#logan just fits in so perfectly with them too

[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 171

warnings: nsfw hmh masterlist

It’s been about three weeks since Logan has moved in with you, and it’s been pretty good. He kept to himself a lot that first week but when he did want to talk, he confided in John, which was really nice to see. You were just happy that he was talking to someone about what was going on. When Tonya was here, Logan kept to himself, which you were happy about since she’s a demon and you didn’t want Logan around her.

Today, John and Logan been sitting on the dock and chatting. It’s not that you’re not included when he wants to talk, but with John saying he sees himself in Logan, it makes more sense for him to talk to him about what’s going on.

A smile breaks across John’s face as he and Logan walk up to the house, and you get butterflies when he looks at you--no matter what, that man can turn you into mush. You grin wide and immediately wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him, hugging him tight. Ronan squeals and rushes over to Logan when he leans down to hug her. You kiss John one more time then you let go and look at Logan.

“She’s ready for some shopping.”

John rubs your sides, “You’re going shopping?”

“Yeah, Logan needs some things, so we thought we’d go to the shopping center in Brighton.” you say as you start to smile, “Do you want to come with us?”

“I mean,” he scratches the back of his neck and shrugs--he’s so damn cute. “I’m not doing anything else.”

You start to laugh, “Well, yeah, as long as we’re your last resort.”

“Stop!” he wraps his arm around your shoulders and hugs you tight to his side, “Of course I want to hang out with you. I just didn’t want to invite myself along.”

You playfully roll your eyes at John before you reach down and pick up Ronan. You gather up your things and head to the car with Logan and John, and you get Ronan into her car seat. Logan crawls into the back despite your protests to take it, and John smiles when you look at him.

“So, Logan,” you look over your shoulder at him, “Jimmy said he helped you get your bank stuff figured out.”

“Yeah, it was super easy. I wish I had just done that from the start but my dad…”

You nod your head, giving him a soft smile, “I get it. But it’s all taken care of now, so that’s good. It’s all your money. You can do whatever you want with it.”

Since Logan’s money was in his parent’s bank account, they wouldn’t allow him access to his last paycheck. They threatened legal action that probably really wouldn’t do shit but it just stressed out Logan, so he cut his losses. He said he had quite a bit of money in it since he never really bought anything for himself, but he also said he had been stashing his money. He’d get out money every few days and hide it away in his room.  

Not only did Greg threaten legal action about that, but he also did with John punching him too. John isn’t too worried about that and says that he’ll either give it up or the court will throw it out.

Since getting all new clothes, a phone, and any other little things would completely eat up what little money he did have, you and John decided to pay for his things. It’s not a big deal and it took the stress off of Logan, which is what you want. Making this transition as stress free as you can is what you want more than anything.

You glance over your shoulder at Logan as you head down the street, and he looks over at his house. There’s a For Sale sign in the yard now that makes you all perk up. You furrow your brow when you look at John, and he shrugs his shoulders and tilts his head giving you a “Good riddance” kind of look.

“Guess they’re moving.” Logan says, his voice quiet and sad.

You look back at Logan, “Do you think your sister will be okay?”

Logan nods as he looks down, “They never were…mean to her. It was always me. She’ll be fine.”

Leaving another child in the house isn’t the best thing but Logan is certain that she’ll be fine. It’s apparent that Logan was the one who was abused. Even from what you witnessed, his sister was a very loved child.

“Hey,” you reach back and take his hand, smiling softly, “Everything is going to be so much better now.”

“Yeah,” he smiles at you before he sits back and looks out the window.

John takes a deep breath and looks over at you, then he reaches for your hand and gives you a small smile, silently reassuring you that everything will be okay.

__

“Do you remember…” John stands in front of you and smiles, “When we came here--”

“And I met Jen and was insanely jealous because I couldn’t figure out why you had broken up with her--she’s hot--and gotten with me.” you start to laugh, rolling your eyes playfully, “It’s a vague memory.”

John chuckles as he leans down to kiss you, “You’re hot.”

“Jen is hot, don’t lie.”

“Jen is pretty,” he nods, laughing when you give him a blank stare, “What? She is, but come on, look at you! Look at you!”

You playfully pose as John laughs, “Okay, true, I’m pretty cute.”

“No, well, yeah, you’re cute, but…” John shakes his head and leans closer, “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on, and I’m not even kidding. I want you so bad right now. I always want you.”

You smirk as you look up at him, “How bad?”

“So…” he leans closer and kisses just under your ear, sending shivers down your spine, “So bad.”

Leaning back to look at him, you cup his face and bring his lips to yours before you both start to laugh. He gestures for you to sit down on the bench, so you take a spot and hold his hand when he sits next to you. Logan is currently on the carousel with Ronan right now, so thankfully no one was around to hear that conversation between you and John.

“I was thinking that tonight after Ro is down, we could have a movie night.” John says, and you look over at him, “Logan is going to hang out with Devin, so…”

You watch John’s eyes dip down to your lips for a moment before you start to smile, “You’ve been very…”

John starts to smile, “Very what?”

“Very horny lately,” you whisper, and a laugh bursts out of him before he gestures to you, “No, what is going on with you? Why do you want me so much?”

“Oh, come on,” he shakes his head as you smile, “It’s no more than usual.”

You scoff, “It’s waaaay more than usual, Wick.”

“I don’t know!” he laughs, throwing his hands up a little, “You’re sexy. What can I say? I’m attracted to my wife.”

“Hmm,” you squint your eyes at him jokingly, “I don’t know…”

John wraps his arm around your shoulder and pulls you closer to him, “You’re weird.”

“You’re weird!”

“Well, if I’m weird, then you’re weird for marrying me.”

You laugh loudly, “Yeah, I won’t argue that.”

Logan smiles as he walks over holding Ronan in his arms, “I think she’s getting hungry.”

“Oh, probably,” you take her and set her in your lap, “Should we grab something to eat before we do some more shopping? What else do you need?”

“Uh,” Logan looks at his phone, “Just need some more clothes, then I, uh, I needed a laptop.”

John nods, “Oh, yeah. Then you’re all good, right?”

Logan nods his head as you get up and put Ronan into her stroller. He likes to push her, so you move so he can take it. John reaches for your hand and chats with Logan as you all head to the restaurant, and you smile to yourself. It’s so sweet how John has really taken Logan under his wing.

You finally make it to the row of restaurants in the mall, and you all decide to try out the burger place that is decorated like a 50’s diner. You haven’t tried it yet, so you’re looking forward to it. Logan slides into the booth on the opposite side of you while John gets Ronan into the highchair they’ve provided.

“This place is cool,” Logan says as he looks around, “Reminds me of this show my mom used to watch all the time.”

John sits next to you, leaning over to look at the menu, “Menu looks good.”

You all fall silent as you look at the menu, you and John both pointing at things that sound good, and you only glance up every so often to check on Ronan, who is playing with a toy and a pamphlet she grabbed from a jewelry shop when you were letting her walk earlier.

John wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you closer, pressing his lips to your shoulder before looking back at the menu, “You smell good.”

“Thanks,” you laugh, looking at him and smiling, “You look very handsome today.”

He chuckles, then he leans over to kiss you, “You look beautiful.”

You smile as you lean over and rest your forehead against his lips before checking out the menu. When the waitress comes over, she asks if you’re ready, which you’re not, so she grabs you some drinks and brings out a kid’s menu for Ronan.

For Ronan, you order some mac and cheese, along with some fruit and veggies, then you and Logan both get the same cheeseburger, while John gets some complicated burger that you’re not sure you’d ever be able to even finish. He also orders a chocolate shake since you said it sounded good.

“So,” you sit back and smile at Logan, “How’s work?”

“Really good. Jimmy is certain that he’s going to be getting this house, so he asked if I want to learn more. Obviously I said yeah.” he laughs, shrugging bashfully, “I like working there, it’s cool.”

John nods, “Jimmy says you’re doing really well too.”

You switch spots with John when Ronan gets a little fussy, and he continues talking to Logan while you play with her. You get some crayons from the waitress and scribble on the paper menu that she was given, and she squeals and kicks her legs happily.

“Logan?” a voice says from behind you, and you look over at the woman standing there. “What are you doing here?”

Logan sits up, “Mrs. Graham.”

“You should be ashamed of yourself.” she says to you, and you sit up straight. “Taking a child from his mother. How proud of yourself are you?”

“Considering he was being treated like shit, pretty damn proud.” you say, then you laugh humorlessly, “And I didn’t take Logan. He left. He wanted to leave and get away from Laura and Greg. We offered him a place to stay, and that’s that.”

The woman turns her nose up and crosses her arms, “Laura was right about you. You just look--”

“Watch your words,” John says from behind you, his voice sending chills down your arms, “I won’t allow you to speak about my wife like this, especially not in front of the kids.”

“The kids?” she laughs, rolling her eyes, “As if he’s your kid. He’s not your child!”

John exhales sharply, “Ma’am, I understand that you’re frustrated on behalf of your friend, but this is not your business. This is between Logan, his parents, and us. You don’t need to concern yourself in other people’s business.”

“Look, I get it. You’re hearing Laura’s side of things and believing her, but no one has listened to Logan. We did. We listened to him and we came up with a solution for him.” you say, and she just blinks at you. “Do you know how your friend has been treating her own son? Terribly. I won’t even tell you because it’s not my story to tell, but Logan needed out of that house. We provided a safe place for him.”

“Well, I just think it’s wrong for you to do that. They could have worked it out on their own.”

You scoff, “Obviously not. Have a nice day, ma’am.”

“One last thing,” she says, leaning closer to you, “You should be ashamed of yourself for bringing a child into the world with a man like him.”

You see red as you look at this pathetic woman, “You fucking bitch--”

Just as you start to get out of the booth, John grabs your arm and stops you. He pulls you back into the booth and wraps his arm around you so you can’t go anywhere, then he holds your gaze and shakes his head a little before looking over at Ronan, who is blissfully unaware of what’s been going on and is scribbling on the paper. Thank god!

“This man right here is a hundred times better than your husband could ever wish to be--”

“I don’t have a husband!” she says, and you laugh loudly.

The jokes write themselves.

“Yeah, well, it’s no wonder. Don’t you ever fucking speak on him, me, or my daughter again. A matter of fact, don’t speak on anyone at this table. Including Logan! You don’t know me, you don’t know my husband, and you clearly don’t know your friend. Why don’t you mind your own damn business and worry about yourself instead?” you say, and she just look at you with wide eyes, “Next time, I won’t be this nice. You can leave our table now.”

Logan frowns when you look at him, then you see him perk up a little before quickly putting his head down. You look over your shoulder to see the woman walk back over to her group of friends, and you spot Laura.

“Do you want to leave?” you ask Logan, but he shakes his head. “We can get our food to go. It’s okay.”

“No, I don’t want to.” he shakes his head again, “I’m tired of running away from her. She can leave.”

You take a deep breath and look over at John, “Don’t listen to her.”

“I don’t care what people say, peach. I never have.”

“You know what she said isn’t true. You’re the best dad.” you whisper to him and he smiles softly, “And I’m so glad I had a baby with you. Best daddy ever. There’s no one else I could imagine having kids with.”

John laughs, “Thanks.”

Ronan squeals loudly and reaches out for John, “Dada!”

“See? She loves you.”

You get Ronan out of the high chair and hand her off to John, who just holds her and loves on her. He says it doesn’t bother him, but you know deep down it probably bothers him a little bit.

__

“What are you wearing?”

You freeze with your mascara wand in front of your left eye as you look over at John, “Do I look bad?”

“What are you wearing?” he asks again, just staring at you.

You pout as you drop your arms to your side, “I thought I looked good. I can change. I mean, I’m not even completely dressed yet.”

“Come here,” he says, curling a finger and beckoning you over to him, and you slowly walk over, “Turn around.”

You quickly spin around and face him, “Do I look bad? John, answer me!”

“Slower this time,” he demands, and you huff as you slowly spin, only to be completely shocked when he spanks you hard on the ass.

“Jonathan Wick!” you gasp, turning around to look at him.

John bites his bottom lip as he starts to smile, “Do you realize how sexy you are?”

“Stop,” you start to walk back to the mirror but John grabs your arm and pulls you back to him, kissing you hard on the lips, “You like it that much?”

John ushers you over to the mirror and gestures to your body, “Yes!”

You start to laugh, tilting your head back to see him, “You’re sweet.”

“You look amazing, baby.” he says softly against your temple, then he rests his hand on your hip, “Are you going to wear just this today?”

You look at him through the mirror, “It’s a body suit, you dork. No, I’m going to wear some jeans.”

John hums, “Hmm, that’s a shame. Your ass look great.”

“Stop it!” you blush as he grins at you. You turn around and lean over to kiss him before he sits down on the bed and watches you, “What’s up?”

“Nothing. Ro is napping.” he says, and you smile at him. He’s bored. “Logan is out with a friend, but he’ll be back before we leave.”

Tonight is date night for you and John--he planned it for tonight. The two of you take turns planning whatever it is, and you two have several dates throughout the month. Usually about one a week. Wednesdays are always for just the two of you since Ronan goes to your parents house, but sometimes that doesn’t always mean there’s a date. Sometimes it’s just hanging out at home and tidying up, then ending the night on the couch with a bowl of pasta or something, which is still a date in your mind; you don’t always need to go out and spend money for a date night. But Wednesday is just a mid-week reset for you and John.

But tonight is date night! You told John that you didn’t want to do anything too crazy since Logan would be watching Ronan tonight. He volunteered all on his own to watch her when he heard John mention date night. Of course you said that you’d be more than okay with taking Ronan to stay with Tess for a few hours, but Logan insisted.

“Nothing crazy tonight, right?”

“Nope,” John shakes his head and smiles as you narrow your eyes, “I’m serious! You said you didn’t want to do anything crazy, and you know me, I always follow rules.”

You laugh loudly, “If there’s one thing you don’t do, it’s follow rules. Mr. Excommunicado.”

“Hey!” he laughs, “That was different.”

“Okay, true.”

John lounges back on the bed, resting on his left elbow as he watches you, “But it’ll be nice. It’s something we haven’t done in a while.”

You immediately look back over at him, “What?”

“Like I’m telling you.”

“Well, now you’re obligated.” you point your mascara wand at him, “Tell me or no nookie tonight.”

John scoffs, “You always threaten that, but let’s be honest…you could never.”

“You wanna test it out?” you try to be serious, but you immediately fail and laugh as you walk over to straddle his waist, “It’s annoying how addicted I am to you.”

“I know the feeling,” he whispers as you lean down to kiss him. He spanks you a few times as he sits back up, “Finish getting ready, mouse.”

You get off his lap and walk over to finish getting ready, and you look through the mirror and smile when you see John just simply watching you like you’re his favorite TV show. He smiles back and leans his elbows on his knees, still watching you. You finish up your make-up and walk to the closet to get some jeans, then you fluff up your hair before turning around to look at him, giving him a ‘What do you think?’ look.

“So beautiful, baby.” he says softly, reaching for your hands, “I’m so in love with you.”

“You can’t make me cry. I just finished my make-up.”

John stands up and takes your arms to wrap them around his neck as he holds your gaze, then he takes you into his arms, “I just need to hold you for a minute.”

Your laugh is muffled against his chest, “Okay.”

He is genuinely the cutest, sweetest man you’ve ever met in your life. It’s so sweet how sometimes he just needs to hold you to ground him. As a kid, he didn’t get the affection he desperately craved, so now he’s become a grown man who wants to give it all the time. It’s the best.

John slowly sways back and forth with you in his arms, then he presses a kiss to the top of your head, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you lean back to look into his eyes, “You’re pretty cute, you know that?”

“Thanks.”

You wrap your arms around him a little tighter, “About what the woman said--”

John shrugs it off as if it didn’t hurt him, “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” you lean back and look into his eyes, “It’s not fine. I would have pummeled that woman if Ro and Logan hadn’t been there. What she said was completely wrong and so not true. You know this, Jonathan. Deep down, you know that there is no one else who is more perfect to be her dad. You are so good at being a dad, John. Words can’t express how happy I have that you are her dad. You’re so patient and attentive. You’re encouraging and kind. You’re exactly what I would have wanted in a dad and I know that’s a really weird thing to say, but it’s true. I’ve already told you that you’ve healed the little girl in me, but I am so fucking happy that you won’t have to heal anything in Ronan. She’s going to be just fine because she has you for a dad.”

John inhales deeply, his eyes a little glassy with tears, “You really think all that?”

“Of course I do. If I didn’t think you’d be a good dad, I wouldn’t have had a baby with you. I like to think I’m a good judge of character.”

“And you’re really smart too…” his voice is so soft that you just melt.

You laugh, rolling your eyes playfully, “Exactly. Don’t ever, ever, ever question whether or not you’re a good dad because you are. I can see it when Ronan looks at you. She is obsessed with you, babe. She loves you more than anything. If there’s one thing that is absolutely true, it’s that that baby is the biggest daddy’s girl, which I completely understand because I’m so obsessed with her daddy too.”

“I’m certainly obsessed with her and her momma,” he whispers, and you smile at him. “Thank you, baby.”

“I’ll still kick that woman’s ass, by the way.”

John smiles, “I thought I was gonna have to bail you out of jail.”

“Next time some bitch decides to wants to brave and say that shit, she better hope our daughter isn’t there because I will fight her.” you say, shrugging, “I won’t hesitate.”

“You certainly didn’t hesitate last night. Thank you for sticking up for me, my peach.”

You cup his face and kiss him, “I will always stick up for you, Wick. We’re a team.”

“My favorite teammate,” he chuckles softly before kissing your forehead and letting go of you when the front door opens. “That must be Logan.”

You let go of him but he takes your hand and looks back at you. You nod your head since you’re ready to go. He holds tight to your hand and heads downstairs, and you give Logan a wave when he walks into the living room.

“Hey. Have fun?”

Logan nods, “Yeah, we went fishing. Caught some but nothing too big so we threw them all back. You two heading out?”

“We just wanted to wait until Ronan got up from her nap, but…” John looks at his watch, “She might be down for a little longer, so not sure.”

You shrug, “She’ll be okay if Logan gets her. She knows him so it’s not like she’ll freak out. She’ll just be hungry and want something to eat, but you’ve watched her before and you know what she likes.”

“Yeah, of course.” Logan nods, looking back and forth between you and John. “I can get her something to eat, then we’ll play with some toys, maybe build a fort.”

You smile, “She’ll love that.”

“We won’t be out long.” John says, looking at his watch again, “We’ll be back before she needs to go to bed.”

“I used to watch my sister all the time,” Logan says, frowning a little, “So it’s okay if I have to put her to bed.”

You feel your eyes burning as you look away to keep yourself from crying. He must miss his sister so much. “Have you talked to her at all?”

Logan shakes his head, “No, but I thought I might go visit her at school one day. They’re going to be having a choir concert soon, so I might sneak in there to see her.”

You look over at John just as he looks at you, then you plaster a smile back on your face, “I bet she’d love to see you.”

John stands behind you and places his hands on your shoulders, squeezing them lightly, “Well, should we head out? We’ll be back by 8 or so.”

“I’ll have my phone with me the whole time if you need to call, and don’t forget that Tess is just across the street too. She’s home tonight, so you can always call her if something comes up.” you say, and Logan nods his head and starts to laugh when John widens his eyes playfully and shakes his head.

“We’ll be back in a bit.” John says, lightly pushing you towards the door.

Logan laughs as he sits down on the couch, “See you later.”

John takes your hand and leads you over to the car. He stops and digs in his pocket for a moment and pulls out a hair tie. You furrow your brow and look up at him.

“You’ll need this tonight.”

You start to smile, “Jonathan Wick, are you hinting that you want me to go down on you in the car?”

“That would be totally cool if that’s what you want to do, but no, that’s not what this is for.”

“It’s for my hair?”

He nods, “Yes, of course, but not for what you think.”

“I’m very curious.”

“We need to leave now though. Before the sun sets.” he says, and you immediately squint your eyes at him. “We have somewhere we need to stop first so we can get something for tonight.”

You groan when John gestures to the car, “You’re being cryptic.”

“You’ll know as soon as we’re there what’s happening, so you just have to wait 20 minutes. I promise, peach,” he kisses your temple and opens the door for you to get in, “We’ve done it before but not for a long time, and it’s time we do it again. You said it was one of our favorite dates we’ve ever had.”

“That doesn’t help me! I say that about every date because you’re so good at planning them.” you pout, looking over at him, “Please tell me.”

John laughs, “You’re very cute when you pout. Oh, I almost forgot.”

“You almost forgot how cute I am?”

“No,” he laughs as he opens the backseat door, “I’ll never forget that. I almost about this!”

You turn a little to see a large bouquet of flowers. Snapdragons, roses, dahlias, tulips, and baby’s breath. It is the most stunning collection of flowers in a very peachy color with little pops of white and green throughout. Just from the color alone, you know John picked everything himself.

“Peach…” you say, and he smiles proudly. “You’re so cute. These are beautiful. Thank you very much.”

“You’re very welcome,” he says before kissing you, “Ready for our date?”

You smile, “Ready to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope!”

After kissing you quickly, John makes sure you’re in the car, then he shuts the door and rushes to the driver’s side. You playfully squint your eyes at him, and he laughs as he backs out of the driveway.

__

“We’re getting our oil changed?” you ask incredulously when John pulls up to Aurelio’s auto shop. You look at him and furrow your brow as you laugh, “What a lovely date.”

John laughs, “No, we just need to get something.”

As soon as John pulls into the garage, Aurelio gets up and walks over. He opens your door and helps you out, and you’re taken aback when he leads you over to a nice 1960’s Corvette that has the top down. You begin to smile as you look back at John. He gives you a wink and hurries over to help you get in the car.

Aurelio hands the keys off to him and shakes his hand, “Have fun.”

“I’ll have the car back by eight.” John says, but Aurelio waves it off, “Okay, maybe nine.”

You start to laugh as John gets in the car, then you look back at Aurelio, “Maybe 10.”

“Take your time. You know someone is always here,” he says, waving at the two of you as you back out of the garage.

You grin as you look over at John, and he pulls you closer to him on the seat since it’s a bench seat. You pull your knees up and rest your head on his shoulder, and he drapes his arm across your legs.

The last time John got a car from Aurelio, he drove to Brighton to this little restaurant right near the beach. You sat outside and watched the sunset while you ate dinner, and it was perfect. The drive home was amazing since the air was still warm, and you just clung to him and him to you. It was perfect, and it absolutely was one of your favorite dates.

“So, where are we heading?”

“Thought we’d go watch the sunset.” he says, and you nod your head. “Grab some burgers and shakes at the restaurant right on the shore too. Too late for us to go to Brighton, but Oyster Bay Cove will be perfect for tonight.”

You can feel your eyes just forming hearts as you look at him, and he laughs before he leans down to kiss you. You cup his face to keep him from moving away since you’re at a red light, and he laughs against your lips.

“You’re the best.” you wrap your arms around his bicep and close your eyes as the wind blows through your hair.

Yup, you’re definitely going to need that hair tie. For more than one reason.

__

You and John stumble into the house as you laugh, both shushing one another since you’re definitely being way too loud--you’re both a little drunk on love right now. John puts his hand over his mouth as he laughs, turning around to lock the door as you walk into the living room. You freeze when you see Logan laying on the chaise lounge with Ronan tucked into his side, both fast asleep and their blanket fort left unmade on the ground.

John comes up behind you and rests his cheek against your head, “Pretty cute, huh?”

“She adores him.”

“He adores her.”

You sigh as you nod, “He misses his sister. Would it be bad if I reached out to Laura to see if they would be okay with him visiting her?”

“I don’t think that’s your job, sweetheart,” he turns you to him and shrugs, “Laura and Logan will have to figure that all out on their own. I know he misses his sister. I’m sure it’s hard being away from her. And I know you, so I know you want to help. I know your mom instincts are kicking in, but this isn’t for you to fix.”

Inhaling deeply, you nod your head and look up at John as you squint your eyes and scrunch your face up. A smile tugs at John’s lips before a grin breaks out and you sneeze loudly into your elbow.

“Shit,” you turn around and look at Logan and Ronan as they both jolt awake, “Sorry!”

Ronan sits up and smiles wide when she sees you and John, and she crawls off the couch and runs over, reaching up for you. You pick her up and hug her tightly, closing your eyes and kissing her cheek with a big ‘mwah!’

“Did momma wake you up?” you ask Ronan and her sleepy little eyes, and she nods her head despite the fact that she’s grinning, “Did you miss me?”

“Yeah,” she nods, then she looks at John, “Daddy.”

John smiles, rubbing the top of her head and messing up her brown hair, “Hey, bug.”

Ronan leans her chin against your shoulder and giggles sleepily when John plays peek-a-boo with her. You hug her tight and look over at Logan as he watches her.

“How was she tonight?”

“Really good,” he nods as he sits up, “She ate all of her dinner, then we played with her toys for a bit--I’ll pick those up.”

John waves it off, “Don’t worry about it.”

“We sat down to watch Coco and just fell asleep, I guess,” he laughs, and Ronan kicks her legs to be let down. She runs over to him and jumps into his lap, squealing when he lifts her up, “Hey, we gotta go night-night, don’t we?”

Ronan nods her head, then she points upstairs to her room, telling Logan that they need to go. He chuckles as he gets off the couch, and you give Ronan a kiss. She waves at you and John from over Logan’s shoulder, and you wave back and smile before walking into the kitchen.

“She just loves him. Look at that! He’s just taking her up to bed and she’s not even crying.” you set your purse on the counter and look over at John as he tosses his keys into the bowl next to the landline that’s probably from like 1987. “I’m so proud of her. I remember for a while she wouldn’t even let Tess or Jimmy put her down, but now she’s so much more comfortable.”

“Yeah, I’m really proud of her too,” he smiles, looking over at you, “We did a good job with that one.”

You smile, “And we still are.”

“Tonight was fun,” he whispers, pulling you closer to him until you’re in front of him. He lifts you up and sets you on the counter, and you wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him. “Did you have fun?”

“I did. I had a lot of fun,” you run your fingers through his hair and scratch his scalp lightly before wrapping your arms around his neck again, “Wish we could have kept the car a little longer.”

John grins, “I could have. All it would have taken was a phone call.”

“Yeah…”

Squinting his eyes, John smirks, “Why did you want the car for longer?”

You move your hands down to his chest, “You know why.”

“Mrs. Wick, were you hoping to have some car sex?” he asks, and you feel your cheeks burn as you laugh. “Look how cute you are.”

“Stop!” you put your hands over your face, “You’re making me blush.”

John presses several quick kisses to your cheek, “We don’t have the car anymore, but we can still have some sex.”

“Sounds good, but we have to be super quiet.”

“We have a basement,” he suggests as you laugh.

You wrap your arms around his waist and lean against him, closing your eyes as he holds you, “I had a really good time tonight. Thank you.”

“I’m glad, sweetheart,” he murmurs into your hair, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” you lean back to look at him, then you cup his face and kiss him.

John is just inches from your lips as he looks into your eyes, then he leans forward and kisses you tenderly, cupping your face in his hand. You wrap your legs around him and pull him closer, and he nips at your bottom lip.

Logan clears his throat, and you and John both look down like you’re two teenagers who just got caught. John glances up at you and smiles, then he walks around to stand on the other side of the counter for obvious reasons--you’re flattered. He discreetly adjusts himself while Logan makes himself busy with the magnets on the fridge.

“Is she asleep?” you ask, and Logan nods his head. “You can turn around, Logan.”

He waits a few seconds before he turns around, “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Oh, you’re alright. John just loves smooching on me,” you laugh, shrugging it off as John walks back over to stand in front of you. He leans with his back against the counter, and you rest against his back, “No biggie.”

Logan inhales deeply and nods his head, “You two are so different from my parents.”

“Yeah?”

He nods as he looks at you, “You actually interact with each other and don’t seem like you want to kill each other.”

“Yeah, no, I definitely don’t want to kill him. I’d be completely lost without him,” you say, and John chuckles. “He’s my best friend. I can’t imagine doing parenthood without him. Or just life in general.”

Logan leans against the counter opposite of you, “My parents wouldn’t be caught in the same room, let alone hugging or kissing.”

You sit up, “Is this making you uncomfortable? Because if it is, we can absolutely cut it out.”

“No,” he shakes his head as he laughs, “It’s actually really nice. I’ve just never been around it before, so it’s different. It’s a good different though. It’s…”

“Refreshing?” you ask, and he nods. “Yeah, I know the feeling. My ex wasn’t affectionate at all and was…incredibly mean to me. When I met John, I was so blown away by the affection he gives and how naturally he gives it. One of the things I’ve loved most about my relationship with him was the fact that he never made me feel like I needed to work for his affection. I was deserving of his love just by being myself, like I said, he just gave it so naturally. I didn’t even feel like I deserved his love. He’s so sweet to me, and he’s so good to Ro too. I’m so beyond happy that she has him for a dad.”

John looks over his shoulder at you and smiles, “I’m pretty lucky too. She’s pretty great--both of my girls.”

“Anyway,” you roll your eyes playfully, “If we are ever being inappropriate or making you uncomfortable, let us know. Obviously we don’t plan on just…you know, right in front of you or anything.”

Logan laughs, “Yeah, I get what you mean.”

You look at him for a moment and hold his gaze, “You’ve had the…the…”

Logan furrows his brow, “What?”

“You’ve had the…” you lean a little closer and whisper, “You’ve had the sex talk, right?”

John puts his hand over his mouth as he laughs, “Peach!”

“Well, I don’t know!”

Logan laughs as he nods his head, “Yes, Mrs. Wick, I’ve had The Talk. I am eighteen, by the way. I know things.”

“I don’t know!” you put your hands up and shrug, “I didn’t know if you had the talk or not yet. God, sorry!”

“You just made this so weird, peach.” John says, and you hop off the counter, “I’m just being honest.”

Logan continues laughing when you look at him, “I’m sorry, but that’s funny. I appreciate you asking.”

You didn’t know if his parents had that talk with him since they were shit at being parents. Obviously he probably found out stuff from his friends, but you didn’t know! You certainly weren’t looking forward to having the conversation with him by any means, but you were willing to do it.

“I just wanted to be helpful,” you say, and John grins. “I don’t see you volunteering to do it, Mr. Wick!”

John laughs, shaking his head, “Hell no. No offense, Logan, but I’m not ready for that stuff yet. I’m still trying to get the hang of having a baby.”

“I was willing to completely embarrass myself and give you the talk, so you better be grateful!” you say, teasing him.

“I am very grateful,” Logan laughs, then he nods his head and smiles, “Trust me, I’m very grateful for everything you two have done for me.”

John wraps his arm around your shoulder, “Don’t mention it, kid.”

“I should head to bed, I have to work in the morning.” he says, and you smile at him. He turns to leave but stops and looks at you and John again, “Seriously, it is really cool how you two are, you know, hugging and dates and stuff. Ronan is really lucky to have parents like you. I know she’ll realize that when she’s older.”

“Thank you,” John smiles, giving him a small wave, “Sleep tight.”

You inhale deeply and give him a smile but as soon as he leaves, you turn to John and bury your face in his chest as you tear up. He holds you and presses a kiss to the top of your head, swaying you from side to side.

How sad is it that he’s never seen his parents just hug or kiss, or show any sort of basic affection? You always knew that that was something you wanted Ronan to grow up with. Obviously you’re not making out with John in front of her, but you and John share a few kisses and always cuddle on the couch. You want her to grow up in a home where affection is shown and love is never on short supply. You want her to see what she deserves in a relationship, and you never want her to settle for less.

“You have such a good heart, you know that?” John tilts your head back and kisses your forehead before leaning down to kiss the center of your chest, “The best heart.”

“Thank you.”

John smooths your hair back and pulls you back into his arms, “Let’s go to bed, baby.”

“Okay.”

Holding John’s hand, you make your way upstairs after locking the doors and turning the lights off. You say a quick goodnight to Ronan, then you change into your pajamas and crawl into bed with John, immediately falling onto him and kissing him. He cups your face for a moment before sliding his hand down to your waist, then to your leg, pulling you on top of him.

You sit up straight on John and look over your shoulder to make sure the door is shut, then you pull your nightgown over your head and toss it aside. John smiles as he gazes up at you, his eyes raking over inch of your body. He sits up and kisses you, then he leans down and sucks on your nipple.

Biting your lip, you close your eyes and tilt your head back, “Do you want me, John?”

“So bad,” he places his hand on the back of your neck and tilts your head back up so you’ll look at him, “Can you feel how bad I want you?”

You shimmy down into his lap more and smile when you feel him hard against your leg. You pull your panties aside, then you grin as you move his hand between your legs.

“Can you feel how bad I want you?”

John closes his eyes as his fingers play with you, “Fuck, you're so wet.”

“You made me that wet,” you whisper to him, and a noise comes out of the back of his throat, “You make me so fucking wet, John.”

“I want you to sit on my face,” he whispers against your lips, which elicits a moan from you, “I want you to ride my face until you come, then I want to fuck you until you come again. Until your legs are shaking and you’re screaming my name.”

You laugh with your lips pressed to his, “I probably shouldn’t scream your name, but everything else can be arranged.”

“We have pillows,” he suggests, and you laugh as you push him to lay down so you can scoot up to straddle his face. He looks up at you with so much adoration, then he licks his lips, “Mm, mm, mm.”

You stand up on the bed to quickly take off your underwear, then you get back down and kiss John before sitting right on his face while he hums happily. You close your eyes and tilt your head back when you feel his warm tongue between your legs, then you quickly press your hand on to your mouth.

“There’s no way I’m going to be quiet,” you say to him, and he peeks at you, “I’m never quiet with you.”

“I know,” he grins from ear to ear, “I love it.”

As you roll your hips, firmly clutching the headboard, you gaze down at John. He reaches up and caresses your breast as he eats you out, and you press your hand to your mouth when you moan. Your knuckles are turning white from gripping the headboard so tight and you start to move your hips faster until you feel yourself tipping over the edge.

John keeps you from moving off of him as you start to climax, and he pulls you down closer to his mouth while you press your hands over your mouth. You moan loudly into your hands and your eyes rolls shut, an electric surge running through your body. John holds you as he sits up, then he plops you down on the bed and crawls on top of you.

He makes sure to give your body plenty of attention with little nips and kisses. He licks up your stomach to the valley between your breasts, then he sucks on your nipple and closes his eyes when you moan. You reach down to touch him over his boxers, which elicits a moan from him. He quickly pulls his cock from his boxers and slides between your legs, instantly pressing his hand to your mouth when you moan.

“Holy shit, John,” you laugh quietly, “You’re so hard.”

“You turn me on, what can I say?” he smiles, and you lean up to kiss him passionately as he starts to thrust his hips.

Arching your back, you grip John’s bicep as your teeth begin to chatter and you squeeze your eyes shut before looking up at him. John smiles proudly and leans down to kiss you a few times, jerking his hips hard and knocking the breath out of you.

“Oh, shit…” you manage to choke out, “Oh, fuck!”

“Here,” John hands you a pillow and grins, “Look like you’re gonna need it.”

__

taglist: @lilithlinen @mutlifandombliss @ruby-octo @tnu-ree @sakurachan-9 @beingnerdyissupercool @scream-queen-25 @ladyren33 tumblr tagging system is wack so let me know if the tags worked!

[gay-dorito-dust]

Can I request headcanons for Logan and Wade with shy gn s/o please?

I’m going to assume separate unless told otherwise as poly relationship between Wade/Logan and reader would be cool too, but again unless specified I’m just going to assume it’s separate.

Wade Wilson/ Deadpool

Wade found your shyness adorable but found your reactions to his teasing and flirting.

And he abuses the shit out of that to his hearts content.

Mouse was a nickname that you were given almost immediately from the moment you met as you were quiet and cute as one too that to Wade it just fit you perfectly.

Wade; stop being so fucking cute!

You: huh?

Wade: you heard me! It should be illegal to be as cute as you! You should be locked up for the thing you do to me, but I’d rather keep ahold of the details because half of them might make you faint little mouse.

You: oh. 😶🫣

Wade will make it a tradition to take you by surprise, whether it be by randomly kissing you, hugging you from behind, playfully smacking your ass, it didn’t matter because your tendency to whine his name out in embarrassment ‘waaaaddde!’ Before hiding your face in his chest as he laughs and whispers teasing words into your ear that only makes your flustered state worsen.

Wade didn’t mind that you were shy, he really didn’t as he found it to be one of the many things he loved about you and wanted to protect, he didn’t want you to feel as though you should have to change to better fit him when he was more content with you being you.

He’s never had as much fun nor laughter in his life like he did when he was with you, and Wade considered himself lucky to have someone as soft and sweet as you that he often times thought you’d be better off without a fuck up like him in your life but he’d kept it to himself, disguising it with humour and teasing you instead.

Logan Howlett/ Wolverine

Logan finds you being shy amusing to say the least.

It brought his protective instincts out as someone as soft and shy and softly spoken as you would need him by your side 24/7.

He’s your guard dog, scary dog privilege in the form of a very traumatised man who’s became more familiar with pain and heartbreak than the tender affection and touches you give him.

So you found it best to be patient with Logan and give him time to become familiar with your love and affection until he felt ready to reciprocate in his own way. And Logan appreciated you for that and would let you know his appreciation by planting a soft kiss to your forehead.

Logan is a softy with you and while he’s quick to bite back at other people, with you he’s much softer with his words that they’re practically sweet murmurs whispered within your ear, as he held you against his chest protectively as you both drifted off to sleep.

He more or less acts as your voice whenever you felt discomfort, he’d could easily tell from your bodily language and would immediately step in, and voice your discomfort for you in your stead for Logan knew that you’d rather avoid conflict then delve headfirst into it like him.

However Logan would be the type to try and teach you ways to defend yourself and how to stick up for yourself when he couldn’t, this is probably out of his fear of losing someone dear to his heart again, but he wasn’t about to risk looking you when he could give you the tools to keep yourself safe while he was away.

He gives you his jacket, just make sure that the point gets across that you were his and not theirs, after all he’s a possessive man who doesn’t like sharing what’s his with anyone else.

He didn’t care about anyone else, you were the only thing he gave two shits about alongside Laura Kinney (x 23) other then you two, nothing else mattered to Logan. He just wanted you to be happy for as long as possible.

Side note: he’d love it if you and Laura got along, it’ll mean all the more to him.

[eupheme]

hi! if you’re not busy could you please write something about logan and his partner just being like… in love? idk i would love to just sit and hold logan while we look at each other n maybe kiss a bit 😭😭 wade would be sooo annoying about it but i think i’d be endeared that someone sees how much i love my partner and how much they’d love me. I hope this isn’t too vague! thank you lovely!

aww I love this - I would love to write a little “in love” moment with him, I hope you like this!! 💖

logan howlett x gn!reader | 350 words | fluff

It’s a beautiful afternoon. The apartment windows are cracked open - the sounds of the city layering with the slight breeze that hints at autumn.

Music playing on your phone, jammed into a back pocket as you hum and sway to the beat with Mary Puppins - her tongue flicking against your cheek, making you squeal.

You’re in a good mood. Finally a decent day at work. Promises of an evening spent with someone that turns your stomach into a conservatory of butterflies.

Logan’s eyes are on you, when you turn. Both catching each other - you going still, heat in your cheeks at getting caught. His eyes soft - the gentle curve of a smile, a look you’re still not used to.

“Hi.” You breathe, as he pushes himself off the couch. Gently setting Dogpool on the floor as he crowds your space - hands finding your waist.

“Hi.” Logan rasps, “‘s good seeing you happy.”

“Always happy when I see you.”

It’s not dancing, not really. Just shared smiles, the slightest sway of hips before his mouth presses to yours.

The kiss is sweet. You know hunger, desire, but this is something else. A low hum, a long-held sigh as Logan tugs you flush against him. Your own arms twining around, feeling how perfectly you fit together.

Love, in the way you gaze at him after. Reflected in his eyes - a snapshot of a moment that you’ll tuck away.

It’s ruined, by the sound of exaggerated gagging.

“Marvel H. Christ, get a room,” Wade groans, “You two are eye-fucking so hard that I’m afraid I’m gonna get knocked up from the overspray.”

Logan scowls, as you shake your head. Going with him this time, your back resting against his chest as he settles back on the couch.

An arm wrapping around, letting you lace your fingers in his. Squeezing them, as your head tilts back to meet his gaze,“You’re happy too, right?”

“Yeah, sweetheart.” His fingers squeeze back.

“I am.”

thank you for sending this! 💖

[pleasantlycrazyworld]

At the start of your friendship, Logan noticed how you prefer bigger, bagger clothes. It started with you wearing oversized shirts, and then the fall came, and you'd be in way too big sweatshirts. When the winter came and you only ever wore oversized sweaters and your winter coat was 4 sizes too big he took note that if he ever had to buy you clothes to just buy the biggest he could find so he started doing that and every time he did you were over the moon. "This is so comfortable!!!" You'd squeal and give him a hug after trying it on.

When the two of you get together, Logan is quick to realize two things. You love his leather jacket, and he loves you in it. It's not uncommon for you to "steal" it from him, and each time he catches you in it, a small smile graces his face.

As your relationship continued, it strengthened as well. Anyone who knew Logan knew he wasn't the marriage type, but that changed with you. Your 3rd anniversary was coming up, and after a drunken conversation with Wade, Logan finally came to the realization that he wanted you forever. It was hard to hide what he was doing from you, but he managed to sneak away to a jewelry store. As he left the house, he threw on his jacket and checked to make sure he had his wallet and keys, then he was out the door.

It took 2 weeks of sneaking out and going to different jewelers but he finally found the ring, he found your ring. He will never admit it but tears did form when he found it sitting in the glass case, he knew he found the one, once again.

He quickly checked out and put the box in his pocket. He didn't want a fancy little bag or a receipt. He knew you'd find those too quickly, and then that would make you start questioning things. Feeling the weight of the box in his pocket, it felt like a fire was burning against his skin. He wanted the proposal to be perfect, but he also wanted you to have the ring already dammit.

He sneaked back into the house and hung his jacket up. You weren't home yet so he just went to start dinner, completely forgetting about the ring after a while.

The next day, you had errands to run, and Logan had to go help Wade. You got up with Logan, and the two of you got ready together. You got dressed, grabbed your keys and your purse, and put on his leather jacket before leaving the house. When you threw the jacket on, it was noticeable that he had something in his pocket, but you didn't think anything of it, so you just went to the coffee table to put whatever it was on there. You stuck your hand in the pocket and grasped the small velvet box. When you pulled the box out, you gasped before you could stop yourself.

Logan was in the bathroom doing his hair when he heard you gasp. It was soft enough that he knew you weren't in danger, but it was clear you were shocked by something. Curiosity got the best of him, and he ended up wandering into the living room. "Baby? Are you okay in here?" He asked teasingly, but the color left his face when he saw what you had in your hands. "Oh shit."

"Lo?" You asked meekly as you turn to look at him better. Tears were already forming in your eyes, and you hadn't even opened the box yet. He was afraid to see your reaction when he did open the box if this is how you are right now. He took your hands into his and held them gently, "Baby..." He took the box from you and opened it in front of you, "whatya say? Will you marry me?"

It took you five seconds to respond but those were the longest five seconds of his life, it felt like his heart was about to be ripped from him and he couldn't breath as he waited to hear your response. You never did verbally say yes. You squealed and kissed him passionately before thrusting your hand close to his face "gimme" you said excitedly. You were practically bouncing as you watched him put the ring on your hand, and with tears finally falling freely, you looked at it closely before kissing him more softly. "I love it, it fits perfectly." This was the first purchase he ever made you that fit you just the way it was supposed to.

Request are open!!!!

Taglist: @mahi-tamashi @100percentlazybonez @lanassmarty

[maplesyrupsainz]

˖⁺｡˚⋆˙you want me to? | LS2˖⁺｡˚⋆˙

pairing: logan sargeant x james vowles assistant!reader y/n (she/her)

genre: social media au

warnings: just fluff!!!! i loveee this plot hehe

summary: in which your new job facilitates you in finding new love

a/n: i love this request & i luv writing for logan !!! not sure if i executed it super well tho let me know what you think 💘 my recent emojie now is just: 🇺🇸🦅

request!!!: May I suggest a Logan Sargeant x James Vowles assistant! Reader? Like her job is to get the boys stuff they might need and to like help out around the paddock and Logan keeps asking her to get him stuff as an excuse to talk to her. And people start to notice when Alex and James start lightly making fun of them in interviews and stuff. Just think it would be funny

my masterlist

messages ->

instagram ->

yourusername

liked by logansargeant, lilymhe, and 188,274 others

yoursername shit's weird

view all 4,183 comments

lilymhe PRETTY GIRLLL

yourusername 💞💞💞

logansargeant heyyyy

*comment deleted by logansargeant*

logansargeant hope ur not calling me weird

yourusername jury's out

alex_albon yes queen

yourusername werkkk btch

user1 who is she??

user2 james vowles new assistant

user3 logan is in love with her i can already tell

yoursister proud of you!

liked by yourusername

yourusername posted a story

liked by alex_albon, logansargeant, and 58,173 others

alex_albon the boss in question is...logan sargeant?

yourusername he's a growing boy !

lilymhe lol, logan?

yourusername almost everytime!

lilymhe aww he just wants to see youuu

yourusername 😂

user4 i want her job

alex_albon posted a story

liked by yourusername, lilymhe, and 308,134 others

user5 is that y/n

user6 who ???

lilymhe hahah he has the biggest crush on her

alex_albon & everyone knows it too

yourusername ALEX THIS SOUNDS SO MEAN LOL

alex_albon srry for bullying u

interview ->

twitter ->

instagram ->

lilymhe

liked by alex_albon, yourusername, and 527,193 others

lilymhe vibey

tagged: alex_albon, yourusername

view all 8,173 comments

user12 omg y/n in the last pic so cute

user13 omg i luv her she's fit into williams garage so perfectly

yourusername my best girl

alex_albon just for the record she is my girlfriend not yours ok?

yourusername & does she know that?

alex_albon i would hope so yes

lilymhe 🤔

alex_albon 😍

liked by lilymhe

logansargeant 😍

*comment deleted by logansargeant*

user14 did anyone else see logan's deleted comment

user15 yup i think james is right 😛

yourusername

liked by logansargeant, oscarpiastri, and 254,973 others

yourusername settling in!!!

view all 3,872 comments

logansargeant very nice pic of me thanks y/n

yourusername of course 😝

williamsracing we love u y/n 😍

yourusername 😘 u know how i feel about u

williamsracing 🤭

jv.f1 y/n stop flirting with the williams admin

yourusername srry 😳

user16 LOL not james telling her off

user17 y/n i didnt know i needed u in my life

oscarpiastri yup settling in i see 👀

yourusername what does this mean oscar

oscarpiastri no further comment

user18 she's gonna become a wag soon mark my words

messages ->

interview ->

twitter ->

instagram ->

alex_albon

liked by lilymhe, georgerussell63, and 692,273 others

alex_albon common williams W's

tagged: lilymhe, yourusername, logansargeant

view all 6,938 comments

user24 OMG hi y/n

user25 omg is y/n sharing an umbrella with lily

yourusername rahhh 🦅

alex_albon subtle 😜

lilymhe my girl tired of subtle

user26 omgggg

user27 something is happening i can feel it in my bones

user28 yea y/n & logan falling in luvvvv

logansargeant yea i look so cool and absolutely not awkward at all

alex_albon your awkwardness is all part of your american charm

logansargeant im blushing now thanks

user29 my fav williams era ever

yourusername posted a story

liked by logansargeant, lilymhe, and 79,172 others

lilymhe i just choked on my tea ☕️

yourusername HAHAH ok but why did he say i dont like americans

lilymhe idk but he's so in love with you i can tell

yourusername 😭😭 dont say stuff like that

oscarpiastri you better be wearing clothes under that

yourusername oh no party pooper piastri is here!!!! the clothes police!!!

oscarpiastri ur the worst thing to happen to williams

yourusername ask logan what he thinks 😇

user30 omg this is crazy

user31 HELLO?????

user32 is this the most unsubtle indirect ever

messages ->

twitter ->

messages ->

instagram ->

logansargeant posted a story

liked by lilymhe, alex_albon, and 284,293 others

alex_albon AHHHHHHHH

lilymhe omg it's happening

oscarpiastri finally

user37 omg they're dating they have to be

user38 THIS IS SOOO Y/N

user39 AHHH OMG

messages ->

instagram ->

yourusername posted a story

liked by oscarpiastri, alex_albon, and 98,293 others

alex_albon TEXT ME BACK YOU HORRIBLE PEOPLE

lilymhe i need to know EVERYTHING

yourusername 🤭

user40 omg now it's REALLY confirmed

user41 my favourite thing ever

user42 SOOO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS

user43 i want this

twitter ->

instagram ->

logansargeant

liked by yourusername, oscarpiastri, and 392,283 others

logansargeant i pulled a baddieee

tagged: yourusername

view all 9,283 comments

user49 omg omg omg

user50 best day of my life

oscarpiastri awww i feel bad for ever being mean to her now srry y/n

logansargeant when were u mean to her 😤

yourusername he's a bully logan

oscarpiastri nooo😨

alex_albon pls dont leave me out pls pls

yourusername NEVER EVER EVER

logansargeant how could we, u wouldnt let us

alex_albon 🤨

lilymhe DOUBLE DATE WHEN

yourusername omg yes yes yes

yourusername I LOVE YOU AHH 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

logansargeant i love you ��

jv.f1 you're welcome 👍

liked by logansargeant, yourusername, alex_albon, lilymhe, oscarpiastri

THE END 💙

[bobafetts-princess]

Stranger and the Bear Pt1

Summary: A handsome stranger has been warming a stool at the bar you work at. What happens when ghosts from the past make an appearance?

Pairings: Logan Howlett x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: drinking, a touch of Logan smoking the cigar, abusive relationship mentioned (no abuse shown), I think that’s all for this chapter

A/N: if you saw this on ao3, I’m the same person! I’m deep in a Logan crisis and have been thinking about moving my Logan fics over to tumblr so his resurgence has given me the boost I need!

Part 2 can be found here

“Hey stranger!” You shout to your newest bar customer, tossing a coaster in front of him before turning around and grabbing his usual.

“Hey Bear,” he responds, his deep voice silky and rough at the same time.

“I can’t believe you still call me that,” You laugh, “it’s been like, three months.”

“You mentioned it first, so I ran with it.” He smiles and winks playfully at you, the most lighthearted you’ve ever seen him. The tall and handsome stranger had first come into the bar you work at a few months ago, ordering a whiskey neat and a beer.

You’d given him your name in the hopes that he would give you his in return, but no luck. “My childhood classmates called me care bear though, they claimed I was as sweet and cuddly as a care bear,” you tell him, smiling at the old memory.

“Care bear, huh?” The stranger had said, deep voice rumbling through his chest. “How about just Bear?”

“Ooh! I like that,” you say before asking him what he would like to drink.

The two of you had fell into an easy camaraderie, always some light flirting, at least from your end. You’d never asked his name and he’d never offered. Your stranger was a good looking man, neatly trimmed facial hair and sideburns, usually in a leather jacket and form-fitting jeans. He was the definition of ‘hate to see them leave, love to watch them walk away’ and you looked forward to the one or two days a week he would come in. He was always respectful, drank the same thing, and left a decent tip.

The evening passed in a blur, patrons coming and going but your stranger stayed where he was. You refilled his drinks at the exact moment he was finishing the last, that was your routine. You’d refill his drinks and he would hang out for a few hours. He watched you work, sometimes from behind dark sunglasses, sometimes through hazel green eyes.

“Hey Bear, c’mere.” Your stranger asked, cigar hanging from his mouth. You made your way towards him, thinking about how no matter how much he drank, he seemed perfectly sober. “You from ‘round here?” He asked, no sunglasses today. You could see his pupils were blown and for the first time in two months you wondered whether he was actually buzzed. He smelled like good worn leather and the cigar he was smoking. You had to prevent yourself from closing your eyes when you inhaled his scent.

“Uhh, sorta kinda. Why?” You told him, shocked at the personal question, and also embarrassed.

The truth was that you weren’t from here, you’d moved here to be with an ex-boyfriend and it had ended badly. You’d gotten home from work one night to find the locks had been changed on the apartment as well as his phone number. Come to find out, he’d been sleeping around on you since you started dating and decided he liked his side piece more. So you’d called your boss, Sally, begging for somewhere to stay and she rented you the studio apartment upstairs. You struck up a deal, the apartment for half price as long as you closed the bar down every night.

When your ex’s side-piece decided she didn’t like him as much as she'd originally thought, he’d begun stalking you and things had gone downhill. He tried to get physical with you once but Sally had threatened him with a shotgun and he hadn’t shown his face again. That was ABOUT the same time your stranger had started coming to the bar, and for some reason you felt safer when he was there.

Apparently Sally did too because on nights he showed up, she took off early and let you close down by yourself.

“So I presume you know that guy in the corner over there? He’s been watching you most of the night.” He told you, clamping the cigar between his index and middle finger. You began to turn your body in the direction of the person he was talking about but a warm hand a-top yours stopped you. “Don’t make it obvious, Bear. Don’t want him to know.” His eyes raked down your body as he was speaking, drinking you in. You weren’t wearing anything fancy, fitted jeans and a black cropped tank with the bars logo on it, but the way he was looking at you made goosebumps cover your skin.

Forcing your mind back to the issue at hand, you glance in the corner, keeping your body facing your stranger. When you caught sight of the face in the corner, you paled. It was your ex, and Sally was gone, her shotgun locked in her office.

“You alright, sweetheart?” Your stranger asked, noting your expression, his hand rubbing back and forth across your knuckles. If you hadn’t been worried, you would have blushed at the way his hand held yours and the nickname he called you.

You forced your voice to sound normal when you spoke again. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just ghosts from the past.” You forced a smile, one that didn’t quite reach your eyes and were surprised to look up and find your strangers face held concern and a touch of tenderness.

“I’m gonna stick around late tonight, Bear. So keep ‘em comin’.” He told you and you felt a bit safer.

You worked the night away, one eye on your next drink ticket and one eye in the corner where your ex sat, unmoving. Your stranger did the same, only he kept one eye on you and one eye on your ex. At ten till close your voice rang out into the emptying bar, “last call!” The few that were still hanging out left not too long after, leaving you, your stranger, and your ex in the bar. You chose not to acknowledge that you knew it was him, hoping that the dark shadows of the bar would convince him that you didn’t notice who he was. After a few tense moments he stood, heading towards the front door so you turned to your stranger.

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom, Bear.” He said, the sultry tones of his voice soothing you. You took a glance at his retreating back before turning around and starting your wipe down of the back bar. A rough hand grabbed your wrist, pulling and making your body spin. It happened so fast that you didn’t get a good look at the face until it was the only thing in your line of sight. It was your ex, which shouldn’t surprise you but somehow it did. Your voice caught in your throat and you couldn’t attempt to shout for help from your stranger, your fear paralyzing you.

“I thought your miserable ass left this fucking town.” He snarled in one ear, face pressed against yours.

“You would think that when I left you, you’d have tucked that tail and ran back to mommy and daddy. Why are you still fucking here??” He sneered and you could smell the alcohol on his breath and when he pulled back, your wrist in his hand, you could see that his pupils were blown wide. He was high too, but you didn’t know what on. You didn't know why he was so obsessed with you, it wasn't like you had a great and powerful love. You thought his feelings were just hurt because you didn't take him back. “You stupid. Fucking. Bit-“ But he didn’t get a chance to finish because his body was ripped away from yours. You blinked and saw your stranger standing over him as he lay on the floor where he’d been thrown.

“Attacking a woman while she’s alone?” He snarled, that deep vibrato now a growl. He picked your ex up by the front of his shirt, his strength shocking you. “You piece of shit. Picking on a woman half your size while she’s alone?” He growled, shaking your ex while he was holding him up in the air. “What kind of an asshole gets off on that?” Your legs were shaking so bad that you sunk to the floor, the butt of your jeans wet from the beer and liquor that had been spilled during the course of the evening.

Your ex looked terrified, used to always being the bigger in a fight but he looked like a teenager next to your stranger. His mouth was moving wordlessly, almost like he was trying to make sounds but was too frightened.

“I’m not gonna hurt you tonight, but I swear to god if you come back, I’ll rip you limb from limb. And I’ll be here every night to make sure she stays safe. Get outta here before I change my mind, you piece of shit.” He snarls, dropping your ex unceremoniously on the floor in a heap of fear and embarrassment. He scrambles to his feet, sprinting towards the front door, letting it slam behind him. You see your stranger following behind him to lock the door before your vision starts to swirl with the beginnings of a panic attack.

“In through your nose. Out through your mouth. In through your nose. Out through your mouth.” You repeat over and over to yourself when you feel a large, warm hand on your shoulder and a low gravelly voice speaking in your ear.

“Bear. Bear. Are you alright?” You continue your breathing, adding a small nod to ensure your stranger you were fine.

“I’m gonna pick you up. You live upstairs right?” He asked and in the back of your mind you wondered how he knew that. But thoughts left your mind as strong arms wrapped underneath your legs and behind your back. Your heart rate was slowing, and your panic attack subsiding, so when he asked you which way the stairs were you were able to answer. His strong body carried yours up the stairs and into the studio apartment you resided in, slowing as he crossed the threshold.

“I’m okay to stand. You can put me down.” You told him, but he seemed hesitant and you swore he clutched you even tighter to his body. “Really, Stranger, I’m okay.” You said, smiling up at his kindness.

“Logan.” He whispered as he lowered your legs onto the ground, arm staying around the small of your back until he was sure you were okay on your own two feet.

“What?” You asked, not sure of what he said.

“Logan. My names Logan.” He repeated, fingers digging into the exposed flesh of your hip, biting slightly.

“Okay, Logan. It’s nice to not refer to you as Stranger in my mind.” You giggled. You stepped reluctantly away from his embrace, heading towards your ‘kitchen’. “Would you like a drink, Logan? All I have is beer and water.”

You heard him clear his throat and when you looked at him, he looked like he was warring with himself.

“Uhh, ya, sure Kid. Bear. I’ll have a beer.” He said and for the first time since you’d met him, there was a twinge of uncertainty in his voice. You popped the top on two, handing him one before heading to the small couch you had, a mere 10 feet from your bed. He followed, sitting next to you and doing his best to make sure he wasn’t touching you, but the area was so small that your knees touched anyways.

“So that was my ex. He was stupid enough to try and get physical with me once. Sally threatened him with a shotgun. I didn’t think he would be stupid enough to try it twice.” You tried to explain without going into the entire sordid story.

“I’m going to tear him in half.” He answered, taking a long pull of his beer and you felt ashamed at what the dominance in his voice did to your lady bits.

“I don’t think he’ll be stupid enough to try this again so hopefully I don’t ever have to worry about him again.” You assured your stranger.

“Logan.” You mused aloud, a small smile crossing your face.

“Ya, Bear?” He answered, thinking you were going to ask him a question.

“It’s such a normal name.” You snickered.

“What’s wrong with my name?” He asked, faux defensiveness in his voice at your teasing.

“I’ve wondered for WEEKS what your name was and it’s Logan. It’s so normal. It suits you though. I like it.” You smiled at him, hitching one knee up on the couch and turning your torso towards him.

“I’ll be comin’ by more often and stayin’ until the bar is locked down. Just to make sure that moron doesn’t come back.” He told you, venom in his tone, but in a way that had you suppressing a shiver. You wondered what he sounded like first thing in the morning, his voice filled with sleep. “What’re you thinkin’’ about, Bear?” He asked, almost knowing your thoughts. You flushed, embarrassed to be caught in your thoughts.

“Nothing, just how you manhandled him. I think you humbled him.” You lied through your teeth, hoping he wouldn’t realize you were thinking about HIM manhandling you.

“He’s a lightweight. Pushin’ people around that are smaller than him.” He told you, eyes skimming over you. You heated at his gaze and wondered to yourself how long it had been since you’d gotten laid. When you couldn’t remember immediately you’d decided it had been too long. “People like him always need to be manhandled, otherwise they don’t learn their lessons,” You glanced at his beer, bartender habit, and stood to get him another. Yours was still half full, so you only popped the top off of one and brought it back to him. You felt his eyes glued to your frame as you walked and tried not to let it go to your head.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He told you, even though he took the beer from your hands when you stretched it out to him.

“Thank you Logan. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there. How did you know I lived upstairs though?” You asked, the memory hitting you quick.

“I’ve heard you speak to the woman about rent. Sally? And I’ve stayed after a few times when I come by to make sure you get to your car, and you never come out of the building. The lights go out though.” He told you, unashamedly. You were struck by the kindness of this stranger. He was looking out for you and you hadn't even known. He watched out for you and all you'd ever offered him was a warm smile and a cold beer. Your breath hitched in your throat as you muttered out a small thank you to him, but he simply shrugged and took a long pull.

"I don't know how to thank you." You admitted to him but he waved you off.

"Don't worry about it, kid." He said, finishing his beer. You decided it was better off to just thank him in a different way, probably with free booze. You decided in that moment that this man would never pay for another drink in the bar again, and you felt that Sally would agree. You would speak with her about it first thing in the morning, after you filed a restraining order.

[erwinsvow]

you have this awful way of teasing him. logan doesn't like to be teased—at least not the way you do it.

all polite, sweet smiles when the room is filled with your peers and his students. they're not really his, but the feeling has stuck as of late.

logan shouldn't let you keep going. you're getting the wrong idea—thinking that this, whatever this is, can be something. something more than heated stares and heavy breaths. he's no saint—the thought has run through his head at least a hundred times a day.

how easy it would be to get you alone. to find an empty hallway and push you against the wall, keep one ear listening for footsteps and the other focused on how fast your heart is beating. it picks up everytime he's in the vicinity.

shit. when had he started zeroing in on you like this? it's not just your heart, it's your breathing too. hitched. if your breath is like that and your heart is racing, then what could be going on between your legs? he doesn't have to be a mind-reader to figure it out, but you're lucky anyways, that he's not. he might not be able to hold himself back.

not like you want him to. it's too obvious—if others haven't picked up on it yet, they're going to soon. your friends probably giggle with you late at night, help you perfect your plan to get the big, bad wolverine into the palm of your hand.

or maybe not—maybe you're quiet about it. maybe it's a running joke but nothing more, nothing shared with anyone except you and him. private, just between the two of you. looks that no one else understands, an ache that no one else feels. it doesn't make it less wrong, but it almost feels that way. like pining is supposed to help.

teasing certainly isn't the answer, not that you care. you're all pretty smiles, cocking your head and laughing sweetly, replying to something he said without caring about what he said. you ignore that part, electing to keep the conversation going even though he can't make it more obvious that what he really needs is for you to go.

you get closer, even when others prying eyes are still present. a hand on his arm, brushing up against him and then apologizing without any real sincerity behind it, even the way you rest your body against his doorframe, staring at him with teasing eyes. it's all you fucking do—tease, tease, tease.

logan would like to think some things about you haven't changed on his behalf. he pretends that maybe you always wore short skirts and tight tops, or that maybe you'd put them away for the winter and that's why they keep making appearances. but it's still cold out and somehow, the shortest and the tightest things are decked out just when he's around.

it's menacing. a girl as sweet as you shouldn't be capable of such devious things. the sliver of exposed skin between your white tank-top and your denim skirt, a place where his hand would fit perfectly. one touch and your entire body would get warm, he knows it—you wouldn't feel cold no matter what you're wearing or what month it is.

the way the hem of your sundress rides up when you take a seat next to him, legs crossing over and an endless expanse of smooth skin visible. all the way up to your upper thigh, any higher and he'd get a glimpse of panties—and what color would those be? matching? he can only think about it for a second until he snaps out of it. and when his gaze moves from your legs to your face, there's that smile again. devious. devilish.

you've been put on earth to torment him. he keeps trying to do the right thing—avoid you at every turn, lock doors if it means keeping you out. conversations are short and civil, no matter how much you both would prefer to keep them going.

it's just wrong. you're so young—you don't know any better. or maybe you do, and you choose to ignore it, but he can't do this too, on top of everything else. he has to get something right, and it's just your misfortune that this is the thing he's chosen to stay steadfast about.

because otherwise he wouldn't stand a chance. with every passing stare at your glossy lips and soft, pretty skin—skin that just so happens to be waiting for him to mark up—and clothes that are waiting to be torn off, bits and pieces of his resolve start withering.

you know what you're doing to him, and you don't stop. you don't plan on stopping until you've gotten what you want. yes, it's wrong, but there's not much in the world that's right anymore. you think you at least deserve this. and logan's a good sport—behind every closed door and curt word, his eyes reveal what his mouth won't. a simple truth known to both of you—that he wants you as badly as you want him.

it's a long game, one you're willing to play. you move the pieces same as usual—a shorter, tighter skirt here, a too-big tank top that leaves your straps somewhere on your arm there. conversations get a little longer, his stares get a little more heated, a little more aggressive. you can even hear him taking out his frustration on the punching bags instead of just giving in and taking them out on the object of his frustration.

but you're close—and if there's one thing that you are, besides a tease, is patient.

at half-past ten, all the kids are asleep. there's some older students scattered around the house, some upstairs and others watching tv, but you know your destination tonight, and where the occupant of a particular room is. the baggy button-up you'd put on over your dress, just to make it a little more appropriate for the day, was abandoned on the back of a kitchen chair. you made one stop to the fridge before heading up here—to logan's room.

patient you were, but a saint, you were not. there was only so much a girl could take. you knock twice, and without even realizing it, your heart rate picks up. it always does when logan's nearby, and then you curse under your breath. he might not open the door if he realizes it's you—but then again, who else would come knocking this late?

you hear it—a deep breath, footsteps getting closer. your back straightens automatically, biting your cheek in anticipation. when he opens the door, you beam up at him, knowing exactly what he's about to say.

"kid, you needa go t'bed-"

"i brought you something," you say, with another bright, sweet smile. you offer it to him with outstretched hands—two beers, still cold from the depths of the fridge you had buried them in, lest one of the kids saw them, or one of the jerks drank them.

"how'd ya even get these, huh?"

to anyone else, logan would look the same as he always did—gruff, angry, unforgiving. but you're not just anyone else. you noticed it—picked up on it immediately. the way the tension in his shoulder lessened, just barely. how his grimace softened. how the expression in his eyes betrays him—he sounds upset but he's really not. there's humor in them, sparkling back at you, because he thinks it's funny.

that you show up with beer this late. that you wear a dress you really, really shouldn't wear—the one he thinks of as his favorite, before trying to expel the damn thought entirely.

you roll your pretty eyes, pushing through the man blocking you. of course if he actually wanted to keep you out, he'd barely have to try. one push and you'd be on the other side of the wood, but like always, you know him.

"you do realize i'm not actually a kid, right? i can buy beer," you reply—and even your words, coated in humor and sarcasm, still come out sweet as sugar.

you couldn't be mean if you tried. logan can't be nice if he tried.

"yeah, yeah. c'mon kid, y'can't be in here this late-"

"late?" you repeat back at him, taking a seat on his bed. logan closes the door, wandering back over to where you're perched. you really shouldn't have sat down—not with how much he's pictured you under these very sheets. "don't be such a grandpa, logan. it's not even eleven yet."

"cuttin' a little close to your bedtime, huh?"

"ha-ha," you say dryly, holding one of the bottles towards him. "i didn't bring a bottle opener."

he takes it out of your hand, fingers brushing over each other for a second. it's nothing, twisting the cap off with his hand, tossing it somewhere to the side. you keep staring up, watching through fluttery lashes as he takes a long sip, enjoying the view a little too much. the cherry on top is the exhale logan takes after he finishes, fisting the beer bottle a little too tight.

"do you like it?" you ask quietly, heart thudding fast again. you suddenly hope he can hear it now, even clearer than before.

"yeah, kid." he takes a breath, and your eyes close for a second. "it's wrong." another breath, one from you this time. "shouldn't have beer in the house."

"yeah," you agree, eyes opening and taking him in again. you had planned everything perfectly, picked the best time to come. his flannel was flung on the bed next to you, nothing but the white wife-beater covering his chest. "nothing wrong with just once though, right?"

"kid-"

you stand up, much too close for comfort. your little pink dress looks even prettier like this, so close that he can almost feel the material. one strap has fallen—like they always do—but this time, your wish finally comes true. logan takes the strap between his thick fingers, sliding it up your arm and around to your shoulder, bringing it all the way up. even after it's secured, he doesn't let go.

his touch—barely present as it was, is enough to light your skin on fire. it's just as you thought it would be, and now all you want is more. your eyes shut again.

"i probably shouldn't tell you this," you start, and you hear logan groan—a soft noise, something that has imprinted into your brain forever. "but i really love it when you call me that."

"y'killing me, kid-" he says, all in one breath.

"what's it gonna take, hm? do you want the other beer? i brought both for you, i don't even like the stuff-"

he shuts you up by closing the space in between the two of you. logan's mouth is hot, hot just like the rest of him, blazing to the touch. huge hands wrap around your waist, bringing you in even closer, if it's even possible to be any closer. it's everything you dreamed it could be—the sheer intensity of how he kisses you, the way his tongue feels in your mouth, how hard he grips you. your hands find his shoulders, gripping on as hard as you can, nails digging in while you moan into his mouth. you should be quiet, anyone could hear, and yet, you keep going. and it's all of it at once, the taste of the beer and those cigars he loves so much. if they taste anything like this you might find yourself addicted to those too.

when he finally pulls away—and of course it's him that pulls away, you would stay attached forever if you could, and you plan to make it a reality—there's lines of spit between your mouthes, still connecting you. he wipes the corner of your lips with his thumb, and breathless you stare up at him.

your hand traces down his arm, all the way to his wrist and then his hand, resting just above his knuckles, running your soft fingers over them.

"logan," you breathe out, your heart as fast as he's ever heard it. "can i go lock the door?"

"yeah kid," he says, the gruffness in his voice something entirely new, laced with a desire and wanting you had only hoped to hear tonight. "go lock the door."

[laundrypause]

AU where loscar are in high school, Oscar's quite popular and Logan is not as popular but just as much as well-liked. One thing about Logan is he is the most oblivious human to ever exist in the entirety of mankind. People flirting with him? Nah, they're just being nice. Getting chocolates for Valentine's? They must feel bad that he doesn't have one. Notes with hearts attached to phone numbers mysteriously finding their way into his locker? Must be the people he's been partnered with for their midterms. At first, Logan's secret admirers thought he was trying to reject them without outwardly saying no to their advances. And if that really was the case, they'd back off cause yk common decency. But then they find out he actually doesn't realise that these advances are essentially what they are. Advances. So they do what seemed like a perfectly reasonable solution and asked one of Logan's best friends to help them out because maybe their flirtations were too general. Too normal. They needed an insider who knew what Logan liked other than fishing and cars. Things that made his heart flutter, his cheeks blush. They wanted him to know that they were interested in him, not just being friendly. So who else to ask none other than Oscar to help them out.

Oscar wouldn't say he was Logan's bestest best closest friend who knew everything about him down to a T. That position was occupied. But Oscar thinks he knows Logan enough to try and be a Cupid-associate per say and help these poor souls who decided to fall for Oblivious Man™. He doesn't know what the tightening of his chest or the flood of fire trickling through his body means but it's probably the odd gloop of greens the cafeteria calls lunch he ate. Not for any other reason at all.

For about 2 weeks straight, Oscar's the designated Loge(Love) Guru, attempting to inconspicuously ask Logan questions and relaying pieces of said information to the admirers that fit the list of questions they'd emailed him. Yes, emailed him like social media didn't exist and this was the early 2000s or something. The list of questions include:

What's Logan's favourite color?

Is he a steak kinda guy?

His ideal type in 3 words?

Coach or Gucci?

And other questions Oscar deemed.... he'd rather not ask (let's leave it at that).

Logan's a little confused about the sudden influx of questions hurled at him by Oscar but deigns it harmless enough. If it meant he'd get to spend more time with Oscar, he'd take it. Who's there to judge him? Exactly. No one.

It's been weeks ever since the admirers have asked Oscar for help and still...no dice. It seemed like after they'd requested Oscar's expertise, Logan's become even more detached to their pursuits, which should definitely be impossible but it's Logan. He always somehow manages to defy the odds. But maybe this is a sign of some sort, that Logan will never manage to see through the fog and accept that it's possible for people to experience attraction towards him.

When they say this to Oscar, however, he's weirdly defensive. Saying how could they just give up that easily, if they're actually serious about Logan why are they not doing anything more, that actually they were asking the wrong questions. That did they not realize that Logan wasn't that much of a materialist? Their actions need to have meaning, their gifts need to convey a message. They can't just throw a designer watch at him expecting him to know their intentions. Hell, he wouldn't even accept the damn gift because oh why would you spend so much on me? I can't accept this.

Nor can they can't just give him flowers all willy-nilly, just grabbing them off a shelf because it's the most expensive. Purple so obviously clashes with him and didn't they remember when Oscar said Logan liked yellow? They should've gotten him a yellow bouquet with greens and blues complimenting it, yellow because he was as bright as the sun, always exuding warmth and blues and greens because they were the colors of his eyes and wrapped with delicate pink crêpe paper because that's the color of his cheeks whenever he flushes and-

Oh my God, they were dumbasses. Idiots, fools, blockheads. Of course Oscar's 'advice' didn't work. It didn't work because he liked him. He liked Logan. Shit, it was all starting to make sense now, why none of the help Oscar lent truly...helped. Because he didn't want to help them. Because he liked Logan and didn't want them to- God how were they so dumb? It's so obvious now, so clear. The way Oscar's eyes always managed to soften when Logan was in his radar, the immediate hardening of his body, muscles taut whenever someone says something less than friendly to the American, ready to jump into a fight like an aggravated cat or even the way he always seemed to be the first person in line to lend Logan a shoulder when he's tired out of his mind, staving off sleep just to do one more calc question.

Always the one forcing him to take care of himself whenever Logan forgets to. God, they were complaining about Logan being the oblivious one but how about them? Being completely blind to the obvious lovesick simp that was still going on about how the direction of the quirk of Logan's mouth could clearly tell you about the mood he's in.

Oscar, the most discreetly obvious about his feelings. So discreet, he managed to go unnoticed by the admirers until now. So discreet, he himself doesn't realize the extent of what he's feeling for Logan isn't just platonic.

[fruitcoops]

If I Make It to the Morning

Prompt B3: "Surprise Visit" to continue PWHL Lions for Day 4 of @oknutzy-week-2024. I cannot get enough of them, thank you @lumosinlove for making such brilliant characters and letting us play with them like paper dolls.

They were just so goddamn cute.

Finn bit down on her spoon, holding it between her teeth with her arms crossed over her chest until she felt like she could breathe without shrieking. Leo had woken for a few seconds, only to close her eyes and sink back into sleep easier than Finn had ever seen. Logan, who used to jerk awake at the faintest click of the front door, snored softly as if the whole city wasn’t waking outside.

They were so cute, and it was such a goddamn problem.

Logan was…god, Logan just was. She was, in her way, and Finn had never been able to get over it, not even after a year without so much as a stray meme on Instagram even though she knew Logan opened every single one of her private stories. Finn hadn’t expected the surprise visit to her apartment—had thought Logan would be long gone, celebrating this insane dream come true with her new teammates. But Logan had come, Logan had stayed, Logan had allowed hugs she melted into and for Finn to take her to a restaurant where she laughed like nothing had changed.

Twenty-four hours passed. Logan got an Uber to the airport, Finn went to bed, and in the morning there was Leo. Bright and golden in overalls that made her look eight feet tall. A thin teal ribbon adorned her ponytail in a floppy bow that Finn wanted, desperately, to pull until it unraveled.

I’m Finn, Finn O’Hara. She had had to remind herself of her own last name. Come on in, your bedroom’s down the hall.

The books that had filled Leo’s duffel now sat snug on their IKEA bookshelves, tucked in with Finn’s like they were meant to be there. Her pots and pans were perfectly organized in the cabinets behind Finn’s head so she could reach them with ease. When Finn took a deep, fortifying breath, Leo’s magnolia room spray lingered in the air around her.

It was all so new and yet it felt so old, in the way an heirloom blanket was just the right softness and just the right length from years of comfort. The blanket Finn had bought to make this place feel a little more like home covered the expanse of Leo’s legs on one side of the couch and crept all the way up to Logan’s chest on the other. It was a fuzzy green thing; twenty dollars from Target, hardly something to be passed down. Finn wanted to hold it forever.

It was new and old and precious, and Finn could have absolutely none of it, so she bit her spoon and crossed her arms and waited for the coffeepot to finish hissing so she had an excuse to wake them up. Which happened to be the last thing she wanted.

It would be so convenient for Logan to miss her flight back to Minnesota. Maybe the storm had flooded a drain on their street. Maybe a tree had fallen somewhere between here and the hotel for the rest of her team. Maybe Finn could curl up in the armchair beside them and—whoops! Oh no! Overslept! Far too late to rush out, now, better if Logan just stayed a little longer in a place where she felt so right.

Leo’s Mardi Gras shirt fit her better than most of Finn’s clothes ever had.

These two would be the end of her.

A little milk, please. No sugar. Thanks, Harz.

Mixing the milk with the sugar first makes it taste better. Ouais, it’s…science, or something.

Finn poured hers black, gripping the ceramic sides tight enough to hurt. These feelings were too much. Her heart was too much. She watched them sleep on her couch like a creep and wished on every glow-in-the-dark star she had socked away her nightstand as a surprise for Leo that they could have this every day. It was a selfish wish. She ached for it.

“Rouge?”

God. “Yeah?” Finn answered, hoarse.

Logan mumbled something sleepy and low, stretching over the arm of the couch until her back cracked. “When time?”

“ ‘Bout eight.” Finn cleared her throat and took a sip of coffee. “I was going to get you up soon. Figured we’d drop you off at nine, nine-thirty.”

“Mmm.” Logan blinked at her a few times, slow and foggy with the morning, before squinting around the room. Her vibrant gaze hesitated on Leo. “Fell asleep during the show.”

“Me, too,” Finn said quietly. “Guess we were all tired.”

Logan hummed again. Leo slumbered on. The hall clock ticked down the seconds until Logan would return to her team, to Minnesota, to texts every other day.

None of them made any attempt to move.

[lumosinlove]

Christmas Eve Will Find Me

Six: Finn

Sleeper Car

Somewhere Just Outside of Athens

The setting sun turned their small cabin a brilliant orange as the train dashed along. They were well out of the city and in rocky looking grasslands. James had knocked on their door with sandwiches not too long ago—let’s lay low for the night. They’d found porcelain plates strapped up delicately within the bar cabinet. There was heat and an extremely tiny bathroom with hot water.

And there was Logan, taking up half of the space at all times. Each time they had to move, they would touch shoulders, or hips, or elbows. Finn could feel his body heat. They both were sweaty and in desperate need of a shower, but Finn had never wanted to crush himself against someone else more than he did when Logan’s back brushed across his chest as they switched places at the sink.

Finn looked at himself in the mirror. This would have been romantic. Unbearably so. He could picture it so clearly. Calling for ice, popping that half-bottle of champagne in the fridge, complaining a little about how tight a fit the bunk bed would be but losing any and all thoughts of needing extra space when their bodies fit together perfectly after dinner. Dinner in the room? No, Logan would have wanted to watch Finn get dressed up, would have taken him to the dining car, would have pressed their ankles together beneath the table.

Instead, Finn had purple circles beneath his eyes and much darker smudges around his neck. He touched a bruise lightly.

“Sorry,” Logan said. It was the first thing either of them had said in twenty minutes. The first thing at all save for little notes about the room. Fancy. Yes. Tiny shower. Yeah. Nice pillows. Definitely. Logan cleared his throat and gestured to his own neck. He was sitting at the small window booth in front of his sandwich. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Finn said. He took one more look, decided there was really nothing to be done, then sat down across from him. “I wouldn’t have known what to believe, either.”

Logan toyed with the parchment wrapping of his sandwich but didn’t open it.

“Maybe…” Finn swallowed. He looked down at his sandwich, pulling at the sticker that kept the wrappings closed. It looked good. Turkey and lettuce and tomato. “Maybe you still don’t. That’s okay.” At least, Finn was pretty sure Logan wasn’t going to snap and suddenly try to strangle him again while he slept.

They ate in silence, too, watching the sun go down and the world outside turn into racing silhouettes. They had never been this quiet. Not ever.

Finally, Finn couldn’t take it anymore. He turned around to the bar cabinet—so small was the room that he didn’t even have to get up—and took the champagne bottle out of the fridge. He held it up questioningly.

Logan blinked. “Oh. Should we?” 

Finn was exhausted. He was dirty. He was longing, he was ecstatic, he was terrified. “I, personally, need some champagne after today.”

Logan watched Finn in silence as he got out the glasses—flutes so thin that Finn feared they’d shatter in his hands. He thought of the clover rocks glasses back home.

“You know, I never really guessed how much you guys roughed it—I mean, not that the house was rough but.” He began undoing the wire. “It wasn’t this.”

“What house?” Logan asked.

“We were at a place in Athens. No heat. No hot water unless you wanted to burn your skin off.”

“Ouch.”

Finn popped the cork. A sound that felt entirely too merry. The way the bubbles fizzed up and nearly spilled out, the clean chill of the bottle in his hand as he poured. Logan watched and Finn thought of all the bottles they’d shared—Harvard rooftop, fancy room services, their wedding.

The question that had been trying to knock its way into his mind finally surfaced: If they had to start over, could they do it?

“Remus said he was on a boat,” Finn said. “When he woke up.”

Logan nodded. “Me too. But—but not together. I’ve never seen him before. It was me and the crew. They had been out for a month and said they’d been out for another. Their home port wasn’t Greece. They were transporting cargo. They said they found me in the water, thought I was dead or a runaway. Criminal. I don’t…” Logan picked up a piece of tomato that had fallen out of his sandwich and popped it into his mouth. “I don’t think they believed me that I couldn’t remember anything. At least not in the beginning.”

Finn shivered. Logan reached for his glass and inspected the golden liquid.

“So you were at sea for the first month?”

“Yes. Wait.” Logan tilted his head. “How…How long do you think I was gone?”

“Six months.” There was no thinking. Finn took a small sip of champagne, letting the bubbles fill his nose. He watched Logan mirror the gesture. There was nothing gone about it either. It had been so much more than gone.

“You’ve been looking for me for so long,” Logan said.

Looking. Finn wished. He would have done anything to have been looking.

“No,” Finn said. “I thought you were dead the whole time.”

Again—Strange to say that sentence over champagne. This wasn’t exactly a celebration. If Logan was ever to return home—and Finn had pictured it of course—memory had never factored in. Sometimes, he imagined a knock on the door came in the middle of the night. Logan wouldn’t have his key, so a knock made sense, but also other times Finn woke to Logan’s hand on his cheek. I’m right here.

Other times, he got a call from Sirius or James and he had to go and meet them somewhere. Some tarmac, some remote hospital. And there would be Logan, battered but alive and reaching for him.

“The others came home. Without you.” Finn swallowed. He’d never said this aloud. “Without—” 

“Finn. Finn listen.”

He had been able to tell from their faces. The very second. Telling him to sit down.

“Where is he? Where is he? Sirius.”

“Finn…Just sit down for a second. Please, Finn.”

“Where is he, why are you looking at me like that, where is he—”

“And I told your family. And my family. And you…And you were dead.” Finn drew in a breath. He rubbed at his jaw. “And I don’t know how I got through it. I really don’t know how.”

Logan had his head ducked down. Green eyes looking up at him through those lashes, sad and scared and surprised.

“I’m your husband,” Logan said. “And you thought I was dead for six months?”

Finn’s jaw went tight to keep the tears in and he hoped that was answer enough. He got up, rubbing at his eyes, and sat down on his bunk—Logan had already taken the top one when he’d followed him inside the cabin. He just needed a moment. Just a moment. He didn’t want to make Logan feel bad. It wasn’t his fault.

But then the mattress shifted and Logan was settling down right across from him. His green eyes were earnest. His knees almost touched Finn’s.

“Six months.”

“Yeah,” Finn said.

“Oh,” Logan whispered. “Finn.”

Logan said his name almost like he always had. Almost.

“You know, you broke through all of this once before,” Finn said. “In the alley, by the bookshop. Something happened, and then—well you know the rest. You passed out. But for a moment you knew me.”

Leo would probably be trying to coax some information out of Logan just now rather than ogling his eyes, and the way he had eaten his sandwich the same, and how he said Finn’s name.

“Do you know who Pascal is?” Finn asked. “That’s the name you said, and we can’t piece it together.”

Logan frowned. “Non. I said to Leo, I don’t.”

“I know…I know. I just—it’s the only thing you said to me.” And I wanted an ‘I love you’ so badly.

“Am I different?” Logan asked. “I mean…Yes probably. But am I?”

“Of course,” Finn said. “Nothing’s the same. But…I don’t know. You’re…” You. He wasn’t sure how to say it. Not when Logan didn’t know who you was.

“Tell me something,” Logan said. “I want to be able to think I know something about you without it making me want to rip by brain out. Tell me something.”

“Tell me something.”

Logan had pulled the sheets over their heads and it billowed above them like a tent with the Caribbean sunshine lighting him up in bronze.

Finn ran his hands up the back of Logan’s bare thighs, which straddled his hips. “Like what?”

Logan sat back against Finn’s palms, rolling his hips down in a slow push, then grinning at Finn’s gasp. “Like what it’s like being my newly wed.”

“Oh I’m yours, am I?”

Finn’s eyes went down to Logan’s hand. “You lost your wedding ring.”

Logan held out his hand between them, turning it backwards then palm forward again. “Oh.” He looked up at Finn, at the gold around his finger then his eyes. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Finn shook his head. “No, I didn’t mean…”

“All mine.” Logan’s smile was even in the kiss he pressed to Finn’s mouth. “All mine.”

“What did it look like?”

Finn tilted his head. He said nothing, just waited.

Logan started biting at his lip. That was the first sign. Then he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his fingertips to his forehead. “Oh fuck. Fuck.”

And then there was the blood. Finn sat there frozen for a moment. This wound, strange and unexplainable, had no place in this memory or talk of their wedding. No place anywhere.

But this was Logan. This was Logan. This was his boy.

“Hey.” Finn reached forward and cradled Logan’s jaw, his other hand brushing his hair back from his forehead. “Shh. Hey, it’s all right, look at me. I’ve got ya, look at me.”

Logan opened his eyes, brows pulled together. His mouth was slack, surprised at Finn’s touch. But he was Logan. Brown waves falling across his forehead. He was so Logan, and he was warm, and so close to Finn’s arms.

“There you go,” Finn said. I’ve got you. I found you. “You’re okay. You’re okay.” 

“I don’t know,” Logan said.

“Let’s do this—You don’t try to remember anything. I just tell you.” He swiped a thumb under Logan’s nose without thinking. “There.”

“I’m sorry, that’s so gross.”

Finn didn’t know how to tell him that nothing about him could possibly seem gross. Loving someone this much, wanting them this badly, didn’t allow room for gross. Finn could’ve crawled in beside Logan’s heart and lived there.

“It’s not,” Finn said. He reached for one of the—very nice—cloth napkins. “See? Fine.”

Logan wiped his face, sniffing, but it looked like the pain had eased up. His eyes were clearer.

“This is the first time you’re seeing—that we’re seeing each other? After…”

Finn nodded, then paused. “If we don’t count the gun holding, sure.”

And there it was. A trace of a smile. Just half a raised corner of his mouth. Finn wanted to crawl inside that, too.

“You didn’t know,” he said before Logan could apologize again.

The bottom bunk felt small. Cozy. Fort-like. Logan folded the red on the napkin out of sight and set it aside. He scrubbed his fingers through his hair, rubbed at his eyes. Sleepy. He was tired.

Logan set his mug of tea down, pushed his hands through his hair, rubbed his eyes, and took Finn’s book, tossing it onto the floor and more or less falling into Finn’s chest.

“Sleep,” he mumbled.

Finn was about to ask, tea? when Logan spoke.

“Can I do anything?”

Finn frowned. “What do you mean?”

Logan hesitated. “I mean—we must…” Finn watched the way Logan wet his lips. His eyes darted down to Finn’s mouth. “Six months is a long time to think someone is dead. And we must’ve…kissed.”

Finn stared at him. And stared at him.

And then they were laughing, Logan with a flush on his cheeks.

“Yeah,” Finn laughed. “Yeah, we kiss.”

“Right.”

“You’re asking me if we should kiss?”

Logan shrugged, a hint of a smile back. “I’m—I don’t know. I…I mean. Was I a good…person? Did you miss me?”

“Oh…Oh, Lo.” Finn pressed a palm to Logan’s knee. “Baby, missing doesn’t even begin—I mean—”

Logan’s eyes had widened. “Is that what you call me?”

“I—Sometimes.”

“What else? Maybe I’ll…” Remember.

“Um. Lo. Tremz. Your last name—”

“Tremblay, you said.”

“Right.”

“And…” Logan was leaning forward now. Their knees were touching.

Finn bit his lip. “Yeah. Baby. Mostly Lo.”

Logan’s eyes snapped shut. He put a hand to his forehead. “Ugh.”

“Don’t—”

But Logan waved him off. “What do I call you?”

Rouge.

“Rouge,” Logan whispered. Finn felt a kiss against to his temple, a hand rubbing his back. “Baby, wake up, I have to go. I got called in, give me a kiss, come here.”

Finn fell into his arms when calls were sudden. He didn’t let go all the way to the door. Never managed to crawl back into bed after. Slept on the couch for the first day or two, hoping that the front door opened and—“Rouge? I’m home, baby, where are you, where are you?”

No. He only wanted to hear Rouge again if—when Logan remembered.

“Lots of French things that I would just butcher. And sometimes Harzy, though that was mostly a college thing. Harzy because O’Hara. My name.”

“College.”

“Harvard. That’s how we met.”

Logan flinched hard, but he kept his eyes open. No blood. “The library.”

“Yeah,” Finn said softly. “The library.”

Logan pushed himself up from the bed. He rubbed at his eyes again. “This is so—God, it’s like I can—it’s like I know that I don’t know. So I should know.” He pressed his hands to either side of the sink. “Does that make any sense at all?”

“I think so. I can’t imagine what this is like for you but…I sort of make it a point of my life to make sense of you.”

Logan stayed quiet. He kept his gaze down, brow furrowed in pain. Finn would’ve given anything to know what he was thinking.

“I don’t want this to hurt you,” Finn said. “Maybe we should—do you want to sleep?”

Logan kept his eyes closed for another moment, then shook his head. “I think I want to shower first.”

Finn settled against the spark of familiarity. Of course. He should have known that.

“Then champagne,” Logan said. When Finn looked at him, he had that half-smile in place again.

“I’ll keep a spoon in it, then,” Finn said. He smiled, too, and then he realized all over again that he was smiling at Logan and he had to blink a couple times and pick up his glass to keep it together.

“Good,” Logan said, and then he peaked into the bathroom quickly before pulling his shirt over his head.

“Oh—” Finn dropped the glass. It bounced on the carpet but didn’t break. The champagne splashed over his feet.

Logan’s eyes met his in the mirror, surprised momentarily before he understood.

He had a round scar on the back of his shoulder, another near his lower back, and a third that grazed where his neck met the hard muscle of his shoulder. In the mirror, there were matching scars on his chest and stomach.

Logan touched the scar on his neck, gnarled like it had grazed the skin but left a gaping wound. I saw it, James had said. I saw it, they got him in the head.

Finn inhaled sharply at the thought, the memory of trying to picture it alone in their dark London flat. He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. Logan was still there. Still looking at him.

“Sorry,” Finn said. “I wasn’t—I didn’t think about…” It was a bit of a joke, really. After so long picturing it, how had it not even occurred to him that Logan’s body would have scars?

“Not very pretty, hm?” Logan said quietly. He ran a quick hand over his chest. He had a slight tan line at his neck and wrist, like he spent a lot of time outdoors. “I was maybe better when you last knew me.”

Finn wanted to touch him. The bullets looked like stage makeup. Movie set. Sort of like how all the guns looked to him. Like they’d shoot bubbles and air. Like Logan would emerge from the shower and the pink puckers of skin would be gone.

“Logan,” Finn said softly.

Logan would have asked quoi? had he even recognized how he used to speak. Instead he just turned towards him.

“Can I…” Finn realized he was reaching forward. Just a little.

Logan looked at his hands. He set down his crumpled shirt and faced him. “So there is something I can do.”

Finn nodded quickly. The tears were rising in his throat. “Right now, it’s just this.”

Logan let Finn come to him. Their movements were so careful at first, but the moment Logan’s chest was pressed against Finn’s sweater something snapped. He let out a harsh breath and put a scar under his palm like he could protect it.

Finn turned his head into the soft warm place, the nook of his neck. Finn’s place. Logan liked to be kissed there, and God did Finn almost do it, right over the other scar. He just held on, the familiarity of the broad shoulders beneath his hands making him feel airy, almost like he was going to pass out. But then Logan’s arms were around him, too, more hesitant than he would have been before. Lighter in touch. Discovering. He let out a little breath that Finn felt against his shoulder. Logan’s shoulders relaxed.

“Silver.” Logan pushed harder into Finn’s hold. “The ring was silver, wasn’t it?”

Finn kept his tears quiet this time, soft against his cheeks as he nodded. He drew back just enough to pull Logan’s fleur-de-lis from around his own neck and place it around Logan’s. It caught on his curls briefly before settling on his bare chest. “Silver like this.”

“What…” Logan looked down at it. His rested his temple against Finn’s shoulder and picked up the pendant.

“It’s yours,” Finn said. He touched Logan’s fingertips and the warming metal. “Wear it. It might help.”

[lillypad910]

His Angel

Pairing: Bi! Eddie Munson x Bi! Christian (Baptist) raised! plus sized! girly! f! Reader

Word count: 10k

Warnings: (this is not pre-read, so it may have errors) MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! smut, fingering, oral (f receiving), piv, protected sex (they wrap it), fluff (lots of it mixed in), reader identifies as an atheist after childhood trauma dealing with religious beliefs, pet names (Angel [main], Sweetheart, Baby, Baby girl), use of (y/n) but only with family members.

Summary: You were always a good girl, a good Christian girl who wanted to be loved by your family. But growing up in that house was hard. With two older brothers way older than you, and parents already in their late 50’s, your relationship with your family is… difficult. You were taught that what you are is wrong, but then you fell in love with a certain guitarist who makes you remember that you are worthy of love.

A/n: Came up with this idea a couple days ago (literally right after my last post about having writer’s block), and just went to town on it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

If you wanna be tagged when I post ask or comment telling me so!

All photos found on Pinterest

You remember your childhood vividly, it wasn’t ‘bad’ for the most of it. Church was a constant play in the workings of your family home. Your mother a youth worker within the church (your church didn’t actually allow her to hold ‘pastor’ as her term), your father an old choir boy, now working a normal 9-5 job in an office building. Your family attended church every Wednesday and Sunday, every Easter, thanksgiving, and Christmas. There was no alcohol allowed in your house, not even during the holidays.

You have two older brothers, both of them were closer in age, only five years apart, while you were ten years apart from the youngest of the two, so you grew up practically on your own. You were raised primarily by your older parents, bother already reaching their 40’s when you were born.

Your oldest brother, Logan, once said in a fit of anger that you were an accident. You didn’t understand at the time, but now that you’re older, you get it.

You’ll never forget that one fated day you sat in your room, you had just turned thirteen a few weeks before. Sarah, your friend from church, someone you’ve known since you were infants, sat across from you. You were making friendship bracelets.

There was something about Sarah, she was just so… so pretty. Her long blond hair always perfectly curled, her gorgeous green eyes you could swear you could stare into for hours.

Elijah, your other friend, a boy from school, had told you that you shouldn’t act on any of your feelings for Sarah. His daddy had told him it was wrong to feel that way, to feel… attracted… to the same gender. But you couldn’t help it.

You had spent many nights sleeping over at Sarah’s and her at yours. As children you would hold hands on the playground. Your parents thought it was cute how close you two were. But as you sat in front of her that day, that beautiful day. The sun setting outside, the shades of purples and blues mixing with the warm orange, of the last golden rays highlighting her hair perfectly. You couldn’t help it.

You kissed her.

It happened so fast, you leaned over, capturing her lips with yours before pulling away. Your heart raced in your chest, beating faster, and faster, and faster. Her beautiful green eyes widened, her expression of shock was even pretty. Did she feel this way too? Did you act to fast? Before you could say anything to her, she quickly stood and ran out of the room. You heard her yell out for your mom as her foot steps made it down the stairs.

Oh no. Oh no no no no!

Your hand slapped against your chest, your heart not slowing as you began to panic. You read it all wrong, all wrong!

It’s all gone wrong. Elijah was right. I should have kept quiet. Held back.

Maybe I can play it off?

Your mother came barging into your room as you picked back up the bracelet quickly. “Hi, Momma!” You gave her a smile. It was so fake, but you just beg the lord she won’t notice. “Dewdrop,” your mother’s voice that day was stern, “did you-“ she cuts herself off, taking a deep breath, as if trying to calm her emotions, “Did you… kiss… Sarah…?”

Your brain had scattered, terrified how she was gonna react. You took too long.

She had snatched you off the rug before you could even say anything else, dragging you by your ear and down the stairs. Her hand raised before you before you could react.

Smack!

It been years since that day, as you now sit at your desk in your room, the pink floral wallpaper from your childhood always and forever familiar.

Tap! Tap!

You look over at your window, your eyes widening as you spot the long curly mop of hair even through the darkness outside. Quickly making your way to your window, opening the pane carefully, your heart racing as you are greeted by the softest, most comforting brown eyes you ever did see. “Eddie!” You whisper yell at him, your voice filled with concern and worry, “what are you doing here? You know my parents can’t see you!”

Eddie is all smiles, his eyes glancing down to your lips, “So? I thought you liked the chance of getting caught?” You roll your eyes, happy you are allowed to lock your door now that you’re older. “So…” he grips his hand tighter on the windowsill, “gonna let your boyfriend in? Or?” You immediately step back, muttering a sorry as you help him throw himself into your room without knocking anything over.

After straightening out his leather jacket and denim vest, he steps closer to you, reaching out and gripping at your nightgown, balling the fabric into his fists. “How’s my beautiful girlfriend?” You can’t help but smile at him, “I’m ok,” your hands slowly move up his chest, your eyes watching your fingers cling at his leather jacket, “how about you, Romeo?” He smiles, leaning in and giving your rosy cheek a peck, “I’ve been good, bored though.” “Oh?” “Mhmm,” His lips pressed soft kisses against your skin, getting closer and closer to your lips, before stopping. “You fucking tease…” you pout, gripping a little tighter at his jacket, making him chuckle. “Oh I’m sorry, did my good girl just swear? In her family home?” “Shut up.”

He pulls away and drops down onto your bed, spreading out across your powder blue duvet. “Come here,” he gestures for you to come lay with him, but you do something he doesn’t entirely expect.

You lift your nightgown, giving him the smallest glimpse of your white panties, the little blue bow on the front catching his eyes’ attention, before climbing over his legs. Your legs sit on either side of his hips, your center lowering just on top of his crotch, making him let out a soft groan. “Happy?” You ask, grinding your hips down and he grips at them quickly, steadying you. “Fucking swear, if you keep doing that-“ “What? You’ll do what, Munson?” Your voice is sugar sweet, faking innocence so well.

“Fuck, gonna make me cream my pants, Angel.” He sits up, adjusting his position so his hands are down on the bed behind him, propping him up. “Oh? Am I too much for you- Ah!” You gasp, cutting your sentence short as you’re flipped over, quickly looking at the door before back up at the guy on top of you. Eddie smirks down at you, his eyes glancing down at your lips. “Never,” he kisses you quickly, “ever,” another kiss, “think you’re too much for me.” He kisses your nose this time, before nuzzling it with his own.

He softly kisses you again, his lips pressing gently to yours, but slowly he picks up, kissing a little more desperately. His lips are slightly chapped, scratching a bit against your perfectly smooth lips. Your heart picks up, breath becoming more unsteady with every smooch. His hands guide down to your hips, pulling your nightgown up and to your waist, making your panties entirely visible. He pulls away, tilting his head down to the view he so desperately loves. “Could stare at you all day, Angel.” He gives you one final kiss before beginning to kiss down your neck. His fingers curl around the hem of your underwear, pulling them down slowly as his kisses travel down your clothed chest and bare stomach.

“All mine,” he hums into your skin, “all for me.” He pulls your underwear past your knees, gripping one of your thighs and pulling your shin and foot through the leg hole. “Gonna kill me one day,” he kisses along your lifted thigh. You feel yourself getting wet from his touch, his kisses sending shivers down your spine. He pulls your panties off your other leg, looking back up at your eyes before pocketing the white pair. “Mine now.” You can’t help but giggle at him, not able to count just how many crusty pairs you’ve gotten back weeks later.

His fingers move to your stomach, his palms kneading into your chubby belly like a ball of dough, before moving lower. A soft gasp leaves your lips, sounding like the most beautiful melody Eddie has ever heard as his fingers slip inside you.

Eddie swears he could watch you take his fingers all day. The way your eyebrows scrunch up, your eyes go blown, your thighs try to press together.

He leans down, brushing his nose against your clit. He watches his fingers thrust in and out of you from such close proximity, before licking your folds. Your hand quickly flies up to cover your mouth as you moan, trying to keep quiet with your parents just down the hall.

“E-Eds…!” You gasp, his free hand pressing your legs farther apart, his hips now rutting into your mattress as he buries his face in your cunt, lapping up your arousal. You let out a soft whimper as your toes curl, your hips now lifting off the bed to push into his face. Eddie removes his fingers from you, now gripping under your thighs and around to your hips, pulling your body into his face more. Your thighs squeeze around his head as you feel yourself release, gripping the duvet under you. Your eyes blur over with a few tears from the feeling, still not entirely used to being pushed to this amount of euphoria.

Your legs softly get set on the bed, a wet spot under you as Eddie climbs back up, placing a soft kiss on your stomach before smiling down at you. “Angel,” he reaches up and cups your face, tilting it to look at him, “You still with me?” It came out with a soft laugh, teasing. “Yeah,” you breathe out, breathe still heavy as you come down from the high, “Yeah, I’m here.” He smiles and pulls your nightgown back down, his obvious erection still poking at your thigh.

You sit up, glancing back at your door before turning back to your secret boyfriend. “Sweetheart,” his voice draw you back in, his fingers wrapping around your chin and pulling you against his chest as he leans back against your pillows, “don’t worry so much, you keep glancing at the door like they hear us.” He kisses your cheek, nuzzling into you. You blush as the only thing you can smell is you. “Eddie,” you quietly groan out his name, practically a whisper. He hums, fumbling with the belt to undo it. You blush as he shimmies his pants and boxers down his hips. You tilt your head to the wall, your blush spreading to your ears.

“Angel,” Eddie places his hands on your back, “look at me.” You pull back and look at him, your heart beating fast.

“You can tell me if you want to stop, Sweetheart. You know that.” He kisses your nose, his fingers slowly moving to ball your nightgown up, letting his warm fingers press to your now bare back. “Do you want to stop?” His voice is calm, no judgment present anywhere. “No… I-I wanna…” your eyes glance at your mirror, giving you sight of your door. Eddie’s eyes soften.

“Angel, you were being all confident earlier, now you’re shrinking and keep looking to make sure your door is shut.” He kisses your nose, making you melt a little into him. He hesitates for a moment, “is it… because of back then…?” You freeze, immediately your head snaps to look at him, his deep brown eyes staring at you with such love.

“Do you wanna sneak out…?” You ask, trying to dodge the reality of your trauma. Eddie’s eyes narrow, “Oh no, you’re talking about it now. You have no choice.” “What? No!” You whisper yell. “Angel,” Eddie pushes you off of him a little, making your eyes widen, the fear of rejection again banging on your heart. He pulls up his pants again, before pulling you back onto him, immediately shushing those thoughts, “Talk to me.”

“I just-“ you hesitate, you let out a deep breath, “I’m scared…” Eddie’s eyes soften, his hands sliding down to your hips, grounding you. “What of?” “Here.” The word comes out tense, your discomfort obvious, but not from him or his actions, just the place. Your room. Your house.

“Baby,” Eddie rubs his thumb over your hip, “We can pick this up tomorrow, we don’t have to-“ “No!” You immediately wince and cover your mouth at your raised voice. “I-I mean…”

A thud comes from across the house. You both freeze.

Shit.

You both scurry to get up, you pulling down your nightgown as he quickly goes to hide in your closet behind your door. You quickly shut your window, unlock your door, and sit at your desk, immediately jumping back up from the cold feeling on your —you shockingly forgot— exposed lower body. You don’t have time to grab another pair of panties so you just tuck your night gown under you and sit.

A knock comes on your door immediately after you sit. “Yes?” You call out. The door opens and your mother pops her head in, “Did you make a loud noise?” You just nod.

“Yeah sorry, I, uh, messed up my paper. Did I wake you?” She hums in response, “technically, but it’s alright. It’s almost midnight, Darling—” the nickname makes you cringe. It’s the same one she called you that day. “— make sure you get some sleep.” She smiles at you, before shutting your door and you hear steps heading back down the hall. You finally let out the breath you didn’t even realize you were holding.

Eddie sticks his head out, making sure the coast is clear before stepping out. “That was terrifying.” “Yeah no shit, Eds.” You tell him as he steps closer to you, he places his hand on your head and leans down a bit to kiss your hair. “I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?” You look up at him, “but-!” “No buts, Angel. You’re too stressed here, I’m gonna sneak you out of class tomorrow and take you somewhere more private. Then we can finish what we started.” He lets you lay your head onto his stomach for a moment.

“Fine…” you hate that he’s right. Your room hasn’t been a ‘safe space’ since you were thirteen. He gives your head one more kiss before climbing back out your window.

You and Eddie run out of the school, hand in hand, adrenaline pumping through you as you both book it to his van. It was only 12:35pm, luckily for both of you, your lunch had just started, so it was easy to walk out of ‘class’, class being the cafeteria with an annoyed teacher by the doors who doesn’t care that you leave.

You both slip into his van, giggling as you pull out one of the cassettes from his glove compartment and pop it in, Metallica immediately filling the van. “So, I was thinking, food first, maybe milkshakes at Benny’s, then maybe park somewhere?” Eddie pulls the car out of the spot in the lot. “Sounds good to me.”

You pull up to Benny’s, immediately seeing the girl you’ve had a solid crush on for two years was working. “Eds, it’s her!” You practically slap your hand over his chest. “Holly shit- uh, do I look ok? Cute?” “Always.” Eddie’s smile was genuine, but you glare at him slightly, “I don’t want ‘always’ I need an opinion!” Eddie chuckles as he watches you step out of his car, straightening your dress. “Sweetheart, I feel like she’s not gonna care-“ “Shh, don’t ruin it.”

You both step into the diner, Eddie holding the door open for you. “Take a seat anywhere!” Her voice calls out. You both take a booth by the window, Eddie giving you the side that best angles you to always be able to see her. “You’re always so supportive and I love you for it.” He smiles at your admission. “Can’t do anything without my permission, Angel.” “I know.”

“Hi, I’m Chris, I’ll be your server,” the girl you practically drool over pulls out a pen and her serving note pad, “What can I get you both?” She asks, glancing at you first before Eddie. Eddie watches you, your eyes practically glittering and he tries not to laugh. “A double cheeseburger for me, please. No onions. Sparkle over there will have a short stake of chocolate chip pancakes, two scrambled eggs with cheese and a bowl of grits, butter and cheese in that too.” The girl, Chris, smiles at him, impressed he knows the girl across from him—you—so well. “And to drink?” She just looks to Eddie this time, “Two chocolate milkshakes, and two waters. She’ll also have a cup of coffee, vanilla creamer.”

You snap out of your gaze after she begins to walk away, “Wait, what? What happened?” “You spaced.” “What!?” You look over at him, “It’s ok, Angel, I ordered for you.” You give him a soft smile. “Oh yeah? What did you order me?” “You’ll see.”

When the food arrives to the table you practically have your mouth watering on the table at the array of food, especially thankful for the cup of coffee. “I love you, you take such good care of me.” You pretend to wipe a tear from your eye. “Hmm.”

As you both eat, Eddie randomly slaps his hand down on the table, then excessively taps it, not loud enough to grab the attention of others, just you. “Oh my-“ you look up at him and see he’s looking towards the door. You turn and see a young man walking in, his long hair and attire very similar to the boy sitting across from you. “Eddie, sweetie, you’re gay is showing.” You hold your straw as you take a sip of your shake, staring at your boyfriend. “Says the girl who drools over the waitress.” Eddie shoots back. You place your hand over your heart, “you wound me, Eds.”

“Is he cute? He’s cute. Shit.” Eddie’s cheeks suddenly turn red, making you laugh. “Now who’s drooling-” “I’m not drooling…!” Eddie blushes.

When you both finish your food, you get back in his van and he drives to a secluded spot, parking behind an abandoned shopping center that no one even drives by anymore. You sit there for a moment thinking about how to initiate, before your boyfriend quickly pulls himself through the seats and into the trunk of his van.

Eddie adjusts the blankets and pillows he shoved back there earlier that morning, watching as you squeeze yourself through the seats following him. He pulls you straight onto his lap, lifting your dress up so your thighs are exposed to his hands. “I love you,” his voice is soft, pulling you in and making you swoon. “I love you more,” you wrap your arms around his neck, leaving soft kisses on his lips before moving down his jaw and neck.

Eddie’s fingers grip tighter on your thighs, nails digging into the soft skin. You exhale a soft sigh. “You’re so fucking perfect,” Eddie speaks first, grinding your hips down on his crotch, “Want you so bad, been thinking about it all day.” You giggle softly, nuzzling your nose into his cheek as you enjoy the feeling of his growing tent in his pants.

“Yeah?” You ask, nibbling at his earlobe before pulling away. He groans, annoyed you stopped but glides his hands up under your dress. “I love that you wear dresses, I don’t care if it’s technically for your mom, it gives me the perfect access to you,” his hands massage the fat on your sides, digging his thumbs in your skin, “should take it off though, don’t wanna get it dirty.”

You grip the hem of your dress and pull it over your head, your bra now visible to him. He lifts his hands up your skin and cup his fingers around the garment. You look into his eyes as you watch him continue to stare at your body, his pupils blown, making his comforting brown eyes look black. You grab his vest and jacket and help him slide it off his arms, throwing them both to the side. He yanks off the Hellfire shirt before smashing his lips onto yours, kissing you with such passion.

He pulls back, shimmying down his pants while you quickly pull off your underwear. Before the fabric is even entirely off your legs, you’re pulled back onto his lap, your back facing him this time, you look down and immediately blush. His cock is perfectly placed between your thighs, the red tip sticking out and tapping against your stomach with every twitch. “E-Eddie,” you reach back and cup his head from behind you as he grips tightly at your hips, grinding you against his length, his shaft rubbing against your clit.

“Wanna grab us a condom from behind my seat?” He asks. You nod, pulling away from him and reaching down. Eddie swears he would do it raw if he could confirm you wouldn’t get pregnant, but your parents would never allow you on birth control. You grab one of the foils and climb back up against him, opening your legs so his cock is accessible and rolling the condom down. “Relax, Angel, I’ve got you,” he kisses your cheek before lifting your hips, his cock practically jumping to press against you.

You gasp as you’re slowly pulled down, your cunt sheathing his cock without much resistance. Before long, your ass presses back on his crotch, his length fully in you. “You ok?” He asks, hearing your breath picking up. You nod, but that’s not good enough for him. He reaches up and tilts your head back to him, making you look at him, “use your words, Baby.” “I’m ok.”

Before too long your feet are planted against the bed of his van, your hips moving up and down, up and down, as you bounce yourself on him. His hands grip tightly at your waist, his soft groans giving you praise as you try not to just cum on him. “Baby,” his voice pulls you back in, making you whimper. He lifts you off of him, before turning you back around, making you straddle his lap again before going back down. His hands move down your thighs, until one slopes just below your belly, his thumb finding your clit. You crumble at the sudden addition, your head falling to his shoulder.

Eddie loves watching his little Angel crumble because of him. Watching your body shake as your thighs clench, your hands balling into fists on his chest as you try your damn best not to explode, not wanting him to stop. “Come on, Angel,” he whispers into your ear, leaving small kitten licks over your lobe, “cum for me, Baby, need to feel you cum.”

His lips press to the corner of your mouth, “Come on, Baby girl, wanna feel you, need to feel you cum.” His fingers rub harder into your clit, making you moan. Before long you’re gasping as you cry, your boyfriend thrusting up into you as your body shakes. Eddie kisses your cheeks, nose and forehead as your thighs squeeze at his hips, your body releasing around him. “There we go, such a good girl, doing so good for me, Angel,” Eddie kisses your lips as you feel his thighs getting sticky from your arousal.

He shuffles, slowly and carefully laying you back in the bed of the van, onto a blanket with a couple pillows behind your head. He doesn’t leave you, careful to not disconnect your bodies. He climbs over you, pushing your legs out and around his waist. He kisses your hairline, slowly beginning to thrust into you. Your whimpers and moans fill the air around you, his hips moving slow at first before picking up pace.

You brush his hair away from his face before pulling him closer and kissing him, your lips moving in perfect sync. His fingers dig into your hips, holding you steady as he goes a little harder.

It doesn’t take long till you cum again, this time he fucks you through it even harder, not stopping or slowing. His groans sound so hypnotic, like a praise leaving his lips without actual words. He thrusts one final time, holding his hips hard against yours as you feel his cock twitch inside you, his face scrunching as he finishes into the condom.

Eddie drops down, his lips pressing to yours repeatedly, before pulling out. Your legs shakily drop to the floorboard, cunt clenching around nothing as you try to come down from your high. He pulls off the condom, ties it off before dropping it between the seats. He pulls up his jeans and boxers before slipping your underwear back up your legs. “You did such a good job, Angel,” Eddie kisses your eyelids, before leaving a soft kiss on your lips, “I’m so proud of you.”

You can’t stop yourself from blushing as he pulls you onto his chest, laying down with you in the blankets. He snuggles into your hair, kissing your head as you smile from his kisses. “You enjoy this too much,” you enquire, giggling a little when he kisses your nose. “I do, but it’s not my fault my girl is so beautiful when she’s coming down from an orgasm.” You roll your eyes, but not in an annoyed way, you enjoy his teasing.

You don’t know what got into you as you climb down the lattice outside your window. You were never a disobedient child growing up, but for some reason you still climb down one foot after the other, time reaching 8pm as you hit the ground.

You turn to see your beautiful curly haired boyfriend grinning ear to ear at you. “I can’t believe you’re actually doing this. I’m a bad influence on you.” You glare at him but don’t deny it, cause he is. “I didn’t know what to wear, so I hope you brought something for me to change into.”

Eddie smirks as he grabs your hand, pulling you down the street and to his parked van. He opens the back, showing the few t-shirts he brought from his closet. “Pick one. Any one.” He smiles at you. You grab one of them climbing into the back before he shuts the doors behind you.

You quickly pull off your frilly floral shirt, chunking it to the side of the van, before slipping the Metallica shirt over your head. It’s a little snug, but you don’t hate it. You quickly pull your hair up in a ponytail with the red scrunchy on your wrist.

Climbing to the front, Eddie already half way there to the bar, you sit yourself in the passenger seat, quickly pulling a lipstick you stuck in your pocket and pulling down the visor to see your reflection. You apply the red lipstick, a much deeper color than you usually wear.

Eddie glances over, watching you apply the makeup. He had to be careful with staring, picturing those now perfectly red lips smothering his cock with kisses, leaving lipstick all over his shaft-

“Eddie?” You call out to him, and he looks at you again for a quick second. “Yeah?” “I just remembered I’ve never met the guys.”

It’s true, you’ve been dating for maybe 6 months, but it’s entirely secret to people you both know personally. Eddie had asked you to come to the show tonight because he wants you to meet them. The guys: Gareth, Jeff, and Kevin. He wants you to attend Hellfire meetings, meet Dustin, the kid he practically took under his wing, have you attend his shows, meet his uncle. He doesn’t want you to be a secret anymore to his side of life.

“Then you’ll get to meet them.”

Eddie and you pull up to The Hideout Tuesday night. You’re nervous pick up as he parks the van. “Hey,” Eddie reaches over and grabs your hand, “I appreciate you wanna see me play, Angel. But if you’re uncomfortable, I can take you home.” You shake your head.

You’ve been looking forward to watching him play live for months, and nows your chance. Besides, he’s already snuck you out of your house, you might as well enjoy it.

Eddie opens the car door for you, helping you out of your seat before holding your hand as you walk inside through the back entrance.

You hear laughing and talking coming from around the corner, and before long you’re dragged into a room with three boys you recognize from classes. “Hey, guys.” Eddie greets them. They all turn to you both, the messy haired blond tilting his head first. “Who’s that?” He asks. Eddie looks at you, and you look at him, your eyes more nervous than his but his soft eyes comfort you.

“Angel,” he simply says. The guys stay silent for a moment, before gasping and running up closer. “Holly shit!” You know this one, Jeff from Chemistry, practically screams as he reaches for your hand, “You’re like a whole myth at our lunch table!” You blush as it dawns in you.

He talks about you. Eddie talks about you to his friends, he might not have told them who you were until this very moment, but god damnit, he talks about you.

“Eddie can’t shut up about his ‘Sweet Angel’ practically fawning over you every lunch period.” The blond follows. “Refuses to clean his shirt of lipgloss or lipstick before school just so we’ll ask about it. Fucking bastard.” The bigger guy slaps Eddie over the head.

“Hey, it’s not my fault, I mean look at her. Can you blame me?” Eddie is practically glowing, his smile bigger than you’ve even seen it, and that’s saying something. “Wait,” Jeff looks at you for a minute, squinting his eyes. “Chemistry right? You sit towards the front?” You nod, “yeah, Jeff right?” You smile at him. “Yeah, shit, almost didn’t recognize you. Not in your usual floral dresses tonight.” “Yeah, kinda not supposed to be out past 7,” you explain easily. “Your family goes to Franklin Baptist right?” You nod.

“Damn got yourself a religious girl, Eddie?” The blond snickers to himself. You glance up at Eddie before looking back at him. Jeff speaks before you can, “The asshole is Gareth, that’s Kevin.” He points to them respectively. “Nice to meet you, and no. I’m uh, actually atheist. Just… raised Christian.” You hold your hands together in front of you.

“Hey,” a guy pops his head in from a door heading out to the bar, “on in five.” He dips out before anyone replies. “Well,” Eddie turns to you and takes your hand holding it up to his lips, “how about you go out there and sit by the bar? Get some water or something, watch us play.” His lips press a soft kiss to your knuckles making you blush, “ok.”

You sit on one of the stools by the bar, a glass of water in hand as the announcer introduces the next band. “And up next to the stage is Corroded Coffin!” A couple people yell out, raising their glasses up in the air, but not too many.

Then they all step out, the cute guy you know so well with his guitar on his front, stepping up to the front mic with such grace. “How are we all doing tonight?” His voice booms through the room and a few people again holler out, “We are Corroded Coffin, and to start the night off good, Id like to dedicate this first song to the lovely girl in the Metallica shirt by the bar. Lookin’ good, Angel!” He gestures to Jeff who immediately starts his rhythm on the guitar, Gareth following soon after on drums.

Oh my.

“Mmm, yeah!” Eddie jumps in before letting them play a bit longer. Kevin joining in with his guitar.

No he’s not.

Then they all begin it. “Ha!” Eddie continues, and the guys follow with “Do do do dodo dodo do do, do do do dodo dodo!” They repeat it a couple times before Eddie jumps back in. “Tonight… I wanna give it all to you!”

Oh no he IS.

You feel your cheeks heat up, instantly closing your eyes as you try not to giggle. “In the daaarkness… there’s so much I want to do-o-o,” both Jeff and Gareth lean into their mics “And tonight,” all three of them sing before Eddie continues on his own, “I wanna lay it at your feet,” he points directly at you, stopping his own playing to continue with the next lyric, “‘cause, Girl, I was made for you, and girl, you were made for me!” Eddie can’t help his grin, watching you trying to not die from embarrassment in the corner, “Hit it!” He yells before all the guys jump in to continue the song.

“I was made for lovin’ you, Baby! You were made for loving me! And I can’t get enough of you, Baby! Can you get enough of me?”

You cover your face but peek out through your fingers as you watch them finish the rest of the song. You have to sit through the rest of the set, trying not to giggle to yourself after the choice of an opener.

When Eddie finally meets back up with you, nearly two hours later, you glare at him through your third glass of water, “I hate you.” Eddie chuckles before throwing his arm over your shoulders, kissing your forehead, “no you don’t. You love me.”

You take a deep breath, trying to make the redness in your face go away, still not over the first song of the show. “How long,” you look up at him, sitting your glass down on the counter, “have you had that planned?” “Uh,” Eddie looks over at the backstage door before turning back to you, “couple months.” His cheeks tint, obviously embarrassed by the admission. “Eds, I told you I wanted to come to the show three days ago,” you smile at him, “and I know damn well that’s not in your original set, I’ve seen the original set list, Eddie.” You can’t help the goofy grin that pulls at the corners of your mouth.

“Might have convinced the guys the day you told me to knock out the original opener to fit the one we practiced for you…” he admits. You laugh, a solid hearty laugh, not a giggle, not a chuckle, a full on laugh. A snort finds its way in, catching you off guard. Eddie joins in immediately after it happens, covering his mouth as he tries not to do the same.

You both laugh for a good minute, just cackling to yourselves as you try to calm down. When you finally catch your breath, you speak up first, “Those poor boys, you just tortured them for the last couple of days.” He nods, his hand on your arm as he holds his stomach, “yeah, they hated me the last few days.”

You didn’t stick around too long, not wanting to test your luck with your parents and your empty bedroom. You both walk out of the bar, his arm over your shoulder, both of you giggling as you press your hand into his chest.

“(Y/n)?” A deep voice makes you freeze. Your heart stopping as you refuse to look up. “(Y/n)?” Eddie looks over at the speaker, a man who looks so similar to you, but he’s older, at least 10 years. “Can I help you?” Eddie asks, his hand gripping tighter on your shoulder. You look up and there he is.

It’s happening again.

“Yeah, you can let go of my little sister, creep.” Logan, your oldest brother, glares at Eddie, his eyes sharp and narrow. Eddie slowly lifts his hand from your shoulder, obviously just not wanting to anger the guy who’s nearly twice his size. You sigh, “Logan, he’s fine.” You place your arms over your chest, gripping your arms tightly. Logan looks at you then back at Eddie, “why are you with this guy? Who is he?” Logan steps closer, still on edge.

You take a deep breath. Here we go.

“His name is Eddie,” you tell him, looking up at him, “he’s not a creep, he’s my boyfriend, Logan.” Logan hesitates for a moment, “boyfriend? Since when did you get a boyfriend? Mom and dad know?” He scoffs when you stay silent, “take that as a no,” he looks at Eddie, glancing over his form, his clothes, hair. He’s judging him.

“So what do you do? Besides take my underaged sister to a bar.” You roll your eyes at his question. “His band plays here every week. We didn’t drink, I had a couple glasses of water, Logan.” You glare at him, getting pissed off. Logan hums in response, looking Eddie up and down, “glad you are actually dating a guy,” he speaks, “mom’s gonna be pissed he’s not from church though.”

You think for a moment, then raise a brow, “Why are you here?” Logan hesitates but you speak again before he can reply, “It’s a bar, Logan, if you thought I was drinking but I’m underaged, what am I supposed to think about you? A guy of thirty-three, past the legal drinking age? What is mom gonna think about that?”

You don’t know what got into you. Maybe it was the way your boyfriend was will to embarrass you in front of a decent crowd, maybe how he talked about you to his friends even though your relationship was supposed to be secret. Maybe it’s how he didn’t falter in front of his friends, kept staying near you and showing you love and affection. Maybe it was just… Eddie.

You glance over at the brunette standing next to you, noticing how his eyes never leave your brother, nervous. Sweet Eddie. “Go tell mom.” You suddenly say, Logan looks at you a little shocked. “She was gonna have to find out eventually, at least now I can tell her that her perfect oldest son drinks. She might actually worry about you more than me.”

“Hmm,” Logan hums before continuing to make his way towards the door, stopping right next to you, “you go down, I go down too? I’ll hold you to that.” He makes his way into the bar.

You both drive back to your street with no further problems. Eddie parks his van a street down, turning off the headlights to not get any attention drawn to you both.

“So…” Eddie mumbles out, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, “That was interesting.” You scoff lightly, leaning your head back on the headrest. “I swear, if he rats me out, he’s done for.” Your voice sounds more joking than anything, but you aren’t. “Mom hates alcohol that much?” He chuckles a bit, leaning back against his own seat and looking over at you, a small smile on his lips. “Oh completely. My parents are Baptist, Eds, alcohol is a sin to them, they refuse to even have it in the house.” “Didn’t Jesus like… turn water into wine?” You shrug, “who knows why, I’ve questioned that my entire life.”

“Logan is the oldest, right?” You nod, “yep, fifteen years older than me,” you look over and smile at him. “You mentioned once you didn’t know your brothers that well growing up,” Eddie reaches over and grabs your hand. You take a deep sigh, “yeah, since I was born when Logan was fifteen, Noah, my other brother,” you give his hand a squeeze, “the middle kid, was ten. I was an accident, not planned.”

He runs his thumb over the back of your hand, listening to you. “You know how Christians are, against abortion and all. I was closest to Noah growing up, but even that felt more like a babysitter, not a brother. Logan acts like my brother now that I’m older, but when we were kids, he was just…” you stop, raising his hand up to your lips, placing a soft kiss on his fingers. Eddie moves his hand, letting it cup around your face.

“Angel,” Eddie calls out to you, making you look at him, “It’s gonna be ok.” He gives you a soft smile, which you return. “I love you.” The words slip out of your lips naturally, little butterflies in your stomach.

You don’t know why. You’ve said those words to each other hundreds of time already, but for some reason it feels… different. It’s not just a quick phrase, a sentimental thing you say to make you and him feel good. You mean it. With all of your heart. You love him.

Eddie’s smile grows a bit bigger, “I love you.” His beautiful chocolate brown eyes gaze at you with such love you feel it. You know he means it with everything he has. You could stare at those eyes all day, hopefully one day you can.

In the morning, you sit with your family at breakfast. Your mother plates everyone food, which you help her set the table. “Oh, darling, set up a fourth setting,” your mother instructs you, “Logan is going to be here any minute.” “What?” You turn quickly to her, a tinge of discomfort in your stomach. “Logan. He’s going to be joining-“ The door bell rings.

Oh shit.

“I’ve got it!” Your father gets up and goes to answer the door, “Logan, good to see you, son!” Your oldest brother steps inside the house, hugging your father. “Hey, Pops,” Logan departs from the front door, entering the dinning space, where you stand and your mother brings out some plates and sits them down on the table. “Logan!” Your mother smiles, quickly pulling her oldest child into a hug.

“Hey, Momma, thanks for having me such short notice,” he smiles, parting from her before turning to you, “Hey, (y/n).” He holds out his arms, and you hesitate before hugging him. You don’t want to tip off your mom.

After everyone has a plate at their seat and the table is decorated in platters of pancakes, eggs, grits, and so much more, Momma really went all out, you all take your seats. “So, Logan dear,” your mom smiles at her pride and joy of a child, “we heard about Susan from Cindy at church. Why didn’t you tell us?” You look between your mother and brother, a little confused.

You know Susan, that’s Logan’s wife. You met her a couple times, a little grossed out because she is 23, closer to your age than to Logan’s. You know Cindy to be a gossip at church, her spreading the ‘rumor’— as your mother referred to it—of you kissing Sarah all those years ago.

“What happened with Susan?” You ask, making your mother to turn to you. “She was found sneaking around with Gabriel a couple months ago, apparently the affair has been going on for a year. Your brother here,” she points to Logan, “requested an annulment for the marriage with the state and church because of the adultery.” You can tell from her raising voice she’s furious about the whole affair.

“It was approved last week.” Logan informs you all, “She signed the papers only a couple days ago, no arguments made. I’m letting her keep the house, so I’m gonna get an apartment close by, so thought I’d come visit for a couple days while looking.” Your mother practically gasps with glee at the news, “So you’re gonna be closer to home? How wonderful!”

That’s the last thing you need, another set of eyes out in public watching out for you.

“Isn’t… divorce a sin…?” You ask, not trying to incriminate your brother, not at all, just genuinely confused as to why your mother would allow it, or even be happy about it. “Technically,” your father speaks, your mother finishing for him, “But only without proper cause. That whores affair is proper enough.” You nearly chock on your juice as your mother’s phrasing.

“Momma!” You yell at her, staring at her utterly shocked, “You can’t just-“ “Why not? She cheated on my baby with someone inside the church!” Your father just nods along. You look over at Logan, he’s nearly just as shocked as you are.

“You shouldn’t call her that, Momma,” Logan takes a sip from his coffee, recovering from the display, “She was still my wife.” Your mother looks a little hurt from his intervention, sagging back into her chair as if she’s a toddler being told they have to eat their veggies.

“Your mother is allowed to be upset, Logan,” your father speaks out, looking up at your brother, “just like (y/n) can speak her mind, and you can speak yours.”

Such bullshit. Your opinions never mattered growing up, do they suddenly now because you’re older?

“I need to head out to school,” you explain, standing up and taking your plate. You clean off the dish in the sink, before walking by the table again, hugging your mother and kissing your father’s cheek. “I’ll see you later today.”

The next few days are uneventful, just back and forth with school, your mother bickering you about your future, and your perfect brother hogging the bathroom. Until Saturday.

You sit in your room, changing out of your day clothes and grabbing the nightgown from the basket of clean clothes. The warm air from the weather comes in through your open window, perfectly creating that warmer atmosphere.

“I’d say keep it off.” You jump back from the sudden words spoken out, your eyes immediately darting to the window where your metal head dork of a boyfriend sits halfway in. “You scared me, Eddie…!” You whisper, “you shouldn’t be here, everyone is probably still awake.” He just shrugs at your warning.

“So who’s the car outside? It’s not your dad’s and your mom doesn’t have one herself,” he asks, moving in closer to you, pulling your nightgown from your hands and pulling you to him, your bare chest pressing to his t-shirt. “It’s Logan’s, you dingbat. And if he sees you here he might not be so keen on keeping you a secret.”

“Eh, I’ll be out before anyone notices. Though I should really teach you a thing of two about actual creeps,” he kisses your cheek, his hands pressing to your back, “maybe then you’ll learn to shut your window when you’re changing.” You roll your eyes, “you’re a jerk, Munson.” He chuckles, pushing you back onto your bed, immediately pushing at your knees to frame your legs around his waist, laying into you. “A jerk? Me?” He kisses you softly before traveling little kisses down your neck, “A tease maybe, but never a jerk, Angel.”

Your breathing gets heavy as he moves down your chest, cupping one breast in his hand before taking the other into his mouth. “Eds,” you blush, gripping at his shoulders as his cold fingers graze over your nipple. “Hmm?” “My…” you can’t help but feel your panties start getting wet, “my brother is home, and my family is still awake- mm!” You bite your lower lip, muffling the soft moan that leaves you when his teeth bite down on your hard bud.

“You can be quiet,” Eddie smirks, pulling away from your torso, “Don’t you wanna be a good girl? Be quiet for me?” You hate how he knows that shit works.

He pushes your throw pillows off your bed, pulling back the covers. “Don’t be too loud or we’ll be found, ok?” He goes lower under the sheets, right where you want him, pulling your underwear down your legs. You cover your mouth as you feel his tongue glide across your core, his fingers brushing your folds out of the way. Two digits break your entrance, making you whimper as you grab his long curls with your free hand. “E-Eds…!” You try to be quiet, your body reacting quickly to his actions.

“Go on, let it out, Angel.” His approval sends you over the edge way too soon, your thighs squeezing his head as you finish, gasping for air. Eddie leaves little kitten licks before pulling away from you. “I’m proud of you,” he leans up and kisses your neck, the smell of you very prominent on his lips. “Oh?” You lean into his kisses, just letting him do as he pleases, “why is that?”

“You may have mentioned how people are home or they’re awake, but you haven’t looked at that door once, Angel.” He smiles down at you. And he’s right, you haven’t.

Sure you’ve mentioned worry, but there is no real fear this time. Your body is completely reacting only to Eddie, sweet Eddie. Your Eddie.

“I haven’t have I?” You smile back at him, not even looking now, even though it’s been pointed out to you, “Maybe you’re a bad influence.” Eddie smiles, placing a quick kiss to your lips before stripping himself down bare, fisting himself a little once finished. “Don’t know what you think you’re doing with that without-“

Eddie digs into his jacket pocket before throwing it down and pulls out a condom, holding it up to your face. “I come prepared, my lady, no need to worry.” You hum in response, watching him rip open and roll on the condom. Once it’s on, he quickly holds at your thighs, taking no time to slowly push himself deep into you.

“Not gonna lie, Angel,” he sighs as his cock bottoms out, “I’ve been looking forward to ducking you into your white sheets for months.” You blush as he starts to move, a soft moan leaving you as his hips roll into yours. “Could fuck this pussy all day, like a fucking drug,” he kisses your cheek. You bite your lip trying to not moan, but each thrust presses that perfect spot as he knows your body just all too well.

“Eddie…” you whimper out his name, your ankles crossing behind his back. His thrusts stay slow, sensual, easing you into it as the knot already forms in your stomach. He’s gonna be the death of you one day.

He lays his head on your shoulder, tilting it downward so he can watch the place your bodies intersect, watching his cock thrust in and out of you achingly slow. “Eddie, please,” you mutter out a beg, wanting him to pick up speed, to just put you out of your misery, but he doesn’t. “Not yet, baby girl,” he kisses you once, twice, three time before staring down at you, “gonna fuck you nice a slow, watch you get sensitive before letting you finally cum.”

He does this for a good thirty minutes, making you get testy as you cling to him, wanting him to just fuck you harder. “Eddie, please.” He picks up the pace, thrusting his hips into you a little harder. You gasp, the feeling sending you so close to your climax you have to fully concentrate to not finish. “Eds..!” You grip at his shoulders.

“Go on, Baby, cum for me.” You do, harder than you’ve ever before. Your eyes water, thighs clenching around his hips as you let out the most erotic sounds. After that it only takes him a few more thrusts before he’s whimpering out an orgasm of his own, hiding his face in your hair.

You stay like that for a moment, just both catching your breath. After a few minutes he pulls away, tying the condom and dropping it in the trash can under your desk. He slips back on his boxers before climbing back onto the bed, it shifts under his weight. You turn over to him as he lays next to you, pulling the covers over you both.

“I really enjoyed that.” You speak first, pulling the pillow under your head closer. Eddie smiles at you, his body fully turned in your direction, laying on his side. His hand lifts and pushes a few loose strands of your hair behind your ear, “Yeah?” To which you nod. “I did do,” he follows up.

You feel your cheeks heat up as you hide your face into the pillow, feeling butterflies flutter around in your stomach. “Like, I really liked that,” you hope the tone expresses what you mean. You didn’t just like it, you loved it.

Eddie can’t stop the corners of his mouth from lifting, watching you hide your face, your ears turning red from your flush. He leans over and places a soft kiss against your hair. “I really liked that, too,” he emphasizes the same word and you groan as you curl into your blankets more, making him chuckle.

“Angel,” his hand presses against your bare back, his warm fingers running up and down your bare skin. It’s not sexual, just soft, comforting, like home. “I love you, so fucking much,” his voice falters a bit, immediately gravitating your attention. You snap your head up, seeing his eyes looking so soft, so loving. It makes you wanna cry.

But you don’t, taking in a shaky breath as you shift closer to him, pressing your head against his chest. “I love you, Eddie Munson. So much.” You nuzzle your face into his skin, your hands making their way around his torso, pushing him to lay on his back with you on top of him. “You make me so happy,” you mumble, leaving a couple kisses against his bare chest.

Then your door opens. The creaking of the hinges the first thing you hear before it’s followed with “Darling, do you have-“ your mother’s head pops into the doorframe, your whole world crashing as she makes direct eye contact with you.

The door bursts open, the knob banging into the wall loudly, making you jump. “Momma!” You yell out, pulling the blankets up your shoulders. She does say anything, which is somehow scarier. She just stomps farther in, gripping her fists around your powder blue comforter before yanking it back. Thankfully, Eddie sees this about to happen before you do, and grips tighter at the sheets underneath to keep you just covered.

“What in the hell is this!?” Your mother’s voice booms out, your eyes shutting tight as you flinch at her loud voice. “Momma-“ “No. Don’t ‘Momma’ me! I knew we were being too easy with you! Honey!” She walks back out, stomping her feet angrily, calling out to your father, as she makes her way down the stairs.

You both scurry out of the bed, your heart racing, “no no no no!” You quickly snatch your underwear off the floor slipping them on and following with your nightgown, Eddie doing the same with his jeans and tee. “This is so bad, this is really bad…!” You follow after her as quickly as possible, Eddie following after you.

You reach the bottom of the stairs, booking it into the dining room where your mother is already telling your father, “Momma, please, just listen-!” You feel your eyes watering, genuinely terrified as to what will happen next. “You’re… tramp of a daughter had a boy-” Eddie enters the room and your mother gestures to him aggressively, as if his presence fuels her anger more, “this boy in her room! I found them entangled together!” Your mother looks absolutely mortified.

“Please just let me explain!” You quickly cut in, looking at your father with those little doe eyes you know he can’t deny. Your father sighs, glancing at your mother then back at you then his gaze shifts to behind you, at Eddie. “Explain.” Your mother scoffs at him, “There’s nothing to explain! He’s ruined her! I can’t have another scandal with this family! Logan is already dealing with his divorce!” Your mother’s voice shakes with rage, you can feel her blood boiling from where you stand, “What will the church think?”

Your father sighs. “Sweetheart,” his eyes set on you, the same ones that used to calm you as a child, “Who is this boy?” You hesitate but straighten up your posture, glad to be given the chance. “Daddy,” you reach other to Eddie and grab his arm, pulling him forward, “This is Eddie, he’s my boyfriend.” Your mother lets out a cold laugh at this, but says nothing.

Your father takes a deep breath but before he can speak, a voice draw the attention of everyone in the room. “Oh, hey, Eddie? Good to see you again, man.”

Logan steps into the room, walking straight up to Eddie, taking his hand in his own and shaking it. “I didn’t know you were meeting everyone tonight.” He looks over at you, obviously a little confused.

“I-“ Eddie goes to speak, but your mom interrupts him. “I found him in your sister’s room, Logan. In her bed!” Logan tries not to show any drastic emotions to this news, but you catch his eye twitch. “Ah, yeah I can see where you’d consider that a problem,” he rubs the back of his neck.

“You know this boy, son?” Your father asks, pointing to Eddie, but his eyes fixed on your brother. “Yeah,” Logan speaks, looking at you one more time before shifting his gaze to your nervous boyfriend, “met him a while ago, he’s a good kid.” He pats Eddie’s shoulder. “Found out he was dating (y/n) not too long ago. They make a cute couple don’t they?” He smiles at you.

Your father looks Eddie over, “You believe in God, boy?” “Yes, sir.” Eddie speaks up decently fast, not taking any chances, but you know damn well his belief is questionable. Then the older man looks back at you, his eyes physically softening.

Your father’s always had a sweet spot for you, getting defensive when your mother would beat you for stupid things. You’re his ‘god’s blessing,’ probably the only person in this house to feel that way. And that’s what made you favor him over your mother.

“Does he treat you right? Doesn’t hit you or anything?” You smile at him, “No, sir, he’s kind and sweet. Treats me well.” You keep it simple and straight to the point. He looks back over at Eddie before continuing, “Do you love ‘em?” “Ha!” Your mother laughs, “love him? Honey, she doesn’t know-” “Yes.” You cut her off, your arms squeezing tighter on Eddie’s, “love him with all my heart, Daddy.”

Your father sighs. “If Logan thinks he’s good enough I don’t see why we should have a problem with him.” Your mother squeaks, flabbergasted by your father’s words, “because he was in her bed? This is a Christian household! I will not let a teen pregnancy tarnish this family!” “You use condoms?” The question was directed at Eddie this time, making you both flush red. “Y-Yes, sir.” “Then that’s that.” Your father stands, coming over and patting Eddie on the shoulder, “nice to meet you, Eddie,” before walking out of the room, your mother chasing after him.

You, Eddie, and Logan all stand there for a moment, a little shook after the very direct question. Logan speaks first, turning to you both. “You two are fucking stupid.” He speaks through his teeth, but he’s not angry, he’s trying not to laugh, “my God, really? At home? Come on.” He lets out a soft chuckle. “I better get something from that talk, cause Jesus save me, that was awful.” “I’ll get you a free drink at the Hideout,” Eddie follows quietly, which you just look at him. “Deal. After that shit show, I’ll fucking need it, but that’s just your payment,” Logan turns to you, “you owe me, kid. Jesus, now you know why I drink.”

Tag list:

@cagethemunson @spikeybatt @cherrycolas-things

@r-a-d-i-0-n-0-w-h-e-r-e

[earl-grey-teacake]

Oh Logan being a little teddy bear is so cute! I can just imagine George putting him in Mercedes gear (Toto approved of course) only for Williams to go nuh uh that's our baby boy Logie he's a Williams boy and pull a Williams beanie onto his head. Logan smiles and laughs when they do giving everyone evidence that of course he prefers Williams (Alex is so smug about it)

Meanwhile on the otherside Oscar would definitely never ever wear anything Ferrari. He'd puke all over anything red leaving Ferrari both insulted and betrayed to have lost a fight over a baby with MClaren

I can imagine being put in a cute teddy bear onesie that has little bear ears on them.

George would absolutely put him in Mercedes gear-onesie, jacket, hat, the whole nine yards. Logan is perfectly happy with it. He likes that he matches George and the team dotes on him. They think he's the cutest but Logan can only give a shy smile before hiding his face. He also clings tightly to George as he goes around the garage to show off Logan's new outfit.

However, the moment Logan is returned to Williams, the cap is taken off and replaced with a beanie by Alex. His reasoning is that "George isn't being fair since Alex is a Williams driver and Logan should represent that too." Beanies are also softer and can fit Logan's head a lot better than the cap. Logan is ecstatic and Alex takes it at Logan rooting for Williams. By the time George comes back to get Logan, he has already been changed into Williams merch since he accidentally spits up milk on his Mercedes clothes.

I can see Oscar preferring Papaya orange over red. Oscar also stays at McLaren more and he prefers the vibe there over Ferrari. He finds the Ferrari garage quite stressful due to the sheer amount of people there (and their strategy during the race). On the weekends, Oscar is head to toe in orange. He gets his own little room that has a playmat and crib for him along with a closet full of Mclaren merch. Ferrari tried putting their merch in there but that was quickly rejected.

If Oscar is forced into clothes he doesn't like, he pulls at them, cries, screams, and overall just throws a full-on fit. Oscar makes his feelings known about the matter despite Carlos's desire to put him in a Ferrari jacket.

Oscar, however, will happily take Logan's merch and try to get Logan to wear McLaren merch. Once when they were in Oscar's room, Oscar had taken Logan's Williams beanie and tried to replace it with a Mclaren one. Though the two of them are a bit too uncoordinated to put on a beanie. If you've seen a baby try to put on a beanie you know what I'm talking about, they are not good at it.

Thank you for sending this ask! It was super cute!

Feel free to ask any asks you guys have in mind! :)

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

Kendall Roy angst or fluff with scenario m (keeping the relationship a secret) please

Illicit Affair.

m. Keeping the relationship a secret

Author's Note - this is a drabble written as part of my 500 Followers Celebration!! find that post here if you're interested. my baby kendall - all i want for him is a happy ending :( sorry lukas, but kennys my boy <3

Pairing - Kendall Roy x Matsson!Female Reader

Age Rating - 18+

Warnings - cursing, cheating

Word Count - 650

Masterlist. 500 Follower Celebration Masterlist.

You're practically vibrating with anticipation.

The Roys are coming to the annual retreat in Norway to attempt to finalise the GoJo deal with your husband, Lukas.

In approximately 20 minutes, you're going to be face to face with Kendall Logan Roy.

The love of your life.

Admittedly, having an affair with one of your husbands business rivals wasn't on your to-do list. However, the first time you met Kendall, you knew it was inevitable.

You are irreversibly, undeniably, completely illicitly in love with a man who's not your husband.

It's been surprisingly easy to sneak around. Bathrooms, back rooms, offices with the blinds closed. Fleeting touches, momentary eye contact, silent communication. Every time Kendall looks at you, he lights your nerve endings on fire.

You both know it's doomed to fail. You'll have to end it privately, or you'll get caught and have to end it publicly. It doesn't stop you, though.

The Roys arrive, and you all go about formal greetings and passive aggressive hellos. The entire time, Kendall's eyes are locked on you, completely unflinching. Your husband is too preoccupied to notice the man looking at his wife like she hung the stars in the sky.

Kendall nods his head subtly, signalling in the direction of the bedrooms. You tap your watch, giving him a signal - wait for me. He grabs his bags and goes to unpack, while you mill around, waiting for your chance to leave.

Finally, the small talk dies down, and you find your opportunity.

"I'm going to go and catch up with a few of their team," you tell Lukas. "Haven't seen them in a while."

He knows you're fairly friendly with people like Jess, as you've seen her often. He doesn't question it, just presses a kiss to your cheek distractedly, walking off to talk to Gerri and Frank.

You slink down the hallways, practically running to Kendall's door. You barely knock once before it swings open, strong arms pulling you inside.

Kendall cradles your face in his hands, and looks at you carefully.

"Hi," he whispers, breaking out into a grin.

"Hi, yourself," you whisper back, smiling like a madwoman.

He pulls you into his arms, his warmth seeping into your skin. He smells like musk and fresh soap and that cologne you gifted him for his birthday last year.

"Missed you," you murmur into his chest, tightening your grip.

"I missed you," he replies into your hair. "So fucking much."

"Don't leave it so long next time," you beg. "I'm going insane here without you."

"I'm sorry, honey" he mutters, pulling back to look at you. "Everything's been fucking crazy."

You throw your arms around his neck, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.

"I'm sorry about your dad, Ken," you say against his mouth. "He was the fucking worst, but he was still your father."

"Finally," he chuckles. "Someone who gets it."

He kisses you harder this time, one hand tangling in your hair. The other caresses your cheek, thumb stroking soothing circles.

"Promise me something."

"Anything, sweetheart. Anything."

"Whatever happens with this shit - promise me it won't affect us. I'm not losing you over a fucking business deal, Ken," you plead.

He smiles gently - a rare and beautiful sight.

"You are the only thing in this entire world that I am sure of," he reassures. "I don't give a fuck about this deal, or your husband. I care about you. Just you."

You kiss him in reply, lost in the way you fit together so perfectly. You're like two pieces of the same puzzle, twin flames that have finally found each other.

"I swear, when this is over, I'm moving you to New York. It'll be me and you against the world."

You must look unsure, because he continues.

"Fuck the rest of them."

"Fuck the rest of them," you grin. "Me and you against the world, Kendall Roy."

[praetoravila]

can i have this dance?

a/n: this drabble takes place during big time dance! for context, instead of logan trying to ask camille out the entire episode, he tries to ask olive out but she's too busy with the planning of her quinceañera which is the same night as the dance. she's a lil disappointed that the boys can't come bc of them being on the dance committee but the biggest disappointment comes from her parents. @ceruleanmusings is to blame for this drabble somehow growing legs and turning into a proper ficlet. oh! and olive’s dress is the one that sarah cushing wears in the quinceañera episode of superman and lois. hope you all enjoy!

taglist: @raging-violets @myloveforhergoeson @ceruleanmusings @nolanhollogay @bibaybe @daughter-of-melpomene @selangkir @happinessismagicc @joshdiaz

the dance was in full swing when olive showed up. it was a little bit after 9:30pm, and she waved wren's concerned looks off as she made her way into rocque records, her extravagant ball gown dragging on the floor.

so what her quinceañera had sucked? so what her parents hadn't show up?

again.

it was totally, completely fine. she didn't need them or some stupid party to signify her turning 15. she could focus on prom instead and find her friends and have fun for the first time this night.

she stumbled through the hallway, passing by james and kendall who were bickering about something while jo watched on, a soft smile on the blonde's face. carlos was dancing with the jennifers and olive bit back a laugh at how ridiculous he looked.

finally she entered the big ballroom, where most of their classmates were. she scanned her eyes over the crowd of excited students before she found the one she was looking for.

logan was standing by the punch bowl, dressed in a simple black suit. his hair was spiked up with more product than usual. he looked cute. hell. he looked hot, leaning against the wall like that.

"hey." olive said as she walked up to him. logan's eyes bugged out of his head as he took her look in. "whoa."

"yeah. wren insisted that i get all dressed up for my quinceañera. it was stupid. i didn't even end up staying." she shook her head, the loose strands of hair falling in her face.

logan tucked one strand behind her ear. "i'm sorry we couldn't be there." he said quietly, and olive shrugged. "wasn't worth it anyways. rafael and mara didn't show up."

logan frowned at olive's causal use of her parents first names. "really?"

"yeah. i'm used to the disappointment though. it sucked that i didn't get the chance to dance at all." she said, looking down at her feet.

she was still wearing the heels that wren had practically forced her into. logan's body shifted closer to her, and she looked up at him, the sudden realization that with her heels on, she fit perfectly under his chin.

"well since you didn't get to dance at your quinceañera, can i have this dance olive pasqualina?" as if on cue, the music changed from an upbeat pop song to a soft ballad that olive remembered from the third high school musical movie that she had watched a few years ago.

"take my hand, take a breath pull me close and take one step..."

olive bit down on her lip as she nodded, letting logan grab one hand and place it on his shoulder, the other grabbing his fingers and intertwining them with hers. his left hand ended up on her hip.

slowly, they began spinning around towards the centre of the dance floor, ignoring everyone else around them, unsure but steady. she stumbled for a second and logan caught her, their chests flushed against each other. she looked up, her heart pounding.

"it's one in a million the chances of feeling the way we do and with every step together we just keep on getting better so can i have this dance?"

zac efron and vanessa hudgens crooned in the background as olive felt time slow down as logan leaned down to kiss her.

it wasn't the kind of kiss you saw in movies. it was slightly awkward from the angle that she had to crane her neck, and logan's lips were chapped and rough and jesus did he smell like 'cuda cologne - winter's edge her brain supplied, remembering it from one of james' many useless rants, but it was a first kiss.

it was a pretty damn good one if olive thought so herself.

they pulled apart, and olive's stomach flipped with butterflies inside. it was ridiculous she thought to herself. logan looked equally as shocked.

"we just kissed." he said matter of factly, like he couldn't quite believe it.

“was that your first kiss?” olive asked, and the blush on logan’s face told her everything she needed to know. the brunette boy nodded slowly, and olive could feel those stupid butterflies rising again.

“it was a good one.” logan said with a soft smile. “i’d be willing to have you be my second. if you are?”

she could feel her face becoming equally as red as she shifted closer again.

“yeah. i am.”

logan’s fingers gently grasped her jaw as he leaned in, and olive breathed in his cologne as she lost herself to the feeling of his lips against hers again.

maybe her quinceañera hadn’t been a total bust.

[angeldrawsstuffs]

So something is definitely up with Mrs. Castillo, right?

Like, in the sets she’s depicted dreamcrafting with an hourglass, she just generally seems to be way too chill with the Dream Chasers openly discussing the Dream World in front of her, seems to take a more active role in the Dream World than other dreamers we see, AND her comment in “Sound of Sirens” about recognizing the Dream World.

My first thought was that maybe she’s Lunia? This doesn’t exactly work with my theory about Logan being Lunia’s kid, which I believe more in, but I do want to tease this idea for a moment, even if it’s just a crack theory.

If we go with the idea Lunia was as old as, or even a little older than Oz during the Nightmare King’s first imprisonment, Mrs. Castillo would be the right age for her to be Lunia. Not to mention she has a similar loose curl pattern to Lunia, just shorter.

Speaking of her design, look at her dress. We don’t see it often in the show because she’s almost always in her food truck, but her character image shows the full thing

Lotus flowers, which symbolize rebirth, purity, enlightenment, and strength, all of which are pretty good descriptors for Lunia based on what we know of her and how the Night Bureau as a whole saw her. Not to mention her design is primarily blue with whites and yellows (and that one splash of green on her scarf), a color palette that basically matches up almost perfectly with Lunia.

One problem: Mrs. Castillo isn’t an aware dreamer, so how could she be Lunia? Easy: the price she paid to stop the Nightmare King and create the Grim Realm to trap him wasn’t her life, but her memories, her dreamcrafting, and her aware dreaming.

With the implication in S2 the Night Bureau never actually learned who Lunia was in the Waking World, it would make total sense for her to be right under Oz, Beau, and Hannah’s noses the whole time without any of them realizing because, even if they did run into her, she would have no memory of who they are, and that might be enough to rule her out for the Brooklyn Branch, even if there are other similarities. And, if she did lose her memories, it fits well with the themes introduced in S2.

As a final piece of evidence, her last name, “Castillo”, means “castle”. You know, maybe like Castle Nocturnia? The only castle we know of in the series aside from the Grimkeep?

Honestly, writing it all down right now I’m so torn between this theory and the Logan one. Or, who knows? Maybe it’s technically both and my updated theory in light of “Romancing the Spear” throwing a huge wrench into the timeline of Logan potentially being Lunia’s kid is correct. That kind of a theory would probably go like:

When Lunia created the Grim Realm, her body and soul remained, just without her dreamcrafting or memories of the Dream World. Meanwhile, part of her power remained in the Dream World, overtime forming into who we now know as Logan (after all, S1’s finale and S2 E10 show us that pure imagination power can do unbelievable things), thus making both theories true at once.

I’m a bit iffy on the above combined theory, especially since Logan hasn’t been shown with any specific connections to Mrs. Castillo like one may expect if it were true, so it probably is one or the other. Again, I’m more leaning towards the Logan theory, but there’s a weird amount of evidence pointing to Mrs. Castillo at least having a connection to Lunia.

Anyway, that’s enough rambling from me! Let me know what y’all think about this!

[myloveforhergoeson]

That's All She Wrote - Chapter 30

Chapter Index

Find me on wattpad + ao3!

Chapter 30: Kiss Me (2.10) ~ 12k

Carlos wanted a girlfriend. Badly. Desperately.

Inherently, there was no issue with that, though one could call the methods in which he went about obtaining one quite orthodox. As in, confiding in Logan, who told Kendall, who told James, who told Roxy. Normally, there wasn’t a quadruple authentication factor when asking someone out, but there all four of them were, putting Kendall’s ridiculous plan in place for Carlos to impress the new girl at the Palm Woods, Kiyoko. 

A Big Time Rush scheme to get a girlfriend? Roxy figured there was about a 50/50 shot of them actually pulling this off. Considering she was already dating one of them, she should at least have a little bit of faith. 

“This is Tree Hat. I repeat, this is Tree Hat,” Kendall whispered into the walkie-talkies the four boys and Katie shared. The pool served as the ideal location for them to pull their plan off but separated them enough to warrant means of immediate long-distance communication. “Is everybody in position?”

From behind one of the big, blue cabanas, Roxy clutched onto Logan’s arm and looked back over her shoulder. Her friend was situated behind one of the many planters outside with his hat on, peering their way with a pair of binoculars, waiting for their response. While she held her thumb up for a moment to answer his question, she slowly drew it to her throat and drew a line across her skin, sticking her tongue out. 

Kendall flipped her off in response. 

“Helpless old lady and clueless granddaughter, ready!” Logan answered into his walkie-talkie, vocalizing his role in the plan.

After thoroughly raiding Mrs. Knight’s closet and Camille’s endless costume wardrobe, the five teens had found enough items to combine into the perfect helpless old lady disguise. A churchy dress, a nice knit sweater, ugly little loafers, and a graying wig sold the look they were planning on placing their assistant in. Only, the dress and shoes hadn’t fit her, one far too long and the other far too big, to sell the role they’d needed. Also, the purse they’d dug up didn’t go with the outfit at all. There's no way she’d be caught dead without a matching bag. So, her part was handed off to the next best person - Logan. And he played one hell of a helpless old lady.

Roxy had been demoted to clueless granddaughter, which she felt fit perfectly, considering she didn’t know what having a grandmother was like. From what she’d heard from Jo, the bond between a grandmother and her granddaughter was like no other; If she could pick anyone to fill that role for her, she supposed Logan was better than nothing. 

“Purse snatcher good to go,” Her boyfriend whispered into the radio, making her jolt at the sound. James was situated on the opposite side of the pool in a daunting all-black outfit, ready to grab the ugly bag off of Logan’s arm. They’d time their encounter just right in order for it to happen in front of Kiyoko,  who was suntanning in one of many lounge chairs outside, where Carlos would swoop in and save the day. Logan had brought up some love-science reason it would make her fall in love with him, but the words he’d used were too big and too fancy for the rest of them to grasp. Instead, Roxy’d managed to translate It’s just so heroic! Like something out of one of my romance novels!

The water of the pool in front of them calmly lapped as they waited for the rest of the group to confirm their positions.

“Flowers are locked and loaded,” The speaker crackled, Katie’s voice coming through now, and Roxy watched from her and Logan’s hiding spot as the young girl placed a large, colorful flower bouquet on the table closest to where Kiyoko was relaxing. 

Kendall chimed in again, “Copy that. Operation Get Carlos A Girlfriend is underway.” 

 From the side of the planter, Carlos emerged, helmetless and in a handsome sky-blue button-up he’d stolen out of James’ closet. Though he was clutching his hands together and knitting his brow, he had a fierce determination in his eyes which his assistant could spot a mile away. It was the same face he made while working out a complicated dance routine on stage.

Punch out the mugger, give Granny her purse back, then grab the flowers and give them to the pretty girl. Roxy recited Kendall’s plan in her head, trying to mentally will her thoughts into Carlos’ brain as she and Logan rounded the corner and began to walk down the edge of the pool at Kendall’s bird call of a signal. 

“Oh, I’m so old and frail!” Logan coughed out, pitching his voice about two octaves higher than normal, “Could you hold my purse, Roxanne, darling, it’s just so heavy because it’s full of money!”

The assistant rolled her eyes at his terrible acting but nodded her head and accepted the bag in order to play along. It’s not like she was any better at it than he was. “Of course, Granny, here let me-” 

At that moment, James came sprinting down the stretch of the pool deck in his mugger outfit, which sent Roxy’s heart into overdrive. With a midnight black balaclava over his face, she could hardly recognize him, and he was always just a little too invested in his roles thanks to his stint in community theater in Duluth and his acting courses with Camille last year. 

Ugh. That managed to snap the girl out of her moment of panic. 

“Give me that purse!” He cried, attempting to snatch it from Roxy. Unfortunately for him, now fueled by her unwanted thoughts of James and Camille hanging out together, she tugged it right back. 

Sure, they’d talked it over, but that didn’t exactly alleviate how much it still bothered her.

“Stop it! Help us!” Logan cried, though he did manage to poke Roxy in the side when he realized she was struggling for the purse, trying to remind her of her place in their plan. 

But still, she didn’t relent, going back and forth with her boyfriend over the purse she told herself she’d never be seen with until Carlos landed on the scene, triumphantly announcing, “Don’t worry, ladies! I’ll save you!”

When he got his hands on the purse James and Roxy were fighting over, he tugged it straight up into the air with such force, that the two of them stumbled into each other, losing their grip on the bag. 

For what it was worth, there were worse places for Roxy to be thrown than into her boyfriend’s arms; Namely, the pool one foot to her right. She nearly forgot they were putting on a show as she allowed her cheek to linger on his solid chest for a moment, the thought of Camille completely obliterated as James caught her.

“Thank you so much!” Granny Logan beamed, right before Carlos sent a right hook directly into his cheek. 

The girl gasped, one hand flying over her mouth as her brows shot to her hairline. Carlos had mixed up the parts James and Logan were playing, making a fatal mistake. When she worked up the courage to peek over at Kiyoko, the new girl was sat up in her chair, jaw practically on the floor at the sight of a stranger taking out a defenseless old woman. 

But, Carlos didn’t recognize his mistake at all, diving for the gorgeous bouquet Katie had placed on the table beside Kiyoko’s chair. 

Uh, oh.

Without thinking, he passed the flowers off to Robber James, who nearly dropped them because he was too busy trying to steady his girlfriend and then proudly presented the snatched purse to Kiyoko with a blindingly white smile. A few seconds of silence washed over the pool area, considering the band, their assistant, and Katie had caused quite a stir, before Kiyoko let out a bloodcurdling scream and dashed off toward the hotel lobby. 

“Yeah, we probably should’ve rehearsed more…” Kendall trailed off into the walkie-talkie, voice ringing unpleasantly in everyone's ears while Carlos tried far too late to correct his mistake. 

Eagerly, he wrestled the bouquet out of James’ hands and held them out to Logan, now sporting quite the shiner on his jaw, breathing out an unimpressed, “Really?” 

The trek back up to apartment 2-J with a now depressed Carlos was less than pleasant considering all the moaning and groaning leaving the poor boy’s mouth, but on the way up James had taken off his mask and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend’s waist. Cheesily, he presented her with the flowers they’d bought for their little scheme and she happily accepted, pressing a kiss to his cheek and imagining how cute they’d look on her writing desk. 

But, that happiness managed to dissolve the minute Carlos flopped onto the large, orange sectional in the living room, declaring, “I’m never gonna get a girlfriend!” 

While Logan retreated to his room to change, Carlos slammed a fist down onto the cushion, accidentally hitting the TV remote and flipping it on. 

“And do you have a girlfriend?” The news anchor on the screen asked, with what could only be the most inopportune timing. 

“No!” The boy shouted, alarming his friends with his sheer intensity.

James kept his hold on Roxy tight though, immediately perking up to watch the program, while she rearranged a few of the bright flowers in the bouquet. Whoever had picked them up at the store across the street had done a phenomenal job, the bright pastel colors complimented each other very well, and the delicious scent wafting off of them was almost heavenly. 

“Then take her to see the movie Kiss and Tell, which opens tonight!”

“They made Kiss and Tell into a movie?!” Roxy whirled her head around to face the television, now also very invested in what critic Leonard Siskel had to say during his movie corner segment of the news. “That’s one of my favorite books!”

Now, it wasn’t lost on her how James leaned in to hear the program better. 

“It’s the story of a lawyer too busy for love and a down-and-out chef with a recipe for romance. It’s a film so romantic that if you’re not smooching in the aisles, you’re dead… or alone!” 

Siskel’s words sent Carlos into another spiral, spinning around so he was face down on the couch to let out a pained cry. 

Always quick to launch into action at the sight of someone in need, Kendall rushed over to take the remote from his hopeless friend and turn the device off. “If you sit here feeling sorry for yourself, you’re never gonna find a girlfriend!” 

“But I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!” Carlos shot back. “I’m lovable.” 

Taking one of the brightest yellow tulips from the bundle she held, Roxy walked over and handed it to him, rubbing his shoulders gently from behind the couch. “While true, is not the only important thing to look for in a partner.” 

From the breakfast bar, James added, “You’re so right, babe!”

“Which is why,” Kendall rolled his eyes, but bounced off his assistant’s statement, “You have to keep looking! A girlfriend’s not just gonna walk in the door and say, ‘Hey, let’s go on a date tonight!’”

The front door opened as he finished his sentence and Jo gracefully entered the apartment with a gigantic smile on her face and two pieces of paper in hand. “Hey! Let’s go on a date tonight!”

Carlos gawked at her, weakly pointing a finger her way while his jaw went slack. Without interruptions, Kendall’s inspirational speeches usually served her and the band well, but today seemed to be full of horrible timings after horrible timings.  “Okay, bad example!” His friend cut in before Carlos managed to complain again, but the helmet wearer did let out an exasperating scream as Roxy kept rubbing his shoulders. He sure was tense under James’ soft button-up. 

“I printed out two tickets for Kiss and Tell.” The actress shared, striding over to her boyfriend to show him the tickets she’d purchased online. “Pop Tiger gave it five smooches on their make-out meter…”

“Out of ten smooches!” his assistant lied to try and make Carlos feel better. Though, while she thought back to the contents of the book she’d read a few months ago, she felt the back of her neck begin to heat. Is it possible to earn six smooches?

And honestly, she was a bit jealous of Jo and Kendall. They’d blown their relationship wide open to the public eye after an unfortunate run-in with Jett Stetson, a llama, a jar of peanut butter, and a stupid scheme of the teen actor’s to make it appear to the general population as though he and Jo were together. With some quick thinking on her friends’ part, they had been able to thwart Jett’s plan and earn themselves a spot on all the major magazine covers as one of the ”hottest young couples in Hollywood.” 

Jo Taylor and Kendall Knight - A popular actress and a popular singer. Of course, it made sense for them to be together.

But a popular singer and an unknown songwriter… It probably wasn’t a good idea for James and Roxy to be seen making out at a movie like Kiss and Tell in the middle of Los Angeles. Though she loved being with him, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to be talked about in this week’s celebrity news cycle just yet. 

I’ll have to ask James if we can hit a midnight showing in the next town over or something…

“Roxy?” 

Someone calling her name pulled the writer out of her head, and when she turned around from where she stood behind the couch, Katie was standing in the middle of the hallway trying to get the writer’s attention. 

Sending a wave the young girl’s way, Roxy cocked her head to the side, “What’s up?”

Katie shot a glance at the room in front of her, slowly taking note of all the people gathered in their living room. Usually, that wasn’t an issue - the Crib was always hustling and bustling with her big brother, roommates, and their large collection of friends - but something about it seemed to annoy her today. “I heard some scratching in the wall connecting our apartments just now. Have you heard anything lately?”

Just the thought of something crawling around in her walls was enough to send Roxy flying past Katie and into 2-H as quickly as possible. Back in Duluth, she and her father had their fair share of disgusting vermin making home in their insulation over the years. The two of them loved living right on the edge of the forest, but that did cause a whole host of issues with the local wildlife. 

As disgusting as she thought it was, she needed to confirm what Katie had said, tag the approximate location in the walls, and arrange for Buddha Bob to handle it as soon as possible or she wouldn’t be getting a good night's sleep for quite a while. By the time the girl reached her kitchen, mild jitters were setting in as she reached a shaking hand into her mini backpack to grab her phone and call her dad for advice. 

When she pressed her ear to the wall, clutching her phone while trying to isolate any squeaking, clawing, or gnawing, all she caught was the sound of the door connecting her apartment to the boys’ slamming shut. Ouch.

“So… um,” Apparently, it had been Katie, not her boyfriend like she assumed, who followed her into the apartment, slowly dragging her feet as she moved into the kitchen where her friend had her ear practically slammed into the wall. “There’s-”

“Shh!” Roxy hushed her, dragging a finger to her lips, “We need to find the-”

“There’s no critter. I lied,” The girl said, joining the songwriter in the small space. Her tone of voice shifted, something meek and timid, which was completely unlike the conniving, cunning person she was. Both she and Kendall usually flew on the same type of optimism and confidence, proving they could do anything they set their minds to, but the slump of her shoulders and anxious pulling of her hair told the writer Katie was feeling far different than usual.

That scared Roxy more than anything. 

Slowly, she pulled her ear away from the wall as Katie continued. 

“I know you don’t like gross things and I wanted to talk to you alone. So… Sorry.” 

Katie’s gaze locked onto the bright blue card hung up on Roxy’s fridge; James had tacked Mag’s invitation to Brand New Day’s album release party there after pulling it out of her garbage can. 

“That’s twice you’ve done this to me now - You know you can just tell me you want to talk upfront, right?” Roxy asked, slowly leaning onto the wall beside her and realizing that probably wasn’t the first thing she should have said to Katie’s confession. “Just keep that in mind for next time… Is something going on?” 

“Yes… and no. Nothing bad I swear!” Katie held her hands up in the air as if she were proclaiming her innocence. “It’s just embarrassing… Had to work my way up to it… And I didn’t want the guys to worry if I pulled you aside. You know how they are.”

Finally, a small huff of a laugh escaped the writer’s lips. “You’re pretty lucky to have four caring older brothers.” 

At Roxy’s words, Katie’s eyes widened before she quickly crossed her arms and looked down at the floor. “Whatever. That doesn’t matter when you’re looking for some girl-talk… or whatever.” 

“Well, good for you I’m a girl who loves to talk,” Roxy smiled. Taking a step forward toward the kitchen table, she pulled out one of the chairs, plopped down with her chin in her hand, and motioned to the seat across the way. 

Though seemingly reluctant, Katie took a hesitant breath before joining her friend at the table. The small, red watch encircling her wrist ticked and ticked, filling the silent apartment. “Remember what we talked about in Minnesota?”

How could I ever forget? Roxy thought, but nodded all the same. “After your date with Ray? Of course, I do.”

Now knowing this conversation was about dating and relationships, and not anything more serious, the writer felt her shoulders fall. In turn, the girl in front of her looked a bit more relieved. 

“Well… There’s this new guy who just moved in, Kyle, and I’ve seen him at the pool a few times with his comic books and Nintendo DS. Every time I’ve tried to go up and talk to him my palms get really sweaty and my heart races and I end up just running back up to the apartment.” 

At the moment, Roxy was beginning to feel the same of the same symptoms her young friend had been describing - Excited for her and a potential foray into the world of romance. She had to bite the inside of her cheek not to bombard her with a million questions and Katie continued. 

“He’s usually down there at this time and I told myself I’d talk to him today, but I need a confidence boost. Can I borrow some of your makeup?” 

Roxy blinked. “What?” 

Katie Knight, the most confident person Roxy knew, was looking for assurance through cosmetics? That certainly came straight out of left field. 

“Just some of the stuff you put on your cheeks and eyes or maybe even your lips? James is always telling you how pretty you look in all that.”

He better think I’m pretty without it…

After sharing such vulnerable feelings and communicating how hard it was to work her way up to that question, the last thing Roxy wanted to do was make Katie feel uncomfortable or unashamed. She was almost thirteen years old; That was around the time Roxy had started to grow interested in makeup as well, but her father didn’t allow it until she was in high school. Could Mrs. Knight have similar feelings? 

“Katie, I don’t mind sharing at all!” Roxy shared, earnestly, wondering if this overwhelming urge to say yes to anything the girl asked was what it was like to have siblings. “But in exchange is it alright if I ask you something?” 

The young Knight nodded, still playing with the watch around her wrist. 

“Are you just curious about makeup because you think it’s cool or because you think the new guy will like you better if you wear it?” 

Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, Katie considered the question for a few moments. “Dunno… Maybe a little bit of both? Mom says I don’t need any and I think that made me want to try some out more than anything. I don’t like being told what I can and can’t do.” Her chair slowly creaked as she squirmed around before standing up. “Just forget it, it was a stupid question anyway.”

“No, no!” The writer shot up from her seat, “Not at all, Katie. You can always come and ask me anything. I do want to be honest with you, though; If the new guy only likes you because you’re wearing makeup he is so not worth your time... How about we find a balance? A little blush and some lip gloss and you bring your own comics and DS - Would that make you feel more confident?” 

While she did mean every one of her words, Roxy worried that her offer to compromise might make it sound like she agreed with Mrs. Knight on the makeup front… Even if she truly did, there was nothing wrong with a little bit of experimentation here and there. 

“It would,” Katie agreed, finally looking at her friend instead of her bright blue Converse. “But maybe you can take me to the drug store sometime this week and I can get my own? And we don’t tell my mom?” 

“Only if you tell me everything about this mystery boy! Now, let’s go see what we can dig up in my makeup organizer… Are you more of a neutral-tone girl or a sparkles girl?” 

“No idea… But I’m happy to find out together.” 

***

J: Katie told you she had a crush on a boy and all you did was let her borrow some makeup?

The text from James set the alarm tone on Roxy’s phone off, interrupting her as she scribbled out what she could remember of the lyric set she had come up with not long after her friend had left her apartment. With cheeks just a little rosier and lips just a little shiner, the pair had come to the conclusion that Katie was ready to meet the new boy, but she wanted to do it on her own terms. 

If James was texting her about it, Roxy could only assume the last part of their plan had backfired. 

R: Mind your own business!

J: It is my business! Why aren’t you down here helping her talk to him?

R: Because she’s very capable of doing that on her own

J: All she was doing was sitting around watching him through a pair of binoculars. She would have never actually talked to him without my help!

Oh, God. Roxy thought, snapping the book on the comforter below her shut. I need to get him out of there.

Immediately, she switched out of their text chat and called him, feeling her heart rate spike about twice as fast as it should have been. Katie was already having a hard enough time working out her own pre-teen feelings; She certainly didn’t need a Flirting 101 class from James Diamond. 

He picked up on the first ring, “Babe?”

“I just found this new cherry lip gloss-”

“Say less. Be at 2-H in a minute.” 

Before she hung up the phone, thrilled her plan of distraction worked, Roxy could hear the pounding of his footsteps on the pool deck and someone hissing, “What?!” and heavily stuttering whatever else they were trying to say just as the line went dead.

In the minute - give or take - she’d give him to come knocking on her door, she quickly swiped on some of the product she’d found, flicked on her tape player, and reopened her songbook to see if she could recover any of what she was planning to put down. 

On the page in front of her, the red ink practically jumped off the paper, swirling the words around as she tried to make sense of what she’d written. Though she’d been calling the work “Got Something” in her head, it wasn’t as catchy as she’d liked, and aside from a few short lyric ideas, a good deal of heart doodles around them, and a crappy drawing of Jupiter in the corner, her work in progress was just that - in progress. 

A few seconds and a silly I’ve got a big time crush on you! line scribbled out later, James did, in fact, bust down the door to her apartment.

“Songbird?” He called from the entryway, sounding majorly out of breath despite his profound athleticism as his voice cracked on the last syllable of her name.

It was difficult for her to contain the giggle escaping her lips while she felt the back of her neck heat, tossed her songbook over to her desk, and shimmied to the edge of her bed. “In here!” 

 The next few seconds flew by like a flash - James practically sprinting to her room and catching himself on her doorframe, goofily smiling when he found his girlfriend inside. “Hey, beautiful.” 

Now, Roxy couldn’t stop herself from laughing, as cheesy as it was his words always got to her, making her so bashful it bubbled up and boiled over the surface. “Hey, yourself.” 

Blue, blue t-shirt fit snugly across his chest as he leaned forward on the frame, “Cherry…  You’re sure it’s cherry?”

“Yes!” 

In an instant, he was in front of her, hands on her cheeks, gently laying her back on the mattress, as his lips found hers. The taste was just as sweet as they’d hoped. 

For a plan to get him out of spending time with Katie while she figured out her Kyle situation, this was one of the more brilliant schemes Roxy had come up with, she thought, while her hands sunk into James’ soft hair, indulging in the moment they shared. 

Despite his strength and large frame, James was always careful with her, making sure even in the most heated of make-out sessions he never made Roxy caged or uncomfortable. This time was no different, even as one of his hands left her face to brace himself on the black blanket covering her bedspread.

When he’d just about kissed her breathless, James reluctantly pulled away, needing more than a second to refill his lungs. Long hair swept over his eyes while his chest rose and fell, accentuating the tight shirt he’d picked out that morning, and Roxy’s grip on his roots tightened when his tongue darted out of his mouth to wet his lips. “You lied to me.”

A jolt shot through Roxy’s heart, “What?” 

“It’s cherry berry, not just cherry.” 

“James!” She practically screamed, ignoring the laughter rolling out of him as she shoved him onto the bed beside her, “Who cares?!”

As his back hit the mattress, she bounced a bit. Bed springs groaning as he rolled onto his side to face her, he shot a wicked grin. “That’s very important information! A guy should know what he’s getting into, you know?” 

“I think you’ll survive,” Teased Roxy, turning to face him as well, resting her cheek on her hand. When they were this close, she could admire the small flecks of green popping out in his hazel eyes and the beautiful curve of his lips. “But for future reference… What’s your preference?”

James scrunched up a cheek in thought, “Hm… I don’t know. Let me check again.” 

Leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to Roxy’s lips, he pulled back before rubbing his own together and pretending he was deep in thought. “Didn’t get enough that time. Again.” The process repeated a few more times before Roxy was pretty sure no gloss was left and he asked her what else she was storing in her makeup organizer. 

Hesitantly, the girl pulled herself away from her boyfriend, already missing the hint of the ‘Cuda spice lime cologne tingling her nose as she made her way to her dresser to find just what he was asking for. The bright red organizer Katie had given her for Christmas had certainly been put to good use, and she pulled open the small drawer on the side she’d designated for her lipsticks and glosses, rattling off what she could find, “Strawberry, Watermelon, Vanilla… Ooh! Cotton candy!”

“That one!” James called from behind her, head propped up on his hand as he watched her, still lying on his side. She caught his sparkling gaze in the vanity mirror, relishing in the softness in his eyes. 

Just as she swiped some of the gloss over her bottom lip, she heard him audibly swallow. “Wanna go to that movie tonight?” 

Roxy paused, jaw half open as she glanced back at him over her shoulder. And she did, desperately, want to go to Kiss and Tell with him, but going out on the town together and being spotted could lead to any type of speculation; Going to the hottest make-out movie of the summer only led to one conclusion.

It's not like they never went out together… But when they did, at least after what happened in Santa Monia, it was usually just hitting a drive-through and then coming back to 2-H to hang out. The last time they’d been alone in public together was back in Minnesota where the skillful eye of the paparazzi would never look to find anyone as quickly up and coming as a member of Big Time Rush.

“Like… in the next town over or something?” Roxy questioned, not sure if James had actually thought the invitation out before extending it to her. While she did adore him, her boyfriend certainly wasn’t known for thinking all of his plans through.

Had she still been focused on fiddling with the small plastic tube in her hands, she might have missed the look of hurt that flashed across her boyfriend’s face.

Shit.

“No,” He said, sitting up, brows furrowed. “I caught Jo on the way out of 2-J and she said there were still seats next to where she, Kendall, Carlos, and his mystery date were sitting. You sounded interested earlier… Just thought it could be fun.”

“It does sound fun!” The assistant jumped in a bit too quickly, thoughts muddling around her head too fast now that she was worried about hurting his feelings. “But don’t you think… I don’t know… Three members of Big Time Rush in the same place and people might start taking pictures or something?” 

“I think I’d be more worried if someone spotted us in the back row of a dark, crowded theater when they’re supposed to be making out with someone else,” James snickered, though not as lighthearted as usual. “Like… total loser alert…”

She’d hurt him and he was trying to play it off, make her more comfortable about potentially going out together with their friends. 

Anxiously, she placed the gloss back in the organizer before walking back over to the edge of her bed. Mattress creaking as she sat down next to James, she reached a hand out toward his cheek, guiding his gaze to hers. 

Even in their own little bubble, she thought dating James was no small feat. Had they been somewhat “normal” teenagers back in Minnesota, navigating the same high school hallways, she doubted he’d give her a second glance. He was the kind of guy she’d hopelessly crush on, Mag and Dani making fun of her as much as they could, who had no idea she’d exist… He was miles out of her league. 

If those were the thoughts she’d tucked deep down, spilled out on the pages of her journal for nobody else to ever see, how could she handle it if anyone else thought the same? 

“You four are getting so famous… You’re not worried about people thinking our relationship is-” Unable to even say the unpleasant words swirling around in her head, Roxy took a breath, a familiar, sharp sting of sadness tingling the back of her nose and eyes. Gently, she swiped her thumb over his cheek. “They don’t know me the way they know you. What if they think I’m just a groupie or-”

“Or what if they like you for the same reasons I do?” James questioned back, hand reaching up to clutch hers. “Because you’re so incredibly talented and you work harder than anyone else in this town and just being in the same room as you makes my days brighter? Or because you’re a total knockout and anyone would be lucky to have even a fraction of your time?”

His exaggerated words flooded her ears, making the anxiety rising in her chest begin to wash away, a laugh bubbling up her throat. It must have made her smile too, at this point so overwhelmed she couldn’t even tell, because James was already mirroring a grin by the time her other hand reached his face and she pulled him into another round of kisses.

Unlike their earlier, heated exchange, these were slow, tender. The light touch of his hand squeezing hers communicating his concern through his fingertips. The arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her into his lap all but screaming his affection. So easy, the way they slid together, as her legs fell to opposite sides of his torso, his large hands skirting the tops of her thighs.

It took a lot of willpower for Roxy to pull away from all that, but somehow she managed, gently resting her forehead against his as her hands wrapped around the back of his neck. 

“You always know how to make me feel better, James,” She murmured into his ear before pressing a line of kisses down his sharp jaw. 

The smile gracing his lips from earlier only grew wider. “I read a lot of best tips and relationship advice articles in Pop Tiger and there’s a reason we tick fifteen boxes on the ‘Twenty Signs That Your S.O. Is Your Soulmate’ quiz.”

Roxy’s chest fluttered with an intensity so great she had to hold him even tighter out of fear she’d start floating away. 

“You read the new edition without me?” was the only stupid thing her brain could manage to come up with in response to such a bold declaration. 

Gaze flitting to the side, James sheepishly shrugged, “Couldn’t help myself. Selena Gomez was on the cover… And Miley Cyrus had this great column-” 

The boy she was holding shuttered beneath her, causing her to place her hands on his shoulders and lean back, brow knitting in confusion.

“You’re trying to distract me!” He accused, poking her in the side. “Kiss and Tell tonight - Yes or no?”

Roxy hoped another kiss would suffice in place of verbal confirmation.

***

  Even after James had left her apartment to purchase the movie tickets, his words were still echoing in his girlfriend’s ears. 

Soulmate.

She was still getting giddy at the term boyfriend. 

Though the more Roxy thought about the s-word and James’ use of it, the more it tugged at her heart. She wouldn’t have even thought to call them that, yet he’d so unabashedly brought it up in the middle of a conversation like it was no big deal. If he was thinking something so definite, so absolute about their relationship, was there something she was missing out on by not thinking the same?

The prospect of that worried her greatly. 

Compared to his multiple relationships before theirs, James was the more experienced of the two, so maybe he was more willing to come to that conclusion because he knew what it felt like to not be someone’s soulmate? In place of the people James had grown emotionally close to, all Roxy had to show for experience was a destroyed friendship and a hit break-up song that almost made the Billboard Hot 100. 

Now, as she grabbed her journal off her desk, she had to figure out if she was more ashamed of her inexperience or her fear of calling him anything more serious than her boyfriend. 

Falling for him had been the easy part, even with the months of waiting for him to ask her out. Once she knew James felt the same way about her, easing into their relationship had been as automatic as breathing. Roxy wore the smile lines, saved the text receipts, and had the romantic songs written in her journal to prove it.

But soulmates… That was something else entirely, something James had said with such conviction that in the moment, Roxy believed him. 

As she stared at the pages of her songbook, anxiously tapping her pen on the paper and her foot on the floor, she turned the word over and over again in her head. One of the biggest foundations of their relationship had been trust, especially after her messy episode with Dak months before, and James hadn’t ever broken that since the day they’d become official. 

She’d trusted him then, so why shouldn’t she trust him now? 

That revelation was just what she was looking for, taking into account her wide range of feelings on the subject, smiling toward the blank sheet as she uncapped her pen and scribbled out a verse. 

Maybe this could be the line,

That starts the whole story,

Maybe you could be the one,

The one who’s meant for me,

I know that I should wait,

But what if you’re my soulmate?

Then you say

Slow down

‘Cause we can

Buzz buzz

“Damnit!” Roxy cursed at the interruption to the posters on her bedroom walls. 

Beside her songbook, the screen of her phone lit up with a text message from Camille to their group chat with Jo.

C: what do you think about steve from class?

As per usual Jo’s reply was immediate.

J: Dunno. Never really talked to him

R: He’s a senior right? 

R: We were paired up for last week's English project. Seems nice.

R: Very into musical theater.

While they’d completed their paper he’d played the Wicked soundtrack about forty times over. Roxy had “Defying Gravity” stuck in her head for days. 

C: going to kiss and tell with him tonight

C: will i see you two there?

J: Kendall, Carlos, Megan, and I will be there

R: Megan?

J: Co-worker of mine Carlos seems into… If he doesn’t pick Kendall’s date over mine…

C: aren’t YOU kendall’s date?

J: God. Don’t remind me.

R: James and I will be there too!

C: i guess all of us are going then lol. logan and the new girl peggy too

R: Yay! Quadruple date!

R: Can’t wait to see you all (and meet peggy…?) 

C: if she isn’t too busy hoovering logan’s face

J: well… hopefully you and steve will be doing the same? 

J: silver linings and all

Making a mental note to speak with Jo about her public relationship status and how she and Kendall handled it, Roxy closed her book with a sigh. She had a strange relationship with public perception, but figured she should do her best - for now at least - to take a page out of her friend's book and not pay attention to the gossip columns or articles written about them. 

It was one thing if people didn’t like her music, that was all about personal taste. If you don’t like boybands, you don’t like their songs, and that was perfectly fine with the writer. But, if people didn’t like her simply because she was seeing someone famous… Well, she’d cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, at least, she made sure her ScuttleButter account was private while she walked into her kitchen for a light snack before James picked her up for their date. 

Just as she opened her pantry to root around for something small, a soft knock rapped at her door. Passing her fridge and spotting Mag’s blue enveloped invitation tacked on there made her slightly gag, praying it wasn’t him awaiting her on the other side of the wood for the second time this week. 

Sucking in a breath, Roxy slowly opened the door to a young boy she’d never seen before. About half a head shorter than her, his messy dusty brown hair and chocolate brown eyes stood out nicely against the long-sleeved blue and white striped button-up he wore. A mischievous grin brandished his cheeks, showing off two adorable dimples as he looked up at her and politely asked, “Hey, is… Katie here?” 

The smell of Axe Body Spray hung pungently in the air. 

“No… She isn’t, sorry,” Roxy shook her head, hoping that this was the boy Katie had mentioned earlier and not another stranger she’d never met moving into the Palm Woods. With a nod of her head, she jerked her thumb to the right. “She’s next door in 2-J. I was just on my way over there if you wanna join me.”

That was fully a lie, but she figured Katie wouldn’t mind if she was just a bit nosy and interrupted whatever was about to go down in her apartment.

The boy let out a relieved sigh, “Sounds great! I was a bit worried when you opened the door, Katie hadn’t mentioned a sister… I must have misremembered the letter. I’m kinda nervous.”

Joining him out in the hallway, Roxy locked her door and led the boy in the right direction. “Nervous?” 

“Yeah! She and I are going to see that new movie everyone’s been talking about. What’s it called again…?”

Aw! Roxy couldn’t stop herself from thinking while trying to recall an age-appropriate movie that had just hit the theaters. “Um, The Unicorn Princess?”

“No, no,” Kyle shook his head as he stood before the door to 2-J, repeating the same soft knock he had at her apartment. “Kiss and Tell, I think?” 

Stopping right behind him, the writer’s brows shot to her forehead, the only thought running through her mind being, I wonder if the guys know…

She got her answer a moment later when her boyfriend answered the door, hair brushed to the side of his face, with a sharp-looking white button-up, tie, and red sweater greatly contrasting from the t-shirt and jeans he’d been wearing when they hung out earlier. 

Even with his back to her, she could feel worry radiating off Kyle’s little body the minute he laid eyes on James. 

“Kyle, my boy! Come on in,” The singer greeted, deepening his voice an octave and puffing out his chest as he stuck one hand in his pocket. “Have a seat!”

Shooting a wink Roxy’s way, he stepped to the side and allowed the boy into the apartment. 

“Thanks, James,” Kyle said, insinuating a level of familiarity that the writer could only assume came from the hangout she’d pulled her boyfriend away from earlier in the day. Maybe she’d been wrong to do that…

As the two made their way to the living room, Roxy in tow, she snorted as James slung an arm around Kyle’s shoulder and aggressively pulled him into his side, “Ah, please, call me Mr. Diamond.”

Jesus.

Peeking at the open space in front of them, she noticed that in addition to the orange sectional couch, a brown lounger draped in a red, white, and black plaid blanket had also been brought into the space, which she didn’t recognize from any of the boy’s rooms. It was directly facing one of the sections of the couch, which James all but threw Kyle down onto before taking a seat in the new chair. 

In his wake, Roxy bent down and reached out her hand, which Kyle nervously took. “I’m Roxy - Katie’s friend and Mr. Diamond’s girlfriend. Nice to meet you.” 

Sheepish grin returning, Kyle wrung his hands together as she sat down on one of the arms of the recliner. 

“Katie is very special,” James began out of nowhere, one of his hands reaching behind his girlfriend’s back as he pulled a neon blue and orange Nerf gun from the floor behind her and began to inspect it. “She’s like a sister to me. So tell me…”

Roxy cleared her throat in warning, nudging James with her elbow as she shot Kyle the warmest smile she could muster. 

That didn’t work at all; James grabbed a paper towel and began to wipe down his weapon, pointing it right at Kyle’s chest in the process. “What are your intentions?”

“Um…” His actions didn’t sit well with Kyle, who began to shift out of the gun’s range, but James kept his aim trained to his heart wherever he moved. “To take her to a movie?”

It came out more like a question than a confident statement, which was understandable considering he had a weapon pointed directly at him. 

“Oh! How fun!” Roxy tried to cut in, nudging her boyfriend once again to try and knock the barrel out of Kyle’s way. “They’re going to a movie, just like we are, babe.”

“Not to Kiss and Tell you’re not!” He bit, completely ignoring his girlfriend’s words. Tone now clearly sinister, Kyle’s eyes widened in fear as he followed the gun’s aim once more, holding up his hands in innocence. 

It was at this moment, Katie emerged from her bedroom, spotting her friends in the entertainment area, greeting, “Hey, Kyle!” 

Though she was dressed in her typical casual attire, she’d picked out her favorite sage green shirt to wear, just like she told Roxy she was planning to earlier. Once she got closer, and noticed the large weapon in James’ hands, her cheery tone immediately switched to chilling, asking, “What are you doing?” 

Like Kyle, Roxy raised her palms, silently pleading with the girl to not equate her presence as an alliance with James' schemes. 

“Just having a little… Man-to-man-to-woman with Kyle here, huh?” 

As the young boy nodded, too stunned to do much more than that, Roxy did the opposite. After all of the work she’d done with Katie earlier to help her be more comfortable discussing her feelings, she didn’t want this moment to ruin even a fraction of that.

With a sigh, Katie looked between the three, before parading over and grabbing James by the ear. Tearing him out of his seat as he yowled in pain, she took him to the kitchen where the two of them appeared to be having a little chat. 

That left Kyle and Roxy sitting alone in the living room, awkwardly, while the other two conversed. 

“So… How are you liking the Palm Woods?” Roxy asked the boy, and he finally let out some of the tension his body had been holding, shoulders visibly relaxing.

His hands unwound. “My sister Peggy and I just moved in so we’re still getting used to everything, but it’s pretty nice. Very different from Missouri though.”

“You guys are from the Midwest too? We all moved here last year from Minnesota.”

“Oh, cool,” Kyle replied, but his flat tone suggested he really didn’t think it was. “My sister cut a modeling contract with one of the big agencies here so our parents dragged me out here too, but I guess it could be worse.”

Glancing over to Katie and James, the two appeared to be locked in quite a heated battle. “Then I’m sure you and Katie will have lots to talk about. Her brother, James, and two of our other friends are in a band! Maybe she can give you some tips for dealing with a famous sibling…”

Before he had the chance to respond, Katie called, “Kyle, let’s go!” from the kitchen, before making her way toward the door, not even glancing back to see if he was following her. Roxy didn’t blame him for scurrying out of 2-J as fast as humanly possible. 

What she didn’t expect was for James, newly changed into a sleek, tight, black Henley, to be hot on their heels, pulling Roxy out of 2-J and down into the lobby of the Palm Woods. 

As she caught a glimpse of Kyle and Katie headed out the front doors with the woman she assumed was Kyle’s mother, the writer dug her heels into the ground, pulling back on James’ hand clasped in hers. “Woah! James, give them some space! We’ll see them at the theater and you can… do whatever this is,” she waved her hand in his general vicinity, “later.” 

If he wanted to supervise the young ones on their date, that was fine with her, but he needed to agree to her terms. Also, he needed to tell her that outright, instead of nervously glancing at the front door every two seconds while she practically physically held him back from following. 

“How do you feel about Funburger? I know you love a good burger!” He asked, skipping over her words once again as Kyle and Katie faded from view. 

To his credit, Roxy did love a good burger. And though that was likely where Kyle was taking Katie tonight, she agreed anyway, because only one establishment in the greater Los Angeles area could claim to sell the “Funnest burgers in town.” 

“Well… It’s no Bun In A Million but I suppose it will suffice,” She smiled, squeezing his hand in hopes it would calm him down a smidge, but the moment she finished her sentence, he was dragging her out to the Pontiac. 

***

It had taken nearly everything the assistant had in her to convince her boyfriend they needed to sit across the restaurant from Kyle and Katie, instead of right next to them as he had originally planned. 

Roxy and James sat on opposite sides of the small, red leather booth of the 50s-themed diner, listening to the old-timey music pour through the wall box sitting at the edge of the table. Roxy couldn’t remember ever going to a cuter-themed restaurant while she swirled her finger over the speckled white table in front of her, waiting for James to stop staring at Kyle and Katie over his shoulder so they could talk about something. 

Does he intentionally flex his jawline when he concentrates like that?

She figured she could share progress about her new song, or talk a little bit more about her anxiety about potentially being spotted with him out in public, but the singer was more focused on his mission than anything. From the hotel lobby, Roxy had known what she was getting into and generally didn’t mind. If James was more happy keeping an eye on Katie to make sure she was safe, that was important to her too. 

The preteens appeared to be having a good time; Both wore awkward yet sincere smiles, intensely discussing what Roxy assumed was either the Castle Bashers video game or their favorite comic book series. Maybe something new they’d discovered they both enjoyed on the car ride over. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Katie glance over to where the two of them sat, James fully flinching as if he wasn’t expecting to be caught and wagged her finger from side to side. A clear warning, screaming, “No!”

In the aisle, a white-clad waiter cleared their throat and set down the large milkshake Roxy had ordered, because what trip to a diner was complete without one? Milk chocolate, whipped cream, and rainbow sprinkles were calling her name, and she placed two bright red straws inside; One facing her way and one facing James. 

“Babe,” She tried, but he was still looking over his shoulder. Though his protectiveness did appeal to her greatly, Roxy was having trouble staying calm while he pretty much flat-out ignored her. Lowering her tone, she accidentally barked out, “James,” a lot meaner than she’d meant to. 

Like he was snapping out of a trance, James shook his head and finally looked her way, seeing the drink she pushed his way. Award-winning smile returning from the scowl he’d been sporting the last fifteen minutes, the boy reached out for the shake and took a long, slow sip. 

Roxy had to grip the leather as she watched, stomach turning while deciding she forgave him for anything that had happened in their date up until this point. 

“There’s two straws,” The writer joked, waggling her brows a few times before her boyfriend took the hint, eyes widening as he hastily pushed it back to the center of the table. 

Leaning forward, he murmured, “Very romantic…” 

Following his lead, Roxy did the same, excited to try one of the most delicious-looking shakes she’d ever seen, before James flinched again and whisper-screamed, “Too romantic!” Before she knew it, his hands were flying toward her face - no, toward the drink - as he tore out both of the straws, splattering her face with some of the freezing cold concoction as he practically ripped it from the table in front of her. Without disturbing the other patrons, somehow, James made it to the table he’d been keeping an eye on and set the milkshake down on the counter, claiming that their waiter had forgotten a part of their meal. 

Two milkshakes for Kyle and Katie, zero milkshakes for Roxy. Maybe I was too quick to forgive him.

When James made his way back to the table, a proud look gracing his features, he effortlessly slid into the booth. Dramatically dusting off his hands as though he’d just saved the day, he was startled when Roxy slid beside him, trapping him into the small space. 

“Could you pass me a napkin, please?” She asked him, doing her best to remain sweet, gesturing to the napkin holder tucked into the wall behind him. For added effect, she leaned into him, hoping the chocolate and cream specks on her face were fully visible. 

To her surprise, her boyfriend actually pulled away from her, because she had temporarily blocked his view of Kyle and Katie. “Yeah, yeah, sure.”

It was only when he handed them over to her did he glanced her way, taking note of her soiled features. For the first time that night, Roxy could feel the intensity of his gaze, softening slightly as he breathed, “Shit. Did I do that?”

Bringing the paper to her face, Roxy slowly nodded as she worked to clean herself up. His quiet apology could barely be heard over the loud music of the diner, the chatter of its patrons, and his girlfriend asking, “How old were you when you went on your first date?” 

James blinked. “You’re not supposed to talk about old dates while on a date. It’s bad luck or something.”

“Humor me,” She requested, one hand falling to the rough fabric of his dark jeans. Everyone had awkward date stories, right? So if James aired his out, he might feel more comfortable in backing off on Katie. “I want to know everything.”

“O-okay,” Though he stuttered, he obliged, eyes still darting over to the other table despite the drumming of Roxy’s fingertips on his solid thigh. “I was twelve - If you don’t count playground dates in elementary school - and a girl from my bio class, Yasmine, and I went to see a hockey game. She said she was a fan so I got my mom to buy us tickets, but when we got here she didn’t know a thing about the game; Said she had seen me in a Kings jersey and thought it was the easiest way to hang out with me, which struck me as strange because I think I’m pretty easy to talk to. It was fun but awkward overall. She liked me way more than I liked her.” 

“So even James Diamond has embarrassing first dates?” 

“No! Never! I was a perfect, charming, gorgeous, perfect gentleman. It just didn’t work between us is all,” was his defense, said with such conviction that Roxy didn’t believe he understood what she was trying to get at with this particular line of questioning. Before she could dig deeper, however, he asked her the same question. “What about you?” 

If they hadn’t been so close it would have been difficult for her to hear the slight break in his voice.

“I was fourteen, so you’ve got a few years on me,” Roxy shared with a chuckle, deeming it only fair since James had offered up his story so easily. “One of the part-time cashiers at the music store asked me out. Turns out we both went to Twin Pines High and Keaton was just a year older than me. We went for a nice picnic in the park. My dad was so nervous about me dating that he sat on our front porch the whole evening waiting for me to come home. Made it super awkward when he could see Keaton kiss me under the street lamp before he walked me to the door. Freaked him out so bad he didn’t call me that night. Or ever again.” 

There was no way James didn’t get the memo from that little story; She’d captured his attention long enough that he hadn’t glanced over his shoulder in a few minutes, so Roxy felt comfortable enough to give his leg a squeeze and move back over to her side of the booth. As she did, her boyfriend blew a raspberry, “Pft! Scared of your dad… How silly…”

“Would you get me a new milkshake, baby?” She asked, bypassing his statement entirely by reaching out one hand and grasping his, while the other hit a button on the wall box she’d been eyeing since they sat down. 

James nodded, finally turning his full attention to his girlfriend as the romantic tune began to flow through the speaker, setting the mood for their date night. 

Forget about Katie, forget about Kyle, it’s just me and James…

… Until James abruptly pulled his hand out of hers, practically launching himself over the back of their booth, and made a bee-line for the young couple’s table. 

Discretion was his enemy for the time being, as he leaned over the table the two of them shared, slapping the wall box over and over again as he yelled something or other about a mute button for the amorous tune before he gave up entirely. Gripping the machine on both sides, James ripped it from the wall entirely, sparks flying in the direction of Kyle and Katie in a way that made Roxy wince in fear. 

Standing now with the destroyed box in his hands, James let out a pained laugh as he held the aging device, “There… Heh… That’s better.” 

“No! It’s not!” Katie screamed back, index finger circling her temples while she stood, squaring up to the boy with at least a foot and a half on her. With flared nostrils, she shoved him in the chest and the boy was easily pushed to the side, as she stood in front of Kyle, hand out, declaring, “Come on, we can get a hot dog at the movie.”

Slapping a few bills down on the table for the food they didn’t even get to enjoy, Katie took Kyle’s hand and stomped toward the door. Eagerly, Kyle stood up to follow, beating her to the door to open it up in a way that made Roxy’s heart melt faster than the forgotten shakes on their table. 

Just as she went to slide out of the booth to console her boyfriend, a waiter cut the girl off as he delivered their burgers to the table. Meanwhile, Roxy heard a clattering from the other side of the restaurant, which was presumably James putting the speaker down on the table, and a moment later the waiter disappeared, and he sat in front of her again, adorable pout causing him to stick out his bottom lip. 

“Look, the food’s here,” She tried, weakly waving her hand over the delectable-smelling burgers. Even though James ordered onions on his, she had it in her heart to forgive him after trying so hard to look after the girl he considered a little sister, only to be burned so badly. 

James reached for her hand and Roxy thought that to be a good sign, before he glanced back toward the door and shared, “The food here is terrible! Let’s just get a hot dog at the movies!” 

***

It was against the Somerset family code to leave a good burger uneaten, a code Roxy had never broken in her seventeen years of life. Until tonight. Now standing alone in the lobby of the movie theater, alone, she was thinking about how juicy the patty had looked, piled high with all of her favorite toppings. 

Despite promising to purchase tickets earlier in the day, apparently James hadn’t once he caught wind of Katie’s date, so he was off at the front counter to see if there were any more seats open to the same showing of Kiss and Tell all their friends were attending. 

Not that it matters… We can see it in a different theater. She told herself, slowly taking a deep breath in through her nose and holding it for a few seconds before letting it go out of her mouth. James is just distracted is all. He’s worried; You getting on him for it won’t make him feel better. 

Repeating that last line a few more times in her head was beginning to help her ignore the hunger pangs radiating off her growling stomach. At the very least, seeing other teens walk by with their small bags of popcorn - that took two full arms to carry - made her feel better about the snack outcome of the evening. While she still mourned the burger, salty, buttery popcorn and a large soda certainly wouldn’t make her feel any worse. 

While James reached the front of the line, Roxy scanned the theater, recognizing it was crawling with all of her friends. Not a shock, but still interesting to watch. Perhaps these next few minutes would be just as entertaining as Kiss and Tell, minus the making out of course, as she recalled all the situations they’d also found themselves in. 

Like Camille had mentioned over text, she was sat at one of the small tables on the opposite side of the theater, and Roxy caught a glimpse of the back of Steve’s head in one of the many refreshments lines. Though they were there together, it wasn’t lost on the assistant that she was dressed in one of Logan’s favorite outfits. The royal blue dress she had on, paired with a dark set of leggings complimented her features perfectly; She looked like an absolute dream. The only problem was, she was staring at Logan, also in one of the refreshment lines. 

Both of them had thought it was time to move on and see other people and were certainly making strides to, but it was clear, even from a distance how that was affecting Camille. And Logan too, because when Camille pulled her phone out of her small clutch bag to check something, his gaze flickered her way as well. 

On instinct, Roxy’s feet began to move in the direction of her forlorn friend, even if the two of them were on dates, and she nearly collided with a beautiful blonde girl around her age carrying a personal popcorn tray. 

“Sorry!” The young woman squeaked, straight blonde hair passing just below her shoulders. Nervously, she brought a finger to the bridge of her thick, black glasses to push them back up. 

With a small wave of her hand, Roxy brushed it off, “I wasn’t looking; It was my bad.” 

Both exchanging polite smiles, she let the girl go on her way to the line, jaw nearly dropping when she linked up with, of all the people in the crowded building, Logan.

Nice to meet you, Peggy!

By the time Roxy had shaken that awkward encounter out of her head and planned to make her way over to Camille, she and Steve were already headed toward the theater to find their seats for the show. 

Raised voices on the opposite side of the room alerted her to the presence of Jo, Kendall, and Carlos. The helmet wearer was sandwiched between the couple, who were fighting beside him like two kids in the back of the car on a long road trip, going back and forth at each other. 

What that was all about, Roxy was certainly curious, but would wait for Jo to give her the scoop about later. Though she was elated that Kendall and Jo got along so well, they fought just as hard as they loved. All of their friends knew better than to get between the two of them when they were angry with each other, lest they get pulled into the drama as well. 

Katie and Kyle had gotten lost in the arcade portion of the theater, which left Roxy still standing all by herself and James comfortable enough to take his eyes off of them while he got their tickets. 

After a few minutes of absent-minded scrolling on her phone, James found her again, physical tickets in hand.

“There you are!” The girl joked, light-hearted words hopefully masking a newfound sense of anxiety blooming in her chest now that the two were standing next to each other in public. It didn’t seem like anyone had noticed all four members of Big Time Rush standing in the theater lobby, but only time would tell. “I’m so excited to see this movie, I think you’ll love the chef’s character - He’s a lot like you! So romantic!”

“Not as romantic as… The Unicorn Princess!” He held up both of his hands, with an ear-to-ear grin, two ticket stubs in each. “Which I just got four tickets to, much more appropriate for the kids!” 

Be it the rapid beating of her heart in her chest from her nerves or some leftover annoyance she hadn’t gotten a proper dinner, his girlfriend swallowed, setting her jaw. “Katie wanted to see Kiss and Tell too, James. Didn’t we agree earlier that’s what we were going to see?”

“We did, but the plans changed! We can’t take them in there with us… She only wanted to see it because you do! She looks up to you, you know,” The boy shared as if that would make this situation any better. 

“She looks up to you too, babe! That’s why I’ve been trying to get you to tone down the protectiveness all night… I know you two share something really special and I don’t want to see that spoiled because you’re trying to scare Kyle! Why do you think I brought up the story about my dad?” 

Glittering hazel eyes widening, James put his hands down, shuffling through the four pieces of paper in his hands. “You told me all that to get me to stop? I thought it was encouragement! Like ‘everyone has awkward dates, so they won’t think it’s weird if you’re overprotective’ or something.”

Roxy was barely able to contain the snort that left her nose, palm flying to the bottom of her face. “You’re joking! My sob story had the complete opposite effect?” James nodded and his girlfriend continued, “God, hanging out with Kendall has made me think I’m just as good at speeches as he is, apparently… I can’t believe that didn’t work at all…”

“All it made me grateful for was the Keaton guy never calling you back,” James admitted, slinging an arm around her shoulder to pull Roxy closer into him. “Because he would never, ever take you to see The Unicorn Princess, songbird. I even splurged for 3-D.” 

Her playful punch landed right into the solid muscle of his bicep, “Fine. Just promise you’ll take me to Kiss and Tell before it leaves the theaters?” 

A kiss to her temple worked in perfect place of that vow, just as Katie came running up to the couple from the arcade. 

“Hey! We’re gonna pass on Kiss and Tell. Did you know that movie’s full of people kissing? I should’ve guessed since you two wanted to go so bad…”

Carrying a small bag of popcorn and a large soda with two straws in the other, Kyle shuddered at his date’s side. “We’re just gonna hang out in the arcade and go home with my sister later.”

As Roxy opened her mouth to protest and let them know about the new show they were planning on going to, James practically melted into the floor, two tickets dropping out of his hand as he moaned, “Oh, thank goodness…”

At the same time, the line for one of the racing games Kyle wanted to play let up, and he happily bounded over to secure two spots for himself and Katie. 

The pair expected her to follow, but instead, her eyes narrowed, giving James and Roxy identical chills shooting down their spines. Now that Kyle was out of earshot, it was the perfect time for Katie to rip them a new one. 

“You know, you were really annoying today with all that overprotective stuff!”

What the hell did I do? Roxy thought to herself, but let the young girl continue to vent. She supposed being around him the entire time was enough to count her as an accessory.

With a defeated sigh, James' grip on Roxy tightened as he looked to the floor, “Yeah, I know. Rox tried to warn me but I-”

His apology was cut off as Katie took a few steps forward, unexpectedly throwing her arms around the both of them. With as much strength as her little body could muster, which was quite a lot actually, she squeezed as tightly as she could, breathing out a small, “Thanks. Both of you, for everything today.” 

Looking towards each other, James and Roxy felt their brows shoot to their hairlines. Certainly, not the reaction they’d been expecting from her, but they appreciated it nonetheless, familiar signs of embarrassment creeping up to their cheeks and ears as they hugged her back. 

As she let them go, turning to head back over to where Kyle was, Katie shot them a small wave before heading off to enjoy the rest of her date. Pride swelled in the writer’s chest as she watched the two of them for a moment, excited to write down this new development in her journal later, and she nudged her date with her shoulder. “Looks like I stand corrected. Feel free to go cuckoo on her next date too!” 

Rich laughter poured into her ears like honey as James reacted to her statement. 

“Think they’ll let you trade those in for a pair to Kiss and Tell? We’ll have missed some of the previews but if we hurry we might make the start of the film.” Roxy flicked the tickets in her boyfriend’s hand, beginning to walk over to the box office before noticing Kendall, Carlos, and Logan standing beside each other in the middle of the room. 

The three looked haggard, just completely dejected, hugging a tub of licorice and two large sodas to their chests respectively. 

“Uh, oh,” She heard James mutter, glancing up to find him looking in the same direction. “Their dates left; They messed up. I can feel it.” Free hand leaving Roxy’s side to pinch the bridge of his nose, the boy let out a sigh. “So I doubt they’ll want to see Kiss and Tell anymore. Is it cool if I go buy an extra ticket to The Unicorn Princess? It’s starting in a few and it’ll be too late to refund the other four…”

“Don’t worry about it, baby… Seems like a little bit of guy time is in order and I certainly wouldn’t want to intrude. Besides, my first date story kind of has me missing my dad. I wouldn’t mind sitting out here and calling him, honestly. It’s been a while since we last talked. Link up when the movie’s done?”

“Are you sure? I already made you skip dinner, I wouldn’t want to make you skip the movie too,” He told her, fanning himself with the four tickets in his hand. 

When Roxy nodded, he bent down to give her a quick kiss, tasting the cotton candy lip gloss she’d been intending to save as a surprise for their make-out session. “Next night we’re free I promise we’ll be back here to see Kiss and Tell!” 

“And we’re going back to Funburger for a proper meal!” Roxy called after him with a smile.

So what if the date’s a bust? She asked herself, as the boys reconnected and wandered off in search of the only theater playing The Unicorn Princess in 3-D. At least I got to see one of my favorite sides of James…

***

With most of the movies for the evening starting around the same time, the concession lines grew short enough for Roxy to sneak in and buy a large Peppy Cola before taking a seat at the same table Camille had been sitting at earlier. Sugary sips and bubbles popping on her tongue gave the girl a wonderful pick me up after the last few hours, and she pulled out her cell phone to place a call back home. 

It was there, that she saw a few texts from Jo and Camille, vaguely referring to two separate yet disastrous evenings, begging for a sleepover debrief in the next few days. Just as she was about to shoot off a “Free tomorrow night?” message to her friends, her screen was overtaken by a call notification. 

Normally, at this time of night, she’d decline it. No need to talk to anyone this late unless it was an emergency, but the name at the top caught her eye, twisting her stomach.

Incoming call: Gustavo Rocque

Gustavo never called her unless it was urgent.

With a shaking finger, she pressed accept, bringing the speaker to her ear. “Hello?”“What the hell is a Brand New Day and why did they just book Big Time Rush to appear at their album release party tomorrow night?”