I’m sitting,” you correct. “There’s a difference.”

He tilts his head, studying you. “Why are you sitting alone?”

“Just needed a breather.”

His lips twitch. “From me?”

“From everything,” you say, but you both know that’s a lie.

Lando leans in slightly, his voice quieter now. “You remember what I said earlier? About talking after the race?”

You swallow. “Yeah.”

“Still want to avoid that?”

You hesitate. “I just… don’t know what you want me to say.”

Lando exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. For the first time all night, he looks nervous. “I don’t need you to say anything,” he admits. “I just need to know if I’m the only one feeling this.”

Your stomach twists.

“Lando…”

“You don’t have to give me an answer right now,” he continues quickly. “I just—I need you to know that this isn’t just some joke to me. Or a lucky charm thing. It’s you. It’s always been you.”

Your breath catches.

He watches you carefully, as if bracing himself for rejection. But there’s no hesitation when you finally reach for his hand, intertwining your fingers.

“You’re not the only one,” you say softly.

Lando’s grin is immediate, relief flooding his face. He squeezes your hand, pulling you just a little closer.

“Good,” he murmurs, eyes shining. “Because I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to fake another superstition just to keep talking to you.”

You laugh, shaking your head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “But you like me anyway.”

And for once, you don’t argue.

⸻

Lando doesn’t let go of your hand for the rest of the night.

Not when the team drags him back onto the dance floor. Not when champagne is spilled (multiple times). Not even when he’s pulled into photos, making sure you’re right there beside him, his arm slung around your waist like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

And the thing is? It is.

By the time you both escape the party—slipping out onto the quiet hotel balcony overlooking the city—it’s well past 2 a.m. The celebration is still raging downstairs, but up here, everything feels still. Peaceful.

Lando leans against the railing, exhaling deeply. “Think I still have champagne in my hair.”

You grin, reaching up instinctively, fingers brushing through his damp curls. “Yeah, you do.”

He watches you carefully, eyes flickering between yours. “You gonna fix it for me, lucky charm?”

You roll your eyes, but your heart stutters all the same. “You have to stop calling me that.”

Lando hums. “Mmm… nope.”

Before you can protest, he turns slightly, facing you fully. The teasing fades just a little, replaced by something quieter. More serious.

“I meant what I said earlier,” he murmurs.

You know exactly what he’s talking about.

“I know.”

Lando shifts, his hand finding yours again, playing with your fingers absentmindedly. “You still sure I’m not imagining this?”

Instead of answering, you take a small step closer. You don’t know if it’s the leftover adrenaline, the buzz of the night, or just the fact that you’ve wanted this for far longer than you ever let yourself admit.

But when you finally tilt your chin up and press your lips to his, none of that matters anymore.

Lando freezes for half a second—like he can’t believe it’s actually happening—before he melts into you completely, his free hand sliding to your waist, pulling you closer. The kiss is slow, unhurried, like neither of you are in any rush to let go.

When you finally break apart, his forehead rests against yours, breath uneven.

“Yeah,” Lando whispers, a grin tugging at his lips. “Definitely not imagining this.”

You laugh softly, fingers still curled into the fabric of his hoodie. “Good.”

He presses another quick kiss to your forehead before pulling back slightly, eyes twinkling. “So, does this mean I get extra good luck now?”

You groan, shoving him lightly. “You cannot make this a racing superstition.”

Lando just grins, catching your hand again. “Too late. You kissed me before the next race weekend. Pretty sure that means I’m winning again.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And yet,” he says, voice dropping, “you kissed me anyway.”

You huff, but you don’t deny it.

Because, well… he’s not wrong.

⸻ ⸻ ⸻

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marvelwitchergilmore · 5 months ago

Text

Tornado Nightmare

Summary: Tyler Owens x Fe!Reader -> It's no secret you and Tyler didn't get along. But when you have a nightmare and you trust him to help you, things begin to change.

Disclaimer: I don't know how this one is considering I took a break in between writing it, but I hope you enjoy it ❤ Mostly fluff, enemies-is to lovers, Tyler takes care of reader, Wrangler shenanigans, becoming unlikely friends, light swearing, mentions of nightmares. Not Proof Read.

It was no secret you and Tyler didn’t get along. It wasn’t anything personal…or maybe it was? It had been so long since you’d both met, you couldn’t remember the exact moment you’d both gone from being strangers to being…well, whatever the hell you called two people who shared the same friendship group and work colleagues but never seemed to be on the same page with each other.

It had been one petty fight after the other. Which tornado to chase, whose data was clearer in the field, what way to cut the film in order to make the best trailer, which motel to stay at, which restaurant was better, which screw to use to secure down the bar along the top of the roof. It had also been a lifetime of constant heated glances and disgusted faces when you both spotted each other despite knowing you’d be meeting.

In fact, it didn’t take long before Tyler banned you from his truck. Sometimes you’d piss him off by touching the rim of the flatbed when the others were sitting on the back of it in the evening.

But he was also banned from stepping foot on your porch. If he wanted inside, he’d have to find a way in through a window. The only time you’d let him step foot on it was when he threatened to pee on your lawn.

For the others it was annoying; at first. But, when they realised Boone had been playing a secret game with both yourself and Tyler, your rivalry with each other became a form of entertainment.

Counting how many groans Tyler would give in a minute when you talked, how many eye rolls you’d do until you’d get eyestrain. There was also a bet going on each day for who would crack first and start the long needed argument of the day; you or Tyler.

So far, you were winning in that department. There was just something about Tyler that got under your skin even when he wasn’t around. Most of the extra argument you had with him had started with yourself against, well, yourself.

However, there seemed to be an accepted concept that only you and Tyler were allowed to fight each other. If anyone else wanted to argue or start something with you or Tyler, away from those working as a Tornado Wrangler, they’d get an earful.

The others had seen it.

Twice in a bar in Arkansas where Tyler had stepped in front of you after two different men on two separate occasions started to get a little more physical with their opinions. Despite what your feelings were for each other, you were still a part of Tyler’s team. He and the others could fight you on different opinions – verbally, never physically – but others had to know where to leave their opinions.

And three times in diners up and down the interstate. Granted, two of those occasions were because of one specific StormPar analyst who clearly didn’t get the message the first time round; but the second was a complete stranger who called Tyler some things that didn’t agree with you. Not only was he attacking Tyler for his job, but he was indirectly attacking your profession. So you stood up for him, and the other Wranglers. And, indirectly, StormPar. That part you hated, but at the end of the day, you all had the same job.

But one day, the rest of the Wranglers were met with a scene they never in a million years thought they’d discover.

You and Tyler, in a kitchen together. Your kitchen. Where the knives, and scissors and other kitchen utensils that could have been used as a weapon were kept. Cooking. Dancing. Talking. Laughing.

Together.

“Should…” Kate looked around at the others to make sure they were seeing the same thing she was. “Should we do something?”

Dani gave her a similar expression. “I..I don’t know what’s even happening right now.”

“You are seeing what I’m seeing, right?” Boone asked, unable to take his eyes from the kitchen window and backdoor.

“Uh-huh.” Was the main consensus.

“Good,” Boone almost whimpered. “Good. Just wanted to check.”

“Do we just…go in?” Lily asked but Dexter held out his hand.

“N-not yet. I want to see what happens. We might not see this again.”

So they did. For ten solid minutes.

Neither you or Tyler had heard or seen them, so you just continued cooking. Obviously, they’d noticed a slight difference in both you and Tyler in recent weeks. There were less fights. There wasn’t always complete agreement, but since no fight was made, acceptance was the only thing left to do.

But never had they expected the recent silences to lead to…whatever the hell was happening to you and Tyler.

Whilst watching you and Tyler in the kitchen, Lily and Kate let out two small gasps which they managed to cover up with the help of Boone and Javi.

Tyler had touched you. Walking behind you to get to the stove, he’d laid a gentle hand on your hip, guiding you to the side as you reached into the cupboard. And you didn’t yell. You didn’t curse him out.

In fact, you smiled.

You both smiled.

The rest of the Wranglers continued to watch on in intrigue.

Meanwhile, inside the kitchen, both you and Tyler had no idea of what spectacle was going on outside.

It had been an odd transition for you and Tyler; going from arguing over almost every little thing to civil understanding and preference of each other.

And it had all started weeks previously in a crappy motel room in Oklahoma.

“I’m telling you, we’ve stayed here before. The owner hates me.” Boone said as he lifted his bag from the back of Tyler’s truck.

“No she doesn’t.”

“She does! Man, I’m telling you, the lady hates me.”

You opened up the passenger door to Lily’s car and stepped out, laying your hand on the roof of the car. “And why would she hate you?”

Boone got a little sheepish. “I dunno. She just does.”

“Maybe because the last time we stayed here you did a cartwheel into her trash cans and woke the entire motel.” Dani pointed out.

“It could have been raccoons.”

Tyler laid a hand on Boone’s shoulder. “No raccoon can scream ‘help, I think I’ve made a banana split with my elbow’.”

Moving towards the office, yourself and Kate booked into the last rooms available before handing everyone their keys. There were two twin rooms so Boone and Tyler took one and Dani and Kate took the other. That left you, Lily, Dexter and Javi to the other single rooms.

Since your room was on the second floor with Tyler, Boone and Lily; Dexter placed your bags by the bottom of the stairs.

And Tyler was about to carry yours up when you got there before him.

“I can carry my own.”

He lifted his hand away and picked up Lily’s instead. “Alright.”

You started making your way up the stairs, Tyler hot on your heels. “You know, it’s okay to accept help sometimes.”

“I’m aware.”

“I would have left it outside your door.”

“I don’t need your help. I can do it on my own.”

Tyler held his hands up in surrender, the bags over his shoulders. “Okay. I’m just saying I won’t hurt to just accept help every once in a while.”

You reached the top of the stairs. “But I didn’t need it. I’m a grown adult, Owens. I can carry my own stuff.”

Twenty minutes after getting settled you headed back down to the trucks and sat beside Dani and Kate. The rest of the night went as smoothly as normal. Laughter, stories, petty arguments over how to make chilli, more stories, discussions over which tornado to chase the next day, disagreements over which one to choose, shared hatred for StormPar and not wanting them to get one up on the Wranglers, a few more tales and jokes from Boone before he spotted the owner walking across the parking lot which forced him into hiding in the back of Tyler’s flatbed; all before finally going to bed.

But as you drifted off into a seemingly dreamless sleep, there was no way to prepare yourself for what you would wake up to.

Tyler Owens in his pajamas.

Boone had started snoring almost the minute his head hit the pillow. Sometimes Tyler was envious of how deeply Boone could sleep. Some mornings it took both himself, Lily, Dani and you to wake him up.

It was usually the only time in the morning where you and Tyler didn’t argue over how to wake Boone up. You’d bicker with him about being unable to wake Boone up before you’d walk into the room and realise why.

The first time it happened, you’d both bickered in hushed tones over how best to wake him up and that maybe Tyler hadn’t tried hard enough. Then you came to an agreement.

Dani and Lily went and grabbed a duvet and some extra sheets to lay on the floor before Tyler counted to three and lifted the mattress from underneath Boone with you.

It was the only thing other than a true tornado siren that could wake him.

Tyler on the other hand…he was a light sleeper compared to Boone. Though, most people would be light sleepers compared to Boone.

Usually it took a good twenty minutes before Tyler would be able to fall asleep and if he heard anything out of the ordinary, like trash cans falling, alarms going off, doors opening or closing, or something heavy hitting the ground, he’d wake up.

And that was why he found himself looking around his room in the darkness when he stirred awake before he heard something heavy hit the ground before a glass smashing on the ground followed it.

It wasn’t in his room. Boone was still snoring. The lamp was still on his bedside table. The same went for Boone.

Then something popped into his head.

The only room he shared a wall with was yours. On the other side was just a very dense wall.

Then in the silence, he heard a voice. Your voice.

Whipping the bedcovers from him, he pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and darted out of his room, trying his best to not wake Boone in the process. He couldn’t alert everyone. For all he knew you were still awake and had dropped one of the box files off your bed or something.

But when he stood outside of your room, there was no light in the window and the curtains were drawn completely. So he knocked lightly, but you didn’t answer. But your voice was a little louder. You sounded…stressed. Panicked.

So he tried the door handle and when it opened after the third try, he made a mental note to let the owner know the door locks were still shitty. Then he opened it up.

You felt like your entire body was being crushed underneath the rubble you’d found yourself caught in. Children were screaming and crying for their parents, the sky just kept growing darker until the wind that was howling started roaring together like every King of the Jungle had decided to descend on a small town and take out each building that stood, one by one.

But just as the pressure of the air started forcing your lungs to your spine, a gust of air was let into your lungs again as you shot up and found two hands on your arms.

Your legs kicked around, trying to find familiar ground. All the while, your entire body had gone from fire hot with clammy air to freezing cold with the amount of sweat that was being attacked by fresh air.

And just as you came to realise where you actually were, you came to recognise the voice that the extra set of hands belonged to.

“Hey, take it easy. Take it easy, it’s me.” Tyler told you. “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, it’s me. It’s Tyler. Look at me, it’s me. Take it easy.”

Finally setting your feet on rough carpet, your vision managed to focus in the dark and you found Tyler in his pajamas crouching on the floor in front of you.

“Tyler?”

“Yeah,” his voice was soft as he spoke to you. “It’s me. I heard a thud. Are you okay?”

You looked at him but you couldn’t find the words to answer him. Your entire body was shaking from the shock of reality and from the nightmare you’d just been trapped inside of.

“Sorry.” Tyler quickly apologised. “That was a stupid question. You don’t have to answer that.”

You didn’t know what to do, so you just held onto his hand.

“You’re shaking.” Tyler whispered. “Here.”

Standing up, he reached for the top blankets from your bed before he wrapped it around your shoulder, tucking your hair behind your ear before kneeling back on the floor.

“Just, take some deep breaths.” Tyler took hold of both of your hands. “Follow me. In, and out. In, and out. That’s it.”

“I’m sorry.” You eventually spoke, but Tyler just looked at you both concerned and confused.

“You don’t have to be sorry for anything. Was it a nightmare?”

You swallowed thickly as you nodded. “Yeah.”

Tyler had never heard your voice as weak as it was when you said that.

“Do they happen often?”

You shook your head before taking a deep breath and tucking your hair back behind your ear. “They used to, but I haven’t had one in a while.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

You shook your head, unable to bring yourself to use words. So Tyler just nodded. “Okay. That’s okay.”

Then he went to stand and instinctively, you reached out for his hand. “Don’t…don’t leave. Not yet. Please?”

Looking up at you, Tyler’s expression softened. He could still feel your hand trembling in his, and he could see the fear in your eyes at the thought of being left alone in that moment.

Tyler shook his head as he stood. “I’m not going anywhere. Come here.”

Leaning up, Tyler pulled you into a hug and within an instant, you hugged him back. He could feel your fingertips making imprints in his back as you held onto him for dear life. And then he did something that he wouldn’t think about until long into the afternoon the next day.

He pressed a kiss to your head as he leaned back before he stood and sat next to you on the bed. There, he placed a comforting arm around you as he pulled you inside his side and he pressed a small kiss to the top of your head.

Then he saw the time on your phone where a weather warning notification popped up.

“We should try and get some sleep. I’ll stay with you. Let me get you some water.”

You didn’t say a word, but you were thankful nonetheless.

Tyler pressed a third kiss to your head before he stood and helped you back onto your bed where he lifted up the bed covers before letting them float back down on top of you before he moved towards the bathroom, collecting and replacing your lamp onto your bedside table and grabbing a fresh glass from the tea and coffee station on your desk.

Tyler sat on the edge of the bed beside you as he handed you the glass which you took with a shaky hand. He took it back from you before putting it down and getting into bed beside you.

He didn’t say anything else other than; “You’re safe.” when he clasped your hand in his between you both in your bed.

Waking the next morning, your hand was still in his.

“How’d you sleep?”

Looking up from where your eyes were focused on your hand in Tyler’s, a small smile gracing your face before you could stop it, you were met with Tyler.

And, for a moment, all sense of ability to talk left you. If someone would have told you that waking up next to Tyler Owens wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, you wouldn’t have believed them.

“Good.” You eventually answered him, your voice in a whisper. “Thank you for staying.”

Tyler just smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

You felt yourself smile before you looked away and back at your hand that was still in his. Feeling his fingers float over your skin before he pressed a small squeeze to your hand, your squeezed back. However, just as you felt yourself move closer towards Tyler, his grip getting a little steadier in your hand, a knock came to your door.

“Y/n! Come on! You’re gonna miss it!”

Kate’s voice rang through your room before she ran next door and banged on Boone’s door.

“Boone! Tyler! Come on! Javi’s got a reading! Hurry!”

You and Tyler sprung from your bed and ran towards the door whilst Boone was slowly dragging himself from his bedroom, unaware that Tyler wasn’t in his room with him.

You and Tyler squinted in the bright light of the morning before looking down the hall and seeing Boone shuffle out of his room wrapped in a blanket. “Tyler, man, Kate-” He yawned. “Kate’s calling.”

“Man, I’m here.”

Boone opened his eyes. “Oh. Kate’s calling.”

With a small sigh, you walked towards the balcony and looked over the edge. “Kate!”

She ran out from underneath it, a wide excited smile on her face. “Come on! Before we miss it!”

Both yourself and Tyler looked at each other before looking at Boone.

“I’ve got him. Just get dressed.”

You nodded and ran back into your room, hearing Tyler force Boone back around to get dressed. Three minutes later you threw the door open just as Tyler and Boone left their room.

“Guys! Come ON!”

“Alright, alright, we’re coming.” You said as you walked down the stairs.

Boone yawned again. “What time is it anyway?”

Tyler looked at his dash. “A little after seven.”

“Seven?!”

Kate was rushing behind you, shoving different things into the van. “Y/n, you go with Tyler. I want to catch the data on this one.”

You didn’t have time to respond, but Tyler caught the look of growing fear in your expression.

“It’ll be okay. You’re safe.”

Taking his word for it, you nodded before hopping into the back of his truck behind his seat whilst Boone crawled into the passenger seat, starting up the video to complain about the time of day but ultimately what they were doing.

Kate ran past his window in a rush explaining what she and Javi had found.

Looking in his rearview mirror, Tyler spotted you.

“It’ll be okay. There’s a harness and-”

You looked at him and nodded. “I trust you.”

Tyler didn’t know what else to say, so he just stayed quiet and smiled. You’d never actually said those words out loud, that you trusted him. You’d also refused to go in his truck with him – even before he banned you from it.

But he believed you.

Because you meant it.

If you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t have agreed to Kate’s offer. If you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t work with him.

Deep down, if you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t have asked him to stay.

Twenty minutes later, you were all heading towards the town before taking a sharp right and heading straight towards the rolling crop fields. Then you went off road.

It was bumpy to say the least. Shaking you all in your seats, Boone tried to get some usable footage out of it before you turned to the radio for Kate’s next instruction.

“Watch out for a dip. Apparently one of the farmers tried to dig a mine out here.” Javi called out over the radio just before you spotted it.

“Tyler, watch out for the dip!”

“On it.”

Turning the steering wheel, he should have avoided it. But apparently it was a lot wider than it seemed, sending you all rocking out of your seats and back again twice over. In the meantime, your hand had gone from holding onto the back of Tyler’s chair to hold you steady, to holding his shoulder to pull him back down.

“Hold back, guys.” Tyler called out over the radio.

“You guys okay?” Lily asked.

“We’re fine.” Tyler lifted his hand and rested it over yours that remained on his shoulder, his thumb stroking at your knuckles. “Just shook up. Kate, you got any sign of that tornado.”

Two days later, everyone was back at Kate’s farm and you had driven home but not before leaving something by Tyler’s door.

However, a few hours later, a familiar truck started pulling up your driveway and towards your home.

Sitting on the porch swing, you were backlit by the warm lights of the living room lamps whilst Tyler was swimming in the blanket of the night sky and stars.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Could ask you the same thing.” Tyler said before he stopped, six feet short of your porch. “I got your pie.”

“I made it as a thank you,” you said. “You…you didn’t have to stay when…when you did.” Your eyes fell from his gaze to your hands as you picked at your fingers.

“You don’t have to thank me.” Tyler said as he shook his head, walking forward some more until he was walking up the steps of your porch.

Then he leaned against the wooden pole. “Do you want to talk about it?”

You looked away again, back at your hands. “They’re nothing.”

“Y/n…”

With a few moments of silence exchanged in between your shared look with Tyler, you eventually let that wall down. “They’re nothing big. Really. They can just be…intense?”

Tyler waited and listened to every word you wanted to say.

“I used to get them more but in the last couple of years they’ve just been as common as regular nightmares. Just a little more intense.”

“Does anyone else know?”

You shook your head. “You’re the only one.”

“What about Kate?”

You shook your head. “No. It just…never came up. The other night was the first time it’s been like that for a while.”

“Are you sure?”

You nodded as you looked at Tyler. “It was about all of us. We got trapped by an EF-3 but it just kept growing until I was under it. When you came in, a pile of rubble had just been dropped from the tornado.”

“Does something trigger them?”

You could only shrug. “They just kinda appear on their own, I guess.”

Tyler could see the weight that you carried on your shoulders because of it. The way your entire body seemed tense whilst you tried to force it to relax. The way you picked at your fingers, trying to force away the memory of being in that nightmare.

Looking around your land, he got an idea.

“Come with me.”

“What?”

Tyler turned around and ran down your porch stairs. “Come on.”

“Tyler-” You had to stand to see him as he ran off back towards his truck. “What are yo- Where are you going?”

Holding something in his hand, he ran to his flatbed before running off towards the side of your house and into the grass field.

“Just come on!”

With a small huff of curiosity and slight worry that Tyler had completely lost the plot, you ran over and followed him before you found him removing his boots and socks.

“Tyler, what are you doing?”

“We’re dancing.”

“What?”

Tyler just held a wide grin on his face as he set the tape into the player.

“You need to relax; get out of your head. So, we’re dancing.”

You looked down at his feet and back again. “Barefoot?”

“Are you gonna keep fighting me on this, or are you gonna join me?”

Pressing play, he turned the dial up and ran out into the grass. You had two options; leave him on his own and remain on the sidelines. Or, take your shoes and socks off and join him.

You chose option two.

Curling your socks up inside your shoes and leaving them by his boots, you went out into the short grass field and joined him.

And you just…

Danced.

Leading you in a two-step, Tyler spun you around the grass until you found yourself in a fit of giggles. You didn’t know how long you and Tyler danced, but it was long enough for the songs on his tape to transfer towards slower songs that meant you and Tyler were slow-dancing under the stars whilst barefoot in the grass.

With one of your hands clasped in his, a hand on your waist and your hand on his arm, Tyler leaned into you. His cheek resting against your temple, you both swayed gently with the breeze all the while, blades of grass softened under your feet.

“Tyler?”

He hummed.

“I know you said I don’t have to thank you-”

“Y/n.” You could hear the smile in his voice as he said your name.

You leaned back to look at him. “No, I mean it. You’re the first person to ever do this for me, and given our track record, nobody would have blamed you for ignoring me completely.”

A small smile graced his lips. “I’d never ignore you, Y/n.”

“But no one would have blamed you.”

Tyler just shook his head before turning you out and around, then pulling you back in. “If I ignored you, I’d never be able to thank you for the pie. How did you know apple was my favourite?”

You felt yourself laugh. “Tyler, I’m being serious.”

Holding you back in his arms, Tyler nodded. “I know. But so am I. I’d never ignore you, Y/n. You’re too important to me.”

“I thought we hated each other?”

Tyler just shook his head. “I’ve never hated you, Y/n. You might have been the biggest pain in my ass for a while, but I never hated you.”

“Not once?”

“Not once,” he confirmed.

You felt your heart sink a little with guilt. “Now I feel bad.”

Tyler just chuckled. “Don’t be. We were a thorn in each other’s side. Besides, I think it’s been giving the others some pretty good entertainment.”

“You know about Kate and Boone, too?”

Tyler gave you a confused look. “I was talking about Javi and Dexter. Wait, what happened with Kate and Boone?”

“They’ve been running some kind of bet on us for months.”

“Really?”

“You haven’t noticed?”

Tyler shook his head. “No.”

“Why do you think Kate keeps making scores in that little notebook of hers?”

“The blue one?”

You shook your head. “The brown one.” Then you remembered. “Why? What’s happening with Javi and Dexter?”

“Just whisperings. I can’t believe they’ve been keeping score.” Tyler paused for a moment. “Who do you think’s winning?”

Laughing, you pushed Tyler away before he took hold of your hands and pulled you back in with a twist.

After that night, things started to change between you and Tyler. There were less petty arguments, but some more purposeful ones remained in order to make sure Kate was, in fact, keeping score.

She was.

There were also less intense glares, more silent conversations being had, even when a rodeo crowd separated you both.

And then something else was added into the mix.

You couldn’t quite place what it was but it was…something. Something that, each time you locked eyes with him, it made your heart jump inside your chest. Something that made you want to see his smile more, and hear his voice more. Something that made you want to be surrounded by him.

What you didn’t know was that you weren’t alone in the feeling.

Each time Tyler saw your smile, heard your laugh or felt your hand by his, his heart seemed to want to explode inside his chest. Of course, he wasn’t a stranger to the feeling. He’d had the same feelings for you for a while.

The first time it happened was when he’d seen a genuine smile spread across your face when sat around the campfire by his truck when Boone was attempting to reenact Lily’s middle school cheerleading solo.

He’d seen you smile before – though it was rare – but he’d never seen…you. In the glow of the campfire, joy in your eyes and smile, he knew he would wait a thousand lifetimes just to see you smile like that, again.

Since dancing with you barefoot in the grass, Tyler had only seen your smile more.

Which only made him fall faster.

It all came to a head one evening. He’d just parked in your driveway, walking up the steps of your porch when you opened your front door with two tins of paint in your hands.

You’d been painting your porch since the weather was nice and no storms were expected to develop over the next few days. Since he had some time free, he offered to help.

And sat on the grass, hours later, watching the clouds roll by in the sunset; your fingers and arms splattered with white paint, you and Tyler talked.

Until, eventually, you both walked over to the tin bucket and began to wipe the paint away.

“It’s not coming off.”

“Come ‘ere.” Tyler took your hand in his before dunking the cloth into the water and wiping away the stubborn paint on the edge of your palm.

It was then that the world seemed to get quiet. There were no loud noises from up above, there were no incoming tornado warnings or people bustling about during the rodeo. There were no teammates trying to keep score of words or tones.

There was just you and Tyler.

Whether he kissed you, or you kissed him, first would be up for debate later. But until then, all you wanted was to be with him. To have his hands in yours. To have his lips on yours. To have his arms wrap around you in such a way that, for the first time, ever, you felt stable. All noise was drowned away, all worries cut their ties from your mind until all that was left was pure happiness.

Which brought you to the moment all the Wranglers had agreed to come to your home for the day to take a break from the data, and the science. and the dragging of time being sat on the phone with different companies whose interest only ran so far into meteorology.

“What time are they supposed to be getting here?”

You looked at the clock on your kitchen wall. “They should have been here twenty minutes ago.”

Tyler’s brow furrowed. “I’ll give them a call.”

And so he did.

Which resulted in the Wrangler’s time of being super secret spies, being over.

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blackwidownat2814 · 10 months ago

Text

Pairing: Tyler Owens x female reader, Tyler Owens x shy!reader, Tyler Owens x insecure!reader

Word Count: 1408

Summary: You begin your new job as a Tornado Wrangler (remotely), and meet most of the team. It isn't until you suffer a little mishap that you meet the man himself.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful response to the Prologue!!! I didn't think it'd be that much of a hit, so I was surprised with all the love. After finishing this chapter, I feel like it could've been part of the Prologue, but oh well. It's been a while since I've written as well, so bear with me. As always, thanks to my awesome beta, @buckysdollforlife, for their help with this and for creating the header for this story (I LOVE IT!!!!) and bestie, @13braincellsonly, for allowing me the use of their son's name and personality when I needed to come up with a horse. **All descriptions of Ziggy the horse were approved by his momma.** And as always, I will be cross-posting this to AO3. If you see this story anywhere besides AO3 or Tumblr, it's stolen.

City Girl Knows Her Stuff

You became a Wrangler near the end of the season that first year. Kate picked you up at the airport with two members of the team: Lily and Dani. Lily immediately pulled you into a hug, chatting a mile a minute about how excited she was to have you on the team. Dani (perhaps picking up on your shyness) offered a handshake and big smile, welcoming you to Oklahoma. Kate was more than happy to let Dani and Lily talk your ear off on the drive to Sapulpa, where you’d be staying with Cathy until you found a place. She knew it was somewhat difficult for you to make friends, so she was happy to see you enjoying a conversation with two new friends.

You got to meet Dexter when he came by in the van to pick up Lily and Dani. You thought he was funny and enjoyed some very science-centric conversations with him. Before they all left, Lily let you take her drone for a spin. You enjoyed it so much that for your birthday later that year, she gifted you a smaller drone that wasn’t quite like hers, but it had a small camera and small, tinny sounding speaker. She even had it painted in your favorite color. That would become one of your absolute favorite gifts. It made you cry.

Like most storm chasers, you had to have a job in the off season, so you got a remote data analyst job with the NOAA offices in Norman and moved out to a place just out of Sapulpa. This would allow you to visit Cathy at the farm and work on data in the barn workshop the Wranglers had set up. You even got yourself a cat. Abandoned due to his looks and runt status (according to the shelter), you snatched him up the first time you saw him. Black cats didn’t scare you. Life with Roach (you’d spent quite a bit of time watching The Witcher) was idyllic and you were happy.

By the time you met Boone, the Wranglers felt like family…and Boone felt like the brother you never had. Like Boone, you were an only child and didn’t have much of an extended family and it was a bit lonely in the beginning. The difference, however, was that Boone was an outgoing guy and it was easy for him to make friends and talk to people he didn’t know, whereas that scared you half to death most of the time. You loved his boisterous way of being, but you also appreciated that he (like Dani) could tell when your social battery had run down and turned it down and would sometimes sit with you in a quiet environment. Sometimes he’d sit and nap while you read or he’d pick up the latest meteorological article (or sometimes the latest comic he picked up at the shop). He didn’t even make fun of your nickname like others had before, so you trusted him.

The day of Cathy’s pre-tornado season bbq, while cleaning some dishes, you confessed to Boone that you were nervous about meeting the head tornado wrangler himself, Tyler Owens.

“T’s a sweetheart B, you got nothin’ to worry about. Why are ya nervous?”

“Boone! He doesn’t know me, what if he doesn’t think I’m a right fit for the team? What if he doesn’t like how I do work? Y’all are famous ‘round here, what if he gets irked by the fact that big crowds make me nervous and it takes me forever to become comfortable with people? You know it’s not easy for me to talk to people I’ve never talked to before”, you cried in exasperation.

“B, imma need you to take a breath, okay?” Boone reassured you as he placed his hands on your shoulders. “If Ty thought any of those things, I would definitely not be workin’ with ‘em.”

You were so busy trying to get yourself to relax that you missed Kate wandering into the kitchen.

“B, are you freakin’ out about meetin’ Tyler again?” she asked. You and Boone nodded. “Well, you don’t have to worry. He won’t be able to come today, said he had to drive down to Texas to see his parents.”

You breathed out a sigh of relief, sending some of your hair floating up. “Good, I have time to relax about it. Thanks Kate.”

“Thank Tyler’s parents.”

“Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Owens!” you said to no one in particular and dried your hands, as you looked over at your friends. “See you two out there!”

Kate and Boone followed, but stayed on the porch, both taking twin sips from their beers.

“You think either of them has any idea what’s about to happen to ‘em?” Boone asked.

“Meaning that Tyler is going to become enamored the second she opens her mouth?”

“Yup.”

“And that she’s going to have the same thing happen to her the second she comes into contact with that cocky cowboy swagger that he exudes when you meet him the first time?”

“Yup.”

“No, I don’t think either of ‘em knows what’s coming.”

A few days before the chasing season began, you brought Roach down to Cathy’s, where he would be staying while you were out with the Wranglers for your first season on the road.

While there, you asked Cathy if you could saddle up your favorite of her horses, Zig, nicknamed Ziggy. He wasn’t the brightest of the bunch; he was the type of horse you’d see in a video because someone thought he was dead but in actuality, he was just sleeping. You swore that his mother, a horse named KJ, rolled her horse eyes every time someone caught him playing dead.

Ziggy may not have been the sharpest pitchfork in the barn, and may not have enjoyed doing much of anything besides looking dead when he slept, but he enjoyed riding through fields with you. He knew whenever he saw you approaching with a bowl that he was about to get one of his favorite snacks: ice cubes with apple bits in them. You put Ziggy’s snack bucket down so he could munch while you brushed him and got him saddled and ready to go for a ride.

When Ziggy let you know that he was done with his snack, you popped in your earbuds and shuffled your favorite classical music playlist on Spotify. You found it was one of your favorite ways to relax. After you climbed on Ziggy’s back, and kicked him into gear, you took off for the open fields near the road leading up to the farm.

You’d been out there for a while when you started hearing the faint rumble of an engine, but ignored it because trucks passed near this area all the time. You probably shouldn’t have ignored it though, because when that modified-to-withstand-tornadoes red Dodge Ram 3500 turned on to the road and took off towards the main house, Ziggy took off after it. By now, you shouldn’t have been surprised that he recognized the truck or the person in it, but you were…and because you were so thrown off by it, your hands (stupidly) had not been holding the reins. And because you had not held on, you went flying off Ziggy’s back while he just followed the familiar truck. Lucky for you, the fall didn’t cause you to go unconscious, but it did knock the wind out of you after you landed hard on your back.

As you attempted to take deep breaths, you heard someone yelling and running towards you, so you tried to sit up. The voice yelled for you to not move, so you listened and stayed on the ground, with your eyes shut. You just lay there, waiting.

All of a sudden:

“Are you okay?” the voice asked. You knew that you knew who the voice belonged to but you were so thrown by being thrown that your brain wasn’t focusing. You blinked your eyes open, and your vision swam before focusing on the most beautiful face.

“Wha-”

“Are you okay, darlin’?” he asked as he helped you sit up.

“Uh…”

“Did you black out?”

“No.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“Cathy’s farm, in Sapulpa.”

“Do you know your name?” He smiled when you told him. “Where’d you come in from?”

“New York City.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m the new data analyst for the Wranglers.”

“Well…looks like we got another city girl that knows her stuff.”

Tagging: @ladybirdbeetle7 @omgbrianab @itsdesiree86 @avengersfan25 @keyrani @thedonswife13 @lonelyghosts-stuff

DON'T FORGET TO LIKE AND REBLOG!!!!

Main Masterlist

#Series: Steal My Thunder #Tyler Owens #Tyler Owens x you #Tyler Owens x reader #Tyler Owens x female reader #Tyler Owens x shy!reader #Tyler Owens x insecure!reader #Tyler Owens fanfiction

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erensonly · 1 year ago

Text

thinking about sweet data analyst!reader being quiet as a mouse always scaring the boys. scares them so much they think abt getting her a bell. lets get into some backstory bc this may be a mini series 😈

contains: extreme fluff, ooc writing, love is used as a pet name, no pronouns used, references to DV pls read at your own discretion.

you were the new data analyst for the 141. before, you only worked with Kate, gathering and analyzing data for her but she thought you would be so much more helpful to the task force since their old analyst had retired. you were hesitant at first, not really wanting to be around a group of men. why should you leave your comfort zone?

this did not work with laswell. she had taken you in after you stumbled to the gates of the base, attempting to stop crying to give them an explanation and sporting bruises on your face and hands. luckily she had been there to meet with john when she had heard the guards complaining about a crying woman refusing to leave. she had helped you in more than one way. even allowing you to stay with her until you could find a job and move by yourself.

when she had found out you knew your way around computers, her face lit up like a christmas tree, telling you she had the perfect job for you. you were hesitant to take the job, knowing the work she did involved the military, you didn't know if you wanted to take the job. you had tried to convince her that it was fine, but once laswell has her mind made up, that's it.

thats how you ended up here, wanting oreos. you didn't mean to scare them at first. they were a little scary and you wanted nothing to do with them at first.

you just wanted the oreos but ghost was in the way, facing the opposite way with his head in his phone. you stood there awkwardly at first,not wanting to ask the big man to move but you really wanted those cookies. you stand there for a bit debating if you'll wait for him to leave the room or grow some balls and just ask him to move. you decided on doing neither.

you made your way towards him as quickly as you could; the plan was to just reach up and grab the chocolate cookies so you could go back to your desk before ghost could say anything. trying to get closer to the cabinet, you find yourself pushed up against the counter, a large hand wrapped around your wrist. when he realized it was you, he let you go with a big sigh. "scared the shit out of me. when did you get in here?"

"uh.. not too long ago." that was all you could muster, the man was too intimidating. you awkwardly shuffled towards the cabinet with the cookies and reached up to get them. mission accomplished, you thought to yourself. slithering back to your desk, you leave ghost stunned and only able to mutter a quick "bloody hell" before going back to his phone.

----

the next time you interact with the 141 outside of working it's with gaz. from the small conversations you had, he seemed very nice with a kind smile and calming aura. this time you were trying to make your way to price's office to give him a manila folder with the information he requested. you had walked to the door but heard talking, maybe he was busy. you decided that you would wait to give him the folder so you wouldn't have to speak to whoever was in the office.

it felt like time was going so slow and by the time the person had walked out, you were leaning against the corner of the wall, head against the wall in a way that you had have to almost round the corner to be able to see you. you looked up, and the man look like he just had a heart attack. clutching his chest like he was clutching his pearls and purse and breathing heavily. "Jesus, love,gotta say something. have you been waiting out here long? you could've just came in, y'know?" all the questions were becoming overwhelming when you just gripped his lips to silence him.

it took his look of surprise and a bit of thought to realize what you did. you had just grabbed the lips of a soldier. not just any soldier but a heavily decorated soldier who was apart of The john price's task force. he could kill you faster than you can say you're sorry. "oh my god, i'm so sorry. i didn't mean to, you just kept talking and i didnt know what to do. please don't kill me." you had finished your mini rant only to see him doubled over in laughter. he was in tears.

"did you just silence me?" he asked between laughs. you didn't understand what the hell was funny, this man is going to kill you. while he was still laughing and trying to get soap on the phone, you tiptoed into price's office to give him the folder, telling him that if he found you dead on base it was gaz before scurrying out of his office. john was left looking confused because he had just heard kyle laughing a few seconds ago.

----

next was soap. sweet, sweet soap. he genuinely did his best to welcome you into their group, but you didn't really seem interested. he eventually just took any interaction you two had and replayed it in his head over and over again. you were just so sweet, how could he not? you still got lost on base sometimes since everything was one monotone grey and everything looked the same. and it was just your luck that the only people around were new recruits and other people you never spoke to. turning, you see soap heading toward the mess hall.

when you sped up to catch him, he's surprised. he even did that cartoon cat jump they do before running off. he started saying something in a language you don't understand when you cut him off. "not sure what you're saying but i agree. anyway, where's the gym? i need to ask ghost a question." he was shocked to see you turn around and wait for him to lead the way. he couldn't help the smile that came across his face. such a hasty girl; you always said everything you needed to say as fast as you could before turning away, giving him a look at allat movement back there.

he laughed again before helping you find ghost. and you still don't get why these men find you so funny. there is nothing funny about them being so scary.

----

lastly, we got my husband john. he was made aware of your situation and why you acted the way you did before you started working under him. he couldn't help but think you were a sweet, hard working little thing. never with much to say, and so skittish. he may have told you that he doesn't know how to access the files on his computer just so he can see you come to his office with a folder. is it a crime to want to see such a sweet face?

john had told you he would like to see you after debriefing and that he would just let you know. but you had already finished your work of the day an you spent your free time playing whatever games you could access on your computer. you eventually started to feel restless so you decided to sit in price's office until he got there. there was a couch in a corner of the room, worn but comfortable. you could imagine the boys laying on the couch talking mindlessly to john.

you had sunken into the corner of the couch, curling up in a way that you would have to step completely into the office to see you sitting there. it had been a good 10 minutes of sitting in silence before you heard footsteps approaching the door. you couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but it sounded like john was on the phone. he, not long after, walked into the room, holding his phone between his shoulder and ear with a stack of folders in his hands.

"-exactly. yeah i'll be on it right away. bye." and as he's turning around, you're sitting up straighter and he yells. and i mean one of those old people, "help i've fallen" type of yelps; and he drops his files on the floor. you just give him a blank stare.

"good God. when did you get in here?" you just shrug, brushing over the question. "what was it that you needed from me sir?" that's when he knew, you were going to be the death of the 141. literally.

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messyemmy · 4 months ago

Note

How would y/n be around a very soft and shy Harry?

"SOFTBOY HARRY STYLES DRABBLE/BLURB"

(... So I fucked up, got carried away... H turned from very soft to sometimes soft-mostly shy, slutty boy. I apologise for my filthy brain!)

Other Writing

🍭

Ooh, an opportunity for the energetic, boisterous Y/n to tease and dote on him??

How could she turn that opportunity down?

Especially since this handsome and aloof specimen- all wrapped up in soft curls and a new knitted jumper each day- is the most interesting thing to happen at their workplace for god knows how long.

Shy Harry who Y/n finds just so very cute- whenever she catches his gaze, always doe-eyed and seemingly caught by surprise, whenever any attention is sent his way, and a strong rosy blush creeps across his sweetheart face- she thinks he is simply adorable!

Her coworkers are just as intrigued as she- fascinated with the new data analyst and his standoffish demeanour. He keeps to himself, mumbling greetings and questions with a shortness that leaves most wondering who the hell his deal is.

Especially when he always declines invitations for lunch and drinks after hours, even after almost six months of employment, he seems to be as curt as day one.

So, naturally, it becomes Y/n’s mission to win over his affections… and with the knowledge of his favourite bagels and preferred coffee, it’s not hard to soften him when she delivers them so casually to his desk each morning.

Well, ‘soften’ means that he no longer jumps when she sweetly sings, “Mornin’ Harry!” and now, he even smiles timidly and thanks her.

So she starts to add in little quips, jokes about the weather, and Pete, the worst secretary of all time.

Then it turns to offhand compliments, "those glasses really frame your face", "you have such nice handwriting!", "Where'd you get such pretty eyelashes, huh?" Anything to get his juicy cheeks to swell with basfulness.

Harry’s unsure of what to do in these situations- no matter how many nights he’s thought over how and what he could do in response, every single time Y/n greets him- her eyes as bright as her personality- he feels the words slip from his tongue, too busy revelling in her crooked smile.

There’s gotta be some way for Harry to show his appreciation for her gestures… he has ideas of simply buying her favourite coffee, or perhaps asking how her day’s going… and he has ideas of grandeur, gently squishing her chubby cheeks between his palms and planting the most grateful of kisses on her always-glossy lips… or getting on his knees for her, saying thank you like the goodest of boys.

It’s only late into the end-of-year corporate party when Harry is a glass and a half down the finest whisky that’s ever graced his tongue- and Y/n is over there by the fireplace, the back of her legs bare, facing the fireplace, greatly engrossed in a conversation with a colleague- that he finally finds himself in her hold.

Maybe it’s the fact that they’re no longer in a ‘work’ environment, or perhaps it has to do with that sparkling silver draped so perfectly across her curves… What ultimately encourages Harry to make his move is the anything-but-subtle glances- even winks- she keeps sending his way.

He finds himself unable to stop the gravitational pull that lures him straight into her arms, which are quickly slung across his shoulders.

Once he has her slotted between himself and a wall, she’s too receptive for his shyness to regain control, pressing such sweet, sloppy kisses along his clavicle, up his neck, behind his ear- a quick flick of the tongue to his lobe.

He’s a shuddering mess, but he can’t feel an ounce of shame as her skin so easily goosebumps under the strokes of his wandering hands.

Her little sighs and near-moans are like a melody, it has Harry forgetting about anything and everything outside of the feel of her leg hooked to his thigh, the tantalising tugs and scratches her nails leave at the nape of his neck.

What Harry is most grateful for is her lack of questions. She doesn’t bring up their ‘awkward’ encounters, too fixated on the excitement of his sudden surety to mock his switch in demeanour.

So, even when the drive back to her apartment is rather quiet, the scalding pressure of her soft palm in his own is surety enough.

It’s like she knew without words and soothes his racing thoughts to a silence that leaves him rushing with arousal and endearment.

And then, oh boy.

Nobody said Harry was shy in the bedroom.

The opposite couldn't be more true. He’s a chatty little thing- while he slowly unzips and strips her of her dress, in between hasty kisses, praising her each time a new part of her stands exposed to him.

Y/n revels in the way his eyes are devoid of their usual doubt, oozing dark desire at the mere sight of her- the only thing he questions is where to start- where to lick and nip and squeeze at first.

Y/n underestimated this- but she shouldn't be surprised by his eager and ambitious desire to please. To do a good job- the best job.

He has her everywhere- bent over, back arched, his hand curled in her hair; his expansive palms squeezing her hips as she bounces above him; her thighs clamped around his head; fisting the sheets and suffocating him with both her thighs her moans.

And he’s all, “You’re such a good girl”, “Taking me so well, “Like it when I make you squirm, sweetheart?”

So, naturally, Y’n’s all, “Please please please please”.

In the break of day, waking up to the gentle rays of sun, the faint snores of Y/n snuggled against him, all of that anxiety comes rushing back to Harry and he’s close to exploding with embarrassment, thoughts spiralling of what a huge mess he’s just made.

But Y/n unknowingly soothes him- moments away from a panic attack- with the promise of freshly brewed coffee and brekkie. She only comments on his verbal enthusiasm once, simply stating that she liked his voice.

Back at work on Monday, Harry can’t help himself from slipping back into his comfortably isolated bubble.

It’s not like the world changed- even if the only thing he can truly be certain about is how much he’s come to like Y/n, and how badly he wants to spend more time with her- to let her listen to him ramble on… about anything and everything. He’s sure she’d listen… maybe even enjoy what he has to say.

When he greets her the same as every day before, it leaves a little sting in her heart, and for the first time, she feels doubtful about how Harry sees her.

Y/n is elated with the new developments between her and Harry- she likes that he trusts her enough to break his vow of silence, even if it did take some coaxing. But she’d be silly to think he would suddenly do a 180 and turn into a chatterbox.

During lunch, when Y/n finds herself frustratedly fighting a fruit juice bottle for access, her mind is a mess of questions upon questions.

But just as she never left Harry to feel insecure for long, he does the same for her as he quietly slinks behind her, reaching out for his own OJ, his upper body bowing so his strawberry lips press to the shell of her ear, cool and minty breath fanning her features as he mutters lowly, “Been thinking about you. A lot.”

And then he’s gone and she’s a fireball of relief and thick desire.

This becomes his new thing; Soft and shy Harry catching Y/n alone whenever the chance permits, whispering filthy, tantalising, sweet nothings for only her to hear- sometimes letting his fingers sweep the curves of her jaw, or her lower back, once he even risks a kiss to the corner of her lips- which are always parted in surprise around Harry.

And now, Y/n's the blushing mess… it’s only fair.

🍭

(You can send me more requests/suggestions for how Y/n and *insert trope* Harry would interact! -Emmy 💞).

#harry styles x reader #harry styles fic #harry styles one shot #harry styles x y/n #harry styles imagine #harry x reader #harry styles #harry styles x you #harry styles blurb #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles drabble #harry styles concept #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic rec #harry styles imagines #harry styles writing #harry styles masterlist #harry styles fanfiction

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